Chapter Text
☀️☀️☀️
Luz stares at the giant double doors in front of her as they close with a loud thud. For some reason she felt immense guilt and fear. The voice on her right made her feel even more guiltier.
"Being around you makes me do stupid things and I wish it didn't!"
Tears filled Luz's face and it made her even more confused. She turned to see what the voice looked like but all she got was a glimpse of green before the scene changes.
"Here we go again," Luz murmurs annoyingly. But her surroundings were unfamiliar this time, it was a dimly lit corner of a...convention hall? The voice was angry this time. Angry, disappointed, frustrated, and desperate.
"You think it's so easy being a witch. I have been working my whole life to get to the top!"
Luz couldn't see her face. For some reason the place was too dimly lit and before she could make out. The room spun and the only thing she could see before her surroundings changed was a pale hand with black nail polish pointing towards her.
Luz groaned, feeling dizzy at the sudden change. Now she's standing on a lawn with a strange looking rat on her hands. She stared at the rat and felt a sort of endearment. The voice was soft and sweet which made her feel butterflies in her stomach.
"You always have a way of sneaking into people's hearts."
Then she felt soft lips touch her cheeks. Luz gasps and the scene changes again. She was now standing in front of a strange structure, arms bounded in vines and using all of her strength to pull them close. Everything was crumbling around her and it felt like she was being physically and emotionally torn apart. Luz was crying, she felt frustration and desperation.
"Luz, what are you doing?"
The tears in Luz's eyes blurred the face of the girl but the voice was unmistakable. It was filled with worry and fear. This was familiar, she's been having this dream since she was young. This scene was one of the rare ones but the most disturbing one of all.
As Luz opened her mouth to say the words she desperately wanted to convey then something heavy flew to her back and pierced through her chest. She was stunned and frozen as she felt warm liquid seeped through her clothes and her vision darkened.
The pain was excruciating, every nerve of her body was on fire from the inferno that stems in her torso. The familiar voice yelled her name, she felt cold hands catch her as she lets go of the vines and slump forward into the person's arms.
The last thing she heard before blacking out was a gut-wrenching, ear-piercing, devastated scream.
☀️☀️☀️
Luz shot up from her bed at the sound of her mom's voice. Cold sweat drips down from her forehead, clutching her chest as she calms her breathing. Luz looks around, reassuring her that she was in her room, breathing, and very much alive.
Luz was certain that that's what dying felt like. Everytime she had that dream, she was 100% sure that she was dying but she couldn't understand how she knew. These dreams were too vivid to be dreams and when Luz suggested to her therapist that they could be memories, her therapist gave her an interesting look.
"Although there are many claims that people dream about their past lives, these things unfortunately cannot be proven." Dr. Waybright says.
Maybe it was her fantasy-ridden brain but Luz knows that those memories are hers but at the same time it wasn't. She was sure that it was herself in those scenarios but she's never been to any places like that. And it's weird that she only dreams about one person. The dream always shifted or obscured her face but she felt like she's known that person her whole life yet didn't know anything about her except for two things: her voice and her name.
"Luz?" A knock on the door snapped her back to reality. Luz's mom cracked it open and peeked. "Mija, are you okay? You're going to be late again."
Luz glanced at the clock and saw she overslept by half an hour. "Yeah... Just–just give me a minute, mama."
"Is it the dreams again?" Her mom's voice was laced with worry and concern. "If you don't feel like going, I'll call the school so you can rest more."
Luz contemplated a bit before shaking her head. Normally, she wouldn't hesitate to say yes to skipping school but somehow she got the feeling that she should go. "No, it's alright."
Her mom nods and shuts the door.
☀️☀️☀️
Luz's mom dropped her off before going to work and as she pulled away, Luz started to think maybe she should've stayed at home when she had the chance.
She forgot that today was April Fools day which meant that the popular kids and assholes would do obnoxious pranks on unsuspecting students. She was on her toes just walking across the grounds of Hexside High. Luz's reputation wasn't bad and she's well-respected by some people but it doesn't mean that there aren't some people who want her head.
