Polygems Week:
Day 2: Angst OR Cuddling/Sharing a Bed
Warning: Pretty much a panic attack, and claustrophobia.
Amethyst followed Garnet and Pearl up to the front of the store, where a single antsy cashier paced behind her counter.
"Did the others leave already, Sadie?" Garnet asked the cashier.
"Yeah," Sadie said, taking Pearl's basket and scanning the items at lightning speed, "They all left as soon as the sirens started." Sadie ripped the receipt out of the machine and hastily shoved it into Pearl's hands. "Even Lars went," Sadie continued with a grumble.
"You better head on home, too," Garnet said, "I'll close up."
"Thanks Garnet," Sadie said earnestly.
"Drive safe!" Garnet called after her.
"Ach! I think she bruised my fruit," Pearl said, clucking disapprovingly.
Amethyst couldn't help but laugh. "That's what she said."
"That doesn't even make any sense!" Pearl squawked.
Garnet clapped her hands together to get their attention. "Alright, I need you two to help me close up. Pearl, can you walk the aisles and make sure there's no one left? The bathrooms, too."
"I can do that," Pearl said.
"Amethyst, you'll be with me," Garnet said.
"I don't need a babysitter you know," Amethyst huffed.
"I've never seen you in this store before and I'd rather you not get lost at a time like this," Garnet explained.
"...Alright," Amethyst conceded.
"Good. We'll meet back up here and go home," Garnet said.
The group split and Amethyst hollered, "Have fun in the boys' bathroom!" to Pearl as she walked away.
Garnet's quietness was a little strange to Amethyst; she wasn't sure if this was just how Garnet acted, or if she had somehow angered the woman. "Sooo, have you ever been in the boys' bathroom before?" Amethyst asked.
"I have," Garnet said as she ducked her head into a staff room. She turned the lights off and then shut the door. "Usually cleaner than the girls' room."
"Huh," Amethyst said. She looked up at the flickering ceiling lights, a reminder of the weather awaiting them outside. "Hey um, thank you. For letting me stay at your place. I'm not sure... what would've happened if..."
Garnet smiled reassuringly and draped a hand over Amethyst's shoulder. "It's no problem, Amethyst," she said. She drew her hand back a little too fast for Amethyst's taste.
"So uh, your friend doesn't mind either right?" Amethyst asked as she tried to keep pace with Garnet's long strides into the back of the store.
"Friend," Garnet said, her mouth quirking into an odd smile.
"Yeah," Amethyst said, "You know, Pearl?"
Garnet grinned quietly. "No, she doesn't mind." She opened the door to the storage room and peered inside. "You should probably stay out here. Employees only."
"But nobody's here!"
Garnet pointed to the security camera on the ceiling. "Cameras," she stated. "Don't worry, I'll be quick," she promised, throwing Amethyst a playful wink before slipping inside.
Amethyst felt her eyebrows rise almost to her hairline. She covered her blush with a hand and glared at the camera. "You didn't see nothin'."
(Line Break)
Amethyst stood by the entrance to the storm cellar with her hands shoved in her pockets. Garnet held a bundle of blankets and other necessities from the house while Pearl unlocked the cellar.
"There," Pearl said, pulling open the doors. "I just hope that lightbulb hasn't died yet."
Amethyst took one last look at the now green-hued sky and followed the other two inside. She wrinkled her nose at the musty air, and then at all the cobwebs once Pearl found the chain for the light. Furniture consisted of a lawn chair propped desolately in the corner and an old shelf containing a single can of mushrooms.
"We haven't had a chance to tidy up yet," Pearl said apologetically, "All this was here when we moved in."
Pearl shut the cellar doors and Amethyst tried not to think about the fact that she was locked underground. She picked up the can of mushrooms and shook it, both out of curiosity and as a distraction. "I bet this place is haunted," she said.
"Oh it is," Garnet said, dropping the blankets in a pile on the dusty floor, "Or the house is, at least."
"No, it's just drafty, Garnet," Pearl insisted.
"That's so cool," Amethyst said, "Why do you think it's haunted?"
"It's not!"
Garnet sat down on the blankets. "I'm not sure we should spook ourselves out so soon, Amethyst. Maybe later."
"Awww," Amethyst said. She wracked her mind trying to think of something else to fill the silence; already the walls of the tiny room seemed smaller and the air harder to breathe. She had forgotten how much she hated cellars.
"Amethyst," Pearl said.
Amethyst looked at Pearl, hoping her face didn't show how ill she felt. "Yeah?"
"You can sit if you want," Pearl said, patting the blankets next to her.
"Oh." Amethyst swallowed. "Thanks." She sat down none too gracefully beside Pearl.
Garnet laid on her back, fiddling with the portable weather radio while Pearl leaned against the wall and rested her eyes. Amethyst shifted uneasily, now sweating and jittery. She stood up abruptly. "I need some air."
Garnet snatched onto her wrist before she could reach the doors. "What are you doing?"
"I am going to go berserk if I don't get out of here," Amethyst said through gritted teeth.
"The wind's picked up," Garnet said, "It's not safe."
"That tornado's probably half a county away. It's fine," Amethyst said. "Please."
They heard something make an echoing crack not too far away; the universe was not on Amethyst's side today.
"It's that tree out front," Pearl whispered fearfully, "We really should have had it cut down."
"It's just a few branches. The wind's not enough to knock it over," Garnet said, sounding almost as if she were reassuring herself, too.
Amethyst had given up on trying to escape from Garnet's grip and slumped down into the floor lethargically. "I'm going to hurl," she mumbled.
Garnet gently moved her over onto the blanket pile, and then her and Pearl kneeled beside Amethyst worriedly. "We can distract you," Pearl offered.
Amethyst curled up on her side, working on fixing her breathing. "What'd you have in mind?"
"...Euh," Pearl looked to Garnet for ideas.
"Let's just... talk," Garnet said. "Uh, what do you do for fun?"
Amethyst clamped her eyes shut and sighed. "Probably something stupid," she said, not without venom. "Like getting fired for the third fucking time for pranking my boss," she added under her breath.
Pearl laughed very nervously. "Right, um, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah me too," Amethyst said darkly, "That's why they kicked me out of the house. Being a leech or whatever."
The talk did take her mind off of her anxieties, but now she was swimming in much more self-loathing than she would have liked. "I'm sorry," she groaned, "I'm still kinda upset and I feel sick and-"
"It's alright," Garnet cut in, "We understand."
Pearl took one of Amethyst's hands in a comforting way and laid down beside her. "You could take a nap," Pearl pointed out.
Now that Pearl mentioned it, Amethyst was feeling rather tired. Maybe it would be better to sleep off her nerves. If she could.
"Are you sure we aren't just getting carbon monoxide poisoning?" Amethyst asked.
Pearl yelped and her eyes burst open.
Amethyst actually managed to laugh at that.
"No, I think we're fine. There's a vent by the door, see?" Garnet said.
"Oh, good," Pearl said, relieved.
Amethyst closed her eyes, both to sleep and block out her view of the walls surrounding her. She felt Garnet settle beside her, so close she could feel her body heat. Despite that Amethyst was still pushing back small waves of claustrophobia, the closeness of Pearl and Garnet made her feel the tiniest bit better.