"You...um...I...aha." I mentally cursed myself for not being able to properly form words. Lapis scratched the back of her neck, and looked to the side shyly. "I definitely um...didn't expect to see you here." she said quietly. On the way to Beach City, I had thought a little bit about it. I did admittedly think about the possibility of this. But I had assumed that it was a very slim chance, and she wouldn't have even acknowledged me if she had seen me. 

"I-I didn't exactly expect to see you here." I replied, feeling my face heat up even hotter. "Heheh, yeah well...I need cAfFeiNe to function, so." she nervously chuckled. "Y-yeah, me too. Work an' all." I murmured, staring down at my shoes. There was another long awkward silence between us, and I literally wanted to disappear from the scene. There was still a person in front of me, so the waiting continued. I cleared my throat nervously, and finally switched my gaze back up to Lapis. She looked fairly the same, just more fatigued...

I very quietly groaned, ripping my stare away from her once again. Still admittedly...undeniably beautiful. "H-how is that?" the bluenette asked. I blinked a few times, pushing up my glasses, which were annoyingly sliding down once again. "What?" I asked, a bit confused. "Work. How is that?" Lapis repeated, and I shook my head. "OH! R-right work! It's fine...u-um it's great actually! I work to support my mother's business, but I may be able to take over the company eventually. It makes good money, and I've just been continuing to work on my robonoids." I explained. "Oh yeah, those little robot things. I remember those." she replied. 

"Yeah, those things. I've upgraded them quite a bit now, so they're getting more and more popular." I added. Lapis then nodded, and gave me another small grin, but it didn't look very genuine. I sighed through my nose, and dusted myself off consciously. I froze as I realized that the coffee stain was still present on my pants, and I mentally screeched. I stared at the floor intensely, refusing to make eye contact with Lapis again. "Uh...I hadn't even noticed that...accident?" the blue-haired woman then asked, and I slightly flinched. 

"W-well yes. I-I MEAN NO! Not that type of accident! I meant like, a worse accident. NOT WORSE. More like, a boiling-coffee-spilling-on-you-while-attempting-to-simultaneously-drive-accident." I stammered terribly, feeling as though I could no longer swallow. Lapis looked like she was holding back a hard laugh, and I bit the inside of my cheek harshly. "I see." she nodded as though she were humoring me. "I-I actually was planning on changing 'em." I added, holding up my spare pair of pants. "Yeahhh, I figured." she chuckled.

"I can help whoever's next in line." I heard the cashier call, and I internally cursed. I whipped around to look at the cashier, and I quickly walked up to the counter and ordered my coffee. I then stood to the side, and subtly observed as Lapis ordered her own coffee. She then seemed surprised to notice I was still standing here, and she shyly approached me. "I see you don't work here anymore, do you?" I asked, shoving my right hand into my pocket. "Huh?" Lapis then looked around, then shook her head slightly. 

"Oh! Right. Nah nah I don't work here anymore. I'm actually in art school at the moment. The professors told me I had great potential, and with a few hookups, I'm well on my way to becoming an art director." Lapis explained. "That's great! Impressive how far you've come already." I said. "You still um...at the same apartment complex?" I asked. "No, that place was honestly a dump. I can't say I'm too impressed with myself financially at the moment, but my friend Steven is letting me stay with him at his beach house." she explained, nodding her head toward the door of the coffee shop.

"Beach house? As in, Amethyst's college parties beach house?" I jokingly asked. "Hah, yeah that one. It's actually a pretty neat place when it's not trashed by frat boys." Lapis commented. We both lightly laughed, and I looked back down at the floor. "Peridot?" I then heard the cashier call my name, and my head snapped in the direction of the voice. She was holding out my coffee across the counter. "Uh, 'scuse me." I muttered to Lapis, then approaching the counter swiftly. I nodded to the cashier as I took it, and I slowly walked back over to Lapis. 

"Lapis?!" the cashier then yelled, and I rolled my eyes. "That's mine." Lapis giggled, walking away to retrieve it. I scrunched up my eyebrows, staring down at my coffee. I sighed, and closed my eyes for a moment. What are you doing? Having casual talk with your ex? You don't have time for that, Peridot. Your mother is waiting. Your job is on the line. Lapis is just some ex who dumped you a long time ago. Why are you even giving her the time? Why are you even...my questioning thoughts had been suddenly thrown out the window as soon as I saw Lapis come back. 

