-one month later-

A month... it has been a whole month since I last saw Lapis Lazuli. My eyes felt heavy. I haven't slept for a while - I stopped counting. I sat on the front steps of Steven's beach house deck, looking out into the evening breeze. The stars were peeking through slightly, and I looked up at them. My head was throbbing, and my hands felt cold. "You've been having a lot of those lately..." I heard Pearl's voice approach behind me. I slightly turned my head, side-glancing her.

"Been watching me?" I asked in a husky voice, pulling a cigarette away from my lips. She takes a few steps forward. "I always have a cig here and there, but you've been going through packs like nobody's business, Peridot." she replied. "I dunno what you're talking about..." I mutter, looking back up at the stars. "Um... how... are you... doing?" she asked in a timid voice. "Fine. I've been great actually." I lied. All I do is lie to them about my feelings now, because one day, I hope that they won't be lies anymore... they'll just be the truth.

"You really need to cut back on those." she said. I looked down at the cigarette, then I turned to look at her. I dug the tip of it into the sand and flicked it away from me. "I'm getting a beer." I stated, walking past Pearl. "You've had a lot of those lately too, Peridot." I rolled my eyes and groaned, giving her a stare. She just stared back, crossing her arms. I noticed that my temper had shortened as well, causing me to lash out more often at people. Whether it be Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst, Steven, or even Pumpkin. I balled my fists and grunted, deciding to go for a walk instead. I felt Pearl's eyes all the way until I was out of her sight.

I kicked a nearby can across the area, and looked over at the ocean. I felt my heart ache as the waves washed over the shore so peacefully, and the beautiful blue color of the sea gleamed thanks to the moon. I hadn't realized I was crying until my visor fogged up and I grumbled. I took it off and looked at it, trying to clean it. Nothing was really helping, causing me to growl in response. I shoved it in my pocket and roughly rubbed my eyes, sniffling. I felt the temperature of my face rise, and I tried to take a few deep breaths.

I hadn't even bothered to call Lapis this whole time, because I already knew she wasn't going to answer. She's not like that. I know her. God I miss her so much. I sniffled again, and wiped the tears from my face. I'm a mess without her. I pulled out my phone and checked the time - 10:34 PM. I pulled out my earphones from my back pocket and decided to listen to some music to get my mind off of it. I played it on shuffle and sat in the sand, resting my chin in my hand.

The hard part always seems to last forever...

Sometimes I forget that we aren't together,

Deep down in my heart I hope you're doing alright...

I started writing in the sand, beginning to quietly sing to the lyrics.

But I'll keep your number saved, 'cause I hope one day you'll get the sense to call me,

I'm hoping that you'll say you're missing me the way I'm missing you...

So I'll keep your number saved 'cause I hope one day I'll get the pride to call you,

To tell you that no one else is gonna hold you down the way that I do...

I felt my foot start tapping to the beat and my head slightly bobbing. I looked behind me to make sure Pearl wasn't watching, and reached into my pocket. I pulled out another cigarette and a lighter. I put the cigarette in between my lips and carefully lit it, and put the lighter back into my pocket. I continued slightly bobbing to the music, blowing out a puff of smoke as I removed the cigarette. I then started singing to it louder, getting into it.

I hope you think of all the times we shared,

I hope you'll finally realize I was the only who cared,

I got up from my seat and started sliding my feet across the sand, moving my shoulders to the beat. I twirled and bobbed my head, running my fingers through my hair. I sang louder:

It's crazy how this love thing seems unfair,

You won't find a love like mine anywhere...

But I'll keep your number saved 'cause I hope one day you'll get the sense to call me...

Amethyst's POV:

I walked across the beach toward the direction Pearl said Peridot was in. I saw a figure in the distance and I heard singing. I then realized it was Peridot, and she was dancing next to the shore. "...hoping that you'll saaayyy you're missing me the way I'm missing youuu~!" I walked a little closer, making sure not to make any noise. She did a little twirl and her shoulders and hips swayed gracefully, and her blonde hair flowed through the light breeze.

I recognized the song was by Khalid, but I couldn't remember what it was called. "... so I'll keep your number saved 'cause I hope one day I'll get the pride to call you~to tell you that no one else is gonna hold you down the way that IIIII dooo~" Saved! That's what it was called...she looks so into it. Not to mention she had a pretty good voice too. I decided to go and have a talk with Peridot since we never solved things over the past month or so.

I couldn't stand the tension between us and I just wanted to be her friend again. I decided to put my feelings aside and just consider her feelings for once. And I'll respect them...even if they aren't for me. I caused this mess, so this was the least that I could do.

