Rising Tides (Human!lapidot)

Chapter 6

Lapis arrived at school the next day earlier than usual. In fact, so early, the bell hadn't gone yet. People turned to stare at the blue haired girl as she strode by, confused and surprised she was on time for once. She was, of course, known for being late to her first period class almost everyday. But today she needed to talk to Peridot. The only problem was, that although she knew the nerd would be in school, she didn't know where. Lapis froze when she entered the main building, sitting down on a chair and getting out her phone. She opened her messaging app and scrolled down her contacts, finding the right one almost instantly. She tapped on the name.

Lapis: hey Ame, I'm @ school already and I need your help

Amethyst: sure, what with??

Lapis: Do you know where peridot might be?

Amethyst: And why do you think I know this???

Lapis: because you know a lot more about her than anyone else I know...

Lapis: like, seriously... How do you know so much about her?

Amethyst: that's for me to know and for you to find out ;)

Amethyst: she's in the library

Lapis rolled her eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. She slid her phone back into her pocket and stood up, letting the seat flip back up. Yeah, it was one of those plastic folding chairs. You couldn't really call them chairs though... More like... Seats?? Lapis made her way up the steps towards the library, humming to herself. She opened the door and stepped onto the carpeted floor, looking around for familiar blonde hair and bright green eyes. She spotted said person huddled in a corner beside a bookshelf. The blonde looked upset, she had dark bags under her eyes and a thick book in her hand. An energy drink sat beside her, balancing against her leg.

Peridot sighed and brought the can up to her mouth, taking a long sip. Lapis walked up to her, sitting beside her and staring at the book.

"You okay?" Lapis mumbled, making the blonde jump slightly. She shut the book, keeping a finger between the pages to remember where she had left off. Though Lapis did see a small green bookmark lying next to the can.

"I'm fine, what do you want?" Peridot sounded grumpy. Even more than usual.

"You just look really tired" Lapis tilted her head to the side, curious.

Peridot growled and rubbed her eyes, trying to stifle a yawn but failing. She covered her mouth, blinked slowly and then continued to glare at Lapis. "I'm fine" she repeated.

Lapis was having none of this. She had maths first period once again and sitting next to a tired, grumpy Peridot wasn't an option.
"No you're not, now tell me what's up?" She stubbornly crossed her arms and shuffled into a comfortable position, closer to Peridot.

Peridots cheeks were beginning to grow red and she turned her head, hoping Lapis wouldn't notice. "Why are you suddenly caring about me?"

Lapis shrugged, not really having an answer. For some reason, she felt like Peridot deserved to be treated better, she had seen her face getting smashed in by Jasper regularly last year and didn't want it to happen again. Even if she was technically 'friends' with the bully. That was a problem she would solve later.

"You deserve to have people care about you" Lapis blurted, suddenly being cut out of her thoughts. She glanced down at the smaller girl, who was tuning even redder. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"But I'm such a loser" she said in barely a whisper. Lapis could hear her her voice shaking slightly and debated whether or not to pull her into a hug or not. Would it be weird? Probably. "Its all because of my stupid leg. And stupid Jasper" she raised her voice, getting angry as well as upset.

"Yeah, about your leg-" Lapis knew changing the subject would be risky and result in more yelling and crying but Peridot cut her off, her voice unusually calm.

"I'm not telling you about my leg, I hardly know you" her gaze softened, surprising the bluenette.

"Then get to know me!" It almost sounded like Lapis was pleading with her. She was very curious and the blondes past with Jasper and just wanted to get to know her better. Even though it sounded hard considering how stubborn and introvert she was.

Peridot seemed to hesitate, finally bookmarking her place in the book and shoving it into her bag. She stood up, energy drink in hand. Stretching, she took another sip and held out a hand to help Lapis up. Well, this was a good start. Lapis gave her a smile and accepted the offer. Both were now standing up, staring awkwardly at each other.

The bell brought them back into reality and they both walked shoulder to shoulder to the maths block. They arrived to a half full classroom and sat down at the back.

- - -

Lunch time rolled around quickly and instead of Lapis going to her usual group, she grabbed Peridot's hand and dragged her towards the drama block. It had been two days since auditions and she was very confident that she had gotten the lead role. She pushed the door open, almost hitting a kid sitting behind it, and strode along the corridor. Stopping in front of a piece of paper taped to the door of her drama classroom, she scanned through the list. She spotted her name at the bottom next to the lead character. Lapis grinned, raising her hands in the air and pulling Peridot into a tight hug, spinning her around.

Peridot squeaked, her face growing bright red. When Lapis finally let go, the blonde stepped back, wearily glancing at the bluenette. Lapis laughed and pulled her closer.

By now, people who were sitting in the corridor were staring at them. Peridot tried to hide, pulling her hood over her face and turning. She didn't like people staring at her, it made her very self conscious and anxious. But Lapis, being the social butterfly she was, only grabbed her sleeve and pulled her outside, still laughing happily.

"I guess we'll be working together for a while" she winked at Peridot as they stepped out.

Peridot groaned and pulled her hood further down. Lapis chuckled and patted her back, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guiding her towards the canteen.

(Edited)