Friday 1:55 pm
Luz's POV
"Congratulations to those who made it to the top rank. You all did a fantastic job. Keep up the work in the future and thank you for those that came to the Power-Up Challenge to support our students," Principal Bump announced out loud.
The entire crowd of Hexside students roared in happiness. I was happy to see on the rank leaderboard that I was number one again. My magic level was currently at eight point four. Amity was ranked second with a level of seven point eight. Mattholomule was ranked first with eight as his magic level. Gus's level was at seven point six. Our magic level has really grown from that time period.
"You guys wrecked it out on the field. It's great that you did your hardest in your last year of highschool," Eda complimented my friends and I.
I noticed Lilith was on her way over to the group.
"Thanks Eda. We highly appreciate it," Willow smiled.
"No problem. The bell will ring any minute now so before you rest up kiddos, Lilith will take you all to buy ice cream."
"Excuse me Edalyn, but I did not agree to buying everyone ice cream without discussing it," Lilith heard Eda as my friends laughed at the fact that Eda made up a lie to make Lilith angry at her.
The gang and I were finally seniors. I was able to have Eda as my teacher again and for the last time too. Amity had Lilith as her teacher this year just like in her junior year. I was amazed at how time was going very fast. It is already the month of August and in the second week, school has begun.
"Aw come on sis. I was kidding around. Maybe next time kids."
"Don't bring their hopes up and yes, maybe next time I'll buy you all ice cream."
"Great!"
RIIIIIIIINNNNNGGG!!!
"Looks like it's time to head home. We'll see you guys soon. Bye everyone," my friends said their goodbyes to Eda and Lilith as each of them left, one by one.
"Do you need a ride home Ami?" I asked before Eda and I left.
"My parents just texted me right now and said that they are going to pick me up. Thanks for offering," Amity beamed.
"No problem. Speaking of your parents, do you mind if I meet them when they arrive? I have never seen them before and I'm sure Eda wouldn't mind staying here until they come to pick you up."
"I don't mind at all Luz," my mentor replied.
"I'm sorry Luz, but right now is not the best time. Maybe later on you can just not now. I hope you can understand."
"Don't worry, I understand."
From the way Amity spoke and her expression changing, it felt off. It was as if something was bothering her. I have known Amity for almost a year and seeing something change about her was throwing me off. Before I could see what was wrong, her phone rang. She answered and placed it on her ear.
"If you want kid, I can stay in the car while you wait until Amity gets home. I have to make a call to your mother and see if she made it to work safely."
"Yeah sure. I'll meet up with you."
"Uh, I have to go, Luz. My parents are already here."
"Oh, that's fine. I'll see you on Monday then," I gave Amity a kiss on the lips.
"Bye guys," Amity left right away, rushing to wherever she's going to be picked up.
"Or nevermind. What's up with your student Lilith?" Eda crossed her arm as she watched Amity disappear.
"It most likely has something to do with her parents," Lilith stated.
Her tone of voice was different as if something was frustrating her. Eda must've read my mind as she asked her sister a question.
"Are you alright sis?"
"I'm perfectly fine, Edalyn. I am a little exhausted and I should head home to relax. I'll see you two Monday morning," Lilith walked away without saying anything else.
"Am I going crazy or is there something that the two of them are not telling? Amity didn't appear to be happy when her parents were going to pick her up and Lilith seemed upset from the way she sounded."
"It was probably my fault that Amity acted that way for I asked to see her parents," I felt a bit guilty.
"Eh don't worry kid. You know Amity wouldn't want you to blame yourself for something you didn't even do. Maybe there's something happening that is not for us to know about. Somehow, I believe Lilith knows something that we don't. Though, if Amity is not comfortable with telling us what's going on, then it is not our place to budge in and be nosy about it."
"You made a good point. I just hope that everything is okay and not something I need to worry about."
"Think on the bright side. Now, I gotta call your mom so let's head to my car," Eda pulled out her phone and called my mom.
I zoned out of the conversation between Eda and my mom and instead focused on thinking about Amity. It was going to run in my mind the way she sounded and appeared when her parents were mentioned. It made me realize that she rarely even talks about them to me. For some odd reason, it looks like Amity is trying to avoid me from visiting them. I'm not sure why, but it must be a good reason not to see her parents.
