C8. Second Betonic.
Tuesday arrived and Amity had been pondering since the day before.
Why was Luz so easy to talk to?
Why did she understand her as if they had known each other for years?
Why did she easily cross the walls she had worked so hard to build?
Why, if her personality was so... Outrageous, was she so pleasant to be with?
Yesterday she did the same thing again when they said goodbye when it was time to leave.
She kissed her on the cheek.
And then she rushed off to find her sister.
And again, Amity said nothing.
Why?
It was absurd, normally almost every step of her life was calculated to give the best results.
Amity was organized, she made lists, itineraries, budgets, forecasts, schedules, it was almost obsessive.
Almost.
Anyone with an IQ higher than that of a toddler would think that the fact that something, someone, would come along and start changing everything she was used to would be a total pain in the neck.
Or at least uncomfortable.
Yet it wasn't.
Well, okay, sure, it was uncomfortable... But not the way she expected it to be.
It didn't make her uncomfortable that Luz ignored her lists, that she seemed to be able to read her mind, that her outbursts of energy seemed more funny than annoying.
It made her uncomfortable...the fact that it didn't make her uncomfortable?
Ugh, back to square one.
"Good morning Amity!" She heard as she felt a brief touch on her cheek.
"WOW!" The auburn would have fallen if it wasn't for Luz, who reached to grab her hand to hold her back.
"Ah, sorry!" Luz excused herself, steadying Amity in her seat. "I didn't see you were focused."
Amity's heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
"You almost scared me to death!" she claimed turning to the brunette.
Wait. Did she just kiss me again?
Luz raised her free hand in front of her in innocence.
"In my defense, I'm always there to keep you from falling!" She told her playfully.
Amity pouted.
"You say that like I fall all the time."
Luz smiled smugly.
"On my watch, that leaves two." She stated.
Amity snorted.
"And they were both your fault." Rebutted the auburn.
"Oh~?" Luz crooned. "Are you saying you always fall for me, Amity?"
The dean's daughter's eyes widened in confusion.
"Wh... What?"
The brunette covered her mouth as if realizing what she had just said.
Luz! Don't be gay in front of the homophobe!
"Sorry!" She said laughing nervously. "I was kidding! I've been spending a lot more time with my sister! I think I'm getting her humor rubbing off on me..."
Amity tilted her head to the side, still a bit quizzical.
"Okay..." She paused briefly, looking down. "Could you give me my hand back?"
Luz quickly snatched her palm from Amity's.
She hadn't realized she was still holding her classmate.
"Sorry!" She apologized again finally taking her seat.
Luz put her hands to her head in anguish.
Oh no.
Ohnononononononononononononononononono.
At this pace...
N O.
The prophecy wasn't going to beat her!
She was stronger than a pair of pretty eyes!
And a tender smile...
And an endearing conversation...
And a charming laugh...
And-
"UGH!" the Dominican complained aloud, then collapsed her face dramatically onto her desk.
Amity, who jumped a little in surprise, approached cautiously.
"Luz, are you okay?"
"Better than ever." The brunette whimpered against the desk.
"Uh..." Amity mused. "Okay...? I'm going to-"
Before the auburn could complete her sentence, the religious studies teacher walked through the door.
Luz already knew her, it was Sister Hildy.
She glanced at Amity out of the corner of her eye, the auburn was getting her school supplies ready.
The brunette sat upright in her seat and took a deep breath.
Relax.
It's not your first crush.
This is eventually going to pass.
It always does.
Besides, she was used to not being crushed back...
She could hold out for a little while while the emotion wore off.
Right?
She looked at the auburn again, who was pulling a pocket bible out of her bag.
A bible?
Were they supposed to bring a bible?
Oh shit...
After sharing Amity's small, very small, bible, and spending the rest of the previous classes ruminating on and off about her situation with the dean's daughter, recess finally arrived.
Unlike the day before, Luz went straight to Willow.
She was nervous.
But of course she was! She gets her first friend and two days later she finds out she likes the girl who turned her back on her when she needed her the most! Ladies and gentlemen! LUZ NOCEDA!
Ugh, her life looked like something out of a bad AO3 fanfic.
"Hey Willow..." She said dejectedly as she found her at the lockers.
"Hey Luz." Replied Willow in a moderate tone as she saw her new friend's countenance. "Are you okay?"
The Dominican gave a depressed thumbs up.
"I'm perfect..." She said in a weak voice.
"That... Wasn't very convincing." Willow replied walking towards the doors of the building.
