I have been promising Willow and Vee bonding for a while.

Let's have some Halloween shenanigans, shall we?

"HALLOWEEN, BABY!"

Hunter nearly choked on his coffee as Luz hit him on the back.

"Will you chill out? We've still got school today."

"But it's a half-day because of the carnival! Stop being such a wet blanket!"

"At least we don't have to wear uniforms today!" Vee giggled, playing with the strings on her zip-up hoodie.

"Yeah! No uniform day!" Luz let out a cheer and Hunter sighed.

"Why is Vee suddenly a morning person?"

"I'm getting candy tonight! And I'm gonna help set up for the haunted maze the drama club made!" She was bouncing with excitement that Hunter usually only saw from one of his sisters this early.

"You got your costume ready?" Luz asked Hunter.

"I'm not wearing a costume."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

Luz fixed him with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes; he knew what that smirk meant.

"Don't you dare—"

"Oh, what a shame! Me and Willow have been talking about our costumes, and she told me she was excited to see what you came up with. She's going to be so disappointed."

He let out a groan at the thought of disappointing Willow.

"You play dirty."

"I play to win, brother dearest. Now, what kind of costume should we have for you?"

"Something you can throw together in twenty minutes?"

"I might have just the thing! Come on!"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him upstairs into his room, throwing a white T-shirt at him alongside a pair of jeans that he was pretty sure he was supposed to throw away by now.

"What are you planning?"

"Do you have a leather jacket?"

"Back of the closet. What are you even having me be?"

"Fifties greaser. You said something you could throw together in twenty minutes, right?"

Hunter blinked, narrowing his eyes.

"Way too specific. You're definitely planning something."

"Hunter, Hunter, I'm not. I swear!" She held up her hands before digging into the back of his closet and pulling out the jacket. "It's just the quickest one I could think of on such short notice."

Yeah, he didn't believe a single word out of her mouth. She was up to something and it was no good. But at the same time, he didn't wanna disappoint Willow and this was as good a costume as any. He even still had some hair gel from when he'd gone through a phase of gelling back his forelock every day.

"Okay. Fine. Just get out of my room and go grab my gel from the bathroom."

"You got it!" She snapped her fingers at him, exiting the room as he'd instructed.

He threw on the costume, gelled his hair, and by the time he was done, his sisters were ready to go, too. Luz wore a Good Witch Azura costume while Vee was dressed up like a cat. None of them matched each other, as usual, which meant that Hunter also didn't really look like he was wearing a costume compared to them.

When they got to school, however, he realized there had been a method to Luz's madness indeed.

And holy shit, was he grateful.

Willow was waiting for them when they got there and her costume looked stunning.

She wore a white button-up blouse paired with what could only be described as a gold-colored poodle skirt, right out of a stereotypical picture of a teenage girl from the fifties. Around her neck was a sort of matching scarf-choker-thing in the same shade as the skirt. Her normal dress shoes had been replaced with ones that looked period appropriate. And she'd even styled her pigtails in a way that looked completely correct for the look she was going for.

As soon as she saw him, she lit up.

"Hunter! Hey!"

"Hey! You look great."

"So do you."

(The poodle on the skirt wasn't a poodle, he realized—it was a bee.)

"Oh, wow, you guys match!" Luz laughed. "What a coincidence, eh?"

Oh, you little—

"I gotta go!" Vee announced. "See you later!"

"Right behind you!" Luz called, running to follow the youngest Noceda while winking at Hunter with slight finger-guns.

And just like that, Hunter and Willow were left behind. He cleared his throat awkwardly as they began to walk towards the school building.

"So, uh, what are you doing for Halloween, exactly?"

"Hanging out at the carnival, probably. Gus gets super excited about the haunted maze every year so I go through it."

"How scary is it?"

"Depends on who signs up for the committee, but Gus usually gives it his all. So there's gonna be a lot of bugs." She had a somewhat annoyed look on her face.

"You don't like bugs?"

"Ladybugs, specifically. But that's too obvious. He knows I'm going through it so he puts what he knows scares me."

"Heh. You know, if you really wanna, we—"

"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"

They were almost tackled to the ground by an enthusiastic Skara, who was wearing her derby skates and looking very much like a roller-disco queen with her twin hair buns and makeup that looked a lot like face-paint. She was grinning broadly as she looked between them, then she gasped.

"You two are all matchy! I love it!"

"It wasn't planned," chuckled Willow. "How are you doing, Skara? I love your costume."

"Well, since I joined roller-derby this year, I decided to make it a little part of my costume. As a bit of a tribute, you know?"

She rolled back, slightly losing her balance, and Hunter and Willow each grabbed a hand to steady her. She let out a laugh.

"Thanks. Maybe I should lose the skates until it's maze time."

"That might be a good idea," Willow agreed, nodding. "You're good in the rink, but pavement's a different beast."

