Luz

As Eda, King and I laid down in content after Belos's defeat, a thought occurred to me. Eda noticed my frown.

"What is it, kiddo?" Eda asked me with great concern. "Why so sad?"

"Yeah!" King piped up. "The wicked emperor is dead! We should be celebrating and maybe sing a song about it." He began to sing. "Ding, dong, the wicked emperor's dead, the wicked emperor's dead!"

"I'm glad that Belos is gone." I admitted. "And that he can no longer hurt anyone ever again, don't get me wrong about that. But I can't help but to think I stole Hunter's thunder." Both King and Eda were confused about this and they looked at me.

"The blonde kid?" Eda wanted to know. "How so?"

"Well, he had a past with Belos. When he found out that he was in fact, evil. It greatly traumatized him as you saw when he and I returned from Belos' mind. Therefore, I think he should have fought with him as well, maybe even done the final blow. That's why he came here, for revenge against him for what he did to his palisman, Flapjack. He wanted so much to find him when we came back here from the portal. Now, I feel that him not being able to defeat Belos with my other friends was pointless and a waste. It's like my friends all came back for nothing. Amity should have seen me in Titan form. She would have loved that. It would have blown her mind. It would have blown all of my friends' minds, including my mom's who also came here, by the way."

"Well, it's their loss." King put in. "If they missed out on that epic fight, then too bad! Because there's literally no way that we are fighting him again, nor would I want to. Belos is gone and we should be glad. We did good work."

"I am glad." I stated. "And we did good work. But I can't help but to think that my friends might be disappointed that they didn't contribute in the showdown, especially Hunter."

"Cheer up." Eda assured me. "They might be a bit disappointed, but at the end of the day, what are you going to do? Belos is as good as dead. They will just be glad that he's defeated and no more." I smiled.

"Yeah, you're probably right." I then frowned again. "I wonder where all of them went. The last time I saw them, they were taken by magical puppet strings."

"I have a feeling you'll see them all again. I think everything will go back to the way that they are supposed to soon enough. Good things are coming our way. The worst is over with. Things will get better from here on out. Trust me." I smiled again.

"You are right again. I'm sure they will." I then changed the subject. "Man, I can't wait until you meet my mom, Eda. You'll love her."

"She raised you, a bright and awesome kid. I think I'll like her. In fact, I know I will. I guarantee it."

"I can't wait to meet her either!" King stated. "Yahoo, bring on Mrs. Noceda!" I had to chuckle a little at this. I then looked at him again with a frown.

"I'm sorry about your father, King. He seemed like a cool dad when I met him." King seemed to brush this off.

"No sweat." He told me. "True, I am sad that I'll never see him ever again, but that's how it is."

"King, my father also is dead, so if you ever want to talk…:"

"No, no. No talk. Don't worry, Luz. I can cope. I'm a big titan. I'll be fine." But I wasn't sure about that. However, I didn't want to pry even further, so I left it at that.

"Luz." I then heard Mom. I looked up and my friends arrived, along with Mom. I stood up and ran towards them. However, I ran to Amity first.

"Amity!" I cried out.

"Luz!" She cried back. We both hugged and kissed.

After chatting to Amity for a while, Mom cleared her throat. We both looked at her.

"Mind I see my daughter?" She asked us.

"Oh, sorry." Amity apologized. "How selfish of me. I'll leave you two to it." She then left us. I looked at Mom.

"Mama!" I shouted with glee as we both embraced each other in a hug."

"Thank goodness you're safe, mija." She told me. "I was so worried."

"I was too, Mom."

"But I told myself that you are a Noceda, and you are too stubborn for anything like what we faced, to get you down." I had to chuckle at this.

"You're right about that, Mom." I then changed the subject. "Sorry I hugged and chatted with Amity right away and not you. That was selfish of me and dumb. I don't know what I was thinking. What kind of daughter am I?"

"It's quite alright." Mom assured me. "I get it. Amity is your girlfriend. I was the same way with your dad."

"Mom, thanks for giving my friends a place to stay when they got stranded and got nowhere else to go. Also, thanks for being cool with all of this."

