Welp you all liked chapter one, so let's go onwards with chapter 2!

"Be careful."

"Yes, Mom."

"And keep an eye on your sister and King. I don't want anyone getting hurt today. Make sure you don't spend all your money at the arcade, either."

"We'll be fine, I promise." Luz adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

After a week in Bonesborough spent unpacking and their only interactions with locals being that with Eda and King, the Noceda siblings were anxious to get out of the house for a bit. Thankfully their neighbor (who was not as weird as Hunter thought she was going to be and definitely gave off no serial-killer-who-wanted-their-house vibes) let them know about the roller rink, which was something of a hangout where they could get out for a while. Luz, eager to prove to Eda that she could babysit, offered to bring King with them when they went, which the single mother accepted graciously before taking off for the day to parts unknown as of yet.

Hunter, rather than joining them, opted to stay in his room and play a few rounds of his favorite game, Ruler's Reach. Luz didn't entirely get the game, mostly because she didn't have the patience to try and conquer a game meant to be hard and frustrating. Nor did she understand its appeal, but hey, it was Hunter's favorite so who was she to argue?

Now it was just a simple walk to the rink, which was—like seemingly everything in Bonesborough—was within walking distance of their house. It was exactly how Luz expected, too, what with the neon signs and the kids of all ages running around. There was a lot of screaming, which she also expected, and she was relieved to see a few teenagers around, too. She went over to the counter to pay the entry fee, and the dark-haired man in glasses accepted the money. His nametag read 'Gilbert'.

"Hey, welcome to the Bonesborough Rollerway!" he announced. "Nice to see you, King. Are these your friends?"

"My subjects," the little boy corrected, putting his hands on his hips.

"We just moved here," Luz explained as Vee clung to her. "Eda suggested we come here."

"Ah, I see. What size skates do you need?" He pulled out a pair and handed it to King.

"Oh, we have our own. Thank you though, Mr. Gilbert."

"You're very welcome…"

"Luz. Luz Noceda." She put her hand on Vee's head. "This is my little sister Vee."

"Nice to meet you both! Have fun out there, but stay safe!"

"We will!"

Once they got to the area with lockers and wooden benches for their stuff, Luz pulled out the skates while King got his on. Hers were hand-painted (by her) and they were pink and purple and blue, just like the bi flag Hunter had gotten her for her birthday last year. Vee's, on the other hand, were still white and they had light blue wheels that reminded Luz of ice. She'd gotten them for her own birthday a few months earlier, shortly before Camilla had announced they were moving. She was also more unsteady on them than Luz was, but Luz refused to let her baby sister fall over as they started making their way towards the floor. King was right behind them.

"Can we go on our own?" Vee asked.

"If you two promise to stay on the skate floor and yell if you need me."

"I'll do the yelling!" King volunteered.

"I expect nothing less. If you want off the floor, call me over and we'll find a place for you to sit. Or we can go home."

Vee gave Luz a hug and Luz hugged her right back before the two ten-year-olds went off and joined the people going in circles around the center. Luz let out a relieved sigh as she saw King helping Vee stay upright.

Just then, though, someone bumped into her and sent her rolling forwards.

"Oh, sorry!" said a sweet voice. Luz turned to see a girl with the same dark hair as Gilbert, wearing glasses and a yellow T-shirt.

"Oh, no big deal," Luz assured her. "I've taken bigger hits than that."

The girl smiled.

"I don't think I've seen you here before. Are you visiting?"

"Nope! We just moved here. I'm Luz Noceda!" She stuck out her hand.

"Willow Park." Willow accepted the handshake, and then pulled Luz along. "C'mon, we gotta keep moving."

"Right. Forgot about that."

"So, where did you move from?"

"Connecticut. We got here a week ago and we've mostly been unpacking. What about you?"

"Bonesborough, born and raised!" Willow let out a chuckle as the music shifted. "It's really nice to meet you, Luz."

"Hey, since you're a local, you think you can show me around sometime?"

"Of course I can. I know all the best spots to hang out." Her eyes went over Luz's shoulder. "Um, is she okay?"

Luz whirled around to see Vee struggling to stay upright and King trying to help her. Unfortunately he was smaller than her and she fell backwards on top of him.

"Oh no, Vee! I'm coming!"

Luz rolled over and Willow followed, effortlessly helping King up while Luz led Vee to the edge of the rink.

