Wilderness: Evening

The rain has once again picked up in the area as the Sheriff's office of the nearby town of Jericho, the neighbors of Nevermore, are called to the scene that happened the morning before. All they find once they get there, one spilled energy drink, one stained backpack, a vomit pile from one of the rookies, a condom from two weeks ago, and a whole lot of blood that only a savage animal can do.

"Where's the rest of him?" Sheriff Galpin, the well-known anti-outcast of the town, asks one of his deputies as he stares down at a decapitated head with the expression of the hiker that was carrying that face show nothing but pure terror. Whatever happened was clearly sudden, and barely gave him enough time to scream, leaving his mouth wide open.

"Well, the torso and arm are over there." The deputy reports as he points at the body part that only has one limb attached to it left. The two of the casually talk about this like it's a standard Monday. "We found a leg by the leg. There's a arm in that tree over there, and the rest of the parts are so far unaccounted for." She tells him while pointing in various directions, showing just how far the dismemberment was whirled around. "It matches the profile of the other two attacks last week."

Sheriff Galpin nods, thinking the same thing. "Alright, issue a warning. Keep hikers out of the woods." He orders the deputy, wondering why he didn't do this before this mess happened. "Don't approve any more campfire permits for the foreseeable future."

"What do you want me to tell the press?" Deputy then queries, to which the sheriff turns to her with a look. "You know they're gonna be swarming like mosquitos in July." She brings, up to which Galpin mentally groans. He knows, doesn't mean he can't get to wish that they'd just disappear for a few seconds and not spread more panic to their name.

"Tell them the bear is back." Galpin instructs her, to which the deputy laughs.

"You don't really believe that, Sheriff?"

"No, I don't. Whatever did this wasn't human." Galpin doesn't deny with a slightly irritated look, since he currently has nothing else that he can work with. "Look, I know these murders are connected to Nevermore. I just can't prove it yet, so until I can...." He tells his deputy while looking up at the view of the campus he has with a hate-filled gaze.

"It's a goddamn bear."

______________________________________________

Nevermore: Art Studio

As the moon starts to rise and the sun starts to lower, Y/N takes the moment while there's still light in the sky to check out the old shed on the grounds that he knows Xavier uses as his new art studio. A little honor he was given after showing his artistic abilities. Yes, it's a silly assumption to assume he left it there. But when you're looking for an item you know, the place you always go to is where it should be to confirm that it didn't fall through a crack or something.

How did a kit fall through cracks? Well, given how the logic of losing something you cherish works, Y/N wouldn't be surprised if a set of less stressed eyes finds something he didn't. He walks over and opens the doors, which emits that small bell above them. Don't exactly know why this shed needed a bell, but best not to ask what a place with a gothic aesthetic had in mind for it.

He steps in and uses his own flashlight to help him see instead of turning on the light, not wanting anyone else from outside to see that he's here. He looks around and finds the usual paintings of Xavier's mind, a lot which comes from his psychic genetics. How, exactly? Well, that's kind of the reason he's here, so he can finally learn more about his friend.

When you're in a world where everyone hates you, the only thing you can ask for is a friend. Not just someone like Ajax who just jokes around with you, but a true friend, someone you can trust to share everything with.

While scanning the area, his flashlight catches a painting that can't help but get his attention. He sees a dark vision radiating from it as the figure in a dark cloak takes the spotlight of the stage. The red and subtle crimson red colors signal something dark, and Y/N... maybe he's just seeing things, but can't help but see it as a symbol of something that's a part of him.

But what does it mean?

He quickly shakes his head, knowing that he needs to focus on the task at hand. Turning around, that's when he spots something hanging on an open nail in the edge of the studio, something small that only someone with Y/N's eyes would have detected. He reaches over and touches a piece of fabric that was seemingly ripped off of a shirt.

Judging by the black and dark blue stripes, this was a very tiny piece of the Nevermore uniform, and when Y/N observes it curiously, it shows shades of purple during certain angles. Someone must've almost gotten caught by Xavier and made a quick run for it, getting this fabric caught on the nail.

And judging by the color scheme, Y/N has more than a few ideas as to who the culprit is. He smirks as the then pockets the fabric piece before heading back out the door he came in. Despite the reasoning, he didn't think this strategy would actually work. Thank gosh that it did, it mean he'll be truthful when he tells Xavier that he's gotten a clue

As his feet once again touch the dirt, Y/N looks up at the sky and sees that there's still time to make it to the dorm before curfew. He just can't waste time with any pit stops. That shouldn't be that much of a...

Before he can finish that thought, a sudden and seemingly deliberate chill goes through his skin, causing him to jump and shiver a bit as goosebumps grow along his body. Y/N turns around, rapidly blinking as he tries to figure out where the heck that came from. But either due to so many trees, or the growing darkness, he can't really see a real cause.

