"Abomination, rise," Amity commanded as her hands etched a circle of magic into the air in front of me. A creature of slime sprang forth from the corresponding bright pink spell circle on the floor. Its form became eerily human like within a couple of seconds, and it stared into my eyes absently, devoid of the consciousness Amity and I possessed.

We had abomination class together, and I was assigned to study other student's abominations in hopes I could glean a glyph from them. Notes trickled down onto the page of my notebook at a rather miserable pace. Amity maneuvered her abomination around her desk competently, with that alluring fire in her eyes, that admirable dedication. However, I lacked that passion on this particular day. I could barely hold my attention with this hands-off work, but I lacked the time to wash off abomination goo before next class. What a pity. My gaze towards the disciplined witch in front of me felt as vacant as the abomination she controlled. I found myself daydreaming about Azura's first duel with Hecate instead of working when something caught my eye on the ground.

A clump of notebook paper rested the tiled floor, held together just barely by a dog ear fold on the corner. The Boiling Isles could really use paper clips. I picked up the papers to place them back into Amity's bag. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice. As I lifted them up, I noticed the front page. It read "Luz x Amity" in sloppy, rushed handwriting with a cute little doodle of me blushing next to it. A couple pages fell out, but I scrambled to put them back together, not knowing the page order. Back in the bag, the fanfiction, I presume it was, went.

I leaned my elbow on the desk, looking back at Amity practicing. Kicking my feet back and forth, I watched her until our eyes met. Her cheeks became tinged with a warm pink, and her abomination destabilized for a second. Could she really be interested in stupid old me? I had denied the possibility before, but I accidentally stumbled into proof clearer than crystal. Suddenly, my head felt light, and my heart rate increased.

Amity destroyed her abomination and approached the table we shared.

"Well, class is almost over. Thanks for watching my bag, Luz," Amity said.

"No prob, bob, yeah, yeah…" I stumbled over my words, unsure how to act anymore.

"It's… Amity…" She was bewildered.

"Sorry, it's a human saying… Soooooo… What class do you have next?"

"History. You have Beast Keeping, right?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering. Another thing I wonder, as fellow Azura fandom trash, do you write fanfiction?"

"Well…" Amity leaned in to whisper. "Honestly, I do, but please don't tell anyone. It's embarrassing."

"Great!" I waved my hands around. "I'd love to share my Hecazura fanfic with someone after all this time!"

"You see Hecate and Azura together?"

Out of enthusiasm, I did my typical bi finger guns.

"It's classic enemies to friends to lovers, going from strong drama and tension to begrudging respect to genuine care to dumb love: the perfect ship dynamic!"

The bell screamed, preventing me from gushing about Hecazura in depth.

"I mean, I think it's the perfect ship dynamic personally," I added. "I don't mean to hold you up, so I'll make this quick: wanna have 'the club' today?"

"I'd love it." Her voice was kind as she replied. "At the library, in my spot."

"Coolio! See ya later, then!"

We waved goodbye and parted ways. I quaffed down at least half of my water bottle to reduce the feverish rush that conversation gave me. Gotta play it cool, Luz. She can't know you saw that. Don't be a weirdo.

From there, school happened as it always did. Amity sat from a distance at lunch while I hung out with Willow and Gus. Today had a perfectly typical lunch period. Why Amity could barely tolerate being within five feet of me was a lot more apparent than before. After lunch, I attended class like normal and walked out from school at the end of the day. I jogged to the library to enjoy the best part of my day: the Good Witch Azura Book Club!

When I slid the hideout's door open, I saw Amity going through a packet of paper.

"Why is this out of order?" She commented to herself.

"I'm screwed," I fretted.

Amity heard me and opened the door the rest of the way. She took me by the hand to the bean bags set out by a small fold-out table. Amity's desk, being so cluttered with schoolwork dangerously close to her candle, was obviously not an option. Mood lighting, magically emanating from the hanging celestial decor, took a little edge off my worry. The packet vanished into her messenger bag, and she pulled out her sketchbook.

"Before I read your fanfiction, can I show you my art? I've been working a little more on pencil sketching."

I plopped down onto one of the bean bags to lean into her sketchbook, and to some extent, her.

"Sure thing, cutie," I replied without second thought or filtering. My foot tapped with anxiety.

