I have some ideas for this chapter, and one of my reviewers gave me some more ideas. Thanks, SarahNYAG, I'm gonna borrow some of your ideas.

This chapter, things are actually gonna start happening, so be excited for that!

Chapter 4 – Don't Rock the Boat

Afternoon, first day – Pearl

Pearl felt much better walking beside Garnet. Because Garnet could remain calm in almost any situation, it was easy for Pearl to feel more confident around her. As they walked through the ship, with Pearl taking a few calming breaths, she found herself relaxing a bit more. The people around her didn't seem as intimidating any more.

"Maybe Steven was right," Pearl said as they walked, "Maybe this cruise is a good thing for us. Right, Garnet?"

"If you say so," Garnet replied, looking around at the people who were pushing past them. Pearl couldn't tell if she was being serious or not. It was often hard to tell.

Smiling and looking around, Pearl spotted someone that made her stop and hide behind Garnet, her smile quickly fading. Startled, Garnet also stopped and turned to look at Pearl. She gave the pale gem a confused look.

"Pearl? What's the matter?" she asked.

"That man," Pearl hissed, "I saw him earlier in the gym and I think he was trying to hit on me. His name is Chad or something."

Garnet turned and looked at the man. He certainly looked like the type who would hit on a pretty girl with no shame whatsoever. He was standing a bit away, flirting with a blond girl who did not look amused.

"Did you want to say something to him?" Garnet wondered.

"I'd rather avoid him all together," Pearl admitted.

Garnet shrugged and continued walking with Pearl clinging to until they were well past the man's line of sight. Pearl let out a sigh of relief.

"Something about that guy really unnerves me," she admitted to Garnet, "I just don't know what."

Garnet adjusted her visor. "Neither do I," she said.

-Steven

Steven had no idea where Amethyst had run off to, but at the moment, he didn't care. He wandered the ship aimlessly, exploring and seeing all there was to see. He wasn't watching where he was going and walked straight into someone. They both fell to the floor.

"Ouch. Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!" Steven exclaimed as he quickly got to his feet. He saw that the person he had walked into was a boy around his age.

As the boy stood up, Steven saw that he was about his own height, with red hair and slightly buck teeth. He was dressed in much nicer clothes than Steven's, and had an annoyed glint in his eye.

"That's all right," the boy muttered, rubbing his head where he had hit it, "No harm done. Though mother and father will probably be angry that I got dust on this coat."

"I'm sorry," Steven said, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really," the boy replied, brushing off his sleeves, "Don't worry about it. Mother and father fret about everything. They're so uptight sometimes. They seem to forget I'm just a kid." The boy offered his hand to Steven. "My name is Jarvis by the way. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi Jarvis!" Steven greeted excitedly, taking his hand, "My name's Steven. Have you been on this cruise before?"

"Indeed, I have," Jarvis admitted, "My parents take me and my sister every year. I've been on this ship so many times I've practically memorized its layout. I've gotten dreadfully bored of it."

"How could you be bored?" Steven wondered in amazement, "This place is awesome!"

Jarvis shrugged. "When you've been here as many times as I have you stop being amazed by things," he replied, "Though I have to admit, meeting you is a pleasant change of pace. You certainly aren't like the other people who normally go on this cruise."

Steven cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not?" he said, "How can you tell?"

"Well, you don't speak or dress like the other people on this ship," Jarvis pointed out, "Not that that's a bad thing. I find it refreshing."

"Thanks!" Steven replied, brightening.

Jarvis paused when he heard someone calling him. "I'd better go," he said, "I hear my parents calling. But I do hope to see you at dinner later this evening."

"You sure will!" Steven said, "See you later, Jarvis!" He watched as the boy strode away towards where the voice had been calling. Steven grinned to himself. His first day and he had already made a new friend!

Afternoon, second day – Garnet

So far things were going well, at least as far as Garnet could tell. She shared some of Pearl's apprehension for this trip, but she hadn't wanted to spoil Steven's fun. Plus, there was always the chance that nothing could go wrong at all.

At dinner the previous night, Steven had been eager to introduce the gems to the new friend he had made. They had eaten dinner with the boy's family, and while his parents didn't look very approving of Steven, they were very interested in the Gems for some reason. And Garnet could tell Pearl had been very nervous about them.

What had interested Garnet, however, had been the little girl, Jarvis' sister, who had been staring at Steven with this odd look on her face the entire meal. Steven hadn't noticed, but Garnet sure had. Jarvis had introduced his sister as Belle Marie, and she had looked nothing like her brother. Garnet had recognized the look on her face. She didn't like it.

"I'll have to keep an eye on that girl," Garnet said to herself, as she sat in one of the lounge chairs on deck, "She's trouble."

"Hey Garnet!" she heard Amethyst call to her. She looked side to side, but didn't see her. Then she looked up and saw Amethyst leaning over the railing of an upper deck, calling to her.

"Amethyst, what are you doing?" Garnet called up to her.

"Steven and I are playing hide and seek," she replied, "Have you seen him?"

"Don't you think that could be a bit dangerous?"

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Don't worry!" she assured the fusion, "We agreed we were going to just stay on deck! No going inside! I think. See ya!" Amethyst waved and took off.

Garnet allowed herself to smile a little. As long as they were staying on deck, she couldn't see much going wrong. But just to make sure, she used her future vision to try to determine where Steven was now. She concentrated long and hard before finally finding him. She gasped as she saw where he was and quickly got up, rushing off.

