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"NO!" Enid shouted suddenly in dismay, making Wednesday nearly fall out of her chair as she jumped to her feet. "No! No! No!" She whined as her claws grew and she clutched her phone tightly.
"What? What happened?" Wednesday said bristling as she quickly scanned the room for impending threats.
"Willa!" Enid complained and looked at Wednesday with large teary eyes as she pointed to her phone.
"Who is it? Is it Tyler? Was he spotted?" Wednesday said as she hurried over. Enid shook her head and sniffed as she handed her phone over. Wednesday took it and furrowed her brow as she quickly scanned it.
"What am I gonna do?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. Wednesday finished reading and looked at Enid dryly as she handed her phone back.
"The website where you read your silly little stories is down?" Wednesday asked for confirmation as her eyebrow twitched.
"What am I supposed to do?" Enid wailed as she started fluffing out. Wednesday stared at her incredulously.
"Wait for it to come back online." Wednesday said, turning around and heading back to her desk. She pulled her chair out and sat back down. She was irritated that this is what interrupted her writing time. She rested her fingers on her typewriter as she prepared to continue writing.
"But Willa!" Enid whined. "There was this one fanfic I was reading and-" Wednesday frowned as Enid proceeded to dive into a long winded explanation of the plot. "-and I was saving the latest chapter for after I finished my homework, you know as a treat, and then this!" She gestured to her phone. Wednesday closed her eyes as she prayed for patience. She opened them and turned around.
"Perhaps there is another website you can visit to obtain your daily dose of inane romantic derivatives?" Wednesday suggested.
"Ew! Like Whatspad?" Enid said with obvious disgust and shook her head. "I'm not going back there." She said with a huff. Wednesday tried to repress her exasperated sigh. "I have standards Willa." Enid said in deep offense.
"How foolish of me to suggest such a thing." Wednesday said sardonically.
"I wonder what everyone else is doing about this?" Enid wondered aloud as she scrolled through her phone.
"A novel idea. You should ask the masses as to how they'll survive such an unexpected and tragic turn of events." Wednesday said turning back around. She took a deep breath in as she tried to refocus. She was just about to type her first sentence when Enid's voice cut across the room.
"Hey guys-" Enid said as she started recording a video. A vein in Wednesday's temple was starting to throb. She just wanted to write in peace. Enid finished and posted the video with a small satisfied wag. Wednesday waited a minute before typing. "Oh my god, Willa!" Enid said, jumping up. Wednesday put her head in her hands.
"What?" She asked with a grimace.
"We should go around the school and interview other students to see how they feel about this." Enid said as her eyes lit up.
"Enid, you work for the academy's newspaper. I don't." Wednesday began but Enid continued.
"Oh my gosh and then we could ask some of the psychic students to see if they know when this will be over!" Enid said, wagging wildly. She grabbed Wednesday's hand and pulled her out of their dorm.
"And this is for…?" Bianca asked as she stood outside her dorm.
"To record people's authentic reactions to cyber crime that affects them personally." Enid said seriously as she held her phone out to record her response. Bianca raised her eyebrows and looked over at Wednesday.
"Was this your idea, Addams?" Bianca asked a very irritated looking Wednesday.
"How perceptive of you Barclay. Clearly I would love nothing more than to spend my prescheduled writing time chasing down the story of how the common man reacts to the inability to access-" Wednesday began sarcastically.
"Well, since Addams seems so passionate about this I suppose I will answer." Bianca smirked. "You know what? I can probably round up all the Scales so you can personally interview each of them and their thoughts about such a serious matter." She said, pulling out her phone.
"Really?" Enid said as she lit up. Bianca nodded and tried to repress a snort when she saw Wednesday's reaction. She was glaring absolute daggers. Enid grabbed Wednesday's shoulders and shook them lightly. "This is going to be so exciting!"
"So how has this personally affected you in your day to day life?" Enid asked a somber looking siren as they sat in the quad.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be interviewing me too?" Yoko teased Wednesday as she tapped the table. The look Wednesday gave her sent shivers down her spine and her grin wavered. Wednesday picked up the bright pink pencil Enid had given her to take notes with.
"Did you know that the type of wood used to kill vampires matters?" Wednesday asked calmly as she played with the pencil between her fingers. Yoko leaned away slightly. "Ash, willow, aspen, juniper…" She said slowly as she checked the sharpness of the tip with her finger. Her eyes flicked up to Yoko's. "Hawthorn is the most commonly used."
