(Author's Note: Tales Of Light And Blight is being written as part of Lumity Week! This story, and all the other stories featured in this work, are part of an anthology, and unlike my other anthology stories, most of these are loosely connected to each other, with 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 able to be enjoyed in sequential order. They're not, however, connected to any of my other Owl House stories. Thanks for reading!)
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Day 3 – First Kiss ("Beyond Friendship")
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The best laid plans of witches and wizards...
A few hours ago, Amity Blight had been planning the best night of her life. As she left Hexside earlier that day, she'd talked to Luz and had invited her to the park for what was supposed to be a confession of the feelings she'd slowly built up over the past few weeks. Even before Luz started going to Hexside, she and Amity had been friends... but after the two started going to class together, studying, spending time in clubs together... Amity realized that this human girl had changed her life in a very short amount of time.
Luz's kindness and warm spirit had given Amity a reason to completely ditch the "popular" crowd... she'd even begun making up with Willow, though the two former friends weren't quite back to their old relationship status just yet. Though Amity and Luz still seemed to be on opposite sides of a struggle between their mentors Lilith and Eda, neither of the two girls wanted anything to do with the conflict, and their friendship had grown even stronger after one of their Azura Book Club sessions had turned into a heated political debate.
Now, Amity's feelings for Luz had transformed into something else entirely. She didn't want to be just friends... she wanted to be something more. She cared deeply about Luz, she was willing to give her life for Luz... and she wanted to reveal the truth quickly instead of keeping it bottled inside.
But Amity had missed that meeting with Luz in the park that night. Instead, she found herself tied to a chair in a decrepit old house as two lowlifes in fraying cloaks paced the room.
Being a Blight had its perks, but it had also put a target on her back... and these two were looking to make a fortune.
"I say we send the ransom note now!" said one of the cloaked criminals, a man with a scar running down the side of his face. "The sooner we send that note, the sooner we get that money!"
"And I say we wait and see what the Blight family says first!" said the other criminal, a woman with long, messy red hair. "See if they make a big deal out of it, then we can ask for lots more shells!"
The two criminals weren't bright, but they had managed to get the jump on Amity... she supposed she had only herself to blame, being too distracted by her nervousness about her confession to Luz to see them sneaking up behind her readying a sleep spell. She'd awoke tied up inside this shack, and though she wasn't hurt, she didn't want to stay long enough to find out what might happen to her if her parents didn't cough up the ransom money.
And, obviously, she didn't want to keep Luz waiting for very long... she was already imagining how upset Luz must be, thinking Amity had blown her off.
Untie me now! mumbled Amity through a strip of white tape that had been plastered over her mouth. She glared fiercely at her captors, wanting to let them know in no uncertain terms that if they didn't let her go, they'd regret it.
"You hush up, ya spoiled brat!" shouted the redhead, walking over to Amity and pointing a wand at her in a threatening manner. "Don't make me turn you into a lizard!"
Amity recoiled a bit in fear, but also tried to keep the defiant look on her face, raising an eyebrow and keeping up her glare.
I doubt you two idiots know any real transformation magic, thought Amity. And even if you did, you'd be more likely to transform yourselves than anyone else.
"What were you even doing out in the park alone at night anyway?" said the cloaked man, leaning in. "We were gonna go after your older brother, but you walked right into that park and made it real easy for us!"
Upon learning that Edric had been the kidnappers' initial target, Amity couldn't help but roll her eyes... though she also clenched her fists behind the chair, out of a sense of familial indignation.
Nobody messes with my family, thought Amity, and found herself somewhat glad that she'd been the one taken instead of Ed or Em, despite her fears at the current situation. She let out a muffled growl, and the redhead just laughed and cupped her chin, prompting Amity to angrily turn her head away.
"You just sit there and behave yourself, and provided your mommy and daddy pay up, you'll be playing in the park again in no time," she said in a condescending tone that Amity didn't bother to dignify with a response.
No doubt Lilith will find out about this at the same time my parents do, thought Amity. The thought of Lilith storming in and making these criminals pay was somewhat satisfying, though it also made her a bit embarrassed to need a rescue from her teacher, who would no doubt lecture her afterward. I just hope help gets here soon... in the meantime, I'm not going to wait around for a rescue.
Amity silently struggled, hoping her two captors were as dumb as they looked.
