As time went on, Luz became more and more used to her new life in LA and her new school. She no longer got lost in the hallways and even the school uniform didn't bother her as much. In the few weeks she'd spent at Saint James Middle School, no one had bullied her, if you don't count that time on her first day when Anne pushed Maggie away from their lockers.
That day, however, that changed. Luz was walking alone down the hall, trying to get to the cafeteria to have lunch with her friends, when a familiar group of kids showed up.
''What do you have for lunch?" said a girl with two braids. ''Mind sharing some?" Maggie smirked.
A dark-haired boy appeared behind her and took her backpack. Luz turned to him and tried to take the backpack back, but he tossed it to another significantly taller boy in the group. The kids in the group began to make fun of her attempts to get her backpack back and added mocking comments until a familiar blonde girl appeared.
''Hey, why don't you give her backpack back?" said Sasha, her voice firm.
''Or what?" asked Maggie mockingly.
A small smile made its way onto Sasha's face, as if this was exactly what she had been waiting for. ''It'll be a shame if you can't come to our rugby game against Gradus because someone told the principal who graffitied the back wall of the school.''
The backpack appeared in Maggie's hands, who shoved it into Luz's. ''Enough Sash, we were just joking.'' Maggie said as she tried to get away. ''You're not going to snitch on us, right?
''For now.'' said Sasha slyly. ''Have a nice day guys!'' she added to annoy them. It worked and Maggie and her friends left with annoyed expressions.
''Wow, Thanks Sash.'' said Luz. ''How did you know that would work?
''I know what they want.'' she said. ''People do wonders when you threaten something important to them.'' Sasha chuckled lightly.
Luz thought for a moment. This didn't seem very right. ''Isn't that wrong?
''I don't think so.'' replied Sasha. ''Unless you're overdoing it.'' her gaze darkened a little. ''Anyway, let's go to the cafeteria, the others are probably waiting for us!
Sasha and Luz sat down at the table that Anne and Marcy had occupied and started exchanging words and having lunch.
''Anne, would you like boiled eggs for one of your toasted cheese sandwiches.'' asked Marcy.
Anne took a bite of her sandwich. ''Not a chance.'' Anne said while she munched. ''Hey, remember when we were having a sleepover at Sasha's and we almost set the kitchen on fire because we tried to make toast?
''First off, Anne, don't talk with your mouth full, two, yes of course, three do you want to have a sleepover soon?'' Sasha asked. ''We haven't had one in a long time and this time we'll invite Luz.''
Luz's eyes lit up. ''Really? What are we gonna do on the slumber party?''
The three other girls nodded and smirked at each other. The three joined hands and chanted. ''Pajamas, junk food, and gossip galore! Pillow fights, movies, and tearing up the dance floor! And listen up cause this I won't repeat, never ever go to sleep!" as they finished they high fived each other and laughed.
''Sounds cool!" said Luz excitedly. ''I've never been on a sleepover before! When is it going to take place?''
Anne thought for a moment. ''Last time Sasha hosted, before her Marcy... So it'll be at my place! Is Saturday at 7pm okay for you? I'll have to ask my parents, but I don't remember us having any plans for Saturday. If anything comes up, we'll change the date.''
''My parents will be out of town then.'' Marcy said. ''They didn't tell me exactly where they were going, though.''
''I'll have to ask my aunt, but she'll probably let me.'' said Luz.
Sasha was the last to join in. ''It'll probably be fine for me too. My mom doesn't care much about me.'' she said sadly though she tried to hide it.
Marcy and Anne's looks became concerned and softened. ''Sash, I'm sure it's not-'' Anne tried to say, but her blonde friend cut her off.
''No, it doesn't matter. I don't care what they think anymore.'' she said, her voice sounding a little bit hurt.
Luz was curious, but knew she shouldn't push her. She didn't know what kind of situation she was in, but she knew from personal experience that she wouldn't like anyone to start questioning her about her personal life and family ties. Lunch was over and Luz went with Sasha to her geography class. A few minutes had passed since the class had started and already it could be seen that the blonde girl was bored.
''Psst, Luz.'' Sasha whispered and Luz turned around. ''Let's run out of class.''
Luz for a moment thought that she was joking. ''What?''
Sasha raised her hand to get the teacher's attention. ''Excuse me, I'm not feeling well, can I go to the nurse?
''Yes of course, Luz accompany Sasha and if you feel really sick you can go home.''
The two girls walked down the corridors of the school. They passed the nurse's office. ''Hey, Sasha, the office is here.''
''Forget it, it was a trick to get out of class.'' the blonde girl said. ''Now let's go have some fun!
Luz definitely didn't want to do that. ''But if we get caught? I don't want to get in trouble with the teachers at this school too.''
''Relax, it'll only be for an hour!'' Sasha said in an attempt to reassure her. ''Nothing will happen, if we get caught I'll take the blame.''
