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Enid’s steps are unsteady as she attempts to run out the fire exit door, the lit-up green sign guiding her to fresh air. Her dress is ruined. Wednesday came with Tyler, of all people. She had definitely sent the wrong message by coming with Lucas—her roommate doesn’t understand the social politics behind why she let him accompany her.
She bursts out the door, trying to regain some balance now that the floor she’s on isn’t as slippery as in the hall. She does not expect to see Lucas with two Normies, and a truck with a pipe hooked into a wall. The dots connect themselves. “I can’t believe you.”
This is her fault. She let this idiotic guy into their school, because she thought that he just wanted to get back at his ex. She had thought that her roommate was coming with Xavier, before she got the chance to say anything. That’s the only reason she had agreed to his proposition. And at first, it worked. She saw the jealousy in the psychic’s eyes when she looked her up and down.
“Enid, look, after Crackstone’s statue, I—” She cannot listen to any of what he has to say. She convinced herself that he could be trusted, that he wasn’t just some treacherous Normie who wanted to get back at the Outcasts, like most of them.
“I thought you were different.” Her face contorts into something softer than anger. Her blinking hastens, trying not to look at the boy who just used her to harass her people. What’s the point in trying to think she’s normal when she is very clearly never going to fit in?
She can’t wolf out. She can’t blend in with regular people. The only thing she can do is be a disappointment: to those around her for letting Lucas Walker mess up what was meant to be the best night of the school year, and to her family. Maybe she’s just destined to be a lone wolf forever.
Her head drops, falling to the floor. She can’t go back in through those doors. They are solely for the purpose of exiting that building, full of paint and panic. To leave she would need to go past them. If they don’t care about destroying school property, they’d do worse to her.
And what’s even more awful is that she’s a coward and would let them. “What are you gonna do about it?” The light of the crescent moon shines down on her, shunning her in a spotlight that she is frozen in as one of the idiots in front of her cackles. “Are you gonna wolf out?” He laughs again, the other boy joining in. Lucas contributes to the laughter as her eyes race around. His snickering sounds more forced than his friends.
“Wolf out, then. Or are you just another wimp? You Outcasts are all the same.” Lucas’ friend’s smirk is growing by the second, goading her as she gets more and more uncomfortable. She can’t leave. Her feet are glued to the floor, carrying the weight of every single bad thought about herself that is currently running through her head. Her blue eyes grow glassy, drowning in the ocean that they are.
“Shut up.” She mumbles under her breath. The boy on the left of Lucas whispers into his ear: she’s such a weirdo. Sometimes, the advanced hearing that she gets from being what she is is a curse. “No, I’m not.”
“Then how did you hear that, you freak?” The one that called her a weirdo frowns. “Don’t deny the truth.” He steps closer to where she is atop a small ledge, just a little bit taller than them, but it’s still menacing.
“Wolf out.” The other one says. “Wolf out, wolf out, wolf out!” Except for Lucas, the other two join in with the inane chant. She backs up, tripping over herself, falling against the brick wall behind her. Her arms scrape against the cold floor, her head bumping up against the hard, red material making up the wall. She curls up into a ball, her head in her knees, unable to block out the noise that her senses make even louder. It’s almost like it’s surround-sound. They can’t see her. That’s the only reason the tears begin to fall down her cheeks, soaking her arms and knees, sniffling away.
Until someone else comes crashing through the doors, stumbling out. Their words finally stop. She brings her head ever so slightly up, eyes peeking out. She’s in a black dress: it’s Wednesday. She’s covered in red paint that is streaking down her face, and mildly staining the dark fabric clinging to her. She looks… ethereal.
“Leave her alone, you anomalies of creation.” Is she really standing up for her? Why? But she finds it nice that she gets even more sophisticated with her vocabulary than usual when she is angry. It’s something Enid has noticed about her. “Let me get my pocket mace out. Would you like that?” She steps closer to them.
They scamper into their truck very quickly, and they leave tire marks in their rush to leave. The lycan sniffs while she watches Wednesday sit down next to her, bringing her knees up to her own chest, gloomy eyes focussed on her. After a minute of cricket-filled silence, she finally speaks. “Why would you do that? I could have handled it.” Her hands wipe away the remaining trails of water, mixed with the red paint. Her palms and fingers come away as if she’s got blood on them.
“It didn’t seem like you were handling it.” Her tone is more tender than it was with the Normies. “I had a vision. I saw you in trouble.”
“I’m fine.” There isn’t a point in refusing help after she opened up to her on the first night of knowing her.
“What did they say to you?” Her persistence is annoying. But it’s cute, for some reason.
