Summary: Sometimes, all you need is normal for trauma
The car was silent, an empty void of uncomfortably cold air. Camila turned a glance to her daughter, who simply stared out of the window with an empty look, eyes glazed over as she focused on something that wasn't there. The same look Luz had been giving everyone and everything ever since…. the camp .
It wasn't Camila's choice…not completely anyways. Her teachers were worried about her being too wild and reckless, so over and over again, they pressured her to send Luz to a 'reality check' camp until they finally caved in. She felt awful about it, but they had a small point. Luz got lost in her fantasies far to often, and maybe this was a good way for her to make some friends.
And then one day she turned on the TV to the news. She was just going to check the weather, maybe some local stuff to get a sense of what's been going on in town. It was there Camila saw the headline. 'Girl Speaks for Friend'. It talked about how someone by the name of Veronica Clawthorne spoke up about the corruption of a camp … reality check camp … and what they did to her poor baby.
That completely shattered Camila's world that day. It wasn't long before she rushed over there to grab her baby, where the councilors and staff were being arrested on the spot. She ended up having to spend the night in a jail cell for speeding, ignoring traffic laws, and the violent acts she performed on those responsible….the fact that the police didn't do anything to stop her as she beat the men was telling of just how horrible and unredeemable these bastards were.
After that she spent the month taking care of an understandably lethargic Luz, who merely sat in her room and looked out of the window in silence. She barely ate, she barely spoke, and she hadn't even watched one of her anime or read any of her books when Camila walked into the room. Her daughter was broken and it was all Camila's fault.
They pulled up to the driveway of the school, silent for a moment. Luz opened the door, but Camila reached out and held her hand, earning a twitch that said far too much. "Luz, if you're not comfortable, you can wait a week or so to head back."
"It's fine." Luz growled, not even looking back. "There's nothing to worry about anymore. Putting it off is not going to undo anything, so might as well get it over with." She spoke with none of the love she had for life, walking out of the door and slamming it shut without a look. "Bye mom."
"Goodbye …" She weakly responded, her hand left hanging out as she watched her daughter walk inside. There was no skip in her step, no bounciness, everything that made her daughter so amazing and unique was gone…and Camila never got the chance to tell Luz just how amazing she was.
Her daughter…. suffered because of Camila, because she was too worried about what everyone else thought, and now….now Camila was alone. "What have I done…what have I done….?" She rested her head against the steering wheel, crying her eyes out. Why….why….why did she do this to her baby…..why was she such a terrible mother?"
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Steven lounged in his seat. It was a while before the teacher came in, so he used it as an excuse to not have to sit up straight like he always did around authority, home or otherwise. It took a lot of begging to get his aunts and grandma to agree to let him join a public school and not another private.
For Azul, it was easy. She was naturally the sweetest to him, so convincing her wasn't so hard…even if her affection could be smothering most of the time. For Giallo, he had to think a little smarter about it. She was a business woman above everything else, so he played on that it was important for him to 'learn to talk and negotiate' with the common man.
For Blanc … that took a lot of effort, and a lot of sacrifice. She was one for perfection, to the point he faced much … much punishment when he wasn't. Steven didn't have many ideas what to do … until one night where Skara dined over. She simply gave a small smirk to him and brought up the topic to White that she, the Blights, and the Heiryonmouses were all going to the same public school.
If there was one thing that got Blanc in a good mood, it was corporate takeover. He didn't know the details, only that she's been trying to absorb any and all businesses within the past few years. He once questioned if it would make a Monopoly, which was illegal, but Yellow simply said she'd talk to him and pulled him away from the fuming woman.
So Blanc said he was allowed to attend. She did make it prominent though that if she ever heard Steven got into trouble, or if his grades ever slipped … he'd be pulled out of school and put back in the room.
He shivered, getting out of his daydream. This was his chance for a brand new start for himself. He got to spend seven hours away from the Diamandis family and had a chance to establish himself in a new environment away from all the expectations and standards everyone expected of him. Steven would make the most of it, he guaranteed it!
The moment the knob turned he straightened himself up, sitting the books and pencils in place before anyone even noticed the teacher was coming into the room. The door gave way as a tall woman with two pointy looking buns on the side of her head walked inside, gazing at the students. "Silence!" The room instantly quieted as the woman coughed. "I am Ms Plav. I will be your teacher for the next year, and you will show me your respect."
