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Xavier and his father, Vincent Thorpe, stood in front of the abandoned ‘Addams Family Mansion’. It had become abandoned a few decades back due to a rumor stating that the daughter and heiress to the family suddenly died, and her relatives soon after. It is said to still have the spirit of the girl roam around as if she were still living.
“See Xavier, it’s not so bad, huh?” Vincent blurts out of the blue.
The mansion itself was run down, with shattered windows and broken doors. The area surrounding the mansion was a wasteland, with swamps and moats, and dead grass. There was even a graveyard in the back.
Xavier rolls his eyes, “Yeah, if you’re Stephen King.”
Xavier and his father were known to travel state to state visiting ‘haunted’ places. Vincent claims it’s to help the poor ghosts who have unfinished business here on Earth, but Xavier knows the only reason his father goes on these ghost hunts is so he could find the spirit of his dead mother, Amelia.
Xavier and Vincent never settled down in one place for more than a few months. And Xavier hated it. Just this year, he’s transferred to 3 different schools! He could never make friends.
“Well grab your bags. You can choose whatever room you’d like, just leave the master bedroom for me.” Vincent tells Xavier as he’s leaning down to grab his own bags and boxes.
Xavier does the same, then walks towards the mansion.
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The main room was huge. It had a high ceiling with a gothic looking chandelier, and one large staircase leading to the mansion’s second and third floor. Xavier stood in the center of it, dumbfounded, but brought himself together and made his way upstairs. He doesn’t notice the girl behind him watching his every step.
Xavier wanders through the long ornate hall of the second floor before stopping at the random door to his left. Inside he saw a bed with the name ‘Fester’ written in the wood. The room itself was messy with dirt, dust, an abnormal amount of light bulbs, and glass shards scattered everywhere. He couldn’t sleep here, so he closes the door and continues his walk through the hall before stopping again at the very last door. He creaked the door open and noticed the room was clean of dust unlike the rest of the house.
There was a bed with black sheets and duvet on the left side of the room near a tall window that looked out towards a graveyard in the back of the mansion, a small drawer next to the bed, a bigger drawer with a mirror on the other side of the room, and a bathroom with a walk-in closet beside it. But what stood out the most was the guillotine in the middle of the room.
“That’s not weird at all.” Xavier says out loud.
He walks into the room, puts his bags down and opens it up to grab a sleeping bag and a framed family photo to put on the small drawer next to the bed. After putting the sleeping bag over the bed, flops down and closes his eyes for a quick nap. Still, doesn’t notice the girl that’s been watching him since he’s arrived.
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Wednesday was slightly annoyed that this boy chose her room to stay in. How did the guillotine not scare him off? She guesses she can’t blame him though. Her room was the cleanest in the mansion, save for a few spider webs here and there.
She walks around the room towards her bed where the boy is napping. She hovers over him to get a better look at his features. He had long light brown hair, eyelashes with legs of an arachnid, full pink lips. He was pretty, she concluded.
She reaches her hand to graze at his face, only to have the boy swipe his hand as if she were a bug. He slowly opens his eyes, unfocused until his vision clears itself.
“Your eyes are the color of slightly dead grass,”
“WOA-!” The boy screeches and jumps from the bed.
His eyes now focus on the translucent girl in front of him. She’s dressed in a black dress with a high white collar. Her hair is braided in two pigtails. Her eyes bore into his.
His face turns white as he runs out of the room to find his father.
“Dad..!” He screams frantic,
He finds his dad in the master bedroom, still unpacking his belongings. “Dad! I saw a ghost! A real one!”
“What are you talking about? What ghost?”
“It was a girl! I swear I’m not crazy, she was in the bedroom I was just in!” Xavier runs a hand through his hair. A tic he has.
“Xavier, ghosts can’t hurt you. They’re just spirits who have unfinished business,” Vincent puts down a picture he’d been holding. “How about you show me this ghost?”
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Xavier watches his father check under his bed and the bathroom..
“Nothing under there…no ghost in here…” Vincent says out loud, then walks towards the walk-in closet door and turns the knob to open. “No ghost in here-”
“Hello.” The tiny girl from earlier makes an appearance.
