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Boscha’s week has been one filled with confusion and annoyance.
It feels like in such a short amount of time, her whole world has turned completely upside down. It had all started when that human girl had showed up completely unannounced. She’d thrown the entire school out of whack. Because of her, things were changing. Amity had up and left their friend group, despite having been with them for years. She’d always been quiet and a little ‘too cool’ in their group, which Boscha always admired, but it was jarring just how quickly she’d switched sides. And, it had been obvious as to why. She was… head over heels for that human girl.
She’d gone from being an intelligent, calculating witch to a babbling idiot whenever Luz got within a foot of her. She’d left the group that more or less ruled the school. Star grudgby captain and the star student of Hexside. They were made to rule. Nothing seemed to be more awe-inspiring to the general student populace than the sight of pink and green hair coming down the hallway. Or, fear-inspiring. They had been on top. Nobody could bring them down. She’d thought… they were good friends. Until that human came along.
In just the amount of time it took for Luz to join the school, she’d stolen Amity away. It was gradual. Amity stopped directly hanging out. Then, she stopped walking around the school with them. Then, she was hanging out with Half-A-Witch Willow of all people. Sticking up for her when she’d been just as apt to join the teasing as anyone before.
I’ve grown up. When will you?
The triclops lets out a loud snarl as she walks down hallway, just daring anyone to get in her way. Most are smart enough to move. No one wanted to get shouldered by her. A few get bumped aside by her solid form, looking at her with disdain. They knew what she did. How Amity had come to the school on a crutch from the grudgby game. Boscha had gone from being the school star to the school pariah. Even her teammates seemed to be more interested in other things. She didn’t care. She didn’t need them, anyway. All she needed to do was win. As long as she was feared, it didn’t matter if she was hated.
You’ve just destroyed your social life.
Actually… I think I made it better.
By the time she reaches her locker, her face is red with rage. She gives it a solid punch that has it gagging her books out into her other hand. How dare she say that. How dare she just cast Boscha off like that. Like she was nothing. Like they hadn’t been friends for years, at this point! She can feel her fist quivering as she pulls it back, tears starting to sting at all three of her eyes. The worst part was how much it hurt. They’d been friends since they were kids, right? They’d been introduced by their parents. Even as a kid, she’d immediately been struck by Amity. She’d done all sorts of stupid things to try and impress her. Try and show that she was strong and the kind of person she’d want to be friends with.
Over the years, she had still done just that. Always tried to show that she was the strongest girl in Hexside. Prove that she was worthy of her friendship. Worthy of… one day… maybe more. Even all that business with Willow was mostly to try and get Amity’s attention back on her the only way she knew how.
But, she never really mattered to Amity, did she? She was just a cog in the machine that was Amity Blight. She’d abandoned her just as quickly as she could.
“Whatever. Doesn’t bother me any.” She mutters, eyes narrowing. Her pointy ears perk up when she hears voices, however. When she turns to look at the source, she sees the absolute last thing she wanted to see right now. It’s the new friend squad. The new buddies.
Her eyes immediately fall on Amity. She’s laughing. It’s a genuine, soft laugh. Nothing like she’d ever heard out of the girl’s mouth before. She’d heard Amity laugh before, thought she knew what it sounded like. But, this… it made her realize that she’d never really heard the girl laugh at all. She’s with her new buddies. Luz is carrying her books for her, which doesn’t make sense when she could literally summon an abomination to do the same thing. Willow and that short kid are (she thinks she heard them call him ‘Gus, but she couldn’t bring herself to care) with her. And, she’s laughing like she’s never had friends in her life. The bolt of pure fury that sends through her is almost palpable in the air. Her ears twitch in the air.
“Hey, it’s okay, Amity. We may have lost the game-game, but I still think we were the winners in the end! No matter what Boscha says.” She hears the human’s voice say, all happy and cheerful and disgusting.
Her fists shake and, before she can stop herself, she’s stomping over to the group. Luz immediately takes note and steps just lightly in front of Amity as if to shield her. Amity blushes heavily at that, then looks past Luz’s shoulder. Her eyes narrow a bit. Boscha finds her own eyes narrowing even further. She knows what those looks are. What they mean. “What do you want, Boscha?” Amity asks in a quiet, but determined voice.
