Intro notesA/N: Hi guys! This is my first ever fic so please be kind ｡＾･ｪ･＾｡ I plan on writing more Lumity content if I can find time between school and work. Takes place after Season 2: Episode 2, so spoilers ahead. Some strong language. Enjoy ( ω )!
Rule 14: Saturdays are for Abomination studies. Her mother had let her leave the house under the impression that Amity would be at the library, studying from the thick "Abominations: Golem Theory and Construction" volume that she had reserved for furthering her studies. Instead, Amity had done a first: she had ditched the library for… whatever this was: sorting through oddities King had collected in his last visit to the human world before the door had been destroyed.
Amity would have declined the offer to help at the junk stand, but Luz… Amity couldn't say no to her. Luz's fingers, wrapped around her hand, her pleading brown eyes yesterday made her heart beat so intensely she was forced to retract her hand and look away before saying yes.
Besides, the Owl House was short on cash anyway. They could use help. Luz could use her help. She was doing her a favor.
In between haggling prices with pursuing customers, Amity would steal glances at her, examining. The curvature of her mouth, her dark curled lashes, the way her hands were always tapping on the plywood stand or fiddling with the strings of her cat hoodie. Maybe her fingers couldn't create magic the way other witches could, but Luz certainly had her enchanted.
Rule 2: no dating. Blights have a reputation to uphold, her mother insisted, and academics came first. After how hard her mother had cracked down on her friendship with Willow, Gus, and Luz, Amity was reminded of how fragile her relationships were. Her friends had nearly been permanently expelled from Hexside just for their association with her. If her mother found out that she liked someone… she shuddered to imagine the consequences.
Besides, for the first time in a long time, Amity had friends. Real friends. The sort of people she couldn't fathom having ever lived without. She would be risking her relationship with them as well if she allowed herself to become distracted.
"Amity? Amity!"
Amity snapped out of her thoughts. She realized that she had been staring off into space, her glassy eyes fixed on Luz. Right, the junk. She was supposed to be sorting it. She brushed her hair aside, hoping her face wasn't turning red, and cleared her throat.
"Sorry," Amity said.
"No silly, look!" Luz was wearing a purple feathery boa that draped around her neck, the long fuzzy ends trailing on the floor. "Does this make me look witchier?"
Amity hesitated. "I don't know if Principal Bump would allow that under the Hexside dress code..." She faltered. Luz was looking at her so hopefully she felt bad shutting her down. "But I think it goes great with your hoodie."
"Yes!" Luz exclaimed. "That's exactly what I thought."
"What is this creature?" King asked, struggling as he clawed his way onto the stand.
"It's called a feather boa."
"A boa!" King yelped in fear, scampering off the stand as fast as he had climbed onto it. He straightened himself and cleared his throat."I mean, bring it on, serpent! King will destroy you!"
"It's not a real snake, don't worry," Luz said, striking a pose and admiring her reflection in a shattered mirror propped against the stand.
Amity watched the mirror, watched the tiny reflections of Luz twirl in each shard. Luz fidgeted with her hair. She caught a glimpse of her own face, smiling like an idiot, and turned away. She shouldn't be looking at Luz like that. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"It's just a costume thing," Luz continued. "It's supposed to make you look fancy. Look, feel how soft!" Luz waggled one end in King's face.
"An accessory of this quality is a worthy addition to my collection. Gimme!" King jumped, made a swipe for the boa, missed, fell, and stood up, adjusting his skull helmet. Luz draped the boa on him, wrapping it around his neck five times so he wouldn't trip. Off he trotted, his head held high, half in pride, half because he couldn't see over the mountain of feathers enveloping his field of view.
Amity turned away. Focus. Focus on your task. She continued pawing through the junk box. A broken mug, a rusted lamp, a ratty shoe… until something metal glinted at the bottom of the pile.
"Hey Luz, what's this?" Amity picked up the object, a golden chain with a little charm.
"Hm? Oh, that's a locket! Let me take a look." Luz held her hand out and Amity deposited the locket in her hand, careful to not let their fingers touch. "See? There's a little clasp here, and when you open it..." Luz pried the locket open to reveal two halves with small picture compartments. Inside the locket was a tiny black and white photo of a beaming human in a white dress.
"It's a… curious shape." She turned the locket in her hand. The locket charm was symmetrical. It had two bumps at the top, which curved and formed a point at the bottom of the charm.
"Hm? Not really, it's just a heart," Luz said.
"A… heart? But where's the bile sac? Or the valves?" Amity was puzzled.
"Humans don't have bile sacs, silly, remember? Plus, it's supposed to be cute, like a little symbolic cartoon heart, not a real one. I guess witches would draw hearts differently, huh? Here, do you wanna try it on? I think it would look really good on you!" Before Amity could absorb this whole heart business or even say anything, Luz was already placing the necklace around her neck. Her fingers brushed the back of Amity's neck as she clasped the delicate gold chain securely around her. She felt tingles, little arcs of electricity traveling down her spine from the point of contact.
Stop it, she admonished herself. Why do you like this?