"Um, I have a question." I shyly said, beginning to look over at the coffee shop exit. "....yeah?" Lapis asked even quieter. "Are you and Jasper still...y'know..." I scratched the back of my neck. Lapis then arched an eyebrow, and tilted her head questioningly. "...a thing?" I finished. "Jasper and I? Oh, Peridot." she ran her fingers through her hair, and closed her eyes for a couple seconds. "Jasper and I only dated once. And you know when that was. The supposed 'second' time we dated...that never existed. We were never a thing." she explained, looking down. 

"But you guys just seemed so...so close. Like you two were together, y'know? If you two were strangers to me of course I'd assume you two were a couple." I said in a low voice. "Strictly friends. He was just a friend...tryna help me out. I never once took him back...and I never will." she insisted, shrugging. I thought deeply, contemplating the situation. Did I...ruin everything? Did I just...leave her here for a problem that...never existed in the first place? I knew I had overreacted when confronting them, but I just felt so stubborn at the time...that I refused to believe anything else.

I had already pleaded and begged in my mind so many times that they weren't dating, but it just seemed so...plain as day. Did I misread this whole situation? I never actually had time to critical think about this, due to refusing to altogether. After I left Beach City, I decided to leave all my problems that occurred there with the city. All of my negative thoughts and stress...everything. I just left it all behind, and started something big. Something successful. On one hand, I sort of regret leaving Beach City...but on the other hand, if I hadn't left Beach City, I would've never became so successful. I can't say I regret leaving. But I can't say it was such a perfect decision either. 

"I'll be honest with you...I think I kinda overreacted. About the whole situation. Just wanted to apologize for not exactly believing you, heh." I finally said, blushing again. "N-not that I regret leaving this dump of a city behind. I'm doing just fine, and I intend on continuing this streak." I suddenly snapped, crossing my arms and clearing my throat. It was a near instinct to act cold as soon as I began warming up to a person. Business habit. 

Lapis seemed a bit taken aback by my change in tone. "No no, you don't have anything to apologize for. I could kinda see why you acted the way you did. I'm sorry for...well...everything I guess." she replied. I arched an eyebrow, momentarily pursing my lips. "Everything? What do you mean by that?" I asked. "Everything as in...I'm sorry for chickening out on commitment to you. I'm sorry for the stress and pain I caused you...like really sorry. I should've just..." she trailed off in a sad tone. A pang of sadness struck me in the chest, and I huffed. 

"It's okay. It's in the past now. Who needs to worry about that nonsense? Not us." I shrugged, taking a sip of my piping hot coffee. I attempted to hide the fact that I had just fucking burned my lips off. I also attempted to hide the fact that this conversation was really taking a toll on me. My chest felt heavy, and my heart stung. I don't need this right now. "Heh, yeah I guess..." Lapis murmured quietly, scratching her chin and quickly looking away. I eyed her, and opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.

The bluenette then checked her phone, and her expression looked pained. "I-I think I have to go. I'm uh, late for something." she stated, shoving her phone back into her pocket. "Uh, y-yeah I think I have to go too. I'm late as well." I admitted, checking the time on my cell phone. I also noticed two missed calls from my mother, and more missed calls than I could comprehend from other people, clients, etc. 

"Well...it was nice seeing you again." Lapis muttered, giving a half-smile. "It was a pleasant surprise seeing you as well...I hope your future treats you well. Though you don't exactly need my word on that, things already seem to be heading in a good direction for you." I explained, nodding my head. I tried to keep a straight face throughout the exchange, and I inhaled sharply. "Thanks, I appreciate it. And it seems like you've got a great thing going on for yourself, so I hope th-that continues." she replied, nodding back. 

"Thank you. Well...goodbye again, Lazuli." I stated, gripping my coffee cup. "Yeah...seeya, Peridot." Lapis scratched her cheek. I gave Lapis one more long look, before stepping around her and heading for the door. I decided that the change of pants could wait, and I should just leave then and there. I pulled open the doors once again, and sighed. I spotted my car, then looked down at the concrete I was standing on. I tried to shake the strange encounter I just had off, but it stuck on me. No matter how hard I tried. It was nearly impossible to forget an exchange like that. 

I was halfway to my car before I just stopped walking altogether. I slowly turned my head to side glance the coffee shop building, pursing my lips tightly. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't. You. Dare. I took a deep breath, then continued to walk toward my vehicle. No way. Not again. 

