Lapis Lazuli stared outside the car window, lazily watching the trees wiz by. The jeep sped down the road, kicking up dead leaves that had landed on the road, a byproduct of fall moving in. The brilliant clash of red, gold, and brown leaves did little to stir Lapis' mind, which was elsewhere. This was the first time her family had moved, and it devastated her. You see, Lapis' was not a very socially adept person. For years, she had been alone at school without friends, her parents being the only people to talk to.
One thing she was excellent at was drawing and writing. For the free hours at school, Lapis would busy herself in her stories while other kids went to socialize and play. Eventually this trait attracted other people. By 9th grade, Lapis had a good friend group. They joked with each other, shared art, and talked. It was perfect. Then one night, in the middle of dinner, Lapis' father announced that he had gotten a promotion. At first, Lapis was happy for him, knowing how much success meant to her father. Then, he mentioned that they would have to move north, to a place called Beach city. Lapis would have to be torn from her friends, whom she had gathered over the course of her entire life at school, to be tossed at another school to start all over again.
Needless to say, Lapis was not pleased.
"We're almost there, Lapis!" Her father exclaimed, "I can finally get out of this car," Her mother turned in her seat in the front to look at her daughter.
"You're gonna love Beach City Lappy, I just know it. There's something special about this place," Lapis' cheeks grew red against her slightly tan skin. "Lappy" was the nickname her mother had come up with when Lapis was three, and has refused to stop using it.
"I'm sure I will mom," Lapis replied without much enthusiasm. Her mother noticed this, and raised an eyebrow.
"Something wrong Lapis?" She asked.
"No mom, I'm fine," this time, it was her father that raised an eyebrow.
"Sweetie, I've heard more enthusiasm from a bank accountant. What's wrong?" After a momentary pause, he spoke again. "It's the school, isn't it?" Mr. Lazuli took his daughters silence as confirmation. "Lapis, I know you weren't too happy about leaving your friends," No kidding Dad,Lapis thought, "But this place is different!" Her mother took over at this point.
"The people here are so nice. We've already met our new neighbors, and the are some of sweetest folks I've ever talked with. I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends at Beach City Prep." Lapis just nodded her head, and continued to stare out the window. Her parents looked at each other, shook their heads, and muttered something about teenagers.
When they finally arrived at the house, it was the afternoon. As Lapis stepped out of the jeep, she felt the crisp breeze flow around her. Shivering a little, she grabbed her bag and quickly made her way to the heated house. Once inside, she realized just how large it was. The room in front of the door was a large foyer, and it had several armchairs set up. Stairs near the door led up to a loft, and from there, to the bedrooms. Past the stairs, and under the loft was the kitchen, living room, and dining room. Lapis made her way upstairs, and enters her room.
Navy blue wallpaper gave the room a calming feel, and white window curtains blew gently as a small breeze flew in through the window, which had been cracked open a small bit. Quickly closing the window, Lapis set her stuff down her bed. She was about to dig out her sketch pad, the new environment making her want to draw, when she heard her name called downstairs. Sighing a bit, Lapis made her way down stairs.
"Yes?" She asked as her parents set the boxes they had carried down on the dining room table. Her father turned to her, and handed her five dollars. When she looked at him, confused, he smiled a bit.
"I want you to go around the city, see what there is to see. This is your new home," Lapis shrugged, and began walking toward the door. "And don't forget to grab your coat! Last thing I need is a sick Lapis," her dad called after her, "A grumpy Lapis is more than enough for me," Lapis smiled at that, grabbed her coat, and walked outside. She began walking down the sidewalk, and towards the board walk. The house wasn't too far from the beach, in fact Lapis could see it from her window.
As she approached the boardwalk, her stomach growled. It had been a while since she had eaten. Lapis looked around to see if there was a cafe, and her blue eyes rested on a building called a 'The Big Doughnut'. Her stomach growling once more, she entered the building. Lapis saw a group of people had already occupied a table, and were chatting away. She turned to the person at the counter, a tired looking teenage girl.
"Welcome to the Big Doughnut, what can I get you this afternoon miss..." The teen trailed off, realizing that she had never seen this customer.
"Lapis. Lapis Lazuli," Lapis answered her unvoiced question. The teen smiled a bit.
"Heh, sorry. I'm used to knowing everyone who comes in here. Names' Sadie," Sadie stuck out her hand out for a shake, and Lapis complied. "I take it you're new in town?" Lapis nodded.
