Family Values

This is a Coraline (movieverse) and Addams Family crossover. This is my second fanfiction in general and my first Coraline fanfiction. Reviews are welcome and appreciated but by no means should readers feel obliged. My first fanfiction was a Lion King story in the "general/romance" genre, but this is more adventure- and humor-oriented, so I'm really excited about making it kind of 'creepy' but still lighthearted. Well, here it goes!

Rating: Rated T for some language, mild themes, some dark humor, and all that good stuff.

Chapter 1: Cousin Who?

Coraline Jones sighed as she disembarked the school bus and approached the archaic Pink Apartments building. She fumbled her colorful gloved hands through her messenger bag until she found the house key. She trudged through the ground floor until she found her parent's apartment and unlocked the door. Before she could open the door, her mother, Mel Jones, beat her to the punch from the other end.

"Hey, Coraline! I finally finished this month's issue of the gardening catalogue, so I decided to take a break for the afternoon. So….how was the first day of school?"

Coraline was about to tell her mother how school recently became a safe haven for idiot classmates and insane teachers ….but she decided to give her the nice version of her day. Besides, it was not very often when Mel Jones actually finished an issue in less than three weeks.

"Umm…it was great. You know…educational?"

"Okay…well is there anyone you know in your classes?"

Coraline stomped through the door and walked past her mother to the staircase.

"Yeah mom….unfortunately." Coraline furrowed her brows as she mumbled.

"What was that, dear?"

"Nothing, Mom. I'm gonna get started on homework now."

Coraline opened the door to her room and threw her bag at the closed Little Door. Even if someone could still hear her from the other side of the portal, she would not care in the least. Coraline chuckled as she pictured a scrawny, button-eyed doppelganger banging at her door with the blunt end of a broomstick while yelling "Hey! Keep it down over there!"

Coraline stopped smiling once she remembered why the little reverie could never happen. She had destroyed the world on the other side and she….or rather…they…defeated the Beldam. Coraline groaned as she remembered the boy who made "her" into a "they". Unfortunately, he was same boy who had to be the worst thing that happened to her school.

"Hey Coraline! You're in this class too? I just transferred to your school over the summer. Sorry I didn't tell you. It must have slipped my mind. "

Well, to be completely honest, first period was not when her world ended. After all, he was annoying but he was still her friend, and he was definitely not annoying enough to ruin her day just because of one class. No…it took al lot more of her classes for him to become unbearable.

"Wow, Coraline! You're in my second period too? That is so cool! You know I was hoping that since we were in Science and English together that we could be lab partners in Sciernce….and in English we could be partners in class projects and brainstorm ideas, and….and…

"Wow, we're in each other's third period Art class, too? That is really something. Although, I always pictured you to be the artistic type. I'm not exactly the best drawer, which makes it really weird that I even chose Art in the first place, because it would have been the class to break our shared schedule. It's kind of funny, really, because when I was younger, my guidance counselor thought I had Asperger's Syndrome, so they didn't even suggest that I take art classes because they thought that I wouldn't relate to it, but since the diagnosis was wrong and I actually appreciate art…..

Wow ,fourth period math too? That's a little unusual considering the distribution of the number of students enrolled in this school when compared to the number of classes we have throughout the day….I mean it's a quantifiable anomaly that we could be in the same class consecutively for four class periods in a row, let alone the fact that my grandma chose this school when she pulled out its name randomly from her church hat. Then again, considering her arthritis and Parkinson's, it is possible that she meant to choose another piece of paper which means that in all probability….umm…are you okay Coraline? You look as if you don't know what I'm talking about, but I know you do because since we are, again, in the same math class, we both have the capacity to comprehend the statistical phenomena known as "random sampling"…

"Hey 'schedule-buddy'! Come sit at our table….er….my table. I'm glad we have the same lunch period because honestly, I feel like some of the kids at this school are kind of nerdy, so it's nice to know someone who isn't a complete nerd. Know what I'm saying?"

And of course, the last class of the day. The one class where just the subject alone could ruin her day despite it being placed to close to dismissal time. And of course, this already volatile subject just had to include a certain hunchback in its roster.

