Outreach Day

Y/n was fast asleep as Wednesday continued investigating the book at her desk. The dim desk lamp cast a yellowish light, illuminating the old, weathered pages. She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing as she deciphered every word. her brow furrowed in concentration.*There are so many threads to this investigation, I could weave a burial shroud, she thought, her mind racing. I still have no idea how Rowan mysteriously rose from the dead or why that monster is prowling the woods. But right now, nothing intrigues me more than this book.*She found the other half of the drawing Rowan had left with her. It depicted a man with a staff at a standoff with her, fire swirling around them. Y/n was also in the drawing, covered in even more gashes and blood. The sight of it made her glance back at him, lying in bed with the covers slipping off, revealing the real cuts that marred his skin. She felt a strange mix of concern and determination welling up inside her.*If I'm going to be responsible for Nevermore's demise, why am I sharing this apocalypse with a pilgrim?* she pondered, her fingers tracing the outlines of the drawing.skipWeems stood tall and proud as she addressed the students, her voice carrying over the crowd.Weems: "All students will report for their volunteer jobs at 10:00 a.m. sharp, followed by a community lunch at 1:00. This year, Outreach Day culminates in a very special event, the dedication of a new memorial statue in the town square, which will also include performances by Nevermore students."Teachers moved through the crowd, handing out envelopes. The students' chatter and cheers filled the air. Y/n noticed Wednesday's tense expression and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning in to kiss her cheek from behind. She felt a brief moment of comfort from his touch.Y/N: "Are you feeling alright, Wends?" he asked softly, concern lacing his voice.Wednesday: "Yes, just unsure about what's going on," she replied bluntly, her mind still focused on the drawing.Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal pierced the air, and Y/n and Wednesday braced themselves for impact. Enid bounced up to them, her excitement barely contained.Enid: "Yes! I got Pilgrim World! I have natural people skills and a love of performing, so it's kind of the obvi choice." She stopped jumping when she saw their unimpressed expressions and took a deep breath, trying to reign in her enthusiasm.Enid: " What'd you two get?" she asked trying to contain her excitementWednesday: "Uriah's Heap, whatever that is," she deadpanned, her tone devoid of enthusiasm.Enid: " Ew. It's this weird, creepy antique store. You'll love it though. I'm crossing my claws Ajax and I will be outreaching together." Enid's optimism was infectious, but it barely made a dent in Wednesday's stoic demeanor. Y/n however couldn't help but chuckle at Enid which lands him an elbow from WednesdayXavier and Ajax were chatting nearby,Xavier: "Oh God, great, I got the Weathervane," he said, his tone filled with disappointment.Ajax: "Ah man, I got Uriah's Heap," ajax responded, patting Xavier on the shoulder as they both laughed.Weems approached Wednesday and Y/n with a sly smirk. Weems: " Wednesday Y/n, don't worry about your cello and your guitar. I'll have it brought to the town square this afternoon." Wednesday's brow furrowed.Wednesday: " My cello?" she repeated, her confusion mirroring Y/n's expressionY/N: " please tell me you were careful with my guitar Weems" Y/n said, his voice tinged with concern.Weems: " of course, I caught your rooftop serenade the other night and found it quite Impressive. I volunteered you both to accompany the Jericho High School marching band at the ceremony. I'm sure it won't be too challenging to play an uplifting Fleetwood Mac melody." she smiles knowing that Wednesday would say a sarcastic remarkWednesday: " As long as you promise to hang me as a witch afterwards." her eyes narrowed, her sarcasm as sharp as ever.Y/N: " Fleetwood mac? don't get me wrong the chain was a good song but why Fleetwood mac?" the tall boy added, clearly disappointed.On