Chapter Text
Peridot Greene walked down the hallways of Beach City High School, her bookbag heavy with 10 pound textbooks, spiral notebooks already filled with notes, and at least 20 pencils and 10 pens, with a very specific thought in her mind.
'Make it to class before anyone else notices you're here.'
Peridot kept walking, her green sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor. She kept looking left and right, making sure no one dangerous noticed she was there already. Of course she got the odd look of disappointment from the more socially acceptable students, but what do you expect when you're the biggest nerd in Beach City High?
Peridot finally made it to her first period, math class with Ms. Opal. She breathed a sigh of relief and reached for the doorknob, only to feel a large, muscular hand grab her shoulder.
"Hey there, runt." A voice called from behind her.
Busted.
Peridot was quickly spun around, picked up, and pinned to the nearby lockers. She let out a small yelp of pain as she met the eyes of her attacker. Her glasses started skidding off her nose.
"H-Hello there, Japser." Peridot squeaked.
"Well, lookie here. Tiny little Peridot, all alone in the middle of the hallway, no teachers to be found. It must be my lucky day..." Snarled Jasper.
The gigantic jock towered over the small nerd, even though she was pinned to the lockers above the ground. Her muscles were practically tearing through her sport's jacket.
"W-What do you want, Jasper?" Asked Peridot, slightly shaking.
"You already know what I want. There’s History homework today, and I know you already have it done. You’re smart, you can put two and two together." The jock replied, smirking.
Peridot let out a nervous chuckle. "W-Well, the thing is Jasper, I… I forgot my history homework today. Yeah, I... I forgot it on my desk this morning! Yep, silly old me! Always forgetting my work, ha!"
Jasper tightened her grip on Peridot's shoulder. "Bull. Shit. I already know you have got than enough copies. Or what, you think you get to pick and choose who gets your help? HA, that’s funny!” Peridot started shaking. “Hand over the answers, or I'll rearrange your face to something more... bloody." She threatened.
Peridot gulped before putting on the toughest, least intimidated face she could muster. "No, Jasper." She said sternly.
"What was that, runt?"
Peridot's expression faltered. "I-I said no." She replied, her voice cracking.
'Nice going, Peridot. Now you're even LESS intimidating. As if that was even possible...'
"That's it, I think you need another lesson on who's in charge here." Jasper said, her brow furrowing.
"I think you heard the gremlin, Jasper. Put her down. Now." A voice called from the other end of the hallway.
Both Jasper and Peridot looked over to see who stopped the oncoming massacre. Peridot breathed a sigh of relief, while Jasper let out a growl of annoyance.
Lapis Lazuli came strolling down the hallway, her vibrant blue hair easily distinguishing her from any other student at the school. She walked towards the jock and nerd duo, her face completely deadpan.
"Aw, what's wrong with this, Lapis? I'm just having a little FUN with Peridot here." Jasper said, pushing Peridot harder into the locker.
"I don't give a shit what you're doing, Stripes. Put Peridot down, now. Or do you want a repeat of 9th grade again?" Lapis said, almost no emotion in her voice.
Jasper seemed to contemplate her choices before finally letting Peridot go reluctantly. She turned towards the small nerd and spoke in a low voice.
"One of these days your blue haired bitch won't be around to protect you. And that's the day I'm gonna be able t-"
Lapis abruptly grabbed Jasper's collar and spun her around, looking her straight in the eyes with a death stare.
"What the hell did you just say about me?" Lapis asked.
"N-Nothing!" Jasper stuttered as she wiggled out of Lapis' grasp and ran down the hallway.
Peridot breathed a sigh of relief as she slowly got up. "T-Thank you, Lapis."
Lapis' hand shot out from her side, narrowly missing her face. Peridot looked down at it, and then looked up at Lapis. Lapis looked at Peridot out of the corner of her eye, like she was expecting something.
"Oh, right!" Exclaimed Peridot as she grabbed her backpack and started digging through it. After a minute if searching, she pulled out two completed History worksheets and handed them to Lapis.
Lapis snatched them out of Peridot's hand and looked them over, checking their quality. "And these are all right, right?"
Peridot scoffed. "As if you even need to ask me that, Lapis." She said smugly.
