Peridot's POV:

He was staring at her. She could feel it, even though she was trying all too eagerly to pretend she was alone. It wasn't working. Not when the screen before her eyes was blurring and her body was tensing under his scrutiny.

It took all of five minutes before she threw down the phone and snapped at him. "What?!"

Hazel eyes blinked at her, tail swishing behind him lazily. His ears twitched, just barely, the only sign he was even acknowledging her.

They just stared. Unbroken until he let out a pitiful squeak that was supposed to substitute as a meow. It was enough to have the scowl she'd been harboring slip away. Enough for her shoulders to relax the smallest amount, and her breath to release in the form of a sigh. She was reaching to him as he cocked his head.

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin," she mused, scratching behind his ear gently. The touch alone had him purring, slowly sauntering to his feet and stretching out across her sheets. She couldn't help smiling at the way his golden fur bristled momentarily.

"You're annoying," she whispered, smirking at him playfully. Her fingers ran through the fur on his side. "But at least I know you love me."

His back arched as she rubbed along it, letting her hand fall to the bed when he decided it was time to leave. She watched him jump down, stretch once more, trot off and out the cracked door.

And then it was just her again. And her phone, which buzzed with notifications every couple of minutes. Nothing new, really. Tumblr, Facebook, those were the main ones. She hadn't received a text in almost a week, from anyone. Mainly because the one person she actually talked to wasn't speaking to her.

Peridot groaned as she fell back along the pillows, arms protectively tucked across her stomach. It was slightly cold in here, thanks to the dreary weather outside. It was raining, then it wasn't, then it was. Frigid and wet and gray.

It matched her mood, she thought bleakly.

Downstairs she could hear the tv blasting. Another one of those terrible dramas her mother adored so much. No telling which one it was, Peridot never asked. Mainly because it was pointless. Partially because she didn't want to be lectured on how her shows were complete "rubbish".

To be completely honest, the blonde was actually kind of glad her mother was home. Which was a terrible sign. It meant she was way too lonely.

Another sigh. She was getting pretty good at those lately. She shifted, rolling onto her side and glancing at the time. Almost four. She closed her eyes as a yawn escaped her.

A nap wouldn't hurt. Not like she had much else to do anyways.

Lapis' POV:

So she'd met Steven. And adored him.

The smile on her face was genuine and undeterred as she watched the thirteen year old stuff his face, only pausing long enough between bites to tell her about the centipede his sister had let him keep as a pet. She herself sipped at a water bottle, glancing every once in a while towards the counter. Sadie was still talking to Amethyst quietly, brows furrowed.

Lapis wasn't sure what was wrong, but she hadn't minded keeping an eye on Steven while they talked about it. She was let in on it later, however, when Steven had ever so casually leaned in and whispered (rather loudly) something about a breakup.

She knew all too well how terrible those were.

As the last of the donuts were finished and the boy kindly wiped any crumbs into a napkin then stood to throw it away, Lapis leaned back in her chair. They were by the window, as far from the counter as possible. So she could hear the pitter patter of rain on the glass and see the way the sky rumbled overhead. It was beautiful, and she let her mind wonder.

Until a tap landed on her shoulder, and she was turning her head back around. A cheeky smile and bright amber eyes met her, and once more her lips were also tugging up. Steven had this way of being contagious when he was happy.

"Have you ever seen a spaceship?" he asked, settling back in the seat across from her.

Lapis chuckled, leaning forward to rest her arms along the table's edge. "No, not that I can recall," she answered, cocking her head in amusement.

Those amber eyes brightened. "I have. Me and Amethyst were on vacation with my dad, and we were out by the beach picking up shells. Then, outta nowhere, this massive ship just seems to show up. Right above our heads." His smile grew as he leaned in, as if conspiring. Lapis couldn't help leaning in, too. "It looked like a giant, green hand," Steven whispered.

Lapis very nearly laughed aloud. Instead, she settled for biting the inside of her cheek and throwing a glance up to the front. "Oh? No way. A hand, huh?"

The kinky haired boy nodded fervently, reaching for his own glass of coke. "Uh huh. Amethyst says it was just clouds or something, but I know it wasn't."

