Work Text:
There were two things that were categorically true.
One, in part? This was all Amanda's fault. And two, for the first time in her life, Wednesday did not set the fire in question. It's not her fault Amanda happened to meet Wednesday in her proclivity for pyrotechnics phase. (Technically, it was Debbie's.)
Alas, it still didn't stop that wannabe Disney Princess from ruining Wednesday's life.
How, you may ask? Oh, because Wednesday was stuck doing what should be considered a human rights violation. They called it "Community Service." A punishment Amanda had come up with herself. Amanda had ultimately gained the approval through politics. The mayor was her father, so he had been easy enough to convince. The Judge should have been more impartial, but he had a grudge against the Addams Family for years and was just fine getting a little revenge. (Blame the golf balls.)
But before we get ahead of ourselves. Community Service for Arson would be absurd, even with the abysmal status of the US court system. And while the whole town blamed Wednesday at first but was ultimately exonerated due to her being in the Local Cemetery during the time the fire was started. This was proven via security cameras and CCTV.
But, unfortunately, because her alibi involved trespassing… the Judge decided to make an example out of Wednesday. So Community Service it was. The real culprit of the fire was faulty electrical wiring, which is pathetic since this death trap inferno could have happened during school hours.
The worst part about this humiliating sentence was that she had been condemned to work on the town's annual Holiday Cheer Festival. Even worse, every year, it was themed. Last year was Christmas of Winters past—Wednesday's youngest cousin dressed as the Little Match Girl from Hans Christian Anderson. It was actually quite clever. This year—revoltingly—was to pay homage to Disney's 100th anniversary, the theme was Winter "Magic and Fairy Tales." Which translates to Disney iconography minus the lawsuits and/or cease and desists from the House of Mouse. It was Wednesday's waking nightmare, and she would have to dress up as a character from one of the core Princess movies. Cherry on top? Amanda was getting to pick her costume.
"Aww." Amanda cooed. "Now, now, Wednesday."
'Oh, fantastic.' Wednesday thought to herself. 'She's back to gloat again.'
"You should smile! You know you're never fully dressed without one!"
Wednesday sneered whilst Amanda grinned.
She was enjoying this far too much.
"I'm serious! You could really be an inspiration. Town's weirdest loser being up on stage with the rest of the Committee in a perfect fairy tale costume. You know this whole thing makes you eligible for the pageant! You could even win a crown—oh, maybe not. They don't exactly have a title for most redeemed arsonist."
Wednesday rolled her eyes.
"I didn't set the fire, Amanda. Crappy safety inspections and poor electrical wiring did. Also, if I recall correctly, my smile scared you."
Amanda scrunched her nose up in what Wednesday figured was disgust.
"Whatever. And no one believes you, you know. We all know you did it. You and your family are some sort of science experiments. You probably did it with some weird magical freak powers or something. Just like how I know you stole my retainer at camp!"
That tickled Wednesday.
While Wednesday had a preternatural talent for getting a feeling when something wasn't quite right—not all of the Addams could be as talented as Pubert, that didn't mean she had any magical powers. If she did, she'd use them to escape from this mess.
Still, it was rather funny Amanda was still pissed about the retainer. If only she could take credit for it, but that was all down to Joel. And though Wednesday would never admit it—in fact, she swore to herself at the tender age of 12 that she would take this to her grave—she often looked at the memory of Joel Glicker presenting Amanda's retainer like a cat that brought a mouse to its keeper with a great deal of fondness.
"I didn't steal your retainer either. Believe it or not, Amanda, I wasn't the only one who didn't like you at Chippewa."
"Oh, really? Who did it, then? Your dorky loser boyfriend?"
Wednesday felt her cheeks burn and glanced out of the corner of her eye for Joel. Quickly, she remembered herself and shot Amanda a look that dripped with disdain.
"Let's pretend for a moment that Joel was my boyfriend. Let's also pretend that he cared enough about you to think of stealing it." Wednesday leaned in for a second to whisper menacingly. "Why would I tell you? Oh, and the Invisalign isn't doing much better, by the way."