“WHA-!” Vincent screams and shuts the door shut. The girl phases through the door and gives Vincent an annoyed look.
“Slamming doors is rude. Slamming doors in my face is even more so.”
“AAH!” Both Xavier and Vincent scream.
“Stop screaming! You’re going to make my ears bleed. And while I would normally love that, I am simply not in the mood right now.” She rolls her eyes.
They don’t listen. Vincent makes a run for it, Xavier following right after.
Wednesday stands there wide eyed. She’s in shock from the blatant rudeness and cowardness of the man and boy inhabiting her family’s mansion.
She shakes her head and phases to invisibility. No longer translucent.
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Vincent and Xavier make it to the main foyer and lean on the front doors.
“Xavier, this is big.” Vincent says, still out of breath from running.
“Dad, you sure we can stay here? I know ghosts are your thing but…” Xavier’s voice wavers.
“Of course we can. Ghosts are just spirits with unfinished business. I just got spooked is all. I can handle this.” Vincent tries to reassure him, but Xavier isn’t convinced.
“Just watch and learn, son. Hey! If you can hear me, I would like to talk with you again!” Vincent calls out. But there is no sign of the girl.
“I’m a professional. I can help you! Just come out please!” He calls out one more time before stopping wait for a sign of anything. Waiting for an answer.
They saw a flicker of the chandelier above them.
“I know you can hear me. Come out so we can talk.”
The lights on the chandelier start to pop one by one. Both Xavier and Vincent run to the staircase to get out of the way of the falling shards of glass.
“Haha!” They hear a laugh in the distance. It doesn’t sound like the girl from before, though.
“Hello there!” A voice yells behind Xavier’s ear.
“AH!” He screams and turns around, only to see a translucent bald man in withered pajamas.
“We haven’t had guests in so long! Pleasure to meet ya.” The ghost man holds out his hand, asking for a shake, but Xavier runs away instead. Leaving his father to deal with it.
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Xavier makes his way to the master bedroom and hides there until his father makes his way back. Hopefully alive.
While he’s waiting, he spots the picture Vincent was holding when he was unpacking. It’s a picture of his mother, father, and himself as a little kid. A typical family photo.
He reminisces about the days of himself giving his mother his drawings, his mother giving him bedtime stories, and his dad not being an obsessive ghost hunter.
Speaking of, his dad rushes in the room looking ecstatic.
“It’s all settled now.” He has a huge smile across his face.
“Settled how?”
“I talked to the ghost guy, his name is apparently ‘Fester’. I told him about our stay and that we’re here to help, but he has to help us in return.”
Xavier looks at him dumbstruck, “So, you think maybe we’ll find mom now?”
“Not maybe. This is it, Xavier! We’re going to find her. The ghost- Fester, is going to help.”
Unsure if they should truly trust this Fester guy, Xavier just says, “If you say so. But, maybe we shouldn’t. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, dad.”
“Xav, listen to me. We’ve been on this quest for years and we’re finally at the threshold!”
“You’ve been on this quest. Not me. I…I don’t even know if I want to see her again.” Xavier just wanted to go forward with life. Clinging onto the past, especially the dead, is just a sad life to live. Xavier does not want to be like his father.
“I’m not leaving here until I find her. I have to do this Xavier. For us.” Vincent claims.
“...” Xavier doesn’t say anything for a while. He stood there with his eyes moving towards the floor. A few more seconds pass and he musters up a question he’d been wanting to ask, “What’s so unresolved about you and mom anyway?”
This question is too complex for Vincent to answer. So he just replies with, “It’s late. How about we go to bed. You start your new school tomorrow.”
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“Good morning.” The ghost girl from yesterday appears in front of him again.
“AH!” Xavier screams for the nth time, falling out of his bed.
“I saw that my uncle visited you last night. He likes to play tricks.”
Xavier catches his breath, “And let me guess, you don’t?”
“Of course. How else would I get entertainment?” She speaks in a monotone. After not getting a response, she walks around the bed to stand in front of him. Her stare boring into him.
