Chapter Text
Weeks dragged by and the remaining dregs of Winter fell away to spring. The air was warming and the trees outside were starting to bloom.
The trees and flowers weren't the only things blooming, especially if you asked the GSA members of Gravesfield High School.
For over a month now they had been watching. No one had been sure at first. A longing glance here, a lingering touch there.
Slowly, they had put it all together.
Ms.Blight and Ms.Noceda definitely had a thing for each other. Maybe the two teacher’s regular students might not have noticed it, but the GSA students spent more than enough time with their two sponsors outside of school and on Tuesday afternoons after class to notice the little things.
The way they sat much too close together when they ate lunch, knees brushing and exchanging furtive glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. The way they both became messes when they spent too long in close contact. Ms. Blight tripped over her words and Ms.Noceda tripped over herself.
Not to mention they seemed to always be doing things for each other. Bringing coffee or sweets or lunch.
It was the talk of most club meetings anytime the two sponsors were out of earshot.
Honestly, it was becoming very frustrating to watch.
Which was why Braxas had gathered his fellow students together in the quad on a warm, spring afternoon in late March.
"I've gathered you here to discuss the Ms.Blight/Noceda problem."
"Will one of them just make a move already? Ughhhhh," someone groaned.
"I think we need to do something or they never will," he announced, gravelly voice carrying out over the assembled students.
"We lock them in a closet and don't let them out till they kiss," Fletcher called, jumping up. A long silence and several concerned looks followed the idea. " Well, I'd love to hear if anyone else has any ideas!" He slumped back down and crossed his arms.
"Maybe something… less illegal?" Aaron suggested, leaning back on the bench.
"So arson is out? Ash waved her hand over her head.
"How would arson bring them together?" Andy turned around to face her.
"The warmth of the fire can act as a catalyst for them to realize their burning love for one another!"
"A grand plan…" Josh threw up a hand. "Burn the school down, they can huddle together for warmth when their homeless cause they lost their job,"
"See, easy!"
Several voices grew louder and louder, all trying to shout over each other and yelling ideas.
"Guys, guys, wait!" Braxas jumped up on a bench and silenced them. "I have a plan!" he declared. "We have to work from the inside."
"Like poison?" Mel asked.
Braxas sighed.
~ ~
Tuesday after the GSA meeting most of its members had already headed home for the day, save their president and one other.
"Are you sure about this?" Braxas asked and Levi nodded, hoisting the leg length snake up higher.
"Gwyn here is totally harmless," he assured, crouching down and setting the reptile at the mouth of the cracked open door to Ms.Blight's classroom. "Ms.Noceda loves snakes and knows Gwyn. This will be easy," he promised as the huge, hognose snake slithered inside. "Now run!" he hissed and they booked it down the hall to the empty science classroom where the snakes terrarium was.
They waited with bated breath and they didn't have to wait long before a scream echoed through the empty school halls.
They peeked around the corner, watching and listening as something crashed and then a door slammed open. They watched Ms.Noceda dash across the hall to Ms. Blight's room.
There was a commotion of yelling and noise before things settled and the two crept down the hall to peek into the room.
“It’s okay, Amity,” Luz assured, picking up the snake curled around her feet. “It’s just Gwyn, he must have escaped from Dr. Hermunculus' room,'' Luz tried to soothe the English teacher perched atop her desk, papers still fluttering to the ground like a blizzard has come through. “She’s totally harmless,” Luz assured her.
“Get it out!” Amity hissed, not budging from her spot.
“Okay, okay!"
The boys chose that moment to come around the corner as if they hadn't been there the whole time, watching.
"Ms. Blight, Ms. Noceda, we’re so sorry! We were cleaning out her terrarium and set her down for just a second.”
“It’s okay, guys. No harm done this time.” Luz smiled and Amity huffed defiantly from atop her desk. “I’m surprised at you though, Levi.” She frowned.
“It won’t happen again,” the junior promised, accepting the snake back.
