A couple of weeks had passed since. It had become a routine of sorts for Lapis to take Peridot out to The Barn for lunch every day at school. They'd go out and chat about just about anything. They would ask each other what the other the other was up to lately, if they were having fun this year, if anything new had happened and just how they were doing. Sometimes they'd start talking about art, or music or even Camp Pining Hearts. The two would gush and fangirl over what they loved, and rave and rant over what they hated. They had found they shared a hate for the shows leading couple, though they did have disagreeing opinions on Paulette in general. Peridot just hated her, while Lapis had thought that there was potential, but the shows writers just never put any of her potential to good use.
Lapis loved seeing Peridot get so passionate in her spiel for why Percy and Pierre were perfect together. It was funny. Though sometimes she had to quiet the girl down else they get kicked out from their favorite cafe.
The blue haired woman was finding she was looking forward to these lunches more and more. They were becoming the highlights of her days. She'd found herself growing closer and closer to Peridot as well. She listened to the girls problems, and in return Peridot listened to her rant about her crappy days. Her trust had gotten to the point that Lapis had shown Peridot her private sketchbook, full of drawings and artworks so personal to her that Lapis didn't want anyone seeing. Nothing had even prompted her to do so; she'd just decided that she wanted Peridot to see them and so she brought it to lunch one time and showed it to her, acted like she did when she showed Peridot any other sketchbook. The girl fawned over her sketches and would stare at her with starry eyes at being shown pieces her student would repeatedly tell her were beautiful and amazing.
It was around then that she realized just how fond she had grown of the blonde. Did she even see Peridot as a student anymore? No, she was so much more than that. She was a friend. Lapis couldn't say she'd have thought she'd ever be calling a student of hers a friend when she first started this job. But, she didn't know Peridot back then either.
She had a little more than an hour before she'd meet up with Peridot again for lunch that day, and Lapis was really looking forward to it. They were what she looked forward to each day, and the fun she had during lunch was what got her through the rest of her day and the stress that followed being an adult.
She must have been smiling for the past ten minutes as she lounged about in the faculty room. She hummed a bit as she cradled a hot cup of coffee between her hands, the dark liquid was her life blood. The young teacher was situated on the faded couch, just lazily waiting for the clock to strike eleven so she could meet up with Peridot and head out. When the door opened and closed, she twisted her head to look at the large woman who had strode into the room.
"Hello, Lapis," Rose greeted with a warm smile as she shuffled over to the coffee machine, her pink curls bouncing as she walked, "You seem to be awfully happy today, has something good happened?"
Lapis' smile didn't falter as she scooted over so the nurse could come and sit beside her on the couch. "Oh, nothing new," she shook her head as she took a drink of her coffee, "I've just been having fun lately. How have you been? Steven doing okay? He's what, thirteen by now?" she asked instead. It'd been forever since she'd seen the boy who had dubbed her his 'Beach Summer Fun Buddy' when she moved into the city during the summer. Safe to say that Lapis had grown fond of the little boy rather quickly.
The woman laughed, "Not quite, he's still nine and he's as cheerful as ever," she shook her head as she took a seat beside Lapis, "He's made a new friend at school, too, a girl named Connie. Goodness, he talks about her all the time. His father's started teaching him to play the ukelele."
"Is he now? Well, I'll have to ask him to play me a song some day."
"He'd love to," Rose confirmed, still smiling in the soothing, motherly way of hers, "He would love to see you again, Lapis. You should consider stopping by one day, join us for dinner even."
The idea of having dinner with the warm, loving family was welcoming, and Lapis would love to do that again one of these days, But, she'd hate to put any strain on the family. She knew that the Quartz-Universe family wasn't the best off financially. Being a teacher and running a carwash that didn't get too many customers weren't the best paying jobs out there, and though they made enough to make ends meet and have a bit of spending money to live comfortably, she didn't want to make give them an extra mouth to feed or use their money on someone other than themselves. As such Lapis tried as best she could to refuse any charity or offers from Rose as best as she could, "I'd hate to impose though, you know that " Lapis answered as she got up to get a refill of coffee.