Lapis glanced at Peridot before stuffing the papers into her own bookbag. "Anyone else been picking on you lately, nerd? Or is it just Stripes?" Lapis asked.
Peridot shook her head. "Nope, just Jasper. Everyone else has sorta left me alone because of you. Thanks again, by the way." She said reassuringly.
Lapis gave a small nod and began walking towards the math class door. "Well, come on then. I know you're basically obsessed with your perfect attendance."
Peridot nodded and followed Lapis into the classroom. They walked in and sat down in their usual spots: next to each other in the middle of the room.
The first bell rang, letting the other students know it was time to get to class. As more students started filling into the class, Ms. Opal got up from her chair and started writing equations on the board.
Eventually, Bismuth and Amethyst entered the classroom, Bismuth sitting by Lapis, and Amethyst sitting by Peridot.
"Morning, Bis." Lapis said, greeting her friend.
"Hey Blue! How are things going?" Responded the muscular woman.
"They're going."
Ms. Opal finally finished writing on the board, just as the bell rang again. "Good morning class! Today we are going to be going over Polynomial Functions, and then we have a small assignment at the end of class. Can you please pull out your textbooks and turn to page 322?" She said.
Peridot opened her backpack and pulled out the large textbook, setting it on her desk and turning to the right page. Lapis simply put her head down on her desk.
"Psst, hey nerd. You got me covered, right?" Lapis said, looking at Peridot.
Peridot looked towards Lapis and nodded. "Yep. You can go to sleep now." She responded.
Lapis gave a huff and closed her eyes, settling into a deep rest.
Peridot began to listen to the teacher, pulling out another notebook and taking notes. Halfway through the class, Lapis began snoring, and Bismuth herself was having trouble keeping her eyes open.
Peridot shook her head in disapproval before turning her attention back to her notes. But before she could continue, she felt a light tapping on her right shoulder. She looked over to see that Amethyst was trying to get her attention.
"Hey, why do you let her do that to you?" Asked Amethyst, looking concerned.
"Let who do what?" Asked Peridot, obviously confused by the question.
"Let Lapis use you like that! Man, she literally is asking you to do all her work while she sleeps through class!" Said Amethyst.
"Oh, that? I don't see what the problem with it. It's not like I'm not getting anything out of this. As long as I keep doing her work, I have some sort of protection from the bullies at this school." Responded Peridot, obviously familiar with both the question and the answer.
"Dude, you can get other people to help protect you! Hell, I'm your friend! I could protect you without having you doing my work! She's just using you."
"Amethyst, Lapis knows kick boxing. You got a cramp from standing up once." Peridot said, monotone.
Amethyst let out a grumble. "My point is that one day, Lapis is gonna stop protecting you, and you're still gonna be doing her stuff. She's more of a bully to you than the actual bullies are!"
"Amethyst, this isn't just about protection..." Peridot said, a slight pink blush appearing over her face.
Amethyst looked at Peridot for a moment before noticing the blush and realizing what she meant. "Oh. OH! Man, but why her? I'm pretty sure there's a hundred people that would treat you better than her."
"The only two people who actually treat me okay in this school is Lapis and you. Everyone else is either a bully or makes fun of me behind my back. Even the other nerds make fun of me..." Peridot said, her expression changing to a sad one.
"Hey hey hey, don't be sad! I'm sorry I brought it up. Listen, you know I'm just trying to look out for you, right? You're basically like a sister to me at this point." Reassures Amethyst.
Peridot let out a small smile. "I know, and I appreciate it. But I have my reasons for my actions. Why don't we change the topic?" She said.
"Oh, okay! Um... Oh, I'm throwing a party this weekend! There'll be music, people, food, it'll be fun! You should come, you might meet some new people!" Said Amethyst.
"Amethyst... you know I don't like parties. I'm not a people person, and I can't dance to save my life. Besides, didn't you wake up hungover in Surf City last time you threw a party? That doesn't sounds like the experience for me." Peridot said, trying to focus on her work.
Amethyst held up her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. I won't pressure you into anything you don't want to do, but I really think you should go."
Peridot let out a small sigh. "I'll... I'll keep it in mind, okay?"
A large smile overtook Amethyst face. "Alright, I'll take it!" She said as she fist-pumped.
Peridot let out a small chuckle and went back to her work. She still needed to focus, after all she was working for two.