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The typewriter clacked as Wednesday pressed the keys non-stop, caught up in the chapter she was writing. She had been working on it for almost two hours; it was long past the time her writing session usually ended. But she couldn’t bring herself to drop it there, so here she was, tapping the keys intensely. A barely perceptible smirk grazed her lips as the latest investigation unfolded in her novel.
She was so caught up that she barely heard the door of the dorm open, as a colorful werewolf stepped inside.
“Hey Wednesday!” Enid burst into the room, dropping her bag to the ground dramatically. Wednesday gave the girl a quick glance before returning to her typewriter.
“Enid,” Wednesday acknowledged her, already typing the words onto the paper in front of her.
“I’ll literally bang my head against a wall if I don’t tell you what happened today in class!” Enid said, already pacing back and forth across the room. After a few moments of silence, she continued.
“I’m joking, obviously. Looks like your homicidal tendencies are rubbing off on me.”
Wednesday allowed a small smirk to pass her lips at the thought. She voiced her thoughts only a second later.
“Shame. I would like to see that.”
Enid smiled, long past being able to tell the difference between Wednesday being serious or sarcastic. Honestly, it was surprising how the girl who came off as mean so often was actually so funny. Not that she wasn’t mean, either.
“OK, so there was this stupid outcast literature assignment today where we had to pair up and write about a female outcast poet who was misunderstood in her life, and blah, blah, blah—” she cut herself off while struggling to get her blazer off.
“Sylvia Plath,” Wednesday added shortly. She was inspiring, especially with the way she died. Wednesday sometimes wanted to use her methods—whether on herself or Enid, that depended.
“And yeah, that's who Yoko and I wrote about! Well, I didn't even know who she was before Yoko started telling me about her, but anyways…”
Wednesday took note of Yoko’s good taste in poetry in the back of her mind while stacking her papers neatly. She was proud of the progress she had made in her novel. She was closer to being finished than ever.
“—Are you even listening to me? It’s important!” Enid protested, furrowing her brows.
“I fail to comprehend any substance in the professor offering a cursory glance at your essay, only to praise a gorgon girl for writing merely four sentences,” Wednesday stated, turning in her chair to face the girl on the other side of the room.
“Regardless, it serves as an undeniable example of a gorgon’s cognitive ineptitude at comprehending basic instructions.”
Enid hummed, apparently satisfied by the answer she got, as her brows returned to their usual place. She resumed taking her books and the essay she was talking about out of her bag.
“The poet she chose to write about wasn’t even female—I mean, duh!” Enid flopped onto the bed, pulling her phone out to do whatever she usually did.
Wednesday didn’t rush, didn’t acknowledge her, and calmly finished stacking the papers of her novel, then fixed her already immaculate typewriter. That’s when Enid looked up at her.
“Wednesday?” she asked, a bit unsure, looking at the back of the dark-haired girl’s head.
“No,” Wednesday answered without looking at Enid. She didn’t like that tone. Not. A. Bit.
Enid looked at the girl’s back, dumbfounded. What? No to what? “What?” she asked, before continuing.
“You didn’t even hear what I was about to say!” Enid protested, snapping out of the shock she was in. She couldn’t believe she was being shut down without even being asked.
“I am not going to indulge in whatever adolescent activity you want me to participate in,” Wednesday stated, not daring to turn her face towards the source of light—towards Enid. If she did, she might succumb to those piercing blue eyes.
No.
Wednesday Addams did not succumb to anyone. And definitely not to a pair of blue eyes.
This had to be a dream. Only dreams could be this bright, obnoxious, and loud. There was no way she willingly let herself succumb to this torture.
And not in a good way.
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” Enid said in an excited voice, tugging at Wednesday’s arm like a kid. Wednesday realized she didn’t mind it that much.
What she did mind was the crowd.
Enid continued, “I can’t believe this is our first girls' night out with you! And with everyone! And you!” Enid said, letting go of Wednesday’s arm for a second to clap her hands.
“Enid, I still can’t believe how you managed to get Wednesday Addams to agree to this,” Yoko said while putting an arm around Enid's shoulder, now looking at Wednesday.
“Neither do I,” was all Wednesday mumbled. She knew she had lost the battle against Enid’s ‘puppy eyes’, as Enid called them.
More like emotional blackmail.
Enid grinned sheepishly—or wolfishly, with the way her canines showed when she grinned. “I can’t believe it either! Maybe after today, we can even do a mani session with you, me, and Thing!”
“Don’t push your luck, Enid,” Wednesday half-growled, half-bit out. She would rather gauge her eyes out than do that. Horror must have washed over her usually stoic face so obviously that Enid muttered a quick, “Sorry, roomie!”
Yoko looked between the two of them, watching their interactions. It was so funny that she tried so hard not to laugh. She managed to contain it when Divina elbowed her lightly to warn her.
Wednesday didn’t want to believe she would have to spend her entire night with this group of five people. She already regretted her decision for the umpteenth time.
“Addams? Good to see you socializing,” she heard a smug voice say. This was not going to end well for Enid.
She looked at Bianca without addressing her directly. “I have seven different knives on my person and more ways I can use them on you as my new taxidermy project.”
Bianca huffed, clearly not taking her seriously. “Sure, Addams,” she said, smirking.
That smirk vanished the moment she found a knife at her throat and the short girl behind her, holding her in a chokehold.
