*****Luz POV
"I don't know why I ever bothered to send you to that prep school Mija! You've failed every test, they've never had a lost cause like you and your wild fantasies, you are too old for this. Why can't you just be normal!?" The words burned, I don't know why I can't just be normal mami, me esfuerzo mucho... ( I try so hard) "Don't start to lie to me too, your father would be so disappointed in you, look at what you have become. A nothing, a no one, is that what you think he wanted!?" I can't do this, why are you saying these things... I just want to be me, why isn't that ever good enough for you? "Mami!" My eyes snapped open and I sat up from my bed, hand out stretched, beads of sweat thick on my brow cause my hair to stick to my face. What was that... I haven't had a dreams like this in... In so long but the last two nights have been... Terrifying. I groaned pushing my hair out of my face and looking around for my phone, it was only 7 in the morning. This was going to make for an incredibly long day, I don't want to go back to bed, I don't think I could take a continuation. I shuddered as I thought of that sentence "Why can't I just be normal" I grumbled the words out and got up to get dressed, deciding after looking in the small mirror that I needed to shower, grabbing my clothes for the day I made my way quietly to the bathroom. Even though the library events were two days ago now, I couldn't shake off this weird feeling I've had since then, like something is lingering within me.
**** 3Rd POV
As the shower turned on, the tight pipes in the home creaked, alerting the other members that someone was taking a bath or shower. It was far too early to care but Eda found mild comfort knowing Luz had finally decided to shower and do some selfcare, ever since she had come back from the library she has seemed off, she was quiet and often got lost in her own head, more than usual. She hadn't mentioned any details of what happened at the library aside from explaining a bit about the magical event itself, saying 'she needed time to process things' Whatever that means... the human had basically killed a guy during her second night there and had no problem talking about it, something happens at the library and suddenly she needs time to process. Ugh, I may as well get up... Stupid brain. She mentally grumbled, feeling that odd swell of worry in her chest for Luz made it impossible to relax the last two days. It had been about a full month now that Luz had been in her care and the girl made quick work of worming her way into Eda and King's hearts, even if they struggle to admit it. Eda slowly got up from her nest bed and had her usual loud cracking stretch, flinching slightly as gray feathers plumed out of the skin around her wrist. It's definitely getting worse... She quickly grabbed her wrist out of relax, cringing at the feeling bubbling inside her chest, her gem reflecting the creeping bubbles of darkness, she shuffled her way over to her vanity grabbing out the bright yellow elixir and gulping it down. After a few seconds the feathers fell from her body, allowing a small sigh of relief to be released, "Stupid curse... Elixir is expensive you know!" She cursed and made her way down to the kitchen, brewing up some scoffee for herself and Luz, all while trying to strategize the best way to approach this whole library thing.
As the water cascaded over Luz's body, she let out a relaxing sigh, questioning why she hadn't done this when she woke up the day after the events of the library. Ah... that's why she suddenly felt bitter for starting to think of the night at all, scenes started to replay from that night, specifically the end, even though there were more pressing things to worry about that was the scene that returned to haunt her. She had almost died a few times but instead of dwelling on that, her mind decided to repeat Amity telling her they couldn't be friends, even if that's what she had wanted. "I just don't understand why..." The whole night Amity had basically felt like a different person, she was protective, selfless, borderline kind, and she actually made a joke. I also haven't really thought about... The close calls Not really being able to put a name for the weird warm feeling she had when near Amity she decided to call it a term she felt comfortable using. 'close call', it wasn't wrong, but it didn't touch on the intense swirl of emotions that came with the closeness. Ugh... Shower ruined. her thoughts were just getting out of hand at this point, bouncing around from the witch, to her dream and back to how she wasn't dealing with her emotions in a healthy way. It was difficult, sure she had emotional experiences at home but she had spent the last 2 years at least just being numb, now everything felt new again, raw. The girl finished up her shower and got out, toweling her hair so it was just a little bit damp, her short hair at the back was starting to get long enough that it poked out at the bottom of the beanie when she wore it and curled up. The front of her hair was getting a bit long for her liking but it wasn't enough to worry about yet, her bangs were now swept slightly over instead of hanging down on her forehead, honestly it just made her look more mature and her age.
She pulled some comfy clothes on for the day, planning to just stay inside again today and do some studying with the potions book, maybe bother Eda to demonstrate some of the effects. She pulled a dark red hoody over her head, it had a picture of a large-headed cat with a mask on, the sweater was almost two sizes too big but that's what made it comfortable. For her pants she wore gray sweat pants that hugged her ankles, she dropped her phone into her pocket and pocketed her beanie as well not wanting to put it on her wet hair. As she made her way down to the kitchen, she was shocked to see that Eda was up and cooking what looked to be an omelet. "Nice of you to finally join me!" she teased, yesterday Luz had opted to hide out for most of the morning, trying to sort through some tough feelings and much like today failing. Luz offered a timid smile and took a seat, looking around for King, "Oh, no way hes going to be up anytime soon, your shower might have woken me up but he sleeps like a rock." Eda snorted, flipping the omelet and turning towards Luz. "I figured, but this morning is full of surprises considering how early you are up." the humans joked back earning a genuine chuckle from the witch, "Got me there kid." Wonder if I can convince her to leave the house today, yesterday... went poorly. Eda recalled how she tried to force Luz out of the house for her own good in the afternoon, insisting she could get some deliveries done instead of taking them all together at the end of the week. However, that seemed to just make the matter worse and the human girl recruited help from both Hooty and King to help keep her in. "Any plans today?" She tried to act casual, as if yesterday didn't happen.
