Summary:
When Wednesday is sick Enid realizes just how much she means to her.
The death glare Enid was receiving through the mirror in front of her was enough to make any sane person drop what they were doing and run for their life. Enid no longer considered herself a sane person. Sanity was boring anyway. She clearly led a new life of daring, evident by the fact that she had mustered up the courage to pull burrs from Wednesday Addams's hair.
"Wednesday! Stop moving. This will go a whole lot quicker if you just would stay still," she set the brush she was using aside, her fingers catching onto another burr. Wednesday took a large step to the left in response, Enid grabbing her shoulders and repositioning her. She untangled the burr from the other girl's thick black hair.
As much as Enid had hoped Wednesday's fixation with the forest surrounding Nevermore would subside now that, well, Tyler was in custody, Wednesday still frequently lurked around in the woods, probably getting into things Enid didn't want to know about. Enid removed the burr from her roommate's hair, smoothing her fingers through it once she was done, "alright, one last one I think - Wednesday," she repositioned the other girl again, Wednesday glaring intensely at the mirror, knowing Enid could see it.
They could touch each other now. They weren't hugging each other all the time, or anything. Wednesday would never stand for that. But a gentle touch on Enid's shoulder every now and then went a long way. A hand slipped into hers after a hard day. A kick to the shins when she was being annoying on purpose.
And now, for Wednesday, two firm hands keeping her still while Enid tugged fucking burrs from her hair.
"How did this even happen?" Enid asked, brushing through the other girl's hair now that all of the burrs were out.
"I tripped and fell while I was running in the forest," Wednesday said, Enid starting to rebraid her hair.
"Why were you running?"
"I thought there was something there with me."
"Was there?" Enid finished with one braid, starting on the second.
"Yes... it was Xavier. Going into the woods to paint." Enid laughed, looking Wednesday over from head to toe after finishing with the second braid,
"Alright. No more burrs. You're welcome," she let Wednesday go, the girl immediately going to her desk to fetch Thing, who was reading one of Enid's magazines, turning around after thinking for a second,
"Thank you."
"Once again, you're welcome," Enid watched her grab a bag from under her desk and head toward the door, "where're you going? Wherever it is better not have any more burrs. If this happens again you're on your own, Willa." That wasn't true, Enid would help her take burrs out of her hair a million times. She'd only said it to see the flicker of amusement that briefly graced Wednesday's features. She considered herself an expert in reading her friend now.
"I'm going to check on the bees."
"Doesn't Eugene usually do it at night?" Enid asked, laying down in her bed and glancing out the window at the dark sky.
"Yes. He's been sick for a few days though. So I'm doing it for him." Enid nodded, watching her go. She was just glad she wasn't out trying to bait her stalker again. Not that Enid also hadn't spent several sleepless nights after a particularly disturbing text that Wednesday showed her. But purposefully baiting whoever it was didn't seem like the best route to take.
Enid absolutely did not spend one of the two hours Wednesday was gone on Tik Tok. And the other hour on Tumblr. In her defense, she didn't have any other plans for the night. She was mainly relying on the entertainment of annoying her roommate via her brand-new unicorn pajamas. She gave Wednesday a wide grin once she walked in, Wednesday throwing a flower at her. Enid looked at it, gasping, "oh, Willa, it's so pretty!"
"I found it in the dead grass. It was ruining a perfectly good view. I thought you'd enjoy it. You have a lot in common with it," Wednesday said, sitting on the edge of her bed. Enid didn't even berate her for tracking mud everywhere like she usually did, admiring the flower,
"Aw, thanks Wednesday. I'm choosing to ignore that last part." She left to steal a vase from a faculty member, returning and filling it with the right amount of water, according to Google, placing the singular flower inside, "it looks so lonely."
"I will make sure to bring you any more that I find ruining the scenery."
"You're so sweet," Enid smiled, walking over and putting a finger on her shoulder. Wednesday looked up at her, her pale face as expressionless as always. Enid smiled even wider, "how're the bees?" She teased.
"They are doing very well. Eugene will be happy," Wednesday said, moving across the room to her typewriter. Enid caught the stiffness in her movements, touching the scars on her own face in sympathy. She knew Wednesday's shoulder still hurt, sometimes. Just like her scars occasionally flashed with pain.
