Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tyler was used to being met by fear. Frightened expressions and shocked gasps were everyday fare. Not even his father had been able to hide how scared he was, letting worry and disgust shine through every time he looked at his son. Tyler's early memories were shaded by that gaze, judging him way before he deserved to be judged.

So the reactions from the students at Nevermore Academy when he walked through the gates were nothing new. He saw them ducking behind bannisters and tables, scared he would attack. He smelled their fear as they trembled at the mere sight of him. He heard their whispers in the shadows. "Is that the Hyde?" they asked. "What is he doing here?" they wondered.

In the middle of the foyer, he stopped, glaring at the cowards from underneath unkempt curls. Their fear was nothing to him. He thrived on it. He certainly wasn't scared of them, their chuckles, and their cliques. He was scared of nothing anymore, because he'd already lost everything.

"Come on, Tyler," Capri urged him, holding the door to her office open. "No need to dilly dally."

With a last sneer toward the spectators on the stairs above, he quickened his step, escaping the looks and whispers.

"They'll come around eventually," Capri assured him, closing the door behind them. "There will, of course, be a bit of a learning curve for everyone to have you and the other rehabilitating students around, but I believe that by the end of the semester, everyone will understand the benefits of my program. Because I believe all outcasts should be included and given a chance at an education."

"Even the lost causes," Tyler muttered, inspecting the room he's been brought into. It certainly fit the gothic aesthetic of the school, with dark wood furniture crafted in another century, chandeliers that swayed in the slight draft from the windows, and a crackling fireplace resembling the mouth of a screaming giant.

"I don't believe there to be any lost causes," the principal stated with conviction in her voice. "There are only misunderstood and abused outcasts or ones that haven't been able to control their power."

"What am I?" he asked, lifting a wolf figurine from the desk and twirling it carelessly in the air.

Capri snatched the wolf statue from his grip. "You are what you want to be, Tyler," she proclaimed. "Your past does not define you."

"Tell that to the people out there..." He nodded toward the staircase outside. He could still hear the whispers through the door. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Tell that to yourself. If you believe it, others will believe it too." She took a seat behind the big desk at the end of the room, which appeared to swallow her whole. "Sit down, and we will go through the conditions of your enrollment here."

Tyler did as he was told. Years of obeying masters made it difficult for him to rebel. He sat down on a chair opposite the desk. His stance was tentative, balancing on the edge of the seat rather than sinking into it. If anything seemed amiss about the arrangements, he was ready to bail. Where he didn't know, but anywhere away from the fearsome gasps at the sight of him.

"These are the rules all students need to abide by," Capri started, putting a paper with bullet points in front of Tyler. "And these are the additional rules for students in the rehabilitation program."

"You don't trust us?" he spat out, putting his hands on the armrest as he prepared to get the heck out of there. He didn't need more rules and chains.

"I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't trust you," Capri replied, her soothing British lilt making him lean back in his seat again. "But the other students need to learn to trust you as well. It will take time, and some guidelines for your interactions with them may be a good start."

Tyler snatched the paper from the desk, scanning the rules he would have to agree to.

"You will all live in your own dorm, and there will be a curfew between 10 pm and 6 am every day." It seemed Capri didn't trust his reading abilities as she started to recap the list.

"We'll be locked in?" His chest went tight as he remembered the clicks of the locks at the asylum.

The principal shook her head, red curls rustling against her blazer. "It will be on a trust basis," she assured him. "But if you are reported to be outside the dorms at night, there will be immediate repercussions. And the same goes for if you miss classes."

Tyler nodded, still reading through the list. He supposed the rules made sense, and it wasn't like anyone would want to hang out with him after school hours anyway. It may be nice to get eight hours of respite from the frightened looks.

"You'll of course wear the school's uniform." A neat pile of folded clothes appeared on the desk, making Tyler wonder if Capri had a stock of them underneath. There were pants, button-downs, blazers, and ties. "If they don't fit, the school has a seamstress who can adjust them for you."

A whiff of lilac-scented fabric softener tickled his nose when he lifted the pile from the desk. The plaid fabric of the blazer was smooth against his fingers, making him briefly remember gently touching a shoulder clad in it before diving in for a kiss. He pushed the memory away before it could hurt him. He would truly look like one of them now, even if they wouldn't accept him. "I'm sure they'll be fine," he mumbled, wondering if the seamstress would be able to mend items ripped if his inner Hyde broke loose.

"And there are also these." A pair of metal cuffs clanked onto the desk. Capri looked wide-eyed at Tyler, waiting for him to react.

"You said no more chains," he growled, because that's what she'd promised him when he'd left the Hyde tribe to come with her to Nevermore. She'd promised him freedom and community. He'd agreed for those reasons and more.

"These are not chains," she explained, showcasing one of the circular objects to him. "The cuffs will pick up your position at all times and also monitor your vitals, so that we can catch any signs of you transforming, which would put your fellow students at risk."

"Sounds a lot like chains to me." Tyler rose, picking up the remaining cuff. He didn't possess the full strength of the Hyde in his human form, but if he wanted to, the metal would be easily squashed between his fingers.

"It's for your own safety," Capri argued in vain. "So that you won't get accused of anything. If that happens, I can check your records."

"But you won't check the data otherwise?" he asked, bouncing the cuff against the desk.

"I won't, I promise."

He wasn't sure he believed her. He wanted to, but he'd believed in maternal figures before and been let down.

Holding up the metal ring to the light, he inspected the construction. "There are no... shock effects involved?" he asked cautiously, remembering the collar they put on him to hinder his transformations.

"No shocks or other punishment. It's only a safety measurement. And you can remove them at any time."

He exhaled, giving in because any other decision meant giving up. "I suppose I have no other option," he said, unclasping the lock and threading the ring across his left wrist before snatching the remaining cuff out of Capri's grip. After donning that device as well, he declared, "Done," and held up both hands in the air in an act of surrender.

"I'm glad you agree to follow our rules. I understand it will be a lot for you to begin with, but I'm assured you will acclimatise shortly."

Tyler scoffed. He wasn't as sure as she was. He didn't believe he would ever be one of them. But except for with the tribe, he would be an outcast anywhere he went. Here, he would at least be an outcast among outcasts.

"Are we done here?" he asked, tired of having rules dictated to him.

She nodded, lighting up into an encouraging smile. He didn't return it. He didn't remember the last time he smiled. "Let's go meet your mentor, a fellow student who will show you around and act as a support system for you. He'll start by showing you to the dorms."

Great, another babysitter. "Sounds lovely..." Tyler muttered.

Walking ahead of him, Capri held the door open. She nodded toward someone waiting outside. "I'll be with you shortly, Miss Sinclair," she said. "And we'll go through the conditions of the rehabilitation program."