"I was thinking it would be another stay-at-home day... but now that I'm showered and awake, I think I'm going to meet up with Willow today." Luz leaned her head in her hand, her damp strands of hair framing her face, she looked like she was far away in thought despite answering Eda's question. "Well that's great, does that mean your ready to tell me more about that library incident?" She tested the water and served Luz breakfast, which brought her back from where ever she was in thought. "I..." At some point you have to, so you may as well work some of it out now. Then maybe it will be easier with Willow. "You know what. Sure" She nodded, quickly starting to eat her omelet as she formed the best way to tell the story. Huh... As if just asking again worked. I thought it would be more like pulling teeth. Eda mused in her mind, sitting across from Luz as she ate, able to see how deep in thought she was. It was quiet for a long time; Eda was starting to worry – and get mildly annoyed – that the answer was just to placate her, just as she was about to break the silence her human companion beat her to it, clearing her throat and placing her fork down. "That was delicious, Thank you!" Not exactly what she hoped she was going to say but nodded in reply none the less. "So... I don't exactly know how to explain what happened, because it was a lot, so I'm going to give you the highlights." The witch shrugged and agreed, probably for the best anyway.
"Alrighty, so I told you the books came to life basically when the wailing star went by... Well, the reason I was there was because I snuck in with the Blight twins that I had been hanging out with for most of the day, they had heard of the event but also wanted to go in and steal Amitys Diary, I didn't know, she found us out – because of course – and the twins left me alone with her" Eda couldn't help but cut in, "Thats an intense betrayal" she muttered, her eyebrows furrowed together as she listened. "Thats what I thought too! Ah, anyways, there were demons all over the place, at first, I was an idiot and asked if that was normal, totally forgetting about the event, which Amity didn't even know about. Then as she was leading us to the exit, she had to fight this creepy ass demon, then there was this crazy pirate ship that took me while she was distracted, I don't really remember a lot of that to be honest, they used some kind of potion and I fell asleep. Amity came and helped me out, giving me chance to find the boo-" Eda again interjected, confused, "The Blight girl actually went back for you?" Her confusion was valid but Luz sighed at the interruption. "Yes, I know, shocking, I was shocked too... I can't understand her at all" Luz groaned, planting her face in her hands for a moment before she continued, trying to ignore that same pit in her stomach she felt when she watched Amity walk away from her. "She got me out to let me find the book, we fell, she put us in an abomination cocoon that saved us from the fall. We were gonna part ways there but then I remembered Otabin – stupid book – It was her favourite from when she was a kid so I was gonna go back but she didn't let me go back alone." The surprise was evident on Edas face as Luz told her all the different acts Amity had performed that night, "I closed that one up too, we cleaned up... And, uh." She paused awkwardly, not looking at Eda, unsure if she wanted to share this part or if Eda would just push it off 'for the best anyways'. "And that's when she told me we couldn't be friends, even though she... sort of said she wanted to be? It's because of something or other she couldn't go into details about... Pretty shitty feeling" She let out a weak laugh, trying to put up a front. "Well... That's quite the adventure, and not at all what I thought when you had said you had a long night with books coming to life... Sounds like you did really well for yourself considering you didn't have more than a light spell." She tried to lift Luz's spirits with the compliment. "I thought for sure you killed someone, or blew something up with how you were acting" Ah, shit, change the subject. You aren't good at this stuff! Eda scolded herself.
Although the comment made her feel good it couldn't replace the terrible feeling sitting in her gut, "You know, it sounds like you need an infinity bag" Eda tested the statement casually, gauging the humans mental state with how she reacted to the new magical item. There it is Just like she thought Luz looked at her with stars in her eyes, "Those exist here?" She held her hands together putting them just under her chin, "That would be perfect, I could carry potions, a pen or pencil with a notepad for my glyph..." Eda couldn't address the way the Blight girl made Luz feel but she could distract her and offer guidance on potions, so she needed to refocus the girl on that and hope to titan she just forgets about the fact she isn't great with this stuff yet. "Lets get to it then, You're lucky we baby sat for the Bat Queen when we did, these bags aren't cheap" The woman got up from the table and stretched out again, audibly cracking her bones, earning a grimace from Luz. "You know... Maybe while we're out, we could uh, look for a scroll..." She slid the comment in casually, seeing how far Eda was willing to go. "Don't push it" Maybe... Let's see what we can find. she couldn't believe she was actually reasoning spending so much money on the girl, especially when they went through hell to get that money. "We'll head out when King wakes up, you might want to get dressed." The witch teased pointing at her apprentice's comfy attire, walking behind the privacy screen in the living room and transforming into her usual red dress. "Actually get dressed... as you magic clothes on." she grumbled, putting the plate from her breakfast in the sink before headed back upstairs to her room.
The day was surprisingly wholesome, although Eda ended up stealing the magical bag, she did at least replace it with another – regular – bag. After a lecture from Luz on stealing Eda finally caved and to get the human to shut up took her to get a scroll, the experience was something that her apprentice would never forget. The staff were all so knowledgeable and demonstrated all kinds of different features, it had the similar features as her cell phone from the human world, Penstagram was the big thing here, and the similar features were geared towards tracking travel worms (buses), catching professional grudgby matches, flyer derby(sports) and forecasting chances of painbows or rain. Luz ended up opting for a slightly older model of the device, as she wasn't going to use more than the texting feature, Penstagram and maybe the camera, this older model also didn't come with built in bat wings. Which was perfect, as Luz wasn't able to magically summon the scroll anyways and had to put it away manually, which the sales people were confused by but a sale was a sale.
