Chapter Eight

I flew for what seemed like hours searching for signs of Steven or his car. I followed the main highway west, hoping I could catch up to him. When I didn't have any luck, I backtracked around to the highway that heads north from Beach City. I was just about to give up on that and start heading south when I finally saw him…

Actually, I first saw his dad, Greg's, van, parked along the side of the road. With those gaudy colors on the side, there was no mistaking it. I swooped in closer and saw the Dondai parked behind it.

I could feel the stress of the moment pulse through my gem and radiate out through my body as I landed.

"Steven?" I called out.

A tall, dark human I didn't recognize stepped out of Greg's van and pointed a flashlight at me. "Is someone there?" they asked.

"Yeah," I said, as I covered my eyes. "Is Steven there? I'm a friend."

I saw a short, blonde woman come from around the other end of the van, with a metal bar in her hand. "Shep, what's…oh, don't worry, it's just Lapis Lazuli," Sadie told the other human. "Did you come to give us another hand?" she asked.

Steven had given me some tapes of Sadie's band a while back, and I'd enjoyed the angriest songs, though I still don't really get all the horror show trappings. (If I wanted to, this is where I could say that I know what real horror is like…if I wanted to).

"Hey Steven! Greg!" Sadie called out. "You've got some backup here!"

"Just a sec!" Greg yelled. "I've almost got the last nut tightened!"

"Steven?" I circled to the other side of the van and found Steven lifting up the front of the vehicle, while his father tightened something on the front passenger side tire.

Steven glanced over and saw me. In an instant, he let go of the van, which clunked to the ground with a thud, sending his father rolling away from it.

"Dad!" Steven yelled. "I'm sorry!"

He rushed over to help Greg up, who dusted himself off with a chuckle. "Don't worry, schtu-ball, I think we're good to go." He looked over at me and asked, "Lapis, how'd you know we'd had a flat?"

Steven seemed like he was trying to look at anything but me.

"I didn't," I said, as I fidgeted a little. "I was looking all over for Steven. I just happened to find you guys here."

Sadie and the other human, Shep, walked up behind me. "We were heading back towards Delmarva when our tire blew. We didn't have a jack, so Mr. Universe called Steven in to help," Sadie explained.

"I, uh, spent a while driving up here till I found where they were stranded," Steven added, as he placed the hubcap back on the tire.

"Yeah, I was sure I had a jack in here, somewhere," Greg said, as he gave the van a small pat on its side. "Sometimes, I still forget I've got money, and I can just pick up a new jack off the shelf any time I want."

Even with everything going on, I couldn't help but snicker a little when he said "jack off." Human bodies are funny.

"Oh, you haven't met," Sadie said, as pulled me over towards the other human. "Shep, this is Lapis Lazuli, one of the gems from Little Homeworld. Lapis, this is my partner, Shep."

"Good to meet you," Shep said, as they extended a hand.

"You too," I said, while glancing over at Steven.

"Lapis does a lot of painting and sculpture," Sadie explained. "I've seen some of her stuff, it's really good."

I looked away from Steven from a moment and saw Shep reply, "That's cool. You'll have to show me sometime."

"Yeah," I nodded, before I turned back towards Steven, who was wiping grease from his hands. "Steven, can I talk to you?"

His eyes looked huge under the streetlights. "Oh, yeah, sure, definitely, not a problem!" He took my hand and pulled me along. "Why don't we go over here…way over here."

Steven led me past the Dondai and another fifty feet beyond that. "Whew, it's been a night," he muttered.

"I'll say," I said, as I put my hands on his shoulders and made him face me. "What's going on? Connie came to see me tonight!"

"Aww jeez," he sighed. "I was afraid of that."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Afraid your old girlfriend would confront your new one? Or afraid the girl you really love might say something to the gem you…ugh, this is so damn frustrating!"

He did the last thing I wanted from him now. He motioned for me to quiet down, as he glanced back towards his father and friends.

"What, Steven?" I said, as I steadily raised my voice. "You don't want anyone to know we had SEX?!"

Back behind us, I heard a piece of metal clank to ground.

