Greetings! I've brought chapter two to you. I also bring the information that I can be found on tumblr as Weskette. I'm a lot more likely to answer questions about this fic there, so you know.

I introduce another character in this too! She's my favourite OC, actually. And one of Ellie's closest friends.

Ellie yawned. The clock showed a quarter past seven. She had to be at work in a little over an hour. She frowned, cursing the fact mornings existed, before standing from her chair. She went for the cereal on top of the fridge, but stopped upon glancing at the open pantry door.

Peridot.

A sigh left her as she headed for the door. She had checked on her before going to bed the previous night to tell her she could sleep on the couch when she got tired, only to be given a fairly rude "gems don't sleep".

"Peridot?"

The gem was surrounded by different pieces that had been stripped from the items provided. Immediately before her was an amalgam of what she had found useful or relevant so far.

"Yes?"

"I just came down to check on you. Did you want anything to eat?"

"Gems don't need to eat."

Ellie made a face. "If you say so... I have to leave for work soon, so you know. I'll leave my cellphone number on the table so call if you need anything. I'll put my house phone with it."

Peridot didn't reply.

"I'll be home around six..."

Returning upstairs, Ellie had no idea how she might survive an alien house guest.

"Hey, Ellie."

Ellie looked up from her desk to see Jaya, a good friend of hers as well as coworker, standing in the doorway. She was six foot two, nearly eight inches taller than Ellie, and had skin only a few shades lighter due to her parents being from India. Her hair was long, but french braided to keep it out of her way. Her makeup was flawless, as usual, and made her green eyes pop. But most importantly, she held two coffees. "What's up, Jaya?"

"Came to see how your weekend was. And I brought you a coffee."

Ellie smiled. "Have I ever mentioned how I love you?"

"Maybe, but I don't get tired of hearing it." She shrugged and entered Ellie's small office. She set Ellie's coffee to the side before grabbing the small stool that had been pushed to the side to sit on. "So how was your weekend?"

"Crazy. I think I'm going insane, honestly. And I have a temporary roommate at the moment. So there is that."

"Slow down, Tiny. And fill in the blanks."

Ellie let out a huff. "I am not tiny, you're just a giant." She took a swig of coffee, rubbed her hand over her face, and picked her pen up again. "In short, my life is a mess." Knowing Jaya would want the full story, Ellie started. "You know how it's hard for me to sleep some nights?"

She spent the next two hours, including interruptions, explaining her predicament with Peridot. It took some effort as she continued her sketches for work while talking, and it was hard for her to talk without her hands.

At the end, Jaya simply stared at her. "I... If I didn't trust you completely, I wouldn't believe you, but..." She took a deep breath and sighed. "So... Are you okay? Any sane person would be freaking out right now."

A shrug. "I guess? I mean, at first I thought it was a dream. I have crazy dreams all the time. But now that it's real, I guess it's just nice to have a change of pace. I'm helping someone get home, y'know? It'll be worth it in the end."

"I have no idea how you keep so calm all the time. Especially when you have a fucking alien in your basement."

Ellie looked up at Jaya. "It's kinda pointless to freak out if it's already out of my control. And like I said. She needs help. I don't mind helping someone in need."

"If you say so. Just tell me if you need help tossing her out."

"Yeah yeah, I will."

Another sigh escaped Jaya."It's just about time for your lunch, right? Let's go get something to eat."

Ellie pursed her lips. "Okay. But you're driving, because my car is gonna fall apart sometime soon."

"Then shouldn't you buy a new one? You know, so you can continue being able to get from your house to work and back? I mean, you don't go anywhere else so..." Jaya raised her eyebrows and gave a bland look to Ellie.

"Yeah yeah, I get it, I haven't been out with friends lately. I'll try to go soon." She huffed once more and stood. "It's not like I never go out."

"Uh, lately, that's not true."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Aren't we supposed to be going out for food right now?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the fun one?"

"Whatever. Just come on. I've got to finish two more backgrounds after this one is done." She grabbed her jacket and slipped it on, walking past Jaya to the door. "How 'bout pizza? From the little place down the street."

Jaya sighed. "Sounds like a plan."

Ellie walked back into her house as the last of the sunlight was waning. She was a bit tired, but that was fairly normal for her.

Surprisingly enough, Peridot was seated at the kitchen table. Her fingers had turned into the screen again and she was busy with some sort of schematic.

"Hey, Peridot," Ellie greeted as she collapsed onto the couch and switched the television on.

Peridot looked over and closed her hand screen. She stood and moved to look at the television. "Is this where you receive video messages from your superiors?"

Ellie arched an eyebrow. "Uh, no. This is for entertainment. There are different shows and so on that people watch."

"Is there any benefit?"

A shrug from Ellie. "Pleasing the masses? It is a way of control too, but subconsciously. If you tune out enough."

Peridot gave one more curious look at the television. She then turned to Ellie. "I require assistance, if you're able."

Ellie nodded and sat up, intending to stand. "What do you need to help with?"

"I need something held while I fix it into place."

