"Azura stepped forwards tentatively, like a duck seeing a serving of nachos close and unprotected! The luminescent blush on her cheeks was coated pink as she and Atchuta held each other's hands under the bright sunlight and observed each other's beauty!", Luz narrated from her seat on the couch, King enthralled, much to his horror.
"Oh, Atchuta! Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I… I… (sideways glance, heart beating faster) I have loved you with a passion so bright it sets my soul on fire!"
"I reiterate the same feelings, Azura! My abs have burned soley for you, and while that may seem painful, it is way more painful to stay another minute away from you, to hold on to this secret another second more!"
"Oh, Atchuta!"
"Oh, Azura!"
"And, lips finally clashing in a symphony of luv, Azura and Atchuta's hearts played beautiful music together!"
Luz closed the book, a dreamy look on her face, while King just crossed his arms, annoyed. "It's not fair, Luz!"
"What's not fair?", she asked, surprised.
King stood up on the couch and threw his arms wide, whiney. "I'm so deep in your disgusting fandom I want to write fanfiction for this ship!"
"Oh, I feel you, King! Azuchuta is my OTP FOR LIIIIIIIIFE!", She kicked her legs in the air with excitement, squeeing and then sighing in content.
Getting back to a seating position, Luz's dreamy look didn't waver as she brought up a certain Amity Blight into the conversation. "I wonder if Amity ships Azuchuta."
King, who was sitting down with a heap of papers and a pen, stuck his tongue out. "Why would you ever want to talk about that cupcake hating jerk?!"
Luz was quick to defend Amity, waving her hands. "King, wait, it's not like that! I mean, she was a jerk once, sort of, but I was also sort of a jerk, not that I meant to, but then again neither did she, but… Oh!"
It was so complicated! On the one hand, Luz knew that Amity had a tendency to be jerky, but on the other hand, Amity had admitted to that, and had said she wanted to work on it. And Amity had her reasons: Her siblings were horrible, she was clearly emotionally constipated, and well, who knows what else? Besides, Luz herself hadn't been much of a help, what with cheating in the Abomination track, accidentally cheating in the Witches Duel, and then taking her diary out. But at the same time, she hadn't meant to do any of that!
After she had given Amity the fifth Azura book, the young witch had said that she would think over their relationship, and Luz for one was hopeful and worried; she liked Amity, and would love to be friends with her, but who was to say what was to happen next?
"Ugh, it's so confusing! I wish Amity and I were like Azura and Atchuta!"
King wolf whistled, and Luz blushed a crimson red. "Whaaaaaat no not like that! Like, I wish it was just simple! We could just be friends and have fun!"
Luz sighed. Could they though?
Ever the optimist, however, Luz couldn't help but see the bright side. "Say, why can't we? We have things in common! She's a sweet and awesome witch, and so am I! There's no reason why we shouldn't get along! In fact…", Luz declared, standing up and pointing to the air in excitement. "I'm gonna go to Amity and talk to her about the Azura book! It's been a week, she's probably a fast reader!"
Luz loved this idea! Amity deserved some fun, and Luz wanted to finally give her a positive moment between the two! Geeking out over Azura seemed like just the trick!
Turning to the staircase, Luz bid farewell to Eda. "Bye Ms. Eda! I'm going to Amity!"
"Don't die or somethin' like that!", Eda called down, half sleeping.
"I'll try!", Luz promised, and she began to walk out, motioning for King to join. "Come on, cutie, we need to get moving! I have a friend to make happy!"
"What? Why should I come?", King protested, and Luz pouted.
"King, I need emotional support! Talking to someone as awesome as Amity, someone who I sort of annoyed a few times, that's hard! I want to make it up to her, and I need all the help I can get!", Luz pleaded.
King still refused, that is until Luz waved a bag in front of him. "I'll give you DORRRRRRITOS!", she sing songed, and King was hooked.
"All right, fine! But only for you, Fredarico! You and I will scare the world into submission!", he crowed, eating the dorrito and panting heavily. "Owie, my tongue! I mean, no way! My tongue is a badass adult tongue, not some baby tongue! Puff up your chest, tongue! Say tax returns, tongue! Develop a taste for freeform jazz, tongue!"
Luz, smiling brightly, skipped along into Bonesborough, excited at the prospect of a new friend.
"A pinch of frog's tongue, a smidgen of butterfly wings, a spoonful of doritos with a top hat and…"
BOOM!
Coughing and waving away the smoke of yet another failed potion, Amity didn't know if she wanted to scream or cry. So she sort of did both.
"GAHHH! WHY WON'T IT WORK?!"
Quickly wiping away her imperfect tears, Amity whispered to herself "Why can't I work?", sighed, and returned to her table in the empty classroom to investigate her potions book.
It was Saturday, but not for Amity: Her recent failures had disappointed both her and her parents, so bright and early she had raced to the school for some extra credits potion practice, hoping against hope that she could live up to the ridiculously high expectations she and her parents gave herself.
Amity didn't mind too much; she enjoyed working, she enjoyed the sweat and grit of a well made potion, and she loved magic, even if she didn't express it the way she wanted to.
The problem was the failures. In the past few weeks, she had lost her top student badge (that she had earned back quickly, but it still stung), she had lost a witches duel (unfairly and fairly, so that was a mixed bag), she had endured another "fun" slumber party (Amity wondered if there WAS a "fun" version of a slumber party) and she had nearly had all her secrets revealed thanks to her dumb siblings.
And one thing connected all those screw ups (except for her): Luz Noceda, the only human on The Boiling Isles.
Amity sighed wearily, an expression of confusion, annoyance, anger, sadness, and maybe even regret painted on her face, her hair a little messy thanks to the blowup.
Luz was confusing, truly: On the one hand, she had made every moment between them a painful one for Amity.
But on the other hand… Well…
"I don't get it… Sure I was a jerk, but like she also cheated against me! But… She did apologize… Yeah, well, she also read my diary!... By accident… And she did try to save my life… And she gave me the book…"
Amity had not read the book: she had experienced it like no book she had ever experienced! It was easily the best in the series, and Amity was nearly bursting from a want to geek out over it.
