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Chapter Text

For as long as Wednesday could remember she had a fascination with death and the end of all things.

This fascination had permeated her very being and molded her grayscale soul.

It was why she enjoyed the macabre, why she spent so much time studying history and science, why she was proficient in all manners of fighting styles, why she was a raven seer.

Her love of death is what made her Wednesday Addams.

And that love that was so deeply ingrained in her was ended in a single night.

It had been destroyed after her brief and very personal meeting with the cloaked reaper during the Crackstone battle, when she had bled out in the crypt dedicated to her killer.

But that’s when she learned, before her ancestor had resurrected her, that death wasn’t as tortuous and hellish as she was led to believe.

In fact it was rather… unpleasantly peaceful.

And it was something that she hoped to never experience again, that stillness and calm of slipping away into an endless and ceaselessly comfortable nothingness.

But, as much as her perception of reality had abruptly shifted with her newfound dissatisfaction regarding death, it did not change the fact that she wanted to die.

Actually…

That wasn’t accurate.

She definitely did not want to die.

If she could, she would choose to become immortal, just so she would never experience that peacefulness again.

So no.

She didn’t want to die,

She needed to die.

For the curse that was placed upon her lineage eons ago demands it.

It's a cruel and unusual curse; one that damns those who have a love that is not returned to slowly fade away until their heart stops beating and their last thoughts linger on what could have been.

And now, that was the same fate that awaited Wednesday.

Because on that same night that she lost her love of death she gained a new love.

A love who was covered in obscene amounts of color and endless smiles.

A love who fought a hyde to save her life.

A love who she had held in a desperate and blood covered embrace.

A love who was in love with someone else.

A love that she could never have.

A love that was sending her to a very early grave.

Shockingly, watching her death draw closer for the second time in her short sixteen years of life wasn’t the main cause of her displeasure.

It wasn’t even how she was going to die that bothered her.

It’s where her body would be buried afterwards that was the source of these feelings.

Because, in the Addams Family, every deceased member of the family is laid to rest on the unhallowed grounds of their ancestral manor, and how one meets their death directly correlates to where in the burial grounds they end up.

The Addams cemetery is split into three sections;

The first is the pet cemetery, where all the beloved family critters are laid to rest, where Nero now permanently resided, and one of the few places in the world that caused an emotional reaction within Wednesday that wasn’t anger or hatred.

The second part is dedicated to those who had met an unexpected end. This part has the most intricately carved gravestones, ones that depict, in great detail, the untimely deaths of those buried here. And it’s also Wednesday’s favorite section. She has spent many dark and stormy nights wandering through the rows of statue-like graves, admiring their deaths and the stories behind them.

And the last, the largest, and her least favorite part of the cemetery is for those who fell to the curse. For the plethora of Addams who died alone and in agony as their hearts slowly shattered to pieces.

It was over the two month break from Nevermore that Wednesday reluctantly accepted she too would be buried with her heartbroken ancestors.

Her dream of having a detailed, stone-chiseled grave depicting her unique and imaginative death was slowly becoming impossible to fulfill.

With her life-long love of death being destroyed, as well as her vanishing childhood dream, Wednesday experienced a great pain that left her feeling listless and empty. And, as much as she hated to admit, the romantic longing for her bubbly roommate compounded these feelings into what all of Wednesday’s research could only conclude to be depression.

Her typewriter was left untouched, her cello was collecting dust, her electric chair was never even plugged in, her torture tools were completely void of fresh blood.

Her interest in things that used to bring her joy disappeared and her heart beat slower every day.

And that’s how the days of her break passed by, with her laying in her bed as she tried, and failed, to not think about Enid… or her snake-haired boyfriend.

The day she was to return to Nevermore both came out of nowhere and slowly crept up on her at the same time.

In an apathetic haze of unfocused reluctance she had packed her trunks full of her things, only barely finishing before Lurch arrived to carry them down. With sluggish movements and very few words she clambered into the family hearse.

Thankfully, her parents and brothers had decided to stay back at the manor and let Wednesday take the journey back to Nevermore alone.

Unfortunately, that did not stop the uncomfortable hugs or the looks of pity as they gazed at her sunken face and baggy eyes.

She tried to stamp down the revolting emotions that sprang from her heart while she watched her family through the back window of the car as it pulled away, knowing that would probably be the last time she ever saw them again.

Chapter Text

It was on hour four of the five hour drive when Thing crawled out from the seat beside Lurch and greeted Wednesday with an apprehensive wave.

Wednesday’s mood had been a bit of a taboo, elephant-spider in the room, topic among her family over the last few weeks.

They all saw she was going through something and acting more reclusive and emotionless than usual, but they knew talking about it would only make her withdraw more.

So, they did what they always did and let her be so she could work through her emotions on her own, exactly how she prefers it.

But, now that they were on the way back to Nevermore, Thing had decided he should at least try to see where Wednesday was in her emotional processing.

The brave hand signed out a question regarding her well being and waited as Wednesday formulated a response.

“I am perfectly miserable and any attempt at further conversation regarding this will leave you stranded on a highway in the middle of New York.” Wednesday said with a quick glare in Things direction before she shifted her attention to the passing blur of the winter-bare trees out the window. But Thing was determined to gauge where she was mentally in order to prepare the Nightshades for her varying degree of coldness.

So he crawls onto her shoulder and taps out a threat in an attempt to blackmail her into talking.

“You will not tell Enid about anything I have or have not been doing over the break!” The unexpected seething anger in her voice caused Thing to stiffen, and, in his hesitation to run, he was caught in the steel grip of the angry girl. The white-hot stare caused Thing to claw and grab at Wednesday’s wrist in a desperate attempt to escape her wrath.

It was only after he gave up and submitted to Wednesday’s oncoming punishment when he felt it.

Wednesday's pulse.

As much as Wednesday claims to be half dead, her body is still very much normal, and that includes her heart rate.

Contrary to what the Nevermore student body thinks, Wednesday had an above average heart rate. But when Thing feels her pulse he can tell just how slow it has become. Normally, it averaged at an even 86/bpm, but, from what Thing can tell, it has dropped to about 75/bpm.

While not low enough to cause any problems, it was very strange for her.

And the only thing that can cause this drastic of a change in such a short time is something Thing has been a front seat audience member to for nearly as long as the Addams Family existed.

Wednesday froze and her eyes widened as she felt Thing tap out two simple words against her wrist, ‘The Curse.’

In her shock, she drops Thing onto her lap before she stares both at him and through him as her mind stirred with fear, panic, relief, anger, sadness, and finally, defeat.

She closed her eyes and let out a long breath as she reluctantly decided to finally share her misfortune with someone. When she opened her eyes she stared at the passing nature out the window, feeling too vulnerable to even look at Thing while she confesses her soul’s pain to him.

“Yes,” She began, the words being forced through her teeth and tinted with an uncharacteristic nervousness, “I have fallen victim to the curse and I am… in love with someone.” What she just admitted to was something she never expected she would have to say.

Thing pats her knee in a show of support before he asks something that forces Wednesday to return her gaze to him in disbelief.

“How did you know it was Enid?” She asks with shock in her eyes and a hint of defensive anger in her voice.

Thing just crouches to the side slightly but that still somehow manages to convey his feelings of exasperation. He points at her, signs the sign for ‘hug’, and then spells Enid’s name.

The only response Wednesday has to that is to blush and look away. Of course he would know how much Wednesday actively returning a hug meant to the girl, after all he has been with her her whole life. Thing knew that Wednesday had only ever hugged one person in her life and that was Fester after he had gifted her a cadaver for her 13th birthday.

Thing taps Wednesday’s knee, questioning if she wants to see Enid again.

“It is a dichotomous want.” Wednesday says after a few seconds of contemplative silence. “I have been longing to meet her gaze since I had returned home, to feel her arms around me once again, to press my lips upon hers.” A blush darkens her cheeks over her embarrassment at stating her desires out loud, somehow making it feel even more real and unavoidable. “But I also dread our reunion. It is very important that I repress my romantic inclination towards her and the sight of her within arms reach is entirely too tempting. I fear that my father’s blood in my veins will reveal the truth of my heart.” Wednesday grabs her wrist and embeds her nails into the thin flesh, the thought of seeing Enid again filling her with an uneasy sense of foreboding.

Thing signs a simple, one word question in response.

“You know why,” She says with an undertone of sadness that breaks Things metaphorical heart. “She’s with Ajax, and…” She pauses as an unusual pressure builds in her sinuses and pushes at the back of her eyes before wrapping around the front and blurring her vision. She turns to look out the window again, hiding the growing wetness in her eyes. “...and she’s happy with him.” Her voice is quiet and laced with pain.

Thing just pats her knee and stays silent, unsure what to say to cheer her up.

They both know she’s right, and that uneasy truth settles over them like the blanket of snow that’s falling outside.

Wednesday wipes a tear from her eye before it has a chance to fall as she reads the large green and white highway sign, WELCOME TO VERMONT.

Chapter Text

Arriving at her attic room was a surprisingly pleasant experience.

Thankfully, Enid had yet to show and the heat was turned off, plunging the room into the same 20 degree weather that deposited a layer of stillness over the world.

Every exhale of her lungs manifested in a cloud of vapor that hovered in the air and the quiet of the room made it feel even more secluded and relaxing than usual.

The calm before the storm, Wednesday thought to herself as she began the arduous process of unpacking.

The act of organizing and placing everything where it goes felt a bit like a fool's errand, knowing that everything here would be packed away by her family before the semester even ended. Every time those thoughts crossed her mind she found her gaze flicking to the bare and colorless side of the room that was still awaiting its occupant.

Even after she finished unpacking ,she just sat on her bed and stared at the emptiness.

At some point during Wednesday’s brooding Thing had joined her on her bed and informed her that he managed to convince the Nightshades to give her some space for the next week while she settles in. Her only response is a slight nod of thanks in his direction, her eyes still unfocused and fixed on the barren bed across from her.

Her mind was swirling again and the cause of this storm was Enid, but what Wednesday had yet to know is if the center of this storm would be the eye of a hurricane or the middle of a tornado. This unknown was causing her great distress and forced her mind to run through all of the possible ways she might react to being around Enid again. She feared that she would reveal her feelings by acting pathetically needy towards Enid, but she knew her most probable reaction would be to flee, to run away and hide until she was safely alone and didn’t have to deal with her painful feelings or encroaching death.

Thing knew Wednesday’s penchant for running so he tactfully gave her a way out if she needed an escape. It was simple, just telling Wednesday that Eugene was working in the Hummers shed for most of the day, but the comfort of an escape plan gave Wednesday a chance to breathe.

But any calm she was able to force upon herself quickly dissipated.

The exponentially increasing volume of yelling coming from the hallway was the only warning Wednesday was given before the door burst open and revealed Enid with bags of luggage in her hands, under her arms, and strapped to her front and back.

Wednesday stood up off to the left of her bed, between her bed and her closet, and waited for Enid to put her bags down before approaching her. She could feel her nerves building as she watched Enid’s muscular arms throw two heavy canvas bags of clothes onto her bed effortlessly. Seeing those strong shoulders flexing under her sweater sent Wednesday into an Enid-induced hypnosis. Her mind wandered and her thoughts focused on the fantasy of those strong arms wrapped around her, holding her tight as she lay in bed, falling asleep surrounded by the only person who has ever made her feel truly safe.

Her pathetic fantasy of physical affection and safety lowered her guard, so much so that six other people managed to funnel into the room behind Enid without her noticing. Four of them were engaged in a quasi wrestling match and their ignorance regarding the definition of an ‘inside voice’ pulls Wednesday out of her daze.

She levels a deadly glare at the intrusive additions while she watches the oldest two of the group look around the room, their gazes lingered on the dark side of the room and their faces briefly twisted in disgust before focusing on Enid once again, the older woman then steps towards Enid and reaches out to help.

So far not a single one of them noticed Wednesday’s presence in the space.

“Mom, it’s fine,” Enid turned her body slightly in order to move away from the woman that was trying to pull the bag off of her back. “I got it.” Enid tries to get her to back off once again, but the slight growl in her words is what convinces the women to back away and hold her hands up in mock surrender.

“I was just trying to help, Pup.” Esther says as she takes a step back and stands next to her mate before continuing. “You have a pack, you don’t have to carry everything on your own.” Wednesday watched as Enid tensed and a short cloud of hot breath escaped her nose. Her annoyance was clear for anyone to see, yet only Wednesday noticed. Even looking at her back Wednesday could tell that Enid was doing her calming countdown exercise. When she got to zero she unclenched her fists and turned around to face her parents with a hollow smile.

“You two should go help Evan unpack,” Enid says in an attempt to steer her parents away from hovering over her shoulder. “You know how he is, if he doesn’t start now he’ll never do it.” She throws the last of her bags on her bed before turning back around to look through them.

“Hey!” One of the boys, who Wednesday assumes is ‘Evan’ yells from the brawl, “That’s not true!” He defends himself from Enid’s accusation.

“Oh really?” Their mother looks at him with a raised eyebrow and a tone that carries an air of smugness. “Have you started yet?” The quiet ‘No’ she gets in response spreads a smirk across her face, declaring victory with a look that says ‘I was right and I knew it.’ It reminds Wednesday of her own mother and it makes her want to shave the woman's eyebrows and sew her lips shut so she can never make that self-satisfied expression again. “Our flight is leaving at two so we won’t be at the welcome back dinner tonight.” Esther says to the boys before looking at Enid with a prideful smile, “I love you Pup.” Wednesday saw Enid’s split second grimace before it was replaced with another empty smile.

“I love you too, mom.” Esther pulls her into a short and semi-awkward hug. Wednesday can see the way Enid’s body tensed and her face flashed with fear before she reluctantly and apprehensively returned the hug. Enid breaths a visible sigh of relief as her mother steps away and turns her attention to her brothers instead.

“Boys!” She says in an authoritative voice as she walks out the door. In an instant all of Enid’s brothers stopped fighting and followed Esther out the door, leaving only Wednesday, Thing, Enid, and her dad in the room.

And, without hesitation, Enid buried herself in her dad’s arms as the two embraced with genuine love.

“I love you dad,” She said into her father’s chest with a wavering voice on the edge of tears. “I’m gonna miss you.” Her arms tighten around the old wolf’s back as she begins to let out a few tears.

“Me too, Pup.” The man of few words echoed Enid’s statement before he either tries to cheer up his daughter or defend his own mate, Wednesday can’t tell which. “You know she means well.” Wednesday realizes it was the latter as Enid’s arms loosen around him, clearly displeased with his words.

“Yeah, I know…” Enid begins as she fully separates from the hug and stares at the floor between them while tears cloud her eyes. “I-it just hurts to know her love is conditional.” She says with a shaky voice as she wipes a few tears from her eyes.

Her father doesn’t even reply to her, he just lightly pats her shoulder and gives her this sad look of pity before he walks out the door and closes it behind him.

To Wednesday’s surprise, Enid doesn’t collapse into a ball and start sobbing like she was expecting her to.

No,

Enid got angry instead.

Her arms tensed and her claws came out as she let out a deep, hair raising growl.

The frozen vapor of breath that hangs in the air is illuminated by the sun slipping in through the window, giving her breath a fire-like appearance, very similar to that of a dragon’s.

Wednesday felt her heart jump in her chest as the utter radiance of her angry crush reverberated through her body with a wave of goosebumps. A deep and unsettling pull was calling her to press her lips against that tensed jaw and intertwine her fingers with those deadly claws.

And the raven quickly realized that she has never before understood sapphic longing as deeply and intimately as she does at that moment.

As soon as those beautiful, yellow-ringed blue eyes met her own, Wednesday could see Enid physically deflate, all of her anger and tension evaporated in an instant, leaving only a half-fanged smile and sad look in her eye.

“Howdie, Roomie,” The sadness of her tone was thick and heavy in Wednesday’s ears. “Sorry you had to see all of… that.” Her voice was quiet as she moved to sit on the edge of her bed before placing her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, occasionally wiping her tears away. Wednesday felt an intense need to comfort her, to hold her close and tell her that she would watch until the end of time if it meant she could see that stunning anger once again.

“I apologize for not making my presence known from the start.” Are the words she manages to push out instead. Enid looks up at her again but this time those yellow rings in her iris were gone, leaving only the usual irresistible blue.

“Oh, It’s okay, I knew you were here the whole time.” Enid spoke with an empty calmness as she wiped the remainder of her tears away. Wednesday desperately wishes it was her hand that was caressing those tear-stained, cold-reddened cheeks.

Enid stands up and walks over to the center of their room, toeing the invisible line that still separated their spaces.

And Wednesday finds herself unconsciously doing the same, meeting her in the middle.

Then, Enid smiles as she opens her arms and steps forward slightly, closing the distance while still allowing Wednesday space to reject the hug.

Wednesday’s mind starts to go into overdrive as two sides fought over whether or not to return her roommate's affections. The more rational side told her that it was a bad idea, that she would unravel and become desperate for more, only pushing her closer to her end. The romantic, curse-fueled side was begging her to hold the girl she loves because it might be the last time she ever has the chance to do so.

But, her deliberations took too long and Enid lowered her arms with a tinge of hurt weaving into her expression.

“Right, not hugging is still kinda our thing.” Enid’s sadness is poorly masked behind her fake smile before even that starts to fall.

Wednesday felt her heart ache with the sight of Enid’s smile vanishing and the tears that began to reappear in her eyes.

And her body reacted to her mind's sudden need to comfort the wolf.

She took a small step into Enid’s personal space and reached for her hand, tentatively running her fingers across the wolf’s palm before grasping the girls hand in hers, something that Enid happily allowed and even reciprocated by intertwining their fingers together.

Wednesday’s breath hitched at the contact while she nervously stared at the warm hand she held in her own.

She risked a shy glance up to Enid’s face and the wide, genuine smile that she saw directed at her made her heart jump. The slight coloring of a blush darkened Wednesday’s freckled cheeks as she quickly returned her gaze to their joined hands, earning a slight squeeze from Enid.

Wednesday felt her own heartbeat soar back up to its normal, pre-curse rate. The contact with her love was quick to steady her soul and calm the curse.

And it was too much.

This was too close.

Too familiar and affectionate.

She needed to get out, she needed to run away from this.

She had gotten herself in too deep with this closeness, this glimpse into what she would never have.

She needs to leave, to tell Enid she was going to go.

But, when she tried to verbalize her plans, a hint of her true feelings slipped through.

“I missed you.” Wednesday’s voice was quiet and unsure while her eyes refused to leave the floor. And once she realized what she just said, she completely froze. Her breath hitched and her mind instantly emptied. Any hope of formulating an excuse or running away was ended by the shock that had taken hold of her body and mind. She was filled with a somewhat irrational fear that Enid would discover her secret crush based on those three words alone.

“Aww!” Enid said as she squeezed Wednesday’s hand tighter, causing Wednesday’s gaze to refocus on her bright blue eyes. “I missed you too, Wednesday!” The look that Enid was giving her was enough to siphon all of the oxygen from her lungs and the warmth in her hand fully paralyzed her. There was no way Wednesday could make it out of here, let alone verbalize any of the thoughts that she was disappointingly void of.

Thankfully, while Enid didn’t notice the distress that was grasping Wednesday’s soul, Thing did. He knew what a gay Addams in a love induced panic looks like and expertly diverted the conversation to something else.

He asked Enid what she did over her break, and Enid did what Enid does best, talk.

“Oh my god, Wends, you will not believe what happened over break!” Enid began to ramble about her time away from Nevermore like an excited chihuahua, barely even breathing as she does so. “My mom finally told me that she’s proud of me for wolfing out and she threw this whole big wolfing out party for me on the full moon. I got to run with my brothers and it was so much fun!! I can’t believe I was missing out on that this whole time. I thought it was just them being idiots and getting dirty and bruised for no reason but it’s actually really fun to just be able to run and use all of my energy to have fun and not feel like I don’t belong.” Enid began to swing their joined hands back and forth between them as the smile on her face fully enraptured Wednesday. Her panic from before was far out weighted by the swelling in her heart and the strange desire to converse with her roommate.

“Your family is a poor excuse for their species if they could not see the greatness in you from the beginning, though I am pleased to hear that they have finally come around.” Enid’s face scrunches slightly and her grip on Wednesday’s hand tightens.

“Me too, but my mom still isn’t happy. Now that I wolfed out she's been asking me about finding a mate and I have to remind her about Ajax but she keeps saying she’s looking for mates for me ‘just in case’. What does that even mean, ‘just in case’? “She rhetorically asks with indignation in her voice as her face twists into confused anger. “In case of what? In case she chases him off?” She throws her hands in the air in frustration, forgetting that one of those hands contained Wednesday’s. “God I just can’t stand her! I keep telling her that I love Ajax but she never liste-”

“-Enid.” Wednesday interrupted, somewhat urgently. Her heart felt like it was being crushed by a 5 ton boulder after hearing Enid’s declaration of love for the useless gorgon. Her haze of finally being in the presence of her love again was quickly lifted upon hearing that utterance and she felt the consuming need to run as the pressure behind her eyes started to push to the front, bringing a blurry image of the world with it. She dropped her gaze to the floor in an attempt to hide her growing tears. She couldn’t stay here anymore, she needed to run, now. “I need to go.” Her voice carries a slight panic as she unclasps their hands and steps backwards, “Eugene needs help with the Hives,” She adjusts her voice and speaks as calmly as she can, even though her eyes were still blurry and focused on the ground between them. “And you need to unpack without a distraction or you’ll lose things.” Wednesday adds on in an attempt to make it seem like she was being considerate and isn’t just a coward.

“Oh.” The hurt in Enid’s voice is quickly disguised by a false cheeriness, but it still pains Wednesday to hear. “Yeah, you’re totes right.” Enid says, slightly disappointed at their time being cut short while also agreeing that Wednesday had a point. “We can catch up when we’re both less busy. Have fun with the bees and say hi to Eugene for me!” Wednesday gives a brief glance towards Enid and feels a chill run through her heart at the fake smile and sadness in her eyes. She feels a deep desire to comfort her and stay by her side, but she knows doing so will only hurt them both in the end.

Wednesday looks away in shame before she walks to her desk and gathers her gloves and beanie, putting both on as she walks over to the door, grabbing her coat off of the rack and slipping it on over her sweater. She’s about to leave but then she briefly pauses with the door knob in her hand before turning to her roommate. “I will see you later, Enid.” She offers, hoping that will lessen the blow to Enid’s feelings even the slightest bit.

“Yeah, see you.” Enid’s voice is laced with disappointment and each word is quieter than the last.

Wednesday closes the door just as the first tear begins to fall down her freckled cheek.

And she spends the walk to the hives holding back the remaining flood.

Chapter Text

Wednesday’s arrival at the hummers shed was punctuated by the squeaking of the door’s rusty hinges.

A flurry of snowflakes fluttered in through the temporarily open door before Wednesday fully entered the small space, letting the door squeak shut behind her. The shrill sound caused the shed’s only occupant, Eugene, to look up from the large plastic bag of rock salt he was attempting to pry open with his hands. He greeted his fellow hummer with a wide smile and a wave of his hand, the warmth of his breath lingered in front of him, fogging up his glasses with each exhale.

“Hi, Wednesday!” He stands up to properly meet her gaze; he’s a few inches taller than before, but still shorter than Wednesday, and he’s kept his slight, retainer-induced lisp. His expression shows his shock when he sees her sunken face and the deep bags under her eyes. “Um, h-how was your break?” His words are spoken somewhat hesitantly, most likely concerned that some ancient sickness or demonic possession overcame her during their short vacation. It wouldn’t be too unheard of for an Addams, especially this Addams.

“It was exceedingly unpleasant,” She began as her gaze wandered around the cold and near barren space. The old decorations and honey harvesting tools were replaced with snow shovels, hammers, sheets of plywood, and bags of straw. The table where Fester resurrected Thing was still in the middle of the room, small splotches of dried blood were fading on the surface. “I was actually foolishly looking forward to the end of the constant threat of death that I was facing last semester, but my hope has evaporated as that threat is still looming over me like an executioner's axe, ready to fall at a moment's notice.” Wednesday’s words of prophetic death were delivered casually, as if she was just asked about the weather and not delivering a monologue about her creeping demise. Without waiting for a response she pulled a knife from her sleeve and knelt down next to the rock salt before stabbing into the bag and slicing it open. While she’s doing that Eugene looks over her in an attempt to see if she was gravely injured anywhere, hoping that he could do something to help her with this ‘looming threat of death.’

“T-that sounds really bad Wednesday.” At his words she turns her head and he meets Wednesday’s gaze with worry in his eyes, “Are you okay?”

Pity.

Of course.

She knew that would be the result of sharing even the slightest bit of information about her current predicament, but she still felt a sour taste in her mouth nonetheless. She stood up and placed her knife back into her sleeve before she turned to level a glare at Eugene.

“I am more than capable of dealing with this on my own, and if you continue to display that revolting pity then I will find some other way to spend my very limited free time before the semester officially starts.” The unintentional and near automatic reaction to use harsh words in an attempt to push him away spewed from her mouth before she could stop herself.

“Y-yeah, I’m sorry Wednesday.” He said with a shy look away, like a scolded child. It made Wednesday feel… unpleasant.

She had learned, over their short break from Nevermore, that she absolutely despised how it feels to disappoint those who care about her. Every time it felt as if a steel spike coated in a layer of poison guilt pierced her heart and left her with an open wound in her chest through which her soul would slowly drain.

Her eyes lost focus as her mind re-visited all the times she felt this disgraceful feeling with her family.

It started with Pugsley and Pubert wanting to play hide and hunt with her, the looks on their faces following her vicious refusal sent the first pang of hurt across her heart.

Next it was her father asking for a round of fencing, and her denial resulted in a sad but concerned, ‘Of course, My Little Storm Cloud.’ as he solemnly walked away, the rapier held in his hand drooping to point towards the floor.

“Wednesday?” Eugene tried to get her attention when he noticed her freeze in place with a far away look in her eyes.

She hears her name being called, knows who’s calling it, but she can’t focus on it. Her mind is stuck with swirling thoughts of the faces of all of those she has disappointed recently.

“Wednesday?” Again she heard Eugene’s voice, but her body was refusing to cooperate with her. Instead, her mind conjured the image of Enid looking at her with disappointment just mere minutes ago as she hastily fled their dorm, like a coward, to hide in the hummer's shed.

“Wednesday, I think you’re dissociating!” Eugene almost yelled as he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly in an attempt to pull her out of her own head. She slowly blinked as her eyes managed to focus on the floor, she blinked again and her eyes landed on Eugene. A wave of relief passed over him as she looked at him again.

“Eugene.” Her voice is even and normal, as if she hadn’t just fallen into thoughts of her own inadequacy. Thoughts of how much she takes from those she loves and how little she gives, of how everyone in her life is there out of obligation and pity, how she always hurts those around her. If she was never here then Enid would never have gotten her scars, Eugene would never have been put in a coma, Crackstone would have never been awakened.

It’s true that Wednesday's child is full of woe and she is damned to spread it to anyone who gets close to her.

Everyone in her life would be better of if she was dea-

“WEDNESDAY!” Eugene yells as he throws his arms around her and squeezes her with all of his strength, trying his hardest to pull her out of her intense dissociation. The pressure on her arms and ribcage forces her to focus on her body and not her mind. “Stay with me Wednesday!” He tightens his hold on her, his tone filled with pure, desperate worry. “Focus on how the cold air feels in your lungs!”

At his words she took a deep breath so she could feel the cold sting in her nostrils as she inhaled through her nose and the dryness on her lips when she exhaled through her mouth. She repeated this process multiple times, watching her breath cloud dissipate in front of her before inhaling again. This cycle went on for an unknown but nevertheless uncomfortable amount of time before Eugene spoke again.

“Was that your first time having a dissociative episode?” He asks nervously while he unravels his arms from around her torso, making sure to keep his hands gripped around her biceps in order to retain some pressure on her body. He carefully examines her face, desperately scanning it for any signs that she’s starting to dissociate again.

“I-” Wednesday begins but withdraws slightly, mulling over whether or not to tell him the full extent of her problems. The memory of Laurel Gates cowering on the ground, covered in thousands of bees flashed into her mind. That image brought with it a feeling that she could trust him. “No, it wasn’t.” She says with a quiet determination in her voice. “It has been a frequent experience over the break.” She looks at him and sees the worry in his eyes, it makes her feel the need to run. She represses the feeling and compromises by simply pulling out of his touch and turning away from him. “It usually only ends with time, slumber or pain,” Her eyes widen slightly at her accidental near-admittance to self harming before she pushes on in the hope that he wouldn’t read further into it, “I have never been pulled out of one like that before… Your assistance is appreciated.”

“Of course,” At his words Wednesday turns around to see that goofy, wide smile that she was not only happy to see but was also comforted by. “Hummers stick together!”

“Yes,” Even after her display of emotional instability and subsequent need for rescue from her own mind, Eugene was still willing to stand by her side. Her heart swelled to the point where she couldn’t stop the small smile that twisted her lips, “We do indeed.”

The two hummers stood there for a short while, recovering from what just happened; Eugene was letting his adrenaline die down while Wednesday was refocusing on the world around her.

It was unusual to feel this depth of vulnerability and comfort around someone who wasn’t a member of her family. But being here, in this isolated shed in the middle of the woods, far away from the rest of the campus grounds and with the first true friend she’s ever had, it allowed her to do something she hadn’t been able to since her return to Nevermore.

She actually relaxed.

She felt the tension dissipate from her muscles, including the jaw muscles she didn’t even realize were clenched until she felt the dull ache of them unwinding.

“So, uhm…” Eugene began, a little awkward but still determined to help his friend. “Do… Do you want to talk about it or do you want something else to focus on for now?” He asks with an amount of empathy that only someone who has experienced what Wednesday is going through can understand.

“I…” She paused as she thought over the options he just gave her. Admittedly, being sent down another one of those ‘dissociative episodes’ did not seem at all pleasing or enjoyable, so she chose her other option. “I would prefer to avoid any more extreme emotional pitfalls for the foreseeable future.” She says with a look of nervous determination on her face.

A small smile spreads across his face, much smaller and more reserved than the one she was greeted with upon her arrival to the hives. “Okay.” His hand sinks into his jacket pocket and it returns with a crumpled up piece of paper. “Here,” He extends it towards her with an eager look in his eye. “I made a list of everything the hives need, it should go a lot faster with the two of us!” Wednesday quickly grabs it and unfolds it; she’s met with a to-do list. It’s steps that are required to ensure the hives have been properly winterized.

First up is clearing the snow away from the base of the hives, next is checking their winter cover for any damage that happened over the break, followed by replacing the straw that was being used to insulate the hives, then refilling their food supply before finally resealing the boarded up hives.

That seems easy enough.

“Your handwriting is exceedingly atrocious.” She returns the list, already having it memorized. “However, I applaud the level of preparedness you have displayed.” Her gaze wanders over the tools and items in the shed before they lock on to the bright orange snow shovels resting against the wall. Wordlessly, she grabs both of them and extends one of the handles out to Eugene. Once he grabs it Wednesday pulls open the squeaky door and walks out, ready to start on the snow clearing work. Eugene takes a second before he runs out of the shed after her with a small smirk on his face.

“Wednesday,” His voice echoed throughout the quiet, snow covered forest. The smile on his face was evident even without her needing to look at him. “Was that a compliment?” She rolls her eyes, almost playfully, before she replies.

“If you have already interpreted it as such then I suppose nothing I saw would sway your initial opinion of my words.” Even though her tone was steady and even there was a hint of something beneath the surface, it was the opposite of that dread and self-hate she was drowning in earlier. She had very rarely experienced this before. It wasn’t the pain of disappointing those she cares about, no, it was worse, far worse. What she felt in that moment was the appalling swell of happiness.

It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable but she definitely wasn’t used to this. She wasn’t used to making those she cares about happy or how it made her feel so infuriatingly good. She sits with this strange feeling of contentment and begins to sink her obscenely bright orange shovel into the deep snow, taking some pleasure in the sight of neon color being hidden by the heavy sheets of white.

It doesn’t take Eugene long before he follows her lead and starts to shovel too, but not without a few more words to stir Wednesday’s already swirling emotions, “Thank you, Wednesday.” She doesn’t even attempt to hold it back and lets a small smile freely spread across her face, no longer caring if Eugene sees. He had already seen her in the depths of her mental anguish, what’s the harm in allowing him a glimpse of the opposite?

They shovel the snow in a comfortable silence, both working steadily on the first item of Eugene’s list. The cold, whipping wind reminds Wednesday of the time her family took that camping trip to Siberia, when Fester had needed rescue from a Russian outcast-experimentation program; he had apparently wanted to see how different it was from the American outcast-experimentation program. The only difference between the two had been the level of intense security measures designed to contain the test subjects. It was a magnificently thrilling and bloody escape; a story for the history books, more specifically the Addams history books.

The hollow sound of her shovel hitting the wood of the Hummers shed makes her realize she’s finished shoveling out her half of the hives. She leans her shovel against the shed’s wall and looks around to take in all the work they’ve done, the hives are all cleared of snow and the path to the shed is easily navigated. It seems the first part of their checklist was already completed in what felt like no time, but when she noticed the sun's position had shifted more than she expected she was surprised to see it had been over an hour since they started shoveling.

She realized that she was lost in her thoughts again but her body didn’t react in the same way it did in the hummers shed earlier. But why were these two incidents so different? It was fairly obvious that the content of the memories were the largest separation between the two events but it felt like there was something more to it. She turned to face Eugene, seeing him already walking towards her with his shovel in hand.

“You called it ‘dissociation’ and you knew how to rip me from its grasp,” Wednesday vocalizes her burning need to find out what kind of hell has been haunting her for the past few months, “How?”

“Oh.” He leans his shovel next to hers against the shed and pushes his glasses up his nose. “M-my therapist taught me.” He shyly looked down while walking past her and into the shed. Wednesday wastes no time before she’s following him into the shed and waiting for him to continue. “After everything that happened with Ty-” He cuts himself off and looks up with wide eyes, afraid of bringing up some unwanted memories that Wednesday might associate with that name. “L-last semester,” He carefully corrects himself before he continues, “I’ve been dissociating too.” He looks over Wednesday, trying to gauge her reaction as well as looking for signs that his slip up with Tyler’s name might have caused her to dissociate again; thankfully she was still present and focused.

Eugene’s confession shifts something in Wednesday, as if something clicks into place. And she supposes it did because for the first time since Crackstone she realized that she wasn’t the only one with deep, lasting psychological damage from that night. Maybe she shouldn’t be as apprehensive and revolted by her own damage. A flash of vulnerability shoots through her mind as she realizes she might be able to rely on him for guidance regarding her degrading mental fortitude.

“Do you know how to stop these ‘episodes?” A disgusting swell of hope stirred in her, desperate that he had the answers to end this torment on her mind.

“O-oh.” He begins with a sad look of pity in his eyes, “I’m sorry Wednesday but the only way to really stop them involves years of therapy.” A deep fear courses through her as her brief and misguided hope falls flat. The prospect of dealing with this daily, even if she begins therapy, fills her with complete and utter hopelessness, so much so that even Eugene can read it on her face, clear as day. “B-but I can help you find out what triggers you a-and we can come up with ways for you to avoid them!” He quickly blurts out in an attempt to save Wednesday’s mood.

“I will admit that is… disheartening to hear,” She begins, unable to hide the slight tinge of disappointment that colors her usually neutral voice. “However, your proposal does sound acceptable, how shall we begin?” She looks him over and waits, beyond ready to learn how to control the turmoil of her mind.

“Well…” He pauses to think of where to start and contemplates how to best deliver his explanations in a way Wednesday can understand. He gets an idea and quickly pulls his phone out of his pocket. After a silent few seconds of searching his phone he turns it around and displays it for Wednesday to see, “Here, this is an article about dissociation that explains it a lot better than I could.” She slowly reaches out and grabs his phone, skimming over the text and looking for anything that stands out. It was a Wikipedia page and it had a lot of information, some of which she found herself relating to more than she expected.

“It appears that this may be a useful resource,” She says as she scrolls back up to the top of the page and looks for the page’s identifying information, quickly memorizing it before attempting to hand the phone back to Eugene. “I appreciate you showing this to me.” Surprisingly he doesn’t take his phone back, just glances at it and waves dismissively.

“Y-you can keep it.” Wednesday was about to ask why but he continued before she could, already counting on the need to explain himself. “Since you don’t have a phone I thought I could lend you mine for a few days so you can read through everything.” She felt oddly touched by the gesture, the trust, that he's showing by offering her access to his personal device, something that even Enid hasn’t allowed her.

“That is thoughtful of you but not necessary,” A small smile seeps into her features but never graces her lips, “I am unfortunately in possession of a cellular device, however it is through no means of my own.” A shudder passes through her at the thought of running into Xavier once classes begin. He’s a walking representation of her failures, of how she had been manipulated and lied to; a reminder of how horribly wrong she was when she accused him of being the Hyde. Just another of the many reasons to hide in the Hummer’s shed.

“You have a phone now?” He asks with a hint of amusement in his eyes, the same look he gets whenever he talks about bees. Seeing that glint in his eye immediately cheers Wednesday up. “I can just send you the links if you give me your number!”

“Very well.” She says as she pulls her phone out of her backpack, her damned skirt lacking any pockets, and extends her phone out to him, not knowing where to begin in the task of finding her own phone number; plus she was especially clueless with adding a new contact. He works quickly, seemingly adept at navigating the technology, and before she knows it her phone is being held out in front of her with a new contact and a lot of blue text in their message history. She grabs her phone and taps on the first link, quickly scanning over it to gauge if this new, non-Wikipedia resource will actually be useful. Her scrutiny was interrupted by Eugene, who was now stuttering more than usual.

“C-could y-you…” The false start of his sentence fades out as he awkwardly rubs his bicep with his hand. “D-do you think that…” Once again he begins a sentence only for it to fade out a second time.

“What, Eugene?” She says as she crosses her arms over her chest and shifts her weight to her back foot. Her extreme emotional turmoil and day of social interaction has been draining enough and Eugene floundering his way through a sentence that he never actually finishes only made it worse.

“Can-you-give-me-Enid’s-number?” His question spews from his mouth faster than she’s ever heard him speak before, the whole sentence coming out more like one long word than a series of words. His eyes clamp shut too, as if waiting to be berated for even asking.

“No,” Wednesday’s tone is as blank as usual but the shift in her eyes shows her barely concealed annoyance, “Not only should you ask her yourself, seeing as it’s not mine to give, but I am also not in possession of her number either.” A slight chill of disappointment shutters through her at the realization that she could have, should have, asked Enid for her number before they left last semester. “Besides, I was under the impression that you already have her phone number, considering you called her and alerted her to the hyde's identity.” She points out, wondering if Eugene had forgotten he already possesses the girl’s number due to his coma.

“I was using my mom's phone, apparently her and Enid got along really well whenever she came to visit me.” He say as he tilts his head in confusion at what his mother and his classmate could possibly be talking about. “But, why don’t you have Enid’s number?” His question is innocent and logical but the effect it has on her is anything but; the feeling of regret was already rearing its head. Unfortunately, he continues and only makes the matters of her mind worse. “I thought you two were getting a lot closer?” It was unintentional but his words cause an undeniable sting of self hate that sours her mood. The thought struck her that she was already pushing Enid away in order to protect herself. Like she’s done her whole life, ever since Nero.

“We have gotten closer but that’s not the point,” There’s more anger in her voice than she had expected, she made an effort to turn it down before continuing, “You do realize that she is currently entwined with that… gorgon, correct?” She was successful in her attempt to quell the anger in her tone but only for it to be replaced with a hint of disgust that stinks of jealousy.

“Yeah, I know.” He said sadly, like this wasn’t the first time he’s been in this situation. “But I dunno,” He shrugs and looks down awkwardly, “I can’t help it but I still hope I might have a shot!”

“A shot?” Wednesday looks at him with a deep glare, “She is not something you ‘have a shot’ at, Enid is an incredibly kind person and a magnificently fierce beast; she deserves to be shown respect and if you dare treat her as less than because of your feelings then I will personally see to it that you never get near her again.” Her words stung both of them, Eugene was hurt by the hostility and Wednesday was hurt by the realization that she was just projecting; everything she just accused Eugene of is exactly what she was doing, running away from Enid, interrupting her, hurting her feelings, pushing her away, all because of her ridiculous crush.

“N-no, I- I didn’t mean it like that Wednesday, It’s just…” He lets out a deep sigh, “All of the girls I’ve ever liked have barely even talked to me, but with Enid I feel like there’s a chance that she’ll like me back. When she helped me in the hive that one time she was afraid of the bees, and a little grossed out, but after she listened to me talk about them she got more comfortable and she loved how it was a matriarchal society.” He smiles a wide smile and a dreamy look invades his eyes, this must be what Wednesday looks like when she thinks about Enid too. “It’s just that… when she actually listened to me and cared about what I had to say, I just fell for her even more and now I can’t help but to have hope that we can end up together.” He finishes speaking but that dreamy smile never leaves his face. She pinches the bridge of her nose and lets out a sigh, all of these emotions have drained her and left her with a growing headache even though it’s barely past noon. A few seconds of silence pass before Wednesday feels composed enough to respond.

“I understand,” That’s as close to an apology as she can manage right now. What he said resonated with her in a way that was far deeper than he had intended. She had fallen for Enid for very similar reasons after all. But she was still upset with him because of his insistence that he had a chance. Why do so many of her male peers not know when to give up and stop chasing the girl? Being creepy was supposed to be her thing. “What I don’t understand is how you can continue your attempt to pursue her, even when you know that she’s taken and there is nothing you can do that will make her like us back!” In her swell of built up anger and self resentment she doesn’t realize her accidental slip up in using a plural pronoun, but Eugene does.

“Wednesday…” Eugene looks at her with an expression that she’s never seen on him before and it’s very unsettling. She's always despised her inability to read facial expressions but she thought she had gotten to know him well enough to have learned his expressions and the emotions attached to them. She should no longer be caught off guard regarding his non-verbal signs of communication, yet here she was. Maybe she wasn’t as good of a friend as she believed herself to be. Thankfully he continues to verbalize his question and his tone is one that she recognizes from their trip to the cave in the forest, he’s shocked. “D-do you, umm, do you like Enid?”

Her heart drops through her chest and settles in her stomach while a layer of fear starts to blanket her.

How did he find out?

Was she that obvious?

Has anyone else discovered her feelings?

Does Enid know ?

Wednesday’s mind begins to stir with panic and the overwhelming need to run, to get as far away as possible and hide in the depths of obscurity and anonymity; she could cut her hair, burn off her fingerprints, maybe even join Uncle Fester in his safe house in the Mexican desert. But even then she would still slowly succumb to the curse, and Fester is far too perceptive to not notice the effect it has on her. He would find out about her feelings too and it would be this same scenario all over again. How does she manage to butcher any and every social interaction she’s had for the past few months? And why does it always have to do with her damned ridiculous romantic feelings towards Enid?

The more she thought about someone finding out about her death sentence of a crush the more her deeply ingrained need to run overpowered her until it was all consuming. She quickly moves to the corner of the shed and grabs the bag of rock salt before pushing past Eugene and walking out the shed’s door, desperate to be anywhere else other than in that small shack, stuck in that uncomfortable fog of fear and self hate. Eugene followed her out and watched as she quietly began to spread the salt on the path to the shed.

“Wednesday, i-if you have feelings for Enid w-we should talk about it together.” His voice had a hesitant softness that Wednesday interpreted as more of that god forsaken pity that everyone was so keen on showing her lately. Of course her fruitless crush on Enid would result in her losing the respect of her friends and family.

“No, we shouldn’t.” The stubborn refusal slid off her tongue with practiced ease, “There is nothing for me to say, Enid is with Ajax, that’s all there is to it and we will not talk about this again.” She continued to scatter salt on the path away from the hummers shed but Eugene was determined to keep her there and shower her with his pity.

“But, Wednesday,” He said as he grabbed her by the wrist in an effort to get her to stop so they could talk but the second his hand came in contact with her arm she felt an electric pressure in her temples as her head was thrown back and her gaze shot to the sky; she was violently ripped away from her body by a psychic vision.

The vision placed her on a snowy path with two figures standing in front of her. A half second passed before she recognized where she was and who they were. To her astonishment she was watching herself and Eugene walking down the path to the hummers shed, a bag of rock salt was wrapped in her arms.

She realized she’s watching what had just happened.

Eugene reaches out and grabs her wrist again, but this time she sees what happens after she was pulled into a vision, this vision.

The grip on her wrist and the sudden loss of bodily function caused her to slip on the icy path and fall onto her back, slamming her head with a resounding crack. She wasn’t sure if the sound came from the ice breaking or her skull cracking, but she can feel the pain pulling her out of the vision nonetheless.

Her consciousness slowly slipped back into her body laying on the ground in front of her as her ears began to ring.

Wednesday blinks her eyes open before she squints and raises her arm above her to block out the blinding sun stinging her retinas. The pain radiating from her head is all consuming. She takes a few silent seconds to let the pain die down before she sits up, almost losing balance twice while she does. Eugene notices this and reaches out, ready to grab her shoulder to steady her if she starts to fall again.

“A-are you okay?” He looks over her to check for blood or any other signs of serious injury. Even going as far as taking her beanie off and cradling the back of her head to feel for any bumps or blood.

“I’m fine.” Wednesday pulls away from the uncomfortable touch and stands up before grabbing her beanie and slipping it over her braided hair. She picks up the dropped bag of rock salt and starts walking back towards the hummers shed, spreading more salt as she goes. Eugene chases after her but this time he’s careful to avoid touching her and triggering another vision.

“No you’re not,” He began to protest as Wednesday pushed into the hummers shed and dropped the bag on the ground. Eugene wastes no time and follows her in to continue his argument, “You have a head injury, Wednesday! Head wounds are serious and if there’s a problem that goes unchecked you could die!”

She froze in her tracks as his words sunk in.

He was right,

She could die.

Why didn’t she think of that sooner? It was almost embarrassing that she hadn’t been able to come to this conclusion on her own.

A flood of thoughts filled her mind as she mulled over what this revelation means for her.

She could jump the gun and die before the curse takes her! She could still fulfill her childhood dream of an imaginative death before time runs out! All she had to do was throw herself into dangerous and imaginative situations and hope one of them kills her.

This is it, she’s found a reason to live again!

Well…

She’s more accurately found a reason to die again.

But, she refuses to die from something as simple and unimaginative as a head wound obtained by slipping on ice, so she readily agreed with Eugene.

“Very well,” She began as she turned and opened the squeaky door, “I am going to visit the nurse, you may accompany me if you wish.” Is all she says before walking out of the Hummer’s shed without waiting for a response. Eugene had to break into a short jog to catch up.

Their walk through the woods was silent, Eugene was nervously watching her, not knowing that Wednesday’s mind was filled with thoughts of her own death.

Chapter Text

Being forced to spend the next twelve hours in the nurse's office under the pretense of ‘overnight observation’ turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

Not being allowed to return to her dorm that night ensured she would be able to avoid any more awkward interactions with her blonde werewolf, and she was able to skip the conversation that Eugene was determined to have about her feelings for Enid.

It granted her plenty of free time to plan all of the various and increasingly dangerous ways she can end her life before the curse ends it for her. Fighting mythical creatures, performing deadly black magic, doing reckless experiments with explosives, collecting poisonous plants and venomous creatures.

She even considered summoning a war demon to fight but quickly scrapped that idea after she realized that if she did succeed in finding her own demise then the demon would go on to kill everyone in Nevermore, Enid included; The thought of that alone nearly made her vomit. Well, it was either that or the slight concussion she had obtained.

The feeling of nausea passed as she lay there, thinking about Enid for the seventeenth time that day.

Enid had, of course, visited her in the infirmary as soon as word had spread about Wednesday’s fall. The concern that Wednesday saw on her face was more painful than her head hitting the ice covered ground could ever be. She knew how hurt Enid will feel after her untimely death, even more so if she ever finds out that the love Wednesday has for her is what killed her.

She knew she had to prepare for the eventuality of her demise happening on campus grounds but the uncertainty of how she was going to die gave her pause. With all of these unknowns in this unfortunate situation she was feeling a little lost, so she did what she always does when there is a problem to solve.

She began listing out the few things she did know.

She knows that she’s fully and irrevocably enamored by her roommate, Enid Sinclair.

She knows that the Addams’ family curse is whittling away her heart beat with every passing second.

She knows that she will slip away into nothingness before the school year ends.

She knows that she detests the thought of Enid knowing of her fate, both before and after the inevitable.

And she knows that her death would destroy Enid, it would strip away her bubbly, bright, and endlessly happy exterior; then the world would slowly lose one of the only people that makes life worth living.

The determination to die before the curse claimed her was multiplied by ten fold when the picture of Enid waking up one morning and discovering her lifeless body invaded her mind. She could never let Enid see her corpse, the untold psychological effects would haunt her for life; much like all of the horrid deaths that Wednesday herself has seen and can never forget.

Rowan Laslow, Mayor Noble Walker, Doctor Valerie Kinbot, Principle Larissa Weems. She had looked into each of their lifeless, unblinking eyes as they took their last breath. Every dream she’s had since have been plagued by those cloudy, unfocused eyes taking refuge on the faces of her still living friends and family. When she woke from those dreams she was filled with a deep dread that someone else is gone now, that a person she cares about has those haunting eyes that portray their inner vacancy.

In fact, it was one of those exact dreams that had jolted her awake and left her where she was now, stuck in her own thoughts in the half-lit infirmary at three in the morning.

But this dream was far worse than any of the others.

It started off as one of her many repressed fantasies starring her roommate; with her and Enid on their dorm room’s balcony, staring up at the stars together. They shifted their gazes to each other’s eyes as they stood there for a few seconds, shoulder to shoulder, noses almost touching. Then, Enid’s eyes flicked down to Wednesday's lips, it was brief and barely there but it sent Wednesday’s heart into overdrive. Her own gaze dropped to Enid’s lips where it stayed and watched as Enid started to lean in closer. Wednesday did the same and just before their lips met she returned her attention to Enid’s eyes.

Instead of the dreamy, sparkling blue that she was expecting she was met with clouded, half-closed, lifeless eyes on the one person she could never live without.

And it absolutely terrified her.

She jumped back and stared in horror as Enid’s lips started to turn blue while the pink of her face drained into an unsettling gray. The last part of the dream, the struggled and quiet, “H-help me, Wednesday-” that Enid had let out with her very last breath still echoed in her mind, even an hour after she had awoken.

She had tried to quiet the memory of Enid’s plea by focusing on planning her own death but it only grew louder with each passing second. It was gnawing at her as the image of Enid’s dead eyes continued to invade her mind.

Her worry for her roommate was climbing to ridiculous heights as that crushing fear of no longer having the bright werewolf in her life pushed her to make sure Enid was still alive.

Just the thought of losing Enid made her heart jump and her adrenaline skyrocket.

The restricting, thick white blanket was quickly discarded as Wednesday sat up and threw her legs off the side of the sterile bed. She hastily threw on her boots, barely even fully tying them, before standing so quickly her brain began to swim around in her skull. It took her a few shaky steps before she was able to get her footing and start to run out of the nurse’s office, ignoring the protests of the nurse that was stuck on night shift. The woman in purple scrubs was barely even standing from her desk by the time Wednesday had cleared the hall and was working her way up the stairs two at a time, propelled by that haunting image of Enid’s dead blue eyes.

Her heart was thrumming faster than the bow on her cello during the crescendo of her favorite war anthem, her breath was roaring through her chest deeper than a dragon’s as it burns a village, her legs were pounding louder than the beat of ceremonial drums during a human sacrifice. It was her own personal symphony of fear and she was both the lead conductor and sole performer.

But then it all stopped,

…silence.

Standing at the base of the attic room stairs Wednesday found that all of the deafening sounds of her panic ceased in an instant, gripped by anxiety and caged by fear.

This one last staircase was the difference between seeing Enid alive or feeling her heart getting ripped out through her tear ducts as she looks into the dead eyes of the only person she had ever loved.

But she couldn’t do it.

She was frozen, stuck in place and unmoving.

Even more so than when Pugsley used a nail gun to send a series of ten inch nails directly through both of her feet and into the floorboards. It took two hours, a large pair of pliers, and the combined muscle of Fester and her father in order for the nails to be removed.

The thought of her family, both annoyingly and depressingly, helped calm her fear.

And, with a newfound courage, she found herself ascending the stairs. Her steps were slow and quiet but she was ascending nonetheless.

However, as soon as she stood in front of their shared room door, that fear had returned, along with the image of Enid’s dull blue eyes.

In her many idle moments of observing Enid she had seen her use a basic countdown exercise to calm herself so Wednesday had decided to try it for herself, to see if there was any validity to her claims of it helping.

She began with a deep breath, followed by the counting.

Ten,
Enid’s sleeping peacefully behind this door.

Nine,
It was just a bad dream.

Eight,
She’s laying in her bed, probably dreaming about playing fetch.

Seven,
She is going to be okay when you open the door.

Six,
She’s not actually dead.

Five,
Her eyes are still their usual vibrant blue.

Four,
This is just a manifestation of your PTSD

Three,
She is alive.

Two,
She is in there waiting for you.

One,
She wouldn’t go down so easily anyway.

Zero,
Just open the door and you’ll see her.

She turns the doorknob with a deathly slow apprehension, dread floods her soul when the door opens without issue; it wasn’t locked.

She’s forced into the memory of the last time she found the door unlocked as her mind is filled with the hollow echo of Thing’s blood steadily drip, drip, dripping onto the horn of her gramophone.

Thankfully she's pulled from her trauma laced flashback by the loud, ripping snore from the very reason she had just run up five flights of stairs and down seven hallways.

She breathes a deep and grateful sigh of relief as she lays eyes on the girl she loves, laying on her back in her hideously endearing color explosion of a bed, limbs spread in every direction and head thrown back so far her chin is pointing to the sky.

Wednesday quietly closed the door behind her and stalked over to the wolf ’s side, looking down at Enid in the dark while her feet sunk into the thick pink carpet that covered the floor around her bed.

Even with her sloppy posture, disheveled bedding, and ruffled hair Wednesday was taken aback by the sheer beauty that this jumbled heap of a werewolf possessed. Everything about her was what Wednesday despised, the offensively bright colors, the endless fount of joy, the unbearable showers of affection.

Enid was the social butterfly of her nightmares, but she supposes that’s why she had been enamored with the wolf from their very first meeting.

She still had trouble wrapping her head around the fact that she had told Enid about Nero, her deepest and darkest memory, within days of knowing each other. There has always been something about Enid that just begs for her to be honest and to try and understand her. Some form of underlying pull that attracts the most repressed of Wednesday’s emotions and lays them all on the surface of her skin for Enid to pick apart and discard. But she never does. She takes each one and cradles it, finds out what it needs before she deals with it in a way that Wednesday has never before experienced. With understanding and care. More than Wednesday thinks a person like herself deserves. But Enid still gives it freely nonetheless, like an erupting volcano of affection that smothers the surrounding people with a layer of comfort.

Perhaps that’s why she had fallen in love with her so deeply and so quickly.

They had only known each other for less than a year at this point and Wednesday would already die for her; already did die for her.

When Crackstone was marching towards the school and away from the crypt all Wednesday could think about was Enid and how she failed to protect her, how Crackstone would end her life just like he had ended her own. She has never been one for prayer or hope but in that moment she found herself hoping that the werewolf would be okay, that by some chance or fluke or unimaginable act of whatever god hated her guts that Enid would come out the other side of the school's extermination unharmed.

It was her last thought before she slipped away, the unspoken prayer that Enid, by some miracle, would be alive and well; her literal ‘last dying wish’.

And maybe that sadistic puppet master in the metaphorical sky had answered her or maybe it was the pure strength and willpower of her blonde wolf, but here Enid is, laying in front of her and snoring like chainsaw. The usually grating sound of her improperly opened airway now brought intense comfort to Wednesday because it meant she was breathing, it meant she was alive.

Without conscious thought, as if driven by her heart, Wednesday found her right hand extending gently out to Enid’s face. The back of her index and middle fingers brush lightly against her dazzlingly warm check. The action was reminiscent of an old widow saying goodbye to the body of her lost love during a wake. It was an undeniably caring gesture that she would usually never dare to show anyone, let alone the subject of her one-sided affections. But the darkness of the room and the draining adrenaline of her panic gave her inner demons a sense of security and safety that allowed them to slip past her walls and defenses. And she couldn’t stop them, either the demons from escaping or the fingers that were caressing Enid’s face.

And Enid, with all of her adorably canine mannerisms, stirs from her sleep with a soft whine.

Wednesday quickly pulls her hand away and watches in silence while Enid raises her hands above her head as a tense stretch rips through her muscular body. Her eyes blearily flutter open and her gaze calmly, and almost dreamily, meets Wednesday’s.

A massive wave of relief washes over her as she looks into those tantalizingly blue eyes, full of life and soul.

Enid is alive, she’s okay.

A sleepy smile flows across Enid’s face as her brain catches up to her vision and she realizes Wednesday is standing there, staring at her while she sleeps.

“How long are you going to stare at me like some kind of creep?” Enid’s sleep-sore throat croaks out a teasing question that has no vitriol behind it. The lack of any negative reaction from the girl lights Wednesday’s heart on fire. There was no fear or disgust in her tone or on her face, which is the normal reaction to waking up to someone watching you sleep. Instead there was just a big dopey smile that takes Wednesday's breath away and only makes her fall deeper in love. Her hand moves on its own once again as she reaches out towards the half asleep girl laying in front of her, her palm is gracefully cupping Enid’s cheek before she even realizes what she was doing.

“Until your beauty no longer outshines the very moon itself.” Her voice is breathless, it’s airy and lovesick; it's horrendously nauseating, especially coming from her own mouth.

The small gasp from Enid brings the raven’s mind back to the real world, Enid's eyes are wide and under her hand Wednesday can feel the wolf’s face getting warmer.

Wednesday quickly pulls her hand away, as if it was just wrist deep in boiling oil.

“Wha…?” Enid sits up slowly as her eyes squint towards the intrusive raven. “Wends?” She asks in confusion as she rubs her knuckles into her eyes to clear the sleep away. The nickname was new to Wednesday. No one other than her family had ever gotten close enough to her to not only be allowed to call her a nickname without being maimed, but also no one else had ever cared about her enough to.

And it sent shivers through Wednesday's soul.

The shock of the nickname subsides as the words that just thoughtlessly slipped past her own lips ring back in her ears and the unique feeling of embarrassment induced panic settles over Wednesday. It makes her want to run, to get out of here as fast as her legs can take her and never stop until she finds a hole in the woods to curl up in and waste away into bare bones and worm food.

By the time Enid pulls her hands away from her eyes and her vision refocuses she's met with an empty room, Wednesday was nowhere to be seen and there was no sign that she was there in the first place.

Wednesday already bolted.

At first she took off with quick strides fueled by humiliation but as soon as the door closed behind her she was sprinting away. Sprinting to somewhere, to anywhere that wasn't the suffocatingly affectionate moment she had accidentally forced upon Enid, her straight roommate who was very much romantically unavailable.

That thought alone made her increase her speed.

She was running as fast as her legs would move, faster than she thinks she's ever run before. The thundering of each of her steps was like the stroke of a pumping piston in an eight cylinder engine. An engine which was powering her overflowing thoughts of panic and fear.

She couldn't stop thinking about those stupid fucking words she had just said to the one person in her life she had planned to never show that kind of pathetic affection towards.

How was she going to get past this?

How were they going to get past this?

She stopped dead in her tracks at the thought of Enid ending their friendship over this.

A knot crept up her throat as the feeling of numb emptiness poured over her from the head down, and with it came a numbing cold. A cold that knocked the wind out of her lungs and refused to let it back in no matter how hard she tried.

She began to hyperventilate as the constriction in her chest only grew tighter and the numbness of her limbs caused her legs to give out.

She took two shaky steps towards the nearest wall then leaned back against it and slid down to the floor. Once she was sitting down she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them before burying her head in her knees as her lungs still refused any prolonged intake of air.

She couldn't stop thinking about Enid walking out of their room with her red duffel bag in hand and disgust pouring from every single part of her. Her face, her posture, her tone, her eyes.

It was too much for Wednesday to go through again, especially now with her newfound feelings of romantic attachment towards the usually bright and happy werewolf.

Tears unwillingly escaped her eyes as the lack of a steady oxygen supply began to take its toll on her.

She tried to rein in her breathing but nothing was working.

Everything she did ended in failure.

Not only did she fuck up the one and only meaningful relationship shes ever had but she's also regressed to the point where she she can't even fucking breath anymore.

She can't help but remember a thought she had just days ago and how quickly she changed her stance on it.

She definitely does want to die now.

Returning to that endless nothingness seemed very tempting at this moment.

Maybe it's a good thing Enid is going to leave again. At least then Wednesday wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore that she already has. The endless pain that she has already caused the wolf is just the beginning of what a prolonged friendship would do to the innocent and undeserving girl.

That thought actually calms her panic slightly; knowing that Enid will be free from her abrasive and harmful nature allows her to breathe again. It starts as a sigh of relief but afterwards she's allowed some short and shallow breaths.

She leans her head back against the cold stone architecture, letting the low temperature seep into her skull as the oxygen finally returns to her bloodstream.

Using the sleeves of her black hoodie she clears away the shameful and obnoxious tears from her vision.

Once she pulls her hands away from her face she takes note of where in the school she just had her humiliating mental breakdown, and who might have seen it.

She was thankfully alone in one of Nevermore’s main wings and it was still very late at night. All of the lights were off and she was shrouded in a cloud of shadowed obscurity.

Far to her left was the collection of trophies and pictures from the various clubs and competitions, many of which contain her mother's name and image.

Behind her was an entrance to the poorly named ‘quad’ as everyone so ignorantly called it. And finally to her right were the large oak doors of the library.

Perfect.

A sad excuse of a smile spreads across her sunken, tear stained face as the promise of a distraction from her day full of emotional turbulence rears its head, and so conveniently close too.

With uneasy and unstable footing she pulls herself out of her ball of shame and climbs off the floor, using the wall to keep herself steady as she goes. She half walks, half limps down the hall as the numbness from her prolonged sitting position ripples through her legs.

When she makes it to the library she's pleased to find the door unlocked, not willing, or even able, to return to her room to get her lock picking set.

With some effort she pushes the doors open and relaxes when she can't sense anyone else in the room with her; the last thing she wanted to see right now was two girls fanging, again.

She sets her sights on the shelves dedicated to mythology, between the fiction and non-fiction sections, and finds the subsection for creatures. She begins looking over each of their spines, grabbing any and all that have to do with the Vermont and North Eastern U.S. areas specifically.

The rest of the night passes her by as she reads through the books, finds the deadliest creatures, verifies the validity of the claims of sightings and finally adds them to her list. By the time the sun started to peek through the large window she had a page and half of possible creatures and their estimated whereabouts, sometimes even going so far as to list the exact location where it has the highest chances of residing.

A smile graced her lips as she looked over her work, deeply pleased by what basically amounts to her suicidal bucket list.

And she was beyond eager to get started.

Chapter Text

The crunch of wet snow compressing under her boots echoed through the empty street of the small town.

It hadn't been long since her dreadful ‘Uber’ chauffeur had pulled away with a derogatory insult about her heritage and a threat of ‘giving her a bad rating,’ whatever that had meant. His insult was uninspired and unoriginal and his threat was severely lacking in every aspect so she chose to ignore both out of pity for his obviously limited mental capacity.

But, even with his pathetically small brain, he still got them to her destination, shockingly enough.

She had chosen her drop off point tactfully, far enough away from her destination to avoid any suspicion but close enough to walk through the thick snow without dooming her to exhaustion. She was slightly pleased to see that the inn she chose to venture from did indeed have four chimneys, as its name inferred.

The sidewalk on which her journey had started was thankfully cleared somewhat recently which only left the few inches that fell in the dead of the night. It took her five minutes of trudging through the wet snow before she caught her first glimpse of her destination. The torture of a nearly three hour long car ride with the personification of a beer-stained undershirt that drove her here was well worth it to see the intimidatingly large, five story structure that lay in front of her.

The weathered-gray wood siding portrayed just how much history this long standing building was harboring within its walls. The paint had washed away decades ago, the only hints of color were the stubborn pale green still adorning the window’s shudders and the red-orange clay of the brick foundation.

Eight balconies were facing the street, four on each of the first two floors, and each one was in a different state of instability. The triple dormer roof was covered in a thick layer of snow, putting a lot of pressure on the building’s creaking supports and making it difficult to see the square, peaked tower protruding from behind the middle dormer.

It was an exceedingly old building, erected in the late 1700’s and currently rotting through the ever changing seasons of Vermont. Her research from this morning had revealed that this place, the Walloomsac Inn, had a few unexplained deaths before its closure and reports from urban explorers about hauntingly piercing screams had added to her iron-clad suspicion that a Banshee had resided in the decaying walls.

As she understands it, in the late 1890’s a couple had rented a room here for their honeymoon. No one knows what happened after but the outcome was clear, through either a twist of fate or an extreme case of buyer's remorse, the couple was found dead six hours later.

The stories claim that during their first day here the husband was smoking a cigar on the room’s balcony; he was leaning on the railing when it had given out.