"It does look nice!" Luz exclaimed, rocking back and forth on her feet excitedly. "See, I knew it would." The locket rested on Amity's chest, golden chain cold on her skin. She examined herself in the cracked mirror and inadvertently made eye contact with Luz in one of the shards. She felt her heart skip a beat and turned away quickly. Why am I like this?
Amity unclasped the necklace herself before Luz could touch her again.
"Isn't it so pretty?" Luz swooned, oblivious to Amity's discomfort.
"Yeah," Amity said. "Thanks." She placed the necklace carefully back with the other assorted scrap metal on the stand, her heart pounding.
»»—- —-««
"Hey Gus, what do you know about lockets?" Amity asked the younger witch casually as they walked to the cafeteria together.
"Ah, lockets! Lockets are so fascinating." Gus, as always, was excited to talk at length about the human world. "I love human memorabilia! They're a common way for humans to show affection by keeping photos of loved ones inside."
"Like… in a romantic way?" Her heart pounded. She tried to look appropriately half-interested, like it was no more than a casual bit of trivia.
"Yeah, exactly!"
"Oh, okay. That's really neat. Thanks, Gus."
"Sure, no problem! Hey, you should totally ask Luz about this. I bet she knows way more than me."
"Ah," Amity was flustered. "No, I just… read about it. Somewhere. I was just curious. It's not a big deal. I didn't want to bother her."
"Okay," Gus shrugged. "So what do you think Hexside's chances are in the upcoming Grudgby match against Witherstone? I'm thinking we're looking pretty good…"
Amity was already far away, lost in her thoughts. Romantic…
»»—- —-««
Her parents didn't have an explicit rule against stealing, but it went without saying. It fell under the first and most important rule, after all, which was to always uphold the Blight family image. Amity felt guilty, not just for breaking the rules, but for taking a valuable item from the junk stand. She knew Eda was short on cash as of late, so Amity had quietly slipped a stack of snails in the payment jar (which King was supposed to be guarding, but he was too busy admiring himself his new boa), which she hoped would cover the cost.
Amity fished the locket out of her pocket for the umpteenth time that day, unclasping the little heart-shaped compartment to stare at the human woman inside. The photograph was old, yellowed around the edges. She wondered who the woman was. She wondered why her face was in this locket.
She had no idea what had possessed her to take the locket without telling Luz. Maybe she wanted it because Luz had told her it looked good on her.
She couldn't wear the locket to school on display, lest Luz saw it and put two and two together. At home, she kept the necklace hidden in her pocket to avoid her mother's suspicion. The locket felt private, both in her secret acquisition and current possession of it. Lying to her parents was new, but surprisingly easy. Lying to Luz… well, it still felt wrong. Even if it was for a good reason. Luz couldn't know.
Ever since the fight at the Blight Industries showcase, Amity couldn't get Luz out of her mind. Every little touch, every glance sent Amity spiraling, her heart racing. Maybe the locket was a good solution. If Amity could just displace her feelings, concentrate them on the locket instead, maybe she could keep her feelings in.
Amity opened the locket and grabbed her scissors. One mutilated Grom photo later, the locket was perfect. She closed the charm and pressed it to her lips. She thought of it like a kiss, a kiss from far away. Indirect, inutile. This kind of kiss couldn't hurt anyone, she reasoned, and it certainly couldn't hurt Luz. After a moment of hesitation, Amity clasped the necklace around her neck and tucked the charm under her shirt. She felt the memory of Luz's fingers on her hand, her neck. She felt the sensation of the metal heart, cool against her beating one.
»»—- —-««
azurafan_589
amityy
amityyyyyyyyy
! super important
GreenHairDontCare
Yeah?
azurafan_589
what do you think about helping me
at the stand i mean
next week
eda needs help selling as much junk as we can since we can't get any more
GreenHairDontCare
Of course
Yeah
Yes totally
:)
azurafan_589
omg yayayayay
thanks amity 3
»»—- —-««
It had been two weeks since Amity had begun wearing the locket under her clothes. So far, no incident. Luz never mentioned the locket going missing, so it was safe to say that she hadn't noticed. That made her guilt about lying to her a lot easier to bear. No harm, no foul… right?
Nobody could see the locket, safely hidden under her shirt. She took it off only to shower, placing it carefully in her sock drawer in fear that her parents or her nosy siblings might stumble upon it if she left it on her dresser.
Amity constantly worried that someone would notice, yet every morning, without fail, she would still wear the locket to school, and every evening she would keep it on around the house. Perhaps the fascination of owning human paraphernalia made Amity bolder. Or maybe the little human face in the locket made her braver.
She wondered what had happened to the previous owner of the locket. How it had come to be a discarded trinket. Out of habit, she reached for the locket and rubbed the charm with her thumb. She wondered if the previous owner had done the same before. If they, too, had found the idea of a locket to be romantic.
Romantic…
Amity was no stranger to enchanted objects. In the Boiling Isles, amulets and trinkets of all sorts could have spells cast on them for healing, protection, or other more nefarious purposes. The pink necklace her mother spoke to her through, which she had just recently shattered, was an example of the more malicious sort of mystical keepsake. But this was different. Human objects weren't enchanted: Luz had assured her. Still, the locket had a strange and persuasive pull to it, unlike any of the other objects Amity had helped Luz sort and sell at their junk stand.
