Chapter Text
"Come on, Luz, you got this. It's a new drink, not a life-commitment!"
She grabs the door’s handle to Spellbucks, pushing her beanie down a little more on her head. The soft buzz of the other customers was soothing to her ears, but her stomach still buzzed with anxiety as she walked up to the cashier.
The barista’s looking down at her phone, but she seems to sense another customer coming, flicking her eyes up to focus on her.
"Hello, my name is Amity. What can I get for you today?"
Her eyes are really gold, Luz thinks, and crazy intense. Are they always like that?
"I uh- what would you recommend? Uhm, like- just make me your favorite drink, but without lactose please."
Luz gives her a bright smile. Leaning slightly on the counter, she brushes the hair on her face back, keeping her eyes on the menu.
"Oh, it’s just I don't think you'll like my favorite..."
"What makes you think that?" Luz says, looking up.
"It's a bit…sweet?"
"Oh I'm fine with that! I like ‘em sweet!"
“Yeah, but this is very sweet. I wouldn’t recommend it if you’ve got some health issues honestly.”
“Hah,” Luz barks, and Amity backs off a bit in surprise.
“I mean...heh! No health issues here, hehe. I am a blue ribbon specimen!" Luz says hurriedly, still managing to keep her voice steady.
“Like the dog one, not the car one,” she finished weakly.
Luz flicks some finger guns at Amity for good measure. Amity just frowns a little, shrugs, and enters the order.
"And your name, please?"
"Luz! Luz Noceda."
Amity moves through the motions of making the coffee, and frantically racks her memory for why Luz’s scent was sticking out. It had snuck up on her as Luz came to the counter. She would have smelled it from the door if there weren’t so many people.
The thing was, a werewolf’s smell was exceptionally powerful, but it also entangled deep with everything else in her brain; like all her other senses. Skara had said it was like synesthesia. The senses crossed and mixed together in Amity’s head.
Luz’s scent was bright, and it sat light in her throat. It sounded like Amity’s paws in wet grass, and tingled in her mouth like lemons. She didn’t really like lemon, her nose was too sensitive for it.
Luz’s scent made it hard to think, but in a good way.
She moves back to the counter.
“You sure about this? I’m not sure it’s even medically okay. It’s a lot of sugar. You honestly could just take a cookie instead with the extra money from all the sugar I’ll have to put in on top.”
Luz smirked, “Please, when I was a kid, I used to eat so much candy I’d get sick if I didn’t have any. My mom used to make me brush my teeth four times a day.”
She smiles a toothy smile, pearly white indeed, and Amity has to work hard to keep her face flat, and just raise her eyebrows. God, it's a cute smile.
“You said it like it was a brag for some reason…” she said. “But okay. If you puke, I’m not cleaning it up.”
Amity filled the cup half way. She cracked open a bottle of Trash Slug, her favorite energy drink, and poured it in, shaking the last drops out as well. Every drop made a difference.
She reached for the sugar packet bin, and made a claw-machine-like motion. She dumped the sugar packets on the counter, tore one open, and started pouring.
Amity takes her coffee like she does because transforming takes energy. A lot. Quick, cheap, and fast energy in the form of sugar is perfect.
She really should figure out how to not be overwhelmed by cute girls, and she feels bad for Luz but hopefully on the bright side Luz’s scent will stop overwhelming her brain once it’s mixed with puke.
She keeps going until there’s a fist sized mound of sugar slowly sinking into the coffee, and then adds another packet’s worth. She has to make it the largest size of drink, otherwise there’s not enough coffee to drink up the sugar. Amity’s crammed as much sugar as she possibly can into her creation.
Luz’s face slacks at the monstrosity and Amity fights a smile.
"There you go.” she murmurs, quickly mixing the coffee and putting a lid on it.
Amity giggles at how Luz puffs up, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath like she's about to dive into iced water.
Luz grips tightly on the cup, and takes a huge slurp. Her eyes widen at the sweetness of the drink.
Amity crosses her arm and leans on the counter. She frowns as Luz doesn’t say anything, just seems to move the drink around in her mouth.
Amity gives her a look, expecting her to stick out her tongue or pucker her lips or run towards the bathroom.
"Hey, are you ok?" She’s reaching across the counter. Luz shakes her head and swallows the mouthful.
"This is the best coffee I've ever had, I could kiss you!” Luz smiles brightly, and god this isn’t going the way Amity hoped it would. She doesn’t think she’s ever met anyone who likes her quasi-energy drin-
Wait.
"I... Wha-...", Amity said.
They stare at each other. Luz's eyes flick up to the barista's. Up from Amity’s-
“Sorry!” Luz yelps, “I- I didn't mean to say that!" Luz says hurriedly. She snatches a handful of bills from her pocket, drops it on the counter, and bolts. A parent pulls his kid out of her way. But the lunch crowd is here now, so Amity just watches as Luz pathetically sidesteps and squirms her way through the tide of newcomers.
"You paid too much!!" Amity suddenly remembers to shout after her, but it’s lost as the glass door shuts on Luz.
She’s really tall, Amity realizes as Luz’s form shrinks in the distance. Taller than her. Amity would have to crane her head back to-
“K- kiss?!” she squeals, and feels her ears transform, spring outwards with fluffy hair. She covers them with her hair quickly before anyone notices. Werewolves don’t just grow their hair long for fashion.
Skara, smooth as a newborn’s skin, calls the new kid to take the counter as Amity quickly power walks to the back, hoping she looks like she’s running low on beans.
Skara follows her in as Amity opens her bag for some water.
“Do you need to sit down?” She eyes Amity closely, “Yeah good, have some wat-holy shit!”
“Are you transforming?” Skara says, pulling Amity’s hair away from her ears, exposing them, “But it's not a full moon, or even night!”
“Ohmigosh, I'm calling your mom...” Skara panics; she rushes for her phone.
“What!? No, I’m ok-” says Amity a little too quickly. “Please don’t call my mom!”
Skara hesitantly pockets the phone away, “You sure? Look I get it, but at least your dad, he won’t-”
“Just give me like ten, I’ll be out,” Amity interrupts, and attempts to smile.
“Twenty, and I’m getting you cookies and some hot coco,” Skara says, ruffling Amity’s hair and walking out to help the poor new kid.
The cookies help the most, they’re warm and gooey, and the heat sits comfortably in her mouth. The smell of them is slow and warm, languid like honey down a spoon, and her hearing dulls.
She drinks the hot chocolate, breathes in and out until she can move to a sense of clarity. She pulls her ears back into her hair, transforming them back to human.
Skara keeps an eye on her, and Amity works to not snap at her for it. She’s tired and she wants to sleep. She can’t stop thinking about all the months ahead and it makes her mood worse.
The new kid leaves quickly at the end of their shift, and she vows to try and be nicer next time. He is nice, she supposes.
She pulls her hair band free, and runs her fingers through her hair. She wants to run tonight. Amity sighs, and makes her special energy drink again as Skara watches from the side.