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Amity's POV
The drive home was quiet. My parents and I only said hi to each other but that was it. It was unexpected for them to randomly text me and say that they were at school to pick me up. The silence felt off and I was scared as to why my parents weren't communicating with me. They usually would ask me about my grades and magic level. It's not like that any longer.
'We've made it home quick,' I said to myself.
I noticed a familiar car parked in our driveway. It belonged to Mattholomule's parents.
'What are they doing here?'
Finally, my mother was the first to break the silence.
"Our guest has arrived already. Be sure to behave yourself Amity."
"Yes mother," I responded with a bit of anxiety appearing.
We got out of the car at the same time as Mattholomule and his parents did. Everyone was dressed as if they got out of work except Matt and I. I was beginning to feel nervous about what was going on. I prayed that my worst nightmare wasn't coming true.
"Good afternoon Alador and Odalia. It's nice meeting you both again," Ivor, Mattholomule's father, greeted.
"Likewise Ivor. It's a pleasure to see you Aria," my father nodded his head slightly to Mattholomule's mother.
"My pleasure is yours Alador. We have a lot to discuss, don't we?"
"Yes we do," my mom answered.
Mattholomule stood there with a concerned look on his face. He gave me a little wave and I waved back. I saw the door opened with my brother and sister by the doorway. They were dressed nicely and the clothing was something they wouldn't wear unless they were forced to wear it.
"We shall head inside to discuss the matter. The twins prepared some delicious tea for all of us to enjoy."
"Thank your children later for it," the Barlot family followed my parents inside.
"Will do, my friend."
I trailed behind everyone and passed by my siblings. They gave me a look of sadness and fear. It felt like the world was spinning around. I heard the door close behind me as everyone was seated on the couch. There was a seat open next to Mattholomule and I took it. I'm hoping that I am just misunderstanding the entire situation and everything will just be a usual meeting.
"Where shall we start off?" Ivor questioned before taking a sip of tea.
"Odalia and I would like to start off by discussing my daughter's magic level.
Hearing my father say those words struck me. It was like my heart had stopped beating for a couple of seconds. This was something I never wanted to hear in my entire life.
"Proceed."
My father looked at my mother before nodding.
"I will jump right and say that our daughter has failed to accomplish a goal Alador and I wanted her to achieve throughout her highschool years," my mom pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it.
At that point, I already felt ready to cry. But I couldn't. Not in front of everyone.
"Amity was supposed to be ranked number one on this so-called Power-Up Challenge, but a student by the name of Luz Noceda was ranked number one last year. My guess is that this Luz girl has beaten Amity this year as well," my mom's eyes averted to mine.
I did my best to keep a strict face, but my emotions were preventing me from doing so.
"Which is why we are all gathered here. We proposed to Amity that if she wasn't ranked number one throughout her four years in highschool, she must marry Mattholomule. He is, after all, ranked number one. Both of them would make a powerful couple for our combined business."
My lips quivered and tears were ready to fall. I wanted to get out of here already. I want to just run away and never come back to this hell hole.
'If you want to cry, wait until you go to your room. I don't want your tears shown in front of our guests,' I heard my mother's voice in my head as she has telepathy magic.
I did what I was told and held them back as best as I could.
"Indeed they will, which is why the both of us agreed to this marriage. Mattholomule doesn't have a say of this and neither does your daughter. They are two people who know how to respect our wishes and make us all happy," Ivor added.
"In the end, it will benefit us and our business. This is a great offer from the Blight family, don't you think so son?" Aria asked Mattholomule.
"Yes it is mother," he faked his smile.
He didn't like this idea at all. I don't either. I'm being forced into marriage with someone I don't love in a romantic way. The only person I love with my entire heart is Luz. And to hear that I'm getting married without Luz knowing breaks my heart. She'll hate me and she most likely wouldn't want to talk to me ever again. I'm afraid now to tell her the truth about this. I thought I would be able to escape this horrible reality and be truly who I am, but it's over.
"Mattholomule turned eighteen in the middle of July and Amity has a couple more months to go until she's a legal adult. Right after Amity turns eighteen, we'll have the wedding set," my mother explained.