Peaking outside, Tyler spotted familiar streaks of rainbow-colored hair. She didn't acknowledge him, staring at the floor as if she was ashamed of being there. What could Enid possibly have done to end up in the lost cause program along with him?

When she lifted her gaze, she gaped widely as she recognized him. "Tyler..." she growled, her werewolf side making itself known. "What are you doing here? It's your damn fault I'm ever here!"

When claws came out, ready to slice him into beef stew, Capri ushered Enid into her office. "I'll check on you later, Mr Galpin," she assured him with a hand on his shoulder. "Your mentor should be here shortly."

Not quite knowing what to do or how to act, Tyler surveyed the staircase around him. He could smell a couple of students hiding behind the bannister. Brave enough not to run at the sight of him, but not brave enough to face him. They smelled of beeswax and roadkill. He knew who they were. They'd both been victims of his crimes. He'd spared them, but not on purpose.

As he approached their hiding place, hurried steps echoed as the boys skittered across the thick carpet. He supposed it would only be a matter of time before she—the one who'd spared him, on purpose or not—would be told of his arrival.

Chapter Text

The door to the dorm room creaked open, like everything else at this school it originated in another century, and it showed. Tyler looked cautiously at the bars across the windows.

"Those are not for you," Ajax, the daft snakehead who Tyler had been assigned as mentor, noted. If even he could read Tyler like an open book, then he truly must be wearing his emotions on his sleeve. "I mean, they were here before the school was. Some rich bloke built this castle long ago, and I guess this wing was prison cells or something like that. He was up to some crazy shit."

"Lovely..." Tyler mumbled, going up to the window to shake the bars. They were rigid, but if necessary, he could break them, or at least his Hyde could. "So Capri decided this was the perfect place for us lost causes then. A prison to keep the monsters locked in at night."

Ajax shrugged, looking as clueless as ever. His eyes darted toward the door, as if he didn't like Tyler standing between him and it.

"You're scared of me," he noted, sitting down on the bed to ensure Ajax had an escape route.

"I'm not..." Ajax mumbled, moving toward the door while still keeping his eyes peeled on Tyler. His actions spoke louder than his words.

"You are," Tyler concluded. "It's alright. Everyone is." He leaned against the wall behind the bed, feeling something akin to peace as he looked around his room. It wasn't much. A bed. A desk. A wardrobe. Musty walls and damp floors. But it was the closest he'd had to a home in a long while.

"I'm not scared of you," Ajax bravely repeated from the doorway. "I'm afraid of the Hyde. I've seen it before. It's terrifying."

"Well, I am the Hyde. So I guess I'm terrifying then."

Ajax didn't respond, looking confused by the logic. It didn't seem to be his forte to think beyond the obvious.

"You could just turn me into stone if I attacked." Tyler nodded toward Ajax's head, where the petrifying snakes hid.

"I need to be quick enough for that, though. I mean, I tried it last year, it... you... got away."

"Well, I'm not the Hyde right now, so you should be safe." Tyler rose, impatiently roaming around the small room.

"Capri left you some stuff in the drawers." Ajax nodded toward the dresser by the bed.

Pulling out the drawers, Tyler found some neatly folded T-shirts and even unopened packs of underwear and socks. Someone was taking their maternal duties a bit too seriously. Although, except for the jeans and green hoodie he was wearing, he didn't own any clothes to wear outside of school. Opening the wardrobe, he also found more hoodies and jeans, along with a few muted colored flannels.

Only pull the trigger when you're sure you won't miss.

Donovan's voice echoed in his head, brought forward by the plaid fabric. That's what they had always worn when going deer hunting together. Those were the only times when his father didn't seem scared of him.

"Tyler... are you alright?" Ajax's voice jolted Tyler back to the dorm room. He found himself clasping red-and-black plaid fabric, his hand shaking in anger.

"I'm fine," Tyler growled, making Ajax jump backward. He turned swiftly, accidentally tearing a piece off the sleeve of the flannel. Ajax held up his hands in surrender, afraid he'd poked the Hyde lurking underneath. Apparently, it hadn't crossed his mind to instead pull off his hat to defend himself through the snakes.

"I'm not going to attack." Tyler sighed, swallowing the bitterness in his throat that rose every time he thought of his father. While he was used to being met with fear, it did get tiring at times. He fingered the cuff around his wrist, supposed to assure students of his trustworthiness. They didn't seem to do their job so far.

Ajax nodded, but his frightened gaze betrayed that he didn't quite believe Tyler's word. "I'm not afraid," he mumbled, while exuding fear from every pore. He took a deep breath, pulling down his hat to assure himself the snakes were still there.

"We should get going, though, can't be late for your first day at work."

"Work?"

"Yeah, didn't Capri tell you all students in the rehabilitation program will be given jobs on campus to integrate with the rest of the students?

Tyler shook his head. "She may have failed to mention that part..."

Closing the wardrobe door, Tyler's gaze fell on something on the windowsill behind it. To most people, it may seem like nothing but trash, but to him, it had a hidden meaning. A wilted black rose was left behind, almost crumbling in his hands when he picked it up. His grip was tender as he inspected the item. Was it a gift to wish him welcome?

"Are you coming?" Ajax wondered from the hallway.

"Right there with you," Tyler mumbled, quickly shuffling the flower into a desk drawer for a keepsake. He would take a closer look at it later.

A brisk walk down winding stairs later, Tyler stared in disbelief at his new workplace. The smell was all too familiar, overwhelming his senses and overloading his memory bank. There were awful memories of she who had controlled him and enchanting memories of she who had cut his chains, all mixed together in one weird brew.

"The freaking coffee wagon?" He exclaimed. "That's where you want me to work?"

“Yeah,” Ajax shrugged, clueless of Tyler’s inner turmoil. He banged the side of the wagon, making the neon sign reading The Telltale Cafe blink precariously. “I guess Capri figured a familiar task may help you acclimatize." He picked up two purple aprons from behind the counter, throwing one toward Tyler. “It may be you showing me the ropes instead of the other way around here,” he chuckled.

Shaking his head, Tyler looked down at the purple fabric. At least it was a different color than the red ones of the Weatherwane.

Chapter Text

he plumes of fume from the uncooperative espresso machine rose higher as the line of students grew longer. Ajax had left to get more coffee beans from the storage room, so Tyler was on his own.

"Why don't you Hyde out to fix the issue?" someone yelled from the courtyard. Snickers followed.

"Give me a few minutes... if everyone just gets out of here!" Tyler snapped, banging his hands on the machine. The line dispersed, perhaps fearful he would in fact turn into his dark self.

A growl rose from his throat as he looked at the offending machine. The sound made the few customers still lingering nearby skitter away. At least he had some peace and quiet to solve the problem now.

