Woe is the Loneliest Number, Part 2
(The scene changes with the sound of delicate, cryptic music playing over the day lit, outdoors scene. It seemed to be held outside on one of the lower lawns that surrounded the campus of Nevermore, seemingly during lunch time or after classes had ended, given that a number of students were dotted about the grounds, many of them walking back up towards the school. A small group, however, busily work on a large canoe that had been set up between two wooden building stands, the boat covered in partly painted images, all ranging on the more gloomy colour scheme…)
Enid made a loud excited squeal and very nearly leapt out of her chair, clutching her hands together and placing them just beneath her chin as she began wiggling on the spot. The rest of the room all spared her varying looks of concern, confusion, and outright apathy, in Wednesday's case, but Enid barely seemed to notice at all.
"Um…I'm missing something, I think," Tyler said slowly, eyeing the pink clad girl with open bemusement and mild apprehension.
"It's the Poe Cup!" Enid squealed between a wide grin, cheeks flushed with delight, "It's, like, only one of the best school events of the entire semester!"
"I wouldn't be getting to excited," Xavier smirked at her, looking rather smug, "There's no way you've got a chance against us. Our teams been practicing since the start of the year".
Enid scoffed and flicked her short, bobbed hair back over her shoulder…though; it hardly made much of a difference, fixing the boy with a mocking look.
"Sounds like you're just trying to talk yourselves up," she said with a knowing, dismissive look aimed his way, "But this year, there's no way we're losing," she grinned and it was almost wicked, eyes glinting, "We've got a secret weapon".
"Oh, yeah?" Xavier raised his eyebrows, "What's that?"
"Wednesday," she replied, looking brightly over to Wednesday, who suddenly found herself quite under the glare of the rest of the room.
Wednesday ignored the eyes and simply looked flatly at Enid, "That's bold of you to assume that I'll have any part in your…race," she eyed the girl closely, "What gives you that idea?"
Enid simply shrugged, smile not dropping in the slightest, "Oh, please," she rolled her eyes, "It's the perfect school activity for you, violence, competition, skill, and showing up Bianca Barclay after she beat you in fencing. You're so not turning that down".
Wednesday regarded her silently, privately mildly impressed and furious that Enid seemed so confident in the idea that she knew her...which, she hated to admit it, but the girl kind did sum up her interests nicely. Still, the social part of being involved in a multi person race made the idea instantly distasteful to her, so she doubted if Enid would get her way. Sadly, these videos seemed to be proving her wrong.
( Another two wooden tables stood on opposite sides of the boat, while a couple of girls mixed paint, while another couple of girls knelt by the boat, delicately painting. One girl seemed to be painting a large pair of yellowed vampire fangs on it, which was fitting, given that the Asian girl was evidently a vampire, wearing a pair of heavily tinted glasses. Suddenly, the camera zoomed in closer to the girl, just as Enid appeared, looking quite frazzled as she leaned over the girl…)
"Looking a bit rabid there, Enid," Xavier remarked with a low whistle, smirking knowingly over to the girl, "You know, if you can't handle the stress…"
"Shut it, Thorp," Enid sniffed haughtily, refusing to look at him, "You see stress, I see inspiration".
("Ladies, come on!" she urged them, a determined glint in her eyes, "Let's work on those teeth. More scowl!" she gritted her own teeth to try and enforce her own words, "This kitty is taking no prisoners. If Bianca Barclay wins again this year, I will literally scratch my own eyes out!"
The camera pans around, just in time to show Wednesday stepping up behind Enid, arms crossed over her chest.
"I would pay money to see that," Wednesday said flatly.)
"Um…not literally or anything," Enid grimaced slightly, shooting Wednesday a slightly wary glance.
Wednesday simply gave her a cool look, "How disappointing".
(Enid instantly brightened and grinned widely, spinning around and skipping excitedly up to Wednesday, even clapping her hands together, "Howdy, roomie!" she positively cooed, looking at her eagerly, "I'm so glad you decided to stay".)
Wednesday blinked very slightly, brow creasing beneath her fringe as she eyed the screen, corners of her lips pulling down slightly in confusion. Never had she had such a reaction from someone outside of her family, someone expressing true happiness at her presence…it was terribly disconcerting and she couldn't quite bring herself to fathom why Enid would be so happy. Yes, it appeared that in the future, had events played out as they were watching them, that they would have formulated something of a understanding, but Enid's bright smile and delight was odd. Not 'Odd' in an out-of-character sort of way, but odd because Wednesday didn't normally bring out such reactions from anyone, let alone a girl she had evidently only known for a very short time and had hardly endeared herself to Enid. But, somehow, Enid seemed to actually like her. She found that she didn't hate the idea, though it did puzzle her.
("I thought you wanted your single room back".
"Full disclosure, I don't like living solo and Thing gives a killer neck massage," Enid replied, smiling…)
"That adds up, actually," Tyler laughed slightly, looking amused by the idea.
"It's very true," Gomez nodded brightly, smiling, "Thing's never let his lack of body hinder him from anything".
"Are we ever going to find out what actually happened to his body?" Xavier asked curiously.
Gomez pretended not to hear him, merely smiling and tenderly stroking Morticia's hand, acting as if the teenage boy hadn't uttered a word.
("It's a win-win. So…" she dragged out the word slightly, peering intently at Wednesday, seeking out a bit of gossip, "Why the change of heart?
Wednesday glared back at her, almost seeming resigned, "I refuse to play the role of a pawn in someone else's corrupt game," she said stiffly.
She briefly smiled tightly, almost as if she was struggling not to laugh, "You mean Rowan?" she asked, smile turning into a grimace.)
"Clearly," Wednesday began flatly, gazing bleakly at the screen, "You don't believe my future counterpart, either, Enid".
"I…" Enid winced slightly, cheeks colouring a deep pink.
("I witnessed his murder, Enid," she insisted firmly.
