Work Text:
WEDS!!! at 3:04 PM [01/02/23]
Enid.
You aren’t at Nevermore.
Why aren’t you at Nevermore.
WEDS!!! at 12:01 PM [02/02/23]
Thing says he misses you.
I’m not allowing him near my phone.
If you receive several frantic comments on your inane
blog posts, they are from him.
WEDS!!! at 6:18 PM [02/02/23]
hI ENID IT IS THING I HAVE COME TO SAY HELLo
aND ASk ThaT YOu RESOIND TO OUR MESSAGES
WEEDNSESDAY IS COminG WItH A KNIFE GopDBYE
WEDS!!! at 8:35 AM [03/02/23]
Yoko is also trying to contact you.
She appears to be convinced that you are avoiding
everyone except for me.
If she has done anything to offend you please for the
love of everything unholy forgive her so she’ll leave me
alone.
WEDS!!! at 2:56 PM [04/02/23]
The new principal is suitably unbearable.
You would dislike her.
A lot, actually.
WEDS!!! at 3:04 PM [05/02/23]
Enid.
WEDS!!! at 5:12 PM [05/02/23]
Enid.
Enid.
Pick up the G-ddamn phone, Enid.
aww you do worry about me
mom says i’m not supposed to be talking to
anyone from nevermore anymore :(
Since when has that stopped you?
since she took my fucking phone
and my laptop
:((
That does explain why Yoko won’t leave me alone.
Tell me, how do you feel about murdering your
mother in cold blood?
BAD
I FEEL VERY BAD ABOUT MURDERING MY
MOTHER IN COLD BLOOD
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY
AAAAAAA
I would not harm her seriously without your permission.
Don’t worry about it.
I THINK I WILL CONTINUE TO WORRY ABOUT
IT THANKS VER YMUCH
How are you contacting me without a phone, anyway?
oh that’s easy i stole it and ran
:D
i’m a very fast runner!!!
and i know how to avoid being tracked!!!!
That doesn’t sound safe.
since when did you care about my safety? :00
is wednesday addams getting soft? :00000
I’ll put hornets in your bed every night for a month when
you return.
awww ily2 bestie
wait
return?
wednesday
what are you going to do
wednesday
wednesday
;)
WEDNESDAY???????
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
WHY ARE YOU SENDING EMOJIS
WHAT HAPPENED
ARE YOU LIKE
OKAY
WEDNESDAY
WEDNESHJGHSGDHGH
oh shit i can hear howling
i’ll text again when i’m out of earshot
and i’d better get answers >:(
or else >:((
How intimidating.
WEDS!!! at 6:10 [05/02/23]
If you see this before you inevitably are caught and
forced to return your phone to your mother, don’t bother
trying to escape by yourself. I have your address.
wednesday that’s so ominous
Precisely.
I will return you to Nevermore before the end of the
week.
wait
really?
Unless you have a particular desire to stay locked in your
house with your family, I don’t see any reason why not.
WEDNESDAY
YOU’RE THE BEST
SERIOUSLY
<3333333333
i can’t believe i’m so excited to go back
to school
you’re rubbing off on me
Don’t make it weird.
Enid arrives back at home well before her brothers do. She leaves her phone where it was, hiding it carefully under one of her mother’s sweaters, and passes out on the couch. Blissfully, they leave her alone.
She doesn’t stop thinking about it, though. Wednesday is coming for her . Wednesday wants her in her life. Wednesday is going to break her out of her freaking house .
When her mother shakes her awake to shout at her, all Enid can do is smile. Wednesday has a habit of making her feel giddy like this, sliding the world away from under her feet with even the smallest touch or gesture of kindness or —
“Are you even listening to me, Enid?”
She shakes her head to clear it. “When am I not listening to you, mom?”
Esther sighs. She still smells like pine — she must have gotten lost, or gone back through the woods on foot. The thought of that is entertaining enough to make Enid have to force back another smile.
She bolts up the stairs to her room before Esther says anything else and she collapses into giggles.
