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Pearl really couldn’t explain why she kept pestering Gem and Joel. Maybe it was the fact they were both green—easy targets, really. They couldn’t do much about it, could they? Or maybe it was just the sheer joy of ruining Gem’s day. Watching her sputter, laugh, and somehow still manage to stay standing after even the most chaotic near-death scrapes was… admirable.
Annoyingly admirable.
Not that Pearl would ever admit that. To anyone. Least of all to Gem herself.
Scott had told her to quit it. “You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days,” he’d said, voice dripping with that signature mix of judgment and exhaustion. “Or worse, you’re going to make them think they’re winning.”
But Pearl didn’t stop. Couldn’t, really. It wasn’t about winning or losing—it was about seeing Gem again. Hearing her laugh, catching that glint of fire in her eye right before she pulled some completely ridiculous move to turn the tables.
…And, sure, maybe landing another kill wouldn’t hurt. Who’s to say?
So there Pearl was, crouched just outside Gem and Joel’s base, wedged between the dock and the high stone walls. She could hear the two of them chatting—nothing too interesting, just the usual banter about plans for the day.
It was boring. They always talked about the same things.
After a few minutes of barely listening, Pearl decided it was time to make her presence known.
“Oh, Gemmm!” she called, her voice sweet and teasing as she walked right up to the green name.
Gem didn’t even flinch. She rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly not surprised in the slightest.
Rude.
“What do you want today, Pearl?” Gem asked, her tone flat and tired.
Pearl grinned, leaning against a nearby post like she owned the place. “Just wondering how much you love me…” Her voice was syrupy sweet, dragging out the words like she was savoring the tease.
Gem didn’t even glance up as she rifled through her chests—probably for nothing, just something to keep her hands busy. Maybe a slight distraction from whatever Pearl was about to do.
“Not much today, particularly, Pearl.”
Pearl’s grin faltered for a split second. Then, she put on the most overdramatic pout, letting her lower lip stick out.
“Aww… And here I was thinking you missed me!”
Gem sighed, a long, frustrated exhale, before finally looking up at Pearl. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but there was something else there—a layer of exhaustion, as if she were bracing herself for whatever Pearl was about to say next.
“Look, Pearl,” Gem said, her voice sharp and cutting, “if you’ve come to actually 1v1 me, we can do it right now.”
Pearl blinked, taken aback for a moment. She quickly stood up from her perch on the post, brushing herself off. “I don’t want to kill you—without Impulse, that is!” Her tone was teasing, but there was a hint of mischief in her eyes.
Gem rolled her eyes, an almost suffocating level of exasperation in her movements. Without another word, she turned and walked back into her barn, casually tending to the cows outside as if nothing happened.
“Pearl,” she called out, her voice holding a slight edge, “you are perfectly capable of killing me yourself. You don’t need to drag Impulse around like a lost puppy!”
Pearl smirked and followed her, keeping pace with Gem’s every step. “Well, I want it to be a team effort!”
Gem’s hand clenched around the wheat she was holding, the stalks bending under the pressure, as if she were choking the life out of them. The anger simmered in her chest, sharp and biting.
“Oh, like how you and Scar 2v1’d me? That’s your idea of a ‘team effort’? Or are you planning on betraying Impulse at the last second like you did to me?” The words came out flat, but there was a sharp anger buried beneath them, the kind of resentment that had been festering for too long.
Pearl felt the anger hit her chest, sharp and uncomfortable, like a punch she wasn’t prepared for. It stung, a cold burn that left her momentarily speechless.
“Oh—well… Gem, don’t be like that!” she said, her voice faltering. She stepped forward, hand outstretched, hoping to offer some comfort, some kind of reassurance. But before she could reach her, Gem spun around with a quickness that startled her, slapping her hand away with an unmistakable fury.
Gem’s face was twisted with anger, her eyes blazing. “Pearl,” she snapped, voice cold and biting, “if you’ve come here to justify you betraying me, you can leave. I’m sick of this conversation.”
Pearl took a step back, caught off guard by the force in Gem’s words. She had expected the usual sarcastic jab, the playful counter. But this—this was real anger, and it hit her harder than she expected.