“Like you’d ever care what I want, Blight.” She growls, spitting the name like a curse. She takes an aggressive step forward. She recognizes that her voice is growing louder and louder, but she doesn’t care. Why should she, anymore? “You think you’re just so great, don’t you? Living the life. Got your new little friends who adore you so much... Got your human to fawn over? Well, you’ve just got it made, don’t you?!”
She’s breathing heavily at this point, face red and eyes sparkling with tears. “But, I know what you really are, now. You’re a snake, Amity Blight. One who’s oh, so content to shed her skin whenever she likes. Whenever that old skin’s too bothersome. Just leave it in the dust with the shiny new one.”
The pink-haired girl lets out a hard, shaky breath. “Every time you ever looked or, or smiled at me or laughed... it was all fake, wasn’t it…?”
Amity pales a bit. “Boscha...”
“Admit it!” She snarls as she takes another step forward. Luz takes a step forward to meet her. She doesn’t look aggressive, but is clearly ready to do whatever it takes to keep the triclops away. She looks right over the human’s shoulder, three eyes staring into two shocked ones. “You never cared about me! I was just an accessory!”
The girl is trembling a bit, unsure what to say. “I...”
That’s all she needs to hear.
“Whatever.” She grunts, taking a step back and shoving her hands in her jacket. She feels wetness spilling down her cheeks, but can’t be bothered to wipe it. She refuses to look weak in front of Amity and her new friends. “I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone. Have fun with your new friends, however long they last.”
With that, she turns on her heel and storms in the opposite direction. Her ears can barely pick up Amity’s shaky voice talking to Luz. She tunes it out. She doesn’t need to know what those lovebirds are talking about. They can have each other, for all she cares. After turning a corner or two, she slams her fist into the wall as she chokes on a sob. Her heart throbs painfully. Like it’s being ripped into two pieces. “Damn it… damn it.”
She rests her forearm on the wall, forehead pressing against the cool surface. Her free hand comes up to hold her face, unable to help openly crying into it now. She must look so pathetic. So weak. Boscha, captain of the grudgby team, weeping like a child.
“It hurts, doesn’t it?”
Boscha nearly jumps out of her skin, whirling around with her fists up in the air. She finds her trio of eyes staring at Willow. Willow? What in the Isles was she doing here?
“When people don’t think about what their actions do to another person.” The girl has a soft expression on her face. Immediately, she knows it has to be pity. And, she hates it. She turns herself around, back to the wall and hands stuffed in her jacket pockets once again. She levels a dangerous glare at the smaller girl. Doing her best to look big and intimidating.
“What do you want, half a witch?” She growls out.
Willow’s expression doesn’t change much. It only reflects a hint of sadness. She adjusts her glasses a bit. “I just want to say… I know what it’s like. For people to treat you poorly. Even unknowingly. It hurts like you couldn’t believe, when a friend shuts you out for seemingly no reason. It makes you wonder… what did I do wrong? How could I have done better? What could I have done to make them happy? How could I have gotten them… to stay?”
Boscha’s eyes leave Willow’s, unable to hold the girl’s gaze. It’s too intense. “Why are you talking to me? You hate me.” She mutters quietly, not even having the fight left to maintain her aggressive stance.
“It’s true that we haven’t exactly gotten along. You’ve been… very hurtful to me and my friends. But, I wanted to talk to you...” She can hear Willow’s shoes quietly scuff on the floor as she comes closer. Her hand gently rests on Boscha’s shoulder and gives it a small, reassuring squeeze. “Because I believe in redemption. I believe in second chances. But, most of all...”
Willow reaches her hand up, drawing the top eye on Boscha’s forehead. A small, green circle appears around her pointed ear, a brilliant, pink flower gently blooming to rest against it. “I believe that anything can grow, given the proper conditions.” She says with a small smile, gently patting the other girl’s shoulder again.
I’ve grown up. When will you?
Even after Willow gives her a nod and makes her leave, Boscha stays propped up against the wall for a good amount of time. Slowly, one of her hands comes up to gently slip the flower from her ear. She looks it over. The petals are beautiful, as if nature herself took up a brush to form them. Her favorite color has always been pink. She finds the slightest curl coming to the corner of her lips. The slightest pink coming to her own cheeks as she sniffles quietly.
“Growth, huh?”