Chapter Text
Enid had heard whispers of the Addams, there was always a table set for them at whatever bougee event her parents had dragged her to.
They never showed, but still somehow ended up being one of the main talking points of the night.
She heard words like freak, psychos, stuck up, murderous ; that one was usually saved for the daughter of the family, who, at the young age of sixteen had a few attempted murders and multiple unproven murders up her sleeve.
Enid figured tonight was going to be just like all the others. Her parents had stuffed her into a dress they had picked out for her, fixed her hair in a way Enid absolutely despised, and given her her usual warning of to only speak when spoken to.
And Enid stood with her hands clasped in front of her, nodding and humming along like they didn't give her the same orders every damn time.
The night did start out like most of the others, Enid sat at the table with Roger, a boy her age from a well-to-do pack that her parents have been consistently trying to get her to eventually marry into.
( "Enid, it will be good for the packs to come together."
"I just don't like them, mother."
"You don't need to like someone to marry then, sweetheart.")
Enid was bored, only able to keep up her polite smile and faux interest for so long, but Roger didn't seem to notice, rabbiting on about how he was the future of his family's company, a soon to be alpha.
Enid was staring off at the candles situated a little too close to the drapes, so focused on the way the flame licked against the fabric that she didn't register the entire ballroom falling silent for around ten seconds.
She blinked, following the eyeline of everyone in the room, to the entrance.
"Wow," slipped from her lips when her eyes landed at the family standing in the doorway, pale and somehow back lit like an old black and white horror movie.
The mother was elegant, smiling kindly at the waitress who was handing her a drink, and kindness Enid had never seen at one of these events. The son already had a plate of food, the father smiling down at him, like her way proud of him just for existing.
Then Enid's eyes landed on the daughter, looking entirely disinterested, a severed hand perched on her shoulders.
Enid knew immediately who they were, even having never seen them before.
The family ignored the whispers completely, gliding through the crowded with their heads high, elegant and striking in a way Enid found captivating, she couldn't take her eyes off of them.
"Never thought I'd see those freaks at one'a these." Roger said, the words just barely registering with Enid, because the daughter's eyes had suddenly snapped to her, her glare sharp and threatening.
Enid understood, the entire room was staring at them, that had to be incredibly uncomfortable, so she gave the girl a small smile, something she hoped came across friendly and kind, before staring at her fingers tracing the glass in front of her.
The Addams didn't take any note of the whispers or looks they got through the night; the parents drank and danced, entirely wrapped up in each other, so in love in a way Enid knew wasn't on the cards for her, if her parents had a say.
The son ate and played with some ball and cup thing that he ended up just trying to smash the severed hand with the ball.
The daughter sat entirely stoic, nibbling on food here and there, but in general didn't engage with anyone if it wasn't to glare at them for staring.
And Enid was definitely one of the people staring, she did feel a little bad about it, but she couldn't pull her eyes away, from the entire family, really, but most of all the daughter.
Enid put it down to having the worst company in Roger, before the Addams she found a candle the most interesting thing in the room.
She suffered through his talking, but as soon as he touched her hand she was up in a shot, excusing herself with that fake, coached smile her mother said she should use for all men, and quickly strided out of the room.
She wandered for a bit, down past the bathrooms, down a hall she was sure she shouldn't be in, staring at each of the paintings as she strolled past.
"I'm fairly sure this section is off limits."
Enid jumped, a little squeak leaving her lips as she spun around, stumbling in the too high heels, only managing to stay upright by planing a hand on the table beside her, the vase wobbling and falling.
She waited for the sound of the glass shattering, eyes squeezed shut, but when it didn't come she peeked one open to see the young Addams girl standing in front of her, face blank, vase in her hand.
"You sure are clumsy for a werewolf," she commented, sitting the vase back where it had been previously.
"My parents tell me I'm not a great werewolf," Enid said with a little shrug.
The girl's eyes narrowed every so slightly. "I was unaware there were rules to what made a good or bad werewolf."
"In my family there is." Enid said, a plan owing to her chest, before it extended to the girl in front of her. "I'm Enid."
The girl regarded it for a second, but her hands stayed hanging by her side as she looked back at Enid. "Wednesday," her tone was shot and clipped, and it got Enid wondering what was actually happening.
"You said this area is off limits," Enid pointed out. "Why are you here?"