"No way it was just clouds. Aliens for sure," she agreed, unable this time to stop her chuckle.

They shared a look, winked, then both broke into a laugh. Neither was aware that Sadie and Amethyst were by their table until Amethyst cleared her throat.

"We should go. I told dad we wouldn't be more than half an hour," she murmured, and the bangs that hung across her face obscured any viewing of her features Lapis could have gotten. Not that her voice wasn't enough. It was all too obvious she'd been crying by the way her tone sifted and cracked.

Steven's smile dimmed but didn't disappear completely. "Okay." He looked back at Lapis as he slipped from his chair, pushing it up to the table again. "It was nice meeting you."

The blue haired girl couldn't help nodding, standing as well. "You too." She opened her arms for a hug, gladly received by the boy, before she walked with them to the front door.

Steven was rushing out and laughing as the rain assaulted him, whereas Amethyst sighed and stopped in the doorway. She briefly looked up, through her bangs, and Lapis saw how red-rimmed and puffy her eyes truly were. A tiny smile tugged at the girl's lips regardless, though forced.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on him. He likes you," she muttered.

Lapis shrugged, leaning into the door. "No worries. He's a cute kid."

Amethyst laughed quietly. "You don't have to live with him."

They shared a moment of quiet, and then the girl was rolling her shoulders and walking out. She threw a wave over her shoulder, the only goodbye given.

The open door was nice, but let in the cold. Not that it was freezing, just a contrast to the warmth within the café. It caused a shudder to run through Lapis, and she was turning away from the door and heading to grab her water, passing Sadie in the process.

She heard a quiet murmur. Almost lost in the stilling air as the door tinked shut. "I really worry about them."

Lapis sighed.

There were a lot of people here to worry about. Too many.

She was running.

It wasn't that the rain upset her, or that the rumbling thunder and flashing lightening worried her, but it would have been nice to get somewhere without getting completely soaked through. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, made her clothes heavy and itchy and caused the tips of her hair to curl.

She ducked beneath the nearest cover, which happened to be the overhanging ledge before a convenient store. She could see into the windows, at the few shoppers and the trailing aisles. It was tempting to go inside, but she really just wanted to be alone.

She shook her head, water droplets splattering everywhere at the movement. It was pointless to take off her coat or anything at the moment, simply because everything seemed to be wet. Her socks, her shirt. Everything, and it was really laughable. She was pretty sure like she looked like she'd jumped into the ocean fully clothed.

The gentle melody of music met her ears, someone's phone or radio or something coming from the parking lot to her right. Her eyes trailed over, scanning, but she couldn't see all the cars so she couldn't find the source.

The door right beside her opened, a mother and her child. She nodded her head at the duo and received a tired smile from the woman, who coaxed the kid forward only by holding his hand and pulling him along. His blue eyes followed her until they rounded the corner, rushing to the safety of their car beneath the downpour.

Lapis sighed, shoving her hands into the front pockets of her jeans even though they were tight with water. Her gaze turned upward, and she studied the sky. Still dark. Still thrumming with power. With her luck, the rain wouldn't stop for the rest of the night.

Already wet, she thought, huffing and kicking at the sidewalk. Might as well suck it up and get home. It was only another street away, anyways.

But just as the thought was cemented in her mind, and she was tugging up the weighed down hood of her jacket, and she was stepping out from the safety of the store, she caught a glimpse of an all too familiar umbrella. In the corner of her eye, just a few yards down the street.

Aliens. Obnoxiously green and childish.

Lapis couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips, even as her stomach knotted.

Peridot hadn't seen her. Probably couldn't, from there. It wasn't like she had anything too compromising, anyways, that could tell the blonde it was her. That... was actually good.

Because, the longer Lapis stood there and watched and waited as Peridot got closer, the more she realized it was best she just leave. The more her mind reminded her that their last interaction had ended on a sour note. The more her stomach felt like a jungle gym for the thousands of butterflies residing there.

She was dropping her head and rushing through the doors of the convenient store before she could think it through. The contrast from cool to warm was jarring, and the smell of chemical cleaners invading her senses was too different from the outside air.