It had to be the valve, just like at the Weatherwane. Tyler lifted the lid off the steaming machine, looking down at a maze of pipes. If he could only remember where that valve was... He searched his memory, scrambled from untrue words planted by she who used him for her bidding. His mind was a blood-soaked haze, where truth and lie blended together. The tribe had taught him techniques to separate reality from dream, but around traumatic moments, the line still blurred, and details were lost in the fog.

"It's the one to the left." Her voice, he'd never forgotten. The coffee beans had disguised her distinct scent of newly fallen snow and impending darkness, which seemed to linger in every corner of the school.

He'd known she'd be here. But still, he wasn't prepared for this encounter.

Kill...

He inhaled, stilling the voice in his head. He was in control of it now. He was his own master. Instead, he focused on the valve, turning the metal to tighten it while counting down from ten to calm himself.

It worked. The fume dispersed, and the machine cooperated once again.

When the smoke fell, he saw her. Black braids, dark lips, unflappable demeanor.

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

The voices in his head went haywire. So many layers of instructions to tune out his own will. He barely knew what lay beyond the echoes from the masters anymore. He knew Wednesday meant something to him, a lot even, but he didn't know whether as a foe or friend. Hate and love appeared indistinguishable from each other.

"I see you're back at your true calling," she quipped, not even recognizing his presence as something out of the ordinary. "The barista apron suits you."

He scoffed in reply, looking down at the purple cloth around his waist as he chased away the intrusive thoughts. Wednesday Addams didn't control him. She was just any other student.

"I thought I was only a subpar barista," he retorted, daring to meet her eyes as he challenged her previous statement. "With generic looks to boot."

"I lied," she replied, subtly lifting an eyebrow at the reference to the words she told him in the asylum. Words that were meant to hurt. "Now... what do I have to do to make you showcase those amazing barista skills?"

She failed to address whether her lie was only about his barista skills or also about his appearance. As he tried to gauge whether she was looking at him, perhaps grading his looks on a scale, he caught her gaze. Was there a hint of a smile, or was he imagining things? It wouldn't be the first time his mind played tricks on him. Determined not to get caught in games he didn't master, Tyler clanked his hands on the now-working espresso machine. "You want your usual?"

She raised her other eyebrow, perhaps surprised he remembered. Admittedly, there was a lot of stuff he'd forgotten from that time, and a lot of stuff he did remember that he'd rather forget, but not her, not her order at the Weatherwane.

"Two pumps of espresso," he said. "The darkest brew."

"No milk, no sugar," she filled in, wrinkling her nose in disgust at such frills.

"No milk, no sugar," he repeated, sliding her already poured cup across the counter. He, if anyone, knew not to serve sweet delights to Wednesday Addams.

She grabbed the cup, letting her gaze linger on the cuff around his wrist, which had become visible underneath his shirt sleeve.

"You're back in shackles as well," she noted. "Suits you."

He sighed, pulling down his sleeves to cover the metal around his wrists. "It's part of the deal with Capri," he said. "I agreed to wear them."

"Why?" she asked, tilting her head. "I figured you were done with chains by now."

"It's for my own safety as much as everyone else's, so I won't be accused of anything. If I want a chance at a future, it's what I need to do."

She cocked her head the other way. "Do you have a future, Tyler? I thought Hydes burned bright and brief."

No hesitation. Straight for the jugular. As was her style.

"I guess that's what I get for trying to beat the odds," he muttered, suddenly very interested in a stain on his apron.

"No offense, I enjoy doomed fates. Romeo and Juliet. Eurydice and Orpheus. Frankenstein. All the good stories end with tragic early demises." She took a sip of her coffee. Did he imagine a spark in her eye as the brew tasted just right?

She turned on her heel, getting ready to leave. He couldn't let her. "Wednesday," he murmured. "Can you just tell me one thing?"

She spun back. "Depends what the thing is."

He lowered his voice, making sure only she heard his query. "Why did you save me?"

"I told you I missed," she insisted.

"You never miss."

"Neither do you, and yet I didn't die in that asylum."

She turned to leave again. He wanted her to stay. He wanted to ask her so much more. But the words got stuck in his throat, overwhelmed by the lingering voices.

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

"Shut up," he yelled, banging his hands against his temples. The outburst caused a communal gasp across the courtyard, causing the gathered students to flee into staircases and walkways. Everyone but Wednesday Addams, who just kept walking while sipping on her coffee.

Tyler slumped down on the floor of the coffee van, escaping the sight of her to silence the voices. Draping a towel over the back of his head, he cut out the noise and judgment from outside as he tried to center himself.

"I guess I shouldn't have left you during rush hour," Ajax noted as he returned, slamming a crate of coffee beans down on the counter. "You look like you need a break."

Chapter Text

“I heard you had an outburst in the courtyard this morning.” Capri looked down at her laptop screen, where she undoubtedly had pages upon pages of records on Tyler Isaac Galpin already, given to her by the high school he was expelled from before his monstrous nature was revealed and the mental asylum he was brought to afterward.

“Who told you that?” he muttered, displeased to be called to the principal’s office on his first day of school. He’d hoped it would at least be a week. “Was it the snakehead who tattled?”

“Tyler.” Capri sighed, closing her laptop. “I could literally hear you screaming from my office.”

Oops.

“But I had a couple of students report it to me as well,” she continued. “They were afraid you were going to turn into a Hyde right in front of them.”

“The damn espresso machine just wouldn’t work. I didn’t mean to scare anyone.” That had just a convenient side effect.

“I’ll have someone take a look at that for you. But if the job at the Telltale Cafe is too stressful for you, Tyler, I can place you somewhere else.”

Tyler shook his head. While he’d never liked working at the Weatherwave—it was just the only place his dad could convince to give him employment after he got back from bootcamp—being a barista was at least something he was decent at. The orders were familiar. The smells were comforting. The customers were the same every morning.

So perhaps she would be there again.

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

Tyler palmed his forehead, inhaling deeply to chase away the intrusive thoughts. He didn’t have to obey anyone anymore, but the orders wouldn’t stop ringing, with no care for time and place. It was as if they were imprinted in his brain forever. The techniques he’d learned from the tribe made them fainter, but nothing seemed to be able to erase them.

“Are you alright, Tyler?” Capri asked him.

If only people would stop asking him that. Alright was not a state he recognized anymore. He couldn’t even imagine it. But still, he nodded in reply to her question, attempting a brave face to hide the mess behind it.

“I can keep you at the coffee wagon for now, but if I get any more reports of untoward behaviour, I may have to transfer you.” She picked up a bunch of papers depicting graphs and numbers from her desk. “I’m also a bit concerned about the data from your monitoring devices at the time. There seems to have been a prolonged spike in heart activity this morning.”

