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Wednesday hadn’t meant to fall asleep. In fact, she had been actively working on staying awake for days now – ever since she had had the worst vision of her life – which was most likely exactly why her body had betrayed her that night. Even an Addams couldn’t just forgo sleep entirely, no matter how desperate Wednesday was not to dream.
It was maybe the third time since then that Wednesday had gotten any sleep whatsoever, and none of the other times had lasted long before the nightmares started. Wednesday usually enjoyed nightmares and everything that came with them, but these were different in all the worst ways, and she despised and feared them in equal manner.
This time, it started out fine, if a bit boring. Wednesday was in their dorm, reading a book though no words actually entered her mind; but then she heard a bloodcurdling scream. She rushed outside to the balcony – usually a place of peace and serenity – and found herself face to face with the worst scene she had ever had to see. Her heart shattered on impact, and she was left terrified and in unbelievable pain.
Enid was there, lying on the stone floor and looking even paler than Wednesday usually did, especially with all of the blood surrounding her. Her head wasn’t even attached to her body anymore, but her eyes were still wide open, unseeingly staring at Wednesday. Her mouth was open and there was even more blood seeping from it. A crow was drinking the blood from her headless shoulders and more birds sat perched on her body, waiting for their turn and screaming; something Wednesday somehow couldn’t do.
She was frozen in place, unable to do anything to save the girl she loved, and she somehow knew that this was all her own fault, that she had somehow caused all of this. She couldn’t remember how, exactly, but she knew that it was the truth, and it hurt, more than anything else ever had.
Wednesday felt sick, and that hadn’t happened in years. She was also crying, the tears burning as they left her eyes. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stand there and watch Enid’s equally unmoving corpse. It was, by far, the worst moment of her entire life. She would have rather died herself – permanently this time – than see Enid dead. Since it was too late to save her now, Wednesday knew that she would be following her into death soon, if not by choice then when the family curse took its toll.
Very distantly, Wednesday was aware that she was sobbing openly. She could also feel her mouth moving, repeating Enid’s name over and over again without any sound coming out. She wanted to scream, but that was impossible. She wanted to die, to escape this terrible pain, but she also knew that she didn’t deserve the sweet relief of death, at least not yet. She had to suffer, the same way Enid had – and tenfold. She hadn’t managed to die in her stead, so now she had to pay the price for that, just as soon as she could move again.
Then again, maybe it was part of her penance to be stuck in place, her eyes firmly fixed on Enid’s corpse so she had to take in every minute detail until she was certain she would never forget it, that the image would never so much as blur or fade from her breaking mind. She was certain it would follow her even beyond her own death.
Hours must have passed before her paralysis finally gave way to exhaustion and she crumbled, crashing to the ground with a tortured scream that had been building up the entire time. She screamed and screamed, until her throat was burning and her lungs stung. By the end, there was nothing but a hoarse rasp leaving her mouth, but even then her lips couldn’t stop forming Enid’s name. They likely never would, even in death.
At that point, Wednesday had no idea that this was all just a dream. She should have known, but she wasn’t in her right mind from grief so she missed all of the signs. All she knew was pain and suffering, and not the good kind. She was stuck, kneeling by Enid’s side, torn between wanting to clutch her body and hold her close, and not wanting to disturb her, even if there was no one left to disturb in that empty, lifeless form.
But then, just as she was about to sink into that dark abyss in her mind, something pulled Wednesday out of her grief-stricken trance. She didn’t know what happened exactly, but she suddenly became aware that this was all just a nightmare and that Enid’s mutilated corpse wasn’t real.
Wednesday woke with a start, sitting up in her bed and shaking from the adrenaline rush still coursing through her body. It took her a moment to figure out where she was and that she wasn’t still stuck in that nightmarish hellscape. She made sure that there wasn’t actually blood on her hands and had to blink several times at her clean hands, just to be sure.
Then her head snapped almost violently to the side, her eyes desperately searching the room for Enid. Each moment that passed without seeing her made Wednesday’s heart race faster and by the time her eyes reached Enid’s bed, her sight was clouded by tears. There was a lump on the bed that Wednesday thought was just Enid, sleeping peacefully, but then she looked closer and a fresh wave of panic hit her.
