Summary: Ah grom, glorious nights
Skara walked with a giddy expression. "This is it!" She smiled. "Grom, the most magical night of our lives!"
"Aren't you exaggerating?" Cat asked, looking up from her phone.
"What, you're not enchanted by a night of dancing and romance in the air as we all surrendered to the music and rhythm that only this night can provide?" She pointed with accusation.
"No, she means it happens once every school year. It's literally three nights of our lives, which are equally magical." Amelia corrected.
"The most magical thing that'll happen tonight is seeing who Grom makes their pants wet this year." Boscha rolled her eyes. "The dance is literally just a formality so everyone has enough snacks to eat while we watch the carnage unfold."
"I'm already ready." Skara smiled as she pulled out her victory flag. "Go Grom! You can win this year! Terrorize the planet with a new sound!"
"Sometimes I get reminded why you hang out with us." Amelia spoke with a strangely horrified look. "You do realize if Grom wins, we ALL have to face our fears along with the entire boiling Isles?"
"I know, it's like the ultimate therapy session to help everyone improve their lives." Skara nodded. "Besides, I'm not scared of anything! I'm fearless! When the abyss stares at me, I stare right back, and make the abyss blink!"
"Yeah, you're definitely a Banshee." Boscha smirked. Ha, she could still make the girl smile. "So what are you gals thinking? Matching dresses, mix in some grudgby armor?"
"Actually, I have a date." … They all turned to Cat. "What?"
"You're interested in three dimensional people?" Skara asked.
"What, I'm a person, I have layers." Cat argued.
"Well spill the deets, who is it?" Amelia questioned, plenty of investment in her shipping, romance lover eyes.
"Oh, he's on the abomination track. Big guy with round head and spike's on his head. His name is Urchin." Cat blushed. "He was so awkward asking me out, he looked like he was about to pass out. It was cute, so I said yes."
Boscha looked like she was gonna barf. "Gah, dating a nobody. Gross."
"Aww come on, she's not the only one." Amelia smiled. "I got this really cute girl from my neighborhood. She doesn't go to Hexside, but we're sneaking in anyway." They giggled.
"Why does it sound like you paid someone to be your date?" Boscha asked.
"I'm not that shallow, Boscha." Amelia rolled her eyes. "I have a life outside of you guys. And at least I have a date to go with." Oooh, Skara didn't know Boscha's face could get that red.
"Hey don't feel bad Bo." She patted the girl.
"Don't call me Bo."
"I don't have a date either." Skara waved off. "It can just be me and you, the offensive duo taking on the world by storm!"
WEWOWOWOWWEWO
What sounded like sirens sounded off into the air. "Stay back, everyone stay back, this child needs immediate medical attention!" Everyone turned their attention to…BELFRY?! Sure, she never hung around the guy personally, but he always had this cool vibe and did plenty of nice jokes and maybe the way his ears wiggle when she played was cute now and then.
"Doctor…is there…any cure…" The beast keeping track student weakly lifted his hands up.
"I'm afraid there is none." The doctor pushing him on the gurney sadly shook his head, slowly picking up a hacksaw. "None except….finding the perfect date to Grom!" ..What?
"If that's the case, then I have no choice." He turned his attention…to HER. "Skara.." He grabbed something from within his suit, and pulled out a heart, one fully beating with her name on it. "Will you go to Grom with Me?!"
" YES! !" She answered instantly, hugging the boy as people around them cheered. "This is awesome, so spectacular! Where did you get the doctors, and the heart?!"
"Oh, the doctors are real … I didn't know you were supposed to use someone else's heart." The boy chuckled. "I need to head to the healing track class right now…oh….the stars look so pretty indoors." He wobbly responded before passing out.
"Ahh … he's got such a wonderful view of the world." She sighed dreamily, turning to her friends.
"...What…the….hell was that!?" Boscha screamed. "What happened to taking on the world!?"
