Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If there’s anything Luz hated about geometry class, it was how the teacher droned on about every subject as though he were dead inside, making him impossible to retain attention towards. 

Now, if there was anything she loved about geometry class, it was how easily she could disguise her yearning sketches as note-taking.

Luz doodled in the corner of her notebook, adding wisps of hair to a particularly familiar face, with bold lines for the eyeliner and a lightly sketched letterman on the jacket. Luz smiled softly at the drawing, adding little finishing touches to the art before she heard someone whisper her name for what was probably the umpteenth time.

“Luz!”

She looked up. In front of her, her friend from cheerleading, Clara, was tilting her head towards the board, and it was then Luz realized she’d been called on to answer a question.

“Oh!” She squinted at the board; they were learning about proofs, and the teacher was giving her a very stern look. She felt the sudden urge to sink in her seat. Geometry wasn’t really her strong suit, and it didn’t help that she’d accidentally brought the English book report about her favorite fantasy series on the day they were meant to present their math project, so the teacher very clearly didn’t favor her. To make things worse, the person she was doodling was sitting just a few seats away, and Luz could already feel her eyes burning into her skull. 

“SAS?” she answered hesitantly. The teacher glared at her for a moment, and then gave an approving nod, continuing on with his lifeless lesson as Luz slumped in her seat in relief. She stole a glance towards the other girl, who had already returned to her notes. 

She let out an inaudible sigh, looking down at her drawing. Staring back at her was Amity Blight: captain of the rugby team, top of the class, and exceptionally pretty. She had bold light brunette hair, painted nails so perfect they looked professionally done, and a poise that intimidated nearly everyone in the vicinity.

Luz knew she wasn’t unique for crushing on such a girl, (because, as Luz thought, who wouldn’t?), which was completely why she’d always been so secretive about it. Out of everyone in the grade level, Amity wouldn’t ever like her back, not in a million years. The only people she’d really told were Willow, Gus, and a few of the girls in cheerleading class, all of whom had a little too much faith in her and encouraged her to talk to the rugby captain. Well, Willow felt that Luz deserved better somehow , but never elaborated on how or why.

Cutting off her thoughts, the bell rang out, dismissing everyone for the last period of the day. Luz shoved the notebook into her backpack, trying to fit it past the pom-poms and folded up uniform. Cheerleading was her final class, and quite frankly one of her favorites. Some people found it shocking that Luz Noceda, certified ‘weird girl’, had even tried out for cheerleading in the first place, but she always tried to ignore those backhanded comments. The elective was a perfect way to burn off her endless energy and support other people, and she’d even managed to make a few friends there.

And, also, it was during the same period and field as rugby practice, which was pretty convenient considering Luz’s small crush. But that was an unintentional and originally unknown perk, in her defense.

After heading to the locker room, Luz quickly changed into her uniform, analyzing herself in the tall mirror and giving herself a reassuring nod. Her hair was already short, so she didn’t need to tie it back in a bow, but she had a little clip-on version so she’d be matching with the other cheerleaders. In all honesty, Luz didn’t wear this sort of outfit that often – she was more of an androgynous-style sort of girl, with just a few masc or fem choices thrown in here and there – but she had to admit, she sorta rocked this uniform. 

Feeling a sense of giddiness bubbling up, she caught up with the other cheerleaders, just in time to hear a few excited whispering.

“He asked for my number!” one of them exclaimed, her hands clasped. “I can’t believe it!”

“Who wouldn’t?” another said. “You’re, like, one of the coolest girls in the grade.”

Luz, slightly intrigued by the conversation (she was a huge sucker for learning about other people’s love lives, and especially their backstories), hadn’t noticed she was being greeted by a different cheerleader. She hurriedly gave them a smile and a wave, earning just one or two looks from the others.

Her reputation among the other cheerleaders was a little varied. She’d given an odd first impression after doing her little inside-out eye bag trick in front of everyone, so there were a few lasting judgemental glares here and there, but for the most part, they were kind to her. She was glad to have made friends with Clara, which ultimately made it much easier to be on good terms with the rest, though Luz wished she wasn’t viewed as strange as she was. But, slowly and surely, she was being included more, and this conversation was no exception.

“What about you, Luz?” one of the cheerleaders teased. “Any luck with the rugby captain?”

“Oh,” Luz felt a small bit of flush make its way onto her cheeks, and she shrugged. “Dunno! I haven’t talked to her, so, y’know.”

“She was looking at Luz during geometry,” Clara offered. The other cheerleaders let out an ' oooo', and Luz had to fight down a small grin.

“I was just answering a question,” she waved off modestly. “Everyone was looking at me.”

“But there was something different in her eyes,” Clara said dramatically. “She was totally falling in love with you.”

As much as Luz enjoyed being told these things, she knew they weren’t really true at all. Amity Blight? Look in her direction that way? Likely about as probable as The Good Witch Azura coming to life in front of her.

But, as her eyes trailed towards the rugby captain, who donned a signature confident grin and stretched her arms out before practice, Luz couldn’t help but wish.

✧

The high scream of a whistle rang out through the field, signaling the end of drills.

With the upcoming game against Glandus, the Banshees were doubling down on practice and training. Today was dedicated to running drills and coordination, and in all honesty, Amity was completely spent. She let out a sigh, reaching up to readjust the band in her hair, and watched as Coach Lilith called everyone over for a water break.

“That went well,” the coach said, her chin held high. “We’ll do a practice game tomorrow with the backups.”

“Wow, Amity, you were crushing it out there!” Skara praised, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “Your running’s gotten better.”

“Let’s hope the little incident doesn’t happen again,” Boscha teased, bumping her shoulder. Amity let out a small groan, lightly shoving her. Though her friend laughed, Amity hadn’t found it all that humorous.

“Hey, she didn’t mean to trip last practice,” Viney cut in. “We all make mistakes.”

“Can you just drop it?” Amity muttered, grabbing her bottle from the bench and twisting the cap off. She was already sweating, hair damp and icky, and she didn’t need more irritation on top of that. “We have a game to focus on.”

