tiredwitchmachine

[tiredwitchmachine]

Summary: The coven stays at Agatha's house for the night and discover Billy's intense fear of the dark.

(Agatha All Along Week - Day 5 - Free Day)

Fic Under the Cut:

“Alrighty, gang! That wraps up tonight's session, so you can all leave my house now!” Agatha says in her usual fake cheery voice. At this point, they all knew to just roll their eyes and let her have it. Tonight however, the ensuing remarks went a little differently. 

“In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s coming down in buckets outside.” Jen gives a pointed look out the window, the rain coming down so hard it’s impossible to even see the yard. “No way am I going out in that. I just bought this dress.” 

“Ugh, always with the drama, Jenny.” She jabs with a playful smile, proud of her school yard insults. “Everyone knows witches don’t actually melt in the rain.”

“Well I, for one, am with Jen on this one.” Lilia interjects. “We may not melt, but we’ll most certainly drown.” 

“Or run ourselves off the road.” Alice adds. “Do you know how many rain related accidents I had to respond to during my cop days? The answer is too many, and they were never pretty.” 

“My poor roses,” Sharon mutters to herself, looking out the window towards her own lawn. 

“Yeah, and I don’t wanna get in another car accident.” Billy says, finally speaking up from his place sitting in one of Agatha’s ornate yet comfy chairs. 

“I’m staying here regardless.” Rio comments with a hum and a smirk directed at Agatha but meant for everyone to see. Everyone made varying noises of disgust at the display. “So what's it gonna be, Agatha? Coven sleep over?” 

“Oooh, I haven’t been to a sleepover since I was in high school, and that was years and years ago.” Sharon muses, forgetting all about her roses at the idea. Agatha rolls her eyes and gags at the idea, before taking a look at her coven members faces and softening a little. She’ll never admit it, but she’s grown soft on all of them- especially Billy, who she never tries to deny is her favorite out of all of them. 

“Oh fine!” She forces her voice back into an overly sarcastic box and tries to hide the smile that creeps onto her face when they all cheer. “But you’re all figuring out pajamas and blankets and all that. Scrounge around, I’m sure Ralph left some stuff here.” 

“Ew, I am not getting near your weird fake husband's gross stuff.” Jen shivers and Rio glares. She doesn’t like the whole “fake husband” thing one bit, naturally. 

“I still feel kinda bad for him,” Billy says but no one's listening, already scrounging around for things they can use for bedding and pillows. 

-

They all set up camp in the living room, a suggestion made by a very excited Sharon, and the lights are all turned off as they settle down. No one seems to notice how Billy tenses as the room fills with darkness. 

He sits up and crawls over to his backpack, grabbing a pair of headphones from them and slinking back to his makeshift bed. Alice hasn’t quite fallen asleep yet and notices, lightly tugging at his pant leg. 

“You okay, Billy?” She asks when he spooks a little at the contact. 

“Fine.” He answers instinctively and offers her a small smile she can’t possibly see in the dark. “I was just grabbing my headphones, for white noise, you know?” 

“It’s raining outside, what do you need white noise for?” Jen scoffs and gets shushed by Alice. 

“I don’t- never mind, I’m tired so I’m not gonna bother trying to argue.” 

“You’re no fun.” 

“Everyone shut your traps, I’m trying to sleep!” Agatha exclaims loudly and Jen huffs, crossing her arms and laying back down. 

Alice gives Billy another look, but finds that the teenager has already put his headphones on, scrolling through his phone for a moment before clicking on something and setting the phone face down on the rug. When she’s sure he’s actually settled, she lets herself drift off into sleep as well.

-

A loud crash of thunder wakes Alice up hours later, so loud she’s unsure how the rest of the coven sleep through it. Blinking blearily, she looks around the room at the group, all asleep until her eyes land on Billy, or rather where Billy had been when she’d gone to sleep.

This sets off alarm bells in her head and something triggers inside her- police training instincts, sibling instincts, parental instincts, she’s not sure, but it triggers something and she’s kicking off her blankets in an instant, getting up to search the whole house for her baby witch. 

He’s not in the living room or the kitchen, and she’s about to go upstairs when she finds him sitting by the front door, knees pulled up to his chest and breathing harsh enough that she can hear it. 

“Billy?” She whispers, getting closer to him and kneeling down. “What are you doing all the way over here?” 

“The power went out.” He answers and he’s right. Alice looks out the window and sees the street lamps have all gone out, probably a downed wire or something. Whatever had happened, it had plunged the street into darkness and there was no light in the house. She’d been using her magic to guide herself around the house and she hadn’t noticed how dark it was till now. “It’s too dark.” He reads her mind. 

