Chapter 122: Decision III
Wednesday Addams calmly opened her eyes, just like every other morning.
'It's today,'
That was her first thought as she robotically got out of bed and checked the time—six in the morning. There was still an hour and a half before the first-class period started.
She had woken up earlier than usual. Normally, she woke up at 6:30 AM. The reason for this change was a thought that had been lingering in her mind for almost two days.
A thought about Luke and the decision he would make. Would he keep his promise and return to Enid, or would he choose her?
The answer should be obvious. She was better than Enid in every way. Why would Luke hesitate in his choice? Just thinking about these things annoyed her. What annoyed her even more was that she was getting angry and affected by her emotions.
'She only has an advantage because she got there first,' Wednesday told herself, glancing at Enid, who was still sleeping in the other bed in their dorm room.
After staring at her silently for several seconds, she looked away and began her morning routine.
She hadn't managed to befriend her roommate, and the only friend she had made was Eugene, whom she saw as a younger brother. The school year was almost over—that's what she was waiting for. The only unusual thing was Luke.
Even with Enid, their relationship had stagnated lately, and the usually cheerful girl had stopped trying to befriend her. The reason was obvious.
Thirty minutes before classes started, Enid woke up. She and Wednesday exchanged glances, but neither said a word. They continued with their own routines in silence. There was an invisible tension in the room.
Each of them went to class on their own.
Wednesday was distracted throughout the entire class. The lessons were tedious, as the final exams were approaching, but this had never happened to her before. Her eyes kept drifting toward the round clock and then to Luke, who was sitting about three desks away.
'Looking sleepy as always. He must have stayed up all night, though today it's much worse than usual,' Wednesday thought, examining Luke's face.
Luke was experiencing his first hangover. A headache, drowsiness, and having to listen to a teacher talk about boring things—it was too much. He shouldn't have had so much vodka and whiskey the night before. He had overestimated his outcast metabolism.
If she thought about it, that's one of the few differences she had with Luke. She had a routine every day. Luke, on the other hand, wasn't the type to structure his days.
However, she liked staying up late. She was a night person, but during the school period, she changed her routine to optimize her time. During vacations, she returned to her nocturnal habits.
At noon, they had a long break that lasted an hour. All the students headed to the cafeteria to buy lunch and eat there.
Wednesday noticed that Luke was heading in a different direction. He didn't go to the cafeteria. Enid also wasn't there, eating lunch with her friends.
'They must be talking about the promise,' Wednesday easily deduced. Her expression remained the same as she ate slowly, but she felt something strange inside.
Was this... nerves? Was she feeling nervous for the first time?
...
Luke found himself standing in front of Enid in a deserted hallway where almost no students ever passed by.
Since she had defeated the Hyde, Luke told her the whole truth about why he ended their relationship. On one hand, it was because of his enemies, who could use her as a hostage again and threaten him. However, the key reason for Luke's decision was Enid's mother.
Esther had pushed Luke to break up with Enid. Luke told her exactly what Esther had said.
"This time, she's crossed the line..." Enid said, frowning, staring at the floor deep in thought, her fists clenched. She couldn't believe her mother would meddle so much in her affairs.
The hallway fell silent as Enid thought until she lifted her gaze and her eyes met Luke's.
"So, I was right. You left me because of your enemies, although I didn't know about my mother," Enid said.
"Yes," Luke replied, nodding.
"So, we should get back together…" Enid added in a low voice, avoiding eye contact with Luke.
"You don't sound very sure," Luke said, and Enid abruptly lifted her head to look at him.
"That's not it!" she quickly said, raising her hands and gesturing wildly. "It's just that so much has happened since the promise. My feelings are a mess right now."
"It's okay, Enid," Luke interrupted, hoping to stop her from justifying herself further. He wasn't upset with her.
"I won't be keeping the promise," Luke said, getting straight to the point. He had always been a direct person—there was no point in dragging things out.
"What? Why!?" Enid asked, confused.
"Is it because of Wednesday?" she asked again, not giving Luke a chance to answer the first question.
"I won't deny she's part of it, but she's not the main reason," Luke answered honestly.
"Then what is it?"
"I don't want my girlfriend to look at me with fear," Luke replied bluntly.
That was the reason he wouldn't keep his promise to Enid. It was true that he had fallen for Wednesday, but even if the goth girl hadn't been there, Luke would have come to the same conclusion.
