As much as she wished it weren't true, Amity knew she couldn't exist in her happy little Owl House bubble with Luz forever. They had to go out into the world and face the music eventually, despite how much Eda insisted that school wasn't necessary when you were in the Bad Girl Coven. Amity was rather partial to school, thank you very much and Luz's love of learning new magic made it even more imperative that they return. The last thing she wanted was to keep Luz all to herself at the expense of her friend's happiness.
So after just one day of peace, she found herself walking into Hexide Academy with Luz and Eda, headed to Principal Bump's office for a chat. She'd had to borrow a uniform and have Eda change the colours for her since her old one had been pretty much ruined but, unless one looked very closely at the fact that the hems where just a little too short for her, no one would notice anything amiss. Thankfully, she and Luz were practically the same size, Amity only having a few inches of height on her. After two very eventful days, a quiet day of school was exactly what she needed to regain a little normalcy in her life.
Eda led them into the principal's office, strolling in as casually as if she owned the place. Amity admired how confident and at ease Eda was with herself. She hoped to be half that comfortable within her own skin one day. However, when Eda flopped herself into the chair in front of Bumps desk and promptly put her feet up onto it, Amity decided maybe she didn't need to be quite that confident. Luz was trying hard to stifle a laugh at the long-suffering look on Bump's face though and Amity found herself snickering too, nudging Luz lightly in the ribs to get her to stop.
"Hello, Edalyn," Principal Bump grit out, clearly trying to maintain his professional attitude while roughly shoving her feet off his desk with a bit of magic. "What brings you to Hexide? Your human hasn't gotten into any trouble that I know of." Bump turned his eyes to Luz, raising a brow at her curiously and she grinned awkwardly, waving innocently from where she and Amity were standing.
"Nah, Luz is a good kid, for the most part," Eda said, sitting up from where she'd stumbled out of the chair when Bump had pushed her. "I'm here about this troublemaker," she added, motioning to Amity. Amity scoffed indignantly but Eda just grinned and winked at her. Luz was sniggering at her now and she huffed, crossing her arms and turning away to hide her own smile. "We have a few things we need to discuss about her current… situation," Eda said, rolling her hand like she was searching for the correct word.
"Ah, yes, Miss Blight. I was wondering when I'd see you. Your parents paid me a rather… interesting visit yesterday." Amity turned sharply to look at him, her face suddenly pale. Why would her parents come here? A horrible sense of dread filled her and she felt her throat clam up. There was really only one reason she could think of and the idea terrified her.
"I'm afraid to say your parents have removed you from Hexide, Miss Blight," Principal Bump said, his tone regretful. Amity felt suddenly as if the world had tilted on its ear and she had to take a step to steady herself, bumping into Luz who caught her worriedly. Her breath caught in her throat and she grasped Luz's arm, seeking some stability. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Bump's remorseful face. Her suspicion had been right. She'd been expelled. How would she go to school? Could she even keep going there? She didn't have the money to pay her own school fees and she was loath to ask Eda. She'd already done more than enough for Amity.
Eda snarled and banged her hand furiously on the table, snapping before Amity could formulate some sort of response. "They did what?! Those no good, uptight social climbers have a lot of nerve pulling something like that after-" She was cut off when Principal Bump held up his hand. He gave them all a look before sitting forward and pressing his hands together on his desk.
"As I'm sure you are aware, funding has been a bit of a problem at Hexide recently. We've found ourselves having to do a lot more repairs this year for some reason." He turned an annoyed look Luz's way and she looked away, suddenly very interested in the ceiling. "As such, no refunds have been made available to those who wish to remove students from school." He turned to Eda and there was no mistaking his sudden smirk. Realization dawned on Eda's face and she leaned back, grinning wide.
"Bumpy, you sly, old dog. I didn't think you had it in you," she said, impressed. Bump pretended he hadn't heard.
"On an entirely unrelated note," he said casually. "We have suddenly found ourselves with the funds available for an emergency scholarship program." He turned his eyes to Amity and smiled. "An excellent student like Miss Blight seems like the perfect candidate for a merit based scholarship, wouldn't you agree?" Amity felt a rush of gratitude for the principal as her tension eased, realizing exactly what he was offering her. She was desperately relieved that she wouldn't have to encroach on Eda's hospitality any more than she already was and even happier that her parents seemed to have lost this little game they'd tried to play. Still, just to calm her raging nerves entirely, she had to make sure.
"So… I get to stay?" She asked nervously. Principal Bump gave her a nod and she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"The scholarship funds we have available just so happen to be enough to last one student till the end of the school year," he said off-handedly, fooling no one. "After that we will have to come to some other arrangement. But, for now, you have nothing to worry about, Miss Blight." Luz let out a happy cry and jumped at Amity, hugging her tightly.
"Yes! Principal Bump you are the man!" She said gleefully. The principal coughed into his hand to hide a smile before looking to Eda.
"If you are planning to enroll Miss Blight under the scholarship, there is some paperwork you will need to fill out," he said, smirking at the very loud groan Eda grunted out.
"The things I do for you kids," she muttered grumpily.
"Miss Blight will also need to select a track to study," Bump said, turning to look at Amity who frowned in confusion.
"I'm not going to be in the Abomination Track anymore?" She asked curiously. Principal Bump stood and moved around the room to retrieve a large stack of papers that he dumped gleefully in front of Eda. With a little smirk at Eda's second groan he turned to the girls and raised a hand.
"Technically, as you are being re-enrolled under a new guardian, you are considered a new student. And all new students must choose a track to study," he said, twirling his finger in the air to form a spell circle that washed all the colour from Amity's uniform. She looked down at her, now white, sleeves with wide eyes. She got to choose? She'd never been afforded the option to choose before. She found her mind suddenly blank.
Luz was grinning from ear to ear though. "Amity, this is great! You can learn whatever you want now!" She said excitedly. Amity turned to look at her and gave her a helpless smile.
"It's a nice thought but how am I supposed to choose? Abomination magic is the only thing I know," she said. It was a lot of pressure. With nine tracks to choose from and no experience in the way of making such big decisions for herself, she was at a loss.
Eda looked up from the paperwork she was begrudgingly filling in and gave Amity a sympathetic smile. "Old Bumpy is letting you kids do more than one track now, right? Why don't you give that a try?" She asked. That idea appealed to Amity a lot. She'd just been talking to Luz about wanting to branch out yesterday and here was her chance. That still meant having to choose from nine tracks though and didn't help her narrow down her choices at all.
A loud gasp caught her attention and she turned to see Luz positively vibrating with excitement next to her. "Oh my gosh! Amity you could totally be All Track like me!" She cried out happily. "We could be in all the same classes!"
Amity chuckled at her enthusiasm and had to admit she liked the idea. She wouldn't get to learn the tracks as in-depth as she'd like, but that was nothing a little after school reading couldn't fix and this way she'd have a good base for choosing a specialty later. If she chose to specialize at all. "That's actually not a bad idea," she agreed. She turned to look at Principal Bump. "Would it be possible for me to do all the tracks? I'd like to get a better idea of what each of them has to offer," she asked.
He simply smiled and gave his finger another twirl, colouring her uniform to match Luz's rainbow one. "Very well, Miss Blight. You will need to catch up with all of your new classes, but seeing as you are one of our most diligent pupils, I'm sure I can trust that won't be a problem," he said. Luz gave a happy little squeal, dancing on the spot and Amity grinned at the adorable display. She would spend the rest of her life with her nose in a book if it meant making Luz that happy. The fact she got to study all the new magic she wanted was a delightful little added bonus.