Amity suddenly wondered, just for a moment, if Luz would ever want to hear her geek out over it. If maybe they could geek out over it. Luz, despite everything, was nice, and more than that, nice to her! She was even sort of funny, Amity remembered, blushing a bit as she thought back to her silly antics when they were trapped in the book. Amity hadn't laughed and smiled that much since Willow.
Could they be… Could Luz actually WANT to be her… Her friend?
Amity suddenly jumped up in surprise and growled at herself, getting angry. "Amity Blight, stop being an idiot THIS INSTANCE! First of all, you don't have time for friends! Secondly, Luz is… Too complicated to be my friend! And thirdly…"
Amity wanted to stay angry, to blow up over all the mistakes Luz made.
But Amity knew better.
Sitting down, the witch held her face in her hands and nearly sobbed as she confessed that "…You don't deserve her friendship."
"AAAAA…. AAAAAAMITY…."
Amity turned around to see her abomination crawl towards her, his innards sloshing in the barrel.
Amity gulped, hoping no one could see; she wasn't exactly supposed to bring him here, but she was just so… Lonely.
"What is it, Elvin?", Amity asked, a little concern painting her words. Elvin had a tendency to get scared, and then she would have to cradle him till he got better.
(Don't tell anyone).
Reaching his hand towards her forehead, Elvin moaned out his words, sounding very sad. "Youuuuuuuuu…. Saaaaaaaaadd…"
Suddenly, Elvin touched her forehead…
And painted a star.
"Youuuu… Arrrrreeee… Aaaaaaaa… Staaaaaaaarr…"
Amity would have sworn that it was the dusty classroom that made her tear up, but instead of making excuses she decided to make progress, so after thanking Elvin, she resumed her work. What she needed more than anything was a win, but how?
Going through the book, Amity's eyes landed on the best potion for the job.
"A love potion? Yes, yes!", she cheered, doing a little dance and grinning. "This is perfect! Not too hard, not too easy, just the right kind of potion an emperor's coven hopeful would need for future missions, apparently! I could make this with my eyes closed!", she self congratulated, before squeeing and getting to work.
Amity was rushing from one place to the next, getting her potion ready. She was actually smiling the entire time, even whistling a bit! Finally, things were going her way, and nothing, NOTHING could…
"Hey Amity!"
"AAAAA!", Amity yelped and defensively karate chopped the air, only to be face to face with the human who had been occupying her thoughts just moments ago.
"Oh… It's you.", Amity greeted, a little coldly but she was going through a lot right now, so we'll forgive her.
Luz, on the other hand, warmly waved with a bright smile, thought you could hear the slight uncertainty in her voice, the fear that perhaps Amity would rather she was gone from her life because she was such a screw up. "Hi there, Amity!"
King, stuffing dorritios on his mouth, waved too. "I'm being held against my will as emotional support! Want some dorritos?"
Amity ignored King's offering and huffed as she looked at Luz, the human still smiling softly, which made her heart flutter a bit for some reason (maybe she was hungry? She skipped breakfast and lunch today). This was NOT the time for some wacky 22 minute adventure, so Amity decided to put a stop to it immediately.
Gathering her dropped ingredients, Amity tried to put it in a non jerky way. "No offense, Luz, but my day cannot afford stupid hijinks from you."
Amity winced with her back turned to Luz, who looked a little upset, already panicking that she'd done something wrong. "Oh, man, sorry Amity, what did I do this time? Was it the dorritos? I can get a better brand, or maybe like I could help you clean up?"
"I went too hard, didn't I?", Amity thought, feeling like crap. Yeah, of course she did, she was an imperfect good for nothing screw up! Why the heck was Luz here? To get even more hurt?
Turning back, she tried to soften the blow. "What I mean is… I really need to focus on this actually important thing."
WHY DID SHE SAY ACTUALLY NOW LUZ LOOKS EVEN MORE SAD?!
"Oh, yeah, sorry, I can see that…"
Waving her arms in panic, Amity tried not to freak out. "NO WAIT THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEAN!"
Unsuccessfully.
Facepalming, Amity took a deep breath and, pinching the bridge of her nose, she tried once more. "Look, I have this REALLY important extra credit assignment, so I'm a little… On edge. It's not you…"
"It's me…", she added, guilt lacing her words. It was always her, wasn't it?
Luz was holding her arm, feeling so confused. How had things gone off the rail so quickly? Amity hadn't really done anything wrong, she was just on edge, Luz totally got that! But why was she on edge? Extra credit should be easy for someone as wickedly smart and talented as Amity!
Oh crap; what if it was LUZ'S fault?!
Luz hated how complicated it all was! How could she ever befriend Amity, or at least make up for her transgressions, if every time they met things went wrong?
"Ok, um… Ok…", was Luz's lame response, as Amity finished gathering her ingredients.
Neatly set on her desk, Amity let a soft smile unfold as she arranged the items, and Luz couldn't help but admire it for a second. Amity's laugh and smile were something that she just… They felt out of this world. Out of any world! First time she had seen and heard them, she had never felt better to make someone happy!
Gathering a little bit of courage, Luz stepped closer and ventured a question. "If I can just ask one thing before I skedaddle outta here… What did you think of the book?!", she asked, glee and excitement oozing out of her words like honey.
Amity hesitated; she really wanted to tell Luz, and she felt the strangest bit of hope rise out of her chest that maybe, just maybe…
Luz would care.
But Amity quickly shut that down with some self loathing and school requirements. "Sorry Luz… Maybe another time…"
Amity clearly implied that she doubted there would be another time, and Luz caught onto it quick. "Oh… Ok…"
Both girls felt horrible, blaming themselves for this dumb interaction. There was no reason why they couldn't be friends, but they just HAD to be themselves and ruin it!
Amity sighed, ready for another lonely day, and Luz sighed, ready for another bad interaction with someone who didn't deserve it.
Amity, however, was a witch of her word, so she suddenly took the book out of her backpack and wordlessly and silently placed it in Luz's hands, before turning around again.
Still no words spoken, 5 awkward minutes passing as Amity almost finished her potion, Luz began to turn away.
Now, in another universe, somewhere dark, cold and melancholic, Luz and Amity would both never stop blaming themselves for being horrible, and the two would either never be friends, or even become enemies thanks to the emperor's coven.
