you can occupy my every sigh

Chapter Ten

"Have you slept at all, baby?" Tyler asked Wednesday, who looked positively dead on her feet. "You look even paler than usual." Tyler attempted to joke. Wednesday looked up at him, her gaze as empty as it had been for the past few days since Eugene had been put in a coma. Tyler sighed and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "You did the best you could. He's going to be fine." Wednesday nodded into his shoulder. "I'm sorry I couldn't catch the sick fuck that did it, though." Wednesday pulled away at Tyler's self-deprecating tone.

"That is not your fault, Tyler. If I'm not at fault, neither are you. You're right, he is going to be fine, and feeling guilty about it doesn't put us any closer to solving the murders, or the cult." Wednesday had been sulking the past couple of days, and it had gone from Saturday to Thursday in a haze of blankness and cuddling from Tyler.

The two of them had spent the days licking their wounds, Tyler having got a nasty scratch from the clump that tore across the right side of his chest down to the end of his pec. Wednesday had forced him into the infirmary to get assessed and spent the days tending to the wound, and to her boyfriend. In a time of grief, the two of them were as strong as ever.

Everyone whispered when they saw them, especially because when asked, Wednesday and Tyler made no comment on the happenings of that night. Both Weems and Thornhill had inquired as to what had caused the damage, but Tyler, Wednesday, and Enid had decided nobody but them should know. There was no telling who they could trust, especially with hyde replicas on the loose.

Both of Wednesday's parents had reached out through the crystal ball, but Wednesday wasn't accepting their calls. All she wanted to do was be around Tyler and Enid. Enid had been a godsend when it came to getting the two of them out of their rooms and doing productive things. The girl had practically dragged Wednesday into Jericho to take a look around Uriah's Heap, and Wednesday left the store with a shopping bag full of small trinkets to decorate her side of the room along with a gift for Tyler. In thanks, Wednesday took her to that tacky boutique she liked, and helped Enid pick out some outfits for Parent's Weekend and dates with Yoko.

Apparently, after the end of the Rave'N fiasco, Enid and Yoko finally got a chance to talk and set the record straight. Somebody had gotten Yoko sick with garlic poisoning again, and she had been stuck in the infirmary the night they were supposed to go on a date. Unfortunately, them getting back to dating meant Wednesday hearing constant loud late-night calls and squealing over everything Yoko did. Wednesday was happy for Enid, though. The girl deserved someone who actually cared about her.

That's not to say Wednesday and Tyler weren't annoying, in their own way. Tyler would tug on the bond throughout the day, checking in on Wednesday, and Wednesday would tug back, checking in on Tyler in return. Occasionally they called while Tyler was on break at the Weathervane, so he could vent about entitled customers and Wednesday could vent about imbecilic classmates. They did their homework together in the library most of the time, under the strange and watchful eye of Thornhill. Wednesday could often be caught at the Weathervane after her therapy sessions, drinking a quad and watching Tyler battle yet again with the espresso machine.

Wednesday and Tyler were good; the best they'd ever been, in fact. Their relationship had begun to mature as they communicated more throughout the day and spent more and more time together. Wednesday looked forward to days when Tyler would take her out on the Nevermore campus and they'd tuck themselves under some shady tree. He would read to her, whatever was currently on his nightstand, and she would close her eyes and listen to the soothing sound of his voice.

Sure, they'd had their hiccups after everything with Eugene. Wednesday pushed him away in her guilt, and they'd had a small shouting match until Wednesday relented and let him in. Now, whenever the guilt threatened to overwhelm them, they would go to one of their rooms and cuddle until it dissipated. One of Wednesday's favorite things to do was have Tyler put pressure on her until she felt like she was being smothered. At first, Tyler was afraid he'd crush her with his extra strength, but he'd grown comfortable with doing it when he saw how much Wednesday found comfort in it.