Yay! It's the band!au I've been working on for like ever! Part 1 is super long but there's two more parents after this one! And there's a Spotify playlist for the song, and you can find all of this on my tumblr in the tag 'band!au'.

Okay, without further ado, I give you Kiss, Kiss (Fall in Love).

For most of the year she had been living in Los Angeles, Addison worked in a little bookstore only a few blocks from the house she lived in with her cousin. She hadn't gone to L.A. with much intent like others, who went to get famous. She wanted to get away from her previous life and her favorite cousin lived in L.A. with a few spare rooms.

Addison found the opening for an 'assistant to an underground band' only in February. Addison ignored it, fine with the job she had and not wanting to be in the music business (although it had always been her dream). Bucky had warned her not to apply either, and, considering he was older and more experienced, she listened to him for a few weeks.

Then she watched The Book of Life and realized she'd never accomplish any dream if she played it safe all the time. 'No risk, no reward.'

Within hours of submitting her application in late March, she was given a date and time for an interview. She didn't hear anything for two months, then got a text from the interviewer—Mr. Jacobs.

Mr. Jacobs 2:14 pm

If you're still interested the position is yours.

Addison 2:27 pm

Thank you! Is there anything I should know beforehand?

Mr. Jacobs 3:01 pm

I'll send you text messages as a primary form of communication. You need to come down to my office to sign your contract as soon as possible, and once that happens you're good to start on Monday morning. We'd need you in at around 7:30 in the morning.

Addison 3:03 pm

Yes that's fine.

Addison went to his office the next day and went through the contract, signing where it needed to be signed and double checking anything that seemed odd. It was all in order though and within the hour she was officially in the music business.

"It's a pleasure to have you on our team, Addison," Mr. Jacobs said with a grin.

Addison smiled politely. She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked nervously on her feet. "I'm excited, honestly," she said. "Um, can I ask what's the band? I think I'll do a little research when I get home so I'm not so confused on Monday."

Mr. Jacobs grinned mischievously. "I'm sure you've heard of iZombie."

Addison squeaked in surprise. iZombie was in no way an underground band. They were famous and had two best selling albums, of their three albums and two E.P.s.

"You…I…oh my god," she stammered. Then she breathed out in complete disbelief, "I'm working for iZombie."

Mr. Jacobs grinned at her. "Don't worry, you'll have a few days to recover before you meet any of them. Be on the lookout for text messages throughout the weekend, okay?"

Addison nodded.

"See you Monday, Addison."

To say Bucky was angry would be an understatement. He was livid. It took a few hours for him to calm down enough to form coherent sentences, and still he was red faced and glaring at his young cousin.

"I completely forbid you from working for them!" he shouted furiously. "You're barely twenty! You-you don't even tell people you're related to me! If you work for them you won't ever have a private life!"

"I'm gonna be twenty one in July," Addison argued. "Which means I'm fully capable of making my own decisions. So I'm going to do this. You know it's been like my dream to be in music."

Bucky rolled his eyes. "If you were meant to be in music it'd have happened by now."

"Fuck off," Addison argued. "I'm doing this. End of story."

Addison moved to go back to her room. Bucky followed her, saying, "You can't just 'end of story' me! I'm older than you! You're living in my house!"

"You can't make my decisions for me! I'm not a little kid anymore, Bucky!" Addison shouted. She turned to face him and folded her arms across her chest. They wouldn't get anywhere if they kept screaming at each other. In the most normal tone she could muster, Addison said, "I've always wanted to be in music, and this is my chance. And…and if this is a mistake, then let me make it for myself. So I can learn."

Bucky frowned and said nothing for a few minutes. He chewed his lip thoughtfully as he tossed around her words in his head. Finally he nodded in agreement. "Don't think this doesn't mean I won't be watching you still. I'm your older cousin, it's my job to protect you. If you really want to do this, then fine."

Addison broke out in a grin. Bucky held up his hand as if to ask for her patience while he finished. "I don't feel completely comfortable with you starting a new job the week I'm going out of town but…but I trust you."

Addison squealed excitedly and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you Bucky!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Mr. Jacobs 6:52 am

Rise and shine doll! First day on the job starts now. Be at the studio by 7:30 and make sure you've gotten the band their morning coffee. You'll be on call for at least eight hours. I'll give you a full brief and rundown of your day once you arrive.

1 attachment: coffee orders

"You're wearing that." It was more of a statement than a question.

Addison nodded and tugged on the cuffs of her long sleeve. "I don't want anyone to know, Bucky."

"This isn't Seabrook. You're gonna die of a heat stroke."

Addison rolled her eyes. "I know the signs. If it gets to a critical point I can take it off. It's an under shirt."

"Whatever. You're twenty, you know yourself better than I do."

She grinned at her cousin. She stood from the table and put her dishes away, then moved to the door. "Okay, I'm heading out. Have fun in New York, see you Saturday."

"Call me when you can," Bucky told her. "Keep me updated, okay?"

Addison nodded. "Yes, yes. Bye."

"Two iced coffees with caramel creamer, two black coffees, and one triple mocha frappe?"

Insert polite smile. "That all seems about right."

Polite smile right back. "Alright, you have a great day."

"You too."

Queue favorite album from favorite band. Drive over to first day as favorite band's new assistant. And drink piping hot coffee too.

Addition wasn't late on her first day, actually. She managed to clock in while carrying her heavy backpack and a tray filled with coffees before seven thirty, when she was requested to be there. And as soon as she got into the rehearsal space designated for 'iZombie' (favorite band), she was immediately bombarded by bassist Eliza.

"Coffee's here!" she called into the room, snatching her black coffee from the tray. She gave Addison a smile and said, "Thanks intern."

"Oh it was no problem but I'm not…" she walked away before Addison could finish. With a defeated sigh Addison muttered, "an intern."

Eliza was her own unique character, like how everyone was in 'iZombie' (which was in no way related to the ancient television series). Despite popular belief her hair wasn't permanently green, just green for promotional content. Addison's first encounter with the celebrity had shown her that Eliza truly did like to keep her brown curls loose to accentuated the sheer volume of her hair.

From what Addison knew from following all news related to iZombie for several years was that Eliza was the same age as her. She was fiery and quick witted, but was so pretty it made up for it. In the interviews Addison had seen, Eliza was always either really sarcastic and rude or giddy and bright. It was conflicting but nice.

Apparently everyone had gotten in before Addison had arrived. Eliza led her toward the open lounge where they all were—Bonzo the drummer, Zed the lead guitarist, and Lucy the lead singer (sometimes Zed and Eliza would sing, but it was mostly centered on Lucy).

"I come with a cute blonde intern," Eliza announced.

"Oh I'm not an intern," Addison finally said. She smiled sheepishly and offered the coffee. "Assistant to the band."

Eliza just waved her off. "Details details. What's your name, Blondie?"

"Addison."

"Meet Allison."

"Oh it's…" at Eliza's slight glare Addison stopped. "Um, never mind."

"Well intern." Addison glanced at Eliza, seeing her take a long drawn out sip of her coffee before saying, "pass out the coffees."

She was nervous on her first day. Here she was meeting her idols in person, getting the opportunity to work with them everyday. Eliza was easy enough to talk to; she held such a confidence that it was hard to stay shy around her. Bonzo was mute—one of the reasons Addison got the job was that she was amazing in ASL.

Lucy was…she didn't seem to like Addison, just taking her coffee and turning back around in her chair. And then there was Zed. He was easily the heartthrob of the group, all cute and charming and the reason why so many people started listening to iZombie. Addison definitely had a major crush on the hottie (even though Zed and Lucy were dating, going on four years) to the point where she was shaking in her shoes.

