Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It was hot as Luz and her friends walked down Amity’s street towards her house. Eda had dropped them off at the gate in front of the neighborhood and Luz had felt bad about insisting they carry their bags the rest of the way, but moms and parties didn’t mix. She was just glad her friends seemed too enthralled to complain.

“Look how huge these houses are!” Gus gasped as they walked.

“I’ve always passed by this neighborhood, but I’ve never imagined I’d know anyone who lived here.” Willow said.

Luz had to admit that she too was impressed by these big mansions and the fact that someone from their class lived in one. She had no idea what kind of work Amity’s parents did, but it had to be pretty important by the looks of the huge front lawns.

Almost every house had a large privacy fence behind them, and Luz could hear splashing and kids yelling, almost as if every house had a pool too.

Up ahead, Luz could see a house with several cars outside, the full driveway spilling out so that some were parked way down the street.

“Is that Amity’s house?” Willow asked as Luz took out her phone to check the address.

“How many people are here?” Gus asked, wide-eyed. “Or… do her parents own all those cars?”

“Yep, that’s the place.” Luz squared her shoulders and walked up. Willow and Gus kept up.

Luz walked around a black truck taking up most of the street. From this close, Luz could hear the low thrum of music from inside. She froze as she stepped off the curb into the grass.

Amity was standing in the middle of the yard looking at her phone. Despite wearing her new clothes, Luz felt overdressed in comparison. Amity was wearing only a black bikini top and jean shorts. She looked up at them and grinned.

“Hey! There you guys are!” She shoved her phone into her shorts pockets. “Aw, I love your shirt!”

“Ah…” Luz wanted to thank her, as per a normal conversation. Actually, there were a lot of very normal things she could have said, had she found the ability to speak at all. This was suddenly super intimate. She was going to be sleeping in the same house as Amity tonight. A huge house, but still.

“Are all these cars yours!?” Gus asked, clutching his backpack straps.

“No!” Amity laughed. “Sorry-- my brother and sister invited their friends over since our parents are gone. Don’t worry, I told Ed and Em to keep out of our way. Come on, I’ll show you where you can drop your stuff.”

Luz was reminded she hadn’t said anything. She was nervous but refused to let that get to her too much. Over thinking was a surefire way to take all the fun out of tonight.

“I, uh, got this shirt at the mall.” Luz said as they walked through a tile-floored foyer past the living room and towards the stairs.

“Cool! I need to go summer shopping, but I’m not the best at knowing what looks good.” Amity said.

“I could help.” Luz knew she sounded eager. That was okay, she was eager. Amity smiled back.

“You’d tell me what looks good?”

“Consider me your personal stylist!” Luz said, turning towards Amity and daring to take her hands. “You’d make the perfect model.”

Amity looked surprised, pleasantly so with a smile on her face before laughing. Luz was just glad that Gus and Willow seemed preoccupied with peeking into the living room, admiring the giant television.

Though the open kitchen door, Luz could hear laughter and yelling as Edric and some older teens seemed to be raiding the fridge.

Amity led them up some carpeted stairs to the second floor. Luz admired some family photos on the wall, one of toddler-aged Edric and Emira posing with a baby that much have been Amity.

Amity’s room was huge, with soft rugs covering pink carpet. She had a huge window complete with bench seat that overlooked the backyard. There was an even bigger bed stacked with pillows.

“You guys can just drop your stuff on the floor.” Amity crossed the room and opened a door to a bathroom. “And if you need to change into your swimsuits.” She grabbed a towel off the back of the door.

Willow was wearing hers under her clothes, and Gus planned on just swimming in the shorts he was wearing. Only Luz had to actually change, though she did not regret wearing her cute party clothes, even if only for one compliment.

She tried not to waste too much time exploring the fancy private bathroom, though she did have to admit she was super jealous of the huge garden tub and vanity lights on the mirror.

“Ready!” Luz stepped out wearing her new swimsuit.

“Cute!” Willow said. Luz had shown her it when she packed, but this was her first time wearing it.

Luz dared glance to Amity for her reaction. Amity was draping her towel around her neck and slipping on a pair of sandals that were by the door. When she did glance over at Luz, it was with a shy smile and an echo of agreement at Willow’s opinion.

“Very.” She nodded.

The kitchen was empty when they passed through the back door. Luz was just thinking that they were lucky Edric and Emira’s friends were back upstairs, when they opened the backdoor and walked out to the pool.

A group of rowdy teens had taken over the deck. All of the pool chairs were pulled together and piled on with seniors. They were all laughing and shouting. Emira was nuzzled up with some shirtless guy who, by the look of the beard, was way too old to be in high school, and Edric was chasing a girl in a yellow dress around the deck.

Maybe a few months ago, Luz would have been striving for their attention, jealous even that they had their own friends, but now she was trying not to feel annoyed at their very presence.

Amity seemed to share Luz’s sentiment. She turned red in the face and stalked over to where the blaring music was coming from someone’s phone plugged into a speaker. She unplugged it and all of the teens looked over.

“HEY!” Amity growled at Emira, who was closest. “We’re using the pool, remember!?”

