I'm Back! Sorry I took so long posting this chapter, I have a lot of stuff going on at the moment. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 8 - When Everything Falls Apart
The sunlight was warm against Pearl's back as she walked along the beach, the sand had snuck inside her shoes as always and she resorted into just going barefoot. The feeling of the sand grains and the gentle hum from the sea played together harmoniously, it almost made her forget the heavy duffle bag she carried. Pearl shifted the weight slightly with a shrug, but the strap still dug in and strained with her equipment.
She sighed gently and took a deep breath of the ocean air.
It had been a few days since the confrontation at the lighthouse, Jasper was still shambling about somewhere in Beach City and despite knowing that their main base of operations in the lighthouse was over for good, Pearl couldn't help but feel paranoid in the evenings.
Jasper's amber eyes were ingrained into her memory ever since their fight and the fact that Jasper recognised her made her shiver in fear. Pearl had always known that Rose liked her little secrets and Pearl had said nothing more at the time, but she just never realised that one of those secrets could be potentially life-threatening.
That wasn't the only concern to the dancer, she kicked the sand in disregard. It was Lapis, she was worrying everyone lately and that was something new according to Bismuth and Sardonyx in the bar. Pearl was here long enough to learn about the deal that Lapis had with her friends in the Crystal Gem bar and now having the people she supposedly hated being concerned for her was otherworldly.
Amethyst had a neat little 'theory' that this change was brought about due to Pearl's involvement with Lapis but Pearl also felt like it was also due to Peridot and her apparent crush on the injured, recovering hoarder.
Pearl flinched and jolted as she stepped and cracked a seashell, with a scoff she carried on her way. But seeing the seashell split in half was almost like a metaphor. A very depressing one at that.
'I just step on things all the time, playing with feelings, getting myself involved…' She sighed sadly and began walking faster, she didn't want to think about it any more, she didn't want to think about what a mess she had created.
Lapis was someone that Pearl, in some ways, could relate to. At first the similarities were mere coincidences, something that could easily be over-looked and branded as a fun relatable fact. But when backgrounds and relationships became involved Pearl joked to herself about it all just being like a movie set up. A very cheesy one at that.
Now Lapis avoided her like the plague, it felt like getting stabbed every time Pearl came into the small cafe as she was ignored by the only hard-working waitress. It got even worse when Pearl began meeting Peridot frequently here and there, either by the green girl spending time with Amethyst or by meeting up in the cafe. According to Peridot, Lapis was doing some very questionable things in her free time but refused to specify as to what. The dancer stressed about the subject and hoped that Lapis wasn't doing anything related to Jasper or getting herself hurt.
Pearl tightened her grip on her bag as she put her shoes back on, mentally preparing herself to go up the hill and pass by Lapis's and Peridot's home. She took a deep breath and walked up to the pavement, tutting at the satisfying 'tap' her shoes made on the stones bordering the sand she was walking on.
Her hand reached into her pocket and brought out her mobile, she passed by her failed text attempts to contact Lapis (as herself) and tapped on Garnets name.
"Any leads?" She wrote and sent the message.
Something that she could never comprehend was her friends excellent predictions and evaluations of things that people would normally ignore. If she hadn't been so busy, Pearl would have loved to join in Garnets small investigations and try to figure out her secret to the apparent 'future vision' she had.
She smirked at the prospect.
The reason Garnet was, well, Garnet, was due to the mysteriousness she always had around her. Pearl grumbled at the idea that she just liked the mystery, if that's what having a crush on Rose and Lapis ever taught her.
Passing by the small building only reminded Pearl of just how badly she messed up, it was like she was holding her breath whenever she passed by it. It was an ongoing debate in her mind if it was because of her and what she had done or due to the memory of getting a baseball bat to the head that made her dislike the main street she used to get home.
As she passed the main door and continued walking she felt a wave of relief and sighed.
If only she had been watching where she was going at the time.
Pearl felt a sudden shove into her side, she panicked slightly when her brain instantly brought up Jasper or Malachite, maybe another thug looking for revenge. But she knew that she wasn't going to the ground alone. With cat-like reflexes she grabbed the figure and pulled them down, she gasped when she seen the blue hair but she couldn't do anything.
Gravity is a force that she just can't seem to beat after all.
