Chapter 263: The three gathered

The doorknob turned smoothly, and the door opened to reveal Enid.

She was wearing her usual colorful pajamas, comfortable, with small, cute drawings.

Her blonde hair with pink streaks fell just to her shoulders. She hadn’t been running, but it looked like she had. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes moved quickly between Luke and Wednesday.

“Hey, Wens,” Enid greeted naturally, letting the nickname slip as if it were a secret between best friends. Wednesday didn’t correct her.

“Hi,” Wednesday replied in her usual monotone, though her expression, by her standards, was the closest thing to a warm welcome.

Then Enid looked at Luke. Her eyes softened. There was something expectant, vulnerable, and at the same time hopeful in her expression.

“Hi, Luke,” Enid said more quietly, with a touch of shyness. Her smile tried to stay contained, but it trembled slightly at the edges.

Luke looked at her silently for a few seconds, feeling, for the first time in a long while, strange.

Still, he forced a small smirk that passed for a smile and nodded. “Hi, Enid.”

Wednesday, who was still sitting next to him on the bed, stood up with her usual mechanical calm. She took a wheeled chair from against the wall, dragged it to the bed, and turned it toward Enid.

“Sit,” she said plainly, as if assigning seats for an interrogation.

Enid obeyed without a word. She sat down carefully, smoothing out the fabric of her pajama pants, settling in. Her eyes shifted from Luke to the floor, and her fingers fidgeted nervously in her lap.

Wednesday returned to her spot on the bed, sitting with a straight back and hands on her legs. Then she spoke.

“Tomorrow classes end. We’re going to Addams Manor,” she said with absolute precision. “The war against the Spellmans will continue regardless of school being over. You, Enid, will come with us.”

Luke said nothing, Wednesday had told him that minutes ago.

Enid nodded, seeming fine with it.

Wednesday continued, unfazed, “You two will spend time together again. The three of us will go on missions together. Forced cohabitation in wartime conditions. Ideal setting for a progressive emotional rediscovery process.”

Luke gave her a strange look. “You talk like we’re signing a contract. No subtlety, huh?” he muttered.

“I’m direct. It’s better to make everything clear to avoid misunderstandings,” Wednesday said, looking at Luke.

Enid nodded, still a bit shy, but her voice was firm. “I’ll go with you. I’ll spend the holidays at Addams Manor and keep helping with the war. We’re at a critical point… I can’t stay out of this.”

Then she looked at Luke and added, “And if there’s a chance that… I can reconnect with you, I want to try. Whatever happens, whatever you feel… I won’t force it. I just want to be there.”

Luke watched her, still processing the absurd and strange turn his summer was taking.

And yet… he didn’t feel rejection. He had accepted not only out of concern that Wednesday might lose a friend, but because he realized he still felt something for Enid. What he felt was discomfort from how weird the situation was.

“That sounds fine…” Luke finally said, nodding.

Enid lifted her gaze, her eyes shimmering slightly. But then she looked down and played with her fingers.

“I just don’t want you to have said yes out of pity for me… or sympathy for Wednesday,” she murmured.

It was something she couldn’t bear. Knowing that Luke had only agreed because he felt guilty. Because he didn’t want to hurt anyone.

Luke frowned slightly and shook his head.

“It’s not just that,” he said sincerely. “Yes, I do care about how you both feel… and of course, that matters.”

He paused, then added in a calmer tone, “But I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t feel like there was still something. If I didn’t believe there’s a real chance it could work. That I could fall in love with you again.”

Enid held her breath for a moment.

Luke looked at her more firmly. “You know me. You know I wouldn’t agree to something like this if I didn’t feel anything. When I had to choose between you and Wednesday, a few years ago… it was hard. Because I was in love with both of you.”

There was no drama or nostalgia in his voice. Just truth. “Today, I’m in love with Wednesday. But that doesn’t erase what I felt for you. And if I felt it once… I believe it’s possible to feel it again, with everything that’s happening now…”

Enid nodded silently, with a smile that no longer trembled. There was hope. And most importantly: she no longer felt that fear that he’d only done this out of pity.

