SHATTER YOUR SKULL

she bites the corner of her smile like dime-store candy,  tastes and stifles the powdery sweet of its send.                 - amethyst laughs enough for the both of them, its sound pluming in lazy delight, heady and dizzying.     pearl can’t look away from her.     then again, she never really could.            ❛   don’t break an arm patting yourself on the back, amethyst.     it really wasn’t that funny.   ❜

          ❛ well, i was thinking business casual. ❜ from the store’s seemingly limitless supply, the boy procures a dress shirt && fedora. the hat is placed atop brown curls, && the shirt held out before his chest. it only seems natural to add a dramatic, albeit fitting pose to match the possible outfit. it seems a persona is in the making !! ❛ i will be jack duwork, a hardworking book salesman who dreams of becoming the number one book salesman to make my dad proud, but when i’m not selling books, i moonlight as an anonymous frosty treat maker, ‘ frosty the snow cone man ’ !! ❜

          ‘ ooooohh, alright. i see what you’re puttin’ down. ‘ she turns quickly after his small display of character, mouth perpetually set in a mischievous toothy grin - a trademark feature at this point - as she dug around for her own set of character clothes. ( she’s not as proficient with judgement as far as human characters go, but no one could say she wasn’t fashionable. at least, in her own way. ) from the mess of thrifty clothes she produces a similar shirt, though the hat to accompany it is a fairly worn snapback rather than a suitable business hat like steven’s. ‘ then i can be, uh ... cool skateboard dude ! skateboard salesman by day, notorious skateboard racer by night. hah ! totally cool, yeah ? ‘

                        ‘ — you have to wait until after i press record ! how do you expect our video to go VIRAL if there isn’t one !? ‘

hit that follow button if you think eating garbage is ... kinda hot.

       ❛ you know what this means ? ❜ a pause lingers for a few moments ; this momentary lull, of course, is meant to stir a sense of anticipation. his bright smile, however, assures that this anticipation should be one of excitement not dread. surprising ? not necessarily, but it should be noted that in his eyes, stars shine bright. ❛ thift store !! ❜

     she hardly needs to wait for the pause to end to know where this is going. his smile is matched with ease, the only difference between the two being her own pointed canine teeth. ‘ THRIFT STOOOOORE !! ‘ she shouts along with him, drawing out the answer. her booming volume making it all the more exciting, & amethyst nudges at his side playfully before pumping both fists in the air. ‘ ye-heah !! ste-man’s the man with the plan ! so -- what kinda undercover we talkin’ here ? mafia suits, bussiness casual ... tourist ? ‘

she  snorts,  laughter tickling in the back of her throat.  ‘  pfbbt ─  yeah,  i know,  i  wish. ’   a compulsory reaction to amethyst’s relatable brand of humour,  though this particular joke falls flat when amethyst fails to join in;  either she was trying to play her for a sucker  (  which wouldn’t be new,  and,  actually,  pretty  funny,  if she thought about it,  )  or this was… something else.  lapis,  blinking slow and doelike,  retracts, scoots back a hair to inspect amethyst’s features, and finds them sincere.  quizzical,  if anything.

‘  oh.  you were being serious.  ’

she deadpans.  they share a long,  poignant look,  during which lapis doesn’t even  try  to look like she understands.

‘  i’m… not following.  ’

     it seems as though lapis lazuli has accomplished the impossible; a moment of silence. an unexpected lull in conversation, words falling flat as the connection was being made in amethyst’s mind. no one had taught her about sleep yet. the silence continued for what seemed like eons before it was broken.

          ( really, a silence with amethyst was never bound to last forever. it’s a miracle for such a thing to even occur in the first place. )

‘  no,  no,  im ─  fine.  just…  kind of  tired ?  i haven’t really  done  anything today though.  it’s weird.  ’  her sitting form  slumps:  first,  shoulder to shoulder,  and then over,  over,  until her cheek meets the top of amethyst’s head,  ensconced in tameless coils of lilac.  her nose wrinkles against the sensation;  it’s nice.  soft.  amethyst was always nice,  and  soft,  and solid and warm and  there,  right when she needed it.  ‘  i guess i just… yeah.  i get tired.  wish i could turn  off  for a little while and not think about anything.  does that make any sense ?  ’ 

       ❛ If you’re evil && you’re on the rise, you can count of on the four of us taking you down. ‘Cause we’re good and even never beats us! We’ll win the fight && then go out for pizzas … ❜ The now ‘ aged ’ song plays quietly off Steven’s tongue, as his eyes take in the surroundings about the team. All the while, there’s a slight skip in his step as he follows behind the elder gems. The tranquility of the scenario proves so strong that one can almost reach out && touch it ( well, as tranquil a gem mission could be ). 

