Chapter Text
May 5th - Los Angeles, California
Sent: Monday, 6:45am
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: URGENT - New Assignment
Good Morning Wednesday,
I have a new story I need you to work on. Blood Moon are an up-and-coming band from Los Angeles who are about to leave on tour to open for The Outcasts, and they are quickly amassing a large following. I need you to do an interview with them, and then attend their show the next night to do a write-up on it. They’ll be at their recording studio this Thursday and I’ve scheduled time for you to speak with them. Details are attached.
Best,
Larissa Weems
Editor-in-Chief
<NightshadeStudiosGuestPass.pdf>
Sent: Monday, 6:47am
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: URGENT - New Assignment
As stated before, I do not wish to work on projects involving this genre of music. I would much rather spend my time writing about much more profound topics.
Worst,
Wednesday F. Addams
Sent: Monday, 6:50am
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: URGENT - New Assignment
Wednesday,
And I’ve stated before, you are our best writer, which is why I am assigning you to such an important story. Take care of this for me and you will have your pick of articles for the next month.
Best,
Larissa Weems
Editor-in-Chief
Sent: Monday, 6:58am
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: URGENT - New Assignment
Fine. Consider it done.
Wednesday F. Addams
May 8th - Los Angeles, California
Wednesday shows up to the music studio promptly at eleven in the morning, just as she had been scheduled to. She has a notebook and recorder tucked into her bag, along with a list of questions she’d put together over the week after doing her research on the band.
There are four of them. Bianca Barclay, the lead singer; Divina Fisher, the bass player and backup vocalist; Yoko Tanaka, the drummer; and Enid Sinclair, the guitarist who also sang from time to time. Enid and Yoko had been the original Blood Moon before Bianca and Divina joined a little under a year ago, and they’ve slowly started to make waves especially since one of their songs blew up on Tik Tok.
Besides that, Wednesday figured she’d prefer to learn more about them from the band themselves because everything else she finds isn’t very much in depth. But when Wednesday makes her way inside, she finds that there’s only one member there waiting for her.
She’s got colorful hair, an equally colorful hoodie that’s a bit too big on her shoulders, and her face lights up with a welcoming smile when she sees Wednesday.
“Hi, I’m Enid,” she greets, holding a hand out, but Wednesday just nods back at her instead, recognizing her from the photos as the member that seemed to stand out the most and have the biggest following on social media.
“Wednesday Addams,” she tells her grimly, “Where’s the rest of the band?”
Enid shrugs, not seeming too offended by Wednesday not shaking her hand. “Stuck in traffic. Bianca lives with Divina on the other side of town, and Yoko lives with me, but of course Yoko is over at Divina’s, so I pretty much have the place to myself-“
“I’m not here to discuss your living arrangements,” Wednesday retorts, and Enid stops, an offended yet embarrassed look on her face.
“Right. Yeah. Let me call them again.”
Enid steps to the corner of the room and Wednesday can hear her muttering on the phone, glancing back over her shoulder before hanging up.
“It’s bad out there. But you can talk to me for now, if you want,” Enid suggests, and Wednesday just stares back at her, annoyed.
“I need the whole band here.”
“Oh. Well, um, I guess we'll wait then.”
Enid sinks into a couch along the wall and pulls out her phone and starts typing furiously. Wednesday just stands still, alone in the center of the room, frustrated at her time being wasted. She figures she could wait a bit, she doesn’t have anything for a while and she’s come all the way out here anyways. She’d like to get this over with as soon as possible.
Enid looks up at her after a moment, and then taps the space on the couch next to her, signaling for Wednesday to come sit next to her.
“What? I don’t bite,” Enid pauses and gives her a smirk, “Hard.”
Wednesday feels her face go hot at the way Enid’s grinning at her. She hopes Enid doesn’t notice as she goes to sit on the far end of the couch, placing her bag on her lap as she waits quietly.