"Of course, sir. I won't let you down," she said seriously and laughed when Luz pounced to give her another hug.
"This is gonna be so great!" Luz gushed excitedly. Principal Bump produced a schedule with a little magical flourish and handed it to Amity.
"You children run along to your first classes. I believe Edalyn and I will be busy for a while," he said, not quite hiding his amusement at Eda's apparent suffering. Eda let out a third, long groan, muttering under her breath about kids and responsibilities. Amity and Luz took that as their opportunity to hightail it out of Bump's office, making a beeline for their lockers.
Luz was chattering to her excitedly about getting to study together as they strolled down the halls but Amity was becoming more and more distracted by the whispering and curious looks they seemed to be getting. As a member of one of the more prominent witch families and a top ranking student, she was used to being gawked at, but this seemed somehow different.
A little nervous twinge built in her stomach but she stamped it down. She chose instead to focus on the loveable dork still talking a mile a minute beside her. Luz didn't seem to care that every eye was following them down the hall so Amity wouldn't either. She held her head up high and diligently ignored the stares and hushed conversations going on around her, choosing instead to engage Luz in her excited babbling conversation.
It became harder to ignore though, after their morning classes were over and even Luz seemed to have noticed that they were getting more attention than usual. It seemed like all eyes were on them when they joined Willow and Gus at a table for lunch, sitting down together opposite their two friends. Willow seemed genuinely relieved to see them both and leaned forward across the table.
"Where have you guys been? We were so worried when you didn't come to school yesterday!" She said urgently. Gus pointed his fork at them and raised an eyebrow.
"Are the rumors true?" He asked seriously. "Did you really run away from home?" Amity blanched at the open question as Willow swatted Gus's arm.
"Augustus! Don't be rude," she hissed, shooting Amity an apologetic look. Gus seemed unconcerned though, his child-like curiosity seemingly getting the better of him.
"What? It's a valid question. Everyone has been talking about it. What better place to put the rumors to rest than at the source herself?" He said simply, before turning to look at Amity. "So? Is it true?"
"How did you hear about that?" She asked in lieu of answering. If there really were rumors running about the school that she had left her home, it would explain all of the whispers and looks she and Luz had been getting all day. Gus seemed delighted to have been proven right.
"It's all over the school," he said. "Everyone's been talking about it since yesterday." Luz bristled beside Amity, reaching up to put a supportive hand on her shoulder.
"She didn't just run away, there's more to it than that," she said irritably. "Is that why everyone has been looking at us weird all day? I thought maybe they were just shocked that Amity switched tracks or something. How does everyone know already?"
"Oh, it might have found its way on to Penstagram somehow," a sickly-sweet voice jeered. Boscha had appeared behind Luz and Amity without anyone noticing. She stood there with her arms folded contemptuously, sneering down at them. Her posse of friends stood just behind her and gave friendly waves to their group.
Amity was surprised but glad they were holding on to that friendly spirit they'd shown after the grudgby match; it was a nice to know some people were willing to make amends. Boscha, however, turned to glare at her little group viciously, making all of them flinch. Apparently not everyone wanted to make amends then.
Boscha turned back to them and speared Amity with a smirk. "Looks like the little runaway decided to make an appearance. I'm surprised you had the guts to show up at school," she drawled, eyeing her nails as if the entire conversation was all beneath her, despite her having initiated it. Amity could only roll her eyes.
"Get out of here, Boscha," she said, turning her back on the three-eyed girl. "We're not doing this today, I'm not in the mood." Boscha's smirk grew and she leaned over, setting her hands on her hips.
"Awe, what's the matter?" She sneered, her voice taking on a mockingly sad tone. "Sad you don't get to live like the rest of us anymore? Can't make those little quips about how much better you are than me now can you?" She straightened up and tossed her hair back with a little flip of her hand. "I guess being tossed out on your ass like the loser you are must have finally humbled you."
Willow and Gus were glaring at Boscha from their side of the table and she could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of Luz. The last thing Amity wanted right now was to cause a scene in the middle of the cafeteria. They were already being stared at enough as it was. So she shrugged and refused to look at Boscha. She wasn't going to play this game if she didn't have to.
"Say whatever you want, Boscha. I don't care. At least I get to make my own decisions about my life now," she said simply, hoping she hadn't gone too far with that last line. It had been just a little too much to resist getting in at least one small dig at her ex-friend. Boscha seemed to take immediate offense though and all but snarled at them.
"I don't get you," she hissed furiously. "I thought we were friends but I guess you were just faking huh? Now you're just some sad loser with no money and no social status." She gestured to herself and the other girls behind her. "You used to be one of us! We had all the power and no one to tell us what to do!" Amity turned to look at her then, eyes narrowing.
"Except our parents," she snapped. They glared at each other for a moment before Amity let out an annoyed sigh. "Boscha we were never friends. Our parents forced us to hang out and you know it. You treated me and everyone around you like trash and I'm not going to accept that anymore." She grimaced a little, remembering how she had been party to the bullying not so long ago, however reluctantly. "Not from you and not from myself. Maybe if you stopped being so obsessed with appearances, things could be different, but until you grow up and apologize for being such a jerk to my friends, there's no chance we'll ever be friends."
She caught Luz's look of awe from the corner of her eye and turned to smile at her. Willow and Gus seemed equally amazed and she was happy to see Willow smiling at her glowingly. That was another step closer to getting their friendship back to the way it had been before. Boscha's glare only seemed to deepen though and she raised herself up, shoulders shaking, face red and hands clenched.
"Stop acting like you're so mature," she snarled angrily. "You and I both know you're not being honest about who you really are." Amity turned to look at her again and raised an eyebrow.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said. Boscha's smirk turned truly cruel then and she let out a little twisted chuckle.
"Oh really? Coz I overheard some pretty interesting details when my dad was having his weekly meeting with your parents last night," she drawled, motioning to Willow and Gus casually. "Have you told your little friends the real reason mommy and daddy didn't want you around anymore?"
Amity froze and her eyes widened. She couldn't help it. If Boscha had really overheard their parents talking, then it was a very distinct possibility that she did know the truth. A truth Amity was very much not ready to have the entire school know. Boscha saw her moment of panic and knew she had her. She stepped back and laughed haughtily.
"Oh, so you haven't told them! Well then, maybe everyone here would like to know the truth, hmm?" She raised her voice and motioned around the cafeteria. Amity felt her world collapsing around her as panic set it. She was going to announce it to everyone! Right there where practically all of Hexide was openly staring at them, not even bothering to hide that they were listening in. Her earlier composure was shattered in the wake of the cloying fear that was building in her chest. "After all, you're so mature and confident now. Why hide it? Why hide the fact that you're a great big-"
There was a loud screech of wood, cutting Boscha off in an instant, as Luz stood so forcefully that she nearly knocked over the bench she and Amity were sitting on. Amity had to grab at the table to stop herself from falling over but she managed to right herself and look at Luz, who was standing stiff as a board and trembling with rage. She had her hands clenched at her sides and was working her fists like she was trying very hard not to punch Boscha in the face.
Amity was fairly certain the only reason Luz hadn't just decked the girl was because she was determinedly not looking at her, staring instead at her feet, eyes wide with anger. It scared Amity a little to see her precious, happy-go-lucky Luz so angry. She hated Boscha for doing that to Luz even more than she hated her for what she had almost done to her.
