Boiling Isles RPG

Amity’s POV

7:25

Just five more minutes. Amity wiped the palms of her hands over the pink skirt of her dress for what must have been the hundredth time that night. Five more minutes until she walked out to the center of the gym floor and… what, just stood there waiting? She gripped the pin in her hand, finding the pressure of the ridges against her palm comforting, and shook her head. She still had five more minutes to psych herself up, everything was going to be okay.

The school had really gone all out for dance this year, the lighting, the music, the decorations, even the food was all surprisingly good despite the fact that some idiot had spilled all of the punch earlier and the kids on the dance planning committee were still trying to clean it up. Amity had unfortunately had to rely on her siblings for a ride and of course ended up twenty minutes late as a result. She hadn’t spotted Luz in the crowd yet but Willow and Gus had told her that they’d seen her standing off to the side earlier. They hadn’t approached her but had gotten close enough to be able to see that she had been wearing the pin on her jacket.

Amity took a deep breath and glanced over to where Willow and Gus were standing on the other side of the gym floor. Willow smiled reassuringly and Gus gave a double thumbs up. Amity smiled and gave them a nod before placing the pin on her dress and heading out into the center of the dance floor.

There were a lot of people moving around, laughing, talking, and dancing, so even though Amity kind of stood out by staying still in the middle of the dance floor, it wasn’t like she was a sore thumb or anything. She even noticed Luz’s boss chewing out some kids for having cigarettes on them before pocketing them herself.

For a few minutes Amity kept shifting her weight between her toes and her heels. The shoes were uncomfortable but her mother had insisted she wear them because ‘they really tie the outfit together’.

Amity checked her phone. 7:42.

A frown grew across Amity’s face. She felt her breathing get a little heavier and she gripped the hem of her skirt in an attempt to ground herself. It was working a little bit. Luz wasn’t exactly known for being punctual, hell, she’d even been late to the first day of school. Maybe she was just trying to work up her nerves like Amity had been and had lost track of time. Maybe she’d just gotten cold feet. That was understandable.

Or… Amity’s throat felt tight. Maybe Luz had spotted her standing in the middle of the floor, saw that it was her and walked away without Amity even noticing. Her eyes started to sting. Would Luz do that? Amity didn’t think so, but then again she hadn’t even considered that Luz and Lazura could be the same person until it practically smacked her in the face.

She stood around for another few minutes before checking her phone again. 7:50.

Should she keep waiting? The music was ramping up and she was starting to get in the way of people dancing.

7:51.

Amity sniffled and shook her head. She kept her eyes down as she made her way off of the dance floor, grateful that everyone was too focused on themselves to notice her briefly wiping under her eyes. She wasn’t crying though, a blight must be prim and proper and should never show any uncalculated emotion. Her mother’s ideology echoed in her head. She’d never hated a thought more. Luz wasn’t coming, and all Amity wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry but that wasn’t going to happen.

She made it out of the gymnasium, passing Skara and Emily on their way inside. They were laughing about something to each other. At least someone was having a good time tonight. They called out to her with a friendly wave but Amity could only manage a curt nod back to them as she passed. They got the message and let her go without saying anything else.

Amity started heading towards the front door to the school and stood off to the side in the lobby. A few late partygoers were filing in but they all either ignored or didn’t notice her which was fine with Amity. She brought her phone out into her hand but didn’t turn it on. The twins were probably out of the house as it was a Friday night, but maybe she could call and ask them to pick her up early. Or maybe she could walk home or something. Suddenly the phone started buzzing in her hand. She didn’t even look at the caller ID before picking up. “Hello?” Amity’s voice was deathly calm. The result of years of conversation with her mother allowing her to speak loud and clear even if she was on the verge of tears.

“Amity, where are you!?” Willow’s voice came over the line. She sounded out of breath and was shouting over music from the dance that was starting to fade over the phone. “We overheard some of Boscha’s friends, something’s wrong!”

Luz’s POV

6:55

Eda had given Luz a ride to the dance which means that she’d gotten to the school early. Well, technically Eda was supposed to be there at 6:30 which was why Vice Principal Clawthorn was chewing out Luz’s boss in the middle of the lobby.

