A little shorter than usual, but not by much. Enjoy!


Chapter 4 - Something Strange

Pearl and Garnet jumped into action and quickly ran behind the green girl who had already broken into a scramble to the stairs. They didn't even say goodbye to Amethyst, or even acknowledge her at all, if Pearl had to guess she was probably watching that dreadful TV show known as 'Lil' Butler', Pearl shook her head and abandoned that thought. Lapis takes priority and Amethyst will be fine on her own for now, she won't be able to make anymore mess with her broken leg to put it that way.

They pass by the entrance and find skinny lounging in the security room by the office, once again she was fast asleep in her chair and clenching her mug. Pearl briefly remembered it to be one of many that most of the staff had as a small act of defiance against the manager, Holly Blue, who was a tyrant of a boss. If she knew that Skinny was sleeping on the job… Well… Pearl didn't exactly know what would happen, probably a pay cut or maybe something else quite punishing. They didn't stop to wake her and simply passed by her after snatching the keys from the front desk in a swift movement. 'She wouldn't be needing these right now' Pearl judged as she opened the front doors and they ran outside.

Peridot led them back to the beach and stopped dead in her tracks. It was as if someone had pushed the pause button on her. She turned to them slowly, red in the face and panting heavily with beads of sweat on her forehead, she looked as if she was about to collapse at any moment. 'She's not really the athletic type,' Pearl hummed to herself.

"She was grabbed here!" Peridot finally said after taking a long deep breath.

"And where did you see them go?" Pearl asked, her practiced Earl voice seemed to have gotten much hoarser and deeper. She knew that this was going to give her an extremely sore throat in the end but sacrifices had to be made and her voice was something she wouldn't mind losing for a few days.

"Umm, well…" Peridot looked away from them awkwardly, refusing to met their eyes. She seemed almost as frazzled as that Dewey got when he was complimented or- Pearl shivered, spoke with her back in high school.

"You don't know where they went," Garnet grumbled, a hint of irritation in her voice,

"Look! I'm not a fighter!" Peridot voice grew raspy, "I see a bad situation and I run, that's what's kept me alive in this city for so long!" There was a thousand questions that Pearl could have asked about that statement, but at the moment she found asking them very inappropriate.

"No, no, we understand," Garnet calmed her down, "you done the right thing by getting us. Now…" She fixed her shades and looked sternly over the scenery, "let's try and find something that can point us in the right direction."

"You mean, to look for clues right?" Peridot deadpanned,

"Same thing," she tutted in response. Garnet turned to Pearl, the disguised girl jumped slightly when it looked like Garnet was about to say her actual name. Thankfully she had caught herself and bit her tongue, "Earl, try and find something at the beach, we'll look at the buildings nearby."

Pearl sighed in relief and nodded her head in acknowledgement, she looked to the beach in new-found determination. The smouldering wood from where there was a bonfire from Dewey's party was giving off some light and smoke in the background. Drunken teens and young adults loitered around, either for warmth or just to clear their heads, Pearl scoffed when she seen some idiots still swimming in the sea. Then it hit her, Lapis had also gotten into the water and she was soaking wet when she came out, it was unrealistic that she was completely dry and she must have left some sort of wet trail in the sand. If Pearl was lucky, Lapis may have even went back to the sea at some point, despite how strange it sounded. Pearl cast her gaze to the ground, careful as to not step on anything that looked like footsteps and practically walking around everything like she was walking on eggshells whilst avoiding land-mines.

Each small branch could have been used as a weapon, something to grab onto and hit someone with, a stone could also have been thrown at someone and the particularly sharper and rough ones could cause some bleeding, even sand could do some damage if thrown into someones eyes. Pearl, shamefully, knew this all from experience.

As the search continued Pearl found herself getting increasingly frustrated, she remembered what Jasper had done, or tried to do, with Lapis and it sickened her. She remembered Lapis's pained cry as her back hit the brick wall, the way the brute had stuck her grabby hands at anything soft and breakable.