“It’s just some lighthearted talk,” Cat offered. “I don’t think Boscha meant anything against you.”

Amity grunted. “Anyways,” she said, a hint of passive aggressiveness in her tone, “We have to do well in tomorrow’s practice game. The game against Glandus is in two months, and if we win this, we get a chance to advance. Nationals is our goal. Understood?”

The team members nodded, full attention on their captain. The Banshees played in rugby sevens: three fronts — Boscha as tighthead prop, Skara as loosehead prop, and Amity as hooker, and four backs — Bria as scrum half, Viney as fly half, Amelia as wing, and Cat as centre. So far, the team positions were working out well enough, but their true skill would be showcased in this upcoming game. And this game was the only thing on Amity’s mind the past few weeks. 

Amity may have been one of the only ones who took rugby this seriously, apart from Boscha. For the others, it was an activity, a resume perk. But for Amity, it’d become a passion, and she’d do anything to win whenever they played. And it always followed through: Amity was an exceptional captain, and Hexside was known for winning games against rival schools. This would be no different. Yet even with her confidence, she wasn’t going to back down on training and planning. 

But of course, the Blight still had her limits. By the end of the period, Amity’s already limited social battery was down the drain, and she wanted nothing more than to go home, finish up her homework, and crash into her bed. While the other rugby players laughed and talked, Amity was stiffly making her way to her backpack, hauling it over her shoulders. Rugby practice was the last period of the day, thankfully, so she never had to worry about using some crappy public shower and could just take care of everything at home.

Well, apart from one thing. Her makeup.

Though it may seem a little silly, Amity always redid her makeup at the end of the day. The last thing she wanted was to step into her manor looking tired, otherwise she’d get some peeved comment from her mother, such as “did you go through the whole day looking like that?” or “if rugby is tiring you out so much, why not switch it for a more academically enriching elective?” or a simple “you look horrific.” Such phrases, on really bad days, made Amity consider if punching her mother would be forgivable or not. 

So, per her usual after school routine, Amity entered through the backdoors and made her way to the bathroom. She sighed, stepping in front of the sink and pulling the tie out of her hair as she allowed the backpack to fall from her shoulders. Spots and smudges covered the old mirror, and the lighting was wholly dim while the rest of the bathroom was clearly unkempt and ignored by Hexside’s janitors. After all, this bathroom was at the far side of the hall (and, unfortunately, the one closest to the sports field) so it often went forgotten by staff members. 

But through the glass’ fog, she could somewhat make out her appearance. Her roots were poking out, and really ought to be redone sometime — her hair was naturally a richer brown than her siblings’ and mother’s, the latter of which always made her dye her hair lighter in order to match. Her eye bags were beginning to show, too, and Amity knew she’d have to put on some concealer before she headed home.

She reached for the sink knobs, its grating screech hitting her ears as water rushed down from the faucet. She held her palms underneath it, letting its bitter coolness rush over her fingers, before she wiped it over her face. Okay, she thought, analyzing her reflection, slight improvement, but not enough to avoid comments from my mom.

She began on her makeup, sure to cover any facial flaws she could pinpoint. Amity carefully traced out the wing of her eyeliner, the pencil moving graciously and with full precision. Her finger twitched, however, when the bathroom door swung open. Two chattering girls bounded in, their navy blue cheerleader uniforms illuminated under the broken ceiling light. Immediately, a sense of distaste crawled up inside, feeling her quiet peace was just disturbed and the wing slightly messed. 

Amity caught a glance at them through the mirror; one of them had vibrant blonde hair with a vibrant pink stripe in the middle, and the other donned short curls and soft, warm features. Amity could’ve sworn she’d heard that second girl’s name in her geometry class earlier, though she hadn’t paid it much attention. The girl made eye contact with her through the mirror, and Amity immediately looked back down, pretending to be preoccupied with her things.

“Are you sure you wanna? I just don’t want you to fall and get hurt,” The blonde was saying, setting her backpack near the sinks. Amity instinctively shifted her feet in the other direction, already stuffing the rest of her makeup items back into the tiny bag sitting on the counter.

“Tons of people do it. I’m sure it’s easy peasy,” the other insisted boldly. She seemed to be bouncing on her toes, a bright energy practically radiating off of her, her backpack halfway unzipped with tiny strands of a pom-pom poking out. “Nothing this cheer-master can’t handle!”

“I’m just kinda worried cause, like, my cousin got a huge injury trying to do that,” the first girl explained. “Giant gash on her leg and everything.”

“Yikes. Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she just…”

Amity tuned out the rest of the conversation, twisting her setting powder container closed and dropping it into the pouch. She wasn’t particularly sure if she wanted to finish the eyeliner here, because even with her ability to filter out every word said from the cheerleaders (when someone has a family who is always in some sort of stupid argument, it becomes a skill), the noises were overwhelming. 

“Oh! Wait,” the blonde said as her phone lit up, grabbing a towel from a dispenser. Now, Amity actually listened in, hoping the two were finally leaving. “My mom’s calling, I gotta go. See you tomorrow at practice, Luz?”

Oh, that was her name. She remembered now. Luz nodded cheerfully, giving the blonde a tiny wave as she stepped out of the bathroom. 

But, unfortunately for Amity, Luz wasn’t following after her friend. She zipped up the pouch, deciding she’d finish her makeup with her phone camera elsewhere. She was glad the other girl left, but with the other cheerleader still there, it honestly made it feel much more awkward. When she glanced up at the mirror, she saw Luz’s eyes lingering on her.

“Is there an issue?” Amity asked, not caring to keep the bite out of her tone. Luz frowned a little at that, and just the smallest, tiniest jab of guilt hit at Amity, but she was honestly too tired to really care.

“Oh! Nothing, just — “ Luz stumbled over her words a little, her hands wringing together. “I wanted to say your practicing was super good today.”

Amity raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t sure why this girl was even talking to her; most people understood that when Amity hit them with an irritated tone, it was a sign to leave her be. “I’m the captain. I always have to do well in rugby practice.”

