Part 2
Amity stood and waited patiently for her opponent to serve. She was feeling very confident, unlike him. In just a few short minutes, she had gained a lead of six to nothing against him in their little match. Despite it being her first time playing the game, she was proving quite adept. Although it didn't surprise her given how simple the objective was to something like Grudgby.
Her opponent hit the puck towards Amity's left side, it bouncing off the edge of the table and towards her goal. She struck it back directly towards him and waited for his response. He ended up doing the same and she performed a feint, going to strike the puck quickly, but intentionally missing. As she saw her opponent react, she smirked. Just like she had expected, he had left his goal exposed on one side and she instantly hit the puck towards the opening. By the time he realized he had been tricked, it was already too late.
The game ended and Amity set her paddle down, looking quite pleased with herself. Her opponent let out a sigh and set down the paddle he had been using. Then he hesitantly walked around the table to her, but couldn't quite seem to look her in the eyes. Amity found even more satisfaction in his less than confident demeanor and crossed her arms as she gave him a smug look.
"My girlfriend likes orange soda. Phanta brand if you can find it." She said, turning away from him. "Please try to be quick with it. And seriously, if you ever ask out a girl and she tells you 'no', just listen the first time."
Amity then stepped away, not caring if he had anything to say in response. She looked around the arcade a bit to see if Luz had returned yet. To her disappointment, her girlfriend wasn't anywhere in sight. Not sure what else to do, Amity opted to wait for Luz over near the Dance Dance Pandemonium game and secure a place in line in case there were still others waiting to play.
There was still a fair number of kids and teens crowded around the game, but many seemed more interested in watching than waiting for a turn. Amity found a spot to wait since there wasn't a line as she had expected and joined the others in watching the current players. She studied how the game was played so she could be better prepared for when she and Luz got their turn. And she also found herself taking a liking to some of the songs that were selected too, still being very new to human music.
As the minutes continued to pass by, Amity would peek over in the direction of the arcade's entrance to check for Luz. With each passing minute, she checked more often, starting to become slightly worried about her girlfriend. Eventually Luz came back, hurrying into the arcade and starting to look around to find her. Amity called out to her, raising her arm up and waving. Luz hurried over to join her, giving her a sheepish smile as she got to her side.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait for so long." Luz said. "But they were cleaning the bathrooms in the food court, so I had to go a little out of the way to get to the next one."
"It's fine." Amity replied. "I've just been watching people play that game you wanted me to try with you. It's been a bit fun."
"Just wait until you actually get to play it yourself." Luz told her, smiling brightly with a light blush on her cheeks. "I'm so excited to be able to do this with you, Sweet Potato! It's kinda been a dream of mine ever since we started to go out."
Amity giggled. "If you wanted to dance with me, all you had to do was ask."
"I know. But this is different. You'll see what I mean soon enough." Luz said. "So, did you do anything else while I was gone?"
"Nothing much really." Amity answered. "I looked around a bit at some of the other games. Oh, and I had to deal with a pushy boy who tried hitting on me."
Luz gasped. "No! Are you okay? He didn't try anything, did he?"
"He definitely tried my patience. But nothing worse than that." Amity replied. "He was quick to try an apologize, even before I kicked his butt at his own game."
"Game? What game?" Luz inquired, her surprise changing to curiosity. "Tell me everything, hermosa!"
"Well… if you insist. I was looking around at the games when I saw that table over there." Amity began, pointing towards the air hockey game. "He was playing against someone and I watched, not realizing he had already set his eyes on me…."
At about the same time Amity began regaling Luz with her little story, Vee was sharing one of her own with Willow. Only instead of talking about winning a game of air hockey, she was telling Willow about the nature walks she had gotten to go on while at camp. One of the activities she had to do during the walks was make a journal on different flora and fauna she saw. The different fauna didn't do much to hold Willow's interest, but she loved the flora.
