Walking around Zombietown, the couple ended up at a snow-covered outdoor Light Garden.

“It’s so beautiful here.”  Addison walked around, the awe in her voice reflected in her eyes.

“Yeah, it is,” Zed agreed, his eyes not leaving Addison as she took in the lights.  A zombie Light Garden was a stark contrast to the lights that the humans normally put up this time of year, but it was apparent that Addison preferred the ones in Zombietown.  The white lights cast just enough light to illuminate the sparkling snow and watching Addison take it all in was the most beautiful thing that Zed had ever seen.

Zed didn’t know how long they stayed in the Light Garden before Addison ‘wanted’ to go home.  There was a look in her eye that said she could stay there forever, but Zed could tell that she was ready to face her parents.  The walk back to the human part of town seemed to take no time at all and before he knew it, they were at the Wells’ front door.

As Zed reached for the door handle, Addison hesitated.

“We can go back to Zombietown,” Zed started, but Addison shook her head.

“I have to come back eventually.”

“I’ll go in with you.  After all, it was both of us that your family was, well, whatever you want to call it.”

Addison rolled her eyes.  “Zed, I dragged you into this.  I literally said I wanted you there to distract them from my hair, remember?  Besides, everybody has probably gone home.  It was just dinner.”

“Whatever you want,zreeka.”

Addison smiled at the endearment, squeezing Zed’s hand.  “Gar-gargiza,Zedka.”

“Gar-gargiza, Addiska.” He pulled her into an embrace, holding her close.  Addison pressed her face into his chest, allowing the steadiness of his breathing to fill her with serenity.  

After several minutes, Addison stepped back.  “You really should go home. They may have repealed the anti-monster laws, but I don’t want them to find any reason to give you trouble.”

Zed nodded.  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Addy.”

Addison stood in front of the door, watching until Zed disappeared.  Only once she had lost sight of him did she unlock the door and enter the house.

As she had expected, her parents were waiting.

“Where have you been?”  Her mother asked immediately, rubber gloves on and scrub brush in hand, though by the looks of things the dishes sitting in the dish rack were nearly dried.

“Addison, your mother and I have been worried since you disappeared,” her father added disapprovingly.

“You couldn’t have at least called to let us know you were all right?”

Ignoring her parents’ questions, Addison asked one of her own.  “Everybody went home, then?  Brandon went back to New York, since you didn’t ask about my cousin, who also disappeared last night.  And Zed’s on his way home right now.”

“Of course everyone went home, Addison.  They were only here for dinner. Nobody was expecting you to take off like that,” Missy said primly.

“Now where were you last night, Addison?”  Dale looked at his daughter, the look on his face leading her to believe that he knew exactly where she had spent the night.

“On the Necrodopolis’ couch.”  It wasn’t a lie.  There was, however, a glaring omission that there had been a whole other person lying between her and the couch.  Her mother’s mouth thinned, as if she could hear the omitted truth.

“Why?”

Because she hadn’t wanted to come back and face her judgmental family, with or without her boyfriend.  Because she hadn’t wanted to give them another chance to insult him.  To degrade him.  Because she needed to escape her parents’ perfect little world, a perfect little world that only existed in their heads.  Because his family loved and accepted her for who she was and as his girlfriend.

“Zed loves me.  As I am.  He thought I was beautiful the first time he saw my real hair.  He only came last night so that I would have one person at that dinner table who was on my side, who supported me, who loved me unconditionally.  And when we went ho-, back to Zombietown, it felt safer to just stay there and not make the walk here again so late.”  Again, it wasn’t a complete lie.  There were just a few omissions that Addison did not need or want to tell her parents.

“Addison, of course we love you,” her father said, but the words felt hollow.

“I know you do, Dad.  I know you both love me – on the condition that I keep my wig on and keep up all appearances of being normal.  But we’re not normal.  None of us are.  My hair is inexplicably white. You and Mom want to suppress anything that doesn’t conform to ‘normal’.  My boyfriend is a zombie.  My friends are zombies. And my human friends?  None of us are the same.  How much is it going to take until we’re all carbon copies of each other?  Because that seems like the only thing that could make you happy.”

Years and years of frustrations were pouring out.

“I’m going to bed.”  Addison left the kitchen, ignoring anything that her parents might have been saying as she turned and walked away. Tomorrow, she would go back to Zombietown and spend the day with the people who were willing to understand her.  To accept her for who she was.  To love her as she was.  Unconditionally.

Notes: So the way that Zed said that “it’s azombie light garden” always implied that there was more than one in Zombietown.  To me, anyway.

@unusual-ly  for the Zombietongue :)  zreeka= sweetheart

Addison runs out of the cafeteria

Bucky was waiting for an answer.

“I want to be a cheerleader.  That’s all I ever wanted.” Addison looked away from Zed, away from her cousin, her voice trembling slightly as she realized that he could expose her as a freak in front of the whole school if he wanted.

“Good.”

“Hey Addison!”  Zed was waving at her from the zombies’ table in the corner.  She couldn’t look at him.  Her mind was a jumble – she’d made the cheer squad, she had a crush on a zombie, her closest cousin had just threatened her (a threat that hit a little too close to home, coming from someone who was supposed to be on her side), and she had a crush.   On a zombie.  She felt the first waves of panic and turned, running out of the cafeteria.

Bucky was her cousin, practically her big brother.  She could trust him to look out for her.  (Right?)

Addison was only vaguely aware that she had stopped running when she caught sight of her still reflection in the trophy case display.

She was a cheerleader.  She fit in.  The only thing that was different about her was her hair and that was easily covered by a wig, but as Lacey had just pointed out, it wouldn’t take much for her to lose it all.  This had been what she had been working towards for her entire life.  Summer after summer of cheer camp.  Which she loved.

But there was also something inside her, whispering that she could grow to love Zed.  A zombie.  She definitely hadn’t imagined the connection that she had felt when he had saved her at the pep rally.  Thinking back on it now (a whole, what, two hours later), Addison could have sworn that she had seen something in his eyes, something soft that was the same way he’d looked at her right after she had punched him in the nose.  He was definitely attractive.  Sweet.  He was a zombie, but Addison was starting to think that he could also just be a boy.  One that she definitely had a crush on.

She could admit it to herself.  She, Addison Wells, had a crush on a zombie.  She said it quietly, once, twice, then grinned.  She like liked Zed.  And she was pretty certain that he likeliked her, too.

The original dilemma still existed.  She liked Zed.  She wanted to be a cheerleader more than anything.  She’d left Zed hanging back in the cafeteria after running out.  She’d left Bucky satisfied that she was committed a hundred and ten percent to the squad and  their ‘ideals’.  She herself didn’t even make the cheer squad’s ideals and the other cheerleaders had looked for anything that might have been different about her, picking apart every tiny detail about her appearance.  But this was something that she had been working toward ever since she could remember.  Her entire life had been dedicated to Seabrook cheer.

The warning bell rang, interrupting her pensive thoughts.  Instantly, her brain shifted gears.  She had five minutes to grab her chemistry books from her locker and make it to the lab on the other side of the school.  Time to get moving.

Fritz, Chaz, and Zephyr all belong to @unusual-ly.  Thanks for filling up our sandboxes with fleshed out background characters.  Hopefully I’ve done them justice.

The football team had, now unsurprisingly, won the game.  Coach had given them their choice of ordering pizzas in to their hotel rooms or taking the bus to a mid-scale diner across town.  Surprisingly, the vote had split perfectly fifty-fifty.  Even more surprisingly, the same vote had split the same way with the cheerleaders on the floor above.  The coaches then allowed the teams to mingle, each supervising roughly one team.  The cheerleaders’ coach stayed in (Zed suspected that they were used to having little to no real interactions with the squad, with the cheer captains running everything from tryouts to the championship routine) and Coach took everyone else out to the diner.

“Okay, if everyone who wants to come out isn’t ready by seven-thirty, then I’m sorry but you’re stuck with pizza.  There’ll be no latecomers – we gotta stick together.  This is a school event and we’re responsible for you kids,” Coach said.  “Now, you all need to hit the showers, okay?  I’m adding that to my list of rules for dinner.  Shower and be ready by seven-thirty.  That’s all I’m asking of you guys.  Can you do that for me?”

Zed’s roommates for the trip were Chaz, Fritz, and Zephyr.  Although they had tried to pass it off as a coincidence, everybody knew that they had been grouped together because they were the zombie students on the team.  Chaz, the youngest of the group, had pounced on getting ready for dinner as soon as they had entered their room.  The other three were too tired to be bothered, at least until Zephyr remembered that they were on a time limit and three people still needed to shower.  When Chaz emerged from the bathroom, Zed and Fritz were in and out as quickly as they could.

“Come on, Zeph.  We’re hitting the town, let’s go.”  Zed shrugged a jacket over his maroon hoodie, knowing that Addison would steal at least one or the other before the night was over.

“You guys go.  I’ll grab some pizza from Coach’s room,” Zephyr deflected, looking at the phone meaningfully.

“What?  No way, come on you guys aren’t going to leave me alone all night, are you?”  Chaz looked around the room.  “Zed’s going to meet up with his girlfriend, Zephyr obviously wants the room to call his boyfriend, and Fritz…”  Chaz perked up.  “Hey, man, we could hang out.”

Zed opened the motel room door, stepping out into the crisp, cool evening air.  He quickly crossed over to the room Addison was staying in and knocked.

“Hey, Zed,” Bree opened the door, smiling.  “I think Addy’s just looking for her jacket.”

Zed grinned.  “Hey.  Awesome cheers tonight,” he winked.

“Yeah, they were pretty good.  It’s definitely because of us that the team won,” Bree joked, her smile fading when Zed didn’t laugh.  She turned to see that Addison had entered the main area/bedroom.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said, slightly breathless.  Addison ducked her head, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.  She was so beautiful, wearing a pale blue jumpsuit, damp hair tied back in a messy ponytail.  He couldn’t help but notice that the sweater was fairly thin and smirked, knowing that she would end up stealing his jacket at some point during the night.  “How about we skip out of here,” he whispered.

“Don’t you mean _delicious_?”  Addison held out her hand and Zed took it, firmly clasping them together.

“There’s a diner across the street.  Everyone’s either in the motel rooms or at the restaurant.  What do you say we have a little date night?”

“I mean, we _could_ get into so much trouble.”  Addison grinned.  “Let’s go.”

If Zed had had a fully functional human heart, it would have been thudding loudly in his chest.  Sure, they still had to sneak out, but they were finally going on a proper date, somewhere where most people didn’t really know about zombies, where they would just be a couple of kids.  As he held the door open for Addison, nobody really paid them any attention.  There was no sharp spike from his Z-band as he entered the diner.

The little diner was mostly empty, aside from a man passed out in a corner booth.  They chose a side both on the other side of the diner, Addison not releasing her hold on Zed as a waitress brought over some water and their menus.

“How are you guys doing tonight?”  She placed the menus on the table, and continued: “house special is the classic burger n shake with Joey sauce.  Crisp lettuce, red onions, and our secret Joey sauce.  I’ll be back in a few minutes, holler if you need anything.”  She left them to look at their menus, walking back into the kitchen.

Bells chimed as the front door opened again a few minutes later.  The waitress was back; smiling, she seated the new arrivals, then stopped at the table.  “How are you guys doing?”

“Good, thanks,” Zed smiled, looking over to his girlfriend.

