Shattered Hearts (Steven Universe)

Chapter 2

Peridot awoke to a voice. It was lower than hers, and it sounded concerned ."Are you okay?" The green gem opened her eyes to see a human face peering at her from the outside of the bush. With a shriek, she shrank back from the stranger and trembled. "W-Who are you?" Peridot cried. "What do you want from me?" The thing seemed surprised. "Um, I'm Ben. I don't want to hurt you or anything. I was just wondering why you were hiding out in a bush." A smile crossed the creature's face. This had to be a human. Peridot dragged herself forward to see him better, moving leaves out of her way. "Hmm...well, Ben, it's none of your business as to why I'm in a bush, but it's...kind to notice." Ben had short black hair on the top of his head and clear blue eyes that seemed to reflect the ocean's depths. He wore a black upper garment with two white strings hanging down near his neck, and dark blue pants that were torn at one knee. He wasn't as ugly as most humans were, but he certainly was strange looking. The boy narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Hey, is that...face paint you have on?" "Face paint?" Peridot glanced at herself, then back at him with a slightly bewildered expression. He must be referring to my green skin, she thought. Peridot didn't know what face paint was, but she could pretend that she did. "Um, yes. Yes, that's what it is." She tried to sound nonchalant, and she gave him a slight smile, but he didn't seem convinced. "Okay, then," he said at last. "Where are you from? I've never seen you around here before." Peridot struggled to find an answer. "Um, uh...I'm from far away. Very far away." She sighed. "Someone messed with my equipment, and I'm currently stuck here." The boy sat down beside her, settling onto the field. "It's not so bad to be stuck here. It's Beach City, after all. There's tons of cool stuff to do here." Peridot raised her eyebrows. "Beach...City?" Ben nodded. "Yeah! You've never heard of it?" Peridot shook her head. "I suppose I'm out of the loop," she told him. Suddenly she was seized with convulsions as her damaged gem reacted to its crack. When she recovered again, her words were garbled and heard to interpret. Ben's eyes widened. "What happened? Are you choking?" Peridot sighed and stopped trying to talk. Her words were backwards, and no one could understand her anyway. She shook her head no. "Oh. Well, good. I'd better get you out of this bush and get you some help. Are you feeling alright?" Peridot's gem flashed, and she found her voice again. "Um, yes. Yes, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need any assistance." "Don't lie. I know you need my help. You're just too proud to say it." Ben offered his hand to her, and when Peridot reluctantly took it, he pulled her up to a standing position. She shivered. "It's...cold out here." Ben looked faintly amused. "Well, yeah, it gets like that at night. Will you be okay wearing that, um....suit thing?" Peridot thought about this. If the suit wasn't still broken like she assumed it was, it would've adjusted to her new surroundings and and provided her body with some extra insulation. Suddenly warmth flooded through her, and she smiled, relieved, as the suit powered back on and heated itself up for her. "Yes, I'll be fine," she told him. "You've been very hospitable, but you should really stay far away from me." Ben was oblivious. "Why?" Peridot frowned. "Isn't it obvious? I'm not like you, or your kind. If you were smart, you'd know that you should stay away from things that you don't understand." She started to walk away, but when her head began to pound again, her face twisted with pain and she stopped moving. Ben stepped in front of her, and Peridot made a face of disgust. "What do you want?" she spat. "You said that you're not like me," he said. "I want proof. Are you some sort of alien?" Peridot shrugged. "I suppose, if that's what you humans call a foreign life from that is not native to this planet." Ben didn't look scared, like she had hoped he would. He only looked curious, and this infuriated her, but she didn't dare show it. "What can you do?" Peridot gritted her teeth. She decided to show this pest her technology, but only for the sole purpose of making him go away faster. She raised her hand, and her thin, pale green fingers detached from her arm to form a holographic image. Ben's eyes widened, but he didn't run from her. "Whoa," he breathed. "Does that hurt?" "No, not particularly." Peridot brought her hand up farther, making the image bigger. Ben only watched in awe. "How are you doing that?" Peridot smirked. "I don't give out our secrets." She brought her slender arm back down, and the hologram she had projected vanished, and her fingers went back onto her hand. Ben continued to look at her. "Your fingers...they won't fall off, will they?" "Nope." She wiggled them to prove that they were intact and reattached. "What do you call yourselves?" Ben asked. Peridot pointed to the gem on her forehead. Ben squinted at it, then answered. "Jewels?" Peridot glared at him. "No, you fool! We're gems!" Ben blinked, then said, "Oh. Sorry. Uh...what's your name?" She stiffened, becoming ramrod straight. Her name? Well, why did it matter? Soon enough, she would be heading home, and wouldn't need to talk to any idiotic humans anymore. Peridot turned away from him, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't have to tell you that," she retorted. After a long pause, Ben sighed. "Look, I don't know how things work where you come from, but when you're here, you say thank you to someone who helps you." Peridot narrowed her eyes almost to slits on her face. "Fine. Thank you." "You didn't mean that." "I didn't need your help in the first place, so why should I mean what I say?" She held her hand up again, and her projection appeared. Peridot tapped numbers into the holographic screen with one finger, then put her arm back down. "What did you do?" Ben asked. "I sent my coordinates to someone, but that shouldn't be of any importance to you." Ben laughed a little. "Is everything not important?" "No. Just some things." Peridot looked around suddenly, then faced the male human again. "Do you live here?" Ben smiled. "No. I have my own house farther up to the right, over by those mountains." "Then go there, and leave me alone." Peridot crossed her arms and walked away from the boy. Ben looked at her, almost forlorn. "I'll go," he decided, "but only if you tell me what your name is." She scowled. This sentient irritating life form wouldn't take no for an answer. "Alright. My name...my name is Peridot." When the human stood stock still after hearing this, she narrowed her eyes. "Shoo! Go away now!" "Peridot," Ben murmured. "Bye." He strode away from her, heading to his residence. She watched him go, then shivered once more. Her suit had powered off again and her temporary source of heat had vanished. With her pod destroyed and her suit not functioning, she could tell that it was going to be a very rough, long night.