the bus ride to their assignment, Y/n glanced at Wednesday, curiosity piquing his interest.Y/N: " so, did you find what you were looking for?" he asked, hoping for some insight into her thoughts. to which Wednesday opened her eyes and met his gaze.Wednesday: " if finding the other half of the drawing was it, then yes, yes i have" she replied, pulling the book from her bag and showing him the page.Y/n examined it, a name echoing in his mind. *Crackstone*. He didn't know why it came to him, but he felt it was right.Y/N: " i presume he's important?" he asked.Wednesday: " has to be" she replied.Arriving at their destination, Y/n noticed Xavier staring at a blank wall and walked over to him.Y/N: " Why are you staring at a blank wall?" the boy asked, perplexed. Xavier looked at him, equally confused.Xavier: "well It wasn't blank last Outreach Day." he said, annoyance creeping into his voice.Y/N: " Are you still stewing because we rejected your invitation? look man I'm sorry" Y/n sighed.Xavier: " i get it but I did go out on a limb for you. just embarrassed as all" he admitted with a puff of airY/N: " its just Wednesday and I have more pressing issues." Y/n explained, glancing at Wednesday to jump in. Xavier raised an eyebrow.Xavier: " Like what? if you don't mind me asking" Wednesday, appearing beside Y/n, answered with her usual bluntness.Wednesday: " Tracking down the monster that killed your former roommate."Xavier's face twisted in annoyance. Xavier: " Oh my god. For the last time, Rowan was expelled. Everyone saw him leave."Y/N: " but Have you heard from him since?" Y/n interjected.Xavier: " I texted him a few times, but I no never heard back. I just figured he wanted Nevermore in his rearview mirror."Wednesday: " Or he's dead. People can dismiss me and make a million other excuses, but I'm not gonna stop." Wednesday said bluntly, pulling out the Nightshades book.Xavier: " Oh, great. I guess you can add "thief" to your resume. I don't know what the big deal is about an old Nightshade's journal anyways." he blabberedWednesday: "You didn't seem surprised when you saw this last night," she says, showing him the drawing again.Y/N: " You've seen it before, haven't you? he added. Xavier nodded reluctantlyXavier: " Yeah. A couple days before the Harvest Festival. It was open on Rowan's desk. I assumed he stole it after we kicked him out of the Nightshades. Then I confronted him about it, and he kind of went ballistic on me." he says with a frownWednesday: " He threw you against the wall with his telekinesis." the dark girl stated, her voice calm.Xavier: " Yeah. How did you know that?Wednesday: " Lucky guess."Xavier: " It's weird that you're in this. This journal is like, what, 30 years old? What's Crackstone doing in the picture with you?"Y/N: " You know who he is?" Y/n's eyes narrowed.Xavier: " Yeah, it's Joseph Crackstone. He's, like, Jericho's founding father. He's a big deal around here. look That's him." Xavier pointed to a banner being hung with the pilgrim on it.Y/N: " i knew it" Y/n muttered to himself, earning an amused gaze from Wednesday.Wednesday goes off leaving Y/n behind with Xavier as Ajax walks up to the group, a casual grin on his face.Ajax: " hey Y/n do you know what you got?" he asked curiously, Y/n smirked, glancing at Xavier.Y/N: " yeah i got the weathervane with this mop head" he said, chuckling as he gestured towards Xavier, who rolled his eyes with a smile, Ajax laughed in response, shaking his head.Ajax: " damn bro, i got Uriah's heap" he admitted with a sigh of defeat.Y/N: " don't worry man you'll have a kitty purring for you there" he says patting the gorgon on the shoulder with a reassuring grin. Ajax's smile turned to that of confusionAs Y/n exchanged banter with ajax and Xavier, his attention was drawn to a conversation between Mayor Walker and Sheriff Galpin nearby. He leaned slightly, straining to hear their hushed tones.Mayor walker: " Hey." the man grunted, his face set in a stern expression.mayor: " Just find the damn bear and take care of it." he finished, his impatience showed. Sheriff Galpin murmured in acknowledgmentsheriff Galpin: " Mmm." before walking away from the mayor, his posture relaxed but firmY/n took a moment to think, *A bear? is that what people think that thing was?