"Hunter! Are you ready? The ceremony is in less than an hour" Amity yelled as she walked into his room. She figured that there was no point in knocking with Hunter in his current state so decided walking in would be her best bet if she wanted to get his attention. Once she opened the door she found Hunter, looking surprisingly calm, pacing around his room and holding his palm cards reading them quietly under his breath.

To her surprise Hunter was ready to go, he was fully dressed and had his makeup done (Emira had cashed in a favour to do his makeup for graduation), just some basic golden glitter and light purple eyeshadow, and for once Amity could proudly say with confidence Hunter had dressed really well. He was wearing a white shirt and dress pants underneath a greyish purple vest and golden jacket with bishop sleeves that went down to the back of his knees. The jacket was adorned with golden embroidery of vines and flowers and in the right corner of the jacket there was a small pattern of a cardinal, it was Hunter's way of bringing Flapjack with him.

To top this outfit off he was wearing so dark greyish purple knee-high boots, the exact pair that Luz had almost killed him over when he was gifted them from Darius. Amity looked over his semi-calm, semi-panicked state and couldn't help but feel proud of how far he had come over the years of knowing him. He was a far cry from his old Golden Guard persona that she met at Eclipse Lake. Instead of the desperate manic boy she battled in the caverns, she was now faced with the kind, caring young man that she, among many others saw as an older brother figure who no longer felt the need to chase after the approval of others.

As someone who had overcome a similar stage in her life, she knew how hard he had worked to get where he was today, if she was feeling this proud, she could only imagine how others felt regarding Hunter's personal growth.

"Hey Hunter" The boy jumped, he hadn't noticed her come in but quickly composed himself and faced her.

"Hey Amity, is it time to go?" She shrugged.

"No quite but almost...are you ready? How are you feeling?" Hunter did his breathing techniques and tucked his palm cards into his jacket and met her by the door.

"Well...honestly I'm terrified! I have to make such a big speech in front of so many people but that's not even the biggest thing! This is such a big change in my life, a life I didn't think I'd ever have up until a few years ago" Amity gave him a comforting pat on the back as he continued.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm so so happy with where I am right now but...it's just so much. Logically I know everything will be just fine but emotionally...? I feel like about about to pass out! But I'll be fine" Amity gave a small chuckle at his extremely forced "I'll fine" but gave him an understanding nod. While she wasn't in the same position as him, she could understand what he was saying.

"Honestly, I understand what you're saying it's a big change and change...has been more than a little...difficult for us, mostly because of outside sources but regardless, if you want my opinion I think you'll be perfectly fine. Will it be stressful and a little rocky from here forward? Probably. But you are the most stubborn boy I've met, if anyone can manage this it's you" Hunter gave a small hum and gave Amity a bright smile before giving her a surprising hug. (Somewhat rare from Hunter but appreciated nonetheless).

"Thanks, Blight" Amity returned the hug, both being careful not to ruin their outfits, and pulled away not long after after all they were still on a tight schedule and gave Hunter a light punch in the arm.

"No problem Goldy, now let's go before we make everyone late" Hunter nodded and gave a quick whistle, summoning Waffles to his side, Once she landed on his arm he turned and followed Amity out the door.

"Let's go"

The moment the two walked into the lounge room Hunter was bombarded by Eberwolf jumping into his arms and giving their version of a hug giving a small whine as they snuggled into their vest. They were so proud of their little pup and how much he'd grown, they could barely believe they were the same bratty kid they had met in the Emperor's coven.

"Thanks, Eberwolf" Hunter hugged them back and ruffled their fur but not before long Eberwolf was unceremoniously pulled off Hunter by Darius who now had the fuzzy demon hanging by the scruff of their neck. Eberwolf growled in annoyance and struggled against Darius's grip but to no avail, Darius simply huffed at their antics and gently tossed them to the couch.

"Now little prince I see you're ready, I must say your sewing and designing have improved significantly. You look absolutely dapper, you've grown so much from the fashion disaster you once were...not to mention you're graduating...aw come here screw it" Hunter was then pulled into yet another embrace but this time by Darius, yet another person that rarely gave hugs. Though, it was even rarer than Amity, it through Hunter through a loop for a few seconds before realising what was happening.

