Chapter Text
“So, what do you think our new roomie’s going to be like?” asked Enid, nearly bouncing on her bed in excitement.
(Y/N) grinned from their loft portion of the dorm. “Definitely not sweet and nice if your vlog is to be believed.”
Enid smiled sheepishly. “It’s not my fault the reports of her almost killing a boy from her old school are posted everyone online.” She shifted. “I’m kind of nervous to meet her, though.”
(Y/N) nodded. “She does sound intense.” They tilted their head and gave a Cheshire-cat smile. “But I guess we’ll find out.”
The door to their dorm room opened, and Principal Weems led the way in. (Y/N) slid down the ladder of their loft area. Behind her entered the already-infamous Wednesday Addams and her parents. Wednesday was pale with dark eyes and black hair in two braids. All three wore pure black.
“It’s so…vivid,” said Wednesday’s father as he took in the room.
Enid grinned and walked over, friendly as ever. “Howdy, roomie!”
“Hey!” greeted (Y/N), smiling and walking over to the group.
“Wednesday, this is Enid Sinclair and (Y/N) (L/N),” introduced Weems.
Wednesday gave each person an appraising look. First Enid, she observed (Y/N). She took in their slightly pointed ears and black uniform. They wore a crisp white button-up with a formal black vest buttoned overtop. They wore a striped skirt and blazer like Enid, but theirs was in black and grey. Beneath their skirt, they wore tights with black roses stitched on and black Oxford shoes. With the final accessories of a bone-like ring and skull-earrings, they looked like a cheery reaper when paired with their friendly smile.
Enid noticed the grim look on Wednesday’s face. “Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale.”
“Wednesday always looks half-dead,” said her father.
“Oh, cool. So do a bunch of us here, especially anyone on the undead spectrum, like the vamps,” said (Y/N) brightly.
“Welcome to Ophelia Hall!” said Enid. She moved in for a hug, and Wednesday took a careful step back. “Not a hugger. Got it.”
“Please excuse Wednesday,” said her mother. “She’s allergic to color.”
“Oh, wow,” said Enid. “What happens to you?”
“I break out in hives and then the flesh peels off my bones,” said Wednesday so flatly she could have been reading from a medical textbook for all the inflection or urgency.
“Wicked,” said (Y/N).
“Luckily, we’ve special ordered you a uniform,” interjected Weems, trying to keep Wednesday under control. “Enid, (Y/N), please take Wednesday to the registrar’s office to pick it up along with her schedule, and give her a tour along the way.”
Wednesday didn’t bother to get confirmation, turned, and walked away. Enid and (Y/N) glanced at each other before following Wednesday.
l
“Nevermore was founded in 1791 to educate people like us,” began Enid as they began showing Wednesday around. “Outcasts, freaks, monsters, fill in your favorite marginalized group here.”
“You can save the sanitized sales pitch,” said Wednesday icily. “I don’t plan on staying here for long.”
“Why not?” asked Enid.
“This was my parents’ idea.” Wednesday’s eyes landed on a picture of the fencing team from decades ago. “Oh, look. There’s my mother smirking at me. They’ve been looking for any excuse to send me here. It’s all part of their nefarious, yet completely obvious, plan.”
“What plan?” asked (Y/N) curiously.
“To turn me into a version of themselves,” said Wednesday.
“In that case, perhaps you can clear something up,” said Enid as they continued walking. “Rumor’s been swirling around that you killed a kid at your old school and your parents pulled strings to get you off.”
(Y/N) sighed. “I keep telling her that my dad said you didn’t kill anyone, but she insists on hearing it from you directly.”
“Actually, it was two. But who’s counting?” said Wednesday. Her eyes trailed to (Y/N) without a single move of her head. “Your father heard about my case?”
(Y/N) smiled brightly. “He deals exclusively with death, so I asked him if you killed that kid.”
“Your father sound intriguing,” said Wednesday, interested in the idea of a job devoted to death.
“We’ll get to parents in a minute!” Enid threw open the courtyard doors before them and announced, “Welcome to the quad!”
“It’s a pentagon,” observed Wednesday.
Enid sighed. “The whole Snarky Goth Girl thing might have worked at normie school, but here things are different. Let us give you a quick wiki on Nevermore’s social scene.”
“I’m not interested in participating in tribal adolescent cliches,” said Wednesday coldly.
