Chapter Text
Something moved. Well, something might've. Pearl didn't know what it was, but what else would wake her up at 3:00 in the morning? She looked around her room, propped up on her elbows. Maybe something fell off of the bed? She did roll around a lot. No, that couldn't be it, because there it is again, and it's coming from the yard.
Shit.
Pearl got out of bed as quietly as she could, and slunk up to the window. She couldn't see much of the yard from here, so that didn't help much. Trying to build up her resolve, she backed away from the window and grabbed a bat that Greg had left lying around when he and Rose had come to visit. She was glad they had decided to go home: Rose and the baby could be in danger. Pearl put that out of her mind and approached the back door. She glanced down at her slippers and put them on out of habit, trying to stay calm before potentially whacking someone with a baseball bat. She wrung her hands around the grip and grabbed the doorknob. Taking a steadying breath, she twisted the knob and pushed, peeking through the two-inch wide space that opened up.
What? Really, what? Pearl sort of just stood there and stared at the person in her yard, patting her dog on the head. Well, he wasn't really her dog. Rose had insisted that he stay with Pearl as a guard dog, at least until she was used to living on her own. Apparently she needed to train him better. Pearl opened the door all the way and let the bat fall to her side. Whoever this was didn't notice her at first, so she took advantage of that and tucked it behind her back before stepping over the landing. "Um, hello?" She got closer before this person even registered that she had said anything, and when they turned to look up at her she could smell the alcohol on them. Amazing. The drunk blinked slowly up at Pearl and slurred something about dogs being great before throwing up right on her feet. Pearl gasped and dropped the bat, cringing and also trying not to move. "My slippers!" she squeaked.
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There was someone talking. She couldn't tell how close the voice was. It echoed and drifted in and out of reach, but when she could make it out, it said things like, "Well I don't know!" and "She yacked on my slippers!" The latter was hollered, and the clearest thing that she heard before opening her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. She was used to seeing those by now. She guessed that she'd gotten drunk again, going by her massive headache. Whose house had she gone to last night? A faint memory of waving at Jenny flared and died in the front of her mind, and she started to remember the party at her friend's house...yesterday? She'd slept through days before, so she couldn't be sure. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Today was gonna be rough. She sat up and squinted around at the small room she was in. Someone had put her on a couch, apparently. There was a bottle of water on the little coffee table in the middle of the room, and a small tv beyond that. She noticed the curtains had been pulled, so it wasn't a bright as it could be in here. She picked up the bottle and noticed another one next to it, but instead of water it was Ibuprofen. She kind of stared at it for a second, and then snatched it up. She felt like she should leave, but something made her want to meet whoever had bothered to give her medicine. She swallowed a few pills and got up on wobbly legs. They felt like noodles with rocks for joints. She steadied herself on the couch's arm and focused on not barfing for a second. "Aw man," she grumbled, "Gotta stop doin this." When the room stopped spinning, she shuffled through the entryway behind the couch. She said, "Hullo?" into the empty kitchen and winced at the sound of her own voice. She sounded like a chain smoker. She really hoped that was a coincidence; she might drink a lot, but smoking wasn't something she ever planned on doing. Like, ever. Gross.
She rubbed at her throat and went through another entryway to her right. Standing there, there was a closed door to her right, and a small hallway to her left. There was a door that looked like it led outside at the end of it. So, the owner of this house was either in the room that she felt like she shouldn't go into, or down the hall. She opted for the safer option and stumbled left, still trying to make her legs feel solid. The room she came to was pretty small because of the washing machine and dryer, and room for the door to swing in all the way. There was another door to her left sitting slightly open, and she could see a shower curtain peeking out.
"Lion!" She snapped to attention, looking for where the voice had come from. She heard commotion from the other side of the door leading outside, and hesitated to investigate. What if this is a bad idea? Should she just leave? She considered it again, frustratedly glancing at the ceiling. She noticed a pair of ballet flats hanging from a peg next to the door. This couldn't turn out that bad, could it? Before she could second-guess again, she reached for the doorknob and tugged it open.
She should have been more cautious about that, because the light that hit her was blinding. When her eyes stopped freaking out, she saw who had taken her in for the night. She was tall, kinda lanky, with strawberry blonde hair cut short against the back of her neck. She had track shorts and tennis shoes on, with a shirt that was open enough at the sides to see the wrap that covered her chest. She was playing with a big, floofy dog that didn't seem to be listening to her at all. "You're such an awful dog. I understand why Rose named you 'Lion' now."
