Work Text:
Lunchtime at Nevermore had commenced, and a loud horde of students gathered in the main quad, clamoring over the benches and stools rowdily. Enid’s newfound friend group had started settling at a corner bench. It was a relatively small bunch of people compared to the other tables: Yoko, Divina, Bianca, Ajax, Xavier, Wednesday, Enid. They had been meeting at lunch everyday since the start of the new semester, chatting more and more comfortably with each other as time went on. The concept of them sitting together was unspoken. Everyone figured after the events of last semester, they needed each other more than they needed anyone else.
Funnily enough, Enid found herself growing close with Xavier and Bianca, two people she would have never even fathomed casually talking to at the start of the first semester. Xavier, in fact, had become a sort of older brother figure to her. They had a strange, silent mutual respect for one another, but all of their interactions mainly consisted of bickering and arguing. Enid was timid about getting closer with Bianca, her lingering queen bee status still intimidating her, but she was actually really understanding and down to earth. She didn’t make Enid feel worthless when talking to her, like the effect she used to have when conversing with anyone. She looked at people, now, with a newfound humbleness. It brought Enid to reality, seeing that someone with such a previously impenetrable, high social status had been equally as self conscious and anxious as her.
Yoko and Divina strode to the table arm-in-arm, buzzing with hearty, light conversation. Yoko climbed atop the seat of the bench and helped Divina down with her.
“Okay, Enid,” Yoko called before taking a long sip from her O-positive blood bag. Enid perked her head up and saw Divina shaking her head with a sigh. They’re arguing, Enid thought with a smile. “This isn’t a trick question, there’s no right answer—I’m just curious. Most attractive girl at Nevermore; go.”
Enid shook her head and let out a prolonged sigh before deciding to entertain the question. Something strange happened, though, when she started to consider it. The most attractive girl at Nevermore. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t think she ever could explain why, and she would never explore what the cause of her obvious brain damage had been, but a clear image of the girl sitting silently to her left popped into Enid’s head. Wednesday Addams.
It wasn’t that crazy, though, it couldn’t have been. Wednesday was pretty! Objectively! Honestly, though, she had waltzed into Nevermore and had two guys at her feet immediately. It was undeniable her roommate had a mysterious, alluring charm to her—everyone knew that. She had a way of speaking that made you latch onto every last word. You could hardly take your eyes off of her, the effect was so strong. Everyone felt that way about her, Enid was sure. It wouldn’t be the wrong answer, saying Wednesday.
“Uh,” Enid said, looking around the quad nevertheless. No one caught her eye. No one had ever really caught her eye in her time at Nevermore. She stopped her search and looked briefly at Wednesday, who was staring right back at her. With a slight jump, she glanced at Yoko and stammered, “I don’t—No one comes to mind, I don’t know.”
“Oh, come on, wolfie,” Bianca said with an eyeroll. “No one?”
“I don’t know!” Enid laughed, rubbing her hands together hastily under the table. She refused to look back at Wednesday. Through her peripherals, she could see the girl’s eyes snapping to each speaker attentively. Even if it was just eye contact at the moment, it was alarming enough for Enid to tense up. Wednesday hardly participated in their lunch conversations, only conversing when asked a question directly. Enid grew nervous at the sudden attention from her typically unconcerned best friend.
“No,” Yoko said slowly, eyebrows raised. Enid knew that tone. Something was brewing in that vampire’s head. She cursed internally. “She’s lying. You’re thinking about someone, huh?”
“Ooh,” Xavier said, a curious smile playing on his lips as he rested his face in his hand lazily. Couldn’t he ever just mind his business?
“What? What are you talking about?” Enid laughed again. “I literally don’t know who to say.” She looked around the quad again and back to the group.
“Yeah you do,” Yoko muttered with a smirk, taking another long sip from her bag. Divina pushed the vampire’s arm lightly and shook her head while wearing the same smirk. If Enid didn’t know any better, she’d say they were acting like they knew something she didn’t. Her eyebrows scrunched together. She looked to the others for more hints. Bianca just peered into Enid’s eyes unreadably, like she always did with everyone. This time it was cutting deeper, though—she was studying her as if she was a lab experiment gone slightly wrong, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. Xavier and Ajax looked just as clueless as her. Then, finally, she turned to Wednesday. She was fixing Yoko with a startlingly unwavering stare.
“Okay, I don’t like anyone, if that’s what you guys are implying,” Enid finally said to Yoko and Divina.
“She just broke up with loverboy over here, it’d be kinda cold if she moved on that quick,” Xavier snickered, hitting Ajax’s chest, to which he hit Xavier’s shoulder back.
