Work Text:
Have you ever felt like your life is boring? That this chapter in your story is just a long filler that you wish to get out of? I think we’ve all been there before and all wished that some spark of drama or life would come into our story. I mean, I definitely have. However, there’s nothing wrong with fillers. Fillers can be great for world-building and character development. Necessary elements people need in preparation before they get into the climax of their story.
Okay, okay, I get it. You still won’t give a second glance at world-building and character development and you just want the universe to hit you with the fun part.
Well, here’s a tip: sometimes you just have to take the first step forward.
There she is again, Luz thought, her eyes lingering on a girl with long, wavy, dyed green hair, with brunette roots still visible on the top of her head. She was wearing a different school uniform than her, while Luz’s was light gray and blue, the girl’s was black and red. Everyday after school, I would always see that girl waiting for the bus at the stop. She’s so pretty, I can never take my eyes off her whenever I see her.
Beside her, Luz heard a snort. “You always are staring at her but you don’t even have the balls to go up to her,” her friend Willow commented.
Turning around, blushing a bright red, Luz grumbled. “Oh yeah? Wanna bet on that?”
Her other friend, Gus, raised an eyebrow at her. “You sure you wanna make a bet against Willow? Remember the last time that happened?”
“How could I forget?” Luz replied curtly. “You guys burned a hole in my wallet. But whatever, just watch me- fucking assholes.”
As she walked towards the girl, Luz heard her two best friends snicker behind her back. She rolled her eyes and sped up her pace. A meter away from the girl, Luz stopped when the girl suddenly turned around, revealing her amber eyes that mesmerize Luz, making her feel dazed and enchanted by just looking at it.
She’s even prettier up close, Luz thought, keeping eye contact with her. She cleared her throat, but before she could even say anything, she noticed the girl avert her eyes, breaking eye contact to look around the surroundings before dashing away.
The next thing Luz knew was that she was alone. Luz blinked. “What,” she muttered to herself. What the fuck was that? She turned around and walked back to where Gus and Willow were in defeat. Fuck, they’re going to make fun of me because of that. Especially since I was so cocky about it. Shit, how did that even happen?
Like she predicted, when she went back to her friends, they were laughing their asses off. Willow was even wheezing as she was clutching her stomach. The girl looked up at Luz and leaned on her shoulder for support, still laughing maniacally. “Oh my gods, that was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen!”
Crossing her arms across her chest, Luz sighed. “Yeah, yeah, hurry up and make fun of me quickly.”
Gus slapped her back playfully. “She just ran off!”
“Why would she do that?” Willow laughed.
“She looked at Luz’s face and just ran off,” Gus cackled.
Rolling her eyes, Luz nudged both of her friends. “Come on, our bus is here, do you guys wanna go home or no?”
After they calmed down a bit, the three of them boarded the bus, sitting in the back like usual. As Gus and Willow were still joking around and teasing Luz, Luz wasn’t paying attention and just gazed out the window silently, like the main character in a coming-of-age movie.
She replayed the events that happened just a moment ago, her face was flushed in embarrassment when she pictured the girl’s face before she ran away from her.
After that day, I never saw that girl again.
“Is she okay?”
Gus looked over at Willow and then at Luz who was sitting at her desk, muttering to herself like she was an evil witch casting curses on them. The boy looked up at Willow and shrugged. “I don’t even know anymore,” he said truthfully. “She’s been bummed out ever since she basically got rejected by the bus station girl.”
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Willow groaned. “Oh for fuck’s sake.” Walking over to the girl, Willow clapped her on the back, hard. “Stop being depressing, it’s depressing,” she said harshly.
“You don’t get it,” Luz complained, “it’s been days since I’ve seen her! Can’t you guys pity me, just a little bit? Don’t you know I have like the fattest crush on her?”
The boy snorted. “Like that wasn’t already painfully obvious.”
Resting the side of her head on the table, Luz frowned. “Just kill me already.”
Willow raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged. “She probably ran off and started avoiding the bus station because you’re just so intimidating.”
