Aραтιтє - A Steven Universe OC Story

Chapter 7 | The Aftershock

      After that meeting with the green gem and becoming a nervous wreck, Steven insists that I sleep on the couch and inside. The less sand on me, the better and cleaner. But even after everything that happened earlier; lying to Pearl and Steven about the coat, only defeating one Holo-Pearl, and encountering the stranger from when I was trying to get here again; I'm extremely shook. While everyone else in the temple is resting, I remain nocturnal, like an owl. Was that gem a peridot? Or... a green topaz? Tourmaline? Green Chrysoprase? There's way too many too many green gems to actually name. Plus there could also be more than one of the same gem, like numerous peridots and quartz's.

      Feeling like an insomniac, I sit up right and toss my blanket aside. My arms and legs are somewhat aching from running around in the arena and stuff. While I should be resting my body for tomorrow's training, my mind says no. I take a good look around before wiping my eyes, and only then is when I notice a small, purple mobile organism. I believe her name's Amethyst, and it looks like she's grabbing some late night snacks from the refrigerator. She backs up holding a stack of food which is about the length and width of my body. When she kicks the fridge close, she glances at my direction and throws a question at me. "Why're you awake, kid? I thought humans needed to sleep." She utters before looking back up to where Steven's sleeping.

      "Not all humans are the same, Amethyst." I say before trying to come up with another reasonable excuse. "Besides, I'm also half gem too. I'm just chilling without hiding away in Apatite's room." She narrows her eyes for a second before shrugging whatever thought she had away. I'm glad though, because I'm way too tired to actually speak. I wait for her to leave before I lurch to the other side of the couch for my precious donut backpack. 

      "Oh donut backpack, I missed you so much." I whisper to myself and the novelty bag. It was in need of an emergency patch up, but I think I'll do that later. I try to tug the zipper to open the pack, reminding myself that I can't wake Steven up. I don't want him to find out about the mysterious gem before I do. I don't know why to be frank. I tear through the bag for Apatite's journal and once I see the leather cover, I grab it and push the bag away with my hand. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry-" I apologize to the donut backpack after I shove it.

      I try to flip through the pages and see if I can pick up anything, but everything is really unintelligible. I don't understand why though. Do I need glasses now? Did the arena's dust damage my vision? I keep turning the pages until one page slits the tip of my index finger. "Ouch!" I mutter underneath my breath, looking at my finger semi-dramatically with one eye. I notice it slightly reddening, and I try to blow on it to make it feel better. On the other side, it starts to sting and I notice some blood coming out from the cut. Well, it's just one drop, but it's oozing out so slowly and I feel like a blood clot or something is forming. The last time I must've gotten a paper cut was most likely ages ago, since I don't ever recall it hurting this much.

     It feels like my time is ending, and I start to chew on my bottom lip to withhold my tiny yelps of pain. That's when I remember the band-aids in my backpack. I keep my sliced finger away and grab the first-aid kit, opening it and taking one band-aid out. With my finger's blood still oozing out and the band-aid in my uncut hand, I make my way to the sink. I heard that you should run the water underneath warm water to worsen the effect of the cut then bandage it after you dry it. And that's exactly what I do. It's so that the tiny cut doesn't get infected by the regular bacteria that hangs around on your finger. 

      After that battle between page and finger tip, I figure out that the reason I couldn't see anything in the book properly was because I didn't have a light source. A light source. I cut my finger and almost kill myself over just using a flashlight or something to simply read. I wish I could face palm, but my hands already feel a little sore. Maybe I'll try to discover whether Apatite knew her or not in the morning, when there's actually light shining through the windows. I'm already sorta tired, and with my sleep schedule already messed up I should really try to get it back on track.

      I return to the couch, but as I sit down on it, I notice something out of the corner of my eye. My head turns towards it, but all I see is the raggedy trench coat I tugged off of the green gem. I softly push it off of the couch with the bottom of my foot. Then I stretch a little bit in place, and lay my head down on the given pillow. I leave my backpack where it is, and pull the also given blanket over my body. I never realized I yearned for warmth this much. When I close my eyes, it's like a second passes by and morning comes.

      The annoyance of the sun pushing in and making contact with my skin is very.. large? I find myself on the floor, face down, while the sun beats itself down onto the back of my legs. How and when did this happen? I'm not even on the floor next to the couch anymore, I'm in line of the door. I try to sit up and map out what happen, until my thoughts are interrupted by a booming voice. 

      "Gooood morning, everyone!" I hear Steven yelling energetically while he's coming down the stairs. His voice must've woken everyone in the temple up. "Hey! Abby! Why're you on the floor? Do you need some help?" He offers me a hand, but I simply shake my head and respond with, "I think I'll stay down here for a while." He simply says "OK" and continues on with making breakfast. I hear the temple door open at least three once; I sit upright and look back, only to see Pearl facing Steven with her hands clasped. She seems just as enthusiastic as Steven.

      "Good morning, Pearl! Where's Garnet and Amethyst?" Steven asks her, while I wonder the same thing. Was it usual for them to just not show up? "Well, you know their habits... Garnet does solo work while Amethyst just.. does whatever she wants!" Perhaps she's just sleeping, or maybe is with Garnet. Whatever they're doing isn't exactly my concern though. "Ah, good morning Abigail!" 

      Pearl must've caught my sharp staring, because when she whips around to look back down at me, she catches me completely off guard. I try to stand up, but stumble back unsparingly. "Uh,.. Morning, Pearl!" As if I was a child, she briskly walks towards me and lifts me up, while dusting off my dark brown, matted hair. I childishly pout at her before joining Steven once again for breakfast. This time he's making pancakes, the better and flatter type of waffles that would never taste like cardboard. Pearl mentions something else to me, but I barely pay attention as I watch Steven top off the stacks with whipped cream, syrup and fruits.