Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yoko woke up to the sound of shuffling, she immediately winced from how bright it was inside the infirmary, despite the curtains drawn around her bed. She reached over and put her shades back on her face, surprised that the light hadn’t woken her up sooner.

“You have a guest already, Miss Tanaka. I’ll send her in.” The nurse that cared for her the night before checked up on her really quickly, surprised that she looked as healthy as she did after one night.

Right… Divina said she needed to talk to her.

Yoko looked over but was surprised to see Laine. When had she even left?

Laine smiled, looking a little less tired than before and sat a respectful distance in one of the provided chairs. “You’re looking better.” She said simply, as if she didn’t know why.

Yoko blinked, “When did you leave?”

Laine looked over her shoulder, listening for nurses before she turned back around. “I left out the window when they started unlocking the building. But, I just changed my clothes then walked in like a normal person this time.” She smirked.

Yoko laughed a little, “You didn’t need to come back…”

Laine scoffed, “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now. Besides, I wanted to make sure you were really fine.”

Yoko couldn’t ignore the little skip in her heart at her admission and looked down at her hands. “Is there… any news?” She asked, curious to see if anything had happened while she was in the infirmary.

Laine seemed to think for a moment, “I just know that Wednesday agreed to help Enid yesterday. I don’t know why or what they’re doing, but Enid seems like she’s in better spirits now.”

Yoko sighed, relieved that Enid had someone to help her. She felt guilty that she couldn’t be there to help when she’d promised to be her copilot during break.

“You should stay here a little longer Yoko.” Laine wrung her hands a little under Yoko’s confused gaze.

“Why? What’s up?” Yoko asked. If she couldn’t participate, she wanted to watch at the very least.

Laine sighed, “Normally, you’d be bedridden for longer. It’d be best if they didn’t know why you suddenly feel better than before you ate garlic, right?”

Yoko sat up and leaned against the headboard with a growl. “Yeah… I get it. Can you watch it for me then? I want someone there for Enid.”

“Of course. I was going to go after checking up on you.”

Yoko paused for a moment and cleared her throat, “Thanks by the way, for being there for me last night.”

Laine tilted her head a little confused, she wasn’t sure why the vampire thought it was needed to thank her for something she would’ve done no questions asked.

“Of course. I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”

Yoko shook her head, “You were there when you needed to be. More than anyone else at least.”

Yoko didn’t need to specify, Laine understood what she meant. 

Laine couldn’t help the surge of protectiveness that surged over her. It had nothing to do with how Yoko fed from her the other night. She couldn’t put her finger on it. It felt like she was trying to guard a special resource from others.

She cleared her throat and held up her hand, a new smart watch with an olive green strap was attached to her wrist. “If you need anything, text me.” She shook the watch a little, emphasizing that she was looking out for any of her messages.

Yoko blushed a little, not knowing what to do with such a sweet gesture and defaulted to her usual smug personality.

“Even a kiss?” She asked, lips curling as she watched Laine instantly combust.

Laine stood, staring down at her feet before her eyes darted up, “Leave your window unlocked and maybe we’ll see.” Her voice scratched out of her throat before she turned on her heel and walked out, leaving Yoko in stunned silence.

Did Laine just flirt back?

Laine darted down the hall and paused under an alcove, her face pressed into her hands as she faced a corner.

Why did she go and say all that? 

The tips of her ears blazed red as she tried to calm her breathing. After a few moments, she let out a breath and made her way across school grounds to get breakfast. She needed to see what everyone else was doing.

She walked in quietly, noting that the girls were already at their table, likely getting started early so that they could get ready. Or maybe so that they could get more sabotaging in.

Calmly, she went through the line and grabbed things that would be easy to eat. Her stomach wasn’t fully back to normal yet, so she got some scrambled eggs, yogurt, and some peanut butter toast with a drizzle of honey.

She avoided the table she usually sat at, and noticed Enid and Wednesday whispering quietly.

She approached them and sat next to Enid, watching as the colorful werewolf perked up and grinned at her.

“Laine! You’re back!” She leaned over and pressed her side against hers in place of a hug. She smiled back and nodded.

“I felt fine to eat down here today.” She looked over to see her roommate staring at her with an intensity that no one has used with her before.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting.” Laine glanced over at Enid. “I just wanted to tell you that Yoko is sad that she won’t be able to watch you compete. She’s feeling better though.” 

Enid let out a sigh of relief and sagged forward, “Omg, I really needed to hear that. I was so worried about her, she looked so bad the other night.”

Wednesday’s voice cut in, “She’s already recovered from garlic poisoning?” Her tone led Laine to believe she wasn’t buying that one bit.

Laine shook her head, “She hasn’t recovered. She’s just feeling better.”

Enid perked up, “Oh! You haven’t met Wednesday yet have you? You’ve been sick!”

Laine glanced over at her grim roommate and nodded, “We haven’t formally met, no. Just in passing.”

The other girl nodded, still curt.

Enid grinned, “Well, this is Wednesday Addams, my new roomie! She’s a bit scary but she’s not so bad if you get to know h-“ 

“Enid.” 

Enid continued, skipping over the introduction like the girl wasn’t currently trying to plot her demise, “and this is my friend Laine Raya. She took me camping last year, it was so fun!”

Laine nodded politely, feeling tension rolling off from the Addams. She’d need to ask her dad if he knew anything about that family. She couldn’t help but feel like the girl was trying to dissect her with glance alone, down to the smallest atom particle.

Wednesday cleared her throat and stood, “I have some last minute calculations I need to attend to. I’ll see you before the competition, Enid.” 

She left without waiting for a response as the two sat and watched her go. They both let out sighs. Now that Wednesday was gone, they could see the rest of the quad.

She could feel Enid tense, knowing she was looking over at their previous table, so she got up and sat in front of her to break the line of sight. Enid gave her a grateful smile and tucked into the rest of her breakfast.

Laine spoke halfway through eating her breakfast, “I’m planning on watching you down at the docks today but…I can’t help wanting to see what they have planned. If everything they’ve got planned is gonna be worth all of this.”

Enid paused, fork hanging from her mouth before she pulled it out. She chewed with her brows furrowed, “Is that a good idea? Like, I’m not gonna stop you or anything butttt…”

Laine shrugged. “I just have to know. I’ll be watching for you but, I hope you don’t mind me not being at the crowded finish line?”

Enid just waved her hand fondly. “Of course not, I know you hate being close to loud people. Man, you really are sort of familiar to Wednesday sometimes. Easier to be around but still similar.”

Laine was honestly unsure if she should be offended by that, but she ignored it. It seemed Enid always drew darker personalities to her even though it wasn’t intentional. 

She rolled her eyes and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder then stood up, “I’ll find a good spot to see you off. Good luck Enid.”

Enid grinned, smile and eyes bright. “Thanks!”

Laine took the long way down to the docks, thinking quietly to herself. She wondered if she should meddle or just let things lie. She sighed and stopped at a hill that overlooked the starting line as well as the river where she could distantly see the crypt.

She could see that she was right on time, Enid and Wednesday were both changed into their costumes and climbing into their canoes. In hindsight, it would’ve been hilarious to see Yoko in that costume.

That, and it would’ve been unfair once Yoko touched down onto the crypt. She’d outpace everyone else easily.

She watched the race start, raising her brow as she saw Kent approach from down the starting line. He stood at the edge of the docks, watching for Bianca.

At her nod, he quickly removed his shirt and dove into the water. Laine sighed and rolled her eyes. There really were no rules in the relay.

She silently watched the whole mess go down, the sirens eliminated one team while Ophelia Hall eliminated another.

Watching them approach, she caught sight of Kent again, trying to push Wednesday and Enid into a large buoy. She grit her jaw, wondering just how far they’d be willing to go after poisoning Yoko.

She’d figured that they’d feel bad about their mistake and play truthfully, but this seemed far from it.

If anything, she wondered why they needed to go so far to eliminate other teams. Why couldn’t Kent just push Bianca’s canoe so that they pulled ahead? It was all mean spirited, she never thought she’d see them resort to it.

Sure, Laine knew Bianca and Divina had mean girl streaks, but they weren’t truly awful people. The girls could be petty sometimes, she knew that.

Kent would do anything for his sister, but even the way they all ganged up on Wednesday honestly shocked her.

She watched Kent suddenly disappear and Ophelia hall pulled ahead after sinking the golden canoe.

She walked down the hill with an odd sort of detachment. She could feel the anger still bubbling underneath her, but she refused to acknowledge it.

Standing on the docks, she watched as Kent surfaced with a groan and began to crawl up to the dock. He froze, realizing he was under a shadow and slowly looked up.

Laine’s eyes were glinting down at him, pupils slightly slit from the water reflecting back into her face. They glimmered a molten amber and gold. Her expression was cold and slightly agitated, where she usually had a shy reserved look.

Kent gulped, “Laine… Hey buddy, help a guy up?” He asked nervously, hand reaching out. He winced when her eyes narrowed, not moving an inch.

“Was it worth it?” She asked, voice low.

Kent tilted his head, “What was?” He asked, confused.

Laine worked her jaw before her hand shot out, grasping his hand before yanking him clear out of the water before he stumbled and rolled onto the docks with a surprised yelp.

She circled him and stared him down, “You all went through all of this trouble, and after everything you have nothing to show for it. So, was it worth getting you to where you are now?”

Kent stared up, going a little pale as he saw the air waver around Laine like the air above hot asphalt.

“H-Hey, Laine…” He stuttered nervously, hand reaching out to placate.

Laine growled and pulled away, then stalked down the path, leaving a slightly bewildered and bruised Kent behind.