Nodding his head in agreement, Gus hummed to himself. “True, I mean, if Luz came up to me suddenly I would have pissed my pants on the spot.”
Wrinkling her nose, Luz stared at them. “What are you guys even saying?”
“We’re saying your face is scary,” Willow replied bluntly.
Sitting up from her desk, Luz slammed her hands on the top of it, making everyone around them jump. “Y’know, I like to think I’m a very lovely person!”
After saying goodbye to her friends, Luz got off of the bus and started to walk home. Even after blasting rock music through her earbuds, she could hear her stomach growl. Knowing that there won’t be any food at home since her mom is at work and she can’t cook for her life, Luz took out her wallet and shrugged when she saw she had a five dollar bill.
Enough for a good bag of chips and a soda at the convenience store, she thought. Not the healthiest dieting decisions but it’ll have to do for now.
Spotting a small shop about fifty meters away, Luz grinned to herself and started to head there but stopped in her tracks when a familiar girl with green hair walked out of the store, carrying four plastic bags in her hand.
Immediately, Luz felt her face burn up. Seriously? Out of all of the times why now? Shut up! You should be thankful that you even got to breathe the same air as her again! Luz turned around and took out her phone to use as a mirror to touch up her appearance. But by the time she finished tidying up her looks, the girl was gone again.
Letting out a disappointed sigh, Luz stuffed her hands in her pocket and just decided to turn around to head home since she had lost her appetite. I wonder if she lives near here, no way right? Her school is probably miles away, I don’t really recognize the uniform she’s wearing, she was probably just visiting the area. She scratched the side of her head. Fuck, you know, I always wanted to have my own highschool romance story, like the one’s you read in manga and stuff like that, she thought to herself. I thought when I saw her, I would have gotten it. But no, that didn’t happen. She kicked a rock underneath her foot. Ugh, life sucks.
She stopped in her steps and looked over her shoulder. “Maybe I can change that though.”
Taking a deep breath, Luz grinned to herself and started to sprint in the direction of where she saw the girl walk, praying to herself that she didn’t make any turns. After a minute of sprinting, her legs started to feel heavy and it was getting hard to breathe, but she kept going and it was a good thing she did since she saw the familiar green haired girl just a handful of meters away.
Jogging up to her silently, Luz softly took one of the plastic bags, her hand brushing slightly over the girl, enough to make her jump.
They stared at each other for a while and the girl blinked at her. “Oh, it’s you… from the bus station.”
Flashing a crooked smile, Luz rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “I saw you carrying a lot of bags from the convenience store and I wanted to help you.”
“Oh,” the girl said, “it’s just chips and stuff, I can handle it myself.”
“I insist,” Luz pressed.
Seeing how determined she was, and knowing that there was no way Luz could be a threat, the girl let out a sigh and handed two bags over to Luz who was more than eager to help.
They walked in an unnerving silence, Luz would keep glancing at the girl who just looked on ahead. It must be weird to just have a stranger help you with your bags, Luz thought to herself, I hope she doesn’t think I’m a pervert or something- that’s the last thing I want. I should make conversation so it isn’t as awkward.
“So… why don’t you come to the bus stop anymore?”
The girl looked up at her and said bluntly: “I stopped going there because that day you suddenly came up to me with a scary look on your face, I got a bit shaken up since I thought you were going to beat me up, so I stopped going there to avoid you.”
Luz stared at her and averted her eyes. “Oh.” Fuck, so Willow and Gus were right. She looked ahead of her and saw two other girls. One of them had dyed pink hair that was tied up in a bun and the other had dyed ash gray hair which was tied in a ponytail, revealing her undercut.
“Well, those are my friends,'' the girl said. “Thanks for helping me carry the bags.”
Handing the two bags back to her, Luz smiled. “Of course! No problem!” Before the girl walked away, Luz reached out her hand and handed her a small piece of paper. “Uh, here’s my number by the way. You can text me anytime,” she said, her cheeks tinted a light pink.
Taking the paper, the girl nodded silently and put it in her pocket before joining her friends who were waiting for her.
