Hexside time, baby! Featuring Boscha bullshit because I honestly have nothing better to do.

Side note: my description of the uniforms sucks, but I'd love to see someone draw it, pretty please? Any edition I describe. I'm on Tumblr under the name kammieceleek so you can just tag me if you wanna.

Luz shot up in bed as soon as her alarm went off.

It was their first day of school at Hexside and she didn't want to be late as she rushed into the hallway. Her first stop was Hunter's room, where she started knocking on the wood furiously to wake him up.

"Go back to sleep, you absolute nerd! It's six in the goddamn morning!" she heard him yell, sounding very much like he needed an extra thirty minutes of sleep.

She didn't, though. She had to shower, put on her uniform, help poor Vee get up (somehow she was even less of a morning person than Hunter), and make sure to eat a good breakfast before school started at eight that morning. That only gave her an hour and a half to work with!

It didn't take long for her to put on the white button-down shirt and the dark blue pants that made up the uniform for Hexside, complete with the school's logo in yellow on the shirt and a dark blue plaid tie. She could have also worn a dark blue plaid skirt, but she'd decided she liked the pants better. There was still one hanging in her closet, though, just in case she ever changed her mind on that front.

From there it was another dash to the kitchen to start the coffeemaker for Mom and Hunter and make her own breakfast so she could face the day in top form. Camila was the first to join her, giving her a kiss on the hairline.

"Morning, mija." She turned towards the stairs. "Hunter! Vee! We're leaving in half an hour!"

The two more-morning-oriented Nocedas prepared their breakfasts before the two grumps came down to join them. Both of them were also wearing Hexside uniforms, but Vee's had a blue polo instead of a white button-down since it was the elementary-school version of the uniform. She also wore the khaki uniform skirt that came with that version of the uniform for girls. Luz was grateful that the high school skirts were at least blue plaid instead of khaki.

"I'm not looking forward to this," Hunter muttered, pouring himself a cup of coffee and adding just the smallest splash of creamer. "This is gonna suck."

"Are you sure? We're in the same homeroom."

"Oh, yeah, being in the same homeroom as my little sister. That's great."

"I didn't mean just me. Willow's in it, too."

She started snickering as Hunter choked on his coffee slightly, his ears and cheeks burning red at the mention of her new friend who he definitely didn't have a crush on, no way. Well, she wished she could think of it that way, but Hunter just had to be that brother who didn't deny his crush in the slightest. Instead he just changed the subject away from the object of his affection.

"How do you know that?"

"We all have the same teacher, duh. You didn't ask her?"

"We've… been busy. Discussing roller-derby. We have tryouts coming up and we're still trying to find people for the exhibition team, so—"

"It's too early for this," Vee groaned, thumping her head against the counter.

"At least talking about roller-derby woke you up," chuckled Camila. "Hurry up and finish so we can get going."

After a little more scrambling and a lot of 'hurry up, we're gonna be late', the Nocedas finally made it out the door. Camila got into her car, waving goodbye to all three of them while blowing kisses before she finally backed out of the driveway and headed off to the clinic. They were swiftly joined by a reluctant King, who looked even sleepier than Vee was as Eda waved goodbye from her porch before slamming the front door shut behind her.

"Why does school start so early?" King grumbled.

"Because we have to learn when our brains are fresh!" Luz stated. "Education is the most—"

"Too early for your pro-education rants, dork," Hunter sighed. "Let's just get to the school."

Their walk to Hexside was an easy one, only made difficult by the two elementary-schoolers who were both not morning people. But they made it to the building, one that looked more like some kind of castle than the school they'd gone to back in Gravesfield. Luz fell in love with it immediately, wondering how old the building was and if it had always been a school.

"Hey, Hunter!" called a girl's voice.

"Ugh, not her," Hunter grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Coming up behind them was a tall girl with dark pink hair tied in a bun on top of her head. Immediately she was giving off 'I am the alpha female and you peasants will bow before me' vibes, vibes that Luz immensely didn't like. Especially since this girl was smiling at Hunter like she wanted to eat him.

"Boscha," he stated curtly.

