AN: Massive trigger warning for child abuse. Sorry for the hiatus! By the way... As of the beginning of this chapter, the date is September 30th. I'll tell you guys the date at the beginning of each chapter from now on.
Centipeetle: so what time are we all going?
What-can-I-do4u: When did you say we should go Sugi? 6?
Made_of_LOVE: We should keep it on here just so nobody forgets, I'm... A bit bad with time management
Like-that-little-man?: No, no. 6:30 and bring money cause we're eatin dinner there
From where she had been sitting, Peridot called out to the taller (by default) people, "I can't eat there, but I'll join you at the scheduled time." She explained, looking down at her feet, her knees were pulled up to her chest.
Suddenly everyone's phones started to go off at once, upon opening the chatroom, they could see Malachite sending picture after picture, Jasper looked over at her younger sister, her amber eyes filling with anger.
"Knock it off with the Spongebob memes, you're NOT coming with us, you're 16 years old!" She shouted, the tall teen flipped her off but didn't look up from her phone. Jasper huffed, the tall girl rolled her eyes as she pushed her pale bangs away from her face and shoved her phone into the pocket of her shorts.
The younger teen snapped, "It's not fair! Amethyst and Peridot get to go, and they aren't 17 yet! Stop treating me like a child." Her voice was loud and filled with rage, the tall girls eyes were filled with a seething jealousy.
"Stop acting like one." Jasper's nonchalant response came immediately, and up in the huge tree with a mouth full of food Amethyst barked at the white younger teen.
"Tha' was a low blow, dude! Nah cool!" The tiny girl shouted and then swallowed, "I'm going 'cause I'm almost 17, Peridot's goin' because we need'er... And don't say Sugilite shouldn't go because this was all her idea, the others just planned it."
"Yes, and Sardonyx and I work there... So I guess we're going too." Said Rainbow, she took a small sip of soda before throwing the can in the recycling. Malachite growled from where she was seated and the dancer just went over to Pearl.
"Mala, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not 17 yet either, so I don't think I could go either, but you could hang out in my dorm with me if you want." Said Opal, Malachite just looked up at her with a deadpan expression
"Oh, thanks I feel so much better." Said Malachite, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Opal shrugged and went back to writing something in her binder.
"Honestly, Jasper come on! What difference does it make if I'm 17 or 16 years and 364 days old?" The white haired girl asked her older sister. Beside Jasper, Bismuth whistled loudly. The rainbow haired girl patted her best friends arm.
"I think she's gotcha there, Jazzy. Kinda hard to argue that, and I mean, c'mon, sure she still has another year to go, but we may as well all go, right?" Said Bismuth, Jasper looked annoyed and slightly betrayed, she flicked Bismuth on the shoulder before she turned to face her sister. Malachite's face was smug and she had a huge grin.
"Yes, Jasper?" The white haired teen asked, her voice sickly sweet. Her older sister gave her the finger.
"You can come with us." Said Jasper through gritted teeth.
Opal raised her hand and spoke up once again, "So.. I can go too?" She asked, Rose nodded right before the bell rang and fear filled her face.
"I have class on the other side of the school!" She said, and hurried off in a panic. Pearl, who had her third period with the pink haired girl, ran as well.
TIME SKIP- An hour and a half
POV CHANGE- Lapis Lazuli- School Hallway
'Alright, finally... Just this last class and I can head home and start packing for the mall.' Lapis thought to herself as she waited for Peridot to catch up with her, the blonde was trying to shove two books into her small locker at once. Lapis snorted, "Here, let me hold one of them for you." She said, and Peridot nodded in a silent thank you. Lapis rolled her eyes, the little nerd was so impatient, although she guessed she should be thankful for that, as rushing around had been how they met.
FLASHBACK
It was the first day of school, Lapis sped through the hallways, dodging people left and right. Little did the blue haired teen know, someone else was doing it too. She ran past a corner, or at least she would have if she had not collided with another, smaller teenager. The two of them had dropped all of their books, the blonde had tried to apologize, but Lapis had scooped up her things and took off at a speed that would make Sonic go 'damn!'
In her haste to collect everything however, one item remained. Her journal. The blonde had picked it up and spent the rest of the day tyring to track Lapis down. Eventually Peridot found her in the art club room, and the two hit it off. With Peridot even joining the club a few days later.
After that, the two had gotten along phenomenally. The school had a large and mostly unsupervised pool that Lapis loved swimming around in, sometimes she would dive to the bottom to have Peridot time how long she could stay down there. Or she would swim laps with the blonde being her little cheerleader, encouraging her to go faster. She wouldn't come into the pool herself though.
She snapped back to reality when Peridot spoke up, "Alright Lapis, I'm ready." Said the tiny nerd, her eyes gleamed with excitement, "What exactly are you going to do?" She asked, and her head tilted. Lapis' pale blue eyes glowed with joy, she almost ended up dragging her little friend up to the upper floors of the technology wing.
"I need to see if I can do something with your hair, I love challenges, so this is going to be good. I can tell." She led the blonde into a room where the air was sweet with hair care products and the floor was shiny and slightly slippery due to being coated in hairspray.
Peridot ended up slipping, and Lapis nearly snorted. She helped the smaller teen back to her feet, she was muttering about the 'clody floor'. She could see Amethyst was already there, playing on her phone while she waited for her friends. Lapis called over to her and her head snapped up, she quickly shoved her phone into her bag.
"Hey guys! What took you so long?" The Hispanic girl asked, "Kay nevermind don't answer, no time. Laz you start on her hair, I'm gonna go grab the makeup from my locker." She said, and Lapis nodded, Amethyst could be lazy, but she LOVED this class. The Hawaiian teen led her friend over to a large chair. She took out a red comb, a spray-bottle and a little pink brush.
"Alright Hoaloha, just relax." She said, the smaller girl looked behind her, her eyes filled with confusion. "It's the Hawaiian word for friend." Peridot gave her a huge grin and Lapis giggled.
