Heal My Scars (A Lapidot Dystopia) (ON HIATUS)

III-Lapis

The girl stepped in front of me, glaring harshly for a moment before her expression softened, and she knelt in front of me. I held the blanket close, scared to make eye contact. I was shaking from fear.

"Hey..." the girl said quietly. "...this is my camp."

Instead of responding, I only continued to cling to the blanket.

"You're probably not familiar with...runaway...terminology," the girl continued. "Camp is sort of the home of a runaway."

I focused my eyes on anything but her, still scared for my life. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her expression completely soften.

She took a deep breath. "I can tell you're running. No normal girl looks like this while hiding beside a trash can," she said. "But it's okay. I'm a runaway too." Sighing, she asked, "Wealth-Child Accord?"

I looked up at her. "You're a stray?" I asked.

She winced a little. "That's...a little derogatory," she said. "Normally only good friends use it with each other." She shrugged. "But, yeah, I guess so."

"How long?" I asked.

The girl tensed up and stared right at me. She stayed silent, avoiding my question.

"Okay," I breathed, holding my legs to my chest.

"That's my blanket, too," the girl said, her voice suddenly as tense as her body.

I let go of the blanket only because of the sheer terror of what an experienced stray could do to me. I started to scoot away when the girl suddenly wrapped the blanket around me, tucking it close to my body.

"You've been out in the rain, haven't you?" She asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"You need new clothes," the girl said. "You'll get sick in those, and we can't afford to be sick out here in any way."

I held the blanket closer, hoping to gather some more warmth. It was cold out, and that did not feel good on my damp clothes. The girl was watching me intently. Even though I'd just met her, I was curious about what she was hiding behind her clouded green eyes.

"Wait," I said. "We?"

"...how old are you?" The girl asked, ignoring my question.

"What's your name?" I asked, ignoring hers.

The girl didn't respond. Her eyes narrowed, and I knew she was serious.

"Thirteen," I finally answered her.

"Fourteen," the girl responded, "and my name is Peridot if you insist. You?"

"Lapis," I answered. "You said we?" I prompted.

"Right," Peridot said. "You're only thirteen, you say. You obviously don't have much experience out here, and I'd hate for a kid your age to have to go through what I used to go through. I'd rather you have some help. Do you think you could...trust me at least a little bit with this?"

"I don't know," I answered. "Can you trust me?"

"Not at all," Peridot replied. "I don't put my trust in random people."

"And neither do I," I said, glaring.

"Then we'll get along just fine," Peridot responded in a voice much too enthusiastic for the situation.

My eyes narrowed even more, though I found myself gripping the blanket more tightly.

"Fine," I said. "But don't expect me to tell you much more about myself other than what I've already told you."