Chapter Text
Pearl held it in all day, through her first two classes, through the dirty elevator up to her floor (when she would much rather take the stairs), through the niceties of all the people on her floor as they offered to help (which she politely turned down), and into her tiny single dorm room. In one swift motion, her backpack and crutches were thrown down, she laid on her bed, put a pillow over her face, and screamed.
It had been nine days since she had fractured her ankle. Nine days having a cast and crutches. And for these first eight days, she had been doing pretty good. She was determined to not let a little thing like an injury stop her from going to classes and all of her clubs. Sure, she couldn’t participate in anything pertaining to fencing, but it was fine. Completely fine. But this morning she woke up and it felt a little less fine. She was tired of needing extra time to get to classes, and the feeling of crutches under her armpits. She had this unbearable itch inside her cast that became so distracting, she couldn’t remember most of her first class that day. She was tired of acting like her broken ankle didn’t bother her. All she wanted now was to lay in her bed (with the ankle elevated, doctor’s orders!) and feel bad for herself.
She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and groaned. It was Jasper, she knew. The two had always met up to get a late lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and normally Pearl looked forward to it. They had become close the semester before when they took a Shakespeare class together, but they didn’t have any mutual classes this Spring semester. But it didn’t matter. Somehow after those first couple months of the school year, Pearl had come to consider Jasper one of her best friends, and now they hung out every week, without needing a class as an excuse to see each other.
When Pearl initially broke her ankle, Jasper had been nothing short of amazing. Driving Pearl to the hospital, staying with her the whole time, and doing everything she could think of to cheer Pearl up, she was everything a good best friend should be.
And it just made Pearl fall in love with her more.
All week Jasper had been offering to help Pearl with whatever she needed. Pearl insisted that she could do it on her own. She didn’t want to seem weak in front of Jasper, even though she knew Jasper was just trying to be helpful. She stared at her phone and contemplated what she should do. She hated the thought of ditching Jasper but she also knew that Jasper had this incredible way of reading her. There was no way Pearl would be able to hide how upset she was at the moment. She didn’t want to worry Jasper, but she also didn’t want to lie, so she typed out a shortened truth.
Pearl (1:15 PM): I’m terribly sorry Jasper, but I’m not feeling up to going out right now. Can I make it up to you? Perhaps dinner later?
Certainly her pity party would be over by dinner time, and Jasper wouldn’t have to see Pearl in her state of distress. Within a minute of sending the text though, her phone was ringing. Pearl had barely gotten out a “hello” before Jasper cut in.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
The worry laced in Jasper’s voice made Pearl’s heart clench a little. Pearl tried to make her voice sound confident.
“No, I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep all that well last night so I think I’m going to attempt a nap before my evening class.”
“Pearl, stop. I can tell you’re not telling the truth. Are you in pain? Do you need more pain killers? Do I need to kick someone’s ass?”
That made Pearl chuckle, which then turned into tears as everything just came out of her.
“I’m tired. I hate missing fencing practice and this tiny room that is not at all accessible for someone in crutches. I hate trying to shower with my cast in these horrible community showers. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to cry, I know I’m being childish and-”
“Don’t you dare apologize. You know what? Stay where you are, I’m coming over.”
Before Pearl could protest, Jasper hung up. Technically, Jasper shouldn’t have access to get on her floor without a key but she seemed to have connections everywhere and Pearl learned not to ask. Within 10 minutes, there was a knock on the door. Sitting up on her bed and hoping her face wasn’t blotchy from crying, she called out, “Come in!”
Jasper shimmed into her room, and Pearl couldn’t help but chuckle. Since Pearl had opted out of having a roommate, her single room was tiny, and Jasper was so tall and broad, she took up so much space. Pearl loved it, but it also overwhelmed her a little. Jasper was such a beauty to her and there was so much to look at and having her in her space, so close to her (everything was close in a room this size), always made Pearl want to be closer.
But Jasper didn’t sit and make herself comfortable. She held her hand out to Pearl and said, “Get some stuff together, you’re staying at my place this weekend.”
“Wait, what? Jasper, that’s very kind of you, but I’d hate to be an inconvenience to you and Peridot. I’ll be fine, really.”
“No, I’m not going to let you lay in your bed alone in this depressing ass dorm room all weekend while you eat cereal bars and hobble over to the showers down the hall. You know Peridot doesn’t care if you’re over, and my pull out couch is way more comfortable than this rock you sleep on.” Jasper was firm, but she wasn’t mean about it.
It was true, Pearl could attest to the comfyness of Jasper’s pull out couch. Jasper was a year older than Pearl and as a Junior had a campus apartment, so the two spent most their time there.
“Alright. If it’s really alright with you, Jasper, I’d like that.”