And accidentally spilled his coffee on him. She was shaking and tripped and the lid popped off and all the triple mocha frappe was all over his pants and shirt and shoes. Zed screamed and jumped up, Addison gasped and dropped the rest of the cup, and Eliza held back a laugh.

"Oh my god," Addison gasped. "Oh my god I'm so sorry! I'm so stupid! Oh my god!"

She glanced up at Zed with a worried look. "Don't be mad. Please." she whispered.

"Um," Zed chuckled with a strain. "Uh, it's fine. It's…accidents happen, right?"

Then he smiled at her, and holy fuck did her heart melt. Addison let out a tiny, shy laugh. "I guess you already know who I am," he went on. "And you…you're the new assistant?"

Addison felt like if she looked him in the eye or even tried speaking she might just throw up, so instead she nodded quickly.

"Maybe instead of staring at his crotch you should be a good fucking nanny and get some napkins to clean up the mess you made."

Lucy's a dick.

"You're right," Addison said quickly. "Um, I'll go get napkins and…and I'll try to get you a new coffee."

"You don't have to worry about a new coffee," Zed argued.

Addison turned around and went back into the hall. Eliza came out a moment later. "I'll show you around," she offered. "And don't worry about Lucy. She's a bitch to everyone she thinks is trying to steal Zed from her."

"I'm guessing she's not good around fans?" Addison joked.

Eliza laughed heartily, then opened one of the doors. "This is the kitchen, by the way," she said. "The bathroom's in the back of the kitchen."

"Thanks," Addison said with a smile. She grabbed a roll of paper towels and walked back with Eliza to the rehearsal space.

Zed was the only one still in there when they got back, standing in an awkward way while on his phone. He looked up when they came in and grinned slightly. "Eliza, you're needed in the recording booth. Maykel says you need to re-record."

"And what about you? I bet you're all perfect," Eliza mocked.

"I am, actually," Zed stated cockily. "Bonzo and Lucy are also recording, so I get to hang with the new intern for a little."

"Um, I'm not an intern," Addison pointed out.

Eliza gave her a strange look. "No one asked, Abigail."

"It's—"

"See you later Zed," Eliza said and walked away.

Zed just shrugged and a half smile. Once Eliza was gone he looked back at Addison. Addison took it as her opportunity, balling up some paper towels and holding them out for Zed. "Um, a lot spilled on your…on your pants," she offered weakly.

Zed chuckled lightly. "I was a little worried you only spilled my coffee to touch my crotch," he joked.

Addison gave him a nervous smile. He took the wadded up papers, and Addison got down to clean the floor. "If you want, I can go out and get you a new one," she offered.

"It's fine," he said. "It's seriously okay."

It was quiet for a few minutes. Addison busied herself with cleaning the floor and couch he had been sitting on. She refused to look up at him in fear of screwing up again. He was cute and friendly and it was all weirdly intimidating.

After a few minutes Zed stepped out of her work area. Addison thought he had left and found out otherwise when he asked, "What's your real name?"

Addison looked up and spotted him across the room, lounging back in a beanbag. "Um…Addison?"

"Um Addison?" he mocked with a light laugh. "There's nothing to be nervous about, you know. We're just regular people doing what we love everyday."

Addison just nodded. "Do you want a tour of the building?" Zed asked. "Plus some bonding time, 'cause there's no way Eliza's getting you as a best friend."

Addison blinked at him. "You want me as a best friend?"

Zed nodded. "Yes best friend. Now hurry up so I can give you the most spectacular tour ever."

"Tell me a story."

Addison raised an eyebrow at that. "Tell me about your last birthday? Make it juicy."

"My birthday hasn't passed for this year yet—it's in July," Addison started. "So last year I turned…I turned twenty. Um, my cousin threw me a surprise party at his pool. It was nice, and he didn't invite too many people which was better. Considering I have like four close friends and a few backups just in case, at least."

"Tell me more. I wanna know all the gory details."

Addison just shrugged. "It wasn't some huge extravaganza. I'm just a normal person, not some huge celebrity."

Zed chuckled lightly and held his hands up in mock defense. "This year it'll be epic," he said. "Tell your cousin I've called dibs on party planning. I've got two months to make this awesome."

"You'll be on tour or getting ready for tour, so it doesn't matter."

Zed shrugged. "That's a mere technicality, Addy."

Addison couldn't help but cringe slightly at the nickname, but didn't say anything otherwise.

"So Addison, did you apply for this job because of a secret and undying passion for music? Or a secret and undying crush on an exceptionally handsome guitarist?"

"Oh yes, I make all my financial decisions based off of hot guys," Addison said sarcastically.

Zed laughed and Addison just smiled proudly. Talking to him was surprisingly easy, once she got past how unfathomably cute he was. "In all honestly, I've always wanted to be in the music business," Addison explained. "I did musical theater and choir when I was younger."

"Oh you sing?"

Addison shrugged sheepishly. "Not anymore," she said. "Or at least not for performance. I mean sometimes I post videos on my social media."

Zed grinned. "Gimme your phone."

"Why?"

"I want to see and I'm sure your pages are private."

Addison shrugged again. "Guilty as charged."

She passed him her phone, stopping in the hall as he went to work. After a minute he gasped dramatically, looked up at her excitedly and said, "Holy shit! Bucky Davis—one of the best and hardest to hire dancers—follows you?"

"Oh, yeah," Addison said with a nervous laugh. "He's my cousin. He's the one who threw me the birthday party."

"No way," he exclaimed. "I had no idea I was competing with a Bucky-party."

Addison shrugged awkwardly. Bucky has the power to make people want to be her friend. It was one of the reasons she didn't name drop him in most conversations.

"He's older by like, two years. Treats me like a baby sister."

"That is so cool," Zed said a little breathlessly. He looked up at her with a sort of shy smile. "Um, I know how it gets when people ask like my little sister for favors from me and use her to get to me. But I'd honestly love to meet Bucky someday. Maybe at that super extravagant birthday party I'm throwing you."

"I have like four friends, Zed."

"Make it five."

The second day was much better than the first. For one, Addison managed to get there before the band but after their manager, Maykel Jacobs. He had given her access to the band's bank and compensated her for the two days of coffee orders she'd paid for. Then he handed her the binder filled with tour dates and venues and had her go into an empty office to work out a road map and arrangements. "That should keep you busy for a few days," Mr. Jacobs said. "I'll have someone come get you when it's time for lunch."

Addison knew the first few dates and venues of their tour had been announced. As she flipped through the binder and opened the map on her laptop, she understood why she was doing this: the western edge of the national tour was already planned out, which left just about the rest of the country.

It was a slow going process. There was a list of cities they wanted to play in and cities that had requested them, some of them highlighted to indicate that they were top priority. By the time her first visitor came she had a headache and was regretting not having any medicine for it.

Luckily it was just Zed. In the twenty four hours since she started working there, he had quickly climbed up to one of her close friends—something that never happened so fast. He texted her nearly all night after they left the building, and had called her in the morning to make sure she was coming back. He even video chatted with her while she was driving in and he was getting ready for his day.

When Zed came into the office, he had a bright smile on his otherwise exhausted face. "Am I glad to see you!" he beamed. "It's been nothing but work all morning."

"You're telling me," Addison grumbled. "Is it time for lunch?"

Zed nodded. "We decided to go out for a change," he said. "There's this Italian restaurant I've been dying to go to, though Lucy wants to go on a date there but I'm not really sure about that."

"Oh you should probably go on a date with your girlfriend," Addison said. "That seems like it might be kinda important."

"We go out!" Zed argued. "We do stay at home date all the time! Plus, she gets a little upset when we get recognized in public."

Addison held back a snort. She saved her progress before shutting down her laptop, grabbed her phone and moved around the desk. "You wouldn't get recognized if you tried disguised yourself," she teased.

Zed scoffed. "I need your help, which is why I came to get you."

"And here I thought you just wanted to see your new friend."