When Luz finally looked up at Boscha, the three-eyed girl actually looked momentarily frightened of the human. She stepped back impulsively, swallowing hard as Luz continued to glare at her.
"I used to think you were just a jerk, Boscha," Luz said, her voice low with anger. "But you're actually a rotten, selfish bitch!" There was a collective gasp from around the cafeteria, none louder than the ones that came from Willow and Gus on the other side of their table.
No one had ever heard Luz use language even remotely bad before. Not when Boscha had been aggressively picking on them all day. Not when they'd inexplicably lost the grudgby match to a ridiculous rule. Not when she was hurt or mad or scared or ever.
Luz wasn't innocent but she was compassionate, friendly and infinitely kind. Maybe a little naive at times but certainly never in a bad way. She saw the good in people and did her best to light up the world around her rather than bring it down. It was one of the many things Amity loved about her. She was sunshine packaged into a warm, beautiful person that just wanted to make everyone else happy. Being around her made Amity feel free and safe and cared for. Loved. Luz was not the type to drop bad words on a whim.
But for star's sake it was not fair how hot that had sounded coming out of her. She wasn't sure if it was because it was so unexpected or because Luz was defending her so viscerally but Amity felt very much like kissing her right then and there. She hadn't realized Luz's innate passion could be channeled into something this primal. It was enticing. She hoped to all things good in the world that no one was looking at her in that moment because she was fairly certain her entire face was as red as the apple-blood she'd been drinking earlier.
"Were you seriously just about to do what I think you were? Coz that's low, even for you," Luz hissed, lowering her voice so that the entire student body couldn't listen in. Boscha looked legitimately terrified for a moment before she tried to school her features into a glare.
"Why bother hiding it if she's so proud that she'd leave her whole life behind," she snarled, voice wavering a little. Luz's glare deepened and she stepped closer to her.
"Maybe coz they didn't give her a choice. Or maybe coz it's nobody's business!" She snapped. "You don't get to take that decision from her just coz you're mad that she doesn't want to be friends anymore." She raised a finger and jabbed it angrily in Boscha's direction, not quite touching her. "Maybe you should think about how you'd feel if your parents threw you out over something you can't control! You have no idea how much they hurt her and you have no idea what you're talking about so just shut up." She was breathing heavily, body still quivering with suppressed anger and, as incredibly attracted as she was to the girl in that moment, Amity knew she needed to step in before things got even more out of hand.
She stood a little shakily, her nerves still fried from Boscha coming so close to outing her in front of everyone and her rather intense reaction to this new side of Luz, and settled what she hoped was a comforting hand on her arm. Luz turned to meet her eye and seemed to deflate instantly. All the fight left her and Amity gently tugged her down onto the bench with her. When they were seated, Amity turned her eyes to Boscha and gave her a very disappointed look. She was surprised to see real shame dance across Boscha's face as they stared at one another, but eventually Amity sighed and turned away from her.
"Just go. We're done here," she said simply. Boscha seemed to hesitate for a moment before turning and storming off, her gaggle of friends running after her. There was total silence in the cafeteria for a minute, no one daring to breathe or move, before Gus stood on his chair and waved his arms at the students around them.
"All right, that's enough. Show's over folks! Go about your business," he called out and it seemed to break the tension in the room. Normal lunch time chatter filled the cafeteria again and their little group breathed a collective sigh of relief as Gus plopped back down onto his seat triumphantly. No one spoke for a moment. Luz was staring at the table forlornly and Amity still had her hand on her arm, trying to comfort her in some small way. Willow was the first to break the silence.
"Are you guys ok?" She asked hesitantly. Her look of concern was heartwarming but Amity just felt exhausted. She leaned her forehead against her free hand and took a deep, calming breath.
"That was… probably not as bad as it could have been," she said heavily. Gus was tilting his head at her and frowning in confusion.
"Guys, I'm lost," he deadpanned. "Can someone explain what that was about? And since when does Luz use such bad words!" He cried out, gesturing wildly to Luz with both arms.
"Sorry, Gus, but I'd really rather not talk about it," Amity muttered, not meeting his eye.
"But we could help. We're friends now right?" He said earnestly, leaning forward over the table. His enthusiasm was sweet but it was the last thing Amity needed just then. Frankly she could do with a long soak in a hot bath. In total silence. For a year. Alone. Luz could come though. The brief thought set her cheeks flaming again and she tried hard to tamp down the blush.
"Leave it, Gus," Willow said firmly, giving him a look. He sighed but raised his hands in defeat.
"All right, I know when I'm beat," he said and Amity was grateful that the younger boy was willing to drop it. She gave Willow an appreciative smile and was glad when she returned it with her own warm, understanding one. Willow promptly turned to Gus and engaged him in conversation so he would be distracted. Amity was even more grateful then. She looked to her side to see Luz still staring miserably at the table.
"Luz, you ok?" She asked hesitantly, lightly squeezing the arm she was still holding. Luz let out a low groan and slumped her head onto the table with a thunk. Amity had to scramble to push Luz's plate aside so she wouldn't land in her lunch.
"I'm sorry, Amity. I dunno if that was helpful or if I just made things worse. I just couldn't let her do that to you," she grunted, sounding frustrated with herself. "When will I learn to stop making big speeches at bullies. It never works!"
Amity couldn't help the affectionate smile that spread across her face. Grand sweeping gestures were very on brand for Luz Noceda. She was just the type of person that would stand boldly up to bullies in the hopes of turning them away from the dark side. She patted her back gently to get her attention and Luz lifted her head to look at her.
"It's ok. I think it did this time," she said, thinking back to that guilt she'd seen in Boscha's eyes. "Boscha actually looked like she felt… bad, which was new for her. I think you might have gotten through to her." She smiled down at Luz and ran her hand down her arm to give her hand a small squeeze. "It was really sweet of you to stand up for me like that. Thank you." She was very glad that she and Luz had talked so openly with each other the day before. It had made them both a lot more comfortable being honest with each other and the way Luz's face lit up and she launched herself at Amity made her never want to stop being honest with the girl. She laughed and returned the hug happily before they turned back to their lunch. She never noticed the contemplative look Willow was giving them both.
They all decided to cut their lunch short not long after that. Willow and Gus had club meetings to go to and Luz and Amity just didn't feel like dealing with the openly staring masses. The group split with the promise of seeing each other later and Amity headed for her locker with Luz to grab some things, grateful that she kept a lot of her stationery in there so she wasn't totally without school supplies for the day.
Before she could even open the locker's mouth, she felt a pair of strong hands wrap around her arms and bodily lift her off the ground. She struggled for a second, giving a small yelp of surprise before she caught sight of a flash of green hair and saw Emira dragging Luz along with her. She relaxed and let herself be pulled away by, who she now realized was, Edric. The twins marched the two of them into a nearby empty classroom and promptly shut the door, sealing it with a twirl of magic. The second they were alone Edric grabbed her by the shoulders and started checking her over like a mother hen fussing with her chicks.
"God, Mittens, you scared the hell out of us! Are you ok? Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" He rambled, reaching up to squish her cheeks so he could tilt her head back and forth as if searching for injuries. She swatted at his hands and dragged herself back a step out of reach.
"Stop it, Ed. I'm fine! I've been with Luz," she said, only half irritated with his shenanigans. She was actually quite pleased to know the twins had been worried about her.
"You are not fine! What the hell happened!?" Ed asked urgently, reaching out to pull her into a hug that she only sort of resisted.
