Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wednesday Addams had never been sentimental. She liked dark colors and black coffee in the morning, strong enough to bring the dead back to life. She never appreciated people except as research material, but she had to work with them.

Everyone. Damn. Day.

"Hey, Ness, I got what you asked for. Can you help me unload it?" Eugene Ottinger, her only friend since high school, continued to hang around even after they both went to a prestigious university a few years ago. They even rented rooms next door to each other, in a pretty decent neighborhood that Wednesday chose only because the walls were thick and the stern doorman kept it quiet, which kept her from wanting to kill every night when she got home from work.

"I hope you checked everything against the list carefully, because last time the soil you bought was oxidized and not suitable for half of my plants," the girl grumbled from somewhere under the counter of her shop, busy looking for gloves to help her friend.

To be honest, she did not own the shop, but that was only on paper. Wednesday did not really want to deal with taxes, documents, and the vast amount of paperwork for private property, considering she had only recently crossed the threshold of full adulthood. Literally only a few months ago, she had finally turned twenty-one, and she was already able to take full personal control of the flower shop where she had been working for the past few years, combining it with distance learning. But frankly, she did not want to get involved in bureaucratic squabbles. For her, working here was more of a hobby than a real job, and so she treated it in a very peculiar way.

"Hey, I'm not that forgetful and I remembered it the first time," Eugene chuckled, sighing and adjusting his glasses. His friend had been categorical about everything that came into her hands since she was young, no matter if it was a thing or a person.

"Do I need to remind you of the incident with the hibiscus?"

"Oh, come on, Ness, I already explained that I spilled coffee on your list and it got blurry, and all I remembered was that the name of those flowers starts with "H."

"Hydrangeas, Eugene... You brought me those damn hydrangeas you bought with my own money."

"But they sold really well," the guy shrugged cheerfully with a slightly crooked smile. He knew all the circumstances why his friend had chosen such a strange hobby, and he knew that she treated her shop more like a personal botanical garden, and she didn't care about profit at all. And so she had strict lists of the plants that were sold there.

"Exactly. And because of you, this place is flooded with a bunch of people who now regularly insist that I bring in more 'pretty' plants," Wednesday snorted contemptuously, frowning. It wasn't that she wasn't happy about the extra profit, but her shop had its own special style and no less special customers. And among them, she certainly didn't want to see enthusiastic couples who only saw flowers as a way to win their partner's favor.

Wednesday hated that. Ever since she was a child, she had treated plants as something far more demanding and important than people. And so even the most stunted and neglected flower blossomed in her hands. And that was why her pride had not allowed her to neglect those damn hydrangeas until they died. As a result, the flowers had taken on a magnificent appearance, and before she could even brag about it, everyone had bought them up within a few days. It was annoying. Addams was not the kind of person who would recklessly not sell a flower she had bought specifically to sell, and she could not afford to keep a surplus in the store. As a result, her shop, 'Myosotis'. The type of customer she never needed began to visit more often. Couples. However, this brought in a profit and somewhere in the back of her mind, she even had the thought of expanding the flower assortment a bit. As time went on, this thought grew stronger, especially after her birthday, when her father gently asked if she would like to change her job to something more profitable. This hurt her pride. It was not that she wanted to spend the rest of her life working with flowers, but the idea of changing her line of work did not yet appeal to her.

Addams chose not to respond to her friend's teasing, and instead, frowning, walked with him to his pickup truck parked next to the shop. Together they began to check the load against the invoice and meticulously examine the packages of soil. Eugene, to be honest, helped her a lot in his spare time from his own studies and part-time job, delivering supplies to the store, sincerely believing that he was entrusted with a very important task. And it was partly true. Wednesday hated the delivery people for their careless attitude, so she often had to do the shopping herself, which took up too much of her time and moral strength. But since Eugene had offered his help, it had become easier. And she was grateful. Of course, he also received money for his services, although he refused to take anything at first, but that did not dampen his spirits. Even when Wednesday kept grumbling at him.

"That's all for today. Next week I have Thursday and Saturday free, so if you need anything else, you better make your lists by Wednesday night," he smiled contentedly after he and his friend had just carried the last sacks of earth into the store. Wednesday straightened up to her full short height and took her phone out of her back pocket to check the dates, standing with her back to the store window at that moment. She had just glanced up at her friend and opened her mouth to say something to Ottinger when a deafening ringing sounded dangerously close to her and something hit her head from behind with great force, pushing her forward, right at the terrified Eugene, whose eyes widened in horror as he barely managed to reach out to catch the falling brunette.

Wednesday blinked one last time, feeling a dull pain in the back of her head and her consciousness fading, and her last thought was that there were a pair of hydrangeas in the window that she had just placed there that morning. And perhaps they could not be saved now. A black disappointment stirred beneath her skin as the light faded before her eyes.

Enid Sinclair had been a romantic and enthusiastic person since childhood, unlike her sister, who was known for her more daring character. However, the only thing they had in common besides their faces was their quick temper. Yes, Enid always seemed light-hearted, cheerful and extremely energetic, she loved sweets, tearful melodramas and the color pink. But at the same time, she could sometimes fly off the handle without thinking of the consequences, as if there was a wild animal somewhere inside her that automatically started grinning every time the wayward blonde was touched. And that was why the parents sent their daughters to sports, so that there would be at least some chance to smooth out these explosive features of both girls.

After going through a mountain of different options, they both settled on soccer. In such games, teamwork, alertness, quick reactions and honed reflexes were simply necessary, which helped to smooth out the peculiarities of their characters. Thus, over time, the university team, having acquired two absolutely unbearable girls, quickly reached the level of the national youth games. Of course, this played into everyone's hands. But the problems did not diminish much. Especially when the girls grew up and became prettier, they began to draw too much attention to themselves. And it was then that the obvious differences in character and place within the team became apparent. Enid did not regret that the position of team captain did not go to her. In fact, she was glad about it. Those around her, however, had a different opinion.

"I'm telling you, this party is a total scam," Yoko Tanaka, her friend and teammate who shared the role of midfielder with her, snorted. The girls walked side by side along the empty sidewalks, past the storefronts, on their way to a coffee shop not far from the university campus after practice. Out of habit, they kicked the soccer ball carefully along the way, so used to handling it that it had become something ordinary, on a par with simple walking, but it helped to keep their skills sharp, especially before the qualifiers. Another almost imperceptible pass sent the ball towards the blonde, who caught it deftly with the toe of her sneaker, tossed it slightly in the air and kicked it a few times with her knee.

"Stop it, Yoko. There's never been a conflict between us since elementary school. She has no reason to interfere."

"What does your sister have to do with it? I'm talking about that bitch Samantha who started it all. They still think you're after that captain's seat they so adore. And the fact that your invitation to the party in honor of the 'Unicorns' making the qualifiers has suddenly gone missing only confirms that that bitch is clearly up to something nasty," the Japanese woman grinned slightly, putting her sunglasses on her head. Now they were in a rather shady area of the street, so her eyes weren't too blinded by the bright light of the morning sun.

"I don't really care, to be honest," Sinclair shrugged, flicking the ball to her friend with a flick of her foot and grinning casually. "I wasn't planning on going anyway, since it's not an official event. Besides, it's Samantha's house. She can invite whoever she wants."

"Sure, but she invited almost our entire team, the cheerleaders and those stupid 'Troll' jocks," Tanaka snorted and took the ball. "I want to emphasize the word 'almost' everyone. Except you. That's fucking disgusting."

"I. Don't. Care," Enid said crisply, feeling the subject begin to irritate her. She tried to keep her temper under control, but she couldn't deny that this situation really hurt her.

No, she never tried to be friends with Samantha. Well, of course she tried. At first. But for some reason the tall Latina disliked her right away. And she still didn't know why, although she tried to improve the relationship - after all, they were a team. But time passed, and the best they could do, after several instances of outright fighting, was a dressing down from the coach, who scolded them both for such an inappropriate attitude toward the game. Eventually, all the on-field conflicts faded away, but the toxic attitude of the opponent always made itself felt as soon as the coach disappeared from the radar.

