The Entanglement

by MrSova

When Amity was forced to cut ties with Willow, she was sent away for four years. In the meantime Luz stumbles into the Demon Realm making it her new home. When Amity returnes to continue her higher education at the Hexside Academy she is suprised to see a human living in the Demon Realm. A human who is apparently her childhood's friend best friend now. Cross Posted on AO3

2. Chapter 2 - Shenanigans

Amity woke up in the middle of the night with a loud scream, her body covered in cold sweat. Her golden eyes flew wide open when she sat up in her bed, panting, noticing her hands aflame… again. She looked around the room covered in darkness, enlightened only by her fire. She took in a deep breath to calm herself down, extinguish flames, and get her magic under control. The breathing did not really help. Pale, shaky hand went up to her sweaty forehead and she brushed it over her long, messy hair. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. She tried to calm herself down but she still could see the images that woke her up. "I don't want to hurt you!" She heard Luz's distorted voice echoing in her head. She exhaled shakily, putting her head in her palms, closed her eyes trying to calm down her breathing. Once again she was haunted by visions of the human girl's bones snapping and reforming. But the curse she has witnessed was not what bothered her. What bothered her was that she had seen a strong person broken down to pieces. Literally. She thought about the times Luz was dealing with Boscha's bullying with a smile, winking at the Blight, teasing the witches. Then her mind flashed the image of terror on the human's face. The witch took another deep breath.

Once she calmed herself down Amity got out of bed and walked over to a small dresser where she kept a pitcher filled with water. She poured herself a glass, took a few sips, and returned to bed. She knew that no matter how loud she would scream no one would come. No one ever did. She closed her eyes and with frowned brows she fell into another nightmare.

"Please! Somebody help!" A young girl screamed in the middle of the night crying her eyes out. The young girl had auburn hair and golden eyes red from tears. She was shaking under the covers, scared of the darkness of her room. "Mommy!" She called but no sound replied to her cry. She fought her fear with all her might and got from underneath her covers. The chill ran down her spine when fresh air met her sweat covered back. She mustered all the courage she had in her and ran out of her room toward the master bedroom to get to her mother. She did not care if anything was endangering her, hidden in the darkness. She knew she would be safe once she was with her mother. "Mommy, wake up!" The girl cried quietly, shaking her mother. The woman in her late thirties with bright green hair flowing all over the pillow was sleeping next to her husband. She murmured something when she was awoken by a young girl.

"Amity?" She asked with anger in her voice, immediately waking up "What are you doing here? This is not a time or place for that! Go to sleep!" She added with malice in her voice, frowning.

"I… I had a bad dream…" Amity cried out quietly hoping to crawl into her mother's bed. Odalia's face grimaced in disgust.

"Is that a reason to bother me?" She asked with venom. She got up and grabbed Amity's hair tightly at the top of her scalp. She pulled her daughter angrily to the girl's room and shut the door behind.

"Mommy!" Amity screamed, jumping at the now closed door. She slid down to the floor and sobbed helplessly. She cried harder when she realized she was alone in the darkness that scared her. The girl felt as if something was watching her from the corner of the room. She ran to bed quickly and covered her head, too scared to look. She cried herself to sleep while she felt a pulsating bump growing on her head from the way her mother tugged her hair.

Amity woke up feeling tearstains on her cheeks. She ignored them and got up to get ready for school. Since she was little she was taught that any show of emotions was considered weakness. Her mother did a really good job teaching her how to mask her needs, feelings and desires. After all, she was Odalia's little miss perfect, heiress to the Blight Industries. The way her emotions took better of her yesterday was just unacceptable. Especially in front of other people, people of lower status. She stared at her reflection in the mirror just when she finished applying makeup. The look in her eyes was emotionless, no light sparkling in the amber orbs, no will to fight. The pink orb on her choker glowed slightly and she looked at it with disgust. She took a deep breath and when she was ready she left, skipping breakfast, as she usually did. The less time she spent at home the better she thought..

Amity never would have imagined she would end up on the receiving end of Boscha's bullying. After all, they were friends. Or that was the facade they were keeping up. They spent four years together in the St. Epiderm boarding school. Maybe they were not close but Amity believed that it meant something. At least she wanted to. Even if she knew better. And yet it was just so simple for that facade to drop.

"Where did you disappear yesterday, human lover?" Amity heard Boscha's voice behind her while she was retrieving books from her locker. Green haired witch tried to ignore she was just called the human lover. Although, her heart skipped a beat at the sound of that. "Hey, I'm talking to you! I didn't see the human in the Potions class so… what happened? You killed her or something?" She added with honest curiosity hidden behind mean remarks.

"I don't have to tell you about everything I do, Boscha." Amity said with a distant and cold voice. She closed the locker and turned to take her leave. "It's not like you care anyway." She added, walking toward the Abomination homeroom leaving Boscha with anger creeping on her face. Triclops' fists clenched and unconsciously the balls of fire appeared around them.

"How… dare…" Boscha wanted to throw the fireball at Amity's back but she felt a hand grabbing her arm. She looked around and noticed a dark skinned Bard witch smiling gently at her.

"It's not worth it, Boscha." The bard said gently hoping that will be enough to stop the hot-tempered witch. Boscha yanked her arm from the grip growling silently.

"Whatever, Skara." She said pushing her friend aside and took her leave to Potions homeroom for another class. The Bard was taken aback by that behavior and hated everything about the situation. She wished it would be different.

Amity was trying to focus on her project as she was supposed to create vocal cords for the abomination in front of her. The goal was to create a messenger abomination that would be able to relay messages, talk smoothly, and not just groan and moan. No other classmates were this far into the project and yet Amity felt she was not doing her best. "Failure!" Echoed in her head. Her mind was skipping from Boscha's words 'human lover' to Luz's face lying unconscious, strapped to the operating table. "Get a grip! It was a one time thing! It's not like you're going to see her again! She needed help, you helped, that's it!" She thought while she was closing up the abomination's throat. "That will not do! You will not associate with the lower species!" She heard her mother's voice echoing and taunting her when she recalled her mother's opinion on almost every person, witch or not, Amity wanted to have a connection with.

"Well done, Miss Blight!" The voice of her professor dragged her out of her thoughts. A short man with dark hair walked over to the table. Amity looked at him as he was barely tall enough to see what was on the table. "Would you like to give it a try?" He encouraged her with a small smile. Amity just nodded and drew a purple spell circle in the air.

"Abomination, relay message: 'The time is quarter sun to noon'." She commanded and the abomination reacted. It opened a hollow hole that was supposed to work as a mouth and suddenly the classroom was filled with a loud screech. Everybody covered their ears and Amity's face turned paler than usual. She could not even react to the pain ringing in her ears when they slanted down, almost hugging her head. Her pupils shrunk, almost disappearing in her eyes. She recognized that exact screech. "L-Luz…" She whispered to herself while she stood frozen in front of the abomination. The image of the human's transformation flashed again in front of her eyes. She did not know what to do. Will people know what that sound was? "It's enough I know…" She scolded herself, angry at the failure.

"Well, that was not exactly a perfect work, Miss Blight." The professor said and Amity did not understand why he was smiling. "Oh, don't worry. No one ever managed to make it work on their first try. Not even the current Abomination Coven Head. You are still way ahead of everyone else, though. You created working lungs, diaphragm, larynx, trachea… you may have to work on its tongue next time. But I must compliment that your knowledge of Healing magic does give you an advantage." He explained with a smile and left Amity in shock. She understood what her professor just said but she was still angry she did not get it right. She was also scared of being so distracted she subconsciously created an abomination with the Owl Beast's voice. "That will not do!" she heard Odalia's voice in her head again. "Shut up!" Amity thought for the first time ever, shocking herself as a result. She slowly regained control over her body stiff with fear and shame. The scream of a schoolbell brought her back to reality. Amity cleaned the work station with one spell and frowned her brows in determination she had not felt in years. "You will not do…" She thought angrily to herself and left the classroom.

Eda was laying on the couch in the living room with King sleeping soundly on the other end. She was enjoying the rare calm in her life, tired after running her errands. She smiled faintly exposing her golden fang, content with the feeling. "A surprisingly peaceful domestic moment, wonder when it will be ruined?" She thought with a small smile, relaxing. As she was just feeling herself fall deeper into the couch she heard a weird commotion outside the front door. "There it is…" She grunted and got up to see what was going on.

"What in the Titan's name is going on here?!" She yelled, opening the door. Her eyes were welcomed by the most ridiculous sight of a young Blight witch fighting her way away from Hooty who seemed to be a little too happy to see her again, hugging her tightly with his long body. "Baby Blight? What are you doing here?" She asked, smiling fondly. A lot of cheesy thoughts went through her mind. "Awww… Luz got a girlfriend" Eda's mind sang, knowing well she will torment her daughter with that later.

"Me?" Amity asked stupidly "Um… nothing. I thought I'd… Get off me!" She yelled at Hooty punching the bird in the beak, making Eda smile even more. "I was saying" Amity continued straightening her skirt and brushing off Hooty's feathers "I brought Luz's homework…"

"Mhm?" Eda tied hands on her chest and lifted her eyebrow with a taunting smile.

"And… I guess it's time to change her glyphs…" Amity added sheepishly, blushing slightly, looking away and Eda just smiled ferociously showing off her golden fang.

"Gotta admit, Kid. I thought you wouldn't come back." Eda said, walking inside, leaving the door open for Amity to follow. Green haired witch closed the door behind her, hoping the bird demon would not follow.