The ancient architecture had finally met its end alongside the freshly married man as they both fell onto the hard dirt below. It’s unknown if the wife had been with him when he fell or if she willingly took the eternal tumble afterwards, but the young pair was dead before they had a chance to thoroughly and wholly love one another.

Wednesday hated how their story had struck a chord with her, relating far too much to a love that was over before it began.

She pulled herself from her depressing thoughts to scan the building’s exterior for an entrance. The whole property was surrounded by an entirely useless plastic net fence, seeing as it was buried under three feet of snow which allowed anyone to simply walk over it with little effort. All of the shutters on the basement and ground floor were sealed so tight that even sunlight was denied entry. The doors were obviously going to be locked but those would pose no challenge to her in the slightest, though she was worried about some type of alarm system being attached to them.

Then she saw the rusting fire escape, something that was very obviously not a part of the original structure and exceedingly close to no longer being a part of the current structure. The third floor was nearly void of any shutters; the windows were bare but still intact. The fourth floor, the one that consisted of the three roof dormers, had what she was seeking, the panes of glass in the windows were either gone entirely or barely hanging on.

Perfect.

Now that she had a plan for entry in mind she began to execute it as flawlessly as she could. She stalked across the empty street and walked through the deep snow that covered the yard between her and the base of the rusted stairs. After stepping over the ineffectual fence she pushed her way through the tangles of branches and sticks that engulfed the base of the emergency escape.

With careful and near hesitant steps she began ascending the stairs, pausing every few minutes to let the shaking of the rust covered structure stabilize.

After an agonizingly slow climb she made it to the top, to the window of the leftmost dormer. Her relief was quickly dashed when she saw the sheets of wood that were nailed to the window from the inside.

But she needed to get inside and because of that she was more than willing to go farther than any other simple trespasser would dare. With determination in her mind she carefully pulled herself up onto the railing of the fire escape before jumping onto the roof between the left and middle dormers. The slick, icy gutter nearly tripped her up but she was quick to react and grab the rotting window frame of the middle dormer to stabilize herself.

She had no time to catch her breath before the gutter dropped from beneath her feet.

Her grip on the windowsill tightened considerably after it had very suddenly become her only tether to the roof. She quickly pulled herself into the window and crouched down on the rotten wood floor as she heard a cacophony of groaning and creaking followed by the deafening sound of splintering wood and twisting metal that ended in a ground-shaking final impact.

After a few seconds of eerie silence she apprehensively looked over the windowsill and down onto the ground below. From the wreckage she was able to conclude that the falling, ice filled gutter had crashed into the stairs and ripped them away from the wall. The barely recognizable mess of rusted metal stairs had collapsed directly into the path in the snow she had just walked through.

That escape plan was no longer an option but at least any evidence of her involvement was covered by the rusted wreck.

There was little time to gaze in awe at the magnificent destruction before she was interrupted by a loud shuffling in another part of the building followed by a shrill and near paralyzing scream that ripped through her entire being; the sheer power of it shook the walls and windows of the old structure.

The Banshee.

It took all of her mental strength to fight the instinctual and spiritual fear so she could reach for the black leather bag on her back. As quietly and quickly as she could she pulled out her weapons and armor for this fight. Although they were highly unconventional they thankfully weighed a lot less than full plate steel armor and an eight foot halberd.

First up was her phone, as infuriating as the small device was, it was needed to record the Banshee’s scream. Next was the small Bluetooth speaker that she unwittingly borrowed from Enid, which would be used to play the Banshee’s own recorded scream back to it. Then she pulled her beloved obsidian dagger from her sleeve and checked it over before returning it to its sheath; it was gifted to her by her Uncle Fester during Christmas and it was perfect for killing a spirit, especially one paralyzed by its own voice. And finally she replaced her beanie with her explosion-grade noise canceling earmuffs. Out of all of the items she needed for her mission this one would have been the hardest to acquire on such short notice, and for that Wednesday has never before been more thankful to be autistic.

After unlocking her phone to bring up the recording app and turn on its flashlight she looked around to get a handle of her surroundings, already feeling her fear subside with the familiar comfort of having a weapon at hand. The room she ended up in was a small attic room, its use was unknown as the only thing in the room, other than her, were dust and cobwebs.

With careful steps she slowly walked to the half open door of the room. She paused to listen for sounds on the other side of it, briefly slipping one side of her noise canceling earmuffs off her ear. After finding nothing but her own heartbeat she fixed her earmuffs and pushed the door open before she carefully snuck out into the hallway.

The candle sconces had been updated to hold fake candles with tear-drop shaped light bulbs that were clouded with dust. The long rug that ran down the middle of the hall was a faded green and heavily stained. A patterned, peeling wallpaper of pale flowers and leaves was lining the walls. There were six doors in the hall, three on each side, and a staircase leading down on the right end of the hall. The Banshee’s scream from earlier had originated from the lower floors in the east wing of the building, which Wednesday had guessed was the main entrance and dining hall along with other common areas.

Step after step she crept down the hall towards the stairs, walking as close to the walls as she could to avoid any creaky and well worn floorboards.

As she slowly snuck down the stairs she eventually reached a part where they opened up into a fairly small entryway that contained a large, L-shaped check-in desk with stacks of boxes and papers sitting behind the counter. Across from the desk was the boarded up front door with newspapers covering the old glass windows. To the side of the desk was an open archway into the dining room where tables and chairs were covered in dusty white sheets. Mirroring that was another open arch doorway to what looked like it used to be the main sitting room, based on the fireplace in the center of the wall and the faded carpet with very obvious furniture shadows all over it. She continued to tiptoe down the stairs and closer to the front door, doing well at avoiding making any noise. That is until she made it to the bottom most step where the stressed wood let out a hair raising creak that echoed through the abandoned halls, loud enough to be heard through Wednesday’s sound-proofing.

She didn’t even have time to stop and hope that the Banshee didn’t hear it before a piercing scream shook the entire house once again. Wednesday’s heart jumped in her chest as she felt more than heard the chaotic vibrations of the Banshee’s scream, it surrounded her and resonated deep inside of her ribcage. It felt suffocating and paralyzing even with her earmuffs.

She paused for a brief second to begin a sound recording on her phone, ready to execute the first part of her plan to end the Banshee’s after-life. Now all she had to do was get the spirit to scream once again.

Easy.

She didn’t have to go very far to find what she needed. On the check-in desk was something that caught her eye; a small silver service bell was sitting among all of the dust covered artifacts. She slowly walked towards it while holding her phone and Bluetooth speaker tightly in her hands. After placing the speaker next to the bell she took her bag off her back and placed it on the floor next to the desk before she filled her now empty hand with her dagger, pulling it out of her sleeve and gripping it so hard her knuckles turned white.

After taking a steadying breath she reached out and pressed down on the service bell’s plunger.

The light tone of the ringing bell echoed through the entryway, across the empty rooms flanking the check-in desk and traveled up the stairs. The sound reached every part of the building in its entirety thanks to the missing furniture, the open doors, and the lack of any other noise. Because of the far reach of the bell it took less than five seconds before Wednesday was rewarded with another suffocating scream of the Banshee.

She acted quickly to get the recording playing on the speaker but as she pressed the red stop button she felt the fast and frantic vibrations of footsteps through the wooden floor, thundering towards her at a very high rate of speed.

Wednesday looked up at the doorway to the empty sitting room just in time to see the Banshee’s momentum slam it into the wall next to the main door. Its palms were pressed flat against the wall, one hand placed above its head and the other at chest height; its boney elbows protruded behind it as its eyes found Wednesday’s.

The small glint of her phone’s flashlight reflecting in the Banshee’s black, lifeless eyes leaves something akin to white pinpoint pupils that stare into her soul. Its skin was a pale gray and its nose had mostly decomposed, making it look like a mummified corpse. Its dress was a ripped and faded white summer dress, stained with brown spots of old dried blood. Its black hair was still waving behind it, even though the rest of its body was stationary, it appeared as if the flowing strands were in a free fall; it was incredibly unnerving to see something so blatantly defying the laws of physics.

Wednesday shuffled backwards slightly with an instinctual need to get away from the monster in front of her. The sound of her boot scuffing the floor was all the encouragement the Banshee needed to rear its head back and drop its jaw open to an unnatural angle before letting out a scream so loud and violent it broke the chandelier situated above the front desk.

The delicate glasswork splintered apart and fell onto the wooden desk with a deafening crash, showering Wednesday and the Banshee with varying sizes of glass shards. The sight of the Banshee was already causing her to hesitate but the scream that rattled the lungs in her ribs had ensured her feet were not moving any time soon.

She was broken out of her paralyzing fear by the sharp pain that spiked up from her right forearm, presumably from glass being embedded into her skin, but the Banshee refused to give her time to check her new wound. It started to run right towards her with short and quick strides that were surprisingly coordinated, especially considering it has been dead for decades. She had barely enough time and free will to jump and roll towards the side of the check in desk and out of the charging Banshee’s path, but what she failed to consider in her adrenaline fueled, split-second decision were the splintered remains of the chandelier that littered the floor.

As she stood up from her roll and her spine straightened out her back immediately began to bleed, far more than her shirt and jacket were soaking up. The feeling of blood dripping down her legs coincided with the throbbing, shooting pain that rang through her nerves in waves.

The sound of chairs and tables being thrown across the floor emanated from the dining room as the Banshee’s sprint sent it careening into the sheet-covered piles of furniture.

In the few seconds it took the Banshee to climb out of the wrecked dining furniture Wednesday had enough time to play the recording and get ready for her attack.

But the sound never came.

She looked at her phone in a desperate attempt to find the problem and fix it before the Banshee returned. The little ‘B’ shaped icon told her that somehow, the Bluetooth speaker had been disconnected from her phone. She lunged towards the desk covered in the remains of the shattered chandelier and grabbed the speaker, ignoring the tiny shards that caught in her skin. After examining the device she noticed the power had been turned off. Holding down the ‘on’ button under her shaking fingers rewarded her with the speaker blinking red three times.

Its battery had died.

Her plan to set a trap with the speaker had suddenly fallen flat as she now had to ensure her phone, and in turn herself, were much closer to the spirit than she had intended.

Unfortunately the Banshee had no respect for her dilemma as it had once again shuffled into the entryway. Wednesday froze as she watched the spirit walk over broken glass without appearing to notice. It’s head was snapping in every direction as it appeared to search the room for her. It was then that Wednesday realized it; the Banshee was blind.

It had no clue where she was unless she made noise to alert it to her presence. This information was somewhat useless at the moment as the bits of glass that covered the floor made it impossible to move silently through the room. All she could do was hold her breath and watch as it searched for any sounds that might give away her position.

She quietly pulled her phone up to her eyeline and started to prepare for the shift in her plans. The volume on her phone needed to be turned up as loud as possible so she held the button, but this had the side effect of her phone letting out a little click sound each time the volume increased a notch.

The Banshee immediately snapped it’s head to face Wednesday and once again a scream that came from the pits of hell had reverberated through her body and pushed all of the air out of her lungs. It ran at her much like last time but she wasn’t fast enough to dodge out of the way of the creatures' long, sharp nails as they swiped across her side, knocking her off balance and sending her into the desk, causing her to scatter boxes and sheets of paper onto the floor in the process.

The caustic coating on the Banshees nails made her newest wound begin to bubble with a venomous sting.

More pain.

More blood.

She might actually die here.

That realization had triggered her instinctual drive for survival as her adrenal gland started to pump her brain full of chemicals. The world seemed to slow down just enough for her to duck under the next swipe of the Banshee’s black nails.

Her heart pounded in her chest and a small smile spread across her face as the thrill of deadly fear washed over her.

After missing its mark the Banshee reared its head back and screeched again, seemingly not understanding why its voice had not paralyzed her like it should have. But in the time it took for its jaw to set back in place, Wednesday had already jumped over the desk and fled into the dining room, abandoning the Bluetooth speaker and finishing the preparations on her phone.

But the glass crunching under her boots had revealed her escape route to the Banshee and it quickly followed her into the room.

Now that Wednesday could move around without the glass giving away her position she could hide from the blind spirit. Without hesitation she jumped over a table and crouched on the other side before watching with bated breath as the Banshee stumbled into the room after her. It stopped and turned its head around unnaturally as it searched for her without using its eyes.

While the Banshee was still unaware of her location she got ready to play the recording of its scream on her phone. The volume was fully up and the recording was ready, but when she pressed play she was met with silence. Due to her eagerness to get the recording in the first place she had ended up with a solid three minutes of near quiet before the Banshee’s scream would come up. Unfortunately the recording wasn’t fully void of other noises as the loud shuffling of Wednesday's previous steps spilled from the phone.

The Banshee snapped its head towards her and shrieked before it engaged in another blind charge in her direction. She jumped back and watched as it tripped into the table that separated them. But unlike last time she couldn't just run and hide again, the occasional sounds that rang from her phone made that impossible.

It was now a fight for survival as the Banshee began its relentless attack on the source of sounds that invaded the quiet of its resting place.

Swipe after swipe of deathly long nails rain down in Wednesday’s direction as she dodges each and every one with ease, the years of fencing and massive swell of adrenaline were giving her all the edge she needed in this fight.

But what wasn’t working in her favor was the unfamiliar and dark environment that she found herself in. She kept stumbling over warped floorboards and running into furniture that was placed in random piles all over the room; each time she did so the Banshee gained more ground on her.

With one last stumble into a poorly placed carpet roll Wednesday had finally lost her footing and quickly found herself on her back, staring at the cracked support beams on the ceiling. The shards of glass that still remained embedded in her jacket and skin were now fully and completely implanted in her back, and with it came a new wave of blood that poured from her body.

It took all of her willpower to pull herself up from the cold hardwood floor, but her attempt was in vain as the Banshee quickly situated itself over her.

It wrapped one of its hands around her throat and pushed her down, forcing her back to the floor and slamming her head in the process. After it had gained control of Wednesday it leaned closer to her face, until it was just inches away, and began to scream again.

The sudden realization that her noise canceling earphones were knocked loose in the fall had hit her at the same time as the paralysis that shot through her now useless body.

This is it, she thought to herself as she helplessly watched the Banshee raise its clawed hand in the air, ready to deliver the final blow to the intruder in its space. This is the end of Wednesday Addams.

But then, her saving grace arrives just in the nick of time and the sound of the service bell rings out once again, followed by the Banshee’s digitally reproduced scream; the recording had reached its end and the Banshee’s own voice from earlier had flowed into its ears, freezing it in much the same way as Wednesday had been.

She was successful in her mission to paralyze the Banshee but without her armor of ear-defenders, Wednesday was paralyzed too.

The two supernatural beings were locked in an intense gaze, unable to move away from one another and unwilling to let their guards down. Wednesday stared down the spirit with a deep scowl of anger and vengeance while the Banshee sent the girl its own stare of blackness. But Wednesday knew she would be the winner of this battle because there was one major advantage she had over the Banshee.

She was an Addams.

The raven could already feel the deep seeded and ancient power that ran in her blood swell and churn as it forced the spirit’s magic from her body and purged the paralysis that had overcome her.

She quickly pulled herself out from under the Banshee's weight and stood above the frozen husk of what was once a woman in love. Without hesitating she pushes the Banshee onto its back and plunges her obsidian dagger into its unbeating heart, placing all of her weight down onto the handle to ensure the knife meets its mark. The only sounds in the room were the hollow crack of its breaking ribs and the rattled exhale that crawled up its throat as its unnaturally free-flowing hair fell to the ground with a wave of silence.

It was finally over.

After all of this bloodshed, all of this pain, the Banshee's decades long haunting had ended under Wednesday’s blade.

With the knife still stuck in what used to be the Banshee's heart Wednesday collapsed onto the ground and leaned back into the sheet-covered chair behind her, resting her elbow on the seat of it while still tightly gripping her phone in her other hand. She released a sigh of relief as she sat there for a few minutes while she caught her breath, intently staring at the Banshee in case its body dared to move again.

After taking a number of deep, non-panicked breaths for the first time in what felt like hours Wednesday stood up and placed her phone screen-side down on the table, ensuring the flashlight still illuminated the room, before looking over her kill.

There was only one part that she wanted to harvest from the Banshee's corpse and that was its vocal cords, with them she could craft an Aztec death whistle like her ancestors used to, the authentic way. While not as effective as the Banshee's paralyzing scream it does have the effect of striking her enemies with a primal fear, even without the magic of its original owner. Unfortunately she had only brought with her her dagger and that was far too brutish of a tool for something as delicate as a dissection.

But it was perfect for something as simple as a decapitation.

She walked over to the corpse and placed her boot on its chest, right next to the blade still wedged in between its ribs, and grabbed the leather bound hilt. With both hands on the dagger she ripped it from the Banshee's chest with considerable effort. Now that it was freed from the corpse, Wednesday began to use her obsidian blade to carve the base of the Banshee’s neck away from the rest of its body.

It was a thankfully quick task seeing as her blade was one of the sharpest in her collection and, in less than half an hour, the Banshee's head was securely placed inside her black leather backpack.

The fight had left her scarred and bloodied but otherwise okay. It was unfortunate that her death hadn't come for her today but at least she wasn't walking away empty handed. She was reminded of that when she slipped her bag over her shoulder; a sting of pain rippled through her body as the added weight of the Banshee’s head forced even more of the still skin-deep glass shards deeper into her back.

All Wednesday wanted now was to be laying in her bed, drifting off to the sound of Enid’s snoring for the first time this semester.

Her phone-ordered chauffeur had arrived after nearly an hour of standing in front of the ruined inn, most of which was spent doing her best to stave off the shivering that raked through her body and chattered her teeth.

Due to her black clothes and pain resistant nature she was able to hide the fact that she was still bleeding into her over-saturated jacket as she climbed into the SUV’s back seat. She planned to ignore the oncoming greeting but the words that came from the girl in the driver seat shocked her into conversation.

“Hmm,” The driver says after she takes a deep inhale, “O negative.” Wednesday pauses as what was just said sinks in.

How did this woman know her blood type, and why would she bring it up?

Immediately Wednesday’s guard is up and her hand reaches subtly for the dagger still placed in her sleeve. She looks at the driver in the rear view mirror and sees the blood red eyes of a vampire looking back at her.

Well that answers the first question.

“Good guess, but I fail to see why it matters to you.” Wednesday shifts herself so she can make a quick exit from the vehicle if needed as she watches the driver, waiting for any kind of sign that things would turn violent. But the vampire simply puts the car in drive and begins the route to Wednesday’s destination.

“Girl,” She says in a more drawn out and higher pitch than her usual speaking voice. “I’m a vampire.” Her eyes flick to Wednesday in the rear view mirror again before quickly returning to the road. “What do you think the bigots will do if they see my back seat covered in blood?”

“Preferably they would become your next meal.” Wednesday shot back with her usual cynicism and detachment, but it was the first time the vampire had heard such a response, it made the driver laugh even if Wednesday wasn’t sure why. She was already feeling drained and didn’t want to suffer through a conversation with a cheerful vampire, so she got right to the point. “I prefer silence and if you desire a large tip then you will too.” She said to shut down any further attempts at small talk with a monetary incentive.

“Now there’s something we can agree on.” The vampire says before turning the radio up to a low hum of background noise, leaving Wednesday alone for the rest of the three hour long drive to Nevermore.

Now that she thinks about it she supposes that’s why it took so long to find a chauffeur on the app, and it was probably why a vampire had picked her up too; her destination was scaring away all of the normies. That made her begin to question if she should have chosen to be dropped off in Jericho instead but the ache of her body immediately changes her mind and makes her glad for the drop off right at the gates, especially if it gave her an outcast chauffeur that wouldn’t call the cops on her.

The last thing she needed was another small town sheriff holding a grudge against her.

Wednesday got as comfortable as she could, considering there were still shards of glass sticking out of her back, and fought the pull of slumber on her eyes.

The sound of the soft music and the hum of the car were working their hardest to lull her to sleep, and eventually her body forced her mind to give in.

She spent the rest of the ride sleeping restlessly in the back of a stranger's car.

Chapter Text

Wednesday pushed her way through the main doors of Ophelia hall and loosely trudged up the stairs towards her room. The exhaustion from the Banshee fight had already overcome her during the long car ride and her energy was severely drained.

Thankfully the vampire had been trustworthy and woken her up at her destination unharmed. Well, no more so than she was when she entered the car, and for that the woman earned herself quite a large tip.

Wednesday’s decision to stop in the student’s kitchen for a quick cup of tea had ultimately proven to be a grave error as she was met with the questioning eyes of Divina.

Great…

Now she had to endure a grueling conversation that would most likely revolve around the fact that she was covered in drying blood.

“Woah,” Are the first words that slip past Divina’s lips at the sight of her bloody attire. But Wednesday wasn’t the only one who looked a little worse for wear, the disheveled appearance of the siren was clearly not from a restless nap if the vampiric bite marks on her exposed neck and deep blush on her face were anything to go by. She was in the process of filling a glass of water from the sink as sweat dripped from her forehead. “What the hell happened to you?” There was a hint of disbelief and almost no concern in her voice. It was comforting to know that Divina didn’t care about her enough to worry too deeply over her current state; it made the oncoming exchange of words somewhat more palpable.

But, when Wednesday tried to speak, she found her lack of energy translated to her verbal capacity as well and she was unable to say anything in response. It felt as if her lips had been sewn together, stopping her from opening her mouth and replying; so she simply shrugged her bag off her shoulder, grabbed a handful of the Banshee's hair and pulled its decapitated head into sight, displaying it like an executioner after a beheading. The action caused the aquatic, water-breathing siren to somehow choke on the water she was drinking, sending her into a poorly contained coughing fit. It was, admittedly, quite amusing to witness.

“Holy shit,” Divina finally managed to say in between the now waning coughs, “Is that a goddamn Banshee head?” Her wide eyes and gaping jaw are the tell tale signs of shock, displayed so stereotypically that Wednesday was able to read it without a problem. All the response she could muster was a nod of her head before Divina’s gaze flicked to look into the Banshee's now twice-dead eyes.

“Aren’t Banshee’s, like, incredibly deadly?” Divina asks with a mix of terror and disbelief at the decapitated head hanging from her hand. A swell of pride echoed through Wednesday at the prospect of showing off the fact that she was even deadlier. A small, one sided smirk spreads across her face and Divina takes the shocking sight as the answer to her question. “Right, got it.” She finally says before she goes back to drinking the water still in her hand. Wednesday drops the head back in her bag and re-situates it on her shoulders as she moves to leave, foregoing the prospect of tea all together, but first she decides to tease the siren before she goes.

‘Enjoy your intercourse with the leech.’ She signs, communicating with her hands instead of her words, but Divina only looks at her with a tilt in her head and a raised eyebrow; not the red face and stuttering that Wednesday was expecting.

“I know ASL and that,” Divina says while gesturing to Wednesday with her free hand. “was a bunch of nonsense.” The only response the siren gets is a roll of Wednesday’s eyes and the view of the back of her braided head as she walks away and retreats to her attic dorm room, leaving the siren alone in the kitchen.

Little did Divina know that what she just witnessed was the first sign the Nightshades would get of Wednesday’s growing suicidal drive.

The careful and deathly quiet opening of the door was in vain seeing as Enid was still up and almost fully awake, waiting for her to return while sitting under the room's sole light; like a parent about to scold their child for breaking curfew.

The rainbow of color that surrounded the wolf had matched the rainbow of emotions that were streaming past Enid’s face. Relief, anger, fear, sadness. All in the matter of seconds as Enid took in the sight of Wednesday’s bloody and bruised body.

“Oh my god, Wednesday! Wha- what happened to you?” She exclaimed with concern lacing her voice, immediately jumping up from her desk chair and running over to the bloody girl. “Are you okay?”

Wednesday’s earlier verbal blockage was still locked in place and she found herself unable to talk, so she used sign language to respond to the girl she loved.

“I assure you, I am well.” She signed with a bit of manufactured steadiness in her movements to make sure Enid doesn’t notice how painful it is to use her hands with all of the cuts in them. But of course she noticed, she always does. It makes Wednesday feel both seen and exposed at the same time, it’s equal parts thrilling and terrifying.

“No you are not! You’re covered in BLOOD Wednesday!” Enid says with a look of disbelief on her face while she gestures to the blood that was nearly impossible to see on the black of Wednesday’s slightly torn clothes, somehow picking up on the slight change in her wardrobe's shade of color. “You are absolutely not okay!”

Thankfully Enid had taken her communication medium in stride, probably not even realizing that she just understood what Wednesday had signed. For the first time in her life she was glad for the curse, even if it was just because it had imparted upon Enid the ability to understand the Addams’ unique version of sign language.

“It’s not that big of a deal, I’ve been covered in blood before, as have you.” Her adept fingers convey her nonchalant feelings regarding her injuries. But Enid is having none of it, especially after she sees the now reopened cuts on her hand.

“You’re still bleeding Wednesday!” Enid closes the rest of the distance between them, quickly grabbing the raven by the back of her right hand before running her thumb over its palm, not caring that she was getting Wednesday’s blood all over her own hands in the process.

Wednesday freezes at the sudden contact, her ability to speak was now halted on all fronts and her ability to think was greatly diminished, all because Enid was holding her hand.

It was honestly pathetic that Enid had this much of an effect on her, how quickly the blonde werewolf could bring the rest of the world to a halt with just her presence. She can’t help the pulling hope that she might make Enid feel the same way, but as soon as the thought enters her mind so does the crushing pain at the fact that it’s all a fantasy.

Wednesday pulls away from Enid, and her thoughts, before she scans the room for Thing. But he was nowhere to be seen, which was unusual. Normally, when he wasn’t with Wednesday he would be with Enid instead. She looked to the girl that gave her heart a reason to beat, who was still staring at her with those concern filled eyes, and signed, “Where is Thing?”

“O-oh.” Enid looked down with a hint of guilt, “We had a fight and he went to Eugene’s room for a bit to cool down.” Wednesday’s mind began to fill with more questions than her aching hands could ask, so she picked the one that was pressing her the most; how did the two inseparable ‘besties’ even get into a fight?

“What did you two fight about?” She asks as Enid watches her hands and cringes slightly at the thought of Wednesday opening more cuts. Enid grabs both of her hands this time and looks into her eyes.

Wednesday has never had a problem with eye contact before but this moment makes her squirm.

The crystal blue eyes gazing into hers and the warm hands wrapped around her own makes her chest burn and her body feel as if the gravity shifted, pulling her into Enid with an undeniable attraction.

She begins to act on the intoxicating feeling, moving closer to those cotton-candy pink lips, but she’s quickly interrupted by an entirely unaware Enid.

“I’ll tell you all about it,” She says lightly as she begins to walk towards the grayscale side of the dorm, pulling Wednesday deeper into the room by her hands. “If you stop talking- or signing or whatever and let me bandage you up?” Enid ended her sentence with an adorably hopeful lilt in her voice. Wednesday’s plan of having Thing take care of her wounds seemed unlikely with the situation at hand so she agrees, doing her best to ignore the embarrassment of how she had been leaning into Enid in an unconscious desire to kiss her.

She is somewhat hesitant at the prospect of having Enid in extended contact with her hands but the hopeful smile on her love’s face wills her to comply with a nod of her head.

Enid’s smile grows and so does Wednesday’s love for her.

“Thank you!” She says as if Wednesday was the one doing her the favor, and Enid doesn’t know how deeply Wednesday yearns to hear those words directed at her more often.

Enid pulls Wednesday to the old wooden chair in front of the black desk and lightly pushes her down on it, with the backrest on Wednesday’s right, before saying, “Sit here, I’m gonna go grab the first aid kit. Just, pretty please, don’t move.” If Wednesday hadn’t already agreed to cease using her hands to communicate she would have made a snide remark about fetch; though, perhaps it was for the best that remains just a thought, especially considering she herself had just willingly followed a command to sit and stay.

The realization that she just let herself be ordered around by Enid had spread a fierce blush over her face and neck, accompanied by the thought of just how much she actually enjoyed it.

Wednesday thought about running, about hunting down Thing and forcing him to mend her wounds instead of the werewolf; but Enid, unaware of the raven’s inner turmoil, had walked away in search of the aforementioned first aid kit. The warmth of Enid's hands on her near frozen fingers were like a fire that was keeping her alive and the absence of it made her desperate for its return, so she sat there and waited.

Like a good gir-

NOPE!

NO!

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

She will not fall down that line of thought, especially when she was waiting for Enid’s return.

While she would absolutely love to blame the curse for these… thoughts, she knew enough to understand that this was all her, and it was absolutely mortifying. She was an Addams and the Addams’ are incredibly fierce and relentlessly strong supernatural beings, they definitely do not enjoy being ordered around nor do they wish to be praised for it.

But then again, she supposes there is nothing more stereotypically Addams than completely folding under the presence of their love. Which is exactly what happens when Enid returns with the old leather doctor's bag in hand.

She stops right in front of Wednesday with a quick bounce on her toes and a small smile on her face. After setting the doctor’s bag on the desk, next to the typewriter, she roots through it for a few seconds before she gets down on her knees in front of Wednesday with some bandages, tweezers, and Grandmamma Addams’ special healing potion. Wednesday feels her muscles relax and she leans ever so slightly forward, almost literally folding over, just to get closer to the girl of her dreams.

“I know you’re doing something stupidly dangerous that you don’t want anyone to know about but, I’m here if you need help, no questions asked.” Enid says with a worried but supportive smile spread across her lips as she prepares to tend to Wednesday’s wounds. How Wednesday wishes she could just spill her heart to Enid in that moment, to lay everything down and confess her love, if only to get the rejection over with already. But she wouldn’t do that to Enid, wouldn’t force the wolf to watch as the curse stops her heart following Enid’s gentle refusal.

Wednesday loved her far too much for that.

Enid held her hand out in the space between them, palm side up. It took Wednesday a second to get that she was asking for her hand so she could begin bandaging it up.

It was only after she complied and placed her hand in Enid’s that she realized she had just done the equivalent of a dog being commanded to shake hands. She would normally be repulsed by the thrill of enjoyment she gets from following Enid’s instructions but her exhaustion and the hand holding hers made her ability to care vanish, so she savored the moment instead.

Enid moved Wednesday’s hand around in hers as she took in the extent of the injuries she would need to bandage. She seemed to finish her examination of the wounded extremity as she grabbed the tweezers in her hand and leaned closer to get a better view of the debris still in the cuts.

“Is this glass?” Enid asks as she looks up at Wednesday with those questioning blue eyes, waiting for a response. After a quick nod of affirmation Enid returns her attention to Wednesday’s hand.

The movements of the two of them brings up a wave of Enid’s smell and Wednesday felt as if she was finally able to breathe for the first time all day when the intoxicating scent of whatever perfume Enid had on enveloped her. She made a mental note to ask her what kind she used, just to look up its possibly toxic ingredients and absolutely not because she wanted to spray some on her pillow to help her sleep better at night.

Wednesday tenses when the tweezers come in contact with a glass shard and a jolt of pain shoots up her arm as the foreign object stuck in her skin moves. Enid quickly pulls the shard out and carefully drops it to the floor before moving to the next piece. The sharp pin pricks of glass being pulled out of her slightly scabbed over cuts were the only thing Wednesday was focusing on, not the feeling of Enid’s delicate hands running over hers or how the breaths of her exhale tickled her wrist. The proximity was intoxicating and she couldn’t help but to drink it in. She got lost in the cacophony of feelings that the werewolf always brought up in her, so much so that she was slightly startled when Enid began to talk.

“So,” Enid says while still keeping focused on the bloody hands in front of her. “Me and Thing were talking earlier today, to be honest it was mostly just me venting about how Ajax has been a lil’ distant lately, but never mind that part!” Enid shakes her head as if to clear the thought from her own mind. A small swell of hope wrapped Wednesday’s heart at the prospect of Enid and that Gorgon breaking up, and with it came the crushing guilt at the realization that what she was hoping for would end with Enid getting hurt. “Thing was saying that Ajax wasn’t good enough for me and that I should be with… someone else.” Wednesday noticed the pause of her sentence and a chill of fear ran through her at the possibility that Thing had told Enid about her feelings. “He just kept bringing up all these little things that I vented about in the past as reasons why Ajax isn’t good enough for me and it made me so mad that I had to make him leave or I was literally gonna throw him off the balcony.” Enid admitting to her violent urges had spiked a swell of intrigue in Wednesday at the prospect of learning more about the wolf’s hidden violent nature. But that flash of anger in Enid’s eye was quickly replaced with one of guilt as she continued.

“I am so sorry for kicking him out and I know he’s your family but it just really irked me how he thought he could talk me out of being with Ajax just ‘cause I complained about how he’s always high, or how he keeps forgetting to respond to my texts, or that we never go on dates because he spends all of his money on weed!” Enid’s rambling hammers into Wednesday’s ears as her head starts to spin. She had assumed that Enid being happy and Enid breaking up with the Gorgon were mutually exclusive, but after Enid’s rambling it seems possible that they are one in the same instead, and that thought honestly terrifies her. “And besides, even if we did split up it’s not like there’s some hot young billionaire waiting around the corner that would settle for me, right?” There’s a hopeful pause between the last two words, making the raven question if it was rhetorical or not.

And Wednesday desperately wants to tell Enid that she’s wrong, that there is one right in front of her, that she would be honored to be hers and would not be settling in any way. But she also knows that what Enid wanted more than anything was a male partner. Wednesday was just an incompatible match for Enid, for so many more reasons than just a conflict of gender. Even on the off chance that Enid does leave Ajax there was no possible way that she would choose to be with Wednesday, and that thought had begun to depress her.

Thankfully before she can spiral to the point of tears Enid finishes bandaging her hands with one final wrap of the black gauze roll, finally freeing Wednesday from the extended closeness of the situation.

“Alright!” Enid says with a squeeze of Wednesday’s bandaged hand and a smile spread across her face. Enid stood up and started picking up the supplies that she used which allowed Wednesday to begin her nightly routine, beyond eager to drift away into what would probably be a week-long slumber.

But when she started to stand she was met with a wall of resistance as she was pushed back into her seat by strong, warm hands on her shoulders. Her gaze snaps up to Enid’s face to try and gauge what the werewolf was doing but when their eyes locked she found all of her determination to leave disappear. “I’m not gonna let you run off,” Enid says with a small smile while looking down on the wounded raven that's sitting in the desk chair. “We’re not done yet.”

The raised eyebrow and slight tilt of her head were all Wednesday could do to question the action of her roommate, which she thankfully interpreted correctly. Enid answered by tugging at the collar of Wednesday’s jacket. “Take your shirt off.”

What?!

Wednesday sits there in shocked silence as Enid looks down on her with that too cute smile on her face, giving Wednesday no hints as to if what she just heard was real or not.

Did Enid really just say that?

“Wha-” Wednesday barely manages to force out as her shock temporarily outweighs her vocal freeze. The words that just came out of Enid’s mouth absolutely destroyed any coherent thought Wednesday could possibly have, now and for the next few years.

“Take off your shirt.” Enid’s tone is soft yet commanding, as if ordering Wednesday to comply while also trying not to scare her off. The combination of the look on Enid’s face, the words that flowed from her lips, and the tone of voice it was delivered in had sent shockwaves of something rolling through Wednesday’s lower stomach as her mind started to spin.

Is this a dream?

Did she accidentally fall asleep while Enid was bandaging her hands?

Or maybe she died during her fight with the Banshee and somehow ended up in heaven?

Fortunately Enid continued and clarified her command, albeit with a now slightly blushed face.

“C’mon,” She says as she tugs Wednesday’s collar again while giving her a soft, almost sad look. “I gotta see where all the blood on your back is coming from.”

Oh

A dark blush rushed over her body and face as the embarrassment and humiliation of misinterpreting the werewolf’s words washed over her, but she was also a little disappointed that Enid didn’t mean what she had initially thought. That didn't stop her from complying however as she undid the zipper on her jacket and slowly slid it off her arms, hearing the clatter of glass shards falling onto the ground behind her.

When she begins to lift her shirt over her head the piercing pain that shoots through her causes her to let out a shameful groan of pain and forces her to stop trying. She looks at Enid with pleading eyes, silently asking for her help.

“Here,” Enid says while she steps forward and wraps her fingers around the hem of Wednesday’s black shirt, “I got it.” Her voice was quiet and careful as it filled the air around them. She looks in Wednesday’s eyes with a final and unspoken question of consent before continuing. Wednesday gave permission in the form of a head nod and Enid slowly began to lift the shirt off of her; the dried and still drying blood made the fabric cling to Wednesday’s body, so much so that Enid had to reach under the shirt and slide her hand up Wednesday’s side to force the cotton to separate from the soft skin. Chills ran down her spine and a warmth spread across her body as Enid’s hand trailed up the side of her ribcage.

It was the first time in Wednesday’s life that someone else’s hand touched her bare body, and the feeling was as foreign as it was pleasant.

Once the shirt was finally off Enid placed it on the desk, next to the doctor's bag, all while doing her best to avoid openly gawking at the newly unveiled expanse of skin and the delicate swell of the raven’s chest.

Both girls were heavily blushing, Wednesday more so than Enid for obvious reasons, as Enid quickly glanced over the raven’s front to look for any wounds that needed to be patched. When she found none her gaze snapped to the ceiling before she moved behind Wednesday. When Enid pulled her eyes from the wooden beams of the roof she couldn’t help but to let out a gasp, shocked at the extent of the damage covering Wednesday’s back.

“Oh my God, Wends…” Enid says in horror as she takes in the cuts and bruises that littered Wednesday's back. The damage was extensive and the whole surface was a deep, almost black, scarlet color. Normally Enid would have passed out by now but for some reason she hasn't yet, and Wednesday was very curious as to why, but she wasn't going to risk Enid falling unconscious by asking the girl in question. She had enough problems on her hands and if Enid passed out because of her she will have to add guilt to that list.

The affectionate nickname that Enid had called her the night before had made another appearance and it tugged at Wednesday’s heart yet again. She wanted to tell Enid that she has permission to call her that all the time, but before she can sign the words, she feels a warm hand rest itself on the upper part of her left hip from behind as Enid crouches down and steadies herself, preparing to pull piece after piece of glass from the wounds.

Wednesday hopes that the small gasp that slipped past her lips at the skin on skin contact went unnoticed, but she knows well enough to just be glad that Enid hadn’t commented on it.

“I’m gonna get the big pieces first,” Enid says while the hand that was holding the tweezers rested against the dip in her back, “You ready?”

Wednesday nods, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible while simultaneously desperate for this moment to last an eternity. But when Enid plucks the first large chunk of glass from her back she instinctively pulls away from the pain, only for Enid’s left hand to move from her hip and wrap itself around her front to hold her in place. It just so happened that the warm hand had found itself situated on her bare stomach, directly against the gnarled scar from the knife that had twisted her skin apart. Wednesday froze for a few seconds as the warmth of the werewolf’s palm began to seep into her still winter-cold skin. She wasn’t sure if Enid even realized the placement of her hand or if she was too focused on her current task to notice, but either way something inside Wednesday had spoken out and told her that she needed to act, she needed to get closer to Enid, to take this opportunity and bask in it for as long as she could.

Wednesday’s right hand had slowly come up and tentatively slid over Enid’s. After a few seconds of this apprehensive touch Wednesday continued, intertwining their fingers before resting their palms flat on her stomach. Neither mentioned the new form of contact as Enid continued to remove more glass from her wounds, however there were the occasional squeezes of her hand as Enid worked.

The pile of glass shards on the floor grew with each minute that passed, the depth of her wounds were far worse than Wednesday had initially suspected as an exceptionally large shard gets removed from her muscles. The pain of having glass pulled from her skin was far outweighed by the electricity running through her skin wherever Enid’s warm hand touched. Even though Wednesday usually prefers to be the harbinger of pain she has to admit it felt oddly right to be on the other side of it, especially when Enid’s delicate hands were the distributor. While Wednesday sat in front of Enid, topless and under the powerful hands of the wolf’s gentle touch, her heart beat the fastest it had all night, and Enid heard it. She responded to the sound with another squeeze of Wednesday’s hand and nothing more, letting the comfortable silence envelope them.

The debridement process was slow going but with time and patience Enid had removed all of the glass from Wednesday's back, but that still left all of the blood and the open wounds to be dealt with. After untangling their hands Enid discarded all of the now red glass into the trash can next to the desk. She walked around Wednesday, again being careful to avoid any extended glances at her exposed chest, and searched through the doctor's bag once again.

She grabbed a clean rag, a bottle of distilled water, and a small bowl before returning to her kneeled position behind Wednesday. Enid prepares the rag, getting it ready to clear the sticky blood off Wednesday’s back. First she poured some water into the bowl, then she soaked the rag before finally ringing it out. The sound of dripping water almost drowned out the loud beating of Wednesday’s heart that seemed amplified in the quiet room.

Wednesday’s breath hitched as the cold, wet rag came in contact with her skin, leaving her with goosebumps covering her body. Enid immediately pulled back and placed her free hand on the raven’s waist.

“Sorry, that was probably, like, incredibly cold.” Enid apologizes, “I’ll be quick, just, stop me if you get too cold, okay?” Wednesday nods and Enid wastes no time, starting at her shoulders she begins cleaning Wednesday’s blood stained skin. Swipe after swipe, the ice cold rag ran down her back and over her still open wounds, causing fresh streams of bright red blood to streak down towards her waist. Every few seconds Enid pulled the rag away to dip it in the bowl of water and wring it out again, forcing Wednesday to brace for the cold wetness to once again dance across her sensitive nerves.

In no time, thanks to Enid’s quick motions and delicate handiwork, the deep red of her back had been wiped clean, revealing just how many cuts had littered the pale brown surface. Most of the damage was small cuts, less than inch sized, running all over her back. But Enid’s biggest concern were the four claw marks running down her left side, each one was at least three-inches long and looked as if they had been burnt into her skin.

“Holy shit Wends, this looks bad.” Enid mindlessly reaches out and traces her index finger down the side of the claw marks, eliciting a shutter from Wednesday’s entire body, which Enid interprets to be from the cold. “I’ll hurry up, I’m sorry, you’re probs freezing!”

True to her word, Enid quickly begins the bandaging process. She does it the same way she had on Wednesday’s hand, starting with pouring some of Grandmamma Addams’ healing potion into the cuts, followed by placing sterile cotton patches against the wounded flesh and securing them with tape. The last step is to cover the large claw marks with gauze wrap, to keep pressure on the still bleeding wounds. Enid begins by taking the roll of black gauze and unraveling it a little before wrapping it around Wednesday’s torso.

For each layer of the bandage, Enid has to wrap her hands around Wednesday’s front and grab the gauze before pulling it across her back again. Each time she’s careful to avoid brushing against Wednesday’s cold skin; but the accidental contact with her chest goes unmentioned by both girls, though neither of them is unaffected by it.

Enid gives the bandage one final wrap around her torso before ripping the rest of the roll off and tightly securing the loose end.

“Okay!” Enid says as she lightly places her hand against the gauze on Wednesday’s back and rubs her hand over it in small circles, “It's not, like, too tight or anything, is it?”

Wednesday shakes her head as she leans into the werewolf’s touch, savoring the warmth that spreads through her as the hand transfers its comforting heat to her freezing skin. She was overcome with a desperate need for more of that warmth, but before she could act on it Enid pulled away and took the warmth with her.

Enid picks up all of the medical equipment and walks back to the first aid kit in front of Wednesday, placing the items in the old doctor's bag before closing it up.

She looks back at Wednesday but immediately blushes and lets out an adorable squeak while she forces her gaze back on the leather bag. “Oh! U-um… I’m gonna go get you a shirt.” She says awkwardly before almost running around the black bed, hitting her knee on the corner and almost tripping.

Enid opens the closet door before turning the light on and looking through it, which gives Wednesday some time to cool down from the burning touch that had just scorched her skin.

She took the few seconds afforded to her by Enid’s absence to take some deep breaths, but the air was just… wrong.

This was unlike any experience she’s previously had with the air being poisoned, partly for the fact that she wasn’t feeling any of the usual symptoms of oxygen deprivation, but mostly because something inside her was telling her, not that she couldn’t breathe, but that she shouldn’t. There was something sour filling the air in the room and it was becoming too much. She looked around the room to search for the source of the smell but she found nothing. Then she realized the smell waned significantly when she turned towards her closet, towards Enid.

As Enid happily walked back to her, all while intensely focused on the black fabric in her hands, Wednesday noticed that, not only was the sour smell disappearing, but it was being replaced with the delicious aroma of Enid’s perfume, and with it came the wonderful ability to breathe again.

Once Enid was standing in front of the topless raven she thrust her hands out with a black long-sleeve shirt hanging from her grasp. “H-here.” The wolf said as she was still making a point to avoid looking at Wednesday in any capacity. Wednesday snatched the shirt from the girl in front of her and quickly moved to put it on, no longer caring about any of her wounds being opened or the pain that runs across her back. All she was focused on was no longer being topless in front of the girl she loves.

Once the shirt was over her head and settled on her torso she realized that it was her favorite, especially after a tough day; it was fine cotton and the softest and most comfortable one she owns. She kept this specific shirt in the back of her drawer, buried under countless other articles of clothing.

Knowing that her shirt was placed in its spot, ready to be bought out whenever she was having a bad day always brought her comfort.

So why did Enid choose this specific, very out-of-the-way shirt over all of the others?

After all, she had plenty of other shirts placed on top of this one. Wednesday felt the need to know, so she asked. With her bandaged hand she did her best to sign out her question, even with the stiff movements of her fingers she was able to convey her curiosity.

“Why did you give me this shirt?” Wednesday asked, thankful that signing the words didn’t bring with it a cacophony of pain; her wounds were already mending and therefore did not reopen, Grandmamma’s potion had fast tracked the healing enough for scabs to have already formed.

“Umm… ‘cause you needed a shirt?” Enid asks with an adorable head tilt, very obviously not getting the question but doing so in the cutest way possible.

“Why this specific shirt?” Wednesday signs before she starts tugging at the fabric of her shirt in an attempt to get her point across better.

“Oh! I just remember that whenever something bad happened last semester you would wear that shirt, so I just figured it was important to you.” What Enid said had struck Wednesday's heart, the fact that she noticed something so small about what brings her comfort just cemented the love she has for this girl even more.

She looked up to the werewolf’s face and saw a wide, almost proud smile. The feeling of being so seen and understood had manifested as a deep pull in her heart, a need to be closer to Enid, and she was far too drained to fight it anymore.

Wednesday stood from the chair and closed the gap between them, pulling Enid against herself and snaking her arms up the werewolf’s back before resting her palms against Enid’s shoulder blades.

Enid was a little shocked about the sudden hug but she still wrapped her arms around the raven’s waist. Enid tilted her head and was about to say something but before she could Wednesday buried her head in the crook of the wolf's neck. She couldn't help it, she was cold and tired and Enid was so warm and comfortable and she smelled so good; so much so that Wednesday felt compelled to find the strongest source of this scent. She started rubbing her face up and down the side of the werewolf’s neck, trying to find the best place to plant her nose in order to get the most of the wonderful smell. But it was everywhere on Enid, it was coming from her pores, seeping from her skin. But it still wasn’t enough. Wednesday was desperate for more so she pulled Enid even deeper into her arms, tightening her grip and resting her temple against Enid’s jugular and her nose in the crook of her neck, settling into the embrace with the werewolf that just felt so right, as if she was meant to be in Enid’s arms.

Enid’s hand began to rub up and down Wednesday’s back in a calming circular motion. This was everything Wednesday needed, all she had ever wanted. She was melting into it, savoring the feelings of warmth and safety that always accompanied the werewolf that she was deeply in love with. And soon, Wednesday found the exhaustion of the Banshee fight and the overall lack of sleep from the night before hitting her like a guillotine. She began drifting away to sleep while standing up, right there in Enid’s arms.

“U-um, Wends?” Enid says in question of her affectionate actions, but the girl in her arms was already half asleep. “Wednesday.” The werewolf grabs her waist and gently pushes her a few inches away, just enough so they could look into each other's eyes. A smile breaks out across Enid’s face as she looks at the half-lidded eyes of the usually very guarded and neutral face of the raven. “C’mon, let's get you tucked in, sleepy head.”

Everything about this moment, the closeness, the warmth, the comfort, the familiarity. It was all more than Wednesday had ever expected from her futile feelings and because of that she was overcome with this desire to kiss Enid, to throw caution to the wind and close the gap between their lips. But even with her mind half asleep she still knew it was an incredibly bad idea. So she simply turned away from the source of her temptations and took a step towards her bed.

But before she climbs under her covers she looks back to Enid, who’s still looking at her with an adorable smile, and brings her hands up to sign something. But she drops her arms back down to her side, deciding that what she wants to say is far too important to communicate through sign language alone.

“T-thank you.” Her voice is so quiet it’s barely there, she just ends up mouthing the words more than anything. But still, Wednesday managed to push through her verbal cage, even if just barely, all to show how grateful she is to Enid’s constant support and kindness. She didn’t wait for a response before she walked to her bed and quickly crawled under the cold cotton covers, laying on her back and crossing her arms over her chest.

“Of course Roomie!” Enid cheerfully says as she walks over to the light switch, flicking it off before making her way into her own hideously colorful bed. Wednesday hears the shuffling of those god awful polyester and cotton bedsheets. But then Enid spoke up again, “Goodnight Wednesday… and I’m really glad you’re back.”

The cool temperature of her sheets was quickly offset by the unnatural heat that Wednesday’s body was generating. The after effects of everything that happened in the hour since her return to her dorm had left her with a blush so deep it felt as if the only way to get rid of it would be to stop her furiously beating heart.

Just recalling the memory of Enid’s hand running up her side had re-fueled the flame of her desire.

She pushed those thoughts and memories out of her mind and tried to focus on the sound of Enid snoring, a sound that she had desperately missed. When they first started rooming together Wednesday had absolutely despised the sounds that her new roommate made while she slept. But after the incident at the Gates manor, and Enid’s subsequent departure from their room, she realized just how much it had relaxed her now, and soon she started to rely on its steady, rhythmic sound to lull her to sleep.

And that’s exactly what happened to her when the werewolf had finally succumbed to the enticing pull of sleep, dragging Wednesday along soon after.

Chapter Text

Rainbow tinted light dimly fluttered through the large circular window as the winter sun barely pierced through the cloud covered sky. The world had that special kind of stillness to it, the kind that was unique to this time of year, the kind that makes the cold world feel warmly quiet. And that quiet extended into the attic room of Ophelia Hall, instilling a peaceful and cozy atmosphere over the girl whose conscience was slowly returning to her as she wakes.

The first stirrings of activity began to disrupt the stillness of the room as she blinked her eyes open, once, then twice, before opening them fully and stretching her arms above her head. Next she stretches her legs and lets out a quiet whine as her muscles begin to shake at the apex of her stretch. With the stiffness of her limbs now dealt with she sits up and looks at the alarm clock beside her bed; it shows that it’s already 1pm, which was actually earlier than she was expecting it to be.

With her brain slowly starting to kick into gear she takes in her surroundings, enjoying the cozy additions she’s made to her space and the calming smell in the air. Her gaze falls on the opposite side of the room where she sees her still sleeping roommate. Suddenly the memories of the night before rush back to her and a blush spreads across her face as she remembers the intimate mood that hung in the air between them. And she was honestly a little scared to even think about what happened, let alone be confronted about it. Thankfully the other girl was as still as a rock and her breathing remained the same steady pace it was before, meaning she wasn’t awake yet.

Maybe she could slip out and avoid talking to her for a while? Just to skip any awkward talks about what happened.

That seems reasonable, right?

At least it’s more reasonable than what happened between them.

She still can’t believe how many times she thought about kissing those cute lips last night. Just pulling her close and planting one right across her shocked face. But she resisted the feeling, only barely making it through the night without breaking the trust she had fought so hard to win.

And, god, does she love where that trust has gotten her.

After all, she was the only one in the school who was trusted enough to patch up Wednesday’s wounds, and she would not sacrifice that for anything, let alone something as simple as her stupid crush.

But that was just the beginning of her problems.

She was many things, a werewolf, a blogger, a fashion icon, a Swiftie; but she was not a cheater. She still had Ajax to think about, even if he was being a bit of a jerk right now that didn’t give her permission to just start making out with someone else, even if that someone else made her skin tingle in an indescribably heart thumping way and all she’s thought about for the past 12 hours is how soft those lips must be.

So yes, she might have some feelings for her roommate and best friend, Wednesday Addams. And yes, she might have spent a lot of brain power on thinking up all kinds of different scenarios in which they could share a romantic kiss. BUT, she was still with Ajax, and even though she has a tiny bit of a major crush on Wednesday, she still loves Ajax.

And Ajax loved her too!

It was mutual and fun and everything Enid wanted! Ajax was a good boyfriend and great kisser, they never fought, they could talk for hours, and her mom had already low-key approved of him. Enid was happy with him, he was a safe bet, exactly who she always wanted as a mate.

So why did the thought of marking him with a bite make her recoil as if she just drank vinegar? Why did things feel so off between them now?

Was it because she finally wolfed out?

Or maybe because of her newly developing alpha hormones?

No matter what it was, she still wanted to spend time with him, she still loved their talks about random nothings, and how he can always make her laugh, and their makeout sessions that sometimes got a lil bit heavy.

She still loves him but she doesn’t want to become mates yet, and that’s okay! They have plenty of time to get to that stage before they graduate, it’s not like there’s a big rush to start a family.

Once again, a bad taste fills her mouth and a pit forms in her stomach. The thought of having kids with him grossed her out more than that bowl of bloody water from last night, but like she already decided, she has plenty of time to get used to the concept of mating with Ajax, even if thinking about it makes her nauseous.

She pushes away her thoughts and the disgust that came with them as she climbs out of her bed and stands up with one final, full body stretch, letting out another small whine as she does so. A shiver runs through her body as the cold of the room feels even colder without a warm comforter surrounding her body. She walks towards the large spider web window to grab one of her sweaters from her coat rack so she doesn’t freeze to death just inches from her warm bed. Goosebumps ran down her arms as the cold fabric of her jacket wrapped around her before slowly warming up to match her body’s naturally high temperature.

Enid rubs her hands together to force heat into them while looking over to where Wednesday was still sleeping.

It was normal for Enid to sleep in past noon, especially while she got used to the three hour difference between Caili and Vermont time, but Wednesday always woke up before the sun and, in the entire time they’ve known each other, Enid has never seen Wednesday sleep so late.

There was something going on with Wednesday and Enid had noticed it after their first interaction this semester.

Wednesday was still the same just, like, less there?

Of course Enid was concerned for her and would do anything to help her, but first Wednesday needs to open up to her about whatever problem she’s facing; and so far it’s been nothing but silence.

So Enid walks over to the side of Wednesday’s bed and looks down at her as she sleeps, looking over her for any outward signs of problems. She finds nothing other than the bandages and cuts from last night, but she still stares, quietly appreciating the stoic beauty of the raven’s features and the soft and unseen nature of her sleeping face.

It’s then that Enid realizes how similar this is to a dream that she had while Wednesday spent that night in the nurse’s office. It started with Wednesday waking her up while standing over her, like how Enid was standing next to Wednesday right now, and then Wednesday called her ‘more beautiful than the moon’ while caressing her cheek. It was something so ridiculously sweet that Enid was shocked her own brain could create something that was so dreamy and heart stoppingly romantic. It wasn’t like any other dream she’s had before and she’s spent way too much time fantasizing about what might have happened if that dream went further.

Ever since that dream she’s been thinking about Wednesday practically non-stop, having thoughts that are way too inappropriate to be having about her probably asexual and possibly aromantic roommate.

She quietly walks away from the sleeping girl with tinges of guilt filling her mind as she returns to her side of the dorm to grab her phone. Once she pulls it off its wireless charger she unlocks it and opens her texts, planning on sending a quick message to Ajax, telling him that she’s up now. But when she opens their message history she sees the multiple unanswered texts she sent yesterday, all of them were hours apart and less than three sentences in total; a good morning text, a text about wanting to meet up, a question about planning a date, a goodnight and I love you text.

All of them were unanswered, and the last half of them weren’t even read.

So she decides that, if he’s not going to put in any effort to text her back then why should she even text him in the first place?

After all, If the Sinclair’s are known for one thing, it’s their ability to be petty.

So she just pockets her phone and gathers her shower supplies as well as her favorite pink and orange sweater, a pink denim skirt, multicolored leggings that were comfortably thick, and warm wool socks designed to look like little golden retrievers. With arms full of clothes she carefully sneaks out of the room, making sure not to wake Wednesday, and walks down to the Ophelia hall showers.

As she was walking down the hall and away from their room she thought she would feel a weight lift off her shoulders at the distance between her and Wednesday, but, if anything, her chest felt heavier and it became a little bit harder to breathe. She figures it was just guilt about ignoring Ajax and having such intense feelings about Wednesday because, yeah, both of those things were driving a train of guilt from her brain right into her stomach.

She really needed to talk about this with someone soon or she might just have a meltdown with ugly crying and everything.

So when she walked into the locker room she was beyond glad to see Yoko sitting on one of the benches in front of the lockers, wearing a towel while brushing her wet hair.

“Whoa girl,” The vampire says as she looks Enid up and down, “Why do you absolutely reek of Wednesday?” She drops her hands into her lap and stares at the wolf with wide eyes.

“What do you mean?” Enid asks as she walks up to her locker and puts her clean clothes away before turning back to look at Yoko.

“Are you serious?” Yoko’s eyebrows shoot up her forehead in question with a hint of her teasing voice showing through. “You smell like you just crawled out of her bed, it is, like, ridiculously strong.”

“We're roommates so of course we smell like each other.” The confusion on her face and in her tone only makes Yoko’s face twist with disbelief.

“Girl, you’ve been roommates for months but now it smells like Wednesday is in the room with us.” Yoko says in an attempt to convey just how strong the scent of the Addams is on Enid. It’s then that Enid remembers something that happened between them last night; when Wednesday hugged her and rubbed her face into her neck. Even thinking about it gets her heart hammering in her chest and a fierce blush washes over her cheeks.

“So, um…” Enid awkwardly rubs her bicep as she stalls for time, she's not too sure how to say this exactly, so she just goes for it. “Last night Wednesday may have, kinda possibly, scent marked me?” Her voice gets quieter as her sentence goes on, afraid of what the vampire’s reaction will be and embarrassed to be admitting it happened at all.

“SHE WHAT?!” Yoko shrieks which forces Enid to cover her ears as the loud sound echoes and amplifies in the tile room. She at least has the decency to look apologetic for the loudness as Enid pulls her hands away from her oversensitive ears. “You haven’t even let Ajax scent mark you?” Her voice switches to the yell whisper that she always uses when gossiping in public. “And not only that but I can not believe that Wednesday ‘don’t touch me or you’ll die’ Addams went along with it!”

“W-well I don’t think she really knew what she was doing. She hugged me and then she started to nuzzle her face into my neck for a little bit before she relaxed into my arms.” The blush that was spread over Enid’s face didn’t go unnoticed by Yoko who immediately realized that this was some top tier drama, especially because she caught on to the fact that the Addams seems to have scented Enid purely out of instinct.

“Okay, this is a whole ass can of worms that I cannot delve into while sitting here practically naked, we are absolutely having a girls night tonight to finish talking about,” She gestures with her hands in a rainbow-esque motion, “all of this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, it was just a one off thing, and besides,” Enid turns to her locker and begins to fiddle with the sleeve of her night shirt. “Wednesday didn’t even mean it like that.” Her voice is quiet and her gaze falls to the ground, something that the vampire notices.

“If there’s nothing to talk about then why do you sound so disappointed?” Yoko teases as she grabs her own clothes and walks into a shower stall to change.

But Enid was completely frozen.

That thought had been in the back of her mind and one that she was never going to touch, but of course Yoko called her out and forced it to the forefront of her mind so now all she can focus on is just how much she wanted Wednesday to scent her and mean it.

It was all she was thinking about as she went through the motions of her shower. That and how she was washing away Wednesday’s scent which she would probably never get back.

Maybe she could steal one of Wednesday’s hair ties to wear on her wrist? Just to have a little bit of that comforting smell which reminded Enid of a freshly rained on flower garden.

She spent the rest of her shower thinking of that smell and how she desperately wanted to be scented with it again.

When Enid got back from her shower she noticed Wednesday was still sleeping in her corpse-like position, wrapped in her 20 pound weighted blankets with strands of hair sticking out of her slept-in braids. The fact that Wednesday was sleeping in till 2 in the afternoon, which Enid had never seen her do before, combined with the wounds from last night, had Enid very worried.

So she once again stood over Wednesday as she slept, but this time she was going to wake her up to make sure she was okay. As Enid reached her hand out to shake the girl awake she thought about caressing her cheek instead, mimicking that dream she had. But she decided she enjoyed having fingers and waking Wednesday up like that would guarantee that she loses a few. So she just lightly grabbed the girl by her shoulder and gently shook her awake.

Enid watched as Wednesday’s eyes slowly opened before that dark brown gaze met hers and an honest to god smile broke out across the raven’s face.

“Mmh,” The raven hums out as she takes in the sight of the blonde werewolf standing over her. “Buenos días, mi dulce loba.” (Good morning, my sweet wolf) Wednesday says in a sleepy and near dreamy voice as her small smile grows to show both of her dimples. Enid realizes that was the first time she’s ever heard Wednesday speak Spanish and, even though she has no clue what Wednesday just said, the tone she said it in and the unusual smile on her face lets Enid know that not only is she not upset but it almost seems like Wednesday is happy to see her. And, wow, does that make Enid’s heart soar in her chest.

But Wednesday isn’t done playing puppet with her heart.

The raven sits up as she lightly grabs the hand that was still placed on her shoulder before bringing it up to her face, lightly pressing her lips against the werewolf’s knuckles in one of the most gentle and most romantic kisses Enid has ever received.

Enid can’t help but to let out a small yelp of surprise, because honestly who wouldn't, but it has the unfortunate side effect of breaking Wednesday out of whatever half-asleep haze she was just in. Both girls freeze in place as Wednesday’s eyes widen in shock and an awkward silence settles over them. Enid’s gaze falls on their still joined hands before flicking back up to those dark brown eyes.

“U-um…?” Enid can’t help but to voice her shocked confusion which causes Wednesday to pull away from the contact. The raven calmly and wordlessly pushes the black blankets off her legs before standing on the other side of the bed from Enid. She turns around and fixes the covers, spending far too much time smoothing out the wrinkles left in the cotton all while refusing to meet Enid’s gaze.

Enid noticed the darker coloring that was spreading across Wednesday’s cheeks and she realized that Wednesday was embarrassed by what just happened, meaning she was unlikely to say anything, so Enid decided to not comment on it and instead change the subject entirely.

“Your, um,” Enid fumbles her words as she tries to come up with something else to say. “Your bandages need to be changed.” She manages to come up with a decent distraction while doing her best to keep her tone steady in order to hide the fact that her whole body was still vibrating from that surprise hand-kiss. She wanted to avoid talking about what just happened too, because holy shit her mind is buzzing right now and she cannot think about whatever that just was or her brain might literally explode.

Thankfully Wednesday takes the distraction and runs with it.

“I appreciate your help last night but from here on out I will have Thing tend to my wounds.” Wednesday’s voice is quiet and more detached than usual but Enid has gotten to know her well enough to tell that Wednesday was just feeling shy, which Enid always thought was super cute.

“I can help!” Enid wants to show her that it’s okay and that she’s here for her, that she doesn’t have to be alone but Wednesday shoots her down in a way that she can’t refuse.

“Then may I request some privacy?” God does Enid love the tone that Wednesday uses when she shyly asks for something from her, even if it’s to tell her to leave.

“Oh, right; yeah, I was gonna grab some breakfast anyway.” Enid awkwardly says as she gets ready to leave, grabbing her phone, her jacket, and her scarf. “Text me if you need anything!” She looks back to catch one last glimpse of her crush before the closing door separates them.

She leans back against the closed door before letting out a shaky sigh, slightly thankful for Wednesday’s refusal to accept her help. The memory of Wednesday without her shirt was already constantly filling her mind and if she were to see that again she feels like it would become her brain’s screen-saver; that it's what she would see whenever she closes her eyes or loses focus from now on, because that has already been a recurring problem in the few waking hours since she saw it.

God.

She really needs to think about something other than Wednesday for at least a few hours. Wednesday was all that was on her mind since she had returned to Nevermore-

No,

It started before the last semester even ended.

All she was thinking about over break was Wednesday.

Every night of the break when she went to bed all she could think about was how much she missed falling asleep to the sound of Wednesday’s typewriter clacking away. When she wolfed out over the break all she wanted to do was run up to Wednesday and show off her wolf form. When her mom told her she was proud of her for wolfing out her first thought wasn’t about herself or her mom, it was about what Wednesday would say when she told her.

And even now, with Wednesday on the other side of this door, she is all that Enid can think about.

But how could she not think about her all the time?

Last night Wednesday had come back to their room covered in blood and cuts and about to pass out from exhaustion. The day before she had to spend the night in the nurse's office with a concussion. The careful and calculated Wednesday Addams had spent both of her nights back at Nevermore injured and Enid was terrified of this streak continuing.

