Chapter Text
The bus jolted, and Luz startled awake. She wiped her eyes, her brain struggling to remember where she was. The blue leather of a school bus seat was spread out in front of her, and the view outside the window was of some rich looking neighborhood with manicured lawns. Across the aisle, however, sat two tough looking girls, decked out in the white and blue of Hexside jerseys.
Right. She was on the bus, heading to St. Epiderm with the football team to help record the game. Lilith had stopped her after one of her English classes to enlist her help at the beginning of the season. Apparently, one of the girls who usually helped with the cameras had moved schools, and the teacher-turned-defense-coach thought she was trustworthy enough to handle the (admittedly old) equipment. She hadn't broken anything so far, and actually getting the hang of how everything works was surprisingly easy, but now here she was, falling asleep on the hour-long bus ride instead of being at home, watching the newest episode of Monster Slayer Academia or rereading The Good Witch Azura.
The bus rumbled on, and Luz turned her music louder to drown out the constant mumble of the players. The manicured lawns morphed into pristine storefronts that were likely so far out of her budget, she'd get kicked out if she ever stepped foot in them. It was a rich city if she'd ever seen one.
Soon enough, the bus pulled into the parking lot of St. Epiderm, and the school looked just like the name implied: giant, castle-like (stained glass windows included), and saturated with an air of “holier than thou” that fueled its rivalries between other schools.
Lilith stood up from her seat in front of Luz, and the entire bus fell quiet. Luz would've been spooked if she hadn't experienced the same exact thing any time the raven haired woman stood in front of her class to recount some new topic. Lilith just had that perpetually icy aura. When she stood, everyone listened.
“We're a little early, but that doesn't mean we can slack off,” she said, eyes scanning over the rows of players, “Everyone needs to help unload the bus. If we have a repeat of Latissa, you're all running suicides when we get back.”
A groan rose up from the girls, but Lilith didn't seem to hear. She was first off the bus, and they all filed off after her. Not for the first time, Luz was lucky that she didn't need to share a seat like the players or the managers. It made getting off the bus that much easier, and it kept her poor little bi heart from combusting. After all, having to sit next to a tall, strong girl for an hour would certainly cause a cardiac arrest, especially if she were to do something chivalrous, like offer her a warm varsity jacket to combat the cold, October night…
Luz shook her head, focusing on unloading the filming equipment from the luggage compartments. She couldn't let her fantasies get in the way again. They've caused her enough trouble as is.
She pulled the hefty press box kit out of the luggage compartment, setting it heavily to the side. Glancing around, it seemed the rest of the filming crew were busy, already filming the players or carrying different equipment to the field. She stifled a sigh, pulling more things from the compartment and trying to puzzle together how she'd carry it all to the press box, where she'd be stationed for the rest of the night.
“Do you want any help?”
Luz snapped her head up, nearly headbutting the side of the bus.
“Oh! Sure, that'd be—”
The words promptly died in Luz's throat as she looked up, and up, until she met a pair of stunning, amber eyes. It was one of the players.
She was tall, easily six feet. Her loose jersey hid broad shoulders, but her arms looked strong enough to bend metal. Slightly ruffled auburn hair framed a face that looked like it was sculpted from marble, all sharp jawline and expressive, keen brows, and she wore a nervous sort of smile that did funny things to Luz's stomach.
She tilted her head slightly, and Luz was almost too distracted by how adorable it looked to remember that she should probably not be staring at a complete stranger, no matter how pretty she was.
“Yes, I'd love the help,” she finally forced out. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire, and it was certainly not helped by the other girl's cute little grin she gave as a response.
She swung a couple of tripod bags over her shoulder, and keeping her helmet and shoulder pads in one hand, she picked up the press box kit like it weighed nothing more than an empty suitcase.
Luz gulped, adamantly turning away as she loaded up her arms with the rest of the equipment.
“So!,” Luz squeaked, starting towards the field, “I never caught your name?”
“Oh,” the taller girl looked away for a moment, and if Luz was entertaining her delusions—which she most certainly was not— she'd almost say she was blushing, “It's Amity. And you're Luz, right?”
Luz tripped over her shoes. Amity jerked forward to catch her, but she managed to right herself before she completely lost her balance. If the embarrassment didn't kill her, Lilith certainly would if she managed to drop and break a camera.
