Chapter 16: Don't Let Them Know
Boscha's had a whole night to think about what Willow said to her yesterday. It's always been hard for her to gauge whether or not someone was lying… But that isn't to say she doesn't feel a bit better.
In fact, this has been the happiest she's felt in a while.
As she sat in the homeroom she notices Willow is preoccupied reading a book. Though it doesn't seem like she can actually read it from the way she's frowning. If anything, she seems a little jumpy, to the point that even just the slightest movement startles her. It worries Boscha, though of course, she's more worried about Willow not being able to pay attention when she tutors her later.
During Lunch, Boscha waits for Willow by the door, and she's late by 10 minutes…
Boscha sighs. If it had anything to do with what she was doing earlier then she knew that she should've asked if she could help. Nevertheless, she doesn't want to waste time.
Boscha looks for Willow, and, to her disappointment, she's talking with her friends.
Really? And to think she was worrying? Oh well, maybe she has a good reason.
"Hey. What happened to our thing?" Boscha asks.
"Sorry I can't right now. I'm kind of busy." Willow responds. Well, at least she didn't ignore her!
But despite 'being busy', she still continues to talk to Luz. Which confuses Boscha just a little bit.
"But you have the time to talk to Luz…" Boscha grumbles under her breath.
Amity hears Boscha and comes to the conclusion that Boscha's only here to be a nuisance. She gets in between them, stating, "Don't bother her."
"I was just asking," Boscha says.
"No one wants you here," Amity says, and it offends Boscha.
Well, at least they're not friends anymore, so it didn't sting as hard.
Boscha sighs, she turns on her heel giving the appearance of 'not giving a fuck' and says. "'Kay."
Boscha leaves them alone. She doesn't want to let something like that ruin her mood. After all, at least Willow isn't rude like Amity… Even if she did make it apparent that Boscha was less important to her than whatever she was doing…
That part upsets her a bit, but it's oh well what can you do?
It takes a moment for what happened to register in Willow's mind. But then she realizes, and pats Amity on the back in a lighthearted, but also scolding manner. "That was a little harsh."
Amity looks at her, shocked, "I'm sorry? Do you actually like her?"
'What a way to treat someone.' Willow thinks to herself.
"…Weren't you two friends? Couldn't you be a little nicer?"
The words left her lips instinctively, and as she hears herself speak she realizes that it may have triggered a small memory… Meanwhile, she's unaware Boscha's been listening the whole time.
Boscha walks away faster and disappears around the corner of the hallway. She's not dealing with that today.
Yes… Willow's right. They used to be friends… But that was the past. It doesn't matter now. Amity made her choice, and maybe she's better off not feeling the pressure of having to prove herself to be 'worthy' of being friends with a Blight.
Maybe she's just comfortable being alone by herself, and proving her worth to everyone instead of just one person.
She opens her locker and grabs her potion, she plays with it in her hand… She sighs. "Ah, who am I kidding? What worth do I have? I can't do that when I'm like this."
She hides her potion in her cowl and looks for a quiet place to drink. She's been feeling better, the headaches have been getting lighter.
'It just goes to show what happens when you actually take your medication properly, hah.' She says to herself.
'You're the type of person who I feel like could probably change the world.'
"Ah Willow, you don't know what you're talking about. I'm no chosen one."
Meanwhile, back there, Amity shamefully quiets down. She knows Willow didn't want to hurt her feelings, but can she ever do anything to make it up to her? Sometimes, it feels like Willow still hasn't forgiven her…
That look on Amity's face tells Willow all she needs to know.
Willow already has forgiven Amity, but Amity can't accept that what she's done can't be so easily forgotten about, and the occasional slip will happen. It's only natural.
That doesn't mean Willow still hates her though…
Luz coughs. "Ahem… Soo do you want to continue this search later?"
"Yeah…" Willow says.
Willow remembers how it feels to have been left by someone so dear to you, and suddenly the puzzle pieces in her mind clicked.
She runs down the hall, looking everywhere for Boscha. She runs outside, and in her hurry, she accidentally runs headfirst into Boscha, and she hears something shatter, and a white liquid drips down Boscha's clothing.
"I'm sorry!" Willow exclaims. She grabs a handkerchief and cautiously attempts to wipe it off before she realizes– maybe she should ask first if it's okay to touch her…
Boscha's face goes bright red, "This is not what it looks like!"
Boscha takes off her soaked cowl, carefully maneuvering it so that the glass shards are tucked safely in it. She holds it close to her chest out of embarrassment. Some of the shards have pierced through her tunic, just to add insult to injury. She's lucky it didn't pierce through her undershirt.
Tears well up in Boscha's eyes in shame. Of all the people, of course, it had to be one person who actually thought of you highly. Of course, it had to be Willow.
Boscha struggles to keep herself from letting out a pathetic whimper.
How will she tell her mom what happened? How will she live with herself? Willow knows. And soon enough everyone will know if she doesn't pick herself up now…
Author's Note:
The chapter got a little longwinded so I cut it in half! See ya tomorrow.