Chapter starts out wholesome family content, followed by teenage emotions, probably write some angst in near the end.

If anyone's out of character, please lay off. I want to give Vee wholesome birthday content before we delve into the angst of Amity and Willow's… situation. Which won't be covered at the beach because I want Amity and Luz to meet before we get any awkward my-crush-is-in-a-bathing-suit flirting from them.

Hunter and Willow, y'all are fair game to me.

Vee couldn't sleep the night before her eleventh birthday.

For once, though, her sleeplessness wasn't caused by worry or anxiety or staying up too late reading under the covers. No, it was caused by excitement for an actual birthday party. She hadn't ever really had one before, at least not one with guests she knew and liked. This year was different, though, and she couldn't wait.

She kicked her feet in excitement, pulling the covers over her head at the thought of more than three people celebrating her birth in earnest. There would be cake and pizza and presents at the house that they'd all enjoy after a day at the beach, a sleepover with her siblings, King, Willow, and Gus, and it was all for her! She wondered what kind of presents she would get, and if Amity would be able to make it to the party (she said she'd try but didn't make any promises as far as the beach went).

With a giggle, she pulled the blanket down and stared at the glowy stars on the ceiling Hunter and Luz had helped her put up. She remembered them arguing over whether or not they should make accurate constellations and Luz sticking the adhesive to Hunter's hair in retaliation for him moving the stars she'd already put up in the correct shapes. They'd gotten it all up but Hunter had struggled to get the sticky putty out of his hair up until Luz came through with the peanut butter to get it out.

It had been a fun day.

And tomorrow was going to be another fun day.

Vee rolled over, deciding to close her eyes for just a moment…

…only to be awoken by rapid knocking on her door.

"Vee! Wake up! Mom made chocolate-chip waffles and if you don't hurry Hunter's gonna eat them all!"

"You're gonna eat more than me!" she heard Hunter retaliate to Luz's claim.

The youngest Noceda sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, putting on her fuzzy teal kitty slippers and rushing out of her room to make it to the kitchen where her mother was working on something at the counter. Luz and Hunter were both sitting at the bar counter, smiling as Vee climbed onto the stool between them. This was such a familiar scene for Vee; it played out every single birthday. But it didn't mean that she didn't love every second of it.

"Feliz cumpleaños, mija," Camila declared, turning around and setting a stack of waffles covered in whipped cream and syrup in front of her youngest. There was even a strawberry on top.

"Thanks, Mama!"

"You excited for today?" Hunter inquired.

"Yeah! I can't wait for the beach!"

She started cutting into the waffles and eating the ones her mother had so painstakingly decorated for her while Luz drowned hers in syrup and Hunter was fine with just the chocolate chips. In the middle of the three of them eating, there was a knock at the door that Camila went to answer. She returned with Eda, King, and Eda's older sister Lilith in tow. Without a moment of hesitation King hopped onto the only unoccupied stool and helped himself to some of the unclaimed waffles that sat on a plate on the counter.

"Happy birthday!" he declared before taking the syrup from Luz.

"I know we're early, and I apologize for intruding on your family breakfast," Lilith sighed to Camila.

"Oh, it's not a problem, trust me. I usually make extra as it is, so at least it won't go to waste."

"That's good to hear. Happy birthday, Valentina."

"Thank you, Miss Lilith."

"King was chomping at the bit to get over here," Eda chuckled.

"It's Vee's first birthday in Bonesborough!" he called. "I wanted to be the first friend to tell her happy birthday!"

"Mom beat you to it," Hunter informed the younger boy.

"That's why I said friend, blondie."

Hunter rolled his eyes and Vee started giggling.

"As you can plainly see, he takes quite a bit after Edalyn despite my efforts to teach him decorum," Lilith murmured.

"He's also ten, to be fair," Eda retorted. "Most ten-year-olds I've met are little monsters. Vee's the exception unless she's trying to read my mail."

"And she apologized for that," Camila added.

"And I'm almost eleven!" King yelled.

"Finish your breakfast so we can get going," Eda told her son.

"Okay, Mom."

Vee couldn't hide her grin as she returned to her own breakfast and finished it, putting the plate in the dishwasher before running upstairs to get changed for the beach. This included trying to get her long dark brown hair to behave, which Luz helped with by braiding it and tying it off with a bright pink hairband.

