We Don't Have a Choice (Killing Me Slowly Sequel) Lapidot AU

Chapter 17

-One week later-

We were at Steven's house, and I sat in the kitchen talking to Amethyst and Pearl about Yellow Diamond and her gang. Garnet was off on an individual mission, and Pumpkin was sitting on a stool eating a poptart. Steven was hanging out with his friend Connie, and I'm not really sure where Lapis went, but I'm sure she was busy. She never left the house, so I wasn't too worried about it. "Have you treated the wounds well?" Pearl asked, talking about Lapis's gashes. "Well, I put peroxide on the gashes and it fizzed up a lot. I didn't do the best job, but I think I did pretty good." I explained. 

"You might actually be more experienced with this stuff, so maybe when Lapis comes out you can check them?" I asked. Pearl nodded and took a sip of her tea. "Babe can you come here for a sec?" Lapis yelled from the bathroom. Her tone sounded a little nervous, and I looked over at Pearl and Amethyst in concern. Amethyst shrugged, and Pearl raised an eyebrow. I shrugged back and walked toward the bathroom. I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. "Laz, you gotta unlock the door." I said, my hand remaining on the knob.

I heard a small click and I felt Lapis twist the doorknob from the other side of the door. I quickly let go and before I peeked in, Lapis turned her back to me, and I noticed she was shirtless. A blush painted across my face as I looked down and spotted her t-shirt and bra laying on the floor. I slowly stepped in and closed the door behind me. I walked up behind her, examining her beautiful tear drop tattoo up close. "I um, want your opinion on something." Lapis said shyly.

"Of course." I replied, wondering where this was going. "I looked at my cuts today, and I noticed something strange. I wanna know if you can see it too, or if it's just me." she said, before turning to the front. She turned around and was now facing me, a slight blush on her cheeks due to her whole chest now being exposed to me. I gave her a reassuring smile and my eyes scanned down from her breasts cough down to her abdomen, where most of the scars were located. I studied them closely, and I felt my heart stop. 

If you look deep enough (it's almost impossible to see but thanks to my visor) you could spot small light blue spots in the cuts, and teeny tiny, almost transparent stripes bordered the cuts. My hands started to shake and I recognized those patterns anywhere - corruption. Those corrupted monsters had the same pattern of stripes and spots, only much darker and they were a light green. I covered my mouth with my hand and held back a scream. "Is there anything?" Lapis asked, and I looked up at her.

She looked at me so afraid and innocently, and it shattered me inside. "U-uhm...n-nope! I don't see anything. Don't worry about it, Lazuli. If there is anything I'm sure we could fix it real quick!" I said in a fake enthusiastic tone. Lapis let out a breath of relief and closed her eyes. "Oh thank god. I must be hallucinating. The stress has been getting to me lately." she explained, running her fingers through her hair. I put my hands behind my back to hide that they were shaking violently. She still had a pang of fear in her eyes, and I thanked the stars that her eye color hadn't changed yet. 

I tried to think of anything I could do about this but nothing came to mind. So I hugged her. I hugged her so tightly. I wrapped my arms around her warm body and just hugged as tight as I could without actually hurting her. Lapis was surprised at first, but then wrapped her arms around my waist. I just wanted to protect her. I wanted to do something about it but I knew I couldn't. I knew that she was going to go through the stages of this fatal infection without even knowing it, and there was nothing I could do. Even Yellow Diamond can't find a cure, so how could I? I felt like crying so hard. But I held it back, so I wouldn't catch any suspicion from Lapis.

I knew I had to tell Pearl about it, so she could maybe help me attempt to find a cure for it. Lapis bent over and picked up her shirt and bra, slipping them back on. "Thanks Peri." she said, opening the door and walking out. Bile rose in my throat mixed with terror and sadness, and I just clutched my stomach. I walked out into the kitchen to find Amethyst and Pearl remaining in their place, waiting for my response. "What did she need?" Pearl asked. "I saw something in my scars, so I asked Peridot if she saw them too." Lapis replied, sitting on the couch. Pumpkin got up and went to go sit next to her.

"Oh Peridot and I were actually just talking about that. Mind if I see real quick?" Pearl asked, and I looked over at her in horror. Lapis shrugged and stood back up from the couch and walked over to us, Pumpkin following her like a puppy. "U-uh m-maybe we don't right now! I-I don't think Pumpkin wants to see those hideous gashes, right?" I said nervously. "She's seen me worse, Peridot. It's okay." Lapis said, lifting her shirt just below her bra, exposing her stomach. Pearl got up from her stool and walked over to the bluenette.

I was biting my nails, whimpering. "P-Pearl don't!" I said anxiously. However, Pearl ignored me and studied it closely. "Hmmm." Pumpkin came in and looked at it too, not actually knowing what she was looking at. I watched as Pearl's eyes went wide, and I knew she was gonna say something. "OH MY GO--MMMPH!!" I clamped my hand over Pearl's mouth tightly, giving her a shut the fuck up face. She just stared back at me with her pale blue eyes big as saucers. "You see anything, Pearl?" Lapis asked, and she didn't actually look down at us, because she was looking over at Pumpkin. 

I shook my head violently, making sure Pearl kept her mouth shut. "U-uh-uhm I can't really see too well at the moment, but it's alright." Pearl replied. She glanced over at me quickly. I let out a breath of relief and felt my heart beating at 100 miles an hour. Lapis nodded and pulled her shirt back down, and she walked back to the couch turning the TV on. Pearl dragged me back behind the kitchen counter my wrist. "WHY WON'T YOU TELL HER?!" Pearl whisper-shouted and I flinched. "WE JUST CAN'T RIGHT NOW OKAY?!" I whispered back through gritted teeth. 

"WE JUST NEED TO TRY AND FIND A CURE BEFORE IT GETS WORSE." I whisper shouted louder. "BUT A CURE'S NEVER BEEN FOUND, PERIDOT!" she replied. "WE'RE GONNA FIND ONE IF IT'S THE LAST THING WE DO!!!" I hissed, and Pearl raised her eyebrows. "WHAT'RE WE TALKING ABOUT, GUYS." Amethyst whisper-shouted, startling us both. "Nothing." we both replied in unison, and Amethyst looked at us back and forth.

She pulled me up and hopped up and down excitedly. Huh?! "Well, anyways, Peri. I'm havin' a few friends over and we're gonna have a booze party and it's gonna be LIT!!! It won't be a party without you, dude!" Amethyst said. But what about Lapis? "I dunno...the last time I went to a booze party, I got wasted and jumped." I said, looking to the side. "Come on P-dot it'll be fuuuun!" she whined. I rolled my eyes and looked over at Lapis, who didn't seem to care about what we were talking about.

"I have to stay with Lapis. She's...going through a few things." I said. "Aw, come on it's just one night!" she argued, tugging on my arm. I yanked my arm away and rubbed it with my hand. "Ghhh...I'll think about it." I grumbled, and Amethyst pumped her fists in the air. "AWW YEAH!!" I looked over at Lapis again and frowned. She was smiling and doing a secret handshake with Pumpkin, and I felt the lump in my throat once again. Please stay with me Lapis...