The blue haired delinquent hummed. "Oh, actually I'll be working with water, you should take your glasses off." Peridot shrugged and placed them on the little table. Lapis started to lightly spritz her hair. "So why is your name Peridot? You weren't born in August, unless you lied to me in which case I will pour some of this down your shirt."
Peridot giggled at her fake threat, "No, no... Mama and Papa thought the gem was pretty... I-it was Mama's favourite." Lapis nodded, "So now I feel I may ask you a question... Why is your name Lapis?"
Her face went completely deadpan. "Papa thought it was funny, Dad agreed." She said before she tried to brush through a knot, Peridot squeaked in pain before she flinched. Lapis cringed, she didn't want to hurt her best friend... She got an idea, her Dad tried this when he tried to get her hair untangled whenever he tried to teach Lapis how to surf. His job was surf instructor before the little family had moved and everything changed.
She put the spray-bottle down and started to gently scratch and massage the back of Peridot's head with one hand. The little blonde sighed blissfully and leaned into it, perfect. The trick was to distract them so you could work slowly at the knot with your other hand. Well, you needed to know how do undo knots like that at all with only one hand, but that was a different story. She went to work once she heard Peridot's breathing deepen.
Amethyst walked back over to the two, she looked at the blonde and her eyes widened, "Uh, Lapis, knock it off." The purple haired girl told her, "She's about to fall asleep!" Lapis looked up from one of the few remaining knots, she was quite fast due to having to due her own mess of hair all the time.
"What?" She peered around the edge of the chair and sure enough, Peridot had very nearly fallen asleep! She gently shook the blonde's shoulder. "Wake up Per-bear, can't fall asleep on us." She said and the blonde groaned. Lapis sighed with relief, Peridot was an extremely heavy sleeper.
"I wasn't sleeping, I just closed my eyes." She hissed and Amethyst snickered before turning on her music and going to work. Lapis gave her a look of disgust as some weird pop song came on. Amethyst growled in annoyance, she finished up putting blush on one of Peridot's cheeks and grabbed her phone.
"Seriously Opal?! Stop doing this!" She said as she deleted the song with a small huff, Lapis combed through the top of Peridot's hair, making sure to keep her head still while the nerd tapped lightly on the arm rests of the chair.
"Put on Heathens please, it's one of the only songs you have that I like." She said in a monotone. 'Not to mention my favourite song.' Amethyst nodded and turned it on. They finished up quickly, it was a rather simple job. Their teacher had liked it.
"So, how do I look?" Peridot asked the two. They grinned and the purple haired teen pulled out a small mirror. Peridot's blonde mane had been brushed down, it now hung around and past her shoulders, even covering the sides of her face. Amethyst gave her 2 thumbs up and the Greek girl seemed impressed. "Wow..."
"You look beautiful." Said Lapis, and she snorted as Peridot's face went pink. There was the loud ring from the front of the room, the teacher called over to the little group.
"Amethyst Prather! The principal wants to speak with you." She said and the Hispanic girl froze. Lapis' eyes widened, Blanche Diamond only spoke if there was an issue, a big issue. Either that or someone was in the hospital.
Amethyst gave the teens a look that said 'Save me!', Lapis saluted her. She hoped it wasn't too bad. Amethyst had been through enough in terms of family losses. She looked down at Peridot, who was tapping her hands on the arm rests. "Okay Peri. I'll get that off of you." She said and turned the chair around. "Although, you'll have to mess up your own hair." She smiled and laughed when Peridot hissed.
She was wiping off some of the tiny bit off black eyeliner when Peridot tilted her head slightly. "No, no. Keep your head straighter, I need to..." Lapis' voice trailed off when the blonde moved her head again. There was a dark smudge near her eye, it was small, and would have been covered by her glasses, but those were still resting on the table. 'Seriously Amethyst, why do you have to get makeup everywhere, you're lucky the teacher didn't notice!' The blue haired teen thought, she went to wipe away the smudge when Peridot winced.
"Ow! That hurt, what was that?" She asked, Lapis stared at her, the blonde's blue-green eyes were filled with confusion as she held her hand the spot the Hawaiian girl had been rubbing. "What are you doing?"
Lapis raised an eyebrow. "I'm just trying to take the makeup that got onto the side of your face..." She said and looked again, the smudge hadn't changed a bit. "But it's not coming off..."
"Then it's not makeup." Peridot answered bluntly. Lapis' eyes widened, she handed Peridot's glasses back to her after swiping off the last little bit.
"You aren't being bullied, are you?" She asked and her best friend looked a bit nervous.
"It's nothing. This morning, when I was rushing around my house... I fell on my face and I guess it bruised." Honestly, Peridot was the clumsiest girl she'd ever met! She had nearly fallen into the pool twice, with the only thing saving her being Lapis.
"Alright..." Said Lapis she and hugged her best friend, "Well be more careful next time. I don't want my Hoaloha getting hurt." She said and Peridot nodded, Lapis started to grab her things. "See you tomorrow!" She said happily and the blonde started to mess her hair up again.
Peridot looked up at her, the blue haired girl smirked and booped her nose. "Hey! You clod!" She screeched and Lapis snorted again before heading into a fit of giggles. This really was her favourite class.
TIME SKIP- A couple hours later
POV SHIFT- Pearl Oiseau- In the dorms
"So yeah, my cousin's having a kid, and my mom thought she would tell me this and give me a little heart attack!" Amethyst ranted as she loudly chewed her gum, Pearl just sat there with her tea. She was not addicted to it no matter what the purple haired girl said.
Playing therapist as usual, Pearl nodded, "Well, it's good your mother cares so much about you to let you know one simple thing." She said, Amethyst turned to her and gave her a quirked smile.
"And that's why she needs to learn to use a cellphone!" The Hispanic teen said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before her eyes widened. "Oh wait. P I'm sorry I know your folks-" Pearl cut her oldest friend off before she could answer.
"It's fine Amethyst, really. It doesn't hurt anymore for me. I wasn't even thinking about that..." Said the French girl, Amethyst nodded before going to sit down beside her. The short teen leaned on Pearl, who gave a silent laugh before turning on the TV so that the two could watch Youtube on it together.
