Guitar Strings and Flower Petals

by QuirkQuartz

Willow finds Skara at her weakest moment - It would have been easy to walk past her and pretend not to notice. But Willow doesn't.

16. Of Falsities and Friendships, Part 2

(Okay we don't normally do this - But seriously, read the author's notes at the end of this chapter - There's a LOT of important info there! Thank you, enjoy! -Q&D)

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I heard she left 'cause Glandus paid her to lose!

Willow heard nearly the same conversation before, during, and after every class.

That's crazy. No, the REAL reason is because she was getting sick off of Boiling Shrimp.

A bunch of students talking about why Skara left the game. Of why she let them down.

Well, I'VE heard it's 'cause she's got a big crush on Bria that she's too scared to admit to!

The same ridiculous ideas and rumors. Some of them seemed almost reasonable - a fair number of them suggested that Skara just had some sort of injury, or the fairground food had made her sick, or something along those lines. Not true, and perhaps understandably would be frustrating, but those didn't portray her as malicious.

Others were… a lot worse. Anything ranging from anger and spite, to bribery, to outright conspiracies. Willow had to assume some students were just knowingly lying, due to how outlandish they were, and lacked even the smallest shred of evidence. Quite frankly, the only proof they had was the lack of proof for any other explanations.

Still, regardless of how bad or harmless the rumor was, they all bothered Willow in the same way.

Amity had already said that the truth wouldn't work, and initially, Willow had even agreed with her. And even as she heard the rumors around her, that voice whispered in the back of Willow's mind. Amity's right. You know that Amity's right. Trying to get people off Skara's back like this would be at best pointless, and at worst, make people dig their heels in.

They might even think you're involved in… Whatever they think is going on. And what would that achieve?

Just when being at Hexside had become bearable…

That last thought wormed its way into Willow's head more often than she would have liked to admit. For so long, Willow had been a verbal punching bag for most of the school. But ever since Luz had shown up, and all the wacky shenanigans that followed, things had started to get better. She felt better about herself. She now had this… confidence she felt, and that she carried with her. People seemed to like her - Or at the very least, respect her - more. And if she got people to hate her for standing up for Skara… she couldn't help but picture herself as a punching bag again.

Yet each time, another voice in Willow's mind whispered in her head.

At least try.

It always came from that same place too. That same part that could envision her as a punching bag again. But whenever this part of her spoke up like that, it felt more… Willow. And it always won out.

Prove them wrong.

Even if it wouldn't work. Even if she knew it wouldn't work. Even then, she had to try.

And then-

Uhm… are you sure?

But… weren't they just tossing the ball for Skara to catch?

That's… a guess, I suppose.

Always, the same responses.

Expected, but still, somehow it always felt like a punch to the gut.

Willow would always try to stand tall, never budging, bending, or conceding anything, but everyone just moved past her, trying to reach their next classes, all the while never missing a beat with their friends as they continued to spin the rumor mill ever-onwards. And Willow would clench her fists, take in a deep breath, and sigh.

It'll blow over… eventually. Don't worry. It always does.

Amity meant well, Willow knew. She wanted to make sure that Willow didn't get dragged into this sort of drama, or Titan forbid, actually hurt. Maybe it came from a well-meaning and well-intentioned place…

…But it was easy for Amity to say all of that. Amity hadn't been the one who had been tormented and ridiculed and picked on and had everything else Hexside could possibly throw at people thrown at her for years on end.

Willow had been.

Skara was an outcast now. And Willow knew that no matter how much one tried to fight it, that didn't stop all the rumors and taunts and everything from affecting you. She knew how quickly words could get to people. Especially when it felt like everyone was against them. Even if someone was the type of person that could let that sort of thing just bounce off of them, they had their limits. And Hexside seemed to have a way of pushing people right up against those limits with things like this. She had only ever had Gus in her corner for the longest time. Just one person.

But that one person had been enough for Willow.

At least, it had been enough to help her -

"Oh, Miss Park!"

Blinking, Willow found herself snapped back to reality as the voice of Mr. Barkhide called for her. She was already halfway out the door of her Herbology classroom, moving almost completely automatically to her next class, but she stopped herself and turned to face the gnome standing atop his books, waving a few pieces of paper at her frantically.

"I almost forgot to give you your grades back." The tiny teacher handed Willow the papers. At the very top of the first one was a big, written in red, ninety-two out of a hundred. She had to smile a little at the number. Back in the Abomination track, Willow would be lucky to get a C. And now that she was in a class she loved, she actually was getting great grades! Wild how that worked.

"I did have to deduct a few marks for spelling, methodology and documentation errors, as well as a… couple of oddly romantic lines from Amelia I assume were about a fellow student…" He raised a bemused eyebrow, and Willow couldn't help but do the same. She knew exactly which lines he was talking about, "But outside of that, you both did superbly on this! Especially given the circumstances."

"Thank you, sir." Willow said, letting herself smile with no small feeling of pride as she looked at the grade.

"Should you happen to run into her, please do pass her paper back to her, if you could." Mr. Barkhide requested as he jumped off his pile of books and onto his desk. "Hopefully she will be back in school before long."

"Of course." Willow nodded. She waved the teacher off, before heading back to the hall.

Turning her head left and right, Willow noticed that the corridors had already mostly dispersed, and that she could make out Luz and Gus down the hall, chatting together while they waited for her.

"-anyway, that's why I was never allowed to go to another sleepover again."

"Really? The whole swimming pool? And you didn't use magic or anything?"

"Nope!" Luz shook her head. "Just a little imagination and a few fireworks I may or may not have known weren't entirely legal in my state. Or, well, country."

"...What's a state?" Gus blinked, confused. "Or… country?"

"...Oh boy, how do I even begin to explain that." Luz pondered for just a moment, before she saw Willow in the corner of her eye and looked towards her. "Oh, Willow!" Luz smiled, seemingly happy she didn't have to explain whatever a state was now.

"Hey guys!" Willow said. "Sorry about the wait. I just got back my grade for the Vehemence Witch Trap project."

Luz pouted slightly. "I'm still jealous you got to do that. I mean, minus the whole, you know, partner almost dying thing."

"How'd you do?" Gus asked.

Willow held up the paper with her grade on it, and allowed herself another small, proud smile. Both her friends gave her a high five and a 'Nice!', before the three trotted down the hall to their next classes.

All things considered, Willow's day was actually going fairly well. She had been complimented for her abilities to revive flowers in Plantology 101. Getting a high grade didn't hurt her mood either. And in addition, it was one of those days where the teachers seemed to want to take things easy as much as the students did. They weren't throwing pop-quizzes at the kids, or doing anything particularly difficult. Heck, half the time it seemed like their teachers didn't really care what happened today, so long as the school didn't burn down.

Maybe they're just as disappointed as the students.

And just like that, the feeling of pride melted, and Willow was stuck in her own head again.

I heard that it was 'cause of a crush on Glandus' Team Leader.

That was one of the many rumors that was circulating throughout the school, but this one seemed to be really sticking. Willow had heard it in nearly every one of her classes today, each time from different people. And it was one that really stood out in her mind.

Just weeks ago, this exact same rumor mill had been in full swing over Skara's break up, and now they were peddling this? It got right under Willow's skin. It made her jaw clench. It -

It just - She couldn't understand how people could assume these two things right after one another. She knew how much that break-up had bothered Skara! Did anyone else? Did anyone else even bother to check with her? And now they were treating her as though she was just jumping between crushes to the point she would throw a game Willow had seen her training and being dragged through the mud in preparation for?

Maybe that was why, Willow realized.

None of them knew anything about what Skara had been dealing with since the Glandus game became a focus. Everything personal, she kept close to her chest. Willow knew about a lot of it because she had specifically gone out of her way to, and because of their time on the Knee, or while dealing with the Witch Trap. And the Grudgby stuff - No one really knew about the kinds of training that Boscha had put them through. Not in full at least. They might have gotten a glimpse with the whole Handragon incident, but Willow had actually seen them training in the field back on Friday. It had only been by pure chance that she saw, but she did. And even if she hadn't, she was one of the only ones who knew that Skara hadn't really wanted to play in this game at all in the first place. She actually knew what was going on.

But no one would listen to her.

And yet, the truly frustrating part was…

I can't… do anything for her…

Willow lagged slightly behind her friends, though they didn't seem to have noticed, thankfully. She looked towards Luz, carrying on with her earlier story. Neither she nor Luz had talked about their late-night conversation after the match. But from it, Willow had decided that she wanted to do something. She wanted to try to help ease what was going to come Skara's way. Not out of any sense of obligation, or feeling like she owed Skara for what she had done in the game. Just because… She wanted to. Because Skara didn't deserve any of what was going on.