Steven wished he could comment right now, tell the woman to lighten up, but talking back would mean detention, which would lead to the room , and subsequently make his life worse. He needed to be on his best behavior at all times to make this work. "Yo teach, give us something respectful and we'll give it right back." Luckily, a girl with a hook in her ear was able to say what he wanted to.
The teacher's face began to twitch. "Detention."
"Worth it." They nodded, high fiving a short girl with long fuzzy hair and an amethyst collar.
"Now … if I could get back to this." She went on, reading the syllabus. "Today we'll be getting a transfer student from Gravesfield."
"The town with the witch hunting history?" The Blight girl, Amity, questioned.
"I used to go there myself." A…he wanted to say girl, but the clothes they had on were sort of androgynous…..with rainbow nails shrugged. "Along with my girlfriend of course." She turned to a yellow and blue haired girl who blushed like crazy.
"So just another annoyance added to the class, great." The Hieronymus girl, Boscha groaned. "As if this class wasn't filled with weirdos already."
"If there is any consolation, it's that by default they'll be better than you." A large girl with glasses deadpanned.
"What part of silence was not understood?!" Palv took out what looked like one of those horsewhips and whacked her desk
"... Is that legal?" A black kid that was shorter than most of them questioned. "I feel like that's not legal."
"It was brought back into effect after one too many students caused school shootings." Steven briefly reconsidered public school for the first time in his life. "So if you don't want your backsides on the receiving end of this, you'll stay quiet so we can bring in the latest student and get this day over with." The woman coughed. "Come on in."
The door opened, as a girl walked through the door. She wore a beanie, dark shoes, looked a bit spanish in Steven's opinion, and … had the coldest eyes. Eyes he had seen many times on his grandma. "Hey there … I'm Luz Noceda …"
"Luz?" The yellow girl questioned.
The new girl blinked in surprise. "Vee? You go here?"
"Yeah, my mom's one of the teachers…I thought you moved."
"I did….this is where I moved to." The new girl grunted.
"Oh … wanna sit next to me?" She asked.
"I can show you the future with tarrot cards." The rainbow nailed girl offered.
"Thanks…but I rather sit away from everyone." The girl walked past them, ignoring the gaze of everyone in the classroom as she sat in the farthest corner. "And just fyi for the rest of you people, I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to mess with you, or get involved with you dumb social cliques or drama. Stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."
"Wow, the new girl knows her place as the social outcast." Boscha smirked. "I thought it would be at least two weeks before I established the hierarchy."
"Tell me, do you train to be this much of a bitch, or is it a natural talent?" The crazy haired girl questioned.
"Amy, detention." Palv pointed her whip.
"Worth it." She nodded, high fiving the hook eared girl.
So this was what it was like to be a part of public school…..still a million times better than dealing with Blanc.
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Eda wanted to drink her Apple Blood mixer so bad. Unfortunately, there were more pressing problems at the moment. "Vee, we've talked about this." She groaned at her daughter. "Tone is very important in figuring out if what someone is saying is sarcastic and what is real. Nobody actually wants you to bring a doberman to school."
"BARK!" The girl's dog, King, responded.
"Viney and Steven seem happy with him." Vee pointed to said hook eared girl, who was furiously rubbing it with the Diamandis kid.
"Please don't report this to my family, they would never let me see this adorable puppy ever again." He cooed.
"Ugh, why did I ever become a teacher?" She quietly asked herself. "Fine, you get this one, Diamandis.."
"Demayo." He corrected her.
"What?"
"My last name is Demayo. It's my dad's name."
"Then why isn't that on the list?" Eda questioned.
"Because…I don't…live with my dad…anymore." He winced. "It's a…long story."
Great, another problem family. "Fine, but I am not vouching for other teachers." Especially Holly, that chick was a maniac. "But seriously Vee, I can't have your stirring up trouble this year, I'm already in serious water with your brothers." Lack of social understanding is why she sent Vee to Reality Check camp in the first place. Along with Ivan, who kept talking to animals and bringing rats into schools, and Terry, who had a mild diagnosis of sociopathy. While it was a complete disaster with those bastard councilors, Terry actually started attempting to bond with people, so good with the bad. "I don't need another docking of my pay from shenanigans."
"I could vouch it as my own shenanigan mrs C." Masha spoke up, ruffling the fur of the dog. "You know, as long as no one here snitches." She sent a glare to Boscha.
"As if I have time to deal with you idiots. I got a basketball tournament to focus on." The girl rolled her eyes as she continued to stare at her phone the entire time.
