"I hope all three of you are good, because that was our last stop. Only a couple more hours to go!"

Hunter slammed the passenger-side door shut behind him before buckling his seatbelt, rolling his eyes at the feigned excitement in his mother's voice. Luz and Vee were already buckled into the backseat, both looking excited to continue this road trip to their new home as their mother started the engine.

He still couldn't believe they'd had to leave Gravesfield.

It wasn't like it was for a bad reason, mind you. It was because Camilla Noceda was a damn good vet and she'd been asked to be the head veterinarian in a town called Bonesborough. So for the past few months, they'd been preparing for the move, packing their belongings and preparing to leave the first real home Hunter had ever known. He'd miss it, but Bonesborough was a chance for a fresh start for all four of them. Especially Luz, who he knew had struggled in Gravesfield to fit in and make friends. It would be good for all of them, but… he'd still miss it.

"So, I do have to talk to you three about the new house," Camilla said with a sigh.

Right. Because they'd been in school, they hadn't been able to go with her to check out the houses in Bonesborough. So she'd picked out the new house—four bedrooms, three bathrooms, plenty of space for all of them to do their own thing.

"What's wrong with it?" Hunter asked.

"Is it haunted?!" Luz inquired excitedly.

"Did someone die in it?" Vee questioned worriedly.

"No, no, nothing like that. It's just… well, you might need to adjust to the neighbors. I met the lady next door when I was viewing the house and she's more than a little strange. But it's a good place, I promise. And I'm sure all three of you will love it there. We'll have plenty of time to adjust to everything before school starts in the fall."

"Are we sure this isn't like season one of American Horror Story?" Hunter sighed. "Where we move into the new house and—"

"No spoilers!" Luz called. "I haven't watched it yet!"

"Not my fault you're late!"

"I just haven't gotten around to it!"

"Well, I was just gonna say that it could be that the lady next door could be obsessed with our house and wanna kill us so she can move in instead."

Vee let out a squeak and hid underneath her blanket. She was the youngest and the most timid of the Noceda siblings at the age of just ten, and the subject of scary stories often made her hide under a blanket she'd had since she was a baby. Her security blanket, Camilla called it, and Hunter often sent her under it by complete accident.

"Hunter." Camilla's tone was unamused.

"Sorry, Vee," he told his baby sister. She poked her head out.

"I don't like that show."

"We'll never make you watch it. I promise."

"Okay."

"Why don't you turn on your music, mijo?" Camilla suggested. "Just tune us all out for a bit while we get there."

"Sure. Okay."

He stuck on his headphones and turned on a playlist he'd made just for the trip before leaning back against the window. The landscape on either side of the interstate was almost nothing but huge pine trees and the occasional exit to parts unknown to him as of yet. Oh, and the road signs and stops that he knew didn't matter anymore since they wouldn't be stopping until they got to Bonesborough.

The repetition made him sleepy, especially combined with the hot and muggy Virginia summer, and he soon closed his eyes for just a moment to rest… only to be shaken awake by Camilla in what seemed like ten seconds.

"Hunter, we're here."

He sat up, his headphone cord leaving an imprint on his cheek from where it had apparently been pressed for the past couple of hours while he slept. Luz and Vee were already outside the car and he slid out of his seat to join them in front of their new home.

The house was two stories, painted a beautiful shade of pale blue and decently sized. Definitely bigger than their house back in Connecticut. And here, Luz and Vee wouldn't have to share a room. Everyone would have their own space.

"So do we take our stuff out of the car now or wait for the moving van?" Luz asked.

"We can start unpacking now so you three can claim your rooms. I know you're anxious to find out how big they are." Camilla popped the trunk open and held out her leg to stop Luz from getting into it. "We're doing this fairly, bebé. Let the others get a chance."

Hunter and Vee were each allowed to grab their duffle bags before Luz got hers, then they lined up at the end of the walk leading up to the house. Camilla smiled.

"On three. One. Two… Three!"

All three of them started booking it for the house, each desperate to claim their room and get the biggest one for themselves. And if Hunter blocked Luz to give Vee an edge, well, none of them said anything.

(Except for Luz, who called him a cheater.)

