I’m finally found: Chapter Three
[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Four]
She dug her feet into the sand, the sound of waves crashing in the distance as the breeze came in from the sea. Her eyes were half open, and she stared into what seemed like an endless horizon. Spinel had curled up, hugging her knees to her chest. She looked a bit frazzled, and it looked like she hadn’t actually taken proper care of herself in days. Spinel didn't want to see anyone, and was making a point to avoid everyone. The gem had managed to find an area on the beach where she was able to hide among the rocks. Large chunks of the temple that managed to place themselves just right to keep her out of immediate view. She uncurled herself and reached for an instrument that had been sitting in the sand beside her and began idly plucking at a banjo that rested in her arms. Ever since Greg and Steven offered to teach her, she hadn't set the instrument down. She wasn't nearly as good as either of them, but she was certainly enjoying the distraction. At least until it left her in moods such as this.
She let out a sigh, her eyes shifted slightly from the banjo to the water and back. From idly plucking at the strings, her hands had moved to her gem, gripping it slightly. Even when she was around people, she was still feeling alone. Spinel didn’t know what had happened or what was going on. She had been left out of all this.
“Hey,” Spinel let out a startled yell, she jumped up and had the banjo in a ready position to hit whoever had approached. When she saw it was Amethyst, she lowered the instrument and started to chuckle a bit.
“Ho boy! You sure did give me a scare!” Spinel wiped a hand over her face, chuckling a bit more before it faded. Amethyst was giving her a half smile by the time she had finished and was leaning against one of the boulders, arms folded.
“Sorry,” The gem responded back, watching as Spinel had gone back to sitting in the sand, banjo in hand. “I just… wanted to come check up on you. Everyone is worried and the vibe in the house right now is… yeesh.” Amethyst made a cringed expression. “Mind if I join you?” She pointed to an empty spot beside Spinel.
“I… I guess you can.” Spinel looked at the spot next to her before she laid the banjo down on the other side of her and curled up again. Her face was half buried in her knees. It took a moment of hesitation before Amethyst sat down, she let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Oh man, You should have seen them when you ran out of there!” Amethyst smiled wide, “Pearl looked like she was going to poof from shock alone!” She laughed, almost hard enough that she had to wipe away some tears that had formed.
“Is that all you came out here for? To make me feel worse?” Spinel had shifted again, her hands now gripping her gem as she went to staring at the sand. Amethyst had stopped laughing and watched as Spinel went silent. Spinel didn’t mean to blow up like she did, but Amethyst managed to strike a chord just now.
“What? No, of course not!” Amethyst rubbed her neck, “Everyone is super worried about you, I mean, Garnet had to straight up hold onto Pearl just to stop her from coming after you!” Amethyst looked a mixture of annoyed and worried. “Steven wanted to come find you,” She rubbed her neck some more, “But I figured he might come off a little… overbearing?” Amethyst wasn’t sure if that was the right word to use. She must have struck another chord with Spinel, as the little gem had begun to cry a little.
“I didn’t m-mean to yell a-at her, I just…” Spinel wiped away some of the tears, but it did nothing to stop the flow. “I-I don’t understand m-much of this, I-I know sh-she’s t-trying to help, b-but… I d-don’t know wh-what I’m supposed t-to do. “ she was finding it a bit harder to breathe, and her hands had started gripping her gem tighter. That pained feeling she felt back in the garden had started creeping back. Amethyst watched her break down, she shifted a bit closer and placed her hands on Spinel’s hands. Spinel flinched, and immediately looked at the other as her hands were given a small squeeze.
“It’s okay to be angry,” Amethyst gave her a soft smile. Her hands didn’t move from where they were placed. “Pearl and I used to fight all the time, especially after Rose had left us.” She pulled her hands away, which made Spinel gasp a little through the sniffling she was doing. Spinel instinctively reached out to grasp Amethyst’s hand. Then let go and pulled it back up to her chest. She shifted away from Amethyst and curled up on herself again. Amethyst blinked, surprised at the gesture, but smiled a bit more. Maybe she was getting through to her? “It’s okay to feel sad too, I get that way sometimes.” She let out a chuckle. “I have the tendency to act like it doesn’t bother me, but it does.” Spinel blinked, turning her head to look at Amethyst, then she looked to the water, then the sand. She looked like she was searching for something. “You know, I wasn’t there for most of it, the war I mean.” Amethyst kept her gaze on the water. “I came out of the ground way late, by the time Rose had found me, Pearl, Garnet, and her had already been through the war and on earth for some time.” Her smile had faded a bit. Spinel stared at Amethyst for a good few minutes. “So I kind of get how you feel.”
