Nevermore: Beehive

The third club is surprisingly a lot more interesting than the previous two. Wednesday walks even farther away from the main building to find herself in a literal playground of bees. They buzz from one place and buzz from another, all staying at their respective honey spots. She has no trouble walking around them, as she is plenty aware of the personalities of the tiny creatures and the fact that stingers are some of the things that do the opposite of scare her.

As she looks around, wondering if she entered through the wrong path, someone pops up from behind her. "Are you interested in the ancient art of beekeeping?" They ask her for their version of a greeting, and Wednesday turns around to find a boy shorter than her, in glasses and braces. "Eugene, Eugene Ottinger, founder and president of the Nevermore Hummers." He introduces himself, holding out a hand for her to shake.

"Wednesday, Wednesday Addams." She responds in kind, shaking his head. The boy probably doesn't know it yet, but he just accomplished what many other Nevermore students here have failed to do. "Am I late or is it only you?" Wednesday asks as she notes nobody else around.

"The hive life isn't for everyone." Eugene answers with a knowing nod, which means the latter is her answer. "Most kids are afraid of venomous insects." He tells her, which causes Wednesday to blink, genuinely wondering why. "Are you willing to feel the sting?" He asks her, leaning to show a face of a student who's been through a lot with this little guys. 

Hearing one of her favorite phrases, Wednesday shows a crack of a smirk before going into the bee shed and coming out wearing her own Beekeeper suit. She can deal with the fact that it's white, since it's still a part of her no-color rule. "Bees have been producing honey in the same way for a hundred-fifty-million years." Eugene, excited to see her in it, starts dropping a bunch of trivia onto her while Wednesday observes her new attire in the sunlight. "They're nature's perfect community, all working together to achieve a common goal." 

As he goes on, Wednesday hears some tapping form a desk, and glances over to see Thing signaling to her that he's found Rowan, but he's about to finally take off very soon, all while avoiding the bee getting a little too close to him. "Fun fact, it's also one of the few ecosystems in which females dominate, from the queen bee to her workers. There's no patriarchy in the hive!" Eugene exclaims with glee.

Before turning around to find Wednesday gone.  Eugene looks around, awkward and confused, but also a little impressed.

How did she do that?

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Nevermore: Gates

Out in the front areas of the campus, Wednesday quickly puts back her uniform and such on while jogging over to the car where Rowan is supposedly about to leave in. She runs through the yard until she eventually sees him packing up with Mrs. Thornhill, prompting her to sprint over until.....

"Rowan! Wait up!" Y/N's voice calls out to the guy, making Wednesday abruptly pause in her movements as she watches the alleged Woods-Creep walking up to Rowan from another side of the car. "Not even a goodbye before you take off on us?"

"Y/N, I'm not allowed to speak to anyone." Rowan responds dismissively as he finishes stuffing his suitcase into the back seat. Wednesday squints, stepping off to the side to watch the interaction from behind a tiny corner.

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Friends aren't an exception?" Y/N playfully asks with a raised brow, to which Rowan just gives him a blank look, obviously asking to be left alone. The other rolls his eyes with a sigh. "Fine, can you at least tell me what happened in the woods that made everyone have to look for you? I almost thought those bullies at the Harvest Festival tore you a new one."

"I-I-I don't know, really, it's still a little foggy." Rowan answers with a small stutter, turning shyly towards Y/N as he leans against the car, hands tucked in his jacket's pockets. Another sign that he isn't comfortable with this conversation. "I just went into the woods to clear my head, and then Wednesday just.... came at me." He testifies, biting his lip anxiously. "I h-had to no choice but to defend myself."

"Wednesday suddenly attacked you?" Y/N asks, blinking, to which Rowan shrugs.

"Yeah, it was just..."

"Rowan, we have to go." Thornhill chimes in, giving him a knowing look. 

"Right!" Rowan nods at her, turning to Y/N with a seemingly apologetic look. "Sorry, Y/N, I'll see you later."

"Hey, wait!" Y/N quickly taps on Rowan's shoulder before he enters the backseat. "You're still gonna come to the trail with me and Xaiver on summer break, right? Just like the three of us planned together" He asks him with a very hopeful voice, to which the opens his mouth but hesitates in a response.

"Um.... probably not. I don't think Xavier would ever forgive me if I showed up." Rowan quickly answers dismissively, giving him a fixed smile before quickly getting in. The engine starts and the car begins to drive away, not noticing the walking hand attached to the bottom of it. 

Once they are gone, Y/N's smile instantly drops as he turns around and walks back to where he came from. "I knew it...." He mumbles with a shake of his head. It's a shame that he won't make it.... because he and Xavier never did make plains for the trail.

