Alright so… this chapter is going to be VERY lengthy. I'm just throwing that out there! But, considering up until has been mostly from Hunter's perspective on the 'situation' and as you all can see by looking ahead at the latest POV… it's time to let Willow have her say. ;) But, before we to Willow's thoughts in a second here, I wanted to just throw some information at you all first on a dynamic I REALLY want to try to work into this fic that we've seen briefly in the show but want to expand on it in my fic. And that is Palismans and their connection to their owners. As we've seen between Eda and Owlbert plus Hunter and Flapjack, it is shown that Witches are able to communicate with their Palisman's in an almost 'telepathic-like' way. For example, even though all we hear are 'chirps' from Flapjack when he's talking to Hunter, it's like Hunter just personally heard an entire coherent sentence from Flapjack and even replies to whatever Flapjack said to him. So that gave me an idea, maybe I'd try to express this kind of conversational dynamic in this fic with Willow and Clover. So, I'm going to try to write the Palisman's telepathic dialogue like so ["Text."]. Just wanted to explain this ahead of time to try to avoid any possible confusion later. Anyway, I had SUCH a fun time writing this chapter and putting myself in Willow's shoes by explaining her thoughts and feelings about both herself and Hunter. Hope you all enjoy the chapter too! :)

(Willow's POV)

Once I finally got the front door closed behind me, I pressed my back against it on reflex without even thinking about it.

Right now, I was just trying to close my eyes and slowly inhale and exhale to calm myself down for a second. Not that it helped completely since I still couldn't get my heartbeat under control right now.

Especially considering right now, I felt like it was beating out of control to the point it was going to break out of my chest.

Honestly, I still couldn't believe how much I kept my cool out there after what happened with Hunter just now. I mean, not that it wasn't something I wanted to do with him.

I mean… yeah, I'd totally be lying to myself if I said that.

Considering I've thought about doing something like that with him since we were in the Human Realm. I couldn't hold back a smile as I bit my lip to keep myself from completely freaking out.

Well, until I just settled out into a smile again as I stayed there for a moment until my eyes went wide and I jerked slightly when I heard a loud, "YES!"

Huh?

Quickly I looked outside the window next to the front door right in time to see Hunter jumping with his right fist in the air and a smile practically taking over his face with Flapjack flying next to him.

After he got back on the ground again he looked at Flapjack and called out, seeing the slight gap in his teeth that always makes me smile as his eyes pretty much lit up, "Flap, did you see that?!"

Flapjack landed on his shoulder but kept flapping his wings and chirping in excitement, making me smile almost instantly and put my hand over my mouth to hold back a slight yet amused laugh to myself as Hunter continued pretty much quickly and randomly pacing and jumping around a little in front of my house with his smile kept growing.

I couldn't help myself as I tried to stay out of sight and kept watching him from the window with a smile pretty much stuck to my face now, letting out another quiet laugh to myself.

He's so cute…

Eventually, Hunter held his hand out as Flapjack turned into a staff before he hopped on and took off down the street with another loud, "YES! I CAN'T!…"

All of a sudden my eyes went wide and my expression dropped when I heard something smash and Hunter immediately went silent.

I was going to run back outside to make sure he was okay until I heard another voice (who I'm pretty sure was the cranky old man who's lived around the corner and always yells at anyone who gets too close to his house for as long as I can remember) yell, "HEY! Will you shut up, you stupid kid?! Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Uh, s-sorry! So sorry, sir!" I heard Hunter stutter out in slight apologetic panic before I heard him take off faster on his staff, making me wonder if my neighbor threw something at him.

Well, until it sounded like the old man yelled out one last time at him, "And don't fly so damn low to the street either!"

I was stuck there for a second (still wondering if I should go outside and check on him) until I heard behind me, "Oh, Willow, you're home early. Did you have fun?"

Immediately, I looked behind me and saw Papa cleaning off his glasses and smiling at me before putting them back on.

I tried to straighten up as I said, keeping my cool as I gave him a small smile back, "Yeah, I was just tired. Things with Grom got a little crazy again this year, so… I'm just done for the night. It was fun though! But, I also wanted to come back anyway to check on my fly trap to make sure it was still doing okay."

Papa held up his hand and said, "Your plant is fine, don't worry. If something was happening, then you know your dad would have called you about it."

We both laughed since we both know how dad is with never hesitating on anything to tell someone when something goes wrong, especially when it comes to calling either of us about it.