"That's wonderful to hear! I have the contract here for both of you to sign. It's an agreement that you're willing to make our business successful with the help of your daughter marrying our son," Aria pulled out a contract from her folder and handed my parents a pen to sign their names.
My mom and dad signed and handed back the contract along with the pen.
"It's settled. I look forward to our deal, Alador and Odalia."
"Same here Ivor."
"We will be heading out then. I must attend a meeting in two hours with my wife."
"Do as you must my friend."
"Will do. Have a nice day, Blights."
"You too."
"I need to use the restroom father," I heard Mattholomule say to Ivor.
"Alright but don't spend too much time or else I'll leave you. Though, it doesn't sound like a bad idea now that you and Amity are fiances."
"I won't take long."
"Hurry," Ivor and Aria left our house.
Mattholomule was led by Em and Ed to the bathroom, leaving my parents and I in the living room.
"We're very disappointed in you, Amity. If you were to work harder than Luz, this wouldn't happen at all. I'm sure you think of Mattholomule as more than friends by now. Also, wipe your tears away. We are not to show any signs of weakness here in this household," my mother slightly glared at me.
"We must depart Odalia," my father placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Alright dear. Let's go."
My parents left without saying anything else. I didn't notice my tears were falling until my mother pointed it out. All I could do was fall down to my knees and sob. I wished that it was all a dream and that I would wake up to a normal, happy day. I pulled out the necklace Luz had bought me and clutched onto it against my heart.
"Amity..." Mattholomule spoke softly.
I turned my head to see him have a look of guilt and sorrow. It appeared that he was crying as well from the redness in his eyes. He went down on his knees and pulled me in for a hug. I immediately wrapped my arms around him tightly. I needed some comfort to feel better.
"I'm so sorry that this is happening. My damn parents never told me anything about this."
"It's okay Matt. This is n-not your fault."
"This is such a stupid deal. They don't care about our happiness. Why can't we just be with whoever we want instead of being forced into marriage? No offense Amity."
"None taken, but you're right. I'm already with someone else."
"What? With who exactly?"
"I'm in a relationship with Luz," I confessed.
"You and Luz are together?"
I was surprised that no one had told him. Especially Gus since he has Matt for the Mage Appreciation Society. I nodded without saying a word. Matt looked at me as if I was a ghost.
"This can't be...Fuck," Mattholomule grabbed a handful of his hair and closed his eyes.
"We can't do this Amity. This is going to hurt Luz and you know that."
"I know but what can I do? If I tell Luz she'll go find my parents and beg them to not do this. Who knows what they'll do if they find out that I'm dating her."
"I understand where you are coming from. As for me, there is something that I need to confess...I-I am in love with Augustus."
I immediately whipped my head to see Matt's face.
"You really do?"
"Yeah and it hurts like hell to not tell him that I do. Because if I do and if he likes me back too, we won't be able to have a relationship together. That is why it's better not to say anything. My parents don't know about me liking a guy. Now imagine what they would do when they find out their son is thinking about a certain guy," Mattholomule chuckled to lighten the mood but it made tears fall down from his eyes.
"We're in a horrible situation, aren't we?"
"We most definitely are and there's nothing we can do. As much as I want to run away, I can't. There's nowhere for me to stay nor do I have any money. I don't want to be a weight onto anyone at all."
"I feel the same way. I would love to stay with Luz, but that's adding more burden to her and her mother," I rested my head on my arms that were holding my knees up.
"I hate this with all my heart."
"Same here. As much as I want to protest, my parents are overpowering. It's best if I don't say anything about Luz or else they might hurt her and that's something I would never want to see," I wiped away the tears that kept on flowing down.
"I understand your point of view. I wouldn't want to wish that on Augustus either. We're just going to have to deal with it."
"What am I supposed to tell Luz?"
"That you're breaking up with her," Edric and Emira appeared.
"I'm sorry sis but if they find out you're with Luz, they won't hesitate to get rid of her. You know how they are," Emira made a point.
"It's the only way to protect her. You won't be able to hang out with her now that mom and dad will be picking you up everyday from school and keeping you home," Edric stated.
"We're sorry Amity," the twins hugged me.
It was the most painful truth. My siblings and Mattholomule were all right. As much as I hate it with all my heart, it needs to be done. I never, in my mind, would think I would break up with Luz. She is my whole world. She's the sweetest, most awesome girlfriend I would ever have in my entire life. Even though I'm breaking up with her, Luz will always hold that title until the day I die.