Vee wound up winning, but she didn't take the biggest room for herself like Hunter would have. Instead, she chose a smaller bedroom that was near the staircase, leaving the biggest room still up for grabs. It was a fierce battle between him and Luz, but he still ended up beating her to the biggest room and slammed the door shut behind him, leaving her with the middle room. Perfect for the middle child.

He could hear their mother laughing outside. Satisfied, he dropped his bag and headed downstairs to start grabbing more of his stuff. It was on his second or third trip that he noticed a kid watching him at the house next door. The kid had dark skin and white-blonde hair, looking very much interested in the three of them. He couldn't have been much younger than Vee.

"Uh, hi?" he called.

The kid blinked, then ran back towards the house next door and slammed the door shut behind him. Hunter shrugged it off; any kid would be skittish about strangers. It only made sense.

"Mom, Hunter cheated!" he heard Luz claim from inside.

"I DIDN'T CHEAT, MENSA!" he yelled back.

"YES YOU DID!"

Hunter let out a growl and ran towards the house to defend himself.


Night fell, and the Noceda family began to prepare for bed.

Naturally, since their dishes had yet to arrive, they were eating off paper plates Camilla had picked up at the store so they wouldn't get pizza stains on the floors. The truck had been delayed, meaning the sleeping bags they'd been using on the road were once again their most valuable possessions other than their basic electronics and toiletries.

"I'm sorry it's been such a long day," Camilla sighed, packing up the empty pizza boxes into a garbage bag.

"The truck will be here soon, Mama," Luz assured her, smiling. "Then we'll have all our stuff! Tomorrow we can focus on cleaning up!"

"Do you think there are spiders in my room?" Vee inquired, hugging her stuffed tiger.

"I already checked for spiders while you were brushing your teeth, cariño. There are none in your room."

"Good."

Luz smiled and jogged upstairs, passing by Hunter's room and sticking out her tongue. He stuck his out right back and she continued on her way to her room at the end of the hallway. It overlooked the weird neighbor lady's house, and frankly Luz was almost glad she'd ended up with this room instead of the biggest one. The neighbor lady, from what Luz had seen of her, was about her mom's age and one of the coolest-looking people she'd ever seen. She wore all this big jewelry and a dark red dress and these heels that Luz was sure she herself could never walk in.

Right now, said neighbor lady was out on a flat part of her roof, staring up at the sky. Luz was tempted to open the window and call to her but refrained. This was their first day in Bonesborough, her chance to have a fresh start and make some real friends like her mother always wanted. Not to mention she might scare the lady and make her fall. She didn't want the lady to get hurt.

Tomorrow. I'll talk to her tomorrow, when we're both on the ground.

For now, she needed to settle into her sleeping bag and get ready for a full day of cleaning in preparation for the rest of their furniture arriving. It had been a long day, like Mama said, and she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next day mostly consisted of sweeping out dust and dirt until the truck arrived in the afternoon, and from there it was a flurry of directing the movers and getting her boxes up to her room. Oh, and assembling her bedframe. Camilla hadn't bought her a new one like she had for Vee. Instead, her bunk-bed had been turned into a loft bed, the space underneath it becoming a space for her desk and her books. It definitely gave her more space than the old house, especially since she didn't have to share with her baby sister.

As much as she loved Vee, she needed her own space.

"Not bad," Hunter said from the doorway.

"Not bad? I think you mean awesome. Once I get my posters up, it'll be perfect."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Mom's heading to the store tomorrow since we have our fridge now. Do you need anything?"

"Nothing in particular. I mean, this is Virginia. They might have all sorts of weird stuff we didn't have back in Connecticut. I'll decide when we go to the store with her."

"Cool."

"Did you need anything else?"

"…did you notice the neighbor kid today?"

"Neighbor kid?"

"Next door, where the weird lady lives. I think he's her son. He keeps staring at me when I'm outside."

"How old is he?"

"Dunno. He looks younger than Vee, though."

"Aw, a new friend for her! That's awesome!"

"Maybe."

"I'll have to ask her if I can babysit him when she needs someone to watch him!"

"Sure. Just keep me out of it… unless the pay is good. Then tell me."

"No way! If the pay's good, I'm keeping the job for myself!"