As the afternoon rolled around Eda decided to drop Luz off at Hexside rather than make her walk from the Owl House, "Hey Eda" Luz looked up at the woman as she hopped off the staff, her brown eyes dug deep into the witches yellow-gold eyes "Uhh..Whats up Kid?" The stare was making her feel incredibly uncomfortable, "Do you think we can talk about enrolling me again?" Ahhh I should have known, that's the start of that damn puppy face! "Oh no no, I won't be sucked in by that face, we can talk about it later but I'm outta here. Say bye King" The witch turned her head up averting her eyes from the human, who laughed at her reaction, knowing she had been caught trying to get more out of the witch on a day where she seemed to be very open to things, she was always so closed off about. "Luuzz! I expect offerings of snacks when you return for your absence!" Eda rolled her eyes "Come on King, being this close to the school is giving me acid reflux, lets blow this pop stand" Eda waved the to the girl as she flew back to the Owl House not letting Luz answer King who started yelling louder demanding he be fed offerings.
I really should do something to thank her … Luz sighed and made her way to the school's entrance, jumping up and sitting on the rock railing, letting her legs dangle. She felt weird not having her usual green jacket on, but it had to be washed after the events a few days prior. She had tried to dress appropriate for adventuring while still being comfortable, she chose a short sleeve plain black shirt, layering a pair of dark blue overalls on top – one button unclipped so it hung slightly off on one side – and some mid-calf length black leggings. The overalls brought her comfort, she had fixed them up herself, using some of her favourite anime logos and crests to patch up rips and holes. She had about thirty minutes to kill before her friend was free and she figured she could use this time trying to get the hang of her scroll, despite it being like a smart phone, her skills did not transfer over. Finally, she got a Penstagram account up and running, adding some cute pictures of King, one of herself with Willow and Gus and finally a generic profile picture of her in her red beanie giving a peace sign. She quickly started following – stalking as they call it on Penstagram – the Hexside college account, Willow, Gus, she even found the twins and stalked them as well, in the recommended she could see Amity's account floating there. Couldn't hurt... Out of curiosity she couldn't help but select it, getting access to only a small bit of her feed since she wasn't an approved stalker. Woah, even her account looks like it's professionally handled. The account didn't have most things you'd expect from a teenager's account, sure it had photos of her and what looked like friends and teammates but nothing scandalous in the slightest and the posts were generally neutral. This didn't look anything like Willows where she shared photos of her plants with captions, or small personal tidbits of her day. Is this even her doing? She couldn't help but wonder after everything she's seen if there is an extreme amount of intervention in her life, it would fit with what she said to her the other night but it just doesn't seem real.
"Boy, you are obsessed eh?" Emira laughed as Luz jumped, nearly dropping her brand-new scroll. "What!? Ah, no, no, I just made an account is all. Just... Checking things out." She tried her hardest to act cool, like it wasn't a big deal but her face turned red giving away the fact the comment had hit a nerve. "Hmmm Yep, checking things out alright." She raised her eye brows suggestively, making the already nervous human's face a deeper shade of red. This! This is what I mean... She isn't even here! Why am I nervous! She internally groaned, and flipped her legs over to the other side so she was facing Emira. "No more, it was a poor word choice. I know, let's move on. Why are you here?" Luz waved her free hand at the witch really hoping her desperate attempt at shifting the conversation would take hold. The Blight sibling could tell she was desperate to switch topics, she debated for a moment having more fun but ultimately played nice. "Alright, you win." she teased, leaning on the railing across from Luz, facing her. She was in a black long sleeve that had cuffs around her wrists and a red button-up vest over top. Due to the weather Emira had opted for dark gray shorts that came a few inches above her knee. "Just visiting someone... One of the only times I really get to see them." The Blight siblings' eyes drifted from Luz to the building, "Huh, I didn't peg you for a softie." The comment got a small laugh from the witch, "Come on now cutie, you should know someone needs to be the softie of the family" She shamelessly winked at Luz, already turning the tables on any teasing potential the human had.
There was a moment of silence between the two before the Blight sister spoke up again, "For real though, I'm actually glad I ran into you." Her voice took on a foreign tone to Luz, which captured all her attention, staring intently at Emira, her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "First, I want to apologize, we shouldn't have dragged you into that situation. So, I'm sorry about that." She sighed, shaking her head and looking down, "Especially knowing how much trouble you were causing" Luz could tell she was trying to tease or joke with that sentence, but it just didn't come out right. Trying not to miss a beat Emira continued, looking back at the human across from her. "Second, have you seen Amity since the library?" The question dragged painfully across Luz's mind, What does she mean? Has she not seen her? That was two whole days ago... She went towards her room; did she check her room? The look Luz had on her face was all the answer Emira needed, nodding to herself she sighed breaking eye contact with the human for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Don't worry, shes done this before. I was just hoping to clear the air between us after what Ed and I tried to do, it was stupid." Luz had a hard time focusing on Emiras words, the sincere conversation was a stark contrast between how they had been with one another before. Only joking and making flirtatious comments, this was a trusted and serious conversation. "So, you don't know what happened after you left the library at all?" The question hung in the air for a moment but finally Emira shook her head, groaning as she tilted her head back. "No idea! Ugh, but the way you said that, it makes me think it wasn't good." Before Luz could respond the bell rang – screamed – loud, signaling that students were on their way to cut between their conversation. "I have to go but... Maybe we can chat later." The witch said carefully, glancing wearily at Luz as she entered the building, I guess she wants to head off whoever she's here to see... How can she be so casual, I know I don't have siblings but... Argh, I just need to talk this out with Willow. Luz jumped off the railing and simply stood with her back leaning against the railing, distracting herself with the scroll as she waited for her friend to come out. Her thumb lingering on Amity's profile, debating if she should click 'request to stalk', ultimately with a frustrated huff she rolled the scroll closed on the page and just watched as students streamed by her.