“You kids see the football game this afternoon?  That sure was something else all right, don’t think anyone’s seen Seabrook play like _that_ for, I don’t know, twenty years?  Heard they’ve got one of them mutants on the team now.  Heck, nobody around here even knew there _were_ mutants in Seabrook, can you believe it?  Just twenty miles down the coast, a whole other community of mutants from back when the power plant went down.”

Zed’s stomach twisted.

“Now what can I get you kids tonight?”

Addison picked up her menu, scanning it.  “Could I get the chicken salad…with garlic bread…and extra Parmesan?”

“And you?”

Zed pushed the knot in his stomach down and swallowed.  “Yeah, uh, could I get the special?  Uh, blue rare and could I get it with cheese?”

The waitress was staring at him, so he flashed her a smile.  That was when he realized that Addison was also staring at him.

“Sir,” the waitress began uncertainly.

“Oh!  And we just won the football game tonight, so if you could add a couple of double vanilla shakes to that, that would be amazing.”

The waitress nodded.  “Double vanilla shakes.”  She left with their order, and Zed turned back to the table.

“If they make money from people eating here, then why do they serve you a tiny loaf of bread before your dinner?”  He sawed off another slice from the small bread, buttering it carefully before swallowing, nearly without chewing.  He could feel Addison still staring.  “What?  Is it meant to just be decoration?”

Addison laughed at that.  “What?  No, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then what was it?  That waitress was giving me vibes, but like, I don’t know.”

“You ordered a _burger_,” Addison whispered in a hush.

Zed stared at her blankly.  “…yep.”

“_Blue rare_.”

“…yes?”

“Zed.  Humans can’t eat beef that under-cooked.  That’s why she was staring at you.  We’re not in Seabrook, she doesn’t recognize you as a zombie.  You’re just the weirdo who brought his girlfriend on a date to get food poisoning.”

“Can’t take me anywhere nice, can you?”  Zed chuckled, grinning.  “Think the chef will do it?”  His question, though rhetorical, was answered by the momentary return of their waitress.

“Sir, unfortunately we will not be able to fill your order.  When ground, beef must be fully cooked in order to avoid bacterial poisoning.”  The waitress looked at Zed, clearly expecting him to order something else.  When he said nothing, she continued: “we have a selection of meats that can be prepared rare for your enjoyment – steak, lamb, and beef are our most commonly rare dishes.”

While Zed understood that there was a liability issue that could result if the restaurant served under-cooked meat, he was also starting to crave the specificity of a minimally-cooked burger.

He decided to take a chance.

“I’m a zombie.  One of the ‘mutants’ from Seabrook.  Believe me when I say that this is definitely the way I prefer my burgers.”  His wallet sincerely hoped that the establishment would listen to him and allow him to order the more inexpensive menu item.

The waitress stared at him.  “I’ll get the manager for you, sir.”  She left quite quickly.

The evening wasn’t going at all how Zed had hoped.  In Seabrook, he was sometimes treated differently because he was a zombie, but things usually worked out.  Integration was slowly becoming more commonplace, but outside of the community were issues that nobody had thought of before.  Such as what would happen when a zombie tried ordering food that matched their zombie-fied preferences.

The manager would not allow him to order a rare burger.  Zed understood, of course, and had resigned himself to ordering the burger to be cooked as little as the chef deemed safe when Addison stopped him.

“I know that the date was your idea and that you were going to cover it,” she started.  Zed smiled sadly, knowing the gist of what she was going to say.

“Addy, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine.  You have special dietary needs and if a restaurant can accommodate a person with food allergies, I don’t see why this should be any different.  But my dad gave me fifty dollars ‘in case of an emergency’, like that would ever happen, and I think this qualifies.”  She turned to address the manager.  “My boyfriend will be having a steak as rare as you can make it.  As will I.”

“Addison, you don’t even like steak,” Zed interrupted.  “You wanted the salad.  At least have the steak cooked.”  Addison looked back at Zed and he could see her relenting.  “Come on, the salad has fresh strawberries, you love those.  And I’m certain it was you who was disappointed with the garlic bread last week when the cafeteria served spaghetti.”

The waitress looked at them, clearly waiting to see if the couple had finished deciding.  “Do you need a few more minutes?”

“No,” Addison shook her head as she turned back to the waitress.  “One steak and one salad.  A side of yam fries with the steak, and garlic bread with the salad.  And two double vanilla shakes for dessert,” Addison ordered confidently.

“That should take about ten minutes.”  The waitress finished jotting down the order and went to help another table.

“Addison,” but this it was Zed who was interrupted.

“Zed, it’s fine.  Dinner’s on me.  Well, technically it’s on my dad.  But, hey, we’re out on a date.  Let’s not waste it by arguing over something so trivial as who’s going to pay.”

Zed smiled, easily leaning across the table and kissing his girlfriend.  “I can think of much better ways to pass the time,” he agreed, mumbling against her lips.  He felt her smile, felt air hit his nose as she exhaled, felt her hand reach for his, fingers fumbling as they interlocked.  _“Gar gar ga za,_” he whispered, pulling back slightly before re-initiating the kiss.  Ten minutes had passed before they knew it and their waitress was back, clearing her throat as she placed their plates on the table.

“Enjoy your meal,” she said casually, giving them a look as she left.

“What was that supposed to mean?”

“Addison, it’s fine.  That’s what people say when you’re in a restaurant.  Or so I’ve heard.”  Zed picked up his fork and speared one of Addison’s strawberries.  “Now let’s have dinner, neither of us have eaten since before the game.  Eat your salad before I steal all your strawberries,” he grinned, taking a bite from the one on his fork.  Addison’s eyes narrowed playfully and accepted the proffered remainder of the stolen strawberry from her boyfriend.

A/N: This is more of an interlude than a Proper Chapter to transition from leaving Christmas dinner to starting the resolution.

Neither Zed nor Addison slept well that night.  Zed was curled up on the far too small couch, legs dangling over the armrest, Puppy snuggled against his chest. Addison, though quite possibly the most comfortable she had ever been, was too distracted by worrying about the fallout from the night’s events.  Eventually, she got up and entered the living room.  Zed noticed her immediately, sitting upright and holding out the blanket for her to join him.  She snuggled in close, a tangle of limbs practically lying on top of each other, and this was how Zevon found them in the morning.

Zevon considered himself to be a pretty fly dad when it came to parenting his kids.  They had as much freedom as they wanted, with self-imposed curfews so long as they followed the law.  That said, his son was only fifteen and if he was going to be doing things with his girlfriend, Zevon would prefer if they weren’t in the living room when Zoey was around.  Or if he himself was home, for that matter.  Once Addison was gone, there was going to be a Serious Talk in the Necrodopolis home.  However, the subtle approach would do for now.  After all, it had been a while since he’d made bloodied eggs and that would definitely attract Zed’s attention. He was proven right, as Zed wandered into the kitchen, Addison still asleep on the couch.

“Morning, son,” he stirred the liquidized eggs around the saucepan.

“Za,” Zed muttered, grabbing the carton of apple-grape juice from the fridge and taking a long pull.

“How was your evening with the Wells family?”  Zevon asked casually, knowing that it had not gone as they had anticipated.  His son made a face, coming over to smell the nearly finished eggs.  Zevon internally rolled his eyes and told him to go and wake his girlfriend.

Zed ducked out of the kitchen back to the living room, where Addison was stirring.  “Morning, gorgeous,” he whispered, sitting beside her.  He watched as she blinked blearily, taking in her surroundings, and he felt his heart actually beating when her eyes settled on him and she smiled.

“Zed.”  Addison yawned, sitting upright and rotating so she was facing forward on the couch. Zed snaked his arm around her waist, leaning down to kiss her. Addison kissed him back, softly, lingering.  As tempting as it was to kiss her again, deeper, to feel the precise shape of her lips against his or the way her nervous system filled her brain with chemicals… They both started as the refrigerator door clanged shut, Zed’s little sister having come downstairs for breakfast.

“All right kids, breakfast is up,” Zevon announced, a little louder than strictly necessary.  The couple broke apart and Addison mumbled something about being decently dressed in front of his family.  She kissed Zed once more before heading into his room to grab her bra and socks.  After a short internal debate, she quickly used Zed’s toothbrush and washed her face before rejoining him in the living room.  Taking his proffered hand, they entered the kitchen together.

Breakfast was bloodied eggs with toast.  Addison, always continuing to surprise him, had an entire helping of eggs and thanked Zevon for breakfast.  Zed said nothing, merely gathering the dirty dishes and rinsing them in the sink.  His dad had perfected bloodied eggs to a science, only making them for special occasions.

“What are your plans for the day?”

When is Addison going to go home was Zevon’s real question.  Why hadn’t she been at home last night?

“Probably just hanging out.  We’re going to meet up with Bonzo and Eliza later,” Zed said vaguely, exchanging a Look with Addison.  Zevon pretended to watch disinterestedly as she joined his son at the sink, grabbing the drying towel.  Something was up between the two of them, and it would come out eventually.  It was clear to Zevon that something had happened during Addison’s family dinner, and he could only assume that it had  involved his son’s presence.  Humans still didn’t really like zombies, but Zed was still just as ready to put himself out there as he had been at the start of the year.  Zevon had even overheard his son and Eliza discussing pros and cons of running in the school’s class election.

“You kids be careful,” Zevon said finally, wishing there was some way to persuade them to confide in him.  He’d experienced a lot of zombiephobia in his lifetime, and while it had never been as personal as what he suspected had happened last night, he knew that just offering his son someone to talk to could help make a difference. Addison, too.  He pulled Zed down for a hug, putting everything he felt for his son into the embrace.

“We will, Dad.”  There was a slight hesitation in his son’s voice.

“Zed, you know that I would do anything for you.  Anything in the world.”

“Uh, yeah.  I know, Pops,” Zed was clearly starting to suspect that he was up to something.  He pulled the plug on the dishwater, playfully splashing some towards his girlfriend.  She squealed and Zevon watched as they headed out, hoping that they could resolve whatever it was that they were having issues with and knowing that whatever happened, that they would always have each other’s backs.

Notes: Soooo…. Zevon’s in his 30s/40s, right?  He might say that something’s pretty fly.  I kid you not, most definitely.  No? That’s tough.  Slang’s tough, kids.  I used grammar.yourdictionary.com/slang to do some research.

Bloodied eggs were inspired by Ly’s food post @unusual-ly

https://unusual-ly.tumblr.com/post/618857622547873792/hey-anyone-got-some-non-brain-zombie-food

Scrambled eggs with… well, I don’t actually know.  Some sort of blood-flavoured/imitation sauce.  It’d be like adding Worcestershire sauce to the eggs (which is amazing, BTW), only blood-based.  Ideas?

As for my juice selection, I figure zombies are probably banned from any citrus (not based on any rationale, just that it happened to be lime soda that made them into zombies) and mixed juices tend to be cheaper than pure flavours.  (If you check the ingredients list on a juice, there are usually a few types listed).

Also, while doing research into what to make for breakfast here, I came across blodplättar, which are Scandinavian blood pancakes, usually made with pigs’ or cows’ blood instead of eggs.

And after this little interlude, all that will be left will be for Addison to go home and to deal with the ‘fallout’ over what happened during the dinner. Will her extended family still be around? Will her grandfather? How will they react when she comes back?

asarahworld-writes:

Zed picked at the cheesecake, making small talk with the surrounding cousins, his free hand holding Addison’s.  Never in his life did he think he’d be here – fairly popular in integrated school, having dinner with his human girlfriend’s family, playing football and it being a casual dinnertime conversation.