Of course, her sister would occasionally intervene when the conflict threatened to escalate into an open fight, but nothing more, leaving Enid to deal with the problem on her own. And no, it was not out of spite. They had simply gotten used to being independent and solving their own problems since childhood, but for some reason those around them suddenly perceived this attitude as a conflict between the sisters. Which was fundamentally wrong. And at first, Enid even tried to clarify this issue, but her sister stopped her with a mischievous grin and explained that there was no point in getting involved. Let them be as wrong as they wanted to be. It would only help to get rid of them on legal grounds in the future. Enid understood her sister's plan and even agreed with it, sharing her almost insidious point of view. The problem was that sometimes her own feelings of resentment got the better of her.

Like now.

"Come on, let's do something nasty to them, little wolf? Div and I would love to help. Maybe we can slip something into their drinks while we're there, what do you think?" Tanaka grinned wickedly and lofted the ball through the air to Sinclair, who suddenly froze in place, distracted for literally a second, shamefully missing the serve. Apparently, she wanted to be outraged by such an unsportsmanlike suggestion from her friend when she returned her attention. And it worked against her. The ball hit Enid right on the nose, causing her to recoil in pain and let out a loud yelp.

Yoko froze, her eyes widening at the ridiculous coincidence. At that moment, they were passing a flower shop, the window of which Enid always liked to look into for some reason, and it was there that she was distracted and missed the ball. The blow was not hard, but disgustingly unpleasant, which was the last straw for her patience that morning. The ball fell to the asphalt, quickly pressed down by the blonde's sneaker, who suddenly became furious, her blue eyes narrowing dangerously. Yoko knew that look very well. And she really didn't like it. She immediately raised her hands in a conciliatory gesture, took a step back and shuddered as her back hit something right behind her.

"Tanaaaaaaaaakaaaaa..." Enid growled angrily, swinging her leg in the direction of the ball.

"Whoa, whoa, wait! That was a case..."

Yoko didn't have time to finish speaking as she ducked in panic in front of the ball, which was kicked right into her face with such force that the unfortunate ball could have flown diagonally across the entire soccer field.

There were two quick, loud noises that made both girls freeze in horror.

The first was the sound of the ball hitting a lamppost, unfortunately located directly behind the Japanese woman, and the second was the sound of glass breaking as the ball ricocheted at full speed and bounced with all its force into the display case behind Sinclair, shattering it into tiny pieces. A panicked male voice could be heard through the crash and shatter of the glass.

"Ness!!!"

Both girls looked at each other, instantly turning pale, and simultaneously took off, running into the store they had damaged, realizing that in addition to the destruction of the display case, their actions had led to something more serious. And the speed of their reaction was actually enviable.

What met their eyes as the two girls ran into the dimly lit store made Tanaka curse in Japanese and Enid's hands shake in panic.

On the floor, in the shards of a display case, a vaguely familiar, curly-haired, disheveled man with glasses was kneeling, holding an unconscious girl in his arms. His hands were covered in blood. He looked up at her in fear, obviously in a state of shock and not knowing what to do.

Yoko was the first to come to her senses, grabbing her phone and hastily dialing 9-1-1 for an ambulance, while Sinclair staggered closer, kneeling beside her, his eyes full of horror as he saw the consequences of his actions.

"God... Oh my God... Forgive me..."

"Did you do this? Did you do this?" the boy suddenly realized, hugging his unconscious burden tighter in an obvious attempt to protect her, causing Enid to freeze, raise her hands and feel her eyes sting with tears and her chest constrict with guilt. She saw disheveled black hair, long bangs covering a vaguely familiar face, scattered plaits, and blood... A lot of blood. Too much.

"Oh, shit," Tanaka muttered as she watched her weak-willed friend fall unconscious from the sight of the blood. She sighed heavily, having just ended the call and told the emergency services where to send a car. Now she had two dead women and a shocked man on her hands. Yoko blinked in surprise when she recognized him.

"Eugene? You're Eugene Ottinger from the biology department, right?"

The stunned guy with the girl in his arms tore his eyes away from the blonde who had fallen next to him and frowned at the speaker, shuddering at the mention of his name.

His thick eyebrows rose above his glasses.

"You... You're Kent's sister's friend. Yoko?"

"Yes, that's right," the Japanese woman sighed irritably and looked sideways at her wayward friend. - The ambulance is on its way. I'm afraid we're going to have to do something about this, - she gestured nervously around the room, pointing at the two unconscious bodies. The guy blinked slowly, as if the situation had occurred to him all over again.

"Oh my God... She's going to be furious," he said hoarsely, causing Tanaka to stare at him in surprise, beginning to suspect that it was the aftermath of shock. Why did this strange guy not care about his girlfriend's injuries, but rather about what she would say when she woke up? And why did that scare him so much?

As it turned out, there was something to be afraid of.

The evil brunette, who came to her senses in the hospital and turned out to be the owner of a flower shop, spewed out such a stream of absolutely terrible threats that even Tanaka, who had seen the most notorious Yakuza showdowns in her life, felt icy goosebumps running down her spine. Not to mention Sinclair, who was so depressed and afraid to look up that Yoko had to forcibly drag her out of the ward where she had not taken a single step when the victim was brought in. Until she came to, of course. Enid was completely devastated. The guilt on her face was visible to the naked eye from the other end of the football field. It was as if all colors, emotions and life in general had been shaken out of the girl. Needless to say, she had agreed without question to personally pay for all of the victim's hospital bills and the broken window, even though Tanaka, knowing her financial situation, had insisted on splitting the amount in half, since it was her fault as well.

Yoko didn't like the situation one bit. Even though she felt guilty too and wouldn't lie if she said that the blame for this stupid situation was entirely hers. But that didn't get through to Enid at all. So Yoko had to take over all the negotiations and send the blonde home in a taxi, completely broken after all the testimonies and conversations with the police.

To her great surprise, the short, angry brunette dropped all accusations and claims, limiting herself to an agreement on the payment of damages. This in itself plunged the Japanese woman into a state of genuine bewilderment. Any other normal person who had reacted so aggressively to the situation would have filed a lawsuit in her place. But it seemed that the word "normal" was the key word here. Trying to discuss anything with the victim was practically impossible due to her condition, so the nurses soon kicked Tanaka out of the room, leaving her in complete confusion and emotional collapse.

Yoko thoughtfully walked away, intending to visit the hospital tomorrow and not let this matter slide. Such incidents could seriously damage the reputation of both Sinclair and herself, and with the qualifying competitions approaching, this would be extremely inopportune. Therefore, she had to do everything in her power to make sure that what happened this morning would not become public knowledge.

Or better yet, no one would know about it at all.

Strangely enough, their little destructive activities really went unreported.

The next day, Yoko specifically sought out Eugene at the university to talk to him, and that conversation left an indelible impression on her. And, strangely enough, not in a negative way.

"You just don't know her," the guy smiled conciliatorily, twitching his chin slightly nervously. They were both sitting in a cafe at the university: Tanaka herself had suggested this place so that they would both feel comfortable.

"Well, judging by the threats I heard, at least I should be afraid. Right?" she smiled slightly crookedly and looked at the guy in front of her. His face seemed unable to decide which emotion to show. He frowned, then smiled apologetically, then rubbed the back of his head with his fingers and looked away. In a word, he was nervous. And Yoko, who was studying to be a lawyer, noticed such things very well. And that was exactly why she intervened in the whole situation and sent Sinclair home. Who, by the way, had not poked his nose out of there since yesterday. And that worried Tanaka. But she would deal with the blonde later. Right now, other things had priority.