Finally, after what felt like eternity to Luz, Willow walked out carrying a potted plant with her as well as her usual book bag. "Oh! Luz, how are you feeling?" The witch approached the girl and placed her potted plant beside her on the railing, she hadn't heard much from her since the night she came over to help with her homework. "Eda picked the crow up yesterday and let me know you weren't feeling the best." Ah... right, I completely forgot she called me. Luz gave an apologetic smile and shrugged her shoulders, "I'm sorry about that, but I was hoping maybe we could talk? Feels like my heads going to explode keeping everything inside." There was no hesitation, Willow was more than happy to listen or talk through any problems Luz had. "Of course, Lets take a walk around the track field?" She felt like Luz needed to talk it out now by the way her friend sounded, so going to one of their homes first just seemed silly, "That would be great..." With that Luz picked up her friends potted plant and started to make their way towards the field, "I don't even know where to start Wills, feels like so much has happened." She let out a weak laugh, side eyeing her friend as they walked together.
Willow offered a soft smile while shrugging her shoulders, "You can start from wherever! I'm sure at some point it will all meet up, or at least hopefully" She giggled and patted Luz's back, "I know you suggested the track but do you mind if we just sit for a little bit?" Willow didn't protest in the slightest, wanting to do whatever she could to make the situation the most comfortable, this was still new to her. Sure, she had been friends with Gus for a long time, but the only thing he usually worried about was if he was coming off as 'too much' on Penstagram or how sick he is of his bully's, but it was usually simple, stuff with Luz didn't feel like it was on that same level. Not that it's a bad thing... Luz just seems to feel things a little bit deeper, even if she doesn't want to admit it. That's one of her charms though! The witch took a seat, waiting for her friend to start speaking her mind but not pressuring, happy to sort through her own thoughts. She sat cross legged across from Luz, using some of what she learned in her summer classes to summon a soft flower under them so they were sitting in a plant-like chair. "I know, I know, I'm just getting on a different level of cool"
"Seriously Willow, you were made for this kind of magic." Luz situated herself in the plant chair and took a deep breath, "So, the night I left your house I was actually meeting up with Emira and Edric, Am-" Willow cut in before she could finish, clearly surprised. "You were hanging out with Amitys siblings?" her eyebrows scrunched together and she had a small frown on her face that she quickly tried to hit by continuing. "Sorry, go on... Just surprising!" She let out a nervous laugh, gesturing for Luz to continue. Come on Willow, just listen... But, why didn't she tell me that night? the plant witch tried her best to force out her loud thought and refocus on Luz. "Yeah... I know, I don't know why I didn't tell you what I was up to, I guess I was nervous about how you might react. I know you hate when we talk about Amity... So, I figured it was the same for all Blights." Somehow the human was able to answer the unasked question, as if reading Willows mind. "I get it... I'm sorry about that, you can talk to me about anything. I'm working on the whole, 'Amity' thing" The weak laugh really hit home with Luz, she could feel that familiar pit of guilt settling in her stomach, this conversation wasn't going to be enjoyable considering her friends feelings on the green haired girl but she needed an outlet. "I appreciate it Willow, uh... This may be a lot about Amity, so stop me if you just don't want to deal with it. I understand, I mean, I don't understand exactly but you don't owe me an explanation or anything" She was mumbling now, going off on a nervous tangent.
Should I let her talk about it first, and then tell her what happened... She really just deserves to know. It shouldn't even be as big of a deal as it is, it was so long ago. Willow was mentally battling with herself as she took in what Luz was saying, "Okay, well, uhm.." She paused, cutting Luz off from continuing her nervous rant. "I have hard time talking about Amity because almost up until high school we were best friends, we spent summers together, had sleep overs, went to camp together... everything, for years we were inseparable." The news seemed to shock Luz, her eyes were wide and her jaw was slacked, hanging slightly ajar. "I think it was her 13th birthday, I was at her house with all her parents' business partners kids, Skara, Boscha, Amelia and Cat. When we were about to get ready for the sleep over portion of the party, Amity took me into her room and told me I had to go. That I wasn't welcome, we weren't friends, that I had been dragging her down and the whole 'Blight's only associate with the best witches'... Not anyone like half a witch Willow who struggled with magic." Saying all this out loud to another trusted friend had a very uplifting effect, normally thinking about this Willow would be drifting off into self-depredating thoughts and having a pity party but with Luz listening so intently, her friendly brown eyes just exuding understanding, she felt alright.