“Well, yeah! I just meant…” Luz shrugged. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and Amity had to admit that it was a little cute, but her patience was low and thinning.

“I’m running late. I’ll be going now,” Amity said, heaving up her backpack. She didn’t give Luz a chance to respond before she was already out of the bathroom, stepping into the school halls. 

The hallway walls were adorned in Hexside decor. The most noticeable ones, at the moment, were the Glandus sucks and Hexside will win messages etched across blue and yellow banners. Amity always found the messages to be a little childish, though she had to admit, the whole school’s enthusiasm over the team she’s captain of gave her heart a small swell of pride. 

She took slow steps towards the doors, basking in the afterschool silence. Amity knew the break for her ears would be disturbed the moment she stepped into her home, so she may as well enjoy this while it lasted. 

Of course, just like in the bathroom, any moment of peace was short-lasting.

“Wait!” a voice called out, out of breath but recently recognizable.

Amity sighed, stopping in her tracks as the cheerleader caught up to her. This girl was only a little irritating, but now she was getting on Amity’s nerves. She glanced back, and muttered, “what do you want?”

“You left your makeup bag at the sink,” Luz explained hurriedly, the small pouch sitting in her palms. She offered a soft, awkward smile, while Amity’s expression was anything but. 

Amity paused. That was, indeed, her makeup pouch, and a tiny weight of embarrassment settled in her stomach. She considered taking it and turning around without saying a word, but when she saw the hopeful glow in the other girl’s eyes as she picked it up, she muttered, “thanks.”

Luz’s smile grew, but Amity didn’t stand to look at it very long. She turned on her heels, making her way to the backdoor and out towards the sidewalk to wait for her butler to pick her up.

Her hand clenched the backpack strap as her shoes met the pavement. For whatever reason, her mind was stuck on Luz’s expression, on the way she kept fumbling her words or ran her hands through her curls. Amity sighed, trying to brush it away from her thoughts. She was too busy to fixate on something so random.

What a strange girl. 

Chapter Text

Dinners were always a gamble for Amity Blight. 

It typically went four ways: One, it went alright, which was the rarest. Two, the twins would manage to turn it into painstaking chaos and headaches. Three, they would eat in a silence so tense it felt suffocating. Four, Odalia and Alador would turn a conversation onto the kids’ studies, on the company, or on Amity in particular, because she seemed to be a favorite subject to speak about. 

“I trust you got an exceptional score on the latest test, Amity?”

Amity poked at one of the finely cooked steaks with her fork. The butler came by to pour some more wine into her mother’s glass, the faint sounds of a filling cup simmering throughout the dinner table before the young girl answered. “Yes.”

“Good, good,” Odalia mused, picking up a napkin to dab at her chin. “And how about rugby?”

How about you grill Ed or Em with questions for once, a small, internal part of her whispered. Instead, she said, “It’s going well.”

She glanced up at the grandfather clock, its hands ticking ever so slowly. A migraine was beginning to pull at the sides of her head, and she really, truly wished she had the ability to eat faster. Which, of course, if she ever did decide to scarf down her meal so she could escape the agony of the dining room, it would most likely lead to an entirely different lecture about table etiquette. So unfortunately, Amity was stuck with cutting off perfect squares of her dinner while she answered small-talk.

“I did see your English essay grade,” Odalia mentioned. “Ninety-two. Care to explain that?”

Amity held in a sigh. “Two grammar errors. The teacher disliked one of my paragraphs.” 

“You musn’t afford such mistakes, Mittens,” her mother tutted. “Don’t you agree, Alador?”

“Hm?” Alador looked up for a moment, too busy with the newspaper he was reading. “Oh. Sure.”

Amity highly doubted her father was actually listening at all. He was always so preoccupied with his work – and even though he did all the engineering in Blight Industries, Odalia seemed to love boasting about the company as though she’d done most of the work. He never argued against her, just as he never argued when Odalia was being unfair towards the three kids. The day he began to care about his children, much less their grades or how their day was going, would be the day Amity learned how to fly. 

“You heard him, Amity. I do hope you make it to nationals, it’ll look good for your resume, but don’t think it means you can begin lacking in your academics.” 

“Is a ninety-two even that bad?” Edric cut in. Amity shot him a look – the conversation seemed to be coming to a close, and she didn’t need him to voice some silly questions. “I mean, that’s an A.”

“It’s an imperfect grade,” Odalia huffed. “Had it been a test, I might be a bit more lenient. But you had plenty of time to perfect an essay. It’s simple laziness.”

Amity swallowed, looking down at her plate shamefully, a pit opening up within her stomach. She didn’t really have an appetite anymore. “Yes, I understand. I will be more careful next time.”

She’s right, after all, Amity thought, her hand clenching the hem of her skirt. Her mind flashed to the time she fell during one of her practices. How could she expect to be a good student when she allowed herself to trip up so often?

“And also,” Odalia added. Amity’s teeth subconsciously bit on the inside of her cheek, waiting for whatever her mother was going to say next. “Make sure you get a full score on your next English test. You can’t risk your GPA falling.”

“Yes, mother.”

Odalia opened her mouth, likely to add something else, before Emira interrupted. “Oh, Mittens, didn’t you have a project you needed to do?”

“Oh, yeah,” Edric agreed. “You should work on it now. We can help!”

Amity’s eyebrows knitted together, and she looked up at her siblings with pursed lips. She didn’t have any projects at all. But then she saw the small hint in Emira’s expression, and immediately, thankfulness washed through her. “Oh, yes, I… I do.”

Emira’s face twisted into a small grin. She looked at their parents expectantly, and Odalia sighed, looking between the three of them. “You should have the capabilities to do things yourself, Amity. But I’ll excuse it this time,” their mother muttered. “You’re dismissed.”

Amity nodded, stepping out of her seat and waiting for the twins. As they made their way to the stairs, she expected them to walk ahead of her. She doubted they were trying to save her or anything – they likely just used the excuse of helping her so that they themselves could escape.