"And some pinecones need heat to spread their seeds." Vee explained, showing Willow a picture on her phone. "So if there is a forest fire, it actually helps new trees grow because the flames heat up the pinecones. They mostly are up in Canada or the northwest part of the United States, and the pinecones can take as many as ten years before the drop from the branches of the tree."
"Whoa…." Willow breathed, her eyes shining in a childlike excitement. "I don't even think there are any trees like that back on the Boiling Isles. Well, some grow by eating salamanders. But that doesn't have anything to do with helping their seeds germinate."
"That's another neat thing about the plants here." Vee added. "Most of them don't eat creatures. There are some that eat bugs and a few that can eat smaller mammals and reptiles, but that's it."
"But, how do most of them survive without prey to eat?" Willow asked, tilting her head. "Do they just survive off of water and sunlight?"
Vee shrugged. "No idea. But that would be something fun we can learn about while you're here."
Willow gasped. "I love that idea! We should have Gus help too! He wants to do a report on the human realm." She said, getting up from her spot on the floor. "Gus! Hey, Gus! Come into the living room! Vee just shared something super cool and interesting with me!"
She stepped over to the staircase that led down into the basement, calling for Gus again. When she got no response, she went partway down the steps to check if he was maybe taking a nap. After seeing that he wasn't down there, she went back up the stairs and went to search the other rooms of the house. However, she still found no sign of him anywhere and returned to the living room with a sneaking suspicion in her mind.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Gus is right now, would you?" She asked of Vee.
"No. I haven't seen him since Mom left for work." Vee replied. "Did you try asking Hunter? I think he went out to that old house a little while ago."
"Oh, right. I didn't think to look there." Willow noted. "Gus might have gone with him. Maybe they're looking into trying to get the portal working again."
"I'll go with you." Vee offered. "If they are trying to work on the portal, I want to help."
The two went out back and made their way back to the old, abandoned house. They spotted Hunter out in front of it, dragging an old wardrobe out onto the grass. As he continued to pull on the piece of furniture, part of it broke off in his hands and the rest fell towards him. He quickly backed away, barely getting clear of it as it crashed onto the ground, breaking into more pieces.
Hunter let out an annoyed grunt and started picking up the broken bits and tossing them aside. He piled up all the little ones and then began moving over the larger pieces. Willow and Vee went over to lend a hand, Willow lifting a big piece by herself while Vee assisted Hunter with another large one.
They cleared up the mess quickly enough, leaving the pile of wardrobe pieces by the front of the old house. Hunter let out a sigh and sat on the front porch, taking a moment to rest. Willow made a quick run back to the Noceda household to grab a bottle of water for him, which he eagerly accepted.
"Thanks." He said, twisting off the cap and sipping from the bottle. "That thing was more of a hassle than I thought it would be."
"Why were you dragging it outside anyways?" Vee asked.
"Well, I figured since this place is vacant, we may as well use it for ourselves." He answered. "We don't know how much longer we'll be here, but this can be a good place to spend the day while Luz is out and Mrs. Noceda is at work."
"Oh, you mean like a clubhouse!" Willow noted. "That's a great idea!"
"I was thinking more like a base of operations, but yeah… I guess it could be a clubhouse too." Hunter replied. "Maybe if I had said that was what I was doing, Gus would have helped me when I asked him."
"Do you know where he went? I was looking for him." Willow said. "How long ago did you see him? He wasn't anywhere in the house."
"Uh… maybe half an hour ago? I don't really know." Hunter told her. "He was still set on doing his research project. It looked like he was taking that camera you were using earlier with him too."
Willow stared at him for a moment, her suspicion from earlier returning. "Did he say where he is going?" She asked pressingly.
"He didn't really tell me where he was going, just that he'd be back later." Hunter replied, a look of realization coming to his face exactly a moment later. "Wait… you don't think he went to follow Luz and Amity on their date, do you?"
"That is exactly what I was thinking." Willow said, turning to Vee. "Could you help me get to the mall? I want to find Gus before he risks getting on Amity's bad side. If she catches him spying on her and Luz on their date, she will make him regret it."
