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"Shh be quiet, I think she's waking up-" "I don't think that matters-" "Just shut up!"
"Hey… you alright?" "Luz, Luz?"
She groaned, shifting in her bed and blinking a few times to adjust to the light. Why was it so damn bright? She rubbed her eyes, her head pounding loudly and her body feeling like it had been carelessly tossed into a brick wall.
"Can you hear us?"
She grimaced, shutting her eyes and turning to the other side. "Solo cinco minutos mas mama," she mumbled, waving her hand in a gesture to make her go away. Wasn't it Sunday? She could sleep a little bit longer. Maybe then, the pain would go away.
"...what?"
Luz knit her eyebrows, her mom didn't sound like that. She whipped her head up in realization, looking around and finding that she was in fact not in her bed, in her room, at her house.
There were four people standing in front of her, glancing at each other then back at her with a concerned expression etched on their face.
The girl with pigtails stepped forward, reaching out and making Luz flinch back. She pulled away, glancing back at the others in worry.
"Do you… remember who I am?" She asked hesitantly.
She looked to be about her age, but Luz had never seen her at school or anywhere else for that matter. Was Ava pranking her again? But this girl looked so kind…
"No sorry, I don't think I've met you before…" she chuckled, awkwardly scratching her neck to look around the room again.
She was on a red couch (which was very uncomfortable) and it looked alot like a living room but extremely messy with random things up against the wall or scattered on the floor. Had she been kidnapped or something? they didn't look like the kind of people who did such a thing, except, maybe that old lady…
"Where am I?"
She didn't notice how the purple haired girl sucked in a breath, whispering to herself. "She doesn't remember us..."
"I don't know what Belos did but this isn't good." the short boy mused, seeming lost in thought. The older woman nodded slowly, drinking something from a mug.
"I have to agree, if he has taken Luz's memories we have no idea what happened."
"What about that she doesn't remember us?! What if this is permanent." The purple haired girl shot back, gripping harder around some sort of staff she was holding.
"Relax kid, we'll figure something out."
"Everyone be quiet, you're scaring her." The pigtailed girl snapped. She turned back to Luz, her expression instantly softening as she spoke to her. "What can you remember?"
"I don't know…" Luz knit her eyebrows in thought. Had she really lost her memory. No, she couldn't- "I was just- how could that even be possible?" she said it more to herself than the others.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"That's easy, I was at… school and I, uhm, had a test… probably, and-" she groaned again, sharp pain shooting through her entire body. She pressed her arms tightly around her stomach.
"Luz!"
Someone ran up to her, laying a hand on her knee. Luz looked up only to find yellow eyes staring back at her. Wow…
"Are you alright?! Are you hurt?" the girl patted her down. Placing a hand on her cheek just to turn it around to see if she got any visible wounds she hadn't noticed yet. Luz just stared back, paralyzed.
"Uhm," she felt her cheeks growing hot and she looked away. Her hands were soft, Luz noted. She felt herself shiver at the thought. Her heart was pounding even faster than before and she knew it wasn't from the pain.
"Amity."
"Yes!" she yelled back, turning to look at the lady behind them who seemed to have a hard time keeping a straight face. Then realization dawned on her and she instantly pulled back, her own face growing hot. "Oh. Sorry…"
Luz scratched her chin, "It's alright, don't worry. You're really pretty anyway..." She shot her head up, her eyes growing wide as she realized she said that last part out loud.
The woman couldn't seem to hold it any longer and burst out laughing, patting Amity on the back and mumbling something incoherent. Amity's face grew even redder and she smiled back shyly. Even the girl with the pigtails looked at Amity with a knowing grin. Yup. They're crazy, Luz thought, growing even more confused than before.
"You're in luck kid, that's your girlfriend." The lady smiled, showing off a golden tooth.
Oh.
Oh, someone was definitely pranking her.
"Did Ava set you up for this?" the tingling sensation she had felt just moments before died down as she grew even more anxious. This was by far the worst joke she had pulled on her. How had she even managed to do something like this?? She didn't know where she was, who these people were (and why did they have fake ears, was it another thing to make fun of her? She knew she should have hidden the Azura books.) And why did her body hurt- she felt tears prickle at her eyes and she looked away in an attempt to hide it.
"Hey Luz, look at me." Amity was careful not to touch her again, even when that was all she wanted to do, hug her, do something to wipe that pained expression away. Luz's jaw was set tight, she didn't look up. Amity started talking anyway.
"I can assure you, this is not a joke, we don't even know who Ava is…" She shewed on her lip. It pained her how that was the conclusion she drew from all of this. How could someone even be so cruel. "You have lost your memories. I promise you, we all here care about you, we would never do something like that. Luz..."
she wanted to say so much more. That they all saw her as family. That she was the most amazing, incredible, special person she has ever met. That she changed hers and so many other's lives for the better. She wanted to show her the truth.
But right now the truth would probably not reach her. As much as it hurt her, she knew Luz wouldn't believe them. So she tried to show it in the way she talked. In the way she leaned her entire body towards her because she wanted to reach out and comfort her as soon as she gave any sign that she wanted it.
Luz looked up, sniffling and wiping away tears with the palm of her hand. "This is not a prank Luz." Amity repeated.
She kept saying her name like it was the most precious thing in the world. It sounded nice when she said it. Luz let herself look at her. Look at the way her yellow eyes sparked slightly as she saw her smile. How her expression looked soft and worried and protective all at the same time.
"Okay." She breathed out, letting herself relax slightly. Maybe this wasn't Avas doing. For the way that girl was looking at her, she hoped that was true.