Come With Me (Lapidot)

Chapter One

Her fingers ran along the black and white keys delicately, barely pressing them down as she silently hummed the melody. Her mother's eyes bore into the side of her head, nerves being ignited in the pit of her stomach. She knew what she was doing. But that look made her so uneasy.

She chanced a glance over, not even turning her head, just her eyes. A look of content eased the lines from her mother's face, and though yellow-green irises burned into her, it seemed her mentor's mind was drifting. She nearly snorted in annoyance.

There it was. The trickiest part of this composure. Her fingers sped up naturally, eyes gluing back onto the sheets of music. Her brows furrowed as she focused with everything she was.

Only to misstep, and hit the wrong key.

Her motions stilled as that sharp note rang out, echoing into empty silence that sounded hollow and piercing at the exact same time. Her whole body froze up, fear lapping at the bottom of her chest and sending a shiver through her spine. She was waiting, waiting...

And there it was.

Her mother slapped the heavy wooden casing down over the keys half a second after she'd jerked her hands back. "Wrong!" that sharp voice screamed into her ear, making her coil inwardly. She winced and hung her head in utter shame.

"We've been over this same piece for days!" the voice screeched, anger lacing each syllable, "And yet you still fail to complete it! Why, Peridot? Why must you be so, so, so... incompetent?!"

What made it worse was the tears that threatened to fall, pressing at the backs of her eyes. It made her twitch and swallow loudly, only strengthening her mother's rage. A hand came harshly, bringing with it a stinging that spread from the back of her neck onward. Her glasses slipped from her nose and hit the wood with a resonating "tink".

"I-I'm sorry, mother. I'm trying-"

"Not nearly enough!"

She winced away from those words, lowering her head even more, hoping beyond hope her mother would just send her away. She didn't want to play anymore. She didn't want to be chastised anymore. She didn't want to be here anymore.

Rubbing her temples, her mother turned away and breathed through her nose. Her shoulders shook with pent up anger, and her stance was so stiff it appeared painful.

"Just go," she breathed.

There it was. The only thing that saved her. Peridot snatched her glasses and ran. Up the stairs, down the hall, through her door. As much as she wanted to slam it, she simply shut and locked it tightly. The last thing she needed was another reason to be lectured.

Her sea of blankets engulfed the sobbing, shaking form that fell down into them, pillow being pulled in tight and curled around. She punched it, bit at the edges, threw it weakly then embraced it again. It brought a sick sense of comfort that she couldn't get any other way.

Her neck still hurt as her hand caressed it numbly, eyes still dripped pain as she sniffled and sat up. She pushed the wire rimmed glasses back up onto a slick nose and brought up her knees, hugging them to her chest. She felt alone but defiant, empty but stubborn. But she could no more do anything about that than she could stand up to her mother, who even now she could here downstairs, vacuuming.

Seething, even as she cried, she pushed herself from the mattress and crossed her tiny room in four steps. The window came up when she shimmied it, and with a deep breath she squirmed out. There was a drainpipe right by her window that, if she was careful, she could slide down. She was small enough for that, both in size and posture.

And it worked. The second her feet hit the manicured lawn, she was running.

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Children laughed and yelled at one another, ducking in between equipment and building within the enormous sandbox. She watched them, finding comfort in their naivete and bittersweet nonunderstandings. It was everything she wanted. Everything she couldn't have.

"You look a little young for kids, P-dot," a voice cut into her thoughts, breaking her from her trance like interest. She looked up and over the back of the bench to find Amethyst, one of her only friends, standing there.

"Oh, hey, Amethyst."

The comforting smile her friend always adorned slipped, violet eyes switching gear from hearty to knowing. "Oh, rough day, huh?"

Peridot looked away, back out to the kids. How she wished she could be as free-willed and excitable as them. Even her own childhood had been... less that ideal.

"You could say that.... What brings you here?"

The girl rolled her shoulders, shaking her head. She slipped round the bench to sit beside Peridot. "Eh, nothing really. Pearl had some family event and Ruby and Sapphire have a date tonight. So, I'm as single as a pringle right now. You?"

Peridot shook her own head, running fingers through loose blonde hair. Her eyes momentarily closed, and when she dared to open them again Amethyst was staring her down. She subconsciously winced and looked elsewhere.

"I had to get out... The show is in less than a month and my mother is just... She's pushing so hard. I don't think I can do it, Amethyst."

There were the tears. God, she was such a cry baby! Maybe that explained her short stature. She blinked them back and made sure her hair was more or less covering the view to her face. Otherwise, she'd have to explain further, and she desperately did not want that. Her life was Hell enough without everyone knowing the whole truth.

The girl beside her inched closer, throwing a gently arm around her shoulders. "Hey, P-dot. It's not all bad. You've got me." She paused a moment, as if to let that sink in, before the smile returned to her face and she found herself standing and ushering up a rapidly blinking Peridot. "Tell you what, why don't we head back to my place? I just got the latest Smash Bros and I know someone who needs their butt kicked." She said it teasingly, even throwing in an elbow nudge.

Peridot rolled her eyes. That did sound fun though... She hadn't relaxed and played a couple video games in ages. But if her mother found out... She shuddered to even consider the course of action that would take.

Whatever. She wasn't prepared at all to head back home. If her mother realized she'd snuck out, that was that. She'd deal with whatever came her way then.

Now, however...

She smirked, crossing her arms even as she sniffled. "You're on, Amethyst. Whoever wins has to buy the other lunch for the next week. Deal?"

Amethyst grinned from ear to ear as she spit on her hand and held it out. "You're so going down, girl!"

Peridot chuckled and accepted the gross, but normal, action. "In your dreams."

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A/N: Hey people! So I'm trying something a little different. Tell me what you think and we'll go from there! Criticism and praise are both welcome, I'm interesting in seeing what you guys like and don't like about this. Anyways, stay awesome and thanks! -L&L