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After about an hour of training, Luz slumped to the ground and dropped her bat. "Enough for now!" She said while rubbing her sore arms. "Where did you learn to fight like that, Val?"

I sat beside her and dispelled my sword. "My family has a long history as monster hunters. Although we don't hunt as much as we used to, we still get trained for combat." As I talked I could swear that Luz's face paled for a second. But it happened so fast that I must have imagined it. "Anyway, I have a dress to pick up and a shower to take! Good luck with the dumbass trio!"

I stood up while blocking a fireball, most probably from Mittens herself, and turned to leave the front yard of the Owl House. "See ya tomorrow, dumbass." I said to Amity while leaning forward. "And good luck with Luz." I whispered to her before winking and finally leaving that place and, thankfully, getting away from that hideous Owl Tube.

The walk back to Bonesburrow was calmed and silent, a welcome change after the loud company I just left behind. Once I got into the city I made my way to the clothes shop where I had my dress ordered. After picking it up I went to pick up the boots I would wear with the dress and made my way back home.

Once there I was received by Byron, as usual, and he teased me because I haven't invited Willow to Grom. After rolling my eyes at him I told him that I would be in my room and to not disturb me until dinner.

Once in my room, I tried the dress and boots on, looked at myself in the mirror, and smiled. "Damn! Don't I look good?!" I chuckled and tossed my hair back with a smirk. "Then again, I always look great."

After carefully taking the dress and boots off, I hanged the dress and stashed the boots with my other shoes. After a nice, relaxing shower, and an amazing dinner, I went to sleep. Though it took me a while to fall asleep because I was worried for Luz.

She's strong and good with that bat, but I'm worried that, when the time comes, she won't be able to face her fear and run away. If she does that… well we'll be facing a bunch of Grom Spawns and that's the last thing anyone wants.

Grom Spawns are fragments that fall of Grometheus as he pursues his current prey. And, even though they are small, they can still take the shape of a person's worst fears and attack them.

With those happy thoughts in my head, I managed to fall asleep.

We didn't have school the next day because the school was getting ready to host the dance that's customary to hold before, during, and after the fight with Grometheus. So that means that I had a solid twelve hours of doing nothing but worrying about my friend and thinking of everything that could go wrong.

Around nine pm Amity came by the house since we agreed beforehand that we would get ready at my place. We made some small talk and joke a bit, but it was all just so that neither of us, especially her, would freak out about the incoming duel.

After we both got ready, and after saying goodbye to Byron, we made our way to Hexide where Luz, Willow, and Gus would probably be waiting for us. "You sure this isn't too much makeup?" I asked Amity on our way there.

"For the hundredth time, Val. You look great! Besides it's not like you're trying to impress someone, right?" She asked me with a smirk, clearly enjoying that she's finally able to tease me about one of my crushes.

"Well… maybe I am. Maybe I want to try and woo Willow tonight, make her see me as something more than a friend."

Her expression turns to shock before looking at me with a serious expression. "You're serious about her, aren't you? Like actually serious."

I sigh and nod. "And that's why I'm so scared… I've finally made another true friend beside you, not that I don't like spending time with you. It's just…"

"Hard to explain, I get it. It's the same for me with Luz, so I know what you're talking about."

I smile at her and then giggled. "Look at us! Two gay messes, talking about our hopeless crush on a pretty girl."

"Who would have thought?" And then we both burst out in laughter.

After that, the rest of the way to Hexside was calm, filled with small talk and laughter. That is until we got to the school. Just as we thought the trio of idiots we have the honor of calling our friends were waiting for us and, once I caught sight of Willow in her pretty dress, I swear that I could feel my legs turn to jelly for an instant. And it got worse when they turned to look at us and she smiled and waved.

Thankfully Amity was in the same, if not worse, situation than me since Luz was wearing a suit and Amity has a weakness for girls in suits (so do I, but Luz is not my type.) "Hey guys! We were waiting for you!" Gus called out to us while waving.

"Gus! You look nice!" Then I turn to Luz and chuckle. "You sure know how to clean up nicely, Noceda." Then I turned to Willow and I had to summon all my willpower just to be able to look at her in the eye and not stare at her body and the amazingly cute dress she's wearing. "Love the dress, Willow! You look great in it."

"Thanks, Val! I really like your dress, you look really pretty!" "Ahhh! She said I looked pretty! Okay, okay calm down. Don't freak out and say thank you" "Especially the boots, they look really good on you."

"T-Thank you." I said, thankfully managing not to make a fool out of myself.

After surviving that ordeal the five of us walked into the school and headed to the gymnasium where the ball, and Grom, were. The place was simply decorated: a few banners here and there, some blue and yellow balloons hanging around, and a few pretty lights floating around. Luz and Amity stayed behind, probably to have a small pep talk before the main event, Gus ran away as soon as we walked in to do Titan's knows what.