"I'm not a Blight anymore. I thought you knew. Everyone else apparently knows already," she mumbled against him, eyes downcast. She felt him gasp and he pulled back to look down at her seriously.
"Mittens, don't say that! Of course you are! You're our sister!" He cried out, his voice strained with emotion. Amity grimaced and looked away.
"Not according to our parents," she said sadly. The sting of the rejection hadn't exactly been washed away in a day. Despite how much she disliked them, being so totally abandoned by her own parents had wounded her deeply. Being free of their criticisms and controlling machinations didn't make it hurt that much less.
A loud sniff caught her attention and she turned to look at Emira, who was standing near a very quiet Luz, with her hands over her mouth, tears spilling from her eyes. Amity had never, ever seen Emira look that devastated. She wanted to say something… anything… but before she could even open her mouth, Emira was upon her, holding her tightly to her chest and sobbing over her. Amity put shaking arms around her older sister and returned the hug, tears prickling at her own eyes.
The twins had been a lot nicer and more protective of her ever since their little incident at the library. They still teased her a lot but more recently it had seemed to come from a place of genuine affection rather than a simple desire to give her a hard time. Years of the two of them actively picking on her had made her weary of the twins but she was very, very glad to know they cared about her this much. She loved them dearly, despite it all. After all, the twins had to suffer through her parents too.
"Em… its ok. I'm ok," she said shakily, trying her best not to break down. She really didn't want to cry anymore. She'd already done plenty of that recently. But hearing Emira sob so openly was heart wrenching. She had no idea what to say to comfort her.
"It's not ok! Amity, I am so sorry! We should have been there! I know it's not a good enough excuse but we got caught up at school! We were pulling another stupid prank and lost track of time. If I'd known, I…" Emira whimpered and pulled her in even tighter. The fact that she had used her real name and not the nickname they always did was testament to how awful Emira must have felt. "At first we thought maybe you were with your friends, but then we heard mom and dad arguing and…" Another sob escaped her and she looked down at Amity desperately. "Oh stars, Amity did dad really hit you?!"
Amity's grimace and inability to meet her eye was all the answer Emira needed. She stared at Amity in horror for a second before wrapping her up in her arms again, squeezing her protectively. Amity could feel the tears running down her cheeks now and she suddenly felt so small in her big sister's arms. She clutched at Em's cowl and buried her face against her, allowing herself to be comforted in a way she hadn't for many years. They stood for moment, unashamedly holding each other, before Emira finally managed to pull herself together enough to loosen her hold on Amity. She didn't let go though.
"When we found out what they did to you, we tried to reason with them but dad wouldn't listen to us," Edric said, setting a comforting hand on Emira's shoulder. "He was seriously mad. I'm pretty sure the only reason he didn't send the entire Emperor's Coven after you is because they wanted to avoid turning this into an even bigger scandal than it is." He winced and looked down at Amity with regret written across his face. "They wanted to keep it in the family. We tried to stop him but he… he cast you out, Amity."
Amity felt ice run down her spine at that and stepped back from Emira to look at her siblings in shock. Luz stepped up beside her and touched her arm.
"Uh, what does that mean exactly," she asked hesitantly, looking between the Blight siblings with concern.
"It… it's a really old spell. It means he cut me completely out of the family," Amity whispered, her voice breaking a little. She felt numb. It was the final rejection. One there was no coming back from. Her parents had well and truly abandoned her then.
"What?" Luz asked, not quite understanding the gravity of what Amity had said. Of course she wouldn't. She didn't really understand the dynamics of the high-family politics and the covens. Amity wished she shared the same ignorance.
"She literally can't get into the manor or anywhere near our parents anymore. If she even tries to get close the ritual magic will stop her. It's meant as the ultimate insult to a family member in our circles," Edric answered sadly. Luz looked to him and Emira in confusion and gestured to the short distance between them and Amity.
"Wouldn't that mean you can't be near her too?" She asked. Edric looked insulted at the question.
"Of course not! We would never cut Amity off like that! We refused to do the ritual," he half shouted, sounding horrified at the very idea. "Em kind of lost it when they tried to make us. She destroyed dad's entire office. It was intense." He glanced at his twin with open respect and awe, tinged with a little fear.
"Well good! There's no way she's gonna go back there anyway. I'm not letting your stupid dad throw her in the Conformatorium!" Luz snapped angrily. Emira looked at her sharply, her eyes suddenly glowing a faint blue.
"What did you just say?" She asked, her voice dangerously quiet. She turned to look at Amity, raw power crackling at the corner of her eyes. "Is that true?"
Amity was staring at her, wide-eyed and could only nod. Emira's entire body stiffened and her shoulders hunched. Her eyes started glowing fully bluish white and she clenched her fists tightly. Her hair was fluttering around her as magic seeped out of her every pore. She looked absolutely terrifying.
"Oh geez. Em, calm down!" Edric said, reaching out a tentative hand to his twin. "You can't fly off the handle again, we're already on lockdown as it is!" Emira turned to look at him and snarled.
"I don't care! You heard what they just said right? I'll kill him!" Her magic was starting to shake small objects in the room and Amity felt Luz grab at her hand. She didn't blame her for being scared. Emira was a force to be reckoned with.
"If you do something stupid now we won't be able to help her at all!" Edric snapped at her angrily and it seemed to do the trick. Emira let out a frustrated scream and grabbed the nearest chair with her magic, flinging it so hard against a wall that it shattered entirely. With the release of her anger, her magic dissipated and she collapsed, panting, to her knees. Shaking with shock at her sister's outburst, Amity reached out to her. Emira took her hand and pulled her in for another hug, taking deep shuddering breaths to calm herself down.
"Yeah, that's pretty much what happened at home. Except she broke a lot more stuff," Edric said, giving his twin a pat on the shoulder. "Dad has had us grounded since then. We get escorted to and from school by some goons he hired. And these guys are good. We can't even trick them with illusion clones. I guess he didn't want us looking for you."
When Emira had calmed down enough, she stood and pulled Amity up with her.
"I am so, so sorry, Amity. I swear the second we get the chance we are leaving that hell hole. We'll find somewhere safe we can all go together," she said, staring down at Amity seriously. It was a sweet sentiment but Amity knew they couldn't do that. Not right now anyway. It would be a disaster if they tried.
"Don't do that. You know if you run father would never stop chasing you. He can't lose all three of us. His reputation and plans would be destroyed. If you try to leave, it'll only make things worse," she said sadly. It was true and they all knew it.
"We can't just leave you with nowhere to go! I know you're smart but you're just a kid! You're our little sister, we're supposed to take care of you!" Emira cried. Luz moved closer again and smiled reassuringly at Emira.
"She has somewhere to go. She's living with me and Eda now. We're taking care of her," she said, turning her smile on Amity.
"Exactly. I'm really ok. Please don't do anything stupid," she pleaded. Emira's face seemed to crumple and she snatched Amity into her arms again, whimpering.
"I love you so much, Mittens. I'm so sorry for how mean we've been to you. We'll do everything we can to take care of you. We're going to make this right somehow. I swear!" She whispered, pressing her face into Amity's hair. She felt Edric join the hug, pulling Luz in as well until Amity was completely boxed in by the three of them. She could barely breathe with how tightly they were all holding her, but she found she didn't really mind. She closed her eyes and leaned into it, thankful for the first time in ages, that she had siblings that loved her. Maybe her parents were jerks, but she still had family.
"I love you guys too," she murmured.