An image of a real lion refusing to play fetch popped into her head and she couldn't help but laugh a little. The tall woman turned and looked at her with surprise on her face.
She felt like she'd disturbed something, and sort of just stood there for a second. She was about to say something, but the tall one beat her to it. "So, what were you doing in my yard at three in the morning?" She didn't really have an answer for that. "You kind of scaled my fence and woke me up, and when I came back here with a bat, you were petting my dog, and then you kind of threw up on my shoes," the tall girl said matter-of-factly.
Her mouth was hanging open by now, and her face was heating up, "Uhh..."
The tall girl continued, "Anyway, I tried to get you to walk inside, but you were pretty much asleep after that, so I just put you on the couch and hoped you wouldn't yack again. What's your name?"
Okay, that's a ton of information to take in. She struggled to form a coherent sentence, "I- uh, A-...Amethyst... Er, did I really barf on your shoes?"
"Well, they were slippers, but that's besides the point: why were you here in the first place?" Amethyst scratched the back of her head, "I... dunno... I don't really remember a whole lot..." She said weakly, avoiding the other girl's gaze. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Pearl," she said, after giving Amethyst a knit look and crossing her arms. "Do you need to use the phone?" Amethyst cringed at the question. She didn't really have anyone to call. "I...no…”
Pearl's stern look softened, and she approached Amethyst with her hands on her hips. "How old are you, anyway?"
Oh, crap. Amethyst heard a stupid remark tumble out of her mouth before she could even consider telling the truth, "Old enough." She was surprised when Pearl laughed at that. "Alright, McLuvin', but you've got to tell me sooner or later." Amethyst felt a grin worm its way onto her face and laughed as Pearl stepped past her and into the house. She realized that she barely came up to this girl's shoulder. She felt fur on her hand and looked down to see Lion the dog blinking up at her. "Hey, little fella. You wanna play?" He let out a cute little yip that stabbed Amethyst's still-sensitive ears like a fog horn. Wincing, she scratched his head and mumbled, "Maybe later."
Amethyst peeked around the wall and into the kitchen. Pearl had a phone tucked in between her chin and her shoulder, and a loaf of bread in her hands. She undid the clip and nearly dropped the phone. "I- I know, Rose- no, I'm fine... You don't have to, you came out here just yesterday, you must be tired... I can handle it! I am living on my own, y'know!" Pearl noticed Amethyst and motioned for her to sit. Pearl dropped some bread into a toaster on the counter and listened to the receiver for a moment. "Right," there was a pause, "she won't say." Pearl glanced at Amethyst over her shoulder, who had taken a seat at the table. She gave her a thumbs- up and turned to the toaster again. "You're wonderful. I'll ask, but don't come over, okay? Let Greg and Garnet take care of you." Pearl put the toast onto a plate and slid it over to Amethyst. She caught a look at Pearls face and blushed a little. She had a really pretty smile. She looked happy. "Okay, bye." She shelved the phone on its wall mount and turned back to Amethyst, who was picking half-heartedly at the food that had been put in front of her.
"You need to eat something," Amethyst jumped at the sudden statement, "Where is that water I left for you?" That reminded Amethyst of the Ibuprofen. "Hey!" she said a little too loudly, "Thanks for the pills, by the way," she rubbed her temple for the tenth time since she'd gone outside. Pearl seemed to color a little, "Oh, uh, you're welcome." Pearl turned and went to the living room. Amethyst leaned over the counter for a second before her hands snapped to her pockets in search of her phone. When she found it in her jacket, she checked for Pearl again before opening a new text window.
1:10 PM Me: Holy shit
1:10 PM Me: What happened last night
Pearl was busy doing something with the couch, and had her back to the kitchen.
1:11 Jenny: Lol where did you go
1:11 Jenny: Nobody knows where you are are you ok
1:11 Jenny: You got smashed last night
1:12 Me: I'm ok, everything's cool, i just can't remember anything
1:12 Me: I'm just kind of in a stranger's kitchen
1:12 Jenny: What!? Did you break into somebody's house!
1:12 Me: Omg no
1:13 Me: I slept on somebody's couch
"Sorry that took so long, I got distracted." Pearl set the water bottle down in front of the uneaten toast and looked at Amethyst, who had shoved the phone into her pocket before Pearl noticed, or at least she hoped so. Amethyst picked up a piece of toast and nibbled on it, avoiding Pearl's eyes.