“Are you scared of the dark, Billy?” She asks, trying not to sound too condensing. She knows teenagers can be cagey about admitting they’re scared. But Billy isn’t like other teenagers, and he nods, body shuddering clearly. 

“I don’t like it.” He hiccups quietly. “It’s too cold and too dark. It reminds me of when I was gone, when I was stuck between being Billy and William. It makes me feel so alone, Alice. I don’t like being alone.” 

“You’re not alone, kiddo, not anymore.” She sighs, placing a hand gently on his knee, noting how he’s shivering with fear. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.” 

“You promise?” He asks, and Alice tries not to think about how small he sounds. The Billy she’s used to is sweet and kind but also loud and sometimes brash in a good way, but never small. 

“I promise.” She nods. “Now let's get back to the other witches in the living room. You’ll feel less alone with more people around, trust me.” 

“I trust you.” 

“Good.” She smiles, standing up and holding her hand out for him to take. When he does, she gives his hand a gentle squeeze and leads him back to the living room, using her magic as a flashlight. 

She makes sure he gets to his makeshift bed again and tucks him in, despite his quiet protests that she doesn’t have to. Quite honestly, she doesn’t know what comes over her at the moment, but she does it anyway and takes his protests as a sign that the fear is wearing off. 

“I’ll be just over here, okay?” She gestures with her magic to her place next to Jen and crawls over to it, settling down again. 

Sleep almost takes her again when there’s another crash of thunder and she hears Billy make a small noise of fear at the noise. She peaks an eye open and sees him huddled up on his blanket, electric blue magic running up and down his fingers, illuminating the tear tracks on his face. She sighs. 

“Billy,” She whispers, and when he doesn’t react, she tries again, a little louder this time. “Hey, Billy?”

“What’s going on, Alice?” Lilia’s voice comes from the couch where she’s half curled up, Sharon on the other half. Before Alice can answer, her eyes are already moving over to Billy, who’s still unresponsive and sparking blue. “Oh, mio bambino. What’s wrong?” 

“Dark.” He whimpers. “So dark. I’m all alone.” 

“Shh, Billy, you’re not alone.” Alice tries to comfort him, crawling back over to him. 

“Wha’s going on?” Jen asks from her pile of blankets, the commotion having woken her up. 

“Billy’s upset.” Lilia answers. 

“What’s wrong with Billy?” Agatha asks next, sitting up quickly and turning her eyes to her mentee- her adoptive son if you asked anyone besides her. 

“He’s panicking.” Alice answers this time, gently rubbing a hand up and down Billy’s back. “He doesn’t like the dark.” 

“Most children don’t.” Rio comments from besides Agatha. At this point, the whole coven sans Sharon is awake. 

“He’s not a child, he’s a teenager.” Jen retorts. 

“Legally that’s a child.” Lilia joins in before catching herself. “But now's not the time for that argument. The boy needs our attention.” 

“What should we do?” Alice asks when Billy doesn’t seem to be calming down. 

“Well, there’s always a witch pile.” Agatha suggests. 

“A witch pile?” Alice questions. “No way that’s a real thing.” 

“Okay okay, yes I made that one up, but you get the concept!” The purple witch argues and Alice just sighs. 

“For once I agree with Agatha,” Lilia says. “Maybe being closer to everyone will help.” 

“I guess it’s worth a shot.” Alice sighs. “I don’t like seeing him like this.” 

“No one does.” Agatha mutters, already moving herself over closer to them. Rio’s not far behind, despite her mixed opinions on the boy and his weird soul situation. 

Lilia moves herself off the couch, with minor protests about how the floor is going to hurt her back. Jen huffs but drags her blanket pile over as well. The whole coven moves till they’re all pressed together, Alice facing Billy with Agatha at his back and Rio behind her. Jen finds herself besides Alice and Lilia rests near the top of their heads, not so subtly stealing one of Jen’s many blankets. 

Billy’s breathing is still harsh, but it starts to slow down as he realizes his coven is all around him. More tears rise in his eyes and he lets them fall. 

“Thank you,” He whispers after he’s sure it won’t get lost in a hiccup or a sob. 

“Of course,” Alice responds. 

“We’re your coven, we’re here for you.” Lilia cuts in to say. 

“Yeah, so don’t make a big deal out of it and go back to sleep, Teen.” Agatha huffs, her miffed tone contrasted with the protective arm she’s thrown around him. He smiles softly and doesn’t mention it. 

“I’m so glad I found you guys.” He whispers instead and gets a jab to the rib from Agatha. 

