Chapter Text
Peridot awoke to the sound of landing footsteps outside her dorm window; an everyday framework that should bother her, but for some reason didn’t. She tried to screw her eyes shut despite her nagging curiosity, and pulled her blanket tighter around herself. She waited a few minutes for something to happen, and when nothing did, she decided to open her eyes and focus on her bedside, her desk in the corner of the room, and the clock.
Frustrated at the blurry symbols, she reached lazily for her glasses resting on her bedside, nearly knocking the glass of water that had taken permanent residence on that precise spot, and that had begun to mark a stain on the wooden surface. She lethargically pulled herself up and brushed her hair out of her eyes before putting on her glasses. The room was tinted blue from the moonlight coming in through the window—which was left open, again. She glanced back at the clock and groaned.
It read 2:37 A.M.
It was the third time this week. Any other day she would’ve ignored it, like she always did, and pretend she had no idea what was going on. Today, however, she didn’t feel like being an outsider.
It had started at the beginning of the semester. Coincidentally, the day she met her roommate. The noises coming from the courtyard piqued her interest and made her step out of the building. As she made her way down the stone steps, she found a group of students crowding around one of the columns of the building. The more she stared, the more people gathered around, until eventually her curiosity forced her legs to move forward. The closer she got the more she realized her mistake; the students crowding were considerably taller than she was, making it difficult for her to make out the cause of the commotion. So, Peridot stood there, awkwardly moving her head around trying to catch a glimpse of the wonder until she heard someone next to her.
“Having a hard time?”
Peridot turned her head to find what to this day she considers the physical manifestation of trouble.
The stranger wasn’t looking at her, hands inside the pockets of her letterman and eyes focused in front of her. Peridot pretended not to hear her and continued jumping on her spot with the little dignity she had left. However, the girl had none of it.
“Come with me, I know a place with a good view.”
“How very not suspicious.”
“Please, you look like the type that screams bloody murder if someone steps on your foot.”
Peridot rolled her eyes and took a long, hard look at the person next to her. She was looking at her with a smug smile on her lips. At this angle, Peridot could take in the girl’s features properly. She had dyed blue hair partially hidden by a beanie and tanned skin—at least, the little that was visible under the large jacket she was wearing. Peridot tried her hardest to avoid eye contact, but it seemed like the stranger could tell that she was struggling. Finally, she sighed and looked up, and suddenly the thought of following the punk seemed less ludicrous than before.
“Name’s Lapis.”
“Didn’t ask.” Lapis laughed and turned on her heal, looking at Peridot over her shoulder.
“C’mon, I promise not to mug you.” For a moment, Peridot considered letting her pride get the best of her and leave Lapis stranded. It was tempting, but there was something about this girl that attracted her in the most neutral way imaginable, like a black hole attracts lost, weaker asteroids.
She decides to humor both herself, and her unwanted ‘friend’, tightening her fingers around the strap of her messenger bag, and catching up to Lapis. For whatever reason, she had assumed that it would be a regular walk to the upper floor, and was caught off guard when Lapis took off running in front of her, taking the stairs two, almost three steps at a time. Peridot rolled her eyes for the second time since meeting Lapis and took off after her, nowhere near as quickly, but just enough to keep the other in her field of view.
She was almost surprised when Lapis stopped in front of the ladder leading to the roof of the building as she reached the very last step. Peridot tried to hide the fact she was practically wheezing by making her way to the balcony railing and looking down. She now understood why Lapis was leading them to the roof; only half of the work was visible, even on the last floor of the building. She heard the twist of a lock and the sound of metal hitting the floor and quickly turned around. Lapis had, somehow, removed the lock from the ladder’s hatch and had started making her way up.
“You can’t be serious.”
Lapis didn’t respond, but did look back to send a wink her way.
The sudden urge to pull out her hair surprised Peridot. It wasn’t always you met someone and deemed them ‘insufferable’ after only moments of meeting them. She turned around to look for witnesses, and when she found none, reluctantly made her way up the metal ladder.
“This institution is a safety hazard,” Peridot said, reaching the final step and still holding onto the rails for dear life. Lapis giggled and offered Peridot her hand, but was gracefully denied.
Peridot pulled herself up and noticed that Lapis had walked off. Peridot’s eyes followed the other getting nearer and nearer to the edge, standing with half of her shoe hanging in midair. It appeared this oddity was not only a delinquent, but also a suicidal maniac.