Sure enough she spotted some of the notorious troublemakers like Mattholomule and Tibbles were hauling boxes of random stuff to the back entrance of the school. She was a few minutes late than the time she usually arrives and probably had 10 minutes before the first bell rings. She spotted Willow picking out confetti from Gus' hair by their lockers. She immediately took off towards them.
Usually she has good spatial awareness and she was really hard to miss because of her height so it knocked the wind out of her when she collided with a purple-haired girl.
Luz grunted as they fell to the floor. Despite being smaller the girl was stronger than she looked.
"Watch it, nitwit!" The girl barked as she rubbed her head.
Luz felt like she was hit the second time when she heard the girl's voice. Suddenly, everything disappeared like she was in her dreamscape again. Luz couldn't move and just stared at the person in front of her. She has long purple hair, gold eyes, and pale skin. Her face is familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. Luz never fully saw what she looked like in her dreams but she did see glimpses.
As the cotton candy haired girl gathered her things, every word that Luz heard this girl say in her dreams filled Luz's mind.
Just leave me alone!
As long as it's a secret club.
Congrats on getting in.
I should've fought my own battles!
May I have this dance?
Stay away from my Luz!
I'm not as cool as you think.
"Luz!" Willow's voice snapped her back to reality.
She saw Willow and Gus jogging towards them and the girl's gaze snapped up and finally met her eyes. They stared at each other wide eyed. Luz watches the girl's expression change from shock to disbelief to relief to grief. Her gold eyes instantly filled with tears which streamed down on her cheek.
"You're– crying?" Luz reached out.
The girl dropped her books and papers again and covered her mouth with her hands as she choked her sobs. A lot of students were now gathering around them as Willow and Gus tried to help Luz get to her feet but Luz knelt closer to the girl. "Are you hurt? Why are you crying?"
"I– you–" the girl hiccuped as more tears came out and she furiously wiped them on her sleeves. Luz noticed that she seems to be avoiding eye contact with her.
"You moved back?" Willow asked in disbelief.
The girl looked at her and noticed that they were being treated as a spectacle. She quickly scoops up her things, gets up, and bolts past them.
"Hey wait!" Luz called out but it was too late. She stood there stunned as traces of purple hair disappeared from the crowd.
She couldn't believe it. It was Amity in the flesh. Not in her head. Not in her dreams. And not made up like her former therapist told her. Amity exists and from her expressions she knows Luz as well or at least recognized her enough to have that strong reaction.
"Wow, I never thought she'd come back. I wonder what happened." Willow said bemusedly.
"Why is she crying though?" Gus asked, confused.
Luz turned to them and demanded. "You guys know Amity?"
Willow looked surprised at Luz's tone. "We were friends when we were kids but she moved away a year before you moved here."
Luz stepped closer to question her more but she felt something beneath her shoe. A schedule sheet that Amity must've left in a hurry. She bent down and picked it up. Coincidentally they had the same first period.
"Wait, how did you know her name?" Willow asked her.
The first warning bell rang and the other students hurried to their classes. Willow and Gus started to say goodbyes but Luz stopped them on their tracks.
Luz looked at her seriously. "Guys, she's the one I've been dreaming of. Those memories are memories of her!"
"You mean the dreams you've been having for 3 years?" Gus says.
"Yes, and something tells me that she also knows me as well." Luz said with certainty.
☀️☀️☀️
Luz impatiently waits for Amity to arrive at History class, keeping her school bag on the chair next to her so people wouldn't think of sitting there. She managed to extract a few more pieces of information about Amity from Willow before the second bell rang.
Amity Blight was Willow's childhood friend then she became popular and they grew apart but kept being on good terms. Amity was an over-achiever, captain of the girl's basketball team, and is the youngest child of one of the richest families in Bonesburough. She moved away 3 years ago when her parents got a business opportunity that they couldn't deny.
After that Willow heard very little from her, apparently after moving away Amity rarely updates her socials and Willow only caught updates of her when Amity's twin siblings post something with Amity in it.
