UNDEAD BECOMES HER, wednesday addams

ix. received a one-way ticket

Wednesday Addams was already in Eugene's room when Ollie showed up, and she stood outside the door in an attempt to provide a little privacy.

"I harvested hive number three," Wednesday said, and Ollie saw the jar of fresh honey sitting on a table. "The bees miss you, Eugene. We all do. Thanks for keeping an eye on him."

That was weird. Ollie entered the room and saw Thing standing on the heart monitor. "Hey, gang," she said quietly. "Hope I'm not interrupting."

"No," Wednesday said, and returned her attention to the disembodied hand. "Any updates?"

Thing shook himself no.

"He didn't deserve this," Wednesday muttered. "I should be in that bed. Why did you go without me?"

"A Hummer never backs down in the face of adversity," Ollie said. "He was going, with or without you. We couldn't have dissuaded him if we had a PowerPoint presentation on why he should stay in. And of course he didn't deserve it. Nobody who was attacked by the monster deserves it. He's not going to leave his bees behind, though. He'll pull through."

A hand reached out and touched Ollie's shoulder, making her jump. "Didn't mean to startle you, dear," a kindly woman said. 

"You must be Ollie, and you must be Wednesday," the other woman said. "We're Eugene's moms. Sue and Janet."

"You two were all he could talk about lately," Sue said. "He was so happy you joined the Hummers."

"Eugene hasn't had the easiest time fitting in at Nevermore," Janet said. 

"He was so excited to finally make a couple of real friends," Sue added.

Wednesday gestured to the jar behind her. "Well, I brought him some honey." She sidestepped the parents and made her way out of the room, obviously overwhelmed.

"He loves those bees so much," Ollie said, feeling a little bad. "They're like his kids. It's not everyday you find a teenager genuinely passionate about something like that. He's a breath of fresh air, and I think he might actually be my first real friend, too."

"His fuzzy-wuzzy babies," Janet agreed. "He's gonna be okay, right?"

"He's not leaving his bees behind," Ollie repeated. "And if I have to, I'll wave a jar of honey under his nose and see if that works. Or I'll put a bee on his face. See how well he sleeps through that."

Sue gave her a motherly smile, one she hadn't seen from her own mother in years. "You're a good kid," she said. "Thanks for looking after Eugene for us."

"Please believe me when I say it's an honor to be his friend," Ollie said, swallowing down a lump in her throat. "I'll give you some space. I'd wish you a good day, but I'm not sure you can have one right now."

"It's the thought that counts," Janet said.

"Have a good day. You're good parents." Ollie walked out of the room, eager to get away from the smell of antiseptic and death.

Wednesday stood in front of the newly destroyed Crackstone statue, observing the damage. The whole thing was melted like candle wax, which was as much as that bastard deserved.

"Nice work," Ollie said to announce her presence.

"My hands are clean," Wednesday countered, smirking slightly. "I- hmm."

"What?"

"My mother." She tilted her head towards a woman in a flowing black dress making her way towards the cemetery, a single rose in her hand. "Come on. I'm going to see what she's doing."

Wednesday and Ollie walked over to the cemetery gates, careful not to make too much noise or be seen. In a bit of a dramatic gesture, Mrs. Addams ripped the head off the rose, dropped the stem onto the grave, and threw the petals over her shoulder, striding off.

Wednesday pushed open the side gate and went to see what grave it was. "Garrett Gates," she said grimly.

"You know him?"

"My father was accused of murdering him. Let's go. I think I have more investigating to do."

"Of your mother, this dude, the murder, your dad, or the monster?" Ollie asked. She was having trouble keeping all of these investigations straight.

"Of the truth," Wednesday said haughtily, striding off just like her mother had done.

Ollie stared at her, then threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "That's so not helpful!"

When she returned to campus, the first thing Ollie did was track down Ms. Thornhill. "Do you have time to talk about my graduation schedule or whatever?" she asked, knocking on the door frame.

"Oh, yes, absolutely. Come with me, I think Weems is at the luncheon."

Ollie withheld a groan. She'd specifically hoped to avoid the luncheon, but it seemed like that wouldn't be happening. 

Sure enough, Weems was observing the festivities, probably to give her something to do. "Ah, Principal Weems?" Thornhill asked. "I have Ollie Archemoros like you requested."

"Ah, lovely. Thank you, Marilyn. Go sit down with Yoko, if you would. She's been asking for you. Ollie, I was hoping to speak with you-"

"About graduating early or something, yeah, I know," Ollie interrupted. "Uh, sorry. That was rude. I'm not used to talking to adults on purpose."

"It's alright. In this state, you need a certain amount of certain credits to graduate, and at the end of your sophomore year, it's customary to have about half your credits received," Weems said. "At the end of this year, you'll have roughly three-fourths of the necessary credits. If you want to graduate early, then we'll work something out with your schedule next year. If not, then you might only have two or three classes to attend. Maybe."

"I'm feeling a little conflicted, but I would like to say that your confidence that I'll pass all my classes this year is inspiring. I'll talk to my parents about it, and I'll think about it. Thanks for telling me- that's the sheriff. The sheriff is here. Why is the sheriff here?"

Weems' expression became strained. "Hold a moment, dear." She walked over to the arriving forces. "Can I ask what this is about, Sheriff?"

The sheriff ignored her like a dick and continued his power walk. "Gomez Addams," he called out.

"Oh, beans," Ollie said.

Gomez Addams rose to his feet and turned to face the approaching sheriff. "How can I help you, Sheriff?" he asked politely.

"You're under arrest for the murder of Garrett Gates. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Dad?" Wednesday's little brother asked.

"You have the right to an attorney," Sheriff Galpin continued, still handling Gomez along. "If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you."

"Oh, beans," Ollie said. She snapped her fingers, and Francis flew down from the rafters. "Follow the sheriff, boy. You come get me if he does something unsavory to Wednesday's dad, okay? Or peck his eyes out. Whatever judgment call you make in the moment is fine."

Francis bobbed his head and flew off. Everybody else could do nothing but watch.