“I—I didn’t—That’s not why—” Pearl stammered, trying to find the words that might make this stop, that might make Gem listen. She wanted to reach through the tension, but Gem cut her off before she could get another syllable out.
“Well then why are you here, Pearl?!” Gem’s voice cracked, raw with frustration. “Please, give me an answer, because Void knows I have no clue why you keep continuing to annoy me!”
Gem’s words felt like a slap. She looked at Pearl, her gaze dark, seething with an intensity that left Pearl feeling small. Her heart hammered in her chest as she met Gem’s glare, unsure of what she was supposed to say—or if she even could say anything.
A sudden shuffle broke through the tense atmosphere, and before Pearl could even react, bright teal hair was in front of her. Scott’s hand grabbed her arm, pulling her away from Gem with surprising force.
“There you are! I heard you were antagonizing Gem and Joel—had to stop it before things got worse ,” Scott said, his voice laced with that familiar mix of concern and exasperation.
Pearl didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She felt her feet dragging as Scott moved her further from the barn, her gaze locked onto Gem. The green name still stood there, stiff and distant, but her eyes… they weren’t on Pearl anymore.
Pearl’s heart stuttered as she watched Joel approach Gem from the other side of the barn. He placed a hand on Gem’s shoulder in a familiar, comforting gesture. It wasn’t anything overt, but the way Gem’s shoulders relaxed under Joel’s touch made Pearl’s chest tighten.
She didn’t hear the laugh—couldn’t hear it over the pounding in her ears—but she didn’t need to. She had it memorized. That laugh, the way it had sounded so many times before— genuine but tinged with something sharp. It made Pearl feel like she was standing on the outside, watching something she wasn’t a part of, something that should’ve been hers.
“Gem…” Pearl whispered, her voice barely audible even to herself. She didn’t know why she kept pushing her, kept coming back, but something about watching Gem laugh with Joel felt like a gut punch.
Her feet moved automatically, following Scott as he continued to drag her away, but Pearl didn’t feel like she was really there anymore. It was like everything was moving in slow motion—the barn, the distance between her and Gem growing larger with every step.
Scott didn’t say anything more, and Pearl didn’t try to explain herself. She couldn’t. Not now.
They came to a sudden stop in the middle of the forest. Pearl blinked, looking around, her mind still reeling. This wasn’t their base. What was Scott—
Scott sighed heavily, leaning against a nearby tree, his arms crossed. He glanced at Pearl with a knowing look, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
“Antagonizing her? Really? That’s your big plan to win her heart?”
Pearl’s heart skipped a beat. She blinked at him, confused. “Win her heart? What the hell are you talking about?”
Scott’s laugh broke through the tension, his accent curling the words like he was genuinely amused. “Oh come on, Pearl. Don’t play dumb. You’re doing this whole ‘antagonize and retreat’ thing. Classic move, but not gonna win her over, you know?”
Pearl’s brow furrowed, her hands instinctively balling into fists. “I’m not… What?!”
Scott raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. “I mean, if you want Gem to like you, you might wanna try something a little more effective than just annoying the hell out of her.” He tilted his head, almost as if he were waiting for her to catch up.
Pearl’s thoughts raced, but they didn’t connect. Gem liking her? That was never part of the plan. She had just… wanted to mess with her. But now that Scott had said it out loud, the idea hung in the air, heavy and strange.
Pearl shifted on her feet, feeling the awkward tension settle between them. “I… I don’t—” She stammered, suddenly unsure of how to explain herself. Her mouth opened and closed, the words feeling stuck.
Scott looked at her, not unkindly. He could see she was floundering. “Pearl, you can’t just keep playing games with her. It’s not working. Whatever this is, it’s just making things worse.”
Pearl swallowed, her thoughts racing faster now. Worse? Was it really that obvious?
Scott sighed and moved closer, his footsteps muffled in the grass as he sat down on the soft patch beneath him. He patted the ground next to him, gesturing for Pearl to sit.
Pearl hesitated for a moment, the confusion still swirling in her head, but she sat down beside him, intrigued despite herself.
“Alright… clearly you’re not getting this, so let me break it down for you,” Scott said, his tone much more serious now. “Why, despite my constant warnings, do you keep antagonizing Gem and Joel? Particularly Gem—one of the best PvPers on the server?”
