- The Biggest Nerd on the Block -

Chapter 2: Dead shorty

Peri had absolutely no idea how everything had escalated so quickly. One second they were both seated on each side of her couch, leaving a big empty gap of cousins between them, and the next she was seated on Lazuli's lap, kissing her oh so delicately, afraid to brake the moment. It felt such a long time since she had opened her eyes, only focused on the blue-haired lips. Lazuli's lips where far softer than she had imagined, and they also tasted like salt water, as if she had just got out of the sea.

Peri's hands, first frozen when Lazuli had kissed her, had later found Lazuli's shoulders, her fingers lightly playing with a few strands of blue hair. Lazuli's hands first rested on the small of her back, before moving to her shoulders. As she lightly pushed the smaller girl away, Peri felt her arms falling back on her sides. Only when she opened her eyes did she understand why Lazuli's lips tasted like the ocean.

Lazuli was profusely crying, and had been for a few minutes already. She tried to hide it behind her hand, hiding her eyes with her fingers and her mouth with her palm. Peri had absolutely no clue as to what had happened the previous five minutes or so, and squeaked the first thing that came to her mind:

"Please, don't cry! You did nothing wrong... I! I may have done something wrong?! But you! I like you... I mean, I liked it! I like kissing you! Please don't cry."

Lazuli let out a strangled chuckle, which quickly turned into a sob. Finally, after swallowing, she replied:

"No, I did something wrong. It's my fault... I... I can't get her out of my head and..."

Peri looked at her, no really sure what to do. She could hug her, but she was afraid Lazuli would push her away. She could sit back down on the couch, instead of Lazuli's lap, but she liked to be on Lazuli's lap. Tentatively, she placed her small hand on Lazuli's shoulder.

"I don't understand a damn word you're saying. But it's okay."

Lazuli looked at her through blurry eyes. Her small smile was back, enough to assure Peri that she had done nothing wrong, on the contrary. But then, Lazuli started crying once more, her head dipped down to hide her face.

"Of course I had to go for you! Of course I had to be just like her! Brake hearts like the monster she made me!"

Her bitterness turned to full anger, and if not for the small girl still seated on her lap she would have jump to her feet and ran as far away from Peri as possible. She wanted to ask the blond to stand up, but her entire being screamed to her that it was worst than a bad idea. Suddenly, a frowning Peri tilted her head to the side.

"Are you talking about Jasper?"

This froze completely Lazuli. Jasper was this behemoth of a woman, taller than any man on campus, wider than most of them. She was the reason there was a girl football team in their high school. Peri better remembered her as the girl who pushed her and locked her up in lockers for most of her junior high, simply because Peri, in pure honesty, had called her a boy, which, to be frank, she kind of looked like. It was only because she was too small for Jasper to even notice her that she no longer spent most of her life in a locker. But of course, she had noticed, when observing Lazuli from time to time, that Jasper was never far. Except since a couple of weeks ago, Peri also noticed that Lazuli pushed away Jasper every time she got too close for comfort.

"It doesn't matter" finally answered Lazuli, as she rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

Peri simply shrugged.

"It could. If you were my girlfriend I would protect you from her."

Lazuli stared at her for the longest of times, before dissolving into laughter. Peri's serious face turned bright red, and still Lazuli kept on laughing. Finally, she lightly stroked the blond's hair before smiling brightly to her, a smile which Peri had never seen before, and which made Lazuli ever prettier than before.

"How come no one has ever noticed how cute you are?"

Peri said nothing, and let Lazuli pat her head as if she was a cat.

"But I don't think we can be together. Not until Jasper actually finds another girl to annoy."

"But when she does?"

"If she does than... I don't know... Maybe."

Peri caught Lazuli's hand in her hair and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Even if you don't let me, I'll protect you."

Lazuli's only answer was yet another small smile, before she lightly moved Peri on the couch beside her. The small blond was about to beg her not to go, but Lazuli hugged her closer, and they focused on Camp Pining Hearts once again.

Monday came quickly, and for the first time in her life Peri wanted to go to school. Better, she felt like she was needed at school. She arrived so early that the doors weren't even opened, and once they were she rushed to Lazuli's locker, than looked for the best place from which she could observe the blue haired girl. She placed herself in perfect diagonal from Lazuli's locker, arms crossed and determination painted on her face. But waiting became harder as minutes pasted by. And so, when Amy came to her locker this morning, she found Peri drooling on it. She lightly shook the blond, who awake with a start.

"Not the locker!"

She looked around her, only to find Amy looking at her with complete confusion.

"Yo, P-dot, why were you sleeping on my locker?"

"That is strictly confidential."

She quickly looked toward Lazuli's locker, and her eyes grew wide. There was Japer, long platinum hair and tan skin, in her sport's jacket. She had one hand in her pocket, and the other on Lazuli's locker, on which she casually lined. She was way too close to Lazuli for comfort, that much was sure.