"No, what are you saying?" Eugene waved vigorously, obviously frightened by such a suggestion. "You see, Ness can certainly scare people, and to be honest, she really is worth being afraid of. But at the same time, she is an extremely practical person and hates unnecessary noise. If you pay as agreed and do not disturb her, there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of."

"She has several stitches on the back of her head and shoulder, and a concussion... You know, even I would like to return the favor," Yoko laughed incredulously. The guy sitting across from her suddenly laughed. Sincerely, as if he was laughing at a great joke. Tanaka raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just funny because I've known her since I was ten. Trust me, a few stitches and a concussion are such a small thing to her that I'm sure Ness is more upset that the store will be closed for a week until she's released than she is about her own injury."

"A trifle? Is she your Terminator or something?" Tanaka croaked dully and confusedly, blinking her eyes in confusion.

"No, thank God. Although she would be happy to have another piece of metal in her bones," Ottinger shrugged with a wry smile. "Ness just has a very special way of looking at life."

"Yes, and her middle name is Mr. Gray." Yoko chuckled sarcastically. "Well, this is all weird, of course, but I'll leave it at that, SHE is weird. Better tell me, is there any chance that this... Hmm... "Incident" will become public knowledge?"

"What do you mean?" the guy raised his eyebrows above his glasses in confusion. "Ness doesn't need to cover this up. She hates fuss and noise even more than she hates pop music, bright colors and cut flowers."

Yoko made a mental note of what she heard and smiled wryly.

"Is your friend the reincarnation of Mary Shelley?"

"Oh, she's her icon!"

"Why am I not surprised?"

"She would have loved such a comparison."

"Okay, okay. Still, if it's business... I don't need anyone to know about it, Eugene," Yoko said more quietly and went on. "The qualifying tournaments for the national league are coming up. And all of this could seriously damage Sinclair reputation, and mine as well, which would later lead to us being threatened with removal from the game. And we can't let that happen."

"You don't have to worry about that. I won't tell anyone, and I've already told you about Ness. She doesn't need it," the guy nodded understandingly and sipped his coffee that Tanaka had bought for him.

"Okay," Yoko sighed in relief, her smile becoming a little more relaxed. "I think I should send her a fruit basket."

"Oh God, no," the boy laughed again. "Only if they're poisonous. At least she'll appreciate that."

Tanaka's eyebrows went up. With every minute of this strange conversation, she began to doubt more and more the sanity of both Ottinger himself and the victim of his and Sinclair's hands, whose name, it turned out, was Wednesday Addams.

What parent in this world would even think of naming their daughter after a day of the week?

"You couldn't find a better reason to call me?" The voice on the other end of the line was filled with biting sarcasm mixed with surprise. Wednesday even briefly imagined her sister's eyebrow arching mockingly upward and sighed resignedly.

"There's no point in talking, and it's a waste of both our time. So, are you going to be able to help or not?" she hissed into the phone, annoyed that she had to dial the damn number in the first place.

"Hmm-m-m," a thoughtful voice came from the receiver, followed by the rustling of paper. "Sorry, Ness, but I won't be able to fly in this week. We're starting Shakespeare periods, and many distinguished lecturers from Europe will be coming to the Corps. I can't miss it. If only next week. Will that suit you?"

"No," the brunette squeezed out, annoyed at the circumstance, glancing sideways at the door to the ward, trying not to raise her voice too much. "I can handle it myself. I'll be discharged by then."

"I can call my parents if I need to. Mom can just..."

"I said no."

"As you say," came the sigh of a woman on the other end of the line, very similar to her own, although the regret in this voice was clearly fake. Wednesday massaged the bridge of her nose with her index finger and thumb, trying to hide her irritation. "In any case, I can fly in a week to personally verify that my beloved sister has not prematurely become a living corpse by escaping from the hospital for the sake of her flowers.

"Don't you dare," Addams almost growled, feeling the blood begin to pound in her temples.

"Don't you dare run away from the hospital," the voice from the loudspeaker answered her coldly, much more familiar than all this feigned emotionality. "Or I'll come and make you so uncomfortable that you'll beg the doctors to put you back in the ward."

"That will never happen," the brunette snorted calmly.

"We'll see," she replied in the same calm voice, after which the call ended and Addams tossed the useless piece of plastic onto the bedside table in frustration.

There was no one to rely on. All she cared about right now was that her flowers were unattended. They could survive a few days without proper care, with the evaporators running all the time and the comfortable environment inside the shop. Eugene could do that. But after three days without proper care, the consequences would begin to accumulate, and she would have to deal with them later. And after six days, some things would be beyond repair. All in all, she had a maximum of five days of acceptable absence, considering that she had already missed one.

During this time, it was vital for her to leave the hospital. And she made that goal a priority on her personal to-do list for the near future.

"Um... Hi. Can I come in?" the blonde asked shyly, carefully opening the door to the ward. Four days had passed, and Enid Sinclair sincerely considered it a personal achievement that Wednesday Addams no longer tried to burn a hole in her with her heavy black gaze, as she had done the first time she appeared here. Or rather, the second time. On that fateful day, she hadn't really understood the situation, so she didn't really remember anything but Wednesday's pale profile as she lay on the bed before she woke up.

The victim rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and sighed tiredly, removing the reading glasses she was forced to wear due to her concussion so as not to strain her eyes and setting the book aside. She frowned at the blonde frozen in the doorway and hissed under her breath.

"Sinclair," she said coldly, "you're already inside."

"You know, sometimes I don't understand..." Enid said, walking slowly into the room, careful not to spill the coffee from the cardboard cup hidden from the nurses behind her beige cardigan as she squeezed through the door. "We're supposed to be the same age, but sometimes I feel like I'm talking to a teacher."

"You have strange fetishes, Sinclair," Wednesday chuckled, though there was no irritation in her voice. "Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Oh, yes," the blonde smiled a little nervously, went inside and carefully took out a glass of still hot coffee and placed it on the nightstand next to Addams' bed. The brunette silently followed her movements with her eyes and sighed barely audibly as she took the glass.

"Decaffeinated again," she didn't even ask, but impatiently took a sip of the still hot drink. She was forbidden many things because of her concussion. And the worst thing on that list was coffee. The problem was that Sinclair knew the entire list of things Addams was forbidden by heart, but she still complied with her request and got the life-giving drink. True, it was stubbornly decaffeinated. To be honest, Addams couldn't think of a single coffee shop nearby where one could buy such a thing. But she wasn't complaining. Sometimes Addams felt like she had coffee in her veins instead of blood. In any case, it would be almost poetic.

The blonde stood silently at a distance from her, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. Wednesday looked at her.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Sinclair didn't have to visit her every day. She didn't have to indulge her whims and try to help. She really shouldn't have been there at all. Wednesday had done everything she could to avoid seeing her again. She hadn't filed a lawsuit or publicized the ridiculous incident, and she had made it clear that she was willing to pay damages. But this ridiculous blonde had apparently decided that it was her duty to visit her in the hospital every day and be an eyesore with her remorseful face.

Quite nice, her must say.

Wednesday frowned at her own thought and snorted in annoyance, which the restless girl next to her bed took personally.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, almost whining, hiding her blue eyes and looking away.

Addams resisted the urge to slap her forehead in frustration. Sinclair was taking it personally again. God, it had been a long time since anyone had forced her to choose her words and watch her own reactions to her surroundings. She snorted under her breath, waved the blonde away, and took another sip of coffee from her cup. Her black eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned the girl up and down. She never should have let her in in the first place. Not even once. She had let it happen once, while she was under the influence of drugs, and now the gremlin pest showed up in her room every day. Then again, it was her own fault. She shouldn't have answered Sinclair's constant questions about what she could do for her. The lid of Wednesday's left eye twitched again, remembering the day after she had been locked up here.

