A single box.
That was all that Amity had thought to move from her room for safekeeping.
It was the one thing that if something, somehow, in some way went south, she wanted to keep safe, and had come up with a backup plan to keep safe, even when she hadn't been planning to stay anywhere near Blight Manor in the first place. Just in case.
She had left it under the bridge that led to Blight Manor the day before Valeween began, and retrieved it the day after Valeween ended. No one would think to look for it there. No one had.
When she glanced at the remains of Blight Manor, she was glad that she had had the foresight to move it.
Everything else in her room was easily replaceable. Her parents almost certainly had insured the Manor, and even if they hadn't, it wouldn't be an issue anyway. They had plenty of money. A few contractors from the Construction Coven, and purchasing of the materials needed - It would be rebuilt in no time.
What was going to happen was that when they realised the state Blight Manor was in - Burned to the ground - and had reconstructed it, they would send a servant to her, Emira, and Edric each, have them write all their lost possessions on a scroll, and they would be replaced within a week. Certainly not out of love, but a simple desire to ensure they were content. Content children didn't cause problems. Content children remained loyal. Content children obeyed.
Of course, it didn't work like that. Amity, Edric, and Emira were anything but loyal and content or obedient, but they all played along. Right now it was easier to. Pretty much whatever they wanted, they got, and there wasn't a point to encroaching their parents' wrath. Not now, anyway.
One day there might be, but that wasn't now.
Everything that Amity lost in the fire was immaterial. Books, posters, clothes, some awards. She wasn't even particularly fond of the room - No more than she was the rest of the house, anyway. It was all replaceable.
The box wasn't. What was in the box wasn't. What it meant to her wasn't replaceable.
Couldn't be bought in a store with money. Couldn't be traded for. Couldn't be attained in a material way. Because what was in there mattered to her, and to no one else.
You couldn't buy sentiment.
Amity placed the box on the desk she sat at, and opened it up. One by one, the items came out, spread across the otherwise empty table.
A stack of photos from her cork board. A Grom Queen tiara. And her diary.
Of all her possessions, these were the ones that she wanted to look after. Make sure they were safe. Because these meant far more to her than any other object she owned. They were mementos of the things that she had come to care for in her life, more than anything else.
Her friends.
And Luz.
Looking at all of them, Amity allowed herself a brief moment of thankfulness. These things were important to her, and she was happy to have saved them. Had had the foresight to save them. Because of what they represented, where they had come from, and what they meant to her.
Her friends... They made her happy.
Happier than she had felt in a long, long time.
The pictures she used to decorate her room served to remind her how different her life was now that they were in her life. Pictures of her with her friends, in all manner of activity. Every morning, she'd wake up, and see them, and remind herself that things were different now. Better. Remind her of new friendships formed, and old friendships she had managed to repair. Waking up with them there reminded her that it wasn't just a dream she had had, but was real. Really real.
Her diary was important to her too. It was all she had had for a long time to record her thoughts and feelings in, when she had no one else to turn to. It was a good tool to vent with, to scream when screaming aloud wasn't an option. Writing in it helped her to put her own thoughts and feelings into perspective. It helped her figure things out. Rationalise them into words that could be reflected on. Even with her friends, the diary helped her when she didn't want to burden other people with the cavalcade of thoughts that got into her head when she thought about things for far longer than she needed to.
In some ways, it had almost become something of a companion to her, when she had felt like she had few, if any, others.
And the Grom tiara...
...That reminded her of Luz.
Just Luz.
Of an incredible time, with an incredible person, who she somehow managed to fall for even more.
And who...
Tears came flowing back down her face again, even though Amity tried - She tried so, so hard - to keep them in. There was no one even around to see, but at this point, she tried to hold it in because she was so, so sick of crying. At the rate she was going, she was going to run out of fluids before she ran out of tears. They escaped her anyway though, and what little composure she had managed to regain shattered.
Her hands gripped onto her hair, and her face fell until it was buried against the table. No one could see her, but she felt the need to hide from the rest of the world anyway. The tears ran off her cheeks, and fell onto the table.
What she had always been afraid of was now the reality she found herself in.
Luz knew exactly how she felt. What she wanted. And how much of a selfish person she was underneath all the fake layers of pretence that she was something she wasn't. She knew exactly what Amity was. And it wasn't like Willow or Gus would be interested in being friends with her if Luz wasn't. It wasn't like Luz would make them give up being friends with her - That was just the choice they would make. If given the choice between someone like Luz, and someone like Amity, it wasn't a choice.
Amity would make the same choice if she was in that situation.
Feeling that this - these objects she had in front of her now, all she had to her name - would be all she would have to remember of the life she had been able to actually enjoy, with the people who made her happy, and the person she adored... It was overwhelming. All encompassing. She... She...
She didn't want to lose Luz. Not like this.