"That was before I realized the boy I liked was actually into me…oooh, that leaves you still single….sorry." Skara chuckled.
"Whatever. I don't need your pity. I'm captain of the Grudby team. I can date whoever I want in this stinkin school." The three-eyed girl growled.
"Ten snails say you go single." Cat smirked.
"Twenty says she gets rejected by everyone." Ameila snickered.
"Oh you two think you're so clever! Well jokes on you two, it's on!" She stomped up to Emira Blight. "You, me, grom, got it!?"
"Whoa there, three eye pipsqueak, laying it on a little thick, aren't you?" The illusion girl smirked without so much as blinking. "No dinner, no flowers, it's like you're not even trying. So sad." The older Blight girl snickered as she walked away. "Maybe in ten years you'll be able to entice me, Jr."
Skara watched as Boscha began boiling over like a tea kettle, deciding now was the best time to slowly walk away. She had a date to live for, after all.
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Willow watched as Luz ran around full of excitement. "Witch prom, Witch prom, Witch prom!" She shouted out. "This is amazing!"
"Wait, what does prom stand for?" She asked.
"It's a human ritual." Gus explained. "I translated it to Perennial Ritual Offering Maiden, where you give a specific human all the love and happiness they desire as they're tributed to a monster."
"Huh, and here I thought the boiling isles could be a cruel and unusual place to live." Lucci commented as they all had wide eyes at the terrible notion. Him and Willow had been slowly getting better ever since the memory incident. There were less jabs thrown at each other and their conversations were a lot more cordial and friendly.
"What-no. Geez you guys are morbid. Prom is just a regular dance back in the human world." Luz corrected them. "Full of lights and music and fancy suits. I got kicked out of my last one though for dressing up like an otter."
"Ahh." Willow understood. "That's pretty much the same here. Except for the rule you can't dress up like an animal, and Grometheus."
"Grom-methi-what now?" Luz asked as they entered the gymnasium, which was in the middle of being turned into the ball room. "You guys are going pretty heavy on the medieval torture them." She pointed out all the weapons scattered across the wall.
"How else would you fight Gomethius?" Gus asked.
"Punching it into submission?" Lucci asked with a mix of confidence in obliviousness she's kinda found endearing and annoying in equal mix.
"Okay, okay, what exactly is Grometheus" Luz asked tiredly.
Lucci gave a gasp. "She hasn't heard the tale …" Oh no. "She hasn't heard the tale …"Damn it all.
"Ominous fog?" Gus asked, getting a nod in return. "Time to set the stage." She had to have friends with a sense of theatricality.
"Back in the times of old, back in the very young ages known as the, fiiiiifties." Lucci sang in a tone that made it sound like he was speaking of an old folk tale.. "The man called Bump had slayed the schools, and with such ease called people accused of the absuuuuurdities."
"Okay, knew that this school was built ontop of another one, but I thought the part about the death was just exaggeration." Luz muttered.
"Yeah no, it was a very violent battle. Almost as bad as our hatred for Glandus." Willow shuddered. "People still find the old bones in the locker rooms on occasion."
"And then they say that the old school head, he cast upon the lands a cuuuuurse. 'May a devil rise and bring your fears to life, and make your nightmares wooorse. "When did the boy get so good at voice impressions?
"A year had passed, none were worse for wear, so the days went out as planned. Until that fateful night, when the moonlight struck, and the fates of all were damned." From Gus's illusions, a black inky substance covered the and consumed. "Grometheus the Fearbringer, locked from down below. One night once a year he's free to have his face show. With no limit and no boundary out of his roam, he scatters across the land, and strikes terror into every soul."
Lucci let the nonexistent music play for a bit, before continuing. "Grometheus, they have a little trick, when their genatious form, goes drip drip drip. You'll see out of the corner of your eyes, it'll take the face of the greatest fear that'll be it's guise."
