Love, Baseball and Ballet
Chapter 4: The Beach
It was six fifty when Rose and her friends arrived at the beginning entrance to the NJ Turnpike. That was the only way they could travel to the Six Flags in Jackson NJ which had an amazing beach right next to it. They all agreed to go to the Amusement park first and then to the beach; so they can have a bonfire when it got dark. Plus Jasper and Amethyst wanted to try and get some of the girls to skinny dip.
"Glad you guys could make it," Ruby said; leaving her two bestfriends in the car.
Rose grinned. "Are you kidding? I love hanging out with you guys; you may be younger than us but you and your friends know how to have fun," She pointed behind her where Sapphire and Peridot were leaning against Greg's van. "Do you mind letting Sapphire drive in your car? There is a lot of stuff in the back seat and Lapis is fine but those two are cramped."
"Oh sure but…" Ruby frowned. "Why can't they ride with Lars and Sadie?"
Rose sighed. "They don't want to third wheel and Peridot doesn't want to ride with you because of Jasper," She bit her lip.
"I didn't even know you were friends with Peri," Ruby smiled.
"She's in my cooking class," Rose shrugged. "And she called me crying about some jerk who she thought loves her doesn't," Ruby gulped at the realization. "I invited her so she can have a break but she seems tense now that she's seen Jasper; is something going on with them?"
Ruby shrugged; her palms getting sweaty. "No idea; Jasper doesn't really tell me about these things…Hey we should probably get going, right?" She waved at Sapphire to follow.
"Alright," Rose pushed it away; a smile blooming. "Let's go!"
Ruby got into the driver's seat and smiled softly when Sapphire got in beside her. She waited for the blue girl to buckle up before she caught up with Greg and Lars quickly. She snatched the Turnpike ticket and then let her window up.
"So," Ruby mumbled; looking at Jasper briefly. "Peridot is here,"
Jasper held her hands up. "I had no idea she was going to be here, Rub's! I didn't even know she knew Rose like that,"
"Me either," Ruby sighed out; pulling her shades on to block the sun. "But Rose said Peridot is heartbroken; some jerk really put a number on her, wonder who,"
Jasper shrugged; looking out to the road stubbornly.
"I don't understand how some people can do that," Sapphire said softly. "Just use a girl like it's no big deal…"
Ruby's heart called out to her; agreeing.
Amethyst chuckled; chewing on her trail mix. "See it like this, Sapphire." Ruby prayed for her friend to stop talking. "Why stay with one person when you can have all the girls you want? Peridot is just upset because somewhere along the way she caught feelings; when she already knew, by getting involved with the guy, they would never love her."
Jaspers eyes went wide. Love?
"You can't change a person's heart but you can sleep with them as many times as you want," Amethyst finished with a chuckle.
Ruby expected Sapphire to be disgusted but instead she looked interested.
"So you'd rather sleep with random girls," Sapphire tried to understand. "Rather than be with one person,"
Amethyst shook her head. "I can be with one person just as long as I'm getting something, you know?"
"What if you loved her?" Sapphire challenged.
Jasper and Ruby looked at the blue girl.
Amethyst frowned. "What…?"
"What if you loved her; not just for sex and the thrill," Sapphire began. "What if you just liked being around them, talking to them you know? Having those long night phone calls and just being honest with each other; putting everything out in the open," She glanced at Ruby briefly before turning back to the other girls.
Jasper scoffed; crossing her arms. "Please; there's no such thing as that one person who everyone is meant to be with," She glared at the other cars passing by. "That only happens in fairy tales,"
"Well…I believe in that," Sapphire looked at Amethyst. "Do you?"
The purple girl shook her head. "It's just another scheme from the government to make money off of us; like Valentine's Day,"
"What about you?" Ruby blushed when Sapphire turned to her; blue eyes filled with hope. "What do you think?"
Everything inside of Sapphire's eyes begged Ruby to be different than her friends.
"What do I think about love?" Ruby asked to draw some time.
Sapphire nodded. "Yeah, do you believe in true love and having that one special person?"
"To be honest; I've never really thought about it until now," Ruby confessed; despite her friends she never worried about the things they spoke about like sex.