-Pearl

Pearl didn't really see any reason to go out of the room, as she had everything she needed in the room. But after the fourth time she read the booklet about what to do if the ship started sinking, she started to grow rather bored.

Edging the door open a tiny bit, she carefully peered down the hallway to make sure no one was there. She didn't really want to have to step around anyone, and even though the hallways were of moderate size, she would have to squeeze past any larger people. After confirming that the halls were empty she stepped out and started heading for the main decks.

As she walked through the hallway, she suddenly felt a strange tingle running down the back of her neck. Someone was watching her. She didn't slow her pace, but quickly whipped her head around to try to catch the spy. She was surprised when she saw no one.

"You're just nervous, Pearl," the gem said to herself, "You're going stir crazy from being in the room all afternoon. As you get some fresh air, it'll go away."

Telling herself this relaxed her a little, and she continued on. She used a hologram of the ship (provided by her gem) to navigate where she was. As Pearl walked, she suddenly heard a second pair of footsteps. Decades of fighting monsters immediately made her paranoid.

"There are other people on this ship," she reminded herself, trying to fight her rising fear, "They can walk these halls too. I don't have to get so nervous."

She slowed her walk and carefully looked behind her. While she was distracted, she walked right into someone much larger than her, and she fell to the floor.

"Oh! Pardon me! I wasn't watching where I was going!" said a familiar voice. Pearl groaned as she looked up at who she had run into.

It was Chad. He beamed down at her with a blinding mirror-like smile, and was offering his hand to her. Reluctantly, Pearl took it and he hauled her to her feet.

"I was hoping I would see you again," Chad said before Pearl could even begin to open her mouth, "I was just saying to myself: 'Chad,' I said, 'That girl you met in the gym yesterday was real special. If you run into her again, you should try talking to her. She was awful pretty.'"

"That's very nice of you to say," Pearl murmured, while also trying to avoid looking directly at him, "But right now I'm just trying to find my way to the main deck, so if you excuse me." She tried to move past him, but Chad's large bulk took up most of the hallway, blocking her escape.

"Aw, don't go!" Chad begged, puffing out his lower lip in an overly dramatic display, "I'll help you find your way!"

"I really don't need any help," Pearl insisted, trying to duck under him. Despite her tiny frame, Pearl couldn't quite squeeze past the huge man in front of her. Chad barely had to move to block her path.

"Don't worry," he said, taking her hand, which was pebble sized compared to his massive paw, "You can stick with me. I'll take good care of you!"

Pearl tried to object, but Chad would have none of it. He dragged her down the hall, and Pearl had no choice but to follow him. As she stumbled after him, she tried to ignore his constant talking and focus more on not falling over.

"You know, there's going to be a ball tonight," Chad rambled on, "All the guests are going to be there. I would be honored if you would go with me as my plus one."

"Oh, I don't think so," Pearl replied, as politely as she could, "That doesn't really sound like something I would enjoy." In fact, Pearl would love the opportunity to do some ballroom dancing, but she didn't want to do it with Chad.

"Come on! I insist!" Chad exclaimed, pulling Pearl closer to himself. He cupped his hand under her chin and forced her look into his eyes. "I really do."

Pearl felt a tremor run up her back. She felt a strange sort fear going through her. Was this man… threatening her?

"Um, well, if you insist," Pearl muttered, trying to fight back her panic.

Chad flashed his blinding smile at her. "Excellent!" he replied, "I look forward to seeing you there!" At that moment, he let go of her, as they had arrived at the main deck. He flashed her another smile before lumbering off.

Pearl stared after him, the sense of dread continuing to grow instead of fade.

-Steven

Steven wandered through the inner halls of the ship, looking for a place to hide. He couldn't remember if he and Amethyst had agreed on hiding inside or outside, but he was going to assume they agreed on inside. In a short amount of time he had become completely lost. Where was he?

"Let's see, I went down like, four flights of stairs," Steven muttered out loud, "Then I took two lefts, or was it three? Maybe there's a map around here."

He turned around to look for a map and noticed an open door. He could faintly hear sounds coming from beyond it. Maybe there was someone who could help him find his way back to the deck!

"Hello?" Steven called, peering into the room, "Is anyone here?"

The room he had stepped into seemed to be some sort of engine room. Definitely not somewhere he should be. He sighed to himself. He wasn't going to find help here.

As he turned to leave, he suddenly heard a strange groan. He paused and looked around. Where was that coming from? The engines were roaring, but not groaning. Was there something wrong? The groan sounded again, and it sounded more strained this time. Listening closely, Steven pinpointed the sound coming from a nearby pipe. Curious, he leaned in to inspect it. Was it… bulging?

"Steven!" a shout sounded from outside in the hallway. Steven gasped and turned around. It was Garnet!

"Garnet! I'm in here!" he called to her.

Garnet appeared in the doorway, looking a tiny bit out of breath, as if she had been sprinting. She relaxed a little when she saw Steven, but when she saw what he was standing next to, she immediately tensed up again.

"Steven! Get away from there!" she shouted, quickly dashing forward.

Just as Garnet reached Steven and wrapped her arms around him, the pipe suddenly burst.

Whoa! Cliffhanger! Things are getting intense! What will happen to Steven and Garnet? What will Pearl do to try to get away from Chad? I don't know.

Sorry to the Amethyst fans out there for the very little Amethyst in this chapter. I didn't really have anything for her to do. I'll try to include her more in the next chapter.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome! Please leave a review! Thanks!