"Sounds scary." Luz nodded. "I feel like someone would've done something about it if it's this dangerous."
"So our glorious and esteemed principal Bump one fine day, had something for the entire school to say!" Lucci gestured to the man.
The principal stared at them for a moment. "Instead of becoming stooges for the Emperor in this situation, why not make it worth a lot of points for student graduation?" So he did have a playful side, who knew?
" Make it a night, a grand celebration! Deliver a Grom King or Queen to fight this mass devastation!" Lucci shouted. " Anilalate their fears in one grand revelation!"
"Ah …" Luz nodded. "So the user just fights … stuff they're afraid of?" As soon as she asked that, a bunch of students jumped on.
"A bucket of spiders!"
"Violent Wind!"
"A rabid dog eating my chin!"
"A flying fish!"
"Boiling rain!"
"An army of zombies coming for my brain!" They were accompanied by illusions from Gus for realism.
"Father issues!"
"Isolation!"
"Claustrophobia is also a situation!"
"Spiritual Possession!"
"A bowl of grapes!"
"I've always been weary of the flying apes!"
"Painbow flashbacks!"
"Disastrous losses!"
"The Wealization that we're all in a simulation where all actions are meaningless which fowces us to come to gwips with mowtality as we stare at the knife in ouw hands or twy to hang ouwselves with flosses!" …
Everyone stared at the tiny big nosed person. "Do you even go to our school?" The principal asked.
"I am a fwee agent! No won's contwols where I woam!" The little woman powered up with a construction coven glyph and ran through a wall.
"...Okay, how have I never seen her have a wanted poster before?" Lucci asked out loud.
"They're busier with other stuff?" Gus asked.
The boy pondered this, before shrugging. "Grometheus the Fear bringer, locked from down below. One night once a year he's free to have his face show. With no limit and no boundary out of his roam, he scatters across the land, and strikes terror into every soul!" The fog lifted and the light was brought back into the room. "Or at least, that's what mom told me."
"Dang it Clawthorne!" They glanced at the ruined decorations. "Could you hold off the musical numbers for one day!" Shouted some students with 'decoration committee' written on their uniforms.
"The day I stop singing is the day I stop breathing." Lucci shrugged, lifting up a shield as a knife was thrown at his back. "Nice try though."
"So they're going to send a student to stop Grom every year for the same reason Eda runs from your aunt?" Luz asked.
"Bump says it helps raise student morale seeing someone young face overwhelming odds." Willow added. "Fortunately, most of the night is dedicated to fun, so we're able to have a good time before we all have to worry about living our worst nightmares."
"Yeah." Gus sighed. "I can't imagine the poor soul nominated to fight Grom."
"Oh, thank you for reminding me, Agustus." Principal Bump magicked up a speaker. "And this year's Grom Queen, after a close match of sixty to forty percent of the student body votes is … Amity Blight!"
"Whaaaaaaat!?" They all turned their heads to see the shrieking of said girl, a look of horror on her face as she dropped the books she was carrying.
"Yes, you beat out Boscha by a solid fifty votes." The man smiled. "Congratulations for taking on this horrible ordeal."
"Why couldn't this have happened a month ago when I still hated her?" Willow grumbled.
"Because life chooses to suck at the worst moments." Lucci agreed.
"Hey, hey, it can't be too bad." Luz did her best to placate the situation as she picked up the books Amity dropped. "Here, let me..oops, forget something." She pointed to a small pink piece of paper still on the ground.
"That's nothing! Don't pay attention to it!" Amity quickly picked it up. "I'm not here! I don't exist! Bye!" She ran off before anyone could get a word in.
"… This is going to traumatize her, isn't it?" Gus stated obviously.
"Her, and everyone else on the island when Grom wins." Willow may have been close to being back to normal terms with Amity again, but she didn't have much faith she could overcome her worst fears. The girl spent ten years suppressing her real feelings after all.