“What did I just say,” She tries to sound upset but her tone is too soft and after a moment she continues. “You’re not all bad yourself, kid.” 

The whole coven falls back asleep like that, in a pile of blankets found around the house and scattered limbs thrown over each other. If they focus on it hard enough, they can all feel their magic moving together in sync, beating in a caring rhythm. 

-

The next morning when they wake up, they find Sharon on the floor with them and a photo of them all on the ground together. They all know Sharon took it, judging by the thumb in the corner of the photo, and once they’re all up Lilia announces she’s making breakfast, and they’ll all sit around the table they held their weekly magic session the night before. 

No one mentions Billy’s panic attack the night before, but the smile on his face when he looks at all of them is enough for them to know he’s going to be alright for now.

[tiredwitchmachine]

INTRODUCTION + FIC MASTERPOST

Name: Birdie/Magpie, also known as T.A.M

Ao3: Season_ofthe_Witch

Fandom(s): Pretty much anything Marvel, though mainly Agatha All Along at the moment

Favorite Character(s): Billy Maximoff/Kaplan, Alice Wu-Gulliver, Kamala Khan, Kate Bishop, Loki

Other Notes:

I write mostly Billy angst

I have anxiety and ADHD so sometimes I misremember facts or think I've misremembered things and get upset about it - don't worry, I'm working on it

Fics:

Series: World's Best (Worst) Witch Aunts - Works: 4 - Series Summary: A Bunch of (Not Really Connected) Stories About the Coven Being Teen (Billy's) Aunts, Sort Of

Verbum Sat Sapienti - 1/1 - Summary: Agatha doesn’t know how she stooped so low as to ask a teenager for help forming a coven.

If One Be Gone, We Carry On - 1/1 - Summary: No one in the coven takes the death of Sharon well, but Teen probably takes it the worst.

It's The Only Way We Survive - 1/1 - Summary: Agatha and Rio go off on their own, leaving the other three witches to talk and watch over their youngest coven member.

Together and Alone - 3/3- Summary: Billy reacts poorly to Alice's death.

-

Series: AAA Week - Works: 4 - Series Summary: A Series of Fics posted for Agatha All Along Week on Tumblr

Making Friends - 2/2 - Summary: Alice is trying to adjust to her new school and accidentally hits a Freshman in the face with a door. Now she's stuck with a chatty kid who really wants to be friends. (Written for the Prompt: High School AU)

Midnights in the Woods - 1/1 - Summary: They’re sitting by the fire and Alice has a crush on Jen. (Written for the Prompt: Unrequited)

Not a Monster - 1/1 - Summary: William had been missing for a day, but here he is standing in front of him. It takes Eddie’s brain a moment to compute. (Written for the Prompt: Hurt/Comfort)

You're Not Alone - 1/1 - Summary: The coven stays at Agatha's house for the night and discover Billy's intense fear of the dark. (Written for a Free Day)

-

Ongoing Fics -

Heart and Soul, Fell into a Rabbit Hole - 1/? - Summary: Ever since the accident when he was 13, Billy’s had one motto in life. Continue life as normal. And that’s how he decides to approach his life after the road. Yeah, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

-

I will update this post whenever I post a new fic or update a fic :)

[tiredwitchmachine]

Summary: William had been missing for a day, but here he is standing in front of him. It takes Eddie’s brain a moment to compute.

(Agatha All Along Week, Day 4, Prompt: Hurt/Comfort)

(I got this one out super late, I'm sorry)

Fic Under the Cut:

Eddie woke up on Sunday to his phone going off like crazy and his mom frantically asking him when he’d last seen his boyfriend. He was fully awake immediately. 

The Kaplan’s - William’s parents - had woken up hours earlier to find his car missing, and more importantly, him missing. They said his bed looked untouched and his laptop was still open, dead from being left on all night. Eddie couldn’t help but think it sounded like something straight out of a horror movie. 

They called the police after listing statistics about people who go missing and how many hours they’ve been gone for, and the police came to question him. He answers truthfully, regrettably informing them about William’s weird correspondence with some guy from Reddit of all places. 

By the time night fell, there was still no sign of William and everyone was all spent out of emotions and energy. Mrs. Kaplan was convinced she’d never see her son again and Eddie worriedly agreed with her sentiment, knots forming in his stomach at the idea of never seeing his boyfriend again. 

“I’m going to stay with the Kaplan’s tonight.” His mom told him, handing him the car keys. “Just till things are sorted out.” 

“I should stay too.” He argues. 

“You need rest, sweetie. And sometimes he comes over to our place, what if he goes there? Someone should be there.” It’s a hard bargain but Eddie eventually agrees, taking the keys and driving himself home with a sick feeling in his stomach.