"Who's that?" King murmured, lifting his head from the couch when he noticed the new person. "What is that?" Blight thought, noticing the demon with a skull head.

"She's Luz's… friend." Eda said with a special emphasis on 'friend' and winked at King. Amity blushed and tried to make sure her face did not show any emotions. Especially not the embarrassment and shame that was overtaking her. "That was a bad idea…" She thought but pushed the doubt away. "No! You wanted to do this. It's uncomfortable, weird, awkward… You're useless…" Her mind was not very supportive of her actions.

"So, Luz… has there been any improvement?" Amity asked, doing her best to change the subject, holding onto her school bag tightly.

"Well, there hasn't been any regression so I'll take it." Eda said and her expression changed a bit. The mischievous spark in her eyes faded slightly. "Let's go upstairs since you obviously came here to help with the glyphs." She added. Amity blushed at that remark and felt as if Eda's walls of exterior facade were crumbling as well. Luz was the light of her life. She was scared for her… daughter? "Yeah, she's her daughter." Amity thought and followed the gray haired witch.

"If I may ask…" Amity started, not knowing if she was not crossing any boundaries "You said Luz is your daughter… How did that happen?" The curiosity got the better of her as they walked up. She immediately regretted asking the question. Eda stopped suddenly and turned toward young Blight. She looked down at the young witch as she stood a few stairs above her. But there was no anger. Just a faint smile as if Eda was recalling a pleasant memory.

"It's nice of you to ask. I sometimes forget how she came into my life. It feels like she was always here, like there was no before…" Eda started talking quietly. When she noticed Amity relaxing and listening to her 'backstory kind of story' as Luz would call it, she continued her way to Luz's bedroom. "She stumbled behind me through the portal door. I offered her to stay for a while but… let's just say she didn't have it easy back home. However, it's not my place to expose her secrets." Eda explained. "Before I realized she grew on me so much I legally adopted her. While making her stay here legal, she became a Clawthorne. Funnily enough, it was her request." She smiled at the fond memories "However you call it, we became a family. A weird one, I'll give you that." Eda added with a fond smile as they made it to Luz's bedroom. "You are most certainly more of a family than I am with my biological one." Blight witch though bitterly. Eda opened the door and Amity looked in. The young human girl was still lying unconscious in her bed covered only in the two stripes of white fabric as it made it easier to care for her wounds. "She has a way of sneaking into people's hearts." Eda added fondly while watching Amity's golden eyes wide open staring at her daughter in awe. "She does indeed." Young witch thought without realizing what was going through her mind.

Amity walked into the dim room slowly. The only light was coming from the window on the wall opposite the door and the glow of the healing glyphs. Even though Amity has never been here before, she felt confident on where to put books, the school bag, and Luz's homework. After picking up healing glyphs from the human's desk, she walked over to the other side of the unconscious lying figure. She looked up at Eda as if waiting for her approval to proceed. The glyphs Luz had on her body were almost burned down. From the outside there was not much of a difference in Luz's appearance but Amity noticed that her breathing was more steady and calm. She was glad. A faint smile appeared on Blight's face when she realized the bruises underneath the tan skin were fading as well, almost gone. Although she ignored a delicate tingling in her chest while she thought that Luz was getting better.

"We need to discard the remains of the old glyphs before applying new ones." Eda instructed when she walked over to Luz's bed, looking at Amity standing on the other side of her daughter's body. Blight put the new glyphs down and took off her leather jacket. Without any further communication or asking for help, they worked perfectly with no words spoken between them. Together they created a golden spell circle that was held above the human's body. The glyphs started to disappear. They were burned away, small parts of them flying up into the spell circle as if thousands of sparks were taken by the wind. It caused Luz to wince and moan delicately but it was not any more disturbing than having an unpleasant dream.

"Here." Amity passed Eda new glyphs and they placed them on the unconscious body. Each of them worked on the respective side of Luz. Bigger glyphs were placed on the chest and ribs while the smaller ones were covering Luz's arms. Once it was done Amity's sight was stuck on the Latina's face. Still sleeping. Or maybe she was unconscious?

"You can stay with her for a while if you want." Eda offered when she noticed Amity's concerned expression. "Funny how her Blight facade drops whenever she looks at Luz…" Eda smiled, her words dragging Amity away from her thoughts. Blight looked at the older witch who took a step back from the bed with a slight shock.

"What?! Why? Wait, are you sure?" Amity asked, not knowing whether she wanted to stay or just wanted an excuse to stay. She also had a feeling she should go, run, never come back but that nagging was gone as soon as she heard Eda's voice again.

"Yeah, Kid." She said with a bright smile "Here, read this to her." Eda said, shoving a book into Amity's hands "If she can hear us then trust me…" She paused, giving Amity a wicked smile "She'll love to hear this one." She added and left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the young witch in a state of delicate shock.

Amity looked down at the book and her eyes went wide in shock. "No way!" The witch thought and a crooked, half smile appeared on her face. It was the Good Witch Azura book. She used to read it when she was younger. Time after time. She loved the whole series but her mother threw the books away when she noticed Amity was too fond of them, hiding away in the world described in the heavy tomes. Any attachment was not good so she had to teach her child… "Doesn't matter now… Just… wow… Azura… Luz also likes Azura!" Amity thought with a childish smile on her face and she sat down in the chair by Luz's bed. She could not recall when was the last time she smiled so honestly. The chair's back was facing the window so the light was perfect without disturbing Luz's sleep. The witch took one last look at the sleeping figure surrounded by a blue healing glow and took a deep calming breath. She started reading out loud. Just like she used to read to the children at the Library back when she was younger, back when things were simpler.

"Oh no! My only weakness! Dying!" Amity's eyes went wide in shock when after hours of reading she heard Luz's voice join hers in an imitation of Gildersnake's last words. Young Blight was so invested in reading her favorite novel after so many years apart she did not pay attention to the time passing by.

"LUZ!" The witch exclaimed, jumping in her seat, startled with the sudden interruption. Her heartbeat increased rapidly. She blushed, feeling ashamed she was reading to Luz, imitating the voices… and the children's book at that. "Very unBlightly!" The witch heard a nagging voice again. "How are you feeling?" She asked when she recomposed herself after the first shock of hearing Luz's voice again. The witch moved closer to the bed to make sure the hurt girl was really awake. The human was still struggling with opening her eyes. She did not move any part of her body. She just snapped her brows up and managed to force her eyelids up enough to look at the witch beside her. Amity's heart rate increased when she looked into the hazel-brown eyes, looking back at her. The human smiled faintly. "That human smile…"

"Thirsty to be honest… and happy to finally get rid of the sleep paralysis." She said in a low, hoarse voice. Amity got up as if someone burned her. She immediately fetched Luz some water from the night stand. "Also… I know I look hot…" She paused to enjoy the embarrassed expression on Blight's face "But I'm freezing." She added in a shivering whisper, smiling at Amity's tomato-blush reaction. The witch turned around immediately to avoid the human's intense gaze and to help her out. She found a blanket and placed it on the human's body, making sure she would not tear the healing glyphs off. She noticed that even though Luz was messing with her, she really was cold. The tan body shivered underneath the blanket. Amity helped Luz get a few sips of water, holding her head up. She felt those soft locks between her pale fingers again. She gulped nervously while she looked down at the human's face.

"What do you mean by sleep paralysis?" Amity asked with honest curiosity.

"That's when I am aware of my surroundings but I cannot move. Like being trapped in your mind, fighting to move your body…" Luz explained while taking another sip. "It happens only when I'm overly exhausted." She added and smiled softly, noticing the witch's concerned eyes. "Beasting out does that to a person" She added while enjoying the view of the blushing witch but was also scared that Amity was here only because she felt guilty. She was scared Blight would disappear as soon as Luz would feel better. "Would you be so kind…" Luz tried to speak but her strength was leaving her again, the worry exhausting her. "Would you continue to read, please? The best part is on the next page." Luz said with a faint smile and Amity just could not say 'no' to that. She smiled delicately, helped the human's head back to the pillow, and returned back to her chair without any comment. She continued reading the book aloud but now a faint smile was not leaving her lips. She kept looking at the human from time to time to see Luz's lips were mouthing the dialogs. She was happy to learn that Luz also loved the Good Witch Azura series. They may be from two different realms but they had more in common than anyone would think. Especially people like Boscha.

When Amity returned to the Manor that night, she quickly ran into her room avoiding any attention. For the first time in years she smiled while at home. It may have been because of her bold decision today. A decision of which consequences may be severe. But she was tired of being afraid of what people think, what her family thinks… she did reach out to people who have not spoken with her in years just so she would have Luz's homework. "What a rush…" Well, she did not reach out to the people she wanted to. She was still too scared to break a deal she had with her mother. But she was proud of herself nonetheless. She went back to the Owl House. She fought the damned Owl Demon at the door and most importantly… She was there for Luz. The human, who also loved the Good Witch Azura series. Amity had the same child-like smile on her face when she opened the book she borrowed from Luz. With the human's permission of course. She never read this one. And she could not wait to know what was going to happen next. "Will Azura finally find the courage to tell Hecate how she feels about her? Will Hecate return the feelings?" She had a tingling sensation in the back of her head that her sudden burst of courage would not go unpunished, but for now… she was enjoying her happiness as she started reading the book.

