We Don't Have a Choice (Killing Me Slowly Sequel) Lapidot AU

Chapter 27

Lapis, Pearl, and I all worked together to lift up Garnet and carry her out of the building. We didn't make Amethyst help because of her arm, so she just walked alongside us, putting pressure on the wound. It took a CRAP ton of energy to lift all that weight, because Garnet was pure fucking MUSCLE and HIPS. Once we arrived at the beach house finally, Amethyst opened the door for us, and we struggled to get Garnet in through the door the way she was positioned.

After about 15 minutes, we finally got her to the couch, and laid her down carefully. I exhaled loudly as I released her, bending over and putting my hands on my knees. "God, why is she so heavy..." Pearl breathed. "I dunno...but you might wanna check for injuries..." I said, catching my breath. Pearl nodded, then began to check her pulse, as well as for injuries. I looked over at Lapis, and she looked back at me with an awkward expression on her face. "You got some explaining to do, Laz." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"W-well I-" "LAPIS?!" we both tensed up as Steven's voice echoed the living room. He was standing at the end of the stairs, staring at us with stars in his eyes. Pumpkin then peeked out from his room, and her eyebrows shot up as she spotted Lapis. The two kids ran up to the bluenette quickly, attacking her with tight hugs. Lapis was definitely surprised by the sudden greet, but then hugged back shortly after. "I missed you so much!" Pumpkin said in a muffled voice as her face was buried in Lapis's shirt. "I'm so glad you're back! And you guys are okay!" Steven said, pulling away from the hug to look at Lapis, then over at us.

"Yeah... Garnet just took a hard hit, so she'll be taking it easy for a bit." Amethyst explained. "So where have you been?! Tell me everything!" Steven said, sitting on the couch beside Garnet. "Yeah... how did you actually get back into Yellow's gang? How come she didn't just kill you right then and there when she saw you?" I added, looking over at Lapis, who had Pumpkin clinging onto her. "Well... she was gonna kill me, but I was able to make a bargain to keep my life. She said she'd let me live only if I were under her control... in other words, I owed her a life sentence to gang labor." Lapis explained.

She then looked down with a sad expression on her face. "I thought I was gonna be stuck there forever... I even... debated on suicide. I regretted my decision. I mean what was the point of living if you were just gonna slave away for some stuck up gang leader for the rest of your life, right?" she timidly said. I gave her a sympathetic look, and tilted my head. "I had a tracking device. I had full control and security over me 24/7 in case I betrayed them again. So I had to gain their trust. Once I found the opportunity to get help from you guys, I knew I had a chance...and I'd be able to live here again...see my little brother again...see my little girl again..." Lapis explained, looking over Steven, then down at Pumpkin.

I felt a weak smile form on my face. "I hate to admit it, but... I missed you guys. A lot." she muttered, looking away. "Awww!" Steven cooed. Pearl smiled smugly, crossing her arms, and Amethyst had a goofy grin on her face, chuckling. "And I guess...we have to thank you for rescuing us from pure suffering and certain death back there." Pearl said, raising an eyebrow. "But you did take us there in the first place..." Pearl muttered that part with a smirk. Lapis scoffed, and walked up to Pearl slowly nodding. "You missed me the most." she stated.

Pearl scoffed louder, and I have to admit, this was very entertaining to watch. "You wish!" she replied. Lapis snorted then giggled, crossing her arms. "Also, I wanted to talk to you and Peridot about something." Lapis said, looking over at me. Pearl and I then looked at each other, a little confused. "Why didn't you two asswipes tell me I had corruption?" Lapis then asked, and I felt my stomach drop. "Wh-what?! H-how did you find out?!" I asked in a loud voice.

Lapis's POV:

"Whoops, my bad." an Amethyst muttered as she bumped into me through the hallway. I shook with frustration, looking back at her, involuntarily growling. "WATCH IT!!!" I hissed through my teeth. I turned back around, and I could hear my own heartbeat. Every emotion I had was amplified, and I had no idea why. I looked down at my hands, and they looked like they were melting, causing me to gasp. That's when I realized my vision was blurred. I blinked a few times, and everything went back to normal. Am I on my period? Am I sick? Do I have a fever? Am I having an anxiety attack?

My fists then balled on their own, and my breathing picked up. I bit my lip, but immediately opened my mouth again as it felt like a bunch of little knives sunk into my bottom lip. I was able to unclench my fists once again, and I reached up to touch my lip with two fingers. I looked down at them and noticed blood all over them. "Shit..." I mumbled, speed walking into my room down the hall. I opened the door quickly, ran in, and slammed the door closed behind me.

I rushed to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. Blood was dripping down my lips, and my pupils shrunk immensely. I turned on the faucet to cold water, and I cupped my hands underneath it. I shut my eyes tightly, and splashed the water onto my face. Turning the faucet back off, I looked back up at the mirror and noticed the color of my eyes were paler than usual. I bared my teeth for a moment, and almost screamed as I noticed all of them looked like canines. "What the fuck?!?!" I gently poked one of them with my pointer finger.

I thought about what this could all be. Once I realized the possibility, I lifted my shirt and looked at my scars through the mirror. "WHOA. HOW DID I NEVER NOTICE THAT." I thought out loud, staring at the light blue spots and stripes bordering the scars. They were LARGE and seemed to be spreading FAST. I pulled my shirt back down, and walked out of the bathroom with my fingers tangled in my hair.

Peridot's POV:

"I uhm... just little signs here and there." Lapis replied, putting one arm over the other. "Oh... look I-I'm really sorry I didn't know how to tell y-" "It's... fine. I have good news." Lapis cut me off. "A Peridot in the labs had finally found a cure for it." she said. "They were gonna put me in the chambers with the rest of the corruptions, but she said that it might actually be a groundbreaking discovery, and she wanted me to be the first test subject." Lapis explained.

"That was a huge risk, ya know that, right?" Pearl remarked. "Yeah I know... but I knew I didn't really have anything to lose, so why not? Anywho, she tested it on me, and it worked! So they used it on all the other corruptions and it was amazing how quickly they reverted back their old selves..." the bluenette said, lifting her shirt slightly to reveal her scars, which no longer had the blue markings. "That's great, Lapis! I was... really worried. I was afraid it was gonna be fatal..." I said. "And that must be why all those chambers were empty. Remember when corruptions used to be in there?" Amethyst added. "Exactly." Lapis replied.

Lapis then looked over at me, and we made intense eye contact for a whole ten seconds. She quickly ripped away from the gaze, looking to the floor. Laz walked into the kitchen, completely disregarding the moment. "I'm gonna take a quick shower..." she muttered. I felt some kind of... tension between us that we'd never had before. I realized that we hadn't kissed since she got back, and she also didn't show too much affection besides the hug back at the building. It almost felt... awkward. Were we not back together? Does she not... want me anymore? I felt anxious, and I looked down, twiddling my thumbs.

. . . .

I hadn't realized I was in such deep thought, because I spotted Lapis come back out, towel-drying her damp hair. "Peridot, are you okay?" Pearl suddenly asked, and I looked up with a startled expression. "O-oh, yeah. Of course. I'm fine." I replied, putting on a fake smile. I then stood up, and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Say I uhm, I'm gonna take a shower too." I said, feeling pretty anxious again. I also was able to think better when I was in the shower. Maybe I could figure out how to resolve this suspected tension.

Lapis sat down on the other couch beside Pumpkin, picking up her phone. I speed-walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.