"That's good. You gonna go to bed soon?" She asked.
"Yes, once I finish an hour of writing. And I need to look into the stalker a bit more," Wednesday sat at her desk, her fingers already typing away even as she spoke. Enid sighed slightly, glancing over the pictures of a few texts Wednesday had already printed out. The girl in question was determined to find whoever it was, less out of fear and more out of curiosity.
Enid was afraid though. Some of the messages were downright obscene. Her fingertips burned at just the thought, her claws threatening to appear. Wednesday's phone rang. Enid sat up, "who is it?" Wednesday lifted up her phone,
"My parents," she sighed, clumsily accepting the call. Enid found it amusing to watch her try to use her phone. Her fingers, though small, were definitely more suited for her type-writer than anything.
Along with the messages from the stalker, Wednesday constantly received calls and texts from her parents, who had been elated to find out that she had finally decided to keep a phone she was given, to put it lightly. Wednesday saw them as an annoyance.
Enid was jealous. Her own parents rarely texted her, and never called. And even when they did text, it was just another reminder that she should be "trying harder," or bringing her grades up, or remembering to conceal her scars to "ensure that the Nevermore werewolf males would be interested in her." She had yet to block her mother. She might soon, though.
Wednesday and her parents talked in Spanish for a few minutes, Wednesday not very pleased with the interruption judging by the scowl on her face. Enid giggled.
"Oh, did I hear Enid?" Morticia asked from the phone, "hello, dear." Enid smiled widely,
"Hey, Mrs. Addams." Wednesday had invited her over to her residence over the break the students received after the defeat of Crackstone. Enid had gotten to meet her family. While the Addams family found her extraordinarily strange, they also loved her, and Enid actually had Morticia's phone number now for emergencies. Specially, Wednesday-induced emergencies that probably involved running around at midnight covered in blood. She'd had to use the phone number twice already.
"Have a good evening, my little viper," Gomez said before Wednesday hung up on him, going back to her writing. She thought her parents were annoying. But Enid would give anything to have parents who cared to check up on her. She laid in her bed, falling asleep to the sound of Wednesday and Thing writing together.
"Turn here," Wednesday said, Enid quickly following her as they made a sharp turn down the hallway the next day. They were supposed to have arrived at their first class of the day at that point. "Continue straight," Wednesday murmured, Enid looking over her shoulder.
The boy was still following them. A large, werewolf boy. A "perfect specimen of male," in her mother's mind. A creep, in Enid's.
"Wednesday, he's getting faster," she whispered nervously, Wednesday speeding up as well. They rounded another corner, Wednesday grabbing Enid's arm and tugging her to the wall, pressing down on a brick, waiting as a small entrance opened up, that Enid had definitely not seen before. They only had seconds to hurry inside, Wednesday pulling the wall shut behind them.
The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, until they were fairly certain he had moved on.
"This is a closet," Wednesday said, before she could ask, "a hidden one."
"Why the hell are there hidden closets and why do you know about them?" Enid asked, panting slightly.
"I am not sure why they exist," Wednesday said, switching on a light, "probably so the janitor's slow descent to insanity can be curbed through the occasional break of solitude. Also, my father told me about them."
"Yeah... I can see that," Enid said, squinting at the crudely-drawn black heart on the walls, "G+M," written inside of it. Wednesday and her parents clearly used secret closets for very different reasons. Wednesday stared at it for a second, then coughed into her arm, which Enid attributed to the dust in the room. "We need to get to class," Enid said, Wednesday pressing her ear to the wall to listen for footsteps in the hallway. She nodded after a minute and pressed on a different brick, the girls walking out. She pulled the wall shut from behind them.
They hurriedly walked down the hall and left the building to the one they were actually supposed to be in. Enid's heart pounded. She had never been late to a class before.
"Ms. Addams. Ms. Sinclair," their teacher said, looking over at them from the front of the room once they entered their class, "how nice of you to finally join us." Wednesday slipped into her seat, Enid's cheeks growing red as she realized that everyone was staring at them.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said quietly, looking anywhere but at him, "there was someone following us, so we had to -"
"-You need to at least come up with a better excuse, there's always someone 'following' the girls who come in late. Do you really expect me to believe this?"
"Um, yes?" Enid frowned.