Luz woke up early in the morning. She looked at the window and noticed the sun barely making its way above the horizon. She moaned and stirred a little bit underneath the blanket. She felt her body ache. She winced but noticed her bones had healed completely. She brought her hand up and moved her fingers. She was still very sore but healed. Still, this whole situation worried her. Half transformation happened to her for the first time ever. Usually when she turned, the magic of the Owl Beast healed her but this… this was new. She did not like it. While she dissociated looking at the sunrise her thoughts roamed free. She was grateful Amity followed her to that bathroom. And even though she had to go through that agonizing pain, and embarrassment, revealing her darkest secret, it was still better than the Owl Beast on the loose in the middle of Hexide Academy. Titan knows what could have happened if Amity would not help her. "Amity…" Luz's thoughts flew lazily toward the pale, green haired witch with eyes as gold as the rising sun. The human girl smiled faintly. She only heard rumors about the youngest Blight. Even though in the past few months she tried to interact with the witch in any possible way, it was not meant to be. Willow mentioned them being friends in the past but she never wanted to say much more than that. The witch always cut the topic short. Luz smiled at her memories of a panicked Willow from a few months ago.

"Oh my Titan, she's back!" The short witch with round glasses exclaimed, hiding behind her human friend. That was very out of character for the strong and stoic Plant witch.

"What? Who? Willow, are you okay?" Luz asked with a bit of mockery in her voice while she looked down at her friend.

"It's… Amity…" She whispered and pointed to the other side of the corridor. Luz looked up and her face blushed a bit. Time stood still for the human. She was looking at a beautiful young witch, with a green mane of long, unruly hair, tied up in a half ponytail, golden eyes, serious long face, cutely twitching pointy ears, and a lean, pale, porcelain-like body. She was dressed in a leather jacket that wonderfully matched the choker with pink gem, white shirt, and a plaid pink skirt that revealed her long legs that stomped gracefully across the corridor in her heavy boots. Suddenly, the time's speed increased and Luz felt a punch to her stomach.

"What the…" She exclaimed coughing, wincing in pain, and looking at Willow from underneath her long side bangs.

"Will you stop crushing on her! She's bad news!" Plant witch said with a dead serious voice, pointing a finger at her friend. Luz looked back at Amity then again at Willow. Then again at Amity. Her mind was working overtime. She looked back at Willow again. Her brows frowned.

"Did you like… have a thing for her?" The human asked, not understanding what Willow's problem with the girl was. "Also! I'm not crushing!" Luz added straightening herself up, just to be clear.

"What?! No!" She exclaimed facepalming. "Listen…" She started, grabbing Luz's arms, pushing the human delicately at the lockers. "She's from a high class family. Like, there is nothing higher than a Blight. If you stand in their way you will get hurt. I know I did not tell you this when Emira was around but that's a completely different story. Emira was disowned while Amity is the heiress. So just promise me…" She paused and looked seriously into her friend's eyes "Stay away from that Blight!" Willow exclaimed, whispering, and Luz could see her friend was dead serious. She has been Willow's best friend almost from the day she came to this strange world and she trusted her. Maybe not with every little secret Luz had but she trusted her enough to agree to Willow's plea.

"Ugh, fine." Luz said, freeing herself from the witch's hold, and closing her locker "But only because you ask nicely." She added and left for her classroom, looking back at the Blight witch from afar. Her never existent smile, the angry spark in her eyes, and the way she always was standing behind Boscha. Her presence made the bullying worth allowing it. She never told Willow how she sometimes provoked Boscha just to get a chance to talk with Amity. But that did not happen. So she kept on watching Blight from afar until the day Amity decided to follow her to the bathroom.

"Which was like two days ago." Luz reminded herself and laughed at her thoughts. She did not break a promise given to Willow though. "That damned promise…" She thought about how she tried to get to know Amity without breaking the promise before.

Luz was never the one to provoke anybody. Especially since she had her fair share of bullying back in the Human Realm. Yet, she could not stop herself when she noticed how Boscha and her posse acted since the day they arrived at the Academy. Willow did tell Luz about the way the triclops behaved back in the elementary school. That triggered the human so much she could not stand the way the Grudby Team Captain was treating people around her. Including her so-called friends.

Luz carefully watched Boscha's friends. Skara, a Bard witch, was always the one to stop the triclops from hurting people. It was clear that she did not like violence but she still helped. Even if just by giggling fakely at the mean jokes. Then there was Amity. Luz took her sweet time trying to figure her out. The green haired witch was always standing a few steps behind her other friends. As if she did not want to be around them at all. Her face was always cold, emotionless, her eyes had no spark of joy, she never spoke up. She looked as if she was a lifeless puppet. Walking around school, doing work assigned to her, and then leaving. Luz never saw her at any of the parties or anywhere outside the school… It was as if she existed only at the Academy. But Luz found something that excited her about the distant witch.

"How dare you humiliate me!" Boscha yelled at the human, lifting her up by the shirt, and pushing her body at the lockers. That was honestly impressive considering how much taller the human was. Luz just smiled wickedly and looked down at the bully.

"I don't know what this is about but I need to point out, you don't need my help with that. You're doing a great job humiliating yourself." Luz replied with a grin. The Grudby Captain pulled Luz down and then smashed her body at the lockers again.

"I'm talking about what you did in the class!" She said and Luz started laughing wholeheartedly.

"Oh, you mean how you did not study for the test and embarrassed yourself? You have to stop blaming other people for your own failure, Boscha!" Luz taunted and then looked at Amity. Their eyes met and for the first time ever the human noticed a bright spark in those cold golden orbs. "Oh, so it seems she agrees with me." Luz thought and smiled warmly for a moment but the witch quickly looked away, slanting her ears in shame. The human looked back at the triclops and her warm expression was gone. "If you'd just take the example from the Ice Queen over here maybe you wouldn't embarrass yourself as much. She never talks and from what I hear from other multitracks, she's the most talented witch they have ever seen." Luz taunted, giving Amity a hidden complement, and enjoyed how Boscha lifted her up once again. The human enjoyed looking at Amity from a better perspective. Said witch looked up at the human again. Luz sent her another smile.

"That's it!" Boscha yelled and ignited her left fist in preparation for a strike. Luz smiled widely, looking down at the Blight witch who looked back into the human's eyes. "That spark again…" Luz thought and felt a strange warmth in her chest. However, before anything else could have happened, a sudden yank on the human's leg set her free from the triclops' grip. and she fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"What the..?" Luz wondered out loud but she soon realized that the familiar green, thornless vine was dragging her away from the commotion. The human managed to send one last taunting look toward the witches. She smiled warmly when she noticed Amity's surprised reaction. "Finally, an expression!" She thought and smiled even warmer while she was dragged along the corridor. "Nice talking to you, gotta go, byeeeeee!" She yelled, still staring into Amity's eyes, and within a few more seconds she found herself hanging upside down, facing semi-angry Willow. "Hi, Willow! Didn't see you there!" She said, smiling innocently.

"Luz! I know what you're doing!" The witch said and stared into her friend's eyes.

"Still worth it." The human replied and Willow just grunted in defeat, letting her go.

Luz smiled again at her memories and slowly pushed herself up in bed to sit up. Everything hurt her but she knew she had to slowly start moving. Especially since she had a lot of studying to do. She missed two days of classes already and she was not about to fall behind just because almost every major bone in her body was shattered.

She tried to stand up from the bed and fetch some clothes but her legs gave out the moment she straightened up, managing to stand for a second. A loud thud echoed across the house when she fell on the wooden boards. Luz groaned and tried to get up but her arms were too weak to push herself up. "So we're back to weak nerd arms, huh?" She wondered and suddenly heard multiple footsteps coming closer from behind her bedroom door. Luz managed to cover her naked body with a blanket Amity covered her with yesterday just in time for the door to swing open.

"Weh?" King exclaimed and ran over to Luz.

"Kid, what the hell are you doing?" Eda asked with concern in her voice. She was still in her rabbit slippers and house gown when she walked over to help Luz up.

"I need to study…" Luz said quietly, feeling warm hands helping her up. She kept the blanket close to her body but it slipped off her back. Eda looked down at the five long scars along her back and her face went blank. The witch sighed loudly in defeat, closing her eyes for a second.

"You always do that to yourself, Kid." She said quietly, hugging the human girl. "You force yourself, don't cut yourself any slack. You need to rest Luz. You need to heal. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone." She said while she helped Luz back into bed and then fetched some pajamas. "I know you want to hop back on your feet again but take it slow. You haven't been broken like that before." Eda kept going while she helped Luz get into the clothes. "All things considered." She added, looking at the scars hiding underneath the loose shirt.

"Fine…" Luz agreed with a small growl, feeling defeated and guilt ridden when she noticed how her mother looked at her back. She could not argue with Eda. King hopped on the bed next to her and snuggled to her side.

"I'm gonna make sure you don't do anything stupid! Like not sleeping! Sleeping is the best!" He said and Luz just smiled and petted his skull head.

"All right, all right. I'll rest. I promise." Luz agreed "But I'm not missing any more classes!" She added pointing a finger at her mentor, standing her ground.

"Blight girl brought your homework so you didn't miss anything." Eda said, smiling, and leaving the room to get Luz something to eat. "She… what?" Brunette stared at her desk not believing that Amity went out of her way to help her so much.

Luz was just about to reach for the books she needed for her classes right before the first period when she felt the intense staring. The green haired witch was standing next to the opened locker and was looking at the human girl. Intensely, borderline creepily.

