Sorry, I'm bad at this. (NSFW AND MATURE CONTENT WARNING) (Lapidot Human AU)

Chapter 17

We walked out into the wilderness and picked an area to start setting down our things. Lapis dropped her duffel bag on the ground and sat down on a rock with a groan. "I'll set up the tent!" Amethyst said, placing down the bag with the folded up tent onto the dirt. She unzipped the bag and pulled out the tarps. "It's getting a little dark." Pearl said, looking at the stars peeking through the sky slightly. "Don't worry guys, I got this." Squari said. "We just need some branches and sticks to burn and we'll have a fire in no time." she explained, putting her hand on her hips. Mehmehmuhmehmuhmehmuh, I mimicked in my head.

Lapis and I walked out into the tree area and look around for sticks. "The weather's nicer than I expected." Lapis said, picking up a leaf and looking at it closely. I watched her as she stared at it intently with a cute expression on her face. "Yeah...breezy..." I said as the rustle of the trees echoed the forest. I found some sticks and twigs, and used my sweatshirt to carry them like a little bag. Lapis let go of the leaf, letting it fly with the wind, and she picked up some sticks as well. She followed me back out of the tree area and I looked over at Squari.

She was sitting there and instantly beamed as she spotted Lapis coming out. "Ah! The sticks! Thank you Lapis!" she praised as she took the sticks from the bluenette. She set them on the ground, then took mine, throwing them on top of Lapis's. "Alright, watch the master. I learned this in a nature survival class." she explained, kneeling next to the twigs with two sticks in her hands. She just watches Man vs. Wild a lot. Don't believe her for a second. She rubbed the sticks together quickly, picking up the pace. I didn't see any spark whatsoever, and I was starting to get tired of this.

"Hey is that a bear?!" Squari asked, looking over in the distance. Everyone except me looked over at the place she pointed at, and she quickly took her lighter out and lit the sticks on fire. She placed it back in her pocket and picked the two sticks up again pretending to rub them harder. I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Uh, nevermind, false alarm hehe." Squari muttered as she gave a smile to them. "So sick of your shit..." I mumbled under my breath rolling my eyes.  "Ta-da!" Squari waved her hands at the fire, and everyone except Lapis gasped in awe.

Lapis probably didn't gasp because she's not easily impressed. She then gave me this look....this look that told me she saw what Squari did - and she didn't believe her either. I looked back with the same stare, getting a little flustered. I knew she was too smart for Squari's tricks. I smirked to myself, but I was also worried that Squari wasn't gonna stop at just her tricks. She was gonna continue flirting with her, using her charm...and I needed to prevent Lapis from falling into the trap. "Uh guys, what do you think about sleeping under the stars tonight?" Amethyst aske,d scratching the back of her neck.

I looked behind her and spotted the tent...or what was made of it. It was pretty much a torn cloth draped across the ground with the tarps ripped through the cloth. One of the poles was even snapped in half and another one was missing. "Amethyst, how did you manage to do that?!" Pearl asked, looking annoyed. "THE RACCOONS MESSED IT UP!!" Amethyst shouted defensively. "There are no raccoons around this part." I corrected. "I think sleeping under the stars is a great idea. And may the prettiest star here get the first spot to pick~" Squari gestured to Lapis, and Lapis looked at my sister.

"I think Peridot should get the first pick." she said, looking over at me with a straight face. "What? Why?" Squari asked. Lapis looked at the ground and cleared her throat, scooting her foot across the dirt. "Because I said so." she replied. "Welp. Whatever the angel wants." Squari flirted again. I blushed as Lapis avoided eye contact with me, and I loved how she was such a stubborn bitchy sweetheart. But ugh, Squari is so cheesy it makes me wanna jump into a pit of lava. 

Later that night, the others were talking, laughing, and telling stories. I sat kind of in silence, just commenting here and there, eating my burnt s'more. I noticed how Lapis talked to Squari more than she talked to me, and that pissed me off. I crossed my arms and groaned, standing up and leaving the camp fire. "I'm gonna go find more sticks." I stated. Soon, I felt footsteps behind me, and I was spooked, so I slowly turned around and trembled. But it was just Pearl, so I breathed out in relief. "Pearl. It's just you." Pearl looked at me and tilted her head, looking like she was thinking. 

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Wh-what do you mean? Nothing's wrong." I replied, avoiding eye contact. Pearl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, giving me a skeptical look. "Ugh, fine...yes there's something wrong. It's just that Lapis seems to open up more to Squari than me and...I think she's winning her over." I said, looking to the side, feeling a lump in my throat. Pearl then sat on a log and patted the spot next to her, signaling for me to sit with her. I slumped into the spot and rested my chin in my hand. "Now...why would you think someone like Squari would win someone like Lapis over?" Pearl asked. 

I looked up at her in question. "What do you mean?" I asked. "As a student majoring in psychology, I've been doing some studies lately and I've seemed to understand Lapis's personality." she explained, and I raised an eyebrow. "Does she like me?!" I asked, perking up. "Peridot, I'm not a mind reader." Pearl said, shaking her head. "But based on the way she acts and how her personality is portrayed by her actions, she's the type to keep distant from people she has feelings for." she said, which caught my attention in particular. 

"Now, think about it. Ever since you've confessed your feelings to Lapis, she's been more distant. She must've been organizing her thoughts and feelings because she has mixed feelings about you. Now the reason she finds it easier to open up to others is because she's afraid of your judgement." she explained. "My judgement?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes. She's not actually fully opening up to Squari...she's just making conversation. It seems to me that she's told you the most about herself out of everyone here. But she's also afraid of saying too much, because she might be vulnerable." Vulnerable. Lapis? Vulnerable? 

"W-wow...you really know your stuff, Pearl." I said, folding my hands together. "I'm still working on it, but since you've seemed so down lately, I'd thought I'd look into it more and help you." she explained, and I smiled. "Thanks, Pearl." she nodded and walked away from me, back to teh camp fire. I thought about what Pearl said, and I wondered how Lapis could be so vulnerable. Is it because of my brother. Is she afraid I'll hurt her? 

It was now pitch black outside, and I was getting a little creeped out. I picked up the sticks from a nearby bush, but froze when I heard it rustle. I looked up with wide eyes, and found two eyes staring back at me. The creature grunted, and I took a step back. It stepped out of the bushes and looked straight at me with its beady eyes. OHMIGOD IT'S A BEAR.