"Ms. Addams, Ms. Sinclair -"
"- Stop," Wednesday said from her table, meeting his eyes, "I thought there was someone following us, perhaps I was mistaken. I practically dragged Enid with me."
"Wednesday, you don't have to -" Enid started, stopping as Wednesday gave her a warning look. Fortunately, or, unfortunately, the teacher's disdain for Wednesday was far greater than his disdain for Enid,
"Very well. I'm assigning you detention." Wednesday didn't respond to that, just got out the books she needed for the class and stared blankly at them. Enid sat in her usual spot beside her, the teacher continuing his lesson. Enid tore a slip of paper out of the corner of her notebook, writing,
"You didn't have to do that," and sliding it over to Wednesday. Wednesday stared at it for a moment, furrowing her brow. Enid smiled fondly, taking the slip back, "you write back, weirdo. Haven't you ever passed notes before?" Wednesday hesitantly wrote on it,
"No."
"I'm sorry you have detention."
"Enid. I already have properly cowed the teacher in charge of it. It is of no hardship to me." Enid giggled quietly, hiding the slip under her notebook and focusing on the teacher. Wednesday coughed into her sleeve from beside her, doing her best to ignore Xavier's looks, the boy sitting right behind them.
Enid wanted to like Xavier. She really did. But for whatever reason she couldn't bring herself to do so. Wednesday coughed again, the sound louder and hoarser this time, Enid slowly reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Stop being gay," a kid near Enid teased, Enid going bright red for the second time that morning,
"What?!" She exclaimed.
"Ms. Sinclair, control yourself," the teacher snapped. She slumped down in her seat. She looked over at Wednesday once the teacher had gone back to his lesson, the girl in question currently wiping her nose on her sleeve. Enid wrinkled her nose, digging through her bag for a tissue pack, which she slid over discreetly. Wednesday gave her a deadpan look. But she still took it.
"You getting a cold?" Enid asked as they packed up to leave later. Wednesday didn't respond. "Okay, cool."
Enid wasn't worried until the end of the next class, as the coughing became more intense and more frequent. They packed up for lunch, Enid looking over at her friend, "Wednesday, are you okay?"
"Yes," Wednesday said, walking off. They normally ate separately. Wednesday didn't like Enid's friends and frankly they didn't like Wednesday either. Enid sighed, going down to the quad and meeting up with her friends. Everything was normal until halfway through lunch, when Wednesday walked over and sat beside Enid. Enid slowly looked over at her,
"Oh, hi Wednesday." Wednesday gave her a slight nod, Enid slipping out from under Ajax's arm. She watched her friends exchange glances, but none of them said anything. That was good. If there was one thing Wednesday had taught Enid, it was to stand up for herself and others. She went back to what she had been doing, namely watching cat videos on her phone. Wednesday moved slightly closer to her. Enid looked up.
She was shivering. Just slight enough that most people wouldn't catch it. But Enid did. She frowned, hoping she was imagining the splash of color on Wednesday's cheeks that was more concerning than anything.
They didn't have any classes together after that, Enid forgetting about the shivering as she got through her last two classes. Then, she went up to her room. She was immediately met with the sound of coughing, Wednesday sitting at her desk, her fingers hovering over her typewriter.
"You'll never believe what Yoko said to me today," Enid said, putting away her things. Wednesday turned around in her seat, fixing her with a deadpan look. Enid paused, "no offense, but you look kinda horrible. Are you sure you're okay? You can tell me if you aren't, you know. I won't judge you either way." Wednesday got up from her chair and sat on the edge of her bed,
"I will be alright."
"Okay," Enid nodded.
It was rather difficult to fall asleep that night, due to the near-constant sound of coughing from the other side of the room.
Enid woke up the next morning with her alarm, grumbling and shutting it off. She laid in bed for three more minutes, before finally forcing herself out to get ready for the day. Thing was sleeping on her dresser and she woke him up by snapping, getting flipped off in response.
She looked across the room once she was dressed. Wednesday was usually up well before she was, analyzing and reanalyzing the texts that the stalker had sent her. However, now Enid could make out that she was still curled up in bed. Curled up. She usually laid straight on her back with her arms crossed to her chest. She slowly crossed the room, then screamed when she looked down at Wednesday.