“Calm down, Mittens.” Emira leaned off the guy’s chest and crossed her arms. “We’re only gonna be out here for a second.”

“Yeah, we didn’t wanna smoke inside.” Edric gave them the same overly-charming grin that would have flustered Luz before.

Luz watched as Edric took what looked like a small cigarette from the bearded guy. Amity scoffed in disgust and turned away, crossing her arms as Edric took a lighter out of his pocket. As he inhaled before passing it to Emira, Luz realized with a shocked feeling that it was not just a cigarette.

She then realized it was not just soda that the older teens were passing around from a cooler. She recognized the label, after all, from the stash of stuff they served at the cafe bar.

“Sorry.” Amity muttered to Luz. “They’ll leave. Let’s just ignore them for now.”

Gus didn’t seem to mind and was already running to the pool. The older teens seemed uninterested in swimming, so they were not disturbed as they got in the water.

Amity sat down at the edge and put her legs in the water and Luz followed suit, sitting close enough so that their shoulders brushed. Amity smelled like sunscreen.

“Is it cold?” Willow asked.

“Nah!” Edric yelled over. “Jump in! What are you doing!? You gotta jump!”

“Shut up!” Amity snapped at him from over her shoulder as Willow stepped into the shallow end from the stairs.

“Aw, lighten up, Mittens!” Edric laughed. “You wanna beer?”

Luz had to admit that seeing Amity get so red-faced angry was sort of cute, but mostly she felt for her. It couldn’t be easy having siblings who invaded your space, in what seemed to be the one time Amity asked them to leave the backyard to her for the day.

But to Luz’s surprise, Amity didn’t get angrier. She just smirked as she if she’d just found a hidden ace up her sleeve.

“Sure.” She said. Luz gasped softly and the girl in yellow giggled at Edric’s shocked expression.

“You’re serious?” He asked flatly.

“Yep.” Amity smirked.

“And if I don’t give you one...you’re telling mom and dad about the beer?”

“And the weed.”

Luz watched in awe the way Amity did not back down, her and Edric’s gazes locked, his eyes narrowing as if he were somewhere between angry, impressed, and just trying to call her bluff.

Gus silently swam over, watching the exchange with rapt attention, his eyes and nose above the water reminding Luz of a crocodile.

Finally, Edric took a can of beer from the cooler and placed it down on the ground nearby. Amity’s gaze didn’t waver until he placed a second can beside it. The senior girl giggled loudly again and the rest of Edric’s friends seemed to be snickering.

“Come on.” Edric stood up and picked up the cooler. “Let’s go back upstairs before my baby sister cries.”

Luz turned to Amity as the older teens went back inside, hooting and laughing once more in their carefree way.

“That was impressive!” Luz said as Amity pulled her legs out of the water and went to fetch the cans and bring them over. “I always thought older siblings would be impossible to stand up against.”

“They’re really not so bad...most of the time.” Amity smiled and slipped her legs back into the water. “I honestly think they were just trying to show off.”

Amity opened one of the cans with a deafening crack. Luz watched out of the corner of her eye and caught Willow and Gus staring as well. Amity raised the can to her lips before looking up at them.

“What?” She seemed amused.

“You’re really going to drink that?” Willow’s voice sounded tinier than usual.

“Sure. It’s a party, isn’t it?” Amity smirked. Luz couldn’t help but think of  Amity still as the girl who studied and did homework over every meal. As if she knew what Luz was thinking, Amity shrugged. “I have a perfect four point five GPA… I think I deserve to have a little fun.”

“I have a perfect GPA too, but I’m gonna refrain.” Gus sank back under the water.

“Willow?” Amity looked over at her. “It’s okay to say no.”

“No.” Willow shook her head, blushing.

“Luz?” Amity looked at her and Luz felt her heart pound. “You really can say no.”

Luz knew Amity meant it. Somehow, this felt very unlike those situations they were told about in elementary school—that someone was going to offer you something like this and then force you to take it or risk getting bullied—this felt like a genuine choice.

“Okay.” Luz agreed.

Luz could feel Gus and Willow’s eyes on her as Amity smiled and took a drink of the can. Luz watched her face, noting the slight grimace as she then passed it to her.

Luz tried to image what Eda would say. She had once walked Luz through this exact situation a few weeks before she started high school.

Don’t you ever, ever, get into a car with someone who’s been drinking, and if I catch you drinking and driving, you’ll regret it! Eda had been firm, but thinking back, technically, she never told Luz not to drink at all.

It was safe, right? They weren’t going anywhere else, and it was like Amity had said, they deserved to have a little fun after the stress of this semester.

Luz thought only of how Amity’s lips had just been on the can as she closed her eyes and took a big gulp. It was disgusting, to say the least, tasting like the smell of the yeast they used to make bread at the Owl House.

“Yuck.” Luz, sticking her tongue out after swallowing.

“I know, right!?” Amity laughed.