And so that's how I found myself alone with Willow, thankfully she wasn't feeling in the mood to dance right now, so we walked to the bleachers and sat there. We talked for a while, mostly about school and how each of us was doing in our respective classes.

After a while, I noticed that Willow was shivering a bit and rubbing her hands along her arms. "She must be cold… and she doesn't have a jacket with her," and so, without thinking it twice, I took off my jacket and offered it to her. "Here, you seemed a bit cold."

She looked at the jacket, then at me, then back at the jacket and took it with a smile. "Thanks. Truth is I was going to bring one, but with all the excitement, and Luz being a nervous wreck, I left it back home."

"Then thanks to the Titan that your good friend Val had one, huh?" She simply smiled and got it on. We talked for a bit longer before the music changed to a slow song and that's when a crazy idea came to my head. So, without thinking it twice, I stood up and offered my hand to Willow. "Would you like to dance with me?"

Again she looked between my hand and me and I could swear that I saw her cheeks go a bit pink. Though it might have been a trick of the light, I'm not sure. "I… I'm not a really good dancer."

I simply smiled and kept eye contact. "It's okay, I don't mind. I just want to dance this one song with you."

She looked at my hand once again and, to my surprise, she took it and stood up. "You better not laugh at me."

"I wouldn't dare." With that I led her to the dance floor and, after finding a good spot, I gently placed both hands on her hips and she placed hers on my shoulders. After that we began to sway gently, slightly moving at the rhythm of the song.

Up close I noticed how pretty her eyes were and… "Are those freckles?"

Alright, now she's blushing. "Yeah, so?"

"Oh, nothing! I just never noticed it until now. I think they suit you and make you look… cute."

She was about to say something else but got interrupted when the voice of Gus drowned it out.

"Alright ladies, gentlemen, and witches of all kinds, It's time for the main event!" At that, the crow cheers out loud and Willow had to get on her toes and scream at me.

"I think we should go back to the bleachers!"

I waited till the crown died down a bit before nodding. "Alright, lead the way." And so she took my hand (Ahh!), and led us back to the spot we were sitting before.

Once we took our seats and everyone was out of the dance floor, the center of the gym floor slid down to form a ramp and two walls lined with weapons appeared by the entrance where Luz and Amity were standing. After talking one last time with Mittens, Luz grabbed a sword and walked down the ramp, ready to face Grometheus and her greatest fears.

We all watched the fight and saw how Luz fends off every single attempt of Grom to scare her off. Things were looking great for the human. So, when Grometheus took the shape of a glowing door and a short woman stepped out of it and Luz ran away, we were all surprised. And terrified.

Luz had run away with Grom hot on her trail, and since they were moving, that meant Spawns. But my eyes weren't on the Spawns or the students running around in fear, my eyes were in Amity. And so, when she ran after Luz and Grom, I ran after her.

I heard Willow calling my name and then running after me, but I was more worried about Amity doing something stupid. We managed to get out of the gym a bit after Amity did, but that also means that we saw the moment that a big chunk of goo fell of Grometheus.

Thankfully Amity managed to dodge the Spawn and close the door behind her, but that meant that the creature was now focused on Willow and me. "Shit! We need to deal with it if we want to go after those two."

"I got this!" Said Willow while stepping forward, her eyes were glowing green and she seemed to be full of power. She raised her hands and then brought them together while closing them into fists. As she did that a bunch of vines grew from within the walls and rushed towards the Spawn and impaled it from multiple directions.

Sadly that seemed to do nothing to it because the Spawn simply shifted forward and began to slide towards Willow and then lunged at her with an extended tendril. Now if you ask me why I did what I did next, I wouldn't know how to answer. One of the first things that my dad taught me when he began to teach all about the family business was the "Aerin's Golden Rule": Every witch on their own, only a fool would sacrifice themselves to save another witch. So I guess that means that I'm a fool because, as soon as I saw the Spawn lunge towards Willow, I pushed her aside and stood in her place.

Sadly I couldn't react fast enough to make a blade and cut the tendril that touched my forehead and seemed to send something to the Spawn's main body and then wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me into the slimy body of the creature.

The last thing I heard before being pulled into the darkness, was Willow calling my name.

I slowly opened my eyes with a groan and looked around, but all I could see was darkness. I could barely see my own body and nothing else. Where am I? I… I can't remember much of what happened or where I was, my head feels kinda foggy and slow as if my thoughts were passing through syrup.

I looked around once again to try ad spot something in this deep, inky darkness. I tried to walk around but found that my feet were stuck to the ground, which meant no walking around for me.

"Hello?" Why does my voice sound weird? "Anyone here?"