About a half hour later, Garnet walked in holding three backpacks, Ruby and Sapphire right behind her. "So we have the supplies now. We're all set for the mall." The tall girl told them, Pearl nodded and tried to shake Amethyst off, the small girl had nearly fallen asleep, it was actually kind of adorable.
"No P... I'm comfy..." She whined and Pearl chuckled. She'd let Amethyst stay on her arm for a little while longer. It was starting to get a bit cold anyway...
Sapphire sat down on the tiny couch across from the two. "So, what do you two plan to do when we're there?" The pretty teen asked, "Ruby, Sardonyx and I are going into the mattress store." Ruby went over to the open window and shut it before going to sit with her girlfriend.
"Pearl, Rose and I are hangin' out at some store. I don't really care where we go." Said Amethyst. Pearl laughed and nodded, technically they were heading to a book store and the candy store. (Despite the fact that Pearl HATED sweets.) But it was Rose's idea to do something both girls liked, as Amethyst loved candy and the peach haired girl adored books. Her birth mother had been a librarian.
don't_lapiss_me_off: oh god I swam 10 laps and I wanna die.
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: Hey Rose, you're not watching kids right?
La_Vie_Ein_Rose: Umm, no... Why?
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: BECAUSE HOLY SHIT I JUST CAUGHT MY SISTER WATCHING HAPPY TREE FRIENDS
don't_lapiss_me_off: ugh... that's worse than when you made me watch salad fingers. Nightmares for a week.
PERIDOT5XG: WHAT IS THIS... 'SALAD FINGERS'? OR 'HAPPY TREE FRIENDS'?
Hopal_for_Opal: eww, Sugilite made me and Sardonyx watch it. Peridot, do NOT look it up.
PERIDOT5XG: OKAY? WHY?
don't_lapiss_me_off: Peri. Do. Not. Look. It. Up.
PERIDOT5XG: OKAY... SORRY.
Like-that-little-man?: Oh I remember watching that with you guys! Opal cried.
Hopal_for_Opal: No I didn't she's lying!
Like-that-little-man?: so Jasper what did Mala do when you caught her?
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: oh god she didn't even turn around. She just said 'get out I'm watching my show.' safe to say I hauled ass outta there.
I_am_Malachite: I'll turn it up if you don't leave me alone.
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: GOOD GOD DON'T
don't_lapiss_me_off: do it Mala.
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
I_am_Malachite: sure.
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: LAZULI WHAT THE FUCK! NOOOOO OH GOD I CAN HEAR IT NOW!
Pearl watched as Sapphire laughed so hard she started crying, Amethyst cackled next to her and Ruby was using every last bit of willpower to not slam her fist on the arm of the couch.
Made_of_LOVE: Good job, Malachite, you've done well.
I_am_Malachite: Oh I wasn't joking when I said it was my show. I love this stuff, I watch it for shits and giggles.
Made_of_LOVE: I take it back. Eww...
TIME SKIP- 4 hours later
POV SHIFT- Peridot Diamond- Diamond Residence
"Lapis has kept up with her nicknames, today she called me 'Hoaloha'... Apparently it is the Hawaiian word for friend... All in all, I've had a rather good day today, other then being frightened by Malachite. I plan to go to the mall with my new friends tomorrow and I hope the outing goes well..." She spoke into her little tape recorder before clicking the off button and pulling out the tape. It was labelled 'thoughts', she stuffed it into her hiding spot between her mattresses with the rest of the tapes before pulling out one that was labelled 'New Friends, 2' and putting it inside.
The short blonde walked part of the way downstairs after hiding her tape recorder away. She had taken so many notes about her new friends that she had to buy a new tape! She listened for any activity going on in the downstairs floor, she knew Limone was up in her room reading, but what was Miss Diamond doing?
"Peridot! Come here!" Miss Diamond called and Peridot jumped, almost falling down the rest of them. She hurried over to the tall woman and adjusted her glasses a bit, she saw from TV that it made you look smarter.
"Y-yes, Miss Diamond?" She asked, she hated it when she stuttered, why couldn't she just get words out?! She tried her best to look the blonde woman in the eyes.
"Any security breaches?" Yella Diamond asked. Peridot shook her head vigorously. That was her job, she had been taught how to get into systems since Yella had adopted her all those years ago. Peridot had been trained since childhood how to invade entire networks and conquer them, the school's security system was basically her baby; it was up to her to protect it from hackers, pranksters and clods that clicked on obvious viruses.
Yella Diamond nodded slowly. "Now tell me why you were coming down the stairs." Peridot stood there, stammering before Yella raised her voice a little. "I'd like an answer please Peridot."
"I... I wanted to know if tomorrow... M-my friends wanted to hang out at the mall. T-they need me there for the something-" She was cut off suddenly by the sound of Limone from upstairs.
"Mom! Can we have dinner now? I want to go to my friends house later, remember I'm sleeping there!" She called and Peridot sighed, Limone could usually put the girls mother in a good mood. The tall woman grinned.
"Of course, dear. Peridot, please get to the point. What time will you be leaving?" Asked Yella. Peridot's eyes lit up, was she really going to go?!
She resisted the urge to flap her hands, "I need to be there tomorrow for 6!" She said and Limone's awful voice rang once again, it was sudden and Peridot flinched.
"Um, no. Mom needs to pick me up from my friends house tomorrow at 6!" She hollered, and Yella nodded, the blonde woman looked down and Peridot had to fight her body as not to step back. She was terrified of anyone over 6 feet tall. Yella was 6'5.
Peridot felt a hand on her shoulder, she snapped her head up to look at her mother. "Peridot, you will need to get one of your... Friends... To pick you up. Be back by 10. Or else." Her face was stern, Yella didn't like Peridot's new friends, she called them delinquents. The Greek teen nodded and smiled.
"Thank you Miss Diamond!"