At least I did laugh until I noticed dad wasn't sitting in the living room or at the kitchen table reading like usual, but I knew Papa caught this from me as he said, pulling me out of my thoughts and also answering what I was thinking without even asking, "Don't worry, he went to bed early. I managed to convince him that I'd wait up for you… and I also thought it would help to give you space if you needed it."

Right then I felt my face go red a little in slight embarrassment, especially when I glanced over and saw Papa almost knowingly smiling slightly at me… considering I know what he meant.

Or guess I should say who he meant.

And especially after 'what just happened' outside… My face heated up even more as I bit my lip again, hearing my heartbeat in my ears as I thought back to it.

Well, until I felt Papa put his hand on my shoulder, which made me 'snap out of it' and look up at him. He was still giving me a calm but still 'knowing' look with a slight smile as he said, "I'm glad you had a nice time. And; just between us, if you ever want to have a certain someone over, they are always welcome. And if your dad makes them feel otherwise, then you just leave him to me, alright?"

My eyes went wide in shock as he gave me a wink and kept smiling knowingly.

Wait… did he see 'us' just now outside?

But, before I could even do anything to react, he just kissed me on the top of the head and said, "See you in the morning, honey."

After Papa disappeared upstairs, I just stood there for a second. Mostly I was just trying to get my head together and 'process' what just happened. Well, until I closed my eyes again and just tried to 'breathe' before making my way upstairs too. But the whole time I washed up and changed into my pajamas, my mind just kept almost 'racing'.

Like even though I was 'physically' exhausted, I just couldn't 'mentally' shut off.

Even lying in bed wasn't helping as I kept staring at the ceiling, feeling my face heat up as I thought about 'what happened' outside again. Eventually, I ripped my pillow out from behind my head and smashed it on top of my face, almost like I was trying to 'smother' the blush off my face.

I stayed that way for a second in total darkness underneath my pillow until I heard a familiar, "Bzzt, Bzzt."

I turned my head to the side and lifted my pillow only to see Clover looking at me, her eyes scrunching in excitement as she flapped her wings at me like she usually does when she's excited to see me.

As much as I didn't want to, I left Clover here at home for the dance.

Yeah, Principal Bump doesn't allow students to have their Palismen out at school events, mainly for 'using a staff' reasons at an event with a bunch of teenagers… I didn't see the point in bringing her. If I couldn't even have Clover actually 'there' with me at Grom, then I just wanted her to stay safe at home. Even though I kinda wished she was secretly a little more 'close by' when things happened with Hunter… considering she knows just as much if not more than anyone how I 'feel' about him.

I could tell since she wasn't speaking to me right now as she kept looking at me. At least until she just crawled on my chest until she was standing on my left collarbone and started nuzzling my cheek with her head. I just laughed a little and affectionately scratched the top of her head as I said, "Yeah, I missed you too."

But, right as I was about to lay my head back, I heard:

"Something happened, didn't it? With him?"

I looked back down at her and saw her giving me this look, making my face reflexively heat up a little as I glanced away.

I mean, at least until I couldn't hold back a slight smile and responded, trying not to completely give myself away, "Why? What makes you say that?"

Her eyes looked off to the side (knowing I wasn't completely being honest with her), before I heard:

"You act as if our bond doesn't mean I know anything… Also, I saw what happened out the window as I was waiting for you to come home."

My eyes went wide again at the realization that Papa and now Clover just pretty much admitted that they were watching 'me and Hunter' out front just now as I could feel the blush I already had just consumed the rest of my face.

Welp… I should've known this kind of thing was gonna happen.

But, it's not like I regret anything.

Agh, I really don't regret anything right now.

I just looked back at Clover as she playfully looked back at me, with her knowing completely how I feel as my Palisman. But, even though I could tell she was teasing, I knew she was also genuinely 'happy' for me right now.

Eventually, I sighed as I admitted with a slight smile, "Heh… okay. You got me there. But, before you say anything about me finally 'cracking' on waiting for him. He actually made the first move… even though I 'technically' got the last word out there."

We both laughed a little to ourselves as I was about to force myself to go to sleep and Clover was about to settle in on top of my blanket. My eyes were about to close until I saw something sticking out of the pocket of my dress that was hanging out of my hamper.

I knelt down and pulled it out before smiling at what it was, almost forgetting I put it in there earlier tonight.