Sighing to himself, he continues straight....

And that's when she sees the undead body of a girl staring straight at him from behind a tree dead ahead, no pun intended. Y/N freezes for a few seconds, which seems to make the girl instantly shy away behind the wood. The boy snaps out of his fear and jogs over, but when he turns the corner, the girl is gone.

Y/N looks around, breathing heavily as he still feels a strong sense of unease over what just happened.

That face...... he's seen it somewhere before.

_______________________________________

Nevermore: Ophelia Hall

With nothing else to do but spend the rest of the night in her room, Wednesday, in casual clothes, uses that time to help give the room a much-needed make-over. She already has her escape plan prepared, somewhat, and thinking about it too much hurts the mental system, so why not do her part for school and dorm society? She's currently tearing down the last of the colored papers, whatever those horrific things are called, of her half of the clock window, when she hears the door opening behind her.

"What the hell did you do to my room?!" Enid, also now in her own attire, questions hysterically as she slams the door closed behind her, horrified by what she just did. Once the school hours are over, the uniform's commonly go off for most students, unless there's some who actually appreciate the aesthetic or something.

"Dividing our room equally." Wednesday responds while also cheekily correcting her choice of words, kicking the colorful trash onto Enid's half of the room. The place now looks like Two-Face's lair in a cheesy batman movie. "Looks like a rainbow vomited on your side." She comments as she steps back to hers, to which the other girl blatantly fumes.

"I-"

"Silence would be appreciated." Wednesday interrupts her before she can even get the first letter out, sitting down in front of her desk which only holds a lamp and a typewriter on it. "This is my writing time." She states as she pulls up her jacket's sleeves and gets started on her murder mystery.

"Your 'writing time'?" Enid questions with a raised brow.

"I devote an hour a day to my novel." Wednesday explains, in case the term wasn't already obvious for her insultingly dumb question. "Perhaps if you did the same, your blog might be coherent." She criticizes as she starts her slide that sets off a ding. "I've read serial-killer diaries with better punctuation."

"I write in my voice! It's my truth!" Enid states in an incredibly offended tone, never thinking that she needed formal English to practice her freedom of the press. "It's what my followers love."

"Your followers are clearly imbeciles." Wednesday scorns while needing to turn around, finding that last bit to be completely ridiculous to hear. If she had a sense of humor, most likely, she would've cackled at that. She stands up and walks challengingly towards her. "They respond to your stories with insipid little pictures."

Enid at first wants to ask how the heck she's even aware of all of this if she doesn't even touch social media, much less look at it, but then she realizes what she was trying to describe at the end. "You mean emojis?" She asks Wednesday, squinting at her with a weird look. "It's how people express their feelings. You know, I realize that's a foreign concept to you."

"When I look at you, the following emojis come to mind...." Wednesday quips while blankly staring at Wednesday. "Rope. Shovel. Hole." She coldly remarks before turning around to get back to writing. "By the way, there are two D's in Addams. If you're going to gossip about me, at least spell my name correctly."

Enid seethes, clenching a fist as she clearly thinks about shooting back with another line. But instead, she comes up with a better idea. She turns on her pro watch and easily finds her playlist and plays them on the speakers, causing Wednesday to instantly cease all activites and face her again. "Turn that off." She demands with horrified eyes, to which Enid just dances mockingly in front of her. "This is your final warning-"

"Rawh!" Enid swiftly pulls out her nails towards Wednesday when she begins marching into her 'side', the nails extending into sharp, rainbow, blades. "Don't mess with me! This kitty's got claws and I am not afraid to use them..."

The two glare into each other's eyes for a good five seconds before the door to the room suddenly opens, signaling a third-party arrival. "Good evening, girls!" A woman with pure red hair, glasses, a likely teacher, greets as she steps inside, causing Enid to hide her hands behind her back to calm her hands down. The teacher notices her moots bringing her earthly work into the room. "Oh, sorry about the mud. Just wanted to make sure that Wednesday was settling in."

The two girls separate from one another, staying on their separate sides. The teacher notices their tense looks and also looks down and sees that one of her red boots isn't stepping on a crack, but rather a larger black line that separates the two together. "Oh... is this a bad time?" She nervously asks to which Enid awkwardly glances at Wednesday who doesn't chance a muscle on her face. "I'm Mrs. Thornhill, your dorm mom. Apologizes I wasn't here to greet you when you arrived." She introduces herself to the new girl, holding up a flowerpot. "I'm trust Enid has given you the old Nevermore welcome."

"She's been smothering me with hospitality." Wednesday replies, to which Enid gives Thornhill a big smile. "I hope to return the favor...... in her sleep." She adds, causing that smile to then drop right away.

