"A cure?" Lapis said, still taken aback by all the information she had been given.
"Well, not exactly a cure, but more like a way to flush your system of all that Loveratium. It will stop all the random chemical reactions occurring in your brain." Peridot said, facing Lapis.
"So it would take away all these... thoughts I'm having about you?"
"U-Um, I believe so."
Lapis just stood there, looking at the blonde nerd before her. A part of her brain, possibly the only logical part of it left, screamed to ask for that cure, to get rid of all these horrible feelings.
And another part of her brain told her to keep these feelings, to embrace them. Lapis knew that it was just those chemicals making her think that, but right now those chemicals felt way more convincing than logic.
But... she knew what she needed to do.
"How long will it take to make this cure?" Lapis asked, trying to ignore the way her heart dropped at the thought of getting rid of these feelings.
Peridot seemed to get more nervous at that statement. "Um... approximately 2 weeks at least?"
Lapis' eyes widened. "Two weeks to make a cure? That's pretty long, don't you think?" She asked, although part of her was glad she could still feel special towards Peridot for a while.
"I have to sequence it right to your DNA in order to get rid of the right chemicals. Otherwise, I could end up flushing all the water out of your system along with it." Peridot reassured.
Lapis let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay... What do you need me to do?" She asked.
"You will need to come over here after school every day of the week in order for me to run more tests on you. It shouldn't take more than an hour a day, at which point you may return home." Peridot instructed.
'That's two whole weeks I get to spend every day with Peridot...'
This thought made Lapis feel warm and fuzzy inside, and a ghost of a smile appeared on her face.
"Okay... If that's what I have to do, then I'll be here every day. Anything I should know for the meanwhile?"
Peridot let out a noise of discomfort. "I know it's not the news you want to hear right now, but Loveratium poisoning progressively gets worse over time. T-These feelings slowly increase over time, especially if you try to resist them."
Lapis sighed. "So, I'm gonna be feeling more romantic toward you over time?"
"Yes... I really am sorry, Lapis. I didn't mean for this to happen to you. If there's anything else you need me to do, I'll do it." Peridot said, giving Lapis a sorry smile.
Something twinged in Lapis upon hearing this. Seeing Peridot help so willingly, giving her such a soft expression, it made her heart melt.
"Peridot... I, uh... T-Thank you. For helping. You've already done enough." Lapis found herself saying.
"Really, Lapis, you shouldn't be thanking. I'm the one who got you into this mess."
"Still, if I was gonna be stuck feeling like this, I'm kinda glad it was you. It could've been someone worse."
'She's being so nice to me... I never knew she was this nice...'
For once, a thought entered Lapis' mind that wasn't laced with love.
'Peridot is a nice person. And I didn't realize it.'
Lapis felt surprised at the statement. She didn't really know Peridot outside of school, and right now she was seeing a side of her she had never seen before. Someone who was willing to help, that cared if someone seemed uncomfortable.
And of course, in her current state, this warmed Lapis' soul.
"W-Well," Peridot said, pulling Lapis from her thoughts. "I think you should be all set to head ho-"
Peridot suddenly froze and her eyes went wide
A car could be heard pulling to the driveway, followed by the sound of opening and closing car doors.
"Uh oh," Peridot said, jumping up from her chair and running to her window. "They came home early? Why?"
Lapis slowly approached Peridot, looking over her shoulder and noticing another white, modest car was parked near Lapis'. Then, they heard the front door unlocking, and they both whipped around to face the hallway.
"Peridot, sweety, we're home! Is someone else there with you? There's a strange car parked out front." Called a sweet, caring voice from downstairs.
Peridot quickly raced towards her door and slammed it shut.
"Peridot, we do not slam doors in this house. What are you doing up there?" Came a different voice, slightly higher pitched and ever so slightly more parental.
"N-Nothing, I'm, uh... just doing homework! Yep, super busy with homework right now! So busy you shouldn't even come up here and d-disturb me!" Peridot said with a worried expression.