“Yup!” she blurted out, “That’s what they call me! Is my reputation really that bad?” then to herself, she mumbled, “you accidently let snakes loose one time—”
The other girl chuckled, and whatever Luz was thinking of promptly threw itself out the window because the pretty girl was laughing and her brain was scrambling to commit the sound to memory.
“No, nothing like that. I T.A. for Coach Clawthorne sometimes, and I think I've seen you around,” she explained, “She speaks highly of you, too.”
Luz was stunned for a moment. Sure, she knew, realistically, that Lilith had a soft spot under that cold persona— she had seen it herself when Eda had dragged her to the antique shop and showed her all the fancy, old calligraphy pens— but to hear someone say that she thought highly of her? Of all people? After she had set the class garbage can on fire and accidently brought her almond cookies without knowing she was allergic?
“Oh,” was all she could say. They started up the bleachers in an uncomfortable silence until Luz continued, “You know, I didn't even know Ms. Clawthorne was a coach until this year.”
The other girl looked shocked, “Really?”
“Yeah. I've only been to a few football games, and even then, it was more to see my friends in the band than the game. Not that I'm not sure you guys are great! I heard you guys almost took us to nationals last year!”
Amity chuckled again, and it was a wonder Luz didn't trip on the unforgiving concrete stairs.
“We were kind of close, I guess, but there were just a few things that… didn't work out,” she looked away for a brief moment before perking up again, “I'm sure the band was funner to watch anyway.”
“Only ‘cause I knew nothing about football,” she laughed. Then, because she never knew when to stop, she playfully nudged the girl with her shoulder.
“Oh, really? Maybe I'll have to teach you sometime,” she gave an easy grin and nudged her right back, though because of her height it was less of her shoulder and more of her entire side.
Luz froze. Electricity exploded from where they touched, and it felt like her heart was switching between fluttering like a bird stuck in a cage to stopping all-together in a way that most certainly wasn't healthy.
Her mouth felt unusually dry as she looked up. Amity had ascended the final steps, standing by the press box door and looking down at her with an adorable smile that showed just a bit of perfect, white teeth.
Luz scrambled up next to her, absently noting how she didn't even seem to be the least bit out of breath. Rude.
The door was unlocked, thankfully. The last thing she wanted to do was to drag Amity around as she hunted down someone with a key.
“What position do you play?” she asked, doing her best to conjure up any and all football knowledge she might've picked up from filming previous games.
“Oh, I play as an edge rusher” Amity chirped, slipping in a “thank you” as Luz held the door open for her.
“I'll be totally honest, I have no idea what that means,” she laughed sheepishly, following her into the press box.
St. Epiderm, Luz had found, had a much nicer press box than any other school Luz had visited. Padded stools sat next to a clean table along the large window, and the carpet felt soft under her shoes. She pulled open the door at the other end of the rectangular room, leading to a smaller, identical space where she had to actually set up.
“So, during the play, the quarterback sometimes tries to throw the ball, right?” the tall girl explained, continuing when Luz nodded, “My job is to break through and apply pressure, either making the quarterback fumble the throw or tackling them and making them lose yards. And if the quarterback decides to hand the ball off to a runner, I get to stop them.”
“Huh,” Luz set the cameras down. Amity, for her part, easily swung the heavy kit box onto the table. It wasn't hard for Luz to picture someone like her making tackles. She could probably lift Luz one handed if she wanted to…
She shook her head to break off that train of thought, willing the heat in her cheeks to subside before she turned back to the football player.
“Well,” she coughed into her fist, “I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you.”
Amity looked a little shocked at that, cheeks darkening in what must've been humble embarrassment. She looked away, running a hand across the back of her neck, further ruffling her hair as she mumbled, “You don't have to.”
“Sure I do! I need to learn how football works eventually,” she left the “and watching a strong, pretty girl tackle would probably give me a heart attack, but like, in a good way” unsaid, instead starting to unpack the equipment.
“Do you need any more help?” the taller girl asked. Her tone was unreadable, but Luz wasn't going to look to try and decipher it for fear of being caught in that captivating golden gaze.
“I think I got everything sorted out,” she said, then, deciding it would be rude if she didn't at least face her, she turned, pointedly focusing on her nose. Were those freckles?? “Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.”
“Of course!” she said quickly, “I'll see if I can slip away to help you pack up.”
“Oh, no no no,” Luz shook her head, “Lilith would have my head if I pulled you away… speaking of, she might be looking for you.”