But no one answered, at first. Suddenly I heard the sound of footsteps all around me, they were getting closer and closer until the form of Luz stepped forward.

"Oh thank the Titan you're here! Do you have any idea where "here" is?"

She looked down at me and her face morphed into one of disgust and slight anger. "I will never be your friend, bitch. You thought that I would even think of being friends with a bitch like you? Ha! How naïve." Then she turned her back on me and began to walk away.

"No… No! Luz! What are you talking about?! What did I do wrong?!" But she didn't answer me and, after taking a few steps, she disappeared into the darkness. "What… what is going on?"

"She's right, you know" The voice of Gus talked behind me and I had to turn my body to be able to look at him.

"Gus! Please tell me that you know what's going on!" But when our eyes met, I only saw anger and pity in his eyes.

"You really are naïve. Did you really think that you were a match for me? That we would be fighting for the top spot of the Illusions Track until we graduated? That you were a match for me?" He simply shook his head and turned around, walking away from me. Before he could go back to the darkness he turned to look at me, disgust clear on his face. "And don't call me Gus, only friends can call me that. And you're not my friend." And then, he was gone.

"W-What are you talking about? What… what is happening?" I could feel the tears starting to run down my face. "Why are you guys leaving me?"

"That's because they grew tired of you, Val." A voice spoke from my right and I turned to meet its owner.

"Amity? What… what are you talking about?"

"Are you really that dumb that I need to explain everything to you?" She crossed her arms and glared at me. "We are tired of your bullshit. Always joking around, always flirting, and always teasing. You never take anything seriously and we are done hanging around someone who doesn't care for anyone else but themselves."

I look at Amity, stunned by what I was hearing. "B-But Mittens… we… we are best friends. Together until the end, remember?"

"Well, not anymore. I don't need you. I have Luz, and I fixed things up with Willow so now I've got my true best friend back. You've served your purpose." And she turned around and left.

"No! Amity! Wait… don't leave me." I called out to her, but it was too late. She was gone. My head dropped a bit and looked at my feet. "Why are you all leaving me?"

"Because you deserve to be alone, Valyria." That voice…

"W-Willow?" I asked before looking up and finding myself face to face with my crush. She was wearing her school uniform and she looked at me with a smirk on her face. "Please… don't leave me. What did I do to deserve this?"

"You stood by. All those years of Boscha bullying me and you stood by and did nothing to stop her, and now you think that just because you apologized that makes us friends?" She walked towards me and stood just out of arms reach. I could feel myself shaking and my knees were feeling weak.

"But… but I-"

"Save it, I don't want to hear your lame excuses. Bitches like you deserve to be left alone." Then she turned around and, just like everyone else, she left me alone.

Hearing Willow say all that was the last hit I needed to break completely. I fell to my knees, crying and sobbing. At that, a bunch of people materialized around me and began to walk, but they all ignored me, passed right beside me as if I wasn't even there.

I was about to lean down and curl into myself when I felt something wrapping around my waist and pulling me back with enough force to pull me out of the darkness that was threatening to consume me.

The first thing I felt when my senses slowly began to come back was of something warm all around me, a distinct contrast to the bone-chilling cold I was previously feeling. It took me a while to register that I was being held by someone, but who was it? The second thing I noticed was the smell, the person holding me smelled like flowers and fresh soil so… maybe someone from the Plant Track?

"…'re going to be okay." Oh look, I can register voices now. "I've got you."

Wait a minute… I know this voice. It's Willow's. I like Willow, she's nice and strong, and she's carrying me? Maybe? I don't know, my brain is too tired to even have a proper gay panic at this moment so I'll just enjoy the moment. So, without an ounce of shame, I snuggled up against Willow, somehow managing to wrap my arms around her neck and put my head on the crook of her neck, tears still running down my face.

If my brain wasn't too gone, and I wasn't so lost in the moment, I would have noticed how much she blushed. But since that wasn't the case, I didn't notice that.

After a while, she stopped running and gently placed me on the ground. By this moment I had managed to recover, but that didn't mean that I was at my best. On the contrary, I was feeling like shit. Hell, I probably look like shit, crying and sobbing like a little girl with makeup running down my face. But Willow didn't seem to mind, because she stayed by my side while rubbing comforting circles on my back.

"Can *sniff* can you help me get to the bathroom?" I asked her after I cried for a bit longer, my voice was a bit coarse and raspy. "I… I want to clean my face up."

"Sure thing." She said with a soft tone of voice while standing up and offering her hand to me. I took it and she pulled me up with no problem. Now if I was in the right state of mind, I would have gushed about how strong she was, but I'm not so I didn't do that. Instead, she linked her arm with mine and led me to the bathroom.