At the very least, she would go congratulate Enid, eat dinner, then go check on Yoko after. Hopefully by then, Divina would’ve shown her face and apologized to Yoko.

Laine simmered quietly during the celebrations, standing off to the side and listening to Weems congratulate Ophelia Hall on their win. When she got into Enid’s line of sight, she offered a quick smile and thumbs up before she was swept away by some of the girls in their hall.

Her eyes swept over to the sirens that were currently muttering amongst themselves, Divina scolding Kent about something as he held an ice pack to his bruised eye.

They made eye contact, Kent looking nervously between his sister and Laine before she looked away, lips curled into a frown. He sunk a little and watched as his sister walked towards the infirmary.

Laine waited about ten minutes before she went that way too, hoping that was enough time for them to talk it out.

She paused in front of the door and tilted her head, still hearing them talking. She didn’t want to listen in, so she sat in one of the chairs by the water cooler.

The voices were louder than she thought it would be, she couldn’t help but overhear a few things.

“What about Bianca?” Yoko asked, voice a little agitated.

Divina sighed, “Please babe, Bianca just wanted to win, alright? We didn’t mean for you to get poisoned. She told him to distract you, not poison you.” 

“Then what’s stopping her from coming here and apologizing herself? If it’s not such a big deal, why is it such a big deal all of a sudden?” 

Laine had never heard Yoko use that tone of voice before, like she was just accepting but still disappointed. 

“She’ll come around, just give her some time. She’s really sorry.”

Laine heard Yoko scoff, “Yeah, sure. Okay.”

Divina paused, “Are we okay?”

It was quiet before Yoko responded. “Yeah.”

Laine frowned. Why was Yoko forgiving them so quickly, especially with how they tried to get to Enid in order to anger her roommate?

She felt a little irritated at that. The way Yoko just accepted half assed apologies so that things would smooth over

Divina spoke again, “Are you coming to Jericho tomorrow? For outreach day?”

Yoko hummed, “Yeah. I’ll see you then.”

Laine picked up what she meant, that she wanted to be left alone until tomorrow. She sat there quietly, back pressed against the wall as Divina approached the door.

She watched as the siren left, not noticing Laine as she strode down the hall with an air of tension.

Laine sat there for a moment, making sure she was really gone before she slipped inside. She saw Yoko tense, ready to have to hear another apology before she saw Laine. 

Yoko quickly relaxed and let out a sigh, “You’re back.”

Laine nodded and sat in the chair she did earlier that morning. “Of course. You’re still here.” She let her eyes roam over Yoko. She looked a lot better now that the blood had time to go through her system.

“Enid won, did you hear?” She asked as Yoko leaned back against the headboard. She nodded. “Yeah. Div just came by.”

Laine nodded too, “Yeah. I saw.” She said simply. “She said sorry?” She asked, eyes on Yoko’s expression.

Yoko paused, lips twitching before she smiled a little. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it shortie.”

Laine stared, fingers curling into her pants. “You forgave her.” She said simply, not asking.

This caused Yoko to blink in surprise, looking up at her, “Yeah, of course. It was an accident.”

Laine suppressed the growl that nearly left her throat and swallowed it down like a pill stuck in her throat. “An accident that could have been avoided if they weren’t trying to get to Wednesday by getting to Enid…”

Yoko was quiet as she looked down at the blanket, knowing she didn’t have much to stand on with that logic. She sighed, “I know. I just. I want to get over it. The arguing with Bianca and Div. I just want things to go back to before.”

Laine stood and crossed her arms, eyes narrowing as Yoko looked up at her in surprise, “Laine.”

Laine let out an irritated huff and turned so she looked out the window, “I can’t believe you right now.” She muttered.

The vampire could only stare at her friend with a bewildered expression. Not only was Laine visibly angry, but she was voicing her opinions without letting others step over her. 

She turned her head and looked at Yoko from the corner of her eye, “You’re just going to let them step all over you and Enid because you just want things to go back to the way they were?”

Yoko opened her mouth, no sound coming out as Laine continued.

“Things won’t go back to the way they are unless they admit that they’ve been awful to you and Enid. They won’t do that if you just let them imply that they’re sorry without actually apologizing.”

She clenched her jaw and stared out the window as Yoko tried to find her words. Was this the change Laine mentioned before or was she mad enough to finally voice her opinions?

Yoko cleared her throat, “I get it. Things have been crazy lately though, for all of us. I’m not in a hurry, so give them some time.”

She could hear Laine grind her teeth before she sighed, turning back around to face Yoko. “Alright.” She was mad at Yoko for letting things go, but she wouldn’t take it out on her.

Yoko gazed up at her, trying to read her expression. Out of everything, she didn’t want Laine to be upset. The way she was holding herself looked different than normal, tense like she had imaginary spikes to keep people away from her.

She finally spoke, not wanting Laine to leave quite yet, “Are you joining us on Outreach Day?”

Laine’s brow furrowed, “You’re going?”

Yoko nodded, “I feel better and… it’s a good chance to make things right with the girls.”

Laine turned and stared out the window again before Yoko could see her expression, her jaw worked in overtime, the beginnings of a headache forming between her eyes. 

She wanted to snap, that this wasn’t a mess Yoko needed to fix. Hell, it wasn’t a mess she should be fixing either. But she stayed silent. She didn’t want Yoko to see the extent of her anger, or the urge she had deep inside to keep anything that harmed Yoko away from her.

She closed her eyes and let out another deep calming breath. Her instinct to hoard and protect were fighting with her desperation to be normal.

“I see.” She grit out as Yoko wilted a little. She folded her hands in her lap as she watched Laine war internally with herself. These definitely weren’t reactions after feeding on her the other night, it seemed more instinctual, and Laine was fighting it tooth and nail.

It was barely there, just the smallest of whispers. She only noticed because Laine was only a few feet away. Feeding on someone made Yoko a little more aware of their feelings. She was more aware of her presence.

If they were in a crowded room, she’d be able to focus easier on Laine and Divina. Divina more so, but still.

Currently, Laine’s presence was stark. Negative emotions rolled off of her stiff posture, making Yoko worry about what happened before she entered the room. She hated that she was stuck in the infirmary. She wanted to see Enid, ask what went down.

Laine seemed to remember that Yoko asked her a question and turned her head. “I won’t be allowed to go. My father doesn’t believe in…reaching out and mingling with outcasts, so he never signed my permission form.”

Yoko nodded, not really surprised. “Did you want to go?”

Laine shook her head, “No. Not really. I don’t see the point. This town only sees us in an unflattering light. I don’t want to be around anyone right now.”

Yoko couldn’t argue with that. She’d always noticed the stares and whispers, not that anyone dared doing anything to them.

Laine uncrossed her arms and turned fully towards Yoko. “I have some more homework to catch up on. As well as the alternative assignment since I’m not allowed to go tomorrow. So, I have to go.”

Yoko tried to not look to disappointed and nodded.

Laine couldn’t help but feel like she just kicked a puppy and sighed, extending an olive branch. “Text or call me if you need anything. Let me know when the nurses let you out, okay?”

This seemed to improve Yoko’s mood a little, “Yeah, I will.”

Laine looked over her one more time then nodded, “Rest well.” She said simply and left the room.

When Yoko couldn’t hear her footsteps any more, she let out a sigh and laid back down curling onto her side. She pulled the hoodie up and buried her face in it, the familiar softness of the fabric grounding her.

It wasn’t her fault it smelled like Laine. She held it. It was a meager replacement of a hug she’d wanted to receive from the girl before she’d left.

-

In hindsight, Laine definitely should not have been walking to Jericho in the evening. After leaving Yoko behind, she’d gone to her room and dressed casually before grabbing her bag and snuck off of school grounds.

She couldn’t spend any more time on school grounds cooped up in her room, and she didn’t want to run into anyone she knew if she stayed.

Laine noticed that the town was getting ready for outreach day, eyes narrowing at the festivities even though most of the townspeople barely tolerated them.

She paused, seeing a statue off in the distance and tilted her head. “What the fuck…” She muttered.

In the year of 2022, they were still venerating colonizers and pilgrims? Not that they were separate entities. She rolled her eyes and trudged towards the Weathervane.

Glancing in, she noted that the curly haired guy wasn’t working his shift. She stepped in and ordered a matcha latte with oat milk, like the one Yoko ordered for her last time and sat in one of the booths. 

She took out her assignments and got started on them, trying to keep her mind off of everything that was going on at Nevermore.

Her phone and wrist watch buzzed, letting Laine know that it was Yoko. She set her pen down and checked on it.

Yoko: I just left the infirmary, just wanted to let you know

Thank you. You’re feeling well enough to come to Jericho tomorrow?

Laine winced, realizing she said come to instead of go to, implying she was there now. Thankfully Yoko didn’t seem to pick up on that.

Yoko: Really? You ask as if you don’t know why I suddenly feel better.

Yes, I wanted to be sure.

Yoko: I’ve been meaning to ask but, it’s another reason people hunted you guys isn’t it?

Yes, it was lucrative if they managed to kill one of us in our original forms. The carcass would yield massive results. Some of the most holy armor was made of or lined with our materials. Our blood was used for potions stocked away for only the most powerful.

Yoko: That’s fucked up…

That’s one way to put it.

Laine nodded politely, thanking the barista that opted to bring her drink instead of calling it out. She sipped it as she checked her phone again.

Yoko: So that’s one of the main reason you guys stay hidden?

Yes, it’s high on the list. Our blood burns out most toxins and impurities. It has other uses that I can’t really say, but power hungry people would do nearly anything to gain the effects.

Speaking of. I spoke with my father over break. If something like the Sinclairs happen again, we might need to put up a front. We were doing fine until now, hiding and pretending I don’t exist. But now, it’s becoming nearly impossible to do so.