Willow promised Luz to tell her everything she needs to know before parting for their first period. The second bell rang prompting the start of the class and most students were already seated. The only empty seat left was next to Luz when Ms. Lilith Clawthorne came clutching a CD.
"Documentary about the Boston Tea Party for today," Ms. Lilith sighed tiredly. "If you guys are too noisy, I will stop the film and just make you do a 1000 word essay as an assignment. Got it?"
Most of the students sang an obedient yes. Luz smirked knowing Lilith absolutely hated Mondays. Lilith often complains to Luz about her teaching job when they build miniature figures together. Arts and crafts is one of the few rare things Luz can get along with her aunt.
Lilith looked at her defeatedly, Luz raised two thumbs up as encouragement and smiled. As Lilith tried to get the CD player hooked up to the TV, Luz glanced at the two doors hoping. She was about to give up but then the front door burst open.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Clawthorne," Amity pants catching her breath. "I lost my schedule sheet and–"
"It's alright, Amity," Lilith waved it off. "Just take a seat–wait, do you want to introduce yourself first?"
"Please don't make me," Amity frowned.
Lilith nodded. "Take a seat. It's good to have you back."
Amity looked around as the students murmured to themselves. Luz took off her backpack from the seat and hung it on the side of her desk. Their eyes met and Amity immediately averted her gaze but silently walked across and settled down on the seat awkwardly.
Lilith managed to get the CD player working and soon half of the class were already yawning. Luz watches as Amity writes in her notebook. Her hand seemed very elegant in the way she writes, like playing an instrument. The hand stopped which prompted Luz to look up and found Amity staring at the corner of her eye. There it is again, Luz thought. The pain in Amity's eyes was like she was looking at someone who died.
Someone let out a cough and they broke their gaze. Luz found Lilith smugly staring at her and Amity. Luz gave her a slight head shake which was met with a sarcastic look. Amity just went back to her writing and Luz tried to pay attention to the documentary but her eyes kept wandering back to the girl sitting next to her.
Luz admits she's not bad to look at and definitely thinks that Amity is now the prettiest girl in school. Skara won't be happy with that fact if she ever found out. Luz thought there's something about Amity's cat-like features that she finds endearing. She feels like she's known this girl for years yet she seems so untouchable. Familiar but unfamiliar.
Luz felt the urge to hold her hand or tuck the strand of her purple hair or just move closer like it was the most natural thing to do. She didn't even notice that her body was already slightly facing towards Amity. It's as if the girl had her own gravitational pull that works on Luz.
Amity glanced at her again and Luz didn't even try to hide the fact that she's staring at her. Instead she cleared her throat quietly and slid a paper towards Amity. Amity looks down surprised at the sight of her missing schedule and gingerly grabs the paper to tuck it in her textbook.
Amity didn't say anything or looked back at her but she seemed distracted and uncomfortable. Luz didn't mean to make her uncomfortable so for the rest of the film she tried not to stare at the purple haired girl as much as she could. That seemed to make time slower and it seemed like it was more than an hour before the film finished.
Lilith flipped the switch and a few of the sleeping students groaned at the sudden light. "Do chapter 19 in your textbook and have it be done by Wednesday. That's all."
As if on cue, the bell rang signalling the end of period. Amity shoves her things into her bag and proceeds to leave.
Not wanting to miss her chance, Luz follows. "Hey, um, Amity?"
"I don't know you," Amity says without looking at Luz and continues walking.
Luz dodges the incoming student traffic and quickens her pace to catch up, which was easy since her legs were longer than Amity's. "I didn't say anything about you knowing me. Please, hold on!"
Amity ignored her and kept walking towards the Calculus Classroom. Luz bolted and blocked her way before she could enter the door. "Hear me out."
"What do you want?" Amity looked annoyed but kept her eyes away from Luz.
"I know you know something. And I have been looking for answers–no, I have been looking for you for years." Luz insisted.