That did it. Amanda put a hand over her mouth, and as she ran to the bathroom, Amanda chose a choice phrase, one that all of her family had heard directed at them at least once.
"Screw you, Addams!"
Wednesday smirked. The truth was, she didn't even know if Amanda had Invisalign. It was just a guess—though the overbite still being terrible was awfully telling.
"Was that the She-Devil?" Joel had come by every day with a cup of coffee for Wednesday during this ordeal. It was… generous of him, but he really hadn't needed to bother. It's not like he had to do Community Service, but he volunteered anyway. It was a little transparent. Apparently, he never did get over his crush—and if she were honest with herself, neither did she.
"We'll always have the day and Chippewa."
“Cara Mia…”
“Mon Cher…”
Wednesday took that memory back into the dark recesses of her mind. She didn't know why it kept popping up, but it felt like the more she tried to ignore it, the faster it would come back. It was maddening! She almost even asked her mother what to do about it, but that was more trouble than it would have been worth and, frankly, even more embarrassing.
"Please don't insult The Devil, but yes, that was Amanda…"
Joel looked over and saw Amanda screaming at someone else in the gymnasium.
"Awesome. Don't take anything Amanda says to heart. I heard she's being extra moody today because she still doesn't have a date to the Festival."
Wednesday raised up her eyebrows in surprise. "Hmm, who knew people in this school actually had good taste."
Joel chuckled some, and oh, how that did things to her dark little heart—not that she would admit to that either. It was becoming a bad habit. Her noticing little things about him that she never used to care about or notice before. There were times when she had let herself stare at him. Taking him in to see just how much they had changed over the years from that summer before 7th grade.
And yes, she supposed he wasn't exactly unpleasant to look at while she contemplated these things, either.
For the most part, he just looked like Joel. His dark hair still had a slight soft wave in it. He was taller, though, which was to be expected. They were only twelve when they saw each other last, (the late transfer had been an unexpected surprise,) but he grew much taller than she thought he'd be. He had a more casual taste in his clothing, but it fit him well. And she was glad to see that he still wore glasses rather than opt for contacts.
The frames were the same shape that he wore at camp. They complimented his bone structure and highlighted his eyes—still brown and soulful—she needed to get a grip.
"Hey Wednesday, listen, um… about that I was going to ask…"
"Yes?"
"Er…"
Joel didn't know what to say. Well, he did, but he just couldn't seem to get the words out right. Which was incredibly frustrating considering he was able to be bold enough to ask her if he was going to be Wednesday's date to Uncle Fester's first wedding.
He was a god damned disaster at Chippewa and yet smoother then than he was now. Just how did that work?
But Joel didn't know what to say, so he pivoted.
"So, do you know what Amanda's choosing for you?"
"Sleeping Beauty."
Joel winced, "While not ideal, at least it's not as culturally insensitive and historically slanderous as Gary's portrayal of the first Thanksgiving. But I gotta ask… Good god, why?"
"When she told me, I thought she was throwing me a proverbial bone so I could be out of sight for the whole thing. Turns out she picked it for me because I "get" to wear a bubble gum pink, cotton candy blue disaster that calls itself a dress."
Joel mock gagged, "My condolences."
Wednesday stretched, arching her back—Joel was not exactly proud of his wandering eyes. He made himself blink before handing Wednesday her coffee as he sipped away at his almond milk chai tea—while nonlethal he still had issues with dairy.
"Thank you, and it is what it is. At least this will be over soon."
"Yeah. Though, um, hey, Wednesday… would you mind if I asked... why were you in the local cemetery? You have your family's plot on your property, so… I mean, you don't have to answer or anything. I just wanted to ask if everything was okay."
Joel sucked in a breath as Wednesday's eyes bore into him. He wondered what she thought about him after all this time. He wondered if she was annoyed at him prying. He hoped she wasn't, but that was the thing. You never knew with Wednesday.
