Willingly asking the help of a murderer to find a murderer was not what Wednesday expected to do at Nevermore but recently nothing had been going as she expected.
She waited outside the classroom for Erix and his friend to leave.
"I'm just saying that the name Fallon would fit him we–"
Wednesday stepped out of the shadows and grabbed his arm.
"I need your help."
"Hello to you too," he said as she dragged him away. "I'll catch up with you later 'Jax!"
"Now all we need is the distraction."
Wednesday kept a hold on his arm all the way to the shed where Enid was hopefully waiting for them. Erix looked around them, not bothering to try and get out of Wednesday's hold as he swatted a few bees away from him.
"Gods, I hate bees," he muttered. "Nasty little creatures."
She pushed the shed door open and stepped inside, closing it behind her and Erix.
"Erix?" Enid gaped at him. "...what did she offer you?"
"Okay, first of all, rude of you to assume I wouldn't help someone out of the goodness of my heart. Second of all, what do you think?"
"Uhh–" she gasped. "Did she figure it out?"
"What I am, no. Why I'm here, yes."
Wednesday rolled her eyes. "If you two are done we have things to do."
Enid nodded and Erix gestured for her to continue.
"If Weems comes sniffing around, keep your distance, look grim, and don't say a word." she instructed.
"Payback is going to be a bitch." Enid put on one of the beekeeper hats.
"I'd expect nothing less."
"Just think of it like you're hiding from your ex-girlfriend."
"They were the worst!"
"I know. Now, get in character and stay calm. I'll bring you your favorite smoothie later."
"Okay okay I can do this."
"That's my girl."
Wednesday turned to Eugene. "Blab and I will squeeze you like a honeycomb."
"Snitches get stung. It's hive code. Besides, I should be thanking you. This is the most girls I've ever had in the shed. Other than bees."
"Shocking." Erix and Wednesday replied.
"I've always had a thing for werewolf chicks." Eugene continued.
"The chance that Enid ever becomes romantically interested in you is less than 1%."
"So I've still got a shot?" Erix made a so-so gesture with his hand. "Yes!"
Wednesday made her way back out the shed with Erix following her.
"So we're going back to where we almost got killed?" he asked.
"Surely that's rhetorical."
"Oh it is, I'm just curious, um, what do you plan to do if the monster comes back?"
"What do you think you're here for?" she smirked at him.
❤︎❤︎❤︎
Leaves crunched under their feet as they walked through the woods. Erix couldn't tell whether Wednesday liked fall or not; she clearly didn't find the noise as nice as he did. The two mostly walked in silence but Erix did feel the need to ask one question.
"Why did you really ask me to come out here?" Wednesday glanced at him. "I mean- it's obvious you can protect yourself so what makes you think that a pretty boy like me is more capable than you?"
"'More capable' is an overstatement." she stopped in front of him. "If someone like you could do what the police report says then you must be strong. Besides, Rowan."
Erix nodded in realization. "Right he tried to kill me. Pointless but an effort was made."
"He thought you had something to do with that beast so I have a question. What are you?"
He smirked. "What makes you think I'm any more special than anyone else at Nevermore?"
"Don't play games with me, Enid already told me that you're the only of your kind at Nevermore."
"Of course she did," Erix sighed. "Well it's not really a secret. I'm a demon. Son of Mammon to be precise."
"A demon?" Wednesday repeated skeptically.
"Yep."
"Unbelievable." Wednesday muttered and started walking again.
They had been searching for a good 15 minutes when Erix heard a grunt in the distance. His head snapped towards the sound.
"What is it?" Wednesday asked.
He went to respond when he heard a dog bark. Erix pushed Wednesday behind a tree and covered her. They both kept silent and waited until the dog and officer walked off.
"Thanks." Wednesday said, pushing him off. She looked behind him. "How'd you throw them off?"
Erix turned to see Tyler and grinned.
"Uh..." Tyler chuckled wryly. He held up a bag of grounds. "Coffee grounds? Deer-hunting hack. One of the perks of being a part-time barista."
Erix sighed in relief.
"Thanks. If it smelled me it would've started barking...immediately." He muttered.
He really hated bloodhounds.
They hated him too.
"I assume your father didn't bring the bloodhound to play fetch." He straightened up.
"He doesn't tell me shit." Tyler said before seemingly taking note of the situation. "You must think it's weird I'm stalking him."
"No, I consistently stalk my parents." Wednesday replied.
"My parents mostly stay in..." Erix trailed off, glancing at Tyler. Wednesday raised an eyebrow at him. "at home."
He nodded. Wednesday grabbed him by the arm again and started dragging him away.
"Hey, wait–" he followed after them. "What really happened the other night at the festival? Look, I swear I won't say anything to my dad."
Wednesday stared at him for a moment before sighing. "I thought Rowan was in danger. Turns out I was wrong. Then he proceeded to use his telekinesis to try and choke me to death."
"Holy shit. Wh... Why would he do that?"
"No idea. That's when this monster came out of the shadows and gutted him."
"Luckily," Erix muttered. They stared at him. "I mean— it sucks that he's dead and all but if it didn't kill him, Wends would be dead and I'd have to use concealer on my neck again."
"What did you just call me?"
"Whoa. Whoa. So... So you really saw it? And it didn't try to kill you?"
"It actually saved us from Rowan. That's the part I'm trying to figure out. I came here to find something that can prove he was murdered and that I haven't lost my mind. Yet."
"Us?" Tyler repeated.
"I'm just here as a bodyguard." Erix shrugged.
"And a distraction if necessary."
"I'm taking that as a compliment."
Wednesday rolled her eyes at the smirking boy.
"These are Rowan's. I knew it was a cover-up."
As she touched the glasses her head snapped up and she went rigid. Catching her before she fell once again Erix cast a confused glance at Tyler.
After a few seconds she grunted and moved out of his arms.
"You okay?" Tyler asked.
"Fine."
❤︎❤︎❤︎
Deep breath in, deep breath out. Deep breath in, deep breath out.
Enid repeated the action as she paced around her side of the room. The darkness of Wednesday's would do nothing to help the situation right now!
By the time the door opened and Wednesday stepped in she was already weeping.
"Where have you been? I'm literally having a heart attack right now. Yoko's in the infirmary!"
"What happened?" Wednesday asked.
"Garlic bread incident at dinner. She had a major allergic reaction. She's out of the Poe Cup and now I don't have a co-pilot!"
"It wasn't an accident." She set her bag down at her desk. "Bianca's behind it."
"How do you know?" Enid asked wearily.
"Doesn't matter. You and I are going to take her down tomorrow."
"Wait. You're joining the Black Cats? You're willing to do that? For me?"
Out of everything she expected from the morbid girl this wasn't one of them. Becoming a serial killer? Possibly. Willingly helping her? Definitely not.
"I want to humiliate Bianca so badly that the bitter taste of defeat burns in her throat." Wednesday said flatly.
"Yeah, but mostly you're doing it because we're friends, right?"
"Tell me how she keeps winning."
"It's a real brain cramp." Enid pouted slightly. She'd already tried figuring it out herself. "The past two years, no other boat has made it across and back without sinking."
"Sounds like sabotage."
"There are no rules in the Poe Cup, and she is a siren, which makes her master of the water."
"Then we just need to beat her at her own game."
"I know just the guy to help." she grinned.