Lapis immediately looked back up at me, as if she were startled. "D-do what?" she asked timidly. "Why do you look..." I trailed off, contemplating on whether it was worth even acknowledging. "Look...what...?" Lapis asked, now arching an eyebrow. I pursed my lips, furrowing my eyebrows in frustration. "Just gimme the paint." I grunted, snatching the can from her and huffing loudly. Lapis the clapped her hands quietly in triumph, hopping up and down. "You can put whatever you want." she said, pulling her phone back out.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes, shaking the can violently. The wall was pretty covered, but I managed to spot a fair-sized blank space to fill in after a few seconds of scanning. I looked down to even see what color I grabbed, and it read 'cap indicates color'. The cap was black, so I shrugged, and decided to work with this for now. I began to spray a line straight down, not really knowing what I was going for yet. I nearly dropped the can as I was startled by the sudden noise of music playing.

I turned around to see where the commotion was coming from, and it appeared to be a speaker Lapis pulled out. "L-Lapis we're gonna get caught! Turn that down!" I hissed anxiously. Lapis only chuckled and shook her head, scrolling through her phone. "We're fine, Peri. I do this all the time. Haven't been caught once." she insisted. "Where did you even get that thing?" I asked, wondering how it just appeared. Lapis only stared at me with a blank expression as she lightly kicked her backpack, which was previously sitting next to her feet. Oh. Right.

"Can I get a different color?" I asked, quickly changing the subject due to slight embarrassment. "Yeah, which one?" Lapis asked, kneeling down next to her bag. "Do you have...green?" I shyly asked. "Yep. Think fast." she deadpanned as she tossed me the can before I could even process it. I screeched as the can hit me full speed - I had flinched instead of trying to catch it. The can then landed onto the mushy ground with a brief 'thump' noise. "Welp...that scream might give us away." was all the bluenette said as she stared down at the can.

"A-are you serious?!" I whispered, looking around frantically as I felt my stomach drop. "I'm kidding, Peridot. Loosen up." she snorted, picking the can for me. She then handed it to me with a smile, and I couldn't stop my face from blushing. So I quickly turned back to facing the wall, and tried to focus. "What do you plan on doing?" she asked in a quieter voice, looking over my shoulder. "Art cannot be rushed Lapis!" I protested, tensing up. Goosebumps emerged from my skin as I could ever so slightly feel Lapis' giggle tickle my ear.

"Alright, alright, I'll leave you to it." she said, and her footsteps sounded more distant, indicating she had backed up. She then started playing some Arctic Monkeys song, and this put me further into focus for this. At first I had been spraying random green splotches everywhere, but then I began to line around them to form shapes. It soon became a figure I was outlining, and I filled it all in with green. It ended up looking like the green shadow of a tall robot with a triangular head - I was kinda digging it.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"Could you gimme the yellow?" I asked, turning my head a bit. "Yeah. I'll bring it to you this time, since you can't catch for shit." Lapis giggled as she pulled out another can of paint from her bag. She brought it to me, and I gave her a deadpan expression as I took it. I then went back to work, adding more to it. To be frank, it was near impossible to do small details with spray paint, but I did my best to try. "Do you need help?" I then heard her ask, and I bit my lip. "N-nah I got it." I replied nonchalantly, most likely needing her help desperately.

I spent almost fifteen minutes trying to use the yellow, because I was actually enjoying the color palette I was giving this design. I then picked up the black that was previously sitting next to my feet. I was going to try and add more black to this figure, since it basically looked like a Sprite mascot. The paint was dripping sadly, but I still managed to make the most of it. "The paint keeps running...." I grunted, watching as more drops rolled down the concrete wall. "Ah, don't worry about it, it's cool. It gives a unique feature. Just leave it." Lapis assured.

I honestly couldn't see how sloppy running paint could possibly look good on anything I was trying to do, but I guess we had differing perspectives anyway. As long as it looked good to somebody.

I spent nearly an hour attempting to perfect this design (well, at least the best I could with something as messy as spray paint), and I took a very tiny step back to look at my work so far. The moonlight was my only source of vision, so I was hoping it would be reliable enough. It kinda looked like a character from Invader Zim, or some intergalactic Nickelodeon cartoon. Wow, I really am a nerd.

It had robotic limbs with levitating fingers (something that would be SO fucking cool in real life), and a cool-looking green futuristic suit with yellow diamonds printed on different parts of it. I decided to keep the triangular head, and it had a smug looking face. Normally I didn't take an interest in any type of music at the moment, but there was a lovely song playing. I had never heard the voice before, but it was soft, and the chimes and slow beat were a nice addition.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The longer I stared at my work, the more of an eyesore it became. My previous satisfied expression dissipated, and I slowly became very dissatisfied with it. It seemed sloppier than from just a few moments ago, and the figure seemed more disoriented. I really am not an artist, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. I ran my fingers through my hair, figuring I couldn't add much more to it to make it better. I suddenly caught a whiff of a familiar scent, which made me drop the paint can for some reason.