"Yeah, just got here today. Dad wanted me to 'See the sights'," Sadie chuckled.
"Well I hope you're not too disappointed. We don't exactly have a main attraction other than the boardwalk," Lapis just shrugged. "Well, I won't stop you from eating any longer. Whatcha want?" Lapis eyes the overhead menu for a moment before replying.
"A powdered bear-claw and a small mint hot chocolate please," She handed the five dollars to the other teen.
"Nice choice," Sadie commented, and headed to the back of the cafe. Now alone, Lapis looked around absentmindedly. Then, a loud laugh caught her attention. She turned to its source, the group of people chatting in the corner.
This was the first time Lapis had laid close attention to the group, and thought that it was an odd bunch. The tallest one there was a dark-skinned woman, her large Afro adding to her already impressive height. She has a hand of her mouth, and was giggling quietly. Then next to her was another female, her short stature amplified by the giant next to her. She was the one who had laughed so loud it had caught Lapis' attention. Her deeply tanned body was shaking from all her laughing. On the other side of the tall woman was a stark contrast to the previous two. She was white, to the point of almost being a deathly pale. She had a face that made it clear to Lapis that whatever joke caused the shorter woman to burst out laughing, had been made at her expense.
Across from them sat two more individuals. There another vertically challenged person sat, a neutral expression upon her face. Her blonde hair was a mess, to the point where it almost made a triangle. Large glasses sat upon her face, accompanying the freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose. Then Lapis' eyes fell upon the only male of the group. He was tall, though not nearly as tall as the Afro-Lady. He was about Lapis' height, if a bit shorter, and had a bit of pudge on him. Though by looking at his arms, Lapis bet he could lift her with one hand. His brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, which exploded into a mess of curls. It looked like someone had made a bouquet of curls, with his hair. The ends of his curls were dyed pink. He wore red shirt with a star in the middle, and had black and white shorts on. How he could stand the cold weather, Lapis didn't know. All the others wore jeans and scarfs, and yet he didn't even have a jacket. It didn't help that he wore sandals.
Lapis was ripped from her analysis of the group from a tap on the shoulder. She turned back to the counter, where her order had been placed. She quickly grabbed her food, thanked the teen, and sat at table close to the group to listen in on their conversation.
"I'll have you know, that joke was not nearly as funny as you think Amethyst," the limber, white one said, a scowl upon her face.
"You're right Pearl," The short one, whom Lapis assumed was Amethyst, managed to wheeze out, "Your reaction was so much better!"
"No, it was not!" The newly dubbed Pearl responded, her voice heated.
"It was a tiny bit funny," the tall woman said, setting her hand down on her lap, but a small smile staying on her face.
"Garnet, not you to!" Pearl cried exasperated.
"Relax Pearl," the guy said, a playful glint in his eyes, "It was just a joke," he turned to the teen next to him, "And a good one at that. I think that was your best one yet Peridot!" He patted her back, a smirk forming on his face. "Looks like my lessons are finally paying off." The blonde rolled her eyes, but a smile made itself know on her face.
"It must be the byproduct of being around you for so long, Steven," She looked up at the taller teen, "Perhaps this is symptom of some sort, and soon I'll be just as overly positive as you,"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Steven replied as Pearls scowl turned to him.
"None of this changes the fact that the pun about me and birds-" a loud fart noise interrupted her incoming rant. Steven had put his hand to his mouth, and eyes Pearl mischievously. Pearl rolled her eyes. "Steven, your fifteen. Surely, you're too old to be-" Once again, Steven cut in with the fart noise. Lapis giggled slightly as she took a bite of her bear-claw.
"Steven please-"
THHHHHHHPTH
Lapis' giggle turned in to a small laugh, and she reached for her mint hot chocolate.
"STEVEN UNI-"
THHHHHHHHHHHPTH
Lapis' couldn't hold back the huge laughing fit bubbling up, and it came out right when she sipped her drink. Mint chocolate spewed everywhere as Lapis tried to decide to either keep laughing or try to expel the liquid that got in her nose. As she gained control over self, she saw a hand wiping down her table, cleaning the beverage that had been spilled on it. Lapis looked up to see Steven smiling at her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'll get the rest," She reached for the paper towels in Stevens hand, but he pulled them out of reach.
