A/N: so, I stayed up to write chapter 2, and it ended up being super long, so I divided it into 2 and 3! I've already started working on 4, so I hope you guys enjoy these two chapters. sorry if it seems drawn out or slow or anything, I'm writing as I go and when something comes to mind I try to work with it, and it ends up being a bit of dialogue and short paragraphs and one sentence type of things. anywaaay.
NEW EPISODE TONIGHT! WHO ELSE IS EXCITED?! It looks sooo cuuute and I can't wait to see what goes on while everyone's away. C=
okay. enjoy.
xxxxx
They pulled up to the curb of Fish Stew Pizza blasting the first mixtape Sour Cream had produced himself; an old sampling of what he started out with did well to remind them of their roots and what they aimed to become as far as their DJ careers. Jenny herself was just starting out, having fun and seeing what her friends were all about, but she only regarded it as a hobby, which they all understood and respected. "All work and no play, don't be a dull Jenny." was Buck's point of view, and the other two agreed. Jenny worked hard—sometimes—at her family's restaurant and needed a break whenever she had an especially tiring shift, and playing with music was a perfect outlet. As long as she could be with her friends and not take something seriously, she was a happy camper.
Buck went back and forth with a few different hobbies. Some months can go by before he would decide to delve back into music, and it would amuse him for another few months before he decided to focus on another activity. However, whatever he dedicated his time and energy to, he did extremely well with it. He went with the flow of his mind and enjoyed whatever he could whenever he wanted. He mainly got into the rave scene for Sour Cream's sake; the two spent so much time together that he didn't want to feel like he couldn't understand his friend's passion, so he gave it a spin, as it were, and found he could really get into it, which suited him just fine.
Sour Cream and Peridot, however. They aimed to do the absolute best they could in their own ways. They wanted to play as many shows as possible and always learn something from each one to use in the next one, in the next mix or collaboration they decided to undertake. They had met when Peridot moved to Beach City. She was pursuing an education in technological fields along with the study of astronomy when she met Sour Cream in one of her many classes. He always had his headphones on and was constantly to himself, yet he would have randomly helpful input when needed. He took it on himself to casually invite Peridot to grab lunch from Fish Stew Pizza one day so she could meet Buck and Jenny, and their friendship grew from there. She was hesitant when he extended the offer, but she saw no reason to turn it down and it was one of the best things she had done since moving to Beach City. They began to take her to various raves held in many locations, and the sounds Sour Cream and his internet friends produced sparked an interest in her. It was fairly simple to learn how these sounds were created—it was all just machines and technology, after all, her specialty—and she quickly caught up to Sour Cream's level, which he was quite impressed with, though you would never be able to tell by his tone of voice. The two often spent time together planning their next moves and locations, spreading the word any way they could to draw more listeners to test their creations on. Music aside, Peridot was pleased she had managed to befriend a few good people and that she could spend as much time with them as she desired outside of classes. They were like her family at this point, and she couldn't imagine not meeting them.
Smiling to herself as Jenny shut off the car and took the keys out of the ignition, Peridot unbuckled her seatbelt and gripped the car door on both sides, swinging her feet over it and pushing herself up enough to jump down. Sour Cream and Buck followed suit with their respective doors as Jenny opened her car door, scowling at them. "Can't you guys just, I don't know, be normal and open the door to get out?!" she grumbled, shutting her door a bit hard. The other three looked at each other before all breaking out into snickers and joining Jenny's side.
"Aww, come on. Have fun. Relax." Peridot drawled, waggling her fingers at her friend, who in turn slapped her hands away, causing the blonde to begin rubbing them in mock pain, a smirk crawling on her face.
"Get outta my face! That's my family business car! If you scuff it up, my father won't let me hear the end of it!" Jenny looked behind her, as if just mentioning Kofi would cause him to come flying out of the restaurant door. "I'm surprised he didn't come out here yelling already..." she began to imitate her father, throwing her hands in the air animatedly. "JENNY! What are you doing?! Playing that noise that loud, in front of MY RESTAURANT! DON'T MAKE ME GROUND YOU, YOUNG LADY!" The other three all laughed with her as they walked towards A Latte On My Mind, Peridot smiling more than the others as she realized she was about to get her caffeine fix. She never knew how much she was going to love coffee until college and the nightlife Sour Cream introduced her to came into her life.
She reached for the door handle, turning towards her friends with an open, smiling mouth to make a declaration on her excitement, when suddenly, before her fingers made contact with metal, the door flew open, slamming into her hand and just barely grazing her nose. She gritted her teeth, retracting her hand as fast as it happened and squeezed it, tears forming in her eyes. "FFFF...ERR..." she grunted staring at her hand before looking up, ready to let loose on her offender.
That plan fell real short real fast.
She found herself staring into the startled blue eyes of a girl, half a foot taller than her with hair to match her gaze. She was clutching a piece of paper in one hand, the other one over her mouth as she stared at Peridot. She removed it quickly and made an awkward reach towards Peridot's hand, to which Peridot stepped back in what felt like slow motion. She was almost rooted to the spot, and she didn't know where the energy to manage that movement came from. She couldn't speak, either. Why couldn't she speak? She was just about to—
"A-are you okay?"