It just never appealed to her. Talking and bragging about sleeping with someone; Ruby always thought it was an emotional experience that was to be shared with two people who cared deeply for each other. Not to be spread like a dirty rumor but to be cherished by those who owned the secret.
Sapphire challenged her once more. "Well now that you have…Do you believe it?"
"…Yeah," Ruby whispered; red eyes boring into baby blue before breaking apart when Ruby remembered she was driving.
But Sapphire kept watching her; a small smile growing on her face.
The blue girl turned the radio on. Trophies by Drake began blasting in their ears; Amethyst closed her eyes to sleep while Jasper bopped her head to the music while texting someone on her phone.
Ruby knew her friends would get on her case about what she had said but at the moment she didn't care. Sapphire was rapping along to the song in the cutest way and Ruby didn't want to be anywhere else.
She could deal with her friends later.
When they arrived to the parking lot it was nine thirty; it was about a two hour drive but it was sure to be worth it. The parking lot wasn't as crowded and they were able to find a park closest to the beach; because that is where they would be ending up. The walk to the entrance wasn't too far either.
"Alright," Rose said as they began walking. "We are all probably going to split up so let's make a time for us to meet at the beach,"
Lars looked at his watch. "Well it's nine now so how about we meet at the beach around five so we can swim for a bit,"
"Then we will have time to get the bonfire ready," Sadie added.
Greg groaned rather loudly (It made them question why Rose dated a sophomore like him). "Okay we'll meet at the beach around six, ugh…" He grinned when they reached the Amusement Park; he pushed Rose from behind. "Come on Rose I want to ride The Superman!"
Rose giggled loudly and allowed him to push her inside. "See you guys later,"
Lars and Sadie were quick to leave as well.
Ruby looked at her friends; she saw Sapphire talking to Lapis a good distance away. "Guys about what I said in the car…" She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I know," Jasper grinned. "Just a way to get into her pants right."
Ruby stiffened.
"Yeah; I mean you're Ruby!" Amethyst chuckled. "Love isn't part of your dictionary,"
Jasper nodded. "She's going to take a while to convince, Rub's. But she's a junior and older than us so it will be worth it when you two are…Well you know," She winked.
Ruby would have blushed but she was too furious. How stupid could her friends get?
Blue eyes watched Ruby talk to her friends. Lapis sighed softly and looked to Sapphire and Peridot.
"Why do you even like Ruby?" Peridot groaned; starring daggers at Jasper. "She's probably a jerk just like her loser friends,"
Sapphire bit her lip; stopping her protests.
She wanted to tell them how different Ruby was from her friends. How there was something more to her than what they saw; but a part of her, the selfish part, wanted to keep the secret to herself. Lapis already had a crush on Ruby; Sapphire was sure that if she were to tell Lapis how sweet the girl can be then her crush would grow to something more.
Love maybe?
Sapphire felt her stomach turn.
"You don't know that," Lapis mumbled; turning to Sapphire with hopeful eyes. "Has she spoken about me?"
Sapphire shook her head. "No, sorry," She felt awful, but not really, for what she was about to say. "I can hang out with her today and try and bring you up…"
She was such a bad friend.
"Great idea," Sapphire had to look away from the smile Lapis gave her. "Peridot and I will be walking around; you put in a good word for me," She winked; pulling her cranky friend along.
Sapphire sighed and walked over to the trio of baseball prodigies. Her bad mood was tossed aside when Ruby smiled at her but it didn't seem as bright as usual; was something going on?
"Hey; you're hanging out with us?" Ruby asked. "Don't you want to be with your friends?"
Sapphire smiled. "I'm making new friends," Sapphire bit her lip; she hoped she hadn't said that in a flirty way.
"Okay…" Ruby smiled none the less; blushing softly. "Well we were just about to get on the Nitro,"
Amethyst nodded; pointing to it on the map. "That should be a good starter right?"
"Sounds good," Sapphire agreed.
"Then let's go!" Jasper started jogging to the roller coaster.
The other three followed behind her closely as not to get lost.
Ruby was beyond upset. She was seething with anger.
Everything had been fine in the beginning until Jasper and Amethyst decided to be jerks. They had their heart set on making her and Sapphire hook up. At first they were all having a good time; riding on all of the rides twice and even going to the arcade for a while. But somewhere along the way; her friends got impatient and wanted her and Sapphire to get together already.