Now here Willow was - Unable to do anything at all.

She thought back to the crush rumor, and one conversation in particular she had overheard from a member of the Potions Track.

Where'd you hear that from?

Boscha.

When she had heard that name, Willow saw a brief, sudden, but very, very strong flash of green.

Thankfully, Willow hadn't seen Boscha all day, only heard her name in passing. Mostly by other members of the Potions Track - Boscha's Track. And there was no doubt in Willow's mind for even a second that those two things weren't coincidental. Boscha was helping to fan the flames of all these rumors.

And that one in particular.

Willow felt her hands ball up into fists until her knuckles turned white. It wasn't enough that Boscha had tormented her throughout most of her life. It wasn't enough that Boscha had dragged Skara into Grudgby in the first place. It wasn't enough that she treated people who were supposed to be her friends the way that she did. It wasn't enough that she had tried to hit Willow with a Grudgby ball in the middle of the match out of nothing but spite. And it wasn't enough that she blamed Skara for them losing.

No. She had to go out of her way to help spread things like this.

This behavior didn't just make sense - It was absolutely typical.

Outside of her head, Willow, Luz, and Gus all walked through Hexside's maze of hallways towards their next classes. Willow had History of Herb's next, while Luz was heading to Bardology 101. Gus, meanwhile, had Advanced Illusions on the other side of the building.

Eventually, the three of them approached a corridor crossroad, where they would split apart - Gus to his classes, Willow and Luz to theirs.

"Guess this is my stop." Gus said as they reached the intersection, taking a couple of steps towards the corridor that would take him to his destination.

Luz gave him a wave, and carried on down the hall. "See you at lunch, Gus!"

Willow went to follow. "See yo-"

A hand grabbed hold of her shoulder before she could carry on walking. "Hold on a second."

Immediately, Willow bit her inside of her lower lip. Apparently, he had noticed his friends' quieter demeanor after all. Great.

Turning to face her friend, Willow saw his expression was one primarily of concern and worry. Somehow though, she felt like she could feel something else in it. Something that seemed… displaced - like it wasn't towards her.

"Are you doing alright?" He asked, gentle but firm. "You've been pretty quiet after this morning."

Allowing herself to sigh, Willow gave a small, affirmative nod. "Yeah, I'm okay, just… A lot on my mind, that's all."

The illusionists eyebrows raised. "You wanna… talk about any of it?"

Willow could feel her teeth digging into her lower lip like daggers. "It's just… Nothing really. I'm just frustrated about all this…"

"This Skara stuff?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, that's it."

Gus sighed heavily. "Willow… I…" Shaking his head, his eyes glanced up to a nearby clock. "...Look, is it okay if we talk about this at lunch?"

Willow frowned, but nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Sounds like a plan."

Gus smiled, if only a little. "Can't wait to see ya there then!" He waved her off as he let go, sprinting towards class. Willow waved back, internally screaming at the knowledge she was going to have to have a conversation she really didn't want to have, before wheeling around to Luz, who had stopped in her tracks, waiting for her.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." Willow nodded quickly, not wanting to repeat that conversation. "Come on."

As they kept walking, they entered the hallway of Bard student lockers. It looked - shockingly enough - like every other locker hall in the school. That included the Grudgby decorations, though they somehow felt more dilapidated here. Balloons, streamers, and signs literally screaming 'Prepare for the Banshee Beatdown' felt… bitterly ironic now.

Coming down this way brought Willow's mind back to a different time. A time when things between her and Skara were… tense, to say the least. A time when attempts to help them were met with lies and frustrated snapping.

Funnily enough, after saving Skara from getting eaten by her locker, she still knew which one was hers. It was the one two lockers down from the locker furthest from the entryway, with a faint bluish glow in front of it.

Willow stopped, blinked, shook her head, and did a double take. The one with the what now?

She stared at the locker for a moment. She'd been friends with Gus long enough to learn at least a couple of things about illusion magic, and she could tell that that was what she was looking at now: The shimmer of a hastily cast invisibility spell.

For a second, Willow just stared at it, like she wasn't entirely sure it was there. Then, she squinted through it, attempting to see if she could make out any outlines inside the glow. Her first thought was Skara - Maybe she had gotten some sort of… charm, or used some sort of spell she barely understood to try to hide from people?

Did Skara even know any Illusion Magic, though?

But that train of thought stopped when Willow realized that there wasn't one, but two faint silhouettes she could make out, neither of which looked like Skara. Both too tall and gangly. And as she stared, she could hear muffled chuckles coming from the two, along with the sounds of spray cans.

"Something wrong?" Luz asked. She seemed to have kept going, only turning around when she realized Willow wasn't still next to her.

The Plant Witch pointed to the glow, and after a moment of squinting herself, Luz got the picture. Stepping up to the glow, she reached out to tap the illusion, whereupon the entire thing, for lack of a better word, popped, leaving two students - an Illusionist and a Beastkeeper, going by their uniforms - acutely aware that they were now visible, and that there were people behind them. Both of them froze.

"HEY!" The pair of them jumped at Luz's voice, dropping their cans with a dulled cling. "Who are you bozos?"

"Bozos? BOZOS?" The Beastkeeper yelled incredulously, with a squeaky voice. "WE'RE NOT-" Then, with a pause, they turned to their compatriot. "Hey, uh…. What's a bozo?"

Ignoring the question, the Illusionist cleared their throat. "Er, uh, we're not bozos. We're… er…"

Quickly, they cast a magic circle, covering both themselves and the beastkeeper in a shadowy, specter-like mist.

"We're…. ghoooooosts!" They raised their hands into the air, fingers wiggling in a form that some might call menacing. "Ooooooo!"

After a few seconds, they stopped, and both groups just sort of… looked at one another. Obviously, Willow and Luz weren't buying it for even a nanosecond, and the other two students couldn't possibly have thought that they would buy it for even a nanosecond. So both parties just… stared at one another in mutual disbelief.

"...Ghosts with spray cans?" Willow finally asked, just sort of vaguely glancing at the cans that the Illusionist seemed to have forgotten about.

There were quite literally a thousand things she could have asked about - The spray cans were just one thing on a very long list of questions she had. But she could still see them, so they were at the top of her list, apparently.

"We, er… get bored too?"

"...Okay." Willow let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. "Luz?"

"Waaaay ahead of you."

No sooner had she finished speaking had Luz activated a Plant glyph from her notebook, creating a series of vines to shoot outwards and grab the two witches by the backs of their collars so they were lifted into the air. Just a couple of inches off the ground, but enough that they couldn't run away, or grab the vines holding them in place. Both captives had nothing to hide their faces other than their scowls and flailing.

"Thanks." Willow sighed again, shaking her head. She would have done it herself, but one advantage Luz's glyphs had over her own magic was that they didn't need to tear up the floor to create vines.

The Beastkeeper snapped. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

Kneeling down to pick up one of the spray-cans, Willow looked over to Skara's locker. Just as she expected, it had been coated in graffiti. And not the rebellious kind Willow heard Eda would use, but the kind people put up to harass someone.

'SKARA SUX' was written in big, bold, black letters above the lockers eye, with "LOZER" written below it. Had it not been for the fact they were distracted by dealing with the culprits before they had finished and done away with their spell, it would have been utterly impossible to miss.

So far, none of the taunting or rumor-spreading or whatever else was going on hadn't, at least to Willow's knowledge, gone beyond just that. Rumors and mockery. Which was cruel enough, but at least that was where it ended.

Until now at least. Now, a line had been crossed.

"The 'big idea' is that you two are harassing Skara over a stupid sportsball game!" Willow snapped, with more force then she was honestly intending.

"Hey, no we're not!" The Illusionist shouted back. "This has nothing to do with that!"

As if on cue, behind them, and in full view of Willow and Luz, the graffiti on the locker let out a low humming sound, and morphed its shape magically. It formed the words 'Grudgby's Greatest Gaffe', with an arrow pointing down towards the eye of Skara's locker, as if to make it absolutely unambiguous who it was talking about.

"...That's a complete coincidence." The Illusionist said, half-heartedly, and blatantly lying. "Nothing to do with us."

"And even if it did -" The Beastkeeper added, more animated, "-why would you both care, anyway? She's a traitor! She totally threw the match 'cause she wanted a Glandus scholarship!"

The Illusionist shook their head. "Nah, I heard it was because she has a big secret crush on Bria. She hides it behind a thin layer of hate and annoyance, so she threw the game for her."

