Come With Me (Lapidot)

Chapter 11

A/N: I really want to get back to Peri, so this'll be the last chapter of Lapis' POV for a bit. Hopefully that's okay with you guys.

Thanks for all the support! Let the show begin already! -L&L

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This was actual Hell, she was ninety-nine percent sure of that.

She didn't hate kids, let's make that clear, but she never realized they could be such monsters either. They screamed and laughed way too loudly, and they were always touching things, and she definitely couldn't focus on what she was doing when a little boy was consistently tugging at her shirt hem and asking what she was doing a million times in less than half an hour.

Clarity. She was at the museum, working. Working. In a last ditch attempt to find any and all excuses to stay far from her house, she had located a job. As a janitor, basically. And oh boy was it sooo much fun.

Lapis sighed as she wiped at one of the many, many glass casings, trying to remove the smudged fingerprints from an earlier field trip of overly excited second graders. It was certainly quieter now that there were only the normal crowds, history observers and tourists. Still boring as could be, though.

As she wiped, she couldn't help overhearing snippets of conversation. It wasn't that she was trying, though it did help ease the tension in her shoulders when she could get a laugh out of someone else's problems. She heard everything, from people questioning when and why something was exhibited to a couple bickering over what they would be having for dinner, to even an older lady chasticing what Lapis figured was her son for getting a cat when he knew she was allergic to them.

No one she knew came in; most people her age wouldn't come to a museum, anyways, and on top of that she really didn't know that many people here even now. It had almost been a month, but she certainly wasn't popular. And the overused, overrated cliques of high school bored her; she'd rather be alone than get classified as something so shabby and moronic.

"Your idea of fun is... amusing," a voice cut through her thoughts.

She froze. No way Peridot could be here right now. Of all the places in this entire stupid town, she had to be here.

They hadn't spoken in over a week, not because they were avoiding one another but because there was no cause for it. And without cause, their interactions were just awkward and unsure. Peridot wasn't exactly the most social, and Lapis couldn't testify that she tried all that much harder. It was just more comfortable, and more fun she surmised, to witness the younger girl's life from afar. Without actually intervening too much.

Lapis forced herself to keep wiping, not even looking back. As much as she wanted to, she hated the very idea. "Whatever. What's up, Peri?"

She'd taken to referring to her as such. It seemed to annoy the blonde a tad bit, but that just cemented its usage. Anything to get under her skin, to watch those emerald eyes narrow as if she was trying desperately to appear aggressive. It didn't work, at least not in Lapis' opinion. It just made her look like a bored puppy.

"Nothing," came the nasally response after a long, drawn out pause. There was something in her  voice that Lapis caught, something that made her ears prick up just a bit more. "I have to swing by BCF when Amethyst gets off work, so I thought I'd pop over here for a bit."

Lapis smirked as she finally turned toward the blonde, more than a little amused when she saw how awkward the girl looked leaning against the wall, trying to look casual. "Oh? Missed me that much, huh?"

Pale cheeks turned pink in the span of a mere second and that infamous scowl was coating Peridot's features. She glared at Lapis as the blue-haired girl wiped her hands on her jeans.