"So. You made it into Hexside. Maybe I can show you around since you're new and all."

"We've gotta get to homeroom," Luz interrupted. "Right, Hunter? Willow's probably waiting on us."

"Who are you, exactly?" This Boscha girl narrowed her eyes at Luz.

"I'm Luz. Hunter's little sister."

"No, that one's his little sister." Her eyes were on Vee, who was hiding behind their brother.

"You can have more than one younger sibling, you idiot," muttered Hunter. "Besides, yeah, Willow's waiting. I have a few ideas I wanted to run by her anyway."

"See ya, Boscha!" called Luz as she and her siblings made it to the front steps of the school. She could hear Boscha letting out a frustrated scream behind her.

Oof. Glad I'm not like that.

Inside, there were already students milling around before homeroom. Vee broke off from them to go find her own classes, which were located in a different wing of the building. This meant that Hunter and Luz just had to navigate to their homeroom class and they could begin their new school careers at Hexside. Luz stared up at the ceiling as she marveled at the sheer height of it. Was this seriously some kind of former castle?

She wasn't paying attention and someone smacked into her, crashing to the ground.

"Ow!" yelped a familiar voice. She looked up to see none other than Amity Blight trying to pick up the books that had fallen from her arms. "Dammit, on the first day…"

"Amity?"

"Luz?"

No. No. No, this couldn't be happening. There was no way Luz had just smacked into Amity and knocked her to the floor the first time they'd seen each other in three weeks, right? Not to mention she looked really good in the school's uniform and—

Oh my God, focus, Noceda!

"Nice one, torpe," Hunter commented.

"You hush!" she ordered, gathering up more of Amity's books. "Amity, I'm so sorry. I was just…"

"I know, it's a lot the first time you really walk in."

They both got to their feet and Luz hesitated for a moment, swinging her arms awkwardly. She heard Hunter groan.

"Come on, we gotta get to homeroom. Nice seeing you, Blight."

"Nice seeing you, too."

Luz waved lamely as Hunter dragged her away.

"Oh my God, did I really just do that?" she asked him, covering her face.

"Yep. You're a mess."

"She's so pretty! How am I not supposed to be a mess around her?!"

"No clue. I don't have that problem. I've never had that problem."

"Oh, hey, Willow!" she called, and Hunter's legs almost went out from under him. She caught him with a snicker as he blushed in embarrassment upon realizing that Willow wasn't there.

"Not funny."

"Now we're even."

"I hate you. You know that, right?"

"Aw. I hate you, too."

They continued onward to homeroom.

Hopefully the day would get better from there.

By lunchtime, Hunter was ready to go home.

He'd spent most of the day so far in class, as he'd expected, but what he hadn't expected were the whispers and rumors that were already flying around him. Most of them were coming from people he knew to be members of Boscha's little army of minions, and they were all rumors about where he'd come from and how he was 'such a bad boy type'. Gossip about how he'd gotten the scar on his face. Stupid giggling when he turned to glance at those who were whispering to each other behind his back or beside him or wherever they happened to be. It was sickening teen-drama bullshit and he could do without it, please and thank you very much.

Currently he was the first of their friend group to arrive in the cafeteria, pulling out the lunch he'd packed that morning while he waited for Luz, Willow, and Gus to join him. Willow had walked with him, separating to go through the lunch-line and get her tray. Gus and Luz were both coming from the arts wing, which was further away than the biology class he and Willow had just gotten out of. She'd been assigned to be his lab partner by sheer chance, which meant that they would be doing the projects together this semester. Not that he was complaining, no chance in hell he was complaining about being partnered with the girl he liked.

A tray clacked down on the table, and he glanced up with a half-smile, expecting to see Willow.

His happy train of thought was derailed into annoyance as he realized it was Boscha.

"Hey, Hunter, so we got off to a rough start this morning. I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you to help you adjust to Hexside."

"I'm sorry, has the phrase 'leave me alone' changed meaning?" he sighed. "I don't want your help."

"Aw, you say that, but if you wanna have any kind of social life at this school, you have to be in my good graces. I'm the star captain of our rugby team, I'll have you know. So that's why I'm eating lunch with you."