Turning away to go back home, Luz realized something. “I didn’t even tell her my name,” she murmured to herself. She turned her head and called out to the girl, “My name is Luz Noceda, by the way!”
The girl with ash gray hair, Skara, gasped, “Amity! You made a new friend?”
“Really?” the other girl, Boscha, said. “Who is she?”
“No idea,” she shrugged. She turned her head and saw the faint silhouette of Luz jumping up and down with excitement, cheering to herself in the distance. Amity snorted when she imagined Luz grinning to herself, proud that she talked to her.
What a strange girl.
After hanging out at the park with Boscha and Skara and eating all of the snacks that she bought, Amity went back home to study a bit before slumping in her bed, exhausted. She put her hands in her pocket and felt a piece of paper. The girl took it out and remembered that it was Luz’s number.
She hummed to herself and shrugged. Well, the polite thing to do after someone gives you their number is to reach out to them.
Amity: hi it’s amity, the bus station girl
Within seconds there was a reply.
Unknown Number: Your name is Amity? That’s such a nice name!
Chuckling to herself, Amity quickly renamed Luz’s contact and replied.
Amity: do you normally carry your number in your pocket?
Luz: Just in case I run into a pretty girl like you!
Turning bright red when she saw Luz’s reply, Amity couldn’t help but remember how Luz helped her with her bags and how wide and warm her grin was. Now grinning to herself, Amity covered her mouth with her hand and couldn’t help but blush.
“What a strange girl.”
It’s been two weeks since Luz gave Amity her number and they’ve been getting closer and closer everyday. After clearing things up, Amity even returned to the bus station and even though she rode a different bus than Luz, Luz was still happy to see her. Though it was hard for her to go up to her without Willow and Gus mocking her.
Nevertheless, Luz was happy that she had taken the first step on that day.
“So, what are you guys doing today?” Willow asked as she ate her lunch.
Luz smiled half to herself. “I’m hanging out with Amity today!” She heard her friends groan at the mention of Amity, but chose to ignore them. “We’re just going to meet up after school and walk around and probably eat ice cream. Did you know her favorite flavor and mint-chocolate chip? I learned that yesterday when we were making the plans for today!” She sighed dreamingly to herself. “I can’t wait to see her.”
Gus rolled his eyes. “Good for you I guess.”
The girl frowned. “Do you guys not like her?”
Shaking her head, Willow placed a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Nah, she seems cool,” her grip tightened, making Luz wince a bit. “But is there anything else that’s going on in your life besides this Amity chick?”
“Yeah,” Gus piped up, “ever since you gave her your number and you guys started talking, you wouldn’t shut up about her. It’s cute that you’re that into your crush, but Willow or I could probably ask her out on a date since we basically know everything about her since you won’t shut the fuck up, you know.”
Luz hummed. “You’re right, you’re right.” She took a deep breath and grinned widely at her friends. “So did you guys know that Amity-” Her sentence got cut off by loud groans coming from her two friends.
Packing up her bag, Amity walked out of her classroom and was greeted by her two friends, Boscha and Skara. “Oh hey guys,” she said.
“Skara and I were talking about how we were craving some hotpot, wanna come with us?”
Amity shook her head. “Sorry, I already had plans with Luz after school, maybe another time? Sorry,” she quickly apologized again.
The two girls exchanged a glance and Skara grinned, clapping her friend on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it! You go have fun on your date with Luz!”
She immediately blushed. “It’s not a-”
Draping an arm around her shoulder, Boscha smirked. “Yeah, well whatever it is, have fun with Luz,” she said in a sing-song voice, which just made Amity more embarrassed.
Skara nodded. “Yeah you better! Oh, and if things don’t work out,” she winked, “let me know so I can swoop in and take Noceda for myself.” Amity narrowed her eyes at her friend and Skara laughed. “Just joking, Blight!”
Amity rolled her eyes and walked away from her friends. When she knew no one could hear her, she huffed: “Don’t even joke about that.”
