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At nightfall, Pugsley was on his bed, one leg up, the other stretched out. He should have been doing his homework, those two essays weren’t going to write themselves. But he was too preoccupied. Josh was on his mind, and he could feel his stomach knotting in nervous excitement.
He shut the book, rubbing his face. Across the room, Eugene just shook his head.
“You’re pining, dude.”
His first instinct is to deny that. “I’m not pining.”
“You definitely are,” Eugene said with an eye roll, turning his computer chair around to face him. “You’ve been looking at the same page for twenty minutes.”
Pugsley scratched the back of his neck. Okay, maybe he was. But he couldn’t help it, Josh consumed his thoughts. Despite the fact that they’d last seen each other early this morning, it felt a lot longer than that.
“I miss him,” he admitted.
Eugene snorted, and Pugsley scowled. “Oh, come on! It hasn’t even been that long.”
“I know!” Pugsley exclaimed in frustration. “But I can’t help it.” He pushed his materials aside, staring at his best friend in despair.
Eugene seemed to find this very funny. He cracked up. “You’ve got it bad.”
“I know,” Pugsley repeated.
When his laughter tapered off, Eugene wiped away a tear or two. “You haven’t even been dating that long and you’re obsessed.”
That might have been true, but Josh was worth obsessing over.
Pugsley didn’t even realize he’d started to smile, not until Eugene waved a hand in front of his face.
“You need help.”
“I need Josh,” Pugsley said honestly.
“Or a lobotomy?” Eugene said dryly.
“Oh, I’ve had two already,” Pugsley smiled. “It was my Uncle Fester’s birthday present for me.”
Eugene’s mouth opened, then shut promptly. “Never mind that. Do you want to use my phone to text him? He probably has it with him.”
“No,” Pugsley briefly thought it over and shook his head, “I’ll wait. He’s with his family and I don't want to bother him.”
“You bother me all the time,” Eugene grumbled.
“I don’t like you as much.”
It was Eugene’s turn to scowl. He threw a pillow straight at Pugsley’s face, who laughed.
“Are you really going to tell Wednesday about you two?” Eugene asked after a moment of silence.
Pugsley stopped laughing, toying with the end of the blanket while deliberately not looking at Eugene. “I said I would.”
He wanted to share that part of himself. It wasn’t a question of if his parents would accept it, he knew they would. It was difficult to explain this hesitancy. He guessed he really didn’t have a reason to hold back. He’d never done so before, but this was different.
Josh was different.
Keeping him a secret might not work in the long run, but it was nice to have something - to have someone - just for himself. Tucked away in his corner where no one else, other than Eugene, knew. There was less pressure that way. “Maybe it’ll be alright,” Eugene said, pausing. “Unless Wednesday finds a reason to hate him. But don’t worry, she might not even care enough to hate him.”
He smiled at Pugsley.
“Maybe,” Pugsley muttered.
“You don’t sound too convinced,” Eugene said. Thing is, Pugsley wasn’t too sure he was either. His friend went quiet, thinking this over, his stare calculating. “You know you don’t have to tell her, right? Josh said you could take your time.”
“But I want to tell her.” Wednesday might not care. It was very likely she wouldn’t, but while Pugsley did enjoy the slowness of things, there was a part of him that wanted the truth out in the open. He wanted more than messages on the phone he was trying to learn how to use. More than a quick smile when out in public.
He wanted more than that.
Pugsley followed Wednesday from behind as they dove deeper into the forest. Tyler was already there waiting for them. It was another night of experimentation, a way for his sister to figure out the hyde’s capabilities. But he was also pretty sure this was just an excuse to see Tyler. It wasn’t like they were being subtle. Pugsley had seen Tyler kiss her when they both believed he wasn’t looking their way, and she didn’t even make him regret it.
“Wednesday,” he broke the silence. His sister didn’t look back once. “I need to talk to you.”
“Not now, Pugsley,” she brushed him off.
“But I need to-”
“Enough. I don’t want to hear whatever you have to say. We need to be quick and precise about this. We can’t afford to be sloppy.”
Pugsley fell silent. He’d have to wait, he supposed. She wouldn’t hear him out until then.
“Good,” Wednesday said when the trees cleared out and there was Tyler, waiting. “You’re here.”
“Nice to see you too, Cockroach,” Tyler drawled.
More flirting. Pugsley had yet to figure out how Wednesday didn’t see how obvious they were acting.
“Undress,” Wednesday ordered, taking a notebook and pen out of her backpack, flipping to the most recent page for her notes.
Tyler took a step forward, his eyes on Wednesday the whole time. “Right now?” He said, his voice a low rumble.
Oh my God, Pugsley rolled his eyes.
His sister’s stare was of steel, but there was something else too. It resembled the way their parents looked at one another, and it made Pugsley distinctly nauseous.
“Preferably,” he cut through the moment. Both of them were noticeably annoyed with him. “I have homework to finish.”
“Right...” Tyler grumbled, sliding off his jacket and tossing it to the side.
“Do be sure to tell Hyde he will have new prey to feast upon,” Wednesday never looked away from Pugsley, her lips in a thin line.
“Before or after he feasts on you?” Pugsey said coolly. He felt a sense of vindictive triumph to finally render his sister speechless. Wednesday had nothing to say and even Tyler was taken aback.
“What did you say?” Wednesday demanded when she had control of her voice once more.
“You heard me.”
In an instant, Wednesday was in his space, staring him down. It was hard to be intimidated, though, given their height difference.
“I buried you alive before. Don’t think I won’t do it again.”
