We Found Happiness- a Lapidot story

-Chapter 11- "Study Buddies"

After Lapis and Peridot's lunchtime and upon returning back to school 5 minutes late, the two girls found themselves saying a quick goodbye to each-other before rushing to their 4th period classes. As the short blonde sprinted to her Technology class, she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. She couldn't believe that Lapis Lazuli, the girl of her dreams, wanted HER to tutor her! It was exciting to think about. Getting closer to Lapis would be a dream come true.
The nerd burst through the door to her class and recited her apologies to her teacher, Mr. Freddrick.
He scowled and shooed her away. "This isn't like you, Peridot. You're never late to my class! Don't allow this to happen again. I'll let you off with a warning."
Peridot grinned and took a seat at the front of the class. Her heart was absolutely filled with joy. Nothing could ruin her mood. Pearl, sitting next to her, scoffed. "What's got you in such a giddy mood? I don't think you should be so happy since the instructor scolded you." Peridot simply smiled and shrugged off the skinny girl's hint of rudeness.
"Tsk," spat Pearl.
Peridot peered up to the front of the class at Mr. Freddrick, making sure his back was turned, before pulling out her phone to text none other than the bluenette she most deeply desired.
Peridot- "Hey Lazuli. Would you like to tutor tonight at your house? We might as well get started."
She tapped her nimble fingers on her desk impatiently as she awaited a response. Her phone buzzed to life with a text from Lapis. She smiled as she read it.
Lapis-"Sure, we can start the tutoring tonight!"
Peridot could barely contain her excitement, until Lapis sent another text that had her frozen.
Lapis-"Could we do it at your house instead though?"
"Oh no..." Peridot thought. "My room is a pigsty! What am I gonna do?! I suppose I could have her wait in the living room while I quickly clean it up... ugh!"
Peridot frowned and typed a reply.
Peridot-"Of course. Whatever works for you."
Lapis almost instantaneously replied.
Lapis-"Sweet! I can't wait. :)"
Peridot sighed and rested her head against her cold desk. "I hope I can pull this off..."
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The final bell of the day echoed throughout the halls of the school. Peridot rushed out of her 6th hour and made her way to her locker to collect her books.
"This is it... don't freak out, Dot... you'll be fine," she reassured herself.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar blue blur walking towards her. Butterflies arose in her stomach like fireworks.
"Hey Peri! Wanna give me a ride over to your place?" the bluenette asked.
Peridot smiled through the uneasy feeling that made her begin to overheat.
"Yeah, no problem. Let's get out of here," Peridot replied fake-calmly.
The two girls walked together to the student parking-lot where the green Jeep patiently waited.
Lapis gleamed with delight. "This is going to be so much fun!" She squealed as she climbed into the passenger side of the evergreen vehicle.
"Yeah..." Peridot retorted sheepishly.
The car ride was seemingly peaceful, but as for the blonde? It was TORTUROUS. With every second the car drove them closer and closer to their destination, closer to the humiliation that laid ahead for Peridot.
"Oh god... I won't ever have a chance with Lapis if she sees my room... maybe we could just stay in the living room..."
The nerd stole a sideways glance at Lapis, only to catch her blue eyes staring back. The popular girl immediately looked away and turned to face the passenger window.
Peridot stiffened her grip on the steering wheel.
"That was weird. Was she just... watching me?" Peridot wondered.
She cleared her throat and grimaced as her house came into view. While she pulled into the driveway, she felt beads of sweat forming on her back. (When she's nervous, she sweats uncontrollably.)
"Goddamnit. I need some deodorant before it gets any worse."
Lapis gasped. "Holy shit, your house is huge!"
Right before them was a 3 story house that seemed big enough for a family of 10 or more to live in. It stood gracefully in its cream-colored paneling and light green shudders shrouding the elegant arched windows.
Peridot chuckled nervously. "Thanks to my dad's job of course," she muttered.
The girls got out of Peridots Jeep and approached the front door of the home.
"So..." Lapis started, "where does your dad work? He seems to be doing very well for himself."
Peridot jabbed her key into the doorknob and unlocked the door.
"He's a robotic engineer. He designs machines and robots for big name companies and junk. I'm actually going into the same field myself. Robotics runs in the family," Peridot answered.