When the hug was finally over, Edric checked his watch and winced at the time.
"We've gotta go soon," he said apologetically. "If we miss any classes dad will hear about it and we need to stay on his good side right now if we wanna get some freedom back. But there's one more thing." He looked down at Amity. "Dad had pretty much all of your stuff destroyed but we saved as much of it as we could. It's mostly just clothes but we grabbed some of your personal things too. We'll get it to you later through a friend of Em's," he said, not elaborating on who that might be. The slight blush that tinged Emira's cheeks peaked Amity's interest but she didn't mention it. Especially when Emira dug something out of her pocket.
"We also found this," she said, handing it carefully to Amity. It was her gromposal note; crushed, a little more torn than before, but still intact. "I'm sorry we couldn't save your diary; it was pretty much gone when we got home. But I found the note on the floor of the parlour." She glanced briefly at Luz and then gave Amity a meaningful look. "We thought you might want it."
Amity pocketed the note with a small thanks, a light flush spreading across her cheeks.
"Before we go, is there anything you need?" Edric asked. "We will do literally anything." His tone said he was very serious and, while a few rather amusing options sprang to mind, Amity just shook her head.
"I'm really ok, guys," she said. Emira gave her a look and smiled sadly.
"Please, Mittens. Let us at least make it up to you a little," she begged. Amity frowned in thought. They clearly wouldn't let it go but there was nothing she could think of. A flash of her conversation with Luz from the day before buzzed in the back of her mind and an idea suddenly came to her.
"Luz needs a Scroll," she said simply.
"What?!" Luz cried out.
"Done," the twins replied in perfect unison.
"Amity I have my phone; I don't need a Scroll," Luz said, uncomfortable with the idea of using the twins' need to make things right with Amity to her own benefit. Amity turned away from her siblings to give her a flat look.
"Yes, you do and you're getting one. Don't argue," she said, her tone making it clear it wasn't up for discussion. Luz found herself incapable of declining and just nodded, her eyes wide. She spied Edric and Emira snickering at her from behind Amity's back and Edric making a whipping action with his arm. Luz couldn't deny that. He definitely wasn't wrong.
When they were done poking fun at her, Emira stepped around Amity to look down at Luz pleadingly. "Would you mind giving us a minute alone with, Mittens?" She asked. Luz smiled at her and nodded.
"Of course," she replied. "I'll just wait outside." Edric unsealed the door for her and she stepped out for a moment, shooting Amity a quick smile before she closed the door. When they were alone the twins wrapped Amity up in one final hug.
"Just remember we love you, ok?" Emira said. "No matter what. We just want you to be happy with whoever makes you happiest." The look she gave Amity was enough to let her know that they were being totally honest with her. For all their faults and previous arguments, her siblings loved her and would be there for her. She was sure that, as long as she still had the twins, she could deal with the loss of her old life.
"Actually, you being a big gay disaster makes you way cooler," Edric said, giving her a teasing grin. Maybe she only needed Emira.
"Ed!" Emira laughed, swatting his arm and giving him a mock glare. "I was trying to be sincere, you moron."
"Oh come on, you know I'm right," he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Amity, who could only roll her eyes, not quite able to hide her smile. It hadn't taken them very long to fall back into the old habit of teasing her but she was glad for it. It was their own little dynamic after all.
With that, they pulled Luz back into the room and looked at her very seriously. The way their expressions morphed into identical protective glares would have terrified even the bravest of witches. Sometimes they could be downright creepy with how in sync they were.
"Take care of Mittens for us, Luz," Emira said, the warning clear in her voice. "We'll see you both the second we can get out of the house without an escort." Luz nodded meakly, sure that if she ever crossed any of the Blight siblings, there would be hell to pay. With a quick final goodbye, the twins were gone as fast as they had appeared, running to their next classes before they would be missed. Amity let out a long breath and sank into a chair, head in her hands.
"You ok?" Luz asked gently, her hand coming up to touch Amity's arm. She looked up at Luz and gave her a weak smile.
"I think I just need a minute to breathe. And think. The last few days have been a lot," she said, her voice wavering a little. She didn't want to be rude and ask Luz to leave, but she needed a moment alone to process things. Luz seemed to understand though.
"I need to get some books from my locker for our next class. See you there?" She asked. Amity hadn't known it was possible to love Luz more but in that moment she did. She smiled at her gratefully and nodded. When Luz left, she sat in the quiet room, not really caring if she was skipping a class. The oppressive silence felt suffocating after a few minutes though so she stood and made her way outside, hoping that some fresh air would help clear her mind.
She found herself wandering into the bleachers beside the grudgby field and sat there, enjoying the quiet sounds of distant school chatter and the soft breeze against her face, the sun warming her cheeks. She took a deep, steadying breath and leaned back, trying to relax. She should have known that a quiet day at school would be too much to ask for after the drama of the last few days.
From the moment that she'd found herself on the Owl House doorstep, it had been such a mad rush of activity and conversations that she hadn't had a single second alone to simply process what exactly had happened to her. Even going to sleep in her new room last night had been a blur because Luz had made sure she was totally exhausted by the time they'd needed to turn in for the night. She was forever grateful to Luz and Eda for taking her in and giving her a new home, but she still had so much to deal with emotionally that even they couldn't really help with. Not when it was still so fresh.
Having Luz at her side almost constantly had given her a reprieve from the creeping negative thoughts that were still buzzing in the back of her head but here, alone on the bleachers, she felt them crawling out of the darker parts of her mind, ready to overwhelm her at the first sign of weakness. She took another deep, steadying breath in an attempt to push them back and let it out in a shaky huff.
Even knowing she still had the twins, her mind couldn't stop circling her parents. How did you deal with being so utterly rejected by the people that had given you life? How did you deal with the nightmares that followed having your greatest fears realized in so visceral a fashion? Amity didn't have answers to either.
Her parents had discovered her deepest secret and had reacted exactly as she had always feared they would. Very, very badly. Whatever small part of her that had hoped maybe they would understand… would love her and accept her no matter what, had been shattered in an instant. How was she supposed to simply move on from that? She'd harbored the secret of her sexuality for so long, terrified of the consequences should it ever be revealed, and now she was living those consequences.
It hadn't really been that hard to hide before. She'd been too young to care about boys or girls as anything other than potential friends and, when the time came that she awoke to her leanings, there hadn't been anyone she had really been interested in. Sure, she'd had the odd minor crush here and there. Had even imagined what it might be like to kiss a girl on more than one occasion. But she'd never really felt the need to pursue anyone. It wouldn't be worth the effort and potential problems.
Until Luz.
When Luz Noceda had come barreling into her life like the brightly coloured comet of energy that she was, Amity had found herself utterly at a loss. The annoying human had caused her nothing but trouble from the moment they'd met. But the more they kept inexplicably running into one another, the more she found herself looking forward to their encounters. The incident at the library had been the thing that sealed it for her oddly enough. That terrifying moment when they'd been half sewn to a book together, facing oblivion as they ran away from Otabin, Luz had cracked a stupid joke and, for some reason she couldn't fathom, Amity had found her so charmingly silly that she had laughed. She'd let down all her barriers and simply allowed herself to enjoy the moment, harrowing as it may have been.