But sometimes, it takes one dorrito and an ingredient to fall on a book to force two girls to stop hating themselves and avoid the other and just work things out with honesty, friendship, and maybe even love.
"Here Luz, you don't need her when you have manufactured happiness!", King encouraged Luz with a dorrito, and Luz reluctantly took a bite, forgetting just how spicy they were…
"AAAAAAAAA MUI CALIENTE MY TONGUE MY JAR JAR BINKS AND LOGAN PAUL'S LOVE CHILD TONGUE!"
Amity, startled, turned around, surprised by the noise, just in time to see Luz flail around and stare desperately at the potion flask, forgetting the tropes because of the tongue.
"LUZ, NO!", Amity shouted, but it was too late: Luz downed the potion and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hoo BOI that was close!", she said, smiling, only to see Amity turn very very very red.
"Oh no, did I make you mad? Edric and Emira said that you get like that when you are mad.", Luz said, feeling even worse. She then smacked her lips and said "Oooh, that cherry flavor hits the spot! I didn't take you for a cherry person!"
"Yeah, well, pineapple always just a bit too sweet, so Cherry just hits that sweet/soothing balance… WAIT, LISTEN TO ME!", Amity said, getting distracted and even more red.
Walking up to Luz, she began to grunt and grumble. "You just drank my POTION for extra credit! Your whole body is about to change!"
Luz, realizing what Amity was saying, began to hyperventilate, flailing around and looking terrified. "Oh no! Is it some kind of potion that turns me into an animal?! Or an older me?! Or a younger me?! Or maybe it's a… OH FRICK NOT A POISON POTION! I'LL DIE AND THEN I WON'T LIVE AND STUFF!"
"nO it's not a poison!", Amity said, horrified and terrified of the idea, and then surprised at the extreme reaction she had to that notion.
"Then what is it?", Luz asked, confused, before coming to her next guess. Eyes widening, she began to jump from foot to foot. "OH CRAP IS IT A TRUTH SERUM? I'm a babbler, I'd just start saying crazy things, and we'd both get totally embarrassed, like, I'd say how your (her voice suddenly turned a little shy and dreamy, her cheeks reddening) eyes are really pretty, like, they just light up when you smile and they feel special, like, they feel magical…"
Amity, blushing even harder now, watched in embarrassment and guilt as Luz began to realize what was going on. "Wait… WHY DID I SAY THAT? Not that you're eyes are bad or anything, they're beautiful, just…"
Amity, hoping she could stop this before it was too late, covered Luz's mouth and shouted the answer to her face. "Luz! IT'S. A. LOVE. POTION!"
Luz's blushy smile turned into a terrified frown as she internalized this. Naturally she responded in a calm and calculated manor.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"LUZ CALM DOWN!", Amity shouted, feeling bad for getting angry, but also angry that they were in this whole mess now.
While Luz continued to hyperventilate, Amity tried her best NOT to tear her own hair out, and she slowly calmed herself down.
"Come on, Amity… Surely even YOU can come up with a solution…", she self deprecated, before snapping her fingers.
Turning around, she explained her plan. "Ok, look, I screwed up…"
"And so did I…", Luz started, but Amity shushed her.
"Shut up, I'm the idiot here! GAH!", Amity was so frustrated, why couldn't she do anything right?!
Calming down again, she resumed her explanation. "Look, it's only 16:30. If we hurry up, we can stop this before midnight."
"What happens in midnight?", Luz asked, wary of the answer.
Amity, blushing once more, shuffled her feet and choked out "…You… Fall in love with me."
Luz was now blushing too. "WE BETTER HURRY UP THEN!"
"Ok… Ok…", Amity wracked her brain for a solution, but thankfully Luz was quick to assist her.
"I have an idea!"
"Oh, ok. Sorry I couldn't come up with one.", Amity needlessly apologized, and Luz eyed her curiously.
"Why sorry? It's ok!"
…It was ok to not get that right? That didn't make any sense!
But Amity did for just a moment feel a bit better, at least, until Luz explained HER plan.
"But we're gonna need to go to my owl shack, I mean house!"
"Ok, so let me get this straight…", Eda asked, as she stared down at the flustered and wishing this wasn't happening Amity and the worried but also optimistic Luz as they all stood in The Owl House living room. "This Lilith sheep…"
"I prefer diligent student and loyal protégé… Or fox…", Amity added, first proudly and seriously, than blushing a bit in uncertainty.
"Ooh, foxes are cool!", Luz states, and Amity once more feels that odd feeling, as if she is valid, before Eda interrupts.
"Whatever. So, you made a love potion, and you, Luz, you drank it because of a dorrito?"
"I caused the conflict!", King bragged, pointing at himself.
Luz nodded, a little embarrassed. "Yep?"
"And now…", Eda pointed at both, keeping a straight face. "Luz is going to fall in love with you by midnight?"
"Exactly.", Luz and Amity said at the same time, and Luz suddenly exclaimed "Jinx! You owe me a soda!"
"Soda rots the teeth and is a waste of time, young lady!", Amity responded immediately, raising her nose in the air and trying her best to follow the rules.
Suddenly, Luz and Amity heard laughter and turned to see Eda roll on the floor laughing her guts out, tears in her eyes.
Luz and Amity both observed this with annoyance, feeling disrespected. "Are you done laughing at my pain?", Amity complained, and Eda shook her head.
"Kid, It's my hobby in life to laugh at everyone's pain but my own. I'm sassy, so I can get away with it."
Standing up, she cleared her throat and stated "Well, now, jokes aside, I'm not sure how I can help you."
"What?!", Luz and Amity exclaimed, and Amity shushed Luz before she'd say jinx again, though Luz whispered it.
Eda, shrugging, went over to the couch and collapsed on it, closing her eyes and cozying up. "Look, I want to help, ok, but the journey is going to be extremely difficult! We're talking giants, sirens, lawyers, the red man in the traffic light…"
"He still hasn't returned your lawnmower and your hula hoop that raps restaurant menus!", Hooty exclaimed.
"Greedy bastard…", Eda cursed, but Luz and Amity had no time for this, so they stepped up to her and pleaded.