Like they planned, the two girls met up at the bus station and went on the bus together. They had small talk with each other and whenever they were stuck in an awkward silence, being the socializing master she was, Luz always made sure to break it, which Amity was grateful for, since she wasn’t a big talker, but she enjoyed listening to whatever Luz had to ramble about.
After their bus ride, they walked around the park and continued to talk, well Luz talked, Amity just listened. Even if they didn’t set this rule with each other, they both agreed on the terms: Luz is the talker and Amity just happily listens.
When they walked around, Luz spotted an ice cream cart and pulled Amity with her to get some popsicles or ice cream cones.
To be honest, when Luz talked about getting ice cream with her, Amity thought that they would go to a small family-owned business and get stuff there, but Luz insisted on getting ice cream from the cart since it was her childhood.
Amity couldn’t say no to her, especially when Luz was wearing her ridiculously wide grin that she loved.
Once Luz paid for the both of them, since she insisted on doing so and Amity couldn't really argue, they both sat down on a nearby bench to enjoy their icy treats.
Taking out her ice cream, Luz frowned. “Aw man, my Spongebob ice cream is all deformed.” Amity looked over her shoulder and snorted when she saw that the gumball eyes on the ice cream were all misplaced. Taking a bite out of it, Luz shrugged. “Eh, it still tastes delicious.” She looked over at Amity who had a disgusted look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“You bite your ice cream?”
She blinked. “How else are you supposed to eat?”
Rolling her eyes playfully, Amity sighed. “Don’t your teeth hurt?”
“Nah, I don’t have sensitive teeth,” she grinned, “I guess I’m just that powerful, don’t you think so, Blight?”
“Shut up,” she grumbled, focusing her attention back to her orange creamsicle.
When they finished their ice cream, they continued to just walk around the park. It was a peaceful day afterall, why not use this to their advantage? There were no screaming children around, no dog shit on the pavement- hell it was a solid win for them!
Listening as Amity was talking about some school project and complaining about how her group doesn’t do anything, Luz smiled. “Just tell the teacher or something.”
“That’s what I’m planning on doing, those bastards are a pain in my-” before she could get the rest of her sentence out, she tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and was preparing herself to meet the concrete. But that never happened. She opened one eye and looked behind her to see Luz holding onto her hand, making sure she didn't fall. “Thanks,” she muttered.
Nodding and smiling, Luz pulled Amity towards her, their faces inches away from each other. Neither of them dared to move, it was like the tension between them was acting like a magnet. Amity blushed when she noticed Luz’s eyes flicker down to her lips.
Luz locked eyes with her. “Can I be forward with you?” she asked softly.
“Aren’t you always?” Amity said in a hushed voice, not totally sure why they were talking softly like children in a classroom.
“I like you,” Luz admitted.
That time, Amity did actually fall, but Luz helped back her up. She didn’t have a mirror to see her reflection, but Amity knew damn well that her face was bright red with embarrassment and with panic.
“I’m not looking for an answer,” she said. “I just wanted to be honest with you and tell you the truth because I didn’t get close to you because I wanted to be your friend, I wanted to be more than that.” She looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. “Since now you’re my friend, I thought it would be the right thing to do to just let you know the truth.”
“O-oh,” Amity said in a shaky, confused voice, “is that so?”
Luz looked over at Amity and sighed. “I’m sorry, was it selfish of me to let you know how I feel about you even though it might ruin what we already have?” When Amity just stared at her, Luz pursed her lips. “ I-I’m sorry if this changes the way you see me,” she added. “But even if you don’t like me back and you’ll never have the same feelings for me as I do with you, please don’t push me away. All I want is to stay by your side.”
Smiling softly, Amity lightly punched Luz’s arm. “Who said anything about me leaving you?”
Chuckling, Luz blushed. “Should we call it a day?” Amity nodded. “I’ll walk you back home,” she placed her hand in Amity’s. “So you don’t fall again,” she said smoothly. When the girl didn’t reply, Luz pulled her hand out. “S-sorry, I’m probably making you uncomfortable, aren’t I? I don’t think you would want me to hold your hand, especially after I told you-”
“Sounds good,” Amity replied, putting her hand back in Luz’s.
