This Chapter took way too long to complete, so I'm sorry about that.
I hope you enjoy! :)


Chapter 7 - The Lighthouse

Pearl winced at the light that entered her room and she groggily got up from her bed. She looked down at herself and slowly processed in her brain that she was just wearing a random shirt instead of the nightdress that she would normally wear, her jeans were lying haphazardly on the floor in a pile with her socks and that her curtains were wide open. She yawned and stretched out her muscles, feeling the satisfying creaking of her joints popping and opening.

She slowly got up and grumbled at the aching in her legs, arms and everywhere.

Work definitely was as strenuous and tiring as Yellow had warned her and fencing practice right after was definitely taking a toll on her body. After every working day she could always be found somewhere in Amethyst's now clean house, rubbing ice on sores and putting plasters over scrapes and blisters. Somedays like this one, she just flops onto the bed and instantly goes to sleep without getting dressed or closing the curtains. But at least it was satisfying when she gets a free day to do whatever she would like.

As Pearl had a shower and got dressed she wondered about what it is that she should do today, it was her first break after a week of hard work so it must be special in some way. 'As tempting as sleeping all day is, it's not good for the muscles." She clicked her tongue in disappointment. Bidding her bed goodbye in a more than dramatic way as she cleaned up after 'past Pearl'.

She grinned as her feet walked across the carpet and floorboards, no more crumbs and useless junk that would stick to her soles or trip her up, no more dust that made her sneeze. The kitchen was brighter and the white tiles made her grin even more.

Amethyst was probably still sleeping or wasting time in bed like usual. Pearl's grin dropped quickly at the thought of her, it was hard around Amethyst and it was only getting harder. The younger girl loved to be active sometimes and laze about another, but too much of one made her more than a little unhappy. But whenever she would see her, there was something in her eyes that conveyed exactly how she was feeling despite her cold and emotionless exterior. Pearl sighed and the slight sound echoed through the room like an empty cave as she opened the fridge.

Disappointment.

That's what she was feeling. Her downcast eyes, slightly furrowed brow and gritted teeth spoke louder than her blank, uninterested voice.

Pearl couldn't know this for sure however, she was not the best at reading people like Garnet was, but at least she tried to understand when the issue was right in front of her. Perhaps Amethyst was missing her habit of collecting everything, or maybe she feels stuck. 'Does she blame me?' Pearl frowned and she slammed the door of the fridge shut. She wasn't hungry.

Grabbing her keys and her phone, she was about to reach out for her jacket and red cap. The dancer stopped herself and retracted her hand slowly as if backing away from a threat. Her open palm clenched into a fist in an instant and she frowned.

After a deep breath and a slow exhale, Pearl calmed herself down.

She hasn't been 'Earl' in a week, it was impossible with her schedule and the last time she pretended to be him she got a baseball bat to the head and exposed herself to Lapis. It was slightly sad that she couldn't wear her jacket, but it was for the best. Some memories are best left untouched.

Bypassing the disguise, she continued her way out the house and began walking down the sandy street.

Earl had successfully disappeared.

She smiled sadly at the thought, she missed the feeling of being her old self when she acted like him and getting closer to Lapis more so. But she just had to doubt that.

Pearl stopped at a small cafe that Garnet had recommended to her, she had hinted at how 'sweet the cake' was but Pearl knew it was because the cafe was where Lapis worked full time. Normally Lapis would have some time to talk in the evenings when Pearl came in and bought some iced tea and that was near perfect for Pearl to silently judge how things were for Lapis.

So far, Lapis seemed to have forgotten all about 'Earl'.

This time was different however, Pearl walked in and sat down at her usual spot. But there was no Lapis in sight to collect her order, only some teen who didn't really care about their job came over and irritated Pearl beyond belief. Once she finally got her order after what felt like decades, she glanced round the cafe, trying not to stare too long in one place. She was lucky that she seen a girl with a green hoodie ordering a coffee just across from her.

Pearl raised an eyebrow, with that unique hoodie, it couldn't be anyone other than Peridot.

'But what is she doing here?' Pearl hummed, only when the green girls order was fulfilled and she was drinking her coffee slowly, looking at her phone. Pearl made a move.