"It's just…" Enid hesitated slightly, frowning awkwardly as she eyed Wednesday, "We all saw him this morning. Very much, like, not dead".)
"I mean," Tyler grimaced very slightly, shooting Wednesday a sideways glance, lips pulled into an awkward smile, "To be fair to Enid, it's probably pretty hard to argue with that".
"And my word counts for nothing?" Wednesday said darkly, pinning him with an angry, icy glare, one that looked all the more chilling for the fact that her expression barely shifted in the slightest.
"Um…." he gaped at her slightly, looking horrified.
"Don't be so harsh, darling," Morticia cut in with a gentle smile aimed at Wednesday, "We're all friends here".
Wednesday gave her mother a look full of muted disgust, "Hardly, Mother".
(Wednesday sighed very slightly, uncrossing her arms and letting them fall to her sides, "I know," she agreed, briefly glancing away as she looked thoughtful, "Which leads me to believe I've been losing my mind," she paused and scowled, clearly disappointed as she glared down at the ground, "It's not nearly as fun as I had anticipated," she looked suddenly back up to Enid, fixing her with a intent look, "You're Nevermore's gossip queen. What's Rowan's story?")
"Rowan doesn't have a story," Xavier frowned, then, his eyes growing distant and his gaze lowering onto his knee, his lips pulling into a hard line, "At least I didn't think he did, nothing worth mentioning," he sighed slightly, full of regret, "Guess I was wrong".
"Everyone has a story," Wednesday said firmly, gaze pinned to the screen.
("Other than being a weird loner…Uh…" Enid paused, briefly shaking her head apologetically, "No offense".
Wednesday gave her a flat look, "None taken".
"Xavier Thorpe's his roommate," she explained, giving her a slightly sarcastic smile, "If you had a cell phone, you could just text him and ask him," she turned, then, and suddenly pointed sternly at the Asian girl, "Yoko. Come on!" she called, causing the girl to jump slightly and look around, only to roll her eyes behind the glasses. It didn't stop Enid from fixing her with a rather intense, slightly rabid glare, "Flare those whiskers. The Poe Cup droops for no one!")
"Still looking pretty rabid and desperate to me," Xavier remarked with a teasing glint to his eyes, regarding Enid with a pointed, smug smirk.
Enid growled at him, her lip glossed lips curling back to reveal her straight white teeth, before she brought her hand up and, with an audible click, her multi coloured, sharp claws came out. She held them up threateningly to Xavier.
"Say that again," she hissed at him, "I dare you".
"Children, please," Donovan sighed tiredly, looking exasperated and as if he was more than ready for a nice, long nap, "It's just a school race. No one's gotta lose an eye over it".
"I would settle on the loss of a finger," Wednesday said lightly, gazing almost curiously between Xavier and Enid, surprised and, vaguely thrilled to see a flicker of darkness in the otherwise sunshine's and rainbows girl, "In fact, I'll help".
Donovan pointed a stern finger at her, narrowing his eyes, "You'll stay out of it, Addams".
Wednesday merely gave him the tiniest flicker of a smirk, suggesting quite different.
("What is the Poe Cup anyway?" Wednesday asked, eyeing Enid.
Enid spun back around to face her, "My entire reason for living right now," she replied with the same rather intense, wide eyed look as before, almost shaking with excitement.)
"Now, that's just sad..."
"Come closer and say that, Thorp".
"Shut it," Donovan glared at them both sharply. He sighed heavily and shook his head, looking deeply resigned to his fate as the only adult peacemaker in the room, since neither Gomez, nor Morticia seemed inclined to say anything to stop violence breaking out.
("Part canoe race, part foot chase, no rules. Each dorm has to pick an Edgar Allan Poe short story for inspiration," she gave her a hopeful grin, "You could grab a brush. Ms. Thornhill's just ordered pizza. Want to take a stab at being social?" she quirked her eyebrows at her.
Wednesday seemed to briefly consider it, "I do like stabbing," she remarked, before she glanced away, frowning vaguely, "The social part, not so much. Besides, it'll cut into my writing time".
"No worries," Enid nodded, smiling slightly, seemingly truly unsurprised, "Just as long as you're lakeside cheering us to victory on race day!" she excitedly held her arms out in a cheer…only for Wednesday to glare blankly back at her, utterly silently. She grimaced slightly, eyeing the other girl uncomfortably...,)
"One day I'll get more than just a flat, icy glare out of you, Wednesday," Enid grinned cheerfully, looking far too bright and confident then she had any right to look right now.
Wednesday merely glared at her flatly, scowling darkly.
("Or you can just glare uncomfortably. Whatever works for you," she grinned widely and winked.
The scene changes abruptly to show a close up of Wednesday sitting before her typewriter, the background cast in gloomy lighting as she taps away, concentrating on whatever she's writing.
"I've always hated the expression, 'write what you know,'" she narrates over the scene as the camera pans behind her, showing Thing to be sitting on her desk, right beside the drawing of the girl. She writes for a moment, before stopping and grabbing the paper from the typewriter, roughly scrunching it up in a ball and slamming it on the desk for Thing to flick it off the desk and into the already full bin of balled up paper.)
"Writers block?" Tyler grimaced slightly, looking curiously, if oddly sympathetically, over to Wednesday.
Wednesday frowned at the screen, "It would seem so," she said with a flicker of disgust lacing her words, quite unfamiliar with the feeling of writers block, since she often found that she was able to simply envision her scenes and characters, and write the scenes without hindrance, rarely did she struggle to know how to carry a storyline or character, it's what allowed her to keep to her rigid writing schedule without issue.
(Wednesday glares at the typewriter, leaning her hand against her temple and cheek, "It's a hall pass for the imagination-impaired…" she continues to narrate, before her eyes dart over to the page beside her. She grabs it and stares at it closely, "But when your life becomes a twisted mystery… maybe it's time to lean into it".
Wednesday peers intently at the right corner of the page, which has a small, faint watermark stamped onto the yellowed paper, seemingly of a skull surrounded by a leaf-like pattern in a circle. She blinks as she looks at it, chilling music playing over the scene.)
