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Wednesday didn't think she'd be back here in these halls. But this came as a surprise even to her - they'd decided to enroll Dean into Nevermore.
He'd inherited her psychic powers. She was proud, of course. It gave her yet another advantage over the sheriff, as her far more superior genes had overridden Tyler's normie ones which was more than fair considering how identical their son looked liked him compared to her.
“Now remember what I've told you,” Wednesday said on their way inside.
“Always carry an ax?” Dean said.
“Really, Wen? An ax?” Tyler said, raising a brow. “Here I thought you'd say a sword.”
“It's difficult to find pocket sized swords,” Wednesday said, then turned her attention to her son. “No. Not that. I'm talking about keeping your head down for the first couple of days. The headmistress knows me and she'll be immediately suspicious of you. Wait until you've lulled her into a false sense of security before doing anything.”
Dean nodded seriously.
“You know,” Tyler looped an arm around the waist. “It's gonna be really weird not having you around until Christmas.”
“ Please don't try for another kid,” Dean made a face. “We don’t need another one.”
Wednesday brushed him off. She certainly didn’t plan on it. “Not to worry, I'll not be utilizing my uterus anytime soon.”
Ugh, Mom,” Dean whined. “That's gross.”
“How do you think you were conceived?”
“I don’t care. It’s still weird.”
They made it inside. It was just how she remembered it. How disappointing.
“You have everything you need, yes? Even Linus?” Wednesday asked.
Linus was his pet spider. A funnel web arachnoid, it was one of the deadliest spiders in the world. Wednesday could not, for the life of her, figure out why her son had given it such a mundane name but it'd ultimately been his choice.
“Yeah,” Dean said. “I miss Nimbus already, though.”
Tyler kissed the top of his head. “I know, Bud. Don't worry, we'll FaceTime you so you can see him.”
Dean threw his arms around his father, his face pressed into his shoulder. “I'll miss you, Dad.”
Wednesday spotted her husband’s teary eyes, barely refraining from rolling hers. Pathetic. He would be back in mid December. There was no reason to be so upset.
Tyler hugged him back just as tightly. “I'll miss you too. Try not to get expelled too soon, okay? I’d like at least one report card first.”
“On the contrary,” Wednesday said, “an expulsion before the end of the first semester would be an accomplishment not even I managed to do.”
“You were close,” Tyler reminded her, “after you started taking bodies from the morgue.”
“Not close enough,” Wednesday said with a sigh. “Besides, your father completely overreacted. I was using them for investigative purposes. Had he given me the access I requested, I wouldn’t have had to resort to taking them that way.”
Tyler snorted.
As Dean was taking his trunk out of the car, Wednesday heard the familiar sound of clicking heels. She sighed internally. She’d grown to have some grudging respect for the woman, but that didn’t mean she wasn't a nuisance in her own right.
“Ah, Miss Addams. What a pleasure to see you again.”
“It’s not necessary to start telling lies to oblige society’s need for pleasantries,” Wednesday said, unimpressed. Tyler nudged her with his elbow, and she openly glared back.
Larissa Weems’ red lips pressed together- this was the look that Wednesday was often on the receiving end of. A look she was unfazed by. “Mr. Galpin,” she went on to say, “it’s lovely to see you as well. I speak to your father often.”
“It’s nice to see you too,” Tyler offered her one of his boyish smiles. He was still ridiculously polite with everyone, a sharp contrast to Wednesday. “But call my Tyler. Mr. Galpin makes me sound like Dad.”
She acknowledged that with a nod. “I must admit I was surprised to hear that you were enrolling your son,” Larissa said.
“As was I. Let’s hope this institution has vastly improved since my own school days,” Wednesday said, causing the woman’s slight smile to become fixed.
Tyler, in an attempt at taking away some of the tension she’d created, gently steered Dean by the shoulders in the direction of Weems. “This is our son, Dean.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Larissa said, tilting her head forward.
“Uh, yeah,” Dean said, to which his father rolled his eyes. “You too, I guess.”
“Am I the only one that has manners?” Tyler was muttering to himself. Louder, he said, “Do you want us to walk you to your room?”
“Nah, I got it,” Dean shook his head. “You should probably start heading back.”
“He’s right,” Wednesday agreed. “I don’t want to encounter Enid.”
At this, Larissa raised a brow. “And here I was under the impression you and Miss Sinclair had become friends.”
“They are, but she’s been a bit emotional lately since her son is leaving her again,” Tyler explained. Aiden Petropolus was a year older than Dean, and would be starting his second year at Nevermore. Enid was quite sad about this, and unfortunately for Wednesday, she’d had to deal with her friend sobbing over this far too often for her taste. “Wednesday wants to avoid that.”
“I see.”
Dean threw his arms around Wednesday for a hug. “Love you,” he mumbled.
“Yes, yes,” Wednesday said with an undercurrent of fondness. “I love you as well.” Then her voice became quieter. “And I do hope you’ll make me proud.”
“Obviously,” Dean whispered back.
He gave Tyler one last hug, and off he went until he was out of sight.
It left them with Weems, who was looking at Wednesday with a sort of warm smile that was usually never aimed at her.
“What?” Wednesday said snappishly. Tyler placed a hand on her lower back to calm her.
“It seems you’ve changed a bit since your time here, Miss Addams.”
“Are you insulting me?” Wednesday demanded. Tyler huffed out a laugh.
“On the contrary. I’m quite proud of how far you’ve come, in addition to raising what seems to be a lovely young man. I’m looking forward to having him here at Nevermore,” Larissa said.
Wednesday hoped that would change in a few short weeks.
“Well, we hate to cut this short-” There was no we . Wednesday certainly didn’t care about leaving. “But we’re going to go see my dad before we head back home.”
“Of course,” Larissa said understandingly. “I must be going myself. I have to ensure that the students are finding their way around. Good day Miss Addams, Tyler.”
Tyler smiled and waved while Wednesday was already on her way to the car.
For the next couple of weeks, Dean texted them to inform them about his classes and shenanigans he got into. He was even able to avoid the sheriff whenever he snuck out and threaten his roommate enough that the boy covered for him without needing anything in return.
Wednesday was very proud of her son.
But unbeknownst to anyone else, the whirlwind that was Dean had caused Larissa Weems to retreat back to her office with a large bottle of wine that she finished in only a few gulps.
Unfortunately for her, he’d not quite been the lovely young man she’d falsely assumed.