GOLDRIC

Chapter 3

"Come in!" Luz called from behind her closed bedroom door.
Hunter let himself in and sat down on the edge of her bed. He set down a paper bag on the floor and crossed his legs on the mattress.
"What's up, classmate?" Luz asked, nudging him. "You look like you're deep in thought."

Hunter sighed. "Listen, I don't have a lot of experience talking with kids my age, only weird emperor coven creeps. Can I ask you a dumb question?"

"Go ahead, I'm the master of asking dumb questions."
Hunter huffed. "Um, well... what does it mean when a guy winks at you?" He avoided eye contact with the human, embarrassed.
Luz giggled. "Well, it either means the person is joking, or they're flirting with you. Usually the latter. At least, that's what I know from books and movies."

Hunter shook his head. "WHAT?! No way. Probably just joking. It might be different in the demon realm."
He thought of the green-haired boy's antics earlier that afternoon. Edric was probably just a silly guy, just like half the kids their age. Nothing pointed to flirting. Just jokes.
It was fun to talk to Edric. But knowing this winking business could be even more fun.

He smirked. "Thanks Luz. I might need your help tomorrow, and maybe every day. I haven't exactly had the most normal upbringing. All of the kids I knew in the castle were pretty uptight. I was like that for a while, admittedly."

Luz scooted closer and nodded. "Yeah, I can imagine. It might be hard, but I'm here for you, got it? I kind of see you like a big brother."

Hunter turned to Luz. "You do?"
Luz nodded and put her arm around him. "Of course! You live with me, you basically act like a sibling would, and I love you! You check off all the big brother boxes!"

And I love you! her voice echoed in his head. His tired eyes went wide.
And I love you! Over and over, he heard it.

"Luz, do you really mean it? I mean, just a few months ago we were enemies. We fought. You... didn't like me." He spoke carefully.

He recalled Luz's stern voice a few months back: You're not my friend. You're just the Golden Guard.

Luz squeezed him under her arm. "Eh, the past is the past. You came to live here and I don't care what happened when you were back with Belos. Obviously, that was not the real you. Hunter and the Golden Guard are different people, and that's been made clear to me. I think you're pretty awesome."

Hunter hugged her back. "Luz, I love you too. And I mean it. I'm excited for school tomorrow. Also, I forgot to tell you that Eda and I got you some clothes today as a surprise."

He reached into the paper bag to reveal a matching owl t-shirt and a sweater with a lightbulb intricately embroidered onto its front.
"You know, cause the light glyph was the first one you learned."

Luz beamed and grabbed the sweater, holding it up to her and showing it off. "See? You ARE totally brother material! I love it. Thank you!"

After a while of chatting about the ins and outs of Hexside and her glyph journey, Hunter saw himself out and went into his room to change out of his school uniform. This time, he tried on another new outfit: a green sweatshirt with 3 white stripes down the sleeves and grey cotton shorts. He felt comfy, like he was engulfed in a soft blanket.

He made his way down the stairs to the living room, where Eda and King were sitting, reading books.

"Hey, nice look, cool dude!" King said, and Hunter lifted his arms to show off the new sweatshirt.

"It's a little baggy, but I like it this way!" Hunter said gratefully. "I feel like the ultimate cool dude." He flexed his arms and winked.

"Cool it, tough guy." Eda said, motioning to the couch. "You've had a long day, come take a load off."