Chapter Text
Wednesday was jolted awake from her slumber as she felt a hard weight land on her stomach. In the split second it took her to recognize her surroundings, she calmed herself down enough to realize that she in fact wasn’t attacked, but was just sharing a bed. No need to wake them both up with her suddenly springing up out of bed, preparing for an ambush.
She rolled her head to the side, dark eyes meeting Enid’s messy blonde hair immediately. Her roommate was sleeping soundly, no doubt having thrashed around in her sleep to the point of disturbing Wednesday’s. She would manage a scowl, if the slight huff of Enid’s breathing didn’t entrance her, the subtle rise and fall of her chest indicating she was alive and at her most peaceful, her most vulnerable.
It made her feel sick, in all the right ways. Seeing the werewolf so unguarded that she could just slip a poison pill in her barely open mouth, or press the sharp edge of a blade to her exposed neck.
They were supposed to be resting, though. And tempting as it was to enact retribution on Enid for disrupting her sleep by waking her up screaming, there was a firm reason why they were sharing a bed together.
After they were deemed fit enough to return to their dorms, not needing another night of careful scrutiny in the infirmary by the nurses, they were sent to live out the rest of the canceled semester in their dorm. But the roommates were unable to sleep without the help of drowsy meds. For the girl with braids, the first thing she immediately did once in the dorm was to record the happenings in her crime novel. For the blonde werewolf, as Wednesday learned, she was traumatized. Rightly so; the Fur almost single-handedly took up the monster that had been terrorizing the town, while she herself was taking care of the one that haunted it. A neat divide and conquer, as Wednesday thought of it, but the ordeal left Enid unable to cope.
Not to mention that she had just wolfed out, and in Wednesday’s brilliant mind, she knew she was the reason for it. So having to satisfy the primal urge of ensuring her packmates were safe-- as Wednesday was more than one hundred percent certain she was Enid’s packmate now-- the dark girl caved in, proposing she could give Enid some sort of peace of mind. She just couldn’t stand the sad whimpers at night and thrashing of sheets on the bed; it distracted her from her typing.
She did not expect that her offer of ‘peace of mind’ would be to share a bed. But Wednesday promised, Addams didn’t back down on promises, and it was a much better option than Enid’s first sniffling proposition of ‘Stay by my side for the rest of the semester?’ That was too much for Wednesday; she would cut off her arm for Enid to carry around some part of her rather than tolerate the werewolf night and day.
The stipulations for this bed sharing was to be only at night and only when it was the two of them, and Enid was to tell no one, lest she wound up gutted worse than the Hyde’s victims. Enid screamed at that threat.
…
“Why did you agree to this, Wednesday?”
Wednesday shifted, rolling her shoulder.
“It’s because I’m your packmate.”
She could feel Enid startle, the surprise rippling through the bed. Sharing a bed meant that every little body movement was recorded and passed on, and for an expressive person like Enid, Wednesday felt like she was being engulfed in her emotions when they lied down together.
“W-what do you mean by that?” The squeak in her voice made Wednesday’s gaze twitch her way for the briefest second, before returning to stare up at the ceiling.
“I’ve read up on werewolves. They can transform in times of great need, regardless if there is a full moon. But I am thankful for the full moon, especially one as powerful as the blood moon, for it helped you defeat the Hyde. If the moon cycle was the only trigger for you to wolf out, you would have done so before.”
Wednesday felt a sudden hand grip her elbow, and she looked up as Enid rose, propping herself up on her hands. “How much do you know about packmates?”
Wednesday stared up at Enid. Wide black eyes regarding her worried blue ones.
“How much did you read up on them?” Enid pressed again, her tone low and urgent.
The silence stretched on; Wednesday did her research, so she knew what she needed to know. That answer seemed obvious.
She could feel something sharp poke at her arm, then into her side. Enid’s claws dug into her, and Wednesday refocused her gaze on the blonde, reading her expression again. Ignoring the scars that hugged the side of her face.
“Wednesday.”
Wednesday’s dark, cold gaze watched her warm blue eyes flashed, glinting. Were they still blue?