“Well, at least with this you’ll know who you want to avoid even more,” said (Y/N), grinning. “We’ve got tons of outcast types here, but we’ve got four main cliques.”
“Fangs, Furs, Stoners, and Scales,” recited Enid.
“But not the Normie type of stoners,” said (Y/N). “Medusa.” They nodded to the table of Medusa talking to each other. “They keep their snakes to themselves, for the most part, but some can be nosy.”
“Fangs are vampires,” said Enid, gesturing to the table of people all wearing dark sunglasses. Surreptitiously, she said, “Some of them have literally been here decades.”
“They just hang instead of taking classes at this point,” chuckled (Y/N).
“That bunch of knuckleheads are Furs, aka werewolves, aka me!” said Enid, waving to her friends at the werewolf table.
“Get ear plugs for full moons,” advised (Y/N).
“I’m assuming Scales are sirens?” asked Wednesday, looking at the group of good-looking students by the fountain.
“You catch on quick,” said Enid. She pointed to one girl in particular. “And that girl, Bianca Barclay, is the closest thing Nevermore has to reality.” She grimaced. “Although her crown’s been slipping lately.”
“I hope someone knocks it off soon,” sighed (Y/N).
Enid nodded emphatically. “Yeah. She used to date our resident tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe—” (Y/N) nodded to the boy painting on the wall “—but they broke up at the beginning of the semester. Reason unknown.”
“Fascinating.” Wednesday remained deadpan.
“And then, we have people like you and me.” (Y/N) gestured between themself and Wednesday. “We come from a variety of backgrounds and have different quirks that make us outcasts.”
Enid nodded. “Some of them are really cool! One boy, Rowan, has telekinesis, and Xavier can manipulate his drawings or something. (Y/N) is even a demigod!” she said excitedly.
Wednesday raised an eyebrow. “Hades?”
(Y/N) shook their head. “Thanatos. God of Death.” Wednesday nodded. (Y/N) continued, gesturing to their clothes, “Yeah, I got stuck with being able to drain life from living things, so I wear black to say ‘Hey! Don’t touch or I could make you pass out!’ ” (Y/N) grinned. “And I like the whole look, so it works out!”
Enid smiled brightly. “But don’t worry! (Y/N)’s never had an accident at Nevermore. Only plants feel their wrath!”
“Interesting,” said Wednesday, and she was not lying. As an Addams, she enjoyed death. Wednesday especially found an affinity for morbidity and meeting a literal child of death filled that interest. (Y/N) gave her a smile in response, and that instantly dampened Wednesday’s mood again. Too much cheeriness.
“Yo, Enid!” called Ajax, her boyfriend. “You’re not going to believe the dirt I heard about your new roommate!”
Yikes. He clearly doesn’t see Wednesday, thought (Y/N).
“She eats human flesh!” he exclaimed. “Chowed down on that kid she murdered. You and (Y/N) better watch your backs.”
(Y/N) and Enid stepped to the sides to reveal Wednesday, staring levelly at Ajax.
“Quite the contrary,” said Wednesday. “I actually fillet the bodies of my victims, then feed them to my menagerie of pets.” The ghost of a sadistic smirk passed over her face.
“Ajax, this is our new roommate, Wednesday,” said Enid awkwardly.
“Whoa.” Ajax looked at Wednesday. “You’re in black and white. Like a living Instagram filter.”
“Ignore him. Gorgons spend way too much time getting stoned,” said Enid.
“The magic way,” clarified (Y/N). “Accidentally look into a mirror without their snakes covered and bam! Their brain cells turn to stone.”
Enid nodded gravely. “He’s cute but clueless. It’s a small school, and there wasn’t much online about you. You should really get Insta, Snapchat, and TikTok.”
“I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningful affirmation,” said Wednesday. She turned and walked away.
“We were right. She’s intense,” said (Y/N).
“And frustrating,” muttered Enid. She sighed. “Let’s go get her uniform.”
l
“What the hell did you do to my room?!” cried Enid.
(Y/N) rolled out of their back where they were reading and looked down. Oh, boy. Wednesday had removed Enid’s color strips from half of their large window.
“Dividing our room equally,” said Wednesday evenly. She glanced at (Y/N) as they climbed down. “(Y/N) has their area. I would like my own. It looks like a rainbow vomited on your side.”
“I—” began Enid.
