"How do you know my mom?" Peridot asked, her mouth agape at the information given to her by Rose.
The blonde's mind was racing with different possibilities.
Was Rose the 'lady fling' that Yellow diamond said she had in the past?
Were they just childhood best friends who happened to go their separate ways during college, or did they meet in college and become friends then?
Even then, how would they have become friends in the first place? Their personalities were entirely different. Rose was so calm, understanding, and Yellow Diamond.. well, she was cold and calculating.
It was strange to even think that these two could have ever been friends, really.
Amethyst was just as surprised. Not for the same reason Peridot was, but she was surprised, nonetheless.
"How come you never talked about her?" The ex-prostitute asked, regaining her composure more quickly than her girlfriend, who was still staring up at Rose with wide eyes.
"She never came up in conversation until now.." Rose explained, shrugging her shoulders. "And I had no idea she was your mother. She never talked about having a child." The woman said, turning to Peridot.
"I'm adopted.."
"I see.." Rose shrugged again and gestured for the group to continue walking. It took Amethyst pulling on Peridot's hand to actually get her to move.
Garnet, Ruby, and Sapphire were surprised as well, but they weren't involved enough to feel as if they needed to ask questions.
"Anyway.." Rose continued. "Your mother and I are actually old friends. We grew up in the same neighborhood in Maryland."
"You knew each other for that long?" Amethyst asked. "Why didn't you ever hit her up for some extra cash?"
"Didn't need it, and didn't want it." Rose replied with authority. "My family and I are perfectly stable at where we stand. More money and it could go to Steven's head."
"Oh, how does he like his plane?" The mention of Steven made Amethyst excited to see the boy's smiling face again. He was such a good kid, so kind.. The silver haired girl could understand why Rose wouldn't want him to become corrupt with money.
"Oh he loves it." Rose replied. "He hasn't stopped playing with it since I gave it to him. He knows it's from Aunty Amethyst, of course." Amethyst smiled, a small blush forming on her face.
"I'm glad he likes it.."
"Has he talked about me since I left, yesterday?" Peridot asked. She had actually forgotten how hurtful the boy was to her after getting together with Amethyst. Of course she didn't hold anything against him for hurting her feelings. He was just a child, after all. Not to mention he didn't blame her for anything.
"Oh I gave him a stern talking to." Rose pursed her lips, remembering the conversation she had with her son. "I told him that some things are just not right to say at certain times."
"He didn't get in too much trouble, did he?"
Rose chuckled, rather amused that Peridot was worried for Steven.
"No, he's not in trouble. He would have been, but he started bawling about how he hoped you were okay.. He wouldn't have cared if I punished him or not, I'm sure."
Peridot sighed, smiling. She was glad that Steven wasn't in trouble for her sake. The boy was so kind.. even at his age, peridot knew he'd grow up to be someone extraordinary.
"Screw all this small talk!" Ruby almost shouted, shoving Peridot from behind with her free hand, causing the blonde to stumble. "We have some catching up to do!"
The rest of the walk to Amethyst's apartment is spent with conversation about how the girls grew up after the orphanage.. and how Amethyst had finally remembered Peridot.
"I still can't believe you forgot her in the first place." Sapphire stated. "You always talked about how memories are the most important thing to you."
"Yeah I know.." Amethyst said quietly, not really wanting to bring up the fact that she forgot her best friend now girlfriend. "I still feel awful about that."
"Do you know what made you forget in the first place?" Ruby inquired. Amethyst nodded.
"Yeah, it was stupid though.. it doesn't matter anymore."
"Well duh, but I'm curious." Ruby pressured.
"You know she won't give up on this, Amethyst.." Sapphire reasoned. Amethyst laughed, shaking her head.
"Yeah, I know.. Like I said, it was a pretty stupid reason."
Amethyst explained that she lost her memory when Peridot left the orphanage. None of the group had even considered that possibility because Amethyst was always so in love with her memories, even the bad ones. Around them, the streets started to look more worn, and dirty. They could tell that they were reaching their destination.
"But when you left.. I dunno.. it sort of crushed me." Amethyst said to Peridot. Though, the ex-prostitute didn't even look at her girlfriend. She had promised that she would never forget Peridot, but she did.. As soon as the blonde left, no less.
Amethyst only looked up when she felt Peridot's hand slide into hers. The blonde was smiling widely, her eyes practically sparkling behind her glasses.
"It doesn't matter now.."
"No.. no it doesn't." Amethyst would have kissed Peridot then and there, but she wanted to tell everyone about their new relationship. So she stuck with a smile, for now.
Garnet raised an eyebrow at the pair's affection toward one another.. but she pushed her thoughts aside. Surely Amethyst wouldn't think of putting herself out after just getting a free day from prison.