Maybe he should have known, or at least suspected, that there was still a chance that things could turn south.  But, despite everything, Zed was an optimist.  Dinner had gone well.  Dessert had been smooth.  He’d gotten along with Addison’s relatives.  And Addison had been free to be herself, wig-free, all night.

“EVERYONE GET BACK!  ZOMBIE!”

Keep reading

Updated/fixed!

Hey everyone, I had a major fail with my editing. Chapters three and four got mixed up with content being written in both docs for the same chapter. They will be edited and re-uploaded, hopefully this week.

I’m not sure if it would be better to change the tumblr post or to just make a new one.  Anyone ever done this before?  Thoughts?

Zed picked at the cheesecake, making small talk with the surrounding cousins, his free hand holding Addison’s.  Never in his life did he think he’d be here – fairly popular in integrated school, having dinner with his human girlfriend’s family, playing football and it being a casual dinnertime conversation.

Maybe he should have known, or at least suspected, that there was still a chance that things could turn south.  But, despite everything, Zed was an optimist.  Dinner had gone well.  Dessert had been smooth.  He’d gotten along with Addison’s relatives.  And Addison had been free to be herself, wig-free, all night.

“EVERYONE GET BACK!  ZOMBIE!”

Zed instinctively jumped back as Mr. Buchanan crept closer, knocking over the stacked folding chairs leaning against the couch.  “Mr. Buchanan, I’ve been here all night.  I came with Addison,” he ducked as the older man wildly swung in his general direction, eyes shining.

“You stay away from my granddaughter, rotter!”

Zed’s mind was racing, his incoherent thoughts rambling through how to reconnect with Mr. Buchanan as a person, and not the monstrous zombiephobe currently in front of him.  He wasn’t sure what had happened to suddenly polarize Mr. Buchanan into seeing him as a zombie and not Addison’s boyfriend.  Try as he might, there was nothing he could say that would change the old man’s mind.  The cheer championship as a revolution had only affected so many humans in Seabrook – the entire town was a cheerleading town, they liked to win, and the zombies hadn’t won cheer.  They had won football, but cheer was the top sport and they had lost.  He was irrevocably and deeply in love with Addison, but he wasn’t being seen as a person.  He was a monster.  At the end of the day, he was still the same sort of monster whom had eaten the older man’s ear.

Addison threw herself between her boyfriend and her grandfather.  “I wasn’t going to come tonight, exactly because of this.  I’d thought, pretty stupidly looking back, that maybe if we were both here, nobody would say anything to our faces.  Because it’s not like anybody in this family has ever been supportive of me being who I am.  But maybe if I had Zed, if I had the one person in this town, the whole world, who supported and loved me unconditionally, it might not be so bad.”

“Even a freak like you is still human, Addison,” Mr. Buchanan said quietly.

Addison scoffed.  “You just threatened my boyfriend, who has been nothing but a perfectly wonderful guest at our Christmas dinner, for no reason except that he’s different.  Well, we’re all different.  Zed is quite possibly the kindest and sweetest person I’ve ever met.  He’s my boyfriend, he’s a zombie, and I love him.  I’ve got freaky white hair.  I’m still human, but even that has always been enough for my own family to turn against me.  If we were all honest with each, I bet everyone in this room has something they’ve been hiding from the rest of the family!”  She exhaled harshly, running a hand through her hair.  “Zed’s not the only monster in this house.”

With that, Addison took Zed by the hand and shakily lead him back to the kitchen.  She pulled him down into a tight embrace, sinking onto the linoleum floor.  “I am so sorry about him,” she murmured.  Zed could hear her voice thicken with emotion, could smell her mind spiking with adrenaline.

“It’s not your fault.”  He wished there was something he could say to make her feel better.  Of course, it always stung whenever he heard people saying things about zombieism, but he had learned to roll with it over the past fifteen years.  Sometimes, most times, it was easier to simply walk away.  “Do you want to go?”

Addison laughed hollowly, though there was no real malice present.  “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?”

Zed shrugged.  “They’re your family.”

There was a light tap on the door and Zed looked up to see one of Addison’s cousins standing in the doorway.

“What do you want, Brandon?”  Addison asked him bitterly, glancing at him before turning back to her boyfriend.

“Grandpa’s mostly calmed down now…  I’m sorry.”  His apology, though genuine, was futile as he was not responsible for his grandfather’s behaviour.  “I think the people most upset right now are Aunt Missy and Uncle Dale.  They always were more obsessed with perfection…. Except maybe Mom and Dad with Bucky’s cheer stuff.”

Addison was quiet, silently considering the sincerity of her cousin’s statement.  Zed was quiet, too, wondering what the next best thing to do would be.  This was exactly the sort of situation that his father had been worried about when he’d made his offer to come out and take them home early.

“Zed,” the zombie looked up as Brandon addressed him by name, “I’ll drive you back to Zombietown myself if you want to leave.  I can’t say anything for the rest of the family, and frankly right now I don’t really want to, but I wouldn’t blame you if you guys left early.”

“Uh, thanks.”  Zed got up from the floor, offering Addison his hand and helping her up.  No matter what happened next, they would still have to go back and face her family before leaving, whether that was at the natural conclusion of Christmas dinner or bailing early with Brandon or calling Zevon.  However, Zed had no idea what that would be.  Despite everything, he was still just a kid who had wanted to spend the holiday with his girlfriend.

Zed’s eyes widened as he caught sight of the time on Addison’s watch.  “Shit,” he cursed lowly, heartrate accelerating to near-human levels.  “I gotta go.  Brandon, I can honestly say it was a pleasure to meet you.  Addy, thank your parents again for the invitation.  Mayor Missy’s cooking was wonderful, as always.”  Addison checked the time, immediately understanding why Zed had hurriedly changed the topic.

Dale entered the kitchen just as his daughter and her boyfriend ran out.

“What’s going on in here?”  He asked Brandon, a little too casually to be entirely sincere.

“Addy and Zed are leaving,” Brandon said bluntly.  “It’s nearly curfew and I’m surprised they stuck around this long, to be honest.”  He caught sight of his cousin and the zombie carefully walking down the stairs to the door.  “Uncle Dale, I’d thought things were changing here.  Tell my parents I’m leaving.  Or don’t.  I don’t think it would make a difference.  See you next Christmas.”

Brandon left his uncle spluttering by himself in the kitchen and started his car, slowly starting towards Zombietown.  He had caught up to his cousin in less than a minute.  “You kids want a ride?”

“Won’t Aunt Becky be seriously mad at you?”  Addison hesitated.

Brandon laughed.  “It’s not like I live there, Addy.  She can be as pissed as she likes.  Doesn’t affect my life.  Where do you kids want to go?”  He unlocked the doors.  He watched his cousin looking at her boyfriend – how her whole face softened as she met his eyes, how they clasped hands as soon as they were settled in the backseat.

Home.  But the associated imagery had nothing to do with the house they had just left.

“The barrier,” she said simply.

“I’m not dropping you kids off in the middle of the street.”  Brandon rolled his eyes.  “What’s your address, Zed?”

Had any other human asked, Zed would have never answered.  But this was the one member of Addison’s family who hadn’t been afraid to treat both of them as regular people.  Zed had begun to trust the human.

“Z-224a.  Right at the end of the last road, by the wall.”  He saw the curtains in Eliza’s window flutter closed as Brandon’s car approached.  It’d be fine.

Brandon pulled up along the driveway, headlights briefly illuminating the block before he killed the engine.

“Where are you going to go?”  Addison asked, still strapped into the backseat.  Zed drew his hand back from where he had reached for the door handle, not having considered what Addison’s cousin would do after leaving Christmas dinner.

“Home.  Away from Seabrook, away from our family.”

“Isn’t that, like, two and a half hours?”

“Four.  We moved upstate to Syracuse a few years back for Quinn’s university.  Med biotech – basically a clinical medical lab technician.  Lots of testing.”

“Quinn.  I haven’t heard about Quinn, before,” Addison looked at her cousin curiously.  “There’s usually some‘news’ about you whenever Mom and Aunt Becky gossip on the phone.  Not that Mom would evercall it gossip.  She’s ‘sharing in her sister’s concern for her eldest son’.”  Addison rolled her eyes.

“Believe me, my mother has no clue that Quinn even exists.”  Brandon turned around to face them, his knee tucked awkwardly under the gearshift.  “If she did, nobody would ever hear the end of it.  In hushed whispers, of course, but still.”

“I get it,” Addison twirled a strand of her hair.  “I’ve thought about leaving, but…” Her eyes drifted over to Zed.  Out the window, she saw the light strands flicker out.  “Hey, I think your dad knows we’re back.”

Zed glanced out the window.  “Yeah.”

“Not to make things weird, but I should probably go home.  Can’t exactly go back to Syracuse with you, Brandon.  Normally if I need to get away for the night, I’d go see Bree but since it’s Christmas…”

“You can stay here,” Zed quickly offered, before blanching.  “One of us on the couch, obviously.  I’ll give you one of my hoodies…if I have any left,” he grinned.

“You know, this would probably be the part where I should say something, but I think you kids are more responsible than most of the adults in the family.  Especially since you’re not going to be alone.”  Brandon unlocked the doors.

“We should go,” Addison caught her cousin’s eye.  “If Brandon’s going home, he’s got a long drive ahead of him.  Thank you so much.”

There was a pause.  “Yeah,” Brandon said finally.  “Stay in touch, Addy.”  Addison nodded, giving her cousin a quick, one-armed hug from the backseat.

Zed waved his hand as he ducked out of the car, stretching.  “Let’s get inside.”  He took Addison’s hand as they walked to the door, quickly and quietly unlocking it.  They toed out of their shoes, creeping up the stairs to Zed’s room.  Zed grabbed a couple pairs of sweats and tee shirts, leaving one on the bed for Addison as he went into the bathroom.  He knocked lightly a few minutes later, and Addison opened the door.

“I brought you one of Zoey’s hair ties,” he murmured.  “Thought you might want to tie your hair back.”

Addison smiled tiredly.  “Thanks.”  Instead of passing her the hair tie, Zed sat on the bed behind her and quickly braided her hair into a short plait.  When he had finished, Addison leaned back against his chest for a moment before she got up.  Zed watched as she walked over to the chair on the other side of the room, picking up the quilt and pillow.

“Hey, you’re sleeping here.  I’ll take the couch,” Zed took the bedding from his girlfriend, knowing that she would protest.

“Zed,” Addison started, but Zed shook his head.

“I’ll see you in the morning, gorgeous.”  Zed leaned against the doorframe, watching as she thought about pressing.  They were both exhausted from their eventful night.

“Gar gar ga za,” she walked over and hugged him.

“Yeah.  I gar gar ga za you, too.  Grodge garzeep,” he murmured, kissing her forehead.

“Grodge garzeep,” she repeated sleepily, watching as he left.  She waited until she heard him settle on the couch before pulling back the sheets.  Everything smelled like Zed, and she pulled the sheet tighter, sighing happily.  There would be consequences to deal with in the morning, but right now, they were together and they were safe.

Chapter 3

Traffic had cleared by the time they were back at the Wells household.  As Dale pulled into the driveway, Zed noticed there were cars lined up down the street.  They were the last to arrive, then.

Just before they stepped through the door, he pulled Addison aside.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”  He lightly ran his hand through her hair as she nodded.

“We got this.”

We.  Zed grinned.  “Now I know the real reason you invited me over today – the incredibly gorgeous zombie boyfriend will distract them from the fact you’ve taken your wig off. All part of my quick wit and charming smile,” he winked.