He doesn’t want to sleep when he gets home but his body doesn’t agree with this sentiment and he finds himself nodding off on the couch, the news playing quietly in the background. 

He’s not sure how long he’s out for when there’s a knock at the door and he’s instantly awake, moving towards the door quickly. Unlocking it, he swings it open, and can’t hide the look of shock and horror on his face when he sees it’s his boyfriend, covered in grime and looking like a shell of himself. 

William had been missing for a day, but here he is standing in front of him. It takes Eddie’s brain a moment to compute.

“Can I come in?” William asks, a small tremor in his frame that Eddie wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for how beat up the rest of him looks. 

“I- yeah, yeah, come on in.” He responds, unsure how to respond. His boyfriend nods and steps into the apartment, movements almost mechanical as if he’s overthinking every single action he makes. 

He looks tired and borderline upset, the bags under his eyes spelling a lack of sleep mixed with dirt and smudged makeup. When Eddie looks in his eyes, though, he sees what can only be described as a weariness he’d only seen on people much older than the both of them. Whatever had happened, it clearly wasn’t good, he concludes. 

“Where were you?” He asks, cringing slightly as his tone comes out more accusatory than he’d meant. William turns his eyes away, hands fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie, balling it up in his hand and holding the fabric so tightly his knuckles turn white. “Will, I’m not- it’s just-” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You were missing for a day, William. Where did you go?” 

“A day?” William asks in a small voice and Eddie catches a hint of disbelief in his tone. “It was only a day?” 

“Will? What do you mean-”

“It felt longer.” He’s trembling now, eyes glazing over with tears. Oh, Eddie thinks, oh god, what happened to him…He looks so lost, was he hurt?...Who hurt him?

William flinches, taking a step back from Eddie. “Nothing happened to me, I’m fine. It’s fine, I’m fine.” His response is quick and janky. He’s panicking, Eddie realizes. 

“You don’t look fine.” His boyfriend averts his eyes again, not saying anything. “Will, please, I just want to help. Just talk to me, please.” He’s practically begging but he doesn’t care, letting his worry fully take over.

William hesitates for a second, wrapping his arms around himself. Finally, he responds, voice tearful. “You can’t help me.” 

“What do you mean I can’t help you?” 

“You just can’t!” He snaps, all the lights in the room flickering at the same time. Eddie looks to the lights for a moment before turning back to William, his boyfriend having paled, looking almost sick. 

“Why, Will. Why can’t I help you?” He asks quietly. 

“I’m dangerous. If you try to help me, you’ll just get hurt.” William sniffles. “Everyone always gets hurt, I don’t want to hurt you too.” 

“That’s not true, Will-” 

“It is!” He interrupts again, tears threatening to spill over his waterline and clogging his voice. “I’ve hurt people, Eddie, and I’m going to hurt you too. It’s better if you’re not near me at all.” 

This causes Eddie to pause, taking in his boyfriend's words that almost feel like knives stabbing at his heart. He can’t remember a time he’s ever seen William hurt anyone, though he’s seen him get hurt countless times. Regardless, he wouldn’t hurt a fly if he didn’t have to. The words he’s saying are in complete contrast to everything he knows about his boyfriend. So either something really bad happened to him or he’s seriously out of it, because Eddie can’t comprehend any other reason for his behaviour. 

“No, you won’t.” He says instead. 

“I won’t?” 

“You won’t hurt me, because you don’t hurt people, William Kaplan, never on purpose.” 

At this, the dam finally breaks, and a sob tears its way through his boyfriend's throat, tears spilling down his face as his body shakes like a tree in a storm. Instinctively, Eddie moves forward and wraps William up in his arms, holding him close as sobs wrack his lanky frame. 

They stand like that for a few minutes, the only sound in the apartment being his boyfriend’s sobs as he leans against him, arms wrapping around his back and grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. 

Then, as if a switch flips, he’s trying to push away from Eddie, still crying loudly. Eddie doesn’t let him, gently grabbing his upper arms and holding him in place so they’re looking each other in the eye. William’s are bloodshot and glassy, tears and horror filling them. 

“Will, talk to me, please, what’s going on?” He asks and William shakes his head. 

“I’m a monster, Eddie.” He hiccups. “I’m a monster.” 

“You are not a monster, William Kaplan.” Eddie says firmly, his boyfriend clearly not believing him. “You are not, under any circumstances, a monster.” 

“Yes, I am. You don’t know what I’ve done, what I can do with my powers.” William responds, trying to tear himself from Eddie’s grip again. Again, he’s stopped from moving by his strong but gentle grip. 

