I added a small something at the end of this chapter, which was based from the episode Green Eyed Gomez of The Addams Family TV series of the 60s (and was reprised in the 90s series). I think it added flare in Gomez's disposition. Enjoy!

Gomez bid Morticia goodnight at her porch. He took her hand and planted a chaste kiss on her hand before leaving. As he walked towards his car, Gomez could not stop himself from bouncing in every step – he was just too happy. Morticia did not agree to let him court her, but she did not say no, either. The thought of not being rejected was enough to fill Gomez with inexplicable euphoria.

He entered his car and turned to look again at Morticia, who was still standing on the porch, waiting for him to drive away. He gave her a cheery wave, which she returned with her special smile, before driving away.

While driving, Gomez was thinking of how he and Morticia spent the night, sitting on the rooftop of the Architectural Building, merely talking about things that interested them, about things that irritates or horrors them, and the things they could not understand about other people.

"When I was seven, I was bullied by my classmates," Morticia was saying. "During the school Halloween party, they locked me inside a broom closet. I actually felt cozy in there, I was even ready to smile at them when I get out because they thought the dark broom closet would scare me. I wish they just left the broom closet unlit."

"What happened?" Gomez asked.

"They switched on the lights from the outside. And instead of old brooms, dusty rags, and sodden mops, I was surrounded by an assortment of horrific things that could lose anybody's mind."

"Kittens?" he suggested.

"Oh, I could tolerate kittens. At home I have a pet lion named Kitty," Morticia said. Her voice became not more than a whisper. "No, it was far worse than that. Malibu Barbies, Raggedy Anne dolls, My Little Ponies, unicorn stuffed toys… and the worst of all, large collection of Cabbage Patch Dolls, in pink and lavender dresses."

Gomez smiled to himself as he remembered how Morticia shuddered and allowed him to put an arm around her. Of course, thinking back, Morticia was probably too occupied with the thought that greatly haunted her to notice that he was somehow making the most out of her fear. He frowned, scolding himself inwardly for taking advantage of Morticia's weakness.

"What happened then?" he asked, mirroring Morticia's hushed voice.

"I could not shout, because I was too scared. I just cried for the rest of the night until midnight came, when someone came and unlocked the door," Morticia hugged herself and Gomez tightened his hold on her. "It was the old school janitor of the school. He was surprised to see me huddled in the broom cupboard, surrounded by what he thought as innocent toys. He thought I was crying because I was locked, not because of the toys.

"He brought me home to my anxious parents. Funny how then my mother worries about me and my welfare," she said, her voice switching from fearful to scoffing, which surprised Gomez.

Come to think of it, until now, Gomez wondered how come Morticia spoke of her mother in that manner. But then again, he was keeping something about his family towards her, that he decided not to speak out his thoughts about the matter. Not unless she speaks about it willingly.

"I became close to him since then. His name was Jack. I like his name, it reminds me of Halloween pumpkins," she smiled at the thought. "I told people off for making his job more tedious, and he warded off my bullied. He died on the day of my elementary graduation.

"Just after he congratulated me, he crossed the street and he was hit by a dump truck. We learned that his family left him. And so we arranged his funeral."

Gomez also shared his past, though he made sure that he would not let slip about his relationship with his lost brother. He smiled, remembering Morticia's shocked and worried face when he told her how he was forced to eat rainbow cake after losing a bet.

"Surely you did not have to eat the whole cake, perhaps only a slice?" she asked, her eyes wide in surprise.

Gomez shook his head. "No, the whole cake."

Morticia put a hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. "How did you manage that?"

"It was hard, to be honest," he answered, visibly shuddering on the memory. He remembered how colorful the cake was. And the taste… He pulled out a cigar from his breast pocket and absently puffed on it satisfyingly, erasing the memory of the sugar from years ago. "The sweetness was too much; I would rather not know how much sugar was used to make that cake. And as if sugar rush wasn't enough, the bright rainbow coloring of the cake was almost…"

"Oh, Gomez, please stop!" Morticia whispered pleadingly. She inched closer to him in fear. "I cannot bear to hear more about that horrendous cake. It sounded disgusting."

"It looked and tasted disgusting," he claimed, smiling slightly at Morticia's closeness.

"But were you not sick afterwards?" she probed curiously, despite her disgust and fear.

"Three days of upset stomach. I will spare you the gory details."

"It is hard to believe the ideas people unlike us come up with, isn't it?"

"Appalling," he agreed.

"Have you heard about the Power Rangers?" she asked warily.

"I think I've heard about them, but I cannot remember specifically. Please enlighten me," he asked. But upon looking at her face, he added with a laugh, "Or not?"

