Chapter Text
It was raining. Of course it was raining. In fact, it was storming, hard; the wind blew so viciously that it swept the rain sideways, branches found themselves being ripped from trees and lawn decor ended up halfway down the street. Grey clouds filled up the sky and the time had approached early evening over Peridot’s household.
Unfortunately, Peridot could not wait any longer in the house and had to leave immediately, rainstorm or not. If her family wasn’t going to support her dreams, she didn’t want to be there. Weeks of arguing to no avail, there was no point trying to convince them anymore. All her life, it didn’t matter what she loved, what she became passionate about. It was all about business to her family, work for them, work for the family name. This argument was the last straw, she needed to leave, now.
“I build robots,” Peridot muttered to herself as she rushed to her room to pack some necessities, slinging her bag over her shoulder and adjusting the hood of her jacket over her light blonde hair. “I build robots and they want me work for their fashion company, designing dresses .” She sneered, complete contempt at the thought. She hated it. She never had interest working for her family, never ever. She wanted to build, she wanted to take the world apart and put it together again. Every calculation of it, every code, every formula like flawless clockwork that spun her life into motion. They couldn’t understand it, they wouldn’t, be brilliant, sure, but only if it benefits them, the family, the business.
If it were up to her, she would just drive to a hotel. But mother wouldn’t have it; ‘you’re not leaving’ she said, ‘not in that storm, not with any of our cars’ she said. Like it would stop her: busses ran every 30 minutes at the community college, just a couple miles away, she could get there in time if she ran, and then she’d take one to the nearest hotel. Her mission was webbed together in her mind, she could almost see it mapped out before her.
“Peridot! Don’t you dare go out in that storm!” She heard her father’s stern voice behind her as she flung open the front door. “This outburst of yours has gone too far.”
“We are trying to help you!” Her mother echoed behind his tall, looming figure.
“You’re not!” Peridot spun around, pointing her finger at them “You’re trying to help yourselves! I have dreams; something I want to work towards. Unlike my siblings, there’s a life I want that isn’t a part of Diamond Creations! Why can’t you understand that?”
“Don’t you talk to your mother and I like that, Peridot. You’re ambitious, which is why you would do so well at DC, but you’re being too ambitious right now. You have a perfect life all ready for you, there’s no reason to be unhappy. There’s no reason to waste years of your life on the slight chance you’ll achieve- whatever it is you want.”
“Your father’s right, Peridot, just calm down-”
“I don’t want to calm down! I don’t want to design clothes and I don’t want to work for your company!” Her nostrils flared as she spoke, she could feel how tense each and every muscle inside her body was. “I want to build things, I want to make things, I want to change the world, at least, my world!”
With that, she ran out, slamming the door behind her and pulling tight the strings of her hoodie. She ducked her head low as the rain spattered against her, the wind made a sharp impact against her side that skewed her running sprint. This was going to be harder than she thought, but there was no turning back. The yelling of her parents began to fade out as she continued down the street.
She’d stay in a hotel for a few days, find a job, find someone in need of a roommate, she could do this. At least, she told herself she could. It was times like this that she wished she had made friends in high school; it would have made the present process a lot more manageable. Of course, the storm was another unexpected factor, but there was no use dwelling. The past is not editable, she shouldn’t be wasting valuable introspection on things that couldn’t be fixed.
The gusts of wind howled past her ears, pushing at her small, skinny frame with a mighty force. The rain was already beginning to soak her jacket through, but she couldn’t stop, she had to keep running. Though, it was difficult to calculate how much distance she had left to run, since she kept having to look down in order to keep the rain from collecting on her glasses.
A few minutes of running passed before a passing car purposely swerved into a collecting puddle, effectively splashing and drenching Peridot in more freezing water. She cried out in shock.
“You idiot!” Peridot shouted at the car as it sped off, “You asshole, you- you dirty clod! Augh!”
She suddenly gasped as the feeling of the intense, cold water sunk in. Soaked in freezing water, her once buoyant hair was now plastered against her forehead. She slowed her run to fix her hair and wipe her glasses off. The nerve of that guy. She had her fair share of jerks in her life, everything about her screamed ‘nerd’ ‘geek’ ‘dweeb’, but this, this was just plain cruel and- and highly illogical!
She felt a small tingle in her eyes as she thought about it, quickly biting her lip to keep them back. No dwelling. Keep on the task ahead. She sprinted again.
Soon, she only had a few more blocks left and she’d be at the college. She could feel the burn in her lungs, spreading into her muscles. She was tired. But she could rest at the stop. The outcome will be worth it, she predicted. She crossed the street, running by the newly constructed apartments, which housed many college students. The wind picked up faster, Peridot swayed side to side from the sheer force.
“I- got this-” She said to herself between heavy breaths, as she reached the last corner “ I’m almost-”
CLACK!
Something had flown into view and before Peridot could even react, she felt the collision knock her head backwards, further and further until her back hit the ground.
The last thing she remembered was the rain puddling on her glasses and a faint shouting in the distance. Then, everything faded into darkness.
“...think...e’s awake…are err eyes…ello, can you heee…”
Every sound echoed and clashed against her eardrums like cymbals. She heard voices as she faded in and out, the bright lights dazing her. How long had she been sleeping? She couldn’t accurately approximate the amount of time-
“Hey… hey, are you awake? Can you hear me?” She heard someone say, a light-toned voice.