"Ah...thanks Darius, that means a lot" Hunter hugged the man back and did his best to suppress the tears pooling in his eyes (Thankfully Emira had thought ahead and used waterproof makeup should Hunter get emotional, truth be told the twins were wearing a similar makeup themselves). Darius pulled away trying his best to keep his own tears at bay and gave Hunter a firm pat on the shoulder. He couldn't be prouder.

Darius had many regrets in his life, destroying his friendship with Alador, and failing his old mentor and best friend. But he regretted nothing more than how he had treated Hunter in the coven. He had been cruel and petty, lashing out at a child who had been put in an impossible position from the day he was born. Darius had only served to make it worse until he had finally faced the reality that was Hunter's life and his own foolish behaviour.

But none of that had stopped Hunter from becoming a successful and kind young man, in spite of his hell of a childhood, he had made his predecessors proud.

He had made everyone proud.

"Alright you lot, we can't go crying now we'll all ruin our makeup, waterproof or not. We need to get going, come on Blights, Hunter let's go" Darius Huffed as he marched towards the door with Eberwolf atop his shoulder, the Blight family and Hunter gave a chuckle but soon followed behind. One step closer to one of the biggest events Hunter had yet to face, but he was surrounded by people who were proud and loved him.

He was one more step closer, not far to go now

The auditorium was packed with people, teachers, parents and students alike. Hunter had never seen so many people packed into the room before and he had been at the last grom night where St Epiderm had crashed the party and started an impromptu turf war with Hexide.

That was...a long story.

The auditorium had also been done up to the nines, banners and lights had been hung along every wall and archway. Carpets had been cleaned more than ever and there wasn't a single chair out of place, most likely due to an enchantment placed on them to prevent movement or disrupting the order of the arrangement. Hunter also noticed the stage where the class would stand and take their certificate scrolls had been divided by a velvet red curtain, creating a backstage of sorts. Most likely to provide an area for presenters and teachers to stand and wait until being called.

Which included himself.

"Oh, titan" Hunter's breathing increased which prompted Waffles to snuggle his cheek providing him comfort, Hunter nuzzled back and gave her feathers a quick scratch. She chirped happily satisfied she had calmed him down somewhat and settled herself on his shoulder comfortably. It wasn't long before the other members of his family arrived and rushed over to him happily.

"Hermano!" Hunter braced himself as he found he had just been tackled by his two sisters clinging to him like an oversized teddy bear. After a moment of shaking of the momentary shock, Hunter returned the hug and brought the two girls closer into his arms.

"Hey Luz, hey Vee"

"We can't believe you're graduating! It's just like yesterday, you were zapping me with your staff and crashing an airship together" Hunter deadpanned and gave Luz and light slap over the head, causing the two to snicker.

"Did you really have to bring that up? That?!"

"Would you rather I bring up kidnapping your crush?"

"Never mind..." Thankfully the titan granted him mercy in the form of Camila, his adoptive mother swooping in and calming Luz down. She also took her own chance to embrace the boy, it wasn't as aggressive or rough but it was just as tight and comforting.

"Oh Mijo, look at you awww"

"Thanks...mama" Camila pulled away and cupped his face kissing his forehead.

"Look at you now, I'm so proud. How are you feeling Mijo?"

"Scared...nervous, but good. Thank you, mama"

"That's ok Mijo, it's a big day but you'll do great, I know it" The families continued to mingle as more and more people walked in, it wasn't long until Hunter noticed Gus and his dad walk in, or more specifically the figure of Gus running at him like a bat out of hell, stopping only to jump into his arms. Hunter, having gotten used to this action all evening, was more than prepared to catch and hug the younger boy back as he continuously congratulated him, manically flinging his arms around for good measure.

"Dude you've done it! One step closer to adulthood, how do you feeeeeeel?"

"I feeeeeel weird, but not bad. I'm getting there"

"You've done great man, you deserve it bro" Hunter pulled him into a headlock and ruffled his hair, much to Gus's playful annoyance.

"Thanks Gus, that means a lot"

The families and friends continued to mingle and congratulate their children until they heard an announcement over the speaker calling all the graduates to make their way over to the stage (where a section had been sectioned off for them) as the ceremony was about to begin. Hunter was given his final hugs and pulled off by the twins. The three made their way over until Hunter was stopped dead in his tracks by a voice calling behind him.