"Honestly, Lapis! You're never imposing," Rose scolded her without any heat to it, and the two women shared a smile. "Steven really would love for you to come over, it'd make his day." Oh, this woman knew how to play her cards.
Lapis shook her head lightly, "Well… I guess for Steven's sake, I could swing by one of these days to catch up," she said slowly but smiled nonetheless. "Can't disappoint the little man, you know? If I do, I might lose my title as his Beach Summer Fun Buddy, and what would I do then?" the woman laughed a little.
"You do have a title to defend and all."
"Exactly!"
The air was easy and gentle, it was relaxing in fact. Lapis felt at home right now. Not that it was anything new; it was common for people to feel like they were safe and sound when around Rose. She had that aura around her that, and that understanding, unconditional love to everyone around her. She was a woman that Lapis could admire. No wonder the majority of the student body loved her, she was like a second mom to so many people here. The woman who'd never judge you and accept you as perfect and beautiful just how you are. She was the teacher who would always leave her door open for students who were having trouble and needed a place to stay. Had her ears open for the students who needed to vent or talk to someone about their problems.
She always treated the students as though they were her own children, and that was something to admire. She always went above and beyond what was required of a faculty member.
But the calm mood between them was soon disrupted as someone else entered the faculty room. Unlike when Rose entered, the door was not opened and closed gently. Instead, it was all but thrown open, and it shut with a loud bang that had both Lapis and Rose flinch in surprise.
"So this is where you were! I was looking everywhere for you!" An all too familiar voice shouted and Lapis felt her blood begin to boil and her smile turn into a scowl. Her grip on her cup tightening drastically as she glared at the hulking woman who had just entered the faculty room, at the dark skin with lighter patches streaking across, the bleached hair and bright amber eyes.
"Jasper," she said as curtly, her name a harsh bite. She saw Rose rise from her spot on the couch, ready to step in if things got bad. She knew just as well as Lapis did at how Jasper could get when angry, especially when Rose wasn't exactly her favorite person in the world, for reasons Lapis couldn't even try to understand.
Either not noticing Lapis' clear discomfort at the gym teacher's presence, or probably ignoring it altogether, the woman strode forward so she was in front of Lapis, towering several inches over the art teacher, "Lapis, join me for dinner tonight," it wasn't a request, it never was. Jasper always just told her to do something and never asked. It seemed she still had that nasty habit even after they'd broken up.
Lapis shook her head, putting her cup of coffee on the counter next to the brewer as she crossed her arms over her chest, "No," she said firmly. "I thought we were clear on this."
It was clear that Jasper was trying to be polite about this, as much as she could be with how things were between them, but the flash of annoyance at Lapis refusal did not go unnoticed. She saw her hands clench a little, her jaw stiffen, her eyes narrow. "I've already made a reservation, Lapis. I thought it would be nice to just go out to eat and catch up," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I even chose a nice restaurant too. We don't have to do anything, just get dinner and talk."
"Jasper, I said no," Lapis repeated, her frown deepening as she took a step away from Jasper. This was the wrong move as she saw the attempted friendly expression break away to show off her anger.
"Christ, Lapis! Why are you being so difficult!" Jasper yelled as though the reason wasn't obvious to her.
Rose stepped forward to place a hand on Jaspers shoulder, trying to play a mediator before things got ugly, "Jasper, if you would please remain calm," she tried, but her hand was violently shrugged off with a snarl that she was to 'butt out' from the large woman.
Sighing, Lapis turned to look at the nurse with a tired expression, "Rose? Could you please go?" she asked as politely as she could, though she felt her own anger coursing through her just by having to be by Jasper, "I really think this would be best if we talked this out between ourselves, you know?"
"Are you sure?" Rose asked, glancing at Jasper. It was clear she wasn't too keen on leaving the exes alone in the faculty room, far too many things they could stab the other with and all that. But, after a moment she sighed, "Okay, just, be safe."
