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Emira Blight was peacefully reading a magazine when she heard her parents voices, one loud and deep and the other shrill and sharp, both shooting fear into her chest with every word, come from the vent inside her room that led down to her little sister’s room.
Eyes widening, she crawled off her bed and snuck over to the grate, listening closely to the man and woman downstairs inside the huge mansion.
What are they doing in Mitten’s room?! Emira thought, panic rising in her stomach. There’s no reason for them to be in there- although it’s not like they’d respect her privacy anyways…
“I’ve been wondering about that same thing, Karen,” her father’s voice said. “There’s certainly something going on.”
What’s going on?! Emira repeated inside her head, hands curling into fists. They better not do anything to her.
“Well, why don’t we take a look in here? She certainly expects this journal to be private, so it’d probably give us an answer,” came her mother’s voice. Emira heard the scraping of a book being pulled from a shelf and took in a sharp breath. Sure, she and Edric had read Amity’s diary before, but they weren’t doing it to find anything specific about her, they just wanted to mess with her.
And she knew that the two of them would never do whatever their parents were planning on doing. The only ones allowed to antagonize Mittens were her and Edric. Her parents always had something more severe in mind.
“Latest entries will probably do the trick… and well would you look at that… who’s Luz?”
No.
“She seems to be quite fond of her from the looks of it…”
Emira heard a gasp and quickly pulled out her phone, ready to text her brother. Amity was currently in the kitchen making some brownies or whatnot as far as she knew, and had no idea what was going on.
Her poor sister…
“What a disgrace. We’ll have to speak with her immediately at once. No daughter of ours is a lesbian, or whatever they call those faggots now,” her father boomed, anger and danger in his voice.
Emira bit her lip and texted Edric as fast as she could, jumping up and heading to the door while looking down on her phone.
THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT AMITY’S SEXUALITY- she’s in the kitchen, get her out of the house, I’ll distract them the best I can.
Sure thing- I’m going now.
Emira counted more on herself than anybody for this. She was now more of a perfect child than her other two siblings, so her parents would probably listen to her the best. Edric was down a peg or two because a couple months ago he had cut his hair without telling their parents, and when they found out, they were pissed. Edric still went by his deadname in the house, Amity and Emira determined not to put him because of the consequences he would face. And of course, now Amity was in the red zone.
So it was all up to Emira as she raced through the halls, down the stairs, and caught her parents with Amity’s diary just as they were exiting her room.
Amity jumped and almost knocked over her fresh plate of brownies when Edric came careening into the kitchen, wheezing and out of breath, with a desperate look on his face.
“They found out. About Luz. You need to go,” he said as Amity’s heart started racing a million miles an hour. He looked around for a quick second and then ran over to the large window on the other side of the kitchen, fumbling with the lock.
“If you go to the Owl Lady, I’m pretty sure she’ll cover for you. Either that or Luz. Me and Emira will get the situation sorted out while you’re there.”
Edric finally got the window unlocked and pushed it open, gesturing to Amity frantically. Amity ran over to the window and jumped out without a second thought, whispering a hoarse “thanks” as she fell into the bushes and then got up, stumbling to her feet and continuing to run.
She heard the window click behind her as she raced away, hardly noticing the leaves in her hair as she ran across the large, neatly trimmed yawn and out onto the sidewalk, going towards the town and the little knick-knack shop she wished she could call home.
The shop was closed.
The shop always had weird hours, but this was the worst time to not be able to come in-
Not now, not now, not now- she thought desperately as she banged on the door, panting and out of breath. She tried the handle. Locked.
She scanned inside the windows. Past the many stuffed owl figurines and trinkets, no one seemed to be in the store. She wanted to scream.
“I could go to another place- but ugh-“ Amity said under her breath, panicked. “They told me to go here- and they were right, there’s no other really guaranteed place-“
“Jesus Christ, we’re closed, did you not see the sign-“ a voice said. Amity was nearly shocked out of her system as the door opened finally and Eda stood there, a confused look on her face.
As soon as she saw Amity, and how scared she seemed to be, she waved her into the shop without another word, shutting the door behind her.
“Kid, what happened-“ Eda asked as Amity looked around for signs of Luz. The strange girl seemed to live here practically with the Owl Lady, claiming that she was from another realm, of magic and monsters. And Amity believed her. Who else could draw bright circles and make things happen out of nowhere, and had pointy ears and fangs? Certainly not Amity or any of the other people she knew. Not even the Owl Lady. It was just Luz.