She never found it surprising that once a drunken young man stumbled across her and began to make several drunken remarks that she raised her fist and punched him straight in the chest, knocking him onto the ground. Pearl took a step back when he looked up to her in fear before he scrambled away on all fours, Pearl gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, she was not in any mood to be sympathetic with some drunk beach bum.

Pearl however did have to calm herself down, she was becoming irrational and impatient, something that she despised about herself amongst other things. She scowled when she slowly started comparing herself to Jasper, in the eyes of a regular person, she was just as bad and if not, worse than the gang leader.

Times like these she was happy that she never had her knife, she couldn't trust herself with it anymore.

Thankfully her 'investigation' of the beach gave her some good results for her hard work, she seen disturbed sand leading to, and then away, from the sea. At first it was ordinary footprints and it could have been anyones, it was the reason why Pearl overlooked it, but eventually she seen it lead into a scuffle with bootprints. It looked like whoever made the footprints was running away at first before getting caught and pulled roughly back. Pearl followed the trail with her eyes and seen it lead towards the small donut building.

It was a tiny establishment with an awkwardly big metal donut attached to the roof, quite fitting that it was called 'The Big Donut' she remembered how she would climb onto the building with Amethyst during the night to see if they could kick the metal thing off. Somehow the giant donut remained standing on it's rusted bolts for all these years.

But that was enough reminiscing on the past, Pearl could faintly make out some movement in the small alley behind the Big Donut and before she could comprehend it or call Garnet and Peridot she was sprinting. With determination and some outrageous courage she had built up in her irritation, she ran passed the corner only to find an employee leaving the building.

She went cold as a pang of fear flashed through her, her only lead turned out to be a red herring and suddenly she was staring into a haze of anxiety and dark thoughts. Pearl pressed her lips into a thin line and took some steps back, turning around and away from the employee. Instantly Pearl felt like she was useless and caused more problems than solve, it was the same for Rose and now she had somehow mirrored that onto Lapis. Pearl clicked her tongue, it was as if she was scolding herself and she found that she had done this a lot once she left Beach City. She swore to herself and grimaced as she never should have gotten involved with Lapis in the first place, or at least, have gotten the courage to have told her the truth sooner.

'I could have prevented all of this from happening.' Pearl frowned.

But as she was about to step foot on the dampened sand of the beach she heard the smashing of glass and a muffled grunt behind a tall wall adjacent to the dumpsters where 'The Big Donut' would toss their expired products. She ran by the confused and slightly scared employee, who promptly locked the shop and ran off, and with a strong kick off the random boxes lying by the trash she leaped into the air and grabbed onto the top of the brick wall, hoisting herself over with minor strain. She paused and gained her breath slightly, in the distance she seen Garnet and Peridot running to where she was perched on the wall. A thought came into Pearl's head, to stop and let them catch up, but she didn't stop, she couldn't stop. Pearl swung her legs over and jumped down before she could hear Peridot call out her supposed name of 'Earl'.

Her landing was rough and slightly painful. Despite being well practised in gymnastics and even parkour back when she was with Rose, she was rusty and slow with her movements, Pearl stood up straight slowly and clenched her fists. She looked dead ahead to where she heard the suspicious noises and gasped.

There she found Lapis with some tall, lanky guy. He was wearing loose clothes that made him look like some sort of animal and his hair was a wild white blond, it was similar to Jaspers hair in a sense but all thought of some familial relations between them was forgotten when Pearl noticed how sickly green his eyes were, it wasn't like Jaspers at all.

"You were so easy to catch y'know?" He chuckled and Lapis said something but it was muffled behind the boys hand. "You really have changed a lot, shame."

Lapis was scowling at him and pushed his hand that was covering her mouth away, the boy was grinning wildly as if it was all just a game to him. Lapis looked just about to do something, either yell or punch him, but she simply looked to Pearl's direction in surprise and gasped, there was some relief in her eyes. The boy followed her gaze after realising her sudden disinterest in him, his large grin seemed to disappear at the sight of Pearl and he let go of Lapis quickly.

The girl used this opportunity to push him away and they slowly backed off from each other, Pearl raised an eyebrow as the boy never looked away from her and ignored Lapis.

