ornery

When Reena returned to her room that night, she didn't expect to hear Wednesday Addams shredding it on the cello. Hell, Reena didn't even know she played the cello. Her first instinct was to grab her electric guitar, plug it into her amp, and hang out the window trying to play something that would go with what Wednesday was playing. 

After she played the first note, Wednesday stopped and turned to look at her. "What're you doing?"

"Adding some guitar to your cello," Reena answered.

"Why?"

"Because it's fun?"

"Fine. Just don't play too loud. I want to hear myself."

Reena was shocked that Wednesday went along with the idea, but she was thrilled she'd have somebody to jam with. Since coming to Nevermore, she hadn't been able to play as much as she'd liked to. By the song's end, Wednesday had forgotten that Reena was there, too immersed in her playing.

The hand, the Reena hadn't noticed till now, tapped on the music stand. "No, I don't really feel better. There's just something wrong about this place. Not just because it's a school."

"Tell me about it," Reena muttered, making her presence known again.

Just then, Enid came outside. "How the hell did you get that oversized violin out the window?"

"I had an extra hand," Wednesday explained.

"Whoa. Where's the rest of him?"

"It's one of the great Addams family mysteries."

Enid looked at Reena. "Why do you have your guitar out here? Principal Weems said you weren't allowed to do that anymore."

Reena shrugged. "Who gives a shit about what Principal Weems says."

Wednesday heard the howls in the distance and gave Enid a confused look. "Why aren't you wolfing out?"

"Because I can't." Enid put up her claws. "It's all I got. My mom says some wolves are late bloomers, but I've been to the best Lycanologist. I had to fly to Milwaukee, would you believe it? Yeah, she says there's a chance I may never... you know."

"What happens then?"

"I'd become a lone wolf."

"Sounds perfect."

Reena slapped Wednesday's arm. "Not the time to be self-deprecating."

Enid scoffed at Wednesday's words. "Are you kidding me? My life would be officially over. I'd be kicked out of my family pack with no prospect of finding a mate."

"I'm failing to see the problem here," Wednesday told her.

"I could die alone."

"We all die alone, Enid."

"You really suck at this. Cheering people up." Enid started crying. Reena stepped around Wednesday to wrap an arm around Enid's shoulders, attempting to comfort her.

Wednesday's face was blank. "Why are you crying?"

"Haven't you ever cried, or are you above that too?"

Wednesday was quiet for a moment. "It was the week after Halloween. I was six years old. I took my pet scorpion, Nero, out for his afternoon stroll, and we were ambushed. They wondered what kind of freak would have a scorpion for a pet. Two of them held me down and made me watch while the others ran Nero over until... It was snowing when I buried what was left of him. I cried my little black heart out. But tears don't fix anything. So I vowed to never do it again."

"Sometimes they do," Reena denied. "It's healthy to cry. I actually haven't cried in three years so don't listen to me. And I won't tell anyone your secret, Wednesday. Anything said on this balcony stays on the balcony."

"Your secret's safe with me, too," Enid promised. "Still think you're weird as shit, though."

"The feeling is incredibly mutual," Wednesday replied. "How would you like your room back? You just need to show me how to use your computer."

"That's a weird request, but you can use mine," Reena offered. Once she got Wednesday all setup, she went to leave. "I'm gonna go steal some snacks from Xavier, have fun."

* * *

Wednesday had told the two other girls of her plan to escape Nevermore by using Tyler to drive her to the train station. While Reena would've loved to go along, she knew her parents wouldn't take her escaping lightly, so she decided to let Wednesday escape on her own.

The three girls were now at Harvest Festival, watching as Tyler argued with his dad.

"Are you sure you can trust that normie?" Enid asked Wednesday.

"I trust that I can handle myself," Wednesday responded. 

"Well, good luck and safe travels." Enid tried to hug Wednesday, but she backed away. "Still not a hugger. Got it."

When Enid walked away, Reena sighed. "Well, I'm gonna miss you, Wednesday. With you gone, I'll have to start wearing earplugs 24/7 again to block out Enid's music."

"If it's any consultation, I didn't hate you as a roommate," Wednesday told her. 

Reena smiled. "That's a big compliment coming from you. But, thanks. Good luck with escaping. Also, watch out for Principal Weems. She's staring at us right now."

* * *

Not long later, Reena spotted Wednesday and Tyler. Wednesday had her head back, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, her head snapped down, and her eyes found Rowan, who was running into the woods. Reena considered it for a moment, then took after the girl. 

As she was passing Tyler, he grabbed her arm. "What's going on?!"

Reena shrugged. "Not sure. That's why I was running after them until you stopped me."

Ripping her arm from Tyler, she continued her pursuit of Wednesday and Rowan. She slowed down as she approached, hiding behind a tree.

"I think you've got it backward." Rowan threw his arm up, and Wednesday was sent high in the air and pushed against a tree. "You're the one who's in danger."

"Holy shit," Reena muttered quietly.

"What are you doing?" Wednesday questioned.

"Saving everyone from you," Rowan answered. "I have to kill you."

"The gargoyle, that was you?"

"Yeah."

"It's always the quiet ones."

Rowan levitated a photo in front of Wednesday. "Girl in the picture. That's you." He tossed the picture, and Reena was able to catch it. She had to admit, the girl looked very similar to Wednesday.

"You want to kill me because of some picture?"

"My mother drew that picture twenty-five years ago when she was a student at Nevermore. She was a powerful Seer. Told me about it before she died."

"Rowan, put me down," Wednesday demanded.

"No!" Rowan denied. "My mother said it was my destiny to stop this girl if she ever came to Nevermore because she will destroy the school and everyone in it."

Rowan put more pressure on Wednesday, and she was struggling. "Rowan. Rowan."

From behind Rowan, there was a sudden beastly snarl. The beast grabbed Rowan, throwing him to the ground. It clawed at him and blood was splattered all over his face. Wednesday, who had fallen to the ground, and Reena were watching in shock and fear at the scene in front of them. The beast looked back at Wednesday, then ran into the woods.

Wednesday crawled to Rowan and Reena came out from behind the tree. "Did I take molly this morning instead of my meds again or did that really just happen?"

"It happened," Wednesday confirmed, and then spotted the photo in Reena's hands. "Give me that."

Reena wasted no time handing it over. Wednesday observed it, and even she couldn't deny the resemblance. 

She got up. "We need to go."

Reena nodded. "We can't be caught out here with a dead body."

Once Wednesday and Reena had gotten back to their room, Wednesday showed the other girl her father's police report. "Something's going on and we're going to figure out what it is."

"Thanks for giving me a choice," Reena joked. "But yeah, I'm so ready to play detective."