Luz pushed off the ledge of the pool and into the water, unable to bite back a smile at the sudden influx of it all. This time last year, she was awkward and lonely, latching only onto Azura for comfort, and now she was at a party thrown by a cool girl that liked Azura too. Strange that this time last year, Luz hated that girl… and now…

Lydia arrived a few moments later with a couple of girls from the softball team that Luz had served a few times at the café. They jumped right into the water, their laughter drowned out by the music as Amity turned the speakers on the deck back on.

Cliff and Devon showed up then too, Cliff immediately challenging Gus to tons of challenges such as swimming the length of the pool underwater or chicken fights. Luz had to admit it was nice seeing Gus so happy. She’d never realized he might have been feeling lonely having girls for best friends for so long.

Amity tried to both host and stay by Luz’s side, which she greatly appreciated. They passed the can of beer back and forth, Luz enjoying the thrill of it, but also wanting to drown its gross taste in swigs of coke after every sip.

“Look out!” Cliff was running down the side of the pool. “It’s Jayson!”

“You’ll never defeat me, Moxis!” Gus chased him.

“Hey,” Amity opened the door to a shed that contained a lot of supplies for the pool. Among the strainers and chlorine, there were pool toys. “Here’s your staff!”

She passed out pool noodles and inflatables, laughing as the boys took to beating each other up with the pool noodles. Lydia stepped in to act as Willow’s protector, blocking their hits with a float.

“It’s so funny.” Amity muttered, stepping up beside Luz and taking the can Luz passed her. Luz was going to let her drain the last of it. “Boscha always said I was immature for keeping all those pool toys instead of throwing them out, but now I’m starting to realize why swimming with her was always so boring.”

“She didn’t even want to play with beach balls or anything? What did you ever see in her?” Luz hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but her usual filter seemed weaker—not that it was perfect before. She turned red, shooting Amity an apologetic look.

“You know, I don’t know!” Amity laughed, seemingly unfazed as she took the second can from where she’d hidden it under one of the pool chairs. She cracked it open, took a few heavy sips, and passed it to Luz.

Despite her fuzzy filter, Luz didn’t tell Amity she’d overheard her and Boscha’s phone call—well, half of it. But she was still so proud that Amity was firm in cutting her off, and wanted to say so.

 “You’re so much…different without her.” Luz managed to say, laughing when Amity did.

“Different?” Amity stepped closer to her.

“You know, how you used to be mean, and now you’re not.” Luz tried to explain, feeling the fuzziness in her brain and extra heat in her body rising to her skin.

“I’m not?” Amity suddenly stopped smiling, looking down at the ground as if in deep thought. “Good. I don’t ever wanna be like I was when I was with her. You’re different too, you know.”

“Me?” Luz took another sip of the second can, unable to mask how desperate she was for Amity to keep talking.

“Yeah, you’re not so shy.”

“Right, I’m definitely braver.” Luz agreed, feeling her heart pound.

“Brave enough to…chicken fight me?” Amity smirked, a wild look in her eyes.

“Yes!” Luz was louder than she meant to be. “You’re on!”

Amity grabbed Luz’s arm and pulled her into the water. Luz wondered if she was feeling the effects of the beer the way Luz was, but it felt somehow babyish to ask. Her own effects seemed limited to the fuzziness in her brain. She didn’t think she was actually drunk yet, and she was as close to it as she wanted to be.

Cliff and Devon agreed to fight with Luz and Amity. Devon offered Luz his shoulders and Luz was grateful, as he was taller. Amity got on Cliff’s shoulders and they faced off, Gus cheering them on and one of the other girls offering to fight whoever won.

“I haven’t done this in a long time!” Amity laughed loudly, pushing against Luz’s shoulders.

“Me neither.” Luz admitted. After all, she only ever went swimming at the community pool with Gus and Willow, and you couldn’t chicken fight with only three people.

“You’re going down…” Amity pushed her again, and Luz was honestly surprised she didn’t fall over.

“I am…not…” Luz pushed back, feeling Amity’s bare shoulders under her palms. “I will defeat you...Azura!”

“You should be Azura…” Amity grunted in return, biting back laughter.

“Why?” Luz asked, knowing the answer.

Amity didn’t have to answer. Luz imagined what she was thinking as they locked eyes. She really did know—in that moment, Luz was sure. Luz completely forgot their fight, letting her grip slacken in surprise as Amity pushed back with all her strength.

“Ahh—“

Luz fell back off of Devon’s shoulders into the water. She seemed to come to then, swimming back to the surface and watching as Amity and Cliff cheered.

“Aw, you almost had her.” Devon tried to cheer Luz up.

“Oh, me next!” the other girl swam towards Devon. “When I win, I can be Azura!”

“Okay, you’re on Gwen!” Amity said. “But you can’t be Azura. Only Luz is Azura. You can be Martina.”

“Okay.” Gwen didn’t seem to mind being reduced to a minor character.

Luz pulled herself up to the edge of the pool and watched her and Amity, that exciting buzz now increased. Amity had an excellent poker face now, but for that split second, Luz was even more convinced that she knew the truth.

“Are you okay?” Willow sat beside Luz.

“Yeah.” Luz said honestly. “Why?”

“I thought you’d be sick from drinking beer!”