They landed on the hard ground with a painful 'thump', it did not do any favours for Pearl's already aching back and as she sat up she hissed slightly. When the tall girl opened her eyes she was just inches away from Lapis's face, she could feel the girl's breath on her cheek and she blushed as they just sat there for a bit. Just, awkwardly staring at each other.
Suddenly Pearl seen a spark or realisation in Lapis's eyes and with a blush she jumped back and quickly climbed off of her.
"I-I'm so sorry!" She watched the girl cringe at her own voice as she reached down and pulled Pearl to her feet. "I should have watched where I was going, I'm just… Spaced out like that you know?"
"No, it's okay," Pearl replied tentatively, "I wasn't watching where I was going either."
"I uh," Lapis looked up at her shyly and with some strain tried to pick Pearl's bag up,
"I can do that, you don't need to." Pearl tried to give her a small smile but her heart was in her throat and it turned into an awkward smirk. Lapis just watched her motionlessly for a moment and Pearl looked back with just the same amount of shyness.
"How's your nose?" Lapis asked and Pearl felt the compulsion to cross her eyes, the bandage had been nothing but a hassle; it had caused teasing from Yellow, overbearingness from Blue and even more teasing from Amethyst. Not to forget that it got very itchy and uncomfortable when she was fencing and once her work was done at the end of the day.
"It's okay…" She lied,
Lapis gave off a small scoff, "you don't have to lie to me, I know how much a bandage sucks." Pearl looked at her sadly and averted her eyes, "I wanted to make it up earlier…" Lapis continued and Pearl lifted her gaze slowly, "but I feel like I'll cause nothing but only more trouble."
Pearl bit her tongue. What Lapis was saying was true, but Pearl asked for the trouble in the first place and she was the one that got involved in things that she should have just backed away in.
In the sad moment of silence, Pearl took time to look at how Lapis was doing without all the make up she wore at work or the long sleeves. She felt terrible when she seen just how tired Lapis looked, she had messy hair and clothes that looked like she just threw on. She felt her lip quiver when she seen Lapis's wrists, a bracelet was missing and for some reason she couldn't tell what one it was. But there was something missing. Not only that, Pearl paled at the sight of red marks.
Lapis's hand curled around her wrist and Pearl's eyes looked back up to her face, she looked guilty and almost disgusted, Lapis wouldn't look at her and her eyebrows knitted into the perfect 'ashamed' face that always sounded unrealistic in the books.
"I can leave if you want." Pearl jumped at her voice and she could feel her bag strap slip slightly from her shoulder's curve.
"What?" Pearl said with a dry voice,
"I mean, I only cause you problems and now Jasper…" She hung her head, "you won't have to see me again."
Pearl watched her turn and she suddenly filled with panic, her mind was racing with all the different possibilities that could happen with the words Lapis uttered. She couldn't stop thinking about how tired she was, the red marks, how she just gave up.
Her bag dropped as she lunged for Lapis's hand, she let out a breath as she felt Lapis tense and slowly start to hold her hand. She didn't know what to say and Lapis refused to turn to face her, but that gave Pearl some time to think as she looked at the hand she held.
The bracelet she was missing, it was the one with the blue stone.
Lapis Lazuli, literally lost a Lapis Lazuli.
Pearl didn't care that it was just a coincidence, this was a sign that she had to do something. She didn't want to lose the warm hand she held.
With a feather light touch she rubbed the back of Lapis's hand and she watched Lapis slowly turn her head.
"I don't want you to leave," Pearl slowly said, she watched Lapis frown again as Pearl thought harder, formulating what she felt in words. She hated this, she just wanted to hug her and keep her close. But yet she knew that doing that won't solve anything and only hurt Lapis more.
"Why?" Lapis responded, "Jasper… She… You…" Her eyes kept jumping around the whole event, from the hand holding hers, to Pearl's eyes, to something in the background (most likely the poor bag that was chucked of Pearl's shoulder in her panic).
"I want the Jasper thing to be over," Pearl answered, "but, I don't want you hurt. I don't want anyone hurt."
Lapis hung her head again in shame and Pearl gently rubbed her hand, slowly the delicate touched went northward and before she knew it Pearl touched Lapis's wrist. She looked up to see Lapis's reaction, possible hear a hiss of pain, but she was emotionless. Her eyes went down again.
"I like your bracelets…" Pearl seemed to echo herself and she tried to forget her time as Earl. "They must be important to you…"
"… I lost one a few days ago… Just after what happened." Pearl glanced up to watch Lapis, but her expression remained the same,
"Then let's go find it." Pearl smiled as Lapis finally looked up.