"New best friend. That is a very important keyword." he corrected.

Addison just laughed. She followed him out of the office and down the hall into the room designated as his and Bonzo's dressing room.

"What exactly do you need from me?"

"I read your resume earlier—impressive stuff by the way—and saw that you dabbled in movie and production makeup," Zed explained. "So I ask you to make me unrecognizable."

"You've been famous for two years, you can't disguise yourself?"

Zed shrugged. "It looks better when someone else does it. More…realistic."

Addison held back a smirk. "You got a wig or something, Mr. I'm-Gonna-Dye-My-Hair-Bright-Green?" Addison mocked, making Zed laugh.

He went over to the large mirror and sat in the chair. "There's some hair dye in spray form. It washes out immediately so hopefully it doesn't rain."

"What color would you like?"

"I'm feeling blonde today," he said cheekily, glancing up at her hair.

"Haha," Addison deadpanned. She picked up the blonde spray and covered his forehead with her free hand, then sprayed the color all over his hair until it was mostly blonde—she couldn't get his roots, but luckily they were already turning brown.

"You have contacts?"

Zed opened another drawer, filled with small boxes all labeled different eye colors. "I'm feeling green or blue, what do you think?"

"I think you're trying to copy my style," she told him, picking out the blue box.

"There's some skin additions in one of the drawers," Zed said. "Go wild, I don't care. Just make me unrecognizable. I wanna hug and kiss my girlfriend without worrying about her losing her fucking mind over someone taking pictures of us."

Addison just nodded. She didn't watch him put in the contacts, instead pulling out boxes of makeup and skin. "Lucy seems…like a piece of work," she said hesitantly. She didn't want to comment on someone else's relationship, but was curious as to why there was even anything there.

"She's not that bad." Which meant she was still pretty bad. "She's a little…protective of our relationship."

Addison nodded. She went to work giving him a stubbly beard. "She's not very nice," Addison pointed out. "She hit me with a door yesterday."

"It probably wasn't on purpose," Zed told her.

"You know she threatens little girls—who are barely eight—for gushing over you, hugging you and kissing your cheek."

Zed sighed and Addison knew she had crossed into dangerous territory. "Lucy gets jealous. That's it, okay?"

Addison shrugged awkwardly. She didn't feel up to giving him a speech or telling him what she thought of his relationship. It wasn't her place to speech on his relationship. "I wasn't gonna give you some big speech. I was just curious. Wanted to know the ins and outs of this place."

Zed just gave her a half smile through the mirror.

"I gotta go. Bucky will be hella pissed if he comes home this weekend and his house is mess."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Zed said. He waved at her through the camera, then ended their video chat.

"Were you talking to Addison again?" Eliza asked.

"She's really nice. You wouldn't know because she's my best friend."

Eliza rolled her eyes which Zed didn't see because he was busy going through Addison's Instagram. "She was supposed to be my best friend but you stole her because you have a death wish."

"And how exactly do I do that?"

"Maybe not go through her Instagram and smile at her pictures as if you liked her."

"I do like her. She's my best friend."

Eliza snatched his phone up, making him jump in surprise. "Hey!" He looked at her in protest.

"Dude! You're falling for her hard! I've seen you like this before, when you first met Lucy. Addison is pretty and nice and funny and you're falling for her hard. And you need to stop."

Zed rolled his eyes. "I don't like Addison like that," he told her. "She's just my friend."

"Zed, I've known you since you were six. I know when you like someone. I know when you really like someone. And I see the way you look at Addison, and I know you really like here." Eliza sighed and fluffed her curls.

"That's really bad," she said in a pleading tone, "because Lucy is fucking psychotic, and something really bad will happen when you both realize you have a crush on Addison."

Zed understood what she was saying. "Don't worry, E," he told her. "I'm happy with Lucy. I wouldn't jeopardize that."

"Lucy's bad news," Eliza stated, as if it wasn't something she'd said before.

Zed rolled his eyes. "You may not like her but I do, okay? She's my girlfriend."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to say something."

"What's stopping you?" Zed muttered. "You've kinda been bashing all my life choices today."

Eliza laughed drily. "Anyway, I'd like to say that maybe you're just comfortable where you are. Like, you're just used to being with Lucy and your fine with it. And you're too much of a Zed to realize just how much of a bad person she is."

"She's not…she's not horrible."

"But you admit she's just a bit mean?"

"Let's just order food."

Four days later, Addison was woken up at three in the morning. She hadn't realized that her and Zed were at the level of friendship where they called each other in the middle of the night, and was surprised when the adorable magazine photo of him she had as his contact picture flashed on her phone screen.

She answered groggily. Zed was talking quickly in a state of panic. "I know it's late but please don't hang up," he rushed out. "You'll probably hear more about it in the morning honestly."

Addison groaned and rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong?" she said, followed by a yawn.

"Lucy tried to kill me," he stated. "She's on her way to jail, don't worry. I'm on my way to the hospital but I just needed to talk to you."

Addison groaned slightly and sat up in bed. "Have you called anyone else?"

"No."

"Not even Eliza? Not Bonzo?"

"I nearly lost my life, Addison."

Addison raised her eyebrows even though Zed couldn't see. "For real? Not, like, you being overdramatic?"

"Yes for real," Zed stated. "She beat me up and then tried to kill me with fire!"

"What the fuck," she muttered. She sat up completely and crawled out of her covers. "Are you going to Memorial West or Jackson?"

"Addison, I'm a celebrity."

She nodded as she moved toward her drawers. "Okay I'm on my way," she said. "Fake name?"

"Yeah," he breathed out. After a pause, he added quietly, "Thank you."

"What're best friends for?"

"Can you…can you stay on the line with me?"

Addison had never heard Zed sound so small and so…afraid before. He was always so calm and cool and collected, never freaking out no matter how insane the situation. It scared her to hear him like that.

"Yeah," she told him. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?"

"Not over the phone," he said uncomfortably. "I don't wanna talk about it right now."

"That's fine." She grabbed her sneakers and keys on her way out then made her way to her car. She was fine with walking in just her socks on the pavement until she could put Zed over the speaker in her car.

They talked for a few more minutes, Addison keeping the conversation light. Then when she was about halfway to the hospital, Zed said to her, "I have to go. We're nearly there and they want to sedate me before we get inside."

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

"Bye Addison," Zed said tiredly. "Thank you."

After Zed hung up, Addison called Eliza. She got to the emergency room not long after, following through the normal procedures. She got sent to a waiting room in the post-anesthesia care unit. In less than half an hour, Eliza and Bonzo showed up.

"What happened to Zed?" Eliza asked.

"All he told me was that Lucy tried to kill him," Addison stated. "And that he was coming here."

Eliza cursed under her breath. She looked up at Addison and Bonzo and said, "I always knew that bitch was fucking insane. I never thought she'd try to kill him though."

"Where's Mr. Jacobs?" Addison asked.

He went to check on Lucy at the police station. Bonzo signed.

Addison just sighed.

"Did he tell you what she did to him?" Eliza asked. "And why did he call you? No offense or anything."

"No, I get it," she said. "You've known him longer. And I honestly have no idea why he called. He said that I was on the top of his contacts and all, so it was easier. I was probably in his recents—we were FaceTiming earlier today."

Bonzo signed something she didn't catch, considering it was in the corner of her eyes. Eliza snorted in response.

"Zed told me that Lucy beat him up and tried to set him on fire," Addison explained. "That's all I know. I haven't seen him yet. But I think he'll be fine, considering the EMTs let him make a phone call."

"Did he say anything else?"

Addison shook her head. "Granted, I was half asleep so I might've missed some stuff in the beginning." Eliza rolled her eyes, prompting Addison to explain in a rush, "I was wide awake once he mentioned the whole 'near-death' thing! And I'm pretty sure that was early in the conversation!"