Stopping in front of a large apartment building, Amity smiled at Luz. “Thanks for walking me home.”
Luz grinned. “No problem.”
“Text me when you get home, okay?” Amity called out.
After saying goodbye to Luz, Amity walked into the building and went up to the top floor where her parent’s penthouse was. She took a shower since it was a long day and immediately collapsed on her bed, the events that happened today replaying over and over in her head.
She remembered how Luz just suddenly confessed to her and her face became as bright as it did during that moment. Amity buried her face in her pillow, her heart thumping against her chest as butterflies swarmed in her stomach.
Amity didn’t know why, but a pleasurable warmth filled her chest when she repeated the memory in her head again.
Thanking the waiter for bringing their drinks to their booth, Luz dumped in some creamer and a packet of sugar before tasting her cup of coffee while Amity just silently sipped her cappuccino across from her.
“Thanks for meeting up with me today,” Luz said, stirring her cup after adding another container of creamer. “I don’t really do anything on the weekends and Willow and Gus were busy and I didn’t want to just lay in bed with my eyes glued to my phone.”
Amity chuckled. “I wouldn’t want that for you either and it’s no big deal, I didn’t have anything going on this weekend either except studying or reading, but I can do that anytime.”
The girl hummed. “You always seem to be studying or working, I’m glad I took you out today then, just to give you a break.”
Sighing, Amity nodded. “Well, yeah, my parents put a lot of expectations on me so I always try to exceed them so they can notice me. They’re never home since they own a business and are crazy busy with work. Even if they are home, they’re too exhausted to spend time with their highschool daughter.”
Luz frowned. “I know how it feels.” Amity looked up at her and the girl rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “I mean I don’t know the whole expectation thing, but I know how it feels to not have your parents around.” She traced her finger over the brim of her cup and let out a breath through her nose. “My mom is a single parent- I never even met my dad, so it’s hard for her to provide for me. She works at the hospital and makes sure she gets extra hours in so she can earn more to feed the both of us.”
“Since she worked so much, she was never really there to watch me grow,” she said. “I still love my mom- I mean, she’s trying her best and everything- but I just wished she didn’t bury herself in so much work all the time and just spend time with me. I tried to get her out of her work cycle, but it never really stuck.”
Amity stared at her. “Who took care of you if your mom wasn’t there? Do you have siblings?”
The girl shook her head. “Nah, I’m an only child. My mom's friend, Eda, who is a freelance artist, babysat me. But when I was around fourteen she decided to settle down with one company and got too busy to take care of me. But since I was old enough at the time, I just started to look after myself.”
“Oh,” Amity said, “I had two older twin siblings, Edric and Emira, they took care of me when I was growing up. They cooked for me and just looked after me when my parents weren’t home and they played with me a lot. Well, their definition of playing with me was pulling pranks on me, but I think that just taught me how to grow up a bit. Even though I’m the youngest child, I feel like I’m more mature than them.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Needless to say, they were a pain in my ass growing up.” She then smiled to herself. “But I miss them a lot. I don’t see them often anymore since they went across the country for college- they go to the same one, and they are really busy these days.”
Resting her chin against her hand, Amity looked at the top of the table. “I’m grateful that Ed and Em took care of me growing up, but again, I just wished that my parents were there for me more.”
Placing her hand over Amity’s, which startled her, Luz smiled at her softly. “I’m not the greatest at comforting people when it comes to this, but I know how it feels. I’m not your parents so I don’t know if this means much, but you won’t have to be so alone anymore, I’ll always be here for you whenever you need to talk or if you need a shoulder to cry on.”
Amity’s cheeks heated up and a pleasant warmth washed over her body. She rolled her eyes. “Dummy, there’s no way I’m going to cry in front of you. That’s just embarrassing.” She heard Luz laugh and Amity smiled back and held onto Luz’s hand. “But thanks, and it does mean a lot.”
