First Meeting
It was the beginning of fall, and the weather was noticeably different. Unlike most places, where it got colder in the fall season, it was the hottest and driest time of the year. And Peridot hated it. At least it was night now, cooling the air, though heat still bounced off the streets.
Walking down the sidewalk with her housemates, she was towards the back with one of the girls named Pearl. Though not the tallest of the group, she was definitely the thinnest. Against the street light, her pale skin glowed almost milky white. Her short, naturally ash blonde hair was filled with a pastel pink color. Tucked in her high-waisted shorts, she wore a teal, collared shirt with a rather 80’s looking star pattern.
Up ahead were Garnet and Amethyst, her other two roommates, and Jasper. A close cousin to Amethyst, Jasper regularly hung around their house, spending many nights on their pull out futon. She might as well be another roommate of theirs. Peridot did not know why Jasper would not just officially move in already. Jasper could room with Amethyst, since the platinum blonde girl had her own room. It would definitely make rent more affordable. And after checking her bank account online that morning, she had to save every penny.
“Hurry up P!” Amethyst yelled. She, along with Garnet and Jasper, were farther ahead of them now.
“Which P?” Pearl yelled back, jokingly.
“The both of you! You don’t want us to miss out on all the fun tonight, do you?” She gave Jasper a look of excitement, which the taller woman returned. Garnet, who was slightly shorter than Jasper, gave a closed mouth grin.
Garnet had dark skin, black hair she wore in a fro, and was curvy. Her outfit was simple, consisting of a black tee shirt, letterman jacket, skinny jeans, and sneakers. Out of all her housemates, Peridot trusted and probably respected Garnet the most. She was a good person, and never lied or talked ill of anyone, unless if it was for a good reason.
The shortest one was Amethyst, at least Peridot liked to think so. In reality, they were about the same height. Her short counterpart wore a dark purple muscle tee, ripped skinny jeans, a black flat bill hat, and white shoes. Always getting herself into crazy situations, Amethyst was the most energetic, though Jasper would play along. Her taller cousin dressed a lot like her, shared a lot of the same facial features, and both bleached their hair platinum. However, the taller woman had a calmer side to her. But tonight, that side would not be showing.
Peridot was being taken, or more like dragged to a club. Not just any club, but one particularly for lesbians.
It was a week ago, which Peridot came out to her roommates. Before then, she had lived with the other girls for about half a year, and the paranoia got to her. She had never come out before to her family, heaven forbid, or anybody. Not knowing the proper way to spill the beans, she went out of her room and sat down on the sofa in the living room. All her roommates were there studying and socializing. It was the perfect opportunity, yet Peridot could feel her heart racing. Almost turning back in a panic, she convinced herself everything would be okay. She did not want to feel like she was hiding something any longer.
Sitting down, she quietly cleared her throat and her roommates looked up. “I have something I’ve want to tell you.”
“You’re secretly engaged P-dot?” Amethyst exclaimed, clearly making fun of her.
“No.”
“You’re pregnant?!”
“Geez, no!”
“Then what is it?”
“Let her speak Amethyst,” Pearl stopped her from making Peridot feel even more vexed and nervous. “Clearly this is important to her.”
“Yes, you can tell us what’s going on,” Garnet said simply with a smile. “We’re here for you.”
“Alright, um… uh… well, you see…” She was fumbling with her words now, and could barely formulate a sentence in her brain.
“Come on P! We’re not going to tear your head off!”
“I’m gay! Capeesh?”
There, she did it. She felt better, and everything was good. Or was it? Amethyst was silent, Garnet’s smile turned into a smirk, and Pearl was trying her best to not laugh, though extremely obvious. This made Peridot suddenly feel incredibly uncomfortable. Maybe her roommates would tease her and treat her differently, now that they knew. Or worse, not even talk to her again. They were the closest people in Peridot’s life, and she did not want to jeopardize their friendship, even though she already had. She needed to escape somewhere, anywhere.
“I’m sorry,” Peridot got up from her seat, and turned to head back to her room. There she could grab her keys and drive off somewhere, though she had no idea where. But before Peridot could leave the living room, Garnet caught her arm.
“Wait.”
“We aren’t mad with you Peridot,” Pearl said after, in a giggle.
