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It started with getting kicked off the fencing team for nearly taking out an opponent’s eye.
It continued with her parents telling her that she had to find a social activity that didn’t involve investigating or committing murder.
Wednesday hoped it would end with her parents dropping it or being let back into the fencing club. Unfortunately, this did not seem to be the case as she opened the door to the skating rink. When she stepped in, she was overwhelmed by the cold air and the too-loud noise of the air conditioning. Of course, an Addams never showed weakness, so she walked on regardless, bundled in her jet-black coat.
The lobby of the rink seemed fine enough, with sterile-white walls and a hard foam floor. Wednesday could faintly hear music seeping through the doors to the actual rink itself. She took a moment to breathe in, steady herself. Without a second thought, she marched up to the rental booth, paid for her skates, and entered the frozen domain of the rink.
I’m not missing someone that I’ve never met.
The space was alive with an indie-pop beat that Wednesday could’ve sworn she’d heard before but couldn’t exactly place. Rows upon rows of bleachers sloped down to view the rink, where Wednesday could see a few skaters practicing jumps and spins and strange arabesques. One skater in particular caught her attention, a girl with blonde hair verging on white enraptured in her music and routine. She had on an emerald-green vest with a white button-up shirt underneath it, along with black pants that covered her skates. She seemed familiar in the same way the music had seemed familiar, but Wednesday still couldn’t place it.
Thanks for your concern, but here’s the thing; never been in love.
At that last line, the skater quickly spun around so she was skating backwards, stabbing the ice with her skate and leaping into the air. She spun once, twice, defying gravity and Wednesday’s expectations of what was to come. When she touched down, Wednesday couldn’t take her eyes off of the girl. The lights were too bright, the atmosphere too electric, for her to be able to put her finger on the skater’s identity, but at that moment, Wednesday didn’t care. All she could think about was the girl’s mesmerizing performance.
And I don't mean to rain on your happiness, but I’m alone with no loneliness.
The girl became a blur before Wednesday’s eyes, spinning around so fast that she could hardly believe anyone could do that without immediately falling over. Just as soon as the spin was over, the skater was back gliding across the ice, leaping and twirling and turning to the music. It felt like only an instant passed until the end of the girl’s performance.
No, never been in love.
The girl ended at the center of the rink after a jump into a spin where it looked as if she were a ballerina in a music box, leg extended back and arms reaching up to the sky. Wednesday took note of the skater’s heavy breathing and jumps of joy at a routine well done. She didn’t have time to linger on these notes as a loud air-horn sort of noise shattered the peaceful illusion of the rink. People quickly fled the ice’s surface as a large, hulking machine entered the area. It reminded Wednesday of people fleeing from her in the halls of her old schools.
“Hello! Everyone who’s here for the Northern Pine Skating Club, please come over to the lobby!”
She was, in fact and against her will, here for the skating club, so she headed over to the lobby where she was not shocked yet very annoyed to find herself surrounded by small children. She waited in line, got her name tag and group assignment, then headed back to the rink to lace up her skates and head to her latest doomed adventure. Once she got on her skates, she faced her first challenge, trying to balance in the horrendous knife-shoes. It took her several attempts featuring many stumbles to get to the wall surrounding the ice, where she waited in line once more to step onto the rink.
After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, the machine on the ice had finished its resurfacing, and the skaters were allowed back onto the ice. A nice-enough lady welcomed small child after small child onto the rink, before stopping to look a little scared and surprised to see Wednesday.
“Willa Addams? You’re going to be down on the far end with the Basic 1’s, over by Assistant Coach Enid.”
Ah. That was why the skater from earlier seemed so familiar. This class was going to be the death of her. She tried to skate on her own for a few seconds before almost wiping out and clinging to the wall instead. The rink seemed to stretch on forever as she slowly made her way to where Enid was skating almost too easily to be humanly possible, though she supposed her werewolf roommate wouldn’t have to abide by human standards.
Enid was busy looking at a clipboard and checking in skaters who couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old that she didn’t even notice Wednesday until she was right in front of the werewolf. Well, not directly in front of her, per say, more like fifteen feet away clutching onto the wall for dear life.
“SINCLAIR,” She shouted, staring daggers into her roommate’s head. Enid looked up, startled to see Wednesday, before skating over to stand in front of her.
“Wednesday! I didn’t know you skated!” Enid chirped.
“I don’t.”
“Well, good thing is you’re with me, and I know just about all there is to get you started.” Wednesday could almost taste the passion her roommate had dripping out of her voice, and was caught up in staring before being broken out of her trance by Enid tapping her on the nose and giving her a wink. “Looks like you’re the last one in the class, so we can actually start skating now!”
Wednesday noticed the difference between the Enid who had been fully immersed in her routine’s music and the ice and the excitable yet composed Enid she had grown to tolerate in the past month. The Enid at school was well-liked, but she was a people-pleaser. She kept her head down and chin up. The Enid on the ice captured everyone’s attention in an instant, bold and larger-than-life. She forced passers-by to watch her performance. Even Wednesday, who didn’t care for figure skating one bit before this moment, was enraptured by the blonde’s movements.