She took her drink and slowly approached the booth, trying not to scare Peridot in the process and trying to think things through. Certainly Earl had met her, but she never met her REAL self and that made her more than a little nervous.

"Hi," She greeted her, Peridot looked up and almost dropped her cracked phone into her coffee. "You're Peridot right?" She slowly asked, of course she knew that it was Peridot, but at least she needed to look believable.

"Earl?" Peridot raised an eyebrow, "are you a cross-dresser?"

A flashback of Lapis sprung into her mind. Pearl awkwardly cleared her throat, "um, no… My name is Pearl, his… Twin." She forced it out and gave a small smile all too quickly. Peridot looked at her skeptically and Pearl felt a nervous sweat go down her neck, "Amethyst told me about you. So I thought I would introduce myself."

"Oh, yeah right, sit down!" Peridot seemed to brighten up at the mention of her room-mates name and Pearl settled herself with a now developing grin when she realised that the sudden change must have been some sort of crush or admiration. "and I'm Peridot," She stated firmly, "did Amethyst really tell you about me?"

'Er… No.'

"Yes," Pearl smiled and took a sip of her tea,

"W-what did she say?" Peridot blushed slightly and Pearl panicked ever so slightly, 'Yeah, what DID she say Pearl?' she shut the little voice up, she did not need the sass right now.

"S-she mentioned that you… um…" Pearl frowned slightly, 'think Pearl think!' she took a drink of tea to give her some time, she would have to go for the one thing she DID know about Peridot, "that you like Camp Pining Hearts."

"She did?" Peridot continued,

"Well… She never went into any detail." Pearl quickly added, if she could see herself now, she would pat her own back.

"T-That would be understandable," Peridot cleared her throat, "we don't know each other that well, but I'm surprised she told you that over everything else."

"I-it was whilst we were watching some sort of show she likes," Pearl added, "I never paid much attention to it."

"I see." Peridot took a sip of her coffee and picked up her phone from the table,

"You're Lapis's room-mate right?" Pearl yet again asked a question that she already knew the answer to. The green girl looked up at her curiously and slowly, she then nodded slightly. "Well is she okay? I haven't seen her today."

Peridot lets out a long sigh and sits back on the padded seat, her reply was taking far too long and Pearl felt her patience thinning ever so slightly.

"She had to get some time off," Peridot replied,

"I can see that, but that's not what I asked," Pearl replied and she pinched herself at her own rude remark. Peridot must have been hesitant to answer for the sake that she doesn't know who Pearl is, and for spreading other people's business. But the way she darkly glanced at her phone, it must have involved Jasper.

Peridot remained silent and Pearl had already found out what had happened just by adding that thug into her thought process, she leaned in slowly, voice hushed, "I think I can guess what's happened."

"You… What?" Peridot looked at her, baffled by her sudden confidence.

"It's her isn't it?"

Peridot's face dropped, "how do you know about that?"

"My brother, it's easy for me to get answers from him." Pearl smiled, she can at least have some fun with her alter ego and make up a nice brother-sister relationship.

Peridot huffed and drank a big gulp of her coffee before placing the cup down a little too loudly. "Lapis is stressed beyond belief," she began, "every day she is on her phone deleting messages and threats, changing contacts and phone numbers. You know who is doing it." Pearl nodded, "and, more irritatingly, she misses Earl."

'She… Misses Earl?' Pearl felt her heart drop at the same time as her chest grew warm. 'So she hasn't forgotten…'

"It's impossible to mention him around her now that she gets irritated just by the thought of him." Peridot expressively raised her arms, "and she won't even TRY to call him because she thinks that she'll just call you instead!"

"But I could get Earl to come here!" Pearl replies as Peridot took another gulp of coffee,

"Exactly!" Peridot coughed and spluttered as she drank too quickly.

Pearl frowned slightly as she watched Peridot recover, she had thought that the whole Earl ordeal was over and done with and she swore never to bring him back. But the fact still stood that Earl was vital if she wanted Lapis to be safe from Jasper, even if she didn't like it.

"I'll get him to call," Pearl said slowly, "I promise."

Lapis groaned and threw her phone to her bed with an aggressive swing of her arm. Every second. A new message, Every Minute. A new threat. Every Hour. Ten deleted contacts.