"Why haven't I confiscated those phones?"
"Because the last time you did, the kid sued you for 'traumatizing' them by taking their personal property." The kid whose name she was fifty percent sure was Goops raised his hand.
"Also they distract us from zany schemes." Amy pointed out. "I think we may have started a race using soap buckets."
"Seriously, why did I choose to become a teacher?" She slammed her head on the desk. Truth be told, she didn't actually 'choose' this job. Lily kept pressuring her to do something with her life, so she took the easiest job that could lead to a lot of personal time both on and off the clock. Then she got knocked up a couple of times and suddenly the threat of being homeless became all too real.
"Cause you love us." Vee smiled.
"Try agai-Luz!" She shouted. "Stop trying to set desks on fire!"
"Boscha started it." The new kid rolled their eyes. "She said my hat was for pussies."
"Your mom gives you way too much freedom." Amity muttered.
"Well not all of us can go back to our mansions and fall asleep on piles of money to replace the complicated reality of real life, blight." Luz rolled her eyes. "Or are you rich bitches too busy swimming in Mommy's trust fund to actually live a real life?"
For the first time in the past two years, she saw Amity and Boscha share an identical expression of twitching. "Excuse you?"
"You heard me. You just go off and try to judge my life, only fair that I do the same. Or are you bitches just all bark and no bite?" Wow, this girl was gutsy. She was going to get herself killed and into an early grave, but man did she have sass.
"What did I do that lets you make assumptions about my life!?" Amity shouted, getting in close to Luz.
"Let me see, the fact you're rich, the fact you act better than you really are, and the fact that I could eat you up and spit you out like a toothpick without even looking." The girl snickered. "Whatcha going to do about it, prissy princess..?"
POW
Amity hit the girl right in the face, knocking Luz out of her chair. "That's what!"
"AMITY!" Eda shouted. "Principal's office, now, the both of you!" This was the chaos she had to deal with.
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Viney kept watch over the doberman as she waited next to Vee outside. Luz and Amity both hit with detentions after that little stunt. "You're really worried about your friend there, aren't you?" She asked out of concern. "I heard rumors about the camp….I'm sorry."
"... Two months." Viney turned to the girl in confusion. "She suffered for two months because nobody could see that there was a problem …" Vee shivered. "She held in the pain for two months because she didn't think she could escape it…I know she seems prickly, but she's dealing with a lot right now."
"I can see that." Viney had tried to be nice to the girl once or twice, only to get the cold shoulder, and more than one shove in the hallways. "Doesn't mean she gets the right to act like a jerk to everyone."
"The two that did it were rich … Aquamara had a mansion … she had a cop or two in her pocket." Vee explained. "I only managed to get it out by biking to the news team in the next city over." She shivered. "Just…you have to give her time…I don't know how much time she'll need..but…please…please be patient."
"I can try my best." That was all Viney could offer without sounding like she was condescending or pitying the girl.
She turned her head, seeing that Steven kid walk over, sitting down. "So … I take it neither of you are here for Amity?"
"Why are you?" Viney asked.
"When your only options for friends are Skara, Boscha, and Amity, you take what you can get." He shrugged. "As a Diamandis, 'I must only associate with the powerful and influential', but as Demayo, I just want to be around decent people. And they are… outside of school… sometimes."
"This is why most of my friends either have fur or feathers." Viney chuckled, rubbing King on the head. "I'm Viney, this is Vee."
"Short for Veronica." The girl added.
"Nice to meet you guys, I'm Steven." He gave a little bow. "I didn't think the school would be so open to bringing in pets."
"It's not." Vee shoved King into her jacket as the vice principal walked by. "This was just a one time thing. I don't think Mom will let me get away with this in the future."
"That's why you have to be smart about it." Viney took out her backpack, which held a rabbit, a squirrel, a hamster, and a dove on the inside. "I've trained them to run around the school in secret so no one can catch them, and during recess, they sneak into my backpack."
"I'm pretty sure my brother worships you like a goddess." Vee chuckled. "He's always on about animals and stuff."
"I'm down for animals. I have a pink cat myself." Steven grinned, whistling. "Come out Lion, it's okay."
"You brought your cat too?" Viney questioned.
"No, he just always manages to find me whenever I call his name, no matter where I am in the world." He laughed as a pink furball jumped into his arms. "The Diamandis's once took me on a trip to France, and Lion still managed to follow and find me."