But... Why would Luz want to be friends with someone who was as selfish as she was? Why would she want to even be around her now that she knew? Never mind the idea that maybe she...
...Losing her to the Human World would have been so much easier.
Not like this.
Ever since the start of Valeween, Bonesborough had felt like a different town entirely.
As it set up defences and walls, people gathered weapons, and everything in between, the feel of the town changed. It had to by necessity. As people trained, and got themselves ready for what was to come, it felt like it had been converted into a fortress made for war.
Yet simultaneously, it felt more like a community than it ever had before, in a way that Luz had never experienced in her home dimension. Certain services had been completely free of charge to help with the preparations, individuals had put their various differences aside for the betterment of the community as a whole, and everyone worked with a sense of purpose, to a unified goal, and all knowing that their contributions mattered.
Now the threat of Valeween and the Cherubim was over, and things were slowly starting to return to normal.
Lots of the efforts to take down the walls and temporary defences were led by the Construction Coven, who moved the buildings and walls as and where they were now needed, stored until such a time as they were needed again. Other Covens assisted too, taking down the various defences they had set up. Such as the Plant Covens removing their sentry plants from rooftops and street ways, and the Illusion Covens removing all their various illusions from the city.
Prices began to reappear in certain stores, mostly the absolutely unnecessary ones. Certain things like food were still being served free of charge, but that would change with time too. The marketplace was already starting to rebuild itself, and vendors were already selling their various goods. Not that they had a lot of customers, but that too would change with time. Someone had to be there to kickstart the return to normalcy, eventually.
Perhaps the most obvious change was the sense of social tension Luz noticed.
Before Valeween, there had been an odd mixture of dread of what was to come, but also of unity and togetherness that inspired people to act. Everyone was working towards a shared goal, and was working in spite of whatever personal feelings they held towards those around them.
Now, those people who had once worked together seemed to be avoiding one another. And it was honestly hard to tell if that was because something had happened between them involving a Cherubim, or because they had held one another in contempt, and now no longer had a reason to be around one another.
That wasn't the universal case though - Some people seemed to get on better now that the Valeween threat was done. Bonds forged through fire, maybe. In either case though, it was undeniable that there was a dynamic shift in the social order of the Isles. It made Bonesborough feel... Different.
Luz had to admit - She had actually come to like the sense of community and comradery that had come with knowing the Cherubim were coming. She hadn't liked the threat that had inspired such a community shift or the anxious atmosphere that surrounded it all, granted, but the community itself had been... Actually kind of nice.
Maybe that could be the default way that the Isles worked, someday.
Without the anxiety.
Following on from her thoughts yesterday, Luz had gone into Bonesborough, not with any particular purpose, other than a change of scenery. Her leg felt better now - A slight stiffness, but that really was it - and she could walk without any pain. She had been stuck in the Owl House all day yesterday, with all these thoughts bouncing around in her head, with no way of focusing them, and with nothing else to do. She hadn't been able to rely on her friends either. Gus had told her that he was busy helping his parents with the same kids that he had been tutoring earlier in the week, while Willow never replied to any messages at all. Apparently, she had never even seen the messages, according to the Scroll messenger application.
A change of scenery was all Luz could ask for at this point.
So she wandered, aimlessly, just looking around the town and seeing what was going on. There was still a sense of jubilation and celebration from people who were happy to have seen the town fight off the Cherubim, though that was contrasted by those who had had their lives affected by the Cherubim this time around, and weren't in a mood for celebrating. How long would it take for things to fully return to normal? Or at least a semblance of normal.
For some reason, Luz had a feeling that it would take months.
Some parts might never feel the same again.
Certainly, in fact, some things would never be the same again.
Her mind wandered to Amity.
Part of her had hoped to see Amity while she was in the city. That they would run into one another, and just... Talk. Try to figure things out. But another part hoped that she didn't, because she... She really didn't have a clue what to say. She still didn't even know how she really felt about Amity. Even though that had been on her mind non-stop since yesterday.
In her diary entry to her mother, Luz had mentioned that she wondered if she did know, and was just lying to herself that she didn't know because doing that was easier. That particular thought had stuck out to her, because the more she thought about it, the more she really didn't know if that was what was happening here.
Amity was special to her. All the effort that she had put in, all the work she had done to make things right with the people she had messed up with, and all the work that she had put into becoming a better person - It made Luz appreciate her in a number of ways that were difficult to list. That didn't make Gus and Willow any less special to her, but Amity...
Was... Just special.
There wasn't any other way of describing it. But what did that mean, exactly?
Luz suddenly came to a stop. A sight in front of her made her stop.
Because it filled her with anger.
The Emperor's Coven was back.
Three of them were on this particular path, and were walking down the road as civilians made way for them. Each was armed with a Staff, clean-pressed uniforms that looked almost new, and they didn't bother to so little as look around at those who watched them. Masked faces were forward fronting, and utterly silent as they walked along their path.
