A/N: so this is a long author's note bc this chapter is smaller than the rest so far and i realised i have a lot to say (sorry if a lot of it's rambling)

first off - this fanfic is loosely based off Ephixa's & Stephen Walking's song Matches (ft. Aaron Richards), which i was going to mention last chapter but i forgot
secondly - this is probably going to be a somewhat slow-burning fic bc i like taking things slow , but you won't be waiting to like chapter 20 for some fluff or flirting
next - this fic starts getting a bit more non-linear in this chapter, and whilst most chapters are going to be linear, a few will have flashbacks thrown in
next v2 - I JUST FOUND OUT WHAT SONG I WANT PEARL'S THEME TO BE i'll show you guys in a chapter soon!
lastly - i forgot what this one was going to be, but thank you guys so much for the support! especially the reviews, they really make my day when i see your appreciation!

That's What Friends Are For

Lapis lazily sunk onto the stool to Peridot's right. Barely shooting her a glimpse, the blonde gazed ahead at the teacher, pointing at the many facts about modelling and clay-work techniques scribbled on the whiteboard. Pretending to be interested in whatever the teacher was chatting about with her posture so rigid probably wasn't convincing.

"I was weird yesterday," Peridot mumbled, not glancing at Lapis for a second. "It's probably best if you just ignore me."

Lapis stared at Peridot for a few seconds. "It's hard to ignore you when you look like you've seen a nude for the first time."

If Peridot could get any more rigid, then she did. Lapis watched the blonde's cheeks redden and failed to suppress a snort-laugh.

"Relax, it's only a joke."

"I know," Peridot grumbled, sketching some of the techniques from the whiteboard on her A3 piece of paper.

"I'm not going to ignore you."

Peridot glanced at Lapis, sketching on her page as well. Expression blank, she asked, "Why not?"

The blue haired girl hesitated, her hand pausing on the paper. "I'm not sure. You're in three of my classes and Tuesday's free period."

"Three classes?" Peridot frowned in confusion. "Oh! English, Art and in the library?"

"Yeah, you have a free period in the library with what's-her-name?"

Peridot shook her head. "Not exactly. Technically, it is a study period, but Pearl and I are… busy."

"Busy?" Lapis raised an eyebrow skeptically. She mentally took note of the other nerd's name.

Peridot turned her attention back to the Art teacher, initially ignoring Lapis' question for the sake of her embarrassment, but gave in anyway. "We're a part of the… Robotics Club."

"Oh, that's cool. I still have Art and English with you, and the free period on Tuesdays."

"Huh?" Peridot threw her a glimpse, confused again and taken aback by her acceptance of being a total nerd.

"I'm not going to ignore you. You're in two of my classes," Lapis commented, smiling the slightest.

"Oh. Right."

Peridot felt her heart thud in her chest. She couldn't tell if it was an excited or fearful heartbeat.

"You're nervous," Garnet confidently stated as she settled down next to Peridot. The much smaller girl halted, sandwich comically hanging in front of her open mouth.

"How can you tell?" she questioned, dropping her sandwich on the paper bag.

"A magician never reveals her secrets."

Peridot frowned, and resumed eating, definitely not in the mood for a philosophical match on her break.

Pearl and Amethyst took their seat on the other side of the table, the former quizzically glancing at Garnet, and the latter shoving a cold pizza slice into her awaiting mouth.

"Hey guys, what'cha talkin' about?" Amethyst queried through a mouthful of stiff cheese and stale crust.

"Amethyst! What have I told you about eating with your mouth full?" Pearl squawked beside her, instinctively flinching away from the other girl.

"Sorry Mum," she joked, swallowing down the rest of her pizza slice in two seconds. "But seriously, you both look mundane. Well, Peri does at least. I can't tell with Garnet's shades."

Peridot finished off half of her sandwich, putting the other half back in the bag. She went to answer, but Garnet beat her to it.

"We were talking about Maths. We're going to see the teacher now. Come on, Peridot."

Peridot jumped out of her seat without a word, quickly trying to mimic the taller girl's large strides. She threw a glance behind her; Pearl and Amethyst stared at them, confounded.

"I don't understand," Peridot began. "I don't remember mentioning Maths?"

"That's because we didn't," Garnet replied calmly. "Follow me."

Peridot threw her hands into the air. She didn't understand anything that was happening today. Grumbling under her breath, Peridot shoved her hands into her pockets and shadowed Garnet.

When she felt a cool breeze ruffle in her messy hair, she peered at her surroundings, realisation soaking in. "Oh, we're here?"

Garnet smiled softly, beckoning Peridot over to where she plonked down beside a large tree. This was her seclusion place - did Garnet know she came here when she was stressed?

"Why are we here?" Peridot asked, sitting down next to Garnet and drawing her legs close to her chest, hugging her knees.

"I want you to know that I'm here, Peridot," Garnet affirmed, seemingly gazing into the blonde's eyes behind her own shades.

Something told her Garnet didn't literally mean that she was right next her. "Okay? Thanks?"

"Something's bothering you."

Peridot inwardly shivered, body firm as she stared at a leaf tumbling past her feet. "Maybe."