Addison giggled, lightly digging into Zed’s side.  “Of course.  You’ve literally figured out my grand scheme.”  She held her hand out.  Zed clasped it firmly as they entered the Wells’ Christmas dinner.

Although they had meant it as a joke, Zed’s appearance did cause a stir among the family. Missy and Dale had known he was coming, but they had apparently neglected to mention that to everybody else. Bucky gave him a look that was a cross between annoyance and disbelief, a mild reaction comparatively.  Their grandmother screamed when she saw him, but her husband was surprisingly calm.  Mr. Buchanan, Sr. may have lost an ear during the Zombie epidemic, but Zed suspected that he had lost most of his eyesight in his old age.

“Hello, everybody, my name is Zed Necrodopolis, and I am Addison’s,” he had been about to say boyfriend, but the word didn’t seem to encapsulate the depth of their feelings, “date.”

“Ned Zeropolis? And how do you know our little Addy, Mr. Ned?”  Mr. Buchanan, Sr. asked loudly.

Addison stifled a giggle.  “He’s a bit deaf,” she explained, unnecessarily.

“She’s a cheerleader, and I’m on the football team.”  Zed winked at Addison, remembering how he’d used the line when he’d met the Mayor and Patrol Chief for the first time, who shook her head and covered her small grin.  Mr. Buchanan, Sr., still not recognizing Zed as a zombie, continued to question him about the football season.

Soon, Addison was recruited into the kitchen to help bring dinner to the dining room table. Zed started to get up to help her, but Addison pushed him back onto the couch.  “My mom and aunt have this weird tradition that we do all the preparation and table setting stuff and that the guys clear up afterwards.  Grandad’s pretty into football.  In fact, I’ve been told that that’s one of the reasons he liked my dad.”

“Addison, I don’t think football would be a great topic of conversation.  In case you hadn’t noticed, he hasn’t exactly realized that I’m a zombie.”  Zed pulled Addison closer, so she was perched on the edge of the couch.

“Are you telling me that my strong, handsome fullback boyfriend is scared of an old man?” Addison teased, quiet enough so only Zed could hear her.

Zed groaned, nearly inaudibly.  “It sounds so much worse when you put it like that.”

“You could always hang with Bucky,” Addison grinned.  “But seriously, I gotta go help my mom.”  She squeezed his hand and left the living room.

It only took the Buchanan women ten minutes to serve Christmas dinner.  For Zed, those ten minutes were filled with Mr. Buchanan asking questions about Addison and football, while receiving a series of odd looks from Bucky as he mindlessly answered with half-truths.  He was far more concerned what would happen if their grandfather realized that he was a zombie.

“Dinner’s ready,” Addison bounced back into the family room, automatically taking Zed’s hand. She gave him a look, eyes questioning, and Zed responded with a shrug.  Addison made a face, then led him into the dining room.  “Don’t worry, you’re next to me.”

Bucky was on Addison’s other side, and Zed was in the corner.  Her grandfather was at the opposite end of the table.  Addison plopped a scoop of mashed potatoes onto Zed’s plate, jolting his focus back to what was in front of him.  “More?”  Zed shrugged, and Addison rolled her eyes.  “Fine, but you’re not stealing my potatoes.  They’re literally the best – my uncle puts onions in them.”

Zed allowed Addison to finish filling his plate, then watched her to see what happened next. She stole his pickle.

Grinning at his girlfriend’s antics, Zed took a quick look around the table to see what everyone else was doing – they had already began eating – and dug into his own dinner. Addison had been right about the potatoes.

Dinner was a quiet affair, sharply contrasting with the quickfire of questions Mr. Buchanan had asked earlier.  With everyone consumed by their dinner, Addison was the only one to notice that Zed was eating with his left hand.

“Your wrist isn’t hurting again, is it?”  She leaned in, whispering.

Zed frowned, pulling his jacket sleeve down to conceal his Z-band.  “No, it’s good,” he said lowly, picking his fork back up and taking another bite of potatoes.  Obviously, everybody in the room knew that he was a zombie.  If all the football talk hadn’t given it away, the green hair and grayed skin was a sure sign.  So why did he still feel the need to hide his Z-band?

Once everyone had had their fill, the table was quickly cleared.  Dishes were washed and left to dry on the counter, leftovers were packaged into labelled Tupperware, and mugs were brought out as the kettle began to boil.  The family broke off into groups and clusters, the room filled with laughter and various conversations.

Addison was the youngest of all her cousins.  Having grown up away from Seabrook, they had only heard snippets about the resident Zombie population, though they were all well-informed about the town’s cheer stats. They ribbed on Bucky’s decision to cut his entire team just before the competition and watched as the zombies joined the cheer squad at the last championship.  Perhaps because of her position as the baby of the family, nobody was very concerned about the loss of her wig.  If they were, they kept it well hidden and focused instead on cheer and football.

Both of Addison’s other cousins had played football during their high school years and were continuing with the sport through college.  As long as the subject was football, Zed was able to maintain a solid rapport with them.  Dessert was served casually, with people keeping to their small group conversations. Addison brought herself and Zed a large slice of chocolate-gingerbread cheesecake and some eggnog, much to the indignation of her cousins, who wanted to know where theirs was.  Addison had rolled her eyes and pointed to the kitchen as she curled up on the couch next to her boyfriend.

———————————————————————————————————

Anyone catch the mashed potatoes joke/reference?  Z1 promo video – Zombie Brain Food Challenge!  Basically, they were taste testing gelatine food and Meg (incorrectly) guessed mashed potatoes.  Milo stole the point by tasting and correctly guessing onion.

For those who haven’t picked up on it yet, this fic takes place after Z2 summer but before the wolves show up.  Based on the pacing of that movie, to me anyway, it looks like they skip over the fall semester and jump straight into the new year.  There’s no football, which is September/October season, and the big dance is the Prawn, which is wordplay on prom, and prom is usually at the end of the year.

Notes: this picks up as Addison puts the moonstone necklace on.  My excuse?  The trailers made me hate Wyatt.  I’ve watched the trailers multiple times.  I’ve seen the movie once.  I still kinda hate Wyatt.

“Addison!” Everyone – human, werewolf, and zombie - stared at the girl as the Patrol Chief ran towards his daughter as she crumpled to the ground.  Without a second thought, Zed followed.

“Addison?” Zed took her hand, and everything stopped.  Her heartbeat was slower, her face nearly as white as her hair.  “Addy, I’m here,” he whispered, kneeling at her side.  “Addison.”

She could not answer.

Zed stood, slowly, quietly walking towards the pack.  Towards Wyatt.

The pack was tense, beginning to snarl as Zed circled the werewolf.

“That stone could have killed her,” he growled, tempering down his seething anger.  “You had no idea what would happen if she put it on and she wasn’t your Great Alpha.  You convinced her that she was a monster, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.”  His eyes flashed as he looked back at Addison, laying helplessly in her father’s arms, the moonstone pulsing on her chest.

Wyatt’s hand was hovering over his own moonstone.  Zed moved to match the threat, ready to unclasp his Z-band.

“She met the standard set by the prophecy.  You have no idea how long we’ve been searching for the Great Alpha – we were dying. We still are.  Without that Z-band, you’re still alive.  You exist.  Without the moonstones and the Alpha, the wolves are gone.”

“Maybe that’s a price worth paying if it had kept Addison safe,” Zed spat.

Wyatt bared his teeth, snarling.  Zed’s hand hovered over his Z-band.  Whatever people behind him were saying, it was all a blur.  His dad, Eliza and Bonzo, Bree, the rest of the wolves… none of it mattered.  His only focus was Addison and the wolf that had nearly killed her.

“She’shuman.  Look what your moonstone did to her.”

“It was a risk she was willing to take,” Wyatt retaliated.  “Ever since we came to Seabrook, Addison tried to help us. Maybe fitting in was what zombies wanted.  But we’re wolves.  We wanted to survive.”

“Even if it meant hurting innocent people?”

“Wearing the moonstone was Addison’s choice, zombie,” Willa said savagely.

“Yeah, and who convinced her that she needed to put it on?  That she was your Great Alpha?”

“Well maybe if you hadn’t stormed into our den, ready to attack us for something we didn’t do,” Wyatt started, but Zed cut him off:

“Maybe if you had tried to fit in instead of literally ripping up our school, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

Wyatt smirked. “You mean maybe Addison wouldn’t have left you if you had listened to her.”

Zed’s Z-band lay on the den floor, discarded as he launched himself at the werewolf.  Thick black veins spread across his skin and everything except the need to destroy the wolves disappeared from what was left of his mind.  Everyone in the den could only watch as the monsters fought, growling ferally.  Willa immediately joined the fight, attacking the zombie from behind.  The wolves circled him, the other zombies watching tensely, Addison still unconscious with her father.

Wyatt lunged forward, fangs bared, easily avoiding the zombie’s blocks and they both tumbled to the ground.  The circle widened, nobody wanting to get between the fighting monsters.  My Z-band, some distant part of Zed’s mind thought as his foot hit something on the ground.  He ignored it – his instinct to kill the werewolf was stronger than what was left of his mind.  Zed growled lowly as more wolves advanced, carefully pulling their packmates from the fight.  One by one, the wolves left the fight, leaving the rogue Zombie alone.

“Addison, thank god you’re okay,” Dale smiled in relief as his daughter stirred.

She blinked slowly.  “Dad?”

“Addy, it’s okay. You’re safe, now.  How many times do I have to tell you?  Monsters are not safe.”

Addison’s gaze left her father, and she stared at the crowd of people.  Her dazed confusion tightened to fear as the scene in front of her registered in her mind.  “Zed,” she said in a strangled cry.

“It’s okay, Addy. You’re safe, now,” Dale repeated. Addison struggled against her father’s embrace.

“They’ll kill each other,” she said hoarsely.  “Dad,” she looked up at her father, “Zed…”  Addison was at a loss for words, but her concern for the boys was evident from her voice.

“It’s too dangerous, Addison.”

“No.”  Addison freed herself and made her way towards the fighting monsters.  Dale lunged to catch her, but she moved faster.  “No,” she repeated vehemently over her shoulder at her father’s protests.

Zed would never hurt her.  Ever. Addison didn’t know what to think about the wolves now that she knew she was human.  But Zed, she knew, would do anything to keep her safe.  And she would do the same for him.

Addison picked the discarded Z-band from the den floor, then made her way through the circle to face them.  As she broke the barrier, she locked eyes with Zed.  He looked at her for a split second, then threw Wyatt away from him, away from her.  Addison heard Wyatt howl as he spun across the room, but Zed had his back up against her, protecting her from what he perceived to be the werewolf threat.

“This isn’t who we are,” she said softly, quickly snapping his Z-band back into place.  The dark veins began to fade as the electromagnetics made contact with his nervous system.

“Addison! Get back!”

Addison turned her back on the wolves, trusting them to do their part to diffuse the situation. Just like it had been two years ago, they had to work together to open people’s minds.  

“Zed, it’s okay. Take my hand,” she clasped his hand in her own, “it’s okay.  Take my hand.”

“That moonstone nearly killed you, Addison,” Zed said as he regained control of his mind.

“And that was on me.  That was my choice to have made.  Gar garziga,” she said quietly, “but that was my choice.”

Speechless, Zed buried himself in the one person whom he trusted more than himself.  “Gar garziga,” he mumbled into her hair.

Addison pulled away slightly.  “What happened?  I’m guessing since I blacked out that I’m… well, I’m the same as I always was.”