“No, I feel good! Besides, we split two cans, so technically I only had about one.” Luz watched Amity get knocked off of Cliff’s shoulders. “I’m going to tell Amity tonight.”

“You are?” Willow gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Besides, I think she already knows.” Luz kicked her feet in the water. “And even if she doesn’t, I want her to know. I know everyone else is a genuine fan—it’s still weird sometimes hearing them talk about my characters—but Amity’s was the first real one! And she’s my friend.”

“Good. I’m glad you’ll tell her.” Willow poked Luz’s shoulder. “You deserve another person to be able to tell you how talented you are!”

“Willow!” Lydia called over. “Come fight me!”

“Uh, I’m not so good at—“ Willow started, but Luz gave her a push.

“Go!” She then lowered her voice. “You deserve someone too, you know.”

Chicken fights lasted as the sun went down. As the two strongest guys, Cliff and Devon were forced to hold everyone else up, and Luz wondered if their shoulders would hurt tomorrow.

Luz swam laps around the pool’s edge on her back, watching the budding stars swirling in the pink of setting sun. That feeling of fuzziness faded farther and farther away the darker it got. She stuck to soda after that, letting her sobering mind whirl with many thoughts.

“Where’s Amity?” It was dark now. Luz pulled herself out of the water and grabbed a random towel off a chair.

As if on cue, the backdoor opened and Amity stepped out onto the deck and turned off the music. “Who wants pizza!?”

There was much shouting and laughing as everyone climbed out of the pool and ran towards the delivery boxes Amity set out. With two slices in her stomach, Luz no longer felt fuzzy, though still brave.

“If I’m Azura, then who are you?” Luz asked Amity, sitting beside her on the ground.

“Hmm.” Amity seemed to think for a long moment, sipping her sprite and picking the black olives off her pizza slice. “I don’t know. Who do you think I am?”

“Maren.” Luz whispered, blushing.

“Who’s Maren? I don’t remember them.”

“She hasn’t show up yet.” Luz was shaking, her heart pounding. “But she’s really cool. You’ll love her.”

“I believe you.” Amity looked at her, smiling softly. “But I think I want to be the Palisman.”

“Really?” Luz pictured the white dove. “Why?”

“Because she’s always by Azura’s side.” Amity said. “And if I was a bird, then I could fly…and who doesn’t want that?”

Luz laughed and so did Amity, resting her hand on top of Luz’s. After everyone finished eating, it was completely dark. The boys insisted on doing a final few cannonballs by porch light as Amity went in to set up the den where they’d watch a movie.

After coming back out and instructing everyone to dry off carefully before going inside, Amity grabbed a trash bag and started collecting paper plates and soda cans that were left out.

“Need a hand?” Luz offered.

It was a quiet night, the sounds of tv and voices muffled from inside—outside, there was only the gentle sounds of crickets and frogs.

“For a first time party host, I think you did a pretty good job.” Luz held the bag open as Amity dropped trash in.

“I’m actually surprised no one got too crazy or broke anything. That usually happens when Edric and Emira have friends over.”

Luz didn’t point out that they were the only two to drink, thus lessoning the chance significantly that someone would go crazy. Apparently, they were both responsible party goers. Luz was glad she knew that about herself, at least.

The words she wanted to say still stuck in her throat, as it seemed her liquid courage had officially worn off. Every hint they’d passed back and forth should have led to this moment—some fantastic confession of something worthwhile, but Luz was only silent as Amity took the bag from her and tied closed.

“I actually forgot pajamas.” Luz looked up at her. “Do you have anything I can change into?”

Amity led Luz inside towards the stairs. Passing the den, Luz could hear everyone else changing through the channels on the tv. Upstairs, Luz could hear even louder chatter and music from one of the twins’ bedroom.

Back in Amity’s room, Luz stepped over piles of everyone else’s stuff—heavily strewn around from everyone who’d come up to change into pajamas.

“Here,” Amity handed Luz a folded stack of clothes from a dresser drawer. “Be careful. It’s custom made.”

Luz looked down at where their hands touched over the fabric of the Azura t-shirt—Luz’s water-wrinkled fingers and Amity’s sleek black nails. When she looked up, Amity was smiling. But Luz’s words were still cowered down in her throat.

“Got it!”

In the bathroom, Luz pulled her backpack close and changed out of her swim suit. It was dry now, and wound up waded in the bottom of her bag. She pulled on underwear, Amity’s shorts, and the soft custom t-shirt.

Her hair was a mess, but that didn’t matter much. The entire point of keeping short hair was that it wouldn’t take much work to comb it.

“Hey, are you done changing?” Amity knocked on the door.

“Y-Yeah.”

The door opened and Amity poked her head in. Luz could see she had changed into shorts and a t-shirt. She stepped up to the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. Luz reached into her bag and grabbed hers too.

“How much you wanna bet no one else brushed their teeth?” Amity asked jokingly.

“Judging by how no one seemed to have a problem trashing your room…everyone.” Luz said and Amity laughed.

They brushed their teeth in silence, Luz both wanting to and fearing, catching Amity’s eye in the mirror. After rinsing, Amity grabbed a packet of makeup wiped from a drawer and gently scrubbed her eyes. Luz had never seen Amity without perfect eyeliner before.