Vee nodded and turned to hurry back the way they came. Willow was right behind her, already trying to think of how Gus would be going about his spying and what she was going to say when they caught him. It was rare when she had to go into 'big sister' mode with Gus, but this time was a definite must for her. Especially after Camila had already spoken to him about the matter.
As the girls walked off, Hunter stood and debated for a moment on what to do. It wasn't difficult for him to decide to follow Willow and Vee, getting the impression he should help them. Although that didn't change the fact that he was mildly confused by some of the context of the situation.
"Did you say Luz is taking Amity to see a mauling?" He asked, scratching his head. "I don't know a lot about dating, but that's weird, right?"
A short while later, Luz and Amity exited the arcade. They had gotten in a few rounds of Dance Dance Pandemonium together; Amity having enjoyed it thoroughly. She had done a couple of practice rounds first, to get the hang of things. At first, she had been anxious with the many strange faces watching from the group around the game, but Luz had helped her get past it with some loving encouragement.
On their way out, Amity spotted the arrogant boy she had bested at air hockey and she took a moment to step over to him. She noticed he didn't have the promised soda in hand and frowned a tiny bit, crossing her arms. Luz watched as the boy mumbled something and held a slip of paper out to Amity. After a moment, Amity took it and looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he muttered something else before turning to leave.
Amity returned to Luz's side, looking at the paper she had gotten again. Then she turned it over and held it out for Luz to take. When she did, she noticed it was a voucher for a free milkshake at a little diner that was in the mall, down on the first floor near one of the exits. The idea of a free frozen treat was something Luz found highly appealing, but she couldn't help but notice that Amity still seemed less than happy about it for some reason.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"The deal was he was supposed to buy a soda. But instead, he gets that." Amity replied, pointing to the voucher distastefully. "Maybe it would have been a nice gesture, if not for the fact that you're lactose intolerant."
"It's not like he knew that." Luz gently countered. "Besides, I've been to this place before with my Abuelo and they have dairy free options too. I say we go there and treat ourselves after we finish looking around the rest of the mall. Sound like a plan?"
Allowing herself a tiny smile, Amity nodded. "So, where to next?" She asked.
"Wanna start looking at some clothing stores? We can see about finding a cute outfit for you." Luz offered.
"I like that idea." Amity replied. "But I'd rather find something cute for you to wear."
Luz giggled. "I've got plenty of clothes already, hermosa." She told her. "But if you see something you think I would look good in, I guess I could try it on for you."
Amity smiled brightly the moment those words met her ears and took Luz's hand. Then the two started walking around again, Amity on the lookout for a clothing store that would be of interest to her. Before they got too far however, Amity noticed a skate shop and paused in front of it. Unable to resist, she ventured inside with Luz in tow and began browsing.
The concept of skateboarding was quite foreign back on the Boiling isles. Amity really only knew of it due to the human magazines that had made their way into the library. They had been odd an impulsive purchase by Gary who had thought they'd be a nice addition to the already vast collection of reading material. Back when Amity had first seen them, she had been unable to hold back her curiosity and peeked at one, finding the activity strangely fascinating.
While Amity started to look over the selection of skateboards, Luz stood aside and occupied herself with her phone. She noticed she had a text from her mom, inquiring how things were going and she replied with a thumbs-up emoji. Then she noticed she also had a text from Vee and was about to check it when Amity returned and took her hand again.
"And I am done here." She stated simply.
"Already? But you just started looking." Luz replied.
"I know, and the prices are not what I expected." Amity told her. "Even if I really wanted to own one, I wouldn't feel comfortable asking you to spend that much on one thing. Let's go to a clothing store instead. I'd rather see you model some outfits for me."
"Well, okay…." Luz said, following Amity as she went to leave. "If that's what you want to do. But don't be surprised if you find the prices for clothing to be a bit higher than you'd expect too."