TIME SKIP- The next night, 9:15. Mall (past closing time)
Peridot sat on the back of a toilet holding her precious laptop. She had been picked up by Ruby and Sapphire, and sat with Lapis on the way there. The blue haired girl looked weary and exhausted. When Peridot tried to ask her about it however, she just shook her head, something about her parents. Peridot hadn't picked it all up.
Now they had all gotten into the mall. The flashlights had been handed out. The group was now hiding in the woman's bathroom, the smallest people sat on the backs of toilets. In her stall was herself, Centi, Lapis, and Jasper. She didn't know about the others, but Lapis and Centi had their feet on the sides and leaned on the stall walls. Jasper just stood there.
"Guys... I may have to pee." Said Smoky, they were in the stall next to Peridot. She could hear Bismuth hiss at them.
"You piss while we're in here and I will break you." The huge girl whispered and the Italian teen gave a nervous laugh. Bismuth spoke up again, "Hey Jazzy, where's Mala?" She asked, and Jasper shushed her.
The white haired girl huffed, "She's been so bitchy lately... I don't know what's gotten into her... But no I don't know, she said she's coming a bit later."
Rose spoke up from the furthest stall, the curvy girl had been the first to arrive, Peridot liked her even though they had barely talked since the early summer. "Peridot, is everything ready? We have the uh, Pineapple... Working like you said." She spoke quietly, Peridot straightened her shirt and murmured.
"That is good... But I need something to put my laptop on." She said and Lapis smirked. The taller girl pointed at Jasper.
"Let Peri use your back." She said and Jasper rolled her eyes. The buff teen grumbled about it, but she did bend down to let Peridot use her back as a table.
"Thank you. Now all I have to do is make sure I tricked their computers into connecting to my Pineapple's- Yes I know, stupid name- fake wi-fi. And then my computer will have full access to the security systems to shut them down and manipulate them to do whatever I please. All I have to do is disable the electronic locks and record footage with no people walking around feed to the cameras." She explained to them with a slightly evil laugh, her voice was strong and filled with confidence, technology was her element, after all. Centi's eyes widened and Lapis looked amazed.
"Wow!" She exclaimed, "You're smart enough to make it sound so simple, Hoaloha." She whispered to Peridot and the blonde blushed a bright red.
"It's, umm... Really not that hard..." She stammered until Jasper groaned. She looked down at her.
Jasper's face wasn't visible, but Peridot guessed she was annoyed. "You know what is hard? This computer. So hurry up and get it off." The Fijian teen growled. Lapis nudged her with a foot, giving Peridot a mini- heart attack as she thought the girl would fall in.
"Quit complaining." Lapis said without any emotion. There was the sound of the bathroom door opening and the group of teens froze, dead silent.
"You guys in here?" It was Malachite, there was a collective sigh of relief throughout the cramped room. "You can come out now. This place has like only one guard. He's not around right now." Peridot was lifted off of her spot by Lapis (she was only 75 pounds, Lapis lifted her like it was nothing) and was placed softly on the ground. She grabbed her laptop from Jasper and went to work, feeding the security system false information and making sure to watch what was really being seen in order to keep an eye on the guard.
Her phone went off, Peridot scrambled to turn it down before she checked the school's chat app. She had to monitor this thing too, but she carefully avoided the code Bismuth had created in order to make an unauthorized chatroom. If students were working on a group project, a teacher would give them a code to make a temporary room to talk in, Bismuth made a special one, one whose code scrambled itself to make it almost undetectable.
ETERNALFLAMEBABY: We need to stay quiet when we get out there, so I think texting is a better option
POV SHIFT- EVERYONE
The group nodded and stepped out of their hiding places. Jasper gasped "Mala, does dad know you have those clothes?!" She asked angrily and Malachite laughed. The tall girl was wearing a crop top and shorts, she was showing off the dark green tattoos that looked like rings on the side of her stomach.
"Oh please, dad doesn't even know I have these." She said smugly as she pointed to the green rings. Lapis gave her a thumbs up before Alexandrite spoke up from where she was leaning on one of the hand dryers.
"I think you look good." She said calmly and Malachite glared at her, the white haired girls cheeks were slightly pinkish. She wasn't used to compliments.
Malachite growled, "Yeah well I didn't ask how you liked them." She snapped defensively. Alex just raised her arms up and chuckled.
"Alright guys. Let's have some fun. Peridot, Lapis, Nephrite and I are heading to a gaming store." Said Garnet, her Peridot and Lapis all left the bathroom together, all going in the same direction.
Rose tapped Pearl's arm, "You and Amethyst are coming with me!" She squealed with delight. "We're going to the candy store first, are you alright with that?" Pearl blushed and nodded. The Hispanic teen put her phone back in her pocket. "What are you doing?" The pink haired girl asked her and Amethyst grinned.
"I'm live tweetin' this bitch." She said before her face fell, "Wait a minute... That doesn't have a chance of getting us arrested does it?"
Jasper and Bismuth hurried out of the bathroom. Jasper barely had the time to fix her red tank top on the way out. "Dude, for gods sake slow down!" She whisper shouted.
Alexandrite headed out without a sound, Smoky and Rainbow followed soon after; laughing about the puns Smoky was making.
"So... Can I have a flashlight?" Malachite asked, Sugilite shook her head and laughed.
"Sorry, but that's what you get for coming late!" The indigo haired teen laughed heartily as she walked out with Opal, the two friends leaving the tattooed girl to fume by herself.
POV SHIFT- Malachite Tossico- Just outside the bookstore
I_am_Malachite: Peridot, unlock the bookstore and disable the stuff in it.
PERIDOT5XG: OKAY, YOU NOW HAVE THE ACCESS TO GO IN. also i think lapis is thencjsdnnlkl
PERIDOT5XG: LAPIS TOOK MY PHONE, IGNORE THAT LAST SENTENCE.
Malachite laughed to herself as she slipped into the store. She looked around and took a deep breath, it smelled of ink, paper, and a faint hint of coffee. She yawned and went over to the shelves, using her phone as a light, and started reading. Her family couldn't afford most of the books here, so she'd read them now to avoid starting a fight with the manager. She sat down and pulled out a horror story.