''But-''
Sasha's cheerful look disappeared. ''Is this how you repay me Luz? I saved you from bullies and you don't even want to have fun with me for a bit? What kind of friend are you?''
Her words struck Luz. Is this how things are in friendships? Am I a bad friend? ''It'll only be once right? One time won't hurt.'' she said with an uncertain smile.
Sasha smiled again. ''That's right Luz.''
The girls walked out of the school and Luz set her alarm for 10 minutes before the bell rang. Sasha bought her a soda, however it all didn't seem right to her. She couldn't relax and enjoy herself because she was afraid of getting caught. It didn't seem right for her to do that. Her friend took her to an alley, there was graffiti on the wall. There was a big word 'Sasha' and next to it a smaller word 'Anne'.
''Anne and I sign in different parts of the city." said Sasha picking up a graffiti spray paint from the ground. She shook the spray. ''There's still paint in this one, sign your name on the wall too.'' She handed her the purple colored spray paint.
Luz backed up and started waving her hands in a sign of refusal. ''No no, I can't. I don't want me or my aunt to get in trouble and isn't this vandalism?''
''Pfft who cares if it's vandalism, just sign it, nothing will happen to you.'' Sasha tried to reassure her as she shoved the spray into her hands.
''But Sasha, I don't-''
Sasha's expression became serious. ''Listen Luz you're going to take the spray and write your name on the wall.''
''But I don't-''
''End. Of. Discussion.''
An uncomfortable silence fell over them. Sasha's words hit Luz again. What kind of friend are you? What kind of friend are you? Luz accepted the spray and quietly wrote her name in small letters. The alarm went off about 10 minutes before the class ended.
''That wasn't so hard, was it?" said Sasha in a kinder voice. ''Now let's get back before the teachers suspect anything.''
The day passed, but Sasha's words kept echoing in Luz's head.
What kind of friend are you?
What kind of friend are you?
What kind of friend am I?
Luz didn't know what she was doing wrong, but the way Sasha was controlling them didn't feel right to her. But she had to do what Sasha said, she had made friends for the first time, she couldn't lose them.
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The week went by, Saturday came and Luz was excited. She'd had her stuff ready since the day before, all she had to do was get going. She came down the stairs to say bye to Tara and Vee, who to her surprise this time weren't god knows where. They seemed to be having a deep conversation in the living room. Vee was sitting on the couch while Tara paced nervously in circles on the carpet.
''-we haven't seen her show up in LA in a few weeks, and we're running out of magic items...''
''Hello! What are you talking about?'' Luz suddenly appeared from the corridor, causing them to jump.
''About a TV show.'' said Vee.
''Are you leaving?'' Tara asked her.
''Yes!" said Luz, her voice squeaky with excitement.
Tara stepped forward to the girl and put a hand on her shoulder. ''Alright now kiddo, remember to have fun and take care.'' she told her with a weak smile.
''Of course, I promise to be careful too!" replied Luz cheerfully to her. ''Bye Tara! Bye Vee!" and with that Luz bolted out the front door.
Tara collapsed on the couch and sighed. ''God, that kid, if only she knew what probably awaits her...''
''By the way how do you actually know about the prophecy and how do you know how it changes?'' asked Vee. ''If you don't feel like talking about it it's fine, I won't press you.''
The woman tightened her stance a little and sighed again. ''No, it's not a problem. It was that raven, it just landed on my shoulder and showed me something like a vision.'' she said. ''I have no idea what and who those three stars are, but when Luz started heading here, it changed, but not exactly. I don't know how to explain it. I mean, the prophecy still says the same thing, but now it seems like what it said isn't completely correct.''
''And how do you know it has something to do with Luz?" asked Vee.
''I don't really know.'' admitted Tara. ''The reason might be completely different, but I'm still worried. And Kurt is acting suspicious.''
''Why don't you ask him about it?
''I tried a few hundred times! He either ignores me or says he doesn't know.'' Tara said frustrated and leaned back on the couch. ''Now he's gone somewhere god knows where again! Whatever. I hope I'm wrong and that Luz will be alright, but only time will tell.''
Luz stood in front of Anne's house. She looked around and knocked three times on the door. On the other side she heard hurried footsteps and a quiet yelp. There was the sound of a key turning in the lock and Anne opened the door with a smile on her face. She wore a wide t-shirt in a faded yellow color and black shorts.
''I'm glad you came!" she said with a warm smile. ''Now come in, Marcy and Sasha are waiting for us in my room along with a lot of junk food!
The four girls spent the next few hours watching TV shows, eating Thai dinner from Anne's parents' restaurant, chatting and pillow fighting. Luz learned that Anne's birthday was soon and that she was invited. She had to think of a good present, but that was for later. Close to midnight, Luz was already exhausted, but she could tell she'd probably never had so much fun.