At noon, when the office hours were open, there was a tentative knock on her door. Wednesday, under the influence of sedatives after the stitches (although she was vehemently against the use of painkillers, the doctors did not even listen to her), was expecting Eugene to come, so in a lethargic state and half asleep, she did not even think about the fact that her boyfriend had promised to come in the evening. Certainly not at noon, when he had classes at the university. And so, at first, she did not even notice that the door opened and instead of Ottinger, the blonde familiar from the accident appeared. She only noticed that something was wrong when she realized that there had been a ringing silence for a few minutes.

When Addams opened her eyes and raised herself slightly, turning her head toward the entrance and focusing her gaze on the unexpected guest, she froze for a moment, realizing who it was. After a few more seconds of silently exchanging glances, she sighed tiredly, fell back onto the pillows, and closed her eyes.

"What do you want, pest?"

"I... I'm so sorry," the girl mumbled, wringing her fingers nervously, and Wednesday jumped at her trembling voice. She didn't really care. Even if she never saw those girls again who had ruined her window. But her worst fears had come true: the saboteur, driven by a sense of guilt, had decided to show up in person. "My mistake led to you being here... I... I just want to atone for my guilt. If it's not too much trouble... could you tell me how I can help you?"

Addams felt her head start to hurt again with real irritation. In her slightly foggy brain, all these words seemed like utter nonsense. She had not believed in people's sincerity for a long time. Especially those who caused her trouble.

She winced, opened her eyes again and tried to keep some composure.

"There is no need for this..."

"Yes, there is," the blonde replied immediately with heat, causing Wednesday to wince painfully at the loud sound. "Oh, sorry, that must have been too loud," she whined dejectedly, and Addams frowned at her, finally focusing properly on the girl.

She was wearing a loose light blue shirt with a white top underneath, blue jeans and white sneakers. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was a little tousled, and the ends were slightly curled. Wednesday squinted. It seemed that the ends of this monstrosity's hair were dyed a different color, but so pale that it was almost unnoticeable. But her face made the brunette stop for a moment. Her slightly rounded, pleasantly shaped face was pale, her blue eyes, slightly puffy, looked at her with fear, and there were bruises under them, obviously from lack of sleep. Addams frowned. It was obvious that she was having a nervous breakdown. It didn't help her mood, but it did help her hold back a few caustic remarks that she was about to unleash on the pest's head. Something about this girl made her wary, forcing her to think about what to say for the first time in Addams' life.

Wednesday decided to deal with it later. She wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"If I tell you what I need, will you leave me alone?"

The blonde shook her head violently and Wednesday closed her eyes again, lost in her own slow thoughts.

"Coffee..."

"What?"

"I want coffee," Addams grumbled, swallowing the dry lump in her throat. That was what she really needed.

"But you can't."

"It's not my problem..." she paused, frowning suddenly and looking at the girl again, frozen in anticipation. "What's your name?"

"Enid. Enid Sinclair."

"Okay, Sinclair," she said wearily. "Get me some coffee and leave me alone, you damn pest."

Wednesday closed her eyes, signaling that the conversation was over. And all she heard in response was the sound of soft footsteps moving away. She hoped that would make the blonde disappear.

How wrong she was.

Enid Sinclair returned a few hours later, having managed to go unnoticed and slip past the nurses scurrying through the hospital corridors. It was almost admirable. Almost. If it weren't for the decaf. But Addams, barely awake from her short nap, didn't care. The smell of the coveted beverage alone brought her to her senses, and at this point she didn't care if it had caffeine or not.

"It's like a placebo," she chuckled, once again catching the slightly displeased look of her personal gremlin-pest, as she had begun to call Sinclair in recent days.

The blonde pursed her lips slightly and frowned, which once again amused Addams slightly. Enid Sinclair had an extremely revealing face. All her emotions were written on the palm of her hand. Just like Eugene, who somehow found a common language with her during this time. But this was not what surprised Addams, who gradually returned to normal, but the fact that by the third day, the constantly apologizing blonde had become the least annoying of all the people in this damn hospital. Her presence still caused a slight discomfort, but it was better than the nurses who were constantly scurrying around the wards, not taking the patients' opinions into account at all. They had orders and were obliged to follow them. This did not please the brunette, who disliked people by default.

Unlike her, Sinclair was quiet, always gently inquiring about her well-being and leaving as soon as she noticed that she was getting bored with Addams' company. And Wednesday didn't even need to be told. Eugene, who had known her for many years, didn't always understand her moods or what she meant, but the girl she barely knew understood much better after a few days. It was... strange.

Wednesday felt a slight pang of guilt for allowing herself to use another person so openly for her own needs. Despite Sinclair's insistence.

"I brought you the books you asked for," Enid said, smiling softly as she placed a few books she had brought in her bag on the bedside table. She glanced sideways in slight surprise at the three she had already read that the temporary patient had set aside. "Have you read these yet? Quickly..." She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"My reading speed is slowed now due to eye strain, so this was far from the limit," she said dryly, taking a sip of coffee and examining the blonde carefully.

Today she wore a dull pale orange sweater, a beige cardigan and a long skirt with her eternal sneakers. The other day she showed up at Wednesday's station in a bright pink sweater and Addams was ready to swear that her eyes would burn from the ugliness. Enid got the hint quickly, especially after Eugene's explanation, and no longer appeared in bright colors. Even her hair had lost the barely noticeable highlights of other colors. To be honest, somewhere deep inside Addams didn't really like it. In general, she was disgusted when people adapted to others. But it seemed there was nothing she could do about it in this situation. Sinclair's guilt was not something that was easy to deal with.

"Tomorrow I will leave this place and you will no longer need to come," she nodded, as if confirming an obvious and well-known fact.

The blonde looked up in surprise.

"But, Wednesday, you won't be discharged for another three days," she glanced excitedly at the door of the ward, as if afraid that the omnipresent nurses might hear her.

"Refusal of further medical care, Sinclair. This is a protocol requirement for patients who are already capable of maintaining their own health without the necessary supervision. The main exam is tomorrow. And when those damn bureaucrats make their decision, I will sign all the papers and leave this damn place immediately," Wednesday replied grumpily, finishing her coffee and handing the glass back to Sinclair, who immediately stashed it in her bag like a thief with evidence. This made the corner of Addams' lips twitch up slightly.

Enid sighed, obviously thinking about everything and weighing the pros and cons in her head. She sighed heavily and turned her worried blue eyes to her "victim", biting her lips slightly in indecision, but obviously not daring to argue further.

"Okay. I guess I should let Eugene know that he can pick you up in his car?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Wednesday nodded.

She was not allowed to use her personal phone or any other technology. So a few days ago she asked Eugene to call her sister from his cell phone while he went to the local cafeteria to get her a snack. It was all annoying as hell. She couldn't even read books without those damn glasses she never needed. But she couldn't deny the fact that without them, reading turned into pure torture for her brain after ten minutes, causing a painful throbbing in her temples and the back of her head. If it hadn't been for the books Sinclair had brought her and Eugene had flatly refused to deliver, she would have gone crazy from doing nothing. It looks like an ordinary concussion. What problems could there be? This had happened to her before, more than once. But this time, the doctors discovered some kind of complication and managed to inform her parents, even though Addams was already an adult. An hour of her worried mother's lamentations on the phone was enough for her to abandon all plans of escape and temporarily come to terms with her fate.

But the deadline was approaching. She had to go to the store. To her flowers, which no one but her had been able to take care of properly all this time.

It was annoying.

"And if... if they don't agree to give such permission?" Sinclair, who was sitting on a chair next to her bed, asked timidly, drawing another unhappy sigh from Addams.

"Then I'll run away."

"Wednesday... This could be dangerous for your health."

"It will be dangerous for my plants. And I can't allow that."

Enid's eyes went round like saucers for a moment, making her look like a strange variation of an owl. She blinked several times in confusion and tilted her head slightly to the side, apparently going through all the information she had gathered about her unintended "victim" since the accident. She nodded slowly, frowning slightly.