“Woah, woah, woah, Addams, no,” Yoko muttered, looking horrified.
“Wednesday!” Enid hissed in shock.
“This is your final warning,” Wednesday said, as she let Bianca go. Bianca stepped a few paces back in shock, then smirked just as she had before. “You win, Addams. For now.”
It was Enid who collected herself before anyone else. “Well, we had better start playing these games because there is so much I want to try right now!”
They were in front of the ring toss because Enid wanted the plushie prize. Wednesday managed to get all the rings on the stick, while Bianca missed one, Divina missed five, Yoko missed three, and Enid two.
Wednesday managed to crack a small smile at the expression Bianca had on her face after ‘losing’ against her, and Enid had an arm wrapped around her, shouting in joy for her prizes.
Plural.
Because apparently, normies did not count supernatural elements in their rigged games. Everyone except Divina got a prize for Enid.
“Enid has werewolf senses, you have vampire sight. I’m not even talking about those two,” Divina gestured to the bickering girls at the end of the sentence. Yoko snorted as the siren complained about the “injustice.”
Wednesday looked at Enid and then at the arm wrapping around her side, without pushing her boundaries much. Then she brought her gaze to Bianca, and the pair behind them.
Maybe she didn’t hate this as much as she thought.
Wednesday looked at the plushie in disgust. “C’mon Wednesday, don’t look at it like it’s creepy!”
“It is creepier than the squirrel you shrieked at upon seeing,” Wednesday stated dryly. Her mood was down, especially after losing not only to Bianca but also to Divina and Yoko at the “lucky wheel.”
She was sure the girls had done something she didn’t know about, as they had all stopped the wheel on the Jackpot except her.
And Enid too.
But Enid wasn’t as upset about this as she was. Of course she wouldn’t be; she got the plushies she wanted. Wednesday didn’t bother to act indifferent. There wasn’t any need either, not here. She didn’t even look at Bianca afterward, letting Enid guide them to their next stand.
They were walking behind the other three girls. She was also starting to get exhausted from the crowd. This might be the longest she had ever indulged in these types of activities.
She usually burned the places down within the first few minutes.
Enid noticed Wednesday’s mood was down; the girl was too competitive for her own sake. It wasn’t even a skill game—just pure luck. She didn’t point it out to the girl. No one would’ve noticed except her; Wednesday was very good at masking her feelings. It was hard to know what was going on in her mind or what she was feeling.
But today, she wasn’t masking it that much. Maybe because she had grown tired of it after doing all the things she despised, like crowds and carnival games.
Maybe because she trusts us, Enid thought, the notion causing her to grin so hard. But she looked at the girl again to see her expression. Wednesday was pouting. In her own Wednesday way, of course.
Her brows were furrowed more than usual, her chin tucked a bit lower. Her gaze was fixed in front of her, lost in her thoughts. That was practically sulking for her. Enid decided to walk a bit behind the other girls to ease Wednesday a bit.
Then Divina turned back to them.
“Enid, let’s sit at one of the coffee stands. What do you and Wednesday say?” she suggested, looking at them. Her eyes softened upon laying eyes on Wednesday. She didn’t look like she understood Wednesday was sulking, but she definitely got that Wednesday was in a bad mood.
Enid shot a glance to Wednesday, who just nodded. “Sure, you go ahead, Div, we’ll catch up to you!” Enid said in a loud voice.
Divina looked at them for a second longer before nodding and turning her gaze back ahead, relaying the answer she got to the girls next to her.
On their way, Enid rambled to Wednesday, who eased up shortly afterward. By the time they arrived at a decent stand, they were having their usual chat (Enid’s rambling and Wednesday’s sarcastic remarks here and there).
“We can settle there, what do you girls say?” Bianca said, pointing to a booth.
“Decent,” Wednesday stated. All the others nodded in unison.
“Then let’s go!” Enid jumped, letting go of Wednesday and bouncing towards the booth.
“You’re dropping your plushies, you stupid wolf!” Yoko shouted behind Enid, who was, in fact, dropping the plushies like a trail.
“Have some respect for gifts, Enid!” Divina also called out jokingly, smiling at the scene.
In the end, everyone except Wednesday collected the plushies from the ground. She wouldn’t touch them ever. Not even the emotional blackmail Enid had could make her touch a single one of them.
“So, it's getting pretty crowded here. We may lose the booth if all of us go to order,” Bianca stated, looking around to see a wave of people.
“Hey, I know Wednesday’s order! Quad over ice, right? I can get it for you!” Enid said, smiling at Wednesday. Before Wednesday could say anything, Divina spoke up.
“Perfect. It’s awesome you have a simple coffee order. We all have very long orders, and Enid’s is just a crime against baristas, so we can quickly get it all and come back.”
Yoko looked to Wednesday. “Is it okay for you?”
Wednesday just nodded. She was not interested in hearing the girls’ unnecessarily long orders of the drinks they called coffee.
“Cool, we'll be back pretty quick, roomie!” Enid said, while the girls started walking towards the stand.
Wednesday nodded again, and Enid flashed her a toothy grin, then bolted off with the girls.
Wednesday was just gazing at the crowd when she saw a guy reaching for an old woman’s purse. Just as she stood up, the guy took the purse and bolted.
Wednesday bolted after him.
