Nevermore:

It's been at least a day since the events at the Harvest Festival, three bullies getting themselves tangled around various attractions and Rowan getting brutally murdered in the woods. However, finding the body has been more difficult than expected, as Sheriff Galpin comes to Nevermore to reveal that they still haven't found the turn-up body. All three have been found within seconds after time of death and here, there's nothing.

"How could you miss a dead boy?" Wednesday questions as she, the sheriff, and Weems all walk down the halls of the building, still trying to grasp how that's possible.

"'Cause it wasn't there. No footprints, no blood, no sign of a struggle, nada." Galpin states specifically, knowing that if there really was even a hint of something wrong, they would've found it. "My search party looked all not."

"Well, your search party must have left their seeing-eye dogs at home." Wednesday sarcastically remarks, seeing Galpin roll his eyes in response to it. "I saw that monster kill Rowan right in front of me."

"Did you get a good look at this monster thing?" Galpin queries her, hoping to finally get a physical description of this monster since all they have is the aftermath, or this time, lack thereof. 

"It didn't stick around for a chat." Wednesday quips, to which Galpin shrugs.

"Maybe it was one of your classmates...."

"Sheriff, I find that question offensive." Weems passionately states as she snaps around, hand on her hip as she glares at him.

"Well, I don't care, 'cause I got three other dead bodies in the morgue!" Galpin quickly responds, tired of having to deal with all of these crime scenes and no evidence or leads to follow so he can deal with it. "Hikers just ripped apart in the woods."

"The Mayor said those were bear attacks." Weems points out, dismissively. The cop scoffs, not needing to be reminded of the constant lies he has to spoon-feed his political superior with. 

"Yeah, well, the mayor and I disagree on that." Galpin says in a quiet tone, reminding her that it's not the mayor that's in this building talking to her. Besides, anyone who's actually there that the way a bear could've left a body like that is if it was on cocaine, and even that's a stretch. 

"So you automatically assume that a Nevermore Student is the murderer, even though there's no evidence that a crime was even committed?" Weems questions her, notably glancing at Wednesday for a second while talking. 

"You mean after you enrolled someone like Y/N L/N? You'd excuse me for not thinking all of them are the most morally motivated." Galpin brings up with a tense expression, obviously referring to the crimes he's been alleged accused of. "Oh, wait, I'm sorry, you only teach the good Outcasts here, right?'

Weems sighs, as she slightly tilts her head a little bit. "The court system's already ruled Y/N as not guilty of those crimes." 

"Yeah, the bruises on Will Hudson's face says otherwise." 

Weems rolls her eyes before getting back to guiding them to her office, where she quickly opens the doors and approaches her desk. "My guess is, that Rowan ran away." She says as she gestures towards the chairs as an offer. "The state troopers have put out an alert, and I've contacted his family, but they haven't heard from him either."

"Dead people are notoriously bad at returning calls." Wednesday points out with a matter-of-fact tone, earning herself a fixed look from the woman. Seeing Weems's confidence that it's anything but a murder makes her suspicious, given that this is one of her own that she should be caring about.

"What were you doing out in the woods with him, Ms. Addams?" Galpin interrogates as he decides to take the offer, leaning into the chair where the springs let out a small squeak in response to his weight. He wants to get the full story before he stays committed to her story.

"I heard a noise in the forest, and I went to go investigate." Wednesday testifies as she turns to face him, folding her hands together. She can't exactly be honest yet about the visions, knowing how unreliable they may sound. "That's when I stumbled upon the attack."

"Then what happened?"

"Then I ran into Bianca Barclay, and I told her to go for help."  Wednesday continues. She's not exactly sure why Weems asked for her in particular to go find her, but guess she still succeeded. "Next thing I remember, I was awakening in my dorm."

"And just to be clear, this monster wasn't a bear or some other wild animal?" 

"I've hibernated with grizzlies. I can tell the difference." Wednesday references with a straight face, to which Galpin shows a not-as-weirded out face as the others she shares personal information to. Guess he's not surprised when it comes to an Addams.

"Thank you, Sheriff." Weems chimes in, standing up as she seems all-too-eager to put an end to this line of questioning. "I think Miss Addams is done now."

"Actually, I would like to speak to Sheriff Galpin, alone." Wednesday proposes, causing the man to blink at him while Weems almost shifts in her step, clearly not liking that idea but keeping her cool.

"I'm not sure I can allow that." 