“How do you paint your right nails so neat?” Luz asked. “I always get polish on my skin and stuff…does your sister do yours?”

“Actually, I’m ambidextrous.” Amity smirked.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any cooler.” Luz blushed and Amity laughed, color on her own cheeks.

“I could do yours sometime, if you want.” Amity said. “You know, since you’re going to help me with shopping.”

“Y-Yeah.” Luz nodded. “I—“ There was the muted sound of the doorbell ringing from downstairs. “Huh? Who’s that?”

“I don’t know.” Amity glanced at the floor. “Everyone’s here…it must be one of my brother and sister’s friends.”

As the doorbell rang again, Luz heard of the twins’ bedroom door open and someone go downstairs. There was then the sound of someone hammering on the door.

“Amity? Are you in there?” Lydia peered into the room as Luz and Amity came out of the bathroom. “Um…someone’s downstairs.”

“Someone for me?” Amity knitted her brows in confusion.

“Yeah, it’s…” Lydia looked at the floor, and Luz was suddenly overcome with a deep sinking feeling of horror.

“It’s Boscha.” Luz said firmly and Lydia nodded.

“Yeah, Edric let her inside.” Lydia muttered.

“Shit.” Amity sighed and stormed towards the door.

Luz followed. Every regret flowered through her body. Why hadn’t she just told Amity hours ago how she felt, or about Azura? Why had she waited so long. It was too late now that someone was crashing the party.

“Well, well, well…” Boscha was standing in the living room, scowling at them as they came down the stairs. “How’s tennis practice going?”

“What is she doing here?” Amity addressed Edric instead. “She was not invited.”

“I didn’t know.” Edric looked annoyed that he was somehow trapped in sudden freshman drama. Luz had to admit he must have been confused. Boscha was probably over all the time before and he had no way of knowing it was suddenly different.

Luz moved to the side, letting Edric pass her and go upstairs. She envied him in that moment, wishing she could remove herself from this.

“Well I should have told her, I suppose.” Amity stepped off the last step and looked at Boscha for the first time. “You’re not invited.”

“Yeah, no shit!” Boscha snapped. “How do you think it makes me feel—seeing all those cars outside and knowing you were having a party without me!? How could you do that!?”

“It was easy.” Amity’s voice stayed level, though Luz’s heart pounded. “I just only invited people I actually like.”

“Oh, like her!?” Boscha locked eyes with Luz over Amity’s shoulder. Luz felt frozen in her scowling gaze, but quickly overcame it. She’d never been scared of her before. She wasn’t going to leave Amity alone in this.

“What part of you are not welcome here don’t you get?” Luz stepped down to stand beside Amity.

“Who’s here?”

“Shh—“

From the corner of her eye, Luz could see Willow and Gus peering in from the living room door, and everyone else’s hushed whispered as they observed. Boscha looked aghast as Lydia walked past Luz to join Willow.

“Lydia?” Boscha looked surprised. “Oh, you really came to hang out with a bunch of losers!?”

“I don’t see any losers here.” Lydia said. “Except someone who wasn’t invited.”

“Oh—“ Boscha growled, her face growing redder and redder.

Luz tried to imagine how it must feel—if she really had been innocently passing by her besties’ house only to find out about a party she wasn’t invited too. Despite the knowing sting, Luz could muster up no empathy.

“Guys, please go back to the movie, I’ll take care of this.” Amity nodded at everyone else. No one moved. Luz hadn’t expected them to.

“You bitch! You think you can just start hanging out with losers after everything I did for you!?” Boscha screamed. Luz was impressed that Amity didn’t flinch.

“Careful, Boscha. This is going to be all over school Monday.” Amity said. “Don’t say something you’ll regret—like you’re jealous of the same losers you claim to hate. It’s not their fault they have no friends, isn’t that what you said? Well, it turns out they’re better friends than you.”

“Jealous!?” Boscha screamed louder and Luz tried to mimic Amity’s cool gaze. “Yeah, right!”

“You seemed pretty jealous when Amity stopped hanging out with you before.” Luz suddenly found her voice. “That’s why you followed her to our club, right?”

Amity flashed Luz a pleased look—a silent agreement—but Boscha was not silent.

“Oh, fuck you and your stupid club! I was only trying to see what was so special about that stupid comic—“

“The comic you said was professional level.” Amity added, her voice still calm. Luz bit back laughter.

“You wanted to be club president.” Luz reminded her.

“You—“  Boscha turned to Luz, determined to break her. Luz was desperate to keep up her impassive demeanor. Not to laugh or flinch, but it was hard with Boscha going directly at her, her reddening face inches from Luz’s. “What if I did, huh!? You think I couldn’t like it because you liked it first!?”

“You didn’t even really care about it! You only liked it because you were trying to keep Amity from having other friends!” Luz couldn’t help it, she finally raised her voice.

“And you’re such a good friend?” Boscha’s icy gaze locked with Luz’s. “You didn’t start that club because you wanted Amity too!? Admit it—you tagged along just like everyone else! You like Azura because you really like Amity!”

