Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Heard enough?”

Wednesday Addams thought there was no feeling better than being proved right.

She was wrong.

There was no better feeling than watching the color drain out of Marilyn-Laurel’s face as Tyler-Who-Was-Not-Actually-Tyler transformed back into Nevermore’s renowned principal, Larrisa Weems.

Thornhill was pale as could be as the realization dawned on her. 

If Wednesday were up to date on social media ( which she was thanks to her intoxicating werewolf roommate ), she would’ve called it an “Oh, Shit” moment. 

Oh, if only Enid could see her happiness. 

The blonde may have called her plan crazy, but for once since she’d arrived at Nevermore Academy, she’d caught the killer and brought Weems to testify. It was the perfect wrap-up to her novel, with Wednesday the detective portrayed. 

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, Marilyn.”

But of course, real life didn’t have perfect endings. 

And while Wednesday was a sorry sucker for plot twists, she was not a fan when they occurred in her own story. 

Sure, having the actual hyde being Tyler instead of Nevermore’s resident artist wasn’t exactly a terrible undoing of her plans, but it was an unfortunate inconvenience to have an innocent man in chains and the first boy she’d been remotely intimate with a psychotic serial killer. 

However, when Thornhill reached up with her monstrous needle filled with nightshade poisoning, Wednesday knew this wouldn’t be the good type of plot twist.

Thornhill’s face contorted into a twisted expression of rage and disgust as she plunged the needle down into Weems’ neck, the blue poison slowly filling her veins. It was all the Addams could do to watch as blue eyes bulged and foam pooled on the floor until everything went still. 

“ Principle Weems…?”

But the tall short-haired blonde never responded, and the only thing that plagued Wednesday’s dumbfounded mind was

Death never used to scare me before…

And just like the climax of an incredibly horrendous novel, a sharp pain hits the back of her head and Wednesday is forced to let the darkness claim her. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A terrible twist in her own story.

Strange.

She usually liked that.

There were so many things about the current events of the last few days that she normally did that had been flipped on their heads. 

Wednesday loved a good mystery, but when a psychotic beast was on the loose threatening to kill her fellow classmates, she couldn’t ignore the dread that would slowly fill her every time she didn’t know her friends' exact whereabouts.

And that was another thing.

Friends .

Eugene wasn’t a complete surprise, and they both knew each other well enough to understand the relationship they had. As much as it pained her to admit it - and as much as she would kill anyone who brought it up - Eugene was a brother of hers, and as such, she would protect him with her life along with as any other that stood in her way. 

Bianca was a completely different story. The mutual competitive spirit the two shared pushed the girls to work harder and do better, resulting in the strange amount of respect they had for each other. It was a delicate dance of push and pull, interestingly so due to their fencing background.

Xavier was a bit tiresome for the most part, but with her recent discoveries of Tyler, she found herself questioning her own loyalty more than his. 

Tyler . The boy who seemingly had puppy eyes for her from the start. The boy who had taken everything she trusted in a person and tore it to shreds with monstrous claws. 

The boy she’d mistakenly…fallen for .

Whether or not it was a short time, and whether or not it was very short, Wednesday had thought it in her heart to try and care .

A mistake she wouldn’t make any time soon.

Unless…

She normally despised - no despised wasn’t even a strong enough word - color, but somehow, a stupid, overly-emotional, pink-blonde-and-blue dog of a person had drowned her world in it, claimed her heart in such a way that the Addams had long since sworn off. 

Whether or not the werewolf knew it, Enid’s mark on the raven-haired girl’s life was incredible, not to be forgotten for at least an eternity. 

However, the choice to pursue any involvement with the girl wasn’t up to Wednesday, but to Enid.

And Wednesday was not one to pressure.

Honestly, she wouldn’t even know how.

Luckily, Enid did.

And here they were now, the resident dynamic duo that literally everyone in Nevermore had predicted (or so they stated).

And to be completely truthful, Wednesday didn’t care. 

Enid liked her softer side, and Wednesday liked Enid happy.

Everyone else could wonder how Enid managed to say the things she said and do the things she’d do without getting a knife in the heart, but those who knew the wolf and the raven didn’t question it. 

Because Wednesday Addams loved Enid Sinclair.

And Enid Sinclair loved Wednesday Addams.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing Wednesday Addams felt was the cold restrictive metal around her wrists. 

The second was the overwhelming urge to spit in that wretched boy’s face because how dare he be so close and taunt her as such?

“Kind of like a deja vu thing we’ve got going on here…”

“Except I won’t cry and whine like a child.”  

At least that was true. She wouldn’t cry and whine like a child. That was for sure. 

Even as the boy pushed past her, throwing off her delicate balance as the chains held her wrists tied to the high archway.

Even as she mentally threatened to kill the boy, she kept her mouth shut. 

Even as Laurel Gates sliced a knife across her palm, drawing enough blood to make Enid pass out, the only sound she let out of her mouth was a restrained hiss.

But as her bloody hand was forced to the crypt, burning the sensitive skin of her palm and fusing her to the boiling stone, she could not stop the agonized gasp from leaving her parted lips. 

Everyone had their breaking points, and if she was honest, Wednesday had reached her emotional overflow the second that same hand had been taken by a much softer pair.

As the pain of the burns became more and more intolerable, Wednesday found herself thinking only of those crystal blue eyes that had begun to keep her grounded. 

Ironic they were now the only things keeping her away from reality.

She’d die with the secret, but she loved the way they downright sparkled when Enid would talk about…well, anything really. She loved the way they always held so much life, so much emotion that Wednesday would never be fully able to express. And Enid knew this, she carried enough emotion for the both of them, feeding off of the small bits of affection the raven would occasionally present her with. 