Amity blushed and fumbled with her sketchbook. I took it from her to admire the pencil sketch drawing of Azura fighting Gildersnake from the end of Azura book 1. Amity's signature cartoony style was present: rough, sharp, and thin lines with a bold outline around the outside of each character's lineart. The pencil shading was soft and faint, making an interesting contrast.

"Wow, you're superb at drawing backgrounds!" I complimented. "The shading looks super cool with how you draw characters. It's pretty, like you."

"Thank you," She smiled with a hint of bemusement. "I worked hard on it during lunch breaks."

"You don't have free periods?"

"I don't get study hall because my parents wanted me to enroll in a lot of electives. I would have done this myself regardless; I wouldn't be an appealing candidate for the Emperor's Coven other… otherwise… Actually, ever since Ms. Edalyn's near-petrification, I haven't been sure this is the path I want to go down. I don't know, so I might as well keep it up in case I decide to do so."

"Hey, if you're not sure yet, that's fine. I've met tons of adults and fellow students alike expecting me to have my future all figured out by now, but I really don't, especially now! You don't have to pick now. Just sit back, enjoy the moment, and maybe the right idea'll just come to you."

Amity reached out and squeezed my hand for a moment.

"Thanks. I appreciate the sentiment. And… I will enjoy this moment. I suppose I should start doing that with your Hecazura, or as I prefer, Azute fiction. Could I read it?"

"Sure, but I haven't gotten around to editing it, so it's a mess. But, it's my mess gosh darn it!"

"I look forward to what this has to offer."

Amity took my papers, held together with a spare paperclip which was a rarity in this world, sat down, and began to read.

A tea cup rested on the table, a small plate of biscuits beside it, and Amity sipped from the cup periodically as she slowly flipped through the story. The fantasy had a simple premise: Azura and Hecate had to duel a powerful spider-spitting griffin terrorizing a local town and fell in love on their long pursuit of the beast. I always liked my romance accompanied by adventure to flavor it further. Amity's eyes were glued to the creased notebook paper and mine to her.

Amity chuckled at my cheesy jokes, smiled at the awkward flirting I wrote, and tilted her head at the oddities in Azura and Hecate's pursuit. I moved my bean bag closer to hers and hugged Amity while still sitting down. I rested my head on her, and she lifted the packet higher to see. The aroma of her green tea enter my nose, pleasant and familiar. After all the heartache, fear, wicked magic, and drama I endured, I finally felt relaxed. I finally felt safe.

"How are you liking it?" I reached for her hand.

"T-TOO MUCH!" Amity dropped the papers, scattering them on the floor. "Oh, wait, you meant the story! I really like the first fight scene with the griffin and the tension between Azura and Hecate … Oh no! I'm sorry for dropping it, I'll clean it up—"

"Don't sweat it," I let go of her and stood up. "I'll get it. It's not too bad either; I number my pages in case of that."

I cleaned up the mess while Amity frantically tried to reorder that fic of us in secret. I pretended I didn't notice; I had to. After getting all the pages, I crouched down to the level she was sitting at, and extended the hand that was clutching my work.

"Here you go" I held the story loosely. "I want to see your smile as you're reading. It's so lovely!"

"Really? Is that how you really feel?"

"Well, yeah! Now, please finish it! I'd love to see any fanfic you have!"

I resumed my previous position with Amity as she resumed her previous position in my content. Once the awkwardness subsided, well, as much as it could given the tension, I felt like I was dissolving into her embrace. I admired Amity as she read on. Her thick and deliberate eyeliner, that cyan eyeshadow, the faintest touch of blush on her cheeks, it was all so pretty. As I stared accidentally, she appeared to look off into the distance. She took slower to turn the pages, slower and slower until she paused. Her hands trembled a bit as she gripped the paper. Her chest moved up and down dramatically against my arms.

"Hey, is there something wrong?" I reached for her hand to comfort her, but she gently pushed it away.

"A little. If I'm going to be honest, having you in my arms is really distracting. I can't focus well like this."

"Do you want me to stop?" I pulled away a little.

Amity stopped to think, then she drew me back into her embrace.

"Even if it's harder to read, I suppose it's better this way."

"Me too. Being here, with you, like this: that's half the fun, maybe more!" I nuzzled her, getting settled in again.

"Er…" She got red like a ripened tomato. Oddly familiar, I must say. "Thank."

Amity swallowed down a fair bit of her tea. She sighed, appearing like the warm tea somehow cooled her down. She ate one of the plain looking biscuits resting on a small plate. A few small crumbs lingered on her lips as she straightened out the packet.

