Addison stood patiently, waiting for a certain brunette to walk out the front entrance of Seabrook. Fifteen minutes passed and there was still no sign of Eliza. It would have been easy if the white-haired girl could have texted the other girl but sadly they were not at the number exchange stage of their ... well ... relationship. The two girls weren't exactly friends yet. Addison assumed that Eliza had pleasant feelings towards her but the Zombie didn't seem too interested in getting to know the cheerleader. For the most part, Addison was satisfied with the level of closeness she had with Eliza yet a part of her wished they were closer. Addison had tried to make more of an effort to be friends with her. At first, it seemed as if this kindness was well received by the brunette but there was always a flicker in Eliza's expression that indicated that she thought the human was being insincere. As Bucky would so humbly put it, Addison would not be liked by everyone and she could not be friends with just everyone. But Eliza was not just anyone. She was Zed's best friend and they loved each other so much. That's why Addison knew she could trust Eliza to help her stop Bucky from hurting Zed. The Zombie would probably do anything for Zed and maybe that was part of the reason the girls could not be close.

Addison signed just as Eliza pushed open the glass doors with one hand with her backpack slumped over her shoulders. Unfortunately for her, she did not see Addison walk behind her since she had her head down. The blonde tapped on the other girl's shoulder, making the brunette gasp as she turned around.

"Addison?" Eliza asked with a surprised tone.

"I need your help," Addison said and then added before Eliza could respond, "It's Zed."

There was an immediate change in the Zombie's demeanor. There was a flash of worry that quickly turned into a look of determination. She grabbed Addison by the hand and headed back towards Seabrook's interior.

"Where?" Eliza asked.

Addison was surprised that she didn't even ask what happened. It was like a switch went off inside Eliza and the only thing she could think of was Zed. There was something in her stride made Addison feel like Eliza would tear down the whole building, search the whole town and gather an army just to find Zed. It was hard not to deny that the two Zombies were extremely close, closer than Addison was to Zed. What if she and Zed never became that close? Addison compared her reaction to what Bucky was doing to the way Eliza behaved when Addison said Zed needed help. Why didn't she immediately do something? Why didn't she feel like she could bulldoze an entire town just to ensure that nothing happened to the love of her life? Why didn't she love Zed as much as Eliza loved him? That thought alone made the pale girl turn Casper white.

"Addison!" Eliza yelled as she grabbed the white-haired girl's upper arm, breaking Addison away from her thoughts.

"Zed's okay right now," Addison tried to explain.

"Then what's wrong?"

Addison pulled Eliza away from the crowd and towards a quieter area. She glanced around to make sure that none of Bucky's minions were around. She lowered her voice as she told Eliza about Bucky's film and about the conversation she had with Zed.

"Whoa, whoa back up," Eliza interrupted. "He's using Zed to do what?"

"To make a documentary on zombies," Addison said. "He said he wants to leave school because of Zombies."

Addison watched as the other girl lowered her head and sighed. When she lifted her head, she stared at the human before massaging her temples.

"Addison," Eliza slowly enunciated as Addison nodded. "You need to get that tape. This is bad. I know he's your cousin but -"

"But Zed's my boyfriend!" Addison interrupted in such a passionate way that it surprised herself. She lowered her head, slowly shaking it as she balled her fist. She looked up at the girl in front of her and said, "I won't let Bucky hurt Zed."

Eliza nodded.

They stood in silence. There were two girls that were ready to fight for the boy they loved. There were two. Two girls in Zed's life.

And that worried the poor cheerleader. The problem wasn't jealousy. What if Zed was measuring Addison's love for him on the Eliza scale? What if Addison's love was not good enough for Zed? Was that why she couldn't even tell Zed the truth about Bucky? Was she afraid that Zed would feel that Addison was too complicated and that their relationship was always filled with obstacles? Addison had spent her whole life never feeling good enough to the point that her own parents forced her to hide the parts of her that didn't meet the mark. She should have expected that she would carry insecurities into her relationships since she was forced to grow up feeling insecure about her appearance. These insecurities never left her, they just moved it to a new area of her life.

