A/N: This one was suggested by Crimson Daydream (forever ago, sorry!). Hope this is close to what you were looking for!

After the sweetness of Aunt Zoey in the last chapter, it's time for a little angst... (though, I managed to get some fluff in there too. I just can't help it apparently!)

One Saturday afternoon, not long after Addison revealed her natural hair, she and Bree were hanging out in her room. Bree had just finished the second French braid of Addison's pigtails.

"Not too bad if I do say so myself," she said, with her trademark smile.

Addison looked at herself in the huge mirror in her room and replied with a sad smile, "Yeah."

"What's wrong?" Bree asked. "Do you not like them?"

"Oh, no, you did great. They're just… short. I never thought I'd miss the wigs. I just miss having long hair."

"Aw, sweetie, your hair looks fine. And it'll grow out… right?" she tentatively asked.

"Yeah, it will. It actually grows surprisingly fast, but my mother is a lousy hairstylist. It's just… not what I'm used to, I guess."

"What does Zed think?" Bree asked with mischief in her eyes.

Addison rolled her eyes at her best friend. "He says it's still beautiful. But of course he has to say that."

"No, he definitely doesn't have to say that. I'm certain he believes it, though. That boy is so head over heels in love with you. You could probably shave your head and he'd still think it was beautiful."

Addison laughed at the image, but more than that, she was just pleased that Bree said "that boy" and not "that zombie." It seemed much less polarizing.

"Maybe. I just need to deal with it." She flopped back onto the bed. "Ugh! It's just that my whole life is just 'dealing with it' right now. It's so frustrating, that's all. It'll get better. Right?"

Bree pulled Addison up and put an arm around her. "Of course it will! And you've got Zed, and me, and Eliza, and Bonzo, and a ton of other friends that still think you look gorgeous."

"And one that thinks I look delicious," Addison giggled.

"Will you finally explain that joke to me?" Bree asked, rolling her eyes.

"Well, it was—"

"Bree!" Missy called from downstairs. "Your mom is here!"

"Grr! To be continued, Addy!" Bree said, pointing a finger at her. "And you look beautiful!" She hugged Addison and ran down the stairs.

Addison decided to go down stairs and get a drink. Her parents were sitting at the kitchen table.

"Oh. Bree braided your hair," Missy said flatly.

"Yeah. It's cute, eh?" Addison replied, faking her enthusiasm as she got a glass for her water.

"It's… different."

Addison would never know why this was the breaking point, but she slammed the glass down and spun around to face her parents.

"Just say it. You hate it."

Her father put down his newspaper. "Now, wait just one moment, young lady. Your mother never said—"

"She's never had to! The condescending remarks and the sideways glances were always enough to let me know that you've hated my hair! Maybe even hated me."

"We've never hated you!" Missy exclaimed.

"Well, you've got a funny way of showing it."

"It is not our fault that you've thrown away any chances of being considered normal in this town. You lost your spot on the cheer squad, embarrassed the family, and for what? That… that zombie," her mother said, voice teeming with anger.

"Well, that zombie is the only one who has appreciated and loved me for me. Which is more than I can say for this place."

"Addison Elizabeth! That is enough of that!" Dale yelled.

"Because it's always my fault. Sure," Addison said. "I'll get out of your way… and your line of sight."

She ran up to her room and slammed the door. But before she could start crying and feeling sorry for herself, she decided to get out of there for a while. She knew her parents wouldn't check on her. They never did after fights like this. They just told her to come back after her snit was over. She'd be back, sure. But this time, she wasn't about to just sit and sulk. She was going to one of the few places she felt welcomed and loved. She was heading to Zombie Town.

Carefully she climbed out of her window and jumped onto the sunroom below. She slowly climbed off that and ran towards the arms of the boy who could make her feel better. She'd worry about getting back in later.

Luckily, Zombie Town was only a 10-15 minute walk, so a run went much faster. Before she knew it, she was on Zed's porch, leaning on the doorbell.