She caved. “If you are so desperate to know, packmates are family. I’m sure you know too, so why are you inquiring me so fervently?”
“Is that all you know?”
Wednesday perked at that, even as the pressure on her arm bit down. “Is there more?”
Enid dropped her gaze, exhaling. She withdrew, her claws sheathing as she flopped back down to her side of the bed, throwing an arm across her eyes.
“Sorry for my claws,” she muttered.
Wednesday shook her head, then added in when she realized Enid wasn’t looking at her. “I do not mind. If anything, it is quite attractive when you display your werewolf strength.”
Enid laughed breathlessly into the air. “Of course you think that side of me is attractive.”
The dark-haired girl said nothing.
Sweet silence, to Wednesday, at least. She waited a moment more, for Enid to stew in whatever she was thinking in her bright sunshine head, to ask, “Is there something more to packmates that are not mentioned in the texts I perused?”
Enid huffed out a chuckle, removing the arm that was covering her face. “Guess I’ll have to fill you in with the latest werewolf gossip sometime.”
Wednesday’s face soured. “I do not long for trivial gossip, only steadfast facts.”
Enid flipped herself around, laying on her elbows, regaining her composure as the two slipped into their quips. “You do know that mainstream trends can actually become reality? Like how millennials changed what literally meant.”
“Then do tell me only after it’s become a fact set in stone.”
“Well, it basically is.”
“‘Basically’ does not mean it is accepted and proven as true, like a theory is not truth until it is repeatedly undisputed, tested by the scientific process.”
Enid hummed, kicking her feet in the air. Wednesday closed her eyes, swallowing back the irritation that came as the bed creaked under the movement. It didn’t last long, as she felt Enid shift, for what felt like the umpteenth time. She felt hands curl around her bicep, and then a chin slotting itself on her shoulder. Wednesday kept her eyes closed, focusing on the blinding warmth that came with Enid’s touches, trying not to shrivel in the sun like a snake plant who longed for the shade.
“So you’re my packmate, huh,” Enid mumbled, her voice oozing drowse.
“It is more than apparent. That is a fact.”
Enid hummed, her breathing evening out as she nestled in closer. When Wednesday felt her breath breeze the skin on her neck, she popped opened her eyes, staring up at the ceiling. She dared not move as Enid drifted off into peaceful slumber. Her side burned with the force of a thousand suns upon an ancient shut-in vampire, knowing Enid was comfortable with this embrace.
…
"Did you sleep good Willa?"
Wednesday turned her head as Enid parked herself by her side. She bumped her hip into the dark haired girl's side, causing her to put down her quill with a concentrated force. "Enid."
"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to smear your ink. Have you considered using pencils? With erasers? It would be sooo much better for the environment too if you used less paper, you know. And that you could erase mistakes."
"I do not make mistakes in my writing. The amount of paper I use for my novel is miniscule compared to the waste of large companies. Save your pathetic eco-savior complex; death by totaling the planet from selfish human greed sounds like a fitting end for us all."
"Okay wow, yes, anyways, I just wanted to ask if you sleep okay?" Enid's hands clasped behind her back as she leaned in, skimming what her roommate was writing. More homework, though she was sure classes were canceled.
"I am not the one complaining about an inability to rest at night."
"I know, that's why I'm asking. I'm probably not the best sleeper, especially when I have these nightmares and I know you said I growl in my sleep and grind my canines so it's probably not helping with everything that's happened. You know, especially since I’ve wolfed out."
Wednesday let go of the quill, turning in her chair to face Enid. "My sleep is of no importance."
"No, it is Wednesday! Why doesn’t it matter?"
The dark haired girl stared at her, expression flat. Boring into Enid, willing her with force of gaze alone.
Enid sighed, clasping a hand on her roommate's shoulder. “I can't sleep better at your expense.”
“And why not?” Wednesday sat back and crossed her arms, defiant.
