20, the weird dinner

The dinner table at the Addams household was dimly lit by flickering candles, the shadows dancing across the ornate walls. Ari sat nervously beside Pugsley, while Morticia and Gomez presided at the head of the table, looking perfectly composed as always.

Wednesday, or rather Enid trapped in Wednesday's body, sat across from Ari, her movements stiff, her usual playful expressions nowhere in sight. She poked at her food with precise, exaggerated motions, her eyes darting around the room as if analyzing every shadow.

Ari leaned slightly toward Pugsley, whispering, "She's... acting weird."

Pugsley followed her gaze and shrugged. "Wednesday's weird all the time. I don't even notice anymore."

Ari gave him a side-eye. "Yeah, but this is... different. Something's off."

"Bravo lurch, you have outdone yourself." Morticia told Lurch as they all looked at dinner he made.

"What's that?" Ari asked Pugsley.

"That's roadkill pot pie. Mother ordered Lurch to make it because it's Wednesday's favorite one." Pugsley told her and her eyes widened. Pugsley noticed her and smiled. "Don't worry, I know you don't like the... unusual family fare, so I made my mom order pizza."

Ari's eyes lit up. "Wow. Oh my god. You ordered pizza for me?" She was amused.

Pugsley shrugged, trying to play it cool. "It was really hard. You better like it." He pointed at her teasingly.

"Depends, what kind of pizza is it?" Ari asked him.

"Pineapple pizza. I liked the name." Pugsley replied as Ari's smile fell.

She hated Pineapple pizza.

Pugsley noticed that. His smile fell too. "What ? You don't like it?"

"No, no, I love it. My favorite." She forced a smile.

Pugsley, always easy to lie, got his smile returned on his face. "Oh, great."

"Ari, darling, Pugsley told me that you're deadly allergic to the pie we made, so Gomez had an idea to order a pizza for you." Morticia said, handing Ari her plate where there were placed four pizzas. "Tell me if you want more."

"This is enough." Ari smiled, grateful, and glanced back at Pugsley. "I thought this was your idea?"

"Does it matter? You got your pizza," he said with a grin.

Wednesday, or Enid in her body, eyed her own plate with disdain. "Remind me again... what is this?"

"Darling, don't you recognize your favorite family dish?" Morticia was confused by her daughter. "

"Roadkill pot pie." Pugsley grinned.

"Of course." Wednesday was nervous. "Yum."

Ari gave her a confused look. "Yum?" She muttered.

"What's in it?" Wednesday asked.

"Possible, little guy ran out right in front of us, burst back over twice, tenderized it." Gomez explained.

"He also added little leftover." Morticia added. "Raccoon which gives that special woodsy flavor you adobe." She told her daughter who nodded uncomfortably.

Ari saw Pugsley staring at pizza confused. "Do you want to try it?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

She gave him a knowing look.

"Okay, I do." He admitted quickly.

She smiled before handing him one slice.

He took a bite and quickly smiled. "This is amazing!"

"Really?" Ari asked confused.

"Yes, now I understand why it's your favorite one." Pugsley said.

"Right." Ari nodded with a smile.

"Now that we are all here together, including Pugsley's girlfriend." Morticia started smiling at two pair smiling at each other.

Ari and Pugsley blinked.

"Mom! No she's not my girlfriend." Pugsley said nervously.

"I am not his girlfriend." Ari added.

"We are friends."

"Friendly friends."

"Friendiest friendly friends."

"Yes, what he said."

"Look Tish, they are so in love just like us." Gomez smiled at his wife. "Cara Mia."

"Mon Cher." Morticia smiled. "Now back to what I was saying."

Ari and Pugsley shared a look nervously.

"It's time for the serious discussion. Your father and I had tried to instill our family values in you children." Morticia started.

"But we draw a line on lying." Gomez said.

"I thought you said lying was an important life skill." Pugsley reminded his father.

"That's when you are good at lying, dummy." Ari whispered. Only Pugsley heard her and he glared at her.

"Yes, like in business, politics, jury duty, that's a big one." Gomez said.

"You, two, have been lying to us."  Morticia said. She looked at Ari. "I'm sorry, Ari, that I am talking about this while you are here but it had to be brought up anytime soon."

"It's okay, I don't mind." Ari smiled.

Morticia smiled at her before looking at her children her smile fading. "I'll give you one chance to confess."

"There's still a punishment right?" Pugsley asked.

"Of course, don't be silly." Morticia said.

"I lied to you about slurp." Pugsley turned to his father. "I saw him at pilgrim world, and I let him go. I'm really sorry, pop."

His father looked down.

"So do I get the rack or Iron Maiden?" Pugsley asked his dad.

"We'll flip for it." Gomez said.  "Come on, let's go"

"I... I can't leave Ari." Pugsley said to his father and looked at her.

"Actually I was planning to go, my best friend Gia just texted me . She needs me to help her out with.... something ." Ari told him and stood up. "Thank you, Mrs, Addams and Mr, Addams. Pizza was delicious."

"I'll walk you to door." Pugsley offered.

——————

Pugsley walked beside her. He glanced at her nervously, unsure if he should bring it up.

"So... the pizza," he began cautiously. "You... liked it?"

Ari looked up at him, her lips twitching into a guilty smile. "Okay, I have to admit something."

Pugsley froze. "Uh... what?"

She took a deep breath. "I don't actually like pineapple pizza."

His eyes widened, and for a moment, he looked as if the world had stopped. "You... you don't?"

"No," Ari said, shrugging, though she laughed lightly. "I just didn't want to hurt your feelings, so I said I did."

Pugsley blinked, then let out a nervous laugh, running a hand through his messy hair. "Oh... oh! That's... okay. I mean, I kind of guessed something was off when you tried to smile at it like it was the best thing ever."

Ari laughed, nudging him lightly with her shoulder. "You're supposed to be the expert in lying, remember?"

"Yeah, well, apparently you're better at lying than me," he admitted, grinning.

"So..." Ari said, her tone softer now, "does that mean you'll never make eat me pineapple pizza again?"

Pugsley shook his head solemnly. "Never. From now on, I'll only order pizza you actually like. I... I don't want to mess up again."

Ari glanced at him, her heart warming at his sincerity. "Good. Because I think this whole roadkill pie thing might have been enough 'family experience' for one night."

Pugsley laughed, a genuine, relieved sound. "Yeah... agreed."

And as they reached the doors, Ari looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks for tonight, Pugsley. It... actually was kind of fun."

Pugsley's grin widened, and for just a moment, the nervousness fell away. "Anytime, Ari. Anytime."

———-

A/N

I'm finishing episode 6 rn

I hope Agnes won't get eaten.

I love her

I'm back to spoiling you guys 😜😜