She laughed as well. "They are five people clad in alien-like costumes of different colors per person, red, black, blue, yellow, and pink, I think."

"And what do they do?" he asked warily.

"Save the world from monsters. They kill them actually."

"Seriously?" Gomez asked incredulously. "That's very horrible! Why would anyone bother killing monsters? They are very dear creatures gone extinct because of senseless killings."

As the night wore on, they talked more about serious things, things that do not include the other people's judgment about them or other people's peculiarities. Morticia tried to ask about Gomez's personal life but he could not let her know about how he used to be and how his jealousy and stupidity drove his brother away, and ultimately caused his father's death.

"Are you an only child?" she asked.

"By jove! Look at the time!" he suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet with unnecessary energy. "Come, Morticia, I will drive you home."

"Did I say something to upset you?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"No!" he almost cried. He saw how Morticia looked taken aback by his outburst and he tried to placate her surprised reaction. "I mean, no, you did nothing to upset me."

"Then you are not avoiding my question,"

"What question?"

"Whether you have any brother or –"

"It really is getting late, Morticia. You have an early class tomorrow." He held out a hand to Morticia. He tried to smile at her but felt that his smile looked more like a grimace.

Looking as if she had no choice, she took his proffered hand. He helped her stand up, and with an awkward silence, they went back to the car.

Gomez frowned at that memory. He knew that it was wrong to shut Morticia off like that, especially that he wants to court her. But then again, he was scared about what her reaction will be once she knew.

"Gomez?"

He was not just imagining Morticia now, he was even starting to hear her voice inside his head.

"Gomez?"

Her call seemed persistent. It was not until he smiled sheepishly on the window of his car when he realized that Morticia was standing outside and leaning to his window. She was real and not just a figment of his imagination!

"What are you doing here?" they both asked each other at the same time.

"Wait – what?" Gomez confusedly asked.

"Why are you back?" Morticia asked kindly. She smiled at his confused look.

"Back?" he repeated. He looked behind Morticia and saw that he was indeed back at her house. He absently drove back. His bewildered reaction seemed to amuse Morticia, for she chuckled, though not in a offensive manner, Gomez vaguely noted. "I didn't realize I came back."

"Well, go home now, Gomez," she said, smiling at him.

"I suppose I really should," he agreed, returning her smile. "Good night again, Morticia."

"Good night, Gomez."

Reprimanding himself for making a fool of himself in front of Morticia, Gomez carefully drove home, making sure that his mind would not fly back to Morticia and how they spent the night, and absently return to Morticia's house for the second time. Upon reaching home, Gomez unlocked the front door of his father's single-storey slate gray house. His father used to stay there when he was teaching in the university.

Usually, Gomez would be even more lonely the moment he steps his foot on the porch. The mere absence of his father would make him sulk and for the nth time, blame himself for his brother's loss that ultimately led to his father's death. Passing the first door that led to Fester's supposedly bedroom had he also gone to college would tear Gomez even more, knowing that Fester would probably never set foot in the campus.

However, today was very much different from the past three years. In fact, the previous week was the start of the happiness in Gomez's life. Morticia's appearance changed everything Gomez was used to live in. From the moment he opened his eyes until the last second before he drift into a dream with nothing but Morticia, he would think of her endlessly.

That was why the moment he entered the house, he ignored the apparent gloomy ambiance. Come to think of it, the house did not even seem gloomy anymore. He flipped on the switch as he walked toward his room, filling the house with dim light. He barely even noticed Fester's locked door. In fact, he dared not speak until he closed his bedroom door shut.

"By jove!" Gomez exclaimed as he crashed on his bed with his arms tucked under his head. He smiled rather goofily on the ceiling, thinking of nothing and no one but Morticia. He laid there for some time, until he remembered that he had to do some assignment.

Still smiling like he never had before, he took out a pad of yellow paper and a thick book from his bag. He lazily flipped his book to the right page and wrote his name on top of the yellow paper. He was about to start reading the assigned pages when suddenly, Morticia's face flashed inside his head. Her face was vivid to his memory, he could actually paint it on a blank canvass if he wanted to.

He could not ask for a more perfect way to end the day, he thought as he doodled absently on his paper. Well that, of course, with the exception of him brushing Morticia away and looking like a fool by returning to her house.

It was not usual for him to pay attention to details nor was it usual for him to pay attention at all. But being with Morticia made things around him seem a hundred times sharper compared to the usual blur he used to see.