She focused on those ‘straight’ perfect teeth that Eugene was always so obsessed with set into soft pink lips that were seldom in a frown. 

She focused on the laugh that moved her whole body, not just her face.

She focused on the pure belonging she felt when wrapped in the taller girl’s embrace. 

She focused on the soft scent of vanilla and roses.

But the roses were red, like the crypt at her hands.

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it.

Wednesday’s mental whisper echoed around the walls of her mind.

Don’t think about it.

Her gasp slowly turned into a whimper of pain, the first actual emotion she was sure Laurel had ever seen from her, and it killed her to know that the woman had drawn it out of her. 

Finally, finally , the red circle stopped glowing orange and Wednesday all but threw herself as far away as possible in a cry of anguish and relief. 

The floor was cold, and damp with something the Addams couldn’t quite place. 

It smelt of blood and dirt as she was dragged by her chains back to the wall, propped up to watch whatever horrors were to unfold. 

And due horrors they were to ensue. 

Terrible black smoke filled the air as Latin incantation echoed around the crypt, both equally terrifying as Wednesday felt what remaining color she had leave her face because 

There stood Joeseph Crackstone in all his undead glory.

As Laurel wasted her time presenting herself to the deceased pilgrim, Wednesday reached into her boot for a nail file.

She would have one chance at this, she knew, and only around 30 seconds tops. 

Luckily, being an Addams, she knew how to work efficient and quick . 

“ I am of your blood…”

The lock clicked softly, the cuffs remaining on her wrists. 

Hands now freed, she inched across the floor to the knife still coated in her blood.

A few moments more …

“My vengeance will be swift and true…”

If Wednesday knew she’d regret her decision, she still would’ve made it. 

It was the Addams way.

So call her foolish are daringly brave, here she stood in the face of literal death. 

“As will mine.”

Arcane power surged from the pilgrim’s staff, locking the girl in a board-like position. 

How strenuous. 

“Goody Addams…”

No, most certainly not

Wednesday’s thoughts didn’t stop the pilgrim from believing it. 

And as cold hands stole colder metal from her grasp, the unthinkable happened. 

Wednesday wasn’t one to believe in cliches, nor was she ever one to participate, but as the cool blade pierced the soft skin in her abdomen, the Addams found herself transported.

Back, back, back through space and time, emotion and sadness. 

Everything she’d ever experienced, everything she’d ever felt came flooding back to her in a thunderous roar. Color and sound, touch and smell. A clicking sound of small arachnid-like claws transforming into keys of a typewriter and buzzing bees. Laughter from every person and everything she knew, her family, her school, her friends , tones, and meanings and circumstance churning into everything and nothing at once.

Wednesday felt the blade twist in her insides, effectively tearing everything in her stomach. The pain was enough to block out anything else that Crackstone spat at her, sending a different wave of flashes through her mind. 

The worst was the sheer amount of color .

Red from her mother, her lips and roses and careful touches. Red like warmth and love, something that no matter how hard Wednesday tried, she would always long for. Orange like the stripes on a sweater, like the autumn leaves her brother loved. Yellow like the happiness that Enid always displayed. Yellow like the sun on a truly terrible day. Green like the life that breathed in the forest. Blue, like Enid’s eyes. 

And there was so. Much. Black. 

From hair to nails to clothes to darkness , black surrounded her as she fell to the floor. 

Yet she noticed another color. 

Crimson, like the blood on her hands.

Wednesday felt cold. 

But most of all, she felt alone . 

“I could die alone, Wednesday!”

And as the shock overtook her body, the Addams let slip a harsh, cold, but completely genuine laugh as voices filled her mind. 

Was this what insanity felt like?

“Do you even care about anyone, or-or anything at all, Wednesday?”

“You’re going to love Nevermore.”

“Let me know when I move up on your to-do list.”

“You’re not very good at this,”

“Let’s see if you bleed in black and white.”

 “Cheering people up.”

“It’s a magical place.”

As the lines blurred along with her vision, all she could hear was her name. 

Over 

And over

And over.

A hushed whisper, breathed as if not to wake the sleeping soul. 

“Wednesday…”

Suddenly, before her, sat a vision of a girl in white.

Or perhaps it was blue.

Wednesday couldn’t find it in herself to care. 

“Are you here to take me to the other side?”

Goody shook her head.

“Listen, Crackstone must be stabbed through his black heart. It is the only way he will be vanquished, now and forever.”

Wednesday barked an indignant laugh, short and stiff as blood became rust in the inside of her mouth.

“Is your spectral vision impaired? I’m dying .”

A soft chill crept through her spin as the ghost of her ancestor reached towards her, thin blue fingers grasping to the metal chain around her neck. 

“Your necklace, it is a powerful talisman.”

“My mother told me it’s for conjuring visions…” Wednesday’s words had no real argument, just a simple observation of her dying breaths. 

“It is also a conduit for conjuring spirits.”  

Wednesday Addams had read and seen enough mystery in her life to know where Goody was going. Her mind was turning over gears before the first word of the ghost’s next sentence even came out. 

“ It will allow me to pass through you and heal you. Just know, once you do, you will never see me again.”

And Wednesday wanted to accept.

Oh, she longed to.

But there was a more important matter at stake.

Because if Wednesday knew a certain blonde - and of course, the raven did - she knew there was no way she and everyone else at the school she cared about wasn’t rushing headfirst into a terrible decision. So Wednesday had no regrets when she asked:

“Can you protect someone?”

Goody was taken aback for a second, not responding. 

“Can you protect someone, shield them from harm?” Wednesday repeated, really really hoping that her ancestor would understand because God , she was running out of time. 