So they sent her and the blue girl over to the concession stand to buy them two hotdogs and two sodas. But when they bought the food, guess what? They were gone; leaving Ruby, and an amused Sapphire, standing in the middle of the park looking like idiots.
"Some friends," Sapphire joked; trying to ease the tension.
Ruby sighed; looking down at her hotdog. "Well we better not waste this food…Since we bought it with our own money and all," She bit into her dog.
"These are the best hotdogs I've ever tasted," Sapphire said in between bites. "…So hey," She took a sip of her drink as she and Ruby walked around aimlessly. "You're not dating anyone right?" Sapphire wanted to know for Lapis and herself.
Ruby almost chocked on her food but managed swallowed it down. "Uhm…Ye-yeah I'm not, why?" She couldn't help but stutter; Sapphire made her nervous.
'Does she…?' Ruby thought briefly.
"Well my friend has a crush on you-" Ruby felt her heart sink but she listened anyway. "And she wanted me to talk to you-"
Ruby threw her trash in a nearby garbage can when she finished her hotdog. "Wait a minute. Why is she using you to talk to me?" She scoffed. "Why can't she say it to my face?"
"I know," Sapphire finished her food as well. "She says she's nervous but she really likes you…"
Ruby faced Sapphire. "I don't date cowards, Sapphire."
"Then what kind of people do you date?" Sapphire raised an eyebrow confidently.
Ruby licked her lips that suddenly felt chapped compared to Sapphire's moist ones. "W-well…I have no idea," She sighed out; speaking honestly. "I'm not like my friends, Sapphire. I don't sleep around and I've never had a real relationship before,"
Sapphire smiled.
"Me either," She looked away at a random red stuffed animal; trying to distract herself. "I mean I still believe in finding that person but I honestly haven't even had a first kiss," She blushed. "And people call Pearl a prude; at least she's kissed someone before…So embarrassing,"
Ruby grabbed her arm. "It's not," Her eyes looked into soft blue. "I haven't really…You know?" Ruby blushed; asking Sapphire for her help.
Sapphire understood; her own blush rising when she explored intense red eyes.
"My friends think I have done all this stuff but it's all for show," Ruby looked away. "I've never kissed, made love to or even dated anyone…And my friends expect me to be some kind of big shot you know?" Sapphire felt her heart soar. "It's just nice to be honest with someone for once and not have to worry about them laughing at you,"
The blue girl smiled softly. "If you ever need someone to be honest with you can just give me a call; I won't make fun of you," Sapphire bit her lip and giggled. "I guess we're both prudes, huh?"
"Yeah," Ruby laughed; looking down at their hands. "I uhm…S-saw you looking at that stuffed animal by those metal cans; I can win it for you," She blushed.
Sapphire felt something flutter within her as she tightened her grip on Ruby's hand. "…Okay,"
"Come on," Ruby whispered as she pulled her along.
Jasper and Amethyst watched the two from a far distance; not able to hear what they were saying. But they smiled when they saw the two run away with their hands locked.
"We are the best wing girls ever," Amethyst grinned.
Jasper nodded. "Yeah; now let's get everything ready for the bonfire,"
When six o'clock came around everyone was gathered at the beach except for two. Rose kept glancing at her watch and looking around in case she saw the two she were looking for.
"Where are Ruby and Sapphire?" Rose complained. "We can't start without them,"
Lapis patted her pink friend on the back. "Relax; they are probably on their way here and got stuck in traffic. Let's get some firewood while you guys get the food and matches, okay?"
"Let's get the food," Amethyst said eagerly.
Jasper shrugged. "We're getting the food; can you guys get the matches and chairs or something?"
"Yeah," Sadie smiled. "We can use these logs as seats; let's find some matches," She pulled Lars with her.
Jasper looked at Peridot. "You want to come with us?"
"No," She scoffed.
Amethyst groaned; pulling the larger girl along. "Ugh whatever; just let her watch the site,"
"Fine," Jasper huffed. "I hope Ruby is having a better time than I am,"
Red eyes watched from a distance as Jasper and Amethyst walked away from the site. Ruby sighed softly before turning to face Sapphire. Despite how evil her friends were being today; their plan wasn't such a bad idea. She and Sapphire had grown closer than she ever expected.