This time, Wednesday contacts her via raven. Somehow, Enid isn’t surprised.
Tonight. Midnight. Don’t be late. You may sleep in the car if you so wish.
I’d suggest leaving a note for your parents to alert them of your absence. You won’t be returning for some time.
She tucks the note under her pillow and opens the window to let the raven out. Enid isn’t surprised by how elaborate Wednesday seems to want to make things, either. It’s kind of attractive, actually.
Which is something Enid isn’t supposed to be thinking about her best friend, but today so far has been all about breaking rules, anyway.
The note never specified exactly what to do at midnight, so Enid packs a suitcase full of her school things and climbs out of the window (Wednesday would be pleased with her form; she even manages not to sprain an ankle this time). Her original plan was to wait at the front of the house for Wednesday’s car to appear, but something in her makes her stay around the back instead, hidden in the shadow of the house.
Her instincts are proven right when the raven from before melts out of the darkness, holding her phone, and drops it straight into her waiting hand. Enid isn’t even surprised.
WEDS!!! at 11:59 PM [05/02/23]
Wait there.
Enid is even less surprised when she melts out of the shadows at midnight on the dot, holding out a hand that the raven settles on immediately.
Still, her heart jumps a little, and she swears for a moment that Wednesday — weird, smart, insane, beautiful Wednesday — smiles at her when she sees her, half-lit by moonlight.
“Hi,” Enid breathes.
Wednesday looks her up and down. “You haven’t changed.”
“Like, clothes-wise, or… ? Was I supposed to?”
She raises an eyebrow. Enid beams at her. That’s Wednesday’s way of saying I missed you .
Tuesday 7th
Enid wasn’t prepared to miss Nevermore as much as she did.
The drive takes the whole day. She sits neatly next to Wednesday in her hearse-car-thing and aches the whole time. Part of her heart belongs at Nevermore, she’s decided. Part of her heart belongs wherever Wednesday is, outlined against black-and-pastel windows and the soft sound of a typewriter and —
Thing, perched happily on her knee, snaps his fingers to get her attention.
She glances through the window out of habit, and there it is.
“Stop here,” Wednesday says quietly. It’s the first thing she’s said all day. Enid brushed it off at first, attributing it to exhaustion, but now she can see the way she’s gripping the fabric of her trousers, the lines between her eyebrows. She’s nervous, and Enid doesn’t think she’s ever seen Wednesday nervous before.
The sight tightens something entirely different in her chest. She reaches out — to touch her, let her know she’s noticed, maybe — but before she can do anything, the car grinds to a halt, and Wednesday gets up briskly and moves out of her reach.
The driver — Shuffle or Groan or something — stopped them halfway up the drive, just far enough away that the outline of the building is swallowed by trees. Enid climbs out of the car, nearly tripping over Thing scuttling around her feet in excitement, and Wednesday shoves her duffel bag into her hands before she’s even caught her balance.
Definitely nervous , she thinks, watching Wednesday’s fingers curl into fists and uncurl again, rhythmic and awkward. It’s kind of unsettling, in a weird way. She never really thought Wednesday Addams was capable of feeling nervous.
They walk up the road in complete silence. Enid turns around to wave to the driver in thanks, not wanting to talk aloud and break the weird atmosphere. A small part of her wonders if a Hyde is going to burst out of the woods and attack them both.
The wind hisses up through the road and rattles the trees, but instead of terrifying her, it feels — kind of soothing, honestly. Like how coming home should feel. She glances over at Wednesday, still curling and uncurling her fingers in time with her steadying breathing, and thinks.
She can feel Wednesday watching her closely as they walk across the courtyard.
Usually, people watch her because she sticks out like a sore thumb — the only werewolf who can’t transform, the only smear of colour against the grey, and so on. Enid is used to being stared at.
What she’s not used to is the almost fond expression in Wednesday’s eyes as she follows her.
They’ve existed in awkward silence for most of the walk up. The gates swung open silently for them; the doors opened as they approached. Wednesday’s quiet nervous energy melted away as soon as she was inside the building — and now she’s looking at Enid, walking one step behind her, and for once it doesn’t feel like she’s a butterfly pinned to a board.