"Ms. Owl Lady, it's bad enough I have to ask a fugitive to assist me, you could at least try before you inevitably let me down.", Amity said, before cursing inwardly and rephrasing herself. This being considerate thing wasn't easy. "Listen, what I mean is… If you could please try and solve this problem, I would really appreciate it! So please?"
Luz was a little more desperate."Ms. Eda, please! I don't want to fall mindlessly in love with Amity! No offense, Amity, I think you're really cool, but I don't want to kiss you over and over again while the moonlight makes your soft skin glitter like a diamond! You don't deserve that torture that I would find amazing because you're hot!", Luz said, before grasping her mouth while Amity just blushed and winced again.
"No offense taken… I don't blame you…", Amity muttered to herself, and Luz nearly caught that, before Eda interrupted.
"Funny as that was, again, it's practically impossible! Even if I cross all those obstacles, I would probably be late, I just can't…"
But before Eda could finish, the now upright owl lady say Luz's pleading eyes. She was clearly worried, and not just for herself. Luz was always thinking of others, even if she sometimes went the wrong way about it. And obviously her thoughts were on Amity, despite her jerky façade, being spared of this stupidity.
Luz was clearly thinking of the consequences now, because Eda could see her shivering almost.
The tiniest tear bead began to trickle down and…
"Ok, I'll be back just before midnight, don't do anything stupid and stay together because we'll have about a minute to give you the antidote, Luz, and you need to be in front of Diamond Skin here for that."
As Eda summoned her staff and chugged an elixir down, Luz smiled brightly while Amity looked surprised. Was this evil criminal really going to help for… No reward?
Huh. Perhaps she had been wrong about her. Amity wondered what else she was wrong about, which would be hardly surprising considering her countless failures recently.
"OH MY GOD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU EDA!", Luz shouted, hugging the witch, who sheepishly removed herself from the hug.
"Just… Stay in here, where it's safe, Luz."
She then motioned towards King. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're in charge."
"FINALLY! ULTIMATE POWER!", King screamed, and he rubbed his hands maniacally.
"Great, great, just don't kill anyone."
"No promises!"
Eda left the house, but not before taking one last look at Luz. When did she get so soft?
And why did she kind of like it?
Before she left though, she squeezed in one more tease. "You do seem to be enjoying yourselves though!", laughing as she closed the door.
Luz and Amity were confused at first, that is, until they looked down and saw that they had been holding hands the entire time.
The two girls let go at the same time, but both couldn't help but remember that first time they had held hands at the Covention.
Just like now, it was strangely enjoyable. Luz noted how soft Amity's hand was, softer than she would have thought, how delicate and almost… Comforting it was, as if it would have tried to melt all of Luz's problems away if it just could.
And Amity had never felt such warmth emanate from anything, let alone a hand. Luz's hand had, without even realizing it, constantly caressed Amity's, soothing circles abound on her palm, her fingers almost being encouraged and patted on the head, being told by Luz's that everything would be all right, that you could be your own fingers and be free. Be happy.
The two quickly sold a half hearted excuse of "Oh, yeah, that's definitely the love potion!", but as they turned away for a second, Amity enjoyed the warmth with closed eyes and a small smile, while Luz felt like her heart could burst, as if the world was her oyster.
That energy still permeated her words as she turned to the green haired witch and asked "So… What do you wanna do?"
"D…Do?", Amity asked, confused. What was the human suggesting?
Luz began to walk mindlessly around the Owl House, gesticulating and gabbing with a grin. "Well, ya know, we have like 7 whole hours till Ms. Eda comes, we can't just spend them all sitting down and doing nothing."
"I do NOT waste my time, Luz! I spend it with utmost seriousness! I will be continuing my no longer interrupted school work, thank you very much!", Amity condescended, nose up in the air. She had no time for whatever silly hijinks Luz was going to suggest. If she was to stay in this wretched hive of scum and villainy, she might as well brush up on her extra credit.
Luz looked a little disappointed, but she was tired of annoying Amity, so she decided to be a cordial guest. She HAD gotten them into yet another mess, she might as well try to make it up to her. "Ok, then! And to pay you back for my buffoonery, allow me to be your humble servant!"
Amity hated the concept of that, but she was a little touched that Luz was trying to fix a mistake she had made, even if Amity blamed herself, and also knew that Luz was the less bad one in their odd relationship. Considering this, and seeing Luz's pleading eyes (they seemed to sparkle a little in the light. They look nice), Amity decided to humor her.
Smiling the tiniest of smiles, pretending to be posh, she looked Luz in the eyes and ordered "Well then, Servant o mine, I would like some peace, quiet, and a side of silence with my work.", Tapping her nose lightly as she said it, which for some reason made both girls heartrates accelerate just a little.
King, who had spent the last few minutes coming up with extravagant titles, seeing as he ruled this dominion now, leapt onto the table and announced "Now hold up, girls! I'm in charge, so you gotta ask me if I'm ok with this!"
Amity and Luz looked towards King, who paused, before shrugging and going "Eh, sure."
Luz, obedient to a fault, saluted Amity with a grin. "Whatever you say, Your Top Student-ness!"
Amity stifled the tiniest giggle, but Luz noticed it, and the blush on her cheeks rose as she heard it. Why was that sound so wonderful? Why was it that seeing Amity Blight happy made Luz so happy?
Whatever it was, it made her blush as she added "Ok, so I'm gonna make me and King some Early dinner! Holler if you're hungry, honey bunches... I MEAN AMITY WHO I TOTALLY DON'T WANT TO SNUGGLE WITH!"
Blushing furiously, Luz backed off into the kitchen, as did Amity, who was also surprised: Luz had just offered to make HER food? That was a thing? People made food for you, without you begging?
…It wasn't fair. Luz was being so nice to her, for no reason.
Why couldn't she do that?
Why was she such a failure?
Luz, meanwhile, was in the kitchen, trying not to have a mental breakdown from her feelings as she made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She held her head in her arms. "What is wrong with me?! I know it's the potions fault, but telling Amity all these things will only make her feel worse!"
Spreading the jelly with a butter knife, King resting on the other side of the kitchen top and pointing to himself saying "I'm a hungry dictator, feed me!", Luz sighed in frustration. "King, what am I doing wrong?"
"Um, everything, I'd say. Your first mistake was not being me, though, so it was a losing battle.", King joked, but Luz was seriously desperate for help, and she just moved on with her venting.
