Disclaimer - I don't own ZOMBIES or any of the characters involved. Copyright to Walt Disney Studios. Names of BG zombies are mine, characters themselves aren't.

And here we are, the last full chapter! There's still an epilogue to come next week, and possibly an alternate ending at some point~ I also have an idea for a bonus chapter of Tattooed Mistakes! That'll be very heavy on the angst so be warned. Limelight and, hopefully, Beyond The Barrier will be returning soon!

Btw I spent most of my time and money at the convention last week commissioning artists to draw BG zombies. Money well spent

Chapter 10 theme songs: Next To You by Emma Blackery, Just Wanna Be With You from High School Musical 3 and I'm Not That Girl from Wicked

~ No matter where life takes us, nothing could break us apart ~

Chapter 10

When he woke up the next morning, Alonzo didn't want to open his eyes. He didn't want to look. If he looked, he might regret it. He might regret sleeping with him. He might regret getting back together with him at all. Maybe he could pretend for a moment it was someone else's arms around him, and he really was over Zephyr. But it wasn't.

He eventually opened his eyes, staring straight ahead, still scared of what could happen. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the unmistakable mossy green curls and suddenly he couldn't stop his gaze from drifting further down. Zephyr lay beside him, a peaceful expression on his face, with one arm draped across Al's waist and the other under his neck with his hand in his hair. In that moment, Alonzo did regret it.

He regretted ever wanting to shut this boy out of his life.

He reached out a hand and gently stroked Zephyr's cheek, stirring him awake. Zephyr scrunched up his face for a second as he let out a small, sleepy moan and Al wondered how he had even survived these last few months without waking up to that even once. When Zeph finally locked eyes with Alonzo, he seemed to hesitate, giving him a questioning look. He must have been thinking the same thing, that Al would end up changing his mind. He sucked in a breath, not sure what to say, but then Al smiled and slowly kissed his forehead, letting his lips linger there as he mumbled, "Good morning, garzi'ka."

Zeph closed his eyes and sighed with relief, "Morning..." he smiled up at his boyfriend.

The hand on Alonzo's waist came to take hold of his chin and pull him into a long, sweet kiss. He hummed happily and, bringing his hands up to cup Zephyr's face, rolled onto his back. Zephyr easily let himself be pulled on top of Al, propping himself up on his forearms.

When they parted, Al lay looking up at him in silence for a moment, brushing a thumb across his cheek.

"... We're gonna make it work this time, right?" he asked in a whisper.

Zephyr slowly leaned down to kiss his lips once more, "I am never gonna risk losing you again, you hear me?"

A smile spread across Al's face, so contagious that Zephyr couldn't keep from grinning as he pressed their foreheads together. In a flash of spontaneity, he pecked Al's nose, earning a surprised giggle in response, then quickly ducked his head to nip his neck just below his ear. Al gasped and laughed, Zephyr laughing along with him.

This was it. This was right. This was how he was supposed to feel. How Zephyr was supposed to make him feel.

Loved. Completely.

He left a few more kisses on his neck and jaw before Al stopped him.

"Wait. Wait a minute," he said and Zephyr pulled back, "What time is it?"

Zephyr frowned at the sudden change in priorities and checked his Z-band, "About eight thirty, why?" he asked and Al groaned, screwing his eyes shut and scrubbing his hands down his face, "You got a class?"

Al huffed and looked back at him, "Yeah. Nine o'clock," he sat up slightly but Zephyr wouldn't get off him, "C'mon, let me up."

"I don't think you have to go..."

Al sighed, "I kinda do. I'm here on a scholarship, remember? I literally can't afford to skip class."

"Baby, I got four whole months of kisses to catch up on...!" Zephyr practically pleaded and Al chuckled.

"Didn't you get enough last night?"

"No..." he went in for another kiss but Al gently pushed him off, laughing, and Zephyr finally relented, reaching for his own clothes as Al began to get ready. Zephyr couldn't take his eyes off him. When they were both half-dressed, he gave in and walked over to Alonzo, who had his back turned to him, and hugged him from behind. He pressed a slow kiss to his shoulder and rested his head against his back, "I love you..."