“You told me you wouldn’t look at those,” he growled through gritted teeth.

“Only if necessary is what I told you, and the reports of your outburst made it seem necessary to me. I can’t have a Hyde running around on campus.”

“I wasn’t about to transform, if that’s what you think. I can control it.”

He was quite sure of it at least. It had been many months since he’d last taken his Hyde form. He knew the signs of transformation, and he knew how to stop it. If he noticed in time, at least.

“So what warranted these spikes in heart rate then?”

“I told you, it was the damn broken espresso machine.”

She gave him a long look, as if looking right through him. She knew there was another answer. One he wouldn’t admit to. “If you say so,” Capri finally conceded. “I guess we just need to make sure that machine works properly going forward, and I won’t see any more spikes like this.”

Tyler was about to protest, to tell her to keep the hell away from his spiking heart rate caused by a certain customer. But he knew that if he appeared uncooperative, he might not serve any more morning coffee. “Are we done here?” he asked, rising to indicate that he certainly was finished with this discussion.

“You can go,” Capri agreed.

Tyler was out of there in mere seconds. When he heard the thick wooden door close behind him, he ripped off the cuffs from both wrists, crinkling them like a soda can in his palm. The noise was very satisfying. He was done with chains and surveillance, done with people meddling in his business, and done with people reading his emotions.

If Capri asked, he would tell her the damn espresso machine mangled the cuffs when he tried to tame it.

Chapter Text

Carrying a plate filled with microwave pizza, Tyler made his way toward the common room. It was after curfew, and he should probably be in bed, but since he harboured the combined caloric needs of a teenage boy and a monster, a nighttime snack was a must. Luckily, Capri had made sure the dorm wing reserved for the Lost Cause program was equipped with a well-stocked pantry.

He didn't think before entering the room. He figured everyone else was already asleep at this hour. So he didn't notice the peppy music filling the room or the purple and pink streaks of hair on the girl curled up on the couch. Not before it was too late. When he swiftly tried to turn, she had already spotted him.

"Tyler Galpin! Come back here!" Enid yelled, bouncing behind him to prevent his escape. At least she didn't appear to be scared of him, which was a rare occurrence these days. Perhaps the fact that she had once bested him in a fight made her confident she could do it again.

Ever since their encounter on the first day, he'd managed to avoid her, walking the other way when she approached or hiding in his room when the other students socialized. He'd actually done his homework, since he lacked other activities to amuse himself with in his self-chosen seclusion.

"Can you please just let me be?" he mumbled, holding his pizza up high enough in the air so the peppy werewolf couldn't reach it because he wouldn't put it past her to pettily snatch it out of his grasp.

Rainbow-colored claws whisked by. Tyler jumped backward to avoid them, narrowly avoiding dropping the pizza on the ground. "You fucking left her there! Buried alive. How could you do that?" She pointed her claws at his jugular.

He'd asked himself that very question many times. But his orders had been to obey his uncle, and breaking those chains had been impossible. Tyler was compelled to obey his master at every turn; that was the life of a Hyde. But he didn't have to tell them everything.

Tyler had not told Isaac about the scent of bubblegum and liquorice in the air that night.

"I had no choice," he retorted, trying to sneak past Enid to end the discussion. Colorful claws stopped him on both sides, locking him against the wall. While he didn't believe she was cold enough to actually use them on him, because Enid was not a monster like him, he didn't trust her not to slip in her agitated state. And he had enough scars already.

"Wednesday could have died. I had to wolf out to be able to dig her up in time. I was stuck as a wolf for months after that, unable to turn back."

"Then you know what it's like," he retorted. "To be a monster. To have no control."

"I'm not like you, Tyler."

"So why are you here then? We're both lost causes as far as I can tell."

"I killed a man," she confessed, her voice suddenly teary. The claws dropped, removing the treat. Stunned from the revelation, Tyler still didn't move from the wall. "He was evil. I could sense it. He came to the woods where I had made my lair, together with a young girl. I couldn't stop myself; my wolf acted on instinct. Before I knew it... I had ripped his heart out."

She looked down at her hands, as if she couldn't believe they had committed such an act. Such innocent hands—adorned with polish in every color of the rainbow—yet drenched in blood.

Tyler knew that feeling. He knew what it was like to suddenly stand in blood and guts, with no idea how you got there. "Sounds like he deserved it," he said, nudging her hand with his own. It looked just as innocent, but was even more blood-drenched.

Enid nodded cautiously, like she didn't quite believe it. "I suppose I did lose control, though. Every day out there, I felt more like an animal. That's when Wednesday came for me. She reminded me of who I am. She played K-pop and put up colorful banners in the woods. She even danced around in my clothes. She saved me."

"She saved me too." Their eyes met briefly, not shying away. They were not the same, but also not too different.

Enid took a step backward, allowing Tyler to move freely. "You can eat your pizza in the common room," she noted, a hint of a smile on her glossy lips."I won't mind. Unless you mind me playing K-pop, that is."

"I think I'll survive," he grunted. After everything he'd been through, he was quite sure K-pop couldn't be worse.

Chapter Text

Despite having layered a t-shirt, button-down, and hoodie underneath his school blazer, Tyler shivered. Hydes ran cold, and so did this damn school. A draft blew through the classroom, built way before proper isolation had been invented. It looked more like a church hall than a space used for education, with its high ceiling, arched entrances, and sculpted marbled statues of long-dead men in the corners. This was definitely a different kind of school than Jericho High, with its maze of linoleum floor corridors lit by fluorescent rods, where Tyler had last been subjected to schooling.

The subject was different as well. This was his first-ever class in the subject of Outcast History, and he had a lot to learn. So much in fact, that he'd been put in class with the younger students. Which was why he found himself surrounded by unruly and insufferable fourteen-year-olds. A couple of them had tried to take the empty seat next to him, probably on a dare from their friends to approach the Hyde, but as soon as he sneered at them that it was taken, they were long gone.

When the teacher stepped up to the pulpit, preparing to do roll call, Tyler turned to the chair beside him. "You can come out of hiding now," he said. "So you're not marked as absent."

A girl with red curls appeared beside him, giving him a puzzled look. She'd probably thought she was very stealthy.

"You smell like bubblegum and liquorice," he muttered, displeased to have a benchmate. "You're easy to distinguish even when I don't see you."

"I guess I've made quite an impression already, then?" She blinked with her wide eyes, looking at him with something akin to adoration. Something he didn't deserve.

"What are you doing here? Go play with some friends your own age." He waved his hand to make her scurry off, pointing toward some girls who looked like better playmates.

"I was hoping to be your friend," Agnes fiddled with her braids as she talked. She didn't appear scared but rather nervous.

"So why were you invisible then? Hard to befriend someone who can't see you."