"That I can do."

Ellie followed Peridot down into the basement where there was a large difference between how it had been that morning. Pieces were organized with exact precision and lay only to the left. A device sat on the desk beside what seemed to be a sort of extension beside it.

Peridot motioned her forward. She picked up the extension and held it center to the device. "Hold this here," she ordered. "But first..." She picked up work gloves she had taken from the tool box and handed them to Ellie. "Put those on. The minimal research I have done on humans suggests they are susceptable to high temperatures. Those will protect your hands while I attach this."

Ellie nodded, wondering how dangerous helping would be. "Okay." She slipped the gloves on, somewhat confused, but held the piece where Peridot had asked.

Peridot took a finger from her left hand and held it in her right. She seemed to turn the base of it before a small flame emitted from the tip, blue in colour. Ellie watched as she welded the extension to the base with slow, precise movements.

After a few moments, Peridot turned the device off. "Thank you."

"Need anything else?"

"I don't."

"I'll be upstairs if you need me."

Peridot watched Ellie go back upstairs. Humans still confused her. This odd sort of selflessness Ellie was displaying unnerved Peridot. Ellie had helped her without hesitation and continued to do so. Everyone she had ever met had wanted something in return, but Ellie had yet to ask for anything further than warning about imminent arrival- which would have been provided regardless.

Peridot turned back to her device and opened her screen hand. She scanned it before establishing a connection with it and working from there.

Her mind wandered back to Ellie. She realized that she had yet to ask if Ellie was in fact female. Peridot hated to work off assumptions when fact could be so easily found. She would ask, Peridot decided. Information, valuable or not, was always good to collect. A better understanding of humans would be beneficial, she reasoned, as more knowledge on the subject could help the gems take earth as intended.

Peridot bent and turned the device, wondering what else she could do to enhance the signal. It wasn't currently functional, but she was sure she could get it working in the proper channel with another few hours of work.

A noise drifted down from upstairs, light and upbeat. She could tell there was a voice involved, singing. Music. Ellie was playing music upstairs. It was far different from anything Peridot knew of on the homeworld, but it wasn't unpleasant. Like many times in PEridot's life, she grew curious. So she headed up the stairs.

The music grew louder as she went up the steps. She could discern the voice now. There was one that seemed to be fit in with the music, but she heard Ellie's voice right along with it. "But I like to keep some things to myself; I like to keep my issues drawn. It's always darkest before the dawn." Her voice continued on as Peridot opened the door allowing her into the pantry.

Ellie was in the kitchen, working with food over a heat source. She noticed Peridot almost immediately and cut off in her singing. "Oh, hey. Need anymore help?"

"No," Peridot stated matter-of-fact way. "I was just curious about the music."

"Is it too loud? I can turn it down." Ellie gestured to a device on the end of the counter.

Peridot examined to briefly. It had speakers on either side of it with a center piece attached to a slim object in the center. "It's fine. I find it pleasant."

"Do you have music on your planet?"

"We do, but none like this. Not that I've found, anyway. Are there many types of music on this planet?"

Ellie laughed a bit and rubbed the back of her neck. "Many is kind of an understatement. There are a lot of genres and sub-genres for music."

"What's this one?"

"Well, it's Shake it Off by Florence and the Machine, but as for the genre, I think it's indie? I've always been bad at naming the genres." Ellie shrugged. "I just kinda listen to whatever I like."

"Your player seems archaic, but the music is nice."

Peridot missed Ellie rolling her eyes at the comment as she returned to cooking. When Peridot didn't return downstairs after the song ended and a new one started, Ellie glanced back. Peridot seemed to be examining her with a look of confusion on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Ellie asked.

"I'm unfamiliar with what humans call gender. What little information I was given on humans seems to be contradictory. But you are female, yes?"

It was probably one of the last questions Ellie had been expecting. "Yup," she answered, nonchalant. Maybe she should've expected. Peridot was an alien, after all. "And depending where you are on earth, the concept of gender can change. I can explain how it is around here, if you want."

"I would like an explantion, but for now I need to return to my work. Would you mind if I left the door open so I can hear the music?"

"Go ahead. Just tell me if any songs bug you, and I'll change them."

Peridot nodded and returned to the basement.

"Hey, Tiny."

"Morning, Jaya." Ellie yawned and walked past her friend to the break room fridge. "And I'm still not tiny."

"Yeah, too bad, it's already your nickname."

"If anyone else calls me it, I'm going to injure them severly." She tossed her bag lunch into the fridge and closed it before turning towards Jaya. After a quick glance at the clock, she decided to sit beside Jaya at the break room table.

Jaya gave her a pout. "But not me, right?"

"No, because you're my best friend and I tolerate you more than others." Ellie ran a hand over her face. "Do you ever work, by the way? I mean, you were in my office for hours yesterday."

"Not much to do when you love your work and do it at home too." Jaya shrugged. "I'm all caught up. I've been helping a few of the others."

"Well then."