Lapis looked over her shoulder and urged Peridot to come closer.
Peridot shook her head. “No way.”
“Suit yourself.” Lapis shrugged and turned back to the abyss, reaching down and opting to sit with her legs dangling under her.
Peridot fidgeted with the pins on her bag until she built up enough courage to move from her anchored state. She took careful steps towards the edge of the roof until she was only a couple of steps behind Lapis. With an unbelievable amount of strength, she teared her gaze from her feet and looked down at the courtyard.
Her eyes widened at the sight before her. The column was completely coated with colors and patterns. Stripes wrapped around like arrows and strings, suddenly turning into intertwined hands. The base was dusted over with dots resembling stars, which transitioned into galaxies and then waves. A work of abstract art with perhaps a deeper meaning Peridot was too simple-minded to understand.
“Pretty neat, huh?”
“Do you know who did it?” Peridot, suddenly inspired by the art piece, sat down next to Lapis, unable to tear her eyes away from the column.
“Not a clue, but whoever did, is bound to get expelled.”
Two coffees, and three orientation meetings later, Peridot met Lapis again outside her dorm, carrying a cardboard box with questionable contents. For all Peridot knew, it was just filled with normal, everyday objects, but given the character, she had immediately baptized every single one of Lapis’ possessions as questionable.
“Oh good, I’m not rooming with a total stranger,” Lapis said, balancing the box on one hand while digging for what Peridot assumed were her keys with the other.
“In case you haven’t noticed, we’re still total strangers.” Peridot dug inside her own pocket. “Here, I’ll do it.” She unlocked the door and pushed it open, letting Lapis walk in first to set down her belongings.
“How can you say that? I thought what we had on the roof was special.” Peridot walked in and set her bag on the desk farthest from the door. She had set up a few days prior and didn’t have to wrestle Lapis for the bed closest to the desk. She was sure Lapis would understand.
“If anything, I’m just one more on your list of acquaintances you’ve led to bizarre locations,” Peridot said, walking out the door to help Lapis carry more boxes.
“Give yourself some credit. You’re the only one who actually went through with it.” With the last box in her side of the room, Lapis collapsed on her bed.
“Ah, so you are a serial harasser.”
“Only to short girls that are more bark than bite.” That earned Lapis a pillow to the face.
“A harasser with a type. You sure are full of surprises.” Peridot removed her glasses to rub her nose, ignoring the way the tip of her ears burned.
“So, are you going to tell me your name now or am I going to have to call you ‘roomie’ for the remaining of our college life?” Lapis rolled onto her side, looking at Peridot expectedly.
“…Peridot,” she murmured quietly, facing the opposite wall.
“What was that?”
“My name is Peridot,” she said, louder this time, turning around to stare straight at Lapis, who had leaned closer.
Lapis smiled, and stretched so her head hung from the side of the bed. This made her beanie fall and her hair drop unnaturally. “Nice to meet you, Peridot.”
The paintings began to show overnight, which was a rather impressive feat in Peridot’s opinion. The first were abstract, with the simple purpose to beautify the building. Peridot had hoped that to be the case at first; pure beautification and self-expression. The institution was old and bland, so a little of color gave some personality. The anonymous artist soon enough gained popularity, and even a small fandom. A group of art students—closely followed by psychology students using them as subjects—would crowd around the art pieces to criticize and look for patterns. They hoped to predict the next pieces, but failed every time, as if the artist himself could hear the group’s conclusions.
At one point, Peridot considered the possibility of it being more than one artist; some sort of collective doing it for art’s sake. But the style was so distinctive that she was almost certain whoever was doing it was alone and that they were simply very determined to place their mark on the world.
Days came and went, and the purpose of the paintings began to take form. It wasn’t just patterns anymore, but messages. The symbolism was suffocating and some English majors began to show interest. It was an act of rebellion that spoke to the student body, but did not fly with the administration. Threats were thrown out to the anonymous artist and even some benefits and rewards to however turned them in. Peridot didn’t like their attitude, and cheered the artist on for fighting against being silenced. It was the only bit of excitement some students—Peridot included—had experienced in years, so of course they silently vouched for the artist.
“Can you believe that? If only they knew the pressure makes the artist stronger,” Lapis said one day, with a fiery conviction Peridot hadn’t noticed back then. She was browsing through a Facebook page the students had made in honor of the anonymous artist. They posted pictures of the pieces from different angles, selfies, and even word posts hoping to get the artist to step forward.