She noticed her sister’s eyes trained on her. “Mom’s really been after you,” Emira mentioned, lips curled down in a slight frown.

“Yeah,” Edric said. “Soon enough, she’d lose her mind if you lost, like, a single point on a test.”

Amity shrugged. She wasn’t even sure why they were pretending to care, it wasn’t like it affected them. “She’s just strict, I guess.”

Before the two could say anything else, Amity pushed past them. She knew it was only a matter of time before the conversation devolved into senseless teasing, and today, she really didn’t have the motivation to deal with it. A minute later, as she stood in front of her bedroom, her stomach groaned in protest of all the food she’d left behind (as it typically did after dinner), but she irritatingly pushed it aside as she stepped into her bedroom.

It was a pretty simple area: a balcony on the other side, a soft rectangular carpet beneath her feet, a single bed beneath a slim window. Her bedside table had a lower shelf ridden in books, including a certain fantasy series she was more than embarrassed to be a fan of which she’d stuffed into the very back. A few photos sat on the top of the desk, many from games won with The Banshees, some from her childhood, and one of the family she’d turned to face the wall. A singular, empty space was in the middle of the frames, saved for the trophy they’d win if they made it to nationals.

With a light sigh, Amity traced her finger over the space. She had to win this. She had to prove that this elective was worth it, all while keeping her grades in tip top shape.

High expectations were the norm for her, but for whatever reason, there was something clenching around her lungs this time. She was balancing on a tightrope, and her mother was watching sharply, judging her from afar. Amity fell back into her bed, letting her head sink into the pillow. 

She wanted to let the tension wash away with sleep, but found it difficult to fall into it.

✧

Luz stumbled forward again, just barely catching herself from tripping.

The team had been practicing a few more moves, and Luz, as one of the flyers — a position held up in the air by spotters and bases during stunts — was currently trying to pull her leg backwards towards her head in a scorpion-stunt shape. And she was, in the kindest words possible, failing miserably.

If I can’t do this on the ground, how am I meant to do it in the air? She chided herself internally. She was flexible, yes, but she couldn’t stay balanced for the life of her.

Luz sighed, putting her pom-poms on the bleachers and sitting by it as the others grabbed their water bottles. She knew that some moves were difficult to master, and she really shouldn’t judge herself for it, but there was still a tiny prickle of shame roiling in her stomach. She was never a perfectionist. She loved doing things chaotically and imperfectly. It was how she was. But in this instance, with her impression towards the other cheerleaders on the line, the last thing she wanted was to disappoint them and mess their routine up. Most people were annoyed by her, and she wasn’t planning to add the rest of the team to that list.

She took a breath, letting her attention be caught by the rugby players. The cheerleaders’ little area was a fair enough distance away during drills, but during practice games, they had to stick to the sidelines so as to not get in the way when the whole field was being used. It was much easier, now, to see them up close. Especially a certain captain.

But it wasn’t just looks that Luz admired! It was how Amity played; sharp, skillful, confident. She was so refined in everything she did, from books to sports, that she almost didn’t seem human. And Luz was always captivated by how she managed to take over the field like that. She watched it all the time.

So Luz, out of anybody else, would notice if something was wrong.

Amity didn’t seem to have her regular, winning grin on. Her lips were pulled into a tight line, her lungs were heaving more than normal, her fists kept balling into themselves. She wasn’t playing with finesse, she was playing with frustration. Luz frowned, feeling worry bubbling up in herself, but it could very well be her imagination.

Then the break was called to a close, and so Luz got up again, grabbing her pom-poms and joining the others for more rehearsals. 

“If you hold them like that, they’ll fall!” A spotter, Natalie, as complaining to another cheerleader. “You need a better stance.”

“Everyone should be balanced,” Isabella added, pointing a glare towards Luz. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. Again, while everyone on the cheerleading team was usually kind to her, Isabella was one of the ones who would sneak in a snide comment or two every now and then. 

“Sorry,” Luz chuckled sheepishly. “Scorpion is really testing my dangly legs.”

“It’s okay,” Clara offered with a soft smile. “That stunt’s a little weird, honestly.”

“But you’re still up for doing it lifted, right?” Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Luz nodded profusely. Of course she was. Again, she didn’t want to let them down. “Yep! I’ll get it, don’t worry.”

The cheerleading coach cut their conversation off, calling the team for more stunt work. They got to it immediately, and Luz… began to make extra sure she didn’t fall over for the second time. 

About half an hour later, a shrill whistle blew across the field to call the end of the rugby game. Out of pure curiosity, Luz lifted her head to see how the Banshees’ practice went. While they won against the team of extras, Amity was hugging her arms to herself, her face thoroughly flushed. Her teammates were rejoicing, patting her and each other on the backs, but her eyes were focused towards the ground.

Luz tilted her head. Okay, so it wasn’t her imagination after all. She watched intently as Amity waved off her teammates and stepped back from them.

“Luz? Hello?” Clara asked, waving her hand in front of her face. “We should practice the stunts in the air.”

“Sure, I just…” Luz trailed off, watching as Amity swiftly headed towards the bleachers, disappearing behind. Her heart swelled with something solemn, and she set her pom-poms on the ground. “One sec, I’ll be back!”

Clara blinked in confusion, but Luz was already off. 

Passing by the other rugby players, she approached the bleachers on the other side of the field. She’d wondered where she had even gone, but realized when she saw Amity’s form sitting beneath them.

She wrung her hands together. For all she knew, Amity could be taking a breather or something – she shouldn’t bother her. Luz lifted her shoe, hesitated, an internal battle in her mind raging between whether or not she should take a step. After a good moment, she sucked in a breath, and walked forwards. It wouldn’t hurt to just check, would it?

Amity’s hands were placed at the back of her neck, facing down with tension bunched up between her eyebrows. When hazel eyes shot up towards Luz, that expression soured even further, causing her to falter. “What do you want?”

“You looked kinda stressed back there,” Luz said gently. “You okay?”