He didn't want the person he loved to be afraid of any part of his personality. Though Wednesday's arrival had made it easier for him to let Enid go and reach that realization.
"It wasn't my intention... I was shocked when I saw Sabrina and then when you killed her like that," Enid said, looking down, recalling the night of the lunar eclipse.
"I don't blame you. Everyone has their own values and limits of what they can handle," Luke said with a slightly strange expression. He was only being this understanding because it was Enid.
"I can change! I've always been sensitive to these things. If my brothers and the other outcasts can handle it, I can too. If it's for you..." Enid said, her eyes brimming with tears that could spill at any moment.
"No, Enid. That wouldn't be right. There's nothing wrong with you being the way you are and me being the way I am. We just don't match. I would kill my enemies without hesitation, while you would forgive them, like you did with the Hyde," Luke said, shaking his head.
For Enid to change would be difficult, and it would only prolong the relationship a bit longer than expected. Another example was when Enid wanted Wednesday not to kill Rowan, despite witnessing Rowan trying to kill her.
Luke wouldn't even hesitate against such enemies. He would kill anyone who tried to kill him, even if they weren't part of the Spellmans. Wednesday was the same, and many veteran outcasts thought that way. The new generation was different, maybe because of how closely connected they were to the normie society through technology and social media.
"And besides, I like Wednesday now..." Luke said with tremendous difficulty. He wanted to make things clear. He didn't want Enid to find out later about his relationship with Wednesday, if they ever officially started dating.
"I'm sorry for deceiving you. It wasn't something I could control, despite our promise," Luke said, sincerely apologizing. His plan wasn't to fall in love with Wednesday while he had the promise with Enid. It just happened.
What Luke didn't realize was that this was the last straw for Enid.
"So I trained like crazy for nothing? I fought to the death against a drugged-up Hyde for nothing?" Enid said, her frown deepening as her voice grew louder.
"And while I was giving it my all, you were falling in love with Wednesday Addams!?" she yelled in fury, grabbing Luke's tie with immense strength, and yanking him roughly toward her.
Luke looked at Enid, her face just inches from his. Her expression was pure rage, and her grip was powerful. He had never seen her so angry, and she wasn't wrong. He had no excuses for her accusations.
Everything she said was true. He had kissed Wednesday for the first time while Enid was just a door away, and then he continued seeing the goth girl, occasionally kissing her, all while the promise was still in effect.
"Answer me, Luke!" Enid demanded, her voice trembling with fury, pulling him even closer until he was practically suffocating.
"What do you want me to say? I've already apologized. I can't change the past," Luke said in a calm tone, looking Enid straight in the eyes.
"At least you got your werewolf transformation much earlier. You won't be an outcast in your pack," Luke added. He had always known this was a big concern for Enid. She feared being exiled from her pack and cared deeply about others' opinions, especially her mother's. Now, she no longer had to worry about that—she'd be considered a prodigy.
Enid let go of the tie abruptly, but the fury in her eyes remained. Before Luke could say anything else, she slapped him, the sound of her palm echoing against his cheek.
"You're a damn bastard!" Enid shouted, her voice a mix of rage and pain.
'I deserved that…' Luke thought, feeling the sting on his cheek.
"How could you fall in love with someone else while I was doing all of this for us?" Enid asked, her multicolored nails transforming into sharp claws.
'Okay... okay… It won't go that far, right?' Luke thought, eyeing the claws cautiously. He didn't want his face to be scarred.
"People don't choose when to fall in love. It just happens. It wasn't my intention; it just happened," Luke repeated what he had said earlier.
Besides, the main reason he chose Wednesday was that she accepted him for who he truly was and didn't look at him with fear like Enid had on the night of the blood moon.
"You're a bastard and a womanizer who doesn't keep his word, Luke," Enid said in a whisper, her voice filled with a mix of disappointment, sadness, and anger.
Luke frowned, hurt by her words. "Maybe I am," he said calmly. He knew who he was, and although it pained him to have hurt her, he had already apologized sincerely.
Enid stood in silence, her fists trembling with anger. "I wish I had never met you," she finally said, her voice breaking. She turned and quickly walked away.
Luke watched her back until she disappeared from sight. Then, he sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall, and sighed.
"Damn it, it's better to just train and play video games," he muttered. The day wasn't even over yet. He still had his talk with Wednesday.
Would the gothic girl agree to be his official girlfriend? From their last conversation in the cafeteria, it seemed like she was willing, but it was hard to read her expression.