"Maybe I should have Hunter teach you more," she chuckled half-heartedly.

"Maybe. He's better at this." Vee's eyes went up to Willow, and she hid behind her older sister. Luz wanted to coo over how cute it was but refrained.

"Hi," Willow said in a kind voice. "Who are you?"

"This is Vee. She's my baby sister," Luz explained. "Hunter's our older brother, and he decided to be a jerk and stay home today."

"Well, if you need a good skater, I'm decent enough. I'm starting a roller derby team at Hexside in the fall."

Vee still had a cautious look on her face, but she didn't say anything as she extended a hand to Willow to accept the offer of lessons. Luz grinned.

"Hey, I'm hungry," King complained, tugging at her sleeve. "Get some food for your king."

"Yes, Your Majesty." She kept one eye on Vee as they made their way to the snack bar.

At the very least, Willow didn't let her fall.

Hunter double-checked his watch.

He should be heading home soon, he supposed.

A couple hours after his sisters had left for the rink, his mother had come in and insisted that he get outside for a bit. Explore his new home before school started and he had to put his focus elsewhere. Begrudgingly he'd obeyed. Far be it from him to not do what she asked when she'd helped save him from absolute hell. So he'd left the house and started wandering down the street. Somehow he'd ended up at the local beach, which he hadn't even known Bonesborough had. It was a coastal town, so he supposed he should've known, but still.

He could smell the salty air of the ocean (which he knew from both science class and Luz's repeated corrections came from more than just water) and hear the sounds of the waves and seagulls. His footsteps brought him down to the sand and he just stared out at the water after finding a spot to sit away from the other beachgoers.

This place… it was familiar to him. The view, the sand, the sounds of people having fun. And above it all, the smell of salt. He'd been to beaches before, but none of them had made him feel quite like this. It wasn't a bad feeling, either. It was warm like a hug from his sisters. A memory from before he could really remember anything clearly.

Have I… been here before?

His thoughts were interrupted by a frisbee landing on the sand next to him.

"Oh, sorry!" said a girl's voice. He glanced up to see a rather tall girl with dark pink hair standing there, smiling. "Did I hit you?"

"Nah, it's fine." He picked up the frisbee and handed it back to her.

"I, uh, haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

"Just moved here a week ago."

"Cool. My name's Boscha."

"Hunter."

"Cool name, Hunter."

"Uh, thanks. My parents picked it out."

How am I supposed to respond to that?

"Boscha! Throw it back!" called one of the others she was playing with.

"Nice meeting you, Hunter. I'll see you around sometime."

She winked and he felt confused. Was she hitting on him? He was ninety-percent sure she was hitting on him. It didn't matter; she wasn't his type. Not that he had any kind of clue what his type was, mind you. He just knew that she wasn't it. She was decent-looking but she gave off this vibe he didn't like. Maybe it was something in her voice.

At any rate, he decided that he'd had enough of the beach and decided to stop by the roller rink to pick up his sisters. Or maybe check it out for himself before heading home for the day.

As he walked down the street, he took in the locals walking up and down the sidewalks. Everything looked so similar to Gravesfield, only somehow different. But it was all so familiar.

I've never been to Bonesborough before. How do I recognize it?

Lost in thought, he bumped into someone on the sidewalk.

"Oh, sorry," he said. The man stared at him, appearing somewhat confused and surprised to see Hunter. "Uh, I'll watch where I'm going."

"Right. You make sure to do that." The man's voice was calm and even, his green eyes almost glowing. "Have a nice day."

That was weird, he decided. But he continued on his way to the roller rink, entering the building and taking it in. It was just like the one back in Gravesfield, full of people having a good time and all the sounds and smells that had come to define his perception of places like these. He walked towards the rink, leaning on the wall and scanning the people who were going around the middle for his sisters.

He spotted Luz pretty quickly; her bi-flag-modeled skates stuck out among the sea of white and red ones. She was helping King along. But he couldn't see Vee. And that had him slightly worried.

"Hey, Hunter."

Her voice caught him off-guard, but he was relieved to see her.

"Hey, Vee. Ready to go?"

"Kinda, yeah. Luz made a new friend who's really nice, but it's been a long day."

"Fair enough. One sec." He cupped one hand around his mouth. "Hey, let's go, tonta!"

He saw Luz spin around to face him, another girl beside her who appeared to be about the same age. She stuck out her tongue before saying something to her new friend and skating over and off the floor.