The girl stared at her for a good moment, and then let out some mix between a scoff and a laugh. “Why are you asking? I don’t know you.”

Luz shrugged, her hands still fidgeting together unconsciously. She’d been told that it ‘looked awkward’ from an outside perspective, but it always helped her gather her thoughts when they were frantic, and being in front of her sad crush was doing a good job at making her mind run. “I just wondered if you’d wanna talk about it, I mean, getting your feelings out the bottle usually –”

“I missed a try. The ball slipped from my hands,” Amity spat. “There. Got your answer.”

Luz blinked, her eyebrows knit together. She didn’t know all that much about rugby, but from what she’s watched, it wasn’t an absolute failure to miss a goal – or, what she assumed was rugby’s version of a goal, a ‘try’. She’d waited for Amity to add something else, but when all that followed was silence, she asked, slowly, “just one? That’s all?”

“That’s all?” Amity repeated, almost exasperated. She took a deep breath, and continued, “One try could determine a whole game, you know that? It’s not one point, it’s five, and more if you count the kicks afterwards.”

Luz’s frown deepened, and she took a tentative step forwards, crouching down and sitting on her knees so she was at eye level. “I still think you did super well,” she offered. “And plus, it’s a practice. You’ve got a lotta time before the big game.”

“Two months isn’t as much as you think,” Amity said grimly. “And I’m supposed to be perfect at rugby. I can’t afford slip-ups.”

“But it’s impossible to be perfect,” Luz argued. It was ironic, really – just a few minutes ago, Luz was thinking about how super Amity seemed, but seeing her worry so harshly about this painted her in a new light. A realistic light. One that, as Luz quickly decided, Amity shouldn’t be ashamed of. “Everyone’s gonna make a mistake here and there.”

Amity’s jaw clenched further, and to the cheerleader’s dismay, her words didn’t help much at all. “Well, I can’t be like everyone.”

Luz felt a jab of sympathy, and she wanted to offer some better advice, but she drew a blank. Instead, what slipped out of her lips was, “Why?”

“Are you always sticking your nose into other people’s business?” Amity muttered, her eyes trained on the grass. “Is that how you want to make friends, or what?”

Her heart dropped, the words slowly sinking in. She knew that Amity hadn’t meant it personally, after all, it’s not like they’d gotten to know each other very well. But something in the sentence hit a weak spot, and she had to swallow down a tiny lump in her throat. Quieter, she said, “I just wanted to help —“

“Well, I don’t need you to,” Amity shot back. “I don’t need pity. I can deal with my own issues.”

Maybe if it were anyone else, Luz would’ve been fine. Maybe even a little offended, a little irritated. But this was Amity Blight. This was the girl Luz liked. And so all she could really think about was fighting back the sting at the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. 

Amity didn’t answer that, her gaze so sharp it was practically freezing Luz in that spot. But then she stood and turned in the opposite direction, wordlessly leaving the cheerleader sitting behind the bleachers. 

Luz sat there for a good moment, her gaze still lingering at where Amity was a moment ago, something heavy weighing on her. Luz left the spot with a sigh, not even daring to look back towards the bleachers or rugby players. Somehow, after just one conversation, she’d messed up. She managed to make Amity Blight hate her. 

But she tried not to let it surprise her. Most people were annoyed by her, after all.

Chapter Text

“If Azura was able to befriend Hecate, then maybe I can still befriend Amity. Right?”

That weekend, Luz had stayed up throughout the night, replaying the conversation within her mind. Amity’s cold expression, her bitter tone. And she knew she should’ve just let it go, honestly – because, as much as she admired her, she knew Amity’s words were anything but welcoming. 

Luz’s first instinct, of course, was to wallow in heartbreak by binging her favorite series and scarfing down a bunch of lactose-free ice cream. Obviously, heartbreak wasn’t fun, but she’d always wanted to know how the whole ‘ice cream and sobbing’ thing felt like in the movies.

But, as she was re-reading The Good Witch Azura 5 for another time, an epiphany occurred to her. Sure, they had a rocky beginning, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t make it up to her! Luz knew it’d be impossible for Amity to like her back romantically, but that didn’t mean they had to be enemies. Just being friends, heck, just being on good terms at all would be better than how that conversation left off.

So, here Luz was on a Saturday morning, leaning forward against the front desk of Eda’s (who was practically a second mother to Luz, having watched over her as a kid when Camila was at work) shop, asking for advice on how to talk to someone who was about as approachable as a shark.

“Kid, as much as I wanna encourage you to make friends, make sure they’re ones that deserve you. That Blight family is full of a buncha snobs,” Eda scoffed, fixing the googly eyes of some weird pair of glasses. As much as the shop gave a homey vibe with all its dark wooden walls and pretty artifacts on display, a lot of the collectibles were a little odd. And many, many owl-themed, both decoration and buyable items-wise. She’s honestly not sure where Eda’s owl obsession came from in the first place, but the dedication was almost endearing. 

“I don’t think Amity’s a snob,” Luz argued. “A bit troubled when I talked to her, yeah, but everyone’s got their bad days.”

Eda shrugged, tossing the glasses aside. “Sure, sure. But ‘ya want my advice? I’d say approach her with caution. The last thing I want is for you to get in trouble with her coach. Or worse, her mom.”

“Wait, what’s wrong with her coach?” Luz let out a gasp, leaning forwards. “Is there a secret hidden past between you two? You know I love backstories!”

“Eh, nothing you should worry about,” Eda waved off. Before Luz could ask anything else, the woman pointed at a mini statue on the table. “Anyways, can you put that thing on the shelf?”

She pouted, slumping against the desk. “But Edaaa! I’m gonna be curious forever now!”

Eda narrowed her eyes, a long moment passing before Luz let out a sigh. Well, clearly Eda wasn’t going to spill. And somehow, the woman was always making her do a bunch of chores because she was ‘getting old and her back hurt’ – really, though, Luz was sure Eda could move things around just fine and was simply lazy – but she never minded that much, anyway.