"Well, hello to you too." Luz stated while she picked the books from her locker. She did not look at the witch. She did not know how to behave. "Come on, Luz! You wanted that for a long time. Do something!" She scolded herself. It was their first interaction in public. Not counting Luz being barely conscious or being bullied by Boscha. Amity disappeared as soon as Luz was starting to feel better. "Just like I suspected. Not that I care about it…" She thought bitterly. But then again… she could not blame the heiress to bail on her. She was afterall a cursed human and she was a Blight. "But then why would she bring my homework?"

"Here's your book…" Amity said, trying to keep her voice calm, returning the last tome of the Good Witch Azura series. Luz finally looked up at the golden eyed witch. Those orbs were surrounded by dark shadows and underlined by swelling. Luz grabbed the heavy book and smiled cockily. "Or she did not bail on me because of me being me…" The hopeful thought popped into the human's head and her features lightened up.

"Oh wow… that was… well… fast." The human girl commented with a cocky smile. "I wondered why you did not visit me during the days off school since you were so obviously worried." She added and enjoyed how Amity's pale cheeks blushed and her ears slanted down "I wondered if you had some damsel in distress fetish…" She continued enjoying Amity's blush getting a shade darker. "It was either that or…" She made a pause to taunt the witch while she leaned in forward "You did not notice the time passing by as soon as you started reading…" Amity looked at her, confirming that was exactly what happened "And you forgot about the whole world." She opened the book and noticed Amity's forgotten fanart in between the pages. Blight blushed intensely, quickly grabbed the paper and incinerated it. "Wow, you've got some quick grabbers." Luz chuckled.

"Well... I haven't had a chance to read Azura since I was a kid…" Amity admitted, tying arms on her chest but she decided to bite her tongue before she would tell too much. "You don't have to explain yourself!" The witch scolded herself, biting her lower lip.

"Whatever you say, Amity." Luz said with a wicked smile, lowering her voice while saying the witch's name, straightening up her pose. "If you want… Um… We can talk about the book… if you want that is…" She proposed happily yet filled with panic. It was her time to blush now but when she looked up into Amity's eyes the witch was looking at something in the far side of the corridor with frowned brows. Her smile and blush were no more. Her whole expression has changed.

"Meet me at the Library after school." She commanded the human quickly and quietly. Luz noticed her changed behavior. Amity's body got stiff, closed off, and her somewhat friendly attitude turned cold again. "Sorry…" She added in a whisper and pushed Luz when she passed her by, sending her flying at her locker.

Luz was surprised. She looked behind Amity with an intent to say something to her when she noticed Boscha and her team mates coming closer. She thought that Amity was just ashamed of having any kind of connection with a 'filthy human'. She felt as if someone punched her in the guts. Went with a cold dagger through her heart. She did not know what she was expecting. Willow did warn her, did she not?. Luz angrily closed her locker with a smash and left for the classroom.

Luz was trying to forget her morning interaction with Amity. "Why was it great and nice until her friends showed up?" Luz had no idea why the witch behaved that way. Was she really so ashamed of her? After all, it was Amity who followed her into the bathroom. Also, now Blight knew her darkest secret. The secret even Willow did not know about. And they were best friends for Titan's sake! So after all they went through, why would she behave like that? "I mean, I know it was like only a few hours of interaction but still…" She argued with her mind. "She did come over to check in on me… she read Azura to me… no one forced her… ugh!" She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and tug her hair out. "Keep it cool Clawthorne, just go to the library and talk… like adults." She argued, forcing herself to calm down. It was not easy. Especially since deep anger could spark an Owl Beast. Yet, Amity has seen that part of her so there was nothing stopping her. Then again, she would not want to hurt anybody. Although, she was controlling that part of herself pretty well.

"Oh my fucking Titan! Just go already!" Willow's yell pulled Luz out of her thoughts. Of course Luz told her about the morning interaction. She skipped the 'I'm cursed and almost turned at school but Amity saved me' part obviously. "I see what is happening here and it's okay! You wanted it for months so go! If anything goes wrong I'm here for you." She added with a supportive voice when she noticed the human's expression. Luz bit her lower lip not wanting to feel as if she broke a promise given to her friend. "Just caw me once you get home safely." Willow said and left for home. Luz nodded, took in a deep breath of encouragement, and turned toward the Hexide Library.

After a few minutes of walking she approached an impressive building with a massive wooden door. She walked in and headed across the main hall. She had been here before a few times but only to pick up a few books with Willow or for Eda. She never actually had a chance to appreciate the design. Tall walls were covered with old bookshelves. Occasional emptiness was covered up with some kind of historical canvas representing Deadwardian Era. Luz enjoyed the mixture of colors in the painting. She walked in deeper into the library. Suddenly, she caught the glimpse of a green mane behind the next turn. Luz quickened her pace to catch up but when she took the same turn the witch was not there. The human was standing in front of a dead end corridor containing the bookshelf with the romance novels.

"What the…" Luz mumbled quietly. "Maybe I am going crazy… hallucinating green hair everywhere…" Luz made fun of herself whilst shaking her head. She turned around and was just about to leave when she heard a quiet scratching behind her. She turned her head just to notice a bookshelf slide, exposing a room hidden behind it.

"I thought you wouldn't come." Amity stepped out of the room. "Not after the way I treated you in the morning." She added blushing, her eyes looking down, too scared to look into Luz's brown ones. Said girl turned to face the witch and tied her arms on her chest. "I did not see that coming…" Luz thought.

"Well, I'm here…" She started but her sentence was cut short by Amity grabbing her arm and yanking her into the room, closing the bookshelf behind them quietly. Luz finally heard the footsteps on the other side of the bookshelf. She noticed Amity kept her close, making sure they had not been spotted. The witch's ears twitched, listening to the sounds on the other side of the shelf. "That's an impressive hearing," The human thought, realizing she had been staring at the shorter girl's features. "Cute twitching…" A delicate blush creeped on her tan face. Amity turned to Luz and noticed how close they have been. She let go of the human's arm and took a step into the room. Luz finally looked around and smiled faintly. It seemed as if it was Amity's secret hideout. There was a desk along with a comfortable chair, a fluffy carpet, a few notebooks, and books. Luz was not even surprised there was a couch and a bed considering how Amity was the best student. Luz's sight went back to Amity who stood in front of her embarrassed. Her pale hands were anxiously grabbing the hem of her black tunic. She was not the same confident young witch that everyone was scared off. She was showing Luz a completely different side of herself. Was she repaying Luz for showing her weakness? "Okay, Amity. I need some explanation."

"I know, I'm sorry…" Amity said sheepishly. "Sit with me?" The witch gestured to the couch and Luz accepted the offer. They sat next to each other and Luz tugged her right leg underneath herself and turned to face Amity. The witch felt the human's intense gaze. She sighed deeply and looked at her companion. "First of all, I'm sorry for this morning. I just know Boscha will turn your life a living hell if she'd know we actually talked." Amity started.

"I thought that might be one possibility. The other one was that you are ashamed of being seen with me. Not only a human, but also a daughter of the infamous Owl Lady." Luz said with a bit of theatrics lifting up her hand into the air. Her voice did not sound angry or disappointed. She just wanted to know the truth.

"That would be a reason why my parents can't know about us having any kind of interaction." Amity admitted and Luz noticed that once she mentioned her parents a shadow of fear ran through her face. The Latina knew there were different dynamics in families but she never thought a high and mighty Blight would actually be scared of anyone. Least to say, her own parents.

"Well, you invited me here to talk and explain everything so I believe you are willing to take some risks. Also… it was you who followed me the other day." Luz pointed out and Amity smiled delicately with a blush. She hoped the brunette in front of her would not notice that. Yet, Luz noticed how the witch's face lightened up. "At least I didn't have to break my promise to Willow." She added with a laugh, folded her arms on her chest but she immediately regretted it as Amity's light expression faded. She looked at the floor, shame weighing her down.

"Yeah, I cannot blame her…" Amity said, starting to rub her thumb over the inside of her other palm. Luz wanted to grab the witch's hand when she recognized a reaction to stress and guilt but she moved her hand back. "Come on… what the hell was that, Luz?" The human scolded her upfront behavior.

"So, what exactly happened between you two? Willow never wanted to talk about it…" Luz said and stared at the witch. "You want to share a backstory?" She asked with special emphasis on the 'backstory'. Oh, how Luz loved a good backstory. Amity sat back and sighed. She brought her knees to her chest, looked at Luz's calm features and for the first time she felt ready to open up. There was just something calming about Luz that helped the witch.

"As you probably deduced, this room used to be my study. It was organized by my mother. She made sure I didn't waste time on coming back home… just be the best student possible." She paused for a while, the images of Odalia yelling at her for not being the best flashed before her eyes. "It wasn't enough that I did my best. I was supposed to be the best. You say you want a backstory of what happened between me and Willow…" Amity paused to gather her courage before continuing "but to understand that you need to understand where I'm coming from."

"Do you mean how your parents raised you?" Luz asked to be sure she understood.

"Huh… bold of you to assume they were raising me." Amity hid her trauma behind a dark humor. Luz's brows furrowed. "No, my parents had only expectations. I was raised by nannies who were strictly instructed to not get too attached. Yes, they taught me how to walk and talk but when I started going to school they were not needed anymore. That's where I met Willow." Amity smiled fondly at her memories and paused for a bit. Luz waited patiently for the witch to continue.