Our Flyer Derby team picture.

Honestly, Skara was right. This ended up being a pretty great picture of all of us at Grom.

Right then, I felt Clover hover over my left shoulder before landing on it as she looked at the picture too. I smiled again as I explained, "Not going to lie, and even though things got a little crazy and didn't happen like I expected it to be… I still had a great time."

My smile only kept getting bigger when I looked at the middle of the picture at me and Hunter, feeling my face heat up a little again.

I kept smiling until I felt something else behind the picture and saw I had another copy of the picture. I groaned and hit myself on the forehead with my palm at what I just realized.

Ah thorns… I forgot to give Hunter his copy of the picture.

But, in my defense, there was kind of a lot that happened tonight.

And by 'a lot'... I mean a lot.

There was Gus and then Grom and then… My face felt like it was burning again as I thought about everything that just happened with Hunter tonight all over again.

And not just the kiss either!

I mean, sure I was still a little nervous when I went in for it since I've… never kissed anyone like that before.

Sure I had no idea what to expect, but it's not that I didn't really like it and really wanted to do that with him for a while. Because I really did want to kiss Hunter and… I have wanted to for a very long time at this point.

Yeah, Hunter's one of my best friends now, but even I'd be telling a TOTAL lie at this point by saying that I don't 'feel' something more for him.

Look, I haven't lied up until now about any of this and I'm not about to start now.

Because the truth is, I'm just used to things feeling 'complicated' in my life when it comes to how I feel about myself and others sometimes still.

Sure, even though I know what happened now with Amity when we were little, that was the first time I ever experienced 'complicated feelings' at her birthday party. You know, when Amity told me to go away and that she didn't want to be my friend anymore because I was a 'weakling', all I did was cry for what felt like days.

But, even when I stopped crying about it on the outside, I felt like the 'hurt' never stopped on the inside until just recently.

Especially when I first enrolled at Hexside, I just felt… alone.

I started school with no friends and I was still having trouble casting spells. To make it worse my dads had me enrolled in spelling lessons with a counselor at school to get my magic 'under control' (which helped that problem eventually), but it created a whole new one.

I was the only one in my year having problems 'controlling my magic' like that.

To make it worse, that's when Boscha and Amity started specifically picking on me and calling me 'Half-A-Witch Willow' for the first time, telling me that I was already going to be in 'the baby classes'.

I know I was just a little kid at the time, but I don't care who you are when something like this happens. Because if someone who you always thought was your best friend suddenly turned their back on you and looked like they were practically enjoying seeing you being pushed down… it hurts.

And it continued to 'hurt me' and make me think differently about myself.

Doubting myself and what I wanted.

Even when I was 12 and I was starting to choose a coven track, I was too scared to even speak up to my own parents when they just 'decided for me' to just put me in the Abomination Track even though I didn't even like it at all and wasn't even good at it.

All because they kept trying to tell me that I'd be able to 'get a decent paying job' with that track. But, I didn't say anything and just had a straight year of being miserable and humiliated every day in class when I didn't even want to be there in the first place but just kept telling myself I HAD to just to make my dads happy!

But, then… I met Gus, Luz, and then even Amity and I started 'talking' again after we had it out in my mind.

Everything finally felt like it was getting 'better' for once.

I went from being alone and at the bottom of my class in Abominations to having friends again and being at the top of my class in Plants.

Even though I was upset with Luz at first after the 'Amity thing' in my head… I was glad after it all happened. I felt like my childhood best friend and I were slowly starting to trust each other again, and most importantly… I actually felt confident in myself.

Every morning I'd look at myself in the mirror and I actually felt 'happy' for once with who I saw.

Something I honestly hadn't felt since I was REALLY little.

Sure my dads still worried about my track switch and my 'job prospects' after graduation when Principal Bump got me switched to the Plant Track like I wanted, which in a 'realistic way' I do kinda get. Under the Coven System in the Plant Track, your two options for a 'good-paying job' and 'success' was either becoming Head Witch of the Plant Coven or working as a Botanical Expert in the Emperor's Green Houses.

Because truthfully… most Plant Track jobs really don't pay anywhere near well or make you work really long hours for even less money.