Amity's face looked shocked but she quickly masks it and stubbornly says. "I don't know anything. I can't help you."
"Amity Blight. I know your name before anyone has said it to me. I hear your voice in my mind as clear as day even when I'm awake. I've had dreams about you for years and I get the feeling that you know me too." Luz steps closer to her.
"I–" Amity looks scared and she involuntarily glances at Luz which was a mistake because Luz's gaze held hers in a tight grip.
Again Luz saw the pain in her gold eyes but now they held a tiniest bit of softness to them. Then a single tear dropped down which made Luz panic. "Why–why do you keep crying when you see me? What do you know?"
Amity blinks rapidly, wiping the tear away, and averted her gaze again. "I don't know anything. Just leave me alone!"
"You said that to me once before," Luz said sadly.
Amity froze in realization but she ignored Luz and pushed past her to enter the classroom. Luz watches as she shut the door behind her.
☀️☀️☀️
Luz couldn't leave her alone. Call her desperate but she wanted answers to her dreams for years. Why was she having them? What happened to them? Who is Amity Blight?
"You're gonna put a hole in her head if you keep staring at her like that," Gus says as he shovels his mash potato.
It was a good thing that the cafeteria was too loud to let anyone hear their conversation. Luz impatiently taps her toes wanting nothing more than to sit on Amity Blight's table.
"It hasn't been a full day and you're now obsessed with the girl," Willow eats her tomato soup. "That must be a new record."
"You were friends before, tell me how to convince her to talk to me." Luz turns to Willow.
"Ask her out on a date." Willow says nonchalantly.
"A date?!" Luz turned bright red and shook her head.
"Don't worry, the whole school knows she likes girls." Willow smirks.
"No no, Willow it’s not like that! I just want to know why I've been getting these dreams and who I have been dreaming of," Luz stammered.
Willow sighs. "Amity is very head-strong and stubborn. You need a lot to convince her to talk to you about something she doesn't want to talk about. Maybe start being her friend first before you make her do something uncomfortable."
Luz froze and felt guilty. "You're right. Of course, you're right. I'm doing it again, aren't I?"
Luz sometimes has problems with socializing. She either doesn't do it enough or does it too much that she encroaches on other people's space. Willow and Gus are the first friends that never called her too much but she often asks them to keep her in line if she ever went overboard again.
Willow looked at her sympathetically. "Don't worry. Something tells me she won't be able to resist you."
Luz looked at Amity again and saw that she now had company. Skara, Boscha, Amelia, and Kat were chatting up a storm with her while Amity tried her best to listen. Amity didn't talk much but when she did they would all listen. Luz would pay a few pennies just to hear what they were talking about. Skara's eyes met hers across the table and she smiled and waved which prompted Amity to look as well. Luz smiled and waved back, grateful to be on good terms with Skara. Amity looked away without acknowledging Luz and Skara looked at Amity suspiciously.
🌑🌑🌑
"She's cute, isn't she?" Skara nudges Amity.
Looking away from her half eaten sandwich, Amity's brows furrowed. "What?"
Skara smirks. "I heard she sat next to you in History. The Hexside's Hot Oddball, that's what they call her. Do you know each other?"
"No," Amity said too quickly.
"Captain, you haven't changed. You're still a terrible liar." Skara giggles.
"First off, I'm not captain anymore and didn't you join another team? Second, you're still an annoying gossip queen. Third, I don't want anything to do with her. I don't even know her name," Amity irritated, set her sandwich down.
"Who are we talking about?" Boscha suddenly took interest in their conversation.
"Luz Noceda." Skara blurts it out before Amity could stop her.
"That weirdo?" Boscha looked disgusted.
"Aww you just hate her because she defeated you in dodgeball that one time," Amelia teased.
"She didn't defeat me! She got a lucky shot!" Boscha fumes. "And I don't get why everybody thinks she's attractive, what's so attractive about being a nerd?!"
"Dunno, must be the I-don't-care-what-anybody-thinks aura," Kat smiles dreamily. "And I think that's cool. Plus she's really nice and sweet."
