Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was a Monday after school when Amity’s heart started to crack.

A ringing began in her pointed ears as her breath hitched. The words that had just come out of her crush’s mouth couldn’t be true. She couldn’t have heard her properly. It had to be a mistake.

“Wh-what?” Amity asked, barely able to contain the shock in her voice. “What did you just say?”

Luz placed a hand on the back of her neck and rubbed, sheepishly blushing and avoiding eye contact with any of her friends. “I...I kinda, sorta, really have a thing for Em,” she repeated.

Amity felt as if she’d just been slapped. When Luz had grabbed her hand and dragged her into the empty classroom, Amity’s mind had gone into overdrive, imagining all the reasons Luz would want to take her someplace so quiet and intimate. Was she going to ask her for help with Abominations homework? Was she going to vent about the Oracle teacher grading too hard on her last test again?

Was Luz going to kiss her?

Of course, Amity hadn’t placed too much stock in that last guess, and unfortunately, when Luz left to drag in Willow and Gus, she knew she was right not to. But still, even in Amity’s worst nightmares, she could never have imagined what Luz had just said coming out of her mouth. 

Amity could feel her perfectly polished nails, black as her soul Edric would joke, digging into the palm of her hands as she held them against her lap. She looked around the classroom, her mind swimming in a sea of emotions suddenly crashing over her. It was mostly empty of course, save for Luz’s friend Gus, who seemed surprisingly excited at Luz’s deceleration, and Willow, who side eyed her childhood friend with a look of concern. Amity looked back to the front of the room, at Luz, still acting slightly embarrassed about her announcement, but also incredibly giddy, as if she had just invited them all to her wedding.

Her wedding to E-

Don’t you DARE finish that thought.

“Uhm...what brought...when did this...how…” Amity was completely incapable of finding the words she wanted to say. Every time she opened her mouth all she wanted to do was beg Luz to reconsider, to yell at her about how ridiculous it all was, maybe even to just scream out her frustration.

But instead Amity did what she did best when it came to her crush; hold herself back.

Luz bit her bottom lip. “Yeah, I thought you’d find it weird…”

Weird? Amity thought. No, not weird. Weird is how you ramble for hours about silly theories on how Azura and Hecate will end up together based on one throwaway line. Weird is how you always show off new glyphs with the same gleam of wonder in your eyes no matter how simple it is. Weird is how you took years upon years of emotional barriers and walls I built inside myself, years of acting smug and superior, and tore it all down with just the simple act of being you. 

Weird is how you can’t see that you’re breaking my heart.

“Buuuuut,” Luz continued, dangerously oblivious to Amity’s inner monologue, “I just...I just couldn’t help it.” Luz squealed, completely and utterly lost in her own head. “She’s just so…so...CUTE! And she’s an occasionally vulnerable upper class man,” she said with a wink, a sly grin crossing her face.

Amity’s face couldn’t hide her shock. Her head was swimming with so many emotions; fear, anger, sadness, regret. They all swirled inside her, around and around like tiny fish, ready to devour Amity’s psych. 

Noting the look on her friend's face, Luz rushed out a defense. “And, yeah, I know her and Ed aren’t, ya know, ALWAYS the best to you,” she admitted, “but they seem to be getting better, really. They haven’t pulled anything like the library stunt since, and I think Em genuinely does care about you and-“

“Pfff, whaaaaaa,” Amity sputtered out, attempting to appear completely fine and at ease. She put her fear up on her desk, her hands behind her head,and put on an absolutely fake smile. “Nah, I’m fine. It’s cool, Luz, everything’s cool. Just, ya know, a bit surprised but hey, that’s you, after all, full of surprises.” She barked out a laugh that sounded far more bitter and fake than anything, still trying to maintain the false appearance of cool, calm, and collected she hoped would put her adorable but oblivious crush at ease.

She could feel all the eyes in the room on her for a brief moment, and Amity was worried she was about to burst into flames. Gus’s eyes were filled with confusion, Willow’s concern, and Luz’s with a bit of both. Thankfully, Luz didn’t seem to recognize it as much as Amity thought; she merely clapped her hands together and beamed. “Thank you Am. I’m glad you approve.” 

“Approve” is a strong word, Amity thought. I prefer “Want to tell you how badly I need you but can’t bring myself to say it because I know it wouldn’t change anything.”

“Yeah,” Amity muttered, trying to hide the depression in her voice. “Totally…”

Amity heard Willow clear her throat. “Uhm, Luz,” she said, raising a hand as if she were in class. “Isn’t she just, I dunno, maybe a smidge old for you?”

“Whaaa,” Luz asked, dismissing Willow’s question with a wave. “Sure, she’s a couple years older, and maybe a foot taller, but so what? It’s not like a creepy difference or anything. And besides, I’m a romantic! I’ve always believed love wins the day!”

“YES,” Gus shouted, jumping over his desk and rushing over to Luz, an ear-to-ear grin crossing his face. “Up tight,” he cried, holding up a hand.

“It’s top, but I like your enthusiasm,” Luz declared, hi-fiving the young illusionist. “It’s what we're gonna need for Friday!”

“Friday?” Amity raised an eyebrow, a look of concern crossing her face. “What’s-”

“Well, ya see Am,” Luz began, “you don’t just TELL a girl like Em you like her, ya know?” You need to do something BIG!” Jumping atop the teachers desk, Luz turned to her friends with the look of a general about to give a bold speech to invigorate them. “Something HUGE! Something no one, and I mean NOONE, at Hexside has even considered before!” Luz then pointed to her friends, one by one, from Gus to Willow to Amity. “And, if you’re willing, I need YOUR help to make it work!”

“I volunteer,” Gus said, jumping up and down, giddy and excited. “I just LOVE big romantic gestures.” Digging through his bag, he pulled out a copy of Pride and Pythius and beamed as he held it out for everyone to see. “It could be just like this one!”

“OOOOH,” Luz let out, jumping off the desk. 

“Gus, don’t they both die in that,” Willow questioned, raising an eyebrow at her young friend's eagerness to see Luz leave the earthly realm.

“AND turn into ghosts who forever live within a big spooky mansion,” he added, as if it made the idea any better.

“Hmmmmm,” Luz mumbled, now seemingly less interested in the idea. “Well, I don’t want to die or become a ghost anytime soon, but again, love the enthusiasm!” She turned to her other friends, a gleam of hope in her eyes. “Whad’ya guys say, huh? Think we can find a non-lethal way to declare my feelings to Em by Friday?”

For the briefest of moments, Willow glanced at Amity with a look of concern before returning to meet Luz’s eyes. “Well...”

“I’ll do it,” Amity declared.

Willow looked back at the golden eyed witch, eyes wide and filled with surprise. “I suppose I can help then, too,” she said after a slight hesitation.

If Luz noticed Willow’s strange reaction, she didn’t show it. She merely beamed, her face as bright as her light glyphs as she threw herself to Amity, hugging her close. 

“OOOOOOOH,THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU,” she cried out. “You’re the best Amity!”

TOOCLOSETOOCLOSETOOCLOSE , Amity thought, her mind racing at unprecedented speeds. “Yup,” she chuckled out, rolling her head as far away from Luz as she could to avoid breathing in her scent. She must have switched shampoos or something, because today it reminded her of screamberries, her favorite. “That’s me, haha…I’m the best…”

“And you get in here too, Willow,” she said, stretching her arm to grab the first real friend she made on the Isles, dragging her into the hug like a planet into her bright, sunny orbit. Willow, meanwhile, raised the corners of her lips and hugged her best friend back, but she still looked back at Amity as if she was looking at a witch who’d just lost everything.

Amity felt like she had.

As Luz finally let go of her friends, she looked happier than Amity had ever seen her before. “Right,” she declared, putting out a hand, “Operation ‘Confess to Em in the Best Way Ever’ is a GO!”

Gus was the first to throw his hand into the circle, clearly almost as excited as Luz. “Yeah! Let’s do this!!”

Willow nodded and out one of hers in as well. “I’m with you, Luz.” She looked back at Amity, the gleam of concern still in her eyes. “Ami?” 

Amity just put her hand in, nodding. “Me too.”

With a look of complete determination and childlike excitement on her face, Luz threw the fist not at the bottom of the hand pile into the air. “Woo-hoo,” she cried out. “This is awesome! With all of us working together, Em’s gonna love me for sure!”

She sure will, Amity thought, her lower lip curling underneath her top teeth.

___________________________________________________________________________

The meeting ended shortly after, with Luz admitting she didn’t have any real plans yet, but that she’d think of some and they can talk about them tomorrow after school in the same classroom. They agreed, and with a smile, another big hug ( oh Titan WHY are you so physical) and a wave, the four went their separate ways.

Or at least, they should have.

“Amity, wait,” Willow called, rushing over to her, arm outstretched to try and catch up with her. “I was wondering if maybe I could walk with you today, maybe?”

Amity raised an eyebrow. “Uh, Willow...you live in the complete opposite direction from me.”

Willow shrugged. “I...wanted to take the scenic route.”