"So what now? We just sit here and wait?"

Addison nodded. "They told me that they sedated him to check his respiration, his heart, brain damage, and for an X-ray. It could a while before he gets out, and at least a few hours for the anesthesia to wear off."

I have blankets in my car, Bonzo signed.

"Why?" Eliza asked. "Actually, I don't care. You go get those, and me and Alyssa will set up camp in here."

Bonzo nodded and left the waiting room. Once he was gone, Eliza turned and gave Addison a serious look. "What were you and Zed FaceTiming about?" she asked.

Addison shrugged. "Nonsense," she said.

"Did Lucy see you guys?"

Addison nodded. "You don't think…" she started, but Eliza nodded before she could finish.

"I told you she's a jealous bitch," Eliza stated. "She is literally insane."

"But why would she hurt Zed?"

"Because he's been flirting with you!" Eliza exclaimed. "He doesn't know he's flirting, or he doesn't even realize he's developing feelings for you."

"That's insane," Addison stated. "Zed isn't flirting with me, and Lucy didn't hurt him because of me."

"Lucy's psychotic!" Eliza hissed. "She's hot and all, but batshit crazy!"

"She's a little crazy, sure, but she isn't jealous of me," Addison stated. "There's nothing special about me. I am the embodiment of a basic white girl."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she grumbled. "I am not here to explain human attraction to you. I have an actual problem."

They were woken up at the crack of dawn the next morning. Mr. Jacobs had pulled the blinds open and called for them all to wake up.

It was earlier and Addison felt gross from sleeping on a couch all night. Still, Mr. Jacobs went ahead like he'd been up for hours, which was a big possibility. "Okay, things are looking bad.".

That was usually her cue to leave, considering she wasn't yet ready for confidential band information. Addison yawned and stretched her arms behind her back, pulling her sleeves down over her arms. "You guys want me to coffee?"

"My personal assistant is bringing some up," Mr. Jacobs said. "Besides you need to be here. You were the last person to talk to both Zed and Lucy, and subsequently the first person Zed informed. Clearly, you know something, and the police would like to speak to you."

Addison's eyes widened. "Me?"

Mr. Jacobs nodded. "Lucy mentioned you were on video call with Zed when she got home. I just explained this."

Eliza got up and left the waiting room with her phone ringing. Before the door closed a nurse came in. "You're all here for Mr. Greene?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Mr. Jacobs said. "How's his condition?"

"Stable," the nurse said. "He should be waking soon, so I can take you to his room for you all to see him and for a full debriefing by Dr. Sanchez."

They left the waiting room and followed the male nurse down the hallway. Eliza walked up to Addison, nudging her shoulder lightly. "That was his sister calling me," she whispered. "Her and their dad are trying to get a flight down to see him."

Addison nodded in response. "I'm a little scared to see him," Eliza went on. "From what you told us, it sounds bad. I-I hate seeing my best friend hurting."

Addison then said, "They were dating for four years. The heartache would hurt way worse than anything else."

Eliza shrugged. The nurse showed them which room was his before heading off, most likely to deal with another patient.

"When you get in there, do not mention Lucy or anything that happened, okay?" Mr. Jacobs said. "You guys need to be there for him as his friend. When he's ready, he'll tell us his side of what happened."

What did Lucy tell you? Bonzo signed.

Mr. Jacobs sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Zed wanted to break up with her," he said. Eliza pinched Addison's side. "And-and she got angry and did some unspeakable things to him because she was angry. She regrets her decision but will plead guilty in court."

"Did she tell you what unspeakable things?" Eliza pried. She glanced around at them before adding, "So we aren't surprised when we see Zed."

"Domestic abuse and aggravated arson are her charges," Mr. Jacobs explained. "They're still waiting for a report from the hospital to find the full extent of harm on Zed."

"Now, we won't mention any of it to Zed," he reminded them. "Surround him with friends and people who care, at least until his actual family gets here."

Everyone nodded. Mr. Jacobs nodded then opened the door, letting Eliza and Bonzo go in, then Addison before going in himself.

Addison didn't know what she expected. Certainly not him to be covered in bandages and bruises. His mouth was covered by a noisy bipap, his nose and cheek dark with sizable bruises and his forehead covered in tape and stitches. Addison assumed that most of the bandages were covering burn marks from the fire.

"What the hell," Eliza gasped. She looked at Addison and said in a serious tone with a hard face, "I swear to god the next time I see that bitch I'll kill her myself."

"Eliza," Mr. Jacobs said warningly.

Bonzo signed, furiously and too fast for Addison to understand. Her eyes were focused on Zed laying in the hospital bed, slowly stirring in his sleep. Cautiously, she stepped toward the bed until she was by his head. His eyes fluttered open slowly and Addison reached down and lifted the bipap off of his face.

"Hey," she said softly. "Lift up your head, okay?"

"What are you doing?" Eliza questioned.

Addison ignored her. Zed lifted his head slightly and Addison loosened the straps around his head to pull it off.

"You can't just remove medical devices. He probably needs that." Eliza protested.

"Does that feel better?" Addison asked Zed.

"Yeah," Zed rasped out. He managed to give her a smile. "I'm glad you made it."

Addison gave him a small smile. "I'm glad your okay."

Zed just groaned in response. "I wouldn't say that," he joked. "Anyone else here with you?"

Addison nodded and stepped to the side so as to not obscure his view of the room. His face broke into a grin at the sight of his friends. "What time is it 'cause I know neither of you get up before ten."

"It's five in the fucking morning," Eliza grumbled. "The sun's barely up!"

Zed chuckled hoarsely, leading into a rough cough. Addison turned around and picked up the squirt bottle of water from the tray and holding it in front of him.

"Drink some water," she told him. She put the straw against his lips to let him know she was about to squirt it in before doing just that.

"How do you know what your doing?"

"I volunteered in the hospital in high school," Addison said. "The bipap makes it hard to talk and he doesn't really need it. It was just a precaution for when he was unconscious, in case his lungs failed or some shit."

"Where do you find these people, Maykel?" Eliza muttered.

Addison put the water bottle back on the food tray. "Are you in pain?" she asked him.

"Mostly numb and kinda floaty," Zed said. "Feels like I've been drinking, but not enough to get blackout drunk and definitely not tipsy."

"You're not old enough to drink," Mr. Jacobs reminded them. "You shouldn't tell me about your drinking escapades."

"I'm twenty-one, Maykel," Zed stated. "Since two months ago."

"I'm the only one who's still twenty," Eliza said.

"I'm also twenty," Addison said offhandedly.

Zed grinned and said, "I'm planning her super-awesome-better-than-her-cousin's birthday bash," he said proudly.

Addison smiled slightly. "It doesn't have to be big, I don't mind a small party with my five friends."

Zed rolled his eyes with a smile. "It'll be huge, you're gonna love it."

He groaned and shifted uncomfortably in his bed. "I wanna sit up," he complained.

Addison moved to the side of his bed. "Let's check your charts, make sure you don't have any injuries that'd prevent that."

"I don't."

"You might," Addison argued.

"Addison," Maykel said warningly.

"I'm just saying," she added with a shrug. "You may have been hurt in places you didn't realize, due to adrenaline, hormonal imbalance, or stress."

"Girl's fucking smart," Eliza muttered.

"High school is four years. When did you have time to do all these things?" Eliza asked.

"Oh, the school I went to was from seventh to twelfth grade," Addison explained. "So technically it was a middle and high school, but I just refer to it all as one."

"And she went to an arts school," Zed added from his spot on the bed.

"Oh did you?"

Addison nodded a bit uncomfortably. She didn't want to talk about her past ever. But she also knew if they kept asking about her they could continue to avoid talking about what had happened last night.

"And what college did you go to?" Eliza asked the exact question Addison was hoping she wouldn't have to answer.