Neither of them had noticed the rest of their friends had moved up to encircle them.

“You’re beautiful, Addison.  The same beautiful you’ve always been,” Bree reassured her friend.  Addison smiled sadly, nodding.

“Addison, I…” Zed looked down at his girlfriend, wondering what he had ever done to deserve someone like her.

The wolf pack had joined the crowd.  “She’s not a werewolf.”  Wyatt clicked his tongue, winking.  “Okay, so it looks like you’re not the Great Alpha.  Which means,” he sighed dramatically, “that my sister is still in charge of the pack.”

“I knew he had an ulterior motive for bringing you here, Addison.  Real, actual sibling rivalry, at its finest,” Zed said smugly. Addison laughed, a brief giggle more to release her tension than as a response to anything.

*end scene* *the timer runs down and the plant detonates*

asarahworld:

I still want to write a fic where Zed fully zombies out and just absolutely destroys Wyatt…

“Addison?”  Zed took Addison’s hand, and everything stopped when she didn’t respond. Her heartbeat was slower, her face nearly as white as her hair.  “Addy, I’m here,” he whispered, kneeling at her side.  “Addison.”

“That stone could have killed her,” he growled, tempering his seething anger.  “You had no idea what would happen if she put it on and she wasn’t your Great Alpha.  You convinced her that she was a monster, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.” His eyes flashed as he looked back at Addison, laying helplessly in her father’s arms, the moonstone pulsing on her chest.

Wyatt’s hand was hovering over his own moonstone.  Zed moved to match the threat, ready to unclasp his Z-band.

Wyatt bared his teeth, snarling.  Zed’s hand hovered over his Z-band.  Whatever people behind him were saying, it was all a blur.  His dad, Eliza and Bonzo, Bree, the rest of the wolves… none of it mattered.  His only focus was Addison and the wolf that had nearly killed her.

“She’shuman.  Look what your moonstone did to her.”

“It was a risk she was willing to take,” Wyatt retaliated.  “Ever since we came to Seabrook, Addison tried to help us. Maybe fitting in was what zombies wanted.  But we’re wolves.  We wanted to survive.”

“Even if it meant hurting innocent people?”

“Wearing the moonstone was Addison’s choice, zombie,” Willa said savagely.

“Yeah, and who convinced her that she needed to put it on?  That she was your Great Alpha?”

“Well maybe if you hadn’t stormed into our den, ready to attack us for something we didn’t do,” Wyatt started, but Zed cut him off:

“Maybe if you had tried to adapt to us instead of literally ripping up our school, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”

Wyatt smirked. “You mean maybe Addison wouldn’t have left you if you had listened to her.”

Zed’s Z-band lay on the den floor, discarded, as he launched himself at the werewolf.

Zed’s entire body whipped back from the force of the punch.  Addison was yelling at him and through the haze, he wasn’t entirely certain what she was talking about.

“…we had gotten past this, Zed.  I thought we were going to be there for each other, no matter what anybody else said.”

How could she be talking about being there for each other, when she was the one going off with the new kids?

“You can’t just not tell me something like that.  Zed, this is something important.  I love your Zombie, I do, he’s a part of you, but you’re more than that.  You’re a zombie, not a monster.  If your Z-band is malfunctioning, you need to get a new one.”  Addison said hotly, though most of her anger was the result of her concern and love.

It didn’t work like that.  Zombies couldn’t afford health insurance, and even if they could – the Zombie mutation was a pre-existing condition and wouldn’t be covered anyway.  

She continued: “I shouldn’t be finding this out from Wyatt of all peo-”

“You shouldn’t be finding out from Wyatt,” Zed growled, “in the first place, Addison.” Wyatt.  He’d had just about enough of Wyatt.

“No, I shouldn’t!  You should have been the one to tell me, Zed,” her voice trembled.

“The Z-band’s working fine, Addison,” he deflected.  “It’s like when I hacked the old one.  Well, Eliza actually did the hacking.  With her laptop -”

“You’re hacking your Z-band again?  Zed, I shouldn’t need to remind you how dangerous that is.”

She wasn’t listening to what he was saying.  “I didn’t do anything to my Z-band, Addison,” Zed said quietly.

“So you admit there’s something wrong,” she said shakily.

Zed groaned.  “That…moonstone thing the wolves have, it split the screen open.”  He pulled the sleeve of his varsity jacket up to reveal the cracked Z-band.  “That’s what happened at the pep rally.”

“So watching Wyatt, quote unquote, ‘save’ me at the pep rally has nothing to do with this? What about when you accused me of being ‘into him’, and then walking off without letting me say anything?”

“You want to talk about Wyatt?  Let’s talk about Wyatt, Addi.”  Zed said savagely.

Addison crossed her arms.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What do you think it means?”  Zed nearly snapped, growling lowly.

“I don’t know, Zed!  I make friends with the new kids, and you start acting insanely jealous.  The cheer routine goes wrong and he caught me.  He was standing right there, Zed.  I think it means that you’re jealous.  That… you love me.”

Zed sighed incredulously.  “I love you. Yeah, I love you.  I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that.  I don’t even know how many times I’ve heard you say that.”

“Zed, I just… I know that you love me, I do.”  Addison took both Zed’s hands in her own.  “I think we should go on that date now.”

“Yeah, about that… see, I was planning on taking you back to that ice cream shop. But with the anti-monster laws back in effect, I don’t think we’re gonna make it back there.”

“So we’ll stay at your place.  Or mine. I’ve got ice cream.  Or better yet, we pick up the ice cream and go back to yours.  That way we don’t risk curfew.  Even if it’s not fair.”  She switched to hold one hand in hers (the one strapped with a cracked Z-band), cuddling against his side.  “We’re gonna do what we wanna,” she said softly.  “I love you, too.  Gar gar ga zaforever.”

“Gar gar ga za,” Zed said quietly.

“Zed,” Addison looked up into the zombie’s eyes, “I mean it.  Gar gar ga za forever. I love you so much, I don’t know what I’d do without you any more.  The Aceys during the summer, or whatever’s going to happen with the wolves now, nothing can change the way I feel about you.”

“I, I guess I knew that.  Hey, what kind of ice cream is in the freezer?  Vanilla, vanilla, or vanilla?”  Zed joked, watching his girlfriend laugh at the bad joke.

“I bet there’s chocolate sauce in the back of the fridge.”

“I’ll take that bet,” Zed grinned, “and if there’s not, you get to carry the ice cream back to Zombietown.”

“And if there is,” was it cheating if Addison had seen it there this morning? “then you get to carry me back to Zombietown,” she laughed.

“Done,” Zed picked up the pace, Addison still giggling beside him.

I won’t go to Prawn with you

Watchedthe newest trailer and this… happened. Inspired by the line of “what’s wrong” in the first trailer, the look on Zed’s face in the “Not so Zombie crisis” trailer

Addison slowly became aware that Zed was looking at her, concern in his eyes, lightly tapping her shoulder.  “Hey, are you alright?”

“Fine,” she shrugged, “guess I zoned out for a second.” She could feel his gaze was still on her.  “What is it?” Zed hesitated.  Addison knew that whatever it was, it centered either around herself or his Zombieism.  She reached out and took his hand.  “You don’t ever have to hide anything about yourself.  You taught me that,” she said quietly, privately.

“Ag gar-gargiza ru.”  His sudden declaration of love was hard and guttural.  Addison’s soft smile was matched by a warmth that spread throughout her body.  “Ag greeska.”

“I know.  Ag gar-gargiza ru zet, Zedka Necrodopolous.”  She squeezed his hand.  “Now what’s bothering you?”

Nothing was wrong, per se.  But she hadn’t asked him what was wrong.  She’d asked what was bothering him.  “You’ll think I’m crazy,” he tried to joke, but Addison picked up on the word and sang reassuringly:

“But did you hear the story?  A girl and a zombie.  Zed, something’s up.  I know you.  Besides, if nothing was bothering you, you wouldn’t be holding my hand in a death grip.” Addison held their hands up and, sure enough, Zed’s already deathly-pale skin was stretched even whiter with tension. At the sight of Addison’s reddened fingers, Zed immediately relaxed his hand.  “So what is it?”  She asked him softly, rubbing his hand with her thumb.  Zed didn’t answer, pulling her closer before mumbling something into her hair.

“Don’t be ridiculous.  You’re not risking your life to go to some _stupid _dance! Besides which, I thought the date for the mash was moved up and we were going there.”  Addison was in disbelief.  There was no way that Zed was this worked up over Prawn.  Zed muttered something that involved being able to go out with each other in public.  “You think that I don’t want to be able to go out with you?  That I don’t wish we were going to Prawn, with the rest of our friends?  Because I do, Zed.  What girl doesn’t dream of prom?  Dress shopping with her BFF.  Dancing with her boyfriend.”  Addison held Zed’s hand up to her chest, fingers interlaced.  “But you are so much more important than a dream.  I meant what I said, Zed, I won’t go to Prawn with you.”  Addison’s eyes widened.  “You’re jealous.”

Zed scoffed.  “Of what?”

“I don’t know.  Wyatt?  Don’t think I didn’t notice the looks you two were giving each other earlier.  Alpha male, anyone?”

“Why would I be jealous of a wolf?”  Zed asked incredulously.

“Shouldn’t I be asking the questions here, buster? Anyway, I heard your snide comment when I welcomed them to the school.  It makes sense.”

“So I’m a little jealous that my beautiful girlfriend left my side to talk to the new guy during lunch.  Is that a crime?”  So he was jealous.  Whatever. Zombies had been in Seabrook for fifty years.  Werewolves were completely different.

“Mmm, no.  It’s sweet.  You noticed I left,” Addison conceded.  “But I think we have a bigger problem here.  If curfew’s been reinstated, how are you going to make the football games?”

“Easy.  I’m class president.  Principal Lee likes it when we win.  I’ll just win everyone over with my quick wit and dashing smile.”  Zed grinned cheekily.

“Honestly, bring it up with Principal Lee.  Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, bring Coach with you.  He was a pretty good help when you were trying to get on the team last year.  And most people come to games to watch cheer, which is way better when we’re winning.  Without you, we’re way less likely to win and the people don’t get to watch the cheerleading squad.”

Leave it to Addison to come up with a real solution for Zed’s joking one.  “That’s actually a good point.”

“And if they can make an exception for football, they can make an exception for Prawn,” Addison smiled, thinking about the dance. “But if that doesn’t work, we’ve got the mash.”

“Yeah,” Zed’s smile deflated slightly.  It was going to work out.  It had to.  One year left of high school.  And then, who knew what was next…

Ag gar-gargiza ru – I love you

Ag gar-gargiza ru zet, Zedka Necrodopolous – I love you too, Zedka Necrodopolous

Ag greeska – My cheerleader

As always, Zombietongue translations use Ly’s masterpost as reference. @unusual-ly

In one of the more recent trailers for Z2, it’s mentioned that curfew is reinstated. So if Zed wants to go to Prawn, he’d have to hack his Z-band again.

And I’m still trying to figure out why Zed (and theoretically, zombies) hate werewolves the moment they arrive at SHS.  Because the way the trailers are presented, this line - “They’re letting werewolves into Seabrook?  Have they lost their minds?” - comes before Addison appears to become closer to the wolves. They know about werewolves.  What preconceptions do the societies have against the wolves that makes Zed have the same reaction to them as Missy had to zombies in the first movie?  It’s a DCOM, though, so I doubt we’ll get much of an answer.

so I know it’s the middle of January, but I finally finished the second chapter of A ZOMBIES Christmas.  And the irony of the first sentence is killing me.

