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Hunter woke up to his alarm clock screaming loudly. He groaned and fumbled his arm over to his nightstand, almost knocking the alarm off of it before finally hitting ‘snooze’. He rolled over onto his back and stared bleary eyed at the ceiling with its crisscrossed Ws. He traced each one carefully before forcing himself to get out of bed. It was a habit he had developed ever since he moved in that he had to do each morning before he got up. Luz had told him that he probably had something called ‘OCD’ or ‘Obsessive Compulsive Disorder’. She had said she also had it and he could talk to her about it if he needed but he hadn't taken up her offer yet.
He rubbed his eyes and shoved on some random pair of jeans with wolf embroidery on them he did himself and his Cosmic Frontier graphic tee.
Today is going to be a long day.
His eyes drifted to the bright red tattoo of Flapjack he had on his right wrist.
All of the Hexsquad had gotten one to remember Flapjack's sacrifice and had each of theirs in different places. Willow’s on her shoulder, Gus’ on his ankle ect.
He had gotten it placed on his wrist to spite belos and cover his old sigil but the emperor's coven was something he would never forget in his life. No matter how hard he tried. He would never forget belos or that part of himself that wanted to believe his uncle still loved him, still cared for him, still wanted the best for him.
He knew better than to believe that. Instead he thought about how much his family and friends now loved him and wanted the best for him. He didn't need belos.
Ever since Hunter legally became ‘Hunter Clawthorne Noceda’ He had been flipping from living in The Owl house to living in the Noceda household. Usually he was just wherever Luz was staying but he could choose who he wanted to stay with. This week he was at Camila’s house with his sisters.
As much as he loved The Owl House, Camila’s house just gave him the feeling of family, friends, and good food. Plus, he was still only just starting to warm up to Lilith who usually inhabited The Owl House along with Hooty who was…an interesting tenant to say the least.
It was Hunter and Luz’s first day of college ever since the whole thing with belos. Sure, Hunter had been to school before, well not exactly ‘school’ per se he had been tutored by coven scouts, but college was going to be a brand new experience for him.
Thankfully, it was also Luz’s first day too so they could struggle together.
Hunter had decided to major in Palisman Carving and Potions since both of them didn't require magic to do. Of course, he would still have to do the basic classes like Runes, History of Wild Magic, and Boiling Biology but he didn't mind at all. He was just excited to finally be able to go to a real school with people his age. Maybe he would even make some new friends!
Luz, naturally, decided to major in everything so Hunter would have most of his classes with his sister. He didn't mind in the slightest however since he didn't have many friends outside of the Hexsquad and was extremely socially awkward unlike Luz who seemed to make friends wherever she went. Maybe her knack for social interactions would rub off on him and he wouldn't embarrass himself any time he was in public anymore. (Please!)
“Come on hermano! We should get going!” He heard Luz shout to him from downstairs. He snatched his patch covered backpack and ran out his bedroom door.
“Coming!”
He rushed down the stairs to the kitchen, almost tripping on the last step. He greeted Luz with a highfive-fistbump combo while she handed him a brown paper bag.
“Heyy, I made you lunch. I felt bad that you didn't have time to eat breakfast.”
He peeked inside the bag and saw a sandwich, apple, and cookie. He also noticed she made him a handwritten note. He could feel his heart swell and he gave her a hug.
“Thanks, it means a lot, sorry I woke up late I was up sewing last night” He explained slipping on his shoes.
“Noooo its ok I TOTALLY get it I was up reading Azura”
“Again? Didn't you just finish it for the eleventh time?” He gave her a quizzical look as she reached for the door knob.
“Yep!” She grinned at him, opening the door and racing out towards where the portal was.
“Race ya to the portal!” She yelled over her shoulder, still sprinting full force ahead.
“No fair!! You got a head start!” He shouted after her. There was no way he was catching up now. Hopefully his years of Coven Training would come through and he would at least get there soon after her.
When Hunter finally caught up to Luz she was panting clutching her stomach by the portal.
Pant “I-” Pant “Beat you..” Pant
“Yeah, yeah now why don't you scoot over and we can actually start getting to school before we’re late for our first day.”
“Eda won't care, she'll probably praise us for being late!” Luz giggled walking through the portal to the Demon Realm. Hunter followed in her trail laughing after her about punctuality and rules. As the collector stated: “Welcome to the Boiling Isles! Watch your step!”
