"Guys it's Christmas wake up", An excited voice shattered the black void between sleep and wakefulness that I had been dwelling in. Cracking an eye open I found Steven hopping up and down between our beds, "Come on don't you want to see what Santa left?" Instead of his favorite red shirt with the star on it Steven was wearing an obnoxiously festive sweater. The red and green monstrosity had alternating bands of different ornament types that were decorated with some kind of glitter. My eyes actually stung from the sight of the thing and I rolled over attempting to go back to sleep. Holidays meant nothing to capitalist slavers so of course I had to work the previous evening. Judging by the faint traces of light making their way through the barn's windows it was still damn fucking early. Way too early for me to be awake even if I hadn't gotten up at 4:30 in the morning.
It seemed that I wasn't the only one uninterested in leaving my bed, Jasper's growling voice cut through Steven's enthusiastic pleas. "Dude who cares what some weird mythical fat guy left under the stupid tree or whatever? Shut up already kid", As much as I agreed with the sentiment I had to admit Jas was being a bit harsh. Christmas when you're a kid is a time of pure joy and magic or so I gathered from my classmates. Growing up we didn't really buy in to the whole magic Christian star baby thing at my house. Time off school was always nice and mom would cook us a killer dinner but that was about it. Giving gifts was something reserved for school parties not home, at home gifts were a sign of submission and weakness. Steven had gently explained at the start of December that gifts were something you gave to people because you wanted them to feel good. I was trying to take that lesson to heart even if it had gotten me thoroughly bitched at by Rose.
"Fuck you Jas don't be such a Grinch", Amethyst's voice joined in the fray that was keeping me awake. Resigned I pulled the blanket off my face to watch the drama unfolding around me. Steven and Amethyst were by the side of Jasper's bed attempting to pull the larger girl to her feet. Above them Malachite was doing her best to fight a smile while Ruby cackled madly from her bed. Even Lapis was joining in the mirth, her light musical laughter trickling down from the top bunk of our shared bed. In spite of their combined strength Amethyst and Steven were having no luck dislodging the irritated Jasper. "Yo Water Witch, Howling Fury, Eternal Flame", Amethyst's shouts called our attention, "You wanna give us a hand?"
Weariness forgotten I rolled to my feet wincing when my knee gave a wet pop, stupid thing was acting up again. In nothing but a pair of charcoal gray trunks I moved towards the fray unable to suppress a grin. Instead of a frontal assault I opted to go around the side of the bed towards Jasper's broad back, "Well well what do we have here? The mighty Tigre all exposed", With her thick orange blanket dislodged I could see Jasper's usual sleep attire; a white tank top and shorts. "Listen well young soldiers", I addressed the two members of the self addressed Shorty Squad. "What we need here is to understand our enemy and exploit her weakness, clearly she is strong. You won't win by trying to overpower her", Cheekily I dug my fingers into the thin material covering Jasper's sides.
The girl's response was immediate and far better than anything I could have hoped for. Jolting like she was being electrocuted Jasper started to flail away from my relentless assault. "Cut the shit Wulfie", She continued to thrash losing ground when Amethyst and Steven went back to pulling her arm. Instead of letting up I added my right hand to the assault making my victim into little more than a howling mess. Jasper continued to flail and kick but lacked the coordination to fight back against Steven and Amethyst. With an echoing thud the athlete hit the floor taking the two smaller individuals with her. "Son of a bitch", They landed in a heap at the side of the bed while the rest of the room cackled madly.
"There you go Stee-Man", I said with a grin, "One Jasper slightly scrambled just how you like it. Now if you'll excuse me", I crawled back in between my rapidly cooling blankets. Sure playing along with Steven to rile Jasper up was hilarious but I had no intention of getting up yet. Christmas mornings were for kids like Steven, kids with loving homes and great parents who took care of them. At sixteen I already felt too old for the tradition especially since the old real previous experience I had involved a plastic tree in the detention center's rec room. I rolled my eyes at the young boy's drawn out whine, "Cut me some slack dude I worked all night. Go open your presents already before Santa decides to start charging or something."
"Oh hell no", Jasper grunted pulling herself to her feet, "If my ass has to be up then so do you. Come on brat you can either get a shirt on and come willingly or I can carry you kicking and screaming. Doesn't matter to me either way", Apparently my choice to respond with a raised middle finger was not the right one. "That's it brat", I tried to squirm away from Jasper's hold but to no avail. "Malachite get the door", Jasper lifted me over her shoulder like I weighed nothing. One arm held me in place while the other gripped my wrists to stop me from fighting back.
Oh fuck, my mind finally catches up with what exactly is going to happen and I thrash harder. "No, no, no, no", I scream when I'm tossed into the two foot pile of snow outside. Cold hits me like electricity making my back bow and my limbs twitch uncontrollably. Once I managed to get control of myself I made a mad dash for the door grateful that everyone was too busy laughing to think about locking me out. Shivers racked my body making my teeth chatter to the point where I could barely talk. "F-f-f-fuck you a-a-assholes", I scrambled over to my orange shelf so I could grab some clothes. Steven was blushing bright crimson with his pudgy hands over his eyes, I wonder how long it took him to realize I was only in my underwear. Everyone else seemed to have a similar idea about getting more layers on to block out the cold.
Saying I was pissed would be like comparing the Civil War to an angry fight on the playground. Fury pulsed through my veins melding with a scalding dose of shame over what had happened. The hands that were buttoning my long sleeved gray shirt were shaking from the effort not to lash out. Rose was still beyond pissed at me for skipping school and walking to Walmart with Lars. Getting into a fight with Jasper would only make things worse between me and my sort of guardian. A hand pressed in the center of my back as Lapis' soft voice filled my ear, "Hey are you okay? We were only messing around dude we didn't mean to actually upset you", She sounded sad.
