CHAPTER EIGHT

Lion had disappeared in the short time it had taken for him to wash, so Steven began walking. The cool air made him feel slightly more awake, but he was still a little worried he might suddenly fall asleep while he was walking, so he pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts until he reached Connie's name.

The phone rang twice, and then her voice sounded on the other end. "Hey, Steven! What's up?"

"I need to talk to you," Steven said at once. "Not for any bad reason," he quickly added, belatedly realizing how ominous those words sounded, "it's just I'm really, really, really tired and if I don't do something or talk to someone, I'm genuinely afraid I might pass out again and be mistaken for a dead body."

"Oh! OK. Um… so do you wanna tell me why you're so exhausted?" Connie asked. "Is it a gem thing?"

"I guess you could say that." He quickly explained about the storm and the barn and the failed room ceremony. "So now Peridot lives in the house as well."

"And… she's keeping you up at night?" Connie couldn't help smirking at her unintended double-entendre. "Well, well, well! That was fast work!"

"Not like that!" Steven protested. "I just couldn't sleep with her in the room! She listens to music and it was distracting! She stays in the bathroom at night!"

Connie laughed. "I know, I'm just messing with you."

Exhaustion was like a truth serum and the words slipped out before they'd even fully taken form in his mind. "I really like her though."

"Really?" On the other end of the line, Connie sat up a little straighter, intrigued. "Tell me more."

"What?" Steven said blankly. "Wait, did I say that out loud?"

"You did," she said serenely, and lounged back in her chair, idly pushing at her desk with her foot to make it spin from side to side. "And as your BFF, I'm going to need you to explain yourself further."

"Um." Steven could feel his cheeks heating up despite the cool night air. "There's really not much to tell. I just… like her."

There was a loud snort in his ear and he winced and pulled away. "Well yeah, I worked out that much," Connie replied, her voice tinny and faint. "You've had a low-key crush on her since the first time you saw her."

"No I haven't," he protested weakly.

"I possess fully functioning eyes, Steven. Which is all your fault, by the way," she pointed out.

"OK, I admit it!" He shook his head in defeat. "I thought she looked cool and I wanted to be her friend."

"And now you want to be her boyyyyyfrieeeeend!" Connie sang gleefully. "Steven and Peridot, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-"

"Connieeeeeeee!" Steven whined. "You're supposed to be my friend! I need advice, not mockery!"

"Wellllll…." Connie pushed a foot against the desk and swung around the other way. Tormenting him was a lot of fun, but she had to admit, Steven did sound desperate. Of course, that could just be the sleep deprivation. "OK. Advice from your Auntie Connie." She cleared her throat and put on a deep and serious expression that was completely wasted because nobody was around to see it. "Have you considered telling her how you feel?"

Steven kicked up sand with his toes and watched it drift away on the breeze. "No, but I almost kissed her yesterday," he offered.

"And?"

"Amethyst tripped over a flat pack desk and swore a lot and it kinda spoiled the moment and she went running to make sure nothing got broken."

Connie mulled over that for a moment. "Well… did she seem to be into it before that?"

"I don't know!" He groaned and rubbed his hand against his forehead. "I thought maybe she was, but I was tired. Maybe I hallucinated it."

"But she didn't push you away or slap you or anything, did she?" Connie persisted.

"No," he admitted.

"So talk to her!" Connie was beginning to feel a little dizzy, so she stuck her foot out and stopped spinning. The room continued to move around her and she blinked a few times until it finally stopped. "Tell her how you feel! What's the worst that could happen? Don't answer that," she added quickly. "OK, maybe she won't feel the same way and that sucks, but at least you'll know, right?"

Steven sighed and stepped onto the access ramp that led to the Big Donut and Boardwalk Street. What she was saying made sense, but he wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to know. If he never told Peridot how he felt, she couldn't turn him down and break his heart. "What if I just make things weird?" he said in a small voice.

There was silence on the other end of the line, the Connie spoke, a little hesitantly. "Well… we weren't weird. I mean," she amended, "that kiss was weird, but we weren't weird about it, were we?"

"…No," Steven said slowly. "But we didn't like each other like that anyway." His own initial crush on Connie had quickly faded as they became friends, while hers had abruptly vanished when Lars had finally arrived home after several months on Homeworld, pink, undead and possibly immortal, and she suddenly understood just how much danger she'd been throwing herself into. But they were surrounded on all sides by people who seemed utterly convinced that they were meant to be together, and it was difficult to ignore that much peer pressure, so one evening, when they were alone on the beach, they'd kissed. Just to be sure. And immediately agreed never to speak of it ever again.