And Luz, a witch as she called herself, was awfully charming. In a round-about way. She had detested her at first, but soon started developing feelings for her, even as Luz accidentally cast magic at school, or got into fights, or somehow ended up tied to a pole at 3 am in the morning.
But she was kind. And brave. And smart. And just wonderful overall, more than anyone else that had ever interacted with Amity. Even after she pushed her away, Luz came bouncing back, with just as much cheer and enthusiasm as she had the first time she met Amity.
And eventually… Amity wanted her stay.
And it had all developed from there.
Amity could feel her chest tighten as she choked out her words. “They found out about me being gay. And I’m afraid…”
Eda’s eyes widened, and then she nodded, and put a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “I get that kid… go upstairs. I’ll deal with your parents if they ever come around here. You’re still in touch with your siblings right?”
Amity nodded, and pulled out her phone. She didn’t have any text messages from Ed and Em, and was afraid to text them in the light of her parents knowledge. The very thought of her being the reason that her parents found out where she was scared her, and she struggled to keep ahold of her breathing.
“They’re… stalling our parents I think. I’m not going to text them until they text me. I’m not sure what’s going to happen…” Amity said quietly, heart still racing a million miles an hour. She didn’t dare think of any of the consequences.
Eda made a noise of acknowledgement and went to go sit at the check-out desk, gently petting her pet owl, Owlbert while she continued to speak. “Text me if anything happens. I’m going to stay here. Luz is also upstairs, just so you know.”
Amity smiled gratefully, and ran up the steep staircase that led to the second floor of the small building, finding some comfort in the quiet and darkness of the area around her. She went over to Luz’s door, and knocked shyly, butterflies swirling in her stomach.
She heard scuffling noises from inside the room, and within a couple of seconds, Luz opened up the door. As soon as she saw Amity, her face broke into a grin, and she hugged her excitedly.
Amity leaned into her embrace gratefully, burying her face in her shoulder.
“Amity! I’m so happy to see you!” Luz squealed. Amity felt Luz’s shoulders tense, and grip tighten around Amity’s waist. “Wait- why do you have leaves in your hair?... also the shop is closed. Eda let you in?...” she trailed off, confused.
Amity closed her eyes, feeling tears well up, and fear for Luz settle in her stomach.
“My parents found out about us and my sexuality apparently,” she whispered, voice cracking. “So I’m here. Because it’s the closest safe space…”
Luz sucked in a deep breath and drew back from the hug, while Amity’s head raced with thoughts of Luz leaving her, or breaking up with her over the panic of her parents finding out, or kicking her out of the store-
“Oh Amity… I’m so sorry…” Luz said sadly, brushing the leaves gently out of the taller one’s two toned, light brown hair as Amity stood stiff and still. She grabbed Amity’s wrist and gently led her inside her room and shut the door behind her, bringing her down to sit on the floor.
Amity nervously leaned against Luz, breaths shaky as she struggled to keep her tears out of her eyes. With the soft and dusty environment of the room around her, and Luz by her side, and no present danger from her parents currently, Amity wished that she could pretend that it was fine now. That it was okay for now, and in these few moments, she was safe and nothing would happen.
Luz wrapped an arm around her waist and gently played with her hair, eventually teasing it out of the half-up, half-down setup she had, and watched the strands fall down to the side of her face, eventually pushing them back behind her ears while Amity closed her eyes and wished the entire world would go away.
She had Luz. That’s all she really needed right now, with her gentle touches and soft breathing and kind voice with a hint of a Spanish accent sometimes.
But eventually she broke, burying her face into Luz’s shoulder as the tears streamed down her face, and it became hard to breathe. Luz continued to hold her as she sobbed, burying her face in the top of Amity’s hair. Amity wrapped her arms around Luz, wanting to have some kind of powers like her, to be able to protect her, or herself, or somehow make sure everything turned out alright, like she wouldn’t get disowned, and her parents were accepting, and not rich snobs with a stick up their ass who thought she needed to have a heir.
Hell, they had adopted her after they had the twins, and she could adopt someone if she married a woman, so what was the point? Why did they hate her so much? Why was her being attracted to girls wrong, or Edric being trans? Why?