“They must be very brave to keep it up for this long.” Peridot admired the person. It wasn’t easy to do something of that magnitude without being spotted. “Who’s being accused this time?”
“You know Amethyst?”
“Yeah, she’s in one of my classes. Definitely not her.”
“She would’ve stepped forward by now with the amount of attention this is getting.” Lapis closed her laptop and placed it at the corner of her bed. “I’m getting something to eat. Want anything?”
“Coffee. Or Red Bull. Anything to help me finish this paper before midnight.”
“Gotcha.” With that, Lapis left the room and Peridot was left alone with her thoughts.
She had to admit that if it wasn’t for the ungodly number of pulled all-nighters, Peridot would not have caught on until much later.
The first time it happened, Lapis had left the dorm and had not come back until much later, only to find Peridot furiously typing on her laptop. In some obscure way, the moment had flawless comedic timing. Lapis had opened the door slowly, hoping to sneak in in case Peridot was asleep, and simply froze the moment she was caught. The two looked at each other for what felt like hours, Lapis fidgeting with the sleeve of her hoodie and Peridot’s sleep-deprived mind trying to register what was happening.
Eventually, Peridot spoke up. “I won’t ask.” And then returned to her ceaseless typing.
Lapis let out the breath she was holding and closed the door. Her bag made a peculiar sound when it crashed against the foot of Lapis’ bed, but Peridot’s mind couldn’t recognize it. Lapis changing and getting into bed were registered as a blur in Peridot’s mind, and by the time everything had sunk in, it was nearly five in the morning, so she decided to ignore it.
The second and third time happened in a similar manner. Lapis would walk in late at night—or early in the morning—while Peridot was ‘asleep’. A student’s life was generally private, and whatever Lapis was up to was really none of her business. After all, she had baptized her as trouble the moment she first laid eyes on her. The fourth and fifth time made it a common occurrence. Sometimes Lapis would walk in and find Peridot on her laptop or reading a textbook, other times it was Peridot who was gone. Peridot noticed that the times where she arrived to the dorm after Lapis, her roommate was still awake, and would always ask where she was.
“I was at the library finishing something up.”
“Oh.” It felt a little hypocritical, but Peridot let it slide as mere concern. She didn’t leave the dorm much during the night. She never pressed Lapis about her escapades, despite the growing indignation. Part of her didn’t want to know. The other, slightly more emotional part, was just upset that Lapis didn’t trust her enough.
And now there she was, sitting upright on her bed, wondering if today was going to be one of those days, or if she was going to spice up the routine. Peridot shook the memory out of her head and made an effort to get out of bed. Sleep still fogged her mind, making her movements wobbly, but she was determined to confirm her suspicions tonight. She put on shoes and a hoodie, not bothering to change out of her sweatpants or even put on a bra. She unplugged her phone, glanced at the time, and shoved it in her pocket. If she bumped into anyone while out, she’d just say that she was studying. Usually she got away with that.
Peridot placed her hands on the windowsill and looked down. It wasn’t a high drop, two meters tops, but it didn’t stop her hands from shaking. She took a deep breath and pushed herself up, rotating her hips so that her legs dangled outside the window. Peridot looked around—a habit she had developed the moment she met Lapis—before jumping and landing with a ‘thud’. Her ankles didn’t take the hit and gave away, making her fall to her knees.
“Fucking hell.” Peridot pulled herself up and dusted her knees, which she was sure were covered in mud.
It wasn’t until she ready to start walking when she realized she had no idea where she was going. She had chosen to find Lapis with a resolve, not a plan, and the product of her mistake was showing the more she searched. There was not a trace of Lapis’ presence. Peridot leaned against the wall heaved a sigh. She’d just have to look in the places that had no trace of aesthetic vandalism.
She pushed herself off the wall and shoved her hands inside the pockets of her hoodie. She’d search every nook and cranny of the building if she had too. Hopefully she knew Lapis enough that she didn’t have to spend hours looking. The only sound was her footsteps tapping evenly against the pavement, and the booming muffled music coming from the other dorm. Peridot pulled her hood over her head as she walked beneath the building balconies. Eventually she came across an open field; the space between the different university buildings. There was a fountain in the middle of the clearing, a landmark of sorts. It was one of the few notable monuments that hadn’t been impaired during the anarchist movement. Peridot sat down on the fountain’s basin and looked up at the sky. It was surprisingly clear, or maybe it always was, she wasn’t exactly a fan of long walks late at night. Movement caught the corner of her eye and turned her head towards the side of her dorm building.
