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College was not what she thought it was going to be. For as long as she could remember, Lucia believed college was a short four years of partying, making friends, and falling in love. Never in a million years did she think she’d be spending her Friday nights stowed away in a quiet study space with mountains of homework. Why was it always the general education professors that assigned the most work?
Lucia had been in the study room for hours, long enough to watch the sunset and the stars come out. It was still relatively early in the fall semester, so it wasn’t like she was missing any particularly exciting parties. But that didn’t mean she wanted to be cooped up in a study room all day and night.
Deciding to let her eyes take a break, she tore her gaze away from her laptop. The view wasn’t that interesting, just her RA’s bedroom door, which was the same dark grey as everyone else’s. She had the vaguest idea of who her RAs were, but she only met them once. On the other side of the building was Hunter, a lanky junior who never seemed to sleep enough. He was nice, though. A little rough around the edges, but still nice. She never met her own RA, since when they had the floor meeting, she was unavailable. But that didn’t stop her from learning her name: Amelia. She had no idea what she looked like or, really, who she was, but at least her name was pretty.
Other students walked by every now and then, slightly distracting Lucia from her work. If she could just finish this stupid essay for this stupid writing class and get the stupid passing grade, then everything in her life would be just peachy. But no. Her brain decided it had had enough. She sighed and began to shove all her textbooks into her backpack. She tried to do it as quietly as she could, since the entire floor was quiet. Until a door opened. The door on the other side of the hall.
Out stepped a short girl with puffy, purple hair. Her “Hexside University” sweatshirt covered whatever shorts she wore (Lucia hoped she was wearing shorts) and different colored socks contrasted with her black and white slides. White earbud cords connected to something, probably her phone, in her hoodie pocket. Oh shit, she’s staring.
Lucia quickly focused back on her bag and shoving everything back into it. When she looked back up, the girl was gone. Was that Amelia? she thought. If that was, I’m so dead.
…
The semester continued on normally, though Lucia hadn’t seen Amelia since she stared at her. It was a Saturday, and her roommate, Willow, was out with Gus, a mutual friend from high school. So, she decided to do the one thing she knew how to do; the one thing that gave her a sense of consistency in her weird new life away from home: hiding in that damned study room.
No one was in there. The lights were off and it was so quiet she could hear her blood flowing through and around her brain. It was eerie and uncomfortable, but it was better than feeling everything in her too small dorm room. Being so far into the semester with no friends other than her roommate was not something she wanted to brag about.
As soon as she stepped into the room, she flicked the lights on and closed the door. Despite being so lonely, the last thing she wanted was for someone to walk in and actually study. Lucia took a seat near one of the large windows and cracked open her computer, quickly pulling up a blank document. With school being her first priority, she had little time to write her stories. Luz was always a fan of her storytelling abilities. Speaking of the little gremlin, she should text her soon.
Within minutes, Lucia found her groove. She already had a handful of one-off stories revolving around two original characters, both of which she loved dearly. She lost track of time, her fingers speedily typing her characters’ romance story when suddenly, a scream rippled through the hall and into the room.
Lucia jumped an inch out of her chair. She couldn’t have been the only person to hear such a yell, but it was also late. Then, again, another scream, though that one was more controlled, like a growl. She left her computer and other belongings before popping her head out of the study room. The screaming, growling, and now very loud talking came from the door across the hall; Amelia’s room. That short, unbelievably beautiful woman she saw once in her month of staying there.
Cautiously, she pressed her ear against the cool door, hoping to hear more of the conversation. Most of it is muffled, but she could still make out some words. Amelia seemed more frustrated than angry, but Lucia never had a good grasp on how people talk.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Lucia tumbled through the doorway, landing with an undignified squawk. Amelia stood menacingly over her, phone still in hand. Her face morphed into a mix of shock, anger, and confusion.
“What,” her grip tightened around her phone. “the fuck? Are you doing?”
