Chapter Text
Of all the days where Amity’s car could fuck up, it had to be now.
She let out a scream of frustration as she felt the suspension break. It wasn’t too severe - Bonesborough traffic was never particularly packed, and she could get away with driving at a snail’s pace until she got to a mechanic - but it was the cherry on top of a rancid cake she hadn’t even ordered.
She glanced down at her phone, tossed haphazardly on the passenger seat. Only hours earlier, she’d gotten the text that her semester assignment grades were in. Most of them? She’d aced, of course. She didn’t do failure. Business Law, though… that class was a thorn buried so deep in her side she’d lost it amongst her ribs. No amount of digging could fish it out. She merely had to grin and bear it, and do the best she could. Fuck knows she couldn’t afford to be seen hiring a tutor.
A Blight, needing to ask for help? Banish the thought.
She hadn’t failed, if you were being pedantic about it. She’d simply gotten a B+. In the eyes of her parents, however, that wasn’t any better than scraping a pile of smeared dog shit from the pavement and submitting that for a final grade. Amity merely prayed they wouldn’t find out about it.
She prayed that a lot.
They always did.
She slammed a hand against Hecate’s steering wheel, letting out a second frustrated yell.
“Fuck!”
Hecate was a decent little car. She’d bought it herself the second she moved to Bonesborough, with guidance from her siblings. She’d done it with her own money, without permission from her parents, as some small act of rebellion. She knew they wouldn’t disprove of such a purchase, but still the tiny steps into freedom - into living her life without looking over her shoulder for their approval - felt good.
It was a little car, a pretty shade of lavender, and she cherished it more than almost anything. She kept it spotless, made sure to keep a stash of air fresheners in the glove compartment, and always gave it a tender pat on the roof after she’d parked and gotten out. It was her baby.
Right now, though, her baby was throwing one hell of a tantrum.
The suspension was completely broken, from the feel of it. She slowed her driving even more, and every movement, every jostle and tiny bump on the road, sent her bobbing up and down where she sat.
“Fuck,” she hissed. She glanced in her rear-view mirror to make sure nobody was behind her and slowed to a halt. She grabbed her phone, pulling up Google and checking where the nearest mechanic shop was.
The closest marker, only a few streets away from her apartment complex, was some shop called “The Boiling Isle”.
“Cute,” she muttered under her breath, starting the car back up again. “Okay, let’s try this again.”
It was a bumpy, stressful, and painfully slow ride to the mechanic. By the time she pulled in to the beaten-up, misshapen building, her knuckles were white with how tightly she clenched the wheel, and sweat beaded on her forehead.
Gross.
She wiped her face with her sleeve and looked out the window. The shop was… unique-looking, to say the least. It appeared to be made up of an office, and a large interior garage, with a parking lot out front. The name of the shop was painted on a sign hanging on the front, clearly hand-painted. It was somewhat off-putting and kind of sketchy, if Amity had to be honest, but charming in its own way.
She parked Hecate in one of the empty spaces in the parking lot, and got out. She rested a hand on her car’s roof.
“Well, old girl, here we are,” she murmured, looking up at the shop.
She’d never been to a mechanic before. She wasn’t sure about the etiquette. Was she supposed to call ahead? Did she just walk into the office and announce herself? She stepped back and looked around, looking for any information signpost she might be able to find, but she was saved from her confusion by a voice popping up from behind her.
“Be right with you!”
Amity spun on her heel but saw... nobody. She blinked, looking around, when the voice came again, drifting from beneath a nearby car.
“Heh… sorry. One sec.”
She heard the creaking of tools and then the rolling of wheels, and then a girl emerged from under a car, rolling out on her back. She pushed herself up from the trolley she’d been resting on and wiped her brow with her sleeve.
Amity liked to think she was a put-together, refined kind of woman. She said her pleases and thank yous, she always crossed her ankles when sitting with company, and she kept any noticeable amount of emotion she felt to herself. Sure, sometimes her emotions bubbled over and she had a meltdown, but she did her best to make sure those happened behind closed doors, when she could tear her hair out and throw ornaments across the room to smash against the wall without staining her family name.
Despite all that, however, when the stranger across from Amity offered her a smile and a hand to shake, every once of refinement and discipline drained out of her and evaporated.
This mechanic was fucking gorgeous.
