"And then, I grabbed the bright red thing, and ran as hard as I could!"

"No way! Why did you do that?"

"Hm? I thought I'd told you. The worm ate bright stuff. Peridot, were you even listening?"

"I was listening!" Peridot answered, outraged "I meant why did you grab it instead of running away from the Connie!"

"I couldn't have done that! She could have gotten hurt!"

"Yeah, right. You too, for that matter."

The sun was high up in the sky and the day was hot and sticky in the worst way possible. A few clouds peeked in the horizon, with a promise of relief in their dark color. Steven and Peridot were sitting near the fence of Greg's barn, carefully picking useful parts of machinery from the otherwise useless pile of trash sitting next to Steven. Peridot chose what to keep, while Steven only followed her instructions. They had been working all morning, and their repetitive task had given Steven the opportunity to tell Peridot some stories about his adventures with the Crystal Gems. The gem seemed uninterested at first ("The hybrid insists in telling me completely pointless stories, probably better to pretend I'm listening" She had said to her tape recorder, joking, Steven hoped.), but Steven's enthusiasm had proven to be contagious, and now she was far more interested than she'd have admitted.

"Well, I didn't think about that then. I just wanted to protect her." Steven was wearing a sleeveless T-Shirt and a pair of shorts, but it was hardly enough to fight the overwhelming heat. The only reason he hadn't given up the shore and went inside the barn for some well needed rest was the full attention the green gem had been giving him the last few minutes.

"Protect her? I take it that was your mission?" Peridot mindlessly disassembled a machine and found nothing useful inside. As such, she threw it in the "trash" pile, next to her.

"Not really. I just didn't want her to get hurt."

"So you could use her later!"

"What? No! Because she's my friend!"

"Friend..." The word felt awkward in her mouth. "What is... Friend?" Her confused but curious look left no doubt she wasn't joking.

Steven gave her a blank stare.

"We really have to get you a dictionary."

"What is... Dictionary?"

Steven sighed. The more time he spent with the gem, the more he realized how... alien she was. It worried him. "It's alright" he thought "We'll have plenty of time to... teach her?" He decided there was no better word to describe it.

"You see..."

"Yo!" He was interrupted by the voice of Amethyst, who approached them coming from the road that lead to the city. In her hand, she was carrying a white paperbag with a donut stamp on it. "Lunch's here, dorks!"

"Lunch!" Steven stood up and ran towards her, so excited upon the perspective of having a break from the tedious work that he forgot he was about to give an explanation to Peridot. At this, the latter mumbled some words of reproach but stood up too and followed him. She didn't need a rest, she could've kept at it for hours, but that would have been pointless. The drill standing just a few meters away from them was in the last stages of development. Maybe it would have been completed by then, if it weren't for the other day's... incident. She sighed at the memory of her mistake.

"Aww! Donuts again?" Just a few days before Steven would have been pretty excited at the perspective of replacing all his meals with sugary foods, but now, at the barn, with no chance of getting a cooked meal, he'd learnt to miss regular food.

"Just give the word little man. You won't have to worry 'bout eating these anymore!" Amethyst hung the bag over her mouth playfully. Peridot watched them, hands crossed behind her back, and thought about Amethyst's weird habit of feeding. The very concept of eating for fun seemed ridiculous. Something that would only happen on Earth, she thought.

"The day hasn't come when I refuse to eat a donut." Said Steven, trying to imitate Jamie's "actor accent". If he succeeded, none of the gems seemed to notice. Feeling awkward, he grabbed the bag from Amethyst's hand. "Anyway, how about a pizza tomorrow instead?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure I'll remember." The look on Amethyst's face was far from reassuring.

"Mmm... Maybe I should go to the city, to get my own food." He looked at Peridot, who had been watching them carefully, standing a few feet away. "Maybe... You could come with?"

The questioned cleared her throat before speaking.

"Negative. I have no interest in your hunting rituals."

Amethyst snickered. "You don't hunt a pizza. You buy one." She was about to burst in laughter.

"How... Unamusing." The green gem was still trying to figure out what made Amethyst laugh. Not that she didn't enjoy making her laugh even by mistake, but she'd have wanted to understand how to do it on purpose too. "Anyway, you were telling me about this... dictionary, was it? What is it, and why should I have one?"

"Oh yeah! Well, lets talk about that over there." He pointed out the shade under a tree, not so far away from there. "I can eat comfy and I'll finish the story." Steven started walking.

Peridot followed him without hesitation and Amethyst walked with them, looking bored. The green gem took advantage of the window of time to make a short log. "Log date 711. The Steven and I have been working on finding parts for the drill. The pearl and the permafusion appear to be out on some sort of mission. The amethyst was out too, but she came back to bring "food" for the Steven to feed. The construction of the drill could go so much faster if these gems were more efficient." She thought about it for a second. "If we were all more efficient. Peridot, facet 5, end log."

