Luz studies herself in her bedroom mirror. She twists her body carefully, smoothing out any last wrinkles in her outfit. She's wearing a pair of light denim overalls, embroidered with flowers, and a striped shirt beneath. It appears that while she was in the Boiling Isles, Vee went ahead and replaced her entire wardrobe, leaving Luz scrambling for something to wear. Thankfully, Vee has good fashion sense.

The curtains have been pulled back in her bedroom for the first time since returning to the human realm. Luz had grown so used to the darkness that the sunlight feels foreign, but the brightness brings a faint smile to her face.

It's the same smile she's begun to notice on everyone's faces in the last twenty-four hours. For too long, a cloud of grief has hung over the Noceda household, and while Luz knows she'll never be able to push away her grief completely, doing something mundane like this – going out with Amity – is a nice distraction; not just for her, but everyone. Perhaps it is a reminder that, despite the sorrow they all face, time continues on, and one day, they will need to start living again.

The morning has already been difficult; it took Luz an hour to force herself out of bed, and she's held back tears multiple times thinking about King and Eda. However, she also remembers what joy feels like as she studies her outfit one last time in the mirror. That is enough to distract her and remind her that, no matter what happens in the future, there will still be good memories ahead.

Luz steps out into her bedroom door into the hallway, finding an unamused Gus and Hunter. While Willow and Vee are helping Amity get ready in the bathroom, the boys were unwillingly made her assistant.

"Ta-da!" Luz exclaims, twirling around. "Well? What do you think? Perfect date outfit, right?"

"Good. You're dressed. Can we leave now?" Hunter asks, a familiar annoyance in his tone. Luz never imagined she'd be happy to hear his cynicism.

"Nope!" Luz exclaims, sticking her tongue out at him. "You're both stuck keeping me company."

"Here," Gus says. He hands her a thin notepad that Luz is sure she's only ever seen buried in a cluttered drawer somewhere in her house.

"What's this?" Luz asks.

A familiar flame of curiosity ignites in Gus's eyes. "When you're out on your date, can you take notes on any interesting human observations?"

Luz narrows her eyes. "Isn't my mom taking all of you to run errands? You can take notes yourself," she says, handing the notepad back to him. She ignores Gus's frown.

At the mention of her mother, Luz hears footsteps down the hallway and immediately locks eyes with her mother. Luz's heart swells as she watches the corners of her mother's lips curl and her eyes light up.

"You look lovely, mija!" Luz's mother exclaims, wrapping Luz up in a strong hug. "It seems like just yesterday you were in diapers. Now you're going on your first date!"

"Mamá, stop!" Luz says. Embarrassed, she struggles against her mother's grip.

Finally, Luz succeeds in pushing her mom's arms off of her. She's sure her cheeks are red from how much she's blushing. However, glancing around, she sees a smile on everyone's faces, even Hunter's, albeit small. Their excitement only increases hers, and she thinks how good it is to see everyone acting a little more like themselves again.

"Where's Amity?" Luz's mother asks.

"Willow and Vee are helping her get ready," Luz explains.

Just then, the bathroom door creaks open. Vee slithers out first, followed behind by Willow, who has a mischievous grin on her face.

"Are you ready to see your girlfriend, Luz?" Willow asks.

"Yes!" Luz exclaims, practically squealing. She clears her throat and tries again, this time more calmly. "Yes," she says again.

"Let's get a drumroll, then!" Willow says.

Luz's heart rate escalates at the anticipation as Willow, Vee, Gus, and Hunter stomp their feet against the floor. Suddenly, Amity steps out of the bathroom, and Luz holds back a gasp. Amity is wearing a dark purple dress and some sheer black tights that perfectly complement her abomination-colored hair. Luz isn't sure how Amity can somehow look even more beautiful, but somehow, she does.

"Golly," Luz says. It's the only thing she can think of to say in the moment, and she immediately diverts her eyes in embarrassment after the words pass her lips.

"Does it really look okay?" Amity asks, appearing nervous. "Vee had to do some digging in your closet to find it."

"Yes! It looks great! You look great!" Luz says.

Amity's face almost instantly turns a deep shade of pink. "You look great too," she says quietly. She reaches out her hand to hold Luz's.

"Are you two done being gross yet?" Hunter asks.

"Never," Amity snarks back, squeezing Luz's hand tighter.