She pushed herself away from the door and began to quickly walk down the stairs into the main hall. She felt like she was going to have a panic attack thinking about Wednesday getting hurt any more than she already was. Her pace quickened as she found herself desperate for any kind of distraction for her spiraling thoughts about losing Wednesday to some freak accident or horrible murderer.

Thankfully she made it to the snow covered quad where she saw Yoko and Divina cuddled up at one of the tables and eating their respective lunches. The werewolf quickly ran over to them and sat on the opposite side of the table with a few heavy breaths, immediately drawing the attention of the couple sitting in front of her.

“Look out wolfie, you might blow down some little piggies' house with all that huffin’ and puffin’ you’re doing.” Yoko teases as she points what she was eating at Enid, a blood popsicle, which is just, yuck. Enid can’t help but to straight up gag at the sight of that gross frozen abomination as she holds her hands up in front of her to block the sight of it from her view.

“I am not even joking Yoko but if you don’t get that thing out of my sight I will barf and pass out into it and you will have to make sure I don’t drown in my own vomit.” Enid says in what was both a threat and a prediction wrapped in one. Thankfully Yoko gets the hint and puts her blood-sicle back in its wrapper before shoving it into the snow to keep it frozen.

“Right, your weird thing with blood.” The vampire says with a roll of her eyes, always finding it funny how a werewolf could hate the sight of blood so much. But she still respects that Enid’s phobia is something she can’t control.

“Speaking of,” Divina cuts in and addresses Enid, “How did you deal with Wednesday last night?”

“W-what, um, what do you mean?” Her nervous answer only raises the eyebrows of the other girl as Yoko laughs at Enid’s embarrassment, especially because she knows about the scenting that happened and can only assume that there is more drama to uncover.

“I saw Wednesday at like, three in the morning last night in the student kitchen, she was covered in blood and completely silent.” The siren says as she lightly pushes her girlfriend’s shoulder to show her disapproval for laughing at their friend. “It was, like, super creepy.”

“Yeah, and my sister told me she picked up a girl in Bennington who bled all over her back seat before she dropped them off at Nevermore.” Yoko interrupts before Enid can even respond. The wolf was a little confused until she remembered when Yoko told her that her older sister was working nights for Uber now. “She said the girl had long black braids and looked like she just killed someone.”

“Do you mean Burlington?” Enid asks, thinking Yoko had forgotten the name of the nearest city to Jericho, but Yoko shook her head.

“No, Bennington,” The vampire repeats, “It’s a town like three hours south of here.” The distraction that Enid was hoping for was horribly in vain as her worry for Wednesday only grew more.

“Why was she in Bennington?” Enid asks in a near panic as her mind runs wild with possibilities. But they were all cut short when Divina threw in her knowledge of last night.

“She was hunting a Banshee.” The siren says fairly nonchalantly considering the subject of her sentence.

“SHE WAS WHAT?!” Enid jumps up from the bench and stands over the other two girls as panic begins to flow through her. “WHY WOULD SHE-” The yelling of the werewolf gets cut off when she feels the hand of the vampire grab her wrist to calm her down. Enid shyly looks around to the few other students in the quad with an apologetic smile before returning to her seat and continuing her sentence at a less intense volume. “Why the hell would she hunt a banshee?”

“I think you need to ask her that, cause we’re just as lost as you.” Divina says in an effort to calm her down and show her she’s not alone in her confusion.

Still, Enid rolls her eyes and groans. “I already know what Wednesday will say if I ask.”

“It’s an Addams thing.”
“It’s an Addams thing.”
“It’s an Addams thing.”

At the same time all three of their voices ring out in their best impressions of Wednesday. They look at each other for a split second before they all break out in laughter at their unexpected shared joke, immediately lightening the mood and allowing Enid a well needed break from her endless worry regarding her roommate.

The conversation transferred from Wednesday and her banshee hunt to the three of them thinking up other hypothetical and ridiculous ‘Addams things’. Like, it’s an Addams thing that they try to murder each other daily, or it’s an Addams thing that they have a sixth sense to always know where the nearest weapon is.

After someone said that demons summon the Addams to make deals the group began giggling and invented even more insane theories. Such as the Addams stealing teeth from the tooth fairy and that they are all resistant to waterboarding, or that they need to chain up their pet tiger before Halloween every year.

It's then that they get interrupted by the smooth voice of a tall woman wearing all black who silently glided up next to them without being noticed.

“He’s actually a lion named Kitty and he is woefully gentle with the trick or treaters.” Morticia plays along, instantly shutting the girls up and instilling a chill in their spines.

It was around ten minutes after Enid left when Wednesday returned to the room, fresh from the shower and free of bandages. Grandmamma Addams’ potion had fast tracked her healing to the point where all of her small cuts had closed and the large claw marks on her side were scabbing over.

The very first thing Wednesday notices is the lack of the werewolf’s presence, or more-so the lack of her smell. A smell which Wednesday found herself gravely missing, so much so that it actually hurt both her heart and her lungs.

The sting that Enid’s lack of presence had on her was painfully pathetic but it also gave her a slight feeling of relief as well, mostly because it meant she could avoid the confrontation regarding her ridiculous actions when the werewolf had awoken her earlier. And, now that the object of her affections and source of her swirling thoughts has left their space, she was allowed some freedom from the ever present torture of the curse.

Which means now is the perfect time to squeeze in some well needed writing.

After depositing her dirty clothes in her hamper and returning her shower supplies to their place in her closet Wednesday eagerly sits at her desk and goes through the process of preparing her typewriter, an original 1939 Juwel Model 3 that belonged to her ancestor, Charles Addams.

She begins by running her fingers lightly across the polished black metal of the top cover before she pulls it open. With the inner workings exposed she opens her desk drawer and grabs the ink spools, removing them from their air-tight case then sliding them on to their designated pegs. Her actions are almost second nature by now, as if a silent symphony is directing her hands, there’s a fluidity to her movements that portrays just how familiar and relaxing these few moments are for her. The orchestra of her actions continues as she pulls the sleek silk ribbon through the ribbon carrier, moving carefully to avoid getting any ink on her fingers. Next she gently lowers the top cover back into place, running her fingers across the smooth metal once again just to enjoy the satisfying feeling of her fingertips gliding across the surface. Finally, she reaches into her bottom desk drawer and grabs a piece of paper before feeding it through the rubber platen roller, she turns the platen knobs and relaxes at the familiar and soothing clacking sound they produce while the blank page slowly wraps through the inner workings of the typewriter and emerges in the front. Wednesday tucks the page under the paper bail before she pushes the carriage into its place at the beginning of the page.

Just like every other time she’s gone through the routine of prepping her typewriter it brings her immense comfort and it allows her to block out any of her other thoughts, focusing only on her writing and the inspiration that starts to flood her mind.

She writes out the very grotesque and gruesome details of a suspicious death that Viper is investigating, which may or may not mimic certain details of the suicidal plans Wednesday has set for her own fate.

As she’s writing the crescendo of her current chapter, the point when Viper discovers the remains of a young girl that was devoured by a Wendigo, something breaks the near absolute silence that surrounds her and her mind is forced to return to the real world.

The sound of the door opening behind her is what quells her metaphorical quill and quickens her heart at the anticipation of another heart throbbing interaction with her roommate, but strangely, Enid says nothing. In fact, there’s absolutely no other noise after the click of the closing door latch.

“What manner of insufferable teenage melodrama has you being so quiet-” Wednesday cuts herself off as she looks over her shoulder and doesn’t see Enid, doesn’t see anybody.

A chill runs down her spine as she quickly stands from her desk and searches the room with her eyes, but she still doesn’t see anyone, anyone other than Thing that is. He’s sitting on Enid’s bed and flicking through some form of exploitive fashion magazine about how to conform to the male gaze.

“Did you hear anything just now?” Wednesday asks with an anxious sharpness tinting her tone, her eyes still shifting from shadow to shadow across the room.

Thing signs that he didn’t hear anything other than her typewriter keys, but Wednesday isn’t convinced; or more accurately, her fear isn’t convinced.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe that a sentient hand lacking ears can be a reliable witness to any event, auditory or otherwise,” Wednesday says while pulling a dagger from her sleeve. “offense intended.” She ignores the middle finger she gets from Thing as she settles into her ready stance.

The raven wanders around the room with the dagger in her hand meticulously scanning every single inch of the room for any signs that someone was here, but she found none.

And it was incredibly unnerving.

She knows for a fact that she just heard the door open and close.

She also knows there is no possible way for that to happen on its own.

No,

Someone was here.

They had to be.

Because the only other option was that she was losing her mind.

But that’s the only conclusion she can draw from all of the evidence she’s been presented with.

There is no sign of anyone breaking in or running out and Thing’s testimony that he heard nothing only leads her to the painful truth, she has begun hearing things.

The telltale sign of someone going insane.

The curse is taking much more of her mental fortitude than she anticipated.

Her mind has always been the one thing she can trust but now even that is going.

And it's all too much.

She can’t stand how slow and painful her heartbreak is, but at the same time the mental degradation is coming on far too fast.

If only she can just end the torture already.

The movement of the falling snow out the window catches her attention which makes her look out to the balcony. She begins to feel a small sense of calm wash over her as she watches the snow flutter down before landing on the fluffy white waves covering the stonework.

It feels like it’s calling her and she can’t resist.

Wednesday grabs the black weighted blanket off her bed and walks over to the large spider web window, carefully climbing out and enjoying the cold wind that whips against her exposed skin. She wraps the blanket around her shoulders and suppresses an undignified shiver before she steps away from the window. The slippery snow crunches beneath her feet as she calmly walks over to the railing.

With a certain kind of melancholic detachment she pushes the built up snow off the edge, watching as it falls down onto the ground below and breaks into pieces upon impact.

And Wednesday can’t take her eyes off of it.

She has her list of plans that she still very much wanted to complete, but, with her sudden development of psychosis, her timeline for her plans had been unexpectedly shortened by weeks at the very least.

As she looks down over the ledge she can’t help but to consider taking the easy way out, can’t help but to picture her body doing the same as that chunk of snow, breaking into pieces onto the hard concrete below.

But instead of falling into her dark desires she adjusted her view, looking out over the barren trees of the green mountain forests. She admires the oppressive nature of Mount Mansfield and the other intimidating peaks that surround the school; these mountains are what gives the whole area a sense of cold detachment from the rest of the world, something that she very much relates to right now.

Wednesday gets lost in the atmosphere of the cloudy day, letting her mind wander but finding it coming up empty as she stares blankly into the snow filled distance, savoring the feeling of the frigid wind that acted as one of her few grounds to reality.

She doesn’t know how long she has been standing here, lost in her own mind and swaying in the breeze. It was only when she heard the window opening behind her that she felt her consciousness fully return to her, and with it came a near paralyzing fear of turning around. She was too afraid that she would see nothing behind her and this was all just another hallucination caused by her slowly decaying brain.

But she turns around anyway.

Even though this might be another hallucination there is still a chance that Enid is standing behind her right now, and there is nothing in this world that Wednesday would rather look at than the beautiful blue eyes of her blonde love.

Thankfully when she faces the window again she sees the frantic flailing of the wolf slipping on the snowy concrete. Wednesday doesn’t even have to think before her hands shoot out and grab on to the multi-colored ball of chaos that was trying desperately to stay upright.

Wednesday managed to save Enid from her own uncoordinated limbs with some skillful footwork and an arm wrapped around the werewolf’s waist as Enid desperately tried to save herself by clinging on to Wednesday’s shoulders.

While their heart rates initially spiked from the almost fall, the rhythm of their heartbeats continued to rise as the two girls wordlessly stood in each other's arms, looking into the other’s eyes and savoring the warmth and the mutual comfort that came with their closeness.

“Thanks.” Enid says as she straightens her legs and regains her footing, still holding on to Wednesday, before innocently asking a question that sends an ice cold shock of pure dread through Wednesday’s stomach. “So, are you ready to give your brother the welcoming tour?”

“What”

Chapter Text

Pugsley stood in front of her with his usual shy look and nervous mannerisms.

He was taller than her now.

Something that she very much despised.

But not as much as the fact that his lanky limbs were now adorned in a striped Nevermore uniform.

She had desperately wished this was just some kind of twisted nightmare, that her dreams had shifted from their usual macabre displays of Enid’s death into something more ridiculous, but the feeling of Enid lightly pressing against her side had made it upsettingly clear that this was real.

This was happening.

Pugsley was attending Nevermore.

This unfortunate turn of events meant she would be forced to pick fights with every kind of outcast there is, just to protect her pathetically spineless, far too kind for his own good, little brother. It was beyond disgusting how nauseatingly nice he could be, yet she would gladly stand up to the gates of heaven for him if it meant he could keep his childish innocence for just one second longer.

She knows all too well how it feels to have that very same innocence violently ripped from her soul, the loss of Nero being the catalyst, and she refused to let the same happen to her undeserving little brother.

But protecting Pugsley wasn’t the problem that was staring her down like a predator, waiting for her to lower her guard so it can strike.

If only it was that simple.

Now that her brother was the newest addition to Nevermore’s teenage freakshow there was a terrifyingly real chance he would discover that the family curse was dragging her to an early grave. And once he learns about the curse it will be exceptionally easy for him to find out the reason for her encroaching death was standing next to her, brushing shoulders and radiating a warmth that Wednesday couldn’t help but lean into.

She is painfully aware that, by allowing Enid to stand in such close proximity to her, she was already broadcasting to Pugsley just how abnormally comfortable she was around the werewolf. The fact that they were brushing shoulders was more than enough evidence for him to draw the correct conclusion about her feelings for the blonde, especially considering she refused to let her own blood relatives come in such close and prolonged contact with her.

Her mind debates whether or not to put some space in between them, in order to at least appear to not be entirely smitten by Enid, but her heart decides that the warmth of her werewolf was far too wonderful to do without, consequences be damned.

“Pugsley.” Wednesday finally says, breaking the silence that every one who wasn’t an Addams felt was awkward, which, with just the three of them, meant Enid was the only one who was nervously shifting her gaze between the two siblings with her usual wide smile. The raven has always had a deeply unpleasant reaction to seeing someone smile, for her it was the equivalent of watching someone vomit, but on Enid those dreadful smiles look right at home; always appearing so woefully perfect whenever one graces her features.

“Hi, Wednesday.” Pugsley says in a quiet voice, no doubt too shy to speak normally while in front of someone he views as a stranger, so Wednesday fixes that by introducing the two most important people in her life to one another.

“This is Enid,” She says while holding her hand palm side up and motioning to the blonde werewolf standing to her left, “My roommate.” But that label feels wrong. Even though she’s trying to hide her feelings from Pugsley she can’t help but feel an unpleasant swell in her heart as she simplifies the effect Enid has had on her life down to something as basic as ‘just a roommate’. She’s nearly about to add ‘friend’ to her statement, a classification that no one in her life has ever earned before, but Enid speaks first, interrupting the words that were about to escape the raven’s lips.

“And bestie~!” Enid chimes in cheerfully as she very obviously leans into Wednesday even more, sending a warmth echoing through the raven’s heart and soul. “Hi,” The werewolf introduces herself to the newest Addams of Nevermore, “Enid Sinclair, I’m kinda like, the encyclopedia of people here, if you need info on anyone I’m where you can get it.” She finishes her sentence by pointing her thumbs back at herself in a way that Wednesday found dreadfully cute, but Enid can tell by the look on Pugsley's face that he's not interested, so she moves on. “Ready for your one of a kind tour of Nevermore?” She asks as she does her cute little shoulder wiggle that sends Wednesday’s face into a war between her muscles and her mind, feeling the pull of a smile tugging at her lips because of Enid’s adorable motion but determined to deny any overt show of affection towards her love; especially in front of Pugsley.

“I guess.” The young Addams quietly responds. Wednesday couldn’t tell if the apprehension in his voice was at the prospect of attending Nevermore or if it was because of this explosion of color who was giving him the tour; based on her own experiences during her first day at Nevermore, she wagers that it's both.

“Great! Let’s get started!” Enid bounces on her toes in excitement before she begins to lead the two Addams down the main hall of Nevermore. Pugsley walks on the werewolf’s right and Wednesday follows behind them as Enid starts listing off the various trophies and awards that have been added to the collection in just the last year. Her excited voice echoes through the nearly empty hall and it carries with it a comfortable warmth that offsets the cold of the corridor.

As the trio leave the main hall Enid talks about the classrooms they pass and the student’s collective opinions on the various teachers contained within, occasionally interspersed with little factoids about the history of the school.

Wednesday honestly tunes her out, not even bothering to appear to be paying attention considering she was practically invisible as she trailed behind her brother and her roommate. She savored this moment of temporary isolation for many reasons, but mostly because it meant she could stare at Enid’s features freely while the girl rambled about the history of the school.

As they walked through the halls in this inverted wedge formation Wednesday couldn’t help but notice the distance that Enid was placing between herself and Pugsley. She still remembers when Enid was giving her the same tour; how much their shoulders brushed as they walked around. It filled her with this weird sense of superiority over her brother, that Enid was willing to come in such close contact with her on their first day meeting, something that she had apparently not extended to everyone.

Her heart swelled as she realized that right from the start Enid had treated her differently than anyone else in her life ever had, without fear or disgust. Enid had never overreacted to the various oddities about her life, her meeting with Thing being a prime example, and Enid always stood up to her whenever she went too far. She was as fearless as she was strong. It was why Wednesday loved her, why she would make a perfect Addams.

Imagining Enid as an Addams brings forth an overwhelming desire to hold the wolf in her arms and kiss her until time no longer matters, until day blends into night and they get lost in the twilight of their love. As this thought passed her mind Pugsley turned around and looked over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, causing Wednesday to rein in the small smile that had unknowingly spread across her face.

The look Pugsley is giving her is one of confusion mixed with… something else? It’s hard for Wednesday to tell but she still feels far too exposed under the gaze of her brother, under the gaze of someone who’s known her his whole life, someone who could most likely tell she was far too affectionate towards the blonde, an affection that wouldn't fall within the bounds of simple friendship. In an attempt to preserve her sanity and her secrets she returns Pugsley’s look with her perfected glare of death, causing him to shyly turn away and focus on the student-filled, snow-covered space that now lies before them.

“And this is the quad!” Enid spins around on her toes with arms wide open and a smile beaming at the two Addams, unaware of the silent communications that just took place between the siblings. “And before you say anything, I know it’s a pentagon but everyone calls it the quad anyway.” The werewolf says that last part of her sentence with a smirk as she winks at Wednesday, causing the raven to restrain her own smile and force down the blush that was threatening to take over her face while her heart races from that confident wink she was just on the receiving end of.

Thankfully Enid doesn’t notice the war in Wednesday’s mind before she begins to impart her social knowledge upon the newest student to grace the school's halls.

The wolf raises her left hand, palm side out, with four of her fingers extended and her thumb crossed over her palm, “There’s four major cliques in Nevermore, The Fangs.” She points to her raised index finger with her right hand, “The Furs,” She moves to point at her middle finger. “The Scales,” She points to the next finger in line, “And the Stoners.” She finishes by pointing at her pinky. “Which are the Vampires, the Werewolves, the Sirens, and the Gorgons.” She says as she runs through her fingers again.

But Wednesday has always thought there should be a fifth category, so she calmly approaches Enid from the wolf’s right side and grabs her wrist with her left hand, keeping it steady as she uses her other hand to bring the wolf’s thumb out, gently caressing Enid's palm in the process.

“And The Brains.” Wednesday says as she points to the silver painted thumbnail, stopping for a brief second to admire how such delicate fingers are home to the deadliest claws she has ever seen. “The psychic and psionic students deserve to be recognized too.” She looks up into Enid’s wide blue eyes, only now realizing how deep in her roommate’s personal space she had ended up.

Both girls freeze in place as they stare into each other's eyes.

Wednesday can feel her breath hitch at the sudden and unexpected closeness to her love.

Those hypnotic blue eyes were capturing her very soul and keeping her trapped in that moment, her legs refusing to cooperate as they too had fallen under Enid’s spell.

Yet neither of them broke the intense gaze they shared.

There was something building in the small space between them, it felt fragile yet solid, calming yet electric. Wednesday’s body tensed as she expected Enid to move away, but all the werewolf does is blush and that sends Wednesday’s heart into overdrive.

The two girls get lost in this moment as they stare into each other's eyes, savoring the comforting contact and closeness that they share.

It’s only when Pugsley awkwardly shuffles in place that they realize they are still in the middle of the quad, with an audience.

Wednesday instantly lets go of the molten hot skin in her grasp and steps out of the bubble of warmth that felt like a crematorium at full blast. A blush situated itself across her cheeks as she can’t help but to feel mortified that Pugsley, of all people, witnessed that horrendously personal moment between herself and Enid. She realizes just how similar she was to her parents in that moment, staring into the eyes of her love and being absolutely enamored while doing nothing more than standing in Enid's proximity.

She freezes as a blend of self hatred and panic begins to worm its way into her skull.

Of course she hadn’t even been able to last one hour before she was losing herself in her love. It was completely pathetic that Wednesday Addams, the savior of Nevermore, who faced death at the hands of an undead pilgrim, who then rose from the grave herself to kill her killer, couldn’t contain her emotions for more than an hour.

She gets stuck in her own thoughts as she begins to quietly spiral, her mind focusing on how she just let her emotions take over, something so very unlike her that Pugsley probably already knew about her feelings for Enid.

While Wednesday gets swallowed by her own self-deprecating thoughts Enid recovers far quicker than her counterpart; thanks to her years living with her mother she has much more practice at putting on a fake face and pretending everything is okay while she internally freaks out. With a near disturbing amount of ease, Enid looks to Pugsley and continues on, as if her head wasn’t on cloud 9 with her heart not too far behind.

“So,” Enid pauses to clear her throat, finding her mouth to be very dry all of the sudden, “I’m a werewolf,” She emphasizes her point by extending her claws before quickly retracting them. “And Wednesday is a seer,” She looks to the other girl and sees she’s recovering from that weirdly intense moment they just had, a smile spreads across her face as those dark brown eyes lock with hers. Once Wednesday breaks their stare Enid looks back to Pugsley as she finishes making her point. “What kind of freak are you?” Enid asks in a playful voice, obviously not meaning it in an offensive way at all.

“Oh,” Pugsley lets out as he looks away from Wednesday before continuing, “I’m a clairsentient.” Enid had no clue what that meant, mostly because she hadn’t memorized the nearly one thousand psychic type outcasts there were, but Wednesday had.

Clairsentience was the single worst classification a psychic could ever receive, it was the apex of empathetic psychic abilities. It allowed, or more accurately forced, the poor soul to experience the godforsaken emotions of those around them.

“Pugsley,” Wednesday remarks with a hint of fearful disgust as her brain begins to piece together the probable time-frame and reasons for the discovery of his psychic malady. “When did you first start to experience your clairsentience?”

“It was…” His cheeks turn green and his throat contracts as he holds back the small amount of bile that had wormed its way up from his stomach. He audibly swallows the lump in his throat before he continues. “O-on our parent’s anniversary.” Wednesday felt her gut clench with a horrible swell of sympathy for her younger brother. Her parents were hard enough to be around on normal days, she can’t even begin to imagine what it was like to feel their emotions on the worst day of the year possible.

The kind of hell Pugsley had been subjected to on that accursed day was magnified by a hundred fold thanks to his new found psychic sentencing. Wednesday couldn't help but to feel intense pity for him, which caused her to do something she hasn’t done since she was eight years old.

She stepped forward and hugged Pugsley.

It was stiff and awkward with the touch being very uncomfortable for her, she could feel her skin crawling wherever contact was made. But, even with her distaste for the hug, it was exactly what Pugsley needed as he quickly wrapped his arms around Wednesday’s torso, a show of support and love between the siblings.

“Thank you, Wednesday.” He says in that pathetically weak voice that tugs on Wednesday’s deep seeded need to protect him.

“Just say the word and I will put you out of your misery.” Wednesday whispers in his ear before she pulls out of the embrace and takes a step back in order to stand next to Enid once again.

It’s only when her hand brushes against Enid’s and her heart leaps in her chest does a horrifying chill run through her entire body.

In that moment she realizes, Pugsley's new ability is the worst thing for her secret feelings.

“What’s a clairsentient?” Enid asks, completely lost as to what was going on between the siblings. It felt like she wasn’t here for the conversation that she was just a part of, as if they were speaking in code.

“I can feel people’s emotions.” He responds without looking at either of the two girls in front of him. “After I touch someone I get a connection to their feelings but I can also feel emotional auras in the air. The stronger the emotion the easier it is to feel.” He shyly looks up at Wednesday, probably because he can feel the small wave of panic that emanates from her as she realizes that’s what that look over his shoulder earlier was about.

He knows.

Pugsley already knows.

He knows just how hopelessly deep in love she is with her bright and cheerful roommate.

She needed to fix this, to explain her feelings away or somehow force him to not tell anyone about the knowledge he just unwittingly uncovered.

Unfortunately, before she could threaten and or torture Pugsley into silence, they are interrupted by the commanding voice of their mother as she strides up to them and addresses the trio with a smile.

“My darlings!” The affectionate matriarch smiles at them as she closes the distance and looks at the two siblings in a way only a mother can, as if the entire world is standing before her.

It makes Wednesday nauseous.

She knows that her family loves her very deeply but at the same time she also knows that she is not long for the living plane. She is going to die sooner rather than later and it will destroy the hearts of her family. Toxic guilt filled the raven's mind as her mother's happiness swells to irritating levels at just seeing her children.

Wednesday’s death might just kill her.

She knows if she tries talking now her voice will portray her inner turmoil, so she remains silent, letting her accustomed glare speak for her. But Enid has no such problems secretly wracking her over the emotional coals, so she easily takes charge in the conversation.

“Hello Mrs. Addams!” Enid nearly beams at the woman who looms over them. After Weems died and Thornhill turned out to be evil, Enid realized that she doesn't have a whole lot of strong women around her anymore. It was probably for that reason that she had started to look up to Morticia and, embarrassingly, even began to think of her as a mother figure.

“Hello Enid dear, it’s so dreadfully pleasant to see you again.” The woman says with her signature smooth tone and, at least for Enid, her comforting presence. Enid’s smile grows twice as large after Morticia calls her ‘dear.’ Being called such an affectionate phrase by the older woman felt like everything she’s been missing since she started puberty and her own mother decided to treat her with annoyance and disgust. “I don’t wish to impose but it seems that Lurch has been commandeered by the art club to act as a model for their drawings, I think I even spied a blush on his face when they asked. Enid, would you be so kind as to help Pugsley bring the rest of his things to his room?”

“Oh, yeah! Of course!” Enid happily cheers as she looks between Pugsley and Morticia while blinding the entire Addams entourage with a horrendously bright smile.

“Thank you my dear.” Being thanked by the woman who she views as ‘the mother she wished she had’ had admittedly made her stupidly happy, happier than anything her own mother has ever said to her. Enid was glad she didn’t have a tail right now because if she did it would be wagging like crazy and that would totes cause her to die of embarrassment.

“Anytime Mrs. Addams!” Enid says before she sees Pugsley walking away. “See you later Wednesday!” The enthusiastic wolf practically yells as she skips after him, incredibly excited to help out the Addams family in any way she can. And Wednesday watches her go, staring at the blonde and pink and blue locks of hair that shine bright against the dull gray and chilling white of the snow filled courtyard.

Wednesday desperately wants to run her fingers through those hypnotizing colors.

To follow after that intoxicating smell until it fills her mind.

To find out how their lips feel against each other.

To push her against the wall and-

“Enid is quite the energetic little wolf, isn’t she?” Her mother interrupts the intrusive thoughts of sapphic longing that filled Wednesday’s brain, stopping her fantasy from progressing any further into dangerous territory.

“What do you want, mother?” The raven asks directly, desperate to skip any and all small talk, especially that related to Enid. Her mother was one to take the scenic route in conversations and Wednesday had always despised the view. Thankfully her mother played along and cut right to the heart of the matter, like a skilled hunter with a clean kill.

“I just want to talk to you, my darling.” Her mother says with a sad smile as she looks into her daughter’s eyes, seeing deeper than what’s just on the surface, beyond the mask of indifference that Wednesday always uses to hide her true feelings. “I am no stranger to the internal turmoil a hectic year at Nevermore can bring about,” She pauses and her expression softens, “nor am I unfamiliar with the effect depression has on a young girl.” Wednesday feels her heart drop through her stomach as her mother gives her a look of pity and understanding. She’s been dreading this exact scenario ever since she started to experience her depression, and now it feels like it’s happening far, far too soon.

She feels a strong need to run away, her maladaptive coping mechanism kicks in full force, telling her to spew an insult that would end this conversation and allow her to escape.

“I refuse to talk about this here.” Wednesday snaps as she walks away with quick steps towards the quad’s exit. But before she leaves she stops and looks over her shoulder at her mother, ignoring the pang of guilt that racked her heart when she notices the saddened look resting on her face. “If you want to continue this conversation then I suggest you follow.” She says, thankfully managing to convey that her retort was not intended to end the conversation but to simply change its location.

Her mother smiles as she strides confidently behind Wednesday, wordlessly following her daughter as they make their way up to Ophelia Hall's attic room together.

Wednesday stands next to her mother and watches as her gaze wanders around the attic room. A nostalgic smile spreads across her face while her mind twists with memories of years long passed. She has that wistful look of reminiscence shining in her eyes as she took in each and every memory that ran through her head.

And Wednesday can feel it coming,

Like a seventh sense she’s built up over her many years of being subjected to her mother’s nostalgia. The woman’s brain will fill with the memories of her time at Nevermore, to the point where they overflow and become desperate for an escape, eventually finding one via her words.

And, like the ever-precise inner workings of a clock, she delivers.

“Do you know why this dorm is called Ophelia Hall?” Her melancholic tone is just as Wednesday predicted. But the question was something she had not expected. Her mother was not one to arbitrarily bring up her knowledge of history, meaning this was no doubt related to her in some emotionally significant way.

“I believe it was named after the heroine in Shakespeare's Hamlet,” Wednesday replies with annoyance coating her tone, she had agreed to talk to her mother but she did not agree to be subjected to one of her mother’s long winded and feelings-filled stories, “but I assume that, regardless of my answer, you are going to regale me with some sappy story about the time you spent here.”

“It was named after my sister, Ophelia Frump.” That was… not what Wednesday was expecting to hear. She knew her family was larger than the capacity of the human brain, so of course it makes sense that she has never heard of some members of her family, but she would have definitely known if she had an aunt.

“I was unaware that you have a sister.” The confusion in her voice is so thick it masks the tinge of hurt that such an important member of their family was kept a secret from her. But all her mother responds with is one word.

“Had.” Never before has a single, three letter word struck Wednesday’s heart so suddenly and so fiercely.

“Oh.” Was all Wednesday could say, because really, what can you say to that? Any more or any less felt like it would be simultaneously too much and not enough.

“She died in this very room, just before her graduation.” Her mother’s wistful look briefly flashes to one of deep hurt before snapping back to her usual nostalgic sadness.

“How?” Wednesday asked with a morbid curiosity, wondering what circumstances someone could find themselves in to where they face death in their dorm room. Maybe she wasn’t the only Nevermore student who had died at the hands of some unimaginable evil?

“She took her own life.” The barrage of emotions she felt at that response was like another knife to the abdomen. Sadness, hopelessness, guilt, fear, anger. All coming at her faster and much more intensely than she was used to, it was near overwhelming.

“Do you know why?” Wednesday needed to find out the cause of her aunt’s suicide, to learn what had caused someone in the same position as her to end their life. To see if she would be forcing her mother through the torture of losing family for the same reasons as before or if her own death would be a new twist on her mother’s previous loss.

“No, no one knows.” A tear falls down her cheek as she reminisces over the sister she lost far too soon. “She never even left a note.” In that instance Wednesday finds herself planning a seance in order to ask her aunt why she ended her life without a word.

“Why, after all these years, are you only now telling me about her?” Wednesday softens her tone to near unheard of levels as she tries desperately to find out more about her surprise aunt, but she was even more desperate to know why her own mother never told her about it in the first place.

“Because, my deadly raven,” Her mother looks deep into her eyes and hovers a hand over her shoulder. “I know how it feels to be stuck in the throes of depression.” She then does something she hasn’t in years, she lightly places her hand on the shoulder she had always been careful to avoid direct contact with. “I just want you to know your father and I are always here for you, Wednesday. Whenever you need us, all you have to do is ring us on the crystal.” The surprisingly warm hand is removed from her shoulder as her mother releases her grasp, and Wednesday can’t help but to miss it as soon as it’s gone. The physical contact she swore off as unnecessary at the age of seven, the same contact that she had always despised, burned through her hoodie and left a smoldering imprint where it once was. She felt her gut twist when she realized she wanted more, but she pushes down that feeling with a shockingly familiar ease.

“Thank you, mother.” Her voice is soft and her eyes begin to mist with tears as an urge to hug her mother wells up in her chest, but she pushes down both the urge for physical affection and her tears. Wednesday is going through the emotional trials of her life today, it seems. Between this and Pugsley on top of the curse and Enid, it was beginning to become overwhelming.

“However,” Her mother adds, filling Wednesday’s heart with a sick feeling of dread. “That was not the sole reason I told you about my dear sister.” Wednesday’s emotional onslaught only got worse as the trauma of being manipulated by Laurel briefly bubbled up to the surface of her mind. Of course her mothers goal hadn’t been to have an emotional moment with her daughter, she should have guessed. She can feel her metaphorical walls rise once again as she braces herself for the true reason her mother started this discussion. “I remember the desperate wish to protect a sibling and I know what it feels like to fail; Pugsley will need you now more than ever.”

“I am well aware, Mother.” Her mask of dissident hostility falls back into place and her annoyance grows at the fact that this is what her mother wanted to talk about, something that was so painfully obvious it didn’t even require a conversation. It was something that she had already instinctually internalized, something that pulled at her insides whenever Pugsley was near.

“Then you must also realize that this means you cannot be expelled.” Her mother looked at her with a stern gaze, doing her best to take on the role of a strict parent. “I know you have little respect for this institution of education but if you are no longer allowed on its premises then you will not be able to protect Pugsley.” If only her mother knew that getting expelled was not only no longer her goal, it was also the farthest thing from her mind.

“So,” Wednesday says with an undertone of venom, feeling that her mother was discounting her intelligence and her ability. She already knew she would have to protect Pugsley, she was already planning on it, but her mother still talked down to her like she was so simple that she had to be told to partake in this basic task, as if Wednesday wouldn’t take up the mantle all on her own, much like she had been for their entire academic imprisonment so far. “You are here to guilt me into submission by telling me about that sad dead sister story?”

“No my dear,” Her mothers tone is lighter than before at her daughter’s stinging words, already used to the vitriol that Wednesday speaks with and maybe even relieved that a bit of her old self was shining through. “I merely wish to ask you to be mindful of the consequences of your actions and to encourage you to take a… gentler approach to things, influence events from the shadows, if you will.”

“I…” Wednesday pauses as she considers her mother’s words. She had always planned to use her newfound status as Nevermore’s sword to threaten and intimidate those who would dare to harass her brother, but her mother makes a good point. This will be excellent practice for the Addams art of manipulation from the shadows. “I believe I can agree to those terms.”

“Thank you my dear, I am relieved to know Pugsley will be in capable hands.” Her mother looks at her with an irritatingly smug smile, as if she had just masterfully convinced Wednesday to cooperate, and not that Wednesday decided to humor her so she can hone her craft.

She’s about to set her mother straight and wipe that smug look off her face, but, before she’s able to verbalize her displeasure, her mother sits on the black sheets of Wednesday’s bed with all of the grace of an Edwardian era queen. This would be nothing out of the ordinary if not for the fact that, as soon as her mother made contact with the bed, her chin tilted up slightly and her eyes clamped shut.

Wednesday recognized this sudden switch in her mother’s mannerisms, she was having a vision. Because she was much older and more experienced with her psychic powers she had less of a violent reaction to her visions, the only signs being the tensing of her muscles and the hitched pause in her breathing.

Her mother had visions in front of her many times throughout her life, she had gotten used to conversations being interrupted by them, she knew not to be concerned when this happened.

But now she can’t help the terror that fills her mind at the fact that this vision was triggered while her mother was sitting on her bed.

Her mother, a dove.

A psychic who only sees good things.

And Wednesday was terrified about what ‘good thing’ her mother could possibly be seeing that’s related to her bed.

Her mind is screaming at her to run away before her mother regains consciousness. This is her chance, she could leave now and hide from her mother for the rest of her very short life. She honestly doubts she could ever face her mother again, especially after she might have just seen an incredibly personal moment.

It’s why, when her mother’s eyes snapped open and looked at her once again, she felt absolutely mortified

But the worst part was she didn’t even know what she was feeling so embarrassed about.

What could she feel embarrassed about?

All she has ever used her bed for was sleeping, she hadn’t even masturbated in it; the closest she’s ever gotten were the few dreams she’s had about Enid that left her red in the cheeks and wet between the legs.

And that means her mother must have seen something from the future, there was no other explanation. But even that didn’t make much sense. All Wednesday’s future held was a lonely death, the curse had deemed it so.

So that begs the question, what could her mother’s vision possibly have been about?

That question was burning her mind and her cheekbones.

“What did you see?” Wednesday asks with mortified fear lacing her tone.

“She will make a fine addition to our family.” Her mother responds as she stands up and gives Wednesday a look that can only be described as smugly proud. It’s a look that sends a lightning bolt of fear through her entire being, from head to soul. “It has been quite some time since we’ve had a werewolf at the manor.” And that all but confirms it, Enid was a part of that vision.

“Mother,” Wednesday says with as much of a dark tone as her voice can muster, her curiosity burning hotter than the bone-boiling inferno of hell. “What. did. you. see?”

But instead of a response, her mother just sends one last smug smirk towards Wednesday, “I believe your father should be done conversing with the principal now, he will be oh so woefully delighted to hear the dreadful news!” Of course the only thing her mother tells her about the vision is that she intends to share her most shameful feelings with her father as well.

And that’s all her mother says before walking out the door, leaving behind a stunned and annoyed Wednesday who quickly chases after her, all while demanding to know what her vision was about.

Her demands towards her mother were left unheeded, and the fact that they were approaching the rest of their family, meant she was forced to drop the issue, at least for now.

The two Addams women quietly joined the rest of the group who were currently engaged in a conversation with none other than Enid herself.

Whatever the werewolf was talking about had both her father and brother smiling and laughing with an abundance of joy. And of course Thing was there too, perched on Enid’s shoulder, tapping along and adding details to the story that the girl was cheerfully telling.

Enid always had that infectious joy that seemed to effortlessly flow from her every word; it was addictive, like an opiate laced with nicotine and doused in caffeine, and now Pugsley and her father are the newest Addams to be placed under Enid’s unique spell. It made Wednesday feel a mix of pride and jealousy; proud that Enid managed to enrapture her family so quickly, and jealous that it wasn’t her under the heart-capturing gaze of those breathtaking blue eyes.

It makes Wednesday feel like a toddler again, desperate for love and attention in a way that used to be cute but, as she aged, only became increasingly sad and pathetic.

“Hello Mrs. Addams!” Enid cheerfully welcomes the newest addition to the conversation while shooting a warm smile at her.

But then those blue eyes drift away from her mother and lock onto Wednesday’s.

As soon as blue met brown Enid’s smile widened to ridiculous levels, causing Wednesday’s heart to jump in her chest and slam against her ribcage repeatedly, as if trying to escape from its prison of bone and flesh. Her restless organ only gets more erratic when Enid, with her arms still resting at her side, flicks her wrist up and wiggles her fingers in a subtle, waist level, wave. It was just a simple action, a quick wave of her fingers, but what it portrayed was far from basic. It was a show of support, a moment for just the two of them in the chaos that was her family, a moment that said ‘I’m here for you.’ This little show of understanding was exactly why Enid had captured her heart so efficiently. Because how do you not fall in love with someone who, even after they get in a fight with you, will show up to your room every few hours just to make sure your hyper-fixation hasn’t killed you yet? She honestly wants to know because just a tiny little hand wave from Enid could send her on the fast track to cardiac arrest.

“Please Enid, call me Morticia.” Her mother smiles at the young wolf as she takes her place beside her husband, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before continuing. “You are an Addams now, after all.”

“Mother.” Wednesday warns in a dark tone caused by the fear that her mother will tell Enid about her feelings towards her, or worse, falsely assume they were engaged in a romantic courtship.

“Anyone who earns a scar in defense of our children will always be welcome in our family.” Wednesday releases the breath she was holding at the relief that her mother hadn’t spilled her feelings for Enid as if it was blood on a battlefield. “If you need anything at all, Enid, feel free to call us on Wednesday’s crystal, Lucifer knows she never uses it.”

“I will, thank you Mr.s-,” Enid interrupts herself with a shy smile on her face before she corrects herself. “Thank you, Morticia.”

“Please, the pleasure is all ours!” Her father speaks up as he smiles at the girl who so thoroughly captivated his family’s attention. “You are a delightful wolf and we cannot thank you enough for saving the life of our little storm cloud!” He turns his attention towards the hand that was still resting on Enid’s shoulder, his smile still as wide as ever. “Thing has told us quite a bit about your incredible acts of heroism that night. Why, your bravery alone makes you deserving of the Addams name!” Thing snaps in agreement with the well deserved praise being directed towards the girl who he had taken quite a liking too.

“Oh, it was no big deal, really.” Enid says with a blush on her cheeks, doing her best to play off her heroics, as if she hadn’t charged blindly towards danger without the knowledge that she would come out alive, all for Wednesday’s sake. Even thinking about it makes the raven desperate to hold the wolf in her arms and whisper praises into her ear until she stops degrading her own power and accomplishments. “If anything I should be thanking Wednesday, if it wasn’t for her I might never have wolfed out.” She puts herself down again, passing off the credit to someone she views as more deserving, feeling too unaccomplished to take it for herself. Wednesday has seen her do this before, many times. But this time she can’t stop herself from speaking up.

“Enid, if it wasn’t for you that beast would have ripped me to shreds.” Wednesday says, merely stating a fact, but that didn’t feel like enough to highlight the wolf’s bravery that night. “You ran to my aid, ready to take on an opponent twice your size, and you did it armed with just your claws.” She reaches out and grabs both of Enid’s hands in her own in order to draw attention to the sole weapon the wolf had charged into battle with. Wednesday no longer cared about her surroundings or company, her mind was far too focused on the emotions of the girl in front of her, everything else was a blur, all she saw was Enid. “You didn’t even know you would transform that night and, when you did, you took out a hyde on your very first shift.” She looks deeply into the wolf's eyes before letting a few drops of affection into her voice. “You are the bravest and strongest person I know and you are one of the biggest reasons I am still standing here today.”

“Wends,” Enid’s eyes brim with unshed tears at the unexpectedly kind words of praise being sent her way. Enid lets go of the hands still held in hers as she shifts on her toes and squeezes her arms up to her chest, this was the tell tale sign that she was holding back from wrapping Wednesday in an embrace. And Wednesday had wanted nothing more than to initiate it; so she begins to rationalize that her brother, mother, and Thing already know about her feelings towards Enid, and if her mother knows, her father will too.

At this point she has nothing left to hide.

Her decision is iron clad as she begins to take a step closer to Enid, ready to be enveloped by her all too beloved wolf.

But, before Wednesday can get close enough to wrap her arms around her wolf, Pugsley ruins it in a way that only a little brother can, by saying the worst possible thing without even realizing it.

“Wait,” Pugsley speaks up as he, unlike their parents and Thing, failed to notice the vulnerability that Wednesday was showing and the loving moment the two girls were currently engaged in. “I thought werewolves transformed during their first years of puberty?”

“Y-yeah.” Enid says as she takes a step back and nervously rubs her bicep, one of her usual self soothing actions when faced with the topics that caused her distress. “We’re supposed to but for some reason I didn’t.” Her sad and near embarrassed tone was tearing the heart out of Wednesday’s chest, watching the love of her life think less of herself just because she wasn’t what was considered ‘normal’ filled her with a desperate need to hold and comfort the wolf. But the fact that Enid stepped away from her and stood with her body at an angle to her had given Wednesday pause, the sense that Enid no longer desired an embrace filled her mind.

Thankfully, her family doesn’t hesitate to offer their support in Wednesday’s stead.

Thing gives Enid’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, already knowing about the werewolf’s trauma regarding this subject and doing his best to ease her mind with physical touch.

Pugsley quickly mutters out an apology for broaching the subject, no doubt feeling the intense emotional turmoil taking place in Enid’s mind due to his clairsentience.

Her mother reaches out and gently pulls the now extended claws away from Enid’s arm, holding the hand with razor sharp nails in the delicately loving and reassuring way she always handles Pubert, Pugsley and Wednesday with. Her children. And it seems that Enid was now included in that group. Her mother really meant it when she said that Enid was an Addams now.

And finally, her father speaks up, instantly taking the reins as the commander of this family-wide battle to cheer up the werewolf who was responsible for Wednesday’s continued existence.

“Enid, dulce loba, you are an Addams now, and an Addams takes pride in being an outlier!” Her father boasts in his usual over dramatic spew of praise for his family name. “Why, I didn’t kill a demon until I was in my thirties, my brother Fester didn’t take his first breath until his twenties, even Wednesday here didn’t speak until she was six years old!”

“I’m sorry, he didn’t breathe until his twenties?” Enid asks in utter disbelief, her previous state of sadness quickly changing to one of complete shock.

“Yes, always the late learner, that one.” A wistful smile spreads across his face as he begins to reminisce over his brother’s kookiness. Thankfully he manages to pull himself out of it without sending the conversation off track with some anecdote about Fester. “The point being,” he says, finally refocusing on the matter at hand. “The Addams take pride in what makes us different, because when you’re different you need to learn to adapt to a world that wasn’t made for you, and that resilience breeds a unique kind of strength!”

Enid begins to tear up at the realization that this is what a supportive father is. Not the man who watched years of abuse and stayed quiet. Not the man who offered only four words after she finally stood up against that abuse. Not the man she called dad. This level of support was something she could only dream of, and yet Wednesday’s entire family offered it up freely, without hesitation. It made Enid feel loved, accepted, it made her feel happy. But it also crushed her, seeing first hand what she missed out on by having such shitty parents.

“Thank you.” The two quiet words are all Enid can muster without the dam breaking and her tears flowing freely. Being the center of attention in such a loving family was becoming too much for her, and that’s exactly why she is eternally grateful that Wednesday notices the fight she’s having against her emotions and skillfully redirects the conversation.

“Pugsley,” Wednesday snaps her attention to her brother, causing him to jolt in surprise, afraid of what his sister has in store for him. “I believe you have luggage to unpack and a roommate to meet.” She watches as confusion swims in his eyes, very obviously not understanding the fact that she was trying to end this conversation. “If you don’t wish for them to despise you I suggest you are no later to your meeting than you are currently about to be.” Then she turns her attention to her parents, knowing they would be the biggest contributors to an overextended conversation. “Mother, Father, your visit was woefully dramatic and, while nothing would be more torturous than your time here being extended, there is a long drive ahead of you and you must make it home before sunset.” It was an excuse, sure, but it was an iron-clad excuse. After all, they have a nearly six hour drive ahead of them and a very strict deadline to meet.

“Excellent point my little deathtrap.” Her father excitedly pats her on the shoulder. “The last time we were late the manor was almost burned to the ground!” A smile spreads across his face at the memory, as if he was proud their house had nearly turned to ash.

“Yes, we must be going if we wish to save the house from the temper tantrums Pubert throws whenever he misses his bedtime. We hid all the matches but he is a very resourceful toddler.” Morticia says with a fond smile on her face as she looks towards the werewolf who seems to have captured the hearts of the entire Addams family in one fell swoop. “Enid dear, it was perfectly woeful to make your acquaintance again and please, don’t be a stranger, you are always welcome to call or visit.”

“It is exactly as ‘Tish says,” Now her father speaks up. “Whatever you need, dulce lobita, all you need to do is ask.” He gently puts his hand on Enid’s shoulder, “We owe you a debt that can never be paid.” He gives her shoulder a quick and reassuring squeeze before removing his hand.

“Thank you both, that means… a lot to me.” Enid tried her hardest to keep the tears at bay, but the odd drop or two managed to make it past her defenses, only to be quickly wiped away. She so does not want to cry in front of the entire Addams family, so she quickly takes the life preserver that was thrown to her by Wednesday and makes her excuses. “I’m gonna give you guys some privacy to say goodbye, but it was so nice seeing all of you again! And I look forward to getting to know you more, Pugsley.”

“Yeah, me too.” Pugsley says with a quiet but less shy tone, very obviously warming up to the prospect of continuing to converse with the emotional rainbow of a werewolf.

“I’ll see you later, right, Wednesday?” Enid looks into Wednesday’s eyes and asks, as if there was a chance she wouldn't see her again today, as if Wednesday could keep herself away from that intoxicating scent that invaded the hierarchy of her basic needs, placing itself above her need to eat, to sleep, to think, to breathe.

“Of course, Enid.” Wednesday responds, knowing that she would find herself within the wolf's orbit in a matter of hours, if not minutes. “We share a room after all.”

The soft sounds of Enid’s giggle fills Wednesday with a sense of pride and longing. While Enid’s laughs were not at all in rare supply, Wednesday being the cause of one was near unheard of. And the raven couldn’t help the swell of joy at the fact that she was responsible for that heavenly sound. “Goodbye, Wednesday.” The love of her life says with a cheerful smile as she turns around and begins to almost skip down the hall.

As Enid walks away Wednesday finds that she can’t remove her gaze from the girl who has captured her heart like a caged rabbit, able to devour it or release it at whim. She admires each and every aspect of the werewolf; the wonderfully dreadful colors of her outfit, the blonde-dyed locks that bob up and down as she cheerfully bounces with each step, the intoxicating smell that quickly vanishes in her absence.

Her gaze stays fixed on the spot in the hall where Enid disappeared from her sight, as if she was waiting for the wolf to turn around and come back to her. After a few seconds of this pathetic yearning Wednesday turns back to her family and sees the wide smile and glassy eyes of her father looking back at her.

“Ah,” He gasps as he clasps his hands together and brings them up to his mouth in one of his usual shows of overt emotion. “My Little Viper,” He brings his hands away from his face as he opens his arms wide, moving forward to wrap Wednesday in one of his suffocatingly affectionate hugs. “You have found your love at last!” He pulled out of the hug but still kept his hands firmly on her shoulders, both showing his affection and keeping her in place. If it weren’t for his hands weighing her down she would most likely already be halfway to Mexico, just to escape the dread that filled her stomach at the fact that her deepest secret was now revealed to her entire family, even without her mother’s assistance in spreading the word. “Nevermore has worked its magic once again.”

Wednesday debates pushing out of his grasp and disappearing into the woods, but then she realizes her father is probably the only person she could go to for advice about this curse and these damned feelings. So she decides to take the leap, not caring that Pugsley and her mother were watching, they already knew anyway.

And so does her father now.

Her whole family knows about her love for Enid and that causes something to shift in her, something softens and changes.

It wasn’t the straw that finally broke the camel's back.

That wasn’t right,

It was more like the overworked camel finally giving in to the inevitable as their fragile back is no longer able to keep up the fight.

Nothing had ‘finally broke,’

It had simply given out.

Like a mountain unable to hold itself up any longer and giving way to the weight of all the rocks and soil, relieving the pressure and forever changing the landscape.

And, just like a rock-slide, Wednesday’s resistance to talking about her feelings crumbles away now that her family had seen through her so easily, as if she was a sculpture made of glass.

So she lets them know just how horrendously deep she is in the black pit known as love.

“The curse’s effect on me is far reaching and near debilitating.” She says, expecting a weight to be lifted off her shoulders now that she's finally admitting her feelings to more than just Thing, but all she feels is hopelessness and guilt. “I am enamored with her but she is unaware.” The tone of her voice reflects her feelings as a somberness fills her words.

“And you need tips on how to woo her the Addams way?” He asks with excitement, ready to impart his awkward and over the top advice on how to court a girl. If the look on Pugsley’s face is any indication, he feels just as disgusted at that prospect as Wednesday does.

“No, she is already in a relationship with someone else so wooing her is not an option.” She pauses, admitting that her love is fruitless causes a lump to form in her throat, forcing her to clear it before she continues. “What I need from you is help mitigating the horrid effects of this curse.”

With that little bit of information the true weight of the situation bears down on him. Her father stays silent and gives her this sad look of pity, one that she can’t stand to see. She turns away from him before she begins to list out her long collection of grievances with the curse, the list of ailments she desperately wishes to stop. “I find it difficult to focus on anything that isn’t Enid. I desire to hear her voice more than I wish to play my cello. Thoughts of her fill my mind all day and dreams of her plague my nights. The heat of her touch makes my skin boil but the absence of it leaves me frozen in disappointment. My emotions become overwhelming when she’s with me and unstable when she’s not. My heart only beats when she is near and in her absence I can feel my heart-rate fade. My mind has become so desperate for her that it’s creating false noises and phantom touches that make me believe she is near. And when I am unable to pick up on her scent it physically hurts in a way that fills me with the desire to cease breathing entirely.” She shifts her gaze back to her father with an iron clad determination to get his help. “This curse is killing me and it’s taking my mind first.”

“My little storm cloud, there is no stopping the Addams curse.” His tone is less depressed than she thought it would be considering his oldest child and only daughter just told him that she’s dying, in fact, he’s smiling. “But what you said about scent, that isn’t part of the Addams curse.”

“If it’s not, then what is it?” The mix of anger and desperation in her voice doesn’t go ignored, it just makes her father’s smile widen.

“Nevermore still has the cultural center for werewolves, correct?” Wednesday lets out a slow and hesitant nod of conformation. “I believe you will find your answer there, maybe in the form of a pamphlet?” Wednesday had just spilled her most painful secret in front of her entire family and that’s all he could give her, telling her to read a damn pamphlet of all things?

“What could a pamphlet tell me that one of the many books I’ve read failed to?” She snaps at the annoyingly cheerful man in front of her. The emotional strain of the day had whittled her patience down until it was thinner than a hair and this conversation was only serving to push her closer and closer to her breaking point.

“Ah, yes!” He claps his hands, once again willfully ignoring the anger emanating from his daughter. “I still remember your fascination with werewolves when you were younger, we had to order extra books about them after you ran through our library's entire collection of lycanthropes.”

“Yes,” Wednesday grates out through clenched teeth, pausing for a second to let out a sigh and unclench her jaw. “And in all of those many volumes I’ve read I have never once seen anything discussing the importance of scent.”

“Sí my storm cloud,” He nods along as he agrees with her before imparting the knowledge of why she hasn’t heard of this. “Because you were only reading about their prowess as predators, the history of their battles and the methods of their combat, but you never learned about their pack structure and mating habits.”

“Are you saying that Enid is releasing some kind of pheromone?” Wednesday asks with a mix of disgust and disbelief. Was Enid really letting off mating pheromones for that useless Gorgon? The thought of the girl she loves mating with that idiotic weakling she calls a boyfriend makes her heart sink into her stomach.

“I’m sure you’ll figure that out, my inquisitive little viper.” He says as he steps forwards and wraps her in another grotesquely affectionate hug. The act manages to calm her mind, even if just slightly, much to Wednesday’s fortunate displeasure. “But, we must be going now.” He steps away and looks over her with his hideously proud smile.

“This conversation was as circuitous as it was painful.” A minuscule smile spreads across her face as she speaks, feeling an unusual sense of gratitude towards her father. It wasn’t much but he did give her a very basic starting point in her inquiry towards these feelings, and he didn’t make a big deal about her upcoming death like she had expected.

“Sí, mi tormenta,” He smiles as he fully understands the meaning behind Wednesday’s words. “I enjoyed our talk as well.” He pats her shoulder and gives it a quick squeeze before he takes a step back, a wide smile plastered across his face the entire time. She scoffs at his joy before looking towards her mother, seeing an equally wide grin resting across her face as well.

“Goodbye Mother, Goodbye Father.” She says as she looks between both of her parents, noticing the growing tears cresting in their eyes. She chooses to ignore them and focuses on her brother instead. “And Pugsley,”

“Y-yeah?” He asks with a tremble in his voice, as if waiting for Wednesday to commit some act of violence against him, his jumpiness is no doubt caused by the fact that she hasn’t thrown so much as a toothpick in his direction the entire time he’s been at Nevermore.

While the idea of torturing her brother to relieve her pent up emotions is very tempting, all she does is say three words to him before walking away.

“Welcome to Nevermore.”

Chapter Text

Wednesday begrudgingly looks around the unpleasantly occupied werewolf student center as she humors her father and searches for an honest to god pamphlet with information on, ugh, werewolf mating.

Just the thought of werewolf mating makes her skin crawl, not for any inane reason like embarrassment, but because of the toxic level of testosterone-sourced pheromones that currently filled the room.

The horrid scent was coming from what appears to be a pack of werewolf frat boys who had taken perch on the couches, love seat, and bean bags of the room's sitting area. The smell of their obnoxiously overpowering pheromones overwhelmed the small space to the point where she could feel her lungs burn with every breath, but it’s nowhere near as enjoyable as breathing in mustard gas.

She does her best to ignore their annoyingly grating voices and their game of ‘Make out, Mate, Murder’ as she thumbs through the collection of pamphlets sitting in their clear plastic stand on the table by the entrance. She grabs one of each pamphlet until all six are in her hands, but as soon as she reads the words on the first piece of paper she immediately regrets all of the decisions in her life that brought her here.

Fleas Really Tick Me Off

She rolls her eyes and lets out a breath of annoyance at the horrendously bad pun before she drops the pamphlet about lycan hygiene onto the table and reads the next one in line, only to find it's even worse than the first one.

S.T.I. Prevention Starts with You!

It was a mimic of those old World War Two propaganda posters with Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer, but instead of the personification of wartime America there was a werewolf wearing a torn, red flannel shirt in the same pointing pose as the original. She drops it on the now growing pile on the table before looking over the next one.

Practice Safe Sex

This one was far more basic and straightforward. It had a light purple background with a picture of a condom, a dental dam, an IUD, and birth control pills. Wednesday was half tempted to open it up and see if the inside was just as straightforward as the cover, but then she realized the information in it was largely useless to her, her one sided love ensured there was zero chance she would ever need any of the information it contained. So down onto the table it went.

How to Handle Your🔥 Heat 🔥

Wednesday couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks as she read the title of the pamphlet. The thought of Enid going through a heat filled her mind with too many thoughts to count. But one thing was clear, this was sure to be the focal point of many of her upcoming dreams and fantasies from here on out. She takes the pamphlet and gently places it into the pocket of her black hoodie, telling herself that she’s only keeping it because it might have information on her roommate’s scent, all while pushing down the rising flame that lashes her cheeks as she does so.

Your Litter and You!

This one was… oddly wholesome. It had resources for local lycan doctors, both for prenatal care and abortions. There were phone numbers for support groups and adoption agencies plus websites for outcast-accepting women's and men’s shelters. There was even a special promotion code for Uber and Lyft that allowed free travel to and from appointments. The back page consisted of a list of things to avoid if keeping and a list of things to do if terminating, plus a timetable for the fetuses growth; fetuses, plural. Wednesday can’t help but be slightly horrified at the idea of having a litter of children. She drops the highly informative paper onto the pile and suppresses a shiver at the thought of 6 things wriggling around inside of her. The thought of that absolute sensory hell is quickly overwritten once she reads the title of the next pamphlet.

I Found My Mate!

Finally! She breathes out a sigh of relief as she looks over the last piece of paper in her hands. This one appears to be similar to the safe sex pamphlet with its simplicity and informational capacity. She opens it up and desperately searches for any mention of smells or scents. Her heart beats faster in her chest as she furiously scans over the multiple sections, looking for any words that start with ‘sc’ and end with ‘t.’

Her hands begin to shake when she finds it under the section called, Is it a Fling or the Real Thing?

She’s so nervous that the youth appeasing rhyme doesn't even bother her. So she begins reading, desperate to know why she can’t stop obsessing over Enid’s scent.

‘Scent glands in the neck begin to subconsciously release a one-of-a-kind pheromone profile that specifically targets their mate’s olfactory receptors. The effect a werewolf’s scent has on their mate can lead to increased dopamine and serotonin levels with anecdotal evidence claiming the smell of one's mate is-’

“-Enid?”

Her focus suddenly jumps to the conversation of the wolf pack behind her after that singular word passes their rancid lips.

She puts the pamphlet in the same pocket as the other one she took while she tunes in to their misogynistic conversation, desperately listening for the name of her roommate again.

“Are you kidding me?” The head of the pack spits out with a laugh. “Enid Sinclair is just a little fuck up of a wolf. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d still fuck that skinny little bitch but no way in hell would I ever mate with that loser.” He laughs again, only this time the rest of his wretched little followers join in.

The blood in Wednesday’s veins snaps to a boil, causing her to bite the inside of her cheek in an effort to restrain herself. She has no intention of going back on her word to her mother that she would not get expelled.

So she breathes in, and then out, all while counting down from ten, trying her hardest to keep herself from becoming the newest mass murderer to grace Nevermore’s halls.

“Yeah, and when you’re done with her you can pass her off to us!” One of the desperate little followers chimes in, the rest quickly agreeing and laughing along with their leader. It makes Wednesday's desire to spill blood multiply by tenfold.

The intense emotional toll her parent’s visit caused had already worn her patience thin, and this was pushing her to her absolute limit. She knew she should have played her cello before coming here, to calm her already hectic emotions and return her mask of neutral hostility to its woefully familiar place.

But she hadn’t.

So she stalks up to the group and glares at the main contributors to the conversation with a gaze full of burning hellfire.

“You are all parasites,” She begins, her tone spitting pure venom at the group of pathetic boys in front of her. “The very bottom of society.” She keeps her back straight and her chin slightly upturned, looking down her nose at the wolves sitting in their chairs. “You will amount to nothing more than wasted lives and forgotten gravestones. The legacies you leave will be a stain on your family trees and the only good thing you’ll ever do with your miserable lives is end them.” She practically growls the last two words at the group as an instinctual need to show her dominance briefly takes over her mind. “You lot of horrendously vile grubs are undeserving of the very oxygen you breathe, and, if you don’t hold your tongues, I will personally return you to the puddle of scum from which you were spawned.” Wednesday finishes her tirade with another glare of death as she takes in the stunned silence and looks of horror spread across the faces of the crowd.

But her threats failed to reach the person that mattered the most, their slimy little ‘alpha’.

“Ahh,” The leader says as he lets out a near growl-like laugh. “I see what’s going on here.” He stands from his spot on the couch and slowly walks towards Wednesday as he talks. “The little psycho is standing up for her girlfriend!” As he says this he spreads his arms out and turns to the crowd that consists of his loyal lapdogs. “I always knew she was a lesbo!” He yells to the group before he returns his hands to his side and faces her again, leaning in close to her while whispering loud enough for his entourage to hear, “While I’m fucking your girlfriend I might let you join.” A twisted smile spreads across his face as his foul breath invades Wednesday’s nostrils. “But only if you beg.”

An intense wave of hate sears her skin and blurs her vision with red as that last sentence pushes Wednesday over the metaphorical edge.

She readies herself, just like her father taught her.

Legs spread shoulder width, back foot planted firmly, wrist straight, thumb on the outside of the fingers, eyes forward, and aim beyond the target.

She puts her entire body into it, arms, shoulders, chest, abs, waist, legs; every part of her goes into the punch as it makes woefully pleasant contact with the obnoxiously misogynistic wolf’s face, hitting him directly in the upper lip and nose; shutting him up with a satisfyingly hollow crunch.

The alpha stumbles back and brings his hand up to his now broken nose. As soon as he makes contact with the splintered cartilage he pulls away in pain only to see the viscous red liquid that now coated his fingers. He snaps his attention from his hand back to Wednesday before letting out a twisted snarl and getting into a fighting stance, claws out and growling deeply.

“You little bitch!” His guttural voice does very little to intimidate his opponent, if anything, it only makes her more determined to kick the entirety of his good-for-nothing ass.

His claws paled in comparison to Enid’s impressive set, which were much longer and more colorful than the pathetic half-inch nails he was displaying. In fact, Wednesday was sure she'd seen her mother wear even longer acrylics.

Even though his display of strength was horribly inadequate, that didn’t change the fact that they were razor sharp knives, pointed in her direction. So Wednesday mirrors his display by reaching into her sleeve and pulling out an ornate silver dagger. She holds the knife blade side down as she shifts her feet ever so slightly to gain the best footing, getting ready for what she hopes is a fight to the death.

But the alpha, as if to prove just how undeserving of that title as he is, stops in place and begins to share his complaints.

“No weapons allowed, Addams.” He spits out with a guttural rumble, as if trying to intimidate the girl into running. But an Addams never backs down from a fight, especially when it’s for the one they love.

“So you get your claws while I’m left empty handed?” Wednesday chooses her words carefully in order to expertly set her verbal trap; a trap to get the wolf to lower his guard and attack with anger as the driving force, ensuring all logic vacates his mind, thus making him an easy target. “Is that the only way you can win in a fight against a five foot human girl?” She continues as the edge of her mouth curves up despite her resistance, feeling too proud of the angry growl her words brought forth. Trap set and baited. Now all she needs to do is spring it. “Or are you just such a pathetic weakling of a wolf that you need to have power over women in order to feel strong?” She can practically hear the noose snap as her trap works flawlessly.

