"Ok! Let's skip school today!" Willow grinned and the two of them charged into a sprint away from the school, choosing to stick close to the trees before climbing on their palismen. They were still close to the school after all, they didn't want to risk getting caught before their day even started. They made it to the outskirts of the forest before finally slowing back down to a walking pace, they took the chance to catch their breath and let the situation kick in. They both glanced at each other until Hunter stifled out a giggle, which enticed one out of Willow.

Before long they both erupted into laughter, the both of them launching over holding their sides to ease their pain. When Hunter woke up this morning the last thing he expected was to be skipping his final day with Willow, but he wasn't regretting a thing.

"Oh wow, it's been a long time since I've run that fast"

"I know but it's kinda thinking, right? I still can't believe I got you to wag school with me, not regretting it yet are you?" Hunter jokingly scoffed and shook his head.

"Nope, not at all. You? Do you regret dragging this poor, scarred, pretty boy away from school?" Hunter teased placing a hand on his chest and dragging out his dramatic stance and expression, Waffle mimicking his actions from atop his shoulder. While Hunter never saw himself as attractive or pretty and had become quite fond of the nickname. He found it weird at first, why would people start calling him something so clearly untrue? It made no sense in his eyes. But the more people called him that the more he found himself enjoying it.

It was a fun joke to him now, while he found it ironic he enjoyed it. Especially when Willow would call him that...while it was rare, it never did cease to make his cheats burn.

"I don't regret it, it's about time we support your rebellious streak and I can't think of anything better than this. But now we need to figure out exactly what we want to do today, mmm?" Willow paused and tilted her head trying to think of possible activities the two of them could do and internally kicked herself. She had been so impulsive on this impromptu day out (totally not a date...) that she hadn't even thought of what to do once they had gotten away from school.

"We could go to the new markets? They've only been there for a few months...and if you haven't been, we could go there?" Hunter timidly suggested absent-mindedly rubbing his arm. It was a great idea, they could walk around for as long as they wished and enjoy each other's company. It had been ages since just the two of them had hung out...it would be nice.

"Great idea Hunter, let's go!"

"Wait up, shouldn't we change?" Hunter stopped the young witch and quickly gestured between the two of them, or more specifically their clothes. They were still in school uniform, and while it may look a little suspicious for two teenagers to be walked around town it would be even more so if they were both dressed in school attire.

"Yeah... you're probably right about that" Hunter nodded and instinctively grabbed his staff and in one swift motion whirled the staff in a circle around him and changed his clothes, much like he did when they had first met. But instead of changing into his old Golden Guard regalia, he changed into something much more comfortable and fitting of Hunter. He now sported a navy blue long-sleeved underneath a light blue vest and some human realm jeans that he had sewn patches into with Camila. He was dressed in the perfect blend of Human and demon realm fashion Willow thought.

With that transformation Hunter was ready, Willow on the other hand...was not.

"Well, that's one of us ready but what should I do? I still don't know how you do that little quick change spell of yours, even if it's probably the most handy spell ever" Hunter let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck. Willow had a point, they had to figure out a way to get her some clothes now.

"I could risk going home? Maybe my dads won't mind...or be home?" Willow suggested, even if half-heartedly. They both shook their heads after a few seconds thought, it was far too much of a risk. If Willow's dads found out she'd be grounded and sent straight back to school, and all their rebellion would be for nothing. Not to mention Hunter was terrified he'd lose what little trust they had in him if they caught them skipping school at her own house. That was a risk he was not willing to take.

"Wait I have an idea!" Hunter grabbed Waffles once more and twirled her around like he had done earlier, this time manifesting a maroon-coloured jersey, much like Luz's grudgby jacket, with black sleeves and it didn't take Willow long to recognise the theme, they were Flapjack's colours. It took Willow a few seconds to notice Hunter had taken the jacket off and had outstretched it towards her, gesturing for her to take it.

"Since we can't get you a change of clothes, we can probably just get away with covering your uniform, I'm sure people won't be paying enough attention to notice...if you want that is, it's not the nicest jacket I have but it's the only-"

"Hunter" Willow cut him off.

"Yes?..."

"It's perfect thank you, great idea" Willow took the jacket and put it on. Since Hunter was taller than her the jacket was definitely a few sizes too big, regardless of his thin stature, but it was comfortable and Willow couldn't help but snuggle into it hoping Hunter didn't notice. Thankfully it didn't seem he did. Now that Willow was ready and had hidden a majority of her uniform the two were finally ready, they grabbed their palisman and kicked off the ground heading towards town. The markets await and their day had finally begun.

