Shades of Cool, Tyler Galpin

FOURTEEN. the look of love

Andy never knew what it felt like to care about something so much. It wasn't the same feeling as caring for her family, or caring for friends like Enid and Kennedy. It felt like she was under water and somebody was holding her down, not allowing her to come up for air. Or like everything was in slow motion and she was struggling to get to the finish line. It was the feeling of brittle and breaking bones. The feeling was ugly. It made her feel ugly because for so long, Andy told herself that she couldn't feel this way because nobody would ever love her. An Addams girl was not destined to be full of love and receive it the same way.

The only love she ever knew was from her mother and father, and they didn't love like normal couples. Their love was their own kind of love. It belonged to them. The outside world didn't view their love as beautiful, but to them it was.

It was tortuous feeling the way she did all the time, her own tongue like a razor and always cutting at the scars on her body.

Her door swung open. "Andy!" Wednesday walked in, her head instinctively turning to the left. "Where's Kennedy?"

"She's with Enid." Andy answered and closed her closet door. "What's up?"

"Come here."

She watched her sister walk over to her bed and pull out two ziplock bags. "What's that?"

Wednesday threw the bags on the bed. "Concrete evidence for Galpin." She stated.

Andy saw blood and her eyes went wide. "Is that blood? Get that off my bed!"

Her sister rolled her eyes at the dramatics.

"Where did you even find this?"

"With Eugene's help." Wednesday answered and put the ziplocks back in her jacket. "He led me to this tunnel where I'm more than sure the monster hides. I found bones and handcuffs."

Andy's eyes widened again. "Like. . .human bones and handcuffs for humans?"

"Yes. What else would they be for?" Wednesday said sarcastically. "Come on. We're going to the police station."

"Exactly how do you plan on telling the sheriff that you found these?" Andy questioned as they walked out of the room.

"I have a plan, sister. Don't worry. I just need you to go along with it."

"Your plans terrify me." The sisters made their way into the woods. "I'm guessing you still haven't told Kennedy the reason you asked Xavier to the Rave'N?"

Wednesday kept her eyes forward. "About that. . ."

Andy's gaze narrowed.

"I'm not going with Xavier anymore."

She pretended to be shocked. "Wow. What happened? He find out your faking being interested in him?"

Wednesday threw her a look but she didn't deny. "It's more complicated than that."

"I'm sure."

"Well, what about you?" The older sister suddenly stopped and faced her. "You bought a dress even after telling everyone that you're not going to the Rave'N. You were talking Tyler. You must have changed your mind."

It was almost taunting the way she said it but Andy chose to ignore it. "I did change my mind. But I'm not going to him. Or anyone."

"Because you're afraid to."

"I—" Wednesday always knew what to say to hurt her sister's feelings. Andy wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing her get under her skin. "I told Kennedy I would go so I'm going. I keep my word."

"And so do I," Wednesday said back, keeping her voice blunt. "I said I was going to do anything to prove that Xavier's the monster. It's not my fault he got in the way of my investigation. I did what I had to do."

"Yeah, and you hurt Kennedy in the process."

Wednesday didn't have anything to say after that.

The sisters walked into the police station and made a beeline to Sheriff Galpin's office. Wednesday slammed the evidence bags on his desk. The man, who was on the phone, immediately hung up. "That's the claw of the monster and that's a dry blood sample from a potential suspect. He used it to dab scratches on his neck. Run the DNA test and see if they match."

Galpin looked between the sisters. "I'm sorry, do I work for you?" He asked sarcastically.

"You asked for concrete evidence. That's it."

"Where'd you get this?" He asked and grabbed the bag. "And who's the suspect?"

The sisters looked at each other. "Run the test first and then we'll talk," said Andy.

"Oh, so now I got both of you playing games. I'm not playing games here, Addams."

"Neither are we, sheriff," said Wednesday calmly.

Galpin sneered at them and pressed a button on the phone. "Bernice, bring me a DNA authorization form, please."

They smirked in unison.

Relationships never were Kennedy's thing. She never was the girl to have crushes like Enid and she wasn't focused on dating like Bianca. She never knew why until she got a little older and figured it was because of her own personal issues with her mother. Kennedy had never known what it felt like to be attached to someone because she and her mom were never attached. But then Xavier came into her life. He was her first love. Her best friend, a boy she thought she would end up marrying.