"I mean, it's like every time I take a step forwards with Amity, we both ruin everything and take 5 steps back! Darn it, if I hadn't drunk that stupid potion, I could have at least…", Luz started, before remembering that Amity had not wanted to talk to her that afternoon anyway.
However, she had said that she just couldn't now, so it's not impossible she would NEVER have talked to her… Right?
Luz grunted and rested her head on the cutting board, upset. What was the right next step? How could she show Amity that she meant well, and that the top student could just relax and be her pretty and smart self next to her?
Luz didn't know at first, but as she walked back quietly into the living room, she was met with a sight she had not expected: That of a sleeping Amity.
Now, attentive readers would be happy to "Um, Actually" me to death that it had been like, what, a whole minute or two since Luz had left? 5 TOPS.
Well, that's how tired Amity is, so swallow that angst I'm spooning in and get some tissues, we bout to get sad!
Luz had never seen Amity sleep ("Well, that's a dumb statement, I've almost never seen anyone sleep!"), so she was startled at first by this occurrence.
It wasn't a very pretty sight, on top of that: Amity was leaning on her right hand, drooling, and suddenly Luz could clearly see the rings around Amity's eyes. How much sleep did she get?
Amity's stomach then rumbled, and Luz was surprised at the volume, even looking back to see if something had blown up. How long had it been since she last ate?
Amity's left hand, meanwhile, shook as it held the quill it was writing with. Luz looked down at the textbook Amity was studying from, and her eyes widened at the inscriptions, long lines over and over again that the book requested inform us that she was "Not good enough", that she "Had to work harder", that she "Could not be weak". The strangest one was one that trailed off and seemed to have been written just before she had fallen asleep; A wet page corner, undoubtedly from a tear drop, that stated that Amity "Didn't deserve anyone."
"I don't deserve anyone."
Luz didn't know if she wanted to cry or punch the people who forced Amity to write this! Sure, Amity had a mean side, but she was more than good enough, she seemed to work harder than anyone, she was in no way weak, and she was DEFINITELY DESERVING OF SOMEONE!
"How can anyone speak to my beautiful green rose like that? Why, that anyone would look at Amity and somehow NOT see how smokin' she is, how clever she is, how wonderful she is!", Luz announced to herself, before grunting with frustration. Thank GOODNESS Amity hadn't heard that, she would have been so mad and sad!
Luz rose up, not knowing what to do. How can you save someone so cold, yet so lost? How can you be a friend to someone when you just kept letting them down?
AND WHY WAS SHE CONSTANTLY IMAGINING THEM KISSING?
Calming down, Luz looked down at Amity again, seeing her sleep. Despite the clear pain her entire body was in, Amity seemed almost at peace. Her eyes were shut softly, her snores were the quiet, almost melodious kind, even the drooling was sort of cute.
Suddenly, Amity's left hand, seemingly with a mind of its own, reached out and grabbed Luz's arm.
Luz was more than surprised, and, afraid to wake Amity up, or be close to her, she tried to remove her hand. But instead, the hand suddenly began softly caressing Luz's hand, who blushed hard.
It was so soft… Why was it everytime they held hands in some way, Luz felt as if it was all worth it for this moment?
Suddenly, Amity's snores turned into words, words that bumped into Luz's face. "Weird…", Luz thought, wondering if it was a witch thing to have your snores turn into words.
Afraid of breeching Amity's privacy, Luz tried to go, but Amity subconsciously held her close, almost hugging her now. Luz was as red as a tomato, but Amity began nuzzling into Luz's face, and that's when she nearly died.
The potion must have been getting stronger, because Luz suddenly wanted to nuzzle back. But she couldn't do that to Amity, she just couldn't!
So she decided to sit and relax, but Amity's hugs kept on, and they were…
"Wow, she is a good hugger!", Luz thought, as she felt the most insane amount of warmth and care put into a hug in her entire life. There was so much put into it, almost as if it was less of a hug and more of a vow, a vow of protection, of care…
Of love?
Luz wanted to believe that (love potion or not), but she didn't deserve Amity. She just made her sad. Surely this would only end in tears.
But suddenly, softly, a whisper broke from Amity's lips, her snore words finally floating in front of Luz's face and magnifying for her to read. She didn't want to read them, but they were all over, and Amity was whispering anyway.
And boy, was Luz surprised to hear this.
"I wish I wasn't like this. I wish I could be good enough for her. Why can't I stop being such a jerk? Why can't I just have friends?"
A tear once more trickled down Amity's cheek, but now there was one on Luz as well, all because of one line.
"…Help me… I'm alone…"
Luz looked at the plate she had placed down on the table. And she knew what she had to do.
Shaking Amity ever so slightly (and sinking in a little into that hug), Luz whispered softly "Amity… Hey, Amity… Do you want my sandwich?"
But when Amity's eyes fluttered open, and she saw what she was doing, she sprang up in shock and alarm and nearly screamed, looking around the room in terror.
Luz, startled too, but trying to save the situation, said "Sorry for waking you up, but… Well, your snores sort of told me some things, and you are hungry, so I decided you can have my sandwich, if that's ok of course…"
Amity's eyes quickly noticed all the things she had done wrong: How could she have written all that next to someone? How could she have snored all that next to someone? Was… Was she hugging and holding hands with that human? Had she revealed all that? And a SANDWICH AS WELL?
No…
No…
Amity growled, furious, her face turning red until she could barely breath. HOW DARE LUZ LISTEN TO ALL THAT?! HOW DARE LUZ INTERVENE IN HER LIFE AGAIN?!
And yet, at the same time, HOW DARE SHE SHOW AND REVEAL ALL THAT?! HOW DARE SHE THINK THAT LUZ COULD EVER BE HER FRIEND?!
Amity was so mad and sad and depressed and lost and confused and exhausted, so done with Luz and with herself, so unsure of what to do, that she did something drastic.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D DO THAT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID ALL THAT!", she screamed, breathing harder and harder, stepping close to Luz, who got scared.
"Amity, listen, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, you just sort of grabbed me and didn't let me go, and I…", Luz started, but it was too late.
