✧ .・゜゜・♔

“Luz, are you all right?” Lilith’s voice cut through her musing. 

The older Clawthorne sister had paused, holding her cup of tea mid-air, poised as if she’d been about to take a sip. Her perfectly trimmed eyebrows raised in concern. “You’re looking rather flushed.”

She and Gwendolyn had stopped by early that morning to spend the day at the Owl House. Eda had grumbled about them visiting so soon after leaving but Luz knew she appreciated the visit. 

The occupants of the Owl House currently sat at the dining table, enjoying delicious griffin egg omelettes and a side of strange looking sausage meat (that Luz preferred not to question for fear that it would ruin her appetite), all made by the Clawthorne matriarch.

Luz and King had been especially excited for the meal; Luz loved Eda dearly but most of the time, her meals were questionable at best. 

“Yeah, kid, you’ve been out of it since last night,” Eda threw in, her words muffled by a mouth full of griffin eggs. “What gives?” 

King snickered beside Luz. His big eyes swept over the table and he leaned in, lowering his voice to whisper conspiratorially. “The Cupcake Smasher kissed her yesterday.”

The three Clawthorne women had varying reactions: Lilith’s elegant features showed pleasant surprise, Eda had a toothy grin with her golden fang in full display, and Gwendolyn tittered with amusement. 

The tiny demon followed his retort with incredibly loud kissing noises that were interrupted by a high-pitched “Weh!” as he dodged a hard-rock scone thrown at him by the suddenly self-conscious Luz. 

“King!” She gasped in a strangled voice. Her cheeks were flushed a bright red from embarrassment. “I thought we were boo-boo buddies! I trusted you, you adorable yet treacherous little scoundrel!”

The previous night, Luz had immediately made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom, her clothes askew and holding the Echo Mouse in a gentle grip.

She’d admittedly needed a moment to herself; her heart still felt like it was ready to hammer out of her chest and her breathing was heavy, her lungs feeling as if there wasn’t enough oxygen. 

“Amity kissed me.” She’d whispered to herself breathlessly, a tiny smile pulled at the corner of her lips.

She’d felt elation, affection, but also a small bout of nerves bubble up in her chest at the memory.

It wasn’t just a friendly kiss, was it? Luz had thought to herself, tapping her feet against the creaky wooden boards of her bedroom floor. 

Luz brought the mouse up to eye level and grinned. “You saw that too, didn’t you, little buddy? She kissed me!”

King, who had been quietly cuddling on her nest of blankets, suddenly stood on his tiny hind legs. He pointed at Luz with shock. “The Cupcake Smasher has a crush on you!” 

Immediately, Luz’s chocolate eyes widened with shock. She stammered for a moment, nearly loosening her grip on the Echo Mouse from the surprise. “I-I didn’t say that!”

There was a brief silence before she spoke up again, tone much quieter and tinged with doubt.” I mean--I don’t know if she does? Was it just a friendly kiss? Ugh, King!”

With a dramatic spin on her heel, the teen had bounded back down the hall in search of her mentor, the sound of King’s chortles trailing behind her. 

Luz was brought back to the present by a bony hand grabbing at her shoulder.

“Well it took you two long enough,” Eda crowed smugly, eyebrows wiggling teasingly at her ward. “My little Luz’s finally got herself a girlfriend. And it’s Baby Blight at that!”

At the word girlfriend, Luz’s face dropped slightly, the horrible bout of insecurity and anxiety she’d been attempting to bury resurfacing with an icy cold grip on her heart. 

“She’s...not...my girlfriend.” Luz sighed almost dejectedly. Her cinnamon-colored eyes lowered, doing her best to avoid everyone’s gaze, fingers tracing the strange pattern on the wood. “It was just a kiss on the cheek. It could have been a friend thing.” 

Eda snorted, rolling her mismatched eyes towards the ceiling. “Oh, please. That kid is head over heels--”

Lilith cut in immediately, glaring at her sister in an attempt to protect the dignity of her previous mentee. “What Edalyn is trying to say, Luz, is that you should not feel discouraged. Perhaps you should pay her a visit later today and have a chat?”

Luz looked at Lilith skeptically. “And say what?”