"Y-you?!" He gasped, but slowly his shocked face contorted slowly into anger the longer he stared at Pearl. "No wait… There's something off about you…"

"Don't care," Pearl replied and looked over to the girl in blue who was creeping away from him slowly, "Lapis, are you alright?"

"Just peachy," she scowled,

"Don't fucking ignore me!" The boy gritted his teeth,

"We weren't planning on ignoring you." Pearl glanced to the side to find Garnet nailing her landing, the girl stood up menacingly and her shades gleamed in the streetlight.

The boys face went pale and he quickly turned around and ran off in the opposite direction without even leaving a remark. Lapis looked at him go, she looked enraged and at the same time confused.

Pearl could understand however, having a guy that potentially stalked you for the day, caught you and then ignore you in the end wasn't something that happened regularly.

"Thanks," she said after a moment of silence, "but I could have handled it myself." She took a deep breath and looked back to Pearl and Garnet, her face much softer and there was a small smile adorning her.

"DON'T WORRY LAZULI, I'M COMING FOR MORAL SUPPORT!" They suddenly hear a raspy voice on the other side of the wall where Pearl and Garnet jumped from, they heard Peridot move things and strain herself before hearing a loud crash. "I'M OKAY!"

Lapis laughed and she walked up to Pearl and Garnet, "Wait there! We'll be over in a minute!" Lapis called over to the awaiting Peridot. She then turned back to her rescuers as she rubbed a sore spot on her arm. "Thanks again."

"No problem," Pearl replied with a small blush, Garnet hummed.

For a moment Pearl believed that the tall woman would break and suddenly tell Lapis the truth about Earl, the dancer even raised an eyebrow at Garnet who remained silent.

"Let's get back to Peri," Lapis said as she turned to face the wall, "she's probably worried."

"I'M VERY WORRIED!"

Lapis smiled, "meet you on the other side." she winked at Pearl and the tall girl felt like she was shot. She blushed heavily and watched Lapis run up the wall and effortlessly swing herself over, Pearl was very much enchanted. Her movement was elegant in a strange way and Pearl wondered if Lapis was a dancer or gymnast, her poise was something that many would strive to achieve after all.

"I'm going to go home now," Garnet sighed, "it's just around the corner for me… I'll tell my parents that you said hi."

"Wait, Garnet-" Garnet stopped her by putting a finger on her lips, it was then that Pearl realised that she was speaking normally instead of using her 'Earl' voice, Garnet then indicated the wall and a timely 'Are you coming Earl?' rang like a bell.

"Later," Garnet smiled and she began walking away.

Pearl grumbled and climbed over the wall, her landing was much softer but she could still feel like her knees were going to give out at any moment.

"Finally," Lapis sighed with a smile, "I was wondering what took you."

"Garnet went home," Pearl explained, "I was saying goodbye."

Lapis just nodded her head in response, "I guess Peridot and I will head home now too."

Pearl watched Lapis turn and start walking away, Peridot looked at her nervously, her expressive eyes begging her to do something. The taller girl knew that she couldn't just let Lapis go of course, there was too much mystery behind them and Pearl was nearly entranced by the idea of figuring out the little secrets. Not in a stalker like way, Lapis was like a complicated puzzle or formula that didn't need solving. She was charming and complex, yet far too tempting to leave alone.

There was also the possibility of that creepy boy returning once they were alone again and Pearl didn't want to cause indirect harm to the girl or any harm at all.

She took a breath and clenched her fist tightly. "Wait a minute," Pearl stopped Lapis from walking away, she turned back to her with a confused expression. Momentarily Pearl thought she seen a hint of irritation and she was about to back out. But the look on Peridot's face said differently, "let me take you two home, you never know if he'll come back again."

"Well…" Lapis looked unsure and she looked down to Peridot,

"Lapis, I never managed to help you at all before and we don't know if you're going to get attacked again," Peridot explained and Lapis pouted slightly, "Just let him do this tonight."

Peridot looked back to Pearl with a small hopeful look and Lapis eventually sighed, nodding her head and folded her arms, "okay, fine."