The two siblings speed walked along the trail to the University of Wild Magic just in time to see Willow, Gus, and Amity waiting for them. Luz ran up and enveloped Amity in a big hug kissing her on the lips while Hunter caught up with Gus and Willow.
“So what do you guys have to do first?” Willow asked after everyone had greeted each other.
Gus answered first, stepping closer into the circle, “Well, my first class isn't until later so I'm just going to check out campus for a while before making my way down there.”
“Me too, say do you want to see what King is up to? I heard he's teaching the class on the new Glyph system!” Willow asked, taking Gus’ hand and steering him over to where King could be seen by a group of students studying a blackboard.
“Me and Hunter have a History of Wild Magic together here in a few minutes. What about you A?” Luz grabbed one of Amity's hands in her own and held it for a bit.
“Me? Oh, I have Advanced Abominations with Darius right now. OH SHOOT I'M GONNA BE LATE!” She screeched, breaking free from Luz’s hand and giving her a quick kiss before sprinting off in the opposite direction while almost tripping on a small demon child practicing plant magic. It only took a few seconds before Amity's figure was just a speck in the distance. Hunter looked down at his shoes and then up to the sky awkwardly.
“O-kay…well do you want to start making our way to class? I think it's Lily teaching us! Ooo I wonder if she’ll teach us about Deadwardian balusters!" Luz drifted off losing attention until Hunter grabbed her arm and led her to where their class was taking place.
“Come on, we had better get going or we’ll be late. I don't think Lilith will be as forgiving as Eda might be.” Hunter started looking back at his sister who was struggling to keep up with his speed. She winced slightly at his iron grip but just went with it following in tow. He wasn't trying to grip her that hard but it sure felt like it.
Geez this is gonna leave a mark.
“Look at that bird there! It kind of looks like Flapjack!” Luz had spotted a small red bird perched in a tree along the road while she was being dragged by Hunter. He abruptly paused however at her comment looking around. She couldn't read his expression but she knew he was either surprised, interested, or depressed. Maybe all three. She hoped she didn't accidently bring back a negative memory for him.
“Er- Im sorry I didnt mean to bring him up-” She looked awkwardly down at the dirt path kicking a few rocks out of the way.
“What? Oh, no its ok. I dont mind. I mean, I miss him but I know he's still with me” Hunter smiled at Luz but she could see the sadness in his eyes as he spotted the bird Luz was talking about.
“You know you can talk to me if you need, right?” She asked looking up at him as he eyed the branch where the bird was.
“Yeah..and you can talk to me too if you need.” He met her eyes and ruffled her hair lovingly signaling for her to keep following him.
Hunter was always good at masking emotions and when it came to Flapjack his years of practice always came in clutch. He often didn't even need to hold back tears since he rarely cried anymore. In the emperor's coven sympathy wasn't handed out. Especially when you hated most everyone around you. So eventually you learned that crying wasn't worth anything and was just a weakness. Now he knew of course crying was ok.
But old habits die hard.
He kept his head up and continued to lead Luz down the winding path with a firm grip on her arm so she wouldn't get distracted and delay them. Usually Luz’s distractions were welcome and interesting but right now they needed to get to class on time. If they didn't make it Lilith probably wouldn't be as nice to Hunter about it as she would be to Luz. It wasn't her fault though. He wasn't exactly a great guy when he was the golden guard.
They rushed into class just in time for Lilith to begin her lesson on The Deadwardian Era and why it was a good age contrary to popular beliefs. Luz and Hunter found seats in the back of the class next to a few other witches Luz knew from Hexside. They pulled out their notebooks and pencils to begin taking notes. Luz knew Lilith would probably give them a test the first week they arrived.
“Now, the history of Deadwardian balusters is quite important to this topic since…”
Lilith began talking avidly about balusters like the history buff she is, occasionally pointing at a diagram of different designs in architecture. She showed the class pictures of an exhibit on their extensive history she had created herself but Luz was starting to zone out.
Even though she knew she should be taking notes for the inevitable test she couldn't keep up with Lilith's rapid speed and began to doodle absentmindedly in her notebook. Soon it was filled with Azura and Hecate fanart surrounding about five sentences about the topic being discussed. She snuck a glance at Hunter to her right and noticed his notebook was already filled with freakishly precise handwriting and about two pages of notes.
Luz’s eyes widened but she quickly looked away once Hunter caught her staring.