She didn’t bother taking her bag with her. The woman shouted, telling people to catch the guy. The guy dived through the crowd, with Wednesday running just after him. He knocked over a few chairs, trying to slow her down. Wednesday jumped over them, closing the distance.
He was slowing, but Wednesday didn’t. Just as her hand clapped around his wrist, she felt the familiar static under her fingertips traveling through her body. Her eyes widened and her head snapped up—
People. Shouting. Kicking.Blood. The guy on the ground. Purse on the left.
She was pushed by the guy just as her head dropped back down. She gasped, still not quite out of the vision. Just as she stumbled, she saw him trip and fall, the purse flying away from his grip. She bumped into a young woman and—
Hospital. Nurses. Doctors.
Baby. Dead. Crying.
Her head jerked back. She looked to see the woman already gone. She, in her daze, was pushed yet again by someone else. She felt the electricity going up her spine; her neck snapped—
Sirens. Police cars. A person running.
Her knees trembled, and her breath caught in her throat as she came back to reality. She tried to take a full breath. She heard someone shouting at her, “Watch where you're going, freak!” She barely heard the words as her head jerked up again—
Fire alarm. Crowd. A cat. Smoke. A burning smell.
She came back coughing, feeling the smoke she had seen in the vision in her lungs. It was like she was underwater, drowning. She felt tears—no, black tears—leaking from her eyes. She looked around sluggishly to see if Enid or anyone she knew was there, to no avail. She collided with a middle-aged man, only to feel the spark again.
Ground moving. Furniture falling. A broken vase. A dog barking. Darkness.
She felt a wave of nausea hitting her as her eyes saw the black sky, the carnival lights doing no good to the pounding headache she had. Her eyes leaked more black tears. She tried to sidestep away from the crowd, just wanting it all to stop. Her legs felt like they weren’t hers, just like the rest of her body. She was again thrown into the crowd as a kid bumped into her harshly.
Kids. Laughing. A locker. An envelope. Crying.
When she came out of the vision, she was no better than a rag doll moved around. She wasn’t standing at all, instead being tossed over and over. She heard shouting but didn’t register the words. She just needed it all to stop.
The carnival lights, the music, the shouting—it was all too much. The lights were blinding her, increasing the heaviness behind her eyes. She felt the electricity all through her body, traveling all of her nerves. They felt like they were burnt. The people were just a blur of colors, and the sound was just a ringing in her ears.
Too much.
She hated it all—hated the unwanted touches which ignited a spark of electricity, the sounds, the lights. She felt like her skin was too tight, the electricity constant against her skin. Her head felt like it would split open from the pain.
She hated it all.
Someone bumped into her again, sending her sideways. The last thing she heard before the electricity took over her once more was a shout directed at her.
“An Espresso Macchiato, please,” Bianca said to the barista.
“An Espresso Tonic for me,” Yoko added.
“God, what’s with the Espresso’s? An Iced Latte, please.” Divina also ordered.
“A rainbow furr—uhm, frappuccino with extra steak—strawberry! Strawberry, yes, please,” Enid said quickly, becoming mortified by the look the barista gave her, before looking around to avoid her judging gaze. “And uhm, quad over ice.”
“All of that will be done. Cash or card?”
Everyone paid for their coffee. Enid paid for Wednesday’s with the cash the girl had given her. Wednesday hated to feel indebted, even though it wasn’t anything big for Enid to buy her a coffee.
That was what friends did.
But Wednesday had insisted, so she had to take the money unwillingly. Her train of thought was stopped by Yoko.
“Pup, you really forgot there isn’t any furraccino in normie coffee shops, or trucks, whatever it is.” The vampire laughed, looking at her above her glasses.
“Hey!” Enid protested, pouting from the embarrassment she had felt before. “I’m allowed to forget! Still, I don’t think I will be able to forget the look the barista gave me when I said steak, oh my god!” She buried her face in her hands, trying to hide her flustered face.
The group laughed, then thankfully moved on from the topic, talking about nail polishes and school gossip until their coffees were made.
They waited for about fifteen minutes until all their coffees were made. They continued their talk on their way to the booth where Wednesday waited, with the coffees in their hands.
Bianca was the first to realize the empty booth which was supposed to be occupied by Wednesday.
“All we asked was for her to wait,” she sighed, furrowing her brows in mild irritation. What was wrong with this girl that she didn’t bother to sit for fifteen minutes straight? She thought they were getting along; that she was getting along with all of them.
“What’s up, Bia— oh,” Yoko ended the sentence disappointed, staring at the empty booth.
“So she did not wait, after all,” Divina mumbled, shaking her head in irritation.
Enid was the last one to realize. She was walking, still talking about the same gossip when she stopped. She took in the others' faces.
“Why do you all look at the booth like it personally offended— …” She just stared at the empty booth, disappointed. Wednesday had ditched them already. She felt the anger bubble up inside her.
“I don’t understand. Why?! We were having a good time! Did she really just wait for us to leave so she could ditch us the moment she could?!” Enid spilled out in anger, still unable to wrap her head around the fact that Wednesday really ditched them.
“Looks like she didn’t have as good of a time as we thought,” Yoko muttered in disbelief. “Damn, I did enjoy her company,” she muttered the last part quietly. Everyone still heard it.
“Come on, it’s Wednesday we’re talking about. Friendship and music—it’s just not her. Get over it. Clearly, she wanted us out of her head,” Bianca said bitterly, her hand tightening around her cup subconsciously.