The walk back to Lapis's and Peridots place was mostly silent, Pearl was too busy watching for anyone to approach them from the darkness, almost daring anyone to approach them. This feeling of defensiveness for someone else was a feeling that Pearl missed, she glanced at Lapis who was rubbing her arm, Pearl frowned at the red mark the boy left on her.

"Does it hurt?" Pearl asked her, Lapis looked at her in slight surprise,

"I'll be fine," she replied, "it's not that bad."

"We'll put an ice pack on it as soon as we get home," Peridot answered and Pearl nodded slightly.

She wondered why that boy reacted to her in such a way, why he was so shocked and then so angry, he was acting as if he was tricked and deceived by a mortal enemy rather than got caught by a girl dressed in boys clothes. Pearl sighed, 'who wouldn't be angry when they're caught doing the wrong thing?'

They finally arrive to a small block of flats close to the sea, Pearl couldn't see exactly what the building was like in the darkness but she assumed it to be relatively small and rather run-down by how cracked the walls looked. Pearl followed them to the front door and Peridot loudly sighed sighed, "Thank the stars we're back home safely!"

"The stars?" Pearl raised an eyebrow

"It's her thing," Lapis bumped her shoulder gently as she brushed by her, a small smile on her face. It made Pearl weakly smile and she rubbed the shoulder that Lapis bumped into fondly.

"You won't believe how terrifying it was!" Peridot groaned, "and all that running! I'm not going to be okay tomorrow." Pearl and Lapis laughed a little at that. Pearl then watched Peridot disappear inside of the flat and she could faintly hear some clicking and disk cases being opened, 'She must be putting something on TV.' Pearl hummed.

Lapis leaned against the doorframe and smiled slightly, "Not to completely change the mood but… I can't remember the last time someone other than Peridot stood up for me."

"No problem," Pearl cleared her throat slightly, she could feel a sore throat coming on. "So what now?" She asked her,

Lapis stood up straighter and glanced inside the flat. "Well, probably going to do that CPH marathon with Peridot…" Lapis sighed sadly, "she deserves it and I think she's already prepared everything." She looked at Pearl with a smile and a light blush, "thanks for saving me… Again… I know I'm stubborn and I still think I didn't need you there, but if something did happen…"

"I'm glad nothing bad did happen," Pearl smiled and Lapis responded with her own small grin, " so do you know him?" Pearl asked and braced herself for some answers.

Lapis wriggled uncomfortably and looked slightly unsure, it was like she was having a conflict whether to answer Pearl or to remain silent. Eventually she took a breath and answered. "His name's Malachite, I'm… Familiar… With him." Pearl hummed and sighed, 'ex-boyfriend, must be by the way she so awkwardly said it.' Lapis continued, "we got into an argument a little while ago and now he's after me too."

"You have a lot of people after you," Pearl commented,

Lapis scoffed, "I try."

"Do you think that they'll try and get you here?" Pearl asked,

"Well they once did, and failed," Lapis replied, "now they don't know where I stay, so I hope to leave it at that."

Pearl tightened her jaw, it wasn't a good enough answer and she clenched her fists, "but what if they find you again? Haven't you tried getting protection against them?"

Lapis laughed, "What? Beach City's non-existent Police force? Everyone needs protection here Earl." She sighed and looked down, Pearl gulped and watched Lapis's expression change to that of irritation, "even if they were still around, they wouldn't help someone like me." The way she said it made Pearl think that she wasn't necessarily referring to the police.

"Then let me protect you," Pearl said it before she could stop herself. She felt like a glass window that had just been smashed violently and Pearl froze on the spot.

Lapis blushed and rubbed her arm some more, "t-thanks for offering, but I don't think I need it." She gave a small apologetic smile, "the times you rescued me weren't the only times I was harassed you know? I can handle myself… I'm used to it." Pearl frowned even more and this caused Lapis to chuckle, "don't be like that! Nothing can be done after all."

"But-!"

"Earl." Pearl stopped talking as if she was called to attention, "you shouldn't get to close too me." her eyes were full of sadness and it only made Pearl want to know more.