The young apprentice paused for a moment, before pushing her hair back and clearing her throat, readying herself for an exaggerated impression of herself. “Hey, Amity! That kiss last night, hehe, it was pretty great. Does that mean you, y’know, like-like me?”

She followed it by some teeth sucking and a finger gun or two.

Eda huffed out a laugh, wiping at her eyes. “Ha! That’s exactly what I think you should do, kiddo.” 

Luz only groaned, dropping her head onto the table in dramatic despair. “I totally misread that kiss, didn’t I?’

Eda’s smile of amusement faded into a much more maternal tug of the lips, eyes softening. “Hey, Luz?”

A muffled hum let the gray-haired witch that the teen was listening.

“Do you like her?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to ask her out?”

“Yes.”

“Then do it,” Eda nudged at Luz’s ribs softly with a pointy elbow. “The Luz I know is brave and wouldn’t let a little bit of the scaries stop her from knocking the socks off the person of her dreams and letting them know how much she cares about them.”

Luz slightly lifted her head from the table, eyes peeking up shyly. “You really think I can do it?”

“Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?”

Lilith and Gwendolyn exchanged warm smiles at the exchange between the witch and her human apprentice. 

“Alright,” Luz stood from the table, chair scratching uncomfortably loud. She had her hand on her hips and a grin that lit up the room on her face. Operation ‘Find Out If Amity Likes Me Back’ is a go!”

Her sudden streak of confidence came to halt and she bit her lip in thought for a moment. “But what if I just go spill my heart out to her and she doesn’t even like me back and I look like an absolute idiot because I completely misread everything?”

Lilith smirked at her over the rim of her teacup. “Then my dear, you must do your best to win her affections before you confess to her.”

“What, like woo her?” Luz was slightly panicked. “I don’t know how to woo anyone.”

“You know,” Gwendolyn offered with a grin that was reminiscent of Eda’s own smile. Her emerald orbs gazed at Luz with a bit of mischief. “I think I’ve got just the book that would help.”

“No offense, Gwendolyn,” Luz started nervously, scratching at her head. “I don’t think you’ve had the best luck when it comes to books with advice.”  

Gwendolyn only waved her off, lifting up from her seat to find her bag. “Nonsense, my dear, this book helped me quite a few times during my Hexside days--it’s in here somewhere.”

Eda and Lilith looked at each other before looking back at her mom. “Mother--”

“Aha!” Gwendolyn produced a rather small, forest green leather-bound book. The cover of the book was adorned with fancy golden letters that read: Innis Soulton’s 5 Ways to Woo Your Witch (or Demon).

“This looks like it’ll be,” Luz pursed her lips and furrowed her brows nervously. “…really helpful. Thanks, Gwendolyn.”

The oldest Clawthorne handed Luz the book and squeezed her shoulders encouragingly. “Get to reading, my dear human. You’ve got a witch to woo.”

Have you found the one that makes your stomach curdle in the best way possible? Do you have a witch that makes you feel like you're soaring on the back of your palisman with a single smile? Do they make your heart flutter like a bat's wings? Are you not confident that your affections are reciprocated? Open this book and discover how you can make your witch (or demon, we don't judge) fall in love with you. 

Number one: Show your witch your chivalrous side; small acts of kindness are sure to not go unnoticed. Hold the door open, carry something for them--this is sure to make them swoon and make their bile sacs surge with affection. 

Okay, Noceda, you’ve got this. Luz thought to herself, eyes scanning the school hallway for one purple-haired witch. 

Luz had spent the whole night tossing and turning, stomach fluttering with both anxiety and excitement. 

Finally, the object of her affections was spotted: Amity seemed to be flustered at the moment--she was breathing heavily, muttering under her breath as she struggled with tickling her locker to get it open whilst attempting not to buckle under the weight of the numerous textbooks in her arms.

Luz let out a small squeak, heart leaping into her throat. Somehow, Amity still managed to look beautiful and just so dang cool despite her momentary discomposure. 

The witch’s cheeks were a bright rose color, purple locks looking shiny and soft as they brushed against the tops of her shoulders with her movement.

