chapter one!
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THE LARGE, CAVERNOUS LIBRARY WAS SO QUIET YOU COULD HEAR A PIN DROP.

Luckily, Kamden was used to moving through life silently and undetected, so this late night study visit was not a problem.

As usual, she had procrastitaed all day long, pushing back her studying time until the last possible moment, which is why she was in the Nevermore libary at 11:30 at night. The time was also why there were no other students around, most of them having gone to bed by now. She preferred it that way, having no other people around. There was nobody to judge her or question if she even knew what she was doing. Which, she didn't, but still.

She tried to be mad at the literature teacher who had asigned the book report on the one novel that she had merely skimmed over, but she knew she only had herself to blame. So, she made her walk of shame down to the libary at an irresponsible hour to collect the designated book so she could read it again and write her report.

Suddenly, her phone rang, the noise shrill and ehcoing off the walls and vaulted ceilings. The ringing startled Kamden, and she flinched harshly, unintenionly pulling a couple of books down from the shelf as she jolted.

"Shit." She hissed, dropping to her knees to collect the fallen books, answering her phone quickly, as she did so.

Taking the hardcovers into her arms, she wedged her cellphone between her shoulder and her cheek, hoping that her volume was loud enough since she had no hands to turn it up with. "Hello?" She was surprised at how much her voice carried through the room, and she winced, realizing that she was probably speaking much too loud.

"Hey, sweetie, it's Mom."

Kamden slowly rose to her feet, the shakiness in her mother's voice causing worry to flood into her chest. "Hey Mom. Is everything okay?"

A sharp sniffle crackled over the speaker and she felt her heart skip a few beats, her mind already jumping to conclusions and coming up with a dozen different horrible scenarios. "Mom, what's wrong? Talk to me."

"I'm so sorry Kam...it's Cookie."

An image of the sweet, little, orange tabby kitten that Kamden had to be dragged away from all those months ago when leaving for Nevermore, rushed into her mind. Shoving books back onto the shelf, she began to panic. "Wha-what about her? Is she okay?"

Another sniffle could be heard, followed by a trembling breath. "Your father was bringing in the groceries yesterday, and she slipped out the front door. She ran out into the street and-oh sweetie, I'm so sorry."

The silence in the library instantly grew a lot heavier, and Kamden found herslelf unable to move, all of her muscles stiff with horror. "And you waited a whole day to call me?" She hated how her voice sounded, all hoarse from the heartbreak that was choking her.

"Honey, I wanted to sooner, but I was at the vet all day and-"

"You should've called me right away!" Kamden cut her mother off, forcing down her tears with a wave of anger, pushing back her sadness by tossing out blame.

"Kam, don't be like that-"

Ripping her phone out from under her cheek, she pressed down on the disconnet button so hard that she feared for a moment that the glass might crack.

She tried to continue on with her task, putting the remaining books that she had knocked down back into their respective places, ignoring the fact that her lip was quivering and her eyes where brimming with tears.

But she couldn't ignore one particalarly strong sob, and it ripped through her whole body, bringing her down to her knees. She crumpled to the floor, breaking down into loud cries, only this time, she didn't care about the volume of her voice; the only thing on her mind was her poor baby kitten that she never got to say a proper goodbye to.

"Oh, spare me the theatrics. Go cry somewhere else."

The voice that rang out and cut through her sobs made Kamden jump, and she snapped her head up in surprise. She quickly locked eyes with a girl who was standing merely feet away from her, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere.

She took in the entirety of the stranger, from the long, dark, pigtail braids that were sweeped over her shoulders, down to her completely black version of the Nevermore uniform, all with a confused look sewn into her brow.

After a pause, as if she were waiting for Kamden to stop examining her, the strange girl added, "No one wants to see that."

Kamden stared at the stranger, jaw hung open in disbelief. "My goddamn cat died!" She snapped.

"Hmm." The girl pondered for a moment, as if considering if she should feel empathy or not. "Keeping pets is foolish; any humans thinking that they could tame wild animals are imbeciles."

"You're really shit at comforting people." Kamden swiped at her damp cheeks.

"Thank you."

"That's the furthest thing from a compliment." The red-haired girl pushed herself to her feet, getting eye level with the stranger.