Amity squinted at the plant witch before releasing a sigh. “If you want, sure. The twins left right after, so not like I got any other company.”

Willow nodded and stepped beside her, patting her friend gently on the back. “Well, let’s get going then,” she said. “I’ll follow your lead.”

Amity just nodded, and the two witches started to make their way to her mansion. For the beginning, they were silent, save for the sound of their boots on the occasional snapped twig or crinkly leaf. Neither of them even looked at each other, too uncertain about what to say or do to break the tension. 

Finally, after what felt a literal eternity to Amity, Willow let out a small, blatantly fake cough.

“So...Luz and Em, huh?”

Amity blushed lightly and nodded, a little harder than she intended. “Yup. That is certainly...a thing...that could happen.”

 Willow nodded, less fiercely then Amity, but still clearly not entirely into it. “Oh, yeah. That is certainly...a thing…”

Amity sighed, knowing exactly why Willow was here. “Am I that bad at hiding it?”

Her friend blinked, seemingly confused, but then nodded. “Yeaaaaah, you kinda are.” Willow gave a small smirk, but without any humor. “I’m sorry.”

Amity let out a short, tiny laugh, a humorless burst of air. “What? So my crush has a thing for my sister, who’s been tormenting me for years. It’s not like this is literally my worst fear come to life.” She grinned, though again, without any humor. “I mean, at least it’s not BOSCHA, right?”

Willow’s eyes widened, and she let out a genuine howl of laughter at the notion. “Oh my...HA,” She slapped her knee as she heaved at the thought, and Amity couldn’t help but feel the corners of her lips feel a little less tense. “Luz and Boscha...oh Titan…” She shook her head, chuckling. “I mean, what’s next? ME and Boscha?” 

Amity couldn’t help but snort at that idea. “Oh wow, Willow. Way to give me nightmares for the next week.” She shook her head incredulously. “What would the kids even be like?”

“Ohohoh,” Willow said, still, riding high on laughter. “I know! They’ll literally have four eyes!” Snickering, she continued. “They’ll just have the fourth replace their mouth!” 

Amity shook her head, a smile stretching across her face. “But then how will they get to tell everyone how much better they are then them?” She took her left hand, formed it into a circle, and placed it onto her forehead. “I’m Boscha, and I’m the captain of the Grudgby team who hasn’t done anything else since but bully everyone,” she stated in an obnoxious parody of Boscha’s already obnoxious  voice. Willow continued to laugh, so Amity continued her impression. “I tease Amity aaaaaaaaall the time, and I live only to prank her with my obnoxious brother.”

Willow’s chuckles started to subside as her face showed concern. “Uh, Amity…”

“And my parents shower me in waaaaaaay more praise and affection then Amity, because I’m so special and cool and so much smarter even though she was Hexside’s top student! And I can’t even let her keep her own crush! I’m so much better and prettier and-”

“Amity!”

Amity was brought back to reality by Willow’s insistence. Blinking, the words she had just been crying out sunk in, and a light blush of embarrassment dusted her cheeks. Turning away, she let out a low, soft sigh. “Sorry, Willow,” she muttered. “That was...uncalled for.”

She suddenly felt Willow’s arms wrap around her, and the plant witch squeezed tightly. “Hey, I get it. This can’t be easy for you.” Pulling back, she placed her hands on Amity’s shoulders, looked the green-haired witch in the eyes, and smiled. “You know, if you want to sit this out, I’m sure Luz would understand without being suspicious.”

Amity nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right…” Though she was grateful for Willow’s support, the abomination witch removed her friend's hands with a pained look in her eye. “But I can’t just...just NOT do anything.”

“But Amity-” Willow began to plead before she was cut off.

“Willow...we’re almost at Blight Manor. You should probably turn around now. I don’t know if my parents will be ok with you…” She trailed off. 

Willow took the hint.

With a heavy sigh, Willow nodded. “Yeah, ok.” Turning around, she glanced back briefly at Amity. She looked as if she was about to say something, but she kept her mouth shut instead, walking away from Amity.

Now, there was nothing on the path to Blight Manor but her. 

She took one last look at her one of the few friends from childhood she actually still liked and turned back, willing, though not eager, to finish her walk home.

___________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the night seemed fairly standard for the Blight household; Amity spent her first two hours working on homework and studying her Abominations books, then walked down to the oversized dining hall for a mostly silent dinner with her family, and finally a few more hours of studying before sliding beneath the covers of her old bed to sleep. Outside of her private spaces, everything seemed perfectly normal.

Inside, of course, she was barely able to function.

She couldn’t concentrate on her homework, no matter how hard she stared at it or scribbled tiny doodles in the margins. Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, all of them relating to Luz. Which, usually, wasn't surprising, or even a bad thing. She would often imagine the two of them together, dancing or having a private Moonlight Conjuring or even just cuddling with no greater context. Sure, none of these scenarios were real, but to Amity, that was ok. She’d spent her whole life living with her siblings and their illusions; by now, she was fine with finding the enjoyment in things that weren’t real.

But now, those fantasies are gone, replaced by images of Luz and her sister, together, laughing and smiling and joking and holding hands and Amity just watching on in the background, being the third wheel while her crush and her sister fell harder and harder in love.

She held back tears and picked herself up from the desk, rummaging through its top drawer for the single item she knew could comfort her. Picking through crumpled confession notes and old homework assignments, she quickly wrapped her hands around one of her most cherished items; a small, dark green box with a lighter green “A” atop it. Unclasping it’s lid, Amity opened it, and smiled as she saw inside; a golden tiara, with a pink diamond surrounded by a set of petal-shaped gems of the same shade. 

Taking her Grom tiara out of its box with as much care as she could muster, Amity placed it atop her head gingerly and sighed in relief to herself. As dumb as it was to admit, the tiara was something of a safety latch for her emotional state. Just looking at it or, better yet, putting it on, calmed her nerves and helped to drive her negative emotions at bay. Ironic, given Grom itself was a creature that forced people to face their worst fears in the first place, but the tiara didn’t remind Amity of him; it reminded her of that night.

That one night. That one, precious night.

Just me and her, dancing.

Maybe it was to save the Isles. Maybe it was to defeat Grom.

But Luz still danced with me. Luz still held me in her arms, she still spun me around, and she still made me feel as if I was the luckiest witch in the world.

Not even Em can take that from me.

“Hey Mittens,” a voice cooed, ripping Amity away from her thoughts. Heat rose to her face, and she spun her face to see the source of both the voice and her current emotional distress; Em, casually leaning against her little sister’s door frame, a devious smirk crossing her face.

“What do you want, Em?” Amity hissed, a little more aggressively than even she expected.

Em chuckled. “What? I can’t just watch my baby sister enjoy playing princess?”

Amity realized she was still wearing the Grom tiara, and she quickly removed it, throwing it towards the tiny chest. Her face was now completely flushed from embarrassment, but she still tried to look somewhat intimidating while glaring at the older girl. “I mean it Em. I’m not in the mood for games today.”

Em simply shook her head and chuckled, reveling in her sisters clear and present humiliation. “Well, dinner’s ready, so if you want to tear yourself away from your subjects for a moment and join us common folk, that would be nice.”

Amity let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, maybe I could use a break. I’ve been studying for a while no-” Then, realizing that Em had been making fun of her again, Amity blushed another deep shade of crimson. “That’s not what I was-”

“HA,” Em stated in a burst of laughter. “I’m just teasing. Don’t worry your pretty fake green head about it.” She gestured to her younger sister, a smirk still present on her face. “I honestly think it’s sweet. Really.” 

“What, my tiara?” Amity asked as she rushed over to wipe it off and make sure it hadn’t been dented by her careless throw (thankfully it hadn’t) before putting it back inside its little box.

“Nope,” Em said with a wink. “Your obvious crush.”

Amity felt her face light up like the sun as she turned away from Em, trying to hide it from her self-consciousness and failing miserably. “I don’t-“

“Oh relax, Mittens,” Em said with a shake of her head. “I’m not gonna tell Luz about it. I swore to keep the emotional scarring to a minimum from now on, remember? Telling the girl of your dreams how desperately you need her feels a little more cruel than funny, honestly.”

Amity turned her face back to Em, trying to look her in the eyes without fully exposing her still beet red face. “Thanks for that, I guess,” she muttered as she began shuffling her way out of the room.

“None needed, baby sis,” the older girl stated, slapping Amity’s back as she walked by. The younger Blight winced, though not from the brief physical pain.

Please stop talking Em, she thought. I just really don’t want think about my crush or Luz or you or any of that right-

“And hey, if ya need any help telling the human how ya feel,” Em said with another wink, “I’d be more than happy to give my sagely, sisterly advice.” She stretched as she left the entrance to Amity’s room and started walking down the hall, down to the stairs. “I’ve had my fair share of girls confess their undying love for me. I know how to make it cute rather than creepy.”

Amity couldn’t help but smirk as she remembered the last time she saw her sister try to date another girl. “Like that one Glandus cheerleader you told you’d kill for who stood you up at Grom?”