Yoko: So you mean forging your actual existence?

Yes. We have an idea of what to choose, but it’s not needed yet. I just wanted to let you know if it suddenly came to be a surprise. Just know that I’m not telling the truth and try to not second guess it openly.

Yoko: Gotcha, I’ll let Enid know

I appreciate it.

Laine set her phone down and continued working. The sun began to set a little as the cafe brightened their lights.

She managed to keep thoughts about Nevermore to a minimum as she finished a few of her assignments.

Then, there was the presence she felt with Yoko the last time she was here. She gripped her pen, the hairs on the back of her neck bristling as she looked up.

Tyler stepped out of the staff room before his eyes Landed on her tucked into the booth. He tilted his head, recognizing her to be a Nevermore student.

He walked slowly and stopped, leaning against the booth she sat across from as he quirked a brow. “I didn’t think it was visiting hours at Nevermore.”

Laine leaned back and set her pen down, “It isn’t.”

Tyler scoffed, a smirk spreading across his features as he gave her a quick once over, “What’s with short girls sneaking out of Nevermore any chance they get?”

Laine quirked her eyebrow, “Others?”

He nodded, “Yeah, that new transfer, Wednesday Addams. She keeps trying to get me to drive her to the train station. Looks like she’s staying now, though.”

Laine tilted her head, “Do you normally keep tabs on the goings of girls from Nevermore?” She asked, eyes squinting as she tried to figure out his age.

Tyler held up his hands, “Woah woah, not that kind of creep, I’m sixteen. I just don’t go to Jericho High.”

Laine scrutinized him a little longer then nodded. “How’d you know I go to Nevermore?”

He paused, “Uh… Just a feeling.” He rubbed the back of his neck as Laine’s eyes narrowed.

Her nose flared as she took in the scent again, the same as before. It was mostly masked in coffee beans but there was still that smell that lingered, telling her that this guy wasn’t human.

“And why don’t you attend Nevermore?”

He jerked his head up and looked at her, the two of them silent before he began laughing, “Hey, I might not have any friends, but I’m not an outcast.”

She tilted her head. Was he hiding his identity because he was the sheriff’s son? “Sure…” She said simply and picked up her pen. “I have some homework left to finish.”

He stared at her a moment longer, then nodded, “Yeah. I’ll let you get back to work.” He went behind the counter and took over for the girl that had served her the matcha earlier.

When he left, Laine let out a sigh. The oppressive feeling from before wouldn’t leave now that he was in the cafe. 

It was obvious to her that Tyler wasn’t human. She only felt the type of oppressive tension when she was near something dangerous. 

Of course, she’d met strong people in the past like Yoko’s dad. Even her own parents. But they didn’t radiate that type of knife edge tension, like there was only a thin barrier between a predator mauling someone to death dressed as a harmless human.

Laine took out her phone cursing. 

I’m off school grounds right now. Thought I’d let you know.

Yoko: Fully off school grounds??? It’s getting dark Laine!

I’ll be returning soon. I went further than I thought.

Yoko: Do you need me to meet you half way???

No. Stay and rest. I should be back in thirty minutes.

Yoko: Okay… Be careful. Please

I’ll try.

Laine began to pack up and slipped out of the Weathervane without glancing back at Tyler. She huffed, skin prickling as she set a brisk pace back to the school.

It was silent for most of the journey, her eyes well accustomed to the dark forest as she took a shortcut.

She walked faster when she heard birds erupt out of a tree some distance behind her. She had a bad feeling.

When she was halfway to Nevermore, she heard heavy footsteps tracking her. They were on all fours.

“Shit…” She muttered and began running through the trees.

The beast growled behind her, knowing she’d caught on before it gave chase. She could hear it brush past trees in it’s large form, bearing down on her despite how quickly she was running.

She looked around, trying to gauge how far she was from the school then suddenly skid to a stop.

Groaning, her bones stretched and creaked, growing a half a foot taller as her limbs shifted. Obsidian black horns sprouted out of her skull as scales erupted from her skin. Black little beads glittered in the moonlight before they solidified into thick plates.

Her muscles clenched as she let out a snarl of her own, fanged maw filled with razor sharp teeth and tusk like fangs as she whirled around bringing her fist back as the monster bore down on her.

It was a hideous thing, curly wild hair framing large bulging eyes and shark like teeth. It roared at her, claws extended to take a swipe at her.

Embers slipped past her open maw as she ducked under and sent her scaled arm flying towards its face. The momentum from it running forward and suddenly colliding with her fist filled the forest with a sickening crunch before it flew over her ass over head.

It let out a pained cry, nose caved in and leaking blood as Laine shook out her fist. Her molten golden eyes gleamed as she let out a roar of her own, air rippling and spewing flames.

“GO!” 

The monster faltered, taking in her form and flames as it leapt at her again. She rolled under it and extended her claws. They gleamed in a sick wickedness, fully black before they tore into its torso, erupting in blood as they caught against rough skin.

The monster stumbled and glared at her over its shoulder breath heaving. They stared for a long moment, her arm drenched in its blood with her claws dripping heavily into the grass.

It let out a vengeful growl then took off back towards the town.

Laine let out a few shaky breaths as she watched it run off. That wasn’t a coincidence. She listened closely to make sure it didn’t circle back around then took off running in her shifted form, longer limbs pushing and moving faster than her human form would’ve.

When she saw the gates of Nevermore, she groaned and shifted back, bones creaking and snapping as her scales disappeared back under her skin. Her head creaked and snapped before her horns went back into her skull.

She scaled the wall and hopped over it, walking briskly back to Ophelia in the dark. The seams of her clothes had popped open from her getting larger, the punch she sent at the monster made her sleeve hang open from the shoulder.

“Laine?”

Laine froze and looked up. Yoko was waiting at one of the benches overlooking the forest, immediately smelling blood on her friend.

Laine took a step back but Yoko quickly closed the gap, hands hovering over her with worry. “What the fuck happened? Why are you bloody- your clothes?”

Laine glanced around nervously and used her clean hand to tug Yoko behind her as she quickly approached Ophelia Hall.

She stayed silent and looked up to where their windows were before she leapt up, claws extending as she scaled the wall with ease. She opened the window and left it open for Yoko to follow, knowing she’d be able to jump up there.

Quickly, she went about her room discarding her jacket that was drenched in blood. She shoved it into the bottom of her trash as Yoko climbed in. Despite the lights being off, she could see Laine’s frazzled appearance.

“Laine.” She pleaded for her friend to say something.

Laine seemed like she couldn’t find the words at the moment, so she waited, watching the girl shed her clothes and dispose of them. She looked at how her clothes were torn open. It didn’t seem like it was from any injuries, but all the seams were split open and hanging off her smaller form.

The blood all over her torso and arm was starting to dry, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like any of it was hers. 

Actually, it was faint under the heavy iron of the blood that was spilled on her. She’d know, after tasting it the other day.

“You should wash off. I’ll wait.”

Laine nodded jerkily and grabbed some clothes before shutting the door behind her. She took in her appearance, eyes wild and limbs shaky from the adrenaline.

She began to wonder if Yoko would’ve gone looking for her if she took any longer. The thought of that creature putting Yoko in her sight made her skin crawl, a low growl leaving her lips as she got into the shower.

She scrubbed harshly against her skin to get rid of the blood, the water pink as it went down the drain.

Yoko paced around Laine’s room as she waited. The blood was not from a creature she was familiar with. At first she thought it was the werewolves again, but she doubted Laine killing any of her classmates.

Was it the monster? Yoko heard Enid’s balcony creak from upstairs as she went to close the window.

Stressed, she sat on Laine’s bed, waiting for her to finish cleaning herself. She got up and went to the trash can. She couldn’t handle smelling all that blood.

She tied the bag and left the room to dispose of it quickly. When she reentered the room, Laine stepped out of the bathroom dressed with a towel over her shoulders.

The scent of blood was faint now, but was quickly being taken over by the steam and smell of soap coming out of the bathroom.

Yoko walked over, concern clear on her features as she closed the gap. Laine was staring down at the floor.

She looked at her, fussing, worried out of her mind. “Please, let me hold you for a sec?”

Laine nodded jerkily and let Yoko pull her in close. She was currently all sharp edges pouring with anxiety, but she let herself be pulled against Yoko’s soft frame. She closed her eyes, letting Yoko hold her tight before the vampire pulled away.

“Laine.” She said again and looked down at her hands. She reached out and lifted her hand, fingers brushing against a bruise that was beginning to bloom over her knuckles. The skin was split slightly, already on the mend. It was likely what she smelled earlier.

“Here… Let me?” She asked, bringing her hand up higher as Laine stiffened and looked up at her with surprise.

“What…” Laine’s eyes darted back and forth between Yoko’s lips and her hand.

Yoko snorted, breath skimming her skin. “You have a cut. Let me help?” She asked as Laine audibly gulped nodding before she thought too hard about it.

“Good.” She smirked and leaned down, lips brushing against the bruised skin before her tongue swiped over the wound.

Laine squirmed, but her hand was kept still as she felt the familiar tingle of vampire venom working into the wound.

Yoko’s pupils narrowed into slits, mercifully only looking at Laine’s hand as her tongue made another pass. The skin began to mend itself as Laine was internally having a crisis.

The vampire could hear her breathing pick up, a mix of being flustered and mortified. Laine’s eyes were blown out, whereas hers were slit from tasting blood.

Yoko hummed then let go. Even the bruise had faded slightly but it was still there. She ran her tongue over her teeth, her fangs had pushed out but retracted after not biting anything.