"Hunter!" He spun around and was met with a puffed-out Willow, guessing from her appearance she had run a fair distance to get to him. She gave herself a moment before wrapping her arms around his waist and hugged him as tight as she could. It didn't take long for Hunter to hug her back pulling her in as she rested her head on his chest.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I got sidetracked with something but I'm here now"

"That's ok, thanks for coming Willow" Willow drew back and Hunter noticed the golden shine from around her neck bringing a smile to his face.

"You're still wearing the necklace!" Willow reached for the small charm and tenderly twirled the charm around her fingers. That was when Willow perked up and reached into her pocket and brought out a small red velvet box and placed it in Hunter's hand confusing the boy.

"What is this?" Hunter opened the box and found a small locket brooch with a bird and a flower etched into it, it was when he opened it he had to fight back a sob in the back of his throat. It was a photo of him, Flapjack, Willow and Clover, it was small but he could recognise this photo anywhere.

"This photo is from the human realm...the brooch, when? When did you...? "Willow smiled as she carefully took the brooch and attached it to his jacket, it was perfect.

"That merchant from the other day, when you got me the pendant. She noticed me eyeing this off and gave it to me to give you, and I just knew that this would be the perfect photo...do you like it?

"Like it? I love it! Thank you!" Hunter wrapped his arms around her once again and spun her around bringing her in for one more hug which Willow didn't hesitate to melt into.

"I love you, Willow..."

"I love you too Hunter" Hunter wanted to kiss her but was once again interrupted by another announcement, this was the final warning call for all graduating students. He had to go now. Willow gave him a quick peck on the cheek and gave him some final words of encouragement. She waved him off as he disappeared into the crowd that was finally taking their seats. He made his way over and reached his seat next to the twins who, in their overexcitement hadn't noticed his little scene with Willow, much to his relief.

"Dude, that was close! Where did you go?"

"Oh nowhere just having one more encouraging talk, you guys ready?"

"Hell yeah!"

And thus, the ceremony began.

The ceremony had been going on for just over an hour with each student taking their turn to walk on stage and take their scroll and have their photos taken before walking off and continuing the cycle. Hunter himself had gone up, shaken hands and taken his photo but rather than returning to the rest of his class, he followed a select few to behind the curtain in preparation. Now he was mere minutes away from stepping out in front of the entire school and guests and either presenting the best speech they had ever heard or making an utter fool of himself and all his favourite people and the entire student body.

No pressure right?

Waffles cooed softly as Hunter murmured through his palm cards and quadruple checked he had every page memorised only to find the words beginning to jumble into one. It took everything in Hunter's being not to rip the pages up in frustration but decided to keep what little of his calm composure he had left, if he was going to humiliate himself he was going to retain as much dignity as he could.

"Hunter?" Hunter raised his head and came face to face with Principle Bump who seemed to have just finished his address.

"Yes sir?"

"We're taking a small break before we close the ceremony so you have about ten more minutes until you're needed on stage, are you ready?" Hunter hesitated but answered quickly.

"Yes sir, I won't let you down" Bump gave the boy a sweet smile and gave the blonde a firm but gentle pat on the shoulder, gave him a nod and walked off to prepare for the final address. Hunter was now in the final stretch and he was definitely feeling it. He'd be lying if he said he had never made speeches before, but he had always hidden behind his mask, and this was something so much more personal. He was just about to return to his cards when a set of arms suddenly wrapped around his waist from behind. Letting out a Yelp he turned around just to find Willow who had somehow stuck behind the stage.

"Willow?"

"Hey, are you alright?" Hunter sighed and allowed himself to sink into her embrace not caring enough to remind her of the rules, her presence was calming and he wasn't about to let her go if he could help it, Willow didn't seem to mind anyway.

"Better now you're here...what are you doing sneaking around Miss Park?" He teased and felt her smirk.

"Well, I wanted to hug my boyfriend and figured why should I let a curtain and a few rules stop me? Besides I've broken enough rules today anyway, what's a few more?" Hunter laughed...boyfriend

"Can't argue with that..." Willow drew away and placed a hand on his cheek, heart swelling as he melted into her touch.

