Chapter Text
San Francisco, CA
Enid paced back and forth in her room. Her brothers were out with their friends, and it was just her and her parents in the house. It was the perfect opportunity, but she couldn’t bring herself to go downstairs.
Endless scenarios raced through her head, most of which didn’t make any coherent sense. It all came back to one question: What would her mother’s reaction be?
Her mother had been thrilled to hear that Enid had finally wolfed out (aside from passive-aggressive comments about her scars), and had started bringing up the subject of finding Enid a mate. Enid had been stalling as best she could, but she knew she couldn’t dodge the subject much longer without telling her parents at least some of the truth.
Enid’s thoughts drifted back to the night of the battle with Crackstone and the Hyde, when she had transformed for the first time.
Enid had sat through plenty of full moons before, and had tried over and over to transform, to no avail. By all accounts Enid still shouldn’t have been able to shift that night. The blood moon being a lunar eclipse meant that the moonlight was weaker, and most werewolves simply didn’t transform on those nights.
But Enid had, and she had shifted for Wednesday. She’d recognized Wednesday enough not to attack her, even though it was her first shift and her control should have been minimal. In the brief moment before Tyler had lunged at her, when she and Wednesday had locked eyes, Enid had known the truth: Wednesday Addams was her mate.
She’d pushed the realization to the back of her mind to focus on fighting the Hyde, and afterward she had been too exhausted to think about it. All that mattered was that Wednesday was alive and safe and in her arms. At the time, it had been enough.
The next day was a different story. Her mind was consumed by a whirlwind of thoughts, most of them anxiety-inducing.
She thought of Wednesday, and how she would react if she ever learned the truth. Would she hate Enid? Would she be afraid of her? Disgusted by her? No, that wasn’t like Wednesday. But still, Enid figured the chances of Wednesday reacting in a way that could be considered positive were slim to none.
She thought of her mother, and how she definitely would not approve, to put it mildly. She could hear the comments now, about how disappointed she was in Enid's choice of mate.
She thought of Ajax, and how this wasn’t fair to him. After all, he was sweet, easy to get along with, and safe. Shouldn’t he have been her mate? Her mother wouldn’t have been thrilled that he wasn’t a wolf, but she probably would have at least tolerated him without too much of a fuss.
But being with Ajax had never felt quite right, and her claws had come out every time they kissed, and kissing him had never felt the way she thought it was supposed to, and why was that? She’d worked hard to convince herself that she wanted to be with Ajax early on in the semester but… did she even really like boys like that?
Oh, God.
Yoko, bless her undead heart, had talked everything through with her, putting up with Enid’s panicked ramblings for several hours, with only minimal teasing.
“I’m not saying I saw this coming, I’m just saying that your favorite sweater is literally the lesbian flag. You’re wearing it right now.”
“I know, Yoko,” Enid groaned. “It’s obvious when I think about it now. It just… never really clicked for me before,”
“Well, you hadn’t met Wednesday before,” Yoko said. “And you’d never shifted before either. Your wolf picks your mate, right?”
“Not exactly,” Enid said. “It’s more like… You have to have already chosen someone before your wolf will recognize them as your mate. But like, even if you have chosen someone, you might not fully realize or accept it. But your wolf doesn’t care about whether you’ve fully realized who your mate is. If you’ve chosen, your wolf will just say so.”
Yoko hummed. “So you’re saying you’d already fallen for Wednesday before you transformed?”
Enid nodded slowly. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“And wolves mate for life, right? So… you only get to choose once?”
“Yup.”
“And you chose Wednesday.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well… You’ve gotta tell her, right? Shoot your shot?”
Enid fidgeted with the hem of her lesbian sweater. “I don’t know, Yoko. Wednesday hates romance. And I don’t know if she even likes girls. I don’t want to scare her away. I just want to be in her life, however she’ll have me.”
“Fair enough, but I don’t think you should give up hope just yet. I mean, she did hug you, and she’s not exactly the touchy-feely type. Not saying you need to decide right now, but we have an extended break, so you have some time to think about it, right?
Enid smiled for the first time that day and let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, you’re right. The break will be good. I can get my head on straight.”
“Hey, I didn’t say anything about straight,” Yoko quipped.
“Shut up! You know what I mean,” Enid laughed. “God, I don’t know what I would do without you. I was losing my mind this morning. You’re… you’re the best.”