"What are you going to do?" Eliza asked. "He isn't going to listen to reason."

A small grin appeared on the cheerleader's face. The brunette seemed confused by the white-haired girl's smile. She knew exactly how the two girls were going to stop Bucky's plan against Zed.

"You can hack computers right?" Addison asked.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with -"

"What if we hacked into Bucky's desktop just to see his film?"

Eliza nodded as a smile spread across her face.

"That will work."

"Perfect!"

"Lead the way."

As the two girls left the schoolyard, Addison was beginning to feel guilty for the crime she was going to commit. She was about to break into her cousin's house, violate his personal property and then use the film as blackmail. She was dragging Eliza into this and making her an accessory to the crime. Worse of all, Bucky would no longer trust her after this. She did not like the idea of Bucky being mad at her. She did not want anyone being angry at her. It made her sad knowing that Bucky was forcing her hand. His hatred and prejudice for Zombies put her in this situation. Addison was so afraid of the harm that her cousin would do that she had to break the law to protect the hundreds of Zombies at Seabrook High. Addison wished that there was another way but she knew that this was the best course of action.

Addison and Eliza walked the streets as the cool afternoon breeze ruffled their hair and kissed their skin. Addison wrapped her hands around her arms, wishing that Zed was around so he could give her his jacket. She looked over at the other girl as the Zombie zipped up her green jacket and then buried her hands in her jacket's front pockets. This made the cheerleader wish she had brought her sweater with her. Her pink lace-sleeved blouse did not offer a lot of protection against the cold. She hoped that the fifteen-minute walk to Bucky's house would warm her up.

The walk to Bucky's house was starting to feel longer than usual. As the two girls walked in silence, Addison wished that she was old enough to drive. The drive would have made traveling with Eliza less awkward. If she was walking with Zed or Bree, Addison would have been intrigued by the conversation that she would not even have noticed how long it took to get to the destination. With Eliza, things were different. She did not know what to say to the other girl and the other girl made no effort to start a conversation. The only thing Addison could do is listen to their footsteps as their shoes created friction against the gravel. There were a few sounds of cars driving past but in Seabrook, cars were rarely used since most people preferred to walk.

"We are turning the corner onto Farington Drive," Addison notified as she pointed across the street.

"Kay," Eliza replied.

The two girls turned and walked down the crosswalk as friendly construction workers waved to them.

Addison walked back and Eliza chuckled.

"What?" Addison asked, genuinely unsure of what was so funny.

"You know he was flirting," Eliza informed her.

"He was being nice."

"You're too nice and you think that everyone is nice."

Addison opened her mouth to say something, then she quickly closed it. She knew Eliza was not adjusted yet to Seabrook, one of the nicest and safest towns in America. The News rarely reported murders, thievery or other misdemeanor crimes. The people here treated each other with respect and everyone was nice to everyone. One time when Addison was nine, she was so distracted talking to her friend that they became lost on their walk home from school. It was a frightening situation especially since it was getting dark. A generous man pulled up in his white Ford Focus and offered to give the girls a ride home. When Addison told her father what happened, he replied that getting in a stranger's car would have been dangerous anywhere except Seabrook. Perhaps, it was not as safe in Zombietown or maybe people were not as amiable there.

"What's going on there?" Eliza asked, interrupting the cheerleader from her thoughts.

Addison looked up and seen that there was construction at the entrance of Bucky's street. When she was visiting Bucky a couple of weeks ago, there was no sign of construction. The two girls stood still on the sidewalk as they watched workers carry a tall, heavy-looking white fencing towards the beginning of the street. It appeared as if they were going to build a fence to keep people from entering Bucky's street. That did not make any sense to Addison. Why would they build fences to keep people out?

The curiosity got the best of the cheerleader so she walked over to the workers, then paused as she headed towards them.

"Can we help you?" asked a middle-aged, scruffy-faced worker.