But, Principal Bump had my dads sit down and told them in front of me that he saw I had a bright future in Plant Magic from my 'abilities' he saw when I was trying to help Luz escape, even telling them I had the potential to be the next 'Head Witch of the Plant Coven once Head Witch Snapdragon eventually retired'… and/or died in my opinion since I think that's probably what it would have taken to make her step down after all the years she was Head Witch. Even though I've never been a huge fan of Terra Snapdragon after doing research on her since there was also a lot of skepticism about her after the Plant Coven's previous Head Witch had a mysterious 'accident' to put her as the next in line.

But, anyway, it was then I really started standing up for myself even more and told my dads that it was what I wanted and that they needed to trust me.

And they did! Well, eventually they did anyway.

But, I understood why they were worried even now despite it still being kinda frustrating. They're my parents and they were just trying to do what they thought was right for me until I proved to them I could make my own choices.

Either way, things were finally looking up!

I was in the magic track I wanted, I finally had the grades I wanted, I started feeling the confidence I wanted, and I MORE than got the kinds of friends I wanted, so… what else could I ask for?

One day about a week after the Grudgby match with Boscha, I was helping my parents clean out the attic and we found a box of old pictures of my dads back when they were my age.

It was actually a lot of fun. Eventually found their old Flyer Derby Club picture from when they met that they told me I could keep since I kept looking at it so much.

Especially after all the questions I kept asking them about Flyer Derby, I felt like I was hooked.

After that, I loved watching Flyer Derby matches and learning anything and everything I possibly could about the game. I even started training on my own to get stronger and motivated to play it myself and eventually saw my opportunity to make my own Derby team at school.

Sure I was still 'nervous', but I was WAY too excited at the same time!

Things were finally 'Turning Up Willow' for once in my life… and then I ran into Hunter.

Or you know, pulled him out of the sky on his staff before I even knew who he really even was. I just saw someone who was amazing at flying that could help me make my 'Dream Team' a reality and I really wanted him on my team based on that first impression.

Even if… I don't know?

Hunter (or 'Caleb' when I first met him) just… threw me off and just confused me at first.

Honestly, I just thought he was a 'quick to judge jerk' when he called the rest of our team and MY friends 'pathetic' after just looking at them for less than 10 seconds.

Well, at least I thought he was a jerk for about 10 seconds too until he 'said something' that I can still hear him say in my head word for word from memory after I confronted him.

"Well where I come from, even 'chances' have to be earned. Especially if you're considered 'half-a-witch' like me."

After he said that about himself, I was just… stunned.

Ever since I started at Hexside, I was always called 'half-a-witch' and thought it was something used to just make me feel like I was 'less'. So when I heard him say that he was thought of as 'less' in the same way where he was from just got to me.

But, instead of just letting him walk away after hearing that, I was more determined than ever to make him see why none of us (including him) were pathetic or less than who we really are.

And after we proved our team's worth to Professor Hermonculus, I thought I finally proved to myself that I could be a leader and be who I really thought I could be.

Well, until everything happened with Hunter and the Emperor's Coven that ended up in all of us getting 'detained' and taken to be forceable initiated into the Emperor's Coven.

And it was all because of me.

As captain of my team, I was supposed to make the decisions that would help and be best for my friends. And I still managed to screw that up the first leadership opportunity I was given.

My friends and I were being dragged off against our will all because I just had to blindly trust this random person who ended up being the actual Golden Guard that was out to get us from the start.

Or… that's what I thought.

After we got cornered by Darius on the shore after escaping the ship and I thought we were done, Hunter actually stepped in and managed to help us get away and even though he didn't directly apologize there for what he did, he didn't need to.

When he looked back at us, at me… I knew he was trying to make things right.

It was weird.

Even after he reached out to me minutes later with a friend request on Penstagram and there was a part of me for a fraction of a second that felt off about it, I couldn't stop myself from accepting it.

Especially after I looked at his account and saw that he not only just made one but that I was the first and only 'friend' he had so far, again… I don't know?

At first, I'll admit I was just 'curious' about him now more than ever at that point and wanted to find out more for myself about him and 'what he was doing'. But, the more I kept messaging Hunter (which was surprisingly a lot more than I expected), I realized even more that we both had more in common than I thought.

Honestly, I always looked forward to when we'd message each other for some reason.

Just sharing titles of books we liked, talking about our Palismen, and sending each other pictures. Whenever he was on a mission, he'd send me some pretty cool pictures of where he was without 'giving away his specific location' which always made me laugh a little.

Even with me, I'd usually just send him pictures of my plants and I thought he'd just say he liked them but not really care to know more about them like most of my friends do.

