Chapter Text
-I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form-
Long ago, before there even existed a distinction between those who had supernatural abilities and those that didn’t, before humanity took over, they roamed the world. Their powers so vast they were thought of as gods, so vast most people believed they were nothing but a myth nowadays.
They weren’t though. Even if the only thing left behind most of them are stories they once existed.
But stories weren’t always the only thing remaining. Goody Addams climbed down the old, narrow path deep underground with nothing but a candlelight to show her the way. She could feel it, that familiar tingle of lightning as she reached a lever and pulled it, triggering several mechanisms underneath her school. And there it was, an old, rusty axe that looked perfectly ordinary. She no longer had any way to use its power, but perhaps one day that would change. Until then it would protect the school for centuries to come, she was certain of it.
~X~ centuries later ~X~
Lightning is the force of destruction, capable only of offense, never of defense. Try as you might, you would never be able to protect anyone with lightning.
You trembled, curled up in the corner of the room. You didn't dare to open your eyes, worried about what you'd see if you did. As the storm continued raging, you felt more and more agitated, covering your ears to muffle the thunder and the sound of rain hitting the rooftop and windows. Feeling the stone walls you were pressed against heating up you stumbled to your feet and went to the other corner, still refusing to open your eyes. Your foot hit the desk, and you winced when you heard sizzling and smelt the faint scent of smoke. That forced you to open your eyes and, much to your frustration, find out that you did, indeed see even in the near darkness the room was engulfed in. If nothing else at least the deck didn't catch fire, but the smoke was just another reminder of why you weren't in your bed and why you were put in the highest room at Nevermore.
You were a lightning beast, a raiju, and you were at your strongest during thunderstorms. You were, also, at your most destructive, unable to completely control your lightning during those very storms.
It took immense effort not to blast the entire room with your lightning, to stop the pain you were feeling as the electricity accumulated within your body, begging to be released. You couldn't allow that, though, because you were finally getting a roommate two years after you first came to Nevermore. If you couldn't properly handle bigger and longer thunderstorms there was no way Weems would allow that.
So, you groaned, your cry sounding a lot like the subdued, quiet thunder, and slowly but surely you weathered the storm.
What other choice did you have? Even the outcasts had their own outcasts, and raiju were among them. In the eyes of the outcasts who could control their powers beasts of that kind could never be fully trusted.
~X~
By the time morning came you were so exhausted you could barely keep your eyes open. The last lightning strike was half an hour ago and you could finally gradually discharge the electricity within you without causing any damage to your surroundings or attracting lightning from the clouds.
The end of the storm only meant you could start releasing the accumulated energy. It would still take some time until you could rest. Another half an hour later you got up, feeling like you could fall over at any moment, but you weren’t keen on sleeping on the floor.
With a yawn you slumped into the bed, you felt the static on the soft blanket beneath you, but you honestly couldn't care less. You needed to rest, you needed to recover at least some energy, to let your aching body heal from the fatigue and pain you endured. Your roommate was supposed to arrive in a couple of hours, and you promised yourself you'd only take a brief nap.
You should have known better.
The doors opening and energetic footsteps echoing through the room made you jump out of bed, and, due to momentary disorientation, look around. You saw Weems already looking at you with a mix of sympathy and disbelief in her eyes. How did she even manage to combine those two? Still, as you looked at the energetic blonde turning around and taking the fairly bare room in, you found yourself thanking whoever designed this room for a couple of seconds you had to compose yourself.
"Uh, hello," that was definitely not smooth, your voice cracked a bit, and you'd be genuinely worried about someone's perception skills if they missed the uncertainty in your voice.
"Hi!" the girl's demeanor was the exact opposite as she immediately not only approached you but skipped to where you were. Skipped! "Howdy, roomie! I'm Enid!" right away she completely disregarded safety protocols and hugged you.