Amity looked away, scratching the back of her neck, “You're probably right,” she said, and if Luz were looking too far into things— which she most certainly was not— she might've said the girl sounded dejected as she took a step back.
“Good luck! Not that you'll need it,” she laughed nervously.
The tall girl spared one last heart-stopping smile before she slipped out the door. Luz sighed heavily, watching her retreating form until she disappeared into the school.
~~~~~
The thing nobody tells you about filming football games is how uninteresting it is. Her job wasn't like the crew down on the sidelines, filming close up shots that might end up in a variety of highlight reels and online posts. Up in the pressbox, all she needed to do was keep one camera focused on the whole field, checking it periodically, and use another to follow the ball for each individual play. It was just for the coaches, who had a tablet connected to her own, to look through as the game progressed.
Fortunately for Luz, that meant she had more time to do her newly important, second job: watching Amity. Whether the defense was sidelined or on the field, her eyes always found their way back to the tall girl wearing a blocky 28 across her back. The latter was her favorite, obviously. Zeroing in on the ball when St. Epiderm had the offensive meant she had a clear view whenever the tall girl brought their quarterback ruthlessly to the ground. And bring them down ruthlessly she did. St. Epiderm was hard pressed to keep possession of the ball long enough to make any yardage.
One play especially made the small section of Hexside students who had bothered to make the long drive jump out of their seats, and even the other team was cheering for it. The ball had been passed back, and Amity had jumped over St. Epiderm's line, blocking the quarterback’s throw just as the ball left their fingers. She had wasted no time pulling the ball close to her chest, making a b-line towards the end zone. She had a clear shot, and the rest was history as she crossed the colored line.
Luz zoomed her camera out to prepare for the next play, but her eyes never left the tall girl as her teammates came up to celebrate. They slapped her helmet or clapped her on the back, and Amity, in turn, picked up the closest teammate, hoisting her in the air with one arm as they all cheered. Luz choked on air, and the next seconds saw her frantically coughing to clear her airway.
The crowd had been so rowdy, the game was nearly paused because the players couldn't hear the ref’s whistles. Luckily enough, halftime was only a few minutes away, and soon the audience was cheering for the dance and drill teams as the roughed up players were herded off the turf.
Despite the loud, bass-heavy music and flashy choreography, Luz couldn't focus on the performance. That last play still danced across her vision whenever she closed her eyes. She hadn't been able to pick up on Amity's face during it— the camera's were never that high quality— but she could imagine the determined set in her jaw, or the fiery determination burning in those stunning golden eyes. Just the thought made her knees weak, and not for the first time, she was glad that St. Epiderm had actual chairs in their press box. At other schools, she wasn't so lucky. Even at her home school, the best there was were a few fold up chairs she had to drag up a ladder to where she set up.
All too soon, halftime was over, and Luz had to actually get back to filming instead of running away with her daydreams. She lightly slapped her cheeks as she refocused the cameras. She had only one conversation with Amity, for crying out loud! And if she wanted to have any more, she needed to reel in her hyperactive mind. She didn't need to scare her away the same way she did literally everyone else.
The second half went largely the same as the first, with Hexside decimating the other girls in green and silver. Nothing was ever quite as impressive as Amity’s play, though, and Luz was sure that it would be center stage in any highlight reel the other film crew members made.
The final buzzer ended the game, leaving the Banshees with an impressive score of 55-10 after a Hexside girl— Ilene, she thought her name was? Maybe Celene?— caught a tight pass from the quarterback. Luz didn't spare a minute to join in on the celebration, instead packing up her equipment with an almost reckless speed. The quicker she could gather everything up, the better the chances of missing the crowd squeezing and shoving their way to an exit.
She shoved the cameras and tripods into her backpack, clipping the mass of cords and tech closed into the kit box. She dragged it off the thin table and nearly dropped with its weight. She quickly readjusted it before pushing out the door, past St. Epiderm's crew still packing up.
The mass of people was just starting to clog up the walkways, but a few loud “Excuse me! Film coming through!” were enough to clear a path all the way to the field. She wove in and out of the students and players already on the turf, zeroing in on the rest of the film crew already making their way out of the stadium.
“Hey, Luz!”
Luz turned, and suddenly all thoughts decided it was time to abandon ship.
