Chapter Text
If asked by someone, both Wednesday and Enid claimed that it had been Thing’s idea first, really. For them to go to the dance together. Thing himself would say that he simply made happen what both of them had been thinking about all along, but Wednesday chased him with an axe around the school grounds for half a day for claiming that, so he quickly took it back.
But in reality, at least for Enid, it was true. She had been thinking about asking her roommate to the dance for weeks, but due to a lack of courage (because said roommate could be quite scary and intimidating, even after months of living with her) and not knowing how to go about it, she was stuck with the safe but frustrating strategy of dropping progressively less subtle hints in the week leading up to the dance.
Like dragging every single fancy dress she owned out of her closet, spreading them out on her bed and moaning about how sad it was that she didn't have an occasion to wear them more often. No reaction.
Or when she announced that she was accompanying Yoko to go dress shopping for the dance, despite not having a date herself, because she didn’t want to miss out on all the fun. Again, no reaction.
The final straw came on a Thursday afternoon when Wednesday was typing away on her novel and Enid was laying on her bed, upside down, flipping through a magazine and chatting with Thing.
“Oh my god, I love this hairstyle!” Enid announced and showed the page she was looking at to Thing, who was looking through a magazine himself on her bed.
He gave an approving thumbs up.
Enid looked at the magazine again and sighed, tracing the picture on the page with her finger.
“The pink would look so good with the white colour theme of the Rave’N. Maybe I’ll have to convince Yoko to do it. It would be wasted on me since I’m not going.”
Thing started violently gesturing in her peripheral vision and she turned her head to look at him again, squinting her eyes.
“Slow down, what are you trying to tell me?” she asked.
Thing looked exasperated but followed her request to slow down, pointing over to Wednesday and then to Enid before twirling on his fingers.
Enid’s heart dropped to her stomach when she realised what he was hinting at. If even Thing had caught on, how embarrassingly obvious had she been? But then she realised that this was actually perfect. Because if Thing was the one who said it...
“You think…I should…ask Wednesday to be my date to the Rave’N?” Enid spelt Thing’s words out.
Thing immediately gave her an overexcited thumbs up.
The rhythmic clacking of keys on the other side of the room stopped. With her heart beating heavily in her chest, Enid watched Wednesday spin around on her desk chair to face both of them, having heard her name.
Enid stole another glance at Thing who repeatedly pointed at Wednesday as if to say yes, I’m talking about her, just do it!
So, Enid scratched together all her remaining self-confidence and asked. Stuttering and stumbling, but she did.
“Uhm Wednesday. Would you, uh. Do you wanna go to the Rave’N with me…next week?” she quickly rushed out, unsure if her roommate could even understand her through all the mumbling, given that she was still hanging upside down from her bed.
There was a moment of silence in which Enid made sure to look everywhere but to the other side of the room, before -
“Yes.”
Enid sat up so fast that the room seemed to be spinning in front of her for a moment.
“Wait, you really want to?” she asked, eyes wide. Her heart was beating so fast she was expecting it to break out of her rip cage any second.
Wednesday's face darkened like the sky right before a storm. “Yes, obviously. Why else would I agree?” With that, she turned back around and continued to type on her typewriter. “Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s still thirty-seven minutes left in my writing hour, so please keep your dull conversation down, I need to focus.”
So there was that. Enid had officially asked Wednesday to be her date to the Rave’N. As simple as that. And against all odds, Wednesday had actually agreed.
Of course, Enid spent the entire following day talking Yoko’s ear off about it - because there was so much to discuss! What should she be wearing? Should she get matching dresses with Wednesday? Should she buy Wednesday flowers? It escalated so far that Yoko was two seconds away from willingly asking the cook to make garlic bread for dinner to put an end to her misery.
But Enid was just so excited! And she needed everyone to know about it. This was going to be the best night of her life, she could feel it. Things between her and Wednesday would finally change that night. She was so sure of it because this dance was the perfect opportunity to get there. What could possibly go wrong?
Enid had insisted on getting ready in separate rooms, and no matter how many times Wednesday pointed out that it was entirely ridiculous because they had literally seen each other’s dresses beforehand, Enid stubbornly told her that otherwise “it wouldn’t be a real date” before she stormed out of the room.
Which was why Wednesday hadn't seen her ever since she disappeared in the afternoon, with an arm full of clothes and make-up and a wig (or at least that’s what Wednesday assumed was the thing dangerously looking like cotton candy) to go change in Yoko’s room.
It also hadn’t left Wednesday with enough time to ask what exactly her roommate meant when she was talking about their ’date’. Like, if she just meant it as in, a date to the dance, or, you know…a date date. Because while Wednesday had attended quite a lot of pompous balls with her parents in the past, in the date date department she was lacking notable experience.
So maybe it was for the better to not have an answer.
It felt weird to be sitting alone at her makeup table now, getting ready, without Enid puttering around on her side of the room like she had been every day over the past few weeks. Wednesday had gotten so used to completing all of her daily routines in the presence of her roommate, that without her, everything felt somehow off.
