Ocean Waves

This is the most likely the last chapter of this story, but don't despair! I am going to make a sequel to this! So, look forward to that after this!

Anyway, what's going to happen to Lapis? Who's going to win her heart/gem? Let's find out, shall we?

Chapter 6 – Act Out of Love

Steven quickly grabbed my arm, trying desperately to pull me away from Jasper. I choked as her fist closed around my throat. Jasper growled at him.

"Let her go!" she snarled, "She's mine!"

"No!" Steven cried, "I won't let you hurt Lapis anymore! You tried to shatter her!"

"I won't let that happen again," Jasper mumbled in my ear, "You belong to me now. And I will never let anyone take you away from me!"

Jasper suddenly thrust me towards her, lifting me, and Steven, off the ground. I was panting now, with the effort of trying to pry Jasper's fingers off my throat and holding up Steven, who was still holding onto my hand, I was exhausted. Growling, Jasper grabbed Steven and pulled him off. She held him in front of her face.

"Stay away from us, Rose," she hissed, "Don't try to interfere or I'll break you!"

I was impressed with how strong Steven was staying. He was shaking slightly, but he wore a determined look on his face. He glared back at Jasper.

"I'm not Rose," he told her, "And I'm not going to let you hurt Lapis!"

I was touched by his dedication, and I resolved to help him. Summoning my wings, I slapped at Jasper, trying to make her free me. She sputtered and gasped, but still tried to hold onto both of us. I beat my wings faster, and started to feel her grip loosen. I pushed away from her, and finally broke her grip on me. I flew over and snatched Steven from her grip as well. We fell to the ground, with Steven wrapped in my arms.

Jasper glared at us. She was still on her knees, as it was too cramped for her to stand. I held Steven tight as she slowly came towards us.

"Lapis," Steven whispered to me, "We have to fuse again. We have to get out of here."

I nodded in understanding. "I agree," I replied to him, "How do we do that?"

I was answered when Steven pulled me in and kissed me gently on the lips. I don't know if I have a heart, but if I did, it was soaring. I kissed him back just as deeply, and I could almost feel the shock and rage coming from Jasper. But none of that mattered right now, as my gem started glowing, and Steven and I merged into one.

…

I was quite cramped, I must say, but I stood up anyway, stretching and breaking the rocks and boulders above us. Instead of a cave, we were standing in the outdoors now, as the cave had completely collapsed. Moonlight shown down on the rubble, illuminating the area. I looked around, trying to see if I could spot Peridot at all.

"Peridot!" I called, "Peridot, are you there? Tell me where you are!"

There was a moment of silence, as I strained to listen, then I heard a small voice coming from a pile of rubble a little bit away.

"I'm over here!" Peridot's voice shouted out to me. I let out a sigh of relief that she was okay, and I made my way over to where I heard her voice. I heaved a large boulder out of the way and found Peridot crouched underneath it.

"Oh, thank goodness you found me!" she sighed, "I was afraid I was going to be stuck under there forever!" She paused and looked up at me. "Hey! You fused again! Neat! Where's Jasper?"

The thought suddenly struck me. Where was Jasper? Had I accidentally crushed her when I fused and broke out? I looked back to where I had emerged.

"Jasper?" I called, slightly concerned. I heard nothing. I wanted to check to see if she was ok, but I was a little concerned that she would attack me again. I took a cautious step forward, when Jasper suddenly burst out of the rubble with a roar. Peridot "eeped" with fear, and hid behind my leg.

I stared steadily at Jasper, leveling my gaze with hers. She stared back at me, her eyes filled with hatred, and something else. We stared each other down, neither of us averting our gaze or saying anything. The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Finally, Jasper blinked, then leapt out of the rubble. But instead of lunging at me, she jumped away into the trees behind her, disappearing from sight.

Peridot peaked her head out from behind my leg. "Is she gone?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah, she's gone," I replied. I was a little confused. What just happened? Why hadn't Jasper attacked? Had she finally just given up? Somehow, I knew that this wasn't the case, but at the moment I was just glad she was gone.

"Next time, I want to fuse with Steven," Peridot said suddenly, breaking me from my thoughts. I turned and looked down at her. "What do you call yourself?"

I recalled the name I was given. "Azurite," I told her.

"Cool," Peridot replied simply.

I carefully made my way through the rubble with Peridot right behind me. When we got through, I thought about unfusing, but I wanted to stay Azurite a little while longer. Peridot and I walked back to the barn in silence, the moonlight bathing us in an eerie light. We didn't say anything, and the walk was relatively uninteresting, except for this fight we had with a giant monster the size of a building with sixty arms and two heads. Other than that, though, nothing really happened.

When we got back to the barn, I took a deep breath and unfused.

…

Steven stood beside me and grinned. Then he joyfully hugged me around the waist. "I can't believe we actually fused!" he exclaimed.

"I know," I said in a breathless voice, "It was a lot different than when I was fused with Jasper. Being Malachite was horrible. But being Azurite was…nice."

Peridot came over and embraced us both. "That was amazing!" she complimented, "I can't believe I got to see the birth of a new fusion twice!"

Steven chuckled a little. "Yeah, you get to see all the cool stuff, don't you?" he said. He looked up at the sky, and I did too. I hadn't noticed how dark it was getting, and Steven yawned.

"I'm going to head off to bed," he announced, "It's been an eventful day." He stretched his arms and headed into the barn, and I watched him go. I felt a little… unsatisfied. Was he just going to ignore what we had gone through? I was confused.

Peridot suddenly nudged me, jolting me from my thoughts. "You all right there, Lapis?" she asked me.

"Yes, I'm fine," I replied. That was a bit of a lie. Physically I was completely fine. But emotionally, I was in turmoil.

"Good!" Peridot said happily, totally missing the tone of my voice. She walked back into the barn, and I slowly followed. I watched as she went to the back of the barn and started messing around with a pile of junk.

As I stood watching her, I suddenly heard Steven call softly to me from where he sat on the mattress. I walked over to him, and he gestured for me to sit next to him. I obeyed and scooched closer to me.

"Um, did you want to talk about what happened today?" he asked me.

"What do you mean?" I wondered nervously.

"You sort of told me you love me," he pointed out.

"So did you," I countered, "Did you… really mean it?" I paused nervously, "Do you really love me?"

Steven stared down at the floor for a long, silent moment. Then he looked at me. "I do, Lapis," he replied, "I love you."

My breath caught in my throat. "But what about your friend, Connie?" I wondered.

Steven fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, that's the thing, I think I love her too," he told me, "I just feel so strongly about people, and I feel like I'm somehow lying to you or something."

I sighed and smiled a little. "Oh Steven," I said quietly, "You don't have to feel ashamed. I think it's wonderful that you're so full of love. And you're only fourteen. You don't have to decide anything now."

Steven smiled at me. "I love you, Lapis," he said. I smiled warmly back at him.

"I love you, too, Steven," I whispered to him.

I was surprised when he suddenly took my shoulders, gently pulled me down towards him and kissed me deeply. I hesitated a moment, and then kissed him back. We wrapped our arms around each other, kissing each other deeper.

Steven pulled back and looked at me. "Lapis, will you lay next to me while I sleep tonight?" he requested. An odd request, but I nodded.

"Of course," I replied. He laid down on the mattress and I laid down next to him. He cuddled up to me and I wrapped him my arms. As he fell asleep, I couldn't help but smile. For the first time in my life, I felt happy and satisfied. Steven, my love, lay beside me, and he loved me back. And my life was full.

END

Hope the ending didn't revolt you too much! Please leave a comment, and look forward to the next story starring Lapis and Steven!