Nevermore: Beehive

It's now time to once again outsmart her beloved principal who thinks that she can stay one step ahead of Wednesday. Sadly for her, it will always be the other way around. She's going back to the scene of the crime of Rowan's murder she knows did in fact happen, and she's going to find some sort of proof of it, if not to prove to the others, then at least herself. Whoever cleaned house was smart, but even the best has the occasional slip up.

"If Weems comes sniffing around, keep your distance, look grim, and don't say a word." Wednesday instructs Enid who's now forced to confront her greatest fears after she lived up to her end of the bargain.

"Payback's going to be a bitch!" Enid whines after finishing getting the hat on, clearly regretting her choice of words from before. Despite all of this attire, she still doesn't feel any safer.

"I expect nothing less." Wednesday remarks, her face blank, but obviously getting a small amount of satisfaction from this. She then turns to Eugene who's also here in the shed with them. "Blab, and I will squeeze you like a honeycomb." She promises him as he turns around, flexing his glove.

"Snitches gets stung, it's hive code." Eugene assures her, with a two-finger salute. "Besides, I should be thanking you. This is the most girls I've ever had in the shed, other than bees." He mentions with a very big smile, which can be seen as half-win, half-sad.

"Shocking." Wednesday sarcastically replies, not sure how exactly to feel about that. Eugene doesn't really seem to detect it or is just too busy leering over at Enid with a very obvious kind of look. 

"I've always had a thing for werewolf chicks." Eugene mentions without making sure if anyone asked first. "I wonder if that Woods-Creep guy does so as well, I heard he's pretty good with the ladies." He references with a smirk in a way that makes Wednesday suspect he doesn't know what 'creep' means or actually heard the rumors surrounding him.

"The chance that Enid ever becomes romantically interested in you is less than once percent." Wednesday tells him bluntly with a stare that is very confident in her mental calculations, adding into her established crush on Ajax and her clear disgust with bees, which Eugene has accociated himself with. 

"So I've still got a shot? Yes!" Eugene exclaims with a fist bump to the air, showing that there's really nothing Wednesday can say to him. That's definitely a good thing for her and her mouth. She leaves them to their business, and once it's just the two of them, the boy grabs his cap and confidently walks closer to the Werewolf. "In ancient times, honey was used to treat wounds and in sacrificial burial rites." He goes on another trivia rant while Enid just stares at him without moving a muscle. "Cleopatra was rumored to bathe in honey, gave her skin a little luminous glow. You ever taken a honey bath?"

"I just don't wanna get stung." Enid responds as she winces when she thinks she hears a bee sneaking through a crack in the shed. 

"They key is to remain calm." Eugene tells her the basics, clearly trying to establish himself as a protective figure for the damsel in distress, as one would say. "Bees detect fear, but you don't need to worry, 'cause I have a very big smoker and I handle it like a pro." He tells her before getting an excited look. "Would you like to see it?!"

Enid whimpers.

__________________________________________

Wilderness:

With the distraction now in one place, Wednesday is able to patrol the woods of the outside area of the campus as she pleases. She uses her knowledge of the events of the Harvest Festival and her time finding the perfect hibernation spot for Grizzlies like she mentioned earlier to find her way. All she has to do is find something that looks even remotely out of place, and she has more than enough proof that a struggle or something along the lines happened here.

As she walks though, she hears a small crunch and rustle in the leaves, causing her to briefly pause and take a look of her surroundings, wondering if that was her imagination or if her keen sense detected something. However, she sees nothing except the trees and the nature, nothing moving that even the wind could've caused.

She squints before continuing on...

Until she suddenly bumps into Y/N's chest.

"What the heck are you doing here?!" Y/N hisses in her face after appearing behind her from seemingly nowhere, a slightly embarrassing moment for Wednesday as that's usually her area of expertise. "Are you crazy?"

"Plenty." Wednesday easily responds with a blank look before pushing off Y/N's hand on her arm. "What are you doing here?" 

"Going on a nice, wood-y stroll." Y/N responds sarcastically as he glances around, anxiously feeling up his jacket. "The real question is, how the heck have you been casually hiking around in your shoes that could signal a deaf yack?" He questions her with a judging glare, noting that there's something else her in the woods with them.