“Do it,” he said easily.
She glared daggers at him, giving Pugsley immense satisfaction.
“So, uh,” Tyler said, “what are we working on tonight?”
Wednesday shot one last scathing glare Pugsley’s way. She would get back at him at some point. Pugsley would have to stay on guard until then. “I want to test your strength at its maximum limit.”
She said a lot more than that, but Pugsley mostly tuned her out. He’d done well not to get caught up in his thoughts, thinking about Josh, the smile that reached his eyes when he was well and truly happy, and the wide one that showed his teeth and floppy hair that sometimes fell over one eye.
He sighed softly. There was just something about him, something intoxicating. Even though he’d seen his parents, had seen their love for one another be so strong, he hadn’t known it was possible to feel that way about another person until he met Josh. Then suddenly, it was all so clear. Everything made sense.
It didn’t matter that both of them were only fifteen. It didn’t matter that this was his first real relationship. It didn’t matter because Pugsley knew without a doubt that he was completely in love with Josh.
He was happy, just like Wednesday was with Tyler with whatever they had going on, even if she refused to admit to anyone.
“-Pugsley!”
He blinked, coming back to the present. Both her and Tyler were looking his way, his sister visibly angry.
“What?”
“I gave you clear instructions,” she snapped.
“I didn’t hear.”
“Obviously,” she said with disdain.
He opened his mouth, but then something came to him, striking him out of nowhere.
He should tell her.
It was the perfect time, out in the open where no one else would hear. He could just do it now and get it over with it. Why was he so unsure? This wasn’t like him. He’d never been this way until Josh came into life. And now he was second guessing himself, wondering if he was making the right decision.
Just say it, he told himself. Tell her.
“You okay?” Tyler said to Pugsley.
Tell her.
“Pugsley, I want you to-” Wednesday ordered.
“I need to talk to you,” Pugsley cut her off, his heart beating strangely fast. Wednesday was miffed at the interruption.
“We can talk later,” she said.
“No,” Pugsley shook his head. “We should talk now.”
She was going to protest, but Tyler said, “Just listen to what he has to say,” and smiled at her in a soft way that should have had his sister disgusted by.
“Fine,” she said shortly. “What is it?”
Pugsley crossed his arms, coming closer. He sighed, looking up towards the black, starry sky. “There’s something I haven’t told you.” He looked at her unreadable expression, the night’s silence stretching through the air. “I’m bi. And I have a boyfriend. We’ve been dating for a month or so.”
An owl hooted off in the distance. A soft oh slipped past Tyler’s lips, eyes darting to Wednesday who still hadn’t said anything. She stared at Pugsley with her dark eyes, and the truth just kept tumbling out of him from there onward.
“I don’t care if you disapprove or hate him,” Pugsley was surprised at how much he meant that. “I don’t need it from you. I love him and that’s all that matters.”
It was out. Couldn’t be taken back.
He thought she’d never speak. Wednesday kept quiet, never looking away. Seconds trickled by, the time long past what was considered acceptable to hesitate.
And then, every thought swirling around inside of him came to a halt from one simple word.
“And?”
“Huh?” Pugsley said, his brain taking a moment longer than usual to comprehend.
“I don’t care who you’re attracted to, Pugsley. I have more important things to care about.”
“I just thought...” He trailed off, realizing he didn’t know what he thought.
“Your sexuality is the least of my concerns,” she said bluntly. “If you wish to have intercourse with a zombie or a yeti, I would not object.”
Tyler nudged Wednesday, whispering, “Yeti’s exist?”
She ignored him.
Something was flooding his chest, making him feel lighter. Pugsley was smiling, a real one, a wide one. “Thanks, Wednesday.”
“I thought I smelled something different about you,” Tyler spoke up. “But I didn’t want to assume.”
“I thought you might’ve,” Pugsley said, breathing out deeply.
“What’s his name?” Tyler asked with a smile.
“Josh. He’s a normie.”
“Can you verify that?” Wednesday side eyed Tyler. He rolled his eyes.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“I don’t take betrayal lightly.”
“And yet you’re still here,” Tyler was looking at Pugsley now. “What’s he like?”
Pugsley’s face lit up in a flush, another unusual phenomenon that had been happening since he realized he reciprocated. “He’s great.” He couldn’t stop himself from grinning broadly. “Funny. Really smart.”
“Yeah? How’d you meet him?”
“When me and Eugene were walking around in the woods,” Pugsley remembered that day very clearly. It was the first time his heart skipped a beat and he felt like he was dealing with an out of body experience just like when Wednesday tortured him, but far different.
“How much longer are you going to keep me out here?” Eugene asked for the hundredth time. “We should really be getting back.”
“Just a few more minutes,” Pugsley promised.
“You said that fifteen minutes ago.”
“Stop whining,” Pugsley said, and in response Eugene made a noise of offense. “We’ll get back soon-”
He stopped talking.
Up ahead, there was a guy around their age, hands shoved into his pockets while wandering aimlessly through the woods.
The guy met Pugsley’s eyes and he smiled, and something inside Pugsley came alive in that moment.
“Touching,” Wednesday deadpanned. Tyler elbowed her side.
“Do you think....” Pugsley licked his lips. “Do you think you can meet him? He wants to meet you.”
“Why?” Came her response.
“It’s a mystery, isn't it, Addams?” Tyler said.
Pugsley wasn’t joking around this time, though. “Please?” He said softly. “It doesn’t have to be long.”
She stared blankly for what seemed like eternity until she huffed. "Fine. But this better not waste my time."