Before I knew it, I was standing at the door that led to Lapis's HQ. My hands shook, and I thought long and hard before I even dared to raise my hand to knock. What if she does punish me? What if she hates me? What if she doesn't remember me? What if she thinks I'm crazy? What if I am crazy?! I thought of about 18 more what-ifs before I mentally slapped myself and told myself to man-up and do it already. I raised my trembling fist up to the door, and after one moment - then two - I knocked slowly three times loudly. 

There was silence...."WHO IS IT?!" I heard a shout from inside the room that honestly scared the living daylights out of me. "Um i-it's P-Peridot." I state, cursing myself for stuttering so much. There was more silence for about 15 seconds. "...which one?" Lapis asks in a more soft expression. "....Um...." I read the tag of my leather jacket. "...cut 5XG..." I mutter, and I wait for a response. I hear some whispering, and then the door slowly opens, and there stands a Pearl. 

"Can I help you, miss Peridot?" the Pearl asks in a a slightly annoyed tone of voice. "Pearl! I'll take it from here. Go make yourself useful and finish the mission I assigned you. Now." Lapis commands with a snap of her finger. Pearl then rushes out of the room without another word, and I stand there awkwardly with my hands behind my back. I could hear Rob Zombie playing quietly in the background I examined the room for a moment. There was a hint of cigarette smoke in the air mixed with a air-freshener type smell. It actually smelled....pretty good in here to be honest (yeah, I'm weird).

"What is it, Peridot?" the boss asked in a bit of a harsh tone. "I um, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something kinda... personal..." I said, still just staring at the back of Lapis's chair. Her hand then comes into view, and there appeared to be a used up cigarette sitting in between her index and middle finger. She then flicked it out of her hand into the waste basket and she was silent for a moment. She then spins around in her chair and looks at me with an expressionless face.

She had her leather jacket draped over the chair and she was wearing a black tank top with her dog-tags dangling from her neck. Her ripped dark-blue skinny jean-covered legs were now sitting on the table crossed. Those big black combat boots were probably crumpling a lot of the papers on that desk.

"It's probably not as personal as you think, compared to my kinda shit." Lapis states blankly, her eyes wandering to the wall beside her. "I know you and Jasper had an abusive relationship." I say out of the blue, and after I said it, it sounded a lot more blunt than I meant it to be. Her previously wandering, uninterested and half-lidded eyes were now as large as saucers and glued on me, not moving. Lapis takes her feet off of the table and she stands up abruptly, placing both hands on either side of the desk. "How do you know that?" 

I didn't reply to her question directly, but I continued. "..and I know you didn't mean to hurt me back there..." Lapis's cold expression softened, but her eyes still pierced through me. She then turned around and faced the back wall, her back facing me. "What makes you think that? I just was too lazy to kill you, s-so I gave you a three-day extension instead. Mind your own damn business, will ya?" she commanded coldly, but in the middle of her sentence I heard a voice crack that kind of sounded like she was on the verge of crying.

"It is my business if it has to do with someone I care about!" I argued, and then there was more silence - the tension was eating away at me inside. "....w-what?" "I know you remember me, Lazuli. You just won't say it." I replied, her back still facing me. "I-I don't know what you're talking about...." she mutters as she walks slowly further away from me, examining some picture on the back wall. 

There was a painfully long silence that lasted about 2 minutes but it felt like 2 hours. The bluenette then balled her fists and broadened her shoulders. "Yes, I admit I remember you, Peridot. I kinda hoped you wouldn't remember Jasper after what she's done, though. B-but that doesn't matter anymore! I don't care about anyone and I never will!" she suddenly shouted. I mean, that was kind of the response I was hoping for.

I took a step forward. "You don't mean that. You just don't wanna be hurt again. I won't ever hurt you...you were one of the only people to ever be nice to me...and I appreciate that. I know you've been through a lot! But it doesn't have to be this way!! You could change! What happened to Lori? " 

Silence

"Lori's gone. I'm Lapis Lazuli. Lori could never survive in this fucked up world I'm living. I can't change, Peridot." Lapis said in a shaky voice, and I could tell that she was holding back tears. I really do feel bad for her. She has been through so much and I can't imagine what it's like to be her right now. "I-I'm sorry....I know you don't wanna do this anymore...." I mumble, not really expecting an answer from her. If she did answer, I'd only expect her to tell me to get out of her room.

She turned around facing me, and she gave me an expression that I'd never seen before. It looked like a mixture of hurt, sadness, and anger all at the same time. Those beautiful blue-grey eyes then began to fill with tears, and it broke my heart. She sniffled, and then the tears began rolling down her face as she shut her eyes closed tightly. A sob escaped her throat, and she stood there with her balled fists, just crying. I never really knew what to do in these situations, and I tried to think.

I then remembered what my mom used to do when I was hurt or crying when I was little. It was the only thing I knew, and I hoped it was enough. I reluctantly held my arms out wide and tilted my head a little, giving her a sympathetic expression. She opened her eyes and looked at me for a moment. It had been a while and I assumed that she rejected my offer and I closed my eyes, but that's when I felt two soft arms wrap around my neck, and I opened my eyes. 

Lapis was hugging me, crying on my shoulder. Her face buried into my neck, even though I was shorter than her. The way she cried and held on to me - I don't think she's even hugged anyone for the longest time, because it felt like she was hugging someone for the first time ever. I sat my chin on the top of her head and took in the sweet scent of her ocean blue hair. She stayed there crying for at least 15 minutes, and I just kept my arms wrapped around her waist, stroking her back here and there. This just felt so right.....

But nothing lasts forever, and her crying finally died down. Lapis pulled away and looked at me with those eyes, and I felt like I could get lost in them. Okay, I know I talk about her eyes a lot, but if you actually saw those things for yourself, you'd know where I'm coming from. She did something that I'd never seen her do since I got here - she smiled. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and I immediately felt my heart beating at a 100 miles per hour.

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Look, we're friends, and you're pretty cool, and I appreciate that. I haven't been able to be nice to someone in a really long time...and I have to be honest with you - it feels great," she explains in a much more relaxed tone than before. I smiled at her, and her amazing smile suddenly disappeared, and I wondered what had happened. "But you still gotta get that drone done soon, got it?" she states, her cold tone coming out of nowhere.

"I-I-um--" I stuttered, trying to comprehend what just hap- "snort hahaha! Loosen up, Peri! I need it done, though okay?" Lapis says in a happy tone again, which caused me to let out a breath of relief. I blushed when I heard her little snort laugh - it was ADORABLE! I've never heard such a cute laugh before. "I'm on it..." I say, straightening my posture with confidence, causing her to giggle again.

"Okay, buh-bye nerd!" she said, waving me away, signaling me to leave. I smile, and walk out the door, closing it behind me. I lean back against it for a moment, and I sigh in relief at how amazing that went. That went way better than I expected. I hope that we could talk again tom-BONK! "Ow!" I squealed as I felt the door open back up and I fell backwards, hitting my head on the hard floor. "Ah! Sorry! I have to go find Pearl!" Lapis shouted frantically, noticing me laying on the ground in squeaky agony. I rubbed my head and sat up. "Don't worry about it, hehe..." I mutter...ow.

Still not gonna ruin my day, though.