A/N: Why hello there! Two chapters in one day? You bet cha! This chapter is honestly under-whelming and still no sign of Peridot! Just a quick heads up for ya!

Lapis grumbled incoherently as her alarm clock went off at 4:15 am. Groaning in over-exaggerated agony, she drug herself out of bed and into the bathroom. She turned the knob in the tub and pulled up on the bath head to start running water for a shower. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror, hardly recognizing who she was. When she was younger, she looked so full of life and seemed to be optimistic. Ever since her senior year though, she always looked drained of life. Ghostly even. Her eyes were a dull shade of cobalt, a mere shadow of the glistening and lively orbs they were before. Her cheeks had sunken in, giving her a harsh look. She had lost some weight since then, her protruding ribs were evidence as such. She ran a hand through her hair, revealing the light roots of her natural hair.

Damn, Lazuli. You look terrible, she thought to herself. She shook her head to clear her mind and proceeded to shower and get ready for the next day at work. A thought hit her as she proceeded to stroll to the little café. This is the first early shift I have. While there were regulars in the afternoon, there were bound to be more in the morning, right? Lapis was never nervous about work, yet today she had a strange churning feeling in her gut. Maybe I should call in sick. It was probably… no. You got this Lazuli. You don't even know why you feel this way. You have to find out for yourself.

Strengthening her resolve, Lapis ignored the sensation she was feeling and pushed more towards her work. As she got to the door, one of her co-workers opened it before she did.

"Good morning, Lapis!"

"Oh, uh, good morning 'Lynn," Lapis choked out.

She never knew why, but she always got flustered around Amberlynn. Lapis looked up to her co-worker, yet there was no clue as to why that was. 'Lynn smiled warmly and starting getting set up for the morning. Lapis joined her, working to double the effort and time it took to get set up. When the pair got done with setting up, 'Lynn raised her hand for a high-five. Lapis hit her hand half-heartedly, but the corners of her mouth perked up slightly. Lapis took a quick glance at the clock. 5:25. Five minutes until they open. As soon as Lapis looked away from the clock, the familiar melody of the bell on the door sounded. Lapis didn't recognize the person, but 'Lynn apparently did.

"Good morning!" came the newcomers voice.

Wait. Could that be?

"Hello Jasper! Do you want the usual?"

Oh. Oh no. Lapis' heart sank. Her stomach felt like it was carrying a lead weight. She felt nauseous.

"Is it that easy to read me? Ha! Say, who's the new worker here?" Jasper asked, turning her attention to Lapis.

The bluenette could only look down at the floor and clench her fists. I knew I recognized her. I knew it!

"Jasper, this is Lapis," 'Lynn answered.

The color drained from Lapis' face as Jasper laughed. "Lapis? Lapis Lazuli? That can't be you!"

Lapis looked up from the floor and took a look at the woman standing in front of the counter. She was tall and had broad shoulders that, while uncharacteristic, seemed to fit just right with who the woman was. A mane of white hair fell around her shoulders, looking as wild as ever. Yup, that's Jasper.

"Hah, yeah, it's me," Lapis replied shakily, hand rubbing the back of her neck.

"You two know each other?" 'Lynn asked, apparently bewildered.

Before Lapis could even think of an answer, Jasper laughed heartily. "Yeah we do. We go way back. We used to be the best pals in high school."

Lapis could only glare at Jasper for this, yet there was something in Jasper's eyes that made her drop the glare and go for a neutral expression. Amberlynn looked at the two and noticed that the tension was so thick is was palpable.

"Alright, well. I'll get your coffee made and you two can catch up some, huh?" 'Lynn said as cheerily always.

Even though she was only a few feet away, the distance between Lapis and her co-worker seemed miles away. In a stark contrast to that, while Jasper was about ten feet away, the distance felt too close. It made her sick. The two women stood there in awkward silence, with Jasper looking at Lapis with a gleam in her eye. The bluenette couldn't make eye contact with the larger woman though. Oh just hurry up. Come on.

"So, Lapis," came Jasper's voice. "Well. I, uh. Okay, I'm sorry."

Lapis wrapped her arms around herself in a tight, defensive self hug. She remained quiet, yet she looked at Jasper. Lapis was about to open her mouth when 'Lynn came back with Jasper's coffee.

"Sorry about the wait," she apologized. There was no reply from Jasper besides a slight nod. Jasper paid for her coffee and left a five dollar tip in Lapis' tip jar. Without another word, she left the café.

"So, what was that about?" 'Lynn questioned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lapis lied.

"You're a terrible liar. If you don't want to talk about it, you can just say so," her friend said nonchalantly.

Lapis just gawked at her and blushed out of embarrassment. Lapis lightly shook her head and cleared her mind.

The rest of the work day went by slowly, with the most exciting thing that happened being a flustered customer dropping their coffee on their laptop and cursing their way out. Strange, it feels like I've seen her before, Lapis had thought. Then again, this day had been exceptionally strange. She couldn't trust the way she felt at the moment.

Lapis was told that she could go home early if she wanted, as it had been a stressful day for her. The bluenette graciously accepted and decided to go for a walk.

After a bit of walking, she found herself at the bank of a river. Clutching one arm in the other, she sat down and dipped a foot in the river. Her close proximity to the water put her into a tranquil state of mind. She was lost lost in thought that she didn't even realise how much time had passed. When she broke away from her thoughts, the sun was setting. Lapis looked up at the sky and sighed. I just want to stay out here forever. It's so nice and peaceful here. It's so much unlike what I'm used to in life.

As the night progressed on, Lapis finally knew she had to go home for little things like food and (ironically) water. Sighing, she got up and started a peaceful walk back to her apartment. She meandered around on the walk back, appreciating the flowers, trees, and wildlife as she went. It was just starting to change from summer to fall, yet the leaves didn't show any signs of it. As she got lost in thought again, she barely had time to react to a deer grazing on the path ahead of her. She froze in fear, wondering if it was a buck or doe. Thankfully it was indeed a doe. One less thing to worry about at least. I can walk freely without being worried I'll get stabbed by an antler. As Lapis carefully skirted around the doe, she could hardly believe it's beauty when it stared at her. Everything in that one moment was so serene. It was as if time had slowed itself.

Crack! Lapis had stepped on a fairly large twig and spooked the poor thing, causing it to run off. The bluenette cursed herself for not looking where she was going, for ruining the tranquil image that was captured for a fleeting moment. She continued to curse herself as she walked home in an internal world of agony and peace.

A/N: Woah! MORE notes from me? I love to talk, honestly. Anywho, thank you as always for taking the time to read this. You know and I know you could be doing something else or reading something, so thank you for actually taking what I write and looking at it! There may be some Peridot in the next chapter, but who knows? It will get angsty soon though. Just a heads up.