"W-Well, here's a little welcome gift from my conservatory." Thornhill offers in a quick attempt to pretend she didn't hear that. She extends the flower over to Wednesday who takes it with interest. "I try to match the right flower to each of my girls, and when I read your personal statement in your application, I immediately thought of this one."

Wednesday mentally nods as she eyes the black-colored flower, recognizing it almost right away as part of her personal interest with mother nature's design. "A black dahlia."

"Oh, you know it?"

"Of course, it's named after my favorite unsolved murder." Wednesday happily responds, to which the other two females show different reactions to that. "Thank you."

"Okie-dokie!" Thornhill says, glad that she knows about and likes it. "Oh, before I leave, I wanna go over a few house rules. Lights off at ten, no loud music, and no boys, ever." She lists off to both of them, though it's up for discussion if that third rule has been followed all that well. A question then comes to mind for Wednesday.

"What's the story about going into the local town?"

"Passes to Jericho are a privilege, not a right. It's a brisk twenty-five-minute walk or there's a shuttle on the weekends." Thornhill tells Wednesday with a somewhat serious face when she talks about the Normie town. "The locals are a tad bit wary about Nevermore, so please don't go making any waves or perpetuating any.... Outcast stereotypes. That means keep your claws to yourself, and no smothering people in their sleep. Are we clear?"

Dead silence.

"Great talk!"

________________________________________

Nevermore:

It's once again time for fencing. Y/N finds it fun, but never really has the passion to master it the way Bianca has. He was never good with the sharp tools anyway, he would be lucky if there was a day he didn't even get a paper cut. But all of that doesn't really matter. What matters is that he wants to use the locker room as a quick opportunity to catch someone where they aren't expecting.

He walks inside, and to his luck, he spots Kent sitting on a bench casually getting the gear on. He was the Siren that made himself look like an idiot earlier. Still though, he's not to be taken lightly, so Y/N better make this quick and easy.

"Kent, buddy." Y/N sarcastically greets the guy, causing him to jump a bit when he taps on his shoulder. "I was wondering if you were here. How have you been?"

"What? Dude, no." Kent quickly pushes Y/N's hand off of him with a panicked expression, looking around to see if anyone saw that. "I can't be seen around you. The last thing anyone in the siren dorms needs is for people to think that he's friends with the Woods-Creep."

"Don't know what you're talking. Anyway, can I ask you something?" Y/N queries as he casually brushes Kent's comment off so they can stay on track. "Do you have a, um, how do I put it......? Love, for the creative arts."

"Huh?" Kent utters as he blinks at him, perplexed by the question. "What are-"

"Maybe some of Xavier's? I was asking because someone stole his sketchbook and kit, and when I checked the last place he left it, I found a piece of your uniform ripped off a nail." Y/N goes on, ignoring Kent's questions. The siren blinks when he hears this, looking up with a now slightly more serious face. "I mean, it was your uniform, right?" He asks as a form of bait.

"I don't know what you're talking about, creep." Kent claims with a scoff as he glances around and finds his kind starting to look over, giving him anxiety. "Look, just screw off, alright? We can't be talking to each other."

However, Y/N doesn't abide by his demand, humming amusingly. "Oh, okay, so if I open up this locker right now and check the suit inside, there shouldn't be a scratch on it, right?" He assumes teasingly with a smirk he knows is getting the kid's nerves, now he's taking it. "Because I still remember that when I was helping you with the Knight, your uniform was completely fine."

Hearing him trying to make things worse by calling out the Knight incident, Kent drops what he's doing and slowly stands up menacingly, glaring at Y/N. The tension in the room is now screaming towards all of the other male students, including Xavier and Ajax who all watch at the scene. "You have ten seconds to get out of my face." Kent growls in Y/N's ear, to which the outcast in a school of outcasts smirks.

"Or what?"

...........

...........

..........

Kent angrily grabs Y/N's shoulder.

And Y/N grabs Kent's wrist and twists around and forces it behind his back. Kent yelps right as the guy them kicks his legs out before grabbing his head and pinning him down.

Everyone else inside takes a step back in shock as Y/N now has Kent forced on his knees with a mocking glare. "That's what I thought." He remarks with a disappointed tone, wishing his friend didn't make him do that.

"Hey, what the...." Kent tries pulling himself off of him, but to his and everyone else's shock, he finds himself unable to break free out of the expert hold. "Let me go!"

"Where is it?!" Y/N interrogates, not letting go until he gets the truthful response.

"Would you relax? It's just a damn sketchbook."

"It's my friend's, and my friend's property is worth a lot more than your precious ego right now." Y/N states with a waiting look. Kent already showed how much he cares about his school image, so he should've been ready to defend it better. "So...."

Kent looks up at everyone, embarrassed, before letting out an exhale of defeat. "Bianca has it, alright?" He finally guesses, though says it in a whisper so only he can hear it. "She was gonna give it back to Xavier, she just wanted to look at it."