"What do you-?"

Just then, they hear the barking of a dog, and before Wednesday can move, she's suddenly pulled behind a tree, hand on her nose and mouth while Y/N backs up behind a different one, doing his best not to breathe as much as the third party. They all hear, rustling as Sheriff Galpin passes by, his dog leading him to a trail. 

The shepherd slowly marches towards them, his nose scrunched.....

Before picking up something in the opposite direction. The good boy barks and leads Galpin farther away, allowing Y/N to let out an inhale of belief while Wednesday quickly snaps herself out of the other person's hold. The both of them turn to see Tyler Galpin standing behind her. "Sorry." He awkwardly apologizes, knowing she's probably not a toucher. "I didn't want Elvis to pick up your scent."

"What are you doing here?" Y/N brings up the obvious question for him as he squints at Tyler with a suspicious look.

"Case was closed, but my dad made it painfully obvious to me that he thinks there's a monster out there." Tyler answers with a shrug, before staring at him with a similar look of his own. "Not whatever your weird mind thought of." 

 "Oh, how nice..."

"Thanks, how'd you throw them off?" Wednesday queries curiously, to which Tyler pulls out some beans from the Weathervane from his jacket's pockets. "Coffee grounds?"

"Dear-hunting hack." Tyler explains with a shrug as he puts them back, having a little know-how himself. It was kind of the only thing he could bring in a short amount of time. "One of the perks of being a part-time barista."

"Well, great, now we've just bumped up the chances of us getting caught to sixty percent." Y/N remarks with a sigh as he looks around, slowly pulling out a flashlight that he apparently brought with him, one of those tiny ones. "And the twenty percent came from me and Wednesday combined."

"Hey, I just saved our asses, so thank you very much." Tyler points out with a similar amount of distain in his tone, to which Y/N roll his eyes. The Galpin kid then turns to Wednesday. "You probably think it's weird that I'm stalking my dad."

"No, I consistently stalk my parents." Wednesday answers with a serious face, to which Tyler has learned not to question if she is or not. "But I'm more curious as to why you're here." She then asks Y/N and she turn her head directly towards him, to which the boy just gives her a snark smile before trailing down a path, expecting them to follow if they want to.

"Rowan's been acting really off ever since he came back from the Harvest Festival." Y/N answers, not going into too much detail about it like when he baited the fake Rowan into answering a trick question. "So, I wanted to see if maybe he really was dead, and being a guy who's raised himself in the woods, I decided to check it out myself."

"So, what? You're some kind of Bear Grylls?" Tyler questions as the two do, in fact, end up following him. Y/N gives him a glance in response to what he thinks is a silly comment. 

"Yeah, and my survival tip for you is to go eat a big back of Werewolf dicks." Y/N responds in a sarcastically vulgar manner. "Don't ask me stupid questions." He advises while keeping his eyes on the path, Tyler scoffing at him in response. 

"Yeah, that doesn't make me very confident in your abilities...." 

"Good, because you'd probably jinx us if you said something." Y/N remarks before abruptly holding a hand out, bumping Wednesday's chest when she almost walks past him. He kneels down at what looks to be a shoe-print that was dragged in through dirt. "There, our first sign of a struggle."

"Like if someone grabbed somebody by the other leg and threw them back on the ground....." Wednesday mentally notes, flashbacking to the moment right before Rowan's stomach was sliced up. Tyler looks over and hums conflicted as he stares down at it.

"Isn't it kind of big, though?" Tyler suggests as he points to it, challenging Y/N's judgement. "I mean, it could a deer, could be Bigfoot."

"Could be your mom." Y/N shoots back childishly, turning on his light and flashing it in his face. "But we're not leaving until we find out."

"Your arts at juvenile insults belong in a history book." Wednesday sarcastically comments, obviously thinking that they should actually belong in the dung pile that they originated from. Whatever being put her in a room with these two mortals must hate her indeed.

 "Aim to please..." Y/N replies with a fake amused smile. "Actually, now that I think about it, what did happen back at the Harvest Festival?" He then asks her, Tyler looking at her curiously as well as he too, wants to know. Wednesday doesn't respond at first, just moving forward. "Hey, it's not like anyone would believe us if we told them."