"Let's all load up into the car," Luz's mother suggests. Luz watches her mother do a little wiggle as she walks toward the garage. "I'll have so many extra helpers today!"

"Wait. No way! Are we going in an actual human car?!" Gus asks.

Luz chuckles. "Yes. Brooms aren't really a common form of transportation in the human world."

Gus shrieks loud enough that his voice cracks. "I'm so excited!"

With Amity's hand in hers, Luz takes a comfortable seat beside her in her mom's minivan. Teaching everyone how to use a seatbelt is a difficult task, but once they've got the hang of it, Luz's mother pulls out of the driveway. Luz stifles back a giggle as she watches Gus press his face to the window in curiosity.

"Where are we going on our date?" Amity asks once they've been on the road for a few minutes.

"It's a surprise," Luz responds with a grin.

A short while later, Luz's mother stops the car on the street corner of a nearby shopping plaza. Amity struggles enough with unbuckling her seatbelt that Luz does it for her. Silently, Luz prays that her mother won't have to help the others figure it out once they're off doing their errands. Once she and Amity successfully exit the car, Luz's mother sends the two of them off with a smile.

"I'll pick you up in a few hours!" Luz's mother exclaims.

Luz waves to her mother and the others before the car shrinks in the distance.

"So...what are we doing here?" Amity asks. "It looks kind of like the market back in the demon realm, although the shops seem more..."

"Mundane?" Luz asks.

Amity nods.

"Well, I did promise a normal date. Come on. We're doing something at the end of the street," she says, reaching for Amity's hand.

They walk alongside each other, hand-in-hand, and Luz suddenly feels strange being here with Amity. Her life in the Boiling Isles always felt so distant from her life in the human realm that some days it still freaks her out that the two are coinciding for the first time.

"Something wrong?" Amity asks, noticing her stare.

Luz shakes her head.

As they continue walking, Luz notices the way Amity's gaze turns frequently as they pass by various stores. At some points, Luz has to forcibly drag Amity along so she doesn't read everything in the store windows.

"But they say they're having a buy one get one free deal! That has to be a good thing, right?" Amity asks.

Luz giggles, pointing out the fine print at the bottom of the poster. "With a purchase of a store credit card," she says.

"A what?" Amity wonders.

Luz chuckles. "Nevermind. Come on. We didn't come here to shop."

Luz picks up her pace as she leads Amity down the street until finally they stop at a larger building with a sign out front reading, Rollerland.

"Ta-da! We're going rollerskating!" Luz announces.

"Roller-what?" Amity questions.

"So you wear these shoes with wheels around them and then go in circles! It's supposed to be a lot of fun,"' Luz explains.

"You've been before?"

Luz laughs uneasily. "Well, no, but I figure we can learn together! This way we're both trying something new for the first time."

Amity smiles back at her. "Okay. Let's try it!"

The first challenge comes with lacing their skates. After a minutes-long struggle and the help of an employee, Luz successfully conquers the first challenge of simply getting the skates on. However, as she and Amity head out onto the rink, they face their next greatest challenge – actually skating.

As soon as Luz steps out onto the rink, her knees shake, and together, she and Amity grip onto the sides of the rink like their lives depend on it. While eventually Luz grabs the bravery to hold Amity's hand and attempt to skate around the rink, she learns very quickly that she's not great at rollerskating. Amity has a death grip on her hand as they both try to keep their balance while rolling along the edge of the rink. For the next several minutes, they stay that way, crawling at snail's pace as their legs adjust to the skates.

Seeing the other couples speed past them, Luz is suddenly envious. She glances at Amity. Amity doesn't appear bored, but she's quiet, and Luz suddenly fears she's picked the wrong place to take Amity for a first date.

"Let's try going faster," Luz suggests, pushing off on one foot to glide faster.

"Wait, Luz—" Amity says, shrieking as Luz propels them across the rink.

This is more like it, Luz thinks as they begin to match the speed of the other skaters. She turns her head, seeing a smile beginning to creep on Amity's face as they glide. However, with her gaze locked elsewhere, Luz fails to see the child stepping out onto the rink, looking as shaky as she and Amity were only minutes before. Luz quickly attempts to pivot herself and Amity away from the child but instead, her skate hits Amity's, knocking both of them off balance, and in a matter of seconds, they tumble onto the rink floor.