She was angry because she felt hurt. She and Wednesday weren’t best friends, but they both held respect for each other and often indulged in conversations. Fencing was entertaining too; they were the only opponents who could make each other sweat. She had enjoyed tonight with everyone and Wednesday, and she was grateful Wednesday also accompanied them.
“Yeah, clearly. It seems so hard for Wednesday Addams to just spend one normal night with me—with us,” Enid bit out.
“It’s strange, though…” Divina muttered, caught up in her own head.
“It’s not at all. Wednesday ditched us, like she would. She didn’t waste a single minute to get out of here. It’s just so Wednesday.” Enid was so angry with Wednesday that she wanted to find her and shout in her face just how selfish, cruel, and arrogant she was.
Of course, Wednesday Addams was above all of them; she didn’t have time to waste on people like them. She just thought—just thought they were having a great time.
She thought that when she saw Wednesday’s cute dimples after beating Bianca.
She thought that when she saw Wednesday looking equally disgusted and soft at the sight of her hugging her plushies.
She thought that when Wednesday let her wrap an arm around her waist, not pulling away and subconsciously leaning into it instead.
She thought that when she saw Wednesday bantering back and forth with Yoko about the ‘trick’ she did on the lucky wheel.
She thought that when she was rambling on the way and looked over her shoulder to see Wednesday listening to her intently, focused on every word spilling out of her lips.
She thought that when she saw Wednesday smirking at the sight of Divina complaining about the injustice.
She thought that when Wednesday leaned next to her at the ring toss, their shoulders brushing.
She thought that Wednesday was enjoying her time here—here with her and everyone.
She thought about that so much that it hurt terribly when Wednesday left. Without explanation, without a goodbye.
Just left.
Like she didn’t matter. As she didn’t matter enough for Wednesday to actually wait for them to leave or tell her in any way she had left.
A knot tightened in her throat; tears she didn't realize were filling her eyes threatened to stroll down her cheeks. She refused to let them fall.
She wasn’t going to cry—she wasn’t. Not over Wednesday, not over the girl who left the moment they were just a step closer towards strengthening their friendship.
She was crying over Wednesday.
Hot, salty tears trailed down her cheeks, falling on her lips. Her lips quivered, a sob threatening to escape her throat.
“Oh, Wolfie,” Yoko said, enveloping Enid in a tight hug. Enid held on to that, trying not to remember the hug she had once shared with Wednesday.
After the short breakdown she had, Enid collected herself, feeling much better thanks to Yoko. Divina cleared her throat, looking at the trio.
“So, sorry for the topic change, Enid, but what I was trying to say by saying it is strange was: Wednesday gave you money for her coffee, right?” Divina asked, now directly looking at Enid, who was visibly back to her angry self.
“Of course she did, because apparently, she just can’t accept a friendly gesture—”
“Enid,” Bianca said as something dawned on her, interrupting Enid’s yet another remark about Wednesday.
“Why would Wednesday give you the money for a coffee she wouldn’t drink?”
Enid looked taken aback by the question. “To not arouse suspicion, of course—”
“Enid.”
It was Yoko who interrupted this time.
“We weren’t even suspicious at all. We didn’t expect her to leave. And she could’ve just said she didn't want a drink. It’s not like she always gets a drink.”
Enid was speechless. What were they implying?
“I think,” Divina started once again, “Wednesday could’ve just left temporarily. Maybe she wanted to look around while we weren’t here. Or just brood somewhere. Her backpack is even there, still at the booth.”
With her last sentence, everyone’s head whipped towards the booth. Indeed, Wednesday’s backpack was still there.
How could they all have missed the backpack before, even with its stark black and white contrast? And they were all just making up assumptions. Everyone felt stupid and guilty for assuming Wednesday had left them.
And Enid—God, Enid wanted the earth to swallow her whole. She had cried over the assumption that Wednesday left, had said all those bad things about Wednesday, even if it was just in her head. She blamed Wednesday over something she didn’t even do. She wanted to cry again, yet for a completely different reason.
“Oh my God, I’m so stupid,” Enid mumbled, unable to hide her mortification.
“We all are stupid, Enid,” Yoko added.
“I can’t believe I made all those assumptions based on an empty booth,” Bianca added.
“Same.” Divina stayed silent for a moment, then continued. “So I suggest we all forget about this embarrassing moment and actually sit at the booth.”
They all nodded in agreement, walking towards the booth. They all sat down—Enid next to Wednesday’s black bag, Bianca next to her, Divina and Yoko on the other side of the booth, Yoko across from Enid.
After a moment of silence, they slowly started talking again about random stuff before easing up fully. After nearly five minutes, Enid asked the group, “Hey, Wednesday still isn’t around. Should we look for her?”
Everyone fell silent for a moment and contemplated.
“Where will we even look?” Divina asked.
“I dunno, just around or something. Better than sitting here doing nothing.”
“Well, we can look around,” Bianca stated, already standing up.
Everyone stood up quickly after Bianca. Just as she stood up, Enid’s sensitive ears caught a conversation in the next booth.
“You saw that guy?” the young woman asked the man sitting across from her.
“Which guy? I didn’t see anything, babe,” the man said, looking at his girlfriend across the booth.