They each had a new understanding for the other.
"Do you want me to put your bear in my trunk?" Ruby asked; looking at the girl in front of her. "You're riding back with me right? Or do you want to go home with Rose?"
Sapphire smiled; hugging the red bear closer to her. "I'm going with you of course," She followed the red girl to her car.
Sapphire tried to remind herself that she wasn't doing anything wrong. Ruby said it herself that Lapis would have to say it to her face that she was crushing on her. The swimmer hadn't even spoken one word to Ruby; how could she like her? She couldn't; not the way Sapphire was beginning to.
"Just remind me that Red is in here, okay?" Ruby said; using the bears' name that Sapphire had given it.
Sapphire nodded. "Thanks," They started walking over to Peridot who sat grumpily on a log. "Hey Peridot,"
"What…" Peridot groaned out; rolling her eyes at Ruby. "What are you doing with, that?"
Ruby was held back by Sapphire. The blue girl had learned about her temper quickly when some guy spilled his soda on Ruby's shirt by accident. Sapphire was sure that the red girl was going to snap his neck.
But she calmed down when the blue girl spoke softly to her. Sapphire took pride in that.
"Ruby!" Rose snatched Ruby away from Sapphire. "I was looking for you; now we can start the bonfire!"
The fire lit up the dark beach. Each teenager sat on a log big enough for three; each person had a marshmallow roasting on the fire. They were making smores.
Rose, Greg and Peridot sat together on a log in that order. To their right were Lars, Sadie and Lapis; across from them were Amethyst and Jasper. And on the last log were Ruby and Sapphire.
"Today was fun," Rose smiled; pulling her fluffy sugar snack out of the fire. "I like this group,"
Lars nodded with a grin. "Yeah; and tomorrow we're all going to Jasper's party!" He handed Sadie a napkin. "You and your friends throw the best parties,"
"How do you do it?" Sadie asked.
Jasper shrugged. "We have Rose and Greg for our band to keep people entertained," The couple grinned; ready to rock out for tomorrow night. "Amethyst is a party animal aka the bum; she just brings the booze and food,"
"Which is important," Ruby offered her friend a smile; Sapphire shoved her playfully and whispered a 'be nice'.
Amethyst simply held up her middle finger.
"And Ruby; god bless her soul," Jasper smirked. "She gets all of the people to show up; she knows a lot of people,"
Ruby shrugged. "I do but what is your job Jasper?"
"Her job is to be a jerk," Peridot mumbled out bitterly.
Jasper rolled her eyes; sick of Peridot's bull. "Do you have a problem with me or something?"
Ruby and Amethyst glanced at each other.
"I do have a problem with you!" Peridot raised her voice. "I'm sick of you acting like your all high and mighty when you're just a dog!"
Jasper smirked. "You didn't have a problem with me last night," She winked at Peridot.
Lars chocked on his snack. Greg and Rose just starred at them with wide eyes.
"Did you know…?" Sapphire whispered.
Ruby nodded softly; hoping Jasper wouldn't say or do anything cruel. She knew how her friend could be.
"I hate you,"
Jasper flinched but responded rather quickly. "If you hate me then why did you come crying to me late at night; begging me to take you back-"
"Jasper," Ruby warned; watching Peridot begin to tear up.
Jasper ignored her. "Then you had the nerve to sleep with me and then get mad when I say I don't want anything to do with you,"
"You led me on!"
"You led yourself on!" Jasper shot back. "You know what I'm about,"
Peridot released a single tear before she turned and ran away; embarrassed. Lapis glared at Jasper before running to find her friend.
Ruby tossed her water onto the fire. "This was fun," She said sarcastically. "Rose I'm sorry for everything; today was fun but I think we all have had enough,"
"I…I understand," Rose huffed; looking to where Peridot had ran. "I should probably follow her but honestly…I don't really like her," She giggled.
Ruby felt her eyebrow twitch. "W-what? But you invited her here!"