Slowly, Pearl took a step backwards and Lapis followed her. She picked her bag up with her free hand and slowly she led Lapis to her front door.
"Do you know where it could be?" She asked her slowly,
"Maybe the beach," Lapis replied,
"Then let's go," Pearl began leading her by the hand,
"But-" Lapis tried,
"I'm going to help you find it," Pearl replied, "and, I'm going to apologise."
"Why?" Lapis asked again as Pearl led them towards the beach, "you didn't do anything."
"I obviously did Lapis," Pearl replied with a sigh, "you know that I reacted harshly and I said something that I didn't mean… I don't want you hurt because of something I said."
Lapis hummed quietly and they didn't share anymore words until they got to the soft sand.
They stayed on the beach for several hours, watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon and leaving a burst of yellow's oranges and purples before it finally disappeared past the dark sea.
Their search was for nothing.
But even then, when they are empty handed, Pearl had to disagree on that statement because she did find something. She found an opportunity and that opportunity made her find Lapis's smile as they kicked sand at each other on the beach or distracted themselves with colourful pastel seashells. Lapis was confident that she could fashion some sort of bracelet with the smaller ones but Pearl knew that she was still distraught. It was like she lost a piece herself and the irony wasn't really that funny.
"Perhaps we will find a Pearl before we find your bracelet," Pearl chuckled as they walked along some rocks, she watched in amusement and worry as Lapis balanced herself along the rocks and walked alongside her. With each step she took Pearl could hear some pebbles fall and slowly she would look up at Lapis in building concern.
"I have already found a Pearl," Lapis replied with a laugh,
"Really?" Pearl looked up and raised an eyebrow, Lapis looked down with a grin and winked at her. Pearl felt her cheeks heat up, "oh very funny."
"Maybe we'll find a new star by the time we find it," Lapis murmured, Pearl sighed and looked up.
The one thing she loved about Beach City. Sometimes when the sky is just clear enough, she could see the whole galaxy. All those twinkling lights, so far away from it all and unbothered by this world's problems.
But today just wasn't one of those days, there were dark clouds hiding the beauty of space and she felt herself grumble out "perhaps we'll find any star at all before your bracelet." She looked to Lapis who was still expertly balancing on the rocks, Pearl swore that she must have taken some sort of class for her balance to be this good. "How are you doing that?"
"Doing what?" Lapis looked down at her,
"Balancing that well, aren't you scared to fall?" Pearl elaborated,
"No, I just surf a lot." Lapis twirled slightly and chuckled, but her smile turned into a frown, "Well, I used to surf a lot."
"So that's why your balancing is good?" Pearl raised an eyebrow,
"Well… I can teach you to surf, maybe then you can judge for yourself." Lapis smiled again and Pearl smiled back.
The dancer felt a small blush coming on again but she noticed how shaky Lapis had become, it went by so quickly and she didn't know that this time their fall would be this lovely.
Pearl felt her back hit the sand with another 'thump', she felt Lapis land on top of her and her hands holding her shoulders tightly, their knees bumped into each other painfully and their lips smash together.
Like any fall, it was sore at first. Pearl felt as if she had just burst one of her lips or knocked out a tooth by the force of Lapis's landing. But it was like she lost all of her control in that moment, she wrapped her arms around Lapis's waist and felt the other girl's hands gently cup her cheeks.
They pulled away slowly and carefully, almost forcibly. Lapis looked down at Pearl in surprise and her cheeks were glowing in the moonlight, Pearl watched her slowly open her mouth in attempts to speak and if Pearl had gone completely mad, she wouldn't have let her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Lapis said and Pearl felt her heart stop beating as her stomach flipped.
But despite being on the verge of tears, she brushed it off.
"It's fine."
But it's not fine.
Pearl watched Lapis slowly climb back up to a sit and Pearl sat up slowly too.
"Are you okay?" Pearl asked with a wavering voice,
Lapis nodded slightly, "yeah, I'm okay." Yet again het gaze is downcast, "you?"
"I'm okay," Pearl tried to smile but really she just didn't want to be looked at by Lapis. She clenched her hands and widened her eyes when she felt something inside her palm, she pulled her hand up and opened it slowly. The sand spilled out slowly, making a small pile to the side, Lapis watched her curiously.