“Okay, okay. I’ll drop the subject. For now.” Luz hefted up the statue, surprised by its sudden weight in her arm. With a little strain, she asked, “How’s King doing, by the way?”

“Oh, Raine’s watching that little rascal today,” Eda let out a snort. “You know kids. Complaining about 3rd grade homework, demanding cereal puffs, and declaring war on all his enemies in his class.”

Luz smiled. “Not sure if the last one’s all that common, but I’m glad he’s just as energetic as before!”

Suddenly, her phone dinged, and she struggled to reach into her pocket with the heavy item in her other arm. She barely managed to get it, opening up her texts. It was from the cheerleaders’ group chat; Clara wanted everyone to hangout in the library later today, and Luz stared at the message, along with the following excited texts from everyone else.

“Hey, hey, make sure you don’t drop the merch,” Eda pointed out, her finger jabbed towards the statue. Luz let out a shy chuckle, stuffing her phone away and finally setting the statue up. Eda raised an eyebrow. “Is that a text from your friends, or from Camila asking why you’re visiting the ‘crazy lady’s’ shop again?”

“Hey, my mom doesn’t think you’re crazy!” Luz protested. “She just questioned your obsession with ‘betting money on card games and totally not gambling’ habit. And the text was from my friend. They wanted to hang at the library.”

“Oh. Then what’re you waiting for?” Eda ruffled her hair. “Go hangout with your little buddies and get your mind off that prissy girl. You should be enjoying your weekend, not worrying about what you’re gonna do during school.”

Luz let out a huff of amusement, lightly pushing away Eda’s arm. She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to go, after all, being around the cheerleaders was just more of a blaring reminder about the other day. Still, she knew Eda would need to open the shop soon, and Luz didn’t want to spend all day selling trinkets and probably scamming some old people. “Okay, okay, I will! But I’ll be back next week.”

Eda offered a grin. “I look forward to it.”

✧

“And get this,” Mia lowered her voice, “The grade curve got lowered because one person got a full score. Ugh!”

“That’s so annoying,” Clara groaned. “Why can’t the teachers be nice for once?”

Luz listened to the conversation intently, her knee bouncing underneath the table. The cheerleading group – Mia, Valentina, Aysha, Clara, Syeda, and Luz – were at a singular table in the library, whispering little gossip stories to each other. Isabella and Natalie weren’t able to make it, and Luz didn’t want to say it out loud, but she was a little relieved. She felt a lot more comfortable with the rest of the cheerleader group.

Though she had to admit, long conversations with them were more difficult than she imagined. Obviously, she couldn’t start ranting about her favorite book series, and she was sure they didn’t want to talk about cheerleading stunts after doing them all week. So now she was left at a difficult position: joining in without coming across as annoying.

It was easy with Willow and Gus. They were extremely welcoming towards Luz’s weird habits, her talkative nature, her mannerisms. But this was different. These girls were more ‘normal’ than she was. If she wanted to stay on their good side, then she’d have to watch her own behavior, right? But how was she meant to do that?

“What about you, Luz?”

Luz blinked, and she realized she hadn’t actually been paying attention to the conversation. “Huh?”

“Spring break’s just after the game. Got any plans?” Valentina asked, giving her a soft smile.

“Oh! Uh…” she shrugged, trying to formulate some type of acceptable answer. Taxidermy wasn’t the most regular thing to be doing, and she figured that fanfiction would get her some looks too. What did people usually do in the books she’s read? “Go to the beach?”

“I might host a party or something. You guys should come,” Syeda offered.

“Oh, gosh, remember the party last semester?” Aysha reminisced. “I can’t believe those two kids got in a fight!”

And, just like that, the conversation had shifted to an entire event that Luz knew nothing about. She wasn’t as close with the cheerleaders (or anyone, for that matter) the previous semester, and being known as the weird kid, she wasn’t really invited to any huge parties. She shifted awkwardly as everyone laughed about this person or that, and some part of her was getting a bit overwhelmed as she was trying to think of a way to contribute to the conversation somehow. Eventually, she just whispered to Clara that she was going to use the restroom and got up.

Luz walked for a good minute, letting out a small sigh as she berated herself internally. C’mon, Luz. Be normal. It shouldn’t be this hard.

Sometimes, she’d wonder if her quirks meant there was something wrong with her. If the reason Amity had pushed her away so suddenly was because she came off as off-putting, or something. Did she deserve friends if she couldn’t be like them? What was the point?

Then, suddenly, a voice drifted to her ears, causing her to stop in her tracks. 

Her stomach dropped. She recognized that cadence, that rasp. Because it belonged to the very person she was thinking about — or trying not to — all day.

“Hey!”

Luz immediately stuffed herself in between a few bookshelves, heart ramming against her ribs as she wished she could shrink into nothingness. She wasn’t prepared! What was she meant to say? What should–

“Otabin stepped forwards, addressing the person with a warm smile. He…”

“Wait,” she slowly mumbled to herself, poking her head out the bookshelves. Her eyes followed the source of the voice, and she almost couldn’t believe what was in front of her. Amity Blight, extremely cold and lone-wolf Amity Blight, was sitting on a chair and reading a cute book to a group of kids.

“And that’s the end,” Amity said, lightly closing the book. A few kids let out a few protests, and one even ran up to her, but she gave them a light pat on the head and told them to come back another day. It was such a compassionate act, a stark contrast to the Amity she talked to the other day.

Her breath hitched when Amity stood, hair loose and brushing her shoulders. Darker strands were poking out of her roots, complementing the lighter brown shades. There was a soft smile on her lips, an expression Luz so rarely saw, and she was sure she could sit there and stare at it all day. It was like an entirely different side of Amity: less poised, less stoic, more sweet. And it was so, so mesmerizing.

Amity’s eyes flicked upwards, and Luz immediately hid behind the shelf, muffling a squeak with her palm. Oh, gosh, she almost got caught staring. She would’ve had to say goodbye to any attempt at making up right then and there. After a good second, she tentatively peeked back around the shelf, her shoulders untensing when she saw that Amity had already walked away.

