So, this is a cute little story I wrote for a friend of mine - a best friend of mine - the Amethyst to my Peridot - who broke her leg earlier this year and when I talked to her she always wanted fried chicken. I would have brought her some, but I live across the country.
I got this idea to write about Peridot and Amethyst as ten-year-olds in a similar situation. This ties into the storyline of Earning Her Stripes - though happens a lot earlier than the events of that fic. You do not have to have read that one, however, to understand this simple story.
I never describe too much how they look but I have imagined that Peridot and Pearl are both white and Jasper and Amethyst are Samoan.
So, anyway, I hope you enjoy this first attempt at a G-rated fic because I don't write very many and soon enough I'll be back to my Mature labels lol.

Chicken

Peridot was so engrossed in her book, her imagination could see the hallways of the grand castle as she walked alongside the heroes fighting evil wizards and taking on dragons that she forgot her own world for a moment until there was an unrelenting knocking at the door.

"No, no, don't get up," Pearl said begrudgingly. "I'll get it." She was still dressed in her uniform from work, having just gotten off an eight hour shift of scooping up ice cream at the local parlor.

Peridot figured it must be nice to be sixteen like her sister. Pearl had a job where she earned money she could spend on whatever she wanted and she could drive a car. Peridot still had nearly six years to go and her two-dollar-a-week allowance meant she had to slowly save for anything she wanted. Right now, she was saving up to buy the next book in this series, which would be released next month.

As soon as Pearl opened the door, a small figure burst into the house holding a skateboard. "Hey Peri! Look what I got!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl exclaimed. "Were you two raised with any rules at all?"

Peridot's best friend tilted her head to the side. "Well…there's that one about not starting fires in the rooms that don't have fireplaces."

Pearl let out an exasperated sigh. "My point being it's rude to just barge in before you're invited into someone else's house."

Even Peridot thought that rule was nonsense when applied to them. Peridot and Amethyst had known each other since they were five and practically lived at each other's houses, which were on the same street. It seemed highly unusual that a skinny nerd with blonde hair that seemed to ignore the laws of gravity and a healthy tomboy who didn't know how to behave would be friends at all, let alone best friends, but for whatever reason, the relationship was there and it worked for them. "Where did you find that?"

Amethyst held up the skateboard, which was not the regular, smaller one she normally rode. "It was my sister's. I found it in the garage and she said I couldn't use it because I'm still too short, but then last night she had her boyfriend over and she's not supposed to with Mom and Dad out of town. And you know what they were doing?"

Pearl's face turned bright red. "Amethyst, I don't think…"

"They were kissing!"

"Eww!" Peridot's eyes widened as she heard her sister give a sigh of relief.

"Anyway, I threatened to tell Mom and Dad if she didn't let me use her old skateboard and Jasper was like 'yeah, sure, whatever'…I also convinced her to take me out for fried chicken tonight."

"But she's an adult, so she can do whatever she wants, right?" Peridot recalled that Amethyst's sister had just graduated high school.

"That's not the way it works, you two," Pearl said. "When you grow up you have responsibilities and it sounds like she's not taking hers very seriously."

"I'm gonna try it out, wanna come, Per?"

Peridot closed her book and raced outside with her friend. It was late afternoon but still hot. They had their whole summer vacation in front of them. "Can I have a try?"

"Do you even know how to ride a skateboard?"

It didn't seem that hard. "I just want to try." She accepted the helmet from Amethyst and put it on before stepping on the skateboard only to have it fly out from under her feet. Peridot found herself on the pavement with the wind knocked out of her.

"It's not as easy as it looks," Amethyst explained. "You have to have a certain amount of balance…and awesomeness."

Peridot got up after she was finally able to take a deep breath and gave Amethyst her helmet back. "I'll stick with my bike."

Amethyst secured the helmet on her head while Peridot grabbed her bike and together they spent a good amount of time riding up and down the street, passing a group of teenagers on their own skateboards several times as they did tricks on a makeshift ramp. Amethyst managed to jump up over the curb onto the sidewalk. "Per! Did you see that?!"

"Ooooh, we have a daredevil over here," one of the teens jeered. "You should try a real challenge."

Amethyst's eyes were as big as saucers as she looked at the ramp that was taller than she was. "Uhhh…"

"Are you crazy?" Peridot asked. "She's not going on that!"

"Let her speak for herself twerp," the older boy said.

"I am not a twerp! You're a clod!"

The teenager put a hand to his chest, feigning shock. "Oh no…she called me a clod!" The others behind him laughed. "So, what's it gonna be, short stack? Ready to ride that thing with the big kids or are you chicken?"

