Chapter 3Amity smiled, and while Luz didn't smile back, she could see the gratitude in her eyes. The two sat in silence. Luz unpaused her music and doodled on the whiteboard, completely oblivious to Amity watching her with mild interest. Amity was honestly confused as to why the girl was just listening to music and ignoring her. Was she just awkward? Maybe she was mute.
"Hey, Ami." A voice said from behind her. Turning around, Amity saw Boscha, Willow, and Gus making their way over to the table. Luz's eyebrows nervously furrowed for a moment before she smiled softly. But Amity could still see some tension in the girl's face. What is making her so nervous? The others sat down and Boscha handed Amity her food. Luz still hadn't shown any sign that she was going to eat.
"Hey, Luz." Willow said and tapped the girl on the shoulder softly. The Latina girl flinched and looked up fearfully, pausing her music.
"Are you going to eat?" Luz's face started to twitch a little. Willow, taking the hint that she was maybe too close to her, backed up. This seemed to calm Luz down a little. She grabbed her whiteboard, along with the marker, and started to write.
No. I forgot it at home, but it's okay. At that moment, Amity heard a loud growl from Luz's stomach. Luz glared down at it, making Amity giggle. Willow looked at the others pointedly. Boscha rolled her eyes playfully, but pulled an apple out of her bag. Willow grabbed a granola bar from hers, and Gus handed Luz a bag of chips. Amity reached into her bag, pulling out a sandwich. Breaking it in half, she handed one half to Luz, who took it cautiously.
"Luz, don't worry. It's not poison." Amity smiled. taking a bite of the sandwich showing her that it was okay. Luz looked around at the others, her eyes wide, as though they had each made some huge sacrifice. They didn't seem to notice, and Luz quickly scarfed down the food, as though she hadn't eaten in days. Amity and the others watched her do this, mild concern written on their faces. Once Luz had finished her food and looked up, the others quickly looked away. But Amity was lost in thought, why was Luz so scared?
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School had finally come to an end, and Luz was not ready to go home. While school hadn't gone terribly well, it hadn't been awful. She knew for a fact that the other kids from Glandus would be waiting for her at her apartment building, ready to beat her up. They had always done this, she didn't know why, she had nothing valuable in her possession, they just did. It was just a part of her crummy life. But she knew that other people had it worse, so she tried not to complain.
Slamming her locker shut, Luz made her way out of the school into the parking lot, it was pouring. Great. She didn't have a raincoat and the bus wasn't supposed to come for about two more hours, so she had to walk home today. Luz checked her phone, there was a text from her mom.
Mama: Hola, mija! Something came up at work again, so I can't be home tonight. Lo siento, I promise I'll make it up to you. Te quiero.
Luz sighed, and texted a thumbs-up emoji back. This always happened, so Luz hadn't had her hopes up anyway. She trekked out into the rain and started her five mile walk home. The rain wasn't too cold, so she wouldn't freeze. Luz walked fast, determined to get home quickly.
When she looked behind her. Hexside was far off in the distance, and the rain was pouring down much more heavily. Luz started to run, as she didn't want to get stuck out here. She ran until she could barely feel her legs anymore. By the time she reached her apartment building, Luz was wheezing with exhaustion.
"Hey, Noceda!" A voice called. Oh no. She turned around to see Jared Greenburg and his cronies standing at the entrance to the building. Jared Greenburg was her main physical bully at Glandus, him and his friends always liked to beat on her.
"Where were you today? Huh, Noceda? We've been waiting for you." Luz started to back up slowly, gazing at Jared fearfully. He grinned maliciously at her and stalked over. Luz tried to escape, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it, making her groan in pain.
"Now," Jared said, his friends making their way over. "Let's have some fun."
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Luz stumbled into her and her mother's apartment and collapsed on the floor. Jared's gang had really done a number on her. They had knives on them today, so it was even worse. There was a gaping wound on her shoulder, running down to her hand. She was also pretty sure some of her ribs were either cracked or bruised. Forcing herself to her feet, Luz made her way into the tiny bathroom and frantically searched out the first aid kit. She dug out the needle and thread, and stitched up her arm before bandaging it tightly. She would worry about her ribs later. She limped to her small room and carefully grabbed her guitar. It was a dark mahogany acoustic with silver stars up and down the fretboard.
After sitting down, she started to strum it softly and hum. The world disappeared around her as her fingers worked along the strings creating a soft and peaceful melody. Her Papa had taught Luz how to play this song before he passed away. This was his guitar, he would play it all the time for her when she was sad or anxious, or even when she was happy. Luz missed him with every passing day. When he died, he took a piece of her heart with him. Tears started to roll down her face as she remembered his face, then she started to sing.
If you're lost and you're lonely
Go and figure out why
Take a trip to your darkside
Go on and have a good cry
'Cause we're all lonely
Yeah, we're all lonely together
I want to see your sadness
I want to share your sin
I want to be your blood
And I want to be let in
Don't you just
Don't we all just
Want to be together
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
If your face is down
Take a look around
Do your fingers move?
Do your lungs inflate?
Are you tired, are you weary
Of the hidden hate you've been holding?
And did you lose that love?
Or have you never had it?
Are you feeling sad 'cause you did a bad thing?
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
Are you feeling fearful brother?
Are you feeling fearful sister?
The only way to lose that fearful feeling
Replace it with love that's healing
Are you feeling fearful brother?
Are you feeling fearful sister?
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
Leave what's heavy
What's heavy behind
Laying down, Luz couldn't help her mind drifting to the small acts of kindness given to her today by a certain green-haired girl.
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You Will Be Found (A Lumity AU)
FanfictionAll her life, Luz Noceda has felt hopeless. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum and an anxiety disorder, she has always struggled to socialize with others. This has made her the target of scorn from many bullies and teachers. Her only escape from her lif...