When they broke up, Kennedy thought her life was over. And then she started to get over it. Then Xavier started dating Bianca and Kennedy became heartbroken all over again, but she was also angry and confused. She didn't feel that love for him that she felt before. She was furious with him for hurting her, but she became confused as to why her feelings suddenly stopped. She was more frustrated at the thought that he was dating the girl who used to be her best friend. She didn't know why until now.

When Wednesday said that she asked Xavier to the Rave'N, Kennedy felt all those feelings that she felt between him and Bianca resurface. But this time, she did know why. It was just hard to say it out loud.

Kennedy was putting her Rave'N outfit together when she heard someone knock on her door. She laid the clothes on her bed and took long strides over to the door. When Kennedy saw Wednesday on the other side, her face fell. "Hey," she spoke monotonous.

"Hi," Wednesday said back. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

She went back to organizing her outfit. She tried her hardest not to look at her.

"I know you're still upset about Xavier," Wednesday claimed, standing in the middle of the room.

Kennedy scoffed under her breath. "I'm not—"

"No need to lie, Kennedy. You're very expressive with your emotions. I can see that it hurts you."

She spun around with her jaw dropped, and stared at her in disbelief. "I'm really glad that you think you know me." She said bitterly.

Wednesday didn't react. "I'm not going with him to the Rave'N anymore." She stated.

Before she could catch herself, Kennedy felt her face change. "You're not?" She said and all of a sudden felt her emotions lift off her shoulders.

"I didn't want to go with him in the first place. I just. . ." Wednesday's eyes lowered to the floor. "Got caught in the situation."

She crossed her arms. "What situation?"

"I've had my suspicions that Xavier had something to do with the monster since the night he showed up in the woods. So, I went to his art studio and I found dozens of drawings of the monster—" Wednesday started to explain.

Kennedy blinked multiple times. "Wait, what—"

"And I connected it to the scratches on his neck, and how he said he hurt his back fencing."

"You're not seriously accusing Xavier of being the monster, are you?"

Wednesday stepped towards her. "It all makes sense, Kennedy. I'm just trying to find answers. When I walked out of his studio, Xavier showed up, and he thought I was there to ask him to be my date to the Rave'N. I couldn't exactly tell him what I was actually there for, so. . .thats what happened. I don't like him like that."

Kennedy didn't know what to say. Part of her felt embarrassed for assuming that Wednesday had feelings for Xavier. The other part of herfelt this sort of hostility over the fact that she thought Xavier was the monster. Was he annoying? Yes. But he wasn't a violent person. He wasn't a killer. "So you just decided to go to the Rave'N to save your own ass?"

Wednesday's eyes shifted around. "In some sort, yes." Her gaze landed on the outfit that was laid out on her bed. "So, by all means, ask him if that's what you want—"

"What?" Kennedy outburst and scoffed a laugh. "No way in hell am I going to the Rave'N with Xavier."

Now she looked confused. "Isn't that why you were angry with me?"

"No." Kind of. She cringed when her voice went up an octave. "We broke up ages ago. Why would I want to go to the dance with him?"

"So why are you so mad at me?"

"I'm not—" Kennedy stopped herself. Her heart started to race and she tried to steady it. If Wednesday had super hearing, she would surely hear it. Being put on the spot made her body temperature increase. "I'm not mad at you, Wednesday." Kennedy said, and it came out harsher than she wanted it to be.

Wednesday blinked her large dark eyes. "I'm not sure I believe you."

"It doesn't matter. Cause. . .I already have a date."

Kennedy slapped herself inside her head. What the fuck did I just say?

Wednesday didn't say anything at first. She looked the girl up and down which made Kennedy's heart beat even faster than it already was. "You do?" She nod silently. Wednesday crossed her arms. "Who?"

They stared at each other. Kennedy's lips were sealed shut and she tried to think of a person. "Ajax," she said the first name that popped in her head.

"Ajax?"

"Yeah. Ajax," she said with another quick nod.

"How does Enid feel about that?"

"She told me to ask him."

Wednesday's eyes narrowed into slits. "She did?"

"Yeah. Something about wanting to make him jealous. He's a good friend of mine. He agreed."

Another moment of silence. Wednesday dropped her arms and Kennedy observed the way her jaw subtly tightened. "Well, good for you, I guess. I hope you have fun."

She titled her head. "So, you're not going anymore?" She asked, confused by the way she said it.