Luz sighed.
They met Gus on the way to the exit.
"Hi girls!" He greeted enthusiastically. "How was the third day?"
"Hi Gus." Replied Willow calmly as they walked across the courtyard, heading for some benches near the entrance. "So far so good, at least for me, Luz won't tell me what's wrong with her."
The young man cocked his head slightly to one side, looking at Luz.
"Did something happen?" he asked empathically, when they came to sit on one of the available benches.
Luz's Aspect did not improve.
"Seriously guys, I'm perfectly fine." She stated again in a cornered voice.
"That... Didn't sound very convincing." Gus said this time.
"UGH!" the brunette complained covering her face.
Willow rested a hand on her shoulder empathetically.
"Luz, relax, you can trust us." The Dominican peeked her eyes over her fingers. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but maybe we can help you."
Luz covered her face again, kept silent for a few moments and then sighed.
"Okay... But no judging, okay?"
Willow nodded, Gus took it a step further and raised one hand while with the other he marked a cross over his heart.
Luz laughed lightly, then fiddled with her hands, her gaze locked on them.
"It's... Amity." She stated at last in a nervous voice.
Willow frowned quickly.
"What did she do to you?" She asked with annoyance.
"Nothing, nothing!" She assured, raising her hands in front of herself. "Amity didn't do anything wrong to me."
"Then what is it?" Gus inquired curiously.
Luz put her left hand to the back of her neck in discomfort.
"Nothing wrong really... We're getting along fine, actually." A faint blush graced her cheeks. "Pretty good, even."
Willow raised her eyebrows in surprise and Gus cocked his head to the side, confused.
" So...?" Willow continued cautiously. "What's the problem?"
"Uh..." Luz hesitated. "Remember what we talked about yesterday morning?"
Willow raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"What about everything?" she asked.
"The part where..." Luz fiddled with her hands. "You asked me if I liked Amity."
Willow raised her eyebrows, between confused and upset, Gus simply looked surprised.
" Uh-huh...? You told me you didn't like her that way..."
Luz blushed some more.
"Yeah... Well..." She said conflicted to find the words. "That... It may have changed."
Willow looked at her in honest surprise.
"You like Amity?!" She said in panic, and maybe a little loudly. "After one day?!"
The subtle blush exploded into scarlet.
"It's not like it was just like that! I swear it's not something that happens often! It's just that she... she- Oh no! I forgot my phone in the classroom! I'm going to go get it!"
In a reddish-cherry haze, Luz fled the scene.
Willow and Gus watched her walk away.
" Her phone's right over there." Gus pointed right next to Willow's thigh.
Willow, still dumbfounded, looked at the phone in the purple case, then frowned and clenched her fists.
"Are you serious?" she claimed to no one in particular. "It hasn't even been a day!
Gus shrugged."
"The heart wants what it wants." He said simply.
"But not her!" the black-haired girl claimed bitterly. "She's not even a good person!"
"I know, but clearly Luz saw something we didn't."
"Amity isn't even gay!" replied Willow whispering loudly. "And Luz is too good for her own good! She's going to get hurt!"
"We don't know that... You didn't see them, but yesterday when I went to the meadow when lunch started to get Matt, I saw them under a tree, they were laughing." Gus said hesitantly. "Amity looked very different...I don't think I've ever seen her laugh openly."
Willow looked at him with great surprise.
"Really?" she asked incredulously.
"When have I ever lied to you?"
"That's weird..." Willow didn't remember Amity laughing for the past three years, she'd seen her making fun of people, yes, but laughing like when they were kids?
No, not since their friendship ended.
"Maybe Amity has changed." Gus suggested. "At least when she's with Luz she looks more... Kind."
Willow looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, Bría seemed really kind too."
Gus gasped indignantly.
" We don't talk about Bría!" he complained pointing at the black-haired girl.
Willow laughed lightly.
"I know, sorry." She paused briefly. "This is worrying me Gus, I don't trust Amity, what if she finds out about Luz's crush and manipulates her? Or humiliates her? What if she endangers her mom's job?"
Gus didn't look any less worried.
"What can we do about it?"
"Tell her not to do it!" Willow immediately replied. "Tell her to keep her distance! Keep them from getting close!"
Gus's gesture soured.
"That... That doesn't sound very healthy." He said cautiously.
Willow sighed.
"It doesn't, does it? But I just don't know what-"
Suddenly, Willow's phone began to ring.
The young woman picked it up and quickly answered it when she saw her sister's contact, she put the device on speaker.