"What - you don't even both agree on why Skara-" Willow's hands pinched either side of her forehead in utter disbelief. "By the Titan's merciful vertebrae…"

"This is ridiculous!" Luz finally snapped as well. "It's just a game of Grudgby! I don't get why people are making this big a deal out of it!"

"Neither of those are true." Willow groaned, rubbing her temples. She was honestly both surprised at how mad she was about this, and not surprised in the slightest.

"Oh yeah?" The Illusionist glared at the plant-track student. "And how would you know?"

Because Skara only threw the game to protect me.

"Because those are the dumbest reasons for anyone to do anything I've ever heard." Willow shook her head. "So clean this up or-

"What in the world is going on here?!"

All at once, the four Witches turned their attention to the newest passer-by: Skara herself.

"Skara!" In all the mind-breaking frustration, arguing, and lack of common sense, the possibility of Skara actually stopping by her own locker had completely escaped Willow's mind. Skara was now standing before a scene in which a Witch she had an incredibly confusing relationship with, and her friend had incapacitated two other Witches she had never seen before, all in front of her locker, spray can in hand.

It was rapidly dawning on Willow that there were very few situations in which this would look even remotely good to practically anyone on the Isles.

She had no idea how the heck they did it, but the next thing she heard was the humming of a spell being cast, followed by 'thwump' of the Beastkeeper and the Illusionist somehow getting free of Luz's vines and landing on the floor below. By the time Willow looked back, both of them immediately bolted past her, Luz, and Skara.

The Beastkeeper turned, and made an L sign with his finger and thumb, which he held to his forehead and looked straight at Skara. "Later, loser!"

Instantly afterwards, they tripped over their own feet and slammed onto the ground. After being helped up by the Illusionist, the pair ran around the corner, disappearing from view. A couple of seconds passed in complete silence.

"...Okay." Skara said, blinking. "What was that-"

Then, she saw her locker.

"...Oh…"

Once again, as if on cue, the graffiti transformed, merging together and spinning wildly before forming an image of Skara herself. An unflattering one, with stick figure arms and legs and a dumb look on her face, eyes pointed in opposite directions of each other and tongue hanging out. Stink lines were also floating off of its head, just to add insult to injury.

Willow glanced back at Skara. Based on past experience, she would have expected Skara to, at the absolute least, make some sort of dry, and-slash-or sarcastic comment.

Instead, nothing. She just looked… Deflated.

"Hey, er, It's okay." Luz smiled her chipper smile, though her voice seemed to be a bit strained. "Eda said she had to deal with cleaning this junk up once. I'm sure if we put a little elbow grease in we-"

"Thanks, but it's fine." Skara sighed, walking to her locker, ignoring the graffiti as it moved up and down, a word bubble with 'LOZER' in it popping out from its mouth. "I can deal with it myself later. Honestly, I was kinda expecting… much worse."

That made Willow feel her eyes twitch. "Those… Titan, those people are such… jerks!"

"It's… It's okay." Skara tickled her locker open, grabbing her books. "Really, it's fine." She sounded anything but fine. Her words sounded heavy, tired, as if she'd spent the whole day dealing with other students, pulling similar stuff against her. She adjusted her hood, in an effort to make it cover up more of her face.

Willow opened her mouth to say that it was absolutely not fine -

"But, thank you." Skara said, clearly forcing a smile . "I… appreciate it." She quickly stepped past both Willow and Luz, lowering her head, and power walked away, as if trying to be as far from her locker, and everyone else, as possible.

Luz and Willow watched on as Skara turned the corner to class. As she did, more students started coming into the hall, Bard students chatting or playing music. A few of them spotted the graffiti on Skara's locker. Some of them laughed. A few made snide remarks.

No one said anything against it.

Why are people so mad about losing a stupid game? If it had been their friends about to be hit then-

"Hey."

Willow blinked, brought out by Luz's warm hands on her cheeks and the stern look on her face.

"This isn't your fault, okay?"

Willow blinked again. "Huh?"

"Skara. It's not your fault people are treating her like this because Hexside lost a stupid game."

Even with her cheeks squished, Willow could feel the corners of her lip turn up, just a bit. Hearing Luz say that was, admittedly, comforting.

Still, that didn't mean it made Willow feel better about what Skara was going through.

"I know." She sighed, removing Luz's hands from her face. "I know… But still, Skara was trying to protect me. She doesn't deserve this."

"It… It'll be fine." Luz tried to reassure her, with a tiny smile. "In a few days some new stuff'll come along and no one's gonna even care about the game anymore. They'll all just go, 'Grudgby what? Skara who'?"

"That's what Amity said… But that doesn't make it any easier."

The human's small smile deflated, turning into a pained grimace. She let out a sigh of her own. "...Yeah. I know…"

Luz had mentioned once or twice that back in the Human world, she had dealt with situations like this, though she never went too in depth with it. Clearly though, she was a lot closer to what was happening now than she would have liked to admit.

A few seconds were spent in a heavy silence.

"...Hey, er, Luz? You and Skara share a Bardology class this period, right?"

"Yeah?" Luz raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Do you think you could go and like… I don't know… keep an eye on her or something? Make sure she's actually okay and everything?"

It felt strange to even be suggesting it. Like she was asking Luz to break some sort of major social convention, or cross some sort of boundary, whilst dragging Luz into it at the same time.

For a second, there was no reaction - And then, a shine returned to Luz's eyes. She smiled. "To be totally honest, I was already thinking of doing exactly that."

"...You were?"

Luz nodded. "I don't like bullies, and I don't like people bullying someone my friends care…" she trailed off, confused about what exactly Willow and Skara's relationship as Willow was. "...like… My friend's frien…. Well, I don't like people bullying anyone anyway, so -"

The bell suddenly screamed to life, the one minute warning.

"Oh, crap!" Luz looked down the hall. "We uh, we should probably get to class."

Willow nodded. She could make it to History of Herbs, but she'd have to hurry. "See you at lunch?"

"Of course!" Luz started sprinting towards her next class, waving goodbye. When Luz was gone, Willow started to turn against the tide of Bard students and sprint to her own class.

Hopefully Luz doesn't have to do too much to help Skara. Hopefully other Bards aren't as big a set of jerks as the rest of the students.

Hopefully Skara's gonna be okay.

XXXXXXXXX

As the fourth period bell screamed, Skara took her assigned seat, placing her books on her desk with a heavy THUD. It was so heavy the desk shook. She didn't really care. All that mattered was getting through the rest of the day with as little incident as possible.

It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and today had already been… a day, to put it lightly.

None of it was anything that Skara hadn't expected. People were upset, angry, and frustrated, and took it out on her. She'd know that that was what was going to happen the moment that she walked off the Grudgby field. None of it was a surprise.

But expecting it and actually dealing with it were two different things. And the former didn't help with the latter much, it turned out.

Most of her day so far, compared to what she had expected, had been relatively uneventful. A part of her had almost expected people to be throwing books at her, or casting spells that made her look like a clown or something. But instead, most people just sort of ignored her. Any and all conversation seemed to cease the moment that she entered a room, and she could feel dozens of eyes just watching her every move. It was like she could feel their thoughts.

Whenever anyone did have to interact with Skara, they didn't make any effort whatsoever to hide that they wanted nothing to do with her. Interactions were blunt, curt, and filled with thinly veiled insults. Perhaps the only saving grace was the fact that everyone around her was making an effort to ensure those interactions were as brief as possible.

But, sometimes, she could hear students whispering. Most were barely audible. But she always knew what they were saying.

I can't believe she showed her face again.

How come she isn't expelled yet?

I wouldn't have dared show up if I were her.

It took a lot of willpower not to just snap and call out those around her. Because she knew that all it would take was her snapping once, and the entire class would descend on her, happy to finally have an excuse.

There was something about being so completely isolated, and so aware of how many people who would have had no problem with her last week now wanted nothing to do with her that felt so… alienating in a way that was difficult to describe. Before all of this, Skara found it fairly easy to get along with practically anyone if she wanted to.

Now though, she felt like she was realizing just how few people actually gave even the smallest damn about her this entire time.

She glanced again at the picture of her friends that had come with the letter she received earlier, and let herself feel slightly better. It was a comfort, at least, to know that she did still have friends at this school. It let her smile, slightly. But the smile faded when she remembered that none of them were here now.

One or two incidents wouldn't have been too bad. Pile them up so that they were constantly happening, one after another, and then combine that with stuff like what happened by her locker…

…Frankly, she wished people did just throw books at her. That would at least have been more bearable.