"Of course. Even though they weren't my children, I felt like they were my babies, every one of them. Plus, it got fun getting to know them all."

"Also, thanks for coming back to the Boiling Isles with us. I really needed that talk before Stringbean hatched."

"I wasn't going to let my baby go off to face a big, scary monster with her friends by themselves."

"I should have figured that out. And yes I did. I defeated him with Eda's and King's help, also Raine and King's dad. You should have seen it."

"I wish I did too. But I was busy up there with your friends. We were…"

"I know. Amity told me. You were doing your own stuff to help out." I then frowned. "And I'm also sorry for going to the Demon Realm in the first place instead of camp."

"That camp was an estupido idea anyway. Although what you did was hurtful, I get it. I was young once too, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

"You made friends that understand you, and you had an awesome summer. That's all I ever wanted from you. Plus, you wouldn't have met Amity. I bet you're really happy about that."

"You're not wrong."

"And you came back here to help your friends when their homes were all in danger. Your dad would be so proud of you right now, and so am I." I smiled.

"Thanks, Mom." She then petted Stringbean who was now beside me on my shoulder.

"Not to mention that he, too, would have fallen in love with this cutie." Stringbean hissed in content, obviously enjoying this.

"Yeah." I agreed, petting her as well "I feel that everyone will love her. It's hard not to love this adorable bean." Mom smiled.

"I agree completely."

After Mom left, Hunter came up to me. We talked for a while and I told him that he especially deserved to be in the fight and apologized that he wasn't.

To my surprise, he didn't seem to mind. I was glad about that. I guess I was worried over nothing.

"Oh, and thanks for not hating me when Belos possessed me." Hunter told me. I was confused about this.

"Why would I hate you for that?" I asked.

"I just thought you might think I would unredeem myself and go back to my evil ways. Wait, is 'unredeem' the right word? Is it even a word? Whatever, the point is, thanks."

"Hunter, you grew antlers, talked like Belos and yourself at the same time, had blue eyes, and had Belos' monster arms. I think it was really obvious that something wasn't right with you at the time. Plus, you would never have crushed your own palisman."

"Well, I suppose you have a fair and good point there. Still, thank Titan that you and the others were smart and knew immediately that something was seriously wrong. I don't know what I would have done if you guys went back to hating my guts."

"No problem." I changed the subject with a frown. "Oh, and Hunter?"

"Yeah?"

"If you ever want to talk about what happened to Flapjack, I'm here for you. I experienced losing a loved one. I know how much pain you are in now because of it. I know how much it hurts and how totally unfair it is." Hunter smiled.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'll need to and it might be completely unnecessary."

"I figure you might say that, but if you ever change your mind, you and I can have that chat. I told the same thing to King since his dad sacrificed himself, so that I can save the Isles."

"I will think of it."

"Good." I then left him.

I gathered with Amity, Gus and Willow after the Collector went off to fetch my friends' parents. I felt happy and relieved. My friends were home and were finally reuniting with their loved ones after so long. And even though I was with my mom and not reuniting with anyone, I was just as excited as my friends were. This was a big moment for all of them.

"I can't believe that we are finally reuniting with our parents." Amity said. "It's been months." I looked at her.

"You all were stuck there for over two months." I told her. Amity looked at me, shocked.

"Two months? I swear we were there much longer."

"It might seem that way, but time flies when having fun."

"Never say that to Hunter. He might have an existential crisis and meltdown."

"True."

"Say what to me?" Hunter wanted to know, coming up to us.

"Nothing!" Amity lied.

"Yeah!" I added. "We said nothing!" He seemed like he wasn't sure, and I couldn't blame him. That was kinda sus. Smooth, Luz, real smooth! He doesn't suspect a thing.

"Ok?"

"Even though we were worried and bummed about not coming back sooner…" Willow put in. "I still say we had an awesome summer by being together. I'm glad I took pictures and have proof on the scrapbook that I made." She then realized something. "Oh. shoot. I left it back in your world, Luz. Hopefully, we can go back there sometimes."

"I'm sure we can figure something out." I told her. "Maybe? I'm just going to say maybe and be optimistic about it."

"Good idea. Always be positive."

