A/N: Back to Peri! Sorry if things start looking a little bit glummer than normal these next few updates, nothing super serious but just letting you guys know. Fluff might just be right around the corner... Or not c: We'll see, guys. Thanks! -Sara
There were three phases to her beautifully calculated layout. Phase one, infiltration through small talk. Phase two, observation of every single move her opponent made. Phase three, annihilation. Simple enough strategy, if she did say so herself.
Too bad it was utterly useless.
"Come on!" she yelled, jerking her hand back as if to toss the controller, though it never truly left her grasp. She seethed as she watched her onscreen character fall, simply laying in distress along side her already mutilated team.
Amethyst smirked as another voice came through their earpieces, a shrill cry of annoyance mirroring the blonde's. "Come on, Perry, chillax. It's just a game. That I... Win... Again!" Amethyst cried out as the screen shone 'victory' and her hands flew up to fist pump the air.
"WE win, Amy," came a shrill voice from the earpiece, making Peridot wince. Why did Pearl of all people have to be playing? Sure, it was great (har har) that the girl was doing something less... shrewish... but come on, this was really stretching it.
"Oh, right, sorry P," Amethyst mused, reaching out to snag her Monster from off the coffee table. "You guys up for another round?" she asked after chugging the remainder, crumbling the aluminum like paper following.
The blonde scoffed, tossing her controller down on the sofa and pushing up off the cushions. "Why? It's two against one. Unless you count that noob that just follows me everywhere." There was actual bitterness in her tone, something she couldn't quite hide.
Her friend's expression changed from one of smugness to a more concerned screening fast, and she covered her mic for a second. "You okay, dude? We can go back to campaign mode. I'm sure Pearl won't mind too much."
Peridot shook her head, letting her head lull against her shoulders, sighing as she looked up to the ceiling. "No, it's cool. Just give me a sec to use the bathroom. Brb, Pearl." She didn't wait for a response, simply threw her earpiece down next to the controller.
She received a thumbs up as her friend sifted back to rest more comfortably, bringing her feet up to rest on the table. Peridot was thankful when she was left alone, turning and heading for the first floor bathroom just down the hall. Not nearly as big as the upstairs one, but more presentable since it was intended for guests anyways.
As she slipped inside and closed the door, she leaned against the wood, sagging really as she frowned. She just wasn't feeling it tonight. Sure, the game was fun, and even though she was losing miserably she was happy to be somewhere other than home, but something was wrong. Maybe it was Pearl... Nah, she couldn't blame it solely on that... Well, it wasn't completely her fault, in any case.
The blonde reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, clicking on an app at random. Tumblr. Yes, she had a Tumblr. As weird as some of the posts she'd discovered could be, it was her number one go to when it came to her favorite fandom. And there were plenty of accounts dedicated to her favorite Pierre, Percy pairing.
But, after only scrolling the first few times and coming across a drawing or two, even someone's new cat they were showing off, she found herself just as bored and disinterested as ever.
Exiting out, she turned to her contacts, skimming through briefly. She could call up Ruby, maybe she was free. Or Sapphire, in that case; they didn't really talk without someone else around, though, so that'd probably be really weird. There was Jamie, he was okay. A little melodramatic, but a loyal friend.
No, she concluded with yet another sigh, cutting the screen off and slipping the device back where it belonged. Maybe she'd just head home. Perhaps she was catching something; yeah, that seemed probably. This time of year was never kind to her weak immune system.
With that thought in mind, she left the bathroom and trudged back to the living room, only to pause in the doorway when Amethyst's voice raised.
She hadn't realized how quiet the house had gotten, how her normally rambunctious partner was unusually reserved. But now, it was awkwardly obvious.
"Come on, P, you know I didn't mean it like that." Pause. "No, I jus-" Slightly longer pause and a groan. "I just meant that it's weird, you know? People are talking an-" Ouch, that earpiece was going to be the cause of Amethyst going deaf, because even from here in the doorway and over the lingering melody of the starting screen Peridot could hear a muffled voice. "What, no!" Amethyst suddenly yelped, straightening up on the couch, "I didn't do that! Come on Pearl, you know me better than that!"
Peridot felt guilty standing here, listening to this. The way her friend's voice rose an octave, the way it broke near the end, she shouldn't be eavesdropping. Looked like goodbyes were out of the question, she'd send a text when she got a few blocks away.
Her coat was on the couch, so she just left it and mentally marked it as one of those things to get whenever she visited again. Other than that, she had her pack, which she grabbed as she slipped unnoticed out the front door and into the night.
Ten minutes, she surmised, before she'd safely be home. She walked along with the glowing street lights, watching her own shadow morph and follow her across the sidewalk, silent but almost always present by her side.
A dog barked across the road. Someone shouted something from afar. A trashcan rustled. Wind chimes danced and sung out into the air. Everything was alive and working. If she looked back, she could make out the glowing lights of Funland even from here, peaking through the tree line.
Beach City never slept, never paused. Something was always, always happening. So why was she on hiatus? Why did it seem her life had taken a dive, revolving on nothing save her forced piano lessons and the school work she no longer cared for? Why couldn't she just let it all go, for a day, a week, a month? Just long enough to clear her head and start again.
"I'm surprised you don't have a seven o'clock curfew," a voice spoke up behind her, making her jump and stumble as she twisted around as fast as was possible.
She was met with a figure half hidden in the shadows, sideways to her but clearly looking right at her. She knew that voice, knew that look, knew the person behind them. It only made her frown, though, not wanting to do this now.
"What do you want, Lazuli?"
It almost looked like Lapis winced at her tone, and a pang of annoyance hit Peridot. She wasn't completely sure why, but it lived on even as she sighed and pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.
"Sorry, I just... I've gotta go," she muttered, deciding that she really couldn't be bothered by the horribly mysterious, terribly obnoxious nature that followed Lapis like a dead weight.
She'd barely turned when a hand caught her wrist, soft gentle fingers wrapping around it. "Wait," Lapis murmured, and Peridot couldn't understand why her legs twitched like that or why her free hand reflexively reached to touch the invading figure.
They stood still for only a moment, neither looking at one another, the air between them too cold for any sort of comfort. And then Lapis jerked back like she'd been burned, look suddenly so dark it went right along with the night they found themselves enclosed by.
Her mouth floundered for a long moment, no sound save a gargled noise that was both pathetic and heartbreaking at the same time. Then she quit trying, and instead shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket and looked off across the road.
Peridot was the first to break the underwhelming quiet. "What is it, Lapis?"
The girl didn't respond, simply huffed and shook her head and continued looking elsewhere. It ticked Peridot off after a straight moment of utter non-communication, enough so that she audibly sighed and took a step away.
"I really have to go now. Talk to me when you find your tongue again." It came out as more of a snap than intended, but wasn't taken back.
Until that hand was once more on her wrist, and her breath was catching as she was tugged closer to the warmth of a body offering much more than shelter from the cold. She wasn't close enough to touch, but close enough to feel. To smell something akin to lavender and vanilla. It was nice, she couldn't help sniffing.
Lapis ground her teeth a moment, looking torn, contemplative. When those oceanic orbs graced the blonde again, there was hesitation. But her voice didn't offer that same disarray. "Come with me." Her brows unfurred slowly, face softened the smallest amount. "Please."
Peridot's mouth was dry. She couldn't think. She only blinked, and tried swallowing past the unexpected lump forming in her esophagus. Then, she nodded, ever so slowly.
"Okay."