Wednesday applied the last bit of her lipstick, then she glanced at Thing through the slightly dusty mirror. “What do you think?”
Thing made a quick series of gestures, at the end of which he dropped backwards down to the floor with a thud.
Wednesday smirked in satisfaction. “Good. Wouldn’t want anything less than people dropping dead when I enter a room. That’s my favourite thing to do.”
Thing gave her a thumbs up, having recovered from his dramatic fall.
Even though she was done and ready to go, Wednesday lingered at her table a little moment longer, staring at her own reflection in the mirror.
As usual, her pale skin stood in stark contrast to her dark hair and lips. The shimmering eyeshadow highlighted her big, brown eyes and long eyelashes, which looked just like her Dad’s. People loved to gush about how she inherited her mother’s sharp cheekbones and shiny, ebony hair, but for some reason, they never mention the eyes. Wednesday thought that maybe it was because they weren’t filled with the same golden warmth as her father’s. The same warmth that also twinkled in Enid’s eyes, whenever she was excited about something.
Sometimes, in rare moments like now, Wednesday wished her own would shine with the same kindness. Even though she would never dare to say that out loud, of course. Not over her dead body.
Lost in her thoughts, Wednesday didn’t notice that Thing climbed up on her shoulder until he started massaging her seemingly tense shoulders.
She gave him a questioning look. “Is this your way of saying I should relax?”
As an answer, he simply tapped her shoulder in a ’there there’ gesture and continued his work.
Wednesday sighed and stared back into the mirror. Through the reflection, she could see Enid’s empty side of the room. While she had her makeup table placed in this particular angle since the day she came to Nevermore, the reason why had changed over the course of the past few months.
In the beginning, it served her as some sort of safety measurement alongside the duct tape on the floor. Through her mirror, she could watch her new roommate’s movements and be able to hide from the chaos in case it came too close. Now though, she knew Enid’s routines by heart and no longer needed the security. So when she sat at the table in the morning to brush her long hair before plaiting it, it gave her a strange sense of comfort to watch Enid putter around her side of the room, mostly making it messier with every move when she rolled out of bed right before class and collected her things.
Thing stopped his massage to mess up Wednesday’s bangs, uncomfortably snapping her back to reality.
"Hey!" She glared at him and grabbed her hairbrush to carefully fix the mess, but Thing just pointed to Enid’s side of the room and then poked her cheek.
Wednesday not so gently flicked him off her shoulder.
“If you breathe even a word about any of this to my parents, you’re dead,” she threatened.
Thing ignored her and made himself comfortable on the bed, innocently picking up a magazine and flicking through it like to say my job here is done anyway.
“I don't know why I bother to put up with you.”
Thing just shrugged. I don’t know either, but I like it.
Wednesday sighed. She didn’t understand why she was so torn up over all of this either. Maybe it was due to the fact that she genuinely hadn’t expected Enid to ask her to the dance. Had the thought crossed her mind once or twice in a minute of weakness? Maybe. But she had always assumed that her bubbly roommate would want someone who was equally passionate and excited about school traditions to be her date anyway.
But Enid’s excitement had only gotten bigger in the days leading up to the dance and she was over the moon to take Wednesday dress shopping. Wednesday had endured all of it with her usual wall of monotone disinterest, but deep down, the wheels in her head never stopped turning, trying to figure out the mystery that was Enid Sinclair. She was sure that the other girl wouldn’t have a problem finding someone else who wanted to be her date in this school, so why settle for her gloomy roommate?
Wednesday put down her hairbrush and took out her black pocket watch. The steady ticking immediately gave her some sense of comfort as she checked the time. Five minutes until the dance.
“Alright Thing, time to go,” she announced and got up, smoothing down the black tulle of her dress. “Let’s get this over with.” She gently lifted her friend and placed him on her shoulder. With one last glance at the other side of the room, she opened the door.
“Maybe if it’s over soon we’ll still have some time to work on solving the murder mystery tonight,” she added almost as a hopeful afterthought, a promise to herself.
It was on her way to the ballroom to meet Wednesday when Enid sensed it for the first time. It felt like a sudden, soaring pain somewhere between her stomach and rip cage, almost like whenever one of her brothers would elbow her into the side to steal food from the table at lunch before she could.
Enid frowned and stopped, steadying herself by grabbing the bannisters of the stairs. She took a deep breath, trying to make the pain go away, but all it did was make her claws come out. Confused, and a tiny bit worried, she forced them back in, not wanting to mess up her freshly painted baby pink nail polish or the old wooden stair ornaments.
“What…is happening?” she quietly mumbled to herself and pressed a hand to her side.
Why did it feel like somebody was inside her body, pushing and pulling at her bones until they were stretched too big for her body? Was she so nervous about the dance? Just jitters? She had been on dates before though, and she never felt like this. This didn’t feel like anything she was used to.
As if to answer her question, the pain spread, crawling up her spine and back until it covered her shoulders, pressing down like a pair of heavy paws. It was accompanied by a sort of dizziness Enid had never felt before, making her claws slip out again.