She let out a gasp.

"I gotta go. I'm supposed to help set up for the gardening club's booth. Hunter, you can tell me what you wanted to say later." She waved as she ran off. "Bye!"

Hunter let out a groan as Skara winced.

"Did I just interrupt you asking her out?"

"I wasn't asking her out. I was just gonna ask her if she wanted to go through the maze together."

"Oh, sure, you asking her to go through the legendarily scary Hexside Haunted Maze with you isn't asking her out so you can hold her hand and comfort her when she gets scared."

"It's not, you weirdo. I wasn't asking her out."

"You keep telling yourself that, buddy. You'll get it right one of these days." She patted him on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile.

What was he going to tell me?

The thought burned in Willow's mind as she helped set up the booth for the gardening club. It was the first year that the booth was to include the honey she'd collected from her bees and that should've been what was on her mind, but that little nervous smile that had been on his face when he was talking, the way he was rubbing the back of his head, how good he looked in his leather jacket—

Holy crap, Park, get a handle on yourself!

"You okay, Willow?"

Amelia was eyeing her with worry.

"I'm fine, I promise."

"So this is the honey you promised?" asked Jerbo, holding up a jar with a smile. "It looks good!"

"Thanks! I don't think we'll sell that much, but it's worth it to raise money for the club."

"Since when do you care about it?" snorted a girl by the name of Sara. Willow narrowed her eyes.

"I've been a member of the gardening club since sixth grade. Why wouldn't I care?"

"Because you've been spending all your time with Hunter! And your stupid roller-derby team!"

"I can be in multiple clubs, Sara."

"How many meetings have you been to this year? Really?"

"It's not like I'm club president." Willow crossed her arms. "Why are you so bothered by this?"

"Admit it—you noticed Boscha liked him and you decided to swoop in and try to date him just to spite her!"

Willow swore her eye twitched.

"Leave Willow alone," Jerbo sighed. "It's not like Boscha ever had a chance in the first place."

"Yeah," agreed Amelia. "Let's just focus on selling our stuff today. Willow's honey is gonna be a best-seller, I bet."

Willow gave both of them a grateful smile before Sara scoffed and walked off.

"Thanks."

"It's no problem," Jerbo replied, stacking jars of honey into a pyramid. "Sara's been like this about you for a while now."

"She might have a point, though."

"Don't let her win," Amelia cautioned.

"I'm not—it's just… she might have a point about me spending too much time with Hunter. I like him, I really do, but… I haven't really been to meetings this year, like she said. I've attended a grand total of six. Out of twelve."

"You're running the roller-derby team—of course practices are going to interfere. It's not just your boyfriend."

"Hunter's not my boyfriend."

"Really? Way he was looking at you when he got here says different."

Willow swore she could hear a pop as her face heated up and turned bright pink.

"Chill, we're gonna be fine. Your shift is first," Jerbo instructed. "After you, it's Amelia, then me and Sara round out the night."

"Got it." She nodded.

And she went through her shift, tagging out with Amelia before heading off to find the rest of her friends. A hidden pocket on her skirt that she'd taken great pains to sew in (why did so few skirts come with pockets, it was ridiculous) concealed her phone, which she took out to message Luz.

Just got done with my shift

Where are we meeting up?

It buzzed with a reply.

We're all hanging out by the maze, about to go through!

Hurry and Hunter will hold your hand! :3

Not funny

I wasn't joking

LUZ

Seriously, hurry!

Willow ran to get to the maze and found Luz waiting there with Amity (wearing a Hecate costume from Good Witch Azura), Vee (dressed as the same cute little kitty as she'd been earlier), Skara, and Hunter. Hunter saw her and his eyes immediately softened in a way that made her heart just skip a beat.

"So, rules of the maze is that you can either go through alone or with one other person," Amity was explaining to Luz.

"It's Mr. Graye's rule," Vee added. "He said something about chemistry between students?"

"Gross, how is he a teacher?" Hunter asked.

"No clue, to be honest," Amity sighed.

"He does his job well and keeps the drama club funded, so they tend to overlook a lot of what he does," Willow stated. "As long as he doesn't actually do anything illegal, that is."

"He's a goddamn shipper, just like Luz."

"Hey! I am not that bad."

"Should I read what you texted me on my way over here?" Willow asked.

"Nope! We should just go ahead and figure who's going through with who! I call Amity! What about you, Vee?"

"I… kinda wanna go with Willow."

Hunter looked conflicted as he glanced between his youngest sister and her. Willow smiled and nodded at Vee.

"Sure, I'll go with you."

"YES!" Skara whooped. "Hunter-Skara dream-team! Just like practice!"

"Except this time I don't have to stop you from crashing into the out-of-bounds area," Hunter snorted, still looking a little disappointed.