“Oh, just after you left, apparently there was a guy who was stealing an old lady’s purse. Just as he grabbed it, a young girl over at that booth bolted after him. I barely had time to react before the girl bolted after him. Honestly, I didn’t even see the guy taking that purse,” the woman answered as she pointed with her head towards the booth they were sitting in.
“A young girl bolted after him? Pretty dangerous, I must say. She could’ve gotten injured. What happened to the guy?” the man asked.
“I heard the guy was caught by a bunch of the crowd, and the old lady got her purse back,” the young woman answered.
“Good, good. Now let’s enjoy our coffee, shall we?” The man looked at his girlfriend.
“Yeah, babe. I was actually—”
Enid tuned out the rest of the conversation, a rock sitting inside her stomach upon hearing the couple talking. She knew who that young girl was—the one the young woman said sat at their booth before bolting.
“Girls,” she called out to the group. “I know where Wednesday went. Or, more accurately, why.”
“No. Way.” was the first thing Bianca said after hearing what Enid told them. The rest of the group was speechless. Apparently, the girl they assumed was thoughtless for ‘leaving’ without telling them was actually very thoughtful—so much so that she bolted after a thief to get an old lady’s purse back to her.
Something they wouldn’t be able to do, either from shock or because they simply didn’t see it. No one saw it coming, either.
Only Wednesday.
Bianca felt guilt crushing her.
“So—don’t get me wrong, Enid—but are you saying that while we were buying coffees, Wednesday was playing the hero by bolting after a thief, while we assumed she ‘ditched us’?” Yoko asked incredulously.
She couldn’t believe Wednesday did that. For someone she didn’t know. For a normie. No offense to normies, but the majority of them despised their kind. Actually, that was such a Wednesday thing to do. She couldn’t help but feel worse for assuming she was selfish, now that she knew the reason she had left the booth.
“So, let’s not waste any time and find Wednesday,” Divina snapped everyone out of their trance.
Enid snapped out of whatever she was in at Divina’s voice. Oh, Wednesday, Enid thought, her heart warming and clenching at the same time. The girl she had said all those bad things about was just trying to catch a thief. For someone else.
She was going to apologize to Wednesday. Forget all the shouting and scolding plans.
“Maybe we should split up and search; it will be faster,” Divina suggested. Everyone hesitated before nodding.
“Okay, cool. Operation 'Find Wednesday' starts. Side quest: If you see that asshole, send a hard kick his way,” Yoko said with a snort. Everyone laughed before splitting up.
Enid dived through the crowd, hoping to find Wednesday. Her height was making the search a bit harder. Surely, it couldn’t be that hard to find a girl who only dressed in black, gray, and white, right?
It was that hard. She texted with her friends a couple of times; no signs of Wednesday. She was gradually starting to panic. It had been almost half an hour since she last saw her roommate. Where the hell was she—
Relief flooded her as she caught sight of a completely black attire. Wednesday.
“Wednesday!” she shouted towards the girl, grinning widely. She found her; she found Wednesday.
Her grin faltered momentarily when the girl addressed didn’t acknowledge her.
“Wednesday?” she shouted again, unsure.
Her grin completely fell when she saw Wednesday’s craned-up neck fall back, her eyes glassy and hazy as she stared at nowhere. Her braids were ruffled, her form slumped in a way she had never seen on Wednesday.
Vision. She’s having a vision.
Barely a second passed before someone bumped into Wednesday, muttering a “Freak.” Wednesday’s neck snapped up again, her eyes wide as black tears leaked from them.
Horror washed over Enid’s face as she stood there, paralyzed, watching Wednesday go through three visions one right after another.
Just as the third vision finished, Enid shook herself mentally before running toward Wednesday, pushing people out of her way, not caring about the shouts or swears.
She had only one thought: Get to Wednesday, get to Wednesday, get to—
She reached Wednesday’s side, with the girl having two more visions on her way. Enid’s growing panic tenfolded after every vision she witnessed, every time Wednesday came back more drained than before—if that were even possible. Her eyes weren’t really open at that point. Black tears leaked out of her eyes continuously.
She had witnessed only one vision before. It was the one Wednesday had on her birthday, in Crackstone’s Crypt. She had almost thought the girl was having a seizure. She was so scared.
That was only one vision.
She just witnessed five visions in the timespan she saw Wednesday.
If it was five when she found Wednesday, how many had Wednesday had without her?
Just as she reached her, Wednesday’s knees buckled, and Enid wrapped her arms around her to keep her standing as much as possible. Wednesday recoiled so hard from her touch that Enid startled herself.
It was the first time she had seen Wednesday recoil from something, let alone this strongly. Wednesday tried to pry herself away, trying to claw at Enid’s arms. Enid tightened her hold around her, scared that the girl would fall if she let her go.
“Wednesday, stop! It’s me, Enid!”
To Wednesday, every moment felt like it cost her something. She didn’t hear sounds; everything was a loud blur—just a blur. The voices, the faces, the lights. All blurred, the line between reality and vision long gone for her to understand.
She had lost her sense of time, her sense of surroundings.
How much time had passed?
Was this a vision or reality?
When was this torture going to stop?
She wanted to cry so hard.
Her head was pounding so hard she was sure it was going to crack from the pressure soon. Her body felt numb, her legs like jelly. She was tired of the constant buzz under her skin. Her skin felt tight around her own body.