Enid was supposed to be in her bed because this had all just been a terrible dream, but she wasn’t, and that meant that something had gone terribly wrong. Wednesday couldn’t breathe. No matter how much air she sucked into her lungs, it was never enough. Everything was spinning. She was dizzy. It was terrifying.
Wednesday didn’t want to be alone, certainly not without Enid. It was terrifying. It was sickening. Wednesday nearly fell out of her bed in her rush to find Enid, still clinging to the fading hope that Enid was fine and that she had just left her bed for whatever reason. Maybe she had just needed some air, or the bathroom, and Wednesday wouldn’t stumble over her lifeless body as soon as she made it through their window.
The blanket was tangled around Wednesday’s legs so she couldn’t move the way she wanted to. She tripped, and just like that, the floor was rapidly coming closer. She barely had enough time to bring her hands in front of her face before it would have made painful contact with the hardwood boards.
But the expected crash never came.
Instead, a pair of deceptively strong arms caught Wednesday’s flailing body and lifted her back onto her bed. Her first instinct, of course, was to fight off her unseen attacker, but then the familiar scent of Enid’s perfume and shampoo filled her nose and Wednesday finally relaxed a little. She was still full of panic and adrenaline, but her mind was finally starting to see reason again. Enid’s voice – also terrified, but still much stronger than Wednesday was feeling – managed to pull her free further.
“Are you alright? What happened? You were saying my name and crying, and then you just kind of collapsed…”
Wednesday wanted to tell her that she was fine, and then shut the conversation down completely, but she couldn’t bring herself to push Enid away. Her arms were so warm and steady, and Wednesday’s body leaned into them without her mind’s consent. After just a moment of resistance, she even rested her head against Enid’s chest so she could listen to her steady and very much alive heart.
Enid didn’t act like she minded and made absolutely no attempt to push Wednesday away, but she also wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to react so her hands hesitated a bit before moving across Wednesday’s back soothingly. Neither of them was used to this, but after a few moments of adjusting, it all felt strangely natural.
“I can’t lose you!”
She hadn’t meant to say that, but her mind was still recovering from the nightmare and from her exhaustion so the words somehow slipped out anyway. This didn’t usually happen, but Enid was the exception to pretty much all of Wednesday’s rules so that really shouldn’t have surprised her. It also shouldn’t have surprised Enid, though it clearly did because she started stammering as soon as Wednesday said it. It took Enid several attempts before she finally managed to form actual sentences.
“Of course you’re not going to lose me, why would you even think that? You’re my best friend, and that’s not going to change just because I’ve been hanging out with the pack more, I promise!”
By now, it was obvious that Enid was just as scared as Wednesday was, and that Wednesday would have to open up to her if she ever wanted to move past this horrible fear. It should have been easy – it would have been, for someone like Enid, someone who was open to their own emotions – but Wednesday still couldn’t actually say what she needed to say.
At first, no sounds came out of her mouth whatsoever when she opened it, but Enid knew her well enough to give her the space to try again. It always surprised her how understanding Enid could sometimes be, even while she clearly had no idea what was going on. Wednesday owed her the truth at the very least in exchange, but the best she could do in that moment was just to let Enid know that she hadn’t fully understood her without actually clearing anything up.
“That’s not what I’m talking about…”
That wasn’t actually the full truth because Wednesday very much did worry that Enid would eventually leave her behind now that she had new and probably much better friends, but it certainly wasn’t her biggest fear around losing Enid. She also didn’t feel like getting into all of those details at the moment, so she decided to just focus on the most important part. They could always come back to discussing their friendship later, once Enid’s life was no longer in immediate danger.
She hadn’t said much yet, but something in her tone must have given away how serious this all was, because Enid somehow grew even softer. She was fully cuddling Wednesday at this point, and Wednesday was letting her and even curling into Enid’s warm embrace. She was also hiding her face in Enid’s shoulder, at least until Enid moved her hand to gently hold Wednesday’s cheek and push her away just barely far enough that they could look at each other.