It was birthday party time and Vee was ready.

"Pass me the sunscreen."

"You got it, lobster boy."

Hunter rolled his eyes as he took the can from Luz and stepped back to spray it on himself. He still had memories of the last time he hadn't properly protected himself from the sun, and the angry red complexion and pain that followed explained Luz's nickname for him. It was part of being the only fair-skinned person in the family, he supposed. At the very least Camila made all three of them wear it, even if Luz attempted to run off before she could put any on.

"Vee, you're up," he announced, and his youngest sister stood up straight, holding out her arms as he sprayed her down with the sunscreen. Luz started coughing in an exaggerated manner that made both of them roll their eyes in response.

"Ha! I don't have to wear any!" King cackled. He yelped in surprise as Lilith sprayed some on him and whirled around to face her.

"You have to wear it, so don't pretend you don't," she said firmly.

"But… but…"

"No buts. Do what Valentina just did."

King groaned and held out his arms the same way Vee had. With a satisfied smirk, Lilith completely applied the sunscreen and then she nodded, signaling that she was finished. It had taken less than a minute, and he could get in the water in just a few.

"Any word from Willow or Gus?" Hunter asked Luz.

"They said they'll be here soon. Why? Anxious to see Willow?"

"No, I just want Vee's birthday to go well."

"Suuuuuure."

He didn't like the way she drew out that word.

"We're here!" announced Gus, running across the sand. "Happy birthday, Vee!"

"Thanks, Gus! I'm so excited for my first real birthday party! Thanks for coming!"

"You're welcome," Willow replied. "We dropped off your presents at your house before we got here. Your mom is super nice, by the way."

"Yeah, she's the best," Hunter stated, getting Willow's attention. He noticed that she quickly looked away from him, playing with her short hair and refusing to turn back to him.

What? Did I do something?

"Enough talk! Let's get in the water!" Luz called, quickly taking off her bathing-suit coverup and grabbing Vee's hand. The Noceda sisters ran for the water, Gus and King not far behind them as Willow took off her own coverup.

Hunter had to remind himself to breathe as his poor brain short-circuited.

He'd come to the conclusion that he thought Willow was pretty, yes. He'd figured that out pretty quickly because it was undeniably true. And yes, he'd also figured out that he liked her, just a little bit. Just a tiny little crush that would no doubt go away in favor of them having a friendship. But knowing he had a crush, and then seeing said crush in a (really cute) bathing suit were two different things.

"Hunter, are you okay?" he heard Luz yell from the water, and that snapped him back to reality.

"I'm fine!"

"Then get in the water, dummy!"

"Race you!" Willow told him, and they started running.

Lilith, on the other hand, sat down in a chair under the beach umbrella they'd set up and pulled out a book. She had already put on five layers of sunblock and was wearing a massive hat.

And Hunter thought he burned easily.

Once he was in the water, he quickly found himself with Vee on his back as she demanded a piggyback ride that he was all too happy to give her. She was small for her age but how much longer would she remain this size where he could do things like this?

"Luz! Your king demands to be carried, too!" King demanded, and Luz was quick to pick him up while he bounced excitedly.

"Ready, Vee?" Hunter asked.

"Ready!"

They took a deep breath in unison and Hunter fell backwards in the water, feeling the waves trying to move him and Vee towards the shore and out towards deeper water at the same time. He didn't let go of her, though, and then they came back up and Vee started giggling. It was another familiar sight for a Noceda beach trip, one he usually got scolded for by his mother until Vee started yelling for him to do it again and Camila would usually just sigh and warn him to keep a careful hold on his sister.

There was no scolding this time.

This time, he was able to let Vee get onto her demands for him to do it again without the warnings to be careful. He knew better than to let go of her, too, and he fell back again after taking a deep breath and making sure Vee had taken one, too.

A few more rounds of this typical game they did, and he and Vee were ready to head back to shore. Willow left the water with them while Luz, King, and Gus continued to swim and splash. Vee took the opportunity to start building a sandcastle while Hunter and Willow headed down the beach to look for shells to decorate it. Lilith had put down her book to help Vee with the structure.

(Hunter ignored the fact that walking with Willow Park like this felt like a date.)