"I figured maybe..." She looked down, trying to hide her embarrassment of being called out, "...if you didn't see me at first, I could appear right when you needed me."

"Why do you want to be my friend anyway? Haven't you heard? I'm a monster, a lost cause, an outcast of outcasts."

"I saw us as kindred spirits," she cooed, flapping her hands out excitedly. "We're both trying desperately to gain the attention of an Addams."

Tyler scoffed. "I'm not desperate. What gave you that idea? Wednesday Addams means nothing to me anymore, if she ever did. We're over."

Agnes looked at him with skepticism. "So you don't want to know more about the barista Taylor in her book, then? He brews the best coffee in the world and has the looks of a Greek god."

So much for his generic looks...

"I don't care," Tyler mumbled through gritted teeth while simultaneously pondering how to get his hands on that manuscript. Keen to change the subject, he turned the question back at Agnes. "I thought you and Wednesday were friends already, so why are you still desperate for her attention?"

He'd seen her at the hospital when waiting for Wednesday to wake up. The girl had tried on Wednesday's clothes and braided her hair. Which was a bit creepy, but there were worse things someone could do. Much, much worse.

Agnes chuckled, covering her mouth. A streak of pink colored her pale cheeks. "Wednesday isn't the one I covet. It's another Addams that has my heart." She nodded toward the other end of the classroom, where a boy clad in black-and white stripes accidentally zapped himself while poking his nose.

"Pugsley?!" Tyler exclaimed, a bit too loudly. The sound scared half the classroom, making a couple of students duck under their desks.

Agnes nodded, her cheeks now blossoming red.

"That Pugsley?" Pointing toward the boy in question, Tyler whispered as low as he could. But the notion was too absurd not to raise his voice slightly. "Why?"

"I guess he's... sweet, and cute, and a bit weird."

There was only one of those descriptors that Tyler would use to describe Wednesday's brother, and it wasn't sweet or cute. Pugsley was indisputably weird, though. Weird as hell.

"You called for me, Hyde." A decidedly weird boy, tall and gangly but with the features and naivety of a child, suddenly stood by the desk with an eager expression on his face.

"My name is Tyler, not Hyde..."

Agnes adapted a beaming smile, gazing up at the boy. "And I'm Agn—"

"Do you remember when you kidnapped me last year? That was so fun!" Completely ignoring, or not even seeing, the red-headed girl, Pugsley excitedly went on about his experience. "I even got to zap you! Like this!"

A small lighting buzz flew toward Tyler, making him hiss as it hit his shoulder. "Lay it off," he growled, feeling anger rising in his chest. The Hyde wanted to come out and play with Pugsley, but he wouldn't let it. Putting his left thumb on his right wrist, he massaged the area to center himself. This was not playtime.

Pugsley looked at Tyler with sparkling eyes, probably hoping he would transform before him.

Kill Pugsley Addams. Kill Pugsley Addams. Kill Pugsley Addams.

At least there were new lyrics to the orders than usual, spicing things up a bit.

The bubbling rage subsided. Tyler removed his hand from his wrist. He was in control. He had a choice.

"Pugsley Addams, will you please take your seat?" The teacher commanded from the pulpit.

Pugsley gave Tyler a disappointed look, probably let down he hadn't gotten to poke the Hyde, before obeying. Agnes looked at the boy dreamily as he walked away from them. Tyler shook his head in disbelief. Why was he suddenly the middleman in a ridiculous teenage romcom?

Chapter Text

Something was different this morning. There was a different tension in the air. When Tyler entered the cafeteria to grab breakfast before class, like he’d done every morning during his first week there, everyone turned the other way, gasping in fear. Walking through the sea of students was like parting the Red Sea; everyone fled at the mere sight of him. Having reached the breakfast buffet, Tyler looked around in confusion. Sure, people had given him weird looks every morning, but they hadn’t left their spot in line at the mere sight of him.

While shoveling bacon and eggs onto his plate, because teenage Hydes needed protein to fuel themselves, he tried to evaluate the situation. Even Ajax, who usually pitied Tyler with his company, gave Tyler cautious glances while whispering conspiratorially with Bianca. Agnes, who was always keen to give Tyler a way-too-detailed report on the latest developments in her wannabe romance with Pugsley, had turned invisible in a corner of the room, perhaps hoping her supposed friend wouldn’t notice her.

There had been no further incidents since Tyler’s talk with Capri, so he couldn’t understand what the sudden change in reception stemmed from. He’d even kept away from Wednesday Addams in fear of triggering inner conflicts he wasn’t ready to confront. While he’d served her coffee according to her preferences every morning, he’d dutifully refrained from any verbal duels.

When Tyler approached a half-occupied table to sit down, all the students fled. Which was convenient as it left plenty of sitting space for him, but also kind of rude. They could at least explain why his presence served as such a deterrent to them. Picking up a piece of bacon from the plate, he tried to make sense of the situation when a figure clad entirely in black whooshed in from the side, taking the seat opposite him.

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

A deep breath in muted the voices, for now at least.

“Good morn—” he started, puzzled by Wednesday’s sudden appearance at the table.

“A Hyde attacked people at a nearby campground last night,” she threw out. “Many are injured.”

“Oh…” he said. Suddenly, everyone’s reactions made a lot more sense. There weren’t any other Hydes around campus.

Wednesday lifted an eyebrow. He interpreted the gesture as a question.

“It wasn’t me.” He put up his hands in the air to declare his innocence.

Before she could reply, clanking from high heels echoed through the cafeteria. Tyler turned to see Capri—dressed in a pin-striped pant suit and steel-rimmed glasses, making him suspect she’d watched high school movies to figure out how a principal should look—walking toward him with a stern look on her face.

“Galpin,” she said, signalling for him to rise. “I need to see you in my office now.”

“Here we go again,” he mumbled to Wednesday as he rose to follow. His walk of shame out of the cafeteria was accompanied by muted whispers from the gathered crowd of students.

A blast from his past waited for him in Capri’s office. Sheriff Ritchie Santiago, his father’s former partner in the police force, stood behind the heavy oak desk. These Hyde attacks had undoubtedly been put on her table, and she knew only one suspect fitting the description.

“Tyler,” she greeted him.

“Sheriff Santiago,” he replied, sitting down in the visitor’s chair in front of the desk while Capri took her seat behind it.

“I gather you may already know what I’m here about.”

“I can take a guess.”

“There was a violent attack on a campground outside Jericho last night.”

“The one by Pine Crest State Park? My father and I went there occasionally. He had a hunting cabin nearby.”

“I’m aware. Donovan often talked about your trips there.”

So his father hadn’t been fully incapable of talking to people then. It was just his son he couldn’t talk to. “I don’t think you’re here to talk about my family holidays though, Sheriff.”