Luz turned and offered a hand to Amity, who gave her a sour look before accepting it and letting Luz help her down off the desk.
“Thank you,” she mumbled and Luz smiled. “You certainly came running fast.
“I could never let a damsel in distress go on… distressing,” she finished lamely and Amity chuckled.
“My fearless champion huh?”
“I’ll be your fearless champion anytime.” Luz grinned, winking and totally oblivious to the red creeping up Amity’s neck.
The boys hurried out of the room, high-fiving as soon as they were clear of the door.
~ ~ ~
The lunch bell had just rung on Wednesday afternoon when they launched their second ploy.
“How do you know this is going to work?” Braxus looked around at the two honors literature students and art student.
“Well…. We don’t know that it’s going to work…,” Gia mumbled.
“The chances are higher than average,” Gavin assured him. “Ms. Blight goes out to get lunch every Wednesday afternoon from the cafe across the street and I’m reasonably sure this will work,” he insisted.
“And Ms. Noceda usually forgets her lunch,” Emeline drawled, looking exasperated over the rims of her glasses.
“If you guys say so…. Let’s do it!”
Gavin and Gia hurried into the English classroom just as Amity was packing up her bag for lunch.
“You two better hurry and head to lunch,” she called to them, looking up.
“We are, ma’am, we just left our bags.” Gavin motioned to the backpacks on opposite sides of the room and Amity nodded. The two teens made eye contact before nodding.
“Do you think we should grab Ms.Noceda something from the canteen?” Gia called across the room, making Amity look up.
“Did she forget her lunch again?” Gavin sighed over theatrically. Maybe acting wasn’t his strong suit.
“Yeah, I think I have an extra couple of bucks…” Gia dug convincingly through her pockets.
“You two go on to lunch and let me worry about Ms. Noceda.” Amity called to them.
“Are you sure, Ms.Blight?”
“I’m sure, hurry up before the cafeteria gets full.”
They wasted no time grabbing their things and heading out, shooting each other smug glances as they did.
“Told you,” Gavin mumbled as they met the others in the hall and quickly moved away. Braxas couldn’t help but look over his shoulder as they did, in time to see Amity walk across the hall to Luz’s room.
“Hey.”
Luz looked up from the papers strewn about her desk and blinked. There was glitter in her hair and paint splashed across her hands and forearms.
It was much cuter than it had any right to be.
“Oh! Hey, what’s up?” She smiled, setting the colored pencils she had been working with aside.
“I was heading to lunch and wondered if you’d wanna-”
“Yes!” Luz jumped up before Amity could even finish the question. She froze, face turning red. “I mean… you can finish your question,” she mumbled and Amity had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
“Do you want to go get lunch?”
“Yes,” she said more calmly this time and Amity grinned at her knowingly and jerked her head toward the door. Luz pulled off her apron and hurried to follow her out.
“So, did you get that email about prom next month?” Amity asked as they walked down the hall, the majority of the crowd already having hightailed it to the cafeteria or off-campus.
“Oh, yeah, they're begging for people to chaperone.” She nodded, shoving her hands in her jeans pockets. She was never sure what to do with them when she was with Amity. “I was thinking about doing it,” Luz shrugged.
“Really?” Amity turned to her and she nodded.
“Yeah, it’s not like I have anything else to do on a Saturday night, and if they don’t have enough chaperones, they can’t have it. I didn’t get to go to mine, what’s a few hours so they can?” She looked over at Amity.
“You didn’t go?” she asked as they stepped out of the building. The early April sun was bright and warm as they walked across the yard.
“Naw, I was the class weirdo, no one asked me and there wasn’t anyone I wanted to take so I just skipped it. Spent the night working on pieces for my art portfolio. What about you?” She asked as they stopped at the crosswalk.
“I didn’t go either. After that debacle with the GSA in February and getting ostracized by the rugby team I just… kind of kept to myself. I didn’t go to prom and I probably wouldn’t have even walked at graduation if my mom hadn’t all but forced me,” she admitted, shouldering her bag a little higher.
