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Across the Boiling Isles was a snow covered paradise, much larger than that of The Knee. Tall trees and taller mountains surrounded the area, the cold temperature year-round providing a great defense against the sun's harsh rays and keeping the snow from melting and ruining the area for those looking for adventure. The area was populated by animals that could handle the cold, from cute little hares to giant deadly leopards, to even monsters; one must not only be careful of the creatures roaming the land, but also must be careful when they decide to venture out into the cold.
"WOOHOO!"
A loud voice echoed through the mountains, startling many of the smaller creatures that lived around. A figure zoomed down one of the mountains, maneuvering through the trees and taking sharp turns between them, mindful of the small hares and foxes running around. Kevin was having the time of his life as he snowboarded further down the mountain, icey cold hair pelting and hitting his skin since he wore no jacket or sweater, just his regular shirt and pants. His grin only grew wider as he saw the snow in front of him disappear abruptly as he approached the edge of a cliff. With adrenaline clouding his judgment, he sent a blast of air behind him, shooting him faster and faster towards the edge until he bent his knees and jumped over the cliff. A crazed laugh escaped him as he started to spin, managing a 360 in the air before he crashed onto the ground. A cloud of snow exploded in the air from the impact before Kevin burst through with a cheer.
"Hahahaha! That was fucking awe—OOF!" He was cut off as a pillar of ice shot sideways from somewhere to his left, forming right in front of him and making the human smash right into it. He spun around the ice before falling onto his back, the wind temporarily knocked out of him. "M-Medic," he groaned out, clutching the pillar above and using it to pull himself up to his feet. "Where the fuck did this thing come from?" he asked, looking towards the left and its origin, only to see two figures standing there.
"Hey, the hell was that-w-wait! Boscha, Luz, don't you-don't you dare!" he shouted as they ran after him, jackets and gloves and other winter gear clutched in their hands. He yelped, only able to hop away due to the snowboard still being strapped to his feet. He undid the straps and started to run, ducking under Boscha after she had climbed onto the ice to launch herself at him. He continued running away from them, dodging, weaving, and ducking around all their attempts to dress him up. Another figure caught his attention, so he ran and fell to his knees in a plea. "Amity! You've gotta protect me from these maniacs! They want me to-to dress warm! I don't like heat! Please, save me," he pleaded, looking into her golden eyes to beg for mercy. But his own eyes widened upon seeing a scarf clutched tightly between her hands. "Oh, you witch."
"Get him!" the green-haired girl shouted, tackling Kevin to the ground, with Luz and Boscha soon joining in the dogpile. Snow was kicked into the air, arms and legs kicking out of the mist as nearby creatures and critters watched them. Eventually the snow settled, revealing the three girls standing around Kevin victoriously, watching as the boy stood in layer after layer of winter clothing, including a giant and puffy black jacket.
"I feel like a giant marshmallow," he said, voice devoid of emotion as he stood there, broken and muffled.
"The cutest marshmallow on the mountain," Luz cooed, reaching up to pinch one of the boy's cheeks.
"Get these bloody things off of me!" he exclaimed, thrashing around in his clothed prison, only to let out a muffled shout as he fell backwards onto his back, swaying back and forth like a turtle as he tried breaking free. The girls laughed at his reaction before they started peeling some—not all, but some—of the warm winter clothing off of the boy, leaving him in the dog hoodie Luz had gifted him during the Christmas he had spent with her mother and herself.
The gang were high in the snowy mountains of the Boiling Isles, spending the whole day and night at the ski resort located in the mountains. This was Kevin's 10th way of getting Luz and Amity together, and the best part about it was that he didn't have to pay a single snail!
You see, Principal Bump had decided to bless some students with an all-expenses paid trip! He said it was to reward some of the top students, such as Luz, Amity, Boscha, Kevin, and a few more, for all their hard work and for making Hexside the number one school across the Isles. That's what he claimed, at least. Some of them were more than positive he just wanted the rowady troublemakers away for the day, as the inspector was coming to inspect Hexside. They would decide if Hexside should be rewarded their usual funds and would decide if Bump deserved his annual bonus.
"Do I have to wear this? I'm so hot," Kevin whined, never one for warm winter wear. Chicago blood pumped through his veins, as well as Russian blood from his long periods of staying there. He was used to the cold and loved it! It was his element, and the heat was his true enemy.
"Yes dumbass, you do. We don't want you to catch a cold," Boscha said, annoyed with his whining. He huffed, annoyed. It was cute; he kinda looked like a puppy, especially with those wolf ears on his head.
It took a while. A long, long while, but now Boscha was fully comfortable with these thoughts. She accepted it. She was infatuated with the human, yes it was true. His jokes and comments were annoying; that much was true, too, but she'd grown to love them. And...him.