"Well, I'm sure I can take her down to the station and get a formal statement." Galpin suggests, causing Weems to give her a blank, but obviously ticked look. The sheriff responds with a cheeky smile before turning to Wednesday. "Yeah, let's go-"

"Fine." Weems gives in as Galpin stands up. "You have five minutes, and everything is off the record." She states her demands as she reluctantly steps towards the door, though pauses to glance at them. "Play nice, or I will call the mayor." She promises passive-aggressively before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

The second it's shut, Wednesday turns to the Sheriff. "Someone is trying to cover up Rowan's murder." She tells him with a very serious conviction, knowing that she saw what she saw and that it couldn't have just disappeared overnight. "That's the only reason to scrub the crime scene."

Sheriff hums, though seems to give her some kind of skeptical brow. "Is that your professional opinion as the daughter of a murderer?" He asks her, and Wednesday's surprised he didn't bring up Y/N again since he seems just as obsessed with both people. 

"My father is twice the man you are, and the only thing he murders is the occasional opera in the shower." Wednesday shoots back, causing the Sheriff to roll his eyes at her constant remarks in response.

"Addams, it's been a long night and I'm tired of your games."

"I'm not playing games, I'm telling the truth." Wednesday insists, she does a lot of exaggerations for fun, but this is not one of them. "You want to reject my claims, but you can't." She says knowingly as she takes a step closer towards him.

Galpin blinks, squinting at her with a pointed look. "Why is that?"

"Because you and I both know that there's a monster out there." Wednesday points out, knowing that a man like him will always suspect foul play from an Outcast, which ironically plays into her favor for some merit. "And Rowan is his latest victim."

Just then, the other door to the office opens up. "Sheriff?" The same deputy from in the forest walks in, a weird look on her face. "You're gonna want to see this." She says before opening the neighboring door....

Revealing Rowan Laslow who steps into the office, smiling and completely alive. 

For the second time on two days back-to-back, Wednesday's face reveals her shock. She stares at Rowan who innocently waves at them while Galpin glances between her and the boy, bewildered. Edgar Allen Poe said, 'leave nothing you hear and half of what you see.' Clearly, Nevermore's most famous alumni picked that up here.

No wonder he became a drug-addled madman.

____________________________________________

Jericho: Kinbott's Office

Wednesday constantly plays that scene in her head and still can't believe it, even more so at the cliche phrase itself she found applying to herself. Rowan bumped into her, ran away from her, attacked her in the woods, was then killed by a monster who wasn't even interested in eating his flesh, then comes back a day later like he simply just got lost in the woods. Also, everything left behind in that killing his now gone, something Wednesday is technically guilty of, though only partly since all she took was the page of a sketch devoted entirely to her.  

"Help me understand why you would claim that you witnessed a murder." Valerie pleads from Wednesday, because apparently, that has to be the topic of the second session. "Was it to gain attention?"

"Why should I bother telling you anything? You've already decided I'm lying." Wednesday points out, not bothering to humor her silly questions that attempt to 'understand' her motives. "I know what I saw."

"Your life's had a lot of upheaval recently. It's normal to be confused about things." Valerie states, which is the opposite of helpful for Wednesday. Something did happen in those woods to Rowan, and she still has the page that proves it, to herself at least. 

"Don't try and lure me into one of your psychological traps."

"No one is trying to trap you." Valerie denies with a shake of her head, smiling amusedly at her still pessimistic view of her. "I'm here to help you process your emotions."

"Emotions are a gateway trait." Wednesday chimes in instantly, finding the word to be somewhat triggering for her. "They lead to feelings, which trigger tears." She states, a process that she's taught herself to avoid. "I don't do tears."

Valerie thinks for a second, clearly seeing that they are getting nowhere with this. So, she moves on to a different but still somewhat related topic. "Tell me how your adjusting to school."

"Sarte said, 'hell is other people'. He was my first crush." Wednesday replies, a very theatric way of saying that she already wants to use the new batch of termites she's ordered and scour them through the entire Nevermore campus.

"Wednesday, part of the reason your parents sent you to Nevermore is that so you could find your people, become part of a larger community." Valere tells her, even though Wednesday finds the idea absolutely ridiculous. 

"I like being an island." Wednesday retorts with a blank, bitter look. "A well-fortified one surrounded by sharks." She adds, maybe a volcano under the water too, except that it explodes when she gives the command.

"Have you considered your antisocial tendencies might be motivated by fear of refection?"