She hadn't been able to get Luz out of her mind since then and had been so delighted when they'd actually become friends. It had taken a while and had involved some very painful healing of her relationship with Willow, but Amity had grown closer to Luz and she'd felt that little attraction grow into the strongest crush she'd ever had before. Then they'd danced at Grom in a magical duet that had been so perfect one could be excused for believing that they'd rehearsed it. But they hadn't. They just worked that well together. Had such amazing chemistry that it had flowed like they were born to dance together. And that had been it. She'd been a complete stumbling, blindly and totally in love mess since then.
Luz terrified and exhilarated her all at once. The threat of being found out, of being rejected by the girl she liked, the thrumming anxiety over not knowing whether she even liked girls too, of being subjected to the ridicule of her peers and losing everything; none of it had been enough to keep her away. Luz was worth the trouble.
If only she felt the same way Amity did.
Sighing heavily, Amity slumped forward and buried her face in her hands, wishing for some reprieve from the negativity swirling in her head when she suddenly felt someone sit beside her. Startled, she sat up to see Willow innocently watching the sky like she'd been there the whole time. She didn't speak. Didn't even acknowledge that Amity was there and she wondered if she should feel awkward about sitting alone with Willow like this when their friendship was still so new. Honestly, she was too strung out to really feel much of anything. Willow looked down at Amity then, as if she'd heard her thoughts and raised an eyebrow at her.
"You look awful," she said simply. Amity let out a snort.
"Thanks?" She muttered snarkily and Willow shrugged.
"Just being honest." There was a slight playful hint to her tone that made Amity smile.
"I feel kind of awful," she admitted, resting her chin in her palms and looking straight ahead again. They were quiet for a bit and it might have been almost peaceful if that slight tension between them hadn't been there. They'd rekindled their friendship, sure; Amity had even publicly stood up for Willow and Luz, destroying her own reputation in the process to show them that she meant it. But they hadn't been alone together since they'd become friends again and it felt… weird.
"So… are you staying with Luz at the Owl House?" The question came out of nowhere and she was sort of glad for the break in the heavy silence. She tried to muster up something to say that could carry the conversation but all she could manage was a small "yeah".
There was another silence that seemed to drag on and Amity half wished someone would come over to start something, just to break this weird energy in the air. She hated that it felt so strange to be alone with Willow when they had been so close as children. She wanted things to be the way they were back then.
"Isn't that a little awkward?" Willow asked casually, like she'd just asked for the time. The thought 'not as awkward as this conversation' sprang to mind but Amity threw it off irritably. She didn't want to be a jerk to Willow and she wouldn't let her dower mood be taken out on her first and newly reclaimed friend.
"Not at all. Luz and Eda have been… really great," she said instead. Deciding maybe she should attempt to contribute to the conversation and also partly out of curiosity she added, "why would it be awkward?" Willow gave her a look that screamed the answer was the most obvious thing in the world and Amity should feel foolish for not knowing it.
"Well, you're hopelessly in love with Luz right? I'd think that would make things pretty awkward," Willow said tilting her head and giving Amity an innocent smile. Blood rushed to her cheeks and Amity shot straight up in her seat. She stared at Willow wide-eyed for a split second before her ability to communicate seemed to implode and she devolved into a stammering, incoherent mess.
"Psh, What? Wh- Who said anything about…" Oh stars, why was she babbling so much? "I'm not… Th-that's so…" Stop laughing like an idiot! "I mean why would y-you think…" Just say something coherent for star's sake! "What?!"
The flat, unamused look Willow was giving her was enough to deflate all attempts at denial. Willow knew. She'd probably known for a while. Why bother denying it then? If she knew and wanted to give Amity a hard time about it, well she probably deserved it for how she'd treated Willow for so many years. Frankly it would be nice to just be able to talk about all the raging feelings inside her with someone. She grimaced and leaned back again, clutching her knees tightly in her hands and staring at them nervously.
"H-How did you know?" She stammered. To her surprise, Willow seemed to relax and smiled at her warmly.
"Amity, did you forget I have two dads? This stuff isn't news to me. And you're not exactly subtle," Willow chuckled, giving her a very knowing look. "If you're planning on keeping your feelings to yourself, you might wanna be less of a big gay disaster about it."
"Why does everyone keep saying that today," she grumbled, crossing her arms and definitely not pouting. Willow giggled brightly and gave her a friendly bump with her shoulder.
"Because it's the truth. Have you forgotten how you were acting the day we played that grudgby match? All Luz has to do is breathe in your general direction and you go into total gay panic mode," she said fixing Amity with an exasperated smile. "It's really sweet but wow. You're lucky Gus is so innocent or he'd know too." Amity sank down on her seat, pressing the heel of her palms into her eyes with a loud groan. She could hear Willow chuckling at her, probably enjoying how Luz-like that had been.
"Why am I like this Willow? I'm so bad at this!" She half whined. She couldn't deny that Luz had to do very little to turn her into stammering, blushing mess. It just wasn't fair of her to be so damn cute! How was a person supposed to function around that?
"Yeah, you really are," Willow laughed lightly, clearly enjoying her suffering like the evil witch she was.
"Not. Helping," Amity bit back, peaking up at her friend with a weak smile.
"Ok, ok," Willow giggled. "I'm going to help you out but only because you're apparently completely useless when it comes to girls." She gave Amity a loaded smirk and chuckled at the glower she got in return.
"Not all of them. Just this one really stupid, cute one," Amity huffed grumpily. One that had Amity wrapped around her little finger and didn't even know it. She felt a smile tug at her lips. It was very freeing, being able to admit to all of this so openly. It felt good being able to just say out loud that she liked Luz and that the girl drove her crazy. Somehow, talking about her feelings for Luz made her feel less paralyzed by them.
"Why haven't you just told her how you feel? My dads always say that it's better to just tell someone you like them. That way you'll know one way or the other and you can move on," Willow said sagely. Amity stared at her like she might have gone mad.
"I can't just tell her!" She yelped, her voice jumping a few octaves higher. Willow gave her that same unamused look from before.
"Why not?" She asked. Amity sputtered and grasped for a reason but her brain came up empty.
"Because… because she's Luz!" She said at last, as if that would somehow win this little argument. Willow didn't seem to agree and raised an eyebrow at her again. When had she gotten so good at that? It made Amity immediately feel like she was being an idiot.
"And?" she asked slowly.
"And… and… ugh, Willow she doesn't see me that way!" Amity cried out in frustration. "She likes someone else. She told me so herself." That actually seemed to catch Willow's attention and she tilted her head curiously.
"She actually said she doesn't see you that way?" She asked, sounding mildly surprised. Amity hedged and looked away.
"Well… not in those exact words, no. But basically, yes." It sounded flimsy, even to her.
"You lost me," Willow said simply, giving Amity a look that demanded an explanation. Amity let out a groan and sat forward, reaching into a pocket to pull out her gromposal note.
"At Grom, when she asked me to dance… she said it was what friends do," she said, her voice laced with sorrow at the memory. "She only went with me because she saw my fear and wanted to make me feel better, because that's just the kind of sweet, noble dork she is." She eyed the offending note, hating the very sight of it. It was a reminder of the fact that Luz only saw her as a friend. Would probably never see her any other way. With a pained grimace, she crushed it in her hand and tossed it aside in defeat. "But ever since that stupid dance, my feelings have only gotten stronger and I can't stop thinking about her! I don't know what to do!"
Willow picked up the note from where it had landed at her feet and unfolded it gently. It was damaged but still pretty much intact, if you looked past the tape holding the torn parts together. Luz's name was still clearly visible in Amity's neat calligraphy across the top.