“So pretty.” Luz whispered to herself, not able to move her eyes away from Amity. She raised a hand to put it against her racing heart, hoping it would calm down. “Play it cool, Luz. Breathe.”

Releasing a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, the human shook her head as if she were shaking off all of her nerves with the movement and rolled her shoulders back.

Luz’s shoes suddenly seemed to clack loudly against the floor regardless of the already noisy hallway, full of chatter from scholars moving towards their next classes and slamming lockers.

Almost as if Amity could sense Luz’s gaze and feel her walking towards her, the young witch turned around tensely.

Golden orbs met with Luz’s brown eyes, and they widened almost comically. 

“Oh, Titan!” Luz could hear Amity mutter as she turned back to her locker all but frantically, the tower of books wiggling unstably with the movement. “Hurry and open up you stupid locker.”

“Morning, Amity,” Luz’s normally cheerful tone was uncharacteristically bashful and Amity could hear a small tremble in her voice. “Can I help you with your locker?”

“Oh! Hi, Luz!” The red on Amity’s cheeks spread higher, her voice coming out much squeakier than her usual lower tone. She seemed to be looking everywhere except at Luz. “I-I uh, think I’ve got it covered--”

She was promptly cut off by the sound of the shrieking warning bell, followed by the top half of the stack of books in her arms toppling over.

Mortification took over Amity’s features when she noticed that she’d nearly crushed Luz’s toes in the process.

Amity winced apologetically, trying to ignore the way her stomach flitted at Luz’s sympathetic smile, and released a long sigh of defeat. “Y-yeah, I guess I could use some help.”

Luz’s smile widened and she laughed quietly, feeling her own cheeks flushing. “Excuse me, m’lady.”

Amity nearly choked when Luz put a soft hand over her forearm, pulling her aside tenderly to stand in front of the locker. “Open up for me, buddy.” 

The dark-haired girl reached over and tickled Amity’s locker open, the difficult locker finally giving them access to its insides. 

“Breakfast time!” Luz cheered as she watched Amity store some of the books she still held within the locker for a moment before bending down to begin collecting the ones that had fallen.

“Oh, Luz, don’t worry about those,” Amity rushed to kneel in front of her, words coming out in rapid succession. “I don’t want to make you late to class.”

Luz blew a raspberry, waving her off nonchalantly. “I’ve got you always, Amity! Let me help, I insist.”

A tan hand reached for the final book at the same time as a much paler hand did, both appendages brushing against one another delicately.

Amity’s head snapped up in time with Luz’s, both of their eyes connecting in a lock that left the human short of breath and her heart beating over time. 

Is this what a heart attack feels like?

Swallowing hard, Luz gingerly swept the last book up and held it against her chest. Now standing back up to her full height, she discreetly tried to wipe her sweaty hand against her uniform before holding it out for Amity to take.

“Can I walk you to class, Amity?” 

Amity seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment, her tawny eyes shining hopefully. She opened her mouth to speak, hand slowly lifting to meet with Luz’s. “I’d--”

The final warning bell screeched loudly, announcing their tardiness. 

Amity let out a strangled yelp, jumping to her feet as if she’d been kicked. Nearly yanking Luz’s arms from their sockets, Amity snatched her books from Luz’s hold. 

Luz emitted a small cry of surprise, watching as a cherry red and slightly sweating Amity started to take off the opposite direction of the Abominations Track classrooms.

“I’ve got to go,” She yelled skittishly, nearly running down the hallway. “I’m sorry, bye!” 

Luz’s eyebrows furrowed as she continued to survey the darting Amity until she disappeared around a corner.

“Ay, dios mío,” Luz groaned, shoulders sagging in disappointment. They’d had a moment. She was sure of it. And it’d been ruined by the scholarly duty of attending class. “Stupid bell. Stupid class.”

Not only had Luz Noceda royally failed at step number one, but she was also incredibly late to class.

Potions was first that morning and they’d no doubt have her scrubbing the cauldrons in punishment.

Straightening up, Luz tightened her grip on the bag she had around her shoulders. She had class first, but during lunch, she was going to find Amity and try out Innis’ second piece of advice for smitten witches.

Number Two: Compliment your witch.