"She wanted to look at it?" Y/N questions with a raised brow, finding that ridiculous, even for Bianca.

"It's true, now will you let me go already?" Kent demandingly asks, wanting to be put out of this embarrassing situation. Y/N hums before letting go and stepping away, allowing him to get slowly stand himself back up.

"I like talking with you, Kent." Y/N notes with an uneasy smirk, forcing him to face him before brushing off the guy's shoulder. "You help me feel a little less pathetic."

He then walks away, having already put most of his guards on. As everyone watches him leave, Ajax slowly steps towards his bro. "Dude.... I thought Kent was the strongest guy on campus." He comments with a shocked face. "How did a psychic learn to backstreet brawl?"

Xavier squints, glancing at the humiliated Kent and sees him feeling his wrist which might have pulled a full muscles.

"I have no idea...."

______________________

Nevermore: Dueling Hall

When Wednesday saw that fencing was part of the schedule, she would be lying if she said she wasn't mentally carrying some manner of excitement. It's one of her favorite hobbies, especially when the sharp edge is allowed to draw blood. She's gotten herself a pitch-black version of the fencing gear in comparison to everyone's pure white. Another special order she got from the academy, she presumes. Well, good thing she got her own instead.

She marches down the narrow rectangular room, even through the matts where people are trying to duel. They don't say anything though, just give her a questioning look at best before continuing what they are doing. One of which, takes off their masks at the sight of her, showing Rowan's face. His opponent, unsurprisingly Y/N, does the same.

None of them notice the walking hand hiding under the benches.

Wednesday eventually stops at a duel where a one person has a clear advantage over the other and eventually strikes them a third time after they fall on the floor. The defeated student quickly takes off his face guard and looks up at the instructor who's been watching. "Coach, Coach, she tripped me!" He accuses as he points as the victor.

"It was a clean strike, Rowan." Coach Vlad declares with a blank look, quickly shooting down his accusation.

"Maybe if you whined less and practiced more, you wouldn't suck." The girl, who Wednesday now sees as Bianca when she takes off her mask as well, lectures the poor kid with a rather poor winner's attitude. "Seriously, Coach, when am I gonna get some real competition?" She complains to Vlad who hands Rowan his glasses as he steps aside in shame. "Anyone else wanna challenge me?"

"I do." Wednesday announces, causing everyone who isn't dueling to look over in interest as Bianca turns around to see who that voice belonged to.

"Oh! You must be the second psychopath they let in." Bianca 'acknowledges' with a very acidic grin which Wednesday isn't impressed by. "I'm wondering if this is some kind of trend where the court orders involve 'enrollment into Nevermore' as a punishment."

"And you must be the self-appointed queen bee." Wednesday responds with a slightly similar tone, to which Bianca nods with a look that seems to have happily embraced that stereotypical title. "Interesting thing about bees, pull out their stingers and they drop dead." She quips, to which the onlookers snort and chuckle amongst themselves. The siren's expression slightly drops as she glances at the attention the scene's getting.

"Rowan doesn't need you to come to his defense." Bianca states coldly to Wednesday, as if that's the actual reason she challenged her in the first place. "He's not helpless, he's lazy."

"Are we doing this or not?" Wednesday questions with a bored look, having better things to do than defend a weak man's honor. Bianca gives her a glare in response before nodding her over to the other side of the matt, showing that she's ready when she is. The bold match seems to draw in more attention.

"En garde!" Vlad declares, as everyone turns to watch the match. Wednesday puts on her face mask, and Bianca does the same. And soon, the duel begins.

Bianca starts it off with a tiny jab at her, which Wednesday easily blocks. She then sends a faster one her way which she deflects before trying to counter with a strike that Siren also blocks before parrying with a three-strike combo that Wednesday blocks before finishing with a slice that she swiftly dodges.

Wednesday attempts another counter, but Bianca once again blocks it. Then, she maintains the pressure as she sends another set of blade attacks her way which ends with the same result, blocks, side-step dodge, and a counter that doesn't land. The two have a clear difference in fighting styles, yet they seem to be evenly matched in the sport.

Xavier holds his hands while Y/N paces left and right as he watches the two, unable to help but be hypnotized at the display that both fencers show with their skills. They aren't the only ones, as the other dueling mats pause to direct their eyes on the match. For the first time this term and semester, in a duel involving Bianca, he's not actually sure who would win. Just, who is this girl in the black?

As Bianca delivers another furry of attacks, she gets a little too aggressive which opens a window for Wednesday who ducks down and strikes her center chest with the tip of her blade. "Point to Wednesday." Vlad declares as there's a small pause before both girls step back into their previous positions before resuming the duel.