Lapis nodded. "That explains why you're so smart, then. You must get it from your dad."
They walked into the house, and the shorter of the two made certain to lock the door behind them.
"I guess so," the blonde muttered, "shall we get started, then?"
She flopped down on the couch and patted the seat next to her.
Lapis frowned. "Aren't we gonna go up to your room?" she inquired with no shame.
Peridot grit her teeth in attempt to stifle her nerves. "Well u-uh..." she stuttered.
Lapis interrupted with a demanding tone in her voice. "I wanna see your room, I bet it's green." She smiled that beautiful smile of hers. Peridot grinned instinctively upon seeing Lapis smile. "How can this girl be so gorgeous all the time?" she pondered.
The blue-haired girl walked over to the stairs.
"If you won't show me, I'll find it~" she sang as she ran up the stairs.
The blonde panicked and sprinted after her. "L-lapis WAIT! Please!" she bellowed.
She caught up to her just as they reached the 2nd floor and grabbed her wrist to stop her. The warm, smooth skin that came into contact with her hand made her shiver. "Focus, you idiot!" she mentally screamed.
She gasped for air as if she had just run a marathon. Physical exertion was never one of her strong suits, and it never would be.
"Lapis...wait..." she wheezed.
The taller of the two scowled. "What's the big deal? Are you hiding a body or something? Just let me see your room!" she persisted.
Peridot made the mistake of meeting Lapis's eyes with her own. As soon as she looked into those glistening blue eyes, she felt herself melting.
At that moment, Peridot gave in. She couldn't resist Lapis when she looked at her like that...
"Fine. You win. It's the third door on the left."
Lapis grinned and ran to the room, excited to see it. Peridot stayed behind and waited for her disgusted, horrified reaction... but it never came. She heard the sound of the door open followed by a gasp of delight.
"Oh wow, Peridot! Your room is so clean! Do you even go in here?"
The nerd's mind went blank. "What the fuck?"
She stumbled over to her room and peeked in, only to find that her room was completely clean. The huge mess that had just been there that morning was gone, without a trace or clue that it was ever there. Her desk was immaculate, and her floor was ACTUALLY VISIBLE for once. The green sheets on her bed were no longer covered with dirty laundry and Mountain Dew cans. The room actually smelled nice, and for the first time in forever it looked inhabitable. A note sitting on her polished desk caught her eye.
"This room was 'disgraceful', as your father put it. I'm sorry for invading your space, young mistress. I was just following orders. -Maid Rhodonite"
A curious blue-haired individual peeked over Peridots shoulder to read the note, and gasped in disbelief.
"What?!" Lapis screamed, "you have a maid?! What the hell! This is so cool, Peri!"
Peridot blushed in embarrassment. "She shows up once or twice a week to tidy up for us, since my dad works all the time and I'm pretty busy with school."
Lapis frowned. "What about your mom?" she questioned.
Peridot's eyes bugged out of her head at the word. It entered her ears like venom, burning them and echoing throughout her mind, deafening all of her thoughts.
"Peri? Are you ok?" Lapis asked worriedly.
"My mom?" the blonde uttered.
The word left a horrible taste in her mouth. She didn't realize that tears started to well up in her eyes, and she could barely hear Lapis trying to apologize. The bluenette's voice seemed miles away, faint, and distant. The green-eyed girl could feel her subconsciousness slipping away from her control. She hadn't thought about this for a very long time. Not since... the incident.
"My mom."
She felt arms wrap around her shaking form in the midst of her agonizing memories. They were warm and comforting. The light squeeze of a hug calmed her down enough for her to be able to hear Lapis's reassuring words.
"Peridot? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring anything up."
The blondes nose was buried into the taller girl's shoulder, and she breathed in the blissful oceanic scent. It seemed like she had no control over her actions, because she found herself hugging Lapis back. The bluenette's soft and warm body fit perfectly in her arms like a missing puzzle piece. The gesture was so comforting that both girls found themselves getting lost in the moment completely. They stood there in that warm embrace for a little while before Peridot pulled away, rubbing at her eyes. For the first time in along time, touching another human being wasn't awkward at all. She didn't feel embarrassed. She actually just wanted to keep hugging the girl in front of her...