She couldn't handle this anymore, she sat on the floor with her head in her hands as she listened to the constant buzzing of her silenced phone, she threw paper to the side with another forceful swing and began reading through the notes she and Peridot created a week ago. The diagrams and the bullet-points of random facts about the twins did not help her figure out who they where nor did spending some time with Pearl in the cafe. Even Garnet wasn't that helpful.

She lay her head back onto the bed and closed her eyes, 'Am I a stalker right now?' She hummed, it certainly felt like it to the blue haired girl, a normal person wouldn't obsess over some boy and his sister. She supposed that it could be a crush, but due to the strangeness of the situation she, in fact, had a crush on two people. That possibly were only one person.

She chuckled pitifully at herself, it was like she had imagined both Pearl and Earl to be one person that she dubbed 'Arl' just to seem more creepier than she already was. Suddenly she felt something warm run down her face and she let out a strangled cry, 'I CAN'T do this anymore!' she sniffed as the vibrating of her phone became the white noise she heard every single day at the back of her head.

"I just want…" Lapis paused, she didn't know what she wanted exactly. Her pounding head and short temper where clouding her own thoughts and everything she done just became an impulse, even Peridot had enough of it as she left her alone in the mornings.

Lapis sighed sadly and wearily turned her head when she heard some whining and scratching outside her door, she opened it with a reach of her arm and Pumpkin came in, settling themselves onto Lapis's lap whilst licking her face.

"I'm okay," Lapis cracked a smile for the canine but a whine simply greeted her, "we'll go on a walk once this is all sorted, okay?" She rubbed their head and Pumpkin panted happily.

Now with the puppy lying on her lap and wagging their tail, Lapis took a deep breath.

"I'll be fine," she muttered, "I'll get through this."

The lighthouse was an unpleasant memory for Lapis, Jasper had promised her freedom there when they were children, but it only became another prison. Lapis wondered what would have happened is she never ran away, sure Jasper would still be the same, if not worse than she was now. But she could have had a family, better friends, maybe even met Earl or Pearl under better circumstances.

Maybe even-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone, Lapis looked at it on the bed wearily. She stood up slowly and Pumpkin sprang off her lap, the dog watched her happily as she creeped towards the mobile.

Jasper had never called Lapis's phone before, so this would be a first of many if it was her. But as Lapis's eyes read the screen, her eyes shot up in excitement and a hint of dread.

Pearl left the cafe once she finished her tea and chat with Peridot, briskly waving the other goodbye through the window, she decided to return home with a specific purpose. As the sea passed by her and she walked up the hill, Pearl pulled put her phone and called Lapis. She cleared her throat in preparation as she waited for the call to get through, she hoped that the girl hadn't done something stupid that she would regret later.

"Earl?" The voice croaked from the other end, Pearl instantly recognised it as Lapis's relieved voice and with the amount of sniffles and cracks in her voice, it was a certainty that she was either ill or crying.

"Lapis," Pearl responded in her Earl voice, it felt strange doing it again and she hoped that it sounded good enough to be believable. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she quickly replied, the voice was on high strings and Pearl heard her huff afterwards. She must have been irritated with her, which was understandable when she… He, disappeared suddenly.

"Lapis, I know that you're not okay," Pearl replied, "talk to me, let me help."

"Earl…" Pearl heard Lapis sigh, "where have you been?"

"I-I've been?" Pearl hesitated, "I've been too caught up in my own world… But, I'm back, and I'm staying till this is sorted." She said determinedly as she slowed down her pace when she seen her apartment block draw closer.

She heard Lapis let out a shudder of a sigh, "No." She finally said and it felt like a punch, "I don't want you to get in the way, I can handle this."

"Lapis," Pearl groaned, "you can't handle it alone! Tell me what you are going to do at least!"

"I'm," Lapis paused and Pearl felt her breath get caught in her throat, "I'm going to see Jasper again, see if I can get her to stop."

"You remember last time don't you?" Pearl felt fear rising through out her body and her hand shook slightly, "please, I'm begging you, don't do it."

"You can't stop me," Lapis replied and Pearl almost tripped herself up as she kept walking, barely paying attention to anything but Lapis. "I'm going to end this and I don't want you hurt."

