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“Do you guys have any dirty laundry?” Hunter’s voice asked from the door.
Amity started, looking over her shoulder to see him poking his head into the bedroom. “Oh, um, yeah, one second.” She picked up a discarded pair of socks Willow had left on the floor--Amity was quickly learning the living habits of her friends, and she wasn’t sure she liked it--and tossed them into the hamper. She picked it up and headed toward the door.
“Hold on!” Luz hopped off her bed and grabbed Willow’s crumpled yellow cardigan vest from her makeshift bed, tossing it into the hamper.
Amity shook her head in disappointment. They were guests in someone’s house, and Willow wouldn’t even pick up after herself. Amity’s mother would never stand for it.
Well, she’s not here, Amity told herself, carrying the hamper over to the door. She didn't need her mother to keep her clean.
She presented the hamper to Hunter. “Here it is.”
“Thanks.” Hunter took it.
Amity backed away. “Yeah, sure.” She gave him a half hearted smile before turning away.
The door closed and his footsteps retreated.
“Are things still awkward between you two?” Luz asked, frowning at her.
Was it that obvious? “Um, kind of. But it’s fine.”
Luz’s discerning gaze bore into her. It was kind of cute, if difficult to hide anything from. “Because of the whole Eclipse Lake thing?”
“I guess.” To be honest, if she thought about it, Amity wasn’t sure why they were so awkward around each other. He didn’t seem mad, just… bothered by her. Which was fair. It wasn’t like she wanted to push him.
“Are you mad about it?”
Amity frowned. “What? No.” Had she seemed mad?
“It’s okay if you are! He did attack you.” Luz leaned forward, attentive to Amity’s every reaction. It was sweet, but also a little nerve wracking; Amity didn’t want to seem like she was lying.
“I mean, I was kind of mad at the time,” she admitted. “But…” I failed him. “He apologised. It’s fine, really. I just don’t think he likes me.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.” Probably because she’d failed to help him. “He avoids me, and he doesn’t really talk to me unless he has to.”
Luz tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Are you sure he doesn’t think you’re mad at him?”
She frowned. “No, I-”
Well, actually… that could made sense. If he thought she was mad at her, he would probably avoid her. She wasn’t always great at seeming approachable…
Amity sat down on the edge of Willow’s bed. “What would he think I was mad about? Eclipse Lake? I already said it was fine.”
Luz shrugged. “Maybe he’s not sure you’re really over it. Which you don’t have to be! It was kind of a big deal.”
Amity started to straighten Willow’s covers, lining up the corners. “No, it wasn’t. And I already told him that.”
Luz leaned back on her hands. “When?”
“After he showed up at Hexside.” She tucked the covers under the mattress. “He apologised, and I said it was fine.”
“Hm… Is that all you said?”
“Well, yeah, but- What more is there to say?” A creeping feeling that she’d done something wrong worked its way into her stomach. Had she made him feel worse somehow? Did she not communicate well enough? Was he upset because she hadn’t apologised yet?
Her girlfriend just shrugged. “I dunno. You could always talk to him about it.”
Amity leaned forward to grab Willow’s pillow--which was lying on the middle of the bed for some Titan-forsaken reason--and began to fluff it. “I don’t think he wants me to.”
“You don’t know he doesn’t want you to,” Luz pressed.
Amity frowned at her. “Why are you invested, batata?”
“I just don't like seeing two of my favourite people not get along.” Amity blushed, looking down at the pillow to hopefully hide it. “But it’s okay if you aren’t comfortable. It’s not a big deal.”
She hadn’t really thought about how her and Hunter’s whole… thing would affect their friends. Were Gus and Willow bothered, too? Had Camila or Vee noticed? Did they all have to walk on griffin egg shells to keep them from making everything awkward?
Classic Blight.
She kept fluffing the pillow, even as she made it more lumpy. Talking to him couldn’t hurt. Besides, maybe it was all a silly misunderstanding. Or he hated her. Like Luz had said, there was only one way to find out.
“I’ll talk to him,” she said softly, putting Willow’s now more lumpy pillow in its proper place at the head of her bed.
“Really? You don’t have to. I know I kind of made it sound important, but-”
“No, I think it’ll be easier if I just do it.” Amity folded Willow’s covers properly and stood. She glanced at the door to make sure they were alone before leaning over Luz’s bed to peck her girlfriend on the cheek.
“Awwwww, Amity!” Luz hugged her around the neck.
Amity’s face probably glowed red like a tomato as she hugged her girlfriend back.
Amity thought about talking to Hunter after lunch, but Willow wanted to show him and Gus the little garden she and Vee had been working on out back. When they came back in, Amity and Luz were busy talking about Good Witch Azura theories, and after that Camila came back and they all had dinner.
It would be too weird to pull him aside after dinner, she told herself. He, Luz, and Willow ended up playing a human game in the living room, leaving Amity hovering awkward in the doorway.
She and Hunter accidentally made eye contact, and she quickly looked away.
Ugh, why was this so hard?
Hunter noticeably ducked his head, causing Luz to turn around to see what he had been looking at. “Do you wanna play, Amity?” she asked. “This round’s almost over.”
