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The last month was agonizing.
Between worrying herself sick and sitting by the hospital bedside, waiting for Wednesday to awaken from her coma…
Yeah. Enid could do with some actual fun and relaxation.
It's been two weeks since Wednesday finally woke up—Enid had dropped everything and ran the moment she heard the news—and she's only just started being able to sit up by herself and converse without grimaces of pain flashing across her face.
They're sitting in silence now, Wednesday's face a perfect picture of solemn concentration.
Her eyes trace over the hand she's been dealt before she pauses to draw several cards and place them decisively on the bedspread.
"I win again."
Enid groans, head thumping down next to the cards that Wednesday had so swiftly set down. "How are you so good at this? I taught you how to play gin rummy literally thirty minutes ago, and you've won the last five rounds."
Wednesday's eyes only gleam in victory—she's always had a competitive streak in fencing, and the same can be applied to all other areas of her life. Simply put, Wednesday loves winning, and never tires of it.
"I suppose you simply need to- How do you put it again? Get good."
The top of Enid's head skims against Wednesday's leg as she shifts sideways to fully face her.
Beep.
Enid grins at her, a wide, toothy smile. "You using slang? Who are you, and what have you done with Wednesday Addams?"
"Hmm. Perhaps after I wake up from the next coma, you'll find me spouting utter nonsense every other sentence, like the insipid masses on the internet"
Enid's face drops. "Don't even joke about that. I swear to god, if you get into another coma, I will kill you dead."
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Wednesday simply stares, then nods once.
—
"So, how's the old hag?"
Yoko's sipping on a blood pouch, eyes scanning across the quad.
Enid smiles. "She's doing alright. She's stable. The doctors are giving her another few weeks for monitoring, and then she'll be able to go rest at home."
Yoko nods, looking over at Enid. "No school?"
"Oh, I didn't say that. They're gonna discharge her, but god knows what shit she'll pull to avoid going home. She's very keen on coming back."
It's true. Wednesday was already against staying in the hospital to begin with—three hours after waking up, she had tried to escape with nothing but the IV stand for support. She only made it down the hallway, before they caught her and dragged her back to bed.
They had to handcuff her to said bed for a week, before she finally relented and agreed to stay put.
"Typical Addams," Yoko says.
Enid smiles. "Yeah." Then offhandedly, "You know, it's so weird. Part of me thought that she would be, like. I dunno. I thought her heart would be really slow from how chill and stoic she is all the time. But it's surprisingly normal—even on the faster end, sometimes."
Yoko raises an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"Her heartbeat. On the monitor. You haven't noticed it?"
"Yeah… no. The last couple of times I've visited, she hasn't gone anything above a 42. I swear to god that girl is like, half-dead. And that's coming from a vampire."
Enid feels utterly confused. Granted, she didn't know anything about medicine or hospitals and whatnot, but she's sure she's seen numbers higher than that. What was even a normal heart rate to have?
"Huh," Enid says. "Maybe I was reading the wrong thing."
The beeping sound didn't lie, though. But maybe Enid was misinterpreting that, too.
Yoko shrugs. "Maybe." She stares at Enid, appearing to be in deep thought. Whatever it is she's thinking, though, she doesn't vocalize it.
By the time lunch is over, Enid's still thinking about it.
In her next class, she sneaks a few quick Google search on her phone.
whats a normal heartrate
average heartrate
normal heartrate for 5 foot girl
60 to 100 beats per minute, apparently.
So either Yoko was right that Wednesday is half-dead, or she was the one reading the wrong thing on the screen.
Upon tracking her down after the end of class, Enid holds the phone out to Yoko, who smirks when she makes out the words on the screen.
"Seriously, I swear Addams normally sits at, like, a 35 or 40."
"But that means she'd be close to dead, Yoko!"
"Yeah. She is. Have you seen her complexion?"
Enid huffs, thinking to herself. Why did she even care, so much? Wednesday wasn't dead. She was alive, recovering in the hospital. But something about it tugs at her.
So the next time Enid visits Wednesday in the hospital, she makes sure to pay attention to the clicks and flickering numbers.
She scans the metrics—not a single number below 70, aside from a few vitals that don't at all appear related to monitoring heart rate.
Enid barges into Yoko's room a few hours later, triumphant.
"It was around 75, today. I swear to god. I even sneakily asked the nurse about what all the numbers mean. It's definitely 75."
A smug look appears on Yoko's face, though Enid doesn't know why she'd look smug, rather than annoyed at being wrong.