"Curse you people caring about my health. It was so much simpler being a loner," he grumbled to himself before standing up and brushing the snow off of his back and rear end. "Anything else to do here other than snowboarding? I can already feel my short attention span kicking—squirrel!" he shouted, getting ready to chase after a squirrel before Luz latched onto him.
"No! No squirrel!"
"Seems that animal magic spell still hasn't completely worn off," Amity muttered, watching as the boy tried lifting his foot in order to scratch his ear.
"Can we please think of something else to do before he tries to pee on a tree...again?" Boscha pleaded. "Where's the list Bump gave us before we left?"
"I have it," Amity answered after fishing through her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper that had been folded several times. This paper held the list of activities for the group to do in hopes they would stay there the whole day without anyone (Kevin) coming back earlier than expected and ruining everything. "There's cave exploring, hot springs, animal and monster watching, spa, ice sculpture contest, ice skating, skiing, a tour through the mountain, hunting, and a few other things here and there. Tonight, there will be a fireworks show to celebrate the 30th anniversary of this place opening."
"Sounds like there's plenty to do until tonight. Should be a lot of fun," Kevin said to himself while writing down what Amity listed. "You know, any number of these things Luz and I do together would probably destroy the mountain altogether. Why don't we split up for the day? Right, Boscha?" Kevin asked while nudging her arm.
"Uh, r-right! Amity, you keep an eye on your idiot. I'll keep an eye on mine—not that, he's mine or anything! We're friends, nothing more!" Boscha flinched at her own stuttering, thanking the chilly weather for darkening her face and helping camouflage her blush. The others raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't question it, chalking it up to the freezing temperatures.
"Riiiiight. Sure, we can do that! Spending the day with my...if I'm Amity's idiot, what does that make her?" Luz asked.
"I don't know, your master?" Kevin suggested, only to be elbowed by Boscha. Amity's growing blush was worth it though.
"I like it! Come on, Master, let's go have some fun!" Luz exclaimed, grabbing onto Amity's hand before. The poor witch squawked as she let herself be dragged away, face more red than a tomato.
"Can't believe I'm gonna say it, but good idea. Now they can spend time alone together," Boscha said, impressed he finally had a good idea for once.
"Oh, that wasn't the only reason," Kevin said while staring at the list.
"What was the other?"
"So I could spend more time alone with you," Kevin said with a smile, causing her to blush brightly. He wanted to spend alone time, with her, willingly? That...has never happened before. Usually it was because they were forced to be together like the ferris wheel, or when he walked her home in the acid rain, or when they were affected by that animal potion. Or sometimes there were other people around, like at the dance. Her blush only got worse when he reached over and booped her nose.
"Come on, I think I found the perfect thing we can do first." He reached and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers before leading her towards the resort. She offered no resistance, actually feeling a bit giddy about this.
(Luz and Amity: Activity 1: Ice Skating)
Amity felt her legs wobble and shake as she carefully walked onto the ice the resort had set up for skating. Thankfully there weren't so many people around since it was still so early in the day, so not a lot of people would be there to laugh on the off chance she'd mess up. There was movement out of the corner of her eye, and before she knew it, someone was screeching to a halt next to her, blasting her with snow and ice. The unexpected attack made her yelp and fall backwards onto her ass. She looked up, glaring as Emira giggled down at her.
"I regret Bump letting you come here," Amity growled up at her sister, making Emira laugh.
"Come on sis, it's not my fault you on skates is like a newborn Burndirge trying to walk for the first time," Emira joked before flinching as someone roughly grabbed her by the ear.
"What did I say about bothering your little sister on this trip?" Viney asked as she pulled Emira away.
"I-I wasn't! I was giving her advice!" Emira whined as she was pulled away. Amity huffed, mentally thanking Viney for dragging her annoying sister away. Placing her hands behind her, the teen witch attempted to lift herself back up, only to yelp as she slipped and fell back onto her ass.
"Need some help?" Luz asked, skating around Amity until she was in front of the witch, leaning down and offering the greenette her hand. Amity accepted it, grateful for her savior to arrive before she was pulled up. A little too quickly, however, as Amity started to wobble and fell forward again, only to be caught by Luz and held against the girl's chest. Amity blushed a bright red from the feeling, as did the human. "First time skating?" Luz asked as she helped Amity stand up properly.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Kind of, yeah," Luz giggled, causing Amity to groan out of embarrassment. "Here, just hang onto me and I'll teach you the basics," Luz said, wrapping an arm around Amity's shoulders. The witch blushed harder and returned the gesture. "First off, bend your knees a bit and try keeping low; it'll help with your balance."