Your body stiffened and you weren’t sure how to react at the sudden touch. You expected caution, maybe even fear, you certainly didn’t expect the hug, or any contact; that was the protocol every student knew, do not touch a raiju after a storm. So, you didn’t know how to react, your eyes just widened as you stilled in her hold and looked at equally surprised Weems. So, she did mention you were a raiju, and the girl still went for a hug. You cleared your throat and lightly patted the girl on her back. "Y/N, uh Y/N L/N, nice to meet you," you said and visibly relaxed when you were released from the hug.
It wasn't that you minded hugs, or were against touch, though you weren’t exactly used to either of those, but a rather heavy storm just passed, and you didn't want to risk accidentally electrocuting someone. Okay, maybe you weren’t exactly eager to be hugged by strangers, but it really was the danger of electrocuting someone by accident that made you worried.
"Enid, what are you doing? Don't touch a raiju!" an older woman Enid somewhat resembled rushed over and pulled her back. You could see the excitement and energy just evaporating from the girl as she gave into her, you assumed, mother's demand.
"I can assure you, Miss L/N is no danger to anyone, Miss Sinclair was perfectly safe," Weems assured, but, judging by the way the older woman glanced behind you, you figured she didn't quite buy it.
In the two years at Nevermore, you only had one incident, about half a year ago, when there was a storm even worse than the one last night. A storm during which you couldn't go half a minute without another lightning striking. So, just for a few seconds, you lost control and even after fixing the wall one could still notice the large claw-like dents in it.
Still, Weems wasn't about to say Nevermore had a raiju that could be a danger to other students. The school was the safe haven for all the outcasts, and it couldn't maintain that reputation if the dangerous beast couldn't be controlled. Which was another reason why you didn’t have a roommate up until now. Weems only now considered trusting you, and even now it was just barely.
The older woman raised her head in contempt. "That better be true, Principal Weems," she huffed and turned to Enid. “I expect coming here will help you wolf out, Enid, don’t disappoint me,” she said before she marched outside without even saying a proper goodbye to her daughter.
Enid turned away, her shoulders trembling as she took several deep breaths. She was trying not to be vulnerable right from the start and you frankly weren’t sure if you should or shouldn’t comfort her. Before you could decide she made the decision for both of you. Looked. "Sorry about that, mom can be a bit, old-fashioned," she apologized and turned again so she could look at you. She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I don't think you're dangerous," yet, even if her smile wasn’t sincere, you could tell there was nothing but honesty in her words.
Even so, you couldn't help it, you had to chuckle at that. "Sorry, sorry," you raised your hands when you noticed the baffled look on her face. You chuckles slowly turned into an easy, relaxed grin. "Thanks, but raiju are dangerous, so maybe don't go hugging every single one you come across," you then gestured toward the balcony. “Come on, the view makes all those stairs worth it,” you joked, bursting into laughter when Enid groaned.
“I don’t think anything can make all those stairs worth it,” she complained.as the two of you went to the balcony. There wasn't much that could top getting fresh air after being stuck inside due to a storm. Inside was nice and cozy, but there was just something about not having a choice but to stay inside. Enid gasped besides you when she saw the view, the whole school could be seen from above, as well as the forest surrounding the school. “OMG,” she whispered, still stunned by the view.
“And it’s ten times more beautiful at night,” you said, happy that she seemed to set what her mother said aside.
“Can’t wait,” she still looked around in awe before her eyes suddenly widened and she turned to you. "Wait, I wasn't supposed to hug you?" she asked, almost as if she never heard that before.
You raised an eyebrow. Not just because of how abruptly she remembered that, but because surely someone warned her. "Unless you know you are both safe, no, you shouldn't. Didn't someone warn you? I mean, you were told I'm a raiju," you hopped backward so you could sit down on the stone fence so you could still look at Enid.
"Uh, yeah, they told me you are a raiju, but no one warned me about not hugging you," she said, though she didn't back away from you, she just leaned against the fence next to you.