“Edalyn, out of all of the times to be late-”

“Hey, I’m doing this as a favor, remember Lily?” Eda said as she plucked a piece of popcorn from an underclassman carrying the bowl to the snack table and popped it into her mouth. “Besides, I had to wait for the kid’s mom to finish taking a million pictures! Ain’t that right Luz?” She ruffled Luz’s hair causing it to stick up a little funny.

Luz glanced at Eda as she tried to right her hair. “Uh yep! It’s my first school dance so it was kind of a big deal for my mom.” Luz tried to give a reassuring smile but it probably came off way too strained to be convincing. This was the first school dance she’d ever gone to and her mother had even adjusted some of her hours so that she could help Luz get ready and take pictures but she’d still been ready to go by 6:00 only for Eda to show up forty minutes later.

Vice Principal Clawthorn narrowed her eyes at the two of them, clearly not happy that Eda used a nickname on her but eventually relented, shaking her head in exasperation. “Fine.” She turned to look at Luz, “you can wait in the lobby with the other early students. Edalyn, get to your post in the gym.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair again before heading down the hall in the direction of the gym.

As Luz started to make her way back toward the lobby, she saw Vice Principal Clawthorn breath a heavy sigh before seeming to suddenly come to a realization resulting in her turning to sprint back toward the gym. Luz could faintly hear her shouting “Edalyn, do not touch the punch bowl!” Followed by distant cackling from Eda.

After a few minutes, Luz and the other early students were allowed to head over to the gym. Thankfully, as an upperclassman, Luz wasn’t forced to fit P.E. into her class schedule so she didn’t really have any knowledge of what the gym would look like under normal circumstances but other than the lingering scent of teenagers doing physical activities, the place seemed pretty nice. There were a lot of blue and white streamers and snowflake decorations that assisted with the winter aesthetic. There was a lot of cool lighting and even a disco ball hanging from the ceiling too. Some kid with a laptop was at a table in the corner as the DJ and the snack table was positioned at the other end. All in all, the place looked pretty nice.

Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, Luz pinned the sigil to her jacket. She almost flinched as the needle went through, hating the idea that she was damaging it in any way, but it was just a tiny hole and she’d gotten confirmation from her mother that afternoon that it would be okay.

Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Luz glanced around the room for anyone that might be Witchling. It was only five after seven and most of the student body that was there so far was made up of freshmen. If Luz had to guess, she’d say that most of the upperclassmen were probably pregaming at different people’s houses before heading over. She did recognise a few kids from her classes though. The girl who sits in front of her in Precalc, Willow, Luz was pretty sure that was her name, was hanging out with a boy who was in her history class. She was pretty sure his name was Augustus or something like that. Like Luz, they were standing on the outskirts of the gym though they were on the side opposite from her.

From where they were standing Luz accidentally made eye contact with Willow who smiled nicely and waved at her. She and Willow had never really done much by way of interacting but Luz thought she could remember Amity mentioning her occasionally during their study sessions. Luz offered a smile and a nod in Willow’s direction, though she couldn’t be sure how well the other girl could see it in the dance lighting. Crap, Luz probably just looked really awkward didn’t she? Her smile faded into a grimace and Luz averted her gaze towards the clock on the wall. 7:15. This was taking forever.

Luz fiddled with the jacket, more people were starting to show up and the gym was getting crowded. It may have been freezing outside but it was very warm in there. The noise was picking up and the lights were starting to feel disorientating. Someone brushed up against her by accident and Luz felt herself tense automatically. Everything suddenly felt a lot louder. What Luz would have given to be at home with her headphones on right then instead of here.

No. It was okay. She took a deep breath. She was here for a reason. A good one. She had to stick it out, for Witchling if nothing else. Breathing a little heavily, Luz tried to loosen her tie without ruining the knot her mother had done earlier in the evening but her throat still felt a bit tight. She needed something to drink.

Glancing around, Luz noticed that the line at the punch bowl was nonexistent as most of the people present were socializing on the dance floor. Trying not to draw attention to herself, Luz started to make her way over to the snack table. She stuck to the outskirts of the gym and avoided eye contact with people. Luz was taking that final step towards the punch bowl when she felt something catch on her foot and fell forward.

One of the legs of the table snapped as she slammed into it, sending her to the floor with the punch bowl falling on top of her.