Amity giggled. "Oh, trust me, I am aware of how pricey nice clothing can be. But being expensive isn't enough to stop me from getting you to try them on. From what I've seen in the displays in the stores they have here, there are some interesting styles. I saw one store earlier that I want to go to first."
"Sure. Just don't pick anything too girly for me, okay? That isn't really a look that works for me."
"I'll be the judge of that, Luz." Amity replied, turning her head to give Luz a playful look. "I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of feminine outfits that will look amazing on you."
Luz felt a tiny chill run through her from the expression on her girlfriend's face. A part of her wanted to object to the idea, but it seemed like Amity was very invested in going through with it and she didn't want to put a damper on things. Besides… she knew what sort of clothes Amity liked, so odds were she already had a good idea of what Amity may have in mind for her. Even with the vast differences in human fashion compared to that of the Demon Realm, she could expect that her girlfriend would pick out something cool for her to wear.
Not even a minute later, Luz found herself standing outside of one of the last stores she would ever dare to think of entering. One of the big chain stores by the name of 'Whatever 21' which sold clothes favored by the more popular girls at school. She stared up at the sign, frozen in place while Amity gently tugged on her arm to encourage her to go into the store.
With a great deal of reluctance, Luz set foot in the store with Amity. She instantly felt out of place with all the stylish clothing surrounding her. Amity began to browse through the selection, Luz keeping very close to her side and glancing around nervously. There were some other teens in the store, a trio of girls checking out jeans nearby. Luz didn't recognize any of them from school, but felt no less apprehensive knowing they were there and instinctively looked down to the floor while she continued to follow Amity.
They stopped and Luz noticed Amity checking out a sale sign momentarily before starting to browse through the racks beneath it, which held a variety of short-sleeved tops. Her interest faded quickly and they were on the move again, Amity continuing to look around.
It didn't take much longer until Amity found what she was seeking. There was a good section of the store with a lot of different dresses on display. Amity let go of Luz's hand and went to get a closer look at some of them while Luz hung back. A part of her wanted to just slowly sneak out of the store and if not for Amity, she'd already be doing so. Her eyes drifted over to the assortment of dresses that Amity was inspecting and she groaned internally.
Someone started giggling nearby, drawing Luz's attention. She saw the same group of girls she had seen on the way in nearby, and they seemed to be looking at her. When they noticed that they had gotten her attention, the girls all pretended to be interested in the clothes again. But Luz knew they must've been making fun of her, she had seen the popular kids at school doing it plenty of times. And she could only imagine that with how she had been standing by herself, all tense and uncomfortable, she had made it easy for them.
Amity waved Luz over and she eagerly hurried to the witch's side. She must have looked too eager as she caught the sound of those girls giggling at her again. Doing her best to ignore them, Luz focused her attention on her girlfriend, who held out a hanger with a yellow dress in her hand.
"Hold still for a moment." Amity requested, putting the dress in front of Luz. "Hmm… this look alright, but I feel like there is a better color for you. Let me see what else there is here."
She turned to look through the rack again, sliding the hangers one by one as she checked for something she found more appealing. Luz saw her stop and consider a pink dress for a moment, silently hoping that Amity wouldn't pick that one out. Her prayers were answered when Amity moved it aside to continue her search. A few moments later she picked out a baby blue one and held it in front of Luz just like she had done with the yellow one.
"I like this, the color looks like it will suit you. This is your size, right?"
"Uh, I dunno… let me check." Luz answered, taking a quick look at the tag. "Oh darn, it's just a little too small. Guess we'll need to pass on that one. Here, let me see if I can find something that fits me."
Luz stepped between Amity and the clothing rack, excusing herself as she blocked her girlfriend's view of the dresses. She then began to hastily slide the hangers over, not even really looking at any of the outfits. Hardly more than five seconds later, she turned around again and gave Amity a sheepish smile.
"Double darn, none of these would fit me. What a shame, it looks like…"
"It looks like you're trying to lie to me, Luz." Amity cut in, crossing her arms. "Why are you trying to lie to me? It cannot possibly be so bad to just try on a dress or two."