Luz and Amity are a messy tangle of limbs as they both try to pull themselves off of the ground. Luz is muttering her share of apologies, when suddenly she watches Amity hiss in pain and clutch her elbow.

"Oh, no! Amity, are you okay?!" Luz exclaims.

As Luz rises, she ignores the dull ache in her knees from where she hit the ground. Luz goes to extend a hand to Amity, when suddenly her mind flashes back to the grudgby match when Amity broke her leg.

What if she's as hurt as that day? I better not take any chances, Luz thinks.

Before Amity can protest, Luz lifts her into her arms.

"L-Luz!" Amity squeals, her face redder than Luz has ever seen it. "P-People are staring!" She attempts to wiggle out of Luz's grip, but Luz holds her tighter.

"Don't worry, hermosa. I'll get you safety," Luz promises, inching slowly to the rink's exit.

She sets Amity on the ground slowly, and together, they navigate to an empty bench. Luz leaves Amity briefly to get a bag of ice from the snack bar, but later, they sit, Amity holding the bag of ice to her aching elbow.

"Don't worry. It's just bruised," Amity assures her, noticing Luz's concerned stare.

"I'm sorry," Luz says. "I just...I wanted our human realm date to be perfect after talking about it so long. I think I got a little carried away. I was worried you weren't having fun."

"What?" Amity questions.

"Well, you weren't really talking so—"

Amity giggles. "Luz, I was a little bit more concerned with making sure I was skating okay. You're much more of a natural at this human stuff than me. It was taking all my energy just to make sure I didn't fall."

Luz breathes out a sigh of relief, then quickly stiffens as she feels Amity's lips touch her cheek.

"Thank you though. I've had a good time with you today," Amity says.

"Aw, sweet potato. You're making me blush!" Luz exclaims. "Well, lucky for you, the day isn't over yet. I still have more planned."

Just as she utters those words, the lights begin to dim, and the rink is illuminated in a pale pink light.

"Alright, everyone. It's the top of the hour, which means it's time for our couple's skate!"

Amity's eyes meet Luz's.

"Should we skate one last time before we go?" Amity asks.

"I won't go fast," Luz promises. She reaches out her hand to help Amity from the bench and together they return for the rink. This time, they thankfully stay upright.

Afterwards, with steadier feet, Luz quickly leads Amity to her favorite icecream parlor.

"You had icecream in the Boiling Isles, right?" Luz asks as she opens the door for Amity.

"Yeah, but I'm guessing they won't have an apple blood flavor," Amity says.

"Probably not, but don't worry! I can point you to something you'd like," Luz says. She scans the icecream counter fervently. For Luz, her choice is simple – cookies and cream. It's been forever since she's had it, and her mouth is already watering at the sight of it.

Amity looks deep in thought as she studies the icecream case. Luz supposes with so many unfamiliar flavors, it would be hard for her to make a choice.

"What about this one?" Luz asks, pointing to a pint of ube icecream. "It matches your hair."

"Okay," Amity agrees.

Luz pays for two cones, and together, they sit outside under the awning of the icecream parlor, watching shoppers go by. Amity is hesitant at first, but Luz smiles as Amity quickly begins licking up her icecream after her first bite.

"Is it good?" Luz asks.

"Delicious!" Amity exclaims. "How's yours?"

Luz opens her mouth to share the same sentiments, but suddenly, she pauses.

"Want to try?" Luz asks, holding out her cone. She hopes the shadows from the awning are hiding the blush growing on her cheeks.

"O-Oh! Sure," Amity says. She leans forward slowly and takes a small lick of Luz's icecream cone. "Mm, that's good!"

"Isn't it? It's cookies and cream," Luz says.

"D-Do you want to try mine too?" Amity asks, holding out her cone.

"Si, por favor," Luz says, leaning forward to take a lick of Amity's. "Interesting," she says as she leans back, the taste of ube still on her tongue. "I don't think I've tried that flavor before."

"See. You get to try some new things today too," Amity says.

After they finish their icecream cones, Amity briefly excuses herself to use the restroom. Luz sits outside in solitude, feeling the breeze on her skin. Silently, she wishes Amity returns quickly. Despite how much she's enjoyed herself today, the longer she's alone, the more she keeps thinking back to Eda and King and everyone else on the Boiling Isles. Luz wonders if they're feeling scared or hopeless...if they're even alive that is. Her icecream threatens to come back up at that dark thought.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, Luz glances up and finds herself making direct eye contact with a few girls she once attended school with in the human realm. She tries to divert her gaze, but they've already noticed her.