To her dismay, Goody shook her head softly. 

“ The school needs you , Wednesday.”

“You are a powerful being, are you not? Is that not why the pilgrim had you murdered?”

“You do not have much time, Wednesday.”

“ I know.” She spat. Like hell, she knew. She could feel every second draining out of her. “I n-need you to do both. P-please… ” 

Wednesday’s voice was fading with her pulse, both of the girls in the crypt knew that, yet Goody was silent for a long time. 

Long enough for Wednesday’s mind to wander to the note in her breast pocket, a note of “ In case this goes wrong .” 

Thing would surely have to use it now, wouldn’t he?

Where even was her trusted family member? With Enid, hopefully, or someone else who needed him. 

It didn’t stop the raven from truly wishing she wasn’t so alone .

“You are pushing my limits, Wednesday,”

“ Can you do it?” The dark-haired girl interrupted, not waiting for the long, drawn-out answer sure to come. 

Goody pointed at the necklace around Wednesday’s neck. 

“For however long you wear that, that is how long my health shall stay. This will go for anyone who wears it until the full moon sets. That is all I can do.” 

And Wednesday smiled.

Smiled .

And nodded to the ghost of the girl before her. 

“Thank you.”

Fire shot through her body as the knife was removed and cast aside.

As her vision faded, blue light burst in her eyes as Goody’s ghostly form faded through her body, right to her heart. 

The change was immediate. 

For one, Wednesday could breathe . She honestly didn’t even remember when she’d stopped, but God did it feel amazing. 

Secondly, she could literally feel the wound in her stomach fixing itself, knitting skin and fiber back together in a tightly sewn scar. 

The smile never left her face as she sat up and raced out of the damned crypt. 

Chapter Text

“Laurel said you were dead…”

“I’m feeling much better now.” 

Howls in the distance grew closer, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thing racing towards her, tapping frantically. 

Finally, one thing that went right today . 

Her mental plans on just how to get the necklace to Thing were cut short as Tyler grabbed at her collar, drawing her close enough to feel his hot breath on her cheeks. 

Wednesday scowled. 

“This will not end well for you .”

Fear trickled down her spine as Tyler - of all things - smiled before taking a step back and…

Oh. 

So that was how he transformed. 

All breath left her lungs as the Hyde’s monstrous claws clasped her by the throat, slamming her into a nearby tree and holding her up by her neck. Her hands were hidden by the monster’s larger ones, grasping at its claws, struggling for air. 

She’d never liked the idea of asphyxiation. Too quick, by her standards, and definitely not painful enough. Snapping the neck would be more efficient, or even slitting her throat. Choking was just trying too hard. 

Then the pressure on her neck was gone in a flurry of flying fur, brown and grey, blue and pink . 

To confirm Wednesday’s looming suspicions, she saw blonde from her position on the floor. 

Everything was still smears of colors as she slowly sat up and stared at the creatures before her. 

The Hyde, on all fours now, clutching its face.

And a werewolf, with incredibly dark blue eyes and color tinting the fur around her face. 

“Enid?”  

It was a question at first, wondering if it truly was the wonderful, bubbly girl in front of her. Then, it was a warning. 

“ Enid! ”  

The werewolf moved away just in time as Wednesday stood to her feet, grasping Thing in her hands. She fumbled with the chain around her neck for less than 3 seconds before passing it over to the hand. 

“Listen to me, Thing. You need to put this on her, I don’t care how you do it, but Enid needs to wear this.” 

She interrupted his frantic question before he could ask. 

“I’ll explain later,” She whispered, fully knowing that this would most likely not be the case. 

A howl from Enid’s werewolf form brought her back to the moment at hand as she lay Thing gently at her feet. 

“ I need to get back to the school. ” It wasn’t to anyone in particular, maybe just an announcement to the world, but as she turned to run back to the stone ablaze, she locked “eyes” with the only being that had always had her back. 

“ Thank you .”

Then she ran. Ran back through the gates and up the stairs to the balcony, the very same one where her mother - not father - had accidentally murdered Garrett Gates. 

Just where she’d hoped, there lay the sword, polished like new.

To anyone else, it would seem as if it were only for display, never coated with a thick sheen of red. The murder would be covered up, just like everything else Larissa Weems had ever done. If the woman was one thing, she was thorough. 

Well, that and she loved her school.

Looking down into the quad - where Enid had first introduced her to Nevermore - Wednesday observed the destruction. It was all on fire now, and what wasn’t currently licked by flame had scorch marks from being touched by it. 

Students ran, screaming, compelled by the siren song Bianca and her fellow sirens commanded, aided by the teachers under the same spell. 

In the middle of it, all stood Crackstone and his loyal bloodline enthusiast. 

So, as any Addams would, Wednesday marched down to face him off, the sword her mother had once killed in hand. 

“ Howdy, Pilgrim. ”

If she was being honest, Wednesday enjoyed Crackstone’s surprise a bit too much. 

“How canst thy heart still beat?” He circled her like a predatory animal, raising his staff to point at her chest.

The same location where his silver knife had protruded just an hour before. 

“What demon sorcery is this?”

Speaking of demon sorcery, she could feel Goody’s healing beginning to fade, not majorly, but her energy was gone and there was sharp pain whenever she moved too fast. 

She’d have to work quickly.

But of course, the universe had other plans. 

“STAY AWAY FROM HER!”

Xavier stood behind her, his hand pulled back against his face, bow in his right and arrow whizzing just to the left of her face, aimed at the face of Crackstone. 

It should’ve killed him. 

The steel tip of the arrow should have pierced right through his undead flesh. 