“You’ve already told me about your mind reading and I’ve already told you I don’t care about that-”

“It’s not just mind reading!” William exclaims, sobbing louder. “I’m a witch, Eddie. I’m a witch who hurts people and controls people and I can’t control any of it!” 

He crumbles again, knees buckling under him as the adrenalin most likely coursing through his system slows down and the sobs quaking throughout his entire body. Eddie catches him, guiding him over to the couch and letting him lean on him heavily. 

“You shouldn’t be near me! I’m dangerous! I’m a monster, an abomination!” William tries to argue but Eddie’s having none of it. 

“I don’t care what you are or how dangerous you think you are, you’re still my boyfriend and I love you and you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” He retorts. 

“You deserve to be with someone more normal.” William hiccups and Eddie can tell all the fire is starting to leave him, wilting fast. 

“I didn’t sign up for normal.” Eddie says quietly. “I signed up to be with you, flaws and all.” He thinks he sees the hint of a smile grace his boyfriend's lips. “Now, tell me what you need Will, I was serious when I said I wanted to help you.” 

William sniffles, worrying at his lip for a second before responding in a quiet voice. 

“Can you call me Billy?” 

“Billy?” Eddie repeats. 

“Yeah. I like the name Billy better.” 

“Okay.” Eddie nods. “I can work with that.” 

Billy smiles fully this time, and he’s beautiful, despite the tears still trailing down his cheeks and the cuts on his face. Eddie gently ghosts over one with his thumb and Billy hisses slightly. 

“Will you tell me what happened? Or at least how you got these cuts?” Eddie asks softly. 

“You won’t believe me if I tell you.” Billy mutters, smile disappearing under a cloud of gloom again. 

“Try me?” 

Billy sighs but nods. “Okay, but it’s a bit of a long story.” 

“I’ll listen.” 

“Well, I should preface this by saying I absolutely shouldn’t have broken into the house of a centuries old witch-”

[tiredwitchmachine]

Summary:

They’re sitting by the fire and Alice has a crush on Jen.

Written for Agatha All Along Week Day 3, Prompt: Unrequited

Fic Under the Cut:

Alice wants to kiss Jen.

This thought enters her head with the same impact of a sledgehammer to the face.

She’s been staring at Jen’s face for entirely too long, watching how the fire dances in the reflection of her eyes, and how her skin looks flawless even though they’ve been beaten up and tossed around and honestly just put through hell already with these first two trials. 

If she hadn’t been there to witness it all, she’d have sworn it never happened with how put together Jen still looks. 

Now, Alice is no stranger to having feelings for people- men and women alike - but none have caught her attention like Jen. She feels like she’s been bewitched, transfixed on her. 

Her attraction doesn’t just end at that, though. No, she finds herself drawn in by Jen’s sharp tongue and the banter they get into. She can’t get over how she pulled off both the reality TV star look in the beach house and the 70’s rockstar look in the recording booth.

And she couldn’t get over how she pushed past whatever was keeping her back from using her powers to make a potion to save Teen from bleeding out. They’d exchanged a look after they knew he was going to be okay, and Alice swore she felt her heart speed up at the way Jen’s eyes locked on her. 

Just like now, when she catches Alice staring at her from across the fire. 

The protection witch looks away, hoping the fire doesn’t illuminate the blush appearing on her cheeks. She thinks she sees Jen smile out of the corner of her eye. 

She wishes she had a chance. 

But she knows Jen doesn’t feel the same. They’re too different and besides, the potion witch was set too hard in her mission to get back her powers to even notice Alice’s looks for more than a glance. 

But she can’t brush off how their eyes locked together and her heart leaped into her throat at the idea of being with someone with Jen. 

Maybe once Jen got her powers back she’d have a chance. 

Just maybe there’s more to the looks.

Maybe after the road they could have a chance together. After all, who knows what’ll happen on the road next?

[tiredwitchmachine]

Summary: Alice meets the others in the group and opens up about her mom a bit (Chapter 2 to my Day 1 piece)

Written for Agatha All Along Week Day 2 - Prompt: Non Magic

(I'm not the proudest of this but I wanted to post something for all the days so-)

Fic Under the Cut:

Alice isn’t sure what she was expecting when Billy invited her to join his “coven” as he called them, but it certainly isn’t the group she’s suddenly found herself surrounded by. In her mind, they fit together like a mismatched pair of socks, and they bicker like they’re all in some kind of sitcom.