"I'm guessing the mark is the symbol for the Nightshades?" Wednesday turned her gaze sharply over to Xavier, pinning him with an unblinking, cool glare, "It's the same mark that was shown on the marble flooring in the Nightshade library".
"Well, yeah," Xavier nodded, shifting slightly uneasily in his chair, "All the books in the Nightshade library have the same symbol. Helps to stop people from accidently taking the wrong book back to the actual library".
"And provides a useful clue for my counterpart," she added lightly, already guessing that her counterpart would soon discover that there was a secret club at Nevermore, she just hoped it was something vaguely dramatic and interesting as to how she figures it out.
(The scene changes to day time and Wednesday is now in her uniform, pushing a pair of large, ornate doors open. She storms into Weems's office and marches directly up to the desk, seemingly having not been invited inside in the first place.
"I need to speak with Rowan," Wednesday said as she came to stand before the desk, looking coolly at Weems, who sits behind the desk tapping away on a laptop, "I can't find him".
"It won't be possible, I'm afraid," Weems says without looking up, "He's been expelled".)
"What?" Xavier exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes widening in shock as he very nearly leapt from his chair.
"I...what the hell?" Enid shook her head, lips parted in confusion, "He just came back from the dead and now he's expelled...for what, exactly?"
Wednesday carefully schooled her features into one of apathy, though internally she felt almost as shocked by the news as everyone else seemed to be...everyone, she noted, but for Morticia, who eyed the screen with the tiniest little quirk to her darkly painted lips, an infuriatingly familiar knowing glint in her dark gaze as she eyed the screen. Her mother knew something and seemingly, this had just confirmed it.
(Wednesday actually blinked, her lips briefly parting in disbelief, "For what?" she demanded, looking truly startled.
"Never you mind," Weems told her lightly, finally looking up to level her with a stern frown, "He'll be on the first train out this afternoon...")
"Now if that isn't hella suspicious," Enid frowned, eyeing the screen warily, "One hundred percent a cover up going on".
"But what's to cover up?" Xavier cut in with a shake of his head, though he also looked dubious, "If Rowan's alive, then there's nothing to try and hide, right?"
"If he's alive," Wednesday pointed out flatly, gazing at the TV screen with a flicker of almost relief. This was finally some proof that Rowan really was dead, after all, that she wasn't just missing something and had made a mistake. She was Wednesday Friday Addams. She simply didn't make mistakes.
"But..." Tyler gave Wednesday a slightly bemused look, eyebrows raised, "If Rowan's really dead, then how is he still up and about, walking around the school for everyone to see him?" his eyes widened slightly and he leaned forward, almost eagerly, "Zombies aren't an actual thing, right?"
"Only on Halloween," the pigtailed girl replied instantly, tone cool and peering back at him unblinkingly.
Tyler blinked, lips parting in disbelief...
"She's totally joking," Enid cut in hastily, shooting Wednesday a slightly uncomfortable smile, "But...you're right about Rowan. If he's really dead, then how is he walking around Nevermore? Even by Outcasts standards that's kind of weird".
("What were you doing out in the woods with him?" she eyed her slightly.
"I told you already," Wednesday says swiftly, seeming almost ready for the question, "I heard a noise, and I went to investigate".
Weems scoffs, briefly closing her eyes as she shook her head, "That excuse might have placated the sheriff, but you can't fool me," she warns her with a knowing lift to her lips, before her expression grew knowing and almost grim.)
"Didn't realise I needed 'Placating,'" Donovan huffed slightly, scowling at the screen with narrowed eyes and thinly pressed together lips.
Tyler gave his father a long look, but seemed to wisely keep his own mouth shut on the matter and what he thought about it.
("You had a psychic vision, didn't you?" mysterious music starts playing as the camera briefly focus back on Wednesday, who's eyebrows sharply rise in surprise, eyes widening very slightly. The camera returns to Weems, "I realised you might be having them when we passed by the accident and you knew that poor farmer had broken his neck. Your mother started having visions around your age. They were notoriously unreliable and dangerous...")
"Seem pretty reliable to me, so far," Tyler frowned slightly at the screen, "We've yet to see a vision not come true. Dangerous, maybe for the people involved in the vision, but that doesn't make them not true".
Wednesday regarded the boy with a cool, almost calculating look, vaguely surprised that he seemed almost annoyed by the implication that Wednesday's visions weren't reliable or trust worthy. Enid seemed to agree, nodding along with Tyler, while Xavier seemed to look almost torn, which naturally made sense, given that if her visions were true, then that meant that Rowan was dead, after all. Wednesday, herself, had come to view her visions as a great annoyance and inconvenience that she must attempt to deal with in this life, and not in the fun miserable way that she enjoyed. But...she had to confess that her understanding of them was lacking, largely to her own refusal to ask for help from her mother. However, she had come to decide that her visions were largely and usually true, so why was Weems seemingly trying so hard to refute it when she had to know that?
("I remember at first...she thought she might be losing her mind. Have you spoken to her about them?" she frowned slightly in concern, eyeing Wednesday.
Wednesday looks away, visibly swallowing as she cast her eyes down, before quickly looking back up to Weems, but the obvious, uncharacteristic moment of discomfort was answer enough. Weems gave her a long, weighty look.)
"Oh, darling," Morticia drawled tenderly, turning her large, dark brown eyes onto Wednesday, giving her a soft smile, "You can ask me anything, whenever you wish. I'll always help you with whatever you need..."
"I don't believe it's come to that, Mother," Wednesday said briskly, lips briefly pressing together tightly, scowling darkly at the screen to avoid looking at that loving smile, "As I've already said, several times, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself and that includes learning about my...ability for myself".
She sighed and shook her head, still peering at her daughter with an almost fondly exasperated look, "Always so stubborn," she murmured.
("Clearly the person withholding information here is you," she finished pointedly.