Just gotta make it through the rest of the day, maybe two or three, and it'll all blow over right? No ones gonna care about the game any more, I'm sure of it!

As Skara tried being positive, the two students who sat on either side of her arrived, flanking her as they dropped their books and took their seats. Both had their hoods up, an honestly rare sight in Hexside. Most students didn't actually use the hoods often. Here though, their use conveyed a message loud and clear - They didn't want to be associated with Skara.

So there was that.

Looking past one of the students, she glanced around the room, seeing if anyone else was wearing their hoods up. Thankfully, her neighboring students were the exception. Most seemed to not even notice her, instead focusing their attention on their neighbors or their Scrolls. A few students seemed to look up at her with a glare, but when Skara blinked, they were gone.

Then, her eyes scrolled past a familiar figure: Luz.

She was currently in the process of scribbling something in her little art notebook as she glanced between the notebook and a thick looking book.

Skara raised an eyebrow at that. She never really paid attention to Hexsides first all-track student, but she never struck Skara as the type to take notes before class.

Before she could dwell on that thought, though, Luz glanced up from her scribble, directly at Skara. Her eyes seemed to get wide, before sitting up and waving at Skara, smiling.

For a second, all Skara could do was freeze, before spinning in her seat, slouching to hide from Luz's gaze.

Why was Luz looking at her? Waving? Didn't she realize they were in a classroom with other students? Sure, she was nice when no one was around to see it, but here in the classroom? Didn't she care at all about the rumors? If someone saw it, they could tell other students and they'd tell other student's and soon Luz would be seen as the girl who was friends with the worst person ever and-

Putting a pause on that thought was Professor Dinoster entering the class. He was a tall, light-blue skin Witch with a nose that strangely resembled a horn, save for it being tipped red, as if he constantly suffered through the common mold. He held himself with grace and sophistication, something helped out by the obvious powdered wig he wore.

Other teachers that Skara had had today either looked or acted incredibly peppy or apathetic. With Mr. Dinoster, it was genuinely hard to tell what was going through his head.

"Good day, students." He glanced over the class, his eyes scanning the entire room. "I trust we all had a pleasant weekend?"

Everyone grumbled at the statement. Another weight felt like it had just been added to Skara's chest.

At that, Mr. Dinoster coughed. "Right, students. Today, I thought we'd start class a little differently."

"Musical chairs?"

"...No, Charlie, for the eight-thousandth time, not musical chairs. " Mr. Dinoster sighed. He shook his head. "Recently, I realized that most of the projects for this portion of the semester will be done in pairs in other Tracks. And, thinking it over, I asked myself, why limit my students as soloists, when their potential can be explored within dyads?"

The class stared blankly for a second.

"I'm letting you choose a partner for the rest of your semester projects."

Now understanding, students began turning to each other eagerly. Paired projects, and they got to choose their partners? Now that was something to get excited about!

Unfortunately for Skara though, she didn't know if there was anyone in the class she could ask. With how things were right now, she had a feeling more people would rather hunt her down as opposed to commit to a semester-long project with her.

By the time it took Skara to turn to the rest of the class, everyone was already chatting with their presumed partners. Only a handful of students seemed to be scrambling about, either to get to a friend or just any person they could call their partner.

No one was coming in her direction.

She got up from her seat, looking around the class. Maybe someone hadn't heard or just didn't care about Grudgby, and she could pair up with them? The worst they could say was 'No', right?

"I'd rather rip out my own eyeballs and eat them than be caught associating with you."

"The very idea of breathing in a realm you exist in makes me want to vomit every internal organ I have."

"N O."

Skara didn't know how she could tell that the word was spaced, bolded, and potentially underlined. But she could.

Well this is just great. Looks like I'm going to be stuck on my own on these-

"Excuse me?"

Turning, Skara looked at empty air in confusion, until she then looked down to see a little red goblin Witch that went beneath her knee. They looked up at her, with a kindly gleam in their eyes, And for a moment, a moment of sheer, utter madness, Skara felt a twinge of optimis-

"Can you move, traitor? You're blocking my view of my partners?"

-Aaaaaaand there it was.

Hang on a second - Partners? As in, plural? Skara looked behind to see two other Bards waving to the tiny creature. "But… there's, like, an even number of students in this class..."

"Yeaaaaaah." The Witch nodded. "But really. Does anyone actually WANT to work with you?"

Skara had to suppress the sudden urge to punt the little Witch out the nearest window.

Mercifully for them, just before she could actually consider the idea further, a horn blared at the front of the room. "Alright, boys and girls! Take your seats with your partners! Class is about to continue."

"But, I don't have a partner sir!" Skara turned to the man, raising her hand.

Mr. Dinoster furrowed his brow. "Hmmm… I'm sure one of the groups would be fine as a trio, or-"

"Maybe they'd just rather not work with someone who'll let them down."

Skara spun on her heels, to glare at the one-eyed goat boy who'd said those words.

"Or stab them in the back."

Suddenly, everything hit Skara all at once. The cold shoulders, people not bothering to so much as say anything to her unless it was an insult, or acting like she wasn't there, or like they knew anything about what had happened during the Glandus match, or even what she'd had to put up with before the game had even begun. Every slight, every jab, and what had happened by the lockers -

Today had been a day already, and it wasn't even halfway done yet.

Titan, forget the day - This class alone had already gotten on her last nerve, and it had barely even started!

Something inside Skara snapped. Forget this 'Keep your head down' crap.

Her hand balled up into a fist. She could feel herself turning as red as her uniform. "You know what-"

"I don't have a partner!"

That… Wait, what?

Glancing a bit behind the goat boy, Luz, raising her hands in the air and rushing towards her. She smiled, holding out her arm. "Partners?"

The other Witch sputtered. "But I told you -"

"And I already told you I didn't want to be partners," Luz interrupted. "But you kept persisting and-"

"Well, alright then!" Mr. Dinoster clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention to the front. "If that issue is settled, then would everyone, please, find a set of seats for them and their partners so we can actually begin class?"

The other Witch was left with a confuddled expression as he turned to look for another partner quickly. Skara, meanwhile, just blinked, equally confused by what had just happened, before looking over towards Luz, who was just smiling expectantly, like she didn't even realize anyone else would have been thrown for a loop by any of this.

For a moment, Skara contemplated questioning her on it - Buuuuut decided to worry about it later, and to just be thankful that she wasn't going to be relegated to doing this semester's big projects on her own.

Why Luz had decided she wanted anything to do with her was still up for debate, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Even if they did have theories.

Both of them turned to sit where Skara had been, only for the two to have their seats stolen by another pair of Witches: one a tiny gremlin of a Witch, the other a tiny, fairy-like young man who floated over the other's shoulder.

"We called dibs," The gremlin boy declared.

"But these are our seats!"

"Well, you weren't sitting here. I don't see your name on it anywhere."

Skara huffed. "It literally has all my stuff on it, and my name is written on the books."

The fairy boy turned to look at the piles of books and pencils on the tables.

Then, with a flick of their wrist, the items disappeared! Skara panicked, before noticing a shadow over her head, and realizing the items had all teleported directly above them!. Luckily though, Skara and Luz managed to catch most of it before any of it hit the ground - bar a couple that did.

"Well, it ain't there now."

Skara was about to put all her items in a different location somewhere the young man wouldn't appreciate before Luz elbowed her. She pointed towards an unclaimed corner at the back of the room, complete with two seats unconnected to any other tables, grinning. "Over there work for you?"

"...Sure." Skara sighed, finally. A wave of exhaustion hit her. At this point, she just couldn't bring herself to care anymore. "Why not."

With books in hand, Skara and Luz walked towards their new desks. It was significantly further from the font then Skara was used to, but she figured she would survive. At least there was something of a respite from feeling dozens of eyes bearing against her neck. Now if they tried to glare at her, she could at least see it.

"Now, if everyone will turn to page 5,309 in their 'History of Early Bardology,' we can discuss the later years of the life of the great Art-"

Aaaaaaaaand Skara found herself already unable to pay attention. Too many things had happened, too many things had been verbally and metaphorically thrown at her for it all to just roll off her back. The worst of them just stuck with her. And then there was Luz's sudden volunteering, whatever that was about, and the stupid sense of eyes still staring daggers behind the back of her head even though they physically couldn't be anymore, and Willow, and-

She needed a distraction.

Everyone was staring at Mr. Dinoster. Even Luz looked to be. Good. No one would notice a thing.

Skara pulled out one of her books, the cover of which read 'Bardology 201'. To anyone who glanced her way, it would look like she was just reading an ordinary Bard Track textbook. But, that wasn't what it was at all. It was, in fact, an actually good book! A book she had read dozens of times before.