"Fine."

"Oh, really?" Wednesday looked back at her with hidden malice, surprised that she had agreed so easily. Of course, she didn't know the girl very well yet, but she could tell one thing for sure: Enid Sinclair was not the kind of person who would break the law. Little detours like delivering coffee to places where it was forbidden didn't count. Besides, it was decaffeinated anyway.

"But on one condition," she suddenly held out her hand, pointing her index finger upward. "I will be with you and help you with this. And I'll also help you with your flowers and make sure you don't overexert yourself and take all your medications as prescribed. Until you finish your treatment.

"That's not just a condition," the brunette frowned in response, burning her with her almost black eyes and raising an eyebrow sarcastically.

"It's the only option for you," the blonde nodded firmly, and for a while they were both silent, staring at each other. Finally, Addams nodded slowly, wrinkling her nose in irritation. These conditions were better than having to do everything herself. Besides, she didn't like the fact that the guilt-ridden blonde was still willing to do anything to help her. Wednesday had always been a defender of free will and self-expression, so she vaguely hoped that once Sinclair realized that she could exist on her own, this would finally stop.

If only she knew how loudly someone in heaven was mocking her hopes right now... Or in hell. In her case, it made little difference.

"Good morning, Ness!" the blonde, who for some reason was happy this morning, carefully opened the front door of the shop, balancing herself at the entrance with a stand for two glasses of coffee in her hands and trying not to drop a large gym bag that had just slipped off her shoulder. Wednesday sighed and frowned, watching this little battle between Sinclair and her own clumsiness on her threshold. She turned away in disappointment and moved a heavy pot of flowers from the counter to the display case where she was working on it, completely ignoring the newcomer.

Enid smiled awkwardly, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear in confusion as she walked over to the counter to set down her coffee. She was still trying to get used to this attitude, but something inside her filled with a slight sense of anticipation every time she walked into this little shop.

"You know, today's training was really boring. We're leaving for a competition in a month, and I thought it would be more active training, but for some reason our coach decided that tactics were more important than building team play in practice," she sighed, smiling to herself when she noticed that the grumpy owner of her favorite mysterious shop was clearly listening to what she was saying, despite her displeased face. Enid dropped her bag on the counter and rolled up the sleeves of her loose pink plaid shirt. Her light skirt was shorter than usual today, and her sneakers matched it perfectly. Humming to herself, the blonde pulled her hair into a short ponytail and moved toward the inner doors of the store, accompanied by the grumbling of the brunette who was busy with the smaller pots in the main hall.

It had been three days since Wednesday had finally been allowed to leave the hospital voluntarily, and Enid and Eugene had taken her straight to the store, where she had refused to leave until the evening. The man, who turned out to be her best friend, sheepishly explained that trying to talk her out of it now would be tantamount to suicide. So for the next two days, Enid and Eugene took turns keeping a close eye on the sarcastic Addams, who was barely back on her feet, to make sure she didn't overexert herself. Despite her guilt, Sinclair was almost angry at this foolish stubbornness by the second day, and Ottinger could barely keep her from telling Ness what she thought of her workaholism. In the end, the guy took her to lunch at a nearby cafe, and they talked for quite a while about everything that had happened. Enid didn't quite understand why he was so genuinely surprised that Sinclair was still there. And the blonde herself began to understand a lot about her involuntary "victim" of the accident, which finally forced her to change her own point of view and take a closer look at Addams.

And it turned out to be... interesting.

"Look, you don't have to..." Wednesday began, gritting her teeth in irritation and watching the blonde's back as she ran into the back room. She had tried aggression before and it hadn't worked. Simply because she ended up feeling guilty, looking into those frightened blue eyes with frozen tears. She had tried to ignore them and that hadn't worked either. The day before, she had even tried to simply lock the store and not let the ubiquitous blonde in. But half an hour later, Eugene was hanging around the door with Enid. "By God, that girl is going to drive me crazy," she thought annoyed, wrinkling her nose and sighing heavily once more, realizing that she couldn't get rid of Sinclair that easily. Especially since yesterday's examination at the hospital had not shown the best results, and the blonde had found out about it.

Gritting her teeth in irritation, Addams closed her eyes and massaged her temples. The dull pain in her head was starting to get to her. But the strange thing was that Sinclair was becoming less annoying with each passing day. She had noticed it herself when she caught herself looking at the door this morning, waiting for Enid to come in. It had only been a little over a week since the incident, and the damned pest had been hanging around all that time. Under normal circumstances, Addams hated having anyone in her habitat so often. And that included her family. But the damn injury was causing her so much trouble, all things considered, that by noon she was completely exhausted, unable to do anything, and sadly she had to admit that it would not have been possible to manage the shop without the blonde's help. Even her chattering had become almost habitual. She seemed to be working in the background of the television.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Enid came out of the door with two heavy flower pots in each hand, and Wednesday couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the action. Her personal gremlin pest was surprisingly smart and surprisingly strong, so she was handling all the heavy stuff much better than Addams had expected, which made her frown in disappointment at having to rely on a stranger.

Wednesday pursed her lips, watching the muscles in Enid's arms move, and turned back to her flowers. The humming blonde placed her burden on the clean, empty window, adjusted the flowers and sniffed discreetly, smiling contentedly.

Hydrangeas... Damned hydrangeas again... In the language of flowers, hydrangeas meant "remember me" and were a symbol of modesty, sincerity, and hope. And the meaning of that now fit this unbearable blonde perfectly, no matter how much it irritated the shopkeeper.

"Apparently my concussion is causing me to have distorted thought processes," Addams thought unhappily, accepting a glass of now-cold coffee from Sinclair's hands. Decaffeinated again.

"There isn't a single coffee shop in the area that sells decaf, Sinclair," she finally decided to ask the question that had been nagging at her for so long, carefully pretending that she wasn't particularly interested. Unlike many, Addams valued her health, and decaf was something she preferred just to be on the safe side, and she didn't want to switch to tea. However, for several days she had been looking for at least one coffee shop where she could buy it, but she hadn't found a single place that sold such a drink. And this question really bothered her.

Suddenly embarrassed, Sinclair put her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, carefully looking away.

"Well, I know you like coffee, but there really isn't a single place around here where you can get what you need without risking your health," she began, interlacing her fingers in front of her and looking out the window.

"And that's why?" Wednesday's eyebrow twitched. She thought she knew what that was. It wasn't that far between her shop and the hospital, and Sinclair's university campus was nearby. Which meant... "You make it yourself and bring it in from home?"

"Yeah," the blonde's shoulders rose and she tensed as if about to be scolded, sending an uncomfortable shiver down Wednesday's spine. "It's... It's no good? I tried it, it's not that different from the standard Starbucks..."

"Wait," Addams said, waving her hand and frowning. Her eyes scanned the paper cup, and the facts began to form in her mind. "So you're telling me you live around here, stop by the Starbucks down the street after your workout, then come home and make me coffee and bring it to me in your cups so I won't suspect anything since I've been in the hospital? I didn't do anything wrong?"

Enid sighed resignedly, somehow deflating in an instant, and Wednesday rolled her eyes to the ceiling just as resignedly. According to her calculations, the girl was making a pretty good detour every day. And for what? Coffee for her... The brunette's heart sank. This excessive helpfulness was unnecessary, and frankly, it was starting to get to her.

"Yes..." Sinclair confirmed quietly, causing Addams to sigh again. She took a sip of coffee from her cup and walked over to the counter, sliding under it thoughtfully, causing the girl to look at her in confusion. After a few seconds of incomprehensible noises and soft curses, the brunette returned to her seat and blew dust from a black thermos into a small, incomprehensible print of some patterns that had obviously been there for a long time. She examined it carefully and placed it on the counter in front of her.

"Unfortunately, I have to admit that I will have to tolerate your presence here for some time, and it is obviously not possible to dissuade you," she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I am, however, against you bothering so much with your idiotic idea of a conspiracy and wasting unnecessary time. So you can take this."