Enid’s busy texting away for the next few minutes, Wednesday glancing around the studio, waiting for the door to burst open with the rest of the band so she doesn’t have to be sitting here listening to Enid giggle at whatever’s she’s looking at. Not that the sound is annoying or anything, but Wednesday doesn’t like how it makes her stomach flutter.
Then Enid’s phone goes off and she sighs as dramatically as possible.
“Ugh. They’re not gonna make it,” she says, turning to frown at Wednesday. “I am so sorry.”
Enid’s eyes drift to the ground, looking genuinely upset in a way that makes Wednesday actually feel bad. And then Enid huffs and finally looks back up. “Do you wanna grab lunch instead? It’s on me for wasting your time.”
Wednesday stares back at her, trying to figure out if she wants to say yes. Her stomach is close to growling, and she could get some work done.
“I suppose that works. But I can’t stay long.”
“No worries,” Enid’s smile grows bigger, “There’s a place around the corner that’s perfect. C’mon.”
Enid jumps up and grabs her things, Wednesday following right behind her. Enid’s tapping away at her phone as they walk, asking if Wednesday could interview them during their soundcheck tomorrow instead. Wednesday doesn’t have anything planned, so she nods a yes back that makes Enid grin with relief as they reach the cafe.
“I come here a lot to write songs,” Enid explains, finding them a table near the window, “The truffle fries are great.”
Wednesday perks up as Enid brings out a notebook stuffed with paper.
“You write the songs?”
“Yeah, most of them are mine from before Bianca and Divina joined,” Enid grins proudly, “Bianca will help me go through and edit stuff, but yeah. I like to write.”
Wednesday blinks back at her, amusement slowly growing on her face. Something about Enid also being a writer has piqued her interest.
“What? Why do you look so surprised?” Enid laughs, and Wednesday straightens herself up.
“It didn’t come up when I was looking into the band.”
It’s not a lie, but Wednesday wonders if she hadn’t been thorough enough with her research. She makes a note in her head to go over more of their music and really pay attention to the lyrics.
“Oh. Well I guess you can write about that then,” Enid says, giving Wednesday a smirk before a waiter comes by to take their orders.
Eventually Enid slips on some ear phones and goes to scribble away in her notebook while Wednesday takes out her laptop to let Weems know they’ll be doing the interview tomorrow instead. She doesn’t seem to mind, as long as it gets done before they leave on tour next week.
Every few minutes, Enid will pause, tap her pen on her chin and stick her tongue out, and then cross something out. She’ll grab a few fries, and then notice Wednesday’s watching, and push the plate towards her, insisting she take some.
Wednesday just shakes her head and gets back to her own work, hating how easily Enid seems to distract her even when she’s not trying to get her to try the truffle fires. Eventually, she realizes she has another meeting to get to when Enid offers her the rest of her sandwich. Enid insists, and so Wednesday gives in. Enid grins, and then they go back to their writing until Wednesday’s phone alarm goes off and she explains she has another meeting to get to.
“Thank you for lunch,” Wednesday nods curtly, and Enid smiles back at her, almost as bright as the sun shining through the window.
“Sorry my bandmates didn’t show up,” Enid frowns as they clean up and head out, but she doesn’t look as bummed as she did earlier. All Wednesday does is shake her head back, telling her it’s fine.
Enid glances around awkwardly and realizes there’s nothing more to talk about. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow," she grins, heading back down the street, and Wednesday just watches as she disappears around the corner.
- - -
May 9th - Los Angeles, California
The Troubadour
Soundcheck is at five, and Wednesday is told she’s more than welcome to watch while she waits to conduct her interview. She arrives not long before they start, choosing to hang out towards the back of the room so as to not interrupt them. But of course, Enid spots her easily as she messes around with her guitar, giving Wednesday a happy wave from across the room.
After lunch, Wednesday let her curiosity get the best of her and she found herself listening to the rest of the band’s songs, thinking of Enid and her writing the whole time.