"Oh, you like reading too?" There was a voice behind her that made her jump, Malachite whirled around, the light from her phone faded at the exact worst time. But at that moment, a flashlight flicked on, shining right into her face. It lowered and she could see again, even if her sight was blurry she could definitely tell who it was. Alex Andrite. Why did the universe hate her?
"What are YOU doing here?" She hissed, Alex bent down to meet her height. The teal haired girl had a black t-shirt coupled with jeans, and still had her sunglasses on, despite the fact that it was 1) 9:32 at night, and 2) the store was dark.
"I think I made myself clear, but in case you weren't listening, I like reading." Alex looked down at her book. "Stephan King, huh? Good tastes." Malachite backed away from the taller girl, her anger growing. Why was she being nice?! This was so infuriating!
"And I thought I made myself clear. LEAVE ME ALONE!" She whisper-shouted and pounded her fist on the floor. Alex looked at her, she seemed a bit hurt.
Alex got down on her knees. "Look, I'm really sorry for what I did. You seem like a cool girl, and I wanted to be friends." She said slowly and Malachite felt like a dick. Okay, maybe she was being a little mean. The white haired girl sighed. She opened her mouth to say something when her phone buzzed, she and Alex took their phones out at the same time.
PERIDOT5XG: ALEXANDRITE AND MALACHITE, HIDE NOW! THE SECURITY GUARD IS HEADED YOUR WAY!
Panic set in immediately, her and Alex were in plain sight, the two were sitting ducks! She scrambled away, leaving her book behind her. Malachite ran over to the one bookcase that blocked her from the storefront's view, if the guard walked by, he wouldn't see her. Her breathing was speeding up and she could feel her Anxiety creeping up behind her.
"Move over!" She jumped when Alex's voice sounded beside her. The teal haired girl was scooting beside her, the flashlight now turned off. Malachite was starting to panic. Why did she want to come here?! This was an awful idea! She could hear Alex's calm voice, "What's wrong?"
"I-I... I can't do this!" She whispered, she was starting to shake, her head was hurting and she was starting to feel like she couldn't breath. "T-talk to me. Please..." Alex's face was unreadable. "H-here, I'll start. W-what the fuck is with the name? Why do you like being called Alexandrite?" Alex smiled.
"I like it, it makes me feel powerful. Like I can breath fire." She said and Malachite gave a breathy laugh.
"Y-yeah, and I can fly." She said. This girl was kind of funny, it was helping. She could feel her mind starting to ease a little. She could hear Alexandrite ask, 'Why did you hate me?'
She stared at her through somewhat narrowed eyes. "You seemed so arrogant. It was like, 'oh look at me, I'm super tall and everyone loves me for some reason. Oh and I like to wear cool sunglasses inside.'" She said all in one breath. Alex took off her glasses but it was too dark to see much, all she knew was that Alexandrite was grinning.
"You... You think my sunglasses are cool?" Malachite blushed and grit her teeth. Alex was still infuriating to understand. She layed down on her back and pulled out her phone, angling it so that the light wouldn't be noticeable.
I_am_Malachite: IS HE GONE YET!?
don't_lapiss_me_off: no, he sat down on the bench, Peri's phone died so I get to be the reporter
Malachite groaned. She was stuck in here with Alex Andrite and she wanted nothing more then be home with her dogs... She remembered to put Biggs and Crazy Lace in their crates, right?
POV SHIFT- Bismuth Burkhart- Inside the furniture store
"Bismuth, come here... Look at how cheap this stuff is!" The dark skinned teen heard her best friend laughing quietly as the two explore the little store. She chuckled along with her until her gaze swept around to look for the white haired girl... And locked onto something else.
There in the corner of the store was something crouched down... And Bismuth could see it shaking. "Hey... Jazzy." Bismuth whispered, "Look in the corner." She found Jasper and tapped her on the shoulder before she pointed to it. "Somebody else is in here..." Jasper nodded and pulled out her phone.
Big_Buff_Cheeto_Puff: Is there anybody else in the furniture store near the food court?
Made_of_LOVE: Peridot, Lapis, Centi and myself aren't.
purple_PUMA: nope, I got Rose and P with me too
I_am_Malachite: No. And I'm stuck with Alex. Please send help.
Centipeetle: opal and sugilite are not there, and neither are ruby and sapphire. Or sardonyx. I just saw them all running by.
All the rest of the answers were a no. Bismuth watched as Jasper slowly made her way over to the human shaped figure. "Psst." The large teen hissed and it jumped.
"H-hello?" The voice was female, a little low, and nervous. There was a small teenage girl huddled in the corner. Bismuth shone her flashlight over at her. She was a bit smaller than Lapis, she seemed to be of Korean origin. Her hair was long, straight and sea green, it cascaded over her shoulder. She had a white cardigan and pale blue skirt.
Bismuth walked over to her and bent down to be eye level, "Hey there... Don't be scared... Who are you?" The tall teen asked and the shivering girl looked up. "My name is Bismuth, and this lovely brute is Jasper."
"My n-name is Aqua... Aqua Marina." She said and Jasper gave a soft laugh. "M-my dad was high when he named me." Jasper shut her mouth.
"Wait a minute. I know you! You and I went to the same school before Diamond Academy was built... Yeah, you had a nervous breakdown and hid in the freezer." Said Bismuth, and Aqua's voice went deadpan.
"Good to see that's my legacy." She muttered. "L-look, I really need help. My girlfriend and I snuck in here with our friend... But we all g-got separated." Aqua explained.
Bismuth nodded, "Okay, what does your girlfriend look like?" She asked, "We can tell our friends, and they can tell us if they've seen her."
Aqua looked between the two taller girls. "Well..." She started, "She looks like you guys."
Bismuth raised an eyebrow, "If you are trying to flirt with us, that is the best damn pickup line I have EVER heard!" Aqua tilted her head, clearly confused, before she waved her hands wildly.