Wednesday, long past seeing what was around her, felt someone wrap their arms around her. How dare they? She would peel their hands off if it was the last thing she did before passing out cold. She would—
“Wednesday….., st…., pleas… it’s …. Enid!”
She barely heard the name. The only thing she recognized.
Enid. Enid. Enid. Enid.
“Enid…” she heard her own voice. It was like she didn’t say it. She knew she had said it, but it was like hearing it from someone else’s ears, not her own voice. She stopped fighting the arms, even though she stopped feeling them. It was Enid’s arms.
“It’s okay…. ….. ….got you… I’ll…..Bianca….” She heard Enid again, less muffled.
She was desperate. One more minute in here and she didn’t know what would happen. Another minute filled with visions. She needed them to stop. She needed to get out. Just get out, get out, get out—
“Out… here…” she managed to say, though it felt like it was someone else talking. It was not her body that was talking. Just for now, she let Enid guide her.
“It’s okay. You’ll be okay. I’ve got you. I’ll just call Bianca.” Enid tried so hard to control the waver in her voice.
Wednesday looked like hell. She barely had her eyes open. She was wobbling so much, and her broken voice pained Enid to hear.
How much do these visions pain her?
“Out… here…” Enid heard Wednesday’s voice, cracking at the end. Her heart also cracked.
“Okay, okay, I’m getting us outta here,” Enid said as she draped one of Wednesday’s arms over her shoulders, carrying most of her weight.
After a quick call to Bianca, she dragged Wednesday out of the crowd, having to block many careless elbows and steps. Why are these people so tactless? As Wednesday slumped against her even more, her worry multiplied. She staggered a couple of times, almost falling, but Enid was always there when she was about to.
Finally, she spotted Bianca, and Bianca spotted them too. Her eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly in shock before she mentally shook herself and ran towards them.
“What happened?!” she asked, her eyes darting between Wednesday and Enid, taking in Wednesday’s slumped form and barely open eyes.
“I’m not really sure. When I found her, she was having vision after vision—she was kind of in a loop,” Enid rushed out. “And it has taken a physical toll on her body.”
Bianca mumbled something inaudible before addressing Enid. “Okay, there is an opening there with no one near. Sit her down there, and I’ll let the others know where we are.”
“Thanks, Bia,” Enid said before resuming her task of dragging Wednesday somewhere calm. The opening came into sight, and it was, in fact, free of the crowd. She guided Wednesday towards a tree.
Wednesday collapsed to the ground once Enid’s arms left her sides. She pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and buried her face in them. She leaned against the tree behind her. She started rocking back and forth.
Wednesday rocked, and Enid watched her worriedly. It was shocking to her—also horrifying. It was the first time she had seen Wednesday this distraught. The guilt came again.
If you didn’t drag her here, she wouldn’t be like this right now.
Wednesday continued to rock back and forth. It helped calm her thoughts. Also, the silence. And the cool air. She couldn’t express it, but she was grateful for Enid and Bianca. They did help her. The silence helped to ease the headache she had a fraction, and the cool air was helping to deal with the suffocating heat in her skin.
With shaky hands, she got out of the blazer she was currently wearing. She discarded it somewhere on the ground, not looking up.
“Wednesday?” she heard Enid ask. And a touch on her shoulder.
She felt the electricity going through her and—
No. There wasn’t any vision.
But she flinched. Hard. She scuttled back until her back was pressed tightly to the trunk of the tree. She took shallow breaths, trying to calm herself. The nausea came back—harder this time. She gasped involuntarily and put her hands on the ground to steady herself.
Meanwhile, Enid watched it all with a broken expression. She saw the way Wednesday’s eyes widened, her spine stiffening like she was expecting another vision. She flinched, scuttling back away from her as far as possible. Enid saw the exact moment her eyes got hazy, her breath became shallow. The exact moment she swallowed hard, and the exact moment she gasped and put her hands on the ground to not sway.
She felt terrible for making Wednesday like this. But she knew this wasn’t personal.
Wednesday needed space, and she should respect it. Enid backed away slowly and spoke in a low voice.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
—
“I’m sorry….. shouldn’t……. you…” Wednesday barely heard Enid in her panic. She felt like she was having a vision. Her skin was tight again; she felt the electricity running in her body. She tried to calm down, but her thoughts were running fast. It was hot here.
Where was she?
She didn’t want to have a vision. Not now. Not again. Her vision tunneled as she—
Dark. Trees. Eni—
She shut her eyes closed. No. This isn’t a vision. It’s real. It’s not a vision. She repeated it like a broken record in her head. It’s real, it’s real, it’s real…
Then why was her head hurting so much?
Why was electricity running through her body?
Her breathing quickened, and to her horror, tears fell from her eyes, running a path on her cheeks. Not black tears—pure tears. She was trembling; tremors were running through her body. The more she wanted to control them, the more they came. There were muffled sounds, but she couldn't understand them.
Her chest was moving too fast for her liking, and she felt the nausea hit her harder than before. That was it—she was going to pass out here, wherever she was. Her panic increased, her breath growing faster.
She felt like she couldn’t get air into her body, and humiliating tears continued to fall. She pressed her numb palms to her eyes to stop them from flowing.
She hated it—the loss of control. Right now, she couldn’t control anything. Not her breathing, not her trembling, not the fear, not the numbness, not the dizziness, not the nausea, not the disgusting tears.
She couldn’t control her body.