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Celene jumped around a corner as she heard a familiar voice talk. "So, I hear your single, I'm single, maybe Grom together was meant to be?" Spoke the voice of Mattholomew, the voice that would doom her, the voice that would lead Celene on a path she wasn't sure she was willing to travel down.
"… Weren't you from Glandas or something?" The voice she couldn't see responding.
"Nah, I ditched that sinking ship and transferred over to the winning side." The boy that held her fate in his hands without knowing it said with a confidence that was full of himself, yet severely misplaced.
"So a guy who can't even stand by his morals, lame."
Celene needed to hide, she needed to change her fate here. Because if she didn't avoid Mattholomew the entire day, she would inevitably be asked out, and in every future she saw that happen, she always said yes…somehow…she ALWAYS said yes.
Sure, the guy wasn't that bad looking, and from the little she seen him around school, he had a decent brain on his shoulders, and the tough guy routine was charming in a laughable sort of way, but the wannabe cool guy ego he always tried to carry was a bit of a turn off.
" Like you aren't without your own flaws?" Casper spoke up.
"Zip it you, or no more dead animals for a week."
"But my cuddles." The Specter complained. "What's wrong with having a date with the guy anyways? It'll save you from feeling awkward at Grom standing alone by yourself."
"Because if I go to the dance, there's a good chance I'll have a fun time, and if I have a fun time with him, then there's a good likelihood I'll learn what romance feels like and crave more of it. And I can't feel what love feels like, because of you know what." She glared at Casper.
"Would it be that bad to have a buddy to bunker with in the apocalypse?" They asked rhetorically.
"Yes, because I'm planning on surviving for at least ten years down there by myself, and I'll only be able to last that long if there's no one else with me." She explained what she's told the spector a million times before.
"Just saying, for someone who's so nihilistic about the future being set and stone, you're sure going to a lot of lengths to prevent something that could make you happy." It's not like the future couldn't be changed. She's seen multiple paths leading to multiple things. There were just some inevitable ones that were too big for a single person to change. Like weather … or it …
So instead of trying to stop it , she had to survive it. Which meant being cold, distant and forming no bonds with others. It was a lonely life, that was for sure, but it was a cold and cruel world out there. Celene didn't have time to care about an attitude problem.
Now she had to be careful treading forward today. Avoiding Mattholomew was only the first hurdle the future presented her right now. After that, she had to avoid the thirty percent likelihood that Lucifer Clawthorne would ask her out of nowhere, and then the forty percent likelihood that the human girl Luz would. The fact that there was a single one percent chance she said yes made her a lot more introspective about her type of partner.
"Heya Boscha." She heard the boy talk out. "You're a flaming star, how would you like to go to Grom with a cool night?" Oh, the wordplay was so corny she almost laughed at its absurdity.
"Ew, I may be desperate to win a bet, but I'm not desperate enough to touch trash as revolting as you." Celene winced at the predictable response. "Try heading to the gutters, I'm sure there's a rat there that won't be repulsed by you."
She heard footsteps, leaving the area, before letting out a sigh of relief. "Alright. Just need to walk out, then find the sound room, then I'm golden." Just stay out of sight, and she'll change the future, she'll save herself the grief and heartache that would only bite her in the butt in the end.
"Trash, trash, trash..just like in Glandus." She paused, looking around the corner and saw that Mattholomew was still there. "New school and still everyone doesn't give you a lick of respect."
She felt herself take a step, before slapping herself in the face. "No, none of that. No friends, no lovers, you're already pushing it with your ghost." Just focus on living, survival, making it to the next life. You didn't need him, you didn't need to walk up to him and say. "It's kinda hard to not notice someone like you though." Damn it!
"I should've known it would've been like this. I'm useless and pathetic. I barely know how to use my construction magic and I'm barely getting by as it is." The boy just sunk, sitting against the lockers and placing his hands in his face. "I'm just the unnoticeable nobody with no future."
