All of this, clearly, was a terrible idea.
Stupid. You are so stupid, Amity scoffs at herself. This is all happening because of you.
She and Eda weave through the woods in their pursuit of the Grom monster, sprinting as they approach the cliffside. Her boots scuff the dirt, kicking up sand and gravel, and she pushes them to run faster, because she doesn't know what she’ll do with herself if Luz gets hurt.
Luz. That amazing, fearless human that so quickly offered to bare her fears to the world so Amity could protect her own. She shouldn't have let her. She should've faced the shadows, no matter how much it would've hurt her.
The rotten-candy pink crisply folded note feels like it's burning, suddenly, as if it's mocking her from inside her pocket.
Top student Amity Blight, reduced to a coward from her feelings for a measly human, it coos. What a shame.
In her head, its voice sounds like her mother.
Amity grits her teeth, shoving the note deeper into her skirt, and launches forward, hot on Eda's heels. Suddenly, the older witch jumps on her staff and takes off, soaring into the night sky. Amity can't quite make out what she's doing, considering she's focusing on getting to Luz herself, but she sees flashes of fire above the treetops.
Just as she’s about to volunteer to help, an animalistic cry follows, echoing across the island.
Eda touches back down, in her line of vision again, wielding her staff threateningly at the monster. It doesn’t appear harmed at all; in fact, it only looks angrier. Eda starts drawing a spell circle, preparing her final blows—
But Amity doesn't give her the chance to finish, smiling a wicked grin. This one was hers.
She bursts into the clearing, screaming as she leaps past the tops of the trees, landing nicely on her feet. Eda stumbles backward, startled— Kid, what on earth are you doing, she thinks she hears— and then Amity's running, sliding in between Luz and the monster before it can even touch her.
With her arms outstretched, she all but growls at the Grom.
“Stay away from her!” she shouts, watching as the human form— who was that? A relative of Luz’s? Her mother?— commands one of the shadows towards her.
Amity blinks, momentarily frozen, and that split second distraction is a mistake.
The black substance of Grom is cool as it wraps around her, and it pulls her up into its grasp. She squeezes her eyes shut, defeated.
“I'm sorry, Luz,” she says. “I should've fought my own battle.”
She knows what's coming next, and she knows it's what she deserves for putting Luz through this. She was responsible for this, not Luz, for unleashing this horror onto the Boiling Isles, just because she couldn't face—
The creature's eyes glow blue, and she goes to open her mouth, to tell Luz so she doesn't have to find out from Grom, but it silences her, electrifying her very bones. The shadows' magic runs deep through her veins, making her go limp in its grasp, searching for her weakness. She feels dizzy, her ears ringing— Luz is screaming behind her, but it's gibberish to her— and she can't break free and apologize once more, or give her the answers she deserves.
Where were they, right now? Was she dead? It's almost like she's floating, higher and higher away from the mess she's caused. Good. At least Luz would be safe.
A minute passes, and she can still think, can still sense the shadows inside her, and she gasps, air wracking her lungs.
She’s alive.
She's not floating anymore, and the dark, creeping tendrils on her finally loosen, setting her on the ground. The shape of Grom is transforming, shrinking in size by the second, until they're both in similar height.
There's a weight on her shoulder, a hand, she realizes, as her body control returns. She can hear Luz properly now- Who is that?, she asks, as clueless as ever. Amity’s eyes widen as she takes in the shapeless blob, with what she assumes to be hair, slicked back like the girl behind her.
It's you, she wants to say. It's always been you.
The blob reaches for the note in her pocket, and blood rushes in her ears as she braces for it to reveal what's on it. Instead, it simply takes it, tearing it into two, crumpling the paper balls in its hands. They fall to the grass by her feet, and she sighs, closing her eyes.
Of course. Revealing what was on it wasn't her fear, it was being rejected. The Luz blob did just that, ripping her heart apart.
Her hands shake as she picks up one of the pieces, the fear she tried so hard to shove aside resurfacing at the forefront of her mind. Luz would never like her like that, and she couldn't do anything about it. She clutches the note to her heart, barely noticing Luz's presence beside her.
Luz stops, leaning down to pick up the other piece, and Amity wants to swipe it from her like she did this morning, but what difference would it make? She probably didn’t get the half with her name on it, anyway.
Amity watches as Luz unfolds the note, eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she reads it. That’s bad sign #1. Luz blinks, her lips parting in some kind of shock— that’s bad sign #2.
“Uh, Amity? Why is my name on this?”
Amity snaps out of her yearning and chokes.
