The Lust That Hides The Love

Twenty Eight-Resolutions

Sugilite's Pov

I called Opal on Christmas. I was miserable without her. I apologized and asked if she could tell me what happened again. She also apologized. I forgave her.

I brought Amethyst back home for new years. I knew she'd be happy to see her friends again. She didn't stop talking about how excited she was through the whole car ride. Especially about her present.

I had gotten her a cell phone for Christmas so I could stay in touch with her. I was going to pay for it until she could get a job and afford t pay it herself. It wasn't a fancy phone, but she was so happy to have a way to talk to Peridot and Pearl.

She nearly jumped out of the car at Tahitia's house and bolted inside and up to Pearl's room while I hugged and kissed Opal.

Everyone was going to get together for the new year, and I couldn't have been happier.

Peridot's Pov

"Amethyst!" The name slipped out of my mouth the second my friend walked through the door to Pearl's room.

"Oh, Amethyst!" I ran to Amethyst and wrapped my arms around her as Pearl scrambled to find her bookmark on her bed.

"Hey dudes! Didja miss me?" Amethyst asked with a chuckle. She showed us her Christmas gift from Sugilite, a Cell Phone, and I almost started crying as I gave her my phone number.

"This is amazing! Now we have a way to ensure that we won't lose contact. This will be an outstanding boost for group morale!" I continued my speech, but Pearl and Amethyst had begun to lose interest. I shook my head. "Nevermind all that. How have the holidays been at your mother's apartment?" Amethyst's expression turned sour as she draped herself over Pearl's bed.

"Ugh." She sighed. "It's horrible. It's like they just don't care about any of us. You know what I got? A ten dollar gift card to the dollar store. I didn't think they even had gift cards!" Pearl placed a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Amethyst. But now at least you're here with us. We can stay up until midnight if you like." Amethyst looked at Pearl and snickered.

"Uh, yeah, that's kind of the point of new year's eve." Pearl stared at Amethyst for a moment, then chuckled.

"You're right, of course."

Sardonyx and Alexandrite also attended the celebration, and together everyone watched eagerly from the couch as the live countdown to 2018 happened in New York.

"Psst! Who's gonna kiss at midnight?" Sardonyx stage-whispered, earning a thorough shushing from everyone. A slight blush found itself on my face, and I became determined to kiss Pearl at midnight.

"Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" Everyone cheered. I nudged Pearl on the shoulder and when she turned to face me, I softly kissed her. Amethyst began cheering louder, so I knew she was watching.

After a moment, Pearl's phone vibrated on her lap. She picked it up and held it close to her face, the light from the screen making her upset expression visible for a moment before she turned it off and placed it back down on her lap.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Pearl shook her head and smiled.

"It's nothing. Just a weather alert." I was skeptical, as my phone hadn't received any notifications but remained silent as the rest of the room continued to cheer.

"We did it! We survived!" A dark thought briefly crossed my mind.

Had we?

Rainbow's Pov

How did I start my 2018? Absolutely wasted.

Morgan had dragged me out to a New Year's Eve party even though I'd just wanted to watch the ball drop on TV. Nevertheless, I put on a nice dress, went to the party with her, and got hammered.

Let's face it, I'd had a shitty year all around. I got completely put in my place, my sister died, my parents got a divorce, I was lucky to not have already been out getting drunk every night by then.

"Rainbow!" Morgan yelled at me at one point. "Come and meet these people!" She grabbed my hand and dragged me over to a corner with a group of people who were all obviously on something.

"So this is the Instagram chick?" One of the guys asked. I sighed. I should've guessed that was the reason Morgan wanted me to meet them. "Dude, she's hot!" He and Morgan kept on talking about me and I excused myself, not that anyone there noticed.

I made my way to the bathroom and threw up everything in my stomach. I groaned and wiped my mouth as people started the countdown.

I have to stop this.

"Five!"

I can't keep doing this.

"Four!"

Afterall, that's how things got so bad in the first place, right?

"Three!"

If only there was a class I could take that would make me a better person.

"Two!"

Suddenly, the world started to fall apart.

"One! Happy New Year!"

I blacked out.