"W-why?" Pearl felt her voice slightly break,

"They spared Peridot because she was useful to the gang," Lapis glanced back to the girl in green, "she can be a fake eye-witness, is a tech expert…" She looked back to Pearl, "… A get out of jail card." Lapis crossed arms tightened and Pearl could see her knuckles turn white, "but they won't forgive you and they will stop at nothing to kill you or get you out the city."

"I can handle it," Pearl honestly doubted that and Lapis sadly chuckled.

Before she knew it, Lapis had leaned over and planted a small kiss on Pearl's cheek. It felt like a nuclear bomb had went off in the taller girl's head and she forgot all her stresses for that brief moment.

"Thank you," Lapis said softly, "but I don't think we'll see each other again, it's too dangerous to go to another party." Pearl felt like a piece of her had broken off, it was a feeling that she was all too familiar with. But she took a sharp breath, 'no, I want this to work, I'm not going to give up.'

"No," Pearl breathed out,

"No?" Lapis tilted her head,

"This won't be the last time you see me," Pearl affirmed, "if you're ever in danger or need help, I'll be there." She smiled slightly, "you have my number don't you?" Lapis blushed and Pearl felt her own face go red, she cleared her throat, "if I'm not there, then Garnet or Amethyst will be."

"How do you know Amethyst and Garnet?" Lapis asked,

"I'm…" Pearl stopped herself and then she sighed, "… We're old friends."

Lapis nodded her head and just like that Pearl bid her goodbye and walked away from them.

"Earl!" she heard Lapis call out and she glanced back, "I love the jacket." Lapis smiled and Pearl grinned back. She then seen Lapis give her a small wave before closing the door behind her.

Pearl smiled slightly as she continue her way down the street and put her hands into her jacket pockets. She knew she could cut a few corners on her way home by jumping a few fences, but she was far too overwhelmed with everything that had happened. Instead she decided to take the long way and try to decipher some of the clues that Lapis left for her.

Pearl knew that Lapis had something to do with Jasper and her gang, meeting Malachite only solidified that fact. If anything, Lapis was probably in a relationship with Malachite, how she could like a creep like him Pearl could never know. But something still seemed off about it all, nothing gave her any answers to the bracelets that Lapis wore, they couldn't have just been a fashion statement and Lapis even mentioned that they had some importance to her. The chain with the etchings was the chain that bothered Pearl the most, she wished she asked Lapis about it, but she didn't know how the girl would have reacted.

She clenched her jaw and continued walking forward, 'Perhaps if I see Malachite again, he'll give me the answers I need.'

Lapis sighed as she watched Earl leave, she still felt the spark from when her lips touched his cheek and she brushed them slightly with a finger tip, but something still felt wrong. She grunted and locked the door, she felt Peridot's eyes drill a hole in the back of her head and when she turned around she seen the green girl look at her curiously from the couch, she had already put in the very first episode and had already prepared her 'theory notepad' a small sketchbook that was partly filled with doodles and theories about the show.

"You okay?" She asked full of concern, "Is there something wrong?" she re-phrased. Lapis walked into the living-room, but she didn't bother sitting on the couch and joining Peridot.

"It's Earl," Lapis said, "that's what's wrong." She softly touched her lips again, "there's something about him that I can't put my finger on… It's like he must be hiding something."

She glanced out the window accusingly, she gritted her teeth and tightened her jaw.

Earl was like that one riddle that you can't get out of your head and it repeats over and over, it's only strange because the riddle remains unanswered. In general, Lapis felt like he was one of the only decent people left in Beach City that didn't mind getting their hands dirty. Despite how boyish he was and his endearing grins it just didn't seem genuine, 'Is he in pain?' Lapis thought when she remembered his hesitation to make the simplest of movements around her. 'Is he showing off?' She remembered the times when he seemed to forced and unnatural.

But what was especially bizarre was that Lapis never looked at boys before, or at least in the way she viewed Earl. She liked being alone, occasionally seeing a few people now and again and Lapis huffed in irritation as she admitted to herself that she's just a recluse. Due to this, many friendships and potential interests never worked out, especially with what she had with Jasper and her gang.