He could perfectly remember that there was a lone strand of hair on Morticia's face when she peered inside his car earlier. He also remembered that her earrings were composed of small bats chained together. And if he was not mistaken, there was a bush of wild rose they passed earlier before they climbed the Architecture Building, which Morticia gave a distasteful glance.

He could perfectly picture Morticia's sapphire blue, glacier-cold eyes, gleaming in the moonlight; how her ebony hair framed her heart-shaped face; how her eyes, no matter how blue they were, perfectly fit her features. He could not stop himself from imagining her heavy-lidded eyes crinkle slightly as she gave a very fond laugh on his Japanese president joke. In his mind, he pictured how her full lips, painted with maroon lipstick, split into a shy smile the moment he smiled at her just this afternoon when he came for her in the library; how her high cheekbones rose with her smile. She was very pale, not the unhealthy kind of pale, but only enough to serve as proof of her doing moon bathing just before she goes to bed.

Then he suddenly realized how Morticia would react had she known he was thinking of her when he was supposed to do his assignment. Shaking his head to clear his mind off Morticia for a while, looked down on the paper he was doodling on. Instead of senseless scribbles, he managed to do a rough sketch but in the perfect liking of Morticia. He smiled at his sudden artistry and carefully tore the paper from the rim and pinned it on his bed's headboard. He looked at his book and started reading Chapter 3, which his assignment was about.

A few moments passed and he soon was copying the questions from the chapter quiz to his paper. Briefly, he answered the question, realizing that what he was writing were based from the lessons he took three years back. Perhaps it was indeed Morticia's presence that made him understand the topics his professors discussed to him more than twice with great frustration previously, he thought to himself. His pen was hovering on his paper as he thought of what Morticia would think when she learns that she inspires him.

"Inspiration!" Gomez exclaimed to himself, finally realizing what Morticia did to him. She serves as his muse, giving him energy and unlocking his dormant wisdom to do whatever he had to do. Maybe once he told her about this, she would allow him to court her.

But he knew that he must not spring the realization immediately to Morticia, because for sure, it might shock her. She might walk out on him just like she did when he told her that he likes her. The right time will come, he thought confidently, savoring his current relationship with Morticia.

He smiled rather sheepishly, remembering how embarrassed they both felt after he admitted his feelings. The same thing happened when he let it slip the word 'love' to her when she was hesitant to join him to dinner. Good thing she let it go, but knowing her, she might pursue asking him about what he said.

Remembering that he was supposed to be doing his assignment, Gomez tried his best to stop himself from thinking about Morticia. The night wore on and Morticia kept sliding in and out of his mind, though this time, the moment when he was thinking about her would be shortly cut by Morticia's image in his head, looking sternly at him and scolding him for thinking about her instead of doing his assignment.

Finally, around seventeen minutes past two in the morning, Gomez wrote the last sentence to his paper: With these methods, iniquity could be eradicated. He stretched his arms.

Though it had been quite a splendid day that started with him dreaming of Morticia's face and finishing with him finalizing his assignment with the encouragement of an image of her inside his head, Gomez did not feel tired at all. If truth be told, the lack of things to do at the moment made him strangely long for Morticia. His mind wandered around his room, remembering that his brother was gone and his father died disappointed at him.

But somehow, it did not make him sad. Indeed, great remorse filled him up, but then he realized that he should not dwell with so much sadness in his life. He realized that although he caused the loss of two of his kin, he should not let himself not have a life. He thought of what they might tell him had they know how he was wasting his life.

His father, if it was even possible, would be even more disappointed at him. But Fester would react differently, despite their previous indifference. Perhaps he would just shrug and thump him in the back for finally finding the woman he truly fancies and leaving him with the Amore twins all for himself.

Deciding that he should have done it much earlier, Gomez told himself the he would still continue searching for Fester, but he would get a life. Thinking back, he was like a living dead since Fester disappeared! He also decided to rekindle his fragile relationship with his mother, apologizing for what he did. He imagined that she was deeply hurt with her husband dead, her eldest son gone, and her youngest son behaving like a zombie.

He remembered an old saying that goes one should forgive himself first before asking for the forgiveness from those he hurt. Now, he understood what that saying meant. And of course, he had Morticia to thank.

Looking at the clock on his bedside table, Gomez decided against calling his mother. She would probably be just irritated rather than pleased that he called her in the middle of the night. And perhaps an apology is best made in person than through the telephone. His thoughts wandered freely back to Morticia.

Not able to stop himself from wanting to see her, Gomez left and drove back to Morticia's house. It was dark and silent, as it was supposed to be in the middle of the night. Gomez stared blankly at the house, realizing that he had absolutely no idea which room his muse occupies. For all he knew, she could be sleeping in the basement. Come to think of it, he did not know whether they had a basement. Feeling more foolish than before, he climbed the willow tree on the right side of the house, onto the second floor balcony.