"That was one time."

"It was several times." Skara stuck out her tongue.

"That settles it, then," Amity declared. "We have our groups."

"Finally," laughed Edric, popping out of a nearby bush and startling his little sister.

"ED, WHAT THE HELL?!"

"I'm the welcoming committee, Mittens. I'm supposed to start the scares for everyone." He cleared his throat before slipping into character and letting out an evil laugh. "Welcome, mortals, to the Hexside Haunted Maze! Be wary and make your way to the other side as quickly as possible, lest you become another lost soul ever trapped in the torrent of misery within its walls!"

Smoke came out from behind him and he was gone. Well, he was ducked behind the bush again. Willow remembered him and Emira doing something similar to that at Halloween when she and Amity were little, and how she'd hug Amity out of fear while Amity yelled at her siblings for scaring her best friend.

Oh, how the tables had turned.

"Let's just go before he does something else dumb," Amity muttered, and she and Luz were the first to go through while the two drama-club students manning the entrance other than Ed blocked Willow and Vee from following until Amity and Luz were out of sight.

Willow took a deep breath.

It was showtime.

The haunted maze was amazing.

The drama club had pulled out all the stops with the atmosphere between the smoke and noise machines and the costumes and everything in between. And since it was inside, the maze itself was almost completely dark. Luz gripped Amity's hand in the darkness to prevent losing her (and she felt her face practically catch fire in the process).

"This is so cool—do you do this every year?"

"Not really. I've been through a couple of times but not every year."

There was a rattling sound and Amity pressed closer to Luz. Okay, the fire in her cheeks was now a raging inferno and she was really really glad that it was so dark in here. Her heart was pounding as the chains rattling grew closer and as Amity pulled her along through the constructed corridor.

Then there was a thump against a nearby wall and a girl giggling.

"Hi… do you wanna play?" she said in a high-pitched, sing-songy voice.

Luz felt herself trembling as she clung to Amity right back, noticing that Amity's breathing hitched slightly. She chose to ignore it as they continued onward. Through the dim light, she saw the girl with an axe, her face done up in some of the most beautifully grotesque makeup Luz had seen outside the internet. The girl giggled, thumping the axe against the wall.

"Come on, it'll be fun! Don't be scared!"

They kept walking, their pace increasing to get away from her before a second girl done in similar makeup with an axe appeared. She thumped hers against the wall, too, and giggled just as much.

"We're ever so eager to play with you!" the second said in a voice in the same pitch as the first.

They wove around the walls, carefully avoiding the creepy twins and making their way to a section that looked like a broken-down train of some kind. From within one of the cars, they heard screaming and growling, like someone was going through a horrible transformation. And through the door that looked like a cage, they saw a person transforming into a gorilla.

They both screamed as someone lunged at them and sped ahead.

"Are you okay, Vee?"

Vee looked up at Willow, who was staring at her with concern.

"I-I'm fine."

They'd made it through the maze without incident, thankfully, and they were currently outside the school waiting for Hunter, Skara, Luz, and Amity. There were multiple paths through the maze and Vee and Willow had managed to find the quickest one. Even so, they'd passed through the portion involving the crashed circus train. Staring at the drama club member through the bars had reminded her of the historical society incident and suddenly, her confidence at facing the maze had shattered.

She could see Jacob Hopkins, she could see the bars of the cage, she could hear him telling her that as soon as he heard back from someone they'd begin the dissection—

"Hey. Hey. Look at me."

Vee looked at her, breathing heavily.

"Take a breath." She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, raising and lowering four fingers like she was blowing up a glove. Vee nodded and followed her example. She could feel her heartrate returning to normal as she did so.

A couple more rounds and Vee had calmed down.

"Thanks, Willow."

"No problem." She gave her a gentle smile, then frowned. "You didn't have to go through the maze."

"The maze wasn't the problem. It was the cage part."

"The… cage part?"

"Did… did Hunter or Luz tell you? What happened to me a few years ago?"

"No. And you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"It's… it was bad. I almost got hurt and Hunter and Luz almost got in big trouble. I don't wanna really talk about it."

"How about a hug?"

Vee nodded and Willow wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her in a hug that felt like a mom hug. It was warm and comfortable and Vee could definitely see how Hunter wound up cuddling Willow that one time.

"Thanks, Willow."

Willow let out a laugh and let her go.

"Trying to be all buddy-buddy with the sister now, are we?"

The girl glaring down at them was unfamiliar to Vee, a blonde with long hair tied back in a ponytail wearing an honestly unoriginal interpretation of a cheerleader costume with her arms folded across her chest. Willow sighed.

"What do you want, Sara?"

"I came looking for you so you could work your shift. I had to cover for you earlier."

"Willow worked her shift, though," Vee said, tilting her head. "She came to find us as soon as she was done."