In her defense, it was a perfectly natural reaction to the overwhelming shock that coursed through her body. Wednesday's hair was blonde. Blonde. She pressed a hand to her mouth, Wednesday's eyes shooting open,
"Enid, what -" she was cut off by a coughing fit, the intensity of it and the watering of her eyes planting a seed of worry in Enid's stomach.
"Uh... you're kinda..." Enid mumbled.
"Kind of what?" Wednesday asked, getting out of bed. Her legs were shaking, and she sat back down, taking a deep breath. If her cheeks had been flushed the day before they were definitely flushed now. Most disturbing of all was her eyes. They were blue.
Enid took out her phone and took a picture, showing her. Wednesday stared at it for a few moments, then turned away to cough again.
"Did someone just... sneak in and dye your hair or something?! Could they even do that without you noticing? We'll find them, and they'll never see the light of day again," Enid had most certainly been spending far too much time with Wednesday.
"No, Enid," Wednesday rasped, rubbing her hands over her face and pulling her knees to her chest. She was still in her black nightgown. Enid tried not to stare, for more reasons than one, keeping her eyes focused on Thing, who was trying to steal one of her hats from across the room. "The blonde hair and blue eyes is a normal reaction for an Addams when they are... ill."
"Oh. So it's related to you being sick?" Wednesday gave her a short nod, sluggishly getting dressed. "You're not actually going to class, right?" Wednesday slowly sat down. "Good. Because that would be a really stupid idea." She started coughing again, Enid reaching out and rubbing her back, pleased that she didn't move away, "we have most of the same classes today. I can take notes for you and I have friends in the rest of yours who I can ask to do the same. You should go down to the infirmary, okay?"
"Yes," Wednesday said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. Enid pulled her into a hug. Wednesday didn't return it, but she didn't step back either.
Enid got herself ready for her classes and walked down with Wednesday to the infirmary, making sure she got there without falling on her face.
People stared at them in the hallways, of course. Wednesday Addams being blonde ? That was certain to garner at least some attention. A few well-placed glares from Enid kept anyone from commenting within earshot, though.
Wednesday and Enid were quite a terrifying duo, especially after the Crackstone and Hyde incident. Though Wednesday brought most of the terror, Enid had more than proven that she was capable of beating others in fights, should the need arise.
"Have a good day, Willa," Enid said once they arrived at the infirmary, "feel better." She watched Wednesday walk inside, then walked away, going to her first class. Wednesday lingered in the back of her mind for most of the day. She had a way of invading Enid's thoughts in the first place, but that was mostly for doing concerning things. Not for being concerning in general.
Her phone buzzed with a text from her mother during lunch. She opened it.
Enid, I've been talking to another prominent family and they think it would be wonderful if you could meet their son. He goes to Nevermore too. Look at him, isn't he perfect?
Enid gritted her teeth, looking at the picture she'd attached. Her eyes widened. That was the boy who had been stalking her and Wednesday in the hallway the prior day. She turned her phone off, her cheeks growing hot at the idea that her mother would recommend such a boy to her.
She had Ajax already anyway. Ajax was... Ajax. He was nice. He was everything society told her he should be. Though he didn't occupy her thoughts nearly as much as Wednesday did. It was funny how that worked.
Her mind wasn't truly at ease until she was going up the stairs to her room to see Wednesday again. Only, Wednesday wasn't in her bed like she thought she would be. She hoped she wasn't on the balcony. That would be an incredibly stupid and unfortunately very Wednesday-like place to be. She checked the balcony. No Wednesday. "Thing?" She asked the hand, who was perched on Enid's dresser, "where's Wednesday?" Thing motioned to Wednesday's bed. "No, she's not on there."
"Under it," he fingerspelled. She laid down on the floor beside Wednesday's bed, peeking under it. Sure enough, a very familiar pair of dark brown eyes peered out at her.
"Um. Wednesday? What are you doing?"
"I was sleeping," Wednesday rasped, her voice barely above a whisper.
"You were sleeping under the bed?"
"I rolled off the top." Enid moved back to allow Wednesday space to crawl out, taking note of the other girl's heavy breathing as she sat up. Then she immediately flopped into Enid's side. Enid blinked, staying completely still.