“A real ghost…I can see right through you.” Xavier makes an obvious observation.
“Such a great observation.” the girl says sarcastically and rolls her eyes. “Kind of a symptom of not having skin.”
“Well, you look like a human, just translucent.” Xavier reaches his hand towards her arm, wanting to test if she really did not have skin. His hand phases through her. “Woah, you’re freezing. That was like getting a random gust of wind.”
“Next time, ask before you try to touch me.” Her tone was sharp.
“Noted.” Xavier replies, pushing his hair out of his face in embarrassment. He tries to change the subject. “So…what’s your name?”
“Wednesday,” She tilts her head a bit to the side, “And yours?”
“Xavier.” He smiles and gets up from the floor. Once at full height, he notices just how short and small she is compared to him. She’s also kind of pretty. “Since you’re a ghost, I’m gonna take a good guess and say that you wouldn’t be able to join me for breakfast?”
Wednesday looks him up and down before responding, “Although I wouldn’t be able to physically eat, I can still be present.” She takes a huff of breath- erm, air, and adds a “I can also cook. You may not have been able to touch me, but I can still touch you and other objects.”
She begins to fade.
Confused at this, Xavier tries to keep his voice cool, “Wait, where are you going?”
“You wanted breakfast didn’t you? I’ll meet you downstairs.” She completely fades, leaving Xavier standing.
Deciding what to do next, he went to take a quick shower before meeting her again. Once downstairs, his nose caught the sweet smell of eggs and ham. Opening the door to the dining hall, he was glad his nostrils were right. On the table were eggs; scrambled, sunny-side-up, and over easy. Next to the eggs were ham slices and bacon. Wednesday makes her way into the room with a plate of pancakes. Sitting at the table already was his father.
“Took you long enough to join us. Your father, though, did not feel like waiting.” Wednesday says while nodding towards Vincent who had his mouth filled with bacon.
Xavier takes his seat at the other side of the table, “Went to take a shower. I didn’t expect you to make breakfast.” He grabs some scrambled eggs, ham, and three pancakes.
“It’s been a while since I’ve last cooked. I do not normally treat guests, but you and your father amuse me. I made a selection of eggs because I was not sure which you preferred,” Wednesday blinks, “I hope everything is up to your standards." She ends and stands at the head of the table watching the two humans eat.
Xavier takes a bite of a pancake and his eyes widen. He moves to the ham and the eggs, “This is great, Wednesday!” He fills his mouth with more food. His father nods in agreement.
If the ghost girl could blush, she’s sure she’d be blushing right now. Honestly, she didn’t understand why she cooked for the boy–and his father by extension.
He tries to make conversation while still chewing, “So Wednesday, what exactly are ghosts made of?”
“Hm,” She thinks for a moment, “I can’t say for sure, but I can compare it to that tingly feeling you get when your foot falls asleep. I think I’m made of that.”
A crash can be heard in the next room, commotion slowly making its way to the dining room.
“I love the smell of fleshies in the morning!” It’s the ghost guy from last night. “And a feast! You must really like these humans Wednesday. Or should I say, you’ve taken a fancy to the boy!” He laughs at that last bit.
Wednesday turns to give the other ghost a death glare, “Fester. Say that again and I’ll trap you in the vacuum again.”
Fester shivers, “No need to be so cruel, my young prodigy. I’m just goofing around!” He moves to sit by Vincent and grabs himself a plate, even though ghosts can’t eat.
“Alright dad, I think it’s time for me to head to school.” Xavier says, “Bye Wednesday!” leaving the breakfast to just Wednesday, Fester, and Vincent.
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Xavier walks along the sidewalk while other kids are riding their bikes around him. As he rounds a bend, a boy whips right past him on his bike, just barely missing him.
“Hey, watch it!” the random boy said.
Xavier is just a little bit startled.
“Kent, you jackass, wait up!” Says a girl who's also riding a bike. She had dark skin and short buzz cut hair. They made eye contact. She smiles at him and Xavier smiles back, before she continues off.
