Disclaimer - I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios. Zombie Prom is written by John Dempsey

Sorry for taking so long with this. I've always either been busy or couldn't stay up to write. But anyway, here's a new BtB one-shot! And they're doing Zombie Prom, the musical I referenced in Do I Look Green?, in fact that reference came from the song I named this one-shot after! This one just came from the realisation that if Zed played Jonny in Zombie Prom, he'd have to wear makeup to look human at the start of the play instead of to look like a zombie for the rest of it, then I added Eliza and a bit of Bonzo and this happened

It's Alive

Maybe they were trying to be progressive, or ironic, or something but Zed just found it funny that Seabrook High had decided to put on Zombie Prom as their school musical that year.

As much as he loved singing and dancing, he hadn't really given acting a try before but it was obvious they were going to cast one of the actual zombie students to play Jonny and when he heard about the show's story, he couldn't not audition. The role was practically made for him. A zombie in love with a human girl in a picture-perfect high school fighting for his rights? He was sure he'd inspired the drama department in making their choice. It was practically his freshman year experience except the zombie had started out human.

He was the only zombie in the show, but that didn't mean he wasn't in good company. Addison was, of course, his co-star as Toffee, Bree was playing Toffee's friend Candy, Lacey and Stacey were her other friends Ginger and Coco, Tracey was Jonny's friend Josh and Bucky had somehow landed the role of Eddie Flagrante, the reporter. Zed had to admit, the character did have a certain flare for dramatics that Bucky pulled off not-so-surprisingly well. What was odd, even if Bucky had made a few changes recently, was how enthusiastic he was about zombie rights in the show. It was like he'd gone from one extreme to the other.

Bonzo had been all too eager to get on board, even if there wasn't any place for him in the cast, and Zed couldn't help wondering how he was handling both music and painting sets. He did have a sneaking suspicion, however, that Bonzo was also doing it so he could watch Bree during rehearsals. He'd already caught his friend casting glances over to her side of the stage here and there. Zed couldn't blame him, he found himself distracted by Addison's performance to the point he'd miss his cues.

And Eliza… she was on the tech crew. Zed expected her to be excited about it but apparently not. Or, well, she did seem happy enough with the job itself but she never looked too pleased to be at rehearsals, watching them onstage. He shrugged it off at first but it was always playing on his mind.

The one thing about Seabrook having a real zombie to play Jonny in Zombie Prom was that instead of making him up to look dead from halfway through the first act, Zed would have to be made up to look fully alive up until halfway through the first act. Bonzo immediately volunteered to try turn his friend temporarily human; a face was just another canvas, as far as he was concerned, and he always liked to challenge his art skills. One day, the three of them were in the wings while the humans of the cast were out onstage running lines. Zed was sat in front of Bonzo on a stool, forced to put up with having one hand clamped around the top of him head holding him in place, or turning and tilting him back and forth and up and down, while he was attacked from all angles with a sponge and a brush, alternatively.

Zed took a chance while Bonzo had to squeeze out more of the cream and looked at Eliza, who was checking light cues on her laptop, with a smile.

"This'd be so much easier if I could still just swipe right, huh?"

She slowly lifted her gaze to him with the most unimpressed look she could muster.

"I swear, if you bring that up one more time I'm gonna rip both your arms off and stow them in my locker and you'll never play football again."

Zed's eyebrows shot up and he held up his hands in defeat but then he grinned. Until Bonzo grabbed him and turned him around again.

"Zrayn vrix!" Stay still!

"OK, sorry!" Zed flicked his eyes back over to Eliza, trying not to disrupt Bonzo's work again, "But it totally would be easier…" he mumbled and Eliza's head shot up and she pointed at him threateningly.

"I'm warning you!"

Zed pulled a face and she pulled one back.

"Zav!" Stop it!

Zed's face dropped again and Eliza gave him a smug smirk. There was a pause, the only sound being the sponge against Zed's face. Eliza cocked her head.

"What're you gonna do with your hair?"

He waited a second to let Bonzo pull away before answering, "I dunno. Wear a wig, probably? Isn't Addy gonna have to wear a wig again for this? Or I could try one of those hairspray colours? Would that stick to zombie hair?"

Eliza and Bonzo both shrugged. They'd find something.

Bonzo checked over his work and nodded, "Grodge." OK.

"How do I look?" Zed finally turned all the way round to face Eliza and posed.

"Terrifying," she said in a monotone and Zed gave her a blank look.

"Haha," he stood up and went to the mirror propped against the wall to examine himself, "Nice work, Bonz!" he reached over and pounded his fist, then laughed, "Yeah, maybe this is better than swiping right, way less painful."

"Ah…!"

"I didn't suggest actually doing it, I said it's better that I didn't! I am keeping my arms on!"

"… Fine…"

Zed watched her for a moment as Bonzo cleaned up.

"… What's your problem with this show anyway?"

"Are you kidding me? How about the rampant zombiephobia on every other page of the script?"

"That's part of the stor-"

"Or the fact that there's only one zombie in the whole thing, and he starts out as a human?"

Zed glanced at Bonzo, who clearly wasn't going to get involved, and back at her, "… Our grandparents were humans, Eliza. Isn't this supposed to be set around the same time as the outbreak?"

"So?"

"Y'know, whoever wrote this probably didn't know about Seabrook's zombies. We're only in Seabrook."

She just scoffed. He did have a point there, she had to admit. But only to herself. Zed continued.

"And the entire second act is me fighting for zombie rights."

"That doesn't excuse all the death jokes and stuff about falling apart or whatever. Like, are you even listening to this right now?"

They fell silent as they heard Stacey's voice coming from the stage.

"Ginger's right, Jonny's a dead subject."

Zed rolled his eyes.

"Or your big number when you come out all zombified, Blast From The Past? C'mon. Everybody screaming 'tales of terror' and 'house of horrors'? 'Demon from beyond the tomb'? 'Monster mister'?" Plus, the whole 'zombie rights' thing," she said it with air quotes, "Is oversimplified, anyway."

And she had a point there.

"Then why did you even wanna get involved?"

She shrugged, keeping her eyes locked on the computer screen suddenly, "I just… wanted to give this techie thing a try, so what?"

Zed smirked and raised an eyebrow, a look that said "I'm not buying it". She gave in.

"OK, look, you, Addison and every other human we're friends with is in the play and Bonzo's over there painting sets and playing music?"

"Garzace-grarg, zet."

"And doing makeup? What else am I supposed to do while you're all busy, just sit around at home bored while you're here?"

"Aw, would you feel too lonely without us?"

"No…!"

The boys looked at each other, smirking, then turned it on Eliza.

"… Maybe…" she huffed, "I still don't like this musical, though."

Zed shrugged, "That's fair. It does have a few problems."