She sighed. "Honestly?"
"Yeah."
"I just wanted a moment to myself. I love my family, but I just needed some quiet to think about…" Wednesday paused. "Things.
Mom and Gran were doing something. Uncle Fester and Father were reminiscing, which is always loud and chaotic, and my brothers were doing experiments with TNT in the family plot. I just wanted a quiet place to study, and the local Cemetery was closer than the library."
"That's fair enough. I feel like all I want is some peace and quiet at home. My parents are the kind of couple that *should* get a divorce. They never stop arguing. Do your parents ever argue?"
"Not really. They have tiffs every once in a while, but they don't fight all that much.
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense… hey Wednesday, can I ask… what "things" were you thinking about?
"Yes," Wednesday answered, and Joel held his breath. "Yes, you can ask, but that doesn't mean I'll answer."
Joel exhaled in laughter. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy. For better or worse, Wednesday always had her defenses up, but it's not her fault. Joel knew how close she was with her uncle and how close he was to dying via Debbie, but also that he suffered from a broken heart. He knew that couldn't have made things in the romantic department seem all that inviting for Wednesday, but a part of him wished she would give him a shot. He'd gladly die via fright for her.
If only he could just tell her that!
God, he was actually braver when his compromised immune system and puberty were ruining his life. This was embarrassing.
"Sorry, didn't mean to pry, I was just worried."
Which wasn't a lie, and maybe it's because it wasn't a lie that Wednesday's brain decided to turn traitor and run her mouth without her consent.
"I was thinking we might not go to the same school next year, and… I know I don't say it often, but I treasure our friendship."
Joel heard his heart beating in his ears like drums. He had to say something… right?
"I-I feel the same way… and I get it. I haven't decided where I'm going quite yet, but I know some of our choices for College are pretty far away from each other…"
"And…" Wednesday continued his train of thought, "It was… nice when you transferred here for high school, but we want different programs in our higher education. I didn't really see any two schools with programs we both wanted. I guess it's true what they say… lightning doesn't strike twice."
They both sat silently for a moment before Joel had the thought to change topics. The last thing he wanted was to get misty about the future, especially since they still had a little bit of time up their sleeves.
He cleared his throat, "Oh uh yeah… Listen Wednesday—"
At that moment, they heard Amanda give a banshee-like wail because someone apparently made the banner a "too dark purple" and that now they had to do it all over again because it now looked like it was a tribute to Disney Villains rather than fairy tales or some other such nonsense.
Joel and Wednesday rolled their eyes at Amanda's little tantrum on the intricacies of Disney Villains and purple color theory. Still, Joel would later have to acknowledge and thank Amanda for gifting Joel with a brilliant albeit sneaky idea.
"Hey, uh, Wednesday. Did her royal highness say you just had to be from Sleeping Beauty or Aurora—the Princess specifically?"
Wednesday's eyes squinted, "She didn't specify, though I don't see why that matters… what's that look for?"
"No reason, I was just wondering." Joel grinned, "I gotta head out and uh… run a couple of errands. See you tonight!" Joel ran off, leaving Wednesday thoroughly confused—no, stunned at his sudden change in demeanor. She wondered what he was up to, but she couldn't follow him, at least not unless she wanted her sentence extended. Instead, she ignored Amanda as best as she could but noticed that Amanda was taking some glee at giving Wednesday her "costume."
After that, Amanda went off to terrorize another poor volunteer. Wednesday couldn't help but find the display childish. They were going to College next year, surely they were all more mature than this. And yet… all of this fuss just because she didn't have a date for tonight? Ridiculous.
It's not like Wednesday had a date, either. Because technically, he hadn't actually asked her to be his…
Wednesday picked herself up off the ground, "accidentally" kicked a can of midnight blue on the banner she had just finished, and was dismissed for the rest of the day.
~~~~~~~~
Wednesday was trying to steel herself enough to get into the monstrosity Amanda handed her after she'd finished yelling at her for the paint can incident.