"What's the fence for?" she asked. "Are we not allowed in?"

"New policy sweetie," the worker explained. "We are fencing in all the neighbors in the north side of Seabrook to protect the safety of the citizens from ..."

The construction paused and started staring over Addison's shoulder. She turned and noticed Eliza, staring uncomfortably back at the worker. Addison stared at the worker for a second before looking down at the ground.

"You both can through for now," the worker continued and then lower your voice, "But didn't your daddy ever tell you not to feed the zombies because they'll follow you home."

Addison's eyes widen as the men began to chuckle. As she quickly walked back over to Eliza, she could feel the eyes of the men watching her. She grabbed Eliza's hand and started guiding her down Bucky's streets. Eliza stopped walking and placed both hands on Addison's shoulders, forcing her to look at her.

"Addison, tell me what happened," she demanded.

"It's okay," Addison said, obviously a little shaken up.

Before Eliza could respond, they heard one of the men say "What's wrong with her hair" and then another man responded, "She's obviously rebelling against her dad. Why else would she hang around a flesh-eating monster?" The men laughed.

Addison's shoulder began to hurt as Eliza tighten her grip on her shoulders. Rage flashed through Eliza's being, she inhaled and exhaled before turning her attention back to the cheerleader.

"This is why it's important to stop Bucky," Eliza said. "This is what Zombies experience every day in Seabrook. That's why I was saying that not everyone is nice as you think. People aren't happy that Zombies are here. I just don't want Zed or anyone else getting hurt by these zombiphobics."

All Addison could say back was, "Bucky did not tell me about this."

"And why would he?" Eliza asked.

Addison said nothing.

The two finished their walk in silence until they arrived at Bucky's house. Addison knew that Bucky and his parents would not be home for another few hours. She walked up to the front porch, uncovered the key hidden under the welcome mat and proceeded to open the door. From the corner of her eye, she could see Eliza twisting her head as if she was checking to see if anyone was watching. With a quick twist of the knob, the door plopped open and the two girls were immediately greeted with warm air as they entered the house. It was obvious that Aunt Mary's favorite color was yellow since the foyer was painted a pale yellow which matched the old-fashion telephone with the cord that dangled against the white railing of the staircase. This used to be one of Addison's favorite place to visit when she was little since it felt like ... like sunshine anytime she came inside. She closed her eyes and inhaled the soft lemon-scented air freshener that sprayed periodically. Once upon a time, this was her second home until the one incident happened. Addison did not like to allow that one awful and traumatic moment to cloud over the amazing memories she had here.

She started walking towards the staircase with the Zombie trailing behind her. Once she walked up the stairs, she glanced back at Eliza who was staring at the picture frame on the wall above the railing. The cheerleader stepped down and looked at the photograph of a young Bucky smiling with his parents. Bucky looked so happy with his pink superhero cape on as he cradled his favorite stuffed puppy in his hand. Aunt Mary looked so pretty when she let her dark hair hang low in all of its natural curly glory. That was before Bucky's dad told her he preferred her hair shoulder-length and straight. Her eyes looked glassy and empty although she had a huge grin plastered on her face. Addison stared at her uncle. His golden blonde hair was gelled back, his lips were pressed together, his eyebrows raised and his eyes looked so focused and sharp that he could kill someone just from a stare.

"Is that Bucky's dad?" Eliza asked. "He looks so ..."

"Mean?" Addison asked.

"Well, is he?"

Addison stared at Eliza for a second and gave the other girl a reassuring grin. She gestured towards the top of the staircase and the two girls walked up the stairs and then walked towards the end of the hall. Addison opened Bucky's bedroom door, her eyes widened as she walked in. She had not been in Bucky's room since she was thirteen. Back then, his room was bright green with posters of his favorite celebrities, including the Seabrook Superhero (that saved damsels from Zombies), Rob Zombie (whose music was definitely better than Marilyn Manson) and Dame Edna (Addison never knew who he or she was). He had a pink daybed in one corner of the room, his bunk bed set in the other, and a vanity set that matched his white wood desk in the center.