"Lapis, please," Steven sighed, "Maybe we've been moving too fast. I just thought—"

"You wanted to marry Connie, how's that not fast?!" I yelled, as I tossed up my hands and began walking away from him.

"Lapis, wait!" he shouted, as he clutched my elbow. I jerked it away from him, and stormed back to the cars.

I cursed him and myself under my breath as I brushed past Greg, who darted out of the way when he saw me coming. Sadie pulled Shep against the side of the van to give me as wide a berth as possible.

I kept marching until I came upon some chucks of loose gravel on the roadside. I began kicking at it, until I felt a twinge of pain when I stubbed my toe. I let out a yell, before I plopped myself on the ground, rested my chin on my knees, and seethed.

A minute later, I tensed up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Go away," I growled.

I didn't expect to hear Sadie's voice. "Hey, uh, I don't mean to be a buttinsky, but I've seen that look before in the mirror."

"I don't like mirrors," I muttered.

I scooted away a little when she sat down next to me. "I know we don't really know each other too well, and I sure don't know all the details of whatever happened, but I have a feeling I know what you're going through."

"You're a human," I reminded her. "You can't know how I feel."

"Yeah, I'm not a gem," she answered, "But I know what it's like when you feel strongly about someone, and you worry they're a lot more important to you than you are to them."

I picked up a piece of gravel and ran it along my fingers. "What'd you do?" I asked.

Sadie laughed a little. "Well, I was right, so I joined a band and moved on. Then I found someone better for me." She patted my elbow. "I don't have all the answers, I guess. Just letting you know not every night'll be like this."

I tried my hardest to stop any tears from flowing. "I love him. I don't know how not to—even when he's so…wishy washy." I tossed the gravel into the tall grass along the highway. "I'm so pathetic."

"Well, I won't tell you not to blame yourself, because I know how hard that is," she told me. "Just don't forget to love yourself, too."

I looked over at her and she gave me a smile.

"Thanks," I muttered.

At that moment, I heard an obnoxious blaring sound from the van. Greg hit the horn again and called out. "Come on, Sadie, let's roll!"

"Ok!" she called out. She turned to me and said, "If you ever want to come to one of our shows, let me know and I'll hook you up with tickets."

"Maybe I'll do that," I told her, before she headed back to the van. I saw her give Shep a kiss as she hopped back inside.

A minute later, the van was gone, and Steven stood alone next to his car. "Lapis?" He called out.

"Yeah?"

He put on a nervous smile. "Need a ride?"

"Sure," I said, and pulled myself to my feet.

We spent the first twenty minutes or so in silence as we drove back towards Beach City.

"You…want me to put the radio on?" Steven finally asked, as we crossed the Delmarva state line.

"No," I said, as I squirmed against the seat belt. This was only my third or fourth time inside a car, and I hate how constricting they are.

I really don't care for confined spaces…

"Lapis?"

"What?" I said, with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I should have called you as soon as I spoke with Connie, or gone to find you," he explained. "I shouldn't have put you in a position where she'd come over without you knowing what was going on. I just—I had to get away afterwards…I had to think…then my dad called…"

I let out a sickly wheeze of a laugh when I thought back to earlier in the night. "Oh, jeez. I was so awful to her." I leaned back and covered my face.

"Oh…what'd you say?" Steven asked, as he changed lanes.

I shuddered as I thought back. "I kinda told her…that I'm better for you, because she's going to die someday, and I'm not." I looked over and saw him cringe a little. "Oh," I added, "and I rubbed it in her face that we had sex."

"Wow," was all he could muster.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and slumped my head against the dashboard. "Why do you even put up with me?" I groaned.

A minute later, I realized we'd come to a stop in a gas station parking lot. "This isn't home," I pointed out.

Steven unbuckled and began to pull me into a hug.

I wanted to push him away, and stay mad a little while longer.

I couldn't do it.

Make sure your skin's warm, I reminded myself.

I wanted to lean in and kiss him, but I stopped myself.

I wanted to see if he'd kiss me first this time.

Instead, he said, "I had to stop, anyway—you weren't buckled in."

I let out a snort. "What's the worst that could happen? I poof?"

He entwined his fingers with mine, his face grim with determination. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Lapis. I won't let anything happen…"

Then he kissed me.