“What?!” she sputters, snatching the paper, her face flushing as she sets it on fire. “That's- you know, Grom's getting old, all these years, definitely got it wrong,” she says, waving her hand as nonchalantly as she can muster.
Luz is squinting at her suspiciously, and then her face falls, her voice quivering as she speaks.
“You're not... scared of me, are you? I'm so sorry about whatever I did. I'll leave you alone if that's what you want, I swear.”
“Luz, wait—”
“No more of Luz Noceda, this human will be gone from your sight A-S-A-P. Look, Amity, I'll go now and be out of your hair—”
And Luz is turning, making guns with her fingers, her tailcoat fluttering in the wind as she starts to walk away, beelining for Eda.
Amity can’t take it. She screams. “LUZ!”
Without thinking, she casts a barrier spell, a massive wall towering above Luz, separating her from Eda. Breathing heavily, she catches up to her, grabbing her wrist and tugging her back around. She lets the barrier drop once she’s proven to not be going anywhere, and Luz gapes at her, slack-jawed.
“Amity? What are you doing? I thought you—”
“Well, you thought wrong!” she yells, then holds up a finger, collecting herself. “You thought wrong, Luz,” she repeats, more calmly this time.
Luz is still staring, but she gestures for her to go on. Amity clears her throat.
“Listen, you don’t have to leave, because this is my mess, not yours.”
“This wasn't your fault!” Luz states firmly, cutting her off. “I’m the one that let it escape the arena, please don't blame yourself.”
“Let's call it a tie,” Amity snorts. “Can I continue?”
Luz gives her a thumbs up. Amity barrels on before she loses her nerve.
“Okay. I'm not scared of you, Luz. Not specifically. I'm scared, no, downright terrified, of my feelings and emotions. For... you. And you rejecting me,” she adds quietly at the end. She isn't sure if Luz hears her.
She hands her the other half of the note wordlessly. She holds her breath as Luz scans the invitation, putting it together.
“This was the note from earlier today! You were so secretive and worried about this and this entire time it was about me? Oh my gosh, you wanted to ask me to Grom?” she exclaims excitedly.
Amity releases the breath, relieved. She blushes, scratching the back of her neck gingerly.
“Yes, I did. I still do.”
“But why were you so scared? I would've accepted, and we could've planned matching outfits, oh, the wasted potential,” she moans, hand flying to her forehead dramatically.
Amity laughs— she’s such a dork— and then the meaning of what Luz is saying sinks in.
“You... would've said yes?” she says slowly, and Luz nods eagerly, moving forward and placing her hands on her shoulders.
“Duh! You're Amity! Who could reject you?”
Amity smiles slightly, but fear keeps eating at her, consuming her heart.
“You'd be surprised. Luz, you do realize... I didn't want to go as friends? I wanted you to be my date?”
A long, suspended beat. Amity thinks the world may end in that time, but it doesn’t. Luz is frozen, and then she's beaming, brighter than light magic could ever glow, gripping Amity tightly into a hug.
“Are you kidding?!”
Amity realizes that she’s being lifted off the ground— Luz is spinning her, arms circling her waist. She’s not floating, now. She’s flying.
“This is just like that one Azura and Hecate fanfiction where Hecate confesses her love during one of their fights against their monstrous enemy, and they win, obviously, because love is the most powerful magic of all!”
Amity’s forehead crinkles. “Fan... fiction?”
She’s pretty sure she’s heard of it before, but maybe it was more of a human concept; if so, Luz didn't explain it to her yet. Based on the word itself, it likely had something to do with writing and wind machines? Strange, but this was normal coming from Luz.
“Yes!” Luz cheers. “Fanfiction! It’s the greatest invention since sliced bread. You have so much to learn. Oh, I'll definitely teach you at our first date.”
Amity didn't understand anything Luz was rambling about, but she did know what a date was. A small gasp escapes from her throat, and Luz stops twirling her. She catches her eye shyly, rubbing her arm nervously.
“That is, if you're up for it. We don't have to call it dating, if you're not comfortable. Just more-than-friends who have crushes on each other hanging out.”
Her heart skips a beat, and the fear halts in her ribcage, fading into the dark.
“Really?”
“Really. I like you, Blight. A lot,” she emphasizes.
Amity giggles, feeling lighter than she has in weeks. “I like you a lot too, Luz.”
With her fear gone and nothing left to fuel the Grom, it roars, tripling in size to fight them the old fashioned way— Brute force.
“Well then, if that's settled...” Amity smirks, extending her hand for Luz to take. “May I have this dance?”