With an ear-splitting growl the large wolf charges directly at her, using all of his strength to swipe at Wednesday with his claws. It was an overarching diagonal swipe that she was very easily able to roll under, her years of sword fighting having trained her for this very thing.

In a split second she readies herself behind him and finds her mark. All the power of his missed attack meant he needed to take a second to regain his balance and his bearing, giving Wednesday a clean target directly to his ribcage.

Her blade slices smoothly into the wolf’s exposed flank at a sharp downward angle, splitting the cotton of his shirt and prying the flesh apart, burning the wound with the lycan-argentum reaction.

The raging wolf falls to his knees as he presses his hand against his bleeding side, letting out a satisfying scream as the split flesh turns red with blood.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” He screams as tears well in his eyes, the silver of her blade only makes the burn grow more painful as time goes on; something that Wednesday takes a twisted kind of joy in. “THE PSYCHO HAS SILVER!” He yells to the room, at no one in particular, as the first hints of fear flicker past his face.

“And the petri dish of rancid diseases your unwashed claws contain puts us on even ground.” She pokes the bear, trying to bait him to attack once again. Her blood lust was not even close to satisfied with the minimal amount of damage he has so far sustained.

She wasn’t anywhere close to done yet, she needed to make him regret that Enid’s name ever passed his lips.

“You wanna talk shit, Addams?” He growls while standing up and returning to his poor excuse of a fighting stance. It was obvious that he was never trained in combat, most likely always believing he could win any altercations with his strength alone; and Wednesday was more than pleased that she would be the one to teach him just how misguided his belief was.

“I would be willing to give you some tips on the subject,” Wednesday calmly states, loosening her stance and preparing to dodge out of his path. “But based on the smell of your breath I can tell you are already an expert.” While her words make him become increasingly unhinged Wednesday only finds herself falling into step, using her years of fencing practice to keep the perfect distance from him; far enough away to read his movements and react while also being close enough to be within striking distance of him without broadcasting her attacks. “Tell me, do you ever brush your teeth? I only ask because I would rather not go through the trouble of extracting your fangs for my necklace if they are already decaying.” Her words once again cause the poor excuse of an apex predator to charge at her, and, much like last time, he misses his target by miles.

The only indicator that Wednesday was even there was the small boot that was left extended into his path, tripping the wolf with a nonchalant ease.

As the massive lump of poorly guided muscle fell, Wednesday held her dagger out in his path to the floor, letting his own body weight slice the front-to-back wound across his already bleeding side, crossing over the previous path the blade took through his flesh.

The wolf lands on his hands and knees with a yelp of pain as blood drips onto the hardwood floor. He clasps his hands against his side once again as he tries to quell the burning pain radiating from both of his wounds.

Wednesday can’t help the smug pride she feels as she watches him writhe around on the floor in pain.

She can’t help but let the corner of her mouth raise in a smirk as she takes in the scene in front of her.

She can’t help that she had accidentally gotten too close to react in time as he planted his feet and lunged at her from the ground, slamming his shoulder into her abdomen while wrapping his arms around her midsection, tackling her to the ground and knocking the wind out of her.

Wednesday gasped for breath as she lay trapped beneath the near feral werewolf, trying to regain her senses after the sudden and world-spinning impact of her head on the hardwood floor.

But before she could get her bearings, four claws scraped across her left cheek as the wolf that was now straddling her midsection started to rain down his attacks. The first strike was very quickly followed by a second that sliced the right side of her jaw, leaving four more bleeding claw marks on her face. The pain of the initial two strikes against her had triggered her body’s instinctual need to defend its vital areas, causing her to bring her arms up just in time to block the third and fourth swipes of his claws using the back of her forearms.

She could feel the blood flowing from each new wound as she watched him real his hand back for the fifth swipe of his claws.

And, in that brief second, she had formulated her escape plan.

She reaches out and captures the wrist of the hand coming down at her before it can make contact with her skin, stopping his claws in their tracks. He instantly began to fight against her, pushing all of his weight down against Wednesday’s arm, bringing his claws closer and closer to her face.

But his resistance was exactly what Wednesday had planned on.

In a split second she goes from pushing up against him to pulling his wrist down, throwing off his center of balance and causing him to fall forward.

As he tries to slow his momentum by placing his other hand on the ground next to Wednesday’s head, the claw on his thumb catches her skin and slices open a new wound on her temple, which very quickly begins to bleed profusely.

Even with his efforts to stop himself he doesn’t manage to slow his fall in time before Wednesday throws her own head upward, slamming her forehead against his face and headbutting his already broken nose.

The fight no longer mattered to him as the pain in his face desired his immediate attention, causing him to let go of Wednesday’s arm and bring his hands up to his face, dropping his guard and giving Wednesday a clear shot to her target.

A swift punch to his throat is all it takes for him to fall back and free her from beneath his legs.

There is nothing but calculated fury in her actions as she climbs to her knees, watching as he slowly begins to recuperate from the gasping breaths her punch had caused. Without taking her eyes off of him she reaches for the area where she can sense her dagger and grabs the handle of the silver blade. With her weapon in hand again she stands up and charges at the still coughing wolf in front of her.

He haphazardly swings at her in a last minute defense from her attack, but she simply dodges under his arm, expertly placing a third slice wound on his blood covered side. The pack’s leader fell to his knees with a pained grunt followed by a quiet whimper as he pushed both his hands against the bleeding wounds that burned his skin like napalm.

The newest scar to decorate his side was a mirror image of the first one, starting at the tip of the other slash and continuing down through and past the horizontal wound. With those three, silver seared scars, the emblem was complete.

Wednesday watched with pleasure as the last line of blood soaked through his shirt, the stains, as well as the scars, forming the shape of a capital ‘A’ on the side of his ribcage.

The blood covered girl slowly walked towards the now kneeling alpha, ready to claim victory over the wolf who had disrespected her and her love. But, before she could get close enough to demand his surrender, the leader, the coward that he is, refused to lose in a fair fight.

“Wh-what the fuck are you all doing?!” He almost cries out in desperation, afraid of the girl that had so thoroughly humiliated him in front of his spineless cronies. “GET HER!” The fear in his voice would normally bring a smile to Wednesday’s eyes but the reactions of the wolves around her made it impossible to enjoy the moment.

His cry causes the members of his pack to ready their own claws and surround Wednesday on all sides. All of them jumping in to a fight that could very well end their lives, all for their pathetic, defeated alpha.

Enid may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing but this group of disrespectful morons were all sheep merely masquerading as wolves, blindly following their leader to the butcher shop.

Wednesday would be amused if she wasn’t so horribly outnumbered.

But just because she was outnumbered didn’t mean she would go down easy.

She snapped her head left and right as she counted the faces of the crowd, getting an estimate for how many she could take down before she was overwhelmed.

But as she looked over the crowd, between two others and towards the back, she saw something that made her freeze.

Enid’s face.

Wednesday did a double take as her eyes met with the same sky-blue as Enid’s.

Her heart stops as the face she sees in her dreams looks back at her.

But it wasn’t right.

It was longer, sharper, and most shocking of all, it had a spotty mustache growing on it.

It was Enid’s eyes, Enid’s face, but it was not Enid.

The hair alone was the biggest indicator, it being a curly, light brown mess instead of the usual, meticulously cared for, blonde, blue, and pink locks.

Unfortunately, her minor slip in focus due to her shock and confusion at seeing her roommate's face left her with her guard down, something that one of the wolves capitalized on by swiping their claws across her right calf. The sharp pain in her leg forces her attention back to the fight and she scans the crowd as she waits for the next attacker to make themselves known.

It doesn’t take much time before a set of claws is coming towards her once again, only this time she was ready. She grabs them by their wrist and pulls them forward, throwing them off balance and sending them to the ground. While they’re still trying to get up, Wednesday lifts her boot before bringing it down on the extended claws of the wolf, trapping them in place and allowing her dagger a clear path to the back of their hand. With a pleasant scream the knife plunged into their hand before she quickly removed it.

Wednesday readied herself once again as the wolf stayed laying on the ground, sobbing and holding their bleeding hand.

Another wolf jumps in but he’s far too distracted defending the wolf on the floor to properly aim his weak attack, giving Wednesday an opportunity to grab his arm and twist her own body until her back was against his side and his arm was held out over her shoulder; perfectly positioned to leverage her own weight and throw him into two other wolves standing by, temporarily taking three of them out of the fight with just one move.

Five down, four to go.

The next wolf to attack was standing to her right, quickly matched by one on her left.

She turns to face the attacker on her right, opting to focus on the one who has a greater chance of disarming her. He lunges forward with extended claws and tries to wrap his hand around her wrist, but Wednesday easily dodges it, keeping her weapon out of his grasp and following up with a slice of searing silver from spine to shoulder, causing the wolf to collapse in pain.

But, as it turns out, facing away from the other wolf ended up being a fatal mistake as he charges her from behind and tackles her, much like their alpha had.

Pain radiates down her spine as the wolf’s momentum carries them both to the ground. Wednesday landed face-first on the floor with her attacker’s elbow falling directly against her shoulder, sending her head into the wooden floor, splitting her chin and causing her to bite the inside of her cheek. Blood pools in her mouth as she thrashes beneath the weight of the much larger wolf, trying desperately to free herself and get back in the fight.

But it’s useless.

Another wolf pries the dagger out of her hand while two more hold down her arms, fully trapping her.

Footsteps slowly creak across the floorboards as a pair of basketball shoes enter her vision, coming to an unsteady stop only a few inches away. Their leader stands in front of the subdued girl while a manic laugh escapes his lips before he crouches down to get closer to Wednesday’s face.

“I’ll show you what happens to little bitches that try to fuck with me.” He whispers in her ear before standing and ordering his lackeys to hoist her up by her arms, bringing her face level with his so he can look her in the eyes. “You are going to regret ever opening that little fucking mouth of yours, Addams.” The venom in his voice at her last name is thick and full of disdain. He extends his claws and reels his hand back once again, ready to induce slice after slice against Wednesday’s skin.

With all the strength he can muster he brings down the first swipe, aimed directly for Wednesday’s stomach.

She has always wondered what it would feel like to be disemboweled, so she closes her eyes and braces herself for the skin splitting contact, unable to do anything else.

But it never comes, even after a few seconds pass.

So she slowly opens her eyes and sees the silky black hair of Ophelia Hall's very own leech, Yoko Tanaka. The vampire was standing in front of her with the wolf’s hand grasped in hers, bending his wrist back to a painful degree as the alpha whimpers in pain.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Yoko’s words cause the room to fall silent. All the wolves seemingly cower in her presence, making them release Wednesday from their grasp, letting her fall to the ground in a bloody lump.

“Oh, look. A little mosquito flew into the wolf's den.” The bloodied and wincing ‘alpha’ addressed the vampire, trying to hide the fear in his voice but failing miserably. “You can’t be in here, werewolves only.”

“Well, I smelled Addams’ blood and thought I would make sure she wasn't dead or dying, again.” The vampire shifts her gaze from the pathetic leader of the pack and instead focuses on Wednesday, taking in the wounds that spot her body as she looks the Addams up and down. “It seems I was right to worry.”

Yoko looks at Wednesday's face, the claw marks against her left cheek and right side of her jaw are in the early stages of clotting, the gash on her chin is still dripping onto her over-saturated hoodie, and the blood from her temple relentlessly poured over her right eye which forced her to clamp it shut.

She looked like hell.

Not as bad as she looked after Crackstone though, and that gave Yoko a slight bit of relief, but it also filled her with anger at the pack of wolves in front of her.

“Did all of you really team up to fight a human?” The tone of her voice would best be described as seething as she glares at each and every one of the man-beasts. “Out of all of the stupid and pathetic things your ‘pack’ has done, this takes the cake.” She stares down the alpha through her blackout sunglasses, which only seems to intimidate him even more.

“Stay out of this, Tanaka,” The leader spits her name like it offended him, but the injured girl and the vampire could both tell that this was just false bravado, a performance of strength for his pack members. “This is a pack matter and we don’t listen to the opinions of annoying little mosquitoes that buzz in our ear.” He steps closer to Yoko as he tries to use his height advantage to scare off the vampire.

“You all got your asses beat by a human girl, do you really want to try your luck against a vampire or are you gonna be a good little doggy and FUCK OFF!” She yells the last two words as she bares her fangs and stomps one of her feet towards the leader, causing him to flinch back and whimper, immediately dismantling his show of bravery and forcing him to flee with his metaphorical tail between his legs.

But even as he motions for his pack to leave he still tries to get the last word in, as if it was some kind of way to redeem himself from his utter humiliation just moments prior.

“We all know who won here anyway.” Are the pathetic words he tries to weasel in at the last moment, but Wednesday can’t stand to let him think he was the victor of this fight, so she decides to impart upon him the true ramifications of his actions.

She spits the blood out of her mouth before she begins to talk in a low, slow, wrath filled voice.

“Every time you look in the mirror,”

She pushes herself off the floor and shakily climbs to her knees.

“Every time you take a shower,”

She wearily plants her right foot in front of her.

“Every time you fail to bring a girl to climax;”

She places her trembling hands on her knee.

“You will be unable to avoid the skin that has been stained by my blade.”

She leverages her weight against her knee and pushes herself to an unstable half-stand.

“Whenever you see the scar that now mars your side; you will know that I defeated and humiliated you in front of your pack.”

She straightens her spine to glare into his eyes, through the blood and bruises that covered her face.

“What has transpired tonight will haunt you for the rest of your remaining days as the unhealing scar you now possess forever marks you as an enemy of the Addams.”

She takes a step closer and narrows her eyes.

“You will die mateless and alone after every Addams-affiliated pack rejects you, leaving you a lone wolf without anyone to mourn your passing.”

She moves even closer, until all he can see is the death in her eyes.

“Your last breath will be used to curse my name and beg for forgiveness, but it’s already too late, because today was the day your life truly ended.”

She reaches up her other sleeve and pulls out her other dagger, keeping the action, and the blade, hidden from his view.

“And now, all I need to do to turn you from an enemy into a target is to add one single slice across your scars.”

She presses the blade against his side, enough for him to feel the sharpness of the blade but not enough to wound him any further.

“It will take less than a second, and then you will be hunted down and killed like the animal, you, are.” Wednesday punctuates the last part of her sentence by leaning farther into his personal space and increasing the pressure of the blade with each word.

The way his face paled as he pushed out of her space and ran away made all of the pain worth it, knowing that his life had been ruined because of his sexist comments towards Enid was the best outcome she could have ever hoped for.

Well, second best actually.

The first would be the police finding his entire body stuffed into Sheriff Galpin’s mailbox.

“C’mon guys.” He says to his pathetic, whimpering followers as he walks out the door, his hands clasped against his bleeding side and his eyes down-turned, refusing to look at either of the girls.

The crowd of injured wolves slowly shuffle out the door, each one either giving Wednesday a look of pure hatred or refusing to glance at her entirely as they pass. Thankfully it wasn't long until the only people left in the room are Wednesday, Yoko, and the wolf that bears a disturbing resemblance to Enid.

Said wolf walks over to Wednesday, who is lightly placing her hand to her temple to see the extent of the damage following her humiliating defeat. He awkwardly clears his throat as he rubs his bicep in a very Enid like motion. “I just wanted to say thank you, f-for standing up for Enid like that.” The only reason Wednesday can tell his face is twisted in guilt is due to its resemblance to Enid’s. After all, she has spent a lot of time admiring Enid’s face and memorizing the many expressions she makes; it was sickening to see those same expressions she loves to see on Enid plastered on the face of someone else. “I-I would have done it, but…” he turns his gaze towards the door, refusing to look towards either girl, “Yeah…”

“Evan,” Yoko says as she pinches the bridge of her nose, “Just, shut the hell up.” It then strikes Wednesday that she’s heard that name before, it was on the day her and Enid returned from winter break. Evan was one of the four engaged in that poor excuse of a brawl that took place in the stone arched entry to her dorm room.

He was one of Enid’s brothers.

His lack of action during that fight angered Wednesday even more than his nonexistent excuses. This was Enid’s brother, someone who should have been on the front lines of that fight, yet there he was, hiding in the back and staying quiet. She couldn’t stand here and look at his face for another second, feeling so much fury towards him that she had to remove herself or he would end up looking similar to all the other injured wolves who just left.

But she refused to leave without making her feelings towards him very clear.

She works herself closer to the Sinclair wolf and stands in front of him, giving him a glare of utter contempt. “Coward.” Is all she says as she stares into his eyes, taking a second to spit the blood that filled her mouth at his feet.

Her message was clear, an outsider had bled for Enid while her own flesh and blood stood idly by and watched this stranger take a beating for his sister.

It was pathetic.

She takes a moment to savor the look of shocked guilt that spreads across his face before she pushes past him, stalking off towards her dorm to get her first aid kit, intending to leave behind the wolf and vampire and be done with this day.

“Wednesday!” Yoko yells after her as she runs to the now limping Addams, causing Wednesday to roll her eyes and let out a breath of annoyance but stop and wait nonetheless. “Here,” the vampire says once she reaches her side, holding out a hand palm side up in an offer of physical support.

The burning pain in her injured leg makes her actually consider taking up the offer and grabbing the hand. She has already been subjected to an obscene amount of physical contact recently; between her family, Enid, and Eugene she had figured she would be well beyond fed up with the feeling of someone else invading her personal space.

But she realized that, instead of having her tolerance for physical contact drained, she was actually getting used to it.

And she can’t quite find a reason to care anymore.

So she ignores the hand that was offered to her and instead opts to wrap her arm around Yoko’s shoulders, allowing her to take a considerable amount of weight off of her still bleeding leg. And the vampire readily allows it, wrapping her own arm around Wednesday’s waist and easily compensating for the girl's injured leg.

The unlikely pair begin cautiously taking step after step towards their destination, stopping every few feet to readjust their hold on each other.

As they quietly hobble down the corridor towards their dorm hall Yoko breaks the silence with a low and curious voice.

“Was that real?” The vampire asks as she side glances the girl on her arm before looking forward again.

“I assure you that fight was very real.” Wednesday responds with an even tone, keeping her voice steady while refusing to let show the pain that radiates up from her calf with every step. Each time pressure is placed on her leg blood seeps from her wound and down her ankle, causing a trail of red to permeate the stone floors behind them as they walk.

“No, not the fight.” Yoko clarifies with a small chuckle as she looks at the still bleeding wounds on Wednesday’s face, as if that could be fake. “What you said to Logan, about the mark and being an enemy of the Addams.” Wednesday racks her brain as she tries to recall that name and place it with a face, but she comes up empty. It’s only after a few seconds that she realizes it’s probably the name of the worthless alpha she had just beaten.

Wednesday considers telling Yoko all of the details about her family sigil and how it was created to be a simple way to mark someone in the midst of battle, that it’s a magical symbol that all Addams can sense in their vicinity. But the blood that still slowly filled her mouth and the pain in her cheek forced her to keep her response short.

“Do I ever say anything I don’t mean?” It was intended to be a rhetorical answer to the vampire’s inquiry, but it seems she takes it as an actual question that demands a response.

“That depends,” Yoko thinks for a second, making a big show of it, even going as far as stroking her chin in thought before she finally turns back to look at the other girl. “Do you have a crush on Enid?” The vampire asks in a playful tone.

Wednesday’s heart would have jumped in her chest, but this was the fourth time today, fifth in total, sixth if you count what ‘Logan’ had said, that somebody had called out her feelings for her roommate. At this point she had fully resigned herself to the fact that she has some sort of invisible sign above her head that broadcasts to the world all of the intimate matters of her heart.

So she debates giving up the charade of refusal and letting the vampire know the truth about her feelings, maybe she could even go to the vampire for advice about Enid.

After all, Yoko had already proven herself capable of keeping a secret, when she had caught Wednesday stealing a bag of blood from the vampire’s supply late one night. After quickly explaining that she was on her period and had a craving for it the vampire shrugged it off and went on with her night. Wednesday was expecting to wake up the next morning and be subjected to a chorus of people calling her a freak for drinking blood, it wouldn’t have been the first time such a thing has happened to her at school. But instead, Wednesday never heard about the event again.

“No, I do not have a crush on Enid.” She answers truthfully, her feelings having long surpassed something so childish and non-committal.

“Then yes, you do say things you don’t mean.” Yoko says with a smirk in her voice, as if she had just outsmarted Wednesday and proven some kind of point.

“Tanaka,” Wednesday says as she looks into the dark sunglasses of the vampire under her arm. “I am an Addams, and when an Addams falls for someone our feelings extend far beyond something as inane as a crush.” She skillfully manages to admit her feelings for Enid without directly saying anything too damning.

“Oooh.” Yoko draws out, as if she had just realized something important. “So, you’ve made the classic lesbian mistake of falling in love with a girl who has a boyfriend.” She had intended it as a simple tease but Wednesday suddenly stops them in their tracks, her breath hitching in pain as the vampire’s words break down her mental barriers and force her to temporarily drop her mask of painless indifference. Her heart stops for a solid three seconds before it starts again at a much less intense and adrenaline fueled pace. And, with the distance between the two, which was essentially none, Yoko could hear the entire journey her heart went on. As could she see Wednesday's look of dejected sadness.

“Oh shit, Wednesday.” Yoko realizes the true effect her words had on the girl and quickly tries to apologize. “I am so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot, I didn’t know that you really love her.” The vampire says softly, making sure only Wednesday can hear her words.

“Love doesn’t even begin to describe the depth of my feelings towards Enid.” Wednesday says with hopelessness in her voice as she looks to the ground. Her free hand works its way up to her bleeding temple, gently pressing her palm against the split flesh as she lets out a quiet grunt of pain. “Tanaka, I cannot continue to discuss this right now. Being subjected to both physical and emotional pain is a form of torture that even I do not enjoy undergoing.” She pulls her hand away from her head and inspects the quantity of blood on it before she begins to limp down the hall once again; the unexpected movement causes the vampire to lose her grip on the seer’s waist, forcing her to pull the girl even closer against her body to regain her hold.

“Okay, then…” The vampire falls into step next to Wednesday as she agrees to her request, quickly changing the subject. “What happened back there?” She asks as she points her thumb behind them, “With those assholes.” When she brings her thumb down she grabs the wrist Wednesday had slung over her shoulder, using it to pull the girl even further against her side, taking even more weight off of the girl's injured leg in order to ascend their first flight of stairs. Wednesday braces herself against the vampire as they both slowly and cautiously take the first step up.

“They were making horribly misogynistic comments.” Wednesday begins after they get into a semi-decent rhythm of limping up step after step. “My family’s surprise visit had drained my emotional fortitude and I no longer had the patience to restrain myself from physical violence.” Wednesday pauses their ascent as she leans on Yoko to take the weight off her injured calf for a few moments.

“Is that why Evan thanked you?” The vampire asks with genuine concern for the blonde, “They were talking about Enid, weren't they?” She looks at Wednesday and rearranges her hold on her so the seer can more comfortably rest her leg.

After a painfully long silence, Wednesday answers with a clenched jaw. “Yes, the alpha was talking about ‘passing her off’ to his pack when he was ‘done’ with her.” Yoko can feel Wednesday’s grip tighten as her anger flares.

“I’m gonna rip their fucking throats out the next time I see them.” She bares her fangs as she snarls out a tone darker and more rage filled than Wednesday’s, which was a very impressive feat. After taking a few breaths her tone switches to one that's much more cheerful while the pair begin to carefully move up the stairs again. “But thanks for defending her like that, we gotta stand up for our precious little wolfie!”

Wednesday’s only response is a nod of her head as the two of them crest the top of the stairs and turn the corner, beginning their long walk towards their dorm rooms. A moment of silence extends between them as they slowly shuffle down the carpeted corridor, the trail of blood Wednesday was leaving behind was becoming less and less apparent as her wounds finally began to clot.

“So, how did they get you held down like that?” The vampire’s tone is much softer and more somber than before; but then, as if just to give Wednesday a case of whiplash, she shifts her tone once again, this time it was fast and apologetic. “I mean, I’ve seen you fence Bianca and I’ve heard about what you did to those three normies at the Weathervane; you are one of the most badass people I have ever met.” Yoko nervously side glances Wednesday before adding, “I just don’t get how those uncoordinated dip shits managed to get you in that position…” Her voice gets quieter and nearly trails off while another student saying their goodbyes to their family can be heard echoing through the corridor, causing the two girls to limp down the hall in silence until they turn yet another corner, giving them the privacy to continue.

“I was standing over Logan, about to deal the finishing blow, when he called on his cronies to attack.” Wednesday begins to lay out the facts of what took place, and, shockingly, she doesn’t feel as ashamed as she expected when admitting defeat. “While I was fighting one off another had tackled me from behind, using his excessive weight to hold me down while two others grabbed my arms. It was at that point when you came in.” Wednesday slows their walking pace and looks at the girl she had been leaning against before she quietly admits one last part about the fight. “They outnumbered and overpowered me, and, based on their previous comments about women, I have an unsettling feeling they would have subjected me to horrors beyond even my comprehension had I not been able to escape.” A dark look takes over Wednesday’s face as she shudders at the thought of what that alpha had planned for her.

“I am so gonna kill those fuckers!” Yoko snarls with exposed fangs as her grip on the seer tightens, but the quietness of her voice makes Wednesday believe she was just talking to herself, so the seer continues to make her point.

“That is to say,” The seer begins, her voice small and uncharacteristically shy. “I appreciate you intervening when you did. I felt powerless, and…” She pauses as she tilts her head towards the ground, “and I was scared.” She looks back into the vampire’s blackout sunglasses before finishing her point. “So, thank you, Yoko.” The hollow feeling of anxiety in her chest at admitting such vulnerability manages to fill itself as she takes in the look of understanding on the vampire’s face.

“Any time, Wednesday.” She responds with a smile spread across her face, slightly exposing her fangs. Wednesday has her usual reaction of nausea at the girl's show of emotion, but this time she finds herself enjoying the feeling as a small smile of her own graces her lips.

There was a comfortable air forming around them; admitting the gratitude she felt towards the vampire and subsequently calling her by her name for the very first time had allowed them to grow closer while a mutual feeling of trust blossomed between the two.

They walk in calming silence for another few feet before Yoko interrupts it with a slight, under her breath laugh.

“Enid was right, you are cute.” There’s an affection in Yoko’s voice that Wednesday has never before seen directed at anyone who wasn’t the vampire’s girlfriend or Enid. And she can’t help but to find that it’s oddly endearing to be on the receiving end of that playful voice.

“I assure you I am not-” Wednesday begins to protest, but she suddenly cuts herself while stopping the pair dead in their tracks. She snaps her head to look directly into the vampire’s pitch black glasses before asking, “Enid thinks I’m cute?” The hopeful hint in her usually neutral voice and the blush that she was unable to keep off her cheeks causes Yoko to burst out in even deeper laughter.

“Oh my god, you are so in love with her!” The vampire’s joyful laughter fills Wednesday’s ears as her heart thumps uncomfortably in her chest.

“Yoko,” Wednesday let out an exasperated sigh as she wills herself to ignore the pain of the vampire so freely mentioning her one sided love. “I thought you agreed to no longer bring that topic up.”

“I know, I know. It’s just,” Yoko looks at Wednesday with a fond smile on her face. “I’m here if you ever need to talk about it.” She squeezes Wednesday’s wrist on the arm that was wrapped around her shoulder. “And, for the record, I am team Wednesday all the way.”

The attic room door slams open, causing the panes of glass on and around it to rattle like a reanimated skeleton with an extreme case of hypothermia.

Yoko doesn’t hesitate to jump in between the door and Wednesday, ready to defend the injured girl from any low life members of that wolf pack who might have followed them.

Meanwhile, Wednesday had slowly looked up from her task of bandaging herself while remaining mostly unconcerned. Both of them looked towards the entrance of the room where they saw the frazzled and out of breath werewolf.

Before either of the dark haired girls could say anything, the wolf’s blue eyes locked with Wednesday’s as her face shifted into one of horror. The sight of the raven’s half bandaged face and blood covered hoodie caused the wolf to full-on freak out.

“Oh my god, WEDNESDAY!” Enid yells out as she quickly runs over and drops to her knees in front of the girl sitting in the old wooden chair. “WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!” The wolf questions as she leans in closer to get a better look at the extensive wounds that cover her skin. “I- I heard from my brother that you got in a fight with Logan and his pack?!” Enid extends a hand out to the bandages on the girl’s face, lightly caressing the black cotton that covered her jaw. “Are you okay?” Those blue eyes, close enough to see the subtle yellow ring around their pupils, are filled with worry and pain.

“I am fine, Enid.” Wednesday tries to reassure the frantic wolf kneeling in front of her, but as she opens her mouth to respond, she can feel the layer of blood that still coated her teeth, which only makes the girl worry even more. But the fact that Enid’s captivating blue gaze had flicked down to her lips had caused the raven’s lungs to cease working.

“No, you’re not.” Enid’s tone had shifted to become a mix of concern and defeated sadness as she removed her hand from the raven’s jaw; it made Wednesday’s chest feel hollow, and all she wanted to do now was hold the wolf in her arms. “You are so obviously not okay, Wednesday, and you won’t even talk to me.” Tears brim in Enid’s eyes while her voice begins to quiver. Her gaze flicks to the multiple black bandages that cover Wednesday’s face before refocusing on her brown eyes. “I thought we were friends, I thought you trusted me. A-and it hurts to see you suffer in silence like this, so please, tell me what’s wrong.” Wednesday feels as if her heart was just ripped out as she hears Enid express her doubts about their friendship.

“Enid,” Wednesday starts, looking down at her roommate with pleading eyes, trying to convey the depth of her words. “You are my closest and most valued companion and I trust you with my life.” She desperately attempts to reaffirm to the wolf just how important she is in her eyes, but Enid only begins to tear up even more.

“If you trust me so much then could you at least tell me something?” She quickly stands up and begins to pace back and forth in front of the raven, occasionally flapping her hands to regulate her need to either hug Wednesday for getting hurt, or to slap Wednesday for getting hurt. “Like, oh my god, Wednesday, why the hell did you fight a pack of werewolves?” She pauses in her nervous pacing to turn to the raven and give her a look of complete disbelief.

“It was never my intention for things to turn violent,” Wednesday actually felt ashamed under the scornful blue eyes of her roommate, even though she believes she was in the right. “But they were saying things about you that I will not repeat for the sake of your own mental state.” The raven’s anger rises as she recalls all of the horrible things those scum had said.

“Wednesday! I run the school's gossip blog,” Enid throws her hands up in the air in exasperated defeat. “Do you really think I don’t know people are talking about me?” The angry wolf rubs her hands down the sides of her face as she tries to reign in her emotions. “Do you really think I care what a couple of nobodies think?” Her voice still carries the same burning anger but now there’s a hint of sadness added to the mix.

“I would usually agree with your stance, but they were discussing things that even I found entirely morally reprehensible.” She pleads her case, stating her reasoning behind her actions in order to show Enid that it wasn’t just silly playground gossip that forced her hand.

“I KNOW!” Enid yells, slightly startling the raven before she continues with a more somber tone. “I already know about the horrible things they say about me, but I have it handled!” She runs one of her hands through her hair in exasperation as she lets out a loud sigh. “I’ve already told the school about it and my brother is a part of their pack, he’s there to warn me whenever their talks become too serious.” She brings her colorfully painted fingers up to her face as she wipes away the hot tears that fell down her cheeks.

“I was… unaware of that.” Wednesday looks away as a thick layer of guilt clogs her throat. The shame that burns her cheeks only just masks the anger that sears her soul; hearing the defeated way Enid simply accepts that this is something she just has to live with.

“I have this under control, Wednesday, and I don’t need you running in and defending me like I’m,” She pauses her tirade as her claws clench with anger, “like I’m useless on my own!” She throws her hands up in frustration, letting out a quiet growl before her tone shifts from anger to hopelessness. “It’s like you don’t think I’m strong enough to fight my own battles, like you don’t trust me enough to let me fight by your side.” The wolf looks away from the raven as she shares the true reason for her emotional outburst.

“Enid,” She shyly looks into the wolf’s eyes before continuing. “You are the most physically capable outcast I have ever met.” Her voice has an uncharacteristically apologetic undertone to it. “I assure you that any bias on my part is purely because of my own feelings.” She briefly pauses as she averts her gaze from the upset wolf. “I simply do not wish for you to gain any more scars in defense of my own person.” She can still feel the overwhelming guilt she experienced on that night, when she saw Enid covered in countless wounds all because Wednesday had needed someone to defend her.

“You don’t get to decide that.” The wolf snarls, stepping closer and looking down at the raven. “I’ve already gotten scars in your defense and I will do it again, you can’t stop me from fighting for you.” The commanding tone sends a chill of shameful arousal through Wednesday’s lower abdomen, which she quickly subdues while trying to push the memory out of her mind before it becomes the basis of yet another one of her fantasies.

“I am fine on my own.” She retorts with stubbornness, a swell of indignation swirls in her mind at the possibility of Enid viewing her as someone who needs to be coddled and protected. “I managed to end Crackstone before he killed anyone else.” The raven says in a boastful tone with a slight smirk on her face; that is, until she realizes what she had just said.

“Uh, Wednesday?” Yoko chimes in, reminding both the raven and the wolf of her presence. “What are you talking about? Crackstone didn’t kill anyone that night.” Wednesday’s breath caught in her throat as her slip up failed to get past the vampire.

Yoko was right of course, no one had died that night; no one other than Wednesday herself that is.

The seer hadn’t told anyone about her literal gut-twisting death yet, not even Thing knows of her brief meeting with the cloaked reaper, and she had planned to keep it that way. But her slip up, mixed with the look in Enid’s eyes, forces her to cave and tell both of her friends everything they want to know.

“I died that night.” Wednesday quietly admits, refusing to look either of them in the eye.

“What?” Enid's question is more of a soft exhale of sad disbelief than an actual request for Wednesday to elaborate, but she feels an unusual nervousness that makes the following silence unbearable, which in turn causes her to fully expunge the details of her death.

“Crackstone held me down, using a telekinetic staff he no doubt stole from native outcasts, and, while I was defenseless and unarmed, he stabbed me directly beneath my sternum and twisted the knife.” Wednesday tries her hardest to keep her face neutral, but the side effects of her untreated PTSD makes a simple retelling of the story feel more like she was reliving it. She can feel the cold metal of the knife slicing her skin apart, the burning heat of the blade as it turns inside her, permanently reducing the size and function of her stomach. But it’s not just the physical feeling’s she’s being drowned by. The musty crypt and the putrid smell of an over four century old corpse mixes with the tinge of metallic wetness in her nostrils. And, to top it all off, she’s hit with the same intense, all-consuming fear that was holding her mind hostage the entire time she was trapped in that crypt.

“Wednesday.” Yoko’s soft voice and gentle touch on her shoulder snaps the raven out of her traumatic episode. Only now does she notice both her heart and respiratory rate have skyrocketed, and she had also unconsciously placed her hand over the rigid skin that laid at the base of her rib cage.

She closes her eyes while she takes a deep breath and returns her hand to her lap, taking a second to reign in her breathing and calm her erratic heart before she continues.

“My ancestor, Goody, used her remaining connection to the mortal plane to revive me.” She opens her eyes now, but only so she can stare at the shaking hands resting in her lap. “I may not have an overbearing stature, but I am an Addams,” She shifts her gaze from her lap to the dark glasses covering Yoko’s eyes. “and the Addams are much more resilient than the average human. Even the ever-present grasp of death has no hold on me.” It’s only after she looks away from Yoko and into Enid’s eyes that she realizes; her attempts to downplay the severity of her death had failed spectacularly. The wolf’s face was twisted with a look of gut-wrenching devastation as her blue eyes began to shine with wetness.

“Y- you died?” Enid’s eyes instantly overflow with a waterfall of tears at the gravity of Wednesday’s words. “I- I was too late?” She suddenly begins to let out full on sobs as the true weight of Wednesday's words washed over her. “I c- couldn’t get t- to you i- in time.” Enid takes a few steps backwards until the metal frame of Wednesday’s bed hits the back of her knees, forcing her to fall backwards and sit on the meticulously made black sheets.

Wednesday’s heart aches as she watches the girl she loves collapse in on herself, leaning forward until her head is practically in her knees while she relentlessly sobs into her hands.

The raven stands from her chair so fast that it rolls away and hits the wall behind her, causing the whole room to echo with the sound of the wood-splintering impact. Before the chair fully settles to the ground Wednesday surges forward and wraps her arms around the crying wolf's shoulders, pulling her close and letting the blonde rest her head against the soft black hoodie that covered her abdomen. Enid doesn’t hesitate before she leans into the raven even more and wraps shaking arms around her waist, squeezing Wednesday with a comfortably crushing pressure.

Yoko quickly sits on the bed next to Enid as she gently rubs her hand up and down the wolf's back, the two dark haired girls work together to comfort the crying wolf as she bawls her eyes out into Wednesday’s still blood-covered hoodie.

Wednesday looks into Yoko’s sunglasses with pure worry and desperation in her eyes, hoping she’s properly conveying the plea for help she was sending to the vampire. And Yoko smirks a little before she mouths a single word that Wednesday can’t help but to question if she interpreted correctly.

‘Sing!’ Is what the vampire’s mouth silently says, causing Wednesday to tilt her head and raise a single eyebrow in disbelief. But all Yoko does is repeat the silent word with the addition of ‘to her,’ while using her free hand to motion between the wolf and the raven.

Due to her desperation to calm the the sobbing wolf and her heart-clenching guilt at fact that she caused the tears in the first place, Wednesday began to panic at the sudden pressure put on her to sing something cheerful to Enid, and because of that she was unable to think as clearly as usual.

All of the songs that come to mind involve death in some way, and even then only a very few of that selection fits the criteria of being calming.

The only choice she can come up with is a slow, melancholic french song; it’s tone is calming and the words aren’t in english, so it will be impossible for Enid to tell that it’s almost entirely about death.

So Wednesday resigns herself to her fate before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

In a slow and airy voice she begins singing On brûlera by Pomme, one of the many sapphic songs she listens to whenever she finds herself longing for Enid.

“On brûlera~ toutes les deux~
(We will burn, the both of us)

En enfer~, mon ange~
(In hell, my angel)

J'ai prévu~ nos adieux~
(I have planned our goodbyes)

À la Terre~, mon ange~
(To the earth, my angel)

Et je veux~ partir avec toi~
(And I want to leave with you)

Je veux~ mourir dans tes bras~
(I want to die in your arms)

Que la mer nous mange le corps~, ah~
(Let the sea eat our bodies)

Que le sel nous lave~ le cœur, ah~
(Let the salt wash our hearts)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Oh, je t'aimerai encore
(Oh, I will still love you)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Je m'excuse auprès des dieux~
(I apologise to the gods)

De ma mère et ses louanges~
(To my mother and her praises)

Je sais~ toutes les prières~
(I know all the prayers)

Tous les vœux~, Pour que ça change~
(All the wishes for it to change)

Mais je veux~ partir avec toi~
(But I want to leave with you)

Je veux~ mourir dans tes bras~
(I want to die in your arms)

Que la mer nous mange le corps~, ah~
(Let the sea eat our bodies)

Que le sel nous lave le cœur~, ah~
(Let the salt wash our hearts)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Oh, je t'aimerai encore
(Oh, I will still love you)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

On brûlera~ toutes les deux~
(We will burn the both of us)

En enfer~, mon ange~
(In hell, my angel)

Tu peux~ écrire tes adieux~
(You can write your goodbye)

À la Terre~, mon ange~
(To the earth, my angel)

Car je veux~ partir avec toi~
(Because I want to leave with you)

Je veux~ mourir dans tes bras~
(I want to die in your arms)

Si la mer nous mange le corps~, ah~
(If the sea eats our bodies)

Si le sel nous pique le cœur~, ah~
(If the salt stings our hearts)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Je t'aimerai encore
(I will still love you)

Oh, je t'aimerai encore
(Oh, I will still love you)

Je t'aimerai encore~
(I will still love you)

As the last words of the impromptu serenade flow past Wednesday’s lips she opens her eyes and looks down to the wolf who’s still pressed against her abdomen. She then realizes that, while she was lost in the music, she had unconsciously brought her hand up and started to run her fingers through Enid’s soft blonde hair. She continues the action a few more times, making sure to properly savor the moment, before she pulls her hand away and wraps it around the wolf's shoulder once again.

The sudden absence of the calming hand on her head causes Enid to loosen her grip on the raven’s waist and look up into her eyes. But she kept herself in Wednesday’s close proximity, her head was still near enough to the raven’s body that her chin rested against the lower part of Wednesday’s sternum.

“T-” Enid begins but an aftershock of a sob works its way up her throat first. “That was beautiful, Wends.” A sad but meaningful smile spreads across the beautiful pink lips of her love. Wednesday can’t help but smile along with her as she raises her hand to Enid’s face, cupping her cheek and wiping away a falling teardrop.

“Yes, well,” Wednesday can’t help the blush that burns her face as she stares into Enid’s watery blue eyes, savoring the closeness they share. The warmth of the wolf’s face under her hand makes Wednesday feel as if her whole life has taken place in the barren arctic, but now she has found the life giving heat of a fire, and she never wants to be without this warmth again. “I hope it proved adequate at improving your mood.” The raven puts on an air of confidence but the wolf can easily see the nervousness she was trying to mask.

“It was, thank you.” A wavering smile spreads across her face as she leans into the cold yet grounding hand that lightly held her by the cheek. “You’ve gotten a lot better at this.” A small laugh leaves Enid’s lips as she squeezes Wednesday’s waist and relaxes into her arms even more.

“At what?” The raven questions as Enid buries her head in Wednesday’s stomach yet again, forcing Wednesday to drop her hand from the wolf’s face and start rubbing circles into her back instead.

“Cheering people up.” Her words are muffled by the fabric of Wednesday’s hoodie, and, as if Enid’s breath tickling her skin just above the navel wasn’t enough for her heart to beat itself to shreds, the wolf begins to inhale heavily through her nostrils as she greedily takes in Wednesday’s scent.

“That is a courtesy I extend only to you.” Wednesday’s tone is far softer than even she herself has ever heard it before. But her gentle voice only causes Enid to start crying once again. The sound of Enid’s sobs makes it feel as if Wednesday’s heart had dropped down her esophagus; a feeling similar to that of swallowing the heavy iron key of the manor’s dungeon in order to ensure there is no escape. Only this time, instead of the desperate screams of her brothers, the feeling was accompanied by a near heart stopping sympathy.

“I- I’m sorry, I just…” Enid begins as her crying turns to sobbing, soaking the black cotton of Wednesday’s hoodie. “I can’t believe that I almost lost you.” Wednesday can feel the wolf shaking in her arms, so she holds on to the blonde even tighter than before.

“But you didn’t, Enid.” Wednesday whispers as she brings her hand up and starts to run her fingers through the wolf’s soft, fluffy hair once again. “And you never will.”

But that’s not true.

Wednesday won’t be alive much longer.

She doesn’t know why she just lied to Enid like that, but it didn’t feel like a lie; it felt like a fact. It felt like it was a given that Wednesday would be by Enid’s side until they grow old, that the wolf and the raven were an inseparable pair.

Her heart clenches in her chest as she realizes that’s just what she wishes, not what will actually happen. Enid will marry Ajax, move away, and start a family with him while Wednesday dies before she can even graduate high school.

A tear begins to trace down her cheek as the weight of the curse and the hopelessness of her feelings bears down on her. She looks away from the girl she loves as she attempts to quell her tears, it’s only then that she realizes that Yoko had been staring at her with sad eyes and a melancholic smile for quite a while now, and it had presumably started at some point during the serenade.

Wednesday quickly looks away from the vampire and closes her eyes, deciding to let herself get lost in the arms of her love while she’s still alive.

A long few minutes of quiet, only interspersed with the sound of Enid’s sobbing, fills the room. During that silence Yoko stands from her spot next to the wolf and sends a sad smile towards Wednesday.

“She’s probably not going to calm down for a while.” The vampire briefly looks at the wolf before returning her attention to the raven. “C’mon, you two should lay down.” Yoko says as she looks at Wednesday’s injured leg, which the girl was putting way too much pressure on by standing up for such an extended period of time.

“N-no!” Enid protests as she pushes herself away from the girl in her arms, tears still streaming down her face. “I’m okay, I’ve al- already pushed W- Wednesday’s boundaries enough for today.” The wolf brings the sleeves of her orange and pink sweater up to her eyes to wipe away her tears.

“Enid, my boundaries are just fine.” Wednesday looks into her blue eyes as she runs her fingers through the wolf's blonde hair. “Now, let me do this for you, Please.” That word felt foreign on her tongue, having very rarely ever used it before, but, for Enid, she would gladly add it to her regular verbal repertoire.

“O-okay.” The wolf concedes before slowly wrapping her arms around the raven’s waist once again. Wednesday follows suit as she quickly wraps her arms around the wolf’s shoulders and pulls her in closer.

The raven is the first to start moving, sitting on the bed next to Enid and dragging the wolf with her until they are both sitting in the middle of her bed with their feet on the sheets. But before they can fully recline to a lying position, Enid stops them.

“Wait, o- our shoes.” Is all Enid says as she goes to take them off, but Wednesday only tightens her hold on the wolf in an effort to stop her from worrying too much about something as benign as a little dirt on her blankets.

“Don’t concern yourself with that, my sheets were already in need of washing.” Enid stops to look into her eyes, as if she was trying to determine if Wednesday actually meant what she said. “Just, lay down Enid.” Wednesday half asks her, half tells her.

The wolf allows herself to be guided down onto the bed until they’re both laying on top of the black sheets, facing each other as they slowly settle into their new positions. Wednesday’s left arm is trapped under Enid’s neck and her right arm rests gently on Enid’s waist. Meanwhile, Enid awkwardly presses her hands against her own chest, unsure of what to do with them.

Wednesday notices Enid’s apprehension and decides to take the lead. She grabs Enid’s arm and wraps it around her shoulder before she uses her strength to lay on her back, pulling Enid almost entirely on top of her body before wrapping both of her arms around the wolf.

“I- I can’t.” Enid says in a panic as she pushes herself off of Wednesday and looks into her eyes with slight fear. “I’m too heavy, I don’t want to crush you.” She voices her concern, but all Wednesday does is pull the wolf back down, pressing their bodies together once again before working to reassure the nervous blonde.

“Enid,” She begins as she rubs small circles between the wolf’s shoulder blades. “At the Addams manor I sleep under a one hundred pound blanket, and that’s only because I could not locate a version that weighed any more.” Wednesday twists her neck to look down at the mess of blonde hair resting against her chest. “So no, Enid.” The raven says as black painted nails begin to work their way through bright blonde hair, gently scratching against the wolf’s scalp. “Not only are you not ‘too heavy’ but, if anything, I find the pressure of your body to be woefully comforting. It’s like being buried alive, sans the coffin.” Wednesday can feel Enid’s breathing hitch as sobs slowly over take her once again, causing the raven to immediately regret ever mentioning anything about being buried, alive or otherwise.

The wolf finally settles into the cold yet grounding body of the raven, resting her head directly against the girl's shoulder as sobs begin to overtake her. Her tears wet the black hoodie beneath her as she snakes her hands under Wednesday’s back, holding on to the raven as tightly as she can.

While Enid cries her delicate little heart out Wednesday looks to her side; just in time to see Yoko holding her phone and taking a picture of the two of them laying in bed together. She glares at the vampire, and, even though she’s trapped under the warmest and most comfortable blanket she’s ever had, she reaches for one of the many throwing knives at her disposal.

But, before Wednesday can grab the dagger from under her mattress, Yoko makes the intelligent decision to take her leave, quietly closing the door behind her as she disappears from the room, leaving the wolf and the raven alone in each other's arms.

And that’s where the two of them stay for the rest of the night, savoring the comfort of one another as they drift off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Wednesday gazes deeply into the beautiful blue eyes in front of her, admiring the subtle ring of yellow that surrounds obsidian pupils; a small detail that can only be seen if one were close enough.

Which Wednesday was.

Their faces are only inches apart as they lay in bed next to each other, their heads both resting on the singular black pillow of Wednesday’s bed, leaving very little space between them.

Wednesday can smell Enid’s strawberry lip gloss.

She can feel the heat of the wolf’s breath tickling her chin.

They are very close.

So close that Wednesday couldn’t help herself anymore. Each breath of Enid’s that graced her face had whittled away any and all restraint she had left.

The eyes of the girl she loves more intensely than she ever thought herself capable were far too captivating for her to resist any longer.

Wednesday’s gaze flicks down to Enid’s pink lips while her hand moves up to gently caress the wolf’s wonderfully warm cheek.

She slowly begins to shuffle closer to Enid as she leans in, keeping her eyes glued to those tantalizingly kissable lips the whole time.

“The thought of your lips has plagued my waking hours and the prospect of sealing them against my own has haunted my unconscious mind.” Her words are barely above a whisper and her tone is sickeningly soft.

“Enid Sinclair, will you allow me to make my dreams a reality?” She asks in a slow and uncharacteristically nervous voice before her brown eyes look back up to Enid’s blue.

And that’s when she sees the look of poorly hidden disgust on the wolf’s face, causing the stronger-than-usual beat of Wednesday’s heart to freeze completely.

Enid pulls away from her and sits up in the bed as the look on her face morphs into pity with a small tinge of sadness.

“Oh, Wednesday…” The usual bright and happy tone of her voice is replaced with a hesitant awkwardness that makes Wednesday feel deathly nauseous. The tension in the air was a stark contrast to the previous mood that hung between them, and something tells Wednesday that they will never be able to regain that calming stillness that used to lay between them. “I- I’m sorry but I,” Enid pauses as her words sear Wednesday’s heart and split her very soul. “I don’t see you in that way, I… I love Ajax.” Enid looks away as she rubs her bicep nervously.

The raven’s hands begin to shake as an unsteady pit forms in her stomach, her heart clenches in pain while intense anxiety twists her insides. Her eyes begin to burn with magma hot tears that she tries to hold in, only to fail as those tears quickly pour over her cheeks.

Her entire body feels numb.

She can’t breathe,

She can’t think,

She…

She can’t handle this.

The rejection overwhelms her emotions and she begins to shut down on every front.

The raven moves to sit with her back against the bed's headboard before pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs, quickly burying her head in her knees until her eye sockets are pressing firmly against her kneecaps.

But it doesn’t stop the tears.

It doesn’t stop the self hate that burns Wednesday’s entire being.

At this moment she wishes for nothing more than death.

That single question had completely ruined their friendship and she could never change it.

Enid would leave her and they would never see each other again.

All because of Wednesday.

All because she could no longer keep her feelings in check.

She knew this would happen, but living it was something right out of her worst nightmares.

“Wednesday!”

She could faintly hear Enid’s voice as she no doubt tried to pull her from her curled up ball of emotional overstimulation. But nothing could pull her out of the hole she had just dug herself. The hole that had punctured right through their friendship, causing it to shatter into pieces, forever ending their time together.

“Wednesday!” She hears Enid’s voice, clearer now, but her mind is still stuck on the crumbling relationship before her.

She wanted to go back in time.

To undo her stupid little slip up and return to what they had, where Wednesday would slowly die and Enid would never know she was the cause.

But they never can.

She had irrevocably destroyed their friendship.

Enid will no longer be a part of her life,

And Wednesday can’t live without her.

She doesn’t know how she’ll be able to keep going without the warmth this girl brings her,

She doesn’t know how she’ll manage to sleep without the scent that makes her feel so safe,

She doesn’t know how she’ll be able to wake up every morning without that cheerful smile to greet her.

Wait,

Wake up.

When…

When did she…?

“WAKE UP!”

Enid’s concern-filled voice echoes in her ears while she’s violently shaken by her shoulders, the wolf’s claws piercing through the raven’s clothes and lightly pricking her skin.

“WEDNESDAY! PLEASE WAKE UP!”

It’s only then that Wednesday opens her eyes to see Enid’s face hovering above her. A wave of confusion nearly drowns her mind as she begins to piece together what’s happening.

She’s laying on her bed in their dorm room, just like she was in her dream, only now Enid is kneeling on the bed next to her while gripping her shoulders. The loose strands of dyed hair fell gracefully down the sides of her face as she hovered over and looked down at Wednesday.

Her face was twisted with concern and fear as her tears dripped onto Wednesday's cheeks.

But then Wednesday realized, Enid’s eyes were dry.

Wednesday brings her fingers up to her own face and feels the warm tears that were freely spilling from her own eyes. Once she fully realizes she was the one who was crying, her features unwillingly twist into a look of utter sorrow that takes over her face.

Enid doesn't hesitate before she uses her impressive strength to pull Wednesday into a sitting position while wrapping her arms around the smaller girl’s body, trapping her in a hug that made Wednesday's stomach lurch and her mind flash with the image of Enid’s face pulling away from her with disgust.

“Y- you’re okay,” Enid begins but the shakiness of her voice causes her to pause before restarting, “You’re okay, Wednesday. It was just a nightmare.”

A wave of comfort washes over Wednesday, temporarily overshadowing the grief she feels at Enid’s rejection. For the first time since she woke up she takes a proper breath as she looks around over the wolf’s shoulder and takes in their surroundings.

They’re in their room, it’s early in the morning, and she’s covered in bandages.

She remembers what happened yesterday, how she had held Enid as the wolf cried herself to sleep. It’s why they were still wearing their clothes from the day before and why Enid was still in her now sleep-smudged makeup.

It means that Enid rejecting her had never actually happened, it was just Wednesday’s traumatized mind conjuring the thing that would cause her the most pain.

It means Enid doesn’t hate her,

It means she hadn’t ruined their friendship.

She hadn’t pushed Enid away and forced the girl to remove herself from her life.

And then come the horrid cries that she has no power to hold back.

She can’t help it.

The relief that runs through her body at the realization that Enid’s not going to leave her squeezes her heart and soul.

And so do Enid’s arms.

Wednesday buries her face in the crook of Enid’s neck as she lets her tears freely flow out of her, bringing her arms up and holding on to Enid as if she would disappear if she wasn’t properly tied down.

And Enid doesn’t complain,

All the wolf does is squeeze the raven even harder.

“It was just a nightmare, Wends.” She whispers in the raven’s ear as she rocks back and forth with the girl in her arms, letting her cry some very long overdue tears. “It’s okay, I’m here.” Enid’s reassurance that she’s still a part of her life only causes Wednesday to cry even harder; the memory of her dream, of losing Enid, only hurts her even more now that she’s being enveloped by the all consuming scent of the girl she loves.

But as she inhales Enid’s scent, directly from the source, she begins to calm down and her shameful cries start to diminish. Just knowing that Enid is still here, still willing to hold her in her arms like this while they sit in the same bed, means that Enid isn’t leaving her.

All she has to do is never confess her feelings to the wolf.

That would be easy.

She had pretended not to have emotions for the last decade of her life, what’s a few more months?

So, in that moment, she makes up her mind to keep her feelings to herself.

Of course, she’ll have to have a plan for what to do when she dies, but she figures she can just force Thing and Pugsley to handle everything after she passes.

With her decision made, and her tears no longer flowing, she takes a few more deep breaths of Enid, determined to make this the last time she ever indulges in the wolf’s scent.

She slowly begins to pull herself out of Enid’s arms, finding it takes much more mental strength than she had expected.

“Thank you, Enid.” Wednesday says with her usual even voice while she brings her lightly clenched fist up to her eyes to use her knuckles to wipe away her tears.

But Enid brings her own hands up to Wednesday’s face and cups her cheeks, quickly using her thumbs to clean the raven’s freckled cheeks.

“Do you wanna talk about what your nightmare was about?” The wolf asks with a delicate softness as she looks into Wednesday’s eyes with a gentle kindness. The affection and care she’s being shown while Enid has her face in her hands only makes Wednesday yearn for those pink lips, but with the yearning comes the guilt and fear from her dream, making Wednesday incredibly nauseous, to the point where she had to pull out of Enid’s arms and put some distance between them; lest she go back on her decision to take her feelings towards Enid to the grave.

The raven climbs out of bed, out of the wolf’s arms, and stands facing the large glass window of their room, keeping her back to Enid as her mind tries to decide exactly how to answer her question without spilling her overflowing cauldron of boiling feelings.

“In my dream, I lost you.” Is all Wednesday ends up saying, not entirely willing to fully expunge the details of her dream and inadvertently confess her feelings.

“Oh.” Enid says with heavy understanding as she sits on her heels on the black bed, staring at Wednesday’s back while she’s silhouetted against the just barely rising sun peaking through the large window. “I’ve had nightmares like that too,” She drops her gaze to the black blankets that sit between them. “Ones where you die.” Her voice gets quieter as she begins to reflect on her own nocturnal torments. “In them I-” She pauses as she holds back her own tears at just the memory, “I can’t move and- and I just watch as Tyler holds you down and snaps your neck.” Her voice has an increasing urgency as she speaks, clearly displaying her distress at these dreams. Wednesday feels not only sympathy for the girl but empathy; she too has had many dreams where the wolf gets torn apart in front of her by the claws of that spineless hyde. Many dreams where she loses Enid to the grave instead of her feelings. Wednesday knows exactly what the wolf was talking about, and it was almost comforting to know she wasn’t the only one who’s nights were plagued with the image of her roommate being eviscerated by that beast. “That's why I reacted so badly when you told us that you…” Enid trails off with an emotional rawness in her tone before she slowly and cautiously climbs out of Wednesday's bed and approaches the girl, gently placing her hand on the raven’s shoulder in a show of support. “Are… are you okay?” She hesitantly asks, as if deciding whether or not to voice her question at all.

When the raven turns around to respond all she sees is the tear glazed eyes of the girl she loves.

At that moment she realizes, for the second time this week, just how deeply the people she cares about have been affected by the events of their last semester.

She realizes how traumatized Enid was from her violent first transformation and subsequent fight.

She also realizes that the wolf needs their shared physical contact much more than she herself needs to avoid it.

So the raven quickly steps forward and wraps her arms around Enid’s waist, pulling the wolf close and instinctively burying her face in the crook of her neck. Enid quickly reciprocates the embrace as she brings her arms to rest around the raven’s shoulders, squeezing her tight against her body.

Whenever they embrace like this, even though the number of times they’ve done so is countable on one hand, Wednesday has always thought that their bodies were the perfect fit for one another. It was as if they were both a part of a two piece puzzle; that feeling brings her a sense that everything will be okay, a twisted and torturous feeling that things will all work out in the end.

“I will be.” Is what Wednesday eventually says, her voice muffled by Enid’s collarbone and her breath tickling Enid’s skin as she starts to subconsciously nuzzle her head against Enid's neck.

While Wednesday didn’t know what she was doing, Enid did; And the wolf was damn near over the moon at the fact that her dark and stormy roommate was scenting her once again. But this time, Enid wasn’t as shocked as before, and that allows the wolf to return Wednesday’s affections.

Enid tightened her hold on the raven while bringing one of her hands up to the braided hair of Wednesday’s head, pulling her even deeper into her neck and rubbing the side of her jaw against the girl’s temple; ensuring their scents mix to a degree that thoroughly pleases her wolf.

The two girls stood in each other's arms, scenting one another in the quiet of the morning sun as the warmth of the wolf brings life to the raven, and the raven’s naturally frigid body temperature helps keep the wolf grounded, leading to a mutual feeling of comfort between them.

But Enid starts to squirm in the raven’s arms.

It begins as small movements before quickly progressing to Enid removing herself from Wednesday entirely, putting a few inches of space between their bodies.

“Enid?” Wednesday questions as she watches the wolf curiously, secretly hoping that whatever happened wouldn’t stop their embrace for long.

“Sorry, it’s just, there’s something...” Enid says as she reaches into the raven’s hoodie pocket and pulls out whatever was just uncomfortably poking her in the leg.

It’s only once the mystery items are out in the open that Wednesday realizes just what Enid had taken from her pocket.

The pamphlets.

Wednesday watches with baited breath as Enid looks over the pieces of paper in her hand. The expressions on her face flow freely from curiosity to confusion to what seems to be sadness? No matter what emotion it was, it scared the raven.

“Is this why you were in the werewolf student center?” Enid eventually asks with a soft and quiet voice, “To get these?” There is no possible lie she can tell that would make sense, and even if there was Wednesday wasn’t sure she could muster the willpower to tell anything less than the absolute truth while staring into those heart-stealing blue eyes.

“Yes.” Is all Wednesday can say as a lump of guilt and fear begins to form in her throat. She feels like a child who was just caught stealing a cookie from the jar.

“Oh…” Enid quietly replies as her brain works on deciphering the text on the paper and the reason the raven would have them. “Did…?” She trails off as her gaze awkwardly drifts between Wednesday and the pamphlets. “Are you…?” She tries a second time but falls short from a complete sentence once again, “Is… is this because of me?” She finally asks as she holds the pamphlets into Wednesday’s line of sight.

Enid’s face was so easy to read that it paradoxically became unreadable. The massive mix of swirling emotions in her mind was played over every part of her face; her brows furrowed and her eyes watered, her lips formed a smile while her nose scrunched up.

Wednesday couldn’t tell if Enid was angry, sad, happy, or disgusted. And that only served to terrify the raven even more than she already was. She could feel her anxiety rise to horribly oppressive levels as she began to panic, trying desperately to think of something, anything, to tell Enid that wouldn’t expose her feelings and end their friendship.

“Enid, I…” Wednesday begins, but her mind comes up empty, only filled with the memory of the dream she had less than ten minutes ago. She drops her arms off of Enid’s waist and lets them hang lamely at her side, feeling entirely defeated and helpless as she watches the beginning of the end of her life, as Enid turns her down and unknowingly dooms her to death.

“It’s okay.” Enid reassures her, reaching out to grab Wednesday’s wrist before trailing her grip down until she’s gently holding the raven’s hand in hers, squeezing lightly as she patiently waits for Wednesday to find her words.

But then, to the start of both of them, a knock on the door splits the silence of the room, causing the two girls to look towards the entrance in shock.

When the handle to the door begins to turn Enid lets go of Wednesday’s hand, putting the pamphlets in her skirt’s back pocket before quickly standing between the raven and the intruder while letting out a low, threatening growl.

The protective actions of the wolf sent Wednesday’s heart into overdrive; it felt otherworldly to be able to let her guard down like this, knowing that, no matter how distracted she is, she could always count on Enid to be there to jump to her defense at a moment's notice.

So, while the wolf watched the door, the raven watched the wolf; The former with anger filling her eyes, and the latter with love overflowing from hers.

The wooden door swung open and the figure that was obscured by the stained glass window slowly came into view.

There stood an average size woman with pale white skin, black hair in a short pixie cut, and vibrantly bright brown eyes. She was wearing black suit pants with a short sleeve button up in Nevermore’s signature purple.

“Excuse me, ladies.” Even though her voice, tinged with a French accent, had a bit of a rough quality to it, her tone was nothing but sweet, causing Enid to drop her guard and Wednesday to raise her own. “I just wanted to stop by and introduce myself before the start of classes today. I am the new staff member in charge of supervising Ophelia hall; Elizabeth Flores.” Something about her name caused Wednesday to eye the woman with suspicion and distrust.

“Flores?” Wednesday asks with curiosity, wondering how a woman who could not appear any more stereotypically French could have one of the top ten most common last names for Mexican citizens. “How does one of such apparent French descent end up with such an unapologetically Mexican surname?” But all the woman, this Elizabeth Flores, does is smile a bright smile that can almost, almost, rival Enid’s boundless joy.

“I took my wife’s last name.” She beamed a nauseating smile at the two students as she holds up her hand, showing off the small band of ruby embedded gold that adorned her ring finger

That managed to shock both Wednesday and Enid, and for the same reason too; this was the first out-of-the-closet sapphic authority figure either of the two had ever met.

“Qui a avoué en premier?” (Who confessed first?) Wednesday asks, curiosity getting the best of her as she hopes to get even the slightest bit of advice for her own feelings.

“C'était moi!” (It was me!) She cheers out with pride as her smile grows, nauseating the raven even more than she already was.

“Saviez-vous qu'elle était saphique avant?” (Did you know she was sapphic beforehand?) Wednesday wasn’t hesitating, speaking clearly and quickly, determined to get her answers as soon as possible.

“J'avais des soupçons.” (I had my suspicions.) A smug smirk spreads across her face as a slight blush takes over her cheeks, no doubt remembering some moment from her past.

“N'avais-tu pas peur de ruiner ce que tu avais?” (Were you not afraid of ruining what you had?) The raven presses the dorm mother even farther, desperate to know what led to her success, hoping she could somehow emulate it for her own gain.

“Terrifié.” (Terrified.) She says with her unwavering smile still resting on her face, “Mais j'avais confiance qu'elle ne laisserait pas mes sentiments changer les choses.” (But I trusted that she wouldn't let my feelings change things.)

“Quel optimisme révoltant.” (What revolting optimism.) This causes the woman to smile as her eyes shift between Wednesday and Enid.

“Ne t'inquiète pas, je suis sûr que les choses s'arrangeront entre vous deux.” (Don't worry, I'm sure things will work out between you two.) Her words cause Wednesday to narrow her eyes and glare at their new dorm mother, already displeased that she could read her so well, something that normally takes years of knowing the raven to manage.

