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Luz Noceda had been in a bit of a pickle about a year ago. The apartment she’d decided on was, basically, the ideal place for her to live. It was within walking distance of her job, a few grocery stores, and a big, lovely park that she could go for runs in. Just a nice little neighborhood. Even the college was just a bus ride away. It was perfect for where she was in her life!
The only problem had been the fact that she couldn’t afford it on her own. Being in college and working a pretty average-paying job got her to about half of what she’d need to rent there. She really wanted to stay here, though. So, the solution had been simple! Get a roommate to help pay half! Surely someone would want to stay at such a nice apartment, right? Well, the roommate she’d previously planned on having ended up not being able to move in for some reason or another. And, all hope had looked to be lost.
Her best friend Willow, however, had graciously supplied the name of someone who was also looking for a place to stay while she was attending the college there. And, that’s where one Amity Blight had entered the picture.
Amity Blight, who had stepped into the apartment with green-dyed hair, a pastel pink dress, and a leather jacket. That had scored major points with her. Because… wow, what a combination that was. The perfect mixture of sweet and biker chic. So pretty. Amity also gave off a general sort of ‘I don’t care’ vibe that had immediately drawn Luz to her. Like she knew what she liked and didn’t much care what people had to say about it. If they didn’t like it, they could get out of her way. It resulted in her being a little standoffish to start out with. Unsure if she would like Luz as a roommate. That was only natural. You wanted a person who could accept you on your bad days, as well as your good.
It had taken a bit of time, but they’d eventually worked out the kinks of being roommates. Luz knew not to be particularly loud too early in the morning, lest she awaken Grumpy Amity. As cute as Grumpy Amity was, with her poofed-out and tousled hair, the hell she could unleash simply wasn’t worth it. Amity had conceded to ask Luz if she would need to use the bathroom before starting the process of dying her hair. Little things like that.
The biggest thing had been the difference between how the two were organized. Luz was quite a bit more chill about pretty much everything than Amity. The green-haired girl liked things all set in a very specific place and in a very specific way. Her whole schedule in their first month as roommates was almost meticulously planned. And, when Luz casually strolled in and bungled it, she would often get upset. That had led to a good amount of squabbles before they reached an agreement on the level of organization they wanted in their apartment. Amity had admitted that she didn’t need to be quite so strict about things, while Luz had recognized that a little organization would go a long way.
On the other hand, they’d also learned a good number of nice things about each other. Became better roommates as they learned them. They both loved the same book series, Good Witch Azura, and it had become a frequent thing for them to meet up in the living room every Friday to discuss it. Especially when it became a show. Luz had shown off her art skills around then, which seemed to especially impress the girl. Enough that she’d actually taken the drawing Luz made for her and pinned it up in her room. They both would occasionally dabble in the fabled art of fanfiction writing. Both of them were part of and supported the LGBTQ community, with Amity identifying as a lesbian and Luz as bisexual. Amity owned a motorcycle, which Luz had responded to by immediately shouting ‘I knew you had a biker look!’. She was also really, really smart. The amount of times she’d leaned in to help Luz with some schoolwork she was really struggling with were countless.
And, she was just… really sweet, too? Once they had gotten past those initial issues, Amity had really turned out to be a sweet girl. Like, the ‘leaving little notes when there’s leftovers for Luz after work’ kind of sweet. The kind who always seemed to make a little more food than she could eat and stop by Luz’s room to see if she wanted any. She’d opened up a little more, always having a small smile on her face when Luz walked into the room. Having Amity around was one of the best outcomes she could have asked for. A friend she was glad to have been introduced to. All in all, things had been going great for the both of them.
Until about four days ago.
It had been like pretty much any other day to start. Both of them had a day off and Amity had decided to go out for a ride on her motorcycle. Luz hadn’t particularly thought anything about it, aside from thinking that Amity in a leather jacket was still cute as heck. Amity often took rides to deal with stress and just enjoy the wind on her face. Luz had waved her goodbye and decided to catch up on the episode of ‘Good Witch Azura’ she’d missed the night prior. A few hours later, she had started to wonder where Amity had gotten off to. She never missed dinner, if they were both going to be there. Just as she had started to get out the stuff to make dinner, she’d gotten a call from the hospital.
Amity had gotten hit by a car.
It still makes her stomach screw up in the worst sort of way, when she thinks about how she’d felt in that moment. Shock, horror, immense worry. She’d been informed that Amity was alive, but had suffered a broken leg. Not the worst that could have happened. Still not ideal. She hadn’t been immediately allowed to see her, much to her distress, as she was going to be going in for surgery. So, after sending word to all their mutual friends, she’d had to wait in anxiety to be allowed to see her roommate. It had taken about a day for her to be allowed to see visitors. She’d gone in as soon as she could, taking the day off work and school. She’d skipped the bus, this time, and hitched a ride with Boscha and Willow down to the hospital.