“Amethyst… I’m sorry…” she spoke softly, still having to wipe away tears. If she was being honest, hearing that made her feel a little better about her situation. At least she wasn’t the only one that was left out of something.
“Nah man, don’t be, honestly it sounds like it’s better this way, not knowing.” She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. Spinel stayed quiet for a good while. Eventually, she had uncurled herself and relaxed a bit.
“I guess… I spent such a long time in the garden… waiting for Pink to come back,” Spinel started, she had to pause for a moment, it seemed she was trying to find words. “I never expected anything like this,” she motioned to the surrounding area, though she was trying to signify the entire situation. “All these things that were once taboo, all these changes, everything that you guys had done,” she felt the tears coming again. “I don’t know how I feel right now,” Spinel gripped at her gem. “I feel angry… and sad… for what Pink did to me.” She gripped it tighter, Amethyst thought for a moment that Spinel might poof herself. Then her grip loosened, and her hands rested over the gem instead. “But I also feel… relieved?” She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “I’m glad I was found,” Spinel had gone silent for a moment, she looked thoughtful. Then she heard Amethyst shifting next to her, standing up. She held out a hand to Spinel.
“We should head back,” Amethyst smiled at the other gem, “I can only imagine Pearl is having a worry fit over the amount of time we’ve spent out here.” She chuckled, knowing all too well just how overbearing Pearl can get. “Best to not keep everyone waiting.” Spinel hesitated before she reached out a hand to take Amethyst’s own hand. When Amethyst helped her up, she had to dust some of the sand off herself. Then she went to grab her banjo, swung it over her shoulder by the strap. Amethyst had motioned for her to follow, and the two made their way towards the house.
They had made it up the steps and to the door. Amethyst opened it, though she took note of Spinel’s hesitation as the gem had grown nervous about entering the home. What was Pearl going to do with her? She was surely going to be punished for lashing out.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Amethyst had placed a hand on Spinel’s shoulder, the gesture pulling her from her thoughts. She nodded, letting Amethyst lead her inside, where Steven, Garnet, and Pearl were sitting in the main room. They seemed to have been talking, as Pearl had immediately stood up and opened her mouth to say something. Though it had been cut off, when Spinel held up a hand.
“I wanted to apologize,” Spinel had spoken up, she gave a nervous smile, which had then turned to a frown. Then it had softened and she looked thoughtful. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you the way I did, I ju-” She was immediately interrupted by a sudden gesture. Pearl had wrapped her arms around the gem, and gave her a gentle squeeze.
“I should be the one apologizing to you,” Pearl gave another gentle squeeze. “I should have been more understanding of your feelings. It’s not your fault that things turned out the way they did,” Pearl had pulled away from Spinel a bit. “I’m sorry if I made you feel like you didn’t belong and I know you’re trying,” she gave Spinel a worried smile. Spinel wrapped her arms around Pearl and gave a good squeeze, hugging her tightly.
“Thank you… for giving me a chance.” Spinel unwrapped herself from Pearl, then took a step back. She looked a bit timid, her hands clasped behind her and her gaze averted to the floor. Pearl gave a soft smile to Spinel, then looked to the banjo strapped to her shoulder.
“Would you play something for us?” Pearl smiled. Spinel blinked and looked between everyone. Steven and Amethyst were both smiling at her, though Steven looked as though he had stars in his eyes. Garnet was leaning against the kitchen counter, she gave a thumbs up, but otherwise, said nothing.
“Oh, uh, I’m not… very good at it,” Spinel gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her neck a bit. “I only just started learning a couple weeks ago.”
“That’s alright,” Pearl held her smile, she took Spinel by the hand and led her to the couch. “You could show us what you’ve been learning.”
Spinel hesitated for a moment, then looked a bit thoughtful. She took out the banjo and set it up, looking at Steven for confirmation. When he nodded, she plucked a couple of the strings, making sure that they were in tune. Then she started to play as everyone gathered around her and listened.
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