"It's not important though. What is important..." Jaya's fierce green eyes met the ocean blues of Ellie's. "Lucia, Ish, and I are going to go see a movie this weekend. You should come along."

"What movie?"

"We were gonna pick when we get there." She tapped her fingers on the table. "There a few good ones that have come out recently. I wanna see the alien one. You in?"

"Oh, uh, I'll meet you there."

A frown appeared on Jaya's face. "You're not going?"

Ellie switched to avoiding Jaya's gaze. "If Peridot is gone by then, I'll think about it, but I don't think I should leave her alone for too long. I mean, she's in a strange place-"

"She's in your basement."

"- and she doesn't know much about here-"

"She's leaving soon, she doesn't need to."

"- and no one should be alone when something like that happens."

Jaya sighed. "She's going to be leaving soon. Leave your house phone near her and tell her to call if she needs anything. You haven't been out in forever."

Ellie shook her head. "I don't like leaving people alone when they aren't familiar with their surroundings. You know that... I mean, it's terrifying to be in a situation like that. Even if Peridot doesn't think that way, I do, and I don't want to leave her alone. Work is one thing, but..." She rubbed a hand over her face. "Maybe she'll be done with her device soon and will leave before the week is up. I'll try to go if she does."

Jaya bit her lip, and gave a sad look at Ellie. "We all miss seeing you, you know."

"I know... I promise, I'll go out as soon as I can."

"I'm not stopping Lucia from calling you to yell."

Ellie sighed. "Fair enough."

There was a crash. Peridot grumbled as she looked down at the partially mangled metal before her. With a sigh, she lifted it back up and sat beside it. It was still perfectly usable, but now required more work. She groaned in frustration before removing her visor and tracing a finger down her gem. The crack hadn't widened, thank the stars, but it still kept her from doing anything more than the most basic tasks. Small transformation, changes in outfit, and very limited heat generation. She had been lucky her "welding" had been affective.

"Peridot, are you okay?

Peridot jumped. She glanced back, finding Ellie standing at the top of the stairs. "I'm fine. I apologize for waking you from your reseting cycle." She turned back to her dented device. "I simply dropped something."

"It's fine, I wasn't sleeping. It's hard to sometimes." Ellie walked down the stairs, but she stood well back from Peridot. "So is it going well?"

Peridot shrugged. "I won't be sure until I can test it. And with older technology, there's more to do."

"Is there anything that might help that I might find you?" Ellie tilted her head as she walked a bit closer.

Another shrug from Peridot. "Not that I know of." Curious, she glanced over at Ellie. "Humans typically sleep at night, don't they? But you said you weren't. Do you differ from the statistics gathered on humans?"

Ellie couldn't help but chuckle. "Some nights, yeah. I get nightmares sometimes, and wake up."

"Night-mares?"

Biting her lip, Ellie wondered how to explain it. "Sometimes I forget you don't sleep... Uhm... When humans sleep, we have little control of our brain and sometimes see images and more that don't really make much sense." She tapped the side of her head. "We call it dreaming. But when those images scare us or worse, we call them nightmares. Like I could dream I was flying, but I might have a nightmare that someone is trying to kill me."

Peridot blinked. "But if it's only images, why would it frighten you?"

"Well..." Ellie thought a moment. "Can you think of anything or anyone that frightens you?" A nod from Peridot. "If you picture whatever or whoever coming here, it makes you uneasy, doesn't it?"

Peridot conceded. "I see your point. But I still find humans strange."

"Fair enough. You're pretty strange yourself."

Peridot let out a huff, causing Ellie to chuckle. Moving over to one of the boxes she had cleared off the washing machine, Ellie sat. She crossed her legs and watched Peridot work for a short time. "So... Why are the other gems on earth traitors?"

Peridot looked up, surprised.

"You mentioned it before. The day you first came out of your gem."

Silence met the question that still hung in the air. If was only after a few moments and a heavy sigh, Peridot answered. "I never saw the wars. I only know that the gems that are here- only five of them - killed many. I don't understand what they claim to be protecting, but I'm sure they would... deal with me as I'm sure they did Jasper."

"Jasper?"

"The escort I had bring me here when I discovered the "crystal gems" as they call themselves. Much larger than I am and much more violent. Jasper was supposed to protect me and deal with the traitors. It went poorly." Peridot was holding a lot back. She knew it, and she was sure Ellie knew too. But to tell the human helping her that humans were below gems, that earth was there for The Diamonds to use even if the planet wouldn't survive. Ellie couldn't hear that, not when Peridot required her help. It wasn't wise to hurt the one who helped.

"No chance they'd help you?"

Peridot shook her head. "They would not."

"Hm."

Ellie wasn't down there much longer. A few minutes later, she bid Peridot a goodnight and went back upstairs.

Peridot watched her leave, wondering to herself what about humans had made Rose Quartz give up everything.

Ah yes, Peridot, my lovely favourite character who's completely brainwashed by propaganda the Diamonds are sure to have everywhere on the Homeworld.

Thanks for reading!

(#freelapis2k15)

Thank you for reading!