"May I go now?" Wednesday asked softly.
"Not until you've picked your extracurricular activity," she said with a suddenly bright, wide smile, "We want our students to be well-rounded".
"I'd prefer to remain sharp-edged".)
"Even a sea urchin has a gooey, soft core, Wednesday," Enid supplied with a sunny grin, looking oddly proud with herself for coming up with that comparison.
Wednesday glared at her, "I will kill you in your sleep, Enid," she said icily, "With sea urchin venom, if need be, since you seem to favour them so dearly".
She sighed slightly and rolled her eyes, "You're no fun," she stuck her tongue out at her, not appearing to be in anyway concerned or alarmed...
The urge to commit random, sudden and bloody violence was growing stronger by the second.
(Weems ignores the comment and instead turned to pick up a clipboard that she had sitting beside her laptop, moving it around to the front of her desk for Wednesday to see.
"I took the liberty of putting together a list of clubs that have openings," she told her with the same wide, bright smile and light, cheerful tone of voice.
Wednesday's gaze drops to the clipboard with disgust, lips pursing in distaste, "How thoughtful," she said blankly.)
"Oh, it isn't that bad," Enid said brightly, throwing Wednesday a hopeful, wide smile, which only very slightly dimmed under the sharp glare Wednesday cast her, "It's not, honest!" she insisted hastily, "There's loads of fun stuff to do at Nevermore and it's a great way to get involved with people. Plus..." she gave Wednesday a slightly sly look, "It looks great on your resume".
"I would rather have the blood of my enemies littering my resume then social clubs," Wednesday replied with a flat, bleak glare aimed at the other girl, ignoring the positively horrified expression that swiftly stole away Enid's smile. She scowled slightly, "I already have that, truth be told, so why distract from what's important?"
"I...don't even know where to go with that".
"Just smile and nod, Enid," Tyler advised her with a slightly amused expression, looking between the girls.
("You need to have picked one by the end of the day," Weems almost seems to warn her, peering intently at Wednesday, who looks back up to her sharply. She regards her closely, some of the bright, cheeriness seeping away now, "I'll be keeping my eye on you. No doubt you'll find something that tickles your fancy".
Wednesday moves to pick up the clipboard, still looking thoroughly disgusted by the mere idea, "The last person who tickled me lost a finger," she muttered with a dark, almost threatening glare at Weems.)
"Poor Cousin Theodora," Morticia sighed lightly, even though there was a slight upturn to her lips, "And to think she used to play the violin so beautifully".
"She should have known better then to try and tickle an Addams," Wednesday said with a disgruntled scowl, recalling her cousin, who was married into the family, rather than a blood relation, playfully trying to tickle a five year old Wednesday one Christmas...it had ended in blood and screaming, making for a rather favourite Christmas of hers, less favourable for Cousin Theodora, however.
"Um...you're joking, right?" Enid eyed Wednesday with a rather wide eyed, nervous frown.
She merely gave her a cool look, "I would never joke about the loss of appendages".
(She grabs the clipboard and, with one final look at Weems, turns and storms out of the office. Weems watches her go with a small smile.
The sound of soft voices plays over the scene, seemingly a chorus of multiple students, male and female, all singing along, before the scene changes to show Thing walking towards the camera on flagstone flooring. It comes to a stop before Wednesday, who is then shown to be standing in a gloomy lit hallway within the school, just off from one of the doorways that looks out onto the quad.
"Weems is clearly trying to keep tabs on me," Wednesday says to Thing, looking carefully around them, almost suspiciously, while she claps the clipboard by her side, "Keep an eye on Rowan," she points at the hand sternly, "Don't let your fingers out of his sight".
Thing gives a tiny little bow, bending his fingers very slightly, before he turns and scurries away.)
"Dear old Thing," Gomez said affectionately, smiling brightly, "There's nothing they can't do when they set their little fingers to it," he looked confidently over to Wednesday, "He's the best hand for any job, my little angel of death".
"I suppose we will see," Wednesday said bleakly, giving nothing away about whether or not she agreed with her father's opinion or not, because privately her judgment was reserved until she saw for herself just how well Thing handled this situation. There was something amiss about it all, something she couldn't pin down, even with her sharpest, favourite dagger.
(Wednesday swiftly turns on the heels of her thick, clunky shoes and marches away towards the open doorway to the quad. The camera follows her as she steps out into the open air and into the quad, empty save for a group of Nevermore students who all stand by the fountain, singing as Bianca Barclay directs them. She stops and turns with a scowl on her face as she see's Wednesday approaching her. She briefly eyes her up and down, before pulling a slight face and rolling her eyes, turning to face the gloomy dressed girl.)
"Damn," Enid whistled lowly, eyebrows shooting up and big blue eyes widening slightly, looking caught between admiration and disbelief, "You seriously got under her skin, Wednesday. I've never seen Bianca take such an instant dislike to someone so fast".
"I tend to have that affect on people," Wednesday remarked dryly, but there as a slightly pleased flicker in her dark eyes.
"To be fair," Xavier said with a slightly embarrassed, sheepish glance at Wednesday, "Bianca doesn't sugar-coat anything; she doesn't care about someone thinking she's a bitch".
Wednesday fixed him with a cool, flat glare, "Yes, because my greatest concern in life is ensuring that I make friends," she said with a hint of disgust and mocking lacing her voice, gaze only hardening, until Xavier grimaced and dropped his gaze from her. She scoffed, "Bianca Barclay is so far from being worthy of my interest that I would rather let Enid dress me up then concern myself with her opinion".
Xavier's eyebrows shot up even though he was grimacing, but it was an odd mixture of embarrassed amusement and sheepishness, while Enid whistled a long, low note again and Tyler grinned slightly, ducking his head.
("Weems said you'd be stopping by," Bianca remarks with a brief flourish of her hands, "But to be honest, after your performance at the Harvest Festival, drama club might be more your speed".
"After I passed out, who did you tell?" Wednesday eyed her intently, ignoring the jab, "The sheriff?"