'If she rejects me, I'll be alone. Well, maybe that's for the best,' Luke thought as he stood up and walked toward his next task.
Luckily, his next class was Psychic Powers, so he didn't run into Enid. The odd thing was that, in that class, he sat next to Wednesday. Both stayed silent, listening to the professor's lesson. They worked on the assignment together, but without discussing anything else.
When the class ended, they had a short ten-minute break. Then another hour-long class, and during the break, they headed to a place where they could talk without being disturbed. It was already 2:15 in the afternoon, which meant 48 hours had passed.
"In less than ten minutes, the last class starts. Let's finish this quickly," Wednesday said, stopping in a dimly lit hallway and staring intently at Luke.
She tried to sound as indifferent as usual, but she was eager to hear Luke's answer. She had been distracted all day, and finally, after this, she could return to normal. Although Luke didn't know this, since it was very difficult to tell if Wednesday was affected by anything or not.
"My relationship with Enid is over. I canceled the promise," Luke said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand as if downplaying its importance. He, too, wanted to appear as indifferent as possible.
"Is it really over, or are you going to make another promise?" Wednesday asked, raising an eyebrow. She felt the nerves she had been experiencing slowly start to fade.
"It's definitely over. I think this might give you a clue," Luke replied, pointing to his right cheek, which was still red from the slap Enid had given him a few hours earlier.
'She hit him?' Wednesday thought, frowning slightly as she noticed Luke's reddened cheek. She felt relieved by his response but also a little angry.
After that, both of them fell silent, just staring at each other. Neither knew how to proceed.
"So, what now?" Wednesday asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know... Do we just go back to how things were?" Luke asked.
"How they were?" Wednesday questioned.
"You know... kissing and stuff," Luke replied with an awkward expression. Vulnerability was something he wasn't good at, and the idea of expressing himself felt almost insulting. He'd already gone through enough with Enid just recently.
Should he ask Wednesday to start dating him officially? Of course, he wasn't going to do that. It would only earn him her mockery, and he didn't want that either.
"Be more specific," Wednesday said.
"Why do I always have to be the one to clarify things? If you want something specific, then say it yourself," Luke complained.
"Normal acquaintances don't go around kissing and doing that stuff," Wednesday replied, mimicking Luke's tone in the last words.
'Respond, but don't mock me,' Luke thought, rolling his eyes.
"A relationship, I guess," Luke finally said, and Wednesday nodded.
"Are you okay with that? I thought you hated anything considered normal," Luke said, noticing her agreement.
"I don't hate it. Couples who constantly fight and need to reaffirm their love every minute seem pathetic to me," Wednesday replied.
Her disdain was clear, but there was more in her words: a subtle critique of the emotional dependency she observed in typical relationships. Luke couldn't agree more.
"And that whole thing of being glued together all the time, like they're Siamese twins... I don't know how they can stand that lack of independence," Wednesday added with a slight grimace of disgust.
"True. We should set some rules, so we don't end up doing those stupid things," Luke agreed. Both of them were loners who enjoyed their solitude. Neither wanted to be together 24/7.
"We will. But we'll discuss it later. We need to get back to class," Wednesday said, and they both started walking toward the classroom in silence—a comfortable silence, with no need for words.
"One more thing," she added as they walked without stopping.
"What?"
"The relationship is monogamous," Wednesday replied, her tone not one of a request, but a clarification.
"Yeah, sure," Luke said, initially not giving it much importance, but then, catching the meaning of her statement. He paused for a second and understood that any deviation from that expectation would be unforgivable. Though both were too proud to admit it, there was a mutual instinct of possession they wouldn't accept sharing with anyone else.
They continued walking, not saying anything more. They both understood the rules without the need for additional words.
---------------------------------------------------
I swear on my cat that I tried to go the polygamy route. To me, it seems logical that it would be accepted among the marginalized, particularly for issues of lineage. Initially, I even imagined Luke ending up with both Enid and Wednesday before the vote I took.
But looking at Enid's and Wednesday's personalities, it feels very unrealistic that they would agree to share Luke, no matter how close their friendship. Wednesday grew up with parents in a monogamous relationship, and the same goes for Enid. I read somewhere that wolves are particularly loyal, where a male and female mate for life.
As for Luke, he might have tried to convince them both to be in a polygamous relationship out of selfishness, but his personality isn't social enough to handle having two girlfriends and needing to give both love and attention.
So, for those who wanted a monogamous relationship—perfect, no harem!
...
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