"GO RUBY!" Jasper screamed into the TV screen.

"That stalker guy from five years ago? That got Sapphire's number and sent Sapphire into a spiral of anxiety and fear? That stalker guy?" Peridot reiterated.

The two were sitting in Amethyst's messy bedroom. Filled with empty bags of chips, dirty clothes lying all over the floor, and the infamous chair, piled high with clothes that are dirty, yet not really. All over her walls were posters put up with tape, but were falling off.

"Yeah, like... I know it's a sensitive issue to talk about, but I'm afraid that he waited to attack again." Amethyst had her arms crossed over her chest.

"You think he was obsessed this whole time?"

"Yes."

Peridot was quiet, then, "I'm leaving you now."

She gets up, leaving the room, and closed the door behind her.

Amethyst sighs and flops back onto her bed.


With Lapis, she too was watching the game, still drinking her Starbucks.

Her phone rings again, a special ringtone for a certain friend. Yes... The Jurassic Park theme played on the recorder.

"What the fuck you want." Lapis said firstly.

"Hi Lapis, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" Peridot's happy tone is very evident.

"What the fuck you want."

"Well, Amethyst was going on saying that the stalker guy from your senior year might still be off and being obsessed. She thinks he'll show up to one of Sapphire's meet-and-greets."

Lapis was silent for a moment. She wanted to have that marinate in her mind first, before she says something. She can't be feeling like this when the Olympics were coming up.

"She'll text me again soon... I'll let you know." Lapis mustered out.

"Thanks... Off-topic, but would you like to go to the carnival with me sometime?" Peridot tried to sound confident.

Lapis ends the call, without answering that question, and texts Sapphire once more.

I got news for you, girl.


"I swear, Pearl." Amethyst hasn't been watching the game. She actually hasn't seen a second of it yet.

Pearl was finished with her ballet class, filled with girls younger than ten, which was very exciting for her to teach.

"I see what you mean, but you can't be so paranoid."

"Not you too."

"I'm sorry, Amethyst, but it's been five years since that happened. We were able to end it quickly and that was it. He left us alone."

Amethyst felt left out, except maybe Jasper, and she just said, "Okay, sorry. Love you, 'kay?"

"Love you too, let's talk tomorrow." She hangs up first.

Amethyst gets up and goes to the living room.

Suddenly, she feels shock and a chill go throughout her body, as she saw the score on the screen.

20 to fucking 44?!

"What happened?!" Amethyst sat down on the floor in front of the TV.

"They aren't doing so well. It's only second quarter. GO RUBY, FUCKING GO!" Jasper continuously yelled.

"Quite possibly the biggest gap we've seen to date from the Fusions. Five minutes left on the clock, the Fusions need to pull in a lot of teamwork and three-pointers in order to catch up."


Ruby was standing straight, chest heaving and face drenched in sweat, as she stared up at the score.

"You okay, Ruby?" One of her roommates places a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Ruby was obviously stressed out, but didn't want to admit that.

"TIMEOUT!" Her teammate suddenly yells out.

Their coach was bewildered, but the timeout was allowed.


Sapphire was watching closely. She can tell through the screen that Ruby is stressing herself out a lot more than she should.

"Come on, Ruby... You got this." Sapphire whispered.

She was done with filming for the day, but she couldn't leave with missing a single second. Not when Ruby is looking worse than the last game.

Now dressed in Ruby's red t-shirt and shorts, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

It cut to commercial, allowing her to check.

I got news for you, girl.

She decides to call Lapis, wondering what that text is all about.

"Yeah?" Lapis bored voice replied after one ring.

"What news do you have for me?"

"Well, I got a call from Peridot, like, just now. She brought up the whole situation from senior year."

How can Sapphire ever forget?

"What about it?" Sapphire's throat tightened.

"Well, Amethyst came to the conclusion that the guy that was madly in love with you still is and might try to get near you again at a meet-and-greet."

Sapphire didn't even think of that. The last five years of her life was just so happy that she forgot all about him. The thought of him still being around and obsessed was mind-numbing.

"I'll call you back, okay?" Sapphire then hung up.

Sapphire places the phone in her pocket, feeling slightly lightheaded.

"Are you okay, Ms. Johnson?" The makeup artist, who was nearby, asks as she places her hand on Sapphire's shoulder.

"Yeah, let me just, sit for a moment." Sapphire forced a smile.


"Ruby, are you sure you're okay?" The coach spoke to Ruby in the locker room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ruby was still sweating so much.

"You look like you're about to have a heart attack, Ruby. You don't have to force yourself out there."

"I'm sorry, coach, I'm having conflicting thoughts and proposing to my girlfriend and-

"Whoa there, Ruby. You can sit out if you want to." Her couch grabs her shoulder, "I understand how tough it is. Let me tell you, I was a wreck when I proposed to my wife. I get it, so if you want to sit out, you can."

Ruby already sat out the last game. She spent her whole basketball career being able to play for hours on end, but now it's on the most important games and she's having a hard fucking time.

"I'll sit out, coach." Ruby decided. It was best for her to stay well-rested and finally have her head in the game.

"Whatever feels right," her coach smiled, "Let's get back out there then."