"You mean bee positive!" Gus chipped in. "As in, Willow having a bee palisman?" He then frowned when no one laughed. "Alright, tough crowd I guess. Sorry. I thought it was pretty funny." He changed the subject. "Anyways, don't bottle in your feelings if you're not feeling positive and let your feelings out every once in a while." He elbowed Willow. "Right, Willow?" Willow smiled at him.

"Right, Gus."

I watched in content as my friends reunited with their loved ones. Even though they got stuck in my world for over two months, it seemed longer. It seemed like it took four, five months.

But maybe that was due to their calendar being way different than ours. I was shocked to learn that a year is 666 days in the Demon Realm. Maybe Amity was just confused, and I don't blame her. I would be too if I traveled to a strange land. I only knew The Boiling Isles for five months and I still don't know how it all works.

As I watched, I saw my girlfriend hug her dad. I then saw her mom standing by a pillar, looking displeased. Good! She was an awful mom to her and tried to have me murdered. Amity doesn't deserve her love. My mom might have tried sending me to a camp to change me for who I was. But at least she wasn't toxic to me and didn't try to have me killed in front of my girlfriend. And I'm so grateful for that. Now, where were her brother and sister? Ah well. I'm sure I'll see them soon enough.

I also wondered about Hunter. Where would he go? Mom did say that she was thinking of adopting him. I'll be glad to have him as a big brother and maybe Vee as a big sister.

I then saw Hunter with Darius and Eberwolf, and wait, was he pretending that his hands were paws or something? I tried not to laugh. It was quite goofy seeing him pretend that he has paws. It must have something to do with wolves. I don't know how his wolf fascination all started, but it was nice all the same. Good for him! He deserves all the happiness that is coming his way. I don't think he'll have another panic attack or any trauma that is related to Belos any time soon

I was shocked when Amity told me that her mom told her that she still cared about her, her dad and her siblings. I did not expect her to say that to her. It was nice though. And I know that it shocked Amity as well, even though she knew her longer than me.

A while later, she then asked me if we can go out on a date here in the Demon Realm. We did go out on a milkshake date back in Connecticut, but you can't have too many dates with the person that you love. But what date should it be? It has to be perfect for my Amity, better than milkshakes, that's for sure (not that milkshakes are bad, because they're not. Quite the opposite really. Milkshakes are pretty tasty. Amity even likes them now.)

But do we even have time for a date? I want to go out on a date asap and plenty after that, but we also need time to rebuild. I feel like going on too many dates will be a distraction, and we can't have that. We need to stay focused. The sooner we rebuild the Isles, the better. I told her this.

She reminded me of breaks and it's good to take them every once in a while. I wanted to argue, but couldn't. Not with Amity. Plus, I knew that she was right. Breaks are good to take every once in a while.

Rebuilding the Isles will take a long time. Principal Bump said that it could take us up to four years, so we might need to take lots of days off to just have fun and do whatever.

We both agreed that Eda can babysit or palismansit? Whatever the correct word is, the point is she can take care of Stringbean and Ghost while we are on our date. We agreed that it would be Eda specifically and not Hooty.

I asked Stringbean if she would like this and she answered with a hiss. Amity asked the same question to her palisman.

My friends, Mom and I, along with everybody else, started rebuilding the Isles. And even though none of us wanted to do the hard and exhausting work of rebuilding everything from the ground up, we knew that it was important. Plus, it helped that I was doing it with all of my friends, especially Amity. And I knew that they all agreed with me.

I was surprised that Mom also agreed to rebuild. But I was proud of her. She volunteered to come to the Demon Realm. Even though this world was completely foreign to her, she still came. And I was happy about that.

A short time later, I was in the Owl House with Eda, King, Raine, Amity, Lilith and Mom. We all just hung out and just had fun. It also gave time for Eda to officially meet Mom.

The Collector then summoned Hooty with his magic. When Lilith touched Hooty, he turned back to normal. He grew overjoyed at the sight of Lilith and had eyelashes? Lillith was overjoyed too, and hugged him as she cried. Mom, Amity and I watched this beautiful reunion. Although I think Mom was creeped out though. The Collector turned to leave.

