Curtain in 5, 4 . . .

Chapter 15

Peridot collapsed gladly onto the white duvet of the hotel Garnet had allotted for the Crystal Gems for tomorrow's competition. Fatigue sat in her body like lead, dragging her limbs down with her onto the bed. Her shirt collar was stiffly lifted on one side, poking against her cheek and being a general asshole of a clothing article.

But she was tired. Therefore, she was beyond caring. Even her mother's shadow was forgotten for the time being.

The Crystal Gems had left the Temple at eleven after a rehearsal ran late trying to perfect everything, from the position of an antique kettle on the coffee table to the composition of Opal's make-up. It was finally area contest, and they were scheduled as the fifth performance at 8:30 PM the next day. Or, more fittingly, later that day - because it was now one o'clock in the morning in Wilmingmore, Delmarva. Peridot was suffering.

Said suffering technician was fondly murmuring a number of "I love you"'s into the soft comforter's surface as Lapis entered their issued hotel room.

"Are you cheating on me with the bed?" Lapis' indignant voice cut through her thoughts. The amputee glanced up to where Lapis was shedding her hoodie and throwing it haphazardly onto the television cabinet in front of her.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Peridot consoled, lowering her face and pressing it into the plush covers to hide her face from the light Lapis switched on. "Where's Ruby?"

"Went down to the pool with everyone else." Lapis removed her sandals, arms reaching for her back. "Could you give me a hand here?"

As Peridot lifted her head her glasses fell from the bridge of her nose, making her utterly helpless in the visionary department. Lapis was just a blur of tan, blue, and more blue. "With what?"

"My zipper. I think it's caught."

She would have thought that with how much her face reddened around Lapis she would have grown a little immunity. Stars, was she wrong. "Uh, sure." The blonde scrambled off of the queen, throwing her wired frames back onto her face and approaching Lapis. The latter had cleverly decided that because she didn't want to rumple her dress in her backpack with her other clothes, she would wear it on the trip over and hang it up in the hotel. Truly, Lapis was the master of preservation.

At least she'd been kind enough to wear leggings with it. Peridot wasn't sure how she'd live if Lapis was sitting across from her practically bare-legged. It ended so far above the knee school superintendents would be lining up to throw fits for miles.

She rose her small hand up to the silver zipper between Lapis' shoulder blades. Her knuckles grazed against the warm flesh above the dress line as she fidgeted with the caught zipper, sighing in relief when it finally slid downward. She stopped it before it could go any lower than Lapis' mid-back. "Okay. You can go change now."

"If you say so."

Peridot turned around and marched back to the bed, pausing at the nightstand to dig out her charger and plug in her lifeless smartphone. She plucked the half-full water bottle from her satchel, rolling onto the bed while uncapping the drink to take a sip.

She had really bad timing.

Her eyes slid over to the other side of the room, where Lapis was now standing in a sports bra and underwear, hanging her dress on the hanger in the hotel closet.

"Oh my god-" She spat and her gaze snapped to the ground so swiftly that she was worried she'd suffer from visual whiplash. If that even existed.

From the blurry peripherals of her vision she saw Lapis turn, blue hair swinging freely and voice gently laughing. "You told me to change."

"Yes, in the bathroom!" Shrilled Peridot.