Definitely not feeling like seeing Wednesday in this embarrassing condition and with the sudden urge to get some air, Enid stumbled down the rest of the stairs, her legs feeling like jelly. She could only hope that this would pass quickly.
Finally, she reached the nearest door, a back door that led out into the school garden, and she pulled it open. With a gasp she inhaled the cool, soothing night air, letting it fill up her lungs which, funnily enough, felt much larger than they usually did despite her breathlessness.
Carefully, she stumbled more than walked away from the building and near the woods, finding a large rock where she could sit down, her legs no longer feeling like they would carry her.
“She said yes when you asked her to be your date,” Enid reminded herself when she regained her breath. “If she didn’t want to be your date, she would have murdered you on the spot for even asking,” she added for some more reassurance. “No need to freak out Enid.”
Taking another deep breath and counting to ten in her head, Enid tried to calm herself down. She would be fine. She had to be. Because Yoko would definitely join forces with Wednesday to murder her in her sleep if she didn’t show up. And she couldn’t be losing both of them over…whatever this was. Not after she had been looking forward to this night for so long.
There was a sudden crack. Enid jumped in shock when she looked down and saw herself holding a piece of the huge rock she was currently sitting on in her bare hand. She hadn’t realised how hard she was gripping it. Apparently hard enough to break off an entire piece.
How was that even possible?
Enid took another deep breath, trying to force herself to focus and think. But it was hard because everything around her suddenly seemed to be so much more overwhelming than it usually was. It was like she could every noise, every owl hoot in the forest and the overwhelming rhythm of her own heartbeat and -
In the bright moonlight, Enid noticed how her hand suddenly looked much hairier than it usually was and her claws grew in size.
Wait.
No. Oh hell no.
The realisation hit her like a brick to the face and she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time for being so stupid. Tonight was a full moon. She wasn’t just nervous. And she was also not getting sick. If everything, she had been cured.
It was with half agony over the horrible timing and a twisted bit of shallow hope that she realised, she was wolfing out. Finally. Her body wasn’t trying to tear her apart from the inside, no. It was trying to get her into her natural shape.
Like her own lack of understanding had been the only thing holding her back from fully turning, her body now changed rapidly, twisting and stretching and turning under the bright, heavy moonlight.
Enid could faintly hear the tearing of clothes, but she only had a split second to mourn her carefully styled outfit, because there was a tension building up deep in her stomach, spreading itself over her whole body, from her toes up to where ears burst out of her skull and then it released itself in one loud howl once her body had fully changed.
Everything felt - different. Not necessarily in an unpleasant way though, which sent a shiver of relief down her spine. Through all the time waiting to wolf out, Enid had sometimes been scared that all the pressure and built-up expectations would make the first time she wolfed out - if it should ever happen - an uncomfortable or disappointing experience. Luckily, her mind seemed to have found a home in this body very quickly. She might’ve still felt too overwhelmed to run off and look for the other Nevermore wolves, but a little stroll through the woods should be fine for tonight.
Which, of course, didn’t change the fact that the timing was abso-fucking-lutely bad. Like, bad bad. Because by now, Wednesday must be standing in Nevermore’s ballroom, waiting for her to show up and wondering why she hadn’t yet. And here Enid was, in the shape of an oversized puppy, unable to attend. Damn it, universe.
Enid growled in frustration, digging her claw into the mossy school backyard. She could only hope that she’d turn back in time before the dance was over, so she could still show up. Although, her dress was now ruined anyway, and if she knew one thing about Wednesday then it was that the other girl didn’t unnecessarily wait around where she wasn’t needed. She was probably already on her way back to her room, plotting Enid’s murder in detail.
Unsure what to do and still too frustrated to take off into the woods to properly stretch out her legs for a while, Enid paced back and forth. Now, her heightened senses no longer felt overwhelming but calming in a way. It made her feel connected to nature and the ground she was standing on, the noises of the night almost a soothing lullaby to her ears.
That was until she heard that noise. It instantly made her want to cover her ears because the screeching was so unpleasant before she remembered that she had paws and now longer hands. It sounded like someone was banging something with force against…metal maybe?
Now curious and glad for the distraction from a situation she wasn’t able to change anytime soon, Enid followed the sound, trusting her ears which guided her around the school toward the front gate.
What she saw, confused her at first. That was because, despite her heightened senses, she was unable to detect what prey exactly the creature currently gnawing at the Nevermore gates was. Neither its heartbeat nor its smell was something that felt familiar to her.
Holding herself in the shadows so as to not blow her cover, Enid waited until the cloud that was currently covering the full moon lifted and revealed the creature’s shape.
Distantly resembling the shape of a human and yet carrying itself without a single ounce of kindness, the monster turned at that moment and looked straight in Enid’s direction. In the dark, a pair of huge eyes seemed to be scanning the woods. It instantly made Enid take a step back, her tail between her legs, wishing and praying that whatever this creature was, it wouldn’t spot her.
Then she remembered that she was currently in the shape of a werewolf and she relaxed a tiny bit. For a moment, she was convinced to be smelling the overwhelming scent of roasted coffee, but she quickly shook that thought off. That didn’t make any sense at all. Her senses were probably still overwhelmed by the sudden change and unable to identify all of the new input correctly.