In hindsight Weems probably expected the old woman to tell Enid about what she shouldn't do since she was so adamant about you being dangerous. "Right, quick list of rules. Don't touch me during storms, or a few hours after the storm, or if you or I come into contact with any liquid that conducts electricity. It's better to be safe than zapped, so if at any point you think I might accidentally zap you, follow your instincts, don't touch me. The same goes for any electronics you have, don't bring them to my side of the room under those conditions. If I can zap you, I can definitely short-circuit your things. I think that about covers it."
"So, you can't touch water?" Enid asked once she took the information in. "At all?"
"Unless it's distilled, nope, it really hurts to suppress the electricity and keep it from damaging something or hurting someone. I can't drink regular water either," you shrugged, used to the negative sides of being a raiju.
"What if it rains when you're outside?" her question brought forth all the memories of being caught in the rain and you frowned at the memory.
"Well, it sucks to be me, that's for sure," and with your luck, well, it happened kinda often. You saw the excitement completely fading from her, and she looked like she was sorry for you. From her point of view the way you lived probably sounded really restrictive, and in some ways it was, but, it was your life. You couldn’t change it. "On the brighter side, when I'm completely in control you won't need to charge anything," you grinned when Enid perked up and offered you her phone.
She was lightly bouncing on her feet as you took her phone. "Show me!" okay, she was back to being excited.
You pressed a finger to where the battery was and you both watched as the screen lit up and showed the phone was charging. Within a minute you charged it from thirty to fifty-seven percent. "And I'm fast and safe as well," you grinned triumphantly. If only you knew what it would escalate to once more people found out you were basically a portable charger...
"OMG! That's amazing! I'd trade with you if I could!" Enid exclaimed and you tilted your head, blinking a few times.
"Trust me, not worth it," did she miss all the downsides you mentioned? From the looks of it she thought never needing a charger was a fair trade for drinking distilled water and fearing even the briefest rain. Most groups could function in a normie society and would just have to avoid specific dates or circumstances. Say, full moon for werewolves. Raiju were different. Thunderstorm? Trouble. Rain showers? Trouble. Water in general? Trouble. Too much electricity in the air? Trouble. A damn water balloon could set off a reaction if a raiju was inexperienced. Luckily you moved past that level of inexperience. Still, that inability to function in normie society was what caused you to start attending Nevermore ever since you were twelve.
"Right, sorry," Enid laughed uncomfortably at your questioning look and turned back to look inside the room. "I know I just got here, but what are we going to do about our room?"
That was a question you didn't quite consider when you first arrived. The highest dorm room of Ophelia Hall was divided into two sections, bathroom and wardrobes not included. Looking at it now, you figured it looked a bit like the letter P. The main part was the same as the other rooms, open space meant for two people to share the room. A bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a pair of nightstands on each side of the room, aside from that it was up to the student to decorate or leave their side of the room as it was. Your part of the room was on the right side, divided by a large sliding door that was usually left open, but could serve as an additional barrier during storms. You never really had to close it before.
Your part of the room showed signs of being lived in, and not just with the damage to the wall. You had a slightly bigger ice maker in the corner, just in case you ever ran out of distilled water Nevermore provided you with. Your collection of knives was on display, also for practical purposes, and then there was your pride and joy, a small fulgurite you created with your lightning. Sure, it was on accident, but you made it and you kept it. Finally, you had a shelf with books and movies you liked near your bed. All in all, between those additions and some posters hanging on the wall you figured you felt cozy enough while still staying safe during a storm.
Oh, and the bathroom was connected to your part of the room, so, whoever designed that took one person being a raiju into consideration. Likely that same person failed to realize taking a shower near a raiju, during a storm, wasn't the safest option.
"Honestly? I'm fine with whatever, as long as it isn't a safety hazard," you shrugged, finally answering Enid's question.
You did not expect an explosion of color to completely engulf Enid’s part of the room, or the bare window to basically turn into a rainbow. But, well, you did say you were fine with whatever as long as it wasn’t a safety hazard.