With the first smile she had since she and Willow hid out in the forest, Skara opened the secret copy of one of her favorite books…

As Gortle and Bellatrix wandered deeper into the ghastly mists of the Bogs of Unfathomable Terror, avoiding traps and slaying beasts, the two friends discussed their adventures apart from one another.

"And this scar," Gortle bragged, pointing to a large sealed maw on her upper forearm, "was from a Waspsquito assault on Latissa."

"HA!" Bellatrix shook her head. "Oh, Gortle, always taking the most pride in the simplest exploits and bruises." As if to demonstrate, she rolled up her left sleeve, revealing a tear as long as the arm itself. "Now THIS! THIS, I'd say, is a scar!"

Gortle whistles. "And just where did a dainty bard like you get a scar like that?"

Bellatrix huffed. "I'm not dainty! I'm as capable as any brute such as yourself of taking a cut or two."

Gortle raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "So just to be clear, you didn't just have an illusionist place Concealment Stone dust up your forearm to make it look like a scar?"

Bellatrix turned red. "Well… perhaps… SOME Concealment Stone's were used. But my travels to the proper store to find them was CERTAINLY a journey, the sort I for one would write songs on!"

Gortle chortled, putting Bellatrix in a headlock and rubbing the top of the Bards head with her knuckles. "HAH! You'd write songs about going to the convenience store?"

"It was an interesting journey!" Bellatrix removed herself from Gortle's grip. "I found some interesting bugs, a few nice dogs-"

"This mean you're gonna stop writing about your fair Gwen of Air?

Bellatrix guffawed. "Of COURSE not!" Then, a blush crept over her face as her words became clearer in her head. "I-I mean, why would I ever stop writing about my dear fiance?"

"Hmmm, yes," Gortle stated. "The fiance who you've never seen, correct?"

"Simply because she takes the form of wind! Our mortal minds cannot comprehend the beauty of her visage!"

Gortle simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, but of course." Gortle chuckled. "My, you of so much faith."

"And you, dear friend, of very little."

Gortle simply shook her head. "I assume, then, that she's why you're here?"

"W-why would you assume that?"

"Because the last time we met, you told me your fair Air would be beside you, golden bands around your fingers. And," she gestured toward Bellatrix, "it seems you don't have any gold upon you."

Bellatrix acted indignant, but after a short moment, she sighed. "I… yes, I'm afraid she had to flee. We were attacked by her cruel ex, Calibur, and she fled like-"

"Like the wind?"

Bellatrix gave a look that simply asked 'What sort of fool do you take me for?'

"Like the… a… rather fast moving… thing. BUT! She told me that she would hide in an old home she once found, hidden somewhere beneath this bog! And once I find her, we shall wed!"

Gortle chuckled. "Well, all I ask is that you be safe, and preferably, happy."

That made Bellatrix blush. "Why, thank you, old friend. It means a great deal."

"So, where is this temple, anyway," Gortle asked, looking around. "This foul bog doesn't have anything remotely livable around it for miles!"

"It was, supposedly, the lost home of The First Bard! But alas, even with all the magic protecting it, it sunk below the bog. Though, she claims it's intact enough to find if I swim through it."

"Ah." Gortle nodded. "And just where might this underground cabin be?"

Bellatrix shrugged. "I'm not sure myself honesTLYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

And that is the story of how Bellatrix fell into a pit of muck. The same muck that would lead her to find the love of her life.

"Whatcha reading?"

"GAHHHH!"

Skara felt a spark of panic shoot up her spine at the sudden whisper ripping her from her reading, making her drop her book to the desk. A thud reverberated throughout the classroom, followed by the screeching of the table legs against the floor. Even if Bards didn't trend towards having astute hearing, there was no way anyone in the class didn't notice.

There was the briefest moment where nothing happened. Skara just froze in place.

"...And just what was that about?"

Both Luz and Skara's heads slowly turned to Mr. Dinoster, tapping his foot impatiently. His hand had stopped halfway through writing a note on the chalkboard. A chalkboard that was already full of notes that Skara realized she had no understanding of whatsoever.

And then she noticed everyone else was staring at her too.

"Heh. Nothing, sir, nothing! Just, uh…"

"My book got away from me!" Luz suddenly said. " I dropped it and Skara just caught it, but er… Y'know. Noise."

Mr. Dinoster's eyes narrowed at the human, and for a moment Skara thought both of them were going to get into , he simply sighed. "Right. Well, try not to let your book 'Get away from you' again."

Luz nodded rapidly. "Yup! Totally won't happen again, hundred percent!"

Mr. Dinoster didn't look too sure of that. But he merely sighed, before returning to the lesson. A few odd glances were shot their way, but after only a few seconds, the other students decided to return their attention to the front as well.

Skara felt herself let go of a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

With no actual eyes on her, Skara spun a small, red circle under the table. A chill rushed through the air, and Skara felt a shiver crawl up her spine before shaking it off.

"...Dang, did someone just step on my grave?" Luz shivered, apparently feeling the same chill.

"Noise-dampening spell. As long as we aren't too loud, no ones gonna hear us."

Another shudder escaped Luz. "Is this how the Titan feels… all the time?"

Neither understanding or particularly caring about the weird ramblings, Skara turned to face Luz. Whatever was going on here, she was done guessing.

"What are you doing?" She asked, plainly.

"I, er…" Luz blinked. "...I don't follow?"

"You've done this three times in the last half-hour. Back at my locker, a few minutes ago when I didn't have a partner, and just now." Skara pointed out. "You keep getting involved in my problems. Trying to bail me out of them."

Like Willow did.

"...Why?"

It wasn't filled with barely contained contempt, or defensiveness, or any of the things she had thrown at Willow. Well, maybe a bit of the latter, but in truth, Skara was more confused and concerned than anything.

A part of her that she couldn't quite identify half-expected Luz to just outright deny the accusation. Like Willow had.

But Luz didn't. Instead, she glanced around the room, paused, and then looked back. "I don't like bullies. And I don't like people bullying you over what happened at the game."

Another pause followed.

"...And I know why you did what you did."

This time, Skara blinked. "...Willow told you?"

Luz adjusted herself in her seat. "I er… Well, I was sitting with her at the game, and with what happened happening like it did, I guess we all sort of got the idea… but she did clarify it for me, yeah."

Skara sat in silence for a moment, blinking. It was all she could even think to do. She turned back to Mr. Dinoster. Unfortunately, the noise dampening spell worked both ways, and Skara could barely make out anything he was saying. Though to be honest, she wouldn't be paying attention to it anyway.

"...The ball hadn't even left the bounds-of-play. It could have been doing anything."

"Trust me - If you were sitting there and you saw it, it was obvious what was happening."

"...Well, I wish the rest of the school saw it like that." Skara sighed, sitting back in her chair, and turning to look back at Luz. A few weeks ago, she might have completely brushed Luz off, or suspected there was something nefarious going on.

Now… Well, she wasn't willing to just blindly take Luz at her word, but she was willing to let Luz have her word, at least.

"Yeah." Luz nodded. "Willow wanted to make sure you were okay. She's been worried about you all morning." A small laugh escaped her. "She keeps getting into arguments with people about what happened. She wanted me to make sure you were okay and, well, here we are."

Somewhere in Skara's mind, she felt a tiny chuckle. That sounded a lot like the Willow that Skara had come to know. But…

"...Look, I… appreciate it, but… Listen, we could talk to Mr. Dinoster if you want. If you don't want to be my partner then-"

"What? No no!" Luz shook her head frantically. "I was going to ask to be your partner anyway, before that other guy." She let out a long, pained sigh. "I know what it's like to be lonely, and have the whole ding-dang world feel like it's against you. And, well, even if you haven't always been the nicest person in the past… No one deserves to feel like that."

"...Did - Did you actually just say 'ding-dang'?"

"I did, I regretted it the second I said it, and I will lay awake at night for years to come regretting having said it."

For the first time today, Skara actually let herself laugh. "Well, it was certainly a nice little speech. But… you really mean it?"

Luz nodded. "Yeah. I do. Hey, I hang out with Amity, don't I?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, you do."

"So, whatcha say then?" Luz offered a hand. "Partners?"

The Bard glanced at the hand, and then back towards Luz. Then back to the hand.

Then, she accepted it.

"I… Thanks."

"Hey, no problem." Luz offered a smile in return.