"If you were to reject me right now, I would not be upset." Wednesday replies, the glint of her eye practically challenging her to do so right now. But instead, Valerie smiles at her.

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Valerie tells her with a somewhat cheeky smirk. She checks the coo-coo clock and sees that it's about to reach its mark. "And look, you made it through an entire session without trying to escape. I'll take that as a win." She quips as the mechanical bird comes out and chirps, causing Wednesday to let out an irritated sigh. 

A win for the therapist is a loss for Wednesday.

__________________________________________________

Meanwhile......

There's blood everywhere....

Body parts on various pieces of furniture that has been also torn apart....

Intestines strewn across the walls like Halloween decorations....

Police sirens blare outside....

And in the center, he watches as the killer turns around, wearing his face.....

"What did you do?"

He cracks open his claws.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Nevermore: Male Dorm

Y/N quickly shoots out of bed with a cliche gasp, almost having felt an actual cut with the deadly blades that woke him up. He looks around and finds himself back in the Nevermore psychic/gorgon dorm for boys. He puts a hand on his chest and feels his heart slowly calm itself down. He rubs his hands against his sweaty face. 

After who knows how long of him just lying there in bed, he finally forces himself up and finds his clothes and uniform, with the weekdays now returning. He's heard the news and feels like the only shocked one here when he saw Rowan walking into the dorm to grab his stuff, because apparently, he's been expelled. Why? Well, apparently, even he can't say.

What the heck's up with that?

He sometimes still wishes that time at the Harvest Festival was just the whacky fun that included avoid those Outcastphobics rather than him.... losing it, and having to save his sorry hide. The main problem being that he always can't remember what happened after. But... maybe that's a blessing in disguise. Or maybe it isn't. Because for all he knows..... no, he shouldn't go there.

He changes in front of the room's bathroom mirror, having a somewhat oddly classy way of dressing himself. Once he finishes it off with a quick and lazy comb, he sees himself as looking mighty fine. He's already taken some food that he brought to his room, because, well, you know. So, he then opens the cabinet to grab his toothpaste.

However, the second he closes it, take a big guess what happens? Yup, there's a creepy looking undead zombie behind him.

Y/N snaps his head around, only to find nothing but air around him. He turns back to the mirror and sees nothing as well, it was just his imagination. At least, that's what he hopes. It was that girl again, looking even uglier than Dead Lucy. Once familiar, but unrecognizable. 

He takes a deep breath, knowing that he must dreaming again or something because he shouldn't be seeing things. He's not an actual psychic.

Angry, he slams a fist on the sink.

_________________________________________

Jericho: 

Wednesday steps out of the building, glad to finally be done with that, but angry that she forced herself to sit through it that time. As she turns around, she sees a surprisingly familiar face approaching it, recognizing her as well. "Guess you decided to stick around Jericho." Tyler Galpin comments with a weak grin before glancing at the doors. "Wait, you see Doctor Kinbott too?"

"You should know I'm legally required to be here." Wednesday tells him as she begins walking away from the building. If she had any other choice, like Russia's Gulag, she definitely would've taken it by now. 

"Uh, me too, court ordered." Tyler mentions as he seemingly decides to walk with her, hands in his pockets. Believe or not, he too ended up crossing a line that he probably shouldn't have, which is probably why his dad is always a prick when he sees him. 

"Look at us, a couple of teenage tearaways." Wednesday bitterly remarks, to which Tyler chuckles in response. Yeah, but unlike her, he's somewhat starting to actually regret his actions, meaning that whatever Valerie's doing to him is starting to work.

"Hey, you know when you ran off last night at the Harvest Festival, I wasn't sure what happened." Tyler brings up with a seemingly concerned tone, prompting Wednesday to stop and turn around to face him. "And then I heard......" He draws out before shrugging, knowing that she understands what he's talking about. "Kinda crazy."

"Everyone, including your father, believes I made it all up." Wednesday mentions to her, somewhat feeling a little isolated in that regard. Tyler nods understandably.

"I-" Tyler speaks but then hears his phone dinging and checks it to see his reminder of the session he has today. "Time to get in touch with my inner rebel..." He mutters with a sigh as he pockets it in an irritated manner. "You know, for the record.... I believe you." He tells her earnestly, to which Wednesday blinks, wondering how much she means that. Tyler smiles at her before walking into the building so he doesn't get in trouble for being late.

Wednesday would possibly be glad to hear that, but she doesn't buy sincerity that easily.