The girl's words brought a flash of the ocean side; Peridot's bare feet in the sand as a breeze made its way through her hair and the smell of salt stung her nose as her eyes watered while a smile made its home on her face, laying back in the sand, hands behind her head, relaxing as the gulls sang a song of coming home in her ears, the sun warming her body and soul.
And then it was gone.
Squeezing her hand Peridot found her voice. "YES, I'M FINE, THANK YOU."
It wasn't a very flattering voice, but it was a voice.
The blue eyes blinked as they stared at Peridot, then her hand. "Are...you sure...? You look pained..." Her hand flew to her face and she groaned. "I'm so sorry...I was so eager to rush home, I didn't think anyone would be coming in right as I was leaving..."
Peridot was at a loss again listening to her voice. What are you doing? What the hell? Just get inside! Get away! GO!
"I...I'm fine...it'll pass, really...I just...need...coffee."
The girl moved her hand and looked at Peridot once more, wincing. "...are you sure...?" she repeated, glancing back down to the blonde's hand, which was not so subtly turning red and swelling. "It's gonna bruise..."
"I'M FINE, THANK YOU."
AGAIN? YOU YELLED THE SAME THING, AGAIN?
Sighing, the girl moved towards Peridot who moved further back and grabbed the door handle, holding it open for the group. "Alright...well...I'm sorry, again...enjoy your coffee..."
Glancing at the girl once more, Peridot somehow found the motivation to bolt past her into the shop. She leaned over and grabbed the collar of her shirt, her mind spinning from the encounter as she took slow deep breaths. She hadn't frozen up like that in...well, almost a year...
"You don't have to hold the door, it's okay, girl! She'll be fiiine!" she heard Jenny remark. She rolled her eyes, letting out a low growl. Thanks, Jenny.
"No, it's the least I can do...besides, if I'm gonna be a good employee, I should start practicing some manners and hold the door, instead of hitting my customers with it, heh..."
"Oh, you work here now? Girl, I'm right next door if you need anything! My family runs Fish Stew Pizza! Come say hi sometime!"
Peridot's eyes widened and her head shot up as she turned towards the door, watching her friends wave their goodbyes to the girl with the blue hair, barely catching another world stopping glance of her as the door closed behind Jenny. She caught her friends all staring at her strange behavior and blinked furiously, turning around quickly to run up to the counter where Amethyst was watching the whole scenario with wide eyes and an even wider grin.
"HAZELNUT COFFEE, BLACK, TWO SHOTS OF ESPRESSO."
The grin on Amethyst's face expanded and she propped her face in her open palms, raising her eyebrows at Peridot. "Heeey, Peridactyl. How's it goin'? Didjya meet our newest barista?"
"COFFEE."
"Suuure, how did you want that again? Black? Or Blue?"
Snickers came from behind Peridot and she whirled around to stare at her friends with wide eyes, all of them watching her back gleefully. "I JUST WANT MY COFFEE, OKAY?" She couldn't think with all of this confusion whirling through her head. She didn't know what to make of it, and she didn't want to sort it out. Not right now. The pain in her hand coupled with the confusion was not something she could handle without caffeine.
"Alllriiight, P-Dot, I'll get your coffee..." Amethyst laughed and turned towards the coffee pots, grabbing the hazelnut one and pouring it in before pumping the espresso in. Stirring it up, she secured a lid on top and turned, handing it to Peridot, who all but snatched it out of her hand and threw exact change on the counter before running off to the stage, pulling up a chair against the wall and began to nervously sip on her drink.
Amethyst continued to grin over at Peridot before looking at Buck, Sour Cream and Jenny, stars basically dancing in her eyes. "DUDE. DUDES. DUDETTE."
They all nodded hard in unison, slight smiles on Buck and Sour Cream's faces, a grin just as wide as Amethyst's on Jenny's. "What's her name, Ames?!" Jenny whispered loudly, trying not to make a big fuss and failing as Peridot glared over at all of them suspiciously.
"Lapis!" Amethyst replied, glancing over at Peridot. "She just moved here, she came in for an application, Pearl took her to the office to fill one out and talk to Garnet! It really didn't take too long for Garnet to approve of her, she starts tomorrow!" Amethyst said all of this very quickly and dramatically took a deep breath to make up for the lost breath. "Mannn, I came onto her fast but she shut me down, ha, apparently she's just hypnotic...even Pearl's acting a bit weird about her." Amethyst waggled her eyebrows as the group stared at her. "OH, and you guys haven't even heard the best part."
"Tell us the best part, I'm dying to know!" Jenny clapped.
Amethyst grinned again and looked towards Peridot, then the stage and back to the group. "Go check the chalkboard." she hinted.
Jenny was off like a shot, Buck and Sour Cream trailing behind her with a slight sense of urgency. Peridot saw them coming towards her and she sunk herself further into her chair, gritting her teeth together as they approached. Their gazes were on the chalkboard, which was propped up between her and the stage, and she turned to see what they were looking for. After a moment, she noticed a name she'd never seen before, written for Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Lapis Lazuli.
"What's...oh." She stood up slowly and kept staring at the name before staring at her friends' amused faces, and further beyond them, Amethyst laughing, burying her face into her arm on the counter, her hand slapping the glass top.
"...Sour Cream..."
"Yep."
"...we play Wednesday night at 9, right?"
"Yep."
"...great."