"Wait!" King shouted. The Collector looked at him. King sighed, and gave him his bunny plush. Aw, King was giving Francois to the Collector. How sweet of brave of him to do that. The Collector got the message. He was about to leave when King hugged him. The Collector hugged him back.

"I hope I see you again." I think I heard King whisper to them. I smiled. I wasn't really sure if that is what I heard since it was kinda hard, but it kinda makes sense for this moment.

Later, I was outside trying magic on the glyph. It didn't work. I frowned.

"Luz?" I heard Amity ask me. I looked at her. "What are you doing out here?" I sighed.

"I'm trying some glyph magic." I told her. "But unfortunately, it isn't working." Amity was confused.

"Glyph magic's not working anymore?" I nodded.

"And I know why."

"Really? Why?" And so, I told her.

"Wow! The Titan sacrificed everything, didn't he?" I nodded.

"And the worst part is, The Titan was King's dad. Poor King didn't even see him go."

"Wait, that was King's dad?" I nodded again. "Wow! I guess King and Hunter have something in common." I looked at her in confusion.

"Besides them both being lied too?" This time Amity was confused.

"Uh, I guess you're referring to something I don't know about."

"Yes, I'll tell you about it later."

"Anyways, what they have in common is, they both have beings that sacrificed their lives, so that they have a future." I smiled.

"Yeah. King's father might not have been around for him, but if he sacrificed himself like that, I'll say he loved him very much."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." I changed the subject with a frown.

"It's a pity that with his passing means that there can't be any more glyph magic."

"Yeah, that's a bummer. Glyph magic was really a blessing when we were in the Archives. You think that kind of magic will ever come back again since King's a Titan?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. He's still little, so, who knows? It'll be great though."

"It sure would be, but if not, it's not a big deal. We'll survive. If you humans can survive centuries without Glyph magic, so can we."

"Yet again, you're not wrong. You guys sure can. We all can."

A ceremony was then held in honor of all of us saving the Isles. Amity didn't understand how she and the others helped, since Eda, King and I did all of the work. I assured her that helping the witches in the Archives was enough. And I also told her what my dad used to say; that a little help goes a long way. She smiled at me, knowing that I was right.

But before we got all of our medals, we all had our meals. Amity and I held hands as we went to get our food.

After we got our food, the two of us went to find a table. We found one and sat by Eda, King, and Mom. Moments later, Mr. Blight and Amity's brother and sister joined us. I was happy to see that Edric was out of his full body cast.

The time has come when Bump approached the mic and began his speech. We all looked at him and listened intently.

After his little speech, he began calling names, one by one. Amity was first since she was first in the alphabet. I was sad that I couldn't join her right away, but knew I will be there soon enough. I just have to be patent.

Before Amity could go up to the stage, I took her hand and told her that I'll be there soon. She smiled and I let go of her hand and watched her as she walked on the stage, applauding and cheering the whole time.

As Bump called the others up, I thought about Hunter. Since he doesn't have a last name, when will he go up? He had to go up eventually, right? Yeah, I'm sure he would. Bump wouldn't forget him. Maybe he'll be last. Poor Hunter, having to wait. But it'll be fine. As long as he goes up and gets the credit he deserves, it'll all be good. He is a hero like all of us, even if he didn't help defeat Belos. And just like Dad and King's dad, Flapjack, Caleb, Evelyn and the deceased Golden Guards will all look down on him from Heaven, or whatever the equivalent to Heaven is here. I was sure of it.

Bump called me up right after Mama. I got up and went on stage and everyone, besides Bump, clapped and cheered for me. I let Bump place the medal around my neck and stood next to Mom.

"I'm so proud of you baby." Mom told me. "You really have matured since the beginning of summer. You are turning into a woman."

"Thanks, Mom." I told her. "And my friends helped me see that and let me know that it's okay to be weird."

"It sure is." Amity agreed. "Us weirdos…"

"…got to stick together." I finished.

After the award ceremony was over, I was alone with Amity when the dance floor was being set up. We talked a bit and I reminded her of our date.

