Sugilite's Pov

It'd been two weeks since I'd brought Amethyst to Alex's apartment. I was surprised nothing had happened after she'd missed a week of school, but I was hopeful that I might be able to pull something off.

"Sugilite," Alex said, opening the door.

"Hey, Alex. What's up?" I asked, stepping inside. I glanced at the empty futon. "Where's Ames?"

"She's taking a shower. And... I think we should talk." That was never good. I followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the wall.

"What's wrong? Is Amethyst being rude? I can take her to my dorm, maybe." Alex shook her head.

"No, she's been more helpful than Liv, actually. And taking her to your dorm would probably just get you in trouble." I nodded.

"Then what's up?" Alex took a deep breath then looked me head on. 

"I think you should bring Amethyst back to your Mom's house." I couldn't believe it.

"Are you kidding me? You saw what happened, that place is a nightmare! And I grew up in a house that was a nightmare."

"But Sugilite, CPS is going to come for her. It's easier to just bring her home! Plus, we could get in serious trouble for keeping her here." I shook my head.

"We can do this! Tahitia never got in trouble!" Alex shook her head.

"That's because CPS never found out that you guys were at Tahitia's house. Remember? You guys went home for their visit to make sure everything went right."

"Exactly, so I can do it again." Alex put her hand on my arm.

"Sugilite, trust me. Being in so many foster homes over the years taught me one thing. If there's even a chance that CPS thinks a home is unsafe, they'll get her out of there. And they like to keep kids around the areas they're used to, so they'd send her back to Beach City if they were worried. But they're not. As far as I'm concerned, we have no reason to be worried."

"You're wrong," I muttered, not making eye contact. I was almost on the verge of tears.

"What?"

"I said, you're wrong." The tears started to trickle, and I looked her in the eye. "Foster homes work differently than custody battles. The reason CPS was even involved in the first place was that Amethyst showed up to school with messy hair and a bruised wrist one too many times. He got in trouble for neglect. I knew that she could get taken away, so I started making it seem better to keep her safe. Even before I could, though, he was still labeled as a fit guardian. Don't be fooled. They'll do everything they can to leave a child with the biological parents." Alex was quiet for a minute or two.

"I won't encourage you to keep breaking the law," She whispered. "But I will help you get Amethyst out of there. It's like I said, I know the system." I hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, Alex."

"Anytime." We pulled apart after a minute. "So what brings you here anyway?" I chuckled and wiped my eyes on my sleeve.

"I wanted to see if you and Ames wanted to go to the mall or something. Y'know, hang out or something. Look at crap but not buy it."

"Walk around Target like we're middle-aged white women who value new dishtowels over their husbands?" I laughed.

"Exactly." As we both laughed, Amethyst finally came out of the bathroom.

"Uh... are you guys okay?" Alex and I looked at each other and laughed even harder.

Once we got to the mall, I gave Amethyst a ten and told her to get herself a snack while Alex and I figured out where to go first.

"Man, I haven't hung out at the mall in ages!" I said, looking around the mall for the first time.

"I don't think I've ever hung out at a mall." I looked at Alex.

"You kidding?" She shook her head.

"I've been to malls before, like with my foster families, and I've been shopping at malls. But I've never come to the mall just to hang out, without any other purpose." I shook my head.

"That's crazy. Opa and I never invited you?" She shook her head again.

"You guys never invited Sardonyx." After she said that, something registered with me.

"Hot damn, I haven't spoken to 'Donyx since August!" Alex looked at me.

"Really?" I nodded.

"She asked me how I liked my dorm and stuff and I said it was pretty cool and we never chatted again!" Alex started laughing. "What?"

"I talk to her all the time. She and I were friends before we hung out with you and Opal."

"Really?" I hadn't known. "I met both of you through Opal. I guess I just thought she was what brought us all together." Alex smiled.

"Maybe not. You and I have been getting along on our own just fine." I nodded.

"Y'know, I never really used to hang out with people unless Opal was there too. She was always my rock."

"And now?" I looked at Alex.

"What do you mean?"

"Is she still your rock?" I thought for a second.

"Well, I guess not, but she's still got that place in my heart. It's her spot. Always has been, always will be." Alex nodded and smiled like she knew something I didn't. "What?" She just smiled and shook her head, then turned to look at me.

"Sugilite, you don't have to chain yourself to someone in order to love them."

And she never explained what that meant.