The cashier looked up at her, a lanky teen that smiled with crooked teeth when she lowered her hood and shook out her hair again. He had acne, bad, and the shirt he was wearing was too bright an orange and two sizes too big for his body. Of course she nodded in turn, though.

She weaved along the stands, past candy and snacks, to the back. Where they kept the drinks in built-in refrigerators for cooling. She kept her back to the front of the store as if it would be Medusa walking through that door any second and not some geeky blonde from school.

The overhead bell rang, signaling someone's entrance. Her eyes stayed glued to a Pepsi bottle. Mainly because she was afraid to move. Especially when that voice spoke, when it really was her.

"Hey," Peridot greeted, probably to the cashier.

Lapis could just imagine his overly joyous posture at having been noticed by someone. A girl, no less. "Oh, hey, hi. How are you today?"

"Okay."

And that was it. She didn't elaborate and the guy seemed unable to find words, and then the squeaking of wet sneakers across the linoleum.

Lapis took a deep breath. She wasn't a coward. That had never been who she was. And Peridot certainly wasn't a good enough reason to become one now.

So then why was it so hard to even turn when the squeaking stopped? When in it's place was a quiet stilling of breath? When she just knew emerald was burning into her, when she physically felt it like the touch of a hand?

But she did turn. And even though it felt impossible to even swallow, she cocked her head and smirked. "Miss me so much you had to follow me?"

The blonde gaped a moment, but then her shoulders were squaring and she was frowning so deeply it was a wonder that look didn't get stuck on her face. "Lazuli." It was all she said. But it was the way she said it.

And that flash of hate in her eyes before.

Lapis felt like she was being choked. Especially when she felt the coolness of glass at her back, and realized she'd taken a step back. Out of fear. Out of desperation.

Peridot shifted, eyes falling uneasily to the tiles. She cleared her throat, twice, motioned to the drinks. "I kind of..." Her voice broke, and her brows furrowed. She took a deep breath and brought her eyes back up. "Can you move?"

Lapis couldn't help crossing her arms. It was more subconscious than anything, defensive. She cocked an eyebrow though her hands were shaking. "I could, yeah," she replied.

The blonde's mouth floundered wordlessly a moment. Then she was scoffing and glowering. And that was okay, Lapis realized, because it was almost normal. Normal enough, between them.

"Get your ass out the way, Lazuli." And there it was, all Lapis needed. This didn't have to be awkward. Even if it felt like it. If Peridot could go back to just hating her then she could go back to the teasing.

She jutted her hip out, biting her lower lip playfully. It still felt strange, of course, but the nerves were settling. A little. Enough.

"And what's in it for me?"

The blonde's mouth twisted up into something akin to a sneer. She threw her hands up with a huff and turned before Lapis could even blink. "Fine, whatever, fuck you too, you dork."

This actually brought a chuckle to the blue haired girl. Because she could handle this. And this was fun.

She pushed away from the glass, and even though her legs hesitated in taking her forwards, closer to the shorter girl, she wasn't put off. She still managed to smirk wider and follow the stomping girl up, past the front, to the door.

She watched as the alien umbrella was jerked up. As the door was forced aside to swing dangerously close to the brink wall. As the blonde chanced to eye her over her shoulder a split second before rushing out the door.

And she followed, laughing uneasily but all the same. "Don't leave me behind, Peri. What would I do without you?" she asked as she pulled her hood up, watching the girl fumble with the clasp to open her umbrella.

"Just leave me alone," was her only response, but she didn't mind. Because she could see the way Peridot's lips were curving up too. The way her shoulders were shaking, with a strange mix of anger and laughter.

The way emerald met cerulean in silent agreement.

It wasn't perfect, and it was awkward as hell. And Lapis was still all too aware of the unsettled state of her stomach, of how her throat was just a tad bit tighter and her tone was still unsure.

But it didn't matter. Because they both needed this.

Lapis was the first to speak, when the umbrella was up and shielding and Peri was shaking her head and tugging off her glasses with her free hand to inspect them. "You're a little underdressed, aren't you?"

And it was true. Sure, the blonde had on a jacket to go with the umbrella. But where were those stupid galoshes from before, and that jacket seemed really thin even to Lapis, and it was all too easy to see how the bottoms of her jeans were a noticeable shade darker. Soaked. Like she'd jumped in a puddle or something.