"Are you ok?" Amethyst looked up at her and chewed slower. Pearl looked...concerned? Well, more like confused.
"Mmhm," Amethyst sipped some water and looked at the counter. She felt her face get hot. Didn't this chick have anything else to look at?
Pearl went to the other side of the table and rested on her forearms so that she and Amethyst were on the same level. "I need to ask you something."
Amethyst chewed on her bottom lip nervously, "Okay."
"Where do you live?" Amethyst honestly hadn't expected that question, and she definitely didn't have an answer for it. "Ehhhrrwelll..." Pearl just raised her eyebrows and leaned forward a little. "I don't... uh..." Amethyst stuttered, "Well, I used to have a place, but I don't really go there...anymore... I just stay with my friends now." Right on cue, Amethyst's phone beeped and hummed in her pocket. She just rubbed the bottle in her hand and bit her lip.
"Can you tell me how old you are now?" Pearl said. She sounded like she was trying to be gentle with that question, but there was a stern tone to her voice that made Amethyst bite her lip a little harder. "Are you a cop?"
Pearl laughed at that, the hard expression on her face from before gone and buried. "Nope, unless you count ballet as a form of law enforcement."
Amethyst smiled a little at that. It didn't loosen her shoulders from their perch next to her ears, but she decided to trust it. "Nineteen."
Pearl's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Wow, really?" Amethyst felt her face got hot again and nodded. "You're pretty young to be drunk and lost in the middle of the night." Amethyst gave her a frustrated look and bit her lip again. "Sorry, not funny," Pearl said. She laced her fingers together and looked down and back up, "Would you like to know some things about me? To make this a bit less awkward, I mean?"
Amethyst fiddled with the plate in front of her, "Sounds good."
Pearl nodded, "Okay... uhh, I'm 22, and I used to live with a really old friend of mine until a few months ago... That's who I was on the phone with." Amethyst nodded slightly. That seemed believable. If she had been lied to today, it probably wasn't happening right now. "Her name is Rose, and she wanted me to ask if you had a place to stay. She worries about stuff like that, you know, she likes to help people." Amethyst raised an eyebrow at that. Shit, really?
Pearl continued, "I started staying with her right after I got away from my parents... when I was old enough to leave. She helped me a lot." Pearl's face got dark for a moment, and Amethyst recognized the look in her eyes. She'd seen it in the mirror before. Amethyst found her hand on both of Pearl's. She tried to look sympathetic. Then, the look was gone. "I'm sorry, I drift like that sometimes." Neither of them moved their hands for a second, and then Amethyst shoved both of hers back into her pockets. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"It's okay," Pearl said, "Do you have family stuff, too? Is that why you're staying with your friends?" Amethyst didn't know how to answer that, either. She could just say it flat out, but experience has taught her that it's a delicate subject. She mumbled something incoherent and cursed herself for being awkward. "Pardon?" Pearl leaned a little more over the counter.
"I'm a foster kid."
Pearl's eyebrows shot up and her jaw dropped just a tiny bit. "Oh," was all that came out, and Amethyst hid behind her hair like she always does. Pearl moved, but Amethyst sat still and stared at the holes in her jeans. That is, until another knee joined hers and she looked up to see Pearl had come to sit next to her. Pearl bumped her knee against Amethyst's and gave her a little smile. Amethyst bit her lip nervously and felt the corner of her mouth twitch. Pearl bent a little and looked up at Amethyst from underneath her bangs. Amethyst was incredibly aware of their shoulders touching. She felt heat climbing up her neck and scratching at her cheeks.
"Do you want somewhere to stay? That's not with your friends?"
Holy. Shit. What?
Amethyst's mouth dropped open a little and a choked noise came out. She managed a strangled "Okay," before Pearl smiled cooly and said quietly, "Alright, I'll ask Rose," her leg rubbed against Amethyst's jeans and she felt their skin touch through a jagged tear. It felt like someone had her heart and lungs in their fists and was trying to shove them up her throat and out of her mouth. "What?"
"She has a pretty big house, I'm sure she'll let you have a room." Amethyst's eyebrows disappeared into the fringe that covered the left side of her face. "Oh-I thought-you don't-,"
"Unless you want to stay here for a while? If you don't mind the couch, I mean?" Amethyst swallowed hard, trying to force her lungs to start working properly. "Y-yeah, that's- yeah."