Luz felt frozen inside once more, despite the tremors in her arms and legs. Boscha’s knowing sneer threatened to blur in front of Luz’s face from the tears that wanted to fall.

She knew Boscha meant like—like, and Luz couldn’t deny it. She couldn’t find the strength to anything but push back the stinging feeling of knowing Amity now knew, and Luz didn’t even get to say it.

But there was one thing she could say. Whether it permanently severed whatever they had here or not, Luz only wanted one last gut punch against her.

“N-No…” Luz whispered, her voice cracking as she raised her head. “That’s not why. Actually, I liked Azura before Amity even did. Before anyone at school did!”

Luz no longer felt fear over what she was doing, what she was potentially losing. Whatever happened now, she at least never had to hide anything anymore.

“—Because I created Azura!” Luz said firmly, a hand on her chest. “I am Bruja22!”

A deafening silence seemed to fall over the house. Luz’s gaze quickly swept over them all, but she didn’t process what she was seeing.

Gus and Willow exchanged shocked looks, as did everyone behind them. Boscha was silent, and Amity just stared at Luz, completely stunned.

“Oh…” Boscha was the first to speak. She looked torn between wanting to call Luz a liar or just denounce the whole thing. She chose the latter, actually laughing cruelly. “Well, that explains why I always thought it sucked! God, Amity, your taste is really awful!”

Luz didn’t want to stay and hear the rest. Her heart pounded and now there was nothing left to hold back the flood of emotions. Luz turned and bolted.

Everything was a blur. She ran past the living room to the end of the foyer and out the front door. Among the gasps and voices, Luz could clearly hear Amity among them.

“Luz! Wait!”

Luz wasn’t sure where she was going. The night hair was warm and her feet were bare, running over damp grass and onto the street. The asphalt wore on the bottom of her feet and she froze once more.

Where else could she go!? There were only private yards lining both sides of the street.  Luz stopped running, shaking as she stood rigid in the middle of the street. She didn’t even notice the headlights growing brighter and brighter.

“Ahh--!” Luz turned and gasped, cowering as the car slowed down.

Someone grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back as the car blared its horn and passed. Luz crumbled into a heap in the yard, panting.

“Luz…” Amity was panting too.

Luz was numb, letting Amity lead her by the hand through the yard. Luz collapsed into the grass in the shadow of the house. Amity sat beside her.

“I’m sorry.” Luz whispered, voice breaking.

“For what?”

“I…I wanted to tell you…”

“You didn’t have to tell me anything, Luz.” Amity’s hand tightened in hers.

“But, I wanted to.”

They were silent for a moment. The gravity of it all was weighing, crushing against Luz. Maybe no one would care, but it was still her biggest secret, and it was out there.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Luz looked at her.

“I had a feeling.” Amity nodded. “It just seemed…to fit. You’re so passionate about Azura. I mean, you’re passionate about everything, but still.”

“Were you disappointed?” Luz found herself asking.

“Of course not.” Amity turned towards her, their hands still linked. “Boscha really is just jealous. She hates that you’re everything she can’t be—nice, and fun, and funny—“

“But you’re so cool!”

“So are you!” Amity blushed in the moonlight. “Luz, are you kidding me? You’re so smart and talented, and way cooler than anyone I know.”

“I’m not that good at school, though.” Luz whispered.

“So? Who cares about school?” Amity smirked and Luz gasped.

“I cannot believe Amity Blight just said that.”

Amity laughed and Luz did too, finding herself easing up, as if Amity were slowly pulling that tremendous weight off of her.

“I am sorry about what Boscha said. She was just trying to embarrass me.” Amity muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“About me…having bad taste. She didn’t mean Azura. She was talking about…you.”

“Me?” Luz blinked.

“Back when I was still trying to make our friendship work, I told Boscha a secret. I told her that I thought you were really cute.” Amity was bright red now and Luz felt her heart pounding once more.

“I—I think you’re so cute! I wanted us to be alone tonight so I could tell you.”

“We’ve been alone tons tonight.” Amity giggled.

“Yeah, well, I was shy.” Luz admitted. “I thought drinking was supposed to lower your inhibitions?”

“I thought so too, but I was pretty shy even when we were sharing a drink.”

“Do you still feel shy?” Luz whispered.

“Sort of. You?”

“Sort of.”

But Luz was brave too. Though she couldn’t quite articulate all she wanted to say or how she felt, she found herself controlling her trembling.

Her hand curled in Amity’s, her other hand reaching out to tuck a stray lock of mint hair behind her ear. Amity locked eyes with her. Luz’s eyes slid closed and she wasn’t sure who leaned in first.

Luz only coherent thought, other than she couldn’t believe this was finally happening, this thing she wanted but couldn’t even articulate—she was kissing Amity—and Amity tasted like mint too.

They laid in the grass, shoulder pressed to shoulder, only looking up with the sound of footsteps padded over the lawn. Amity sat up and Luz followed.

“Willow? Gus?”

“There you are!” Gus’s phone flashlight passed over them. “Luz, are you okay!?”

“I’m fine.” Luz smiled. “Really.”