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4:45 pm
Luz's POV
"Come on Hunter. It's like you're fighting a headless chicken who clearly doesn't know how to fight," Eda remarked.
"Hey! At least I'm trying here, Owl Lady. Firelight here has improved her fighting skills. Not to mention that her magic level went up. It is slightly higher than mine."
"Even so, it doesn't mean you can't beat her. Magic levels ain't nothing but a number. Skills are what defines how powerful you are."
"Right, right. Already, I am starting to get hungry for your mom's chicken and rice," Hunter huffed before sitting down.
"Of course you are. I told you she makes the best meal."
"She really does."
Hunter did come over a couple of times to get close to my mom. He even went over to help her cook which was surprising to me.
"Too bad my dumb friends prefer to eat out and not cook."
"Speaking of your friends, it sucks that we haven't found Belos. After all those years, he's the best hider there is," I sat down with Hunter.
We were all in the middle of an area where it was just grass and boulders. We came to this specific location to do a couple rounds of combat. Eda and I had a little surprise for Hunter which is another reason for why we invited him. He helped us little by little by giving more information about Belos' plan. Hunter finally mentioned something that was very important to us. Belo has a plant that he can consume which makes his magic level rise to a maximum level.
This was something that needed to be taken seriously. Who knows what Belo can do with that kind of power? If we don't find him in a matter of time, we're doomed.
"He really is. If I were to hide myself, I'd be caught," Hunter fixed his hair.
"Which is why we found you when you took my girlfriend," I said in a joking way.
"Yeah yeah. No need to rub it in."
"Well we have something that could cheer you up," Eda stated.
"You do?"
"Yes and it's this," I presented a red bag with tissue paper on top.
"Wait! I thought it was for Camila! You tricked me into thinking that it was her birthday!"
Eda and I laughed from Hunter's reaction. He turned red from the frustration pent up.
"Oh kid, that was hilarious. I'm sorry but we wanted to surprise you with a gift from us," Eda wiped away a tear from her right eye.
"I was confused as to why you brought it with you instead of giving it to Camila. Not only that but I was panicking about getting her a gift."
"Well no need to worry about it. Her birthday is not until May. Now open up the gift bag blondie."
I handed it to Hunter by the handle. He carefully grabbed it and opened it up. He took out the paper and pulled out a white hooded cape, black pants, brown gloves, and a yellow mask that represented an Owl.
"What does this mean?" Hunter stared at the both of us.
"You're officially a part of the hero club," I smiled.
"Hero club?"
"Well not a club but you're welcome to be a part of us if you'd like. That is why we bought you all of these clothes so you can help us fight against Belos," Eda clarified.
We watched as Hunter just sat there and looked at the clothes. Once he put his hand on the mask, he caressed it to feel the type of metal that it's made from.
"So what's my hero name?"
"Whatever you want it to be kid. It's up to you."
"Then, I'd like to officially be a part of this alliance and be known as the Golden Guard. I will pledge to you both that I will not commit a single crime nor will I pair up with any criminal. I will protect those who need help and I will disband myself from Belos and his gang who are no longer my friends," Hunter promised us, which was unexpected.
"Damn Hunter. The Golden Guard is a perfect name considering you said a little speech that made you sound like an actual guard," my teacher was surprised.
"Was that too much?"
"Nope! That was actually impressive. Anywho, welcome aboard Golden Guard. We're happy to be working with you," I excitedly expressed.
"Thanks. So um, what am I supposed to do now?"
"Nothing really. We can go back to fighting until our break is over. You'll be introduced to the world now that you'll be working alongside us."
"Let's hope Belos doesn't know it's me."
"Probably not. I doubt it."
"Well, when the time comes, I'll show you both where Belos is located."
That statement made me freeze in a good way. Eda and I glanced at each other with a smile on our faces. We were finally getting answers that we needed after all these years of searching. It is all thanks to the Golden Guard. The war will be finally over and I won't have to worry about it. I can't wait to tell Amity about this later. She'll be thrilled to hear that everything will be okay. My girlfriend won't need to worry about me losing a fight with Belos. We'll have a happy ending. I just know it.