Unexpected Love ✩ Wednesday Addams

16

Weird drawing
(not proofread)

Wednesday eyed Ms. Thornhill for a moment before opening up the paper she had in her hands. Scarlett stood off to the side, her arm propped up on the shelves as Thing hid behind it. "Have you seen this before?" The goth girl asked. "It's a watermark from a book I'm looking for."

"I think it's the symbol to an old student society. Um..." Ms. Thornhill trailed off, thinking of the name before smiling. "The Nightshades."

"Like the deadly flower." Wednesday said, and Scarlett was the only one who could hear the 'excitement' in her voice. Wednesday flipped the paper back over, glancing between the watermark and the teacher. "Color me intrigued."

"I was told they disbanded years ago." Ms. Thornhill stated, Scarlett now moving to behind Wednesday, slightly leaning over the girl's shoulder to get a good look at the paper.

"Any idea why?"

Ms. Thornhill shook her head at Wednesday's question. "Sorry." She mumbled, an apologetic smile on her face. Wednesday looked at her again for a moment before walking off to the nearby desk, sliding the page back into her bag. Ms. Thornhill spoke up again, "I was very impressed with your answers in class today."

"My mother is a carnivorous plant aficionado." Wednesday replied, "I assume I get my red thumb from her."

"Are you and your mother close?" The older woman asked, Scarlett wincing quietly at the slightly touchy subject.

Wednesday glanced at her through the corner of her eye. "Like two inmates sentenced to life on the same cell block."

Ms. Thornhill circled her way around Wednesday, appearing on her left side now. "I know it can't be easy... showing up mid-semester." She voiced our, soon taking a seat at the desk. "I've been here a year and a half, and I still feel like an outsider."

"Because you're the only normie on the staff?" Wednesday blunted, her arm reaching behind her to grasp into Scarlett's hand. Ms. Thornhill looked down for a moment, letting out a small sigh. "Enid told me."

"To tell you the truth, I've never really fit in anywhere." The woman confessed, Wednesday's eyes filling with curiosity now. "Too odd for the normie, not odd enough for the outcasts. I thought Nevermore would be different, but there's still a handful of teachers who will barely acknowledge me."

Scarlett offered the woman a soft, sympathetic smile to which the woman replied with a gentle nod and smile of her own.

"I act as if don't care if people dislike me." Wednesday began, catching both girl's attention. Thing crawled in the pocket of Scarlett's leather jacket, hiding away. "Deep down... I secretly enjoy it."

Ms. Thornhill shook her head with a smile, rising from her seat. "Never lose that, Wednesday."

"Lose what?"

"The ability to not let others define you. It's a gift." The woman smiled.

Wednesday kept her emotionless gaze, but her voice, said differently. "Doesn't always feel that way." She confessed, her hand tightening its hood on Scarlett's. The vampire smiling, squeezing back to reassure the goth girl.

"The most interesting plants grow in the shade." Ms. Thornhill said, her words echoing through Scarlett's head, the sounded almost as if they were a riddle. "And if you ever need anyone to talk to, the door to the conservatory is always open."

——

Scarlett had no clue why she suddenly found herself hiding in Xavier's room. When she and Wednesday heard the boy enter his dorm room, hearing him disappear into the bathroom, they both emerged from their hiding spot. Thing crawling onto the desk.