Even with Goody’s instructions, there was no way anything could survive an arrow to the face. 

However, 

The arrow didn’t reach within a foot of him at all . 

It hung there, suspended in mid-air as Crackstone raised his hand like a shield, arcane power surging from his staff. 

For a witch hunter, he sure used quite the shit-ton of magic. 

Wednesday, for the countless time that day, felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand tall as the arrow twisted with the undead pilgrim’s wrist, flipping it 180 degrees until it faced directly back at Xavier. 

She didn’t need to be a psychic to know what was to happen next. 

Wednesday didn’t know if it was Goody’s form still empowering her, moving her body like a puppet to intercept the deadly shaft. She didn’t know if it was her own will to protect the boy who’d saved her just days ago, the boy who she falsely accused. She didn’t know if it was just a Prid Quo Pro for getting him arrested. 

What she did know, however, was that being shot in the shoulder hurt like hell . 

The wooden shaft slammed into her with enough force to spin her body as she fell, the impact sending her rolling across the floor as a soft gasp escaped her lips. 

Add that to the slowly increasing pain in her abdomen, and she was in pure agony. 

Again, another thing that was on the list of “used to be fun”

“NO!”

Xavier was hovering over her in an instant, terror and a strange hint of guilt in his eyes. 

This was okay

Wednesday knew it was a lie, but to convince Xavier, she had to convince herself. 

“ I’m fine, ” She spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes silently pleading for the artist to understand. 

I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine

Xavier shook his head, but there were more important matters to attend to.

Mainly the undead pilgrim striding towards the Addams, his eyes full of hunger and death . 

“Go! Get them out of here!”

Wednesday felt something in her black heart break as Xavier turned away, nodding, muttering “Okay…” over and over. His body may have cooperated, but the look in the boy’s eyes, the look of terror and sadness and pain, the look stayed with her. 

Probably would until she took it to her grave. 

Pain overtook her with every move as she lifted a shaking arm to her shoulder, grasping at the wooden hilt and forcefully tugging it out, blood seeping into the cloth over her shoulder.  

And because she was Wednesday, but more importantly, she was Wednesday Addams, she never gave up. 

So she ran - literally ran, with blood dripping down her arm and stomach - to the sword a few feet away, grasping the cool metal in her hands. 

The blood beginning to appear on her palm made it slippery. Inconvenient. 

With every clash against Crackstone’s staff, the sounds of the metal brought her back to every fencing lesson she’d ever learned. From her father’s teaching to the elegant spars in the fencing room with Barclay. With every step she took, she remembered the careful lectures her family had given her. 

Most importantly, she remembered every reason she had to live . 

If Wednesday was honest, Crackstone wasn’t a worthy opponent in a spar. His attacks were sloppy, his grip would falter, and his stance was unbalanced. 

If Wednesday was honest, she should have won. 

And if Wednesday was honest, she thought bringing magic to a sword fight was cheating. 

But Wednesday’s honesty didn’t stop the surge of magical power enforcing Crackstone’s staff from snapping her sword into shards. 

It didn’t stop the staff’s power from throwing her into a wooden pallet, drawing the air out of her lungs. 

Deja vu

The sudden force of the impact tore some healed parts inside of her, blood beginning to flow down her front as the undead pilgrim aimed his staff, and energy pulsed like a truck on her chest until she could no longer breathe. 

For the second time that night, Wednesday found her life flashing before her eyes. 

Everything was too fast and too slow, her breath, her pulse, and yet again, the Addams felt black around the rims of her vision. 

Then everything stopped, and Wednesday could breathe . 

Crackstone stood in front of her, still as ever as if nothing had changed.

Everything was still for a second, as if the universe was holding its breath. 

Then Wednesday looked down i and saw the shard of steel protruding from Crackstone’s chest, just below his shoulder. Flickers of yellow and orange surrounded the steel as it withdrew, revealing what could only be described as a burnt hole . 

And there stood Bianca Barclay, a shard of the sword in her hand and a dark twitch in her lips that wasn’t quite a smile. 

Whatever it was wiped off in a second as Crackstone directed his staff at the siren, throwing her 15 feet across the quad. 

And to be honest, Wednesday cared . 

She cared that Bianca was possibly injured, and guilty that the school was in danger because of her. She cared that Eugene was in the hospital and that Xavier was imprisoned. She cared that Enid could be hurt at the moment, even with Goody’s added protection. 

Wednesday’s heart wasn’t black, as she led many to believe, but it pulsed with life and a love she herself didn’t know how to explain or contain.

And because Wednesday Addams protected the people she cared about, she found the strength in her dying body to take a shattered piece of the sword and drive it straight into Joeseph Crackstone’s heart, a heart that truly was black, filled with hate and anger. 

She felt no sorrow as the pilgrim screamed in agony, his skin beginning to flake and fire pouring out of his gaping mouth. 

She felt only fatigue as he faded away, leaving just herself and Bianca in the quad. 

Blood now completely covered her white undershirt, the remaining color draining from her already pale face as her knees gave out and she collapsed to the stone beneath. 

“Wednesday!”

Footsteps raced towards her, hands on her shoulder and waist propping her up against the quad’s center fountain. 

“Shit, Addams, what did you do to yourself…”

Wednesday looked up into blue eyes. 

They looked so much like Enid’s

“Don’t really have time to exp-plain, Barclay…” She muttered, dropping her gaze and cursing herself for the falter in her voice. 

Bianca pursed her lips. 

“Look, I know you’ve got this whole ‘I have no feelings and get off on pain’ thing going on, but I need you to tell me where the hell all this blood is from.”

