To Be His Best Friend..

Helped

Lapis walked out onto the grass, making sure she was several feet away from the barn. She was upset, she didn't remember why, but she was. She sat down, sighing deeply. If only things could have gone better for her. But no, the universe decided everything should go terribly wrong. She simply had no luck. Steven had made several attempts to cheer her up, to prove to her that things will get better, but for some reason Lapis' mind refused to believe everything would go uphill from there. She didn't even remember if her past had any uplifting moments. The ocean gem frowned, wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. If only, she thought, if only I could forget everything.
She knew very well that she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. Certain things triggered her remembrance of the dark past. She'd been used, trapped, mistreated. It was as if she were meant to be only a mirror. An object. Free to be tossed around and damaged to anyone's content. Lapis could feel herself beginning to lock herself out from everything, drowning in the dangerous waters of her thoughts. She couldn't swim, she couldn't breathe. Though this wasn't the kind of breathing humans needed, it was the need of happiness. The only air that could prevent her from choking.
While this occurred, the gems were working on their project, some glancing in the ocean gem's direction out of curiosity. Steven felt upset, he had tried so hard to make Lapis smile, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make her think of the future more than the past. He couldn't rid her thoughts of the poison that killed her soul. Frowning, he asked Pearl, "Do you think she'll be okay?"
"I don't guarantee it, but I'm sure she'll calm down eventually. Though, she would probably feel much better if you were there by her side." Pearl smiled sincerely.
Steven nodded, doing so. He carefully sat down beside his friend, not wanting to bother her with any sound he made. Lapis could feel his presence, but didn't glance at him. There was a long moment of silence.
"...Hey Lapis?"
No response.
"I-I'm sorry, Lapis."
Again, no response. Steven started to feel like he should leave her alone, until she spoke, "Why?"
Steven raised an eyebrow, confused.
"Why what?"
"Why do you keep going?" Steven frowned. The ocean gem continued, "Why, after all that has happened, after everything I've done..why do you keep trying so hard to make me feel better? I should be asking for your forgiveness, but instead I sulk around, yet you seem okay with it? Doesn't it bother you? How heartless I seem? Why do you even bother?"
Steven shrugged a bit, "I..I don't know..I think..I think it's because of what I believe."
"What?"
"I believe that everyone deserves forgiveness, even if they've tried their best to make someone miserable. I mean, everyone has a reason, right? You must have a reason, so I forgive you. Just like I forgive Peridot. Her reason was because she was only following orders, because she was trained to think the way she did. She didn't know about Earth much. I think I know your reason, but I'm not entirely sure..." At this, Lapis turned to Steven. She looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion, gratitude, and sorrow. She didn't know what to think, she didn't know what to say. By her old traditions, she wasn't used to being forgiven just like that. It made her feel something, something warm inside. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around the boy. A tear streamed down her cheek as she hugged Steven. Meanwhile, he was taken by surprise. This gesture made him feel happy, happy that he did something to help her. He hugged her back, softly speaking, "...besides..aren't we beach summer fun buddies?" Lapis let out a small laugh and hugged him tighter.
After this, they started to slowly grow even closer to each other, making Steven become one of Lapis' first best friends. Steven of course, always believed her to be his best friend.