Steven sat down in one the roots of the tree, relieved to be under its shadow. He opened the bag and found three donuts inside it. He didn't feel like eating them, but he knew they had a long day before them, and being hungry for the rest of it would only make it longer.

"I don't suppose you would like to try one?" He offered Peridot the best looking donut he had, a perfectly covered in chocolate goodie. Peridot looked almost offended.

"Ha! You didn't really think I would fall for that filthy habit, right?" Instantaneously she felt Amethyst's gaze fixed on her and realized her mistake. "I mean! No... Thank you?"

"Hey nerd! How do you know you'd hate it if you haven't tried it?" Amethyst clearly didn't buy her attempt at not looking disgusted with the idea.

"I don't have to try it! I don't need to feed."

"Neither does Amethyst. But she eats, because it's fun."

"Yeah... I'm still not completely fond of this... fun concept."

"Just try it Peri! What is there to lose? Are you afraid you might actually enjoy it?" Amethyst's teasing was far from discreet, but it almost made her feel the need to prove her that she would, indeed, not enjoy it.

"Ugh" The look on Steven's face made everything look alright, like she could, indeed, enjoy the experience. Amethyst, in the other hand, seemed ready to laugh at her reaction. "Alright. I'll... Try." She grabbed the brown "donut" Steven was handing her and immediately regretted her decision. It felt strangely soft, and she was about to put in her mouth with no other purpose than amusement. She seriously questioned what she had become.

"Something that would only happen on Earth..." She tried to bite it, but stopped just a few inches away, feeling dumb about being scared of something like that.

"What? You need a countdown or something?"

"One! Two! Three! Do it!" With all her willpower, she bit a small piece of the donut. The taste filled her mouth and the texture was almost enough to overwhelm her, but she chewed bravely, her stubborn nature the only thing preventing her from spitting it out. When she finally swallowed, she realized she'd gone through the experience with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, she felt her cheeks heat up at Steven and Amethyst's incessant stare.

"So... How was it?" The Steven spoke.

She could hardly answer; she had no idea herself. The uncomfortable feeling of the chewed donut in her insides was, perhaps, the worst part of it. The taste, however, had been nice.

She cleared her throat. "It was... something, certainly. I don't think this is for me, really."

"Ha! Told you it wouldn't be so bad! You should try other things too!" Surprisingly, the amethyst seemed genuinely happy, not laughing at her but rather... smiling happily.

"Yeah... Maybe." She handed the donut back to Steven though. "Now please, would you finish the story? Also, please clarify the concepts you mentioned before."

"Clarify? Oh, you mean dictionary." Steven grabbed the donut and took a bite out of it. "Dictionaries are big books! Inside them, you can find meanings of words, like dictionary or donut."

"That... Does sound really useful! How can I acquire one?" Peridot had to control her voice not to sound too excited. Learning more about Earth hadn't been important a few days before that, but now it felt necessary. Whether she liked it or not, she still had to cooperate with the Crystal Gems. And perhaps, deep inside her, she was actually curious about the planet. One where gems fed and permafusions and pearls were valued at the same level than quartzes. No that she would admit it under any circumstances, of course.

"I'll make sure to give you one back at home."

"Home." Peridot thought, and the word made her feel strangely uncomfortable. Their home, not hers. "W-What about the other thing? I believed you call this... Connie, a friend?"

"Oh yeah! Friends are the best! A friend is a person you love and care about! Someone you feel the need to protect and feel sorry when they get hurt!" One could practically see Steven lit up as he spoke.

"Love and care about? You're starting to sound as lame as Pearl." Said Peridot, and she pleasantly confirmed that her response made Amethyst giggle. She smiled triumphantly, as she had actually intended to make her laugh this time. Not Steven though, he was serious.

"But it's true! You can't help but protecting them, even if it puts you in danger."

"But why?" She was actually trying to understand. "What if you get hurt? Wouldn't that be worse?"

"It's... A little hard to put in words if you haven't... Experienced it..." He finished the phrase before he realized what he was implying. Peridot hadn't had any friends. She didn't even know the word! Thinking about himself in her place was overwhelming, not having anyone to love, anyone that loved him... He felt bad and was about to take it back, but Peridot didn't seem to mind.

"Well that sounds... Really, really dumb."

"Oh, What!? It is not! There are things that have to be more valuable than yourself!"

"Yeah, right. Like what?" This time Peridot spoke completely confident of her words. "A donut?" She laughed at her own joke, but the other two didn't, instead they observed her with unusual attention. An awkward feeling stroke her and she felt herself blush, laughter dying into an annoyed grunt.

"No! Not like a donut! A person! Like Amethyst! Back when you protected her... from the... drill..." Suddenly, realization lit up in Steven. Exactly like that. Exactly like when he grabbed the glow stick, even though he knew he could get hurt. She had protected her! That had to mean...

"You have friends!"

"What?" Peridot seemed shocked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Yes! How come I didn't see it!?"

"Wait! Hold on a..."