Wednesday hadn't really known what had gotten into her. One second, she was fine, the next? Furious that Joel hadn't asked her to go to this stupid Festival. This was a disturbing thought because that would have been a no-win scenario for both herself and Joel.
She ran her fingers over the cheap fabric dress she'd have to wear all evening and sighed to herself.
Maybe she was just frustrated with her current situation, compounded by the fact that her and Joel's time was once again running out…
There was a knock at her bedroom door, "Wednesday?" Morticia inquired, "May I come in?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Joel's downstairs."
"What." The blush that erupted from that small announcement was a bit more than Wednesday could bear, but Morticia smirked before she had time to panic about how she looked.
"I'll let him know you'll be down in five minutes."
~~~~~~~~
"Oy Vey." Joel paced the Addams foyer for what felt like five hours, not five minutes while trying not to look into the bag he's brought for Wednesday.
"Joel? What're you doing here?"
He jumped. He hadn't even noticed her coming down the stairs.
"I uh…" he smiled a little goofily. "Well, I'm assuming you need a date for this shindig, right?"
She did not look amused.
"Well, also here." He extended out the big bag in his hands. "I got you this too."
Wednesday made a distrusting face but took the bag anyway and peered within, slowly taking out what Wednesday could only call the most elegant gown she had ever seen. The dress was black with crushed velvet with brilliant violet and crimson brocade, complete with a black cape with silver and pearl beading that made it look like it mimicked the night sky.
"Joel?"
Wednesday couldn't believe what she was seeing. How? Why? And what was the point when she couldn't even wear it?
"Yeah."
"Why did you bring me a dress you know I can't wear?"
"So, about that. Remember what you told me earlier? Amanda just said that you have to be a character from Sleeping Beauty. She never said you had to be Aurora from Sleeping Beauty."
Wednesday's eyes widened at the sudden realization.
"You're giving me a Maleficent Costume."
"Yes."
"Amanda will kill you."
"She's not allowed. There's only one person allowed to kill me, and she's gotta do it by scaring me to death."
Wednesday smiled. "You remembered."
"Yeah. Of course I did, of course I do. I think about it a lot, actually... and you know what we talked about today. College. I've decided where I wanna go, and um, it's near Northampton."
"I thought you didn't want to go to Amherst because of your parents."
"I thought about that, and have you ever heard the expression cutting off your own nose to spite your own face."
"I'll admit I have not, but it sounds like sound advice. What does this have to do with you going to Amherst?"
"Amherst, as you've pointed out more than once… is a part of the five-college system. We'd be one free bus ride away from each other, and we could even take classes together."
"Joel—"
"Wednesday." Joel interrupted. "Look. You're my best friend. And for a while, you were my only friend who liked me for me. Weird, allergy-ridden, neurotic me. I don't have any expectations or anything. And as much as it grieves me to admit this because it means my parents actually being right about something… Amherst does have a good program for me. And I'd be making them happy, but honestly? I'd be happy because I'd get to go and be near you. And I'm really tired of not saying how I feel. I really like you. I've liked you since Chippewa, and I've been too much of a coward to do anything about it. I meant what I said. I have no expectations, but if you ever change your mind… I'm up for the challenge. Are you?"
Wednesday coyly smiled at him. "In due time… First, we have a Festival to attend. I cannot wait to see the look on Amanda's face. Even if it does mean more Community Service."
"Well, see, the best part is you're not breaking any rules."
"I'm not wearing the costume she selected for me."
Joel grinned, "I thought of that too."
He pulled out the doctor's note with his father's stolen letterhead, complete with the signature Joel had forged.
"As of right now, you're allergic to cheaply manufactured polyester. You break out into hives, and in extreme cases, it could cause anaphylaxis. You could perish on the spot, so I, your date, knew how important it was for you to complete your Community Service. Got you a replacement costume that still fits the theme. So... whaddya say Cara Mia?"
Wednesday smiled. " Not bad... Mon Cher…"