"Yeah, and I swear I won't tell my dad." Tyler adds, causing Wednesday to mentally sigh before turning to them.

"I thought Rowan was in danger." Wednesday tells them, though once again leaving her visions out of the equation so her stalkers can figure the why part out for themselves. "Turns out I was wrong, and then he proceeded to use his telekinesis to try and choke me to death." She relays to them with a face that shows no sign of lying, before going back to following the trail they discovered.

"Holy shit..." Tyler silently exclaims while he and Y/N share a perplexed look. "Why would he do that?" He asks what's on both of their minds as they seem to be following her now. Guess it makes sense, since she was the main witness.

"No idea." Wednesday answers quickly, still keeping some secrets to herself. She's most definitely not going to reveal Y/N's 'Chosen One' title to his face, both because of his ego, and the fact that she's very skeptical of it. "That's when this monster came out of the shadows and gutted him."

"Gutted?" Y/N repeats, shivering a little bit at the mere mention of gore, something that only Tyler notices as he stares at him suspiciously, as if knowing how that feels or something. "So, you were really there? And it just.... left like it got a call from mom that dinner was ready?" He then asks Wednesday, wonder if that's what she's suggesting, and if so, that sounds very odd.

"It actually saved me from Rowan. That's the part I'm trying to figure out." Wednesday shares with them as she now steps into what she feels like is the exact area that the corpse was when she left it that night. "I came out here to find something that can prove he was murdered and that I haven't lost my mind.... yet."

"Really saved yourself with that last part." Y/N comments with a tiny chuckle, causing Tyler to give him a weird look. "Because I was about to say..."

"Hey, will you lay off of her?" Tyler butts in defensively as he softly shoves him, causing Y/N to jerk back and face him directly. "She's not what you think she is."

"I'm sorry did I ask you for your opinion?" Y/N questions as he gives Tyler a glare as he pockets his flashlight like he's prepared to fight this guy in the middle of the woods, where the trees will witness. "Because you got a good sense of people, right?"

"Not too far off when it comes to you." Tyler responds shamelessly, getting in the guy's face. "Going by what you did." 

"You two are getting on my nerves, and not the ticklish ones." Wednesday chimes in as the two boys turn to see her giving them an impatient look, wanting to get this show on the road as soon as possible. After all, they still have the Sheriff's bloodhound lurching around. Tyler and Y/N share a heated look before eventually setting it aside for now.

After what feels like ambling around forever, Wednesday's eye finally catches something note-worthy, soon followed by Y/N. They both walk over and see a pair of broken glasses laying on top of the grass, glasses that look precisely like Rowan's. "Those are definitely our victim's...." Y/N notes as Tyler walks over, looking down at the item with a hum.

"I knew it was a cover-up." Wednesday says pridefully as she picks them up.....

Sending her head into the air....

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Rowan puts all of his energy into the gargoyle, sending it straight towards Wednesday's head.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"What are you talking about?"

"I found it on your books, you psychopath!" Xavier accuses as he points towards his dormmate's desk.

"Yeah, speaking of that-" Rowan sarcastically remarks.

"You're creeping her out!" 

"Shut up!" 

Rowan sends Xavier into the wall with his powers, creating a small crack in it.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Rowan telekinetically pulls the book to his palm where he opens it, and tears out a drawing written by his mother.

On the other page, is the figure of a tall and menacing pilgrim. 

()()()()()()()()()()()

Rowan sneaks into the dorm room and stands over the sleeping Y/N.

Hesitantly, he then presses his fingers against his forehead, implanting something into his mind.

()()()()()()()()()()()

Rowan drops the book, the symbol on the cover the same as on the page, just like the rest.

()()()()()()()()()()()

Wednesday then comes back to the real world, where Y/N and Tyler are kneeling beside her from both sides after seeing her suddenly get some kind of exaggerated shock attack. "You okay?" One of them asks, noticing how her hair has been slightly messed up because of it. Despite the painful but not satisfying aftermath, Wednesday is more than okay.

She's gotten another lead.