"I'm not going to push you," Garnet spoke in a soothed voice, placing a tender hand on Peridot's arm, "but I will listen to what you have to say."

Peridot breathed deeply. "The new girl - Lapis."

"What about her?"

"She's being nice to me now. I asked her to ignore me, but she doesn't want to."

Garnet chuckled lightly. "That's a normal reaction, Peridot. You don't ask people to ignore you and expect them to comply."

"She was ignoring me on the first day." Peridot sighed into her arms - it felt good to talk to someone about this, but… it didn't feel right.

"She was probably stressed about starting her first day at a new school. Try to look at it from her perspective," Garnet assured, still offering that kind smile. "Do you share a lot of classes?"

"She's in my English and Art classes. She's also in the library when Pearl and I do Robotics, and for the free period on Tuesdays."

Garnet hesitated, thinking of the best response. "You've attempted to talk to her before. She's all alone in a new school, and you just so happen to be in a few of her classes. If she wants a friend, you're probably her best shot."

"I never thought about it like that," Peridot breathed, staring wide-eyed at Garnet. "Shoot, do you think I blew it?"

"You said so yourself," Garnet started, gathering herself and standing up, offering a hand out to Peridot, "she doesn't want to ignore you."

Peridot grabbed Garnet's hand, and was hauled up. "So things might be okay between Lapis and I?"

"There's nothing to worry about for the time being, Peridot."

The blonde beamed - so things were going to be okay, she was just overreacting. "Hey Garnet?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks for listening… and helping."

"No worries."

"And Garnet?" Peridot bit her lip.

"Yes?"

"Why are there so many people named after stones here?"

Garnet chuckled. "Must've been a trend."

"Alright class, pick your partners," the teacher hollered, clapping his hands together and smiling crookedly.

Peridot curled into herself in the corner of the room, gazing over at the other students excitedly picking their best friends with mild disinterest. Of course, she ignored that pang of loneliness and exclusion making her heart beat faster. People didn't like her, and she had to accept that truth.

The teacher locked eyes with Peridot, and gestured in an encouraging way, as if pushing her towards the other students using the Force. Frowning, she ignored his hand requests and slumped into an uncomfortable swivel chair.

The chaos between the students died down, and the designated groups either sat around beige tables covered in dismantled electronics or on the navy carpet. Peridot sighed, and found herself staring distractedly at the open case of a computer on the table in front of her, so much so that she didn't register the person standing next to her.

"Hi," they said, and Peridot immediately groaned. Apparently that didn't shoo them off, because they stubbornly took a seat at the table.

"Why don't you go dominate someone else, Pearl?" Peridot snarled, propping one elbow onto the table and resting her cheek into her palm.

The other girl's face scrunched up, but she quickly cooled down. "I'm not here to fight, Peridot. I was… ugh, wondering if you'd like to team up?"

"I certainly wouldn't like to," the blonde retorted. "But I don't have a choice, do I?"

Pearl smiled smugly, flicking her shoulder length strawberry-blonde hair off her shoulders. "That's right."

"Let me guess - nobody wanted your controlling, perfectionist ass in their group?" Peridot sniped back, leering.

"Listen, you tiny twerp. If we don't work together, neither of us will pass this assessment," Pearl growled darkly, baring her teeth. "As toxic as your attitude is, I'm not willingly going to fail."

Peridot bit her tongue, holding back the wall of insults she had prepared. Reluctantly, she obeyed. "Whatever, but I'm taking the lead."

Pearl seethed. "This is a team project! Not a competition over who can do better."

"Fine!" Peridot barked a little too loudly. "You take the lead! I'd love to see you get your first D."

"Ugh, that's not… Peridot. We are to work as a team. That's all I ask."

Peridot glared at Pearl, her blood boiling. "Liar," she spat.

Pearl raised an eyebrow questioningly, and sighed. "If you're going to be intolerable, at least be maturely intolerable. You're 15, right? Start acting like it. You'll never get friends if you hiss and snarl at people like you are now."

Peridot stared at the other 'mature' girl, stunned, but quickly wiped that expression away and grumbled.

"Good. Now, if your attitude is settled, how about we start brainstorming plans before the teacher becomes suspicious." At Peridot's unwilling glower, Pearl sighed and ignored the ball of anger and elected to see only a mature, nerdy teenager. "How much do you know about robotics?"

"Peridot, can you come with me for a second? I'm not feeling too well," Pearl quietly asked, voice quivering. Peridot sent her a suspicious glance, but nodded her head anyway. The students filed out of the Physics room, Pearl taking the lead as to quickly avoid prying eyes.

Taking hold of Peridot's hand - the blonde felt the nerves on her fingertips electrify and her heart flutter - Pearl stalked through the hallways, squeezing between the flow of teenagers and bursting through the front doors, almost gasping for fresh air.

"I saw Lapis here on Tuesday morning, and it reminded me of how I used to come here when I was younger," Pearl mentioned as she pulled a very confused Peridot to sit against a tree with soft and sturdy bark. "It is very serene, is it not?"