Chapter 2

Christmas arrived sooner than anticipated.  Addison’s family had a quiet morning opening stockings. After the annual family photo, Addison gathered her gifts and brought them up to her bedroom.  She sat down, cross-legged, staring at her closet.

Twenty minutes later, she went back downstairs, coat in hand.  “Dad, I’m going with you to pick up Zed.”  Dale sighed, but said nothing.  “I have to give Zoey her present.  And I got something for Eliza, and I went in with Zed on something for Mr. Necrodopolus.”

“I’ll tell your mother,” Dale said eventually.

The short ride to Zombietown was longer than Addison remembered.  And she walked there all the time.  Before the car was even turned off, Addison had grabbed her bag and was running to the door.  She went in without a look back.  If she had, she would have seen the faintest smile on her father’s face.

“Addison!”  She was immediately greeted by Zoey and Puppy.

“Hey Zoey.  Is Zed ready?”

“Puh-lease.  He takes forever just to get up.”  Zoey looked at Addison’s bag.  “You don’t usually carry a backpack unless it’s school stuff.”

“Very observant,” Addison smiled.  “But we have to wait for Zed.”  She had barely finished that sentence when Zoey, followed closely by Puppy, went back up to Zed’s room, calling for her brother. Zevon entered the living room, looking meaningfully at the bag.

“We don’t really do much for the holidays,” he said plainly.

Addison nodded.  “Zed said about as much.  I’ll take it back if it’s too much, but I wanted to do this.”

Zevon shrugged.  “Don’t blame me if Zoey starts clinging on to you.”

“Wouldn’t be a problem if she did,” Addison assured him. “I love her like she was my own sister.”

Zevon nodded as his children entered the room. “Addison,” Zed, though fully dressed in maroon sweatpants and a dark tee, yawned as he greeted her.

“My dad’s outside,” she said in reply.  Zed’s hand shot up to hurriedly comb his hair.

“I’ll be five minutes,” he kissed her cheek and began to dash upstairs.  Addison grabbed his wrist, pulling him back.

“It’s fine.  Dinner’s not until three.  It’s barely noon.  Besides, he knows I brought presents for the good zombies in this house.”

“Presents?”  Zoey looked up, her eyes darting between her father and Addison.

“Soon,” Addison promised.  “But we seem to be missing a few people.  Be back in a minute,” she dashed outside.  The ten minutes she was gone appeared to be agonizing for Zoey, who bounced around the house, peering out the windows.  Taking advantage of the time, Zed wandered into the kitchen where he fried brains in a can.  He passed a plate to his sister and his father, the family eating in silence as they waited for Addison.

Zed was rinsing the plates off when the front door opened again.  He heard Bonzo and Eliza greet his family.  His brow furrowed in thought.  Addison was up to something.

A pair of warm arms were wrapped around his middle. “Coming back?”

“Yeah.”  The couple walked hand-in-hand back to the living room.

“So, I know Zombies don’t usually do much for Christmas.  Usually because humans are shitty and make them go to work.  But I just thought, you know, you guys are…  Anyway, Merry Christmas everybody!”  Addison turned to her bag, pulling out the wrapped gifts. She quickly passed them out, laughing when Zoey’s eyes widened as she looked at her boxes.

“These are all for me?”

“Yeah,” Addison laughed, pulling out an envelope. “Why don’t you go ahead and open one of them?”

The little girl’s jaw dropped.  “Pompoms?  My very own pompoms.”  She grabbed them excitedly.  “Zombies cheer, zombies ball, even me though I am small!”  Zoey cheered, lifting her pompoms and shaking them.  “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“I told you you were great at cheer,” Addison smiled as she watched the little zombie unpack the cheerleading equipment.  “Okay, now open the envelope.”

Zoey’s eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated on reading the letter.  When she reached the end, her beaming grin returned.  “Dad, can I go?  Please? I promise to listen to Addison and to finish my homework as soon as I get home.  After I take Puppy for his walk.  Can I?”

Luckily, Zevon already knew what his daughter was talking about.  “Of course, my zombie angel.”

Addison squeezed Zed’s hand, leaning in and whispering: “Bucky’s going to coach her.”  Zed gave her a questioning look.  Addison nodded.  “It’s good. We can drop in and watch if you want.”

Addison handed out the rest of her presents. Eliza was impressed with the boots (“You know my orthidic numbers?  Wow, Addison, didn’t realize we were so close,” she gibed good-naturedly.)  Bonzo was grinning the moment he realized that he had new art supplies (“If you want a different paper grade or type of paint, just let me know.  I mostly – “ Addison was cut off as he hugged her.

She gave Zevon’s present to Zed.  “You bought whatever it is, you give it to him,” she whispered. Zed rolled his eyes, but handed the package to his father.

Zevon laughed as he opened it.  “Thought you liked the taste of gym sneakers, son,” he said, holding up the spice set.  Zed shrugged.

“It might be nice to try something new.”  Zed looked around the room at his family, his eyes lingering on Addison.  Zevon nodded, understanding exactly what his son meant, even if he himself didn’t know.

“That it might, son, that it might.  Thank you.  Now, don’t you kids need to get going?”

“Zed needs to open his present first.  Actually, Zed, why don’t you take it to your room?” Addison pushed the box into his arms, suddenly nervous.  She caught Eliza rolling her eyes and grinned.

Zed laid the box on his bed, lifting the lid.  A crisp black suit, white shirt, and red tie. Clothes for the dinner.  With Addison’s family.  He undressed quickly, staring at the suit.  It was just dinner.  If they didn’t accept Addison for who she was, they’d come back here.  He hurriedly tied the tie, cursing as he fumbled.

“Need a hand?”

“Thanks,” Zed muttered as his father easily tied a knot in the ridiculous accessory.

“If they give you any trouble tonight, I’ll come get you kids,” Zevon said as they came back into the living room.

“Thanks,” Zed repeated, hugging his father.

Zoey was the first to speak.  “I like pink better.”

“Not hideous at all,” Addison said, a playful smirk barely disguising her attraction.

Zed grinned.  “I’ll take it.”

“Okay, the two of you are clearly referencing something the rest of us don’t know about.  I think you’ve left…Dale waiting long enough, kids.”  Zevon took their coats from the closet and ushered them out the door.

a continuation of my ZSS prezzie for @vicapuleti

Chapter 2

Zed took a deep breath and knocked on the door of dorm C1018. The door swung open and he was excitedly greeted by Bree.

“Oh my god, Addi, he’s here!”  She called towards the bedroom.  “I’m going to be right back, with your girlfriend, so don’t you dare go anywhere without her,” she said firmly, before running back to meet Addison.

Zed could hear them freaking out in Addison’s bedroom and leaned against the door to wait.  His stomach was tumultuous with anticipation, the butterflies almost as nervous as when they’d gone on their first date.  

Addison stepped out of the bedroom and Zed was immediately captivated. “Hey, gorgeous,” he whispered, unable to take his eyes off of her.

“Don’t you mean delicious?”  She asked, somewhat hesitantly, a smile nearly on her lips. Zed could only shake his head. She was beautiful.  Hair softly curled, falling in snowy tresses around her face.  A soft green dress with a short skirt and kitten heels, a perfect complement to his own pink blazer (over a white dress shirt and jeans).

“Are you two going to stand there staring at each other all night or are you going to take her out?”  Bree interrupted their reunion, handing Addison her purse.  Zed stuck out his hand, which Addison happily clasped as they left the dorms for the car.  Zed opened the passenger door for his girlfriend, then jogged around to the driver’s side.

The drive back to Zombietown was only fifteen minutes, since it was on the outskirts coming into Seabrook from the university.

“Please tell me we’re not going back to high school,” Addison chuckled as they drove into town.

“Nah.  But I do have somewhere special in mind.”

Addison knew exactly where he meant.

The old power plant was surprisingly empty for a Saturday night. “I might owe… everybody? in Zombietown a favor,” Zed said, only half-joking.  “The mash was last night.”

“You’re telling me we came all the way back to Seabrook and we missed the mash?”  Addison said in disbelief.

“I know we might be crazy,” Zed sang softly, “but did you hear the story?”

Addison took his hand.  “I think I heard it vaguely?”

“A girl and a zombie.”  Zed gently twirled her on the spot.

“Oh, tell me more, boy.  Sounds like a fantasy.”

“Oh, what could go so wrong with a girl and a zombie?”  They sang the last line in harmony, slow dancing to their own rhythm.

Zed had packed a picnic dinner of the finest foods a broke college student could buy. Cold grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes.  Hard boiled eggs.  And a package of technically-expired-but-still-safe strawberries that had been on clearance.

Addison ate the last of her egg and wiped her mouth.  “Zed, this… this was perfect.  I know I’ve been so busy these past few weeks.  I kind of lost track of how much time had passed, really.  And between cheer and football and class?  I don’t know how we do this.”

Zed gently squeezed her hand.  “By doing this.  We make moments, like this one, in the middle of all the chaos.”

Addison smiled.  “I love you, Zed.  Ag gar-garziga ru.”

“Ag gar-garziga ru.”  Zed repeated softly.  “Addison, I love you.”

The couple stayed in the Light Garden for hours.  They caught up on each other’s lives.  They sat in silence, content to simply hold their partner in their arms.

Zed deftly cored the strawberries and presented one to Addison. She smiled, parting her lips and biting into the red fruit.  Light juices ran down her chin as she took another bite and Zed gently wiped them away, licking the juice from his finger.  She picked up another strawberry, holding it out for Zed.  It was a smaller fruit, and he swallowed it in a single bite.

They kissed, softly at first, knowing exactly how their lover liked it.  The kisses became deeper, harder, more desperate.  All that mattered were Addison’s lips on Zed’s, Zed’s hands fisting her hair, Addison’s hands running up his torso and over his shoulders.  All that mattered was that they were a girl and a zombie, together.

Merry Christmas @vicapuleti​ !  I, @asarahworld, was your Zombies Secret Santa.  You mentioned a love of Zeddison, Zoey, fluff and angst, and AUs.  Well, it’s not quite an AU, but it is future fic where they’ve gone off to college.  We’ve got Zed.  We’ve got Addison.  Zoey makes an appearance. And without further ado…

Chapter 1

It had been six months since Zed had gone off to the state university on a football scholarship, six months since Addison had been accepted at her parents’ alma mater, and four months and thirteen days since the last time they had seen each other if you didn’t count the five minutes after the game two months ago.  The daily phone calls had slowed down to weekly; text messages became a quick thing to fire off between classes.

Addison was ploughing through a slough of research for her Writing Studies essay on “Classic Literature As Viewed Through a Modern Lens” when her phone buzzed.  Automatically, she reached for it and immediately flipped it over upon seeing that it wasn’t the cheer squad’s captain, Juliette Viconte.  (Unlike Seabrook High, the university squad had only one captain.)  She stared at the screen of her laptop, thinking.  She had just finished writing a decent-sized paragraph on Romeo and Juliet, exploring how if the leads hadn’t been so quick to act that the play would not have been the tragedy and leading into a comparison between the original storyline and modern adaptations. Star-crossed lovers destined to be apart.  Ultimately, every version of the play needed to end tragically, otherwise the message Shakespeare had intended behind the story was lost in the happy ending.