From the looks and glances that other people were giving them, Luz guessed that they had only just arrived earlier today. They were on the usual patrol routes that they took during peaceful times, and they carried themselves the exact same way, as if nothing had happened over the last few days.
The looks they got weren't those of the usual admiration and respect that they commanded. Right now, the wounds of Valeween were fresh. A lot of people seemed angry, or at the very least, felt their return this early was premature, and was tasteless.
Lilith had explained to Luz days ago that the Emperor's Coven left the streets during Valeween, apparently for security reasons. They had left Bonesborough, and every town on the Isles to fend for themselves.
Now here they were, back on the streets, like nothing had happened?
Of course, that would be a part of things returning to normal - The Emperor's Coven's 'duty' was to patrol the Isles, keep the peace, and enforce the Emperor's will. They would of course return. It wasn't like Valeween had gotten rid of them forever.
Yet to have no shame at all, and to still be carrying themselves with that posture of pride that they always seemed to do? After everything that had happened, and everything that could have been avoided if the so-called best of the best had done what they were supposedly meant to, and actually protected the people of the Isles?
They had the gall to return like nothing had happened?
Anger was normally hot - A boiling red flame that carried itself deep in the gut, which made blood feel warm, and air feel cold. That was how Luz had always felt when she was angry. Hell, that was how she had felt when she had faced Lilith and against the Emperor.
This though, was just an ice cold fury.
In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't the fault of the individual members of the Coven, so she bit her tongue - Hard - to not scream at them about how the one time they were actually needed, they had run off. That if they had done the duty they were supposed to do, then maybe she and Amity wouldn't be in the mess they were in now. That if they lived up to what the Emperors Coven was supposed to be, maybe the Cherubim wouldn't have ever been an issue to begin with.
But it was hard to not feel that transposition of hate towards them. Because that was what this was.
Hate.
If it was directed mostly at the Coven, or the Emperor himself, Luz honestly didn't know.
Truthfully, she didn't know if this was just her looking for someone to blame at this point.
She did know if she didn't get out of sight right now though, she was going to do something that she would later regret. So she backed into the crowd, and aimed to put as many people, streets, walls, and buildings between her and anyone in the Emperor's Coven as she could.
That particular strategy eventually led her near the town centre - A place that was equally as full of people, but thankfully, without any sign of the Emperor's Coven. Not yet anyway. People wandered freely, able to gather in groups and speak to one another again without the time pressure or sense of duty to rush them along. It seemed to be an area of the town where those who hadn't been affected by the Cherubim directly had wound up congregating, since there wasn't the same standoffish atmosphere that other parts of the town exhibited. There was a noticeably lighter tone here than there was in other sections of the town.
The centre was as much an economic hub as the marketplace, with plenty of stalls and stores surrounding the place on a normal day. People gathered here for a variety of reasons, from work, to it being an easy location to meet others in, to local politics, so it was as good a place as any to set up shop. Luz wandered past a couple of the few already re-opened stalls, glancing at a few of the wares they were selling in spite of having less than no interest in actually buying anything. It was just a nice change of scenery more than anything.
One of the stores around the plaza was something that to Luz, looked to be the Boiling Isles equivalent of a café - A small building on a slightly elevated platform, which had a dozen or so seats spread out to allow people to sit outside with their drinks or snacks, or whatever else they had purchased. It reminded Luz of cute little coffee stores that she could find if she looked around her town back home, and of the bigger, more retail chain ones, kind of merged into one sort of weird conglomeration - It had the aesthetics and seemed to have the heart of one of those smaller places, but the space and capital for a larger space, like the retail types. The café was called Heran's Hut according to one of the signs, and it was one of the places that Luz had always kept telling herself she would actually go into one of these days, but never seemed to do.
Walking past it today though, it wasn't the sign, or the smells that brought its attention to Luz. It was one of its patrons, sitting on one of the outside seats on their own, staring into space while gently pushing an empty cup between her hands.
Luz blinked. And then, she allowed herself to smile, and call over, "Willow!"
Hearing her name called out, Willow snapped out of her daze, and looked in the direction her name had come from. Clearly, she was surprised when she saw her friend standing just a few meters away. "Luz?" A smile then appeared, and she got onto her feet. "Luz!"
Quickly, Luz made her way to Willow, finding herself happy to see a familiar face. She hadn't seen any of her friends since Valeween ended, and seeing one now... It was nice.
As soon as the two of them were next to one another, they pulled one another into a hug. "I've been so worried!" Willow said as soon as they hugged. "I meant to come see you at the Owl House but there's been a lot going on here. I haven't had time to even check my Scroll!"