"Don't tumble my rocks, young lady. I know you're done with homework by now, even if you have extra work. What are you doing inside your room and does it have to do with that car up front?" Said the first voice, getting closer.
"Oh nononono! Lapis, you need to hide somewhere, my parents can't see you!" Peridot whispered, facing Lapis with her eyes full of fear.
"Why? Don't want me to meet your parents?" Lapis whispered, noticing that footsteps were rapidly approaching Peridot's room.
"No, I don't want them to see yo-"
The doorknob on Peridot's door rattled before the door slowly opened.
"Peridot, who are you talking t-"
The person who stepped inside was an older woman, perhaps around her late 20s, early 30s. She was wearing a nice blue suit with a gleaming jewel on her neck. Her hair was light blue, messy, and tied into a ponytail. Light blue, circular glasses laid on her nose, and a pensive expression expressed on her face.
"Oh! Hello there, who might you be?" Asked the woman.
"Um... Hello mam, my name is-"
"BOB! Y-Yeah, her name is Bob!" Said Peridot, quickly interrupting Lapis before she could say her actual name.
Lapis turned to face Peridot with a confused look on her face. She noticed the strained smile and beads of sweat forming on her face before finally figuring out what Peridot meant by the name change. She quickly turned back to face the woman in the doorway.
"Y-Yep, that's me, Bob! It's a pleasure to meet you, miss!" Lapis said with a smile and her hand outstretched.
The woman took Lapis' hand and gave it a small shake. "Hmm. Well, it is nice to meet you, 'Bob', but what are you doing here in Peridot's room?" She asked.
"Um... She's h-helping me with school work!" Lapis lied.
"Y-Yeah, she's a new friend of mine! We share... uh, History together!" Peridot spoke up, adding on to the story.
"A new friend, huh? How come I've never heard of her before?" The woman asked.
"Because... I just met her yesterday!" Peridot said.
"You came home crying yesterday, and said nothing about this friend." The woman said, a look of suspicion growing on her face.
"W-W-Well, that's because I didn't know her as well yesterday!" Peridot said, becoming increasingly more fidgety.
Lapis just stood there in awkward silence.
"And you got to know her so well in one day that you invited her over to our house?" The woman interrogated.
"Yep!" Peridot squeaked.
Lapis kept standing there. In silence. Not being awkward at all.
"And why is 'Bob' dressed up in such nice looking clothing if you're just helping her with school?" The woman asked, eyeing Lapis.
Peridot froze. She looked like she was finally stumped at an excuse for this one.
And of course, the chemicals in Lapis' body decided that NOW would be a good time to come into effect.
Lapis opened her mouth before she even realized it. "W-Well, I can't just show up to such a cute, little blonde's house without putting some effort in, right?"
Lapis' hand shot up to her mouth, clamping tightly on it. Peridot looked like she was about to faint again. The woman in front of the two was taken aback.
"W-Well, I... Um, that's a... That's a s-surprise. Peridot, uh... y-you didn't tell me that Bob was... THAT kind of friend." The woman said, blushing from embarrassment.
Peridot quickly recorrected the assumption that her mother just made. "Nonononono! We're just normal friends!" She squeaked.
"Y-Yeah, just friends!" Lapis said, forcing herself to say the words.
"W-Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it!" The woman said, still red.
The trio stood in awkward silence for a few minutes before the woman finally spoke up.
"W-Well, 'Bob.' My name is Bell Zircon. I'm Peridot's adoptive mother. I must say, I wished we had met on a less... uncomfortable situation." The woman said.
Lapis let out a nervous laugh. "Y-Yeah, you're telling me!"
Bell then turned to face Peridot. "Peridot, Yella is making spaghetti for dinner. You should get washed up and in some nicer clothing. If you want, your friend can join us. I would really like to learn more about her."
Peridot gave a shaky nod before responding. "Right! Um, C-Can you give me and Bob a moment alone, please?" She said.
Bell gave a nod before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. The blue and blonde pair both let out a sigh of relief.
"I am SO sorry for how she acted. I hope she didn't make you uncomfortable." Peridot said, forcing her gaze away from Lapis.