"I told you." Skara nudges Amity. "Boys want her, girls want her even more. And from the looks of it, she's checking you out."
They all turned to see Luz looking away to avoid getting caught staring at Amity again. All of them giggled except Amity and Boscha.
"Who wants to take me on a bet that she'll have Amity's number by tomorrow?" Skara dares.
"You guys really haven't changed. Are you seriously going to use me as a game?" Amity scowled.
Boscha smirks. "This is what you get for ghosting us for three years. I bet that Noceda will ask for your number within today."
Amity rolls her eyes. "Too bad you guys aren't getting your money."
"Girl, I'll bet that you'll fall for her within a week. Luz has a childish charm that's irresistible." Amelia snickers.
Amity stood up suddenly, her face "I'm done eating. I'll see you guys around."
Amity half expected Luz to follow her like what she's been doing all morning but Luz just watched her as she put back her tray. Somehow she felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. The day so far has been a disaster. Before lunch, some sophomore thought it was a good idea to fill Amity's new locker with some silly strings, to which she pinned him down and dared him to do it again. And before that she managed to accidentally call her Chemistry teacher "mom" because he was being obnoxious to which the class had a good laugh. And even before that the whole incident with Luz Noceda: Bumping into her, calling her a nitwit, crying in front of her twice, and being hostile towards her even when she returned Amity's lost schedule. The day was a series of misfortunes and it wasn't even over yet.
She knew she should've stayed home for various reasons. One, it was April Fools day but decided she'd rather deal with strangers' pranks than her own siblings'. Two, she had no means of transportation since her car was left in Latissa. Her dad promised to buy her a new one since Odalia demanded they return it since she bought it for Amity which was fine by Amity since she hated the ridiculously expensive and grand car. And three, she had the nightmare again which puts her mental psyche in a very unstable place.
She was determined to convince her dad to allow her to skip school but when she got down for breakfast, he already left with a note apologizing that he needed to meet with a new business partner and wishing Amity a great first day. Half of Amity's mind was contemplating on playing hooky but the other half told her that she needs to go and since Amity still values her reputation a bit, she figured it's not a good image to skip school when you just got back in town.
It's midday and every matter in her body is now regretting going to school. The school changed over the last 3 years and even though there are still familiar faces, it feels like time moved too fast for Amity to comprehend. It seemed like it was yesterday when she was a freshman with green hair, straight As, and the youngest captain of the basketball team. She feels so weird, like a whole new other person.
Thankfully, the afternoon is uneventful. Aside from a few juniors trying to get her number, the afternoon was quiet. She did have another class with Luz Noceda but the girl only smiled at her and didn't attempt to sit beside her or make contact. Amity was relieved thinking that the girl finally gave up trying to interrogate her.
When the final bell rang Amity thought she could finally relax. The day was over, she couldn't wait to go home and get started on making dinner. Or if she's lucky her dad or Emira would've made dinner already.
She pulled out her phone as she got out of the school doors, speed dialing Emira's number. Suddenly she heard her name and somebody pushed her to the ground.
☀️☀️☀️
"Again, I'm sorry!" Mattholomule squeaks.
"Luz, let him go just this once?" Gus put a hand on Luz's arm that was clutching Matty's shoulder. "He's my friend and he already apologized to Amity."
"I swear it was Tibbles' idea! It was just silly strings! I won't mess with her again!" Matty puts his two hands together pleading.
Luz smiles menacingly. "No more funny business, Matty. Next time I hear you do something to her, Gus won't have a say in it. Even Steve won't be able to get you out of this."
"Yes! We're all friends," Matty chuckles nervously. "In fact we're all so close that I'll even give you a tip."
Luz's smile disappeared from her face and she instinctively tightened her grip on Matty's shoulder. "What tip?"
Matty tilts in pain. "Ow ow ow–"
"Luz, easy." Gus pats Luz's back.
Willow behind them scoffed. "Just tell her what you know, dude!"