"Nobody has no future. That's kinda my whole thing." She gestured to herself. "You know, since I'm Oracle track?" Run girl, RUN! "I don't think you're that bleak and hopeless."
The boy finally seemed to catch on that she was there and looked up at her. "Ooh, hey!" He quickly shot himself straight. "Looks like night came early, bec-ooof." He slipped from moving too fast, falling on the ground.
"…Because the moon's here in its beautiful glory." She finished for him with a light giggle. "My nickname is literally moon girl, it's sort of obvious what you were going to say."
"Oooh…" The boy winced awkwardly. "..Is it obvious to say you have an amazing looking eye?"
She gave a small blush. "No, not that obvious." So many responses and he instantly picks the best one!? Celene knew she should have run when she had the chance!
"Glad I can be a little unpredictable." He said just an little more confidently, leaning against the locker like a 'cool dude', almost slipping in. "So….I don't know if you noticed, but Grom is coming up…and I was wondering if you'd let me enter your orbit and be my date to Grom?"
She gave a playful giggle and stared off to the side. "There is an opening in the orbit of this moon." She chuckled. "Just don't use that line in front of other people, or else they'll assume something more x-rated."
The boy's face began to flush. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Not moving there anytime soon. Gotcha. I'll meet you at the front around … eight, eight thirty?" So she could throw him off balance, nice.
"Yeah, I think I can work with that." You fool, you were only making this harder for yourself in the end. "See you then, Matty." Why did she say that!? Now he was going to get even more attached!
"See you later … Moon Gal." Aaaahhhhh!!!
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"I'm so dead, I'm more dead then when I'll actually die." Grom might as well be Amity's funeral. After tonight, she was going to be seen as a fool by the entire school and look like an idiot in front of her friends…the REAL friends she managed to make and re-earn back by the skin of her teeth.
It would be too bad..if she wasn't so damn scared of swallowing her pride and delivering this note..,but if the memory incident proved anything, it was that Amity Blight was a coward who faltered when the going got tough.
So now she was walking to the principal's office with plan b: Ask if there was any way possible for her to not be the Grom Queen this year. It was a long shot, but anything was better than the alternative.
She opened the door. "Principal Bump, I …" She stopped, noticing the man with a knife next to a place with over thirty slashes. "… What's that?"
"Oh, this is my count of students who try and find some loophole to get out of being chosen as Grom Queen/King without realizing the only method is for someone else to volunteer to take their place." The man explained, looking at her with an excited smile. "Was there something you wanted to say?"
"…Not at all. I see that you're very busy." She slowly walked out the door, and closed it shut. "I'm dead, I'm completely dead." No one would be stupid enough to agree to take her place.
"And to think there was a time where that was almost a pleasant thought." Amity turned her head, and saw Lucci standing next to her against the wall. "Figured you'd try to find a way out of it."
"What, here to make fun of me? Laugh at me for running away?" She rolled her eyes. She didn't need to be mocked today of all days.
"A month ago, yes, I would've. But as your friend, I'm more concerned about how you're holding up." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay to say you're afraid, Amity."
She blinked at him. "Did…Did you just say friend?" Amity asked, not sure if there was something in her ears. "Not buddy, not acquaintance, or whatever label you use?"
"Yeah, I thought it would've been obvious after your little mental escapade that I care about you." He rested against the lockers. "So come on, you don't need to be a Blight around me."
She kept her eyes on him, seeing genuine concern in his face, for the first time in a long while … before sighing, and resting against the lockers. "It's … facing your fears is never easy." She answered. "I can take on so many big scary monsters so easily, coven scouts … but something like … like …"
"Like your mother?"
She blinked. "No, if it did that I'd kill Grometheus before a minute passed."
"Good, for a second I thought you would've gotten soft on her." He smirked.
"Not a chance, she's the worst." Amity felt herself feeling a little better now. Talking about something this personal to a real friend…she missed that. "My fear is..a lot more embarrassing on a social level..I know it sounds selfish, but I don't want anyone to know it."
