Another slightly NSFW chapter with mentions of attempted rape and "send nudes."
"Thanks for shopping at Moonga's Groceries, have a… day." Lapis sighed, shooing another customer out the door.
She whipped out her phone and started texting Peridot as soon as the guest left. The best thing about this dying, crummy store in a quiet town is that some days, Lapis could get away with murder because nobody came to shop. Minimum wage was the only drawback to this slice of slacker's heaven, though. She didn't make nearly as much as her tech monkey of a wife.
Over at Ocean Industries on the border of Delmarva and Keystone, a programmer's phone began to buzz. Her heart fluttered as she opened the messages, and skipped a beat at Lapis' eloquent, long love letter. It spoke volumes, it was clever and witty, and:
"Send nudes, Dottie."
Such beautiful poetry.
"Dork. Alright, I'll indulge you this time, but if you eat your dessert before dinner…"
"Fine! I'll wait until you get home, but I won't take it easy on you."
Peridot smiled. Those sweet conversations warmed her heart and brightened every single day. Ever since this new thing, their relationship was on a high note. It felt like a barrier had been lifted that night. Lapis let her in on everything she was feeling these days, and she stopped trying to face her anxiety alone. This really was a new chapter for them, specifically for her.
It's a shame the next customer at Moonga's had the potential to ruin all of that.
In walked a tall, dark and handsome woman with biceps the size of Lapis' head. Her eyes sparkled. Her hair was silky and flowing down her shoulders. Her skin, marred by vitiligo, was still clear and beautiful just like the rest of her. Her most prominent feature though, was just how big she was. Very few people suffered from Gigantism like she did, which made it so much easier for Lapis to recognize her.
For a split second, Lapis felt like she could fall apart. Jasper? Here? In her store? Oh stars, please don't see me. She ducked under the register and hid. "God, I know I don't do this often, but I need you to save me. I won't ask for anything else ever, I promise! Uh, how do I end this?"
A voice above her muttered "Amen?"
Lapis looked up and screamed. "No! Get- get out of here!" She leapt up, stumbled out from her cubicle, and ran for the break room. Jasper was right behind her, hot on her trail. She was almost out of there, but a hand grabbed her tiny arm and yanked her back.
"Come on, Laz. I didn't even know you were here! I came back to see Pearl," She said, unintentionally yanking her around. "But it's good to see you! I want to talk, I want to work this out! I know I hurt you, but we're still a couple, we can still try to fix this."
"Put me down!" Once on the ground, Lapis sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Seeing as she wasn't in danger for the moment, she faced her fears head on. "What we had wasn't healthy. I never want to feel that way again."
"But I'll be better this time! I've changed, you've changed me!"
That desperate, pathetic look on her face made Lapis feel a little worse. To be fair, they never properly ended things. Maybe that's why Jasper was so convinced they could fix it.
"I hurt you too."
Jasper socked Lapis square in the jaw. "Come on. Just say yes. You know you can't keep saying no forever."
Lapis clenched her fists. Tears streamed down her face, dripping onto her ripped clothes and bare skin. "You've been doing this for three fucking months. Hitting me, then begging me to fuck you, hitting me again. Don't you think this is enough?" She thought about running away, back home to her mother. Would she even understand, though? She was always so absent from her life and barely noticed she'd had a sleepover with her girlfriend nearly every night for a month. She'd barely do anything to save her from this situation. Lapis had to solve this one herself. "I don't want to Jazzy... I love you-"
Smack! That left eye of hers was going to be purple tomorrow morning. "You must be getting it somewhere else then. What about that Peridot kid? You cheating on me with her?"
Lapis cried harder. "We're just friends, I've never... I've never done this before, I don't want to anymore! B-but fine. If I have to, wait until after prom. I'll let you do it then."
"Fine, miserable fuck. You're so lucky I'm still dating you. I should've dumped you the minute you said no. You owe me."
Lapis should've cried harder. Her fists trembled again, her chest heaved with heavy breaths and her whole body burned with rage. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be hit anymore. She almost laid back in submission and let her have it.
But instead, she hit her back.
"I took everything out on you too. You deserved better, and so did I."
Jasper opened her mouth to speak, but then it fell closed. She had no idea what to say, what to do. She knew Lapis was right, but couldn't admit it. "Well… damn, okay."
Right when things couldn't get any worse, Lapis' phone pinged. Jasper had a habit of constantly checking her phone, so she reached over the counter and opened the messages. Low and behold, Peridot. Jasper stood there, mouth agape scrolling through the pictures. "Oh. Ohoho. This is what you chose over me? She's such a nerd! And so short! Like a little leprechaun!"
"Jasper!" She grabbed her phone back, sulking back to her register where she was supposed to be.
"Oh my stars. Ha! Sorry, it's just- WAIT. Were you ever cheating on me? With her?"
Lapis shook her head. Jasper sighed in relief. "Well… Alright. I'll get going. But I just have one question."
"Yeah?"
"How'd you end up here?"