It feels — protective, almost. Thoughtful. Affectionate, even if she’d kill her for saying it aloud.
They cross the courtyard in silence. Wednesday steers her gently towards the statue of Poe by touching her shoulder (Enid has to bite back a pathetic noise) and they stop there in the cold afternoon light.
“I missed it here,” Enid says softly. It feels like the right time to talk. Wednesday is at ease here, at ease with her, looking up at the statue in the cold.
She hums noncommittally. “You belong here.”
Enid can’t stop herself from beaming. “That’s so sweet . You really missed me, didn’t you, Weds?”
“Call me that again and I’ll slit your throat in your sleep,” Wednesday says, which Enid takes as a sign that she liked it very much, actually.
“Well, I missed you too, for what it’s worth. Thank you for bringing me back here. And saving me from my mother.”
Wednesday turns to her, eyes shining darker in the dim light of the corridor. She’s strikingly beautiful, really, which is a perfectly normal thing to think about your best friend and not a sign of a repressed crush you’ve been ignoring for the past few months, and the hint of a smile on her lips sends a chill down Enid’s spine. “It’s hardly a game of chess without all the pieces.”
Wednesday 8th
Enid is back in classes the next day, much to Yoko’s delight. As far as she’s aware, no one thought to inform any of the teachers of her arrival — probably intentionally, knowing Wednesday — so she sits in the back of her classrooms awkwardly and pretends to know what’s going on for a solid six hours.
Wednesday doesn’t bother explaining why the school was eerily quiet when they arrived yesterday, either. Which she should have expected, but still. Thing just offers her his best approximation of a shrug when she asks, which she also should have expected.
Yoko corners Enid on her way back to her room. She should have seen that one coming, too.
“Your mom is an asshole.”
Enid grins ruefully. “Yeah.”
Yoko smiles too, but it’s strained. “At least Wednesday had the sense to get you out of there.”
“Yoko, were you worried about me?”
She makes a face. “No.”
Enid can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of her. “Well, I’m sorry I ghosted you for, like, a month.”
“It’s not your fault your mother took your phone,” she says, semi-indignantly. “Seriously. This is a dumb conversation. I’m just happy you’re back, is all. Stop looking at me like that.”
“I mean, I could have sent a carrier pigeon —”
“ Enid . I’m not blaming you for anything —”
Whatever Enid was going to say next is cut off when Yoko pulls her into a hug.
Thursday 9th
“Wednesday?”
Wednesday hums. Her eyes flicker up from the book she’s reading, finding Enid on the other side of the room, and the look she gives her is almost fond. “I’m at a critical point in my research, so you’ll have to make it quick.”
She doesn’t look like she’s doing much research, but Enid shakes the thought away. “Sure. I was just wondering —”
“If this is about Yoko, you’d better ask her to the Valentine’s Dance before Divina does,” Wednesday says evenly.
“I — what? No??? Yoko? I’m not — this isn’t about the dance! And even if it was, I don’t — why would I ask Yoko? Do you think I like her?”
Wednesday watches her for a heartbeat, and then pulls a notebook out of — somewhere — and writes something down.
Enid huffs. “Wednesday, are you studying my love life?”
She pauses to look up over the notebook at her, frowning slightly, and crosses something out higher up on the page. “Something like that, yes.”
“And — fuck, wait, really? Why?”
“The world may never know.”
Enid stares at her. “Nothing you just did made any sense.”
“Thank you. I do try.”
“This is the most insane interaction I’ve ever had with you.”
Wednesday tilts her head, almost mockingly. “I missed you too.”
Something in Enid’s chest grows unusually tight. She grabs her pillow, pulls it up to her chest like she’s shielding it, and all the while Wednesday’s eyes track her with amusement. She knows what the feeling bubbling up inbetween her lungs is, and she can’t shake the feeling that Wednesday is reading her mind somehow, that she’s watching her fall a little bit more in love and withholding a snide comment or —
The pillow Wednesday launches at her hits Enid squarely in the face.