"She was the first person who liked me. No matter how weird or quirky I was. She didn't hold my behavior against me. Around her I was… myself. She helped me to be myself. She didn't yell at me for jumping in joy, she didn't slap me for rocking, she didn't punish me for not being ideal, little miss fucking perfect." She spat angrilly "She was interested in my interests… which at home I was not allowed to show. Willow was the one who gave me the Good Witch Azura books." Luz smiled, realizing Willow must have known that she and Amity have more in common than anyone else thought.

"But…" Amity paused and her smile faded again. "She was not a talented witch at that time. My parents were not happy with me hanging around her. However, I managed to keep that friendship going as long as I kept good grades. That was a deal. But one day I did not have a perfect score…" Amity sighed, fighting tears back, hugging her knees tighter. Luz had no idea how to behave so she just sat in place not interrupting the story but she started feeling anger toward the older Blights. "And here I thought Amity was just being an entitled bitch…" The human thought while she waited for the witch to continue.

"They told me I will have to end that friendship or else they will end it for me." Amity laughed sadly fighting her tears "I was stupid enough to not believe them. I was not ready to end the only good thing I had in my life. Odalia told me she would send me away if I would not end that. She said she would make sure Willow would never be admitted to Hexside." Amity chuckled dryly, shaking her head. Luz understood that the witch's emotions were oscillating. Fond memories of Willow gave her warmth, memories of her parent's caused anger, but there was something else. Regret? "I should have fought harder… coward."

"How naive I have been. I told Willow I will not be her friend anymore because she's just a weak half-a-witch and as a Blight it is a shame to keep her around. I recited Odalia's words she placed in my head…" The small pale hand touched the pink marble hanging from her choker. Luz raised her eyebrow, not understanding what the choker had to do with that. Maybe it was her comfort object?

"I did all she asked of me and yet she still sent me away. Just to make sure those four years of boarding school will be enough for everyone to move on. I was under close supervision there. What teachers did not report back to Odalia, Boscha and Skara did. Their parents also sent them there. Since Odalia was paying for their education they considered it a small price to pay… Keeping me in line." Amity finished her sentence but Luz knew that she was only telling her about the necessary minimum for Luz to understand the situation. "What have you been through? That's prison!" Luz thought, starting to see Amity in a completely different light.

"I understand there is a lot more you are not telling me." Luz said out loud, making sure her voice would sound soft. Amity looked at the human with a fear in her eyes. "And that's okay, Amity. I will not force you to do or say anything. When and if you'll be ready and you'll want to tell me more I'll be here. Is that okay with you?" Amity was shocked to hear such a pleasant response. How was that human so kind? Especially with all the pain in her own life.

"T-thank you…" Amity whispered and Luz smiled warmly.

"So from Willow's perspective you told her she's not good enough to be your friend and then you went to a posh high school with the worst bullies in school as your companions?" Luz asked to make sure she understood. Amity nodded. "Wow, no wonder she asked me to keep away from you." The human added and smiled shyly.

"I wanted to tell her everything and apologize the moment I returned but I was… too scared. What if she has changed too much? I know I'm not the same I was four years ago…" Amity admitted nervously and bit down on her lower lip. "And when I noticed her with you at the beginning of the semester I didn't want to intrude… to mess up her new friendship. You made her laugh and that… was enough for me. I missed her laughter so I was happy to see you taking care of her." Amity explained, blushing while she placed her chin on her knees still curled up to her chest.

"Wow, Blight…" Luz said softly with a tint of mockery "One may think you have emotions…" She wanted to tease but she was cut off by Amity suddenly standing up and flaring down at the Latina in anger, as if something possessed her. The friendly expression was gone in an instant.

"I don't have any emotions! No!" She took a hold of her hair, closed her eyes, and shook her head violently. "I work hard to be logical and reasonable! Emotions are for weak creatures! Emotions guarantee a lonely life!" Amity rambled angrily while she paced from one side of the room to the other. Luz slowly stood up and looked at Amity with a calm expression on her face. She stopped the witch's pacing, placing her warm hands on Amity's shoulders and looked into the golden eyes that opened in shock.

"Amity, I'm sorry, I just teased. You don't have to pretend you don't have emotions around me." She said and her soft voice soothed the witch. "I'm not your mother, I'm not her spy…" She slid her hands down Amity's arms, took a small step closer, and smiled at the witch. The witch let go of her hair, and released a breath she had no idea she was holding "You've seen me at my lowest Amity. Beside mom and Bump, you are the only one who knows about my… condition." Luz added and Amity's anger faded. "I never even told Willow and she's my best friend!"

"I-I'm…" The witch stuttered a bit "I'm sorry I snapped…" Amity said quietly and looked into Luz's eyes. "Oh, my Titan. Her hands are so warm… Why does that make me feel so calm?!" Amity questioned her conflicted feelings as she felt herself calm down despite her heart racing. She fought the urge to lean into the touch so she took Luz's hands off her arms. "Why doesn't her touch bother me?" The witch questioned herself.

"It's okay." Luz sent Amity her trademark cheerful smile. "Why don't you tell me how you liked the last Azura book? I assume you liked it since you look like you didn't sleep at all for the past two days." Luz offered, taking the book out of her bag. The smile that appeared on Blight's face Luz would never expect to witness. The smile was cheerful, happy, wide, showing off her fangs, and full range of positive emotions accompanied with a joyous spark in the golden orbs. "Wow… The Ice Queen's facade just dropped…" Luz thought happily, returning the smile.

"Yeah… I did!" She said with child-like excitement, showing Luz her cheerful expression for the first time. And she adored it. "Cute…" Luz thought and handed the book to the witch. They sat together on the couch and talked for hours.

The day Amity explained herself in the Library was the beginning of an extremely weird friendship between the witch and the human. None of them knew why they started meeting after school more often. Or at all for that fact. It started innocently, with long discussions about the Good Witch Azura in the Library. Luz soon learned that when Amity was passionate about a topic she was quite talkative. That was an understatement. Luz adored how Amity's eyes sparkled with passion when she was sharing another wild head cannon, smiling widely, showing off her fangs, tugging Luz's jacket from time to time, not being able to contain her excitement, and apologizing afterwards with the deepest blush on her face. There were days when the human could not believe that the witch managed to keep silent, not saying even one word, before the 'bathroom incident'.

Soon their book club meetings, how they liked to call them, changed into something more. They started meeting outside the Library, sharing their thoughts on many other topics. Luz was happy to introduce Amity to glyph magic. She told her everything about the way she discovered the glyphs and the price she had to pay to find them. The witch on the other hand was happy to open up about her experience in St. Epiderm, cold nights at the Knee, and how she tried to run away for the first few months. Luz shared about the Human Realm and loved how things so ordinary to her, excited the witch who had many, many, follow up questions.

Whenever they spent their time together at the Owl House, Eda watched them with amusement. The young women seemed so oblivious in the older Clawthorne's opinion. The way Amity looked at Luz, the way Luz leaned her head on the witch's shoulder, the way they smiled uncontrollably whenever they greeted each other, the way they blushed when their hands touched accidentally. "Ugh! Kids!" Eda often thought, sick with their adorable banters.

They often spent time walking the cliffs above the Boiling Sea, watching sunsets, finding new spots to relax, often sketching together, and just enjoying their own company. With every meeting they were getting more and more comfortable around each other. Luz noticed that Amity stopped being so very controlling of her own emotions and reactions. The human on the other hand stopped teasing so often, hiding behind humor. They had not noticed how often they were leaning on each other. As if their bodies were unconsciously dragged to one another.

Those meetings were something both of them were looking forward to every day. For Amity it was the most alive she has felt since she was a child. Finally, she had a reason to wake up happy in the morning. Luz felt understood by Amity on the level no one in either Boiling Isles or the Human Realm could have understood her. She felt bad considering how long she has been friends with Willow but there was something about Amity that made her smile whenever she thought about the witch.

Unfortunately, after a thorough explanation from Amity, they came to an agreement that no one can know about their friendship. For the sake of them both and the people they care about. Even though they often talked about how it would have been amazing to stop hiding, go to lunch at school, or just walk to class together. Luz noticed how Amity tried to hide her fear whenever she thought about her parents finding out about their friendship. But life proved their decision to be the right one.

"You disgusting piece of filth!" Luz was surprised with a forceful push against her locker. She turned around, rubbing her hurt shoulder, and noticed fuming Boscha, her face red with anger. Skara and Amity were right behind her, absolutely ashamed with the triclops' behavior. Luz shared a quick look with the green haired witch but her attention was brought back to her opponent when she felt a powerful punch to her cheek. "Don't you look at them! They won't help you! Half-a-witch is not here today so you'll pay!" Bosha growled in anger, watching Luz rub her reddened cheek.

"What did I do to you this time? Was I breathing too loudly?" Luz taunted the pink haired witch. Another punch to the stomach made her gasp for air and cough. Amity wobbled in place as if she wanted to take a step forward, stop the violence but Luz's look stopped her.

"You think you're something special, huh!?" Boscha pushed the human against the locker and looked viciously into the brown eyes. "You're lucky we're at school." She whispered with venom in her voice "But mess with me one more time and you'll be done for." She added and punched Luz again, making her fall to her knees. Amity felt something boiling in her chest. Not reacting and forcing her expression to remain cold was costing her all self control. "I think I can read her through that mask…" Luz thought when she looked up at Blight, noticing an angry spark in the golden orbs. Another punch from above made Luz fall to the floor on all fours. "Come on…" Boscha ordered, turning away from the human.