After saying goodbye to Luz and thanking her for walking her home yet again, Amity went up to her penthouse, her heart pounding against her chest even after leaving Luz moments before. She smiled giddily to herself and felt her heart flip in her chest. “Luz Noceda… what have you done to me?”
Jogging around the area for about two hours, Luz took a break and looked at her phone. She stared at her mileage. “Damn, fifteen miles?” she said to herself. “That’s more than yesterday. Good for you Luz, good for you,” she patted herself on the back.
Cursing herself for not bringing any water, she walked drowsily over to the local convenience store to buy a bottle of water. She was tempted to also buy some chips but all of the calories that she lost would just be regained back and she figured that it wasn’t worth it. After buying a water bottle, Luz was about to walk home but saw that it was suddenly pouring outside.
She frowned. Luz did notice the dark clouds while she was jogging and that today seemed pretty dull but she didn’t know it was actually going to rain today. Damn you weather forecasters! She looked over at the teenage cashier who was reading a magazine. “Do you guys have any umbrellas?”
“Nope.”
Well that isn’t very convenient, she thought. Convenience store my ass.
Luz pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought. There are no busses at this time and I definitely can’t walk home, especially not without an umbrella. Plus it’s like fifteen miles away! Something dawned on her and she smiled to herself. Luz Noceda, you are a goddamn genius.
Humming to herself as she cleaned the top of the kitchen counters, Amity peered outside the window. “Really coming down out there,” she murmured. “Fuck, why do I sound like a midwife?” She felt her phone buzz in her pocket and saw that Luz texted her. Excited to hear from her, Amity immediately read the text.
convenience store girl: Hey what floor are you on? I’m in the lobby of your building right now!
Amity blinked. “She’s what?”
“Sorry if it’s a bit messy, I wasn’t expecting any guests.”
Looking around the room, Luz was confused on what the hell Amity was even talking about since everything in the penthouse seemed perfectly crystal clear and furnished. “Really? It looks great to me! Plus, I didn't know I was going to your house either,” she laughed. “When I thought about coming to your house, I had to pray that you were even home.”
Amity snorted. “And what would you have done if I wasn’t home?”
Shrugging, Luz flashed a crooked smile. “I didn’t think that far ahead.” She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Maybe I wasn't as much of a goddamn genius as I thought I was.”
Chuckling a bit, Amity started to walk away a bit. “Alright, stay here, you’re soaking wet, I’ll get a towel for you.”
“Yeah, while I was running over to your building, I was cursing the architectures since there was nothing I could walk under to hide from the rain,” Luz said, rolling her eyes. “When I was waiting in the lobby, the receptionists were staring at me, wondering why the hell some teen was just standing soaking wet in the lobby.”
Laughing, Amity went over to Luz and draped a white towel over her shoulders. “Here, warm up a bit and I’ll prepare a shower for you. Just let me know when you’re ready, okay?”
Luz nodded. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Feeling a tension come between them and noticing how close they actually were, Amity quickly moved away, blushing bright red. “Y-yeah so… I’m going to do that,” she averted her eyes and sped walked away.
Going into the bathroom that was in her bedroom, Amity took a couple of deep breaths to herself to try to calm down her beating heart. Calm down, she thought. There’s nothing to worry about. It’s just Luz! Yeah, the girl you like- in your house. A realization hit her and she blushed furiously. Luz is in my house. She’s going to take a shower and probably wear my clothes after.
She couldn’t tell if her heart was beating because of the anxiety that those thoughts gave her or because of adrenaline.
Amity jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “What the fuck!” she yelled. She turned around and wanted to crawl into a hole when she saw that Luz was just standing there, raising an eyebrow at her. Of course it was Luz, she thought. Who else would it be? We’re the only ones here.
Luz smiled at her nervously. “Oh, sorry about that, did I scare you?”
“What do you think?” she huffed.
Letting out a chuckle, Luz pointed at the shower. “I’m going to take a shower now- is that okay?”
Amity nodded and silently went out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She walked over to her bed and just listened to the running water. “Don’t make it weird,” she murmured to herself. “Sure Luz likes me and I like her, but right now we’re just friends. So don’t think about anything dumb,” she scolded.