Despite whoever's clearly trying to cover all this up, he needs to find out the truth, because it's something he feels like is in short supply around here.

Wednesday mentally hums before also walking away.

__________________________________________

Burlington Station:

About an hour later, the car makes it to the train station where Thornhill stops at the front as Rowan steps out and grabs his luggage, allowing her to drive away as soon as she arrived. Thing hops off of the car, right behind his trail. He moves his fingers as fast as he can to follow him, while also trying his best not to get stomped or kicked by the completely oblivious people walking past him. 

Despite the lady in the rolling bag in front of him, Thing is still able to see Rowan walking outside and make a left. He quickly goes to follow, but as he passes through the doorway, the brief sun glare causes him to accidently step on a wad of spat gum, forcing him to pull himself off of it in disgust. 

He spots Rowan entering the toilets, prompting him to speed-walk towards it as quickly as possible so he doesn't lose him. Right as he gets to the door though, a much older man steps out and almost crushes him with his boot, causing Thing to jump away. If he would swear at the human, he would right now. 

He then enters the toilets and sees nobody else in the room. He checks all of the stalls, one by one, thankfully, nobody he shouldn't see inside. However, when he gets to the last one, and finds Rowan's suitcase, but no Rowan to speak of.

He's vanished. 

Meanwhile, the older man from earlier enters the subway, where he doublechecks to make sure if anyone's around before pulling on his collar and swiftly turning back into Principal Weems. 

Her shapeshifting having gone better than she probably thinks.

______________________________________

Nevermore: Green House

The period is now Taxonomy, meaning everyone is now in the stylized greenhouse, where it is surprisingly not as hot as one would expect for a place that is supposed to look like a, well, greenhouse. Xavier sketches another creature he could bring to life, Y/N does something similar in his half-closed diary, Ajax asks Thornhill for the materials that he supposedly 'lost', and everyone else like Enid or Yoko pretty much just minds their own business, idly chatting with one another. During which, Thing reports to Wednesday the confusing events at Burlington.

Rowan Laslow. Quiet, awkward, and about as threatening as a wet sock. Or so everyone says. But people don't just come back from the dead for no reason and behave like a different person. Something doesn't add up.

"How did you lose him in a bathroom with no windows?" Wednesday questions him with an obvious more-than-disappointed tone. Thing shrugs in response, prompting her to glare daggers at him. "A lefty wouldn't have failed me." She acidly remarks, to which Thing slinks down and insists to Wednesday that he was doing exactly what she asked of him to the best of his ability.

"Don't sulk." Wednesday hisses with a sad-I-know-you look, while Bianca, Divina, and Kent pass by and notice her talking to what seems to be absolutely nothing from the angle they are standing at, causing them all to raise brows. "Now, I'm going to have to find new evidence myself, since you're the one who lost our only lead." 

"I see you finally made a friend." Bianca chimes in, prompting Thing to slither father into the row of plants, out of sight and out of the classroom. "Even if it is a plant."

"I go for quality over quantity." Wednesday replies with a blank look, poking at the Siren's choices in kind. Bianca rolls her eyes she and the trio find their seats, which are obviously next to each other. 

Sharp tongue, sharper glare. Every word out of her mouth feels like a jab straight to the ribs. And yet... it stings more than it should. The things she says, about my record, my past, they cut deeper than when anyone else says it. Why? Why do I care what she thinks? I shouldn't. She's like everyone else, someone who reads the cover instead of the entire book. So why can't I shake this feeling that her insults... matter?

Wednesday also goes to find her seat, but as she looks around, she finds that this class in particular is fully packed. The only half-empty lab table has Y/N, who looks up and notices her awkwardly glancing around, causing him to sigh. "There's an open spot next to me." He offers her, feeling uncomfortable with her just standing there. "If you can stand being that close to a closeted pig."

The girl clearly has to think on it for a moment before eventually setting her pride aside and taking the open seat. Y/N then scribbles out a line in his diary with closing it shut with a snap, knowing that he has a neighbor who can try to read it. At the sight of it, Wednesday raises a brow, her curiosity piqued despite herself. "There are far more better ways to express your thoughts then in a leather notebook cliche."

"Don't care, didn't ask." Y/N instantly brushes her off as he puts the diary into his bag, zipping it up nice and tightly. Wednesday rolls her eyes, not knowing why she even bothered anyway, while the boy stares forward and folds his hands, before noticing the way they twitch. "You're wrong, by the way."

"About what?" Wednesday queries with an odd glance, only for Y/N to stay completely silent, ignoring her for the rest of the in-between periods. She squints at him with a suspicious look, knowing that there's something about him that he's still trying to keep hidden from everyone, and for bad reason. 