Grabbing the plate, Amity lashed out one last time at Luz, almost hoping Luz would finally understand that it wasn't worth it being friends with her. "WHEN WILL YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS?!"
And with that, the plate shattered into a million pieces on the wall, and Amity, hot tears streaming down her face, hating her emotional breakdown, fell to her knees with an anguished grunt and hid her face.
Luz was taken aback by all this, but she couldn't just leave Amity, not after what had happened! The poor girl was just so lost, and Luz wanted to do something, but she also knew she couldn't, cause she'd make things worse.
Luz, like Amity, just didn't know what the next step was.
So, she too went to her knees, small tears streaking down her face.
Amity could see them, and her heart shattered. She had finally done it. She had once more ruined someone's life by just being herself.
King, who had been busy outside, suddenly walked back in, only to see the broken plate and the anguished girls. "Holy Heironymus Bosch! You leave for 5 minutes to dig a gigantic hole in the ground because 90% of your impulse control is gone, and you walk in to see this?!"
King knew that he was in charge, so that meant he had to punish the girls. But how?
Thinking of his hole, King snapped his fingers. "Great idea, me! We'll throw them in the hole and leave them there till they're nicer!"
Luz and Amity didn't even bother to say anything.
Surely… It was too late.
Surely they would forever be lost.
"Ok, so first rule of being grounded in the ground is: You don't talk about being grounded. The second rule is: You don't talk about being grounded. The third one is: No anchovies, cause that stuff is nasty!"
King marched left and right as Luz looked up from the hole at him and Amity just bitterly looked down on the ground and tried her hardest not to cry or scream.
A German WW1 helmet straddled proudly on his skull head as he lectured on. "If you protest, you go into the hole. If you cry, you go into the hole. If you sing Never Gonna Give You Up…"
"We go into the hole we're already in?", Luz asked, confused.
"No, you get my utmost respect!", King stated, and Luz was both surprised and not surprised at all that Never Gonna Give You Up had reached The Boiling Isles as well.
King threw down a stick and the 5th Azura Book from Amity's book bag as "Toys for the babies" before walking off, though he quickly added "No funny business! If I catch you making out, I'm telling everyone!"
After Luz vanquished her urges and blush, she turned around, knowing that if she talked to Amity, it would only make her madder, and Amity kept her back turned too, but for slightly different reasons.
Both girls spent almost an hour in the hole without a single word passing, staring at the dirt walls and feeling their hearts beat with pain, with guilt. Luz couldn't believe she'd ruined everything, and neither did Amity. Both girls blamed themselves, but Amity had the extra problem of wanting so badly to be right and so badly not to show weakness that she struggled to admit it.
And so, silence reigned for a long time, Luz increasingly getting jumpy, struggling with the stillness. She began humming "Something There" from Beauty and The Beast, before realizing what that implied and grunting.
Sighing, she lied down on the floor, and Amity, still struggling so hard not to cry that her nails were digging into her flesh, whispered "Could you… Could you not hum?"
Luz now hated herself just a little more. "Sorry, didn't mean to make things worse."
"You didn't.", Amity suddenly stated, her true self finally rising and voicing her thoughts.
Luz raised an eyebrow, confused. "Then why are you angry at me?". Had she not hurt Amity's feelings? What were they doing here then?
Amity clenched her fists in frustration, why was everything emotional so hard?! "I'm not angry at you!", she complained, not very convincingly.
"You sound angry, not that I blame you.", Luz self deprecated, and Amity was barely holding on to her ego and anger, resigning to depression and self loathing instead.
"You should. It's my fault.", Amity replied, and Luz slowly turned around, refusing to hurt Amity once more.
"No, it's not! I should never have come today, I should have known I'd make things worse for you! I always do!"
Amity was hating every fiber of her being, why had she been so mean to this innocent girl, why was she doing it again, why couldn't she just be good? "You've never done anything, it was always an innocent mistake! I'm the one who keeps bullying you, shouting at you, making you feel less than me, when it's me who is less than everyone!"
"What are you talking about?", Luz asked, now really puzzled. Amity was nowhere near less anyone, least of all Luz!
"You're just not understanding!", Amity shouted, frustrated.
"Then let me understand! You don't have to feel so angry, I'm not here to judge you or hurt you! I want to be your friend!", Luz said, and Amity finally couldn't take it anymore, and, turning to Luz, puffy faced and full of tears, she finally broke down her biggest wall.
"BUT I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"
Luz was taken aback by this, and she didn't say a word as Amity lashed out at herself, tired of being the biggest jerk on The Boiling Isles. "Don't you see? Just like Willow, all you ever wanted was to be my friend, and somehow, the "most talented" and "smartest" witch in ALL of Hexside can't be normal for a second! On the one hand, I'm angry at you, but I know that's not ok, you didn't mean to! And I'm angry at myself because I kept being a jerk to you, best case scenario I was a jerk BACK to you! And I'm also afraid to be open next to anyone, I can't show weakness, but I also really want to, I want to be me next to you, but I can't, because I'm so confused, because I'm lost, because… Because…"
Amity finally just sobbed into her hands and said "…Because I'm not good enough. I'm me… And that's bad."
For a moment, Amity cried, and it seemed as if she was right: She wasn't good enough.
But then…
"…You ARE good enough.", Luz said, offering her hand.
Amity looked up, and saw the most genuine smile she had ever seen.
"Amity… You're wicked cool as a witch! You're so talented! You make it look easy! And your fan art on your diary? PERFECT! You're a genius, no doubt about it, and when you read to kids, you are so kind! You're sweet when you try, and when you smile, I feel like it's all going to be ok! Amity, you make mistakes, and… You CAN be mean, but… I KNOW that warts and all, there's a GOOD person, a GOOD friend in there! And personally… I like that person."
Luz nodded her head, trying so hard to get Amity to see. "I like you!"
Amity could barely believe it. Despite everything?
Blinking away tears, she said "…You really mean that? You… (SOB)… You want to be my friend?"
Luz lightly touched her forehead on Amity's and smiled. "Yes."
Amity didn't know what to say…
But she felt as if she could be herself here.
She was… She COULD be…
Good enough.
Smiling a small but soft smile, Amity said "…I… I would like to be your friend too."
She began to feel truly happy for the first time in years. "I… Like you too."