Goody’s magic must have been almost if not completely gone. Wednesday could feel it, and not just in the gaping holes in her shoulder and stomach. 

She could feel the darkness ebbing around the corners of her vision, dragging her near. She felt the tug in her chest when she felt the truth, and the truth always was different somehow. Heavier almost. There was a crushing weight on her chest that had nothing to do with the siren pressing down on her wounds and suddenly, there was only one person in the goddamn world she wanted close to her. 

Her first mutter was so unintelligible, Bianca didn’t understand, but after the second try, her blue eyes got dark ( maybe even watery ) as she nodded and raced to comply. 

“ Enid.”

The two minutes waiting for the siren to return was the longest two minutes of her life. Just keeping herself awake proved to be quite the struggle, with death lurking around every corner, calling her to dark oblivion. 

Call her poetic or a romantic sap, but Wednesday knew the only thing keeping her on death’s doorstep at that moment was the animalistic need to see that beautiful blonde again. 

Wednesday wouldn’t abandon her. 

At least without saying goodbye. 

But her desires didn’t stop the natural course of life and eventually, her eyelids drew heavy and her breathing became labored and uneven. 

At first, because of her current state, Wednesday thought she was hearing things when footsteps echoed around the quad. 

But two voices soon followed, and as a shout ran out in the silent air, Wednesday smiled. 

Enid Sinclair was at her side in seconds, pressing her hands against Wednesday’s wounds, trying to staunch the blood flowing out. 

It was no use, Wednesday knew, but she also knew Enid would try until her last breath. 

The blonde’s hair was an untidy mess and a few surface scratch on her face and arms, but the werewolf was otherwise unharmed. Morticia’s necklace hung loosely from her neck, dangling in the moonlight and flickering in the reflection of the small fires around them. 

“Oh my god, oh my god, Willa, what-”

A soft hand ran down her face and suddenly, Wednesday felt tears prick her eyes. 

I love you

Wednesday leaned into the touch, relishing the warmth on her cool skin and the soft smell of vanilla and roses. 

It was a good contrast to the iron scent of blood.

Blood that was nowhere near the girl she loved.

“Good…” Wednesday’s voice was slurred as she reached a shaky hand to the necklace. “Goody was actually useful for something. Give Thing a ‘thank you’ for me, Cara mia.”

Even in the face of death, the young Addams still adored how flushed Enid became with the statement. 

However, Enid also showed much confusion, which was not unwarranted. 

“T-the necklace…” Wednesday explained. “It’s a talisman for spirits.”

Enid’s eyes went wide. 

“You’re n-not possessed , Amore, if that is what’s on your mind. You’re just…protected. It was a gift, from my mother.”

Wednesday smiled at the girl in front of her as Enid’s mental wheels turned, a look of confusion, then shock, then terrible sadness flashing in her eyes. 

“Willa, what did you do…”

And Wednesday laughed. Maybe the shock was starting to set in .

She couldn’t even feel the hole in her stomach anymore, just the touch of Enid’s hands on her face and stomach. 

“I…I protected you, Mi Amor… ”

A coughing fit soon overtook her, and as the raven-haired girl drew her hand back, there was fresh blood speckling her already-covered skin. 

She really didn’t have time to explain. 

Enid tore off the necklace in less than a second, trying in vain to get it over Wednesday’s neck, but another coughing fit interrupted.

“Enid…p-please.” Wednesday Addams never begged, but this was damn near close to it. 

How could she explain with so little time?

“Wednesday, you need to put this on, please, for me, just-”

“It won’t w-work…” Wednesday placed her hand on Enid’s, looking into the blonde’s eyes. 

The desperation in her gaze shut the werewolf up, bringing fresh tears to both of their eyes. 

“Just…” Another cough and Wednesday was fighting hard not to black out.

“Just hold me… please …” 

And with vision blurring with tears, Enid did just that, wrapping the small girl in her arms, desperately trying to keep her breathing steady, to keep herself steady for the dying girl who’d saved the school. 

She couldn’t stop the salty tears from trickling down her face, couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as she ran her fingers through thick black hair, couldn’t stop her breath from hitching as she held her Wednesday close. 

But she could feel Wednesday smile as her shaky arms recourperated the embrace, the smaller girl burying her face into Enid’s shoulder. 

“Thank you…” She muttered. 

Enid felt Wednesday’s breathing growing faint, the rise and fall of her chest becoming staggered and shallow. 

Please don’t leave me…

“Anything for you, Willa, anything for you.” 

Somewhere inside her, Enid knew Wednesday was dying. 

She knew these were the last minutes she’d be graced to spend with her. 

She knew that even as Wednesday’s gentle touch caressed her face, that it would be the final affection she received from the girl. 

She knew in her mind that when Wednesday’s hand dropped that she was gone.

But her heart refused to believe it. 

“ No…” It wasn’t just a whisper, it was a plea to the universe and whatever celestial beings were out there. 

But Wednesday’s head fell back against her arms limp, her eyes closed and a ghost of a smile left on her face. 

“ No no no no, W-willa…” 

In that moment, Enid’s shattered . 

A guteral scream ripped through the silent air, leting everyone in earshot of the young werewolf know that something terible had just occurred. If there was ever a sorrow in the world, Enid felt it all . 

Don’t leave me, 

Don’t you dare leave me here,

You can’t leave me alone,

Enid’s mind knew that no amount of pleading would bring the dead girl back.

Enid’s heart was still in denial. 

So Enid waited, pleading and shaking the young Addams, asking for just one more sign, one more kiss, one more touch, anything to prove to her mind that it was wrong , waiting for her to open her eyes and say “Suprise, motherfuckers, I’m alive”. 