That night, Amity lay awake for hours as she opened and closed the locket with one finger, the clasping mechanism muscle memory to her at this point. The click of the locket opening and closing comforted her in a strange way. She knew the human face inside by heart: she had committed it to memory. Even in the pitch-black dark of her room, she could visualize the little face, beaming back at her from the locket.
Sometimes she pressed the locket to her lips, miming a kiss. She always felt a bit silly, slightly self-conscious. What would Luz think if she was watching? Would she want to kiss her back? Stupid. Don't be stupid.
It was late. Amity was tired but wide awake. Staring at the dark ceiling in her room, Amity drew a circle with her finger and produced small orbs of light. The lights floated lazily. The locket glinted in the half-light before the orbs winked out.
»»—- —-««
"Amity!" Luz waved her multi-colored limbs erratically as she ran through the halls towards Amity.
"Hi, Luz." Amity felt her heart skip a little beat. Stop. Don't.
She had barely slept the whole night. That was new, too. Amity had always had a strictly enforced bedtime, and she had always obeyed, save the occasional sleepover at Boscha's. She couldn't remember the last time she had stayed up so late doing nothing.
"Do you feel ready for Ms. Irradia's quiz?"
"What quiz?" Amity felt her heart sink.
"Uh, the big abomination composition thingy she was telling us about the last two weeks?" Luz cocked her head, confused. "Did you... forget?" Luz seemed as startled as Amity was. "Amity, you never forget about that kind of stuff!"
"Yeah, yeah, no, I... I was just busy. A lot on my mind." Under her Hexside uniform, Amity's heart was pounding. She had no idea if it was because of the test she had forgotten, or because she was embarrassing herself in front of Luz as a consequence.
"Here, I'll help you cram!" Luz slung her bag off her shoulder and dug out her notebook. "These are all the notes I took to study yesterday." Luz handed them over to Amity, the back of her hands brushing over Amity's outstretched palms. She felt the familiar jolt, the secret thrill of skin-to-skin contact. Idiot. Stop it.
"Thanks." Amity cleared her throat. "Thanks, Luz." She wanted to say more, but she felt dually mortified that she had forgotten about the examination and that their hands had once again made contact. Even more embarrassingly, she was cramming, yet another thing that Blights never did. How unseemly, to stand in the hallways and sweat over numbers and names and figures that could have been committed to memory a week prior.
"Here." Luz plopped down next to her. Amity could smell her hair when they were this close. Coconut vanilla. Focus. Focus.
"I'll go over all the important stuff with you," Luz continued. She looked up at Amity, her eyes bright with determination. Amity fought the urge turn away. "So you want to be sure you know the six major elemental components of an Abomination in order of most prevalent to least…"
Amity stared at the notes and fiddled with the chain around her neck, the rest of the necklace obscured, hidden by her grey tunic. Focus. Pay attention. She imagined the tiny golden heart beating just like hers.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
»»—- —-««
GreenHairDontCare
Hey
Are you still up?
Did you read chapter 14 yet?
azurafan_589
yea,, omg i just finished and like ashdgashjdgkdshafk
do u think azura is going to be able to fix her staff :0
i think shes going to have to save lunada from gildersnake without it
wdyt?
GreenHairDontCare
I don't know
Honestly I think charging in without her orb on her staff is a bad idea
It went really poorly for her in the last fight when the staff had fallen into the pits of despair
azurafan_589
i mean yea but like it's lunada
!
GreenHairDontCare
What do you mean
azurafan_589
omg it's sooo obvious how r u not picking up on this subtext like
azura totally has the hots for her
like who else would azura prioritize over fixing her obr of light
*orb of light
:3 it has to mean something
GreenHairDontCare
I mean I guess that's true but isn't that just what you do for like
Friends?
I don't know I'm kind of new to having real friends
Besides she's the good witch Azura
Helping people is kind of her thing
azurafan_589
yea but remember how they promised each other theyd see each other again at the end of book 4
sdkajhfaksdhfka
and how azura keeps a lock of her hair sewn in her cloak
GreenHairDontCare
The hair is for enchantment purposes though
I'm not sure that means anything more
azurafan_589
and when she faced Hecate and nearly was defeated in book 1 all she thought about was lunada
like askjadfhdjhfsk
she totally likes her !
GreenHairDontCare
You find that endearing?
azurafan_589
yea its super cute
ahhhh I hope she confesses soon theyve been laying the groundwork since the magic tournament
im sensing more ~romantic~ encounters at the end of this book
GreenHairDontCare
But what if she's wrong
azurafan_589
wdym ?
GreenHairDontCare
What if Lunada just thinks of Azura as a friend and Azura read into it too much
What then?
azurafan_589
uhhh no lunada is soo crazy for azura she dreams about her like all the time
and she's going to get rescued by her :0
GreenHairDontCare
Okay but things don't always end well
azurafan_589
awww amity ! dont worry
i believe in happy endings
and i believe in true love 3 !