Friday 10th
“So, Valentine’s Day,” Yoko says, and for a second Enid wonders if Wednesday was right in some convoluted way before she adds, “Is Wednesday going to the dance?”
Her heart plummets. She files that reaction away for later. “Why do you ask?”
Yoko raises her eyebrows. She’s sitting cross-legged on Enid’s table in the courtyard, book in her lap, and the extra height makes her even more intense than usual. “I mean, someone’s got to go with her.”
“That’s weird and heteronormative,” Enid informs her, sensing the direction this conversation is about to take. “Weds would murder m— anyone who tries to ask her on the spot, anyway. She thinks Valentine’s Day is, like, the number one tool of capitalism.”
If Yoko notices the slip-up, she keeps quiet about it, which Enid is thankful for. “She’s not wrong, but also super-rich and therefore also on the guillotine list, so —”
“I’m not finding her a date to the dance, Yoko.”
Yoko smirks at her in a way that says you know exactly what I mean, Sinclair . Enid contemplates getting up and walking straight back to her house.
She would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about it.
Several times, actually. Being in denial can only get you so far.
She would be lying if she said she didn’t like (love) Wednesday, significantly more than she really should; didn’t ache to be close to her, hadn’t thought about kissing her, hadn’t felt jealous when she’d gone on that stupid date with Tyler. It’s kind of embarrassing, but it’s there, and it’s obvious.
To everyone but Wednesday. She hopes.
The idea keeps popping up in the back of her head. She’d thought about it before, with the Rave’n, and then stupid fucking Hyde Boy Tyler had happened, and Enid had watched them dance — or, well, Wednesday had danced weirdly at Tyler, who just sort of stood there — and felt like she was being set on fire.
Enid arrives back at their room before Wednesday does. The moon is coming up, shining hollowly through the window and casting soft multi-coloured light over the floor. It’s definitely a metaphor of some kind, she decides.
Thing pokes out of a drawer as soon as the door opens and scrambles excitedly over to her bed, dragging Enid’s manicure set behind him. She grins. “Manicure time, huh?”
He drops the bag on her bed. “Yes please. Manicures fix bad days.”
“Manicures fix bad days,” she agrees, sitting down beside him. Thing wiggles happily.
“I’m glad you are back, wolf-girl,” he signs. “Wednesday does not like the scent of nail polish.”
That makes her laugh, for some reason. The mental image of her homicidal roommate scowling uncomfortably at the thought of doing the nails of a stitched-up disembodied sentient hand is a fun one.
“At least, not when you aren’t around,” Thing adds thoughtfully. Enid laughs again — stiffly — and thinks she might faint. “Has your day been bad?”
“Not bad,” she says, “just weird. Like, people keep talking about the Valentine’s dance and the whole thing freaks me out a little.”
“Capitalism bad,” he agrees, hopping up onto her knee.
Enid unzips the bag and pulls out the only colour they haven’t yet tried (magenta; Wednesday is going to hate it, and the thought makes her smile). “Yeah. That and — I don’t know. It’s dumb.”
He taps her knee disapprovingly. “It’s not dumb. Your feelings are not dumb.”
“It just — feels stupid, you know?” Enid unscrews the bottle a little too forcefully, narrowly avoiding spraying her bed. “Like stupid girl drama I’m too old for.”
“Never too old for girl drama,” Thing signs sympathetically. “I am generations old. I have witnessed far more girl drama than you could ever imagine.”
Enid puts the brush back into the bottle, sensing a full-blown conversation coming on. “Well, yeah, I just don’t —”
Thing pauses for a moment, then climbs off her knee. Enid watches a disembodied hand ponder her love life and feels a little unhinged. “Is this about Wednesday?”
“I — what??”
“Ask her to go to the dance with you.”
“No?? Why would I do that? We’re — G-d, this is so stupid.”
“Love tends to be like that,” he observes. “Trust me, repressing your crush for much longer won’t end well.”