“Yeah, actually now that you bring up the subject, we have something to tell you,” Amethyst added.
Peridot learned that afternoon, that Pearl laughed because she was also lesbian, and found it ironic. Garnet came out to her as pansexual in a short speech, clearly intended to make her feel better. And it did. When she asked Amethyst about herself, the loud-mouthed girl just shrugged with an “eh.”
The three girls met each other at school, while hanging together with mutual friends, and became close soon after. Once they realized how much they enjoyed each other’s company, they moved out together within the following year. Much of the time, roommate situations did not work out between friends, but for the three it fit them like a glove.
Now that they were aware of Peridot’s sexuality, as well as it being her first time sharing it with anybody, Amethyst suggested they go out and “celebrate.” In other words, go out and drink, like she enjoyed doing every other weekend.
“I don’t see why not, if you’re fine with it Peridot,” Pearl reflected. One notable thing about the thin woman, was that she was thoughtful. Peridot nodded.
“We should go this Saturday,” suggested Garnet.
“I hope this doesn’t turn out like last time,” Pearl glanced at Amethyst.
“Hey I apologized for that.”
“Actually clubbing and going to bars isn’t really my thing,” Peridot shared. Though Amethyst liked to while Garnet and Pearl went along with it, she was not much of a drinker, nor cared for dancing.
“Come on, it’ll be fun! I promise you won’t feel too crummy the next day!”
“If she doesn’t want to then we can find something else,” Pearl said matter-of-factly.
“Just this once, and you don’t ever have to go again,” the short girl tried convincing Peridot.
“I suppose one time wouldn’t hurt,” she found herself giving in.
“That’s the spirit!”
Spirit, nice pun. It was just like Amethyst to get a kick out of bad jokes.
Now she did not know what she was getting herself into. Flashing her id to the bouncer along with the other girls, she went inside and checked their coats in.
This was not a good idea.
Past the flashing lights, smoke, and blaring music, she could hardly hear anyone. Pearl said something to her, though nothing entered her ears besides the dance music. Whatever the other girl said to her, Peridot simply nodded in response, and followed the others.
Amethyst and Jasper led them all to the bar, where a rather beefy woman was pouring drinks at top speed. It was hard to navigate through the crowd to the counter, as the entire place was packed. Peridot felt cramped and small.
Not wanting to admit it to her friends, this was actually the first time she had been to a bar, despite being over twenty one. It was not the first time she had ever drank, her mother used to let her try sips of wine or beer at dinner. She had gone to small parties where friends were drinking, but nothing too crazy. This was new for her, and she did not know what to order.
Not wanting to look like a nerd, though she probably was anyway, she asked Amethyst, “So what’s good here?”
“Oh boy, here let me order for you. You’re really going to like this!”
Peridot did not like the sound of Amethyst’s voice when she said that. Praying to herself that the drink would not screw her over for the night, she looked at Garnet, who gave her a thumbs up.
In no time at all the drink was made somewhat sloppily, by the busy bartender. It was rather large and was an amber color. Peridot did not know what they put in it, but by the way it looked, she guessed rum or whiskey. Taking her first sip, she downed it as quickly as she could. The aftertaste burned her throat, and never had she wanted water more than now.
“This tab’s on me,” Peridot could make out Jasper say to the group.
As her friends were ordering their drinks, she saw the large bartender go to the side of the counter, where her coworkers were. Entering something into a computer, she turned to the side, and a new girl appeared behind the bar.
Taller than Peridot, she was as slim as herself. Her tan skin and short hair, which was a unique shade of blue, glowed different colors under the lights. There was something about her that Peridot could not put her finger on, but unexplainably she felt drawn to the stranger. It was rare for her to be seriously attracted to anyone, but this girl was stunning. And probably out of her league.
The girl caught Peridot staring at her, and grinned with a slight blush. Shit she saw me. Feeling like an idiot, Peridot snapped her head in the other direction. Why did she have to embarrass herself like this? Now because she turned away and rejected the girl’s smile, she made it worse.
Peeking back, the blue haired girl now focused on entering something in the computer. She waved at the large woman who was now leaving, and resumed her coworker’s duty of making drinks.