~X~ Two years later ~X~
Go to your shed, you thought. Do some 'one-raiju-club' activities, you thought. Well, getting caught outside in the rain was exactly what you deserved after you so stupidly decided to believe the weather in this damn town wouldn't get worse!
Luckily the red sparks coming from your soaked body made the students stay away from you as you sprinted through the pentagon. It was a damn pentagon, and you were not going to call it a quad! At least you had better control over yourself now.
The sound of thunder boomed in your ears as you finally reached Ophelia Hall. At least the heat coming from your body would make sure you were mostly dry by the time you reach your and Enid's room. You'd be tired, but you'd be dry.
"How's it going Sparky?" Yoko laughed as she saw you climbing up the stairs. Even with the teasing she still made sure she was way out of your path.
Your eye twitched at that. "Just great, thanks for-" lightning struck near the building and you dropped to your knees, barely containing the lightning within you. You were better at this now. Unless it was a really long and bad storm you could handle it, you could even handle electronics if lightning wasn't too close. But you were wet now, and all that control seemed to be going out the window. Yoko smartly stayed away. She felt sorry for you, but she wasn't getting anywhere close when you could light up with enough electricity to power the entire Ophelia Hall or fry every device in it, at any moment. "-asking," you groaned, the sarcastic reply you intended fizzled out as you regained control once again.
“Right, I’ll be on my way. Make sure you rest!” Yoko hurriedly called after you as you parted ways and you gave her a quick thumbs up.
Finally, finally, you reached your room and stumbled inside.
Enid got up from her chair right away and tossed you a towel. She didn't approach you, even if she definitely was worried. "How bad was it?" she asked as you went to your side of the room and sat on the floor.
You were mostly dry by now, but it wouldn't hurt to use the towel just to be safe. Also, for a reason you couldn't explain keeping a soft towel over your face as you weathered the storm became a bit comforting to you. Maybe it helped you ignore the world around you a bit. "Could have been worse. I was two-thirds of the way back when it started raining," it wasn't raining hard right from the start, so you figured you had at least a bit of luck. "Don't worry, I'm just a bit tired," you assured her and glanced at your wardrobe. You should change, but you wanted to cool down a bit more before you did anything.
The sound of footsteps told you Enid was coming closer. You didn't worry. She knew not to get within fifteen feet of you. You still peeked at her. "I know," she said as she leaned against the wall. "It still hurts to see you like that," she said gently.
If anyone in this school actually cared about how you were handling being a raiju it was Enid. Not Weems, not the teachers, not other students, only Enid. The rest were more concerned about being zapped. You took the towel off your face and offered her a wide grin. "Hey, I got this. It's not even the worst storm we went through in the past two years."
Enid nodded at that and grinned back. "That was actually terrifying,” and it was. About a year and a half ago there was a really big storm, heavy and close enough that you were screaming by the end of it, your cries sounding just like the loud thunder outside the building. “You think you can handle taking our new roommate on a tour?"
Your eyes widened, it completely slipped your mind! "Shit, you're on your own this time," even if you weren't outside when it started raining there was no way everything would be safe and dry by the time Wednesday Addams arrived.
Enid nodded, and you saw compassion and understanding you didn’t get from all that many people in her eyes. "Leave it to me, roomie! What do you think she'll be like?" Enid was still Enid though, curious and eager to gossip.
You thought it over, you heard the rumors, mostly from Enid herself, but the most telling sign was the furniture that arrived. Dark and vintage-looking. "I think you should get ready for a drastic change in scenery, at least on her side of the room," you really didn't think the decorations Enid placed were going to stick around in Wednesday's side of the room.
~X~
Barely fifteen minutes later Weems led three people into the room. The first thing you thought when you saw them was 'That's a lot of black,' the next thing you thought was specifically about Wednesday. 'She's kinda tiny,' and from the looks of it her boots gave her almost an inch, and she was still shorter than Enid.