Wednesday was still avoiding direct eye contact with Enid, but their position instantly felt a lot more intimate with just that small change regardless. Her breath caught in her throat and she blinked a few times, almost forgetting what they were even talking about because she was too busy getting lost in Enid’s eyes to think properly. But Enid remembered, and she continued the conversation almost as soon as her eyes met Wednesday’s.
“Then what are you talking about? You can tell me, you know. I just want to help you.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, which would have usually bothered Wednesday, but it somehow was exactly what she needed in that moment. Enid didn’t startle Wednesday, instead easing her back into the conversation. Unfortunately, that also meant that Wednesday remembered why she had been so upset in the first place, and her emotions started bubbling up again, more words coming with them.
“You died! First in my vision and then in that stupid prank, and now I can’t sleep without seeing it and I hate it! I don’t want you to die!”
She hadn’t meant to shout at Enid, but over a week of stress and exhaustion had taken its toll and now Wednesday didn’t have as much control over her volume as she would have liked. She regretted it instantly when Enid flinched back nearly hard enough to fall off the bed, clearly not expecting to be shouted at in the middle of the night, during what should have probably been a calm and quiet moment.
Luckily, it only took a moment for Enid to calm herself again, and just like that, she was close to Wednesday again, holding her and humming as she thought through everything Wednesday had just told her. Then she stopped rather suddenly, apparently having finally understood exactly what Wednesday was trying to tell her, and pulled her even closer. Her own voice was almost as loud as Wednesday’s had been.
“I’m right here, Wednesday! We’re both right here, and we’re both alive, and I promise I will do everything in my power to keep it that way!”
Never in her life would Wednesday have expected Enid to sound this serious and sincere, nor seen her face with such intensity in her eyes that it almost hurt to continue looking into them. Of course Wednesday still kept gazing into them regardless, but it was a bit uncomfortable. Enid was definitely worth the sacrifice, and so much more than that.
But after a while – it felt like a lifetime, but that seemed unlikely – Wednesday came to the conclusion that she wouldn’t be able to think as long as her mind was being monopolized by the fire in Enid’s eyes. It still took some effort to avert her gaze, and she almost felt bad for doing so even knowing that it had to be done.
Once Wednesday was free – at least her eyes were, her body was still held securely in Enid’s steady arms – her mind went into overdrive. Her fear still wasn’t fully gone, and she was decently sure that it would grow stronger again as soon as she lost her direct contact with Enid, so she held on with everything she had. Her mind was still racing, and so was her heart. There was so much going on within her that she couldn’t fully control her words.
“Maybe we should stick closer together until this is all over, just in case…”
That definitely wasn’t what she had meant to say, though it was exactly what she had been thinking all week. It was very revealing, and had Wednesday been talking to anybody else, she would have started back-pedalling instantly, but there was something about Enid that made opening up easier and far less painful. Her exhaustion and strangely emotional state most likely also added to it.
Meanwhile, Enid was clearly going through something of her own, though seemingly nothing nearly as painful as what Wednesday’s mind was playing through. Instead, she looked almost excited, with just a hint of apprehension hidden somewhere deep within her expression. Just half a year ago, Wednesday wouldn’t have picked up on it at all, but she was getting quite good at reading Enid, even with their recent distance keeping them further apart than they had been the year before.
Wednesday just kept watching her, waiting for a response and trying to figure out all of the tiny expressions crossing Enid’s face. She could have spent hours just looking at Enid and memorizing every single detail. Instead, only a few moments passed this way before Enid’s voice broke the now almost comfortable silence between them.
“That sounds like a great idea, even if it probably means you’ll drag me into anther one of your investigations…”
Enid sounded a bit dejected when she trailed off at the end, but she was still looking at Wednesday, so it probably wasn’t anything too bad. Regardless, Wednesday still decided to make sure instead of just moving on with the conversation like she would have with anybody else.