’A good start,’ thought Wednesday, watching closely. She was calm, satisfied. No jealousy, no discomfort.

She didn’t feel any of that when it came to Enid. She had understood it long ago: her love for Luke was strong enough to handle this kind of strangeness, and her bond with Enid was real enough not to waver.

“It’s almost five in the morning…” said Wednesday after checking her wristwatch. Her voice was still as serene as always. “We should sleep. Tomorrow we return to Addams Manor. And with everything we achieved tonight, things are going to move quickly.”

Two ancient demonic elders killed. Margaret Spellman, a dual-aura user, eliminated. And the Spellman twins, captured.

It was, without a doubt, the biggest victory in months.

Wednesday turned toward them. “Talk for five or ten more minutes if you want. Then get some rest. We have a long day ahead.”

Enid nodded resolutely, clearly excited at the idea of finally having a conversation with Luke that didn’t take place in the middle of a battle. But when she looked at him, her lips parted and… she didn’t know what to say. The words tangled in her throat. She was too nervous.

Luke noticed her tension and decided to break the ice. “The last time we really talked was in Sunnyvale. When we fought together against that vampire… What was his name? The leader of the secondary branch of that clan.”

“Niklaus…” Enid replied immediately and nodded. “We had really good synergy. I never got to say it, but it was amazing fighting with you. Everything just flowed so easily.”

Luke gave her a small smile. “Well, thank you for coming to help. I never thanked you for that. For taking the risk. And for helping Wednesday.”

Wednesday herself had told him: if she had faced Gabriel alone, it would’ve meant her death. Thanks to Enid, she had held on, and together, they killed him.

Enid shook her head gently. “You don’t have to thank me. I… wanted to be there.”

Then her voice dropped a bit. “But I do want to apologize for stopping you… when you were going to kill those vampire-normie hybrids.”

Luke remembered the hybrids. One of them had been a classmate back at Shadyside, when he attended that normie school like Tuesday.

He had been about to kill them, and Enid had stopped him. He had decided to spare them.

“In fact,” Wednesday interjected calmly, lying on her side on the bed, “those hybrids were victims. Tools. Niklaus and the pureblood vampires controlled them, and if they didn’t obey, they would have killed them and their normie parents. They weren’t true enemies.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah… killing them would’ve been a mistake,” he said, looking down at his hands.

Even though those two hybrids had fought for the opposing side, they hadn’t done so out of conviction, much less out of a desire to kill. They hadn’t even attacked him seriously. They lacked both the power and the intent.

Niklaus, on the other hand, had been a different case. That had been a fight to the death from the very beginning. Both sides wanted to kill. That’s why he and Enid had killed him.

But those two guys hadn’t deserved to die. And if he had killed them without hesitation, it would’ve been a mistake. He didn’t want to become some psychopathic killer who snapped the neck of the first person who attacked him just because he was stronger and could do it in seconds.

Luke slowly lifted his gaze toward Enid. “Thanks,” he said sincerely. “For stopping me that time.”

Enid’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by the gratitude. “Really?”

“Yes. If I had killed them… I wouldn’t have felt right about it. Not in the long run,” Luke said seriously.

Wednesday nodded from where she lay, with her usual stoic calm. She and Luke were used to cold decisions, to cutting down deadly enemies without regret. But even they had to know the difference. An enemy with no intent to kill wasn’t the same as a ruthless murderer.

Enid, for her part, relaxed a bit more, offering a faint smile. A brief but not uncomfortable silence settled in.

Luke stood up, stretching his arms as if releasing tension. “Well… that’s everything, I guess. Tomorrow we keep talking, and try to make this work while fighting a war against outcasts and demons…” he muttered with irony.

Wednesday and Enid nodded.