A surprised Zevon opened the door. "Addie? What are you doing—"

"Is Zed home?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah of course he is. He's in his room. Go on up, sweetie."

"Thank you so much!" she yelled as she bolted past.

She flew up the stairs and into the open door of his room.

"Zed!" she cried.

He spun around from his desk, standing and whipping his headphones off in the process. He was immediately worried at the look on her face and her breathlessness.

"Addy? What's wrong, gorgeous?"

She ran into his open arms and just started bawling.

"Why can't they just accept me?" was all he could make out through her sobs.

"Who? Your parents?"

She nodded.

It took everything Zed had to not run to her house and give her parents a piece of his mind. This girl was perfect and deserved to hear it, especially from those who were supposed to love and protect her.

"Addison, look at me," he said, attempting to pull back just enough to look into her eyes. She finally allowed him. "You, my most amazing girlfriend, do not need to listen to them. You and your hair and every inch of you is just the best." He paused and glanced at her hair. "And these pigtails are adorable. Did Zoey see them?"

"I… I don't even know. I ran up here so fast, I don't even know if I passed her. I'm sorry. Your father must think I'm crazy!"

"Nah, Pops has a little understanding about what's going on. But you must have really worried him if he let you come straight up here without a 'keep the door open!'" Zed said in a decent imitation of his father.

"I'm not sure I gave him much of a choice. I pretty much flew up here when he said I could go."

"He gets it. Don't worry about him. Maybe let's find Zoey. If anyone can cheer you up, it's her."

"No, you definitely win that one. Just being here, with you, is making me feel better," she said, resting her head against his chest. He smiled to himself every time she put her head there. Always right where his heart should be beating. He always called it poetic, but he wasn't about to bring it up now.

"Fair enough. But Zoey is like the cherry on the sundae of my presence," he said, dramatically turning her under his arm to distract her.

He winked at her and suddenly she felt even better.

And just then, Zoey ran in. "Did I hear that Addy's here? Addy!"

"There's my favorite munchkin!" Addy said, kneeling down to Zoey's level.

"You've got 2 pony tails like me!"

"I do! My friend Bree did it for me. She's pretty good at doing hair. Maybe she can braid yours."

"Sure, but Zed is already pretty good at it."

Addison looked up at her boyfriend with a smirk. "Oh, is he?"

"Yep!" Zoey replied, unaware of the embarrassment she was causing. "He's been braiding my hair since I was 4!" She held up 4 fingers to help illustrate her point.

Addison's eyes never left Zed's. "Well, why hasn't he ever braided my hair?"

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Duh, you've probably never asked!"

Addison laughed, forcing her to break eye contact with Zed. "You know what, Zo, that makes a ton of sense. I think next time my hair needs done, your brother will be my go to stylist."

"Yep, he does good work!" She hugged Addison again. "Well, I gotta go to Zabrina's house. See you later, Addy! Love ya!"

Addison couldn't help but tear up a little. "I love you, too, Zoey."

"Bye Zed!" Zoey said as she ran out.

"How come you get a 'love you'?" he asked with a fake pout.

"Because I needed it more than you," Addison replied.

"Ok, I'll allow that."

"You were right, Zoey definitely cheered me up!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that new nugget of information makes you all sorts of happy."

He guided her to the bed and sat next to her, taking her hands in his. "Addy, it's going to get better. This is all new and fresh to everyone in Seabrook and, let's face it, the denizens of Seabrook are not known for their ability to deal with change. But they will. Even with your new hair and your dating a zombie, your mother is still working on making things right over here. That's a positive, yeah?"

"I suppose so."

"Well, I know so, because Zoey has a dog, and I don't have to stare at a fence anymore, and have you noticed my shirt without a giant Z on it?"

"No, actually I didn't."

"Well, it's a very stylish plain t-shirt and it's all because of your mom. So, while I do think they are complete idiots for not telling you daily that you are so damn beautiful, I do think they are doing their best with this. And probably expressing themselves in a less productive way than they should."

"When did you get your psych degree?"