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Luz followed a barely visible trail, holding a stack of postcard-sized Azura drawings in her hand. The stack had initially been part of a trail of 'breadcrumbs' leading Luz to the park, where Amity had told her to meet... but Amity hadn't shown, and instead, a trail of footprints and scuffmarks had led the human girl down some narrow backstreets.
Like Amity, Luz had been quite excited about the meeting that night... it wasn't the first time Amity had asked Luz to meet with her after school, but it had been the first time the two would be meeting so late at night.
"Amity's really going out of her way to lead me around," said Luz to herself, following the trail to the small house that, unbeknownst to her, was occupied by more than just Amity. "What's with all the secrecy?"
Luz had her suspicions, but none of them focused on Amity being ready to confess something deeper than friendship. After all, they'd only known each other for a few months! Sure, they'd gotten closer as friends, but Amity was still somewhat emotionally guarded, not nearly as expressive as Luz herself, and still seemed to keep a healthy distance between the two of them. Just last week, Amity had told her 'don't read too much into us', as if trying to say 'we might be friends, but don't think we're close friends'.
Which, of course, had disappointed her somewhat, as Luz herself thought they were close friends. In fact, it was Luz who believed that maybe, just maybe, Amity was ready for something more... and even if Amity might not be ready, Luz was planning to admit her feelings that very night. She knew it might change everything... she knew it might drive Amity away. She was afraid, but not too afraid to admit what she was really feeling... and if Amity responded negatively, so be it.
Besides, thought Luz, trying to reassure herself, she wouldn't go to all this trouble if she didn't really care about me.
Luz held twelve Azura drawings in her hand, each one done by Amity. She estimated it had only taken about ten minutes to draw each one, but the drawings were still quite detailed and cute, and Luz knew that a lot of work had gone into them. The drawings had led to the spot in the park where Amity wanted to meet, but Amity hadn't been there, and in her place was that trail of marks on the ground.
"I wonder if she got tired of drawing?" thought Luz, looking down at the cards again. "Maybe her hand cramped up, or she ran out of ideas..."
Luz approached the door to the house, taking a nervous breath. Her hand shook as she reached for the doorknob, and it probably would've been shaking more had she known what awaited her... or perhaps not.
Okay, Luz, you've got this. Just tell her how you feel and be completely honest. Get ready to really lay it on thick, just like Azura did in book five when she told Hecate how badly she wanted to be friends!
Luz slowly opened the door... and was shocked to see Amity, gagged and tied to a chair, in the middle of the room.
"Amity?" said Luz softly, before seeing the predicament her friend was in. "OH, CRAMITY!"
Luz! muffled Amity, squirming ferociously in her chair. Luz ran over to her and yanked the tape from her mouth, with little regard for the skin of her lips, which stung as the adhesive was ripped away. "Ow!"
"Sorry!" Luz apologized. "Who did this? Is this one of Ed and Em's pranks?"
"No, a couple of creeps grabbed me in the park just before you came!" Amity whispered nervously, her eyes darting back and forth. "You need to go get help, they could come back at any second!"
"I'm not leaving you here!" said Luz, walking around behind the chair to untie her friend.
"I said go, now!"
"Neither one of you are going anywhere," said the cloaked man, standing next to the door with his redheaded partner, who used her foot to shut the door behind them. "And just who the hex are you?"
Luz nervously looked up from Amity's chair and glared at the two kidnappers, quite nervous but still courageously standing up to protect her friend.
"I'm Luz Noceda, the human girl, and I'm here to save Amity!"
"Luz, run!" Amity protested, gesturing toward the back of the house. "Find a back door and get out of here, you don't have enough magic to beat them!"
"A human, huh?" said the redhead, walking over to Luz. Luz took a fighting stance, holding one hand in a fist while holding the stack of drawings in the other. "Wonder how many shells we could get for a human? The Boiling Isles Research Atelier is always looking for experimental subjects..."
"Wow, that is only the second time someone's threatened to dissect me since I showed up here," said Luz, slamming one of the drawings down onto a nearby table. "Sorry, Amity, but I need the paper!"
Luz took out a pen and quickly traced out a light spell on the back of the card, then threw it at the redheaded witch. A ball of light appeared and floated in front of her, only for the redhead to swat it away as if she was swatting a fly.
"A human who knows magic?" the cloaked man mused, raising an eyebrow.