Luz was taken aback finding out the extent of their friendship, it made a lot more sense now the way they interacted, so familiar yet so distant. "Willow... I'm so sorry." The apology slipped out, but felt necessary at the same time, even if it was years ago. "I get why it's not pleasant to talk about her though... What she did was messed up." Luz was desperate to understand more but it was so long ago, she was sure that Willow either knows why or doesn't want to know.
"Ever since then she's really just ignored me, occasionally I think she would take frustrations out on me and, I was, well sort of am still a target for her so-called friend Boscha. Should count yourself lucky not to have met her yet." She couldn't help but groan, thinking about the years of abuse she took from the pink-haired monster of a girl. "Nah, she should be thankful not to have met me yet!" Luz quickly retorted and brought a smile to her friend's lips, "We'll see about that" the witch teased and let out a soft sigh, feeling like she got a lot off her mind. "Willow, do you know why?" Even if Willow expected the question, it didn't hurt any less to admit the truth to her. "I don't. I didn't handle it well and I just sort of shut down... I think it's a bit too late to ask." She shrugged her shoulders trying to brush it off, Now to return the favour... Whatever it is, I'm ready. "The floor is yours; this happened a long time ago... I just wanted you to know, it seemed fair."
I can do this... Just do it. Luz took another deep breath and nodded to Willow, looking a the grass between them. "So, I met up with them for a special magical event in the library, when the wailing star went by the books came to life. As long as the book was open, the characters would appear, and if open long enough it was like whole scenes came to life. It was amazing and scary, uh, anyways, they ended up being there to steal Amitys journal." This earned a groan from Willow, her hand coming to her face as she shook her head, knowing Amitys journals were like a safe place for her. "I know, I know, I had no idea at first when they took me to this secret room, it was hers, they were snooping and I just …" Saying these things out loud was surprisingly difficult, it feels so wrong what she did but in the moment, it didn't seem like as big of a deal. As she continued the knot in her stomach just got tighter and tighter, "I looked around, I didn't mean to find it, but I found it with her Azura books. - She likes the same books I do by the way! I've never met another fan of th- err, sorry. I found her diary, Edric stole it and when I stole it back it sort of went all over the place, I heard some stuff I... I don't know what to do with." She paused for a moment, risking a glance up at Willow, the girl sat intently leaning forward, her eyes trained on Luz and her hands folded in her lap. "When I had picked it all back up, Amity was there... She felt her siblings would do something like that, but, ugh she caught me doing it too and I tried to tell her it wasn't like that but of course I fucked that up too. The twins left me with her." Luz had to pause and rub her face with her hands, she felt like such an idiot for having invaded the witches space at all. "Huh, that's a bit of a betrayal on their part, left you to die." Willow was half joking, trying to help lighten the humans mood able to see talking this all out was hard. "Ugh see that's what I said!" She sighed and leaned forward, leaning her elbows on her thighs.
"Thats when It got really... Messed up. When I got up, she grabbed me and held me against her. Wait, err, not like that, maybe? There was a demon in the next aisle over and I was talking, so she covered my mouth and held me still" God Luz that was just brutal, what's wrong with you? Should it really be this hard to spit out? She chastised herself, struggling to continue. "Are you alright? That was … a bit of a struggle to get out." Her tone was a mix of serious and teasing, worried for her friend but not able to help herself from poking fun at the stammering mess she just was. "Honestly, I have no idea... It felt weird, I was more worried about the position I was in than, you know, the huge ass demon in the next aisle, able to kill me, like kill me dead!" Her hands flew up, trying to exaggerate her point. "Huh..." Huh? That's all shes got!? Luz couldn't help but stare at her friend with her mouth open and a dumb look on her face. "Thats all you got is huh? Whats huh?" She snapped, causing Willow to giggle, lightening the mood substantially. "No no, nothing. Keep going." The answer was not what Luz wanted, but she had a lot to get through still. "Fine, But I'm not done with that huh" Replaying the events in her head, she went through the whole night with Willow, explaining how she had been protective, kind, and selfless, risking herself multiple times when Luz was not her responsibility. If anything, Luz was a pain in the green haired girls ass at the moment. Willow listened the whole time, no longer interrupting, it was clear to her that the night was extremely long and there were a lot of feelings that she was having a difficult time deciphering.
How the end was the hardest part Luz still couldn't understand, "Then at the end, she just, we couldn't be friends and she didn't give me any reason... Just said it was beyond her basically. What does that even mean?" Once the words left her mouth and her eyes made a connection with Willows again, it suddenly clicked, Amity had basically said the exact same thing to both. Sure, it was years apart but it was fundamentally the same exchange. Unsure of how to address the similarities she continued, "Ever since that I've had these awful nightmares, nightmares that just feel so real it makes me feel sick when I wake up. To top it all off, Emira said that Amity hasn't been home, well, at least that she hasn't seen her?" There was suddenly a strange lump in her throat, was it the talk of the nightmares? Or did it have something to do with her, not friend's disappearance.