Now it was Em’s turn to blush, clearly embarrassed at the reminder of her own shortcomings in love. “You promised to dare not speak of her again,” she hissed, before rushing down the stairs, leaving Amity alone for the briefest of moments to let what Em had offered truly sink in.

Em would be willing to help me with my crush...who has a crush on her…

Amity shook her head and walked down the stairs, trying to be careful not to go so fast as to see Em for more than she needed to.

————————————————————————————

Dinner had been as quiet as ever; no one spoke about anything outside of a brief summary of their days (Amity had, of course, been wary of mentioning anything to do with Luz or Willow, to be safe) and a brief question of “may I be excused” at the end. When it was finished, Em said she had some extra tutoring she needed to give to little orphan witches (Amity didn’t buy it for a second, but her parents didn’t seem to care) so thankfully the reminder of Luz’s crush was gone. Sadly, Amity finished her homework early, leaving her plenty of time to ask herself about just why Luz was interested in her dumb older sister.

“Is it that she’s older,” Amity asked, tapping her pencil in light irritation, her head leaning against her left cheek. “Is it her naturally green hair? Is it that stupid mole?” Amity grimaced. “I could put on a stupid little mole…”

Maybe it’s because she never really experienced Em and Ed’s teasing, or was on the wrong side of their pranks. Maybe it’s because Em’s been pretty nice to her for the most part, while you almost had her dissected by your principal the first time you met.

Amity stopped her tapping and frowned at the memory, feeling herself turning red at the thought of how she gleefully watched her principal almost murder the human before her eyes. Or how she’d almost made her give up her passion of trying to learn magic less then a week later.

Face it, Blight. At least her first meeting with Em had a fun snowball fight in the library. What would you tell your kids? That your first meeting with Luz was when you tried throttling her? Lovely story for them to hear.

“Urg! Shut up, me,” Amity hissed, dropping her pencil and raising her hands to cover her ears. A childish gesture, she knew, and one that didn’t stop anything, but still, one that let her at least keep some illusion of control.

Just accept it, her inner demon continued, Luz doesn’t want you. Not like how you want her. You screwed up so badly before you were friends, how you even got to that point remains a mystery. But honestly, do you truly need someone so weak as a partner? Perhaps Bosc-

Amity growled out another “Shut up,” before pushing herself from the desk onto her feet and walking toward her bed. Throwing herself face down atop the tiny mattress that left her little wiggle room, she took her pillow, wrapped it around her head, and let out a muffled scream of frustration at herself and everything that had happened that day.

But she knew her Blight voice was partially right.

Luz didn’t like her.

There was no way she could change that.

Amity didn’t know how long she laid there, screaming into her mattress. But it was long enough to awaken in an awkward position by the sound of her Scrolls alarm, her voice hoarse, her eyes bloodshot, and her heart still heavy.

—————————————————————————-

“Ouch, Ami,” Luz asked the next day, looking at her former rival's face, “did you sleep okay last night? Ya seem really tired.”

Amity took her books from her locker and looked up at her caring, beautiful, wonderful friend and tried to give a small smile, though in her current state it probably looked more like a scowl. “I’m fine. Just...lotta homework, ya know? Soooooo much homework and studying and thinking…”

“Hmmmm…” Luz squinted at her witch friend and tapped her chin in thought, as if not quite buying what she was selling. Her eyes narrowed before popping open again, her mouth forming a small ‘o’ as she herself let out a small “Oooooooh,” in realization. “I think I know what’s up…”

Amity could feel the blood drain from her face as she turned, terrified, to her crush. “WHAT? NO YOU DON’T! I mean...what?”

Luz nodded, the corners of her lips curling upwards. “You were thinking about your crush last night, huh?”

That’s...not entirely wrong, Amity admitted to herself. She nodded, blushing sheepishly and looking down at the marble floor of the school. “Ye-yeah. I was…”

Before Amity knew it, she felt Luz’s arm wrap around her back, and her heart flatlined for a moment. Looking back up at Luz, she saw her eyes, pools of innocence and warmth and care, staring into hers. “Ami. I know you don’t like talking about them. And I get it. Not always easy to talk about crushes.” Luz then gave a smile. A real, genuine, adorable smile that made Amity’s heart melt. “But if you wanted to do anything for them after all this, I’d be honored to help however I can.” 

Amity was of two minds about Luz’s offer, the same way she seemed to be with her since this whole Emira thing started. On one hand, she wanted to thank Luz for the offer, to tell her how much her kindness meant to her and how much Luz meant to Amity in general. And on the other she wanted to grab Luz by her collar and throttle her, screaming “Why don’t you love ME!? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HER?!”

Her former side won out, mostly.

“That’s...that’s sweet, Luz. Really. But I’m not the kind to go for big romantic gestures. I’m more into small scale, intimate acts, ya know? But what you’re doing for Emira...it’s super sweet.”

Luz’s eyes widened, and her smile grew three sizes as she threw her other arm around Amity’s waist, squeezing tightly. “Oh, that’s so cute! I bet we could cook up something! Maybe a romantic little dinner for two under the Grom tree? You and your crush, sharing a noodle as I help serenade them with the violin?” Luz practically swooned, her imagination seemingly running wild with all the adorable possibilities she could cook up to help her friend. And Amity had to admit, even if she had no idea what a “noodle” was, or a “violin,” the idea of being serenaded by Luz, especially under the tree they’d spent their most romantic moment together sounded...magnificent. Enough to bring a small smile to her face.

“Maybe. I’ll think abou-” But as Amity finished, she looked up to spot the last thing she wanted to see at the moment.

Emira.

Walking down the hall, her siblings smirked their signature playful smirks as they waved at friends and pulled magical pranks on enemies. Amity looked at Luz’s face, hoping she hadn’t spotted them. Unfortunately, she had, and her face was smitten; Luz’s cheeks were positively crimson, and her grin was…well, goofier than usual. She looked at Emira the same way…

The same way I wish she looked at me.

As they came closer, Luz waved a hand excitedly, hoping to grab their attention. “Ed! Em! Hey guys!”

“Luz,” Edric called back.

“How’s the coolest human on the Boiling Isles doing this fine day,” Emira asked, giving Luz a wink. For a brief moment, Amity wondered if she could find the strength she’d had when she fought Hooty to smack the stupid look off her sisters face.

“Hey, Em.” Luz said, her grin somehow growing goofier by the second. “So, I uh, was wondering, well, I heard you’ve been tutoring illusion kids, right? That’s super cool!” 

Amity spotted her sister...was she blushing ...as she nodded. “Well, yeah. Tutoring orphan illusion kids, that’s me, heh.”

Luz was practically vibrating with joy. “Well, I have two too many moms to be an orphan, but I could still use some tutoring after school Friday! I got this HUGE project due and-”

“Ugh, let me guess; Miss Killjoy, the joy killer’s class?” Edric rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I think I know the one. Ya gotta make a gigantic illusion of yourself and write a 50 page paper on how you made it?”

Luz’s eyes widened, though this time it was clearly in panic. “Er, yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah….” She turned her eyes to Amity, a look of ‘Please, remind me about that later’ plastered on her face. Then, her eyes darting back to Emira, “and anyway, I was hoping you could help, Em! I mean, if you weren’t too busy or anything.”

Amity looked up at her older sister, trying to hold back her frustrations as she saw her sister rub the back of her neck. “Well, I mean, I was going to meet up with a friend, actually-”

“It won’t even be five minutes! Ten at most!” Luz clasped her hands together and smiled up at Emira, as if this was the most important thing in the whole of the world. “Just...just be willing to show me a bit of how the spell works and I’ll be completely good! Promise!”

Emira looked back at Luz before letting out a tiny sigh. “Heh. Suppose I can help ya out a little, cutie.” She tousled Luz’s hair and smirked. “Always happy to help a fellow cool witch in need.” Looking up, she spotted her sister, seemingly for the first time this whole conversation. “Oh, Mittens,” Emira exclaimed. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask; friend of a...friend of mine, they just transferred to Abominations a bit ago and they kinda need some help catching up. Think you could do it?”

Amity let out a solemn sigh, but nodded affirmatively. “Yeah. I’ll have to check my schedule, but-”

“Awesome,” Emira chimed in, ruffling her sister's hair teasingly. Amity wanted nothing more than to bite off her hand. “See ya, sis! And see ya, cutie,” she said to Luz, waving at the two as she walked away. The human merely smiled and did a strange finger pointing gesture (guns, she once called them) at Em as she walked away. When the two siblings were out of sight, Luz turned to Amity with a dreamy, lovestruck look on her face. 

“Sorry, Am. You were saying?”

Amity just sighed and shook her head. “It was nothing. Let’s just get to the meeting, ok? For Operation…something something Emira something?”

Luz rapidly shook her head, as if shaking off a hazy fog, before nodding enthusiastically. “Oh, right! Yeah, I hear ya!” Leaning forward, she grabbed Amity’s hand and smiled. “Follow me! I got a new member of the crew who’s gonna help tie it all together!”