"I-I didn't go to college," she said a bit weakly.

"What'd you do?" Eliza pried. "You know, between the years after graduating and now?"

"I…traveled," Addison lied. Well, half of it was true. She did travel, just not in the sense she was letting on.

"Where?"

"Around."

"E," Zed said before Eliza could ask anything else. "I think the real question is where's the food around here?"

Eliza shrugged and Addison let out a breath of relief. She looked at Zed and mouthed 'thank you', to which he just nodded and smiled in understanding. He didn't know why the conversation had made her uncomfortable but he knew that they were pushing it, and for that she was grateful.

It wasn't until later that day when Zed shared the story of what happened. They had to wait for the investigators to show up to record Zed's side of the story. There were two, Detectives Harrison and Ryan, both burly and frightening men. Addison did her best to keep her distance from them, sitting on the far side of the room and making herself as invisible as possible.

"Start from when the suspect got home," Detective Harrison instructed.

"I was talking to Addison," Zed said, gesturing vaguely in her direction. "And Lucy told me to hang up. She started telling me about her day—I didn't ask, but she felt like I needed to know, then I told Lucy that I wanted to break up, and she got very angry."

"Did she say anything to you?"

Zed nodded. "She accused me of cheating on her and said I only wanted to break up because I felt guilty. I told her that I never cheated on her, but not in so many words. I brought up the time she screwed Tommy Marcos last year that she thought I didn't know about. We fought and argued for like, ten minutes. Then I told her I was leaving."

"You left in the middle of a fight?" Eliza asked.

"I wanted to cool off," Zed explained. "I was gonna text Addison to get some ice cream and meet me at the studio so we could mess around with the instruments and eat ice cream until we were sick. Before I could leave, she hit me over the head with this book on the coffee table. I couldn't even fight back 'cause she caught me by surprise. Lucy was screaming at me, calling me all these names as she beat me shitless. 'You scumbag', 'you lousy douche', 'you wanna fuck everyone you meet you absolute lowlife'. Um…she took this glass bowl and broke it over my side. Lucy mostly kicked me and hit me until I nearly blacked out."

Zed took a shaky breath and leaned back against the bed. Eliza put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Take your time, Z," she said in a surprisingly gentle voice.

"Show me the message on your phone," Detective Harrison asked. "The one you were planning on sending to Addison."

Eliza picked up Zed's phone, unlocked it and passed it over to the investigator. Addison could see burn spots on his screen, as well as the spiderwebbed cracks all over.

"Then…" Zed said, pausing a second to make sure he was being heard. "Then she forced me into the hall closet. I can still hear her voice in my head: 'You lying piece of shit. You want to break up with me, you lose fucking everything.' I couldn't even move for a few minutes, I was in so much pain. And then I smelt the smoke. I panicked and tried to get out, but she locked the door. The knob wouldn't even twist. I was so scared. One of the neighbors called 9-1-1 and fire rescue was there within seconds. It felt like an eternity, trying to break out. I thought I was gonna die in there. They, uh, managed to get me out, a few burns here and there. Then I called Addison, 'cause I was freaking out and she always manages to calm me down. Addison called…"

"I called Eliza, who called Bonzo and Mr. Jacobs," Addison finished.

Detectives Harrison and Ryan stood up on the notion that they were finished. "We have a few questions," Detective Ryan said. "But we'll let you rest for a bit, Mr. Necrodopolus. We'd like to talk with your friends, starting with…Addison Davis."

Harrison passed Eliza the phone back. "Come with us," he said to Addison.

She wasn't really sure why she was being investigated. She'd had this job for almost a week and all this was happening. Any sane person would quit and find a practical job at this point.

They took Addison into a small and empty waiting room. "What's your relationship like with Mr. Necrodopolus?" Harrison asked.

"If you're asking if he was having an affair with me, the answer is no," Addison stated.

"We just want to know your relationship," Ryan explained. "How you feel about it, how you two interact."

Addison sighed slowly. "I started this job at the beginning of the week," she explained. "iZombie is like, my favorite band. And I definitely had the sort of crush on Zed that most huge fans do. It was like meeting my idols. But I knew he was in a relationship and nothing would ever happen between us, because he's a huge celebrity and I don't even have a crush I just idolize him."

"And how do you two interact with each other?"

"He acts like he's known me for years," Addison said. "Him and Eliza were fighting over being my best friend. He only won because he got to spend more time with me while Eliza was working. And…I don't have a lot of friends but being friends with Zed just feels so easy and right. In a weird way."

"And your relationship with Lucinda Tate?"

Addison scoffed in a sort of amused way. "Lucy hates me. She thinks I'm trying to steal her boyfriend. She's expressed her displeasure toward me several times."

"Has she ever physical attacked you?"

Addison shrugged. "She hit me with a door once, but it barely hurt and could just be chalked down to an accident. She's definitely threatened me. Twice, I think."

"Threatened you?" Harrison asked. Addison nodded. "How so?"

"On my first day she told me 'Keep it in your pants you whore or I will end you'," Addison said. "That was after Zed had taken me on a tour of the building. Then the second time was yesterday, when she got home and saw me FaceTiming Zed. She was behind him and made a slitting throat motion. And she mouthed 'I will end you'. Eliza told me the very first day that she was a bitch to anyone she thought was trying to steal Zed from her, but I really wasn't."

"If you don't mind, we'd like to see the chain of messages between you and Mr. Necrodopolus," Ryan asked. Addison nodded and unlocked her phone. She didn't have anything to hide on her phone and felt fine with them checking it.

"Ms. Tate also mentioned social media." Harrison added.

"Zed followed me on Instagram," Addison explained with an eye roll. "He keeps liking my posts from liking six months ago. It's not even serious, but Lucy told him to block me and he said no and she got all angry. Then tried to get into my phone and block him from my side."

They nodded and took note of everything she was saying. "I believe that's all for now," Harrison said. He passed her back her phone then dismissed her from the room.

Eliza and Bonzo were grounded for the time being. No social media, no public appearances, no leaving their respective homes. Which also meant they couldn't see Zed in the hospital, or Lucy in prison.

Addison, on the other hand, wasn't. She stayed with Zed nearly throughout his whole stay in the hospital. It was mostly sitting around and not doing anything besides watch him sleep and recover. At the end of his first day in the hospital, he asked Addison to help him make a video for his fans.

"Are you sure Mr. Jacobs would be fine with it?"

"Okay first of all, you don't have to keep calling him Mr. Jacobs," Zed told her. "And second of all, I already asked."

Addison giggled a little. "You asked for permission, huh?"

"I don't wanna lose my contract, I gotta eat somehow," Zed said, though he was grinning. "Maykel said it's fine, but you can't be in the video. No one knows you work for us, and he wants to keep it that way for as long as possible."

Addison nodded. "What're you gonna say?" she asked.

"Well, I'm gonna smile, because everyone loves it when I smile."

"And then I'm gonna say 'Thank you all for the love and support I've been receiving all day. I guarantee I've seen it all and I'm just not in any condition to respond right now.' And then I'm gonna blow a kiss and wave and that'll be it."

Addison couldn't help but grin. "You smooth motherfucker."

The next morning Zed's family came to visit him. His dad was just an average guy with two extremely talented kids. Zed's little sister Zoey was a model, dancer, and child actress. She was adorable and sweet and innocent, everything people loved in child celebrities.

Addison was sitting on the side of his bed and petting his hair when they came in that morning. It was more like Zoey came barreling in, charging at full speed to her brother's bedside. She only stopped when she nearly tripped over one of the cords on the floor.

Zed was still grinning widely. "Zoey," he said with mild surprise. "I thought you guys were still at home?"

"You think I wouldn't come to L.A. when my son's in the hospital?"

