Story: Together, Chapter 2

It had been a couple hours and now Amethyst felt suffocated. She had only agreed to this because Steven had seemed so hopeful, and she just couldn't bring herself to let him down when he had his heart set on this so much. She tried not to let it to show, but it was becoming extremely difficult to choke back the anxiety it was causing.

The movie had just finished, but now they were hanging around and talking. She hadn't said anything for a while, and was about to leave, planning to make an excuse to Steven later why she left early, so she really hoped that nobody would try engaging her in conversation or something.

Of course, things never really went the way Amethyst wanted them to. Right as she was about to walk off, her name was called.

"Amethyst?" Steven inquired, concerned.

"Huh?..." Amethyst felt uneasy, turning when she looked around to notice that everybody was now looking to her to respond.

"You okay, girl?" Jenny asked, startling her.

"Yeah, pffshhh... why wouldn't I be?" She replied casually even though it was eating her up inside. She couldn't remember when this nervous and tedious behavior had started, but anymore she was just... depressed and on edge, wanting nothing more than to be away from people. She knew it was causing the others problems, but she didn't really make an effort to change it, and perhaps only ended up making things worse. Maybe she should just leave the others for a while or something and get away, if Garnet and Pearl didn't get on her case about it, of course.

One reason it might be best was because no matter what she did, the urges kept eating away at her, and had only been getting worse. She'd always felt insecurities and self-loathing, but sometimes it was just harder to deal with. Especially lately, after some of the recent events.

It wasn't the first time she had returned to that bad habit, but now it was different because Rose had long since given up her physical form to bring Steven into the world. The older gem had seen in Amethyst what she couldn't see in herself and had made her feel wanted. Rose had helped her in so many ways, just as she had many others. But now, she didn't have anybody she even felt comfortable talking with down deep. Sure, there was Vidalia, but she already had her hands full enough. And she really didn't feel comfortable talking to Pearl, because the other would either get all unnecessarily worried about her, or be disgusted by her actions, telling her that she needed to stop being so childish and immature; looking down on her for not being able to handle her emotions properly. Garnet wouldn't be a good choice either, and would likely be even more angry at her for it than Pearl would be. And, above all the others, she couldn't let Steven find out. Who knew how he'd react?

Still, knowing Garnet and her future vision, she'd probably noticed something by now. Well, it wasn't like it was their business to begin with, and it wasn't like she cared. They were constantly getting mad at her and fussing at her over ever little thing she did wrong, Pearl nagging her head off over stuff, and Garnet scolding her in her own silent way, only adding to her frustrations, so what did it matter if she did the same time to herself? She suddenly felt a mix of anger and anxiety boiling up within her at the thought.

"You don't look fine at all." Jenny suddenly spoke back up after a moment, cutting her thoughts off.

Amethyst felt light-headed, knowing she needed to get away. She swallowed, jerking away when she felt a hand brush against her arm. "I'm fine."

"Yo, dude, are you feeling sick or something?" Buck asked. "You want some water?"

"Nah, I'm okay, guys, really." Amethyst shook her head, backing up.

"I think you should sit down." Jenny suggested.

"Yeah, you look like you're about to have a panic attack or something." Buck commented.

Amethyst's breathing started to pick up, and she looked around her, backing up.

"Hey, try to calm down." Sadie suddenly joined in, approaching her. "Slow down your breathing."

"Look, I said I'm fine!" Amethyst snapped, startling several of the others. Upon realizing what she'd just done, she looked away. "'m going home..."

"Wait, Amethyst-" Steven tried to say, tears in the corners of his eyes from worry for his friend, but cut himself off when Amethyst herself spoke. Everybody else was silent at this point. Lars stood in the background, wishing down deep that he could do or say something to help. But ultimately he just let the others take care of it.

"Hey, don't worry about it, Steven." Amethyst told him, trying her best to keep it in and not lash out at him. "I'm just... kinda having a rough day is all..."

Steven seemed hesitant for a moment before nodding, smiling softly. "It's fine. I understand. Take your time."

"Thanks... See you later, buddy." She struggled to smile, but it came out a sad smile. Why did he have to look so much like his mother...?

Lars couldn't stand being completely useless in this situation, so he stepped up to Amethyst, calling her attention. Sadie seemed surprised.

"Lars...?" She mumbled.

"Wait," Lars scratched the back of his head, awkwardly, as Amethyst turned to him. "look, I... I know it can be stressful at times and stuff, but if you ever need somebody to talk to, I'll... Um... be willing to listen."

"We all will." Sadie grabbed his free hand, smiling a bit.

"And me!" Steven added in, smiling as the others seemed to agree to it.

"...Thanks, guys." Amethyst forced a smirk, even though she knew she wouldn't be likely taking them upon her offer. "Welp, later, peeps."

End of Chapter.