ᵖˡᵃʸⁱⁿᵍ

Coraline could feel her head resting on something more comfortable than a rock hard floor. But she knew something was wrong.

Her eyes flew open.

Son of a bitch

Her head felt dizzy as she blinked twice. Her blurry vision faded as she managed to get a look at the tall figure towering over her.

"Welcome back." Xavier smiled, his hazel eyes sparkling with amusement.

Coraline sat on the bed so fast she could feel herself getting a whiplash.

"Take it easy." Xavier said, holding his hands out while Coraline turned her head away. Wednesday stood on the other side of her bed, her face stoic as ever. But Coraline could see the hint of worry on he eyes.

"Nurse said you don't have a concussion, but you probably have a nasty bump, huh?" He said, sitting down on the chair, his eyes never leaving the younger Addams.

The girl scoffed, "Nasty bump? I feel like I cracked my head open."

Coraline grimaced, remembering the few events before she blacked out. She suddenly turned to her sister, "Are you alright?" She asked, her eyes checking Wednesday's for any injuries.

Wednesday raised an eyebrow, "I'm not the one who passed out for fifteen minutes now, am I?"

"Yeah, but you were the one who was gonna turn into a mush if I didn't tackled you out of the way." Coraline muttered, her hands coming up to rub her face.

"The last thing I remember I was walking outside feeling a mixture of rage, pity and self-disgust." Wednesday stated, her hard gaze settling onto her sister, "I never felt that way before."

Coraline opened her mouth to say something, but Xavier beat her to it, "Losing to Bianca has that effect on people, I think."

"Then I looked up and saw that gargoyle coming down and I thought, 'At least I'll have an imaginative death'," Wednesday continued making Coraline snicker at her inner thoughts, "Then Coraline tackled me out of the way."

Coraline tilted her head, a strand of hair falling from her braid, "Yeah, your welcome by the way."

Xavier chuckled softly causing her to look at him. She noticed that he was still looking at her.

Stop staring!

He was much nicer to look at when he was closer and she couldn't help but be disappointed to see that he had tied his hair back. Not that it didn't look good either-oh god, stop it.

"And how do you come into the story?" Coraline questioned, not bothering if she was being rude or not.

Xavier shrugged, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Well, I don't think your sister could have carried you all the way back here alone."

"Oh," Coraline frowned, her nose scrunching as she glanced at him, "So I assume you expect my everlasting indebtedness to you?"

Xavier nodded, compressing a smile, "Mm-hmm. Most people just say thank you."

The girl just furrowed her brows before spitting out the words blankly, "I appreciate you for being there."

Xavier scoffed out a laugh, "Good to see you two haven't changed."

Wednesday shifted on her feet, her eyes staring intensely at him.

"If it makes you feel any better, let's just say I returned the favor" he said. Caroline turned to Wednesday, only to see that she was trying to refresh her memory as well.

"Xavier Thorpe?" He probed, "You probably don't remember me. Last time we met, I was about two feet shorter, 40 pounds heavier." Xavier said, waving his hands around in a way Coraline found adorable. She wanted to tell him that she remembered, of course, how could she forget.

"What happened?" Wednesday asked suddenly.

"Puberty I guess," Xavier said with a deep exhale. Was he sad about it?

"What happened the last time we met?" Wednesday corrected herself.

"Oh. Uh," Xavier stammered awkwardly, "Yeah, it-it was my godmother's funeral. She was friends with your grandmother, and they spent their twenties in Europe, swindling the rich and notorious."

"I don't know," Xavier shrugged, his eyes shifting back to Coraline,"-but we were ten, and we were bored, decided to play hide and seek. I had the inspired idea to hide in her casket." He smiled at the memory.

Coraline could feel the heat rising up her neck as she recalled the memories, she felt Wednesday's humorous gaze burning up to her face from the side.

"I got stuck as it was headed to the crematorium-"

"-I'd heard muffled screams." Wednesday interrupted him, her eyes filled with glee. Coraline looked up to her sister, her eyes begging her to shut up, "Cora said that your godmother had cheated death and was trying to claw her way out."

"Either way, you hit the big red stop button and saved me from being flame-broiled." Xavier leaned back in his chair, parting his hands, "So... now we're even."

Wednesday shook her head, a look of humor on her face as she turned her head away from her sister to look at Xavier, "You should know that it was Coraline's great idea of locking you inside the said casket."

Dammit Wednesday, Coraline wished she let that gargoyle smash her earlier. She squeezed her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Xavier let out a loud chuckle, dropping his head down, his shoulders shaking as Coraline looked away, flushed.

"Well," he started, his hazel eyes catching the obsidian ones of Coraline's. He was grinning. Idiot "I guess you owe me then."

Coraline rolled her eyes, leaning back on the bed before giving a one last glare at her sister.

Wednesday's child is full of shit.

♱

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please vote and leave a comment. and thank you all for your great support 🥀

btw should i publish another chapter tonight?