She awoke with something pressed against her, pinning her arm to the sheets below. She squirmed and grumbled and tried to free herself, but the thing began a distant grumble that sounded so very familiar. Blurry eyes inched up slowly, streaming sunlight causing her to flinch and throw her free arm over her face.
Soft, golden fur greeted her sights, a bundle of fluff laying out across her pillow and arm like it belonged. She frowned, flexing her wrist again in an attempt to dissuade the animal. It only seemed to cause the cat to snuggle in closer and purr louder.
"Pumpkin..." she whined, but the small simper that graced her lips was inevitable. She sighed in feigned annoyance and inched up, briefly burying her face against her pet's soft side. It made her nose and lips tickle, but she hummed along with the purring for a moment anyways.
Until the blaring obscenity of her alarm clock caused both cat and human to jump, the previously comfortable duo glaring at the offensive machine. Huffing, Peridot briefly looked over to Pumpkin and muttered "Sorry," before turning and slamming an open palm down on the snooze.
Not that she would be going back to sleep. Curse her small bladder.
With an agitated groan she freed her arm from beneath the cat and sat up. She did her best to smooth out the jumble her hair somehow managed to become through the night as she untangled her legs from the sheets and stepped down.
"Cold!" she hissed, practically jumping over to the small rug in the center of her otherwise hardwood floor. It was like this every morning, and yet somehow it still shocked her system, which she supposed was a good thing. It definitely woke her up.
Ten minutes later found her shrugging on a button up shirt and slipping on her glasses before heading out the room. The smell of kale smoothies caused her nose to scrunch up as she hobbled downstairs.
"Good morning, mother," she mumbled as she slipped over to her normal seat. Already a plate with a single slice of toast and a glass of green gunk greeted her. A 'tut tut' made her frown as she pinched at the tablecloth edge.
"Two minutes later than yesterday, Peridot." There was no anger in her voice, a good sign in many ways. But at the same time there was something worse: challenge. She eyed her daughter harshly as she brought her own glass to her lips.
Peridot managed to swallow down the 'breakfast' she was given without grimacing more than once, and without prompting her mother into a raging state. That was good. Today was going to be good. That was normally how it went.
"Goodbye, mother," she excused herself, setting her glass and plate in the sink before dashing away. Her mother didn't respond, but then again, that was also normal.
Her pack felt heavier than ever as she slung it over her shoulders, chancing a glance at the wall clock before hurriedly exiting the house. She was going to be a few minutes late to the bus stop, but that didn't bother her as much as staying in that house did.
She growled as she shoved the book more fiercely. There was no way it was fitting in the absolute disaster that was her locker, but that didn't stop her from getting pissed at the inability she had to make it fit. "Stupid, idiotic, crappy..." she ranted under her breath, breathing in through her nose to calm down a bit.
"Yo, P-dot!" Amethyst again. Peridot threw a half-hearted smile her friend's way, catching sight of Pearl as well, before returning her attention to the task at hand.
"Hey," she mumbled as the other girl slammed against the adjacent locker, smirking and eying her through messy bangs of dyed violet.
"Hey. Having locker trouble again?" It was annoyingly rhetorical, and for a brief moment Peridot considered the possibility of flipping her off. But that was until Pearl opened her mouth and she realized she hated her even more.
"If you'd just clean it out once in a while," the taller girl muttered, more to herself than anything.
"And if you'd just mind your own business," she snapped quietly, just loud enough that Amethyst threw her a 'watch it' look.
She rolled her eyes and, giving up, slammed the locker door with the textbook still tightly clutched in her hands. "Whatever. What did you dorks want anyways?"
Amethyst grinned from ear to ear and threw her arm around Peridot's neck. "Lunch, P-dot. You won, what'd you want?"
Pearl crossed her arms tightly, covering her nonexistent chest and glaring at the smaller girl. In a way, Peridot had to admit Pearl intimidated her. The way she seemed to glare right through her with those grey, beady eyes... It made her shudder to think about. But she could easily overthrow the girl if it ever came to that. No matter the grave height difference.
"Uh, I don't care. Whatever you get is fine."
Amethyst nudged her in affirmation and backed off, returning to Pearl's side. "Kay. Well, P here has some sort of essay or whatever due in a week and asked me to come with her to English. I'll catch ya later!"
Peridot only nodded as she watched them saunter off, frowning at their retreating forms. Her mother's words ran through her head, as they often did when she hung out with Amethyst. 'Stay away from that thing, Peridot. I'll sell my soul before I see my daughter turn into a monster like that.'
Was Amethyst a monster? It didn't seem like it. Then again, it was the same for Ruby and Sapphire. They'd been around Peridot for years. No 'diseases' caught yet; at least, there were none visibly affecting her.
She shook her head, sighing to herself as she grabbed her bag from the floor and slung it over a slumped shoulder. Her eyes traced patterns in the speckled tiled floor as she wove through the crowded hallway, having memorized the path to class well into the beginning of the year.
Normally it was a clear shot. Maybe an off timed group of girls coming out of the bathroom, but they made enough noise that she could just step aside and dodge without making eye contact of any sort. This time was different.
She didn't mean to bump into the person standing literally in the middle of the hall. She didn't mean to snap out, "Hey, watch it!" She didn't mean to look up.
But they were the best things she could have done.
Aqua eyes met her own, a churning sea of nothingness. No emotion, no surprise or anger or even distaste. Nothing. Just an empty expanse of beautiful color.
Peridot couldn't help openly gaping as this mystery girl tilted her head, bangs of an off blue-grey falling prey to gravity and swishing against forehead and exposed neck. She couldn't help how her eyes traversed over a low cut shirt, giving a generous view of tanned flesh.
She couldn't help hating every cell in this girl when at last a lifeless voice, sweet but low, flittered to her ears. "Sorry."
The girl blinked, turned away. Walked away. Leaving Peridot standing, caught in the middle of confliction, glaring at a back that retreated silently and swiftly through the crowd.
Peridot didn't realize until the girl was gone that she had been holding her breath.