Amity froze for a mere second, noticing a few drops of blood dripping from the human's face. She managed to force herself to turn around and walk away to her own locker. Her ears twitched when she focused on Luz's breathing. She heard a few curses and realized Luz got up and walked away. When Amity was sure Boscha and Skara were gone as well she grabbed a few things from her locker and followed Luz. She knew all too well by now where to find the human.

"What are you doing here, Blight?" Luz said in a less than friendly manner when she noticed the witch's reflection in the mirror while she was trying to clean the cut on her face. "Fuck!" She hissed, wincing in pain.

"Come on, Luz." Amity approached the human "Let me help." She took a hold of the tan hand and guided her toward the stall in front of the big window, shocking Luz in the process. "I know we agreed to keep our, whatever it is, a secret but it doesn't mean I'm going to let you deal with this all by yourself." Blight pushed the human down to sit on the closed toilet and squatted between jeans covered legs .

"I'm sorry I snapped…" Luz murmured sheepishly, ashamed of her behavior. The witch sighed and took a delicate hold of the human's chin.

"Don't worry about it, Luz. I get it." She said while she turned Luz's face to assess the damage. "What was it about this time?" Curiosity got the better of her but she did not stop her actions.

"We had a quiz in the class…" Clawthorne started, trying hard not to stare into the golden eyes.

"Don't move now." Amity whispered while she drew a blue spell circle.

"Ouch!" Luz hissed and could not stop herself from observing the witch's focused gaze "Anyway, she was caught cheating." She continued trying to distract herself from the pinching feeling on her face. "Teachers like to use me as some sort of an example." She hissed again, but realized the swelling in her face was disappearing and the laceration was closing.

"What are you? A top student or something?" Amity asked with a tease in her voice, smirking at the human.

"Or something" Luz returned a smirk "Top student human just pisses off witches with crippling self doubt." She added an explanation and realized her face was not hurting anymore "I didn't know you know Healing magic." She said when Amity finished with her face. None of them noticed how the witch brushed the human's bangs away from her face.

"Emira taught me… and I read a lot." Amity said quietly when she moved a half step away. "Do you want me to take a look at your shoulder and stomach?" Before Luz could have answered, Amity's ears twitched, attacked by a sudden sound of people entering the bathroom. The human quickly got up, pulled the witch in by her waist, and closed them in the stall. The pain in her stomach made her fall forward. Her left forearm broke the fall, pinning the witch at the stall door. "So close! Push her away! Don't push away!" Amity's mind was panicking while her face blushed. Their eyes met, Luz's right hand did not leave the witch's waist, holding her close. The human could have sworn that the witch trembled while her pale hands took a hold of Luz's shoulders. The pointy ears twitched again.

"Come on, Boscha! If you keep doing that they will kick you off the team!" They did not recognize the voice.

"She deserves it!" Boscha growled and Amity could have sworn that Luz's body tensed. "Why am I the only one to see how pathetic, degenerate she is? Living with a criminal? Hiding in our world? What?! They didn't want her back home?!" She kept on going and her words pierced through Luz's heart. The human looked away from the golden orbs and tried to control tears gathering in her eyes. "No one loved her there, no one will love her here!" Luz let go of Amity's waist, believing Boscha's words. "I'm just letting her know that!"

"Well stop!" The other person said. "She's not worth risking your Grudby career." Their conversation was interrupted with a bell. "Can you let it go?" A silence occurred but neither Luz nor Amity cared anymore. The human was breathing heavily, trying to calm herself down.

"I'll try…" Boscha said dryly and the bathroom was empty again.

"Luz?" Amity whispered while she tried approaching the human in front of her but was stopped with a slightly lifted hand. The witch noticed the sad expression on recently healed face, unshed tears, eyes staring blankly at the stall's wall. "You know that's not true, right?" She tried to get through the intrusive thoughts.

"Yeah…" Luz nodded slightly and let her hand and head down "Still hurts." She managed to look up at the witch again "I'm sorry… I know you don't like it but I could really use a…" Amity threw herself into the human's arms and held her close "Hug?" Luz was surprised but returned the affection.

"For what it's worth…" The witch snuggled in closer "I'm grateful you're here, no matter what happened in your past, Luz." Clawthorne hugged the witch even tighter, grateful for her comforting affection, knowing how the witch hated being touched.

"Thank you…" Luz whispered in the crook of the witch's neck, unknowingly sending chills down her spine. Amity pulled away, shocked by her body's reaction. She looked into the hazel-brown eyes and her expression lightened up, lips crooked into a small smile, ears perked up.

"No." She smiled more, biting her lower lip with a fang "Thank you for being my friend, Luz." Amity added and gave Luz a peck on her healed cheek.

"Huh?" Clawthorne gasped in shock, blushing heavily while her eyes went wide and pupils shrank down. She looked at the witch and realized how quickly her pale face turned red while her confident expression faded, making the ears slant down. "Shit! Why did I do that? Why did I do that? Why did I do that?" Amity's mind panicked while she turned away, grabbed her bag and left Luz alone in the bathroom with absolute confusion in her head. Her jelly legs gave out and she fell back onto the closed toilet. They have never spoken about that day again but neither of them could forget the closeness they shared.

However, being almost caught together inspired them to come up with a system. Whenever they were seen in public they were pretending to hate each other. Since they both loved ruses and shenanigans, just like Azura and Hecate, they came up with codes, and a message system they have been using to communicate.

It has been almost two months since the day in the Library. Amity walked through the Hexside's corridor and she 'accidently' bumped into a tan girl who was focused on her conversation with a short witch. The smell of Luz's perfume engulfed Amity's nostrils causing her head to spin. "Oh wow… that's… new…" Amity thought while she enjoyed the feeling of Luz's warm body. Even if it was for a mere moment.

"Watch it, nitwit!" She growled at the tall brunette, hoping no one noticed she passed a small note into the human's hand.

"Look where you're walking, Blight." Luz growled back while she hid the note in her pocket. Amity enjoyed seeing Luz's brown eyes flash with a mischievous spark. They glared at each other for a second more, enjoying the game they were playing and then each went the other way. Luz felt Willow's glare from underneath the round spectacles. "What?! She started it!" She exclaimed, uncomfortable with the stare that was now accompanied by a grin.

"Oh, I'm sure she did" Willow said mockingly "So where are you meeting today?" Willow asked with a wicked smile, putting her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"What?!" Luz exclaimed in a high pitched voice. Her face grimaced in a shock mixed with embarrassment and guilt.

"Oh, come on! Do you really think I'm that stupid? You've been my best friend for almost five years. I've spent almost ten years being Amity's friend. I know when you are hiding something. And I know when she tries to hide emotions she's not allowed to feel. Also…" She paused, moving a bit closer to Luz and a cheshire grin followed "I have seen you crush before, Luz." That information caused Luz to blush hard.

"I have no idea what you are saying…" Luz looked away.

"Mhm…"

"I'm not crushing!" The human girl opposed in a child-like manner and Willow could have sworn that she had never seen Luz so flustered.

"All right, all right." Willow gave up lifting her hands in defeat. "If you say so…"

"But…" The human hesitated "Would it be weird if she'd hang out with us sometimes?" Luz blurted out "I shouldn't have said that, of course she wouldn't want to!" Willow looked in awe at her friend. She did not see that coming. "I mean I know, she didn't apologize… and with everything that happened I would understand…" The human started to ramble, pacing in front of her friend.

"I won't mind, Luz." Willow interrupted. "I never expected her to apologize… after all…" She paused, stopping in front of the Plant Homeroom "She's too good to associate with lower species or half-a-witch." She added and entered the classroom, leaving Luz with confusion in her head. "Wait… but she is associating with lower species…" Luz did not understand Willow's taunting remark.

Luz was struggling to focus on her class as she kept on thinking about Willow's words. Maybe she should tell Amity she does not have to be scared to apologize. It would seem that Willow would appreciate it. But how can she tell her that? Would it not be considered meddling? "Ugh, why when finally something good happens to me it cannot ever be easy?" Luz thought as she let her head fall on the desk with a loud bang. She decided to talk to Amity about that. But she did not want to wait until after classes. She was too impatient for that. That would be too late and Willow would be gone. She felt a small rush in her back. Same one that accompanied her whenever she came up with an idea that would later end up with Eda saving her skin. The human girl smiled to herself and dismissed the feeling telling her, she should not be so risky. "What could possibly go wrong?" She thought when she made up her mind.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" A school bell dragged a human girl from her thoughts. She packed her books and started walking quickly toward the Abomination Homeroom. She noticed Amity walking out from the room. The witch walked with grace, her chin lifted up proudly, her face cold, never showing any emotion. Luz felt her heart speeding up while a strange chill ran down her spine. She walked behind the witch, stalking her like prey. She watched how the green mane bounced and flowed with every step the witch took. Once the witch was passing the small corridor leading toward the Grudby field Luz yanked the witch's arm and shoved Amity back at the lockers covered in the shadows of the corridor. Luz placed her palm next to the witch's face and towered over her, closing the distance between them. Amity shrank a bit, her ears slanting, the strange feeling pulsating in her abdomen. She looked shocked and ambushed but also… excited. It was closeness she did not mind. "Titan, too close!? Should I move back?! Keep it cool, Clawthorne!" Luz's mind raced while her eyes were roaming the witch's face, watching her reactions closely.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Amity hissed at the human afraid anyone would discover them. She could not move away, enjoying the closeness but she did not appreciate that situation. "Oh, my Titan! What is she doing? Don't blush, don't blush! She smells so good!". Her mind got weirdly foggy.