She stared at the screen of her laptop, thinking.  That was definitely the line of reasoning her professor would be looking for.  And yet she couldn’t help but see herself and Zed in the characters.  Two young people from feuding families (societies) fall in love. A relationship built on stolen moments. The relative innocence of one character balancing out the harsh reality lived by the other.  Theoretically, modern technology provided ease of communication that could have saved Romeo and Juliet from tragedy.  And yet, it was clear that just because one had the ability to communicate directly, that wasn’t necessarily going to happen.

She grabbed a pen and started re-working her notes.  Maybe this essay wouldn’t follow the professor’s expectations.  But Addison had her own ideas.

Her phone buzzed again.  Addison, in the middle of frantic scribbles, fumbling, turned it off.

“Hey, this is Addison-”

“Hey, it’s me,” Zed said cheerfully.  It was so nice to finally hear her voice.

“-so leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”  The accompanying beep following the end of the recorded message startled Zed, and he realized that he had reached her voicemail.

“Hey, it’s me,” he started over.  “I know it’s getting old, but the captain’s scheduled another practice and of course it’s happening Saturday morning.  Abraza garzi’ska,ag gar-gargiza ru,” he said softly, reverting back to Zombietongue.  Zed smiled gently as the memory of when they had officially decided to only use Zombietongue for endearments.  As horrible as that fight had been (not that it could even be considered to be a fight as they had resolved their issue without any drama), they were so much stronger for it.

“This relationship is with you, too, Zed,” Addison had said angrily.  “I want you to be able to be completely yourself.  And that includes being able to speak Zombietongue around me.  Excuse me for thinking that that was a reasonable request.”

That hadn’t been it at all.  But despite his best efforts, Zed had failed to properly explain what exactly he felt about his girlfriend’s wish to become fluent in his native language.  Zed hadn’t even been certain that he himself knew why he was against the idea.

All that he knew was that Addison now sat by herself at the front of the classroom during Revised Local History, cheerleading practice was after football practice, and that the cheerleaders once again had their own table in the cafeteria.

“Zed, you’re overthinking this,” she’d told him when he’d finally confessed his fear. “History’s hard enough as it is without having you right beside me.  You realize that you have gym the period before, right?  So either you walk in and your hair’s still wet and there’s water rolling down your neck from your hair or else gym ran late and you didn’t even have time to change, let alone shower, and you,” she laughed nervously, “to be honest, you always smell amazing but especially then.  I need to pass history.  Surely you can get by without me for one extra hour,” she’d said, giggling.

“When you put it like that, how can I say no?”

“That’s what I love about you.  Always willing to listen,” Addison had said with a smile.  “As for cheer, well, during your practice, we’re up in the weight room. It takes a lot of work to be able to do this stuff.”  Addison had been counting her rebuttals off on her fingers.  “And as for lunch, some of the new kids seemed like they needed a friend.  And the cheer squad is a family.  We’ve gotta be there for each other.”

“Abraza garzi’ska…ag gar-gargiza ru,” Zed had said tenderly, threading his fingers through Addison’s.

“Gar-gargiza…,” Addison’s smile had grown softer.  “Ag gar-gargiza ru,” she’d repeated.  “I love you.”  Suddenly, her gentle smile had turned into an excited grin.  “Does this mean I get to learn more Zombietongue?”  Zed had only laughed, repeating his declaration of love softly in her ear.

Writing annotated notes for her essay had taken her far longer than she’d anticipated and when Addison finally checked her phone, she was startled to see that it was nearly two a.m.  She stumbled across the room to her bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Addison had learned during her first semester why you didn’t take an eight a.m. course unless there was no other choice.  However, being an underclassman came with certain disadvantages. Being one of the last to choose courses was one of those disadvantages and with that came fewer course options. Taking English was mandatory for all students and Addison hadn’t had any other options to fill that credit without waiting another semester.  So she begrudgingly took the Writing Studies course, wondering why she hadn’t looked for one during her first semester despite her parents’ insistence that she take it easy her first semester.

When the alarm went off at six, Addison immediately hit the snooze button.  Once. Twice.  Three times the alarm was silenced and Addison lay in bed.  The phone rang.

“Addison, where are you?  Class is starting in five minutes and you know that Professor Jackson docks points if you’re late!”  Bree’s hushed panic broke Addison’s sleepy haze.  She leapt from her bed, quickly changing into the nearest clothes that weren’t pajamas, and swept everything off her desk into her bag.  She sprinted to the classroom, from the D building up to A, and up the flight of stairs to the second floor, barely making it in the back door as the prof began class.  Luckily, she’d grabbed a notebook and pen in her rush, and was able to at least take notes.

The rest of the day passed in a similar haze.  Everything was a mess, but salvageable.  After her three-hour English lecture, Addison had another three-hour lecture (this time for Anthropology), followed by a short dinner break and cheer practice; practice ran much later than usual as the neurotic captain was more obsessed with perfection than Bucky had been at his most neurotic.  Just like that, the day was over and Addison flopped into bed, exhausted.

Sleep, shower, repeat.

Wednesdays she worked part-time in a café down the street from the main campus.  Though the pay was negligible, the hours were steady and gave her a reprieve from the stress of being a student.  Seven a.m. to three p.m., then she was back to cheer practice and homework.  Thursday was spent organizing her English notes and drafting her essay, Friday was another eight hour shift at the café and studying for her Anthropology midterm.  The weekend only provided more of the same.  When Monday came, her first draft was finished and Addison treated herself to a relaxing bubble bath.  To her surprise, it was only six o’clock.

The phone rang.

“Hey, sweetie,” it was her mother.  “How’s school?  You didn’t call us yesterday, is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” she lied.  “I mean, I guess I’m just stressed with midterms and my essay.”  I haven’t spoken to Zed in a month.  There’s only so much you can communicate in a text and I only get to see him during the games.  Missy continued to press her daughter and Addison continued to say what she wanted to hear.  When her mother ended the call, Addison sat staring at the phone.

The phone rang.  And rang. And rang.  No answer.

The phone rang.

“Zoey!”  Zed couldn’t help smiling as he answered the phone.

“Hey,” his little sister replied enthusiastically.  “Did Addison tell you she enlisted Miss Zàrate to work with the Zombeans while you guys are at college?”

Zed nodded in remembrance.  “Yeah, said that someone had to make sure you rascals kept up with practice,” he joked.

“Is she there?”  Zoey asked. An innocent enough question, but one that tugged his dead heartstrings anyway.

“Uh, no.  It’s the end of the semester, everyone’s pretty busy with final projects and exams. How’s your schooling going?”  Zed changed the subject.  He didn’t want to talk about how the past few weeks had been hard, how they hadn’t even talked on the phone, much less seen each other. Zoey happily told him about Zombeans and her experiences at her new school. She talked about their Dad and Puppy, about the changes to Zombietown (the rusty gates had finally been removed, there was a bus that took the kids into the human part of town for school and a regular city bus connecting the neighbourhoods “we get to take the regular school bus with the humans to the bus stop,” she’d explained solemnly), and everything else that was important to an eleven-year-old girl.

“When are you guys coming back to Seabrook?”

Zed sighed.  “I don’t know, Zozo.  Probably pretty quickly after the semester’s over.  Five weeks maybe.”  He could practically hear her pouting over the phone.  “I miss you and Pops and Puppy,” he said.  And Addison.

“We miss you too,” Zoey assured him.  There was a brief pause while she said something to their dad. “Dad says I should let you get back to school stuff.  And he wants to go over my homework.  I told him it’s fine, but…”

“Math?”  At his sister’s hum, Zed continued: “you just gotta keep checking.  Try to memorize the uses of each formula and always check your work.  At the end of the day, all that matters is that you pass.”

“Thanks, Zed.”

“Hey, isn’t it just about bedtime?”  He could practically hear her rolling her eyes.  Laughing gently, he told her good night and hung up the phone.

MISSED CALL. ADDI.  Read the call display.  Zed cursed, a mix of English and Zombietongue, and hit the speed dial.

The phone rang.  And rang. And rang.  He cancelled the call, not wanting to hear her voicemail again. Instead, he sent a few messages. Fifteen minutes and a response later, he texted Addison.

U R FREE SAT! PICK U UP @ DORM @ 430.  SEE U GORGEOUS.

He added a green heart emoji at the end of the message, slowly smiling.

When he woke up the next morning, there was a new message from Addison:

YOU MEAN LIKE A DATE? followed by a single pink heart.

It was Tuesday.  He had three days to plan the perfect reunion date.

Zombietongue and translations all taken from Ly’s amazing masterposts. @unusual-ly

Zombeans belongs to Sarah @fist-it-out

Abraza garzi’ska,ag gar-gargiza ru.  |  Sorry garzi’ska, I love you.

AO3

Snow was gently falling from the grey skies in Seabrook as school let out for the winter holiday.  Well, almost.  There was, after all, the football game that afternoon.  Zed Necrodopolous, the charming star fullback of the Mighty Shrimp’s football team, was currently attempting too understand why his girlfriend’s parents wanted him to attend their Christmas dinner.

“Our revolution was the cheer competition,” he tried joking, but Addison wasn’t having any of it.

“Zed, this is important.  Christmas has always been a time for my family to kind of… regroup. And this year, everyone’s going to be a little more honest.”

Everyone.

“Everyone?”

Addison grimaced.  “My parents, of course.  Bucky and my aunt and uncle.  Nana and Grandad.  And… us.”

“You’re not going to put your wig back on because your grandparents are coming, are you?”  Zed lazily twirled a stray lock of white hair around his finger.

“The next time I wear a wig, it’ll be because I want to have a specific colour hair and not to hide my own colour,” Addison said firmly.  “And now that I have a, quote-unquote, serious boyfriend, my family wants to meet him.”

“They don’t know I’m a zombie,” Zed said flatly. It wasn’t a question.

“Well, my parents do.  And, obviously, Bucky has always known.  I would assume his parents have found out by now.”

“And your grandparents?”

“Zed, you’re what’s important to me.  It’s not like you personally ate Grandad’s ear.”  Addison lightly punched her boyfriend’s shoulder.  “I mean, we can and will leave if they say anything.  Let them talk if they wanna, but we don’t have to stay and listen,” she said softly.

“Addy,” Zed said uselessly.

“Christmas is for family and, and just spending time with the people who you supposedly love.  They want to meet you, Zed.”

“Should I dig out the pink suit again?”  Zed joked.

Addison looked her boyfriend over suggestively. “That was a pretty good look on you.”

“Onlypretty good?”  Zed clutched at his chest dramatically.  “Ouch.”

“Oh come on, Zed,” Addison giggled, “you know exactly what I meant.  But Christmas happens to be the one day of the year when we trade pink for red.”

“Okay.  Met your parents.  That wasn’t so bad.  Now I’m just meeting the rest of your family,” Zed smirked, nearly hiding his nervousness.

“I’m going to do a bit of shopping.  Maybe you’ll get a new Christmas present out of all this.  And maybe, since I’m choosing all the presents this year, you’ll get a new…something out of it.”  Addison began making a mental list of everything Zed would need for the dinner. Dress pants and a jacket were a must. Shirt and tie.  Dress shoes.

With a start, Addison realized they were at her house. “Coming in?”

“Nah, I’ve got to get Zoey.  Eliza’s been watching her while I’ve walked you home the past few weeks.  Uh, it’s been really nice being able to do that, though.  We needed this.”

Addison smiled.  “I liked it, too.  Say hi to Zoey and Puppy for me.”

“You know I never pass up the opportunity to deliver a message from my favourite cheerleader,” he winked.

Addison rolled her eyes.  “Seriously?”  Zed smirked, easily pressing a kiss to the top of his girlfriend’s head.  “I gotta get Zoey.”