"Fine, fine," Yoko says. "Let me pay Addams a visit."
—
The next day, Enid's phone lights up with a notification.
Yoks, 3:44 pm
[image attached]
Told you so
Enid taps on the grainy picture that Yoko had evidently taken on the sly, zooming in on the numbers that she's sure are supposed to indicate Wednesday's heart rate.
Her stomach sinks.
Sure enough, the numbers read just as Yoko had described: 41
What the hell was going on?
Enid texts Pugsley.
Enid, 3:52 pm
hey so like
weird question to ask but
whats your sisters heartrate when you go visit her
Pugsley, 3:53 pm
???
um
idk like smth weirdly low even for our family
40s maybe
why
Pugsley, 3:56 pm
?
Enid texts everyone else she knows who's visited Wednesday so far. Eugene, Bianca, even Kent, who had just been along for the ride.
(30s-40s, 40s… why?, um no clue sorry)
By the end of it, Enid is spiraling. What did it mean, that Wednesday's heart rate was evidently elevated when Enid was there?
Was Wednesday… scared of her?
The sinking feeling only grows worse when she considers how it got worse when Enid drew near. Now that Enid could fully wolf out… did Wednesday view her as a potential danger? Unable to reign in her wolf? Enid racks her brain, trying to remember if she had her claws out the past few times she's visited.
Should she reel herself in?
When Enid shares these fears with Yoko, she's only met with a loud cackle.
"It's not funny, Yoko," Enid says, voice stern. "I really don't know what to do, here. Help me!"
"Oh, I can think of a few options, alright."
"And?" Enid presses.
Yoko just stays frustratingly silent again, smirking.
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"You gotta figure this out on your own. Trust me."
"Figure out how I can get Wednesday to stop being afraid of me?"
Yoko appears to turn the words over in her mind. "Hm… in a long, roundabout way, I guess… yes."
"You're not helping."
"Ugh, alright. Just… why don't you go test out your theory first, just to be sure?"
Enid narrows her eyes at Yoko. God, she hated her best friend, sometimes.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, maybe see what happens if you get close to her. Let those claws out a little, I dunno."
"I don't see how-"
"Just do it, Enid."
"Okay! God. Fine."
—
Enid enters through the door quietly, trying not to spook Wednesday.
She appears deeply engrossed in a book, from Enid's vantage point.
Enid chances a glance at the monitor—39, 40, 38, 40, it flashes.
"Hey, Wednesday," Enid says.
Wednesday startles. Or rather, she continues to sit stoically, with only her eyes flicking up to meet Enid's. The only indication that she had been surprised at all is the sudden uptick of the machine.
Beep.
44
45
47
Enid swallows as she watches the numbers climb steadily higher, feeling dejected.
"Hello Enid," Wednesday says. "I wasn't expecting you for another two hours."
"Oh," Enid says. "Hah. Yeah, club meeting got cancelled today. The president got food poisoning from the cafeteria meat loaf today."
"A shame I wasn't able to try any, myself."
Enid smiles at that. "I'm sure I can dig some up from the dumpster for you. They've already tossed it all out."
Wednesday nods. "Well? What's your chosen activity today? Are you back to lose more card games?"
"Um…" Shit. Enid hadn't really thought about how she had brought something for them to do together every time she's visited for the past few weeks. She was so focused on her goal. "I was thinking… maybe we could just talk today?"
Wednesday tilts her head. "What about?"
"Just… y'know," Enid says, nervously. "In general! Catching up, and stuff."
"Hmm. That sounds agreeable to me."
"Okay, great!" Enid says, bounding over to take her usual seat by Wednesday's bedside.
Somewhere in between Enid's recounting of the lunchtime fiasco, she gets the bright idea to scoot her chair closer.
Beep.
56
Shit. If Wednesday was already nervous from Enid sitting a foot away from her… Well, Enid doesn't know how Wednesday managed to continue sharing a room with her for the entirety of the semester. How much duress was she under, without Enid's knowledge?
It was truly no wonder why Wednesday was suddenly pulling away from her.
It all makes Enid want to stop, to push her chair away, but Wednesday's face betrays no discomfort, and Yoko's voice rings in her mind.
Seriously, get in her space. Really push her to the limit.
It seemed like odd advice, at the time. But perhaps Yoko really meant that she would have to get a real reaction out of Wednesday, to finally get her to reveal her true feelings. Maybe then, she would admit to being at least a little fearful of Enid's wolf.
It's with this in mind, that Enid steels herself, subtly creeping her hand closer to Wednesday's resting on the bed.
