The Lust That Hides The Love

Thirty-Five- Surprise Party

Opal's Pov

"Opal! There's a very short  girl at the door and I don't know who she is!" I looked up from my textbook at Rhodonite. I didn't actually need to be studying, but Rainbow had suddenly stopped talking to me and I had nothing better to be doing.

"Really?" I slid off my bed and joined her at the door.

"Opal!"

"Sapphire?" She wrapped her arms around me tightly and I stepped back further into the dorm, closing the door. Rhodonite looked at us anxiously, so I waved her back. "How did you get here? And how did you know my room number?" Sapphire stepped back and bounced on her toes.

"I took a bus! Then I asked a nice girl in the lobby who pointed me up here!" I nodded.

"Does your mom know you're here?"

"No." I sighed.

"What the shit Saph?" I shook my head. "Nevermind. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, actually! It's really important." I made quick eye contact with Rhodonite.

"I-uh- better go to the library and study now! Bye!" She said quickly, grabbing her backpack and rushing out the door.

"What's wrong?" Sapphire sighed and finally dropped her smile.

"It's about Jasper. She's been harassing people again. Worse." I sighed and shrugged, turning back to my bed to put the book away.

"I'm sorry Saph, but I just don't know what to tell you. Jasper's horrible, don't get me wrong, but there's nothing I can do for you guys. She's homophobic, and rude, and just a generally shitty person, but the best you can do is talk to Yellow about it."

"We can't. Yellen won't tell us what Jasper knows about her, but it's something that she doesn't want her mother to know." I threw my hands up.

"Then don't tell her! I really can't make any decisions for you guys." Sapphire was silent. Then, she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

"She's been threatening Pearl too." I turned around.

"What has she been saying?" Sapphire took a shaky breath.

"Bad things. Worse than she used to."

I sat down backwards beside Rainbow as she took a large sip out of a solo cup.

"I thought you quit?" She didn't look at me.

"Drinking? Nah." I swerved on the stool so that I was facing the guy serving drinks.

"Give me something with a lot of booze in it." Her poured something into a cup and passed it to me.

"You drink?" Rainbow asked, holding her cup out for a refill. I shook my head.

"Nah, it's not legal. But I've drunk before. Sugilite stole a few cans from her dad in tenth grade and we drank them in my backyard. We threw up a few times and my mom had to take care of us. She wasn't mad because we learned our lesson." Rainbow nodded and we took a sip together.

"That doesn't sound like you."

"It was before Pearl's accident." She nodded.

"We're not too different. We both changed to help our sisters." She took another sip. "I had my first drink in eighth grade. It was at a party."

"You were like this is eighth grade?" She shook her head.

"Not like this. It was peer pressure."

"Was everything else?" She turned to look at me.

"Why are you here?"

"I asked where you were and got pointed to a party." She shook her head again.

"Why are you here, Opal?" I sighed.

"Same as you. I'm here to forget." I flashed her a smile. She smirked back.

"You'll always be a mystery to me, Opal Baroque. And for that, I drink to you." Rainbow raised her cup then took a gulp.

"That night, after Sugilite and I fought. I came to your house and you stopped me from kissing you. Why?" She shook her head.

"That's not what you needed."

"And you?" I asked, tilting my head. Rainbow chuckled.

"What I need isn't really what matters, is it?"

"It matters to me." Rainbow looked at me. "What do you need, Rainbow?" She took another sip f her drink.

"Help. Getting over you." I smiled.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" She chuckled.

"You have no idea." She tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. "Where do you think you'll be in five years?" I shrugged.

"I'll probably still be with Sugilite in whatever the hell we have now."

"And?"

"And... I'll still be more worried about Pearl than I am about myself." Rainbow chuckled again. 

"What?"

"It's just that... you have yourself pegged exactly with your problems. You're too afraid to make your own decisions because of how it'll affect the people around you. You already know that you're not going to do anything to change your life but you're too afraid to change it yourself." I looked at her. She was still staring at the ceiling.

"And you?"

"Hm?"

"Where are you going to be?" She looked at me.

"I'm going to be here."

"At a college party?" She shook her head.

"Not here. Here. I'll be somewhere getting drunk and high because of you. I know what I'm doing. And it's the same thing I've always done." She laughed a little. "In a way, you've screwed me over more than anything else." I leaned over and tried to kiss her, but she pushed me away.

"Please Rainbow,"

"No." She said, standing up. "I'm not what you need right now. Or ever." She started t walk away then turned back towards me. "Are you going to call Rhodonite, or should I?" I looked at her and blinked a few times.

"What?"

"You're not thinking straight, Opal. You need to go home. And call Sugilite when you wake up." I stood up and walked over to her.

"Don't leave me here," I said, almost crying. "Please." She shook her head.

"I'm not going to fucking leave you here, Opal. I just want you to be safe."

"I'd be safe with you!" I protested. She shook her head.

"No, you wouldn't."

I don't remember what else happened that night. All I know is that I woke up at four thirty in my dorm alone. I could hear hushed voices in the hallway but they left. I started to cry. And I don't know if the end came first or sleep.