“Are you sure you don’t mind? You don’t seem particularly interested in spending time with me lately. You seem much closer to the pack nowadays…”
And now Wednesday sounded like a petulant child, great. She genuinely just wanted to make sure Enid wasn’t still upset, but some of the emotions she had been suppressing all week seeped into her voice. It felt strange to speak with this much emotion in her voice, but at this point, Wednesday was used to experiencing strange and new things around Enid.
It should have been fine, but she still felt a bit uncomfortable with the way Enid was looking at her now. Her expression was somewhere between a smile and something stranger she couldn’t identify but that felt weirdly like mocking amusement and pity, neither of which Wednesday wanted.
She should have probably just suffered through the discomfort, or maybe said something else before Enid could respond, but Wednesday couldn’t bring herself to do either. Instead, she forced her blood not to rush to her face and turned away as much as she could without leaving Enid’s arms. She even hid her face in her pillow, though she made sure her ears stayed free so she could hear what Enid was going to say next.
“Aww, don’t worry, you’re still my favourite! I’ve just been spending a lot of time with them because I finally can, plus I just really don’t like Agnes, and she’s always around you now…”
As soon as Enid started talking, Wednesday regretted not covering her ears as well. She just couldn’t help but feel like Enid was mocking her, at least at first. If there was one thing she couldn’t handle, it was being treated like a child, and here Enid was, doing exactly that, and there was nothing Wednesday could do about it. Sure, she could have fought back in some way, but for some reason, she didn’t mind nearly as much when it was Enid.
Once she managed to look past that patronizing treatment, Wednesday actually managed to listen to everything else Enid was saying. As this went on, much of Wednesday’s discomfort was replaced by understanding and even relief. There was also the bitter aftertaste of guilt as she realized exactly how much she had been disregarding her friend’s comfort, apparently seemingly for the sake of someone she didn’t even care about. She was going to fix that, though.
“If she makes you this uncomfortable, I will set stricter boundaries with her. You could have just said that, though; you know I would choose you over her any day, right?”
Until a few minutes ago, Wednesday hadn’t thought she would have to actually say any of this out loud. To her, it had been completely obvious that Enid was her priority and that Agnes was nothing but a means to an end, but now it looked like Enid hadn’t seen it that way. Wednesday was hit by another wave of guilt and regret at the realization, one that only grew stronger at Enid’s response.
“I didn’t actually know that… And for the record, I’d pick you over the pack, too.”
That last sentence hit Wednesday like an arrow to the shoulder, though not nearly as unpleasant. In fact, she hadn’t been this happy in a long time. It was a bit sickening, but mostly it just made her feel strangely alive. But even with this added reassurance, Wednesday still couldn’t fully believe what Enid was saying, at least not without asking for clarification.
“Even Bruno? He seems rather important to you.”
Wednesday might have sounded a bit whiny and upset again, she just couldn’t help it. There was just something about that boy that she really didn’t like, and she was pretty sure that it was more than just simple jealousy, even if that was definitely a large part of it. Mostly she was just concerned about Enid’s wellbeing, and Bruno posed a threat to that, even if it didn’t really look like it at first glance.
There was simply no way of knowing what his true intentions were and how he was going to treat Enid in the future. It was relatively unlikely that their relationship – if that was even what it was, Wednesday didn’t feel like asking for clarification – wasn’t going to work out, and then Enid would be left heartbroken. Of course, Wednesday would gladly help her pick up the pieces, but she would still prefer it if things never got that far in the first place.
Her main worry regarding that was that it was already too late. Enid was with Bruno pretty much constantly, endangering her fragile heart and neglecting Wednesday all at once. But she was allowed to make her own choices, of course, so Wednesday wasn’t going to argue the point. She just mentally prepared herself for Enid saying that Bruno was more important than her and hoped her disappointment wouldn’t be too obvious once Enid’s inevitable rejection came.
“Yes, even Bruno. Sure, it’s nice to be wanted and included like that, but all of that stuff with him is just some fun, it doesn’t really matter. You matter to me, more than anyone else, and definitely more than some boy! You have nothing to be jealous about here, I promise.”