Amity had been in surprisingly good spirits, full of dry wit and annoyance at being stuck at the hospital. She’d regretted not being able to scrape herself off the road and throw hands with the person who’d hit her. She relayed that the doctor had told her that she had suffered a fractured hip and a few nasty bruises and cuts in addition to the leg. No concussion or head trauma, though, so that was lucky! They hadn’t had too awful long to see her, as Emira and Edric had arrived pretty soon after them. They’d flown in from out of town to see their sister, both looking tired and worried. So, naturally, they’d given her siblings the time to see her.
Luz had gotten to see a lot more of her in the three days that followed. Amity had to stay in the hospital for a while longer, with the hope that she would be discharged in a week or so if her hip was looking better. She’d been all too happy to have friends visiting. Apparently, she’d been going crazy just sitting in a hospital bed by herself (as her phone had been pretty much destroyed in the crash). She’d made sure to bring the girl some Azura books to keep her occupied when she didn’t have anyone there to talk to. Amity had really appreciated that and the company.
But, Luz had also started to notice something a bit strange. Amity was always happy to see her when she visited, of course. That was natural. The strange thing was that her heartbeat monitor would speed up the moment Amity laid her eyes on her. It wasn’t enough to make the machine freak out or send an alert to the nurse, but it was enough to be noticeable. It had happened every single time that Luz would come down to visit her. It was really cute? Like… Amity was excited enough to have someone visiting her that her heart rate picked up a bit. So cute!
Today, she’s getting something to eat with Boscha, Willow, and Gus before she visits Amity again. She’s just talking casually about how Amity’s recovery is going and how the hope is that she’ll be coming back home soon. As she pops a fry into her mouth, she leans her head on one of her hands and glances between the two. “You know, it’s pretty sweet that Amity’s so excited to see us when we visit her.”
“Yeah, well she’s got nothing else to do in there. No phone, either. That’s got to be a total bore. I’d go stir-crazy within an hour, let alone three days. I’d probably be screaming.” Boscha replies, checking over her nails. She’d elected to get some sort of fancy iced coffee that Willow was currently stealing sips from. That had earned her a stare and an eye roll, but little else. Boscha could never really say no to her girlfriend.
Gus nods in response. He’s working on a bit of schoolwork while they’re all hanging out and eating. He always had to work a little harder than the rest of them, pretty much being lifted from high school to attend their college. “Yeah, it sounds pretty hard to deal with. But, she’s a tough girl. And, she’s got a nice support group to fall back on! She’s never got a lack of friends coming in to wish her well, at least.”
Luz laughs and grins. “Yeah! And, that little raise in her heartbeat monitor when you come in? Soooo cute.”
All of them stare at her with slightly raised eyebrows. As if what she just said was completely unexpected. It’s a long enough silence at the table that Luz gives a nervous laugh and adjusts her beanie uncomfortably. “...What?”
Willow leans forward on the table a bit, cocking her head. There’s a bit of a surprised look on her face that drifts into something amused. Something tells her that Willow knows something she doesn’t, because Luz has no idea what that look is for. “I’ve visited her every time that I could this week and that’s never happened for me...”
Boscha snatches her drink back while Willow’s occupied. She purses up her lips after taking a sip. “Yeah, me neither.”
Gus nods in agreement to the girls. Willow is looking more and more amused by this. Honestly, all of them are. Especially when Luz looks just as confused as ever. “Wait, so… it’s just happening to me? Why? Do I have something on me that’s setting off the machine or something?” She asks as she scratches her head in further confusion.
“No, I don’t think it’s that.” Willow hums. “I think it’s because she likes you.”
“W-What?”
“Oh my god, she likes you, you big, dumb bi. It’s obvious.” Boscha replies, rolling her eyes so hard that they look like they’re about to pop off and roll on the ground. “Why else would her heartbeat pick up only when you’re around?”
Luz blushes a bit. Sure, Amity was really cute and always sweet to her, so it could be a possibility. But, no, surely that was way too much in the way of overthinking. She’s just getting into her own head about this, right? There’s no way it was because of her! “I mean, it… could just be a fluke? Maybe I just have weird hearing or… something… I don’t think beeping when I walk in is enough to prove anything is going on.”
Her best friend considers this with a nod. “Well, I guess there’s one way to prove it, then. Try it out when you visit her today. See if it happens again when you walk in. Then, see if it happens specifically at times when you’re close. Maybe try some different things and see if she reacts. If it does, well… maybe there’s something more going on.”