"I love you, too," Al turned around in his arms and was surprised to see how sad Zephyr looked. His brow creased with worry and he brought a hand to his cheek, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Normally, Zephyr would wave it off. He'd smile and say it was nothing and kiss him to distract him, maybe make some excuse, but he wasn't going to do that anymore. Instead, he sighed.

"I'm gonna go back home and I'm just gonna be missing you again."

"Well, yeah, but," Al's other hand found Zephyr's waist and pulled him closer, and Zephyr's arms naturally wound around his neck, "This time you know if you call me, I'll pick up."

"I know... But it just hurts when you're not around."

"That was different. You thought I hated you," Al said gently, "And I thought you hated me. We'll be fine this time, we're gonna make it work. We'll talk every day and we'll visit each other whenever we can, like we planned the first time."

There was a pause. Zephyr looked at Alonzo for a moment, then smiled softly, "You know, I am so proud of you, garzi'ka."

"Proud?"

"Yeah."

"What for?"

"Look at you...!" he pulled back slightly, moving his hands down to Al's arms, "You got out of Seabrook, you're at college, you got a scholarship, you're making your own music. And you're doing it all yourself," his hold on Al loosened and he looked down, "And here I am still with no idea what I'm doing with my life..."

"You'll figure it out."

"Will I?"

Al placed a finger under Zephyr's chin and tilted his head up to meet his eyes, "You're still working at the music store?"

"Yeah."

"And your mom and dad are still cool with you living with them?"

"Yeah, for now."

"So, you've got time. Besides," he shot Zeph a cocky smirk, "When I'm a famous rock star, you won't need to worry about anything."

Zephyr smirked back, "I thought we agreed we weren't just gonna rely on each other for everything?"

"I said I wouldn't rely on you. No-one said anything about you relying on me."

Zephyr pretended to consider this, then nodded, "I might have to take you up on that..." he leaned in close to Al's ear, "Rock star..."

Al shoved him away with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

"Get dressed, we both gotta go," he lowered his voice a little, despite the fact no-one else was around, "And I don't know when Jay's gonna get back."

Satisfied, Zephyr let him go and let Al finish getting ready, doing the same himself.

"Al?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Did Zach tell you where we're staying?"

Al pulled his hoodie over his head and turned to Zeph, "Yeah, why?"

"Well, we didn't get to say goodbye last time," Zephyr said with a shrug, his hands in his pockets as Al came towards him, "I wasn't there when you left. I wanna make sure you're there when I leave," now it was his turn to place his hands on Al's waist and pull him close, "I wanna kiss you goodbye. OK?" he pulled him down to connect their lips, "Just like that."

– SINCE WE BROKE UP –

Later that afternoon, Alonzo was waiting outside the hotel with Zephyr, Zach and Roz for their bus to arrive. He stood right by Zeph's side, a little afraid to get too close to him when there were strangers around. Zephyr had quietly slipped his hand into Al's and though he didn't resist, Al was careful to keep their joined hands out of sight.

"This isn't Zombie Town, Zeph," he reminded him in a whisper, "People aren't so tolerant here."

Zephyr nodded in understanding and squeezed his hand. The four of them spent a couple of minutes talking and catching up, now that all of the relationship drama was over with, until the bus came into view down the street. By now, the only other people around also seemed to be waiting for the bus and as they all came forward, Alonzo and Zephyr stayed where they were. Away from prying eyes, Zeph placed one hand on Al's face, turned his head and pulled him into a warm kiss. The sound of Zach's teasing from a few feet away interrupted them.

"What, I don't get a goodbye kiss, too?"

While Al bit his lip trying not to laugh, Zephyr just shot him an irritated glare and flipped him off. Zach simply nodded in acceptance.

"Fair enough."

Al immediately burst out laughing and dropped his head onto Zeph's shoulder. Zephyr quickly pecked his cheek.

"I have to go," he muttered with a sad smile, "But we'll see each other soon."

"I know."

They shared one last brief kiss and finally said a real goodbye before Roz called out to Zephyr to hurry up. He let go of Al to catch up with them and boarded the bus, waving to Al from the window once he sat down.

Alonzo watched as they disappeared into the distance. So much had happened during the music festival, it was hard to believe it had only been three days. Or, well, four, now. But everything fell back into place and he actually felt like he could relax for the first time in months. Then his moment of peace came to an end when he heard a familiar voice getting closer.

