Love Like You (A Pearl x Reader) (Sequel to 'SEN')

Act 12: Her Heartache

Closing your eyes, you brought the bottle of water to your lips and took a gulp of its contents, remaining in stressed wait for its possible effect over your body.

A few minutes of stillness passed until Steven spoke up again.

"Uh. . . Feel any different, (Y/N)?"

"Not really." You shook your head slowly as your eyes opened and locked firmly with his gaze. He'd risen from the couch and was now standing in front of you, his chubby hands balled up into fists as he anxiously waited for any sort of healing reaction on your part.

"Maybe Peridot can tell if anything's different?" He suggested, the words coming off as an interrogative for you to decided whether to meet up with Peridot or not.

Breaking away from his gaze and looking down at your hands, you heaved a long, quiet sigh. Despite you not wanting to make them worry any more than they already had, you wanted to get to the bottom of this occurrence - You wanted to find out just what were the repercussions of corruption, and if there was any possible way for you to prevent it from worsening, or affecting the Gems too badly in the near future.

"Let's give it a try, then." You agreed, snapping away from your thoughts and nodding towards him as a ghost of a smile appeared over your face. "It's worth the shot."

That agreement was immediately followed by Steven wrapping his hand carefully around your wrist and rushing you out of the newly-formed, tense atmosphere of the house.

Once outside, you both speed-walked all the way down the stairs, with Steven calling out for Peridot the moment she made herself visible over his sight.

"Peri. . . Do have any idea how tell if (Y/N)'s healed now?" He questioned, stopping in front of the green Gem while he took a quick moment to catch his breath.

The Gem remained silent.

She took a step closer to you, taking you by the hand whilst her green eyes scanned your face with scrutiny. Tugging carefully at your hand, she made you lower down to her eye level, until you were left sitting on one knee and merely inches apart from her face.

Though there was now more proximity between the two of you, her staring didn't cease and her eyebrows only managed to furrow in what you assumed was concern as she continued to observe you.

"Your skin." She pointed out, lifting your arm slightly. Then, her free hand took hold of your other arm and followed the same actions taken for the previous one. "Your skin has a pink glow to it."

"What?" You blurted out, looking down at your arms.

Upon closer and more meticulous inspection, your eyes were able to catch sight of the almost rose-like glow your (tone) skin managed to show. It was faint and you vaguely remembered ever seeing it before, yet the situation in hand was enough to make you worry over it.

"Does that mean I didn't heal?" You inquired, a small frown appearing over your visage as your brows knitted in wait for her response.

"I believe so." Peridot muttered, letting go of your arms. Soon after, she backed away from you and looked at her surroundings, coming across Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven almost forming a perfect circle around her and yourself. "That, or. . . It will take a while to show any changes or signs of healing."

"But that's strange!" Steven intervened, his tone rising lightly at the unfortunate news. "It didn't take long with Lapis. . . And Connie healed quickly, too!"

"Isn't there anything else we could be able to do for her?" The cautious voice belonging to Pearl chimed in on the conversation, the feeling of a hand being placed over your shoulder following afterwards.

Looking up, you could see Pearl standing behind you. With you currently kneeling on one knee, you had to crane your neck all the way to be allowed to see her face, which now carried a composed frown over it.

Moving your vision towards another location, you could spot Garnet standing farther away, her dark visors no longer present. Instead, her three, round eyes were fully visible, each one with shock painted over them.

That, however, only lasted for a few seconds. She almost instantly brought her shades back over her eyes, regaining her composure before speaking up.

"There has to be a way." She declared, her voice lacking her usual confidence and surety.

"Yeah." Amethyst agreed, nodding her head as her hands turned into angered fists. "We can't let some random Gem ruin everything."

"And we can still change the future." Garnet added once more.

"Garnet. . ." Pearl let out a breath of surprise, a pale hand being placed over her mouth as she blinked numerous times to fight any possible tears back.

"We've gone far." The built and most composed Gem present continued, walking closer to where everyone stood before joining Steven by standing next to his side. "I refuse to let something like that happen again."

Though Garnet's words were strange and you didn't quite comprehend what she meant by 'that' happening again, everyone around her seemed determined enough to make concern swell up inside you, fearing they were worrying too much over the matter.

"It - It's okay, guys." You spoke up, not wanting them to deepen their worries. "I'm fine, really. I - I met that flower gem many months ago, and I'm still here! Maybe it doesn't affect me as badly as it does with actual Gems?"

You could see Peridot's posture stiffen at your words, a stern and almost unreadable expression replacing her usual self.

"I wish I could agree with you, but -"

Peridot's words were cut off as a sharp and violent pang of pain hit your chest. The sensation made you kneel down completely as your forehead came in contact with the hot and grainy grounds of the beach. You clutched onto your entire body with your arms, your forehead digging deeper into the sand as a wave of nausea coursed through you. It was just as sudden as the chest pain, and it made for a strained yelp to escape your vocal chords.

"(Y/N)!" Many voices called out in unison, yet you were unable to break free.

Before you could entirely lose consciousness of your surroundings, you felt how a pair of arms wrapped around your back, the hold over your body strong enough to make you comprehend the person didn't want to let go.

Then, something cold hit your cheek - the feeling was similar to a stray rain drop hitting against your skin right before a downpour, and you could feel how it trailed all the way down to your neck moments after.

~ ~ ⭐ ~ ~

. . . My hand slipped.

I originally wasn't going to make the chapter end like this, but playing Oxenfree kinda inspired me to make this end the way it did.

Well now. . .

There's only the epilogue left, and that would be a wrap.

I hope you've enjoyed, and be seeing you - if there's anything about the story or the characters you feel I could or should fix, don't be afraid to let me know. ^^