“Boscha’s gone.” Willow reported. “Amity, your sister threatened to call the neighborhood security and that really must have scared her.”

“Ha!” Amity laughed. “Guess Boscha didn’t know that Emiras was totally bluffing.”

Amity stood up, offering her hand to Luz before pulling her to her feet. Their hands stayed linked, fingers intertwined.

“How’s everyone?” Luz asked tentatively.

“Everyone’s worried about you.” Willow said. “They thought you might have went home.”

“No, I’m coming back in.” Luz took a deep breath.

“We’re right with you.” Gus said.

“So am I.” Amity squeezed her hand.

Luz walked along side them, eyes trained on the ground the entire time. Amity opened the front door and Luz only lifted her eyes when they got to the threshold of the living room.

Everyone else was flopped over the couches or sitting cross-legged on the floor. Gwen muted the television where she’d just been flipping through channels.

“Hey, guys.” Luz took another deep breath. “Sorry about all of that…drama and stuff…”

“Yo, Luz.” Cliff turned around and leaned over the back of the couch. “Are you really Bruja?”

“Yes.” Luz blushed, closing her eyes. She only opened them when she felt Amity squeeze her hand.

“That is…so sick!” Cliff grinned. “I can’t believe we all know her! We know Bruja!”

“Dude, you have to teach me how to draw something sometime!” Devon said.

“Oh, me too!” Lydia said. “I suck at drawing! I can only draw stick people!”

It went much better than Luz could have expected. She found herself smiling, her friends’ voices blurring together as they all patted her on the shoulder and asked her question after question about Azura.

They weren’t the usual questions about the plot or theories that they always debated over at the café, these were questions about the process of making Azura, real questions about her craft that she’d never answered before.

“Do you ever forget what color something is supposed to be so you go back and check the pages you already posted?” Lydia asked.

“Yes! All the time!” Luz said and they all laughed.

“How long does one page take to draw?” Gwen asked.

“Uh, line art and colors…a week or two? It depends on how much is going on in the panels.” Luz tried to explain.

“Okay, okay.” Amity spoke up and Luz was hyperaware of her every movement, every brush of their fingers. “Enough questions. You guys can badger her later at a club meeting. Let’s just watch a movie.”

Everyone settled in for the movie, fighting over who sat where or had what blanket or who got to hold the bowl of old popcorn. In the commotion, Luz wound up on the floor.

Amity sat beside her, their backs against the couch where Willow and Gus sat, a throw blanket over their laps. Their hands stayed linked under the covers, and Luz’s heart pounded whenever Amity’s fingers traced her own.

Luz didn’t really pay attention to the movie.

None of the Blight children had mentioned the fact that their parents were expected home by noon the next morning. Luz awoke to the sound of hung-over seniors thumping down the stairs from Edric’s room. They all groaned at the sunlight as they piled into their cars outside.

Luz lifted her head from the couch pillow she’d been sleeping on. Amity opened her eyes, her hand inches from Luz’s.

“What time is it?” Gus yawned. He was one of the few who’d both brought and thought to use their sleeping bag, rather than just leaving it upstairs in Amity’s room.

“Almost ten.” Amity said, quickly getting up to pick up the stale popcorn bowl from the coffee table. “Sorry to kick everyone out…but…”

“Nah, we get it.” Cliff crossed to where Devon was passed out on the carpet without a pillow or blanket and gave him a kick. “I can drive everyone who needs a ride. Get up, dude.”

“This was a really fun party!” Lydia had been laying next to Willow. “Thanks for having us!”

“Yeah, this was dope!” Gus agreed.

Amity blushed nervously and promised to have them all over again soon. Luz imagined that with summer break coming up in just a few weeks, they could sleep over plenty then. The thought made her blush too.

Luz followed everyone upstairs and gathered her own stuff from Amity’s room. She changed back into her cool mall clothes and carefully folded the Azura t-shirt back up. She waited for the room to clear, just her and Amity, before handing it back over.

“Thanks for letting me wear it.” Luz said, making sure their hands brushed.

“I…I want you to keep it. You should, after all, considering—“

“I can’t take this!” Luz gasped. “Besides, you deserve it more. Aren’t you Bruja’s number one fan?” She smirked, as did Amity.

“Well, I’m definitely Luz’s.” Amity replied.

Luz laughed, this time sure to make sure she was the first to lean in. Amity kissed her back, not seeming to mind when they both broke into laughter.

Luz stood in Amity’s driveway with Gus and Willow, holding their bags as they waited for Eda. This time, Luz didn’t mind if Eda drove right up to the house.

“Shot gun!” Devon and Gwen scrambled into Cliff’s car just as Eda pulled up to the sidewalk beside him.

“Rocking party! See ya’ nerds at school tomorrow!” He honked the horn loudly and Eda looked over in annoyance as Amity blushed. “Warriors of Peace forever!”

“Tell Eda I’m coming.” Luz nodded as Willow. She and Gus went to climb in the backseat as Luz turned to Amity. “This…really was fun.”

“Nothing turned out exactly like I planned, but yes, it was.” Amity leaned in close to Luz before reaching down to squeeze her hand. “It was perfect.”