Her vocabulary wasn’t as extensive as Wednesday’s, but the lyrics were catchy, getting stuck in her head quickly with how easily they flowed. But at the same time, some of the words made Wednesday wonder what else was going on behind such a bubbly smile, thinking about how she seemed to be able to make Wednesday ponder about their meanings so much even if she never intended to. It makes Wednesday even more curious, not wanting to admit she should have just talked to Enid yesterday at the studio because maybe then all of the questions floating around in her head would have been answered.
The rest of the band fills in, so Wednesday takes a seat at the bar and preps her things while they begin to practice. Their music is loud and the type to give Wednesday a headache, but thankfully they’re not playing fully yet. Wednesday just steals an occasional glance at them, observing their dynamics for her article, trying to ignore how Enid seems to look up at the same time she does with a smirk on her face.
After a bit, the band seems content, and so Wednesday makes her way over, eager to get the interview over with because she’s starting to grow restless.
“Long time no see,” Enid greets, taking her guitar off and setting it on a stand. It’s bright pink, like the colors in Enid’s hair, adorned with all sorts of stickers and doodles. Wednesday thinks it’s fitting.
Enid introduces the rest of the band to Wednesday with that same sunny smile, and they head over to their green room. Wednesday takes note of how they sit, Enid slumped at the far end of the couch while Yoko and Divina are practically on each other’s laps. It’s obvious Bianca’s the lead by how she sits, confident and poised on the opposite end of the couch.
Bianca takes the lead when Wednesday starts asking questions. She explains how her and Divina were already friends, and when Divina met Yoko, Enid offered them spots in their band and thought Bianca could take over as lead singer.
They all seem to get along well, even if Yoko and Divina don’t talk as much as Bianca and Enid. Wednesday makes sure to bring up Enid’s songwriting, and they all gush over her, Enid trying to hide that she’s blushing. Wednesday thinks it’s more than deserved, wanting to talk about it more before she remembers she’s here for all of them.
Eventually, Wednesday figures she’s gotten enough material to write about and she thanks them for their time. Wednesday thinks she’ll head to a coffee shop down the street to get started until showtime when Enid stops her.
“Hey. Thanks again,” she says, a soft grin on her face, “I’m excited to see what you write.”
“It should be out before you go on tour,” Wednesday tells her, and Enid’s grin grows brighter for a moment before her lip twists in thought.
“There’s an after party tonight at the club across the street if you want to come,” Enid quickly explains, and Wednesday tilts her head. She wonders if it could be another addition to her article even if it’s something she’d usually avoid.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Cool,” Enid nods, looking hopeful, “Just say you’re with us. I’ll let them know to let you in.”
She gives Wednesday another quick smile before heading off, a skip in her step.
- - -
Wednesday hangs off to the side of the stage for the show, ear plugs in tight. She’s surprised at how many people pack in for the show, rowdy and drunk and excited for them.
Bianca’s voice is hypnotizing. Yoko hits the drums like they’ve done something to her personally. Divina’s got stage presence despite not being the center of attention. Yet Enid is the only one Wednesday focuses on.
She thinks about how the words they’re singing are hers. How quickly her fingers move as she plays. How she keeps up the energy with each song, whipping her colorful hair around and smiling so bright Wednesday might go blind.
And her voice. Even if it’s just in the background or for a few lines here and there, Wednesday finds herself drawn to the way Enid sings. Somehow, hearing it live has given her a new appreciation for Enid as an artist all over again.
It’s a weird feeling to find herself so intrigued by Enid, but then again Wednesday isn’t afraid to appreciate talent. After all, she’s surprised at how much she’s enjoyed the whole band and their show despite this being the type of music she would usually shut off instantly. As they wrap up their final song and thank the crowd, Wednesday decides she’ll stop by the after party to give them her thanks.
- - -
The club is crowded, just as Wednesday expected. Her name is on the list like Enid promised, but Wednesday can’t find her anywhere. She does spot Yoko with her arm wrapped around Divina, but when Wednesday asks them where Enid is, they shrug and say they saw her head in the opposite direction.
