Chapter Text
Hunter excitedly rushed off to Hexside, flying on his wolf palisman, O'Bailey. Even though he had been attending Hexside for several weeks, he was just as excited every time he flew there as he had been the first day. Hunter entered the halls of Hexside, expecting it to be like any normal day, but something was… different. There were decorations at every corner, abomination-like balloons, and teachers and professors putting up streamers. It was definitely nothing Hunter had ever seen before. It was all very confusing to him. “Is something going on? Is it the principal's birthday or something?: The boy questioned to himself, mumbling it silently. Hunter quickly met up with Gus, Luz, and Amity, all of them excitedly chatting. To clear his confusion, Hunter curiously asked, "Hey, what's going on? The school is so… fancy today."
Gus' eyes lit up, turning to the tall blonde boy in front of him. "Oh, that's right! You've never been here for the biggest event of the year! Today is Grom!"
Although Hunter got the answer to what was going on, he still didn’t understand what exactly Gus meant, "What's a… 'Grom?' " He asked once more, tilting his head like a confused puppy.
"It's an annual celebration where the school holds a formal dance party!" Luz told him, "It's pretty romantic, too. People even ask each other out to Grom." grinning at the end, reminiscing about her dance with her girlfriend, Amity.
Hunter's eyes lit up, a clear look of excitement within them, "Oh, that sounds fun! Are you guys going? Is Willow going? I'd love to attend!"
Amity bit her bottom lip, knowing Hunter didn't exactly have the full picture, "Yeaah, about that. We're all going, but here's the thing-"
Suddenly, Willow raced up to the gang. Hunter instantly blushed upon laying his eyes on her, not saying a word. "Sorry, I'm late!" She huffed in between heavy pants, "There was a massive ladybug swarm on the way to school this morning, and I had to take the long way here."
"Well, at least you got here before the big announcement." Gus said with a relieved smile, "Oh, by the way, we were just telling Hunter about Grom!"
Willow gasped, "Oh my Titan, this will be your first Grom!" She beamed with stars in her eyes. She suddenly threw her arms around Hunter, pulling him in for a tight hug. "I'm so excited for you!" she exclaimed. Hunter's face went from somewhat red to deep, deep red, as he was not expecting this. She then let go of him as Hunter grasped his stomach, feeling a storm of ravenous, witch-eating butterflies erupting inside of him. Amity and Luz exchanged smirks, knowing all about Hunter's crush on Willow. Then Willow spoke again, "Let's just hope you aren't chosen."
Upon hearing that, all of Hunter's butterflies vanished and were once again replaced with confusion. "...What?"
Before anyone could say anything, the intercom went off, and the halls instantly became silent, "Attention, Hexside Students. This is your principal speaking."
Amity and Luz quickly threw their arms around each other for an anxious hug, "Oh Titan, this is it," Amity murmured, her heart stopping.
"Who will the Grom royal be this year?" Luz nervously asked, squeezing her sweet potato tighter and shaking out of impatience.
"This year, I have the privilege to bestow our highest Grom honor to…" Suspense filled the halls as everyone stared at the intercom, praying it wasn't them.
Then, it came.
"... Willow Park! Our Grom Queen."
Everyone in the halls gasped in unison and turned to Willow, eyes staring at the poor plant girl. She stared at the speaker with her jaw dropped and a look of evident terror in her eyes. Her hands trembled, her heart pounded, and sweat poured out of her pores. However, Hunter did not pick up on the signs, as a big grin overtook his face, and his red blush returned. "Oh my Titan, congratulations, Willow! What do you get to rule over?" he beamed with a toothy grin. Willow looked around, still seeing everyone staring at her. It was then that she couldn't take the pressure anymore, and she ran away. All of this puzzled Hunter. "Hey! Where are you going?" he shouted in confusion and worry. However, Willow did not hear him, and she was soon out of his sight.
Hunter was about to chase after the plant girl when he felt Gus tug on his cowl, "Hunter, you're gonna want to give her some space," he told him gently.
"What? Why?" Hunter asked, bewildered.
"Well, being Grom Queen isn't exactly a good thing," Luz explained.
"It's not?" Hunter questioned, dumbfounded.