"I dunno, Amity, that dance didn't look very friendly to me," Willow said carefully. "How do you know she wasn't just scared, like you were?" Amity's head snapped up at that and she turned to look at Willow.
"What?" She whispered, suddenly very nervous for some reason. Willow gave her a small understanding smile, idly playing with the note in her hands.
"Have you thought about the possibility that maybe Luz likes you too but thinks you have a crush on someone else?" Willow asked. "She's definitely the type of person that would put your happiness before her own. Plus, she didn't know you like girls at the time, right? Maybe you're both having the same stupid misunderstanding." Amity stared at her in absolute shock. It couldn't be that simple.
She wanted to reject the possibility. There was no way it could be true, right? She searched her memory for any evidence at all that Willow might have a point. To her shock, the more she thought about it, the more she found. Luz had certainly seemed more attentive in the last few weeks. Especially after the grudgby match. There were a lot more lingering touches and she'd definitely seen her blushing on occasion. She thought of all the tender hugs and the way Luz had become more prone to grabbing for her hand. Had she really been trying to disguise her own feelings under a mask of friendship so that she wouldn't interfere with Amity's supposed crush on some random stranger?
Fully against her will, her whole face went red, right to the tips of her ears and her chest tightened. Had they really both been that stupid this whole time? Was it possible that they'd both misinterpreted everything in the exact same way? Willow let out a bark of laughter and Amity turned stunned eyes on her to see Willow pointing gleefully at her face.
"There it is!" She giggled. "Gay panic mode!" Amity wanted to be indignant but Willow's open, happy laughter was infectious and she found herself laughing too. Willow gave her a genuine look of understanding after a moment and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Look, there is still a possibility that she doesn't feel the same," she said hesitantly. "I've never spoken to Luz about this stuff because she never mentioned liking girls to me before, but wouldn't you rather know for sure? You know Luz wouldn't think any less of you either way." She handed Amity the note back and she took it carefully, running her thumb over the crumpled edges.
"Just think about it, ok? For the record, I think your chances are pretty good," Willow said, smiling at her warmly. Amity returned the smile and leaned over into her friend.
"Thanks, Willow," she replied. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, the awkward energy from before having completely vanished. It felt like old times. Amity found herself smiling happily.
"I've missed this," she said quietly, giving Willow a shy look from the corner of her eye. Willow was beaming at her.
"I have too. I'm really glad we're friends again, Ami." That simple statement made Amity's heart soar. Willow had called her Ami… she hadn't done that in years. Hearing her say it relieved all the fears she had that maybe Willow was only doing this, being her friend again, because it would make Luz happy. Things between them really were healing and she was so very grateful. Deciding that she was done holding back her desires for physical affection out of some twisted sense of decorum, she threw her arms around Willow and dragged her in for a hug like when they'd been little. Willow's happy giggle made her smile.
"Thank you for being my friend again, Willow. I'm so, so sorry about all the things I've said and done to you. I was awful," she said sincerely.
"You were," Willow agreed with a smile, hugging her back tightly. "But it wasn't really your fault. Not all of it, anyway. And it's in the past now." When they pulled back, both girls were misty-eyed, wiping surreptitiously at their eyes. Willow gave her a little pat on the shoulder and stood.
"We should probably get back to class. Do you promise you'll think about talking to Luz?" She asked. Amity smiled at her nervously but nodded as she stood.
"I'll try," she replied. Willow beamed at her again and turned to leave, waving at her as she went.
"Call me the second you do! I want all the details!" She called back and then she was gone, headed to her Plant Track class with a happy bounce in her step. Amity watched her leave, feeling much better after all the hassles of the morning. She felt ready to go back to class. To Luz.
The moment she found Luz in her next class, she knew she needed to do it that day. Luz lit up the second their eyes met and she waved Amity over with such excitement that Amity felt like she may as well have floated over to their shared table. The small, concerned, questioning look she gave Amity when she sat, asking if she was ok without actually speaking, made all the butterflies in her heart start fluttering at once.
Luz understood her like no one else ever had. Cared about her in a way that she still couldn't quite handle but loved none the less. They connected on a level she couldn't fathom and it was clear they had mountains of chemistry. She had to do it. Today. If she didn't she would lose her nerve entirely and Willow would probably never stop calling her a gay disaster for the rest of her life.
The finality of her choice was strangely calming. She had been sure that the day she finally worked up the nerve to tell Luz the truth, she would be a nervous wreck. Thankfully Willow's advice about finding out, one way or the other, had struck a chord with her. She was obviously still nervous and she would be heartbroken at a rejection. But she also knew Willow was right about the fact that Luz would never abandon their friendship over a confession and Amity would… she would move on if she had to. Eventually. Probably.
When the bell screamed at the end of the day and they bid farewell to their friends, Amity reached for Luz's hand and stopped her before they could leave school grounds. Luz glanced down at their joined hands before looking up at her, smiling questioningly.
"What's up?" She asked. Amity took a deep breath and looked into those big brown eyes she loved so much.
"Would you… take a walk with me? There's something I wanted to…" She trailed off, her throat closing with nerves for a second before she cleared it. She was not going to bail. She was doing this. She took another breath and squeezed the hand in hers. "There's something I've wanted to talk to you about." Luz's smile was so easy and accommodating. Like she would do anything Amity ever asked and be happy doing it.
"Sure, lead the way." So it was that Amity found herself walking down a familiar path with Luz, hands intertwined. She led her along through the quiet forest, her heart pounding faster and harder the closer they got to her goal. Now that they were almost there, those nerves she'd been sure she would be feeling were rearing their annoying heads. She fought them down, tightening her hold on Luz's hand to remind herself that she was still there, and pushed through the last few branches and bushes to stop at a clearing that led to a cliff. A very familiar cliff.
"Oh! It's our tree!" Luz said, running forward to get a closer look, her eyes shining with delight. Amity followed behind her and smiled up at the tree. Luz had said it was their tree. She was right of course. They'd made it. Together.
"I still can't believe we made this thing by beating Grom in a magical dance fight," Luz said, grinning at her widely, unknowingly mirroring her thoughts. Amity turned her eyes to the tree. It looked just as it had the night they'd created it. Tall and proud with a broad, healthy trunk that made it look centuries old. The pink petals adorning the top were lush and thick, glowing a faint light that was visible even in the late afternoon sun. The glow cast a lovely pattern on the area as the breeze rustled the leaves, scattering the faint pink light across the ground and their faces. The tree had become a landmark of sorts. People spoke of it and its strange nature often. She'd even heard Willow mention that they'd been studying it in her Plant Track classes. It had been dubbed The Witchwood.
It was special. It was breathtaking. It was theirs.
"Yeah, I've never seen magic combine like that before. It was really strange but it's also so beautiful," she mused, smiling warmly up at it. Her gaze drifted over to Luz, who seemed to be watching her.
"Eres hermosa," she muttered breathlessly, her eyes shimmering. Amity wished she knew what it meant because the way Luz had said it filled her with a warmth unlike anything she'd ever felt.
"What?" She asked tentatively. Luz seemed to blink herself out of a daze and realize what she'd said. She probably hadn't meant to say it out loud. Her face flushed bright red and she stumbled back a step, scratching nervously at the back of her neck and grinning a big, too wide grin that was obviously fake.
"N-nothing, its… I uh… I was just." Seeing Luz stammer at her like that calmed some of her own nerves and Amity gently touched her hand to stop her.
"It's fine, you can tell me about it later. I… there's a reason I wanted to come here," she said. She took another calming breath and met Luz's eyes. "Do you remember what you asked me after we beat Grom?" Luz tilted her head curiously but nodded.