_________________________________________

Nevermore: Library

When Wednesday had that vison from Rowan's glasses, it gave her another idea. In one of those images, there was the book Rowan ripped the page from, that book had the same exact symbol the sketch of Wednesday had on its top right corner. Given that she has a page for reference, and her memory is photographic when it comes to these things, she's taken Thing to the library where they should be able to easily find it.

Key word, should.

"I keep seeing that same purple book." Wednesday vents to Thing as he goes through an entire shelf, pulling out a more-brighter book as if asking if it's the one. "The cover was darker, more like a day-old contusion, keep looking." She instructs, and the hand gives a thumbs up before checking one farther up. The home of books, and yet two hours in, they still can't find the one they're looking for. Don't know if that's ironic, or just plain frustrating.

"I don't usually find students in her looking for actual books." A female voice chimes in, causing Thing to quickly hide behind the pieces of literature while Wednesday turns to see Mrs. Thornhill walking down the steps with an impressed smile. "Most sneak in to make out."

"I accidentally walked in on two vampires fang-ing." Wednesday shares with Thornhill, who chuckles in response, definitely able to relate to that. "I can't un-see that." 

"You know, it's usually only Y/N around here, idly reading or pretending to read something. Guess it's because it's the only place nobody bothers him." Thornhill mentions with a tiny smile, though there seems to be a feint hint of sympathy as she talks about it. "Have you talked with him yet, I know you two sit together in class."

"I hope that's as far as it goes." Wednesday coldly responds to which Thornhill awkwardly chuckles as she notices she hit a sore spot with her.

"Is there something I can help you find?" Thornhill queries, offering her older services. Wednesday considers sharing how much that she knows, before deciding that it should be safe, and taking out the drawing, her drawing, not Rowan's.

"Have you seen this before?" Wednesday asks, showing her personal sketch of the symbol that was on the book and on Rowan's drawing. "It's a watermark from a book I'm looking for." She explains as Thornhill adjusts her glasses, squinting at it.

"I think it's the symbol to an old student society...." Thornhill notes as she seems to bring trying to remember it. "Uh.... The Nightshades."

"Like the deadly flower?" Wednesday questions as she turns the back around, staring at it again in a different light. Now, the compass rose-like shape behind the skull makes a lot more sense. "Color me intrigued." 

"I was told they disbanded years ago." Thornhill mentions. A book holding a drawing of a girl that looks like Wednesday and the society supposedly behind that book are now gone? Can't be surprised at how convenient that is.

"Any idea why?"

"Sorry." Thornhill says with a shake of her head, seemingly only knowing them by name. Wednesday hums as she notes herself for trying as she walks back to her back and slides the paper back into it. If the expert hasn't spotted a copy, it's likely that it isn't in here, because a book like that would be easy to remember, even if you didn't have a vision. "I was very impressed with your answers in class today." Thornhill tells her with a bright smile.

"My mother is a carnivorous plant aficionado." Wednesday shares with Thornhill, sending her obvious attempts to 'bond' with her students, and accepting it for now as her visions have her a little shaken up at the moment. "I assume I get my red thumb from her."

"Are you and your mother close?" Thornhill asks innocently, which only prompts a tense reaction from Wednesday, who pauses her movements for a brief second before finishing in sipping up her backpack.

"Like two inmates sentenced to life on the same cellblock."

"I know it can't be easy showing up mid-semester." Thornhill expresses empathy to Wednesday, apparently needing to take a seat next to the same table her bag is on. "I've been here a year and a half, and I still feel like an outsider."

"Is that because you're the only Normie on the staff?" Wednesday correctly deduces, causing Thornhill to glance down, emotionally conflicted. "Enid told me."

Thornhill bitterly smiles in confirmation. "To tell you the truth, I've never really fit in anywhere." He tells Wednesday, who glances down, able to relate but not wanting to express that to the teacher. "Too odd for the Normies, not odd enough for the Outcasts. I thought Nevermore would be different, but there are still a handful of teachers who will barely acknowledge me. The only gift I ever received was from Y/N, who somehow was able to make it a tiny cake and sneak it onto my desk without anyone noticing." She shares with Wednesday, giggling softly. "Such a sweet boy..."