“You’re right.” Santiago sighed, pulling her hands further down her pockets. “The evidence gathered at the scene points toward a Hyde being responsible for these attacks. The claw marks and tracks all indicate this is the kind of monster we’re looking for.”

“Well, while I may be a monster, I’m not your monster, Santiago.” He looked straight at her, hoping his honesty would come through. “It wasn’t me.”

Slowly, the sheriff walked up to him, staring him right in the eyes as if she looked for proof in his gaze. Was he the monster everyone feared or the awkward teenage son of her coworker she’d once known? Was he maybe both? Tyler wasn’t quite sure himself.

“I wish I could believe you, Tyler. But you must understand that this doesn’t look good. You only arrived here a few days ago, and now there are new attacks in a place you have connections to.” Santiago turned to Capri. “And I thought we had agreed that you would keep tabs on him at all times? So why can’t anyone vouch for his whereabouts last night?”

“I was in my room, asleep,” Tyler muttered.

“For some reason, his surveillance cuffs don’t seem to have picked up any data that night.” Capri clanked on her laptop keyboard, trying in vain to find the required intel.

“They uh… may have broken,” Tyler mumbled, reaching into his pocket to extract the tangled metal devices. “It was the espresso machine,” he lied. “It mangled them somehow when I was trying to fix a valve.”

Santiago gave him a long look. “Do you think I’m born yesterday, Galpin? I’m supposed to believe that?” She picked up the destroyed cuffs. “Espresso machine…” she tsk-ed, shaking her head in disbelief.

“You promised me you would wear them, Tyler,” Capri chastised him. “It was part of the deal.”

He shrugged, having nothing to add. He knew what he’d promised, and he also knew why he hadn’t obliged.

“Can we talk a bit, Principal Capri?” Sheriff Santiago asked the principal. “Just you and me, I mean.”

Capri nodded, not one to disagree with authority. “Can you step out for a moment, Tyler? We’ll call you in once we’ve discussed some matters.”

Tyler rose. He didn’t feel like he’d gotten a fair opportunity to defend himself. But he also wasn’t sure he had any arguments that would convince Santiago of his innocence. Hell, he wasn’t even one hundred percent sure it hadn’t been him. If a master had got into his head without him knowing, who knew what orders he was following? When he was first unlocked, he woke up with no recollection of what had happened, except for lingering nightmares of burning rage pumping through his veins and mysterious wounds all over his body.

Sitting down on the bench outside, his keen hearing, enhanced by his Hyde abilities, picked up the voices of the women inside the office through the thin old walls.

“This isn’t working,” Sheriff Santiago declared confidently. “I signed off on Tyler being released to the school instead of shipped off to another outcast asylum because I figured I owed his father, may he rest in peace, that much. But I didn’t sign off on more Hyde attacks. The boy has to go.”

“Have some empathy, please,” Capri pleaded. “Tyler is trying to rehabilitate.”

“I have all the empathy, Principal. Believe me, I don’t want to do this. But my main responsibility is toward people in this town, and people are scared. Considering the deeds his committed in the past, and now these new attacks, they may be coming here with pitchforks soon.”

“Sending him to another asylum now, far away from everything he knows, would ruin the progress he’s made already.”

Santiago let out a long sigh. “This isn’t an easy decision for me. I understand the implications. But if you insist on keeping the kid here, you will leave me with no choice but to shut down the whole rehabilitation program. You know I had to approve of that as well.”

“You can’t do that, Sheriff—”

Tyler had heard enough. If they didn’t want him there, then he was out. He didn’t need to wait for anyone to tell him he wasn’t welcome. He ran down the stairs and across the courtyard. He disappeared into woods so well-known to him.

No one stopped him on the way out. No one dared to.

Chapter Text

When children, even those past their formative years, are in distress, they often seek comfort in their parents' presence. Tyler was no exception. Which is why he, after taking a hidden backroad through the woods, found himself sitting on a bench in front of the graves of Donovan and Francoise Galpin.

He hated them. He hated them for putting him into this world. He hated them for leaving him there all alone. He hated them for not equipping him for the life that was ahead of him.

But still, he missed them. He missed the fragments of what they had once been underneath everything that had been broken. Once upon a time, they had loved each other. Their story rivaled the one of Romeo and Juliet. They had defied everything to be together. But once Tyler was born, Donovan couldn’t hide his fear that their son would be just like his mother, which Francoise interpreted as rejection of everything that she was; everything her husband had told her he loved. So she spun out of control and unleashed the monster dwelling inside of her, which landed her at Willow Hill. She left Donovan with a son he was ill-equipped to raise.

In the end, just like Romeo and Juliet, they both ended up in early graves. Their twisted and messed-up son was all that remained. Tyler wasn’t better than them. He was worse.

The sound of gravel crunching underneath boots made him look up. Black braids whirled in the wind. She didn’t smile at him, nor did he expect her to. Cheery gestures of recognition were not her thing. “What are you doing here?” he asked, while the voices in his head started their nauseating chant.

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

“Can’t a girl take a stroll in the cemetery without a reason?” she retorted. “I enjoy a reminder of how fragile life is around lunch time.”

“Go ahead,” he replied, expecting her to walk past. But she stayed by his side.

“What about you?” she asked.

“Oh, you know, just saying my goodbyes to the family before they ship me off to another asylum. I got one chance, but it turns out I’m just another Galpin monster.”

Wednesday glanced at the gravestones, then back at Tyler. “Your father wasn’t a Hyde.”

“Doesn’t make him any less of a monster.” Donovan had never let Tyler get away with anything. Any little sign of asserting himself or lapsing from the straight path had been punished. Privileges had been taken away. Curfews had been established. Harsh words had rained. And sometimes, when he glimpsed a monster in his son’s anger, he resorted to more physical methods of discipline.

Wednesday didn’t ask any follow-up questions, which was a relief since Tyler didn’t want to answer them. Instead, she sat down on the bench beside him. Not close, as she always kept a courteous distance to anyone. He knew she didn’t fear his presence more than anyone else’s.

“I believe you,” she said. “I believe you weren’t behind the attacks last night.”

Confused, he glanced over at her. “Why?” he asked. Which was a warranted question, because he wasn’t quite sure he believed in his own innocence. With so many layers of orders and paranoia, who knew what he was capable of? The first time his Hyde took control, he had no recollection of it, at least not immediately. He’d woken up exhausted and covered in blood, and all he could think to do was to wash it off before his father noticed.

“Because this isn’t how you operate,” she replied, looking straight ahead at the graves instead of meeting his gaze. “You don’t attack randomly, at least not without a master telling you to. If you were to go after anyone, it would be me.”