The next few minutes were spent in idle conversation between the four girls from the orphanage. Peridot filled Ruby and Sapphire in on what happened since they left, and vice versa.
The couple was honestly a little surprised that Peridot was taken into such a well off household.
"I'm happy there, of course.. My maid and driver are like the best of friends, but.." The blonde trailed off, biting her lip. "It doesn't feel like home."
"You always did sleep well in the orphanage.." Sapphire commented.
"Yeah!" Ruby added. "You didn't even piss yourself when I stuck your hand in warm water." Peridot stared at Ruby in exasperation.
"You did what, now?"
"Oh look, we're here!" Amethyst interrupted suddenly, pointing down the street to Pearl handing out food for the homeless. Her little stand was decorated with many different lights, most of them leftover from Christmas. It was New Year's Day, after all.
Amethyst would just love to see Ruby get yelled at, but after hearing Sapphire's story about all those dreams she had concerning her mother.. well, let's just say that the ex-prostitute would prefer her new girlfriend to stay alive.
Amethyst rushed forward to greet her friend, and the rest of the group followed excitedly. Peridot already forgot her anger towards Ruby.. she was just happy that Amethyst was happy.
"Yo, Pearl!" Amethyst called. Pearl looked up from serving some soup to a rather skinny woman just in time to see Amethyst skid to a halt in front of her stand.
"Amethyst!" After making sure the woman got her food, Pearl ran around the front of her stand. She had to bend down a little, but she was able to pull her friend into an almost crushing hug.
The shorter girl was surprised that Pearl could even be this strong.
"P.. choking. Not breathing." Amethyst managed to get these words out and Pearl immediately pulled away, hands on Amethyst's shoulders, taking a good look at her friend.
"Are you alright? You didn't get violated, did you?"
"Woah, jumping to conclusions there, P." Amethyst replied with a chuckle. "Nah, I had a cell all to myself."
"Oh.." Pearl was glad that Amethyst was okay, but she had a good reason for assuming. "But you look so horrible!"
"Gee, thanks, P." Amethyst said sarcastically, blowing her hair from her face. "That's some welcome."
Pearl blushed and stood up straight, crossing her arms.
"Well you look like you haven't showered in days."
"That's because I haven't showered in days." Amethyst retorted.
"You don't have a shower in jail?" Pearl looked up in disbelief at Garnet, who had just caught up with the rest of the group. "How can you not have a shower in jail?"
"The holding cells are usually meant to hold a convict for just a couple days, until someone pays bail or they're tried in court." Garnet explained, crossing her arms. "Would you rather we send her to the Metropolitan Correctional Center?"
"Well.." Pearl bit her lip and grabbed her arm, shaking her head. "No.. no."
"If it makes you feel any better." Amethyst started. "I'll take a shower after I say hey to everybody else."
Pearl smiled at the thought.
"Good. You smell awful."
"Oh ha ha." Amethyst punched Pearl in the arm, and they both laughed.
"Where are Greg, Steven, and Vidalia, anyway?" Peridot asked.
"Oh, Greg and Steven are inside." Pearl responded, pointing behind her with her thumb in the direction of Rose's house. "And Vidalia's at home looking after her child."
Amethyst's screech would have broken windows, if she were close enough to them.
Everyone literally had to cover their ears to protect their ear drums from such a high pitched noise. Pearl was the first to react after Amethyst became quiet again.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Pearl, Ruby, and Perridot yelled simultaneously.
Amethyst would have congratulated Pearl on using a swear word if she weren't so shocked.
"How could get knocked up and have a kid in just five days?!"
"She never told you?" Rose asked calmly, though she was in just as much pain. "She had an illegitimate child with Marty."
"NO she never told me!" Amethyst yelled, grabbing at her hair. "This had to have been before I met her, it had to!"
"Well he's nine years old, so.." Pearl said, trailing off.
"He's nine!?" Amethyst just kept getting more and more surprised. "He's older than Steven!"
"Speaking of whom.." Rose stated, using her hands to turn Amethyst's head in the direction of her home. Steven was looking out of a window in Rose's house. It seemed like her heard Amethyst's screech and grew concerned.
Amethyst sighed and smiled, waving at the boy. His smile couldn't be any wider as he realized just who it was outside. He disappeared from the window, probably making his way to the front door to run out and greet his Aunty Amethyst. The ex-prostitute whispered under her breath.
"I swear, that girl's gonna kill me.."
Author's Note: So sorry for the delay. College has been keeping me extremely busy. I'll try to get the chapters for my stories out there as soon as possible, and I plan on completing a couple of my stories that I'm working on before I start anything new, to lighten my load a bit.
I hope you guys can forgive me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.