"I'm sorry..." she mumbled apologetically, "I just don't like to remember... certain things."
Lapis nodded in understanding. "I won't bring it up EVER now that I know it's a sensitive topic. I'm so sorry, Peri."
She grabbed the blonde's hand and stroked the back of it with her thumb in an attempt of reassurance.
"I care about you. You're my friend. And I promise I'm here for you. Let's have some fun, ok?"
Peridot giggled. "It's gonna be kinda hard for YOU to have fun," she joked.
"And why is that?" Lapis retorted.
"Because," the blonde began, "you hate Calculus, and that's all we are going to be doing for the next couple of hours."
Lapis groaned. "Awe, I totally forgot about that. Damnit... do we have to?"
Peridot pulled out the chair at her desk for the bluenette to sit.
"Mark my words, Lapis Lazuli. You WILL pass this class." Peridot promised.
The taller of the two rolled her eyes before sitting down in the chair, awaiting Peridot's lecture to begin.
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After 2 long agonizing hours of tutoring, the sun began to dip behind the trees in the neighborhood. The sunset cast a golden glow in Peridots room, illuminating everything in its path.
"So... this is an Inverse Function question again, right?" Lapis asked her tutor.
Peridot smiled with pride. "Precisely. Solve it."
"Find the parameters a and b included in the linear function f(x) = a x + b so that f -1 (2) = 3 and f -1 (-3) = 6, where f -1 (x) is the inverse of function f..." Lapis uttered.
She began frantically scribbling on the paper, attempting to solve the problem.
"From the properties of inverse functions if f -1 (2) = 3 and f -1 (-3) = 6, then f(3) = 2 and f(6) = - 3..." she whispered to herself.
"You're doing great, keep it up!" the nerd enthused.
"The answers are a = - 5 / 3 and b = 7! HAHA! I DID IT!"
Peridot clapped for her friend's victory. "Very well done, Lazuli. You'll be passing this class before you know it."
"Thanks to you..." the bluenette said with a slight blush.
She turned to look at Peridot, only to find out what effect the orange afternoon glow had on Peridots features. Her shining green eyes were lit with gold flicks and splashes. They shimmered like emeralds, and to top it off, her adorable freckles were more prominent in the dark lighting. This made her look absolutely stunning.
Lapis felt her heartbeat speed like a race car, and hoped to God Peridot couldn't hear the drumming interlude coming from her chest.
Peridot smiled and looked out the window.
"We better get you home, right? Wouldn't want to keep your mom waiting."
Lapis felt her soul drop. She didn't want to leave...
"What if we just have a sleepover?" she asked.
Peridot bit her lip in thought. The blue-eyed girl felt a shiver snake up her spine at the sight.
"Well, I'm more than positive my dad wouldn't care. And we do have a spare room..." the blonde explained with a small smile.
Lapis pouted.
"Please, Peri?" she pleaded, "I don't wanna go home! Your house is amazing!"
Peridot gave in. "Alright. But ask your mom first."
The taller of the two groaned and searched her pockets for her phone.
"Uh... have you seen my phone? It's not in my pockets..."
The small nerd searched her desktop and underneath, only to find Dove chocolate wrappers. "I'm not seeing it. Want me to call it?"
Lapis blushed profusely. "It's an embarrassing ringtone so don't make fun of me!"
"I won't." Peridot murmured as she took out her phone.
Within 2 seconds of calling Lapis's phone, "Oops I Did It Again" by Britney Spears blasted from downstairs. The blonde could not hold back the surge of laughter that came from her mouth. The bluenette's cheeks erupted into a crimson blush as she ran out the door to retrieve the phone.
"H-hey!" Peridot giggled while running after the embarrassed girl, "wait for me!"
Lapis was at the edge of the stairs when she turned around to look at Peridot, who wasn't paying enough attention to slow down. The shorter of the two crashed into Lapis, sending them both tumbling down the wooden stairs as Britney continued to sing.
"OH BABEH BABEH"
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Authors note: HEY GUYS I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I updated! I've been going through so much lately... well for the passed year but... I'll still continue to serve you all! I love you all so much.