“They were just making me feel bad about not being able to wolf out. They don’t know that I can’t, so it’s fine.” Her head is still buried in her arms. She can’t lift her head to look at her, even though she can feel her eyes fixed on her.
“It is not okay.” She can’t do this, not right now. She has a different question.
“Why did you go with Tyler?” Her voice is muffled, but she knows that she heard those words.
“Thing made me go with him. He put a note in the tip jar at the Weathervane, and got me this dress that I liked.” If only she’d waited for Enid to say something.
“I was gonna ask you.”
“Really?” The psychic’s shock isn’t surprising. She hid this secret from everyone. Even Thing.
“I thought you were going with Xavier so I didn’t say anything.” She finally brings her head out of her safe haven. “I wanted you to dance with me, not Tyler.”
“I don’t like Tyler in the way you may think.” She is hesitating.
She holds her arm out, red and white material clinging to it, seeing the result of what Lucas did. “But then why did you still let him come?”
“I did not have a choice. And I did not want to hurt Thing’s plans of me being in some kind of relationship that he was hoping for. But all I have wanted in this place, more than anything, is you.” Her hair is a mess, strands hanging loose. Enid’s hand finds them and tucks them behind her friend’s ear. What were they? Not lovers, not friends. Maybe this would tell her what they really were.
*
Back at the dorm, Wednesday leads her by the hand into the bathroom. “Sit down.” Enid obeys immediately, placing a towel on the toilet. If there’s paint on her outfit, it may stain it. The raven takes a small towel and wets it, kneeling down in front of her after wringing it out. She places her index and middle fingers on her chin, leaning in and examining her face.
She softly begins to wipe the red from the werewolf’s face. Her blue eyes stay locked on the ones dancing with her own; her breath hitches in her throat at their proximity, and she feels Wednesday’s on her face. After a couple of minutes, she clears her throat, and lets go of her chin. She goes over to the sink, rinsing the towel out, and quickly clears her own face up. She might have taken the red away from Enid’s face, but it lingers in her eyes.
“Thank you.” She says quietly. A ghost of a smile appears on her roommate’s pale face.
“Could you wait here for a minute?” Enid pouts, and opens her mouth, about to object. “Please.” That does it for her. She can’t argue with her.
“Okay.” She shuts the door behind her when she leaves, and the lycan throws her head into her hands. She puts herself into these situations. She practically asked for it, especially when she let Lucas ask her. That was the first red flag: a Normie would never approach an Outcast willingly (specifically her), most of the time. She hears her roomie shuffling around in their dorm. Some crackly, soft, slow music begins to play—she must be using that vintage vinyl player of hers. The door opens once again.
“What are you doing?” Enid tilts her head after taking it out of her hands, just like the dog she’ll never be. The other girl beckons her forwards, so she turns the bathroom light off and walks into the dorm.
“I thought that we could dance, since you never got the chance to ask me.” Her pale hands grip the werewolf’s, leading her into the centre of the room. They guide themselves to her waist. Enid doesn’t think she’s ever felt happier.
The lycan locks her hands behind Wednesday’s head, gazing into her eyes. “Why are you being so nice?” Her suspicions are slowly rising, but she never wants this moment to end.
“I…” Her eyes drift away as they sway to the music. “I wanted to go with you.”
She frowns at Wednesday. “Why did you not ask me?” Her voice is timid; it’s barely louder than a whisper. “I only said yes to Lucas because I, uh, kind of wanted to make you jealous.”
“It worked.” She smirks. “But I didn’t ask you because I was afraid you would say no. I’ve never been so close to somebody, not even my family. I did not want to compromise this.” There’s a wistful look in her eyes, as if she’s imagining how different tonight could’ve been.
She looks down at her feet, freshly dyed pink hair coming out from behind her ears. One of Wednesday’s hands leaves her waist, and it angles her head back up, tucking it back behind her ears.
“Do you think the school would redo the Rave’N?” Her roomie’s touch on her face is still lingering. “We could ask them to do it. We can go together, like we wanted.” The psychic nods, and she grins, her canines sticking out a little.
“Of course. And if Weems doesn’t agree, I’ll make her.” This only makes her smile widen. But she stops when Wednesday takes it from her face, snatching it away with a kiss. Her lips are soft, and they taste like home. Enid pulls away after a few seconds, eyes glimmering in the light of the darkness that she is very much in love with. Her roomie’s soft little breaths are warm on her face as she stares into her beautiful, pale face.
One week later
Enid wakes up to Wednesday drowning herself in her arms. Things have only progressed in the past few days. Who would’ve thought that the girl who apparently hates touch is just a big softie when she gets so comfortable?
“Good morning.” The werewolf whispers, kissing the top of her head.
