After plucking the arrogant black mouse from under Wednesday's bed and tossing it out the window, Vic dusted off his hands.
Just as he turned to continue his unfinished "cozy time" with Enid, he realized the atmosphere had shifted.
The blush on Enid's face hadn't faded, but her eyes had regained clarity, along with a decisiveness that said, "This chapter is closed."
"Out, out."
She began pushing Vic toward the door with force that allowed no refusal.
"I have to go to the dance studio to practice soon. I need to change. I'm the captain of the dance team this year; I can't be late."
Vic dawdled as if his feet had taken root, his face written with the grievance of "I don't want to leave."
Enid stopped pushing. Her blue eyes narrowed slightly, sizing him up with a hint of danger:
"What? Student Victor Black, do you still wish to observe the captain changing clothes?"
"Can I?!"
Vic's eyes instantly lit up swish like a powered bulb, filled with sincere anticipation.
"I want to! I really want to!"
"You big pervert!"
Two red clouds flew onto Enid's cheeks. She glared at him coquettishly.
"Keep dreaming then!"
SLAM!
The dorm door shut crisply the moment her voice fell, nearly smashing Vic's high-bridged nose as he instinctively leaned forward.
Vic rubbed his nose, mumbling resentfully:
"So it wasn't a multiple-choice question; it was a true-or-false question..."
He stood dumbly at the door for a few seconds before realizing a serious problem.
"Wait... Wednesday went to investigate the crossbow bolt and the invisible stalker... Enid went to practice dancing... So right now..."
He looked around the empty hallway. A panic named "Boredom" seized him instantly.
"I've become a lonely man?! No——this is terrifying! Having nothing to do is basically chronic suicide!"
He wailed, his eyes rolling. Immediately, he piled a fawning smile on his face and called out to his internal roommate with his consciousness:
"Um... Venom? Brother? Are you there? Don't play dead! Come out, let's go find some fun! Just the two of us, like old times!"
After a brief silence, black, viscous fluid slowly oozed out of Vic's shoulder, forming Venom's signature black head with its grinning maw.
He slanted his giant white eyes at Vic, opening his mouth to release a sour smell thick as aged vinegar:
"Whoa! Lookie here! Who is this? Isn't this our Great Lover, Mr. Victor Black? I am so moved; did the sun rise from the west?"
"Your Highness finally remembered that inside your body lives a brother who once went through hell and high water with you but is now molding in the corner growing mushrooms?"
Vic was a bit dazed by this string of passive-aggressive remarks.
"Uh... Venom? Are... are you okay? Ate too much expired chocolate?"
"What's wrong with me?"
Venom's voice pitched up, carrying exaggerated grievance and indignation.
"You have the nerve to ask what's wrong with me? Ever since you started hugging left and right, successfully capturing your two beautiful girlfriends, do you still have me in your eyes?"
He gestured accusingly with a tentacle:
"Tell me yourself. In these recent chapters... ah no, in these recent days! How much screen time do I have?"
"I am a perfectly good male lead number two! The former comic relief, combat support, life mentor! Now my screen time is being stolen by a black mouse that only knows how to chew croutons! I'm about to become background decoration inside your body!"
Venom got more agitated as he spoke. He actually squeezed out two mimicked black "tears of sadness" from his giant white eyes:
"So! Go play by yourself! I'm done! I'm going to split off two little ones and play poker with myself! Goodbye!"
With that, he shrank back into Vic's body whoosh, even deliberately cutting off most of the sensory sharing.
Leaving Vic standing alone in the empty hallway, messy in the wind.
Vic stood there frozen for a long time, blinking and scratching his head.
"Is... is he jealous? or did the drama queen in him decide his lines were too few?"
He tried to sense Venom again but found the guy had actually blocked him, creating a fake snoring sound in their shared mindscape to pretend he was asleep.
"Hey! You tsundere black jelly!"
Vic cursed under his breath, laughing and crying at the same time.
Looks like he couldn't count on his sulking symbiote partner anytime soon.
Vic sighed, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and began to wander aimlessly through the ancient, deep corridors of Nevermore Academy.
The setting sun cast colorful, eerie shadows through the stained-glass windows.
The sound of his footsteps echoed alone in the empty hallway, seeming exceptionally lonely.
"Sigh, fun... where is the fun..." He looked around boredly.
---
On the other side—
The Addams family stood in the gardener's cottage previously occupied by the incarcerated Laurel Gates, which Principal Dort had assigned to the couple for their temporary stay.
The interior of the cottage was suffocatingly girly.
Pale pink walls, lace-trimmed curtains, floral fabric sofas... even the air seemed to drift with the scent of cloyingly sweet scented candles.
Gomez and Pugsley clearly had much stronger adaptability to the environment.
Gomez was even toying with interest with a slightly twisted ornament that looked like it was modified from a unicorn plushie.
Wednesday and Morticia, however—
These two ladies of highly consistent taste wore expressions that unreservedly displayed a mix of disdain and discomfort, as if they were looking at something eldritch.
"Who... exactly decorated this place?"
Morticia finally couldn't help but ask, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible tremor.
Her elegant finger lightly brushed a small coffee table covered with a pink tablecloth—which still held a Hello Kitty tissue box—as if it were a contaminant needing quarantine.
Wednesday didn't speak. She simply walked expressionlessly to the bedside table.
Standing there was a picture frame of a brightly smiling Laurel Gates.
She extended a pale finger and unhesitatingly pushed the frame face-down onto the table with a clack.
"A serial killer with countless victims."
Her cool voice stated the fact, as if explaining the source of this terrible taste.
"You shouldn't slander casually, darling."
Morticia frowned slightly, her tone corrective, but the content was as Addams-esque as ever.
"Not all serial killers have such... regrettable taste. The ones we know have quite stylish home decor."
Wednesday turned around, looking directly at her mother, asking the question on her mind.
"Why do you want to be the Chair of the Fundraising Gala Committee?"
She knew her mother. She was definitely not someone keen on such mundane social activities.
Morticia sighed softly. She walked to the window, looking out at the Gothic spires of Nevermore Academy, her voice becoming somewhat distant.
"I didn't expect things to change so quickly. In the blink of an eye, you and Pugsley are both at Nevermore. The castle is left with only me and your father..."
She paused, a rare trace of confusion leaking into her tone.
"The massive castle suddenly became empty. I don't know... what to do in the future."
A look of near-horror flashed across Wednesday's face, though it vanished extremely quickly.
"Thinking of you and Father alone at home..."
Her voice remained steady, but her choice of words exposed the turbulence within.
"...fills me with a dread typically reserved for encounters with mascots in costume."
To her, that was practically psychological torture.
"I'm staying here to be closer to you."
Morticia turned around, her deep eyes looking at her daughter, speaking meaningfully.
"Perhaps... I can teach you some life experience."
Wednesday turned almost immediately, walking toward the door, her back resolute.
"You are a dove; I am a raven."
Her voice was cold and distant. "We are destined for different skies, different paths."
She rejected this gentle "binding."
"What I'm talking about—"
Morticia spoke unhurriedly. Her voice slid through the air like velvet, nailing Wednesday's feet to the floor precisely.
"—is not about dark magic, poisons, or how to elegantly dispose of rivals."
She tilted her head slightly, her red lips curving into an all-knowing, slightly teasing arc.
"But practical experience regarding... how to tame that little boyfriend of yours who has excessive energy, blurred boundaries, and seems to be developing an interest in certain things."
Wednesday's back went stiff.
She didn't turn around, but her fingers by her side curled almost imperceptibly.