Wednesday glances down upon hearing this information, not just about Thornhill's similar backstory, but about the mention of Y/N. She can feel her heart slowly coming to life and challenging her viewpoint of the kid based on alleged files that were proven not guilty, but she refuses to change her mind so easily. "I act as if I don't care if people dislike me." She says to Thornhill, eyes still looming around the floor. "Deep down....... I secretly enjoy it."

Thornhill chuckles enviously in response. "Never lose that, Wednesday." She advises her with a big smile. Wednesday blinks.

"Lose what?"

"The ability to not let others define you." Thornhill specifies, clearly looking like she wishes she has more of what Wednesday does. "It's a gift." She claims, though the girl mentally shrugs at that.

"Doesn't always feel that way."

"The most interesting plants grow in the shade." Thornhill remarks with a face before checking the time, seeing that she has to go. "And if you ever need anyone to talk to, the door to the conservatory is always open." She informs Wednesday before walking away, leaving her to resume whatever search she was on.

____________________________________________

Meanwhile....

Y/N stares down at all of the books on the table, hand to his chin as he brainstorms conclusions. Rowan was dead, and yet he came back, but different. What kind of species or spell allows something like that to happen? And why can't he find it in this 'Book of Outcasts'? Why can't this whole playing detective thing be easy?

I'm currently now starting to understand skepticism. Why believe a hard truth when an easy answer doesn't make you constantly ask more questions where the answers only bring more? I think of Tyler Galpin did tell his dad, he wouldn't believe him despite the man's obvious suspicions of a monster from Nevermore.

Y/N rubs his face, starting to feel really tired. Then, he hears a soft thud, and quickly turns around to see that one of the books somehow fell from one of their shelves. Blinking, looking around to see if there's someone else in the library with him, but it's as quiet as a bear's cave.

He stands up and walks over to the fallen book, looking around for anyone trying to retrieve it before kneeling down to pick it up. Right as he goes to place it back.....

He sees something non-human staring at him from the other side.

Y/N freezes as he comes across the biggest eyeball someone's ever witnessed engaging in eye contact with him. He then stands up, allowing Y/N to look up and see that it's taller than the bookshelf entirely. He soon recognizes it as his darker half.

Then it breaks the shelf in half. 

"Holy-!" Y/N exclaims before suddenly taking a step back, which somehow is enough for him to fall over on the bookshelf behind him, knocking it down and the ones behind it like a set of dominoes. Footsteps louder than they should be echo across the library, and the boy watches as the Hyde walks around and slowly approaches him.

"Weak...." The Hyde growls at him, marching closer as Y/N throws himself off the shelves and tries crawling himself away, only to be grabbed by the foot and pulled by his large and strong grip. "Friends.... dying..... Friends.... in danger....." He growls as he then throws Y/N onto the floor to face him before lifting the teen up. "You.... do nothing...."

"Now is not the time for this..." Y/N mutters in a raspy voice, trying to pull and grab for air. The Hyde just roars at him in response, only able to talk due to currently still being in his imagination. 

"Rowan.... give me strength..." The Hyde growls as he slams Y/N against the wall in rage. "Lets me... remind you.... of me...." 

"You..." Y/N gasps out, starting to lose the ability to talk. "You're the one creating all hallucinations of her...." He realizes before getting his neck squeezed tighter as the Hyde grins his sharp teeth in confirmation.

"No master..... means..... I do what I want. You stressed..... me powerful." The Hyde remarks pridefully, showcasing how much power he has over Y/N thanks to the source of their horrors being entirely removed. No one to command them and influence their thoughts. "But.... new master.... possible.... " He then tells Y/N before angrily throwing him onto the floor. "FURIOUS!"

"How is that possible?" 

"DON'T KNOW!" The Hyde roars as tears into the library, knowing that there can't be any consequences for it. "DON'T WANT MASTER!  WANT FREEDOM!" He then grabs Y/N again, lifting him up by his foot.

"Find person doing this.... and KILL!" 

...............

.............

....................

"Y/N!" Hearing his name being called and feeling his shoulder being shook is finally enough to wake the poor boy up. He frantically looks up and sees Mrs. Thornhill looking down at him with a heavily concerned look. "Are you alright? You've been making weird noises in your sleep."