Pearl’s lips parted, but she didn’t immediately respond. She looked down at the grass beneath her, trying to organize her thoughts, but they were tangled, messy, and nothing seemed to make sense.
“I dunno…” she said at last, her voice quieter than she intended. “I want to kill her? Get her down to our level…”
Scott stared at her for a moment, clearly exasperated. He put his head in his hands, rubbing his face like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Then why don’t you just kill her ?” he asked, his voice almost frustrated now. “You were right next to her, her back facing you. If you want to kill her, then do it. ”
Pearl shifted uncomfortably, her fingers tugging at the hem of her shirt. This was familiar territory—she’d said something like this before, but now it felt like she couldn’t hide behind the usual excuses.
“Well, I want Impulse to get the kill as well…!” she stammered, her words stumbling over one another. “A-And it’s early in the session! I don’t wanna…” Her voice trailed off, and she fidgeted with the grass, unsure of what she was even saying.
Scott’s gaze never wavered. “Right, Impulse again,” he said, his tone laced with a touch of sarcasm. “How convenient. You always want him to be part of it, don’t you?”
Pearl’s chest tightened. She didn’t want to talk about this. She didn’t want to face it, but the way Scott was looking at her— pushing her to say it—made it impossible to ignore.
“Why don’t you just admit it, Pearl?” Scott’s voice softened, but it still carried that teasing edge. “You’re not just trying to kill her for the kill. You’re trying to get her attention, aren’t you? ”
Pearl’s breath hitched in her throat, and she froze. Her heart pounded in her chest, and for the first time, the truth was so painfully clear it hurt.
“I—” she started, but the words caught in her throat. She didn’t want to say it. She didn’t want to admit what she had been trying to hide from everyone, even herself.
Scott leaned in, his voice low and coaxing. “You like her, don’t you? You want Gem to notice you. Really notice you.”
Pearl felt her story waver, and her thoughts began to unravel. Scott’s words kept echoing in her mind. She tried to brush them off, but they kept circling back.
“I… I don’t know,” she muttered, trying to gather her thoughts. “I want… I want it to go back to… I don’t know! Back to when we were friends!”
She threw her hands up in defeat, frustration leaking into her voice. Scott giggled beside her, clearly enjoying her confusion.
“ Friends…? Okay…” He shook his head, still laughing softly. “Let me tell you something… I don’t know exactly what Gem was thinking, but… friends don’t nearly leave their alliance for friends. Gem was so close to just— becoming camel buddies with you and leaving me and Impulse in the dust! She was ready to risk our alliance for you!”
Pearl blinked, trying to process that. The reality of it hit her harder than she expected. Was that really how things had gotten? Was she the reason Gem almost left everything behind?
Scott’s laughter faded as he leaned forward, his voice turning a bit more serious. “I’m going to ask you again, Pearl… Why do you keep antagonizing Gem?”
Pearl froze, the question hanging in the air. She hadn’t expected him to press her again. She was starting to feel like maybe she had no good answer to give, and the guilt crept in.
“I…” Her voice cracked as she searched for the right words, her mind running in circles. “I don’t know, Scott. I don’t… I don’t know what I’m doing.”
She felt herself unraveling, and her eyes fell to the grass beneath her, her fingers nervously picking at the blades. Scott waited patiently, but she could feel him watching her, waiting for the truth to come out.
“I just…” She let out a deep breath, suddenly feeling more vulnerable than ever. “I like the way she laughs after every time she nearly dies… Its so… her..”
The words came out before she could stop them, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.
“The way her freckles crinkle when she laughs… the way her eyes light up when she’s talking about her day… her voice… I…” She trailed off, not knowing how to put it into words anymore.
Pearl’s voice faded, and she slowly placed her head in her hands, the weight of her own feelings hitting her all at once. She didn’t know how to keep hiding from them anymore.
“Oh Void,”
Her voice was laced with frustration as much as realization. She wasn’t just being annoying. She wasn’t just antagonizing Gem. She was… this was why she kept coming back.
Scott let out a soft laugh, but it was warm, understanding. “ There it is, ”