Straining to keep calm I turned to face my friend; in honor of the shitty weather she was in a fuzzy blue sweater and thick black jeans. The blue in her hair was almost faded out by this point leaving roots the color of fresh hay exposed. It was getting longer now, just brushing the tops of her shoulders and curling around her chin. Little golden freckles flecked her cheeks and the top of her nose thanks to all her time outside in the summer. Yeah I still thought she was really pretty and you bet your fucking ass I was envious of Peridot. "You guys are assholes", I grumble letting the willowy girl pull me into a loose hug. "C'mon Lazuli we don't wanna be left behind", I hurriedly snatched the Walmart bags I had hidden under my bed.
Inside the Quartz-Universe house it looked like a holiday display had vomited all over the place. Tinsel hung from every available surface leaving little floaty glitter bits falling everywhere. Red and green fairy lights were wound along the banister of the stairs twinkling merrily. All of the furniture in the living room had been rearranged to make way for a fully decked out tree. Greg and Steven were sprawled out on the floor in front of the tree the former in his own tacky sweater, white with cherries. "Dad's gonna be Santa", Steven cheered; he looked so happy I swear I could see stars in his eyes. Next to them Rose leaned on the plush sofa sipping a steaming mug of something that smelled floral. She was sporting her own seasonal garb, a bright pink thing with glittery stars.
Trying not to gag on how saccharine sweet the whole thing was I walked up to Greg and held out my bags. Not trusting myself to speak lest I say something sappy all I could do was blush at Greg's knowing smirk. "Isso aí I love hot coco", Amethyst cheered from the kitchen, "My grandma always made it the best. She would rim the mugs with hot chili flakes mixed with cinnamon", A wistful smile lingered on her face as she joined us in the living room. Not for the first time I wondered about the circumstances that led to the happy go lucky Latina being part of the system. I mean sure she was crass and a bit high strung but I never noticed any malice in her actions. Maybe the time behind bars mellowed her or maybe the cheerful bundle of energy routine was just an act to hide who she really was. Straight up it was none of my fucking business why everyone was here, it's not like I was volunteering my own story.
I must've looked pensive because Rose's gaze shifted to me and she pulled herself away from her perch by the couch. The matronly woman and I had been avoiding each other ever since the whole Walmart incident. It wasn't so much that she told me to stay away as it was me wanting to avoid pissing anyone else off. "Hey there stranger", She hummed softly as she approached, "Penny for your thoughts. You look like you've got a lot rattling around in here", A finger lifted to playfully poke me on the forehead. One of her warm hands pressed into my shoulder guiding me towards the warm smell of coco, "How about we grab a drink and chat?" I allowed myself to be steered into the warm room towards a large crock pot on the counter. Instead of an ornate dinner like we did at Thanksgiving Christmas was gonna be pretty simple. Ham was in the fridge waiting to be put in the oven along side chopped root vegetables and rolls. Steven had made some sort of weird concoction involving waffles, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, popcorn, and a strawberry that he expected us to eat for breakfast. Honestly just looking at the thing made my teeth hurt but the kid was so excited when he made it last night that I knew there was no way I was getting out of trying it.
Using a nearby ladle Rose poured me a steaming mug of hot chocolate before gesturing towards the dining room table. I shook my head, "We can talk later on if you want right now I'm pretty sure Steven's gonna explode if we make him wait any longer. 'Sides I don't wanna ruin all these warm fuzzy vibes you guys worked so hard to set up. Invited too or not you still don't ruin Christmas if you can avoid it especially if there's kids involved. Even us deranged criminals have rules", And with that I made my way back into the living room. Rose seemed shocked, good she needed to remember that we were all someone else before coming to the barn. The pink haired woman was nice and all but sometimes I felt like she was being manipulative. She'd switch from being cold or angry to being sugar sweet and full of attention to give. Whether or not she realized it was happening didn't matter in the grand scheme of things at least not to me.
Mug in hand I took a seat on the floor with the others making a rough circle of bodies around the tree. During the short time Rose and I had been away the wrapped parcels had been organized into little piles. There wasn't a ton, maybe two or three for everyone, but hey who the fuck was gonna complain about gifts? Only dumbasses or a special type of asshole complain about got getting enough stuff of Christmas. An asshole I was, without a shadow of a doubt, however ungrateful I wasn't. "Okay folks let's get this party started", Greg announced to the excited room, and so it began. For the next hour or so the room was filled with the sounds of ripping paper, excited laughter, and declarations of thanks. Ruby made quite the spectacle of herself when she tackled me after opening the new headband I got her. Amethyst loved her sparkly nail kit, Lapis smiled at the mermaid rubber ducky, and I got a punch each from Jasper and Malachite over their packages of tube socks. Rose and Greg got a gift card to the grocery store, because I'm dumb and couldn't think of what to get them, and Steven got a pack of glow in the dark stars. In return I ended up with a couple of awesome new shirts and a pound of super strength Death Wish coffee.
Smiling faces gathered around the table to enjoy an early dinner and for once there was no bickering. Everyone was too full of good cheer to bother with the usual sarcastic banter. Even Amethyst had nothing but good things to say about everything that happened that day. No way was all this shit going to last, there was too much left unsaid between all of us. Malachite's touch still haunted my dreams even if the nightmares were becoming less and less frequent. I don't think I'll ever be able to get over what she and Jasper did to me. Bottling up my feelings and flinging myself into work and working out was only gonna work for so long. Eventually I was gonna snap and if past experience was any indication I was gonna hurt someone. Violence would lead me back to lock up proving to everyone that I wasn't worth the opportunity I had been given.
Author's Note: I know I missed Friday's update last week and I'm really sorry. Based on how busy work has been lately I'm probably going to end up going down to one update a week.