As the last of the grains cleared Pearl felt herself gasp at the small blue stone that sat on a long black string. She looked to Lapis in slight shock and the girl was no better than she was.
"You actually found it," Lapis chuckled and Pearl handed it to her. She watched Lapis wrap the string around her neck, something she felt like she should ask was why, but she felt like it would have been inappropriate. "How do I look?" Lapis grinned,
There was so much that Pearl could have replied, but she just didn't have the heart to say.
"You look… Nice." She then marvelled at Lapis's smile.
Pearl kept quiet on their way back, she merely nodded when Lapis offered to escort her home and when she did speak it was when she was telling Lapis goodbye. Once the door closed she lingered there and let out a long breath of air.
"Was that Lapis?" Amethyst asked from the kitchen this time around and when Pearl went to investigate she found her room-mate balancing on a barstool eating some leftovers from last night.
"It was," Pearl replied as she put her bag down and grabbed a teacup,
"Oh so are you two okay again?" she asked and Pearl may have let the cup hit the counter a little too hard, "Oooohhh, I see." Amethyst chuckled, "Welp, good luck!" She quickly scoffed her meal and shuffled away after leaving the dishes in the sink.
The dancer was about to complain but she felt a soft buzzing come from her pocket alone with a small tune. She opened it and found Garnet had replied to her previous text, the news made her narrow her eyes.
"What's up?" Amethyst asked with some concern,
"It's Garnet, she's found where Jasper is." Pearl put the phone back into her pocket, she then dialled Lapis's number as she peeled off the bandage on her nose and replaced it with a simple, smaller one. She knew that i would be painful when she has to peel it off, but that's something that she was willing to risk at the time.
—
The door closed behind her gently, it was a first in a very long time of just letting the door slam. Frankly Lapis wondered how most days the hinges stayed intact.
"I'm home," Lapis said with a strange smile, she heard Pumpkin bark and run up to her in excitement, she gave them a pet before walking to the living room.
"You're back?!" Peridot jumped, "I didn't here you come in, where were you?" Lapis seen that she was doing something with paper and a lot of pens but she felt almost out of sorts in that she didn't really care what Peridot was doing.
"With Pearl," Lapis sighed and flopped onto the couch, possibly disturbing whatever project Peridot was working on. She felt Pumpkin brush against her leg and sit on the floor.
"What happened?" Peridot raised an eyebrow, as she returned to her construction.
Lapis grinned at that as she remembered the moment; the feeling Pearl's hands on her waist as they kissed, the faint taste of strawberries that it left her with. It almost felt like a dream.
"Something amazing," Lapis replied with a blush, "well, hopefully, I mean um." Suddenly she got a grip on herself and she felt her face heat up even more.
She never meant to fall off so embarrassingly from the rocks, especially from losing concentration when she seen Pearl blush. Her hands creeped up to her face and she groaned.
'I'm such an idiot…'
"It can't be that bad, Pearl is… Well…" Lapis watched Peridot through her fingers, the girl was trying her best to describe someone so complicated. "Well, I know that she was concerned as much as everyone else was." Lapis sighed, "look, all I know about Pearl is that she's an annoying perfectionist and is easily flustered. She also isn't that close to Earl."
Lapis's eyes widened "what do you man by that?"
"Well, she hasn't mentioned him like ever unless someone asks," Peridot replied and Lapis continued to watch her with her project.
Earl and Pearl. Lapis had almost forgotten that they were separate people and not this person that she had in her mind. Frankly, she wanted to know if anyone else had this problem when it came to twins.
Twins, something else that didn't sit right with her.
"Peridot, have you ever seen Pearl with Earl? Either in a picture together or-?" Lapis asked slowly,
"Um, no?" Lapis heard her crack something and stick something on her construction. "Why would I know?"
"Seriously?" Lapis raised her eyebrow, "you have been to Pearl's and Amethyst's place nearly every day."
"Well-!" She blushed and her hand crinkled the paper she was holding,
"Seriously, after all of this ends I am personally going to lock you in a room with Amethyst until you confess," Lapis said with a snort, "but don't you think it's strange? We only see one of the twins at a time?"
"You do have a point…" Peridot looked away, it was as if she was avoiding eye-contact,
"Do you think-?" Lapis sat up straighter,
"Didn't we go through all our theories already?" Peridot awkwardly chuckled, "I mean, thinking that they're the same person is a little weird."