"I like to get the lay of the land, in case I need to make a speedy exit." Wednesday stated. "Is that what you're doing?"
"No, no." Enid let out a little laugh, a little intimidated and quite flustered. "I'm hiding from Roger Canis."
"Ah," Wednesday hummed. "You did appear to be bored, was he not very interesting?"
"No, he's just- well, it's a long story, I guess." Enid shrugged. "It was just overwhelming."
"While I was scoping the area, I saw a place to sit just down to the left there." Wednesday motioned vaguely behind her. "If you do not want to go back in there we can hide out there for a while. I also understand the feeling you are having, everyone appears to think staring is not impolite."
Enid looked down at her feet at that, shame washing over her. "I'm sorry, I-"
"Not you, there was a kindness in your staring, everyone else, however. Well, I could feel the disdain directed at myself and my family."
"Why?" Enid found herself asking, because while she had heard the name calling and bitching she had never heard a solid reason why.
"Small minded people do not like that that is different to their short sighted idea of normal."
It was then Thing scurried up Wednesday's back and to her shoulder, pulling another squeal from Enid. "What the heck is that?"
"This is Thing," Wednesday answered, while the hand reared back, looking offended at Enid's tone before he started wriggling.
No, signing.
Enid wasn't great with sign language, but she knew bits and pieces, enough to understand that Thing just called her rude.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I've just never seen a severed hand." Enid said, moving forward to hold a hand out toward the severed hand. "I apologise, I'm Enid."
Thing offered up a finger for Enid to shake, while Wednesday watched them curiously.
"Should we sit?" Wednesday didn't wait for a reply, instead striding off, Thing waving for Enid to follow.
Enid followed, taking a seat beside Wednesday, who sat ramrod straight, both silent, Enid tapping her fingers on her leg.
It was Thing who started, signing too quickly, Enid only catching some of it.
"Sorry, I'm quite slow with the sign language stuff, can you slow down, please?"
That kid seemed boring.
"Oh, Roger? Yes, yeah, he sucked."
Why were you sitting with him?
"My parents thought he would be a good mate, I guess." Enid shrugged, glancing at Wednesday who was watching them still, looking almost curious.
You do not?
"No, but they like to try and basically marry me off."
Thing made a what the fuck gesture.
"I know, but it's a wolf thing, again." Enid explained. "They think maybe getting a mate will make me less of a- half breed."
"A half breed?" Wednesday questioned. "What does that mean?"
"Well, wolves usually transform by the time they're, like, nine, early teens at the latest." Enid looked down at her fiddling fingers. "No one in my pack, or apparently any pack if you ask my parents, has heard of a wolf my age who hasn't transformed by my age."
Enid lifted a hand, colourful nails extended into claws. Wednesday's head tilted a little, eyebrow raised, Enid couldn't tell what she was thinking.
"This is all I can do."
"Well, your pack sounds foolish," Wednesday frowned a little. "I do not claim to be an expert in werewolves but from what I've read change could happen in any moment. There are accounts of changes happening as a child or in their late fifties. And for your own parents to put so much importance on such a trivial thing."
"It isn't trivial to my parents, I'm an embarrassment to them, the runt."
"Mm," Wednesday looked somewhat perplexed at this. "So much importance on what you are instead of who you are seems strange to me."
Enid blinked, lifting her eyes to Wednesday, who nodded ever so slight.
"However, I understand how you feel. I'm sure you have noticed people here don't exactly like my family."
"How does it not sting? Knowing people hate you for things you can't change."
"I guess it helps that it isn't my own family." Wednesday reasoned. "Though, I guess it's also easy when it's just something you grow up with, it has always been this way."
"Even as a child?"
"Especially so," Wednesday said. "When you're weird and different as a child, they think it is something wrong with you, and not something you're made into."
"For what it's worth; once you get past the monotone, and the severed hand, you are far nicer than any of those people in there."
Thing seemed to preen at that.
"Nice? I have never been called nice." Wednesday looked baffled, a little taken aback.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't trust the judgement of anyone here."
"Mm," Wednesday hummed, almost thoughtfully as she turned to stare at the painting in front of her.
Enid found herself staring, taking in the sharp edges of Wednesday's jaw and cheekbones, the way the shadows across her pale skin seemed to accentuate the sharpness.
She was beautiful, but that shouldn't really come as a surprise, with who her mother was.