"True," Connie conceded. She sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her desk. "Maybe you should just invite her out for coffee, see how that goes. You don't have to start talking about feelings straight away or anything."

Steven stuck his tongue out in distaste. "I think if I drink any more coffee, I'll throw up."

Connie rolled her eyes. "Take her out to dinner then, dummy!"

"Great idea. So great, I did it already."

"And?" she asked cautiously.

"I fell asleep and almost drowned in my lasagna." He smiled a self-depreciating smile as he heard her start laughing. "Anyway, enough about me and my disastrous love life. How are you? How's college? How's your love life?"

"I'm fine, college is fine, and there's a cute guy in my Creative Writing class I have my eye on," she listed, ticking each reply off on her fingers as she spoke. "We got into a discussion last week about the treatment of squibs in Harry Potter. I'm gonna ask him for coffee on the pretext of asking him if I can use one of his ideas in a fanfic."

"Oh, that reminds me," he said with a yawn. "Garnet says there's going to be a Harry Potter TV show announced soon."

"Oh my God, are you kidding me!?" Connie cried, sitting bolt upright at once. "Are they gonna treat Ginny properly this time? Please tell me they treat Ginny properly this time!"

"I told her not to tell me anything." He walked past the park and turned onto Fenton Street. "All I know is that it's gonna be good."

"Oh my God, a Harry Potter TV series," Connie said again, mostly to herself. "They'll be able to fit it all the stuff they missed in the movies. Peeves, SPEW, the Quidditch World Cup, all the Horcruxes…"

"Lockhart's singing dwarves," Steven added with a grin. He saw his father's house up ahead and with the end now literally in sight, he picked up the pace. "I'm almost at my dad's now, I'm gonna go in a moment-"

"Your dad's?" Connie repeated in surprise.

He nodded before remembering that she couldn't see him. "Yeah, I'm going to sleep there tonight."

"Oh, right. I see. I just assumed you were walking home for some reason."

"No, I asked Garnet if we could try the room ceremony again tomorrow, and I wanted to be sure I got a good night's sleep first."

"Ah, I see." Connie relaxed in her chair once again. "I bet Peridot's happy about that. It can't be pleasant spending all night in your bathroom. Anyway, I gotta go now, I have a three thousand word essay tomorrow and I still need five hundred words."

"OK, thanks for talking to me and keeping me awake." He began walking up the path to the front door. "Let me know when you're back home again, we'll hang out."

"Will do. Sleep well. And good luck with Peridot, bye!"

"Bye." Steven shook his head and smiled as he disconnected the call and raised his hand to knock on the door. The smile faded as he waited for his dad to answer; something Connie had said was bothering him, but he was too tired to pinpoint exactly what it was.

xxx

On the other side of town, Peridot was also knocking on a locked door. She wanted to change out of her tomato-stained top and into something clean, but this time, there was no answer. Undeterred, she knocked a little louder and waited patiently. Then she knocked and waited impatiently. "Hello? Is there anybody in there? I wish to enter!"

There was no response. She frowned and stepped away from the door, wondering where they could possibly be. On a mission, perhaps? That seemed the most likely answer, but surely they would've at least told Steven? She looked around the room and finally spotted the note hung on the door of the fridge.

Dear Steven.

We are dealing with a small foliage emergency in the forest. We will be back by the morning. Sleep well.

Garnet x

PS: We love you.

It did not escape Peridot's attention that her name was not mentioned on the note. They'd probably forgotten about her. Again. And no wonder, she thought sourly, casting another quick look around. Other than her tablet and tool box, all of her possessions had been swept away, out of sight. Even the tea light holders had vanished. There was no other sign that anybody other than Steven lived in this house. And now he was gone as well.

A sudden rush of homesickness washed over her. She missed Lapis and the barn. Impulsively, she picked up her tablet and initiated a Facetime call and a few seconds later, Lapis's grinning face appeared on the screen. "Hi, Peridot! What's up?"

Peridot forced her features into a smile in return. "Hello. I was just wondering how your travels are proceeding?"

Somehow Lapis's grin grew even wider. "I'm having a brilliant time! Did you read my blog yet? I updated it today."

"Yes, Steven and I read it earlier. You didn't write very much," she said, a little accusatory.

"Well, that's because there wasn't very much to write about," Lapis said mildly. "It wasn't a very interesting island."

"But you're having fun?" Peridot pressed. "You don't… regret leaving?"

"Absolutely not," the other gem said emphatically. "This is the most fun I've had since…" She stopped to think. "Actually, I think it really is the most fun I've ever had in my life! It's just so nice, visiting places and seeing them and not destroying them."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself." Peridot hoped she looked like she meant it.