And they would laugh and hold eachother because Wednesday was okay.

Because Wednesday was always okay. 

Wednesday always pulled through, always . 

You have to wake up, 

You have to

Have to

Have to

But she wouldn’t this time. 

And Enid knew that.

This time, there was no waking up. 

This time, there was no coming back. 

And Enid knew that . 

The girl in her arms was gone. 

Her eyes were closed. 

I’ll never see them again…

Her arms were limp, 

She’ll never hug me again…

Her lips were pale and cold.

She’ll never kiss me again…

Because Wednesday was gone.

And Enid knew that . 

So she held the girl in a gentle embrace as she sobbed, burying her face in Wednesday’s braids, trying desperately to commit her scent to memory. 

She still smelled like Wednesday. 

Like pine and dust and that hint of cinnamon she always enjoyed. 

She smelled like blood as well, but Enid thought that just made her smell even more like Wednesday. 

Even as others trickled into the quad, Enid didn’t let go. 

She would never let go.

Never again.

Wednesday Addams’ mark on her was incredible, and as long as Enid had that, she would make sure everyone remembered the incredible girl in her arms. 

And Enid knew that.

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Wednesday had left her. 

A week since she’d felt the girl’s soft touch. 

A week since she’d felt the Seer’s kiss. 

A week since Enid Sinclair had ceased to live. 

Her heart may be beating,

Her lungs may take in breath, 

But who needs blood or oxygen when your only reason for living is gone ? 

Enid Sinclair may have survived the Battle of Nevermore, but she wasn’t living .

Not anymore. 

She refused to talk

She refused to eat

She barely slept

Just stared at the empty space where her desk and her little black typewriter used to be, wishing to listen to the “click-clacking” she once found so annoying. 

How many hours had she wasted with her headphones on when she could’ve listened to the world’s most beautiful symphony?

The world may be full of lovesick cliches, but goddamnit , they were so fucking accurate.

You never know what you have ‘till it’s gone .

Wednesday’s bed was still sitting across from her, along with the bloodstained clothes that even her family had discarded, deeming it too painful of a reminder. 

Little did they know how much it would taunt the girl who stared at it almost 24/7. 

After that night, she hadn’t found the strength to cross the tape on the floor. 

Not that it had separated the two girls anyway. 

The first day everyone visited to pay their condolences. 

Enid was just glad that neither the Sherrif or his monster of a son showed up. 

She wouldn’t have been able to guarantee their safety.

Yoko checked in for an hour or two every day. 

She and Bianca brought her food

And inevitably, they brought it back almost untouched.

The only progress the two made was once a day when they convinced the grieving werewolf to drink something, anything . 

Other than that, no one visited her, not daring to disrupt the Addams’ sacred space. 

And to be honest, Enid preferred it that way. 

Seeing Yoko and Bianca was enough to keep her on the edge of sanity. 

Anyone else and she would lose it. 

But it had been a week. 

A week.

Even Enid knew she had to start “living” again soon. 

But how could she when the love of her life was gone?

A tap and a creak at the door and Enid didn’t need to look up. 

Along with the siren and vampire, Thing visited every few days to check on her, never “talking”, just sitting in her presence. 

Enid liked it that way.

Honestly, Enid had started to feel somewhat okay whenever Thing was around. 

Maybe it was because he was part of Wednesday’s family. 

Maybe it was because of the bond he shared with the werewolf. 

Either way, it was a start to moving on.  

No,

Moving on wasn’t what she wanted. 

She would never “move on” from Wednesday Addams. 

It was more of a “live and accept” kind of thing. 

Enid knew she could never change the past, nor could she truly ever be the same again, but she could take steps forward, and live on. 

Enid blinked. 

Thing had broken her concentrated stare (it was almost funny how well she could not blink now), but she wasn’t quite sure what. 

Thing was…” bouncing” on Wednesday’s bed, tapping at her dirt-stained clothes folded neatly on the black sheet. 

Oh.

“Not right now, Thing.” 

Enid hated how scratchy and tired her voice sounded from unuse. 

But Thing kept tapping. 

Enid’s glare darkened as she sat up straiter, reminding the hand that she had claws, and wasn’t afraid to use them. 

“Not. Right. Now. ”

Thing stopped bouncing for a moment, and Enid began to slouch again, but then the hand flicked something in the breast pocket of Wednesday’s uniform, and the tiniest sliver of paper appeared. 

Enid froze. 

Sure she was curious, but checking the paper meant crossing the room, and crossing the room meant she’d have to see all of the red on her late roommate’s undershirt. 

Not to mention smell the iron stench of blood along with something she didn’t think she had the strength to smell again. 

She’d have to smell Wednesday . 

But as Thing’s flicking nudged more of the square of paper out of its hiding place, Enid saw the softly rounded letters spelling the only thing that would convince her to cross the tape. 

~ Enid

Trembling hands removed the folded piece of paper.

The paper wasn’t even black like one would have suspected. 

But the white parchment was speckled with drops of red, the realization of which almost made the young werewolf drop the paper. 

Her blue eyes now watery, Enid delicately unfolded the note.

If it had been tissue paper, it would’ve been shreds with how much her hands were shaking.

When finally, the paper was at its full expanse, Enid began to read the letters typed in black ink. 

My dearest Enid, 

I will not continue the “sappy cliché” of “if you are reading this,” because that is an understood subject. 

What I will say is I am truly sorry if the reason you are reading this letter is that something happened between us. I would never forgive myself if I let you down or hurt you in any way, and for that, in advance (or belatedly), I apologize. 