“Hello everyone! I’m Assistant Coach Enid, but you can just call me Enid. Our group’s regular coach isn’t here today, so I get the pleasure of introducing you to Basic 1! Today, we’ll be learning how to fall safely as well as some basic marching and two-foot glides. Does that sound good to everyone?” Enid clapped her hands together and began her instructions.
Wednesday could feel her face heating up, not sure if it was from the cold air of the rink or her roommate’s soft presence. She tried to sit down on the ice with the group, but ended up slipping and falling in a decidedly ungraceful manner.
“So, as Wednesday has demonstrated for us, that’s what happens when we don’t prepare ourselves for a fall,” Enid quipped to the group. Wednesday shot her a menacing glance and was met with a giggling Enid. “So, when we fall, we want to end up on a part of our body that won’t hurt as much. That means avoiding bony parts, and getting close to the ice when we feel that we’re going to fall so it hurts less. Let’s all try that out!”
Enid’s charisma charmed all the kids in the group, and Wednesday was ashamed to admit that it won her over, too. After a solid fifteen minutes of falling and getting up, Enid led the group onto the next part of their lesson: actually moving.
“We’re going to be marching just like we might on the ground. It might be a little tricky since the ice is really slippery, but I’ll be helping you all out as we go. Now, follow after me!” The blonde girl’s positivity was infectious, and Wednesday found herself almost smiling as she took her first few steps out from the wall. She didn’t fall. She didn’t fall! She was actually sort of skating! For a moment at least, before she got caught on her toepick and plummeted face-first into the ice.
“WEDNESDAY!”
All Wednesday could focus on was the coolness of the ice, the warmth of the blood rushing from her nose, and Enid’s voice ringing in her ears. She supposed this was what Pugsley felt like when she was done tormenting him.
“I’m going to pick you up now, I don’t really trust you to skate yourself back to the floor.”
“Sinclair, don’t you dare–”
And without another word, Wednesday was scooped up into Enid’s arms. How the girl could pick her up with such ease on such tiny blades was beyond Wednesday’s scope of knowledge. In the blink of an eye, Wednesday was across the rink and Enid was gently lowering her onto the bleachers.
“Stay here and take off your skates, I’ll get you an ice pack and tissues.”
“An Addams does not require help.”
“Yeah, dingbat, I know you like to say that, but I’m the one in charge here. I’m getting you an ice pack.”
Wednesday didn’t know that Enid had it in her to be bossy, but she found it amusing. She listened to Enid call out to another coach to cover her group before she jogged off to get a first-aid kit. Undoing her skates, she thought about the girl’s performance from earlier. The elegance as she went into her spins and jumps, like it was as natural for her to be on skate blades as it was for her to be on solid ground. Her practiced control that reminded Wednesday of her calm, mostly composed demeanor at school. Wiping off the snow from the blades, she thought about the music in the performance.
“Never been in love,” she mused to herself. Enid had talked to her about her relationships before. They were both lesbians, but while Wednesday had simply kept her previous few crushes to herself, Enid seemed to flit and flirt with any girl she thought was pretty. Wednesday couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of the werewolf never falling in love, it just seemed like something that would simply happen to Enid. The girl was so lively and charming that Wednesday thought it might be impossible for any girl with common sense to not fall head-over-heels for Enid Sinclair.
“Ok, I’ve got tissues, gauze, and an ice pack, just tell me if anything hurts,” Enid announced, having appeared while Wednesday was lost in her thoughts. The blonde gently grabbed her face, and Wednesday found herself sinking into the girl’s touch. Maybe vulnerability wasn’t so bad if it was with Enid. In just a minute, Wednesday was patched up, with a tissue practically taped to her bloody nose.
“Why are you here?” Wednesday asked.
“Because I’m a coach?” Enid laughed in response.
“No, I mean, why are you skating?” Wednesday didn’t quite understand why she felt compelled to ask. Maybe it was her natural curiosity, maybe it was because she was actually invested in what the other girl had to say, who knows.
“I skated all the time back in Cali. My pack made all of the pups pick up a sport so we’d have something to get our energy out. One of the first things I can even remember was watching replays of the 2010 Winter Olympics with my Ma, and I told her ‘That’s what I wanna do.’ I’ve been skating ever since. It was my first special interest! I learned practically all there was to learn from books, interviews, and anything I could get my hands on. The ice is like a second home to me. Seasonal mall rink or year round one? Doesn’t matter to me, I’m up and at it first thing in the morning. I started choreographing my own programs recently!”
Enid seemed more alive than Wednesday had ever seen her. The girl’s hands were flapping, and if she could actually shift, Wednesday was sure that Enid’s tail would be wagging.
“So that was what you were doing earlier? A program?” Wednesday inquired, not quite sure what Enid was talking about.