Enid tugged on her sleeve awkwardly. It was a mutual breakup, but she had definitely initiated it. Ajax was great, really. But she started losing that spark when it came to him. He was a great friend, and he was pretty cute, but it just wasn’t there anymore. She kind of just randomly selected a boy she found cute to obsess over and to talk to her friends about, and for a while it seemed that . But she always developed a pit in her stomach picturing them in a long term relationship, or even getting married. She broke the news to him at the start of term and he was relatively quick to understand. He actually had seemed relieved in a way, which Enid didn’t fully understand. He had a visibly lighter and energetic way of carrying himself after the breakup. She assumed he had also been losing that spark, especially with everything that happened last semester. It had been better for them to split up and stay friends.
“Hey, Enid can be cold like that,” Divina said smoothly.
“Okay, okay!” Enid put her hands up. “I guess someone came to mind, but it’s not like that! it’s just the objective truth, anyone would say so.”
“Spit it out, then,” Bianca said, her hand motioning to ‘get a move on’.
“Okay, but again, it’s not like that!” Enid brought her hand to Wednesday’s shoulder and she felt the girl tense under the contact. “I was…I was thinking Wednesday, y’know? Like, objectively,” she said with a sheepish grin, looking at the others expectantly.
Complete and utter silence from the entire table, even from Wednesday. Then, Bianca put her head in her hands and her shoulders shook as she erupted in wheezes. “Oh my God. No, I can’t do this.”
Yoko clasped onto Divina’s uniform jacket for dear life as she howled with laughter, her blood bag now clenched tightly in her other hand.
Xavier and Ajax glanced at each other curiously and continued eating in silence.
“What?” Enid said. This wasn’t what she was expecting at all. They were supposed to agree or at least nod their heads in approval or show some kind of positive regard. “No, like—Come on! Objectively, you know it’s the truth! Anyone would agree, are you kidding me?”
“Uh, I would not agree,” Yoko said between shrieks of laughter.
“I second that,” Divina added, giving a light peck to Yoko’s cheek.
Enid’s eyes rolled and she gestured wildly to the couple. “Okay, obviously not you two, whatever! You know what I mean, though!”
Then, finally, Wednesday spoke. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, no.”
She gazed up at Enid with an uncharacteristic interest in her eyes. Enid recognized it instantly and stammered over her words. “I mean, I…Like, you know! You’re—appealing like that!”
“Appealing?” Wednesday asked.
“Well, yeah,” Enid said like it was obvious. “Last semester, you had two guys wrapped around your finger in, like, a week. Don’t act humble, Wednesday,” she added with a cheeky grin.
“Alright, I wouldn’t say wrapped around her finger, but okay,” Xavier chimed in. Enid gave him a death stare and he put his hands up in mock fear.
“I have to agree with Xavier,” Wednesday said, and Enid wished Xavier would combust into flames on the spot. “I don’t think I understand what you mean.”
But she couldn’t be serious. It was impossible to think that Wednesday was absolutely unaware of the effect she had on people. Enid scoffed and looked at her incredulously. “Wends. There’s no way.”
“There’s no way what?”
“I—Wednesday!” She couldn’t care to look at the others at this point. This was just beyond her. “Guys literally drop to their feet at the sight of you! Like, you have this, like, alluring, mysterious darkness about you that basically entrances people. And you’re different—people like different. Not to mention you’ve got the looks down, too! Plus, you basically saved the school, like, come on. That kind of badassery? The bravery? I’d be surprised if you didn’t have, like, fifteen different secret admirers here. I mean, honestly, you’re kind of everything a guy wants. Like, if I was a guy, I think you’d be the first girl I’m looking at.”
Wednesday didn’t say anything. She just stared at her. Nobody said or did a single thing, actually, for way too long. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with an exceptionally dull knife. Enid’s mind sprung with blaring alarms, realizing exactly what she had just said—what she had just done.
“I—I need to go.” She shot up from the table and rushed out of the quad, the exclamations and yells of the group echoing behind her as she dove into the school’s hallways quicker than she could comprehend.
Enid’s head was reeling. Her stomach kept twisting horribly as she stumbled through the corridors, breathing heavy. After God knows how long, she found herself sitting head-in-hand at the base of the school’s Edgar Allan Poe statue, which she now knew as the secret entrance to the Nightshade’s hideout.