“Doesn’t that just kinda defeat the purpose?” Enid threw her arms up in the air, her claws poking out a bit. “Like, I guess you didn’t have any trouble at all going to sleep at night even though the most traumatic event EVER happened to us and the SCHOOL and we had to defeat not one but THREE homicidal THINGS! A normie, a monster, and a ghost! I can’t still can’t even wrap my head around it all, and I was the one who had to go up against the ugliest one--” The werewolf continued to ramble on, her expression frantic as she deviated from her original train of thought.
As she spoke, she waved her arms around and began to pace about, always active in all her mannerisms. Her painted claws continued to peek out, longer and lengthening, and Wednesday kept her gaze on the wildly waving nails, fascinated by their growing sharpness. Like permanent jewelry. Permanent embedded knives.
“Are you even listening?!” Wednesday blinked, and realized Enid had approached her, getting right into her face. The werewolf gripped the arms of Wednesday’s chair, rattling its swivel base to shake her awake.
If there was anything that could grab Wednesday’s attention completely, it had to be something that’s sharp and dangerous, even if it was… so colorfully painted.
The dark haired girl fixed her gaze on Enid, drilling holes through her.
“Cool, I see you’re listening now. What were we talking about again? I got sidetracked… right, it was your sleep.” Now it was Enid’s turn to fix her gaze on Wednesday, returning the dark girl’s stare with a fierce one of her own.
Wednesday could smell her sickeningly sweet scent. Her breath, like a ghost passing by on a graveyard visit, on her nose. She didn’t want to back down, back off; but she slid down her seat, just the most miniscule amount of distance from cotton candy. Her knees bumped into Enid’s right away. There was absolutely no space given when it came to the werewolf.
“We fixed your problem. Isn’t that what matters?”
Enid continued staring daggers into her eyes. Wednesday could feel it digging into her soul, like ornamental daggers, honed for a rare fight.
Enid sighed, her arms sagging. “Oh, Willa.”
Wednesday lowered her chin the slightest, tightening her crossed arms.
Enid retreated, pulling her arms away, holding onto her elbow with a hand. “Honestly, I’ve been getting better-- who knew sleeping next to a corpse would help with my nightmares? I’ll go back to my bed for the last few days of the semester, so don’t worry about it.”
“Enid.”
The blonde werewolf glanced up from where she set her gaze on the floor. She looked up to see Wednesday had averted her gaze, keeping it trained on her bed.
“... My insomnia has been resolved recently too.”
Enid tilted her head to the side, unsure of what that meant. Then she picked up on Wednesday’s insinuation. Her hands clapped together before she could contain her squeal.
“Willaaa!” She shrieked, unable to curb her emotions, per usual. She jumped back into Wednesday’s space, her arms outstretched.
“Enough!” Wednesday hissed, pushing herself farther back in the seat to try and escape Enid’s incoming embrace.
“I know, I know, you aren’t a hugger.” Wednesday found herself looking up at the werewolf’s grinning face, a sunbeam cutting through the haunted canopy. Her arms gripped the top of the chair’s back, encasing Wednesday in a pseudo-grab, but not touching the dark girl. Their clothes brushed as Enid leaned in, tantalizingly close, like the flushed hidden blades of an army knife.
And… was that a tail? Wednesday couldn’t help her eyes sliding over to the side as she saw something whip with quick succession behind Enid’s back.
She couldn’t make a move to grab that bundle of ticking energy before Enid hopped back, her hands clapping together again. “Endless sleepovers! That is, until we have to go back home…” The werewolf spun around, skipping back to her side of the room. Wednesday followed her form, peering intently. There was nothing to indicate that she had a wagging appendage kicking up a whirlwind, not that she could discern.
“I can feel your eyes on me, Willa~”
The dark-haired girl tugged her eyes away, brows furrowing. Enid was getting better at feeling out if there was a target on her back.
Wednesday turned back to her typewriter as Enid flopped into her bed, already making more noise. Wednesday sighed, trying to think of the next line in her novel. She had no clue where she was in her story; it was like she had just stepped into the maze of the Minotaur, and the glowing golden thread that was supposed to be her way home was leading her astray.