Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – Nevermore again
I did not return to Nevermore for the second semester. Actually no one did. The damages had been too important and the school needed to be restored after the fire. Principal Weems also needed to fully recovered after her poisoning by Lauren Gates. She had been closed to death but fortunately the poison hadn’t been in sufficient quantity to annihilate her massive and over-sized body.
I used these six months to write two new novels. Viper was able to hone her investigative skills. She even found a boyfriend in the last book. That’s lame, I know. She’s supposed to be a lone wolf, working on her own. Well, I guess that I was caught off guard when I had this brilliant idea. Or maybe I needed to exorcise a particularly troubling moment of my existence. Speaking of wolves, I do not know how Enid had my phone number – well Xavier probably gave it to her, I’m not fooling myself there - but she sent me too many messages for my sanity. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I answered a few times but she calmed down when I sent her pictures of my last births. My tarantula laid more eggs than expected and I celebrated this event for at least fifteen days. I’m not sure she will give her approval if I come back to Nevermore with one or two tarantula babies though… School starts again tomorrow and I don’t know if I should be happy or not. A change of scenery should probably be welcomed but my patience is already on the loose thinking of these teenagers hormones gravitating around myself.
Lurch parked the black car in front of the entrance of the school and Wednesday got out of it and hid the sun that dazzled her with her hand. She spotted among the students Xavier and he waved at her in the distance. She scanned the crowd for Enid but couldn’t see her.
“She’s already there,” Xavier told her, all smiling. He obviously succeeded to make his way to her. “Glad you’ve finally decided to join again. See you around Addams!” he added, taking his bags.
“He’s cute,” Morticia smiled, readjusting Wednesday’s uniform who took a step back.
“Mother…” she sighed, annoyed.
“What?” Morticia smiled once more. “Last year you made a friend. Maybe this year you’ll find a boyfriend,” she winked.
“Don’t listen to your mother, my little tormenta,” Gomez stepped in. “You have all the time in the world to think about that. Stay away of monsters as well this time. At least the ones who could rip your heart out.”
If only he knows… Thanks to her father, now she was thinking about him and she hated herself for that. He didn’t deserve a single thought from her.
“Pugsley, don’t forget all that I’ve taught you during the summer and use it wisely,” she told her brother.
“Yeah, but now I have a phone,” Pugsley beamed, wavering his phone with a new pride as if he had passed an important step of his life and the phone had been his reward.
“That’s the worse idea in the world,” Wednesday said, throwing a disapproving look at her parents.
“But I could call you if I ever forget how to do an armlock! Or watch a video on YouTube!”
“This modern world will be the end of you, Pugs…”
“Love you too sis,” he smiled at her sister.
Wednesday made sure not to let the goodbyes drag on and she then hurried to join Ophelia Hall. When she opened the door of her room, she was immediately engulfed in Enid’s embrace and she froze. She didn’t reciprocate the hug but Enid was too excited to make a comment about that and she soon started to babble, already giving Wednesday a headache.
“Did you create your Tik Tok account?” Enid asked while she was helping Wednesday settle in.
“It’s still a no, Enid,” Wednesday sighed. “I have a phone, I won’t get more than that. It’s already a lot, especially considering I have a stalker sending me weird little images. It’s supposed to scare me I guess. Amateur.”
“He or she did it again? You should talk to Xavier about it. He’s a nerd when it comes to technology and he’s the one who gave you the phone, so maybe he has an idea of the person who’s behind this.”
“Maybe, whatever…” Wednesday mumbled.
Actually Xavier was on her list of suspect but it was too soon to tell Enid about it.
After the dinner, every student had joined their room. Wednesday was about to start a cello session but Enid was too silent and that was unusual. Her boundless energy was off and she was somehow brooding.
“Speak. What’s wrong?” Wednesday asked.
Enid just shrugged her shoulders and Wednesday raised an eyebrow. “My mother doesn’t approve my relationship with Ajax…” she finally explained. “Now that I’m a “real” werewolf,” and she underlined the word with her fingers, “she wants me to date a werewolf as well. And later we will have the perfect little pack and I won’t be the shame of my family!”
“How about your father?” Wednesday asked and she was surprised to see that the topic had peeked an interest in her.
“My father loves me,” Enid answered sadly. “He only wants me to be happy but he won’t say anything that might upset my mother.”
Wednesday was looking at her friend with her usual stoic face, processing the problem if there was really a problem there. “I’m trying there,” Wednesday answered sincerely. “But I don’t know what to say about all these informations you’re giving me…”
“Forget about it…” Enid sighed, waving her hand. “Your parents are proud of you, you don’t know how hard it is to be the failure of the family…”
“You obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. Mother loves to point out how different I am from her,” Wednesday answered. “She was so disappointed when I told her that I will never fall in love, get married and have a family. It was the goal of her life, not mine.”
“Falling in love is not a choice you can make,” Enid pointed out. “But you already know that.”
Wednesday had to admit deep inside of her that Enid had a point. “I don’t know what to say, Enid, but I just know that your mother is not there and Ajax is.”
“You’re right!” Enid finally beamed, turning to her computer, humming. “Thanks for trying, Wednesday. You did a great job there, I’m proud of you.”
“Don’t get used to it…” Wednesday mumbled and Enid let out a little chuckle.
An hour later, Wednesday had finished her cello session and was sitting in front of her typewriter but the inspiration seemed to have vanished. Enid was playing rock-paper-scissors with Thing, texting from time to time with Ajax. Wednesday was almost relieved to hear knocking on their door. A little distraction could maybe bring back her inspiration.
