Principal Weems guided Wednesday and Derek through the academy halls, her voice smooth and practiced as she spoke.
"Nevermore exists to help Outcasts master abilities the outside world fears," she explained. "You will find discipline here… as well as opportunity."
Derek walked quietly beside Wednesday, taking everything in — stained glass windows, ancient portraits, students who looked nothing like ordinary teenagers.
The shadows along the walls shifted subtly as he passed.
He pretended not to notice.
Weems stopped outside a brightly decorated dorm room.
"Wednesday, this will be your assigned room."
The door burst open before she could knock.
A blonde girl beamed at them. "Hi! You must be Wednesday! I'm Enid!"
Wednesday stared at her, unmoved.
Derek stood slightly behind, observing.
Enid spotted him instantly. "Oh! Another new student?"
"Derek," he said simply.
"Cool. Love meeting new people!"
Wednesday looked as though she disagreed.
A few doors down, Weems opened another room.
"And Derek," she said, "you will be housed here. A private dorm, at least until we better understand your… particular abilities."
The single room overlooked the forest, darker and quieter than the others.
Derek nodded. "Understood."
Weems gave a polite smile. "Miss Sinclair will provide orientation."
Enid clapped her hands excitedly. "Tour time!"
Wednesday sighed.
Enid led them through Nevermore exactly as she did every year — talking quickly, pointing out student groups and explaining Outcast social structures.
"Fangs, Furs, Scales, and Stoners," she said cheerfully.
Derek watched students carefully.
A vampire laughed near the fountain.
A gorgon adjusted her sunglasses indoors.
Sirens gathered confidently near the center courtyard.
Everything felt surreal.
Wednesday remained unimpressed.
Classes began shortly after.
Derek spent most of the morning observing rather than speaking. Teachers introduced coursework designed for Outcasts — botany involving dangerous plants, history lessons centered on supernatural conflicts.
Occasionally, shadows stretched slightly toward him beneath desks before retreating again.
No one else noticed.
But Wednesday glanced at the floor once, thoughtful.
Later that afternoon, students gathered in the fencing hall.
Metal blades clashed rhythmically as practice matches took place.
Derek sat along the wall benches, watching quietly as Wednesday stepped onto the strip opposite Bianca Barclay.
Bianca smirked. "You sure you know what you're doing?"
Wednesday lifted her foil calmly. "En garde."
The match began.
Steel rang sharply through the room as they moved back and forth. Wednesday fought precisely, controlled — but Bianca was faster, confident, experienced.
Within moments—
Bianca scored the winning strike.
The instructor called it.
Wednesday lowered her blade, expression unchanged, though something colder settled behind her eyes.
Students murmured.
Derek noticed it immediately — not embarrassment.
Calculation.
Like she was already planning revenge.
Bianca smiled slightly. "Better luck next time."
Wednesday said nothing and walked away.
Derek watched her leave, sensing the tension she carried with her like a storm waiting to break.
Later, word spread that Rowan had been injured during practice.
Curiosity — and something he didn't fully understand — pulled Derek toward the infirmary.
Inside, Wednesday stood beside Rowan's bed.
Rowan looked shaken, pale.
"You shouldn't be here," Rowan told her urgently. "You don't belong at Nevermore."
Wednesday's expression remained calm. "That assessment lacks evidence."
"You're going to destroy this school," he insisted. "I've seen it."
Derek lingered outside the doorway, unseen, catching only fragments of the conversation.
Rowan's voice trembled. "You need to leave before it's too late."
Wednesday studied him for a moment, unimpressed.
"I rarely leave places before finishing what I start," she replied.
She turned and walked out.
Derek stepped back quickly as she passed, unnoticed.
Evening shadows stretched long across the courtyard as Wednesday crossed the stone path alone.
Derek hurried after her.
"Wednesday," he called.
She didn't slow.
Above them, stone shifted.
A deep cracking sound echoed.
Derek looked up.
A massive gargoyle broke loose from the rooftop, plummeting straight toward her.
"LOOK OUT!" he shouted.
He was too far away.
There wasn't time.
Fear surged through him — sharp and instinctive.
The shadows beneath his feet exploded outward.
Darkness surged across the ground like liquid, racing toward Wednesday. The air turned cold as invisible force wrapped around her waist—
—and yanked her violently sideways.
The gargoyle crashed down where she had stood seconds before, shattering stone across the courtyard.
Silence followed.
Students nearby screamed.
Dust filled the air.
Wednesday rose slowly from the ground, completely composed despite nearly being crushed.
Her eyes moved immediately to Derek.
He stood frozen several yards away, breathing hard, shadows slowly retracting back toward him like nothing had happened.
No one else seemed to notice.
Only her.
She brushed dust from her sleeve.
"You interfered," she said calmly.
Derek blinked. "You were about to get flattened."
A pause.
She studied him carefully now — intensely.
Not annoyed.
Interested.
"The timing," she said quietly, "was statistically improbable."
Derek swallowed. "Lucky guess?"
Wednesday looked at the shattered gargoyle… then back at him.
"I don't believe in luck."
For the first time since arriving at Nevermore, her attention fully settled on him.
And Derek realized something important.
He hadn't just saved Wednesday Addams.
He had just made himself part of her investigation.