I mean, which is fair. All of us are into different things and that's fine!

But… I was just surprised by Hunter always commenting on the pictures of my plants and seemed like he actually knew things about them.

It was those things that would make me sit in my room and smile to myself or joke around with Clover that I happened to be a 'friend' of the supposedly ruthless Golden Guard like everyone always thought he was.

I mean we were technically 'Penstagram friends', but… I just still didn't fully get him and what he really was doing, you know?

It wasn't really until he helped us at Hexside against Head Witch Graye, deserted the Emperor's Coven, and saved Gus from his own illusion that I really saw that Hunter was 'more' than he was letting on. For the first time since we played Flyer Derby, that time leading up to the Day of Unity was the first time Gus and I hung out with Hunter as just 'Hunter' and got to see what he was really like.

Or… so we thought?

Even though we knew we could trust Hunter and knew Hunter trusted us now, it's like there was still more that he wasn't telling any of us.

Almost like there was this 'thin wall' there whenever we talked...

But, with the whole 'draining spell' thing, we didn't really have any time for anything else. And it really wasn't until we all escaped to the Human Realm and got taken in at Luz's house by her mom that things changed.

Before the Day of Unity in the Demon Realm, there was no time for anything.

But, once we knew we were all stranded in the Human Realm with nothing but time until we found a way back that things 'changed'. Hunter and Gus were bunking in the basement and me, Amity, and Vee were all staying with Luz in her room so the only times we all were together was when all of us were 'together' all the time during the day.

I'd talk to Hunter, but… it was like there was still something in the way.

It wasn't until about a week into us staying with Camila that I couldn't sleep that well for a fifth straight night and ended up just going downstairs to the kitchen to get something to drink and I saw Hunter through the back screen door sitting on the steps.

Just him.

At that moment, I knew I finally had my opportunity to talk to him and finally 'figure him out'.

So, after gathering my courage, I went outside and asked if I could sit next to him.

At the time, I didn't know what I decided to do was going to give me a lot more than what I was looking for.

Back when Hunter and I messaged on Penstagram and I realized we had a lot in common, I had no idea how much we actually did have in common once we finally talked without a 'social media barrier' in the way on those mornings when it was just the two of us.

Because the more I talked to Hunter; and even without the 'Golden Guard facade' to hide behind, I realized how much Hunter was still hiding behind 'something' to avoid showing us who he really was… and also me too the more I hung out with him. I didn't realize how much I was also trying to keep my own 'problems' with myself out of sight out of mind every time I always tried to be brave in every situation.

Because as much as I hate to admit it even now, I still can't shake feeling like 'Half-A-Witch Willow' sometimes.

I still remembered Hunter asking me once about the time I called myself that in the cell when I was talking to myself after I felt like I majorly screwed up… and also remember his response when I told him why when I used to get bullied over not being able to control my own magic as well as everyone else, especially when I was little.

"What are you talking about? You're probably the most powerful witch I've seen my age. Believe me, I've seen the new Coven recruits and compared to you their 'magic ability' seems like a 'joke' at best. And even then, at least you've always been able to do magic yourself… cuz I can't and never will be able to do magic like you can no matter how hard I try."

I probably would've let my own shock take over more if I wasn't more interested in him telling me about how he's always had a 'dormant bile sac' and physically can't make a spell circle because of it.

I didn't even realize it until that moment, but every time I was around him and saw him use magic was always when he was using a staff.

Then I really didn't even want to try to cut him off since all he did was just open up to me about how everyone always 'looked down on him' for not being able to do organic magic as a witch and only made him want to prove himself even more despite feeling like he still was not and can never be good enough no matter how much he 'lied to himself about it'.

It was right then that I realized Hunter and I really were more similar than I thought. And not just because of having a thing or two we had in common like interests or anything like that.

Because as much as Gus and I were both 'outcasts' and that's how we became friends… we both felt different ways about it.

But with Hunter… I'd never met someone else who almost described exactly how 'I' felt being almost the exact same way that 'they' felt about themselves… if not seeming even more doubtful than me deep down.

And from there, we eventually stopped sitting on the steps and would go walking around the woods behind the house together every morning before everyone else woke up.

We'd talk most of the time to 'distract ourselves' from the current situation of us being stranded about things we liked to do and would like to do once we got back home.

Honestly and the more we talked, I actually felt really sorry for Hunter.

