Chapter Text
The room had become dusty in her absence. She stood in between the two halves of it, gazing upon the glimmering colors that shone upon her left side. Old fanatics obsessed with the devil (though not in a fun way) insisted that the left side was that of evil.
They, of course, had never met Enid.
“Wednesday!” A voice squealed from behind her. She turned just in time to see the flash of blonde hair, with darker and newly dyed tips of red and blue. They settled into the corner of her vision as arms wrapped around her.
Wednesday had learned to let it happen. Enid enjoyed hugging, and Wednesday wasn’t inconvenience by it. In fact, partaking in this ritual made Enid more favorable toward her. This, of course, was preferred - it would make her easier to convience in case she needed a partner in crime.
One other than Thing, of course, who made his presence known by thumping the table loudly. Enid immediately let go of Wednesday, who noted the cold she was left with. She watched those blue eyes settle upon Thing, and the second squeal of the day was heard as Enid rushed to give Thing a fist bump.
“Thing! I missed you!! We have got to have a spa day again, I bought hand masks for us! And….” she excitedly thrust a colorful package towards Wednesday. “Maybe you could join us this time? Oh please?”
Wednesday studied the package. It was bright pink with black lettering, promises of hydration and a strawberry scent spelled out in a sickeningly flowery font. On one hand, joining them on this future extravaganza sounded torturous, and not necessarily the fun kind - she enjoyed watching these things happen to others rather than partaking herself. It didn’t help that softening her hands held dangers of erasing the calluses she had grown from fencing, archery, playing the cello… the list grew on.
And yet she found herself hesitating. She didn’t want to see the disappointment on Enid’s face when she rejected the offer. And what was this tightness in her chest? That old saying she had heard before - that distance made the heart grow fonder - could it possibly be true? She wasn’t fond of this newfound difficulty saying no to Enid that had grown inside her since the break from Nevermore.
Time was passing quickly though, and Wednesday had to answer. She opted for a simple and yet effective response. “I’ll consider it,” she said coolly. Thing twitched quizzically, but she silenced him with a quick glance. Luckily, Enid didn’t notice, too busy hugging Wednesday for a second time, the third time she had hugged Wednesday overall.
It was then that she seemed to remember Wednesday’s dislike of such physical affection. She jumped back, limbs untangling from Wednesday’s as she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Sorry, I forgot that you… don’t like hugs.”
Wednesday felt her eyebrows twitch the slightest bit forward. What was this feeling of turmoil? Feelings were… distracting. She should’ve learned her lesson with Tyler. “On special occasions, if you so desire, you may… do your ritual,” she got out. “Like funerals.”
“Or girls nights out?” Enid asked, hope leaking into her voice. “Or today! Our reunion!” Her eyes shone as she clasped Wednesday’s hands in hers. Wednesday frowned at the tingling in her fingertips.
“I suppose,” Wednesday sighed, wrenching her hands free. “If you wish.”
Enid grinned, and Wednesday’s heart skipped a beat. “That settles it! We have to celebrate!”
“Celebrate the return to a facility devoted to the isolation and torture of adolescents?” Wednesday raised her eyebrows. “Your eye for the grim is shocking, though it certainly isn’t an unworthy cause.”
“No, silly.” Enid shook her head, using that exasperated tone she used so often on Wednesday. She found herself relieved to hear it again. “To celebrate us being roomies again, and the start of a new semester!”
“Celebrate… us?” Wednesday cocked her head. Though her friendship with Enid was unlikely, she certainly didn’t consider it anything worth celebrating. Something about the idea made her cheeks warm. How unpleasant. A subject change was required, so that Wednesday could reevaluate what was happening to her later. “What about Ajax. Shouldn’t you be spending time with him?” She had suspected something was amiss between the two of them for quite some time, ever since Enid stopped posting about him on her blog. Time to get confirmation as to what their relationship was.
Enid sighed, flopping back onto her bed. Wednesday stayed standing, arms limp at her side, waiting for her to speak. “I… realized some things about myself over the summer, and we fell out of touch - not that we talked much to begin with - and just…” Enid trailed off multiple times, wringing her hands. Wednesday stared at those hands, the movements almost hypnotizing, before her eyes flicked back up to Enid’s. They held each other in their gazes for a few moments, before Enid stood, shaking herself. “We’re not together anymore. That’s all. Which means…” a smile rose to her face. “I can spend even more time with you!”
“Touching, but we both need to unpack,” Wednesday replied. Furthering the conversation would only lead her to make many mistakes, something she often wanted to avoid. She saw Enid open her mouth, and cut her off. “Keep the pop music to a minimum.”
“How about… I play a song, and then you play a song… and we switch back and forth?” Wednesday’s eyebrows shot up at the suggestion, and Enid took the oppourtunity to lung forward, her hands grasping Wednesday’s. “Oh please Wednesday? You know I hate silence.”
