Chapter Text
"There goes Little Miss Perfect, off to probably her third extra credit class today."
"Someone aughta shake that stick up her-"
"-Language!"
"I hear the only people she's relaxed around is that human and her friends."
"Are you kidding me? Have you seen the way she tenses up around Luz?"
Amity has heard it all before. The gossip, the hushed whispers, nicknames ranging from teasing to spiteful. Oh, she's heard everything there is to hear about how "stuck up" she is.
The youngest Blight was walking down her usual route of hallways in Hexside on a monotonous Monday morning, passing by all sorts of students ranging from normal to demonic. A good majority of kids ignored her, some even raised a hand to greet her or shot off a friendly smile.
But others, others poked fun and spoke ill of her behind her back.
And the worse part, for the young witch that is, was that she couldn't dispute anything they said.
It was true, she was extremely uptight when it came to her social life. It was hard for her to find time for herself or any of her friends, what with her absurd amount of homework, extra curricular studying, volunteer work at various places, and anything either her parents or her siblings roped her into. Of course, she'd get to go to the occasional event, such as the Midnight Conjuring every year, and there was always the "friends" her parents picked out for her to give her a bit of social interaction…
But even those people tended to whisper behind her back. Especially after she started hanging out with Luz and Co.
Luz was one of the few people Amity felt like more herself when she was around. A bubbly, outgoing human with an interesting sense of humor, to say the least. Couple that with a bookish nerd, Gus, and an old friend of her own, Willow, and it felt closer to true friendship than Amity ever had with people like Boscha.
Speaking of Luz…
Amity rounded another corner of the school building, leaving behind the murmuring and snickers. She did have an extra credit class next period, but it wasn't for another few minutes. Plenty of time to catch up with-
"Luz!" Amity called out, waving to the human when she finally had her in sight. The hispanic girl was close by to her locker, talking to both Willow and Gus. However, as soon as she heard Amity's voice, Luz spun around with a large smile on her face.
"Amity, finally!" She rushed over to hug her friend, causing a dark blush to appear on the pale witch's cheeks. "We were waiting on ya to finish up so we could talk about the fiesta!"
"I'm sorry, huh?" Amity was confused as to whatever word Luz had just said. It was in that human language she had told her about. Spinach, right?
"Your brother and sister invited us to this big party down by Ribs Plaza in Bonesborough," Gus informed as Amity and Luz returned to the locker.
"It'd be cool for all of us to go! Willow and Gus might have to leave a little early to avoid trouble, but Eda's letting me stay for the whole thing! Soooo, I was wondering if you wanted to come with? Edric and Emira will be there, so maybe your parents will let you go!" Luz asked excitedly.
"That sounds…"
‘Wonderful? Great? Exciting?’ Words flashed within Amity's head in an attempt to finish that sentence. A way to hang out with Luz was excellent under any pretense, even if she was dreading the potential teasing she'd get from her siblings. She wanted to just say 'yes' in that moment, that 'of course she'd come with, she'd be stupid not to'. Even if Luz hadn't been attending, she still would've wanted to go, if only to get away from the constant barrage of stress in her everyday life.
"... Complicated."
But of course she couldn't.
She was Amity Blight, and there was just too much on her plate to blow off.
"I'm sorry, Luz, but I can't go tonight. I have a test tomorrow I need to study for, I have a ton of extra credit work to turn in, plus I have to practice a speech for the opening day of a new learning center my parents are opening up. They wanted me to speak at it, of all things."
The human's face fell more and more as Amity listed all of the assignments and chores she needed to complete, though not into disappointment, but rather worry.
"Jeez, Amity, that's way too much for one person to do! How do you even find time for yourself after class?"
"I rarely do."
It was said so nonchalant, like it was just a fact of life. Amity never gave it much thought how most of her life was spent doing something menial, taxing, or related to school.
But seeing Luz and her friends' faces in reaction to that little phrase really made her shrink in on herself, somehow feeling ashamed about something she couldn't control. She should be more in control of that little aspect of her life, but her parents, this school, and all her responsibilities already wrenched that from her.
"Amity, you-" Willow tried to say something to break that uncomfortable silence, as clearly something was going on in Luz's head that was stopping her from speaking, but Amity was already leaving away from the group.
"I-I'm sorry, I have to, um… get to my other class. Yeah, that's it. We can talk later, I'm sorry." Amity lied like it was her first time doing it, barreling away with a blush not from embarrassment, but from shame. Luz finally clicked back into reality and tried to call after her friend, but Amity was already in a different hallway.
The pale witch swore she could still hear those murmurs behind her back.
"There goes Little Miss Perfect, blowing off her friends in favor of schoolwork."
She wished she could argue against that.