"To be nice, doesn't mean I actually like her," Rose bit her lip. "She's kind of a spaz; and honestly that was between you and her Jasper…She shouldn't have brought it up if she wasn't ready for a fight,"
Jasper grinned. "Thanks Q,"
"I love when you guys call me that," Rose squealed. "The party is still on guys; I'll see you three tomorrow night at nine,"
Sapphire moved closer to Ruby. "I'm going to ride with Ruby so I won't see you until then,"
"I see," Pink eyes brightened. "I'll see you guys later then; you too Lars and Sadie."
Without another word she pulled Greg with her to where Peridot went.
LINE BREAK
"Shut up," Ruby laughed; Sapphire and Amethyst were laughing as well.
Jasper smiled from the back seat of Ruby's car. "I mean it Rub's; I think I'm in love with Rose…She is so cool,"
"You should see her cousin, Rainbow Quartz," Sapphire grinned. "Turn right Ruby," The red girl nodded; making a sharp turn before the light could turn red.
Amethyst nodded. "She does ballet and you know what they say about flexible girls," She wiggled her eyebrows.
"I have to meet that girl," Jasper grinned. "Hey Sapphire how do you know her cousin?"
Sapphire glanced at Ruby; blushing. "I do ballet with Pearl; Rainbow is our instructor,"
"Y-you do ballet?" Ruby flushed; not knowing exactly why.
Amethyst laughed; not noticing Ruby's behavior. "So you're kind of flexible too right?"
"I have been doing it since I was four," Sapphire looked at Ruby. "So I'm pretty flexible."
Ruby suddenly felt really hot. She's never felt this hot before; it was strange but not unwelcomed.
"There's my house," Sapphire pointed to the white house in front of them; Ruby parked her car. "Thanks for the ride, Ruby. It was nice to meet you guys again; I see why Rose was so drawn to you. I'll see you at the party tomorrow?"
"Hell yeah!" Jasper shouted; pulling out her phone. "Prepared to get drunk, ballerina,"
Amethyst laughed. "Yeah; see you later Tinker bell,"
Sapphire sighed at the nickname. It was only a matter of time before they came up with something to call her.
"…Uhm," Ruby watched Sapphire open the car door. "I'll walk you to the step,"
Sapphire blushed and just nodded softly. Ruby ignored the way her friends winked at her and grabbed the large red bear out of her trunk. She walked beside Sapphire with the red bear in her hand.
"Nice house," Ruby mentioned; looking up at Sapphire who stood an inch higher than her on the porch. "Oh and here is, Red…" She carefully handed Sapphire the bear.
Sapphire smiled. "Thanks," She glanced behind Ruby where her friends were watching them. "They're watching…I bet they'd go crazy if I invited you inside," She joked.
"Yeah," Ruby laughed a little. "Or if you kissed me…" It was meant to be a joke but Sapphire felt her breath hitch.
The blue girl tugged at the teddy bear nervously. "What are we doing? Are we…"
"I don't know," Ruby admitted. "I've never done this before but I know that I've shared things with you that I haven't with anyone else and…" She sighed. "I won you a freaking bear, Sapph."
Sapphire chuckled.
"And I kind of got red so it would remind you of me," Ruby bit her lip at the confession.
She hoped that Sapphire wouldn't find that creepy.
"Well I was supposed to be getting you to like my friend but," Sapphire smiled. "I think I've fallen for you by accident." She looked down at Ruby's lips.
Ruby felt her heart flutter. "Really? Me too," She looked up at plump lips; bringing her eyes back to light blue ones. "I really want to kiss you…But there a two problems; I don't know how-"
"We can learn," Sapphire leaned in; she could feel the younger girls breathe on her lips.
Ruby leaned away; catching Sapphire by the shoulders when she kept leaning forward. "And I don't want to do it in front of those perverts," She motioned to Amethyst and Jasper.
Sapphire pouted.
"But how about I call you tomorrow, before the party," Ruby held her hands. "And we can do something…"
Sapphire leaned her head on hers. "I'd like that," She placed a soft kiss on Ruby's left cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow so don't forget to call me,"
"I won't," Ruby smiled; she waited for the door to close and for the lights to turn off. "Good night," She whispered; placing her hand on her left cheek.
"Why is she just standing there," Jasper raised an eyebrow.
Amethyst shrugged. "I think she has a lady boner…"
Hope you guys liked this Chapter. I was in a writing mood and I wrote three chapters in a day but updated them separately. So; please tell me what you think or if you have any questions; until next time.