"N-no, you've got it all wrong! She has long curly black hair, and she's kinda muscular." She said and her cheeks flushed. "Her name is Cat..."
Jasper smirked, she leaned close to Bismuth and whispered, "Here kitty..." It took every fiber of the rainbow haired teens being not to laugh. Aqua just sighed.
POV SHIFT- Peridot Diamond- Game Stop
She sat cross-legged behind the counter at the (thankfully) air conditioned store, Peridot watched as Garnet was talking with Centi about games. "Come on Nephrite. I'll get you one if you want." The tall girl said to the Indian teen, whose somewhat blurry eyes lit up.
Really?! Centi signed, according to Pearl she was getting much better at it. Peridot knew it because her cousin Bella had selective mutism. Garnet nodded and smiled a bit.
"Of course, we're friends and I do recall me owing you a favour." Centi pointed to one of the games on the lower shelf and Garnet grabbed it. She handed it to the white haired girl, who gave a wide smile and nodded her thanks.
Peridot had to duck once again as a light brown hand reached down from the counter. Lapis had entered the 'Happy Drunk' stage of tired and was trying to play with the blonde's hair. The blue haired girl was lying on the counter with her arm dangling down. She had a long sleeved black shirt and jean shorts, a rather odd combination, but who was Peridot to judge? She had a lime green t-shirt and beige camouflage shorts on.
"Come ooonnn! Just lemme pet you!" Her voice was a bit slurred through her giggles. Peridot gave a crooked smile as she looked up, Lapis was almost in tears from laughing and she was holding her stomach, "Just a little?"
Peridot's face went blank. "No." Lapis stuck out her bottom lip and gave the blonde her best cute face. It... May have worked...
"Aww, yay! You're so fluffy... By the way, I need something." She said and Peridot nodded a bit, her hair being played with by the basically drunk Lapis. "Take a picture with me." She said and laughed again.
Peridot tilted her head before doing another quick scan of the cameras, her hands never faltering. "Sure, I would love to." Lapis flopped over, almost on top of Peridot, the blonde was already going to tell her to get down. The blue haired girl seemed unfazed from her little fall however, and pulled out her phone. She pulled Peridot close and smiled, Peridot blushed a little and grinned.
Lapis looked down at her phone before typing something, she showed it to the blonde. She had put a caption in the photo, 'Best Friends Forever'.
Garnet leaned over, "You know, there's a little shop where you can get that printed. I'll watch the cameras for you." She said and Lapis nodded, the swimmer looked at her best friend.
"You can keep it if you want." She said and Peridot grabbed her hand to lead her out of the cool store. The partners in crime walked quickly down through the empty mall, it was so quiet it was almost eerie, but it filled Peridot with adrenaline. Lapis giggled maniacally and Peridot blushed when she looked up at the girl, because just for a split second, they had been running underneath a sky light. Something about the full moon's light running off of her...
Peridot entered the store. (She had shut its locks down beforehand) Lapis took her phone out of her pocket and gave a wild smile. "You know you're awesome for even making this possible." She said and Peridot flicked on her flashlight.
"I know." She said smugly, "By the way, tell Amethyst that because she's using the 'internet', I have complete control of her phone." Lapis nodded and swayed a little on her feet, she leaned against the wall. Peridot went to work to get one of the machines running, Lapis plugged her phone into it before she started typing, Peridot couldn't see what exactly she was saying though.
don't_lapiss_me_off: My Peri has control over ur phone.
don't_lapiss_me_off: OH FUCK THAT MEANT TO SAY 'AME' OH MY GOD NO
purple_PUMA: TOO LATE I ALREADY SCREEN-SHOT IT HAHA!
POV SHIFT- Rose Quartz- Music shop
She watched as Amethyst burst into a fit of laughter. She looked down at her phone and smiled, oh she LOVED autocorrect.
purple_PUMA: GUYS GUESS WHAT HAPPENS IN 30 DAY?
Absolutely-Pearl-fect: Let me guess, Halloween AND your Birthday?
purple_PUMA: YISSS
Rose watched the two and grinned, Amethyst always got giddy around the topic of her birthday. Rose completely understood, after all, what person wouldn't like it if their favourite holiday fell on their birthday?
She noticed that Amethyst stopped smiling. "Pearl something moved... Give me your flashlight and don't move." The French teen did as she was told, Amethyst shone the light over into a corner. "Freeze asshole!" A teenage boy jumped and gave a panicked yelp. Rose's eyes widened.
"Hello there... Who are you?" She said as she walked over to him quickly. He had long wild brown hair and bright, fearful eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. She held out her hand and helped the teen to his feet.
He smiled sheepishly, "My name is Greg, Greg DeM- U-universe! My last name is Universe." He said shakily, "I was kinda sorta dragged into this by my friends, but I have no clue where they are now.." Rose could hear Pearl voice quip.
"I seriously doubt that's his last name." She said before Amethyst shushed her, the purple haired girl seemed fascinated.
"Hey P... You know this guy?" She asked, Pearl shook her head. "Well... He looks super cool!" She said and Greg let out a nervous chuckle.
"Well Greg, we would love to help you find your friends." Rose said gently and he grinned, "Right guys?" She asked as she looked over her shoulder. Amethyst gave a thumbs up, nodding quickly. Pearl gave a small, reluctant nod.
The french teen sounded a bit bored, "I suppose."
POV SHIFT- Sapphire Hibernis- Mattress shop
Sapphire groaned, "Curse my tiny legs..." She muttered, another voice sounded in the dark nearby.
"Oh I'm exhausted... I've been working all day!" Said Sardonyx as she flopped onto one of the larger beds. Sapphire chuckled as she tried to get up onto a large, springy (and not to mention high up) mattress. Ruby walked over to her, the brown eyed girl was grinning.
"Need any help?" She asked and Sapphire nodded, Ruby moved to her left side, her blind side. Ruby was the only one in the world who could do that without freaking her out. "Look down Sapphy." She said, and the dark skinned girl did just that.