Lucia hulled herself up as fast as she could, ignoring the throbbing at the base of her neck. “I’m so sorry! I just heard yelling and got curious and a bit concerned.”
“So you decided to eavesdrop on my personal conversation?”
She looked down at her feet. When she looked back up, Amelia had clicked her mouth shut, like she was about to say something but decided against it.
“You know what,” she sighed, stepping into the hallway and closing the door. “I’ve had a really long day. And I don’t feel like yelling at some random first year. Give me your ID.”
Lucia stuffed her hand into her joggers’ pocket and pulled out her ID. She handed it to Amelia, who inspected it carefully. She glanced back up at Lucia every few seconds.
“Noceda, huh?” she asked, handing it back. “Do you have a sister by any chance?”
“Uh, yeah? Why?”
“What’s her name?”
“Luz. Again, I ask why?”
Amelia smirked and shook her head. “Dude, our sisters are friends. I wonder how Mittens would react if I told her Luz’s big sister was a creep.”
Lucia grabbed one of Amelia’s hands and stared into her eyes. “Please don’t screw with Luz like that,” she begged, tugging her a bit closer. “She needs to keep her friends!”
Amelia froze. She was joking; she’d never want to get in the way of Amity’s friends, especially since she left the manor. She never met someone who cared so openly about their baby sister. It reminded her of herself and Amity. She’d do anything for her.
She fought the blush that crept across her cheeks. This unfairly attractive girl was holding her hand and her poor, little brain wasn’t sure how to handle it. She didn’t even remember why she was so angry with her not five minutes ago.
“I was only joking,” she smiled softly. “I understand what it’s like having a…not so average sibling.”
Lucia sighed and let go of her hand. Amelia tried not to show her disappointment. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
“So am I. I didn’t mean to distract you from your school work.”
“Oh, I wasn’t studying,” she laughed awkwardly. “I just needed to get out of my dorm.”
“I understand that feeling.”
Lucia rocked on her heels, glancing back between her laptop and the girl in front of her. “Hey, I know it’s late, but would you wanna get food?”
Amelia blinked. “Right now?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I’d have to put my bag back in my room so it doesn’t get stolen, but after.”
Amelia smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
…
After Lucia dumped her stuff in her dorm, the two found sanctuary in a small 24-hour cafe just off campus. There were a few students in there, cramming for quizzes and homework assignments, but, for the most part, they were alone.
Lucia twirled her glass of decaf coffee while Amelia dug into a chocolate muffin.
“So,” Lucia cleared her throat. “Where’d you go to high school?”
“Gravesfield,” Amelia wiped her mouth. “You probably don’t know where it is.”
“No, I do.”
Amelia paused. “Really?”
“Yeah. I went there.”
“Really?! I’m shocked I never saw you! It was such a small school.”
“I wasn’t there very often,” she shrugged. “I had release time every day after second period from junior year on since I worked.”
“Did you ever go to any games?”
She shook her head. “I worked. Plus, sports aren’t really my thing.”
“They weren’t my thing either. But I was a cheerleader.” Lucia nearly choked on her coffee from laughter. Amelia only raised an eyebrow. “Entertained?”
“I,” she coughed. “I just can’t imagine you being thrown around.”
“I wasn’t thrown around,” she snickered. “I was tossed. But where did you work?”
“At a small family shop. The owner was a family friend. I got the hours and experience I wanted and she got to underpay me.”
Amelia chuckled. “You work at The Owl House, right?”
She took a sip of her coffee. “How’d you know?”
“Amity told me Luz works there now. She goes to visit her after school every day.”
Lucia pushed her now empty cup to the side. “I don’t know who that is.”
“Amity’s my baby sister.”
Lucia blinked. “Baby? There’s more?”
“Oh yeah,” Amelia nodded enthusiastically. “There’s six people in my family.”
“What?! Six?!”
Amelia laughed, long forgetting her half-eaten muffin. “Well, there’s Mom and Dad, obviously, then me. Then there’s the twins, Emira and Edric. But we call them Emmy and Eddie. Amity’s the baby of the family.”
