Finding A Balance:
Summary:
Opposites attract, Right? At least that's the case with Wednesday Addams and Enid Sinclair. As the two girls date, they're forced to find activities they both enjoy, Which is harder than it looks.
“Are you not cold?” Enid asks, pulling the jacked she had borrowed from Wednesday tighter around her shoulders.
“Freezing,” Wednesday replies.
“Take it back then,” Enid says, flinging the coat off. “It’s my fault I didn’t bring a jacket.”
“Nonsense, Enid,” Wednesday says, pushing it back. “I insisted on the location of our picnic being a surprise; you had no way of knowing you should have brought one. Besides, I quite enjoy the feeling.”
“Oh.” Enid hesitantly puts the jacket back on. “Well, thanks for putting this all together. The food’s great.”
“Of course. I researched werewolf’s nutritional needs and preferences and observed your eating habits during meal time to ensure I got it right.”
Enid looks down at her stake. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Wednesday.”
“Don’t compliment me on the bare minimum, Enid. I’m not a man.”
Enid holds off on taking another bite of her food so that her laughter can clear. “Of course. I’ll restrain myself to only to complement the extraordinary things about you, but I’ll still never run out.”
“I doubt that.”
“Oh really?” Enid says, ready to make a fool of herself, listing everything she finds endearing about Wednesday.
“It’s implausible that anyone, especially me, could possess enough positive traits for someone to list for all eternity.”
“Are you doubting my abilities?” Enid says playfully, leaning towards Wednesday.
“My statement was clearly about my unagreeable personality, not your ability to list the traits others contain that you enjoy.”
At the beginning of their relationship, Wednesday’s brazen attitude, refusal to sugarcoat anything, and penchant for getting straight to the point had unsettled Enid; she had never met anyone like Wednesday and was completely unsure how to act around the other girl. Over time she had become used to the other girl’s straightforwardness and even enjoyed it. The realization had hit after the disastrous parents’ weekend.
Her mother had constantly skirted around the topic of her wolfing out, rarely directly bringing it up but always hinting at and eluding to it. She never felt like she could point it out since it would mean she had brought it up, and in her mother’s eye, that meant she had free reign to say whatever she wanted, no matter how hurtful. During that week, being around Wednesday had been a reprieve. She could relax, not worrying about any hidden meaning behind the other girl’s words and actions. It had taken her until the day she almost lost Wednesday to realize that those feelings weren’t only of friendship but of love.
“I’ll give you one right now,” Enid says. “You’re the only person I could enjoy a picnic in a cemetery with.” Enid gestures to their surroundings to prove her point.
“In the late nineteenth century, it was common to visit your local cemetery to have a snack since many communities did not have proper public recreational areas. The practice only fell out of favor within society due to the push for more public spaces and the negative associations that have arisen around death in the past hundred years.”
“There’s another one!” Enid proclaims. “You know so many cool little facts about everything!”
“That’s not something uniquely attributed to me; it’s a common trait of many autistic people. Some even find our penchant for delivering them whenever we see fit quite annoying.”
“Well, I think it’s adorable. Anyone who says otherwise is clearly ableist,” Enid says, smiling brightly at Wednesday. When she looks down to cut another piece off her stake, she realizes she has finished it. Wednesday had finished her meal a while ago, but Enid doesn’t say anything. If she brings attention to the fact that they are both done, it could mean the date is almost over, and she’s not ready for that.
“You’re finished. Perfect.” Wednesday says, and Enid’s shoulders drop. “I’ve prepared an activity for us to do if you wish to stay longer.” Enid perks up as soon as she hears Wednesday’s words.
“Really!” Enid says as Wednesday reaches into the picnic basket that she had brought.
“Of course.” Wednesday pulls out a stack of paper and a brightly colored box of crayons wrapped in a black napkin. “We can search the graveyard for interesting graves and make crayon rubbings. We could even make it a competition if you want to. I set our blanket in the center of the cemetery. We could pick sides and see who can find the oldest person.”
“I’d rather do it together,” Enid says, sliding closer to Wednesday but making sure not to bump into her. Over time, Enid realized that Wednesday wasn’t necessarily averted to touch, just touch she couldn’t control. Ever since Enid had come to the realization, she always let Wednesday make the first contact and then work from there.
Wednesday smiles and places her hand atop Enids while pressing their shoulders together. “What color crayon do you want?”
“Do I have to choose just one?” Enid says as they stand.
“We will likely make multiple rubbings, so you can use a new one each time.” Enid smiles and grabs the crayon box from Wednesday. Before she picks her first crayon, she grabs the black one for Wednesday, not wanting her girlfriend to accidentally touch one of the colorful ones.
“Thank you,” Wednesday says when Enid hands her the crayon. It only takes them a second of walking through the graveyard to find their first victim.
“Look, they died on December thirty-first nineteen ninety-nine.”
“I guess Y2K was true for them,” Wednesday says as she hands Enid a sheet of paper.
“I wonder If they died at 11:59 PM?” Enid says as she places the paper on the headstone
“Statistically, no, but it’s fun to wonder.” When she’s finished, Enid carefully hands the paper to Wednesday, so her skin won’t touch the colorful markings and switches her pink crayon for a blue.
The two walk around alternating between Wednesday’s black and Whatever color enid chooses.
“Dorm curfew is in an hour, and as much as I love sneaking around and bending the rules, we should probably start back to Nevermoor soon. We have time for one more,” Wednesday says.
Enid deflates a little bit. “Alright, let’s make it the best yet.”
“You do realize we won’t be parting ways once we return to campus? We are roommates, Enid.”
“I know, but this is so nice. I never want it to end.” Wednesday looks over to Enid, about to say something, but her eyes slip further into the distance. “What is it?” Enid asks, turning to look in the direction her girlfriend is staring.
“I think I found our final gravestone.” Enid follows Wednesday as she walks over to an old-looking grave near the cemetery entrance. The only thing of note on the headstone seems to be an oval-headed figure with wings at the top. Enid notices a faded phrase under the figure in the last seconds before Wednesday presses the blank paper to the old marble.
“What does it say near the top?”
“Momento Mori. It’s Latin for remember you will die.” Enid’s face pales to almost the same shade as her girlfriends when she hears the words.
“Why would someone want that on their grave?” She squeaks, moving to hide behind Wednesday.
“Pilgrims, mainly the puritans, would have it engraved on their tombstones as a reminder to all that saw to be humble and stay righteous because death could grip you at any moment. The figure of a winged skull would accompany most, but this one lacks the skull aspect of the iconography. Discounting the religious aspect, this is one of the few things I approved of the pilgrims.” Enid places her hand on Wednesday’s shoulder as even more color drains from her face. “Don’t faint, Enid. I didn’t bring the smelling salts with me.”
“I’m not going to faint. I just need a second.”
“Do you need to sit?”
“Ya, that would help.” Enid sinks to the ground with Wednesday’s help. After she finishes the rubbing, she helps Enid to her feet, and they begin their walk back to Nevermore. “This really was amazing Wednesday. Thank you so much for planning it.”
“It was nothing. The homework for the past week has been elementary, so I simply spent the time I would normally allot to it on planning this. It was quite enjoyable to venture to the cemetery last night to find the perfect spot for us to eat.”
“That’s where you were.”
“I also took the time to collect the supplies for our date.”
“I don’t know how I’m going to live up to this next week.”
“Being with you is enough. I would be overjoyed to sit with you and do homework. I will adore anything you choose.”
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