"Shut up, brat."

"She's right. You're supposed to be working with Jerbo after Amelia finishes hers."

"Nobody told me that!"

"You walked off before Jerbo gave the schedule. He texted it to you."

Sara's eye twitched slightly as Willow stood up.

"Please, just leave me alone. I know I'm not as devoted to the gardening club this year, but that doesn't mean you can use that against me."

"If you showed up for more than two meetings, I wouldn't be."

"I've shown up to half. Try again." Willow crossed her arms in defiance and Sara grit her teeth.

"God, you're so self-righteous. Just because you toppled Boscha doesn't mean you get to rule this school."

"When did I ever—"

"Like you don't know! Nobody shuts up anymore about Willow Park, how great she is, how much better she is than Boscha."

"But that's because she is better," Vee spoke up again. "Willow's so much better than Boscha because she's nice and she doesn't expect people to bow down to her. It sounds like you're jealous."

"What would you know about high-school politics? You're like, five."

"I'm eleven."

"Whatever. You don't know anything."

Vee shrugged.

"I don't know anything because I don't care. So leave us alone."

"Fine. But I'm watching you, Park." Sara made the finger gesture that Hunter and Luz often made to each other when one was acting weird before stomping off.

"Thanks for the help, Vee."

"It's not fair that she talks to you like that. You are better than Boscha. Everyone else is just realizing it now that you've beaten her." Willow gave her a warm smile.

"You know, you've changed a lot since I first met you earlier this summer. You're a lot less shy. A lot more outspoken."

"The change in environment, maybe? I've been figuring out a lot of stuff about myself since we moved here." She gave Willow a grin. "I'm not comparing myself to Hunter and Luz as much as I used to."

"They do have pretty big personalities. But I like who you are, and who you're turning into."

"Thanks." Vee fidgeted with her hands for a moment. "I think you and Hunter are gonna be really great together as a couple."

She had to hide her giggle as Willow's face turned bright pink.

Hunter sighed as he flopped onto the couch when they got home.

Going through the maze with Skara on roller-skates had been a nightmare. Mostly because he had to help steer her when she got startled, which happened often. It made going through the maze take longer, and by the time they got out of there, it was almost time to head home to take Vee trick-or-treating. Luz had also insisted on taking a picture of him and Willow together in their costumes, one that she'd sent him and he may or may not have put as his phone wallpaper.

Trick-or-treating had gone well, too, and he'd taken a small candy tax off Vee as payment for walking around with her and King (who had dressed up as who he called the King of Demons). At Willow's house, he'd even met her other father, Harvey, when he opened the door to give out candy.

"So, you're the Noceda boy my daughter keeps talking about."

"Yes, sir." He'd fixed him with a glare that made Hunter's stomach churn slightly.

"…don't break her heart."

"In all fairness, she'd destroy me if I did."

Harvey had chuckled and nodded before closing the door (and after he'd given Vee and King their candy).

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He lifted it out and saw it was a text from Willow.

They sold out of my honey at the booth

There was a picture of some of her bees.

They're all very tired.

Hunter let out a chuckle.

They've gotta make more for the spring, right?

Let them rest

I am, believe me

They're gonna hibernate all winter

How was trick or treating?

I think one of your dads threatened me

They're just protective

I'm their only baby

So they want me safe

Like I could hurt you

You'd kick my ass if I tried

Pfft

It was kinda like he thought I was your boyfriend

He just assumed I think

I've never really talked about guys at home before

You're the first other than Gus

And he's more like my little brother

I've never had a boyfriend before

I wouldn't mind being your boyfriend

He sent the text before he really thought about it, and by the time he realized what he'd said it was too late to retract it. Willow had read it.

FUCK FUCK NO, WILLOW, DON'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY.

The three dots that said she was typing appeared and disappeared a few times. Panic set into his mind.

Why the hell would I say that? What was I thinking?!

Finally, she messaged him back.

Thanks, that means a lot

Hypothetically speaking, of course

Good night!

Well. Another sleepless night for him.

He grabbed a throw pillow off the couch and screamed into it.

In her room, Willow did the same thing with a pillow from her bed.

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

Lumity section featuring my own haunted maze trauma from middle school, yay. And I went to the 'family friendly' version of said maze!

More revelations about the Emerald Entrails dynamics this chapter, too! Hunter and Willow being the team parents with Viney as the cool aunt who lets the kids get away with everything and Gus and Skara being the chaos gremlin kids. I promise I will be doing more with them, I swear.

Please say hello to Willow's new nemesis, someone who's just pissed she's come up the way she has. Sara will be appearing in the future.

Also, this is a bit of a transitional chapter, I have a big couple coming up and then we're hitting the ground running with plot.

Also also, I wish all of you a very anxiety-filled season 2 finale!

So long and thanks for all the fish!