I'm actually updating regularly? This is insane.
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Silence. That's all that could be heard at the Gem's beach house located on the outskirts of Beach City. It was a calm summer's night, the Gems were inside their rooms and the Universe siblings were fast asleep. Steven was sprawled out on his bed, his blanket discarded in an attempt to escape the heat. There was a soft breeze that flew through the house from a window that Amethyst had forgotten to close earlier that night. The breeze brought a faint scent of the ocean, the smell bringing comfort to a sleeping (Y/N). (Y/N), Steven's older half sister, was passed out on the couch, Cat Steven curled up on her stomach, causing her black Crystal Gem Star shirt to become bunched up. The house was peaceful and silent.
Unfortunately, tender, serene moments like this one tend to not last very long. A bright, white light blasted through the room, originating from the Warp Pad at the centre of the house. A frantic and distressed, Dorito haired Gem became visible from the blast. Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst were quick to exit the temple, weapons drawn, worried as to who had intruded their home so late at night. The human siblings had begun to awaken as well, Steven hopping down the stairs as (Y/N) groggily sat up.
"Steven! Where are you!" Peridot yelled, looking around desperately for the young boy.
"Peridot, what's wrong?" Garnet asked, getting straight to the point as the other Gems put their weapons away.
"It's Lapis! She just took off!" the smaller Gem panicked, causing the others in the room to look at each other in worry.
"It's gonna be ok, Peridot. We'll find her. I promise." Steven smiled, placing his hands on Peridot's shoulders.
"Alright Gems, let's all help look for Lapis." Garnet took the lead, taking her position on the Warp Pad.
In the moments before the Warp pad was activated again, there was a brief silence, but a different silence than before. This silence was filled with the voiceless determination of those causing it, determination to find the missing water Gem and bring her home.
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It had taken no time at all for the group to split up to cover more ground, each calling out Lapis's name as they searched the sprawling fields around the barn. Amethyst and Garnet combed through the fields of crops, searching for any sign of the missing Gem. Pearl had summoned a pair of binoculars and was looking across the countryside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lapis flying home. Peridot was getting increasingly frantic as they combed through the abandoned barn, every nook and cranny being searched twice.
"Uh, Peridot? I don't think that Lapis is hiding behind the couch." Steven stressed, trying to get his friend to calm down. "Maybe the others have had more luck?" the young boy suggested, leading the green Gem out of the barn.
(Y/N) and the Crystal Gems all joined Steven and Peridot outside the barn. Everyone somberly shook their heads, reporting no sign of their missing friend. Everyone seemed lost, unsure of what to do or where to even search next.
"We can't just give up! We have to find Lapis." (Y/N) cut in, determination clear in her voice.
"How do we even know if we can find her? She could have gone to the moon for all we know!" Amethyst complained, raising her voice a little.
"It doesn't matter. I don't care where she's gone. Like I said before, we have to find her." The human girl said again, glaring slightly at the shorter Gem.
"Both of you knock it off. We won't get anywhere if we fight amongst ourselves." Steven tried to reason with the aggravated girls. "We just need to calm down and come up with a plan." Steven suggested, his reassuring words causing some of the tension to leave the situation.
Everyone then began to throw ideas at each other, each of them having a different idea of what the best course of action was. (Y/N) was uncharacteristically silent as her feet practically burned a hole in the ground, pacing back and forth. The girl zoned out from the conversation, racking her brain for places that Lapis could have gone. To say that she was worried would be an understatement. She was desperate to find Lapis. Despite only knowing each other for a short time, they had grown quite fond of one another. (Y/N) understood how hard it was to adjust to new surroundings, knew what it felt like to be alone, knew exactly what must have been running through Lapis' head.
The human girl continued to pace away from the group before a realisation finally hit her. She knew where Lapis was. She knew exactly where she had gone. (Y/N) turned back to the group but faltered when she caught Garnet's gaze.
"Go." is the only word Garnet says, seemingly knowing exactly what (Y/N) was thinking.
(Y/N) gives a grateful nod to the leader of the Crystal Gems before taking off towards the Warp Pad. The girl rushed through the beach house and down the coast, headed to the heart of Beach City. Her legs were on autopilot, her subconscious knowing exactly where she was headed. It was a place in which (Y/N) had escaped to on numerous occasions. A secluded place which she had showed no one, not her friends, not her dad, not even Steven. No one. No one but Lapis.
(Y/N)'s long strides slowed down to a walk as she finally entered the abandoned building at the edge of town. The walls were practically falling apart, chunks of rubble and debris were scattered across the area. Windows were either broken, boarded up or missing entirely. The smell of something rotten mixed with unfiltered dust would send most running the other way. Small weeds and vines had begun to reclaim the abandoned space, providing an indicator at just how long these walls had been vacant. While for others, this space would bring a sense of loneliness, abandonment and despair, (Y/N) felt an odd comfort within its walls. Here, she was alone, and that used to be something which she desperately sought out.