When she said that she forgot, I told her that we didn't need to do it. She said that we should, and I agreed. I made a commitment to be in this relationship. It wouldn't be fair to Amity to keep putting it off for three to four years. Plus I wanted to. I'll do anything for my girlfriend and I know she'll do the same for me.

I then frowned. My quinceañera was fast approaching. I was about to turn fifteen and become a woman, no longer a kid, but still a kid at heart and always a kid at heart until the day that I die. I know Mom would want to celebrate, but I just don't feel up to it right now. Not with everything going on. I know I'll be letting my mom down and all of my relatives. I still wanted it, but this wasn't the right time. I'm going to be a woman, so it's my choice to have one or not. I'm sure Mom will understand…I hope.

Oh…my…Titan! Willow just kissed Hunter! My friends and I couldn't believe it, but it was good to know that Willow liked Hunter too. Good for her! Who was the next one of us to find love? Vee? Gus? Oooh! All of this is just too juicy and I was here for it!

"Love is such a beautiful thing." Amity said after Hunter ran after Willow.

"It sure is my hermosa battata." I agreed.

"I'm just so happy right now!" Gus added. "That it doesn't matter if I don't have a special relationship with anyone."

"You will." Amity told him. "You're only 12 after all, so there's still time."

"Maybe you'll meet that special someone at University." I suggested.

"Maybe." Gus responded.

I knew what my date with Amity was going to be. It was going to be like last time when Hooty took Amity against her will and took us on a 'tunnel of love' boat ride. However, this time was going to be different. This time, I was not going to make a complete fool out of myself and destroy mostly everything that Hooty had worked so hard setting up. This time, I will not be embarrassed. Also, this time, Amity will not be taken against her will. I just hope that Amity likes it enough because I have nothing else planned as a date.

After we worked on rebuilding the Isles for the day, I told Mom what I was going to do. She said that she'll be at home waiting for me. I went to King and Eda.

"Mind if I go with you guys to The Owl House for a bit?" I asked them. They looked at me. Eda smiled.

"Sure, kiddo." She replied. "What's the special occasion?"

"Why does there need to be a special occasion?" King asked her. "Can't Luz come just because? Maybe she misses all the times we had together when she lived with us through her human summer." He looked at me. "Sure, Luz. I would love for my big sister to come over for a visit and do various mischief just like the good ol' days."

"You mean like this last summer?"

"Yeah, the good ol' days! They're good and they are considered old to someone my age because they happened like a lifetime ago, so them being classified as 'the good ol' days' still counts. And between you and me, with you around, the days were more fun. Now with just me, Eda, and Hooty, it got boring again real fast."

"I heard that!" Eda snapped. She then sighed. "And yeah, I hate to admit it, but I agree with you. Luz grew on me."

"She grew on me too."

"Anyways," I continued. "I want to come with you two, so that I can talk to Hooty because I really need to talk to him." They both looked at me like I was loco.

"You can't be serious, right?" Eda asked. "You really want to talk to Hooty?"

"Well, yeah." I answered. "I do. Is that okay?"

"Why would anyone want to talk to Hooty, of all…weird owl tubes?" King wanted to know,

"I just do."

"Again, why? I just don't understand."

"King!" Eda scolded him. She looked at me and smiled. "Of course you can come with us and talk to Hooty. We won't judge." I smiled.

"Okay. Thanks, Eda. Cool." Eda and King flew off on their staff and I followed them on mine.

As soon as we landed, we approached the door.

"Welcome back!" Hooty greeted us. He then saw me and was surprised. "Luz?! Even though it's only been a few days, it seems like a lifetime. Are you going to ditch your mom in the Human Realm and live with us permanently?"

"Get a hold of yourself Hooty and be reasonable." Eda told him. "She's not going to ditch her mom just to live with us. She just wants to talk to you. After that, she'll go back home with her mom." Hooty seemed disappointed.

"Oh. Figures. But even so,…" He perked up again with excitement. "Luz wants to talk to me?! Oh my gosh! This is the best day ever! Go ahead Luz, I'm all ears." As Hooty was talking, Eda said that she was going in, and went inside. King, however, stayed outside for a bit longer.

"You don't have ears, Hooty." King told him. Hooty looked at him.

