Wednesday's POV:
Edgar Allan Poe said, "Believe nothing you hear and half of what you see."
Clearly, Nevermore's most famous alumni picked that up here. No wonder he became a drug-addled madman.
"Help me understand why you claim you witnessed a murder." Dr. Kinbott tried coercing me to speak. "Was it to gain attention?"
"Why should I bother telling you anything?" I ask defensively. "You've already decided I'm lying. I know what I saw."
"Your life's had a lot of upheaval recently. It's okay to be confused about things."
"Don't try and lure me into one of your psychological traps."
"No one is trying to trap you.
I'm here to help you process your emotions."
"Emotions are a gateway trait. They lead to feelings, which trigger tears. I don't do tears."
"Tell me how you're adjusting to school."
"Quite honestly, I'd rather stay by myself writing." With the accompany of (Y/n), but I didn't tell my therapist that.
"Wednesday, Part of the reason your parents sent you to Nevermore is so you could find your people. Become part of a larger community."
"I like being an island. A well-fortified one surrounded by sharks."
"Have you considered your antisocial tendencies might be motivated by fear of rejection?"
"If you were to reject me, I would not be upset." I said dismissively.
"You can't get rid of me that easily. And look, you made it through an entire session without trying to escape. I'll take that as a win." She said with a smile.
I get up quickly and leave the building.
As I'm exiting, I hear a voice.
"Guess you decided to stick around Jericho." Tyler says. Wait, you see Dr. Kinbott too?"
"You should know I'm legally required to be here." I tell him annoyed.
"Uh, me too. Court ordered."
"Look at us. A couple of teenage tearaways." I say in slight amusement.
He chuckles and stops me from walking any farther. "Hey, when you ran off last night at the Harvest Festival, I wasn't sure what happened, and then I heard... Kinda crazy."
"Everyone, including your father, believes (Y/n) and I made it all up."
His phone rings
"You know, I..." He looks down at it.
"Time to get in touch with my inner rebel." I tell him.
Before I'm out of ear shot I hear him say, "You know, for the record, I believe you."
I walk away and go back to Nevermore.
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"People, come on! Let's work on those teeth. More scowl. This kitty is taking no prisoners. If Bianco Barclay wins again this year, I will literally scratch my own eyes out!" I hear my roommate fuss over a canoe at other members of Ophelia Hall, including (Y/n).
"I would pay money to see that." I say behind him.
"Howdy, roomie!" Edward says. "I'm glad you decided to stay."
"I thought you wanted your single room back."
"Full disclosure, I don't like living solo and Thing gives a killer neck massage. It's a win-win. So... why the change of heart?" He asks. I look towards (Y/n) as she is painting teeth on the canoe. She has a bit of white across her cheek and on the top of her nose. She looks.. cute.
"I refuse to play the role of a pawn in someone else's corrupt game." I look back towards Edward hoping he didn't see me staring at his painfully obvious crush.
"You mean Rowan?" I see (Y/n) tense out of the corner of my eye. She puts her brush down and walks towards us.
"We witnessed his murder, Edward," (Y/n) says coming to stand beside me.
"I know, but it's just, we all saw him this morning. Very much, like, not dead." He says grabbing her hand, trying to save himself from not believing her.
"I know." I say putting my hand in her lower back, "Which leads me to believe I've been losing my mind. It's not nearly as fun as I had anticipated."
"You're Nevermore's gossip king. What's Rowan's story?" I ask glaring at his hand on hers. "Other than being a weird loner... Uh... No offense."
"None taken." I say, still glaring.
"Bianco Barclay's his roommate. If you had a cell phone, you could just text him and ask him." He says turning around to fuss at the other housemates.
"Yoko. Come on! Flare those whiskers. The Poe Cup droops for no one."
"What is the Poe Cup anyway?" I asked intrigued.
He finally release (Y/n)'s hand.
"Only my entire reason for living right now. Part canoe race, part foot chase, no rules. Each dorm has to pick an Edgar Allan Poe short story for inspiration. You could grab a brush. Ms. Thornhill's just ordered pizza. Want to take a stab at being social?" He asks pulling (Y/n) from me.
"I do like stabbing." I say staring into his eyes. Glaring at him, and his audacity to take her from my grasp. "The social part, not so much. Besides, it'll cut into my writing time."
"No worries. Just as long as you're lakeside cheering us to victory on race day." He says smiling wide with his arm on her shoulder. I glare at him again. "Or you can just glare uncomfortably. Whatever works for you." He says awkwardly removing his arm.
I glare a final time and walk away back towards our dorm.
I've always hated the expression "write what you know."
It's a hall pass for the imagination-impaired.
But when your life becomes a twisted mystery... maybe it's time to lean into it.
After my writing time, I begin to search for Rowan.
"I need to speak with Rowan. I can't find him." I ask Weems.
"It won't be possible, I'm afraid. He's been expelled."
"For what?"
"Never you mind. He'll be on the first train out this afternoon." He then turns curiously to me. "What were you doing out in the woods with him?
"I told you already. I heard a noise, and I went to investigate. I found him dragging (Y/n) by her wrist screaming for help, and so I did. The monster attacked us and I saved us."
"That excuse might have placated the sheriff, but you can't fool me. You had a psychic vision, didn't you? I realized you might be having them when we passed by the accident and you knew that poor farmer had broken his neck. Your father started having visions around your age. They were notoriously unreliable and dangerous. I remember at first, he thought he might be losing his mind. Have you spoken to him about them? Clearly the person withholding information here is you."
"May I go now?" I ask impatiently.
"Not until you've picked your extracurricular activity. We want our students to be well-rounded." He says smiling.
"I'd prefer to remain sharp-edged." I say defensively.
"I took the liberty of putting together a list of clubs that have openings."
"How thoughtful." I say sarcastically.
"You need to have picked one by the end of the day. I'll be keeping my eye on you. No doubt you'll find something that tickles your fancy."
"The last person who tickled me lost a finger." I say walking out.
"Weems is clearly trying to keep tabs on me. Keep an eye on Rowan. Don't let your fingers out of his sight." I tell Thing.
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Hey y'all!
I hope y'all are enjoying it!! If you do please give it a like and let me know what y'all are thinking in the comments!!
I also know there wasn't a lot of (Y/n) and Wednesday content in here, but I promise there will be some in the
next one!
I'll see y'all in the next one!!
Word Count: 1,244