"Hey, they let us into human school, I pay attention to things!"

Addison sighed. He was right. She hated it, but he was right.

"Fine. I guess I need to get back and sneak into my room."

"You snuck out too? You've been hanging around Eliza too much!"

She put her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.

"You good now, gorgeous?" he asked.

"I'm at least better. Does that count?"

"I'll take what I can get. Come on, I'll walk you as far as I can without raising suspicions. Maybe I can even boost you back into your room, if we play our cards right."

"Ok," she said, allowing him to help her stand. They began to walk out of his room and she said, "Not that it matters. They likely won't punish me anyway. They rarely do. Even when I got caught at the Zombie Mash, they didn't know what to do. My mother was so frustrated she kept saying things incorrectly. They'll just send me back to my room where I'll play games on my phone and text you and Bree." She shrugged.

"Well, let's avoid it all if we can."

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Zevon was waiting in the dining area.

"Addison! Are you ok?" he asked.

She gave him a big hug. "I'm better now. My parents were just being…" She took a deep breath. "themselves."

"I figured it was something like that. Glad you're feeling better."

"Pops, I'm going to walk her home, ok?" Zed asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. Sneak her back in."

Addison and Zed's jaws dropped.

"How did you…?" Addison began.

Zevon laughed. "Oh come on! She runs here sobbing and you think I assume her parents drove her? Just be careful, yeah?"

"Yeah, we will. Thanks, Pops."

"Sorry for bursting into your house," Addison said softly.

Zevon's face softened. How could anyone hurt this girl? "Addison, our home is your home. I'm glad you feel safe here."

She hugged him again, this time just a little longer, and the pair left.

"I don't suppose you'd rather just run away instead of taking me home?" Addison asked as they strolled.

"Oh, gorgeous, I would do that in a heartbeat. But I think your family would eventually notice you're gone and be sad. And it probably wouldn't look good for them to call the police and find you with me. I've been to Containment and would really like to not go back."

"I know. It's just wishful thinking."

"Addy, trust me, this is going to get better. Your parents are coming around, albeit really slowly, but they are coming around. Maybe you need to give them the benefit of the doubt too."

She raised her finger to make a point but he stopped her.

"And before you can complain that I'm taking their side, believe me, I'm not. But I want your life to go smoother. So, instead of telling them that they hate you, just let the comments roll off your back. I've been doing it my whole life. People's comments can hurt, but you can just ignore it and move on too. So, do you think you can do that for me? For us?"

"I really hate it when you're right."

"I know. But it happens so rarely, let me bask in this one!"

Addison sighed. "Fine. I will try to rein in my anger. And hopefully they will do the same with the snide remarks."

"That's my girl. I'm proud of you. And someday, this will be a silly memory. We'll be living in our own place and happy. And we won't make those comments to our kids. And I'm not even sorry or embarrassed that I said that."

She smiled at that. "All right, all right, you made your point, Necrodopolous."

They were a block away from her house now.

She looked around nervously. "Come on, I think if we sneak this way, you can boost me back up onto the sunroom."

They creeped as closely as they could to other houses to shield them from neighbor's eyes and her parents especially.

"I feel like we're in the Scooby gang," Zed whispered.

Finally, they reached her house.

"All right, here we are. You gonna be ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll make it. Maybe if I'm not grounded, which I probably won't be, I can see about coming to your house tomorrow?"

"Sure, just let me know."

She gave him a quick, but loving, kiss. "Thank you, Zed."

"Anything for you, Addy. Here we go."

He boosted her back onto the sunroom roof and watched as she climbed back into the window. It slid shut and she waved to him. He slinked off the same way they came, sneaking as he imagined himself as Shaggy the whole time.

Just as he reached home, he got a text.

Apologized to the parents. All seems ok. I'll ask about tomorrow at dinner. Gar-gargiza.

Great! I'll be waiting to hear. Gar-gargiza, gorgeous.

End note: Gold stars for those who find the movie bloopers Easter Egg.