"Yeah, yeah...." Y/N quickly answers, standing up and fixing his clothes. "I'm good." He assures her with a fake smile. Thornhill doesn't seem to buy it, but accepts it for now and leaves him be, much to his gratitude. 

Sighing, he then reaches down his back for his diary, feeling inclined to write another paragraph in it, only to find that the space inside the pocket is empty, and the zipper is already open. Blinking, Y/N looks up at the table to find it already on his table, open, even though he doesn't recall doing that. 

He pulls it closer and finds words written in bright red and yellow crayon....

MONSTER

CREEP

GET LOST

He then hears a loud sliding sound and looks over to see a kid in a Nevermore Uniform, slightly purple, quickly rushing up in the stairs, allowing Y/N to put two and two together. He seethes before ripping off the defiled page and slamming the diary shut.

Wiping his face with his hands, he's about to mentally give up until he sees something on the Book of Outcasts page he left off on before passing out. 

Once he sees the title of the species, it all makes sense for him.

___________________________________

Nevermore: Male Dormitories

Xavier completes his evening job as he finds himself backing it back to the school right as the bell tools, signaling the night where every student's expected to be in their beds for the night. He passes by the numerous people before quickly entering the room, finding no Y/N writing in his diary or such. He takes off his EarPods and sets them down on the nightstand before grabbing his shirt and pajamas and stepping into the bathroom.

The second the bathroom door closes, Wednesday pops out from the door to the room's balcony, fully dressed for a mission. "It wasn't in his old room, so that purple book must've been left here." She notes as she does a quick scan of the area. They wait for the sound of water from the showerhead before she turns to him. "Start investigating, again."

The two quickly get to work, focusing on spots that suit them the best. Thing flips threw the narrow places like the boys' bookshelves and the nightstands while Wednesday starts with each desk. She starts with Xavier, finding simple sketches of random things that admittedly look decent. Next, she checks Y/N's where she eventually spots his diary in a drawer. With no sense or respect for personal privacy instead of her own. She goes through it, looking for key words or something, and that's when she stumbles upon that paragraph. 

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 makes a weird face, it doesn't state a name, but she feels like Y/N's talking about her. She finally has the common sense to close it and put it back where she found it. With Thing still on Xavier's side, Wednesday takes a black light and turns off the lights so she can hopefully spot something that thinks it is expertly hidden. 

She crouches under Y/N's bed, where she notices an extreme lack of dust on one plank in comparison to the rest of the wooden floor. She feels it until she opens it up and reveals a hidden cache. There's no gold or incriminating evidence, though, just some kind of masquerade mask inside. Wednesday sits up and brings it closer to her face to get a better look. "Rowan's full of surprises."

However, the door then suddenly opens, causing Wednesday to slink down as fast as a bug afraid of light. Thankfully, with the lights off, Y/N doesn't catch her in his room before he flicks the light switch. He looks around, slightly suspicious as he hears Xavier in the shower before walking over to his desk and setting the Book of Outcasts on the desk. 

Then, the door knocks almost right as he's about to call out to his friend, causing him to sigh as he walks over to answer it, expecting it to be Bianca who's once again snuck inside for some weak apology. 

However, much to his surprise, it's actually Divina standing on the other side, giving him that same old smiles of hers the second they make eye contact. "You shouldn't be up here." Y/N points out the obvious as he pulls her into the room before someone sees her. "Xaiver's in the shower, are you crazy?"

"Good to see you too." Divina remarks with a slightly offended look as she fixes her jacket after getting pulled like that. Wednesday slides under the bed as she gets the hint that she and Thing going to have to be under here for a good long while. 

"How'd you get past Vlad? Use your Siren powers again?" Y/N questions judgingly as he closes the door, giving her a look as he walks back to his bed.

"You know the rules, we have to wear this at all times." Divinia responds as she grabs at her neckless, the enchanted piece of jewelry that blocks all of a Siren's powers. "Look, think the worst of me all you want, but please don't call me stupid. He would know if I did like just like Xaiver knew Bianca did."

"Why are you here, Divina?" Y/N asks with a roll of his eyes, calling her by her real name and not her nickname like he once did.