"I have something better to do with my time."

The bitterness made her flinch. "Oh. Well, I hope you find with that." She responded shortly.

"Trust me, I will." She said and walked away without saying anything else.

Kennedy stood there and watched her leave her room and felt a sickness creep inside her throat. It made her body feel weak, like her legs were about to turn to jelly. She never felt this way before, not during any fight that she had with Xavier or even after their relationship ended. Kennedy didn't like feeling this way.

Andy's Rave'N dress was staring her hard in the face. It hung on a hanger on the closet door, the purple color dark against the black color of her dorm walls. She lost track of how long she had been staring at it because she was so deep in thought. She couldn't stop thinking about her fight with Tyler. It physically made her sick. Nobody ever had this effect on her, especially not a boy. Andy felt guilty. She felt shame. She felt apologetic. But they hadn't spoken since their fight and Andy was pretty sure Tyler never wanted to speak to her again. She couldn't blame him.

Kennedy was finding putting on her jewelry. "You're sure you don't want to come?" She asked her again. "I really don't want you to miss this experience."

"I'm sure."

She sighed. "At least tell me how I look," she said and put her hands on her hips, striking a pose.

Andy's lips curled into a smile. "You look great, Ken."

Kennedy smiled prettily. "I know. I would look even better having my hot friend walk down there with me," she tried convincing her.

"You're right. Still not happening," Andy said as she sat down on her bed.

She watched her frown again and roll her eyes. "Y'know, if this was like the movies, your Prince Charming would show up to sweep you off your feet right now," Kennedy claimed.

"Well, this isn't a movie and I'm not a princess."

Before she said anything else, there was a knock at their door. Their heads turned at the same time. "If that's Ajax, I told him to meet me down the staircase," Kennedy said as she walked to the door. When she opened the door, her eyes went wide. "Tyler?"

Andy's ears perked. She stood up and moved, seeing Tyler standing there in a white tux with a box containing a corsage in his hand. "Tyler, what are you doing here?" She voiced, extremely confused.

"I-I got your invitation. I figured you had Thing drop it off at the Weathervane," Tyler explained himself, appearing nervous.

Kennedy looked between them. "Apparently, I'm not just a telekinetic. I'm a psychic." She voiced with a growing smirk.

Andy felt like she couldn't move or breathe. Half of her made a mental note to kill Thing the next time she saw him. She felt stupid standing there like she was seeing a ghost while dressed in her all black night clothes since she didn't plan on leaving my room that night, and he stood there all dressed up.

"I thought it was a prank at first, but. . ." Tyler started to say while holding the invitation in his hand. "Then I read it and you sounded so sweet. I knew it had to be you."

"Can I see that?" Andy asked, pointing to the invitation. She walked forward and grabbed the invite that he was holding out. Her eyes scanned the words.

Tyler,

I've been thinking a lot about what was said the other day. I'm sorry for all of it. I regret it. There's nobody else I would want to be by my side at the Rave'N and there's nobody else that could get me to go other than you. I really hope you'll give me another chance.

- Andy

"Sweet. Right," she muttered to herself, still in shock.

Tyler blinked. "Do you need a few minutes, or?" He asked, his eyes overusing her comfortable attire.

Kennedy took notice of her quiet and awkward nature. She stepped forward and smiled at him. "Tyler, hun, why don't you go wait downstairs for a few minutes and Andy's be right down. Sound like a deal?"

"Uhhh, sure—"

She slammed the door in his face.

"I'm going to kill him," Andy voiced while feeling a wave of anxiety crash over her.

"Okay, this is it, babe. Are you going or not?" Kennedy inquired while practically bouncing in her heels.

She felt like she couldn't speak. Her dress was hanging on the door while the boy she desperately wanted to be her date was on the other side of the door. She never had to deal with something like this before. "I-I-I don't know—"

"No, stop," said Kennedy and she walked closer to her. She turned serious. "You're afraid. I know that. I don't blame you because you've never experienced anything like this before. I'd be scared to. But you have a boy who really likes you here to escort you to a dance. Don't ruin this for yourself, Andy. You'll regret it."

Andy didn't know what to say. It felt like she just hit her on the head with a hammer. She didn't like people being able to read her, but in that very moment, she was spot on. Andy quickly turned her attention to the dress. Then, she looked at Kennedy again. "Will you help me?"