Peridot's POV:

So I'll keep your number saved, 'cause I hope one day you'll get the sense to call me,

I'm hoping that you'll say you're missing me the way I'm missing YOUUUU!!!

... keep your number saved 'cause I hope one day I'll get the pride to call you...

...to tell you that, I'm finallyyy over you...

...finally over you...

... finally over you...

"WHOOP-!" THUMP!!

A loud thump against the sand startled me and caused me to yelp and turn around. "Amethyst?!" I asked in a high-pitched voice. The cigarette previously in my mouth fell out and I had a coughing fit of smoke. She was laying face first in the sand, slowly getting up to look at me. "Uh hehe... sorry... I tried to be quiet..." she muttered, looking to the side. "What did you even trip on?" I asked, squinting. She shrugged in response and blushed. I immediately felt my face heat up as I realized that she probably witnessed my whole dancing episode.

"H-how much... did you see?" I asked, feeling my chest tighten up. "Enough." she replied, chuckling. I groaned and looked away, digging my fingernails into my arm. "You have a nice voice... and you got them dance moves too!" she added, laughing. I was still mad at her, so I glared at her. "Look... I just wanted to say I'm sorry." she said. "Oh now you do..." I grumbled, crossing my arms. "I'm serious, Peridot. I really didn't think it would turn into something as big as Lapis leaving you. I just...needed to make the lie to make me feel better about myself..." she explained, wrapping her arms around herself.

I continued to glare. "And I know it was a selfish move... and you don't have to forgive me right away, or at all... but I'm really hoping we could move past this and fix things between us." Amethyst said. I furrowed my eyebrows and thought deeply. "Sorry doesn't bring Lapis back." I deadpanned, looking out to the ocean. "I know... I'm really, truly sorry..." she said, looking down. I sighed loudly, rolling my eyes. "Well... what now?" I asked, throwing my arms up, staring at the ocean still. "Hey...why don't we prank some Beach City citizens to make ya feel better?" she asked, smirking.

"Pass." I replied blankly. "Come onnnnn dude. Please?" she held up to clown masks in her hands. "Where were you keeping those?" I asked, looking at her suspiciously. She just stared at me with a goofy smile, and I felt my lips purse. "Never mind, I don't wanna know." I added, shaking my head.

. . . .

We spent the next hour or so terrorizing Beach City Citizens with clown masks as they walked down the alley or came out of shops. I had to admit it did make me feel a little better, but not enough to completely shift my mood. It had started raining hard, and I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. "I'm ready to call it a night." I said, looking over at Amethyst. "Aw come on, don't be a wimp, man." she replied. "It's pouring outside and it's freezing out here, Amethyst. I'm not sticking arou-" CRASH!!

Amethyst and I jerked our heads toward the loud sound, and we gasped in unison. There were a few figures with hoods on, and they had knocked over a trash can. We put our masks back on and  booked it, diving behind a corner, and I slightly peeked over to get a better look at the guys. They were all wearing leather jackets, and a few had yellow diamond insignias printed on them, and a few had blue diamond insignias. "Shit, we gotta go." I whispered, feeling myself shaking. "How?! They're gonna see us!" Amethyst whispered back with a distressed look on her face.

I thought for a moment, and I decided that the best option was to call some backup. I pulled out my phone, feeling my heart beat faster as the seconds went by. "Watch my back." I said, and Amethyst nodded. I called Garnet, praying that she would answer.

"Hello?"

"Garnet, we need backup right now. Diamond activity out here."

"Got it. Where are you guys?"

"We're on Main Street right in front of the shops."

"We'll be right there."

"Thanks so much."

I hung up, and looked behind me, to find Amethyst waving her arms maniacally. I raised an eyebrow and felt my stomach drop as I heard footsteps getting closer. I couldn't see too well out of the mask, but I knew that I just had to manage and squint my eyes. The shady figures turned the corner, and stood before us in silence. I held my breath, feeling my heart beat now at 100 miles an hour. I could feel Amethyst trembling beside me, and her breathing hard.

I heard a 'shink' noise as something shined into my eyes. I realized it was the gleam of a pocket knife one of the guys just popped out. I took a deep breath, and slowly reached into my back pocket. I pulled out my pocket knife and did the same, popping it out and taking a step forward. Amethyst grabbed a nearby metal pipe and held it like a baseball bat. It seemed like Amethyst and I stared down the diamond gang for hours.

That is until the one who pulled out their knife jolted forward toward me. I readied my knife, and charged back with just as much power.