That explained why she hadn't responded to any of the messages she had gotten, Luz thought to herself. She lived a lot closer to the action than Luz did, and there was still a lot of work being done to make things back to the way they were before Valeween. It made sense she'd been recruited into it. "It's okay. I... Don't think I would have been good company anyway."
They both let go of the other, and Willow took her seat again. Happy as they were to see one another, there was a brief moment of awkwardness as both of them thought of what to say to the other - Both of them had been through a... Difficult Valeween, to say the least. It felt like even talking about anything else would have been...
...Awkward.
That didn't mean that either of them knew what to say though. Or how to bring it up tactfully.
"...How's your leg?" Willow asked after a few seconds of silence. She seemed surprised that there was no cast, or that Luz didn't need crutches, or anything like that. "I thought that you would have still been healing."
"Nah. Whatever the Healers did pretty much sorted me out. And the potions they gave me helped with the pain." She tapped the side of her previously injured leg, like it would prove her point. When Amity had injured her leg a few months ago, she'd had to spend a few days in a cast, so Luz just assumed that whatever she had been given was made of far stronger stuff than what Amity had been given. Or that her injury had looked worse, but wasn't quite as bad as Amity's. "It's still a bit stiff and apparently I'm gonna have some scars, but physically I'm fine."
"...And emotionally?"
The Human blinked and paused for a moment. She took a glance away from Willow, and looked out of the sitting area, and into Bonesborough. There were some workers who were taking down another one of the spiked-logs that made up the palisade wall. It was observable because the log was tall, and towered over the nearby buildings. Luz watched it fall, before she let out a sigh.
"...I don't know." She answered, honestly. "It's been..." She trailed off. She didn't know how to explain it.
Willow nodded, and waited for a few seconds before she spoke again. "I'm... Guessing you haven't heard from Amity."
"No." Luz shook her head. "Not a word."
"Have you tried to reach her?"
"...No. I don't know what to say. I... I don't even know how I feel. I..." Luz paused for a moment. "...Wait, how the heck do you know something happened between me and Amity?"
"Er... Aside from it being pretty much the only logical conclusion?" Willow said, with a slightly awkward chuckle. "I mean, she was hit by a Cherubim Ray, and now neither of you are talking to each other - Something must have happened. It's... Kind of obvious, Luz. Skara figured it out and she barely even knows you."
"...Fair enough." Luz groaned slightly. For some reason, it felt... Embarrassing to know that all it would take was a vague understanding of what was going on, and people would be able to hazard a pretty decent guess at the situation itself.
A gentle, teasing smile appeared on Willow's face, but she then shook her head. "That's... Not how I know though."
"...Aaand now I'm confused again."
"To be honest with you, Amity talked to me about how she felt about you before... You had your fight." When Luz's expression turned to surprise, Willow added on, "You know, the day before Valeween. After training?"
"...She told you?" That... Honestly threw Luz off for a moment. Her mind went back to that particular night, and she remembered how Willow had called her. But Willow had claimed to not have a clue what was going on back then. So, she had been lying that whole time?
"Well I... Already figured it out." Willow admitted. "Amity isn't as good at hiding her feelings as she likes to think. She told me she was going to tell you how she felt though."
"...And that's why you asked how it went and called when I told you about the fight."
"Right." A look of brief guilt came to Willow's face. "Sorry I... You know. Lied to you back then. I didn't - It would have been worse if I told you the real reason I called. I don't like secrets but Amity's secrets aren't mine to give up."
Luz just nodded. "I understand, you don't need to apologise for anything." That made perfect sense. If anything, Luz would have been upset if Willow had revealed the truth back then. It would have been a serious violation of trust. And Willow wasn't like that. "...Have... Has Amity contacted you at all?"
"No." Willow then paused for just a second, and seemed to pick her next words carefully. "...I have... Seen her."
"You have?!"
"Briefly." She clarified, quickly. "And I do mean I saw her. I didn't speak to her, I just saw her a few hours ago, but she was gone before I could say a word to her."
"Where?!"
"It was just one of the streets in town. She's long gone by now. I don't know where she was going, and even if I did... I don't think that would be much different from telling you her secrets without her permission. I... I couldn't do that."
For a moment, Luz opened her mouth to argue - But then, she closed it. Willow didn't know where she was anymore, so it wouldn't make a difference. And she was right - There wasn't a huge difference in this context. Not really.
Amity hadn't made any attempt to get in contact with Luz. For all she knew, Amity didn't want to see her. If Willow told Luz where she was, and that against that wish, even if it was indirectly, was there really a difference between revealing Amity's secrets against her will, and forcing her into a position where she would have to deal with the subject before she was ready, or even able?
Especially when Luz knew why Amity wanted to be alone, why she hadn't made any effort to speak to her.
Or at least, thought she might know.
Realistically, the outcomes were the same. In both instances, it was going against, at the very least, the best interpretation of Amity's will that they could figure out.