The girl carefully ascended the flight of stairs, headed for the roof, continuing higher till the moonlight hit her face. She felt her troubles melt away as she basked in the rays of the moon, momentarily forgetting the reason that she had made the trip at all. (Y/N) opened her eyes and a frown fell on her face, her eyes glued to her previously missing friend.
Lapis had her legs pulled up close to her chest, her chin resting on her knee as she gazed out absentmindedly at a sleeping Beach City. (Y/N) slowly approached the girl, walking on eggshells, scared that too sudden of a movement would scare away the distressed Gem.
The human girl took a seat next to Lapis, no words being exchanged, Lapis refusing to meet (Y/N)'s gaze. The two remain silent for a while longer, the tension thick, almost suffocating. Lapis felt herself grow more anxious as she waited for (Y/N) to inevitably speak up, to ask her what was wrong, to ask her why she had taken off, to ask her why she had run away.
"Peridot is really worried about you," (Y/N) started, immediately cut off with a broken laugh.
Lapis couldn't help but laugh. In confusion, in anger, in sadness. She didn't know what she was feeling, so she laughed. She laughed till her laughter became indistinguishable from sobs.
"Why?!" She asked, her voice breaking. "I don't understand why any of you are worried. I've done nothing but be cold and cruel since I escaped that mirror." she spat, denying herself of any sympathy.
"No one blames you for how you've acted–"
"HOW!? I stole the world's oceans! I broke your dad's van! I attacked you guys!" She listed off, arguing as to why she didn't deserve (Y/N)'s empathy.
"You were scared. You had been trapped in that mirror for years, you just wanted to go home. No one is blaming you for what happened, I promise." (Y/N) argued back.
"Yeah right..." Lapis scoffed, not believing a word that left her friend's mouth.
"I'm serious! Everything is ok now! The oceans are back to normal, Dad's rich so that's all good and you're not trying to attack us anymore." (Y/N) continued, determined to get Lapis to see the good in herself.
Lapis seemed lost for words for a moment. She placed her head in her lap and let out a frustrated groan. She glanced back at (Y/N) momentarily, the caring look in her eyes causing Lapis' defensive demeanour to drop ever so slightly.
"Even if what you say is true... these feelings won't go away. You, Steven, Peridot... You're all being so kind and I just don't deserve it. I just keep waiting for the moment when you all realise what a monster I really am..." Lapis mumbled, tears beginning to pool in her eyes.
"Is that why you took off? You're trying to leave us because you're scared of us leaving you?" (Y/N) slowly asked, each word being delivered with the utmost care. "I'm... I'm gonna admit something to you, something that I haven't really told anyone." (Y/N) started slowly, almost as if she didn't believe the words leaving her mouth. Lapis looked at her curiously, tears still brimming her eyes as she waited for the human girl to continue. "When I was younger, I absolutely hated my dad, I refused to even call him that. I was angry because I didn't know who I really was, and I took that out on him. Despite that, he kept trying, he was always there, always trying to be a good dad. It took a lot for me to finally realise how much he cared for me, and after I did, it took even more for me to feel like I deserved his love." (Y/N) admitted, looking absentmindedly at the horizon.
"I... I had no idea..." Lapis muttered, sparing a quick glance at the other girl who appeared to be lost in a world of her own. "You all seem so close and happy."
"We are." (Y/N) smiled, turning to look at her friend. "And you can be too, if you let yourself."
Silence fell over the two girls again, but this silence was different, this silence was comforting. The silence acted as a protective blanket over the two, keeping them separate from the outside world. The silence existed for many reasons, Lapis not knowing what to say and (Y/N) unsure of how to word her next sentence. The human girl exhaled a breath, reaching out and pulling Lapis into a hug.
"You may not be ready to accept it, Lapis, but you do deserve to be loved. You are loved... at least by me."
"Thank you..." Lapis mumbled, voice coming out mumbled from (Y/N)'s chest.
(Y/N) didn't respond with words, her tight hold on Lapis being enough. The two remained together, finding comfort and safety in each other's embrace. There were faint smiles on their faces as they looked out into the night sky. Stargazing in calming silence.
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Pro tip: Chat GPT is actually really useful at providing feedback on your writing and suggestions on what you can add. It also comes up with cool prompts when you don't know what to write.
As usual I hope that you're all having a bloody amazing day/night/whatever time you're reading. You all better be getting enough sleep, drinking water and most of all staying positive.
That's all from me so I'll see ya later mates 😁