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Fairy lights twinkled brightly over the small garden. The sun had set hours ago, but for those present the night was just beginning. The botanical gardens closed down general admission to minors and the shutters over the counters were raised. In the central courtyard a local band was tuning their instruments and getting through their soundcheck.
Two women flocked from place to place; one worrying over every minor detail, not so silently praying for everything to be perfect; the other trailing close behind doing her best to assure her nerves.
Within the next hour the guests arrived; an entourage of women strode through the main gate. The group ushered a green haired woman forward and pointed her gaze to the archway of roses with a banner that read “CONGRATULATIONS AMITY!”
“Did you guys do this for me?” Amity asked as she turned and looked at the group that nearly had to kidnap her.
Boscha shook her head with a chuckle. “We? No. Her?” She left the question open as she lazily pointed at a nervous Luz Noceda.
Luz gave a nervous chuckle and a smile that could blind a star. “Surprise?”
Amity stared at the woman a moment before blinking down the path and wrapping her arms around Luz’s midsection.
“Luz, you’re the best!” Amity nearly squealed into the dominican woman’s chest.
She patted the green haired woman gently on the back. “Not really.” She said with a chuckle.
Amity gave her one more squeeze before releasing the woman from her grasp. “Hush you.” Amity said with a faux pout. “Literally no one else would’ve done all this,” Amity gestured to the gardens, “just for me.”
Luz rolled her eyes. “Well, Willow was pretty keen on the idea too. She’s still in the main courtyard.” Luz said as she nodded her head down the path.
Amity smiled as she grabbed onto Luz’s wrist and tugged her down the gravel road with her. Luz caught the gaze of Emira as the two turned to head into the gardens proper. The sad smile Em gave Luz caused her stomach to shift uncomfortably - something it had been doing the entire night whenever Luz thought of the party.
Still, it was worth putting up with if it meant seeing Amity smile.
Luz watched from her seat on the bar nearest the courtyard as the group ate, drank, and danced the night away. Boscha even threw on her playlist a couple times to give Skara a break to join in on the festivities. As the night drew on Amity had given and received more hugs than any point prior in her life, few inquired about the ring that adorned the third finger of her left hand, and Luz nursed a cider as she lost herself in her thoughts.
She knows she should be happy for her best friend, and she really wants to be, but every time the thought broaches her consciousness that familiar pit would open in her stomach; the same pit that found a home in her six years ago.
It was the first time the name “Hunter” crossed Amity’s lips. The two were still in college and were having one of their usual coffee house hangout-slash-study groups.
“What’s new in the life of Amity Blight?” A younger, happier Luz asked.
“Oh, well, my parents had that party last week right?” Amity said tentatively.
“Right, I remember.” Luz nodded behind her coffee cup.
“Well, I met a guy there named Hunter.” Amity said softly as her eyes found an interesting pattern on the table’s faux woodgrain top.
A silence hung in the air between the girls.
“Oh.” Luz said finally.
She didn’t mean for it to come off as cold as it did; she didn’t know how she wanted it to come across at all. She felt her leg begin to bounce below the table as her stomach sank. Her eyes fought to focus on anything besides her once-again best friend across from her.
Oh, wow. Coffee.
“I’ve got to get to my lecture.” Amity said as she slowly rose from the table. “I’ll text you?”
Something in Amity’s voice felt like an icepick through Luz’s heart. Maybe it was the wince she could hear in the rising tone of the question; maybe it was the abrupt, and admittedly poor, excuse to escape the unbearable atmosphere that had descended between the two.
Luz just muttered, “Yeah, sure thing” into her coffee.
She didn’t dare look up until she heard the cafe’s door close.
Luz was pulled from her unpleasant trip down memory lane as someone tapped on her shoulder. Luz jumped in her seat before turning to see a very close Amity. Her cheeks were dusted with a light pink that always crept across her face when she drank; her warm breath carried the sweet scent of Amity’s favourite wine - one Luz and Willow had to pull a favour to get stocked for the night; her honey coloured eyes that had sparkled jovially the entire night now stared into Luz’s with worry.
“Mind if I sit?” She asked with that sweet tone Luz knew she could never say no to.
Luz simply shook her head in response.
“What’s going through that head of yours, Luz?” Amity asked after taking a sip from her cup.