And yet…something surrounding the monster did feel familiar.
Enid continued to watch the creature for a moment, studying it carefully, still in her cover. And then it hit her, like a flash, where the familiarity came from. The eyes, the teeth, the claws…it all exactly reassembled the drawings she’d seen Wednesday steal from Xavier.
The drawings of the monster that had killed person after person in Jericho.
An ice-cold shiver ran down Enid’s spine and she felt the muscles in her body tense. With utter fear and paralysed by her realisation, she watched as the monster continued to gnaw at the iron school gates with its sharp teeth and rattled at the metal frame, the only thing that still held it back from invading Nevermore.
Her school, Enid thought. Their dance. Her friends. Wednesday.
In the span of a single courageous heartbeat, Enid made a decision. A decision she knew would cut her life into a before and an after. A potentially fatal decision. Foolish, even. But it was like all her will to fight and hunt and protect her pack had accumulated itself over the months and years of waiting to finally wolf out and was now released from her heart at once, like a fireball, burning bright and strong and ready to fight.
So with a deep howl, Enid let the fire take over her body, her mind, and her soul, and launched herself in the direction of the monster, out of her cover and into the moonlight.
This would end in flames if it had to.
Wednesday had always been aware of the utter ridiculousness of dressing yourself up for something as unimportant and bland as a school dance. But now that she’d been sitting here, in her favourite dress, for the span of nearly two hours, waiting for Enid to show up, she regretted not having brought a dagger to stab herself.
It wasn’t like Wednesday wasn’t used to other people disappointing her. On the contrary, letting her down really seemed to be the only way in which people knew how to interact with her, so she had long stopped caring about it. But when it was somebody like Enid - someone she had seen with her own eyes apologizing to a bug for accidentally crushing it with her shoe - it kind of stung.
But maybe it was Wednesday’s fault for taking Enid’s overcommitment as genuine excitement for the dance and not as anticipation to play some kind of sick trick on her.
She had definitely underestimated her roommate’s dark side (it felt weird to even be thinking of Enid like this, but maybe that was why her manipulation had succeeded in the first place) and she was willing to admit her defeat. A well-thought-through strategy of mind was something she admired and could respect, after all.
And yet. Yet something about Enid not showing up stung in a way that felt entirely foreign, and not in the least bit enjoyable to her and she would have put a stop to it immediately if she’d only known how. She had even sent Thing to go look for Enid after half an hour, but he came back empty-handed and just as glum. She had scolded him for being hung up over something so silly, but she knew that he could see right through her. At least for once, he didn’t call her out on it and also didn’t take it personally.
At the very least, Wednesday could find some enjoyment in sitting and watching her fellow classmates make a fool of themselves on the dance floor (some of those moves looked dangerously close to whatever people did on that ridiculous TikTok app Enid has been showing her), which was the only reason why she hadn’t left to go do something more useful with her time ages ago. Like, go throw some knives in the woods. Or paint Enid’s entire side of the room black. Or something like that.
“And what’s got you so depressed tonight?” Bianca stepped into her view and pulled out a chair at the table, taking a seat next to Wednesday. “Ah wait, never mind. That’s how you always look. I forgot that you’re besties with death or something.”
“I’m still not a vampire if that’s what you’re suggesting.” Wednesday looked her up and down, taking in her outfit. “And who’s your date? A goldfish perhaps? I am sure your match in intelligence level would result in interesting conversations.”
Bianca crossed her arms in front of her chest, the subtle hint of scales on her arms shimmering in the light of the dance floor as she rolled her eyes.
“I don't need a date. I’m here with the girls,” Bianca nodded to Yoko and Divina who were standing by the punch bowl, giggling over something.
“Well, that’s one thing we agree on then,” Wednesday said and busied herself by rearranging the tulle skirts of her dress under the table.
Bianca raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow.
“Weren’t you supposed to be Enid’s date for the Rave’N?” she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and danger.
“I am. Or was,” Wednesday confirmed. “She has yet to show up to the occasion though,” she added, forcing her voice to remain in its usual monotone range when speaking so as to not show her arch-enemy in what way it affected her.
“Huh.” Bianca’s frown deepened, now in concern. “It’s not like Enid to be late to things like this. I mean, she can be scatterbrained for sure, but not when it comes to things she cares about a lot.”
Wednesday shrugged. Apparently, Enid didn’t care as much as it had seemed like back in their room. Maybe that was the root of the problem. Sometimes Wednesday felt like she became a completely different person when she was in their dorm. Like she wasn’t as guarded and quick thinking as she was outside, but more…vulnerable. No wonder Enid had been able to lull her into this humiliation.
“Maybe her horrendous colour choices have finally caught up with her and she fell unconscious at the horror of seeing so much pink,” Wednesday suggested. “Or she accidentally strangled herself with the wire of her hair curler.”
Bianca scrunched her nose in disgust. “With all due respect, what is wrong with you?”