Xavier watches her go, stopping by a mailbox. Suddenly, the mailbox pops open and Wednesday’s hand reaches out holding a sack lunch. Xavier yelps.
“I made you lunch.” Her voice came from the mailbox.
“You scared me!” Xavier says and holds a hand over his beating heart.
“Yeah, that happens. It’s a sandwich, is that okay?” She asks him.
“You really made me lunch?” Xavier smiles, touched by the action.
“Better than cafeteria fish sticks and jello.”
“Thanks. This is really nice of you.” Xavier takes the bag.
“Don’t mention it again.” Wednesday’s arm vanishes.
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Vincent descends the hallway in a clean set of clothes and walks towards the master bedroom. Outside the door, he hesitates for a moment as he hears ruckus come from the inside. He steels his nerves and opens the door- a book flying right past him, nearly missing his head.
“John Hopkins University. Very impressive.” Fester says, as he grabs Vincent’s diploma before throwing it in the air.
“What are you doing?” Vincent asks.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m looking through your stuff,” Fester replies and grabs the framed photo of Amelia that is sitting on the dresser. “Hubba-hubba! Hot stuff you got right there.”
“That’s my deceased wife, Amelia. I’m looking for her”
“Deceased eh? Is that why you wanted a deal with me? I bet she’s floating the plane somewhere.” Fester says while still drooling over the picture.
“Yes…I know it’s soon, but do you think you can find her for me? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I assume ghosts have some sort of channel that can be used to communicate with other ghosts.” Vincent says.
“Oh yeah, sure. I can go get her right now.” Fester goes to the closet door and slips through. A second later theres a knocking on the door, and light spilling from the cracks.
Vincent reaches out and grasps the doorknob. As the door swings open, smoke obscures the view from the inside.
“...Amelia?” Vincent says to the abyss.
The smoke clears out and reveals Fester, completely decked out in drag.
“My MAN!” He smothers Vincent with big puckered lips.
“Agh!- What’s the meaning of this!” Vincent yelps and tries to push Fester away from him, but fails as his hands just faze right through.
“Haha! Sorry, I just had to!” Fester laughs with tears in his eyes. “Sorry pal, there’s no such thing as a ghost channel.”
“You could’ve just said so! Faking that you could bring me my wife was completely unnecessary and cruel.” Vincent replies back.
“I know. But I had to tease ya just once. Ya know, Wednesday has some old machine she could probably use to help you with your wife, but she hasn’t used it in years so who knows how far that’ll go!” Fester blurts out, “Anyways, how about I make ya a drink to make up for it?” He offers, ignoring a confused Vincent and heads out the door.
Vincent sighs and follows.
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Xavier is lost in the sea of students making their way to class. He makes his way over to the bank of lockers, glancing at his enrollment card to find the lock combination. Finding it, he begins to try the combination, only to find no success in opening the locker. A fist comes from thin air and bangs on the locker twice, popping it open for him. Xavier, surprised, turns to see the culprit. It’s the same girl from his walk to the school.
“Had this locker last year,” She starts. “My name’s Bianca.”
Xavier looks Bianca up and down as he processes. “Oh, thanks,” he smiles, “I’m Xavier.”
Bianca smiles back. “I’ve noticed that you’re new here, so you probably don’t know anyone yet. You are welcome to join me and my group if you get lonely.”
“I’ll consider it.” Xavier puts his belongings in his locker but keeps one notebook out for his next class, before shutting the locker closed. The bell rings, indicating that they should be heading to class. “Well, it was nice to meet you Bianca.” Xavier says and starts to walk towards first period.
Bianca follows. “What’s your first period?” She asks him.
“Civics.” He replies. They’re walking with each other at the same pace now.
“Cool, that’s mine too.”
They both make it to class in time, finding empty seats near the front of the class. The teacher walks in last.
“Okay everyone. Got a couple of announcements…first, the asbestos removal in the gym is taking longer than expected, so it looks like we’re going to have to push back the Rave’n dance for a couple of months.”
The classroom wails disappointment.