Beep.
68
She musters up the courage to slide her hand atop of Wednesday's—her skin is cool to the touch, soft.
Wednesday's eyes flash as she continues to politely listen to Enid's story—now admittedly distracted and rambling—but she doesn't pull away.
Beep. Beep.
79
Was she afraid of what Enid would do, if she did?
There was simply no way. Wednesday, head stood high, had nearly snapped the neck off of Tyler for occupying her space, and he had been a full-blown Hyde. How intimidating could she possibly find Enid, in her human form, with no emotional turmoil or threat of wolfing out?
Her claws slide out, grazing the back of Wednesday's hand—the pinky claw trailing down the length of her forearm. Wednesday abruptly shivers.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
87
Enid has given up all pretense of storytelling. They're simply staring at each other now. Enid's gaze presses heavy. Though Wednesday's face remains stoic, Enid's eyes flicker to see the tips of her ears turning bright, rosy red.
Was Wednesday angry? What was happening? Enid feels like she has no control of her senses anymore, her body seemingly going on autopilot.
Enid rises from the chair, creeping closer to Wednesday's face, searching for any signs of distrust or nerves.
Wednesday's eyes are slightly widened—even moreso when Enid leans over her body, both arms braced against either side of Wednesday's body—but Enid isn't quite sure that it reads as… fearful.
Beep.Beep.Beep.
It's not until Enid is mere inches from Wednesday's face that she finally gives.
"Enid-" Wednesday says, voice suddenly cracking. Her throat is bobbing now, eyes trained on Enid's lips.
Oh.
Oh, shit.
BeepBeepBeep-
Enid's eyes don't tear away. She holds Wednesday's focus as clarity begins to build.
"Wednesday…" Enid says, voice low and hesitant. "Please tell me if I've got this all wrong."
The tension holds taut inside of Enid's body. This was probably a terrible idea. She would probably end up with a knife in her gut. She would probably ruin everything. She would-
Enid begins to close the last bit of distance between them, eyes still flickering between Wednesday's, hovering just an inch away from Wednesday's lips. She stays there, unable to move any further.
It's Wednesday who rises up to press against the warmth of Enid's mouth, and everything breaks loose inside of her. Enid feels the kiss in every inch of her body, thrumming madly.
All she can hear is the rushing of blood in her ears and the faint beeping of the monitor in the background, going haywire.
She can barely make it out, with her senses becoming overtaken by Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday. God, how was she so soft?
One breathy gasp from Wednesday, and Enid was done for. She presses in harder, nearly climbing into bed with her, one knee braced against the side of Wednesday's hip.
There's a hand snaking its way up to Enid's jaw, up her neck, threading into the hairs at the back of her head. Enid melts into it.
She wants to touch, too; Enid's hand moves of its own accord, from the scratchy bedsheets, to Wednesday's hip, feeling the soft cotton of her sleep shirt.
Wednesday hisses at the contact—from Enid's claws, trailing along her tender ribs.
Enid jumps back. "Shit, I'm so sorry, Wednes-"
Wednesday shakes her head, pulling Enid back down by the back of her neck. "It's okay. I like it."
Her eyes are full of concentration—intense, full of intent—before they flutter shut again.
Enid's glad she's not the one connected to the monitor. Surely, it would've exploded from how fast her heart is racing at the moment. Or maybe it would have just straight up flatlined.
The door opens.
"Miss Addams, are you doing oka- oh."
They jump apart, facing the nurse who's standing there, staring at them in shock.
"Sorry to interrupt. Your heart rate was highly elevated, we were worried that- well, never mind. It seems we know the cause of it now. I'll leave you two be."
And with that, she hightails it out of the room with a knowing look on her face.
Enid and Wednesday stare at each other, unsure of what to say, or where to go from what had just occurred between them.
Enid just wants to kiss her, again.
"Enid…" Wednesday says levelly, voice slightly rough at the edges. "You're quite flushed."
Enid can't stop the smirk from taking over her face.
"And your heart is going stupid crazy."
Wednesday appears to finally notice the beeping sound, and the realization sets a scowl on her face.
"These damn monitors. If they didn't threaten to keep me for longer, I would've ripped them out long ago."
The pinched, petulant look on Wednesday's face is so utterly adorable to Enid that she gives into her senses, kissing Wednesday soundly.
BeepBeepBeep
Enid giggles when they pull away.
"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?"
"Nope. Not a chance."
Wednesday sighs.
"Very well," she says. "At the very least, you can make it worth the while."
And with that, she pulls Enid in again.