It took a few moments for Wednesday to gain her wits about her. Enid used her name while addressing her, causing the message to be more personal and therefore harder to refuse. Perhaps it wasn’t Wednesday who was feeling strange, but rather Enid’s new manipulation tactics. Truly, they were maginificent, and should’ve been applauded.
“Fine,” Wednesday relented, and Enid beamed. Wednesday really did need to rethink her approach to social situations - the ability to force an agreement and yet trigger warm and fuzzy feelings was a terrifying one. She would have preferred if it was used against someone other than herself. “But only if I get to go first.”
“I suppose that’s fair,” Enid agreed. She pulled a speaker from out of her backpack. “Just use my phone to play music - it’s already connected.” The device was plopped in Wednesday’s hand. “The passcode is 9 3 3 6 3 7 3 2 9.”
Wednesday frowned. The willingness to sacrifice such an integral part of Enid’s life for the promise of music was surprising. She quickly unlocked the phone, mentally noting the numbers in her head. She searched her head for songs to play, eventually settling for Moonlight Sonata. Enid followed with some cheery pop song by Taylor Swift, and Wednesday responded with Jazmin Bean.
They went back and forth for a while, until eventually Enid spoke, interupting their silence (more than she did with her singing, which, Wednesday had to admit, was pretty good). “You might like this next one,” she offered, a soft expression on her face. Wednesday stared at her - she thought the lines drawn between their music tastes had been drawn numerous times over.
“I doubt that.”
“Just listen!” Enid begged, an edge to her voice. Nervousness? Annoyance? It was hard to tell.
Wednesday went quiet, doing as she was told, and letting the music fill her ears. The lyrics were simple - nothing like her masterpiece of a novel she had yet to publish - but she supposed they got the points across.
“Space giiiiiirl, show me the stars. You know the galaxies of my heart.”
Enid was humming along. Wednesday kept a close eye on her, watching as she taped a small flag to her bedside. It wasn’t a country she recognized. “What’s that flag from?” She asked before she could stop herself. Enid stopped humming, her eyes widening. If Wednesday didn’t know any better, she would think Enid had stopped breathing.
“It’s… uhm… the lesbian flag,” Enid nearly whispered, her voice slow. “Why… do you ask?” There! The forced brightness, the sudden jump in volume - Enid was unsure of what to say next. More specifically, unsure of Wednesday’s reaction.
Wednesday, honestly, felt a little dumb. She was aware that many people found comfort in labels and sexuality, but she had never bothered to learn the names of flags. An oversight - she wouldn’t be in this situation if she had bothered to learn, nor if she had kept her mouth shut. Now she had to respond - and if her heart would stop that quickening, that would be preferrable.
“Very well” were the only words that left the knot in her throat. The song filled their silence - as did the tapping of Thing.
“What?” Wednesday hissed, crouching next to him to block Enid’s view. Thing squirmed on the table, and Wednesday mentally translated his words.
What was that?
“Don’t look at me like that,” she spat, stealing a glance over her shoulder. “How should I know how to respond? You know this isn’t my forte.” He gave her a look, and she flicked a pocketknife out of her sleeve. “Another word and you’re being skinned for a new purse.”
“What did you say?” Wednesday turned to face Enid, who had appeared behind her. They were close - close enough for her to study every eyelash and count every freckle on Enid’s face.
“Nothing,” Wednesday responded smoothly, standing and trying to step back. Instead of hitting floor, her foot landed on one of one of her vials of poison (the glass was, of course, bulletproof - she wasn’t an amatuer). Her legs slid from under her and straight into Enid’s, sending them both collapsing on top of one of Wednesday’s (thankfully empty) suitcases.
Correction - it sent Wednesday onto the suitcase. It sent Enid on top of Wednesday, their legs entangled, Wednesday’s hands on Enid’s back and Enid’s hands on Wednesday’s face.
Neither of them said anything for a moment.
“Sorry!” Enid apologized. She removed her hands, pushing one of them on the suitcase to prop herself up, her wrist brushing against Wednesday’s waist. Wednesday sat up, inhaling sharply as Enid’s hand retreated and brushed against her waist again. “So sorry, again, I’m-”
“Don’t apologize,” Wednesday interupted, moving a finger against Enid’s lips. “You did nothing wrong. I was the one who tripped. Do not assume responsibility for my misstep.” Her eyes fell to Enid’s lips, and she quickly pulled away, stepping out of the suitcase and offering Enid a hand up.
“Thanks,” Enid chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear again. It took everything Wednesday had to keep her face neutral. Enid’s eyes went wide as she got a buzz from her phone. “Oh! It’s Yoko, she wants my help moving into her dorm - apparently her new roommate is a bit… unusual. But I’ll be back! Are we still on for a celebration tonight?”
Wednesday considered it. Her current emotional state and confusion would not make it advisable to agree, but then again, her condition was caused by Enid. In order to get to the bottom of this, she needed to be fully aware of her symptoms - and the cause.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Wednesday assured her. Enid clasped her hands together excitedly as she skipped away, humming.
There was another mystery to get to the bottom of.