“Quiet down. Secondly, we have a new student today. I want you all to meet Xavier Thorpe.” The teacher makes a hand gesture pointing towards Xavier sitting in the front. “Why don’t you come on up front for a moment?”
Xavier stands up and walks to the front.
“So Xavier, anything special about yourself you want to tell us about? How are you liking school so far?” The teacher makes way for an awkward icebreaker.
“Well, I just moved here from New York with my dad. And I guess the school is pretty neat. I’ve always liked old gothic architecture,”
“Hey don’t you live in the abandoned Addams house?” A student interrupts him.
“Yeah I heard that place is crazy haunted. Have you seen any ghosts?” Another student says, and the classroom rumples up in giggles.
“Yes I have, actually.” Xavier says seriously. The classroom giggles end. The air is dead for a moment, making Xavier anxious by the second.
“Hey teach, we’re dead for the Rave’n right? This dude’s got a seriously creepy old mansion with plenty of rooms to spare. We can just have it there.” A student blurts out, not even bothering to ask Xavier if he consents to having a party at his newly moved-in home that still needed...cleaning.
Sensing the rudeness of the question, the teacher redirects it towards Xavier. “I think that would be a great place. What do you think Xavier?”
The question doesn’t make Xavier feel any better. He senses that he doesn’t really have a choice, so he agrees.
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Back in the kitchen lies Vincent Thorpe drinking a concoction made by Fester. The drink was purple, filled with oats and herbs, and had a thick texture, to which Vincent doubted it would be easy to down in one gulp.
“Come on pal, That’s the famous Addams Family’s witchling juice, passed down by Grandmama herself…” Fester tries to encourage him to drink the mysterious drink.
“Stop it Fester. You know he won’t drink it.” Said Wednesday, as she rounds the corner of the kitchen island. “Vincent, may I have a word with you?” She glares at Fester, hoping he’d take a hint and leave them.
“Sure,” Vincent reverts his attention to the ghost girl “What can I help you with, Wednesday?”
She straightens her back and takes a moment before starting, “Do not tell my uncle Fester about this, but…” Her voice wavers and then picks up again, “Sometimes, I wish I was alive.”
Vincent is shocked by this confession. The ghost girl and her weird ghost uncle seemed content being a ghost. Hauntings and all that. But he took a moment to be considerate and do what he claims to know best. Help ghosts with unfinished business.
“Wednesday, first you’ve got to accept who you are. Only if you’re who you are, will you be who you want to be.” He tells her.
Wednesday looks at him blankly, “I know who I am.”
“Of course you do. But you’re having trouble expressing that,” Vincent comebacks, “And I do have to ask, what made you ask me this question?”
“I’ve seemed to have taken a fancy to your son,” She blurted out. “But what good are these feelings if I am not human with him? I’ve been working on an experiment that would give me that ability again. I’ve been working on it for as long as I can remember, never really trying it out fully, but I’ve been thinking that it’s probably best for me to use it now.”
Vincent’s eyes widened at the confession, and his jaw threatened to drop but he caught himself before slipping up. “Wednesday, don’t hide from your feelings. Your feelings are a part of you, human or not. Personally, I would just go with the classic route of just telling him how you feel, but if you want to try out this experiment you’ve got, then I’d say go for it,” He tries his best to give her the best advice he could before changing the subject to her experiment.
“What if he doesn't like how I feel?” Wednesday feels silly. Silly for talking about her feelings for his son. And silly for questioning him and herself.
“You’re not responsible for his feelings, only your own. Besides, I don’t think you’ll regret telling him. I saw how he looked at you this morning.” Vincent tells her before moving on, Wednesday slightly confused, “May I ask you about this experiment you’ve got?”
Wednesday eyes him up and down and tells him a vague answer. “It’s a machine meant to turn ghosts into humans, but I’ve never tested it out on a proper subject yet.”
“Ghosts into humans. Sounds too good to be true.” Vincent says. Wednesday knows he’s thinking about his deceased wife. She’d been spying on him and Fester.
“Well, tell me if your plans works out. Good luck.” And with that, Vincent walks out of the kitchen.