Pulling out her phone to make time go faster, Amity heard the water stop running and put her phone back in her pocket. I should probably make something for us to eat, I haven’t eaten anything yet and she must be starving from exercising. I’ll make us some instant ramen! The spicy one, with fried eggs! I’ve been craving that for a while, and who wouldn’t want hot, spicy, soup when it’s all cold and rainy and depressing?
The second that Amity got up from her bed was the second that the bathroom door opened. Reactively, she turned her head to the bathroom and flushed bright red when she just saw Luz wearing a towel to cover her body.
“Put on some fucking clothes, Noceda!” she screeched, shutting her eyes and turning her head towards the wall.
Luz blinked. “All of my clothes are wet and you didn’t really give me any to change into so I just wanted to like, I don’t know, steal some from your room. Sorry I didn’t know you were out here.”
Embarrassed, Amity felt her face cool down a bit but could still feel the heat resonate on her ears. “R-right,” she said, turning around to get some stuff from her drawer. “You’re lucky I like my oversized t-shirts or you would probably be wearing my regular shirts like a fucking crop-top since you’re huge compared to me.”
“I never wore a crop-top before,” Luz said, “since I also like my oversized t-shirts. But I think I could rock them, what do you think?”
Tossing an old band shirt behind her shoulder, hoping Luz would catch it, Amity snorted. “I mean, probably, I don’t know.” She opened another drawer and tossed back some gray sweats along with some undergarments. “Hurry up and change, I’ll be waiting here.”
Luz nodded. “It’ll be quick, don’t worry.”
Like Luz had said, she finished changing in under a minute and the two girls walked out of the bedroom. “Your parents aren’t home?” Luz asked.
“Nope,” answered Amity, “they usually come home around midnight.” The girl hummed in response and Amity gestured her hand towards the couch. “I’m going to make some food for us, you can wait on the couch.”
“Okay,” Luz said, listening to what Amity said and sat politely down on the couch, watching as she walked into her kitchen. After twiddling her thumb for a couple of seconds, Luz got bored and she got up from the couch and went to the kitchen. She watched as Amity added the seasoning packets into the boiling water as she leaned against the doorway.
Noticing that Luz wasn’t on the couch, Amity turned her head and blinked at her. “No, you can just sit.” She plopped three servings of instant noodles into the hot water and in her peripheral vision, saw that Luz hadn't moved. Amity stared at her and put her hands on her hips. “Why aren’t you sitting?” she asked.
Luz shrugged. “I wanted to stay with you.”
Feeling her cheek heat up again, Amity smiled to herself and placed two eggs in Luz’s hands. “Then here, hold this. When the water starts to boil again, add in the eggs.”
Once they finished cooking the noodles, the two of them sat down at the kitchen counter and ate the ramen. Like Amity inferred, Luz was starving and was so impatient that she forgot to blow on her noodles before slurping them, causing her mouth to burn.
Amity looked over at Luz who was eating the ramen like her life depended on it. “Slow down!” she said. “The noodles aren’t going to run away from you!”
Grinning, Luz’s gaze met Amity’s. “You make the best ramen, Blight!”
Rolling her eyes playfully, the girl scoffed. “It’s instant ramen, Luz.”
“Still,” Luz said, eating her egg, “it’s delicious! They should call you Master Chef Amity!”
When she laughed, Amity felt butterflies in her stomach. “It isn’t the healthiest meal, but if you want I’ll cook you instant ramen everyday.”
The two girls continued to eat with each other and when they were done with their meal, Amity cleaned up and Luz even helped her, even though Amity said that it was okay, but Luz was stubborn so they just worked together. After cleaning up, it was getting late and Luz said that she had to go home, but it was still raining. It was okay though, since there was a bus that comes in thirty minutes.
So, Amity just lent her an umbrella so Luz could walk to the nearby bus stop and get a ride home.
“Thank you so much,” Luz said, taking the umbrella from Amity. “Maybe next time we hang out it can be at my place and since you’re my guest I’ll be your host and take care of everything!”