She caught herself savoring the taste before she cleared her throat. “Come sit. Tell me what happened.” 

Laine nodded jerkily and walked stiffly to her bed. She sat on the edge, staring down at her hands. Or, rather the hand that Yoko just mended for her, the skin still tingling faintly.

Yoko gave her an expectant look before sitting next to her.

“I…” Laine closed her eyes. How much should she tell Yoko? She didn’t have any solid proof. She thought the monster was Tyler, but what if she was wrong? It could cause a massive misunderstanding.

“I ran into the monster.” She bit it out. At the very least, she needed to tell her that.

Yoko froze. “The monster? The one that’s been murdering people?” She asked, voice on edge as she turned more towards Laine, eyes scanning over her one more time.

Laine nodded, “I shifted partially to fight it off. I got into a fight with it then it ran back to the town.”

Yoko let out a shaky breath and rested her hand on her arm. Laine flinched due to wearing short sleeves, but she allowed her hand to stay. It was surprisingly grounding.

“Why did you go out that far Laine, what if something happened?”

Laine worked her jaw and shrugged, “I was frustrated. I wanted somewhere away from other students so I went into town.”

Yoko frowned, “There aren’t quiet spaces for you in Nevermore?”

Laine winced, “It’s not that. I feel the need to wander sometimes. It’s hard to resist, especially when I’m feeling frustrated.”

Yoko let out a sigh, “Laine, please. Something could’ve happened to you tonight. I was waiting for you by the gates and had no idea you’d… fought off the monster until I saw you. I hate that.”

For a moment, Laine felt guilty. She finally nodded. 

Yoko bit her lip, not wanting to guilt trip her but she felt like it was important. “If you took any longer, I was going to come looking for you.”

Laine froze and looked up at her, brows pinched as she growled low. Yoko gulped as Laine shook her head quickly and looked away, trying to shove her instincts down and lock them away.

“I… I’ll find other places.”

Yoko nodded, relaxing a little. “Can you think of other ways to fill the need to wander?”

Laine thought about it for a moment. Her kind always felt the urge to check things that belonged to them. Territory, financial coffers… people. She looked away, ears tinging red.

“Yes but… I couldn’t at the moment.”

Yoko tilted her head, “Why not?”

Laine gripped her shorts, face turning redder. “I… couldn’t talk with anyone at the time. I.. We-“ She groaned and covered her face, taking a few breaths as she tried to calm herself.

Yoko watched, still confused as to why Laine was reacting this way. She tried to recall what she read about Laine before.

“I have urges to, check up on things I care about or things that I consider mine. Things or… people.”

Yoko digested that information for a moment before she realized why Laine was so flustered. “Ah.” She made a sound of understanding. No wonder Laine visited her in the infirmary so often. No wonder her gaze always wandered over everyone.

Laine wasn’t sure if that reaction was worse than Yoko getting flustered, the way she immediately understood Laine’s behavior as of late.

She watched as Yoko paused, biting her lip before she looked down at her, “You… Didn’t think you could come to me?”

Laine winced and looked away, “I mean. No. Yes. I know I can. I just…”

Yoko huffed, hand tightening over her arm. “Please come bother me next time. I don’t care if I’m in the middle of something, alright?”

Laine’s mind wandered to when she’d overhear noises coming from Yoko’s room late at night, “Anything?”

Yoko paused as she watched Laine’s face turn red again, “Yes. Anything. I mean it. It’s better than you going out there and running into that thing again.”

Laine looked like she wanted to argue but closed her mouth, nodding.

“Good.” Yoko said simply. “Do you need me to stay here tonight?” In all honesty, she didn’t really want to go back to her room after knowing Laine could’ve died that night without her knowing.

Laine thought about it for a moment then nodded, stubbornly not looking up at her.

Yoko snorted and let go of her arm, “Lay down then.” She stood up and waited for Laine to get under the blankets.

Laine got under the sheets. She’d changed them since the last time Yoko was there, back to the deep blues and golds instead of a plain white.

She climbed in after Laine, “Come here.” Yoko said simply, opening her arm as Laine’s heart stuttered in her chest.

Laine nodded and got a little closer, a little unsure how she should position herself making Yoko roll her eyes fondly.

She moved and met her halfway resting her chin on top of Laine’s soft hair as she tucked her friend into her chest. 

Laine laid there stiffly, uselessly for a moment as her brain wouldn’t shut up. Panicking about how close they were pressed together. 

Thankfully, Yoko was wearing sweats as their legs tangled together. Laine couldn’t help the question that left her lips.

“Should we be doing this?” She asked, breath fanning over Yoko’s collarbone.

The vampire paused, before reaching down and wrapping Laine’s arm around herself. 

“You mean, should we be doing this when I have a girlfriend?” She could practically feel Laine blush from her words. She nodded.

Yoko laughed a little, “Trust me, I’m as loyal as they come. Let me comfort my friend, alright? I kind of need it right now anyways.”

Laine fell quiet and just nodded, trying to will herself to calm down and accept the contact.

It took a while, but Laine eventually relaxed in the soft albeit cool contact between them. Sighing, she pressed her face a little more into Yoko as the vampire just hummed approvingly.

Laine paused. Actually, it was really soft. Why?

She stiffened all over again. Was Yoko wearing a bra? Is that… where is her face right now?

Yoko grumbled at her stiffening again and massaged the back of her neck like she had when Laine had a headache. “Stop overthinking things.” She muttered as Laine’s hands gripped her shirt. 

Laine was definitely overthinking things. Her heart raced as she gulped, not sure how the hell she was supposed to relax against her now that she was hyper aware of where her face was currently resting.

Yoko’s hand continued to massage the back of her neck before it moved up into her hairline, pressing into the spot where her neck met the base of her skull.

Her hands suddenly loosened in Yoko’s shirt as she let out a shuddering breath. Her previous headache began to bleed out under her fingers as her body suddenly went lax.

“Good.” Yoko whispered against her hair, fingers rubbing small circles on opposite sides of her vertebrae. 

Laine closed her eyes, feeling mortification wash over her. Thankfully, she didn’t react awkwardly this time around.

When she was half asleep, she felt Yoko work up and down her neck making sure all her touches were gentle. A low rumble emitted from Laine’s chest, not even aware she was making it.

Yoko paused for a moment, the sound familiar to when Laine made it last. It was sort of like a purr, but rumbled deeply in a way that wasn’t quite feline. It reminded her of the time she came across a video of a panther purring, but more guttural.

She continued the massage, the rumbling continued like a humming engine. She chose not to say anything, not wanting to embarrass Laine by bringing attention to it or make her stop.

Yoko could feel the moment Laine fell asleep, the last of her body relaxing even though her fingers still curled around her shirt. It was so cute she could barely handle it.

In hindsight, she shouldn’t have felt so relaxed at having another creature pressed up against her neck and heart, but Laine was among the few she trusted easily.

She couldn’t help but hold the girl tighter, remembering that Laine could’ve been one of the victims that night. She had no idea what she would’ve done if she came across her after going to look for her.

Yoko blinked tears from her eyes and let out a breath to calm herself. Laine was fine, and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

The rumbling continued while she began to run her nails against her scalp, the action not freaking Laine out with her asleep. Finally, she let her hand stop, fingers still intertwined with her soft hair as she let herself fall into the half sleep that vampires would go into to pass time.

-

The next morning, Laine stood next to Enid and Yoko as they all prepared to go to the Outreach festivities. Laine pointedly ignored the sirens, much to Divina’s disappointment. Kent shifted nervously at her presence but didn’t greet her brightly as he normally did.

Laine however, smiled whenever Enid spoke to her, so Yoko knew Laine was still mad at them rather than her acting strangely. She didn’t force her to interact with any of them, just glad that she came out to see them off even though she couldn’t join them.

Laine stood stiffly under Wednesday’s gaze. Her dark eyes roved over her clinically as if searching for something before she approached Enid to talk about their placements.

She tuned out their conversation and looked over at Yoko. She’d been embarrassed in the morning, but Yoko only smirked and greeted her when she woke up.

Yoko looked over at the feeling of her eyes on her and smiled reassuringly. “I’ll message you when we’re on our way back?”

Laine nodded, knowing that Yoko picked up on her tension. Yoko reached out and patted her arm gently and turned to follow everyone out to the buses. 

Laine watched for a while then turned so she could go back to her room and finish the stupid essay about outreach day.

She spent most of her day in her room, knocking the assignment out as she brewed herself different types of drinks. She stared out the window, worried that it was raining as she sipped a taro milk tea.

Her phone buzzed a few times, then started seeing unread messages pop up in the group chat.

She opened it, wondering why there was a flurry of activity all of a sudden.

TheBestTwin: Are you guys back?

TheBestTwin: @Fruitbat @Ajax @Theothertwin06

Fruitbat: We’re at bus 2

TheQueen: What the fuck happened?

Eniebeanie: What kind of psycho sets a fountain on fire!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laine: Guys?

Fruitbat: I’ll message you @Laine

Laine swiped over to her chat with Yoko, concerned for their safety.

Yoko: The buses just left Jericho

Yoko: Not sure what happened but someone put gasoline in the fountain water line and set it on fire during the musical performance

Did anyone get hurt?

Yoko: No, I don’t think so. People are just freaked out. Statue is totally melted. If anything the worst case might be singed hair and inhaling toxic fumes

Well, can’t say I’m too disappointed about a melted colonizer.

Yoko: LOL LAINE. But fair. That statue was… a choice for sure

You’re sure you’re okay?

Yoko: Besides having a moment where I feared my immortality would come to an end, yes I’m okay all things considered

Yoko: Enid is just distraught over not being able to perform but we’re all okay

Yoko: Weems is… Definitely avoid. If you hear her heels clacking on the floors, run away

Noted. I’m nearly done with my assignments. I’ll skip my walk tonight and stay in my room.