All Amity could do was wish, for the thousandth time, that Luz wasn’t. So. Freaking. PHYSICAL!

————————————————————————————

“Luz,” Willow began, her voice gentle but firm. “Are we ENTIRELY certain that the best option to help us with our little...plan, is one of Boscha’s goons?” She raised a finger to point to Skara, sitting cross-legged up front atop the teachers desk next to the human. Amity had to admit to herself that maybe this wasn’t Luz’s smartest decision.

Skara shook her head. “Guys, you can all chill! I don’t really like her at all! Same as Amity: mainly hang with her ‘cause my folks tell me to.” She let out a tiny smirk. “Trust me, first chance I can get away with it, I’ll head for the hills. I don’t need the three eye’d Grudgby obsessed poser telling me who I can and can’t hang out with.” 

Amity narrowed her eyes and looked over to Willow and Gus; just as she suspected, they both looked just as suspicious as Amity was. “No offense, Skara,” Amity began, “but...why are you even here?”

“Because,” Luz said, running up to the chalkboard, “I finally found out how I’m gonna confess to Em!” Picking up a piece of chalk, Luz quickly drew out two words: ‘MUSIC CONCERT!’ “TA-DA,” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “Whatcha guys think?”

Amity raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. Was THAT why she suggested to serenade me...and my ‘crush,’ too? It was already on her mind?

“YES,” Gus suddenly cried out, excitedly throwing himself over his table and running up to Luz, holding a hand up. “Best big romantic gesture ever! Up five!” Luz raised an open palm and the two hands touched. “And, I didn’t get it wrong this time!”

Luz smiled a very ‘sadly you did but you’re so innocent I can’t tell you’ smile before looking back up at everyone else. “Skara here’s the best bard I know! Well, maybe the ONLY bard I know, really. She said she can teach everyone to play instruments so that we can serenade Em Friday! Isn’t that cool?”

Amity bit her lip. “Yeah. I suppose that sounds...cool.”

The other witches nodded, and Skara lept from the desk with the grace and skill of an acrobat. “Alright, witches,” she declared, with weird emphasis on the last word as if it were a cuss, “line up one at a time! Skara’s going to make you all into stars!” She twirled around and posed at that last word, one hand in the air and another closer to her waist, as if she were holding a guitar of some kind.

Willow and Amity glanced at each other a tad concerned, but Gus was all too eager to run forward, a wide, childlike grin stretched across his face. “Ooh, ooh! Me first, me first! I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the triangle!”

Skara stared at Gus with an inquisitive look on her face. “Kid, I assure you, I can teach you a little more then how to play a little triangle!” Twirling her fingers into a small red spell circle, Gus’s eyes widened, a red light briefly flashing inside them. 

“Whoa...” he whispered before pumping his fists into the air. “I feel like I could play anything! Even the triangle!” 

“Heck yeah, my dude! Up five!” Skara bent down, hand outstretched, and the two slapped each other’s hands, smiling. “Alright then. Blight? You wanna go next?”

Amity shivered at Skara’s use of her last name. “Just, uh, call me Amity from now on, okay, please?”

Skara nodded before spinning herself another spell circle. This time, Amity could feel a shot of sudden creativity in the back of her brain, and one brief flash of red in her eyes later, knowledge on how to play all sorts of strange and beautiful instruments popped inside her head. 

“Oh...wow!” Amity had to admit, even if Skara was trying to play them, this WAS super cool!

“Now, you, half-a...I mean, plant girl,” Skara corrected herself, turning to Willow with perhaps the tiniest blush on her cheeks Amity could notice. “Your turn, cutie.” 

Willow furrowed her brows, trying to process Skara’s statement, before her eyes flashed a dark purple. Suddenly, let out a small, scared “Oh,” before slamming her hands over her mouth. Finally, pulling them down, she said “I, er...I think I just saw how I was gonna die…”

Skara’s face turned scarlet from embarrassment. “Oh...I’m sorry, girl. I uh, been dabbling in oracle magic a bit. DON’T tell my folks, please?” 

Skara made another quick spell circle, and Willow let out a faint smile before slumping into a nearby desk, her eyes flashing red briefly. “Ahhhh...much better.”

“So, now all we gotta do is figure out all the other details,” Luz excitedly chirped. “Like, where’s it gonna be, what are we gonna play, all that fun stuff.”

Skara turned to Luz. “You don’t wanna learn any instruments, huma- uh- I mean Luz?”

She shrugged and smiled. “Already know how to play a bit of the ol’ uke. Just conjure me one and a microphone and I’ll be all set.” 

She even plays instruments without magical help , Amity thought. Is there anything Luz CAN’T do?

One self loathing, bitter suggestion started to form in Amity’s mind, but she squashed it before it fully formed.

“Alrighty guys,” Luz declared, grabbing a piece of chalk. “Welcome to the big first official meeting of Operation ‘Confess to Em in the Best Way Ever,’ or C.E.B.W.E! Now, let’s get this party STARTED!”

——————————————————————————

Amity had to admit, even even if she hated what they were all about, the meetings were kinda fun.

Tuesday and Wednesday’s meetings fell into a steady, simple pattern: Luz, Gus, or Skara would suggest an over the top gesture that would most likely be too much for them all to do (“Let’s write a 12 hour sock puppet opera!”), Amity and Willow would let them down gently (“That’s sweet, but...no”), and the five would find some way to incorporate the spirit of the suggestion into the overall idea (“Maybe we can include some sock puppets in it.”). Wash, rinse, repeat. 

While it was a simple loop, Amity loved seeing Luz’s eyes sparkle with every silly yet sweet suggestion she heard. Seeing her smile widen whenever Amity and Willow agreed one one of her backup ideas. Being on the receiving end of her hugs whenever she got SUPER happy (which was, unsurprisingly, often). To Amity, this was the most like Luz she’d ever seen the human. Excited, innocent, eager...everything that made the girl beautiful to the Blight was on full display. And if Amity ignored the actual words from Luz’s mouth and the nagging reminder in the back of her head about how she was trying to get with her sister, she could almost imagine it all away, and just pretend they were having a Secret Azura Book Club meeting with friends. 

For Amity, Tuesday and Wednesday’s meetings were actually fun, sweet times.

It wasn’t until Thursday that her heart shattered.

———————————————————————————

“Ami,” Luz called from across the hall, flailing her arms excitedly as she burst towards her green haired friend. Clutching Amity’s hands and interweaving their fingers, Luz squealed as adorably as possible. Amity wondered if it was possible for a witches heart to literally stop from cuteness. “Ami! I just got the greatest idea for tomorrow!”

Amity blushed, and for a moment she forgot exactly what Luz was referring to. “O-of course. I’d love to hear it.”

Luz looked down, suddenly somewhat sheepish at the prospect of telling Amity her idea. “Well...honestly, it’s kinda silly. I don’t know if you’-”

“Hey,” Amity said, trying to give Luz as reassuring a smile as she could muster. “I’m sure it’s an awesome idea. I’d love to hear it.” 

Luz let out a small smile before taking in a deep breath through her nose. 

“Well, if you weren’t using it… I was thinking I could use your Grom tiara to ask Em-.”

The rest of Luz’s statement was lost in a sudden fog of noise and panic inside Amity’s mind.

She stepped back, pulling her hands away from Luz’s , her face plastered in shock. “NO!”

Luz stepped back, a little surprised herself at Amity’s reaction. “Oh. Ok.” The corners of her lips turned upwards in a somewhat small smile. “It’s fine. Just a silly idea.”

Amity calmed herself down, shaking her head before looking back at the human. For all Luz’s poor attempt to convince her she was fine, Amity saw how much her idea had meant to her. Maybe she thought it would be the perfect cheesy cherry to top off her declaration of love. Asking Em to be her Grom queen probably wouldn’t have mattered much to Em…

But it matters to Luz.

Amity wanted to hoard the crown like a dragon. To keep it as far away from her sister as she could. It was supposed to be the one thing she couldn’t taint; the one thing about Luz that Amity could hold, cherish, and never give up.

But what would any of that matter if it made Luz unhappy?

Amity let out a small sigh and tried her best not to raise suspicion with her next statement. “No, that wasn’t...what I meant was...no, I’m not using it.” Luz’s ears perked up and she looked at Amity, the corners of her lips curling into a more real, authentic smile. “If you really want to use it, that’s ok.” 

Luz beamed, and Amity could see small pinpricks of tears form in the corner of her beautiful brown eyes. Tears of joy and thankfulness. “Thanks, Am.” Then, as suddenly as all of Luz’s hugs, she wrapped her arms around Amity’s waist and pulled her in as closely as she could. “You’re an amazing friend.”

ICANTDOTHISICANTDOTHISICANTDOTHISICANTDOTHISICANT-

“Uh, but I can’t go to tonight’s meeting! My parents needed me to… do … stuff… around the mansion.”

Luz let go of Amity and nodded, still smiling. “Of course! It’s ok. You’ve done so much for me and this silly little crush. I wish there was more I could do to repay you then just help you with yours.”

Amity wanted to burst into flames and die right then and there. 