“Just so you know,” Wednesday began, switching to English in order to include Enid in the conversation. “The last dorm mother manipulated us, lied to us, knocked me unconscious with a shovel after murdering the last head administrator, chained me up in a crypt, used my blood to resurrect a multi century old bigot, and then held me and some other students at gunpoint.” Wednesday watches with a smile in her eyes as the new dorm mother recoils in horror at her words. “You have very big shoes to fill.” While the woman was still taking in the extent of her words, Enid turns to look at Wednesday with worry and sadness on her face before she reaches out and tentatively grabs the raven’s hand, interlacing their fingers while silently communicating her concern through her enchanting eyes; wordlessly asking the raven if she was okay. Wednesday responded by squeezing Enid’s hand for a brief second, reassuring the wolf that she was.

“Oh, well in this case I do hope to disappoint you, Wednesday.” The woman says after quickly recovering with a smile on her face. “Also, I do not like being called the ‘dorm mom,’ it just feels a little creepy to me; I’m not your mother and I won’t act like it. I’m here to make sure you are safe above all else. I prefer the term ‘dorm supervisor,’ but please, call me Mrs. Liz!”

“Of course, Mrs. Liz!” Enid cheers as she turns her attention back to the woman in their room. “And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Wednesday behaves.” The wolf adds on, earning a glare and squeeze of her hand from the raven.

“Oh, yes! That reminds me, there will be a few rule changes this semester.” Mrs. Liz says with a sudden bit of authority to her voice. “First off, I’m removing that antiquated ‘no boys’ policy. That doesn’t stop you all from having sex, it only stops you from being safe about it. On that note, I have added an assortment of condoms to the bathrooms so please, help yourself if needed. I would much rather you all have sex in the dorms with the proper protection instead of sneaking around and getting pregnant.” She pauses to let out a small chuckle. “I still remember my roommate’s big pregnancy scare.” She shakes her head in disapproval of the supposed roommates lack of precaution.

“You were a student here?” Enid asks.

“You’re an outcast?” Wednesday questions at the same time.

“Yes, to both.” Mrs. Liz says with a wide smile. “Graduating class of 2017! I’m a fate weaver. I can see the strings of fate that connect people.”

“Oh, that’s, like, the red string on the pinky, right?” Enid’s light and curious voice fills Wednesday’s ear as the girl practically yells out her question in excitement.

“Exactly! But there are more colors than just red and the finger it’s on depends on the meaning. Plus, the strings can be braided together to mean a whole lot of different things.” She briefly looks down at the hands of the two girls in front of her, her eyebrow raised before her gaze returns to their eyes with a smile on her face. “For example, a pink string means two people are dating, but, when mixed with a blue string there is some uncertainty in one or both of them; and, if it’s attached to the index finger, that means that person is thinking about their relationship with more logic than emotion. The quality of the string also matters, if it’s frayed and thin, that string is destined to break if no effort is put into maintaining it.”

“Whoa!” Enid says with amazement in her eyes. “That’s so cool!” Her voice resembles that of a little kid being told they're going to get ice cream. “Can you tell me about my strings?” Wednesday looks at the girl and sees just how excited she is to hear about her future, not realizing that was already done.

“I believe she just did, Enid.” The raven says to the wolf with a light and more delicate tone, hoping to break the news to her gently.

“Oh.” Is all Enid says as she looks to the ground and confusion twists on her face; her mind going through the example Mrs. Liz just gave and realizing how closely it matched her feelings for Ajax. It was upsetting to hear just how half-assed she was being in her relationship.

“Don’t worry Enid,” Mrs. Liz chimes in, seeing how deflated Enid now looks. “I can also see that things will end up for the better. Just focus on living your life, you’re too young to be worrying about fate anyway.” Her soft tone helps convey the honest truth behind her words, but it doesn’t fully take away the look of sadness on Enid’s face.

“Fate is cruel and demeaning,” Wednesday takes over the attempt to cheer Enid up. “No one should spare even a half-thought about its rancid trappings.” She gazes deeply into Enid’s eyes as she squeezes her hand in reassurance. “Your life is your own Enid, nothing will change that.”

“Aww,” Enid looks into Wednesday’s eyes with an emotionally charged gaze. “That’s so sweet Wednesday!” She has that look on her face that tells Wednesday she’s holding back from pulling her into a hug, something that Wednesday dissuades by squeezing her hand once again, unwilling to be caught in such a compromising position with a stranger in their room.

“I agree,” The interloper speaks up, adding on to the raven’s words of reassurance. “Fate can often be changed by the barest hint of an action, such as a butterfly flapping its wings.” She smiles at the girl whose future she had just read out like a child's story book. “But anyway,” Her tone shifts to what Wednesday can tell is her ‘supervisor’ voice. “It’s time to get to the heart of the matter, so to speak,” She says as she looks at Wednesday. “Principal Thorin wants to see you.” Her words cause Wednesday to deflate with annoyance.

“Of course he does.” She rolls her eyes as she lets out a long sigh of exasperation.

“Well, you did kinda stab some students.” Enid chimes in, earning herself a glare from the raven who’s hand was still in hers.

“I admit to nothing,” Wednesday calmly says to the dorm supervisor before quickly whispering to Enid. ”Snitch.” But there was no real anger behind it, if anything it was uncharacteristically playful.

“I’ll make sure Wednesday gets there.” Enid says to the woman intruding in their shared space. They stand in silence for an above average length of time as the dorm supervisor just looks at both of them with a soft smile. “Um… is there anything else?” The wolf questions, her tone a little weirded out but still polite nonetheless.

“Oh! No, there isn’t. That was all!” Mrs. Liz smiles brightly at the blonde girl before her gaze shifts between the students in front of her. “It was wonderful to meet you two and, if either of you ever need help with anything, or if you just want to talk, my door is always open!” She says with her wide smile before turning around and making her exit, closing the door behind her and leaving the wolf and the raven alone in their room.

The two of them exchange a look of curious disbelief, wondering if the other had the same thoughts about the woman.

“She seems nice.” Enid smiles and breaks the silence with her cheerful tone of unwavering optimism. Wednesday just glances at her with a look of cautious distrust.

“So did ’Thornhil’ until it no longer suited her.” Wednesday shoots back in her dark and broody tone, causing Enid’s expressions to shift into one of concern with a healthy dose of fear. “Now, we need to prepare for a no doubt grueling day of socializing while being drowned in pointless worksheets.” She says as she lets go of the hand in hers, turning away from Enid and walking to her closet. She retrieves her shower supplies and a fresh change of clothes before making her way to the door. But, before she leaves she turns around and waits for Enid to grab her own toiletries.

“Are you ready for another fun semester at Nevermore?” Enid asks as she skips up next to the raven with a cheerful smile spread across her lips.

“You have no idea.” Wednesday responds as she opens the door and steps out of the comfort of their shared room and into the hell that was going to be today.

The two girls walk next to each other down the main hall as students and teachers alike frantically scramble about, getting ready for the first day of the new semester.

Dark brown eyes graze over the wolf as Wednesday takes in the adorable sight of Enid’s new winter uniform. Her attention being solely focused on the girl next to her caused her gait to sway left and right, occasionally brushing their shoulders together as they walk, sending a jolt of electricity through her whole arm.

As they pass one specific set of doors Enid looks between them and Wednesday before coming to a stop in the middle of the hall. That’s when Wednesday realized, after finally peeling her gaze away from the blonde wolf, that they were standing next to the larger than average doors of the dining hall, behind which was a myriad of smells; smells that the werewolf was far more attuned to than the raven.

“Go,” Wednesday says with an amused and soft tone. “Have breakfast with your friends.” Enid is about to protest before the smell of food makes her stomach growl, causing a tinge of embarrassed pink to color her cheeks. “Not only did you skip both lunch and dinner yesterday, I also know how eager you are for some inane socializing regarding your lackluster break from this stone entombed hell-hole. I would rather arrive fashionably late so as to not be subjected to all of the pointless drivel about whatever uninteresting activities your friends' families were involved in.” She finishes with a roll of her eyes as she imagines the unbearable amount of, ‘oh my god’s and ‘no way’s that conversation will contain.

“Are you sure?” Enid asks delicately as she looks into the raven’s eyes. Another question was being asked in between the lines. The unspoken question of, ‘Are you okay?’ made Wednesday’s emotions waiver. The fact that the wolf was here, making sure she was okay while willing to offer her comfort and care, filled the raven with a desire to show the wolf just how deeply she appreciates her continued support; support that no one else in her life, save from her family, has ever offered. So she decides to speak in Enid’s love language, physical contact.

“Yes Enid.” Wednesday says as she takes a small step forward, bringing herself into the wolf’s personal space and wrapping her arms around Enid’s waist, pulling the girl into a hug in the middle of the busy hallway. “Thank you.” She says into the crook of the wolf's neck as Enid returns the unexpected affection, bringing her arms around the raven’s shoulders and pulling her close. Wednesday very subtly rubs her head against the wolf’s neck, desperate to get even closer to Enid’s comforting warmth as her admittedly growing nerves begin to take over.

“I am so happy you like hugs now.” Enid says as she nuzzles even closer to Wednesday, ecstatic that her touch-hating crush was allowing more hugs than ever before.

“I do not like hugs, Enid.” Wednesday retorts as she unravels her arms from the wolf and takes a step back, only barely able to keep the, ‘I like you,’ to herself.

“Right,” Enid says with a teasing layer of disbelief in her voice. “Just admit it Wednesday,” Her tone changes to be deeper, yet still playful, as she leans down closer to Wednesday’s face. “You love it when we hug!” She says with a smile as she delivers a cheerful wink, causing a sudden increase to Wednesday’s heart rate as well as a desire to retaliate against Enid’s teasing.

“Your confidence has grown quite a bit, hasn’t it.” It’s not a question but a statement, delivered with a subtle smirk before she stands on her toes and whispers her next words into the wolf’s ear with a low voice. “I must admit, it is a very attractive look on you.” Wednesday’s smirk only grows when she falls back on her heels and sees the blush that overtakes Enid’s face.

But then Wednesday realizes what she had just said;

She had just admitted, to Enid, that she finds the wolf attractive.

A lump forms in her throat as the sound of her own panicked heartbeat fills her ears.

The sudden anxiety of her mini confession forces her to fall back into her accustomed emotional defense mechanism of running. So she quickly turns around, only then realizing that almost all of the students in the hall had stopped to watch the spectacle of their embrace.

Her thundering heartbeat only grew stronger at the anxiety of being the focal point of the large mass of her peers.

The seer sends her well-practiced, soul-chilling glare towards the sea of shocked and confused faces that were staring at the two of them, forcing most of them to turn their head and continue on with their day.

With the suffocating presence of their gazes still tingling against her skin she begins walking away without any other words, leaving Enid in her stunned and blushing silence while she takes off down the hall at her surprisingly fast pace.

The overbearing sea of intrusive students grows smaller by the step, and, by the time she reaches the part of the school where the principal's office resided, they vanished entirely, allowing Wednesday a breath of peace.

But that breath is short lived as she prepares herself for whatever form of conversation she’s about to have with the new principal.

Without knocking, or acknowledging the secretary sat at his desk, Wednesday pulls open the large wooden doors of the principal's office and walks inside, still savoring the feeling of comfort Enid brought her in order to make it through this horrid meeting.

The bright lights, student chatter, and cheery atmosphere of the hallway instantly gives way to the dark, oppressive silence of the office as soon as the doors slam closed behind her. The unnerving feeling of the room only serves to make her feel at home.

As she approaches the desk, and the figure sitting behind it, she looks around the large room and instantly notices the lack of Weems’ personal effects. All of them were now replaced with various degrees of hunting trophies and war medals. The heads of normal and mythical creatures were mounted on the walls and a large portrait of the room's new occupant hung above the mouth-shaped fireplace.

“Wednesday Addams,” The principal says in his loud, commanding voice. “So nice of you to finally show up.” His tone is the typical, displeased administrator voice that she’s heard more times than she can count; this man is far from the first gruff and stoic authority figure she’s been up against, and she doubts he will be the last. “Take a seat and we can begin.” He finishes by motioning with his hand to the tacky leather-cushioned chair between them.

Wednesday slowly does as she’s told and sits in front of the large oak desk while the new principal, Asmodeus Thorin, stares at her with his large bushy eyebrows slanted in displeasure.

She dutifully ignored the glare he was sending her as her gaze lazily swept over the desk between them. It was very minimal and meticulously organized, a sure fire sign of him being ex military. On the corner was a picture of him, a woman with curly brown hair, and two kids; both the same age and both with wolfish grins, large canines and everything. The kids and the woman were both obviously werewolves, but he didn’t have that wet dog smell that all other lycanthropes carry around with them. Well, every werewolf other than Enid, and Wednesday still hasn’t gotten to the bottom of why that was the case yet.

Regardless, he was not a wolf, and he didn’t seem like an outcast either.

So, a normie was in charge of the school now.

Wednesday had gained an inherent distrust for normies over the course of her life; the kids who killed Nero, her uncle’s wife who tried to kill her whole family, the bullies who tormented Pugsley, the woman who claimed to be Thornhill, Tyler.

It’s why she entered into this conversation with disdain and apprehension.

She finally focused her gaze on the upset face of the new normie principal, giving him the sign that he was allowed to begin.

“I assume you know why you are here.” His voice was thick, rough, and full of disapproval.

“Because this sexist, patriarchal society we live in deems a woman’s right to feel safe as less important than a man’s right to free speech.” She temporarily drops her usual mask of passive displeasure as the anger in her flared, the memory of Enid’s defeated tone while she described the fear of being assaulted by a group of students makes Wednesday want to see blood flowing from their arteries.

“Because you assaulted and injured six students yesterday, with a silver weapon, a substance that is entirely forbidden from this campus.” He raises his voice as he nearly yells at her, displeased with the borderline hostile tone Wednesday had taken with him. He leans back in his chair as he exhales, changing his tone to be less angry yet still very much displeased. “I am aware of the previous reports against the werewolves in question and action has been taken. Their punishment has already been served and their pack has been disbanded, you however are not going to be let off the hook for possessing and using a deadly weapon.”

“I possess these ‘forbidden’ weapons because I saw first-hand how the staff of this educational penitentiary have absolutely zero ability to protect even a single student in the event of an emergency.” She raises her own voice as the man in front of her tries to pin the fault of the fight solely on her. “Three of your students, myself included, have permanent scars due to the school’s lack of action last semester. If I had even the slightest shred of confidence that this school could keep myself and those I care for safe, then, and only then, would I be willing to relinquish my only form of self defense.” Her eyes narrow and her jaw clenches as she stares down the man who’s trying to dismiss her fears without offering any alternative.

“If you are caught with any kind of weapon on your person again you will be punished, and not by the school, but by the law.” His voice drops to a deadly neutrality as he leans forward in his chair. “The police will be notified and your punishment will be in their hands.”

“That’s reassuring,” Wednesday all but scoffed at the idea of the sheriff getting involved. “Those incompetent ‘peacekeepers’ are incapable of finding a burning funeral pyre on a moonless night.” Her tone shifts to a subtle smugness that doesn’t go unnoticed by her audience. “I will have no trouble keeping my weapons and my freedom after any search they decide to conduct.”

“Miss Addams!” He’s very obviously fighting to keep his temper in check, something that Wednesday can’t help but to find joy in. Riling up authority figures has always been a favorite pastime of hers. “I am not as lenient nor forgiving as the late Principal Weems. Do not count on me extending any of the same special privileges to you that she had.”

“Weems hadn’t given me any special privileges,” Wednesday’s voice is low and borderline seething as she glares at the principal, “She had given me respect.”

“And it was that respect that led to her death at your hands!” His accusation sends a wave of molten fury cascading down her spine and causes her mind to flash with an intense desire to throw him in a wood-chipper and watch as the winter forest becomes red with his liquefied entrails.

“If you truly believe that I killed Weems then you should be a lot more worried about getting on my bad side,” She stands from her seat and places her hands on the desk, leaning in and looking down at the man who was still fuming in his chair. “If what you say is true then that means I killed Nevermore’s last head administrator, don’t be so sure that I’m not above doing it again.” She practically spits out her last words in a tone of unmitigated vitriol.

“Get out.” He seethes in a low voice as he rises from his seat, tilting his chin down and glaring at her with barely contained rage in his eyes. “Get the hell out of my office.” He raises his voice only slightly as he stabs his finger towards the door. Wednesday wastes no time in leaving his oppressively patriarchal stench, quickly making her way to the exit. “The next time I see you in here will be the last, Addams!” She hears him yell as the large wooden doors close behind her.

She takes off down the hall in anger as her hatred for the new principal magnifies in her mind; another normie who has near unquestioned power over her left a sour taste in her mouth, already having to deal with Sheriff Galpin was bad enough, now she had to act like the cis male’s idea of a proper lady at school too.

The tension in her jaw increases as she clenches it in an attempt to quell the turbulent emotions that were boiling up inside of her.

The emotionally stunted raven doesn’t know what to do with all of these swirling and conflicting feelings that twisted her mind and her heart.

A series of unhelpful desires worm their way to the forefront of her brain as she tries to deal with her caustic emotions.

She wants to scream into the void and curse the world for existing.

She wants to sink a knife deep into someone’s flesh, either her own or someone else’s, she didn’t care.

She wants to curl into a ball and forget about the crushing guilt that pooled in her gut at his insinuation that she had killed Weems.

She wants…

She wants a hug.

She wants to fall into Enid’s arms and complain about how biased the universe was against her and her happiness, to cry against the wolf’s warm body and bury her face in that spot in Enid’s neck that was made for her head to rest in; just like she had this very morning.

Imagining the warmth of Enid’s arms while savoring the remaining scent her wolf had left on her manages to calm the burning tears threatening to overflow from the raven’s eyes while also increasing her desire to be held by the girl she loves.

She increases her already urgent pace through the halls as her desperation for god forsaken comfort grows.

It’s that urgency that compels Wednesday to push open the doors to the dining hall with more force than necessary, causing the doors to slam into the walls they were attached to, letting out a loud bang that stops all conversations and draws the attention of everyone in the room.

Wednesday freezes as a mass of anxiety forms in her stomach.

Being the center of attention like this has always been a source of discomfort for her. It makes her feel like she’s about to be executed by an angry mob, and, while death is a tempting prospect, the thought of being the source of entertainment for the mindless masses makes her nauseous. She tries not to squirm under their gazes as she looks over the crowd with her well practiced death-glare, forcing a large number of them to turn away and return to their pointless socializing.

As she glares at the sea of students she sees a blonde head of hair and their accompanying blue eyes, looking at her with concern.

Brown eyes meet the blue from across the room and Enid smiles.

In that instant everything else fades away, the eyes of her peers no longer mattered to her.

All she could see was Enid and her comforting smile.

The tension in her body dissipates; her shoulders very subtly fall and her clenched jaw relaxes.

She begins to move with a desire to hear Enid’s voice, to inhale her scent and feel her warmth.

But as she gets closer she sees that next to Enid, with an arm wrapped around her waist, was her snake haired boyfriend.

Her gait falters, her stomach twists, and her heart drops.

The intense desire to cry comes back once again as acrid, heartbreaking jealousy fills her chest.

It's only through her years of experience at repressing her emotions that she’s able to force the tears back and keep her face neutral.

As she’s walking up to the couple she averts her gaze from Enid, and the gorgon attached to her side, to look over the rest of the table's occupants.

Sitting across from Enid was Bianca, who looked at Wednesday with a raised eyebrow, which Wednesday chose to ignore. On the sirens left sat Divina, who was engrossed in her girlfriend next to her. Across from Yoko, and next to Ajax, was Eugene, who was heavily engaged in a conversation with the person sitting next to him, that someone happened to be none other than her own brother.

Wednesday sits down across from Pugsley, on the opposite corner of the table from Enid, doing her best to avert her gaze from the wolf and her attached snake, as if pretending they’re not there would make the pain in her heart stop.

But it doesn’t,

Of course not.

Nothing about pain is that simple.

What she needs more than anything is a distraction from her overwhelming emotional torment. Thankfully there was something sitting directly across from her that had already piqued her curiosity.

She lets her gaze fall on her brother, who was currently engaged in a conversation with her fellow hummer, Eugene. Her first thought was that the two of them seem like an odd pair, but as she watched them interact she noticed how normal it felt. They got along well, better than she’s ever seen in terms of Pugsley’s friends, mostly because Pugsley has never had friends before. A trait that she herself used to share with him, until she had met Eugene. Perhaps it was fitting that they both befriended the non-judgemental, bee-obsessed loner as quick as they did.

“Hey Wednesday,” Pugsley says with his cheerful happiness that’s usually only reserved for the privacy of the Addams manor. It seems he’s warmed up to Nevermore far sooner than she had anticipated. “This is my roommate, Eugene!” His childish joy helped to ease Wednesday’s hectic emotions, just seeing how relaxed he was here was an intense contrast to all of the previous schools they’ve been to together. It gave her hope that things will be better for him from now on, even after the curse takes her.

“Wednesday, are you okay?” Eugene asks, concern evident in his voice as he looks over the bandages that still adorn her face. “I went to the nurse’s office the day before yesterday and she said you ran out at three in the morning?” His gaze flicks between all of the different cotton patches that hide her mostly healed claw wounds. “Why are you covered in bandages? Did something happen?”

“I saved her ass is what happened.” Yoko’s unwanted addition to the conversation draws the rest of the table’s attention to their topic. “She was about to be mauled by Logan and his losers until I showed up.”

“Your concern for me is unnecessary, other than a bruised ego and a few claw marks I am perfectly fine.” Wednesday reassures Eugene, knowing how he likes to worry over those he cares about. She still remembers being told that, as soon as Eugene was out of his coma, the first thing he did was call to make sure she was okay. “And I already thanked you for your assistance, Yoko.”

“Oh my god, guys,” Enid says from the other end of the table, practically whining out the last word. “Can we please talk about something else, I already feel guilty enough about that and talking about it only makes me feel worse.”

“Why would you feel guilty about Addams losing a fight?” Bianca asks the wolf sitting across from her, but, before Enid can begin to answer, another voice chimes in with their own opinion on the events of yesterday.

“Wednesday only got in the fight ‘cause she was defending Enid’s honor.” Divina says with an odd bit of smug joy lacing her voice.

“Whoa,” Pugsley says as he glances over Eugene and Ajax to look at Enid as she leans forward and covers her face with her hands, “We should change the subject, Enid feels really bad right now.”

“Dude, that’s so fucked.” Ajax says to Pugsley with a hostile tone, causing Wednesday’s guard to raise and her hand to reach for her dagger. “Just because you have weird psychic powers doesn’t mean you can tell everyone what she’s feeling.” Wednesday is about to speak up and put the snake boy in his place, but before she can, a voice to her right beats her to it.

“Dude,” Yoko mocks Ajax with a low voice before glaring at him and speaking with obvious displeasure. “Enid already said she was feeling guilty, it was the whole conversation we were just having, Pugsley was standing up for her.”

“Babe.” Divina tries to get Yoko to drop it by placing a hand on Yoko’s arm and using what Wednesday can only assume is her ‘strict voice.’

“I’m just saying, he should actually pay attention to his girlfriend before trying to start shit.” The vampire grumbles as she glares at the gorgon, causing a layer of tension to brew in the air.

An awkward silence settles over the group as the conversation dies off. While Wednesday normally revels in awkward silences, this time is different. This time it directly involves Enid, and the girl looks even more like a stereotypical guilty dog than ever before. And Wednesday felt like she was the one to blame.

So, filled with a need to do something, Wednesday reaches into her backpack and pulls out the banshee head that still rested within, unceremoniously dropping it neck first onto the table and drawing the attention of everyone seated there.

“WHOA!” Pugsley yells out in amazement at the battle-trophy laid out in front of him; the proper response to seeing such an item. “You have a Banshee head?” She can’t help but smirk at the wide eyes of her little brother as he looks into the dead eyes of the headless spirit.

“Yes, I am going to extract its vocal cords tonight if you would like to assist me.” She extends the invitation, knowing how much Pugsley likes to play with her discarded taxidermy parts.

“Hell yeah I do!” Pugsley nearly jumps out of his seat with excitement at the prospect of the dissection taking place later tonight, and Wednesday can’t blame him, she’s been looking forward to this as well. Besides, it’s been a long time since she was able to inflict any sort of torture on her brother and this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

“What the fuck, Addams?!” Barclay makes her displeasure known as she stares at Wednesday in stunned disbelief.

“Oh-my-god, Wednesday!” Enid yells out as she brings her hands up to block the Banshee’s head from her view. “Put that thing away before I pass out and die.” Her face twists into one of utter disgust, thankfully replacing the look of pain and guilt she was wearing.

“God damn girl!” Yoko cheers as Wednesday begrudgingly returns the banshee’s head to her black leather bag. “How are you the most terrifying and deadly outcast at Nevermore? You’re just a human.”

“I am an Addams.” Wednesday responds with indignation at being reduced to something as basic as ‘just a human,’ even if Yoko meant no offense. “We know how to kill before we learn how to roll over.” She says with a smirk at the memory of Pubert setting the house on fire three times before his first birthday.

“OH!” Pugsley yells out as he looks towards his roommate with wide eyes portraying just how excited he is. “That reminds me!” He reaches down into his pocket before pulling out a slip of paper. “I thought of some more questions about bees last night!” He turns his attention onto Eugene as he nearly vibrates in his seat. “Like, how many bee stings does it take to kill someone? And do the bees know they’re gonna die if they sting something?” Wednesday watches fondly as the light in Pugsley’s eyes is quickly mirrored into Eugene’s at the prospect of discussing his favorite topic with someone who was genuinely interested.

“I should have guessed you two would bond over insects.” Wednesday says as she looks between the two. “Your obsession has bordered on creepy for years now, Pugsley. Perhaps Eugene will help you fully commit.” She then repeats something their father has said many times in their lives. “An Addams never does anything half-hearted.”

“Is that why I feel such a strong sense of longing from you,” Pugsley teases as he leans in closer, making sure to lower his voice so only Wednesday can hear, or at least he tries to. “You’re still thinking about Enid?” He smiles a devious grin at her, as if daring her to retaliate, and worst of all, she can hear Yoko stifle a laugh at Pugsley’s words.

“Eugene,” Wednesday says as she shifts her gaze from her brother to her club member. “I suggest you answer Pugsley’s questions with a hands on demonstration.” She returns her attention to Pugsley as she stares him down with her own subtle grin. “Perhaps you have inherited father's bee allergy as well.”

“Wait, Wednesday.” Eugene looks at her with wide eyes before asking with concern in his voice, “Are you allergic to bees?”

“Deathly.” Wednesday responds with as close to a smile as she’ll allow herself in public. “My throat and eyes swell until I can no longer see or breathe and I go into anaphylactic shock soon afterwards.” She still remembers the day she discovered her allergy, it was a terrifyingly thrilling event that she has yet to find an equal to.

“Why the hell would you join the beekeeping club then?” Yoko questions her decision making as she stares down Wednesday with pure disbelief in her expression.

“How do you expect me to enjoy something if there’s no chance of dying?” The question isn’t rhetorical, she actually wanted to know how people enjoy things without the subtle threat of death lurking in the background.

“That explains Enid.” Pugsley absentmindedly added, not entirely thinking of what he was saying. That is until someone else speaks up from the far end of the table.

“What does that mean?” The girl in question asks, not following how Pugsley made that connection and slightly afraid that he was somehow insulting her.

“Oh, uh.” Panic colors his face as he tries to answer Enid’s question without giving away Wednesday’s feelings, or the fact that the curse is killing her. “Just that Wednesday’s allergy to color makes it dangerous for her to be around you, so it makes sense that you’re friends.” He ends his sentence with a raise in his voice, as if he was asking a question.

“Wait, you’re actually allergic to color?” Enid asks Wednesday with the same kind of concern in her voice that Eugene had shown her, “I thought that was just a joke?”

“When have I ever told a joke?” This time her question is rhetorical, but Pugsley decides to answer it anyway, testing Wednesday’s patience and jeopardizing his own fate.

“What you said to mother when we first dropped you off at Nevermore was pretty funny, especially now.” Pugsley smirks as he practically stares into her eyes with mischievous joy. “I think it was something like, ‘I am nothing like you, Mother. I won’t fall in-”

“Eugene,” Wednesday quickly interrupts her brother with a swift kick to his shin before he can let slip the truth about her feelings to the three people at this table of eight who don’t already know. “If Pugsley experiences a bout of insomnia then I suggest you strangle him, it will help him fall asleep.”

“How will that help?” Eugene questions the logic behind her statement, not entirely following the Addams’ twisted way of thinking.

“It will remind him of home.” Wednesday responds with a smirk as she stares down Pugsley, subtly reminding him how lenient she’s been by leaving him alone the past day and a half.

“You strangle your brother?” Bianca butts in with a tone that sounds like Wednesday just murdered a puppy in front of her. It was beyond amusing to see.

“Only after I’ve thrown all of my knives at him.” The raven says with a devious smirk as she stands from her seat and grabs her bag. She spares a quick glance towards the other corner of the table, just in time to see Enid and Ajax share a quick peck on the lips.

Wednesday turns around before her pain and disgust taints her facial features. Her heart clenches and her stomach drops. Any hope she had left for her future had dissipated in that moment.

She quickly walks away from the table, not bothering to say anything or even look at the group as she makes her way out of the dining area and into the hall.

And, just as she had anticipated, the clock tower's bell chimes three times as the heavy wooden door closes behind her, marking the start of classes for the day and the beginning of Wednesday Addams’ last semester alive.

Chapter Text

As soon as Wednesday walked through the door to her first class of the semester she froze in shock after laying eyes on the teacher. Standing there, with a Nevermore staff badge clipped to her over-the-top black ensemble, was a woman Wednesday hasn’t seen in nearly half a year.

“Oh Wednesday, hello dear!” The woman with white hair says as she approaches the lone student in the room and moves to hug her, causing Wednesday to take a step back and glare.

“What are you doing here?” Wednesday demands as she crosses her arms and shifts her weight to her back leg.

“What does it look like?” The tall old woman rhetorically asks with annoyance, as if the answer is so simple a worm could figure it out. “I’m teaching.” She smiles that annoyingly smooth smirk that she always uses, the same kind of infuriating look that Wednesday sees on her mother from time to time.

“Why?” Wednesday asks as with gritted teeth as her irritation grows by the second, still trying to take in the fact that this was really happening.

“Oh, don’t worry!” She says with a hint of realization in her tone, as if she’s just noticed why Wednesday was so abnormally displeased to see her. “I’ll make sure no one knows you’re my granddaughter!” Hester Frump says with a smile, earning herself yet another glare from the girl standing in front of her.

“Somehow I doubt that.” The young seer already knows how poorly this situation will play out, and she doesn’t even need a vision to tell her.

“I hid Jews from the Nazis when France fell,” She says with a gracefully boastful tone as she smirks at the small girl. “I can keep a secret dear.”

“It’s not you that concerns me.” Wednesday says as she hints to the unseen third party of this conversation.

“I’ll keep Eudora in check too.” Hester promises on behalf of the other soul that occupied her body, but Wednesday wasn’t convinced.

“No one can keep Grandmamma Addams in check, not even death.” The young Addams says with a glare at the blatantly false promise that was just made.

“A trait that you two seem to share.” The knowing old woman smiles as she looks over her granddaughter with a raised eyebrow. “Tell me, dear, why did you not share with me the fact that you have joined the ranks of the undead?” There was no judgment in her voice and amusement in her eyes, the exact opposite of Wednesday.

“For the same reason you failed to mention your soul binding with Grandmamma Addams.” Wednesday glares at the woman in front of her with disdain in her eyes and a voice thick with judgment. She still feels a modicum of pain whenever she remembers hearing the news of Grandmamma Addams’ passing; remembers mourning her death and even preparing an ofrenda for her, only to be told, three weeks afterwards, that both of her grandmothers had bound their souls together and now inherit the same body.

“Ah,” Hester responds with a smirk as a look of complete understanding washes over her features. “You did it for the girl you love.”

Of course she would bring that up, the very thing Wednesday was being tortured by for the past few months of her life. It was a given that she knows about the newest emotional torture in Wednesday’s life. Grandmamma Hester’s psychic visions centered around extreme emotions, good or bad; and being in love with Enid was both.

“You are my least favorite grandmother.” Wednesday says as she narrows her eyes at the woman. The low background murmurs coming from the hall begin to ramp up due to the wave of students finally finishing their breakfast and starting to make their way to class.

“Oh, how kind of you to say!” The woman in front of her responds with a wide smile that only reaches the left half of her face as she very suddenly hunches her back, followed by what can only be describe as a crazy witch-cackle; Grandmamma Addams had briefly made her way to the surface of her shared body just to tease Wednesday about the unintended complement that Eudora was, by process of elimination, Wednesday’s favorite grandmother.

The growing irritation in her mind caused Wednesday to roll her eyes with disdain at the insufferable pair of soul-bonded women in front of her. Before either of her grandmothers can say anything else she walks away from the conversation, just as the first of her peers walk through the door behind her.

She looks over the rows of desks set up in the typical high school style classroom lay-out, with the only exception being the fact that there were only three rows of five desks, a total of fifteen instead of the twenty-five a normal school has; the amount of outcasts who attend Nevermore is far less in number than the droves of mindless normies each of her other schools had housed. Each desk in front of her has a large print out sitting on the surface, about half a page of printer paper each, with the names of the students in the class, formatted with the last name before the first, and their corresponding picture taken from the school’s picture day last semester.

Students quickly begin to filter in through the door as Wednesday finds and takes her seat, where she sits nearly motionless as she waits for class to start, all while doing her best to avoid outright glaring at her grandmothers and keeping track of the people flowing into the room. Most of those she just sat with in the dining hall end up here as well, and, due to the assigned seats being ordered alphabetically by last name, Bianca was sitting directly behind her, Yoko and Enid were on the far side of the room, and Divina and Kent very obviously ended up together in the direct middle; but Ajax, Eugene, and Pugsley all ended up in different classes. Wednesday waited with a nervous mind as she half-expected Xavier to walk through that door and send her one of his disgustingly flirty smirks.

Thankfully, the last of the seats get filled just as the clock tower rings out the late bell, and the moody artist is nowhere to be seen.

“Hello everyone.” Hester begins her introduction as she looks over the sea of students. “I am Madame Frump and I will be in charge of teaching you all about the wonders of psychics!” She says with her for-show, fake smile. “In this class you will learn about the history, abilities, limitations, and possibilities of all things psychic, including notable psychics throughout history, and notable fakes.” Hester adds with the hope of creating some intrigue to her lecture, which does not work. The uninterested group of teenagers stare up at Hester with half-lidded eyes that portrayed just how unprepared they were for the start of classes.

“Most of you have some sort of experience with psychics already, whether you are one or you know one. Psychics are the largest singular classification of outcasts to exist, and they have the widest range of abilities as well.” A loud yawn fills the room as a student towards the back of class stretches out their not fully awake body, earning themself a quick glare from the originator of what is now known as the ‘Addams death glare,’ causing them to shrink in on themself before Hester continues.

“Like most outcasts, a psychic’s abilities are passed down through genetics, although some have been recorded to have developed psychic abilities without a compatible familial connection. I myself come from a long line of psychics. My grandmother, my mother, myself, my daughter, my granddaughter, and my grandson are all psychics.” It was unusual to be mentioned in a lecture by one of her teachers for reasons other than disciplinary purposes, even if her name wasn’t directly said. It felt… odd, and not in a good way.

“Genetics also play a major part in deciding the type of psychic ability one has. For example, the majority of my family are seers, a type of psychic who sees visions of the past, present, and future. But the type of visions we see differs greatly per person based on one’s personality and environment.” It’s at this point that Wednesday tunes out her grandmother, already having heard one form or another of this speech many times throughout her life; one of the benefits of being related to the teacher, she supposes.

She lets her thoughts drift as she thinks about the remaining items on her suicidal bucket list, formulating an attack plan for the next creature in order while sorting out what supplies she’ll need for the fight. She very quickly gets lost in the intricacies of the explosive chemicals and mechanical engineering she needed to create the necessary tools for the job.

But, while Wednesday has the freedom to let her mind wander, Enid has no such luxury. This is the first real class she’s been in since she wolfed out, and, what she hadn’t counted on was how the massive mix of scents in a confined room would affect her with her now much stronger sense of smell. In the dining hall the smells of the food were overpowering any of the more subtle background scents, but here, in this small classroom, she can’t help but smell way too much of her peers.

She can’t focus on anything other than the body spray of the dude four seats away from her, or the overpowering perfume of the brunette sitting by the door. But it’s not just the scented products they all use, it’s also the various odors of their bodies themselves. She knows what the teacher ate for breakfast and how many creamers she put in her coffee based on her breath alone. And worst of all was the fact that she can smell that the girl next to her is on her period, and the guy two seats behind her hasn’t washed his ass in literal days.

So, all in all, Enid is feeling very grossed out and damn near overstimulated by all of the horridly overpowering aromas that assaulted her nose. She buries her face in her shoulder in a desperate attempt to block out the literally eye-watering stench of her peers, and that’s when she notices the remaining scent of Wednesday that still clung to her collar, the effects of their scenting earlier in the day still stuck with her. It was that floral, fresh rain smell that had an underlying hint of wet cobblestones and rusted metal to it. That smell brought with it the peaceful mental image of an overgrown graveyard teaming with wild flowers after a spring storm came and went; droplets of water still clinging to the petals, the sound of a rusty gate subtly squeaking in the wind, the sun barely peaking out through the clouds to shine warming rays of light on the worn out headstones, it all brings a calming mood to the usually gloomy graveyard.

Her body relaxes and her stomach settles as she keeps inhaling the comforting scent of her roommate, closing her eyes as she does so. After a few minutes, and a few more deep breaths of Wednesday's scent, she begins to feel well enough to return her attention to the woman who was trying to teach her about psychics.

And, as expected, as soon as she turns her head forward the flood of smells assaults her nostrils once again, but this time that graveyard like scent is mixed in with the grossness. So Enid does her best to focus on that one scent among the whole mix. She shifts her gaze to look at Wednesday from across the room as the smell of the raven slowly becomes easier for her to pinpoint.

It reaches the point where the other scents become washed out and nearly nonexistent, allowing Enid to let her own mind wander to something other than the odors of those around her.

She imagines walking through the graveyard that is Wednesday’s scent with the girl herself by her side, their shoulders bumping together as they quietly walk through the peaceful and otherworldly silence that happens after the rain stops but before the birds come out of hiding to sing their songs. She imagines them sitting on a stone bench between the headstones with their hands clasped and her head resting on the girl's black covered, and surprisingly muscular, shoulder.

But then, out of nowhere, Enid is pulled from her Wednesday-centric fantasy as a bolt of lightning strikes the calm graveyard of Wednesday’s scent. The smell of electricity begins emanating off of her and overpowering the other subtleties of her scent, as if she was actively being electrocuted. It’s something that Enid got a hint of back in November, during Wednesday’s surprise birthday party in Crackstone’s crypt, right before she started to seize and subsequently collapse.

It’s a smell that means only one thing; she’s about to have a vision, and Enid needs to do something now.

“Wednesday!” Enid yells as she shoots up from her desk, attracting the gazes of every single person in the room, everyone other than the girl that Enid had her eyes laser focused on.

The raven just sat in her straight-backed position, even as the wolf started running through the rows of desks towards her. Just as Enid loops around the front of the room, passing by the very confused teacher, Wednesday begins to slump in her seat, causing her to slip out of her chair.

Enid watches the world slow down as the dark tips of her roommates' braids touch the polished stone-tile floor, the pull of gravity ensuring her head wasn’t too far behind.

But, with the grace of a professional baseball player sliding to home for the game-winning point, Enid manages to position herself just beneath the falling girl as the shoulder she was just day dreaming about resting against slams into her ribs.

Once the momentum of the falling raven stills, and Enid’s had a chance to catch her breath, she adjusts their positions; shifting them so Wednesday is sitting between her legs and leaning back against her chest with her head resting on Enid’s right shoulder.

Wednesday’s eyes stay wide open as her muscles quickly and randomly contract and expand while the vision-induced seizure racks her body, causing the wolf to wrap her strong arms around her raven’s midsection, keeping the seizing girl in place and safe from harm.

Enid was only slightly freaking out at the horribly twisted look on her roommate's face, one that only seemed to get worse as the vision went on. The only thing that was stopping her from having a full on panic attack was the fact that their teacher, who was teaching them about psychics and who was a psychic herself, was now crouching down next to them with a look of non-urgent normalcy on her face. But, as Madame Frump reached out to touch Wednesday’s right arm, Enid found herself involuntarily pulling Wednesday away from the encroaching hand and letting out a deep snarl, her instincts screaming at her to protect what’s hers.

Their teacher quickly retracts her hand in surprise, which then causes Enid to stop growling at the realization of what she just did. An outburst like that tends to get a young wolf’s full-moon privileges revoked, forcing them to spend their transformation in the lupine cages. But right now she doesn’t care about that; all that matters to her is the girl in her arms, and scaring away one of the few people who has the ability to help Wednesday made Enid’s heart drop. She quickly looks up at Madame Frump’s face to apologize and beg for help, but Enid’s shocked into silence when she sees the out of place smile that rests on the teacher’s lips.

“Worry not, petite louve gardienne, (little guardian wolf) your autre moitié (other half) will be perfectly fine after the vision passes.” Hester says to Enid with a gentle voice, attempting to calm the girl who had run across the room to save her granddaughter. But then something appears to click in her mind as Enid watches her smile turn into a look of curiosity. “How did you know she was about to have a vision?” She asks in a quiet voice before she clarifies, “When you called her name she started to turn towards you and then her vision began.” Enid felt a little weird to be describing an aspect of psychic visions to someone who was literally a professional psychic, but as Wednesday rounded the minute mark on this vision she was beginning to get scared.

“Her-,” Enid has to clear her throat to remove the guttural scruff that was left over from her growling. “Her scent changed.” She admits before she looks down at the seizing girl in her arms with near tear-bringing worry. “It smells like she’s being electrocuted.” Enid says with quiet concern as she brings her left hand up to the raven’s face to brush the black bangs away from her eyes, and it’s only once her fingers make contact with Wednesday’s forehead does Enid realize just how absolutely freezing the girl in her arms is, well below her usual body temperature; and Enid knows because she literally just spent, like, twenty hours in Wednesday's arms.

“C’mon, Wends.” Enid pleads with the semi-conscious girl in her lap while she begins to rub her hands up and down the sides of Wednesday’s arms, desperately trying to force some warmth into the freezing raven.

But while Enid was scared, Wednesday was terrified.

The seer’s mind violently flashes with disjointed images; flame-cast shadows of herself and a hulking beast, blood flowing down her arm and dripping off the tip of the dagger in her hand, multiple pairs of glowing eyes piercing through the edge of a dark forest, an unnaturally thin arm being ripped off its unnaturally pale body, pink and blue fur engulfed in dripping blue fire.

And then consciousness hits her like an out-of-control eighteen-wheeler.

With a sudden and horribly desperate gasp for air Wednesday shoots upright in Enid’s lap. Her eyes sting, her throat burns, her head throbs, and her heart felt like it was about to burst.

But none of that mattered to the raven, all she was thinking about was the wolf, of how her vision had featured a transformed Enid set ablaze by what appeared to be flaming oil, burning so hot it was almost entirely blue with only hints of yellow at the tips.

She was filled with a need to make sure Enid was okay, to find her and keep her safe. So she began to search her surroundings to try and locate her. But then she realizes that, for the second time today, she has woken up in Enid’s arms.

“Oh my god, Wends.” Enid says with breathless relief as she sees Wednesday’s eyes lock with hers, finally focusing on something other than the unseen aether.

“Enid?” Wednesday asks in confusion as she looks up at the wolf who was holding her, not entirely sure how she ended up in this position but also not entirely caring. She relaxes into Enid’s arms as the immense relief at seeing her wolf unharmed melted away her anxiety.

Then the rest of the world slowly starts to fill in around her.

The raven slightly pulls away from the wolf as she looks around the room, taking in the fact that they were still in the classroom and subsequently the main focal point of every single person there, including her grandmother.

“Welcome back.” Hester says with her amused smirk, irritating Wednesday greatly. “That one must have taken a lot out of you, you’re free to spend the rest of my class in your dorm if you so choose.” Her smirk turns into a gentle, genuine smile for the briefest of seconds before it fades and she quickly stands up from her crouched position, her knees making an audible pop sound, then she addresses the rest of the class. “Thank you, Mrs. Addams, for that wonderful demonstration of my next point.” Her grandmother then walks up to the chalkboard and writes, with a healthy amount of ear-piercing squeaks from the chalk, ‘What Triggers A Vision?’

Thankfully, that draws the attention of the entire class, which allows the wolf and the raven a few moments of peace as they semi-awkwardly untangled their bodies from one another; the only audience to their dis-coordinated dance was Bianca, who couldn’t help but laugh as the usually graceful Addams nearly trips over Enid’s legs, something that earns the siren a glare from both girls.

Wednesday quickly grabs her bag from her desk and throws it on her shoulder before looking at Enid with her usual neutral stare, something that the wolf has learned means her roommate is just masking her true emotions. “Get your things, you’re coming with me.” Her tone offers no room for argument, even though she already knows Enid won’t put up a fight.

“Yeah, of course.” Enid responds to the demand, still high on adrenaline and emotionally tense from her sustained panic. While the wolf jogs to her desk to retrieve her bag, the raven makes her way to the door. But before she can make her exit, Hester stops her with an extended hand and a raised eyebrow.

“I must say, Wednesday,” She talks quietly, so only the two of them can hear. “You have always been an expert at subverting expectations,” Her eyes shift to something behind Wednesday’s head, causing the girl to look over her shoulder, and see that her grandmother was looking at Enid. “But she just might be the pinnacle.” Hester remarks in a voice dripping with amusement, causing the girl to glare at her as the colorful werewolf runs up to her side.

“You ready?” Enid asks with a light concern in her voice as she comes to a stop directly next to Wednesday, making herself comfortable in the girl's personal space, something that the raven allows and Hester finds incredibly amusing. “Assuming that's okay with you?” Enid’s gaze flicks to the tall women standing next to them as her tone shifts to what Wednesday can only describe as respectful panic.

“Very much so.” Hester says with that seemingly always-present smirk. “Please, take care of her.” She looks at Enid with soft and caring eyes and speaks with an equally caring voice.

“I will.” Enid answers in a tone far heavier than necessary as she grabs Wednesday by the crook of her elbow and practically drags her out the door, afraid that another vision is just around the corner based on the still present scent of electricity coming off of the seer. They make it half-way down the empty hall before the scent starts to fade, and only then does Enid stop them to voice her concern. The wolf's hand loosens around Wednesday's arm and falls into the raven's small palm. Once Enid is holding Wednesday’s hand she looks into her dark brown eyes as her own yellowish blue shimmer with unshed tears. “Are you okay?” She asks in a scared, yet gentle tone with all of the care and concern that Wednesday rarely receives from others.

“While I immensely detest being the center of attention I am otherwise fine.” She reassures the wolf with a gentle voice, partly because she’s embarrassed but mostly because it’s not Wednesday that Enid should be worried about.

“Oh?” Enid says as she tilts her head in confusion. “Then why did you need me to come with you?” Her face changes to slight panic mixed with concern. “Not that I didn’t want to! It’s just that, you normally don’t ask for anything after your visions?” She delivers her observation like a question, as if she was trying not to show how much it bothers her. “And you tend to just kinda run away and hyper focus on whatever the vision showed you.” Wednesday suppresses the guilt of running away from the surprise party Enid tried to throw her, but she needed to escape the eyes of her peers, the same thing that she had just experienced in that classroom. She quickly pushes past the guilt before she looks around the hall to make sure it’s void of others, not wanting any possible pyromaniac perpetrator to overhear.

“Enid.” She looks into the wolf’s eyes and grips her warm hand even tighter as she says her next words very delicately. “I saw you in my vision.”

“Oh no,” Enid’s face pales and her shoulders slump as her mood shifts to fear and panic. “Please tell me your vision was just about me doing something stupid, like, spilling hot cocoa on myself in bed again, and not something absolutely horrible, like, my brain melting out my nose ‘cuz some crazy person with mind-melting powers is after you.” Enid desperately tries, but the look on Wednesday’s face tells her that it’s bad. “Do I need to sit down? Do I need to lay down? Does Thing need to get the smelling salts?” Enid questions as panic begins to swell in her mind. While the raven’s vision wasn’t gruesome enough to cause the wolf to lose consciousness, it would still help ease both of their minds if Thing was here with the salts, but he is spending the majority of his time with Pugsley as he gets acclimated to Nevermore.

“My vision wasn’t fully clear,” She begins as she turns her face towards the ground and unfocused her eyes. “But I saw blue-hot flames of what appeared to be oil dripping off of your fur.” The fear in her voice is as undeniable as the desperation in her eyes, and, in a direct contrast to their usual roles, this time it’s Wednesday holding back from hugging Enid.

“My fur?” Enid asks, and Wednesday nods in response, but then an almost relieved look crosses the wolf’s face. “That means I was wolfed out, right!?” Her tone is a confusing mix of relief and excitement.

“Yes, it does.” It’s a statement but, due to Wednesday’s confusion, she delivers it with the same inflection as a question.

“Oh thank god!” And once again Enid sounds relieved that she’s going to catch on fire at some point sooner rather than later.

“Why are you so happy to hear you will be set on fire?” Wednesday questions as she leans in and glares at Enid with a scrutinizing gaze. “I would expect that response from my brother or my uncle, but not you.”

“If your vision showed me wolfed out then that means it happens on a full moon, so now I don’t have to be stupidly paranoid every single day that some maniac is gonna set me on fire!” Her reasoning for being relieved is fairly solid, and Wednesday shouldn’t be surprised that Enid could find the good in being told she’s going to be burned alive.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” Wednesday states with an intense desire to protect the girl she loves.

“Well, the next full moon is in a week and a half, and I’ll probably be in the cages cause I kinda growled at Madame Frump.” Her voice gets progressively quieter as she says the last part, a sign that she’s more embarrassed about her loss of temper than she is upset about her loss of full moon privileges. “You can just sit outside with a fire extinguisher in case something happens!”

“And I will do exactly that,” Wednesday responds without hesitation. “But that doesn’t mean that’s where my vision takes place. An unforeseeable event may occur and things might become unpredictable and deadly.” She still remembers the very sudden chaos that the Crackstone incident had broken into in a matter of hours. “But more importantly, you growled at my grandmother?” Wednesday asks with amusement in her tone as a small smirk tugs the edge of her lips.

“What?!” Enid practically yells in shock, her voice echoing through the halls. “Madame Frump is your GRANDMOTHER?” Her eyebrows shoot up in shock and her eyes widen to near comical levels.

“She bound her soul to my other grandmother, so she’s actually both of my grandmothers.” Wednesday can’t help the smirk that freely spreads across her lips at the look of confused shock on Enid’s face. “And don’t worry, she won’t send you to the cages, if anything she was amused that you growled at her.”

“God, your family is so weird.” Enid’s tone is filled with disbelief and a mix of playfulness.

“Thank you.” Wednesday responds with a genuine, albeit small, smile at the first person in her life who has called her family weird and didn’t mean it as an insult.

“That wasn’t…” She begins but she quickly drops it and smiles instead as she takes in the look of pride on her roommates face. “Never mind.” The affection in her voice isn’t lost on Wednesday, but she knows not to read into it after having heard Enid use that same tone with Yoko and Divina

“Now, I am going to spend this unexpected free time before our next class in the library, doing some research on the viscosity and burning temperatures of various liquids and fuels.” Wednesday says as she begins to release the hand in hers and make her way down the hall. But, before she can make it more than a single step away, she’s stopped by the strong grip of Enid’s hand refusing to let go.

“Can I come with you?” The pleading tone and begging eyes of the girl she loves is something Wednesday can never say no to.

“Only if you behave.” The raven says to the wolf with a hint of affection in her voice as she tightens her hand around the warm palm still in her own. “I would hate to have to interrupt my studies just to take you outside and chain you to a pole because you can’t stop barking.”

“Come on,” Enid says with that playful tone of hers, the one that makes Wednesday want to write poetry about how her voice could fell entire armies with a single one of her restrained giggles. “We both know that between the two of us,” She purposefully bumps her shoulder against the raven’s as she smirks at the shorter girl, “I would be the one leashing you.” Wednesday can’t hide the way her breath hitches and her gait falters at what was supposed to be a joke.

“Oh.” Enid says with quiet shock, both at the words she just let mindlessly slip, and at what Wednesday’s reaction means. “I didn't mean it like that, I just meant it like-,” A fierce blush eclipses her face with beet red embarrassment, something that makes Wednesday want to reach out and feel the warmth of the wolf’s cheek under her palm.

“Enid.” Wednesday stops her before she can panic-ramble too much and mortify them both in the process. “If I am in need of a leashing, then you are deserving of a muzzle.” Wednesday can’t hold back the smile she rarely ever shows, the one where the edges of her mouth slightly pull back and her eyes widen and dilate to show her true emotions. “Perhaps we can get a matching set.” She attempts to make a joke to ease the tension, which, judging by the shocked and amused look on Enid's face, works flawlessly. “Now come along,” Wednesday says as she begins walking down the hall, tugging on Enid’s hand to force her to follow. “We don’t have much time left before our next class and the librarian organizes the shelves based on how her favorite soap opera made her feel.”

Enid doesn’t put up a fight, she just smiles dreamily as she looks at the side of Wednesday’s braided head while the two of them walk down the hall in comfortable silence, their hands clasped together and their fingers intertwined.

The rest of the day's classes went by without any further dramatics, other than her potions class with Wednesday’s other grandmother, Eudora, who gave Enid a lot of knowing smirks whenever she caught the wolf staring at her granddaughter; but that class was more chaotic than dramatic, and in a surprisingly fun way too.

Wednesday was currently out with Thing and Pugsley, dissecting a banshee’s head, which is just, yuck. But the gloomy girl spending time with her family was cute.

That meant she had the room to herself for the next few hours and that means her and Yoko can finally have a long overdue girls night. So she sends a quick text to her vampire bestie, telling her to get her ass ready and come to her room as soon as she stops shoving her tongue down Divina’s throat.

While she waits for Yoko to show up she makes her bed, starts playing some k-pop on her speaker that she doesn’t remember charging, and puts on her pink and blue plaid pj pants and accompanying pink tank top with a large cartoon wolf decal; the pj’s she got specifically for girls nights. She would get out her manicure supplies too, but Thing would sulk all week if they did their nails without him.

Once she’s fully ready, she sits on her bed and gets into her accustomed time-killing activity of doom-scrolling. That is until a knock on the door pulls her out of the year-old insta drama taking place between her old friends in San Francisco.

Enid opens the door to see Yoko standing there, in her black and red plaid pj pants and black tank top with a large cartoon bat decal across her chest, the perfect match for Enid’s set.

“Wellll,” The vampire dramatically draws out, “Are you gonna invite me in?” One of her hands is on her hip and the other is turned palm-side up with her phone clenched between her fingers and palm, but the smirk on her face brings that usual easy and playful mood with her.

“First off,” Enid starts as she stares down her friend with a look of disinterest that she totally copied from Wednesday. “This isn’t a house.” She waves her hands around her as she gestures to the dorm room. “Second, that isn’t an actual thing.” This time she points her finger at the girl in the doorway. “And third,” She drops the act, and her shoulders, as she extends her arm in anticipation, “Get your ass in here and hug me already.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice!” Yoko responds as she surges forward and wraps her cold, dead arms around Enid.

“These last few days have been absolutely insane.” Enid says as she hugs the vampire like she would never see her again.

“Oh my god, I know!” Yoko is the first one to pull out of the hug, leaving Enid’s arms feeling empty. Then, just like at all of the girl’s nights they’ve had in the past, Yoko takes a second to pull off her black-out sunglasses and reveal her glimmering red irises, something that Enid has always found to be incredibly mesmerizing and beautiful. “Between all the new school rules, and keeping track of who’s not coming back and who’s new has been draining me!” Yoko dramatically plops down on Enid’s mattress as she smiles brightly to herself, “But finally seeing Divina again is so worth it.” Then she looks Enid in the eye and wiggles her eyebrows at her as the wolf sits down on the opposite end of the bed. “It must be nice to have Ajax close by again.” Enid’s face twists into one that Yoko knows to be her, ‘things aren’t okay’ face, so she asks with a gentle and almost hesitant tone. “How are things going with you two?”

“Things with Ajax are…” Enid trails off as she tries to figure out the best way to word this. “God, I don’t even know.” She says as she slumps down against her bed’s headrest, causing Yoko to place a calming hand on the girl's knee in a show of support. “He’s just been kinda distant recently, and we didn’t really talk much over break.” Then she remembers something else that has been affecting their relationship. “Even now he doesn’t respond to my texts!”

“What the hell?” The vampire yells in disbelief, knowing just how much Enid values texting someone, especially a romantic partner. “How does he just not respond? He literally does nothing but smoke weed all day!” She tries her best to quell her anger at the snake-boy, but it still shows in her voice. “Even I respond when I’m in the middle of making out with Divi.” She chooses not to mention the fact that most of the responses she sends mid-make-out sesh are just, ‘getting some talk later.’ It’s gotten to the point where just typing the letter ‘g’ makes her phone auto-fill the whole sentence.

“I KNOW!” She readily agrees with Yoko as the anger in her voice mirrors the vampire's. “But I actually don’t even care that much.” Her tone and her shoulders drop as she looks down at her hands fidgeting in her lap. “It’s actually been kinda nice that we haven’t been spending much time together.” A melancholic smile reaches her lips but not her eyes, making Yoko want to pull her into a hug.

“Oh. Did he do something to make you uncomfortable?” Yoko delicately asks, all while doing her best to hide her growing desire to gut Ajax like the literal snake he was.

“No!” Enid almost yells out in defense of her boyfriend, a knee jerk reaction that raises Yoko’s suspicions. “He’s great, really!” Enid says with honesty in her voice and a genuine smile on her face. “When we’re together he makes me feel so happy and loved.” Her face drops as does her dreamy tone. “But, when we’re not, it feels like he kinda forgets I exist?” She finishes her sentence with an inflection similar to a question, as if she was still trying to decide if that was the best way to word it.

“Are you sure that’s the kind of relationship you want to be in?” Yoko asks with a soft voice of pity and concern, having to hold back the still present anger towards Ajax for making Enid feel like this.

“Yoko, he’s just a bad texter, I’m not gonna break up with him for that.” Enid dismisses her quickly and with an exasperated tone.

“I meant the part where he forgets you exist…” Yoko can’t help the pity in her voice as she imagines the pain of her affection-seeking friend being forgotten by her boyfriend.

“No, that’s not really what I…” Enid begins with a weird mix of panic and defeat. “I just meant that…” She pauses again as she struggles to find the words that describe exactly what she feels. “I’m just not his priority right now.” This time she’s unable to hide the bit of hurt in her voice. And of course she sees the look of pity on Yoko’s face. Enid has always hated having people worry over her, it makes her feel like a burden that needs to be taken care of, so she quickly downplays the severity of her feelings. “But that’s okay! Ajax isn’t really my priority right now either." She says with urgency before she pauses, her face shifts to show deep concern. “Wednesday’s going through something, but she won’t tell me what. She’s been hurt, like, literally every day since we got back. I just want to focus on her right now.” Enid rubs her bicep and looks at something in the dark half of the room. “I’m really worried about her, Yoko.” She quietly admits to both the vampire and herself.

“Me too.” Yoko agrees, allowing Enid to switch the topic away from her current problems with Ajax; she obviously needs more time to come to terms with her less-than-perfect relationship, and talking about the creepy little Addams just might nudge her in the right direction. “But it's Wednesday, she’ll be fine!” She tries to help calm Enid’s worries about the seemingly invincible Addams. “I mean, she literally died but she’s still around to torture you! She still has eight of her lives left.” She tries to tell a joke to ease the seriousness of the conversation, but it backfires horribly.

“And that’s what everyone thinks about her!” Enid nearly jumps out of her bed in defense of her roommate. “Because of that she’s not getting any support from her family or other friends!” The fierceness in her tone fades as she seemingly deflates. “I just want to be there for her.” The over expressive werewolf slumps back down against the metal headboard as her voice fills with defeat.

“Okay,” Yoko says with conviction in her voice as she leans forward, grabbing both of Enid’s wrists before leaning back, pulling the other girl up into a sitting position once again. “I’ll help you make sure Wednesday’s okay, whatever you need.”

“Thank you Yoko.” Enid says with watery eyes at the promised support as she reaches out to hug the vampire, which was gladly returned. It only takes a few seconds before Yoko has to pull away from Enid, the temperature of the wolf becoming too much for her cold body to handle.

“So~,” Yoko begins in her teasing voice as she looks at the wolf sitting in front of her. “How are things going with Wednesday?”

“Really good!” Enid’s smile only grows as she speaks, something that Yoko finds very adorable. “She’s been letting me hug her so much now!” The wolf doesn’t even try to hide the excitement in her voice over how happy the raven’s hugs make her. “She is so tiny and cute and she fits so perfectly in my arms it’s unreal.”

“And how long did it take for miss ‘tiny and cute’ to kick you out of her bed last night?” Yoko half-teases, half-asks; kinda desperate to know what happened after she left them last night.

“She didn’t?” Enid answers with a mix of a question and a statement, not really sure why Yoko thought Wednesday would do something like that.

“Wait,” The vampire’s eyebrows raise and her jaw drops before a smile spreads across her face. “So, ‘touch me and you’ll die’ Addams, let you cuddle her up all night?” At this point Yoko’s smile could only be described as a ‘shit-eating’ grin. “And you didn’t wake up with a knife to your neck?”

“Oh my god, that would have been way less stressful.” The over expressive wolf falls back against the headboard as she rubs her hands down the side of her face.

“Why? Did something happen?” Yoko’s smirk drops as she questions Enid with genuine concern, needing to know if Wednesday did anything violent or creepy towards her friend.

“She had a nightmare.” Enid practically whines with sad sympathy, and Yoko can’t hide her surprise at hearing that Wednesday had an actual, honest-to-god bad dream. “The sound of her super fast heartbeat is what woke me up.” The pain that Enid feels is shown very clearly on her face as tears begin to glint in her eyes. “She was crying in her sleep, Yoko.”

“Did she say what her nightmare was about?” She delicately asks, wanting to know if there’s anything she can do to help her creepy friend. Plus, she was admittedly a little curious as to what shook the resilient Addams.

“She said that she ‘lost me’ in her dream.” Yoko sends Enid a sad look of empathy as she watches the wolf grip her wrist and shift her shoulders forward and backwards, causing the vampire to smile fondly at her friend.

“You so wanna hug her right now, don’t you.” The vampire chuckles as she affectionately watches her expressive friend display exactly what was going on in her mind.

“So bad.” Enid replies as she pulls her arms to her chest and clasps her hands under her chin, all while beaming a longing-filled smile at nothing in particular. But then she drops her arms and looks at Yoko with wide eyes and confusion on her face. “How did you…?”

“You’re doing that thing where you wiggle your shoulders and grab your wrist.” Yoko giggles at the girl in front of her, always finding her unconscious mannerisms to be cute. “You only do that when you really wanna hug someone but can’t.” She wants to pull Enid into her arms and give her the embrace she was so obviously hoping for, unable to stand how the wolf looks so desperate for love; it reminds her of a dog that walks up to you and closes its eyes while turning its nose up and wagging its tail, ready for head pats and affection without knowing if it would actually receive any.

“Well,” Enid responds with an urgent and unnecessary need to defend herself. “She’s been letting me hug her more than ever!” The wolf quickly sits up straight as she shares her reasoning with a hint of panic in her voice.

“And she’s been scenting you too.” Yoko retorts with a teasing smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“So, about that…” Enid trails off as she rubs the back of her neck while a fierce blush takes over her face. “I don’t think she really knows what she’s doing?” Her voice gets quieter as she speaks, not really sure if she should even be bringing it up in the first place. And, to Yoko’s intense amusement, her cheeks, neck, and ears only grow even redder.

“Oh my GOD girl!” Yoko cheers out in disbelief, “How the hell does that know-it-all not understand what she’s doing?” She asks as she holds back her laughter, a monumental task considering how cherry-red Enid’s face is.

“I found these in her pocket this morning.” Enid says as she reaches under her pillow then hands Yoko the pamphlets about werewolf heat and mates. “That's why she was in the werewolf center in the first place,” A flash of guilt passes over Enid’s face before it’s replaced with sad confusion. “But I don’t think she had a chance to read them before she got in the fight.” She looks down at her hands as she picks at her nail polish in worry. The memory of Wednesday’s shocked face when Enid pulled the pamphlets out of her pocket was the most expressive she’s ever seen her roommate be, and that was kind of terrifying.

“Did she say why she got these?” Yoko asks as she looks over the papers in her hand, pulling open the pamphlets and scanning over them in the hopes they would have some sort of clue.

“I asked her but we were interrupted by Mrs. Liz.” Enid says as she reflects on the memory of this morning. “I should tell Wednesday to stop, especially if she doesn’t know what she’s doing.” She pauses and looks into Yoko’s eyes with confused desperation. “Right?