Yoko went up to her room, closely followed by Divina. She pushed into her room and groaned, smelling at her clothes.

“We smell like burnt chemicals.” Yoko muttered and began to pull off her uniform. She glanced over her shoulder at her girlfriend.

“Wanna join me in the shower?” She watched as a smirk grew across Divina’s face. 

“Of course babe.” She threw her clothes in Yoko’s hamper to be washed together and followed her into the bathroom.

After their shared shower, Divina sat on top of the dryer watching Yoko load the washer with their clothes.

“Laine’s still mad at us, isn’t she?”

Yoko paused, “What makes you say that?”

Divina rolled her eyes, “C’mon babe, really?” She watched the vampire sigh and dump some detergent into the wash. The detergent was something in Japanese that Divina couldn’t read. All she knew was that it smelled lovely.

“She’s not… mad. That’s not exactly the right word.” She shut the lid and started the cycle before leaning back against it.

“She’s frustrated and-“ She thought for a moment, trying to find the right words. “She’s disappointed mostly. At me too.”

Divina gave her a confused look, “Why the hell would she be upset with you?”

Yoko winced and stared out the window, “She’s disappointed with me because I forgave everyone too quickly.” She watched as Divina’s lips pursed, thinking about something.

“She’s not wrong. Why did you forgive us so easily?”

Yoko looked away facing the other direction, not really in the mood to be having this conversation.

“Babe.” Divina reached out and pulled Yoko over to her so she settled in between her knees.

Yoko huffed as she was made to face the siren. Divina reached up and grabbed the sides of her face so she’d look at her instead of on the communal floor.

“I just got tired of arguing. If no one’s going to listen to me about bad choices, then I should just let them make it.”

Divina rubbed her thumbs against her cheeks, waiting to see if that was all Yoko needed to say. “And?”

Yoko rolled her eyes, “That’s it.”

Divina stared into Yoko’s eyes for a long moment then nodded. She leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss then hopped off of the dryer. “Let’s go back for a bit?”

Yoko nodded silently and followed close behind, letting Divina guide her while they held hands.

-

Laine shot a message to Yoko to let her know that she was walking around on school grounds. She’d heard there’d been another murder during outreach day, deep in the forest at a place a homeless man had been taking shelter in.

It seemed her encounter with the creature did nothing to stop it from recovering and finding its next victim. She shuddered as she walked down a dirt path. If the murders weren’t random, maybe her death would’ve been by design.

She walked silently, eyes scanning around the trees with her hands shoved into her pockets. She hadn’t run into anyone, though she passed one of the sheds that Bianca mentioned was Xavier’s private art studio. It was an old building, repurposed by the artist.

There were many buildings like that scattered on the grounds. The property was bigger than it looked from out front, as the fence extended deep into the forests along the back of Nevermore.

The grounds were old, so new buildings would be made for different purposes over the years. Much like Xavier, there would be the antisocial types that would strike out on their own needing their own space sometimes.

So, there were a lot of abandoned spaces in Nevermore. There were even abandoned halls and school buildings that were no longer in use either due to not hiring faculty needing to teach certain subjects, or because of previous accidents.

Laine came across another building, but this one was unfamiliar to her. It had heavy chains that locked the doors, the dark gray paneling blended in easily amongst the trees. 

She stared at it as she passed, wearily deeming it abandoned as she continued her walk.

-

Wednesday noticed Enid’s friend leaving Nevermore yet again as she left the Hummer’s shed. She glanced over at Thing and nodded her head towards the girl as he tapped at her quickly. 

She rolled her eyes and trudged forward, intent on following her to see where she was going as Thing scurried after her.

She’d remembered how the girl was sick during the Harvest Festival, the night the monster attacked Rowan.

Then, the girl was absent during Outreach day. The night that the monster attacked her at the abandoned tollhouse as well as the homeless man.

Even she couldn’t get out of participating, but the Raya girl was the only one exempt from the festivities.

Not to mention the other night, when she’d snuck back into Nevermore under the cover of night covered in blood and torn clothing.

It made sense, she knew the monster was human. Enid’s friend kept her creature inheritance a secret and her clothes looked like she’d shifted onto something too big for her smaller frame to handle.

Her eyes darkened as the girl seemed to stalk an invisible territory line. 

She’d asked Thing to tail her in the past, but he kept coming up with silly excuses saying that her senses were too sharp, that he couldn’t get close to her without alerting her of his presence.

If her senses were that sharp, she should’ve detected her by now.

She’d have to scold him later by getting distracted with things like hand creams, magazine articles, and nail polish. All the late nights he spent hanging out with Enid was softening him up to making mistakes.

Wednesday looked over at Thing and jerked her head over towards the girl. “Distract her.” She muttered as Laine slowed down to peer around the tree line ahead of her, as if she was trying to decide which way she was going to take back to the Academy.

Thing scurried away as she hid behind the shed that they just passed. It’d be the perfect place to interrogate her.

She waited until Thing was in position then slowly crept closer to the girl, making sure she was stepping on soft earth and not crunchy leaves. 

Thing suddenly jumped out of a tree, nearly missing the girl as she jerked back in surprise. Even with his silent approach, she seemed to detect him, but he was a little too quick and landed square on the top of her head before grabbing onto her face to obscure her vision.

The girl yelped, crouching in panic as a disembodied hand flew out and attached to her face like out of some horror movie.

Wednesday acted quickly, closing the space between them before she reached out and struck the back of her neck. She paused as the girl stiffened, knees buckling before she finally fell to the ground.

Thing hopped off of her and tapped his fingers at Wednesday.

She scoffed, “Yes, I know what I’m doing. I’m just going to strike a little fear into her and ask her some questions. Help me with her legs.” She muttered and grabbed the back of her hoodie to begin dragging her over to the shed they’d just passed.

Wednesday stared down at the girl. For a second, she thought the girl wouldn’t go down after being struck behind the head. It solidified her hypothesis that she had the fortitude greater than that of a werewolf.

She dropped the girl against the side of the shed and took out the lockpicks, making quick work of the old lock before pushing the old doors open. Rummaging around her bag, she took out an electric lantern and placed it on one of the tables. 

Taking a quick look around the mostly empty shed, she nodded. It would do.

She walked back over to Laine and hauled her inside. Thankfully for once, someone was actually smaller than her.

Wednesday dropped her into the chair and nodded over at Thing. “Secure the area. I just need a few minutes.” She reached over and used the chain that was around the handles of the door and wrapped it around tight, making sure her arms were bound.

Rummaging into her bag, she got out her duct tape and wrapped it around her ankles and the legs of the chair before stepping back, making sure the girl wouldn’t be able to move.

Besides, if she really were the monster, she’d need chains.

She glanced over at Thing as he began tapping at her incessantly. 

“Yes I know. If she isn’t the monster, she won’t be harmed. If she is… well, that is another matter entirely.” She reached into her bag again and took out her thermos.

“Time for the little monster to wake up.” She muttered as Thing climbed onto the table by the door.

She unscrewed the lid and splashed the girl.

-

Laine panicked when a disembodied hand launched itself at her out of nowhere. Honestly, she was so bewildered that she froze up instead of batting it away at her or biting it.

She immediately felt the affects of her skin crawling as the thing clutched onto her face as she grappled with it, heart pounding.

Of course, she’d noticed a while back when the Addams was tailing her. Sure, the girl was mostly silent, but she picked up on her scent.

After sitting with her at lunch that one day, she could recognize it from before. The smell of expensive ink, neutral soap, espresso, and home made creams.

Laine scrabbled at the hand desperately. It wasn’t a person, but it had human skin and it was touching her face. Her breath hitched, feeling her heart hammer up her throat. Was she having a panic attack?

She choked when a hand suddenly struck the back of her neck. She stumbled forward, fighting to stay upright before her knees buckled and she sank into unconsciousness. 

It felt like only a few minutes passed when she was suddenly brought back to consciousness when cold water splashed over her.

She yelped, head jerking back to wipe at her face before she realized her arms were bound behind her. 

She froze, blinking at a figure that was illuminated by artificial light from behind. Laine didn’t need to see to be able to know it was Wednesday Addams.

Laine worked her jaw as her eyes adjusted to the light, the girl coming into focus as she paced until she was standing behind her.

“Laine… Raya. Right?” She asked, voice low.

Laine remained silent, teeth clenched and creaking in her mouth.

The girl clicked her tongue, “I must say, most of my victims usually plead and shout by this point. Do you have experience being kidnapped?”

Laine shook her head slowly. She didn’t have experience, no. But she was told exactly what to do in situations like this.

Wednesday clicked a device and tossed it over to the disembodied hand. It caught it in the air and placed it on the table. It was probably a recording device.

“Do you have any idea why I’ve brought you here?”

Laine’s nostrils flared and she shook her head again. After all the drama with her friends, she’d forgotten to ask her father about the Addams family. Now it seems like it would bite her in the ass for getting so distracted.

“Can you get whatever this is over with? Yoko is waiting for me.”

The seer hummed, pacing around as she regarded her with dark eyes, “So you have training for experiences like these. As did I.”

“Very well. A suspect after my own heart. Let’s cut to the chase.” She opened a tool belt and let an assortment of tools spread out over the table.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions. If they’re not to my liking, then I go down the line of tools I have at my disposal. Make sense?” She asked, as she picked up the first one.

The taser in her hand zapped, illuminating the room and glinting off of Laine’s eyes like and animals would in the dark.