Luz yawned. ''I'm exhausted, but that was probably the most fun I've had!
''Was?" asked Sasha. ''But we're starting now! It's time for a Scare Dare! I have the perfect challenge for today!'' she said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a notebook.
''Okay, but first, what is Scare Dare? And what's the notebook for?" asked Luz.
''The rules are that one of us makes up a scare dare and we all have to do it...'' Sasha said.
''Whoever gives up first, their name goes in the book of losers...'' Anne continued while holding the notebook with red letters written on it saying 'The Book of Losers'.
''And if you get in the book, you stay there forever!'' finished Marcy.
''Forever!'' repeated Sasha and Anne.
''That sounds like fun!'' said Luz enthusiastically. ''Sasha, what will be the challenge?
Sasha took out her phone and opened 'Google Maps'. ''If we take this route and walk a few hundred meters, we'll reach the forest.'' she said as she started to move the digital map with her fingers. ''We need to go at least five hundred meters in or where it starts to get wooded and come back. They say there's no wildlife and it's safe, but is it really?'' Sasha said to try and spook them. ''Now put your shoes on and let's not waste any more time!''
''Get flashlights and go outside, I'll check if my parents are asleep and join you.'' Anne said and quietly walked down the stairs.
They walked along the road towards the woods and spoke a little more quietly so as not to wake anyone. Luz had to admit that the town looked a little creepy in the night. The lively streets of LA were strangely empty, but the others said that wasn't the case in all neighborhoods. There was also the creepy flickering of streetlights and the fact that some would sometimes go out completely for some time. She'd be lying if she said she didn't get chills, but she was with friends anyway and their group was a group of four, so they'd probably be fine.
They ended up in front of the forest. The forest wasn't much, there weren't any weird rumors about it, it was just a forest on one side of town. When they entered they could hear crickets and night birds, it would have even been nice if it wasn't pitch black except for the dim light of their flashlights. They clung to each other as Sasha led deeper and deeper. They jumped slightly when someone whould step on a twig and it would break, or on a dry leaf. All was going well until it all felt wrong. It took Luz a while to figure out what was wrong, but then she realized. There was no sound other than their footsteps. The crickets and birds had gone silent.
''Hey, guys? Do you hear that?" asked Luz timidly.
''What do we- ooh, I don't think that's good.'' Anne stopped in her tracks and looked around in the darkness, causing Luz to bump into her. ''They always kill someone when it gets like this in the horror movies.'' she shivered.
''Yeaah, grave silence in nature is never good.'' Marcy said as she walked closer to Sasha and hugged her arm tightly.
''Oooh come on, don't be cowards.'' Sasha said trying to sound brave. ''We only have probably sixty more meters into the forest to go and we'll be on our way.''
They clutched each other tighter, nervously waving their flashlights in the darkness in an attempt to illuminate the forest. Sasha didn't give up her place as leader of the group, but there was a visible uncertainty in her steps. The forest grew thicker and thicker, the shadows looked like they were trying to catch them.
''Alright gals, we are almost- what is that?'' Sasha pointed at something in front of her.
They walked a little closer and illuminated the thing that Sasha was pointing at with the dim light of their flashlights. Their flashlights lit up a large black sack that had something in it and a few strange objects around it. There was a strange doll that appeared to be a combination of several different dolls with a coat hanger going through its head, a slipper, an old TV, and other things that didn't belong in the middle of the forest. The four girls froze in place as realization hit them. They bolted to run full speed in the opposite direction. They ran until they saw the light of lamps, stopping by a glowing street lamp to catch their breath and collect their thoughts.
''Oh my god. Fuck. Was that a fucking corpse in a sack! Dear God!" shouted Anne in a shaky voice, her hands trembling and her breathing quickening. Her mother would have washed her mouth out with soap if she'd heard her, but she didn't care at the moment.
Marcy began to pace nervously. ''It didn't smell like rot, so it hasn't started to decompose yet...'' her voice trembled too.
''Guys.'' Sasha said. ''We have to go back.''
''What do you mean, we have to go back!?" yelped Luz in disbelief. ''What if this is a victim of a serial killer!
''What if it's just a sack of garbage?" said Sasha. ''You're thinking the worst because you're scared. We have to get back or you probably won't be able to sleep for several nights in a row. And if it isn't really a dead body, and it almost certainly isn't, we'll have to report it to the police. Also tone down the decibels. It's the middle of the night and I don't want us to wake someone up and have them think we're crazy homeless people or call the police.''