"I don't want you hurt," Pearl huffed, "let's go together then, strength in numbers."

Pearl eagerly awaited the girl's response as she suddenly went silent. But just as Pearl reached the door of the apartment block… "The Lighthouse."

"Wait for me at the beach," Pearl added and then Lapis hung up.

Pearl wasted no time as she opened the door and went to her flat. Upon entering she discovered Amethyst glumly sitting on the couch looking through some magazines, she looks up and watched Pearl quizzically as the girl shut the front door behind her.

"So, What's ruffled your feathers?" Amethyst grumbled,

"Stop referring me to a bird please," Pearl huffed, "I need to be Earl again."

Amethyst slowly dropped her magazine onto her lap, "listen Pearl, I know it was fun but Garnet's right. You Have to tell her the truth."

"I know I do!" Pearl clenched her hands into fists, and then sighed sadly, "but I need to do something first."

Amethyst simply shrugged but Pearl could tell that she was concerned, at least a little bit. She dressed yet again in some of Amethyst's clothes and grabbed her cap and jacket, but before she left yet again, she walked into the kitchen. Amethyst watched her curiously and Pearl felt her eyes dig into her back once she turned away to reach above the overhanding cupboards.

There it was, the black handle and the decorative case. Pearl frowned as she traced over the Rose, 'This is the last time that I'll ever need it.' She told herself as she wrapped the belt around her bare waist and hid it under the large shirt.

"Pearl, just what are you planning?" The dancer turned to see a frightened expression on Amethyst's face, she knew the history that Pearl had with the knife.

"The end. Amethyst." Pearl scowled as she walked out the flat, "the end…"

Pearl continued her way to the Beach and spotted the familiar girl in Blue look ominously at the pathway leading to the lighthouse, with a quick fix of her cap, Pearl approached her cautiously.

"We're actually doing this?" Pearl huffed and Lapis jumped in surprise,

"Earl." Her eyes had dark rings and her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, she looked tired and like she had been crying for a few hours.

"I can call for Garnet, give you some time to get it together," Pearl offered, Lapis let out a tired grin and nodded.

They sat down on a nearby bench and Pearl called Garnet, who once again was enjoying a cake in a cafe and that once again, had to give the said cake back.

As they waited, Pearl sat down closer to Lapis and watched her worryingly. She was leaning back with her eyes closed, trying to get some rest and Pearl oddly felt very protective of her in that moment. A glare for every passerby, a scowl for those staring at them and probably a punch if anyone tried anything.

Thankfully, she didn't have to get violent so soon as the familiar sight of Garnet approached them and after a small nudge to Lapis, they proceeded to the lighthouse.

The walk to the lighthouse was disturbingly long, it unnerved Lapis to no ends and seeing the tower grow bigger in the distance was giving her shivers.

"Are you okay?" She turned to the voice and Earl was watching her carefully. She did look like shit and she wondered why on earth that he would give her that look, the expression of care and worry. It made her blush slightly and she looked away.

"I'm okay,"

"We can do this later, we don't even have to do this." Lapis continued to look at the path ahead of them,

"No, it'll only get worse if I don't do something," Lapis replied, she gave him a small smile, "I'll be fine." She watched Earl give her a small nod and her smile went wider.

'He was actually here, he never forgot about me,' Lapis grinned slightly, she knew that this feeling was wrong in a way. Mostly she was confused, she never looked at boys till now and the only 'relationship' she had was one with Jasper. Like everyone, you can tell what you like and don't like, who you like and don't like, but Earl bypassed all of that. She didn't know exactly if she liked or didn't like him. Lapis would have thought the same way about Pearl, but she did genuinely like the sister better.

Pearl was so hardworking and she always made time for things, specifically coming into the cafe or planning future events. She never disappeared and reappeared later, she was consistent and precise. Interesting and new despite being old-fashioned.

But that made Lapis feel guilty, it was unfair to Earl that despite him saving her life and everything that he has done for her, just for her to start falling for his sister.

Lapis's inner monologue was cut short by one question.

"Why is she targeting you so badly?" Earl asked her,

She nervously fidgeted with the bracelets around her wrist, "I know them personally." Lapis finally gave out and told him, there was no point in hiding it any longer.