“Silence would be appreciated,” interrupted Wednesday, sitting down at her desk. “This is my writing time.”
“Your writing time?” asked (Y/N).
“I devote an hour a day to my novel,” said Wednesday, not even turning to look at them. “Perhaps Enid’s vlog would be coherent if she did the same. I’ve read serial killer diaries with better punctuation.”
“You have your voice, she has hers,” said (Y/N), trying to keep the peace. “And you just have to get used to the noise. I’m a poet, and I’ve learned to do great work even when Enid is making up choreography to K-pop.”
Wednesday stood back up and faced them. “I’ve seen your work on her vlog. It has potential, but it’s so…cheerful.”
“Thanks. It’s easier than being depressing,” said (Y/N).
Wednesday narrowed her eyes and then looked at Enid. “By the way, it’s Addams with two ‘d’s. If you’re going to gossip about me, at least spell my name correctly.”
(Y/N) sighed and looked Enid. “Gossiping about your new roommate? Seriously?”
Enid crossed her arms. “She was being rude. She deserved it.”
“I speak my mind. If you can’t take it, that’s not my problem,” said Wednesday.
She turned back to her work. Enid glared at her and pressed “play” on the music on her phone. Peppy music began playing, and she began dancing around. (Y/N) sighed in exasperation at the clear attempt to frustrated Wednesday. It worked, and Wednesday turned around to face them in annoyance.
“Turn that off,” ordered Wednesday. Enid ignored her and kept dancing. Wednesday stalked towards her. “This is your final warning.”
(Y/N) slid between the pair of them. “Whoa, whoa, let’s all just calm down.” They smiled brightly. “This is just a bit of friction. First day getting to know each other and all that.”
Enid and Wednesday clearly did not feel the same way, but luckily, the door to their dorm swung open before the disagreement could continue. Thornhill, the dorm mother, walked in a greeted them all merrily.
“Good evening, girls, (Y/N),” she said. “Oh, sorry about the mud.” She stamped her red gardening boots and smiled. “I wanted to make sure Wednesday was settling in.” She glanced between Enid on the bright side of the room, Wednesday on the dark, and (Y/N) in the middle. “Ah. Is this a bad time?” The trio glanced at each other, and Thornhill continued on. “I’m Miss Thornhill, your dorm mom. Apologies, I wasn’t here to greet you when you arrived. I trust Enid and (Y/N) have given you the old Nevermore welcome.”
“They’ve been smothering me with hospitality,” said Wednesday. She looked at her roommates. “I hope to return the favor. In her sleep.”
Enid looked over at Wednesday incredulously. (Y/N) just stayed brightly smiling. “No one’s ever tried to kill me before,” they remarked. “I wonder what would happen.”
Thornhill cleared her throat. “Well, here’s a little welcome gift from my conservatory.” She handed over a black flower in a pot to Wednesday. “I try to match the right flower to each of the students in Ophelia Hall. When I read your personal statement in your application, I immediately thought of this one.”
“The Black Dahlia,” said Wednesday.
“Oh, you know it?” asked Thornhill cheerfully.
“Of course. It’s named after my favorite unsolved murder,” responded Wednesday. “Thank you.”
Thornhill looked at (Y/N). “Did you manage to keep your lily alive this time around?”
(Y/N) chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah…for a week.” They shrugged. “You know I have no knack for keeping plants alive. But thanks for the thought.”
Thornhill smiled. “No problem.” She then became more business-like. “Okey-dokey. Before I leave, I want to go over a few house rules. We have bathrooms down the hall, both girls and gender-neutral, lights off at ten o’clock, no loud music, and no boys. Ever.”
“What’s the story about going into the local town?” asked Wednesday.
Sounds like someone is planning an escape, thought (Y/N).
“Passes to Jericho are a privilege, not a right. It’s a brisk twenty-five-minute walk, or there’s a shuttle on the weekends. The locals are a tad bit wary about Nevermore, so please don’t go making any waves or perpetuating any outcast stereotypes,” said Thornhill. “That means keep your claws to yourself, no smothering people in their sleep, and trying to, well, drain people.” She smiled. “Are we clear?” No one answered. “Great talk!” Thornhill turned and left.
(Y/N) cleared their throat. “Well…If everyone’s done with dramatics for the night, I’m going back to my bed.” They smiled. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow! ‘Night, Enid, ‘Night, Wednesday!”