Something about the exchange felt… Skara didn't know. Light, she supposed. She tried to imagine having conversations like this with Boscha, but the very idea sounded ludacris to her. Even with Willow, this sort of conversation would feel off for a long time. Now, it was… Well, not easy or comfortable, by any stretch, but more doable.

That was pretty much the only word that worked. Doable. Do-able. She was able to do it more.

Skara rolled her eyes at her legendary bardic vocabulary.

"So, 'partner'," Luz said, "You er… You mind telling me what Bellatrix the Bard is?"

Skara blinked. She looked down at her book, only just now realizing that the fake cover was half slid-off, and the front cover of her secret copy was exposed. The top half of the cover, with Bellatrix, in all her bewitching glory, standing atop a mountaintop, playing a violin during an epic thunderstorm.

"'Cause it sounds pretty interesting."

"I er… W-Would you believe me if I said it belonged to my sister?"

"You uh… have a sister?"

"...No." Skara sighed. She pulled the book from the table, clutching it to her chest, and cursing herself for not being able to come up with a better lie on the spot. She was a Bard, and daughter of an acclaimed actress! One would think she would have gotten better at lying by now!

She felt a twinge of panic, remembering how Boscha would dismiss her interest over 'Treks of the Boiling Sea,' how she'd poke and tease Skara for anything that didn't conform to what she wanted, and that same anxiety she felt over her former friend learning about her love of Bellatrix spiked up as she realized that scenario had, in part, been realized. "Okay, It's mine. It's nerdy and it's dumb but I've been reading it since I was a witchling and-"

Luz reached into her bag as Skara rambled, and took out two books from within: One, her notebook. The other book which made Skara take pause - Adorning its cover were an old crone, a weird little black furry blob, and a green haired woman holding what looked to be a weird Palisman staff aloft with a comically oversized hat. Above the three, written on parchment, were 'The Good Witch Azura.'

Skara blinked. She had heard of this, but for the life of her, she couldn't so much as recall ever actually seeing a copy of it.

"I'm not gonna make fun of you." Luz then said, almost like she knew exactly what had been going through Skara's head. She had a grin on her face the entire time. "You're talking to maybe the only person on the Isles who gets it!"

She tapped at the notebook, and Skara looked down. To her surprise, it was covered with doodles. Small, cartoony drawings of several different things: the Owl Lady holding a black furry blob with a… what looked to be a skull by its smile, a set of tiny faced versions of Luz's friends, and a…

"Is that you?"

The central image of the page was of Luz, replicating the exact pose and costume from the book's cover.

Luz grinned, nodding. "Yup! Well, it's Luzura, who's… basically me and Azura merged together. And that's like, the twelfth time I've drawn her this week?"

"It's… Monday?"

Luz just shrugged. "But, yeah. You're talking to one of the nerdiest people on the Isles." Then, she paused. "Well, one of two of the nerdiest, I guess, but still."

This… Didn't go as expected. Frankly, the idea that someone would find out about her love of Bellatrix, not take the opportunity to ridicule her for it, and just casually drop the fact that they too also enjoyed nerdy books like this never once occurred to Skara. She was at something of a loss as to how to handle the situation. She wasn't even sure what to say.

Thankfully though, Luz wasn't held up by anything.

"Hey, I'll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours."

A lot of things went through Skara's head and heart. Anxiety was ever-present, as was uncertainty, and a degree of discomfort from being outside of… anything resembling the social strata she was used to. But at the same time…

There was a degree of relief and excitement, for the exact same reasons. And for just a moment, Skara remembered what Amity had said when she had asked her what it was like to not be around Boscha anymore.

Liberating.

Wordlessly, Skara nodded, and both she and Luz pulled their chairs up to the desk, and closer together so as to read from the same pages. "So. This is Bellatrix. As you can probably tell by the title. And, well, she's also a Bard. Which is… also apparent from the title…"

XXXXXXXXX

By the time the Lunch bell screamed, Willow was starving. Unfortunately, her last class just so happened to be one of the furthest classrooms away from the cafeteria. And if experience had taught her anything, it didn't matter even if you jogged - you were always going to be one of the last people in the line.

And judging by the crowd of students rushing to from classes for food, today was no exception.

So instead, she just walked, and allowed herself to ponder. Unlike her other classes throughout the day, History of Demons hadn't gone particularly great. It hadn't gone poorly necessarily, she had just found it difficult to pay attention, or take notes, or focus on anything. It was just… a lot more difficult than her other classes had been.

What had happened outside Skara's locker weighed on her mind. Pranks - If one could really call them pranks - like that had been played on her in the past. She knew what it was like to be a target.

Putting everything together - From her breakup, to the whispers behind her back, to the Knee, to Grudgby training, to the game itself, and now - She couldn't help but worry about how the Bard was doing. Dealing with any one of those things would have been enough on its own. Dealing with it all at once…

Luz had said that she wanted to look out for her during their Bard class. Willow hoped she would be able to help Skara, if only a small bit.

That thought made her pick up the pace a little.

When she arrived, the cafeteria was already packed, as expected. She sighed, stepping to the back of the line while keeping an eye out for any of her friends. The only person that she could spot was Amity, sitting on her own, scooping up a spoonful of food and turning the page of a book she was reading with the other. Amity was so engrossed in her reading she didn't seem to notice Willow at all. Willow made a note of where she was sitting.

As she did, Willow heard a conversation that caused her ears to stand upright. Not because of the content, but because of the people who were having it.

"I'm telling you Azura's magical invincibility would totally protect her from any song-based attacks!"

"And I'm telling you that Bellatrix's magical violin could TOTALLY penetrate any magic invincibility."

"Well, in A Field of Deadly Fates, Azura-"

Willow turned her head, just to be certain - and sure enough, walking through the cafeteria door-frame were both Luz and Skara. Both of them were utterly wrapped up in their own conversation - something about Azura and Bellatrix? Whoever those were.

Luz took a place behind Willow, so wrapped up in winning her debate she didn't even seem to notice she was right behind her best friend. "And furthermore, when Azura and Hecate kissed in the sixth book-"

"A-hem." Willow faked an attention-grabbing cough, catching the two off guard. They looked at her, earning a smile from Luz.

"Oh! Hey Willow!" She pointed to Skara. "Just trying to explain to Skara here why she's completely and objectively wrong about Bellatrix being stronger than Azura."

To that, Skara seemed to go slightly red at this, like she was embarrassed by the topic being so silly and esoteric. Still, she managed a smirk. "And I'm trying to explain to Luz why she's the one who's wrong!"

Both girls seemed so righteous about this, so sure of themselves, but it was clear that it wasn't anything even approximating an actual argument. It was more two people who were clearly passionate and invested in what they were talking about debating their differences in a well-meaning, excitable manner. It was enough to make Willow chuckle - even though she didn't have even the faintest idea what either of them were actually talking about.

"Sounds like you two are having fun."

Luz shook her head, a serious expression on her face. "Oh, no. It's not fun. It's incredibly important work."

Skara nodded, with a similarly serious expression. "Agreed. Arguing the power levels of fictional characters is just as important as any political, philosophical, or moral debate."

"Uh… R-Really?"

Both participants blinked. Then, they laughed.

"Nah." Luz admitted, shaking her head. "It's not."

"But it is fun." Skara smiled.

Willow couldn't help but smile back. Whatever Luz had done had clearly worked wonders, and Willow suddenly felt silly for having been worried at all. If there was ever going to be someone who had that sort of impact with people, it was going to be Luz. After having seen Skara being so hurt for so long, seeing Luz bring out a happier side of her was… genuinely nice.

Both Skara and Luz continued their debate, with Willow simply being a clueless but happy bystander. Even if she only understood every other word, hearing the two argue their cases so passionately made the enjoyment they were experiencing a touch infectious.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the three girls made their way to the front of the lunch line. They didn't have their pick of food, since nearly everyone in the school at this point had gotten first-dibs, but there was still enough for them to get a decent meal.

Well, enough for Willow to get, anyway. Luz on the other hand…

Hmmm. Rancid ranch and sickly sour pickles." The sweat on Luz's forehead looked as big as a boiling raindrop. "My favorite…"

The lunch lady, coated in scales, a fishtail and a fish-hairnet, squinted her beady, fishy eyes. "What's a pickle?"

"Er - Forget it." Luz said to the lunch lady, who just shrugged and got back to work. "I'll just get something back at the Owl House, it'll be fine."

"I could hook you up with something."

Before Luz or Willow could respond, Skara spun a spell circle in the air, and out from the circle, a lunchbox fell into her hands. "My folks made me lunch today! I can get you two some of the best food on the Isles!"