Y/N then catches a look from Xavier, who shrugs at him as if trying to say that 'progress is being made'. Y/N shakes his head, not amused, and the other boy just smirks teasingly as he closes his sketchbook. Bianca seems to notice the approval from the Thorpe kid, and a small frown shows on her face, not liking it.

"Good morning, class!" Thornhill then announces herself, bringing all attention to her. "Wednesday, we're thrilled to have you join us on our journey into the world of carnivorous plants." She welcomes her as she walks up to the center of the 'stage', which is the front of her desk. "Now, who can tell us the name of this beauty."

Bianca raises her hand confidently, and Thornhill nods to her. However.... 

"Dendrophylax Iindenii." Wednesday answers the second Bianca opens her mouth, not even bothering to raise her hand.

"Otherwise known as the Ghost Orchid." Bianca adds while giving Wednesday a look.

"First discovered on the Isle of Wight in 1854." Wednesday also states, despite the Siren's obvious attempts to cover up. Y/N looks over at Xavier, trying to figure out what is happening, but the other guy tells him with his eyes that it's exactly what he thinks.

"Very good, Wednesday." Thornhill comments with a genuinely impressed look. "Looks like you may have competition for the first chair, Bianca." She tells the Siren, who's eye twitches while most of the other students snicker amongst themselves. "Wednesday, perhaps you can identify the ghost orchid's greatest qualities?" She queries, and Bianca challenging stares directly at her.

"Resilience and adaptability." Wednesday easily answers like she has that knowledge engraved in the back of her head. "It's able to thrive in even the most hostile environments."

"But it's mere presence can change the ecosystem, causing the established plants to reject it." Bianca adds onto this, giving Wednesday a pointed look when she says that.

"Usually because the native species is allowed to strive unchecked." Wednesday mentions, her brows slowly lowering to give her eyes a dark shade. "Nothing a weed whacker couldn't fix."

Bianca smirks darkly. "You can most certainly try."

"Are we still talking about flowers?" Xavier asks out loud, causing everyone to chuckle, while Y/N blows some air, wonder what the heck he just got himself into by inviting Wednesday to his table.

"Thank you, ladies, for those.... illuminating insights." Thornhill chimes in, hoping to break up the no-longer-subtle attempt to go at each other's throats. "Clearly, the plants aren't the only carnivores in class today." She remarks with a cheeky smirk. Y/N exhales as he wonders what the heck, he just sat himself in-between of.

That is most certainly an understatement.

__________________________________________

Nevermore: Outside

Wednesday has thought about it, but now knows of another possible way to get a lead to the mystery surrounding the monster and Rowan's murder-not-murder, the scene of the crime itself. She walks back to where Enid's gang was working on their boat earlier this morning, and finds her predictable using her free time to add more detail to her humble transportation to victory. 

"I have to get back to the woods." Wednesday states as she suddenly appears from behind the girl, causing Enid to jump slightly. "But Weems has been watching me like a vulture circling a carcass."  

"Yeah, humiliating the mayor's kid and his group of friends and a festival can do that to you." Enid remarks with a tiny smirk as she gets back to what she was doing. "And you want me to cover so that you can return to the scene of a crime that didn't happen?"

"I have Beekeeping Club this afternoon." Wednesday mentions, knowing how the suits could help bring the perfect alibi for her 'disappearance'. "I need you as decoy."

"Sorry, two strikes." Enid replies with a hard wince the second 'bees' comes out of Wednesday's mouth. "I'm busy, and bees totally creep me out. Why don't you ask Thing?" She suggests before snapping her fingers. "Oh wait, you can't because he's mad at you." she points out with a face.

"Why is he mad?" Wednesday questions with a perplexed look. "He's the one who screwed up with Rowan."

"All I know is that we spent an hour giving each other manis and he really opened up." Enid replies with a shrug as she shows her bond to the hand might possibly be as strong as Wednesday's, possibly stronger according to what she's saying. "He feels like you don't respect him as a person."

"Well, technically, he's only a hand."

"Wednesday, he's your family! And he would do anything for you." Enid reminds her with a somewhat serious look, wondering if the girl is really this horrible with people to the point that the ones close to her feel disrespected. "Go apologize and I'll reconsider helping you." She declares before putting her focus back to her boat, not giving her any more attention unless otherwise. Wednesday mentally sighs as she realizes she has no choice.

One of her own spells has been used against her.

___________________________________________

Nevermore: Male Dormitory 

Y/N paces up and down the commons of the dorm, his mind mixed and muddled of thoughts about what he's going to do surrounding this confusing mystery that he's stumbled himself into. He looks down at his diary, tapping on the cover with his pen, not really sure how he can figure out what to do next without writing at least something. 