"I…"

"Bawk…bawk bawk…" he teased, the others joining in.

Amethyst's eyes burned with anger. She adjusted her helmet and tightened her dark ponytail. "No one calls me a chicken."

"Ames, don't ride on that!"

"I'm gonna do it," she said seriously, mounting her skateboard and taking off. She rode a few yards away from the ramp, exhaled, then kicked off, riding as fast as she could towards it, determined to catch some air and do a twist like she'd seen the guys doing. That would shut them up. She'd do her trick, roll down the ramp safely and they'd applaud and see she was just as brave and as cool as they were.

Except…she wasn't used to this skateboard at all and as she flew up the ramp, she felt her stomach clench and her heart practically stop as she was launched into the air. Her arm reached down to grasp the board, to keep it with her, but she was too short and she heard the board hit the pavement with a clatter. She came down hard, her leg slamming into the ramp the wrong way and she rolled down until she felt pavement beneath her. She was stunned for only a second before she felt the throbbing pain in her leg and struggled to keep her tears back.

"Oh, crud!" The teen said. "Let's bail!"

They all ran off as fast as they could much to Peridot's shock as she rushed to her friend's side. "Ames! Are you okay?"

It hurt too much and Amethyst felt tears flood her eyes. "My leg…"

"Can you move it?"

"No…get my sister…"

Peridot quickly dashed towards Amethyst's house and knocked repeatedly on the door. She waited a moment and knocked again even harder before Jasper answered, wearing shorts and a sports bra, her eyes flashing annoyance. "What do you want?"

The little girl swallowed, having forgotten how intimidating Amethyst's sister was standing nearly six feet tall, muscles defined under her mottled skin. "Amethyst fell off her skateboard…"

Jasper gave a deep, exasperated sigh, shaking her head, causing her long, lightly dyed hair to sway back and forth. "I told her not to ride it."

"She's hurt."

"So, what? She need like a band-aid or something?"

Peridot shook her head. "I think her leg is broken."

Jasper's eyes widened in shock and she spat out a word Peridot hadn't heard before but was certain she shouldn't ever repeat. She ran after Amethyst's sister who was already sprinting down the street leaving Peridot several paces behind her. When Peridot finally caught up, out of breath and legs trembling beneath her, Jasper had knelt down beside Amethyst and was assessing the situation. "I told you…geez…"

Amethyst had stopped crying but sniffled. "I-I'm sorry."

"Mom and Dad are going to kill me!" Jasper pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911.

While Amethyst's sister explained the situation to the operator on the phone, Peridot sat cross-legged next to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be okay."

"My leg hurts."

"They can fix it."

"If I die…"

Peridot gasped. "Don't talk like that!"

"No, Peri…I can feel the darkness closing in…"

"You're not dying!" Jasper snapped. "Who dies of a broken leg?"

"My character on Oregon Trail did…" Amethyst muttered.

Peridot could do nothing but watch as the ambulance arrived and the paramedics stabilized her friend's leg before driving away with both Amethyst and Jasper. She stood there in the middle of the street for a few minutes, hoping Amethyst would be okay.

The next morning, Peridot waited until Pearl had left for work, rushing to Amethyst's house and knocking incessantly on the door until an annoyed and tired Jasper answered. "What?!"

"S-sorry," the small girl apologized. "Is Ames okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She's in the living room." Jasper walked in front of Peridot, leading her through the house even though she knew where to go. "Hey, runt, you have a friend here." Amethyst's sister went to the corner of the room and picked up two dumbbells, lifting them for exercise.

Peridot sat on the floor by the couch where Amethyst was laying. Her immobilized leg was propped up on a pillow. "How are you feeling?"

"It doesn't hurt as bad as yesterday, but it still hurts. This sucks!"

Peridot's eyes widened. She was not allowed to say that word at her house and Pearl would have scolded her, but Jasper simply grunted as she lifted the weight, ignoring Amethyst's outburst. After all, Peridot had heard far worse from her. "You'll be in a cast all summer, huh?"

"Probably. We go to the fair every year and now I can't go because of this." Amethyst crossed her arms, lips lifted and eyes narrowed in irritation. "I didn't even get my fried chicken."

"Because I had to use the money Mom and Dad gave us for food to pay the emergency room co-pay," Jasper explained. "And my bank account is empty."

"Didn't you just get graduation money? Like, a ton of it?" Amethyst asked.

"Did you see my new car in the driveway?" Jasper's voice was tinged with aggravation as she lifted the weight, her muscles flexing under her mottled skin. "I used all my gift money on the down payment."