"How do you know? You don't know everything about me. You didn't know that I could spout legs and move the whole house, and when I was 'porta Hooty'." King cringed at the memory.

"Oh, don't remind me. I still have nightmares because of that. I can't unsee that now. You are one sick, sick owl tube, Hooty." Hooty seemed to be flattered by this.

"Oh, why thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"It was to me."

"Whatever. I'm going inside." And so, King did just that. Hooty looked at me.

"So, what do you want to talk to me about, Luz?" He wanted to know. I told him my plan.

"You want me to do all of that!?" He asked when I was all done telling him. I nodded.

"Yep!" I told him. "So, can you help me?" Hooty beamed.

"Oh, boy, I sure will! You can count on me! I won't let you down, hoot, hoot!"

"Thanks, Hooty. I knew I could count on you."

"Of course. Anything for you!" He then was unsure. "Wait a minute. You're not going to destroy everything I worked so hard on like last time, right?"

"Hooty, I won't. I shouldn't have done that and I'm so sorry. You did work hard setting up the tunnel of love and you didn't deserve any of that."

"Darn tootin' I didn't!"

"So, you forgive me, right?"

"I forgive you." I sighed with relief.

"Thanks, Hooty. I knew you would also do that."

As soon as we could go on the dance floor, Amity and I went up to dance. And while we danced, I saw that Hunter was dancing with Willow. Or at least he was trying to. He was doing a poor job at it, but I knew that he was trying his best, so I couldn't blame him. I knew he was trying to impress Willow and I was here for it. I wanted to laugh, but didn't.

It was good that he and Willow were a couple now. They deserve each other. I knew they'd make a cute couple. Huntlow for life as well as Lumity for life!

"Mija, we need to talk." Mom told me the morning of Flapjack's funeral. I looked at her. We were back home in Connecticut. It was just my mom and I. We were going to take a portal that the Collector provided, to travel back to the Boiling Isles where we will meet up with my friends at the memorial. I looked at Mom.

"What is it, Mom?" I wanted to know.

"Well, you know your quinceañera is coming up. What do you want to do for it? Anything special? I mean, you probably want to invite your friends from the Demon Realm." I sighed, really not wanting to tell her, but knew that I must. I took a deep breath, looked at her in the eyes, and told her.

"Oh, Luz." She said when I was done. "Everybody's counting on it. We'll be letting them down. They will be so disappointed." I frowned.

"I know, and I hate disappointing them. So, do you think I should have it after all?" Mom smiled.

"I think you should do whatever you want, Luz. It's your birthday after all." I was shocked to hear this.

"Wait, really? So, you're not mad?" She shook her head.

"Not in the slightest. We'll call all of the relatives and tell them that it's off. Luz, this big decision that you're making is telling me that you are already a woman, and I couldn't be prouder." This time, I smiled.

"Thanks." She began to tear up a little. I was concerned.

"Mom, what is it?"

"It's just that I can't believe my little girl is going to no longer be a little girl anymore."

"Aw, Mama, I'll still be your little girl. You know that." She smiled a little.

"I suppose. Now, hurry up and let's get dressed. Everybody will be waiting for us."

"Okay, Mama." And so we went to get what we were going to wear at the funeral. We have never been to a funeral in The Demon Realm before, so hopefully what we wear will be appropriate.

After the service, and when witches were going into the lunchroom for lunch, I saw King sitting in the corner, looking gloomy. I felt bad for him. I was about to go over to see what the matter was when I heard Mom call me.

"Luz?" She asked. I looked at her. "Are you coming for lunch?"

"I will, Mom." I told her. "I just have to figure out what's wrong with King first and try to cheer him up." With a look at King, she understood and looked back at me.

"Okay, Mija. I'll save you a seat."

"Thanks, Mom." I then saw her walk away. I then walked to where King was and sat down next to him.

"King?" I asked with a concerned voice. "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?"

"You were right, Luz." He spoke to me in a sad voice with a melancholy sigh. I was confused.

"What was I right about?"