Why would he say that? 

_________________________________________

Nevermore: Outside

After the school routine's over, Y/N idly walks around the outside of the campus, hands in pockets to show his core introvert. He expects to be finding everyone doing their own thing like they usually do, but when he crosses the path to his dormitory, he finds Xavier, Ajax, and a few other boys he doesn't know painting on some kind of boat. Unless, his dormmate is trying his hand and a 'painting art with friends' genre, something interesting is happening. 

"No, no, it's on this side of the eye, Ajax! Not that one." He hears Xavier talking in a very strict manner as he approaches, pointing precisely at where he wants the guy to be painting. "And make sure you're using the right colors, this Jester is going to take the cup like he took the king's life."

"Dude, will you relax?" Ajax pleads as he turns to him with a slightly freaked out look. "It's just boat, literally all of ours will be the same as theirs."

"Except it isn't just a boat, Ajax, it's gonna be a complete symbol of our victor this year." Xavier corrects him with a slight tap on the snakes, causing Ajax to yelp and look at him crazy. Y/N has never seen his dormmate take something so seriously, even with his art. "I am going to fully enact my revenge on Bianca with this vessel of revenge."

"Do I even wanna ask about this?" Y/N chimes in as he finally walks into frame, causing everyone to turn towards him. 

"Y/N! I'll be damned!" Ajax exclaims as he drops all of his brushes and such to hop over to him with an excited expression, much to the anger of his best friend. "I heard about what happened in the Harvest Festival. Did you guys really send the mayor's kid flying off of a roller costar?" 

Y/N blinks. "What?"

"Ignore him, he's high again." Xavier advises as he decides to do Ajax's job for him, glaring. "I don't think he even noticed when everyone was searching for you and Wednesday when you both suddenly disappeared on us."

"Oh yeah, that, I-I remember." Ajax stutters out in response to that, though his embarrassed expression says otherwise. Then, he gets another weed-induced thought and turns to him. "Oh! Wait! Were you two.... like....?" He asks with a grin, making weird gestures with his hands. "You know?"

"No." Y/N answers with a disgusted face. "Did you miss the part where Wednesday told everyone that Rowan got sliced to bits up in the woods? Or did you think that was me too?" He brings up with a look, causing Ajax to drop his head in disappointment.

"Oh...."

"I wonder where the heck she even got that idea from." Xavier wonders out loud while he and the boys paint his boat, shaking his head. "I mean, we all literally saw him this morning, alive and well." He mentions the obvious, before letting out a sigh. "Wish I could say I was relieved...." 

"Oh yeah, that reminds me, have you talked to him since the festival?" Y/N asks as he looks over Ajax's shoulder at Xavier. Ever since it's been 'confirmed' that he's still alive, he's been having constant mental debates with himself ever since. "His dormmate said that his side was all packed this morning." 

"No, and I hope it stays that way."

"That bad?" Y/N questions with a small chuckle, to which Xavier sighs.

"No, but he's just......" Xavier stands up with a shrug. "Rowan's always been a little off. You know, telekinesis messing with your head and all that. But the week when Vlad had to move him out, he was so erratic, and took all of it out on me." He explains but realizing that he's not handling his part of the boat. "Ajax, why the hell am I doing your job?!" He angrily questions as he stands up with a passionate glare.

"Geez, okay! Relax!" Ajax responds as he seems to flinch at the passion Xavier displays when it comes to this event. "It's stuff like this that makes me wonder why the Poe Cup hasn't incited a riot yet..." 

"The Poe Cup?" Y/N questions with a raised brow, the first time having heard that. Those two words have almost always come out of someone's path when he passes them, or in class, but he's never really understood what it was all about. 

"Oh, yeah, that's right! You enrolled this year so you've never heard of it!" Ajax quickly turns around with that excited grin, easily forgetting what Xavier was getting onto him about, causing him to groan in annoyance. "It's named after Edgar Allan Poe, you know, the actor, right?"

"Writer." 

"Right, same thing." Ajax dismissively says with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, it's this oddly hyped-up canoe and foot race, get to the island, run around the island, and then bring your boat back to the shore, all while pretty much being able to do whatever you want to succeed. It's called the Poe cup because we all gotta use Edger Allen Poe stories as inspiration for our aesthetic." He explains as he then points towards the boat, which looks like some kind of clown-o-fied mostrosity. "Xaiver wanted to do Hop-Frog this year because...."