"Much better," She leaned back and continued reading.

I reached my thumb to her lip. While wiping the spot off, I could feel her sparkly pink lip gloss getting on my finger. I pulled away. She bit her lip.

"Much better," I repeated. "Were you just gonna leave that there?"

Amity didn't respond to my little comment, her face looking dull with panic.

"I— I think I'm going to faint." She sounded serious, her voice cracking a little.

I stood up and got off her.

"Really? Are you alright? Should I get help!?"

I tried to take off for someone, but Amity grabbed my wrist. I stood there in her grasp as she contemplated for a moment. She took a swig of her tea and shook her head as if to ground herself. She pulled me back down into her lap.

"N-no… it's fine. I just got a little worked up is all… Sorry."

"What's so exciting to cause that sorta reaction, hmm?" Part of me, the literate part, knew exactly what, but I couldn't quite accept that reality until it was confirmed by her spoken word.

"Uh… umm… the climax? Yes, the climax! I'm really liking this part here where Hecate confesses her love to Azura while holding onto tight, hoping her grip is strong enough to keep the griffin from snatching her away, yeah! The emotional weight of the scene sure is heavy, especially with the parallel to the beginning where Azura rescues Hecate from the Greater Basilisk, haha…"

"Glad you like it. And sure, it's just the climax that excited you." I impulsively snuck that in. But, it struck a nerve. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Come on, Luz!" Her face was red like a rose and her attitude prickly like its thorns. "Stop toying with me! It isn't funny! Just say it! Stop acting like you don't know, then turn around two seconds later joking about me liking a climax! Why would you be like this if you didn't know, gah!"

Amity shoved the packet into her face. The worn pages concealed the frustration and sadness her body language spoke. It looked like her face was buried in the page with the Hecate kiss spread I did to hammer home the point. Flames sparked at her finger, singing the paper before she panicked and threw it to the ground. My hand stretched out to pick up the papers for the second time today, but Amity's watery eyes and longing gaze beckoned me to wait.

"Luz, be honest with me: Did you go through my Lumity fiction?"

"L-lumity? Is that like, hmm, a ship na—"

The realization hit me. My knees jittered, and my spine shivered. She knew.

"—ame. Oh…"

"You did, didn't you? I knew someone had; the pages were out of order."

"I didn't mean to look at it, Amity! It just fell out of your bag, and I meant to put it back, but I saw our names listed there and couldn't stop thinking about it!"

"I really thought you wouldn't do anything like that after the Library incident. Maybe I was wrong. I honestly can't believe it. I'm not mad; I'm just disappointed."

Oof, just like my mom says. Ouchie.

"Wait, please let me correct something before you lash out anymore," my voice trembled. "I didn't read it. I saw the title and put it back immediately after. I'd never try to hurt you like that. Go on ask me the premise. That'll prove it."

She held my hand, and I could feel our cold sweats mingling, awkward and kinda gross? She thought for a minute.

"I'll ask. I don't think you would do something like that. Something in me refuses to believe that, but it never hurts to be skeptical. What is the premise?"

"Uh, College AU where I'm in your literature class, and we bond over our fondness of Azura books and write essays about them and stuff?"

"What in Titan's name is this 'call-edge?' you speak of? Is it like, another type of school? It's a human thing, isn't it?" She squinted with confusion.

"That settles that!"

"I guess so."

Amity stroked the back of my hand with her thumb. A thought must have struck her, for she sighed and loosened her grip.

"Luz, do you love me?"

My brain instantly flooded with all sorts of freaked out thoughts. What on earth is a crush supposed to feel like? Did I have one? Is a crush even close to what is considered love or just dumb fluttering? What is love? (Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more.)

I sat in dizzied silence, trying to form words, but nothing would roll off my tongue. Her head turned away from mine.

"I understand: you're not interested but can't bring yourself to turn me down," Amity assumed. "I admire that kindness of yours so much."

"No, no, it's not that! I don't know if I love you. It's just, well, I've never had more than a passing crush on someone, and no one has ever expressed interest in me. You're the first one. As a result, I've never gotten past the winking and flirting stage before someone tells me to stop. Love probably isn't like Hecazura; I'd really doubt that. It's not that simple, so really, I don't know yet. But for your sake, I'll do my best to figure out! I need time, that's all. I know I feel something fiery and potent, but whether that's 'love' or 'infatuation,' I don't know…"

"I understand that," Amity held up the packet of her Lumity fic, the title page in full view. "I wrote this to gauge how I really felt, whether it was truly love. It's not finished, but it helped. I get you might want to explore that differently. It's…"

Amity looked at my hand with worry.