Nodding her head, Amity smiled at her. “Yeah, sounds good. Just let me know when.”
“Sure thing,” Luz said, walking out of the lobby, waving behind her. “Later, Blight!”
Waving back to Luz, Amity sighed to herself and watched the girl walk across the street from the lobby. The adrenaline that she felt before went away when Luz left. Why did it feel like Luz was leaving her? She’s just going home, so why was Amity feeling this way?
Luz doesn’t know I like her, she thought. It’s been like a month since she confessed to me and she’s probably waiting for me to admit my feelings to her. I wonder how long she’s been waiting. She even said before that she always had eyes for me and that she reached out because she was interested and wanted to be more than friends.
Amity then realized that what she was feeling wasn’t dread but it was a rush of excitement. It was eagerness. It was confusion. It was a flurry of her feelings for Luz.
She thought about how they first met, how Luz ran to her to help her with her bags. Luz was able to take the first step to start our friendship. Now it’s my turn to take the next step.
Listening to the raindrop beat against the umbrella that Amity gave her, Luz turned around when she heard thundering footsteps running towards her. She was about to run away when she saw a dark figure head towards her, but she blinked and rubbed her eyes when she saw that the figure was Amity, running in the rain, without an umbrella, to her .
But why?
“What the hell is she doing?”
When Amity went up to her, her answer for Luz wasn’t in word form, but with a kiss. She pulled on Luz’s wrist, making her drop her umbrella, causing them to be vulnerable to the rain and brought their parted lips together.
Pulling away from Amity, Luz ran her fingers through her wet hair and looked down at Amity. Even though she was soaking wet and it was dark outside, Luz could see that her cheeks were tinted a lovely shade of red. “Amity,” she breathed out, “you kissed me.”
The girl nodded and hugged herself, not daring to look Luz in the eye right now. “I did, didn’t I? Was that okay?”
Embracing Amity, Luz kissed the top of her head. “It was more than okay,” she murmured. When Amity looked up at her, Luz grinned as she brought them into another tender kiss.
Smiling as she pulled away from the kiss, Amity laughed. “We’re soaking wet.”
“And whose fault was that?” Luz said, raising an eyebrow and picking up the fallen umbrella to shield them both from the rain. “You’re the one who decided to tug on the hand that was holding the umbrella.”
Rolling her eyes, Amity lightly punched the center of Luz’s chest. “I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time. All I knew was that I wanted to kiss you so it didn’t come to mind which hand to pull on.” Luz smiled at her bright enough to make the sun come out again and Amity blushed. “Anyway, we should get out of the rain, I’ll bring you back to my house so you can clean up again.”
“Aw…” Luz groaned. “But isn’t standing in the rain just so romantic?”
“I guess, but I’m not sure if you want to be sick the next day.”
She shrugged. “I wouldn't mind being sick in bed if you are the one taking care of me.”
Amity snorted. “I’m in the rain too, dumbass, I’ll get sick with you.”
Rubbing her chin, Luz then nodded. “Yeah, then you’re right, we should go back in.”
As they walked back together, Luz hummed. “The bus is going to be gone by the time I finish cleaning up again.”
“Who cares?” Amity snorted. “Don’t you want to hang out with me longer?”
Tangling their fingers together like a spider’s web, Luz kissed her knuckles and chuckled. “You read my mind. I’ll tell my mom that I’ll be coming home later then.”
Looking back, the two girls were silently thankful that they reached out to each other. Luz reaching out at first to start their relationship and Amity reaching out to deepen the bond between them. Typically, they weren't the type of people who would go to those lengths for someone she liked, but perhaps they were each other’s exception.
Maybe it had been fate that brought their stories together. If that was the case, both Amity and Luz were forever grateful for it. Often, the pair used the term “before” to describe their monotonous tales before they had met, a time when they both longed for a change of pace. Whereas now, their stories were woven into a singular mesmerizing adventure- one that they would make their way through together.
And so, that was the start of their story.