"Uh…" Yoko cleared her throat nervously. She wasn't sure how her best friend's five foot one inch roommate made her fear for her undead life. Wednesday's eyes flicked back down to the pencil.
"But I assume you already knew that." Wednesday said casually. "Any other wood simply immobilizes them. Painful for sure but not deadly."
"You know what, I think I hear Divina calling for me-" Yoko said, looking over to her girlfriend for help.
"Funny. It looks to me like she's in the middle of a conversation with Barclay." Wednesday said, catching Yoko's eye. "And besides, don't you want to help Enid with her report on this asinine turn of events?"
"I don't read a lot of fanfiction…" Yoko said as she watched the pencil in Wednesday's hand uncomfortably.
"Why not?" Wednesday said as she started to take notes.
"I don't like how people write vampires." Yoko said, rubbing her arm. Wednesday raised an eyebrow questioningly and Yoko continued. "Like people always write about how vampires have this unquenchable thirst for human blood and like go into a frenzy when we see it or smell it." She shook her head. "They make it sound like we have no self control."
"Interesting." Wednesday remarked and tapped her pencil absently. "And do you think better representation in such fictional works would change your perception and willingness to engage in such a writing community?"
"I mean, yeah, I guess if I knew it wa-" Yoko shrugged.
"And what are your thoughts on the overwhelming prevalence of romance fiction in said writing communities?" Wednesday continued.
"Uh…" Yoko blinked. "I don't kn-"
"Does the inclusion of romantic themes increase your likelihood of reading a story over one that doesn't?" Wednesday pressed.
"If I like the pairing, sure." Yoko said, feeling a little confused as to where this line of questioning was going. "Uh, what does this have to do with AWO3 being down?"
"Nothing. I just want to understand why people," Wednesday's eyes wandered over to Enid, "are obsessed with such things." Yoko followed her gaze. She snorted and Wednesday's eyes snapped back to her.
"You want to know the kind of fanfiction Enid reads?" Yoko said with a knowing smirk. Wednesday frowned.
"No. Why would I-" She began somewhat defensively.
"Or do you want to know about the kind of fanfiction Enid writes?" Yoko said, lowering her voice. Wednesday opened then closed her mouth. There was a pause.
"I have no interest in-" Wednesday began as she glared at Yoko. Yoko pulled out her phone, scrolled through it, and cleared her throat.
"The Raven and the Wolf. Angst, hurt/comfort, tension, romance, one-sided, confessions, pining, drama, fluff." Yoko read aloud in a whisper. She looked up from her phone to see Wednesday gripping the table. She raised an eyebrow.
"…I didn't ask-" Wednesday started to hiss. "Wait, how are you able to read this if the website is down?" She asked suspiciously.
"I have it saved. Shall I continue?" Yoko teased. Wednesday scowled darkly but fell silent. Yoko straightened her glasses. "Chapter one: A Lone Wolf and a Flap of Wings-"
"How's the interview going?" Enid asked as she sat down at their table. Wednesday snapped the pencil she was holding in half and Yoko nearly dropped her phone. "Willa!" Enid said as she looked sadly at the broken remains of her pencil.
"I am terribly sorry mon loup. I shall fetch you a replacement at once." Wednesday said quickly, getting up. She avoided Enid's gaze and promptly left.
"Mon… loup?" Enid blinked slowly in pleasant surprise as she watched Wednesday hurry out of the quad. She turned to Yoko who was covering her mouth. "You heard that too, right?"
"Yes." Yoko confirmed. Enid started wagging hopefully and tried to repress a smile.
"A-anyway! So the interview?" Enid said as she tried to be serious. She pulled out her phone.
"Are we not going to talk about that?" Yoko asked as she gestured to where Wednesday had left. Enid let out a small whine and huff as she wagged faster.
"There you are!" Enid remarked as she poked her head back into their dorm. "I was wondering where you disappeared to." She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She strode over to Wednesday's desk and put her hands on her hips. "I got worried when you didn't come back."
"It was not my intention to worry you." Wednesday said as she dipped a paintbrush into some paint. Enid huffed and looked over her shoulder.
"What are you-?" Enid started, taken aback.