"Maybe not for you; you're gorgeous in clothes like that." Luz replied, rubbing her arm, and looking away with a light blush. "But I'm…"
"You're what, Luz?" Amity asked, almost sounding annoyed. "How are you any different from me when it comes to what clothes look good on you?"
"Well, I…" Luz began, trailing off as, her blush growing a little from the embarrassment. "It's kind of this whole thing…"
"I'm listening." Amity said expectantly. "What exactly is it?"
"Do you have anyone in your family who gives you a hard time just because they can?"
"Luz, you've met my siblings…" Amity replied dryly.
"Heh, right, kinda forgot for a second. Um, well… I have an older cousin who has always enjoyed messing with me." Luz confided. "And I got a lot of comments from her any time I wore dresses, or tried to put on make-up or anything like that."
"And?" Amity pressed, sensing there was more Luz wanted to say.
"She'd put me in dresses and put make-up on me just so she could tell me how bad I looked." Luz continued, sounding almost melancholic. "It was never fun to go to her house."
Amity's eyes widened in shock. She found herself at a loss for words and just stared at her girlfriend for a moment. The group of girls burst into giggles again, the three of them having been listening in on the conversation. Their laughter made Amity snap her head in their direction, throwing them an icy glare that would have even made the Gildersnake flinch.
The girls stopped their giggling, staring back at Amity for a moment. Then they walked off, eyeing Amity as they went. Amity maintained her gaze, watching them until they were gone. She let out an indignant sniff and returned her attention back to Luz, who had become a bit dispirited. Her eyes met with Amity's and she reached out to place her hand onto Luz's shoulder.
"Whose opinion means more to you? Theirs or mine?" Amity asked.
"Well, yours, of course…." Luz answered. "But…."
"No. No 'buts'." Amity cut in gently. "Let me see how you look in this and I'll tell you what I think. Even if you're right and it doesn't suit you, you know I won't tease you. But I know I'm going to love how you'll look. Now please try it on. I'll hold your things for you in the meantime."
She took Luz's cap and fanny pack in exchange for the dress. Luz hesitantly went into the changing room, closing the door behind her. Amity waited eagerly for the moment when Luz would step back out, her eyes glued to the door. The wait proved to be shorter than she would have expected, the door handle turning not even a minute later. It stopped briefly, but then it turned a little more and Luz slowly swung the door open.
The sight was everything Amity had hoped it to be. The purple skater dress she had picked out for Luz looked amazing on her. It was a modest dress, going down just past Luz's knees and had long sleeves as well. The wavy stripes that went down from the neck to the hem of the skirt alternated in two shades of lilac which Amity found very appealing on her girlfriend. She could feel her face heating up as it was gradually overtaken by a heavy blush.
Luz was grateful to see Amity react that way. She had felt so embarrassed when she had seen her reflection in the dressing room mirror that she had almost changed back into her regular clothes. Although she still had some doubts, it was easier knowing she had her girlfriend's approval.
"Alright, I'll admit it…" Luz said softly. "I don't really hate how I look in this."
"I. Love. It." Amity replied, her eyes slowly brightening as a big smile broke out on her face. "You have to get that!"
"H-hang on just a second. I said that I would try it on for you, but I wasn't planning to buy it." Luz told her. "I should be buying you things, not stuff for myself."
"Technically, you are buying that for me." Amity countered. "You can wear that on our next date. And since you let me pick out something for you, now I'd like you to pick an outfit for me."
"Okay, I can do that. I think that maybe I can afford this and something for you. But that might be it for buying stuff today."
"That's fine by me." Amity said with a little shrug. "We can still try on clothes for fun."
"We?" Luz asked with a nervous smile. "You want me to try on more?"
Amity smirked and stepped up to her. "Why would I only want to see you model one outfit for me? Especially when I got to see this cute new side of you. Don't worry though, I'll make sure not to get carried away. Now change back so you can find something for me."