“Yes.” She grit through her teeth. Laine began to wonder if she gave Yoko any hint as to when she’d be back. It was the weekend, she wouldn’t need to be back anytime soon besides to see her for dinner. That had to be two hours from now.

Laine moved her wrists slightly to see how tight the chains were. She winced, it’d be no use.

“Ah ah.” Wednesday zapped the taser near her again at the movement. Laine stopped moving and shot a glare at her.

“What were you doing the night of the Harvest Festival?”

Laine clenched her jaw then responded, “I was in my room.”

Wednesday’s eyes slid over her face, reading for any hint of a lie. “For how long?”

“The entire week. I didn’t leave my room once.” 

Wednesday clicked her tongue as she thought over the answer. “Your dorm has a kitchenette then?”

Laine nodded.

“That explains how you wouldn’t need to leave the room. Is Principal Weems aware of the sort of outcast you are?”

“No. Only that I stay in my room once or twice a semester due to it.”

Wednesday tilted her head, “And, what sort of creature requires staying in their lair twice a semester?”

Laine’s stomach dropped, already being asked a question she wasn’t allowed to answer.

“A demon.”

Wednesday quirked her head at that, “A demon. What kind?” Her eyes glittered in fascination. “I am well versed in demons.”

Laine inwardly cursed. “The type that ferries souls to their destination.”

Wednesday sucked her teeth disapprovingly, “That seems a bit inaccurate. Why the need for secrets?” She asked, bringing the taser closer as it zapped, making the ends of Laine’s hair stand on end.

“I… I can’t say.”

The Addams bared her teeth and pressed the taser against her before activating it.

Laine let out a pained grunt, body convulsing against her wishes for a few seconds before she pulled it away from her.

She let out a few heavy breaths as Wednesday paced around her. “I’m not playing games, Raya. Answer the question.”

“I really can’t-… I’m not allowed to answer.” 

Laine threw her head back when the next shock came from behind, the muscles in her body contracting but unable to move under her restraints. 

Wednesday held it against her a little longer before she pulled it away. “And who says you’re not allowed to answer?”

Laine grunted as she pulled her head forward again, “We… We’re not supposed to say… All of us.”

Wednesday let out another disapproving noise and tased her again, watching the girl convulse under it for a while before she pulled it away.

“You were doing so well earlier. Very well. I’ll ask you something else.” She walked back to the table and replaced the taser with a butterfly knife.

She turned and slid her gloved fingers along the blade before her eyes settled onto her.

“Where were you during Outreach day?”

Laine caught her breath. Finally, something she could answer.

“I was at Nevermore. My parents didn’t sign the permission form.”

The seer quirked her brow, “Weems was adamant that we all participated this year. How did your parents go about not signing your permission slip.”

Laine glared but answered anyways, “They’re not fond of humans.”

Wednesday tutted, “Is that why all your victims have been normies?”

Laine paused, brow furrowing. “You think I’m the monster?”

Her eyes glittered, lips quirking, “Oh, so you’ve heard of it? You returned the other night covered in blood. Who was your victim?”

Laine opened her mouth a few times, “Wait, that’s not it-“

She jerked her head back when Wednesday pressed her knife to the side of her neck. “Answer the question.”

Laine’s mind raced with what she would tell the other girl. She had her suspicions on the monster but she had no proof. If anything, she seemed just like any other monster prowling the forest.

A sharp pain shot through her neck as Wednesday nicked the side of her neck. Laine winced, watching as a few beads of her blood coated the knife Wednesday was holding. 

She regarded it, looking at the color before looking back down at her. “I won’t allow time for you to come up with lies. Answer or I begin cutting you into ribbons.”

Laine felt a growl come up her throat as the Addams watched her in morbid glee, as if she was getting just the reaction she wanted out of her.

“Taking walks in the forest is hardly a crime worth being kidnapped over.”

She winced as Wednesday took a swipe at her thigh, the blade easily slicing through clothes and skin.

The seer regarded her with a raised eyebrow, blade hovered in the air to give her another matching one on her other thigh.

“How surprisingly resilient.” The girl muttered.

“I’m not the monster I- Fuck!” She yelled out as the knife sliced through her other leg a little deeper this time around.

“You and I both know that you aren’t as innocent as you seem. You’re not any of the main groups of outcasts here, yet your fortitude speaks of a strength you try to keep hidden.” She held up the knife again.

“I was… walking back to Nevermore. I was the one that got attacked.”

“Nice try.” Her hand flashed again and sent another cut over her leg as Laine grunted and bared her teeth. Her eyes flickered gold as she felt anger begin to bubble under the surface. What good was telling the truth if the girl refused to listen?

Wednesday walked back to the table and took out a blowtorch. She turned back around and began to heat the blade up as she pursed her lips. 

“Your victims don’t seem all that random. What is the point of dismembering them and leaving them strung around the forest?”

“That wasn’t me.” Laine stared at the blade being heated before Wednesday scowled and pressed it into the cut on one of her thighs.

Laine jerked, her pants and blood sizzling, sending an acrid scent into the air. She lifted her eyes, staring at the surprise in the seers eyes as she pulled the blade back.

Her blood had bubbled and her pants melted slightly, but the skin was unharmed.

“What…” She muttered and pressed again yielding the same result.

Her eyes narrowed then gripped the knife tightly, “What. Are. You?” She grit through her teeth, frustrated that the girl was proving to be this difficult.

“I can’t tell you!” Laine yelled this time, frustration mounting.

The blade flashed as Wednesday suddenly plunged the blade into the meat of her thigh.

“FUCK!” Laine yelled before it tapered into a guttural growl. Her chest heaved as her fangs lengthened, claws digging into her palms as she glared at the seer.

The air began to waver slightly.

“What are you?” She asked again, gripping the handle of the knife as Laine gasped out in pain.

“Not the monst- AH!” She yelped when the seer twisted the blade slightly, sending shocks of pain all throughout her body.

Red began to seep into her vision. Why was she withstanding this waiting for someone to come find her? No one was going to come out this far. No one would think to come find her.

Wednesday tore the blade out of her thigh as blood began to pool out and onto the floor. Laine let out ragged breaths out of pain and mounting anger. 

She could feel her heart beating into her skull. Her fangs ached to bite into her.

“…I have alibis. I wasn’t at any of those attacks.”

Wednesday sneered at her, “If you weren’t at those attacks, then surely you can tell me what you are.”

She pressed the blade into her other leg, eyes dark as she began to push it into the flesh.

Laine thrashed, “I said I can’t tell you! I can’t say it even if I wanted to!” Her voice began to snarl, voice distorting due to the fangs lengthening. Her upper fangs slid out of her lips, curling wickedly sharp like tusks.

The seer watched in morbid fascination, the blade still sunk slowly into her thigh. 

She didn’t even notice the waver in the air in front of Laine, the way it did when concrete got hot.

Thing began to tap rapidly on the table, he could see it against the light of the lamp.

Laine let out another snarl as the blade nearly reached the hilt, the metal tearing into flesh slowly.

Wednesday suddenly paused, her eyes nearly going cross eyed when a single ember appeared between them.

“Fine.” Laine’s voice rumbled like boulders cracking deep under the ocean. Her eyes pooled into the molten gold color as her claws lengthened fully.

Wednesday barely dodged back when the ember suddenly expanded as if a bomb detonated.

“THING!” Wednesday yelled out and leapt out of the blast radius. She flew out of the doors as she threw herself against it. Thing barely managed to escape after her as she stared up at the shed suddenly engulfed in flames.

It was instantaneous, fire catching on old wood faster than humanly possible as the shed creaked and groaned under the intensity of the temperature.

If she’d be standing there for a second longer, she’d be engulfed in it.

“Thing, we have to go!” She scrambled to her feet, picking up the hand as she began to sprint back towards the academy.

The sounds of the shed groaned, echoing through the forest as something hellish roared from behind her. It sounded nothing like the monster that attacked her the night before. This was something bigger, stronger, and almost eldritch in nature. 

The roar was guttural, only comparable to earth breaking under sheer force. It was reptilian but nothing alive now could produce those sounds, and they were drenched in fury.

As she sprinted, the shed finally blasted apart, sending flames screeching up into the sky, but nothing came after her. The echoes of her feet slamming into the earth only warred with the crackle of old wood scorching away faster than it could burn.

Wednesday only stopped once she hit the familiar pavement of Nevermore. It didn’t seem like the creature followed her at all, even after the shed exploded.

She turned, eyes wide as students began to point off into the distance. Huge plumes of smoke rose into the sky as a few of them scrambled for their phones to call Weems or the fire department.

“We need to get back to the room before Weems notices.” She muttered and turned on her heel, fleeing back to her room.

When she shut the door behind her, Enid shot up. “Wednesday! Where were you!?”

Wednesday blinked, “I was… Checking on the bees for Eugene.”

Enid hopped out of her bed and took in her frazzled appearance, nose sniffing at her.

“You smell like fire. Was that you!?”

Wednesday glared and backed up, “Not that my business is of any concern to you, no. It wasn’t me. The Hummer’s shed was close to the fire and I ran back.”

Enid stared at her for a while then looked back at her phone, the group chat was going crazy.

One message stuck out to her though, Yoko was panicking about Laine going on a walk in the forest and she hadn’t responded to any of her calls.

Her head shot up, “Wens, did you see Laine out there?”

Wednesday tensed and slowly turned from where she was changing her clothes, “Your friend? Of course not.”

Enid bit her lip and began typing rapidly to tell Yoko that she hadn’t seen Laine at all that day. She messaged Yoko privately though.

I kind of feel like an asshole for saying this but Wednesday just got back. She said she was at the Hummers shed but she smells like fire and smoke

Fruitbat: What? But she didn’t see her?