"You used to be all for that conclusion," Lapis replied,
"Yeah, well then I got to know them," Peridot replied with a huff.
Lapis watched as Peridot looked at the time on her phone, she stood up abruptly and picked up her mysterious invention and put it into the cupboard with all her other things, Lapis grinned in amusement as she ordered Pumpkin to defend it with his life.
"I've got to get going." She said as she put on her shoes and jacket,
"This late? I thought you hated human interaction," Lapis raised an eyebrow and followed her to the door, she watched the girl take a leash and clip it onto Pumpkin's collar.
"Ha, ha," Peridot scowled, "I'm going to go see Amethyst, I haven't seen her all day, also, I'm going to take Pumpkin for a walk."
"Well, be careful," Lapis said with a concerned expression, "if you don't feel safe-"
"What are you? My mother?" Peridot scoffed, "I can handle it Lapis, besides, you're the one that should be worried."
That statement hit Lapis harder than she ever expected, it felt like a bell that was constantly ringing in her ears and repeated itself ominously. She had forgotten the dangerous situation that she was in with how focused she was on figuring out Pearl and Earl, it was all she ever thought about now and that was concerning.
But she hadn't been this happy in a long time, thinking about teaching Pearl how to surf or how Earl impacted on her life. Nearly half of Jaspers gang was in jail, if that didn't say anything then nothing would.
Lapis was brought out from her daze when a ringing came from her pocket, she felt her heart lurch when she seen who the caller was.
—
"So where is this place?" Pearl looked around the darkened streets, they had walked a mile or so out of Beach City and journeyed up a small hill, she had barely caught herself from slipping on some of the steeper terrain and the lack of light did not help her footing.
She looked at the company around her. Garnet was leading as always accompanied by Bismuth who must have started helping her at some point but she felt like it was the wrong time to ask, Lapis was behind her and was also looking at the surroundings.
"There is a barn at the top of this hill-" Bismuth replied as she tried to catch her breath, "I've managed to find-" She gasped, "some of Jaspers gang here-" she gasped yet again, "I hate hills."
"The only people left in Jaspers gang are the Ruby sisters and Malachite," Garnet hummed, "apparently we got all the quartzes back at the lighthouse."
"Well, that's re-assuring," Pearl grumbled,
"I wouldn't underestimate them," Lapis finally spoke up, "Eyeball is capable of killing someone, she just hasn't succeeded yet. Army is violent and Malachite…" She shuddered,
"Well, we won't have to worry about them once we're done here," Pearl glanced back to her and smiled.
It was strange, just hours ago she wished that Lapis wouldn't look at her and she felt like her heart was broken all over again after the kiss. But now, it was like she was a different person and in a way she was to Lapis.
'I need to get a grip of myself,' Pearl scowled inwardly, 'I'm Pearl, I'm Pearl and I will always be Pearl.'
"So, why does Jasper's gang have all these little hideouts?" Bismuth asked as they stopped for a breather, she was sat down on an old tree stump and was stretching her legs out.
"The lighthouse was our- I mean, her, place," Lapis replied, "it was already abandoned."
"And the barn?" Bismuth added,
"Broke in and made themselves at home, no-one's been to that place in years." Lapis crossed her arms and looked down at Beach City wistfully. "I didn't know that they actually made it a hideout."
"Are there anymore places?" Pearl asked carefully,
Lapis gave her a unrecognisable expression, but slowly she breathed out and sighed, "There's another place, a small warehouse just outside Beach City. I've never been there, but that's where most of Jaspers business takes place."
"I'll have to look into it later," Garnet hummed, she looked up and Pearl could see from the reflection of her shades that the barn was well lit and just above them. "Now's our chance, let's go."
Bismuth was about to stand but Garnet pushed her down, everyone looked at her in confusion, "you stay here-"
"But-!" Bismuth almost whined,
"We need a back up and you're it."
"Oh come on!" Bismuth huffed and sat back down, "Just go."
They ran up to the barns wall quietly and quickly, Pearl glances at Bismuth who stayed in the hiding place. Although Garnet called her a backup, she would really just be the one to call the police once they deal with whoever was in the barn and would be the one to address the said police officers.
Something that they really should have done when it came to the lighthouse.
