Chapter Text
Wednesday and Enid: 8 Years Old
Enid
Enid Sinclair pressed her hands to the glass of the car window as the car rolled to a stop. Their new home was the color of sunshine, like someone had taken part of a rainbow and pasted it all along the walls. She loved it instantly.
“That’s the Addams family. You are never to go there,” Esther told her children, lugging along her suitcase that barely made it up the crooked sidewalk. “They’re dangerous. Not to be communicated with.”
Of course, Enid couldn’t help but stare. Across the street was a dark mansion with a sharp-edged fence, a built-in graveyard, and wood-boarded windows. Like death but in house form. How could she look away?
The Sinclairs’ new home was the only house near the Addams family mansion for miles, butting right up to the edge of the fence line, like it wasn’t supposed to be there at all.
Enid’s brothers weren’t nearly as interested in their neighbor’s home. “Boys, stop wrestling in the yard! Enid, keep up.”
Enid ignored them and walked past, while the grass tore up beneath their chaotic forms.
“Why’d we move here? If they’re so scary…” Enid asked after a while, as her mother handed her a pair of tall pillows, much taller than Enid. It didn’t seem to fit, and her mom was usually pretty good about making things fit.
Esther groaned as she pulled a particularly heavy bag over the front steps. She handed it off to Enid’s father, Murray. “This house has been on the market for years. We got an excellent deal. A steal, really…in fact, the house inspector told us—”
Enid’s attention snapped away suddenly as she saw a young girl, about the same age as Enid, push through the mansion’s front door. She wore long black braided pigtails, a black skirt and sweater vest over a white collared shirt, and tall black boots.
The girl walked with her head held evenly, like anyone who dared cross her would get what was coming to them.
Something was moving beside her too. Enid squinted her eyes and sure enough the girl had a small collar over a long black snake, who was following beside her like a dog.
To make things even stranger, something pale was sitting on her shoulder.
It was a moment before Enid realized it was a severed hand. She screamed and dropped the pillows. Her mother scowled.
She could see why her mom would call this place dangerous. Once Enid got past the whole creepy part though, the whole thing was…kind of adorable.
Enid’s heart caught as she met the girl’s gaze. She waved over with a large grin. The girl just stood there, her eyes unblinking before turning away and continuing down the path of her yard.
Something about her looked content. But also sad. And Enid instantly wanted to help her feel better.
“Enough staring,” Esther said. “Come help with these bags.”
Enid snapped back to her mother, traipsing all the way there. “Coming!”
But the girl with the black pigtails didn’t leave Enid’s mind after that.
Wednesday
Wednesday watched through a slit in the boarded windows as the horror unfolded next door.
“Too much color,” Morticia said. “That house is a complete eyesore. Can you imagine, someone actually decided to purchase it. It’s positively vulgar.”
“It has…a certain charm to it,” Gomez said with a chuckle, though his nose wrinkled as he said it.
Wednesday didn’t say anything. The whole thing looked like her worst nightmares brought to life.
“I suppose,” Morticia said, as they walked back into the kitchen. “Wednesday, are you coming?”
“In a minute,” Wednesday said. “Nyx needs a walk.”
She stepped outside for some fresh air, but really she wanted to assess her new neighbors.
Even if it meant being met with more vomit-inducing visuals. The blonde and pink haired girl wouldn’t stop staring over. Like the Addams family mansion was made of candy rather than centuries-old mold and decay.
Wednesday decided right then that she would avoid her at all costs.
At least that was the plan, until later that afternoon.
Wednesday was in the middle of planting more nightshade and poison ivy along the fence line, which Morticia promised would earn her extra torture time with Pugsley, when the girl appeared at the other end.
“Hiya, neighbor!” The girl bounced on her toes. “I’m Enid!”
Then she stretched her hand across the metal bars.
“What’s your name?”
Wednesday immediately stepped back.
“I don’t bite! Well…not yet anyway,” Enid said.
“I’d prefer that,” Wednesday said.
Wednesday stared at Enid’s hand like it might self-combust. After a long moment, she took it. The handshake felt warm and Enid was far too eager. This sensation was too unfamiliar for Wednesday’s liking.
“Wednesday,” she said flatly.