GreenHairDontCare
I guess
Ugh I can hear my mom coming up the stairs
Read to chapter 16 by tomorrow?
azurafan_589
yea sounds good :D
gn !
GreenHairDontCare
Good night
She put down her scroll and lay still.
Odalia's footsteps made their way up the stairs, the antique mahogany creaking slightly. She paused at Amity's door. No doubt listening for any noise. Even when she was distant or busy, her mother always had time to be nosy. She laid silent until she heard the soft padding of receding footsteps.
Azura and Lunada… she shifted in bed. Amity had to admit, she could see Luz's point. There was something intimate about their interactions, something comforting to read. She remembered the way that Lunada had grabbed Azura's hands, how they had fought together at the tournament.
And Lunada's hair. She imagined Azura threading a needle and carefully stitching a clump of golden locks into the lining of her midnight blue cloak. Azura, focused and silent. A needle, weaving in and out of the fabric. Did the Good Witch Azura reach for the strands in times of despair? Did she kiss it at night before she went to sleep? Or did she refrain from such displays, even in solitude, or the privacy of her mind? Did she understand, better than a fool like Amity, the danger of unreciprocated affection? The danger in the hoping, the wanting. The believing. The consequences. A golden locket with an ancient, faded photograph, tossed out. Forgotten junk.
Happy endings. True love. Luz liked what Lunada and Azura had. She believed in it.
In the dark, Amity rubbed the locket, kissed it. Her heart drummed, the staccato beat of someone who, despite everything, wanted to believe.
»»—- —-««
During the day, Amity was a machine at home. She did her chores (or rather, created an abomination to tidy her room for her), finished her homework due the next week, and ate dinner with her family. Every event was scheduled, perfectly, down to the minute. Rule 6: Always be on time. Dinner was precisely at 7 p.m. At 7:08, Amity entered the dining room and took a seat next to Emira, where she always did. She had lost track of time.
Her mother looked up from her plate, her eyes narrowing.
"Don't make it a habit," her mother said, pursing her lips. She had been distant ever since Amity had shattered her necklace, speaking only to her about her studies. Amity understood this was supposed to be a punishment, but she was secretly relieved. Blight Industries was occupying most of her parents' time anyway. Had they been spending more time with her, they might have noticed her... preoccupation.
Distant was safe, she had decided. Distant was good.
Amity ate quickly and stacked her dishes in the sink, where an Abomination in an apron and yellow rubber gloves washed each item at a sluggish pace.
At night, when her chores and studies were done, Amity lay on her bed and texted Luz. They had been texting more as of late, often into the early hours of the morning. Amity tried to be nonchalant about it, but her heart hammered everytime her scroll got a new notification. She would read and re-read their conversations, rubbing the locket, periodically opening and closing it.
Click. Snap. Click. Snap. Click. Snap.
Like a heartbeat.
On nights like this, Amity drowned in thoughts about Luz. Sometimes she wrote her thoughts in her diary. But mostly, she daydreamed.
She thought about Grom. The way they had danced so synchronously, so seamlessly integrated into each other. How Luz's warm hand felt in her own, how her dark eyes, so sure and confident, had stared directly into hers. At that moment, Amity had been so focused on defeating Grometheus that she could put it all aside. But afterwards, Amity had scolded herself for weeks. It was for the best that she hadn't asked Luz to the dance. What was I thinking?
But in her facedown at the Blight Industries showcase, she let herself slip. In the heat of the moment, she had called Luz her Luz. Out loud. In front of Luz.
My Luz. The way she laughed when Willow made flowers contort into odd shapes for her amusement. My Luz. Luz picking her up after their Grudgby match. My Luz. The smell of Luz's perfume on her Grom suit. She knew it was for the best that she hadn't asked her, hadn't made a fool of herself. And yet, she felt disappointed. The way they had danced…
My Luz. She knew it was wrong to say it. She could ruin everything with Luz. And yet… it felt so right. My Luz. My Luz. Amity rolled over in bed. Like a prayer, like a vow. Holy in its secrecy. Her secret. She had to remember that.
My Luz.
»»—- —-««
Luz. Smiling, laughing, bubbly Luz. She had no idea the hold she had on Amity. Amity, for her part, had given up on her frustration, her caution. She was captivated. She was Luz's captive. And she wasn't even mad about it. Not anymore.
My Luz.
She was less embarrassed now. Less embarrassed of the stolen stares, the daydreaming. Even the weirder behavior, like kissing the locket. Maybe she was obsessive, but how could she not be? She had to be acutely vigilant to stay on top of school, hide the locket, and sneak around her parents, all while trying to keep her cool around Luz.
Amity had rules though. Rules she followed. Well, one rule, that she had made for herself, a silent promise. Rule I: Don't let Luz find out. About the locket, about Amity's… feelings for her. Luz could be her Luz, in her head only. All the other rules her parents made could be bent and broken, if it meant more time for Luz. After all, if she kept it in her head, in her heart, in her locket, what was the harm in it?