She sluggishly opened her eyes, the brightness of the room made her head throb. Despite the pain, she could make out the objects of the room, barely. She scanned her surroundings: there was a window, a television, a table, a-
Her eyes widened, suddenly meeting with another’s. A girl with strikingly blue hair sat in a chair next to her, her dark blue eyes seemed focused on her. Peridot opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She lifted her head up to examine the room again, she had been sleeping on a couch in some living room that she didn’t recognize.
“You up? Here, drink some water.” The girl said, placing a hand behind Peridot’s back for support as she attempted to sit up. She held a glass up to Peridot’s lips, which she took shakily in her hands. It was cold, ice cubes clinking inside. “There you go- don’t sit up too fast, you might get dizzy.” She took a sip and then another, realizing how thirsty she actually was, she drank even more.
“Your head took a pretty hard hit from that piece of debris, it’s a bit swollen on the left. Thank goodness we saw you out there.” The blue-haired girl continued.
After finishing the glass, Peridot managed to force a few words out of her mouth.
“Your hair is... peculiar.” She said, her voice weak.
The girl raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, a small smirk on her face. “That’s unexpected. I thought you’d be asking where you were.” Subconsciously running a hand through her hair, she continued, “But in case you are wondering, we're at my apartment, the universe in a half-shell! ” She waved her hands to exaggerate, “Well, for me anyway.”
“The universe in a half… what?”
“It’s an expression I made up, I use it to describe somewhere that isn’t particularly amazing, but has what I need to be satisfied, regardless, hence-” She waved her hands again, fighting back a small laugh. “Anyway, my name’s Lapis, Lapis Lazuli.”
Peridot gave a weak snort in response, not having the strength to laugh. She could feel the aches of her muscles coming back, not that they even compared to the pounding of her head. “I’m Peridot- Peridot Di- ow-” She winced, her hand reached up, feeling the tender spot on her head. “Hurts…”
“Oh! Let me get you some acetaminophen, and more water.” She said, taking the glass and hurrying off into what appeared to be the kitchen.
Peridot closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She tried to retrace what had happened: she was running, it was storming, and then she was on her back, knocked out cold.
“Hey! You're alive!” A gruffer voice interrupted her thoughts. “We would have had to haul you to the hospital if you didn’t wake up today, lucky you.”
She opened her eyes and yelped at the sight of a sudden massive figure sitting on the coffee table next to her. She was biggest and most muscular woman that Peridot had ever seen in her life. Her thick, wavy hair fell down about her entire tank top clad back. She would describe her build as one of a football player, which was both admirable and terrifying.
“Oh my stars, you are loud...” Peridot said, stiffening up and clutching her head.
Lapis came back from the kitchen and handed Peridot a couple of pills and some more water, which she took eagerly. Lapis had also given her an ice pack to apply to her head.
“How long was I asleep?” Peridot finally asked, pressing the ice pack against the left side of her head.
“Roughly fifteen hours, give or take,” Lapis said, “Can you do me a favor and follow my finger with your eyes?” She moved a finger from side to side in front of Peridot’s face, then up and down.
Peridot scowled, she briefly tried to concentrate on the girl’s finger, but it kept going out of focus and doubling in her vision. Getting upset with how difficult it was to follow a simple task, Peridot scrunched her eyes shut with frustration. “Augh, is that really necessary?” She grumbled.
“Not really, but I want to be sure if you’re concussed or not-”
“Concussed?” Peridot raised a brow, “Why would I be concussed? I’m not even sure what happened before I passed out!”
“You don’t remember getting hit?” Lapis asked, her face indicating what Peridot would read as surprise.
“You got clocked in the head by a flying lawn gnome and your brain got all smacked around inside your skull!” The loud muscular girl interjected. “And now you’re concussed! Congratulations! I’d give you a noogie, but that probably isn’t a good idea.”
“Thank you for summarizing, Jasper.” Lapis replied, deadpan, she turned back to Peridot. “Jasper is my roommate. I saw you from our kitchen window, but she was the one who ran out in the storm and picked you up.”
“Wait, so...” Peridot began, “I got knocked out by a rogue lawn gnome and now I’m concussed and resting in the living room of- two strangers.”
“Yeah! ” Jasper said, quickly standing up and pumping her fists in the air, “It’s gonna be great! Plus, I know a lot about concussions, I've had about five.” She gave a roaring laugh, which did anything but comfort Peridot about her situation.
Lapis rolled her eyes. “Sorry about that,” She gave Peridot a patient smile, “Jasper can be a bit- um- disruptive, but she truly means well.”
“Well, I suppose I owe her one, for taking me in.” Peridot said, laying her head back down against the pillow. She felt ridiculous. Getting hit in the head with lawn decor and having to be carried in, out of a storm! She couldn’t help but blush at such an embarrassing situation. “And you too- you guys are taking care of me, that means a lot.” Peridot muttered, her face feeling warm, she was never good at expressing gratitude, it always made her feel vulnerable. Though, she had to face it, she was probably in the most vulnerable position she had been in for a while; a mild concussion, under the care of two roommates who looked to be around her age. These were her present circumstances, whether she liked it or not.
“You don’t owe us anything, we were just looking out for a fellow human being.” Lapis gave a small smile. “Besides, until you get better, what’s ours is yours. But for now, you should probably rest some more.”
Peridot nodded, as she felt herself getting tired again. Hopefully, she could just sleep the next couple days at the most and make a full recovery. Though, she felt herself a little reluctant to close her eyes with Lapis in her view. Maybe it was the hair still, or the empathy in her energy, but something about her drew Peridot to her in a way she hadn’t experienced before. With that thought in mind, she drifted off to sleep again.