I have to focus if I'm going to pass this class. I can't expect Hunter to share his notes with me.
She pulled out a pack of gum from her backpack. It was a Good Witch Azura special addition flavour called ‘Witchy Sparkle Bubblegum’ even if the name was corny it was still good gum. She unwrapped a square and popped it into her mouth. The taste was immediately heavenly and her taste buds danced with joy. She offered one to Hunter but he politely declined it so she just put the container back into her bag with a flourish.
Chewing gum always helped her focus better in class. It was a strategy she had discovered way back when she was in the fifth grade. Sadly, her teachers didn't always like the sound of her chewing it and made her spit it out. Little did they know that gum was actually the reason she got good grades. Whenever she chewed it her thoughts immediately locked in onto what her teachers were saying and when it came time to test she could easily recall the information.
She began to take notes.
Hunter rapidly scrawled notes down in his notebook on Deadwardian balusters, not even stopping to rub his cramping hand. He was used to filling out paperwork for his old job so taking notes was practically nothing to him. He was always on task and focused no matter what, rarely ever breaking his attention. It was only when he heard Luz softly chewing her gum that his attention faltered. He always had…well problems with sound.
Especially chewing.
He felt his hand start to shake but he just tried to nonchalantly place his left hand over his ear to block out the sound. It helped a little but the sound still echoed resoundingly in his ear. His breathing started to speed up and get heavier with each chew. He tried to slow it down but he couldn't focus. Not with that awful noise. He felt like he was going to cry or scream or turn around and choke Luz.
No. You need to calm down before you hurt someone.
He breathed in deeply but his chest hurt with the fear of the sound he knew was coming. His head pounded. He had to make her stop.
“Hey uhm..Luz? Could you maybe chew a little softer please?” He hoped to Titan she couldn't see him visibly shaking.
“Oh sorry it just helps me focus in class. I can spit it out though if you like.” She smiled at him.
That just made him more guilty. He could still hear her chewing. He really didn't want her to fail this class though and he knew if the gum helped her focus he was just going to have to put up with it.
“No uh that's ok if it helps you focus.” He managed to get out.
“Ok, if you say so.” She replied and went back to writing down notes.
Hunter couldn't focus on what Lilith was saying anymore all he could hear was that incessant chewing. Normally he loved Luz as a sister but right now all he wanted to do was to force open her mouth and make her spit out the gum.
Calm the fuck down, Hunter.
He was going to have to excuse himself before he lost it.
“Er, I'm gonna go to the bathroom really quick..” He practically ran out of the building and sat down outside the entrance. He curled his knees up to chin before he started to feel tears drift down his cheeks.
He was being such a baby. It was just some sound. No one else got all angry and mad when they heard someone chewing or breathing or snoring. What was wrong with him?
It took a while for him to stop hearing the noise in his head but he still sat down sniffling letting the shaking subside.
Luz was a bit worried about Hunter. He had been in the bathroom for quite a long time. She wondered if he had gotten sick or something. She had noticed he had begun to shake a little but didn't think much of it.
God, she was such a bad sister! She should have known he wasn't feeling good.
She packed up her bag and left class before walking outside to look for Hunter. She found him almost immediately curled up next to the door crying softly.
He looked up at her looking a bit frightened and panicked as he began to get up.
“Wait, Hunter, are you okay?” She asked reaching out for him. She noticed he seemed to have not so slickly covered his left ear with his hand.
“Yeah, totally fine I just had to use the bathroom. I should probably get going though-” He had started to back up away from her.
“Is something wrong?” She asked following him her eyebrows were scrunched up with worry.
He fumbled, “I- its- its nothing really”
“Hunter..”
“Ok, ok! I'm sorry! It's just- it's the chewing.” He looked down shamefully.
Luz immediately realized what was wrong and spat out her gum into her hand.
“It's okay!” Luz brought him into a big hug. Hunter sunk into it hugging her back tightly.
“Thanks Luz..we should probably get back to class though..” He let go before picking his bag up again.
“I'm sorry I was triggering you.” Luz looked a little sad but Hunter reassured her it was ok and he was fine. Luz told him that she would find something quieter to help her focus in class. Hunter thanked her.
“Is there anything else that triggers you?”
“Just loud breathing, pen clicking, scratching and snoring but it's ok if it's only once I can handle it then.”
“Ok, thanks for telling me. I can tell the others too if that would help you.”
“Thanks..” He smiled at her.