"To apologize for Kent." Divina answers with a small shrug, putting her hands in her pockets as if seemingly a little nervous, even though Y/N believes her to be incapable of feeling an genuine emotion besides a cult boner for Bianca Barclay. "Look, he's petty and still doesn't like how you man-handled him in the lockers that one time, he doesn't treat diaries the way you do."

"You know, I would believe that, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm more on the side of you telling him to do that." Y/N calls her out with a look that seems to now better, only for Divina to blink and look at him like he's lost it.

"I'm not that heartless."

"Could've fooled me." Y/N remarks with a shrug, causing Divina to scoff as he paces around the place. Wednesday can't help but be interested in the conversation she's currently eavesdropping. Enid, the queen of gossip, never mentioned a connection between Bianca's pet and Xavier's dormmate, so why are they discussing like they have some kind of history? 

"So, if I'm a ruthless fish, what does that make Wednesday?" Divina queries as she stops pacing and turns directly at Y/N, arms crossed. "Are you really saying you just keep bumping into her that much, or did your slobber come from something you ate?" She asks with a raised brow, and the boy cackles at what he's suggesting. He notices his diary open and quickly closes it before turning around to face her again. "Seriously, why do you feel like you have to prove something to her?"

"I don't 'feel' anything about her."  Y/N retorts with a disgusted look that she would even assume he has that kind of connection towards a tragic goth girl with funeral-parlor fashion sense. "The only reason I'm still able to stand here is because she doesn't see me as a 'safe option'." He brings up with a glare, causing Divina to drop her hands with a small frown.

"I said one bad thing and you can't forgive me." Divina vents with a look while Y/N sighs through his nose at her attempt to play victim. "You treat each other like crap, and you can't get enough."

"Okay, why are you so fixated on Wednesday?" 

"I-!" Divina almost shouts, before quickly checking her volume due to the roommate still in the shower. As Y/N squints as her, showing some genuine concern despite his buried anger, she takes a deep breath and calms herself down. "I'm not, I'm sorry, it's just that I hate hearing Bianca talk about her so much." She complains with an irritated exhale. "She talks about how Wednesday thinks she's better than everyone else, and how she's a psychopath like every two minutes."

"Bianca talks about anyone she's worried could actually match her." Y/N states the obvious with a knowing look.  Wednesday feels a sudden stab to her stomach upon hearing that, her body temperature rising as she starts to realize just how much is being said about her behind closed doors. "Look, Wednesday's a lot of things, bitch included, but egomaniac isn't one of them." 

Divina blinks upon hearing that. "Was that a.... compliment about her? From you?" She asks with a pointed look, causing Y/N to mentally roll his eyes as he stares blankly back at her. Wednesday is also sharing a look with Thing, surprised to have heard it. "You sure you don't like her?"

"Can we stop talking about Wednesday?" Y/N semi-snaps with a hiss, shaking his head as he finds himself going into an emotional territory he doesn't like. "What I really want to know is what your 'queen' did to the Black Cats. Does your girlfriend know you willing gave Bianca the means to put garlic in her food?" He questions with a raised brow, causing the Siren open her mouth but shut it almost instantly, showing true guilt.

"I didn't know she was gonna-"

"Like hell you didn't, that's how your dorm keeps winning." Y/N calls her out before she even finish her lying sentence. He remembers how Xaiver and Ajax complained about it and knew that a feat like that was only possible with either luck or sabotage behind the scenes.

"Look, I didn't come here to constantly fight with you. I just wanted you to.... be careful. Wednesday isn't someone misunderstood like you are." Divina states as she slowly walks towards Y/N, who wants to flinch away but finds himself not doing so. "I'm just looking out for a friend." She says as she softly take Y/N's hand. "We're still friends, are we?"

"You tell me." Y/N responds as he looks up at her, conflicted. "Do friends expose their records to the entire school and brand them as the Woods-Creep for the entire semester?" He asks, causing Divina's face to turn red as she rips her hand away, which was probably what he was trying to do.