Why was everything she did wrong?
Her hair. Her perfect grades. Her eyes. Her behavior. Her friends. Her sexuality. Nothing she ever did would be seen as a good thing by her parents, no matter what she did, and it made her so sad and mindblowingly frustrated at the same time.
Her whole existence was a mistake. Given up by a family who didn’t want her and taken in by parents who didn’t care for her. She was 90% the only reason she was adopted was for publicity. At least Ed and Em cared about her to an extent.
And she had Luz.
Luz, who was now humming something softly under her breath as she gently rocked Amity back and forth. Amity wondered how she could be so calm. Her parents could make her never see Luz again, plus she was in a world she didn’t exactly belong in, with her mother fighting some kind of dictator head-on and yet here she was, humming and rocking her sobbing girlfriend in her arms like nothing else was happening.
God, I love her so much.
Amity quietly withdrew from Luz’s tear-stained shoulder to look her in the eyes. Luz stopped rocking and stared back at her, still humming the same song under her breath.
“Wh-what’s that song?” Amity asked her, voice rusty.
Luz smiled softly. “A Letter To My Younger Self. It’s mostly in English, but it does have some Spanish parts. It’s a nice song…” Luz narrowed her eyes for a moment before sweeping some hair from Amity’s face again, thumb brushing over her cheek. “Also, has anyone told you that your freckles are incredibly cute?”
Amity felt herself blush, something warm growing in her chest. “Ha, not really- besides the rest of my family doesn’t have freckles due to not having a red-head gene so-“
“Who cares about your family-“ Luz started, before shaking her head and correcting herself. “Okay, your siblings are awesome, but your parents suck. Obviously. Anyways-“ she said, before holding Amity’s face in both of her hands. “You’re adorable. Case closed.”
Amity let out a giggle and pried Luz’s hands away from her face, smiling.”Luzzzzz, I have a reputationnn,” she fake-complained.
“Ado-ra-ble,” Luz continued, sounding out the syllables and booping Amity’s nose, making her fall over with laughter. Luz grinned, hints of a blush on her face.
“I am so gonna get you back for that,” said Amity, smiling mischievously. Before Luz could even fathom to move out of the way, Amity tackled her (although not with a lot of force so she didn’t hurt her- Luz seemed to be a lot lighter than Amity for whatever reason.) and booped her nose as well, earning a giggle from her.
Amity quickly moved back so that it didn’t become awkward, and so that Luz could sit up, still giggling cutely and smiling.
“So anyways- what’s the song like? I’ve heard you have a great singing voice.” Amity said, staring expectantly at Luz.
Luz rolled her eyes in a lighthearted manner. “Fineeee. But don’t blame me if your eardrums burst from the terribleness. I’m not sure who said I’m good at singing.”
No one had told Amity, she just knew. Luz said things in a sing-song voice sometimes, and it was beautiful. Her voice overall was beautiful. So obviously her singing? Beautiful. Even if it was in a language Amity didn’t really understand for the lack of trying.
“I doubt they will,” she replied. Luz averted her gaze, and then opened her mouth.
“ Ya no quiero que llores,
The universe is gonna give you muchas flores.
Quítate ese miedo,
You’ll be a lot more trust me, yo te entiendo….”
Amity sat in shocked silence. Luz’s singing was perfect. And she wanted to hear it again sometime, obviously. Luz seemed so bashful…
“That was awesome!!” Amity exclaimed, earning Luz’s attention. Luz smiled shyly.
“That was only the chorus, I couldn’t remember the rest of the lyrics… I’m glad you liked it.”
Amity smiled wide, and leaned over to hug Luz, the both of them falling onto the floor in a heap of sorts. It was strange how Luz could almost instantly make her feel better, with practically any word she said. She was like the hum- witch, the witch embodiment of sunshine and happiness. Her name seemed to be picked out for a reason after all.
Luz.
Amity decided right then and there, that no matter what her parents thought, what they did to keep her away from Luz, she’d always try to find a way back. As long as Luz wanted her company and it didn’t put her in danger.