Peridot huffed and shrugged, slipping her glasses back up along her nose. She gave a final glance to Lapis as she began her tread off, into the storm. Overhead, lightening flashed close by, and the sky continued its uncaring pummeling of the Earth.

"What of it?"

Lapis followed, slower, keeping just a foot or so behind the smaller form. She only answered with another question. "How far away do you live?"

Another shrug. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah, a little. That way I know how far a walk I gotta endure to stalk you."

This time a scoff, and through the dark she could see the way the blonde looked back. Their feet trudged through an overflowing sidewalk, sneakers heavy and almost rooted to the ground. Peridot only looked back ahead when she met the cold grasp of an actual puddle, cursing lowly as she sidestepped. The damage was already done, though, and Lapis couldn't help chuckling.

"Whatever. Go away."

Lapis rolled her eyes, smirked. She was slipping under the umbrella and grabbing the handle from Peridot before the blonde could object. She did, however, make sure to keep the girl securely under it, though. Even at the cost of being shoulder to shoulder and stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk when Peridot came to a halt.

The shorter girl actually growled, a sound at the back of her throat that was, Lapis figured, supposed to be menacing. Too bad it was only adorable.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Lapis smirked a little wider. "What's the matter? Can't handle me?"

Emerald eyes widened, anger coursing through them, before the girl was looking away and mumbling something inaudible and kicking at water on the ground. Her arms came up to cross along her chest, and she looked so much like a five year old. Pouting, grumbling.

"I'm not moving, then," she threatened. Or, tried threatening.

It was a stupid threat, for one major reason.

Lapis chuckled, shrugged. "Fine." And began walking away.

For a moment, the blonde seemed completely dazed, taken aback that the taller girl could just leave like that. But the moment rain began hitting her skin, her uncovered face and hair, she yelped. She was back under the umbrella and pressing against Lapis to escape the weather in a second. Still cursing, still pouting, but at least moving now.

"You're an ass," Peridot growled out.

Lapis shrugged. "Never said I wasn't, Peri,"

She knew she received a glare for that, but didn't look to confirm it. Instead she hummed a moment in thought. "So seriously, how far away do you live?"

Peridot was quiet a moment, and Lapis had the striking suspicion she was never getting a reply. But, the blonde surprised her. "Four streets from here."

Lapis scoffed, looking over. "What the hell are you doing all the way over here, then? With weather like this?"

Peridot looked away from her. The way her face fell, shoulders sagged, it was pitiful. A pang of surprise guilt traversed through the blue haired girl as she watched in quiet.

"I just... needed to get out the house." It was the only answer she was getting, she knew that. So she nodded mutely and turned her eyes forward.

"Okay, well... My house is this way. A few blocks at best. You wanna..." And she paused, because the offer stuck in her throat. She wasn't sure how to voice it, knew almost certainly what the answer to it would be. No way Peridot would agree to come over, even if it meant enduring the rain and cold a while longer.

But her jaw locked, and she gripped the umbrella's handle a tad tighter. She didn't look over as she asked, quietly. "You could stay at my place. At least, until the storm passes. My mom wouldn't mind."

It felt dull and stupid and she wanted to take it back but it was too late. And she felt Peridot looking at her but couldn't bring herself to return the look, so instead settled for watching the ripples that formed beneath their feet as they trekked through the water.

She wasn't expecting the answer she got. "Okay."

But she couldn't help smiling when she chanced a glance over, finding Peridot looking at her, unflinching. There wasn't hesitation, wasn't worry. She was fine.

And, Lapis realized as the answer repeated in her mind, she was fine with that too.

Peridot's POV:

This wasn't what she'd imagined. Lapis was the type of person that screamed dark, bleak colors and edgy bands and maybe even twisted poetry. Not this.

Not gentle blue wallpaper and celebrity posters. Not glow in the dark stars overhead a bed with messy violet sheets and multiple stuffed bears. Not a pink, yes pink, guitar sitting idly in the corner, across from a curtained window.

She was sure she was staring. Sure her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were wide. Sure she looked like a fool. But she really, honestly couldn't help it.