"Tibbles is waiting on Blight with a bucket of jello in front of the school!" Matty said quickly.
Luz's blood ran cold and she dropped Matty's shoulder. She didn't wait for anyone as she ran towards the exit. Luz pushed through a couple of people on the way but she was only focused on finding purple hair. She shouldered through the double door to see Tibbles standing on the ledge over a distracted Amity on her phone.
"Amity!" Luz ran full speed and pushed her out of the way, just in time as the mix of red semi hardened jello tipped over from the bucket and all over Luz.
"Luz?!" Tibbles fell from the ledge from shock.
Luz chuck a block of jello from her hair and scowled. "You're dead meat, Tibbles!"
The door bursts open again as Willow and Gus pushed through and quickly saw the scene.
"Oh no," Tibbles muttered as he jumped up and quickly ran.
"Willow!" Luz called out as she tried to stand up but slipped on the red gelatin beneath her shoes.
"Let's go, Gus!" Willow took off after Tibbles with Gus right behind her.
Luz noticed that a few students came to watch the spectacle. Mostly freshmen and sophomores but she spotted Skara and Amelia in the crowd as they walked towards her. She turned to make sure Amity is okay but she was met with the look of pure terror.
"Amity?" She couldn't still stand because of the jello so she crawled and walked towards her. "Are you hurt?"
But Amity didn't speak as if she's watching someone die in front of her. Luz grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Amity?!"
Suddenly Amity let out a blood-curdling scream and grabbed Luz tight. "No no no no, Luz! Don't die!"
"Ami–" Luz froze, confused and concerned.
Amity was shaking and pale as tears streamed down her face. "Not again! I can fix this! Don't die–"
Amity's shaky hands flew all over Luz wiping away red jello as she chokes her sobs. "I can fix this–"
"What? Amity, calm down," Luz grabs her hands. "What do you mean dying?"
"The–the blood...you– I..." Amity looks at Luz's torso and pats it to check. "... there's no...blood?"
Luz felt her ears warm at the touch but she shook her head. "Blood? It's not blood, it's jello."
"Jello." Amity swallows as she meets Luz's gaze, her breathing steadying.
"Red jello." Luz nods.
"Red. Jello..." Amity's head suddenly rolled back and she fainted.
"Amity!" Luz caught her.
"Woah," Skara was now next to them.
Luz looked around and a lot of students were now around them. She places her arms under Amity's legs and shoulders and scoops her up, making sure she's secured in her arms. "Skara, can you grab her stuff, let's go to the clinic."
"You got it." Skara nods a little bit too excitedly and picks up Amity's bag and phone from the ground.
Luz jogged to the side entrance, being careful not to slip in her jello stained shoes. She heard Amity muttering her name which surprised her a bit but she focused on the task at hand. She holds Amity closer as she feels her slipping a bit which makes Amity's head fall on her. This makes her suddenly conscious of Amity's skin on hers but glad that the girl is breathing steadily. As they arrive in the clinic she can't shake off the feeling of deja vu like something like this happened before.
Oh. Wow. Sports.
Luz looked at Amity and saw that she was still unconscious. She was deep in thought that she didn't notice Viney and the others talking to her.
"Luz? Earth to Luz? Please put her down." Viney snaps her fingers in front of Luz's eyes.
Skara couldn't help but giggle as Luz gently sets her down on the bed. Viney tossed Luz a towel which Luz caught and immediately wiped the jello off of Amity's hands.
"Wha– that was for you, Luz." Viney rubs her forehead.
Skara was now coughing and laughing with Amelia.
"You're not even the nurse." Luz blushes in embarrassment but finishes cleaning Amity's hands.
"Can you please clean yourself up and just tell me what happened to her?" Viney checks Amity's pulse. "The nurse went home already."
Luz explained really quickly what happened, Viney concluded it was probably emotional stress but they needed to call Amity's parents to pick her up. But the problem was they were just students and had no contact with Amity's family. After a few moments of deliberating whether Skara should drive Amity to her old house, Amity woke up.