"Well, well, if it isn't the weird girl," says their leader, a blonde girl with pink-streaked hair. Luz desperately tries to remember her name. Ella? Luz thinks that's right.

The other girls in Ella's entourage don't make any further comments, but they snicker behind Ella sinisterly.

"Hey, Ella," Luz says, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"Weird to see you out here. I didn't think you ever left the house," Ella says.

Perhaps once her bullies' words would have left Luz feeling saddened and spiteful, but these days, Luz has larger problems. She tries ignoring the girls, not in the mood to pick a fight, but Ella and her posse are persistent, clearly having not tormented enough people today.

"Of course you'd come here and eat icecream by yourself," Ella snickers. "Or sorry, did you have an imaginary friend join you this time?"

Luz wants to fight back, to raise her fists and shout at them that she does have friends, that she certainly has more friends than the three of them, but then her mind flashes to Eda and King again, and she starts shutting down once more, blocking out the world around her.

"Look at her, so sad and pathetic," Ella says to her other friends. They giggle beside her. "Well, if you're not going to say anything, can you at least move? We want that table. The losers can go sit by the trashcan," she says, gesturing to another table nearby.

Luz twitches, about to move, but then, the door to the icecream parlor opens.

"What did you just call my girlfriend?!"

Luz glances up, seeing Amity seething with rage. Amity's response is enough to shock Luz out of her numb state.

"Amity!" Luz exclaims. "Don't bother with them, they were just—"

"Girlfriend?! Since when does Luz Noceda have a girlfriend?" Ella questions, clearly in shock. Suddenly, she's the one who appears flustered as she eyes Amity up and down. "And a...pretty one at that."

Amity jabs a finger at Ella's chest. "Thanks for the compliment, but I better not hear you ever talking like that again," she snarls. "Call my Luz a name again, and I'll personally make you regret your existence," Amity says, her fingers curling into a fist. "Understood?"

Ella nods her head vigorously.

"Come on, Luz. Let's go. These losers can go enjoy their icecream," Amity says, reaching for Luz's hand.

As they depart, Luz looks back one last time to stick her tongue out at the girls. She giggles to herself after catching a brief glimpse of Ella's rage before she and her friends disappear into the icecream parlor.

"If magic worked in the human realm, I would've had an abomination throw them halfway across the plaza," Amity mumbles under her breath.

"Thank you, Amity. You didn't have to do that," Luz says.

"What? Of course, I did. I'm your awesome girlfriend, after all, and awesome girlfriends don't let their partners get bullied. Did they...used to bully you at school?"

Luz nods her head quietly.

"Oh, Luz," Amity says. She pauses in her steps and turns to hug Luz. Immediately, Luz melts into her arms, trying to hold back tears.

"It's okay," Luz says against Amity. "Because I have you now and Gus and Willow and...even Hunter," Luz says. "And...and when we go back to the Boiling Isles, I'll see all my other friends too."

Amity pulls back and stares at Luz. "Now I feel even more guilty for treating you the way I did when you first started at Hexside. Luz, I'm so sorry if I ever said anything to you that crossed a line—"

"What? Amity, no! Nothing you've ever said has compared to what the girls at school said about me. And even if you had, you've more than made up for it!" Luz assures her.

"Really? Sometimes I remember the way I acted when you first came to the school, and I...I get so mad at myself. Sometimes...I feel like I don't deserve you," Amity says.

Luz quickly grasps Amity's shoulders and hushes her with a kiss. Amity stiffens at first when Luz's lips meet her own, but gradually, she relaxes and kisses her back with the same care and softness. Luz pulls apart slowly and cups Amity's face with one of her palms.

"Don't say that. You have absolutely no idea how happy you've made me. Everything is awful right now, but I'm glad that at the very least, we're together," Luz says, squeezing Amity's hand. "Besides, I don't think Gus, Willow, or Hunter would have been able to chase off the bullies like that. That's a job only you can do."

"You think?" Amity asks.

"I know," Luz replies. "Now, come on," she says, beginning to walk again. "There's one last place I want to take you."