"She's good." Xavier comments impressed to Y/N, who slowly nods in response.

"Yeah..."

Bianca swings at Wednesday with another strong set of swings which the girl expectedly blocks and dodges. She then does another counter but gets a little too greedy as she tries pressuring with multiple swipes directed at her at once, which leads to her opponent tapping the forehead of her mask with her sword. "The score is even." Vlad declares.

Bianca takes off her mask with a still confident expression. "That first point was clearly beginner's luck." She taunts to get under the girl's skin. Wednesday also takes off her mask as the two circle around like ring match, a few gears cranking in her mind. "Let's finish this."

"For the final point, I would like to invoke a military challenge." Wednesday states as she stares directly at Bianca with sanguine eyes. "No masks, no tips, winner draws first blood." She proposes, causing everyone to share a surprised look, a challenge that has never been declared before in their life.

"It's your decision, Bianca." Vlad tells the siren with a calm face, not objecting to it. Bianca scoffs until Wednesday gives her a very teasing brow that asks if she's too scared that she'll ruin that 'perfect face' of hers. The siren glares daggers at her, clenching her sword palm.

"Let's see if you bleed in black and white." Bianca quips before tossing her mask to the side, fully accepting the challenge. Wednesday does the same as well, and the two once again get into a dueling stance.

Wednesday starts off by swiping her blade at Bianca who blocks it. Then, she sends another strike before blocking her attempting counter and swinging the blade around and over before swiping at her face. The Siren dodges it, however before having to block another combo that Wednesday delivers her way, jumping up when she also takes a swipe at her legs.

She finally gets to strike back with Wednesday crouched on the floor, sending multiple blade swings which Wednesday continuously blocks by holding her sword upwards in various directions. She blocks the one Bianca sends under before rising up and forcing her to step backwards as she does another swipe at her legs before raising her blade up to block another tap directed at her head, not falling to that a second time.

Wednesday stands up to deliver another strike, which Bianca blocks and tries to counter only to get the same treatment. Bianca tries again but Wednesday blocks and sends another swipe towards her face which Siren leans her head back to dodge. She brings her sword down at Wednesday who blocks it, only for Bianca to then lift her foot and kick her sword-hand.

Wednesday grunts as she loses her stance for a few seconds, but quickly recovers by blocking the strikes Bianca sends towards her chest and then her back. She catches her in a clash which allows her to send her opponent's blade down onto the floor before kicking her foot the same way when Bianca lifts it back up so she can jump over her attack and parry with a sword downwards towards her head.

Bianca blocks it before sending down to the floor the same way she did. Then, as they both stand up, she keeps the advantage she's now received by swiping at her with the same three-strike combo she's done before.

Most of the spectators gasp when the last one cuts her forehead. Wednesday freezes when she sees Bianca's victorious smirk followed by the stinging pain. She presses a finger against the spot on her forehead and sees the drip of blood on it.

It's over.

"Your face finally got that splash of color it so desperately needed." Bianca drops a one-liner before showing a massive cocky grin creeping up on her face.

For the first time, Wednesday feels humiliated.

___________________________________________

Nevermore: Lockers

Y/N sets the fencing gear right back where it was, while he feels his mind getting distracted on the match that had just occurred in front of him. It's not really because he feels bad that he loses or something, but more of the way she walks, the way carries herself. Something about that reminds him of something.... but he can't really pinpoint as to what it is. Either they met in a previous life, or he's overthinking it which is the more likely case.

"Wow, that sure was something, wasn't it?" Ajax comments as he walks up to him and Xavier who are both conveniently standing/sitting next to each other. "I've never seen such a passionate fight like that since Alien vs Predator." He references with a chuckle as he re-plays some shots of the movie in his head..

"Eh.... I've seen better." Y/N remarks with a tiny shrug as he starts grabs his jacket and puts it back on, feeling like comparing it to a match like that would be exaggerating a little. "I see it more as a.... Batman V Superman."

"Oh, come on, what other fence duel have you seen was better than that?" Ajax questions with a curious brow before his face changes as something comes to mind. "Ooooh, was the rumor that you used shives on that guy in the woods actually true?" He asks in awe.

"Yeah, after I covered them with guts of my previous cell victims and took a massive dump on them." Y/N sarcastically replies before giving him a look as if why he still keeps trying to ask about something he clearly doesn't like talking about. Ajax, meanwhile, blinks as if freaked up.

"He was being snarky." Xavier explains to his friend, reassuring him.

"It was better than you, creep." Another random student chimes in before abruptly pushing his shoulder into the locker roughly and the group walks away, laughing. Y/N grunts as he rubs his arm while the others just watch them go in disgust.

"What the heck's their problem?" Ajax questions as he turns to the two, causing them to just chuckle. "What?"

"You are a special boy, A." Xavier quips with a small nod, to which Y/N teasingly chuckles.