Wednesday had been so convinced that Enid would reject her that it took her a moment to figure out what she was actually saying. Once she did, she could have sobbed from relief if she had been a more emotional person. Instead, she allowed one corner of her mouth to tick up slightly. Then, just as Wednesday was about to gratefully accept this explanation, Enid said her last sentence and Wednesday’s relief switched to indignant defensiveness.
“I am not jealous!”
It was highly unusual for Wednesday to do anything like shout, but now she couldn’t help herself. She also flinched back out of Enid’s arms, once again barely avoiding falling out of her bed. When she got settled again not long after, her and Enid were both sitting on her bed, facing each other. Their knees still bumped together every time one of them shifted, but aside from that, they weren’t touching each other anymore.
Wednesday missed the steady warmth of Enid’s body by her side more than she would have liked, but she still made no attempt to get closer to her again. Instead she just glared at Enid and focussed on not blushing at her completely unfounded accusation, an effort that only got harder when Enid responded to Wednesday’s outburst with an unexpected confession.
“Whatever you say. To be fair, I was kind of jealous too when you started replacing me with that creepy weirdo stalker…”
That shouldn’t have made Wednesday happy, especially because it was based almost entirely on a misconception, but a part of her still rejoiced when Enid confessed her jealousy. At least this way Wednesday had more evidence that Enid genuinely wanted to keep her around, even now that the pack had finally accepted her as one of their own.
Until now, a part of her had always assumed that Enid humoured her largely out of convenience and because she didn’t have any better options, and that she would move on as soon as someone more like her came along. Clearly, she had misjudged her, at least in that regard. That was a relief as well.
But respite wasn’t the only thing Wednesday felt at Enid’s words. There was also something akin to righteous anger bubbling up under the surface. She had laboured and suffered, had gone through hell for Enid, apparently all just to have her sacrifices so grossly misinterpreted. She could concede that she maybe hadn’t communicated her thoughts to Enid as well as she could have, but at the very least it should have been obvious that she merely tolerated Agnes as long as she was useful to her investigations, and that she held no affection for the younger girl.
For a moment, that relief and rage battled for dominance in Wednesday’s mind. She wasn’t particularly good at dealing with conflicting emotions even under ideal circumstances, and now she was exhausted and confused, so she couldn’t do much more than sit back and wait to see which feeling would win out.
In the end, it didn’t take long for the score to settle. The positive emotions put up a surprisingly strong fight, but they simply couldn’t keep up with the burning waves of anger that flooded through Wednesday’s mind. The rage sputtered out of her almost explosively.
“I wasn’t replacing you, I was trying to keep you safe! The only reason I let her come along on my investigation instead of you is because I don’t care if she gets hurt, not the way I do with you.”
They were both breathing heavily, basically panting at each other at this point. It would have been exhilarating if the situation hadn’t been so dire and if Wednesday hadn’t been as desperate to make Enid understand. It was pretty confusing but Enid didn’t look upset anymore so Wednesday figured that whatever was going on couldn’t be too bad, all things considered. They had definitely been in worse states before.
Wednesday was just starting to think that the only response to her words she was going to get would be Enid staring ad her with an intense something she couldn’t quite identify, when the world suddenly shifted around her. For just a moment, she thought she was being attacked, but then she realized that it was so much better than that.
Because Enid was kissing her, and it was perfect. Their teeth clashed together painfully and Wednesday didn’t have time to prepare herself or even just catch her breath, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way. After all, this showed her how enthusiastic – how desperate – Enid was to kiss her, and for some reason, Wednesday really liked that.
One of Enid’s hands was clinging to Wednesday’s shoulder, her claws not extended but her fingertips digging into her skin hard enough to leave bruises, while her other hand, now holding Wednesday’s face in place, was surprisingly gentle. She had moved so fast that both of them had fallen over and Enid was pinning Wednesday down onto her now thoroughly messy bed.