"…You're weird in every way, but…". She thought of Luz's weird jokes, her energy, her kindness. She smiled. "I like your weird. I like you.", Amity complimented, and the two girls blushed, smiling at each other, feeling free for the first time together.
"So… Should we get out?", Luz offered with a silly grin, and Amity couldn't help but giggle, which made Luz realize she wanted to live for an infinity of eternities if she got to see that one more time.
"Dork.", Amity replied, before nodding.
Luz sprang up and began to climb up, offering Amity a hand.
This was new for Amity, but she managed to accept it.
Leaving the hole, the two saw that King was not outside. In fact, he was found sleeping in Luz's room, snug like a bug in a rug.
Carefully stepping out, the two checked the time and saw that they still had 5 hours till midnight.
Amity crossed her arms, unsure of the next step. "So… What do we do until then?"
Luz scratched her chin, and then, eyes lighting up, offered an idea. "OOOH WE COULD HAVE A SLUMBER PARTY! AND WE COULD PLAY GAMES AND LISTEN TO MUSIC AND EAT SNACKS!"
Remembering Amity's struggles with interaction, though, Luz lowered her excitement and treaded carefully. "That is, if you want."
Amity would have normally rejected this offer, on fear of losing study time and hurting someone.
But Amity was ready to make a change.
"You know what? I'd love that.", Amity said, defiant.
Luz cheered and hugged Amity, before letting go, blushing hard. "Sorry."
"It's ok. I'll… I'll get there.", Amity reassured, smiling softly.
Then, the two shook hands, and Luz declared "Operation: SLUMBER PARTY IS GO!"
And oh, what fun they had in those five hours!
First, the two discussed the Azura book in GREAT detail, both progressively getting more and more excited each passing minute. Amity, wearing an Azura hat, had never felt so alive, or happy to be alive, then when she finally talked to someone else about all her bottled up feelings.
"AND THEN WHEN AZURA SEES HECATE ALMOST DIE FOR HER, DESPITE EVERYTHING, PROVING HECATE'S LOYALTY, SHE SUMMONS A POWERFUL SPELL OF HER DEVOTION TO HER NEW FRIEND TO STOP THE MONSTER? I SWEAR, LUZ, I NEARLY CRIED! I SQUEED FOR MINUTES ON END!"
Suddenly, realizing how much she was showing, she hid her head in her hands and peeked, sure that Luz was judging her.
But Luz, dressed with Azura's uniform, was bug eyed. "AMITY, NO WAY! THAT WAS MY FAVORITE PART TOO! SO AWESOME!"
Amity could have cried. "I wish I was like Azura! She's so brave!"
"Me too!"
Suddenly, Luz remembered another cool moment. "OOH OOH, REMEMBER THE BATTLE AGAINST THE PUPPET DOCTOR?!"
Simultaneously, the two encanted "Yeht Teg Rehtegot Ni Ym Htruof Yrots!" and then giggled from excitement.
The fun didn't stop there though! After that, Luz decided to teach Amity a fun human game: Charades. Amity found the game a little silly, but Luz's facial expressions and mimicry were too funny, and she actually enjoyed trying to guess what she was doing, even when she failed.
It was nice… To be able to fail, and… It would be all right.
To spice things up a bit, though, Amity decided to turn Luz into her guess by transforming her with her spells, and when Luz wasn't impressed to death with Amity's talent, Amity was enjoying Luz's commitment to playing no matter what she turned into.
"You turned me into a pineapple! Your magical powers are so cool, Amity! No wonder you were top student!"
Amity blushed and waved her off. "Well, I AM the best, but how cool is that impression you made of Principal Bump? I could never do that!"
Luz laughed and said in Bump's voice "Amity Blight, I am a serious man, and my tiny nipples went for a swim!"
Amity laughed again, and she felt good about it.
Luz smiled. That laugh. She could never get enough of it.
Amity enjoyed Luz's smile. It was so nice to make someone else feel good for a change.
Later the girls got hungry, so Luz made some sandwiches, and Amity used her magic to make Luz the tastiest soda imaginable.
"Wow, this really hits the spot. I haven't eaten all day.", Amity revealed, a little sheepish.
Luz smiled softly as she drank the incredible soda Amity made. "If you want… I could make you lunches."
Amity felt her heart almost burst. "…I would love that. I guess you're not so weak, human.", she said, trying to jokingly compliment.
Luz took it as a compliment.
"Oh my god, this tastes so good! Amity, you gotta try this!", Luz offered, and Amity was unsure.
"I don't know… I doubt it's as good as I would like it to be."
"How can someone who calls themselves the top student not think they're good enough? Dude, you're super strong! Try it!", Luz encouraged, and Amity decided to believe her new friend.
It was worth the risk.
"I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I EVER SAID ABOUT SODA!", Amity squeeled and magiced 5 cans she drank down instantenously.
"CHUG CHUG CHUG!", Luz called out, and the two collapsed on the floor after chugging, laughing their heads off.
After THAT, they played tag (Amity had just been friendless for so long she was sure that was still a thing teens did, and Luz decided to let her have fun, which she most certainly did, giggling like mad as she kept crowing on about how she won, Luz shaking her head), they read Luz's Azura fanfiction (Amity was super impressed, and seeing how happy Luz's eyes were as she told her that made Amity want to see those eyes over and over again. She had never known how nice it was to make someone feel like that. Amity wondered if it was possible to make Luz always happy, because it was starting to feel like nothing else in the world would be better than seeing that angel smile) and they even had a pillow fight (Which was very competitive, but Amity realized she didn't want to win as much as just have fun, and Luz realized later that just lying down together and silently existing together as they did when they were too tired to continue was… Also fun. Like… It was ok for things to be slow and normal. Normal with Amity was… Strangely fun).
Finally, though, the two girls were bushed, and there was an hour left till Eda would come. Amity, whose hair was lightly touching Luz's hair, and whose hand was almost interlacing with Luz, but who didn't mind, asked "Well… What do you want to do?"
Luz was surprised. "Is the great Amity Blight asking the lowly human what she wants to do?"
Amity blushed a bit but smiled, aware of how she could get. "Well… What can I say? I trust my friends."
Luz blushed too, heart racing faster as she felt Amity's warmth emenate from her hand. "…Well, I have this thing called a movie on my phone. It's like a play, but a bit different."