“You’ve...you’ve already done so much for me, Luz. You owe me nothing…” 

The bell for the start of the final class screamed to life, informing every student that they were all now late if they weren’t already in class.

“Crap,” Luz muttered. “Hey, I’m so sorry for keeping you! I’ll see you tomorrow! Thanks again for letting me borrow the tiara! You can have it back when it’s done I swear!”

Amity let out a tiny wave as she stayed still. No I can’t, Amity thought. 

She could never get her tiara back. Not the one she had. Not the one that reminded her of Luz. Not the one that reminded her of Grom.

Now all it would ever be was another reminder that Luz chose Emira, her sister, over her.

When Luz was out of sight, Amity turned on her heels and began to walk.

Walk away from her locker.

Away from her class.

And away from the school.

—————————————————————————

Amity slammed the door to her room enough for the walls to shake before throwing herself onto her still-too-small bed. Screaming into her pillow wouldn’t take any of the pain and anger away, but it sure did help distract her, if only for a moment, from it.

After a good, long scream, Amity just laid there, on her stomach, her face stuffed into her pillow as she tried to hold back her tears. She was a Blight! No matter how much she hated it, she could never show such weakness to anyone. Not even herself

After what felt like an hour of just laying on her stomach, face smothered on her pillow, Amity heard her Scroll chirp with a message. Picking herself up, she summoned it to her and looked at the screen. Her eyes were sore and tired, but she could make out Willow as the sender of the text.

‘Amity,’ it read, ‘Luz told us about the tiara. PLEASE tell me you didn’t actually tell her she could use it! I know how much it means to you, this all can’t be good for you!”

Amity sniffed, then responded to her friends text:

‘I’m fine. Luz will give it back when it’s over and it’ll be like nothing happened. Just wanted to do something nice for her.’

‘Is that why Skara told me she saw you running from the school when the final period started?’

Amity froze, the realization of what she’d done dawning on her. She’d cut class.

She. Had. Cut. Class!

For the first time since her stupid leg broke, Amity had missed a class. And the worst part was that this time she had no excuse. If her siblings found out… if her PARENTS found out…

All because you couldn’t keep your STUPID emotions in check for 5 minutes, her Blight brain told her.

Amity gulped, then texted Willow back, ‘Had to hurry to a dentist appointment I forgot about.’

After a beat, Willow responded with ‘...’

Then, ‘You really think I buy that?’

Amity shut her eyes and asked herself why she couldn’t have had a less emotionally intelligent childhood best friend.

‘Amity, I know you like Luz. I know you care about her. I know you want her to be happy. And that’s sweet. But I’ve seen how you’ve been acting and how much it’s been killing you to go through all this. You shouldn’t have to destroy yourself for her! Please, tell Luz you can’t come tomorrow. Tell her you have a dentist appointment, maybe she’ll believe that. But please, don’t, for the love of the Titan, come in and do this. I don’t want you to hurt yourself anymore.’

Amity didn’t know what to say. Her fingers hovered over the scrolls keyboard, wanting to type something, anything. But what? Would she tell Willow she’d listen and not come? Or tell her the truth and say that, no, she couldn’t do that. She had to help Luz. Because that’s what Luz would do for her. She bit her lip before she finally decided to just turn off her scroll and make it disappear. She knew Willow would understand

She hoped so, anyway.

Amity laid on her bed for a while longer, unmoving, unthinking, uncaring. She just wanted to forget everything for a moment. Forget Willow, forget Em, even Luz. Just forget it all and just let herself feel relaxed.

Amity closed her eyes and slowed her breathing, finally feeling a little better from everything that had just gone down. 

After a few seconds of peace, she felt something crawling up her left arm. Something with tiny legs...eight of them…

Giving a small squeak, Amity scrambled to throw off the tiny spiders coming up her body. She flailed about until she turned off of her bed and collapsed onto the floor with a thud. As she did, she started to hear a very familiar snorting noise. An almost familial noise…

Looking up, Amity spotted her brother in the doorway, barely able to contain his laughter at the sight of his poor sister. Glaring, Amity picked herself off the floor and stomped over to him. “Oh, ha ha, Ed. Very funny! Some cheap illusion spiders, how original.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought you and Em outgrew those when you were 9!”

“Oh no, Mitten’s, they’re real. Got them off one of Em’s friends pet griffin.” He smirked playfully as Amity felt her eyes slowly widen before she began to rub her arms, legs, and head, hoping beyond hope to get every last one off her stupid brothers little spiders.

“You...you…you JERK!” Amity wanted to slap him and scream at him and cry and demand he leave her room, her section of the mansion, heck, the entirety of the Boiling Isles for all she cared!

 “I don’t have...I don’t have time for...for this…” As she started to realize the spiders were now all off of her, Amity could feel herself becoming more and more emotionally drained. Her anger faded and dissipated, replaced with a sense of resentment and sadness. Her head dropped, and she started to feel herself just wanting to curl up onto the bed and, like she had before Ed showed up, forget everything.

Ed seemed to notice her sister's sudden mood swings and raised an eyebrow. “Hey, Mittens? You ok? Usually you’re much more animated when Em and I pull stuff on ya.”

Amity just turned and sighed. “It’s...it’s been a day. Please, Ed, just leave me alone.”

Ed shook his head. “Nope. Not gonna happen. My favorite baby sister needs help.” Walking up to the foot of her bed, Edric threw himself on top of its edge and patted the spot next to him. “Come on, Mittens. Tell your big bro all about it.”

Amity’s eyes narrowed to slits as she eyed her brother up and down. “What’s the catch? Is Em somewhere under my bed, ready to snatch me into some alternate dimension or something?”

Ed shook his head. “Em’s off,”He rolled his eyes as he included air quotes  “‘tutoring orphaned illusion students’ so it’s just us.”

Amity wasn’t entirely sure she believed him. But, if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t want to be alone right now.

“Fine,” Amity said, taking a seat next to her brother. “BUT! You have to make an Everlasting Oath that you WON’T tell Em! Got it?”

The older boy furrowed his eyebrows, but nodded as he held out his hand. “Sure. I don’t need to tell her everything. Let’s hear it!”

Amity raised her hand and took her brothers, forming a violet circle around them before shaking. When she let go, Ed shivered and rubbed his hand. “Man. Never gonna get used to that feeling.”

Sighing, Amity looked down, avoiding her brother's gaze. “Luz...Luz has a crush on Em. And she’s gonna tell her about it tomorrow. Which...which I hate because I...I REALLY LIKE LUZ AND CAN’T STAND THE IDEA OF HER WITH EM!” 

Amity raised a hand to her mouth in sheer horror. She’d never have thought in a million years she’d be confessing this to Ed. Not in a billion! Yet she was, and she couldn’t help but wish she could take it back. Eyes bugging out of her head, Amity looked back at her brother, his own eyes wide in surprise.

Then, he let out a long, humor filled laugh. 

“OH! OH WOW! LUZ AND-AND EM! HA!”

He threw his head back as Amity glared at him. “I MEAN, IF WE’RE JUST BEING HONEST, THE SUPERIOR BLIGHT SIBLING IS….” As he slowed down, he turned to see the anger and pain and sadness on his sisters face. “Well...they’re sitting right next to me.”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Titan, I must look as pathetic as I feel…” throwing her face into her hands, she sighed. “Just get some stupid blackmail material and leave. Please.”

Edric looked away from his sister, biting his lip. “Well, jeez, sis. I’d love to, but...well, I left my Scroll in another room, so…”

“Ed, I can see it clearly in your pocket.” 

Edric blushed sheepishly before pulling out his scroll. “Huh. So it is...” Then, without warning, he threw it, hard and fast, out of Amity’s doorway. “Well, now my scrolls...just...outta reach…” Edric stretched as far as he could, pretending to try and reach his Scroll. “I...I can’t.” Dramatically acting faint, he threw himself onto the bed and sighed. “Oh well,” he said, scrambling back onto the edge of the bed. “So...what now?”

Amity furrowed her eyebrows. “What now...what?”

Edric shrugged. “Well, I mean...are ya gonna tell Luz? Maybe try to see if maybe she’d wanna go out with you in-”

“NO,” Amity shouted, a light tremor in her voice. “I mean...no. I wish I could, but, if I did…” Amity sighed. “If I did, I KNOW Luz wouldn’t do it. She wouldn’t go through with any of her plans. Just because she didn’t want to hurt me.”

“Annnnnnnnnd that’s a bad thing, because?” Edric asked inquisitively.

Amity looked up at her brother, determined to make this as clear to him as possible. “If it means Luz isn’t happy, then yes. Yes it is.” 

Edric stared at his little sister for a moment, almost as if he was seeing a ghost. Then, a small smirk crossed his face. “Well I’ll be, Mittens. You’ve grown to be a better witch than me, huh?” He tousled her hair, letting out a small laugh. “If some guy I liked fell for Em, I’d kill her myself.” Throwing himself off the bed, he turned to his sister, a caring gleam crossing his eyes. “Just remember sis. You deserve to be happy too.” He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t forget that, okay?”