Luz heard laughing around her and the voice of a very distinct red head shouting “Might want to watch where you’re going loser!” However, all of the voices faded into the distance as her focus centered on the growing stain of pink fizzy liquid on the jacket.

A choking sound escaped from Luz’s mouth and in an instant she was scrambling to her feet. Her shoes slipped on the wet floor before she was finally able to gain enough traction to sprint out of the gym.

She needed to find a place to wash the jacket. A bathroom or something. Was it even meant to be washed in water? Her mother had taken it to the drycleaners the other day, but Luz was pretty sure a little water would be better than whatever was in the punch, she could already feel the white button down she had on underneath getting sticky.

Luz burst into the bathroom meant for the dance goers and was promptly shoed away by a couple making out, and possibly doing something more inappropriate, even though it was a public high school bathroom.

Grimacing, Luz left and started running toward the stairs at the end of the hallway. The old locker rooms from before the school got renovated were located in the basement. They were old and kind of gross but, as Luz had learned during the time when her water was shut off, they had running water and were very private.

Slamming the door open, Luz removed the jacket as quickly and delicately as possible. She hit the light switch and felt the blood drain from her face as her eyes fell on that growing dark spot. It already felt sticky in her hands. Breath catching in her throat, Luz rushed towards the sink in the corner. The water was cold. Is that what she needed or did she need to wait for it to warm-” Suddenly she felt something grip the back of her head and slam it forward into the mirror.

When Luz’s eyes refocused she was on the ground, the jacket was on the floor beneath the sink that was still running, the mirror above the sink was cracked and had traces of blood smeared on it; and between the sink and Luz stood Boscha and her posse. Luz didn’t have time to react before Boscha grabbed her by her shirt, dragged her to her feet, and forced her back against the wall.

Boscha’s knuckles were digging into her throat and then the grip released right as Luz felt the punch to her stomach. She collapsed back to the floor, smearing the decades old dirt from the tile of a locker room that hasn’t been cleaned in way too long. Luz was on her side, clutching her stomach and trying to get air back into her lungs. Boscha was leering over her while Skara and Emily laughed in the background.

“You know Luz,” Boscha said as if they were having a normal conversation, “I don’t know why Amity has been such a stick in the mud lately, but I mean, come on.” She kicked Luz in the gut with the toe of her high heel right below where her arms were protecting. Luz grunted and grit her teeth to keep from crying out.

Tears were spilling out of her eyes but Boscha kept talking as if nothing had happened. “It’s bad enough you’re a border hopping bitch and a loser,” she grabbed Luz’s tie and forced her to look Boscha in the eye, “but really? You’re a dyke now too?” Boscha dropped the tie and kicked Luz in the mouth. The back of her head slammed into the ground and this time she did cry out.

Luz’s eyes were squeezed shut in pain. She felt something dripping down the side of her face and tasted something metallic on her tongue. It took longer than it should have for her to tell that she was tasting blood. Her head was fuzzy and her ears were ringing. As though through a tunnel, she heard Boscha say to her little henchmen “You know what, toss me her jacket.”

Luz’s blood ran cold. She forced her eyes open to see Emily handing the redhead Luz’s jacket from where it had fallen on the filthy floor. “God, it’s so ugly. What the hell made her think she could pull this off?” Slowly, Boscha started to pull at the sleeve until the stitches started to tear.

Straining with effort, Luz forced herself onto an elbow and tried to reach out. “Wait, stop!” she managed to rasp out only to wince and collapse back to the ground as the movement made her stomach felt like it was on fire.

Boscha didn’t even look at her, holding up the jacket as though it were pulled from the garbage. “Skara.”

Without hesitation, Skara grabbed Luz by the collar and landed a punch to her temple, then to her mouth, then her… her head was getting fuzzy. Her breath was sputtering and her mouth was filling with metallic tasting fluid.

At some point Luz realized that Boscha was the one holding her collar again. Skara and Emily weren’t around anymore. Luz managed to lift her head and glanced behind Boscha to see her jacket sticking of the toilet bowl. A sob escaped her throat but it sounded more like a croak. A few drops of blood came out of her mouth and landed on Boscha’s frilly pink dress. Suddenly, Boscha’s hand was on her jaw, digging into a newly forming bruise as she forced Luz to look into her eye. There was a deep scowl on her face, different from the calm and confident look from earlier.