"I-It's fine. Your mom's quick to assume things, huh?" Lapis said, trying to calm her blushing face.
"Y-Yeah, but she means well."
"Why don't you want them to find out who I am?" Lapis asked.
Peridot let out a sigh before meeting Lapis' gaze. "I... I told them some stuff about you. I didn't mean to make you seem bad, but they didn't take it well. They think you're some kinda... bully."
"Huh..." Lapis nodded, starting to understand, before becoming confused again. "Wait, why didn't they recognize me?"
"I'm not the BEST at describing other people. With the few details I've given, they probably think 'Lapis Lazuli' is a 14-year-old squeaky redhead." Peridot said, giving a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, okay..." Lapis said, feeling kinda bad. 'I haven't even met her parents yet, and already I've made a bad impression...'
Peridot, seeing the discomfort in Lapis' eyes, quickly changed the subject. "So, here's what we're going to do. We're going to go downstairs and tell Bell that you can't stay for dinner because you have 'prior arrangements.'"
"You don't want me to stay?" Lapis said with a slightly hurt tone.
"I-It's not that I don't want you to stay! I just don't think it's the best idea that my parents talk to you, okay?" Peridot reassured, trying desperately not to offend her friend.
"Oh. Okay." Lapis said. 'I wanted to spend more time with her, though...'
Peridot and Lapis both calmly made their way downstairs and towards the kitchen. When they entered, Lapis noticed there was another person alongside Bell, a blonde haired woman who was roughly the same height as Bell. She was dressed in a yellow t-shirt, loose pants, and had earbuds plugged in her ears, leading down to her pant pocket. Bell had also changed out of her suit and into something similar.
The two women were busy cooking and setting a wooden table by the kitchen, and paid no attention to the pair that had just walked in. It was only when Peridot let out a small cough to get their attention did Bell notice the two. The other woman kept on cooking.
"So, Bob forgot she had stuff she needed to do at her house before tonight, so she can't stay for dinner." Peridot lied. Lapis nodded afterward to support the lie.
"Oh, well that's a shame. I was hoping to get to know her some more. I'm sorry Peridot, I know you probably would've liked her to join us." Said Bell.
Lapis nodded and slowly made her way towards the front door. But before she could grab the door handle, another jolt shot through her.
'What the heck am I doing? Ditching Peridot to go hide away from her parents? No! I wanna spend time with my favorite nerd!'
Lapis tried desperately to open the door. She knew the logical thing would be to leave and go home, but her emotions wouldn't let her.
'Think about it: I'd be having dinner besides Peridot and her parents. I could finally make a good first impression. I could spend my entire time with her, making her laugh, smile, and blush, and watch as those beautiful green eyes light up...'
Lapis wanted to give in to those thoughts, it was so tempting to give in to those thoughts, but she knew she had to leave. It was the logical thing to do, that's what she kept trying to tell herself.
'I could even hold her hand under the dinner table if she lets me...'
Lapis immediately stopped trying to open the door and spun around to face the kitchen.
"A-Actually, now that I think about it, I can stay for dinner!" She said.
Both Peridot and Bell turned around to face Lapis. Bell had a pleased expression, while Peridot had a horrified one.
"Oh. That's wonderful to hear!" Said Bell.
"But, Bob! Don't you have that thing you need to do?" Peridot said through gritted teeth.
"That thing can wait till tomorrow. Besides..." Lapis said, getting closer to the blonde. "I'd drop everything to spend more time with you~"
Lapis watched with you as her comment made Peridot blushed a deep shade. Suddenly, all words of resistance seemed to die on Peridot's mouth. Lapis made her way over to Bell. "Anything I can do to help set up?" She offered.
Bell gave a small smile and shook her head. "Nope, just wash up! There's a bathroom down the hall."
Lapis nodded and made her way past Peridot to the bathroom. As she passed her, she heard Peridot mutter something under her breath. "How is she so good with her words? Ugh..."
Lapis felt a bit of pride in that statement.
And, unbeknownst to Lapis, it wasn't the chemicals making her feel that way.