* he wondered, glancing back at Xavier and Ajax, he began walking off to find Wednesday but its too late everyone's attention was drawn to the mayor's welcome announcement.Weems: " All right. Everyone take a seat. We have a special announcement." her voice rang outApplause filled the air as the mayor stepped up to the microphone.mayor walker: " Welcome, welcome, Nevermore Academy. Now, on behalf of the entire Jericho community, we are so, so pleased to have you all here today. your generosity and hard work are truly... outreachous!" the Mayor laughed at his own pun, while the crowd awkwardly clapped and exchanged glances. Weems smiled politely before taking stageWeems: " Okay, everyone. We'll see you back here at one o'clock for lunch. Enjoy!"The students disbanded, scattering to their assigned volunteer spots around Jericho. Wednesday approached EnidWednesday: " Enid. Switch volunteer assignments." she demanded, holding out her envelope.Y/n, still wandering and looking for Wednesday, perked up at the sound of Enid's voice. then he turned to see he saw Enid looking at Wednesday in disgustEnid: " What? No. Uriah's Heap is definitely not my bag." Y/n quickly approached, relieved to find Wednesday.Y/N: " Wednesday, there you are" he said with his shoulders relaxingY/N: " i was starting to think you left already" Wednesday smirked at him with a pretty glint in her eyeWednesday: " i would've but i wanted to switch roles with Enid" Enid: " But Wednesday, it's not a fair trade. Why would I agree to spend the entire day at some dumpy emporium of crapola?" Enid protested as Y/n stepped in smoothlyY/N: " Because Ajax is volunteering there. he told me his assignment. i already told him you were going to be there" Enid's eyes lit up, her protest forgottenEnid: "No! Oh my God, thank you. You're the best!" She kissed Y/n on the cheek, swapped envelopes with Wednesday, and skipped off giggling.Wednesday turned to Y/n, her expression deadpan with murder in her eyesWednesday: " Y/n i need you to hold me back " she stated.Y/n raised an eyebrowY/N: " since when did you want to be held back?" he said stupidlyWednesday: " your right i don't" Wednesday replied, pulling out a knife and aiming to run at Enid.Y/N: "Hey!! Oookayy, give me that knife. Relax, dear," Y/n exclaimed, quickly disarming her and pulling her into a hug that immobilized her arms.Wednesday struggled for a moment, then sighed in resignation, leaning into Y/n's embrace. Wednesday: "This doesn't mean I've forgiven her," she muttered,Y/N: "I know," he whispered back, his hold gentle but firm. Y/N: " it was a kind gesture. Now, let's go before we miss our assignments"Wednesday: "but how are you going to get into pilgrim world?" she askedY/N: " i'll find a way"They walked together towards the weathervane, Y/n's mind already scheming how to join Wednesday at Pilgrim World. Y/N: "This is my stop," the green eyed boy said, leaning in to kiss the raven-haired girl goodbye. She kissed him back, biting his lip playfully.Wednesday: " you know what will happen if i run into Enid right" Wednesday warned, her dark eyes gleaming with mischief.Y/N: " well lets hope I'm quick enough" he replied. Wednesday smirked and began her trip to the bus stop.As Y/n walked into the Weathervane, he spotted a familiar faceY/N: "Hey, Lucas," he called out to the mayor's son, waving for him to come over. Lucas, who had a strained expression, approached hesitantly. The last time he had encountered Y/n, he had ended up in a quick scuffle.Y/N: "Do you think you can help me out of here? I need to switch my assignment to Pilgrim World." Lucas looked up at the much taller boyLucas: "Sure thing, Y/n. Just promise me you'll help me out when i need it, and we're good."Y/N: " why would you need help from me?" he looked at the boyLucas: " i don't know, your strong and smart, and i feel like something might happen to me later"Y/N: " we have a deal," he agreed, shaking Lucas's hand swapping his weathervane