At that, Lapis offered her a smile, "Don't worry, we're just going to talk," her eyes flashed dangerously at Jasper, "right?"
The gym teacher nodded, though her expression still hardened.
As satisfied as she was going to be with this situation, Rose let out a soft sigh and stepped out of the room, mumbling to Lapis that she would be in the nurse's office if the woman needed her after this. Both women watched as the nurse left the room, staring at the door as it shut closed behind her.
When both were sure that she was gone, Lapis turned to stare at Jasper, her anger not concealed, "What the Hell are you doing?" she demanded in a growl, taking a step towards her, "What part of 'breakup' can you not understand?"
Jasper didn't back down, instead, she glared at Lapis with just as much heat, "What's wrong with me? All I was doing was trying to invite you to a friendly evening out to catch up! We haven't had an actual conversation since we broke up!" She yelled back, "Is it a crime to try and catch up and be friendly with my ex?"
"We both know you're not trying to 'catch up'."
There was a tense moment of silent as the two glared at each other. Despite being much shorter than Jasper, the art teacher did not back down. She held her ground and stared at Jasper with so much anger and hate, and could feel the heat of Jasper's own glare burning her. But it was only a matter of time before the silence would break and the screams would start. Whether they were together or not, they could never not turn an argument into a war between them.
Finally, Jasper broke the silence with a snarl. "So what if it's not?" she replied, fists clenched tight and trembling at her sides, "We should be together again, we both know that! We were great together, perfect even! We were made for each other! You know that just as well as I do! So why are you being so damn stubborn and trying to refuse it?"
"Are you serious?" Lapis laughed, it was harsh and humorless. Had Jasper gone deranged during their breakup? "We were awful for each other! Or did you forget all the doctor visits for broken bones, all the bruises and busted lips?"
"We can be better this time!" It was a repeat of what she often said when Jasper begged Lapis to come back to her, meaningless, hollow promises and lies. She felt the large hands of the woman clamp onto her own smaller ones, "I'm a better person, I'm better at controlling my anger. I'm better, we're better!"
"No, we won't How many times do I have to say that we won't? You said that so many times before and you never did get better!" Lapis snarled, ripping her hands free from Jaspers grip, she stumbled back a little as she regained her footing and putting space between the woman, "You were awful, dating you was the worst thing I'd ever done! Why would I ever want to go back to you?" She would have to be seriously mental to ever want to return to that horrible life!
"Because! Who else can love you like I do?" Jasper yelled back, taking a menacing step forward as she grabbed Lapis by the arm, a grip so tight the woman could feel the bruise forming, "You really think anyone else but I can love you once they know the shit that goes on in your head? Do you?" Jasper tugged her forward and grabbed onto her shoulder with her other arm, giving her a harsh shake as she yelled at her.
Lapis gritted her teeth at the pain flaring up from where Jasper gripped her, swallowing to glare up at her instead of letting out any signs that she was hurting her, honestly this was nothing compared to what they usually did when they fought, "Well, I don't know, I think I'm doing pretty well so far on that front!" She shot back.
She could see Jaspers expression slacken into one of confusion, "What?" she asked, her grip loosening in her surprise.
A wave of triumph washed over Lapis for a moment as she wrenched herself free from Jasper once more, "Just what it sounds like!" she sneered at her ex, "I've been doing pretty good on dating! I've a new girlfriend in fact! We've gone on dates every day and she's leagues ahead of you. She makes me feel great, she listens to me, she never yells, she never gets angry, and she's actually fun to be around!" Lapis listed on her fingers as she spoke to Jasper. She felt a twinge of guilt in the back of her mind using Peridot as an excuse like this and claiming to be her girlfriend. But, so long as she didn't list any names, no one would get in trouble, right? She just needed Jasper to back off, and maybe if Jasper thought she wasn't available anymore, that'd do the trick. "She treats me right, which is more than I could say for you."
She saw rage in those amber eyes and narrowly managed to fling herself back before she could grab her. "Who the hell took you?" Jasper yelled making another attempt at Lapis. The artist could practically see the veins bulging on Jasper's neck as her face turned red with rage and jealousy.
