Friday Addams || Xavier Thorpe

11

I wandered through the halls, searching for Xavier to hopefully ask him about that fencing match we had planned. Wednesday was off to see Dr. Kinbott and told me she would not need me for this session and I needed something to distract myself from the situation with Rowan. I figured she did not trust me to help aid her in any possible escape attempts or try to persuade her to stay more. I was too immersed in my thoughts to think about where I was going and bumped into the person I had been searching for.

"I - sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going..." I trailed off when I glanced up into his green eyes and realized it was Xavier.

He chuckled with an irritating smirk on his lips, "It's okay, Friday. I wasn't entirely paying attention myself. It is a little hard when a beautiful girl is walking in front of you."

I blushed and tried to look anywhere but his alluring face, trying to sort out my feelings and get the courage to ask him. "I was wondering... you know, if we could maybe. If you have the time in your schedule-"

"Just ask me what you wish, I don't bite."

"Would you want to have our fencing battle now? My sister is going to be in Jericho for a few hours so I won't be too busy or distracted with her." I held my breath in, afraid he would decline and say he had other things to do. I didn't mention the fiasco with Rowan to him, hoping he would not speak of it if I didn't bring it up.

"I would absolutely love to. I'll grab my stuff and meet you in the gym?"

I breathed a sigh of relief at his answer, realizing I had no reason to be afraid of asking. "Yeah, that will work. I need to get changed and get my gear too. I'll see you in about ten minutes." I smiled and waved at him before quickly heading to my dorm room.

Enid stared at the large grin on my face but said nothing about it as she was in a hurry to leave the room herself. I grabbed darker purple leggings and a white tank top and changed into them to wear underneath my fencing gear. After throwing my hair into a sloppy ponytail, I walked to the gym and found Xavier had beaten me there, already in his gear and holding onto his sword. I stepped into gear and kept my mask above my face. "Are you ready to lose?" I asked, tilting my head.

He simply smirked with a slight shake of his head and replied, "Only in your dreams."

We both moved to position ourselves on opposite sides of the mat, getting into ready stances. "On the count of three. One," I started.

"Two," he continued.

"Three," I finished. We launched toward each other and tangled ourselves in a symmetrical dance. When I advanced, he parried and the opposite was true. We were weaved together, no one gaining the upper hand or making a misstep, leading to a defeat. I noticed how he left the hand holding his foil unprotected and made a move to knock the blade from his hand. The attempt worked and I held my own to his neck. "The first point goes to me."

We repositioned ourselves at the ends of the mat after he retrieved his blade. "You won't get so lucky on this one," he responded. That was all that was said before we were back to our elaborate dance as if we were meant to be together in this moment of fencing. We were both matched equally for the most part.

"Are you sure? Because I'm feeling confident in winning this match." I spoke too soon and ended up losing the point when he faked me out pretended to parry my advancement but struck my vulnerable left instead.

"I think that was a bit of overconfidence," he said, returning to his side of the mat. I breathed deeply to calm the adrenaline running through my body at both the match and the close proximity to him. We returned to action and continued to advance on one another before being pushed back repetitively. Neither of us accepted defeat. I tripped him, causing him to fall on his back, and he hooked his leg around mine which brought us both to the ground. I fell just to the side of him and stared at the roof for a moment.

"Truce?" I asked, slightly out of breath from our fencing match. He nodded and stood up, offering a hand to help me up. I refused and rolled over, getting up on my own. "That was some good fencing."

"The same can be said toward you." He grabbed his water and handed me the green water bottle I had brought for myself. I took a long drink before putting it down and calming my breathing. I sat on a bench and watched as he mimicked the action and sat next to me.

"Do you believe Wednesday and I about Rowan's death? I know he appeared very much alive but I saw him get killed. Most people think we just made the story up for attention when we would never do that and there is no way he could be alive. I don't know how he appeared today or what was done to make it happen, but it couldn't have been him." I desperately needed someone to believe me after hearing constant rumours about it being a lie.

"I believe in whatever you say. It does seem near impossible for him to appear unscathed if he was butchered, but I believe you. Something tells me that it couldn't have been fake and I trust that you wouldn't lie." He placed his hand on mine which caused my skin to alight with a burning fire. His hands were calloused but smooth, warm and not cold.

At that moment, the door burst open with a very energetic Enid bursting in. "Friday! I need your help with preparations for the Poe Cup!" I immediately drew my hand away and stood up, a blush covering my light cheeks.

"I'll see you soon, Xavier." I waved at him before leaving with Enid practically dragging me toward whatever her Poe Cup task was.