"It's fine, really. Sadie doesn't mind if you spill, just if you clean it up," Steven quickly wiped the rest of the mint hot chocolate off the table. "It's nice to finally meet someone who shares my sense of humor," Steven said as he threw the paper towels into the trash. "I'm Steven Universe," he offered his hand, "What's your name?" Lapis suspiciously took his hand, not sure why he was being this friendly and nice to a stranger. Sure, he seemed nice enough from afar, but cleaning up her mess and offering his name to a complete stranger? That was stretching it a bit.
"Lapis Lazuli," she said as they shook hands. Stevens eyes lit up, and said, "Oh! You're the new girl in town, right?" Lapis eyeballed him with skepticism.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"I met your parents when they came here house-hunting," Steven said with a smile, "Me and Dad met them at Frybo's, and we had lunch together. They mentioned how they hoped you would like the new school," He turned to walk back to his table, where the group sat waiting for his return. "Hey, you should sit with us!" Steven called over his shoulders, and he grabbed a chair from a nearby table and placed it next to his. Lapis, seeing as she had already eaten her bear-claw and spilled her drink, decided to give it a go. Besides, this was a chance to make friends before school even started!
She awkwardly sat down in the chair, and practically feel the stares of the others burning a hole in her head. Steven, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere that had set over the group, began to introduce his friends.
"That's Garnet," He pointed to the tall woman, who gave small wave. "That's Amethyst," The teen gave Lapis a pair of finger guns in greeting.
"'Sup"
Steven turned his gaze to the alabaster teen.
"That's Pearl," She gave Lapis a small nod in greeting, and said hello. Steven then pointed at the small blonde. "And that's Peri," Peridot didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow, gave her a look close to disdain, and went back to reading a book she had brought.
Wow,thought Lapis, she's worse than me.There was an awkward pause, as the group didn't know what to say the outsider suddenly brought in to their table. It was thankfully broken by Sadie, who a had brought a large platter. Lapis' eyes widen at the seemingly impossible number of doughnuts that were stacked on it. As she marveled at the magnificent sight, an idea formed into Stevens mind.
"Nothing like sharing a couple stories over some doughnuts!" The teen said, and grabbed one of the pastries, "Thanks Sadie! I'll pay for these soon," Sadie put her hands on her hips, and shook her head.
"No way, Steven. This is your payment for fixing the sign yesterday," She said, making it clear that she wouldn't budge on the subject.
"You're the best Sadie!" Steven said, and turned back to Lapis. "So, Lapis, why don't you tell us your story?"
They talked for a few hours. During this conversation, Lapis learned a little about this friend group she had just been invited to. Garnet was all around a very good student. She also the boxing champion, being so skilled to the point half her fitness class would skip school so they didn't have to fight her. Amethyst was the cool one of the group, having a laid-back personality that oozed confidence. She was an excellent wrestler, and apparently dance as well. Pearl was a perfectionist, and a talented fencer. She also was tutoring under Stevens mom, who taught an advanced math class at the school. Stevens mom also taught Peridot, who had become Stevens math tutor. It had been him who had slowly chipped away at her anti-social shell. When he finally cracked it, Peridot began following Steven everywhere, and he was teaching her how to socialize. Throughout the conversation, Lapis paid attention to Steven the most. She was trying to figure him out. From what him and the others told her about his school life, it seemed that this was just his personality. Overly kind, unrelentingly positive, and always willing to make a new friend. How he could trust so easily was beyond Lapis.
"Well, we gotta get back. Dads making roof repairs, and he wanted us to help," Steven stood up from his seat, and the rest of the group followed suite.
"It's was super fun talking to you, Lapis!" Lapis stood up, and adjusted her coat.
"Likewise. Thanks for inviting me over to your table," She said with a smile. Steven returned it with a wide grin of his own.
"No probs! See ya at the house warming party!" With that, Steven walked outside, followed by his friends. Lapis sighed, now alone.
Well, that was fun. I hope I run into him again- Something popped into Lapis' mind.
Wait, did he say 'house warming party'?
Hello all, Scion here. This is my second story, and hopefully will update alongside my other story, but god only knows. For the few of those who are curious about The Collector, hopefully I will have chapter five out a few hours after this post. The reason I wrote this one, was because it was a sort of writers block for me. I got the idea a few days ago, and ever since I have been unable to write efficiently. So I decided to write it for the fun of it, and I am pleased with how it all came out. Anyways, like I said before, this will share my attention with The Collector. I hope you all have a wonderful day. Or night, don't let me be the judge.