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

He wanted to tell that it wasn’t him, it was the masters who had ordered him to do so. The masters who he couldn’t get out of his head. Thornhill mostly, but also his mother. He could barely tell their voices from his own will at times. But claiming innocence was futile when he’d declared a hunt on her head many times.

“Perhaps there is a master in my head now. Perhaps they got to me without me even knowing.” It had happened before. Thornhill unlocked him before he knew the beast lurking inside. If his master ordered him not to remember, there would be no trace.

“Perhaps, but Thing also assures me you didn’t leave your room that night.”

“You had him spy on me?”

“It was on his own accord. I suppose he wanted to feel a familial connection.”

At the grave beside Francoise, the animate hand had plucked a wild flower and put it across the soil, honoring the man he once was the right hand of. The rest of Isaac Night had been buried, for the second time, next to his beloved sister.

“Capri and Santiago still won’t believe me. Santiago wants to shut down the whole program unless I leave.”

Her expression grew sterner, which was quite a feat for a girl who had made frowning into an art form. She must realize this threatened Enid’s continued enrollment as well. “I can vouch for you; tell them to give you one more chance.”

“Why would you do that? I tried to kill you. Over and over.”

Wednesday shrugged, like her assistance was no big deal whatsoever. “Because Ajax makes terrible coffee.” She took a sip from the Telltale Café cup in her hand and grimaced. “Way too sweet.”

She’d missed him this morning. That’s not what she’d said. But that’s what he’d heard. That’s what he chose to hear.

“And what do you want in return?”

There had to be a catch. There was always a catch with her.

“I want your help in solving this case. If a Hyde is on the loose, you’re the only one who can get into its head. You know how it thinks. You know what drives it. You know what scares it.”

Tyler knew what he would fear if he was the culprit behind these attacks: a determined Wednesday Addams with a case to crack.

“I got nothing to lose.” He stood up, reaching her hand toward her for a handshake.

“Come on, Wednesday, it’s a peace offering,” he explained. “No games this time. Take my hand. If I were behind the attacks, you will have a vision. You’ll know it was me even if I don’t know it myself.”

Eyeing his hand with suspicion, as if the warmth of it would suffocate her, Wednesday finally conceded. Letting out a sigh, she rose, gripping his hand with hers. It was as cold as he remembered her lips being, like the backside of the pillow on a summer night.

When she fell backward, there was just enough time for Tyler to catch her before she hit the ground.

Chapter Text

Wednesday snapped her eyes open, reminiscent of an alligator about to pounce. “Why are you holding me?” she asked, eyeing the arms around her suspiciously.

“Well, I figured it would be rude to let you fall to the ground,” Tyler replied, definitely not letting go despite her ungratefulness.

She gave him an insulted look, rising from his grip and brushing off her blazer. “I didn’t know chivalry was part of Hyde code,” she mumbled.

“I’ve caught you before.”

“You were putting up an act of a good normie boy back then.”

“Perhaps it wasn’t all an act,” he countered. Truth was, he wasn’t quite sure himself what had been an act and what had been authentic during that time. There were too many layers of orders and charades to unravel. Had the act been real or had the real been an act?

She looked like she wanted to say something, like there was a question on her lips unasked. But no words escaped her lips. Perhaps she knew that if she went there, there would be no going back. She would have to confront her own feelings if she asked him to confront his. And if there was anything that scared Wednesday Addams, it was feelings.

“So did you see anything?” he asked, changing the subject to something less scary. If visions of blood and murder could be considered such.

“I did.” She smoothed out her jacket from the fall, looking away from him. Her demeanor was unbothered, as always, but Tyler sensed an unusual vibration in her presence. Something was bothering her, but she was trying really hard to hide it.

“The attacks at the campground?”

“No, not that.” She always kept information so close to her chest, afraid any little nugget could be used against her.

“So what was it?” he asked, feeling deja vu about the night when they kissed. Had she seen him committing a violent act once again?

Wednesday looked up, meeting Tyler’s eyes briefly, as if she scanned for information on his irises. Then, her gaze strayed, instead landing on the graves of his parents. It was almost as if she was looking for something that wasn’t there.

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered, even though it obviously did. Avoiding further questions, she turned on the heels of her lace-up boots. “Come on, we need to head back to Nevermore before Santiago puts a prize on your head.”

Confused, Tyler followed her lead. If she’d seen him be the culprit in a crime, surely she wouldn’t help him? So her vision had to pertain to something else. Something she wouldn’t tell him. Something from his past or future. Both appeared equally dark and murky.

An Uber ride later, with the driver nervously glancing at Tyler the whole way, probably expecting him to turn into a monster at any moment, Wednesday stomped into Capri’s office. Tyler trailed behind, struggling to keep up with her determined gait, despite his legs being much longer.

“Santiago, Capri,” she addressed the women. Santiago was talking on the phone in an agitated tone while Capri was frantically clanking on her keyboard. “Are you missing a Hyde?”

The two women turned, their eyes trailing over Wednesday before landing on Tyler. “Oh, thank god,” Santiago exclaimed, her phone still to her ear. “Ryken, you can tell the squad car to turn around. Galpin is back here again,” she ordered her deputy on the other end before ending the call. “I was getting concerned calls from citizens about you lurking around the cemetery,” she huffed in Tyler’s direction.

“My parents are buried there; am I not allowed to pay my respects to them?”

Santiago didn’t reply, perhaps in fear of revealing that she didn’t feel that either of his parents deserved respect. While she stood silently, the viper decided to strike.

“I hear you want Capri to expel Tyler, or you’ll shut down the whole rehabilitation program.” Wednesday took a confident stance in the middle of the room.

“What I want is for the citizens of this town to feel safe.” Santiago sighed, putting her phone in her pocket. “I gather you heard about the Hyde attacks last night, Addams?”

“I did. I always make sure to get the latest news about anything gory. And I gather you, as a police officer, have heard about presumed innocence until proven guilty?”

“Where are you going with this, Addams?” Santiago sighed again, this time deeper. This was probably not her best day at work to begin with. And now she was getting lectured by a teenager.

“You don’t have any proof that Tyler committed these attacks. And I have proof that he didn’t. Thing surveilled his room all night and never saw him leave, and I touched Tyler’s hand to see if I would get a vision from the attacks, but I didn’t.”

“None of those things would stand up in court.”

“Neither would your circumstantial evidence that he was behind this. Existing in the vicinity of an attack as a Hyde isn’t a crime.”

“I’m not trying to convict him in court. I just want the citizens to feel safe.”

“Is Tyler not a citizen of this town as well? Does he not deserve to feel safe? Outcasts deserve the same justice as everyone else, Sheriff. My father is a lawyer, specialized in outcast justice, and he’s won many cases on that argument. If you press Capri to send away Tyler, I will unfortunately have to ask him to file a discrimination case against the town of Jericho.”