"I'm afraid I could not find a pencil in the exact shade of the garish pink you prefer." Wednesday said as she delicately hand painted a pencil.
"Willa…" Enid said, trying not to get choked up. She wrapped her arms around her from behind and pulled her into a hug.
"Enid." Wednesday complained as a small blush crept across her face. Enid gave her a gentle squeeze and pulled away before bounding back over to her side of the dorm. She plopped down on her bed and pulled out her phone. She let out a dismayed groan and buried her head in her pillows.
"Still down?" Wednesday guessed as she placed her paintbrush down and looked over at Enid. Enid mumbled into her pillows and Wednesday sighed. Enid pulled one of the pillows down.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight if I can't read my favorite fanfiction." She whined. Wednesday glanced at her typewriter and back at Enid. There was a stretch of silence as Wednesday battled with herself internally.
"Does it have to be fanfiction?" Wednesday asked as she turned back around.
"No but where else I'm I going to find werewolf romance?" Enid complained.
"Does it have to be romance?" Wednesday asked in a pained voice. Enid rolled over.
"Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?" She huffed. Wednesday didn't respond. "Sometimes I just want to get swept away into another world where everything goes right." She hugged one of her pillows as she fantasized about it. "Where a lonely werewolf can find the person of her dreams and have those feelings be reciprocated." She sighed. She glanced at Wednesday shyly. "Don't you ever want-" She began but Wednesday was typing away at her typewriter. Enid repressed a huff and covered her face again.
Wednesday typed away as she determinedly ignored Enid's periodic dramatic sighs and whines. It was getting late and Wednesday was starting to feel tired.
"Willa." Enid complained as she scrolled through her phone absently. "Willa I can't sleep without my stories." There was a soft ding of Wednesday's typewriter and she pulled the last page out. She placed it neatly in a stack and paper clipped them together. She picked the stack up and walked over to Enid's bed. Enid looked up curiously as Wednesday held the papers out to her.
"What's this?" Enid asked as she took them carefully.
"A simple and frivolous work of fiction you can read so I can get some sleep." Wednesday said, without looking at her. She turned away and headed to her bed. She slipped under the covers and closed her eyes. Enid sat up and looked down at the first page.
"The not so solitary life of a raven…" Enid read the title quietly to herself. She glanced over at Wednesday, who appeared to be asleep or at least faking it. Enid got comfortable and started reading the first chapter.
Wednesday awoke to the sound of Enid whimpering softly as her tail thumped against the bed. She cracked an eye open and looked over. Enid seemed to be on the last page. Wednesday glanced over at the clock on her bedside table. It was just past midnight. She looked back to see Enid hug the pages to her chest and let out a small squeal. Wednesday quickly closed her eyes again as she saw Enid look over. Her heart began to beat a little faster. She loved the way Enid's eyes appeared to almost glow in the dark as they reflected light.
"Thank you Willa…" Enid whispered affectionately. Wednesday fought to keep her face expressionless. Enid wagged a little faster as she noticed Wednesday blushing. She knew Wednesday was awake. She carefully set the story down on her desk and wandered back to bed. She placed her hand on the covers and glanced over. Wednesday froze as Enid caught her staring. Enid wagged hopefully. "Willa-?"
"I suppose you also can't sleep without some sort of unnecessary physical contact." Wednesday said exasperatedly. Enid raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to respond but Wednesday was already lifting her sheets. Enid snapped her mouth shut and nodded quickly. "Hurry up and get in then." Wednesday said, looking away. Enid wagged wildly as she bounded over and dove into bed with Wednesday.
“Thanks Willa.” Enid said beaming as she cuddled into her.
“Don’t mention it.” Wednesday said, trying to scowl. Enid reached over to brush a few strands of Wednesday’s hair out of her face. She could feel her holding her breath. She bit her lip and lightly grazed her fingers along her cheek. Wednesday stiffened.
“Your heart is beating so fast Willa.” Enid breathed as she wrapped her arms around her.
“So it is.” Wednesday deflected. She tried and failed to repress a shiver when she saw Enid’s shining blue eyes. They looked so warm and inviting. Enid blinked and nuzzled Wednesday gently before closing them. Wednesday could feel her face burning up. She steeled her resolve and subtly pressed her forehead to Enid’s. “Goodnight Enid.” She whispered softly.
“Goodnight Willa.” Enid whispered back.