Enid stands up abruptly, nearly knocking Thing off the bed. “This is insane. I’m not — the fact that our school is having a Valentine’s dance in the first place is insane. I don’t —”
“You’re rambling,” he observes, “and deflecting. It isn’t working very well.”
“ — even know, like how I would ask anyone , let alone the girl I actually have a crush on, because that definitely wouldn’t end well for me and I am not spending the rest of my school career having to coexist with someone I embarrassed myself publicly for and I —”
Wednesday chooses that moment to swing the door open, hands clasped neatly in front of her, and announce, “Enid, I need to talk with you.”
Enid freezes in the middle of the room — mouth open, bottle of magenta nail polish in one hand — and squeaks, “Okay.”
She crosses the room briskly, sits down neatly on the edge of her bed, all the way on the opposite side of the room, and Enid’s mind explodes. Mostly with something along the lines of Oh G-d what if she heard me ranting about how badly I want to ask her out oh Jesus fucking Christ she looks like she’s about to kill m—
“I was wondering,” Wednesday begins stiffly, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else and definitely somewhere that doesn’t involve knives and Enid’s throat, “if you would be willing to. Perhaps.”
“Stop stalling,” Thing signs.
She shoots him a glare. “Ignore him. I was wondering if — you would be willing to accompany me to the stupid egotistical Valentine’s Day dance on Monday.”
Enid’s brain continues to explode. “You want — to go to the dance with me?”
“If you would be so kind,” Wednesday gets out.
“And this isn’t for a prank or a dare or —”
“Do you really think I would stoop that low?”
That tight thing in Enid’s chest fills with warmth. She hates it when Thing is right. “I — yeah. Yeah. Okay.”
Wednesday raises an eyebrow at her.
“It would be my pleasure, Miss Addams,” she corrects, grinning in that teasing way she knows her freaking date to the Valentine’s dance abhors.
Wednesday directs the same glare she was giving to Thing at Enid, but instead of scaring her — which it would have done a few months ago — it fills her with even more of that soft, blossoming warmth. Enid goes to swing her arms and then remembers the bottle in her hand. “This is so cool . Wait, is that why you were studying my love life?”
She only shrugs. “One of the reasons, yes.”
Enid definitely doesn’t think about the implications. She thinks her reaction is reasonable, given the circumstances. “Wow. Cool. Yep. Totally normal. I’m fine with this information.”
“Sit down before you give yourself an aneurysm.”
Saturday 11th
bestie yoko at 9:04 AM [11/02/23]
OMG ENID
NO FUCKING WAY
WEDNESDAY ASKED YOU TO THE DANCE!!!!!!!!
I TOLD YOU!!!!!!!
I FUCKING KNEW IT ALL ALONG
SHE’S MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU
HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT???
THE FIRST BIT NOT THE MADLY IN LOVE BIT
;) i have my ways
vampire secrets
AAAAAAA
I HATE IT WHEN YOU’RE RIGHT
she’s been so nervous all week i knew it was
leading up to something
:0 what like
before she came and got me?
she wouldn’t admit why but it was so so obvious
like
there’s Hyde Anxiety and there’s Girl Anxiety and i watched
her go back and forth for a whole eight days every time she
left a building
from the moment the dance was announced
like you and/or tyler were going to simultaneously jumpscare
her
HEGHFGHF
i hope she wasnt worried about me :(
bro we all thought tyler ate you
HSDFKFJFHSKFDVHJJS
he wouldnt dare come near me i beat him up
so bad
im a very tough wolf
super tough
a hit with the ladies
SHHHHH
i dont even know if it’s a friend date or not
i didnt even ask HJSHDJK
ARE YOU KIDDING ME OF COURSE ITS A
ROMANCE DATE
HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAY SHE LOOKS AT YOU
AAAAAAAAAA
HFDJKHDF JUST ASK HER
either way she won’t kill you over it
she’ll be a flustered mess the moment you bring it up just you
wait
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
the Girl Anxiety is real
the grind never stops
OKAY I HAVE TO GO LMK HOW IT GOES!!!!