Wednesday certainly was formidable. A force of nature. An enemy no one wanted to have.

Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams. Kill Wednesday Addams.

The damn voices… They always had to remind him of their presence every time he went too far, forgetting his monstrous heart.

Santiago sighed for the third time, so deeply that the chandelier rattled from her exhale. Out-argued by a determined teenager once again. “You really want to die on this hill, Addams?” she asked. “And I mean literally die. This boy tried to kill you multiple times. If he is behind this, you may be next.”

“And I will enjoy fighting him off if that’s the case.” Wednesday smirked, as close to a smile as she usually got. “But the fact that I’m standing here should be proof this wasn’t Tyler’s work. Why would he go after random campers instead of his sworn enemy?”

Capri looked to Tyler and then to Wednesday again, not sure what to make of this unlikely alliance. “Fine,” she concluded. “I’ll give Galpin one more chance. But this school needs to keep track of him.” She turned to Capri. “He must wear the cuffs at all times, and the data will be sent to me daily. He cannot leave the school grounds without a chaperone. And avoid traipsing around downtown Jericho, please, I don't want mass panic on my hands.. Does everyone agree?”

Capri nodded. “Sounds fair to me.” She looked toward Tyler.

“I guess I have no choice but to agree,” he mumbled, even though he did. Granted, none of the choices were very appealing. But he could have walked out of there. He could have rotted away in an asylum for the rest of his life. He could have stopped trying. But instead, he put his hands forward, sleeves pulled up. “Cuff me up, Sheriff.”

Despite everything he had done—he’d manipulated her, he’d lied to her, he’d threatened to kill her—the pig-tailed girl in front of him had fought for him. No one had ever fought for Tyler before. Not even himself. When he was expelled from Jericho High after the incident with Xavier, his dad had just accepted the verdict, even though Lucas and the other guys somehow got off lighter, and sent him away to bootcamp instead.

Wednesday had fought for him, and he couldn’t quite understand why. So he had to stick around to figure that out.

Chapter Text

At impressive speed, Wednesday and Thing cooperated in synchrony. Photographs of the crime scene, maps, and possible clues were taped to the quickly produced blackboard. Tyler didn’t dare to ask where the materials had been obtained, as the methods were probably not legal. All he could do was try to get comfortable in the intricate Gothic chair, with a high back, lion-paw-shaped legs, and black velvet upholstery, where Wednesday had told him to sit. Which was a difficult task as the chair appeared to double as some kind of torture device, making it impossible for the sitter to relax in any position.

To distract himself, he looked around the dorm room. He’d only been in Wednesday’s dwellings once before. On the night of the Rave’s, which he both wanted to forget and never wanted to forget. He hadn’t been supposed to be at the dance, and he’d been punished for it afterward. That night was when Thornhill saw through his double game and took control of the one thing he held on to as his own, his flickering connection with Wednesday, and used it to her own benefit.

But still, he’d rather hang on to the painful memories of that night if it also meant he could recall how amazing Wednesday had looked that night, and the way she’d looked at him. No one had ever looked at him like that before, and no one would ever do so again. But that night, he’d felt chosen.

If only Thornhill hadn’t chosen him first. What hurt most during that night was knowing that whatever he built up would inevitably fall apart. Because it was already too late.

Wednesday’s half of the room looked mostly like he recalled, although he’d been too nervous to note many details. It was dark, moody, and utterly her. It made him feel at ease, as there were no pretenses of welcoming warmth.

The other side was very different from his last visit, though. Enid’s cuddly rainbow aesthetics had been exchanged for shimmering undersea vibes that fit the new inhabitant. For safety reasons, students of the rehabilitation program were not allowed roommates and were also kept in their own wing, locked to other students.

“We’ll go to the campsite tomorrow.” Wednesday decisively stepped back to admire the hodgepodge of clues on the board. “We need to establish if those are the marks of a Hyde or another type of monster.” She pointed at red slashes in a blurry photograph, marring the side of a caravan. “I don’t trust Santiago to tell the difference.”

“We?” Tyler asked, almost falling off the torture chair as he tried to nonchalantly place one leg atop the other. “Are you forgetting that I need a chaperone to set foot outside the school gates? I’m a very dangerous monster, you know. I can’t just take a stroll in the woods.”

She rolled her eyes. Of course, she'd thought of that. She was Wednesday Addams. “I’ll be your chaperone, monster boy,” she announced. “I’ll go to Capri’s office tomorrow and fill in all the paperwork to check you out—like a library book—after school."

“I guess I better behave then,” he mumbled. “Don’t want you to get any late fees.”

“I’ll bring my taser and I won’t hesitate to use it if you don’t.” She smirked a bit too excitedly.

He wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a promise.

“Pine Crest is ten miles away,” he said, escaping their dangerous dance before it became too intense. “I don’t suppose you’re planning for us to walk the whole way there?”

“No, I have another plan.” She took a sip from her Telltale Cafe’s cup, now filled with non-sweet coffee Tyler had brought to their after-school crime-solving session.

“Which is?”

“On a need-to-know basis.”

“Right, I’m just the poor guy you’re trying to save. I don’t need to know anything,” he muttered, just as the door behind him flew open.

“Oh no, no no no,” Bianca exclaimed as soon as she set foot in the room, her judgmental gaze landing on Tyler. “He is not allowed in here.”

Wednesday turned from the murder board, where Thing pulled red strings between different clues. “You’re bringing a boy in here too,” she noted, nodding toward a figure clad in a hoodie and beanie behind Bianca.

“Well, Ajax is not a known homicidal monster.” Bianca rolled her mesmerizing eyes.

Wednesday shrugged. “I guess we got different types. What were you two going to do in here anyway? Make googly eyes at each other while pretending to do your math homework?”

The lack of reply and blushed cheeks on Bianca and Ajax indicated that this was exactly what they had planned to do.

“Tyler is helping me investigate a crime. I think that goes before your hormonal urges.”

Bianca gave them both a look, perhaps implying that she thought their cooperation may have something to do with hormones as well.

“He is the damn crime. Don’t make the same mistake twice, Wednesday. Don’t let him fool you again.”

He had done that. Once. But she’d fooled him as well. Once.

“No one is getting fooled here,” Wednesday replied through gritted teeth.

Tyler wasn’t so sure.

Ajax finally spoke up, peeking over Bianca’s shoulder. “Eh… our shift down at the Telltale starts soon, Tyler. Perhaps we should head there to prep and let the girls… talk this out.”

Tyler sprang up, eager to escape Bianca’s venom and judgment. Although he did deserve it. When the door closed behind them, he could still hear the girls bickering. Inside his chest, frustration rose, bubbling and dark. No matter what he did, he was always the problem.