There was a dark shadow hanging by a rope. It took her a moment to really process it, but when she did panic settled in. She jumped from the basin and made a run for the dorm.
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, until she reached the corner of the building. She hid behind the fence that separated the building from the clearing and looked up. The person was…climbing? Upon closer inspection, the person Peridot had seen in the distance had their feet firmly pressed against the surface of the wall, while their torso was supported by a rope. They were shaking what appeared to be a cylinder with their left hand. It didn’t take long for it to click.
She looked down and saw a very familiar black bag on the ground. For a moment Peridot didn’t do anything. She didn’t call them out, or moved from where she stood. Then, she calmly dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. The brightness of the screen blinded her momentarily, but still she pressed on; unlocking it and opening her recent messages. She quickly typed something and sent it without really thinking too much about it, and then she waited.
Soon enough, there was movement above her. The person had reached inside their pocket to look at their phone. Peridot looked up and thought she had made eye contact with the supposed stranger. She wasn’t sure because they were wearing their hood up and it was dark.
“Hey, Lapis.”
“Peridot?!”
Twenty minutes later they were sitting down against the wall, Peridot with her knees pressed against her chest and Lapis with hers stretched before her. They were silent for a long time, seemingly processing the current events. Peridot was the first to break the silence.
“So, it really was you this whole time.” She didn’t sound surprised at all. If anything, it was as if it was something she knew the whole time but was just now coming to terms with it.
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“I’m not.”
“You knew this whole time?” Lapis turned to look at her, she had a legitimately surprised expression on her face.
“You’re not exactly subtle,” Peridot said, a-matter-of-factly.
“Oh yeah? Then how come nobody else knows?” Lapis stood up and crossed her arms, staring down at Peridot condescendingly.
“Lapis, I’m your roommate. It wasn’t hard to guess what you were doing every other night.” Peridot stood up to level with Lapis, or tried to, considering her roommate had a few inches on her. “Besides,” she began, “You’ve got a permanent paint stain on your shoes.”
Lapis glanced down at her feet. Her shoes were, indeed, dusted with blues and greens. “Huh.”
Silence was upon them again. Lapis gently kicked the footing of the wall while Peridot stared down at her feet.
“Why haven’t you told anyone?” Peridot looked up to find Lapis slightly closer than before, and genuinely confused.
“Whatever personal vendetta you’ve got against this institution is none of my business. I don’t see why I’d have to report you,” Peridot said stubbornly, nose crunching up beneath her glasses.
“Aw, Peri, I didn’t know you cared that much.” Lapis leaned even closer, making Peridot take a step back.
“I can, however, file a restraining order if you keep getting closer.”
The response was immediate. Lapis pivoted and placed her hands on either side of Peridot’s head, trapping her against the wall. Peridot shrieked and backed up as much as possible. “Scratch that, I’ll report you for harassment!”
Lapis only laughed, something playful glinting in her eyes. Peridot ignored the way her entire face felt warm. “Be honest. Does it really bother you that much?”
Peridot did not answer, dignified. Lapis wiggled her eyebrows and Peridot looked away with a grimace.
“You’re insufferable.”
“I’m swooning.”
“Who’s there?” The glint of a flashlight glared in their general direction, forcing Lapis to jump back and wrap her fingers around Peridot’s wrist.
“We gotta hide, like, now.” Before Peridot could respond she was dragged behind the fence, and pressed roughly against the material of Lapis’ jacket.
From the other side, they could hear voices. “He was definitely here. We might actually get him this time.” Then the footsteps faded into the distance.
“Ha, Morons.”
“Lapis, I can’t breathe.”
“Oh, sorry.” Lapis let go of Peridot’s wrist and stepped away from her. Peridot raised an eyebrow. “We should probably go back to the dorms.”
“Aren’t you gonna finish?”
“Nah, they’ll be roaming this whole area all night. I don’t want to risk it.”
“Look at you, thinking things through.”
“What can I say? You’re rubbing off on me.” Lapis stuck her head out the side of the fence before stepping out. “You do know what this means, right?”
“I sure hope not.”
“We’re in this together.”
“Oh no. Absolutely not.” Lapis picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder before hooking one arm around Peridot’s neck. “Get off me.” Peridot, however, made no motion to get out of the embrace.
“This is gonna be so fun. God, Peridot you’re such a delinquent.”