Amity followed Luz's instructions, bending her knees much like Luz was doing. To her surprise, staying up was made easier by doing so.
"Now, angle one of your feet to the side, and use it to push off. We'll do it together on three. One, two..."
Amity copied Luz again, leaving her left foot forward while angling her right foot to the side. When the human girl said "three," they each pushed with their right foot, causing them to slowly start to move.
"Doing good so far! Now do that again with your other food, let's pick up some speed!"
Angling their left feet, the duo pushed again, gaining speed and increasing their pace.
"Now, bend your knees and lean your skates to the left. We're gonna try to turn now."
Bending their knees and leaning their skates to the side, the two turned to the left, turning around and heading back to the other side of the ice.
"You're doing great so far! Now I'm gonna let you go and—"
"Wait! No, no, no, not yet! I'm not ready," Amity said, not wanting to be let go for two reasons, one being she didn't want to fall again, the other being she didn't want to miss Luz's arm wrapped around her.
"Hey, hey, it's okay! You got this, I believe in you! Just use everything I've taught you," Luz said, causing Amity to whimper in fear before nodding.
The two let go of each other, and Amity continued onwards without Luz helping her. Bending her knees for balance, Amity angled one skate and pushed, gaining more speed. With wide eyes and a giant grin, she pumped her hands into the air. She was skating! All by herself!
"I'm doing it!" Amity exclaimed like a giddy child, turning around and heading back towards Luz.
"See? I knew you could do it!"
"Now, um, how do I stop?" Amity asked, going a bit faster than anticipated while also heading straight for Luz.
"Oh mierda! Turn to the left! To the lef—agh!" Luz tried to say only for Amity to barrel into her, sending both of them falling onto the ground. They groaned, Luz more so since she took the brunt of the pain from falling and having Amity land right on top of her.
"Ow! Sorry about that, Luz," Amity apologized, getting off and sitting next to the girl.
"Next time, I'm teaching you how to stop first," Luz groaned in pain.
(Kevin and Boscha Activity 1: Cave Exploration)
"You doing good down there?"
"When you said you had the perfect thing for us to do, this was the last thing I imagined," Boscha growled, jamming her climbing axe into the surface of the rocky wall.
Letting herself be dragged and whisked away by the human probably wasn't Boscha's greatest idea. Before she even knew what was happening, the two had been given various pieces of climbing gear and were climbing through a barely lit cave.
"Remind me again why we're doing this? And why you can't just use your powers to get us up this wall safer?"
"Well first off, I did some research on these mountains, and supposedly something very rare and valuable is somewhere in these caves; I wanna try finding it. Second, I've come to find that certain materials in this dimension I can't control, probably because of the magical properties they possess. I'm sure with some time and studying them, I could probably control them no problem," Kevin said, noticing how close they were to the top. Just a few more feet and they'd be safe.
"Geez, how romantic," Boscha muttered sarcastically, once again jamming her axe into the rock wall.
As she went to climb and pull herself up, the ledge she had grabbed onto broke, startling her and causing her to yelp as she was swung backwards from the suddenness, her axe the only thing keeping her from falling. She reached up, grabbing onto her axe for dear life as she searched around for another ledge to grab. When she didn't see any close by, the witch froze from hearing a crack sound coming from the wall. The area where her axe was planted couldn't handle so much pressure and gave way, making the pinkette scream as she started to fall.
She didn't fall far, thankfully, as the human managed to twist his body, reaching down and grabbing onto her wrist, catching her.
"I got you, I got you!" he tried to reassure her, using his strength to lift her up to his level. Her axe had fallen down the cavern, leaving the witch with nothing else to do but to wrap her arms around his neck, letting him carry her to the top. "Don't worry, the only falling you're doing is for me," he quipped, causing Boscha to growl and glare at the back of his head, cheeks flushing purple.
"Now is not the time for your jokes!"
"Well when is the time for my jokes?"
"Not when I almost die!"
"I—okay you have a good point," he admitted, causing Boscha to huff in annoyance.
"This thing better be worth it. Or else."
"Perhaps the true treasure is the time we spent together?"
"Cute. But I'm still going to kill you when this is all said and done," Boscha threatened, causing the human to roll his eyes in annoyance.
During the bickering, Kevin had managed to climb them to the top. He let Boscha go first, the witch climbing off of his back and onto the safety of the sweet, sweet ground at the top of the rock wall. With a sigh of relief, she reached down, allowing Kevin to grab onto her hand before helping pull him up. They smiled at one another before noticing their hands were still clasped together. They pulled away, blushing furiously and standing there awkwardly.