After about twenty minutes the two witches reached the Bonesborrow markets and it was bustling. Witches and demons from all over the isles had come to the markets, that's how it felt to Hunter and Willow. The restoration of Bonesborrow had really come a long way but this was the first time they had seen it for themselves. People lined the streets and stalls throughout and the voices of cheerful conversations and the occasional bartering could be heard from the outskirts.

The two smiled at each other and joined the crowd, walking along the crowded street with everyone else. The markets were bigger than they had ever been, whether it was due to the need to celebrate the new rise of the isles or simply the lack of the emperor's constraints. It was a welcomed change from everyone and as two of the people responsible for contributing to this change, they couldn't help but feel proud.

They stopped and looked at every stall. Many were selling the average magic items and potions, like Eda once did and many of them were selling clothing and food. Hunter had never gotten the chance to go to the markets and actually appreciate it, he had only ever attended them while on duty and that usually resulted in either the boring run-of-the-mill patrol or the stressful chase and arrest of a less than-compliant "wild witch". It felt nice to feel normal and enjoy being a teenager.

They spent hours just walking along enjoying their time and their opportunity to get to talk, it had felt like forever since they got to just talk, just the two of them. They talked about school, they talked about their respective hobbies and they talked about anything they could think of.

"Wait? Did you sew your own suit for graduation? Really?" Hunter nodded.

"Yeah, I mean...Darius helped about with some of the complex stitches and buying my materials but for the most part, I made it myself"

"That is incredible, do you have any photos?" Hunter shook his head and shrugged.

"I wanted to keep it a secret, I must admit I'm quite proud of myself but believe me, it was a nightmare to finish. I can't even begin to tell you how many bandaids I went through" Willow chuckled, to Hunter it sounded like one of the most beautiful things in the world.

"Well...I can't wait to see it, I'm sure you'll look amazing"

"Thanks...I'm sure you will too"

Somewhere along the line Willow had wrapped her arm around his, an attempt to not lose her companion in the crowd she mentally argued but somehow Hunter to both their surprise didn't freak out. Instead, he responded by tightening his grip around her arm, which brought a bright smile to Willow's face which Hunter mirrored perfectly. Willow was feeling especially brazen and hesitantly rested her head on his shoulder. Hunter's eyes widened but made no attempt to pull away, he was too busy fighting off the fiery blush of his cheeks and the goofy grin that broke onto his face.

It was impossible but Hunter couldn't find himself bothered enough to care, he was happy and he was with Willow.

That's all that mattered.

They continued like this until they finally reached a small stall on the outskirts of the markets, where it tapered off to the rest of the town. It was small in comparison to the other stalls and shops but made up for it with its mysterious allure and well-kept appearance. It was a stall covered with a navy blue tarp shielding the items and presumably the owner from the scorching sun and had small balls of light in place of fairy lights, something they had learned was a type of decoration in the human realm and didn't actually have anything to do with fairies.

This prompted the two young witches to take a closer look, so arms still linked the two curiously made their way over to the stall. Once they arrived and made a closer look they realised that this particular stall wasn't like the other places they had previously seen, mostly sticking to a theme or the selling of a particular item, rather this store sold a variety of items. It sold materials, fabric, clothes, and household items, it seemed to sell everything.

"Wow...it's bigger than it looked huh?" Willow nodded as she glanced at the strange array of items until suddenly her eyes were drawn to and small table at the from of the stall, specifically at the trinkets, an array of different types of trinkets and jewellery that neither had ever seen before. Hunter because he had been raised in the coven where the only things he had to wear were his scout and golden guard uniform, and Willow because things such as these seemed far far out of her price range to even look at.

She wasn't really a fan of jewels and trinkets, to begin with, but she couldn't help but have her eyes drawn towards a special little item on the end of the table, along with another not far from it, Hunter noticed this but before either could say anything they were interrupted by a random witch, around their thirties to early forties, seemingly popped out from under the table?

"AHH!"

"Hello my lovelies, I'm so sorry that I startled you...I tend to do that...I've always been told I shouldn't just sit under my table" Hunter nodded slowly as he looked between the witch and the table in confusion, Willow seemed to be wearing the same expression he was.

"Yeah, that seems like sound advice"

"Heh, whatever it builds character I say. But back to business how are you today? Have you found anything you like, perhaps a gift for your beloved girl/boyfriend?" They stood in silence for a second before the two started blushing and frantically trying to explain themselves.