"Because we're gonna be the Jesters that enact our revenge on the queen and take her thrown for good!" Xavier chimes in with a loud voice, causing both Y/N and Ajax to blink oddly as they glance at him.

"Are my ears broken, or did Xavier just give a passionate statement?" Y/N questions out loud with a perplexed expression, to which Ajax snorts.

"Yeah, he takes this very seriously, even more so when his ex-girlfriend keeps winning." Ajax mentions to Y/N with a look that has seen a lot of outbursts curtesy of the normally calm Psychic. "Hey, you wanna help? I'm sure Owen would appreciate if you took his spot on the team. Guy gets anxious around water." He invites him as he points to the boat. Y/N thinks about it, but easily finds the realistic answer.

"No thank you, I don't wanna ruin your chances at winning." Y/N responds in a polite excuse not to attend to an event he doesn't really care all that much about. Ajax blinks at him in confusion of this comment. "Nothing hurts morale than having an Outcast in this school of Outcasts be on your team."

Ajax scoffs. "Oh, come on, what are they gonna say?"

"Hey, guys!" A loud voice chimes in, and everyone turns to see a group of boys staring at them. "Don't let the Woods-Creep piss on your boat like he pissed on that girl!" One hoots at them, prompting them all to laugh and one to share a high-five with the one that made that joke. 

As they walk away, Y/N snaps his fingers and points at them while wearing a very snarky face. Ajax and Xavier to share an awkward look before nodding.

"Point taken."

___________________________________

Nevermore: Principal's Office

Wednesday's novel is going horribly. She's not sure if it's simply writer's block or something else, but so far, Thing has tossed eight pages into the bin so far because of how bad they look. She's always hated the expression, 'write what you know' because that is just a hall pass for the imagination-impaired. But when your life becomes a twisted mystery, maybe it's time to lean into it. So, when she once again finds herself staring at the sketch, and sees an odd little symbol on the top right corner, she decides to ask the expert on it.

She marches towards Weems's office without needing to be called, after failing to spot any glimpse of the guy with glasses. She opens the doors, and the creak of the knob announces her arrival. "I need to speak with Rowan. I can't find him." She tells the woman.

"It won't be possible, I'm afraid. He's been expelled." Weems answers while distracted typing away on her laptop. Something that all of the staff seems to have to do for some reason. Wednesday blinks at this bizarre information.

"For what?"

"Never you mind, he'll be on the first train out this afternoon." Weems dismissively informs her, an answer that only makes Wednesday more confused as to what happened. "What were you doing out in the woods with him in the first place?" She drops her laptop and squints at her.

 "I told you already. I heard a noise, and I went to investigate." Wednesday repeats her earlier testimony, though Weems scoffs in response to it.

"That excuse may have placated the Sheriff, but you can't fool me." Weems tells Wednesday, requesting that she doesn't treat her as moronic. "You had a psychic vision, didn't you?" She deduces, prompting the girl's face to show that she's correct. "I realized you might be having them when we passed by the accident and you knew that poor farmer had broken his neck. Your mother started having visions around your age. They were notoriously unreliable and dangerous. I remember at first.... she thought she mind be losing her mind. Have you spoken with her about them?" She queries, and Wednesday's eyes drop to the floor. "Clearly, the person withholding information here is you."

"Can I go now?"

"Not until you've picked your extracurricular activity." Weems declares as she puts her hands on her desks with that fixed smile back on her face, the adult-to-child looking one. "We want our students to be well-rounded." She states, although Wednesday's pretty sure that it has to do with her suddenly coming in mid-term and needing more credit to graduate the same time as her fellow Sophomores.

"I prefer to remain sharp-edged." Wednesday replies in a snarky way to show her disapproval, but given Weems's face, she takes as her having no real choice in the manner.

"I took the liberty of putting together a list of clubs that have openings." Weems informs Wednesday as she holds up the clipboard and sliding it towards her end of the desk. The girl stares at it like it's a cure. (to her plague)

"How thoughtful..."

"You need to have picked one by the end of the day." Weems declares, though not exactly being clear on what would happen if she doesn't. Not get into any of them? Sounds alright by her. "I'll be keeping an eye on you. No doubt you'll find something that tickles your fancy."

"The last person who tickled me lost a finger." Wednesday mutters as she reluctantly takes the clipboard, giving Weems a glare before exiting the room, all while she smiles at her. She can tell that the woman is having a little too much fun with this.

And she wishes she could say she blames her for it.