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Xavier’s first day of school went by faster than he’d thought. During lunch he met up with Bianca and sat with her group of friends. There was a guy who apparently always wears beanies, Ajax, and his girlfriend Enid, who had a bubbly personality aura. There was the guy that almost ran into him on his way to school, Kent, and his twin sister Divina, who was dating a girl who wore sunglasses, Yoko. The group was nice and they all exchanged contact numbers.
Xavier was on his way back to the mansion after stopping by a store for some last minute decorations for the Rave’n that was apparently happening tomorrow. He would have to tell Wednesday his plans for using her home for a last minute party. He’d hope she’d be okay with it. And also tell his dad.
Making his way through the front door, he was greeted with his dad walking out of the dining hall from the kitchen.
“Welcome back, how was your first day?” Vincent asks him.
“Dad, is it fine if I host a party here tomorrow night?”
“Woah, made friends already? I knew you’d fit in here,” Vincent makes his way to the stairs, “And sure, you can have the party. Just make sure you don’t break anything. And also, make sure to talk Wednesday.” His last sentence had a double meaning, but Xavier didn’t know that.
After watching his father disappear from the steps, Xavier puts down the bag of decorations and goes to find Wednesday.
After walking around and going through a bunch of corridors and rooms, he decided to call out to the ghost girl in hopes she’s home.
“Wednesday! Are you home?” He calls out, “Wednesday!...Wednesda-”
“There is no need to yell. I knew you were looking for me.” The ghost girl materializes in front of him.
“If you knew I was looking for you, why didn’t you come out to greet me?” Xavier asks.
“The mansion is filled with booby traps. I wanted to see if you’d trigger one. Sadly, none reacted. They must be rusty…” Wednesday says in a disappointed tone, “But mostly because I was busy with something.”
Xavier jaw drops slightly. She was waiting for him to trigger a booby trap? He’s shocked but not surprised.
“Right…Anyways, I was looking for you to ask if you’d be fine having a party in the main foyer tomorrow night? My school needed a place to host their Halloween dance and I offered…” He reaches his hand up to his neck, scratching as a nervous gesture.
Wednesday looks at him in the eyes, “Made friends already. That was quick.” She blinks, “Fine. Just make sure no one breaks anything.”
They both make their way to the living room and sat down on the old couch that is layered with dust. Xavier doesn’t mind, and he doubts Wednesday does either, considering her current condition. They end up talking about his day at school. How he’d almost gotten hit by a bike, how his locker was broken, how he was basically manipulated by his classmates to host the Rave’n at her mansion since it’s spooky- to which Wednesday then interrupted to defend her family(Fester) by saying they are just kooky, not spooky.
They talked for hours about each other's day, taking moments of comfortable silence when a certain conversation would end.
“Xavier, would you accompany me for a moment? I have something I want to show you.” Wednesday asks him, standing up from the couch.
“Oh, sure.” He also stands up, “What’d you want to show me?”
“Follow me.”
He follows her through the maze of hallways and corridors before making it to the back door. Wednesday drags him to her family graveyard in the back of the mansion, where she’s set up a seance with a machine in the middle.
It looked like an old Jukebox, just taller, had a door, and a lightbulb on top of the machine. It was an experiment she’d created a few years ago, meant to materialize spirits into becoming flesh once again. She’d never used it for big spirits like humans before, only on small animals like frogs. So this would be the first time trying.
“Wednesday, this is beautiful.”
“Before you’d arrived, I would come here every night. The graveyard, that is. I prepared the seance after a chat with your father. I would like to try it with you.”
“Fitting.” He said in reference to her coming to the graveyard every night. He looked around the yard, spotting multiple gravestones with the surname ‘Addams’, which sparked a question to him.
“I forgot to ask, but what were you like when you were alive?” Xavier tries to extend the conversation from the living room, “Were you just as kooky as you are now?”
The question was oddly fitting for what they were about to do. “I was...I was like...actually, I don't quite remember.” She pouts a little. She never really thought much about it until now.
“You don't remember anything from your life?”