Enid's lips twitched in a hesitant smile as she took in what was happening. She blinked a few times, finally settling her understanding, and broke into a satisfied grin, and Wednesday felt something under her ribs twitch again at the sight. She wrinkled her nose in displeasure, turned away, and picked up her cold coffee again.

"At least it won't get cold that way," she tried to justify, urgently trying to figure out where to hide from that smile.

"Wait, wait..." the blonde waved her hands, wrinkling her nose in irritation and rubbing her temples with her fingers. She frowned at her own sister, whose face was covered in tears and who hadn't been able to give a sensible answer for a couple of hours. "Once again... What have you done with that idiot?!"

"Yoko is not an idiot..." the second one said in a voice hoarse with tears, sitting on the floor in the living room of the apartment she and her sister shared near the university. Her sister waved an irritated hand.

"Well, that means there's only one idiot here," she snorted, narrowing her blue eyes. "So... you kicked a ball at Tanaka and broke a shop window? And there's another victim at the end? Am I wrong?"

"No," Enid sighed and lowered her head.

"Oh. My. God..." her sister said heavily, frowning even more. With the qualifiers just around the corner, this whole situation was awkward. Inconvenient at all. At all. She paced the living room nervously and began to think aloud. "Okay. If it's Tanaka and she's in the hospital, then she can handle it. Yoko can handle it. That's good. But to be hurt is bad. Really bad."

"Yoko already wrote that there will be no publicity," Enid sniffled, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them with her arms. Her sister stopped in front of her and her eyes softened. She stood there for a few seconds, then sat down next to her with a sigh, hugging her younger sister's shoulders.

"That's not what I'm worried about," she said with a sigh, touching her cheek to her hair, which was as light as hers. "I'm worried about your condition. Especially considering we have tryouts coming up soon."

"I'll be able to play," the younger one pouted and frowned, turning her head to see her own reflection. Sometimes she caught herself thinking that it would be great to be the same age as her sister and to be at least a little different. But on the other hand, given their literal identity, she had a rare chance in this world to have a soulmate from birth.

"Yes. You can," her twin sister raised an eyebrow slightly sarcastically. The only difference between them was that Enid had dyed the ends of her hair slightly different colors. While her older sister had left her hair color almost untouched (for only fifteen minutes, by the way!).

Enid sighed and let her head fall on her sister's shoulder.

"CC, I feel like I've been kissed by a dementor," she snorted. "What do I do now?"

"Watch less sentimental melodramas... But seriously, I don't know," the second blonde drawled, smiling slightly mischievously. "Marry her."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Enid recoiled in almost superstitious horror. "I put her in a hospital bed! And this is my favorite shop..." the younger one grumbled in frustration, sniffling.

"Oh, my God, Enid," the older sister sighed, ruffling her sister's hair. "These things happen. Sometimes these accidents are completely stupid. And if you're so worried about that strange girl, why don't you go visit her in the hospital and apologize properly?"

"Do you think that will be okay? I don't think she'll be happy to see me..."

"Of course, it's normal," the blonde chuckled. "Well, your Addams isn't a monster, is she?"

Well, that's what she used to think.

Before her little sister started disappearing every day to who knows where. And it had been over a week. CC didn't like what was going on and she started to get suspicious when she tried to ask her sister where the hell she was running off to every day and even skipping class sometimes. They had never kept secrets from each other since they were kids. And now they suddenly did. It started to get annoying. Tanaka kept her mouth shut, too, and the rest of the team was of no use. Well, it was for the best. There was no need for evil tongues to know that their little sister had recently sent someone to the hospital. Even if it had been an accident, even if it had been a stupid coincidence.

It did not change the fact that Enid's behavior was beginning to worry her. What was it about this strange flower shop owner that made her care so much? Especially since this crazy woman refused any legal intervention and closed all claims at once. Yes, the money spent restoring the display case and the hospital bills significantly reduced Enid's personal savings, but that should have been enough to put an end to this situation. But no. As it turned out, it was not all that simple.

CC was not good at hiding and usually faced things head-on and solved problems the same way. However, she respected her sister's privacy and decided to be careful this time.

Well, how careful... She simply decided to follow her sister, inspired by the latest movie about Agent 007, whom she adored. Anything was better than watching Mean Girls with her sister for the eighteenth time.

"Agent zero-zero-twenty in place," she muttered under her breath as she watched her sister from around the corner as she hurried down the street carrying two thermoses that were clearly filled with coffee, one of which was her own, bright pink with a rainbow and clouds on the side, and the other was black with some strange little print on it. CC raised an eyebrow in confusion. Enid hates coffee! So what the hell is this? And then the blonde stopped, not reaching any shop, nervously pulling a pocket mirror out of her shoulder bag and quickly fixing her hair. CC's second eyebrow followed the first. Was Enid preening? Did she really have a boyfriend? And she hadn't told her about it?! What a little brat...

CC didn't have time to think of any more epithets when she noticed that her sister, who had quickly put the mirror away, turned into the door of a shop after only a few steps. Frowning, the older twin waited for a while, then quickly bent down and reached the place where her sister had disappeared. Carefully, trying not to be noticed, she looked into the new display case from the bottom corner, but then frowned in confusion when she realized that her entire view was blocked by... flowers? CC blinked. A puzzle suddenly formed in her mind. She took a few steps back and examined the display case and the sign carefully.

"So that's it..." she whispered to herself, stunned to realize that this was the same little shop whose window her sister and her friend had smashed, knocking out the owner. CC moved closer to the glass again, above the level of the flowers, to see what was going on inside the shop. She hadn't heard what her sister was saying to the somber brunette with the two braids behind the counter, but she knew immediately who it was. And that's why she couldn't stop the mischievous grin from spreading across her lips. And all because Enid always had a very revealing face. And now she was shyly twirling a light lock of her hair around her finger, smiling softly and laughing shyly at something the brunette, whose face hadn't changed at all, was saying. It was the same Addams. And she was pretty, she had to admit.

CC grinned wryly, backed away from the display case, and turned excitedly and walked down the street towards the university, whistling a tune from a spy thriller under her breath. Her sister had chosen an interesting girl... and a very pretty one. Well, she should have helped her.

Enid was looking forward to the end of classes for the day, already mentally calculating how much time she would be able to spend with Wednesday between classes and evening training. And she still had coffee to make. The blonde bit her lip thoughtfully, looking out the window next to her, not listening to what the professor was saying. Spring was in full swing, and the asphalt outside was already partially covered with petals falling from the fruit trees. It was high time to...

"Miss Sinclair!" The teacher's stern voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned abruptly, realizing that the class had ended and her classmates were already gathering their things to leave the room. Many of them looked at her with amusement. Enid's cheeks immediately turned slightly red with embarrassment. She slowly rose from her seat and quickly began to gather her things as the lecturer approached her desk - a heavyset man of about fifty, wearing glasses and a Latin appearance with a neatly trimmed gray beard, dressed in an olive-colored suit. His thick eyebrows were furrowed sternly, causing the girl to cringe under his gaze in fear of a reprimand.

"I would like to inform you that the final exams are in a month. And you may not be allowed to take some of them, even though you have some leeway due to your participation in competitions," he sighed, taking off his glasses and wiping the lenses with a handkerchief. "I don't understand, your sister's grades aren't the best either, but she's doing well and she's the captain of the team. What's wrong with you? You've missed about a dozen classes in the last few weeks, and your overall grades are way down."

"Mr. Morrison, I..."

"Miss Sinclair," he frowned and looked at the girl with a stern look. "Unfortunately, I am forced to assign you additional classes in order to bring your academic performance back to normal. From now on, you will spend two hours every evening before training to catch up, and I will also assign you extra work in my subject."

"But Mr. Morrison..." Enid sighed, feeling as if all her plans were going down the drain.