I mean, I guess I kinda realized he was a little 'out of touch' when it comes to acting his age like the rest of us, considering I remembered I was also showing him how to use Penstagram A LOT as we would chat with each other.

I guess I just assumed that was because he was some 'Teen Prodigy' that became a soldier and Coven Head early in life and never had time for anything else.

But, it wasn't until I realized he didn't even know how to use a swing set and thought I was going to 'push him off' when I told him I could 'give him a push' that made me realize that Hunter was probably never allowed to 'be a kid' or just 'have fun'... ever.

And I was determined to show him it was okay to let himself just 'relax' and 'have fun' sometimes.

Sure even though all of us were 'struggling' and I know I was missing my dads and had no idea if they were even 'fine' or not, for some reason having those mornings talking and hanging out with Hunter just helped give me a 'healthy distraction' from everything going on… and I know I was giving him one too.

My favorite thing we'd do was any time we were hanging out at that clearing on the swings or just 'playing around' with our staves.

Since we had our Palismen, I remembered getting Hunter to race me from the edge of the woods to the swing set.

Even though that race usually ended up with us each taking off a sock and tying it to the back of our staves to play a one-on-one round of Flyer Derby.

And THAT was A LOT of fun!

Honestly, I don't think I laughed that much before that moment since everything happened before the 'Day of Unity'. I definitely know it was the most I heard Hunter laugh by far or even seen him actually full-on smile before.

And then something happened…

7 months ago; Human Realm

"Alright, one-to-one! Best of three for match point!" I called out as I tied my sock to the back of my staff again before taking off into the air where Hunter took off.

He kept grinning at me as started, "On your mark, Captain. I won't let you get me easy like the first time."

I scrunched my eyes and laughed a little before saying, "Alright, you asked for it."

I thought it was still kinda funny how he kept calling me 'Captain' even though I told him he could just call me Willow. But, I was determined now… even though I was just genuinely having fun more than anything.

Both of us were!

Even though it was 5 am and both of us were playing Flyer Derby in the middle of the wood's behind Luz's house, both of us were having more fun than we have in a while!

Especially when Hunter was the one who came up with the idea of us using our socks on the backs of our staves as flags… I thought that was actually pretty genius.

But, since we didn't have an official to initiate 'take off' with a whistle, I just looked over at Hunter and smirked before calling out, "Ready?... GO!"

Right then, both of us took off and kept trying to cut each other off.

But, it always starts like this. We both try to 'play fair' and just use flying tactics instead of magic. Or at least 'I' tried to 'play fair' the first time we did this when I found out he couldn't do magic organically like I could.

Or until that all went out the window after I got the first match point the first time we played and he did a teleportation spell with his staff to appear behind me and steal the sock off the back of my staff.

And then when I gave him a shocked look about why he did that, I just remember him smirking and shrugging at me before saying, "We never said we couldn't use magic here, right?"

After that… anything went in our Derby matches from then on out.

Although we were flying around more than usual this time, trying to evade each other and catch onto each other to get each others' 'flag'.

I mean, I like to think I'm a pretty good flyer, but compared to Hunter… even I have to admit he's really good.

If not a better flyer than me.

The whole reason I wanted him on my team without even knowing who he was because of his flying alone. Not that our whole team didn't end up having good flyers since Gus is by far the fastest and Viney and Skara are both pretty solid too. But Hunter… It's like he has this almost natural intuition and confidence when he's flying that I've only seen from professional Flyer Derby club players.

And honestly… I'm a little jealous of that and wish I could be as well-rounded of a flyer as he is.

But, that doesn't mean I just sit back and let him win. Especially with magic 'on the table', we're pretty even.

We kept evading each other and I was so close to grabbing the sock on his staff until he teleported out of the way and I reacted quickly by going forward and toward the ground, knowing he was going to appear behind to try and snag my flag the first chance he got.

And I knew I got him too since by the time he appeared behind me I heard a slightly flustered and confused, "HEY!"

I smirked and laughed before I called back, "Can't get me that easy!"

But, I knew there weren't any 'hard feelings' or anything since both of us were laughing as we kept trying to evade each other.

We kept that up as I tried to cut him off with vines every once in a while whenever he got too close.

Well, or at least it was like that until we were flying closer to the ground again and I didn't realize Hunter was standing on his staff as he reached out to grab my sock off mine. He almost got it until I think he stepped forward a little too far that he ended up flying forward right as he grabbed the sock on my staff, also throwing me off my staff in the process.

