Chapter 2: The Spark

A fortnight had passed since Xander's first day, and at that point he'd gotten the general idea of how Hexside works. One example would be how Xander learned that sometimes, undecided students are placed in the judgement (and also teeth) of a sentient hat. He thanked Titan that wasn't him. In addition, he attended his first grudgby game, watching Eda, Lilith & the rest of Hexside's best, own St. Epiderm, thus gaining another glorious win for their school.

But the real reason he attended was so that he could watch Eda in action. Truth be told, he couldn't care less about a sport involving people tossing a ball on a literal death trap. No, he only cared about seeing bad girl Eda & what she can do when the odds are stacked against her, unaware that she only got by due to her box full of tricks and whatnot. That, coupled with all the mischief and mayhem Eda caused, (and had the pleasure of telling him about) Xander was practically smitten with her.

But he knew there was no way Eda felt the same; he was truthful, mild mannered and most of all, he thought things through. That's why he almost never got into trouble. Eda well, she's a complete 180.

Even so, Xander could also see that she was tough, tenacious & bold. Everything he wanted to be. Ultimately, he decided to shelve his feelings for her and focus on his schoolwork.

The following morning, during his walk to History Class, Xander spotted Eda, against a row of lockers, with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Can't you take a hint Wyatt? I'm not interested!" She yelled, to a bulky and tall triclops with a crew cut of dusty rose-colored hair.

His name was Wyatt Gansley, from the Beastkeeping Track. Known for being popular with the girls, he was arrogant as he was fit & tall. That's why he, much like the Clawthorne sisters, was on the grudgby team too, albeit for males. But when it came to the ladies, he only had his 3 eyes for Eda; the other chicks just couldn't "fill his quota" as he would say, like Eda could.

"Come on Eda. Are you really saying no to this?" He asked, flexing his muscles for her to enjoy.

She wasn't. If anything it ticked her off more.

"Read my lips meathead: I will never go out with you!"

That comment was the last straw for Wyatt. Eda just realized he wasn't about to let her leave anytime soon. Now angry, Wyatt grabbed her shoulders and pushed her onto the lockers.

"Oh you're gonna regret saying those words to me sweet cheeks."

Eda was now scared & struggling like crazy "Stop it! Lemme go you big brute!"

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

Eda & Wyatt turned to see Xander running towards them "I said: Leave her alone!"

Wyattjust scoffed "What're you gonna do shorty? Tell the principal on me?"

Xander shook his head "No. Just this." He then reached into his bag, pulling out a crystal ball, which he used to summon a phantom, entering Wyatt's body, and controlling him to Xander's will, all in a matter of seconds.

"Get outta here Eda! I can only control him for so long! Go!"

"Thanks Xander! That's 2 I owe ya!" She said as she bolted in the opposite direction.

He blushed for a second, before turning his attention to his puppet. "Now then, how shall I take care of you? Oh I know!"

And with a flick of his fingers, he slammed Wyatt into the lockers, for a good 10 seconds.

Placing the glass orb back in his bag, Xander proceeded to run in a direction different from Eda's, leaving Gansley well behind. As luck would have it, his path would take him straight to History Class.

That little debacle caused Xander to be 2 minutes late, as when he arrived, all eyes were him.

"Care to explain why you're tardy Mr. Emberton?" The teacher asked.

"Sorry about that Teach. Had a little run-in." Xander said sheepishly.

"Well let's hope that does not happen again. To your seat." She instructed.

"Of course Professor." Xander said as he sat down.

*4-6 Hours later*

It was now the end of the school day; Xander & his fellow classmates were all making their way outside, content it was all over.

"Hey Xandy wait up!" Eda yelled, zipping past her sister and to him, as he was up ahead.

"Oh hi Eda. What's up?" He asked.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did earlier; that was so brave of you."

He felt somewhat honored by her praise "No problem Eda. I saw you were in a bind, so I just did what any sensible Oracle witch would've done."

She shook her head "But that's just it. You saved me. Eda the Troublemaker, Eda the miscreant, who has the audacity to try and learn magic from every track, not just the one assigned to her."

Xander was startled at how she wanted to learn more than just potions, given that he was a natural in Oracle Magic.

"Wait, you wanna learn magic from all 9 tracks? Isn't that against School policy?"

Hearing him ask that question almost made Eda lash out, but she held it together thankfully "To heck with school policy! The way I see it, having to stick to just 1 single coven is borderline blasphemy! It's all one corrupt system! A system I have no intention of being a part in!"

"Going by that logic, I take it you're having second thoughts about joining your sister in the Emperor's Coven?" Xander asked, even though he knew full well what her answer would be.

Eda sighed, "Honestly, Yes. I don't wanna disappoint her, especially since I'm more hard working and skilled than her, but I gotta do what's best for me; joining a Coven for life just isn't my thing. You gotta be your own witch, ya know?"

"You're not wrong." He replied, now content at Eda telling him how she really felt. If she could tell him all of that, he could certainly tell her how he felt.

"Um Ed-"

"Again, thanks for saving my skin. Man, it felt really good, having me tell you how I feel about all this, I know you've only been here for 2 weeks but still."

"About tha-"

"Oh right! I gotta find Lily and head home! See you Monday Xander!" She yelled as she raced after Lilith, who was a good 20 feet ahead.

As he saw Eda running like crazy to catch up to Lilith, Xander was a little upset he couldn't confess his feelings. But then he remembered that Grom Fright was coming up in 10 weeks, thanks to a flyer he saw posted on the school bulletin board earlier that same day.

The perfect opportunity presented itself to him.

He then spoke to himself about said event "Ok. Grom Fright. 10 weeks. That should give me plenty of time to get more chummy with Eda, but most importantly, summon the courage to ask her out (and later on, tell her how I feel) to the magical, yet immensely fear-inducing, soirée. No pressure."

Like the old saying goes: "Practice makes perfect."

Note: I decided to make Grom occur 3 months into the school year, instead of 1 like in the show. Because honestly, having a prom equivalent happen 4 weeks after school starts is just plain weird, even by Dana's standards.

Side note: I don't own The Owl House. That privilege belongs to Disney & DTVA.

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P.S.: Happy 1 year anniversary The Owl House!