“Is Wednesday’s scenting making you uncomfortable?” At this point Yoko can’t tell if Enid’s need for advice stems from discomfort or guilt.

“No!” Enid quickly responds, not wanting any blame placed on Wednesday for her unknown actions. “Not at all.” A wide smile breaks out across Enid’s face as she remembers how life-saving the scent of her roommate was earlier in the day. “I actually really like it when she scents me.” And this time she notices the way that she wiggles her arms and digs her fingernails into her wrist as she tries to quell the need to hug Wednesday.

“This is coming from the wolf who won’t let her own boyfriend scent her.” Yoko teases with a knowing smirk that sends drips of fear down Enid’s stomach.

“That’s ‘cause Ajax always smells like weed! It’s just way too strong and a little gross.” She tries to defend herself, knowing what it looks like to her friend, and to the world, but she’s still not fully ready to admit the truth behind her reasoning yet.

“And Wednesday?” Yoko probes gently, seeing the emotions of her friend playing out over her face.

“She smells really good.” Enid smiles dreamily and Yoko can’t help but to smirk at the girl’s obliviousness.

“To me she smells like a basement filled with dry blood.” Yoko prompts, knowing that whenever Enid gets that dreamy look in her eye she needs very little persuading to dump all the deets.

“I mean, yeah, she does have that metallic, wet stone smell to her.” Enid’s tone is soft and dreamy, like a typical school girl with a crush. “But it’s nowhere near as strong as the smell of rain and wildflowers.” Enid looks at Yoko like she was insane for even suggesting that Wednesday smells anything less than outright perfect. “She smells so peaceful and relaxing. It makes me feel like I’m in an overgrown graveyard after a rainstorm, everything else just kinda fades away until nothing matters but her.” It’s at this point that Enid closes her eyes and sways back and forth, getting lost in the memory of her raven’s scent.

“You do realize what you’re saying, right?” Yoko half-asks, half-teases once again, not entirely sure if Enid is actually this dense or just deep in denial.

“Alright fine,” Enid throws her hands up in defeat before leaning down and whispering the next part, as if it was some big secret that has the power to destroy the world. “You can’t tell anyone, but I have a stupid crush on Wednesday.” Yoko can’t help but laugh at the way Enid presented it, as if anyone with eyes couldn't see what was going unsaid between the glances they share and the reasons behind all their little touches.

“C’mon girl, that was obvious.” Blood-red eyes roll as Yoko all but sighs in exasperation at the shocked look on Enid’s face. “You literally look at her like the world is in her eyes.”

“It’s actually the night sky.” Enid corrects, and this time her smile is matched by her dreamy voice as she sends a longing gaze towards the dark side of the room. “She just reminds me of night time, of how peaceful it is and how I feel like I can just be myself without anyone but the stars to judge me.” She lets out an exhale and slowly blinks her eyes, getting caught up in one of her favorite memories to re-live. “I even had a dream where she woke me up, held my face in her hand, and called me more beautiful than the moon.” Yoko watched as the girl in front of her literally swooned.

“Oh my god girl,” The amusement in the vampire’s voice is as obvious as her fanged smile. “While you were cuddling up with her all night you were dreaming about that?” Yoko laughs at the levels of gay the girl in front of her was displaying.

“It wasn’t last night, it was two days ago.” Enid defends herself, feeling slightly embarrassed by the images her unconscious mind had made.

“Wait,” Yoko quickly stops laughing and her voice takes on a serious tone. “Was that when Wednesday spent the night in the nurse’s office?” She asks as she looks the wolf in her eyes.

“Yeah?” At this point Enid’s becoming slightly afraid of where Yoko is going with this.

“And what time did your dream take place?” She leans in closer as a mischievous glint appears in her eye.

“It was three in the morning.” Enid responds with a bit of apprehension. “I remember ‘cause it’s the time all the bad stuff happened in that one scary movie you showed me.” Her tone shifts to pride, the fact that she was able to keep her eyes open long enough to actually see the clock in that movie was a victory in and of itself.

“Are you sure that was a dream?” Yoko asks with a twisted smile and teasing tone.

“Of course it was,” Enid dismisses. “Wednesday was in the nurse’s office all night, and besides, she would never do something like that to me anyway.” Her tone reflects her dejected sadness, but, even though she’s very obviously feeling upset about it not being real, Yoko continues to talk about it anyway.

“At breakfast today I heard Eugene say, that the nurse told him, that Wednesday ran out at three in the morning.” The vampire says with raised eyebrows before watching the look on Enid’s face twist to show a confused and questioning look, complete with a very pink blush on her cheeks.

“Wait, so…” Enid says with wide, shock filled eyes.

“I don’t think that was a dream.” Yoko can’t help the massive grin that breaks out across her face.

“Oh my god!” Enid yells out in surprised denial, her face warm enough to boil water. “There’s no way that’s possible!” She began to violently shake her head back and forth as her hands flailed around in front of her, as if waving off the truth.

“Okay, calm down girl.” Yoko reassures her by placing her hands on the wolf’s shoulders and holding her down, stopping her from bouncing in place. “What do you remember from the dream?” The vampire asks as the over-excited girl stills beneath her hands, allowing her to pull back her arms.

“I remember that it was dark,” Enid closes her eyes and smiles as she gets lost in the memory of her dream once again. “She held my cheek in her palm and her hand was really cold.” The wolf’s own hand comes up to rest on the spot where the ghost of Wednesday’s touch haunted her skin. “She had the cutest little smile and this look, like she was so happy to see me.” It’s then that Enid opens her eyes, inadvertently giving Yoko a glimpse of the dreamy look that was just dancing behind her eyelids.

“I will admit, that does not sound like Wednesday." Yoko voices her skepticism. It would have been hard for her to ever imagine the gloomy girl doing anything even close to that romantic. At least, it was, until the talk she and Wednesday had yesterday evening, when she got a bashful view into how deep Wednesday's love for this girl goes.

“Exactly!” Enid latches on to the plausible deniability as she yells out in agreement.

“So, what happened next?” Yoko probes, knowing that they haven't even gotten to the part where Wednesday calls Enid beautiful.

“I asked her how long she was going to stare at me like a creep and she said; ‘Until your beauty no longer out shines the very moon itself.’ in the softest and most caring voice I have ever heard from her.” Enid practically melts as she adds that last detail.

“Do you remember that dream you had where you saw me eat food instead of blood?” Enid nods, then tilts her head in confusion, wondering why Yoko would be bringing that up now. “And do you remember what food I was eating in that dream?”

“Yeah, it was a doughnut.” Enid cheerfully answers with a smile, which quickly gets replaced by what Yoko calls her ‘thinking face,’ which is just her eyes unfocusing and her head tilting. “No, wait. It was a pie!” She corrects herself, only to pause and change her answer once again. “Or maybe a cheeseburger?”

“Exactly!” Yoko points at her with a smug look on her face. “You couldn’t remember what it was when you told me the morning after you had the dream.” Yoko leans back slightly with a cocky smirk. “I’m gonna be honest here, I don’t think you could remember all of those details.”

“Well, of course I’m gonna remember a dream where my crush calls me beautiful!” And for what feels like the fifth time, Enid denies and disregards all the proof that shows it wasn’t a dream.

“Bitch!” She looks at Enid with annoyed disbelief. “Before you and Ajax started dating you told me about a dream where you were running your fingers through his hair while kissing him.” She pauses for the briefest of seconds, then yells out with over-enunciated outrage. “HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE HAIR.” Enid goes to respond but Yoko stops her with her raised pointer finger held out between them. “But you remembered the look in Wednesday’s eyes, the tone of her voice, the temperature of her hand.” A mad smirk breaks out across her face as she sees the realization begin to dawn on Enid, and Yoko can’t help but to give her one final push. “Face it girl, that wasn’t a dream.”

“Okay fine! You win, it probably wasn’t a dream.” Enid says as she throws her hands in the air before deflating with confused exasperation. “My super hot crush called me beautiful and kissed my knuckles like I was a princess!”

“She kissed your hand too?” Yoko yells out in excitement as her eyes widen and her jaw drops, too entertained by the fact that Wednesday actually kissed Enid’s hand, like she was some kind of aristocrat meeting the kingdom's royal princess.

“Yesterday morning when I woke her up she said something like ‘Bwenos diaz me dull say lobe?’” She tilts her head in confusion as she works her brain to pull the right words from her memory. “Then she grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles.” As she’s telling Yoko what happened she looks down at the hand Wednesday kissed, unconsciously rubbing her other thumb over the place her lips touched.

“Do you mean, Buenos días, mi dulce loba?” Yoko asks as her grin grows tenfold, the drama was only getting better and better.

“That’s it!” Enid responds, her usual overenthusiastic excitement seemingly doubled at the chance of learning what Wednesday said to her. Then her head tilts slightly and she furrows her brows before asking, “I didn’t know you speak Spanish?”

“I know Italian, but Spanish has a lot of similarities so I kinda picked up on the basics.” She explains before getting to the good part, the sickeningly affectionate name that Wednesday had called Enid. “Buenos días means good morning, which you probably already knew.” Enid nods in agreement. “Loba is the feminine form of wolf, and ‘dulce’ means sweet.” She can barely say the words without her ridiculously wide smile shining through.

“She called me a sweet wolf?" Enid asks with the same tone one would use when a tiny kitten curls up in your lap and falls asleep.

“Yes, but, ‘mi’ means my.” Yoko grins even more than before, to the point where her face muscles are beginning to hurt. “So she called you her sweet wolf, just before she kissed your hand.”

“Oh my god, YOKO!” Enid yells out in excited disbelief, literally bouncing on the bed while doing her, ‘I want a hug’ dance with her shoulders. “HOW THE HELL IS SHE SO CUTE?!”

“So when are you gonna leave snake-boy and get with the goth?” She's completely serious, but the smile on her face makes it look like she's just teasing.

“Well, I’m like, 90% sure she’s aro-ace, or at the very least unwilling to date again after Tyler.” She spits out the name with disgust, even going as far as letting out a quiet growl. “And besides, we’re just… not compatible in that way.” The sadness in her best friend's voice made Yoko want to wrap her in her arms and tell her what she knows. “I mean, Wednesday is ‘the end justifies the means’ kind of person, but I think it’s about the journey not the destination.” She has that subtle bit of self deprecation to her voice that Yoko always hates to hear. “And, you know what it’s like to be friends with someone, just for them to ask you out. And then, when you turn them down, they just kinda disappear from your life. It feels like shit for so many reasons and I don’t want to do that to Wednesday.” She’s so dejected it’s practically contagious, and Yoko can’t help but feel sad for the wolf. “And what if she doesn’t want me around her anymore? It’s not worth losing what I have with her now.” Just the thought of not having Wednesday in her life anymore causes a tear to trail down her cheek, which she instantly wipes away with her knuckle. “Besides, I can’t risk throwing away what I have with Ajax and becoming a lone wolf, just for something I know isn’t possible.”

“Girl, you two are perfect for each other!” Yoko says, choosing to avoid the fact that Enid’s reasons for not dating Wednesday were all about the girl's supposed disinterest, there was almost no mention of her already existing relationship with Ajax. Bringing up the negative aspects of her relationship with Ajax wasn’t working, so Yoko tried to focus on the positives of Enid’s relationship with Wednesday. “All she was focused on was solving the hyde mystery, but you managed to get her to join the Poe Cup!” She pokes Enid in the shoulder playfully with a kind smile on her face. “You took her sights off the destination and made her enjoy the journey!” Then Yoko’s dark red eyes shift to look at the pile of information on Enid’s desk about various journalist programs, plus a collection of hand written notes in a delicate cursive, detailing the steps it would take to become an elementary school teacher. “And I know she’s been helping you decide what you plan on doing after high school.” She says as she nods towards the literature covered desk.

“That’s just us being friends, Yoko.” She tries to dismiss Yoko’s points yet again, but she can’t hide the bashful smile on her face.

“You two are so good for each other!” Yoko argues with everything she has while still keeping her tone gentle and constructive. “Wednesday is willing to show us her feelings now! Because of you! And she’s the reason you wolfed out!” She tries desperately to get the point across to Enid that her feelings are very much reciprocated by the creepy goth.

“And I don’t want to push her away because of my dumb crush.” The defeated sadness in her tone actually stings Yoko’s unbeating heart. “You know what happened to her with Tyler, I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

Yoko wants to tell her, she wants to grab Enid by the shoulders and scream at her that Wednesday loves her, that they would be perfect for each other and have a stupidly gross love life with an over the top wedding and a creepy looking adopted kid that might end up being the literal antichrist.

But thankfully, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, before Yoko can lose it and tell Enid everything, the attic room door swings open to reveal the short raven in her black Nevermore uniform, smelling of blood and decay. The small seer closes the door behind her as she looks at the two girls on Enid’s bed.

“Enid, Yoko.” She says as she acknowledges the two before moving into her closet, locking herself in with a barely audible click as she began to change out of her uniform.

Once Yoko turns back towards Enid again she sees her staring at the closet door, the look on the wolf’s face can only be described as a begging puppy with heart eyes who’s owner just got home from war.

All Yoko could think to herself in that moment was, ‘When will these two idiots realize how much they need each other?’

Chapter Text

Enid tries to focus, she really, really does.

But she just can’t.

It’s like there’s someone in the back of her head who's constantly talking about a whole assortment of random things, all while they grab her eyeballs and pull her focus away from whatever she’s looking at, instead trying to force her to look at something else. And oftentimes what she sees is a distraction. Like the bracelet that she still needs to fix the clasp on, or the new nail polish she wants to try, or the notification on her phone she needs to respond to, or the earbuds she forgot to charge, or the sock she needs to put in her laundry basket.

All of these are things that are easy to do and won’t take too long. But whenever she starts one of those ‘quick’ tasks her brain gremlin takes the reins yet again and points out something else that needs her attention.

It’s how she went from reading, The History of Outcast Discrimination, to sitting on her bed, surrounded by the clothes from her closet with her hair in a short but messy ponytail, crocheting a fingerless black glove for Thing, and listening to music while also watching a movie on her laptop.

And, of course, now is when Wednesday finally decides to come back for the night, catching Enid in the middle of her weird ADHD nest, surrounded by her mess of possessions and half-way finished tasks.

The raven’s eyes flick over the various piles of clothes and yarn scattered about her bed before finally focusing on the wolf herself. It’s then that she sees Enid’s colorful blonde hair pulled up in it’s short ponytail, temporarily shocking Wednesday with just how beautiful Enid is.

“What happened?” Wednesday asks as she glares at the mess overtaking there living space. “Has our room been ransacked again?” There’s a hint of genuine concern in her voice as she scans the rest of the room, only calming down once she realized the destruction was solely located on the colorful side of the room, meaning this was a mess of Enid’s own making.

“Would you believe me if I told you I’m reading that book for outcast history class?” Enid asks with a guilty look in her eye, like she was just caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to.

“I’ve seen how you fold your clothes on laundry day, so yes, I do believe you.” Wednesday responds with an unamused look. “I also believe you are chronically distracted.”

“Well, I can’t help it!” Enid defends herself against Wednesday’s words, even though it was the truth it felt like a personal attack. “I just keep seeing things I need to do first!”

“You have too many distractions in your clutter.” Wednesday says as more of an observation than a judgment. “Grab your book and bring it over here, I might have a solution.” The raven adds before she turns around and drops her backpack on her desk, searching through it and pulling out her own copy of The History of Outcast Discrimination. Enid quickly de tangles herself from the threads of yarn and pushes herself over the piles of clothes before finally getting her book off her desk and skipping over to the dark side of the room, coming to a stop behind the girl who was now sitting at her ornate wooden desk.

“So…” Enid gently says, seeing that the raven was already reading the book. She was still a little unsure if she should interrupt or if Wednesday’s reading time was as sacred as her writing time.

“Sit.” Wednesday says as she points to her black bed while remaining focused on the words on the page in front of her. Enid does as she’s told and delicately places herself on the black weighted blankets of Wednesday’s bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress with her book in hand and facing the gloomy girl who seemed to pay her no attention.

“Now what?” Enid asks, wondering when Wednesday will break out her super secret plan to make Enid focus. And, without removing her gaze from her book, Wednesday answered with one single word.

“Read.” Enid can’t help the scoff of indignation that slips past her lips.

“That’s your plan?” She shrieks in disbelief at the ‘help’ that Wednesday offered, just telling her to sit and read, like that would overcome her life long ‘mental disorder’ as her doctors called it. “How the hell is this gonna help?” It’s then that Wednesday finally tears her gaze off of the pages and looks at Enid.

“You need an environment without distraction, my side of the room has none.” The raven says very matter-of-fact-ly.

“So you think I’ll be able to focus if I’m on your bed?” Enid asks, a little touched that Wednesday would go so far as to allow Enid in her space just to help her read.

“That was the idea, yes.” She responds as she turns her attention back to the book before adding, “I will ask that you remove your shoes this time, I just had my sheets laundered.”

“They’re slippers, Wends.” Enid says with affection as she looks at the side of the raven’s head. “Shoes don’t have lil faces and bunny ears on them.”

“I’m sure if they did you would already own multiple pairs.” Wednesday says with a hint of amusement in her voice, something that tugs at Enid’s heart.

“One for each color!” The wolf responds with a small giggle as she takes off her slippers and scooches backwards, until she’s leaning back against the bed’s headboard. She crosses her legs at the ankles and puts the book in her lap before opening it up to the page she left off on. But, after getting a few pages in, she realizes, she hadn’t actually been reading any of it, so she had to flip back to the very first page and start again.

But then her eyes started to wander away from the book as she looks at the mess that still cluttered her side of the room. She needed to clean that soon, probably starting with the clothes, some of which she would need to rewash after they slid off her bed and onto the floor. Or maybe it would be best to re-roll that tangled mess of yarn that rested over the top of everything? Then she needs to remake her bed after the sheets got all pushed around when she-

“Enid.” The unexpected sound of Wednesday’s voice makes her jump a little. She quickly snaps her gaze to the gloomy girl, only to see she hasn’t even taken her eyes off the book in front of her. “Focus.” There’s a hint of annoyance in her voice and Enid can swear she hears Wednesday roll her eyes.

“Wha-?” The wolf says in shock. “How did you know?” She can’t help but wonder if Wednesday had performed some kind of witchy magic so she could have literal eyes on the back of her head.

“I have peripheral vision, Enid.” The raven answers as she delicately turns the page with an amount of grace that the wolf has only ever seen from the Addams. “I can see your eyes moving around far more than reading necessitates.” She answers, baffling Enid with her ability to read and watch the movement of someone’s eyes out of the corner of her vision. Everyday she learns that Wednesday is even more amazing than she thought, making her feel very inadequate and unworthy; something she thought she would be done feeling after wolfing out.

“I can’t help it! I still see all the distractions from before!” She defends herself from the slightly judgey tone of her roommate. “This hasn’t helped at all.” The wolf practically whines out with despair at her inability to read a stupid book.

“Turn around and face the wall.” Wednesday suggests as a fairly logical way to solve the girl’s problem. “Then you won’t see them anymore.” Enid does as suggested and crawls to the other side of the bed before turning to face the wall, leaning back against the metal frame at the foot of the bed while sitting crisscross with the book in her lap.

And, to Enid’s surprise, it actually works! She manages to get through three of the five assigned chapters, and she actually retains it too! She doesn’t have to go back and re-read the same sentence multiple times just to understand it! Its the most she’s been able to read in ages. That is, until she reaches the chapter about colonial America’s witch trials; and that bought with it the memories of the whole Crackstone incident. She loses focus again, but this time it’s not because of a distraction, she literally can’t focus her eyes anymore.

“Enid.” Wednesday warns once again, which manages to pull Enid out of her thoughts. And, like the last time Wednesday called her out for losing focus, the raven doesn’t even stop reading as she does it. But this time she has her back entirely turned to the wolf.

“How did you know I wasn’t reading this time?” Enid asks, wanting to know if her roommate had Thing spying on her somewhere or if something even more supernatural and creepy was going on.

“You can read two hundred and fifty words per minute.” She coolly responds as she slightly turns her head and looks at Enid over her shoulder. “You should be turning the page every five to seven minutes, but you haven’t moved in ten and a half.” Wednesday turns her attention back to the book on her desk, and Enid just stares at her in amazement. The fact that Wednesday knew something so small about her, something that the wolf herself didn’t even know, just shows how closely Wednesday actually watches her. It makes Enid feel so seen and supported, more than anyone else in her life has ever made her feel.

She can’t help but to stare at the raven, who keeps tugging on her heart strings without even realizing the effect it has, as if she was just mindlessly playing the cello; plucking out some dark and gloomy tune with her aorta.

“Enid.” Wednesday calls out her name for the third time. “I can feel you staring.” The raven says while still facing forward, something that Enid is thankful for, because that means her roommate can’t see the blush on her cheeks.

“Sorry.” The wolf responds with obvious embarrassment in her voice after getting caught staring at her crush, by her crush. She refocuses her attention back to the book in her lap and begins reading once again. But, after reading the same sentence about Salem Massachusetts for the third time, she just gives up, letting out a quiet sigh before slumping back against the foot of the bed in defeat.

Her gaze shifts back to Wednesday, quietly wondering how the raven was feeling after reading the chapter about the witch trials. Wednesday was affected by it just as much as the outcasts who lived and died during the time period; she was murdered by the resurrected leader of Jericho's own witch hunts after all.

Enid stares at Wednesday as her mind fills with the memory of waking up to the crying raven. She knows how her roommate tends to bottle up her emotions until she can’t anymore, and it’s very obvious to Enid that she’s not mentally okay. But Wednesday won’t say anything about it and Enid’s just left wondering. All she can do now is offer as much support as the raven will willingly accept. She just hopes she’ll be able to prevent the worst from happening when those bottles of repressed emotions finally burst.

She’s pulled out of her thoughts as Wednesday snaps her book closed, startling the wolf with both the loud noise and sudden outburst. The seer then abruptly stands from her desk and turns to face Enid, sending her an annoyed glare.

Before Enid can say anything, Wednesday grabs her book off the desk and sits on the edge of her bed, briefly pausing to take off her platform boots before sitting against her metal headboard with her legs straight out in front of her.

The wolf and the raven sit on opposite ends of the bed from one another, Enid looking at Wednesday with confusion while Wednesday returned the look with annoyance still in her eyes.

“Since you seem so determined to look at anything other than your book, it appears I’ll need to keep a closer eye on you.” The raven says smoothly as she looks into the wolf’s eyes. “Now, read.” Is all she says before opening her own book and picking up where she left off.

“Right, sorry.” Enid apologizes once again before dropping her gaze down to the book in her lap. She decides to just skip the chapter about colonial America and start on the next, hoping that will help improve her focus.

And it does!

She gets a few paragraphs in, and she actually understands it! That is, until she hears the flutter of a turning page from across the bed.

Enid looks up yet again and watches as Wednesday reads. The look of calm on her face as those dark brown eyes danced across the page warmed Enid’s heart. The girl, who’s had so many bad things happen to her last semester, was finally relaxing, something that Enid hadn’t seen her do since… ever really. It fills the wolf with a desire to protect the raven, to make sure she’s never afraid or injured ever again.

It’s then that Wednesday closes her book and places it in her lap while looking up at Enid with frustration.

“I can’t read and watch you at the same time.” She says before discarding her book on her nightstand. “Turn around.”

“But then I’ll just get distracted by the stuff on my side of the room again?” She questions why Wednesday is telling her to do what had already been proven to not work, but the unamused look from the girl makes her follow along regardless. “Right, got it.” She semi-awkwardly turns around while still staying seated, facing the rest of the room with her knees touching the foot of the beds metal frame. “Now what?” She asks as she throws her hands up in exasperation, once again looking at the mess of tasks she still has laid out for her.

“Back up.” Is all Wednesday says after that, not giving any further instructions or foresight into what she was asking of the wolf.

“What?” Enid asks, not out of shock or fear, but because she honestly has no idea what Wednesday is trying to tell her to do.

“Move backwards until I tell you to stop.” At this point she knows not to question it and does as she’s told, slowly scooting backwards across the bed; and then she feels Wednesday’s arms wrap around her stomach. Enid freezes in shock, stopping her movement and questioning her sanity, wondering if she's actually dreaming right now.

But, not dissuaded by her sudden lack of movement, Wednesday just pulls her closer until the wolf’s back is pressed against the ravens front. Wednesday’s thighs touched the side of Enid’s hips as she opened her legs to accommodate for the girl now practically sitting on her lap. The two then get comfortable in the new sitting positions they found themselves in; the wolf leaning all of her weight into the girl behind her while the raven rests her chin on the shoulder in front of her.

“Now,” Wednesday says, her chin digging into Enid’s shoulder as she speaks. “Start reading.” The warmth of her breath tickles Enid’s cheek and a chill runs down her spine, but she doesn’t argue, quickly opening her book and picking up where she left off. After Enid calms down her gay panic at being gently held from behind by the girl she has a crush on, they quickly get into a quiet rhythm. It’s a comfortable system and an even more comfortable arrangement, and it works too. Enid is focused on the book and only takes small breaks to adjust her position in Wednesday’s lap as they both relax more and more.

The progress starts slow, with Enid only able to read a few sentences a minute as she gets used to the feeling of Wednesday’s arms wrapped around her, and the sensation of the girls chest pressing into her back. But, once she pushes the less-than-wholesome thoughts from her mind, she quickly adapts to their sitting position. The cold of the raven’s body works to ground the wolf, calming her hectic mind and relaxing her muscles. After Enid manages to finish the page she goes to turn it, but she stops when she remembers Wednesday is reading the same book.

“Are you ready to turn the page?” Enid asks, slightly turning her head to see Wednesday’s face resting on her shoulder. But she sees that the raven was already looking at her.

“I read twice as fast as you, Enid. I finished five minutes ago.” Is all the raven says with a mix of annoyance and amusement. “You are free to turn the page whenever you need.” Out of the corner of her eye Enid sees the slight smirk on Wednesday’s face, and she can’t help but to affectionately lean her head against the ravens.

“Right, you’re a total nerd who can read at super human speeds, I forgot.” Her tone is playful and light, letting Wednesday know it wasn’t an insult or personal attack against her.

“Seven hundred words per minute is hardly super-human.” Wednesday responds with a hint of smugness in her voice.

“Still amazing though.” Enid can't help but to be amazed at how consistently impressive Wednesday is, from being a cello prodigy to holding the top grade in the whole school, Enid has always admired how hard Wednesday works for all of those achievements.

“Be quiet and read, Enid.” The shy bashfulness in her voice is subtle, but the fact that Wednesday was speaking nearly directly into Enid’s ear made sure the wolf could hear it as clear as day. It made Enid want to pull the girl into a hug and squeeze her until she pops. But, she can’t right now, so she settles for the next best thing and nuzzles back further into the raven’s arms before returning her attention to the book in her hands.

They continue reading together as Enid turns the page and gets them back on track. And, while she’ll never admit this out loud, she slows her reading speed ever so slightly, just so she can stay in Wednesday’s arms for even a second longer.

It’s half a chapter later when Enid feels the side of Wednesday’s head begin to nuzzle and rub against her neck and jaw. The raven was scenting Enid once again, only this time it was while she was being held in Wednesday’s arms, and practically sitting in her lap too.

“U-um, Wends?” Enid quietly eeks out in surprise as the raven continues to scent her from behind. “What, uh… what are you doing?” The wolf gently asks, wanting to know if Wednesday had read any of those pamphlets from before, and if she was doing this on purpose or not.

“I apologize.” Wednesday says as she slowly withdraws her head from the wolf’s neck. “I was waiting for you to finish the page and I got lost in my actions.” She explains, as if that helps Enid’s panicking thoughts at all.

“No, no.” Enid quickly says as she lets the book fall into her lap. “It’s fine.” She reassures the raven. “I was just curious if you know what doing that means to a werewolf.” Enid turns her head slightly to get a peripheral glance at Wednesday’s expression, but due to the angle she can’t make out what emotion is displayed on the raven’s face.

“I was unaware that I was doing something related to werewolf culture.” Wednesday removes her chin from Enid’s shoulder and straitens her back, as if she was trying to put as much space between them as she could with her limited movement.

“Okay…” Enid begins, stopping for a second as she thinks that, just maybe, the cat is happier in the bag. But that’s not fair to Wednesday, so she ultimately decides to let the truth free. “So, rubbing your face on someone’s neck like that is called ‘scenting.’ Basically, it transfers and mixes two peoples scents. And that kinda shows that they’re ‘off limits’ to everyone else.” She pauses hesitantly as she gets ready to say the next and most important part. “Because of that it’s something that’s only really done by mates.” Her voice has a quiet heaviness to it and her heart is steadily working its way up to her throat with each thundering pump.

“Oh.” Wednesday says with a shocked voice as her entire body freezes in place. “I deeply apologize, Enid.” The wolf can hear Wednesday’s heart start to beat unusually fast. She can feel it against her back, between her shoulder blades, each beat stronger than the last. “It was never my intention to offend you or make you uncomfortable.” The raven says with guilt in her tone as she begins to unravel her arms from Enid’s waist.

“Wait!” Enid says with slight panic as the cold arms that she was taking comfort in start to retreat, causing her to grab Wednesday by the wrists and pull her arms back around her stomach. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all.” She makes sure she uses a gentle tone in order to show her sincerity. “And, you don’t have to stop.” She adds on quietly as the fear of losing Wednesday’s life-saving scent begins to sink in.

“Should you not reserve something like that for Ajax?” Wednesday’s question is very valid and it makes perfect sense to ask, but Enid still wasn’t expecting her to bring him up.

“I mean, yeah. Traditionally.” She begins as she tries to calm her panic, afraid that she’s going to accidentally reveal to Wednesday that her feelings for the raven go far beyond friendship. “But I don’t really like how Ajax smells like weed, and he’s afraid that his hat will accidentally fall off, so we both agreed not to.” She explains the decision her and Ajax came to before she looks down at the forgotten book in her lap. “Plus, I really like your smell.” Enid shyly admits before she continues with a fast pace and somewhat urgent tone. “And your scent totes saved my life during classes yesterday! Since I finally wolfed out my sense of smell has gotten a lot stronger, and I could smell literally everything in the classrooms; it was, like, holding back vomit, levels of gross.” She mindlessly lets her fingers trace across the knuckles of the raven’s hand that was resting against her stomach. “But, before you went into the principals office, you scented me, and I was able to use your scent to ground myself and block out the other gross stuff.” She doesn’t know why she’s telling all of this to Wednesday, but the fact that she’s not facing her is giving her a boost of confidence. Confidence that is instantly destroyed when the raven’s arms shuffle around her. “A-and it’s not just mates that scent each other, pack members do it too!” She adds, conveniently leaving out the fact that the ‘pack members’ in question are only young children and their parents.

“Very well.” Wednesday responds coolly, “If you’re comfortable with it, and it has such a positive effect, then I won’t stop.” The raven gently returned her chin to its resting place on Enid’s shoulder. “I will admit that your scent has a calming effect on me as well.” The raven’s confession stirs Enid’s heart and makes her unconsciously lean her head against Wednesday’s once again. “And, if you are ever in need of my scent all you need to do is ask.” The raven finishes as she pulls the wolf even closer to her.

“Thank you, Wends.” Enid responds, half tempted to ask to be scented already.

“I hate to say this, due to the volume at which your ego will inflate, but I find myself growing oddly fond of that inane nickname.” Her voice is filled with affection and defeat, something that Enid finds super cute. “You may use it whenever you desire.”

“Aww, Wends!” Enid says as she rests her arms over Wednesday’s and squeezes, the closest she can give to a hug right now. “You are getting soft.”

“Perhaps I am.” The raven responds quietly as she removes her chin from Enid’s shoulder, then rests the side of her face against the wolf’s neck, taking a second to inhale her smell before continuing. “I’m not usually one to prescribe to the futile pointlessness that is hope, but, I find myself hoping your scent will keep Thorpe away from me.”

“Xavier?” Enid asks, and she can feel Wednesday’s head shift against her neck as the raven nods in affirmation. “He’s not here anymore, his dad pulled him out of Nevermore after last semester.” As Enid says this she can literally feel Wednesday’s body deflate at the news.

“You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.” Wednesday says directly into the wolf’s shoulder, her warm breath bleeding through Enid’s sweater and dancing across her skin. “His romantic advancements were becoming far too much in both frequency and intensity.”

“Well now you don’t have to worry about him or anyone else making romantic advances towards you.” Enid cheers out, glad that she can help out her crush, even if it hurt her heart a little bit to be reminded how Wednesday wanted nothing to do with romance.

“And that’s because everyone will believe us to be mates, correct?” Wednesday asks with a curious voice as she pulls her face off of Enid’s shoulder and replaces it with her chin.

“Oh, uh… Yeah.” Enid responds hesitantly, unsure if Wednesday is asking because she’s curious, or because she doesn't want to be seen as her mate.

“Excellent.” Is all Wednesday says in response. Enid wants to ask what she means by that, but, before she can say anything, her sensitive hearing picks up the sound of frantic footsteps running up the stairs outside their room’s door. Then her nose is hit with the subtle scent of a funeral home, mixed with the stronger hints of gunpowder.

“Pugsley is running up the stairs right now.” Enid tells Wednesday, to warn the girl about her impending family. But the raven doesn’t even have time to respond before the door flies open, revealing a flustered and out of breath Pugsley standing behind it.

“WEDNESDAY!” Pugsley yells out as he barges into the room without knocking. He manages to make it a total of two steps past the doorway before a throwing knife gets embedded in his upper arm, stopping him in his tracks. “Ah, fuck.” Pugsley groans out with more annoyance than pain as he brings his hand up to where the dagger was stuck in his arm.

“WHAT THE HELL WEDNESDAY?!” Enid yells out in shock as she jumps up from the bed and runs over to Pugsley’s side, inspecting the knife that was stuck in the young Addams’ flesh. “WHY DID YOU DO THAT? I TOLD YOU IT WAS PUGSLEY!”

“Calm down Enid, he’s fine.” Wednesday dismisses as she rolls her eyes.

“He has a KNIFE in his ARM!” Enid yells as she gestures to the black blade still sticking out of Pugsley.

“Aw, Wednesday.” The boy in question says with defeated annoyance as he pulls the blade out of his skin, seemingly unbothered by the action. “That’s gonna be really itchy now!” True to his word he begins scratching at his skin through the new hole in his shirt.

“What?” Enid asks as she watches Pugsley return the knife to his sister before continuing to scratch his arm. “How are you not screaming in pain and bleeding out?” She asks with wide eyes and a shocked and confused tone.

“An Addams can’t hurt another Addams.” Wednesday answers for him as she grabs Pugsley’s wrist and holds his arm out, only letting go when she knew he was going to keep it there. She then places her own arm directly against his before taking the blade in her other hand and slowly slicing it across both of their arms, starting with Pugsley’s.

Enid watches as the blade glides through Pugsley’s skin, sinking in a few centimeters and splitting the flesh, only for it to instantly heal as soon as the blade passes over that bit of skin. But then the sharp knife jumps the gap between their arms and meets Wednesday’s skin. In an instant, blood begins to flow from the deep wound that now runs across the top of her forearm.

“Oh my god, point taken Wends!” The wolf says as she runs up to the girl and grabs her arm, applying pressure close to the girls elbow as she dragged her over to the old wooden desk and forced the girl down into the chair. The wolf quickly grabs the first aid kit from the bottom drawer and gets to work on patching up the self-inflicted slash wound on Wednesday’s arm.

“Wednesday used to love dropping me off the roof when I was a baby.” He explains like he’s telling her about a fun picnic and not that he was repeatedly dropped off a multi story building. “But it does itch really bad when she cuts me.“ He says this as he scratches at his arm where the blade just crossed.

“Right, of course. That makes perfect sense.” Enid sighs with exasperation as she pours a little bit of Grandmamma Addams’ healing potion on Wednesday’s wound. “I’m not even gonna ask how at this point…” She says, mostly to herself, already knowing that any answer she gets will be along the lines of, ‘it’s an Addams thing,’ like everything else weird about Wednesday’s family.

“What do you want Pugsley, and why is it so important that you failed to knock before barging in to our room?" She emphasizes the fact that it’s not just her here, like it was at the manor. While Wednesday is okay with him barging into her room unannounced, that doesn’t mean Enid will be too. He’s going to have to respect the wolf’s privacy.

“Oh,” He says as he freezes and looks between the two girls, only now realizing exactly where Enid had been when he had first entered. “Sorry Wednesday, sorry Enid.” He apologizes sheepishly. “But I’m freaking out right now and I don’t know what to do.”

“Disembowelment is always a good solution to many problems.” Wednesday answers with her usual macabre detachment in her voice.

“Wends.” Enid warns as she looks through the collection of black band-aids before deciding that none of them are large enough for Wednesday’s wound, so she places a small square of white cotton over the bleeding slash and quickly begins wrapping it with black gauze wrap.

“What is your panic inducing conundrum?” She asks with a roll of her eyes, already annoyed at being pulled out of her comfortable spot on her bed with Enid in her arms.

“I have feelings for Eugene, and he has feelings for me.” Pugsley says with a tone one might use when informing someone they have an incurable disease with only months to live.

“Why is having your romantic feelings reciprocated a problem?” Wednesday asks with a bit of offended disbelief, considering he knows about her own predicament with romance.

“Because,” He answers with sadness in his voice as his shoulders drop. “I don’t know if I really like him or if my stupid power just made me feel how he feels and I’m just mistaking them for my feelings?” Wednesday just narrows her eyes and glares at her brother, slightly angry that his feelings are returned while hers are doomed to fail.

“You must know that I am ill equipped to give advice about feelings, romantic or otherwise.” Is what she finally says a few seconds later after successfully repressing her rising ire. “Where is Thing? He’s a glutton for dramatics.” She offers, both as a way to help Pugsley, and as a way to not be a part of this conversation anymore.

“He’s distracting Eugene right now.” Pugsley says as he practically shakes with emotion. “Besides, you know how unhelpful his advice is.” And that is true. Thing’s ‘advice’ is always to, ‘just tell her,’ whenever Wednesday talks with him about her feelings for Enid.

“I can help!” Enid chimes in to offer her expertise as she tucks the last bit of black gauze under itself, finishing off the newest of Wednesday’s bandages. “How do you feel when you think about him?” The wolf sends a quick glance towards Pugsley as she drops the roll of gauze and the healing potion back into the old leather doctor’s bag.

“I don’t know,” The boy shrugs as he looks at the ground. “Happy, I guess.” His voice is somewhat unsure and hesitant, but then it shifts to be much more solid and a little dreamy. “Safe. Like I can be myself around him.” A smile spreads across his face as his eyes fill with longing. “I miss him.” Enid smiles at his obvious feelings for Eugene while Wednesday sighs, knowing that the curse has sunk it’s claws into him too.

“And,” Enid says with a bit of her teasing tone. “How do you feel when you imagine kissing him?” The smile that spreads across her face is so wide it’s audible in her voice.

“Um…” He closes his eyes and begins to form the mental images. “My legs feel kinda weak and my heart is beating really fast.” He then grabs both of his shoulders with his opposite hand, crossing his forearms over his chest. “My arms feel empty, like I need to hold him right now.” Enid lets out a light laugh at his cute display of feelings.

“I felt the same way before Ajax and I started dating.” The wolf says, both affirming Pugsley’s feelings, and hurting Wednesday’s.

“But how do I know it’s not just his feelings that are making me feel like this?” He drops his arms and looks so defeated and scared.

“Eugene isn’t here right now.” Wednesday makes the observation that didn’t even need to be mentioned, other than to prove her point. “If your theory was correct then you would only feel that swell in your heart when he’s there to be the source.” She knows exactly what it feels like to be in love with someone, as does she know all too well the pain in her chest when she thinks about her unrequited feelings.

“What if he just planted the seed though?” He still persists with his fear as he asks yet another question with a look of sad panic on his face.

“Imagine him kissing someone else.” Is all Wednesday says in response, but it causes Pugsley to freeze in place none-the-less.

“What?” Pugsley asks with breathless disbelief as he stares at Wednesday with wide, shock-filled eyes.

“Close your eyes and imagine Eugene holding a girl in his arms and kissing her.” She simply states, the thought of Enid kissing Ajax has been a constant source of unmitigated pain for her, it will no doubt be similar for Pugsley with Eugene.

“Oh.” He finally says as he takes a step back and falls to sit on Wednesday’s bed, a look of complete horror and pain washes over his face. He then looks up at Wednesday with unshed tears in his eyes. “Is this what it feels like?” He quietly asks Wednesday with sadness in his voice.

“Love is hell and heartbreak is torture, brother.” She says as she steps forward and places her hand on his shoulder in a show of solidarity. “At least now we can suffer together.” Wednesday leans down and whispers quietly in Pugsley’s ear, making sure Enid’s wolf hearing can’t pick anything up.

“But I know he likes me back!” He says with a sudden bout of determination while standing from the bed, unintentionally rubbing salt in Wednesday’s wound at the fact that his feelings are returned while hers are doomed to fail. “So how do I ask him out?” He innocently asks, as if he hadn’t just metaphorically stabbed Wednesday directly in the heart.

“When I asked out Ajax I just kinda came out and said it. Of course, that was after I spent the whole day flirting with him and he didn’t seem to get it. But Eugene is nowhere near as dense as Ajax so I think you should flirt with him to show your interested!” Enid takes over now, using her experience on the subject to help guide Pugsley. “And physical contact is, like, the key to flirting. When you’re giving him something make sure your fingers brush, or when you’re next to him make sure to get close and bump your shoulders a little.” For a second Wednesday questions if Enid had been flirting with her the entire time, but she knows that the wolf’s preference for the opposite sex means she sees acts like that between girls as nothing but platonic. “Whenever he tells a joke make sure to laugh, and add in a few playful touches to his arms.” Enid demonstrates her last point by letting out a light laugh as she reaches out and playfully shoves Pugsley’s shoulder, even going as far as batting her lashes a little. Watching her breaks Wednesday’s heart even more as she imagines Enid doing all of those things to Ajax. She feels sick, not only from the rancid jealousy, but also because it felt like her heart was rapidly dropping down into her stomach.

“Okay.” Pugsley says as he intently watches Enid‘s demonstration, as if he was studying for a high-stakes test. “What do I do after that?”

“If he’s responding well then you can just ask him on a date!” The wolf cheers out as she clasps her hands in front of her chest and does a cute little hop.

“I’ve never been on a date before.” He says somewhat shyly. “What should I do on the date?” He asks, not afraid in the slightest that Eugene would turn him down, and Wednesday feels a pang of jealousy at his assuredness.

“You two could get some hot cocoa at the Weathervane and walk through the nature trails around town, or you could take him to a local bee farm, you could even just stay in your dorm and study together!” Enid suggests some dates that she has always wanted to go on but never had the chance to. “Just don’t do what Ajax does and only plan dinner and a movie dates, those are the worst!” There’s a hint of irritation in her voice as she rolls her eyes at her boyfriends lack of creativity. “You’re either eating and can’t talk, our you’re watching a movie and can’t talk! I mean, it can be a good date if it’s food you like and a movie you actually wanted to watch, but don’t do a dinner and movie date just because you have no other ideas.” The wolf ends up slightly out of breath due to the ferocity of her emotions.

“That… doesn’t sound that hard.” Pugsley says as he pictures the kind of date he wants to take his crush on and how Eugene will react. “What if he wants to kiss me?” A wave of panic washes over his face as he looks up at Enid with wide eyes.

“Kiss him back!” Is the simple yet cheerful reply he gets from Enid.

“I, uh…” He hesitates as he adverts his gaze. “I don’t know how.” Pugsley finally admits with a shy voice.

“Well, the first kiss is generally just a little peck on the lips, so you don’t really need to know much other than to turn your head a lil so your noses don’t bump.” The wolf says in an attempt to calm his nerves as a slight smile spreads across her face. “When Ajax and I first kissed he tilted his head the same way as me, our noses bumped and it hurt really bad, I totes thought I had a bloody nose.” She lets out a little giggle at the memory of her and her boyfriends first kiss, causing a sharp stabbing pain to form in Wednesday’s chest.

“Oh god,” His anxiety shakes his voice as he takes a page out of Enid’s book and nearly whines. “What if I mess it up too?”

“Don’t worry!” Enid reassures him with a smile on her face and cheer in her voice. “It didn’t affect our relationship at all, in fact it made us closer cause it gave us something to laugh about together. I think it’s things like that that make unbreakable bonds.”

Unbreakable bonds…

Just hearing Enid refer to her relationship with Ajax as an ‘unbreakable bond’ only hammers home just how hopeless her feelings are and just how doomed she is.

Sitting here and listening to Enid talk about how much she loves Ajax, and how strong their relationship is, is a type of torture that even the raven doesn’t want to be a part of. She can’t stand the pain that every new word of this conversation brings her.

She can’t be here anymore.

“Your conversation about romance is making me nauseous,” The raven says as she looks between the two lovesick fools, even though she too was a love-sick fool. “I will take my leave before I lose what little of my lunch I was able to stomach.” She stands from her chair and grabs her black backpack before throwing it on and moving towards the door, but before she can open it she’s stopped by a warm hand wrapping around her wrist.

“Wait.” Enid says in a soft tone, letting go of the raven’s wrist when she starts to turn around. “Can we, um…” She begins but then falters and trails off as her cheeks gain a slight pink tint. “Can I scent you?” She finally asks with a quiet voice as she grabs her own hand and awkwardly picks at a hangnail on her thumb.

“You may.” Is all Wednesday says in response. Even though her heart was breaking she can’t find it in herself to deny the wolf’s request. She knows that rejecting Enid the very first time she actually asks to be scented would only dissuade her from future requests. At her acceptance the wolf does an adorable little hop before extending her arms and taking a step forwards, wrapping the raven in a hug and pressing her cheek against her black braided hair. Wednesday returns the embrace and starts to scent the wolf, but Enid beats her to it as she begins rubbing her cheek and jaw across the raven’s temple. So Wednesday just stands in the arms of the girl she loves, the same girl who just talked about her unbreakable bond with her boyfriend.

In the last four months Wednesday has been expelled, arrested and jailed, telekineticlly thrown around like a doll multiple times, kidnapped twice, chained to a wall, stabbed in the stomach, shot by an arrow, and held a gunpoint. But she's never felt more defeated than she does now.

The raven pulls out of the wolf’s arms and walks out the door and down the stairs without another word, retreating like a wounded animal looking for a secluded place to succumb to inevitability.

And she finds one, out in the woods.

Xavier’s old art shed.

With the artist gone the space is empty, which makes it the perfect place for Wednesday to prepare what she needs to take out the next entry on her suicidal bucket list.

Chapter Text

It took a few hours, some threats, the picking of the potion classroom’s chemical vault, and the raiding of Pugsley’s ‘secret’ stash of explosives, but she managed to gather all the necessary materials required to make what she needs for her next supernatural death-match, a brighter-than-legally-allowed flare.

She had taken her ill-gotten gains to Xavier's old art shed, where she was currently sitting on an uncomfortable stool, hunched over a splintered desk, holding a magnifying glass in her left hand and long metal tweezers in her right. An adjustable desk lamp hovers inches over her workspace, the yellow-orange light of the bulb’s tungsten filament floods the tabletop, illuminating the disassembled pineapple grenade she’s currently salvaging.

Wednesday is so focused on delicately de-tensioning the spring of the trigger mechanism that she doesn’t hear the crunch of snow outside getting louder, as does she fail to notice the creaking of the shed’s door swinging open.

But the rooms new occupant does notice her, and they quickly approach the girl’s turned back.

“Whoa.” A voice from directly over her shoulder suddenly shatters Wednesday’s focus, genuinely startling her, causing her to jump in surprise and accidentally shatter the glass bulb of the desk lamp.

Glass shards slice her hand as the metal tweezers connect with the light’s filament, sending a pleasing hum of electricity down her arm. But the electricity also traveled down the tweezers in her hand, which then arced into the pile of black powder on the desk, almost instantly igniting it in a bright flash of fire.

The explosion wasn’t large, without the pressure of the grenade’s shell it was barely even an explosion. But it still sent all of the lightweight items on the desk flying, and that included all of the metal tools Wednesday was using to pull the grenade apart. A lock pick grazed past her left arm, slicing through her shirt and opening a wound across her bicep. A small pile of screws shotgun into her chest, most ricochet off the hard bone of her ribs, only creating small slices across her torso. But one screw finds more permanent purchase in between the ridges of bone. Thankfully, the screws, while pointed like little stakes, were short, which meant it only punctures her skin, and not her lung too.

But her biggest problem was the flame creeping up her sleeve, bringing with it a quickly growing pain against her skin.

Wednesday shoots up from the stool and frantically begins trying to smother the fire with her non-flaming hand. She normally prides herself on her ability to remain calm in stressful situations, but burning alive has always been a fear of hers since she was just two years old, when she first read about outcasts being burned at the stake. Thankfully, she manages to extinguish the flame before it travels past her forearm, but the second and third degree burns were already beginning to form on the back of her hand and up her wrist.

“Holy shit!” The unwelcome addition yells out in shock after being witness to the chaos they had just sewn. “That was insane!” It turns out that the intruder that was responsible for the explosion was also the reason Wednesday was even working in the secluded shed in the first place. “Are you good my dude?” Ajax asks her as blood flows down her left arm and her right hand throbs with pain.

“I am not a dude, and never will I be yours.” Wednesday spits back with venom in her voice as she rolls up the burnt part of her sleeve and begins to inspect the extent of the damage. “Now, if you’re going to pester and interrupt me, you could at least make yourself useful and hand me my bag.” Thankfully the snake is well trained at fetch and does as he’s told, which was a little surprising considering he’s slow roasting his brain cells with all the weed he smokes. After handing off the bag Wednesday looks through it to find her travel first-aid kit, something that Enid demanded she start taking with her after the banshee incident.

“So, uh…” Ajax awkwardly asks as Wednesday unbuttons her Nevermore shirt and peels it off her torso, baring her arms and shoulders, leaving her in her black spaghetti-strap tank top. “What are you doing?” He asks while Wednesday begins the debridement process on her burns.

“I was removing the spring from the striker column, I can reuse it in the trigger mechanism for the high powered flare I'm making.” Wednesday very quickly begins to go into advanced detail regarding the process she was working on. “The mix of powders and chemicals I’m using requires a high energy source to ignite, and I can’t chance using something as inconsistent as a lighter or a match that can easily be extinguished. I would use an electric current, like the one that just detonated the black powder I was planning on reusing, but the final mix of chemicals needs pressure as well as heat before it can-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Ajax quickly says, interrupting Wednesday’s info dumping, causing the girl to remove her focus from her now half-bandaged arm and glare at him. “I didn’t mean it like that, I meant, like, what are you doing here?” He emphasizes his point by waving his hands around, gesturing to the wooden walls that surrounded them. “In Xavier's old art studio?” Wednesday can’t help but to scoff at the artist’s name.

“He’s not here anymore, so I have re-appropriated it for a more fitting use.” She answers with annoyance as she returns to treating her wounds, finishing the bandage wrap on her arm before focusing on the screw still stuck between her ribs. “Why are you here?” She doesn’t look at him as she asks, but she already has a feeling this is his new smoking grounds, based solely on the smell that clung to the walls before the scent of burnt flesh and black-powder smoke overwhelmed the small space.

“I used to hang out with Xavier here, and I just kinda missed him, I guess.” He says with a noncommittal shrug, accidentally exposing the joint he has held between his fingers, thereby revealing his true intentions. Wednesday says nothing and keeps focus on fixing her wounds.

Ajax watched silently with a grimace as Wednesday trys to pull the screw out of her ribs before she stopped suddenly with a hiss of pain. She changes her tactic and begins to quite literally unscrew it from her flesh, spinning it between her fingers until it’s free from her torso. Wednesday then prepares a small patch of cotton with adhesive tape and a few drops of healing potion before slipping her hand under her tank top and securing the bandage against her ribs. The final bandage around her bicep went on easy, even with the majority of her right hand wrapped in gauze.

She began to put all of the items she used back into her first-aid kit, but, for some reason, her actions only made Ajax feel comfortable engaging in conversation again.

“So, why are you building a high powered flare anyway?” He asks in that annoyingly stupid way he always speaks, as if he was discovering the words while they pass his lips. It pushed Wednesday over the edge and she just couldn’t stand having him hovering over her shoulder anymore. So she snapped, but in the most tame way an Addams could; verbally.

“Because, Wendigo’s are nocturnal creatures. My vision is far better adapted for bright light than theirs.” She practically growls out at the gorgon with pure disdain in her voice as she stands from her seat and takes a step towards Ajax. “Now, if you have anymore endlessly stupid questions, I am sure your wonderfully attentive girlfriend would be more than willing to beam her horrendously beautiful smile at you while you berate her with your boundless idiocy!” She finishes, nearly full on yelling while sending a death glare directly into Ajax’s soul. It’s only then that he finally gets her fucking point and backs the hell off.

“Wow, okay…” He says with masked fear in his voice as he looks at her with wide eyes. “I got it, I’ll leave.” And with that he turns around and opens the door before walking off into the snowy forest, leaving Wednesday alone with the sound of the rusted hinges squeaking closed.

She breathes a sigh of relief as the wave of cold air from the temporarily open door washes over her, grounding her and allowing her to shake off the fog of anger that shrouded her higher levels of thinking.

After slumping back down on to the stool she takes a few minutes to calm herself, breathing in small increments; five seconds in, fives seconds hold, five seconds out, five seconds hold, and so on until she no longer wants to skin the snakes on Ajax’s head.

Once her mind is fully clear she gets back to work, tossing the burnt remains of the previous grenade and grabbing another one. She starts the whole disassembly process once again, removing the outer shell and collecting the explosive powder within. And, now that she has no one to disturb her, the retrieval of the trigger mechanism goes flawlessly, as does the rest of the flare’s construction. In less than an hour the whole thing is packed up nicely in it’s new container and placed in her bag, ready for the moment it’s needed.

But for now, she was deathly tired and in desperate need of a long and mournful session with her cello, so she packs up her tools and starts making her way back to her dorm.

Wednesday should have realized something was wrong when she made it to the top of the stairs, her usual senses would have picked up on the scent of candles and the sound of giggles behind the door, but her extreme emotional torment this past week has drained her of all her energy. The only time she was able to get a decent night of rest was when Enid laid on top of her, and even then she still woke to a nightmare.

Her sleep deprival is why she misses all of the signs that where screaming at her not to open the door.

But Wednesday was oblivious to it all, so she enters anyway. She turns the handle with her usual, and at this point second-nature, silence before she pushes the door open and steps inside.

That’s when she sees Enid sitting in her bed with Ajax in front of her, her arms around his neck and her tongue in his mouth. Both of them had their eyes closed and were far too absorbed in each other to notice Wednesday’s sudden audience.

The sight caused her heart to drop down to her stomach, then her intestines, followed by her feet, before finally plummeting to the deepest pits of hell.

Her eyes blurred with tears that quickly began to flow down her cheeks, obscuring her view of the nightmare playing out in front of her.

Her lungs emptied of all air with a silent gasp, and, from that point on they refused to expand again, denying her the intake of anymore oxygen.

Her soul hurt as unseen pressure began crushing her on all sides, as if the entire world was crashing around her.

Her legs refused to move, no matter how much she wanted to run, to get anywhere else so she no longer had to watch the girl she loves in a passionate moment of affection with someone else.

But then,

Enid moaned into the kiss.

And Wednesday feels her life drain out of her as the sound pierces into the deepest parts of her being and rips her apart from the inside out.

She can feel a fissure forming down the center of her heart, can practically hear the muscle tearing apart under the strain of what she’s witnessing.

And she can’t take it anymore.

So she runs.

As hard and as fast as she could.

By the time she made it to the bottom of the stairs she feels the nausea hit her stronger than ever before. When she flew around the corner of the hall her lungs were burning like the inferno’s of hell.

But it was useless.

She couldn’t out run the image of her one-sided soulmate in the arms of another.

She couldn’t escape the sound of Enid’s pleasureful moan that still echoes in her mind.

She couldn’t do anything as her heart stopped beating and failed to supply anymore blood to her brain.

She couldn’t stop the growing voids of nothingness that overtook her vision, turning her sight entirely black.

The last thing Wednesday feels, before consciousness slips from her, is the pull of gravity, forcing her downwards as her body gives out.

But, she’s already gone by the time her lifeless corpse hits the ground.

The first thing she notices, as the horror of consciousness slowly tightens it’s grasp on her psyche, was the waxy taste of lip balm.

The second thing she noticed was the fact that said lip balm was not coming from her own lips, nor was the warmth that was spread over her mouth.

The lips that were on hers left before she could find the strength to focus her already-open eyes, let alone the strength to retaliate against the as-of-yet-unknown person who dared to breach her personal space to such a heinous degree.

But then, if felt like someone started to punch her in the chest, quickly and repeatedly.

With a sharp gasp her eyes dart around in a panic as she suddenly sat upright. The hands that were slamming against her chest pull away, giving her some much needed space.

The semi-conscious seer puts her hands down behind her to stabilize herself as she looks around in a daze of confusion. The dried tears of her earlier emotions are still crusting the corners of her eyes.

She takes in the sight of the gray stone walls while she recoils at the feeling of the scratchy red carpet against her hands and the stale smell of dirt and mold that now clings to her fingers.

She’s still in the hallway, but, if the out-of-focus mass hovering over her is anything to go by, she’s not alone anymore.

With a weakness in her movements she raised a hand above her to block out the light and get a better view of the mystery person. Kneeling on the ground next to her, is none other than Bianca Barclay, with a look of absolute terror on her face.

“Holy shit, Addams.” The siren says with a sigh of relief before she wipes the back of her hand across her mouth. “What the fuck?” She says with concern and confusion as she falls back to sit on her heels. Her chest still heaving with her panicked breath.

“I could ask the same of you, Barclay.” Wednesday says after a few seconds, when she’s sure her voice is actually within her command and won’t waiver or crack, like she’s some emotional child. “I never would have guessed you would be the type to go around kissing unconscious girls.” She says as she wipes the unpleasant feeling of lip balm off her mouth, both stopping the sensory hell and accentuating her point.

“You weren't unconscious and I wasn’t kissing you.” Bianca says with a hint of angry disbelief in her voice as she glares at the seer like she was an insane maniac for even suggesting such. “You were dead, Wednesday. Full on, eyes wide open, heart not beating, dead!” She collapses back against the nearest wall in apparent exhaustion. “I just spent the last five minutes giving you CPR.” The siren says with defeated exasperation as she closes her eyes and rubs one of her shoulders with her hand. “This is normally the part where you thank me for saving your life.” The siren’s eyes open as she focuses on the girl who was still looking a little wide-eyed and shell-shocked.

“I didn’t ask you to do that.” Wednesday shoots back as she schools her expression and narrows her eyes at Bianca.

“So I should have just left you to die on this gross carpet?” It’s a rhetorical question, intended to show the absurdity of what Wednesday just said, but the seer answers it earnestly anyway.

“That would have been preferable to my continued existence, yes.” She responds before she slides across the floor and over to the wall next to Bianca, leaning against the stone surface just a few inches away from the girl who just brought her back to life.

“Do you really mean that?” She ask with heavy softness in her voice, showing her genuine concern for the girl. “Or is this just your usual dark, gloomy, weirdness?” She adds with a lighter tone as she reaches out through the small space between them and gently places her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“What I mean is irrelevant.” Wednesday dismisses as she shrugs the hand off her shoulder, not feeling up for anymore physical contact, no matter how much she may need it. “What are you doing here? Your dorm is on the other side of the school.” She asks with a bit of distrust slipping into her voice.

“Okay…” Bianca responds with a bit of apprehension from Wednesday’s response and topic change, but decides to let it slide for now. “I was just dropping off the rest of Divina’s stuff from my dorm now that she’s moved in with Yoko.” And that gives Wednesday an idea that she’s probably going to regret, at least if these past few seconds of conversation was any indication.

“So you are without a roommate currently?” She asks as she turns to look at Bianca with an unseen desperation in her eyes.

“Yeah. Why?” The siren gives Wednesday a look of confused apprehension, afraid of where the seer is going with this line of questioning.

“I need a temporary place to stay.” Is all Wednesday offers, not wanting to have to explain the horrors she’s been subjected to, lest she die for the second time today.

“What’s wrong with your room?” But, of course, if she wants a place to sleep tonight, she’s forced to divulge the information she herself had no desire to learn.

“It’s currently occupied by Enid and her idiot.” Wednesday refers to the gorgon with venom in her voice, showing obvious hatred for the stoner that forced her out of her own room and subsequently killed her.

“Oh, yeah. Got it.” Realization dawns on her as she gives Wednesday a look of pity. “Divina was like that with Yoko.” She says with a shiver as a look of disgust washes over her face, and Wednesday is grateful that she doesn’t have to explain her predicament any further. “You can stay in my room.” She says coolly before a cocky smirk spreads across her face. “If you tell me why I just had to revive you in the middle of the hall.” The siren shows her cards, knowing Wednesday has no other choice but to accept. It’s an underhanded tactic that Wednesday can’t help but to admire.

“I’m dying.” Is all she says, deciding to share the bare minimum of the necessary truth with the siren.

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. I figured that out when I found you dead in the hall.” She says with some angry annoyance tinting her voice. “Do you know why?” Bianca asks with quiet concern and a healthy mix of disbelief. It’s not that she doesn’t believe Wednesday is dying, she just doesn't believe there’s nothing that can be done about it.

“It’s an affliction that has been the end of many Addams since time immemorial.” Wednesday answered in a dark tone, knowing she isn’t the first, and won’t be the last, to die of this damned curse.

“Oh shit.” Bianca says in saddened shock at the knowledge that her problem was hereditary and not another old vengeful racist or something. “Do you know how long you have left?”

“No.” She answered with a slight shake of her head accompanied by a mournful tone. “Most of my ancestors who went through this chose to end matters on their own terms, so an exact time frame is beyond my understanding.” Wednesday says as she pushes herself off the ground, using the wall for balance, before she delicately wipes some dirt off her skirt, acting very casual for someone who just died for the second time in her life.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” The siren asks as a sad look takes over her face, portraying just how much this news shook her.

“No one can help me now. My life is already beyond hope.” Wednesday responds with detachment in her eyes as she watches Bianca stand from the floor.

“I’m so sorry Wednesday.” And that makes Barclay the latest addition to the large list of people who now view her with shameful pity due to her situation, and Wednesday can’t stand having her rival show her such distasteful sympathy.

“If ‘sorry’ could solve problems then ‘thoughts and prayers’ might be worth something more than empty platitudes.” She says as she starts to walk past Bianca and down the hall, but she staggers slightly a few steps in when the floor seemingly shifts beneath her feet.

“Come on,” Bianca says as she reaches out towards the girl, not touching her but ready to catch her if necessary. “You should probably lay down.” She finishes as she walks along side the seer, keeping a close eye on her in case she has a repeat incident of sudden and unexpected death.

The two quietly make their way to the siren’s dorm, not sharing any further words as Bianca watches the seer, always a step away and ready to jump to Wednesday’s aid.

It makes Wednesday feel like an invalid, but, then again, she supposes she is, considering she can’t even walk more than a few feet before she has to brace herself on the nearest wall.

They finally arrive at the sirens dorm after a painful amount of pity-filled silence. Bianca holds the door open for the twice-undead girl as the two enter the minimally decorated room. The space was split between left and right, with the right side of the room containing two identical desks, one neatly organized with books and a laptop and the other entirely empty; a detail that was mirrored by the beds on the left side of the room, one mattress bare and the other neatly made.

“I don’t have any more pillows but I can give you a few extra blankets.” The siren says as she looks over the yellowed mattress sitting against the wall closest to the door.

Wednesday doesn’t respond verbally, just nods at her in acknowledgment as she walks deeper into the room.

And, while Bianca looks through her closet for some basic sheets, Wednesday pulls out the chair of the undecorated desk and sits, her back straight and her hands resting in her lap. She’s staring blankly ahead without anything in front of her, making no obvious attempt to at least pretend to be doing something other than shutting down entirely.

Once the siren finds what she was looking for she gathers the fabric in her arms and closes the closet door behind her before dumping everything on the barren bed. It’s then that she decides to ask something that has been burning her curiosity since she first saw Wednesday laying dead in the hall.

“What’s up with the highlights?” She asks with intrigue as she plops down onto the still-bare mattress and shifts her gaze to look at something on top of Wednesday’s head.

“The what?” The zoned-out seer finally turns to face Bianca as she tilts her head in questioning. Her mind was swirling with the fearful thought of her vision, and about what her death means for Enid’s fiery fate.

“The white highlights in your hair.” Bianca clarifies as she motions to the top of the seer’s head in an attempt to get her point across. “I mean, it looks good. But, I never thought you would be one to dye your hair.” The siren quickly adds, not wanting to dissuade Wednesday from expressing herself more in the future, that is, if she even has a future.

Wednesday doesn’t realize what Bianca said at first, but, after she does, absolute terror washes over her as a deep chill seeps down her spine.

She stands from the desk so fast the chair is sent toppling down behind her, but she doesn’t care. All Wednesday is focused on is the tall mirror in the corner of the room, and that’s where her reflection confirms her worst fears.