Zed sat up a little and looked at his dad as he came in. "How'd you even know? I mean, I didn't call you."

"It's all over the internet, Zed," Zoey said. "Yesterday morning TMZ posted about what happened. All they said was that Lucy went psycho and tried to kill you. Then this morning, while we were with Eliza, they released the 9-1-1 call your neighbors made."

"You know they're releasing shit as they find more out," Addison told him. "This is TMZ we're talking about."

All three of the Necrodopoluses looked at Addison curiously. "You're Addison, right?" Zoey asked.

Addison nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Zed keeps sending me screen recordings of you singing," Zoey said with a fond eye roll. "He doesn't deserve social media."

Addison giggled slightly. She got off the bed and shouldered her bag. "Since you guys are here I'm gonna go home," she said. "You should spend all day with Zed if you need."

"Oh, you don't have to go," Zed told her.

"Nah, I gotta shower and shit," Addison waved him off. "I'll be back later, don't worry. I am your babysitter."

"Addy, could you give us a nice little family photo before you go?" Zed asked. "My baby sister is so cute. And the man who made us both is also rather handsome."

Addison couldn't help but smile slightly. The closest she was with her family was her cousin Bucky, who she rarely ever saw due to his work. It was nice to see another family so close and loving.

Zoey and Zevon left the next day, only hours before Zed was discharged.

If he weren't Zed Necrodopolus, lead guitarist of iZombie, he'd get to stay with his friends while he healed and waited to be called in on Lucy's trial. But he needed to keep a low profile. Eliza and Bonzo were camping out together at Eliza's place which was swamped with paparazzi. No one knew where Zed was, and no one knew who Addison was. So, in the mind of their manager, it made sense for Addison to babysit Zed at her place until the trial in three days.

The first day was horrible. Zed complained constantly from being uncomfortable or in pain or needing to scratch under his bandages. Then he was hungry or bored or tired.

The second day was much more successful. They spent most of the morning asleep. Addison was 'pleasantly' woken up by her cousin standing over her on the couch, shouting in her ear. "Addison!"

She shrieked and rolled off the couch, then groaned. "What the hell!" she exclaimed. She glared at his smug and grinning face.

"Morning cuz!" Bucky Davis exclaimed excitedly. "Thought I'd pay my favorite family member a visit in, I dunno, my house."

Addison rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "Why're you on the couch?" Bucky asked.

Addison waved for him to follow her. She opened her room door and step inside, urging Bucky to keep quiet as they went. Zed was knocked out in her bed and tangled in the sheets, snoring softly on her pillow.

"Huh," Bucky muttered. "I never would've thought my baby cuz was the slut who broke up Zed and Lucy."

"She tried to kill him, I didn't break them up," Addison whispered harshly. "He's here because there are cameras swarming his friends' houses and no one knows about my employment with them. No one but you, at least."

Bucky nodded and left the room and Addison followed him to the kitchen.

"This doesn't look good," Bucky told her. "You shouldn't get involved with him. I know guys like him, and they're bad news."

Addison rolled her eyes. "He's my friend," she said. "I've known him for literally a week. Nothing's going on, and nothing ever will."

Bucky nodded and let out a breath of relief. "There's this fansite that saw the picture Zed put on his story yesterday. You're in the reflection, but it's just your hair and jacket. If they found out it was you, Addy, your life would be over. It is not fun being famous, okay? Especially considering you're the girl who ruined Zed and Lucy."

"Lucy was fucking insane," Addison argued. "She threatened me on my first day. I nearly peed my pants! I say, good riddance of the psychopath. She was no good for him."

"And you are?"

"I-I didn't say that," Addison stammered. "What happened was that Lucy got angry 'cause me and Zed were video chatting. And that Zed wanted to break up. But not because of me!"

"Yes because of you!" Bucky exclaimed.

"There's nothing special about me, Bucky! I couldn't get a date before I can't get one now! Why the fuck would anything change!"

Bucky sighed defeatedly. "Addy I don't want you getting hurt again," he said to her. "You…you're my best friend. I'd hate it if anybody were to hurt you."

Addison looked down, ashamed. "I know, Bucky." She knew what he was talking about, understood his worry.

He turned away from her and to her fridge. "I'll make you guys breakfast," he said to change the subject. "You should go wake up Zed."

Zed fangirled hard for Bucky. Luckily, the professional dancer had only stayed for a few hours on Saturday, before heading off to Florida. After that, they spent most of the weekend sitting around and watching television or making desserts.

Sunday afternoon was slow and boring, to say the least. "There's nothing on," Zed whined for the third time in the hour.

"You could try reading a book, like I'm trying to do."

"Reading is boring," he told her. "I…I wanna play music. Do you have a guitar?"

Addison nodded offhandedly, her eyes fanning over the words on screen. "I have a guitar and a baby grand. I play both as well. You know this."

Zed snatched her laptop from her hands and exclaimed, "Then why are we sitting here reading? Let's play some tunes!"

Addison rolled her eyes and reached for her book, to which Zed stretched it out on his other side. "Don't try this," he warned. "You're five feet tall you know you'll lose once I stand up."

Addison pouted, knowing he was right. "I wanna read. Besides I'm…I'm upset with my piano."

"Your upset with your piano?" Zed asked skeptically. Addison nodded. "Am I going to regret asking why?"

She cracked a grin and said, "I had like four broken hammers. Do you know how much it costs to repair a baby grand?"

Zed shook his head. "Too much."

"And I was in the middle of a new cover," Addison went on.

"What song?"

"Heavy by Linkin Park—"

"and Kiiara," Zed finished. "Can I hear it? You have such a beautiful voice."

Addison got up from the couch and moved to the door of her music room, going quickly to hide her blush. It was just a simple compliment that didn't mean anything.

Zed got up and followed her into the next room. "Is this a spare bedroom?" he asked.

"Yeah," she responded. "I made it into a music room because I don't have people over that often."

She went to the middle of the room and pulled the sheet from her piano. She then lifted the top of the bench and pulled out her sheet music, placed it on top then closed it and sat down.

"Have a seat," she told him. "Try not to ruin anything."

She didn't bother watching as he made his way to her, squeezing onto the bench so that their thighs were touching. "Why so much sheet music? Do you write originals?"

Addison snorted. "One request at a time," she told him. "I play what I've got for Heavy, then you can ask more questions."

Zed nodded and watched her as she sifted through sheet music, pulling several sheets out of the stack and lining them up on the music rack. "It's still in the works," she reminded him. "I wasn't very far when it broke on me."

Zed nodded again and watched her play a few rusty notes as a warm up. "Um, just so you know, I play the notes of the actual words so I know what key I need to sing in," she told him.

"Yeah yeah," Zed said, nudging her shoulder. "Your creative process is your creative process. I just wanna hear you sing."

"Okay." Addison took a deep breath, then played the first chord—D-flat, F-sharp, and A. She played the background notes for a little, then actually went into the song.

I don't like my mind right now
Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary
Wish that I could slow things down
I wanna let go but there's comfort in the panic

And I drive myself crazy
Thinking everything's about me
Yeah, I drive myself crazy
'Cause I can't escape the gravity

I'm holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
So much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?

"And, uh," she stammered, hitting a few mindless keys before continuing, "that's how far I was before my stupid piano broke."

Zed didn't say anything and she couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead she played the scales, from C-scale and working her way up to the B-scale, then doing them backwards.

Halfway through her backwards version of the D-scale, Zed said softly, "You're really good."

Addison looked up at him and had to bite her tongue to keep from saying anything stupid. He was looking at her in complete wonder and awe, like she was the only thing—the only person—in the world that mattered.

"Nearly brought me to tears too," he added, laughing at little at the end. "I…I can't wait until you finish. I'm excited to hear the rest."