I panicked and thought we were going to crash right into the ground, quicking trying to make a low canopy to catch us from a free fall with some nearby tall grass.

Luckily we fell right where I casted the canopy onto, but… 'something' felt different from every other time I summoned a plant to catch me from falling.

It felt… heavy.

After I collected myself from the fall and eventually opened my eyes, my entire face felt like it started burning on reflex when I realized Hunter was just 'on me'.

I just felt like I was frozen in shock as Hunter looked like he was trying to get up, having his eyes scrunched shut as he propped himself up with his arms and shook his head as he started, "Ugh, sorry Captain, that was my fault. Are you o… kay?"

It was like his expression mirrored mine as his eyes went wide and red-faced as he looked right at me, our faces only a couple of inches apart.

I had no idea what was happening as my heart pounded painfully slow yet forcefully against my chest. I mean… it's not like I was uncomfortable by what was happening.

Confused, yeah, but that was just because I didn't know exactly what was 'going on' as we kept looking at each other and thoughts started coming to my mind that I never really thought about before. My palms started sweating as I gripped my fingers into the tall grass under me, involuntarily gulping down a lump that formed in my throat.

All I kept doing was look at Hunter as his eyes felt like they were just looking RIGHT into me and his mouth hung open a little.

But, again… it's not like I minded.

Actually, I weirdly kinda 'liked' what was happening. Or at least until I became REALLY confused again as he pretty much scrambled to his feet and put his hands up and started, almost in a blind panic, "Sorry! I-I'm so sorry, Willow! I-I didn't mean to… uh, here. Are you okay?"

He held his hand out to me with a beyond sorry and weirdly concerned look on his face.

I mean, I was fine.

And I was 'fine' before too, even though I really didn't know what was going on. Like I said, I actually… didn't mind being 'close' to him like that.

But, since he looked like he was about to have a panic attack and everything really was 'okay', I tried to just smile as I said, "It's okay, Hunter. I'm fine! Seriously. It's okay."

After I took the hand that he offered to me and I got to my feet.

We just kinda 'stood there', as he kept looking everywhere else but at me… almost making me feel like maybe I did something to make this weird.

Well, until he finally did look at me and I decided to just smile to show him I wasn't mad at him or anything.

His face and his ears somehow got even redder than they were before as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away before saying, "Uhh, well… we should get back to the house!"

And just like that he grabbed his staff and just started marching with a purpose back to the house as I just… stood there.

Just… thinking.

Present; Demon Realm

It took a little bit for me to realize that I liked Hunter.

Which… okay, I'll admit I don't have a lot of 'experience' with having crushes.

Considering I felt like I spent so much time just thinking I was never good enough for anything so the idea of having a 'crush' on someone just never happened for me.

Like maybe I thought someone was 'cute' or something like that for a second. But realizing I had a 'full on crush' and 'feelings' for someone was kind of new to me.

Especially when I realized I felt like that about Hunter.

Sure we're friends and even now I'm pretty sure we still are, but after that thing in the woods… it's like something in me just decided to 'wake up' and all of sudden made me realize I was attracted to him.

And not just physically or anything!

I mean, yeah I also think he's really cute, has a sweet smile that always makes me smile no matter what, and the way his eyes get this… anyway, it's not just that.

Because Hunter really is a sweet guy and after everything we went through and all the time we spent together back in the Human Realm, I really do think of Hunter as one of my best friends and someone I trust more than anyone else.

It was the reason why I asked him to be the Alternate Captain of our team and I knew that feeling was mutual with us as friends.

But, it was also why I kept getting frustrated back in the Human Realm after that incident in the woods after we fell.

There were these times I kept trying to show him how I felt and even I was starting to pick up on him feeling the same way as me.

Even back at Luz's house with everyone else around, I'd catch him 'looking at me', and right as I'd look over, his face would go red and he'd immediately look away.

There was even this time while we were walking when our hands brushed against each others' and we ended up stopping and looking at each other with our faces going red.

I smiled at him and wanted to try and hold his hand, but all he did immediately was let out an awkwardly nervous laugh and 'change the subject' before continuing to walk on.

One day I just felt so 'flustered' that when I thought I was alone in Luz's room, I put my pillow over my face and let out the most frustrated groan into it just to release something after 2 straight weeks of this 'back and forth' thing with Hunter.