“You know what?” Boscha’s voice was deathly quiet. Luz almost couldn’t hear her. “I’m just surprised you thought you were welcome enough here to come to this dance at all.”

Then Boscha grabbed the back of Luz’s shirt and started dragging her toward her jacket. No, toward the place where the jacket was. Luz tried to struggle, but her body screamed in pain and Boscha had her beat in terms of strength and weight. She barely had time to hold her breath before Boscha forced her head under the water.

Luz’s heart was pounding in her ears. Don’t panic. Luz tried to instruct herself. She’d been in this situation before. Don’t panic. Don’t lash out. Don’t open your mouth. Don’t open your eyes. She could feel her whiteknuckled grip on the toilet seat as well as Boscha’s grip on her hair forcing her head to stay in place no matter how hard Luz tried to pull back. The water was freezing cold.

Luz couldn’t tell how long she was in that position. Seconds. Minutes. Her diaphragm started to spasm and Luz was forced to let air out through her nose but refused to let her self inhale. Her lungs were on fire.

Then suddenly, Boscha’s hand was yanking her back and Luz found herself spilling onto the floor. She gasped for one breath, then another. Wiping the water out of her eyes, Luz was suddenly aware of the shouting.

She turned her head to see Amity and Boscha screaming in each other's faces. Amity’s face was red with anger. Willow and Augustus were standing off to the side looking worriedly at Luz but Amity and Boscha were standing in the way of them. Luz’s ears were still muffled from the water and oxygen deprivation so she couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but Amity pushed Boscha and when Boscha prepared to retaliate Augustus and Willow stepped forward to back up Amity. Boscha was taller than all three of them but even she knew that it probably wasn’t a good idea to fight three people on her own.

With a visible ‘huff’, boscha shoved past them and left the locker room. Willow and Augustus kept looking at Boscha even after she moved outside of Luz’s line of sight. Amity kept her eyes on redhead for only a few seconds before her gaze went to Luz. Her expression suddenly shifted from rage to worry and… something else... as she knelt down in front of Luz and placed a gentle hand on Luz’s shoulder.

“Luz! Luz, are you okay?” Amity’s voice was getting clearer and the cold from the water was helping Luz regain her awareness. But Luz wasn’t focusing on any of that. Instead her vision focused on the pin on Amity’s dress. The sigil. Luz’s sigil… Their sigil. Luz’s eyes widened and her gaze slowly rose to Amity’s face. She was still breathing hard but at that point it was only partially because of Boscha.

Everything clicked into place at once. The headphone debacle, the fact that Amity had been nicer to her, the fact that she was so willing to give out her information to a stranger for the possibility of meeting up. Luz was such an idiot. “You knew.” It came out as a whisper of a croak. She felt like a pot of emotions about to boil over. First Boscha, now this. It was too much.

“Luz, I-” Amity started.

Luz shoved her hand off of her shoulder, cutting Amity off, and grunted in pain as she got to her feet. She grabbed her jacket from the toilet, the water was tinted pink from blood, her blood. Luz’s lip quivered as she watched the colored water drip from her jacket. Gritting her teeth together, she ducked her head as she passed Amity to get out of the stall. She had to get out of there.

“Luz please.”

There was a hand gripping the sleeve of her ruined white shirt and Luz ripped her arm away so fast she nearly stumbled. “Don’t touch me!” Luz glared at Amity who took a step back. Luz never yelled, never got angry. Even when she was shouting at a particularly horrible boss fight in the game, she never sounded like that.

Luz felt guilty at her outburst for a split second until she looked to the side and saw Willow and Augustus looking at her. They had the same recognition on their faces as she had seen on Amity’s earlier.

“Luz…” Willow let her voice trail off as Luz flinched. Luz knew that voice. Damnit, she was such an idiot.

“Did you know?” Luz’s voice was clipped. Anger and betrayal spilling out. Did they know who she was and didn't tell her, just like Amity had? The look of shame on their faces told Luz all she needed to know. She wiped her face on her sleeve as she marched past them. Her body protested the movement but she had to get out of there. “Fucking idiot,” she muttered as she left them there. No one followed her thank god.

She pulled her sleeve away from her face. It was stained red.