________________________________________

Nevermore: Hallways 

Y/N walks down to his next period, still unable to stop thinking about Rowan. His memory is always unreliable when it comes to..... transforming, but even Wednesday says that she saw Rowan dead. He would say something too, but it's not like anyone's going to add another freak's word as well as the other's. Plus, he's not sure if he can even trust himself to tell the truth. Freaks love to lie. 

He finds himself stopping when he walks near the trophy display, looking towards it with this weird sense of hypnotization. Not precisely at the trophies themselves, but at his reflection, his face. Would someone really trust what he says? Even if it confirms another person's story? Probably not. Also, he can hear the whispers in his own skull as he stares into his eyes, reminding him of the transformation. People can say a lot of things about him....

But this time, he's sure that he saw Rowan dead with his own eyes.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

"Rowan, come back!" Wednesday calls out to the boy, jogging towards him instead much to Tyler's confusion.

Y/N also notices and glances back, watching the running girl in confusion.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

He slowly walks down the bride leading into the lake, slowly around the woods where he gets lost a little bit, before hearing a loud scream which gets his attention. That's when he picks up the pace, jogging towards where the two were headed.

However, by the time he gets there, all he finds is Rowan's dead corpse.

[][][][][][][][][][][]

Y/N closes his eyes, wincing at the memory. However, that acid reflex only helps confirm that he saw what he saw. Sure, even the most gruesome thoughts can trigger his 'it', but this feels even stronger. He almost has to throw up just to stop it from coming out and revealing itself to all of these people.

I saw it too....... I didn't do anything do it.

Y/N opens his eyes, looking back up at his reflection with curiosity.

He's dead.

"Then why did he just causally walk into Nevermore like he just forgot his car keys at the festival?" Y/N asks out loud in response, clenching a fist as the mental fusion is starting to tick him off, as well as his other side. Just then, he sees Enid and Yoko pass by him, talking about how Rowan has just officially been expelled. Right after all of this? That's odd...

Someone is trying to trick us! I HATE it!

 "Me too..." Y/N agreeingly mummers as he walks over right as Yoko separates from her friend. "Hey, Enid!"  

"Ah!" Enid yelps at what seems to be the sound of his voice, spinning around to see him walking over to her. Y/N pauses and raises a brow at the rather over-dramatic reaction. "Y-Y-Y/N, hey..." She says with an odd bit of nervousness. It takes him a moment before remembering why.

"Hey, listen, don't tell anyone I asked you this, but what has everyone been saying about Rowan?" Y/N interrogates her, knowing that the gossip queen has something he can use to make sure he isn't losing his mind. "Like, you know, about him supposedly dying?"

"Oh, that? Um..." Enid thinks while swallowing, her love for rumors is obviously clouding her judgement about him by the way she seems eager to give him what he wants to he can leave her alone, but Y/N can let it pass. He's used to it. "Well, nothing really, everyone saw him pretty much, like, not dead, so...." She shrugs idly, before something seemingly comes up. "Well..."

Y/N squints at her. "Well, what?"

"I mean, when I think about it, he's been very nice ever since he came back." Enid mentions with a small hum. "He complimented my hair when he passed me this morning and I...." She brings up with a tiny smile, before suddenly blinking rapidly. "Well, he's usually known for being a weird loner..... please don't tell Wednesday I said that.'

"I will, thanks" Y/N quickly promises before walking away, already having heard what he needs to hear. He can hear Enid letting out a sigh of relief, something that makes him shake his head. So, let's get this straight. The guy who went from eccentric and awkwardly shy, is now calm and chill? And has the standard confidence to give an idle compliment? 

How does that make any sense?

___________________________________

Nevermore: Quad

The first club takes place over at the quad, since this group currently has many numbers yet still is allowing new members in, apparently. Well, given that it is Choir, Wednesday shouldn't be surprised. It could take up half of the student body and still allow more voices. Still, she's pretty sure that this one is going to be a simple audition and pass given the person who's leading it. You'll see in a minute.

Right as she hears the singing voices, she opens up her back and signals her little friend to hop out. Thing lands on the concrete without a single piece of damage to his nails and skin, and looks up at her curiously. "Weems is clearly trying to keep tabs on me." She shares with him as she looks around, knowing that one of her spies is somewhere in the shadows. "Keep an eye on Rowan. Don't let your fingers out of his sight."