He stared at her for a moment."Let me guess…..you're afraid to ask who you like out?" Lucci stated plainly like he DIDN'T just peer into her soul.
"What-the-How did you..!?"
"Big dance, tons of pressure, fear of embarrassment, that and Luz has been showing me a lot of earth drama shows. Seemed a little obvious."
Amity groaned. "Could you not say anything?"
"I won't …" He grimaced. "I understand it would be awkward to talk to her about it."
Amity froze. "… Her?" HOW DID HE KNOW!?
"Yeah … you saw her memories … the crush … I get that the revelation can make some weird context fit in, cause some weird emotions to boil up …"
Memories? What was he talking abou-"..Oooh…right, I definitely don't want Willow to know about anything." Or anybody else, specifically who she actually wanted to ask. "But it's either face grom or get some poor sucker to take my place."
"Well, if you want my advice, I say just go for it and ask." Lucci offered. "The worst thing she could do is say no, so what?"
"Yeah, as someone who never asked out another living being before, that's so easy." It took her weeks to realize she had a crush on … her .
"Good point, but counterpoint, I live with my mom, and she's like the queen of getting rejected, and you never see her complain."
"True." The woman did seem fine, even when the Ex boyfriends tried to murder her all the time.
"It's how I know that the pain is fleeting, which is why I'm going to ask out the next person I see and show you how easy it is to handle rejection" He turned to a steaming Boscha. "Would you like to go to Grom with me?" He asked the girl, likely to be punted across the hallway just like last time.
"Hm?" The girl looked surprised for a second. "Sure, why not?" ….. What?!
"See. A simple rejection, I accept the results, my soul is clean, and I move on with my- what?" The two of them turned with wide eyes, staring with shocks and gaping mouths.
"Don't make a big deal out of this." The girl defended. "I just needed a date to win a bet, and everyone was too busy." She waved off. "Just make sure to clean up and stop smelling like trash, or I'll make you regret it."
"Ah… okay, I'll make sure…" Lucci stopped dead in his tracks. "See you around eight?"
"Eight fifteen. I only show up fashionably late." Boscha walked away. "You get one chance, don't blow it, Lucifer ."
"…I'm not sure if that was helpful or disturbing." She turned to the still frozen boy. "Lucci, are you still in there?"
"… Amity, I am concerned about your problem, and offer my deepest condolences, but I need to run home and find myself a suit." Lucci said, before running into a classroom and jumping out of a window.
"This situation is so insane I can't even be mad." It was what Lucci's always wanted since he was four… too bad it still didn't get Amity closer to what she wanted.
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Luz looked at her options as she gathered as much material as possible. "Witch with a dark side, Otter with a dark side, Azura running through a dark storm …" She tilted her head. "If I'm gonna keep calling Lucci emo, I need to lighten up my wardrobe."
Or maybe with his trust issues getting fixed, maybe it was about time Luz got into her goth phase. She has been meaning to wear some metal … "Spiked armor it is." The Mad Max was calling to her.
"Outta the way Luz! I need to hurry!" She barely had the time to react as Lucci dashed right past her. "This is going to be the best night ever!"
"Wow, someone got into Grom." She smirked. "Did someone get a date?"
"A Grom date!?" Eda's voice called out, follow by some crashing. A second later, she came up, covered in pans. "What's going on here?!"
"I asked Boscha out, and she said yes!!" … huh?
" … No seriously Lucci, what's actually going on here?" King asked, popping ups from her pile of clothes and costumes. "Because it sounded like you said Boscha said yes to a date."
"She said she was desperate to win a bet, and that if I dressed up and took a shower, I'd have a shot because everyone else was busy!" He jumped around with a giddy squeal of a teenage girl. "Oh Mom, do you have any suits from old Ex Boyfriends? Or a dress from your Grom days?"