"Like Hell I'm telling you!" Lapis snapped back as she managed to move so that the sofa was between them.
This was getting bad, any longer and it might end up like one of the fights they'd have back when they were together. Lapis really didn't want to have to explain to Peridot why she had bruises on her face and broken knuckles on her hands. But, Jasper didn't really seem to have any intent on calming down. Once she got angry there was little that Lapis could do to calm her down.
Though, it seemed like Lapis wouldn't have to be the one to do that.
"What is going on in here?" A voice so soft and frail broke into the room and had both teachers freeze where they stood. There was no anger, no accusation in the tone of the speaker, just soft and sorrow. They'd recognize it anywhere.
Principal Azure and her assistant, Blue Pearls stood at the door of the faculty room, her lithe and young secretary quietly closing the door behind them to give the group privacy from the rest of the student and faculty body. Neither showed any annoyance at what they had walked in on, nor any anger. "A student had come to me saying he heard screaming in the faculty room. Could I ask the two of you to tell me what upset you so much that you were fighting?"
Lapis was the first to make a move, taking a few quick steps to where Principal Azure stood and away from Jasper. "Principal Azure! Sorry, ma'am," she was quick to apologize and flashed a glare at Jasper, "But Ms. Chalcedony got angry and jealous and, like a child, started lashing out."
"Oh? Going to pin this all on me, are you?" Jasper growled as she walked towards them, "Real mature."
The principal was a tall woman, her long hair pale and her face weary and aged from grief and sorrow over her deceased lover. She wore a blue shawl with a hood that would often shadow her face, and she always spoke softly. She never seemed to get angry or upset by the faculty and students, and everyone always felt guilty for bothering her or bringing her stress whenever she had to be involved. Her assistant, Blue, rarely spoke either, some said she only ever spoke to Azure. A young woman in her mid twenties who devoted all her energy to assisting Azure both in work and emotionally.
Even now, with those sorrow filled eyes staring at Lapis and Jasper, the art teacher felt something awful for letting her argument with Jasper escalate to the point the sweet older woman had to step in.
"Jasper," Azure said softly, "Please, no need to be angry. If you would relax- both of you, I would like to take you both to my office so I can discuss with you both, separately and privately, on what the problem is. I don't like seeing any of my teachers upset with eachother like what I saw today."
There was no point in arguing with the woman, both Jasper and Lapis could agree on that. So, heads hanging low, they could only quietly agree and follow the principal out of the room and to her office. A few students and even a few teachers were watching them leave with eyes wide. Had they really gotten so loud that people had heard through the walls and doors? Yikes.
Hopefully, though Lapis wouldn't be late for lunch with Peridot. She'd hate to make the girl wait, and she was seriously going to need that time with her after this.
For the past few days, Peridot noticed that her body was filled with fuzz and her heart was doing acrobats.
Did she understand what any of that meant? Nope.
All the senior understood was that she got funny feelings whenever she spoke to Lapis, saw Lapis or even just thought of her. Her heart would speed up, her face would get hot like she was running some fever. It was hard to focus because once Lapis was in her mind, she couldn't get the blue haired teacher out of it. She'd end up thinking of just the silliest of things when it came to the woman.
How she smelled nice when she'd brush past her, how pretty her smile was, how she had her hair kept so nice that day, or that she must have been feeling lazy because her hair was messier. Peridot couldn't even look at the color blue without her mind going back to Lapis.
It was a problem. She couldn't think straight, she couldn't focus. If she tried to focus on her homework or readings her mind would wander back to something Lapis had said or how Lapis was looking at her during class. Not to mention all the weird physical feelings she was getting whenever Lapis was involved. She felt like she was sick, but it wasn't even an unpleasant feeling, and that's what worried Peridot more.
But, the worst part was that she knew her grades were starting to slip. Because Lapis was always on her mind, she couldn't concentrate on lectures or assignments. The last bunch of assignments she'd gotten back, homework and quizzes… well she hadn't gotten a single A. Instead they'd been inked with B's and C's.