If she was the first person in maybe 7 years since Willow that made her feel truly appreciated and loved, then she couldn’t afford to lose her. No matter what her parents or society thought. She’d always find a way to communicate with her, maybe even when she went back…
Amity’s thought process was interrupted by the pinging of her phone in her pocket, fear once again rising in her stomach, although it was replaced by a sense of fierce determination as Luz shifted next to her to get a look at her phone as she pulled it out of her pocket.
It was a message from Edric.
SHIT they’re coming over to the shop. Are you and Luz gonna be okay? Me and Em tried our best-
Amity texted a quick message to Eda to let her know that her parents were coming to the store, and then replied to her brother.
Yeah me and Luz will be fine. Stay safe, alright?
Amity didn’t wait for Edric’s reply before she jumped up and went to go make sure the room that they were in was locked. Of course there was the fear that if her parents didn’t find her, they’d send out a search team and arrest Eda, but she couldn’t worry about that now.
Luz got up as well and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, trying to help cease her frantic pacing and checking of the door.
“Hey, I have magic remember?” She drew a pink circle in the air with her finger, and the door made a gentle clicking noise. “I think that should work… also there’s an illusion on the other side, so it doesn’t look like there’s a door here. Eda knows how to recognize my illusions but your parents won’t. I hope. They haven’t been here before right?” Luz asked worriedly.
Amity shook her head and Luz sighed in relief, as did she.
“Man, your parents are assholes-“ she said, making Amity giggle. “ Ohhh no, we have a lesbian daughterrrr, it’s the end of the worldddd- wait what exactly are you afraid of your parents doing?”
Amity sucked in a breath. She wasn’t quite sure, but there was certainly a few possibilities.
“Disowning me, throwing me out of the house, stopping me from seeing you, sending me to conversion therapy, hurting… me…” Amity rubbed her arm nervously and looked down as she said the last part.
Her parents had never been… physically abusive, but she swore it got awful close sometimes. Possibilities of her dad, or maybe her mom, or both just- she couldn’t even think it in words, but the image was there, so many ways that they could possibly hurt her, when they were the ones who found out about her sexuality and Luz in the first place.
Speaking of… How did they find out?
It couldn’t have been Ed and Em, she knew. Although the two of them could be jerks sometimes, they all had a silent pact to never out anyone, no matter what happened. It was the only reason why Ed had been allowed in the house for so long. If they knew he was trans, they’d surely kick him out.
They must have read my diary… so now I have to worry even more about my privacy if I ever go back there-
“AMITY BLIGHT! YOU COME OUT OF THERE THIS INSTANT!”
Amity flinched, and fear filled her chest as her father’s booming voice came from downstairs. Several loud bangs could be heard as he hit the door, with her mother screaming right alongside him.
Amity felt herself freeze, and Luz sucked in a breath, and then ever so gently tried to lead Amity away from the door and towards the back of the room.
“ Excuse me , we’re closed. I have no idea where this ‘Amity Blight’ you speak of, and you’re going to break my windows. Go away,” said Eda from downstairs.
“I KNOW WHERE SHE IS,” yelled Amity’s mother. “YOU CAN’T LIE TO US. She better not be with Luz, fucking fag- she probably convinced-“
Luz grabbed a blanket from her bed and wrapped it around herself and Amity’s shaking figure, and put an arm around her again.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, you’re safe, it’s going to be alright-“ she whispered as Amity struggled not to cry. “Eda’s got this, trust me.”
“You didn’t convince me of anything- I liked you before I even knew you liked girls, and I’ve liked girls before, and I had a crush on Azura-“ Amity whispered to herself, trying to reassure someone, whether that was her or Luz. “And there’s nothing wrong with it-“
“Hey, you are not allowed to insult Luz like that. That word is absolutely horrible, and you can’t convince someone into being gay. That’s not how it works. You can’t convince anyone into any particular sexuality, because it’s not a choice, and I would know,” Eda growled. A dog barked, while Amity’s parents screamed at it, and Luz let out a strained chuckle.
“And there goes King… he must have sensed your parent’s bad vibes… it was probably the yelling. The animals here don’t seem to like that.”
“Y-yeah…” Amity choked out.
“Oh, so are YOU saying that you’re a fag too? Disgusting. I should have known,” Amity’s father snarled. “You, and this weird-ass shop with your weird-ass kid that doesn’t even look like you and came out of NOWHERE! No wonder my daughter likes girls. She keeps hanging around you and that’s going to stop RIGHT NOW, if I have anything to do with it-“
Amity grabbed ahold of Luz’s sleeve, and Luz slipped her hand into hers, hoping it would calm the both of them down.