"I am," Lapis said happily. "So what about you, are you enjoying life with the Crystal Gems? Have you been on any missions yet?"

"Well… no, not yet," Peridot admitted. "But that's because Steven and I have been exceptionally busy organizing our shared space."

"Hey, where is Steven, anyway?" Lapis asked, tilting her head as if that would let her see more of the room.

"Oooh, look at the time, I gotta go," Peridot said hurriedly, and disconnected the call before Lapis could say another word. Then she tossed her tablet onto the sofa and sighed heavily. Talking to Lapis hadn't made her feel any better at all, clearly the other gem was having a simply wonderful time without her, and whining about her own situation would just be selfish. Maybe Pearl had a point, she thought gloomily, maybe she should just move back into the barn once it was rebuilt.

Her eyes flickered over towards the warp pad. Garnet had told Greg about the barn, and Greg had said he would tell Andy, but nobody had updated her on any further progress. Had the work actually begun yet? Before she could change her mind, she crossed the room and stepped onto the warp pad, arriving moments later on the hill opposite the site where the barn had once stood. And to her delight, just visible in the fading light, were a small group of people, one of which was recognizable as Andy. She jogged down hill and slowed to a walk as she neared them.

"-doing business with you," Andy was saying as she approached. She waited until the other people finished smiling and nodding and shaking his hand, and then cleared her throat to get his attention, and he spun around, startled. "Oh, it's you. Whaddya want, greenie?"

"My name's Peridot," she said politely. For some reason, Andy seemed incapable of remembering her name. She half suspected he did it on purpose. "I was just wondering if you had an estimated timeframe for the rebuilding of the barn?"

"What now?" Andy said blankly. Then suddenly he understood and laughed. "Wait, ol' Greg didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Peridot said cautiously, not liking the smirk on his face.

"I'm selling up!" Andy exclaimed gleefully. "Just finished signing the contract!"

"B-but- what about the barn?" Peridot stammered. "We live there!"

"Not any more, you don't," Andy said flatly. "You burned it down, or blew it up or something, so now I'm selling the land."

"But-" Peridot began again, feeling her stomach drop with dismay. "You gave us the land-"

"I gave you hippies the barn," Andy corrected. "Ain't my fault you didn't take care of it. If you'd paid rent like law abiding citizens, maybe I coulda afforded to rebuild it. But you didn't, did you? And I don't have the money to go building barns all over the place for freeloading space hippies. I mean, this is prime real estate!" He gestured towards the barn wreckage and the fields beyond. "Look at those ocean views! If you ain't gonna pay for it, I'm selling to someone else who will."

"Greg-" Peridot started.

"-Was offered first shot," Andy interrupted. "And he turned it down. So much for family, huh? So I sold to a developer instead." He grinned and folded his arms. "This time next year, there's gonna be twelve luxury condos here. Expensive ones, should attract a decent class of people. No… undesirables." He cackled and clapped a hand on her shoulder, almost knocking her into the dirt. "Of course, if you ask nicely, I could put in a word for you and the cute blue one, see if I can get you one at a discount."

"Um, no thank you," she muttered, wriggling free.

"Well if you change your mind, tell Greg to give me a call." Andy laughed again, and then turned his back on her and strode off towards his plane. Peridot scowled after him and had a quick, brief daydream in which a gem mutant burst out of the ground and caused him to lose control of his bowels. It was a mean thought and she felt bad about it… but not too bad, because now she had to tell everyone that the land had been sold. Somehow she didn't think Pearl would be very happy with that news.

She sighed and scuffed her feet along the ground as she slowly made her way back towards the warp pad. Forget Pearl, nobody was going to be happy to hear the barn was no longer an option. She hated to admit it, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that this arrangement, her living in the beach house, was turning out to be a complete failure. Pearl and Amethyst hadn't been able to concentrate on the room ceremony, Steven hadn't been able to sleep since she'd moved in and Garnet- well, it was always difficult to tell with Garnet, but she was pretty sure the fuel cell hadn't impressed her as much as she'd been hoping.

Her dragging footsteps slowed to a halt as the warp pad came closer. She didn't want to go back to the beach house. It was empty and lonely and boring and unwelcoming. Most of her belongings were all locked away, the gems didn't want her there and she was sick of spending her nights in the bathroom. All right, so she didn't have to stay there tonight, but that small victory was completely soured by the fact that she was only allowed out because Steven had fled to his father's house because he couldn't sleep in the same room as her.