Ajax blinks. "Is that a compliment?"

"Look, I can assure you, whatever you think Wednesday is, she's a little bit nicer than douchebags like them." Xavier tells Y/N as he ignores the high kid's confused mind, pointing back at the door that the bullies left through.

"You know her?" Y/N queries with a now very curious look, to which Xavier reluctantly nods in confirmation. "Well, hold up, spell the tea, sis. Give us some background on who we're working with."

"No thank you, the less sources Enid had for her blog, the better." Xavier responds with a fixed smile before finally dropping the last of his equipment, grabbing the last of his stuff, and leaving the locker room. Y/N sarcastically clicks his tongue while Ajax blinks again.

"What was that about?"

"I asked a question." Y/N simply answers, knowing the answer to that. Ajax hums, not really getting it, before eventually going to catch up with Xavier. Y/N shakes his head with a sigh as he wonders if anything he asks his roommate is going to constantly get shot down the way it always does. As he's about to leave, he double-checks his pockets and realizes that something's missing. "Crap, where's my phone?" He mutters in frustration, to which a walking hand reaches over and extends it to him. "Oh, thanks." Y/N says as he pockets it.

Then he freezes.

"What in the actual fu-?!"

Instead of saying, 'good evening, Y/N L/N', the hand quickly grabs at the boy's face the second he realizes that he's given away his own position. Y/N lets out muffles yelps as he grabs at the hand before flailing his body around until he accidently runs into a bench and trips on himself. He hits the ground with a harsh thud, and so does the hand, who's now pinned thanks to his big fat head.

Y/N gets up, but still grabs onto the hand which prevents him from getting off, so he's unknowingly making the situation only more stressful for the both of them. He once again jogs around until he remembers where the water is. He brings his attacker over and swiftly opens the bowl before dunking him in it, as if the hand's actually capable of drowning.

After a few minutes of needles struggling and squirming, Y/N then frantically throws him away into a locker. The hand quickly gets up and onto the row of them, though not before grabbing a face mask and throwing at him in petty vengeance. Once again, however, Y/N simply catches the object thrown at him.

"Heh... what did you think that was gonna-?"

*BOINK!*

He's cut off when an massive ball then hits his face, causing Y/N to jump and land on his back hard. The hand no doubt laughs behind it's stiches as it crawls away, leaving the poor kid to groan in pain.

He feels his forehead and realizes that he just got a pop knot.

"What the heck was that?"

___________________________________________

Nevermore: Infirmary

Wednesday begrudgedly has escorted herself to the nurse's office where they clean up and apply a bandage onto her cut. She cannot believe she let something like that happen to her, she trained herself to be better. Then again, she remembers what Rowan was complaining to the coach earlier, and recalls how her foot was tripped mere moments before she drew blood. Maybe the 'whiner' wasn't lying about that.

Yet again, in a military challenge, does it really matter?

"You're Wednesday, right?" A voice asks from behind her, and Wednesday turns around to see that same exact boy from before currently in the process of getting his check up and inhaler refilled. "Rowan." He shyly introduces himself, though she already knew that. "I know how you feel."

"I guarantee you don't." Wednesday responds with a look that requests that he doesn't try and be sympathetic with her, last person who tried that almost tripped on her vomit. Rowan shrugs, letting that slide since that kind of humiliation was probably a little different for her.

"My mother promised me I'd finally fit in somewhere." Rowan shares with her before letting out a bitter sigh. "I never thought it was possible to be an Outcast in a school full of Outcasts. But hearing all of the rumors about the Woods-Creep, I shouldn't have been surprised to be dismissed like garage." He vents with a shake of his head, before looking back up at Wednesday with a weak smile. "But hey, looks like you'll be giving me and Y/N a run for our money."

"Woods-Creep?"

"Yeah, it's..... what everyone's calling him, most of them, anyway." Rowan explains with a look of empathy. "He was..... almost convicted of a felon before his parents' lawyers saved his life in court and got him put here in Nevermore. For what, I'm not really sure, but.... I guess it has something to do with the name." He says before looking up and shudder a bit at the sight of her blood. "Um, sorry about the..... nick."

"No good deed goes unpunished." Wednesday remarks with a blank bitterness before grabbing her umbrella and jacket and walks out the door, not having done it because he wanted to 'help' him. As she leaves, Rowan slowly nods, gripping the inhaler tightly after the nurse hands it to him. It's such a shame, she seems like someone he would've gotten along with.

If only the circumstances would've been different.

_____________________________________________

Nevermore: Hallways

After receiving his unexpected injury thanks to a walking freaking hand that he's sure no one is going to believe him about, Y/N forces himself to head to the infirmary to make sure it gets checked out, knowing that.... thing, had a really good throwing hand which undoubtably comes with the territory. Still, what the heck even was that thing? And why was it in the male lockers? Did it have eyes? Was it able to see somehow? And through what?