Luz practically sprinted from her spot, and only when she was sure she was enough distance away did she allow herself to take a breath. She didn’t see her. She was fine. Everything was fine!

But of course, because Luz’s luck hated her (and, admittedly, she didn’t actually  look where she was going), she had to bump straight into someone.

“Oh my — can’t you watch where you’re going?”

Luz stumbled back, her heart dropping to her stomach. “Uh,” she let out an awkward chuckle. “Hey Amity!”

The librarian across the room let out a sharp hush, and Luz covered her mouth apologetically. Whispering, she repeated, “hey, Amity.”

“Oh,” Amity whispered, looking her over. It made Luz feel incredibly small. “It’s you.”

“In the flesh,” she waved her palms in a dazzling motion, secretly hoping it’d somehow shake away her nerves. “So, about the other day —“

“Just drop it,” the other girl interjected, holding up a hand. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Alright?”

Luz frowned, feeling something inside of her stomach twist. “But I —”

“Drop it,” Amity hissed. She turned on her heel, but before she could even take a step forward, someone else’s voice popped into the conversation.

“Hey Mittens, why’re you being so mean to your friend?” someone asked, a teasing sprinkle in their tone. Luz whirled around, a bit jolted by the two people — a boy and a girl — she hadn’t even noticed now standing behind her. They looked almost the same, tall with light brunette hair and sharp hazel eyes, and bared a small resemblance to the rugby captain.

“Yeah, and she’s so cute!” the girl mused, placing her hands on Luz’s shoulders. Luz blinked, feeling her brain short circuit. Where did they come from? Were they here the whole time? And did she just call her cute?

“She’s not my friend. We’ve met, like, twice,” Amity mumbled. Her eyes met Luz’s, and there was something unreadable in her gaze, before she returned it to the other two. “And Ed, Em, stop bothering me.”

Ed and Em snickered, causing her face to redden even further. Were Amity not incredibly angry, Luz would’ve found it a bit cute, really. 

“You two are the worst.” Amity let out a harsh sigh, pushing past them and walking away.

Luz took a step forwards, wanting to call for her to come back, but was swiftly stopped by a hand on her shoulder again. She looked up, and saw the older girl shaking her head.

“No use. She’s not in a good mood right now,” she said. Luz’s shoulders slumped, as she’d really wanted to talk to Amity, but… she figured they were right.

“Are you her siblings?” She guessed, tilting her head.

The two nodded completely simultaneously, which was honestly a bit uncanny to Luz. “I’m Emira, and that’s Edric,” the girl said. “So, you know her, right?”

“Yeah,” Luz said, wringing her hands together. “We share some classes. I tried to check up on her the other day, but she wasn’t really happy about it.”

“Classic Mittens,” Emira murmured. “She hates anyone checking in on her.”

Luz opened her mouth, but was hastily cut off by Edric’s complaint. “Can we sit somewhere? I’d rather not get trampled by the other people here.”

The librarian let out another aggressive hush, sending a death glare towards his direction. He sighed. “And because of that.”

A minute later, the three of them found a small table to sit, preferably distanced from the librarian. Luz’s phone let out a small ding, likely from the group chat, but she quickly shut it off. The cheerleaders could wait — their conversation was probably better without her, anyways.

“So… is ‘Mittens’ Amity’s nickname or something?” Luz asked slowly, the corners of her lips quirking upwards. 

“Oh, yeah,” Emira confirmed, donning a smile of her own. “We call her it all the time.”

“It’s a show of our affection,” Edric added. “And a really funny way to embarrass her in public.”

“That name is so adorable!” Luz exclaimed, leaning forwards. “But why would it embarrass her?”

“She thinks it’s ’too childish,’” Emira laughed, leaning her chin on her palm. “And she’s been especially pissed off lately.”

“Oh,” Luz mumbled, her smile falling. So Amity’s been irritated in general? She’d assumed it was solely the game — but if it was other times as well, then there was likely something else going on. “Why? Is she okay?”

Emira sighed. “Our mom’s been really hard on her,” she tutted. “She keeps trying to push her to be absolutely perfect. God forbid Mittens did so much as cough in her presence.”

Edric nodded, frowning. Luz slumped in her chair, feeling something settle twistedly in her stomach. Now she understood why Amity was so obsessed with keeping such a perfect image all the time: her mom was apparently a nightmare. 

“Try not to let the whole thing get to your head,” Edric offered. “She’s a little snappy, but it’s not personal.”

“Does she have someone to talk to, at least?” Luz asked softly, her eyebrows bunched together. “I mean, you’re her siblings. You can, right?”

The twins grimaced, giving each other a look. “It’s just…” Emira sighed. “We were so busy doing pranks up until now, Mittens barely talks to us unless she’s complaining about something. I doubt she’d want to open up, especially since mom’s never been as strict towards us. So she feels like we wouldn’t understand. She basically just feels a bit alone.”

Luz stared down at the table, falling silent for a good moment. She could see herself in Amity, in a way. She never enjoyed spilling her issues to her friends, mostly out of worry of being a bother. And she knew it'd be difficult for them to understand why Luz felt so out of place compared to everybody else. Just like Amity: alone. But while Luz could always go to her mom, or Eda, or even Raine, the rugby captain had nobody.

But I could try again. They shared classes together. Approaching her outside the library wouldn’t be too difficult, and Luz wanted to make up anyways, right? The best way to do that would be to give her a chance to open up. To be truly seen.

“I’ll talk to Mittens – I mean Amity,” Luz decided, flushing over her trip-up. “On Monday, when she’s feeling a bit better. And I’ll make sure she feels less alone.”

The two exchanged a look, and looked at her with thankful smiles. “Let us know how she’s doing, alright?” Edric said.

Luz nodded. Her phone let out a small sound again, and under the desk, she peeked at the message. Clara was asking where she was. She turned the device off quickly, looking at the twins one last time. “I gotta go! I’ll talk to you later?”

The two nodded. “Good luck, cutie,” Emira sang, waving her a small goodbye.