"So are you ok, you look stressed"

"Yeah...it's just that speech, I know it's stupid and I've done it before. Hell, we've faced Belos and the collector and somehow this feels just as bad? How does that make sense?!" Willow smiled and stoked his cheek with her thumb.

"It doesn't but emotions and fears never do, but that doesn't make them any more or any less real. That's what makes them so complicated, but I know for a fact that you have done your absolute best and put more effort into this than most can even imagine. I know you'll do great because I know you, Hunter, you give everything your all and that's what I love about you" Hunter struggled to blink back tears and smiled despite himself.

"What if I mess up?"

"Well...in that unlikely scenario, you just show to everyone that you're just like them, nervous but willing to make tonight memorable. Besides you would have tried and that in itself is more than we could ask for. Your family will still love you, your friends will still love you and I will still love you. Just...have a little faith and show everyone just how much of a badass Hunter Noceda is, alright?"

"Aright! Thanks...for everything"

"Any time" Principle Bump walked over and interrupted them once again.

"Hunter it's time, please prepare to walk on stage. I will ignore just this once that Miss Park snuck over without permission" The two teens nodded and Hunter made his way over to the side of the stage and waited for his name to be called, meanwhile, Willow waited quietly and cheered him on from the sidelines waiting until finally-

"And finally for our closing class statement, we have our all-round multi-tracker who took every class we had to offer and flourished in every single one, we are proud to present, Mr Hunter Noceda!"

Hunter stepped onto the stage and walked across to the podium, hands shaking and his heart thundering as he made his way across. He reached the podium and looked out into the crowd, seeing hundreds of faces and eyes looking straight back at him knocking almost all the air out of him in a single moment. He hated to admit it but he almost gave in to his cowardice but something stopped him.

Before he fully gave in to his fear and anxiety he noticed his friends and family silently cheering him on from the crowd. He saw all the faces of his friends and family glancing at him with nothing but pride and encouragement. His mom, his sisters, Darius and Eberwolf and all the rest of his friends, including the twins from their place among their classmates. Hunter even spared a quick glance to the corner of the stage where Willow was hidden and found her cheering him on along with Waffles atop her shoulder.

That's when something finally clicked.

He didn't need to do this speech for the school or his classmates, he only needed to do it for the people who mattered to him and the people he loved most. And most importantly he needed to do it for himself.

He didn't know why it had taken so long to figure out, hell he's sure something had already told him this but actually being there in that moment had finally made it click in his stubborn head. Willow was right, even if he messed up it didn't matter. Nothing would change and his family would still love him regardless. That made everything much easier. Looking at his palm cards he took one more breath and started talking.

"Good evening all, to our parents, friends, teachers and especially our graduating students. As you may know...I'm here to present our final address on behalf of all of the students..." Hunter looked over his speech and found the more he looked at then the more he found that everything he had written down just seemed hollow. It wasn't the empowering or inspiring declaration he had believed it was anymore.

So Hunter did something he never thought he'd do, he ripped them up and tossed all caution to the wind and decided to improvise.

"As many of you know, the past few years for the students, including myself has been difficult. We faced not only a crazy dictator and an oblivious star child with the powers of a god but we also had to deal with the stress and, quite honestly terrifying life being a teenager. I know it sounds stupid to compare the two, but...it's true, I know because not only have I asked many of my classmates and friends about this, if growing up was just as scary but also because I'm in the same situation. But being here, having Hexide as a safe haven made everything easier, aside from the student rebellion...heh heh. It gave many witches and demons a place to make friends or embrace hobbies and even the magic that we had once been restricted from.

Hexide gave us back normalcy in what I think is safe to say, a very hectic time in our lives. I can only imagine what our families would have thought if we had said that one day, school of all things would be a blessing. So I just wanted to say on behalf of the students, thank you to Hexide for giving us that...but most importantly..." Hunter glanced over at Willow and smiled.

"Thank you to everyone who played a part in helping this happen, prioritising the reconstruction of Hexide, and simply being there for us. I know that none of us would be here without the support of everyone we care about and who loves us in return. So once more, on behalf of all of my classmates and myself thank you to everyone and congratulations, we did it! We fucking did it!" Hunter paled, he didn't mean to curse-

"Fuck yeah, we did!" Emira and Edric shouted standing on their chairs, followed by the excited cheers of their classmates and friends.