"Luz... That, I'm sorry. That night sounds terrible, I get why you needed to get it off your chest." Willow was in a bit of a state of shock, there was a lot to unpack in what happened and she didn't even know if she was able to help like she wanted to. "The worst part Wills, is that I can't stop thinking about it. It's getting ridiculous and why, why would Emira even ask me if I've seen her. She wants nothing to do with me!" ah... here it is... Even though Luz knew she was snapping and having a small blowup all she could do was watch herself, "If I had just left her the fuck alone maybe this wouldn't even be happening... You and Gus are just, amazing, and again, I wanted to be like the character in my book, befriending rivals and-" Tears were starting to threaten to spill over, she had gotten up from the plant chair, her hands balled into fight fists as she couldn't help but blame herself for what was happening. "Nope!" Willow cut the tangent off, getting up from her spot and grabbing Luz's hand. "This isn't helping anything and it is, not a bad quality to want to make friends Luz... She's just, complicated, and it sounds like things have just gotten more complicated for her as we got older." Without a second through Willow ended her sentence by pulling her friend into a hug, which Luz struggled at first to returned, resting her chin on Willows shoulder. "Thanks... This just feels so, overwhelming and all I want to do is help. You know?" Her friend nodded in response, letting the hug continue for a while longer before pulling away, holding the human girls arms as they parted. "I can stay over tonight if you want? We can have a sleep over, fuck those nightmares up!" They both laughed, feeling a bit better having both said things that needed to be out in the open. "It would be really great if you stayed over, I'm sure Eda will be cool with it."
As Luz steadied herself and let her body calm down from her near panic attack it dawned on her she hadn't shown Willow her new magical items. "Oh! I mean it isn't all bad, Eda bought me a Scroll and an infinite bag to carry my potions and such!" She gave the witch the most chipper smile she could come up with, showing off the bag that was slung across her body, wiggling her eyebrows at the same time. "Okay, well, she bought the scroll at least. We may have … got the bag in an alternativ-" "You stole it" Willow said flatly, "Yeeeup, yeah, we stole it. But we did leave a bag behind, so … not as bad as usual?" The answer she offered received a distraught sigh and a shake of her head, but not wanting to dwell on the poor choices of the Owl Lady, Willow summoned her own scroll. "Gimme those digits" Hmm... I should have probably asked what my number was... the distant look Luz had on her face gave Willow all the answer she really needed, and earned a small laugh. "Okay, never mind, let me give you, my digits." Luz chuckled and rubbed her neck as she passed Willow her scroll, letting the dark-haired girl input her number and send a message. "Here, I messaged you your phone number back. Now you can start handing it out to all the new freshmen you meet in college, oh or maybe a senior" Teasing each other came so naturally, always making it easy to lift each other out of little funks. "I think I need to focus on getting into said school first." As the human girl made her point, Willow only gave a shrug her shoulders "details! Now, I need to catch the next worm and then I will meet you at your house as soon as I get my stuff and let my dad's know. Sound good?" Perfect, gives me some time to talk to Eda "Perfect as always!" Luz walked with Willow to the station, giving her a final hug and handing over the potted plant she had been carrying for her.
Feeling a bit lighter after their conversation Luz made short work of the walk from Hexside to home Sleep over approval then talk about school, remember, you only have max another two months here before returning to the human realm. I should be able to pick what I do here, maybe … not said like that but, ahhh just wing it. As Luz walked she couldn't help but think on Willows reaction to her 'close calls', What does a 'Huh' even mean? Ahh and she got away without even telling me. Luz got close to the door, shooting Hooty a mildly concerned look as he struggled to use his tongue to get a bug on the door. It didn't even seem like he really noticed her, taking the opportunity she opened the door and whispered a small good luck to him. Taking off her shoes by the door she peered around the living room, surprised to see there wasn't anyone there. "King? Eda?" She called, making her way into the kitchen, it was eerily quiet in the house, normally there was some kind of sound in it. Whether it be the crystal ball, talking, fighting, or mewtube, there was always something. A chill ran down her spine, she swallowed hard and took a seat at the table, trying to calm her nerves before she would continue her adventure into the rest of the house. Closing her eyes she took a couple deep breaths and pushed away the tight feeling in her chest and the panic that had been bubbling to the surface, easy, there had to be a reason, she could work with that.
As her eyes opened up again, she jumped at the sight of Eda staring at her from the entrance to the kitchen, "Holy! Titan!" She yelled, causing Eda jump now as well. "Don't do that to me Eda!" She yelled, exasperated holding her chest. "Woah, what do you mean? You're the one who walked in here like a zombie!" What? That doesn't make sense, no one was in the living room... Luz pulled her beanie off her head, running her hands through her hair as she thought. "No way, I came in and no one was in the living room..." A frown formed on Eda's lips; she had been feeling something off ever since the library but wasn't able to place it. "Could be the stress I guess Kid, did you get a chance to talk to your friend?" After finally nodding to Eda's suggestion, Luz told her about what happened with Willow and asked if she would mind if she had stayed for the night. "Of course, sounds like it'll be a fun time for you two, good for you to relax." Eda took the opportunity to ruffle Luz's hair while it was out of its usual beanie, earning a grunt from her apprentice. "You can use the living room, It's a bit roomier than your room." Eda examined Luz closely, trying to see if there was anything out of place, a mark, curse symbol or cursed item on her that might be causing this strange magic that almost felt like it was coming from the girl. Nothing... Huh, maybe it's magic from the event lingering? Maybe I can find something on it. On that thought she left Luz to get the living room ready for the sleepover, pausing as Luz seemed to follow her back into the living room and to the hallway to go up to bed.