Until Lapis cleared her throat, and her eyes were swiveling around to the girl as she slipped a drenched coat from her shoulders to reveal a dark gray tank top. Her eyebrows pulled up as she eyed the blonde, almost hesitantly.

"What, don't tell me you can't handle my decorating skills. I'm a pro, you know."

It was getting harder to stop the smiles that threatened to tug up the corners to her mouth. And, at the very same time, it was also getting harder to not just walk right out the door. This felt so stiff and uncomfortable and wrong.

But she couldn't bring herself to leave. Not when Lapis was obviously (and yes, that was just a smidge sarcastic) trying to lighten the mood.

"It's... satisfactory," she mused, stepping past the doorframe and onto the plush rug that enveloped the floor. It was soft beneath her bare feet. She'd left her shoes and socks by the front entrance, as both would've just tracked water all along the house.

Lapis chuckled, tossing her jacket across the back of a desk chair that looked too old to even be standing any longer. She stretched her arms up above her head before letting them fall loosely to her sides. "Yeah, well, thanks for the support," she joked quietly, shuffling over to the closet.

It was small, almost nonexistent, so it surprised Peridot when the door was tugged open and what seemed like an avalanche of clothes fit snugly inside.

Lapis looked over. She furrowed her brow as she took in the entirety of the blonde, which had Peridot squirming under such scrutiny.

"You wanna borrow some clothes? It's either that or sit on the floor cause you're not getting my stuff wet."

Well that really left her an option. Peridot shifted in place, looking around again. "But your clothes won't fit. We're different sizes."

The taller girl narrowed her eyes. "You calling me fat?"

It surprised them both when the blonde snorted, crossing her arms over her stomach. "No. We're different heights, though."

Lapis mused a moment, fingers ghosting over the fabric of several articles. Finally, she snagged a random shirt and tossed it, without looking, in the blonde's direction. She managed to catch it.

It was a pale yellow, short sleeve shirt that had her wrinkling her nose. "Why do you have yellow? That's the worst color to dress in." She'd barely gotten the last word out before being hit in the face by a pair of shorts that were the ugliest shade of burgundy she'd ever had the horror to witness before.

She actually made a noise of disgust. It only earned her a laugh and push as Lapis sauntered by, stopping in the doorframe to glance back.

"My house. You'll wear whatever I give you. Now change in here, and I'll be back in a sec."

Peridot could only open her mouth before the girl was gone, door swinging shut behind her. Emerald eyes cast down to the clothes in her hands. Her nose wrinkled. These were truly hideous.

But... Lapis did have a point. And there was no way she was snooping through the girl's closet (though it did ultimately cross her mind when she looked back) just to find something more suitable.

She stripped down quickly, slipping on the articles as fast as she could so she wouldn't be caught halfway through. Frankly, the very thought alone had her a blushing, mumbling mess. To have it become a reality... Ugh. She'd die from too much blood rushing to her brain.

The shirt was an okay fit, a little long but not uncomfortably so. The shorts, however, were stupid. They must have stopped just before Lapis' knees, but now they fell to below them on Peridot. It made her feel like a child, and she was self consciously tugging them up.

A moment of quiet passed, and she laid her wet clothes on the chair as well, shuffling over to the window. Parting the curtains, which were a clean white, she looked out. Sky was still a deep gray. Rain was still hard. Lightening still flashed every now and again.

The door creaked open, and the blonde turned in time to see the taller girl slipping in and shaking her head, fingers smoothing out the mess that her hair was being as it dried. Though, mess wasn't really the right word for it. It was actually kind of cute, curling slightly, framing her thin face even more than was normal.

Peridot was looking away to stop those thoughts before she even considered it. "Thanks," she muttered, referring to the clothes, though she wasn't sure a 'thank you' was in order when she quiet hated them. Even if they were Lapis'.

No, because they were Lapis'.

Yeah... She had to keep telling herself that.

Lapis shrugged and just casually dropped her stuff right behind the door, walking over to flop down on the bed. She sighed, and brought her arms up to rest beneath her head.

"No prob. Don't think this is gonna be a normal thing, though. Consider it your one free pass."