And I just kept 'stewing' in my thoughts for a second until I heard Luz ask me if I was okay.

Then I felt I wanted to phase through the floor after I removed the pillow from my face and saw both Luz and Amity standing there just looking at me.

Eventually, and also because I knew I wasn't going to get out of it knowing Luz especially… plus considering we all shared a room, I came clean and told them about 'what was going on' between me and Hunter and how frustrated I was.

Because I just still didn't understand that even though it seemed like he liked me back why he wasn't just doing anything.

After Amity and Luz just let me 'vent', Luz just shrugged before saying that maybe Hunter did like me, but… maybe he just needed time and felt too overwhelmed to do anything with 'everything' going on and 'everything' he went through with the Emperor's Coven.

And the more I thought about it, that actually did make a lot of sense.

Especially since I felt like I heard A LOT about what he went through when he was Golden Guard and with all of us having no idea what was going to happen right now, maybe Luz really was right that maybe Hunter didn't want to 'start something' with me right now because of all that.

That and after thinking more about it, maybe it was better for me too to just make myself take a step back and just stay friends with Hunter instead of trying to 'start something' with him just because I really wanted to.

Besides, maybe it was for the best anyway for us to wait, right?

This way if and when things finally got back to 'normal' and we were back in the Demon Realm, I'd just give Hunter his space and just let him come to me and tell me when he was ready.

And until the past couple of weeks… that's how it was!

We're still great friends, we hang out all the time, we go to school and have a couple of classes together, we play Flyer Derby together… and then right after Grom was announced at school it was like us in the woods back in the Human Realm all over again… but much worse.

At first and like I kept saying earlier, I thought he was 'hiding something' and didn't 'trust me' or something since he seemed almost incapable of even just talking to me.

And I kinda felt like I was letting myself get flustered with him… until I realized I couldn't've been more wrong.

Even now I just couldn't believe that this whole time and the whole reason he never told me how he felt was because he ACTUALLY thought that I didn't like him back and thought I'd never want to even see him again after he told me how he felt.

Just saying that again to myself still sounds crazy and I still don't understand why he thought I didn't like him when I thought it was totally obvious how both of us felt.

And here I thought I had no idea about any of this stuff since I've never dated or even kissed anyone until just now.

My right hand almost mindlessly went over my lips as I felt my cheeks heat up again as I thought about how I somehow got the courage to kiss him.

And then just thinking about him as I looked at the picture from Grom, well at least at the two of us.

He really did look good in that suit he wore tonight.

And I know I just had my first kiss outside just now and even though I have nothing else to compare it to, but even that felt nice with him… really nice.

But, as I kept thinking about everything that happened tonight with Hunter, I couldn't help but let my mind go to somewhere else.

Because now that this happened with us, I guess… I don't know? I glanced over to the corner of my room at my Flyer Derby pads, making the wheels turn in my head until I smiled at the idea that came up.

Well, I guess I can start by trying to get some sleep first, huh?

WHEW! Now THAT was a marathon that hopefully, you all made it through as well without wanting to curse me or something for how long this was. Haha. But, in all seriousness and especially since this marks Chapter 10 and all we've gotten was Hunter's say… I thought it was important that Willow got to have MORE than her 2 cents on how she felt in all this. I'll be honest, I have always absolutely ADORED Willow's character since she was first introduced. Honestly, Willow reminded me a lot of myself as a teenager. Because despite always trying to be brave and push me out of my comfort zone, I too had a lot of personal insecurities that sometimes made me doubt myself. Plus, just her entire personality is so endearing and from my perspective that it's no wonder why Hunter likes her from my perspective. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter for the Willow content and I REALLY hope I was able to do her character the justice that she VERY much deserves. Now onto a headcanon, I added in that I'd like to explain really quickly in regards to Willow's parents. There is a fanmade "The Owl House" comic made by a creator called 'MorningMark' (you can find them on Tumblr if you're interested in their work) that is titled "Good Guard Bad Guard" that showed a really cute dynamic between Willow and her fathers. Particularly this comic now put the headcanon in my own head that Willow has different terms of endearment where she calls Gilbert 'Papa' and Harvey 'Dad' which I thought was so FREAKING cute that I decided to make this dynamic the same in my fic too. :) Anywho, thank you all so much for reading and constructive feedback is always very much appreciated if you can spare it.

Thanks as always for reading and stay classy!

Dexter1995