She stares at her in disbelief, "You think I'd trust normie cops?" she scoffed, shaking her head as Wednesday frowned slightly, vaguely looking taken aback...,)
"Right," Donovan scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Why tell the cops something relevant to a suspected murder?" he shook his head mockingly, "Not like it's their job or anything".
"Right," Xavier gave him a hard glare, "'Cos we're supposed to go to the Normie cop's who hate Outcasts and don't make any secret of that, and we're supposed to trust that you're not going to turn it back around onto one of us?" he gave a humourless laugh, "Yeah, okay, I'll consider doing that next time I find myself coming across a crime scene".
Donovan looked ready to argue until his last breathe, but Wednesday had already lost interest, loathing to have to admit to agreeing with Xavier's judgement on what likely would have happened had Bianca had gone to the cops. She turned her gaze sharply back to the screen and focused on it intently, willing it to start playing as she felt the tension between Donovan and the teen boy start to build around them, practically feeling the angry steam starting to burst out of Donovan's ears…the screen burst back into life, cutting off whatever Donovan was about to grit out. Wednesday inwardly thanked whatever had placed them in this room for seemingly bestowing upon her the ability to force the video to play at her command.
("I went straight to Weems and let her handle it. Anyway, let's get this audition over with," she looked back to her group, before she paused and turned back to throw Wednesday a mocking, thoughtful look, "What are you? Alto, soprano or...just loco?" she smirked at her.)
"Oh, my God," Enid narrowed her eyes on the screen, scowling with an oddly annoyed glare in her bright blue eyes, "You better be some sort of secret opera singer, Wednesday".
"Again, I thought you and Bianca were okay, Enid," Xavier blinked slightly at the fair girl, looking mildly startled and bemused.
She shrugged, not taking her gaze off the screen, "Roomies stick together".
Wednesday's eyebrows darted up sharply beneath her fringe, eyes flickering over to Enid, who didn't even seem to notice the glance.
(Wednesday gave her an icy, dark glare as several people laughed, before a determined glint flashed through her eyes. Someone played a single note on the piano and Wednesday inhales deeply, before she opened her mouth...but no sounds seems to emit from her throat...)
Enid suddenly screwed up her face slightly in a mildly pained grimace, reaching up to rub at her ear, while Xavier frowned slightly in bemusement, casting Wednesday a blank look.
"I don't get it..." the boy said slowly.
Tyler laughed slightly, only earning himself a startled look from Xavier, which swiftly morphed into one of annoyance and a narrowed eyed glare, while Wednesday merely peered vaguely curiously at the Normie boy. Enid simply rubbed at her ears with slight discomfort.
"A dog whistle, right?" Tyler said directly to Wednesday, ignoring Xavier, smiling with something like admiration, "Or something like that, I'm guessing. A pitch normal human ears can't hear, yeah?"
Wednesday eyed him slightly, "Quite".
Xavier scowled darkly and slunk deeper into his chair, looking as if he wanted to kick something very badly, while Tyler positively glowed in delight at getting one over the other boy and, at least very slightly, seemingly gaining Wednesday's...well, perhaps not approval, but at least catching her very slightly off guard with his own knowledge.
"A bit of warning would have been nice..." Enid muttered, still rubbing at her ear with a slight grimace still lingering on her lips.
(Suddenly, the boy playing the piano flinches as his glasses shatter on his face and the distant sound of dogs barking can faintly be heard in the background, while the boy frowns and warily lifts his glasses off the bridge of his nose, squinting at the cracked lenses in confusion. The camera changes to show Weems sitting at her desk in her office, typing away at her laptop, when the dome casing over one of her shrunken heads cracks. She pauses and spares it a look, frowning slightly as she glances warily around the room...)
"That's really cool," Tyler grinned, eyes brightening eagerly, looking around to Wednesday, "I mean, is that another power or did you learn how to do that?"
Wednesday was briefly thrown by his curiosity, how openly excited Tyler seemed to be by such a display of skill that she had never truly thought about, to be perfectly honest. It had proven useful a few times in her life, during her trips with her Uncle Fester in the wild, but aside from that and the occasional amusement of shattering glass for the enjoyment of watching Normies jump, it was one skill she possessed that had little functionality to it, much like the ability to see glimpse of the future.
"It's a skill," she replied after a brief pause of considering her words, and processing just how sincerely interested the teen boy was, and not simply morbidly curious...or as morbidly curious as someone not an Addams could be, "One I have honed over several years..."
"Most people wouldn't have a chance in hell in being about to do that," Xavier remarked with a slightly bewildered expression, "Even with practice".
She gave him a slightly cool glance, "I'm not 'Most people'".
Tyler smirked slightly slyly, "No kidding".
(The camera returns to the quad, where Bianca is looking around, too, confused and slightly disturbed by the dogs barking in the distance. The rest of the singing group also look at one another in confusion.
Bianca looked sharply back around to Wednesday, "What was that?" she demanded, frowning.
"A note only dogs can hear," Wednesday replied tonelessly, glaring back at her.)
"And werewolves," Enid sighed slightly, nose still wrinkled, just a tad, even though she was pretty impressed by the skill, "Kind of".
(The camera returns to Weems in her office, glancing around uneasily still, while the barking continues. The scene returns to the quad in time to see Wednesday marching determinedly away from the group, expression stony and rigid, leaving the group to return to their practice almost eagerly without Wednesday's shadow looming over them, their song of choice being, 'Don't Worry Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin.)
"How many clubs are there?" Tyler asked curiously, if a little apprehensively.
Enid cast Wednesday a wary glance, "Probably not enough".
Wednesday ignored them, unable to focus on anything but the horrid song spewing from the speakers. It was practically mocking her. She loathed it and not in a good way.
(The song plays over the next scene, which changes to show Xavier standing in seemingly a lower level of the school grounds, readying himself to release an arrow from his raised bow as he stands several metres back from a large archery target. Three targets are positioned ahead of him, but he appears to be the lone person taking part in practice...)