But what made Lapis go cold was that Earl made her want to be part of the world again, and that scared Lapis more than anything.

"-we all hide something," Lapis heard Peridot finish some sort of rant and she realised that she blanked out for most of the conversation. "You weren't listening weren't you?" Peridot deadpanned and folded her arms. Lapis simply scoffed at her, this caused her room-mate to huff mildly and frown, "look, if you're so obsessed with him, you can just follow him home and question him there!"

'Follow him?' Lapis brought her hand to her jaw and a small smile came to her face. She grabbed her jacket again and slipped on her sandals as she ran up to the front door and unlocked it,

"Lapis? Lapis?" Peridot watched her rush away, trying to get her attention, "Lapis I was joking!"

"don't wait for me!" She yelled back to Peridot as she ran out the front door, she never even waited for Peridot's reply but she could faintly hear her gasp at the possibilities of Malachite or Jasper finding her.

Lapis silently ran along the street, dodging trash cans and tried to stay out of the street lights. She didn't even know if she was going the right way or not, but she had to try, there was so much that she had to know about Earl and she was itching to try and figure out what was so strange about him. She continued rushing down the street, no longer did she hear bottles breaking and footsteps around her and she knew confidently that she wasn't being followed. But the longer she ran the more and more she doubted herself. Lapis scowled, she was running in the middle of the night down the street chasing after some mystery boy. If it didn't sound like a movie then it definitely sounded like the start of a horror story, at any moment something could jump out at her and Lapis, despite well-versed in punching people in the face, was not so good at surviving a monster in the darkness.

Despite this she never stopped, she felt like she was getting closer and closer to the end goal, 'just a few more lunges' she told herself as her legs began to get heavy and her breathing got deeper and more ragged.

Lapis grinned in victory when she seen a tall figure with the familiar leather jacket and red cap in the distance. She slipped behind the wall nearby and peeked her head around the corner, Earl hadn't noticed anything yet and continued to walk down the empty street obliviously.

Silently, Lapis would sneak behind him and it was only a few houses down until Lapis accidentally kicked an empty glass bottle. She felt her heart lurch in her throat when Earl turned around and narrowed his eyes, he walked back slightly and looked around. Lapis snuck into the alley and remained crouched behind some trash can, eventually she heard him huff and continue on his way, she sighed in relief and began to follow him again and creeped out of her hiding spot. Paying closer attention to where she put her feet.

However when Lapis peeked her head around the corner of the alley, her eyes widened at the figure that approached them.

The sound of another bottle dropping came from up ahead, Pearl lowered her cap slightly and narrowed her eyes. She stopped in the streetlight and heard the tapping of boots against the ground ahead of her, she took her hand out her pockets and clenched them defensively and raised her head higher as Malachite came into view, his green eyes wickedly glinting in the light.

"It's you," she spat as she seen him come closer into the light, her voice began to strain.

"I should be the one saying that," he grumbled,

"What do you want?" She asked irately.

"No," he shook his head, "what do YOU want?" he growled, "why are you helping Lapis? What are you trying to get at?"

Pearl frowned, "what's your problem?" she gritted her teeth,

"My problem? It's just some asshole stopping me from doing what I want," he glared at her,

"You can't just expect to be able to do what you want," Pearl widened her stance.

"Oh I can," he grinned menacingly, "I can and you can't." He raised his arms dramatically, "we run this city! We do! If you don't keep that pointy ass nose out of it then you won't live to see tomorrow!"

Pearl rolled her eyes, "nice threat, did you get it out of a 'threats for dummies' book? Or perhaps a movie?" Malachite gritted his teeth, "I don't care what you run other than you running away once I break all of your ribs and cripple your hands for the rest of your little life," Pearl felt her fists shake slightly with how strong she was clenching them, she hadn't felt like this in a long time, "Lapis can take care of herself, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit and watch!"

Malachite grinned evilly and Pearl wondered again how Lapis even get together with the creep. He pulled out a knife and flashed it in front of her, its sharp edge was glistening in the streetlights. She wasn't as scared as she thought she would be, as she calmly looked at him whilst monitoring the movement of the knife. He was toying with it for now and it made her roll her eyes.