He rolled his eyes and turned to leave, flipping her off behind his back. She couldn't help but roll her own eyes in response. At least Hunter was the same. Her attention went back out the window, where she could see the neighbor lady was on the ground and watching a little boy run around. That must've been the kid Hunter was talking about.

He's kind of adorable! I really hope she'll let me babysit!

Well, she wanted to meet the neighbors anyway. What better time than the present?


Vee had never been much of a people person.

Hunter and Luz were both much more outgoing than she was, neither having many friends but neither really having a problem with interacting with people. Vee, on the other hand, was shy. Painfully shy. So the idea of moving from Gravesfield to Bonesborough hadn't sat well with her for the fact that it would mean starting over at a new school, with new kids she didn't know and a new set of teachers who had never taught Nocedas before. At the very least, she wouldn't be compared to the athletic Hunter or the creative Luz in her classes. Nobody knew who they were here.

So, she made up her mind. Until school started, she was going to stay home and play games in her room. That would ensure that the first time she met anyone close to her age, she would be at school and nobody would make fun of her for sitting quietly with books at the park.

That had been the plan.

Then Luz had dragged her out of the house to meet their new neighbors towards the end of their second day in Bonesborough and suddenly, that plan was scrapped. Her older sister knocked on the door, holding onto Vee's hand tightly so she couldn't run off.

As they waited for someone to answer, Vee noticed the doorknocker was in the shape of an owl. It looked really cool. She wondered where the lady had gotten it, and if it would be possible to get a cool doorknocker for their new house.

The door opened and Vee got her first look at the neighbor lady.

She was tall with pale skin and gray hair, her eyes a pretty golden color that matched a gold tooth Vee could see sticking out against dark red lipstick. She wore a dress that was the same shade of red and heels that Vee was pretty sure would break Luz's ankles if she tried to walk in them. And she had a kind smile waiting as she took in the two kids on her doorstep.

"Well, you two must be Nocedas. I was wondering when you'd come over."

"We've been busy," Luz replied. "I'm Luz, and this is…"

She gestured to Vee, and the neighbor looked straight at her.

"Oh! I'm… Vee…" her voice trailed off and the lady sighed.

"A shy one, eh. Can't blame ya. I'm Eda Clawthorne."

"Who's at the door?" called a voice from deeper in the house.

"Two of the new neighbors! Come say hi!" She turned back to the girls. "I've got a son about Vee's age. He could use a friend."

"So could Vee!"

"I'm okay," Vee mumbled.

"Nope, you're new. That means new friends, whether you like it or not. Someone's gonna try to be friends with you." Luz gave her a comforting squeeze, and then the neighbor's son appeared from behind her.

"These are my new subjects?" he inquired.

"This is Luz, and that's Vee. Be nice."

"Hello, Luz and Vee," he greeted the two. "I'm King Clawthorne. The ruler of Bonesborough! If you please me, I might welcome you into my court!"

He's weird. I kinda like it.

"Hello, my liege," Luz replied, bowing. She elbowed Vee to do the same.

"Yes! Obey your king!"

"Okay, time to knock it off." Eda flicked the back of his head gently. "We've gotta get going, girls, or we'd talk longer. Unfortunately we have dinner at my parents' tonight. We were getting ready to go when you got here."

"Oh. Sorry to bother you," Vee mumbled.

"It's no bother. Trust me. Byeeee!"

She closed the door after Luz and Vee had said their own goodbyes, then the Noceda sisters headed back towards the house.

"I can see why Mom said she was okay," Luz commented. "I think we're gonna like it here."

"Yeah. Maybe."

"Hey. We're gonna be fine. Worst comes to worst, you have me and Mom and Hunter."

"But you're older. I'm scared to start at a new school."

"Me, too. That's why we've gotta stick together. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Race you home!"

Vee ran to keep up with Luz, and she heard Eda back out of her driveway behind them as they made their way towards the house. Their new home.

It was a fresh start, for all of them.


A bit of a human AU, with a Noceda sibling twist. And yes, I put an age gap between Luz and Vee because I wanted to. She's now a cute ten-year-old who runs after her high-school siblings.

Next time we'll explore this version of Bonesborough and meet more of the cast!

So long and thanks for all the fish!