Broken - The Owl House (Human AU)

(Ch. 20) Hunter?

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- TW - Depictions/Mentions of PTSD, Dissociation, Trauma, @buse, CSA, r@pe, transphobia, homophobia, Philip (🤮), and just what you would expect after someone's gone through something traumatizing 



Willow POV

When Hunter didn't attend class the day after Parent Teacher Conferences, Willow was understandingly worried. After all, the last time she had seen Hunter he was being dragged away by his uncle who had just called her parents the f-slur. That was a perfectly good reason to be worried, right? 

Willow just had this feeling of dread, which increased upon seeing that Hunter was absent. She wanted to scream and rip her heart out. She shouldn't be worrying, he'd be fine. Everything was fine. It had to be. 

So she went about her classes like everything was normal, except it wasn't. Hunter wasn't there. 

She did the same the next day. Except Hunter still wasn't there. 

And the same the next day. 

And the day after that. 

And the next...

About a week has passed now and as Willow walked to school she let that hopelessness sink in. She'd been waiting and waiting. The dread was eating her up inside, taking away any peace she could've had this past week. She knew it was bothering the rest of the group as well, but they hadn't been at Parent Teacher Conferences. They hadn't met Hunter's uncle in person. She felt like she would break at any moment. 

She took a big breath as she entered English, ready to face Hunter's empty seat again. Except her breath caught in her throat with relief and panic at the same time. 

There was Hunter, sitting in his normal spot, with his arms resting on the table and his head bowed. 

"Hunter?"

He didn't look up. Willow noticed that he was staring at his hands, he looked like he was stuck in a haze as if he was completely zoned out. She slowly approached him and cautiously put her hand on his shoulder. 

He violently flinched away and his head shot up to look at her in terror before morphing into relief. 

"W-Willow?" His voice sounded harsh and rough as if he hadn't drunk water in days. 

Willow stepped backward, a bit frighted by his reaction. She slowly stepped forward again with her hand outstretched. 

"Hunter? Are you ok?" She asked with pure concern and dread. She knew something was wrong, she had known it since Parent Teacher Conferences. That feeling had always been there. 

Hunter looked at her hand before letting out a shaky breath. "Y-Yeah, I'm f-fine!" He quickly looked away and hugged his arms to his chest. Willow took note of the thick hoodie he was wearing; it covered his neck. Paired with the long pants he wore and his boots, his outfit covered all his skin except for his face.

"Where have you been this entire last week?" She asked, her brows knitting in worry and confusion. 

"J-Just I-uh-" Hunter shifted nervously in his chair, fidgeting with his fingers, "D-Does it really m-matter?" His tone practically pleads with Willow to drop the subject, but she doesn't back down. 

"Yes. It does. You've been gone for a week, which worries me," Willow stated, putting her hands on her hips. Hunter gives her a nervous smile and quickly looks back at his fingers. 

"I-It's nothing i-important. I-I was just s-sick," Hunter lied nervously, refusing to make eye contact with Willow who was frowning deeply. Hunter hated the way she studied him with her calculating eyes. It made him feel like an open book and she could see everything.