Cherubim could force people to talk. Humans and Witches couldn't.
Wouldn't.
At least, Willow wouldn't.
"...Yeah. I guess not." Luz slumped her shoulders, and sighed. She wouldn't force Amity to talk either.
And Luz... She wanted to know what she was going to say before she saw Amity again. She didn't want to finally be in front of Amity, and realize that she had no idea what to say.
That could... Only make things worse.
"Was... Did she look okay?"
"Physically, she looked fine."
That was a relief.
Another moment of silence passed.
"...So, you knew Amity... Liked me?"
"...Yeah. She has for... A pretty long time now, I think."
"...I didn't know."
"...How couldn't you? She's... She's head over heels for you. She's not good at hiding it."
"It's not - I don't... Never mind." Luz shook her head. "Just..."
Thoughts of Earth returned to her.
"Sorry." Willow apologised. "I didn't mean to sound... Rude."
"For... Forget about it. Do you want to, I don't know, hang out? I could use a distraction to be honest... Or some help with Amity."
Willow's pupils darted to the corners of her eyes, trying to avoid contact with Luz's. "I... I would help, but I'm sort of already here with someone and... Dealing with a few things myself."
Luz blinked, and glanced at the table. Not only was there no one around, the table that she was at was fairly isolated, so it wasn't even like she was with a group that hadn't had enough seats. "You uh, kinda seem like you're on your own." Luz pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Almost as if on cue, Luz heard a pair of footsteps behind her, and heard them stop just as quickly. Willow's ears perked up, and she turned to the source. Luz also turned around to see who they had come from.
Boscha.
Both she and Luz just stared at one another for a few seconds, completely unsure of what to do or say.
The pink haired girl was just standing there, with a look of surprise clearly visible on her face, and in all three of her eyes. In her hands, she had two drinks that were placed within a disposable cup holder. She had just stopped, dead in her tracks, the moment that she realised that it was Luz who was talking to Willow, and not, as she had first thought from a distance, some stranger that Willow must have known.
Meanwhile, Luz just stared right back at her, her mouth almost falling completely ajar. It didn't take even a few seconds for her to put two and two together. Of all the people she could have been here with, Willow was here with Boscha.
Eventually, it was Boscha who broke the silence, with a single word. "...Human."
"...Boscha." Luz said back.
After everything that had happened between Luz and Boscha on Valeween Night - Fighting and working together, protecting one another, and Boscha helping Luz to save her friends when she had no personal stake in the matter, the Human would confess - She wasn't entirely sure how to interact with Boscha. She didn't have particularly positive feelings towards Boscha, that was for sure - They weren't friends.
But everything that Boscha had done to help, and the way she had put herself on the line like she did...
That counted for something. At least, it did to Luz. But it didn't erase what she had done in the past.
It put Luz in the weird position of having to both respect and be thankful to Boscha for her help, but still not knowing what to make of her as a person, while also having to acknowledge that her actions had spoken for themselves as to her character, but also put that up against the fact that Boscha had made her and her friends' lives hell in the past.
A confusing mess of thoughts and contradictory opinions that translated to not having a clue what to make of Boscha anymore.
And if her confessions during Valeween were anything to go by, Boscha felt the exact same way about Luz.
Boscha's eyes didn't remain focused on Luz though, and shortly turned to Willow's after a few seconds. Willow had a certain... Expression that was hard to read. The closest thing that Luz could compare it to was exhaustion.
After switching glances between Willow and Luz a couple of times, Boscha cleared her throat, and addressed Willow. "Er.... I can like..." She gestured behind her, indicating that she could leave her and Luz alone for a while if she wanted.
Willow just nodded, indicating that that was what she wanted. Boscha turned to leave, but as she did, for a second, she and Luz looked at one another, both sharing conflicting looks at the other. There was a look of frustration and if Luz didn't know any better, fear and anxiety in the way Boscha looked at her. The Potions Witch tore away first, and awkwardly made her way past Luz, and a couple of other seated customers until she was out of earshot.
The second she was out of earshot, Luz turned around, placing - And very nearly slamming - her hands on the table as she faced Willow. "Okay, I have... So many questions. What're you doing here with Boscha? is she like, blackmailing you or something?"
"...Blackmailing me by buying me drinks?" Willow's eyebrow raised.
"She - She could be a very polite blackmailer for all I know!"
Shaking her head, Willow just let out a heavy sigh, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "She's not blackmailing me, Luz, it's... I invited her here."
Luz blinked.
"You did what now?"
"You heard me." The Plant Witch replied simply. She took one of the drinks that Boscha had brought, and took a short sip of it. When she exhaled, a gentle cloud of water condensation left her mouth. She watched it fade before she spoke again. "We... talked for a bit."
"And?"