“Yeah! It’s my Free Skate for my next competition! I got to pick the music, Yoko helped me make my costume, and I’ve been doing all the choreography with a bit of help from my coaches! It’s like a dream come true for me, honestly. And now you’re here! And you saw my program!” Enid was grinning ear-to-ear, fangs glistening in the overexposed rink lights. Wednesday thought she was cute like this, which wasn’t something she really expected to be thinking about the roommate she had hated so much when she first came to Nevermore.
“Why did you pick that song? I was under the assumption that you would have many girls to be in love with.”
Enid sighed, and Wednesday regretted asking the question immediately.
“It’s a really personal song to me. Sure, I like girls, I think they’re pretty and cute and all that. I’ve kissed girls and dated before, I even enjoyed kissing, but I’ve never fallen in love. Never really felt like I wanted to. For a long time, I thought I was broken. Just asking myself ‘Why? Why can’t I just love someone like everyone else can?’ Because I love so many things. I love my friends and my family and sunrises and the cool air of the rink,” Enid spoke with a practiced ease, almost like she had been preparing for a conversation like this or like she’d had it many times before. Wednesday could see tears welling in the other girl’s eyes, threatening to break through her composed demeanor. “It took me a while to accept myself… that I’m aromantic… but this Free Skate is me showing the world ‘Yeah, I don’t fall in love. I never will. And I’m ok with that.’ Because these are two big parts of my identity, figure skating and the whole aromantic thing, so I might as well find a way to piece them together.”
Wednesday found her body moving against her will to reach out a hand to firmly clasp Enid’s shoulder. Enid flinched at her touch, and Wednesday felt an overwhelming urge to protect this girl she had once considered an annoyance.
“I cannot say that I understand what being aromantic is like, but I know that you are not one bit less worthwhile than anyone else I have met before because of your identity. And if anyone says otherwise, they will not be able to say anything for much longer, because I will have slit their throats before they can say anything insulting ever again.” Wednesday knew she wasn’t good at comforting people, or really emotions in general, but she tried her best for Enid, even attempting to force a calming and non-murderous smile. She began to remove her hand from Enid’s shoulder, noticing that the werewolf had fully broken into tears at this point, before she was grappled by the most forceful hug she had ever experienced. Enid’s arms wrapped warm and comforting around her tiny body, her head resting on Wednesday’s shoulder, tears still streaming down her face and now dripping onto Wednesday’s coat.
“You’re the best person I could ask for,” Enid choked out through sobs. And at that moment, Wednesday felt like nothing else mattered. She relaxed into Enid’s hug despite her preconceived notions about showing emotion, even hugging her roommate back.
“Despite our more than rocky start, I… do not wish for you to hurt due to something you cannot control,” Wednesday still couldn’t understand why she was actually expressing her emotions towards Enid, but she figured that if she couldn’t control being an Addams and having a dark nature, it made no more sense for Enid to be hurting because of her romantic orientation that she couldn’t control either. Enid slowly backed out of the hug, wiping away her tears and apologizing for getting Wednesday’s coat messy.
“I’m sorry, I just don’t get a lot of good reception when I tell people that I’m aro. Especially when I tell them I’m a partnering aro. Like, I’d love to have a girlfriend or someone I can call ‘my person,’ someone who I can hug and kiss and spend my life with. But I don’t think anybody’d want someone who can’t love them back the same way,” Enid’s tears were rapidly reappearing, so Wednesday did the next thing in the string of decidedly un-Wednesday-like actions she’d been making, and grabbed Enid’s face. She tipped the other girl’s head down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Nothing more than a little peck, but it got her message across and left Enid with a stunned look on her face.
“As I said earlier, I do not know what being aromantic is like, but I do know what being alone is like. It is never fun when it is not by your choice.” Enid was still staring at Wednesday, mouth slightly agape. “For the time being, I will be ‘your person,’ as long as you agree to be mine. The other girls are fools for not seeing your worth. You shine brighter than the glare of light on a polished guillotine, and you cut the ice with your blades twice as elegantly. We shall be partners in crime and in crime investigation for as long as you will have me,” Wednesday finished, saying everything matter-of-factly to hide the fact that she was terrified of pouring her metaphorical guts out to this unrelenting ray of sunshine.
The two girls sat in silence for a moment, before Enid grabbed Wednesday’s hands and led her out of the rink and into the lobby. They returned their skates without a word, and began leaving.
“Sinclair, you’re almost frightening me. Why have you not responded? Did you not like–”
Wednesday was cut off by a loud, echoing howl, deep and melodic like a bassoon in an orchestra. She looked over at the girl next to her, who was hopping in place and flapping her hands so fast that they became a blur, just like she had become while spinning in her program.
Enid was howling.
And that was all it took for Wednesday’s stone-faced expression to melt away into a wide grin. She grabbed Enid’s other hand, taking in the sight of her friend’s happiness. Enid turned her head down from the sky to face Wednesday, a matching grin spread across her face. Wednesday hoped she could savor this moment forever, and before she knew it, she felt pressure on her cheek. Enid had given her a quick kiss, just like Wednesday had done before.
“Partners?”
“Yes, partners. Now, would you like to tell me about your program?”