“Oh, uh, no, I actually need to help Camila with something. Um, see ya!” Amity hurried out of the room.
“Have fun!” Willow called, before slamming down a card in the middle and shouting a word Amity didn’t understand.
Amity paced around the kitchen for a minute before giving up and sitting at the table, resting her head in her arms. This was stupid. She’d gotten too far into her own head. And now she’d lied to her friends! What if they found out? What was she supposed to say? “Oh, sorry I lied to you, best friend and girlfriend, I was just scared of talking to Hunter, who is also your friend. My bad!”
What was the worst he could do? Tell her he hated her and never wanted to talk to her again? What would she care? It wasn’t like he owed her anything.
Footsteps entered the room and her head shot up.
She and Hunter found themselves staring at each other, like they’d both been caught doing something they shouldn’t.
“Um, sorry,” he said finally. “Luz asked me to get her some water.”
“Oh. Right.” She stared at the table.
He walked over to the sink, Flapjack following behind him, and started washing something, presumably a cup.
Of course Luz had to send him. Or, wait, was that intentional? Was she trying to get them to talk? Had she noticed Amity was trying to work up the courage and wanted to help?
Oh, who was she kidding, Luz definitely noticed. Her girlfriend was smart and Amity wasn’t exactly subtle. Also, Luz couldn't leave an awkward situation alone if she tried. That was how she and Willow had finally made up, after all.
Hunter filled a cup in the sink and started back toward the living room.
“Wait!” The words left her mouth without permission.
He froze.
Amity gripped the hem of her shirt under the table. “Um, can we talk for a second?”
He slowly turned around to face her, as her face slowly heated up. “Uh, sure, but…” He pointed to the cup.
She blushed. “Right. After that.”
“Okay.” He nodded slowly, then hurried out of the room.
Amity buried her face in her hands, heat radiating off of it. Titan, she was useless at this. Since when did Amity Blight crack under the pressure of having a conversation?
She hadn’t realised how little they’d talked since Eclipse Lake. Pretty much all their conversations had been situational, and rarely just the two them. She didn’t actually know much about him, and everything she did know had been something he’d told someone else in her presence. She had no idea how he would react. Maybe she should’ve asked Gus for advice…
“Thanks Hunter, have fuuuuun~” Luz called from the living room.
Yeah, she’d definitely planned this. Amity let out a sigh, of relief or annoyance she wasn’t sure, and propped her chin up in one hand.
Hunter reappeared in the doorway, Flapjack on his shoulder. “You wanted to speak with me?”
“Uh, yeah.”
He stepped closer, hovering by the table.
“You can sit down. If you want.”
“Okay.” He took a step toward her, hesitated, then walked over to the other side of the table.
Amity examined its surface, which had specks of dust and a few crumbs on it. She brushed them off.
Hunter sat down across from her, where Gus usually sat. He looked at her expectantly, fidgeting with his hands.
Okay, now start the conversation, Amity. Blights aren’t shy.
She took a breath, taking the opportunity to give the suspiciously Odalia-sounding voice a curt internal “shut up,” and looked up at him. “Um, remember when you apologised about Eclipse Lake? At Hexside?”
“...Yes.”
How should she go about this? Just come right out and say it?
“Was it not a good apology? I can give you a better one.”
Great, now she’d definitely made him feel worse. “No! No, I just… I never apologised to you.”
He blinked. “What?”
She tugged at the hem of the shirt she was borrowing from Luz. “I never apologised for the whole… not helping you. Thing. That happened. At Eclipse Lake.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand. You didn’t do anything. I- I stole the key, and I gave it to Him, and-”
“But I didn’t help you! I basically ignored you until we got to the actual lake, and then when I finally tried to do something I failed epically.”
He stared at her, expression unreadable. “You didn’t. You told me I didn’t have to obey Him and I didn’t listen.” The guilt and pain in his voice caught her off guard. Flapjack nuzzled his cheek, but he turned away.
“That’s not your fault,” she assured him. “I didn’t get through to you. I should’ve done more to help instead of ignoring you from the start. It was petty-”
“I was helping the Emperor! You didn’t have to talk to me at all. You should’ve just tied me up and left me outside. It would’ve been a lot less trouble.” Flapjack fluttered down to the table, looking up at him.
Amity frowned. “No, I was being silly and getting angry over nothing. I was upset you were saying what I was thinking and I took it out on you, and if I hadn’t maybe I could’ve actually helped.”
He shook his head. “You gave me a way out, and I just attacked you-”
“I could’ve done more to get through to you-”
“I gave Him the key-”
“You didn’t know-!”
“I wouldn’t have listened-!”
A response stuck in her throat as Amity realised she was raising her voice. She froze; oh Titan, she’d practically yelled at him. Way to talk it out!
Hunter just stared at her with a wide-eyed expression she was sure she shared.
They both sat frozen, neither of them daring to move or breaking eye contact.
“So…” she managed finally. “You’re not mad at me?”
“No!” He hesitated. “You’re not mad at me?”
“No.”
Amity rubbed her hem between her fingers. “I wish I’d helped you.”