Enid watched with crashing guilt as Wednesday started breathing rapidly. She was mumbling something under her breath, but Enid couldn’t catch it. Her heart broke every time Wednesday breathed, every time she mumbled.
“Wednesday?” she asked, but didn’t get a response. Not even a reaction.
She wanted to do something, but she couldn’t. She was the one who caused it.
So she just watched with a broken gaze as Wednesday stared ahead with wide eyes, her palms pressed to the grass under her. Her skin looked more ashen than ever. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes widened more, and she shut her eyes quickly, tilting her head back against the tree more, as if she needed more air. A sound escaped the girl’s throat. What was that—
Oh my god, Enid thought. That was a whimper.
Wednesday whimpered. Enid couldn’t believe her ears. Her heart cracked
Wednesday whimpered. Wednesday—the most stoic person she had ever met. As if that wasn’t enough, Enid watched two delicate tears run a path through her face. Her mind caught up a moment later.
Wednesday was crying.
And her heart shattered all over again. She watched in shock as more tears trailed down, and her thin body shivered with tremors. It wasn’t even cold.
Scratch just watching. She had to do something. She couldn’t just watch her best friend break down in front of her.
“Wednesday, listen to me, please.” No response. Tears continued to fall, and breaths continued rapidly. And the mumbling. Enid caught some words like ‘vision, control, and real.’ Maybe she could work with that. If she wanted to reach Wednesday, she should be calm.
“Wednesday, it’s real. Focus on the grass under your palms, the tree behind you, the wind. It’s not a vision.” She watched Wednesday’s hand twitch, her back press less hard to the tree.
“You are in control. You can control where you press your hands, where you lean your head, where you look,” Enid continued in the most calm voice she could manage. She was never the collected person in circumstances like this.
She was usually the one who shouted or panicked.
She watched as Wednesday’s breathing calmed, her back relaxing a fraction. She took her hands off the ground and wrapped them around her knees again instead. She got into the same position as before… whatever just happened with her.
“Are you okay? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m really, really sorry, and I feel terrible about—” Enid gulped, feeling tears filling up her eyes.
Wednesday waited for a moment until her breathing calmed—until it felt like her heart wasn’t going to rip itself out of her chest. Even if she would never say it out loud, Enid’s guidance had helped her get in control again.
“It’s okay… Enid…”
Those words were both a blessing and a curse for Enid.
A blessing because Wednesday was aware and okay with her enough that she replied to her apology.
A curse because it made her hear the strain in her voice, the shakiness.
Wednesday sat in silence, her head pressed against her knees. She was pathetic; she had survived worse, but she was crying over visions.
Her blessing.
Her curse.
She felt too embarrassed to raise her head. Enid was there. Enid had witnessed it all—witnessed her tears, witnessed her falling apart. She didn’t have any idea what Enid was thinking because she wasn’t daring to look her in the eyes.
Even though the worst had ended—that she was no longer in that horrible loop—Wednesday kept crying silently. Just a subtle tremor in her shoulders. She wasn’t loud or dramatic. She wasn’t sobbing.
She was just grieving her pain silently.
She had believed that she was going to die there, in a loop, until she passed out and people tossed her onto the ground.
It would be a humiliating death for her.
But Enid had come for her. Enid found her. Enid rescued her. Enid comforted her.
She, in her head, didn’t realize the others approaching.
“Holy crap,” Wednesday heard Yoko speak up, probably staring at her disheveled form.
Great. An audience.
The others crouched to the ground, not far away from Wednesday but not close either. They didn’t want to overwhelm the girl more than she already was.
“Are you okay?” Bianca asked the girl sitting with her head burrowed in her knees.
Wednesday just nodded, not bothering with a reply. ‘Fine’ was the last thing that she could be right now. How could she be fine when her vision swam and her stomach lurched? She didn’t voice any of it out loud.
The girls shared worried glances. Bianca furrowed her brows at the reply but didn’t say anything. Wednesday would insist anyway. Yoko and Divina just stared at the disheveled girl.
“What happened?” Divina finally asked the question that had been bothering her since she saw the short girl on the ground, curled up. It broke Divina from inside. She looked so young in that position.
“I don’t know for sure, but I found—”
“I’m fine.” Wednesday cut Enid off. She didn’t want nor need anyone else to hear how pathetic she was.
“Well, you’re clearly not!” Enid burst out, but regretted it immediately when Wednesday tensed, burying her head deeper. “Omg, I’m so sorry, Wednesday. I shouldn’t have just shouted like that or insisted—”
“Enid.” Enid shut up immediately. “Just… stop shouting, please.” She nearly whispered the last part, as the pain in her head rocketed. They still heard it.
Wednesday used ‘please’ in a sentence. They all stared in shock. Yoko and Divina, who didn’t know anything about what had happened, wondered in shock, what could’ve happened for Wednesday to be like this?
“Does your head hurt?” Divina asked. Wednesday nodded almost imperceptibly.
They all fell silent as Wednesday sat quietly. They were at a loss for words. Yoko had an idea about what had happened, but she was a bit nervous to ask Wednesday. She didn’t know how she would react.
“Is it some sort of psychic burnout?”
Wednesday nodded faintly. That was a way to put it. It was just two words. Psychic burnout. Two words that didn’t reflect the hell she was in before Enid came.
