It Started With a Spinny

Fool Me Five Times

Vee keeps telling herself it's an accident. Camila rushes downstairs for her early shift, and Vee is standing there holding her travel mug of coffee and a wrapped breakfast sandwich in her green scaled hands. And Camila looks so grateful as she accepts the gifts, kisses Vee on the head, ruffles her blue hair and thanks her amazing mija before heading off.

And then Luz tumbles downstairs late for school and Vee - and Amity is standing there holding her juice box and wrapped breakfast sandwich in her pale hands. And Luz looks confused but so grateful as she accept the gifts, kisses Amity on the cheek, hugs her tightly and thanks her amazing 'more before heading off.

But why had she been Amity?

It didn't even make sense, Amity was still upstairs asleep, no wonder Luz was confused! Had Vee impulsively thought that was the best time to get Luz's attention and come clean as Luz rushed off to school? Was it not enough for Luz to be so grateful to her amazing manita? Luz may have even been so grateful that she kissed her manita on the cheek and hugged her tightly all the same!

But it wouldn't have been the same.

And then Gus and Willow and Hunter had come in for lunch, apologising that Amity was still at the clubhouse worrying at a last few exposed nails. And Vee had theatrically sighed and wrapped up Amity's sandwich, changing into her human form and headed out to the club house. She'd even been humming as she strolled through the woods on her way to the old abandoned house, opening the creaky door to find Amity kneeling over a pile of de-nailed floorboards, brushing aside her sweaty pink fringe to see Luz holding out her wrapped lunch.

Amity smiles up at her in confusion: "Hey there!"

Luz swallows, "Oh hi, I, I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt I just thought you'd like lunch and, um..." she offers the wrapped sandwich harder.

Amity gives her that wonderfully warm smile as she reaches up to take it, "Thank you!" Then she reaches her other hand to hold Luz's as well, squeezing: "I just, you're so thoughtful!"

"It's, it's nothing," Luz rubs the back of her neck with her free hand, "I just, I'm sorry for intruding, I should-"

"It's okay!" Amity insistently pulls at her arm, guiding her to sit beside. And before she realises it she's sitting next to Amity, whose looking over at her with those bright eyes, with that same bold warmth as when she leaned in and kissed the corner of her lips.

Amity blushes: "Sorry, I've been working all morning and I know I must look awful right now!"

"No no, not at all!"

Amity laughs, "You're very kind, but well look at me-" she gestures to her dusty grey-purple jeans, freshly torn at the knees, her fig coloured jumper with a white cat on it saying 'boo' looking damp and uncomfortable.

Amity theatrically clenches her fists: "Titan, I should have taken this off hours ago!" She pulls off her jumper, her pink hair falling over her sweat slick shoulders, wet grey singlet hugging her tightly.

She swallows hard, her voice small: "I think you look pretty good right now."

Amity looks over, raising an eyebrow.

She can feel her cheeks burning, and Amity sees it too, smiling in that boldly warm way again: "Oh?"

It's just because she's unkept, she tells herself, she's usually so carefully pretty and composed but now you're seeing a side of her she wouldn't show Vee, only Luz. Her eyes widen, "I should go!"

Amity's smile freezes. "Oh, okay."

"Sorry I," her hearts are racing as she scrambles to her feet, "I think I hear Camila calling me."

Amity stares. "Isn't Mrs. Noceda at the vets? And shouldn't you be at school?!"

She frantically rubs her neck, "I uh, yes but, uh, it's Summerween, ya'know, so school and vets are closed?!"

Amity nods without looking away. "Okay."

"So I'll go and I'll see you when I get home from school okay bye!" And with that Luz turns and flees, Vee slithering back through the forest trying not to hyperventilate!

*   *   *

Vee lays in bed, hugging her pudgy green tail up to her pudgy green body, staring at the dark wall.

It wasn't an accident.

She'd told herself it was over and over, that she'd just gone to take Amity her lunch, and she'd become Luz by accident without even thinking. Like it had all just happened by accident.

And even if that had been the case, she'd been alone with Amity in the club house, alone with Amity with her guard down, trusting, vulnerable, Vee pretending to be her girlfriend so she could... what exactly? What had she wanted to happen, with Amity, alone with her girlfriend? What had she wanted?!

Vee's hearts are racing again, a dull ache settling underneath. She's been shapeshifting far too much, eating too many Hexus Holdum cards to regain the spent magic. If she keeps this up she'll run out, and how can she ask Luz and everyone to drop saving the world and go out and find her more?! How could she explain why she'd used them all up, why she'd been shifting so much?! WHY HAD SHE BEEN SHIFTING SO MUCH?!!

She hears a soft whimper from the bunk-bed below hers. Moving carefully, Vee unfurls and untucks herself, climbing headfirst down the ladder, her tail following afterwards and then curling underneath as she sits on the lower bed.

Luz is whimpering in her sleep again, half-speaking under her breath, like she does most nights. Amity's bed is closer, but Amity and Willow are out trying to figure out the 'Human Stars' and how they affected divination. Vee smirks: they are NOT ready to learn about horoscopes!

But right now Luz needs comforting, so Vee reaches out a green scaled hand to hold Luz's blanketed shoulder, squeezing: "Shhhh," she soothes, rocking slightly, "it's okay, you're okay. You're safe."

Luz whimpers, then grabs her hand tightly: "Amity?"

"Yeah," Amity answers, then shakes her head, "sorry." She breathes out a wet hiss, her pale hand in Luz's becoming scalier.

Luz squeezes tighter: "No I'm sorry!"

Amivee blinks sideways, "Why are you sorry?"

"Because, because," Luz trails off as she rolls onto her back, her eyes still shut.

Amivee smiles tenderly, reaching a pale scaled hand to her sleeping face, ever so careful of her claws as she brushes Luz's dark burgundy fringe out of the way. "It's okay, you're okay."

"But it's my fault you're here."

She smiles, "Yeah, 'cause you went and saved me, even when I told you not to, remember?"

"No, no," Luz shakes her sleepy head, "no I'm bad I-"

"Shhhh," she strokes Luz's cheek, "you're good! I promise you're good! Bad people don't worry about being bad, they just are."

"Really?"

"Really! But you're kind, you're brave, you're loving. You're so wonderful!"

Luz squeezes her hand. "Thank you."

She squeezes back, "You're welcome. Now go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay."

She squeezes goodbye, and quietly stands, making her way back to the ladder.

Luz starts to roll back over again, letting out a quiet: "I love you?"

Vee smiles. "I love you too Luz."