"Oh, I didn't know cats could get pink." Vee stared at it with sparkly eyes.
"They can't. Blanc took over a cosmetic line, and it turns out they were testing shampoos on the animals, causing some kind of pigment problem. Lion can only grow pink fur now." Steven explained.
"Why did you call him Lion?" Viney asked.
"I did it before I comprehended the concept of irony." He shrugged.
"Aww, the second most precious thing i've ever seen." Vee took the dog out of her jacket. "Wanna say hi to your new friend King?"
"Hsssss," The cat hissed at the dog.
" Hummmph." It whimpered, before going back into her jacket.
"Huh, usually King braver than that. He once broke his leg barking at incoming truck in the middle of the road." Vee scratched her head.
"The power of an Alpha." Viney smirked. "You're a fun kid Steven, can't wait to see more of you around."
"Same, this school rocks other than Palv." The boy chuckled. "Well Boscha too, but I'm used to her."
"How do you stand her?"
"It's not completely her fault, it's how we're raised." Steven rolled his eyes. "Her, Amity, Me, we're not exactly brought up by good people…I mean, I was, but then I wasn't…so it's just taking the good with the bad and surviving in the least painful way possible." He shrugged.
The door opened, as the two glaring girls came out. Amity turned to Steven, noticeably softening. "You didn't have to wait, you're probably worrying Spina."
"Hey, its no problem. No one should be walking the first day of school alone." The boy reassured. "Besides, I'm sure Spina is just calmly waiting for me outside-"
"STEEEEVVEEEEEEEN!" The shouting of a woman rang in the air as a lanky figure in pigtails rammed into the boy, holding him up. "Steeevveeen! Where were you!? You didn't come back home right away and I got so worried because I had the rest of the day planned out for us…!" How many packs of sugar did this lady put in her coffee?
"... Could be worse, Skara could have joined the squeezing match." He muttered. "I'm fine Spina, just waiting for Amity. There was a bit of a scuffle but nothing to worry about." He patted the woman's head as best as he could.
"A scuffle eh?" She glared at the Blight girl. "You didn't get him in trouble, did yah…?"
"No, not at all." Amity reassured with a bit of sweat. "Just…an unfortunate accident that will never happen again…. right Noceda?" She turned to the new girl.
"Not until the next time you act like a snooty pants." Luz rolled her eyes, walking to the exit. "And by the way, you hit like a girl."
"... I know I'm a bit home schooled, and also the only boy here, but is it sexist for a girl to say that?" Steven questioned.
"Yes." Everyone responded simultaneously, making the lanky lady turn her head.
"Who are these ladies? More troublemakers I need to teach a lesson?" How was she switching back and forth between bubbly and threatening?
"Oh, these are my new friends!" He told the woman. "That's Vee, and that's Viney. They have cute animals." Steven said with sparkly eyes.
"OOOOH, I see, glad you're expanding your social circle. Great ta meetcha, great. I'm his nanny and number one best friend Spina!" The lady giggled, shaking their hands, and pulling them close. "And if you do anything to hurt my bestest best friend Steven, I'll make sure they will never be able to find your bodies."
"… You and Masha would get along great." Vee deadpanned at the threat.
"I was thinking of hooking her up with Amy." Viney noted. All in all, great back to school day.
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Amy chuckled as Vee hit her head against the table. "For the last time Terry, if you want friends, you can't compare people to game pieces." Vee complained.
"You're lucky I'm trying to make friends, period. Have you people ever heard of 'baby steps'?"
"Baby steps don't really apply when you start with a viewpoint of them as livestock." Ivan deadpanned, taking a bite of his veggie burger.
"At least I talk to people. You bring in more animals to school than that Viney girl."
"Animals are people to, just like humans are animals." Ivan spoke with a wise tone. "And I'll have you know I've have had the most intelligent conversations with mice than I have with any other human being."
"I'm not sure if that speaks highly to your own intelligence." Terry snorted.
Vee once more banged her head against the table. "How am I the sane one?" Clawthorne kids were always a blast.
"You could always have it worse." Amy snorted. "My big sis Jaspy can be a really big pain in the neck. Served eight years in the marines, and never stopped acting like she left." Practically like talking to a brick wall when it comes to humor.
"Hey, she could be like Perla." Ivan noted. "That woman's like a robot, she sees you when your sleeping, she knows when your awake."
"You're thinking of Santa clause." Vee retorted.