"What, do you want me on your team?"

"I mean, you're pretty tough-looking. I bet you'd look great out there on the field. We'd be amazing partners."

Her fingers tapped across the table, resting on his lunch-bag. He moved it so she couldn't touch it. It might get contaminated with whatever mental block she had that refused to allow it to sink in that he wasn't interested in her.

"No thanks. Now, can you please leave? Willow's gonna be here any minute and she doesn't deserve to deal with your bullshit."

Boscha huffed but didn't move. And it was at that moment that the universe decided that it was the absolute best time for Willow to finally get her food and come to join him. She didn't even set down her tray as she stood three feet away from the table, glancing between him and Boscha.

"Hey, Hunter, I… um…"

"We're busy. Eat somewhere else," Boscha instructed.

Okay. Fuck you.

"Good idea," Hunter agreed.

The smirk on her face said that she'd just claimed victory, but he took a strange sort of pleasure in seeing that smirk fade as he packed up his lunch and stood up with his belongings.

"We'll eat somewhere else. Bye."

"What?!"

"Come on, Willow."

"Okay." She dashed to keep up with his longer stride as he went to a table further away, her face lighting up in a way that just made his heart absolutely melt. "Thanks for this."

"It's like I said at the beach—she's a bitch and you shouldn't have to deal with her."

"She's had it out for me for so long." Willow set down her tray and Hunter began unpacking his lunch for the second time. "Her and her friends. I don't know what I did. I mean, she's friends with Amity."

"Blight's friends with her?"

"Yeah. They started hanging out after she and I…" Willow's voice trailed off. "It's not important. I have friends who will stand up for me, like you. And Gus and Luz."

"If she bugs you, let me know. I don't care that she's star whatever-the-hell. Why do people think that's impressive?"

"I'm not an expert, but I think she has a crush on you."

"No, really, ya think?" She started giggling and the sound was music to his ears.

Fucking hell, Noceda, you got it bad.

"Is it true that you got your scar in a fight?!"

Hunter jumped as Gus set down his stuff, sliding into an empty seat with ease.

"Holy shit, Augustus!" he hissed.

"What? And watch your language."

"Not much of a chance of that," Luz sang, making her own appearance. "He's got a big vocabulary."

"You shut up."

"Make me." She narrowed her eyes with a smug expression.

"So. Is it true about your scar?" Gus pressed.

"No. It's not. I have no clue how I got this one." He pointed at the one on his face. "I've had it for as long as I can remember."

"He had it when he came to live with us," Luz confirmed. "And we never knew how he got it. At least, Mom and Dad never told us."

"You have more scars? You said you have no idea how you got that one, but—"

"Gus…" Willow said in a warning tone.

"Yeah, kinda don't wanna talk about it."

Unconsciously Hunter touched the one on his head. Nobody could see that one, so they never asked about it. Meanwhile the one on his face was front and center and one of the first ones people saw. Well, it was on his jaw and off to the side, but still. It wasn't a normal scar or birthmark that could just be explained away with 'car accident' like the one on his head.

"Boscha has a crush on Hunter," Willow blurted in an effort to break the awkward silence that had descended.

"Wow, how'd you do that?" Gus questioned.

"I didn't. She's got a skull denser than lead and doesn't understand the phrase 'leave me alone'."

"Sounds about right, based on what I've heard about her," Luz agreed. "I was talking to this girl in one of my classes—she's super sweet, by the way—and she said Boscha's into people who give her a challenge. The more they turn her down, the more she likes them."

"Who were you talking to who had that information?" Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"Skara."

"Ah, the least of the evils," Gus affirmed. "Honestly, I dunno why she hangs out with Boscha."

"She's cool," Willow agreed. "Like, at least she doesn't make fun of me."

"Oh! And she also said that she hopes you're happy together."

Everyone glanced at her in confusion.

"Sorry. She hopes you two are happy together." She pointed between Hunter and Willow and they both froze. "And I had to tell her 'you know they're not dating, right?' and she just said 'but they look like such a cute couple already'."