"No objections accepted. Unless you want to lose your scholarship?"

Enid sighed. That was the last thing she needed. After her recent rather large expenses, her finances were frankly depleted, forcing her to temporarily look for a part-time job, and if she was left without a scholarship, things would be even worse. It was unlikely that her parents would like that. She nodded disappointedly, realizing that she had no choice anyway. One way or another, she would still have to take care of her studies. And in fact, Wednesday's hospital appointments would end soon, so it was quite possible that she would have to kick them out of the shop in the near future.

The blonde chuckled in frustration. So many problems had piled up lately that her only safe haven was a small flower shop with its taciturn and mean owner, and now even that could be taken away from her. In her excited state, she didn't even notice that someone had called out to her. And only a minute later, when she had almost reached the end of the corridor, Yoko caught up with her and gave her a joyful pat on the shoulder, which made the girl shiver with her whole body.

"Earth to Enid!" the Japanese girl grinned contentedly, finally getting her friend's attention. "Hey, wolf pups, why so sad? Div and I are going to the new bakery a block away. Will you join us?"

"Oh," Sinclair sighed, looking at her friend and shaking her head. "No. I've been assigned extra classes, so now I won't have any time at all."

"What are you talking about? I heard you talking to Morrison, and there are still four hours until evening training. Plenty of time!"

"Ah... Um... Well, I have things to do in that time," the blonde mumbled, looking away and feverishly trying to come up with a worthy excuse for why she had to leave so soon.

Tanaka's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"What kind of things are these, I wonder, have your affairs become so regular lately?"

"Um... Personal?" Enid squeaked, realizing that her friend was definitely not going to leave her alone now. Fortunately, Divina came to her aid. The brunette appeared beside her, smiled warmly at her friend and hugged her overly curious friend around the waist.

"Hey Enid, do you mind if I take my obnoxious girlfriend away from you?"

"Oh my God, Div, get rid of her, I beg you!" she snorted theatrically, inwardly grateful that she would finally be left alone. The brunette winked at her and dragged her friend away, but stopped, turned for a second, and threw her back:

"By the way, Ottinger was looking for you. When did you become friends with this little botanist?"

"That's a long story, Div," the blonde grinned and nodded gratefully to her friend. "You can ask Yoko which one," she winked sarcastically and quickly retreated under Tanaka's indignant scream. Enid grinned. She wasn't the only one who had to suffer because of this situation, was she? After all, Yoko still hadn't told her own friend anything. When she went outside, she took out her cell phone, not without noticing that the battery was dead. Now she would have to look for Eugene herself. Which meant that it would take up more of her already scarce time.

Samantha Laslow hated Tuesdays. Simply because on those days she had to go to the local hospital to pick up medicine for her grandparents, who lived in the same house as her family. Luckily, one of her older sisters worked at the hospital, so she didn't have to wait in line and could pass the time having lunch with a relative. However, today had not gone well from the start. Not only had the morning practice gone haywire, but Coach Weems was clearly in a bad mood, threatening to completely overhaul the team's roster for tryouts, which began in a week.

"You know, you're usually in a pretty bad mood, but something clearly made it worse today," the older nurse sitting across from the girl in the hospital cafeteria smiled wryly. Samantha had already picked up her medication herself, so she still had some time before her evening workout, so she could afford to relax a bit. The tall Latina snorted in disgust and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Practice was terrible and the coach was very unhappy about it. We have tryouts in a week, and the team is disorganized and not properly assembled."

"Well, you know, if I had to run around a soccer field every day at six in the morning, I wouldn't be in the mood either," her older sister chuckled, pushing a plate of salad toward the younger one. "Eat, or you'll get even thinner with your football."

"You don't understand," her opponent in this conversation grumbled unhappily, but she picked up the fork anyway. "This is important to me! It's a chance to make the national team. And the team is acting like these are normal games."

"Hey, you're only nineteen or twenty years old," the older one wrinkled her nose. "Of course, most of them don't plan to continue their sports careers after university, unlike you. They're still kids."

"Not all of them. The captain wants to be in big-time sports too," Samantha snorted unhappily, though her voice softened a bit when she mentioned the blonde.

"Well, that's why you're the deputy captain, Sam," the older one shrugged happily. "It's all on you, and that's a big responsibility."

"Damn, if it weren't for Sinclair and her evil girlfriend, we wouldn't be so weak in defense. But no, look, she's in the starting lineup! That idiot is no good, if she wasn't the captain's sister she'd probably be on the bench by now. And lately, she's been completely lost in the clouds!"

The older sister winced at the younger sister's fervor, but when she heard the familiar family name, she became interested.

"Sinclair? The tall blonde with shoulder-length hair and blue eyes?" She gestured at the length of the hair of the one she remembered by name. Samantha raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at her interested sister.

"How do you know her?"

"Oh, we have our favorite couple here, the saboteur and the victim. All the sisters have been talking about them for a week. That Sinclair of yours managed to cripple a very angry girl and spent a week running her errands to make amends until she was released early. You should see how different they are, just like a typical movie couple: like a golden retriever and an evil black cat. My colleagues have talked about them so much that they are practically local celebrities among the staff."

"Injured?" Samantha's brow furrowed. This was the first time she'd heard of such a thing. And her heart sank with fear. If the team captain had something to do with this, it could be very disturbing and ultimately affect the team. "Wait, really Sinclair? There are two of them. The second one has the last name Walker, but they are twins."

"Oh, there she is, just coming to get her medication," Samantha's sister turned to the whispering of her colleagues, smiling and pointing to the reception area where a brightly smiling blonde was chatting with the nurses, a bag of medication in her hands. The cafeteria was surrounded by a glass wall, so everything was clearly visible, albeit from a decent distance. Samantha blinked in surprise, strained her eyes, and recognized the girl at the reception desk. For a few seconds she tried to comprehend the situation as the puzzle fell into place in her mind. The Latina's lips curled into an almost predatory smile as she turned to her sister, trying to contain her inner evil glee and not show it.

"What kind of incident had happened? And who had she managed to hurt?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe how stupid that story is," her older sister chuckled, completely unaware of her younger sister's change in mood. She turned to her and went back to eating while she told her in detail about the incident that had happened over a week ago. And Samantha listened intently, trying not to grin too much and watching out of the corner of her eye as the blonde left the hospital. A plan was brewing in her mind.

"Okay," Wednesday said irritably, noisily placing a stack of empty flower pots on the counter, causing the blonde to jump in surprise. Black eyes stared at the girl. She was unusually quiet today, not even beginning her typical story about how her training went. At first, Addams was even happy about it, but the more time passed, the more it began to bother her. Like an itch that settled under her skin. "What's going on? Your silence, it turned out, was even more irritating than the constant chatter. If something is bothering you, it is better to speak up, as most charlatans who call themselves psychologists advise."

Sinclair sighed in frustration and wiped her cheek with her glove, leaving a smudge on it. She glanced awkwardly at Addams and pursed her lips.

"They may not let me compete," she said listlessly, frowning. "But you know, it's probably for the best," she shrugged her shoulders, which were unnecessarily tense today. Enid tried to smile, but a crooked grin came out instead. "Well, you have to look at the bright side of things. At least I'll finally get some sleep!"

Wednesday's left eyelid twitched and she took a deep breath, unnoticed. Sinclair's hypocrisy didn't suit her at all, and she obviously couldn't lie. The brunette snorted in irritation, trying not to show her interest in the matter, but she felt in her skin that for some reason it concerned her as well.

"And why was that?"

"Ness, you don't have to worry, everything is really okay..."

"Enid," Addams hissed, crossing her arms over her chest, cutting the girl off in her ridiculous attempt to calm her down.

The blonde stared at her, raising her eyebrows slightly in surprise, but realizing that the grumpy shopkeeper wouldn't back down so easily, she sighed heavily and straightened up, smiling slightly tense.