"Really living up to the tortured artist aesthetic there..." Enid said with a light teasing tone to her voice, shooting the teen boy a pointed look.
Xavier shrugged, "Just keeping to my brand," he replied, unconcerned.
(The camera changes to show Weems peering out at the scene from one of the high windows of the school, binoculars grasped in her hands as she observes...)
"Oh, God," Enid blinked, eyes widening slightly in shock, "She was serious about keeping an eye on you. I mean, I get it...but the binoculars seem like a little overkill".
"My second stalker is my Headmistress," Wednesday commented disapprovingly, eyeing the screen with open disgust, "Can this get any more disappointing?"
Tyler made a suspicious coughing sound, while Enid threw Wednesday a look of disbelief, before she sighed and rolled her eyes warily.
"Er, I think you're seriously missing the point..."
(The camera switches to show Wednesday stepping up behind Xavier, just as the teen boy releases his arrow. It hits the outer blue ring of the target. Wednesday eyes it with an unimpressed, emotionless gaze. Xavier lowers the bow and relaxes his stance, glancing around to see her standing there and grins slightly, briefly looking away with a small huff of a laugh.
"Huh," he said lightly, "You actually showed up. Ever shot a bow and arrow before?"
"Only on live targets," she says unblinkingly, peering at him.)
"Why did I even bother to ask?" Xavier rolled his eyes at his own counterpart, scoffing slightly to himself.
"For the sake of keeping the peace..." Donovan said stiffly, frowning at the screen with a tightness to his voice, "I'm definitely not going to ask".
"You're learning, old man," Gomez said brightly, smiling at him at him as if they were great friends, not...well, basically enemies, at least in the eyes of Donovan.
The other man seemed to find it odd, too, because he simply stared slightly blankly at Gomez, who winked at him cheerfully, oblivious.
(He briefly closed his eyes and his eyebrows shot up sharply, before he opens his eyes and shook his head, "Okay," he said slowly, before turning and grabbing another arrow from where several had been stuck arrowhead down into a hay bale just behind him. He grabbed it and carefully stepped back into position, glancing at Wednesday, who narrowed her eyes slightly on him, "Square stance. Load the arrow like this, yellow side out..." he demonstrated as he spoke, "...Three fingers. Pull back and…" he raised the bow, pulling back the arrow on the string and took aim, while he spoke, "...let it fly," he released the arrow and it hit the target, slightly higher than his first shot, before he relaxed his stance again and looked back around to Wednesday, "Any questions?")
"Just about why you bothered to explain what I already clearly stated I knew," Wednesday spared Xavier a cool, almost scathing glare, quite unimpressed that such an obviously subpar archer was attempting to explain to her something she already knew she was far more accomplished in.
Xavier blinked slightly, looking taken aback and rather lost as to how to defend himself on that one, and Wednesday didn't wait to see what he would come out with, swiftly returning her gaze to the screen, dismissing him as easily as he seemed to dismiss her own knowledge of archery.
(Wednesday peered at him carefully, expression full of calculation, "When's the last time you saw your roommate Rowan?" she asked, shifting slightly on the spot to pin him with a look full of authority.)
"Not really what I was aiming for..." Xavier muttered slightly, rolling his eyes.
"You were aiming?" Wednesday pinned him with a mocking eyebrow raised look, full of contemptuousness disbelief and ice, "One couldn't tell from your archery skill...lack of it that there is".
"Ouch," Enid winced, eyes wide with a mixture of horror and sympathy, while Xavier looked simply stunned, gaping slightly at the pigtailed girl.
Even Tyler winced slightly, blinking slowly, "Damn".
("You mean the one that was killed by a monster?" he winded his eyes slightly sarcastically, before turning to grab another arrow when she merely stared at him. He shrugged, "The Harvest Festival. I haven't talked to him since. But his side of the room was all packed this morning. Rowan's always been a little off, but, uh..." he frowned, glancing down at the arrow as he absently began to slot it against the bowstring, hesitating slightly, before continuing, "The last couple weeks he's been more erratic. You know, telekinesis can mess with your head, you know. He's…It started to freak me out," he turned and raised the bow; pulling back on the bowstring as he did so. He took aim, holding it as he suddenly asked, "So what's the deal with you and Tyler?")
Wednesday glared at the screen, before slowly turning around to look darkly at Xavier, eyes practically threatening homicide by the implication of his counterparts words...and his nosiness into her business. And seeming almost possessiveness that he appeared to have over her, which he had no right to. Tyler, likewise, looked briefly thrown by the comment on the screen, cheeks pinking slightly as he glanced at Wednesday and then hastily away again. Xavier simply looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him whole, anything to escape from Wednesday Addams wrath.
"Ooh," Enid grinned slightly, looking oddly delighted, eyes brightening with eagerness as she looked from Tyler to Wednesday, and then over to Xavier, "This is going to get so juicy to watch!"
"Juicy with Thorp's blood, perhaps," the pigtailed girl replied darkly, unblinkingly still glaring daggers at the tortured artist, who would truly live up to the name by the time she was finished with him, if he kept up such implications and assumptions.
"It was just a question!" Xavier burst out, trying and failing to look unbothered, deeply uncomfortable.
She scoffed, refusing to back down, "Curiosity killed the cat," her tone was utterly flat and deadly serious, "With blood and screaming".
(He released the arrow and it again hit just above the second shot. Wednesday scowled sharply and gave him a dark glare from beneath her fringe. He lowered the bow and glances back at her, only to scoff slightly at the almost angry glare she was giving him, "Oh, I'm sorry, were you the only one who got to ask non-archery questions?")
"Yes," Wednesday said stiffly, gaze firmly pinned to the screen.
("There is no deal," she told him firmly, "He was doing me a favor driving me out of town".
He hands the bow out to her and she reached out to take it, "Yeah, word of advice," he gave her a steady, serious look, "Steer clear".)