"Vee really likes the beach, huh?" Willow inquired.

"She loves it. It's the one place where she really comes out of her shell other than the library. I think it's the air. It's clearer here."

"Gotta agree with that. It helps that this is a less-traversed section of beach, I guess."

She reached down and held up a white shell with ridges, one that looked like a lot of the other shells Hunter had found on the beach during his life. But somehow it looked different this time. He took it from her, then saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and ducked, pulling Willow out of the way as a frisbee flew across the beach and through where she'd been standing just a moment prior.

"Goddammit," he muttered.

"Oh, sorry, Willow! You're just so quiet I didn't notice you!"

His mother had told him to never punch people, but Boscha was trying his patience.

"Hi, Boscha," sighed Willow.

"Are you two here on a date?" gasped Skara, one of Boscha's little minions. She looked excited by the prospect.

"No!" they both blurted, each of their faces turning bright red.

"Of course they're not on a date, Skara. Don't be dumb." Boscha scoffed and rolled her eyes before giving Willow a smug look and smiling a poison-sweet smile at Hunter. "If you're free, you wanna hang out with us?"

"I'm not, and I don't want to."

"You're free enough to wander with Willow. Why not to hang out with us?"

"Because I don't like you. You're kind of a bitch."

Skara barked out a laugh before covering her mouth, Willow covering her own in shock. As if she'd never heard anyone speak to Boscha like that before now. But Hunter was losing his patience with this Hexside rugby captain who'd taken every single one of his no's as a signal to try again another time.

Before he could say anything else, another voice broke in.

"Hunter! Willow! Find any good ones?"

Vee came running up and then noticed the relative strangers.

"You!" gasped Boscha. "You're that brat from the library!"

"And you're the girl who doesn't listen."

Skara's laugh this time came out as more of a wheeze than anything. Boscha's face turned red with anger and embarrassment and Hunter silently held out his hand to high-five his baby sister.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Boscha, but we've gotta help Vee finish her sandcastle before we head back for cake," Willow stated, getting a little bit of courage. "It's her birthday."

"And as her brother it's my job to give her a great one," Hunter added.

"She's your sister?" Boscha sounded dumbfounded.

Oh my God. Why is that so hard for people to believe?

"One of them. Ready to head back, Tina?"

"Ready." Vee nodded. "Bye, weird lady."

"I am not weird!" screeched Boscha as they walked away.

Hunter made a mental note to buy Vee every popsicle she wanted this summer.

Luz was a romantic.

She was well aware of the fact that she had this tendency to believe in almost every romance trope in existence. Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, height difference, love at first sight, there's only one bed—she loved every bit of it, especially given her rather prolific profile for writing fanfic online.

Today, though, she was experiencing a trope for herself for the very first time.

Amity Blight was one of the prettiest girls she'd ever seen, and her heart beat faster at the sight of this girl walking into the Nocedas backyard carrying a brightly-wrapped gift. She had hair dyed seafoam green that was growing out to reveal the chocolate-brown roots of her real color underneath. And her golden eyes were lit up by the late-afternoon sun in a way that just made Luz's heart happy.

"Hello," Amity greeted her. "You must be Vee's sister. She said your name was Luz?"

"Yes! Am Luz, I am!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Thanks for asking!"

She leaned against the empty air and then promptly fell over, only for Amity to grab her wrist and keep her from hitting the ground. Luz chuckled nervously, making Amity giggle a little.

Keep making her laugh, Noceda!

"So, er, where do I put the gift?"

"Right over there." Luz pointed at the table where Vee's gifts had been set down.

"Thanks. It's been a while since I've been to something like this." She started to walk away, then turned to face Luz again. "And I think it'll also be nice to talk Azura with someone else."

Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my go—

"What's with that look on your face?" her brother asked, and she snapped her head to look at him.

"I think I just fell in love with a goddess."

"…you mean Vee's librarian friend?"

"She's so cool…"

She could practically hear the blonde rolling his eyes, and she pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Hey! I'm not making fun of you with Willow!"

"That's a different situation."

His ears were burning bright red, oh this was gonna be fun.

Or, it would have been, were it not for what they heard Willow say across the yard.

"Amity? What are you doing here?"