“Oh, I know I am,” Yoko smirked. “But seriously. I’m always here for you, Enid. If you need advice or support over the break, promise you’ll let me know.”
“I promise, Yoko.”
Enid was jolted from her memories by a knock on her door.
“Enid?” Her father’s voice came through the door. “Your mother is going grocery shopping in a few minutes. Is there anything you need?”
Now or never, Enid thought.
“Oh, um, let me come downstairs and check. Thanks, Dad.”
Enid followed her father down to the living room. Her mother was grabbing her coat and car keys.
“Oh, Enid, there you are,” she said. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about meeting one of the boys from the local packs. He could be a good match for you.”
Yeah, that’s not going to happen, Enid thought. She took a deep breath. “Actually, um… I’m gay. So…”
Her father raised his eyebrows. “Oh! Well, that’s--”
“It’s always something with you, Enid,” her mother interrupted. “First you don’t shift, then when you finally do you come back with those horrible scars on your face, and now you’re gay?” She sighed in exasperation. “Well, I suppose it was too much to expect you’d finally be normal.”
“Mom, I--” Enid started, but her mother didn’t let her finish.
“I don’t have time to talk about this right now. I need to go shopping. We can discuss this when I get back. Murray, text me when the boys get home, will you?”
Her mother didn’t wait for a response before walking out the door.
Enid stared after her for a long time. “Well,” she finally said, “That could have gone worse.”
Her father put his hands on her shoulders. “Give your mother some time. I’m sure… I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“Like she gave me time to wolf out?” Enid snapped. “She’s never accepted me for who I am. Why would she start now?”
Her father sighed and pulled her into a hug. “Whatever happens, pup… I want you to know that I love you no matter what, and that I’m proud of you for telling us.”
Enid returned the hug and buried her face in her father’s chest. “Thanks, Dad. I love you, too.”
After a few minutes she pulled away. “I’m going to head back to my room. Listen to some music.”
Her father nodded. “I’ll let you know when it’s time for dinner.”
Enid slowly walked back up to her room and shut the door behind her. She leaned back against the door and sank to the floor.
Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and unlocked it to see a text from Yoko.
Yoko: did u tell your parents?
Enid: yeah
Yoko: how did it go?
Enid: about how i expected. dad was supportive. mom not so much. didn’t get kicked out tho, so thats a win
Yoko: sorry u have to put up with her shit. proud of u tho
Enid: thanks
Yoko: u gonna be good for the rest of the break there?
Enid: yeah, i think so. mom’s just gonna be supper passive-aggressive, which is nothing new
Yoko: have u thought more about telling Wednesday?
Enid: idk… will probably tell her im gay but still iffy about the mate thing. still dont know if its worth the risk
Yoko: gotcha. i support you either way, E <3
Enid: thanks, Yoks. love you <3
Enid dragged herself to her feet and trudged over to her bed. She popped in her headphones and flopped down face first, burying her face in one of her countless plushies.
It’s gonna be okay, she thought to herself.
She rolled over onto her side and hit shuffle on one of her playlists. She tried to focus on the music, but of course, that wasn’t enough to prevent her from thinking of Wednesday. She remembered what her roommate had said after she had been expelled from Nevermore,
“Enid... the mark you have left on me is indelible. Anytime I grow nauseous at the sight of a rainbow or hear a pop song that makes my ears bleed, I'll think of you.”
Enid smiled and closed her eyes. Yeah, it’s gonna be okay.
Westfield, NJ
Wednesday Addams was not emotionless. Contrary to what many people thought, she did indeed have feelings.
Processing and expressing those feelings was another matter entirely--one that Wednesday had next to no patience for.
Despite this, her semester at Nevermore had forced her to consider the possibility that remaining completely closed off from everyone was not necessarily in her best interests… at least, not always.
And so, Wednesday found herself sitting at the dinner table with her family, considering the possibility of… opening up to them with new information about herself.
Pugsley had just finished excitedly recounting his latest pyrotechnics project to her parents, and there was a lull in the conversation.
Wednesday cleared her throat softly. Immediately her parents and brother turned to her.
“Wednesday, you have something to share? You’re usually so quiet during meals,” her mother said.
Wednesday resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I am a homosexual. That is all.”
“Wonderful, storm cloud! I will teach you all I know about courting a woman the proper Addams way!” her father exclaimed.
“You will be the last person I consult for any such advice, father.”