"At least I didn't ruin my friend's favorite dress."  Divina counters, reminding him that he's not the completely innocent one in this. "Trust me, Wednesday Addams is not the girl of your dreams, she's the stuff of your nightmares." She says before finally leaving, closing the door behind her. Wednesday clenches a fist, finding herself feeling a blender of emotions all at once in a way that makes her feel sick, but she's been hiding under this bed for so many minutes that she's not going to let the tiniest drop of vomit give her away now.

Right as the Siren's gone, the bathroom door opens and Xavier steps out in his night clothes. The psychic awkwardly turns to the pretend one. "How much did you hear?" Y/N asks, knowing that he wouldn't be human if he didn't.

"All of it." Xavier admits as he throws his dirty clothes into the bathroom hamper before closing the door behind her. "You mind telling me why one of the famous Siren twins was in your room, wanting to talk to you?"

"Yes, I do mind." Y/N answers defensively as he turns around, prompting Xavier to roll his eyes. "But this, I do want to talk about." He then adds, beckoning his roommate closer as he pulls out the book he just got from the library, successfully getting his attention.

"What's that?" 

"A book about Outcasts, and every kind there is in the world.... so far." Y/N answers, the last bit being because a certain species he's familiar with is oddly not a part of this book. "Check this page out...." He invites Xavier as he opens up the one he specifically wants him to see, and the guy takes it, obviously noticing the title first.

"Shapeshifters?" Xavier questions with a raised brow, wondering if Y/N is trying to hint at something, which he definitely is. 

"They can take the form, clothes, garments, and voice of anyone with just the figment of their imagination." Y/N explains to Xavier, knowing that he's really onto something with this one. "Think about it, one night at the woods and all of a sudden, the quiet and unstable Rowan is suddenly able to give compliments and be the chilliest quiet guy ever?" He brings up, trying to tap into the guy's mind. "Whoever we saw this morning wasn't Rowan."

"Come on, that's ridiculous." Xavier comments skeptically as he dismissively tosses the book back on the desk, causing Y/N to raise a brow at him. "You're telling me the monster that killed him, assuming Wednesday's story is true, was a shapeshifter?" 

"No, of course not." Y/N answers with a slightly offended look that Xavier would accuse him of being that dumb. "But someone else played a part in having that murder be covered up."

"Okay, but who would do that?" Xavier brings up the next obvious question as he leans against the railing of his bed, looking at Y/N to challenge this deduction that he's put together. "And why? Why go through all the trouble of cleaning up a murder when there's already three confirmed 'animal attacks' of the same nature?"

"Okay, for that last question, because those were ruled out as bear attacks." Y/N quickly answers as he stands up, confident about that at the very least. "For the others...... I'm not really sure yet." 

"Oh, ok." Xavier says with a look, sighing as he goes to check the time. "Look, it's close to ten, we should-"

"One more thing." Y/N interrupts as he holds up a finger, causing Xavier to sigh as he crosses his arms, listening. "I'm in." He then tells him after taking a deep breath, the lack of any context causes his roommate to blink, confused.

"In what?" 

"Phrasing, and I mean the Poe Cup." Y/N tells him, his face showing that he really means it. This definitely grabs Xavier's attention a lot more as she stares inquisitively, wondering what prompted the change of heart. "They spread my closest secret to the world, they poison their own classmates, and now.... they ruined my diary for sick games." He lists off, clenching his jaw tightly. "I'm sick of people like Kent, Divina, and Bianca who think they can just do whatever they want and get away with it."

Xavier nods, obviously able to understand that sentiment. "I thought you didn't want to hurt the team's image?" He asks, just to make sure he really wants to do this.

"It's not about our image." Y/N retorts as he stands up with a determined expression. "It's about making sure that tomorrow, Bianca Barclay doesn't just lose her winning streak, but walks home a defeated woman." He states, fully meaning it.

"Once again, it's time for the Jesters to slay royalty." 

_________________________________________

(A/N) New chapter!

The last scene took a little longer than I liked, because there was so many variants for that scene that I wanted to write, but ended up sticking with the one I got while blending them all together. 

Next chapter will obviously be the Poe Cup, which will once again be tweaked up to be my personal 'cut' of that scene, if you want to call it that. I guess it's going to be a common thing for this book where the final part of each Wednesday Episode will be expanded and/or have it's own little spin on it, curtesy of me.

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