Amity nodded slightly. “Excellent,” Edric declared with a smirk. “I’ll see ya at dinner tonight!” Edric turned, then slapped his forehead and turned back around. “Oh, and before I forget! The reason I came in the first place!” Turning back to Amity, Edric smirked. “Bump called me and Em to talk about your cutting class. Don’t worry, he said. He’ll let it slide this once, just for his top student.” With a wink, Ed walked out into the hall, picking up his Scroll. “Dang,” he muttered, “I cracked it…” Letting out an exasperated sigh, he turned to his sister one last time. “Don’t say I never did anything for ya, Mittens, okay?” He strolled away, typing at his Scroll while he walked.

Amity sighed and flopped back onto the bed. What Ed had said had been...sweet. But as she remembered what Luz had asked from her tomorrow, Amity knew, from the depths of her bile sac…

I am so dead.

—————————————————————————

Standing before the gymnasium’s door, Amity could feel her heart pounding, the sound of each beat echoing in her ears. In her hands, she fidgeted with the Grom tiara, rubbing the central gem with her thumbs, savoring her last moments with it being completely, unabashedly hers. 

Well, Blight, she thought to herself, last chance to turn back…

But as Amity knew from the start, turning back was never an option for her.

Taking a deep, shaking breath, Amity finally, after what felt like eons, stepped inside the gym doors.

Looking around, it didn’t look too extravagant. In fact, all the planned decorations weren’t meant to show up until Em actually showed up. From there, Gus had swore on the grave of his illusion selves that he would turn the old gym into an extravagant dancehall, complete with a large chandelier shining lights, just for Luz and Em. But for now, it looked as much like the sad little gym it always was…

“Ami,” Luz shouted, jumping off the stage and waving her arms around as if she wasn’t immediately visible to Amity. Looking, she saw that Luz had chosen to change from her standard uniform into her Grom attire, complete with adorable tutu and her own Grom tiara. The green haired witch gulped, hoping Luz’s obliviousness was still as present as ever while her palms sweated bullets onto her tiara.

“He-here, Luz,” Amity was able to get out, raising her hand up to her fellow former Grom Queen. “I got the tiara.”

Luz’s eyes widened and her lip quivered as she plucked the headwear from her fellow Grom Queen, sliding it inside her tuxedo. “Amity...thank you so, so, SO much for this!” She threw her arms around the witch, squeezing her tightly enough to make Amity wonder if she could die then and there from a sudden heart attack from an overload of adorableness. She raised her arms to wrap around Luz as she glanced at the stage. Gus and Skara were setting up some big amps, though by the looks of things they were also talking about a romance novel together, or something else cute and fluffy. Willow, meanwhile, only looked on, a frown present on her face, staring at her two best friends before shaking her head and turning to the bass slung over her shoulders, strumming the strings lightly.

Also, she realized, they were ALL in their Grom outfits.

Must have been an idea from yesterday, she thought to herself. And here I am in my dumb uniform...

Luz let go of Amity and smiled at her friend, the sort of smile that made her want to kiss her lips and hold the brunette in her arms for all eternity as she whispered sweet nothings into her ear. The sort of smile that killed Amity every time she saw it and remembered that it wasn’t nearly as important to Luz as it was to Amity.

That had to be the worst part about all this; the fact that Luz was just. So. KIND! No matter what Luz did, no matter how badly she hurt Amity with her crush, she never did anything because she wanted the witch to suffer. Amity wasn’t lovestruck enough to call her a literal angel who did nothing wrong; Luz was still a troublemaker who’d break into a library or a school and, in her darkest moments, steal a training wand. But she never did anything to hurt anyone. She never wanted that. If Luz had her way, everyone who wasn’t a terrible person would be as happy as she clearly was. 

It was what made Amity fall for her. And worse, what made her still, even when she knew she didn’t feel even remotely the same way, hold out some small, miniscule hope that Luz maybe, potentially, could fall for her one day…

“You’ve been so supportive of me throughout this. I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting it.” Luz rubbed the back of her neck, blushing lightly. “I know it’ll be weird, me dating your sister…”

For a variety of reasons, Amity deadpanned in her mind.

“But I really, truly appreciate all your help. And hey, that spaghetti and serenading idea for your crush? Still on the table.” Luz winked, a playful smirk crossing her lips. If Amity didn’t know any better, she might have thought Luz was flirting with her. The idea made Amity turn completely scarlet, and she turned to face away from the beautiful human, hoping not to make her suspicious this close to her big move.

“Thank you, Luz. I...I might consider it…” Amity started to walk to the stage, jumping onto it and walking up to Skara. “Hey, uh...can I get myself a bass or piano or…”

Skara nodded. “Got just the right instrument for ya, right here!” With a twirl of her fingers, Skara produced a small, rectangular item in Amity’s hand. Staring down at it for a moment, she realized what exactly she was holding.

“A...harmonica?”

Skara nodded. “Yeah! Thought you’d work well with it.”

Amity just shook her head, dumbfounded and confused. What song requires a harmonica?

Probably one Luz would love…

Looking up, she saw Luz pulling herself atop the stage, wiping herself as she stood up. “Right, ladies and Gus! It’s 2:58, so Em should be here soon! Hit the lights, get into position, and let’s DO THIS!”

Skara and Gus high-fived, smiling as Gus took a seat in front of a Skara produced piano (equipped with a tiny triangle dangling above it), while Skara herself produced a large, monstrous looking tuba. Luz, meanwhile, threw her ukulele strap over her shoulder and turned from the stage, jumping from the ball of one foot to another.

Just another difference between me and Luz, Amity thought silently. When I’m nervous, I’m a Conformatorium escapee; jittery, panicky, a completely obvious wreck. But when Luz is nervous, she’s just...she’s just adorable!

 Amity turned to the front door, clutching her harmonica tightly. Even if she didn’t like any of this, she would do it for the girl of her dreams.

3 came.

Then 3:05.

Then 3:10.

By 3: 15, the group was clearly getting antsy. Everyone eyed each other, all asking themselves the same question: Where on the Boiling Isles was Em?

“I’m sure she just...got lost,” Willow said, so blatantly disbelieving the idea that even Luz didn’t believe her, shaking her head solemnly.

“Uh, traffic,” offered Gus. “It’s this human thing where a bunch of metal demons come together to scream at each other and-”

Amity could tell that Luz’s optimism, usually unending, was beginning to fade. Her face had dropped, her arms were beginning to go slack and…

Are those tears , Amity thought, squinting hard at Luz’s eyes. Trying very badly not to get lost in them as she always did, Amity realized that, yes, indeed, tears were starting to form in Luz’s eyes.

Oh, Em is SO, SO DEAD!

“I’m sure she’s in the school,” Amity said, and she jumped off the stage. “I’ll go find her. Don’t worry, ok, Luz?” The human nodded, and turned to give a faint, tiny, but genuine smile to Amity.

“Thanks buddy. That means a lot.”

Amity could practically hear every shard of her heart somehow shatter even further.

“Yeah...that’s what friends do.”

Turning from Luz, Amity walked out of the gym. When she did, she felt herself trying to contain her rage at Em.

And failing miserably.

“EM! OH EMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,” Amity called out, her voice very loud. “WHERE ARE YOU! GET OUT HERE NOW!” 

Amity wandered the halls of Hexside, empty save for the occasional student with nowhere to go or teacher grading papers. She couldn’t BELIEVE Em. It was one thing to be a teasing jerk, but to ditch Luz? Even if she did only think it was a tutoring session, it was still a terrible way to treat her friend. There was no way Amity would let her forget about this.

As she turned a corner, she spotted not Em, but Ed, appearing to casually stroll down the hall. So casually, in fact, it made Amity suspicious. Slinking behind the lockers, she peaked around the corner to spot her brother glance to the opposite end of the hall before walking up to one of the lockers. Amity squinted, uncertain what was going on. That’s not his, she thought to herself.

Then, she watched as her brother ripped the locker open, opening it like a door. Amity stood stunned as her brother snuck inside before closing the locker behind him. Ok...what?

Jogging over to the locker her brother had just walked into, Amity tried opening it the same way he had, digging her fingers into its side and pulling hard. Surprisingly, it opened, and Amity stood, amazed, as the locker swung open to reveal a short hallway. Stepping inside, only mildly worried for her safety, she walked through the entryway and into a room she’d never seen before. “Oh, wow,” she muttered to herself, looking about the room.

The room was like a spiral tower, with a large collection of doors of all shapes and sizes, all placed haphazardly, with little rhyme or reason, along with windows that made just as little sense. It was enough to make Amity’s head spin. What IS this place, she asked herself, before looking down at the floor. There, she spotted her brother, laughing alongside a strange animal in a Hexside uniform, two other students, and

Emira.

“HEY,” Amity shouted down before rushing down the railing. The group all looked up at her, all seemingly surprised at the intrusion. “EM, WHAT IS THIS?”

“Oh, hey Mittens,” she said, waving up at her sister. “Uh, how’d you find us, exactly?”