         Honestly, a mission like this one has become a rarity for the crystal gems. Fortunately, there isn’t some sort of gem experiment to be found or space station to visit. Their feet still planted in the earth and simply a creature, dubbed ‘ Tumbley ’ ( ha! good one, Steven! ), to track down. See? Tranquil!! ❛ So, where do you think Tumbley’s hiding? Maybe behind those… statue guys? ❜

‘  hmmm.  ’

their procession  stills,  as she does;  there’s a spark of  resignation  on garnet’s tongue,  kissing quick against her teeth,  the corner of her mouth curled sideways into a thoughtful  frown.  limbs birdcage themselves around her torso,  fingers  drumming,  gaze flitting from steven,  to the statues,  and back again:  looking.  seeing.  by some chance,  she  does envision them succeeding. 

by some other,  less  favourable  chances,  she also envisions them wandering aimlessly until steven gets  tired.

‘  …nah.  don’t think so.  ’   the slant of her mouth levels,  peaks,  turning fond as deft fingers reach out to card through dark curls.   ‘  ‘s gonna be a little harder than usual to track  tumbley  down,  i think.  these ruins go for  miles.  you aren’t tired,  are you?  ’   the sun was still  high,  a sweet,  warm breeze coaxing the grass into a gentle sway.  if there was any time to catch their breath,  it may as well be now.   ‘  we can  rest  for a bit,  if you want.  ’ 

❛   ah, yes; a break.             a lovely idea, garnet!   ❜           it isn’t as if they’ve been walking for a terribly long time.     were it possible to take the distance and spread it flat for measure, it would likely only amount to about 4.72 miles.     . . . that was her guess, anyway.     still, it’s been a considerable journey for a boy in sandals.     ( she’d already given her hum of disapproval at the house, though there was nothing they could have done           his brand new, arch-supporting tennis shoes had met an untimely demise during their last mission. )                   for a moment, she worries he might resist the proposal in favor of more adventure.     luckily, pearl is never without a plan.           ❛   the weather is nice, the view is spectacular,   ❜           a clever curve tugs at the corners of her mouth and seeps into her voice,           ❛           and i packed you your favorite.   ❜           she gifts his shoulder with a slight squeeze and nods to his backpack, where she’d carefully tucked a lunchbox.     ( an ice pack to keep everything cold, a gala apple, a bottled water, and the cherry on top: a cookie cat! ) ❛   and, for you,   ❜          her eyes are on @crackedwhip now, glinting with something sweet and unspoken,           ❛   the week’s recyclables.   ❜

          ‘ don’t gotta ask me twice. ‘ lax as her posture may be now - fingers laced together behind her head, leisurely steps taken on their way towards the objective - it gets almost impossibly more so. as if her limbs turned to jelly, ( which they most certainly could have had she wanted them to, simply to portray her will to walk any farther than she had already, ) she simply falls backwards, landing with an audible -FWUMP-. & she laughs, eyeing steven, brows jumping up & down. ‘ c’mon, steven ! might as well get it while y’ can, right ? ‘

     she startles easily with pearl’s sudden turn, like a feline disturbed in the middle of a quiet nap. her limbs draw closer to her body, eyes wide, lips drawn into a small ‘o’ shape ------ before it blooms into a large, jovial grin. there’s even an excited squeal in there. how about that ? ‘ aww, y’ shouldn’t have, p ! oh -- ! is there one a’ those uh ... sardine can things ? with the rolled up lid ? oooohoho, those really hit the spot. ‘

‘  i don’t know  where  you get off making fun of pearl for being dramatic … you’re  seriously  just as bad.  ’   her eyes roll,   wide  as twin moons,   barest peek of a begrudging  smile  cresting the corners of her lips. she casts another  longing  glance to her novel-  faltering movements,   a  wince  in her brow-   and,   with no  small  struggle,   closes it.

chapter eighteen had  better  deliver. 

‘  fine.   okay ?   it’s closed.   don’t  die  on me.   i’m sort of hungry anyway … fairgrounds ?   ’

          ‘ okay, but pearl’s dramatic over everything. i’m dramatic ‘cause you’re not payin’ attention t’ me. there’s a difference. ‘ & she gives her own roll of eyes in return, her form slumping down the couch before her glum demeanor does a complete one-eighty. amethyst rockets into a standing position, already whooping & hollering.

          ‘ …….. that ‘ good food ’ looks like coal. when pearl said that you ate JUNK i didn’t think she’d meant it literally. ’                ( count her revolted —- but intrigued, narrowed gold honing in on the grating sound of crunching CERAMIC. )             ‘ ….. you eat that, too ? gross. ’

          ‘ what’s wrong with eating junk ? ‘ a garbled mess of a question pushing through the vile concoction of edible food & ceramic plating she’s dubbed a meal, followed by an obnoxious gulp as she swallows.

     a surprise! chin tilted up, lips captured in a sudden kiss. she rises onto her toes for just a moment & feels suspended. there is no floor, no four walls nor ceiling to contain them. it’s a small gesture but to her she feels as if something has happened on an astronomical level.