"You knew them personally?" Earl raised an eyebrow, "is that why you can't call the police?"

Lapis nodded, "I was a member a long time ago, Jasper was… A friend." The words tasted bitter in her mouth and they continued climbing the hill, "she gave me a few of these…" She pointed to her wrist, "One is a tally system of how many people we ruined, others are just gifts." She traced over a chain bracelet with engravings on the links and the other plain chain.

She looked at the tall boy and he looked back at her seriously, it almost made her trip on some random trash littered around the path, "I-It never worked out, I left them years ago!" Earl nodded slightly, but Lapis couldn't shake the feeling that she had messed up big time.

Eventually their frightful journey ended up as a stealth mission, they ducked behind the fence that looked like it was about to fall down as soon as a small gust of wind had hit it. Lapis peeked through a small gap in the wooden planks and watched the front door of the structure cautiously, holding her breath as she nudged closer to the fence.

Outside there was only one thug guarding the door, Lapis felt a rush of relief when she discovered that it was not in fact Eyeball that was the look out. Instead the small woman that was watching the ruckus and acting above it all was none other than the two-faced Navy, Lapis felt her blood boil when she seen the recruit filing her nails half-heartedly.

"We can take her out if you want," Garnet whispered to her, causing the blue haired girl to jump.

"If we can tie her up or hit her in the back of the head she will leave the door unguarded," Earl added in an attempt to elaborate.

"With pleasure," Lapis replied and looked back to the guard with a frown.

With a plan set, Lapis swallowed her nerves and walked up to the clearing, she gritted her teeth when she seen Navy notice her.

"Oh! You've come back!" The girl said happily, but Lapis knew it was only an act. She stayed her ground and watched Navy inch closer to her, she was saying something but Lapis had blanked it all out.

Silently, Earl and Garnet had snuck around the fence and ganged up on the now vulnerable short girl. Navy didn't even see it coming, a small, sharp movement to the back of her head and she was face flat in the dirt.

"I thought that move was only in movies," Lapis hummed,

"It is," Garnet replied, "but we made it real."

"We just have experience," Earl awkwardly chuckled,

"Right," Lapis chuckled,

They did not expect for the door to suddenly open and another thug came outside, this one Lapis didn't recognise. 'A new recruit,' Lapis scoffed.

The goon simply stared at them with a shocked expression, before they could call anyone else and raise the alarm, Garnet gave them a swift hit to the back of the head with a lunge and they keeled over. Yet again, face flat on the dirt.

"You really have to teach me that," Lapis remarked,

"No time, some of them seen us," Garnet grumbled and she looked at the windows at the top of the structure,

"I'll go for Jasper, give you some time with the others," Earl raised his shirt slightly and Lapis held her breath as she seen him produce a knife.

She didn't have time to question or to think as Earl rushed inside, leaving them to deal with a few other recruits in Jaspers gang.

Pearl didn't have any time to waste. She had to go in, find Jasper and beat her half to death if she could, all before Lapis started to piece together the little details and accuse her, him, whatever, of being the knife wielding renegade that Peridot mentioned.

If Lapis could truly work this out was a very debatable subject, sure she is quite smart and has some common sense, but at the same time Pearl would get a glimpse at how ridiculous the whole thing was. It was like a wild theory instead of a possible fact to Lapis of Pearl's identity as Earl, at least that's what the dancer hoped.

The inside of the lighthouse was surprisingly spacious with multiple rooms, she couldn't tell if they were recent extensions or prebuilt with the intents of being a living space. One room had a pool table and several cheap shot-glasses and beer cans littered around tables and the floors and led to a staircase.

She stopped in her tracks when she seen Jasper descending the said staircase, as if planning to run out the back of the lighthouse. Either to circle around Lapis and Garnet or to run away, Pearl wasn't going to let her get away. Before the woman had her chance, Pearl threw one of the cheap glasses and it smashed on the wall, inches from the larger woman's face.

Finally she turned to face her and there was fury in her eyes.

"You." She narrowed her eyes and Pearl found herself mimicking the thug, she kept the grip of her knife loose, yet tight enough to not drop it and hid it behind her as they slowly came closer. "I'll kill you!" Jasper spat and finally charged at her with a blood-curdling roar.