He shook is head. “I would never have listened to you. I just cared about getting the key… I was an idiot.”
“No, no, I get it. You had an entire Coven you didn’t want to let down.” Hunter just stared at his hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier. I thought you were avoiding me.”
He rubbed his thumbs together as Flapjack hopped back on his shoulder. “I was… I thought you would still be mad.”
“Oh. I said it was fine, at Hexside.”
“Yeah, but… It’s not fine.”
“It is fine. I get it, really. You were just doing your best.”
He finally looked up. “You were doing yours.”
She pursed her lips. I guess that’s true.
So the whole thing was just a misunderstanding. They were both more upset at themselves than each other.
She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Hunter stared at her. “Did- Did I do something?”
“No. No, it’s just-” She snickered. “This entire time we’ve been avoiding each other for no reason. It’s kinda funny.”
“Oh. I guess.” He managed a small smile of his own.
She let out a sigh. “No hard feelings, for sure this time?”
“‘Hard feelings’?” His brow furrowed. “Like… grief?”
She suppressed a snicker so hard she nearly snorted. “No, it means we’re not mad at each other.”
“Oh. Then, yes. No hard feelings.”
“Then…” Nerves coiled in her stomach, but she kept going, “do you think we can be friends?”
He sat in silence for a moment, just long enough for her stomach to lurch.
“Okay.”
She let out a quick sigh of relief, then held out a hand. “Shake on it.”
He frowned at her but took her hand.
Amity shook it firmly. “From now on, Amity Blight and Hunter- um, do you have a last-”
“No.”
“Oh. Okay.” Two seconds of friendship and she’d already annoyed him. Great. “From now on, Amity and Hunter will officially be friends.”
They both let go, and Hunter nodded seriously, like he’d just been handed a huge responsibility.
Amity rested her chin back on her hand. Flapjack chirped something at Hunter, who gave him a playfully annoyed look. He seemed a lot more relaxed now. She almost couldn’t recognise him as the Golden Guard at Eclipse Lake. Just like Lilith, leaving the Coven had made him seem so much happier. And of course, he had her wonderful friends now.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said.
Hunter laughed nervously. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“After you ran away from the Coven, I mean. That… couldn’t have been easy.”
Something deep and painful filled his eyes for a moment. “Oh. Thanks. I’m glad you’re okay, after we got stuck here- Or, uh, are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She leaned back in her chair. “Yeah, I’m doing okay. I hope we can get back soon, but…” A lump formed in her throat at the thought of her family, so she pushed the thought away. “How do you feel about us being stuck here? I- I mean, leaving so much behind, twice, can’t be easy…” She trailed off. Was that too personal? They’d only officially become friends ten seconds ago.
“Oh, pffffft, yeah, it's totally fine.” He waved a hand. “If anything I’m used to it now, so!”
“...Ah.” What was she supposed to say to that?
Flapjack chirped concernedly. “You didn’t get in trouble after Eclipse Lake, did you?” Hunter asked, frowning. “I mean, the Owl Lady and Luz weren’t… mad?”
“Oh, no, I was just being paranoid. Everyone was really nice, actually.” Titan, she hadn’t thought about that in a while. She’d really thought Luz would break up with her over a key… How silly.
Then Amity sat up; she’d never actually asked what had happened to him afterward. “No one was mad at you, right? I mean, you got the key.”
He stared at his hands for a long moment. “It was broken.”
Ohhhhh… She hadn’t even thought about that. All the Titan blood they’d gotten, he hadn’t.
He glanced up at her. “I mean, I deserved it!” He held up his hands. “I was working for the Emperor, and-”
“Still.” Amity pursed her lips. How could she have never even thought about it before? “I’m sorry. I was too happy I still had some Titan blood on my glove to think about what that meant for you."
Hunter waved a hand. “It’s fiiiiine. It just meant Belos didn’t get all the blood!”
“Yeah…” She kind of wanted to know how everyone in the Coven had reacted, but judging by his stiff shoulders and refusal to meet her eyes he didn’t want to talk about it. At least, not to her. They had only just become friends, after all.
“I’m glad you got out of the Coven,” she said. “You seem happier now.”
“Thanks…” He stared at his hands for a long moment before adding a quiet, “I am.”
The sound of Willow cheering and Luz groaning came from the living room.
“You can go back to your game,” Amity said. “Sorry for keeping you so long.”
“Oh, right.” He stood up. “Didn’t you need to help Luz’s mom with something?”
“Ummmmm… Not really? I kind of panicked and lied because I didn’t know how to approach you.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
She tilted her head. “Sorry for what?”
He hesitated. “Being hard to talk to…?”
Amity laughed. “It wasn’t you, it was me.”
“Good thing Luz sent me in here, then.”
“Yeahhh, that was definitely on purpose. She knew I was trying to talk to you.”
“Oh.”
“She can’t mind her own business sometimes.”
Hunter cracked a small smile at that. “No, she can’t.” He took a few steps toward the door, then turned back to Amity. “Um… see you around? …Friend?”
She waved. “Sure thing, friend!”
He hurried out, and Amity watched him go, smiling to herself.