Luz nodded, happy that Eda was on the same page as her and onboard with Willow staying the night. As Eda left the room she remembered the other piece of the puzzle she wanted to talk to Eda about, "So... About school..." She started very slowly, feeling like with everything that happened today she might be pressing her luck some. Eda of course knew the question was coming, she had told her apprentice they would talk about it later, "Lets talk tomorrow, you've waited this long, go enjoy your sleep over and don't do anything I would do." Finally, Luz had felt like she was really starting to relax again, despite everything she had been through with the conformatorium, the wizard, even the stuff at Hexside and the Covention was no cake walk, yet this wailing star event had really shaken her up. Not even Luz could really say for certain if it was just the events that unfolded or if it was a mix of bottling up feelings from those others traumas. Using the time before Willow arrived, she cleaned up the living room and brought out the crystal ball in case they wanted to watch something. King was already asleep on the couch, not wanting to disturb him with their sleep over, she very gently lifted him up like Eda showed her and took him upstairs, getting the thumbs up from Eda to put him down on a chair near her nest bed.
It didn't take long for Willow to arrive, her Dad dropped her off and gave Luz a cheery wave as he lifted off to go back home leaving Luz to bring Willow inside for the night. It had went down like most sleep overs, both changed into their comfy clothes as soon as the living room was set up, Willow on the couch – at Luz's insistence – and Luz on the floor, just on the other side of the table. The witch couldn't help but show off her magical changing method, using Edas privacy screen to change as quickly as walking behind and out the other side. Laughing hysterically as Luz was struggling in the corner still trying to pull her tights off, overalls were no problem, tights on the other hand felt like a whole ordeal. "Luz, I could have changed almost 10 times by now, and you just got your tights off and you promised you didn't sleep in just your underwear." The relentless teasing from Willow was killing her, only making her clumsier. "You know what Willow , you probably can't even change your clothes without magic." Her baseless jab only made the witch laugh more, almost cackling now as Luz finally struggled to get her comfy sweater on. Deciding her comfy outfit this morning was going to be her pjs for the night. "Haha! Done!" It only took, almost 20 times longer than it took Willow! "Luz... Noooo." There were tears in the corner of Willows eyes now, she had to remove her glasses to wipe them away. "What?" Her confusion was genuine, not having any idea what the issue was, that is until she looked down at herself and groaned. Her red sweater was on backwards, "Come on!" She groaned loudly, pulling the sweater partly off and turning it around. Jokingly stomping over to where her friend was recovering from her antics, still wiping her tears away.
As Willow finally calmed down, she leaned herself into the couch turning so she was now facing Luz with her back resting on the arm, her pillow assisting in propping her up. "You know, I haven't had a sleep over since I was like 8, Wills" Luz chuckled, doing the same as Willow on the opposite end of the couch, their feet just slightly touching. "And, I'm pretty sure I went home early because I found a snake shed and grossed them all out. 'ay dios mío, a snake left it's pajamas!' Yeup, didn't take long for my mom to be called, I told them it meant a bigger snake was with us" By the end of the little story she had went from telling it with regret to remembering it fondly. The dark-haired girl laughed with Luz, finding amusement in the story rather than anything sad about it, "You would have been right at home at my sleep overs, although, snake sheds around here are … like really big pajamas" Despite the horror and truth behind the sentence both chuckled. "You know, you never really talk about the human realm much. I think that story is almost the most I've heard about it." She didn't want her friend to relive wounds or talk about things that hurt, but she also had an intense curiosity about the world that made her friend who she was. "Ahh... It's really just not that interesting. No magic, but we have technology, like my phone." She leaned over and grabbed it off the table beside them, tossing it into her friends hands. "Stuff like that is everywhere, take photos, take and watch videos, talk to people. Same as a scroll really." she leaned forward towards Willow, reaching to her phone and giving the screen a tap, a picture of her, her Mami and Papi. "Aw, you were so cute!" Willow glanced from the phone to Luz and shook her head, "What happened?" The teasing comment was met with a stiff scoff. "Alright, ouch. Give it back, no more for you." The two went back and forth for a while, finally Luz let it go and continued showing Willow its different features, they took a few photos together and even watched some mewtube. Just as Willow handed the phone back Luz noticed Willow was lost in thought, "Whats on your mind?" She put the phone back on the table and leaned back, stretching her legs out so they were now hanging over Willows and off the couch.
Willow took a long moment to answer, pondering if she really wanted to ask the question she was curious about. "Whats your family like?" she finally asked, putting her arms up and behind her head, trying to get comfortable. "I... Didn't want to pry but you haven't really mentioned anything, which, you know isn't the best sign and in that screen thing it looked like you were really happy with your parents" There was a small sting in her chest at the question, she was bad at talking about family, it felt so foreign to her. Even with friends from school, fake or real and brief, she didn't really have them over or talked to them about problems she may have had at the time. "Well, to be honest, I don't really know how to talk about my family." She figured Willow was the perfect person to test the waters and try, wanting to be attentive the witch shifted putting her hands back in her lap. "My papi passed when I was little, he was the one who really got me, don't get me wrong my mom always did her best but I think she wanted certain things for me. For me to be a certain way and... Well, I'm just me." A bitter chuckle managed to slip from her mouth, causing her to shake her head, trying not to go down this sad path. "Luz, I had no idea... I'm so sorry. That must have been so hard." Willow wished she was better with words for her friends sake, "It's okay Wills, It was a long time ago. The hardest part was basically losing my mom for a time too, medical bills are expensive there, she had to work a lot to make sure we were okay. I barely saw her, and when I did, she was exhausted, It went on like that for years." Saying all this out loud felt strange, her chest ached and yet her shoulders somehow felt like they were lighter. "What did you mean, when you said 'she wanted certain things for me'?" Willows curiosity got the best of her, but she had a feeling that even if this was uncomfortable, it was good for her to get this out. "Uh... Well, no way to really put it, she just wanted me to be normal " The words felt like knives in her back as uttered them, "You know, good grades, regular friends, maybe some sports or at least not getting into trouble." She sighed, and ran her hands through her hair, tossing her red beanie onto the table, pulling the longer strands down a habit she had formed when she was younger, like a nervous tic.