After I cleaned my face up and got rid of the stains of makeup that were running down my face, we made our way back to the gym. Once there we realized that the Spawns were no longer moving and were starting to fade. I guess Luz managed to defeat Grom after all.

Willow led me to the bleachers and gestured me to sit down while she went and got a glass of water for me. I did what she asked and took a seat, putting my elbows against my knees and resting my face in between my hands. I was still a bit shocked by what happened, still recovering from seeing my worst fear coming true right in front of my eyes. I know it wasn't real, that it was the Spawn showing me what I feared the most.

But before I could continue wallowing in my sadness, Willow returned with a cup of water and sat beside mem handing me the cup. I took it with a small "thank you" and drank it all in one go. Then we sat in silence for a while before Willow spoke.

"Look you don't need to tell me about what happened there." Then she placed her hand over mine and smiled at me. "But I just want you to know that you can come to me and talk about it if you want to, I've been told I'm a great listener."

I simply nodded and stayed silent. She must have expected me to start talking about it, so when I didn't she moved her hand back and began to stand up.

"It's loneliness." The words came out of my mouth before I could even think about telling her, so I prayed that she didn't hear me.

"Huh?" Guess no such luck.

I sighed and looked down at the empty cup in my hands. "My greatest fear is being alone. Truly alone, with no one there to be my friend or support me. Sure I enjoy my alone time as much as anybody else, but it doesn't scare me because I know that I've got my friends and family there for me when I need them. But being truly alone? That terrifies me." At some point, she must have sat back down because we were at the same height now, and she was looking at me. "Why do you think I'm always surrounded by friends or people that are paying attention to me? Why do you think that I like being the center of attention most of the time?"

"Because that way people will notice you…"

"Exactly." I looked back at the cup and chuckled. "I bet you must be thinking I'm pathetic."

"Actually… I don't." I turned to look at her, surprised by what I just heard. "I think that you're one of the strongest persons I know. And I'm not talking about physical strength. What you did, just now, took a lot of courage and not everyone is brave enough to admit their fears and weaknesses out loud." She placed her hand over mine again and this time I couldn't help the small blush that creped onto my cheeks. "And what you did out there, although it was really stupid, it was also the bravest thing someone has ever done for my sake and I have to thank you for that." And then she leaned forward and gently kissed me on the cheek.

I couldn't help the shiver that ran through my body. I don't know if it was the cold or the excitement, but it made me shiver and my teeth clatter a bit. Must have been the cold.

"Oh? Are you cold?" She asked me with a worried tone of voice.

"A-A bit." Another shiver ran through my body and I rubbed my arms a bit to warm myself up. "The inside of that thing was really, really cold."

As we talked, the people started to return to the gym and, to lighten the mood, a slow song began to play once again. Suddenly I felt how someone placed something over my shoulders, and I was surprised to see that it was my jacket. I turned to look at Willow who simply had a small smile on her face.

"I think you need it more than I do." Then she turned to look at the dance floor and watched it for a few seconds before standing up and offering me her hand.

I looked at her with a puzzled expression, and she must have thought that I looked quite ridiculous because she giggled a bit. "Well, you still owe me a dance."

I stared at her hand for one more second before properly putting the jacket and taking her hand. "Then I guess I'll have to take your offer, Miss Park."

"Oh how generous of you, Miss Aerin." She said with a smile before offering me her arm. "Shall we?"

"Let's go." I answered while linking my arm with hers and letting her lead me to the dance floor. Once there we began to slowly dance not doing anything fancy when something caught my eye by the entrance of the gym. When I turned to look I found that Luz and Amity were walking back inside and… are they holding hands?!

"Willow! Look!" I said while discretely pointing at them with my chin. At first, she was confused, but she smiled and laughed when she turned to look at where I was pointing.

"Finally! Those two have been dancing around each other's feelings for weeks now."

"Mhm. And the best part is: Edric owes me some money!"

"Wait, you also made a bet with him?"

"Uh, duh. I'm not to pass up an opportunity to make some easy cash from the dumbest of the Blight's."

That comment earned me a slight smack on the shoulder. "Don't say that. It's not his fault that Emira took all the brains."

"And looks." Another smack." Oh please! Tell me I'm wrong."

She simply shook her head while giggling. "Won't deny, or confirm that. Besides she's not my type, and she's got her eyes on Viney."

"Oh, honey. I know. She's been crushing on her for months now." I decided to be a bit bold and smirked at Willow. "And she's not my type either. Besides, I've already got my eyes on someone else." Thankfully she didn't ask any more questions, because I'm sure that I would have confessed my feelings right at that moment.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. We danced, joked around, drank some punch (That it was definitely spiked), and even took some pictures. But nothing, nothing, was better than that moment I shared with Willow on the dance floor where it was just us, and nothing else mattered.