“Not as much as people seem to think.” Luz said as she continued to look at the marred bartop.
Luz barely caught the sigh that escaped the woman next to her over the music pouring out of the speakers.
Luz sighed herself and felt her body deflate slightly. “Congratulations, Amity. I- I’m glad you’ve found someone that makes you happy.” Luz said as she swirled her empty bottle in her hands. “I mean that…” Luz whispered as she looked at the girl next to her.
“Thanks.” Amity said with a smile that was nowhere near as warm as the hundreds she’d worn throughout the night.
Silence fell between the two of them once more.
Luz dropped her gaze back to the bar top; in her periphery she caught Amity do the same. Together the two sat. Luz wanted to say something to her friend, but each time she opened her mouth to speak no words could be found.
Amity broke the silence between the two. “Do you… want to go on a walk?”
“God yes.” Luz sighed.
The two shared a laugh as they climbed off their seats and headed off to a quieter section of the garden.
As they departed Luz caught the eyes of a few of their friends. How could so many people have the same expression as they watched them go?
The two girls met in the shadows of the woods, much like they always did. Out here among the trees they were safe from the prying eyes of her parents. It was no secret what Odalia thought of the friends Amity chose for herself. The only thing Amity feared more was what her mother would do if she found out about how she really felt about one of those friends in particular.
Unfortunately, Amity didn’t have to wonder anymore.
She’d come home from school, gone to her room, and pulled her diary from the false bottom of her desk drawer. As her thumbs ran over the pages of her book, a very distinct gap made itself apparent.
In that instant, Amity Blight’s entire world shattered.
One horrid dinner later, Amity held her knees to her chest as she sat beneath an old cedar tree in the woods behind the Blight Manor.
“Hey,” She heard Luz call softly, “Ams, are you out here?”
“Y-yeah.” Amity managed without her voice breaking too much.
“What’s wrong?” Luz asked as she crouched down in front of the girl.
Amity couldn’t bear to look at her. She knew she looked awful; her eyes and nose were red from the tears that stopped flowing moments ago and her cheek sported a darkened bruise that thankfully hid in the shadows.
“Luz, I-” Amity began.
Before anything else could be said, a pair of arms wrapped around her, and the tears that had run dry fell with a newfound intensity as Luz pulled her girlfriend close. Amity wailed into Luz’s shoulder as the tears wracked her body.
Luz said nothing as she held her close.
It took what felt like an eternity for Amity to calm down. Luz gently lifted her girlfriend’s chin so she’d look at her, but Amity kept her eyes fixed anywhere and everywhere else. “Hey. ¿Qué pasó?” Luz asked softly as she cupped Amity’s cheek.
Amity flinched and jumped away from the touch with a pained hiss and Luz felt her heart shatter.
“Ams, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“We can’t do this anymore…” Amity croaked. “My mom…”
“Hey, we can figure this out.” Luz said with that gentle confidence she would take on the world with.
“No we can’t!” Amity shouted.
Her hands trembled as her hands balled into fists, knuckles white. “She found my diary! She’s shipping me off to some boarding school on the other side of the country! She’s cutting all contact with everyone I care about and it’s all my fault…”
Luz sat stunned.
“I’m sorry, Luz…” Amity said with a sniffle. “Goodbye.”
The gravel road wound through the flowerbeds almost aimlessly. Fairy lights strung up about the fence and the occasional lamppost were the sole sources of light this far out from the courtyard. The music had faded to a gentle thrumming of bass. Beds of lavender caught Amity’s eye as the pair wandered.
Luz caught the sound of her companion’s footsteps stopping and rested her back against the lamppost a few feet away. She looked to the side as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
Amity stopped and rested her elbows against the fence. Her eyes closed as she took in their scent. A low sigh of content escaped her as she exhaled. A small smile graced her lips. The little light of the path cast shadows that cupped the features of her face perfectly; the soft arch of her back. Luz knew she was staring, but she couldn’t take her eyes away. No matter how much her heart hurt; no matter how badly she wanted to reach out and tuck the stray hair behind her ear; despite every fibre of her being wanted to do everything in her power to make things the way they had used to be.
This was them now.
Happy with a life and a future to look forward to, and Luz, watching from the sidelines.