“Listen,” Luz lowered her voice, unable to stop smiling despite knowing Eda could see her. “I’m gonna take the dinner shift tonight at the café, and—“

“I’ll be there.” Amity said instantly and Luz grinned. “I’ll just take some homework with me and tell my parents I’m studying.”

“You’re actually going to study, aren’t you?”

“Maybe a little.” Amity giggled. “Now, uh, I gotta get back in and vacuum up popcorn kernels. Then there’s laundry, pool straining, and pretty much erasing all evidence that you guys were ever here.”

“Sounds fun. See you tonight!”

Luz reluctantly let their hands part before walking to the car. She got into the passenger seat beside Eda and watched Amity go back in as they drove away.

“Party fun, guys?” Eda asked tentatively.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Yeah!”

Luz let her friends answer. She was still enjoying the tiny remnants of Amity’s warmth in her hands.

After dropping Gus and Willow off at their own houses, Luz prepared to keep the ride in silence to avoid any invasive questions. She reached and turned the radio volume up and a second later, Eda turned it down.

“Hey, kid,” She started. “Not to get all up in your business…but those goons honking their horns…they were boys at that party. You aren’t dating any of them, are you?”

“No!” Luz laughed lightly.

“Oh, good.” Eda said and Luz breathed in relief that that was all. But then Eda spoke again. “But there was someone at the party you liked?”

“N—“ Luz prepared to lie. She turned to face the window and found that Eda’s knowing expression seemed to follow. She looked back, feeling a sudden weight lift off of her. It was okay. “Yes. Yeah, there is someone I like. It’s someone who comes to the Owl House a lot.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Amity Blight.” Luz felt her heart pound and knew her face was red.

“Oh…yeah, I know her. The twins’ little sister, right?” Eda smiled.

“Yeah, that’s her.” Luz nodded.

All of her nerves seemed to fade as Eda smiled back at her. She was reminded of what Eda said about her, knowing from the day she was born that there was something special.

Despite being rough around the edges, Luz loved Eda more than anything, and hiding so much of herself this past year had taken a toll. That tiny wall had gone up and Luz realized now that she didn’t like being alone on one side of it.

“Hey, Ed—“ Luz looked over at her. “Mom, can I tell you about something?”

“Anything.” Eda pulled into their driveway and turned to Luz, smiling.

“It’s…something I’ve been working on for a while.” Luz began.”

“A drawing?” Eda asked, raising her brow when Luz looked surprised. “I see your napkin doodles all the time.”

“Sort of.” Luz chuckled. “It’s more than just one, though. It’s a whole comic. I write and draw the entire thing myself, and I’m really proud of it. The thing is, it got kinda popular… and then everyone at school was talking about it…”

Luz found herself telling Eda the whole story, about Boscha and Amity and about how by now, Boscha was probably burning her Azura socks and planning on pretending she didn’t care about Luz being the author at all.

“So the wizard, he’s the girl’s dad?” Eda was finally caught up on the story and was asking Luz more questions as they prepped drinks at the café that evening.

“Right—I mean, no—Elder Marcus is Moxis’ dad, but no one knows that yet.” Luz explained. “They all think his daughter disappeared, but she’s really just been corrupted by a great evil force! Her real name is Marren.”

“What about when Azura and Jayson…ya’ know…?” Eda took a swig of drink. “Kill her?”

“They won’t. They’ll befriend her, you’ll see. They’re Warriors of Peace, you know.” Luz reminded her.

“Sounds great, kid.” Eda wrapped Luz in a one-armed hug as Luz prepared to take an order out.

Luz laughed, picking up the drink tray and starting for the kitchen door. She paused at the threshold, looking back at Eda for a moment and smiling.

“Hey Mom…I drank beer at Amity’s party.” Luz said. Eda stared at her for a moment before laughing loudly.

“Isn’t that a hoot. Disgusting, wasn’t it? Stick to soda, kid!” Her laughter stopped and she gave Luz a serious glare. “I mean it.”

“You got it!” Luz chuckled nervously. “Love you, Mom!”

Luz served almost all the drinks, smiling and nodding at customers and even stepping in when someone asked to talk to a manager.

Luz wasn’t worried when Gus and Willow didn’t drop by. Whatever was going to happen at school tomorrow, they’d have back no matter what.

She took the last drink—a soy latte—out to the patio. Amity sat alone at a table, textbooks spread out in front of her. She was wearing the Azura shirt.

“Hey.” Amity looked up at Luz and smiled.

“Hey.” Luz placed the latte down on the table. Amity reached out to put her hand on Luz’s.

“Hey, I didn’t get a chance to really ask last night…but will you go out with me?” Amity blushed.

Luz smiled back and pulled the opposite chair out. It was about time for her break, anyways.

“I’d love to.”

That night, Luz logged into the comic website and updated her profile for the first time.

BRUJA22 (Luz) – admin.

AGE: 15

LOCATION: Blooming Isles, CA

FOLLOWERS: 25.6k FOLLOWING: 8

STATUS: feeling… hopeful!

The End.