"...I guess we're still talking to be honest. There's a... Lot of stuff that we need to talk about. We just needed a break and she went to get us drinks before you showed up."
Luz glanced towards Boscha, who by now had made her way towards the entrance way to the seating area that Luz had completely ignored in favour of just just climbing over the railings. She was trying to look inconspicuous, going through her Scroll and focusing her two main eyes on that, while her third eye was clearly watching them. Even at this distance, Luz could see that same anxiety in the third eye again.
The last time Luz had seen Boscha while she was still conscious, it had been after being hit by a Cherubim Ray, and had more or less confessed to being in love with Willow. That still surreal experience was still etched into Luz's mind. Clearly, Boscha wasn't as detached as she liked to act. And towards Willow of all people... Luz hadn't known how Willow would react to... Any of that.
This though? Seeing them here together, and hearing that Willow had been the one to invite Boscha?
That she hadn't even remotely seen coming.
All she could do was shove her hands into her pockets, and turn back to Willow. "...Guess I'm not the only one having girl troubles, huh."
"I - It's not like that." Willow quickly told her before she took another sip of her drink. "There's... A lot of stuff we need to work through before we can... Even think about anything like that."
After everything that Boscha had done in the past, that felt like an understatement.
"But... I guess if I were being honest, it..." The Plant Track Witch's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "...Is a bit hard to not be a bit... Charmed by what she said while she was affected by the Cherubim Ray."
Luz took another glance at Boscha. She had to admit, what Boscha had said to Willow had been... She wasn't sure what word to use. Calling it sweet would have been sugar-coating it a bit - Pun absolutely intended - but it showed something about Boscha, she supposed. It showed that there had been some level of introspection on Boscha's part. She had thought about the things she had done.
Maybe that was why Willow had reported that Boscha had become less and less of a pain for her to deal with, and even been outright friendly with her on a couple of occasions. Because of those feelings she had, and the reflection that she had undergone.
It was the fact that it was unquestioningly honest that gave Luz this perspective though. Had it not been for Boscha being hit by a Cherubim, she didn't know what she'd think.
At the end of the day though, it didn't really matter what she thought.
What mattered was what Willow thought. What Willow felt.
"...Are you interested in her?" Luz asked, turning back to her friend. "'Cause you know I love you, Willow, and am behind you no matter what, but I am gonna be keeping an eye out for... Boscha - y... ness if you two do end up going out."
A laugh escaped Willow at that, and her cheeks went a bit redder before she settled down. "I... I don't know... But I want to find out. That... That's the least I can do, isn't it?"
"...You don't owe her anything, you know."
While Willow was completely capable of making her own decisions, and if this was what she wanted to do, Luz would back her up and be there to support her, and put her own feelings towards Boscha aside if need be. She didn't have the right to tell Willow how to live her life. But it felt... Important that she reminded her she didn't owe Boscha anything, and didn't need to do anything she didn't want to do. After all the treatment Boscha had thrown her way, Willow didn't need to feel any sort of obligation towards her. Even if it hurt Boscha, that wasn't on Willow to shoulder the burden of. Even if Boscha had helped them on Valeween Night, that didn't entitle her to any of this. Even if it went against some... Weird Boiling Isles tradition that Luz hadn't heard of. Traditions were dumb anyway.
She shook her head though. "I know I don't. But... No matter which way I look at it, Boscha helped us when she had no reason to. That says something about her. How she's changed, even before she got hit..." A brief pause. "I want to at least hear her out. I want to do this. It... It matters to me."
At that, Luz just nodded in understanding. That was all she needed to hear.
" ...And you know you don't owe Amity anything either."
Luz stopped nodding, and froze. "That - That's a bit... Different, don't you think?"
"We both got confessions, didn't we? I think it's pretty similar."
"Boscha treated you really badly though! For a long time!"
"Luz, Amity literally tried to get you dissected." Willow deadpanned, remembering the first day she met Luz very clearly, and how badly that almost ended. "I know you and Amity are friends, but that doesn't mean you owe her any more than I owe Boscha." She let out a small sigh. "You give good advice, Luz. And don't take this the wrong way, but... Maybe you should try taking your own for once?"
Luz blinked, and raised an eyebrow. "How d'you mean?
"It... It kind of seems like you're not doing what you'd suggest someone else do if they were in your position." Though she tried to explain it, Willow struggled. "I mean... How do I put this... Do you remember that time when we thought Gus had a crush on that Grudgby player?"
That was a... Interesting memory, Luz shuddered as she recalled how... Poorly that whole situation went. In like, literally every conceivable way . "...In my defence, that was your fault."
"In my defence, I'd never seen Gus act that way." Willow defended, though she did have a small smirk. "But do you remember what you suggested Gus do?"
"I... Told him he should go up and talk to them. To see how he felt, and then to work from there."