“Everything that should be in order to live an enjoyable life,” Wednesday replied, satisfied when she felt her usual sass come back to her.
Bianca blinked at her. “Right.” Then she sighed. “Anyway, I’d bet actual money that Enid has a very good reason for standing you up, but I’m too scared of what will happen to me if you lose a challenge, Wednesday Addams.” Bianca gave her one pointed up-and-down look. “I am just glad this isn’t a prom queen competition.”
“Whatever,” Wednesday said, getting tired of this conversation because it didn’t help the unwanted feeling in her chest, if anything, it made it worse. “I don't need a partner to dance anyway.”
Bianca opened her mouth to say something but Wednesday shut her up with one last glare as she got up from the table. She arranged her tulle once more, straightened her posture and then walked right onto the dancefloor.
The crowd seemed to magically part in front of her, creating a path toward the middle as she moved, accompanied by a lot of whispers and stares from the students who stopped whatever they were doing to watch Wednesday Addams float by like she owned the place and they were all just her humbly servants.
That was what it felt like in her mind, anyway. And she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. She didn’t need anyone by her side to do it. She was always destined to be alone.
And so Wednesday danced. She danced like she’d done it her whole life, without a single care in her mind. She danced just for herself, and nobody else, with her eyes closed and the music drumming in her ears and vibrating through her whole body. She danced, because she wanted to, because she needed to. Because it was like getting fresh air into her lungs to clear her mind.
Wednesday didn’t stop dancing when the music cut off. Neither did she stop when the screaming started. Why should she? After all, this was her kind of soundtrack anyway. In her room back at home, she had a vinyl that consisted of only human screaming that she listened to whenever she had trouble falling asleep.
But what did make her stop abruptly was when heard the voice. Her voice.
“It’s the monster. It wanted to attack the school.”
Enid.
Wednesday snapped her eyes open and stared. Stared at her roommate, standing in the middle of the parted crowd, eyes wide in fear, covered in blood from head to toe, just barely standing on her naked feet, her dress torn and her hair hanging down in loose strands.
Wednesday’s heart got closed over by a thick layer of ice-cold pain. But it was not at all the same pain as before. Oh no. This one…was something else entirely. This was blood-craving rage at whoever was responsible for this. Because she would rain down hellfire in order to make them pay for it.
“I think I hurt it enough to make it go away.”
Enid didn't really remember what happened in which order or how long it took before she was back in her own room. There were too many people running around the ballroom hysterically, principal Weems trying to keep the chaos from breaking out, in order to figure out what the hell was going on and the DJ stopping the music so Enid’s voice, barely above a whisper, was audible when she explained what happened.
How she fought the monster right after she wolfed out for the first time. How it hit her but how she hurt it badly enough in turn, so it had crawled off to lick its wounds somewhere in the depth of the forest. How she had changed back into human form out of pure exhaustion and crawled more than walked back into school after having retrieved what was left of her Rave’N dress.
What she did remember though was Wednesday never leaving her side as soon as she had elbowed her way through the crowd to Enid, not giving a single care about whoever she accidentally knocked to the floor in the process. She also vaguely heard the many, many death threats Wednesday muttered under her breath as she wrapped Enid into her coat and forced her to sit down on a chair.
One after the other, her friends came to check up on her too - but it was Wednesday who brought her a glass of punch and helped her to drink it because she was too weak to hold the glass without dropping it, the stoic calm in each of her movements seemingly the only thing that was able to anchor Enid in the present. It kept her from screaming or crying or simply falling unconscious out of exhaustion and fear of the demon she had fought and of the ones that were still out there.
Wednesday insisted on looking after Enid’s injuries herself because she “didn’t trust the school nurses to get the job done properly” and Enid was too tired to argue, glad to have someone else to make decisions for her. So after Weems gave her blessing - she was too busy calling the sheriff to organize guards for the school grounds anyway - Enid let Wednesday and Yoko help her up the stairs, back into her room.
Once arrived there, Enid didn’t even have the chance to steer in the direction of her side of the room, because Wednesday immediately led her to her own bed, making her lay down on the black silk bedsheets.
If Enid had been more awake, she would have made a surprised comment and asked if Wednesday was getting soft on her for allowing Enid to be in her personal space, but instead, she simply sunk onto the bed and closed her eyes, feeling every single bone in her body ache and her head pound.
When she opened her eyes again, Wednesday was rummaging through an old-fashioned trunk filled with bandages, bandaids and god knows what else that she had gotten from god know’s where. Having found what she was looking for, Wednesday leaned over Enid’s body and started cleaning her wounds with a surgical calm and efficiency like she had done this a million times before. Which - Enid was aware - was entirely possible and not even that surprising given that she was, well, Wednesday. But Enid was once again too tired to ask and too grateful for the help, so she didn’t comment on it.
It was even kind of meditative, in its own weird way, to have someone take care of her wounds, which was why Enid slowly felt a tiny bit of her energy come back. It was at least enough to keep her eyes open and watch Wednesday work as she wrapped bandages over the scratches and cuts all over Enid’s body and wiped the blood off her skin with a damp cloth, seemingly unfazed by any of it.