"Did you really have to interrupt like that?"

"Yes. Yes I did. Who's your friend?"

"I'm Willow Park," the girl replied, coming off the skate floor herself. "You're Luz's brother, right?"

"Yep. I'm the oldest. And the tallest."

"Just wait a couple years," Luz hissed.

"What, so I can get even taller?"

She flicked the lock of hair that curled above his forehead and he let out a yelp as Vee giggled behind him. Willow giggled, too, and she rolled over to one of the benches.

"Luz mentioned you earlier. She said you guys could use a guide around town."

"Oh, yeah. That would be… cool. I guess. I already know where the beach is."

"There's a beach?!" Luz gasped as King nearly crashed into her. She caught him with the ease of someone who had a younger sibling.

"Yeah. Met this girl there, Sasha or something? She was okay."

"Oh…" Willow sounded almost… disappointed? Sad? "You met her."

"I said she was okay. I didn't say anything else. C'mon, you three get ready so we can get home."

"Sorry about him," he heard Luz say as he walked off to wait for them. "He's a good person. He just makes a terrible first impression."

"I make a great first impression, for your information!" he called over his shoulder.

Willow burst out laughing and Hunter felt his cheeks burn slightly. He ignored it in favor of helping Vee and King with their skates despite protests from the latter that he could take them off by himself. He just wanted out of the conversation.

After a week and a half in Bonesborough, Vee was finally going somewhere alone.

Usually she'd go along with Hunter or Luz or both of them to someplace. Today was an exception. They both had to go with Mama to get registered for school in order to take their entrance exams later in the summer. Vee had to be registered, too, but she wouldn't really have much of an exam compared to them. So she'd asked if she could stay home by herself. The idea had been quickly shot down, but Camila did offer to drop her youngest off at the library for the day—an idea that Vee wholeheartedly agreed with and one that made Luz go 'I wanna go to the library!'

So now she was at the Bonesborough Public Library, a rather grand building for what it was, and she waved goodbye to her family as they headed off towards Hexside. With a bit of a skip, she went into this place that would no doubt become a safe haven for her in her new home. The Gravesfield library had been much the same for a little while, but it had also contained a rather unstable head librarian/town historian who was convinced Vee was some kind of creature from another world based purely on the fact that she once played a game with Luz inside the building that she was a shape-shifter. It had led to Camila not allowing her youngest to visit alone and a rather… violent takedown of the man.

He was crazy.

"Hello? Excuse me," she whispered, standing in front of the circulation desk. The librarian glanced down at her, apparently surprised a child was obeying library etiquette.

"How may I help you, young lady?"

"I'd like to get a library card. I just moved here and I need one."

"Name?"

"Valentina Noceda."

"Birthday?"

"July third."

"Ah, you've got a birthday coming up, don't you?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be eleven."

He asked a couple of other questions, like a phone number (she gave him her mother's) and her address, and once all that was done he hit a button and she listened to the sound of the card being printed. Or, to be more exact, a key-tag and a proper library card. She only had a house key, but it would be nice to have something on her keychain besides the little fluffy bunny Luz had gotten her. That didn't matter, though. She had her precious library card and now the world of the Bonesborough Library was opened up to her.

"The children's section is down that way," the librarian told her, pointing. "Please do not make a ruckus."

"I won't."

Vee quickly walked in the direction he'd gestured towards, and she found the children's area with relative ease. Unlike the Gravesfield Library, it was rather more friendly to smaller children. It had a lot of comfy-looking chairs to sit in and stuffed animals on top of the big shelves and a much bigger selection than had been available back in Gravesfield. And there was no crazy librarian who thought she was a shape-shifter from Mars sent to gather human teeth.

(And people wondered why she was so scared of other people.)

She began to scan the shelves, searching for any books that might hold her interest for a few days, and one caught her eye on a higher shelf. Silently she cursed her height, trying to reach upwards to grab ahold of it, and someone came up behind her. A hand with nails painted in black polish took hold of the book and brought it down. Vee jumped a little, only to see a girl about Luz's age with short green hair standing there.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," the girl said, her voice low so she wouldn't disturb other patrons. She wore a badge on a lanyard around her neck and had a library cart full of books beside her—an employee, maybe?

The name on her badge said 'Amity Blight'.