"So... Why haven't you done that with Amity?"
"I..." Luz paused. "...I want to know what to say when I see her."
"Do you think I had any idea what I was going to say to Boscha when I invited her here?"
That... Was true, Luz would concede. If anything, Willow would have had a harder time figuring out what to say to Boscha. It wasn't like they had a backlog of friendship to call back on to ease the tension.
Her next reason came. "I don't even know how I feel about her!"
"I don't know how I feel about Boscha. But I know I wasn't going to figure it out by just... Thinking about it all the time. I would have gotten cold feet."
Another fair point - But that - That was different - Wasn't it?
Was it?
...Was that what she was doing? Just getting cold feet?
"She... She hasn't - We don't know if she wants to even see me... I don't even know where she is..." More than anything, this was the reason that had Luz not actually approach Amity in any way. She didn't know if Amity even wanted to be around her right now. And she didn't want to force that.
"...Well, there's only one way to find that out, you know." Willow nodded towards Boscha. Still on her Scroll, though it was obvious she was only pretending to be using it. The message Willow wanted got through loud and clear though. "There's a reason I had to invite Boscha here, and not have her invite me. She wasn't going to. If you were in her position, would you?"
...
...In just a few moments, Willow had more or less deconstructed every false pretence that Luz had used to justify herself not seeking Amity out actively. That was what they were. Constructions she had built to justify not doing anything right now.
Because the truth was, she was afraid to.
Afraid of how badly she could mess it up.
Afraid of what it meant.
Afraid of... Everything that could happen.
But Willow was right - Luz wouldn't be the one to approach Amity if their positions were reversed. She would have been way too afraid to. She had too much experience with that ending horrifically.
And Willow had gotten a confession from someone who had made her life far, far, far less easier than anything Amity had done to Luz, and she was still finding the courage to actually deal with the situation. Open to what could happen. Ready to face the consequences of if things went wrong.
Luz had been waiting for what felt like the perfect moment, and the perfect sentence to enter her mind.
Those two things would never arrive though.
She'd always find an excuse to believe they weren't there.
...And maybe that was the trap Eda had fallen into as well.
"...Maybe you're right." Luz said, quietly.
Another moment of silence fell between the two of them.
"...I should go."
"Are you okay?" Willow asked, looking up at Luz. A worried expression set in. "I didn't mean to -"
"Please stop apologising, Willow." Luz gave her a smile, but exhaled all the same. "I... I think you might be right. And I need to... Figure out what I'm going to do about it. Plus..." Her head gestured towards Boscha. "You've got your own problems to deal with."
Willow got up onto her feet again, but she nodded at Luz's words. There wasn't really much else to say at this point.
"...Yknow, if her personality wasn't as smooth as sandpaper, she'd actually be sort of cute, I guess."
For a second, Willow was confused. "Wait, do you mean Boscha?"
"Yeah. I dunno what you're thinking, but.... If she did a... Lot of making up for the way she treated you... I dunno. Maybe I could see it."
"...Maybe."
"...Be careful, okay? Let me know if you need anything or if she starts being... Boscha."
Both of them embraced one another in a hug again. It was weird to think about - Both of them had been affected by Valeween in the same way, but had come up with very different strategies of dealing with what came next. And it was arguable about which one of them had the more difficult job - Willow, figuring out how to deal with the sudden confession of someone who had made life harder, or Luz, who had to deal with the confession of one of her closest friends.
Of the two of them though, Luz couldn't deny, she felt like Willow had the better strategy.
She was a braver person than the Human was.
And Luz intended to learn from that.
Finally, the two of them separated, and Luz made her way to exit the platform of the outdoor section - This time, the proper way. That brought her within a meter of Boscha.
Then, she stopped. And the two of them looked at one another.
It felt like... She should say something. In so many books, films, anime and everything else, if something like this happened, someone close to the confessee would tell the confessor to not hurt their friend. To warn them not to mess with their feelings. To let them know that if this was some sort of joke, there would be consequences.
But this wasn't one of those pieces of media. And Luz didn't feel she had the right to say anything like that. This was Willow's situation to deal with, and she didn't intend to interfere unless it became prescient to do so,and it certainly was not now. That, and she knew Boscha wasn't playing a game. This wasn't some sort of long-con plan to mess with Willow.
At least if the Cherubim had been good for one thing, it was eliminating that doubt.
And it was... Honestly kind of hard to still hold Boscha in that universal contempt anymore. Again, Luz didn't know what to make of Boscha now.
So she ended up saying the only thing she could think to say to anyone in this situation.
"...Good luck with her."
It clearly hadn't been what Boscha had expected to hear from Luz, because an expression of surprise took hold. Luz saw it before she turned away again, and began to make her way down the steps, already trying to figure out what the heck she was going to message Amity.