The leader of the group is clearly Agatha, with her air of authority and the fact that she introduced herself (again) as such. She dresses in all purple and keeps her wild hair up in a bun that’s barely being held together by a thin purple hair tie. Alice also takes note of the fact that half the things she says to people are just thinly veiled insults and she’ll smirk when she knows they hit the target. 

The next one she meets is Jennifer Kale, or Jen as everyone calls her. Like Agatha wore purple, her entire wardrobe seems to be pink, along with her backpack and lunchbox. Alice watches in awe as she bites back at Agatha’s mean-spirited remarks with clever comebacks, sometimes even meaner than what the purple wearing group leader said first. Then she turns to Alice and strikes up a conversation about her makeup and fashion, offering to hook her up with some new makeup products from a company Alice is 90% certain is a scam. 

Then there’s Lilia, who Alice immediately clocks as someone who’d fit right in with her mom's old groupies. She seems older than her years, not helped by the fact that she dresses in all thrift store clothes and sometimes forgets what she’s saying halfway through the sentence. The first time it happens, Alice nearly panics, until Billy explains that “she just does that sometimes” and “it’s nothing to worry about”. She’s not sure she believes him. 

As far as she can tell, Sharon just seems happy to be there. She dresses in all florals and has her hair in a bob. Alice is convinced she’d fit right in with anyone, and that’s why it perplexes her so much that she’s sitting around with this group of outcasts. 

And of course, there’s Billy, the reason she’s even sitting with this group in the first place. He seems almost shy at first, until someone makes a comment, and he almost instantly develops a sharp tongue to respond in kind. She can see now why he and Agatha are still friends, despite all her mean words and jabs, the two of them fit together in a weird way and she’s pretty sure they’re holding each other back from terrorizing anyone else. 

Last but not least, she meets Rio. Dressed all in green, she shows up late to the table with a flower in her hair and spider in a see-through cage she sets down on the table between her and Agatha, before immediately locking onto Alice like a predator to its prey. 

“For the last time, Rio, stop bringing that thing to the lunch table.” Jen shudders, moving closer to Alice so she doesn’t have to be close to the spider. 

“She doesn’t bite. Much.” Rio responds with a shrug, still looking at Alice. “So, who’s the new girl?” 

“This-” Billy breaks out in a big smile, like a little kid showing off a toy at show-and-tell. “-is Alice Wu-Gulliver!”

“She’s the dead rockstars kid.” Agatha stage-whispers to Rio and Billy gives her a glare. Alice’s stomach sinks at the comment, but she tries to brush it off, already knowing this is how the girl in purple acts. 

“Oh yeah, I think I heard about that somewhere.” Rio nods, still looking Alice dead-on. “It must suck, losing your mom like that. House fire, right?”

“Ho-hotel fire, actually.” Alice gulps and looks down at her hands. Despite not being close with her mom, talking about her death still makes her stomach twist into knots and her chest feel like it’s compressing. 

Another hand comes to touch hers and she looks up to see Billy, wide eyed and worried. Something wet rolls down her face and she realizes she started crying. Oh, she thinks, going to wipe it away. 

“Sorry.” She mutters, feeling all their eyes on her. “Didn’t mean to start crying.” 

“Hey, no one here’s going to judge.” Jen says matter of factly. “We’ve all been through stuff, some more than others.” 

“Yes, and losing a parent or a parent figure is never easy.” Lilia adds on, offering her a kind smile. “I lost my Maestra when I started high school and I was a wreck. She was practically a mother to me. I can only imagine the pain you’re going through, Alice.” 

“I lost my mom too.” Billy says quietly, as if not sure he wants to say it. “When I was ten. There was an accident, only my brother and I survived. We got adopted to separate families.” 

“I’m sorry,” Alice tells him. He shakes his head and a small smile returns to his face. 

“Don’t be. What I’m - we’re - trying to say is that you’re not alone.” 

“Ugh, you’re such a sap, Teen.” Agatha picks up a potato chip and throws it at him, hitting him square on. 

“What? It’s true! That’s why I brought her here!” Billy retorts, and the banter comes back, much to Alice’s relief. It feels nice, knowing there’s someone she can talk to- a group of people, actually, no matter how strange they are. 

“Hey,” Rio says, catching her attention again, still looking her dead in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you, earlier, with my comment I mean. I’m just fascinated with the concept of it all.” 

“The concept?” 

“The cycle of life.” The girl in green hums. “But I shouldn’t have brought it up.” 

“It’s fine, opened the conversation up at least.” 

“Did it help?” Billy asks, turning to her. 

“A little.” She nods. “You did good, kid, inviting me here. I think I could really get used to this group of yours.” 

“Really?” His eyes light up and Alice smiles. 