She could barely think. Her mind was a jumbled mess of curses and confusion. She didn’t know why she said what she said. She didn’t know why she went on for so long. She didn’t know why she thought of Wednesday in the first place. She didn’t understand anything. She couldn’t. She soothed her trembling hands over her uniform repeatedly to calm herself, but when it didn’t work, she shoved her head in her knees and slumped into herself. After a few minutes, she looked up at Poe and was met with his determined, furrowed look boring into her. A raven was perched on his left hand, a thick book in the other. A sinking feeling of despair found its way into her stomach as her thoughts unwillingly wandered to Wednesday again at the sight of the bird. Wednesday was sharp and quick to pick up on the slightest of details. Surely she picked up on what Enid stupidly implied. She was revolted, Enid knew. She was probably headed straight to the counselor’s office to change rooms right now. She would probably refuse to have lunch with her—probably refuse to even talk to her ever again. After everything they’d done to build their friendship over the first semester, after how far they’d come, she had ruined it. And there was no going back now.
Then, footsteps echoed distantly. Familiar footsteps. Enid’s head snapped up to the source of the noise and saw a determined Wednesday striding towards her direction. She yelped and stared in frozen horror. “Wednesday.”
“Enid,” Wednesday called, only a few yards away from Enid. “You ran off.”
“Wednesday, what are you…?” Enid trailed off, eyes tracking Wednesday’s as she halted directly in front of her and eyed the werewolf intently.
“Why?” Wednesday said simply.
Enid’s face morphed in bewilderment. She still had an anxious grip on her skirt. What was she doing here? “Why what?”
“Why did you run off?” she clarified, crossing her arms.
Enid’s heart sank. She looked at her sneakers and tightened her grip on her skirt. Her eyes had clenched shut unknowingly. She opened her mouth but nothing but a frustrated sigh came out as she slumped and rested her face on her hands. Truly, she didn’t have an answer. Embarrassment, she supposed? Embarrassing was certainly one word to describe that scene. She felt so vulnerable, so revealed, which didn’t make sense because there was nothing to be revealed. She didn’t like Wednesday in that way, she couldn’t possibly. It was just how much it sounded like she did when she misspoke that made her feel vulnerable, clearly.
She heard shuffles of movement to her right, and suddenly Wednesday was sitting next to her on the base of the Poe statue. Enid glanced at her through her fingers and sighed again. “I’m sorry,” she rasped. “I—I really don’t know why I said that. Like, really, I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t mean to make it sound so weird, it wasn’t meant to be weird at all! That was not my intention. At all. I don’t know why I even answered with you, I promise I didn’t mean to make it like that, that was so—”
A cold hand latched onto Enid’s wrist to pause her wild gesturing. Enid let out a squeak and snapped her head to Wednesday.
“Cease your incessant rambling, please, before I’m forced to tear my ears off,” Wednesday said.
“Okay, my bad,” Enid said quickly, nodding her head. Wednesday stiffened at the apology.
She sat in silent contemplation for a few seconds before asking, “Why did you find it necessary to flee the table?”
Enid looked at her sneakers again. “I don’t know. I was embarrassed, I guess.”
“Embarrassed of what?”
“Well, I mean, I totally made it sound like I was into you,” she muttered with a facial cringe. “Sorry, by the way. Again.”
Wednesday sighed. “There’s no need for apologies, Enid.”
Enid emerged from her slumping position to look at Wednesday properly. She had one of her hands awkwardly resting on Enid’s forearm, the other one gripping the base of the statue tightly. Her voice had been steady and smooth, but her appearance was disheveled and uneasy. Enid’s heart sank guiltily once more.
“I feel like there is,” she said, reverting back to looking at her shoes.
“How so?” Wednesday prompted.
“I don’t know. I mean, it probably made you uncomfortable. I don’t want you to feel weird, especially around me. I think I was worried you…wouldn’t want to talk to me anymore,” she confessed.
She glanced back at Wednesday and caught her eyebrows furrow strangely for a moment. “Why wouldn’t I want to talk to you? I thought you didn’t have interest in me.”
Enid’s eyebrows sprung up. “I don’t! I…I meant, like…” she sputtered. She screamed at herself internally. Why would she say that? Wednesday was right, why would she be worried about her not wanting to talk to her unless she actually did like her? She shouldn’t have anything to be truly scared of if it was just a mistake. “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“I’m rather confused, I apologize,” Wednesday said, leaning slightly closer to Enid. “Was what you said about me true?”
“What…what do you mean?” Enid mumbled, breath hitching at the closeness of Wednesday’s features. Her dark, brooding, seemingly black eyes now glinted a rich brown as she fixed Enid with an intense gaze.
“That I’m alluring and entrancing, that I would be your first option if you were a man,” Wednesday replied. “You said something about my appearance, too. I forget now. What was it?”
Suddenly, Enid couldn’t form a simple sentence. This ability would’ve been useful about half an hour ago, to prevent her big mouth, but now it drew her up to be a tense, stuttering mess.
“Ah, I remember now,” Wednesday said finally. “You said I ‘had the looks down, too’.”