Luz let out a shy chuckle, excusing herself from the seat and leaving to find her friends. 

Okay, Luz. Operation: Talk to Amity on Monday. I can do this.

At least, she hoped.

✧

Monday came a bit quicker than she’d anticipated.

Luz, for once, managed to pull off the scorpion form without falling to the grass. But doing it once didn’t mean it was perfected. She was still wobbling a bit, and she knew she should’ve been practicing some of the other stunts as well, but she just wanted this to work.

But in her defense, she wasn’t exactly laser-sharp focused into it. Because, every two minutes, she was stealing glances towards the rugby members.

She hadn’t a clue as to when their breaks were, nor would she know when she could catch Amity alone to talk to her, but she would wait patiently for it. Luz thought about what she wanted to say all weekend, and she wasn’t all too confident in herself, but she had to try. After all, like she said herself: If Azura could befriend Hecate, then she could befriend Amity. Simple.

“Hey, Luz?” Clara asked, tapping her shoulder. She jumped a little, broken out of her staring. “You good? You’ve been a bit out of it lately.”

“Oh, yeah! Just, y’know.” Luz looked towards the rugby team again. The game was about to be called. She mentally prepared herself. All she had to do was walk up and hope that Amity would hear her out.

“Oh,” Clara drawled out. “You’re watching her, aren’t you?”

“You’ve really got it bad,” Mia giggled, earning a few more from the other cheerleaders.

“Guys!” Luz protested, her face quickly flushing. She patted at her own cheeks. Okay, she was not going to let herself look like a ripe apple the second she approached the rugby captain. “I’m just interested in the game. And I have to go talk to her about something.”

“Let us know how it goes!” Clara sang, giving her a pat on the back. 

Luz let out a chuckle. Unfortunately, she was not as sure about how this would turn out as they were.

The moment the whistle blew, she sucked in a breath, sweat trailing down her face as her pulse thrummed in her ears. Well, it was now or never.

She briskly approached the rugby team, and earned an eyebrow raise from Coach Lilith on the way, but her eyes were fully directed at Amity.

She stopped just a few feet away, and really couldn’t help but stare. Amity took a swig of her water bottle, crunched it, and tossed it into a trash can without even looking – and it landed right in. Like it was just second nature. She didn’t even have to look back, as though she already knew her precision was that accurate. Honestly, Luz had to stop herself from geeking out about how cool everything Amity did was.

She shook her head. Conversation first, admire later. 

“Hey, Amity?” she called out. Amity’s gaze turned towards her, and it was so stone-faced that she couldn’t even tell what the emotion was. Luz gulped.

“You again,” she muttered bitterly, crossing her arms. But, though it might’ve been wishful thinking, she could’ve sworn there was a bit of uncertainty laced within her tone. Almost regretful. “What do you want?”

“Can we talk for a sec?” Luz asked, offering a weak smile. 

Amity chewed on her lip. “If this is about –”

“I know you wanted me to drop it, but I really think it’s important,” she whispered. “So please? Just for two minutes?”

The rugby captain stole a glance towards her other team members, then back to Luz. She fell silent for a long, long moment. Luz could feel her heart begin to sink, as she was sure Amity was going to refuse and tell her to just leave it alone again. But, to her relief, Amity said, “Fine. Two minutes.”

Luz nodded, and she tilted her head towards the bleachers, beckoning for Amity to follow. She felt her nerves pushed to the limits, almost every little breeze and bead of sweat on her skin incredibly loud. Once they were behind the bleachers, she forced herself to take a breath, if only to steady her voice. 

“Listen,” she began, “I’m sorry if I was being pushy about revealing why you were frustrated. You’re right. It was none of my business.”

Amity’s eyes widened, barely noticeably, but enough for Luz to catch. She opened her mouth, like she was about to say something, but it didn’t seem to come out. So Luz continued instead.

“But I mean it when I say I wanted to check on you. And when I met your siblings at the library, they said you were feeling pressured to meet your mom’s expectations – not that I asked them to tell me that!” Luz added hurriedly. “They just sorta let that info out. And I get it if you don’t wanna keep talking about it, but I just wanted you to know that I understand.”

“Understand what?” Amity murmured finally. But this time, her words weren’t filled with malice. It was quiet, the lilt in her tone almost hopeful, even.

“Wanting to fit expectations,” Luz clarified softly. “I know it’s not really the same, but I have trouble making friends, and I’m always worried I’m gonna do something to scare the ones I have off. I try to act perfect for them. So I wanted to say that I know how you feel, and that it’s valid.”

Luz watched as the other girl’s eyes fell, and Amity swallowed, a thoughtful yet tense silence lingering between them. 

“I don’t know why you keep trying to approach me,” she muttered. For a moment, Luz almost felt as though her heart were harshly crushed. But Amity continued. “But… I appreciate your concern. And I guess I wasn’t the nicest to you lately. I’ll think on that.”

In that moment, Luz let out a breath she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding. The corners of her lips twitched into a smile. “It’s okay. Like I said, I understand.”

Amity was looking at her now, and their gaze locked. She could’ve sworn she felt a little flip in her stomach, with the way those hazel eyes were perfectly lighted in the sunlight and the soft expression set on the other girl’s face.

She cleared her throat. “I should, um –” Amity jabbed a thumb towards the field, letting out a light laugh. “I should get back to practice before Boscha gets peeved.”

“Yeah,” Luz chuckled, rocking back and forth on her toes. “I should get back too.”

“Also,” Amity trailed off, chewing on her lip. “Okay, I don’t really watch cheerleading that often, but I’ve seen you practice that… gymnastic thing. You look – I mean, it looks good. Just thought I’d let you know.”

Luz’s eyebrows raised, and she felt the flipping in her stomach get stronger. Amity thought Luz’s stunt looked good? And not that she was horribly failing at it? “Oh, wow, uh… Thanks!”

Amity nodded, turning around a little too quickly and walking off. Luz’s eyes lingered in her direction, her heart thudding beyond belief. She knew that this didn’t mean they were friends yet, but…

It was a start.