Amity's POV:
I closed the door behind me as I left to explore the rest of the hotel. I've heard a lot of good things about Hotel Fraye but I've never actually been here, until now. It's just as big and nice as the internet described it. It was currently 8:00 am and I was overdue for a coffee.
When we arrived to the venue where the competition was held, they gave us passes to wear around our necks. That allowed us access to everything in the hotel since they had a partner sponsorship with the company. That also meant free coffee which I wasn't upset about. I usually got a cold brew with 2 shots of expresso, which did nothing. This morning I unfortunately woke up with dark rings around my eyes. We love being sleep deprived!
I spent my entire night thinking about Luz which caused me to get little to no sleep. What a great way to start my day. I also cried but no one needs to know about that. What I needed was coffee. Coffee, coffee, coffee. The only thought that should be on my mind.
The coffee bar in the hotel was on the main floor around the corner from the lobby. We were staying on the 6th floor so there was a small trip that needed to be made. I planned on leaving anyway. I'd much rather get coffee and explore Nashville than stay in a room with my mother for one more minute. She's been on my ass since we landed and I need a long break from her.
I walked down the hall towards the elevator. When I got there, I pressed on the down arrow and waited for the elevator door to open. I had slight anxiety about elevators because anything could happen. I'm not a pessimist but it's literally a box of steel waiting to kill someone.
After like a minute, the door finally opened and I noticed someone already on the elevator. Great, sharing space, my other favorite thing. The person smiled at me as I walked in. I didn't wanna be rude so I smiled back.
The door closed and started to go down. It seemed like the elevator was making a weird sound and was moving slow. I looked over to the person standing next to me and they just shrugged. Suddenly the elevator stopped on floor 3 but the door didn't open. Okay it's fine, it's probably a delay. I patiently waited for the door to open. I started drumming my fingers nervously on the metal bar behind me.
Don't panic amity. The door will open, soon. I think. Okay I hated tight spaces and not having an escape route. This was bad. I noticed my breathing started to get more and more staggered. I clutched my hand over my chest and tried to catch my breathe. I also felt tears building in my eyes. What if we were trapped? I needed to get out. Great, now I'm breaking down in front of a complete stranger.
"Hey I pressed the emergency button to try and get help", they said moving closer to me. "I can tell that you have an elevator fear. Just try to breathe in for 4, hold for 4, and exhale for 4", they spoke. It was hard to focus on them when the elevator felt like it was closing in. "You got this...uh...amity", they said looking down at my badge. I closed my eyes and listened to their voice.
I tried to steady my breathing and it kinda worked. "That's it. Breathe in. Now breathe out", they said. I took their advice and did the breathing exercise. I felt myself get a little calm but it still didn't help the fact that we were trapped. It did however help enough to allow me to speak. "Thanks...um", I said not knowing their name.
They weren't really wearing anything that had their name on it so I hadn't figured it out like they did with me. "Bowie", they said simply, holding their hand out for me to shake. I took it and gave a weak smile due to the fact that I was still catching my breath. We shook hands and then Bowie continued to distract me.
After a while it worked and eventually maintenance fixed the elevator. Fucking finally. From there I started to make small talk with Bowie. We even got coffee together which I was so grateful to consume. I got to learn a lot about them, like their pronouns and coming out story, their home life, work and hobbies, and other cool stuff.
Apparently Bowie helps run the competition and oversees the tech of the whole arena, which I found pretty cool. As of right now, Bowie and I were heading over to the venue since we both had things to do there. They had to prepare more things for the show and I had some final paperwork to turn in.
Walking in downtown Nashville was actually beautiful. While we were walking, Bow would point out their favorite places and then their least favorite places. "So Amity, are you excited for the comp?", they asked smiling at me. "I mean I guess. It's kind of a difficult time for me right now so regionals just adds stress", I replied sadly. This caused Bowie to lace their hand in mine and brighten their smile. "Well if it helps I think you're doing great. I may have just met you but you seem very dedicated and hard working. I have no doubt that you'll kill it".
The compliment made me smile but it didn't give me that same feeling when Luz would shower me with compliments. But this was Bow, not Luz, so it's not right to compare the two. "Thank you Bow. I really appreciate that", I replied. After a while, we finally made it. I went to the front desk and handed them my paperwork and then followed Bow into the control room.
I had slight knowledge with tech since my siblings ran the hockey games. I missed going to watch those. Seeing Luz in a action with her messy hair and...yeah I need to stop. Bowie showed me a couple things in the room and then we went to the ice rink. It was huge. Way bigger than the one at school even though that would be considered big to some people. "Have you ever skated before?", I asked while stepping onto the ice. "Nope, but I've always wanted to try", Bowie said laughing.
I skated around a bit to get used to the feeling and then I went to help Bow get on. I took their hands and carefully lead them around since it was their first time. "I think I'm getting the hang of it", Bow said trying to do it themself. I let them go to see if they actually had it and they definitely did not. "Oh shit", Bowie said almost falling. I noticed Bowie going down and I caught them before they could hit the ground. I noticed how they looked at me differently but I brushed it off as nothing. I think it was nothing.