Emerald eyes narrowed. Yeah, she could definitely keep telling herself it was Lapis she hated. The snarky, pompous, egotistical brat.

She glowered, seething as she trudged over and sat on the very edge of the mattress, even though Lapis had managed to fall about midway on the bed. She didn't want to be any closer to the blue haired nut than she had to be.

"So, how's it going?"

Peridot glanced back, brow raising. "Seriously?"

Lapis chuckled, opening one eye to return the look. "What? Never heard of small talk before?"

The blonde shook her head and sighed, looking away as her hands came up to somewhat smooth out her hair. It was probably a mess. The rain hadn't been nice, and she didn't have a mirror to check it out. After only a moment, and with the shifting of the bed as Lapis sat back up, she gave up.

"You know," Lapis began, and it caught the blonde's attention enough that she half looked back, "yellow doesn't look too bad on you."

Peridot's lips pursed. She glared and looked away, shaking her head. "Whatever."

Her breath caught, though, when fingertips slid up her forearm slowly. "But burgundy still looks fucking terrible," Lapis chuckled.

The blonde jerked away from the touch and twisted around, look like daggers, arms uncrossed for fists to clench against the tops of thighs. "Don't touch me," she seethed, mouth twisted into something that should have been a sneer.

Instead, it just looked like a pitiful excuse for a frown.

Lapis sighed, eyes following the length of Peridot's front subconsciously. Until red caught her attention.

A line, jagged and puffy and dark. Enflamed, really, would be the right word to describe it. Too straight. Too unnatural.

Thin eyebrows crooked downward as she cocked her head. "What's that?" she asked, quietly, though she knew. She knew and she hated it without cause. No, there was cause. Peridot's skin shouldn't be torn like that. Peridot shouldn't be hurt like that.

The blonde seemed taken by surprise at the sudden question, eyes also falling down. A hand came up to pull at the fabric of the shirt, looking it over carefully. She couldn't see anything, no off coloring or splotches.

"What?"

And there was a hand, wrapped round her wrist, drawing her arm away from her body and turning it with enough care as to be gentle. The air in her throat caught when her eyes also landed on the cut. Knowing without words what Lapis had meant.

For a moment, she couldn't speak. Only watched as hesitant fingers ghosted across her flesh, never touching the mark, just the surrounding area. She couldn't bring herself to look and see what sort of reaction it had warranted on the other girl's face.

"Cat," she brokenly whispered, the only word she could think of. That made it past her lips. She felt more than saw the way Lapis glanced at her. It gave her the strength to swallow, to add on. "My cat... He was mad at me, earlier."

It wasn't a complete lie. Pumpkin had been in a bad mood that morning. But... she almost felt ashamed she'd ever blame him of something like this. He'd never hurt her. He actually couldn't. Her mother had insisted he be declawed.

But Lapis didn't question it. She accepted the reasoning, nodded. Though, something about her eyes made Peridot believe she knew more than she was letting on.

She saw the way the girl swallowed. Licked her lips. "Be more careful." It came out as a whisper. "And make sure to clean this... Don't want it getting worse."

Peridot would have nodded. She would have jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom to wash it now if Lapis had told her to.

If she could have.

But then Lapis did something unexpected. Something that kept her rooted to her seat, to the edge of the bed, long after. Something that very nearly had tears breaking the barriers she'd erected to keep them at bay.

Lapis lowered her eyes back to the wound. Her fingers tightened their hold on a thin wrist. Tugged the arm higher, gently. Cerulean eyes glanced her way, a flicker of question, of needed understanding.

And then a kiss.

Soft but purposeful. Full lips and the warmth of breath through a trembling exhale. Sending electricity coursing down her arm. Just beneath her skin.

Their eyes locked. Even when Lapis pulled back. Even when Lapis let go.

Even when Peridot couldn't find the strength to keep from crying.

A/N: Okay, guys. Told ya this'd be a long one. Hope it's not too long haha.

Oh real quick, I know. I felt really bad about breaking up Pearl and Amethyst but trust me, I'm not a complete monster. I've got it sorta worked out lol.

Thanks to everyone who's still here haha, you guys are awesome. See ya at the next update! -Sara