Enid blinked, quickly looking away, the thought of what her mother would say if she ended up with a crush on an Addams.
It shouldn't matter, didn't matter to Enid, but it was easier to not give her pack more ammunition to use against her.
"I should get back before my mother has a heart attack."
"Of course," Wednesday nodded, standing when Enid did. "Goodbye, Enid."
It was said in an oddly formal manner, and Enid found herself smiling a little. "Goodnight, Wednesday."
The rest of the night felt like it dragged in more than the beginning, because now all Enid wanted to do was talk to, and get to know, Wednesday.
Wednesday came back into the hall half an hour after Enid did, lifting her eyes to immediately find Enid, sitting back at her table and already staring at Wednesday, having been hyper aware of anyone who entered the hall.
Enid perked up, little smile on her lips when Wednesday gave her the smallest nod, Thing wiggling a finger at her.
She didn't get the chance to speak to Wednesday again, feeling an odd sense of a missed opportunity as she sat in the car on the way home.
She expected for the encounter to just melt away, become a memory that she wouldn't think about too often, but Enid couldn't stop thinking about Wednesday.
It was driving her kind of insane, especially when she had no idea when, if ever, she would see Wednesday again.
She hoped it would just become a regular thing then, that the Addams would just start attending the events they were invited to, but a few months had gone by, three functions, and the Addams' hadn't appeared at any of them.
By the fourth function Enid wasn't as jumpy when the doors opened, she wasn't looking around, peeked up like a meerkat, she figured there had been a reason for the Addams to have shown face at the function before, and that she wouldn't see them again.
Enid had slinked away, disappearing out the back door of the grand mansion, finding herself sitting on the little wall beside the pool, watching the water ripple.
"Why do you come to these things if you hide away?"
Enid started at the sudden voice, her eyes snapping up to Wednesday.
Enid was immediately stricken by the girl, like she had forgotten how beautiful she was, or maybe she somehow looked prettier in the soft shimmering light of the pool.
"Wednesday," Enid found herself breathing softly.
"You really must work on your spacial awareness,"
"Yeah, I don't have many of my wolf instincts yet." Enid said with a little laugh. "I didn't think I would see you again."
Wednesday head tilted every so slightly, making Enid realise what she'd said.
"I mean- I just didn't expect you to come to another one of these stuffy events."
"I didn't have much of a choice, my parents bribed me."
"Bribed you?"
"Mm, anatomy classes at the local morgue."
"Oh, that's- cool." Enid hummed, motioning to the wall beside her. "Do you want to sit?"
Wednesday pondered for a moment before nodding once, moving to sit alongside Enid.
"So, where's Thing?"
"He is off scouting the grounds for me,"
"Ah, of course, a speedy escape." Enid hummed, fingers tapping against her thighs.
Enid was nervous, but not for the reason everyone else was nervous around any member of the Addams family. No, Enid wasn't afraid, or disgusted, if anything she was the most at ease now, with someone who was essentially a stranger, than she had ever been with someone else at these balls.
She knew why she was nervous, the same reason she used to get nervous around Ajax, or around her older cousin's girlfriend.
Wednesday was pretty, obviously, but there was something so fascinating about her, something that just seemed to pull Enid in, intriguing her, she wanted to know every little thing about a girl who was giving absolutely nothing away.
"Do you guys really invite people over for dinner and have them for dinner?" Enid found herself asking, even though she knew the truth, she knew most of what was said about the Addams' was a lie.
"That's what they say?" Wednesday snorted. "We are not Vlad the impaler."
"No I didn't think so," Enid flashed a little smile. "The rumours I've heard about you guys, it's stupid."
"You don't believe them?" Wednesday questioned, head tilted curiously.
"Not that you eat humans or hunt them for sport," Wednesday rolled her eyes. "The haunted mansion and Frankenstein butler? That I can believe."
Wednesday regarded her for a while, slight frown on her brow. "You are strange, Enid Sinclair."
" I'm strange?" Enid giggled quietly, straightening and wiggling slightly, almost smug. "That somehow feels like a compliment from you."
"Like I said," Enid was certain she didn't make up the slightest hint of a smirk on Wednesday's lips. "Strange."
Enid pursed her lips, attempting to hide the grin pulling on her lips, glancing down at her hands, fingers still tapping on her knees.