Still, there’s no sign of Enid, so Wednesday figures she’ll get her contact info from Weems at some point so she can tell her that she appreciated working with her. But as Wednesday stumbles out of the club, she notices someone sitting outside on the curb.
“Enid? What are you doing out here?” she asks, squinting down at Enid who’s gotten her knees pulled up to her chest. She looks caught-off guard when she sees Wednesday.
“Oh. Uh, just getting some fresh air,” she mutters, nodding her head back to the club, “It’s a bit loud in there.”
“You not liking loud music is very ironic.”
Enid laughs. “I know right?” She sighs and pushes herself up so her eyes meet Wednesday’s.
“I’m buzzed and I’m starving and there’s a taco truck down the street,” she says, glancing over her shoulder. “You wanna grab something?”
Once again, Wednesday figures she could eat after being out all day. Especially when Enid’s smiling lazily back at her, face red from the alcohol. It’s not hard for her to say yes.
“I suppose I’ll join you.”
- - -
Wednesday pays this time, even if Enid insists that she not. Wednesday just says it’s for putting on such a good show, and so Enid just smirks back at her and gives in.
Enid wasn’t lying about being hungry, because she’s stuffing her face the moment they sit down.
“So, you like the show?” Enid asks as she drizzles salsa onto one of her tacos, “From what I could see you seemed to be enjoying yourself.”
Wednesday just nods. “I can see why you all are so popular.”
Enid snickers. “Yeah. Finally.”
Wednesday can see that she’s relieved about it, and from what she remembers from their interview that all of them have been searching for their big break, especially Enid, who mentioned she’d been writing songs since she was a teenager and had hopes of becoming a household name. It reminds Wednesday that now is as good a time as ever to get to know her better.
“I meant to ask. How did you get into music in the first place?” Wednesday says, because the question has been on her mind since yesterday.
Enid smiles and finishes up the last of her food, dusting her hands off on a napkin with eagerness on her face.
“I was kind of a bad kid,” she starts to explain with a smirk, “Always got into fights and stuff. So my parents thought it would be good for me to have something else to focus on.”
She rolls her eyes, and Wednesday keeps listening.
“I played piano for a bit. But I got bored with that, so they let me get all my anger out on drums. Then my brother got into guitar and I wanted to copy him, so I learned that too.”
Wednesday’s leaning towards her with interest. “And that’s what stuck?”
“Not really,” Enid shakes her head, lips slowly frowning for a moment. “I like the drums the most. But when I met Yoko in college, she didn’t know how to play anything else. So I told her I’d be the singer and guitarist and she’d be the drummer and viola, Blood Moon was born.”
She waves her hand with a grin, but Wednesday can tell that she misses playing the drums. She thinks it’s interesting that Enid’s given that up the same way she gave up being the lead singer. It seems that Enid’s selfless when it comes to the band and their success, something Wednesday can’t help but admire even if Enid seems a bit disappointed about it.
Enid seems to notice Wednesday thinking. “Do you play any instruments?" she asks, the smell of alcohol on her breath.
“The cello,” Wednesday replies, thinking about how it’s been a while since she’s played it because she’s been so busy. Enid’s eyes grow wide with interest.
“Really?” Enid grins. “Well, if we ever need cello music, I’ll be sure to ask you,” she winks.
Wednesday wants to tell her she doesn’t know how that would work with their style of music, but she would be glad to anyways. But Enid’s phone is buzzing, and she goes to see what it is.
“It’s Yoko. I should head back,” Enid sighs, looking like she doesn’t want to go. She stands up and takes a breath. “See you around?”
Wednesday nods. “Good luck with your tour.”
“Thanks, Wednesday,” Enid says, voice sincere and eyes soft as her bangs float around her face. “I’ll make sure to give you a shoutout when we win our first Grammy.”
And then she’s gone again, Wednesday wondering if it’s the last time she’ll talk to Enid Sinclair before everyone knows her name.