"Nothing wrong with being weird, all the best people are! I don't think a normie could last five minutes here, let alone a month, oh! Plus, fight off wizards, brew potions, fight a witch and demons!" The small list Willow gave made her smile, "Ahh see, you know it too" The witch leaned over and gave Luz a small poke in the chest. "Now, as much as I love getting your origin story, as you call it, I was wondering if you, you know... had a chance to talk to Eda about school." she wiggled her eyebrows excitedly, and reached for her bag on the floor. The question was first answered with a slight groaned from Luz, who obviously tried and failed, "No, not yet. But tomorrow, for sure. I will convince her!" She declared, watching her friend rifle through her bag. "Well, no better way than to have … Random and extensive knowledge!" she cheered, pulling pamphlets from her bag. "Whaat! I didn't know they had fricken handouts" She went to snatch one from her friend but she was easily evaded. "Ah, ah, ah! First, you have to pinky promise that you'll talk to her, even if she doesn't want to, 100% tomorrow. Exams are closing in, and at this rate, you wont make it." She held the pieces of paper close to her chest and extended her pinky out with her free hand. "Oh easy!" She pulled herself up from her relaxed position, sitting cross legged on the couch in front of Willow, she pinky promised.
"Now, lets start here." She tossed the first little booklet down, 'Hexside dorms, built to reform the mind and soul' Luz mentally read the title and quirked an eyebrow up, "I know, dated, all the suggested replacements were just as bad. So, until they find one that fits... We are reforming our minds and souls by moving in!" They both let out a small laugh, wondering how people took it seriously. "So, by the looks of it, these are mostly singles with conjoined rooms?" Luz wondered as she opened up the pamphlet, gasping as she saw one of the more luxury dorms. "This is basically just a house for two to four people? On campus?" Her mind was reeling, however, before she could get too excited about the potential Willow pointed to near the bottom where it read "'Limited Availability, preferred students and students of high honours only.' What a nice way to say rich kids only." She grumbled the last part, wondering why they bothered to advertise it if It was for the elite. "Basically, it's going to be Boscha, Skara, Amelia and Cat. I think there are only two available this year... I'm good with my single room." Wait, no Amity? I thought for sure... "I shouldn't assume here, are you planning to move into the dorms?" Willow had realized she sort of pushed her own agenda on them, just assuming Luz was planning to move as well. "Ah... I don't know, if I get accepted I think it would be the best experience! Close to class, close to you, whats not to like?"
"Now, we lets take a peek at the tracks, do you think you'll do potions?" The witch seemed to skip over herself completely, but I guess it was just assumed she would be doing plants "I mean, yeah, of course I'm going to do potions but I also want to get in some other classes too." Luz pointed out some of the ones that had piqued her interest the most, "Magical Creatures and how to avoid them. History of the Boiling Isles... Oh! Curses, cures and remedies." When Luz looked up from the papers and met Willows eyes, she could instantly tell there was some kind of problem with what she had said. "What?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side. "I forgot to tell you and I just sort of thought you knew, but uh, you can only take one track. So, if you take potions, that's all you'll get. Plus a general elective." Luz felt like she was seeing stars, her confusion was intense and obvious to her friend as well. "How does that make sense?" She groaned, holding her head as she stared at the long line of tracks in front of her. "Well... This is supposed to prep you for your coven selection Luz. Not exactly supposed to mix magic, according to our lord and savior Belos." Willow mocked with a stuffy accent, breaking some of the disappointing news more gently. "I get it, It makes sense thinking about it now! Maybe I can convince them to let me do it, afterall I'm probably not here for the whole semester anyways." Ah... We really have talked about that, estúpida. Piensa la próxima vez.. (Stupid, think next time) "Err... " before Luz could even try to touch on what she said, her friend beat her to it. "I don't know about you, but I am getting tired " The dark haired girl pushed the thought off, knowing neither one of them was really in the right head space to think about Luz leaving already. "I'm with you there! Thanks for all this Willow and you know, staying over. You're the best!" She got up off her friend's makeshift bed for the night and gave her a gentle hug, flinching as her friend squeezed her tight. "Nah you're the best, here if you need me." She reassured and removed her glasses, placing them beside her on the table.
Luz smiled loving the feeling the friendship with Willow gave her, it was warm and welcoming, giving her great comfort as she blew most of the lit candles out in the living room. Quickly getting into her own makeshift bed, stifling a laugh as she heard Willow already starting to softly snore. Amity really lost out on an amazing friend as the thought ran through her mind she dwelled on it, wondering again if it was her doing or intervention, things were just piling on in favour of something being drastically wrong in the green haired witch's life. She rolled onto her side and pushed away the thoughts and ugly feelings that came along with them, she could deal with them later, for now she needed sleep. It didn't take long for sleep to take Luz, as she drifted off into her dream world her vulnerability rose and a creeping darkness fell upon her. Like the last two nights, in haunting claws dug into her sleeping mind, this time however, grabbing deeper than it ever had and holding as tight as it could. Whispering sweet darkness into the girl's mind.