"Santa brings happiness Vee, not a good description." Amethyst giggled. "I swear that woman takes school security far too seriously. It's like having the world's strictest nerd trailing your every move…speaking of nerds, hey, Perry-D, get your butt over here!"
"Must you call so much attention whenever I make my presence known?" The short blonde nerd came over and sat down next to them.
"Do you ever stop trying to make stilts a fashion statement?" She retorted.
"I have no clue as to what your referring too." The nerd crossed her arms.
"Uh huh, just know that when PE starts, they're going to make you take them off." Amy noted.
"…Dang nab it, I was hoping to use them to my advantage today. It's the start of dodgeball week." Perri whimpered as she slumped her head on the table. "Boscha is going to nuke my existence from the surface of the planet once the whistle blows."
"Pffft, you worry too much, Perri-D. She's not that good at sports."
A meatball flew past their heads, in between Vee and Terry's heads, and landed right in the face of one Willow Park. "Hah, got a loser from halfway across the room!" Okay, maybe she had better aim than expected.
"Is that really necessary?" The Steven kid asked as he and the other rich kids in class sat together on their own table.
"It's not like I'm gonna eat the slop they serve here, might as well put it to good use."
A blob of potato salad was slammed on her face. "You're right, putting it on a bitches face is surprisingly therapeutic." The new kid, Luz, nodded.
"You do not want to go there, you grungy emo-coated dyke." Boscha growled.
"Ah, look who's talking." The new girl barked back. "Says the stereotype from every eighties movie ever that's so far into the closet she's lives there, or is every time you look at Willow's butt just because you like her pants?" She asked. "I mean not that it's not a nice pair, but standards and hypocrisy should be paramount to-" Luz's speech was interrupted on account of the tray of food slammed into her face.
" Luz !" Willow and Vee called out.
" Boscha!" Skara and Steven cried.
"Getting underneath the tables now." Amity quietly ducked underneath.
Amy, in her brilliant mind, had one clear cut solution to absolve the situation. "FOOD FIGHT!" She shouted, throwing an orange at Zicron.
From there, absolute chaos reigned supreme. Food was being sent flying from every corner and edge of the room. There wasn't a single kid here that wasn't participating in the insanity.
"I refuse to entertain this madness-" An apple bounced off of Terry's head. "... Perry, would you happen to carry any tools to help enact vengeance?"
"I bring along my miniature catapult for this very occasion." She pulled it out of her backpack. "Load it up and I'll aim." Glad to see they were making friends.
"Bungacowa!" They shouted, loading the catapult as they launched it in the air, occasionally even eating the thrown food as it was being tossed in the air. Nothing could ruin this moment-
"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE!?" Damn it; Perla. Be an annoying buzzkill somewhere else! "I can't even believe...is that student bleeding!?" Did someone get too happy with a ketchup bottle?
"No..just a..a.." The Steven kid began to say..before falling forward, something red leaking out of his side, where a fork was lodged into his body. "Just..just a…scratch." The fuck!?
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She turned to see the new girl being held back, a knife in her hands as she started flailing her arms against everyone, a crazed fear in her eyes. "DON'T TOUCH ME-!"
The girl was knocked out from behind by the Amity girl. "Stay down, bitch."
"Someone call nine one one!"
"That's … not good." She turned to see Vee looking really pale.
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Philip Belos Wittabane sighed as the parents continued to speak loudly, waiting for them to finish so he could actually get a sentence in. Normally he'd leave the situation to Principal Bump, but given the severity of the situation, he as the Superintendent was called in to cast judgment over the situation.
"This is the second time my daughter was called into this office and it's alway because of that girl!" Oldalia blight complained loudly to the man.
"Steven was trying to escape the lunch room and he bumped into her accidently, he even apologized as she stabbed him!" The lanky woman watching over the Diamandis boy made her displeasure known.
"She wouldn't have even been involved if your daughter wasn't constantly bullying our Willow!" A burly man shouted with rage.
"Don't you go throwing this threat on Boscha, she's not the one that escalated the situation!" The Hieronymus woman yelled. "None of it would've happen if that wild child was kept on a leash!"
"My daughter is trying to adjust, and your children are not helping the situation!" The mother of the problem child shouted.
"She's done nothing but cause trouble everything single day since she started coming here! She either yells at teachers, yells at her classmates, or starts fights!"