Willow’s words had been on her mind for the rest of their time eating, as well as the entire ride to the hospital. It had to be a coincidence, right? Was it too much to look into? Maybe some, small part of her was kinda… excited by the fact that she might be the cause of that. She did think Amity was really cute. She’d definitely thought about Amity that way before. And, if Amity thought she was cute, too, well… Could this be the vaunted ‘oh dios mio, they were roommates’ trope in real life? She has to snort at that. No way. Real life wasn’t like that! You didn’t just get cute crushes between roommates and stuff. This wasn't fanfiction! Get a hold of yourself, Noceda!
Still… it did make a small part of her a little bit curious. What if she really was reacting to just Luz, herself, in that way? It wouldn’t hurt just to see if that’s what it really was, right? So, she decides that she’s going to try a couple things and watch how the monitor reacted. If it did at all.
She’d made her way to Amity’s room after being given permission by the nurse, knocking on the door to announce her arrival. She peeks in past the door after hearing Amity’s ‘come in’, giving a big smile. “Hey, Amity! How’re you feeling, today?” She asks out.
Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep.
Amity’s heart rate briefly picks up when their eyes meet. Gently and subtly. Just like every other time this week. The girl smiles at Luz a little bit as she walks in and closes the door behind her. “Alright enough. But, I’m going to be really happy when I can finally sleep in my own bed. Clearly ‘comfort’ wasn’t as big on their list of priorities when making these rooms..”
Luz grins and take a seat nearby. Though, she decides to pull the seat up much closer than she might normally. Just to see if there’s any changes. Sure enough, the moment she sits herself right next to Amity, the machine beeps a little quicker. That same, gentle way it had before. Amity even stares at her in light surprise for a moment. It goes back to normal as she settles into her pillow and turns her head toward Luz. “So, you got anything for me? I’m pretty much tearing through every book you’ve left.”
“For sure! I figured you would be.” Luz chirps, rummaging around in her bag to get out the next book in the series. Of course, when she reaches out to hand it to the girl, their fingers gently brush against each other. It’s enough for her to feel the warmth of Amity’s skin on her own. Despite everything, it’s still soft to the touch. Even if there’s still a few cuts healing.
Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep.
Luz’s eyes flit to the monitor and watch as the little lines spike up just a tiny amount more than usual. Amity’s own eyes look away from her, a small flush coming to her cheeks. “Thank you, Luz.” She says after a few moments, clearing her throat quietly. Of course, this doesn’t really do anything to hide the quicker pace of the beeping. Luz’s eyes are wide as they flit between the slowly flushing Amity and the display.
A small smirk comes to her face as everything finally comes together. She leans in a little closer, immediately drawing Amity’s eyes once more. Her hand comes out to gently tuck a few locks of fluffy hair behind the other girl’s ear. She doesn’t mention that the normally pale skin has now become pink. Her smirk grows a little bigger. Thank you, Willow. “You okay, Amity? Your monitor’s kinda going crazy, there. Should I get a nurse?”
Amity’s face goes from pink to red. “Not necessary. It’s fine. I’m fine. It’s nothing at all.” She says as she squeezes tightly on the book in her hands. “Machine’s probably malfunctioning or something. I’m perfectly calm.”
Beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep!
Luz arches an eyebrow and leans lazily back into her chair. Her smirk is still plastered over her face as she casually curls a lock of her own hair around her finger. “Mmmmmm-hm.”
“Believe what you want to believe, Noceda.” Amity shoots back with a pout, sinking into her hospital bed. She actually fully shifts away from Luz to stare at the wall. She’s still blushing a tremendous amount. The quick heartbeat continues on for a few more moments of silence before it starts to steadily lower back down to something more normal. Luz remains silent that entire time, smirk still on her face.
“Luz.”
“Yes, Amity?”
There’s another few moments of silence. Amity slowly peeks back over to Luz and starts to lightly chew her lip. “When I get out of here, would you want to like… go on a date or something?”
Instead of answering with words, Luz leans herself back in. Amity’s questioning expression is quickly turned to one of shock and embarrassment as she realizes what’s about to happen. And, Luz takes great pleasure in gently pressing her lips to Amity’s warm, flushed cheek. The girl makes a sound in the back of her throat that might not even be human when skin gently brushes skin. It’s… cute as heck. That’s pretty much the defining word for her, despite the whole ‘biker girl’ thing she has going on. “I would love to.”
Amity squeaks. Luz grins.
The moment’s ruined a moment or so later, when a nurse shoots in to check on Amity. Apparently, her heart rate had suddenly soared up in beats.
Go figure.