Ruby had cupped her hands, Sapphire slipped off her flats and used Ruby to get up onto the bed. She laughed when Ruby tried to jump up. "I can help you... But I'll need to use your only weakness." The blue haired girl said with a cheeky grin as she held out her hand. Ruby looked up with a fake gasp.
"Tiny hands, oh no!" The two giggled as she pulled her girlfriend up. Ruby got up a little shakily before starting to jump. "Come on Sapphy, it's fun!" She said as quietly as she could manage.
"At home I would get in SO much trouble for this!" Sapphire cheered and jumped along with her. The two bounced around laughing until their legs felt numb and they both fell back, smiling and panting. "I love you." the blue haired girl said as she giggled.
Sardonyx, who had been watching the entire time, laughed softly. "I must say, you two are rather perfect for each other." She said and Sapphire blushed. All of a sudden, a strange voice sounded from the corner of the large store.
"Are you in here?" It asked, it was feminine, a little high, and worried, Ruby grabbed Sapphire and hid in a huge bin of throw pillows. Sardonyx dove under the bed. Nobody moved or made a single sound. The voice called again. "Baby please, you're scaring me."
Sapphire peeked her head out, "Who is-" She was cut off when Ruby clamped a hand over her mouth. But in the split second she had managed to catch a glimpse of the person standing there, highlighted by the sky lights. She was tall, curvy and a bit muscular with olive skin. The girl had long curly black hair that stuck up oddly, she was clearly searching for someone. "She's a teenager... Not a guard." Sapphire whispered, and Ruby nodded, Sapphire shot up again. "Who are you looking for?" She called.
The girl jumped before she saw the couple, "My girlfriend." She told them, her voice was rather strange for someone who would fit in with Jasper and Bismuth. "I can't find her!"
Sardonyx crawled out from her hiding place, "Don't panic." She said as she waltzed over the girl, "We can help you. What does she look like?" Sardonyx asked, she was a bit like Pearl in that way.
"She's small, smaller than me. Oh and she has light green hair!" The teen said happily, it was almost like she had forgotten her worries. "Her name is Aqua, my name is Cat by the way. Cat Syqua."
TIME SKIP- About 20 minutes
"Aqua!" Cat called, and Sapphire had a miniature heart attack, she pulled the black haired girl over to a spot between the walls. Ruby and Sardonyx right behind her.
"Cat, I don't mean to be rude, but you can't do that. If we are to be caught we will all be arrested." She said gently, and the taller girl nodded before mumbling out a tiny apology. "It's okay, I'd do the same thing if Ruby and I got separated." She saw her girlfriend raise an eyebrow. "Or just sing until she found me."
They could hear footsteps headed their way. They all tensed and backed up into the shadows. "B-but... I just heard her voice... I-I swear." Said someone who was VERY unfamiliar. Cat rushed out from the little hiding spot they had all crammed into.
Sapphire poked her head out and watched as Cat scooped up a small, lithe girl into her arms. "Oh baby you had me worried sick." She said and nuzzled the smaller girl, who Sapphire had a very good felling was Aqua.
"S-stop it..." The smaller teen said as she blushed. Sapphire could hear Bismuth chuckle.
"Man, you weren't kiddin', she really does look like us." The rainbow haired teen said and Jasper smiled brightly beside her.
Jasper nudged her best friend, "You know, that's actually kinda cute. I mean, it's pretty obvious they love each other." She said, and the two stared at each other for a moment. Bismuth's smile faded and she turned away before Jasper sighed. She stepped closer to the small hidden group.
She whispered quietly, Sapphire could just barely hear it. "Lucky bastards..."
POV SHIFT- Lapis Lazuli- Game Stop
The two had made it back to the store without a hitch, other then a slight scare with a bird that was chirping quite loudly. Lapis had no clue how birds managed to get in. She was currently sitting against the counter beside Peridot. The little blonde was cycling through the cameras quickly, she had razor sharp focus and the blue haired delinquent had no clue how she managed to do it.
Garnet had left a little while ago, something about 'cleaning the nuclear zone that has consumed my dorm'. Centi had left too, the white haired girl explained that she had many chores to do, and also delivered papers in the morning. Now it was just Lapis and Peridot left.
She looked down at her phone and her eyes widened a little. She glanced over to Peridot. "H-hey..." She yawned, "Hey Peri? What time were you supposed to be home at?" She asked, after a few seconds the Greek stopped flipping through cameras.
Peridot looked up at her, clearly confused. "10:00... Why?" She asked and Lapis sucked in some air through her teeth.
"Yeah, about that... It's 10:30." Said the blue haired girl, and Peridot confused face changed into a look of horror after making a small choking sound.
Peridot snapped her laptop shut after disabling the lock on the front door, the blonde looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I broke curfew!" She cried out sadly and Lapis stood up to put a hand on her shoulder in a poor attempt to comfort her. "I need to get home, now!"
"It's okay, Hoaloha! You don't have to worry, Ruby will drive us home see?" Lapis said to try and comfort her little friend. Peridot nodded.
"Yeah, I'll drive you guys. No need to be afraid. I mean, it's not like it's your fault." Said Ruby as they rushed through the parking lot.
POV SHIFT- Peridot Diamond- Ruby's car
"It'll be fine Peri, your mom will understand, just tell her your phone died. It's not like you're lying." Said Lapis, but Peridot was shaking in her seat, she looked up at the taller girl.
"Won't your parents be upset? You said you should have been home as well." Said Peridot and a very dark look crossed Lapis' features. She closed her pale blue eyes.
"My dads won't care." Lapis sounded rather grim and Peridot decided not to say anything more about it. She had no intention to upset her best friend, instead she looked at the picture in her hands and smiled at it. She was so glad they had gone to the place so they could print it there instead of Lapis sending it to her. It would be rather hard to explain why she was hanging out with 'The dirty, disrespectful, monster of a girl'.