"Luz!" She sat up suddenly, startling everyone.
"Woah there, girlie." Viney steadies her by the shoulders. "She's right there. Take it easy."
Amity turns red at the sight of the audience. "Sorry. I..."
Luz sat next to her. "You okay?"
Amity looks at Luz's jacket which was covered in red. Luz looks down then immediately shrugs it off and tossed it aside. "Better?"
Amity nods. "Yeah, sorry."
"How are you feeling?" Viney checks her pulse again.
"Nauseous," Amity admits. "But this is nothing. No need to be concerned, I promise."
Viney got her some water from the cabinets and opened it for her. "Well, we were discussing getting you home. Do you have someone to call and pick you up?"
Amity took it gratefully and drank. "Yeah, I'll call my siblings. They should be available."
Skara handed her stuff and Amity scowled at the broken phone screen. "Just my luck."
Luz pulled out her phone and handed it to Amity.
Amity took it gingerly. "Sorry, I'll make it quick."
"Take you time," Luz smiles.
"Well it seems like you got it covered so we're just gonna go home, right Skara?" Amelia nudges Skara.
"What? I don't have to go home," Skara protested but Amelia just rolled her eyes and dragged her away while she screamed about not losing the bet yet.
Amity dialed a number and it picked up immediately. "Em, sorry the call got cut off earlier... no no I'm fine! It was just... Can you pick me up? Yes, I'll meet you in front of the school..."
"No you won't," Luz interrupts.
"What?" Amity looked at her surprised.
"Tell them to come here. I'm not letting you get out of bed without support." Luz says firmly. "You're clearly shaken up by what happened."
"I can handle myself." Amity looks offended.
"If you don't let them pick you up here, I will carry you again." Luz insists.
Amity's eyes grew wide. "You carried me?!"
"How'd you think you got here?" Luz asks.
Amity's face grew bright red and she went back to her call. "On second thought, can you come get me in the clinic? Do you still remember how to get there?"
Luz heard yelling on the phone as Amity winced. "I promise I'm fine, Emira. I'll explain later, okay? Bye!"
Amity hung up and scowled at Luz. "You're a piece of work. I was trying not to make my sister worry."
"I don't care about your sister's feelings. You're not in a condition to move without assistance." Luz's brows furrowed.
"She's right. You're so pale, you look like a ghost." Viney agrees.
They both turned to her as if they'd forgotten she was there. Luz cleared her throat, "Viney, can you give us a minute?"
Viney looked at her suspiciously. "Please don't steal anymore teddy bear band-aids, Luz. We log every stuff we give–"
Luz laughs. "No, I just want to talk with her alone."
Amity looked scared at that notion. Viney looked at her for confirmation.
Luz gently placed her hand on Amity's. "I won't force you to do anything you're uncomfortable with."
Amity sighed and nodded at Viney as confirmation. After Viney closed the door, Luz moved closer to Amity. She lifts Amity's hands and examines the black varnish on her nails.
"I don't really like touching strangers." Luz says. "But it feels like I've known you for years because holding your hands, carrying you in my arms, or even being near you is so jarringly familiar."
Amity sucks her breath as Luz intertwines their fingers together. Luz looks at her waiting for her to speak or protest but Amity stays quiet.
"I have a lot of questions and I promised myself that I would be patient. And with time maybe you would open up to me," Luz says sadly. "But I can't be patient when you look at me with that expression."
They stare at each other, Luz watches as Amity deliberates internally. Amity lets go of her hands and reaches out to her face. "May I?"
Luz looked confused but obliged. "Uh, sure."
Amity touches Luz's face with shaky hands. Gentle but cautious like she would disappear at any moment. Luz felt her cold fingers on her cheek then on the scar on her left eyebrow and down her nose stopping before it reached her lips. Luz was sure she's blushing at this point, how could she not when a pretty girl is touching her face. Amity looked red as well but she was too focused on what she was doing.