Before turning toward the door, Luke looked back at Enid. Something crossed his mind, and he didn’t hold it back.

“Did you cut your hair?” he asked suddenly, tilting his head. “In Sunnyvale it was longer, wasn’t it?”

Enid instinctively brought her fingers to her hair, touching the ends that now barely brushed her shoulders.

“Yeah… I cut it about a month ago,” she replied, a bit surprised, but watching him closely.

“It looks really pretty,” Luke said, without thinking too much about it.

He was direct. Clear. Honest.

The reaction was immediate. Enid lowered her head, biting her lip. A faint blush rose to her cheeks, while a shy but genuine smile formed on her face.

“Thanks…” Enid whispered, not lifting her gaze, though there was a warmth in her voice she hadn’t shown to any guy since she and Luke had split.

Luke turned his eyes toward Wednesday. At first, he noticed nothing. But then he saw it.

A tiny twitch in Wednesday’s left eye. A slight clench of her fingers against the blanket. She looked at him, firmly. Not cold, not upset. Just… registering.

[Was that on purpose?] Wednesday asked suddenly, her voice slipping into Luke’s mind through their telepathic link.

[Hmm… what?] Luke replied, feigning innocence.

[The compliment to Enid. You said you felt weird, that she’d have to win you back. And now you’re complimenting her like you’re flirting]

[Well, first off, it was sincere. She looks good. And she was my first girlfriend, of course I think she’s cute…]

Luke paused as he crossed toward the door. [And second… I wanted to see if you’d react. You seemed way too calm about this whole thing]

Wednesday didn’t reply right away, but Luke could feel the charged silence, like she was weighing whether it was worth responding at all.

[You’re an idiot] Wednesday finally said.

Luke already had his hand on the doorknob, but before turning it, he answered with that mentally cocky tone of his:

[Thanks. But if she does manage to reconnect with me… you’ll have to get used to me saying things like that. So better start from minute one]

[Is that a warning or a provocation?] Wednesday asked with glacial calm.

[Just a reminder…] Luke said casually. [If this actually works, you’re going to see Enid kissing my lips… and more. I assume you’ve already imagined that]

[Of course I’ve thought about it. And I’ve processed it] Wednesday replied without hesitation. [I was just mildly surprised at how fast you did it, considering you looked like a trapped deer fifteen minutes ago]

Luke didn’t answer. An ironic smile was starting to form on his face, one that had barely taken shape when he heard his name, this time aloud.

“Luke?” Wednesday called.

He turned slowly, one eyebrow already raised, anticipating the blow.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye with a kiss?” Wednesday asked, her voice soft, clear, laced with elegant venom. Her dark eyes were locked onto his.

The silence in the room thickened for a moment.

Luke didn’t move. Wednesday crossed her arms, firm.

“It’s something we’ll have to get used to,” Wednesday continued, as if giving a lecture on emotional philosophy. “Enid and I. You’re my boyfriend now, officially. Enid still has to win you back, right? So there’s no reason to stop showing me affection… just because she’s present.”

Enid, far from tense, nodded calmly. “I don’t mind,” she said, still smiling from Luke’s earlier compliment. “I’ve seen you two together before. And now… well, with all this, it doesn’t feel awkward anymore.”

Luke sighed inwardly. This was Wednesday’s revenge. Her little way of making him pay for the provoking comment a minute ago.

But he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him flustered.

“Well… if it’s part of the new normal,” Luke said, shrugging as he began to walk toward Wednesday.

He approached her calmly, unhurried. Wednesday remained seated on the bed, unbothered, waiting for him like an empress confident in her power.

Luke leaned in… and kissed her.

It wasn’t too short or too long. Just enough to make it clear he had no issue doing it in front of Enid.

When they parted, Wednesday gave a sideways smile, satisfied, and Enid still wore a calm expression, showing no trace of discomfort.

“We’ll see each other tomorrow…” Luke said as he said his goodbyes and walked out of the room.

..

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