"Hold on a second son…your telling me that the triangle-eyes girl you like, the complete bit-"
"Mom, don't be rude, that's my date you're talking about!" Lucci stopped Eda mid-curse.
"A date you just admitted was because she doesn't want to lose a bet." Luz pointed out.
"What's your point? Mom did that with some guy named Rick Sandwhich, and they dated for three months."
"One, two months, two, Hooty, stop giving him details about my ex's.." Eda glared. "And three, I call it less dating and more like angry hookups because we were both just mad at the world and high as kites."
"How is this relating to my beautiful Angel?" He questioned.
"I'm saying that nothing good can come out of this. I smell a trap of social entitlement." Eda grumbled. "Lucky for you, I'm chaperoning Grom tonight, so I'll be able to scope out anything fishy."
"You volunteered to chaperone?" Luz questioned.
"You'd be surprised how much blackmail Bumpy has on me." She really wasn't.
"…. So can you point me to our fancy clothes, or …" Lucci asked.
"Fine, but only because I can spend the next few hours doting on you in cute outfits for the scrapbook." The owl lady led the boy upstairs.
"Aww, wish my mom could be here to dote on me." Luz sighed.
"You could always just invite her." King shrugged. "And if you chicken out on that, I'll be there, telling jokes!"
"Heh, Guess everyone has big plans for Grom." Willow was making courtages, Gus was Grom announcer. That left her the only one without anything big planned. Not even a date. "Wonder how Amity's taking the whole Grom Queen thing."
"Oooh, you can ask her yourself!" Hoot shouted, opening up the door and dragging the girl in. "She was off sitting in the woods by herself, so I was keeping her company!"
"I am going to kill you, you freaky house tube bastard!" Amity grabbed the demon's neck and began strangling.
"Not the first time you said that, Hoot Hoot!" They laughed, ignoring the attempt on their life.
"Hey Amity." Luz greeted, which instantly stopped her rampage. "Are you doing alright?"
"Not really. I'm about to be forced to fight my fears in front of the whole school and make myself a laughing stock, and I have no choice but to take it." Amity groaned, falling on top of the pile of clothes.
Luz gave a hum, sitting down. "You really think nobody can give you the benefit of the doubt for a simple fear?" Luz asked. "Everybody's afraid of something you know."
"Yeah, but not everyone's fears are so embarrassing." The girl buried her face in her hands. "And again, I'm not only facing them, I'll be projecting them all over the school, so eveyone's going to know." Amity sighed again. "Tell me, would you be so willing to take my place and show everyone what your afraid of?"
"If you're really that uncomfortable being a Grom Queen, then yeah." Luz nodded. "I could take the roll off your back if you want."
Amity seemed to freeze at that. "… What ?"
"Yeah, I actually didn't have any Grom plans anyway." Luz smiled. "Luz, human of the boiling isles, apprentice of the Owl Lady, master of Glyph magic, slayer of Grom! It'll be an epic showdown with my fears and everything!"
"Luz..I.." Amity's whole face blush, before shaving it and grabbing her shoulders. "Luz, are you certain about this? Facing Grom means facing your greatest fears, fears that live deep down in your soul and plague you every moment of everyday without you realizing it."
Luz decided to actually think about it. "My greatest fear …" What would that be … "I guess I could train myself up with it, but yeah." Luz smiled. "If you really don't wanna do it, I'll gladly take the burden off your shoulders. It's just the right thing to do, you know?"
"I..wouldn't actually. I haven't done the right thing in over ten years." Amity sighed.
"Don't sweat it Amity. I, Luz Noceda, shall defend your honor as your Grom Knight!"
"Aww, isn't this a lovely moment!" Hooty wrapped around them. "Lovey dovey wovey-"
"I AM ENDING YOU BIRD!" Amity shouted as a massive abomination rose up.
"Amity no!"
"Amity YES!" …This was probably a bad sign.