Suddenly, a sad excuse for a car began pulling into Enid’s driveway. Enid’s eyes widened to twice their size.
“Oh—mom’s home. Gotta go! Nice to meet you, Wednesday!”
She skipped away.
What a bizarre girl.
Yet, that was the most excitement Wednesday had in a while around here. For better or worse.
Enid
A few days later, Enid watched from her bedroom window as three older boys jumped Wednesday near the little family graveyard at the edge of the Addams family property. They laughed as they spray-painted a gravestone with a snake engraved at the top, while Wednesday knelt there with her severed hand.
Enid hopped from her bed, her entire body firing up with anger.
As soon as she stepped through the front door, the boys were in a completely different state than before. One had a broken arm. Another had a bloody nose. The third boy looked ready to cry.
Wednesday stood over them like a force of nature, braids swinging firmly, eyes colder than anything Enid had ever seen.
But there were tears in her eyes when she turned around.
The boys ran off suddenly. A bunch of scaredy cats.
Enid waited until they were gone. Then raced across the yard.
As soon as Wednesday spotted her, she turned away and wiped her face quickly before turning back around.
“That was really cool,” she said, bouncing on her toes again. “Wanna be friends?”
Wednesday’s dark eyes narrowed, “Only if you like the feeling of being bound by a heretic fork while forced to watch cartoons for twelve hours straight.”
“I don’t know what that means, but sure! Why not?” Enid shrugged, then grinned. “Well, see you around!”
Wednesday
The next day at school, Enid plopped down at Wednesday’s lunch table without warning.
“So—you’ll never guess what MaryAnne did at recess…” Enid continued with a long-winded story about MaryAnne from their class.
Wednesday stared at her blankly. She had zero interest in any of the words she was saying. Then Enid’s eyes fell to Wednesday’s shoulder. “So what’s up with your friend?”
“Friend?” Wednesday asked.
“Yeah,” Enid said, pointing to Thing. “It looks super cute.”
Thing gave Enid a thumbs up and she smiled wider.
“His name is Thing,” Wednesday said.
“What’s his deal? I mean, how did he—you know?” she asked, looking apologetically at Thing. “I hope that’s okay to ask.”
Thing said, no offense taken.
“He said he’s not upset,” Wednesday said. “He’s been part of the family since before I was born.”
“Lucky you then,” Enid said. “Mom won’t even let us have a dog. I mean…it kind of makes sense since we almost turn into one every full moon. Well I don’t—but that’s another story. I always wanted one though.”
Enid glanced back as her friends called out her name, motioning for her to follow. “Well—guess I better go. Nice talking to you!”
Then she was off, as if she’d never been sitting there at all.
For once, Wednesday didn’t find herself wishing the silence would return.
Wednesday
By the end of the week, a strange routine had formed. Every afternoon when Esther was busy, Enid would appear at the fence with her fluffy, perfectly brushed blonde doll with hair long enough to reach its feet.
Wednesday brought hers as well. Dressed in all black like herself, with unevenly chopped hair, and one eye missing while the other dangled helplessly by a single thread from her various experiments.
Enid’s eyes brightened immediately when she first saw it.
“Hey—you have a doll too!” Enid said. Wednesday handed it over as Enid’s face fell and she saw it in full form. “Umm…it’s cute, underneath all the broken parts.”
She tried to hand hers over and Wednesday immediately shook her head. “I’m allergic.”
“Oh, okay,” Enid said.
They sat on opposite sides of the iron fence, dolls in hand, while they swapped stories about their days. Enid’s topics almost always involved some sort of drama unfolding at the school or her home, how her brothers were bullies, and how she wished she would wolf out someday. Wednesday talked about the beauty of graveyards, poisons, and the joy of watching things suffer.
“You’re weird,” Enid had said one day, smiling like it was the best compliment she could give. “I’m glad we’re friends.”
“Your taste in everything makes me want to remove my own eyeballs,” Wednesday said. “But…you don’t make me want to jab a knife through my heart to escape you.”
Enid smiled wide. Wednesday nearly smiled back.
The next afternoon, Wednesday already found herself sitting by the fence before Enid came outside.
She told herself it was merely another one of her experiments.