The next day, Addison met Bree at the Seabrook Mall.  “Let me get this straight.  You’re buying your zombie boyfriend a suit so he can go with you to Christmas dinner with your extended family, who don’t know you’re dating a zombie, who don’t know you stopped wearing your wig, who you only see once a year?”

“Yeah,” Addison said happily.

Bree exhaled.  “Addy… good luck.  How are you going to buy him a suit, anyway?”

“It’s not like I don’t know how tall he is, Bree.” At her friend’s unimpressed look, Addison continued: “Well, I’m 5’4.  And I’m up to his shoulder, so… he’s not more than a foot taller than me…”  Addison started to wonder if she actually knew how tall her boyfriend was.

“He’s 6’1,” a bored voice said from behind them.

“What are you doing here?”  Addison asked, a hint of concern nearly hidden in her voice.

Eliza shrugged.  “Was walking around Seabrook.  Figured with the barrier gone, Zombies have as much right to be in public space as humans.”

“E, that’s not at all what I meant.  I just thought with it being the first day of vacation that you guys would be… I don’t know what I thought.  I’m sorry.”

Eliza rolled her eyes.  “That has got to be the lamest coverup I’ve ever heard.  Let’s just say I was feeling adventurous.  Why do you want to get Zed a suit?  He already… acquired that pink one for you.”

“He didn’t tell you?”  Addison said with surprise.  “My family invited him to Christmas dinner this year.”

“That was… nice of them,” Eliza said cautiously.

“Yeah.  Anyway, my family’s pretty formal during the holiday and there’s a ‘dress code’ for dinner.”

Thirty minutes later, the girls walked out of the local department store, Addison carrying a bagged suit over her shoulder, Eliza holding dress boots, and Bree had the relevant accessories.  “Oh my gosh, how on earth am I going to wrap this?”

“Addison, you’re overthinking this.  Honestly, he’ll be more confused if you just give it him like this.  Also, I needto be there when you do.  His face is going to be priceless,” Eliza laughed.

Dale arrived after a few minutes to drive them home, first dropping off Eliza in Zombietown.  “Hey, Dad, I haven’t quite finished my Christmas shopping.  Could you take me back to the mall?  I’ll be like, twenty minutes.  I just have one more thing to get.”

Most of Addison’s Christmas shopping had been easy and straightforward.  A pair of earrings for her mother, a tie clip for her father.  Engraved friendship bracelets for herself and Bree.  Even making Bucky’s cheer scrapbook had been something that she knew what she wanted to do.  And for the Necrodopolous family – Zed’s suit; pompoms, hair ribbons, athletic tape, a yoga mat, and a sports bag for Zoey (to go with, what in Addison’s opinion was nothing short of a Christmas miracle, Bucky’s offer of training the young Zombie in the new year); and for Zevon, well, she had simply told Zed to pick out whatever he wanted for his father and she would cover it.  For Bonzo, she had gotten several higher grade types of paper and other art supplies.  All that was left was Eliza and Addison had hoped that by bringing the Zombie with her that she would be able to find something that interested her. Just thinking about everything that she’d purchased made her grateful that she’d kept her tradition of saving her previous year’s Christmas present from her grandfather.

As soon as they were back at the mall, Addison knew exactly what to get her friend.  There was just one problem.

WHAT SIZE SHOE DOES ELIZA WEAR? -A

? HOW SHOULD I KNOW -Z

…SHE’S YOUR BEST FRIEND!! -A

…SO? -Z

…BREE WEARS SIZE 7 ½ -A

…OK I GUESS I’LL JUST GO OVER. HEY ELIZA, WE’VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOREVER, WHAT SIZE SHOES DO YOU WEAR? -Z

I’M GOING TO GO WITH AN 8 -A

The shoes that Eliza had been looking at were sleek, black leather boots.  The store didn’t have an 8 in stock, but Addison decided to buy a size larger so that the other girl would be able to slip in orthopedic insoles, for which she purchased a gift card.  She left the store with a not-so-subtle hint that the recipient of the boots was to be a zombie and that she didn’t want her friend to not be able to switch sizes if needed.  Her shopping finished, Addison was ready to enjoy the rest of the holiday.

insp. by this prompt list, specifically #18

asarahworld-writes:

AO3

Dale returned to the dinner table, his face grim.  “I have to go.  There was a shooting by the border.”  Addison’s heart dropped.  Zed stood up.

“I have to go home.”

“I’m going with him.”

Zed and Addison spoke at the same time.

Dale shook his head.  “You kids stay here.  The community’s been advised to stay indoors until we catch this guy and I don’t want to take a risking in having Zed exposed.”

“Chief, do you have a name?  My little sister…”  Zed’s voice cracked.

“Even if I did know, I couldn’t tell you.  That’ll be classified information.”  Zed was understandably worried.  At the look on both the teens’ face, Dale sighed.  “It wasn’t your family, Zed.”

That still left Eliza and Bonzo, Eliza’s parents… the whole community, really. “Dale, everyone’s family on that side of the wall.”

“I need to go back to work.  Zed, be careful.”

There was a knock at the door.  Dale looked at Missy, eyebrows furrowed, then went to the entrance.  They could hear him speaking in hushed tones, trying to calm an obviously-distraught woman.  Dale brought her into the kitchen, where Missy immediately began soothing her.  The mayor poured her a glass of water and sat with her as her sobs subsided.

“I need to go,” she hiccupped.

“It’s not safe, Mary.  Zombie Patrol is taking care of everything.  You have my word that Dale will call you when it’s safe.”  Missy said in a hushed tone.

“But the shooting!  It was him, I know it was,” she cried between her sobs.

“Kids, go upstairs,” Missy said without taking her attention away from the woman, whose phone started ringing.  Missy looked at the Caller ID.  “It’s your daughter.  She’s probably worried about you, taking off like that.  Do you want me to answer?”  The woman took a shaky breath and nodded.  “Mary Zieliński’s phone, this is the mayor speaking.”  A pause.  “Yes, she’s here.  Yes. Yes.  No, that’s fine.  See you soon.”  Missy hung up the call.  “Cecylia is coming to see you, Mary.”

As Missy tried to comfort Mary, her own cell phone rang.  “This is the mayor.”  Her grip on Mary’s hand tightened.  “Are you sure?”  Her voice softened.  “I’m with her now.”

Upstairs, Zed and Addison could hear everything.  Zieliński.

“I knew him,” Zed said softly.  “He lived just down the street.  We’d stay with him sometimes when we were younger, when Dad was working and Eliza’s family was busy.  He had an old ice cream machine in his garage and all the kids used to take turns churning it.  Of course, we never had the stuff to make ice cream, but we didn’t know that.  Always ended up with cauliflower slush.  I never knew he had family on this side.” Addison squeezed his hand.  “He was old.  Like, really old.  He was the oldest person who survived the Accident.”

By zombie standards, Zygmund Zieliński had been ancient.  Already in his forties at the time of The Accident, Zygmund was now well into his nineties and had been a founder of zombie society.  He had been forcibly separated from his wife and two children after The Accident and had dedicated his life to regaining his humanity enough to see them again.  Everyone in Zombietown had known him.

“I’m bringing her now.”  Missy hung up the phone.  “He’s in Containment.  How would you like to go see him?”  Mary nodded, already rising.  “I’m going to text Cecylia.  I’ll grab my keys, and we’ll go.”  Addison and Zed heard Missy run upstairs, and quickly busied themselves with the nearest textbooks.  “I’m taking Mrs. Zieliński to meet her daughter.  Don’t leave the house.”  Missy was gone in less than a minute.

Both Zed and Addison were at a loss.  For Zed, one of the oldest and most well-liked members of his community had been murdered.  And Addison could see herself in Mrs. Zieliński.  Two people, in love with each other, kept apart by a town that so desperately wanted to be picture-perfect.  Zed and Addison?  Or Zygmund and Mary Zieliński?

AO3

Dale returned to the dinner table, his face grim.  “I have to go.  There was a shooting by the border.”  Addison’s heart dropped.  Zed stood up.

“I have to go home.”

“I’m going with him.”

Zed and Addison spoke at the same time.

Dale shook his head.  “You kids stay here.  The community’s been advised to stay indoors until we catch this guy and I don’t want to take a risking in having Zed exposed.”

“Chief, do you have a name?  My little sister…”  Zed’s voice cracked.

“Even if I did know, I couldn’t tell you.  That’ll be classified information.”  Zed was understandably worried.  At the look on both the teens’ face, Dale sighed.  “It wasn’t your family, Zed.”

That still left Eliza and Bonzo, Eliza’s parents… the whole community, really. “Dale, everyone’s family on that side of the wall.”

“I need to go back to work.  Zed, be careful.”

There was a knock at the door.  Dale looked at Missy, eyebrows furrowed, then went to the entrance.  They could hear him speaking in hushed tones, trying to calm an obviously-distraught woman.  Dale brought her into the kitchen, where Missy immediately began soothing her.  The mayor poured her a glass of water and sat with her as her sobs subsided.

“I need to go,” she hiccupped.

“It’s not safe, Mary.  Zombie Patrol is taking care of everything.  You have my word that Dale will call you when it’s safe.”  Missy said in a hushed tone.

“But the shooting!  It was him, I know it was,” she cried between her sobs.

“Kids, go upstairs,” Missy said without taking her attention away from the woman, whose phone started ringing.  Missy looked at the Caller ID.  “It’s your daughter.  She’s probably worried about you, taking off like that.  Do you want me to answer?”  The woman took a shaky breath and nodded.  “Mary Zieliński’s phone, this is the mayor speaking.”  A pause.  “Yes, she’s here.  Yes. Yes.  No, that’s fine.  See you soon.”  Missy hung up the call.  “Cecylia is coming to see you, Mary.”

As Missy tried to comfort Mary, her own cell phone rang.  “This is the mayor.”  Her grip on Mary’s hand tightened.  “Are you sure?”  Her voice softened.  “I’m with her now.”

Upstairs, Zed and Addison could hear everything.  Zieliński.

“I knew him,” Zed said softly.  “He lived just down the street.  We’d stay with him sometimes when we were younger, when Dad was working and Eliza’s family was busy.  He had an old ice cream machine in his garage and all the kids used to take turns churning it.  Of course, we never had the stuff to make ice cream, but we didn’t know that.  Always ended up with cauliflower slush.  I never knew he had family on this side.” Addison squeezed his hand.  “He was old.  Like, really old.  He was the oldest person who survived the Accident.”

By zombie standards, Zygmund Zieliński had been ancient.  Already in his forties at the time of The Accident, Zygmund was now well into his nineties and had been a founder of zombie society.  He had been forcibly separated from his wife and two children after The Accident and had dedicated his life to regaining his humanity enough to see them again.  Everyone in Zombietown had known him.

“I’m bringing her now.”  Missy hung up the phone.  “He’s in Containment.  How would you like to go see him?”  Mary nodded, already rising.  “I’m going to text Cecylia.  I’ll grab my keys, and we’ll go.”  Addison and Zed heard Missy run upstairs, and quickly busied themselves with the nearest textbooks.  “I’m taking Mrs. Zieliński to meet her daughter.  Don’t leave the house.”  Missy was gone in less than a minute.

Both Zed and Addison were at a loss.  For Zed, one of the oldest and most well-liked members of his community had been murdered.  And Addison could see herself in Mrs. Zieliński.  Two people, in love with each other, kept apart by a town that so desperately wanted to be picture-perfect.  Zed and Addison?  Or Zygmund and Mary Zieliński?