“No.”
“Absolutely nothing?”
“No.”
“You don't remember what school you went to, how old you were? Your favorite song? I know about your Uncle Fester, but what about your dad? Your mom? Your brother?” He tries one more time.
She sighs, “I don’t remember anything about my past life other than that I was an Addams. Is that a bad thing?”
“No. It's just kind of sad.”
Wednesday doesn’t say anything in return, and just sits down on the grass, motioning for Xavier to do the same so that they could start the seance.
“I know how much your father misses your mother, and so do you, so I thought we could do a test seance to bring her back. My machine is meant to materialize spirits into their original form. Flesh and all. But I have only tried it on animals, tonight will be my first for a deceased human.”
She reaches out to Xavier, her hands faced up. Xavier hovers his hands above hers, since he can’t physically hold her.
Wednesday starts by speaking in a language unfamiliar to Xavier. He figured whatever she’s saying must be working, as the winds around them pick up and it starts to get exceedingly cold.
The bulb on the machine lights up, and for a moment, they think it’s going to work. Xavier will be able to speak to his mother for the first time in years.
Just when their hopes were reaching the max, the lightbulb breaks and the wind slows.
When everything dies down, Xavier removes his hand and stands up.
“Well, at least you tried right?” He smirks, but there’s a sad hint to it. It infuriates Wednesday.
“I’m sorry. I failed you.” I failed myself, she thinks.
“You didn’t fail me, Wednesday. This was the trial run. I appreciate you trying for me. That’s all that matters.” He stares at her. His eyes show that he’s honest.
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“I enjoyed tonight. Really.” Xavier blurts out.
Wednesday rolls her eyes to that. They’re back inside the mansion, in Wednesday’s bedroom. In Wednesday’s bed. Laying side by side of one another, staring at the ceiling above them.
“I’m serious. I had fun, Wednesday.”
He shifts his body towards her, laying on his side. They are facing each other now.
“Do you ever wonder why you don't remember anything?”
Wednesday thinks for a moment. “I guess when you're a ghost, your past life doesn't matter that much anymore. So you forget.”
“Sometimes I worry that I’m starting to forget.” Xavier starts.
“Forget what?” Wednesday eggs him on.
“My mom. Just certain things.” He starts to reminisce, “The sound of her making breakfast downstairs. The way she put on her lipstick…so carefully.” He pauses, “I do remember, she always used Ivory soap…and when she’d hug me, I’d breathe her in, so deep. And I remember, before I go to sleep, she’d whisper in my ear, ‘Stardust in the eyes, rosy cheeks and a happy boy in the morning.’” His eyes start to droop with tiredness and sadness, “Wednesday? If my mom's a ghost, did she forget about me?”
“No, she'd never forget you.” Wednesday said reassuringly, though from her own experience, she knew she was telling him a lie. She did not know how to comfort people, but she wanted to at least try. At Least try, with Xavier.
“Xavier? If I were alive, I would go to the Halloween dance with you.”
“Xavier?” She calls out to him again. His eyes are closed, mouth slightly open and murmurs a sleepy hum.
She whispers, “Can I keep you?” and grazes her lips over his cheek.
“Wednesday, close the window. It's cold”
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Wednesday left Xavier after he fell asleep.
She floated down to her torture room in the basement to play with her experiment. She was sad that she could not help Xavier contact his mother, sad for herself since she wouldn’t be able to turn human again. So she sat on the ground thinking of ways to improve.
A bright light appears in front of her, too blinding to ignore, so she looks up and sees a woman materialize out of thin air.
“You're…” her eyes widen as the woman's form finalizes.
“That's right.”
“Xavier's mom? Are...Are you an angel? Is that why I couldn’t make contact with you?”
Amelia chuckles, “That was a very noble thing you did tonight, Wednesday. I know Xavier will never forget it. I know he is very grateful for you trying. And for what you've done, I'm giving you your dream in return. But it's just for tomorrow. Sort of a Cinderella deal.”
“So I have until midnight tomorrow?”
“You have until 10 PM.”