The glass-paned wooden doors that separated the balcony from the room were closed and velvet maroon curtains were drawn behind them. He pressed his palm on his frustrated eyes, feeling the increasing sheepishness growing at the pit of his stomach. He was about to give up, when a subtle wind from inside the room blew a slight gap on the curtains and he saw a glimpse inside.

He leaned forward, his nose pressing on the glass and his breath fogging it slightly, and barely saw a thing. Of course, it was dark; he vaguely thought, feeling more foolish. It was the dead of the night, everyone is already asleep, that is, excluding him. And no one in their right mind would switch on the light before they go to sleep.

Then, as though the person herself was emitting her own radiance, Gomez saw a pale face turn. The moon slightly illuminated her, giving him enough light to see that she was sleeping peacefully on the bed on his left. He stared at her, transfixed. He could not believe that such beautiful creature could inhabit the earth. Even more, he had the wonderful chance to meet her… and ultimately fall for her.

Her mouth was slightly open, with her hair flowing underneath her head, free from their usual braids, and she looked perfect. He gazed on, as the strands of hair on her face flew slightly from her soft breathing. Morticia shifted from the bed a bit, allowing him to see a bigger view of her in deep slumber.

He watched her, mesmerized even further, and focused on details other than her gorgeous face. Her right hand was lying relaxed over her pillow, while her left was on her stomach. Her chest was rising and falling in a slow rhythm, which Gomez found himself breathing in sync to.

He crouched by the door and stared at her for a long time, though he did not feel the time pass. He did not mind his uncomfortable position, nor the probable awkward questions to be asked had he was seen. But then again, everyone was asleep and there was a slim chance that someone would see him. That is, of course, as long as Morticia would not wake up and decides to take a nighttime gaze on her balcony.

After what seemed like only several minutes, a rooster nearby, crowed, shaking Gomez up. He frowned at the sound as he took the pocket watch out his breast pocket.

"By jove!" he whispered in surprise when he saw that it was already quarter past five in the morning. He looked up to the sky and noted that the darkness was already started lifting. He turned back to Morticia's sleeping figure. "Sleep well, Morticia. I shall see you in the morning, er, later."

For some reason, he smiled at his mistake before climbing over the balcony and down the willow tree. He took a last glance at Morticia's room, barely visible from his vantage point, filling elated. He went to his car and drove home in a happy silence.

He arrived home a few minutes later, and already the sky was in an even lighter shade. As he passed Fester's supposed room, Gomez felt the usual burden on his shoulders lift. He retraced his steps and stood just in front of the forlorn door. He did not bother to enter the room when he first arrived in the house and he still had no intentions of coming inside, not without Fester.

"I will find you, Fester," he said with great conviction in his voice. "I will find you and you will meet Morticia, the perfect woman." He then retired to bed, fully clothed.

Barely three hours passed and Gomez woke up ahead of his alarm clock. Usually, he would sleep through his alarm and only come already halfway through his first class. However, since he met Morticia, he felt the urge and excitement of coming to school. Actually, he did none of the things he used to do.

Upon opening his eyes, he smiled, recalling his dream about Morticia and the things they could do and places they could go to. He remembered the splendid day yesterday and hoped that to have the same, if not better, experience today. He felt quite sleepy, given his late excursion in the wee hours previously, but felt immensely refreshed that had nothing to do with his three hours of sleep.

Within a few minutes, he bathed, changed into yet another pinstripe suit (he was greatly flattered when Morticia said that she liked his taste for clothing that he decided to wear nothing but pinstripe suit to continually please her), and ate the remaining of the stale bread his mother sent to him and an overripe apple he bought a week ago. He arranged his things that he left on his table after finishing his assignment, and unpinned his sketch of Morticia from his bed's headboard. He carefully placed the sketch in the middle of his hard bound notebook, deciding to stare at it when things go boring at school.

His car keys were the hardest to locate, as he forgot that he put it inside his suit jacket the night before, and he recently put it in the laundry basket after taking a bath. After finally extracting it from his jacket, he left the house to go to Morticia's place.

He parked his Duisenberg in front of Morticia's house and casually leaned on the car's hood while waiting for her. He saw a muscular man go to the porch, knocked the door, and waited on the steps. The door opened, revealing Morticia, who was dressed in midnight blue turtleneck blouse with short sleeves, black leather jeans, and black leather ankle boots. The young man greeted her warmly by giving a brief embrace, which, to Gomez's horror, Morticia returned in a similarly warm manner.