Tyler rolled his eyes and scoffed, lips thinning slightly in annoyance. Wednesday narrowed her eyes on the screen, not at all liking the turn that this entire conversation between her counterpart and Xavier had taken. How did it become suddenly all about Tyler Galpin? It bewildered her, truly, how it came to this when one might have expected that Thorp would be more concerned about his roommate coming back from the dead, not who Wednesday was interacting with. Pathetic, truly.
("Why?" she carefully juggled the bow and clipboard, before also accepting the arrow offered to her, still scowling at the boy with slightly narrowing, disapproving eyes, "Because he's a normie?"
"Because Tyler and his friends are jerks. They can't stand that this school's propping up their Podunk town".)
"Funnily enough..." Tyler shot Xavier a sarcastic smile, his eyes narrowed and dark with a flicker of anger, "I actually don't spend my time worrying about whether or not some Outcast with Daddy's money to burn is paying my pay-check or not. Clearly, you do, though".
"Trust me," Xavier gave him a hard glare, "I don't waste my time thinking anything about your, Galpin. You're not worth it".
"That's apparently not true," Wednesday said lightly, almost ideally, not even taking her gaze off the screen, "After all, you do seem to have thought enough about Tyler to form an opinion about him, and to seemingly think it's your place to warn me about him..." she rolled her eyes, tone darkening, "...as if I needed warning".
Xavier, oddly enough, didn't have anything to say to that, while Tyler simply smirked.
(Wednesday turned to chuck the clipboard on a hay bale behind her, only to look up sharply and give him a pointed glare at his words, "Says the boy whose life was served on a silver platter," she shot back instantly.
He bristled defensively, "Hey, girls in glass houses…"
"Should throw bigger stones," she cut across him smoothly, voice cool and her tone utterly flat. He gaped at her slightly, which she barely seemed to notice as she calmly turned and picked up an apple from the hay bale behind her. She stepped forward, eyes focused ahead of her, "At least I'm not an elitist snob".)
"You're about to get so owned," Enid almost cheered, looking positively thrilled, gazing eagerly up at the screen with a bright grin, "Oh, I can't wait!"
"Thanks," the boy grimaced, frowning slightly as he shot her an almost hurt look.
"You were being such a jerk right there, Xavier," she said with a small shrug, "You can't say that Tyler's a jerk and not own up to being one yourself. That's totally unfair, and the way you were acting was pretty snobby".
(Wednesday tossed the apple high into the air and swiftly locked the arrow against the bow string, before raising the bow and drawing back on the string, right back against the corner of her mouth, her posture perfect...she waited until the apple began to fall back down, before firing. The bowstring sung and the arrow hit the apple midflight, before piecing it in the very centre of the target, dead on. The camera focused on Xavier, who swallowed visibly and shifted uncomfortably, eyes downcast as he glanced at her.
"Ouch," he grimaced slightly, frowning...)
Enid and Tyler clapped, while Xavier looked deeply uncomfortable, as if he really was just barely managing to keep himself from fleeing from the room in embarrassment, cheeks burning red as he slumped deeper into his chair, dropping his gaze into his lap. Wednesday's eyebrows darted up beneath her fringe, before she rearranged her expression into a look of apathy before anyone could notice, but a part of her did feel curiously...warmer, but not in a sickening, feverish way that made her want to stab something with a fork. Instead, she felt...content, accepted. She had no idea how to process it, so she pretended not to notice and pushed down the feeling, focusing intently on the screen.
(Wednesday merely lowered the bow, gazing at the target without sparing him a glance. The camera shifted to show Weems standing still in the window watching on through her binoculars. She lowers them, looking thoughtful, before her lips briefly pursed...)
"That is still so weird," Enid pulled a face, looking highly disturbed by the idea of their headmistress stalking her own students, no matter how troublesome they might be. That's got to be breaking some sort of law, right?
"It's inconvenient," Wednesday corrected, narrowing her eyes on the screen in annoyance.
(The sound of bees buzzing loudly fills the air as the scene changed to show an old, slightly leaning wooden hut in the middle of an overgrown field, seemingly somewhere on school grounds. The trees surrounding the area are old and unkempt, while the grass is just as unruly. Painted on the front of the hut is a large bee that coverers the painted blue-green wooden boards. Sitting dotted about the hut appears to be several different sized and shaped bee hives. Wednesday walks into view of the camera, then, striding down a trimmed grass path towards the front door of the hut, while bees buzz merrily around her. She pauses to peer up at the hut when she reaches it, expression thoughtful and her eyes slightly squinted, when a figure dressed in white from head-to-toe suddenly steps up behind her, just a tiny bit shorter then herself...or perhaps her shoes give her the extra boost of height.)
"Who's that?" Xavier frowned slightly, seemingly over his embarrassment, eyeing the screen curiously.
"Eugene Ottinger," Enid replied instantly, sounding suddenly very knowledgeable, "He's a little younger than us and kind of a loner, keeps to himself, mostly. He runs some sort of bee keeping club".
"Explains the bees, then," Tyler remarked with a small smile. He glance over to Wednesday, who peered at the screen with slightly squinted eyes, almost looking thoughtful and vaguely curious, even though her expression had barely shifted, "Kind of sounds more like you, Wednesday".
Wednesday merely flickered her eyes over to him, remaining silent, but she didn't immediately jump to refute his words. Personally, she thought that joining a bee keeping club might be helpful in more ways than one, especially since it seemed that the club leader was almost a recluse, as Enid suggested and Xavier evidently didn't recognise the boy. It also seemed that the club location was set far away from the main school, that could prove useful in escaping from Weems's watchful gaze. The appeal was there...
("Are you interested in the ancient art of beekeeping?" the figure turns out to be a boy, younger then Wednesday, and wearing a white bee-keepers suit over the top of his Nevermore uniform. He smiles brightly at Wednesday, who turns around sharply at the sound of his voice behind her, his eyes scrunched up behind thick, black rimmed glasses behind the mesh visor, "Eugene," he offered her his hand to shake, she eyes it critically, before lifting her gaze back up to him, "Eugene Ottinger. Founder and president of the Nevermore Hummers".