"Y-Y-Y......"

Y/N rapidly turns around when he hears that weird whisper pronouncing half of his name. He doesn't see anything though, but it almost feels like that wraith from earlier was creeping down the hallway and stalking him. But that's just a guess. The kid shakes his head, thinking he's probably lost it after seeing Evil Dead come to life thirty minutes ago.

As he gets to a small part of the school that leads outside, he notices just how heavily it's raining, meaning that he's now going to get himself soaked as well as have a bandage, one additional thing for everyone to make fun of him for. He sighs, but stops when he sees someone coming out from the opposite side, much more prepared than he is.

He then hears a loud scraping noise coming from above, though can't see the cause from his angle. He sees that the girl heard it as well, pausing to look up just as a snap from some kind of rope then emits, suddenly cluing Y/N in as something falling.

"Look out!"

He charges and quickly tackles the girl out of the way at a very unnatural speed right as a gargoyle statue falls and crashes into the ground where she was standing. They slide through the concrete with a rough thud, and after taking a breath, Y/N looks down at the face of the girl he's currently on top of, recognizing it as Wednesday.

And then he also realizes that she hit his head, and he accidentally knocked her out.

Dang it, he must've tapped into the monster's power.

_________________________________________

Nevermore: Infirmary

After getting himself some help and an icepack, Y/N's about to grab his stuff when he glances over and sees Wednesday's eyes opening. Not much time passed since she passed out, only a couple minutes or so, but it's still releasing to see another human being not kicking the bucket.

"Hey, you're finally awake." Y/N greets her with a small nod, chuckling as he purposefully makes it sound like she's been in that bed, again, for a long time. He watches the girl then suddenly sit up like she's Frankenstein's monster. "Whoa, whoa, hey, take it easy. You hit your occipital lobe, so don't move too fast." He advises as he decides to take a seat next to her bed just to make sure she's okay.

"The last thing I remember, I was walking outside feeling a mixture of rage, pity, and self-disgust." Wednesday recalls as she glances down while getting her memory back, to which Y/N empathetically chuckles. "I've never felt that way before."

"Yeah, that's Bianca Barclay for you." Y/N comments with a nod, knowing what kind of concoction she brews up for everybody foolish enough to stand in her path. "She's a cuck's wet dream."

"And then I looked up and I saw that gargoyle coming down at me and thought, 'well, at least I'll have an imaginative death'." She continues before looking up at Y/N with a massive squint in her eyes. "Then you tackled me out of the way, why?"

"Because I could?" Y/N simply answers with a shrug, not really seeing why that's a question. Wednesday, however, does, and raises her brows skeptically at him as if finding the answer amusing.

"So, you were guided by latent chivalry? A tool of the patriarchy to extract my undying gratitude?" Wednesday concludes, to which Y/N slowly nods before blinking the second he takes in all of her words at once.

"Guilty." Y/N playfully confesses with his free hand that's not holding the ice pack raised up and a cheeky smirk, before dropping them with a look that wonders how she was able to make an act like that sound so selfish. "I guess I just have a habit of not wanting to see people get hurt, it comes with the territory."

"I didn't want to be rescued." Wednesday claims with a criticizing glare, to which Y/N gives him a sarcastic nod.

"Oh, is that so?"

"I would've rather saved myself." Wednesday responds, which Y/N makes crank out a small fit of laughter.

"Absolutely, I'm sure you were just staring it into submission." Y/N remarks with a cheeky smirk, to which Wednesday responds with an unamused glare. "Seriously, though, you don't have to read so much into it. I'm not asking you to thank me, so rest assured, you don't owe me anything."

"Good, because I don't plan to." Wednesday replies in a cold tone before standing up to get back to more important things, knowing that her writing time is just around the corner. "Do yourself a favor and stay away from such pathetic heroics, it'll only get yourself killed as well." She drops some harsh advice before grabbing her stuff and walking out.

"Name's Y/N, thank you for asking." The boy sarcastically informs her, to which the girl pauses and turns her head back.

"I don't care." She tells him before closing the door behind her. Yup, it's confirmed, there is no hope.

Y/N whistles as he drops his ice pack, shaking his head.

"Bitch."

________________________________________

Nevermore:

Bianca is currently putting the last of her staff in her bag after the last period ends. She's the last one to leave as this classroom is the only one that has her separated from Divina and Kent, but that doesn't bother her at all since they still practically follow her everywhere she goes.

As she lifts her bag up to her shoulder, she's about to turns the corner before literally bumping into Y/N who's standing in front of the doorway. "Oh my-!" She exclaims before grabbing her heart, having never expected to be caught off-guard like that before. "Really, creep? You wait until I'm so close to reveal yourself?"