Amity removed her red beanie to which Luz felt exposed. She caught one of the two long strands of hair on either side of Luz's face. Her face looked resigned. "Your hair is longer, you look older, and you sound older as well but other than that it's you."
Luz's eyes widened. "Does that mean–"
"I've only ever seen your face and heard your voice when I'm asleep. I was not lying when I said I do not know you...in real life." Amity confirms.
"So you've been having these dreams too," Luz's eyes brightened like she made an amazing discovery.
"Let me ask you this, Luz Noceda." Amity said firmly. "Were all your dreams...good?"
"Well most of them are," Luz looked concerned. "Are yours..."
"If I could trade a thousand good dreams so I won't have to live one nightmare, I would." A tear streamed down on Amity's face as she handed Luz her beanie back.
Luz felt pain on her chest from that. She felt awful that she never thought that Amity's dreams would be nightmares. It made her even more curious as to what Amity saw. She had suspicions and guesses to what she might've seen but now she's too anxious to ask what it was if it made Amity this sad.
"I'm sorry." Luz places her hand on the girl's cold cheek hoping it would provide some comfort. "I–"
"Mittens!" The door flung open showing two green haired college students wearing similar looking clothes barges in with Viney behind them.
The green haired girl kicks the boy behind the knee making him buckle before catching himself on the door frame. "Edric! You can't startle her like–"
Luz and Amity pull apart abruptly, surprised by the two. Luz almost fell off the chair but Amity caught her shirt and pulled her up as best as she could.
"Thanks," Luz straightened her shirt as Amity let go.
Amity looked at the twin in annoyance. "I swear, you two are just too much."
"Well I'm sorry for being worried that my sister was brought to the clinic on her first day of school," Emira rushes towards the bed. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
"I said I'm fine, Emira." Amity leans away from her.
"You," Emira pointed at Luz. "Tell me."
Luz looked surprised and unnerved when two pairs of golden eyes stared at her. Amity covered her hand on Luz's mouth. "Leave her alone and I'll tell you."
Luz hoped that her red face wasn't too noticeable as she removed Amity's hand from her lips. "Don't over-exert yourself."
Viney, Emira and Edric stared at the two in confusion.
Amity pushes Emira back gently. "I got pranked and I fainted. That's it."
"Pranked?" Edric looked more confused. "We prank you all the time. How bad was this prank?"
"Not that bad, I promise." Amity swung her legs off the bed. "I think I fainted because I was tired–"
"She fainted because she had a panic attack and thought she was seeing blood and not red jello," Luz says.
"Luz!" Amity protested.
Emira and Edric looked at each other then they both pulled their phones out. Amity panics and grabs their arms to stop them.
"Please, don't call dad." Amity pleads in panic. "I don't want this to be an issue."
"Mittens..." Emira looked pained. "We need to get you checked. This is the second time this month that you fainted as a trigger response."
"Dad deserves to know," Edric reasons.
"Not during the custody battle," Amity desperately says. "If the court finds out that I got taken into the hospital while I'm here, Dad won't get full custody of me. I do not want to go back with Odalia!"
Emira and Edric look at each other again, both mirroring conflicted expressions.
Amity breathes. "Can we talk about this in the car? I'll do whatever you want, just not the hospital. I'll even tell dad."
Emira nodded after hesitating and Amity let go. Edric collected her stuff and assisted her as she hopped down the bed. Amity held her ground as she walked, slightly unsteady but stable enough that she didn't need that much assistance. They thanked Luz and Viney and left.
"Wow, chaotic siblings." Luz muse as she puts her beanie on.
"What were you doing to the poor weakened girl before we came in?" Viney asks.
Luz felt her ears hot again as she laughed nervously. "Viney, it's not what you think."
Viney raises one eyebrow. "Hmmm sure, Luz."
"I promise you it's not like that," Luz picks up her jacket and pockets her phone.
Viney laughs. "Yeah whatever you say."
"I have to ask you something though," Luz says seriously.
"What?" Viney stopped laughing.
Luz pointed at her forearm which had a small scratch. "Can I have a teddy bear band-aid?”