“That’s a full house.”
“It felt very lonely.”
Her hand flew over her mouth, immediately regretting what she said. What were you thinking? You just met this girl! You can’t just trauma dump on strangers, Amelia!
“It’s okay!” Lucia was quick to assure. “I…I felt the same way when I was home.”
Amelia’s hand dropped from her face. “Really?”
“Yeah,” she shrugged. “I mean, I didn’t have five other people to bother. It was just me, Mami, and Luz. Mom worked a lot, so I had to look after Luz. Eda was there sometimes, but for the most part, it was just me and Luz.”
“I’m so sorry,” Amelia frowned.
“Don’t be! It wasn’t perfect, but we made do. If it weren’t for our situation, Luz and I wouldn’t be as close as we are now.”
“Amity and I are the same way,” she shot her a small smile. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have her.”
A comfortable silence settled upon them. Lucia glanced around and realized they were the only ones left in the cafe. She heard Amelia yawn.
“You okay?”
Amelia nodded. “Yeah, just started to get tired.” She pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket. Her eyes blew wide when she saw the time. “Dude, it’s past midnight.”
Lucia pulled her phone out. She was right; it was 12:24 am.
“I’m gonna be so dead tomorrow,” Amelia groaned, piling what little trash she had on her muffin plate.
“I’m so sorry I kept you out so late.”
“It’s fine. I had a really fun time.”
“I did too,” she smiled and stood, extending her hand. “May I walk you home?”
Amelia snorted, gingerly taking her hand. “What a gentleman.”
…
“I had a really fun time,” Lucia smiled as they approached Amelia’s door.
“I did too,” she smiled back. “And to think I was about to report you.”
Lucia stopped. “You what?!”
“Sh!” she giggled, jumping onto her tiptoes to cover Lucia’s mouth. Her lips felt soft against her palms. “It’s quiet hours! And can you blame me? I thought you were stalking me.”
Lucia carefully removed her hand from her mouth. “I guess that’s fair.”
“It’s very fair,” the two stopped in front of her door. Her face quickly fell when she realized what happened.
“Everything okay?” Lucia asked after a few seconds.
Amelia hung her head. “I locked myself out.”
Lucia didn’t care that she was hit repeatedly for laughing at her. She doubled over, holding her stomach. It physically hurt to hold back her laughter, and Amelia hissing empty threats through her teeth didn’t help much.
“I’m sorry!” she chuckled, standing up straight. “But that’s hilarious!”
“It is not!” Amelia pouted, stomping her foot like a little kid.
“Well, hey, I have a free bed.”
Both froze for different reasons. Lucia panicked because there was no way she just offered Willow’s bed without asking, and Amelia paused because there was no way this beautiful, tall, dorky, dreamboat offered for her to sleep in her room.
“What I meant was,” Lucia cleared her throat and looked away. “My roommate is out for the night. She’s spending the weekend with our friend from high school. I doubt she’d mind if you took her side for the night.”
Amelia smirked. “At least take a girl out for a date before you invite her over.”
Lucia flushed and pushed her hair back. “We technically had dinner.”
She giggled. “I guess that’s fair. But I don’t have spare clothes.”
“You can borrow mine.”
“You’re a beanstalk. They’ll be huge on me.”
“Don’t girls like that?”
Amelia pretended to think. “Maybe you’re right, Noceda.”
“I’m right more often than you think, uh, I don’t know your last name.”
“Blight,” she smiled. “Amelia Blight.”
“Well Blight, what do you say? Adult sleepover with a borderline stranger?”
Amelia smiled, suddenly feeling like she was in high school again, flirting with all the cute girls she could get her hands on. “Sounds dangerous. I’m in.”
Lucia took a step back before offering her hand in a dramatic fashion. “Please, follow me.”
Amelia fought back a laugh but took her hand. “Lead the way.”
As much as she hated that study room and its boring walls, Lucia could never hate Amelia from the door across the hall.