"Wooo we did it!

"We survived!"

"Hexide!"

"Hexide!"

"Hexide!"

Hunter who was standing on stage was stunned by the reaction that followed his words, which was more emotionally fueled rambling. Everyone was cheering and applauding with all the graduates standing on their chairs encouraging the applause and celebrating amongst themselves until Emira and Edric climbed on stage swung their arms around the flabbergasted boy and pulled him into their celebration. It didn't take long for Hunter to give in and join in the cheers, even the parents and teachers couldn't help but participate.

The adults were being surprisingly patient with the rambunctious teenagers, but all things considered, this was probably the tamest reaction they could have gotten.

"We did it Hunter! We graduated!" Hunter smiled and looked at his Flapjack tattoo that adorned his wrist.

"Yeah, we did"

Not too long after the student's celebration the teachers regained control over the situation and continued the end of the ceremony. Principal Bump had his final address and all the students had finally and officially graduated. The second Bump finished speaking the students erupted in one final cheer followed by various firework spells erupting into the room.

Once the commotion settled down many students rushed over to their parents or vice versa, but Hunter had taken this opportunity to rush back behind the stage to find Willow, which didn't take him very long. He made his way behind the stage and found her waiting behind the curtain separating the stage, Willow and Hunter locked eyes and without thought sprinted over to each other as fast as they could.

Once they reached each other Hunter wrapped his arms around Willow and found himself being spun around by her, the two of them laughing and smiling uncontrollably. Before long Willow returned Hunter to the ground and brought him into the tightest hug she could muster, Hunter gladly returned the affection and buried his face into her hair.

"I told you everything would be alright" Hunter hummed.

"I know...thank you for everything Willow, I couldn't have done it without you" Willow gently pulled away and stroked Hunter's cheek with her thumb, Hunter placing his hand over hers and melting into her touch. Willow couldn't help but smile and feel her heart melt at his actions, how could he be so cute? How did she ever get so lucky?

"I love you Hunter-" Willow was cut off by Hunter suddenly placing his lips upon hers, successfully shutting her up as she melted into the kiss. With one hand on his cheek, she pulled him closer by wrapping her other arm around his waist while he carefully caressed her cheek and gently deepened the kiss by wrapping his placing his hand on her nape and burying it in her hair.

Hunter didn't know what possessed him to finally do it, but the feeling of kissing her was better than he could have ever imagined. He felt the metaphorical fireworks and rush of electricity following through his body. He could die happily knowing that he had kissed Willow and that she had kissed him back, Willow unbeknownst to him was feeling the exact same way.

The two had pulled away for a second, finally giving in to the need to breathe but quickly drew back to one another, basking in the giddy feelings, joy and adrenaline they two were sharing. The two were so caught up innocent make-out session that neither of them noticed the twins, with speed unknown to witch kind pull open the curtain revealing the young couple to the crowd.

The two only noticed and pulled apart after they heard the uproar of new applause and uncontrollable cheering from Luz, Vee, Amity and Gus. Mainly the words "finally" and "congratulations" being the most catchable from the crowd. The two looked at the crowd in a newfound horror that everyone had just witnessed their first, technically second, kiss.

Emira and Edric had better be careful because Hunter was going to kill them.

Hunter and Willow just stood there like deer in headlights unable to move from both mortification and simply not knowing what to do in that situation. The two turned back to one another and couldn't hold back their own laughter, how had this happened? The two decided that if this was their present situation then screw it, Willow threw all caution to the wind and decided all consequences be damned and pulled Hunter forward by his lapels and kissed him hard in front of everyone once again. Hunter while embarrassed couldn't help but return the kiss regardless making Willow smile into the kiss.

They could face their friends and family later anyway, all that mattered now was having their moment and not letting anyone ruin it, which they decided they most certainly were not going to allow.

Yay, I finally finished the fic! I apologise if it's kinda repetitive and all over the place, I wrote this over a long time but I just had to finish it. If anyone thinks Hunter's fear is repetitive I wanted to show that regardless of support and encouragement fear can still exist, that's unfortunately how the brain works. But the support Hunter was given, made his fears easier to deal with and overcome.

Thank you everyone for reading and if anyone has any ideas for oneshots or short stories feel welcome to let me know!

~Luna