"Well... My grades have dropped and I have been assigned extra classes, otherwise I will be left without a scholarship, and I already have to look for a part-time job."

A black eyebrow rose sarcastically in Addams' face, clearly indicating that she should continue, and Sinclair already snorted in irritation and jerked her chin to the side in surrender.

"And the trainer also found out about the accident and that I sent you to the hospital bed... Now Yoko and I can be put on the bench for the duration of the games."

Wednesday frowned. This wasn't safe. For her or for Sinclair. The stern shopkeeper pursed her lips slightly, lost in thought for a moment in the silence that followed.

"Where did this information come from?"

"I don't know, okay?!" the blonde snorted angrily, and Addams suddenly held her breath. She had gotten used to observing the reserved, responsive, and smiling girl, so this unusual behavior was new to her. "Interesting," she thought, squinting and examining the angry blonde carefully.

"It was almost certainly someone from the medical staff who was talking!" Sinclair began to pac around the shop, waving her arms in irritation. "Because there is no way that you, or I, or Eugene, and certainly not Yoko, could have blabbed! There was no official case filed, the police were not involved, and no one wrote anything in the news! I am sure all the evidence leads to the hospital!"

Addams blinked, sluggishly. Sinclair's tirade had not only taken her by surprise, but had also stirred up old and pleasant memories of when, as a schoolgirl, she had written her own detective stories, but had given them up at the end of her studies and had not followed her sister's literary path. If only Enid had known how it had tugged at her heartstrings now. Wednesday let out a small, stifled chuckle. Well, this story seemed interesting.

"I think that problem will solve itself soon, Enid," she said dryly, turning to the counter and taking the pile of empty pots from it again, trying to look as uninterested as possible. "As for your studies, it's all up to you," she shrugged her thin shoulders almost imperceptibly and cast a sideways glance at the blonde, who froze in surprise. "And if you need a part-time job, the coffee shop across the street is looking for a barista. I saw the ad this morning." She paused for a moment and turned her head to look straight into blue eyes. "You make decent coffee, Sinclair. Maybe you should consider it. At least you won't be an eyesore every day."

"Oh my God!" the blonde who flew up to her, joyful to the limit, grabbed her in a tight hug that instantly turned everything inside Addams upside down, making her forget how to breathe for a second. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said immediately, taking her hands away and smiling with all her teeth, shining like a little sun. "I never thought that Wednesday Addams could support a person," she winked sarcastically at the stunned brunette and made her way to the exit without wasting any time. "I'll run and ask her about the vacancy! Don't get bored, I'll be back soon!"

The door closed quietly behind the blonde who had run away, and Addams leaned heavily on the counter with her hand, trying to catch her breath. "What the hell just happened?" flashed through her mind, and she allowed herself to remain in this state for a full minute before her thoughts returned to the story Sinclair had told her.

Wednesday frowned. It looked like she would have to go to the university. It had been a long time since she had been there.

Wednesday knew what time the soccer team's evening practice ended, thanks to Enid, of course. She'd hardly ever been to the sports wing, considering she'd switched to full-time distance learning after her first six months here, so the only time she'd been to the university was to pay her tuition or take her exams early. So she had to wander around a bit before she found the coach's office. Addams didn't hesitate and opened the door in front of her, not bothering to knock politely.

A tall, middle-aged woman with short, almost white hair and a beige tracksuit, sitting at the table, raised her head in surprise and stared at the unexpected guest. Her neat eyebrows knitted together at the bridge of her nose as she carefully examined the newcomer, and her lips curled in displeasure.

"Miss Addams? I'm surprised to see you here at this hour. How can I help you?" The instructor leaned back in her chair and slowly ran her fingers through the pages of the journal on her desk, recording her workouts.

"It's funny that you remember me, Mrs. Weems," Wednesday nodded in greeting, not bothering to be overly polite and sitting down in the chair next to the trainer's desk, causing the trainer to look uncomfortable in response. Larisa folded her palms together, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the girl closely.

"You and your sister, Miss Addams, are hard to forget."

"I am amazed that your memory and career have progressed so far since our high school days," Wednesday said dryly, wincing slightly at the memory. "However, I'm here on business that has nothing to do with the fond memories of youth."

"And what kind?" Larisa raised her eyebrows slightly, not understanding. As far as she knew, Wednesday Addams had not touched her area of responsibility at all, so she simply could not be here.

"Let's get to the point so we don't waste time," Addams nodded. "I am the person Sinclair allegedly hurt. I own the flower shop where she and Tanaka smashed the window. But as you can see, I am alive and well. No one filed a lawsuit, no complaint was filed with the police, and the case wouldn't have received any publicity at all if it weren't for the unreliable hospital staff.

"Interesting," the coach chuckled to herself, clasping her hands together and resting her chin on them. "I don't know how you got to know my girls in the first place, but I don't like the fact that you're here anymore. It's good that it's without your sister," Larisa shrugged at the memories. "I have to admit, though, it's none of my business," she sighed, leaning back in her chair again, crossing her arms over her chest and looking intently at her old problem from when she was still a gym teacher at the school where the Addams studied. Her icy blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "So nobody started a case?"

"Exactly."

"And why is that? Knowing your character, I'm sure you'd have taken at least some advantage of the situation."

"I'm not my sister. I don't need all this fuss," Addams spat a little sharply, immediately pulling herself together. "Sinclair made amends, and I thought that was enough."

"So there are no complaints, and there never were to begin with, and my girls will have no trouble with the police?"

"If anyone is going to have any problems after my visit here, it will be the staff at the hospital I had to go to after the incident," Addams said through gritted teeth, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Who gave you that information, Mrs. Weems?"

Larisa exhaled irritably through her nose. Dealing with the Addamses was always a big problem. Fortunately, there was only one of them in front of her now.

"I ask you, Ms. Addams, not to breed entities..." the trainer wrinkled her nose in displeasure. "I will also not reveal the source of the information," she raised her hand, noticing Addams immediately straighten up as if to stop her. "But I can promise that I will take care of this situation and that action will be taken against the person who reported distorted information about Ms. Sinclair."

Larisa wasn't lying. She wasn't happy with the situation in general, and Addams' visit, which dotted the i's and crossed the t's in this matter, actually calmed her down. Now all that remained was to deal with the snitch, because the coach wouldn't tolerate that kind of attitude on the team. She had no idea why Sinclair had offended young Laslow so much, but she was absolutely sure of one thing: she wouldn't tolerate such a person as the team's vice captain. Mrs. Weems had long tried to resolve the incomprehensible conflicts between the girls, but she had always failed. Perhaps it was time to get to the root of the problem. And as for Addams... She took her word for it. Unconditionally. Simply because she remembered very well how vindictive she could be and how much she hated it when someone tried to use her for their own ends.

"That's all, Ms. Addams," Larisa nodded slowly. "I'll find out the rest myself. Thank you for coming and clearing up this question with your testimony. In fact, I wanted to find out everything about it in the near future, but you saved me and you time."

"I hope that whoever stooped so low as to distort documented information for their own purposes, using my name and Sinclair's, will be held accountable. And... I don't want Sinclair to know I'm here.

Wednesday rose from her seat and walked to the office door, no longer lingering. Just before she left, she stopped, turned to the coach, and nodded her head in goodbye.

Coach Weems sighed, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples with her fingers. Thank God it was only Wednesday. At least she could talk to her. It was difficult, dangerous, nerve-wracking, but it was possible. But if both sisters had shown up at her door, things could have ended very, very badly. Larissa sighed as memories of the entire year the Addams sisters had transferred to the school where she worked flashed through her mind, and it had been the worst nightmare of her career. She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the framed photo of the team that sat on the edge of her desk, and sighed resignedly as she looked at the faces of the blonde sisters. She only hoped that this connection with the Addams sisters would not end badly for the youngest of them.