She said she didn’t but I don’t know. She’s like… changing and shoving clothes into places like she’s trying to dispose of evidence right now.

Fruitbat: I’m coming up

Wait Yoko! She might hurt you!

Fruitbat: I need to check. Please

There was a knock at the door. Before Wednesday could intercept, Enid jumped up and opened the door for Yoko.

“Yoko hey, wait a sec and slow-“

Yoko walked in, head snapping at the direction Wednesday was. She picked up on the scent immediately. 

She trudged up to her, teeth bared. “You better not be lying about not seeing Laine.”

Wednesday’s eyes glinted dangerously but allowed Yoko to approach. Thing scurried over to Enid and hid behind her.

The vampire’s nose flared. Eyes darting over to the gloves the girl was wearing. They smelled like Laine. She was bleeding.

Yoko snarled, using her vampire speed to dodge the knife thrown at her before her hand closed around the girl’s neck, shoving her into the wall behind her.

Enid shrieked, saying something Yoko couldn’t hear from the anger rushing through her ears.

“What did you to to her you little psycho!?” Her fangs extended as Wednesday wheezed. She still managed to glare down at the vampire.

“What makes you so sure it was me, not her?” Yoko’s hand squeezed tighter as Enid freaked out. 

“I can smell her blood on you! You don’t have a scratch on you and she’s not answering any of my calls or texts!”

Enid froze, watching what now seemed to be lies coming to the surface. What did her roommate do to her friend?

Wednesday grunted, “You can’t hide blood from a leech I suppose.” She fought to draw in a breath before continuing, “We had a little talk. About how she could be the monster.”

Yoko growled, claws sharpening and digging into the thin skin of the seer, “Where is she!? She’s not the monster you fucking psychopath! I was with her during those attacks!”

Wednesday’s eyes narrowed, undeterred but the vampire choking the life out of her. “Convenient. You were with her the other night when you returned to her room. How do I know you weren’t involved?”

“Wednesday!” Enid yelled, “She’s telling the truth! Laine would never hurt anyone. We were at school when the first of the attacks happened…”

Wednesday’s eyes slid over to her and narrowed, “Your observational skills are not all that impressive to me, Enid.”

Yoko bared her teeth again, “Maybe if you bothered to get to know her like an actual person, you’d learn why she can’t tell people what she is. Even Enid knows, but no. You had to be a crazy detective and skulk around on your own.”

Wednesday’s eyes darted back over to Enid who was beginning to tear up. “She’s right Wens. I spent all summer with her. I know why she can’t tell people. She’s not the monster that’s been killing people. She never even came close to hurting me.”

Wednesday’s hands loosened from around Yoko’s wrists, “What do you mean?”

Yoko huffed and let go of the girl, letting her land roughly on her feet as she began trying to call Laine again.

Enid sniffled, “She has to hide her creature status because humans would probably hunt her down and take advantage of her. She’s hiding to protect herself.”

Wednesday paused. She’d heard of situations like this before. She shook her head, “Why didn’t she just say so?”

Yoko’s eyes narrowed, “You’re telling me you asked like a normal person trying to not squeeze answers from her in a way she felt safe enough to share that information with you?”

Wednesday swallowed. No she hadn’t. She’d been so sure she was on the trail of a monster.

Yoko growled, “I should strangle the life out of you, I swear to god.” She paced, trying to get some sort of response from Laine as she began to pace.

Enid stepped closer, “Wens… Where is Laine?” She asked, voice shaking.

Wednesday furrowed her brows. After the detonation, she had no idea. She sounded alive but at this point, she had no idea where she was. “I-“

Someone knocked on the door before Thornhill peeked inside.

“Ah! Yoko. You weren’t in your room, you had me worried.” She glanced at the other girls. “Principal Weems sent out an alert that all students must stay in their rooms until dinner. No one is allowed out on school grounds besides to go to dinner and straight back to their rooms.”

The girls nodded. Thornhill took one last look at the girls then shut the door.

Yoko looked over at Enid, “If Thornhill is doing dorm checks… Maybe Laine is… I’ll go check, let me know if you hear anything.”

-

Laine groaned as she climbed over the edge of the banister. She couldn’t risk going back to her room and needing to answer the door in her state.

Her skin shimmered before going back to her normal skin tone as she grabbed the knife sticking out of her thigh. She’d bleed, but the Addams had intentionally avoided any major arteries.

Clenching her teeth, she ripped out the blade and let out a pained groan before she tucked it away. She’d come back and hide it later. If Weems found the blade, she’d know it wasn’t the monster.

Standing unsteadily, she pushed open the heavy door and into Weems’s office. She couldn’t call her parents ahead of time, her phone and watch were destroyed in the fire. 

Laine couldn’t risk letting her secret out, and she had a perfect lie to tell Weems.

Grunting, she collapsed against her desk, not sitting in any of the chairs with the amount of blood she was tracking in.

She reached down and pressed her hands against her thighs. They were already trying to mend themselves, but the wound still bled heavily. If she was a human, she never would have been able to leave the forest on her own two feet.

The door opened and closed quickly. Weems was speaking quickly on the phone, not having noticed her yet as she sat in the shadow of the chair by the fireplace.

The woman was pacing back and forth before she hung up, letting out an angry shout.

Laine made a small sound as the woman suddenly whirled around, she let out a surprised scream, seeing Laine in dark clothes collapsed against her desk.

She approached quickly her large figure dwarfing her, “Miss Raya!? Miss Raya is that you? What happened?”

Laine winced as the woman tried to take in the extent of her injuries. Her eyes tracked the blood spatters on the floor that led from her balcony outside over to where she was sitting currently.

“Sorry.” She grunted, letting her head fall back. Her palms were slick with blood. “I got blood everywhere.”

Weems gawked at her, “That’s… not a concern! Why are you here!? Why haven’t you called for help?”

Laine shook her head. “Monster attack at the shed. I fought them off but, I can’t let people know about my abilities.”

Weems stared for a while, “You saw it?” 

Technically, that wasn’t a lie. Laine actually fought the creature off, but not today.

Laine nodded, eyes squeezing shut.

“Burning hells.” Weems muttered, “What should I do? The infirmary is out of question isn’t it?”

Laine nodded. “I’m sorry to ask but. I just need them cleaned. They’ll close soon enough before I bleed out.”

The woman’s eyes widened, “You’d go without medical care?”

Laine laughed a little, “I have to. If you must call my father, please do so. But no one can know. No one on the faculty, no students, and no doctors. Just tell him that I’ll send him a separate message that… I can’t disclose to you.”

Weems clenched her jaw but nodded, “I understand. No police?” 

Laine winced, “I’m sure they’re already at the shed. They won’t find much. Tell them whatever they need to believe. I believe you’re good at that, right?”

Weems huffed then stood up, “I’ll call your guardian. She’s listed as the most available contact.” Laine just nodded and rested her head against the desk, waiting as the woman kept the call short.

She walked back over, “I’m about to take you to my personal quarters. It goes without saying that you will not mention the layout of my personal home?”

Laine nodded, “I was never here.”

The woman made a noise in approval and easily lifted her from the cold ground. Laine made strangled sound, wounds tugging, but she kept her hands pressed against them.

Weems took her to where she assumed was her bathroom and set her down on the counter top. She began to clear the items and set them all aside. 

Laine winced as she looked at the blood that began to leak onto the white marble, some of it trickling down into the sink as Weems noticed too.

She let out a slow breath as if fortifying herself. “How are we supposed to get these to stop bleeding?

Laine grunted, “We’ll need to pack it first. If It’s too grotesque, I can do it myself. But, it’s really going to hurt so… If you have anything for me to take, that would be nice.”

Larissa seemed to pale a little, “Let me check. The school doesn’t carry things like these. If it’s severe, we send them to the emergency room.”

She rummaged around her bathroom cabinet and took out a pill bottle, she eyed Laine for a moment. Giving a student one of her leftover pain medication after dental surgery was… possibly asking for trouble, but she didn’t have any other choice.

Her phone began to ring, making her let out a stressed groan. She checked to see that it was Thornhill. She muttered under her breath and answered, putting it on speaker as she got Laine a glass of water.

“Principal Weems?”

“Yes, Ms. Thornhill. How was the dorm check up?” She entered the bathroom again and set the glass on the counter with a straw stuck in it.

“Right, so the only person unaccounted for at this moment is Laine Raya, room 304.”

Weems glanced at Laine nervously, “Yes, that’s alright. She was here with me when I got the call. She was making up her Outreach day assignment.”

Thornhill made a sound that sounded like relief, “Oh thank heavens. Is that all you need for me tonight principal Weems?”

Larissa opened the pill bottle and held out a pill to Laine, her hands still pressed against her wounds.

“If you could keep walking around the dorms until it’s time for you to go home, that would be much appreciated.”

Laine gingerly took the pill between her teeth and waited for Weems to give her the water. She took a few sips and swallowed the pill before leaning back against the mirror with her eyes closed.

“Of course! Have a good night!”

Weems hummed, “You as well.” She hung up and let out a stressed sigh. 

“Do you think you can wait a few moments before the pill begins to work?” 

Laine nodded, eyes still closed. She could feel blood still seeping from her fingers, but she knew she could bleed for a while without worrying too much. As long as she stopped the bleeding before passing out, her body would do the rest.

“Okay. Give me a moment to prepare a space for you. I’ll be right back. Don’t… move.”

Laine nodded again as she stepped out of the room, likely grabbing something for her to change into. There was no way in hell Laine was going to fit in any of her clothes.

Thankfully, the pill seemed to be doing a pretty good job. She could still feel her wounds burning, but it was better than the throbbing pain.