She was prepared for him to stab and slash. In fact, she had everything planned out in her mind, one mis-step for the boy that she judged to be inexperienced, by how he was standing and holding the blade, and she'll have him howling in pain.

It has been a long time, yes, but she hasn't forgotten how to fight.

"I know where you live," he cackled and Pearl raised an eyebrow, "I know who you live with, I can hurt you whenever I want to. Remember that."

Pearl scowled as he put the knife back behind his back and walked away, he was nothing but a coward.

That was the last thing she thought before she felt a crack to the back of her head and she smacked the pavement painfully, as her eyes closed with a grunt, she went out cold.

Lapis tried to control her breathing as she watched Malachite walk away, she barely seen a small woman dressed in a red torn jacket and gloves sneak up behind Earl with a baseball bat. She hid her gasp behind her hand as she seen her swing the weapon and hit the back of his head with a sickening crunch, Lapis shut her eyes as she heard Earl's head whack against the pavement and then a low chuckle from the woman. Lapis opened her eyes and watched as the thug walked away She froze when she seen an eyepatch over the red woman's left eye and she knew instantly who it was.

Jaspers right hand.

The gang members never stayed long as they quickly ran off in opposite directions, leaving Earl lying under the streetlight. Once Lapis knew that the coast was clear and the thugs left, she rushed over to Earl and carefully lifted his head. He wasn't bleeding thankfully and he looked to be alright, other than some scuffs on his cheek. Lapis took a deep breath and prepared herself as she lifted him, most boys were heavier than girls, especially the tall ones and Lapis knew that she had to drag him somewhere safe before taking him to hospital. But as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lifted him, she found him almost as light as a feather. Lapis didn't complain however as if made it easier to carry him and she slowly began to make her way back to her house before Jaspers gang could return to finish the job or do something even worse.

Lapis opened the front door with a shove, "Peridot! clear the couch!" she said as she dragged Earl inside. Peridot gasped but was quick to help, she shut the front door and helped Lapis lift him, Lapis had to admit that they worked effortlessly as a team.

"What happened?" Peridot asked as she turned off the TV with a click of the remote,

"Malachite and Eyeball happened," Lapis replied as she regained her breath,

"What?" Peridot gasped, "w-will he be okay?"

"I sure hope so," Lapis replied, she glanced at the sleeping boy, "it doesn't look too bad but we'll have to see once he wakes up. He was hit with a baseball bat." She sighed and stood up, she then noticed the boxes of Camp Pining Hearts on the floor. Lapis felt slightly guilty in that moment, she rubbed her arm again, it was tender and no longer hurt, "we're still up for that marathon later right?"

Peridot smiled and then nodded, "definitely! Just maybe after Earl wakes up…" Her eyes sparked for a moment, "maybe we can even get Earl to watch it with us!"

"Maybe," Lapis laughed, " but for now, lets go to bed."

"Yeah, that would be good too…" Peridot yawned.

As Peridot left into her room, Lapis pulled a blanket over Earl, part of her wanted to take his cap off and maybe even investigate him for anything suspicious. But she kept her hands to herself, she felt that that would take it too far and she wasn't that desperate for answers. That and she would feel like some weirdo doing it.

She turned off the lights and walked into her room, closing the door behind her. Lapis pulled off her jeans and hung her jacket on the bedpost as she dropped herself on the mattress with a yawn.

Jasper would probably go looking for Earl, that was a definite fact that Lapis knew. If Eyeball had already made her way back to the base and told her of what she done to Earl then Jasper would have been interested in actually seeing the evidence.

Lapis remembered the texts that Jasper had sent her after she was saved the first time, the threats of destroying his life and then coming after her to finish what she started.

It was times like these that Lapis regretted ever leaving the gang. Sometimes she missed causing havoc and doing what she wanted in a town that had no police force, but now it just felt wrong. She looked at the bracelets with a sad sigh, 'I really need to get rid of these.'


Next chapter will be sometime next week! :)