Time had went slow again. Just like the last time, just like a long time ago. The angry veins and red face where highly detailed on Jaspers face and body, pulsing with hot blood, perfect targets for a knife. Taking a deep-breath, Pearl lowered her body and twisted herself around the larger woman before any damage was done.

She felt satisfied when she felt the friction against her blade as it dug into the thugs arm, giving her a deep cut. She even made a mental note to sharpen the blade once she got back home.

Unlike the usual howl of pain Pearl was so used to, a loud growl was heard and before she had time to react a large arm had slammed her against the pool table. The cheap glasses broke into glass splinters and cut Pearl's exposed arms, she felt the wind get knocked right out of her and she gasped as her head pounded slightly.

Wordlessly, with no taunts or aggressive remarks. Jasper had grabbed her throat and shoved her back down onto the table, Pearl's eyes went wide as she seen what Jasper was holding in her other hand.

Pearl couldn't raise her arm holding her knife with how Jasper held her down, but at least she had one free arm to battle against a shard of glass that was aimed for her face. They grunted as adrenaline coursed through them, Jasper was developing a sick sneer as Pearl's strength started to give out and the shard cut the bridge of her nose.

"You should have never messed with me," Jasper grinned as the glass dug deeper.

The dancer was saved however when she managed to kick Jaspers knee, freeing her knife and slashed her abdomen as she pushed the glass out of her face.

Pearl took deep laboured breaths and watched Jasper keel over, cursing, swearing and spreading more obscenities. As the large thug looked back at her with her menacing yellow eyes now wide with a mixture of shock and joy, Pearl gasped and touched her head. Her red cap had fallen in the heat of the fight.

"I should have known it was you!" Jasper laughed, "The new dancer, the new fencer! Do you remember when you scarred me? When you ripped Eyeballs eye out?"

Pearl shuddered, but her knife was still trained on her. Her hands were shaking.

"Why are you hiding away?" Jasper tilted her head, "guilty about something?"

"Shut up," Pearl rasped out, her voice still affected from the choking Jasper made her endure,

"Oh it's Lapis isn't it?" Jasper grinned, "I've heard from that snivelling brat Malachite how obsessed you are with her, what would she think if she knew that you were the one responsible for so much hurt in her life?" She clicked her tongue and the dancer jumped.

"What?" Pearl paled, her memories flashing before her as she tried to remember if she met the girl in the past.

"Terrified of getting hurt, running into you, perhaps she would be the first one that you would kill." Jasper stood up straighter and pressured her wound, Pearl frowned and gritted her teeth, "I suppose the rumours about you never helped… She hated you."

'She's just trying to get into my head,' Pearl panted, her grip on her knife tightening, 'ignore her.'

"So…" Jasper chuckled and Pearl glared at her, "What if she found out?" Pearl felt her breath trap in her throat and she tensed.

'I can't let Lapis find out.' It echoed in Pearl's head, she felt herself fall deeper into a darker pit of despair and if she wasn't in the presence of Jasper she would have certainly broken down.

"What are your conditions?" Pearl glared at the thug who grinned.

"Let me go, oh and… Where's Rose?"

Pearl felt herself freeze, she couldn't simply let a criminal walk out unpunished and if she told her about Rose then there would be something less for Jasper to worry about. More attacks could happen in vicious succession and if she found out about Steven…

"Clocks ticking…" Jasper dramatically began copying the sounds of a clock and Pearl shut her eyes.

"Rose isn't in this state," she muttered, her voice breaking, "but she'll come back one day."

"Hmm," Jasper sighed and sat up off the table she was leaning on, Pearl shivered as she was not in the least hindered by the deep gashes on her body. "I guess I'll wait for her a little longer then… If she was alive that is…"

Pearl felt herself go cold yet again, 'she knew, she knew and she was just playing with me!' She shook her head and got off the pool table, increasing the distance between them.

"Go. Now." She said through gritted teeth as she put her knife back into it's case.

"Thank you kindly," Jasper mocked her and ran out the room.

Pearl collapsed onto the table, punching it angrily as she scooped up her hat and put it back on. She hadn't solved anything, in fact, she only managed to get herself blackmailed by one of the most powerful criminals in Beach City.