"Sure… I asked who you wanted to ask out," she replied easily. The brief thought that maybe Luz spent time thinking of that night too, if she could recall it so easily, gave Amity a little extra boost of courage. She hesitated, only for a second, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pink note that had caused so much trouble. A torn, tattered, crumpled, stepped-on and taped back together note that held the one secret she'd been most afraid to share. She stared at it for a moment before carefully holding it out to Luz with trembling fingers.
"This… is for you," she said nervously. Luz stared at her in surprise.
"Amity, I really don't need to know if you're not comfortable," she said earnestly. Amity wanted to laugh and cry all at once. How was it possible for a person to be this adorably dense? She was literally giving her the note and telling her it was for her and Luz still didn't get it.
"No, I want you to. I think you should know," she said, gently pressing the note into Luz's hand. Luz matched her nervous gaze before looking down at the note. She carefully opened it and Amity watched as her eyes locked on the top half, where her name was written clear as day. Amity didn't need to see it for herself to know precisely what it said. She'd spent hours composing it after all.
LUZ,
Will you go to Grom with me?
Amity
She watched Luz stare at the note, watched as her eyes widened, her hands starting to shake a little as she gripped the note.
"Oh," she whispered. "Oh!" She looked up at Amity, her voice raising suddenly. "What? Wait… what?! Me? This whole time?!" Startled, Amity had to swallow back the nervous little moan she could feel building in her throat. Of all the reactions she had imagined, she hadn't expected Luz to immediately have a minor meltdown. But Luz was looking between her and the note as if she was sure she'd somehow misread it. Silently wishing for a place to go die of embarrassment in peace, Amity wondered if maybe she should murder Willow for talking her into this. Luz's sudden groan made her jump and she watched as she pressed her palms into her eyes much like Amity had done earlier that day.
"Oh my gosh I'm such an idiot. You were trying to ask me out and I said 'that's what friends do'!" She cried out, turning desperate eyes to Amity who swallowed nervously. "Amity, I had no idea, I'm so sorry." Amity let out an uncomfortable little laugh and glanced away, not quite able to meet Luz's eyes anymore. Her heart was thrumming in her throat and she could feel a burning in the corner of her eyes. If this was going to end badly for her, then she would at least try to be cool about it.
"That part kind of stung, but it's ok," she said, trying desperately to keep her voice calm. "You didn't know and it's not your fault if you don't feel…"
"I would have said yes!" Luz shouted, clapping her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. She'd been a little louder than she'd intended. Their eyes met and Amity felt her brain fuzz over. Had she heard that correctly?
"R-Really?" She asked, hesitant to believe it even though Luz had literally yelled it at her. Luz looked about ready to explode, and explode she did.
"Heck yeah! Are you kidding?" She cried out. "You're the coolest, smartest, prettiest most amazing person I've ever met! I would have loved to go to Grom with you, and not just because we're friends! I only said that because I thought you had a crush on someone else and I didn't even know you liked girls back then so I didn't I think I had a chance and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or make things weird but I guess I've been flirting with you for ages like a moron anyway because I couldn't resist and you never said anything but ay, Dios mío now I understand why you've been blushing so much and so much stuff makes sense now and I just… I… I've been talking for too long." She trailed off, breathing heavily from the outburst and buried her very red face in her hands.
She'd been speaking so fast, without so much as pausing for breath, that Amity had a hard time following it all. It didn't help that her mind had seized the second Luz had admitted that she would have said yes. It slowly caught up with her and the various parts of Luz's little rant filtered into her mind.
"You would have said yes…" Luz looked up at her and when chocolate brown eyes met liquid gold ones, she nodded meekly.
"You've been flirting with me for weeks…" That statement sent a flush across both their cheeks. Luz nodded again. There was one final, extremely important piece left.
"You like me." They stared at each other, both trying to figure out what to say. Amity felt a pressure building inside her, climbing from her toes to fill her chest and flood into her head. She suddenly found herself much closer to Luz, their eyes locked. They were both trembling. She could feel Luz's breath ghost across her cheeks. See the little flecks of dark and light browns in her eyes that made them so mesmerizing to look into. Her eyes darted down to her lips and something in Amity broke. After weeks of pining and frustration, there was no hesitation left in her.
Just as Luz seemed ready to speak, Amity surged forward and they were kissing.
When she pressed her lips to Luz's for the first time, she felt an electrifying jolt run down her spine and Luz made an adorable little squeak but then she was kissing her back and Amity's brain lost all higher functions.
Her hands found their way into Luz's soft, dark hair and she shivered when she felt Luz slip her own hands around her waist, tugging her closer. She pressed in too, deepening the kiss and reveling in that wonderful tingling joy that was spreading from every spot they were touching. She couldn't stop the little mewling noise that escaped her throat when she felt one of Luz's hands travel up her back, leaving trails of fire in its wake and pressing her in even deeper. In her wildest dreams, she'd never imagined their first kiss to feel like this. It was electrifying. It was shy and nervous and they were both clumsy and shaking but there were stars bursting behind her eyes and it was pure perfection.
When they finally pulled back, breathing heavily, Luz pressed her forehead to Amity's and her whole world became centered on the beautiful girl that had her arms wrapped around her.
"Wow…" she whispered, eyes half glazed over as she raked her fingers down through Luz's hair and settled her hands gently at her neck. Luz grinned at her happily and Amity was delighted when she felt her shudder beneath her fingers.
"Yeah, wow... I can't believe you just did that." Amity pulled her head back a little to look more clearly into her eyes and gave her a look somewhere between annoyance and pure affection.
"We could have been doing that this whole time," she exclaimed, unable to stop the smile spreading her cheeks. She felt a little robbed of the weeks they'd wasted being idiots but she was more than happy to make up for lost time. Luz let out a little giggle and smiled at her in shared exasperation at their own stupidity.
"We're kind of stupid aren't we," she grinned and Amity laughed happily.
"I believe the term is 'gay disasters'," she said, trying and failing to stop the snort from escaping her throat.
"Ok, I have no idea where you heard that but it's great," Luz chuckled.
"And accurate," Amity quipped. Luz snorted and rolled her eyes.
"And accurate. But seriously, I don't want there to be any dumb misunderstandings this time so I'm just gonna say it, ok?" She pressed her forehead to Amity's again and their eyes locked. "I really, really like you, Amity. And again, just so we're totally clear, I don't mean just as friends." Amity laughed giddily.
"Pretty sure I got that at this point. I really like you too, Luz." Her cheeks almost hurt from smiling so much but she couldn't care less. Luz liked her back. They'd shared their first kiss beneath their beautiful Witchwood tree and it had been perfect.
They both laughed happily and Luz pulled her in for a tight embrace. It was, by far, the best hug she'd ever had because she got to push her fingers back up into Luz's hair and press her face into her neck and she could do this whenever she wanted now! She smelled amazing and it made Amity feel dizzy with joy. Why had she waited so long to do this? She felt fit to burst with the warm, glowing bliss that filled her to her very core. She never wanted to let go. She was startled, then, when Luz suddenly pulled back to stare at her in wonder.
"Wait, does this mean I get to call you my girlfriend now?" She asked breathlessly. Amity stared back for a second before a small smile spread across her lips, her cheeks pink and warm.
"Say it again." Luz did her one better and kissed her. Maybe Amity needed to give Willow the biggest hug in the world for talking her into this.