"You do have friends!" Steven wasn't listening, too excited upon his discovery.

"Huh?" Had the Steven lost it? And why had Amethyst started looking so awkward?

"You two..." Steven pointed at both Amethyst and Peridot, who was still lost in the fast development of the situation.

"Wait Steven! Don't..." Amethyst blushed violently.

"...are friends!" Steven words were followed by a thick silence. Peridot felt dizzy.

"Wait! Wait! No, nononono!" The green gem broke the silence, still utterly confused. She heard Amethyst mutter "Oh boy...".

"That wasn't... It couldn't have... I mean I don't l-lov..." Her words died as she blushed. She had been so confident, but now... "No! That was different... It had to be..."

"You two are friends." Steven was completely zoned out, impressed by his epiphany. "You are my friend too!"

"What!? Not you too!" Peridot couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Amethyst help me out! This is... He's just joking right?" Amethyst, however, evaded her eyes. Still inexplicably blushing.

"Cut it out Steven! You're being super weird!" She spoke, finally. Steven came to reality with a sense of triumph. It was real! Peridot had actually made a friend! He then looked at the two gems in front of him and realized he probably had been making them feel... exposed.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say that! I..." Both Peridot and Amethyst looked at him in confusion. "I mean... I shouldn't have... Even if we are..."

"Ugh, whatever man. Just drop it." Amethyst seemed recovered from her initial awkwardness, but she looked at the barn with a little too much attention, facing away from Peridot. The latter, however, didn't look so good.

"Wait, I-I have questions..."

"You too should drop it." Now Amethyst sounded annoyed. Peridot couldn't remember being so confused in her life. Why had she saved Amethyst again? Was it because she was a quartz, thus more important than her? Or perhaps just because she laughed at her jokes, and Peridot enjoyed that, enjoyed her company, too much to let her get hurt or shattered...

"Argh! What is wrong with this place?!" The green gem yelled at no one in particular, taking her hands to her head in a gesture of supreme desperation.

"The barn..?"

"Earth! I've been eating, Steven! Telling jokes! Jumping in front of giant drills to save an amethyst because... because..." Amethyst turned and faced her, and in her eyes, Peridot saw a shadow of an unimaginable feeling. Her knees felt strangely shaky and she dropped on the ground with a "plump". "I don't even know why." She hugged her knees and closed her eyes, trying to process all the new encountered fee... No, she couldn't call them that. It was impossible.

"Hey." She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She lift her head and saw that Steven had sat down next to her. "None of those things are bad... That's just how we do on Earth."

"It doesn't matter if they're good. I'm not supposed to do all those things." She felt tears forming in her eyes and hugged her knees tighter.

"But why?"

"Yeah, it's not like you're in Homeworld anymore." She looked at the purple gem. Amethyst was looking at her in a way she couldn't possibly describe, much less understand. It almost seemed like she... cared about her pathetic little feel... Ugh, that word again. "Nobody's watching you here, you know? Well, we are. But we don't mind."

Peridot smiled sadly. "Of course you don't. You're all defective."

"Ugh, this again?" Amethyst returned to her annoyed look.

"I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just... I simply can't understand! How do you do it? How can you handle this?!" She was yelling again, as if that would help clear her frustration.

"What do you mean... This?" Steven said.

"All of this! Friends! Jokes! Not acting the way you're supposed to! It's ridiculous!"

"Listen Peri... No one should... tell you what you're supposed to do. Much less what you're supposed to be. A... Friend of mine told me that." The purple gem spoke softly.

"Ahg, you don't understand! I... You say it's OK but..." She bit her lip, trying to get a little courage before speaking. "You say it's OK, but just yesterday I was so stupid! I could have gotten you or even Steven s-shattered..."

"But that was an accident! Everybody makes mistakes!" Steven saw the gem's struggle to speak and felt the need to hug her. He had to keep his composure though, he didn't want to startle her.

"Well not us! Back in homeworld a defective peridot such as me wouldn't be tolerated! And it was all because I felt small... I felt bad! Don't you get it? My... " She struggled with the next word. "feelings... were about to hurt you. How can you even... live like that?" Peridot raised her eyes to Amethyst. "I don't want to hurt you... I-I'm bad. You should just go away." She felt tears dripping from her eyes but for once, she didn't care. It felt good letting them out.

And then, much to Steven's surprise and Peridot's shock, Amethyst came closer, kneeled down, and hugged the green gem. Peridot emitted a little gasp and would have tried to move away, but the other gem had a strong grip on her. Besides, it felt so... right. Pressure built up in her chest and she fought to keep it held, to keep the sobs down.

"I don't care if you're bad. You don't love friends because they're always good." Amethyst whispered. Peridot couldn't hold back. She didn't understand why she was crying or why she hugged back the rebel gem she was supposed to fight, or why the Steven also joined the hug, but it was OK. She was on Earth now, away from Homeworld, surrounded by gems as defective as her and infected by parasites called feelings. But she was happier there than she had ever been.