"Pretty weak magic," said the redhead, as Luz nervously backed away. Meanwhile, Amity intensified her struggles, determined to get free before Luz got herself hurt.
Dammit, Luz, why do you always have to be so heroic? Not that I don't love that about you, but this really isn't the time...! Amity tried tracing out a spell on the back of the chair, but the position her wrists were tied in didn't give her much leverage, and tracing the air allowed for only a small circle, barely enough for a weak flame that dissipated quickly. "Ugggghh!"
Luz backed into the next room, which happened to be a small kitchen. She dropped several more of the cards on the ground and began drawing a symbol as both kidnappers followed her.
"C'mon, just give up and we won't hurt you," said the cloaked man, menacingly approaching Luz with his wand.
"Yeah, we'll even let you spend the night with your friend," said the redhead. "We'll turn you into baby chickens and you can share the same cage and cluck ghost stories to each other!"
"Sorry, but I've been a chicken once and it was not as fun as I thought it would be!" said Luz, recalling a recent misadventure with Eda. "Now... freeze!"
Luz slammed her hands down onto the symbol, creating a large brick of ice that rose up from the ground and encased the kidnappers' lower bodies. As the two of them let out a cry of surprise, Luz pumped her fists victoriously.
"Oooh yeah, Luz saves the day!" the human girl cheered to herself.
Suddenly, the redhead managed to break her wand hand free from the ice, pointing it at Luz and blasting her with a spell. Luz barely had time to leap out of the way as a small explosion sent pots and pans flying, and gave the redhead enough time to melt the ice around herself and her partner with a second spell.
"Ugh, the human knows magic?" groaned the cloaked man, grabbing the bottom folds of his cloak and twisting them to wring out the water.
"How annoying," the redhead muttered, as Luz slowly rose to her feet. "Get her!"
Luz let out a shriek as two more blasts were aimed her way, diving for an adjacent room as the rest of the kitchen was destroyed. She found herself in an old hallway, and ran for cover as the kidnappers gave chase.
I've got to get back to Amity and get her out of here, thought Luz, her mind drifting toward Amity even as she was running for her life. She must be so scared right now...!
Luz could hear footsteps coming rapidly behind her, and made her way toward a set of stairs. She ran up them, even though she knew it would only enable her pursuers to corner her more easily. She was hoping to find a window to leap out of, but as she fled into a bedroom, she gasped as she realized the window was completely boarded up. She started to run back out into the hallway, but saw the criminals coming up the stairs, and looked around for a place to hide.
Come on, come on, I gotta lose them, then maybe I can sneak back to where Amity is...!
She found a closet and quickly dived in, closing it behind her and listening as the two made their way into the room. She felt around for the Azura drawings... she had two of them left, barely enough for a couple of small light spells, let alone another ice spell.
Maybe an ice dagger? thought Luz, placing one of the cards on the ground. She listened to the criminals outside the room, and her hands shook nervously as she blindly traced an ice symbol on the card, while listening to them talk just outside.
"I don't think she's in here, Hidora," said the cloaked man, looking under the bed. "I bet she ducked into the bathroom."
"Nah, I bet she crept up to the attic," said the redhead, as Luz listened outside.
Yeah, the attic, I'm up there...! thought Luz, slamming her hand down onto the card as quietly as she could... but nothing happened. I messed up the symbol, no...!
Luz was down to her last card... she thought about trying the ice symbol again, but instead, she decided to trace a light symbol... thinking that if she put as much energy into it as she could, she could blind them just long enough to push past, run downstairs, grab Amity, and get the heck out of there. It was an insane, stupid plan, but it was the only plan she had, and Amity was depending on her.
"No way she's in the closet, Goric. It's barely big enough to fit my clothes, let alone that girl. Like I said, she's up in the attic, let's go."
Luz breathed a sigh of relief as she finished tracing the light spell. She put her hand up to her heart and waited for the kidnappers to leave, thinking about Amity the whole time.
Amity... it's gonna be okay. I'll rescue you, and then I'll confess my love! It'll be just like that scene from that Azura/Hecate fanfic I wrote last year!
Luz waited a few more seconds and then opened the door.
The two criminals were waiting for her.