Lapis' POV:

I ran my fingers through my hair, and sighed heavily. That was humiliating. Not to mention very unexpected. A lump in my throat developed, and I just stood still in the coffee shop in silence. I couldn't even comprehend what the fuck just happened. I probably was never going to see Peridot again, and I just had to let her walk out those doors. I was a wreck without her when she left, and she still had ran through my mind quite often. I felt as though I could have said so much more.

Why didn't you beg her to stay? Why didn't you apologize FULLY, and show her that you were genuinely sorry. Show her that you genuinely miss her...? God fucking dammit. You idiot. I cursed myself several times, and the lump in my throat only grew larger and larger. It was only a matter of time before I just broke down in the middle of the shop. Before I could let any tears escape my eyes, I spun on my heel and headed straight for the door. I kept my head down, and my breathing was quick. My heart rate had sped up rapidly, and it felt as though my heart was just gonna stop beating altogether.

You fucking idiot...I then accidentally ran into someone on the way out, and I gasped. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I wasn't paying attention, I-" I looked up and froze. Peridot stood there in front of me, visibly startled. "O-oh, heh, my bad. So sorry." I said barely above a whisper. I bit my lip and proceeded to step around her. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE. LAPIS LAZULI WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING. 

"A-actually, Lapis, wait." I then heard Peridot say, and I halted my steps. I froze for a moment, first contemplating whether I was hearing things or not. "Uh, you okay?" I then heard her ask, and I shook my head. "O-oh yeah, for sure. Wh-what's up?" I asked shakily, turning to her. "I-I was actually just wondering if you wanted to maybe...sit down for a bit? Of course if it doesn't interfere with events that you have to attend obviously." she asked, seeming a bit hesitant. I stared at her longingly, and my mouth gaped open. She then appeared to be confused, and leaned forward a bit, waving a hand in front of my face. "Hello?" she called.

"Oh! Sorry, gah, I'm just...t-tired." I lied. Well half-lied. I was tired. "O-oh, well w-we don't have to if you-" "WAIT NO OF COURSE!" I cut her off, raising a hand. "I th-think I got some time to spare." I said in a quieter tone, of course nervous as fuck. "O-oh. Great! After you." she then said, holding the door open for me. I screamed at the top of my lungs inside my mind, but externally nodded to her with a small smile. 

I re-entered the coffee shop, and we both approached a table. She slid into the seat across from me, and gave me a small smile. The first seemingly genuine smile I had seen on her face since before she left Beach City. I then half-heartedly smiled back, feeling a blush coming on.

. . . . 

Peridot's POV:

I had waved to Lapis one more time as I pulled out of the coffee shop parking lot. Lapis waved back with a smile, and I exhaled sharply. As I drove off, I couldn't help but smile to myself genuinely. I pulled out my phone, and clicked on my mother's contact. I held it up to my ear as I gripped the steering wheel with my left hand. I listened to it ring, and I swayed my head back and forth slightly to the beat of the music playing on the radio.

"Hello?"

"Hey, mom."

"Where are you? You said you were on your way ages ago!"

"It hasn't been that long, mom."

"It's been three and a half hours, Peridot!" 

"Yeah, yeah, well I had to make a pit stop!"

"For three and a half hou-"

"Yes. Now stop questioning me. I just called to say I'm on my way."

"Old news. Do you actually mean it this time?"

"Ugh, yes. And also..."

"What?"

"I think I'm gonna stay in Beach City a little longer than originally planned."

"Is that so? What caused the sudden change in perspective? I thought you hated Beach City."

"Just a lil' thinking is all. I'll see you soon mom."

"Alright then. See you soon."

Call ended.

I placed my phone down, and sighed contently. Lapis...Lapis...Lapis...Lapis... I kept hearing her name repeat over and over again in my mind. It was inescapable...something was happening. Something had sparked again. Something... it was an inevitable landslide. Whether it slid straight down into burning hell or the sweet escape of ecstasy...I once again couldn't control my demise. 

I looked over at the apartment complex buildings along the road, and thought deeply for a moment.

Hm. 

The End

I checked the date of the very first published chapter of this story, and it was marked November 2nd, 2017. I worked on this story for nearly two years, BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS! This is the longest story I have ever written and I really appreciate all of the votes and feedback on it! This was so goddamn fun to write, and I will always remain a die hard Lapidot fan. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH and I hope y'all enjoyed this story! Once again, so bloody grateful for all of the appreciation this book got <333

I'm debating on a sequel, so maybe you guys could help me with THAT decision :)

-Baggy