Amity's once pristine jersey was spotted with turf stains, and a few strands of artificial grass still stuck to her shoulder. A sheen of sweat covered her forehead and her exposed arms, and Luz was struggling to not think of how easily those arms had taken down girls easily twice her size not even an hour earlier.
But all of that was nothing compared to that heart stopping smile, or those amber eyes that seemed to crackle with electricity. Her face was flushed with exertion, and some of her auburn hair was still stuck to her face as she held her helmet in her hand.
“Sorry I couldn't catch you sooner. Do you want help carrying all that?”
Luz's brain finally kicked back into gear, and she stammered out, “Amity! You don't need to, I think I got it all under control!” She laughed nervously, switching the heavy kit box to her other hand, or at least tried to, but it slipped out of her weak grip to the turf.
She glared at it, but before she could even bend down, Amity had picked it up easily.
“It's no issue, really,” she said with a grin, “Just lead the way!”
It was all Luz could do to nod and start walking. A somewhat awkward silence fell over them, and she tried to avoid looking straight at the tall girl beside her by scanning the celebrating— or in St. Epiderm's case, mourning— students gathered on the field.
“So…” Amity began, chuckling a little, “hopefully the game wasn't too boring to film.”
Luz gawked, “Are you kidding me?! I may not know much about football, but that touchdown of yours was just—” Luz put her hands to her head, miming her head exploding (sound effects included), “I didn't know it was possible to jump over people like that!”
The other girl laughed, looking away shyly, “It wasn't that impressive.”
“Nuh-uh, it was the highlight of the night! You can't deny it!” Luz grinned, nudging her lightly in the arm, trying her best— and failing— to ignore the butterflies that erupted in her stomach. It should be a crime for pretty girls to have such strong arms!
Thankfully, Luz was saved from her bi-panic when the bus came into view in front of them. She turned away, busying herself with opening the luggage compartment for the taller girl to put the press box kit inside. Then, she slipped off her backpack, transferring all the equipment she had stashed in there.
Amity let out a soft gasp, barely heard over the ambient conversation of the other players waiting to get on the bus, and Luz's head snapped up. The other girl was staring at something on her backpack, and she felt her heart drop as she followed her gaze. There, standing proudly on her sunbleached yellow bag was the biggest, dorkiest handmade pin: fanart from her favorite (children's) book series.
“You like The Good Witch Azura?” Amity asked, tone unrecognizable.
“Oh, uh…” Luz could feel her shoulders tensing up, and more than anything, she just wanted to run away before—
“I love that series!” the taller girl grinned.
Luz laughed, half relief, half disbelief, “Really?”
She knelt to examine the pin, and she could practically feel the heat radiating off of her, “Yeah! Though I thought I already found all the artists that drew Hecazura art.”
“Oh, uh,” Luz didn't meet her eyes, fiddling with the zipper of her backpack, “I actually drew it.”
The softest of gasps escaped the other girl's lips, and Luz looked up against her better judgement. Those shining golden eyes were wide, looking at her like she'd hung the moon in the sky. She swallowed thickly, snapping her backpack shut and standing up quickly. All the blood rushing to her cheeks must be messing with her mouth because all she could manage was a small— and frankly, quite embarrassing— squeak.
The taller girl stood as well, “Guess we should get on the bus, huh?”
Luz nodded, and Amity chivalrously gestured for her to board first. She tried not to let it get to her, she really did, but her heart felt like it was seconds from giving out as she unceremoniously fell into the first open seat. Was this what a heart attack felt like?
Amity paused next to her seat, glancing apprehensively at the back of the bus where it seemed most of the team had already spread out.
Well, heart attack or not, she wasn't dead yet. Luz scooted towards the window, putting her bag on her knees before sheepishly patting the blue leather next to her.
The taller girl's eyes widened, and a faint pink blush spread across her cheeks like the world's most important sunset. Slowly, she sat down, making sure to give her as much space as she could— which, admittedly, wasn't a lot on the old bus seat— but Luz, in her stubborn journey to go into cardiac arrest, would have none of that.
She playfully nudged her knee against Amity’s leg, smiling as she asked, “So… what did you think of the fifth book?”
Amity visibly relaxed, letting her knee gently brush up against hers as she grinned. Luz's heart felt seconds away from beating out of her chest, but Luz couldn't find it in her to care, not when there was something— someone— infinitely more important.
In the end, she wouldn't have it any other way.