Chapter 20: Stay Hidden

It's been weeks, well, months, since detention.

It's another usual school day. The teachers have praised Willow for her excellent work in class. Not that Willow cares about grades. The compliments are nice, but what matters to her more is enjoying herself.

Boscha on the other hand is shoving her head in her books any chance she gets.

"Boscha," Amity watches as Boscha flips through her books in a quite aggressive manner. She's barely even touched her plate. "Is there a quiz coming up? I've never seen you so… focused."

"Mhm," Boscha mumbles, though not that she actually understood what Amity said.

It's been months. The Healer said she would've gotten better, enough to at least let her be able to play or get injured without worrying about getting deathly sick. Yet no dice. And while Boscha would normally get upset, she already accepted it. Either way, if she's not going to be able to play sports, she may as well put all her energy into something else she can accomplish. After all, she should at least contribute something instead of letting herself be a burden to others.

Speaking of which. She noticed that Willow's been doing exceptionally well with her grades. Powerful, and smart? She could only dream of being like her. Though, Willow still asks her for help from time to time…

Boscha smiles curtly at the thought.

She finishes her lunch early, as she usually does. She excuses herself from the table dashing off to who knows where, prompting the curiosity of her peers. Gus especially. He looks over at Willow fidgeting in her seat as her eyes follow Boscha down the hall. And of course, despite her best efforts to seem ordinary, Gus catches on as Willow follows after her.

He sits up, but Matt calls him.

"Where ya goin?" He asks.

Gus takes him by the hand. He motions at the hall quietly and drags Matt with him.

"Willow keeps running off with Boscha," Gus says. "You and I both know she has a crush on her. But I'm starting to believe there may be something more."

"…And you're intruding? Woah. How fiendish! I like it! What are you gonna do? Blackmail Boscha?"

"What?! No not like that! I just feel as Willow's best friend I am obligated to be worried about her."

Gus speeds up his pace. Matt's falls face-flat, and skids across the rough floor.

"Augustus!" Matt groans.

Willow's ear twitches at the sound, and Gus quickly hides behind the lockers. He knocks Matt's head against the wall in the process of swinging him around. Luckily, Willow didn't seem to notice as she continues to walk behind the corner.

Gus helps Matt up and fluffs up his messy hair. Totally fixed.

"Sorry about that, you really need better balance," Gus whispers.

"Geez so it's my fault," Matt grumbles as he actually fixes his hair.

"I just didn't want them to notice us."

"Who hear what?" Willow asks.

"Willow!" Gus yells. "Wh-where did you come from?!"

"The other hallway," She points at the hall directly parallel to where they stood.

"Oh."

"Anyways, that's not the point." She crosses her arms. These kids, always nosing around! This is why Boscha has to ask her to keep watch. "Why are you two following me?!"

"Blackmai–"

"WE– were just wondering if something was going on between you and Boscha." Gus clasps his fingers together in an investigatory fashion, hiding the subtle smirk forming.

Willow blushes. She huffs, quirking her head slightly in an attempt to look annoyed. "How many times do I have to say I am not crushing on Boscha and nothing is going on between us!"

"Oh really?" Matt says. "You don't have a crush on her?"

Willow nods with a small victorious smile. "Yes!"

"Then why do you talk about her so much?"

"I– no I don't."

Gus nods, "You really do."

"And the flowers? What are those for?" Matt adds.

"What flowers?"

"Don't act dumb." Matt points at the crown of flowers on Willow's head.

Oh crap. She thought she already had that under control!

"Actually these are mine."

"Mhm." Matt nods. Totally believes it.

The two kids look at her suspiciously. Defeated, she says:

"Listen… Even if I was, it's still rude to pry into someone's personal stuff. If someone has a secret and didn't want you to know, you should respect that. Even if you're friends."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to know why you've been hanging out with her more than me…" Gus says.

Willow places her hand on Gus's shoulder. "Gus, whatever happens, you'll still be my best friend? Even if you get a boyfriend—"

Matt coughs and visibly winces at the word.

"…Or if I a get a girlfriend. It doesn't matter. We'll always have each other's backs." Willow holds up her fist, "As we promised."

Gus smiles. He bumps Willow's fist with his and pulls her into a tight hug. All the while, Willow is still astonished at how fast Gus has grown.

"I can't believe you're taller than me when you're just a baby!"

Gus squeals, "I AM NOT-"

Matt laughs, "Heh. You kinda are."

"Well, at least I'm not short like you two!"

"Oh no Mr. tall guy's gone mad with tower power," Matt teases.

Willow laughs. She sends them on their way, making sure to playfully flick Gus's forehead for being a dork and following her. And as they walk away Willow overhears part of their conversation.

"She's right you know. I really don't think we should be prying into other people's business."

"Oh don't act mature with me now, Matt."

"No, but I really think she's right!"

Their voices fade out as they made their way deeper into the school. Willow sits back down next to Boscha.

"Are they gone yet?"

"Yep!" Willow replies.

"Good," Boscha says. "Anyways, as you were saying?"

"Okay, so glyph magic is something Luz taught me." Willow rips a piece of paper from one of her notebooks and begins drawing. "I only know the basic stuff for now, but I think it'll be useful to you."

She taps on the messy glyph, and the paper crumples and burns under her finger. "If you do it right it doesn't hurt."

Boscha looks on with astonishment and wonder. Willow hands her the pencil.

"Here! You try." She holds Boscha's hand, appreciating the soft and warm feeling under her skin. Not in a gay way though— Anyways, she guides Boscha's hand to draw a circle. She looks over Boscha's shoulder to see what she's doing, and her ear just barely flourishes over Boscha's cheek…

Yes, this is totally the most logical way to teach someone glyph magic. Surely Luz can learn a thing or two from Willow Park herself.

More flowers bloom from Willow's head.

As Boscha taps on the glyph and it burns. She giggles to herself for being able to cast magic without feeling tired. She doodles more tiny fire glyphs and places them on the tips of her fingers. She turns to Willow, and their noses nearly bump. Boscha carefully starts burning the roses in Willow's hair, all the while Willow can't wipe the smile off her face. Comfort spreads through her chest and cheeks as Boscha happily casts magic for the first time in months. Boscha is oddly comforting.

Willow knows that Boscha isn't very comfortable with other people knowing about her condition. And while she'd love to ask why, she would prefer if she just kept this little secret between them.

Surprisingly, the flowers don't grow back.

Just the two of them. Learning magic. Being unnecessarily comfortable with holding each other… Of course, Willow's held other people before but Boscha on the other hand… Well, she's not usually very touchy-feely. But Willow is an exception. For some reason, she just feels a bit more energy around her.

Dear Titan, Willow's not very subtle is she?

Author's Notes:

Can I finally point out that Boscha and Willow are basically magnets in this fic? Because yeah they're basically magnets in this fic. Boscha being the negative one and Willow being the positive one pfft