Willow looked down at Skara's lunch. It was a simple, tiny lunchbox, Bard red with Skara's initials blazen atop it in silver cursive.

"Wait, if you had food already, why'd you wait in line with us?"

"I, er…" Again, Skara went slightly red. "...Might've been enjoying that debate too much and forgotten."

At that, again, Willow couldn't help but chuckle. "Fair."

Luz, meanwhile, looked down at her own stomach, and Willow could make out the sound of grumblings. "Well, that's awfully nice of ya, Skara. Are you sure?"

"Yeah." The Bard shrugged. "I mean, it's just something I sometimes do. My folks tend to make me a bit too much food, so I usually share."

Willow couldn't read minds, but for a brief second, Skara's face flashed a look that read: And it's not like I have anyone else to share it with today anyway, so.

"Awesome! Thanks!" Luz beamed. "Hey, you should come sit with us! I bet Gus and Amity'll love it too! If you wanna share it with them, that is."

As Luz's sentence finished off, Skara's face began to fall, as if coming to a realization. "Oh. That… that's, uh..." She squirmed a touch, as if uncomfortable.

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Skara? Everything okay?"

"No - I mean, yeah - I mean… I just, er… I don't want to intrude."

"I mean, I don't have any problem with it."

It wouldn't be as though this were the first time that the two of them had eaten together. They'd shared a meal back when they were in the cabin on the Knee, so it wasn't like this was a foreign concept to Willow.

Even if it was, Skara just seemed a lot happier around people she could actually speak to. The difference between how she had been this morning, and how she was now, was like night and day. And she didn't want to see that put out, or leave her on her own with things the way they were.

And even if that wasn't a consideration to be had - A part of Willow just wanted Skara to sit with them. Not out of any sense of obligation, or feeling of responsibility for her, or anything like that. Just… She found herself enjoying the Bards company like this. The Skara she was speaking to now had an infectious energy, and was kind. The kind of person Willow liked being around.

"Hey, if I'd had a problem with it, I wouldn't have suggested it." Luz added, still smiling.

"Y-Yeah, but I don't know how Amity or Goops-"

"Gus."

"Sorry, Gus… I don't know if they would be."

That… wasn't an entirely unfounded concern, Willow thought, pursing her lips. Especially not with Gus. She glanced around the cafeteria again, to see if he had arrived. As far as she could tell, he hadn't.

"Well, there's no harm in asking." Luz insisted. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to - but I'd kinda like it if you did."

Skara looked at Luz with surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! I don't meet a ton of people I can talk about books with. It'd be fun!"

"For whatever it's worth," Willow said, "I'd like it if you came with us too."

That made Skara pause. And for a few seconds, she didn't move at all.

When she finally did, her words were softer, quieter, and more careful than they had been before. "I… Thanks. Okay. Okay, we can go ask, sure."

Luz nodded, leading the way. Willow and Skara followed close behind. Right before they arrived at the table, Willow saw Skara glancing at her from the corner of her eye. She still looked nervous. Willow responded silently, with a smile and a nod, as though she were confirming that yes, really, she was okay with this and meant what she had said. Skara's expression became a mixture of uncertainty and trepidation, but also relief and gratitude.

When they approached the table, Amity became aware of their presence, and looked up to greet them. Upon seeing Skara, for the briefest second, her eyes just glossed over the Bard, before doing a double take.

The expression on her face was… an indescribable mixture of both complete surprise, and a complete lack of one, all at once. Like she already knew what was going on, and both expected something like this, but was still surprised it was actually happening.

"...Hey." She greeted.

"...Hi." Skara replied.

"Hi." Willow also said. "Have er, have you seen Gus yet?"

"No." Amity shook her head. "I haven't. I haven't seen many Illusionists at all, actually."

"Maybe the Track got held back?" Luz suggested.

"If Ed and Em have anything to do with it, probably."

"Yeah, Illusion classes can get… messy."

"..."

"...So, er…" Willow cleared her throat. "Do you mind if Skara sits with us today?"

"She's sharing some of her lunch with me since everything is either taken or…" Luz's hands made a series of incomprehensible, vague gestures. "...Boiling Isles-y."

Amity glanced between the two of them, and then to Skara.

"I er, I don't want to impose." Skara said. Given their history, Amity, more so than anyone else, felt intimidating, and the whole situation felt suddenly awkward. "If not, that's -"

"It's fine by me." Amity said with a small shrug. "So long as it's okay with everyone else."

Skara blinked, as if still not sure what to do. Luz and Willow sat down, Luz making her way around the table to sit next to Amity, while Willow just placed herself down on the nearest seat. After a moment's hesitation, Skara sat herself down next to Willow.

"...Thanks. I er… Thanks. "

It was strange - Skara didn't seem like she was used to being the odd one out. Or even socially awkward in any capacity really. But she was acutely aware of the situation that she was in now, and couldn't help it. She wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself.

She had offered to share her extra food with Luz - Probably start there.

Despite the lunchbox not being particularly large, Skara opened it up and reached so far down almost all her arm fit. "Let's see here… Er, what do you like, exactly, Luz?"

"Anything like a spare PB and J?"

"I can do something like that, yeah."

From the tiny lunchbox, Skara pulled out, absurdly, another, larger paper bag, filled halfway to the top. Putting it on the middle of the table, the other three girls peered inside, and found themselves astounded by the sheer quantity of food.

"Seriously?" Luz looked stunned at the amount of food. "Your folks make you this much stuff every day?"

"Nah." Skara shook her head. "Just maybe every other day. If, er, either of you want anything, go for it." She looked between Willow and Amity.

Luz and Willow both hesitated for a moment, as if overcome by choice. Amity on the other hand, held no such reservations. She took the closest sandwich to the top, and took a bite out of it immediately. The action made Willow a little bit more comfortable, and she reached in and grabbed one herself.

"Thanks." Amity said, after taking another bite out of the sandwich. "I won't lie, I missed your parents' food. The Abomination servants at home aren't exactly Cooking Coven worthy."

The comment seemed to spur Luz to peer a little closer, though she was still hesitant. No matter how good it sometimes looked, it really was a 60/40 coin-toss on the food in this Realm actually being edible for her.

Reaching in, Skara grabbed a sandwich, and offered it to Luz. "This is the closest thing I have to a PB and J. Sorry."

Taking the food, Luz peeled the bread apart to look at the contents inside. An orange paste of Herbeska spread, a brown clump of Dazzle-Cream, and purple terror-berry jelly revealed themselves.

Luz looked at it quizzically, taking several sniffs of it. "...Hmmm… I mean… It smells safe…" Then, she shrugged nonchalantly. "Ah, the heck with it."

She nibbled on a corner.

And promptly collapsed onto the floor.

Skara blinked. "I uh… I didn't just kill her, did I?"

Luz jumped to her feet, a sparkle in her eyes that shone like a literal diamond. "OHMYTITANSKARATHISISAMAZING!" She took another bite, now tearing into the sandwich like she hadn't eaten in weeks. "FOOD! REAL ACTUAL EDIBLE FOOD! HOW I MISSED YOU!"

Skara and Willow sideyed each other. "So, er… you like it?"

But Luz didn't answer, already tearing into her second sandwich.

Amity just smiled. "I told you they were good."

"Well, looks like someones having fun?" Willow chuckled.

Skara couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"...Hey."

All attention was suddenly pulled back to behind Skara, to where Gus now stood.

His expression was… difficult to read, although one thing was clear - He was far less surprised than Amity had been, but that was replaced with something else. His eyes met Skara's, and then they glanced over towards everyone else's.

Willow smiled. "Gus!"

"Gwuhs!" Luz said, her mouth still stuffed. She chewed and swallowed as quick as she could. "Gus, you gotta try these! Skara's folks make the actual best sandwiches I think I've ever had in my life!"

"...Right."

"Where have you been?" Amity asked.

"We got held up." Gus answered, flatly. "Someone thought it would be funny to cast an Illusion which replaced everyone's heads with Fraggle-Yeti's."

"...Okay but that does sound hilarious." Luz deadpanned.

"Oh it was extremely funny." Gus conceded with a smile. His expression did fall when he scanned the table again, though. "But I was starving, so…"

Skara suddenly seemed acutely aware of where exactly she was sitting. Specifically, next to Willow. And Willow was sat at the edge of the table. Gus would either have to sit next to Skara, or go around the table and sit next to Amity or Luz.

"Oh, we, er, invited Skara to sit with us." Willow explained. "Sorry. I wanted to check with you first, but you weren't here-"

"I can go." Skara said, quickly, already half out of her seat. "I don't want to impose or-"

"You aren't imposing." Gus said. Without another word, he walked around the table, and sat next to Amity, and opposite Willow. Skara… Couldn't help but notice the word he had actually put emphasis on. But he didn't say anything more.