"So um, w-where do we go next?" Boscha asked, wanting to get their minds off the unintended hand holding.
"Oh, uh, r-right. We should be getting close. Just gotta get through this corrido—"
Hissssss
The two teens froze, turning towards the dark and bleak hallway. Boscha drew a spell circle, and a small, concentrated beam of light shot through it, lighting the hallway up and revealing what must've been hundreds of snakes occupying the area. Some were laying on the ground, others hanging from the ceiling. They were larger than your average python back in the human realm, with piercing, blood red eyes and fans which hung from their mouths, similar to a vampire.
"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?" Boscha asked, a shudder running up her spine. Ever since she was a child, the witch had never been fond of snakes. Not only were they slimy and gross, they could be extremely deadly. Her main reason for fearing and hating snakes was because when she was six, her first cat, Clawdia, had been eaten by one. Her first ever friend, stolen from her.
"Don't like snakes? It's okay, I know of one snake you'll…" the boy trailed off, stopping his inappropriate joke upon seeing the condition Boscha was in. She was shaking, a genuine look of fear in her eyes that he had never seen before. He felt bad, not only because of the joke he had almost made, but for dragging her here in the first place. "Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me," he said, gently grabbing her wrist and pulling her close. With one hand, he turned her head, prying her eyes off of the snakes and onto him. She seemed to calm down looking at him rather than the serpentine beasts. "We can leave, if you'd like. I know you're scared, so I won't force you to continue if you don't want to."
"But-but the thing you're looking for, the treasure or whatever. Finding it means a lot to you," she said, not wanting to disappoint him, or ruin their time together. He smiled softly and shook his head.
"You mean more to me than some stupid treasure," he said, causing her to blush. "Now c'mon, let's get out of here." He turned, going back towards the edge of the wall to get up a cable so they could go down safely. Boscha balled her fists, biting her lip as she looked back, staring down at the snakes as they slithered and hissed.
"No," Boscha said, causing Kevin to stop and turn, raising an eyebrow.
"No?"
"We aren't leaving without whatever the hell you came for! We're getting that treasure," she said firmly, leaving no room for argument. The boy chuckled, nodding and walking back to the girl.
"You're hard headed, you know that?" he asked with a humorous tone. He always did end up falling for hard-headed people.
"I learned from the best," Boscha quipped back, causing the human to let out a mock gasp of hurt. "Now, how are we gonna do this?"
"Hmm. We could always try your bubble? That protected us from that tidal wave of blood when we were at the beach. I'm sure it can protect us from a few measly snakes."
"Kevin, this is not a few snakes," Boscha deadpanned, pointing towards the hallway that was literally full of them. "But you're right, my bubble could protect us. Stay right behind me and I'll cast it. And don't even think about making a joke!" she said, cutting him off when he had opened his mouth. The human pouted, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding. Sighing in relief, Boscha drew another spell circle, and her yellow bubble formed around them. They started to walk, the snakes slithering out of their way as they moved down the hall.
Another shudder ran down Boscha's spine from the loud, thundering hissing that surrounded them. A nervous sweat ran down her neck from all the glowing red eyes that stared at her, some even seemed to be licking their lips at the thought of having the two teens as their next tasty meal. A hand squeezed her shoulder in hopes of calming her down.
"It's okay, I'm here, I'm here. Just a little bit further and we're home free," Kevin tried to reassure, causing the witch to nod as she breathed in and out to calm her growing herves. With him around, it really did feel like everything would be alright, that she could do anything or overcome any challenge...titan, she was such a sap.
Boscha let out a shuddering breath of relief when the duo finally cleared the snake hallway, the bubble dropping around them. Kevin turned, sending a blast of wind down the cave and making the snakes fly off towards the other end. Kevin patted the witch's back in comfort before a glowing object caught their attention. They turned, walking through a doorway and entering a large room, bare save for a small podium in the center of the room with the glowing object on top.
They walked towards the podium, finding many pictures carved into the stone walls, showing people from long before their time. One lady in particular kept appearing. She wore an elegant looking black and red dress, similar to something royalty would wear, and was surrounded by people kneeling before her, her army perhaps? In every carving, something golden was hanging around her neck. Upon reaching the podium, the two could finally see what the object was. It was a head of a rose, completely golden with various red gemstones implanted in the tips of the petals.
"Look familiar?" Kevin asked, taking great joy in how Boscha's eyes widened upon seeing the golden flower.
"The Golden Rose, a pendant belonging to Queen Bernadette Argent a long, long time ago. Legend says it gave her immense power, making her the strongest witch ever to tell. Rumor has it, she was able to control titans with it," Boscha said, giving a small history lesson on the rose.