Patches of her hair have begun to turn ghost-white.

One of the last signs of her imminent, curse-doomed death.

Chapter Text

“So,” Bianca attempts to begin the meeting as the somewhat official head of the Nightshades. She looks over the gathered members in front of her to see who was actually paying attention. Divina and Yoko were standing with their arms wrapped around each other while Yoko was whispering something in Divina’s ear that made them both blush fiercely. Kent and Ajax were trying to hold back their laughter while a strong smell of weed stuck on their clothing.

Also present were the semi-official members of the Nightshades.

Thing was resting on Enid’s shoulder while the two were talking about the newest line of winter themed nail polish that they both wanted to try. And Eugene and Pugsley were having what appeared to be some kind of romantic moment as they held hands and looked into each other's eyes.

All in all, this meeting was as chaotic as it was necessary, and it was for one person that everyone here cared about in some way or another. “We need to talk about Wednesday.”

The mention of the seer’s name got everyone to quiet down and pay attention; they had all known that something was up with Wednesday, and now, if Bianca is calling a meeting of this caliber over it, they knew it was serious, much more than most of them probably realized. What Wednesday had revealed to Bianca yesterday was something of a bombshell, especially with the defeated tone it was delivered in. And she could not, in good conscience, let her friend go through that.

“Is this about her sharing a room with you last night?” Pugsley asks in that genuine way of his that has Eugene smiling a love-struck grin while staring at him with hearts in his eyes. Bianca rolls her eyes at the pair of lovebirds who were either, very poorly hiding their relationship, or oblivious to the obvious connection between them. She couldn’t tell what the cuter scenario was, but it was equal parts adorable and annoying nonetheless.

“No, but it might be related.” The siren mentally thinks over the best way to bring this up before she finally decides to take a page out of Wednesday’s book and drop any attempt at subtlety. She took a deep breath and looked over each of their faces before saying what she knew would immediately change the mood to something more somber and serious. “I think Wednesday is suicidal.”

An uneasy quiet dropped over the group as Bianca’s words sunk in, opening a pit in each of the Nightshade’s stomachs.

“Oh shit!” Divina lets out in shock while Yoko pulls the siren into her arms. Ajax and Kent suddenly stopped giggling as they very quickly sobered up at the suddenly dark change in topic.

Enid gasped in shock as fear seized her lungs and burned her throat. Her heart felt like it was falling out the bottom of her ribcage every time it beat and her vision clouded as her eyes began to overflow with tears.

The threat of her best friend and crush no longer being in her life is even more terrifying than facing down the hyde ever was.

But this time she can’t wolf out on whatever it is that’s threatening Wednesday, because the only one who wants to end Wednesday’s life is the raven herself.

And Enid missed all of the signs.

It made her feel like a horrible friend and an even worse person.

It shows just how undeserving she is to be Wednesday’s girlfriend.

Her guilt was so strong it twisted her tear-streaked face, giving away exactly how horrible Enid feels about this news.

And it wasn’t just the wolf either.

From Bianca’s position at the head of the small group she was able to see each and every one of their faces as they absorbed the gravity of the situation. But when she notices Pugsley’s suspicious lack of reaction she immediately guesses that he must know something.

“Pugsley,” She began in a slow tone, trying to be delicate in case she had mistaken his lack of reaction and he was just in shock. “Do you know something about this?” He looks shocked to be asked so directly and his gaze flicks around to all of the people in the room before returning to Bianca.

“Um… yeah.” He looked to Thing, the both of them having a silent conversation with gestures. “I mean, kind of.” Thing quickly signs something before Pugsley continues. “It’s a family thing.” When he doesn’t elaborate, Thing begins to tap something out on Enid’s shoulder once again, but Enid is the one to interpret his words for the group.

“What do you mean, ‘the curse'?!?” Enid chimes in with tears still trickling down her face and panic in her voice, “Is that why Wednesday wants to kill herself?” She says as she grabs the hand off her shoulder and stares him down.

“My sister is not suicidal!” Pugsley yells over Enid as he springs to defend his family. “There’s a curse that runs in my family and it's deadly, she’s just trying to avoid the curse killing her. That’s all I can say about it.” He says in a quieter tone as he slightly withdraws due to the overpowering waves of anger coming off the wolf.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Enid yells, practically shrieks, at the second youngest Addams. “Wednesday is DYING and you’re not even gonna tell us what's killing her?!” The anger in her voice burns her throat as she screams in disbelief that Pugsley could just let Wednesday die like this.

“There’s nothing we can do to help her now. She asked me not to tell anyone.” Pugsley begins to shake from the screaming wolf's vicious yelling. Eugene notices Pugsley’s fear and quickly reaches out to pull him into a hug in an attempt to calm him down and protect him from Enid.

While the group descends into chaos Bianca slips into the background and begins to search the Nightshade’s reference section for a book she saw once before. It was, thankfully, right at the beginning of the shelves, seeing as it had all of the shared knowledge about the Addams Family. She flipped it open to the table of contents and immediately focused on the entry for page 263, the chapter titled ‘The Curse’. Without hesitation she found the page and began reading. It talked about the unknown origin of the curse and how it was first noticed, she skipped over those parts until she got to what she was looking for. And when she did, she gasped in shock, drawing all of the attention onto her.

“What, Bianca?” Enid asks in an annoyed and exasperated tone as she stops arguing with Thing.

“Wednesday is in love with someone.” The siren says with breathless disbelief as she looks up at the rest of the group who now sported wide eyes and questioning gazes.

“What? How did you know?” Pugsley asked apprehensively, afraid that he had just spilled Wednesday's secret.

“It says it right here,” Bianca says as she points to the page in front of her and begins to read it out loud. “This generational curse is triggered when an Addams falls in love for the first time. It is a life-long connection that is equal to, if not more intense than the deepest bonds of other species, such as a siren’s link to their spawn partner or the connection between a werewolf and their mate. If that connection is denied by the other party, or parties, then the afflicted Addams will suffer the side effects of a rejected soul bond, ending in death.” She finishes, handing off the book to Yoko, who quickly started to skim over the words in order to confirm what Bianca just said.

The words from the book cut deep into Enid as she imagined what it would be like to be in Wednesday's shoes. How she would feel if her mate rejects her, how deeply gutting it would be to watch her mate pack all of her dusty black things into those old timey trunks and permanently move out of their attic room-

Wait…

WHAT?!

Why did she just picture Wednesday leaving!?

She was with Ajax, She loves Ajax!

So why did her heart hurt at the idea of Wednesday being in love with someone else?

She knew she had a crush on Wednesday but it was just that, a crush. She would get over it and spend the rest of her life with Ajax. They would form a mate bond and start a family together.

But her skin crawled and her stomach began to rise at just the thought of what used to be her life’s dream.

When did things change so much?

Has she really been that blind?

Was Wednesday Addams really her mate?

Just the thought of Wednesday being hers made her heart flutter and her body feel lighter than ever before. Her large canine teeth grew in her mouth at the need to bite something-

No,

Not just something,

She felt the need to bite Wednesday.

And that all but confirmed the fact that her wolf has chosen her goth bestie as her mate.

The realization that Wednesday was her mate was only shadowed by the fact that this whole Nightshade meeting had been called because Wednesday is in love with someone else, someone who doesn’t return her feelings. And that means Enid’s in the same boat as her roommate, because she loves Wednesday, and Wednesday doesn’t love her back.

She felt sick.

The room started to spin as she lost her footing and stumbled into the nearby bookshelf.

But no one noticed, all of them being too distracted by the conversation at hand.

“This is why Wednesday is suicidal?” Yoko yells in disbelief after reading the words on the page for a third time, still not fully grasping the fact that Wednesday is going to die. “Because she loves someone who’s already in a relationship?” She adds as she closes the book in her hand and holds it by her side.

“Wait,” Pugsley says as he looks at Yoko with shock. “You know who it is?” He asks quietly, wondering how the vampire could possibly know that his sister loves someone who’s taken.

“Yeah, do you?” Yoko rebuffs as she raises her eyebrow at the Addams, not sure if he actually knows or if his shock is because it’s his first time hearing it.

“Yeah.” Is all he says in response, not willing to name the person and out Wednesday’s feelings, especially while said person, and her boyfriend, are in the room.

“Okay,” Bianca interrupts as she pinches the bridge of her nose before addressing the whole group. “If you know who Wednesday is in love with, raise your hand.” Bianca orders as she looks over everyone, hoping at least one of them would be able to tell her what’s going on.

Yoko, Pugsley, Eugene, Divina, Thing, and, most shocking of all, Ajax, raise their hands.

“Really? Even Ajax knows?” Bianca asks as she throws her hands up in exasperation.

“I mean, yeah, isn't it obvious?” He shrugs as he looks around, seeing the disbelief and skepticism on all of their faces. “It's Xavier.” He says as if he’s describing the color of the sky, like it’s an obvious fact that everyone should know.

“Put your hand down you stupid stoner.” Yoko says with a roll of her eyes and a bit of bite in her tone, far to tense to deal with Ajax’s painful lack of common sense.

“Okay… So it’s not Xavier, got it.” He says with passive aggressive annoyance in his voice as he puts his hands up in a show of defensive surrender.

“If you know it’s not him, then I assume you know who it actually is?” Bianca asks the vampire, still holding on to the fading hope that someone will tell her who the goth seer loves so she can beat some sense into them.

“Yeah, it’s…” Yoko says as her eyes flick to the wolf in question, only now realizing how sweaty and pale Enid was as she leaned against the bookshelf, tears still steadily streaming down her face. “Enid!” The vampire yells as she thrusts the book into Divina’s hands and runs over the the collapsing girl, grabbing onto her by the shoulders and guiding her down to the marble floor. “What happened? What’s wrong?” She asks with desperate worry in her voice before using her sleeve to wipe the slick layer of sweat off the wolf’s forehead.

“W-Wends is gonna die.” Enid’s sobs break up her words as she looks up at Yoko with pure heartbreak in her eyes. “I- I can’t…” The wolf barely manages to say before she starts to hyperventilate.

“We’re not going to let that happen.” Yoko reassures her as she lightly rubs the girls arm, desperately wanting to pull her into a hug but deciding to give her some space to breathe instead.

“Yeah, we’ll figure something out, don’t worry!” Pugsley runs over to Enid as well. Now that the anger from himself and the group dissipated he was able to feel the pain flowing off of the wolf, hovering just above the ground like a cold fog.

“I- I don’t…” She cries out with an unsteady voice as she clamps her eyes shut while her body begins to shake. “I can’t… I can’t l-lose her Yoko!” The fear in her voice breaks the vampire’s heart and she’s tempted to spill what she knows about Wednesday’s feelings for the wolf, but she can feel the eyes of everyone else on her, Ajax included, and knows now is not the time to tell her.

“Hey, I’m worried about her too.” She says to calm the wolf. “We all are.” Yoko emphasizes her point by waiving her hands around at the rest of the group. “And we’re going to save her, I promise. Okay?” She says lightly as she holds out her pinky for the wolf, who quickly wraps her own little finger around it, sealing the promise in a slightly childish way that still brings Enid some comfort. “Now, let’s get you to bed.” She offers, knowing how incoherent the wolf becomes when dealing with extreme negative emotions.

“Kay.” She responds with a broken quietness, something that is almost never associated with Enid. Once Yoko and Pugsley help the wolf to her feet Enid quickly wraps her arms around the vampire, desperate for any kind of physical contact to ground her at that moment.

Yoko just lets out a sad chuckle at the affectionate wolf as she returns the girl’s embrace. After a few moments of this she goes to pull away, but Enid still keeps her arms locked in place around Yoko’s back, refusing to let go. Yoko’s been in this position before, stuck in the over-muscled arms of the wolf, and at this point she knows better than to waste energy by trying to remove the emotional girl from her side.

So the two begin their semi-awkward ascent up the stairs and out of the Nightshade’s lair as the group behind them starts to talk about their next steps in the plan to save Wednesday. Yoko looks over her shoulder to give Divina one last sad look that was a mix of pity and apology, their planned date tonight now entirely forfeit. The siren sends her a small smile with an accompanying shrug, wordlessly telling Yoko that it sucks, but they don’t have any other choice. Divina then sends her a little heart with her thumb and forefinger, something that Yoko responds to by blowing a kiss back.

And with that, the Poe statue closed behind them. The deep rumble of stone grinding against stone fills the silence of the empty hall while Enid tightens her grip against Yoko’s torso.

“Okay. You gotta stop squeezing me girl.” Yoko says as she taps on Enid’s arms like she’s surrendering a wrestling match. “Here, grab my arm instead.” She offers her elbow to the wolf, who thankfully takes it and wraps both her arms around the vampire’s bicep, squeezing just as hard as before.

They continued through the halls like that, with Yoko slowly losing what little circulation her arm had while Enid’s tears wax and wane.

By the time the pair get to the attic room Enid is mostly empty of tears, but once the faded smell of the raven enters her nose she begins crying all over again.

Yoko quickly walks them over to Enid’s bed and sits them both down on the bright pink sheets, helping Enid move until they were both sitting next to each other against the bed’s headboard.

They sit there in silence as Enid starts to sob again while Yoko looks at her with caring yet sad eyes.

After nearly ten minutes, Enid finally stops crying. Something that should have been a sign that Enid was feeling better, but her face is just blank. She’s not showing any more sadness, or any other emotion for that matter. She just sits there with unfocused eyes as she looks over the end of the bed, staring at the wall and barely even breathing.

“Wednesday is my mate.” Enid says with a quiet and hollow voice, void of any emotion other than the hints of defeat as another tear silently drips down her cheek.

“Yeah, I kinda figured when you started scenting her.” Yoko responds gently, not wanting to scare off the wolf but still showing how oblivious she’s been.

“B-but she loves someone!” She whines out with pain in her voice as she looks at Yoko with wide, tear filled eyes, starting up her crying once again.

“Yes, she does. Very much.” Yoko says with a sad look of pity on her face, hating how broken the usually lively wolf sounds right now.

“Do you know who?” Enid begs, wanting to know who Wednesday chose, her jealousy desperate to see what they have that she doesn’t.

“Yeah, but they’re already in a relationship with someone else.” The vampire looks directly at the wolf, even going as far as nudging their shoulders together in the hope that Enid will finally get the hint.

“Well, they’re an idiot for not dating Wednesday instead.” But, as always, Enid misses her point entirely, and Yoko can’t hold herself back anymore. The sad look on Enid’s face, and the on and off tears that have been pouring out of her for the past hour, were too hard to watch. But with the added knowledge that Wednesday is not only in pain, but actually dying, she knows she has to tell the wolf of the raven’s feelings. And, now that no one is around to overhear, she decides to throw all subtlety out the window.

“Yeah, you are.” The vampire says with an amused and exasperated tone as she raises her eyebrow at the wolf. “But she loves you anyway.”

“Yoko…” Enid pleads with tears in her eyes. “I- I’m not, it’s not…” She tries to deny but can’t even form the words through her hurt disbelief.

“It’s always been you, you idiot.” Yoko says fondly as she throws her arm over Enid’s shoulder and pulls her close, knowing how physical contact helps the wolf calm down, something about pack instincts. “I mean, come on Enid. Who else has Wednesday cuddled with? Scented? Kissed?” She asks, backing up her claim with the evidence of Wednesday’s actions.

“But, I’m not…” Enid cries out once again, and Yoko can’t stand to hear the wolf try and explain why she doesn’t view herself as worthy of love.

“Accepting the obvious truth? I know.” Yoko cuts her off. “Just, do me a favor and think about it? Okay?” She asks delicately as she rests her head against the wolf’s in a show of love and affection. “I’m gonna go back and help the rest of the Nightshades make a somewhat coherent plan, but it does kinda hinge on you stopping with the denial shit.” The vampire says as she removes her arm from the wolf and climbs out of the bed.

“But-” Enid tries once again, but Yoko turns around and puts her finger up to the wolf’s lips.

“Nope!” She says with a stern voice. “No buts!” She gives her no room to argue, pulling her finger away from the wolfs mouth once she was sure there would be no more back talk. “Now, I know you’re gonna sit here and think about the worst case scenario, so let me add this to the mix.” The vampire says as she places her hand on Enid’s shoulder. “If you confess to her, and she says no, the worst that can happen is she kicks you out of her life.”

“Yoko…!” Enid whines out as her face twists to show her extreme hurt at that possibility.

“But!” Yoko quickly continues as she squeezes Enid’s shoulder. “If you don’t tell her, and she does love you, then the curse is going to kill her and she won’t even have a life to kick you out of.” The look of pure horror and heartbreak on her face made Yoko believe she finally got her point across. “Just think about it, okay?” She asks, and Enid nods her head after a little while, tears growing in her eyes as she does so. “And, if you start to spiral too bad, you know you can always call me.” She finished her intervention/pep talk by pulling Enid into a hug and squeezing her with a good amount of pressure. “You’re not alone, Enid. We’re all going to do everything we can to help the two of you.” She reassures her as she rubs her hand up and down the girls back. “Now, the Nightshades and I are gonna make sure you get your girl!”

“Thanks.” Enid quietly says as she pulls out from the vampire’s arms, watching as she walks across the room and stands by the entrance, sending the wolf one last affection-filled look before closing the door behind her.

And then, Enid was alone in the room.

Left with nothing but the overwhelming fact that Yoko was right.

She needs to confess her feelings to Wednesday.

There’s no longer any other option.

Chapter Text

Enid sits where Yoko left her on her bed, with her favorite stuffed animal hugged tightly against her chest, a pink and blue wolf that her dad got her before she left San Francisco. She’s been zoned out for the last half hour, and she can’t stop thinking about the Nightshade meeting they just had, how Wednesday is dying and it might be her fault.

Her heart clenches in pain at the thought of losing her mate.

Because that’s what Wednesday is to her.

Her wolf had chosen the raven, and she can’t fight her wolf.

But,

No.

That’s not right.

She really needs to stop thinking about it like that.

Like it was her and her wolf.

That wasn’t true.

She is her wolf.

But, during the years she wasn’t able to transform, she began to think of the two of them as separate beings, it being so much easier to hate something else than it is to hate herself.

And it was also much easier to deal with the effects of hating something else instead of hating herself.

She still has far too many of the small, crescent-shaped scars that litter her thigh from when she would press the tips of her fingers against her leg and extend her claws, sending her own nails deep into her skin as her hate for herself grew.

It was around that time when she first started to separate herself from the wolf side of her.

She knows that it was an incredibly toxic coping mechanism, to compartmentalize a whole part of herself, but it’s what she needed to do to survive at the time. It’s only now that she’s able to begin healing from all of that trauma, and that’s because she feels so safe and supported by her friends.

But the biggest help has been her dark and broody bestie who has an unhealthy love for knives; watching her no-shits-given attitude and adopting some of that for herself has made Enid far more confident and happy, and it’s all thanks to Wednesday.

Wednesday.

Her mate.

If you went back in time to the day they met and told her that Wednesday was her mate she would have called you crazy.

But now?

Now she can’t imagine not having the violent little goth in her life.

And she feels like she's closer than ever to losing her.

So, as soon as the door to the dorm begins to open, Enid jumps up from her bed and runs over to the center of the room, watching as Wednesday closed the door behind her.

And what she sees causes her to let out a gasp of shock.

“Oh, wow…” Enid breathes out in adoration as soon as she notices the long, white highlights that now streak down the raven’s usually black hair. “Is this why you stayed with Bianca last night?” She asks as she takes a step towards Wednesday and brings her hand up to delicately take one of the braids between her fingers. Her knuckles brush against the raven’s cheeks as she does so, and Enid notices the subtle way Wednesday’s head turns to chase her hand, nudging her cheek against the back of Enid’s hand like a cat desperate for attention. And Enid has to suppress a giggle at how cute Wednesday is.

“It’s a part of it, yes.” Wednesday answers honestly, because the last sign of the curse showing up is exactly why she couldn’t stay here last night.

“Well, you look beautiful, Wends.” She says with a tone of pure adoration and a loving smile on her face as she lets go of the braid and instead cups Wednesday’s cheek. The raven’s eyes widen in shock as she looks up at Enid through her lashes, her lack of platform boots making their difference in height stand out more than usual. And the way Enid can feel Wednesday’s cheeks heat up under her hand due to the raven’s intense blush absolutely melts her heart, tempting her to pull the girl in for a kiss.

“I don’t prescribe to societies superficial standards of beauty.” Wednesday says as she turns around and faces her old wooden desk, stepping out of the wolf’s touch. “But, thank you, Enid.” She adds, and it makes Enid want to pull the girl into her arms and shower her face with kisses. And if what Yoko told her is actually true, she can! The only thing stopping her would be… Ajax.

“Hey, so, I have to go out and do something.” Enid begins as she guiltily looks away, even though Wednesday’s back is still turned to her. “But, there’s something really important we need to talk about after.” She says as she reaches out and puts her hand on Wednesday’s shoulder. After figuring out that the girl was her mate Enid was filled with an almost constant need to be in physical contact with her, something that she really needs to hold herself back on.

“It’s past curfew, where are you going?” The raven asks as she turns to look at Enid while stepping out of her touch for the second time tonight, causing the wolf to suppress a whine.

“To Ajax’s room.” Enid answers with a tinge of guilt in her voice, not wanting to leave Wednesday’s side, especially after the girl skipped all of her classes today, meaning this was the first time they’ve seen each other since yesterday afternoon. “It might take awhile.” Enid winces at the painful thought of having to break the gorgon’s heart, of how he doesn’t deserve any of this, but that she needs to do it anyway.

“Oh.” Wednesday responds with her blank face and tone. Based on the raven’s admittedly limited knowledge of teenage social intricacies, she believes the only reason a girl would break curfew to go to their boyfriend’s dorm room is for what is colloquially called a booty-call, if her understanding of the term is correct. The feeling of soul-splitting shock wasn’t as sudden and intense as it was when she walked in on Enid and Ajax yesterday, this was more of a slow and gradually growing pain as the weight of the wolf’s plans started to push down on her, not to dissimilar to a pile of rocks slowly being added to her chest like some medieval execution. “Very well.” It took all of Wednesday’s willpower to keep her face and voice neutral as she turned around once again and walked over to her desk, reaching out and running her fingers over the top of her typewriter, just so she has something to do with her hands other than pushing her hangnails back into the divide between her nail and her flesh, like little knives stabbing her fingertips with pleasant little hums of pain.

“But I’ll be back, okay?” Enid says in her delicate and near needy voice that only makes Wednesday’s heart burn even more.

“It’s your room Enid, obviously you have to come back at some point.” Wednesday responds with detachment in her voice as she stayed facing the desk, not sure if her heart could take seeing the look on Enid’s face as she prepares to take that step with Ajax.

“Bye, Wends.” Enid says, and Wednesday doesn’t respond, just listens to the sound of the wolf walking across the room, putting on her boots, and opening the door.

The second the door closed behind Enid, Wednesday begins to dart around the room; stripping out of her clothes and putting on some thermal underwear before throwing on her thickest leggings and long wool skirt, plus a long-sleeve shirt topped off with her favorite black and white striped sweater. She finally gathers her backpack, with the flare she made still inside, and slips on her winter boots. Once she had everything, and a few extra daggers, she carefully climbs out the window and slowly makes her way down the emergency spiral staircase.

After making it to the front gate of Nevermore she takes out her phone and orders a ride, hoping she doesn’t die before it arrives as she tries her hardest to not think about what Enid and Ajax are doing right now.

The waiting was the worst part.

Standing there as her mind buzzes with all of the things that could go wrong, of how this might turn out even worse than she could ever predict.

But then, after what felt like an eternity, the door in front of her opens.

“Oh, hey Enid!” The gorgon says as a smile spreads across his face, before a look of confusion takes over. “Were we supposed to hang out tonight?” He asks as he reaches up and scratches under the brim of his beanie.

“No, we weren’t.” Enid says with a shake of her head, reminded of just how many times she’s been at his door after he failed to show up to their dates. “But we need to talk.” She looks at him with a sad smile as she awkwardly rubs her bicep, dreading this even more than all of those lycan doctor’s appointments her mom forced her to go to.

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” He says as he stands to the side, allowing Enid entry into the messy room. “All this stuff going on with Wednesday is crazy, right?” He asks as he walks over to his unmade bed and plops down on the wrinkled sheets.

“I mean, yeah. But that’s not really what I wanted to talk about, it is kinda related though.” She says as she slowly walks over to the desk that’s covered in clutter before she pushes the pile of clothes off the chair and sits down. “Hearing about what Wednesday is going through made me think about myself, and, I, um…” She trails off as she looks at Ajax’s face, seeing how genuinely concerned he was made her feel even more guilty to tell him this, but she can’t put it off, not when Wednesday’s life is on the line. “I know who my mate is.” Enid quietly says as she adverts her eyes from Ajax, not able to see his reaction out of fear that she would throw up with anxiety and guilt.

“Oh, that’s awesome, Enid!” Ajax cheers out with happiness for the wolf, causing Enid to look at him in surprise, just in time to watch his face turn from joy to confusion, and finally, to hurt. “Oh.” He says with wide eyes. “It’s not me, is it?” He asks with pain in his voice as his shoulders drop.

“No, it’s not.” Enid answers with her own color of hurt filling her voice. “I’m so sorry, Ajax.” She adds as she holds herself back from reaching out and hugging him, not sure if it would help the situation or hurt it.

“It’s okay.” He says after a few seconds of heartbreaking silence, his tone more defeated and hollow than ever before, showing Enid just how not okay it actually was. “I know it’s not something you can control.” But, as always, Ajax shows his extreme empathy and understanding, one of the biggest reasons why she was interested in him in the first place. “I honestly kinda saw this coming for a while now.” He adds, shocking her and twisting her insides with guilt.

“What do you mean?” She asks, curious to know if she was being a bad girlfriend and how she could avoid doing the same in the future.

“It's just, ever since the end of last semester you’ve been acting different.” He says as he shrugs his shoulders, as if he doesn’t really know how to explain it. “And then all those rumors about you two scenting each other turned out to be true.” He adds, sending even more guilt directly into Enid’s heart.

“Oh.” She says quietly, almost shyly. “So you know it’s Wednesday?” Enid asks as she looks at the ground between them, or, at as much of the ground as she can see through the pile of clothes, unable to meet his gaze like a guilty dog that just got caught eating off the table.

“Yeah.” He responds simply, with a little bit of defeated affection in his voice. “I kinda guessed you had a thing for her, but I didn't think she would be your mate.” He says with a small laugh, not because it was funny, but because of how unexpected it was.

“Yeah, me neither.” Enid agrees with more sadness in her voice than his, she feels so bad that Ajax has been caught up in this messy whirlwind of emotions, and it’s not fair to him. She wishes she could just go back in time and stop herself from dating him in the first place. It’s not that she didn’t enjoy their time together, she had an amazing time being his girlfriend, but she knows now that no one could possibly replace Wednesday. If she does go back in time then she could get closer to the creepy goth girl sooner, and maybe even stop her from dying in the crypt at the hands of that racist zombie.

“You know, you don’t have to wait.” Ajax says after a few moments of silence, a slightly amused smile spread across his face. “I promise I won’t be upset.” His tone is genuine and caring, showing how much he really means his words.

“Don’t have to wait for what?” She asks in confusion, not sure what he was talking about or what she would even be waiting for.

“To start going out with Wednesday.” His words hit her in the chest and cause tears to brim in her eyes, the extreme understanding he’s showing her is far more than she feels she deserves.

“Oh, Ajax. You don’t have to-”

“I know.” He interrupts her with a kind and caring voice as he sends her an equally caring smile. “But you need to. Wednesday needs you to.” And with that the tears began to flow at just how wonderful Ajax is, and how he doesn’t deserve any of this.

“Thank you, Ajax, for being so understanding.” Enid lets out with a shaky voice as she stands up and holds her arms out, signaling she wants a hug while giving him the space to say no. But he doesn’t. He stands from the bed and steps into her arms, wrapping her up in a hug while being careful to keep as much of his scent off her as possible.

“If she hurts you, I’ll stone her and drop her into the lake.” He tells her with a playful seriousness in his voice as he places his chin on top of Enid’s head.

“When me and you started dating, Wends said that, if you ever broke my heart, she would nail-gun yours.” Enid says as she lets out a laugh at the backwards parallel between her now ex and her hopefully future mate.

“Uh… Do I need to be worried?” He asks as he pulls out of the hug and takes a step back, looking at Enid with fear in his eyes at the possibility of having a certain seer as an enemy, especially if too much of his scent got on her mate.

“No, I’ll put her nail-gun on top of my dresser, she’ll never find it.” Enid says with a light laugh at the image of Wednesday searching around the room, standing on her tippy toes and still not being able to see the top of her wardrobe. And then Enid looks up at Ajax, and it starts to hit her that things are over between them when she no longer feels the swelling of her heart or the tingling of her skin, instead it's just… nothing. “I really did love you, Ajax.” She reassures him, and herself a little too, wanting it to be clear that she was never taking their relationship for granted, that she really did care for him.

“I know.” He responds, not saying the words back because he knows it would only hurt them both more, and not because he didn’t feel the same. “You’re full of love, Enid. It’s who you are.” Ajax looks her in the eye and smiles at her, making her tears start all over again. “Now, go save Wednesday’s life.” He adds, motioning towards the door in a polite way of telling her that he needs to be alone right now. And she respects that, giving him a sad smile before making her way to the door.

“Goodbye, Ajax.” Enid quietly says as she gives the boy she used to love a remorsefully sad look before closing the door behind her.

And then she was alone in the hall, and she couldn’t hold back the flood of tears anymore.

But she doesn’t have time to cry.

Her mate’s life is on the line, and Enid needs to save her.

So she walks back to her dorm with a bit of urgency in her step, taking the stairs to the attic two at a time.

By the time she was at the door she was breathing heavily and her heart was beating hard against her ribs.

And then she opened the door.

To an empty room.

Wednesday wasn’t here, and the remaining scent of the raven told Enid that they had both left around the same time.

Enid could feel her heart stop for a few seconds with the fear that Wednesday was already gone. But she refused to give in to that horrible image.

So she ran out the door and tried her hardest to latch on to that faint smell of a flowery graveyard.

But there was nothing.

No trace of Wednesday’s scent anywhere.

Not on the stairs, or in the hall, or the library, or Bianca’s room, or anywhere on campus.

Yet she refuses to give up.

She runs through the halls towards Eugene and Pugsley’s room, hoping beyond all hope that she’s there.

And Enid almost makes it there before she turns the corner and nearly runs into three of her four brothers.

“Hey, Teeny Eeny!” The wolf in the front says, even though he was the exact same size as her, part of being a group of quintuplets unfortunately meant they all look almost exactly the same.

“Hey, Edgar.” Enid unenthusiastically responded to her brother as she rolls her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Evan quietly asks with concern after seeing Enid’s panicked face.

“Kind of.” She answers hesitantly. “Have you seen my roommate?” She quickly follows up with a hint of desperation in her voice.

“Your ‘roommate?’” Edgar asks with his usual antagonizing tone, pissing Enid off and fraying her already thin patience. “Is that what your calling her?” His voice only gets more and more annoying as he speaks.

“Yeah?” Enid answered with a confused mix of a statement and a question. “That’s what she is?“ The evident confusion on her face only seems to amuse Edgar even more.

“Oh really?” He says with an annoying cockiness. “Ethan,” Edgar says as he turns to look at their other brother, both of them have a large smirk across their faces. “Do you scent your roommate?” His words only serves to piss off Enid, watching as her brother wastes precious time that she should be using to find Wednesday for this stupid bit.

“No, I do not.” Ethan says with obvious amusement in his voice, playing into Edgar’s annoying teasing, just like he always has. “Do you scent your roommate, Edgar?” He asks in almost the exact same way that their brother asked him, their voices annoyingly similar to each other.

“I sure as hell don't.” He responds with the same, stupidly annoying voice, and it’s pushing Enid to her limit.

“Okay fine!” She growls out in anger at her brothers, already wanting to slug Edgar in the face and move on with her search for the missing seer. “Wednesday is my mate!” She says as she trows her hands up in exasperation.

“Does she know that?” Edgar asks, still keeping that teasing tone of his.

“No.” Enid quietly responds, a little bit of guilt piercing her heart over how long it’s taken her to realize it, and how much pain she put Wednesday through because of her own stupidity. “But I'm gonna tell her as soon as I find her!” She says with an urgency in her voice that portrays just how desperate she is to find Wednesday and confess.

“Hmm…” Edgar lets out as he strokes his patchy and sad excuse of a beard. “I wonder what else she doesn't know, Enver.” His words stab Enid directly in the heart, causing her to let out a gasp of hurt shock while tears begin to form in her eyes once again.

“DUDE!” Evan, the usually shy and non-confrontational one among them, yells out uncharacteristically loudly.

“Not fucking cool.” Ethan says as he delivers a forceful punch to Edgar’s shoulder, something that the workout obsessed muscle-head just shrugs off like it was nothing.

“I just think Addams should know what you are before getting into anything.” Edgar says as he shrugs, as if he hadn't just said the one single word that hurts Enid the most in the world.

“She already knows I'm trans, asshole.” Enid says with disdain as she glares at Edgar, always having to deal with his stupid transphobic comments. “She found out when she was caring for my wounds after the Crackstone incident, you know, after I wolfed out and defeated a hyde.” The memory of stopping that monster gave her a boost of confidence that she used to finally fight back against Edgar's constant bullshit. “Where were you during all of that?” She asks with rhetorical sarcasm before she narrows her eyes at him. “Oh right, you were with the rest of the school because you couldn’t shift, no one could. But I did. I was the only wolf that transformed that night!” Her voice gets louder and more forceful as she takes a step towards Edgar, feeling a twisted, yet long-overdue sense of joy at how he shrinks in on himself the slightest bit. “In fact, I’m the only wolf in the history of our pack that’s ever transformed during a blood moon.” She channels her inner Wednesday as she delivers her words with pure vitriol in her voice and a glare so intense it could paradoxically both melt ice and freeze water. “So, the next time you decide to deadname me, maybe you should remember which one of us is the presenting alpha.” She says with a deathly growl that reverberates in her bones before she takes another quick step towards Edgar, using all of her strength to deliver a swift punch directly to his abdomen, causing him to collapse in on himself and fall to his knees.

“Are you okay, Enid?” Evan asks softly as he places his hands on her shoulders, bringing one of them down to her arm and rubbing up and down on her bicep, calming her a little bit with the soothing action.

“No.” Enid says with a detached stillness, doing her best to hold back the tears that desperately wanted to flow out of her. She takes a small step forward and wraps her arms around Evan, pulling him into a quick hug, something that he reciprocates without hesitation; He was a lot like Enid in his reliance on physical contact for reassurance, something they both inherited from their dad. “But I don't have time to be okay until I find Wednesday.” She says as she steps out of the hug and wipes her eyes free of tears.

“Eric says he saw Wednesday standing by the front gate about an hour ago.” Ethan speaks up, causing Enid to look over and see him pointing to his phone with their group chat open, which makes Enid realize she forgot her phone back in her room. “Says someone pulled up and she got in their car.” Enid feels her heart drop at Ethan’s words, the memory of Tyler taking them to the Gates house caused her mind to think up all of the worst-case scenarios, like usual.

“Okay, thanks.” She says as she starts off into a sprint down the hall, going as fast as she can to find her mate.

She jumps down stairs, dodges past the few students still out and about, and barrels through the front door of the school, pumping her feet as hard as she could until the large iron gate loomed in front of her.

It was locked shut and entirely unmoving, so she quickly used her wolf strength and jumped the fence in one powerful move. With a somewhat uncoordinated landing on the other side, aka scraped palms and sore knees, she begins to frantically look around for any sign of the seer.

Wednesday was gone, and the snow is far from fresh, meaning there’s no distinct tire tracks to see among the brown slush that covers the road.

But her smell still hangs in the air, as does the fuel-heavy mix of car exhaust.

After picking up the trail of the car’s scent, she begins to follow, running as fast as she can as the fear of losing Wednesday becomes even more tangible by the second.

By the time the first of her bones start to break and shift, she’s already running on all fours, without even breaking her stride, not letting her transformation slow her run.

Her mate is in danger and she has no time to waste.

Chapter Text

The air was colder than her soul.

And the night was as dark as her heart.

But the snow was as white as her hair.

Which she found out courtesy of the comments made by her middle-aged ‘Uber’ driver about how her white hair complemented her brown skin. And she confirmed, once she used her phone’s society-dooming ‘selfie’ camera, that the entirety of her hair is now completely white, much like Goody’s had been.

So, once she was dropped off at the closest possible point to her destination, and after slashing a tire or two on the man’s oversized SUV, she began to make her way up the snow covered path with an urgency she’s rarely ever felt before.

The snow was waist deep and the wind was fierce, making the already long and difficult hike to the abandoned lumber town even more arduous.

And, to make matters worse, her flashlight was barely able to penetrate the intense darkness that surrounded her, only shining a few meters in front of her at most, making the old, snow covered buildings of her destination even harder to spot.

She should not have done this on the night of the new moon, the darkest night of the month, especially in the dead of winter. But her timeline has been immeasurably shortened and she no longer has any choice but to do it now, lest the curse takes her first.

It’s why every second she spends searching in the dark for this town is one second closer to her death, whether she finds the decrepit buildings or not.

And it’s also why she feels an intense wave of relief when she spots the unnatural square shape of a cabin that is covered in snow and partially collapsing.

She slowed her movement and began to cautiously approach the building.

Her target is located somewhere in the town and she was not going to let it sneak up on her.

Once she reaches the cabin she pokes her head into the broken window and looks around the small space, devoid of anything but rotting wood and snow covering the floor.

After making sure to look over the beams of the ceiling for any clingers she continues on, past the cabin and towards the rest of the town’s decaying ruins.

Most of the other cabins have collapsed under the weight of all of the snow and ice after spending decades in disrepair, leaving only a single two story home and the lumber mill still standing.

She slowly walked up to the porch of the sole house and listened for any signs of life coming from inside. When she hears nothing she jumps over the windowsill and carefully lands on the weathered wooden floorboards. But, despite her best attempt at remaining absolutely silent, the floor creaks underneath her feet and echos through the house.

She freezes in place and holds her breath as she waits and listens for any response to her unintended call.

But, after nearly a minute, there was nothing but the sound of the wind whipping by.

So she lets out an exhale of relief before starting to move across the room with careful footwork, trying to ensure there are no other repeat incidents of unwanted noise.

The relief she felt when walking through the house was indescribable, as she was finally able to move without having to trudge through ten pounds of snow with every step.

But going through the house had it’s own challenges. She had to make sure to only walk on the edges of the rooms, and to never step in the middle of any individual floorboards. All while staying vigilant for any cannibalistic spirits that are hopefully lurking around.

But her extreme alertness was for nothing, the house was empty, except for the basement, which was filled with four feet of solid ice.

And, while that did dismay her, it did not dissuade her.

She climbs back out the window to the porch and takes a deep breath before she begins to walk through the thick snow, making her way over to the only other structure in the town.

The saw mill.

It was built on the bank of a river to use the natural flow of water for it’s power source. But what the settlers failed to realize is that this ‘river’ was nothing more than a seasonal stream caused by snow runoff from the peaks of the green mountains, meaning the saw mill was only operational during spring, which is why the town now lays as crumbling ruins in the forest.

It almost makes sense.

The time-specific nature of the town’s source of income being limited caused the resources to dwindle, leaving them unable to afford enough supplies for the winter, which then ultimately led the townspeople to cannibalize each other.

All it takes is one rough winter, only a few weeks of eating human flesh, before one’s body gets unwillingly taken over by the spirit of a Wendigo.

But by then it’s too late.

Their body starts to shift and decay into the gray-ish pale figure with sunken eyes and no hair as they are overcome with an intense and insatiable desire to gorge themselves on human flesh.

It makes Wednesday smile just thinking about it.

About gnarled teeth ripping her flesh apart as she screams in agony, with no one around to hear her but the long-dead ears of the cannibals that digest her muscle with fervent need.

What a way to go.

And what a fascinating headstone it will make once the depiction of her death is carved in stone and forever remembered in the Addams family cemetery.

That’s all she’s ever wanted.

So, once she makes it to the rotting remains of the sawmill she tries to push open the large door, but it doesn't budge an inch. She tries again, this time with a decent amount of force. And the door moves slightly, giving Wednesday a narrow sliver of a view into the building.

But then the rusted hinges break off, freeing it from the wall.

With an ear-shattering clatter, the large wooden door falls to the ground, causing a loud echo to sound through the empty town.

She doesn’t hesitate before she grabs her dagger from her sleeve and gets in a ready position, something that proves to be a good call once the sound of shuffling begins from the upper levels of the saw mill.

But Wednesday isn’t going to stand here and wait to be attacked.

Taking careful steps around the door laying on the ground, she makes her way towards the stairs and begins to ascend.

By the time she’s crested the top of the steps, the shuffling noises stop, leaving her in total, deafening silence.

She sweeps her flashlight around the second floor landing and looks for the source of the sound, but she finds nothing. Not even any disturbed dust on the floor.

The only thing in the room is a… feather?

Her flashlight illuminates the singular, white feather sitting on top of the small pile of snow. And just above that feather, sitting on some large wooden rafters, was a collection of twigs and fur.

A nest.

An owl nest specifically, if the large white snow owl sitting in it is anything to go by.

Her shoulders drop and her eyes roll at the fact that the noise was just a damn bird. She returns her dagger to her sleeve’s sheath as she lets out a sigh, the tension of her body easing ever so slightly as her adrenaline fades.

And that’s exactly when the owl decides to attack.

It jumps off its perch and dives directly for Wednesday’s face.

She ducks down and just barely dodges the extended talons of the owl, but it doesn’t give up. It keeps scratching, clawing, and shrieking at her, and it’s attacks seem to be focused on the back of her head; her blind spot.

The owl comes down at her again, but this time she manages to defend herself. Her left forearm takes the brunt of the attack while her right swings behind her head. Then, the flashlight in her hand makes sudden contact with a support beam, shattering the glass and making a noise that scares the bird back up to the rafters.

But it didn’t stay there for long.

It stood from the wooden beam and began to flap it’s wings before Wednesday even had a chance to breathe.

And when it finally took flight, it just went right out the open door.

Leaving Wednesday alone with her humiliating battle wounds.

But it was gone nonetheless, and that gives her some time to look over the damage she’s sustained.

At least, it would, if she hadn’t broken her flashlight by wildly swinging it around at that god forsaken bird.

So, not only did she feel humiliated by losing a fight against an owl, she also felt like an idiot for using her light source as a makeshift weapon, especially when she has multiple daggers on her person.

Now her only options for light are either; her flare, which she’s saving until she sees her target, or her phone, which she quickly takes out of her skirt’s pocket, pressing all the right parts of the screen until the room lights up once again.

And when it does she sees the blood that soaks through the white stripes of her sleeve.

But, what’s far more concerning, are the beady black eyes of the pale humanoid creature she finds staring her down from the doorway across the room.

In a flash of movement the pale white creature jumps out from the darkness and tackles Wednesday, sending her falling over the railing of the sawmill’s upper landing, bringing them both to the ground with a hollow crunch.

She quickly scrambles off the floor and back to her feet, taking a second to try and force air into her lungs after having the wind knocked out of her.

Once she can take at least half a gasping breath she starts checking herself over, making sure no bones have been broken.

Thankfully,

She’s fine.

But, unfortunately,

So is the Wendigo.

The beast quickly rights itself with an unnatural and surprisingly coordinated movement before lunging at Wednesday once again.

She manages to dodge out of it’s way as she grabs her dagger from her sleeve, readying herself for it’s next attack.

But the Wendigo just runs out the open door, leaving Wednesday alone and confused. She doesn’t question it for too long though, because it gives her the time she needs to pull her flare out of her bag.

She quickly drops to her knee and flings her bag off her shoulder before searching through its contents, and that’s when she sees the loose black powder and broken flare housing.

That crack she heard when she fell was the flare, it split apart when she landed on her bag.

It seems that, with an unfortunate twist of fate; her bag broke her fall and saved her life, but, her fall broke her flare and doomed her at the same time.

That means her only light source was the weak flashlight of her phone, still tightly clenched in her left hand. But then, the silver glint of discarded granola bar wrappers in the corner of the room draws her attention to a modern kerosene lantern, most likely left behind by some hikers somewhat recently, judging by the heaps of plastic trash scattered around it.

She quickly grabs her black flip-lighter out of her bag and runs over to the lantern, pocketing her phone before picking up the lantern and shaking it to gauge the amount of fuel left in it. And, judging by the weight and sound of it, it’s nearly full.

Perfect.

Turning the small wheel to let out the wick, she then presses the lever to lift the glass housing and quickly lights it on fire, causing the whole room to be slowly illuminated by the flickering orange flame of the burning kerosene-covered wick.

And, as she lights the lantern, the Wendigo begins screeching as loud as it can, the sound echoing off the mountains and reaching every part of the nearby forest.

The coward was fleeing.

But, Wednesday didn’t spend an hour in a car that smells like cigarette smoke as it goes down bumpy roads, all while being forced to listen to a mix of misogynistic comments and disgusting ‘complements,’ only for her target to refuse a fight.

She was promised a vicious and unyielding blood lust. But it appears she’ll have to supply her own.

So she grabs the lantern and chases after the creature, running over the broken door of the sawmill and into the snow outside.

But the Wendigo wasn’t fleeing, it was ambushing.

As soon as she walked out the door she was tackled once again, but this time from her side.

Wednesday and the creature tumble into the snow as she gets pinned down by the surprisingly strong, yet very emaciated monster.

But it failed to account for Wednesday’s new weapon.

The knife in her right hand was quickly sent directly into the base of the Wendigo’s ribcage, angled towards its head, stabbing the creature directly in its internal organs.

It jumps off of her and lets out a pained scream as dark red liquid begins to flow from its mouth with each breath, meaning its lungs are beginning to fill with blood. Slowly drowning it with the very thing that gives it life.

But it didn’t leave Wednesday without its own parting gift.

Her shoulder had deep, painful claw marks that burned with each movement. It’s a level of agony she hasn’t felt since the night of the Crackstone battle, when that arrow sunk deep into the same shoulder and embedded in her bone.

It brought a smile to her face.

The intense adrenaline that comes with the pain is perfectly complemented by the fear of death that threatens her.

And it appears that fear is mirrored by her opponent.

The Wendigo lets out another scream as blood sprays from it’s mouth, but this time its more of a gurgling death rattle.

It’s the very last thing the Wendigo does before collapsing into the vibrant red, blood-soaked snow beneath it.

But all Wednesday could feel in that moment was crushing disappointment.

One strike.

That’s all it took to kill the supposedly deadly monster.

And now she has to either find some other way to die, or sit here until the cold kills her; or the curse, whichever comes first.

With each of her adrenaline fueled heartbeats she can feel the waves of blood cascade down her arm and drip off the tip of her dagger.

But, just as she’s about to inspect the burning wound on her shoulder, another scream echos through the forest.

She snaps her head in the direction of the noise and sees that, at the edge of the forest, between the mix of barren trees and evergreens, there were almost a dozen pairs of black, beady eyes reflecting the flickering light of the lantern flame.

It’s only then that it hits her;

The entire town were cannibalizing each other, so of course there would be more than one. But she was expecting it to be just one family, four people at most.

Then, another scream, this one more similar to a guttural war cry, pierces the snowy silence.

And that causes all of them to advance on her, moving in their feral half-walk half-crouch while working as a united front. Once they cross the expanse of snow they form a half-circle around her, like a pack of stray dogs harassing a cat that had the bad luck of getting cornered.

She can hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears like the footsteps of a charging beast. She knows she can’t take them all on at once, but she might have a chance if she can take out at least a few before they attack.

In a split second decision, she flips the lantern over and stabs her dagger into the thin metal bottom of the kerosene fuel tank. Next, she drops her dagger at her feet and quickly pulls her lighter out of her pocket before she flips the lantern upright once again, causing a steady stream of fuel to leak from the bottom.

She flicks the flint on her lighter and watches the flame breathe to life, and then she lights the fuel.

In a flash, the kerosene begins to burn it’s blue flame, and Wednesday wastes no time before she swings the lantern out in front of her, sending a trail of blazing hot kerosene at everything that stood close to her.

But, as she was lighting the oil, she failed to realized that something had come crashing out of the nearby tree-line with an almost impossible amount of speed.

It’s only once it jumps at, and tackles, one of the Wendigo’s that Wednesday notices the beast’s presence, and it’s pink and blue fur.

But it was too late for her to stop the fire that was flying through the air towards the beast.

Time seems to slow down to a crawl as she watches the burning liquid meet it’s unintended target.

“ENID!” Wednesday yells out in horror as she watches her vision play out in front of her in slow motion, the flaming kerosene splashes against the wolf’s fur before it drips down her pelt, leaving trails of fire streaking down her body and legs.

The wolf immediately tries to wipe the oil off with her paws, but it just spreads over her arms, causing her to let out shocked whimpers of fear.

The group of Wendigo’s face the same fate as they screech and scream in pain, but they don’t matter to Wednesday anymore. All the raven cares about is the fact that she was the one responsible for setting the wolf alight.

But while Wednesday froze in shocked fear, Enid was full on panicking.

The oil was spreading, which made the fire worse, which made her more frantic to put it out, which then made the oil spread even more.

Enid was stuck in a flame-filled feedback loop that she can’t escape

It's only after she feels her panic rise to its peak when she realizes; the fire doesn't hurt her.

In fact, the smaller bits of flaming oil just fizzled out without even singeing her fur.

She looks at her paws and watches in amazement as the liquid burns itself out entirely, leaving her completely unaffected.

But she didn’t have time to sit and wonder.

Unfortunately, most of the Wendigo’s fell to the ground and started writhing in pain the second the fire hit them, which meant the snow extinguished the brunt of the flame and prevented them from burning to a crisp. Something that Enid is embarrassed she didn’t think of, especially with how much, ‘stop drop and roll’ was drilled into her head in elementary school.

And now the pale creatures were starting to stand once again, focusing their eyes on the raven and getting ready to attack. But Wednesday was still focused on the wolf, her concern for the girl eclipsing her basic survival instincts.

Just as they’re about to fully close in on the small girl, Enid jumps between them, drawing the raven’s attention back to the threat at hand.

A pale hand reaches out and claws the wolf’s flank.

But it was the last mistake the creature ever made.

Wednesday watched as Enid turned her head towards the offender, and, in an instant, sunk her teeth into the Wendigo’s wrist, pulling it off its feet and shaking it violently between her jaw.

It’s arm breaks as it screams out in pain, but Enid wasn’t done with it yet.

The wolf wraps both it’s hands around the Wendigo’s torso and lifts it off the ground. With it’s wrist still in her mouth, Enid twists her neck and pulls on the creatures body, ripping it’s thin pale arm off at the shoulder before spitting it out and throwing the Wendigo into the trees, over thirty feet away.

And then Wednesday sees Enid take a deep inhale before letting it out in an ear shattering roar.

It wasn’t a bark, or a yelp, or even a howl; Enid full on roared. Like one of those videos the wolf showed her of an Alaskan Husky screaming like a murder victim, only this was much deeper and far louder as it reverberated in her chest and shook the snow off the trees with it’s unparalleled power.

But the Wendigo’s took it as a challenge.

Three of them start towards Enid at once, two from the front and one from the side.

Wednesday quickly reached down at her feet and grabbed her discarded dagger before flicking her wrist and sending the knife flying through the air, hitting it’s mark directly in the side of the Wendigo’s head, causing it to collapse, dead on the ground before it ever got close to Enid.

Taking out the one running at Enid’s side allowed the wolf to focus on the two in front of her. With a well placed swipe of her claws she slices the front of one open while stabbing into the chest of the next, and with so much force that their bodies flew a good few feet to the side.

The rest of the Wendigo’s weren’t going to let her get away with killing two of their own though.

All eight of the remaining creatures piled onto Enid, some clinging to her back, others attacking her head on, all of them clawing into anything they could reach.

Enid lets out desperate cries of pain, and Wednesday feels a burning hot desire to kill. To destroy everything that hurt her wolf and erase any evidence of its existence.

So the raven grabs two of her extra daggers, sheathed at her ankles, and charges at the mass of pale flesh and blonde fur.

She jumps up and stabs one of the Wendigo’s directly between it’s pale shoulder blades and into its spine. Then, in one quick motion, she pulls her arm downwards, slicing the creature’s spinal cord in half. It instantly lets go of the wolf and falls to the ground in a heap of unmoving flesh.

Then Enid reaches over her shoulder and grabs one of the creatures on her back, sinking her claws into it’s chest and ripping it off of her before slamming it into the ground and stomping on its head, ending it’s life with a pleasing crunch.

Wednesday quickly follows up her last attack with a slice across the throat of another clinger on Enid’s back, pulling it off of the wolf by its shoulder and throwing it to the ground as its own blood relentlessly invades its windpipe. She then focuses on the one remaining Wendigo stuck on Enid’s back, using her dual daggers to simultaneously cut both of the creatures Achilles tendons before quickly continuing her attack and stabbing her blades directly into its armpits. It falls to the ground and screeches in pain as it's unable to use any of its limbs.

After a swift slice of the defenseless Wendigo’s throat Wednesday takes a step back and watches in awe as Enid takes on the last four Wendigo’s by herself.

The wolf slices through their flesh with her impressive claws, breaks their bones with her surprising skill, throws their bodies with her breath-taking strength.

She killed them all with terrifying precision.

And Wednesday has never seen anything so magnificent.

Watching Enid tear apart an entire group of powerful, cannibalistic monsters stirs her heart in ways she never experienced before.

As does the look of her blood covered wolf form, hunched over the slain carcasses of their foes and breathing out heavy clouds of steaming hot vapor into the cold night air; all of it illuminated by the dancing flames of the still-burning pools of oil surrounding them.

Enid lets out an ear-splitting howl, both declaring her victory and sending out a warning to any other creatures that might be lurking in the woods. The lumbering wolf then snarls as she kicks a pale corpse out of her way before turning around and facing Wednesday, looking at the raven with her glowing golden eyes that soften in the most adorable way once meeting Wednesday’s gaze.

And then Enid lowers her head and lets out a quiet whine.

Wednesday can feel her heart lurch forward in her chest, as if it was trying to pull her towards Enid, and she can’t hold back.

The raven lunges into the thick, blood-covered fur of the wolf’s chest before wrapping her arms around her large torso, her hands only able to reach Enid’s shoulders due to the wolf’s impressive size.

Enid quickly returns the embrace, bringing her arms around the raven’s back, burying her in warm blonde fur until all visible black was shrouded from the world.

And the two held on to each other for a long time. Even as the wind whistles past them and snow begins to fall, the wolf and the raven stay in each others arms.

Even as Enid’s bones begin to break and her fur starts to dissipate, Wednesday holds onto the wolf like it was the last time she ever could.

But, once Enid fully shifts back, her relief at finding the raven alive begins to fade and intense anger replaces it.

“What the hell, Wednesday?!” Enid demands, pushing the raven away from her in a direct mirror of their first hug, when Wednesday was the one pushing Enid away. “Why the hell are you alone in the middle of the woods? What the absolute fuck are these creepy freak things?” She says as she looks at the pile of bodies over the raven’s shoulder before focusing her attention back to Wednesday, glancing at the girl’s now fully white hair and then finally looking into her beautiful dark brown eyes. It’s then that Enid notices her gaze wasn’t being returned. “And why are you looking at my-” She cuts herself off when she follows the girl’s wide-eyed gaze and sees what she was staring at. Looking down at herself leads Enid to the terrifying realization that she just transformed, and is now completely naked. “WEDNESDAY!” Enid yells out in shock as she pulls out of the girls arms and turns her body so her back is facing the raven, all while she covers herself with her hands. But, now that she’s stepped out of the hug and no longer has any fur to cover her body, she begins to shiver in the freezing night air.

“I-” Wednesday stutters out a single, one syllable word and nothing more. And then Enid hears the sound of shuffling clothes behind her before an arm reaches out past her side with a black and white sweater and long black skirt draped over it. “I apologize Enid, I didn’t mean to stare.” The raven says as Enid takes the offered clothes and slips them on as quick as she can.

It’s only once the sweater and skirt are on does she realize how warm, and bloody, the clothes are. She turns around and sees Wednesday standing with her back to her, wearing just a long sleeve black shirt and black leggings, confirming Enid’s suspicions that Wednesday literally gave her the clothes off her back. And that melts all of the anger out of Enid’s mind and fills her heart with love instead.

“I’ll forgive you,” Enid begins as she walks over to Wednesday and wraps her arms around the small seers waist, pulling the raven close before placing her head on the girl’s uninjured shoulder. “If you tell me why you’re in this creepy place all alone.” Enid says as she places her face in the crook of Wednesday’s neck, inhaling her scent in order to calm her frantic worry over her injured mate.

“I was hunting Wendigos.” Wednesday answers simply, trying not to let her pain show through her voice, but she still leans her head ever so slightly against Enid’s.

“Are you hunting them, or are you hoping they’ll hunt you?” Enid asks as she removes herself from the raven and moves to stand in front of Wednesday. But the white haired seer is almost refusing to meet Enid’s gaze, looking at the ground between them or the bodies that surround them, but never into the caring blue ocean of the wolf’s irises.

“Why did you come here, Enid?” Wednesday deflects the question as she finally looks at Enid, but it’s only for a few seconds and only to narrow her eyes at the wolf. “Weren’t you supposed to be having fun with Ajax?” She attempts to change the topic, but that just gives away the fact that the wolf’s suspicions were correct.

“Well, I wouldn’t call breaking up ‘fun’ but I’m sure you would have loved it.” Enid tells her with a bit of a sarcastic tone in her voice as she watches Wednesday practically flinch at the ‘breakup’ word. “It was a little awkward and uncomfortable which is, like, right up your alley.” She jokes as a way to break the nervous tension building in her mind.

“You and Ajax aren’t together anymore?” Wednesday asks with wide eyes and a quiet disbelief in her voice.

“That’s right, we’re no longer dating.” Enid confirms with a slight smile, taking a bit of joy in the way Wednesday seems to malfunction with this new info. “And you’re not allowed to shoot him full of nails.” She warns with a bit of lighthearted teasing in her voice.

“But, you broke up, Enid, and I promised you, if he ever broke your heart I would nail gun his.” She says with 100 percent seriousness, making Enid giggle at the girls constant readiness to commit horrible acts of violence for the people she cares about.

“He didn’t break my heart, Wends. I broke up with him.” The wolf says in an attempt to calm the building homicidal urge in the raven.

“But, why?” Wednesday asks with pure confusion as she narrows her eyes and tilts her head ever so slightly, one of her white braids slides off her bloody shoulder and gets stained pink in the process. “I thought you were happy with him?” Wednesday looks into her eyes with a steeled gaze, something that Enid has come to know as her detective eyes, the ones that Wednesday uses whenever there’s a mystery for her to solve.

“I was, but I was also five pounds and three ounces at one point.” She says with a smile on her face and a bit of a nonchalant tone. “Things change sometimes.” She finishes with a shrug of her shoulders, which only causes her to wince in pain as it highlights the extent of the injuries she’s taken tonight.

“So what changed this time?” Wednesday gently probes, unsure if she should be internally celebrating over something that might have severely hurt Enid.

“I found my mate.” The wolf answers with a large smile spread across her face, and Wednesday’s heart drops.

“Oh.” The raven says with poorly hidden hurt in her voice as her face shows her shocked sadness. “And it’s not Ajax?” She hesitantly asks, unsure if she wants to know who has claimed Enid’s heart so permanently.

“No, it’s not.” Enid confirms, and that just sends Wednesday’s mind into an investigative spiral as she tries to deduce who, other than the gorgon, could have stolen the wolf’s heart. “Ajax wasn’t bad, but my mate is way better. They’re super smart, incredibly strong, insanely attractive, endlessly talented, surprisingly funny, but also very creepy, maybe a little crazy too?” The wide smile on Enid’s face is the complete contrast to what’s going on in Wednesday’s mind. Each time the wolf lists an adjective to describe her mate, the raven feels herself die a little bit more.

“Congratulations, Enid.” Wednesday says with a tone that she hopes doesn’t sound as hollow as her soul feels.

“And,” Enid says as she looks into Wednesday’s eyes and sees the hurt she’s trying to hide. “They’re standing right in front of me.” Her voice is soft and has this shy, breathless quality to it that shows how serious she is.

“Enid…” Wednesday says as her heart stops in shock before beating again with a renewed fervor at what Enid just alluded to. “I know that I am in no position to make this demand, given my history, but please, do not lie to me.” She actually begs Enid, too afraid of the possibility that the wolf was just playing with her feelings. And, if she was, it was guaranteed to kill Wednesday where she stands.

“I’m not lying.” Enid assures her with a gentle voice. “You, Wednesday Friday Addams, still think that’s a super cute middle name,” She interjects herself with a smile on her face before she delicately reaches out and grabs onto both of Wednesday’s hands. “Are my mate.” Enid feels a massive wave of relief after finally admitting her feelings to Wednesday, the stress of keeping it a secret was becoming far too much for her to handle.

“Really?” Wednesday asks with a quiet and unsure voice, something so rare to hear from the self-assured and headstrong girl. But nowhere near as rare as the tears that swell in her eyes and drip down her freckled cheeks.

“Yes, you really are.” Enid says as she lets go of Wednesday’s hands and reaches out to cup the raven’s face with both of her palms, using her thumbs to wipe away the little streaks of wetness on the girl’s face. “I didn’t run after you all the way from Nevermore just to lie to you.” A wide smile splits across her face as she stares into the shocked eyes of her mate. “I love you, Wends.” Her heart was beating a thousand times a second as she anxiously awaited any kind of response from the girl, anything other than her wide eyes and blank look.

And, after a few seconds of breathless silence, Wednesday reaches up and grabs two handfuls of the wolf’s shirt before she pulls her down, bringing them together in a desperate and long overdue kiss full of overflowing need.

Their lips collide with force and their teeth click against one another as the inexperienced Addams follows her heart and lets her passion take over her usual perfectionism.

And Enid quickly responds by removing her hands from the raven’s face and wrapping her arms around Wednesday’s waist, pulling her closer and deepening their kiss. She focuses on Wednesday’s lower lip, working it between her own with a gentle firmness as she takes the lead and uses her previous experience to help guide the raven.

This caused Wednesday’s initial urgency to quickly fade into a more subdued rhythm as she starts to match the pace Enid was setting. The almost suffocating grip she had on Enid’s shirt disappeared, and the intense pressure she was using to push her lips against Enid’s eased.

But all of that just showed how desperate the raven truly was for this moment.

She fully releases her hold on Enid’s shirt and instead throws her arms over the girl’s shoulders, grabbing her own wrist on the other side of the wolf’s neck and pulling her down even deeper into the kiss.

In that moment, both the wolf and the raven experienced an unparalleled feeling of completeness throughout their entire being. It was as if a part of themselves was finally returned to them after a lifelong feeling of emptiness in their souls.

For Wednesday, it’s like her heart began to beat for the very first time in her life. It was slamming against her ribs with a strength it hasn't been able to conjure since the curse first gripped her soul, and that caused her blood to flow through her body with such an intensity that it made her skin tingle and the color drain into her face.

And for Enid, it feels like she can finally think again without her mind being clouded by a thick fog. All the guilt over her crush on Wednesday and the fear of driving the raven away with her feelings vanish, taking a weight off her shoulder that she never realized was slowly crushing her.

The feeling between them was more than sparks, far greater than fireworks, and more electric than the strongest of lightning bolts.

It felt like the driving force that keeps atoms together, holding the two in each others orbits and making some new and wonderful element between them.

They only break apart once the need for air out ways their need for each other, which is to say, Enid was seeing rainbow spots underneath her eyelids due to lack of oxygen.

The two pull away from each other with a hesitant unwillingness to part. But Enid’s legs were starting to give out from under her, causing her to lean forward against Wednesday, burying her head in the crook of the raven’s neck as she puts most of her weight on the smaller girl, something that Wednesday has no problem supporting.

She wraps her arms around the wolf and holds her against her body before bringing one of her hands up and combing her fingers through the blonde, blue, pink, and now, somewhat red hair of the wolf.

“Are you okay?” Wednesday delicately asks as she feels the sticky redness start to clot in Enid’s hair.

“I’m fine Wends, I’m way more worried about you.” Enid responds by pulling back slightly and looking over the blood that drips down Wednesday’s arm. And then she notices that the girls hair has now gone back to being it’s usual black color, all traces of white have seemingly disappeared during their kiss.

“What about your burns?” Wednesday says as she looks the wolf over for any flame-based injuries, but she finds none, which confuses her to the point where she questions her memory, even though she knows there is no possible way she had hallucinated all of that fire.

“What burns?” Enid asks as she tilts her head, as if she just simply forgot about the most likely third degree burns that riddle her side.

“From the lantern oil.” Wednesday clarifies with guilt in her voice for accidentally setting her soulmate on fire.

“Oh… It never burned me.” Enid says as unsure realization washes over her. “But I don’t know how…” Her confusion is clear on her face, as is the slight fear that this is all just a dream and she’ll wake up soon, that none of this actually happened, but the pain throbbing through her body from her wounds proved this to be real.