We eventually got tired of skating and went to sit on a bench. I was getting hungry but it could wait. As I was making more small talk I heard my stomach grumble and Bowie seemed to notice it too. "Hey do you wanna go grab a bite to eat?", they ask. "I'm guessing you heard my stomach?", I asked laughing a bit. "Yeah, it may have made an appearance", Bow replied. "Lunch sounds good right now. I hadn't eaten yet today anyways", I said.
With that, we left the rink. I obviously helped Bowie get off the ice but they did better that time around. We walked until we got to this spot called The Mockingbird. It seemed sketchy at first but Bowie said it was one of their favorites and that it had great food.
We entered the restaurant and the inside was actually beautiful. It had this antique styled interior that I really liked. It had booth seating and normal seating. The furniture was blue and light brown which honestly went well together.
The decorations almost reminded of the manor back home: expensive. "Wow, when we first got here the outside looked a little skeptical to me but now I know I shouldn't be too quick to judge", I said looking at a painting on the walls. Bowie laughed a bit. "Well yeah, the saying applies to everything: people and sketchy restaurants". I laughed lightly but what they said got me thinking.
With everyone I meet, I'm so quick to go based off of my first impressions of them. It's what I was taught growing up and it's so hard to let go of patterns that have been shoved down your throat since your childhood. I felt so pressured to do as I was told since I was told that it was the right thing to do. I don't know if that makes sense. When I first met Luz I thought she was loud, unorganized, and ridiculous. My interpretation of her had changed completely. Sure she's still loud, unorganized, and ridiculous, but now I understand why.
It's like with this place. I understand why it's the way it is on the inside, versus how it may be perceived on the outside. Luz didn't wanna let anyone in because people's behavior would change if they knew what was on the inside. If they were true to her, they would be open to getting to know the outside version before even stepping foot on the inside. People think the same about me.
They see me as a spoiled brat on the outside but I'm just a vulnerable mess on the inside and just when you think that your outside will remain how you're seen, someone comes along to make the inside view of you overflow, completely taking over the outside to where you can't tell where the outside starts and the inside finishes. It all bleeds into the same concept. People are just concepts of perception. Wow. That was a lot. "Amity", Bowie said getting my attention. "They're ready to seat us now. "Oh. I guess I was in my head too long", I said awkwardly. Bowie smiled and lead us to the table. This was gonna be a long lunch.
~Time skip~
Well lunch was amazing. I haven't had good food in a while. My mom has been ordering weird Keto shit again. No hate to the people on Keto diets, but how do you do it?. Anyway, me and Bowie talked about personal experiences and it helped us get to know each other more. Now we were sitting in what Bowie likes to call it, 'the special spot'. I pointed out that it was an alliteration. I may be a small English nerd.
The spot was on top of this abandoned building. I'm surprised I got up here and didn't have a breakdown. Elevators are just scarier. It was pretty late so the scenery was calming to me. The street lights were on, cars passing by, dogs barking.
Chaotic but charismatic. Can scenery be charismatic? I don't care. "Hey, amity?", Bowie said. "Yeah?", I replied. "I'm glad we got stuck in that elevator together", they said. "Yeah no. As much as I like you, I am not glad for that", I said laughing. "Yeah you're right. But I am glad I met you. You're different. Well not like cliché different but a good different", they said rambling. I smiled warmly at them. "You are too". I noticed Bowies eyes soften. I've seen that look before. Luz.
Bowies eyes went from mine to my lips. No. Not today. This is not happening. They wouldn't. Would they? Bowie started leaning in and I didn't know what to do. "Bow", I said pushing their shoulder back. I saw the flush of embarrassment on their face. "I'm sorry amity. I just thought. I thought we had something". "You're a great person Bow. There's just", I start turning away from them. I heard them sigh. "There's someone else isn't there?", they ask.
I nodded my head in response, refusing to look at them. "Well they're really lucky Amity. You're beautiful, kind, funny. Anyone would be lucky to have you", Bow said taking my hand.
That gave me the courage to face them and smile. "Thank you Bowie. Anyone is lucky to have you too". Bowie pulled me into a hug which I gladly reciprocated. "Should we go back?", they asked. "Yeah, it's pretty late", I replied. With that we got up and began to head back to the hotel. When we got there Bowie walked me to my room and we took the stairs per my request. We hugged again and Bowie left. I used my key card and entered my room.
When I walked in I got a text from my mom that said she was out with some of the other parents from the competition. She was definitely gonna find some dirt on them. I decided to take a shower to wind down and go to sleep. As I was preparing for my shower, my mind wandered back to Luz. I wonder what she was doing back at home.
~Meanwhile, Luz and co in Nashville~
"Guys let me spray paint one thing please", Luz begged. The gang gave up on trying to stop her so they allowed it. They had climbed on this abandoned building and found a billboard that had no writing on it.
Luz took the spray paint and made her second masterpiece of the year. When she was done they all stepped back to look at it. The billboard read, 'We're here Mittens <3 '.
This made Boscha and Gus laugh. "Luz, she's gonna kill you when she sees this", Willow said. "You mean if she sees it", Luz replied. "Yeah there's no way she's not seeing this", Willow said laughing. "Yeah you're right. That's what makes it even more fun", Luz added. "Okay now let's actually go to our room. I'm tired as hell", Boscha said.
The others agreed and began to get off the building, leaving the billboard that world will eventually see, the only target audience being Amity Blight.