With some hand signals, Garnet told them to spread out and deal with them one by one. If they done it right, no one would know a thing until they're passed out on the floor. Pearl turned to Lapis who pointed up to the small ledge just above them, it took some awkward hand gestures and a small game of charades to finally understand that she wanted a boost.
Dubiously, Pearl helped her up and watched her smaller frame scamper up the wall with ease. It still stunned her at how lithe she was and she briefly wondered how many buildings Lapis had managed to simply climb into as if she flew in.
Once Lapis was safely on the ledge, Pearl rounded the back corner and she felt a grin when she seen Malachite wandering about kicking a can. Eventually he stopped with an angry huff and leaned against the small wooden fence surrounding the barn, it was so tempting to attack him there and then but she had to wait for Garnet's signal.
It would be a short and sharp whistle that would be loud enough for everyone to hear.
She watched Malachite start pacing yet again, it was like watching a growling dog fighting against a leash.
"Stupid Jasper," She heard him grumble, "thinks she can just- Ugh!" He kicked the can again.
"Watch your tongue or I'll cut it off for you," Pearl heard a voice from inside and she paled, she knew that voice from back when she was still with Rose. A voice she wished she could forget.
Pearl's attention was back on Malachite when he scoffed and kicked the can again. She shook her head, she couldn't let a voice from the past disrupt her focus. If anything, it was perfect that she was here, they could go to jail all at once.
Suddenly a short and sharp whistle came from within the barn.
Her body moved by itself and she lunged at Malachite with deadly accuracy. The boy didn't even see it coming as she pushed him to the fence and then proceeded to repeatedly smash him against the feeble wooden frame. She stopped only when the fence broke from the strain.
Malachite looked up at her in fear and shock before his eyes closed and he passed out.
Pearl turned around when she heard a struggle from inside, she rushed to the aid and as she entered the light a dusty red figure rushed out. It was like time had slowed for a brief moment as they shared a glare at each other, two blue eyes, to one angry brown.
The woman was in shock at first and then it contorted into a angry scowl.
She watched her rush out in shock, the image of an eyepatch burned into her memory, the feeling of a knife in her hand.
"Earl? Earl are you okay?" A voice cleared Pearl's mind and she looked up to see Lapis looking down at her from the floor above. She bit her tongue and gave her a confident nod, trying to hide a quivering lip.
"Sorry, she was stronger than I anticipated," Garnet walked up to her with a bruise on her cheek.
"It's okay, she's the only one left other than Jasper." Pearl lowered her cap slightly.
Once Lapis had jumped down, they returned to Bismuth outside and called the police. They didn't bother to stay any longer than they had to.
The walk down the hill was silent, it was like always, just a comfortable silence. Pearl looked up to the sky as she cleared her mind, the dark clouds from before had cleared and she sighed at the stars in the sky. It was probably midnight by now, she grumbled at how tired she would be the next morning.
'Pearl will hate this…' Pearl scowled, 'No… I hate this already.'
"Stop," Garnet halts and Pearl almost walked into her, the same could not be said for Lapis who walked into Pearl's back absently.
"What is it?" Pearl felt her voice waver,
"You two need to talk," Garnet said and Pearl felt her face pale as her heart dropped,
"About what?" Lapis asked,
"It's obvious," Garnet hummed, "Stay up here for a bit, I'm going home."
Pearl felt herself shake in panic as Garnet just abandoned her. Right now, she could tell that she was Pearl and she hated it. She followed Lapis to a small fallen tree and sat on the bark as they watched the City and the sky.
"Do you know what Garnet wants us to talk about?" Lapis asked her,
She felt herself tense and she bit her tongue, she had to tell her now.
Lapis must have mistaken her silence as a denial and she sighed, "I don't either…"
'Now, or never.'
Pearl turned to Lapis after taking a deep breath (that she lost as soon as she seen Lapis look back), she watched Lapis slowly gravitate closer to her. Her breath brushed Pearl's lips and slowly her voice began to waver.
"Lapis… I have to…"
Before she could finish, Lapis had pressed their lips together and Pearl couldn't deny that she didn't deepen it. This kiss was different from the innocent one she received at the beach, yet her hands still found themselves on Lapis's waist and the other girl's hands found themselves on her cheeks.
It was perfect…
But…
It was wrong.
It was all wrong, it wasn't Pearl kissing her. It was Earl kissing her and that was what Lapis knew at the moment, that was probably all she knew and Pearl couldn't just keep lying to her about that. Lapis deserved better.
