Chapter 3: Guts

WEEKS REMAINING UNTIL GROM: 7

"Bye Reginald. I hope Angus says 'yes' to your Grom proposal." Xander said with a smile as he was leaving school grounds.

Within the massive window of opportunity for Xander wanting to ask Eda out to Grom, he made a few new friends (of his own gender) along the way; first he befriended an honest & loyal classmate from the Plant Track named Reginald Park. Not long after he got himself acquainted with a fellow student from the Bard Track: Perry Porter, a strong-minded young man that dreamed of pursuing a career in journalism.

As for Reginald, all he was focused on was asking out via Proposal, his crush, Angus Dunlop from the Construction Track, to Grom.

Speaking of Grom, Xander wasn't exactly making progress in asking out Eda. Usually whenever they would talk about it, the subject was mainly how sympathetic they would be regarding the poor unfortunate soul, who in this case was from the Healing Track, Jeb Lyhecker. In short, Jeb had to descend within the bowels of Hexside (mainly the gym) and with a weapon of his choosing, attempt to vanquish the amorphous, pitch black entity known to many as Grometheus, which has the power to transform into the challenger's greatest fear. A terrifying feat indeed.

To say that particular task is challenging, would be a severe understatement.

Once again, Xander thanked Titan he was a new student, or he'd be scared witless.

When he returned home, he found his Mom in the kitchen baking chocolate chip cookies, and his Dad in the living room looking over sales reports.

"Hey champ! Did you have a nice day at school?" Wulfric asked.

"Sure did. I got an 'A' on my Oracle Magic test!" Xander said beaming with pride, pulling out the test from his bag and showing it to his dad.

"That's my boy! Just what I'd expect from the former head of his class!"

His mom then walked into view, wearing oven mitts and holding a tray of cookies "Nice work honey! Come have a celebratory cookie" she said presenting the tray to him.

Xander walked up to her and grabbed the first cookie he saw with a grin "Thanks Mom" he said before munching on it.

"So Xander, I understand Grom's coming up," said Wulfric.

Erina set her cookie tray on the dining room table "Oh that's right. I heard it's supposed to be magical, yet fear-inducing. Neither I nor your father would know, since we both attended Glandus all throughout our youth."

Xander finished his snack before setting his bag down on a nearby chair "You're both right. And luckily for me, I'm not the poor sap that has to go toe-to-toe with some dark blob capable of becoming your worst nightmare" he said rather nonchalantly.

His parents were just stunned with silence upon hearing that last bit.

"Well, that's…. something. In any case, is there a certain someone you wanna ask out to Grom?" His mom asked in a teasing way.

"Um well, there is this 1 girl from the Potions Track; Eda Clawthorne's her name. I'm planning on asking her out within the week." Xander replied with a small blush.

Hearing his response made Erina clap her hands and squeal in joy "Did you hear that Wulfric? Our little boy's becoming a man!"

Wulfric just smiled.

Xander was now embarrassed "Come on mom! Grom doesn't begin for several weeks! Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"

"Hardly! I ought to find your nice suit and iron it from top to bottom after what you just told us!"

Even so, Xander knew he had to come up with a strategy to get Eda to say yes to his Grom Proposal.

It was time for him to get cracking.

WEEKS REMAINING UNTIL GROM: 4

To practice asking out Eda, Xander used a large mirror up in the attic of his house. He also read books on picking up girls, though most of them were aimed at guys a bit older than him. Still, he did what he could with what he had.

In addition he visualized the scenario in his head over and over, thinking of every possible response Eda could give. Some were good, others not so much. Being the gifted user in Oracle Magic, one would think he could just look into his own future & all its possibilities, but unfortunately, that's not how it works. Ironic, really.

As the weeks passed, he hung out with Eda far more than his newer friends, though actually it was just talking to her in-between classes and especially at lunchtime. But if he wanted any chance to go with her to Grom, he'd have to take it up a notch, by aiding her in her notorious troublemaking. Whether it be spray painting lockers, unleashing trash slugs or pillaging the dentures of Ms. Jenkinmeyer, he did it all for Eda, no questions asked.

Thankfully since she was a master of mayhem, she also knew how to sneak away without getting caught (most times), which somewhat lifted a great weight off of Xander's shoulders.

In return, she was really warming up to him; having someone to share the thrill of mischief with, it also meant they could cause twice as much. Over time, she found herself having a strong connection to Xander. And now with Grom being a month away, she was actually hoping he would strike up the nerve to ask her out to the event.

WEEKS REMAINING UNTIL GROM: 1

This is it. No turning back. It's now or never. Xander kept repeating in his mind over and over, clutching onto a flower that resembled a Sunflower, except that it had purple petals instead of yellow, and the stem was pink instead of green.

He was standing outside near the grudgby field, a good 20 feet away from the bleachers, where he saw Eda, talking & laughing with a girl from the Bard Track, sporting greenish hair and glasses similar to Lilith's.

Putting the flower behind his back by his right hand, Xander was slowly walking towards the bleachers, reciting the words he planned on saying to his crush.

"Hey Eda. I uh, saw this flower and thought of you because it's pretty and well, I thought you might like it 'cause you're pretty. But I uh, you know. Come on man! Get it together!"

Eda then noticed Xander making his way towards her, with his right arm tucked behind his back "Excuse me Gwendy. I'll be right back" she said before leaving her friend and descended down the bleachers.

Once the two teenage witches got close enough, Xander spoke first.

"Afternoon Eda."

"How's it hanging Xand Castle?"

"Ha! Good one. Anyways, I saw this flower and thought it's pretty. No wait I meant to say I saw it and thought of you because it's pretty. Um…."

"Xander Emberton. Are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" she asked, crossing her arms and smirking.

Sighing, Xander regained his composure and gave the flower to Eda.

"Why don't you accept this flower and find out?"

Once she grabbed it, she saw that the flower was facing Xander, so she turned it to face her. When she did, she gasped.

There, plain as day, was a 4-letter word, plus a question mark, constructed out of twigs, & glued onto the flower.

'GROM?'

Xander no longer wanted to be held in suspense. "So Eda Clawthorne? Will you-"

No sooner did he ask that he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, as well as a certain warmth on his right cheek.

"What took you so long dummy? Of course I'll go to Grom with you!" Eda yelled, joy weaved in her voice.

All Xander could do was hug Eda back, and smile.

I'll cherish this moment for the rest of my life.

Be honest peeps. Too much sap? Too little? Just right? Lemme know!

P.S. Bonus points for anyone who caught the Shrek reference sewn in.

The Owl House belongs to Disney & DTVA.