“Yeah.” She says sincerely. “Besides, it’d be cool to be part of a coven.” 

“We are not called that, stop telling people that, Teen!” Agatha exclaims, throwing another chip at Billy, and Alice watches as the chaos devolves again from there.

[tiredwitchmachine]

Summary: Alice is trying to adjust to her new school and accidentally hits a Freshman in the face with a door. Now she's stuck with a chatty kid who really wants to be friends.

Written for Agatha All Along Week Day 1, Prompt: High School AU

Fic Under the Cut:

Alice never envisioned herself sitting alone in a high school auditorium, surrounded by nothing but silence and the occasional burst of music that came whenever someone tried to connect their phone to their headphones and accidentally connected to the Bluetooth speakers the theater club used for their plays. 

Honestly, that’s about as exciting as things got in Westview, New Jersey. No one ever did anything, nothing interesting ever happened, and she found herself missing the thrill of being on the road like she never had before. 

A year ago, she was on tour with her mom, watching her perform shows for middle aged hippies and the occasional younger lesbian couple who had found her music through TikTok or some other ridiculous means. 

A year ago, she’d been living in the wings of the stage, watching as her mother performed shows for her adoring fans and wishing she’d give her own daughter as much attention as she gave them.

A year ago, a fire had broken out in the hotel they were staying at, and the next day the papers were rolling the story “Legendary Lead of 70’s Inspired Band Dead at 52, Killed in a Hotel Fire, Survived By Her Only Daughter”. Tabloids at that story up faster than anyone could blink. 

And now Alice is here, in Westview, living in the wings of a dingy high school auditorium and wishing she were back on the stage watching her mom. But she has to face the facts, her mom isn’t coming back, and she’s going to be stuck in Westview till she graduates - or until she’s 18 and can legally go wherever she wants. 

Letting a sigh slip out into the empty theater, she balls up the wrapper from her sandwich and chucks it into the nearest trash can she can find before moving towards the doors to the auditorium and opening them-

Right into the face of a passing Freshman. 

She watches almost in slow motion as he falls backwards, bringing his hands up to protect his face and dropping his obscene amount of notebooks and school work on the ground in the process. They lock eyes and before she can even think about it, apologies are tumbling out of her mouth. 

“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry!” She exclaims, kneeling down to help him pick up his things before he’s even fully recovered from being hit in the face with the heavy door. 

“It’s fine, it barely hurt- oh, ow -” He tries to reassure her but winces as he pulls his hand away from his face, a bruise already forming on his face. She tries not to wince along with him at the sight. 

She takes this opportunity to get a better look at him - he’s tall, gangly, and definitely a Freshman. He’s got the same look of innocence that’s slowly being snuffed out by the overload of homework and bullying from older students and teachers alike. Hell, she can practically see the target flashing above his head saying “bully me”, dressed in all black and wearing way too much eyeliner. It’s kind of a cute look, she has to admit, in the same way a kitten or a baby deer is cute. 

Before she can open her mouth to apologize again, though, he’s already opening his again, looking at her like somethings just dawned on him-

Oh no, she thinks, and like clockwork he blurts out-

“You’re Lorna Wu’s daughter, right?” 

Yep, just like clockwork. 

She sighs, running a hand through her black and red hair and nods. “Yep, that’s me.”

“That’s so cool! I mean, it’s so cool that your moms a rockstar- I mean, was a rockstar- I mean, shit, sorry, that’s probably really insensitive to say-” He babbles, words spilling out of his mouth like an unstoppable waterfall. 

Alice cringes, both at his words and his clear attempt to cover himself when those words come out wrong. 

“It’s fine, kid, really.” She says, cutting off his verbal vomit. He clamps his mouth shut and offers her a small smile. 

“Sorry, again , I didn’t mean to offend you or anything.” 

“I said it’s fine.” She says again. “Let’s just start over, okay?” 

“Okay.” He nods vigorously. His levels of enthusiasm almost scare Alice, reminding her of one of her moms groupies. She idly wonders what happened to them, before deciding she doesn’t really care that much. 

“My name’s Alice, and I’m sorry for hitting you with the door.” She finishes, picking up his books, handing them back to him. 

“Do not apologize, you had no way of knowing I was on the other side!” He responds before continuing quickly. “Oh- and my name’s Billy. Billy Kaplan. It’s nice to meet you, Alice.” He offers her a smile. 

“You too, Billy.” She can’t help but smile back. What can she say, the kid's positivity is practically infectious, and a striking contrast to his whole baby goth look going on. “Nice eyeliner, by the way.” 