Wiping her glasses with her green shirt, Peridot regretted not wearing her contact lenses instead. Moving a blonde strand of hair from her face, she put them back on. She followed her friends as they went to the dance floor, leaving the cute bartender behind. Pearl wasn’t much of a dancer, so she went outside with Garnet to vape. She quit smoking about a year ago, ever since she moved in the house with her friends. Whenever she had the urge, which was not very often now, she would vape instead of reaching for a cigarette. Garnet did not smoke, though the habit did not bug her. Since dancing was not her thing, she went outside at the patio with her friends. It was packed outside, and every table was full. Fortunately for them, they managed to snag one as another group was leaving.
“You know that vaping is bad for you,” Garnet pointed out at the table.
“Oh really? I wasn’t aware at all,” Pearl said sarcastically. “It’s sure a lot better than cigarettes.”
Peridot was not too sure about that.
It seemed as if the whole world was spinning around her, and confirmed that she was a lightweight. Knowing the two girls dancing inside, they would try to make her drink even more. Never getting seriously wasted before, Peridot did not know how she was when she was completely drunk, and not too keen on finding out.
Outside people were smoking everywhere, some groups yelling at each other rowdily, and a few couples getting a little physical. Feeling completely out of place, Peridot wished she could leave, go back home, and curl up in her bed. She checked her watch. It was one am, and most places along the strip typically closed at four. Amethyst and Jasper would likely want to stay for the entire duration of time. They had only been there for half an hour so far, and she did not know if she would last.
Even though she had only moved to Beach City recently in the past few months, she already detested the city. It was along the coast, and one of the largest cities in the country. It was also known to be a “party” city, and in Peridot’s opinion, pretty scummy. The only reason she was there at all, was because the state college there had one of the best computer engineering programs in the nation. When she was applying to different universities, she selected only the top colleges, Beach City University being one of them. It was the only college which offered her a full ride, and she was not going to turn that down, with college being painfully expensive. Once she got the acceptance letter, she was blown away for the next few days. She had competed in programming competitions in her high school, and even got to nationals. It was the only thing her classmates from high school knew her as; a geek who was apparently a prodigy with computers. This put her in a weird position. People either thought she was a nerd, or treated her like she was too smart for them. Even though Peridot did not deny it, it left her isolated either way.
College was no different. She was so used to going about and doing things herself, she had not bothered making friends once she moved away. Though she did not mind being by herself, it did get kind of lonely when the other people on her dorm floor went out together. That was the culture of Beach City University, and was a notorious party school. Peridot wanted to avoid and remove herself from that stigma as much as possible, so she reserved herself from being too social. After two years of living in the dorm, she moved out into the current house she was living in, after noticing the ad in the classifieds. The rent would be cheap, the house reasonably close to the school, and hopefully would have a little more independence. Peridot had no idea she would actually become friends with her roommates. Friends. People she was actually somewhat close to. Even though her interests differed, she still found their company entertaining and enjoyable.
It was the first time in a long time she had people in her life she trusted.
“It’s time to have another!” Amethyst woke Peridot up from thought and shoved another drink in her face. It had an electric blue hue. “Kinda matches that cute bartender’s hair you were checking out,” her roommate raised an eyebrow.
“Was it that obvious?” Peridot moaned.
“Sorry bro, it kind of was,” Jasper butted in, now with them.
Peridot put her palm over her face, which Amethyst decided to grab. “Hey guys, we’re gonna steal P over here and going to hook her up with some girls to dance with.” She was clearly drunk at this point. Peridot could not tell if Jasper was as well. It was always harder to tell with the taller woman.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea-“
“Come on, you just came out and we need to find you a girlfriend,” she was slurring her words as she pulled Peridot along with her.
“Garnet? Pearl?” Peridot looked back in desperation.
But Pearl just giggled, and Garnet said, “Have fun Peridot.”
“No no no!” Noooooooo.
This was awful, downright awful. Why was she going along with this, when she could just call a cab and go home? But then she was too out of it to probably dial the right number. She did not even have enough energy to stop Amethyst from buying her more drinks.
Before they knew it, they shoved her into some random girl who was more than happy to be dancing with Peridot. She was definitely drunk as well, because as soon as their bodies touched, she immediately made a sloppy attempt at making out with her.
At that moment, Peridot had enough.