The cafe across the street was mostly empty. It wasn’t a fan-favorite among the student so it didn’t take but a moment to order.
Luz dug around in her pockets for her wallet but before she could, Amity was already handing over her card.
“I can pay!” she yelped.
“I’m sure you can but I asked you. It’s my treat, don’t worry.” Amity waved a hand, smiling at her and Luz felt that all too familiar warmth of affection kick up in her chest.
That had become quite common as of late. She was becoming more and more sure by the day that she was in deep. Her little crush had become pure and unadulterated infatuation.
She had no idea what to do about it. Would it be weird now to suddenly ask her out after knowing each other for three months?
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly missed Amity waving her over to a table in the corner.
“Hopefully you won’t get stuck being the dreaded dress coder and having to decide if a girl's dress is too short or telling boys they can’t come in because tank tops are not formal wear.”
“So, I probably can’t just wear my otter onesie huh…?” Luz drummed her fingers on her chin thoughtfully and Amity shot her a look. “What? It’s soft and comfy and perfect for days where you just want to be a blob and stop existing. Usually on Sunday morning and or afternoons depending on your schedule.”
Amity snorted and Luz grinned at her.
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Amity smiled at her, and then their food was set down in front of them.
“Aw, I think it will be fun. Free food for one, and second, none of the teenage anxiety,” she said before taking a big bite of her sandwich, mustard painted her bottom lip.
“I suppose that’s true,” Amity admitted, picking up her southwest chicken wrap. “Maybe I should chaperone. I don’t have anything going on that night either,” she said before taking a bite.
Luz paused as an idea came screeching into her mind. She glanced up at Amity, trying to quickly make up her mind before this window of conversation closed. She probably wouldn’t find the courage to bring it back up again.
“Wanna be my prom date?” she suddenly blurted out. Amity stopped mid-bite to look up at her and Luz swallowed. Nowhere to go now but through. “I mean if we’re both going to chaperone anyway and neither of us went in school… I just think it’d be fun,” she trailed off as Amity looked at her with wide, amber eyes.
Amity had to finish chewing before she could say anything and it had to be the longest handful of seconds in Luz’s entire life before she finally set the wrap down.
“I’d love to, Luz.”
“Really?” She perked up and Amity nodded.
“Yeah, I think that sounds fun. Would make it a lot less boring, I’m sure.” She smiled in that way that always made Luz feel like her heart was about to come up her throat.
It was anxiety-inducing and wonderful all at the same time.
“Great, I’ll pick you up and everything. We’ll do the whole prom nine yards.” She grinned, sitting up straight. Already excitement was starting to swell up in her chest.
She was totally oblivious to how bright Amity’s face had turned, hidden behind her wrap.
They mostly ate the rest of their lunch in silence, trading anecdotes about crazy things that had happened in their classes that day.
Luz for sure thought she had it when she told the English teacher about the kid who had used their hoodie sleeves as brushes but Amity had just shook her head, looking nonplussed before sharing that a student had jumped up and given a loud, expletive-filled speech about the dangers of STD’s and trusting women.
“Oh.. my… god,” Luz looked at her with wide eyes and Amity just nodded tiredly. “This changes things for prom…,” she mumbled.
“It does?” Amity frowned.
“Yeah… should we get drinks after or before prom?” She asked with a grin and Amity barked a laugh.
“You have mustard on your mouth,” she retaliated.
They parted ways after lunch and Luz waved as Amity disappeared inside her classroom before stepping inside her own room and shut the door,
“Yes!” She pumped a fist. “I am so smooth!”
“Um…”
Luz jumped, turning around to face two of her honors art students sitting at a table working.
“Ah-h… Andrea… Kat… you two... keep working, good job.” She gave them a thumbs up and a strained smile before hurrying over to her desk to bury her flaming face in some work.