"I didn't expect his room to be gray," Eliza mentioned as she walked towards the sprayed painted black desk. She turned on his computer as Addison stared at the gray bare walls. The only furniture he had besides the desk was his bed, was covered in a single gray sheet with one pillow.

"Me either," Addison finally said.

Eliza pulled out her laptop and started hacking into Bucky's computer. As Eliza worked on that, Addison started snooping around his room. She opened his closet door and immediately noticed that none of his cheerleading outfits were hanging up. That seemed odd since Bucky was proud of his uniform. Most of the clothes in his closet were black dress slacks and pale blue and

stark white button downs.

There was a brown box at the top on the closet. Addison pulled the box down, nearly falling backward since the contents of the box were so heavy. She dropped the box, it settled on the floor with a loud thump.

"You okay?" she heard Eliza asked.

"I'm fine," Addison answered.

Once she opened it, she gasped. The first thing she pulled out was a brick. A brick. What was Bucky going to do with a brick? She set the brick down and then moved a clothes iron and a few board games until she noticed that there were clothes neatly folded in the box, bright pink and green material. These were the clothes that Bucky wore daily and it was odd that he hid them. She moved them around and found a few Madonna, Billy Idol, George Mitchell and Lady Gaga albums at the bottom of the box. She carefully put back everything and attempted to pick up the box until she tumbled backward.

"Addy?" Eliza asked as she ran over to help the poor human.

"I'm fine," Addison squeaked.

Eliza struggled to move the box off Addison and then helped the cheerleader to her feet. The girls worked together to pick up the box and to lift it onto the closet's top shelf. The girls were surprised the shelf did not buckle under the box's weight.

"Where's Zed and his Z watch when you need him," Addison said.

"I know right?"

The two girls laughed as Eliza returned over to the desk while Addison sat on her cousin's bed.

It was not long until Eliza announced, "I'm in."

Addison walked over to Eliza and the two girls exchanged a celebratory high-five that Eliza was able to hack into Bucky's computer. On Eliza's laptop, she was able to see all the content's on Bucky's desktop. She started looking through his document folding, clicking through his Microsoft Word files and pdfs of saved online receipts. Next, she went through his music folder and found a few royalty-free tracks. When they finally went through his picture folders, the two girls laughed when they saw screenshots of Fortnite and Skyrim. They started clicking through individual folders under the picture folders and found random pictures of Bucky and the cheerleaders, screenshots of shoes and a couple of memes. There was a second folder under the memes folder and when Eliza clicked it, there were a few pictures of cats and then a third unnamed folder with pictures of shirtless actors.

She stepped away from Eliza as she shook her head. She was going through her cousin's private folders and discovering that Bucky was trying to hide his life and his desires from his family. Addison always wondered why her cousin helped her mom trick the poor cheerleader into getting a spray tan to hide her albinism. Or why her cousin strongly suggested that she go back to wearing blonde wigs. It's because it was so normal for him to hide that he did not see why Addison could not do the same.

This was wrong. Bucky was her cousin and she should not have thought that he was going to do something sinister to Zombies. He had to be telling Addison the truth when he said he was just making a simple film to show film schools that he could make movies. But why did he chose Zombies of all things?

"I found the footage!" Eliza cheered.

Addison walked back over, hoping that Bucky's film was innocent. The human hovered over the Zombie as Eliza turned her laptop's volume up and started playing some of his shots. The first shot was a soundless recording of the football players walking onto the field. The next shots were videos of gameplay. Then, there was one in the locker room where Bucky was talking to the players. The clip was soundless but it was obvious the guys were talking to the camera. Many of them were shirtless and some were even in their underwear. A few guys were playfully dancing around in just their boxers. Then, a shirtless Zed came up and exchanged a fist pump with Bucky. Other guys came up and playfully shook Zed's shoulder, high-five him or laughed at him. It did not seem like they said anything hurtful because Zed laughed and spun around.