Having noticed that Enid seemed to be more awake, Wednesday finally cleared her throat and wrung out the dirty cloth in a bowl of lukewarm water which was slowly taking on the colour of strawberry juice.
“Why didn't you tell me you were going to wolf out? I would've come with you. Hanging out in the woods seems like a much better way to spend the night than going to some sad excuse of a school dance anyway.”
To Enid’s relief, she didn't sound mad, just genuinely curious. Maybe there was even a hint of regret in her voice. But Enid didn't allow herself to look for it.
One way or another, she had stood her roommate up, she reminded herself. And even if she didn't show it openly, it didn't mean that Wednesday wasn't hurt by that. If there was anything Enid had learnt by being her roommate for the past few months, it was that Wednesday simply had different ways to show both her love and pain to everyone around her.
“Well I didn’t even realise it was happening until it, you know. Was half completed? But even if I had known…I was never sure if I’d, well,” Enid made a vague gesture around herself. “Succeed my first transformation after all the waiting? Not being able to wolf out for so long was already embarrassing enough, I didn't need to add to that. And besides,” she hesitated and blamed it fully on her foggy mind that she dared to add, “I wasn't sure if you’d, well. Like me as a werewolf.”
Wednesday stopped tapping at the wound on her forehead for a second and looked her straight in the eyes.
“Enid. What makes you think I would like you less as a werewolf?”
Somewhere in that sentence, Wednesday had just admitted that she liked her. Like, without wrapping it up nicely into a murder threat with a bow on top. But for now, Enid forced that realisation, exciting as it was, to the back of her mind. She couldn’t lose her sanity right now, it was already too hard to form coherent thoughts.
“Well, I guess I was scared that I would be just as much of a disappointment as a werewolf as I was all the time leading up to it.” She shrugged weakly. “What’s the point of being able to turn if you’re not any good at it? If you’re too weak to run with the pack?”
Wednesday looked at her as if she was insane and pointed at the forehead wound that was still throbbing, the searing pain threatening to split Enid’s skull in half.
“Well, clearly you’re not weak. Fighting a monster on your first night as a wolf and winning? I’d actually say you’re a natural. You should be incredibly proud of yourself.”
Enid wasn't sure if there was still any blood left in her to blush, but maybe that was for the better. She had already embarrassed herself enough tonight.
“Thanks, I guess,” she said quietly. She looked down at where she was clutching her hands in her lap, the baby pink nail polish partly chipped off or covered by blood sprinkles.
After a moment of silence, Wednesday continued cleaning the wound without saying anything else, but there was more gentleness to her touch than before.
Enid contently leaned into the touch, closing her eyes again. She felt more tired than she ever remembered herself being in her entire life, not even after she and Yoko had that stupid idea of staying up all night for a movie marathon two days in a row during last spring break.
But Wednesday’s presence was electrifying and suddenly, Enid was very aware of how close they were to each other, with her roommate hovering over her body. Usually, Wednesday never allowed this much body contact, if any, and Enid was starting to think that maybe this boundary was a good thing, because apparently, it was the only way she was able to live with her in a room without going insane. But maybe she was also just still high on adrenaline from fighting a monster.
Luckily, Enid snapped right out of wherever her brain was heading when Wednesday leaned back and said “Alright, this is going to hurt a lot, but if Pugsley can survive it, so can you.”
Enid’s eyes widened in horror when she saw that Wednesday was suddenly holding a needle in her hand.
“You - you want to stitch it up?!” she screeched more than said.
“Yes. It needs to be done,” Wednesday explained calmly. “Because whatever kitty you fought out there buried its claws pretty deep in your face.”
Enid swallowed. She felt like she should run away screaming, or jump out of the window, or do literally anything except let Wednesday Addams stitch up a wound that was going to leave scars on her face without anaesthesia or proper sanitization or, you know, somebody with an actual medical degree.
But she was too tired to do any of those things and ready for the pain to end and after a moment of consideration, she realised that she trusted Wednesday. More than anyone else. Because if Wednesday Addams set her mind to something and said that she could do it, then she would.
“Okay,” Enid agreed and took a deep breath. “Do it.”
“Good. I am glad you’re being reasonable.” Wednesday snapped her fingers. “Thing, a little assistance here, please.”
Enid smiled at seeing their friend quickly scurry over the bed, but instead of going to grab a needle or something else to help Wednesday, he settled down on Enid’s hand, wrapping his fingers around hers.
“If it hurts, just squeeze his hand,” Wednesday instructed before she turned all her focus to Enid’s face.
Enid quickly closed her eyes and pressed her lips together in order not to scream (there had already been too much chaos at the school tonight, she didn’t need to add waking everyone up by screaming to the list) and focused on Thing holding her hand.
It was indeed painful, but it was over quickly and Wednesday’s hand was probably steadier than any surgeon's ever would be. Halfway through the procedure, Enid was suddenly filled with a rush of pride at the thought of carrying a scar mended by Wednesday on her skin forever. - That was before things turned more painful again and her mind was filled with nothing but bloody murder plans instead.
