Chapter Text
Her chest rises and falls at the speed it’s always been at, the pace of walking and plummeting into bed after another mundane day. Uniform and simple.
She hears the tossing and turning of her exasperatingly bubbly roommate as she watches whatever insignificant video on her phone. She wants to glare in her direction, telling herself it's simply because she wants peace and quiet, but when she extends her arm out she can only feel it forcing itself down, almost as if to tell her it’s a bad idea to reach.
She instead chooses to ignore the repeated stabbing between her lungs. There's no sudden change in heartbeat, but it bites down fast between her breaths and she swears she feels the weight of pure heavy ambience atop her throat.
It was that stinging again–the mere thought of what could only be described as some chemical anomaly. It could've been the cyanide in her coffee of that morning that had somehow snuck its way into a vulnerable spot of her bloodstream. It could’ve been the abominable stench of strawberry scented body mist creeping over from the opposite side of the room. It could’ve been the aching in her ribs after a recent blow from her own sabre nearly piercing through her with sheer fortuitous strength.
Regardless, had her mind not been in another realm, maybe the blow would’ve finally ended these sudden unpalatable sentiments.
Sentiments she shouldn't have ever felt. The apprehension kills her as she knows it will only intensify the burning in her cold, loathsome heart. She will never admit it might’ve been a mistake, because that would imply she was challenging her durability to natural reactants. So for now, she’d rather die than speak a word about anything going on in her mind. If she can ignore the desperate pounding in her chest, she’d meet just the perfect qualifications to take on a god.
Her brooding was interrupted by a particularly sharp squeal slicing through her eardrums. A squeal she's unfortunately all too familiar with. The goth instinctively rises from her chair and meets the eyes of the sonority.
And she only looks as good as ever.
Her gawking was stopped abruptly when she notices the wolf scampering towards her, chest heaving.
“Wends, look at this!” She shoves her alarmingly bright phone against Wednesday's face, nearly shattering the very thin line of patience the goth has left. She gently pushes away Enid's wrist, getting a clearer view of the phone.
“A musical competition? To what misfortune does this venue owe to require your nonexistent dexterity in instruments?” she asks, arms crossed.
“Do you not see that prize?! You have no idea, I would kill to meet Twice!”
Upon further inspection, Wednesday notices the sum of a whopping $1,000 in prize money typed beneath the heading, alongside the mention of free tickets to some K-Pop group touring in the area. When she looks back up, she's met with the gleaming eyes of pure hope and ambition on Enid's face. She shakes at the sight.
“I see that” she pans, “But what does this have to do with me?”
Enid's smile grows sickeningly wide. Wednesday already regrets asking.
“Well...” she starts, fidgeting with her hands, “I always thought your cello playing is super-duper, really, awesomely, amazingly cool…and—“
“Just spit it out.”
“I really want you to play for me!” she blurts, “Please?”
If her blank stare wasn't enough of a hint that she would rather gargle sugar syrup than perform for some conformist, mass-marketed contest, she decides to turn her back and sit back down on her chair, completely ignoring the request.
“Wednesday! I'm begging you!” she pleads dramatically, “I swear I'll never bother you with those cliché movies again! Or— Better yet— I wont play my music on max volume anymore! How does that sound?”
Seeing the pitiful display of the wolf practically on her knees pleading did make the goth consider the requisition. She slowly turns her body with the chair, eyes squinted as she pretends to ponder. She knows deep in her core that she couldn't deny Enid anything even if she tried.
“I’ll allow it. This one time. Don't ask of anything from me ever again, I’m already feeling ill just thinking about it.”
Enid immediately jumps back on her two feet, jumping as she claps her hands. “Thank you, Wedns! This is why you're the bestest!”
“Best.”
“Yeah, best!”
As the day progressed, Wednesday finds herself laid on her bed, book in hand while the other holds her fountain pen as she occasionally annotates the contents.
She can't help but hear the thumping of her thoughts begging to be acknowledged. Her head feels like it might explode if she neglects it any longer. However, she shoves them right back down and prays they never come out.
She shakes her pen off, dries it with her shirt, closes her book and prepares for bed. Her mind was still so preoccupied with silencing itself she hadn't even realized the blonde girl had walked in and made herself comfortable on the cellist´s bed.
The sudden view of the girl made Wednesday jump a bit, but not enough to be noticeable.
“Sooo…” Enid begins, “I had an idea for the contest that we should totes try out!”
With a tinge of skepticism, Wednesday dips her chin downwards. “Go on.”
“I checked the music room and saw they had a grand piano lying around so… Why not give it a whirl? I´m sure it can't be that hard.”
Wednesday gives her a flat stare. “I am going to pretend I didn't hear that insolent remark. Wake me when you've decided a proper time.”
“No— I meant now. I wanna practice now” she urged.
“Now?¨ she argued, “That is preposterous”
She rises from her bed until she feels her wrist quickly taken into the grasp of the wolf, stopping her steps abruptly.
