The Only One For Me 🌈

9: The Thought of You

I woke up the next day with Peri snuggled up next to me. Her eyes fluttered open as I ran my fingers through her hair. I leaned down and kissed her forehead as she smiled.

"How was your sleep?" She muttered something indecipherable and hugged me closer. "What?"

"Good. Especially since I was sleeping with you next to me." I blushed and kissed her. She looked up at me and stretched up to kiss my nose. I could've stayed like that all day. "Do you know how much I love you, Lazuli?"

"I do, because I love you just as much, 'Dot." I kissed her again. "I've gotta go go get some stuff from the store." I was lying. Peri sighed and looked down.

"Okay." She kissed me and let me go. I stood up and kissed her. It broke my heart to lie to her, but I couldn't tell her what I was actually doing.

"Bye, Peri!" I walked out to the warp pad and went to the temple.

When I got there, the gems weren't home, so I sat on their couch and waited patiently for their arrival. Not long after I had sat down, the gems warped in. Steven saw me and ran over to hug me.

"Hey Lapis! Any specific reason youre here?" He stepped back and I waved to the gems as they went inside their rooms so I could speak to Steven.

"Yeah, actually. I need to get a ring for Peridot. For when I'm ready. Not right right away." Steven clasped his hands in front of his face and smiled, making me blush.

"Yeah, I'll help you. Let's go." We walked out the door. I picked Steven up and allowed him to get situated on my back before taking off. A few minutes later we arrived at a jewelry shop Steven had directed me to. We walked in and a woman approached us from behind the counter.

"Hi! How may I help you today?" She seemed nice enough, but I still wrung my hands nervously.

"I'm looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend." I waited to see her reaction. Instead of the outburst I had expected, she smiled.

"Okay! Over here," she said, leading us to a glass case filled with rings, "we have an assortment of metals with many different kinds of gems." I felt the color leave my face. I stood frozen, staring at the countless gems in the rings. Steven looked up at me, worried.

I turned on my heel and bolted out the door without thinking. I ran as fast as I could and stopped about 3 blocks away at a bench. I sat down and put my head in my hands. Surely, they had seen my gem, a far larger one than the ones in the rings, and would stop at nothing to get it, even if it meant poofing me. And never letting me out.

I heard footsteps approach, then a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Steven, looking guilty. I gave him a quizzical look, as he had done nothing wrong. He bit his lip and a tear escaped from his eye.

"I'm sorry Lapis. I didn't know how you would react. I should've told you. But those gems, were never gems, never had the chance of being gems. They were mined from the earth by humans, and were put in jewelry because they are pretty. They were never alive." The tears were flowing from his eyes freely now. I got up and hugged him, tears leaking from my eyes as well.

"Steven, please don't cry. It's okay. It's not your fault. I ran because I thought they would want my gem, and would get it at any means possible. Let's just go somewhere else and get something cheap, with no gems. I don't want Peri freaking out, either." He nodded and took my hand. We walked to the store and picked out a ring. I took it home and hid it under a loose floorboard.

Now, to wait for the right time.