“There. All fixed,” Wednesday announced after a few minutes of Enid basically crushing Thing to death by squeezing him to deal with the pain.
Enid instantly let out a sigh of relief and let go of Thing, who dazedly stumbled away when she released him, before falling down on the bedding beside her like he needed a minute to recover.
It made a sudden wave of deep gratitude for both of them rush over Enid. “Thank you,” she said, looking from Thing to Wednesday with a smile she hoped was filled with adequate gratitude.
“No need. Everyone should be thanking you,” Wednesday said as she busily cleaned up her surgery kit (normally, Enid would be deeply concerned about all the gifts her roommate received from her parents, but right now she was pretty damn sure she should send Morticia and Gomez Addams a thank you note). “You saved the school and with it, many people that now owe their lives to you.”
Enid pondered for a moment about what to reply to that, because she wasn’t sure if she agreed (wouldn’t all of them be long dead if it wasn’t for Wednesday's continuous effort to try and save the school?) but before she could come up with a suitable answer, Wednesday beat her to it.
“Now try to get some rest,” she ordered in a voice that left little room for arguing as she stored away her medical trunk.
“Alright, let me just get into my bed,” Enid yawned and sat up to slip out of the bed, her head immediately starting to spin.
Was it concerning that she sort of wished she had more wounds for Wednesday to care for so whatever late-night heart-to-heart this was didn’t have to end so soon?
“No!” Wednesday stopped her gently, but firmly, by pushing at her shoulders to make her lie down again.
Enid’s head spun just a little bit more at the touch. Maybe she really shouldn’t be moving anytime soon with that lightheadedness.
“You want me to stay here?” she asked, surprised and a little breathless.
“The closer you are to me, the better I can protect you from getting into harm’s way again,” Wednesday explained matter-of-factly like that request didn't just shatter Enid’s entire worldview. “You’re too weak to get into a fight again.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Enid let herself sink into the smooth cold of the black silk bedsheets, her heart thrumming in her chest. “What about you?” she dared to ask, watching Wednesday with sleepy eyes, who was sitting upright against the metal frame of the bed, wide awake and with a thoughtful face.
“I don’t need rest, I need answers,” she said simply, and Enid could basically hear the wheels turning behind her roommate’s head.
Enid watched her for a moment, pondering. And then she did something so stupid she could only blame her pain killer induced mind for it.
She reached for Wednesday’s hand, almost yelping when she touched ice-cold skin. Still, she took it and held it tightly, slightly tugging at it. To her surprise, Wednesday didn’t jump off the bed and pull out a sword or something as Enid expected her to, but only turned to look at her with her deep brown eyes.
“I think you should get some sleep too,” Enid said. “You’ll be able to think better with a fresh mind. And besides, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep if there is someone sitting on the bed, staring at the wall all night.”
Wednesday seemed torn for a moment, her eyes fixed on Enid’s hand in hers.
“Fine,” she finally agreed.
She let go of Enid’s hand and crawled into the bed beside her. Then she adjusted her braids so she wasn’t laying on them and crossed her arms in front of her chest like she usually did when sleeping. “Goodnight,” she announced and closed her eyes, seemingly ready to fall asleep at any second.
Enid just stared at her without replying, eyes wide open in the dark and still in shock that Wednesday had actually agreed to sleep in a bed next to her, and even without arguing.
And when Enid closed her own eyes and got herself comfortable, she also quickly realised that there was no way she would be able to get any sleep like this either. Because hello? Changing into a werewolf felt easier to deal with than whatever this situation was doing to her right now. It was like she was hyperaware of every breath Wednesday took and her presence felt as if the bright moon outside was right by Enid’s side, slowly burning her from the inside with every touch.
But on the other hand, Enid was pretty sure that an opportunity like this, where Wednesday willingly allowed her to be so close, wouldn't be coming again anytime soon. So she didn't say anything and instead just laid there, wide awake, trying extremely hard not to focus obsessively on where their bodies were touching at the side where Wednesday’s elbow slightly poked her ribs.
She managed to stay quiet exactly until the second that she feared Wednesday had fallen asleep because her heartbeat had slowed down. Enid definitely didn't want to be awake on her own, not on a night like this.
“Hey, Wednesday?”
The answer came immediately. So, definitely not asleep then, Enid noted. Just the natural pulse of a near-dead body.
“Yes?”
Enid carefully rolled to the side so she could properly look at Wednesday, every movement still laced with soaring pain.
“I am really sorry I stood you up at the dance tonight.”
Wednesday turned her head to look at her, her arms still crossed over her chest. “You had an objectively very good reason to.”
Enid reached out to brush a stubborn strand of dark hair out of Wednesday's eyes, who didn’t even blink.
This goddamn poker face was going to get both of them killed at some point, Enid was sure of it.
“I know, but…I just want you to know that I was genuinely really looking forward to going to the dance with you and that I wasn’t looking for a way to chicken out or anything.”
Well, she did have a little freak out there right before she turned, but that had been more of a nervous reaction to the changes in her body. Enid wanted to be with Wednesday, and nothing would ever be able to change that.