"Not to me." She replied. "Emotions are reckless; they will get you nowhere but into trouble. It is better to make decisons and act on reason rather than impluse."

"Just...shut up. You're making it worse." Kamden turned her face away as fresh tears filled her eyes.

"What are you doing here so late at night, anyway? Do you come to libaries to cry over unimportant domesticated beasts often?" The girl went on talking, ignoring the request for her silence.

"It's not unimportant!" Kamden burst out, but quickly, she bit down on her tongue. "You know what? It's not worth it. You're not worth it."

She sucked in a breath, closing her eyes to try and calm herself down, a whirlpool of emotions bubbling inside of her. "I was trying to find a book that I need for a report. There. Are you happy now?"

"Never." The strange girl didn't miss a beat. "Happiness is-"

"Stop! Just...stop." Kamden cut her off, holding up a hand to the girl's face to further prove her disdain. "Have you ever tried liking something? Saying something nice? Having a positive thought maybe?"

"Of course not. I-"

"Don't!" Kamden interupted once again. "Don't say anything about how positive thoughts are a waste of energy or something depressing like that."

The raven haired girl's eyes twinkled for a brief moment. "You catch on quickly. I was just about to say how positive thoughts often lead to delusions of things being better than the reality."

Kamden groaned, resting her back against the bookshelf. After she regained her composure, she lowered her gaze back to the shorter girl. "What are you doing here?" She asked, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Do you come to libaries to spit out quotes that you definitely read on Tumblr back in 2014 often?"

"I don't know what that is, but if it's anything like you say, I think that I'd like it." The girl shook her head, moving across the room so smoothly it seemed like she might be floating. "No, I spit out my 'quotes', as you call them, wherever I want to. I'm actually here looking for a book as well."

Scoffing, Kamden watched the girl's movements carefully, almost feeling like she were entranced by the fluidity of the motions. "Did you get assigned a stupid book report too?"

Facing her again, the girl spoke with a hint of deviance. "I'm afraid that I'm here on a much more serious mission."

"And what might that be?" Kamden readjusted her crossed arms, raising a curious eyebrow at the myserious girl. She cocked her head to one side as she waited for a response.

"Unfortunately for you, I cannot disclose that information. Besides, I think it's time that you get back to your dorm."

"But I still haven't got my-" She was interrupted by a rough thud against her chest. Looking down, Kamden saw that the girl had moved across the room and shoved a book against her. Dark eyes stared up at her as she kept the book pinned to the other girl's chest.

Bringing her hands up, Kamden caught the book when the girl let go, letting the cover fall into her palms, gasping as she read the title. To Kill A Mockingbird was in large lettering, and her jaw hung open in shock as held the very book that she had been seraching for. "How did you...?"

"Don't worry about it." The girl cleared her throat as she stepped back, dropping her typically harsh gaze down to the tiles. "You've got your book now, so you can go."

"Why do you want me to leave so badly?"

"Like I said, I'm here for some serious business, and I must be alone."

Humming with dissatisfaction, Kamden made her way towards the grand staircase that led to the library entrance. "Are you gonna tell me your name, or...?" She paused at the top of the stairs to look back down at the dark haired stranger once more.

The girl thought for a moment, considering if Kamden was worthy of such knowledge or not. Cautiously, she parted her lips and broke the silence. "Wednesday."

Kamden nodded in recognition. "I heard about you during lunch today. New girl with the braids, oozing with weird energy. It all checks out. I'm surpirsed that Weems let you transfer in during the middle of a semster, she's usually really strict with her rules and regulations. You must be special."

"Some people like to say that."

Kamden looked towards the door, which was cracked open, peering out into the dimly lit hallway, something inside of her pulling her to stay. She went to turn back to Wednesday, having more to say, only to find that she was now alone in the echoey room once again.

"Okay then." Kamden pressed her lips mtogether, dropped her gaze to the floor, slight disapointment filling her chest. "I'm Kamden, by the way!" She called out to the emptiness, but, as expected, she got no reply.

And so, she turned on her heel, tucked a peice of her copper-colored hair behind her ear, and slipped out the library door with only one thing on her mind.

Wednesday Addams.

~

hii everyone!

i'm excited to get this story started, and i'm looking forward to seeing where it goes, along with having a few things planned!

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~ cat