Peridot's Pov

Everyone was nervous. Mother was nervous because of the numerous teenagers in her house. Yellen was nervous about her friends from Crystal Prep meeting her friends from Roscoe Academy. I was nervous about the many people I had never met(and the one Baroque I had). And of course, we were all nervouse about my Aunt and cousin arriving.

Yellen's party had started at five and Mother had reluctantly agreed to not ask anyone to leave until eleven o'clock. It was five thirty when Yellen dragged me up the stairs and hid me in the hallway.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Peridot, I'm a mess!" Yellen cried, shaking me violently.

"I think you look nice!" Her best friend, Bella, said. I hadn't noticed Bella at first, she was sitting on the floor with her back against the closet door sketching. Yellen was wearing a yellow dress that ended at her knees, which were shaking.

"Not like that!" She took a deep breath and steadied herself, smoothing out her skirt. "I'm a nervous wreck. It's only been half an hour and it's already been a disaster!"

"That's not true," I said. "There's already plenty of people here." Yellen sighed again.

"Yes, but they're all from Crystal Prep. None of my friends from Roscoe Academy are here yet! And I invited everyone!" I shrugged.

"It's not like you can control who gets here." I leaned around the corner to peer out into the foyer. "Besides, the worst thing that can happen is-oh my stars!" I quickly ducked back behind the safety of the wall and sank to the floor.

"What?" Yellen glanced out into the foyer. "Oh, Pearl's here. Cool." While Yellen may have appeared nonchalant, I was a dying heap on the floor.

"I can't believe this. I can't do it." Yellen sighed and pulled me up.

"Yes, you will. Because if you don't, I will physically destroy you." She grabbed a small purse from the floor and began to go downstairs. "I'm going to step out back. I need a minute to myself. You two-go do damage control or something."

I took a deep breath and followed her downstairs, ending up in the kitchen alone. I sat down at the island put my head in my hands. Social gatherings were never my Forte, despite my mother's affinity for them. My sister had always taken after her in that way, but me? I never knew how to act.

"Hey." I looked up to see Lapis leaning against the doorframe. "Got room for one more?"

"Please," I gestured to the empty stool beside me. Lapis crossed and sat down.

"Quite a party, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"I've never seen this many people at a teacher's house. And I guess there's more people coming?" I nodded.

"Yellen's friends from Roscoe Academy." Lapis nodded.

"I always forget that she went to a fancy school before Crystal Prep. It's kind of silly. I mean, we turned out okay." I chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so." We were quiet for a moment. "I didn't know you'd arrived."

"Yeah, we've been here for like... Ten minutes? I saw you in here and figured I'd come chill." I looked at her.

"Really?"

"Actually, not exactly. I saw Pearl was here. I know you guys were a thing for a while, and I just wanted to know how you were holding up." I smiled. I'd never known Lapis to be the type of person to be so considerate. Especially with recent developments.

"Thanks. Yeah, I'm doing alright. How are you?" She spun around on the stool and leaned back against the counter.

"I'm fine, I guess. Just thinking."

"What about?" I asked, also spinning my stool. Lapis sighed.

"Nothing. Just summer." She stood up and began to leave, pausing in the doorway. "I just want you to know," She said, not turning back. "There's a lot of things I would have done differently." I watched as she left and exited to the living room. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, startling me. Yellen rushed into the foyer, quickly followed by Mother.

"Peridot, quickly! She's here!" I almost fell off my stool as I ran to join them. Yellen smoothed out her skirt again as she answered the door. "Aunt White!"

I almost choked. Standing in front of us, in all her terrifying glory, was our aunt. She was very tall, taller than Mother, and wore a shimmering white jacket and skirt. It was hard to believe that she was my mother's sister, given the fact that they were both adopted and she was much paler than my mother. But even in their expressions and actions, they almost appeared as people who'd never met.

"Yellen, starlight, happy birthday." Her smile was unsettling, especially as she shifted her gaze to meet mine. "And Peridot, hello to you too, starlight. It's been too long since I've seen you girls." In the terror, I hadn't even noticed my cousin standing silently beside her. White seemed to remember at that moment too. "Wilhemina, why don't you run along and play with your cousins while I talk to your aunt?"

"Yes, Mother." Wilhemina's smile never faltered as she approached us. I had to physically restrain myself from running away. Mother tried to keep a smile on her face.

"White, how lovely to see you. I was afraid everyone had already gotten here." White chuckled softly.