The past month, Amity had skipped the library every Saturday to help Luz sell the last of the junk from the human world. The rule breaking, once so foreign, had become second nature. Maybe even exciting. At one time, her mother's aloof treatment would have encouraged Amity to spend more time studying, more time trying to please her. Now she was grateful for the distance. It meant she could spend days like this with Luz, or late hours chatting online. That's what made everything worth it.
The hours slipped by and before she knew it, the day was almost over.
After Luz and King took down the stand, Luz bought a cupcake from one of the adjacent stalls. She sat next to Amity in a patch of grass, reclining against a tree. Amity rarely thought the Isles were beautiful, but in this moment, they almost were. The setting sun turned the skies a shade of deep red, which melted into a light summery orange and faded at its edges to a soft pink. Breathtaking. Maybe even romantic. Amity's heart hammered at the thought.
"The sky is gorgeous, isn't it?" Luz observed. "So… pinky."
Amity stole a glance at Luz out of the corner of her eye. Maybe a few weeks ago she would have denied why she was looking. Told herself to stop. But how could she?
My Luz.
She admired Luz's collarbones, peeking out the top of her shirt. There was a little scar on her left forearm, shaped like a U. She imagined a younger Luz, scrappy and fearless, grazing her arm from a skateboarding accident. When Luz raised her arms over her head, stretching, her cropped cat hoodie rose as well, exposing a sliver of midriff.
"Yeah," Amity said. "It is. It's nice. I'm glad you're here to watch it with me." Amity smiled to herself. She smiled a lot around Luz, she had realized. Luz turned to face her, scooting closer.
"Here," Luz split the cupcake she was holding in half and handed Amity the wrapper side. "You must be hungry."
"Thanks." Amity's heart skipped with joy.
They ate their halves in silence. This was a gift for Amity. The simple intimacy of eating half of a pastry, tasting what she tasted at the same time. Chewing, even. Amity had never realized how good it could feel to eat, to chew, when you were with someone… special.
Dinners at home were scheduled. There was table etiquette, manners. Proper seating. A salad fork and a desert fork. A white tablecloth, which her parents kept spotless. How abnormal, to eat desert before dinner. To eat with your fingers and not worry about the crumbs. She wondered if Luz ate like this all the time. If Luz, too, felt chewing right here at this moment was something special.
Luz, for her part, was staring intently at the distance, hardly noticing how the frosting on her cupcake was smearing all around her mouth.
"You have a little something there," Amity said as Luz looked at her. Without waiting for an answer, she reached out, her hand propping Luz's chin up, and wiped the frosting off of the corner of her mouth with the back of her thumb in one smooth motion.
She could feel the electricity, running from her thumb down her arm, straight to her heart.
Amity was shocked by her own boldness. She could feel her face getting red. Even Luz looked startled.
Shit. Why did I do that? How do I play this off? Amity's heart was going crazy. She had never felt so faint. She had never felt so alive.
Then the moment passed, and Luz was just goofy Luz again. Oblivious, smiling.
"You don't need to do that. I have a napkin, here." Luz wiped Amity's thumb clean, humming to herself.
"Oh. Oh yeah, sorry." You need to be more careful. You need to maintain boundaries. Remember your rule, Blight. She's only yours in your head. Nowhere else. Don't mess this up.
Amity finished her cupcake and hastily said goodbye to Luz. Her heart thrummed the whole walk home.
»»—- —-««
azurafan_589
eda said yes !
GreenHairDontCare
Yes!
Are Gus and Willow coming too?
azurafan_589
no willow has to help her dads with their garden
and gus is visiting his aunt for the weekend ;((
eda lilith and king are going to be out on a mission to make some xtra snails too so its just us
and hooty :P ofc
GreenHairDontCare
I'll be there by 9:30 sharp
I'm really excited
azurafan_589
yes ! asjhgfahjsksdhfkashk so excited :3c
remember to bring your book
GreenHairDontCare
Will do
azurafan_589
i read the next few chapters
so im ready to discuss when u get here
i've been saving some of my last snacks from earth too
u have to try gummy worms
GreenHairDontCare
Are they like candied fairy taffy?
azurafan_589
even better :3c
Amity tossed her scroll on her mattress and flopped face down. She groaned into a pillow.
Sure, she was getting more comfortable with her… affection for Luz. But Amity still had rules for herself. Okay, so maybe she let herself daydream about Luz, and stare at Luz, and sneak around to hang out with Luz. But she still had to keep things separated to a degree: she couldn't let her affection for Luz shape her behaviors in a way that she would notice. After the cupcake incident, Amity wasn't sure if she could maintain her boundaries when they were alone. Her most important rule. My Luz.
Sitting up, she unclasped the locket from her neck. It could be risky to wear the locket to a sleepover. What if it slipped out of her pajamas while sleeping? What if Luz saw? She had to remember her rule. My Luz. But only in my head. She placed the locket in her drawer and busied herself with other tasks.