She pushed the girl away, and exclaimed “I’m sorry!” The girl seemed unfazed by her action, and turned to dance with another. Her friends were too occupied dancing as well, and Peridot escaped out the door of the club. She could not take being in that atmosphere any longer.
Gasping for air outside, she felt it become easier to breathe, with the absence of smoke machines and cigarette smoke. Her ears were ringing due to the loud bass inside, and oddly it became harder to hear with it gone. She could not describe the sensation, but her head was spinning and needed to find somewhere to sit. Peridot was not going to shake this one off very fast. She did not know how many drinks she had that night, but it was more than four. Stumbling away from the place, she noticed a bench by a pizzeria a few stores away. Making a beeline for the bench, she felt like she was going to pass out. There was no way she would let that happen.
Sitting down, she leaned forward with both hands supporting her head. She used her thumbs to massage her forehead, in hopes it would help with the massive headache. It did not, so Peridot stopped and ran her fingers through her chin-length blonde hair. She loved her roommates but pushing her to drink and dance tonight was a bit much. Deciding to wait a little while before she would call a cab, she rested in the same sitting position. Everything was blurry and spinning, and forced her to close both eyes in order to just focus.
“Do you need some water?”
An unfamiliar voice. Peridot removed her hands and looked up. Standing over her was the blue haired bartender from the club, and she held out a bottled water.
“I’m on my half an hour break, and noticed you sitting here. Drinking this will make you feel better.”
“Mmm thanks,” was all Peridot could say at that moment. Besides being drunk, she was also incredibly embarrassed of the cute girl noticing her current state. This was sure a turn in events. Especially when the girl sat down right next to her. Peridot knew it was warm this time of year, but suddenly it became much warmer.
She needed to say something, anything, to make this girl think she was not a total dweeb. “I appreciate it,” she said, pretty sure she slurred her words. “I don’t normally drink or go out.”
“I figured, by the way you are out here away from your group, and when you were hesitant when they gave you drinks. You know, your friend in there probably had too much. If the rest of your friends are drinking heavily like that, it may be a good idea to call a taxi.”
The girl was giving her advice. “Ugh, the short one? She’s always like that.”
“Drunk?”
“No, I mean she’s a bit impulsive like that. We warned her before coming tonight.”
“You can’t always control other people’s actions. By the way, I’m Lapis. Lapis Lazuli.”
The way she said her own name sounded like the purest poetry. Or maybe it was the alcohol getting to her.
“My name’s Peridot.”
“Well it’s good to meet you Peridot.” Lapis had a pretty smile. “I realize it’s probably hard for you to be talking right now, and I need to go back on shift soon. I don’t normally do this, but can I get your number?”
To say Peridot was shocked was an understatement, and some of the water from the sip she took drooled out of her mouth. “I, um, sure, yes…” She said shakily, wiping her chin with her palm. Did she really just ask that?
“Alright, I’m ready,” a phone suddenly appeared in Lapis’ hands. Where did that come from? Peridot told the girl her number at a good pace, where she could clearly name out each digit. Was this really happening?
“Thanks,” Lapis replied. “I’ll text you sometime, and maybe we can go out. I have to go back, but we’ll hopefully talk later?”
“That sounds good,” Peridot smiled back, and watched as Lapis waved and left, before giving her a flirtatious look.
Did that really just happen?
The rest of that night was a blur to Peridot, though she successfully sent a coherent message to Garnet, letting the older woman know she was sitting outside. They waited another couple hours before rounding up Amethyst and her cousin to drive back home. By the time they left the club, Garnet and Pearl were both completely sober. On the contrary, the other two girls had blacked out in the back. Peridot on the other hand was awake feeling terribly sick. Only when she got home did she throw up in the bathroom toilet, while Pearl held back her hair in a motherly way. After Peridot felt a bit better, she noticed the thin girl had made her an herbal tea to help her sleep. Though she was different from her housemates in many ways, it was little gestures like that which Peridot valued, and respected them for. Finally able to curl up in her bed, she passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Waking up the next morning, she checked her phone. It was already past noon. Had she really slept for that long?
Not only that, but there was an unread text from an unknown number in her inbox. Groggily, she could make out the name Lapis Lazuli, and “last night.”
That was the first thing Peridot remembered.
It did actually happen.