Chapter Text
“A spy?!” Lilith paced around the room. “Belos sent a damn spy!”
“Looks like we won’t be getting that break,” Eda joked.
“This isn’t a laughing matter, Edalyn!” Lilith scolded. “Who knows what information they’ve picked up on us!”
“Lilith, calm down,” Eda said, leaning back on the couch.
“Calm down? Calm down?!” Lilith looked at Eda as if she were crazy. “How is this a situation where we should stay calm?! How did any of you get any sleep last night after the bomb Luz dropped?!”
“Because we got the best security in the Boiling Isles, back!” Eda motioned to the front door, which Hooty opened right on cue, revealing his smiling face.
“Yes sir!” Hooty cheered.
“Ma’am,” Eda corrected.
“Yes ma’am!” Hooty cheered, again. “I’ve been keeping Eda safe for decades, now! Nothing has gotten past me while I’m here!”
“Surely you can’t rely on Hooty to keep you safe,” Lilith said, bluntly.
“Lilly, do you how many times I’ve fallen asleep to the Emperor’s Coven right outside my door?” Eda asked. “How many times you and an army of Emperor’s Coven were knocking on my front door and I didn’t even look up from my breakfast?”
“No…” Lilith answered, softly.
“Exactly.” Eda nodded. “Hooty will keep us safe and find this spy. Right Hooty?”
“You can count on me!” Hooty straightened himself out at a 90 degree angle.
“Are you trying to salute or…?” Eda asked.
“Oh, sorry, forgot I don’t have arms!” Hooty chuckled. “Anyway, going to go find that spy now! Hoot!”
“So that’s it, then?!” Lilith asked. “We just sit around and wait?!”
“Well…yeah!” Eda smiled, absentmindedly.
“I…but…you can’t…what?!” Lilith ran her hands through her hair.
“Whoa, what’s with all the noise?” Luz walked into the living room, wearing her standard night wear, t-shirt, boxers, and socks. “Screaming gives me headaches.” She rubbed her temples.
“Sorry about that, kiddo,” Eda said. “Lilith’s just getting worked up over the spy business.”
“I should be!” Lilith shouted, defensively.
Luz flinched. “Guys, please.”
“Lilith, that’s enough!” Eda quietly scolded, anger in her voice. “Sit down, and wait for Hooty!”
“But-” Lilith began.
“Now.” Eda pointed at the chair to her right. “Apologize to Luz while you’re at it.”
“Apologies, Luz.” Lilith looked at Luz, then sunk into the chair, holding her head in her hands and muttering to herself.
“It’s alright, Luz,” Eda assured. “You can go back to bed now.”
“Actually, I’ve got to go to school,” Luz said.
“Oh…wow, I forgot you went to Hexside.” Eda rubbed her head, baffled that she could forget.
“Same here, been a wild two days,” Luz said.
“Oh my God, all that stuff happened in two days.” Eda sunk into the couch. “No wonder I feel so done with life…I mean, more then I usually feel.”
“I’m going to have breakfast and head out,” Luz said, leaving towards the kitchen.
Luz opened the refrigerator and pulled out some apple blood, milk, and took a box of cereal from the top of the fridge. Then she grabbed a cup and bowl from the pantry, and a spoon from the drawers. Sitting down at the table, Luz poured herself a small cup of apple blood, then she opened the milk and cereal.
“Milk then cereal?” Luz asked herself. “Cereal then milk?” She shook her head and poured both simultaneously. “Both!” She set down the milk and cereal box, being sure to close both before taking the spoon and getting a spoonful a cereal, only for her scroll to go off. “Huh?” Luz checked who it was. “Amity!” She immediately picked up.
“Hey Luz, good morning,” Amity greeted, tone serious. “Still feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, Tibbles didn’t hurt me,” Luz assured, he had disregarded what Eda had told her and called up the others to let them know she was okay. “Morning to you, too,” she paused. “Amity, I think we should take this time talk about-”
“Not right now,” Amity interrupted. “After I got the call from you, I remembered Bo and went to go see her, so I went to her house. Bo’s mom told me she was out for a night walk through the park, so I went there, and Boscha was there and…and she…”
“Amity, is everything okay?” Luz asked. “What happened?”
“Just…just get to Hexside as soon as you can,” Amity said.
“Of course!” Luz nodded, then she hung up, scarfed down her cereal at an unhealthy speed, took the spoon and cereal bowl and practically threw them into the sink, grabbed the milk and cereal box and put the box in the fridge and the milk on top of the fridge, went to leave, stopped herself, went back to the fridge to put the milk and cereal box in their correct spots, left the kitchen, went upstairs to her room, got changed into her Hexside uniform, grabbed her bag, bolted down the steps and into the living room.
“Jeez Luz, what’s got you in such a rush?” Eda asked. “You were louder then that time I lead the stamped of Minotaurs through Hexside.”
“I’m surprised that didn’t get you expelled,” Lilith snarked, having calmed down a bit since sitting down.
“Sorry guys, got no time!” Luz speed walked towards door, opening it.
“Luz wait!” Eda sat up.
“Hmm?” Luz stopped in the doorway.
“While I do think Lilith is overreacting, watch out for that spy,” Eda warned. “You have a good time at Hexside…I love you.”
“I will, Eda. Promise.” Luz smiled. “And I love you, too.”
“I also love you!” Hooty exclaimed.
“Uh…thank you, Hooty.”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course, Hooty.”
“Yay!”
Luz arrived at Hexside the earliest she’s ever been. There, she found Amity, Willow, and Skara all talking in front of the school.
“Hey girls!” Luz waved.