They were only 14 after all.
“Luz, I’m really sorry-“ Amity whispered, her father’s words swimming in her ears.
“ Está bien,” Luz replied, slipping into Spanish, which was something that Amity noticed that she did when she was nervous or upset, even when she didn’t need to. Things weren’t looking good.
“If your first instinct when you forcibly out your daughter is to come to the place where she seeked refuge and yell at the person trying to keep a lost kid in safe custody, insulting that same kid for something she can’t control, insulting me for that same reason, almost hitting my dog, and screaming like the dickens for your daughter to come down when you’re the ones she’s running away from, I don’t think you should be parents. Just saying,” Eda snarled back. “I can’t imagine how unsafe she feels if she has to live in this kind of environment.”
“I don’t care if she feels unsafe. She’s supposed to be afraid of us. That’s how it works.”
“No. It isn’t.”
And with the slam of a door and distant voices outside, the yelling was over. Amity could still feel her heart beating wildly inside her chest, waiting for the moment when her father or mother or both would break in, and run up the stairs, and maybe find her. She wasn’t sure how well Luz’s magic worked when she was upset. Luz was gripping her hand so tightly. It wasn’t often that she got this scared. She came from a world where you could get eaten by a monster at nearly any second after all.
“ C-Como estas?” Amity whispered nervously. She didn’t know much Spanish, but maybe speaking it would help some. She had a free tutor named Duo, who seemed to be engaged to Eda’s friend Hooty who worked at the shop sometimes after all.
“Yo no sé…tengo un poco miedo, pero estoy bien,” Luz whispered back, her grip on Amity’s hand finally loosening.
Amity leaned her head on Luz’s shoulder, and closed her eyes, waiting silently for the moment when something dreaded would march up the stairs.
“Well, I was hoping you could help me since you’re a high-ranking government official, Lillith,” muttered Eda as she came up upstairs. “What do you mean I don’t know anything about law? I know enough about law to know how to break it and get away with it at least….”
Amity gently picked up her head, or at least she tried to. Luz was still fast asleep, her curls falling in front of Amity’s eyes, head resting on her own. It was impossible to move.
“ Luz.”
“Hmm?” Luz finally picked up her head and yawned, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. “What’s up?”
Eda’s voice came from outside the door. “Kid, I’d really appreciate it if you’d undo the modge-podge of a spell you have going on here. I have ⅔’s of a door and the rest is a wall in scattered places.”
Luz quietly disentangled herself from the blanket and stood up sleepily, leaving Amity to miss the shared warmth as she continued to sit on the floor.
Luz undid the spell, drawing another circle with her finger, and Eda stepped in the room, putting her cellphone in her pocket as she stood in the entrance and grinned, her one silver tooth shining brightly.
“Well kids, guess you’re both staying with me from now on,” she exclaimed proudly. “Amity, I have a guest room you can stay in. It’s more of a storage closet or whatever, but we can fix it up so it’s actually a suitable living space.”
Amity’s eyes widened, and she stood up, shaking the blanket off her. She had not expected this. What the heck happened while me and Luz were asleep?!
“Wait, you really mean that?” Amity asked, still in disbelief. Eda nodded proudly and that’s all it took for Luz to run over to Amity and pick her up, spinning her around in a circle like she weighed nothing, squealing.
“AMITY I CAN’T BELIEVE IT-“ she yelled excitedly. “AHHHHH-“
Amity said nothing, just grinned so hard her cheeks started hurting and hugged Luz. Eda watched from the doorway, a smirk on her face.
“Oh and by the way since I figured you’d be worried about your siblings- Ed and Em are staying with some friends. Didn’t really want to be around their parents right now, and I don’t blame them,” said Eda. “So they’re safe.”
“Oh thank god-“ replied Amity. “Ed is trans so I thought that our parents might go after him next-“
“And I’m currently trying to get my sister to tell me how to win a custody battle, but she isn’t very helpful…” Eda trailed off. “I’ll just find out myself, to spite her!” She turned around and went downstairs, leaving Luz and Amity alone again.
Amity watched her walk away, and then looked directly into Luz’s eyes. Luz booped her nose again, and they followed Eda downstairs