Okay, now I've seen it all. From start to finish, we have the exact same schedule! What are the odds? Too bad we can't start Health class at the beginning of the day so I could start the school day off right…I love Health class! Speaking of health class, did you know that compared to boys, girls start their sexual development at an average age of….

"Aargh!" Coraline grunted as she balled her fists and punched her pillow. "Stupid Whybie! He just never shuts up!"

Coraline marched over to her antique bookcase and kicked one of its legs until a picture of her and Whybie at a theme park fell off the wall.

"Geesh! If he were a little bit less dorky, he might actually be…tolerable…?

Coraline's beet-red face lowered to the floor. There, she saw not one photograph, but two. One picture was the one of her and Whybie. The other….was one she was sure that she had never seen before. This photo was of two young women. Both women had long dark hair and large eyes. Coraline realized with a gasp that one of the women was her mother, Mel Jones, back of course when she had longer hair. Her mother was dressed in a turquoise colored turtleneck and from looking at her furrowed brows, Coraline thought that she seemed to be lacking self-confidence….either that…or she was very uncomfortable to be standing there.

The woman next to her was what bothered Coraline the most. She seemed to be around the same age as her mother, but something about the way she held her body….the way she kept her eyes half-lidded in a seductive stare and the way she seemed to smile flawlessly gave Coraline a slight shudder. That smile…..that hollow grin…it seemed slightly familiar to the young girl. But from where? Coraline looked up from the photograph to stare at the Little Door and she remembered the Other Mother's smile. Yes, of course…it was the hollow, artificial smile of a sociopath; a person who knew how to keep false pretenses so that others may think what they want.

Coraline turned the piece of paper over to see if anything was written on the back. In spidery blue pen, "Mel and Morticia" was written. As Coraline flipped the photograph over again, she felt something prick her finger. At closer inspection, she saw that it was a wooden splinter. Coraline crawled over to her bookshelf and moved it away from the wall. What she saw surprised her. Taped to the back of the bookshelf was a small stack of four by two photographs. Two photos fell off the back of the bookcase and fluttered under it. She tore off the stack and flipped each portrait to view the subjects and the names on the back as she read out loud.

"Mel with Gomez…Mel with Fester….Mel with Wednesday….Mel with Pugsley….Mel with Thing….Mel with….It?! What in the world is that?!"

At that point she heard a knock on her door. Her mother's face peeked through the door with a metal tray in hand.

"Surprise! I baked some cookies right before you came home. I know you like M&Ms but we only had chocolate chips. Uhh….dear…where did all those photos come from?"

Coraline looked at her wide-eyed while she flailed the pieces of paper in her hands.

"I was kinda hoping you could tell me! Who are these people and why do we have pictures of them?!"

Mel Jones set the tray on Coraline's desk and picked a photograph from Coraline's left hand.

"Oh,dammit...er….I mean 'darnit'….I was hoping I would never see these again…You see Coraline, these are my family. You see that woman, Morticia? Well, she is my first cousin. Wednesday and Pugsley are her children and Gomez is her husband. Fester is Gomez's brother and-"

"Wait, Mom. She's your first cousin, but I've never met her…why?"

Mel patted her daughter's head and sighed.

"Honey, all you need to know is that they are just a little….eccentric. They are estranged for a reason. We haven't spoken in thirteen years and I would like to keep it that way. Hmm…I guess I should have hidden the pictures better. The bookshelf was originally mine but then I gave it to you once we moved. I guess I forgot about the photos…."

Her mother exited the room leaving the cookie tray behind. Coraline walked over to her desk and took a bite out of the treat. She glanced at the back of a particular photograph before pulling out a piece of stationary and a pen from a drawer. Coraline pulled out another letter from her drawer—a letter written by her mother. Coraline carefully lifted the pen to draft letters in the exact same way as her mother. The spidery ink of the back of the photo was:

"Well Mel, it sure was a scream to have you at the mansion. I would love to take up your invitation for a home visit. In case you want to send us a written invitation, our address is 1313 Cemetary Lane…"

Coraline completed the letter and tucked the stationary into an envelope.

"Time to return the favor, Morticia."