“Luz!” Amity ran up to Luz and grabbed her arm, pulling towards Willow and Skara.
“Where’s Gus?” Luz asked.
“I…I decided it would be best if he stayed out of this, it’s…he’s…I just don’t want to expose him to the ugly side of the world, just yet,” Willow answered as best she could. “Plus he’s still pretty young and doesn’t know Bo, more excuses to keep him out of the loop.”
“Yeah, Bo!” Luz snapped her fingers. “What happened, Amity?
“How do you handle violence, Luz?” Amity held her scroll, at the screen with a dead expression.
“Been exposed to it, enough,” Luz said. “Let me see.”
“Here.” Amity held out her scroll.
Luz took the scroll and saw Amity had selected a recorded video in her camera. Curiously, she pressed the play option and it was that night, out in some sort of garden. Then Luz saw them, Boscha and Bo, the former looked angry, while the latter seemed scared. Not at all how one would expect someone to act in a romantic night out with their significant other. It didn’t take long for Luz to notice the red mark on Bo’s cheek.
“Bo, I’m just going to pretend you didn’t ask me that,” Boscha said.
“I just don’t understand why you have to be so cruel to people, Boscha,” Bo said, looking at her feet.
“We’ve been over this a hundred times, and I’m getting sick of it!” Boscha turned from Bo and crossed her arms.
“Boscha, please.” Bo reached out to Boscha, only to instinctively flinch when the latter turned back around.
“They’re not people, Bo!” Boscha screamed in her face. “They’re nobodies! Our inferiors! We’re the ones with all the money! We’re the ones with all the power! We’re taught to step on people like them!”
“W-We don’t have to,” Bo was trying her best to be brave.
“Yes. We. Do.” Boscha glared down at her, causing Bo to shrink back.
“P-Please, B-Boscha, I know what’s been bothering you,” Bo said, gulping. “I know why you’ve so much crueler then you usually are these past few weeks.”
“Don’t!” Boscha raised a finger.
“You’re upset that the rest of the girls stopped talking to you after your Grudgeby with Willow and her friends,” Bo said. “How your popularity has decreased since Willow got in the plant track.”
“Why would I be upset about that?!” Boscha asked. “It doesn’t matter, though. I have a plan to set everything right, Willow won’t be popular anymore, and I’ll be queen bee once again.”
“I don’t want you to be popular, I want you to stop.”
A tense silence filled the air, then Boscha’s three eyes were practically ablaze with rage.
“What did you just say?!” Boscha shouted.
“Being popular isn’t important, Boscha.” Bo took a risky step towards Boscha, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “If you drop this desire to be loved by everyone, you can work on becoming a better person.”
“I don’t want to hear this.”
“You were always mean to people, but you were so sweet behind closed doors,” Bo began. “We used to have slumber parties, go on dinner dates in the fanciest restaurants in Bonesborough, and through all of it I saw a Boscha Hexside never knew existed. A girl capable of love and kindness, of making people laugh without having to be cruel. I thought that was the real you, but since the girls cut you off, that Boscha has left, leaving a hateful cipher in her place.”
“What are you, my mother?” Boscha asked, having not listened to a word Bo said. “My therapist?!” She turned to leave. “I’m done listening to this.”
“Boscha, wait-” Bo grabbed Boscha’s wrist, and Luz almost dropped the scroll when the latter whirled around and smacked the former so hard she fell to the ground.
“Shut up!” Boscha shouted, voice echoing throughout the empty park.
Bo sat there, crying as Boscha stood over her. Then the unexpected happened, Boscha’s face contorted into a look of guilt.
“Bo, baby, I’m so sorry.” Boscha knelt down and helped Bo to her feet. “Why do you keep making me do that? Why do insist on making me angry?”
Luz felt bile rise up in her throat.
“I’m sorry…” Bo began to cry, and Boscha embraced her.
“It’s okay, Bo,” Boscha cooed. “We need to reach an agreement, okay? We both need to improve, and be better for this relationship to work. You stop saying stupid, illogical things and I’ll try to work on my temper. Deal?”
“Deal.” Bo nodded.
“Come on, let me see you smile,” Boscha said.
Bo smiled, but Luz could tell it was fake.
“That’s the Bo I know.” Boscha smiled, as well. “Come on, call up you mom and tell her you’re staying at my place, I want you to get an ice pack for your cheek.”
Luz shut off the scroll practically threw it at Amity. “Why didn’t do anything about that?!”
“I’m sorry…I just saw them, and Boscha hit her!” Amity ran her shaky fingers threw her hair. “Boscha’s been bad, but she’s never been this bad before. I didn’t know what to do so I just got some video evidence and just…and just sat there for hours after they. Got in trouble with my parents for coming home so late.” She turned to Willow. “I’m sorry, Willow. I feel like I broke my promise by letting this happen.”
“It’s okay, Amity.” Willow placed a comforting hand on Amity’s shoulder. “This is so much different then what happened with me, I don’t blame you for not knowing what to do.”
Luz sighed. “Neither do I…but what are we going to do about this?”
“Do about what?”
The four girls gasped and turned to see Bo. She was smiling and happy like always, the mark on her cheek completely healed over night. If Luz hadn’t watched that video, she never would’ve guessed something was wrong.
“If you girls need help with anything, I’ll be happy to,” Bo said.
“No…no, we’re fine,” Skara said.
“If you say so, but you can always come to me if you need help.” Bo walked up the stairs towards the front door, opening and shutting it, causing the echo throughout the courtyard.
“We might not know what to do, but we are going to help her.” Skara wiped a tear from her eyes. “She’s too sweet to suffer like this.”
“We will, Skara.” Luz looked at the doors. “We will.”