"I wanted to talk to you." Luz wanted to explain quickly. However, she really enjoyed the position they were currently in. She wanted to lean in closer but she stopped herself. "I know I told you I will never force you into anything but… I think it would be good for both you and Willow if you two talked…"

"I can't!" Amity interrupted her. She straightened up and placed her finger on Luz's chest as if she was threatening her. She did not want people to know they actually had a pleasant interaction. "Titan! She's so warm. Why can't I hug her!? Focus! You can't! Ever again! Unacceptable! What are you even thinking! Damn you!" Her thoughts were overheating her brain. "It's not that simple. It's not like, we'll talk and everything will be peachy. We're talking about years of resentment. I… I really hurt her." The witch added, now having trouble keeping up her act.

"I know, Amity." Luz said softly with understanding "But coming forward and explaining what happened is a first step. Especially since you obviously regret the situation." Luz offered with a warm smile.

"How are you always so positive?" Amity could not understand and her voice softened significantly.

"Oh, well… I've been through a lot of shit in my life so I take all the good that life is willing to give me." The human explained barely keeping her viscous mask on while all she wanted was to flash Amity with the most optimistic and supportive smile she has. "Behave, look like you don't like her!" Luz reminded herself.

"You're impossible…" The witch scoffed, trying to keep the act as well. It was not a simple task after many weeks of pleasant interactions and the way they felt comfortable around each other.

"I'll make sure Willow will be alone by the end of the classes. You'll do whatever you want. No one will hold it against you if you won't show up. This is your decision, Amity. I'm just giving you an opportunity. I know how hard it can be confronting your… demons." Luz said, emphasizing the last word. "Just because my demons have actual physical form doesn't mean yours aren't hurting you as well. And from what you told me about yourself in the past weeks… you do have quite a few demons." She added with a serious yet supportive face. Amity's ears perked up a bit before slanting down again. Being understood by someone almost made her lose her mask of cold expression. She pushed Luz's hand resting next to her face on the locker behind her with fake anger and walked away to her next class leaving the human in the shadow of the corridor.

The time could not pass any slower in Luz's opinion. Since she talked with Amity she could not wait to see what the witch would decide to do. Either way, she will meet her in the forest in front of the school so they can go together to the Owl House as instructed in the note Luz received this morning. Maybe Amity will have some good news for her? Maybe she will show up with Willow? Just like Azura befriended Hecate she hoped that she could make Villainous Lucy their friends again. Luz smiled at her thoughts. "Nope, Willow is most definitely not Villainous Lucy…" She thought while her mind raced, looking for the best fandom analogy. It would be amazing to have her two favorite people able to spend time together… again. "You're doing that again. Just don't get too upset if your plan doesn't work out." She heard Eda's voice in her head and she could not disagree with it. Eda was usually right. "Yeap, always trust a shoulder Demon." King's voice echoed as well but Luz decided to ignore it… this time.

At the same time Amity was stuck in the Abomination Anatomy class. She was listening to the Professor's lecture, taking notes, and yet her mind was somewhere else. She recalled the last time she spoke with Willow. She recalled the awful feeling when not her words slipped out of her lips, ending a friendship, breaking her heart. She recalled then when she heard Willow's laughter again after all those years. Then how she avoided the Plant witch while getting Luz's homework while the human was recovering from the 'bathroom incident'. "Why is it so complicated? I should be able to have friends of my choosing, shouldn't I? Or is everyone else hiding their friendships from their parents? Is that… normal?" The witch questioned herself while her hand was taking notes absentmindedly. She was torn between what she was told to do her whole life and what she really wanted to do.

When the classes ended, Luz took all the things she needed for the days off from her locker and slowly headed toward the exit of the building. She was deep in her thoughts, considering the possible outcomes of all the decisions Amity could and would make. She did not even notice that the building was almost completely empty. She also did not notice she was actually being followed. She did however notice a strange feeling in her gut but ignored it completely. The human went down the stairs leading away from the main entrance and headed toward the forest. The sun was almost setting and the crimson rays were turning the forest into a most beautiful view. Luz loved those colors of the Boiling Isles. She smiled with content.

"Hey, human!" She heard an all too familiar voice behind her. Luz just sighed heavily and her head flopped down in defeat. She had no patience for that today. She was tired after the whole week and just wanted some good news by the end of the day, to relax with her friend, but not… this. "I'm talking to you, you filth!" Luz heard again. She quickly snatched a potion vial from her satchel and drank the elixir as fast as she could hoping it would be enough. "Just in case…" She thought and then she turned around to face the pink haired triclops and her long bangs followed the motion. The elixir made it to the human's stomach and she could have sworn a quiet hoot echoed in her head. Boscha was accompanied by the Bard witch Skara who seemed forced into this situation. "You think you can harass one of us and get away with it?" The jock asked and Luz had no idea what she meant by that. The human raised her eyebrow in question but before she could have asked for an explanation she had to dodge a fireball targeted at her face. She squatted just in time and jumped away preparing to fight.

"What's your problem?!" Luz exclaimed as she took the fire glyphs from her pocket. She activated them and sent a series of powerful fireballs at her opponent, making sure to spare Skara who was moving further away from the field. Boscha did not reply, just dodged the attack gracefully. She was looking for a reason to beat the human up into a pulp for a while now. She finally found that reason and was not about to stop. The witch jumped forward and hit the human's face with her fist causing the brunette to stumble back. Luz was shocked. She did not expect a witch to fight without magic. Skara was standing in the back not knowing what to do. While she was a very powerful witch she did not want to fight. The struggle was visible on her face. While she did not help Luz, the human appreciated that Skara did not attack. This moment of distraction allowed Boscha to grab Luz by her flannel and with all her might she round-kicked Luz's stomach. It sent the human flying back to the ground bordering the forest. The human tried to get up and fight back but she was stuck on all fours trying to gasp for air. As a result she retched. She threw up the elixir she had just taken and before she could react any further Boscha came running at her, kicking her stomach again as if the human was a Grudby ball. It sent Luz flying like a lifeless puppet into one of the trees. A loud thud echoed when the human's back connected with the oak. Luz slid down the trunk and tried to get up and fight back. Her sight has gotten blurry for a moment. The pain in her stomach was pulsating. Boscha walked over to her in slow and victorious manner, her boots echoed across the school grounds. "Come on, Luz! You're better than that! Better than her! FIGHT!"

"You are my problem, human. But I'm about to fix that problem…" She hissed, grabbed human's hair and looked into the brown orbs. "Permanently." She added with a vicious smile igniting her fist.

"Like hell you are…" Luz fought through the pain, got up despite her hair being tugged and punched Boscha's face. Said witch fell back to the ground. Luz looked down at her but the pain in her stomach did not allow her to do much more. Her legs were barely moving as if her abs were torn down. Yet, she pushed the pain to the back of her head. Luz forced herself forward, ignoring her body's responses. She was approaching the bully when suddenly she heard the Owl's screeching in her head. At first it was quiet but with every next screech it was getting louder and louder. As if the Beast wanted and needed to be heard. Luz did not make it to Boscha when she realized the screeching in her head was so loud she could not focus on anything else. "Shut up…" She hissed and shook her head to the side as if she was talking to someone. But it did not stop. It became louder. "SHUT UP!" She yelled louder, bringing her hand to her head, trying to focus on the fight again. Boscha and Skara exchanged looks and then they looked back at the human girl not sure what was happening. The triclops however smirked as she was about to use human's temporary weakness to her advantage.

In the meantime, inside the Hexside Academy's main building Amity noticed that Willow was indeed alone in the place Luz told her she would be. She felt a lump growing in her throat. She was imagining that moment for the past four years. The circumstances were always different but the result was always the same. Willow hated her.

"Hi… Willow…" Amity started when she walked into the empty Plant Track Homeroom. Willow was using her magic to care for the plants before she went home for the days off the classes.

"Do you know why I love plants?" Willow asked not replying to Amity's greeting. The short witch did not look away from her task and without knowing that Amity shook her head she continued "Plants do not leave you as long as you care for them properly." She explained and sent a deadly look from underneath her spectacles. Amity could have sworn her eyes glowed green. Young Blight was not so mighty anymore. She gulped and felt cold sweat rolling down her spine. After so many years here she was. Confronting her fear of rejection.

"I… I-I'm sorry, Willow…" She started with a nervous stutter while she looked down, started rubbing her hand, and bit her lower lip. She felt terrible about how she hurt Willow and was vulnerable by admitting it. It went against everything she was taught. "What am I supposed to say? How can I express how sorry I am? Are there even words for that?" Amity was panicking internally.

"Ha!" Willow just bursted out a single chuckle. "Just messing with you, Blight! It's funny to see you still rub your hands like that." She added and her expression lightened. Amity did not understand what was going on. "Amity, stop. It was over four years ago. I know you said only what you were told to say." Willow explained, looking down at the Blight's choker. "Yes, I was hurt, yes I replayed it in my mind over and over again but I am not as stupid as people see me. I know your family's dynamics." She explained and enjoyed the expression on Amity's face. That was the same face she recalled. Of course, Amity's features have changed in the past years. She was not a girl anymore but a young woman. Her face was a bit longer, her fangs were sharper since she lost her baby fangs but deep down under the mask she was wearing it was still the same witch Willow used to be friends with.

"I should have been stronger than that… I should have known she will not keep her word…" Amity mumbled and tears were slowly making their way to the golden eyes. She grabbed her palm, trying to pierce her skin with a thumb to get herself under control.