Peridot tucked her timetable into her bag. Amethyst and Garnet would probably wonder where the two of them were soon, but the blonde wasn't too worried. She had Robotics Club last period - next period - on Thursday afternoon, and she had her lunch packed with her. Yeah, she could chill here with Pearl.

Pearl took Peridot's silence as a gesture to continue. "Remember two years ago, back in Year 10 - Sophomore - we used to always fight?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Peridot asked, cringing at the memory of how stupidly hateful she was. God, no wonder why nobody wanted to be my friend.

"I don't regret choosing to team with you," Peal reminisced, smiling distractedly. "You always called me popular, but I was as nerdy as you. Sure, some of the girls and boys in our classes invited me to team up with them, but I was always seen as below them." She sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. "They just wanted me because they knew I was smart and would help them get higher grades. Like an accessory. The only difference between you and I back then, was I was friendly and you were not, and people took advantage of that. But not you, Peridot. You were selfish, arrogant and a brat—" Peridot flinched at this, "— but you never used me."

Peridot cleared her throat. "I didn't know back then, but things worked out, didn't they?"

Pearl gazed into Peridot's eyes and smiled sorrowfully, and slowly rested her head against the blonde's shoulder (though, Pearl did have to sink further into the ground to be comfortable). Her short, pink hair brushed against Peridot's pale skin, and it sent shockwaves of tingles through her nerves.

"I never realised behind that attitude of yours there was someone who cared."

"I'm not very good at showing that I care though," Peridot admitted, noticing that Pearl's hand was still linked with hers. "That's what Garnet's good at."

"Well, I've got you for now."

Peridot fidgeted uncomfortably. She wasn't used to touching, and although she didn't mind it too much, it made her mind race and her words jumble together. "Pearl? Is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" Pearl hummed, absentmindedly squeezing Peridot's hand tighter.

"You don't normally spontaneously grab someone by the hand and drag them out to a quiet place, and then talk about the past. Plus, you said you're not feeling well as we left Physics."

Pearl jolted from her position on Peridot's shoulder, as if she were zapped. Instantly, Pearl yanked her hand away from Peridot's, holding her other hand over the mouth.

"Oh my stars, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like people touching you, and, and—"

"It's okay," Peridot soothed (though she had no idea how to imitate a soothing voice - that wasn't her strength).

"—and… I'm really nervous, Peridot. Anxious, scared, terrified - I could conjure up hundreds of words."

"About the past?" Peridot frowned in confusion. "I don't understand."

"Oh," Pearl muttered. "Oh! No, I didn't explain myself, did I?"

Peridot watched the other girl tug at some loose threads on her pink leg-warmers distractedly, and then snapped her attention away, running a hand over her forehead and through her short hair. It suddenly seemed like the proud, perfectionist Mum-friend that Peridot knew vanished into a shipwreck of scattered words and thoughts.

"Maybe it would've been easier to talk to Garnet," Pearl uttered under her breath, but Peridot caught it. "I-um, what I was, am, nervous about is… I wanted to maybe invite Rose out to something?"

Peridot cocked her head like a dog, which Pearl did find amusing, but didn't smile. "Rose? Your crush?"

"Ah, um, yes. The one I… kinda like." Pearl's cheeks glowed at the admission.

Peridot genuinely smiled. Usually, she'd tease Pearl about this, but right now she was invulnerable, and she came to her. It was amazing to see her and Pearl go from bickering and play fighting to caring conversations. "Have you two talked much?"

"W-well… yes, but she talks to a lot of people."

"Psh, I'm sure she loves talking to you!"

Pearl looked up, gazing into Peridot's eyes, her own watery. "You really think so?"

"Definitely." Peridot nodded her head eagerly. "Actually, whenever I see you two walking in or out of the same class, it's always you she's talking to!"

"Oh, I…" Pearl's blush deepened. "Rose and I have seen each other quite a few times outside class, but… I'm nervous to ask. Should I ask her if she'd like to catch up this weekend?"

"Yes, definitely!" Peridot repeated, beaming at her friend. The blonde jumped to her feet, offering her hand out to Pearl like Garnet had done for her yesterday. "In fact, we should go find her right now!"

"A-are you sure?" Pearl questioned worriedly, taking Peridot's hand and allowing her to lift her up.

"100% certain! Oh, but first… I need to apologise."

"For what?"

Peridot hid her face shyly. "For teasing you so much about your crush on Rose. I-I realised how small it makes you feel when everyone's picking on you for things you can't really control. So I'm sorry."

Pearl peered down at Peridot, a stupid giddy smile spreading on her face. "Thank you, Peridot."

"But that doesn't mean I won't pick on you when you do embarrassing things with her," Peridot snickered, and instead of Pearl's smile disappearing, it just grew bigger.

A/N: side note - I JUST FIGURED OUT WHERE THE FOLLOWED STORIES TAB IS. i've actively been on this site for over 2 years and i ONLY JUST realised its the alerts tab. runs around screaming like an angry ruby I'VE LITERALLY BEEN LOOKING FOR IT FOR YEARS
also i think i accidentally started shipping pearl and peridot wooPS