"So, who was right?" Trisha asked, seeming to materialise from nowhere as she always did. Alonzo spun around to face her.

"Wha-" he stopped when he saw the grin on her face, then shook his head and continued, "Were you spying on me again?"

"Not intentionally," she insisted, suddenly looking serious, her hands held up in front of her. He raised an eyebrow, "I swear. I was looking for you but then I saw you were..." she smirked, "Saying goodbye to Zephyr, and I thought I'd give you a moment." Al just rolled his eyes.

"What do you want?"

Folding her arms, Trisha smiled cryptically and nodded in the direction BFZ had left in, "I got what I wanted."

"For him to leave so you can make a move again?" Al mirrored her folded arms, "Well-"

Before he could say anything, though, he was interrupted by Trisha laughing, just a little. He frowned in confusion.

"No...! God, no, I wanted you to give Zephyr a second chance, and you did."

Now, he was completely stumped, then he remembered what Zeph had told him.

"... Why'd you want me to get back together with him? He said you even talked to him about it. Weren't you supposed to be into me?"

She sighed, "Were you even listening to anything I said yesterday?"

"Honestly, no."

"Al," she dropped her arms to her sides again, "I do like you, so I care about you. The guy I used to watch in those videos, that Alonzo was always happy, but when we met you were just... different. You didn't have that 'let's do something stupid for the hell of it' attitude. It was like you were missing something," she paused, looking down and lowering her voice, "I thought it was just a relationship in general, and I wanted to be the one to bring that side of you out again but," she gestured back towards where Zephyr had been, "It had to be him."

Al faltered, "... I mean, I could've just been missing my friends."

"But that's not what it was, is it?"

"... No," he admitted, "You were right about one thing, Trish, I just..." he shrugged, "I love him."

"And I love that he makes you happy," Trisha agreed, "Especially after he's been making you miserable for months."

Al scowled at that, "I've been making myself miserable."

"Over him."

"OK, do you actually want me to be with him or not? I'm getting mixed signals here."

For a moment, Trisha just looked at him.

"I want whatever will make you act like your old self again."

Al looked away, thinking, "That's exactly what he's doing..." he turned back to her sharply, "But that doesn't mean I forgive you."

"It doesn't have to," she said plainly, shrugging one shoulder, "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page," she gave him one last smile then went to walk past him, "I'll see you around."

She didn't wait for him to respond before leaving. She was happy for him, she was just less happy for herself. But this was how things were, and she really did care about Alonzo. She trusted that Zephyr would be good to him, despite the things that had been running through her head over the last twenty-four hours. She might have thought she could fix his problems but in the end, he could fix them himself.

– SINCE WE BROKE UP –

He had pretty much survived that day on nothing but pure adrenaline. Between how busy the band had been with the festival and his night spent with Alonzo, Zephyr definitely had not gotten enough sleep over the weekend and he was ready to crash.

He had continued to text Al while they were on the bus, already figuring out when they might be able to see each other again, then when he arrived back in Zombie Town and was on his way home, he bumped into Lindzey as she was walking Zipper. At first, he expected her to make an excuse to leave – they had been avoiding one another ever since the breakup – but then she hugged him. It turned out Al had already texted her to tell her the good news, and she was relieved to hear it. She was sick of the awkwardness. Once he got home, he was busy with filling Rizzo in on (almost) everything that had happened while he was gone, and their parents were next.

With all of that out of the way, Zephyr was about to get into bed when his Z-band beeped. As he unlocked the screen, he sat down, kicked the covers back, then lay on his side to read the text.

Alonzo: goodnight garzi'ka, I love you 333

He could have melted from those words alone. A wide grin broke out on Zephyr's face as he rolled onto his back, holding his left arm up so he could stare at the text while his right arm was held behind his head, propping him up. He sighed, dropped his arm onto his stomach and looked up at the ceiling, thinking back over the last few days with Al. He honestly didn't expect things to go quite this well when he decided to go to the music festival.

He closed the message for a moment and opened the photos app, pulling up the selfie he had sent Roz where Alonzo was kissing his cheek, then swiped to the next one, taken only a couple of seconds later, when he turned to face Al and kissed his lips. Seeing the smiles on both of their faces made his heart beat as he went back to the text.

Zephyr: I love you too baby, miss you already 3 grodge garzeep ;)