She was tall, easily towering over Amity, and sun-kissed, with a mysterious dark smudge on one cheek and hands dirtied by working with machinery all day. She wore a sleeveless striped shirt, poked through with holes here and there, which revealed her arms. Through the sleeve holes, Amity could see she was wearing a black sports bra - or was that a binder? She wasn’t sure. She wore baggy jeans and simple trainers, and a lopsided red beanie on her head. Two longer strands of hair fell down the sides of her face, framing her and that fucking smile perfectly.
“I’m Luz,” she introduced herself, shaking Amity’s hand with a surprising amount of vigour. “Luz Noceda. I’ll be your mechanic today, ‘kay?”
“‘Kay,” Amity mumbled, eyes wide as saucers and entire face burning.
Fuck, please don’t let her see me blush. Get yourself together, Amity Blight. You are NOT allowed to thirst over random mechanic girls right now.
Luz trotted over towards Hecate and began circling the car, inspecting it.
“Eda would probably take care of it, normally, but she’s out right now. On a date, I think. I don’t know much about them, but they make Eda happy. It’s just good to see her smile, you know? That woman does not know how to let herself enjoy things sometimes.”
She looked up at Amity, still flashing that dazzling smile, and Amity nodded, even though she had absolutely no clue what Luz was talking about. She seemed to realise what she’d said, and backed away a step, clenching her hands into fists for only a second, before relaxing.
“Sorry about that. I talk too much, sometimes.”
“No!” Amity rushed to reassure her, face burning impossibly hotter. “N-no. Sorry. You’re fine. You’re good. Don’t worry.”
Luz smiled again, blinding and warm, although it still had somewhat sad undertones.
“Thanks, uh…” She blinked. “Fuck, sorry. I totally forgot to ask your name. Or what’s wrong with your car. Shit, heh. I’m so bad at this.”
“Amity,” Amity rushed to offer. She cleared her throat. “Amity Blight.”
“Blight?” Luz cocked her head. “That’s. That’s lovely.”
Amity let out a snort and shook her head.
“No, don’t worry. It’s awful, I know.”
“Thank god,” Luz chuckled, shaking her head. “I didn’t want to offend you but. Wow, flattering name.”
“Right,” Amity scuffed her boot on the ground. “Basically just means disease.”
“If it helps, Amity is genuinely very pretty,” Luz grinned, and well, fuck if that didn’t make Amity want to pass out right then and there.
“Th.” She started, although her tongue felt much too large in her mouth, and she choked on her words. “Thank you, Luz. Yours is really nice, too. I’ve never heard your name before.”
Luz brightened up.
“Oh, thank you! It means Light. It’s, uh. Spanish, heh.” She ducked her head, disappearing into the garage before Amity could say another word. She reappeared only a moment later with a faded green jacket slung over her arm, and dug around in its pocket. She found what she was looking for and pulled out a wrapped red lollipop. She peeled it from its packaging and popped it into her mouth.
“You want one?” she asked, offering Amity the jacket, but she shook her head.
“No, thank you.”
“All righty,” Luz dropped the jacket onto a railing and leaned back against it. The way she leaned let the sun shine off of her biceps, and Amity considered dying for a brief moment. “So, what’s up with your car?”
“The, uh, suspension,” Amity gestured at her car’s wheels. “I think.”
“Ooo-kay,” Luz knelt to inspect the tyres, before standing and circling the car a second time. “Definitely looks like something’s up. The tread on the tyres are fine, but the car’s leaning a bit. Can I have your keys, please?”
“Yep,” Amity handed over her keys, and Luz popped the hood, immediately beginning to rummage around inside.
“This shouldn’t take too long, I don’t think,” her voice drifted out from the hood. “Do you wanna stick around? I can put a pot of coffee on or something.”
Amity’s alarm bells went off. Luz was kind, forth-coming, and unfairly cute. This was dangerous. She could not afford vulnerability.
She stepped back, wringing her hands.
“Um, no, I…” she glanced around and zeroed in on a cafe across the road. She vaguely recognised the place - Edric tended to skulk around there a fair bit recently, after he apparently caught feelings for one of the baristas there. The thought made her roll her eyes, but she couldn’t deny she was curious to see this mysterious boy who had caught her brother’s eye.
“I think I’m gonna go get a bite to eat in the cafe over there,” she gestured at the place. Luz straightened up to glance at the cafe, and nodded.
“Nice place, that. Say hi to Hunter for me, if he’s in.”
“H- you know Hunter?”
Luz glanced back at Amity, eyes wide.
