Reprogrammed (Hunter Angst)

Thoroughly Misguided Good Intentions

Excited thumping at the door, accompanied with hushed whispers woke Hunter from his impromptu nap. A glance at the clock in the kitchen told him that it had only been about an hour since his and Darius's conversation. He dragged his hand down his face, pulling down the lower lid of his left eye while letting out an exasperated moan. Darius sat across from him, clearly pretending to read.

"Welcome back to the world of the living. If my intuition is still sharp, I believe you have friends waiting outside." Darius said, by way of greeting.

With a little burst of wakefulness, Hunter pulled himself out of his armchair and jogged towards the door.

"Hunter! Guess what?!" Willow and Gus said in unison as the teenager threw open the front door.

"Um, How do you know where I live?" Hunter questioned, mostly ignoring the question.

"We stopped by Eda's on the way over and asked her where you were staying, but that doesn't matter, because... Hexside is resuming classes again starting next week!" Willow squealed. Next to her, Gus beamed brightly and hopped up and down excitedly. Their shared excitement easily rubbed off on the older boy as he smiled brightly.

"That's great!" Hunter replied joyfully.

"Tell the Owl lady to stop telling people where I live!" Darius shouted from behind Hunter. There was no real malice in his voice.

"Even better than that, Principal Bump asked us to give this to you!" Gus chipped in, thrusting a letter into Hunter's chest.

"Darius, can they come in so that we can all read this letter?" Hunter asked.

"Fine by me. Take your shoes off before you track dirt all over my clean floors." Darius approved with a wave of his hand. The group gathered in the kitchen around Hunter as he fumbled around with ripping the envelope open. The blonde's hands shook with excitement.

"Dear Hunter,

After hearing about how you and your friends courageously defended the Boiling Isles from the Collector, as well as Emperor Belos's attempted possession of the Titan, I would like to personally invite you to attend classes at Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. Your talents in leadership would be of incredible benefit to our school, and our community would like to welcome you with open arms. Myself and the teachers of Hexside look forward to seeing you on campus, should you choose to accept this offer.

Sincerely,

Dr. Hieronymus Bump"

As Hunter finished reading the letter, Willow squealed again before lunging to hug her friend. Hunter's face was completely consumed in a deep blush.

"Congrats, man! That's so awesome. Do you think you're gonna accept?" Gus asked.

"Yeah, It makes the most sense to. I did say I've wanted to go to Hexside. And... I did technically live there for a bit. I suppose it makes sense. Plus, then I can hang out with you guys all day!"