"It's fine."

"Why don't you read while I think? I doubt it'll take long. I don't want to keep you here when you have homework."

"Thank you for considering my schedule. I don't mind spending my time with you instead. I'll read if you insist."

I picked up the papers and handed them back to Amity. While she sorted them, I let the floodgates blocking my 20,000-ish scattered thoughts open.

What exactly is a crush? It appeared like such a powerful and broad concept; that would be hard to pin down, wouldn't it?

I looked at Amity as she read. She had a faint smile across her face. Amity looked like she hadn't a care in the world as she turned the page of my Hecazura fiction.

Fiction… Fanfiction… Ships… Ships! That's it! I can break it down like I do ships. Okay, is there any ship teasing that could make, hmmm what name, ah, Lumity canon?

"Wait a second," I whispered to myself. "This is what Amity did with that fiction. Ooohhhhh."

Well, I spend a lot of time with her, I like touching her, and I really like hugging her, that Grom dance was so incredible it hardly felt real, and when she leaned into me at the bleachers, I had tons of intrusive thoughts about kissing. That doesn't mean I wanna go out though! Dating entails lots of hanging out, a level of commitment, a lot of care for one's partner, and presumably a lot of fluff, right? Do I want that? I mean, I want to stay by her through good and bad. Even when I have to go home, no matter how much the thought alone makes me shudder, I want to stay in touch. I care about her a lot. Fluff sounds fun, really fun. Do I want another Grom dance? Do I want romance?

I looked at Amity again, thinking of our times together and the future it could entail.

I think I do have a crush and want to pursue it.

Amity began reading aloud to herself as she approached the end of the last page. Her voice rang with the same gentleness, joy, and passion it did when she read picture books to children in this very same library. Those eyes full of interest, that posture full of self-assurance in spite of insecurity, and that hair with roots of her true self finally coming out, their charms were multiplied by these newly discovered feelings.

"Hecate and Azura strolled home, hand in hand and heart in heart, their respect blossoming into a love beautiful and true—"

My lips touched her forehead for a brief instant, her cheeks cupped by my sweaty palms. She slammed the packet shut and pulled away in shock.

"Yes…" I answered. I finally answered. "I think I love you."

Amity covered her mouth, petrified with thought. Maybe I shouldn't have just, you know, gone for it like that? Of course not! That's an invasion of personal space, even if she likes me! Curse you, lack of impulse control!

"S-sorry, sorry!" I felt that rejection sensitivity that affected me so deeply back home clawing at me. "I didn't mean to invade your personal space! I am so sorry if I freaked you out! I didn't mean—"

Amity's hand held my shoulder and pulled me closer. I could slightly, but certainly, feel her breath on my face.

"It's fine, better than fine even! I just wasn't expecting you to say yes, let alone do that! Don't feel so sorry about that. I'm not mad; I would simply prefer you ask permission next time."

"Okay." I let my thoughts settle down a little. "May I kiss you?"

"Yes!"

I leaned in, hesitant this time. The way she closed her eyes, waiting for my touch, was so alluring it was almost panic-inducing. She didn't know, but I was just as unprepared as she was at the mutual interest. She opened one of her eyes as I just sat there.

"Ughhh, do I have to everything myself?!"

She pulled my face to hers and locked her lips with mine. My first kiss. I actually had my first kiss. I felt weightless yet heavy like I was melting into the wooden floor. An emotion like honey tasted greeted me. I closed my eyes and let the euphoria and panic wash over me. The longer she held me there, the more anxiety evaporate from my body. A quiet sigh escaped Amity's mouth as she pulled away.

"Thank you, Luz," She stood up and started packing her things up.

"For what?" I wondered while scoping my fanfic back into my bag.

She slung her messenger bag over one shoulder and slid open the door of the hideout.

"Thank you for loving me too." Amity walked out of the room, and I followed soon behind, departing from the library and leaving behind the events of the day. As we walked through Bonesborough, parted paths, and watched each other walk away, my mind and heart both knew this was only the beginning. Our respect had blossomed into a love beautiful and true.