Thing salutes, and the two separate. As the choir, mostly Sirens which should come as no surprise, finishes their song, Wednesday walks right next to Bianca who eventually turns to her with a 'why the fuck are you here?' look when she notices her band staring at her. "Weems said you'd be stopping by." She recalls with a shrug. "But, to be honest, after yours and Woods-Creeps performance at the Harvest Festival, the drama club might be more your speed."

Wednesday knows she's talking about the dramatic chase with the bullies, but still uses that as a way to quickly ask her, her one questions she knows she only has available. "After I passed out, who did you tell?" She asks her, really wanting to know. "The Sheriff?"

"You think I'd trust Normie cops?" Bianca questions with an 'as if' kind of brow. "I went straight to Weems and let her handle it." She answers with a shrug, not really seeing the point of asking, but to Wednesday, that only makes everything seem more off. "Anyway, lets get this audition over with." She claps her hands as the pianist gets into his seat. "Uh, what are you? Alto? Soprano? Or just Loco?" She asks teasingly followed by a giggle from everyone else. 

Right as the pianist hits the key, Wednesday's mouth opens.... and his glasses suddenly crack. He takes them off, bewildered, as windows around also crack in multiple places, somehow not shattering.

______________________________________

Weems's glass around her head statue cracks on her desk, causing her to pause her work and squint at her window, wondering if someone did it again.

___________________________________

Y/N jumps as the trophy display suddenly cracks as he passes it again.

"What in the goddamn.....?"

https://youtu.be/MZsfTWqqKKM

____________________________________

"What was that?" Bianca asks as everyone looks around, baffled they all hear werewolves howling excitedly in the background from multiple directions. 

"A note only dogs can hear." Wednesday answers without blinking. "I'm surprised you didn't."

Needless to say, she did not get a spot in the group.

Thank gosh. 

https://youtu.be/68vZX2uUKKA

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Nevermore: Target Range

The second club also takes place out in the fresh air but thankfully doesn't involve any Sirens. However, it does include a bow, which Wednesday doesn't find as acierating as combat with a sword, even if she's fully trained her skills with the weapon. The only exciting time she had was with fire arrows, and those were eventually made unavailable when she set a wasp nest on fire and set a suburban town on lock down before their photographic mind and telekinetic communications sent them on a warpath against all humans. Why were they mad at her for that? She has no idea. It was literally one of those 'movies' they all craved to be in.

She walks up to the leader, who also turns happens to be someone she's met before, back when he helped her fend off a bunch of physical tormentors. After landing a shot, Xavier notices her arrival and turns to her. "Huh, you actually showed up." He comments, only not expecting it, but unlike Bianca, seems happy that she did. "Xavier Thorpe, I don't know if you recognize me. I was about two feet shorter, forty pounds heavier-"

"Y/N refreshed my memory." Wednesday quickly answers before Xavier can waste her time with unnecessary details about his life before puberty. Xavier nods, knowing that he was probably gonna say something stupid about himself anyway.

"You ever shot a bow and arrow before?"

"Only on live targets." Wednesday answers with a face that once again looks like she means it, though it might just be another exaggeration because, again, the only biological ones were the wasps. At least, I'm sure that's what we are all hoping. 

"Okay..." Xavier says as he decides not to question it, taking an arrow from the barrel. He'll show her the basics anyway, just so he can say that he taught her how to do it. "Square stance, load the arrow like this, yellow side out, three fingers, pull back and...." He pulls on the strong by his glove shaped precisely for archery, scoring a shot right next to the red dot. "Let it fly." He finishes before turning back to her. "Any questions?"

"Is Y/N L/N here? I saw his name on the clubs list." Wednesday asks for which, makes Xavier blink in understandable surprise, considering that he thought the pair hated each other judging by what Y/N's said about her. Despite this, he points to the hay stack a few feet over, and the boy is standing there, doing the same thing.

"Don't kill him, please?" Xavier requests to which Wednesday gives him a glance at best before approaching Y/N who is busy messing with his bow to notice her at first. Once he looks up, he blinks at the sight of her being here.

"You coming to talk to me? I must've won an anti-lottery." Y/N quips with a small hum as he readies his aim and shoots the target, Wednesday doesn't see it, but his pupils once again change in size as he imagines the target to be someone he hates, helping him aim precisely in the edge of the red circle. "Yeah.... Xavier's a pretty good teach." He comments with a proud smirk. However, it's doubtful he'll ever be able to use this in a real-life scenario if there ever is one, because he currently has the emotions of a teenage boy, and you know who strives off of that.