If you reading my letter due to something else, then there are no words to entirely describe just how important you were to me.  Important is not a strong enough word. I have described to you how the love of an Addams is all-consuming, possessive, and excruciatingly inescapable, but even these words do not describe the way I felt with you.  

If there was ever a reason for my black heart to beat, it was you. I will miss your beautiful, life-filled eyes waking me every morning. I will miss the careful touch that I only would allow from you. I will miss your smile and the way you somehow infected me with that curse.  

Water dripped on the the page, darkening a single circle in the text. 

Two more drops soon followed. 

Oh. 

Those are tears . 

When had she started crying? 

Enid didn’t remember how she’d got to the floor, but she was there now, curled up in an Enid-ball, tears dropping onto the paper in her hands. 

It was all too much. 

Enid had always known the young Addams had been poetic - hell, she was a writer, for god’s sake - but this?

Enid didn’t know how to deal with this level of emotion, as if Wednesday had poured her heart out in the words. 

She swore she could even hear her voice as she read. 

But the next part of Wednesday’s letter had her heart stopping for completely different reasons. 

To say you were important in my life would be an understatement greater than my bloodline. 

To say of which, an Addams is never unprepared. 

While I cannot describe my affection in words on a page, perhaps in person can this be fully disclosed? 

If you wish, return to the last place we met and read aloud the words on the back, but know - if this works - it will only work once. 

I hope to see you soon,

Yours truly and forever, 

~WA

Wednesday, for once in her life, was wrong. 

The greatest understatement wasn’t how important Enid was to the Addams.

It was saying that Enid “ran” to the Quad at 1:00 a.m. in the morning.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With the incessant nagging of Thing, Enid eventually backtracked to the rooms of Yoko, Bianca, Xavier, and Eugene. 

Something about how “they deserved a goodbye as well”. 

Thing wasn’t wrong. 

But to say the four woke happily was…well, incorrect . 

However once they saw the girl who’d woken them - and maybe after she’d explained as fast as she could - every single one of them followed the werewolf out to the quad in the dead of night. 

The air was crisp and cold, just as it had been the night it happened. 

If anyone made the connection, no one breathed a word. 

They just watched as Enid knelt next to the center fountain, tracing her hands delicately over the red-stained stone, tears falling silently down her cheeks. 

The universe held its breath as the blonde unfolded the paper for the second time that night, flipping it over in her hands to read the back. 

“Remembrance is for the dead, love is for the living…

My love, the light’s a trail we’ve led, a chance to be forgiven…

Forgive me now, a reconcile, reach to that what’s lost…

For neigh, not death could yet defile, my heart the only cost…”

There the teens stood, in a courtyard at 1:00 a.m., all broken and lost in their own way, the only sound shared between them: silence. 

Enid didn’t know what she expected to happen. 

But this wasn’t it.

For what it was worth, she’d actually believed that maybe, maybe Wednesday’s letter would work. 

Maybe , she’d have a chance, a goodbye. 

But what she was left with was a terrible heartache of false hope and letdown, not quite unlike a hangover if she was honest.

But it didn’t matter. 

Nothing did anymore. 

It didn’t matter because-

“Fucking finally . I was beginning to believe I’d been forgotten.”

And there, under the overhang of Nevermore’s halls, leaning against a post with her hair in two neat braids stood Wednesday Fucking Addams.

The raven’s next response (which no doubt would’ve been about “seeing ghosts”) was cut off as Enid threw herself at the girl, enveloping her in an embrace that surely wasn’t comfortable for either of them but she didn’t care because Wednesday was here.

Standing there in front of here as if nothing had happened. 

Enid could touch her, feel her skin under her hands. 

She wasn’t even in the clothes they’d buried her in. 

And before she knew it, Enid was sobbing against the smaller girl’s chest, Yoko and Bianca beside her and Xavier at a comfortable distance. Eugene stood somewhere next to Xavier, wondering if he was close enough to either of the girls to get closer, but Yoko beckoned him forward, so he stood a foot away from the group. 

Wednesday just held the shaking werewolf, rubbing her back and pulling her close, whispering sweet nothings for only the two of them to hear. 

Behind them, the siren shared a glance with the vampire. 

Both knew the bond the two roommates shared was something incredibly special, and both knew how incredibly soft the Addams was with the werewolf, but Bianca knew that this moment right now, this moment was something more . 

Bianca had not truly understood the depth of how far the Addams’ love ran, but if finding a way to literally defy death was a statement enough, Bianca didn’t think anyone would ever fully understand it. 

The same was true for Enid. 

“Amore, my love,” the raven whispered as Enid began to calm down slightly, her gasps fading into more of a soft whimper and her breathing beginning to steady. 

“I’m deeply sorry to bring this up, but you must know this is temporary.”

Enid pulled back from the embrace, wiping her eyes. 

“I know, αγάπη μου, I know.” She sniffed. “I just…I don’t know, it’s just been hard .”

“We miss you, Addams,” Bianca added, and both Yoko and Xavier nodded. 

“We all do,” the vampire agreed, taking a step back with Bianca so Xavier could move in closer to the raven. 

“Hummers are supposed to stick together, you know? It’s hive code.” Eugene’s brown eyes held more than enough affection for the Addams, but she drew him in close for a quick embrace anyway, much to the surprise of the group. 

Well, sans Enid. 

She’d grown used to her girlfriend’s softer side. 

Eugene pulled away from Wednesday, leaving only Enid in close proximity. 

“I know we haven’t really said ‘goodbye’,” The boy wiped his eyes. “But…this feels like enough closure for me. It was nice to see you one just one more time, but…” He nodded to the werewolf still clutching the pale girl’s hand in her own. 