She jumped when she seen Garnet enter the room, she had bruises over her arms and her knuckles were bleeding.

"She got away." Pearl shook and on impulse she took out her knife and slammed it onto the pool table. "I'm a fucking idiot."

"There's still time," Garnet informed her, "Jasper was just messing with you."

"I know!" Pearl huffed, "but now that she knows who I am…"

Garnet stayed silent, she glanced back briefly and took out her phone. "Get out of here, I'm buying you time."

"What?" Pearl looked at her in disbelief,

"Go to Amethyst's, if Lapis seen Earl now and then Pearl later then you'll have more than Jasper to worry about." Garnet had finished pressing the phone's screen, calling for the police no doubt.

Pearl huffed with a frown, but she took back her knife and slipped out the window.

'I hope Garnet covers for me long enough.'

The inside of the lighthouse hadn't truly aged a day, Lapis sighed sadly as she noticed the scratchings on the walls and the beaten furniture. Just seeing things like this was unnerving, each corner of the place had an unpleasant memory attached to it, either a regret or something that Jasper had done. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a calming breath.

Everything was over.

Lapis panted as she finished tying the thugs together, she was battered and bruised but otherwise content with the fact that there wouldn't be anyone to bail them out of jail this time.

She grinned as she found Garnet standing in the games room, she watched her silently finish her call and put the phone into her pocket. But Lapis's smile slowly dropped when she seen Garnets stern expression and who was missing.

A flash of anxiety went through her and she pondered if Earl had gotten himself hurt or worse.

"Garnet?" Lapis came closer slowly.

"Jasper got away, Earl's following her," the stoic woman replied, "she won't get away this time."

Relief spread through Lapis and she sighed slowly. Her aching arms were now burning with muscle strain and she felt like collapsing with how heavy her legs had become.

Settling herself down on the only chair not covered in glass, Lapis relaxed and waited for the police to find them. The possible headline's made her grin 'NOTORIOUS GANG: JAILED' or 'PEACE IN BEACH CITY' meeting the police wasn't something that she was looking forward to however.

She could tell that Garnet understood that, the tall woman even prepared an escape route for when the cops did finally show up at the front door, breaking the peaceful silence.

But after several minutes of empty waiting, the only thing that broke the silence was a dull ring-tone. Lapis watched Garnet pick her phone up yet again and answer the mobile without even looking at the screen.

"Garnet." She spoke.

Lapis was prepared to blank out again, but the usually expressionless Garnet had caught her attention and that was of the concerned frown that spread across her face. She clicked it off eventually and approached the blue-haired girl.

"It was Amethyst," she began, "Someone's broken in."

Lapis felt her heart drop.

Her lungs heaved as the dancer managed to make it into the apartment and slam the door behind her. Pearl rushed passed her room-mate that tried to distract her with numerous questions, entering her room whilst practically stripping on her way there and pulling on old clothes that she didn't mind covering with blood.

She hissed in pain as the adrenalin rush wore off and she could finally feel her warm blood rush into her mouth. 'I need to deal with the taste for now.' Pearl cringed at the metallic taste as she hid her cap and jacket.

"Pearl! Seriously you need to stop!" She heard Amethyst gasp as she rushed back into the living room.

"Do you have your phone on you?" Pearl asked and binned the shirt she wore earlier, now covered in blood.

"Yeah but-"

"Good, call Garnet," Pearl instructed her, "tell her that someone broke in."

"Pearl, wait-"

"Also that Earl ran after them," Pearl added,

"Pearl!" Amethyst gasped, "you need to slow down!"

"No, I need you to do this for me," Pearl came closer to the shorter girl but she only watched her flush face go pale, "please Amethyst."

The girl looked at her with a raised eyebrow, she shuddered as she finally pulled out her phone and began calling Garnet.

"Hey Garnet, listen, someone's broken in… Pearl's in bad shape, get over here."

Pearl finally sighed in relief, the incredible rush that she had just been through was finally slowing down and she could relax-

A sharp punch into her cheek made the dancer fall back and she hit her head against the counter and landed in some cardboard boxes filled with some extra things Amethyst was looking through. Now she could relax.