Amity packed her overnight bag slowly, methodically. Sleeping bag. Scroll. Scroll charger. A change of clothes. Book. Toothbrush, toothpaste. She imagined brushing in the same sink as Luz, at the same time. Maybe their eyes would meet in the mirror. Just thinking about that simple intimacy made Amity's heart beat faster. She reached for her locket, then remembered she had removed it and hid it in her sock drawer. Muscle memory.
She chewed on her lip. She had become so attached to the locket. It would be her first night sleeping without it on. After a moment's hesitation, she grabbed the locket.
I'll be careful.
»»—- —-««
Amity walked down the road with her overnight bag slung over her back. A sleepover at Boscha's, she had told her mother. A lie. Those were easy now. Easy, because lies meant she could hang out with Luz.
"Have fun," her dad had said absentmindedly, tinkering with a disemboweled Abomination splayed on his work table.
"Don't be up too late. I expect you to be at the library by 9 a.m. tomorrow, studying hard," her mother added, glancing up from her book, some hardcover biopic with a scowling witch on the front. Right, Rule 14. Saturdays, abomination studies.
Amity just nodded, demure, agreeable, doing her beat to conceal her excitement. Screw Rule 14.
Walking down the path from her house, Amity felt like she was floating. She had switched out the ratty t-shirt and shorts she normally slept in for a simple pajama set. Light gray, with little yellow stars. She felt silly, dressing up. Would Luz even notice? Or care?
Her locket bounced in her pajama pocket with each step. It was risky to bring it at all, she knew, but she couldn't bear to sleep without it. It felt wrong. My locket. My Luz.
She turned her head to the sky and breathed deeply. It was a clear night. The air was cool and crisp, and the sky was a deep shade of indigo. The moon, a shy crescent, shone brightly. It was beautiful. It was perfect, because she was going to spend time with Luz. My Luz.
So maybe hanging out with her, totally alone, was inadvisable when Amity had such poor control over her impulses. But Amity… Amity couldn't say no. She could never say no, when it was Luz. She fished the locket out of her pocket. Looking around and seeing nobody near, she kissed the little golden charm before stowing it away again.
I can look at her from afar. I can follow my own rules. I can be careful.
Her heart pounded, hopeful, uncertain.
»»—- —-««
"I'm just saying that Azura can't hope to complete her quest until she fixes her Orb of Light because she needs it to cast her Eternal Enchantment. It was her trump card against the Red Sorcerer," Amity said, slowly dragging the nail polish brush over Luz's nail.
"No, no, you're thinking too narrow. The enchantment requires a Pure Light —"
"Such as her Orb of Light—"
"It's so open ended though! Like, Azura is amazing with her staff. But the Orb isn't her only source of light. The Council of Elves gave her a Sun Elixir—"
"Sun Elixir's aren't effective against stone dragons, so it's useless on Gildersnake. She's going to — hold still — she's going to have to find another source of Pure Light outside of that."
Amity concentrated as she carefully coated Luz's pinky nail. It was hard, with how wiggly Luz was when she got excited. Everytime she shifted her weight, the bedspring creaked and the mattress the two were perched on wobbled. Amity didn't mind at all. It gave her an excuse to hold Luz's hand, which was warm and admittedly a little sweaty. Luz could get really worked up when it came to Azura. She didn't mind that, either.
"Do you like your nails? I tried my best." Amity looked up at Luz, who had been staring at her fingernails, not jet-black. It had been Luz's idea to paint her nails after she found an old bottle of polish Eda had lying around.
"Yeah, they're great!" Luz's face was flushed. Probably from the excitement from discussing Azura. She straightened herself on the bed and admired her freshly-painted nails, withdrawing her hand from Amity's. Amity felt a slight twinge of disappointment. She liked holding Luz. "They're just like yours now! We're totally twinning."
"Yeah, I guess we are." Amity turned her head, capping the polish bottle and placing it on Luz's desk so she wouldn't see how red her face was. "They dry pretty fast. It'll only take a minute or two."
"Wow! That's way faster than it dries on Earth. You guys get all the cool stuff." Luz sounded wistful as she flopped on her side and rolled onto her back, her legs hanging off the bed, her hands in the air, fingers outstretched. "Anyway," Luz continued, "there's only one chapter left in the book! I can't wait to read it. You brought your copy, right?"
"Of course," Amity said. She brushed her green hair behind her ear and reached for her bag.
"Oh, could you grab mine too? It's on the shelf. I would but—" Luz waved her hands emphatically, her nails still wet. "It's going to be hard to turn the first few pages, but I can manage."
"I could just read to you. You know, as your nail polish dries," Amity suggested.
"Ohmygosh you'd do that?! Thanks, Amity!"
After a moment's hesitation, Amity picked up Luz's copy of the book instead of her own. She opened the cover. The once-crisp spine flopped open, worn soft from page-turning and folding. Amity noticed Luz had annotated the pages, with passages circled and words underlined. Luz's handwriting, her round, neat letters, formed little notes in the margins.
"Oh, don't mind all my scribbles. I had to write my thoughts down somewhere so I wouldn't forget."
Amity stared. At home, writing in books was forbidden. Amity took great care to never bend the library books' spines or crease the pages in books her parents lent to her. It felt foreign, sacrilegious even, to marr a book like that. She thought of the pristine biopics her mom lined on the shelves at home.
