A/N: Haha, hey look something not riddled with angst! It isn't completely free of it, nor is it saturated with it! I'm getting antsy because we are so close to the actual fluff but I don't want to rush it for you guys! We suffer together!
Lapis was shaking. How did she know? Who told her? Who knew? Question after question flittered through her mind. She couldn't answer any of them. They threatened to engulf her, swallow her whole. All she could do was sit there, the only sound of passing traffic outside. She couldn't find the strength to even cry. She didn't have strength for anything. All she could do is sit there, trying to forget every single memory.
She was failing miserably. One by one, every single moment came back to her, yet only in fragments. She remembered fleeing her house, parents yelling at her, waiting for her to come back and face their wrath. Her rummaging through clearance items, looking for something cheap and sustainable to eat when she hadn't in a week. Looking for a place to live. Eventually just giving up, and pulling a bottle out of her small bad she had. Waking up in a hospital, not knowing where she was. The doctors telling her that her parents declined to see her. Everything falling and crumbling around her.
Finally, she started to cry. She wept and sobbed until she had no more tears to shed. I'm just so tired, she thought. She glanced over at the clock on her wall. It read 8:37 pm. I guess I could stand to get some sleep now. She headed to her room and collapsed onto the bed. She hugged her pillows and tried to let sleep claim her.
Hours later, when she was still awake, her phone buzzed. Annoyed, she picked it up and saw it was from her co-worker.
Hey, Lapis. Could you come in at 7 tomorrow? Something came up and I can't stay in for the whole time. I will come back in to relieve you though!
Groaning, she slid her phone up.
Yeah, I can do that.
In all reality, Lapis wanted nothing more than to just disappear from the world. Looking at the time, she sighed. She closed her eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.
When her alarm interrupted the tranquil silence in the room, Lapis groaned. She rolled over and hit the alarm to silence it. Rubbing her eyes, she got out of her bed and stumbled to the bathroom. Once she got into the bathroom, she took a quick shower, trying to only focus on the warm water hitting her back. She felt some tears leak out of her eyes, and she quickly washed them away. Getting out of the shower, she dried herself off and adorned her simple uniform. She combed through her hair and headed out for the door. She stopped at the door, and checked her pockets. Noticing she was lacking her phone, she looked back for it. As she noticed it, she hesitated. Should I grab it? Do I even need it? Making up her mind, she went and retrieved it from the small table in her living room. Pocketing it, she headed out for work.
After the short walk, she entered the store. She was greeted by 'Lynn who quickly said her goodbyes as well, and left. Lapis got behind the counter and prepared for another dull day at work. It was busier than it usually was, which just served to drain the bluenette of energy faster than normal. By noon, she was ready to sleep for a whole day. Leaning on the counter, she rested her head in her hand. She began to reflect on the events of the past few days. The one scene she couldn't get out of her head was when Peridot offered Lapis her entire plate of food. The feelings of amazement washed over Lapis once more. She didn't have to do that. Maybe she just pities me. I would pity me if I knew me too.
Getting slightly angry at herself for starting down the path of self-pity once more, Lapis stepped back from the counter. Deciding it would be better to busy herself, she started to do some tidying through the shop. She tried to find every single excuse as to avoid doing nothing. Then it would just be her and her thoughts. She had her back turned to the entrance, so when the chime of the bells floated through the shop, Lapis was surprised.
"Hello! I'll be with you in a moment!" she called out to the customer, going to wash her hands. As she finished up, she turned.
"What can I get for you to-" she stopped mid-sentence as she saw who it was.
"Uh, hey," the short blonde said, rubbing the back of her neck.
Lapis remained silent as she looked at her.
"I actually didn't think you would be working today," came a half-hearted attempt at an apology. "If I had known, I would have just gone somewhere else. I'm sure that I'm the last person you want to see right now."
Lapis just shrugged. "What do you want to drink?"
Peridot blinked at her. "I guess I'll just have a short espresso."
"Coming right up," Lapis said semi-robotically.
The blonde kept trying to make small talk, yet Lapis kept ignoring her. Only a few moments later, the bluenette had the coffee ready. She handed Peridot the cup, and thanked her for the business.
"Wait, what about the cost? How much do I owe?" the shorter of the two asked.
"It's on the house, don't worry about it," Lapis replied without any trace of emotion.
"Seriously?" Peridot gawked.
Lapis nodded her head and turned to tidy up any mess that had just happened. She heard the blonde drop something into the small tip jar by the register. Peridot reached the door and placed her hand on the handle before turning back to Lapis.
"Hey, Lapis? Thanks."
The bluenette barely had time to turn back to watch Peridot go. Did she just thank me? The gesture was unexpected to Lapis. She kept just tidying up and cleaning, trying to busy her mind yet again. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her for showing kindness to the person who had put her into such a sour state less than twenty-four hours ago. However, something in the bluenette was at peace. Blissful, almost. Then there was something else that was making her feel slightly better. Lapis dismissed it. It's nothing. It always has been and always will be.
Eventually, 'Lynn came back in. "Hello, dear! I'm sorry that you had to take my shift for a little while!" came her sing-song voice.
"Oh, uh, yeah. It's not a problem," Lapis mumbled.
While getting ready for taking over her shift, Lapis' co-worker patted her on the back. "Hey, whatever you're going through right now; it'll pass. Things always do!" 'Lynn said with a grin.
Lapis turned to look at her, tears threatening to start welling up in her eyes. Blinking them away, the bluenette just merely nodded. She said good-bye to her co-worker, and was almost out of the door when 'Lynn stopped her.
"Hold on, Lapis! You almost forgot your tips for the day!"
Tensing up, she turned away from the door and grabbed her tips out of her jar. She smiled and waved at 'Lynn as she headed out of the door. She started her stroll to her apartment, getting lost in the sights and sounds of the streets on the way back. Imagine if you had never gotten to see all this, she thought to herself in awe. Being around things other than her apartment and work really invigorated her. The energy that she had gotten from her walk slowly faded as she walked up the steps to her door. Sighing, she unlocked the entrance and walked inside, making sure to lock the door behind her. She walked over to her couch and fell into it. She rifled through her pockets and picked out the spare change and few bills that had accumulated in her tip jar. She set all of the money out on the table, and started to see if she had enough to get dinner. Let's see here… five ones, three quarters, two nickels, and… a twenty? She flipped the twenty over to see if it was truly a twenty. Seeing that it was indeed printed on the other side, she went to get a felt-tipped pen. She marked the corner and saw, yet again, that it was a real twenty.
Damn it, Peridot. Feeling irrationally angry, Lapis grabbed her phone out of her pocket.
Peridot, why did you give me such a large tip?
She quickly hit SEND and waited for the reply.
A/N: Thank you for reading this story! It is always a work in progress, even though I am chapters ahead in writing, and I'm constantly changing the direction and tone of chapters. You all have so much you can do with your time, yet you used it to read this story! So, thank you. You guys have a good day/night! Be sure to leave a review, I feed off of those.