"Nothing alarming here," said Eliza. "Except the fact that I can literally smell their stink from here." Addison laughed. "If he's making a movie, then there should be something where he combined the clips."

She opened Adobe Premier and clicked on the most recent projects. There was a lot of footage that appeared edited. The two girls watched a few minutes of the film and listened to the voiceover of Bucky explaining his experience working with a Zombie. Addison's heart felt like it stopped as she waited for Bucky to say something bad. Then, he heard Bucky say Zed's name.

"Zed is the Zombie that changed my perspective," Bucky's said in the film as clips of Zed appeared on the screen. "He changed my world." Clips of Zed walking off the field with Bucky and laughing appeared on my screen. "We laugh, we hang out and we even exchange inside jokes." There was footage of the two at a McBurger laughing and the audio cuts to Bucky saying, "That hot girl over there just called you Zaddy." Zed laughed and then pointed to himself saying, "I am a total Zaddy." The footage is a close up of Zed grabbing Bucky's fries and the audio goes back to a voiceover of Bucky saying, "The only thing I am worried about is him eating my food before I finished it. To me, Zombies, especially Zed, are the only ones who could understand what's it like to be different, a deviant in a perfect town. And yet, the Zombie I care about the most still probably will never fully understand me." There was a far away shot of what looked like Zed and Addison.

The film ended and Addison did not know what to think. She stood up and turned away from Eliza.

"I guess we had nothing to worry about," Eliza said with a shrug. "Well, at least I have nothing to worry about."

Eliza did a few more things on her computer before closing her laptop.

Addison heard the sound of footsteps and felt a light touch on her shoulder.

"Addy, we have to leave now," she said. "I don't feel safe walking down these streets by myself."

Addison nodded as the two left Bucky's house. As the two girls started walking up the street, Eliza stopped walking and turned to Addison.

"You can tell me," Eliza said. "I get it."

"I don't understand Eliza," Addison explained as she kept her voice low. She looked at Eliza and she could tell that the other girl cared. This was no longer about Bucky or about Zed, but about Addison.

"What did you find in Bucky's closet?" Eliza asked.

Addison shook her head as she replied, "It's like he's hiding from his family. The clothes he wears are hidden in a box with bricks inside. And the last time I saw his room, it was bright green with posters of superheroes and rockstars. Then, the folder of the all the guys and how close he seems with Zed. And Zed didn't really tell me that they hang out. It's just -"

"Feels like you are the last to know," Eliza interrupted. "I didn't know Zed and Bucky were ..."

"Right," Addison agreed. "I'm going to talk to Zed. I just don't know what to think about Bucky."

"Can I tell you what I think?" Eliza asked.

Addison nodded.

"The film is not finished," she said. "He could still be planning something to put at the end. Why else would he have a brick in his closet? I still think you should talk to Zed. He needs to know what could happen."

Eliza's words echoed through her head as Addison walked with Eliza to the border of Zombietown. It took an hour to walk there but Addison needed the time to think and talk out what she was thinking. It was nice having another female to talk to that would understand. Although Bree was her friend, she was not the type of person Addison could have deep and important conversations with. Zed was the only one she could have those conversations with and he would always make her feel so much better. With Eliza, she understood Addison's hesitation about telling Zed especially since she was thinking along the same lines as Addison.

"Addy," Eliza said as they started walking towards the Zombie's house. "What's your number? Friends should have each other's number."

The two girls exchanged numbers and then added each other on their social media. It was nice to know that Eliza and Addison were finally friends. Zed was going to be so happy knowing that both of the girls in his life were friends.

"I feel bad that you walked this far," Eliza said. "How are you going to get home?"

"I am going to visit Zed," Addison said.

Eliza nodded as Addison started walking towards Zed's house. There was no way she could go home without talking to Zed. She was not going to hide this from Zed any longer.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this chapter. What did you think of this chapter? What do you think Bucky's up to?

I want to toot my own horn that I graduated from college in December 2018. Right now, I am working part-time so I now have time to update all of my fics.