"Sorry, I was just... looking." The scribbles were sort of endearing. Amity climbed up onto the bed and folded her legs neatly.
Luz rotated her body in small, successive scoots 90 degrees until her head was in Amity's lap. The weight, the heat from Luz's skin. Amity could feel it, even through her pajama pants. She shifted her weight nervously, trying not to turn red. She could feel her heart rate quicken. She adjusted her hair.
"Is this okay?" Luz asked, glancing up at Amity. Luz's face was still pink. Was the room getting hotter? Amity had never realized how heavy a head was. How intimate it was to cradle a skull between your thighs. Amity cleared her throat.
"Yeah, yeah, it's cool," she replied. She averted her eyes from Luz, glancing instead at her torso. Luz's pajamas were bright purple, with some sort of fuzzy brown creature in a nightcap on the front. I'm otter-ly sleepy, the shirt said. She figured it was some kind of human joke she didn't understand.
"I like your pajamas, Luz."
"Aw, thanks! I like them too. Yours. Your pajamas. Not mine. I like the little stars on yours. And I also like mine."
"Yeah. I like yours too". You just said that, idiot. Luz, thankfully, didn't say anything. Amity couldn't bear to glance down at her face. Amity fiddled with the book. The cover was beat up too, the dust jacket worn and crinkled at the corners.
"Um, Amity, are you going to read? Don't leave me hanging." Luz's arms were stretched in the air, her fingers waggling as the polish hardened.
"Of course, sorry." Amity cleared her throat again and opened the book to the most recent dog-eared page. "Chapter 24: The cave was dark and clammy, but Azura was not afraid. She held the broken shards of her Orb of Light, once the crown jewel of her staff…"
»»—- —-««
"... Azura touched Lunada's face gingerly.
'How will we get out?' Azura asked, and the Good Witch cried tears, wet and plentiful.
'It doesn't matter,' Lunada whispered, straining to stay awake. The enchantment cast on her was dragging her under. 'At least I got to spend my last moments with you.'
'I won't let you go,' Azura protested. She held Lunada's hands in her own, and held them tight."
Luz was right: there was tension there. It was kind of romantic.
Out of habit, Amity reached for the necklace in her pocket. With a jolt of horror, Amity realized it was no longer there. She shifted her weight slightly and patted her other pocket. Empty.
She stopped reading, closing the book and dropping it on the bed. Luz lifted her head slightly out of Amity's lap as Amity jumped down from the mattress.
"Amity? What's wrong? We were just getting to the good part! Don't leave me hanging."
"I… I dropped something. I lost it. Something important." Luz perked up.
"Aw, don't worry Amity! I'm sure you'll find it. Here, I'll help you look for it! What are we looking for?" Luz sat up and immediately began picking up pillows from her bed, checking underneath each one.
"I… uhm…" Idiot. Idiot Idiot Idiot. Why did you say that?
"Did you have it when we were playing Hexes Hold'em downstairs on the couch? Do you know where you last had it?"
Amity just shook her head, gripping her hair in her hands. Shit. Luz, to her credit, asked no more questions, perhaps noticing Amity's distress. The two searched in silence.
Stupid. Careless. This is what you get. Amity dug through her bag furiously. She had had it in her pocket on the way here. She knew that much. She had fiddled with it before knocking on the front door. She had rubbed the locket while waiting for Luz to grab gummy worms. Maybe —
Amity scrambled to her feet, nearly slipping on the polished wood floor. She probably dropped it in the living room. She needed to get there before Luz did. Or, Titan forbid, Hooty.
"Amity? I'm still not sure what we're looking for." Amity ignored Luz and she dashed down the stairs. She had to find it before Luz saw. She vaulted over the railing at the foot of the staircase and ran to the couch, peering underneath. Nothing but dust bunnies, cheerios, and a lone slipper. Shitshitshit.
If she found it now, it was over. She'd realize Amity had taken it from the stand without telling her. If she opened the locket—
"Amity?" Luz was standing at the foot of the stairs. In her hands... Amity's heart missed a beat. Fuck. "Is… this what you were looking for? I found it under the bed."
"I —" Amity's heart thudded. She felt tears, hot and sudden, rise in her eyes. Fuck. "I'm sorry." Without saying another word, Amity turned and fled out the front door.
"Hoot!" Hooty exclaimed as the door swung open suddenly. "Hey, watch it! Doors need sleep too! Hoot!" Amity could hardly hear his protests as she ran, her heart in her throat.
»»—- —-««
She wasn't sure how far she ran before she stopped, panting, and collapsed in the tall, cool grass of some hill. She flopped on her back and stared at the sky, gasping. Her heart was thrumming. The running, the adrenaline of seeing Luz with the locket. She could feel the beat in her jaw, in her ears now. It was deafening. Why did I bring the locket? Why did I run? Stupid. Fucking stupid. Right now, Luz is probably at the Owl House putting things together. She'll recognize the locket. And she'll figure it out.