Peridot was certain she felt her heart stop and her blood turn to ice when she saw the red C on the paper.
It was all Lapis' fault, it was her fault that Peridot couldn't think straight anymore. It was her fault that she was all Peridot ever thought about this past couple of weeks. It was all her fault, but yet Peridot couldn't find it in her to even truly blame Lapis for her failing.
Hunching over in her chair, Peridot subtly brought a hand up to her chest to clench at her hoodie. Great. Her heart was back to its gymnastic tricks again and leaving warm, fuzzy feelings all over her insides. What was wrong with her?
"Peridot, are you listening?"
She was snapped out of her daze by a somewhat annoyed Pearl who had snapped her book closed and was now hovering very close to Peridot with a scolding look on her face. On the other side of the table, she could see Amethyst snickering at Peridot for having spaced out as she did and getting the attention of their group leader.
Right, she was in the middle of a discussion group with Pearl and Amethyst over a book they were reading for their English class.
"Oh, do I have your attention now?" Pearl asked with a huff as she leaned back in her chair and reopened her book, her expression softened somewhat as she took another look at the blonde, "Honestly, Peridot. It isn't like you to be daydreaming in class, are you sick or something?"
Peridot groaned as she leaned forward and pressed her face against the cool table, "I think I might be," she muttered, though it was almost incomprehensible between her under-her-breath grumble and the table muffling it further.
Somehow though Amethyst was able to make sense of her garble of words and leaned her weight against the table to look at Peridot with concern, "What? Did you eat something bad? Catch a flu? Hear there's one going around right now."
"I told you to make sure you got your flu shot before school started!" Pearl squawked as she put her book down yet again to rustle through her bag, "I should have something in here to help with some of the symptoms until you get home, then you can take some actual medicine."
It was sweet, really, but Peridot doubted whatever medical preparations Pearl packed could help her.
"It's not a flu," Peridot assured them as she pushed herself to sit up straight, hand back to her chest, "Honestly, I don't know what's wrong with me."
The couple exchanged looks before locking their gazes onto Peridot. She could see their worry and concern for her as the two scooted to sit closer to her around the table. A glance around to see if the teacher was watching and Amethyst began talking, "Hey, Per, why not just explain to us what you're feeling? Maybe we can tell you what's wrong?" her friend offered and held a hand out to Pearl, "I may not know much about the medical stuff, but, Pearls spent more than enough time with Rose she's picked up on quite a bit."
The dancer nodded, "We want to help you, and if we can help identify what sickness you may have, well, what kind of friends would we be if we didn't?"
It took some time to mull over, to decide whether it was worth it or not to relay her symptoms to her two friends. But, after a bit of time, the girl decided that there wasn't any harm in it if she were to be careful about what she said. "Okay, I'm not expecting much, but, it couldn't hurt," Peridot said with a small nod.
"Alright!" Amethyst quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to quiet herself down when the teacher glanced their way. Waiting a few seconds for the woman to look away, she smiled at Peridot and continued in a quieter voice, "Okay, just, tell us what you're feeling."
She nodded and looked down at her lap, "Well… my heart has started beating a lot faster recently, sometimes it feels like it might burst out of my chest, or that others might hear it pounding inside of me. I can't seem to focus anymore because my mind always ends up going back to La… someone," Peridot began, glancing up at her friends who were watching her intently. Their intense gazes had her look away rather quickly as she continued to talk, "If I think about them, my stomach starts to knot up and I start feeling nervous, but also excited? It's confusing… But, I can't help think about them, my minds always wandering over to them despite me trying not to think of them."
"I, I see," Amethyst faltered for a second, bringing a hand rest her chin on, covering her mouth and hiding her growing smile, "Do you think that you tell us what you think of this person? How you feel with them and all?"
"What, how does that help anything?" Peridot questioned with a frown and her brows furrowing together.
Even Pearl was smiling now, a little too knowing for Peridots taste. "Trust us, it'll help."