“Em just showed me this place,” Edric said, clearly giddy and somehow already filled with two apparent empty cans of Mountain Doom. “It’s got secret passageways and cool little nooks and crannies! This would be so cool for pranks and-”

“NEVERMIND THAT,” Amity shouted. She didn’t have to at this point, but it didn’t matter to her. She was still livid and angry at Em, it was a testament to her self control that her older sister wasn’t buried under a pile of purple goop. “YOU TOLD LUZ YOU WERE GOING TO...TO HELP HER IN THE GYM AND YOU’VE JUST BEEN SITTING HERE? WITH EDRIC AND...AND...” Turning away from her sister for a moment, she admitted “Not to be rude, but I know absolutely none of your names.”

The strange animal let out a small “BARK,” while one of the students, a tall, skinny boy took a long sip from a can of Doom. “The furballs Barcus,” the boy stated. “And I’m Jerbo. And the girl with the fashion sense that gets you hooked is Viney.”

The pale girl, whom Amity now noticed had a fishhook for an earring, rolled her eyes, then smiled at Amity. “Yeah, that’s me. And you, Mittens, must be Em’s little sister she talks so much about.” 

Amity glared at Em, as close to shooting daggers at her sister as she could without actually using a spell for it (Amity didn’t know if one existed, but she was sure she could figure something out.) “Yes. I am. In fact, I’m actually here to see her. See, she’s supposed to be helping our friend Luz and-”

Emira slapped her forehead. “Oh cramity! That was today? I’m so sorry! I completely forgot!”

“Oh, Luz,” Viney asked, raising an eyebrow. “So THAT’S why she couldn’t make Friday Funday. Lame.” She sighed. “Oh well. I’d come along, but I know about as much about illusion magic as Jerbo knows about abominations!” She winked at her friend, who was now the owner rolling his eyes. 

“Ok, so I blew up my last abomination with a flower! How was I supposed to know whatever that goop is doesn’t do well when roots start getting inside them?”

Amity shook her head. “That’s pretty basic knowledge, actually…”

Jerbo blushed again and slumped down. “Well, excuse me for not being the star student…”

“Yeah,” Amity grumbled, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. “Em, you leaving with me?”

“Yeah,” she said, getting up with a stretch. “Don’t wanna leave Luz waiting much longer.” 

Barcus let out a happy little bark as Jerbo smiled. “Yeah, tell her The Troublemakers say hey. And she’s still invited to tonight’s Funday when she’s done.” 

“And next Troublemakers Tuesday,” Viney added.

“And Wild Wednesday,” Edric added.

“That’s not a thing,” Jerbo pointed out, Barcus giving a little nod. 

“Well, it should be,” Edric declared, reaching for another can, a smile on his lips. “Man, why didn’t I hear about this place sooner?”

Amity ignored her sugar high brother and, grabbing Em’s hand with a growl, stomped to the nearest door. 

“Er, bye Viney,” Em shouted, waving at the girl with a small smile on her face. Amity, meanwhile, shoved the door so hard it almost flew off the hinges. It opened up, somehow, from a girls bathroom stall, and a particularly surprised one eyed, crescent faced (literally) Oracle girl looked up in surprise. Dragging her sister by the hand like a child, Amity could feel her face growing hotter and hotter.

I spend a whole WEEK helping Luz try to woo my sister, trying to plan out this stupid but lovely gesture, and here SHE is, hanging out with troublemakers when she should be with Luz? If this works, I PROMISE you Em, I will NEVER let you live this down.

“Hey, Mittens,” Em said, pulling away and rubbing the back of her neck. “I...I kinda wanted to grab another Mountain Doom for myself. I can bring one for Luz too if she’d-“

“Fine,” Amity spat out with an amount of venom that impressed and somewhat frightened even her own angry self. “Just get your stupid soda. We’ll meet you in the gym.”

Em looked genuinely surprised at her sister's anger, but merely nodded. “Cool. Thanks Mittens.” She turned back to the stall and entered, closing the door behind her, though she seemed to not really enter the stall. At that moment though, Amity didn’t care. All she cared about was getting back to the gym. 

Thankfully, the gym was only across the hall, and she could just power walk towards it before getting there in a minute. Looking up at the stage, she saw the group standing with their backs to the stage, clearly hoping to create as dramatic an opening as possible for the two Blight girls.

“Guys,” Amity began with a sigh.

“They're here,” Gus cried out. 

“Showtime,” Skara proclaimed.

Smoke started to fill the stage, enshrouding her friends and making it harder to see them. Then, from the clouds, a voice cried out.

“Emira Blight, I got something I wanna tell you!”

And with that, Skara blew a low note on her tuba, Gus started pressing keys, and Willow began to strum.

Amity wanted to stop them, to tell them that Em wasn’t with her, and that there was no reason for them all to start yet. 

But then she heard Luz singing.

She wasn’t the most trained singer Amity had ever heard. Her mother would drag her and the rest of the Blight household to shows performed by some of the most lovely voiced Bards on the Isles, and while they were all mostly boring affairs regarding traditions and customs so old even Amity’s most in depth textbook didn’t cover (and also boring the rest of the family near-death), she had to admit, they sounds phenomenal. Luz...was not that. But what she clearly had, coursing through every fiber of her being, was what made Luz, well, Luz; her drive, her passion, her warmth and love and energy and spirit. All the sorts of things that made Amity love the girl more and more with each passing second. Even with her eyes closed, she sang with such truth, such determination, that Amity had to wonder if it wasn’t some strange form of human magic that Luz could fit it all inside her.

And so Amity chose to do something selfish. Something she hadn’t tried to do the entire week, but  she had the right to do.

She simply leaned against the door, closed her eyes, and listened to the girl of her dreams sing, and pretended it was her she was singing for. 

She didn’t pay attention to the words, more just the sound of Luz’s voice, so boisterous and wonders and adorable and sweet and-

“So, she’s finally confessing, huh?”

Amity’s eyes turned to globes as she whipped around to her sister, holding a can of Mountain Doom in her left hand, a playful smile on her lips. Emira turned to look down at her sibling and dug out from her pocket another can of the infernal soda. “Mountain Doom?”

Amity turned to the stage, a scowl crossing her lips. Thanks Em , she growled in her head, ignoring her sisters soda.

The older Blight merely shrugged and took a sip, smirking as she watched Luz and her other friends on stage. For a moment, Amity was able to forget her sister was there, and she could just lay herself back on the wall and listen…

“I’m surprised you’re so calm, Mittens. Thought you’d be a completely sputtering mess right now.”

Amity opened an eye, glaring at Emira. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, isn’t Luz confessing how much she likes you,” Emira teased. “I’m surprised you haven’t passed out at this point.”

For a second, Amity didn’t process what Em was saying. And then, it hit her; Em had missed Luz’s little opening and didn’t realize this was for her.

“Em...I’m not the one Luz is confessing to.”

Emira raised an eyebrow, confused. Then, realization dawned on her.

Amity didn’t know how she had expected her sister to react to Luz’s feelings. She’d imagined almost every scenario under the sun; ones where she was amused and laughed, ones where she was touched and flattered, and even the worst ones, where she mocked Luz’s feelings and just walked away.

But she’d never imagined she’d look almost horrified.

“Oh...ohhhhhhhh”

“OH YEAH,” Luz cried out, breaking the two girls out of their brief haze. They watched as an overly excited Luz took her ukulele, placed it gently onto the floor of the stage, and threw herself off of it, bellyflop style. The Blight girls rushed to grab her, but it was too late; the human landed with a *THUD* onto the gym floor. The look of shock and pain on her face implied that this hadn’t been a part of her plan.

“LUZ,” Willow shouted, rushing to the stage's edge. “I thought we agreed we weren’t doing the stage dive!”

“I was gonna ask Amity about making a crowd of abominations and...OH! So THAT’S what I forgot to do today!” Slapping her forehead, Luz sighed. “Arg!” 

Amity and Emira rushed over, grabbing Luz gently by her hands and lifting her to her feet as she winced in pain. “Luz,” Emira asked frantically, “are you hurt?”

“Only my pride.” She let out a short laugh before taking in a sharp breath. “Oh, and my ribs. Definitely my ribs.” Before the others could say anything, Luz started to reach into her tuxedo. “Well, I know that was sorta embarrassing, but I hope THIS makes it a little less so.” Then, holding it up to Emira, Luz produced Amity’s Grom tiara. “Em, I know we aren’t the best of friends, but...but I really like you a lot, and I was wondering if...if you’d…”

Amity looked up at her sister, that same horrified look on her face as before. “Luz, listen. I’m flattered, really. This, this whole concert and dressing up and the tiaras, it’s so cute! No girls have done anything like this for me! I’m BEYOND flattered!” Despite her words, the rushing, almost panicked voice seemed to suggest something else.

“REALLY,” Luz said. Apparently she hadn’t caught the panic in Emira’s voice. Her eyes sparkled with hope, her smile grew from ear to ear, and she began to bounce from one ball of her foot to another. “I can’t believe it! Gus, get the ballroom ready!”