Gomez's insides burned and twisted in an unpleasant way. He wanted no less than to strangle the man almost twice his size, who braved to lay his filthy and, although Gomez hated to admit it, strong hands on Morticia. He let out an audible huff and glared pointedly at them.

Gomez saw Morticia look beyond the young man. He watched how her eyes widened upon seeing him. She quickly let go of the man, murmuring something he could not catch. She went down the porch and walked towards him.

"Gomez!" she exclaimed. Her voice was higher than usual. "What are you doing here? I did not expect you to come here this early."

"Who is that man?" Gomez found himself growling, even almost snarling, at Morticia, whose eyes widened even more. She took a step back from Gomez.

"That… that is Christian," Morticia said in a quiet voice, spluttering with nervousness. "He is the son, the son of – of the house's caretaker… and Ophelia's beau."

"Why did he hug you?" Gomez continued growling, Morticia's response barely registering to his rather irrational, at the moment, mind.

"What…? Well he…" Morticia tried to answer, but confusion was evident on her face. She took a deep, steadying breath, and spoke in a similarly quiet voice, but this time, void of nervousness. "Why does it matter, anyway?"

At her question, Gomez seemed to wake up from his anguished trance. He realized that he, unlike Christian towards Ophelia, was not Morticia's beau. He blinked several times, and seemed to be seeing Morticia anew. "O-of course it does… I mean it doesn't. I was just asking."

Morticia tilted her head and seemed to repress a smile, to which Gomez's mustache quivered in delight. She still looked shocked, but much unlike when he snarled at her. "Forget about him. You look awfully tired, Gomez."

"Just sleepy, but not tired," he replied, smiling at her. 'Not tired at all."

"Yes, you have dark circles under your eyes," she agreed, peering at his face. Concern was etched on her beautiful face. "Have you not slept last night?"

"More or less three hours," he said.

"More or less?" she asked, frowning at him.

"Less, I guess," he admitted, feeling a mixture of pride and sheepishness course through him.

Morticia's frown deepened and Gomez realized that even when she frowns, she looked extremely beautiful. Of course, he preferred if she would not frown, especially not when the frown was for him. "Why?" she asked.

"Homework, among other things," he answered. "Please do not frown at me?"

She narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing. He tried not to meet her eyes as his insides squirmed guiltily for some reason. He felt that, Morticia somehow knew that he was again keeping something from her. He felt guiltier.

Before she could further inquire about his hesitance, fortunately, Ophelia and Christian came, holding each other's hand and beaming at them.

"Gomez, this is Christian," Morticia introduced the two young men. "Christian, this is Gomez."

Gomez thought he heard a tinge of an emotion unknown to him in Morticia's voice as she introduced Christian. This did not reassure him. Christian reached out a hand, which Gomez took and squeezed quite harder than proper. He nodded curtly and turned his attention back to Morticia in order to avoid starting a brawl against Christian. He had a feeling that he might not stand a chance.

"Shall we go then?" he asked her.

"Go?" she repeated, blinking innocently at him.

"I will drive you to class," he said by way of explanation.

"You do not have to,"

"I know, but I would love to." And there, he let out the 'L' word again in front of Morticia. And just like before, she slightly flinched. But unlike before, she looked at him in a different way, her eyes softened and her jaw relaxed, which he could not understand but made him feel warm inside. Then slowly, she smiled at him.

"I would love to, too," she almost whispered. If it would not be awkward and questionable, Gomez would have started doing cartwheels along the street when she said that. His ecstasy was sky-high.

He grinned at her and offered a hand, which she took. Without another look at Ophelia and Christian, Gomez helped Morticia get inside the car before he climbed in and started the car.

"Are you jealous of Christian?" Morticia suddenly asked curiously, surprising Gomez. He watched her raise an eyebrow at him.

"Jealous? Of Christian? Me?" Gomez repeated with a sarcastic smile, which appeared not to be noticed by Morticia, who seemed amused. He let out an even more sarcastic laugh. "That's laughable."

And with a great roar and a belch from the exhaust he purposely intended for Christian, they left.

End of Chapter 8. Hello guys! Sorry it took me two (or was it three?) weeks before I posted Chapter 8. I was quite busy with work and gym that I did not have much time in my hands. Nevertheless, here was Chapter 8. I decided to finish the story in fifteen chapters. I already have the outline, but I would really appreciate if you have any suggestions regarding the flow of the story.

I also would like to take this opportunity to thank those who commented and favorited this fanfiction. Thank you for your kind words! MANY, MANY, MANY THANKS GUYS! UNTIL CHAPTER 9! :D