“I believe it is for the same reason that I can’t harm Pugsley, and why my aunt Debby failed to execute my whole family.” Wednesday answers with a slight fondness in her voice as her eyes nearly twinkle with joy.

“Wait, so…” Enid says, choosing to gloss over that ‘my aunt Debby tried to execute my whole family’ thing, because there’s something much more important she needs to ask. “Does that mean I’m an Addams?” She questions with an eagerness in her voice that makes it clear how excited she is at the prospect of being a part of the dark and gloomy family.

“Yes, it does.” There’s a hint of satisfied pride in her voice at the fact that the curse considered Enid an Addams, even before they kissed.

“Is it because of what your parents said, about how I was a part of the family?” She asks as she looks at Wednesday with nervous tears brimming in her eyes.

“The curse doesn’t abide by word of mouth, Enid.” Wednesday says as a small smile spreads across her lips at the fact that this was all actually happening. Enid was an Addams. But more than that, Enid was her Addams. She was the one who was responsible for bringing the colorful wolf into the family.

“So… Does this mean you love me too?” Enid asks with a wide grin, and Wednesday can feel how the wolf vibrates with excitement in her arms.

“I thought I made that clear when I exchanged saliva with you.” Wednesday replies with her own grin, although hers is much more reserved than Enid’s it still shows how overjoyed she is to be in the arms of her wolf, to be able to truthfully claim their lips met in a moment of passion.

“Okay. First off, gross, don’t say it like that. We kissed, Wends.” She couldn’t help the massive smile that split her face, because yeah, she did just kiss Wednesday Addams, and Wednesday kissed her back. “And second, yeah, you did… But I want to hear you say it.” Her smile shifts from her overjoyed excitement to a more reserved but still ridiculously wide grin that just shows how much she loves Wednesday.

“Very well.” Wednesday says as she looks into the wolf’s eyes with determination before she removes her hand from the blonde hair and cups Enid’s cheek with her palm. “You, Enid Esther Sinclair, I still despise that middle name.” She interjects herself in a parallel of Enid’s confession. “Are the sunlight that burns my retinas, the spider that crawls around the walls of my intestines, the ghost that causes a stir in the halls of my heart. You haunt my soul, and yet, I cannot get enough of you.” Her eyes shine with the love she feels for Enid as she confesses the depth of her feelings for the wolf who has claimed her heart. “I want more of your scent, more of your laughs, more of your endless colors and boundless joy. Because I love you, Enid.” As she says this she can feel Enid’s arms tighten around her while the wolf lets out a quiet squeak of joy. “I love you more than a serial killer loves to hunt, more than an addict loves their poison. I love you more than I love death itself.” The amount of restraint it takes Wednesday to hold herself back from kissing Enid again until she finished her confession was unlike anything she’s ever experienced before, even the restraint it takes to stop herself from murdering people throughout the day doesn’t come close to competing. “I loved you long before Crackstone ever showed up and I will love you long after I draw my last breath.” Her eyes graze over the lines of Enid’s scars and follow them down to her lips before returning her gaze to the breathtaking yellow-ringed blue. “Because you, Enid, are my soulmate.” She finishes with a steeled determination in her voice as she looks into the wolf’s eyes with unwavering certainty.

“Aww! Wends!” Enid says with a breathless adoration in her voice as tears begin to form in her eyes. And while the tears initially scared Wednesday, afraid that she upset Enid with her confession, she quickly realizes they are tears of joy based on the smile spread across Enid’s face.

And Enid quickly leans down and gently kisses Wednesday, focusing on the raven’s lower lip once again. Something that Wednesday eagerly reciprocates, taking Enid’s top lip between her own and showing just how quickly she’s able to learn a new skill.

But their kiss doesn’t last long.

Though, it’s not for some horrible reason, like another Wendigo showing up or one of them passing out from blood loss.

No.

It ends because Enid can’t stop her lips from pulling into a smile, ruining her ability to return the kiss in any capacity.

Wednesday pulls away from the failed kiss and sends a half-hearted glare towards Enid, but the look in her eyes shows just how little it actually bothers her.

“I would be upset that your ridiculous smile has ruined our kiss, but I find the sight of your joy far to adorable to ever be mad at." Wednesday says before she leans in and gently presses her lips against the side of Enid’s jaw, her hand still cradling the other side of the wolf’s face as she does so.

And then Enid tightens her hold on the seer’s waist before lifting her off the ground and spinning them both in excited little circles.

“Oh my god Wednesday! I love you so much!” Enid yells out with joy as she giggles at the angry noises of surprise the raven makes. She puts Wednesday down after about five spins, but neither of them lets go.

“You are insufferable.” Wednesday says as she looks into the pleased eyes of her wolf. But the smile on her face and the teasing tone of her voice shows how little she actually hated Enid’s actions.

“Yeah, but that’s why you love me!” Enid happily cheers back as she leans down and delivers a quick peck to Wednesday’s lips before beaming a smile so bright it nearly blinds the raven.

“It is one of the many reasons, yes.” Wednesday replies with her own smile, but a completely unrestrained one, with dimples and everything. And it absolutely melts Enid’s heart, not only because she had the privilege to see it, but also because she was the reason it was there in the first place. But, while her heart was melting through her chest, her bare feet were freezing in the cold snow.

“I would totes love to stay here and hold you all night long, because for real, that’s like a literal dream come true.” She says with a fond and dreamy look in her eyes before it quickly shifts into a wince of pain. “But I ran here all the way from Nevermore and I know my feet would be killing me if I could feel them through the frostbite.” Her words cause Wednesday to pull out of their embrace and look down at the bare, and slightly blue feet of the wolf.

“Here.” Wednesday says as she grabs Enid’s hand, leading her inside the sawmill and out of the snow before she sits the wolf on the lower few steps of the stairs, getting her off her frozen feet. Once Enid is sitting Wednesday moves across the room and begins to root through her black leather bag that was still where she left it. Once she finds what she was looking for, her extra pair of wool socks, she quickly shakes all of the loose black powder off of them before wordlessly handing them to Enid, who accepts them with a smile.

“So uh… how are we getting home?” Enid questions as she slips on the socks and rubs her toes through the thick wool in an attempt to warm them up. “Cause I don’t think I can walk back without loosing some toes.” She says as her feet are still too numb to feel anything other than the throbbing hints of pain.

“I’ll order us a driver.” Wednesday says as she reaches down for pockets that she doesn’t have anymore. “My phone is in your left pocket.” She tells Enid while she takes in the sight of the normally colorful blonde wearing her black clothes, it’s a sight that Wednesday wants to commit to memory.

“You have a phone?!” Enid yells in shock as she pulls the sleek black rectangle out of the skirt’s pocket. “Since when?” She asks as she looks at Wednesday with an almost offended confusion.

“End of last semester, Xavier gifted it to me with his number already added, which made it far easier for me to block.” She says with a bit of a smirk at the artist’s stupidity. “But that’s not important right now, we need to get you warm.” Wednesday looks over the still shivering wolf before she moves to grab the splintered remains of the sawmill’s upper balcony banister, gathering it in a pile. She reaches for the lighter in her pocket only to be reminded once again that she was no longer wearing her skirt. Enid sees the raven pat the spot on her hip where her pocket should be, and the wolf quickly reaches into the borrowed skirt to pull out whatever Wednesday was looking for, which happened to be a black plated Zippo lighter. Enid hands it to Wednesday who thanks her with a silent nod before she lights the small pile of wood between them, watching the smoke rise to the ceiling and disperse out the many holes in the roof.

“I don’t think anyone is gonna let two blood covered girls in their car.” Enid says with a bit of a sad smile as she looks over the wounded love of her life.

“You’d be surprised.” Wednesday responds with a smirk as she sits down on the step next to Enid, their thighs and shoulders brushing against one another with their closeness. “When I fought the Banshee I managed to find one who didn’t mind.” She says as she recalls the fact that setting Nevermore as her destination in her ride app resulted in a fellow outcast driving her home.

“Oh right! That was Yoko’s sister!” Enid yells out in joy as an idea comes to her. “I can see if she’s willing to pick us up!” She says with excitement as she pulls up the phone, putting in her pass code to unlock it before going to open the messages app. It’s only once she sees the very different layout of apps and very gruesome homescreen background that she realizes, this is Wednesday’s phone.

But she still managed to unlock it.

“Your phones pass code…” Enid says with breathless disbelief as she looks up at the raven with wide eyes.

“What about it?” Wednesday questions, wondering what could be so shocking about a series of six numbers.

“It’s set as my birthday.” A smile spreads across the wolf’s face and it grows to a level that is beginning to concern Wednesday.

“Yes, it is.” Wednesday confirms, no longer embarrassed about her affections for Enid, despite the blush that darkens her cheeks.

“That is SO cute!” Enid yells out as she throws her arm over the raven’s shoulder and pulls her close, earning a wince of pain from both of them as their wounds threaten to split open again, which causes the wolf to sheepishly pull away.

“Enid, hurry up and contact Yoko’s sister.” Wednesday says with a roll of her eyes and a smile on her face before she continues. “Or do you want us both to freeze to death before we can experience the delightful torture of our first date?” She asks with a teasing tone as she playfully bumps the wolf’s shoulder.

“Right!” Enid says with happiness as she quickly gets to imputing Yoko’s number before explaining their situation and how she needed her sister’s contact information.

Thankfully, she manages to secure them a ride back to Nevermore in less than five minutes. Now they just had to wait for Yoko’s sister to arrive.

Enid leans against Wednesday before resting her head against the raven’s shoulder, and Wednesday quickly followed Enid’s lead, resting her head on the wolf’s.

Wednesday isn’t sure when they began to hold hands, and neither is Enid, but all they knew is they currently were, but they don’t mind. In fact, they both find comfort in the moment.

The wolf and the raven sit on the stairs of the old sawmill, silently looking into the small fire as they enjoyed the quiet comfort of each other’s company. It’s a blissful peace that only comes with the close contact and honest feelings of love between them.

Wednesday has never felt so peaceful and comfortable in the presence of another human in her life.

And Enid has never felt so safe and content in the silence of someone’s company.

The sharp and sudden sound of cello strings from Wednesday’s phone break the silence, startling both girls who were lost in the moment. Enid picks up the phone from her lap and unlocks it, which causes her to smile at the pass code once again, before reading the message from Yoko’s sister.

“Looks like our ride’s here.” Enid says sweetly to the raven who looked to be falling asleep on her if the cute, bleary way she blinks up at her was anything to go by. They pull apart and begin to prepare for their long walk down to the road and their waiting ride.

Wednesday grabs her bag and carefully throws it on her good shoulder while Enid tosses handfuls of snow on the fire to extinguish it.

Before they begin their journey Wednesday tells Enid to take off her socks so they don’t get soaked in the snow.

And then the two girls sharing one set of clothes start walking through the thick snow, hand in hand and heart in heart.

There was a comfortable and exhausted silence between them as they did their best to follow the snow covered dirt road towards their destination.

But when Wednesday looks up at the sky she notices something that was more confusing than concerning.

“Enid, It’s a new moon tonight.” The raven states as she shifts her gaze to the wolf, curious to see how she responds.

“Oh wow.” Enid says as she looks at the dark night sky to confirm Wednesday’s statement. “You can see so many stars…” The wolf says with amazement as the sea of shining stars reflect in her blue eyes.

“A new moon is the farthest you can get from a full moon, so how did you transform?” She asks, knowing that the view of the non-light polluted stars were far too mesmerizing for the wolf’s attention span.

“Oh…” Enid begins, still looking up at the stars. “Oh!” She says as she shifts her gaze to the raven, finally getting what Wednesday was asking her. “I don’t know.” The wolf says with a tilt of her head as she begins to think of what could be the cause of her non-lunar-cycle-aligned transformation. “It might be because of my first shift. Apparently I’m the only one in the history of my pack to have wolfed out on the blood moon.” She answers with the only thing she could possibly think of as the reason.

“Interesting…” Wednesday says with a perplexed curiosity as she sends an intrigued side glance towards Enid. “I have a few theories. Perhaps once we get back to Nevermore you’ll assist me in a search for books about rare types of outcasts?” She asks with the hope of a quiet research date in the library.

“Um, no.” Enid denies as she looks over the blood covered raven. “We’re going right to the nurse because I’m like 90 percent sure we both need stitches.” But the look on Wednesday’s face tells her the raven is getting ready to throw her some grim yet witty response in order to avoid going to the nurse. “And I’m not gonna let you stitch yourself up!” The wolf adds on, which appears to take the wind out of Wednesday’s defiant sails.

“I would never stitch myself, Enid.” She assures the wolf with a sly smile, as if she was in the process of out smarting Enid. “I always make Thing do it.” The smug and too proud tone of her voice both annoys Enid and makes her smile at the self assured raven.

“He doesn’t even have eyes, Wends!” She points out the obvious facts in an attempt to prove how ridiculous that idea actually is.

“Yet his needle work is impeccable.” But of course, Wednesday stands by her initial decision, no matter how poor of a decision it may be.

“Okay, fine.” Enid gives in, knowing how impossible it is to get the raven to submit to any professional medical help. Her violent refusal of all the paramedics during the Crackstone incident still makes Enid shudder at the thought. “But, if you really don’t want to go to the nurse, then, when we get back, you’re going to let me bandage you.” Enid makes her case in an attempt to get the raven at least a little bit of care for her wounds.

“I’m fine, Enid.” Wednesday denies the need for assistance, unwilling to let the wolf worry over her wounds while Enid’s were still bleeding.

“Bullshit.” Enid says with a harsh tone, earning a surprised glare from the raven walking next to her. “I’m wearing your shirt, Wends, I can literally feel how much blood you’ve lost.” She says as she pulls at the half-wet half-frozen blood that soaked her shirt’s shoulder, making a gross squelch sound as the fabric moves.

“Okay.” Wednesday knows she can’t stop the wolf’s concern for her, so she gives in, knowing that the sooner Enid stops worrying over her, the sooner Wednesday can begin to take care of her. “I’ll let you bandage my wounds with the stipulation that you allow me to return the favor.” She bargains, even though she knows the wolf won’t put up any kind of fight, especially once she sees that Wednesday is fully okay.

“Deal!” Enid happily cheers out with a smile at her supposed win. “But if anyone starts stabbing me with a needle I will pass out and you’ll have to make sure I don’t die.” The wolf adds on with a nervous tone at the possibility of having a needle turned on her.

“It goes without saying that I will always protect you, Enid. And I will do whatever necessary to prevent your death, even if it’s by something as mundane as a surgical needle.” Wednesday says with a serious tone, only adding a hint of teasing to her last few words. “Besides, if you do die, the curse will end my life too. Not that it matters much considering I plan to willingly relinquish my part in the living world if I am ever forced to deal with your permanent absence from it.” She finished with complete conviction in her voice as she simply walks forward and looks at the night sky above them.

“It’s super sad to hear you talk about you killing yourself, but I know that’s your creepy Addams way of saying you love me to death, and that makes it weirdly cute.” Enid says with a smile on her face as she admires the profile of the raven, who’s still looking at the stars. “But knowing us, we’re both going to die together fighting some horrible mob of monsters.” She finishes with a playful bump of their shoulders and a slight giggle.

“So you’re suggesting we die side by side in battle?” Wednesday asks with a smirk as she shifts her gaze to focus on the wolf walking next to her. “I hope you know that’s essentially a marriage proposal in my family.” There’s a little bit of teasing in her voice, but it’s nowhere near as prominent as the overflowing affection.

“Good.” Enid says as she brings the hand in hers up to her lips, placing a delicate kiss to the raven’s knuckles. “Cause there’s no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with than you.” The wolf looks into her raven’s eyes, the stars shining in the reflection of those dark brown irises only makes her beauty stand out even more against the white of the snow.

“The feeling is incredibly mutual, mi dulce loba.” (My sweet wolf) Wednesday says with a soft tone as she squeezes the hand in hers.

“I’m glad to hear that, mi luna oscura.” (My dark moon) Enid responds with the little bit of Spanish she learned just for Wednesday. The shocked look on the raven’s face mixed with the blush that darkens her cheeks caused the wolf to let out a little giggle before explaining. “After Yoko told me what ‘mi dulce loba’ means, I kinda looked up things to say back to you in Spanish.” Enid’s voice is dripping with smug joy, and it makes Wednesday want to tease her, just to see the look on her face.

“Très impressionnante, ma douce louve.” (Very impressive, my sweet wolf) Wednesday responds with a smirk as she watches the confused face of her love.

“Was that French?!” She asks with wide eyes and a happy tone of disbelief. “That is so not fair, Wednesday!” She complains, despite the smile on her face, but Wednesday can’t tell if the blush on Enid’s cheeks was caused by the cold of the air or the warmth of her heart.

“All is fair in love and war, meine süße Wölfin.” (My sweet wolf) Wednesday says as the headlights of a car come into view on the road up ahead of them.

“German?” Enid says as she smiles brightly at the raven. “Now you’re just showing off.” She finishes with an adorable giggle just as they make it to the waiting car.

“Only for you, my sweet wolf.” Wednesday responds in a soft voice as she opens the car door for her mate. Enid quickly climbs in, but both girls refuse to let go of the others hand, so the wolf scoots over and the raven enters the pleasantly warm car after her.

Wednesday slams the door shut with a solid thud, marking the end of their deadly excursion into the woods, and the start of the rest of their lives together.

Chapter Text

The ride home was peaceful.

Yoko’s sister didn’t ask any questions, other than if they needed to go to a hospital, which they refused and she accepted.

And, at some point during the hour long trip, Wednesday fell asleep while leaning against Enid’s shoulder. At first, Enid was a little terrified that Wednesday passed out or just straight up died right then an there, but, when she tried to push the raven off of her to check for signs of life, Wednesday just nuzzled into her side even more. It was one of the most adorable things she has ever seen the raven do.

But then they arrived at Nevermore and Enid shook the raven’s shoulder to wake her up. The sleepy smile Wednesday flashed at her instantly took the top spot for most adorable thing Enid has ever witnessed. Unfortunately, by the time they made it up to their attic room, after the long climb up the snow-covered emergency escape stairs, Wednesday was much more awake and aware, which meant she was way more irritable.

It was apparent that waking her up from her nap made Wednesday just a teensy bit grumpy when the raven immediately attempted to shatter a panel of their spiderweb window once she found it to be locked. It took a gentle hand and a soft please to convince her not to resort to breaking and entering.

But it turns out that Thing was waiting for their return and was able to open the window for them, ushering them in and demanding answers about where they went and why they were both bleeding.

While Wednesday explains the fight in extreme detail Enid walks over to the black writers desk, pushing the chair out of the way before grabbing the old leather doctors bag from the bottom drawer and placing it on the desk’s surface.

“Alright, take your shirt off and sit down.” Enid says to the raven, who looks at the wolf with wide eyes before a devious grin shows on her face.

“Is this your attempt at seducing me?” She asks with that tone she uses whenever she finds something amusing but tries to mask it, and that, combined with the mischievous glint in her eye, gave away her true intentions. And if Wednesday wanted to tease her, then Enid can tease right back.

“Come on Wends.” Enid says with a dismissive scoff before she takes a step closer to the seer and leans down to whisper in her ear. “When I seduce you, you’ll know it.” She adds on with a dark and teasing tone as she puts her hands on the stunned raven’s shoulders and pushes her down into the chair, rendering Wednesday a silent, blushing mess. “Thing, you stitch up her shoulder and I’ll take care of the bandaging.” She commands in a chipper tone, as if she hadn’t just sent Wednesday’s heartbeat down into her abdomen seconds prior. Following her instructions with a cute little salute, Thing begins to root around in the doctors bag before emerging with a fresh needle and string while Enid quickly grabs the bowl, the bottle of distilled water, and a clean rag before turning her attention to the still clothed raven. “You can take your shirt off, or I can cut it off.” Enid says as she extends her claws and points at Wednesday’s shirt. “Your choice.” She finishes with a smirk at the slight blush that darkens Wednesday’s cheeks.

“Is it really a choice when my wounds prevent me from raising my arm above my shoulder?” Wednesday questions as she demonstrates her point, moving her arm until the pain becomes to much to continue, only able to raise it to a 45 degree angle at most. And of course that fills Enid with concern for the raven’s well being.

“Oh my god, stop! You made your point, okay?” Enid yells as she grabs Wednesday’s arm and pushes it back down to her side, stopping her from making her wounds any worse. “Now stay still, I don’t want to cut you with my claws.” She says as she hooks her fingers into the collar of Wednesday’s shirt.

“It is impossible for you to physically harm me, Enid.” Wednesday reminds the wolf, earning a wide smile from the girl.

“Oh, right!” Enid cheers out before she looks into Wednesday’s eyes and asks, “Are you ready?” And, after the nod of confirmation from the raven, Enid begins to slowly slice the front of Wednesday’s shirt in half, using one of her hands to pull the shirt taut and the other to sever the fabric with a loud ripping sound. Once the front of her shirt was split, Wednesday quickly dropped the remains off her shoulders and slid the sleeves off her arms, leaving her in her long sleeve thermal underwear. Enid’s relief at the fact that the raven wasn’t topless was short lived once she notices the thermal underwear Wednesday was wearing also covers her wounds, meaning it needed to go too. “Okay.” Enid says, both to herself and to Wednesday. “Ready for round two?” She asks with a nervous tint of humor to her voice, not entirely prepared for the sight of Wednesday’s bare chest again, especially after she realized the raven is her mate.

“Just do it, Enid.” Wednesday responds with a roll of her eyes and a bit of an annoyed tone, the longer it takes for her wounds to get dealt with means the closer Enid gets to bleeding out.

With another quick rip of fabric, the last barrier between Enid and Wednesday’s wounds falls to the floor, leaving the raven in her black sports bra. And Enid can’t help but let out a sigh of relief at the fact that she’ll be able to focus on the task at hand without having to fight off her gay panic.

“Don’t look so disappointed, Enid, in the future there will be plenty of chances for you to see my bare chest, again.” Wednesday teases once more as she looks up at the wolf with playfulness in her eyes.

“Is that a threat, or a promise?” Enid responds with a smirk as she pushes the side of the raven’s chair against the desk so Thing can begin his work on stitching up Wednesday’s shoulder. As Thing gets to work, Enid pours the distilled water into the bowl in preparation for cleaning the trails of blood off the ravens shoulder.

“It’s a guarantee.” Wednesday shoots back with a cocky and teasing tone as she looks up through her eyelashes at Enid. It was one of the most flirty things anyone has ever seen Wednesday do, and Enid was overjoyed to be the one to witness it.

“You know, you could just say that you want me.” Enid teases back with a smile on her face while her heart swells in her chest.

“I want you.” Wednesday replies in an instant with absolute certainty in her voice as she looks directly into Enid’s eyes and steels her gaze at the wolf. “And I no longer have to conceal that fact.” Her tone softens, but that determination and affection still stays.

“You have no idea how happy that makes me feel.” Enid says as her heart melts in her chest at hearing those words from Wednesday, her mate. Her mate who was still actively bleeding. And that forces Enid to focus back on the task at hand, so she dunks the rag in the bowl of water before wringing it out, getting it ready to clean the dried blood off Wednesday’s skin. “But before we get our blood flowing, we should probably make sure it’s going to stay inside of us.” It’s then that Thing freezes in place, just as the needle was about to enter Wednesday’s skin.

“What?” Wednesday asks as she turns to look at the unmoving hand, feeling the needle against her skin but not the painless pressure that’s supposed to follow. An unfortunate side effect of having an Addams stitch her up is the displeasing lack of the needle’s pinching pain.

Thing quickly taps out a few words of confusion about whether or not ‘it’ happened.

“Yes, Enid and I have professed our undying love for each other, and we are now romantically entangled.” She answers with a smirk on her face that she can’t manage to suppress, the joy of telling someone about her and her wolf’s relationship was something she had never expected would be so thrilling.

Thing then begins to rapidly sign his congratulations to the two girls, endlessly happy for both of them and relieved that Wednesday is no longer in danger of dying from the curse.

“We’re totes girlfriends now!” Enid yells out in joy before she looks at Wednesday with a shy smile and asks, “Right? Girlfriends?” It’s not doubt or regret in her voice, but nervous confusion over the proper nomenclature regarding their relationship status.

“Girlfriends, partners, lovers, significant others, wives, mates, soulmates.” Wednesday casually lists out with one hundred percent seriousness in her voice. “Whichever you prefer, as long as I get to call you mine.”

“Oh my god Wends, we need to get married first before I can call you my wife.” Enid says with a dreamy voice and a blush on her cheeks as she reaches out and takes the raven’s wrist in her hand, holding up the girls arm so she can begin wiping the wet rag along her skin, clearing the blood off Wednesday’s forearms and revealing the series of small scratches from the owl attack.

“Thing is a registered officiant and my father is a lawyer, we can be wed by Monday.” Wednesday says with unwavering determination in her voice, which makes Enid’s heart swell at the idea of being married to Wednesday in only a few days.

It’s then that Thing taps out some words of agreement before he ties off the suture on Wednesday’s shoulder and begins to clean up the remains of the used needle and sterile packaging, freeing up the expanse of bloody skin for Enid to wipe clean.

“As much as I would totes love that, you have got to know I want a big wedding with a beautiful white dress and everything.” Enid responds with an ecstatic joy in her voice at the mental image of her long dress dragging behind her while she walks down the isle with Wednesday standing at the alter waiting for her.

“Event planning is more of my mother’s forte, if we contact her soon I’m sure she could have something worked out by spring break.” Wednesday responds as Enid dunks and wrings out the rag once again before turning her attention to the raven’s other arm, more specifically the trails of dried blood that fell from her shoulder.

“That sounds wonderful, but I still need my mom’s permission until I turn eighteen.” The tone of Enid’s voice shows just how saddened she was at the thought of her mom denying her mate, and that fills Wednesday with a burning need to do something about it.

“That won’t be necessary if I-”

“No, Wednesday!” Enid quickly interrupts the raven before she can even make her point, already knowing what Wednesday was going to say. “I am not gonna let you kill my mom.” She argues as she stares down the girl in front of her, even if there’s a ghost of a smirk on her face.

“But consider how many problems it would solve.” Wednesday halfheartedly argues with more playfulness than anything, and it makes Enid smile, always secretly enjoying whenever the girl offers that, even if she has no interest in letting the seer follow through.

“If you kill my mom I will never kiss you again!” Enid threatens with her serious voice as she looks down at Wednesday and points an accusatory finger in her direction. Her eyes then briefly flick over the rest of Wednesday’s body to check for anymore blood she needs to clean, but she finds none.

“That is cruel.” The raven narrows her eyes at the wolf as Enid drops the rag in the bowl of water and begins to gather the supplies she needs to bandage Wednesday. Once ready, she takes the ravens wrist and starts delicately applying the typical healing potion to her cuts, doing the same for the large claw marks on her shoulder too.

“Well, I learned from the best.” Enid gives the raven a playful wink as she grabs some gauze wrap and starts to bandage Wednesday’s shoulder. “Now be quiet. The more you talk the longer this takes, and the longer this takes the less time we have for making out.” And with that, Wednesday closes her mouth and complies with Enid’s request for silence, allowing Enid to finish bandaging her shoulder. Enid finds it cute how the stubborn raven bends so quickly at the promise of a makeout sesh, and she can’t help but lean down and reward Wednesday with a quick peck on her lips. “Good girl.” Enid adds on in a low whisper as she looks into Wednesday’s eyes, her hand still pressed against the raven’s arm from where she tucked in the last bit of the bandage. The ravens wide eyes and dark blush captivates Enid, pulling her back in to kiss Wednesday with much more determination, once again focusing on the raven’s thicker bottom lip.

And Wednesday eagerly reciprocates, for all of two whole seconds before she pushes Enid away and glares at her.

“Don’t think that you can just kiss me and I will forget that you also need stitches.” She says, which causes Enid to let out a sad whine of fear, nearly making Wednesday give in. But she sticks to her metaphorical guns and continues to glare at Enid until the wolf agrees.

“Ugh, fine.” She says as she helps Wednesday up from the chair and takes her place in the splintered wooden seat. “Just make it quick, please.” With that she slides the borrowed black and white sweater over her head before quickly taking the bundle of fabric and pressing it against her bare chest, shyly hiding herself from Wednesday’s eyes as the raven looks over her wounds. After a quick cursory glance over Enid’s covered chest, noting the series of shallow bite wounds on her arms and short slices across her abdomen, Wednesday moves around to check the wolf’s back. The extent of the damage becomes clear once she sees the myriad of claw marks that managed to pierce through the wolf’s thick fur. The beautiful expanse of skin was marred by old scars and new wounds as dried blood cascaded down her vertebrae and dyed the pale white flesh dark red.

When the raven reenters Enid’s view she can see the look on Wednesday’s face and braces herself for the bad news.

“You have four exceptionally large claw wounds that need around ten stitches each.” She tells the wolf, who nearly faints at just the thought of needing forty stitches. Wednesday sends a quick glance towards Thing, making sure he’s ready with a new needle, giving him a subtle nod before she takes a step closer to Enid. With her hands on Enid’s shoulders, she brings her left knee up and rests it on the chair next to Enid’s thigh before placing all of her weight on it, allowing her to bring her other knee up to rest against Enid’s other thigh. Once Wednesday was fully straddling Enid’s lap, she brings her hands up to gently cup the wolf’s cheeks, leaving her stunned and heavily blushing. Although Wednesday’s complexion wasn’t faring much better.

Enid opens her mouth to say something, even if she’s not sure what, but she’s unable to get anything out before Wednesday leans in and captures the wolf’s lip between her own. Even through her shock, Enid quickly begins to reciprocate the kiss, allowing Wednesday to focus on her bottom lip in the opposite of their usual roles. But it’s not long until the soft feeling of Wednesday’s tongue starts to graze along the wolf’s lip, curious and gentle.

Her lips part in order to allow Wednesday more space to explore the inside of her mouth. It starts as what Enid can only describe as scientific prodding, Wednesday's tongue slides across Enid’s, gliding over the bottom before moving on to the top and sides of the wolf’s tongue, as if she was trying to find the best way to make out through trial and error.

It was a cute and very Wednesday like way to make out, but Enid doesn’t allow the raven to keep up her study, instead the wolf places her hand against the bare skin on the small of Wednesday's back while her other hand grabs on to the girl’s hip. She takes the lead in their kiss, wrapping and curling her tongue around Wednesday's, delicately yet forcibly, savoring the moment yet working with an urgent passion.

And, once Wednesday picks up on the technique, she begins fighting back against Enid’s control of their tongues.

The raven slides one of her hands back down to the wolf’s shoulder and pushes her further into the chair as she retakes the lead, moving her other hand to the back of Enid’s head and running her fingers through the blonde locks. She then continues her exploration of the wolf’s mouth, raking her tongue over the inside of her teeth, curiously poking at the metal bar still glued to the bottom row as a result of Enid’s braces before paying extra attention to the girl’s large canine teeth.

Wednesday has always had a bit of a fascination with her more feral side, and Enid can’t help but to give the girl a hint of it as she extends her fangs, giving the seer plenty of extra surface area to explore. And Wednesday eagerly wraps her tongue around the fang, gliding up and down along the smooth surface of Enid’s extended canine, occasionally running her tongue over the tip of the tooth as she gently tests the sharpness of the fang.

But, Enid doesn’t let her keep the lead for long.

She brings her tongue up to Wednesday’s and guides it away from her fangs, drawing back enough to separate their tongues before using her extended canine to snag Wednesday’s bottom lip between her teeth, applying just enough pressure to tease the possibility of breaking skin without actually allowing Wednesday the satisfying sting.

She takes pleasure in the way Wednesday lets out a sharp exhale, not quiet a moan and not quite a gasp, but it’s the most anyone has ever managed to get from the girl, and it makes Enid determined to draw more out of her.

Enid begins to run her tongue along Wednesday’s once again, occasionally pressing the tips of her fangs down the sides of Wednesday’s tongue, eliciting another breath from the girl.

Her colorful claws come out against her will, something she could never really control in the heat of the moment, but this time there’s a voice in the back of her head that tells her to embrace it, so she begins to rake her claws across the raven’s bare lower back, applying just enough pressure to leave a trail of red marks across her spine while remaining delicate enough to avoid breaking the skin. But she couldn’t say the same for the claws on her other hand, the hand that was still gripping Wednesday’s hip. Her sharp nails pierced the raven’s flesh with ease, drawing blood from the girl with a sharp and sudden pain, causing Wednesday to involuntarily moan into Enid’s mouth.

And Enid just about died right then and there.

The wolf can’t help but let out her own moan in response to the feeling of Wednesday’s vocalized pleasure reverberating through her mouth and down into her lungs, filling her with a burning hot arousal and a desperate need for more.

But Wednesday was more than satisfied with her work on mapping the inside of the wolf’s mouth with her tongue, already having memorized each and every one of Enid’s whimpering reactions as she explored. She slowly pulls out of their kiss and leans back slightly, causing a trail of their mixed saliva to trail between their mouths.

Both of them were gasping for air as if all the oxygen on earth was about to disappear. Heavy breaths full of want mix in the space between them as the two girls look into each others eyes with the unspoken agreement that what happened was just as life changing for the other as it was for them.

And then, like a bolt of lightning, a mischievous glint flashes across the raven’s eyes, which is the wolf’s only warning that Wednesday wasn’t quite done ensuring this moment was forever chiseled into her brain.

She brings her hand up to Enid’s face and glides the back of her slightly curved index finger across the wolf’s lower lip, capturing one end of their connecting saliva trail before slowly following the bridge of viscous liquid back to her own mouth, collecting the string of saliva with her finger as she goes. With one last teasing wink she takes the spit-covered digit into her mouth, wrapping her lips around the base of her finger before slowly and purposefully pulling it out, letting the soft pop that follows echo in the silence between them.

“Holy shit.” Is all Enid manages to say through her stunned amazement at the fact that she had just experienced the absolute best kiss of her life. The wolf stares up at the raven straddling her lap with wide eyes as she watches Wednesday smirk down at her. She looks almost infuriatingly unaffected, but Enid can hear the hammering of Wednesday's heart, even over the deafening sound of her own.

“Thank you, Thing.” Wednesday says once she finally gets her breathing under control, her gaze shifting over the wolf’s shoulder as she speaks. The response she gets from the hand is an enthusiastic thumbs up before he quickly signs out something along the lines of her being worse than her parents. Unfortunately, he scampers away before Wednesday is able to retaliate, not that she minds being left alone in the privacy of their own room with her wolf.

“What?” Enid asks as she looks behind her at where Thing was before she refocuses her confused look on Wednesday.

“You’re all stitched up.” Is all Wednesday responds with as she removes herself from the wolf’s lap and begins gathering the needed items to take care of the rest of Enid’s wounds.

“Did you make out with me just to distract me while I got stitches?” She questions with a tone of angry disbelief as she glares up at the girl who was standing above her and wielding a fresh rag.

“I am a person of great depth, Enid. I can do something for more than one reason.” Wednesday answers with a smirk as she moves out of Enid’s view before pressing the cold wet cloth against the girl’s bloody back, causing the wolf to let out a shocked gasp.

“You’re horrible.” Enid says with a smile, showing just how little she means it, even if it seems like Wednesday takes some kind of twisted pleasure in the way she keeps shivering each time the rag makes contact with her skin.

“Yes, but that is the reason you are so infatuated with me.” Enid can hear the smug joy and affection in her voice as the raven continues to wipe her back free of blood, and, based on how long it was taking for just one shoulder, there was a lot.

“It’s one of ‘em, yeah.” Enid responds with a smile as she idly wonders if this is going to be the rest of her life; Fighting some horrible monsters with Wednesday at her side before coming home and taking care of each others wounds, making out a little bit as they do so.

It seems… kind of exciting, really.

The idea of defending Wednesday from untold evils before taking care of her was oddly alluring. Seeing Wednesday at both her strongest and her weakest was a privilege reserved only for Enid. Being the sole person on this planet that was trusted enough to violently protect the seer, and then tenderly care for her afterwards, made her heart soar in her chest and her mind howl with pride.

“Those Wendigos did more damage than I initially expected.” The sound of Wednesday’s voice brings Enid out of her daydream and forces her attention on the raven that was now standing in front of her, cleaning off the blood and dirt that caked the wolf’s hand. It’s only then that Enid realizes that, at some point during their make out session, she had dropped the shirt she had held against her chest, meaning she was now entirely topless in front of Wednesday.

“Eeep!” Enid yelps out as she brings up her arms to cover herself, ripping her hand out of Wednesday’s in the process.

“Really, Enid?” Wednesday asks as she lowers the rag in her hand in annoyance. “You’ve been half-naked for the past five minutes, covering yourself now is functionally pointless.” She points out, but Enid just folds in on herself and presses the shirt against her chest even more.

“Well, I can’t help being embarrassed and self-conscious about my girlfriend seeing my sad little boobs.” Her voice has that ashamed and self-deprecating tone that Wednesday knows comes from Enid’s years of hating herself, and she couldn’t sit by and watch her love view herself as such any longer.

“Enid, you have no reason to be self-conscious about yourself.” Wednesday begins as she crouches down in front of the wolf and gently places her palm against the girl’s cheek, causing her to unfold from herself just enough to meet the raven’s gaze. “You are a prime example of ethereal and otherworldly beauty. I could spend a millennia admiring you and it would still not be enough time for me to fully appreciate the depth of your elegance. You are perfect, Enid.” Wednesday desperately hopes the tone of her voice and look on her face is able to portray just how much she means her words. “Every single part of you, your body, your soul, your wolf, it’s all astoundingly, undeniably, and unapologetically beautiful.” She looks deeply into Enid’s eyes as a small and delicate smile spreads across her face. “I love everything about you, Enid, even the parts of yourself that you despise.”

“Aww, Wends!” Her eyes begin to fill with tears as she looks down at Wednesday with a wide and slightly quivering smile. “I love you so much!” Enid says as she lowers her hands into her lap, baring herself for the girl she loves with a mix of affection and embarrassment.

“And I you.” The raven replies as she takes Enid’s hand in hers once again, bringing the girl’s knuckles up to her lips and pressing a soft kiss against the wolf’s skin for a brief second before continuing her delicate work cleaning the rest of the blood off of the wolf. She works quickly, knowing that Enid’s embarrassment isn't going to disappear that easily.

And, in practically no time at all, Wednesday manages to fully clean both of Enid’s arms, up to the shoulder’s, before she stops and looks up into the eyes of her soulmate.

“I assume you would prefer to clean the rest off yourself?” Wednesday half-asks, half-states as she looks down over Enid’s still blood-covered front, her eyes momentarily pausing on the wolf’s abs and chest before refocusing on Enid’s face. She holds the rag out as she meets the wolf’s gaze again, seemingly unfazed by the fact that her girlfriend was topless in front of her, but the blush that darkens her cheeks, and her ears, gives away Wednesday’s true feelings.

Enid doesn’t hesitate before she takes the wet rag out of the raven’s cold pale hand. Just having Wednesday’s gaze raking down her body like that made her skin burn like an inferno, there is no way she could possibly keep herself together if it was Wednesday’s cold hands instead of her cold stare, even if their was a rag separating them from direct skin-on-skin contact.

The thought of Wednesday’s hand sliding down her bare skin sent shivers down her spine.

Well, that and the ice cold healing potion that was suddenly pouring down her arm.

“Apologies.” Wednesday says as she quickly begins to wrap a particularly grizzly bite wound on the wolf’s left arm. “I should have given you a warning before dousing you with a frigid potion.” She explains as she finishes wrapping the wound in gauze. She then starts to run her hand up and down the wolf’s newly bandaged arm, both to show her affection and to warm up the liquid soaked bandage.

“It’s okay, Wends.” Enid responds, suppressing yet another shiver as she begins to wipe off her own chest, clearing the dried blood off while trying her hardest to ignore the fact that they just had a topless make-out session! But, every time the cold rag glides over her breasts, she has to begin the fight all over again. “Just, make it quick.” She adds on, desperate for her wounds to be patched up so she can put on a shirt and cuddle her girlfriend into oblivion before sleeping for a week.

Apparently shifting outside of the proper moon cycle is incredibly exhausting.

“Very well.” Wednesday complies as she begins to move faster, pouring even more of the healing potion down the wolf’s back before moving on to the gauze pads and medical tape, covering each and every claw mark and bite wound on Enid’s delicate skin.

The sight of another being’s teeth marks marring the flesh of her love fills Wednesday with an irrational desire to add a mark of her own.

Which is almost as surprising as the sudden and intense pain in her mouth.

Wednesday prods her tongue at the odd feeling, only to find her top and bottom canine teeth to be twice as large as usual; the Addams curse displaying yet another one of it’s side effects as her sudden wolfish instincts urge her to bite Enid.

But, instead of causing the girl she loves to lose even more blood tonight, she decides to lean down and press a light kiss to Enid’s neck, right where the wolf’s scent glands lay and exactly where she wanted to bite.

The wolf froze in place as soon as Wednesday’s lips made contact with her neck, the teasing hint of a mate bite sending her heart into overdrive as she nearly whines for more.

And it seemed to sooth something in Wednesday as her extended teeth return to their normal size, the dull pain lingering behind is the only evidence she had of her sudden fang growth.

“Done.” She simply states as she walks around Enid to the desk and begins to pack up the doctors bag, not noticing the effect that kiss had on Enid.

“Holy shit, Wends.” Enid says with amazement as she stares at the raven’s back, trying to hold herself back from wrapping Wednesday up in a hug from behind and returning the affectionate neck-kiss. “If that’s how you bandage me up, then I won’t mind getting mauled every week.”

“That’s good to know,” Wednesday says as she turns around and leans back against the desk, her hands resting against the wooden surface on either side of her as she gives Enid a smirk that could both stop her heart and start it at the same time. “I have a lot of enemies.” And then Wednesday honest-to-god winks at her, and Enid swears that sends her into the early stages of spontaneous human combustion. The sight gets forever burned into her mind; Wednesday, covered in scars and bandages, wearing nothing but leggings and a bra with a breathtaking smirk spread across her beautiful face, all while delivering such an incredibly cocky and flirty wink. Enid has to have died and been reborn as someone else because, instead of turning into a flustered mess, she actually flirts back.

“Well in that case,” Enid begins as she leans forward in the chair, placing her elbow on her knee and her chin in her palm before she smirks up at Wednesday. “I’m gonna need to start making a few enemies of my own, can’t let you have all the fun now, can we?” She finishes with a teasing tone and a wink of her own, causing Wednesday to let the barest of smiles show through.

“Nothing makes my heart swell more than hearing you speak like an Addams, mi dulce loba.” (My sweet wolf) Wednesday says, despising how much like her father she sounded. But the smile that it brings to Enid’s face makes her ability to care vanish.

“And nothing makes me happier than hearing you call me an Addams, mi luna oscura.” (My dark moon) Enid responds with a joyful ease, as if they’ve been having this playful yet meaningful back and forth for years, as if Enid has always belonged in Wednesday’s life.

“I have never met another more deserving of my family name.” She freely admits as she pushes herself away from the desk and takes a step to stand in front of Enid, gently cupping her cheek with a fondness and affection in her touch that absolutely melts Enid.

“I love you so much, Wednesday.” She says as she looks up at the raven through her lashes, the words flowing from her lips with an ease that almost feels more natural than breathing.

“I love you as well Enid.” Wednesday fully and unabashedly smiles down at Enid before she calmly leans in and plants a soft and affectionate kiss to Enid’s lips, lingering for the briefest of seconds as she fights the urge to deepen the kiss. “Now, lets change into something more appropriate and get some sleep.” The word sleep is like a magic spell that instantly makes Enid realize just how heavy her eyelids have become.

“Yeah…” Enid says as a yawn rips through her body and forces her jaw to nearly unhinge, bringing tears to her eyes with it’s intensity, tears which she quickly wipes away before they can fall and cause Wednesday to panic. “Good idea.” Even though she agrees she makes no effort to move from her spot on the chair, not while Wednesday is still looking down at her like that. But Wednesday has more self control and actually manages to pull herself away from the wolf’s captivating gaze. She turns around and begins walking towards her closet on the other side of her bed.

And that’s when Enid notices the red trails of blood on Wednesday’s hip.

Confusion fills her mind as she first thinks she simply missed that bit of blood when she was bandaging the girl up earlier. But then guilt and fear quickly overtake her confusion as she realizes, that’s where her hand was resting when they were making out.

When her claws came out.

“Oh shit, Wednesday!” Enid yells out as she runs over to the raven, her hands holding the seer by the waist before she runs her fingers over the four bleeding marks on her hip, the ones from Enid’s own claws. “I- I thought you said I couldn’t hurt you.” Her voice waivers on the precipice of tears as she takes in the damage she has done to her mate’s skin.

“I said that it is impossible for you to harm me, Enid.” Wednesday calmly states as she turns around to face Enid, and that’s when she’s quickly reminded of the wolf’s current lack of attire, suddenly struggling to maintain unwavering eye contact. “And it is. You may have broken skin, but you did not hurt me.” Wednesday reassures Enid in a gentle voice with an even gaze, but then a blush crawls up her cheeks. “It was the opposite, actually.” She shyly admits as she adverts her gaze in embarrassment, only to once again notice Enid’s lack of a shirt. Wednesday quickly turns around and takes a single step towards her closet, facing away from Enid while desperately and nervously waiting for her to say anything, to show Wednesday that she hasn’t just absolutely humiliated herself by admitting she found pleasure in Enid’s accidental wounding of her skin.

“Oh.” Enid responds with a slightly shocked voice while she processes the words, her entire face gradually heating up at the revelation. “That’s… good to know.” Her tone darkens to a downright dangerous level as she extends her claws and runs them lightly down Wednesday’s spine, earning a quiet gasp of both shock and pleasure from the usually stoic and silent raven.

Wednesday says nothing as she quickly walks away and retreats into her closet, but Enid could see the blush that shot up the raven’s neck, even spreading as far as her ears. She can’t help but to let out a little laugh at Wednesday’s reaction as she makes her way into her own closet, closing the door behind her and letting out a sigh of disbelief as the weight of everything that’s happened tonight starts to sink in.

A smile spreads across her face as she takes in the fact that Wednesday, her mate, had accepted her.

When she confessed to Wednesday she was honestly mentally preparing herself for the following rejection.

But Wednesday didn’t turn her down.

Wednesday accepted her, fully and completely, even the parts of herself that she hates.

And, just thinking about how loving Wednesday is, makes Enid’s desire to hold the raven grow even more incessant.

So, with an extreme amount of excited energy, she strips out of her borrowed skirt and quickly slips on some light blue panties, followed by her thickest pair of purple and pink checkered pj pants and topped off with a pastel tie-dye sweater. She chooses to forgo her usual bedtime sports bra, because really, whats the worst that can happen? Wednesday sees the outline of her nipples through her shirt? Cause, really, after their topless make-out sesh, that ship has long since sailed.

Once she was satisfyingly dressed, Enid emerges from her closet with a little skip or two, only to find the room empty. As she waits for Wednesday to finish changing, Enid decides to start preparing her bed for the night by beginning the stuffed animal shuffle, which is just moving all the squishmallows and stuffies from her bed onto the ever growing pile by her window so she has space to sleep.

Enid is only halfway through clearing her bed when Wednesday emerges from her closet, dressed in a long black nightgown with long sleeves and a fairly low neck-line, at least based on Wednesday’s usual standards.

“Enid, what are you doing?” Wednesday calmly questions as she watches Enid delicately move balls of colorful fabric stuffed with cotton, kissing each and every one as she places them down on to the pile.

“Um… going to bed?” Enid inflects the end of her sentence like a question, even though she was stating a fact, confused as to why Wednesday is asking a question with such an obvious answer.

“Is there a problem with my bed?” It’s then that Enid realizes, Wednesday was asking for cuddles in her own shy, cryptic way.

“Oh, no. I just didn’t want to push your boundaries too much.” She truthfully answers. It was only until like four hours ago that she thought Wednesday was aro-ace, so she’s still a little scared to ask too much of the raven. Her fear of pushing Wednesday too far was the main reason she didn’t ask for or initiate cuddles herself.

“Enid, the boundaries I have for others very seldom apply to you.” Wednesday says as she crosses the room with almost silent steps before coming to a stop in front of Enid. “I find your touch calming and your presence comforting, and the few times we have shared a bed have been the most relaxed I have ever felt.” Wednesday shyly confesses as she reaches out and gingerly takes both of Enid’s hands into hers.

“Are you sure?” Enid asks for one final clarification as she squeezes Wednesday’s hands, flashing her a soft smile that begs for honesty.

“Very. You are my soulmate after all.” Wednesday easily answers as her own soft and loving smile graces her lips. “And, we have sixteen years of cuddling to make up for.” She finishes as she takes a small step back and tugs on Enid’s hands, dragging the other girl along with her as she returns to her black covered bed. Wednesday lets go of one of Enid’s hands so she can pull back the blanket and climb in-between the sheets. It’s only once she’s comfortably on her back does she begin to tug at Enid’s hand in a silent command to join her.

The wolf only somewhat awkwardly slips into the bed next to her, their hands clasped together the whole time.

Both girls lay on their back while staring up at the ceiling, neither trying to fall asleep just yet as they both feel like they need to say something, even if they don’t know what exactly.

And Enid is the first to break.

“I’m actually a little scared to fall asleep.” She quietly confesses to the silent room. “I feel like, when I wake up, none of this will have been real, that it was all a dream.” Her soft, love-filled tone is tinged with fear as she tightens her grip on Wednesday’s hand in a show of affection mixed with a search for reassurance.

“If, on the infinitesimally slim chance you do wake up and find the events of tonight to just be a nocturnal fabrication, then I request you immediately find me and kiss me.” Wednesday says in that infuriatingly calm yet charmingly certain tone before she turns to lay on her side and face Enid, causing the wolf to turn her head in order to look Wednesday in the eye. “My love for you transcends the bounds of space and time, and there is not a universe in existence in which I would not reciprocate.” And that makes Enid turn to lay on her side too in order to give Wednesday her full attention.

“Aww, Wends!” Enid whines out before she leans closer to Wednesday and gently cups the raven’s cheek with the palm of her hand. “Just so you know, the same goes for me. You will always be my mate, no matter what happens in the future, or what went down in the past. I was always meant to spend the rest of my life with you.” She whispers into the small space between them. Their eyes lock with each other and Enid closes the distance, capturing Wednesday’s lips in a kiss that is filled with love and adoration.

After only a second, Enid pulls away with a wide smile spread across her face as she gazes longingly into those dark brown eyes. And Wednesday returns the gaze with hints of amazement dancing in her stare. Being so close to Enid allowed Wednesday to admire the subtle yellow that bordered the very inner edge of Enid’s irises, one of Wednesday’s favorite little details about her mate. The blue should mix with the yellow to create some sort of green border between them, but the two colors managed to coexist as they were, without crating something else entirely, and Wednesday thought it was a beautiful metaphor for her and Enid’s relationship.

And that gives Wednesday an idea.

One that both thrills her and terrifies her at the same time.

“While your mother may currently prevent you from becoming my wife,” Wednesday begins with a light and loving tone, even as a bit of nervousness managed to slip in, despite her best attempts to subdue it. “She has no say over whether or not you become my fiancée.” The way her eyes burn with determination makes Enid’s heart explode in her chest with a stampede of thundering beats.

“Oh my god, are you proposing to me?!” Enid asks in amazement as a massive smile splits her face, and Wednesday was concerned that it would literally cause the wolf’s face to rip in half.

“Enid, when I propose to you, you’ll know it.” Wednesday says with a smirk as she mirrors what Enid said to her earlier. “Right now I am just curious about your thoughts on the matter.” She tries to quell Enid’s excitement at the fact that she wasn’t asking for her hand in marriage, yet.

“I just want you to know that, the second you get me a ring, I will never take it off.” Enid beams at Wednesday as her wolf instincts drown her in happiness over the thought of having a beautiful, shiny engagement ring to show off to everyone as proof of how much Wednesday means to her. “Everyone will ask about it and I won’t be able to stop myself from telling them everything about the proposal and how much I love you.” She lets out with a single breath, her smile still dominating her facial features. “So, I guess I just want you to be ready for people to know about us before you propose.”

“Enid, I do not care if people know that I love you, all I care is that you know.” The affection pouring from her tone along with the sweetest words anyone has ever said to her makes Enid want nothing more than to get down on her knee and propose to Wednesday right now.

“Aww, Wednesday!” The wolf whines out as her eyes begin to fill with tears of joy. “I do know, and I would love to be your fiancée!” Enid says as she fights her seemingly permanent smile enough to lean in and press a quick kiss against Wednesday’s lips.

“And I take great pleasure in knowing that title is only the temporary precedent to you becoming my wife.” She says as she tenderly kisses Enid once again.

But then, a terrifying realization hits her.

Wednesday suddenly sits up and glares into the air next to the bed before letting out an annoyed sigh and saying, “Damn you, Mother.”

“What?” Enid asks in confusion as she follows Wednesday’s lead and sits up, her eyes frantically searching the dark room, desperately trying to find what Wednesday was looking at. “What’s wrong, Wends?” She asks, somewhat panicked at the possibility that someone else was in their room with them.

“I believe my mother had a vision of this moment…” Wednesday answers truthfully as she gives the empty air one last glare before she looks at Enid, only now seeing just how unsettled the wolf was.

“Wait, so…” Enid lets out with a tight and nervous tone as she looks at Wednesday with wide eyes of shock. “Your mom already knows about us?” Her nervous shock only grows as she crosses her legs under herself and reaches out to grab onto one of Wednesday’s hands, squeezing tight as she looks for reassurance with physical contact.

“Yes, she does. She said you would make a fine addition to our family.” Wednesday responds with a slight smile as she squeezes Enid’s hand just as hard as Enid was hers. “My father most likely knows as well. I’m sure my mother has told him everything about her vision.” She hesitantly admits, unsure if she should even be adding that bit of information given Enid’s current panic.

“Oh…” She says as she looks down at their joined hands. “And they don’t…” Enid hesitates as her face scrunches up in confused fear. “They’re… okay with it?” Her voice quiets with fear at the fact that both of Wednesday’s parents know about their relationship already.

“Annoyingly so. They are overjoyed to know you are the one who has claimed my cold heart.” Wednesday says with a roll of her eyes, even as Enid lets out a shocked gasp at Wednesday’s parents’ acceptance of her. “And most of the people we spend our time with are already aware of my affection towards you.” She adds on, with a fond yet exasperated tone. “Thing, Yoko, Divina, Pugsley, and Eugene, all managed to learn of my affection for you as well, and all of them have shown their support.” She informs Enid and reassures her in the same sentence. “Yoko has even stated herself to be team Wednesday.” She brings her free hand up to add air quotes to her last two words, causing Enid to break out into her overly wide smile once again.

“Oh my god, they all totes ship us!” Enid squeals out with excitement, even though her sentence confuses Wednesday.

“Shipping someone through the postal service results in the FBI showing up at your door to accuse you of human trafficking.” Wednesday says with that factual tone she uses when talking about some horrible thing she learned for all the wrong reasons. “I doubt any of them are brave enough to incur the pitiful wrath of any three letter government organization.” She finishes with a roll of her eyes at the thought of the meltdown the Nightshades would have over being the target of any sort of law enforcement.

“Do I even want to ask why you know that?” Enid asks with a slight giggle, already knowing the story is going to be something horrible that no one else on this planet would ever do.

“I attempted to ship Pugsley to Gary, Indiana because I needed first-hand field research on the area’s murder rate.” She simply states, as if it was a common occurrence to attempt to mail her brother across state lines for research on homicides.

“God, you’re so weird.” Enid says with an affectionate tone as a soft smile spreads across her face, briefly drawing Wednesday’s gaze down to her lips before returning to the breathtaking blue.

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Wednesday says with a teasing tone as she narrows her eyes at the wolf.

“Actually,” Enid begins with a light and airy yet still teasing tone. “Flattery got me into your bed.” She says as she scooches closer to Wednesday, accentuating her point with physical contact as she delivers a flirty wink.

“It was my heart that you wormed your way into, not my bed.” Wednesday corrects as she leans in and presses a light kiss to Enid’s lips, a smirk spreading across her face as she pulls away and refocuses on Enid’s always-captivating eyes.

“So you’re admitting flattery does work after all.” Enid can’t resist the opportunity to tease Wednesday even more, especially when she has that cute blush covering her adorable constellation of freckles.

“The more you argue means the less we kiss.” Wednesday shoots back with one of her eyebrows raised. She knows she’s been outplayed but she decides to let Enid have the win, instead changing the subject to something she knows the wolf can’t refuse.

“Noted.” Enid responds with a smirk as she turns her body to face Wednesday fully before leaning in closer, bringing her hands up to cup the raven’s cold cheeks.

Wednesday turns towards Enid as well, folding one of her legs under herself while keeping the other fully extended. And then, without hesitating, she eagerly closes the gap between them and presses her lips against Enid’s, wrapping her arms around the wolf’s warm back while eagerly running her tongue along Enid’s lip, wanting to continue where they left off earlier now that they were both clean and clothed.

Enid was quick to open her mouth and let Wednesday’s prodding tongue slide against her own, her canines extending nearly instinctually as she remembers the moan Wednesday let out the last time her fangs were involved.

And that also reminds her that her claws were most likely going to make their own appearance soon, and in and effort to avoid accidentally poking Wednesday’s eye out, she slowly begins to slide her hands from Wednesday’s face down to her shoulders.

Enid was so subtle with her movement that Wednesday didn’t even notice the hands trailing down her face.

Until they made it to her neck.

In an instant, panic overtakes her as her mind flashes with the image of massive, grotesquely bulging eyes. Wednesday’s eyes shoot open as she pushes the wolf off of her with so much force it sends Enid off the edge of the bed and onto the wooden floorboards bellow.

Enid’s wide eyes of shock stare up at Wednesday from her new position on the floor, and Wednesday stares back with an equally shocked expression. The romantic, and somewhat steamy mood vanishes as they sit in the silent aftermath of the most extreme reaction Wednesday has ever had to Enid’s physical touch.

“Wends…” Enid says as she instantly climbs to her knees and reaches out to grab the raven’s hand, feeling a massive wave of relief wash over her when Wednesday didn’t reject the contact.

“I…” Wednesday begins, but freezes as her gaze briefly brakes away from Enid’s. “I’m sorry Enid.” Her words catch the wolf by surprise. It wasn’t the first time Wednesday has apologized to her, but it was the first time she directly said the word sorry. “I don’t know what just came over me.” She finishes as her wide eyes flick between Enid’s, both out of guilt and to attempt to gauge the wolf’s reaction to the sudden and violent rejection.

“Oh, Wednesday.” Enid states with sadness in her tone as she continues to rub her thumbs over the back of the raven’s hands. “That was a trauma response.” Her face and voice are displaying what Wednesday assumes to be pity, and it hurts even more than usual when coming from Enid. “It’s like how I always flinch whenever someone raises their hand too fast. It’s just how our bodies react to perceived danger.” It’s then that she realizes, Enid wasn’t showing her pity, she was showing empathy, making the hurt lessen, but the guilt grow.

“But, I know you’re not a danger to me.” Wednesday says with slight confusion in her tone, hoping that Enid hasn’t taken her actions as a sign she was unwilling or ungrateful for the affection she was being shown.

“And I know Yoko isn’t going to hit me whenever she adjusts her sunglasses, but my body still sees that similar movement to what my mom did and it prepares for the outcome it’s used to.” She says with a shrug, even though she just admitted to the abuse she’s faced at her mother’s hand. “It’s not your fault, Wednesday, the only one responsible for your trauma responses are the ones who caused the trauma in the first place.” She reassures Wednesday with a soft voice and a caring look in her eyes. “Can I sit next to you?” She asks delicately, hoping her tone portrays just how unbothered she’ll be if her request is denied.

“Always.” Wednesday responds in an instant, adjusting her position on her bed to allow Enid a little more space if she needed it.

“We should probably talk about our physical boundaries now that we’re together.” Enid says as she gently lowers herself down onto the mattress next to Wednesday, leaving enough space between them to avoid making the raven uncomfortable.

“I will admit to being a little clueless in the area of physical touch, so all I can request right now is for you to avoid putting your hands on my neck, and to not poke the scar on my abdomen.” She answers with a little bit of nervousness in her voice at the fear that she might have another violent reaction like that again.

“Oh, I’m sorry for touching your scar before, I won’t do it again.” Enid says with a guilt filled voice while she stares down at her lap, nervously pulling at a loose thread on her pink and purple pj pants.

“The way you did it was acceptable.” Wednesday says as she apprehensively leans her head onto Enid’s shoulder. “I am unable to handle a singular point of pressure on it, but you placed your hand flat over it and applied pressure to the whole thing. The warmth of your skin and the even pressure was actually very comforting.” Ever since then she’s been tempted to ask Enid to place her hand against the scar once again, especially when the memory of being stabbed causes the marred flesh to burn, but it seemed far to intimate of a gesture between friends. “As of now I have yet to uncover any other sensitive areas, but I will inform you if we discover anymore.” The comfort and safety she feels in Enid’s presence reassures her that, no matter what happens, she can trust that they will work through it together. “I will also make a conscious effort to slow the movements of my arms to prevent upsetting you.” Wednesday says, and, true to her word, she slowly brings her hand over to Enid’s, delicately pulling the wolf’s hand away from her lap before lacing their fingers together.

“Thank you, Wends. I promise I’ll be careful to avoid your triggers too.” Enid says with quiet affection as she leans her head to the side and rests it on top of Wednesday's.

“I… hate how uneducated I am in relation to these feelings.” Wednesday quietly admits as she scooches a little closer to Enid. “Both you and Eugene have given me valuable insight into my own psyche, and I appreciate it, but I do not enjoy being the only one unaware of what’s happening to me.” Wednesday says with a rare bit of nervous honesty. “How did you and Eugene gain your knowledge?” The fact that Wednesday was even asking that question has shown her growth, and if filled Enid with pride, happiness, love, and also, guilt.

“You’re gonna hate this, but it’s therapy.” The wolf hesitantly admits, hoping the ‘t’ word won’t completely derail the progress train they had found themselves on. “I spent winter break working through a lot of things with my therapist back in Cali. And me and Eugene have already scheduled our sessions with the new school therapist. Plus, every week there’s gonna be a support group where we can talk about that night.” Enid begins to nervously ramble, hoping that something she says will manage to convince Wednesday to not completely write off therapy for the rest of her life. “The second meeting for the group is on Friday, you could join us and see if it might be something you’re interested in. You won’t even have to say anything! It helps just to know that you aren’t alone with your pain.” She finishes with a hopeful tone and a smile on her face, even as she breathes a bit heavier due to her impassioned speech.

Wednesday just sits there silently for a few seconds, before she finally mutters out, “Misery does love company.”

“Is that a yes?” Enid gasps out in one breath, her excitement building to extreme levels before Wednesday can even answer.

“We’ll see if I still have the patience for it by the end of the week.” She says with a fond smile tugging at her lips, despite the slight annoyance in her tone.

“Oh my god, that is like a ‘Wednesday’ guarantee!” Enid squeaks out with relentless joy as she practically vibrates with excitement. “I can’t wait, I think it’s going to be really good for you!” She says as she lets go of the hand in hers before wrapping an arm around Wednesday’s back, giving her an affectionate half-hug. And surprisingly, Wednesday returns the hug, bringing her arm up to rest across Enid’s shoulders and pulling the wolf closer into her side.

“Perhaps, but, if you want me to have enough energy by then, we need to sleep.” Wednesday calmly states as she clenches her jaw to suppress the yawn that was trying to escape.

“Yeah.” Enid agrees as she begins to lay down on the black bed, pulling Wednesday down with her until both of them are on their backs with their heads on the silk pillowcase. “Good night, Wends.” She sleepily says as she turns onto her side and scooches closer to the other girl. Wednesday’s arm was still trapped under Enid’s neck from their hug, just as Enid’s was still trapped under Wednesday, which made it easier for the wolf to rest her head on the raven’s shoulder and wrap her other arm around the raven’s waist, essentially hugging Wednesday’s side while they lay in bed.

“Rest well, my wolf.” Wednesday sweetly responds as she grabs Enid by her shoulder and pulls her down, adjusting their positions so Enid is laying almost entirely on top of her; much like the first time they cuddled. That allows the wolf to nuzzle even deeper against her neck, directly where Wednesday's scent gland would be if she had one. And that makes Wednesday temporarily question if the curse has given her scent glands now. It’s very possible, especially after she had fangs grow out of her mouth earlier.

But that was a mystery for later.

Because, right now, all she cared about was the girl laying on top of her,

Her mate.

So Wednesday wraps her arms around Enid’s back, bringing one of her hands up to run her fingers through the wolf’s soft hair, gently scraping her fingernails over Enid’s scalp in calming little patterns.

The comfort that action brings Enid, as well as the scent of her mate filling her lungs, ensures the wolf succumbs to slumber first.

And, with the weight of the girl she loves pushing down on her, the raven falls unconscious in record time, her hand stilling in the tangle of blonde hair as her muscles fully relax.

As the last hours of the night fade away into morning, all that could be heard in the room was Enid’s soft snoring, as well as the subtle rhythm of two hearts, beating as one.