“I think we’ll leave you two alone,” Bianca finished, wrapping her arm around the fluffy-haired boy, an affection that no one would have immediately associated with her. 

Maybe the siren and the seer had more in common than they had originally thought. 

“Nevermore won’t forget your sacrifice,” Bianca promised as she locked gazes with Wednesday. “I’ll make sure of it, you have my word.” 

“We’ll take care of your girl too,” Yoko smiled, and if Wednesday wasn’t half ghost at the moment, Yoko may have seriously feared for her life. 

“Take care of yourself, Wednesday.” Xavier took a step forward, only one, but it was enough for the both of them. 

Their relationship had always been rocky, complicated at best, but Wednesday couldn’t bring herself to dislike the boy. He stuck to the truth, something she would always admire, and was there to protect the people he cared about when it really mattered. 

And that was enough for Wednesday. 

Yoko took Bianca’s hand, who then took Eugene’s who in turn grabbed Xavier’s. 

It was like this, arms linked and tired smiles on their faces that Wednesday would last see her friends. 

Enid still clutched at her hand, leaning her forehead against the smaller girl’s as soon as the others had left the quad. 

“I don’t know what to do, Willa, I don’t know what to do.” The werewolf’s breathing was starting to become more erratic, panic setting in with the mixed in dread of feeling like her heart was being ripped out. Twice . 

“I can’t lose you again, you can’t leave me again, please. ”

“Enid,” Wednesday steaded the girl, grasping her face with both hands and tapping her cheek until the girl made eye contact. 

Light and dark, night and day . 

“I will never leave you.” She whispered, cutting off Enid’s string of pleas. 

“Listen, my love, listen to me , I know this is hard-”

“I can’t live through losing you again, Willa!” Enid sobbed, tears flowing down her cheeks and onto Wednesday’s hands. “I had to watch you die once, I can’t let you go again!”

“Cara mia, I’m so sorry,” Wednesday’s voice was thick and heavy, her own eyes collecting moisture as the blond unraveled in front of her. 

Enid was around 3 minutes from hysterics. 

Honestly, who wouldn’t be. 

But Wednesday knew the closure Enid needed. 

She knew what had to be done. 

“Enid,” She whispered. Just her name, over and over until the werewolf sniffed and actually heard her. 

“Enid,” Wednesday felt a tear roll down her cheek. She hadn’t done that since she was a child . Her heart ached and her throat was terribly choked at the moment, but her voice didn’t waver as she looked the Enid straight through her blue eyes. 

“You need to let me go.”

The sound that left Enid’s mouth was almost a sob, but not quite. It didn’t have the right pitch, nor was it accompanied with tears. It was almost if she’d let out a resignated sigh, but Enid’s eyes were full of pain. 

“I can’t-”

“Yes,” Wednesday interrupted. “You can.”

“Now I need you to listen to me, actually listen . I love you, very much, and you know that. I do not expect you to go fall all over again in a matter of months or even years, as I know you would not expect of me. I do not expect you to pretend and act like everything is normal or how it was, because you and I both know that it isn’t nor ever will be. 

What you must do is continue to take steps forward . Live your life and be free to make the choices you wish. Your intelligence is high, Amore, I know this, and I am sure you already know what I have said, but I need you to promise me you won’t forget it, that you will actually take action towards these ideas and begin again. 

Just as I shall always carry you in myself, I know you carry I in you. We’ve grown and learned from each other and it has shaped us into who we are now . Without having met you, I would still be a shy, unlikable, cold psychopath who had no care about anyone other than herself but you, Enid,

You showed me what it was like to love unconditionally . The only person that you don’t love is yourself . I wished that I would be the one to change that, now I can only hope someone else will. 

I will always be with you, Mi Cachorro, never forget that.”

Both girls were successfully in tears now, but there was something stirring in Enid’s chest. 

An… understanding of sorts that she couldn’t quite place, but she took comfort in Wednesday’s words as they settled themselves in her heart, making their home, safe and secure from the outside world. 

And Wednesday smiled, knowing her monologue had done its job. 

“I…” Enid whispered, her eyes closed and head still resting against the smaller girl’s. “I don’t know what to say…”

“Then don’t, “ Wednesday pulled the werewolf closer, burying her face into Enid’s shoulder. “Just stay like this with me, please .”

Enid was overcome with a strong sense of deja vu as she held the girl in her arms close, taking in her scent and committing it to memory. 

It was the same, almost, as the night that Nevermore burned. 

Wednesday was in her arms again, only a few minutes left in this world. 

Tears dripped down both of the girl’s faces. 

But the mood and understanding that both of the girl’s had was so entirely different. 

And finally, Enid found the words she’d held within her for so long. 

“I love you, Wednesday,” She muttered, her breath tickling the raven’s ear. “Like the sun loves the moon, I love you. Never forget.”

She could feel Wednesday smile as the smaller girl tightened her embrace. She also felt the wetness seep through the cloth in her jacket as tears fell from the Addams face yet again. 

“I love you to, Cara Mia, never forget.” 

And it was like this that Wednesday Addams faded away, held in the arms of the only perosn in the damn universe who fully understood, accepted, and loved her as Wednesday Addams. 

And when Enid stood alone in the Nevermore quad, she’d never felt less alone in her life. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enid (2:00 a.m.)

• Hey, is 7 pm at Yoko’s still on?

Barclay (2:03 a.m.) 

• Wouldn’t miss it for the world. We’ll see u there?

Enid (2:03 a.m.)

• Yeah, I need to get out of this room, u know?

Yoko (2:05 a.m.) 

• Fr, girl, Ik what you mean.

Yoko (2:05 a.m.)

• It’s good to have you back, Sinclair.