I immediately recognized it to be the smell of tobacco smoke, and I turned around to find the source of it. I was taken aback by the sight of Lapis sitting on the ground, smoking a cigarette. She was leaned against one of the pillars, her head resting back and her eyes closed. I silently watched her for a few moments - she withdrew the cigarette from her mouth and parted her lips to puff a large stream of stroke through the cold air. The glow of the lit cigarette reflected off of Lapis' face, which was the only reason I noticed her eyes were closed.

I approached her, and placed my hands on my hips. "When did you start smoking?" I then asked, and her eyes shot open. "Hm?" she hummed, sitting the cigarette back into its place in between her lips. "Lapis, smoking is terrible for you. Why would you start doing something stupid like that?" I asked, crossing my arms. She shrugged, closing her eyes again and not responding for another thirty seconds. "I've been tryna cut back..." she finally murmured, sitting up more. She opened her eyes back up, but didn't remove the cigarette. More clouds of smoke puffed through her nostrils briefly.

"Lapis, that's your naval cavity!" my voice cracked, balling my fists. "You're killing yourself slowly!" I added. Lapis then looked up at me, raising an eyebrow as though I were overreacting. I felt I wasn't. Smoking really is horrible for a human's health. And I in fact care - tO AN EXTENT - about Lapis' health. "I've been trying to cut back but I can't help it." Lapis huffed, running her fingers through her faded ocean blue hair. I knelt down to her level, and studied her features for a good moment. Her eyes looked very tired, her face was intensely pale...she really just always seemed like she hadn't slept in days.

She didn't even bother to acknowledge the fact that I was intensely staring at her. Lazuli only sat there in seemingly guilty silence, and I looked down at her neck. Her throat was moving in a slight motion indicating that she was only continuing to inhale the smoke. I did feel bad for her, but smoking wasn't going to solve any of her problems, no matter how much she thinks it would. I reached over, and simply plucked the cigarette out of her mouth, causing her to tense up. I then roughly put it out into the ground, and tossed it somewhere in the sand. "H-hey wha-" "Come see what I did." I cut her off, quickly changing the subject.

I held my hand out to her, and she stared at it for one or two heartbeats before gently taking it. I pulled her up, and before we held hands for too long, I released. I walked back toward the wall, gesturing for her to follow me. "Whoooaaaa, that's wicked cool, Peri." Lapis said, and I was taken aback by such a positive reaction. "R-really? You think so? I-I kinda thought it was crap." I replied, scratching the back of my neck. "Not at all! That's really cool. Kinda looks like you." she giggled. "Me?!" I asked, scoffing. "Yeah. It actually looks a lot like you. You sure this ain't a self portrait?" she asked, giggling as she wiggled her fingers, obviously in attempts to imitate my character.

I couldn't help but chuckle a little, shaking my head. Our laughter was then interrupted by the sound of her phone making a noise. She then pulled it out, and as soon as she turned it on, her happy expression disappeared in the snap of a finger. I was concerned by how fast her mood changed, and I tilted my head in confusion. "Y-you okay?" I asked timidly. "Uh, y-yeah. We better head back, actually." she stammered, shaking her head and putting her phone back away. I was admittedly a bit sad that our fun had to be cut short, but I wasn't going to argue.

"Oh...o-okay. I probably have to get ready for work in the morning anyways." I explained, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Heh, yeah. I-it looks really good though. I'm glad you got to add to it." she smiled. I smiled back, and simply nodded silently. I saw that she was still holding her lighter in her hand, and my eyes then darted over to her backpack. She turned around to grab it, but I quickly cut her off. "W-wait-uh, I'll carry it if you want." I said. "Oh, heh no it's okay, you don't have to." she said. "Well at least lemme pick up the cans?" I asked. She then shrugged and gave me a goofy expression. "Sure."

I quickly picked all of the cans up from the ground, and loaded them into her backpack. Her back was facing me, and she seemed to be staring off at the beach emerging from the docks we were under. I then quietly unzipped the front pocket of bag, and sure enough, there sat an open pack of cigarettes. I snatched it, and shoved it into my pocket before Lapis could notice. I zipped the front pocket and the entire backpack closed, and stood up straight. "Here you go." I murmured, handing her back the bag. "Thanks." she gave me a sad smile as she took it. She slung it over her shoulder, and off she walked.

I followed behind her, and fiddled with my fingers. "Wow, look at the moon." I subtly said, watching Lapis. Her gaze then switched up to the moon emitting so much pale light, and she half-smiled. I took this chance to take the pack out of my pocket, and chuck it as far away as my strength would allow. It landed somewhere in the rocky area of the mountains that led to Beach City, and held Steven's beach house. It made a noise as it landed, and Lapis immediately looked over in the direction of it. "What was that?" she then asked, and I shoved my hands back into my pockets. I shrugged, and kept walking.

"No clue."