"Time to show this clod what I'm made of!"

Amy watched Peri walk toward the arguing pair, and when she understood what was going on she yelled:

"Yeah! Go get her Peri!"

Peri had never been more determined in her entire life. She had her hands clenched into fist, ready to give her best uppercut to the brute. She was even wearing her lucky sweater, the one with the big green alien's head on it. Today was the day she would claim Lazuli as her own, and take down the mighty Jasper, in front of the entire school. Or at least the few people in this corridor.

She came into earshot, and noticed how Lazuli kept pushing Jasper away.

"I missed you at my pool Saturday."

"I had better things to do than swimming in your stupid pool."

Peri filled her lungs like balloons, and yelled far stronger than what she had expected:

"Yeah, she had better things to do!"

Everyone seemed to froze in the corridor, except Lazuli who looked at Peri with a scarred and worried look, and Jasper, who looked at her as she was an ant.

"Who the heck are you?"

Peri pushed up her glasses with a finger.

"I am Peri, and you will leave Lazuli alone, you clod!"

Jasper frowned, not because she was actually bothered by the short blond, but rather because she tried to remember where she had seen her before. Finally, it came back to her.

"Oh my god, you're the super shorty I used to throw in a locker! So what, you miss being locked up?"

"As I said, I am here to make sure you leave Lazuli alone. So leave her alone!"

Jasper started to laugh so loud it probably echoed all the way to the other side of the school. But her throaty laugh was cut short when she felt a small and weak fist in her belly. She looked stunned for a good minute. While she had barely felt the hit, it was still the first time that someone dared to touch her.

Peri, her brain pumped with adrenaline, quickly jumped away from Jasper, and noticed the fire extinguisher on the wall. She instantly thought that if she could use it as a weapon, there was no way Jasper would win. She caught the metal container with both hands and pulled. The container barely budge. She pulled as much as her skinny arm allowed her, even going as far as placing her feet on the wall for better leverage.

A large hand caught her and pulled her away from the wall, and the fire extinguisher. She yelped, and her arms and legs convulsed frantically, as if she was swimming in air. But the hand caught her collar and she was brought face to face with Jasper.

"You have no idea how much you are going to suffer!"

All color drained from Peri's face, but as Jasper threw her against the lockers there was only one thought on her mind. At least, she tried.

"Peri? Peri?"

Her lids fluttered once more, before she finally opened her eyes, to meet the bluest one she had ever seen. Her brain was knocking against her skull, and she could feel dry blood under her nose. The nurse was tending to her right hand, making sure that nothing was broken. It all felt so fussy. How had she handed up at the infirmary when she clearly remember passing out inside a locker? The answer probably came from the angel beside her.

For a second, when Peri looked back at Lazuli, she thought the girl had angel wings behind her. Than she noticed it simply was a trick of the light, but a nice enough trick.

"Don't move, you probably have a commotion or something."

Peri did as she was ordered, and Lazuli pushed back a few strands of blond hair away from her face.

"Did I win?" she asked suddenly with a feeble voice.

Lazuli gave her her biggest smile.

"You probably did the stupidest thing anyone could do. But yes, you won."

With all the care and softness of the world, Lazuli placed a kiss on Peri's forehead, which instantly seemed to ease Peri's headache. She gave a lopsided smile, and never before had she felt this happy.

"I'm sorry she beat you up like she did. But the good news is, she's probably going to be expelled, at least for a few days."

Peri's eyes wondered quickly around the room, to the clock on the wall and back to Lazuli.

"Am I missing math?"

"I think you are probably going to miss a bit more than math, today. Once you feel better I'll bring you home, so you can rest."

Peri stayed silent a while longer, until the nurse was done with her hand and gave her a wet clothe to wash the blood of her face. Lazuli did it for her.

"Is there blood on my sweater too?" asked Peri.

Lazuli looked as best as she could, but the black color of the garment made it quite impossible to see.

"I don't know. Probably not, but I can buy you a new one. I owe you that."

Peri tried to shook her head as best as the painful throbbing of her brain let her.

"Nah, no need. This one is unique. But you can buy me a plush, if you really want to thank me."

Again, Lazuli smiled fully, a bright and amused smile.

"Oh I'll buy you a plush alright, but I also had another thank you gift in mind."

"Does it involve kissing? Because I really like kissing, you in particular."

Lazuli could only laugh, and gently stroke her hair. How had she not notice how cute she was before that?

"Oh, also, your glasses are broken. Like, super busted."

"What?!"

A/N: Hi guys! I trully hope you enjoyed this little story. I wanted to thank everyone who followed and/or favorited chapter one, and of course those who reviewed. And, dear reader, if you have any idea as to how I could continue this story, I'm all ears!