Kennedy blinked and slowly grew a smile. "Of course I'll help you, Tim Burton."

As he waited for Andy to come down, Tyler couldn't help but wonder if he had gotten it wrong again. After their fight, it took him a while to calm down and collect himself. He felt angry, embarrassed, confused, and hurt. The words she said were painful to hear because he really had fallen for her. He was certain he had felt this way since the first time he saw her, and to hear her talk about herself in that way hurt him. Tyler didn't mean to get angry with her the way he did. He didn't like seeing the way her eyes turn sad. He wanted to believe that she was falling for him like he was for her.

Then he got the invitation and Tyler thought it proved that he was wrong. He really didn't want to be wrong again. Tyler can't remember ever feeling this strongly about a person in his life.

He heard heels coming down the stairs and hi head shot up at a fast pace, but it was only Kennedy. Tyler felt himself relax and stand up.

She was smirking. "She's behind me, don't worry. She's just nervous."

"Yeah, that makes two of us," he exhaled and brushed his hand against his suit jacket.

"Be patient with her, Tyler. She's never done this before." Kennedy put her hand on his arm. "But I don't think there's a better person for her than you."

Tyler found myself smiling. "Thanks, Ken."

She winked and strutted off. "She looks hot!" She called out over her shoulder.

He laughed. Tyler took a deep breath, trying to brush off his nerves. "Just be cool. Be cool," he said to himself.

There was another clicking noise and he looked up. All of the breath suddenly left his lungs. He left his body. Andy was coming down the stairs in a beautiful purple dress, the same shade of purple that he thought she looked beautiful in at the Harvest Festival. Her hair was curled, something he never seen before. It was beautiful. Everything about her was beautiful. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Tyler thought to himself, I'm not wrong to feel the way I feel. I've fallen for her deeply and honestly. And I don't care what anybody has to say about it, not even my father.

Andy was staring at him like a scared deer, like a wounded animal, her deep brown eyes glistening with multiple different feelings. She messed with her hands, twisting the ring on her finger, unable to keep them at her sides. She was nervous. She wasn't alone in that feeling

Andy never felt so terrified in her life. He was staring at her so intensely that it felt like her skin was melting off. She was scared of tripping down the stairs. She'd never worn heels before. Never worn makeup. Her hair had never been curled. She'd never worn a dress like this. She felt weird, out of place like an alien. Her heart was racing like a mad woman. But the look on his face was different, and it made her feel different. Is this what her mother was talking about? To the new things?

She grew up hearing about her parent's love 온라인카지노게임. Andy thought she'd never be lucky enough to feel that way about a person. Maybe she was wrong.

Andy finally reached the end of the stairs without falling, although her legs were shaking. "Hi," she spoke timidly.

"Hi," Tyler breathed out, a look of daze still on his face. "Wow. You look. . ." He felt at lost for words. There didn't feel like a right word to describe her in that moment.

"Ridiculous?" She guessed with a scoff and tugged at the fabric suffocating her body.

"Amazing."

Andy lifted her head again.

The administration on his face didn't stray. He was smiling at her. "I mean it, Andy. You look stunning. I really like this color on you."

She blinked and felt her heart beat fast again. "I know. I remembered," Andy said quietly, feeling shy under his gaze.

Tyler glanced down at the corsage in his hand. He held it out. "I got this for you."

It was a simple rose painted black. She felt myself wanting to smile. "Thank you."

"I opted for the real rose, but, I didn't know if that was too much," he said with a laugh.

"I'm allergic to roses."

Tyler's smile fell. "Wait, really?"

Andy nodded. "Yeah. So is my father. My mom plucks the flowers off the stems so he doesn't swell up."

"Oh. . .okay. No real roses then."

That time, a faint smile did appear on her red glossed lips.

"Here, um. . ." Tyler hesitated to reach down and grab her hand. Andy flinched and it made him stop. Then, he felt her relax under his touch and he slid the corsage around her wrist. Her hand was so small compared to his and Tyler found myself not wanting to let it go. But he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he did, and he stuck out his arm instead. "Shall we?"

Andy held her breath as she touched her hand to his arm, the white fabric of his jacket bunching under her fingers. She nodded. "We shall." She said back, and he smiled.

Kennedy's words play on repeat in her head and the two of them made their way inside the dance. Don't ruin this for yourself, Andy. She said it to herself as well. Don't ruin this.

in case anyone's curious ^^^^