"Why did you even buy it when you're going to boot camp next month?"

"Why are you so annoying?"

Amethyst huffed a sigh and locked eyes with Peridot. "Jasper's been in a bad mood since last night."

Her sister plunked the weight down, stood to her full height and stared at the girl. "Because I had to wait in the ER for nearly ten hours and afterwards forked over all the money we had to pay for your stupidity so there's no food in the house! Then, I had to get up every couple hours to help your behind to the bathroom! So, yes, Jasper is tired and hungry and cranky and going to take a nap!" She stalked out the room, uttering words that made Peridot gasp.

Amethyst looked down at her hands and sighed. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I really messed up."

"But your leg will get better and your parents come home soon, right?"

"Tonight, but doesn't matter. My sister hates me. She was looking forward to the fried chicken just as much as I was."

Peridot doubted that was the entire cause of her sister's displeasure. It almost seemed like Jasper got in a bad mood every so often anyway. After she had visited for a while and signed Amethyst's cast, she left and realized how she could possibly help make them both feel better. She would go and get them fried chicken then they could all sit down and share a peaceful meal together. Except…Pearl was at work so she had no way to get anywhere.

Hang on…her mind said. You have a bike.

But she also had no money.

You've been saving.

Once home, she went to the small wooden box on her desk and opened it, extracting the twenty-some-odd dollars she'd faithfully put aside knowing the new story in her favorite book series would be released next month. It would cost nearly thirty dollars for a hardback edition, so if she used it to buy chicken, well, she may not get that book for a while. But, this was for Amethyst – her best friend – to help make her feel better and mend her relationship with her sister. Peridot, ever the good kid, knew she was not allowed to leave the house if Pearl wasn't home. Her parents trusted her; Pearl trusted her. Yet, she had to do this, she realized as she grabbed her backpack, emptying it of the few random school supplies still inside.

Inside the garage, another wave of doubt washed over her. Maybe she shouldn't do this. It could be very dangerous. The nearest Clucky Bucket was three miles away, which meant six miles roundtrip and she couldn't remember riding that far on her bike before. She had to do this, though – for Amethyst. So, she put on her helmet and peddled off toward town.

It became quickly apparent she should have brought sunglasses as the hot afternoon light was practically scorching. The first mile and a half was a breeze as she rode through the suburbs of similar houses and down unpopulated side streets before approaching the stoplight at the main road cutting through town. Traffic sped by as she waited for the signal to cross safely. All along the street, signs gleamed in the sunlight beckoning to people to stop in to shop or eat or rest depending on the business. She couldn't yet see the familiar yellow sign shaped like a bucket but knew if she turned left and went straight on down, it would be there. As the sign changed, she wiped the sweat from her brow and kept riding toward her destination. She glanced in a familiar window as she passed the ice cream parlor and saw Pearl busy with customers. Peridot let out a sigh of relief that her sister had not seen her.

The rest of the ride to Clucky Bucket was uneventful and she was grateful to step into the restaurant, to be surrounded by air conditioning. The savory smell of fried chicken hit her nose and made her mouth water. Peridot reminded herself that this was not for her as she went up to the counter and ordered a twelve piece meal for her friend and her sister. Carefully she stacked the chicken and sides in her backpack, placing the sealed chocolate cake on top and the two liter of soda next to everything. It was hard to zip it closed, but she did and then hoisted it onto her back with a grunt. Maybe she should start working out like Jasper and get muscles. She asked for a cup of water and drank it before stepping back out into the heat of the day.

Peridot took in her surroundings, noticing immediately something was wrong, but it took her mind a few seconds to realize what it was. She had ridden her bike here and now it was gone. Some clod had stolen her bike! Panic entered her mind and she tried to calm it and think logically. She could call her parents but they'd be angry. She could also walk the half mile or so to the ice cream parlor and ask Pearl for help but she'd never hear the end of it and her sister would likely tell their parents anyway. She could hitchhike but that was just plain dangerous. No, it looked like she'd be walking home. She had a few dollars left so if she wanted to stop and get a bottle of water she could. Putting one foot in front of the other, she started on the long trek home.

As she sun beat down on her, she wondered with each block she put behind her why in the world she had done this. Well, that was simple – Amethyst was as good as a sister to her and she loved her. It might not have been much – the fried chicken meal – but it was important to her to do something to help when her friend was facing a summer stuck on the couch or on crutches. This was worth the heat and the physical exhaustion. Amethyst was worth it.

"Peridot!"