"You're burning up, Willa." It was easy to tell with Wednesday, whose skin was normally ice cold. Wednesday didn't respond to that, resting her head against Enid's chest for a moment before moving back and pushing herself to her feet. Enid wished she could say that she didn't have a slight reaction to the feeling of another girl against her chest. Wednesday flopped down on her bed, coughing loudly into her arm, Enid wincing at how congested she sounded. "When was the last time you had anything to eat?"
"I had lunch," Wednesday said, Enid reaching out and brushing her hair out of her face,
"I'm going to go get us dinner, okay?" Enid said. Wednesday nodded slightly in response. "Thing, keep an eye on her," Enid left the room to get food, getting pretty much everything Wednesday had shown the vaguest interest in before, not sure what she would feel like eating. She returned to Wednesday in the same position she had left her, looking at her phone. Enid set down everything she had brought, "whatcha looking at?" Despite Enid's constant pestering, Wednesday still refused to use social media, and therefore rarely did anything interesting with her phone.
Wednesday held it out for Enid to look at, Enid swallowing as she saw a picture of Wednesday from recently, along with a threatening message. "Maybe don't look at that right now?" Her friend nodded and put her phone away, eying the food Enid had brought,
"That is a lot."
"I didn't know what you'd want to eat. We can just give the leftovers to Thing." Thing wasn't capable of eating food, but he did like to play with it. Wednesday took a sip of the tea Enid had bought, pulling a face. She knew that was just to keep up appearances though, otherwise Wednesday wouldn't have taken another sip.
Enid sat beside Wednesday on her bed and they had what had to be the strangest meal of Enid's life, consisting of randomly-picked items from what Enid had brought. Enid talked about her day, Wednesday listening and occasionally responding. She stopped after a little while, her eyes closed and her breathing hoarse. She had fallen asleep. Enid smiled and cleaned everything up, tucking the blanket Wednesday was under higher on her.
Then, tentatively, she kissed her forehead, something Wednesday would never let her do when she was awake, going to bed herself after.
She wasn't thrilled to wake up the next morning to Wednesday stumbling around the room in her nightgown, trying to continue her "investigation into the text messages." Her steps were not only shaky, but stiff, meaning that her shoulder was causing her pain as well. "You're an idiot," Enid mumbled into her pillow.
"What?" Wednesday croaked.
"Nothing," Enid got ready for class, Wednesday continuing what was essentially just staring at pictures she'd printed out of the texts. Technology was not her area of expertise, and if she didn't find someone who could actually help her soon, Enid would for her. "Have a good day, okay?" Enid said. Wednesday sneezed six times in response, "wow. Okay, have the best day you can have considering... this."
"I enjoy the silence in your absence, I will have a fine day."
"That's so nice, Willa," Enid smirked, flicking her arm. Wednesday glared. Enid left the room once she had to, wondering briefly why Wednesday wasn't just staying in the infirmary. Right. Wednesday didn't exactly "get along" with the staff there. Or anyone, for that matter.
Wednesday remained annoyingly large in Enid's mind as she tried to continue on with her day like normal. Despite Wednesday being a less than social person, she had become a big part of Enid's life. It was the little things that mattered with her. The subtle smirks and eye contact, the way she stood up for Enid when others didn't, even if it was just by making them miserable later. Enid liked their conversations. She liked her constant presence.
Another day without her for most of it was hard. Her mother texted her again. Another reminder to "keep her mind open to the werewolf males at Nevermore."
Enid finally mustered up the courage to block her. Once again, her mind didn't rest until she went up the stairs to her room. Wednesday was thankfully on top of her bed this time, opening her mouth to say something, hacking into her arm instead. Her cheeks were bright red, her eyes cloudy.
"Maybe you should spend the night in the infirmary," Enid frowned.
"No..." Wednesday rolled onto her side, staring at the wall.
"Okay," Enid nodded. Wednesday slept for the rest of the evening, Enid doing homework.
"Bees," Wednesday muttered, opening her eyes.
"What?" Enid turned around.
"You need to go check on the bees. You are the only one who can do it right now." Enid sighed, realizing that she was right. Wednesday only technically had two friends, Eugene and Enid (did Xavier really count?). And Eugene only had Wednesday. So if they were both unable to check on the bees, then it fell to Enid. She looked out the window. It was dark and lightly raining. She really didn't want to go out.
Then she looked at Wednesday, who still had red cheeks and shadows under her eyes. She nodded, "okay, Willa. I'll be back soon."