"AAAAAAAAAH!" Luz screamed loudly, slamming her hand down on the card as hard as she could. A bright flash of light appeared, temporarily blinding the two criminals. She pushed past them as hard as she could... and found herself grabbed by the collar and slammed back down onto the ground. "Oooof!"
"Did you really think that would work, kid?" asked Goric, laughing at the now completely defenseless Luz. "We could've opened that closet any time we wanted, we were just waiting to see what you'd do, and that was pretty disappointing."
"Yeah, we thought you might try stabbing us with an ice dagger or something, that would've been pretty neat, but another light ball? Brighter than the first, but still pathetic!"
"Don't hurt Amity, please..." pleaded Luz. "She's really nice... she reads to children at the library!"
Goric and Hidora just laughed again, as Luz sat there and growled.
"Look, if we get our ransom money, your friend'll be just fine," said Hidora, putting her hand on her hip. "But as for you, human..."
Summoning all the strength and courage she had, Luz stood up and threw a fierce punch at Hidora, only to be grabbed by the wrist and held up in the air with a wand pointed at her chin.
"As for you, you're a bit more trouble than you're worth, so we're just going to turn you into a chicken and eat you."
"Eh heheheh... how are you gonna cook me, you guys blew up your kitchen..." said Luz nervously.
"We'll turn you into an already cooked chicken!" said Goric, pointing his wand at Luz as Hidora dropped her back onto the ground.
Please don't let me taste good...! thought Luz, looking away and closing her eyes as the two kidnappers got ready to blast her.
Suddenly, the two criminals found themselves blown across the room by a powerful burst of magic. Luz looked over and saw Amity standing in the doorway, holding her wand in one hand while using the other to rub her wrist.
"Amity!" Luz called out, standing up and walking over to her friend.
"I guess you couldn't stay away," said Amity, lowering her wand only for Luz to wrap her arms tightly around her. "Didn't I tell you to run?"
"Yeah, well, you know me..." Luz said, blushing brightly as she parted from her friend, who still had a stern, serious look on her face.
"Luz, I'm serious! Those two almost killed you... how do you think I would've felt if anything happened to you because you were trying to save me?!"
Luz put her hand up to her face, trying to explain herself as Amity continued to berate her.
"And this isn't the first time! Back at the Arena, when that monster snatched Eda and the twins? I told you not to come, but you came anyway!"
"And I helped save them, remember?"
"I could've done that myself," said Amity, looking away.
"Amity-"
"Why do you always do this? Throwing yourself into... insane situations, even though you're just a human with only like... two spells, and going up against two way more powerful witches, just to help me when you know I would've been fine on my own! My mom and dad would've paid the ransom, and even if they wouldn't have, I was about to get free anyway! As soon as you and those two left the room, I conjured up a flame and burned my wrist ropes and got out! Why do you always have to be the hero? This isn't The Good Witch Azura, this is real life, and I-"
"Because I love you, okay?!"
Luz gasped and put her hands up to her mouth, while Amity stopped talking, stunned by Luz's sudden confession. Luz couldn't believe what she'd just said, she'd never expected to admit it in the way she did, but standing there, overcome with emotion, thinking about the danger she was in and the danger Amity had been in, and knowing that if she didn't say it now she might not get another chance... and now it was out there, and she didn't know what Amity would say, especially since Amity was clearly still upset with her.
"...I... I was gonna tell you at the park tonight, but you didn't show," said Luz, bowing her head. "I didn't know why you wanted to meet, but I figured it'd be as good a time as any... I know I'm just a human, and we've only known each other for like a couple months, and we got off to a really bad start, but... you're awesome, Amity. You're so smart, and so nice... and you're so brave too... I mean, you just saved my life, imagine that, huh? Guess I was the damsel in distress this time..."
Luz laughed nervously as she watched the expression on Amity's face... it hadn't changed from the moment she'd confessed, though Amity's face was getting increasingly red, and Luz couldn't tell if that was from anger or embarrassment, so she continued to speak in an effort to cut the tension.
"I know this is really sudden too... and you're probably still super mad... but I can't help it, I love you and I want to be your girlfriend... and I'll always come save you when you're in trouble, even if I'm just a human with no magic! In fact, I'm going to work extra hard to learn magic now so I can protect everyone... but especially you!"