There was a rare and smug airiness to her voice, despite her deadpan expression. Enid’s heart practically leaped through her chest at the sound. Looking at the way Wednesday’s sleek and neat hair framed her face perfectly, the way light freckles painted her glowing skin, the way her dull eyes brightened with foreign mischief—Enid agreed with her past self immensely.
“Your humbleness is overwhelming,” she taunted, turning her body to parallel Wednesday. ‘Entrancing’ was correct. Enid didn’t know a lot, but she knew more clearly than ever that she wanted to be close to Wednesday. As close as possible.
“For the record, I wasn’t uncomfortable when you…said what you said.” Wednesday timidly rested her hand on the marble in between the space distancing the two. Enid’s hand had been resting on her own thigh. She slowly shifted her hand to the gap between them and put her hand on the cold marble next to Wednesday’s. They weren’t touching, but the gesture was enough to make both of their heartbeats quicken. Enid heard the sound of Wednesday’s heart thumping in her head and found a rush of adrenaline surging through her.
“That’s—that’s good,” she breathed.
It was dumb. They were sitting next to each other on an Edgar Allan Poe statue, hands awkwardly resting next to the other’s, not even touching, but were tensing up and blushing embarrassedly (more so on Enid’s part). It was enough for them, though. They were too stupidly entranced by one another to care.
Enid shakily lifted her other hand up to Wednesday’s face but hesitated before she could make contact. Wednesday scoffed lightly and grabbed her wrist with her free hand. She moved it up to her own neck, encouraging Enid to continue. Enid grabbed a vague hold of Wednesday’s jaw and peered into her eyes as her heart hammered against her chest. Wednesday’s lips parted and she gazed back at Enid with a clear, eager light in her eyes. Enid silently asked for permission by grazing Wednesday’s pinky with her own. Wednesday interlocked her pinky in response and nodded her head slowly.
Enid tilted her head, leaned in, and pressed their lips together softly. It certainly wasn’t perfect. Enid had slightly missed the target the first time, pressing her mouth against the corner of Wednesday’s mouth. She giggled against Wednesday’s skin and tried again. This time, Wednesday had kissed back, working her lips slowly and gently against Enid’s. Wednesday tasted distantly of something sweet, and Enid wondered if the girl wore lip balm or some kind of chapstick. Maybe she just tasted good naturally. Enid smiled giddily into the kiss.
“You’re messing with my technique,” Wednesday mumbled, pulling away slightly.
"Your technique?” Enid laughed, chasing Wednesday’s lips once more and pressing a quick kiss to them.
“Yes, technique. If you can be good or bad at something, like kissing, for example, there has to be techniques involved in order to improve,” Wednesday stated matter-of-factly.
“Right, because you kiss so many people. On the daily.”
Wednesday clicked her tongue and pushed herself off, not enough to actually lose contact but enough for Enid to get the point. “I’m not obligated to do this, you know.”
Enid pulled her closer and grinned like an idiot. “Okay, okay! What’s your technique, Addams?”
“Well, I can show you,” she suggested.
Enid’s eyebrows raised. “Okay, smooth,” she muttered.
Wednesday exhaled in amusement and silently gazed into Enid’s eyes for a moment. Then she brought her right hand up to cup Enid’s cheek and brought her left one, the one interlocking with Enid’s, to her neck. She caressed her jaw as delicately as porcelain, causing a shiver from the werewolf. She tilted her head and dipped herself into the kiss, more passionate and eager than the one Enid had initiated. Enid kissed back instantly, never missing a beat. She brought her arms up to wrap them around Wednesday’s neck, pulling them both even closer. Now tasting a mixture of her own strawberry lip balm and Wednesday’s strange sweetness, Enid ran her fingers through Wednesday’s hair and pushed it back. She pulled her lips off of Wednesday’s with a light pant, brought her lips to her cheekbone, and began to press lingering kisses to her cheek.
“Enid,” Wednesday half-heartedly complained, removing her hand from Enid’s face.
Enid snickered into the kisses and said, “What?” before continuing enthusiastically to Wednesday’s other features. “I’m showing you my technique!”
She planted multiple kisses on her nose bridge, then on her forehead, then on each of her cheeks, then along her jaw, before finally pulling away and looking into Wednesday’s eyes giddily. “So? Thoughts on my technique?”
Wednesday studied her eyes before saying, “You missed a spot.”
Enid stared at her in confusion before realizing her request. She giggled and leaned in. “You’re, like, obsessed with me or something,” she teased. She held Wednesday’s neck strongly and planted a deep kiss onto her lips. Enid pulled away once more and pressed her forehead against Wednesday’s.
Wednesday wrapped her pinky around Enid’s. “You’re not incorrect.”