Unwanted Attraction (The Sequel to Shattered Hearts)

Chapter 11

Ben gazed out at the sea from a rocking chair he had at the front of his house. Though it was winter now, the ocean never froze over, always staying the same. The bitter wind coming off of it made him shiver though, so he zipped up his jacket a little farther in order to keep out the cold. His sister Kylie stormed out of the house in a rush, her face reddish from the effort and her dark hair flying into her face. "H-Hi," she gasped. "What...are you doing?"

"Watching the ocean. What are you doing?"

"Making sure you're not late for lunch." Kylie giggled as she jumped up onto her older brother's lap. "Wow, the ocean's pretty today."

"I know, right?" Ben breathed in the winds from off of the glittering water and sighed with content. They smelled of salt and were gentler now, as if they were heeding to his wishes. That soon didn't seem to be the case, as a strong gust buffeted them both. Kylie pulled down her knit hat over her ears. "Ben, the ocean is nice, but we should probably go inside. It's really cold."

Ben smiled mischievously. "Oh, really? I had no idea." Kylie laughed, and then her older brother did too. Soon they were both smiling at each other. Ben tripped up his sister playfully and ran inside, nearly falling in the sand. He was pursued by a laughing Kylie, who had recovered from her stumble and was reaching his side in a matter of minutes.

Peridot looked down at her two hands glumly. She had somehow patched up her issues with the per-no...Garnet. She had somehow patched up things with Garnet. The idea of fusing with the reddish gem still left a bad taste in her mouth, but she was glad to understand her, if only a little bit.

She kept looking around with dull eyes. No tears were there-she had long ago decided that she wouldn't cry anymore-but there was still a feeling deep inside of her that something had been left unresolved.

A certain voice interrupted her musings. Peridot lifted her head, relieved-only to see Steven running up to her. The little boy looked worried, so the green gem decided she might as well listen to his words, even if they were extremely weird.

The adolescent hybrid stopped in front of her, gasping for breath. "Peridot," he said, still kind of resembling an Earth fish out of water. "Peridot, I...have something to tell you." The gem rolled her eyes. It was halfhearted, though. She would never admit it, but she had grown quite fond of the kid. Surprised at these thoughts, Peridot suppressed the urge to hit herself to get rid of these moronic ideas and looked at him, trying to calm down. "Yes, S-Steven?" The hybrid straightened up, looking at her with a confused expression. "Um, your eye just twitched."

The gem was ready to kick him out. "That's what you came here to tell me? That's all?"

"No! I just...thought you might want to know." Steven cleared his throat, driving away the awkwardness. "Anyway, I wanted to give this back to you." The child held something out to her, something black and rectangular that Peridot had missed dearly.

The gem beamed, taking it from him gently despite her happiness at seeing it again. "My log? But...I told you to get rid of it!"

"I know, but...Garnet thought you should have it back." He chuckled nervously. "I mean, your logs are so great! Besides, it is yours. No one else will use it like you do."

Peridot looked down at the device. That much was true...the black box wouldn't be used by anyone else.

She also knew now that since her betrayal of her leader, these logs were worthless. Yellow Diamond would never receive them, and she would never go home again. Peridot slumped down against the barn's wall and let out a sigh. "Steven...I'm not feeling up to it." The hybrid gem looked curious, but he understood. "Oh...I can take it back-"