She reaches out and accepts his offered hand, shaking it firmly...)
"You willingly shook his hand?" Xavier blinked, startled, his head snapping around to stare at Wednesday, "You actually touched someone?"
"He's wearing gloves," she said without blinking, though truth be told, she suspected that another reason was likely because Eugene hadn't yet annoyed her future counterpart, and the boy was evidently a loner himself, with a passion. She could appreciate someone who preferred solitude and had a unique passion for something outside of the ordinary. He also looked vaguely like Pugsley, only less homicide inducing.
("Wednesday," she introduces herself, politely, still shaking his hand, "Wednesday Addams. Am I late or is it only you?" she glances around the otherwise empty field, dropping the handshake.
Eugene frowned very slightly and also peered around, slightly glumly, "The hive life isn't for everyone," he said seriously, looking back to her, "Most kids are afraid of venomous insects," Wednesday's eyes brightened very slightly at those words and he seems to notice, because he squints his eyes hopefully and leans slightly towards her, almost challengingly, "Are you willing to feel the sting?"
The camera zooms in closely as Wednesday almost smiles, her eyes brightening with excitement and something close to delight, the corners of her lips lifting, just slightly. It's the most animated her facial expression appears thus far.)
"Oh, my God...!" Enid gasped, eyes widening in shock and disbelief, "You're...you're almost smiling!"
The pigtailed girl gave her a deadly look, "No, I am not," she insisted firmly, sounding positively horrified and offended by the implication, "It's a trick of the lighting".
"You do look kind of...less sour than normal," Tyler bravely added, almost looking teasingly at Wednesday.
She narrowed her eyes on him, "You tread on thin ice, Galpin," she warned stiffly, but it only made the boy grin wider and laugh softly to himself, ducking his head.
Donovan sighed heavily from his chair and reached up to run a hand down his face, looking physically pained, but Morticia smiled in delight, dark painted lips stretching into a wide smirk.
(Abruptly, the scene changes to show a close up of the front door to the hut, before it's swung open to reveal Wednesday, now decked out in her own white bee-keeper suit. She steps out and seems to examine the white arms of the suit as she walks back out, almost seeming mildly disgusted...)
"That's kind of..."
"Say the word 'Adorable' or anything closely similar, and I will stab you in the eye, Enid".
Enid gulped and leant back slightly in her chair from the sharp, dangerous glare that Wednesday was giving her, settling on tensely smiling. But Wednesday couldn't stop her from calling her bee keeper outfit adorable in her own head, so she still had that to hold onto, because Wednesday Addams, dark, twisted, and terrifying as she was, was still so tiny and to see her done up in that white suit was super cute.
("Bees have been producing honey in the same way for 150 million years," Eugene informs her brightly, not seeming to notice her reaction. Wednesday peers around, "They're nature's perfect community..." while he continues speaking, she spots Thing standing on a nearby table between two bee hives, flicking bees away from it in annoyance, "...All working together to achieve a common goal. Fun fact, it's also one of the few ecosystems in which females dominate..." Thing manages to shoo the bees and crooks a finger at Wednesday, before scuttling backwards off the edge of the table, while the camera focuses back on Eugene, who grins excitedly, back turned on her, "From the queen bee to her workers. There's no patriarchy in the hive!")
"She's not going to be there when he turns around, is she?" Tyler said with an amused smile on his face, gazing at the screen with a slight laugh threatening to lace his words.
(He turns to share his eagerness on the subject...only to find that Wednesday has taken off, at some point, leaving him alone with his bees. He turns the other way, searching for her, before sighing and dropping his arms...)
Tyler laughed, looking completely unsurprised.
"Aww," Enid cooed slightly, as if she was looking at a puppy, "He's kind of cute, isn't he?"
"Kids definitely passionate about bees," Xavier said slowly, looking caught between being amused and bewildered, shaking his head slightly.
Wednesday refrained from commenting, in fact, she didn't even pay much notice to their little side conversation, gazing at the TV screen with calculating eyes. Thing had evidently found something on intrigue for her, she was curious to find out just what it might be.
Apologise for taking forever for this update, it was ridiculous, I know. Uni and trying to work at the same time did not help, not at all, and I've got a short little break between semesters before I'm back to the balancing act again, and while that's going on I'm picking up extra shifts. I bought a block of land late last year and I'm saving to build, and I sadly do not have cheap tastes, so I'm pretty happy to pick up shifts or do over time on the weekends, if I can, another thing that's severely cutting into my writing time. Adulting sucks, but is also kind of great...I can't decide.
I figured that Xavier probably wouldn't know Eugene from first sight, it's kind of implied that even though Xavier's a loner artist type, he's also in the 'Cool' crowd and Eugene is the complete opposite of that group, so I figure that Xavier probably wouldn't know the kid, but Enid, being the gossip queen that she is, would recognise him. I'm not sure if it's stated how old Eugene is, but since Wednesday says that he reminds her of Pugsley, I figure that also implies that Eugene is at least a year or two younger then they all are, so I'm running with that idea.
Tell me what you thought. Please review :)
Guest Reviews:
Kerith: Aww, thank you! Hopefully season two will see more character development; I've heard that it's going to be darker and focus way less on love interests, which I'm kind all for, even though I love Wednesday/Tyler. It really is so fun trying to view the show from the characters view point and how they would react to it all, a little tricky at times, mind, since there's still so much we don't really know about the characters, but fun. Delighted you're enjoying the story! :)
Guest: Morticia is suspicious that Thornhill has tried to unlock Tyler, and suspects that he has likely been sexually assaulted or abused by her in the attempt to do so. But at this point, only Morticia and Gomez think that. Wednesday suspects that there's something off about Tyler and Thornhill, but she's more interested in trying to figure out Rowan's story, right now.