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The morning when he woke up, Wednesday was nowhere to be found. To not feel too bummed about it, he decided to go downstairs and start decorating the main foyer. The day of the Rave’n dance was to happen tonight.
Xavier slightly hopes Wednesday would make an appearance, but pushes the hopefulness back and looks forward to seeing all of his new friends.
Time went by fast, and soon it was time to open the doors to the party. Doors opened at 7pm, but most people started to show up around 8pm.
So far the dance was going swimmingly. Enid and Ajax were on the dance floor since the start of the party, Yoko and Divina were chatting by the punch table, and Bianca was sitting next to Xavier on some chairs in the far corner of the party. They danced with each other early on, with the rest of their friends, and now wanted to stay behind and spectate.
“You look bummed, new boy.” Bianca says to Xavier. They’ve been sitting in silence for the past twenty minutes.
“Sorry, just a lot on my mind.” Wednesday was on his mind.
“To ignore a party hosted at your own house? Must be serious.” She leans back in her seat, staring at Yoko and Divina flirting with each other with spiked punch in their hands.
“I wish they’d stop flirting and just make out in a corner or something.” Xavier smirks at that. He assumes Bianca is trying to make him feel better.
“Woah, who’s that? Never seen her before. You know her, Xavier?” Bianca raises from her seat to get a better look at the girl she’s referring to. Xavier looks over in the direction she’s staring at. His eyes are blown wide and he felt like he had to hold his jaw from dropping to the floor.
“Hello Xavier.” It’s Wednesday, standing in front of him. She no longer has her ghostly translucent look. She is here in the flesh.
Xavier takes a moment to look her up and down. Her hair is braided into a crown, and her dress is all black, with lace and frills. She looks beautiful.
“Wednesday, how is this possible?”
“Don’t worry about it. Want to dance?” She reached her hand out.
“Of course I do.” He takes it and leads them to the dance floor.
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Xavier and Wednesday take up the center. A song called “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps starts to play from the speakers.
When the sun goes down and the moon comes up
Wednesday starts the dance by shimming her shoulders. Xavier follows along.
I turn into a teenage goo goo muck
Though they are dancing completely separate, It’s more like Wednesday is leading the dance.
She stares at only Xavier throughout their shuffle, occasionally touching him if the move requires it. Ignoring the fact that everyone in the crowd is now standing by to watch the two.
Xavier is smiling and laughing while they dance. His night has significantly gotten better.
She smirks up at him. The two gravitate towards each other and the crowd moves back to the floor. They sway together as The Cramps comes to an end and a slow song starts to play.
She rests her head on his chest and whispers to him, again, saying the words from last night.
“Can I keep you?”
The clock dings. It is 10:00 PM. Her time is up.
She backs away from him and starts to fade away, turning back to her ghostly look. The crowd gasps. Xavier looks at her with wide eyes.
“Wednesday?”
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“Hello, Vincent.”
Startled, Vincent turns around to see a bright ghostly figure floating in front of him. “Amelia.”
Amelia smiles down at him. “It's alright. It's just me.”
“I…” Vincent scrambles to find the right words, “I thought I'd have a hundred things to say when I...How?”
Sensing his confusion, Amelia tells him, “Let's just say a kooky ghost girl wanted to help.” She floats down to him, caressing his face, “Vincent, I know you've been searching for me. But there's something you have to understand. You and Xavier loved me so well when I was alive, that I have no unfinished business. Please do not let me be yours.”
“But, Amelia, I don't... I don't really know what I'm doing without you.”
“Vincent, Xavier is growing up handsomely because of you. You’re doing perfect, dear.”
“...I’ve missed you so much.” Vincent reaches out for her.
Amelia leans forward, letting their lips touch for a moment before pulling back with a sad smile on her face. She starts to fade away completely.
“Wait. Where are you going?”
“Where I can watch over both of you until we're together again. Good-bye, Vincent.”
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“Wednesday?” Xavier says, as he watches as she fades to her ghostly beauty.
“Not bad for my first party, huh?”
He smiles at her. “Couldn't have been better.”