Daybreak (A Lapidot Fanfiction)

Chapter 19: The Next Move

Sand flew out from beneath Peridot's feet. She grinned at her opponent.

"Come on, Bis," she said. "You can do better than that."

"I've been throwing you to the ground and you've been taking it like it's nothing!" Bismuth shouted.

"It doesn't hurt," Peridot replied. "I'd say I'm nearly ready to take on vampires again."

Bismuth growled and ran towards Peridot, who jumped over her and shoved her from behind. I laughed as she fell face first on the sand.

"Peridot, nineteen, Bismuth, zero!" Royal Blue shouted, scraping another tally mark on a log.

"No need to rub it in!" Bismuth cried, taking her head out of the sand.

Peridot gently stepped on Bismuth's shoulder with one foot to assert her dominance. "Looks like the princess is mine," she said, looking over at me.

I quickly looked away, flustered.

"I believe you are ready to take on vampires," Royal Blue said. "I didn't realize you'd recover so quickly. Perhaps you got a little bit of Lapis's shield, but who knows if that's only temporary or permanent."

"Whatever it is, it feels pretty great," Peridot replied, walking over to me.

She took my face in her hand and kissed me. I could see Bismuth watching us out of the corner of my eye, looking pretty disgusted.

"We've made very good progress," Royal Blue said. "Yesterday you and Bismuth were pretty close. Today, she didn't manage to take you down once!"

"Told you," Peridot responded. "I'm the alpha here."

"Ha," I heard Bismuth huff. I looked at her and watched her roll her eyes.

"You're just jealous," Peridot replied, sticking out her tongue.

Bismuth growled. "Peridot," I said. "You're pressing all of the right buttons. Be careful!"

Finally, I managed to get Peridot to silence. Her cocky grin disappeared and was replaced by a sullen frown.

"Oh, right," she said. "I forgot."

"It's fine," Bismuth replied, rubbing her arm. "You should be happy that the only person you've ever fallen in love with is the person you imprinted on."

Peridot took my hand and squeezed it. "I'm sure you'll fix this," she said to Bismuth.

Bismuth shook her head and walked away. Peridot was still frowning.

"You should apologize," Royal Blue said.

"I know," Peridot replied.

"You hit her where it hurts," Royal Blue continued.

"I know," Peridot said again. "I'll apologize."

We watched Peridot run after Bismuth. Suddenly, Smoky appeared by my side.

"How's life not being single?" She asked.

"Likely better than Bismuth's," I replied.

"Hella better." Smoky chuckled.

We waited for the two of them to come back. "They're taking their time," Royal Blue said.

Suddenly, Peridot flew out from the forest and landed on her back.

"Peridot!" I shouted.

She stood up and dusted herself off. Then she growled.

"Fine," she said. "This next fight is worth twenty. Whoever wins gets the privilege of being the alpha."