He does another one where he looks away he once again taps into the inner bloodthirst before doing a trick shot with it. He gets close yet again. "Why am I not surprised?" Wednesday comments as if criticizing Y/N's need to do them.

"Oh, what? You can do better?" Y/N asks with a petty response as he grabs another arrow. Wednesday responds by calmly grabbing his bow and shooting an arrow dead in the center, easily out-scoring him. "Wow, okay..."

"When's the last time you saw Rowan?" Wednesday questions him, which makes Y/N turn to her with a raised brow.

"You mean the guy that died in the woods?" Y/N remembers, and Wednesday blinks as she notes how he says it without a shred of sarcasm in her tone. "Harvest Festival, I saw him bump into you." He calmly answers as he idly shoots another arrow, which doesn't score as many points. 

"You don't think I'm crazy when I said he died?"

"I don't see a reason why you would lie about that." Y/N casually replies with a shrug, stating that he does, in fact, believe her. 

"I heard that you replaced him after an altercation with his previous roommate, Xavier." Wednesday brings up to which Y/N hums in confirmation, though wonders why she isn't talking to the man of topic himself while he's standing right there. "How long have you known him?"

"Known him? All I know is that Weems told me before I moved in that Xavier had a 'physical argument' with him and that's why they had to separate." Y/N answers with a slightly haunted look, as the mention of it triggers some bad memories in him. "I tried to be friends with him, because he reminded me of, um...." He says but then finds himself pulling back from saying the word, me. "But he always kept a safe distance, like all the others do."

Wednesday process that information, finding it a little strange in a contradictory way. She still remembers Rowan calling Y/N the 'Chosen One', yet, he did his best to stay away from him? Why? "Is it because of the-"

"Rumors about me? Yes, what else? No one like a kid with a record." Y/N answers before Wednesday can even finish the question, bitterly shaking his head as he reaches into his uniform's jacket and pulling out a blindfold. Once he covers his eyes with it, he once again lines up a shot that hits directly in the center, somehow even closer than Wednesday's shot. "And..... I keep my crown." He quips while grinning.

"You're careless."

"And you're boring." Y/N retorts with a small look, wondering where her sense of thrill is. "So, what's the deal with you and Tyler?" He then asks, turning to Wednesday who is clearly judging his chance of topic. "Oh, what? I can't ask questions about your relationships?" 

"There is no deal." Wednesday answers with a voice that denies whatever cliche romantic tropes the boy was constantly thinking in that predictable motivated brain of his. "He was doing me a favor driving me out of town." She states, to which Y/N skeptically hums.

"Yeah, well, word of advice, be careful around him." Y/N advises as he irritably taps on his bow just thinking about that guy. "He's bad news."

"Why? Because he's a Normie?" Wednesday questions, obviously trying to pick at some possible double-standard xenophobia. 

"Because Tyler is a coward and a hypocrite, just like the rest of his friends." Y/N answers with a sarcastic lace around 'friends'. His face shows clear hatred that hasn't been unleashed from its cage yet. "He may be nicer, but nothing's changed about him, trust me." 

"This is coming from the boy who's eternally serving more than just an assault charge." Wednesday remarks coldly as she fetches an arrow, causing Y/N to snap his head at her with a tense glare. She may have done some things of her own, but nothing compared to his crime. 

"You actually believe those rumors? What that Jericho asshat said about me?" Y/N asks her as if she's even stupider than he thought. He thought she was better than that at the very least. "You know, no matter what they say, at least I don't boast about the time I dumped killer fishes into a pool filled with children."

"Says you and my court ordered therapist." Wednesday remarks, though her face seems to tell him, Touché. "At least I'm not a closeted pig." She says as she pulls an apple from her backpack and throwing it into the air before shooting an impressive shot that lands precisely on the end of Y/N's own arrowhead, winning the match most definitely.

Y/N sighs as he drops his bow.

"That's a new one...."

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(A/N) New chapter!

I needed a day to figure out what I was going to do for this Episode, but I've already got it figured out for the most part. Y/N's arc and how it laces wit Wednesday's, etc. Still is probably going to be a lot more chapters before they 'team up' or so.

Thanks for all of the votes and comments you guys have been leaving out. It's been helping a lot. I've also noticed the rankings my story's been getting, and I was really giddy to see them, even if they don't remain there for a long time.

Anyway, plz vote and comment, any counts as feedback, and I'll see you in the next one!