It all happened extremely fast, but Wednesday wouldn’t have tried to stop it even if she could have. She was more than happy to let Enid do whatever she wanted to do to her, especially if that meant letting her kiss her like that. She didn’t have much experience but she could still tell that Enid was an amazing kisser, even if she was maybe a bit overenthusiastic. In fact, Wednesday didn’t actually mind Enid’s intensity at all, not even when her fangs started to come out and cut up Wednesday’s lips and tongue.
But just as Wednesday was starting to get used to all of those new sensations and even reciprocate the kiss, Enid suddenly pulled away again. She was saying something, or at least trying to, and she moved just as rapidly as she had before. But this time, Wednesday reacted faster than she did when the kiss started.
When Enid’s head moved back, Wednesday followed it, even pushing past the hand that was still holding her cheek. Their lips were only apart for a few seconds at most before Wednesday caught up with Enid’s movements and kissed her like she should have done in the first place. It only took Enid a moment to return it, and all too soon, they were both melting into another kiss.
This one wasn’t nearly as rushed or violent as the first had been. Instead, there was more gentleness in their movements than Wednesday would have thought she could possibly enjoy. It was still a bit clumsy and Wednesday still wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing, but that didn’t matter because it all just felt incredibly right.
Judging by the small pleased noises she was making and the way she pushed back into the kiss, Enid felt the same way as Wednesday did. Wednesday was most likely making similar sounds but that seemed like the least important thing in the world right now. Enid’s soft lips and even softer tongue were far more important.
At some point during the kiss, Wednesday somehow ended up in Enid’s lap with her legs wound around Enid’s hips and her arms resting on her shoulders so she could play with her hair while they kissed. It was even softer than it looked, and Wednesday had just enough mental clarity to lightly tug at it while she kept kissing Enid. That got increasingly amazing reactions out of her.
Enid was already holding Wednesday around her waist, and now she tightened her grip and pulled Wednesday deeper into her body so they were pressed flush against each other. Her fingers were digging into Wednesday’s back now, and if she hadn’t liked the way Enid’s body felt against her own so much, she would have pushed herself back into those surprisingly comforting fingers that she just couldn’t get enough of – not that she wanted to.
Wednesday finally understood why so many people enjoyed kissing and physical contact as much as they did. Now that she knew what it felt like to have Enid’s lips against her own and her tongue invading and exploring her mouth, she knew she was addicted, and that she would give nearly anything to ensure Enid would kiss her again.
They went back and forth for what might have been seconds or days – Wednesday really had no way of telling how much time passed – exchanging kisses and holding each other in ways Wednesday refused to admit she had thought about – and even longed for – more than once before. Wednesday would have gladly spent the rest of her life right there, held safely in Enid’s arms and locking lips with her, and since Enid made no attempt to remove herself from the situation, they were most likely in the same boat in that regard.
She really hoped that they would keep doing this for the foreseeable future, and that there would be a repeat performance soon, and then countless more after that. But asking Enid would require breaking their kiss, so she filed all of that away for later and just kept the kiss going, even deepening it some more, just because she could.
More time passed that way, and by the time the first rays of sunshine started peeking through their window and bathing half of the room in rainbows, they had shifted again. Enid was on her back, resting comfortably on Wednesday’s black pillows, with Wednesday draped across her front, still enjoying her kisses and breathing in her scent. They had slowed down a bit at this point, mostly because they were both clearly exhausted, but they also refused to stop outright.
They didn’t actually pull themselves apart from each other until after Enid’s third alarm had gone off and they were already running late for their first class. Even then, they only fully gave up their physical contact long enough to change into their uniforms and held hands the rest of the time.
For the rest of the day, they kept sneaking glances – and kisses – whenever they could. People stared and talked, but Wednesday barely even noticed any of that because she was too preoccupied with Enid to pay attention to anything else. She spent most of the school day in a haze until the bell rang at the end of the last class and she could follow Enid back to their room, where she was greeted by another breathtaking kiss.
After another hour or so spent making out, Wednesday finally managed to gather enough mental strength to pull back a bit so they could actually talk about things. By the end of that only slightly awkward conversation, Wednesday officially had a girlfriend and they could happily go back to making out with each other.