"Yup. I did some research and found out that before she died, she ordered a servant of hers to hide this, that way it would never fall into the wrong hands," Kevin said, looking over to find a skeleton off to the side, an old, rusty and worn knife clutched in its hands. "Loyal to the end. Took the secret of its location to their grave."
"So, what are we going to do with it? Just take it?" Boscha asked, reaching out to touch the rose, only for Kevin to grab her hand and pull it away.
"Not yet. I gotta do something first," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bag of sand. He studied the rose, trying to guess and estimate its total weight by the look again. He opened the bag and dug his hand inside, pulling out some sand and tossing it off to the side, hoping it now equaled the rose's weight. His fingers twitched as he raised the bag and held it right beside the rose, meanwhile Boscha him the whole time.
"The fuck are you doing?"
"Shhhh, let me live out my Indiana Jones fantasy."
"You're what? And who?"
Instead of answering, Kevin was quick to switch the bag with the rose, placing it on the podium. He waited, listening for any hidden mechanisms or traps that may have been implanted or installed should someone ever try removing the rose. When nothing happened, the human was a bit disappointed. Which was quickly squashed by remembering what he had just done.
"Ah, that was so cool! I bet it looked cool. Did it look cool?"
"No, it looked pretty stupid actually," Boscha said bluntly, causing Kevin to roll his eyes.
"Mehmehmeh, I'm Boscha. I think just because I'm pretty I know everything," Kevin muttered under his breath in a mocking tone, blushing when he realized what he had just said.
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing! Don't worry about it!" he exclaimed, making Boscha furrow her brow in confusion.
"If you say so. So, what are you gonna do with this thing anyway? Gonna rule the Demon Realm with it?" Boscha joked, secretly hoping he wouldn't try doing so.
"Unfortunately, no. Maybe it's because I'm a human, but I currently don't feel any power surging through this thing. At this point, it's just a pretty paperweight," Kevin said while pulling something out of his pocket.
"I mean, it's still a rare and famous piece of Demon Realm history. Titan knows the amount of snails collectors or museums would pay to have it."
"That's true. But I think I've found a far better use for it."
"Which is?" Boscha asked, only fr Kevin to turn to her, the rose pendant hanging comfortably from a golden chain. The chain was big enough for him to easily put it over her head and around her neck.
"As a gift for you. A beautiful rose, for my beautiful rose," he said with a smile, flushing pink after saying that.
To say Boscha blush would be an understatement, her cheeks went through several shades of purple before turning to the darkest shade she had ever been. She was genuinely left speechless; after all, he was giving her not only something rich with history of her home, but something incredibly valuable and beautiful as well. She grabbed the pendant and stared at it. The red gemstones glistened and reflected her image back at herself. It felt unreal. Being here. Holding on to a piece of history. Even him... it all felt like a wonderful dream, one she was too afraid of waking up from.
"T-Thank you…" she finally managed to stutter out after her silence. She walked forward, wrapping her arms around him tight and pulling him into a hug, burying and hiding her burning face into his chest. He was startled at first, his blushing deepening as well as he returned the embrace. They stood there in each other's arms for a few minutes, basking in the warmth they gave one another, before sadly pulling apart. "So, um, h-how do we get out of here?"
"Oh, that's easy," Kevin said, shifting his foot against the ground and causing part of the cave to shift downwards, forming a doorway big enough for them to exit and go back outside.
"Heh, guess we got lucky this was here, huh?"
"Oh I knew it was here this whole time, and I knew I could control the stone in his room and on the outside," he admitted, taking her hand and leading her back outside.
"Wha—WHAT? Then why did you make us climb up here? And go through the snakes?" she shouted at him, causing the boy to laugh.
"Because it was more fun doing all of that than just me making a doorway. Plus, I was able to spend more time with my favorite witch." He winked at her, causing her to groan in annoyance and blush in further embarrassment.
She really was in love with an idiot.
(Several hours later)
The sun had set a while ago, leaving the sky pitch black save for the stars in the sky. Boscha shuffled down the hallway, leading to the main room of the ski resort. She yawned, tired, even though she had just taken a nap after her adventuring with Kevin. She noticed the entire room was empty save for Edric as he laced up his boots.
"Hey, where is everyone?" she called out to him, making her presence known to her fellow witch.
"The firework show is starting soon. Everyone's outside and getting ready to watch it," Edric said, focusing on tying his boots. Echo Mouse ears always stumped him, ever since he was a kid. "If you're looking for Amity and Luz, they just went outside, like, literally a second ago."
"Oh, no, no, I'm not looking for them. I'm...looking for Kevin, actually," she admitted with a blush, which only grew worse from the teasing look Edric was giving her.