“Does that mean you already have a girlfriend?!” her brother asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Pugsley. I assure you I still have no intention whatsoever of falling in love.”
“Oh, is that so?” her mother asked with a knowing smile.
Wednesday narrowed her eyes. “What are you implying, mother? I am not interested in guessing,” Wednesday said.
“I was simply reminded of how often you’ve discussed your colorful roommate over the past weeks… Enid, was it?”
“Ah! A werewolf! A perfect match for our viper!” her father interjected.
Wednesday glared at her mother. “I have spoken about Enid to you on precisely three occasions.”
“Indeed,” her mother replied. “Three occasions more than you have spoken about any of your other classmates.”
Wednesday’s eye twitched. “That is wholly irrelevant. Enid is my roommate. I spent significantly more time with her than any of my other classmates.”
Her mother simply continued to smile at her. Wednesday felt as though she was being dissected under the microscope of her mother’s gaze. Snakes writhed in the pit of her stomach, and her normally steady heart rate shot up.
Wednesday stood abruptly. “This conversation is over. I am retiring to my room for the evening,” she said. She turned and walked stiffly out of the dining room.
As she walked through the halls of the manor toward her room, Wednesday worked to regain her composure.
Wednesday had realized two things when she had kissed Tyler. The first was that he was the Hyde. The second was that she had no romantic interest in boys.
At the time, the first discovery had been significantly more important. Now, back home, with the semester’s events behind her, she had decided to inform her parents of her orientation primarily to preclude any further insinuations about her nonexistent interest in some other boy.
She had not anticipated her parents making insinuations about her and Enid.
Pathetic, she chastised herself. To think that you could be thrown off so easily. It will not happen again.
She entered her room and glanced around. Thing was perched on the windowsill, tapping at his cell phone.
Technically it was Wednesday’s cell phone. Xavier had foisted it upon her before she departed Nevermore. Wednesday had no interest whatsoever in the device, however, so when Thing had asked to borrow it, Wednesday had readily acquiesced. She had not touched it since.
As far as she knew, Thing mainly used the phone to scroll through the circle of Hell known as TikTok. But he had also exchanged numbers with Enid. Thing had been in contact with her colorful roommate periodically throughout the break, and had been providing Wednesday with updates accordingly--not that she had asked (she hadn’t objected either).
When Thing had informed her that Enid and Ajax had broken up, Wednesday had been appropriately enraged, and had immediately added “nail gun” to her packing list for the upcoming semester. But there had been another feeling too--one that she could not quite identify. She had ignored it at the time, but her mother’s words gave her pause now. Was it possible that she had been relieved to hear that Enid and Ajax were no longer together?
No, certainly not. The notion that her feelings toward Enid were anything more than platonic was preposterous. Did her mind often drift to the embrace they had shared the night of the blood moon? Did a suspiciously cheerful blonde werewolf keep inserting herself into Viper’s latest adventure, despite Wednesday’s best attempts to excise the character from the plot? Was Wednesday often reminded of Enid by seemingly unrelated things around the grounds of the Addams manor? Yes to all three, but surely that was simply because Wednesday was not used to having someone she considered a friend.
Yes, Enid is my friend, Wednesday thought to herself. And it is normal for friends to think of each other when they are apart.
Thing stopped tapping on the phone and waved a greeting at her.
“Out, Thing,” Wednesday said. “I require solitude.”
The disembodied hand threw her a thumbs-up, grabbed the phone, and hopped off the windowsill before scurrying out of her room.
Wednesday closed the door and stood still for a moment before making her way over to her writing desk. She inserted a fresh sheet of paper into her typewriter, took a breath to center herself, and began to work.
Several hours later, the sky was dark, and Wednesday had made frustratingly little progress. The blonde werewolf was back again, and she stubbornly refused to leave Viper alone.
Wednesday stood from her desk, conceding defeat for the evening, and got ready for bed. Sleep eluded her, however. Her thoughts were too loud and too numerous for her to drift off.
She sighed and rose from her bed. Moonlight streamed in through the curtains. A waxing gibbous. In a few days, Enid would shift with her family in San Francisco.
Wednesday padded across her room to her cello and lifted it from its stand. She sat down, lifted her bow, and began to play one of the pieces she knew by heart.
And if she closed her eyes and imagined she was on her balcony at Nevermore, with Enid watching her play, that was nobody’s business but her own.