"Hello, Wionna, what happened?"
"Hello Catarina~" crooned the voice on the phone. "How's your day going?"
"Well, it could be better, actually..."
The older woman's tone changed drastically to a somber one.
"Did something happen Willow, do you need help?"
Gus shivered, Wionna's threatening voice always made him nervous.
"Not really..." Then she laughed a little. "Don't talk like that, you scared Gus."
"Oh! Hi little guy!" she greeted more enthusiastically.
The way Wionna changed the tone of her voice so drastically was creepy to say the least.
But quite useful in the sales business.
"You should let me know if you put me on speaker Catarina."
"I'm sorry."
"Will you tell me what happened?" she asked again.
"I'll tell you later. What did you call me for?"
"Right, today you're going to help me pick out the booze sis.~!" She crooned again with excitement.
"Wionna, I'm fifteen, I can't drink." Willow replied in a flat tone.
"It's a wine tasting Catarina, not project X." Wionna scoffed. "I'll pick you up at the time you leave."
Willow shrugged.
"Okay." She replied with a smile at the promise of an entertaining afternoon. "Is that all?"
"Oh, no!" the older girl said with a chuckle. "Let me tell you about something that just happened to me! Becca's training and I have to tell someone, otherwise I'll burst!
Willow laughed lightly, so did Gus."
"Is it a problem if Gus listens?"
"No, no! The more the merrier! Listen." She cleared her throat. "There's a girl who comes into the store almost every day, more clearly, she comes in when I'm at the bar."
"Uh-huh?"
"And she always makes nasty comments when she sees Becca around, but she only ever tells them to me." She recounted with annoyance. "You know, those passive-aggressive comments from all the homophobes. ´I don't have a problem with you guys being a couple, but you don't have to rub it in my face!´ ´Is it really necessary for you to be touching each other in front of the customers?´ "
"Ew..." Willow said with annoyance.
"Exactly!" The older one continued "Yesterday Becca kissed me when she came in, and then she went into the back store, and this girl told me, ´You really shouldn't be doing that in public. Have you ever thought you might be seen by children?´"
Willow and Gus burst out laughing, Wionna joining them.
"Leaving aside that there's nothing wrong with kids seeing a peck between two women, I said. ´Sis. You know minors can't come in here, right? We have a guard at the entrance checking IDs and everything.´"
Willow and Gus couldn't stop laughing.
"She left right away. But the funniest thing happened today! It was very early and the store was alone, when she came in, I think she just had been running, she went up to the bar and ordered her usual stuff, she asked me for Becca, I told her she wasn't around, then she just stood there, talking and talking." The older woman continued with annoyance. "Out of nowhere she got really weird, she was touching my hands and got too close, I don't even remember what she was saying to me anymore, she's the most basic bitch you can imagine, but, the best part was she came up to my ear and told me she liked me, from a long time ago, that she'd like to try something with me."
Willow and Gus gasped.
"Poor thing, I laughed right in her face, I swear I couldn't help it!"
"Wionna..." Willow scolded. "That was cruel."
"I just couldn't handle the irony!" She said trying to catch her breath. "I swear Catarina, the most homophobic people are the ones about to open the closet door!"
Willow and Gus laughed.
Then the young black-haired girl gasped.
"The most homophobic are the ones about to open the closet door!"
"Wionna, I'll call you back." The young girl sentenced dryly.
"What, why, Wil-"
But the younger girl had already hung up.
"Are you okay?" Gus asked with concern.
Willow stared straight ahead with bright, faraway eyes.
"I think..." She began. "That I just thought of something really crazy."
"What is it?" the young man inquired again.
The words of the previous day came back to her mind.
"Gus... You know Amity's been acting weird? Luz told me that Amity forgave her for freeing the horse, Amity wanted to be switched partners at all costs, even though she doesn't even like girls, Luz says they're getting along great, but Amity isn't like that. right?"
"I hear you." Affirmed the young man nodding.
"Amity isn't the kind of person that coworkers laugh with while working, she's more of the type to give orders and plan everything, but with Luz... She's not like that. And I don't think Luz is lying..."
The green-eyed girl was silent for a moment.
"Just... With Luz..." Willow finally turned to look at her best friend. "Gus, you think...?"
The young man turned his head uncomprehendingly, at the same time squinting curiously.
A moment later he stood up straight with his eyes wide open.
"Amity?!" He exclaimed a little louder than intended. "You think Amity likes Luz?!"
End Ch.8