"No." Amity confirmed, "I was trying to say earlier that this isn't just a dance party. It's also a battle scene. There's a monster that lives under the school called Grom, short for Grometheus, The Fear Bringer. Every year, it tries to break out, and the chosen Grom Royal must fight it to keep it from invading the town. To keep everyone calm, Bump holds a party and calls it a tradition."
"What? How come I never was taught this in the Emperor's Coven?!" Hunter gawked, stunned, "This is a pretty big deal, don't you think?"
Luz shrugged, "Belos will always be an enigma."
"Well, anyway, Willow is tougher than anyone I know," Hunter said with a grin, his heart skipping several beats as he imagined her strength. "She'll be able to take down this 'Grom' thing without a sweat."
"That's not it," Gus noted, "See, Grom can read your mind and manifest as your worst fears, and sometimes those fears can be deeply personal and embarrassing, and on top of that, the whole school will see them."
"Ooooooohhh." Hunter went, finally grasping the full picture. "Oh…" he went again, realizing now why Willow was so upset. Hunter began feeling sorry for her, as facing one's worst fears in front of the whole school must've been a terrifying thought. He had to do something, "Well, I'm going to talk to her."
"That's probably not the best idea, Hunter." Gus explained with a frown, "Willow needs time to accept this first. You should save the talking for after school."
Hunter frowned as his eyes drooped with gloom, and his shoulders slumped forwards. He knew Gus was right. "Oh, I see…" Hunter then sighed, still wanting to help the poor girl.
Luz frowned. She hated seeing Hunter sad, so she decided to do something to take Hunter's mind off the situation: "Hey, look on the bright side. Amity and I can help you out!" she said with a smirk on her face.
Hunter gazed up at Luz, confused about what she meant by that, "Help me with what?" he questioned with a raised brow.
Amity smirked along with Luz, knowing exactly what she was hinting at. "Oohh, you know," she egged on as the two girlfriends giggled.
"No, I clearly don't know," Hunter grumbled with a clear hint of annoyance in his tone.
Luz and Amity exchanged mischievous looks. Then, Luz spilled the beans, "Asking Willow out to Grom!"
The realization hit Hunter like a truck as he immediately became red-faced, "HEY!! Don't say that so loud!!" he barked, not wanting the entire school to hear.
Gus chuckled, as he also knew all about Hunter's massive crush on the wondrous plant girl. "Come on, Hunter. You know you want to," he teased with a playful nudge.
"I, um, uh, it's not that I don't want to--" the embarrassed blonde stammered, trying to recollect himself, "I-It's just I don't think that this is the right time."
"Waiting for the perfect time will end up with you never confessing." Amity pointed out, trying to convince him, "I mean, Luz asked me out while Hooty was having a meltdown and destroying everything."
"Besides, this is probably the best chance you'll get," Luz added on, also attempting to convince the bashful boy. "It could help her take her mind off all the pressure she's under. Besides, you've had a crush on her for how many months now? You gotta tell her at some point before you explode."
Hunter bit his bottom lip. He was sweating profusely, and blush was overtaking his whole face. Finally, he let out a deep, long frustrated sigh while rubbing his nose bridge. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll give it a shot," he grumbled.
Amity and Luz exchanged overjoyed looks. Luz grinned, "Fawn over this bad but sad boy while you can, folks, because this guy is about to have a hot witch girlfriend!"
"Shut up!!" Hunter almost screamed, his face burning like fire. "Do you want me to do this or not?!"
Luz chuckled, smirking. "You're gonna do it no matter how much I tease you."
Hunter paused, trying to come up with a comeback, but to his dismay, he couldn't think of anything. She had gotten him good, "Ugh, Titan-damn you! I hate that you're right!"
"Don't worry, Hunter, you've made the right choice," Amity reassured.
"You two will make such a great couple," Gus added.
Hunter let out an annoyed, frustrated sigh, knowing that now, just like Willow, he was dreading Grom. Worrying about how he would go about his confession, what he would wear, what he would do, what he would say… and it would be an entire day before it would happen. To make matters worse, Luz was going to tease and annoy him about this until the event began. Titan, what was he going to do?