"Swiouswy Gwuhs." Luz said, again, with a mouthful of food she then chewed and swallowed as quickly as she could. She offered him a sandwich she grabbed from the bag. "You've gotta try this."

Gus just shook his head. "I'm fine, thanks." As if then to punctuate the point, he took a bite out of the food he had gotten, and tried very hard to look like he was enjoying it.

With that, things quickly started to return to the formula of an average school lunch break. The table began to banter amongst themselves: Luz and Skara dragged Amity into their Azura-Bellatrix debate - Amity always taking Luz and Azura's side, because of course she did, - as Willow and Gus, bystanders to this silly debacle, discussed their days amongst themselves, Luz and Amity, and interjecting their own moments every so often. Skara, noticeably, didn't, presumably because she didn't have anything all that pleasant to recall - Except when something about her and Luz in the Bard Class came up.

As time went on, Willow noticed Skara seeming to get a bit more comfortable with talking to the others. A part of it reminded Willow of the process that it had been to get Skara to talk to her over the last few weeks - Difficult and awkward and uncomfortable at first, but slowly, they both got more used to it. She was glad for it, happy to see that she was able to just chat to those around her about her interests, something that she hadn't been able to do around Boscha.

And Willow didn't mind chatting mostly with Gus. It was a nice change of pace. It hadn't been just them talking for a while now. They just talked about their classes. Nothing major, and nothing too important. It was just…. Nice.

It didn't last for too long though - time moved quickly, and as Skara was about to concede that maybe, potentially, perhaps, possibly, maybe Luz wasn't entirely wrong about some of her points, maybe - the bell screamed to life, initiating everyone in the lunchroom to head to the second, excruciatingly unfun set of classes.

"Welp, now that I got some real grub, looks like I got Advanced Abominations with Ami! The triple A!" Luz lifted her hands in victory before standing herself up at the lunch table. "Ready to take on whatever Professor Homunculus has in store?"

Willow could see a touch of red spread on Amity's cheeks. Whatever she had been planning to say in response to that died in her throat, as Luz took her arm, causing the Blight to turn as red as the tornatoes from Skara's sandwiches.

Luz waved goodbye as she dragged Amity behind her. "Bye, everyone! Thanks for conceding that I was right, Skara!"

"I conceded nothing!" Skara called out, encircling her hands over her mouth to create a makeshift megaphone. Willow couldn't help but feel a pang of childish humor at the sight.

She, and Gus got up to return their trays, and Skara packed up her mess back into her lunchbox. Gus already was on his way, and Willow was about to follow him, before she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Uh, hey, Willow?"

Willow turned to Skara. That awkwardness that seemed so out of place, but so familiar to Skara at this point was present, but perhaps slightly less so now that it was just the two of them.

"Yeah, Skara?"

"I just… I wanted to thank you." Skara was avoiding eye-contact, casting her lunchbox back into the void of nothingness within her magic circle as she spoke. "I know you told Luz to help me and everything-"

Willow coughed lightly, chuckling nervously herself. "What? Well, I sorta asked, but Luz-"

"She said she wanted to either way, yeah. Don't worry, I know. But…" She looked up at Willow, and for the briefest of moments, she thought she saw the smallest of smiles on Skara's lips. "Just… Thanks, for asking her anyway. And for letting me sit with you guys. It… was nice."

"Oh." Willow waved a hand, and smiled. "Well, it's nothing. You clearly had a lot of fun with Luz and Amity. I'm just glad none of you tore each other apart over your books."

Skara's eyes narrowed. "Don't jinx it." Then, she let herself give a wry smile. "She's wrong about everything to do with Bellatrix but… Luz is pretty cool."

"Isn't she?"

"Yeah. And… so are you."

Willow blinked. Hearing Skara say that to her was… Weird. Not in a bad way in the slightest, just… Weird. It wasn't something she ever really expected to hear from her, and now that she had, it was…

…Nice.

"...Well, I… Thanks, Skara. I appreciate it." Willow couldn't hold back her grin, even if she wanted to. "Listen, I can check with the others, but if you want to come back tomorrow, I'm sure no one will mind."

Skara seemed taken aback by the suggestion… but not against it. "Really?"

"Of course. Where else are we gonna get actual food in this school?"

Skara couldn't hold back a snort at that. "It's nice to be needed." The tone was laced with playful sarcasm, and Willow couldn't help but smile at it herself. "But, yeah." Skara put her head down again. "I'll… I'll think about it."

For a moment, Skara and Willow stood there silently. It wasn't an awkward silence this time, though. If anything, this time it was the opposite. It was sort of silence you didn't want to break simply because it felt too relaxed. Too comfortable. Both girls simply stood in the now-empty lunchroom, Willow holding her tray, Skara holding her lunchbox, and just stood together.

It honestly felt… really, really nice.

That is, until the one-minute bell screamed.

"...Ow." Skara winced, as the noise ended, one eye closed. "I… Really, really, really hate that thing." She muttered. She glanced towards the nearest exit, and then back to Willow. "I've gotta get to my next class. I'll… see you around?"

"See you around."

Both split apart, Skara headed towards the hallway, Willow to the tray dispensary, where she saw Gus waiting for her. Once there, and having put her tray with the rest, she looked back to the hallway, and saw Skara looking back as well, and offering a wave. Willow offered one back., and just like that, Skara made her way down the hallway, out of sight.

"Well that was… Something."

Willow turned to Gus and blinked. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Nothing, just… It was weird, I guess."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

Gus didn't answer for a moment. "I don't know, just… Weird."

"Sorry." Willow sighed. "I did want to ask you if you were fine with it first."

"It's fine."

"You er, you said you wanted to talk, earlier." Willow pointed out. "I don't know if we have time now but, maybe after school?"

"...Nah." He shook his head. "It's alright. It's nothing important."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"...Well, now I want to know."

A small chuckle escaped Gus. He then sighed, and looked at Willow seriously. "Just… Be careful, alright? Please? Don't… Don't forget everything that happened."

For another moment, Willow just looked at Gus. Then, she looked down the hallway Skara had disappeared down.

Then, the final 'Get to classes right now' bell began to scream.

"...I won't."

---

QuirkQuartz - 'Ello all! We're back! Bit later than expected but it wasn't as long as the wait since the last chapter so PROGRESS. things are developing, Oooo! We hope you enjoyed it! - But also wait, we have announcements to make!

A major reason that updates have been a bit slower lately is because of our personal lives, and a new project we're both working on - We're making a Webcomic! The Weirlands - A series primarily inspired by the Owl House, Mythology from around the globe (but particularly Norse), Avatar TLA, and Assassin's Creed. While nothing is out YET, we have created socials for the series, and work on pages has been in full swing for a while now, drawn by myself, written by Desmond, and developed and workshopped by both of us.

Below you'll find a link to the first page preview, as well as a Linktree to all our socials - If you like ToH, Fantasy, Skarlow, or any of the inspirations, you're gonna LOVE what we have planned and we would love to see you there! We're taking asks and questions so if there's anything you want to know about it, hit us up there! We're of course going to be keeping up with GS though, so you needn't worry about that! Desmond has more Notes to make, so onto him!

Twitter - theweirlands

DesmondKane: Hey everybody! Been a minute, but we got the second half of this chapter finished! We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed writing it!

VERY important notes for everyone:

As noted by Q, we are working on our own webcomic: 'The Weirlands' - We are still working on the comic before we begin releasing it publicly, but we'll be working to keep its socials updated about it!

Sadly, the final episode of TOH aired last week. It was a wild ride of a show, and hopefully the fandom lasts at least until the inevitable reboot in 30 or so years (and ideally until the Heat Death of the universe - Q). Q's been too busy to see it or For the Future, and for the sake of everyone who may also not have seen it yet, SO NO SPOILERS PLEASE.

In lighter news… THE FIRST TOH ZINE I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF BEING A PART OF IS OUT NOW! 'ELEMENTS' FEATURES A COMIC I WROTR AND WAS DRAWN BY THE AWESOME FOXLLIC! ALL PROCEEDS GO TO THE TREVOR PROJECT! IF YOU WANT TO SNAG YOURSELF THIS ZINE BEFORE MAY 4th, CHECK IT OUT!

Desmond's tumblr - DesmondKaneofAo3fame

Elements Zine Instagram - tohfanzine_elements

Desmond's Zine Partner Instagram - foxllic

And with all those notes, I bid you all ado!