Wenclair One-Shots

if we make it through december

Summary:

There's a pause, and then Wednesday speaks again. "I admit that I do have one ulterior motive in asking you to visit for the holidays."

Enid laughs, unsurprised; there's the Wednesday she knows, even a phone line and a coast away. "Yeah? What is it?"

"I told my parents that I'm in a relationship," Wednesday says, offhand, like it's just another sentence and not a lightning strike to Enid's heart. "With you, specifically."

Total of 34,000 words?!?!?

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Enid gets the call midway through December, nearly two months after leaving Nevermore. She's sitting at her desk at home, painting her nails a shade of pink she's never tried before, when her phone starts ringing and the screen flashes an unfamiliar number up at her.

Her first thought, panicked and illogical, is that it's Ajax; that somehow, in the aftermath of the breakup, he got her number and called to yell at her, or worse, try to get back together. The thought is almost enough to make her screen the call, but in the end she can't resist. Curiosity killed the wolf, or however that old saying goes.

She slides her thumb over the screen, careful not to smudge the fresh coat of polish on her nails, and taps the speaker button. "Hello?"

"Hello, Enid," says the voice on the other end of the line. It's a cool, impatient, disaffected voice with a dangerous undertone, and it's as familiar to Enid as her own reflection.

A smile breaks over Enid's face, quick and all-consuming. It's been far too long since they've talked - she'd thought it would happen more often during the break, given everything that happened last semester, but apparently even a shape-shifting serial killer and a resurrection from the dead isn't enough to make Wednesday Addams stay in touch.

"Wednesday? Wait, is this really you? You bought a phone?"

"No," Wednesday replies. "It was given to me by Xavier in an attempt at what I can only assume was a romantic gesture."

The smile slides from Enid's face before she can help it. Somewhere along the way, for reasons she's not willing to fully examine, she stopped being excited for Wednesday to find a boy and instead started thinking that none of them would ever be good enough for her. She chalks it up to the fact that the one boy Wednesday kissed last semester ended up being a shapeshifting, mass-murdering demon.

Yeah, that's definitely it. There's nothing else it could be. If Enid still feels a sickness rise in her stomach when she thinks about Xavier and Wednesday - if the idea of Xavier handing Wednesday a new phone makes her nauseous in a new and irrational way - well, there's no need to unpack all of that right now.

"Xavier gave you a phone," Enid says, her excitement dimming a little. "Pretty serious purchase, huh? Whatever happened to boys getting jewelry for girls?"

Wednesday makes a scathing noise, and Enid smiles again at the familiarity of it. "Hardly. I have no intention of ever being involved with him. I kept the phone, though."

"Now there's a surprise," Enid teases. "Has Wednesday 'I refuse to be a slave to technology' Addams finally realized that social media isn't so bad? OMG, does this mean I can make you an Instagram account?"

"Social media, as I've said before, is a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation," Wednesday says dismissively. "But I do concede that perhaps, possibly, there are a few advantages to having a phone. Very, very few."

"Oh, yeah? Name them."

"For one," Wednesday says, "I can communicate with the rare people I don't entirely despise."