“I know.” Now Wednesday also turned to the side, her cool breath tickling Enid’s cheek as she spoke. “And neither was I.” Enid could hear Wednesday’s heartbeat get just a tiny bit faster, mirroring her own. “And as much as I hate to admit it, the thought of you being in mortal danger was much more unsettling than I expected it to be.”
Enid managed a small smile.
“I am also glad to be alive,” she agreed, careful not to push too far, to break whatever little bubble they had built around themselves tonight. “Your dance looked great though.”
A little sparkle glinted in Wednesday's eyes. “You saw it?”
Enid nodded. “Just the very end, yes. It looked…ravishing.”
There was a beat of silence. Then, Wednesday shifted in the bed until their knees knocked together for a second.
“Would’ve been less boring with you there. Apparently, none of the imbeciles in this school ever had a proper dance lesson in their life.”
Enid grinned. “Well, we can try again at the spring dance?” she suggested, hoping that her voice didn't sound too desperate.
“This school has two dances a year?” Wednesday scrunched her nose. “That’s disgusting. No wonder everyone is worried about Nevermore’s reputation.”
Enid raised an eyebrow. “Is that a yes?”
Wednesday looked away for just a second.
“Well, I won't let you show up there without me. Clearly, you need my supervision so nothing bad happens to you.”
“Clearly,” Enid agreed, with just a hint of a teasing undertone.
For a moment, Wednesday almost looks satisfied. Then she cleared her throat and arranged the pillow behind her head, breaking up whatever silent understanding had just passed between them.
“Do you need anything else?”
Feeling slightly dizzy from their conversation, and with new courage bubbling through her veins, Enid grinned and said “Bertie would be quite nice.”
Wednesday looked at her, face a blank question. “Who?”
Enid pointed to her bed on the other side of the room, which was just barely illuminated by one of her flowery fairy lights strung around the bed frame.
“Him!” She said and pointed at the slightly worn-out-looking unicorn plushie resting on her pillow. “I don’t know if I can fall asleep without holding him.”
Wednesday followed her eyes and for a second, her expression went even more unreadable than it usually was. Enid just thought that she had finally pushed it too far and that Wednesday was going to make her leave the bed when she said “That’s a ridiculous name for a unicorn.”
Enid raised an eyebrow in challenge. “How would you know? You don’t even like unicorns.”
Wednesday shrugged and moved to get out of bed. “I just do,” she said and tapped barefoot over the wooden floor, crossing the duct tape line like it wasn't even there.
She returned from Enid’s side of the room with an arm full of pastel plush and googly eyes, looking slightly disgusted, both at the plush and herself. Enid just opened her mouth to tell her that Bertie used to be glittery as well before he was so well-loved, but Wednesday shut her up with a single look.
“Don't make me regret it,” she warned and dropped the plushie in Enid’s arms like she had burnt herself on it, before climbing back into bed.
Enid happily pressed Bertie to her chest. “Perfect,” she sighed. “Now I’m ready to sleep.”
Wednesday gave her a look like Enid had just personally offended her on every single level possible and scoffed as she pulled the bedsheets up to cover both of them.
“I would like to mention that this is an absolute exception and I will personally behead each of your plush unicorns and make you watch if you should tell anyone about this.”
Enid only hummed tiredly in acknowledgement and buried her nose in the plushie’s fur, taking in the familiar scent.
Wednesday was silent for a moment, like she was pondering if there needed to be another, scarier threat to drive her point home, but then Enid felt her relax and she got back into her sleeping position, arms crossed over her chest.
This time, it was Wednesday who woke her up when Enid was just on the brink of falling asleep. Because Enid’s eyes snapped open when she suddenly felt Wednesday shift her left arm, wrapping it around Enid’s shoulder to pull her a tiny bit closer, holding her in place.
“You were moving too much,” Wednesday explained.
“Right. Sorry,” Enid apologised, still surprised, even though she was certain that she hadn’t shifted even once in the past five minutes.
“It’s okay.” Wednesday closed her eyes. “Just keep his fur out of my face.”
Enid smiled to herself and tightened her grip on Bertie, before cuddling into Wednesday’s side, happiness tingling all over her body.
There was a silent understanding, a bond so tender Enid was afraid she would break it if she breathed too loudly, and even though it was the first time they had ever been this close, it didn't feel weird. It felt like everything was exactly how it was supposed to be.
Enid closed her eyes again and buried her head into the crook of Wednesday’s neck, and Wednesday let her.
“Full moons sure make strange things happen,” Wednesday said quietly into the dark room.
Enid lifted her head a little to look at her, the moonlight seeping into the room painting the shadowy net of the window’s frame on her roommate’s face.
“They do.”
Wednesday lifted one corner of her mouth without opening her eyes. “I love it.”
Enid smiled back and buried her head deeper into the crook of Wednesday’s neck, closing her eyes.
“Me too.”
In the morning, Enid didn't remember if it was a dream or if it had truly happened, but she was convinced that she felt a pair of lips softly press a kiss onto her forehead as she fell asleep, right next to her newly forming scars.