“Um, yeah. We’re pretty close. Why, how do you know him?”
Uh oh.
Amity faltered. If Edric knew that his crush was in a relationship with some mechanic girl, he’d be heartbroken. Amity distracted herself from the aching in her chest by picturing the pitiful look in her brother’s eyes.
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, and as Luz’s expression shifted into one of confusion and concern, she realised she’d been silent for too long.
“I don’t, not, um. Not really. It’s fine, sorry. I’ll just, uh-”
“Oh, shit,” Luz blinked. “I’m not like, dating him or anything. We’re just friends. If you happen to like him, or-”
“No!” Amity stuttered, trying to ignore how her face burned and the pain in her chest made way for immense relief. “I’m. I’m not. That’s… that’s good news, though.”
Luz’s face shifted into something unrecognisable, and Amity knew she needed to get out of there.
“Do I pay after?” she squeaked. Luz nodded wordlessly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips, and Amity turned, fleeing the scene. “Thank you!” she called back behind her, in Luz’s vague direction, and she didn’t look back to see what Luz would say in response.
-
It was a nice café, if she was honest with herself.
As much as it bogged her down with self-loathing to admit, she had expensive tastes. Growing up a Blight, without any real concept of money’s value and getting most of what she wanted at the snap of a finger, she’d become accustomed to the best of the best.
As she sipped her tea, however, and rubbed the corner of a napkin between her finger and thumb in an effort to keep herself calm, she had to admit it was really quite pleasant.
The café was warm, and smelled of coffee and fresh-baked pastries.
Hunter was working at the counter. Amity had scanned him as inconspicuously as she could. He seemed to be close enough to what she understood to be Edric’s type; tall, somewhat effeminate, but with a slightly haunted look to him. He had bags beneath his eyes and a pale scar curling up his jaw, which she was endlessly curious about, but of course didn’t mention.
She offered him Luz’s greeting, and he huffed, but threw in a free cookie with her drink. It was a pleasant surprise, and really, Amity would struggle to think of a better way to spend the time waiting for Hecate’s safe return.
It was only a matter of time until the tranquil moment was ruined.
She’d just taken the final sips of her tea and was about halfway through her cookie when her phone buzzed in her pocket. The blood drained from her face, but she fumbled with the phone, pressing the “accept call” button with a shaking finger and pressing the phone to her ear.
“H-hello?” she winced at how frail her voice already sounded. She knew what was coming.
“Mittens, dearest,” her mother’s voice sounded in her ear, and the hair on Amity’s arms rose. She pinned her ears back, steeling herself and preparing for the worst.
“Mother,” she greeted Odalia in return.
“We just wanted to check on you, darling.” Lies. Her parents couldn’t give less of a shit, provided that she was doing well in everything. She could be in hospital, broken and bloody, and Odalia would still ring to remind Amity that she had no excuse to fall behind in any of her classes.
Amity mattered to them only as long as she did everything they expected of her. She’d long since come to terms with that.
At least they’re still trying with me. Not like Ed and Em.
The twins had been disowned shortly after they left home. They’d struggled to stay afloat, but they managed, using each other as support. They shared a tiny apartment, but they found jobs and broke free of the suffocating Blight legacy. They welcomed Amity with open arms when she moved to Bonesborough, helping her secure her own apartment in the same complex as them, and lending a hand whenever she needed it with college. She loved them so much.
“Of course, mother,” she kept her voice calm and emotionless. The less she revealed, the less ammunition Odalia had to manipulate her.
“I got a rather worrying text this morning,” her mother continued. “Your Business Law class seems to be trying for you.”
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck-
“Yes, mother. Unfortunately it doesn’t come naturally to me.”
“Nothing worth doing is ever easy, Mittens,” her mother’s tone sharpened. Amity’s breathing quickened. She could practically feel her mother’s hands resting on her shoulders, squeezing, growing tighter, too tight, too fucking tight-
“Yes, mother. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, darling.” Amity fucking hated the nicknames. Odalia didn’t care for her in the slightest. She played it up for the public eye, making a big deal of how proud she was of her beloved children, but behind closed doors, there was no secret how much of a lie it was.
“Of course, mother.”
“I expect you to reapply for the class. You won’t fail it again, will you?”
“Of course, mother. No, mother.”
“Good. I’ll be keeping in touch.”
The phone clicked off. As soon as she’d hung up, Amity lowered the phone from her ear. Her hands were shaking. She turned the remaining half of her cookie over and over in her hands, but her appetite was long gone.