"Where is it, Bianca?" Y/N interrogates her, not bothering with her trying to turn something he's doing into sounding really weird. "I pegged you as a lot of things, but a petty thief wasn't one of them."

"What are you talking about, short-stack?"

"Xavier's sketchbook, Bianca. I got one of your little posse to tell me everything." Y/N reveals as he tilts his head with an expecting look. The Siren opens her mouth, but seeing the way the guy's hands glare daggers into her makes her give up and just casually pull the thing out of her bag and hand it to him.

"I didn't do anything to it, before you ask." Bianca says as she fumingly watches Y/N take it with an unimpressed look. "Tell him that if he'd talk to me for at least one minute, I wouldn't have to resort to this."

"I'll make sure to forget telling him." Y/N sarcastically promises before walking away, his quest now complete. Bianca rolls her eyes before going in the opposite direction.

As he walks, though, he notices something on the news wall he passes.

'Bear Attacks Return!'

Y/N feel a knot in his stomach just from the title alone, bad memories coming back from the surface like they did a week ago. But he quickly shakes his head before going to return to the dorm. In spite of this, he finds the news engraved in his head, he rubs his face with a loud exhale.

He needs a coffee....

______________________________

Nevermore: Ophelia Hall

Wednesday is now alone in her room, working on her novel like she said she would. She doesn't plan on breaking schedule just because of a stupid gargoyle or being incarcerated in a school that holds no worth for her and her future. She moved it up to days, since Enid will still likely bother her every night, with that music belonging to the deafening angels. She's replaced it with a nice, smoothing song from a vinyl record.

During which, however, she hears a loud creaking coming from her bed, causing her to abruptly stop and turn her head towards it. She knows that she doesn't put anything on it besides what is necessary, and that she just saw something move under her sheets. This also isn't the first time she felt something following her earlier.

She stands up and walks towards it, not wasting any time for tension build up before throwing the sheets off and exposing the walking stitched-up hand hiding underneath. "I knew it!" She says as the hand freezes at being caught. "Hello, Thing." She greets with a smirk, causing the hand to quickly make a run for it.

However, she catches him before he can jump off the bed, causing him to cling onto the rails for dear life until Wednesday eventually pulls him off and holds him up to her face. "Did you really think my highly trained olfactory sense wouldn't pick up on the faint whiff of neroli and bergamot in your favorite hand lotion?" She questions Thing as if wondering he thought she was that foolish, taking him over to her desk while he tries to struggle for nothing.

"I could do this all day." Wednesday tells him before slamming him onto the desk on his palm, where Thing once again tries to break free only to succeed in making it shake a little. "Surrender?" She asks, to which the hand eventually has no choice but to tap out. She slowly lets him go, and he makes no move to run away. "Mother and Father sent you to spy on me, didn't they?" She correctly assumes while shining her desk lamp onto him.

Thing wags his finger in denial, prompting Wednesday to give him a glare that doesn't take too kindly to lying. "I'm not above breaking a few fingers..." She threatens, causing the hand to eventually confess. "The fact that they thought I wouldn't find out just proves how much they underestimate me." She states with a disappointed and offended face. Thing, however, retorts this and signs that they are just worried about her. "Oh, Thing, you poor, naive appendage. My parents aren't worried about me. They're evil puppeteers who want to pull my strings, even from afar."

Thing signs asking what they makes her, but Wednesday glares, ignoring the question. "The way I see it, you have two options. Option one...." She states before grabbing Thing and hovering him over her empty drawer. "I lock you in here for the rest of the semester, and you slowly go insane trying to claw your way out, ruining your nails, and your smooth, supple skin. And we both know how vain you are." She says as she teases Thing by pushing him down into it while he desperately holds onto the desk, leaving some scratch marks. "Option two..." She then puts him back on the desk. "You pledge your undying loyalty to me."

Thing paces around the desk, but the choice here if pretty clear for him. He bows his fingers before her. Wednesday wins this round. "Our first order of business is to escape this teenage purgatory." She states, to which the hand sign asks if she has a plan as to how she will accomplish that. "Of course I have a plan." She responses, smirking.

"And it begins now."

___________________________________________

(A/N) And here's the new chapter!

Wednesday and Y/N have now met each other, I hope that didn't feel cheap for anyone. In case anyone's wondering, in this fanfic, Xavier won't have any romantic feelings for Wednesday just because I don't wanna turn the plot into a love square, and it would be really weird. He's more of just the Enid to Y/N's Wednesday. However, all of the other canon plotlines should still remain.

I appreciate all of the comments on my previous chapter, so please don't hesitate in sharing your thoughts down there. They really do a lot in helping my motivation. I have planned a lot for this book, so I'm hoping that I don't screw things up.

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