Amity wasn't exactly big on new things, but she was willing to give this a try for Luz. It seemed to make her happy, and besides, new things seemed worth a shot, if Luz was any proof of that.
"Ok, but it better not be something dumb! You have a tendency to make pretty stupid mistakes!", Amity ribbed, but in a friendly way.
Luz giggled, and Amity's heart skipped a beat. "True, but trust me!"
Amity nodded, totally serious. "…I do."
58 minutes later, the two girls were seated on the couch, snuggled up in a blanket, eating popcorn and totally engrossed in the movie. Amity had cast a spell to make Luz's blanket to feel like cat's fur, since she figured she'd like that, and Luz had given Amity a homemade burrito, which Amity appreciated and surprisingly enjoyed.
If only the movie wasn't dumb.
"OCTAVIO, YOUR MEATY CLAWS, CLAWS OF CHUTZPAH, THEY MAKE ME OVULATE LIKE CRAZY, DARLING, CRAZY!", Delilah, the female protagonist of the movie, chewed the scenary.
Amity and Luz laughed their butts off, tears in their eyes. "This is the worst!", Luz cried, and Amity added "This is the best kind of bad!"
Octavio was as bad as his lover. "HUBBA HUBBA TO THE M TO THE A TO THE X! I HAVE A HANKERING FOR SOME PANKERING WITH YOU, HOT CHEEKS!"
Once more, the girls laughed, hardly containing themselves.
Amity would never have enjoyed something like this until now. She felt grateful to have Luz.
Luz would never have had a friend willing to do this with her. She felt grateful to have Amity.
"OCTAVIO, YOU HAVE BLESSED ME WITH YOUR HOT KINDNESS! I FEEL LIKE I CAN BE ME WHEN I'M WITH YOU!", Delilah said, before dabbing.
Amity, feeling playful for once, and knowing Luz would love this (and wanting to share in the stupidty with her), repeated the sentiment in mock lovey dovey voice. "Oh, Luz, You have blessed me with your hot kindness! I feel Like I can be me when I'm with you!", and she dabbed.
Luz nearly died laughing. "You're so funny!"
Amity blushed.
"OH DELILAH! YOU HAVE MURDERED MY LONLEY DAYS WITH AN AK-47 AND THE POWER OF ADAM SANDLER MOVIES! I FINALLY HAVE A FRIEND, AND A SMOKIN ONE AT THAT!"
Luz stood up and repeated the same. "Oh Amity! You have murdered my lonely days with an AK-47 and the power of Adam Sandler movies! I finally have a friend, and a smokin' one at that!"
Amity giggled so much she nearly fell off the couch. "Luz, you weirdo!"
The two held out hands and pretended to get close as the movie continued.
"OH OCTAVIO!"
"OH DELILAH!"
"OH LUZ!"
"OH AMITY!"
The two girls giggled again, only for Luz to slip on the blanket suddenly and fall on Amity, who fell on the floor, thankfulluy not hurt.
Suddenly, the two found themesleves in an odd positon: on top of each other.
Their blushes were on full on explosion level, but it… Wasn't so bad?
"…Sorry.", Luz offered, and Amity smiled understandably.
"Mistakes happen. I know you mean well now."
"Thanks. I know you're not mean now too."
They smiled at each other, faces close, feeling each other's breaths, their fingers interlacing, pinkies locking.
Amity's smile made Luz's heart race.
Luz's smile made Amity glad to be alive.
They were really close now, feeling each other's warmth. "She's super comfy…", Luz thought. "Like a pillow."
"She's so soft… Like a warm blanket. I kinda want to nuzzle her." Amity thought.
Of course, one thought really DID pass their minds.
Looking at the clock, Luz saw that a minute literally was left.
"One minute left.", she informed.
Amity and Luz began to blush harder, as they both came to an idea.
"You know…", they both started, before laughing.
"Jinx, you owe me a soda.", Luz said.
"Gladly.", Amity replied.
They kept on.
"You know…", Luz started, and Amity allowed her to continue. "The potion is probably got me under full control."
"I would agree. That sounds about right.", Amity said, heart pounding.
Luz felt like her whole chest was screaming with love, she had to make Amity feel like she deserved to! "If we were to kiss, now…"
"That wouldn't count. Potion's fault. Not ours.", Amity said, desperate to give to Luz the happiness she deserved.
Both girls wanted to love the other like no one else could.
Eyes sparkling, they got closer. "Just so you know… You're not a nobody. In fact… You're beautiful, Amity."
"You're… Really… Beautiful… Too…", Amity whispered, and, eyes closed, their lips almost touched when…
"WELL I'M BACK QUICK LUZ OPEN YOUR MOUTH!", Eda shouted, aiming the antidote, scratches and wounds all over her.
"WEWEREN'TGOINGTOKISS!", Luz and Amity denied, and Amity quickly opened Luz's mouth, the girl swallowing the antidote whole.
After a minute, the antidote took its effect, and Luz shook her head. "I… I think it worked!"
"YES!", Amity cheered and the two hugged, Eda shaking her head and smiling, proud of her dau… Apprentice.
Suddenly, the girls realized they were hugging, and blushed fiercly.
"So… I guess this is it?", Luz said, and she stuck a hand out to shake Amity's hand.
Amity, pretending to be snobbish, said "Why, of course! Of…", she smirked, but her eyes danced with love. "Of this study session. I might pop in for a spell next week… If you want me that is.", she finished, unsure.
Luz's grin dashed her doubts. "Always."
They both grinned, and said "Thank you."
And then "Jinx. You owe me a soda."
Waving goodbye, Luz said "Travel safely, friend!"
And Amity returned with the warmest grin and "Stay safe too… Friend!"
Luz sighed, heart swelling, and she hugged Eda, who despite her horrible, danger filled quest, was satisfied with the results.
And Amity actually skipped down the path to home, knowing that whatever punishment her parents had planned was worth it, because she had a friend, and she actually deserved one for once.
They knew they were friends.
Ah, but there was one thing they didn't know.
Amity didn't know that the last ingredient for the love potion had been covered by a leaf.
But well, I guess a love potion can be brewed naturally, when two girls are spellbound.