how what goes????
yoko im not asking her if it’s a friend date or
a romance date >:(
thatll be so awkward :((( i don’t want to make things
awkward :((((((
if its a friend date i’ll personally walk you halfway across
the country back to your house so you can be
embarrassed in peace <3
you’re so insane bestie
i appreciate the sentiment <333
Monday 14th
Enid successfully avoids both Yoko and Wednesday for the entire day — she wakes up early, practically barricades herself inside the library with Eugene and a singular bee he has with him for some reason upon learning that classes have been cancelled, and manages to sprint the entire way to Ophelia Hall to grab her dress and back without being spotted. She’s too anxious to even think about talking to either of them, knowing full well that the moment she opens her mouth the whole friend date conversation will appear in her head again and she’ll fuck everything up and —
Thing taps at her knee. He’s still wearing the nail polish from a very nervous post-Being Asked Out By Wednesday manicure session. The shade matches her dress, which is oddly comforting. “It’s getting late. The dance will start soon.”
“Capitalism bad,” she says in a small voice, but gets up and goes to the library bathroom to get changed anyway.
She walks back up to Ophelia Hall at a much more reasonable pace. The initial idea of it all had been appealing — who wouldn’t want to go to the Valentine’s dance with Wednesday, even if it was just a friend thing? — but now, walking awkwardly around the empty school, Enid is starting to wish she’d just said no and dealt with the mildly shitty feeling instead.
Still, she makes it to the door of her room, and stands awkwardly outside for a whole three minutes before gathering the courage to knock.
Wednesday opens the door immediately, and —
Oh.
She’s holding flowers.
Oh. Oh.
She scowls, clearly noticing Enid’s flustered expression, and shoves the bouquet into her hands. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Enid can’t stop herself from grinning like an idiot. “No, it’s — it’s sweet. Thank you, Wednesday. Lavender is my favourite.”
Wednesday’s shoulders hike up to her ears. Her hands are curling and uncurling slowly — different from before, where the last night they’d spent in the woods had been eating at them both. It drives everything else out of Enid’s mind — her own anxieties, that fucking dress she’s wearing, the shade of Thing’s nails, Eugene’s singular bee friend.
She holds out her hand. “I’ll put these inside, and then we can go down. Sound good?”
Wednesday stares at her. Nods slowly. Enid thinks, vaguely, that maybe Yoko was right.
The idea of a dance hosted in a marquee in the woods is enough to make Enid feel nervous in an entirely different way. Wednesday doesn’t seem to mind. Probably something to do with the fact that they’ve been holding hands for the entire walk down.
The marquee is already packed by the time they arrive. Enid squeezes Wednesday’s hand in her own, expecting her to drop it the moment other people start noticing them — but she stops them just outside instead, close enough that the lights from the doorway are flickering over the side of her face and lighting them both up in soft blue-purple-gold.
They stand there in silence for a moment. It seems to be a running theme. Wednesday studies her again, still a walking ball of nervous energy to match Enid, still ethereally beautiful in a dress she can’t even begin to take in, still —
“Yoko keeps pestering me to talk to you.”
“I’m going to kill her,” Enid announces.
A small smile turns up the corners of her mouth. Enid forgets that brief flash of annoyance in favour of melting on the spot.
“She prompted me to consider something I had been thinking about for a while.”
Wednesday takes Enid’s other hand, holding it at her side. She steps closer instinctually. Wednesday is magnetic like that.
“What — what’s that?”
“I was wondering,” Wednesday says slowly, “if you would do me the honour of allowing me to kiss you.”
Something snaps. Enid nods breathlessly, feeling electric, feeling alive, and Wednesday tilts her head up and kisses her.
They don’t make it into the marquee. Yoko finds them later, turning in a slow circle in the middle of the woods, concerns about stray Hyde attacks forgotten, talking quietly to each other in the darkness, and shakes her head amusedly.
bestie yoko at 11:31 PM [14/02/23]
so definitely not a friend date, then
SHHHHH