Addison felt her cheeks heat up. She focused her attention on the sheet music. "Do you write any originals?" Zed asked. "I…I see all this sheet music and I was just wondering."

Addison nodded. She swapped the sheet music for a folder sitting on top of her piano, passing it to Zed. "They're not full songs," she explained. "I can write the music, no problem, and sometimes get a good chorus or hook and maybe a few versus but that's about it."

She watched as he flipped through the pages, then stopped on a newer and messier piece. "Someday? It's got like, zero words."

Addison nodded, shrugged, and pushed a hair behind her ear. "It's…I picture it as a duet," she told him. "So like the first part would be the guy's part that I can't write for the life of me. I can't even write the girl's part, there's barely any."

"It's a catchy tune," he admitted.

Zed put the folder on the stand and placed his hands on the keys, playing the first few notes. "It's good," he decided. "I like it. Let's finish it."

"Excuse me?"

Zed shrugged. "Let's write some music, Addy. You should finish your song, plus I've got the creative bug. Me and Lucy would usually write around this time of the month, 'cause she gets super creative when she gets her period for some odd reason."

Addison cringed. "I'll write songs with you, but please don't overshare again."

Zed laughed lightly which made Addison smile. "Okay, play me what you have so far."

Zed 1:47 pm

All these potential girls suck. They're all terrible and their voices are graining. Two have already sexually assaulted me.

Zed 1:50 pm

Basically I wish you were here

Zed 2:21 pm

I have Someday stuck in my head

Zed 2:29 pm

We're on lunch break and one of the potentials broke into our break room. So…I'm seriously considering requesting you to audition. You're ten times better than these skanks.

Addison 3:01 pm

Don't you dare

Addison 3:02 pm

Stop being an entitled asshole and warm up. There's gotta be someone there that's good.

Zed 3:04 pm

You…YOU GOT WHAT I NEED

Addison 3:06 pm

I'm being serious. I'm not rescheduling your tour again.

Zed 4:10 pm

I don't appreciate being forced to kiss people (I was assaulted AGAIN)

Addison 6:02 pm

Also, I have officially finished rescheduling all of your shows.

Six days later, and it was all over. Lucy was in jail, twenty-five to life. The remaining members of iZombie were moved into a house together, a few blocks away from where Addison lived. They were all busy in their own way: Addison had been tasked with pushing all of their tour dates to the last full week of July, while the members of iZombie were on the hunt for a replacement singer.

The week before the beginning of June, Addison had been called back into the studio. Mr. Jacobs had sent her a revised coffee orders list. They either hadn't picked a new singer or their new singer didn't drink coffee.

She didn't spill any coffee that time, but pretended to and laughed with Zed about it. "How are auditions going?" Addison asked.

"Horrible!" Eliza shouted from across the room. "I got groped yesterday! Groped! She felt all over my tits! It was uncomfortable and weird!"

Addison laughed and elbowed Zed in the side. "At least you're not the only one getting molested around here."

"It's not funny!" Zed exclaimed in frustration despite his smile.

Addison grinned and sipped her coffee. "So, what's on today's agenda?" she asked.

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding?"

"About?"

Instead of answering her, Eliza looked at Zed and asked, "She doesn't know?"

"I figured Addison would be better off in the dark."

"What are you talking about?"

Zed gave her a knowing and nervous look. "I think you know."

Addison's face fell at the thought. "No."

Zed nodded and ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Surprise?"

Addison shook her head. "No. No, no, no, no, no."

"Addy—"

"No!" Addison shouted. Zed stood up and she stepped back, putting distance between herself and him. "No! I-I told you I didn't want to do it! I told you, Zed! I won't do it! You can't make me!"

Mommy I'm scared.

"Addison it's not that bad," Zed told her, try to talk her down and persuade her. "You just sing a few lines for us. And you're great, you'll do amazing."

Don't worry sweetie, you'll be amazing.

Addison felt like crying then. She pulled on her sleeves and covered her ears and moved toward the door. "Stop it. I-I won't do it! Not again!"

Zed took a few steps toward her and she backed up until she was pressed against the wall. "Addison," he said gently. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

There's nothing to be scared of, Sweetie.

She slid down the her all until she was curled up in the corner. "I'll be be right there with you." Her wrists itched in the worst way possible, the fabric of her long sleeve irritating them.

Daddy and I will be right there in the front row, cheering you on.

Zed crouched down in front of her. "Addison, look at me," he told her. Slowly and reluctantly, Addison opened her eyes to look at him. "You're perfect for this. There's no one else I know who could do what you can. You're spectacular, and I know you can crush it."

He dropped his voice so he was whispering and only she could hear. "They just wanna make sure your voice is legit is all. I've already shown 'em videos of you singing and they wanna know it's not fake. That's all. We can sing together if that'd make you feel better."

"I…I didn't bring my sheet music," she said lamely, trying her best to get out of the situation at hand.

She wasn't scared of performing, per say. She was more afraid of auditions, where everything was in the balance and could be ruined by one wrong note, one awkward key change, one voice crack. One small little imperfection and her entire life would be upheavaled and ruined because she couldn't just be perfect.

"I know you have in your car, you always do." Zed then asked her, "Are you gonna sing? 'Cause I really want you to at least try. But if you don't want to, I won't make you."

"I…I'll try," she conceded.

Zed's face broke into a contagious grin and Addison had to bite her lip to keep from smiling too widely.

"I only have Someday."

"You're gonna play it?" Zed asked.

"It's the only song I've spent more than a few days rehearsing."

Zed nodded, then stood up and extended his hand to her, which she graciously took and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "We're going to the garage," Zed said to the others. "We'll be back in like, five minutes."

"Meet you in the audition room?" Eliza asked.

Zed nodded and led Addison out of the room, walking out from their floor and toward the garage. "Do you have stage fright?" Zed asked. "I thought you went to a music school."

"I don't have stage fright," Addison argued. She rubbed her arms nervously, feeling the itch spread up to her elbows. "It's just…auditions freak me out."

Zed squeezed her hand as they stepped into the garage. "You'll do great. I'll be cheering you on, don't worry."

Addison ducked her head down to hide her blush, then pulled her hoodie over her ears. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her keys, unlocking her car and dropping Zed's hand to climb inside. She was inside for a few seconds before Zed cursed and pushed her in further.

"Paparazzi," he whispered as he crawled in and closed the door. "Shit shit shit."

Addison crawled over the center console and into the passenger seat. "Get in the back," she told him in a rushed whisper. "There's a blanket there you can hide under."

Zed ducked into the backseat and onto the floor, pulling the blanket over his body. "Did they see you?" Addison whispered, not turning to make it obvious.

"They saw me but I don't think they know I'm in here," Zed whispered back. "This is so bad. Keep looking for your music. Try not to make it obvious there's someone back here."

Addison opened her glovebox and let the papers inside spill out. It didn't take long for her to sort through them and collect the sheets filled with notes and lyrics. "I've found it, now what?" she whispered.

"Toss your keys back here," Zed told her. "Go back inside, I'll be there soon. Don't talk to them if they try to talk to you. Don't say anything, and if they start following you skip our floor."

Addison nodded though he couldn't see. She turned on the car, cracked a window open, then dropped her keys in the backseat and climbed out of the car.

"Where's Zed?"

"He saw the paparazzi so he's hiding in my car," Addison stated.

"Shit, really?"

Addison nodded. She sat down on the piano bench and started lining up her sheet music. Zed came seconds later, a little out of breath and with one of Addison's old beanies covering all of his hair. Eliza and Bonzo got up and moved to their friend.

"Hey dude, you good?" Eliza asked.

Zed nodded. "Yeah, I found this hat on the floor of Addison's car and covered my hair, then ducked out and left. I don't think they saw me, but I did a few wrong turns just in case."

