Chapter Text
The semester was over, the hyde was felled, Laurel was dead, Crackstone had lost—not even the first time he had lost to an Addams—and Enid—well, the school as a whole—was safe. The singular loss that day was principle Weems. Wednesday didn't think herself to be the type of person to care about such a loss, but it all nagged her every time her thoughts fell to that empty desk next to that garish gorgon-themed fireplace. If she had been wiser, or more prepared, or faster, or... maybe. maybe Weems wouldn't have died. She should have expected nightshade; she should've prevented it.
And Enid... Wednesday was furious every time she thought about her face. Not because of her incessantly annoying tendencies like usual, but at herself. Enid had saved her life fighting the hyde, and all she could do was crawl away and run. And now her face was marred. Because of Wednesday. It should have been her. It shouldn't have been Enid. If only Wednesday were stronger. She should have been protecting Enid, not the other way around.
Maybe Xavier was right. Maybe Weems was right. Maybe Rowan was right. She's just brought pain to everyone around her. Her stubbornness had hurt everyone around her. Goody had told her she was the key, and she didn't listen. A lock cannot be opened with its key thrown out. A metaphorical one, of course; Uncle Fester had shown her how to open a lock without its key at the age of six.
Her eyes only refocused on the paper in front of her when the margin bell went off. Her fingers were sore, and she reached for the carriage lever, but moved to the platen knob instead when she realized the page was already full. She didn't realize she had typed so much. looking over it, it was almost entirely nonsensical: The subject routinely got lost mid-sentence, punctuation errors were rife, and there was little, if any, narrative. It barely passed as English, much less a page of her long feared sequel to Viper's thrilling detective story.
She crumpled the paper up and pitched it into the bin next to her desk. It was no use. It had already been two weeks since the end of the semester; why did she still seem to be incapable of being productive at anything? Whether it be waterboarding Pugsley, playing rush and roulette, or pursuing her literary nemesis, Mary Shelly, she couldn't seem to get herself to focus. The past was constantly dragged back across her eyes. Eugene ripped up alone on the forest floor. Kinbott's dead in her office. Enid's face being marred to protect her. Weems' last few labored breaths.
Wednesday couldn't help but feel that it had all been her fault. Whether directly because of her actions or because she failed to put a stop to it. Wednesday struggled to admit it, even to herself, but she cared. Too much. Yet another displeasurable emotion to add to her catalogue, yet reveling in it wasn't nearly so enjoyable. Outside her family, she's never much cared who got hurt. But when it's little Eugene near fatally injured? Or Enid's pretty face being scarred? Why did it hurt so much? and not in an enjoyable way.
Regardless, she wasn't going to make any progress writing. Wednesday got to her feet, crossing the dark wood floor of her bedroom to the relatively simple black bed across from her desk. Or as simple as something could be in the Addams family household; it seemed they all had a penchant for the ornate when picking furniture.
The little black rectangle everyone was always so infatuated caught her eye sitting on the nightstand before she could sit down. Wednesday had told Enid about the phone shortly after Xavier gave it to her, who quickly commented on how weird and 'kinda manipulative' of a gesture it was, before bouncing up and down in excitement and demanding the number. Wednesday had refused at first to mess with Enid, but she really did like the idea of being able to stay in touch with each other during the break, especially after that has happened. Just to check on her safety. nothing more. of course. Wednesday doubted the Sinclairs had a crystal ball, and letters were excessively slow, so the phone came in handy.
She hadn't actually used it yet, but it was nice to have at hand. Why would instantaneous access to one of the most annoying people she knows be comfort? She wasn't that masochistic.
Of course, she almost regrets it now. The images kept trickling in. her pigtails through the manor windows, her practicing cello in the garden, her torturing her little brother, or whatever activity that might have been able to capture. She wondered what their motive might be. If it was to unnerve her, she had some unfortunate news to give about that plan. Of course, she would never grace them with such information, though.
When they had started, she wanted to throw the phone out the window right then, along with whatever digital tracking they may be using to trace her, to rid them of their simple pleasure. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, not with Enid's eager face in her mind. And now they were lurking somewhere on the Addams' family estate. Wednesday would pray for their safety if she weren't actively wishing for their demise.
Wednesday sat near the head of the bed and reached for the device, hovering in indecision for just a moment before grabbing a hold of the small thing. She fiddled with the buttons a bit before managing to unlock it and navigate her way through the interface towards the little colorful square labeled 'contacts.' What a strange thing.
She tapped on 'Enid Sinclair' typed out at the top of the screen. Even her friend's name was in the poor excuse of a font that the entire device seemed to adore; It seemed like an insult to the field of typography to remove the embellishments that gave printed text any meaningful amount of life. And an insult to the importance of the name it's displaying.
She found her way to the blank text message screen and stared at it for a long moment. What was she supposed to say? How do her peers do this all the time? Did they find interrogating themselves on how not to make a fool of themselves over text an enjoyable activity?
She took a deep breath. Hm, what would Enid do?