The girls fell silent after that, getting a rough idea of what had happened. If they did know one thing, it was that the girl must need silence. Enid just wished she had known more about psychics. She should’ve looked up something about psychics; her best friend was one. She had been thoughtless.
After a few tense minutes, Wednesday raised her head up, not daring to look anyone in the eyes. She put her hand on the tree for support and shakily stood up. Everyone stood up after her in alarm.
“I’m going back to Nevermore.”
“We’re coming with you,” Enid said right after. She couldn’t even think of leaving Wednesday alone in this state. God knows what could happen. She was not letting Wednesday out of her sight for a while.
Not ever.
And she already had an apology to make. Later, she reminded herself, when Wednesday looks less like she’s about to collapse any second.
Wednesday was silent for a moment. “You should… stay here. I will go back on my own.”
Everyone’s mouth dropped at what Wednesday said. They stared at the girl, and she stared back.
“Are you kidding us right now?!” Yoko gaped at the girl. Did she seriously think that they would leave her in this state? This girl.
“You were… enjoying yourselves. You should stay,” Wednesday stated as she shut her eyes briefly for a moment, opening them when the headache subsided. The others saw it.
“Do you think we care about enjoying ourselves, Wednesday? I know we’re rivals, but I do actually care about you.” Wednesday just stared at Bianca. Care about her? Sure, they held respect for each other, but Wednesday didn’t realize their… acquaintanceship had reached that level.
That was fine by her.
“Yeah, Wednesday, and we won’t just—I mean, stay here and have fun while you’re clearly not!”
Wednesday just stared at Divina, who uttered these words. She could’ve expected Bianca, but not Divina.
“Yo, don’t forget about me, Addams. This un-beating heart cares for you too!” Yoko added.
She let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Fine.”
The way back to Nevermore felt excruciatingly long for Wednesday. But the others were there for her.
Every time she swayed, Enid held her forearm to ground her.
Every time the headache intensified so much that she had to bite down on her cheek to prevent producing any sound—enough that blood leaked inside her mouth—Yoko warned the others to tune their voices down.
Divina and Bianca constantly turned their gazes to her to check if she was doing okay.
She hated pity. But something in her just told her that what the girls were doing was not pity. She decided to believe that feeling.
Wednesday and Enid parted ways with Divina and Bianca first.
“Take care, Addams. I don’t want an easy fight tomorrow.” Bianca looked at Wednesday with half concern and half playfulness.
“The only thing you will be taking easy is your recovery.” Bianca smirked at the biting remark, though it didn’t affect her much when Wednesday looked like she was about to pass out.
“Take care, Wednesday.”
Wednesday nodded at Divina. Enid and Yoko also bid their goodbyes to them as they continued going back to their dorm.
Enid and Wednesday were alone after Yoko left to go to her own dorm. As Yoko left, Enid watched Wednesday’s shoulders slump slightly. With only the two of them, Enid saw how truly tired Wednesday was. They ascended the stairs to their room slowly, as Wednesday stopped every two minutes, leaning against the wall and gripping the railing so hard that her veins showed.
After another stop, Enid couldn’t stop her mouth. “You’re not going to faint, right?”
Wednesday was silent for a moment before she answered Enid with a glare that could have nerved Enid if it wasn’t for her slouched form and half-lidded eyes.
“No.”
Bravo, Enid. You say that to the 'I-don’t-do-feelings' Wednesday Addams.
“Okay, that’s… okay.”
It was silent between them. Then Enid spoke up again.
“I’m sorry. For, y’know, forcing you to come with us. And for assuming you ditched us when we saw the booth empty. I said some things about you being selfish and so, but actually you left because you were not selfish, but selfless instead, and I—”
“Enid.” Enid closed her mouth, looking at Wednesday for her to continue. “Whatever I do is my own choice; you did not force me into anything. Your apology is noted and not needed.”
Enid stayed silent for a moment. Not needed?! How can this girl be so arrogant and humble at the same time?!
“But I feel so bad, and I want to do something to make up for—”
“Silence would suffice.”
So, Enid shut up. They reached their dorm, and Enid opened the door. Wednesday dropped her backpack next to her desk and headed straight for the bed. She just wanted to sleep, and for this stupid headache to just subside, and—
“Here.” Wednesday stared at Enid and the wet wipe in her hand.
“For the black tears, I mean.” She gestured towards her cheeks. Wednesday took the wipe and wiped the trails the black tears had left. Enid silently walked towards her side and changed into soft clothes to sleep.
Wednesday just wanted to throw herself to the bed, but she knew she would be sore tomorrow if she slept with her current clothes. So Wednesday did the same, albeit very slowly. She just wanted to sleep. She walked towards the bed again once she finished her routine and dropped into bed ungracefully. She didn’t lie in her usual position; instead, she lay on her side with her knees brought up to her chest.
“Enid…” Wednesday trailed off, already losing her will to speak.
“Yes?”
“I….” She gulped, her voice barely a whisper as she dropped her gaze to the sheets she lay on.
“Thank you.”
Enid stared at the dark, small lump Wednesday was in her bed. Wednesday thanked her? For what?
Oh, she thought, for the wet wipes and all the stuff that happened at the carnival.
“Oh, yeah, sure! It was totes okay, anytime bestie!” Enid answered, trying to act casual about Wednesday thanking her. It was silent again before Enid spoke.
“Good night, Wednesday.”
“Terrible nightmares, Enid.”