"HOLY SHIT!" Amethyst jumped and looked back at her as if she was possessed by the devil, "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"Just play along…" Pearl mumbled, she could feel the blood in her ears and her head pounded painfully, she had hit herself a little too hard. Amethyst had tried to go and help her, but only ended up getting stuck on the floor as well.

They chuckled painfully at just how strange everything was, had Pearl known that this is what would happen when she returned, she may have reconsidered.

Several minutes pass and the front door opens, Garnet and Lapis rush in and Pearl felt herself frown as Lapis paled once she seen her. Amethyst had played her part well and told them everything that they needed to hear, everything Lapis needed to hear.

Her head was dizzy and she felt faint as Lapis helped her up onto the barstool as Garnet put Amethyst back onto the couch.

Everything was happening too quickly for Pearl to process, she even thought for a moment that her head was resting on Lapis's shoulder. Something she was concerned about when she didn't want to get blood on the girl's clothes.

"We need to take you to a hospital," Lapis said slowly as Pearl was regaining her senses, pressing tissues into her cuts as the girl in blue covered the cuts on her arms with numerous bandaids or bandages.

"No, I don't need to, I'm fine," Pearl spluttered out, wiping more blood off her nose. It had already began clotting and despite how dramatic it had been earlier the cut wasn't as bad as some of the other wounds she had.

"But-" Lapis tried,

"Enough trouble has been caused by you one day," Pearl said harshly. She gasped at her own tone, she never meant to say it so aggressively, but with the constant noise around her and how exhausted she was it all blew up in one moment.

Lapis stepped back dejectedly, her face contorted slowly into a sad pout and her eyes grew heavy.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" Lapis sighed, "I won't cause any more, I'll go."

'No, don't!' But Pearl's lips remained sealed, she shivered as she heard the front door close.

"That…" Amethyst sighed, "That was just like you…"

Pearl never thought that Amethyst's words could sting so much.

Sitting on the sand, huddled to herself like a ball. Lapis hadn't been like this in a long time.

Slowly the run was setting and the people were leaving, giving her enough privacy to shed a few tears. But like her friendship with Pearl, even the silence was temporary.

Lapis shuddered as a ginger dog ran up to her and curled into her side.

"BAD VEGGIE! DON'T JUST RUN OFF!" Lapis turned to the voice and discovered Peridot running to them, but the girl's sprint kept slowing more and more until she was creeping towards them.

"Lapis?"

"Peridot." She wiped her eyes,

"I uh, I thought you were with Earl… Dealing with Jasper?" Peridot slowly crouched down beside her,

"I was," she replied and looked out to the sea, her free hand curling around the loose sand.

"Something happened," Peridot nudged slightly closer, sandwiching Pumpkin between them.

"Jasper ran off, and…" Lapis felt her voice break slightly, a few stray tears escaped and she quickly wiped them away. "I think she broke into Amethyst's and Pearl's place."

Peridot paled, "What?! W-What happened are they okay?!"

"Pearl was hurt… Badly," Lapis sniffed, "…she said that I've caused enough trouble."

The girl beside her went silent as she slowly pet Pumpkin. Eventually Peridot let out a long sigh, "sometimes, people say the weirdest of things, or do the weirdest of things when they're hurt." Lapis looked at her with sore eyes, "I don't know Pearl that well, but I would never expect her to say that and actually mean it…"

"It doesn't give me any confidence," Lapis replied, "I wish I never met her… Then it wouldn't be this… Hard…"

"Hey," Peridot regained her attention and she gently put a hand onto Lapis's shoulder, "it'll get better." She smiled, "I mean, it already has, many of Jasper's thugs are in jail now."

"Not all of them…" Lapis grumbled,

"So what? There's like only five of them left!" Peridot beamed, "I didn't think we can even get one into jail!" She then sighed, "you need to stop being so hard on yourself…"

Lapis remained silent and looked back to the sea ahead of them, the sounds of the waves calming her nerves and the sea breeze ruffled her hair, "okay…" She replied slowly and finally stood up, looking down to Peridot. "I'll try."


And 'I'll Try' to update more regularly! But in all seriousness, I think I'm subconsciously adding more stuff into my story making it way longer than it's supposed to be.
Till (sometime) next week! :D