She spent the next hour of her life trying not to get stung by Eugene's beloved bees. She was not in the best mood as she walked back. Her hair was wet and there was mud on her shoes. Wednesday was asleep when she went back into the room and changed. That was good, at least. She settled into her bed to go to sleep herself. Right after she shut her eyes, she was met with a scream. She quickly pushed herself up, stumbling out of bed, "Wednesday?!"
Wednesday thrashed around on her bed, mumbling panickedly to herself. Enid climbed into her bed beside her, reaching out a hand, "Willa? What's wrong?"
" Tyler, " Wednesday whispered, turning her head and coughing, letting out a pained whimper after. She focused her own glassy eyes on Enid's, panting, "he is going to hurt you."
"Tyler's in custody, remember," Enid said gently, "he isn't going to hurt me. Everything's okay."
"But... it's almost like a vision. Only every night. And it was so real, but fuzzy... I -" she pursed her lips, curling up.
"You have a high fever, Willa, that's why it was fuzzy. Those are nightmares. I get them sometimes too, after everything that's happened. It wasn't real, it's just your mind. It's okay." Wednesday nodded, taking a deep breath. Enid rubbed her back, laying beside her, "I'm right here. We're safe." Wednesday closed her eyes again, opening her mouth slightly to breath. She fell back asleep after a few minutes.
Enid took a shaky breath, combing her fingers through the other girl's hair while she slept. She tried to calm herself, taking her phone out of her pocket. Her finger hovered over Morticia's name in her contacts. She pressed it after a moment, video-calling her. Maybe she wasn't even awake.
She was answered after only a few seconds.
"Enid, hello," Morticia said, "what is it?"
"Um, hi," Enid replied, trying to ignore how weird it felt to call her best friend's mother, even for the third time, "uh..."
"Take your time, Enid," Gomez's beaming face appeared next to Morticia on the screen, "how nice to see you! My wife and I were just about to go to bed, you called at the right time."
"Oh... sorry I called you just before bed. Wednesday's just been sick for a few days..." Both Morticia and Gomez winced. "What?"
"Wednesday has never taken well to illness," Morticia said, "she has a tendency to be... hm, what's a good word?"
"Loopy?" Gomez offered.
"Yes, loopy, thank you dear," Morticia said, "easily frightened."
"Yeah," Enid said, "that's actually what I was calling you about. She just kinda woke up and freaked out, it was weird."
"Did it frighten you?" Gomez asked quietly. She swallowed, nodding. "She'll be alright, don't worry. She's tough," he said with a grin. Enid smiled,
"Yeah, she is," she turned her phone so that they could see Wednesday, who was still fast asleep.
"Poor girl," Morticia said softly, "Enid, thank you. For being her friend. She's very fond of you."
"Really?"
"Yes. Her brother has complained multiple times about how she won't shut up about you when they're alone. She's going to be alright, dear."
"Okay. Thank you," Enid said, pulling her knees to her chest.
"Anytime!" Gomez said. She hung up, looking beside her at Wednesday, who was sniffling in her sleep, her hands tucked under her chin. She was about as human as Enid had ever seen her.
"Good night, Wednesday," she murmured, curling up and falling asleep beside her. Enid didn't have any classes the next day, able to lay with Wednesday until she woke up. She smiled as those dark brown eyes met hers. "Hey, Willa. How're you doing?"
"I am alive."
"That's always good."
"Yes."
"Do you want to just lay here for a while longer?" Enid asked.
"Yes," Wednesday nodded. They laid together in Wednesday's bed, Enid looking over at her after a little while as she started to cough. She offered out her arms. Wednesday narrowed her eyes. But then she moved a few inches closer, letting Enid wrap a gentle arm around her.
It was raining outside again. Despite that, Enid would usually have been hanging out with her friends on days that she didn't have classes. Instead, she was sitting in her room, Wednesday's still warmer-than-usual face pressed into her shoulder. Okay, yes, she was rather disgusting at the moment. Her eyes were streaming and her breathing was hoarse and congested.
But in that moment, she was also almost sweet, her usual guards lowered. She trusted Enid. They were friends. Enid shivered slightly at the feeling of her against her. Maybe more than friends.
And there was no place in the world Enid would rather be