"Oh no-we're-not...we...I.." Safe to say the witch was smirking, feeling quite proud of themselves.

"We're not dating" Willow finally managed to cough out, Hunter could have sworn she sounded disappointed but he chose to ignore it for the time being. The witch shrugged and proceeded to promote their stall.

"Well, no matter you can still buy gifts for platonic friends no problem, even though you'd made an adorable couple if I do say so myself" They chose to also ignore this.

"Has anything caught your eye? I believe I saw you looking at something young lady" Willow hesitated but nodded slowly and pointed at the item in question, bringing a grin to the witch's mouth.

"Ahhh good choice, would you like to try it on?" Willow was about to decline but Hunter beat her to it, along with Clover and Waffles.

"You should" How could she say no to that? She grabbed the small item and tried it on with a little help from Hunter, once it was securely on the witch brought up a mirror so that she could see it properly. The item in question was a small emerald and gold necklace in the shape of a small heart, it was simple but beautiful and in Hunter's opinion, it suited her perfectly.

"It's perfect" Hunter whispered so softly that Willow second-guessed that she actually heard it, if it wasn't for him being so close and seeing him in the mirror alongside her she would have believed that she had just imagined him saying it. She looked at herself in the mirror, wearing the necklace and his jacket and in that moment couldn't think of a time she felt more beautiful, simply because of the way he looked at her. And this time, somehow she knew she wasn't imagining it.

Unfortunately, the peaceful moment was shattered but the stall keeper, who while looking quite proud also looked equally as bored...or maybe exasperated? She couldn't tell.

"I must say I agree with your- the young man, it looks made for you" Willow smiled but sadly took the small pendant off and passed it back over to the stall keeper, surprising both of them.

"It's lovey but there's no way I could afford something this nice, thank you but I must decline" The witch disappointingly shrugged and took back to necklace but before she could put it back Hunter halted her in her tracks.

"Wait, let me buy it"

"Hunter no, you don't have to, it's most likely far too much. I couldn't ask you to buy it"

"I know, I don't have to but I want to. Please captain?" If the sweet and loving smile didn't break her enough the precious nickname he always called her was enough to knock the wind out of her in two seconds flat, rendering her utterly speechless and unable to deny him. He wanted to do something nice for her...it should be illegal for someone to be so cute and kind!

She didn't even get the chance to say anything before Hunter was passing over the snails and being given the necklace in a small decorative box and being happily thanked and praised by the stall keeper. They took a look at the bag of snails Hunter passed over and Willow, and the palisman, watched as her eyes lit up like witchling on a sugar high.

"EXCUSE ME! WHAT? This is far too much-" Hunter waved her off smiling like an idiot.

"No don't worry about it, consider it a thank you and unofficial welcome to the new Bonesborrow markets" Her jaw dropped and whipped her head over to Willow, pulling her over so that Hunter couldn't hear.

"Girl, you have a keeper he's such a sweetheart, don't let him get away, you've got one hell of a shot. Trust me...also here, I noticed you looking at this one too, on the house, good luck missy" Willow blushed but before she could say anything the witch pulled away and enthusiastically waved them off. The two took this as their signal to leave and waved the keeper goodbye who responded by blowing kisses as they walked away. The keeper considered herself rather successful for today, not only had she made one hell of a profit, but she may have also just played a reasonable part in a young couple's love story.

It was almost three o'clock now and the school day was just about to end, the two witches had finally made it back to Hexide, the two choosing to stand on the outskirts of the forest waiting for the bell to scream and officially end the school day. Willow took this time to stare at the pendant that was now situated around her neck, Hunter had helped her put it on soon after they left the markets. She loved it and even Hunter could tell. She jokingly punched his shoulder.

"You really didn't have to ya know, I didn't even find out how much this was I can't imagine the cost"

"No amount of money is too much to see you smile..." Willow stopped and stared at the boy, her heart thundering in her chest. To both of their surprise, he continued. Today had been incredible, instead of spending the day awkwardly standing in the corner of the room with his class waiting for the day to end and stressing out over his stupid speech he got to spend his day, enjoying his teen rebellion with the witch he cared for most. His heart was so full of emotion somehow all his courage had manifested at once.

