Rock on

Chaper 15

Lapis' POV:

As I got into Aquamarine's car, I turned around to greet Aquamarine personally. "Hey Aquamarine! Happy Birthday!" I said, giving her a shoulder hug before climbing back into my seat. "Yeah, yeah," Aquamarine said, trying to push me away with annoyed glances, but one could tell she loved all the attention she was getting. "So, what are you going to get at the mall?" I asked as I buckled my seatbelt tightly around my waist. "Well, I was thinking of going to that jewelry store right in front of the perfume place; they have all the right taste in there," she said, lifting her head high as she imagined smelling the different kinds of scents the perfume would give off. "That's great. It's your birthday, so I'm happy you're treating yourself," I said with a happy smile. "I'm glad they let you off work today." "I said with a confused smile, hoping she would enlighten me more about that topic. 'Well, like you said, it's my birthday, so I told them to give me the day off. And as they should have, they listened,' she said proudly."

"Well, I might be in big trouble with the boss when I come in tomorrow." I haven't been at work for two days, but for good reasons of course. Not feeling well, and caring for others' needs, which is Pumpkin. I was going out to buy the things she needed to live in my house: a bed, food, bowls, all those lovely things. As we got closer to "Red Temple Mall," I had seen a car that looked an awful lot like Peridot's car, but that could just have been a major look-alike. We got our parking spot, and Aquamarine locked her door behind her. We decided to head to the closest pet shop we could find, which was fairly close to the entrance doors. As we walked in, the smell of pet treats surrounded us. I didn't mind, but Aquamarine's face was all scrunched up and disgusted. The shop didn't really have animals, except a few fish and a bunch of crickets to be fed to my lizards. I wanted to get this over with, so I walked over to the dog beds and scanned through them. Pumpkin was still a pup, so she wasn't that big yet, but she would be sure to grow sooner or later. So I got an orange dog bed that was twice the size of Pumpkin. I decided to get the puppy pellets and a few puppy treats as well. I was running out of money, so I decided to leave the bowls for now; I'm sure I have a few extra bowls at my place for that.

As we walked out of the pet store, my bank money dropped way lower than before, we spotted a crowd around the middle of the mall. It looked like there was a fountain from where everyone stood. I frowned. I should have just ignored it, but my curiosity got the better of me. "And where do you think you're going, missy?" Aquamarine said, grabbing the back of my shirt before I could take another step closer to the crowd. "I just wanna see what the commotion is about, Aquamarine," I said, trying to pull away. She looked at me suspiciously before sighing. "Just make it quick," she said, holding her finger across her nose bridge. "Great, thanks," I said, thrusting the dog bedding and food into her chest. "Keep an eye out for things! Thanks!" I said as I ran towards the crowd. Aquamarine looked shocked; she slowly shook her head as she looked at the dog goods. "Worst Birthday yet."

As I tried to push through the crowd to just catch a glimpse, I saw a muscular, tall woman with long white-creamed hair standing in the middle, and below her was a blonde girl that lay on the ground, trying her best to get on her feet. I saw a few pieces of glass lying on the floor and a pair of green-tinted glasses beside it. It was Peridot. She was hurt. I was frozen. My eyes scanned Jasper and then back to Peridot. I shook the shock away and grabbed the nearest person's shoulders, making them face my way. I grabbed a middle-aged man with a messy beard and glasses on. "Get security! Now!" I screamed as my attention flew towards Peridot again. I darted towards the middle of the circle that the crowd was forming. I took my stance in front of Jasper, my back facing Peridot. "Stop it! What are you doing, Jasper?!" I said in a stressed yet defensive tone. "Lapis? W-what are you doing!?" I heard a voice behind me ask. Peridot's voice was shocked and vulnerable; it made me feel sick to my stomach. I don't ever want to see her in this position. I turned around to face Peridot and told her gently, "Peridot, we need to get you out of here. I already told someone to call security," I said with a worried expression.

I tried to throw Peridot's arms over my neck while not trying to hurt her any further. Peridot looked in really bad shape, with blood dripping from her nose and mouth, and she had a black eye. As I tried to get Peridot to stand up, a tug on my arm was felt from behind. I immediately fell backwards but was caught by Jasper. Jasper pulled me closer, practically right next to her body. "Come on, baby, why so snappy now, huh?" Jasper asked with a smirk as she squeezed her fingers against my cheek, holding it tightly. "Let me go!" I grunted, trying to get out of her hold, but my struggle did nothing to Jasper; it only made her grip tighter. "Leave her be, Jasper!" I heard Peridot yell from behind.

As I was about to intervene for Peridot to stand back, I saw two men rush behind Jasper and hold her arms tightly behind her back; I was guessing they were security guards. Finally, I was directed away from Jasper, and without second thoughts, I rushed to Peridot and tried to lift her a little further up, throwing her arm around my neck and holding her waist for extra support. We urgently walked outside the mall doors. I signaled for a taxi to park in front of us, and luckily there was a taxi on the way already. As the taxi stopped, I opened the car door for Peridot, gently placing her down. Peridot grunted in pain. I would do anything to take this torture away from her. I closed Peridot's door and rushed to the other side, taking a seat next to her. "Where to, ma'am?" The driver asked in a polite tone, but I was in a hurry. "483 East Side Lane," I said in a snappy voice as I took $12 and threw it on the seat next to the driver. Luckily, the driver did not question it and steadily drove off towards my house.

I felt Peridot shake, holding her one arm and gasping every once in a while when she accidentally touched a bruise. I decided to comfort her, even though I was furious. How could she get in a fight like that, and with Jasper of all people?! But I shook the anger off and grazed my hand over her thigh. Peridot felt my action and gave a glare, a soft smile appeared on Peridot's face, almost telling me not to worry. I didn't believe that smile; it was just a cover-up. But I decided to cool down and close my eyes. I moved even closer to Peridot, throwing my arm around her neck and laid my head down on her fluffy blonde hair. A few seconds later, Peridot did the same; she rested her head on my shoulder, feeling her body become easy and calm. It was good that she decided to rest for a bit, at least until we make it to my house.

(1348 Words)