That was what bothered her the most. She could put up with everything else; there was plenty of other stuff to entertain her in the house, the gems would eventually get used to having her around and it wasn't as if she hadn't been trapped in the bathroom before… but she hated that she'd forced Steven out of his home. And from what he'd said earlier, she was pretty sure it was somehow her fault he couldn't use his room in the Temple either.

She was going to have to find somewhere else to live. Lapis had talked about how she and Steven had flown around the Earth, looking for some place for her to stay, but the locations the other gem had mentioned didn't really appeal to Peridot. The city was too far away, and the country didn't have nearly enough wifi and electricity. What she needed was someplace with electricity, shelter, and nearby access to a warp pad.

Immediately, the perfect location popped into her head and without any further hesitation, she stepped onto the warp pad and materialized a moment later in the Prime Kindergarten.

Unlike Steven and the other Crystal Gems, Peridot had never really been intimidated by the Kindergarten. She was a Kindergarten technician, after all. True, the ones she'd worked in during her training had all been busy and full of life, but even though it had long since been exhausted and abandoned, she could still appreciate the work that had gone into this one.

She carefully made her way down into the valley and walked between the towering cliffs, casting a glance now and then at the uniformly perfect exit holes, until she reached the hole in the ground that lead to the control room. Without her limb enhancers, she could no longer command the platform, but that didn't hold her back, and she slid ungracefully down the slope, almost stumbling over onto her face when she reached the bottom. Once she'd steadied herself, she marched forwards, towards the darkened control room and the gem pedestal in the middle, and pressed her hand upon it, activating the screens. She'd never explored beyond the control room before, but logically, she knew there had to be more to this place and before she decided to make this place her home, she wanted to explore it a bit more. Images flickered past as she tapped on the pedestal, skimming through the Cluster data until she finally found what she was looking for: a map.

She stepped back away from the pedestal and tilted her face up so that she could see better. Apparently there was a hidden doorway located behind the power source and beyond that, a network of tunnels leading to what were presumably ancient laboratories and research stations. Peridot frowned thoughtfully up at the map, wondering if they'd been completely cleaned out when Homeworld had left this place. The prospect of living in a laboratory that had been used to create gem mutants wasn't all that appealing, especially in light of her confession to Steven. Perhaps she should just stick to the control room, after all, it had power and it shouldn't be too difficult to connect the computer to the internet. And once she'd removed the broken pillars that had housed the gem mutants, there would be plenty of space for her new furniture.

Still… she found her eyes drifting back down towards the broken power source and the door she now knew lay on the other side. It would be sensible to at least go and check things out before she fully decided to move in. After all, there could be equipment back there that she could use to better develop that faster-than-light drive, or other stuff that could be used against Homeworld. Perhaps there might even be information there that could be used to safely extract the Cluster; it was safely bubbled for now, but there was no guarantee it would stay that way forever, especially not if Yellow Diamond came looking.

Another sudden thought made her freeze rigid. What if there was information about corruption back there somewhere? Homeworld had been conducting research on fusion here, creating smaller gem mutants before they'd thrown their energy into making the Cluster. Was possible that they'd also experimented with corruption on a smaller scale too? She didn't know much about the weapon that had ended the war, but surely something like that would have had to be tested first? And if Homeworld had left the records behind, maybe they'd be able to use that information to begin working towards a cure. She knew the Crystal Gems hadn't know about this place before she'd shown up and it was highly likely that Homeworld had other secret locations here on Earth that the Crystal Gems hadn't found yet, but this was as good a place as any to begin looking.

Snapping back to attention, she tapped at the pedestal again and watched as the door slid open, revealing the dimly-lit corridor behind. Then she approached the power source, hauled herself up onto the platform it stood upon and carefully squeezed past the crystal veins.

The corridor branched off in several directions at once. It would be extremely easy for somebody to get lost, but Peridot had already memorized the layout, and turned down a tunnel that she knew led to a laboratory. Sure enough, at the end she found another closed door with a hand pad set in the wall at the side. She pressed her hand on it and stood back expectantly as the door slid open, but to her disappointment, the room inside was completely empty. Still, she knew there were several other labs down in these tunnels, so undeterred, she turned around and headed off to explore in another direction.

The next few rooms were equally disappointing. It seemed that the Diamonds had cleaned out the place before unleashing their final weapon. Perhaps even back then, even after planning to blow up the entire planet, they'd been wary of future visitors discovering exactly what they'd done. But Peridot was determined not to turn back until she'd checked everywhere, and was rewarded for her efforts in the very next room, when she opened the door and almost crashed straight into the corrupted gem on the other side.