"Enough ." Philip stated calmly but sternly, making all the parents go silent, establishing the clear power imbalance that leaned in his favor. "You all complain about how rambunctious each other's children are, yet you feel obligated to squabble like children when you're supposed to be adults. You don't want your children to become delinquent and defiant? Start by growing up yourselves."
There was a moment of silence, before the door opened. They turned to see … a woman that brought the word Angel to his mind. White all over, dazzling lights … and an empty mind. "I am the legal guardian of Steven Diamandis, Blanc Diamandis." She spoke.
"Ms. B-B-Blanc, i-I thought that you were busy at the office today?" The lanky woman asked nervously.
"I was … then I was told the boy who begged so much to enter a public school was stabbed and nearly hospitalized by a girl, and I seek retribution either from the school, or that child's guardian."
"Now, now, now, let's not be too hasty here." Bump tried to placate. "I know that situation seems pretty bad, taken at face value…" Understatement of the year. "But there's no need to take drastic measures."
"Are you trying to defend that girl?" They asked in a calm tone.
"She is dealing with repressed trauma, please cut her slack." The man pleaded.
"Even when she stabbed my grandson with a fork seven times?" The woman glared. "The boy who, by the witness account of all his friends, was just trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire caused by the idiot children of two moronic parents?"
"Don't you dare call my child an idiot!" Ms Noceda shouted.
"Ah, so you're the mother." The white woman pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is a restraining order for your daughter. You're lucky this is the least I'm doing considering the circumstances." The woman seemed to search over her, somehow feeling bigger than she already was. "And trust me, I will ruin your life from every corner if you so much as breathe too close around." She then turned to Bump and himself. "I believe this is the part where you expel the guilty party."
"Suspension for a month, yes, but not expulsion." Bump explained.
She stared at the man for a moment. "Very well. You'll be hearing from my lawyers." She walked away. "Come on Spina, we should prepare Steven's home schooling for the time being."
"Bu-" The lanky woman looked likes she wanted to argue, but sighed with a frown. "Yes Ms.Blanc."
The whole room held their breath in for the next minute before releasing it. "That…that was terrifying." The burly man groaned.
"This is why everyone prefers to talk with Azul during communications..she's the least threatening of all of them." The Blight woman shivered. "I give this school about three months tops before she shuts it down."
"My bet is on two." Mrs Hieronymus noted. "She does not take well to threats against that child. Blanc really was being generous with that restraining order." He didn't know whether to be more scared or impressed.
"We'll find some way to weasel out of it, I have… connections shall we say." Philip waved off.
"Why does that make you sound like a criminal?" Noceda questioned.
"I am still letting your daughter attend school." He reminded her. "And on that note, not only will she be suspended, but she'll be required to do one hundred hours of community service.."
"That's completely understandable sir." The woman bowed.
"And she must attend therapy. We won't let her back in until she's taken the first session." The woman handed over a card. "… What is this?"
"The phone number of the therapist she's been seeing for the last month." The mother sighed. "Luz hasn't been….responsive, from what I've been told however. She just needs time.."
"Time is something she clearly doesn't have anymore." Philip interrupted. "Either she gets her act together soon, or she's not going to have much of a future outside of incidents like this." The future was already in shambles as it was.
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So, Luz had a restraining order, and her school was teetering on being shut down, causing everyone to blame her. Great, another domino of shutdowns caused by 'Noceda the Hero', oh what a joy. Shame on her for thinking about saying or doing something.
She barely remembered what happened. She was defending Willow from another one of Boscha's torments, insults were tossed, fighting began, she was grabbed … and suddenly she was back in the dark cabin. She grabbed the nearest weapon to stop the assault, and the next thing she knew, she was in the school nurse's office after being knocked in the head by that Blight bitch.
After that she got the rundown from her mom that she could have been arrested for what she did, but instead had a restraining order, never to be allowed within one mile of Steven anymore … which meant that the boy in question was being pulled out of school.
Luz…didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, the Steven kid was one of the rich kids in class, and the fewer of them, the better in her opinion. But on the other hand, out of all of them, he had the least horrible personality. Far as she knew, he never did anything egregious, unless sneaking in his pet cat during class counted. Maybe, just maybe, she overreacted a little against someone who didn't deserve it, but it wasn't like it was that bad . He had all the money in the world to take care of a few stab wounds.
The whole thing was stupid. It was his family that was trying to close down the school. All she had to do was 'apologize'(it was self defense, nothing to actually apologize about) and call this whole closing school thing off. Only problem was that, again, she had a restraining order, so that was next to impossible. At least that's what she thought, until one of her classmates roped her into a very, very stupid idea.