She didn't like that expression they had, but, she took a deep breath, making sure to do what she could to avoid giving away Lapis' identity as she spoke, "Well… they're annoying at times, can be a bit too up close and personal. But… it's oddly nice? They're affectionate in a way and," she paused to try and hide her growing blush, "They're kind of… really attractive. And talented too! They always listen to me even when I'm probably being annoying, and they're always inviting me to hang out, even though they probably have twenty other things that are more important. They're… fun to be around and I really enjoy spending time with them. But, I always get weird feelings whenever I see or talk to them."
Peridot fell silent and narrowed her eyes at the two, "Okay, why are you two smiling like that?" she asked as she felt herself leaning back away from them, "It's really creeping me out, okay?"
But, Amethyst started laughing as Pearl covered her mouth with both hands, her blue eyes glistening with tears and pride. Before Peridot could question any further, her best friend pulled her into a side hug.
"Oh my God! Our Peri's got a crush!" she cheered to Pearl, holding out a fist for her girlfriend, "She's all grown up! I can't believe it!"
Peridot squirmed to get out of Amethysts grip, "What are you talking about?" She demanded as she finally pried herself away and fixed the woman with a glare, "I don't have a crush!"
But, Pearl was smiling even bigger now, nodding her head along with what Amethyst had said, "Peridot, what you described; there's no denying that you're attracted to them," she confirmed, bringing her hands down to her lap, "You have a crush, and it's precious."
Peridot wanted to argue, but instead, she fell silent, mulling over what the girls told her and what she had said to them. Trying to find the connection, the lies and the truths of the statement. Something to prove she was right and they were wrong, that she didn't have something as stupid as a crush on her teacher. But… she couldn't find anything to contradict them and she found her eyes widening at that. They were right.
Shit.
She felt disbelief at this news, surprise even. But, more than anything, a wave of shame and terror washed over her. She had a crush on Lapis Lazuli, she had a crush on her art teacher. This was… this wasn't wright. This was wrong in so many ways.
"Aren't you happy? You might finally get yourself an S.O, great, right?" Amethyst laughed as she nudged Peridot gently.
The blonde could only nod numbly, "Yeah," she said, not all that enthusiastic about that idea.
As the class continued on and came to an end, Peridot felt worse than what she had before talking to her friends. She felt guilty for how she felt. She wasn't supposed to feel that way, not for Lapis. She'd crossed an unspoken line in their friendship, felt like she'd betrayed the blue haired artists trust somehow by developing these feelings for her.
She couldn't let Lapis find out.
"What am I going to do?" Peridot whispered to herself as she leaned against some of the lockers. Maybe if she ignored the feelings long enough, they'd fade away on their own? No… she wasn't dumb enough to believe that'd work, especially with how often she interacted with the object of those affections. There was no way she could just ignore them and hope they'd leave her alone.
But, if she let them grow, she knew deep inside she'd fuck up somehow. She wasn't the best actress, after all, and Lapis would figure out something was up quickly, and then things were bound to go downhill from there.
She was at a loss for what to do.
"Peridot! Didn't think I'd run into you here!"
Her heart did a flip, the butterflies in her stomach started going crazy, and her body was racked with an acute sense of dread at the voice she'd come to love hearing so much. Oh god, why now of all times?
"H-Hey, Lapis," Peridot greeted with a weak smile as she turned to watch Lapis striding down the hall, "What are you doing here and… not in the art room?"
She saw annoyance flash through those blue eyes, as though something bad had happened earlier, but it was gone as quickly as it came, replaced with that genuine warmth that she always showed PEridot, "Well, I had to talk with the principal for a little bit. Just got done and was on my way back to the room to wait for you actually," Lapis explained with a smile, "But, since we're both here, why not head out now for lunch? I've got my wallet on me so I don't need to really make any stops. Unless you do."
Oh, right. They were getting lunch today, like they always did. Peridot had let that slip her mind during her internal panic. She was supposed to meet Lapis at the art room and they'd go to The Barn for food and chat like always.