"Oooooh, looking for your boyfriend, huh?" he asked teasingly, making her growl in anger and annoyance. Normally he would've been scared, but her blush was not doing her any favors. "He went outside a few minutes ago, out that door," he said, pointing towards the door that was right behind him. "Might wanna bring a blanket or something; he left without wearing a sweater or anything."
"Of course he did," she mumbled, irritated, before grabbing a blanket from the nearest couch and heading towards the door.
"Have fun! But not too much fun! Make sure to wear protection!" Edric called out, way louder than necessary. He snorted after she raised a hand and flipped him off.
(Outside with Kevin)
The human teen was sitting all alone at a picnic table, staring at the twinkling stars that shone so bright in the clear and black sky. So preoccupied and lost in thought, he never noticed the soft, crunching of the snow as someone walked towards him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt something touch and wrap around his shoulder, but instantly calmed down as a familiar perfume reached his nose. He turned, a small smile forming as Boscha sat right beside him, wrapping a blanket around the two of them.
"You're dead set on catching hyperthermia, aren't you?" she asked, causing him to chuckle.
"Careful Boscha, it almost sounds like you care," he teased, causing her to roll her eyes.
"I'm literally sitting out here with your dumbass in the cold. If that doesn't show I care, I don't know what does," she shot back, shivering from how cold it was, even with her winter clothing and blanket on. She shifted closer to him, his body heat helping her defeat the cold. How he wasn't freezing, she'd never know. "What are you even doing out here, anyway?"
"Stargazing," he said simply, smiling as he turned back from her to stare up at the sky. "I grew up in a big city, and you could never really see the stars because of all the lights and stuff. So, whenever my parents and I would visit my grandparents out in the country, my mother and I would take every opportunity to look up at the stars."
Boscha couldn't help smiling as well. She enjoyed hearing Kevin talk about his family, especially his mother. Whenever he did, his eyes would shine brighter than usual. He always seemed so happy talking about her, which in turn made Boscha happy.
"Your mother sounded like a lovely woman."
"She was, yeah. We had a strong bond, stronger than the bond between my dad and I. Don't get me wrong; I loved him as much as my mom, but she was always there for me. She would comfort me when I was sad, played games with me when I was bored or lonely, and other stuff too. Our bond was unbreakable."
"Must've been nice…" Boscha trailed off, remembering how her and her mother used to be the same way. Her bond with her parents had been stronger than anything—until the homewrecker came along. She longed for those days again.
"You know, I have a feeling she would've loved you," he said suddenly, surprising her.
"Really?"
"Of course. She loved the color pink," he joked, causing them both to chuckle. They turned to silence after that for a few minutes, merely staring up at the sky, each longing for what they once had, yet were happy with what they currently had: each other. She stared at him out of the corner of her eyes and sighed.
"What-what are we, exactly?" she asked finally, tired of keeping her thoughts locked up. The sudden and unexpected question made the human raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" he asked, causing her to sigh in frustration.
"When we first met, I honestly hated you. And, well, it was no secret you hated me too, since I was a bully and all. Your mere presence and thinking about you made me revolt. But over time...I started hating you less and less, and now I can't stop thinking about you," she admitted, clutching the blanket tighter around her, refusing to meet his gaze. "When we're together or I think about you, I feel like anything is possible, and I'm the happiest I've been in a long time. And, when we're apart, it hurts because I miss you. Titan, sometimes it hurts even thinking about you. I can't think straight when you're around, it feels like I'm losing my mind. And you're always joking around so I don't know if you truly feel the same way as I do, or if this is all some kind of sick joke to you. I ask myself if you would even want this and I'm afraid that—"
Boscha felt herself get cut off, her entire body freezing as she felt something soft touch her lips. She stared, eyes wide as her mind tried processing what was happening. What felt like hours really turned out to be a few seconds when she realized what was actually happening. He was kissing her... he was kissing her!
It was over just as quickly as it began, with the human pulling away and leaving the two of them blushing dark red and purple respectively.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked, smirking from her expression.
"Can-can we do that again?" she asked, and he seemed happy at the question, eager even, but he hesitated.
"Are… are you sure you want this?" he asked, surprising her because of course she wanted this! Why wouldn't she?
"What do you mean?" she asked, causing him to sigh as he ran a hand down his face and through his hair.
"I-I'm not the greatest person, Boscha. I make mistakes, a lot of mistakes. I hurt people, even the people I love and swear to protect. I'm a bad person, and I'm afraid… I don't want to hurt you too," he admitted, his tone sounding hurt. He must've been through a lot, and as a consequence of his actions, he must've lost some he held dear to his heart. "So, I'll ask you again. Are you sure you want this?"