“Thanks, my friend taught me how to do it, and I really think it brings out my eyes.” Alice can’t help but laugh at that. 

“I have to agree with you on that. It’s very, uh, expressive.” She takes a moment to find the right word but luckily it seems to only brighten the freshmans mood. She turns her attention to the books in his arms, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you think it’d be more useful to hold those in your backpack?” She eyes the dark blue bag loosely slung over his shoulder and watches as he turns an embarrassed shade of red.

“It’s kind of already full of other books.” He says sheepishly. “In my defense, I recently got really into witchcraft and the occult and stuff because my friend is super into that stuff - sidenote: she thinks it’s super funny that I’m into witchcraft cause I’m Jewish, I just think it’s neat, you know? Anyways, I’ve pretty much checked out every book in the library on witches and I was actually on my way back from there when you hit me with the door-” 

“You’re doing it again.” 

“What?” 

“Rambling.” She clarifies and then cringes internally. The poor kid probably can’t help it. “Sorry, I should've worded that differently.” 

“No, no, it’s fine, totally fine, I completely get it. My friend says I talk too much too.” 

“No offense, but your friend sounds kind of-” 

“TEEN!” A loud and bossy voice echoes from the end of the hall, cutting Alice off mid-sentence. She turns to look at the owner of the voice, spotting a purple clad girl with messy dark hair and a face that practically screamed trouble. In other words, she looked scary, and Alice knew better than to get involved. “There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Agatha!” Billy greets her. “I promise I didn’t forget about lunch again, I was at the library and then Alice hit me in the face with the door-” 

“Don’t tell her that!” Alice hisses, not wanting to cross this clearly scary and protective girl- a Senior, probably. 

Agatha, as Billy had called her, marches over to them and without saying anything grabs Billy by the face, inspecting his bruised cheek before letting go. 

“You’ll live.” She says, patting him on the bruised side of the face. She turns on her heel but not before she spots Alice. “Who’s this?” 

“Alice. Her name is Alice.” Billy says, a hint of annoyance in his voice at having to repeat himself. Agatha waves him off with a smirk and keeps her eyes on Alice, leaning in closer to inspect her. 

“Hm…I feel like I know you from somewhere.” She says, inspecting her face. 

“I’m-”

“She’s Lorna Wu’s daughter.” 

“Who?” 

“Uhm, the rockstar?”

“Oh yes, the dead one, right?” Alice cringes at her bluntness, as well as feeling a swell of anger in her chest. She’s not a fan of this Agatha girl at all. 

“Agatha!” Billy cuts in again

“What? It’s true!” 

“You still can’t-” Billy cuts himself off this time, taking a deep breath. “Just, be nice, okay? You can be nice, right?” 

“Fine, fine.” Agatha makes a ‘hmph’ sound and sighs dramatically. “I’m going to go back to the girls and gossip while you finish chatting with your new friend.” She emphasizes the word friend before turning on her heels again and leaving the way she came.

“Sorry about her.” Billy sighs, a far cry from his previously enthusiastic demeanor. “She can be a bit much.” 

“That’s for sure.” Alice mutters before taking a breath. “What is her deal?” 

“She’s a Senior, so obviously she thinks she’s the boss of everyone, but she’s really all talk.” He explains. “We’re kind of the outcasts, if you can’t tell.” He tries to lighten the mood a little.

“I can see that.” Alice nods. “But I can’t judge, clearly I’m not winning any popularity contests either.” 

“Well, if you want, you can come sit with us at lunch?” 

“After that? Hard pass, kid, sorry.” 

“Please?” He practically pouts, once again showing off his Freshman baby-like features. “I promise the rest aren’t like that.” 

“The rest? There’s more of you?” She questions, before remembering Agatha’s leaving remark. “Oh right, the girls.” 

“Yeah, we’re all outcasts- I’ve dubbed us ‘the Coven’, though it hasn’t really stuck yet.” He smiles sheepishly again. “Look, just come and check it out? Please?” 

Alice pauses before answering, weighing her options on an imaginary scale in her mind. On the one hand, she’s in no rush to talk to Agatha again, her remark about her mom just being the ‘dead rockstar’ making her want to seriously deck her in the face, but on the other hand there’s Billy - he’s sweet, young, and maybe she’d benefit from having at least one friend. 

“Fine.” She answers after a moment and watches the sheepish smile on Billy’s face go full Cheshire cat grin. “But I’m only trying this out because I think you’re kind of cool, got it?” 

“Really?!” She nods. “I promise you won’t regret this, Alice!”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Teen.” She says, though she can’t help but think that maybe he’s not. 

Maybe it’s time she made some real friends at this school.