There's something wrong, wrong about all of this. Everyone acts like what happened in the woods never did, because that's what they believe. But if they paid attention to something that wasn't just the Poe Cup, they've would've noticed the things I have. 

He slipped up today. That little Q&A I pulled on him? He answered a question that had no real answer. Either he was lying for no reason, or he's forgotten who he is from the day he moved her to the day of the Harvest Festival. Either way, it proves one thing: he's not Rowan, not really. Whatever he is, he's hiding something.

Y/N pauses as he finds himself staring out a window, into the sun that is slowly disappearing and fading into the clouds where it will soon become night. He feels his face burying itself in frustration, hating how the day just passes by like innocent people weren't killed.

This place is rotten with lies. Rowan isn't the first, and he sure as hell won't be the last. But the difference here? This time, I'm not letting it go. The truth is out there, waiting to be dug up, and if no one else will dirty their hands, I will.

Why? Because I'm tired. Tired of people looking me in the eye and feeding me stories like I'm some dumb kid who doesn't know better. Tired of the secrets, the half-truths, the constant sense that nothing here is real.

So I'm going to solve this. Not for Rowan, not even for myself, but because someone has to. And because the last time I ignored the truth, it nearly cost me everything.

He feels his own chest, his mind constantly going back to another time in the woods, in a place far away from here, when he tried standing up for what he believed is right and it ended up blowing in his face. But that memory only helps fuel his convictions. He snaps his diary shut and locks it safely in his room. During which, he eyes the box that's still locked since the day Nevermore came into his life. He rubs his finger against the dust, his sense of adventure returning.

He opens up his closet, and changings into a different jacket and pants, something that will help him blend into the woods and shadows just in case of the small possibility that there's something out there that he doesn't want to catch him out of school grounds.

Time to go find out what really happened in those woods. Let's see if Rowan still has something to hide.

___________________________________________

Nevermore: Ophelia Hall

Wednesday marches into the dorm room, looking around at her side of it as she expects him to be lounging around there. However, she doesn't see a single walking hand in sight. She can't believe she let Enid convince her into embarrassing herself in front of another living organism, but she has to solve this mystery before it fades away into the air like a small pack of smoke and dust.  

Confused, she then hears flapping from behind and turns around to see Thing on Enid's side of the room instead, flipping through pages of a model magazine like he's actually interested in reading it, when in reality, he's obviously just depressed. Wednesday closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before approaching, hands folded together. "I snapped at you, I'll check my tone in the future." She 'apologizes' like a celebrity under fire would give to a news reporter. "Now chop-chop, before all our leads turn cold."

However, Thing doesn't move, instead he just flips through pages again, ignoring her. Wednesday feels slightly irritated as she notes how words clearly didn't get anywhere, which is something that should've been expected coming from her. "What is it that you want? Hand cream, nail buffer, new cuticle scissors?" She offers, needing to get past this and onto the other stuff as quickly as possible. "Consider it done."

Feeling like she's still not getting it, Thing angrily throws that magazine away and points his finger down on the bed, demanding her to sit. Wednesday lets out a loud sigh before reluctantly planting herself on the painfully colored sheets. Thing points out how she's been acting lately and how she's been taking it out on others. "I know I'm stubborn, single-minded, and obsessive, but those are all traits of great writers." Wednesday states, to which Thing makes finger guns. "Yes, and serial killers. What's your point?"

Thing sighs as he says that his point is that Wednesday clearly has something bothering her and it's making her negative traits shine much more than they should be. Whatever it is, she needs to share it or else he's going to be reading pages of hot-looking models all day. "I have nothing to get off my chest, and I am not submitting to your emotional blackmail." Wednesday retorts, but Thing taps waitingly on the bed, making it very clear that he's not moving unless otherwise. "Fine..."

Begrudedly, Wednesday pulls out the drawing Rowan showed her and sets it down in front of Thing. "When Rowan showed me this, it confirmed my greatest fear.... that I'm going to be responsible for something terrible. Not good terrible, like Ivan. Bad terrible, and I can't let that happen. That's why I need to find out the truth." She finally tells him, and Thing responds by comfortingly tapping on her hand, thanking her and promising her and he still has her back. "Breathe a word of this to anyone..... and I will end you."

Thing slowly scoots back.

________________________________________________

(A/N) Hey y'all!

Shorter chapter than normal, not really sure how, but I hope you still enjoy. I was thinking of just including this with Part 3 together because things might be the same cause for that chapter, but I know a lot of you guys want more as soon as possible, so here's some more. I'll try to get Part 3 over to you guys as soon as possible.

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