She looks down at her, heart nearly bursting out of her chest at the sight of the soft features. She hesitates for a moment, before turning her body towards Enid.
“Very well,” she sighs, “Gather my supplies.”
Enid flashes the brightest smile as she rushes to grab her roommate's cello case and backpack, being careful as to not damage the fragile strings and maple wood.
Once they make it inside the music room, they are greeted with the cooling breeze of the space and an atmosphere so sophisticated it made even the werewolf feel inferior at its presence. Enid basques at its beauty, letting out a loud “Woah!” just to hear how it echoed.
She spots the beautifully polished grand piano sitting atop the elevated floor. The moonlight shines above it so meticulously, it almost feels as if it were meant for Enid to play. Despite never touching a piano a day in her life, she is too eager to start.
“Look at this, Wedns. It's beautiful!” she gasps.
Enid's face glowing against the shiny glare of the piano sends shocks down Wednesday's spine. Her chest squeezes as the girl lets out the most delightful string of laughter. She isn't quite sure if it’s because the girl is a werewolf, or if it’s because she’s just Enid, but she looks strikingly exquisite beneath the moon.
“Precisely” she replies, staring only at Enid and completely disregarding the instrument in front of her.
Enid lets out a soft giggle before stretching her arms out.
“Alright! So… What do I even like- Do…?”
“Perhaps lifting the top would be a bright start.”
“Oh,” her face reddened, “Right, now how do I even play this thing? Do I just…ding!”
Wednesday winces at the high pitch note and immediately starts walking towards the girl.
Having had enough, she sits right beside Enid and lays her hands out above the keys, urging Enid to do the same.
The goth takes a deep breath before her fingers start pressing on each key. The melody carefully glides her hands across the piano. She feels each individual note line up with intention and poise.
Enid can only watch in awe. Her mouth is slightly parted and she feels something in her core bubble up.
How can someone look so perfect by just playing a piano? Wednesday’s perfect posture and perfect side profile and perfect…everything. The blonde doesn’t even know what song it is, but she's so invested you would think she's heard it a million times.
Once the goth was done, she shifted her torso around.
“So,” she flattens her skirt, “Are you prepared for the great dedication it will take to get here?”
She’s finally snapped out of her trance, “Oh— Uh…Yes! I’m— I am.”
Wednesday points to the first key of the piano. “This here is a C note,” she points to another, “and this here is also a C note. They're essentially the same sounds but different pitches. It would be beneficial to memorize the black keys to better comprehend where each note in between is. The black ones are for flats and sharps, which are also the same thing. Here is-“ she notices Enid out of the corner of her eye, snapping a photo. “Are you listening?”
Enid giggles, “Sorry, sorry! I just had to show this to Yoko. This is so cool! I feel like Olivia Rodrigo.”
“The art of music is not something to be taken lightly, especially not when you have a thousand dollars on the line,” the goth lectures.
“-and Twice tickets” she corrects.
“…And Twice tickets.”
“Well I don’t know!” she grumbled, “It’s a lot to take in. But I’ll try, I promise.”
“I suppose we can begin with something easier,” she begins taking out her cello, “I’ll show you a rather simple one.”
Before the wolf could even process her words, Wednesday is leaning against her, pressing her cold body against the warmth of Enid's shoulder.
“Wedns—?” She can’t help but feel a flutter in her chest.
“This key,” she says plainly, “this D flat, this F, this A, and this C. This will make up the first chord”
Enid's face gets impossible redder. “Right! Uhm…like this?”
She lays her both hands on the keys, carefully pressing each note. She shocks herself with the sound that emits from it. It sounds pretty damn good.
“Woah— How was that?” she asks excitedly, “That sounded good!”
“It was adequate.”
They spend the next following minutes playing together. Enid eventually learns all five chords her roommate taught her and learns the groove at which bossa nova is best played at. She eagerly played the rhythm while the goth stroked the melody against the strings of her cello.
The moment the moon crept up from above was when they decided it was finally time to head out and call it a night.
Wednesday packs her cello back into her case, gathers her sheetmusic, and closes her notebook. Enid follows quickly behind as they walk towards their shared room.
“I can help you with all that if you’d like?”
“No need,” she reassures, “I’m rather…motivated as of right now.”
Enid raises a brow and smirks. “Are you trying to tell me something, Wedns?” she asks slyly.
“Whatever makes you think that?”
“Oh, c’mon! Just admit you liked playing together!” she teases.
Wednesday pauses for a moment, leaving her roommate a few steps ahead. “I suppose that would be accurate.” She continues walking.
Enid is left a bit shocked, but mainly prideful in how she got her roommate to admit she enjoyed anything! The Wednesday Addams enjoying anything other than medieval torture methods and sad philosophy books? That's a huge win for Enid.
She rushes to catch up to her roommate, wrapping an arm around the goth’s free arm. And for some unexplainable reason, the goth doesn't mind it.
She might have leaned into it.