Doomed By Heart

I didn't believe in love at first sight.

I believed in coincidence. In chemistry. In poorly timed eye contact that people romanticize later when they're bored and lonely.

And then I met Pugsley Addams.

He was standing at the edge of the quad like he didn't quite belong to the sunlight. Dark clothes, darker eyes, hands folded behind his back like he was either plotting something or trying very hard not to. I remember thinking he looked... intense. Not scary. Not exactly.

Just intense.

When he looked at me, I expected curiosity. Maybe awkwardness.

What I got instead felt like being struck by lightning.

He didn't look away.

Most people do. They glance. They blink. They move on.

Pugsley stared like he had just found something he'd been missing his entire life.

It should have been unsettling.

Instead, it made my heart stutter.

Later, I would learn that loving an Addams isn't simple. It isn't casual. It isn't temporary.

Later, I would learn about the curse.

But in that first moment, all I knew was this:

When Pugsley Addams looked at me, it felt like something had chosen me.

And I wasn't sure if I should run.