Ruby parked the little red car right outside of Peridot's house. "Whoa, you didn't tell us you were loaded!" The small girl shouted in awe, and Peridot remembered that they had originally picked her up a little ways away from her house. It was basically a mansion, it was huge with a large garden in the front, there were bushes along the side of the house. But as impressive as it was the yellow house didn't have any lights on outside, and it was dark out. Ruby turned to her friend, "Hey Peridot, do you want me to walk with you? You said you don't like the dark." She asked and Peridot nodded.
POV SHIFT- Ruby Omega- I shouldn't have to say were they are.
She stepped out of the car and groaned, it was only the first day of October and it was cold at night. She watched Peridot try to open the door after stuffing the picture she was holding onto into her bra. Ruby laughed and pried the door open, it needed to be fixed.
"Thank you Ruby." Said Peridot, and the blonde closed the door after waving goodbye to Sapphire and Lapis. She looked nervous and Ruby patted her shoulder.
"It's okay bud. You're lucky we aren't doing this in the winter, you'd be toast." She said, because good lord it was dark out. Trying to walk the long driveway would have been hellish.
The two walked up to the door, it opened immediately and out stepped someone who made Ruby wish she'd stayed in the car. Yella Diamond. The blonde woman looked worried.
"Oh Peridot, I was so worried! It's been a half hour where have you been?!" She cried and hugged her daughter. Peridot looked up at her.
"I'm sorry... My phone died while we were there and we lost track of time." She spoke quietly and Yella nodded.
"I see, well, no matter. Let's get you to bed, you must be so tired..." She said, and maybe Ruby had short-changed her. Maybe her job just stressed her out, being a vice principal for a brand new private school must not be easy. She seemed genuinely worried for her daughter.
Ruby watched as Yella Diamond ushered Peridot inside the huge house. She still couldn't believe the Peridot was rich! The blonde certainly didn't act like it.
The dark skinned girl made her way back to her car, the next stop was near where Lapis lived. The blue haired girl had no car and looked somewhat upset. For some reason she never seemed to want to explain, she didn't like going home.
"Guys, you are never gonna believe who her mom is."
POV SHIFT- Peridot Diamond- Diamond Residence
She watched as her mother looked out the window with a smile and a wave. While her mothers back was turned, Peridot slipped her phone, her glasses and the picture into the pocket of her jacket, which she had forgone bringing.
After Ruby had driven away, Yella closed the curtain in front of the large window. Peridot was sitting on the floor, rapidly untying her shoes. Yella walked over to her.
"Where the FUCK were you?!" She roared and the small girl jumped, "I TOLD you to be back at 10, sharp! How stupid are you?! I give you the best things I can and THIS is how you repay me?!" Yella screamed and Peridot quivered where she sat.
"LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU, YOU INSOLENT BRAT!" She grabbed Peridot and forced the girl to look her in the eyes. Peridot was shaking, tears starting to form.
Her voice had a bit of a hard time getting out. "I-I'm s-sorry. I-it won't... It won't happen again..." She whimpered, Yella raised her hand causing Peridot to flinch, she backhanded the small girl across the face and Peridot knew that it would leave a mark, just like the other one that Lapis had found. "I'm sorry mom!" She shouted before realizing her mistake. She had back-talked AND made a horrible error.
"What did you just call me?!" The blonde woman screamed at her and Peridot started bawling. Yella shoved her to the ground and gave her a hard kick in the ribs. She let out a cry of pain. "Answer me!" Yella hissed, but Peridot didn't respond, the small girl merely lied on the ground crying.
"Well?!" The tall woman said, Peridot didn't know or even realize she asked something, the pain in her face and side had caused her to lose focus.
Yella stepped over to the Basement door, Peridot cried even harder now, "I... I'm sorry..." She struggled to speak, her tiny body wracked by sobbing and shaking. 'Please no... Anything but that!' Her mind cried. Yella opened the door to the basement and grabbed the little blonde by her hair.
"Maybe you should have thought of that before you disobeyed me." Said Yella. She dropped the teen on the first step, Peridot got on her knees and started to beg.
"Please no, I'm so sorry! I'll behave! I'll be good, I promise! Miss Diamond please! Don't hurt me!" She pleaded. Yella shoved her down the rest of the stairs, she looked up at her mother, her vision blurry and hazy from the combination of tears, the bright light from upstairs, the sheer pain, and the fact that her glasses weren't on.
Yella grabbed the door handle. "Now stay down here and think about what you've done." She slammed the door, leaving the injured teen in the pitch black.
Peridot sniffled and tried to wipe her face, she wasn't to make a sound down here, that would extend her time. Yella could beat her black and blue but it wouldn't change how she felt about this place... Being down here made her brain itch and scream. It was worse than anything else Yella could do to her, there was a reason she was scared of the dark... It was where her brain liked to torment her.
She slowly made her way through the dark over to the mattress in the corner of the room. She sat against the wall and pulled her knees up, she rested her arms on them before putting her head down. There was the sound of small footsteps heading towards her.
Peridot instinctively looked up, "Here kitty..." Peridot whispered, her voice still quivering. She felt her cat, Percy, start to rub his head on her hip. She picked up the dark brown cat gently as she could as not to hurt him. She held him close to her chest and cuddled him.
"Good boy... Good boy..." She whispered as she stroked his fur softly, trying ignore the pain that flooded through her.
She was terrified down here. She couldn't see and it reeked, the only sounds were her cat or the muffled voices from upstairs. She knew she would be stuck down here for the entire weekend. Peridot needed to stay calm, she began to quietly recite the words she had been taught and held to for years, the rules she was forced to live by.
"Keep your grades up. Absolutely no junk food. Do exactly as I tell you. Don't call me mother unless we're at a meeting. No breaking curfew. Talking back is 1 demerit, grades slipping is 1 demerit, junk food is half a demerit, being late is 3 demerits. 3 demerits gets the Basement, and the Basement means no dinner or breakfast." She said, "I know."
She held Percy closer, a new wave of tears spilling over. She put her hand on her beloved cat's back to stop them from falling on him.
"I know..."
AN: Tell me, honestly, how you feel right now.