“Mmm.” She clutches her tighter, legs shifting a little, still entangled with Enid’s. She’s very clingy when she wakes up so early on the weekends.
The lycan’s thumb gently strokes her soft cheek. “Today’s the re-do, remember?” Her tone is tender, her voice still a little hoarse. The sun shines a little brighter through the window, birds chirping outside, filling the silence.
They had gone to a dry cleaner as soon as they could, and by some miracle, they had managed to get the stains out. And, even better: no Normies allowed.
Wednesday looks up at her, chin digging into Enid’s chest. “Can we dance together, like last week?”
“Of course we can.” Her hands find her colourless face, holding it and staring into her eyes. She looks down.
“When did you paint your nails black?” A smirk appears on the psychic’s face as she holds her.
“Last night, when you had decided to make yourself all cosy in my bed and fall asleep.” A realisation comes over her. “You took your colour allergy pills, right?”
“It’s nice that you are worrying about me, mio lupo.” She had begun to call her that a few days ago, and Enid had looked it up. It literally means my wolf. “I did. Before you got back from your little outing with Yoko and Divina.”
“Hey, about that… We were thinking that one day, we can all go on a double date?” Her puppy eyes always come out when she’s trying to say please without really mentioning it.
“Absolutely not. You know how I feel about social gatherings.” She frowns.
“...Please?” That’s just the icing on the cake. The real cherry-on-top is the kiss she gives her girlfriend straight after requesting such a diabolical thing.
Wednesday immediately melts into it. “Fine.” She grumbles. “You know just how to get to me, Sinclair.”
“And I enjoy doing it, Addams.” The clock on the bedside table next to them reads 12:36pm, in massive, red numbers. “Shit!”
A few hours later, they are ready, and Enid has applied the last bits of makeup. “You look perfect without it.” She stands and holds both of Wednesday’s hands.
Her grin is wide, her little canines sticking out, just how the raven likes it. “Who would’ve thought that you, of all people, are romantic?” She drags her to the door, and they are in comfortable silence all the way down the stairs.
The Rave’N is almost exactly the same, but everybody’s outfits are different. Except for theirs. “I suppose they couldn’t be bothered to go to a dry cleaner. Shopping is too tedious for me.”
“Maybe I can make it less insufferable for you.” She squeezes her hand. “Hey, Yoko!” She calls her over.
“Is this our unofficial double date?” The vampire asks, her arm wrapped around Divina’s shoulders.
“Yeah. And guess who said yes to the actual date.” Wednesday’s eyes are fixed on hers, and they haven’t left for the whole conversation. She’s like a baby doe with her little glimmering, dark orbs. The music is loud, and her chest is bursting with a want—no, a need to slow dance with the psychic, on an actual dance floor, and not just in their dorm.
Bianca approaches their little group. “Divina, you owe me twenty bucks.”
“Fine. I’ll transfer it later.” She groans, then sees Enid’s confused face. “We made a bet. If you got together on the day of the Rave’N, I’d pay Bianca twenty bucks. If you didn’t, she’d pay me. It seemed like pretty good odds at the time.”
“Making bets on us was futile.” The left corner of her lip twitches. Just a little, but enough for her to tell that she must have found it at least a little bit funny.
“Shall we dance, m’lady?” She smirks at her girlfriend. Her girlfriend. Speaking of, she offers her pale hand to Enid, and she gladly takes it. She does the same kind of dance as she did to The Goo Goo Muck just a week ago. She hadn’t been able to pull her eyes from her then, and it is the same case today. Her beaming smile is the one thing the other girl seems to be able to focus on. After the song ends, the lycan pulls her in and kisses her. Yoko cheers from somewhere.
And finally, a slow song plays. “Time to take your moods down a little before the next few songs!” The DJ says. She prefers the one that the raven played for her. But it doesn’t matter, because she’s right here with the girl of her dreams (some might say nightmares, but Enid would just tell them that it was self-projection).
Just like last time, they sway slowly, gazing at each other, a gentle touch settling on her waist. “I wish we could have done this last week.” She’s looking up at her right now—thanks to her random growth spurt, so maybe she’ll wolf out soon—as if they’re the only two people in the world.
“You’re doing it now.” She had always thought she was like a dog, especially when she subconsciously tilts her head like this.
“Every second with you counts.” Something inside her heart melts, or it skips a beat. She doesn’t know and she doesn’t care, because her heart is in front of her right now. From the second she’d laid her blue eyes on her, it was impossible to keep them, or her thoughts, from the psychic.
She’s speechless. She has never felt so strongly towards anybody in her life. The song ends, and all the couples around them kiss. “It’d be pretty cliché if we kissed right—” Wednesday almost launches herself onto her, but she doesn’t mind being shut up.