Because she'd already made up her mind. Willow wasn't succumbing to fear or anxiety, and Luz wouldn't either. She was going to approach Amity. Even if she didn't know what to say.
Thinking about it wasn't helping, and hadn't helped for two days now.
Maybe just going for it would be better.
"Try the library."
Luz had just hit the final step when Boscha spoke, and she turned around to look back up at the three-eyed girl. Her hands were tucked into her jacket's pockets, and her eyes were all looking in the direction of Bonesborough's library.
"What?"
"You're looking for Amity, right? I heard she got hit by a Cherubim while you were trying to help her, and it's not exactly difficult to figure out what she said to you."
Okay, the number of people who could just put these things together was starting to become a little alarming to Luz. Did - Did everyone know?!
"Whenever Amity wanted to get away from the rest of our shit, she went to the library to be alone." Boscha explained. One of her eyebrows raised. "Not... Entirely sure how that worked. It's a library, there are other people there. I thought she would have gone home. But that's where she went when she didn't want to be around us." She shrugged. "It's the best I can offer."
It took a couple of seconds, but the pieces did come together in Luz's mind. She knew exactly why Amity didn't go home when she needed time to herself - Her siblings in particular weren't the type to leave her alone. Especially not until fairly recently.
That left her secret room in the library.
If there was anywhere Luz could think that Amity might be, that would be it.
"...Right. Right, got it." She nodded. "...Thanks, Boscha."
"Good luck, Huma - " Boscha paused, and then exhaled. "...Luz."
Without further word, Boscha made her way back to the table Willow was at. If she were being honest, Luz would confess to an overwhelming curiosity as to what the two of them would talk about, what questions both of them would ask, and... Well, everything. This wasn't a development she had been able to predict. And she couldn't predict how it would end. It was... Interesting. That was all there really was to it.
But she wouldn't eavesdrop, even if she didn't have something else that she needed to do that was far more important. She pulled out her Scroll from her pocket, found Amity's contact information, and began to type a message.
'Amity, It's Luz. I - '
Delete.
'Are you - '
Delete.
'Amity are you - '
Delete.
Luz took a deep breath. She was thinking too hard again. She exhaled, and tried again.
'Amity, I know that this is awkward and I don't know if you even want to see me, but I think we need to talk. We don't have to if you don't want to, but I really want to sort this out. Is there somewhere we could meet? Face to face.'
She read through it just once.
Then she hit send, before she could change her mind.
Another inhale, another exhale.
And she began to make her way to the library, though she would confess - She had a feeling Amity hadn't spent the last two nights in a room in the library. And she didn't feel like she was going to find her there now.
But it was the only lead she had.
And maybe she'd get lucky.
That would be nice, for a change.
There was a small comfort to this location, Amity felt. The shade. The sight. The sentiment. It was all here. Plus, it was one of the few places that hadn't been affected by the Cherubim's Magic, due to its nature. For some reason, that felt... Reassuring.
That was sentiment talking, though.
Her tears had dried up long ago. She didn't even have the energy to cry anymore. If she did, she felt like her eyes were going to bleed. Maybe she had just run out of fluids to cry anyway. It didn't mean she felt any better though.
Now, all she could do was sit there, and hug her knees against her chest. And wonder what was supposed to come next.
As it turned out, the pinging noise of her Scroll. It wasn't the first one she had gotten today. Half a dozen people had tried to get in touch with her, and she had ignored them all.
Maybe she had gotten more bored than she realized, because this time, she actually looked at her Scroll.
And felt her heart stop when she saw it was Luz.
Then she read the message.
This was a... Difficult chapter for me to write actually. I've had the scene with Willow, Boscha, and Luz in mind since the story was in the planning stage, and it was surprisingly difficult to get onto paper. But I've edited it a few times and I think I'm happy with the end result - Though this was going to be one single chapter originally, I decided to split it into two to keep the points concise. Next chapter will be a fair bit shorter as a result - By which I mean about 2000 words. The good news - You're getting it tomorrow :D
You can cancel me if you like, but I do find Boschlow a really interesting dynamic and if done well, can be immensely cute. Lumity is fun and adorable, but Boschlow is just plain interesting to me. Though I mostly blame the fandom for this and for ruining me as a Human being : D
There's a time and a place for those "force two people into a room and make them discuss their feelings" - Hell, I did it in this very story - But I don't always think that's healthy because that can cause a whole cavalcade of emotional issues down the line. It's why I subverted it a bit with this story. And Luz has a lot of doubt and drama going on in her head that makes her second guess herself - I've done a lot of this too. Basically at this point I'm working out a lot of my own shit through this poor child :D
I think we're going to end up ending this chapter on a solid 15 or 16 chapters, which my OCD appreciates - So, for those of you who want a resolution - We're in the home stretch now. Get yourselves ready, and I'll see you next time - See you!