Amity continued to stare at Luz, whose eyes had started to quiver. Then, she began to giggle. Luz blinked in surprise, and a single tear slid down her face. Amity continued to giggle, her face bright red, and she reached out and put a hand on Luz's shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Luz... I shouldn't be laughing," said Amity, managing to calm herself down. "It's just... seeing how brave and determined you are, how brave and determined you always are... I've seen witches with so much more power than you who didn't have half the courage you have."
"I know it's stupid since I don't have very much magic, but-"
"No," said Amity, her laughter ceasing as she looked into Luz's eyes. "It's not stupid at all. Luz... the thing is... the reason I wanted to meet you at the park tonight is... the same reason I got so upset that you refused to run away."
"Huh?"
"I... I care about you too, Luz. ...ugh, no, I'm not going to mince words... I love you too."
Luz gasped quietly in surprise, and another tear slid down her cheek. Amity reached up and wiped the tear away with her finger, placing her soft hand on Luz's face.
"I don't know how it happened, whether it was back at the library, or out at the Arena, or during one of our book club sessions, but at some point, I just realized... I couldn't live without you. I don't care that you're hanging around with Eda, or that we're on opposite sides of this whole Emperor Bellows thing... all I care about is that you came into my life and made it a lot better."
Amity smiled and softly shook her head.
"And to think, at one point I thought you were making my life worse... then I realized how kind you are, and how brave you are, and I just... I just couldn't stop wanting to see you. You've inspired me, Luz, more than anyone ever has, and I... Luz?"
Luz was smiling... and sobbing at the same time, her eyes still looking right at Amity's as tears streamed rapidly down her cheeks.
"I... I... I'm so happy," sniffled Luz. "I never imagined you felt the same way I do..."
Amity leaned in, placing her forehead against Luz's, reaching up with both hands to wipe the tears from her eyes and cheeks.
"I'm glad I told you," said Amity. "I'm glad I got a chance."
"I'm glad I did too," replied Luz, reaching up and placing her hands on Amity's cheeks. Amity nuzzled her face against one of Luz's hands, then smooched one of her fingers. "So... what now? Azura Book Club still? Or can we start dating...? Is it okay here?"
"Lilith won't like it, but... she'll understand," said Amity. "Just... don't tell her about me getting kidnapped, okay?"
Luz nodded, and sniffled again. She slowly parted from Amity, her hands lowering from the girl's face. Amity kept her hands where they were, and gently pulled Luz forward. Luz's eyes widened for a moment, then, as she realized what Amity wanted to do, she softly closed them, and let Amity pull her the rest of the way.
Their lips touched and pushed together, and stayed there for several seconds, Amity's hands pressing tightly against Luz's cheeks to hold onto the moment as long as she could. Luz felt the warmth of Amity's lips against her own, and briefly considered parting them, but Amity's lips stayed in place, and Luz was quite happy with their first kiss... her first kiss, a kiss beyond anything she'd imagined from any of her books. Finally, Amity backed slightly away, and Luz opened her eyes to gaze into Amity's, and the two remained there for a few seconds more, grinning at each other.
"Do your lips still hurt from the, um... tape?" asked Luz, blushing and smiling in a nervous apology.
"They've never felt better," Amity replied warmly, the sting of that moment having faded long ago.
"Sorry about using your drawings to make magic... I really liked them too, I wish I'd saved them on my phone but-"
Amity silenced Luz, pulling her into another kiss that lasted as long as the first. Luz decided this time to wrap her arms around Amity, and Amity returned the gesture, and the two held onto each other as the second kiss ended, caressing each other's backs and knowing that whatever happened after that, both of them would be just fine.
"Awww..." said Hidora, still laying on the ground after she and her partner had been blasted by Amity's magic. "That's so sweet!"
"You two are still going to jail," said Amity, drawing a circle in the air and conjuring up a cage barely big enough to hold the two kidnappers. "That should keep you two from getting away before the guards get here."
"Well...should we go back to the park and hang out?" asked Luz, as she and Amity finally released each other from their long embrace. "Or is it too late?"
"We've still got time, I think," Amity replied, taking Luz's hand. "I'll draw you another Azura picture too."
"Oooh, if you've got an extra piece of paper, I'll draw one for you! We'll have an art jam!"
Amity giggled, tightening her grip on Luz's hand as the two left together, stepping out of the decrepit old house into a new chapter of their lives. They didn't know where their newfound love would take them, but they knew they'd always be there for each other, no matter what happened next.