pugsley marched to his elder brother's room, thing perched gently on his shoulder. he was in a rather chipper mood on this gloomy afternoon, as he was excited to finally hang out with his newfound friend. he held his phone in one hand, joining a lobby of a game he was obsessed with.

the premise of the game was simple: the players would have to complete tasks around various maps, and there would be one or more impostors amongst the group, sabotaging equipment or killing the crewmembers. pugsley loved being the impostor and creating chaos in the game. he played with his siblings before, but wednesday would always kill him first, never elvira or lucius.

the thing was observing pugsley's phone screen, fingers flexing excitedly when pugsley and the other impostor's won. pugsley knocked on wednesday's door, shutting off his phone and sliding the device into his pocket.

"go away," wednesday's voice was muffled, yet his annoyance was clear as day.

"hey, remember i invited you to hang with my friends today?" pugsley sounded hopeful. despite him seeming like he hated pugsley's guts, wednesday was always at his side.

"yeah, but i don't remember accepting your invite," wednesday shot back.

without a warning, pugsley barged into his room. his brows furrowed in a brief moment of confusion. where did wednesday go? the blonde had his question answered once he heard a faint screech from above. wednesday hung effortlessly from his bedroom ceiling, his hair hanging from awkward angles and his arms were crossed. he wasn't alone: a group of bats accompanied him.

"c'mon, wednesday, it'll be fun!" pugsley's enthusiasm made wednesday physically shiver.

"fun and i don't mix. don't you remember when we were younger, and i burned that one kid's birthday presents with a flamethrower? the same thing will happen to you if you don't stop pestering me," wednesday glared at pugsley with a lone, beady eye. he shut his eyes, his body going limp.

wednesday's body tensed up when his brother spoke up again, "mom said you have to, or you won't be able to sleep in the graveyard for a month,"

for a whole month? wednesday loved to sleep in the graveyard more than his room. he loved feeling the coolness of the headstones while he slept, the breeze and mysterious ambiance lulling him in a deep slumber, that was too good to wake up.

"fine, i'll go. just leave before i burn your flesh off," wednesday snapped, the bats around him hissing at his brother.

-

"they'll be here any moment!" evangeline squealed, her nails tapping against the screen as she replied to pugsley's text message with an audio message.

"great," (name) smiled uneasily, her hand trembling as she raised her cup to her lips. her anxiety levels were through the roof. although she occasionally interacted with customers at her aunt's shop, she couldn't remember the last time she had a full-fledged conversation with a stranger.

not even the bustling arcade could ease her anxiousness. in fact, it raised the intensity. she gripped her cup tightly, nearly crushing the styrofoam material in her palm. i need to calm the fuck down. breathe.

just as (name) was going to excuse herself to the bathroom, two, instantly recognizable boys approached their table. they were the same duo that bought a spellbook from mystiria; she was the one that rung them up.

"hey!" evangeline stuttered with joy once she felt his presence, "pugsley, this is my friend, (name). (name), this is pugsley,"

"nice to meet you," (name) greeted bashfully, hesitantly waving at the boy dressed in stripes.

"hey, you too! you look familiar, have we before?" pugsley smiled, for the first time in a while. although he mainly hated other people in his age group, he felt like might be able to stand evangeline and (name).

"um, i don't know, we might have," (name) shrugged. she fiddled with her fingers as she avoided pugsley's gaze, much like he had done when he visited the shop. oh, how the tables had turned.

"oh, yeah, this is my brother, wednesday. wednesday, come say hi!" pugsley called out to older brother, who was staring in disgust at anyone that looked to be enjoying themselves.

once he turned to look at (name), his eyes widened, the bags under his eyes making him look a bit monstrous. wednesday was stiff but the dark-haired boy's face went back to that of blankness. his usual emotionless mask was cracking. he had no idea why some stupid girl made him feel this way; maybe her cat gave him brain damage.

"it's nice to meet you as well," (name)'s voice was a bit firmer, trying to sound more confident and shake off the anxiousness.

wednesday was dead silent. he didn't smile nor wave back or greet (name) in any way. he just stared at her with cold eyes. so much for getting along.

"excuse my brother, he isn't the best with people. yet again, i'm not exactly the best with people either but at least i'm not as dead as a doorknob," pugsley playfully nudged his brother and wednesday looked like he was ready to commit a murder. (name) could practically see the news headline now: goth kid murders his brother in the local arcade.

"let's go get the tokens before the pizza gets here," evangeline suggested with a small jump. (name) was envious of her friend; she seemed to get along with people fairly easy. a lot of people at their school were cruel to her, despite that. how scummy does someone have to be to avoid a person, simply because they were blind?

"yeah!" pugsley agreed. he was much more cheerful than he ever was, and that made wednesday want to vomit. without another word, the two were already rushing to the token distributor.

"should we join them?" (name) asked, hands clasping together in a way to keep her calm and occupied.

wednesday nodded, and for a brief moment, the pair locked eyes. (name)'s eyes flickered away quickly, his gaze making her feel like she was dosed with a bucket of freezing water. she felt even more embarrassed than before.

wednesday hadn't said anything; she was unsure it that comforted her or made her more on edge. the boy, looking like a stormy cloud, walked ahead of her without saying a single word.

.・゜゜・ ・゜゜・．

yoooo, guess who's back with another chapter? hopefully, i don't dip again lmaoo. i hope you guys had a safe and enjoyable halloween.