While Weems was out, she stared down at her pants with a wince. The trickle of blood was slow and even started going down the drain.

She began to calculate the time it would take for Lopez to get to her. Honestly, it would be a lot faster for her parents to get to her, but if Lopez took the fastest jet…

Weems returned with a bundle of clothes and a bunch of black towels. She’d changed into simple black clothes, making Laine blink at how casual it all looked. She didn’t even think she owned a plain black shirt.

Weems seemed to notice her reaction, “Now is not the time, dear.”

Laine nodded as she got things ready. “Do you have shears? It’d be easy for me to not have to get down and remove my pants.”

Larissa nodded and took out a rather large first aid kit. She took out the shears and looked at how Laine’s hands were positioned. “I’ll cut above the wounds, you keep pressing down.”

She slipped on a pair of gloves and waited patiently.

Laine lifted her arms a little and waited as she began to cut away at her pants. She made a sound at how the blood bubbled up and coated the shears, but kept slicing through them.

Once Laine was left with really short shorts, she cut down the sides so that she would only need to lift her hands quickly and pull the fabric away.

Weems let out a sigh and set the shears aside, “Okay. Do you feel ready for me to remove these? Is the pill working?”

Laine nodded, “Better to do it soon before my body burns it away.”

The woman waited, watching her with both hands on the fabric before Laine nodded again then lifted her hands. 

Larissa quickly pulled the pants away, eyes averting as she saw the mess under the fabric. She didn’t know if she could watch the young girl pack the wounds herself.

Laine grabbed the gauze Larissa held out to her and pressed them firmly against the wounds with a shudder. 

“Could you hand me the roll of gauze please?” 

Larissa winced, “Wait. Let me keep you from bleeding and you clean and dry your hands first.”

Laine nearly rejected it, but decided to humor her. It’d be rare for her to get an infection, but she didn’t want to risk it with such a deep wound.

They traded spots as Laine leaned over and washed her hands. She used one of the towels Weems brought then dried off. She slipped on some gloves then grabbed the gauze herself. 

Staring at her hands, Laine took a few calming breaths. She’d learned at least this much just in case. But actually doing it to her own body was a little… grotesque. 

“Ready.” She said calmly as Weems pulled one of her hands away. The wound immediately began to leak blood, a trail of it going down her thigh as Weems put a towel under it to keep it from dripping everywhere.

Laine grit her teeth and began to pack the wound. Her fingers shook, feeling herself stuff something under her own skin and between her muscle. It felt strange, knowing she’d touched meat on a hunt before, but never associated it with her own body.

Weems looked ghostly pale as she did this, but she made sure she kept pushing on the other thigh. The one she was packing now was even larger than the one she was currently putting pressure on.

“When… how long will it take for your guardian to get here?” She asked, trying to distract the girl from the morbid task at hand.

Laine grunted, taking a shuddering breath in as she’s nearly used half of the gauze. “If she takes the fastest plane out of the family hangar…Travels around seven hundred miles per hour.”

She cut the gauze and motioned for Weems to apply pressure again as she groaned, the wound now full of gauze.

Weems lifted her other hand so Laine could get started on the other wound. “The hangar is approximately six thousand miles from the airport.” She muttered under her breath, nearly done packing the wound.

“So, distance divided by time, exchanging the decimal point into minutes is around eight and a half hours. Assuming she has a vehicle ready. Depending on how quickly she drives…” She glanced at Larissa’s wrist watch. “It’s four fifty right now. She’d get here around 1:30 in the morning give or take. Closer to 2am if it took her a while at the airports.”

Weems blinked down at the small girl, “Do I need to move you to a more advanced math class?”

Laine laughed a little despite her current situation and cut the last of the gauze off. “Assuming I’m okay, I wouldn’t mind.”

Weems nearly laughed but then her expression hardened, “You’ll be fine.” She said sternly, as if she wouldn’t let Laine believe otherwise.

Laine was sure she’d be fine too. Laine lifted one of her legs, “Okay. Just need to wrap it for pressure so I can sleep a little. When Lopez arrives, she can flush out the wound and stitch it for me.”

Weems nodded and kept pressure on her other leg as Laine began wrapping the smaller wound. Finally, taped it off and let her leg down with a wince.

Weems let go of her other leg and let Laine begin to wrap that one too. It was still oozing very slightly, but wrapping it tight would keep it from soaking through too much.

Laine disinfected the smaller cuts and simply bandaged those as they would heal on their own without issue. She glared down at her legs. If she’d shifted sooner, her scales would have protected her. But she didn’t want to reveal herself to the Addams.

Larissa began to clean as she went, wiping at and spraying at the blood that had dripped down as Laine began to wipe at her own thighs.

Her eyes began to feel heavy, the effects of blood loss and the medicine was making her tired and her legs were beginning to ache horribly.

“Now, I’m going to carry you to the guest bedroom. I put on a fitted sheet so don’t worry about making a mess. I’ll cut off the rest of your pants and you’ll put on the clothes I brought.”

Laine nodded, making a sound of agreement as she held out her arm letting Weems put her shoulder under it before she lifted her easily.

She bit down on the urge to make a sound, eyes stinging a little now that she could feel the gauze inside but clenched her jaw.

Larissa made a low sound, seeing her expression. She wasn’t known to be a soft person, but seeing someone like Laine in that amount of pain made it difficult for her not to try to comfort her a little. She’d been attacked by an insidious monster after all.

“You’ve done so well for someone your age, Laine. It’s a wonder you even knew what to do when I’ve only received basic training.”

Laine let out a small but choked off laugh, seeing what the woman was attempting to do. “My dad is always prepared.” She said simply as Weems set her down in a plainly decorated room. It was obvious it was just a room that was used to fill the space.

“Alright, I’ll cut the last of this off of you and I’ll trust you to clean up the rest of the blood before changing into your clothes.”

Laine nodded and lifted her arms so that Larissa could cut up the sides of the pants, careful to not nick her. She handed Laine wipes that had wound cleaning solution on it before she turned around. 

“Hand me the rest of your pants so that I can burn them. If I threw away your clothes soaked in blood now, all the vampires at school would smell it.”

“Gotcha.” Laine slid off the ruined pants and handed them to Larissa before she wiped at her legs, making a disgusted sound when she felt the backs of her thighs were crusted in blood. She cleaned them off quickly and put the wipes on top of the discarded pants before Weems took them and walked out of the room to give her some privacy.

Laine put on the clothes Weems brought her and was surprised that they were only a little big on her. She must’ve walked the short distance to the student union to grab her a new set of gym clothes with the Nevermore logo on it.

She looked over to see that Weems brought her a bottle of water. She set it on the nightstand and pushed it all the way up against the bed so Laine could reach it easily.

“Do you think you could eat a little? I could bring you something.”

Laine winced a little, not sure if she could stomach anything. “Um. If you have some broth I could do that.”

Weems quirked her brow then nodded, “Alright, one moment.” She disappeared down the hall as Laine reclined against the headrest. If she laid down now, she probably wouldn’t get back up again.

She let her eyes rest for a moment, wishing she could let Yoko know she was okay. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed anything yet.

Laine jerked awake when Weems called her name. She blinked her eyes slowly, they felt a little dry from dozing off.

She looked over as Weems set a tray down on the end table. 

Her principal cleared her throat, “I’d lay it across your lap but…” 

Laine smiled, “No worries. Hot things don’t bother me.” She reached out and picked up the hot bowl of broth. Weems stepped back and finally sat down in one of the chairs as she let out a breath.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why were you out that far?”

Laine took a small sip and reached over to take a small bite of saltines that Weems brought.

“I intentionally stayed on school grounds so that it’s safer but, I guess going out that far was asking for trouble. I like to go on walks around where I live. It’s second nature.”

Larissa nodded, that much could make sense. “What did the monster look like?”

Laine wanted to answer pig tails with dark eyes but suppressed the urge, “It’s a huge hunch backed creature with long arms and short legs. It has protruding eyes, teeth like an angler fish, and wild curly hair. It has grayish skin which reminds me of vampires from horror type games.”

She thought back on how close she’d gotten to it, “It has a surprising amount of strength for something that looks so sickly and emaciated.”

Laine took a few sips of her broth and glanced over, “Have you seen it before?”

Weems seemed to pale a little, “I… Not the one you described but, I’ve seen one before.”

Laine blinked, “I see. So it’s a type of outcast then, not an anomaly.” 

The woman nodded, “We had one when I was a student here. Then they were banned from Nevermore. I always wondered what happened to her but, life happened.”

Laine’s eyes drooped a little as she listened to her story. “I don’t have my phone anymore, so Lopez will likely call your office when she gets here. Is that alright?”

Larissa got up and helped her set the finished bowl onto the tray, “Yes. I’ll tell the security to keep an eye out for her. Do you need help laying down?”

Laine looked down and nodded, bracing herself. Over the course of eating, she could feel the dull ache beginning to return.

“Ready, and…” Weems moved her as Laine clenched her jaw. She finally let out a shaky breath and let her head fall back against the pillow. 

She let Weems help her with the blankets, she’d be blushing if she hadn’t lost so much blood. “I’m sorry you need to spend your evening cleaning another mess.”

Larissa scoffed, “Honestly with another fire I was prepared to question Wednesday Addams again, but. I suppose there’s no need now.”

Laine gave her a tight smile and nodded.

Her principal watched her for a moment then turned, “Okay dear. Try to get some sleep. If you need anything, I’m not far away.”

“Thank you.” Laine watched her turn off the lights but left the door open so she could hear her easily then disappeared down the hall.

Ignoring the dull ache in her thighs, Laine shut her eyes and allowed herself to finally let go and fall asleep.