"Willow?"

Their voices were strained, like there was some bad history there, and Luz and Hunter silently nodded to each other before going over to do damage control. Just in case things got out of hand.

"Hi, Amity!" sang Vee, running out of the house and throwing her arms around the older girl in a hug. "I'm so glad you were able to make it!"

"When you gave me a handmade invitation, I knew I at least had to come to this part."

She was smiling, but that smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she glanced at Willow with something akin to… sadness? Regret?

Are Amity and Willow ex-girlfriends?!

"I did bring you a gift. It's over on the table."

"You didn't have to."

"It's your birthday. Of course I had to."

Vee led Amity off in another direction, chattering excitedly, and Luz looked to Willow.

"I didn't know Amity was invited," her first friend in Bonesborough whispered.

"She helps out Vee at the library sometimes. I know they talk a lot," Luz sighed. "I didn't know you two had history."

"It's a long story. I don't wanna get into it right now." She held up her hands. "It might ruin things for Vee, and I want her first birthday in Bonesborough to be a good one."

"She's only staying for pizza, cake, and presents," Hunter assured Willow, putting a hand on her shoulder. "That's all she said she could make it for."

"You talked to her?"

"I was with Vee when she delivered the invitation. You know Boscha apparently thinks I'm 'her type'?"

"Amity's?" Laughter crept into Willow's voice.

"Yeah, I'm not, it turns out. Her type is not guys."

Willow nodded, snickering slightly and looking better with Hunter's lame joke. Luz knew she just had to get this story out of her someday, but that day was not today. Today was a day to celebrate eleven years of her baby sister's existence, not discover the tragic backstory behind Willow and Amity Blight. Even if Luz had already developed a crush on the latter, she wasn't going to pursue it without the whole story.

Before too long, pizza and cake were brought out and everyone sat down to enjoy it. Luz noticed how uncomfortable Amity looked, fidgeting and occasionally glancing at Willow. And Gus, for his part, sent the green-haired girl an occasional glare that said he knew what was going on. But neither of them were very vocal about it. Nobody wanted to ruin Vee's day.

And it was a good day.

"You're sure it's him?"

"He looks just like his father. How could I mistake him for anyone else?" Darius set down his glass, massaging his forehead with his fingers. "Except the eyes and that gap in his teeth. Those are undoubtedly his mother's."

"I'm not saying it's impossible, but they sent him away for a reason. Why would he be back in Bonesborough?"

"You left town after your little breakup with—"

"I left by choice to pursue my career. Not because CPS took me several states away."

"He's sixteen now. More than enough time to have found a family to take him in permanently. They must've moved here."

"Do you think he knows Hunter's back?"

"He shouldn't. There's no way he'd find out this quickly unless he was tracking the boy's movements, in which case he would've dragged him back before now." Darius sighed. "I did find out where Hunter's living, though, and you can keep an eye on him better than me."

"How so?"

"He's next to the Owl House."

His companion's eyes widened.

"No. I'm not doing it."

"It's to protect a child. And don't pretend you don't still have feelings for Edalyn, Whispers. Very unbecoming of you after thirty years."

"I'm not going to manipulate Eda into a relationship to keep an eye on Caleb's son."

Raine glared at Darius, who sighed again.

"I'm not just saying it for that reason. You want to be with her again, don't you? This way, you can be with her and we can keep Hunter safe from that bastard."

"…she won't talk to me. Not after the way we ended things."

"Just think it over. All right?"

"All right." Raine nodded and fell back against their chair.

Caleb Wittebane's son, back in Bonesborough after so many years.

Raine could only hope tragedy didn't repeat itself.

Listen, the sunscreen argument is one I've had too many times because I'm not as fair-skinned as my mother. I very rarely burned as a child. As an adult who rarely goes outside, I make sure to wear that crap.

Luz and Hunter in her section of this chapter:

Luz: Hunter, help, I'm experiencing a romance trope.
Hunter: You fucking weeb, what does that even mean?

Also, I made Luz fall first. You're all welcome.

In all seriousness, I am a major fan of Hunter swearing just because it feels right for him? If that makes any sense at all? I mean, I swear like a sailor in real life and that's just how I talk. He's gonna keep swearing.

So long and thanks for all the fish!