She gently nudged Luz towards the changing room, opening the door for her. Luz stepped inside and gave Amity a loving look before closing the door behind her, locking it and hurrying to switch back into her normal clothes. Before she picked them up to start changing, she paused and looked at herself in the mirror again.
The look was alright for her, she could see that easily enough. Although she would be sure to wear leggings when she put the dress on again. Despite having the modest skirt, it was still embarrassing for her to go without something covering her legs. She just hoped that whatever else Amity picked out for her to try on wouldn't be too similar to this first choice. Not that she would be surprised if she wound up trying on more of the same.
Luz felt her cheeks warm at the thought of modeling another outfit for Amity. Between stepping out of her comfort zone with fashion and risking being judged by other teens in the stores, she was feeling more than a little anxious. But she thought about the way Amity had looked at her again and that negativity started to dwindle. If it was for Amity, she would endure.
"How much longer until we get to the mall?" Willow inquired.
"I'd say we're almost there." Vee replied. "We should be able to see it in a minute or two."
"So, what's the plan when we get there?" Hunter asked.
"We split up and find Gus. Then whoever finds him makes him send a little illusion to inform the others." Willow told them. "We'll meet up and head back home after that."
The three continued on their way, Vee still in the lead. They had been making good time, despite having missed the bus that could have taken them right to the mall. Willow disliked having to resort to the more time-consuming walk, but made use of the time to plan out exactly how to confront Gus when she saw him again. He had been getting a bit more stubborn ever since he hit witch-puberty, so she knew it was necessary to be firm, but only to an extent.
"And after we get back, I'm going to talk to him." She continued. "So I would appreciate it if we could be left alone for a little bit."
"You're going to lecture him?" Vee asked.
"Would that really work? He already got scolded by Camila, and that didn't stop him." Hunter pointed out.
"Something that I plan to address when I talk to him." Willow replied. "But I have known Gus for years, and I will get the point across. I've even done it with Luz a couple times too."
Vee giggled. "I'd like to see that."
"Sorry, but I'm still not too convinced that he'll listen to you." Hunter said frankly. "Maybe I should be there to help."
"It's alright, Hunter. I can handle it. Here, let me demonstrate." Willow told him.
Willow stopped and turned to face him. Both Hunter and Vee stopped walking as well, Vee looking on as if expecting something amusing was going to happen. She smirked as Willow took an authoritative stance, placing one hand on her hip and lifting her other to wag her finger at Hunter as she continued speaking. He unwillingly flinched at the tone in her voice, but also found himself entranced by the air of confidence Willow was displaying at the moment.
"Augustus, you have gone too far with this. You are betraying the trust of your friends and you went behind the back of an adult who took you in when you had nowhere else to go. I am disappointed in you and will be telling Camila about this the first chance I get. Just please understand that I am doing that because I care for you very much."
Hunter stared silently at her, a blush creeping slowly over his face. He looked down at the sidewalk, experiencing some unfamiliar emotions. Willow smiled, taking his reaction to be a sign her point had been proven. She turned to continue along their way, not noticing Vee softly giggling at Hunter's expense. There was a knowing look in her eyes, which Hunter picked up on and threw a glare her way.
"It isn't funny." He muttered grouchily.
"What isn't funny?" Vee asked, leaning towards him a bit. "Your crush on Willow?"
"Not so loud!" Hunter hissed, holding a finger up to his lips. "She doesn't know about it yet!"
"Well, maybe she should." Vee said pointedly. "But that's just my opinion."
She hurried along to catch up with Willow, Hunter following and stuffing his hands into his pockets while he grumbled. His sour mood didn't last long however, as they had finally gotten close enough to see the mall. Vee pointed it out to them, informing them of their proximity. Both Willow and Hunter stared at the huge structure, their eyes widening in awe.
"That is larger than Belos's castle." Hunter noted, voice hardly above a whisper.
"Yeah… I think it is." Willow agreed, a worried look coming to her face. "I'm starting to think it won't be so easy to find Gus after all."
To be concluded.