Victor sat on the toilet shivering. The cold white porcelain seeped through his thin pants into his skin, but it was far from as bone-chilling as the coldness rising from his heart.
Ever since he came back from buying chocolate cones that day, Enid and Wednesday had suddenly been very nice to him—
Not that they were mean before, but they were being so nice it was almost appalling.
"Victor, dear~" Enid's voice came through the door, its sweetness comparable to a double-syrup chocolate milkshake.
"I've cut up some fruit for you, every piece has a toothpick in it, and there's your favorite chocolate milkshake."
This wasn't even what terrified Victor the most.
Outside the bathroom, Wednesday was reading the detective novel she wrote with great emotion.
Well, "with great emotion" might be an exaggeration; her flat, monotonous tone sounded more like she was reading an autopsy report.
But the act itself was eerie enough—
Wednesday Addams, reading her novel to him? The odds were about as high as Venom voluntarily becoming a vegetarian.
"Trace amounts of cyanide remained under the deceased's fingernails..."
A narration, calm to the point of being appalling, came from outside the door.
"Victor," Venom poked out a small clump of black mass from his shoulder, his white eyes wide and round.
"Know what this reminds me of? In that ancient Eastern country, before slaughtering a pig for the New Year, people feed it until it's full."
"Shut up, Venom."
Victor lowered his voice, his fingers unconsciously picking at the gap on the edge of the toilet.
"Saying that makes me even more scared."
"That's what you get for insisting on flirting with two girls at once. Is this your retribution?"
Venom hissed with schadenfreude.
"By the way, if you really get'slaughtered,' I'll prioritize finding that Gothic girl to bond with. I feel like our dark aesthetics match quite well."
"In your dreams," Victor gritted his teeth. "I'll definitely drag you to hell with me."
He spent a few days in trepidation like this until Parents' Day arrived on the weekend.
Right now, Victor was sitting alone on the wing of the bronze raven statue in the center of the academy, swinging his legs and looking down at the crowded plaza below.
Parents in suits and ties led formally dressed students, their laughter and superficial pleasantries intertwining to form a heartwarming picture he could never fit into.
The sunlight was a bit glaring. He squinted, and a thought struck him like a bolt of lightning.
He slapped his thigh in sudden realization.
"So that's it!"
He whispered, the corners of his mouth uncontrollably curling upward.
"Enid and Wednesday... they couldn't possibly think I'm too heartbroken over that mess with my parents, and that's why they're comforting me in such a terrifying way, right?"
Honestly, they thought he was too fragile.
A helpless, silly grin appeared on Victor's face, yet that slight upward curve of his lips betrayed a hint of secret, carefully nurtured joy.
"Oh, that makes sense logically." Venom popped out, his voice carrying its usual mockery.
"But Victor, I have to be objective—you really were sad that day, even if it was as short-lived as a cheap firework."
"Yeah," Victor shrugged, his tone light. "The peak lasted for... five minutes? Couldn't have been more."
Venom was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his raspy voice was unusually devoid of irony:
"Seriously, we've known each other for so long, and I've hardly ever 'tasted' your sadness. That day really... surprised me a bit. But it's just as well; it saves me from having to find a way to comfort you. That's not exactly my forte."
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