The woman gasped audibly when she realized just what she walked into. "It's so... vivid," the man looked around, almost as if he was horrified by all the colors in the room. Well, it was actually a fairly usual reaction to Enid’s part of the room, gothic fashion and refusal of colors aside.
Enid got up with much more energy than you did and, much like she did when she met you, skipped over to Wednesday and her parents. "Howdy, roomie!" she greeted the girl enthusiastically. The girl didn’t back away, but you wouldn’t be surprised if the intensity of her stare set both Enid and you on fire.
"Hey," you just raised your hand as you went to stand next to Enid. The girl remained silent and still. She wasn't even blinking! You had to double-check to see if she was even breathing. Which she was, thankfully.
"Wednesday, these are Enid Sinclair and Y/N L/N," Weems introduced the two of you with her usual pleasantly polite tone.
"Are you okay? You look a little pale," Enid asked, worried for the girl.
"Wednesday always looks half dead," Wednesday's father explained.
You grinned and pointed a thumb at Enid. "Enid always looks too alive, so it evens out then," well, there was a sentence that could be taken out of context.
"I can see that," Wednesday spoke for the first time while Enid processed what you just said.
"Y/N!" Enid pouted at you, though you could tell she didn’t actually mind what you said. She was a ball of energy and sunshine, and she was proud of that.
"Sorry, sorry, you just get excited easily," you raised your arms up with a grin, surrendering.
"Whatever," she shrugged, she had more important duties than dealing with your occasional antics. "Welcome to Ophelia Hall!" she exclaimed with open arms as she tried to hug Wednesday, only for the girl to outright reject her by taking a quick step back. "Not a hugger. Got it," Enid backed away, respecting the boundaries Wednesday was setting.
"Please excuse Wednesday. She's allergic to color," Wednesday's mother spoke up and you raised an eyebrow puzzled by that. How did it even work? Was it just when she was in contact with them, or was it even looking at something too colorful? If it was the second, then Weems really fucked up by making her room with Enid.
"Oh, wow, what happens to you?" Enid asked, unable to imagine what she would do if she had to deal with that.
"I break out into hives and then the flesh peels off my bones," dark humor and dry, even tone. Noted.
"Y/N is basically allergic to water," Enid pretty much returned the favor.
You thought it over for a moment. "Pretty much, yeah. I burn from the inside and light up like a Christmas tree, literally," well that was the most extreme possibility aside from shifting.
Weems faked a cough, not exactly appreciating your sense of humor. "Luckily, we've special ordered you a uniform. Enid, please take Wednesday to the registrar's office to pick it up along with the copy of her schedule and give her a tour along the way," Weems instructed and you honestly appreciated that she took notice of the rain that just recently stopped falling.
Still, you were left with three adults now as Wednesday followed Enid outside. So, you just nodded and moved to your part of the room. Luckily, Weems had other things to do, probably something to do with the final bits of paperwork for Wednesday’s transfer, so soon enough you were left on your own.
~X~
About an hour later Enid was still fuming from her interaction with Wednesday, and honestly, you found it kinda hilarious. "I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation? That's what she said?" you repeated, watching from your bed as Enid paced around in your part of the room.
"That's right! Can you believe that?" she definitely sounded like Wednesday frustrated her, at least a bit. "She's like a pit of disdain, a black hole sucking anything positive out of whatever is near her! I don't know if we can do this, Y/N," forget the ‘a bit’ part, Wednesday absolutely frustrated her.
But you just began laughing. "Okay, I get it she didn't make the best first impression, but I think I'm going to like her! Soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation? Damn, that's a good one!" it would certainly bring some balance to the room the three of you would share.
"Y/N!" Enid cried out. “She said she killed two kids at her old school!” she exclaimed, not understanding how you weren’t taking this more seriously.
"You survived rooming with me, a raiju, you can survive a goth girl with a questionable background," you just grinned. How bad could it possibly get? Surely one girl couldn't flip your lives upside-down.
Right?
How naïve you were. Yet in hindsight you wouldn’t have it any other way.