"Oh Yellow, starlight, don't be silly. They've only just begun to arrive." She stepped inside, revealing who I assumed to be Yellen's guests from Roscoe Academy behind her.

Most students from Roscoe Academy attended a special private school, Heritage School For Gifted Students, after graduating from Roscoe Academy. All of them wore their school's uniform, a maroon jacket with the school's crest on the left side, and black knee skirts on the girls with black slacks for the boys. Almost identical to the Roscoe Academy uniform. A reminder of how Yellen left.

Mother and White left to Mother's study while Yellen invited everyone in with gritted teeth. She was nervous, almost shaking, as she lead everyone to the living room where the main party was taking place. Everyone from Crystal Prep seemed a little unsettled as the students from Heritage spread themselves around the room. Lapis caught my eye and brought her fingers to her head, miming shooting herself. I giggled a bit, then sat down in an armchair. I was content until I noticed that Wilhemina was seated beside me. I panicked briefly before remembering that I was on her left side, the side of the eye she was blind in. I sighed in relief.

Far beneath all my fear, I'd always felt bad for my cousin. My aunt had wanted a child, but not for love, only for the image. She'd gotten a donor father and a surrogate mother, and then Wilhemina had spent most of her childhood with nannies. Up until she mysteriously went blind in her left eye, she'd been bright and friendly. But afterwards? She had become little more than an emotionless assistant.

"Oh Peridot!" I grimaced as Aquamarine, followed by her two large friends, approached me.

"What do you want, Clod?" Aquamarine giggled.

"I've just been speaking to a few of your sister's friends from The Heritage School For Gifted Students. Do you know what they said?" was only half listening as I looked around the room. The students from Heritage all handled themselves professionally, speaking to eachother in hushed voices and mostly listening in conversations with Crystal Prep students, when they weren't boasting about Heritage being the top private school in the state. But the thing I noticed the most was their actions. They would glance at Yellen, then back to eachother. Their glances told more than their words ever could. They were here to make a statement.

It wasn't a if they had to wear their uniforms to flaunt, if students from Crystal Prep thought they had money, they were destitute compared to the students at Heritage. They could have all showed up in Designer clothes if they wanted to. But of course, there was no way to guilt Yellen for choosing Crystal Prep then.

Surprisingly enough, they hadn't even made an attempt to treat Bella the same way. She was one of the only people from Roscoe Academy who went to Crystal Prep, but it wasn't about her. The Heritage students were treating Yellen the same way her friends from Crystal Prep had. Like a nobody.

"Peridot? Are you even listening?" I looked back at Aquamarine.

"What? No." She sighed and stomped her foot impatiently.

"I said that they told me that I could attend their school next year! Thanks to my grades, I can apply for a scholarship! I'll be the youngest student to ever attend!" Wilhemina slowly turned to face us and smiled. Sly move. I stood up.

"Excuse me," I walked away, leaving the room entirely. I was in the foyer when I noticed Yellen and Lapis standing beside the door to Mother's study, which was slightly ajar. I hadn't even notice they'd left. They flagged me over and I silently approached them, listening to the conversation behind the door.

"White, do we really have to do this at my daughter's birthday? Can't this happen another time?" Mother's voice came.

"White, please. We've been discussing this for five years now, surely we could have come to an agreement before now?" Blue's voice pleaded.

"White, you can't keep all of Pink's share to yourself. You've had a larger share from the start as it is. Pink's share should be split among us equally." White laughed at Mother's suggestion.

"Oh Yellow, starlight, you're forgetting something. I built this company from the ground. I'd already started when you two joined along, and we'd already found success when Pink entered the picture. Why shouldn't I get a larger share for that credit? Oh, but nevermind that now, we're not alone in our conversation." Yellen, Lapis, and I drew sharp breaths as Mother's face appeared in the doorway. She glared at us silently and snapped the door shut. More muffled conversation happened behind the door before it opened again and Mother stepped out, looking at us stoicly.

"It's time for cake. Go get your sisters." Yellen, Lapis, and I shared a concerned look as we went to retrieve Centi and Mali from their playpen.

"What's that about?" Yellen asked.

"I don't know, why are you asking me?" Lapis said. "I mean, I've heard a lot over the years about how Pink's... 'disappearance' affected DiamondCorp but I have no clue what's going to happen next." Yellen bit her lip, thinking.

"Whatever. We'll worry about that later. Let's just enjoy the party."

(A/N) Hey guys! Had to split this chapter up into two parts so it didn't get too long! Thanks for reading!