She didn't answer straight away; instead, she gave it some thought. Did she really want this? Or, perhaps was she using him? Was she trying to distract herself from her own shitty life? Trying to fill the void her parents left with him? Did she crave him? Or did she crave the feelings he gave her and nothing else?
As she stared at him, memories of their adventures and time spent together came flashing back. From their first time spent together in the park on the bench all the way to now, where they had just shared their first kiss. She felt her heart thud in her chest, happiness she had never felt before with anyone else. She knew what her answer was. With a smile Boscha reached up, gently and gingerly grabbing Kevin's face with both of her hands and making him look at her.
"This may sound silly and cheesy, but I don't care. I've spoken to a few Oracle students before. I don't see my future in any of their spells or their crystal balls… I see it in your eyes," she admitted, her cheeks darkening a bit, but nowhere near as much as Kevin's, whose eyes widened in surprise from the statement. "I want this, I want you. I wanna be able to call you mine, and vice-versa. I wanna do all the lovey dovey and sappy bullshit couples do with you. Hold hands, go out to eat on dates, even… even kiss again," Boscha said, feeling her cheeks darkening even more than before. "I don't care about the past or the things you've done, I care about the present, here and now, you and me. I care about the future we'll build together, and I want to spend every waking moment of it with you. And I will gladly scream it from the rooftops or even this titan forsaken mountain that I love you with all my heart, Kevin. And, I always will."
She took a breath, happy to finally have that off her chest. She took pride at how speechless she had left him; finally, he now knew how he made her feel. Boscha watched as he placed his hands over her own and nuzzled them.
"You're right, that was really sappy and cheesy," he joked, causing her to chuckle. "I-I love you too, Boscha. And, I want all of that too," he admitted, causing her to smile wide with happiness.
"Well then, I'll ask it one more time. Can we kiss again?"
"Anything for you, my love.
They leaned in, lips brushing against one another as they kissed again, this time Boscha actually returning the gesture. They held onto each other closely, relishing in the fact they were finally able to do what they'd been dreaming of doing for a long, long time now. So caught up in their kiss, neither noticed nor cared as the fireworks were finally set off, painting the sky in various and bright colors.
Truly, a magical end to a great day.
(With Luz and Amity)
The other witch and human duo were on the complete opposite side of the sky resort, sitting peacefully at a picnic table and staring at the stars. But, there was a difference between them and Kevin and Boscha.
"If you follow that small star down all the way to the big one—" Amity used her finger to draw in the sky and connect the stars "—you can see the Sel constellation. It looks exactly like a Selkidomus," Amity said, smiling as Luz copied her movements and giggled upon seeing what Amity was talking about.
"Wow, you sure do know your constellations! You just keep getting more amazing every second I know you, Amity," Luz said with a grin, causing Amity to blush.
They sat in silence after that, with Amity twiddling her fingers, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. They were all alone right now, with no sign of Kevin or anything that could possibly ruin this moment. Amity breathed in and out, steeling her nerves as she got ready. She was going to do it. She was going to finally confess! She turned to Luz and opened her mouth to speak, but the human beat her to it.
"You know the constellations here in the Demon Realm are much cooler than the ones back in the human world," Luz said casually, not noticing how Amity's eyes widened at the mention of the human's home. "When I was growing up, my mom would try teaching me about constellations and stuff. She wasn't the greatest, but she tried her best! And every second with her meant the world to me. I absolutely love living here, and being with you, and Eda, and everyone else. But sometimes... I miss her."
Whatever words Amity was getting ready to say instantly died in her throat, a horrible guilty feeling bubbling in her stomach. Of course Luz would miss her mom, and probably other stuff that she left behind in the human world too. It... It wouldn't be right to confess now, to make Luz choose between staying here and being with her (if Luz did return her feelings, of course) or going back to her home world to be with her mother.
A sudden explosion caught her attention, and she turned to watch as the firework started. The dark sky was painted with bright and various colors, a beautiful end to a tragic day.
She turned, staring at the love of her life as she watched the show with awe, wonder, and glee in her eyes. Luz looked so happy, there was no point in ruining the moment for her. Even as much as it pained Amity, she wiped her own growing tears and watched the show as well.
Maybe one day she would confess...but sadly, today was not that day.
/
BONUS/DELETED SCENES!
/
Chap 17 (sitting on the bus or whatever waiting to leave)
Kevin *staring at Boscha*: Hey, since she's pink, do you think it tastes like bubblegum?
*Luz laughs and Amity looks confused*
Amity: if what tastes like bubblegum?
*Luz whispers into Amity's ear, making her blush*
Amity: Kevin! That is highly inappropriate!