"About my dad. I thought I'd cope with his loss easily. I thought I'd hate his guts forever for leaving and abandoning me. But I don't." He sniffed sadly. "I thought he left me because he didn't love me and didn't want to be with me, but hearing Hunter's eulogy for his palismen and his palisman sacrificing himself to let him live and now with Dad doing the same thing for me and all of the Boling Isles, makes me think that he did love me and wanted the very best for me. It hurts to think of all of the times we might have had together and what might have been. I know it's stupid, but I really do miss him. I wish he didn't have to go and that he was still here. I really wanted to play catch with him."

"It's not stupid at all." I heard Hunter say before I could say anything. I looked up to see him standing in front of us. He sat by King on the other side. King looked at him.

"Yeah? How so?"

"King, you and I were really lucky. We both had loved ones that loved us so much that they gave up their own lives, just so that we both could live. We didn't ask them to sacrifice themselves like that, but they did. That's how strong love is. Now if that's not true love, I don't know what is, and to be honest, I didn't know what true love really was until Flapjack entered my life. He was special to me and always will have a special place in my heart. He was one of a kind."

"Well, at least you and your bird spent time together. I didn't spend time with my dad."

"I suppose that's the difference between you two then." I spoke up. "But at the end of the day, they still loved you and you have to cherish them for the rest of your lives." Hunter smiled.

"That's right." He agreed. "Like I said in my eulogy, I'll miss Flap and I'll always miss him. But I know that he's always with me."

"Same with your dad, King, and my dad." I chipped in. "My dad might have not sacrificed himself or anything. He just died in his hospital bed. However, he was still a hero to me and Mom. And I'm so thankful I spent time with him."

"I suppose my dad could have been worse." King stated. He looked at Hunter. "He could have been Emperor Belos. Thank me he wasn't." I didn't know how Hunter felt about this, but to my surprise, he just smiled.

"Yeah, thank Titan." He agreed. King then stood up.

"Well, what are we sitting around for, reminiscing about our deceased loved ones? I'm starving! I want to eat!" Hunter and I both stood up too as he ran off.

My date with Amity was a success! I honestly didn't think if Amity would like it as much since we sorta had this date already before our relationship became official. But to my surprise, she really liked it. Best of all, I stayed to my word and didn't act like a complete idiot. I think Hooty really appreciated that. It was really romantic and lovely, just like all great, romantic dates should go.

Amity then brought up the fact that Mom told her that I didn't want a quinceañera until the Isles was completely rebuilt in a few years. I frowned. I kinda wanted to tell Amity myself about my cancelled quinceañera. But I guess Mom beat me to the punch. Amity was disappointed like I knew she would be. But she agreed that it was my party and I could do whatever I wanted. I smiled, feeling good. That's my Amity for you, always so supportive.

My other friends were also disappointed at this, but like Amity, were super supportive. I'm so lucky to have supportive friends like that, including an awesome girlfriend. I had no friends at the beginning of summer, and now I have lots of friends.

My birthday came and went without any mention of it. Knowing Amity, I thought for sure that she would mention it and surprise me with something, but didn't. She respected my wishes, and I'm so thankful to her for that.

When is Hunter's birthday? Did he even have one? He was a clone after all, so does his birthday coincide with Caleb's?

Maybe after we're done rebuilding everything, we'll give him a birthday. I don't know if he'll be overjoyed at that or mad, but that didn't matter. I think he deserves one whether he likes it or not.

And even though rebuilding the Isles was going to be a real pain at times, I know that in the long run, it'll be good and benefit all of the witches and demons here in the Demon Realm. Plus, with my friends, girlfriend, Mom and everybody else, it'll make rebuilding great and less boring. I just know it.

Well, it looks like we all had our happy ever afters. Gus was most likely graduating early and going to University, Hunter was going to live with Darius and Eberwolf, he is going to become a palismen carver and has a loving relationship with Willow and will attend Hexside, and so much more exciting stuff in the future. I don't know what will happen to us four years down the line after the Isles is rebuilt, will I go to college in The Human Realm or continue to learn magic here in the Demon Real? To be honest, I kind of want to continue to learn magic here with my friends…if Mom's cool with it. She probably will be because she's cool like that.

I do know one thing however. That this is the start of the rest of all of our lives.