"It's okay." Vee hugged the book to her chest. "I'm not… y-you're…"

"Hey. I'm a stranger. It makes sense you'd be afraid." She smiled and Vee couldn't help but smile back. "You're new in town, aren't you?"

"Mm-hmm." Vee nodded.

"Well, I'm Amity. If you need any help, just ask. Are you here by yourself?"

"Mama had to take my brother and sister to Hexside so they could register for exams."

"Oh, I see. I go there. They're not easy, so tell your siblings to come here if they need to study. There's spaces upstairs for it."

"Thank you. I'll tell them."

Amity gave her a small smile again and then went back to putting books on the shelves. Vee continued to look through her options, trying to figure out if she should read a fantasy story or continue that series about wild cats she'd started back in Gravesfield. It had been interesting but she'd heard the series could be overwhelming with how many books were in it.

"Amity!"

She glanced around the shelf to see a girl with pink hair tied back in a high bun running up to the library employee. This girl had to be around Hunter or Luz's age; Vee honestly couldn't tell. But she had this smug look on her face that Vee didn't like as she leaned against a lower-set shelf.

"What is it, Boscha? I'm working." Amity's tone was more frosty than it had been with Vee.

"I have to tell you about this guy I met. Like, now."

"And I just told you, I'm working. It can wait."

"He's tall and totally cute."

"Please go."

"And he's got this curly hair that just… works! I bet he'd totally be your type, too."

Amity rolled her eyes.

"Oh, and he's new in town. He just moved here, like, a couple of weeks ago and I just saw him again today. I mean, I met him at the beach a few days ago but today I saw him at Hexside! He's going to school with us!"

She let out a laugh that Amity shushed, and then she smirked.

"I bet he'd be thrilled to go out with the captain of the rugby team. Me."

"So why say he's my type?"

"Because there's no way he's not. I've seen the books you read and the shows you watch. He's like one of those bad-boy loner types—total resting bitch face but like in the best way possible."

Oh. She's talking about Hunter. Glad Mama's not here or she'd tell her to watch her language.

"Excuse me, Miss Amity?" Vee whispered, coming around the corner.

"We're talking, kid. Buzz off," Boscha scoffed.

"Boscha, she's a kid." Amity turned her attention to Vee. "What is it, Vee?"

"I need help getting a book off the shelf. You said I could ask."

"I did say that. Sorry, Boscha. I've got work to do."

"Ugh. You're no fun. I guess I'll text you later. Maybe I can send you a picture."

Boscha wandered off and Amity sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Vee."

"Not a problem. I… I didn't wanna hear her talk about Hunter like that."

"She shouldn't, especially not in this section. Wait, you know who's she's talking about?"

"He's my brother."

"Ew. I know I hate hearing people talk like that about mine. So, what book do you need?"

Vee glanced up and noticed that the library had the latest book in the Good Witch Azura series. Luz had yet to find a local bookstore, so she figured letting her sister read the library copy wasn't a bad idea. She pointed at it.

"That one. For my sister."

Amity raised her eyebrows in surprise upon seeing it.

"Good Witch Azura?"

"She loves it. It's her favorite series and the book came out while we were getting ready to move, so…" She fidgeted slightly. "Please?"

"Here." Amity plucked it off the shelf and handed it to the youngest Noceda. "Tell your sister to stop by herself, and maybe she'll find someone who enjoys the series just as much."

"Thank you. And I will. Tell her. She loves the library."

With that final book added to her stack, she went to check out before finding a quiet spot to read by herself until her mother returned to pick her up. She was glad to find someone Luz might be able to get along with, and somebody who didn't mind her shy nature. She was definitely different than that guy in Gravesfield.

Luz, of course, was overjoyed to have the latest book in her favorite series and Hunter wasted no time in doing his usual routine of mocking her obsession. This, in turn, led to Luz talking smack about Ruler's Reach and Hunter countering that it was totally different. Camila said nothing, knowing it was pointless to get in between them when they were like this.

Vee decided she really did like it here.

And so we meet Boscha, Willow, and Amity.

Fun fact: Vee's birthday is the day "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" premiered, otherwise known as the first episode she made an appearance in. I was going to make it the day "Yesterday's Lie" aired but July 3 is also my bestie's birthday and I thought it would be cute.

Next time, Luz meets Gus, Hunter hangs out with Willow at the rink, and Vee and King start an investigation of a strange letter that Eda receives.

So long and thanks for all the fish!