"Remind me how you talked me into this?" She asked Viney.
"Because all is fair in love and war."
"Including sneaking into a manor in the dead of night against a very peeved family to talk to a boy I stabbed in self defense, who I'm not allowed by law to be near?" Luz ask sarcastically.
"One, you have a very loose definition of self defense." Viney glared. "Two, you're the one that said you wanted the school to stop hating you, and the only way to do that is to talk to Steven directly. If was able to convince his family to send him to public school once, taking them down from leveling it to the ground ought to be doable."
"Why does it feel like I fell into an eighties movie plot?" Luz grumbled, looking around. "Seesh, his folks have a real obsession with Diamonds. Diamond stores, diamond plated pavement, doornables. What, did his dad give his mom a Diamond ring?"
"He doesn't live with his parents." Viney responded as they opened a window once the coast was cleared.
"What, he likes his aunts better or something?" She questioned as she snuck through the halls.
"Don't know the details. Most I know was that there was a nasty custody battle, ended up being forced to change his last name." The girl said quietly. "Alright, here's the door. Just go in, and apologize. If I have to break off another fight, I willstop vouching for you, alright?"
"Don't get your panty's twisted, I promise to not lay a finger on your boy toy."
"Don't say that!"
"Relax, I know you haven't even reached hand holding yet." Luz snickered. Other's people's drama was like a soothing melody for her.
She walked inside, noticing the room. A lot more pink than she would've guessed. "Huh, guess he's more in touch with his feminine side than I thought." At least it was a step up from the closet homophobe.
"Mmmmppph…" She looked the bed, heart shaped with star pillows, and the boy himself resting soundly. "He's asleep, wanna do the sleeping beauty method on him?" She jokingly asked Viney.
"Just apologizeapologize and get it over with." The girl growled.
"Fine, fine, I swear humor is dead nowadays." Luz stared at the sleeping boy. Now how to wake him up … "Grrrrr." She turned to the pink kitten.
"Aww … I guess you are kinda adora-"
"RAAAHHH!" And now her vision was nothing but pink and claws.
"Wha, Lion what's wrong!?" And now the kid was awake. Great "What's happe…" He looked at her.
"...Sup?" She waved as the cat dug it's claws into her face. "You have a nice kitty."
"No, no, not you, not you!" The boy fell off his bed, scrambling to the floor as he backed away. "I was trying to stay out of your way, don't attack me again!"
"So was I, but the entire school feels like I need to have a talk with you." Luz groaned.
"Well, we talked, so now you can leave, please, please just leave." Steven put his hands in the air.
"Trust me kid, I would LOVE for it to be that simple." She rolled her eyes as she got closer to him. "But apparently we need to be 'sincere' about it…" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "So how about we both apologize at the same time and-
Shove.
The boy pushed her away on the ground as he curled up. Screw apologies, she was going to beat him senseless until he accepted-"No, I said I would be better, you don't have to stab me again, Blanc!" He shouted, his eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just don't hurt me again!"
"... Blanc?" Viney asked in confusion. "What …"
Luz stared at his flinching body posture, the dazed eyes, and his twitching hands … so she moved to the corner of the room and sat down, waiting for him to calm down. "Give him room, Viney, he needs control over the area." She muttered.
"What are…"
"He's having a panic attack. If you pressure him, he's either going to shut down or give you my fork treatment." She explained in a serious tone.
Viney paused, before slowly nodding, and sitting down next to her. "Is..Is he going to be okay?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" The boy held his head down, rocking back in forth in tears.
"No. If I had to guess, he hasn't been okay for a while." She answered. "Who's Blanc?"
"That's…that's the name of his grandmother. She's the one who has custody over him." Viney explained.
"... So his grandma is suing the school for a student stabbing him when she does it all the time?" Luz questioned. "This is why I hate the rich." So much fucking hypocrisy.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry mom's gone, I'm sorry I'm not pink, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" He kept repeating over and over again. For the first time in…well…forever, she got her first spot of empathy. Empathy for her mother, for all her teachers who had to deal with her outbursts. Looking at it unfold like this…it was painful and agonizing to witness.
She waited for his breathing to regulate. "You're broken, aren't you?" Luz questioned, tapping her own head. "Up here?"