Peridot rolled her eyes. “I hate everything about you.”
“That’s not true. You’ve got to like me at least a little to come out here at three in the morning.”
Peridot eventually attempted to push Lapis’ arm off, but gave up upon realizing her vertical disadvantage. “Don’t flatter yourself. It was mere curiosity.”
“Right, and I redirect my insomnia into making art for art’s sake instead of sending a message to our capitalist overlords.”
“Why did I ever think you were noble.”
“Don’t know, you might’ve underestimated my pettiness.”
Peridot laughed. “Oh no, trust me. I have a pretty accurate estimate of it.”
They quietly made their way back to their dorm, the spray paint bottles inside Lapis’ bag clanking with every step. Once under their room window, Lapis stepped forward and went down on one knee.
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting to be knighted. What does it look like I’m doing? I’m giving you a leg-up!”
Peridot almost stood her ground, but then realized that trying to get herself up alone would be infinitely more embarrassing, so she carefully walked forward and placed her foot on Lapis’ hands. She was promptly raised up to the window and made an effort to pull herself, gracelessly tumbling inside with a faint ‘ow’.
“You okay?”
“Peachy.”
Soon after, Lapis gracefully leaped inside the room and closed the window.
Peridot huffed. “Show off.”
Lapis stuck out her tongue.
As if it was routine, Lapis dropped her bag at the foot of her bed and pull her hoodie over her head.
“You’re not wearing a shirt,” Peridot said, quickly averting her eyes.
“And you’re not wearing a bra,” Lapis countered, making Peridot blush and cross her arms over her chest. “Well, I’m going to shower. Feel free to join me.”
“Go to hell.”
Lapis shrugged, and marched out of the room.
Peridot groaned and fell back onto her bed. She looked up at the clock. It read 3:49 A.M.
There was no way she could get any sleep now.
She took off her hoodie and changed her muddy sweatpants into shorts. She considered taking a shower as well, but despised the idea of pleasing her roommate. Instead, she grabbed her laptop from her desk and climbed onto her bed.
Her first google search was “what to do when your roommate is a delinquent” and came across an entire archive of answers. She snorted, but bookmarked the page nonetheless.
Three articles and a considerably long comment thread later, Peridot heard the door click.
“You better be decent,” she said, eyes not leaving her computer screen.
“Mostly, can you pass me that tank top?”
“What—Goddammit, Lapis!” Peridot reached blindly for the tank top, eyes gluing themselves to the floor while Lapis’ nude form—with the exception of her shorts—strolled casually across the room. Once her fingers grasped the fabric she tossed it at Lapis with more fury than was necessary.
“Thanks!” Lapis pulled the tank top over her head and aggressively dried her hair with a towel, and then proceeded to shake her hair like a dog.
“Why are you like this.” Peridot took off her glasses and dried the droplets with the hem of her shirt, glaring at the general shape of Lapis the entire time.
Once satisfied, Lapis flopped onto her bed with a happy sigh. Peridot considers picking up a semester of psychology. Turning back to her laptop, she types in “blatant disregard for authority” and “unpredictable, non-violent behavior.”
She grew tired half-way through an article on histrionic personality disorder and shut her laptop, placing it on her bedside. She heard Lapis snoring softly from across the room, and shook her head. Lapis’ hair was wet and she hadn’t bothered getting under the covers. Annoyed, Peridot stood up, pulled a blanket from one of the closets and threw it unceremoniously over Lapis’ sleeping form. Happy with her good deed of the day, she walked back to her bed, placed her glasses on her bedside and snuck under the covers. Seconds later, she heard movement to her right.
“See, you do care.”
“Go to sleep, Lazuli.”
Peridot didn’t manage to sleep that night, her mind too preoccupied with the sudden realization that she was now in cahoots with what the university considered a disruptor of academic harmony. She was basically a criminal now. Was her record even clean anymore? Vandalism was a step away from political rioting, was she really prepared for such responsibility? She couldn’t go to jail. Her mother would never forgive her. Yet, deep inside her, the thought of rebellion excited her. Maybe it was time for a change. Peridot rolled to her side to face Lapis. How could she sleep so calmly knowing that getting caught meant immediate expulsion? Maybe she could learn a couple of things from her roommate.
As long as she kept her distance, and didn’t cause Peridot cardiac complications.
Lapis rubbed her face against her pillow and let out a deep breath.
Peridot was not ready.