She got up, left a few dollars tip on the table, and stumbled out of the café.
She crossed the street without looking. A car horn blared to her right, but she barely even noticed it. She walked unconsciously, her feet completely in control. She hadn’t even realised she was at the mechanic until she was knocking on the office door, and Luz opened the door with a bright grin. Before she had the chance to say anything, Amity cut her off.
“Is my car ready?”
Luz faltered slightly, her smile dulling, but she nodded.
“Yep! All fixed up. It was only a slight issue, honestly, so it was a quick fix. Shouldn’t bother you again.”
“Good,” Amity turned away. “How much do I owe you?”
“Um,” Luz paused, and Amity heard papers rustling behind her. She didn’t turn back – she couldn’t face Luz right now. Her eyes stang.
Fuck. She could not cry in front of Luz. Amity Blight did not cry.
“Right!” Luz bounded back over and circled Amity to face her. She waved a paper. “Got it.”
Amity shuffled her feet, feeling suddenly cornered.
“Do you accept card?”
“Yep! Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll just get the machine, there, and-” Luz babbled on, but Amity couldn’t make it out. The world span around her, and she swayed on her feet. She couldn’t breathe. She felt eyes drilling holes into her back, into her sides, watching her from every direction. Every fuck up, every slight slip, everything was recorded. Everything would be sent back to Odalia.
She pictured the getaway bags she kept packed and strategically stashed. There was one in Hecate’s trunk. They were packed with necessities, so that if anything ever happened, she could pick up and fucking go. The thought was comforting, at least.
“Got it!” Luz bounced back outside. “Sorry for the wait, it was under like… a hundred folders. Eda’s great, I love her, but god knows she’s not always the most reliable. Oh, yeah, sorry, I’ll punch in the numbers for you, let me just…”
“Please hurry it up,” Amity snapped, and immediately wished she could take the words back. Hurt flashed across Luz’s face, and immediately phased into blank, professional indifference.
“…Sorry,” she forced out, her tone flat and gravelly. “Here you are.”
Luz offered the card reader, and when Amity took it, she retreated her arms to hold them behind herself. She stood stock still, unreadable, emotionless, and Amity felt like shit.
She hadn’t meant to snap. She didn’t want to hurt Luz. Her intense desire to flee had cracked a whip on her tongue, and she’d spoken out of turn. She punched in her information, waited for the Payment Approved message to flash across the screen, and offered it back to Luz.
She wanted to apologise. She wanted to cry. She couldn’t do either.
She took back her keys, and escaped as quickly as she could. Tears were already streaming down her cheeks by the time she pulled in to the apartment complex parking lot. She locked Hecate and almost jogged inside, flying up the stairs until she stood outside Edric and Emira’s apartment. It was Thursday – neither of them should be working today.
She knocked on the door, and the second it opened, she threw herself into Emira’s arms and wept.
-
“So,” Emira handed Amity a second glass of water, which she sipped, rather than downing it like she had her first. “You were in the café when Mom rang.”
“Yeah,” she nodded, wincing as her voice broke. “It was pretty empty, only me and a couple of other people in there, but…”
“Still too public,” Emira’s tone was gentle and sympathetic. She knew just as well as Amity how it felt to face their mother’s wrath. “Your car got fixed, though?”
Amity nodded, although the mention of Hecate brought fresh tears to her eyes.
“I was so mean,” she whispered, before taking a gulp of her water. Tears slipped down her cheeks, and Emira gently shushed her, brushing a hand through Amity’s mane of mint-green hair. God, how she fucking hated the colour green.
“You were having a panic attack, sweetie,” Emira stroked Amity’s hair while she cried. “It’s understandable.”
“That doesn’t make it okay,” Amity sniffed, and wiped her nose on her cuffs.
“No,” Em nodded. “But it explains it. Maybe you should go back sometime, and apologise?”
Amity’s breath quickened at the very thought.
Luz was a threat. She was gorgeous, and she made Amity feel warm. She made her want. That was unacceptable.
“I can’t,” she said, too quickly. Em’s brow furrowed, but she nodded, accepting Amity’s boundaries.
“All right. Well, then, you move on. You’re likely never gonna see this girl again, right? Better not beat yourself up over it.”
It didn’t make her feel much better, Amity had to admit.
She wanted to apologise. She, much to her chagrin, wanted Luz.