"Sh-Sh-shattered….like a rock into rubble…" He gasped out. "Spina…Spina tries her bust to help me…bury it deep…but…sometimes….sometimes it slips."
"Yeah, not to mention the triggers are the worst." She shivered. "Don't have any advice for them, but snark helps. Well, that … and gratuitous violence against others as a way to hold superiority over your own lack of control, but that makes you a bit of a bully in the long run."
"Yeah…I want to keep my friends…so burying it in an endless sea of joy is my only option." Steven laughed hollowly.
"Joy, huh …" She stayed quiet for a moment. "They …" Luz paused. "They called me a Nice girl as they caressed me … as they took off my clothes …" As they did things that felt so wrong and weird and painful. "So … when you said that as you tried to defend me in the cafeteria …"
"Ah….I see…" Steven nodded slowly. "I…I wasn't mad at you for it, I just…I…when you stabbed.." He groaned. "I used to live with my dad. Mom passed away when I was born. She was a runaway from the Diamandis family, and when they found out I existed, they took custody over me. Blanc…well, Blanc wanted her 'Pink' back, so she started getting strict…sometimes…violently so. I can't complain because she's rich and powerful, and to anybody else, I'd just be some, and I quote, 'whiney rich brat'."
"Yeah….sorry about that." She winced. "So, any of your bitch friends actually a support pillar?"
"Skara and Amity … Boscha's still a bitch." He admitted. "Spina helps a lot though … along with Azul … " He sighed. "Galileo tries, but she's too loyal to Blanc, she'd never risk upsetting her."
"A no win situation …" She nodded. "So I guess Viney's plan to come and apologize was in vain to begin with, wasn't it?"
"It took years to convince them to let me into public school, and you think they're gonna send me back now?" He questioned. "Not a chance. I'd love to help, really I would, but nothing short of public scrutiny would change Blanc's."
An idea popped into her head. "... How much pull can we get from Amity and Skara?" Luz asked.
"The Blight's are our biggest competitors and Skara's family are genuinely good people, why?" He asked.
"I'm gonna do what I do best … and ruin a rich family."
========================================================================
Garnet looked to the two problem children in front of her. One from a corrupt camp, the other from a freakish corrupt family. "So, remind me again WHY you thought creating wide spread rumors through smear campaigns was a good idea Luz?" She asked, half because of her job as therapist, and the other half because she was just baffled at how this child's mind functioned.
"Because the police would never believe me if I came out and said that Steven was being abused by his family." She nodded resolutely. "They pretty much don't care unless it's massive news warranting an active investigation. And the only way to get the public's approval was to make it as loud and outrageous as possible."
"By getting an entire school to chant 'fuck the Diamadis's' while you posted multiple confessional videos on both the internet and the dark net." She reminded. "Not to mention kidnapping Steven and hiding him out in the Clawthorne residence."
"Vee's the only one I trust in situations like this."
"Not that Ms. Clawthorne isn't awesome. It was like the mom I never had." Steven spoke with wonder filled eyes.
"All of this….just to get your friend back in school?" Garnet asked.
"Getting him back in school so that the school isn't closed down." Luz smirked. "I fought those Daimondis's bitches in every way that wasn't physical, and believe me, I was ready to throw down."
"And the only downside was getting an ankle bracelet." Steven smiled.
"Can't walk ten meters out of any designated zone or car, but it's better than bondage." Luz showed off said device. "Point is they lost and we won in the end.."
"You made a mutli million dollar company loose half it's stocks from the scrutiny, making thousands unemployed from layoffs." Garnet sighed. "Not that I'm not proud of you for opening up to others, but there were ways to do it WITHOUT corporate sabotage."
"Like talking to bribed authorities?" Steven questioned.
"Or bribed councilmen and politicians?" Luz continued. "Yeah, a lot of damage was done, but it's better than living a lie where everyone pretends everything's okay when it's not. Sweeping away the damage does nothing, you have to dive into the garbage and face it head on. That's how you deal with problems."
Garnet sighed. "Let's move on from the past for a moment … do you have any plans now?" She asked. "A future for 'what then' after you destroyed the company?"
"My plan is to find the perfect family to adopt Steven." Luz spoke.
"And mine is to get Luz involved in a romantic relationship."
"Please don't, I'm pretty sure I crossed off any chances on that front."
"You and Willow seem pretty close…"
"What, as close as you and Viney?"
"Exactly."
Garnet had spent four years getting a psychology degree to deal with this … so, not, worth it.