Oh no…she recognized that voice and realized she'd just passed the ice cream parlor. She froze, gulped and then turned around. "Hi, Pearl."

Her sister rushed over to her, kneeling down and grabbing her by the arms. "What on Earth were you thinking?! Why aren't you at home?!"

"I-I…" Peridot hurriedly told Pearl about Amethyst's broken leg and how she'd really wanted fried chicken and that she'd hoped to surprise her. She left out the part about taking her bike, feeling like an idiot for not locking it up.

Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Did you think to maybe ask me to drive you when I was off of work?"

"That…would have been a better idea," Peridot admitted. "I'm sorry. I guess you're going to tell Mom and Dad."

Pearl stood and placed her hands on her hips. "I probably should, but I won't. My shift is over, so I'll drive you to Amethyst's house."

Peridot gave a huge grin and hugged her sister. "Thank you!"

Amethyst flipped through random channels on TV, but apparently there was not much on besides talk shows and news. There were a few cartoons but she didn't really want to watch them. She clicked the TV off and looked down at her cast, only signed thus far by Peridot who had drawn an alien face on it. Amethyst smiled a little reflecting on how Peridot was a good friend – her best friend, almost like a sister. She'd be a much better sister than Jasper anyway.

"Hey Ames, you okay?" Jasper asked as she entered the living room and sat in a nearby recliner.

"How was your nap?"

"I…couldn't sleep much." Her sister leaned forward, fingers loosely intertwined and kept her gaze on the floor, pausing before she spoke. "I'm sorry, Ames. I shouldn't have yelled at you. This was just as much my fault for giving you that stupid skateboard."

Yes, her sister had a temper sometimes, but Amethyst also remembered that Jasper had always been there for her. She recalled how she'd held her hand in the ambulance and reassured her she'd be okay. "I shouldn't have tried to go up that ramp."

"I messed up way more than you. I was supposed to be looking out for you and I failed."

"I'll say I took the skateboard without asking. Then they'll never know you were kissing your boyfriend."

Jasper sat up, eyes wide for a moment then laughed. "I'm not going to let you lie for me, Ames."

Truthfully, their parents were probably not going to be happy with either of them, but being an adult, Amethyst was unsure they could actually ground Jasper or anything. She also figured they'd view a broken leg as punishment enough for doing a dangerous stunt. She put a hand to her stomach as it growled loudly.

"I know, I'm hungry too," Jasper told her. "The kitchen isn't completely bare. I'll make some spaghetti."

The doorbell's chimes echoed off the walls just as she'd risen from the chair and Jasper made her way down the hall, pulling the door open. She was shocked to see both Peridot and her sister there, especially since she didn't get along with Pearl – at all. "Can I help you?"

"I brought chicken!" Peridot announced excitedly.

"What?"

Pearl shrugged. "She said Amethyst really wanted it, so this crazy girl walked all the way to Clucky Bucket to get it for her."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. Her sister sure had a nice friend. "Come on in." She noticed Pearl turning to leave. "You too."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

Soon enough, they were all settled around the living room coffee table with a bucket of chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, biscuits, a two liter of cola and chocolate cake. Jasper set down paper plates and napkins, giving a low whistle as she surveyed the food. "This is a dang feast! Thanks, Peri."

"Thank you." Amethyst held out her arms, wrapping them around Peridot when she came close enough.

Pearl smiled as she helped pass out plates. "If they have Christmas in July, this is like Thanksgiving in June."

Amethyst laughed. "Should we, like, pray or something?"

Jasper put her hands together with a clap. "Good food, good meat – good God, let's eat. Amen."

The four of them laughed as they dished out the food. Peridot settled on the edge of the couch by her friend as Pearl and Jasper sat cross-legged on the floor discussing upcoming plans for the summer. "I'm stuck scooping ice cream," Pearl said, helping herself to some cole slaw. "But I hope to save enough that I have extra money for shopping and seeing movies next year with my friends, you know."

"I'm off to boot camp the second week of July." Jasper's teeth flashed as she used them to rip meat away from the drumstick she held.

Pearl pulled the skin from her chicken breast, placing it on the side of the plate. She always found fried chicken to be too greasy and unhealthy and was surprised someone as into fitness as Jasper would even touch the stuff. "I hope it goes well for you."

"Thanks."

They all froze as the rumble of the garage door opener shook the house gently. There were only a few more seconds of peace before the door opened and Amethyst's parents entered, at first greeting them warmly, then noticing the cast around their daughter's leg. Her mother stared, mouth open before exclaiming: "What the heck happened?!"

Jasper grinned and chuckled nervously. "Chicken?"

~The End~