“Come in!” Enid yelled and the door opened, revealing Eugene. “Hey Eugene!” Enid welcomed him.
“How are the bees?” Wednesday asked, getting up from her desk. “Who took care of them during these last months by the way?”
“I did!” Eugene answered proudly. “Principal Weems allowed me to take the hives home.”
“Oh that’s great”, Enid said with a smile. “You need something Eugene or do you just stop by to say hi?”
“Actually, Principal Weems wants to see us and she asks me to go and get you two.”
Wednesday and Enid exchanged a quick look and Enid shrugged, following Eugene as Wednesday had taken the lead. When they entered Weems’ office, Wednesday was surprised to see that Xavier and Bianca were also there, sitting in front of the desk of the Principal. The three of them took place next to their friends and Principal Weems watched them closely before taking an unnecessary deep breath.
“An announcement will be made tomorrow morning,” she began. “But I wanted the five of you to learn the news before everyone else. It’s about Tyler Galpin.”
It hit hard more than I expected and I knew that I would eventually hear his name again. After all he was not dead. As far as I know, he had been taken away in some kind of center for the outcasts. I couldn’t learn more about that center and what he was doing out there but I suppose that he was locked in a cell, chained to a wall to prevent him to harm anyone.
“As you all know, Tyler is a Hyde and the monster inside of him had been dragged out in a brutal way, between manipulation, torture and drugs,” Mrs Weems began.
I didn’t realize that Enid had laid one of her hand on mine until my eyes dropped on my knees. A few months ago, I would have probably jumped at the gesture and quickly put my hand away but now it was somehow… comforting.
“When Tyler has finally been stopped,” Principal Weems went on, “the monster had unfortunately taken a large part of him. Tyler has been forced to deal during now more than half a year the greatest battle of his young life. His human part vs his monster part. It has literally driven him crazy. All he wanted was to die. He actually tried twice to end his life.”
I shouldn’t have but I felt a pang in my heart. I was torn. How can someone miss twice to commit suicide? I knew exactly how to try and be in the verge, in a state where you are not completely dead but out enough to feel the cold wind of a sweet death. I should have probably sent him a text exposing my methods… Yes, Tyler was on my stalker suspect list as well. At least until Principal Weems finishes her explanations about him…
“So the medical staff had to take extreme decisions. The conclusion has been that only a reset could save him.”
“Does he really need to be saved?” Bianca asked ironically.
“You’ll be surprised if I opened all the student files of this school, Miss Barclay.”
“A reset?” Xavier asked, confused.
“Memory erased”, Wednesday clarified.
“Precisely Miss Addams,” Principal Weems confirmed. “It was a long process. They had to decide the exact moment of his life to make him forget everything he lived after that precise moment. The Hyde couldn’t be ignored. Tyler didn’t know he had that monster in him and he has to deal with his Hyde. He has to learn who he is, understand it, control this side of him. He has to remember how he triggers the monster, the confusion first, the two sides of him after that.”
“And I assume that it’s the moment you tell us that he will join the school as a student,” Xavier said bitterly out loud what they all have guessed.
“I know that it’s a lot to ask, especially to the five of you but Nevermore gives a chance to all outcasts. He can’t be locked up for the rest of his life. But the protection of every student of this school is also a priority. He can’t remember what he’s done to all of you. He knows that he killed three persons in the forest. He knows that he had a master. He of course remembers everything she told him about his mother, he also knows what Miss Thornhill, or should I say Lauren Gates, has done to him to make his Hyde emerge but that’s it. The purpose of all this, destroying Nevermore, Joseph Crackstone, your family, Miss Addams, you specifically being the key of a plan. It was not necessary that he remembers all that.”
“He won’t remember me at all, will he?” Wednesday asked and she wasn’t sure if it was good news or not.
“No, Miss Addams,” Larissa Weems answered softly. “Tyler won’t remember you since the reset takes place after he first meets Miss Thornhill, probably a few weeks after school started last year.”
“Perfect!” Wednesday said, suddenly getting up. “Is that all? Can we go?”
“Sure,” Principal Weems answered, taken aback, “if you don’t have any question…” she added to the five students.
“If he attacks one of us,” Bianca asked, getting up. “Can we kill him?”
“Miss Barclay…” Principal Weems sighed.
As Xavier, Bianca, Eugene and Enid were about to get out of the Principal’s office, Wednesday was still in front of her desk.
“Yes, Miss Addams? A question?”
“Bianca actually asked a good question,” Wednesday said. “I’m waiting for an answer.”
“He won’t attack anyone,” Weems answered, “the whole teaching staff will be watching him. I will be watching him.”
Wednesday didn’t seem to be convinced by that answer but she didn’t resist when Enid drove her out of the office.
“So, what do we do?” Xavier asked the others once they were in the hallway.
“Keeping all eyes on him,” Wednesday answered. “What more can we do for now?”
“I have my claws ready for him again if he tries anything,” Enid said, showing her claws to punctuate her words.
As Wednesday and Enid were climbing the stairs to join Ophelia Hall, Enid was watching closely her friend. She knew that Wednesday was much more concerned about all this that she actually wanted to show. She trusted Tyler. He was her friend, maybe more than that and it was probably painful.
“You don’t have to pretend with me,” Enid said. “Do you still have feelings for Tyler?”
“Yes, betrayal, anger, hate. Let’s just say that he better not cross my path too often.”
And I meant every single word.