"I'm going to hide your Azura books, I swear to God."

"Where did she even get the idea we're a couple?" Willow squeaked, her face bright pink.

And Hunter was officially done with school for the day.

The day was only halfway over.

One thing that was certain now that school was in session: King was going to come over more often.

He was already at their house almost every day, but he spent very little time inside it. Most of the time he came to pick up Vee for a day at the Owl House, or Luz would be babysitting him. Now he came over so he and Vee could do homework together, navigating the difficulties that happened to be fifth grade. Hunter and Luz had their own issues that came from being old high-schoolers. Fifth grade was cutthroat, like the bosses in Hunter's game, and home was to be their respite.

"Mom's been talking to Raine a lot more," King stated as they worked on their first-day homework—an 'All About Me' worksheet.

"How's that going?"

"Eh. She seems happy. I don't know why they broke up in the first place but it looks like they fixed it. Moms dating seems weird, though."

"Mom hasn't dated anyone since Dad." Vee swung her legs as she wrote down an answer.

Do you have any pets?

We have a cardinal named Flapjack. He rides on my shoulder like a parrot sometimes.

"Why?"

"Luz says it's because Dad was the love of Mom's life and nobody's ever gonna take his place. Hunter agrees with her, which is why I think that she's right. They don't agree on a lot."

"It's because Hunter knows Luz is the superior sibling to him. You're the superior to both of them, which is why you're my trusted advisor."

"But of course!" She smiled. "What is a king without his advisor?"

"Nothing! He makes bad decisions and has to take responsibility!"

"Exactly!"

She grinned broadly.

"Hey, what'd you get for number eight?"

"I put 'pink'."

"I got seven."

"The question is asking what your favorite color is. Your favorite color is a number."

"My favorite can be a number." He shrugged. "Red's my favorite color, though. It's the color of blood and destruction."

"Maybe you should play some of Hunter's games when we get older."

"Maybe."

They heard the front door open and the sound of keys being hung on a hook in the entranceway. A few moments later her mother entered the kitchen.

"Hi, Mama! What's for dinner?" called Vee.

"Oh, hello, mija. King. You're having pizza tonight."

"We are?" She tilted her head. "Why?"

"One moment." She turned towards the stairs. "Luz! Hunter! Can you both come down here, please?"

There was the sound of doors opening and closing and feet on the stairs as her siblings emerged into the space between the living room and kitchen. Camila greeted them both warmly.

"What's up, Mom?" Luz asked.

"You two are in charge tonight," she told them.

"What's going on?" Hunter inquired.

"Eda invited me out tonight with a couple of her friends, so you two have to keep an eye on Vee and King. Pizza for dinner, and make sure they go to bed at a decent time."

"Double date," whispered King to Vee.

"It's not a date, I promise," Camila chuckled.

"We're okay with you dating, just so you know," Hunter assured her.

"I'm not really interested, but thank you." She ruffled his hair. "I should be back by midnight at the latest. I just stopped by to change out of my scrubs."

She headed towards the stairs and disappeared upwards.

"Mom's totally going on a date and she doesn't want us to worry," Luz declared.

"I wonder what they're like," Vee mused.

"We're gonna support her no matter what, though, right?" Hunter tested.

"Of course!" Luz and Vee both nodded.

"Good. Because she deserves to be happy."

That was something none of them could really argue with.

Nope. But they could argue about pizza toppings, and whether or not pineapple belonged on pizza, and every other topic under the sun that wasn't their mother dating. Because as much as Vee wanted to support her, Mom dating was such a weird idea and she was having trouble wrapping her head around it.

She didn't really want a stepparent. Of any kind.

But if it would make her mother happy, then maybe she could deal with it.

Shorter chapter but I feel like it was kinda dense.

I'm not shipping Camila and Darius but I will be making jokes about it. Mostly at the expense of the kids assuming he's her boyfriend because I think I'm funny.

ALSO! In case you missed it, chapter one of my royalty AU is out on AO3! I'm working really hard on it so check it out if you like the idea of Hunter and Amity wingmanning for each other.

So long and thanks for all the fish!