envelope for Lucas's pilgrim word envelope. as he turned back, he noticed Tyler watching the exchange with a raised eyebrow. Y/n: "Tyler," he said with a nod.Tyler: "Y/n," Tyler replied, his voice lacking confidence.Y/n: "I won't be sticking around here, don't worry. Something more important came up," he explained.Tyler looked relieved, settling back into his stance. Tyler: "You always seem to have something going on. Be careful out there."Y/N: "Always am. I hope you regret your actions," he said pointedly before heading out to find Wednesday at Pilgrim World. Tyler's face fell, guilt washing over him as he watched Y/n leave.The crowded chatter and banter filled the air as Eugene snapped pictures of Bianca and Yoko next to the Pilgrim World sign.Eugene: " Hey, Wednesday, want to grab a Hummers group photo?" the short boy asked with innocenceWednesday stared blankly at him, not responding.Eugene: "Guess not." he mumbled, sounding defeated.a lady dressed in a period costume, stepped forward with an exaggerated flourish.mistress Arlene: " Good morrow, my young Nevermore kin. I am Mistress Arlene. A real OC. Original colonist. Now prithee, put your cell phones on vibrate and make haste, for you are about to travel back in time to the year of our Lord 1625, to Jericho's first pilgrim settlement." she saysWednesday remained still as the group of students and tourists followed Mistress Arlene towards a building.Mistress Arlene: "Yonder. Behold, the meeting house. Inside is a collection of artifacts related to Jericho's most beloved and pious founder, Joseph Crackstone. And beyond is our privy, America's first gender-neutral restroom." Wednesday raised her hand, her face serious.Wednesday: " I haveth a query."Arlene: " Pray, be quick, child."Wednesday: " In the meeting house, which of Joseph Crackstone's artifacts are on display?" Mistress Arlene's eyes lit up with prideArlene: " It is truly a treasure trove, including original farm tools, tableware, even the Crackstone family chamber pot."Wednesday: " Sounds fascinating. I volunteer to work in there." Mistress Arlene shook her head.Arlene: " Pray, no. That exhibit is being renovated. Today, thou will all be working at the beating heart of Pilgrim World." She led them to another building.Eugene: " Ye olde fudgery!" he said with excitement.Wednesday: " More like ye olde diabetes in a box." she muttered.Arlene: " Volunteers, prick up thine ears. Fudge is the lifeblood of our humble community. And samples equal sales, so grab a uniform and a box and make our forefathers proud." she said, handing out pilgrim attire. Wednesday eyed the outfits with disdain.Wednesday: " Are these for muzzling tourists?" she asked sarcastically.after all student there got dressed into their new attire she Switched to German, and addressed a group of tourists.Wednesday: " Enjoy your "authentic" pilgrim fudge made with cacao beans procured by the oppressed indigenous people of the Amazon." the tourist looked confused.tourist: " What?" Wednesday continued in German, her tone dripping with irony.Wednesday: " All proceeds go to uphold this pathetic whitewashing of American history. Also, fudge wasn't invented for another 258 years."Wednesday: " Any takers?" she asked, holding out samples.The tourists, looking uncomfortable, quickly declined and hurried out of the building. Mistress Arlene frowned at Wednesday but moved on, Wednesday sighed, adjusting her bonnet on her head. She had bigger plans for the day than selling fudge. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for any signs of Y/N.Eugene was munching away at the fudge samples he was supposed to hand out, but as he did, he began to feel sick. His stomach rumbled harshly, and two boys in pilgrim outfits took notice.Boy1: " Check out this greedy little freak."Eugene: " Please, I need to get back to the..." His stomach rumbled again, and he vomited all over one of the bullies.Bully1: " Whoa, yuck!"Bully2: " Come here! you shit" Eugene flinched as the second bully grabbed himBully1: " Get him in there!" he commanded, and the other bully forced Eugene into a wooden pillory.Y/N: " Howdy, Pilgrims. Let him go." he said, walking slowly towards the boys.The bullies exchanged glances, their annoyance growing. One of the boys were overconfident and threw a punch at Y/N. and with a swift motion, Y/N sidestepped, catching the boy's arm and twisting it behind his back. The boy yelped in pain.Y/N: "come on guys, don't you remember what happened last time," he said, his tone icy.The other bully, seeing his friend in trouble, lunged forward with a spartan kick aimed at Y/N's back. knowing the kid would do something stupid, Y/N released the first boy and executed a flawless tornado kick. His foot connected with the second boy's gut with a solid thud, sending him sprawling to the ground, gasping for air.Bully 2: "damn! why do we do this" he wheezed, clutching his stomachY/N turned his attention back to the first boy, who had scrambled to his feet. The bully took a wild swing, but Y/N ducked effortlessly, throwing an uppercut that knocked the boy's hat off and left him dazed.Y/N: "Pleasure hanging with you boys, but this one needs a clean-up," he said, his voice calm as he walked over to Eugene, who was still trapped in the pillory.Y/N swiftly unlatched the pillory, helping Eugene to his feet. Eugene looked up at Y/N, gratitude and embarrassment mixed on his face.Bully1: " just like last time he got us" he says helping up his friendEugene: " Thanks, Y/n. I don't know what I would've done"Y/N: "Don't sweat it, Eugene, Hummers stick together.. Let's get you cleaned up. And maybe ease up on the fudge next time, yeah?"As they walked away, Eugene managed a weak smile. Eugene: " Yeah, definitely. I'll stick to taking pictures."Y/N glanced back briefly to make sure the bullies wouldn't follow, then focused on getting Eugene to a safer place. They found a quiet spot near a water pump, where Y/n helped Eugene wash up.Eugene: " You always seem to know when to show up. Like a superhero or something," he said, wiping his face.Y/N: "Just good timing, I guess. But we need to find Wednesday."Eugene nodded, still a bit shaky but clearly relieved.Eugene: "Good luck. She's probably scaring off tourists somewhere."Y/N chuckled, patting Eugene on the shoulder.Y/N: "Wouldn't be surprised. Come on, Eugene."With that, they headed off to find Wednesday, As Y/N made his way through Pilgrim World, he scanned the area for any sign of Wednesday. The bustling chatter of tourists echoed through the air. He passed various exhibits and attractions, his eyes constantly searching for the familiar raven-haired girl.Finally, he spotted her near a group of tourists, who were slowly leaving the fudge building, Wednesday, in her pilgrim attire, stood with her arms crossed, a slight smirk on her face.Y/N: "There you are," he called out, making his way over to her.Wednesday: " what took you so long?" she said monotonously Y/N: " Eugene was in some trouble so i had to deal with two idiots, its fine though Eugene is safe now. though he should stay away from the fudge"Wednesday: " what why?"Y/N: " don't worry about it"Wednesday: " it's good that he's alright, he reminds me of Pugsley, i wouldn't want anything bad happening to him otherwise i would have dealt with those imbeciles myself."Y/N: "I would've loved to see that," he chuckled.Wednesday: " so where is he now?" she askedY/N: " come ill take you to him"Once they met back up with Eugene, who was still looking a bit pale but in better spiritsWednesday: " We have a meeting house to break into."Eugene: " what?"The trio made their way past Mistress Arlene and the rest of the tourists back to the meeting house.Y/N: " hey bud, you be guard"Eugene: " me? why?"Wednesday: " you look least suspecting" she said, her eyes glinting with a hint of approval as the boy nodded reluctantly.Eugene stood by the door, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, while Wednesday and Y/N approached the back door she had spotted earlier. Wednesday rummaged through her things, searching for something to use as a lock pick, before glancing at Eugene's retainers.Wednesday: " Give me your retainer."Eugene: " What? Why? Your teeth are really good. Not as straight or white