There was no way Peridot could do that with her now!"
"Actually, um… about that," Peridot began, looking away and rubbing the back of her head in nervousness, "I… can't make it for lunch today."
She glanced up to look at Lapis and wished she hadn't. The disappointment and poorly hidden hurt at the rejection in her expression was like a stab to her heart. There was no way that this could bother Lapis too much, she must have so much other things she'd rather do anyways.
"Oh, I see. Did something happen?" Lapis asked, her voice light and innocent despite the expression she had when Peridot said no.
The student gave a quick nod, "Um, yeah. I have a project for a class I have to work on with a classmate," she lied quickly. Schoolwork was an understandable priority over meals, right? "We, um, we have the same free period, and it would be easier to work on it together during this time." Her heart was racing and her palms sweating. It was a miracle she wasn't trembling as she lied, even moreso that Lapis hadn't realized she was lying through her teeth either.
"Well, that's okay. We're still up for lunch tomorrow, right?"
She swallowed and shook her head, "I'll, um, have to give you a raincheck on that. I won't be available until the project is done," Peridot answered and began hastily backing away, "In fact, I should um be going now. If I wait too long they're going to get impatient. But, um by Lazuli!"
Peridot didn't even give Lapis a chance to say goodbye before she fled the scene faster than she ever ran in gym class. She didn't dare look back at her or she'd risk what little resolve she had shattering.
Guilt gnawed at her like a hungry beast for lying to Lapis like that, and she felt like she was drowning in shame. But, there was no way she could face Lapis. All she wanted to do right now was hide under a rock and never see another living person for as long as she remained on this pitiful rock known as Earth.
Peridot never looked back as she hurried down the hall to put as much distance between herself and Lapis as possible. She needed to get as far from her as she could right now. Oh, God, if Lapis knew Peridot had a crush on her, she would die. Either Lapis would laugh and mock her for it, or she'd be downright disgusted and hate Peridot.
Peridot wasn't sure which was worse.
She shouldn't even be having these feelings in the first place, god damn it! Lapis was her teacher, sure they weren't like ten years apart in age or anything, but the gap both age and standings, between them, was still there and it was like an endless chasm.
It was one thing to be friendly with Lapis, it was a different thing entirely when she grew attracted to her.
"Can't hide in the library… can't hide in the lunchroom," Lapis might see her in both places and call her out on her lie, she needed someplace to hide that Lapis wouldn't go, and if she were looking for Peridot, not that she would, she would never think to look. A place no one would look for Peridot in, so she could die of humiliation and shame alone.
As though an answer from the angels, as Peridot was distracted looking at the floor, she didn't notice the oncoming door until she walked right into it and fell back in surprise. Rubbing her sore nose, she glared at it until she noticed the sign above it.
The weight room.
She could hide from the entire world in here! No one in their right mind would ever think that she, who hated gym and exercise, would spend time in a sweat smelling place filled with torture devices. She remembered Amethyst telling her that the place was usually empty during the school hours; students preferring to use the room when they could go home right after to wash the stench off themselves and all that. So, if Amethyst was right, she could have the room all to herself until she had to go to her next class after lunch.
Skipping lunch was worth it to hide from any potential encounters with Lapis Lazuli.
Jesus, the woman wasn't even following her, yet her brain was making her think like Lapis would bother to chase after her after Peridot fled from her. She was overreacting and a part of her knew this, but that didn't mean she was going to relax anytime soon. Taking a deep breath, Peridot pushed the heavy doors open and stepped into the room.
It was what she'd expected; somewhat spacious and filled with all sorts of torturous devices meant to build muscle and burn fat. It felt like some kind of Spanish Inquisition Torture Chamber to Peridot.
"Well, never thought I'd see you of all people in the weight room," Jasper Chalcedony commented from where she leaned against a punching bag, looking somewhat amused and somewhat surprised to see Peridot walk in.
Oh. So she wouldn't be alone after all. Peridot could only nervously raise a hand to greet her gym teacher, "Oh, um surprise?" she said with a tremble of a smile.