Sasha somehow managed to convince them and they grabbed each other again and started off into the woods again. This time they held on to each other as if their lives depended on it and kept looking around paranoid, shining their flashlights. Again they found themselves in front of the black sack. Everyone was trembling with fear and filled with dread, even Sasha who was trying to cover it up. Again they illuminated the bag and the objects around it with their flashlights. Marcy let go of Sasha's hand and the blonde girl continued forward. She quietly picked up a stick from the ground and rugged sack. She felt the hard surface of something. She walked closer and turned the sack over with her foot. Several objects spilled out of the sack onto the ground. Everyone sighed with relief.
Sasha turned to her three friends with a timid smile that was almost invisible in the darkness. "I told you. Someone just dumped their trash here. Let's go back.''
The girls turned their backs to the objects and started to leave. However, after a few steps, they heard rustling and footsteps behind them. There was someone or something behind them, they could feel it. They slowly turned, horrified, and pointed the light of their flashlights at the thing behind them. Only there was no one there and nothing. The sack was gone, but the old TV and the strange doll were left on the ground. They turned around and without waiting a second longer, sped backwards at a speed they didn't know they could achieve. Luz and Marcy started to fall behind and as soon as they noticed this Anne and Sasha grabbed them by the arms and started to pull them forward. They stopped when they were fully into the city because they couldn't breathe anymore.
''Relax guys...'' Sasha said out of breath. ''It was just a homeless guy.'' she said to the others, but it sounded like she was actually trying to calm herself down. ''You're all going into the book of the losers. I wasn't scared.''
Anne was about to start to argue, but decided it was better to keep her mouth shut because she was too tired and scared and right now she just wanted to go home. They all kept quiet and walked back to Anne's place.
Anne quietly unlocked the front door, they all walked in and lazily took their shoes off with their feet. They went to Anne's room and all crashed on her bed or the bean bag in her room. Anne looked at the time. 1:12.
''Do you guys wanna watch War of the Warlocks?" asked Marcy with enthusiasm in her voice. ''Last time and you didn't get to watch it to the end because you fell asleep, and there's nothing to do anyway. Luz might like it too!''
''I haven't heard it.'' Luz poked her head up from Anne's bed. ''But it sounds interesting!
And so they started watching the movie, or at least just Marcy and Luz. Sasha was looking at something on her phone while she was awake and fell asleep on the bean bag after half an hour. Anne took a blanket and covered her with it, but didn't miss the opportunity to draw on her face with a black marker. She stayed awake, but she wasn't watching the movie, she was somewhere in her head, lost in thought. Marcy quietly copied the dialogue word for word with stars in her eyes.
''You've watched the movie quite a few times?" asked Luz quietly so as not to wake Sasha.
Marcy averted her gaze from the screen. ''It can be said.'' she said shyly. ''It's a good movie.'' the girl thought for a moment before continuing. ''I'm glad I found someone who's really interested in watching it with me.''
Luz smiled back at her.
Marcy's words reached Anne. 'I'm glad I found someone who's really interested in watching it with me.' But doesn't Marcy just like having someone listen to her talk? Anne's gaze turned to the two girls in front of her who were happily talking about the movie. Luz had theories, even though she hadn't watched it completely yet. Marcy had tied a blanket around her shoulders like a cloak and was listening. She looked really happy. Was this really what Marcy wanted? She thought of all the times she and Sasha had fallen asleep in the middle of the movie, had that hurt her? The bushy haired girl decided to try watching the movie, she knew it wasn't her type, but she had to try. For Marcy.
The movie ended and the end credits began to roll. Anne had to admit it wasn't bad at all. ''I quite liked the way they invaded the castle without being noticed.''
Marcy turned to her in surprise. But then her surprised expression changed to one of pure joy. ''Did you like the movie?!" she said a little louder than she should have, causing Sasha to mumble in her sleep.
Anne put a finger to her lips. ''Yeah, it was good, but can you keep it down a bit?
After Marcy explained what the smallest details were for, she and Luz decided to write Azura fanfiction. Anne gave them her laptop and stayed on the side because she wasn't a very good writer nor had she read the books. She was happy to see her friends happy. As time went on, however, they grew more and more tired. Marcy began to talk slower, Luz began to yawn more often, and Anne could see that both the over girls were having a hard time keeping their eyes open.
After half an hour more, they were both asleep. Luz on her back on the carpet in an awkward looking position and Marcy in the chair at Anne's desk. They would probably be stiff when they wake up. She went to Marcy first and carefully lifted her out of the chair and carried her in her arms to her twin sized bed, carefully setting her down and covering her with a blanket. She also picked up Luz who murmured in her sleep carried her in her arms in the same way and laid her down and tucked her in next to Marcy. She lay down on the small space left on the edge of the bed and recalled everything that had happened that night. It had definitely been a successful sleepover, except for the part where everyone fell asleep, and Sasha said that on a real sleepover if you fall asleep you fail, but she couldn't care less right now.
Anne felt herself drifting off when something murmured next to her and wrapped its arms around her.