Jasper smiled, “Great, I was about to carry your skinny ass out myself if you said no. We gotta hurry though, I left my car in the no park zone in front with my hazards on.”
Pearl threw together a weekend bag and they up and out the door within 15 minutes. During the short car drive from her dorm to Jasper’s apartment, Jasper had convinced her to ditch her evening class. She hadn’t missed a single class this semester, which Jasper knew, so she knew there really wouldn’t be any penalty. Jasper said she was determined to give Pearl a “chill weekend” and since neither of them had Friday classes, that meant it started now.
And it was chill. It was amazing, actually. The two spent the day bumming around Jasper’s apartment, raiding her fridge, watching Netflix. They ordered take out from Pearl’s favorite Chinese place for dinner. Pearl took a shower in an actual shower. When Jasper’s roommate, Peridot came home from her night class, she even convinced them to play video games with her for a bit. When Peridot went to sleep, they stayed up a talked, Jasper on one end of the couch, Pearl sitting with her back against the opposite armrest, her feet propped up on Jasper’s lap.
Sometimes they shared quite, close moments like this. Pearl wondered if they mattered to Jasper as much as they mattered to her. Sometimes she thought Jasper was interested in her, in the way she looked at her and sometimes it seemed like Jasper was flirting, but she kind of seemed like that with everyone. Mostly Pearl thought that Jasper was a phenomenal friend, and that’s all Jasper would see her as. She felt selfish asking for more.
Pearl woke without remembering falling asleep. It took her a few moments to remember she was not in her dorm, but at Jasper’s apartment. She would’ve laid a little longer on the couch if she hadn’t heard movement in the kitchen. Grabbing her crutches, she moved over to the kitchen. Jasper was standing over the stove cooking. Upon close inspection, Pearl saw a stack of pancakes.
Pearl leaned her body on the counter next to Jasper and put her crutches to the side. Jasper turned off the stove and turned, brighter and more awake then Pearl had ever seen her this early in the morning.
“Mornin’, hope you like pancakes, it’s the only breakfast food I know how to cook.”
Suddenly it was all too much for Pearl. Jasper getting up early to make breakfast, the flour smeared on her beautiful cheek, the amazing night before all because Jasper wanted Pearl to have a good time and relax. Tears were rolling down her face before she could stop them, feeling more ridiculous than she had yesterday.
“What-what happened?” Jasper said in a panic. “Is it the pancakes? I can try to make something else?”
“No, it’s you. You’re wonderful. Oh stars, Jasper, I’m so in love with you.”
Pearl slapped her hands over her mouth as if to stuff the words back in. She couldn’t look at Jasper, couldn’t look at Jasper’s rejection. She stared down at her ugly pink cast on her foot and couldn’t stop from rambling.
“I shouldn’t have said that. I mean, I meant it, but it’s fine. Please forget I said it. Our friendship, it’s enough for me. It’s amazing. I couldn’t bear to lose it. So perhaps it’s best we forget this.”
Jasper reached out and pulled Pearl’s hands away from her face.
“You’re upset because you think I don’t love you back? This whole time I thought I was so obvious. Pearl, I adore you. Of course I love you.”
Pearl looked at her, astonished.
“You do?”
“Well, yeah. Wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”
Now her tears were happy, “I’d very much like to kiss you right now, is that alright?”
“Hell yeah.” And Jasper’s lips came swooping down. Her lips were as soft as Peal had fantasied them to be, softer even. Due to their height differences, Jasper had to bend down quite a bit, Pearl desperately wrapping her arms around her neck to pull Jasper closer. Normally she would meet her half way on her tip toes but the cast was making things difficult.
She pulled back only slightly and breathed, “Jasper, I can’t-”
Jasper seemed to know exactly what Pearl needed, because she picked Pearl up and placed her sitting on the counter and wasted not another second to put her lips back on Pearl’s. Jasper’s lips, her hands running down her back and in her hair, the smell of fresh pancakes, it was pure bliss.
A cough from across the room broke them apart.
Peridot stood in her alien pajamas, trying to look annoyed but was clearly smiling. “Look, I’m happy you two finally figured things out. Took you long enough. But must you do it on the counter? That’s where we make food.”
Jasper, trying to look annoyed but was clearly smiling, replied, “You’re just jealous. I can kiss my girlfriend wherever I like.”
Pearl felt her heart jump, “Your girlfriend?”
Looking less confident than she did a moment ago, Jasper looked back to her. “Yeah, I mean, I just assumed. Unless you don’t want to...”
Pearl kissed Jasper once before answering.
“Nothing would please me more than to be your girlfriend. And you mine.”
Jasper kissed her in return.
“I’m yours.”