as Enid's, but..." He got sidetracked.Y/N: " here let me see if i can get us in" he said, stepping up to the chain lock.Wednesday took a step back, watching as Y/n gripped the lock firmly and, with a hard yank, ripped it open. He turned back to Wednesday, who was watching with a raised eyebrow.He turned back to Wednesday, who was watching with a raised eyebrow.Y/N: "See? Easy," he said, unwrapping the chain from around the handles.Wednesday glanced at him, a rare hint of a smile tugging at her lips.Wednesday: " I suppose you do have your uses."Y/n chuckled, knowing that was about as high a compliment as he was going to get from her. They made their way inside, leaving Eugene to keep watch. The dimly lit hallway greeted them, and they moved cautiously towards the main exhibit room. The room was filled with various artifacts.Wednesday: "We should split up," Wednesday suggested, her eyes scanning the area.*My grandmother once told me secrets are like zombies, they never truly die. I'm not sure what secret Crackstone is hiding, but I have a strange feeling the answers to my future lie in the past,* Wednesday thought to herself as she looked through multiple documents, pictures, and artifacts.Y/N: " The Old Meeting House, 1625. Hmm, who do we have here?" He looked closer at a painting and saw a girl who looked just like Wednesday but dressed in all white.Y/N and Wednesday simultaneously called out, Y/N & Wednesday: "Hey, you're going to want to see this." They looked at each other in surprise before Wednesday rushed over to Y/N and the painting.Wednesday: " that the girl from my vision, She's even holding the same book, That black one she had outside Crackstone's crypt."Y/N: " goody Addams" Y/n said in realization Wednesday looked at him Y/N: " i had a vision too but i wasn't me and she was in" he explained Y/n noticed a framed letter in Wednesday's hand.Y/N: " what's that?" Wednesday: " i letter written by a Hartley Grayson"They examined the letter together. It was a heartfelt plea from Hartley to marry a woman named Goody Addams and start a new life together outside the village, on a farmstead of their own.Mistress Arlene: " How now. Your Nevermore sister, the one with the dark eyes and the sour face, where has she hithered?Bianca: " You mean Wednesday Addams? Knowing her, she's hithered somewhere she shan't be." she retorted with attitude.Wednesday: " This is the book!" she said with a smile.Y/N: " Codex Umbrarum."Wednesday: " That's Latin for "Book of Shadows." She flipped through the pages, but there was nothing there.Wednesday: " Great. It's a fake. I don't know who Etsy is, but I doubt she was an outcast settler." This earned a chuckle from Y/N.Y/N: " oof no love etsy isn't a person" he said, rubbing her head affectionately.The door suddenly swung open, and in that split second, Y/N attached himself to her and began kissing her. This took Wednesday by surprise, but she melted into the moment, letting the butterflies overcome her.Mistress Arlene: "Just what the fudge is happening he-?" She stopped herself as Wednesday broke away, wiping her mouth, which smudged her burgundy lipstick.Wednesday: "How now," she said, composing herself.Arlene: " I proclaimed the meeting house is under repair. I know thoust heard me."Eugene: " I told her the door was unlocked and you were dying to learn more about Crackstone....what's going on here?" he says clearly confused.Wednesday: " i-" Y/n cut her offY/N: " we were trying to get some privacy, i didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable or scare away customers" he explained smoothly.Mistress Arlene tried her best to stay in character, but the situation was quite awkward for her. Wednesday then spoke up.Wednesday: " is that the real deal?" She pointed to the fake Codex Umbrarum.Arlene: " sadly not, the original was stolen last month during the two o'clock witch trial, I'm reassigning you both To fudge-churning duty."Y/N: " one last question, The original meeting house, the one in that painting, where is it?" Arlene: " How the hell should I know? I only moved here from Scottsdale in April." she broke character