Pearl pulled away and withdrew her hands as quickly as Lapis withdrew her own hands from Pearl's cheeks. The girl's face was flushed, confused and unhappy.
"Lapis, I'm-"
"I'm sorry." Lapis stood up and walked away without another word, she didn't let Pearl finish and the taller girl couldn't even catch her breath to call out to her. Pearl was left only with a lingering warmness and the feeling of emptiness.
Eventually Pearl found her way back home and she shut the door hesitantly.
"Hello Pearl."
She froze, that voice wasn't Amethyst's or Garnet's. The air went cold as she turned and looked into the living room, finding Amethyst on the couch and Peridot beside her.
"I'm guessing you're surprised?" Peridot raised an eyebrow, "you didn't think that you could fool me now did you? The great and lovable Peridot?"
Pearl had lost her voice and she entered the room slowly taking off her cap and looking at the floor in shame.
"So Amethyst told you," Pearl coughed out, her voice hoarse,
"I didn't need her to tell me," Peridot sighed,
"Um, yeah you did," Amethyst added and Pearl gave her room-mate a small glare, "Listen, I just hinted at it! I never knew that she was this smart!"
Peridot blushed slightly, "Oh why thank you."
Pearl rolled her eyes, "so what happens now?"
"Well, I promised Amethyst I wouldn't tell Lapis," Peridot gave Amethyst a small affectionate smile, "so you're lucky this time…" Pearl let out a relieved sigh.
She watched Peridot stand slowly after giving Amethyst a hug, Pearl almost missed the sleeping puppy in Peridot's arms as she walked to the front door.
"Time for you to go already?" Amethyst chuckled,
"It's passed midnight." Peridot chuckled, "besides, Pumpkin's asleep."
"Okay, be safe!" Amethyst grinned, and Peridot grinned back.
However, the girl stopped before the actually left and turned to Pearl with a serious expression.
"Before I forget…" Pearl looked at her again and Peridot's scowl returned, "Lapis is my best friend, I won't keep lying to her because of you and I won't hurt her because of you." Pearl felt her words sting, "you need to tell her eventually or you'll lose Lapis for good and break her heart." Pearl gulped and then she heard Peridot continue, "Actually, I assume that no matter what you'll do now you'll break her heart."
Pearl felt herself shudder as Peridot shut the door behind her. She didn't let Amethyst have the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so'. But by her room-mates expression as she returned to her room, she didn't think that Amethyst would even say that now.
The white door shut behind her and Pearl felt tears surfacing, as she threw her jacket and cap onto the floor and climbed into her bed. She hugged the pillow tightly and hoped that it would muffle her stressed crying.
—
Lapis groaned and face planted on the couch. By now it was a regular occurrence in the house and if she didn't do it at some point she would have to evaluate her own sanity. She stayed like that for ten solid minutes before the door opened and Peridot walked in.
"What happened?" She asked, yet another tradition in the house. The girl in blue grumbled into the couch. "What? No way!" Peridot chuckled, "then what did you do?" Lapis grumbled again before she lifted her head and stared at Peridot. "So what did you really say? No couch grumble."
"I said-" Lapis blushed, "I kissed Earl."
Yes. That happened. Lapis planted her face back into the couch, she whimpered slightly at the memory of it. Everything that happened, the hands on the waist, the taste of strawberries.
It was Pearl.
Or at least it felt like it was Pearl, she groaned again. 'Why can't I think of one? Why do I always think of both of them?'
"And what's so wrong with that?" Peridot eventually replied, but her voice was a little different, it was… Worried.
"I'm positive that Earl and Pearl are one person," Lapis huffed, "I couldn't stop thinking of Pearl when I kissed him! Then when I'm around Pearl, it's like I'm talking to Earl! I had to push him away and get out of there."
"Well, you'll figure it out eventually," Peridot replied, not looking at Lapis in the slightest.
"… You're very helpful aren't you?"
Peridot remained silent.
Lapis groaned into the couch one again before she righted herself, she was about to have yet another debate of the existence of an 'Arl' the combination of Pearl and Earl. But before she could even speak a low buzzing came from her pocket.
Peridot looked at her strangely and Lapis pulled out her phone, studying the message and the sender.
She looked to her room-mate with a shudder.
"It's Jasper."
Let's hope I don't take an entire month to write the next chapter :)
Till Next Time! (probably not next week though, sorry.)