“The what,” Emira asked, her eyes somehow bulging more at the girl's words. Gus, smirking, began to twirl his fingers, and the gym soon transformed into an elaborate, ornate golden ballroom, complete with a chandelier swinging above their heads. It looked like the sort of thing out of a fairytale, or an adaptation of one. 

Luz, standing with an heir of confidence, put one foot back, held out her hand, and began: “Well then, if that's settled, may I have this da-”

“LUZ, I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!”

The atmosphere of the room changed. Literally somewhat, as Gus, surprised, stopped casting his illusion, the ballroom fading back into the gym. Amity’s eyes darted around, trying to see how everyone was reacting. Skara stopped playing her tuba and looked up in surprise. Willow's eyes darted between Luz and Amity, as if she was trying to figure out which one would require comfort the most. 

Then Amity looked at Luz and her heart sank.

The greatest thing in Amity’s life looked as if she had just witnessed the death of her beloved childhood pet. Her usually wide and cheerful eyes were now wide and hurt, shocked even. Her hand fell to her side. Her mouth opened in a small “wha-what?”

Amity had never hated her sister more in her life.

Amity wanted to strangle Em. How DARE she do this to Luz? How DARE she hurt her like this, break her heart! Sure, it obviously wasn’t intentional, but that didn’t make Amity hate her sister any less. Who even WAS this witch?

The answer to that came with the help of a falling Edric.

The male Blight twin first made his presence known from his screams, followed by the impact of his facedown body on the gym floor. For a brief moment, most of the gym forgot about Emira and Luz as Edric scampered upwards and rushed to his younger sister.

“Mittens, you gotta stop Luz,” he shouted, shaking her shoulders furiously. “Em has a…” His voice trailed off as he looked around. “I’m...late, aren’t I?”

Emira pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “By about twenty seconds.”

As Ed blushed, a rope ladder unfolded where he had fallen, and the fish-hook earring girl, Viney Amity remembered, came climbing down. Setting foot to the gym floor, she turned to Luz and gave an awkward, rather uncomfortable smile. “Er, hey, Luz. Ed let slip your whole plan with Em...uhm…”

Luz looked from Viney, then back to Em. Then from Em to Viney. Then back again, then one more time, before it finally seemed to click.  

“Wait…” she said, looking up at Emira, “You and...and Viney?”

“Er, yeah, actually,” Emira admitted almost guiltily. Viney walked over to Emira, stepping next to her girlfriend and nodded. “We haven’t told a lot of people about it because my parents...but still…” she sighed. “Luz, I’m so sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t know you.. I mean I kinda assumed that-”

“WHAAAAA,” Luz interrupted, cutting her off. “HA, that’s funny, Em. You’re ok, ya didn’t hurt me, honest. I mean, honestly, I’m a bit surprised, I mean, you and Viney? But hey, look at you two, just FULL of surprises!” She laughed the most inauthentic laugh Amity had ever heard her give, almost like it wasn’t coming from Luz’s mouth, and gave the most false smile Amity had ever seen.

“Er, yeah,” Emira muttered. Amity had never seen her smug, confident sister so clearly embarrassed. It would have actually been hilarious if it wasn’t such a gut punch. “Well...I’m still sorry, Luz. I think we should probably head out.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” Luz exclaimed, her smile faltering. “I guess you two should probably just head out…”

Emira nodded. “See ya around cu- Luz.”

Viney, Edric, and Emira grabbed a hold of the ladder and started climbing their way back up to their hideout. As they did, Emira looked at her little sister, an expression on her face that Amity had never really seen before.

An expression of asking for forgiveness.

Luz, meanwhile, walked up to the stage, the false enthusiasm clearly wearing off of her. Pulling herself up by the ledge, her eyes downcast as she walked past her friends, unable to meet their gaze.

“Luz,” Skara asked, her voice uncharacteristically quiet, “you ok, girl?”

For a second, Luz did nothing. Then, she simply sighed and walked backstage.

Willow looked down at Amity, and both girls knew they needed to help.

“Guys, I think me and Amity should take this one. Maybe you two can find something to cheer Luz up with?”

Skara and Gus nodded, Skara making all the instruments disappear as Gus began walking out the door. Then, with some help from Willow, Amity was atop the stage, and the two girls walked backstage.

Luz was sitting atop a small pile of sandbags, looking at Amity’s tiara with a far off, tired look on her face. She didn’t seem to notice either girl until Willow cleared her throat, making her look up.

“Wha-oh, hey guys,” Luz said, pocketing the tiara. “Crazy time, huh?”

“Luz,” Willow asked, “you doing ok?”

Luz began to nod, almost a little too enthusiastically, almost as if she was banging it to some unheard music. “Oh, totally! Completely! I mean, sure, I just wasted all your guy’s week on a petty pipe dream that turns out didn’t even have a chance of happening, but…but I’m fine.”

The two girls sat on either side of their heartbroken friend, rubbing her back. “Luz,” Amity began, “you know you can tell us the truth, ri-”

Amity was cut off by a near rib-shattering hug from Luz, the human burying her head into the witch's chest as she began to sob. 

“It’s...I knew it was a long shot,” Luz cried, “but I never thought it would end like this.”

Amity wrapped her arms around Luz, holding her close and  stroking her hair. “It’s-it’s ok Luz. We’re here for you, just let it out.”

“Why didn’t I just ask her out at Grom?”

Amity froze.

“Maybe if I hadn’t been such a coward none of this would be happening.”

“No, no,” Willow said, patting Luz’s back but looking up at Amity. “You’re not a coward. You just-”

“Why did it have to be her,” Luz continued, ignoring Willow’s pleading. “I-is it because she’s cuter?”

Shut up Luz…

“Funnier?”

Luz please shut up.

“Better?”

LUZPLEASESHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPILOVEYOUSOMUCHBUTPLEASE-

“NO,” Willow exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the two girls. “No, no,” she continued, soothingly. “That’s not it at all.” 

She looked Amity dead in the eyes.

“Not at all.”

Luz continued to sob as Willow squeezed her friends together and Amity tried to hide her rapidly beating heart from the most amazing woman in the world. Finally, after about 15 minutes, Luz finally seemed to have been out of tears. Pulling away from Amity, she sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m so sorry guys,” she said. “You shouldn’t have to be here comforting me.”

“But we wanted to,” Amity reassured her. The school uniform Amity took pride in keeping clean had its top soaked in tears, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was help Luz be ok.

Luz just shook her head. “I think I just wanna be alone for a minute,” she said softly. Both her friends looked up at each other with concern, but nodded. With one last hug, Amity walked away from her heartbroken crush.

It wasn’t until Willow and Amity were outside the school that Amity realized she never got her tiara back.

____________________________________________________________

Amity lay on her windowsill, looking up at the bright moon. After she and Willow had gone their separate ways, Amity had magically locked herself in her room and just sat there, save for the brief, forced interruption of dinner, where she had refused to either say anything or look at her sister. All she wanted was to just lay there. Forget everything about today…

“Mittens,” her sister whispered through the doorway. “Can we talk, please?”

“Go away,” Amity growled out. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to the woman who broke Luz’s heart.

“Look, sis, I didn’t know anything about Luz’s crush, ok? I didn’t want to steal her away from you or-”

“Oh,” Amity snapped. “Then what was with all that flirting? Calling her cutie, the winking-”

“Mittens, I never realized she’d take it seriously! I just always act that way with friends and-”

“Oh, so you ALWAYS do that,” Amity snarled, jumping off her ledge and stomping toward her door. “So when you do it with Viney, it’s nothing?”

“Mittens,” Emira let out, clearly getting annoyed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think Luz liked me. I thought she liked you!”

“Oh, why would you think that,” Amity shouted, unable to contain her anger. “Because we danced together at Grom? Because she was my ‘fearless champion’? Because she’s always done everything to help me?” Amity was visibly shaking, she could tell, but she couldn’t hold anything back. “WELL TOO BAD! BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS DO! THEY DANCE AND THEY SACRIFICE AND THEY HELP ONLY BECAUSE THEY CARE, ONLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE NICE!”

“Mittens…”

“AND THEY HOLD YOU WHEN YOU’RE SOBBING BECAUSE YOUR CRUSH HAS A GIRLFRIEND!”

“Sis.”

“AND THEY...AND THEY HELP YOU, DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO MAKE THE CONFESSION TO THEIR SISTER AS WONDERFUL AS POSSIBLE SO THEY CAN BE HAPPY, EVEN IF IT BREAKS YOUR HEART EVERY TIME YOU THINK ABOUT IT AND-”

“AMITY!”

Emira threw herself so hard into the door that even with Amity magically locking it, it slammed into the back wall. Immediately, she clutched her little sister to her chest, and it was at this moment Amity realized she was crying. Emira stroked her sister's hair, whispering to her softly, trying to be as reassuring as possible, but all Amity could do was continue to sob. Even when her brother came in to hold her too, all she could do was cry.

Why did Luz like Emira?

Why did she have to like her sister?

Why couldn’t she like her?

Why was she born the wrong Blight?