"Wow, calm down, Blight. She might know you have feelings." Willow mocked Amity's relationship with Odalia. Blight recognised that tease from the day she snapped at Luz so this time she ignored it. "So what actually did she force you to do?" Willow was now serious but her face was full of concern, warmth and support. She had the weirdest feeling that the past four years did not happen, like they had spoken just yesterday.

"She… Um… She forced me to cut ties with you or else she'd send me away and would make sure you'd never get admitted into Hexside." Amity said and was barely keeping her emotions under control. Her hands were shaking.

"And then send you away anyway… typical Odalia…" Willow shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't realize it back then. I should have known you didn't mean what you said… It was so out of character but I was just too self conscious to even consider that." Willow stopped when she noticed Amity's face expression had changed. Her tears were not there anymore. Her guilt, shame, and sadness were gone. Amity's face was suddenly sharp, concentrated, brows frowned, pupils in her gold irises shrank, ears twitched slanting back. "Amity?"

"Shh!" Green haired witch stopped Willow raising her palm. Her ears twitched again. "Oh no, no, no, no, no… I was supposed to meet Luz." Amity's pale face was even paler than usual, filled with fear.

"Yeah, I know…" Willow started but she stopped when she finally heard what Amity's oversensitive ears heard a moment ago. Her expression changed as well. A loud screech made it to her ears, causing her shiver with fear. She has never heard this sound in the Boiling Isles. "What's that?!" Willow asked but Amity just gestured to follow her and they sprinted toward the front of the building without another word.

When they made it to the top of the stairs they were greeted with the sight of Boscha standing above Luz who knelt on the ground, holding her head in her hands. Both of them were having bruises from a fist fight, though it was clear who was winning that one. It seemed as if the human was fighting something inside her hence the Grudby Captain had an easy time beating Luz down. Skara was standing a long way behind Boscha and watching everything from behind, considering running away. When she noticed Amity and Willow she ran over to them with a relief visible on her face.

"Shut it! Enough!" Luz was repeating, holding her head even tighter, turning her knuckles white, tugging her hair.

"Amity!" Skara greeted her as she made it to the top of the stairs, ignoring Willow. "So good you're here. Boscha's gone crazy. It's gone too far. I thought she would just tease and scare the human but…" She was interrupted by another scream and they all looked down. Boscha walked over to Luz and hit her in the face. The human was sent flying into the mud. Amity was about to run forward but Willow's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Stop it!" Luz yelled when she heard screeching again. "We're being handed our ass! Just shut it! Let me fight back!" Suddenly she saw images of Amity in front of her eyes. Green haired witch back at the lockers. It was a memory from today, she realized. The pain in her face dragged her away from that vision. Another loud screech brought another vision. On the outside Luz was now lying in the mud with her face on the side, staring into the emptiness but her mind displayed Amity walking away earlier that day. But this time she has seen Boscha hidden behind her locker door. "Oh Titan! So now we communicate?!" Luz exclaimed while she grabbed her head again and another loud screech deafened her other senses. "Aaaaa! Too loud! Fucking… Shut it!" Luz yelled and she writhed on the ground holding her head in her palms, tears rolling down her cheeks. Amity felt as if something was squeezing her heart when she was just standing at the stairs and looking down at Luz's struggle. She needed to be there for the human, she needed to help her.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Willow asked Amity while she held onto the Blight's shoulder. They shared the longest look. Amity suddenly smiled and scoffed nonchalantly.

"I should have done that years ago, Willow. I will never be as weak as I have been before." Amity stated and Willow let her go. Short witch smiled delicately and tied arms in front of her chest. "Finally…" She thought, correcting the position of her glasses, and watched Amity run over to the square where Boscha was towering over Luz. "Boscha, that's enough!" She yelled while she walked toward them.

"P-please, stop!" Luz exclaimed again and writhed uncontrollably on the ground, tears rolling off her eyes even harder. She could not see anything in front of her. Her sight was blinded by different visions. Most of them consisted of Amity smiling, laughing, poking Luz, tugging the human's jacket in excitement, joking, showing her weak side, the cute side, giving her a delicate peck on the cheek. Suddenly the image of Amity kneeling on the bathroom floor reaching for Luz flashed back. "Please, don't! N-no more!" Tears were waterfalling off Luz's eyes now. Her body was shaking from the overwhelming emotions and physical pain.

"It'll be enough when I say it's enough." Boscha said, creating a fireball in her hand. She grabbed the human's shirt and brought her up to her feet. "When I'm done with you, human trash, you will run back to your realm!" Boscha addressed Luz with sadistic satisfaction in her voice, smiling, showing off her fangs, getting ready to punch. Amity felt her heartbeat increasing its pace and overflowing with anger. The drive to save Luz was all she felt at that moment.

"Get… away… from MY Luz!" She hollered, anger seeping from her. Willow exchanged looks with Skara and then looked back to the scene. Amity's hands were surrounded with deep purple flames that were thrown toward Boscha. The fire erupted from Amity's body, and with a hard stomp on the ground the green haired witch created a wall of fire separating Boscha and Luz whose limp body fell hard to the ground. It seemed as if all the emotions held up in Blight's body flooded the grounds in front of the Academy. The green haired witch was throwing fireballs at Boscha, losing her cool. Literally. Amity's eyes were shining with the similar glow her fire was. The triclops jumped back, barely making it in time as, what seemed to be a tidal wave of fire, passed next to her. She was actually scared of Amity at that point. The pale face filled with anger, glowing eyes, frowned brows, all in the act of protecting the human she apparently cared about. Boscha has never seen, nor expect to see Blight in this kind of emotional fury.

"Okay, time to interfere." Willow decided and Skara followed without any question.

"Boscha, come on. It's not worth it!" Skara tried to get Boscha away but Amity was just getting at her with powerful attacks, impossible to par or block.

"Hey, Amity…" Willow tried to get the witch's attention. "Maybe you should take care of YOUR Luz…" She added venomously and that brought Amity back. She blushed and realized she went berserk. "Pathetic…" Blight heard her mother's voice but she ignored it. The flames surrounding her immediately disappeared and the young Blight looked down at the human fighting her own mind.

"Luz…" Amity whispered with concern and ran toward the human not paying attention that Boscha and Skara disappeared in the forest. Boscha has never run so fast in fear of getting hurt. "Look at me! Luz, I'm here." She added and took the human's face into her hands. Luz looked at her with pitch black eyes, moaning in pain but snuggling her face into the touch as if it was saving her.

"What the…" Willow whispered when she noticed that Amity was totally calm and not surprised with that sight. "She has seen that before…" She realized.

"You're doing great Luz, you can fight that, try to breathe…" Amity said softly. She noticed the human's eyes showed golden irises in the black orbs for a moment but they disappeared as soon as Amity noticed them. "Willow, check her bag for the potion vial." Amity ordered without breaking eye contact with the human. She rubbed the pale thumb on Luz's cheek trying to calm her down. "Shhh… everything is okay, you're safe, Luz…" She added looking at Luz's beat up face. Boscha did a number on her. "She needs to be healed. Immediately!"

"It's empty." Willow stated, showing an empty vial. Amity just frowned. "Did she drink it or was she just having an empty vial in her bag?" Amity wondered never taking her eyes off the human. "Considering the mess she makes, everything is possible." Willow was connecting dots. She noticed Luz drinking those potions for a couple years now but she never asked about them. She knew Luz well enough to know that the human would tell her everything if necessary. But how in the Titan's name did Amity know?

"Will you help me take her into the Owl House?" She asked, not letting go of Luz, not sure if Willow was comfortable with the current situation. The short silence was interrupted by Luz's struggle as she writhed in Amity's arms.

"This is how you started to talk, isn't it?" Willow asked calmly, wanting some answers. Amity just nodded, still waiting for a reply. "Well, she must have had her reasons not to tell me about this for the past years." Willow said nonchalantly and she helped bring Luz up. Said human fell back to the ground. She was paralyzed with a headache but she also grabbed her stomach and winced in pain. She coughed up a bit of blood and that worried the witches. Amity brought Luz up again and threw her arm around her shoulders. The taller woman looked down and Amity noticed her brown irises were visible for a short moment before going pitch black again, while a drop of blood left a corner of her lips. "So strong… keep fighting Luz… I'll help you." Amity thought impressed with the human's strength. But she needed to do something to help the human, so suddenly, without any warning, she pulled her face closer.

"Listen bird-brain, we're trying to help you, so just cooperate. Please. For Luz's sake." Amity said in her commanding voice that even made Willow stand straight up and she felt Luz's body cling to her with a painful groan. Even though her eyes were still taken over by the Owl Beast her body did cooperate. As if the Owl Beast itself listened to Amity.

They tried to take a step forward but Luz's body fell to the ground. Amity noticed how the human girl kept holding onto her stomach, growling through clenched teeth while her back was shaken by a sob. Amity just brought her up again and this time held her in a bride-like embrace. Luz held the witch's neck tightly, feeling safe when she hid her nose in the crook of the green-haired girl's neck. Amity felt a strange chill traveling from her neck all the way through her spine. She also could have sworn she heard a quiet chirping of the Owl inside Luz but decided to ignore it… for now.

"Can you, please, take her bag, Willow? I'm not sure I can do both." Amity asked and her companion just nodded in agreement. They walked toward the Owl House without any further interruption. Willow just kept on watching the two of her friends beside her. She has never seen Amity like this. So caring, so strong, letting her mask down, looking at the human with warmth and care. It made the shorter witch smile delicately. "Oh Luz… Did I forget about shenanigans again?"

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