Umbrellas did virtually nothing to take the heat of the unyielding sun off of Peridot as she lay on the already steaming sand. Even with a towel spread over the soon-to-be-glass, the heat penetrated through as though it was mere tissue paper. The muggy atmosphere, which lay over the entire city, would have been a better suited blanket. Peridot groaned heavily; it was so unbearably hot she wanted to strip off her own skin just to cool down. She was already down to a one-piece swimsuit the Gems had somehow found and lent to her, and even though it was a lot less than she usually wore it was still stifling. She just didn't understand how humans (and, in this case, Crystal Gems) could 'enjoy' this weather while frolicking through the skin-melting sand on the beach. It was her hell. Especially since they didn't trust her to stay alone in the house.
"Hey, Peridot!" Steven yelled from the ocean, knee-deep in the frothing water. "Aren't you going to go swimming?"
"If that's what swimming is, I'll pass." She responded, barely even bothering to yell back so he could hear her. It wasn't much good to go tromping through the sand just to have the sun beat down on her, even if the water would feel nice.
"What?" He yelled once more, picking up his feet and giggling. "No, silly, this is wading. This," Suddenly, he dived into the incoming waves, and Peridot gasped. Why weren't any of the other Gems responding to this reckless… child? Garnet and Pearl were 'wading' not five feet from where Steven just was, but not even a look of concern swept over their face. Were they less paranoid about his safety than she had originally thought?
Just then, Steven's mop of hair broke the water, and his cheery face instantly sent a wash of relief through Peridot. So he wasn't dead after all.
"Is swimming!" He called, laughing and kicking through the water. Pearl merely observed, seeming reluctant to be in the water any further than she already was, which was only up to her ankles. Well, they seemed to have it under control. Another sigh heaved through her body as she let herself fall back onto the towel.
"What, you don't like swimming, P?" A surprised shriek escaped her as she threw back up into a sitting position, and a, notably purple, hand engulfed her shoulder moments after.
"So?" Amethyst asked, a little chuckle slipping past her lips. How on Earth did this gem manage to sneak up on her, anyhow? Though, she remembered, she didn't see her with the group earlier, right before Steven dove into the waves. Peridot peered up at the gem still standing by her side, and saw that her long white hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was dressed in a two-piece swimming outfit. Strange, but Peridot never thought to imagine her out of her usual leggings and ripped shirt. That mass of hair must be extremely testy in weather like this…
"It may be hard for you clods to imagine, but the idea of dowsing my entire body in a polluted, waste-filled body of water seems highly… unappealing. Enjoy rolling around in dirt, however, don't let me spoil your fun." She made the move to settle back onto the towel, but a hand suddenly snatched her wrist, stopping her from sitting back.
"Aw, Peri, you gotta lighten up sometimes." Amethyst's cool voice was strangely unsettling, and Peridot wished for the hand to unlatch before the gem could get any 'smart' ideas.
Too late.
"I'll show you just how fun Earth is; you'll love it, I swear." Another chuckle. That could mean nothing good.
"I've already seen just how 'fun'," She spat out the word like poison. "Your Earth is. Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"Not excused." Suddenly, she was hurled off of the sand and into the air. Through her fright, she was half-surprised that she wasn't flying at half-speed, seeing how thick and heavy the air truly was outside of the shadows. No sooner than that thought had ran through her brain, her head connected with the sand once more, and her body went rolling after it. She went quite a distance, and was impressed with Amethyst's sheer strength before anger seared her mind. Just what was that… clod even trying to do? Kill her? They had verbally signed a treaty pact, was she already trying to break it? Thankfully, gems were made out of tougher stuff, so even though it hurt, and even though she was groaning loudly, she might as well have bumped into a wall.
"Whoops! Sorry, Peri, it got the best of me." Amethyst came bounding after her, ponytail swinging side to side like a pendulum after her. "But look, you made it to the ocean without even having to walk!"
Just then did she notice her side was cold. Craning her head behind her, she could see foam boiling over the lapping waves, and little surges of water swept right under her, chilling her side. It did feel nice, actually…
"And what compelled you to do that?" Peridot huffed, struggling to her feet stiffly. Even though the sun was unthinkably hot, the water provided some relief, so at least her feet were safe from the rays.
"Aw, come on, P, have some fun for once. You're already out here!" Amethyst had made it to her side by now, and her bright face was making it hard for Peridot to remain bitter. She snorted.
"And what is there to do 'out here'?" It wasn't even a sarcastic question. Though standing in the water was nice, that was about all there was to it.
But instead of an answer, Amethyst just responded by wrapping an arm around her and hurling out towards the ocean. Peridot's first thought was, 'She's going to kill me.' Her second was, 'I'm drowning.'
In her defense, aside from the tap water in the house and the ocean she'd seen from out the windows, she had no experience with it, and therefore had no idea that water liked to engulf everything open. Immediately, the salt poured into her open mouth and nostrils, and burnt her eyes. She spluttered, even though she was still under the surface, and writhed in Amethyst's still vise-like grip. Wouldn't one of the Gems try to stop her? On second thought…
In what seemed like forever, they finally broke the surface, Amethyst gasping for air and Peridot gasping out of shock. Her heart beat heavily in her chest, feeling like it was about to pop right through her ribs, before sense washed over her.
"You… you lumpy, clumpy, dumpy clod!" She shrieked, bringing her arms down on Amethyst's back, trying to get her to release her grip. Still, the arms stayed locked around her middle.
"Heh… I wouldn't do that unless I knew how to swim, P." Amethyst's casual voice was starting to really… burn.
"What was even the point of that, you idiot?"
"I'm the idiot? You're the one who was just sitting back there on the beach like a piece of seaweed. Don't you wanna have some fun while you can? Anyone could guess you need it." Amethyst retorted, legs kicking that more ferociously into the water to stay afloat.
"I don't need help to 'have fun', you realize. I am completely capable of 'having fun' on my own, and I-"
"Whatever, Peri. Isn't everything funner with friends, anyways?"
"Ha!" Peridot barked. "You Crystal Clods really think you're my friends?"
"Well," Amethyst's eyes suddenly stared into her own, and Peridot fought the urge to look away. "Yeah. You don't?"
"First you guys tried to kill me, then beat me, then you took me prisoner! Why would I ever want to be friends with the likes of you?" Despite Amethyst's earlier warnings, Peridot found herself once again writhing in her arms.
"Because people can change! Why do you think we aren't trying to kill you anymore? You changed, you turned, well, not evil, and so can we! You just have to let us."
Peridot bit her tongue. For once in her life, her words escaped her, not even a clever, sarcastic remark to save her from humiliation of silent defeat. She mulled over the words for a moment. Amethyst waited patiently for a response, still floating peacefully on the waves."
"Fine," she finally sighed. "If you dirt bags let me have a shot, I guess I'll-"
"Aw, thank you, Peri!" Amethyst's impossibly tight hold seemed to become even more impossible as she hugged the green gem to near suffocation.
"Whatever." Peridot muttered when she had finally let her breath once more, but the embrace still left a lime blush on the gem's already flushed cheeks.