Kevin: what? It's a genuine question. I don't know much about witch anatomy and whatnot. Do you think she knows?
Amity: why in the name of titan would she know what it tastes like?
Kevin: I don't know...do you think she'd let me be a taste tester?
Part 2
*Kevin goes to ask, returns with his hair on fire*
Amity: uh, Kevin? Your hair...it's on fire.
Kevin: I know.
*Clone comes running around the corner, playing a siren and dressed as a firefighter. He uses a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and runs away*
Kevin: You know I just told him to put out the fire. I don't know why he's dressed like that.
/
Chap 17 (Kevin goes to check on Viney and Emira)
Kevin: Whoa!...Can I get on some of that action?
*He dodges multiple pillows and a lamp thrown at him*
Emira and Viney: GET OUT!
/
IDK
Kevin: *to Boscha* That's my little psycho! *Gasp* We should totally cosplay as Joker and Harley Quinn!
Luz: I thought you hated the Joker?
Kevin: Oh I do. But have you seen his fashion sense? It's top notch!
/
Chapter 17, the OG version with Kevin and Boscha
"Can-can we do that again?" she asked, causing him to chuckle.
"Say it."
"W-what?" she asked, confused. She felt the boy grab her chin as he leaned down, making their gazes meet.
"I want you to say it. Say exactly what you want," he said, holding back a laugh as her love and awestruck expression instantly turned to that of anger and annoyance.
"You're a sadistic asshole," she growled, which actually did get a chuckle out of him. He wrapped an arm around her, bringing the witch closer to him. She reciprocated his movements by wrapping her arms around his neck.
"And you wouldn't have it any other way."
So...hi? It's uh, been a while, hasn't it?
So first off I'll give an explanation of what exactly has happened, why it took so long to update, and give you an update on the story and other stuff.
So first off, you may see that I deleted Instagram and no longer use Twitter. The reason being I was involved with some stupid drama that took a toll on my mental health. I won;t go into it, but everything is seemingly cool now. Along with that I've been through some drama with some close friends and family of mine, all of it being my fault. I'm not looking for sympathy or pity or anything like that. I fucked up, a LOT. But I'm trying to be a better person and trying to DO better.
With all that drama it took a toll on my mental health, and I lost interest in writing and TOH in general up until this point. For a while I started focusing on My Hero Academia since I was getting back into it, but now I'm into TOH and writing again so, here I am. I will say I'm super bummed and mad at myself for not writing. You see at the time of posting this chapter, in 12 days it'll be the One year anniversary of this fic, and I was really wanting to be done with it by now. Unfortunately that's not gonna happen. But! I WILL try finishing it before the year ends! I promise! It may be hard, as I started working recently and I'm starting my (hopefully) last semester of college next week. But I'm determined to get this story finished!
Now with that out of the way, time to update you about this story. As you may recall in chapter 16, I hinted that 17 would be a furry chapter. Unfortunately for some time I lost interest in that chapter and started writing this new version. But NOW I'm interested in the Furry chapter again. BUT I didn't want to leave y'all hanging, so I'm uploading this chapter now. Whenever I finish the Furry chapter, I'll do one of three things.
1. I'll replace it with this chapter, thus making IT chapter 17 and THIS chapter 18.
2. Once this story is finished, I'll upload it afterwards as a 'bonus' chapter.
3. Or, I'll upload it as its own story.
Regardless of what I do (and this will sound confusing) the chapter STILL HAPPENS CANONICALLY even though I haven't posted it yet. Canonically it happens before this chapter, and I reference it in this chapter when Kevin tries chasing a squirrel, or trying to scratch his ear with his foot, or Boscha mentioning he peed on a tree. Yes it's very confusing but trust me, it'll make sense once I finally post the chapter.
Let's see, what else...well, first off, the Oracle thing said by Boscha was made by my buddy Stone! I just added more to it, lol. And also chapter 18 miiight be pretty short. Unless maybe I combine it and chapter 19, which might also be short. Idk I still need to decide.
Also I didn't do a lot of activities since I kinda didn't see the point BUT if the demand for more is high enough, I'll write more and either update this chaoter with them, make it its own story, or something idk.
Now time for a non-story update. I've officially decided to reopen my Discord server! Should you wanna join, feel free to follow this link! Be warned that trolls and harassers will be banned asap :)
DM for the discord invite
In case anyone would like to donate, please let me know :) donations also help me continue making these stories!
CashApp: $ghost5091
Venmo: Ghost509
ALSO! I know some will be pissed over the Luz and Amity thing BUT WORRY NOT THERE'S STILL MORE CHAPTERS! So who knows what'll happen?
I think that's it for now. Join me next time when trouble strikes the group! See ya in chapter 18!