He moved around his friends and to Addison, slipping her cap off of his head and offering it to her. "Did you get in okay?" he asked.

Addison nodded. "Did you?"

Zed nodded. "Yeah, I don't think they saw me," he said. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Your acting like I'm the celebrity," Addison said. "They don't know who I am, and it'd take a lot of digging to find out."

Eliza moved over and stepped between the pair. "Once they figure it out, you're gonna be in a hellstorm. Which is why you aren't supposed to be seen here, especially not with 'recently single Zed Necrodopolus'. It'll be even worse than a hellstorm. It'll be a hellstorm on fire with heaping amounts of flooding and rain."

Addison wanted to point out that the rain would put out the fire but decided against it, instead nodding along. "I'll be more careful from now on," she told her.

Eliza rolled her eyes and went across the room and back to her table. Bonzo joined her a second later, and Zed sat down next to Addison on the bench.

"Usually Maykel would be here, but he's got a meeting," Zed told her. "But you got this. You've already signed the same disclosure as the rest of us, and I know you're amazing. Just sing, okay?"

Addison nodded, keeping up her facade of calmness. Without turning toward Eliza and Bonzo, she announced to them, "The way I wrote it, the piano will be playing the music in the background while also playing the notes of the words."

"Oh, you're playing an original?" Eliza asked.

Addison nodded. "I wrote the music last year and some of the words, and Zed helped me finish it a few weeks ago."

She waited a beat, then placed her hands on the first keys. The room was unnervingly silent. Addison glanced over to make sure Zed had followed through on his promise, to see if he was still there for her.

The intro started with a D-chord. Addison couldn't bring herself to look at Eliza or Bonzo, or even Zed. They were all watching her as she played, judging and taking note on everything she did. She swallowed her nerves and sang, quiet and barely heard, "Oh. La la la la la. Oh, yeah."

Addison focused on the sheet music, though she knew every note and sharp and flat and rest by heart. From beside her, Zed started singing. "I know it might be crazy but did you hear the story?"

This time, Addison sang louder and much more confidently. "I think I heard it vaguely."

"A girl and a zombie."

"Oh tell me more boy. Sounds like a fantasy."

Zed nudged her shoulder, light enough so she wouldn't miss a key. Addison brought her gaze from the sheets to his face, grinning slightly. They sang in harmony, "Oh what could go so wrong with a girl and a zombie?"

"You're from the perfect paradise, and I'm living on the darker side."

"Oh I got a feeling if you get to know me."

"Right from the start you caught my eye," Zed sang and winked. "Something inside me came to life."

"Oh I got a feeling—" Addison sang. Then, Zed joined her. "if you get to know me."

"Someday—"

"This could be, this could be ordinary."

"Someday—"

"Could we be something extraordinary."

Zed slung an arm around her shoulder. Addison jumped and did her best to not falter in playing. "You and me side by side."

"Out in the broad daylight." Zed dropped his arm and readied his hands on the bass side. "If they laugh we'll say: 'we're gonna be someday'."

They played the musical interlude together. The contrast between the melodies they played made the song sound even better than when they played at her house.

"We're gonna be someday. Someday! Someday! We're gonna be someday."

"Girl you look delicious," Zed sang, biting at the air. Addison grinned and giggled. "Oh I mean gorgeous."

"Well now you're getting fearless."

"I'm just rooting for us."

"If different was a superpower—"

"We'd be so flawless. Yeah we can make these two worlds ours, I'm rooting for us."

"Two lonely hearts meet in the dark, imagine it now they start a spark."

"You got my attention, what happens next then?"

"Movies and long walks in the park, hanging out anywhere we want."

"I like the way your thinking I can almost see it."

Zed grinned at her and pinched her cheek. "Someday—"

"This could be, this could be ordinary."

"Someday—"

"Could we be something extraordinary."

"You and me side by side."

"Out in the broad daylight. If they laugh we'll say: 'we're gonna be someday'. Someday! Someday!"

"So let them talk if they wanna. Let them talk if they're gonna. We gonna do what we wanna. Let them talk, let them talk, if they wanna, they wanna!"

They sang the final chorus together, elbowing and grinning stupidly at each other. When they finished, they continued to smile at each other. Addison was out of breath but still ecstatic, mostly because she had just auditioned without freezing up or having a major anxiety attack and because singing with Zed made her grin out of control. Never would she have guessed she'd be singing with him, or be so happy and so close to him, singing a love song they wrote together.

Addison gulped and breathed hard as she stared into his eyes. Zed cracked a smile and licked his lips. "You were great, Addy," he breathed out between pants.

"Th-Thanks."

Staring at Zed was intimate and made her heart pound. Luckily, they were jarred out by the applause of Eliza and Bonzo.

Addison cleared her throat and turned to the two. "That was amazing!" Eliza exclaimed.

Addison blushed at the praise. "Addison wrote the music and most of the words," Zed explained. "I just added the Zombie-flare."

"I can't believe you didn't tell us you could sing!" Eliza exclaimed with mock anger. "We're out here stressing to find a singer and you're sitting in your office, knowing damn well you can sing, holding out on us."

"You should see her music room."

"You have a music room!" Eliza shouted.

Addison just stared at her in surprise. The conversation had gone from flattering to an all out attack on her.

"She plays guitar too," Zed added. "And she had a whole bunch of sheet music all over the place, a lot of originals."

"Damn girl," Eliza said then whistled. "You just get more attractive every day."

Addison blushed and glanced at the ground. "They aren't good, if they're even complete I probably wrote them when I was like fifteen."

Zed grabbed her shoulders—making her flinch against him—and shook her. "Don't be modest, they're amazing!" Zed shouted.

"I mean, we can't make any final decisions until Maykel gets back but I think we all agree that you are amazing and definitely will be our lead singer."

Addison glanced at Bonzo, seeing him nod in confirmation and sign, I've never heard anything like that, then shake his hands as ASL applause.

Addison already signed six of the twelve parts of her new contract when she had gotten the job as assistant. When she had gone in to sign the other half, Bucky insisted on going with her as her 'manager'.

"I've been signing contracts for years, Addy," he told her. "I'll make sure it's all fair and true."

"I'm twenty years old, I think I can read a contract."

"You are not gonna get conned, Baby Cuz," Bucky stated. "The music world is cruel and unfair and I'm already pissed you wanna be a part of it."

Addison rolled her eyes at him. "Don't embarrass me, okay? Eliza and Bonzo and Zed will be there and it's already embarrassing enough to have my older cousin coming in to baby me."

"I'm not babying you," Bucky said.

Addison rolled her eyes again and pulled into her usual parking space. She turned off the engine then reached into her backseat, grabbing her beanie and jacket.

"What're you doing? It's over eighty degrees outside!"

"We don't want the press to know about me working with iZombie yet. They didn't even want me to say anything about being their assistant."

Bucky rolled his eyes and watched Addison put her hair in a bun then stuffed it into her beanie. "Plus I wear a long sleeve everyday," she added. "This is nothing new."

Bucky frowned at her. "They don't know?"

"They're really bad at background checks here."

"And you aren't gonna say anything either?"

Addison shook her head. "It'll be fine," she said. "C'mon, let's go."

"I call a toast!" Zed exclaimed. He looked at Eliza and Addison and said pointedly, "I know you two are still babies and aren't old enough to drink but I think you'll be fine with just one shot."

"I've had shots before," Addison said, amused.

Eliza slung her arm around the blonde and said happily, "You just get cooler and cooler."

She passed Addison the shot glass and grabbed up her own. The three people in the room looked and waited for Zed to begin his toast.

"Let's dedicate these here shots to our new lead singer, Addison!" Zed exclaimed. "To a fantastic summer to come! An amazing new E.P. and album! And an awesome tour!"

"Which all brings us back to Blondie!" Eliza exclaimed with a laugh.

"To Addison!"