Amity had cried the whole way. She had never cried this hard before, or for this long. Tear tracks streaked down her face. She wiped them slowly, deliberately with the back of her hand before gently dabbing her face with her sleeve. Deep breaths. Crying is useless. What's done is done. And it's nobody's fault but yours.
After a minute, her heartbeat slowed. Her ragged breathing evened out. She'd messed up. Big time. She'd been breaking rules left and right for Luz, but she'd never intended to let things slip like this. It was her own rule for herself. And it was her own carelessness that had ruined everything.
The night sky was totally black now. The vastness of the sky. The wind in the grass and the soft buzz of fire crickets, sparking somewhere nearby. The ambience soothed her. It was okay. She was going to make it be okay.
Slowly, Amity sat up. She could stay here, for a moment. Recuperate. Come up with a strategy. Maybe there was a way to spin this. Maybe all hope wasn't lost. If she just had a few minutes alone to think, she'd come up with something —
"Amity! Amity, is that you?" Amity turned. In the distance, a small figure emerged from the treeline, jogging towards her.
Shit. Fuck.
Amity sat motionless as Luz approached her and took a seat next to her in the grass, a scant foot away. Her heart jumped. She stared forward at the distance in front of them. From their vantage point, they could see half the Boiling Isles. The fire crickets chirped. For a moment, Luz was quiet.
"You, uh, left this." Luz reached into her pocket and pulled the locket out. "This was what you were looking for, right?"
Amity swallowed.
"Um, yeah. Thanks. Sorry I…" Amity trailed off. She's not angry. Maybe she doesn't know. Her heart beat fast, scared, hopeful.
"This is the locket from the stand, right?" Amity's heart sank. So Luz did recognize it.
Amity nodded silently. She looked up at the sky and blinked rapidly, fighting back tears.
"I didn't steal it," Amity said. She sniffed. "I left snails in the jair before I took it, just so… you know… I'm not, like, a thief or anything."
There was a moment of silence. In that reprise, Amity tried to steady her frantic heart. She's not mad. She's not mad.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Luz's voice was quiet. "I… I wouldn't think you're a thief. Or weird for wanting a human thing. If that's what you were worried about. Humans carry lockets around all the time. Did you feel like…" Luz's voice faltered. "Did you think you couldn't trust me?"
So she hadn't opened the locket. And Amity had still hurt her. She had lied to her. That was worse than Luz's anger, than her disgust. Betrayal. Amity tried so hard not to cry.
"Of course not," she whispered fiercely. "Of course not. Luz—I—I know you wouldn't judge me. I trust you more than anyone. You're my best friend."
"So why didn't you tell me?"
"I was just... afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Luz inched forward in the dark. She was so close now, Amity could feel the heat of her skin, radiating off her. Her heart was pounding faster now. She was sure Luz could hear the sound.
Amity remained quiet. She took a deep breath, composing herself. She exhaled slowly. She didn't know how long the silence lasted. Her heart was still racing. Luz sat patiently, her fingers still for once. No frantic energy, no nervous tapping. Amity could feel her enormous brown eyes resting on her.
"Open the locket, Luz."
Luz fumbled with the locket in her hands, finally prying the tiny compartment open. Amity drew a small circle with her finger. Spheres of light hovered above their heads. In the dim light, Luz stared at the tiny photograph. Amity had replaced the original with a crude cutout, clipped from one of her own photos.
"It's…me." Luz placed the locket, its halves unfolded, in her own lap. Her head was bowed.
"It's you." Amity reached for Luz's hands. She grasped them, rubbing her thumb on top of Luz's freshly painted nails. "It's always been you," she murmured. She looked down at their hands for the longest time, gathering the courage to break her own rule. "I love you."
It was the kind of thought she had never admitted to herself, even in passing. Too dangerous. The words hung heavy in the air. Amity's heart had never beat faster in her life, she was certain.
Amity felt Luz's hand withdraw from hers.
This is the part where she tells me she doesn't feel the same. This is the part when I become a locket in the junk.
She felt her fingers tilt her chin upwards. Brown eyes met amber, dimly illuminated. Searching, knowing, understanding. Amity could smell the coconut vanilla.
"I love you, too."
As the orbs of light winked out, Luz leaned in.
»»—- —-««
My Luz. It felt too good to say aloud. Like a dream that dissipated the moment you tried to remember it. Water in cupped hands. She wasn't sure she was ready to say it out loud. If she was dreaming… Luz was holding her hand, guiding her through the grass. She held an orb of light in her other hand to guide them. The locket, fastened securely around Amity's neck, its charm now resting on top of her pajama tunic. Amity was floating. If she was dreaming, she didn't want to wake up. She loves me too. She loves me too.
Luz guided her back to the Owl House, where they tiptoed past a thankfully sleeping Hooty. Before they headed up the stairs, Luz stopped in the kitchen. After digging around one of Eda's drawers, she produced a giant pair of scissors. Without a moment's hesitation, Luz snipped a lock of her hair and handed it to Amity.
"Here," Luz said. "For your locket."
"Like Lunada and Azura." Better than that.
Luz beamed. My Luz.
"Now come on, I need to know what happens in the last chapter!"