"You mean everything to me Willow, I know I don't always show it in the most...clear way, but..."Hunter stopped and took a few deep breaths, he had miraculously gotten this far he just needed to go a little further, one more final push. Waffles coed and Hunter caught a glimpse of Willow's deep emerald eyes, suddenly all that mattered was this one moment and Hunter felt the final push he needed. Hunter spoke up and said the words he had wanted to say since after the day of unity.

"I love you Willow" Willow's eyes widened in astonishment and disbelief, what did he just say?

"What?..."

"I love you. Willow, you were the first person to see me as just me, you gave me a chance when I knew I didn't deserve one, especially from you. You are the reason I'm who I am today, you inspire me and being your friend has meant the world to me, I know this might make things awkward but I couldn't not tell you, especially today. I may be graduating but I needed you to know that no matter what or who I am to you I will always be by your side for as long as you want-OH MY TITAN ARE YOU CRYING? I'm so sorry-" Hunter was cut off when Willow tackled him in a tight hug, Hunter barely managing to catch the both of them and prevent them from falling.

"You sweet loveable idiot, I love you too" Hunter stopped breathing for a moment, did he really hear that? Willow seemingly heard him choke on air because she pulled away and repeated what she said.

"I-love-you-Hunter" The both of them stood in comfortable silence too in shock to say anything until they both erupted in uncomfortable laughter with matching faces of absolute joy and happiness spread onto their faces. Hunter grabbed Willow and started spinning her around in circles unable to contain his happiness and adrenaline any longer. Willow squealed in surprise but continued laughing until he softly put her down.

"So...how long have you liked me?" Hunter asked. Willow nervously chuckled and twirled her hair.

"Umm...I can't fully remember but I'd have to say sometime during our time in the human realm"

"That long? And I didn't notice? Oh my titan" Willow smiled.

"So...when did you start liking me?" Hunter averted his gaze and hid his face in his hands groaning in embarrassment.

"Since the flyer derby incident" Willow's jaw dropped and thought back to every interaction the two had shared since then, the more she thought about it the more she realised they had both been incredibly obvious in their affection for each other. They just hadn't noticed...

IN TWO YEARS!

"Oh my titan, I didn't even notice...I'm so sorry!"

"Seems we were both as oblivious as our friends have been saying huh?"

"Gus is gonna kill us" Hunter nodded.

"Yeah...if Luz and Amity don't get to us first" Their friends had tried so hard to get the two together and tell them they had nothing to worry about but they had continuously ignored them only for them to confess to each other with no interference from them whatsoever. They knew they'd be happy for them but they'd be equally as infuriated, especially Gus.

Willow after being spun around finally noticed that her glasses had been jostled and were now slightly tilted on her face but before she could reach to fix them Hunter beat her to it and straightened her glasses for her, hooking a piece of her hair behind her face and gently and carefully cupped her cheek. She subconsciously reached her hand up and placed it over his as he gently stroked his thumb over her cheekbone, savouring the feeling of her cheek under his palm.

Eventually, the two started to draw closer, Hunter pulling her in by wrapping a tentative arm around her waist and Willow returning the gesture placing her other hand on the nape of his neck, feeling his soft hair which had started to grow out once again. The two drew closer until they were mere millimetres away from one another, their eyes fluttered shut as their lip were about to meet.

SCCCRRREEEEEEEECCH

The two jumped away startled by the noise, it was the school bell and now school was officially over...

It had also ruined their first kiss! Why did life hate them?

Hunter whined and Willow while feeling the same way as Hunter gave him a slow pat on the back.

"It's ok, we'll get another chance...but we should probably go, don't forget you graduate in a few hours"

"Don't remind me...but you're right, plus the Blights are probably looking for me and I'm not kidding when I say they will tear this school apart if they can't find me" Willow agreed and gave the boy one more hug and feeling brave, regardless of them almost kissing less than two minutes ago, kissed him on the cheek and ran off.

"Love you Hunter see you later tonight bye~"Hunter stood there holding his cheek just watching her run off before finally turning around to find the twins and Amity, today had been great but it wasn't over, just a few more hours now. But he had decided, that absolutely nothing could ruin his day, how could it.

He had just confessed to Willow, and nothing could make him more happy than that.

I fucking finally finished this chapter! I am so sorry this took so long but with graduation and work, I've just been too busy to work on any writing whatsoever. I do apologise if there are any inconsistencies as it has been a while since I wrote the last chapter, but all in all, I think I did it pretty alright. Thank you everyone for reading and stay tuned for the final chapter!

Thanks for reading please, comment and give any ideas or constructive criticism!

See ya

~Luna