Author's note: Hey ya'll! This is a mostly fluffy stuff in this chapter, with a dollop of terror at the tail end! The first section is Wiliza, SO, if you aren't into that ship, Just skip that part! Also no, please stop asking me to leave out stuff. Williza is a thing in this fic. #SorryNotSorry.)

Will correct as I am able.

ZzZzZzZ

The next day and a half went by in a blur of school and manual labor, as the zombies worked to repair and rebuild the damaged homes and businesses. Many werewolves were also contributing their time and labor, and several humans were donating money as well as their own time to help. The wolf den had offered several beds to displaced zombies. A local human bed and breakfast, The Seashore, had also opened it's doors, offering up it's multiple bedrooms. And, of course, Eliza's family had offered to share their small house with Zed's and Bonzo's families.

She had been truly taken aback by the influx of support and assistance from their community.

While things were by no means perfect between humans and zombies, this catastrophe had brought everyone together far more so than the pessimistic Eliza had anticipated. She would never have admitted it, but the sense of community that Seabrook now seemed to be cultivating touched her deeply.

Her dad, Zed's dad, and Bonzo's mom were all in construction, and they had spent the first two nights after the fires drawing out plans and working with distributors throughout Seabrook to begin rebuilding the damaged houses. One hardware store in Zombietown and two more in Seabrook proper had donated all of the needed supplies. As for Eliza, she and her friends had busied themselves after school each day by assisting in the demolition of all of the damaged rooms in Bonzo's and Zed's houses.

It was actually kind of therapeutic, knocking down and clearing out all of the blackened wood and charred furniture. Eliza was particularly fond of the sledgehammer. Even Bonzo, who had been worryingly melancholic the past few days, had smiled and laughed as he and Bree tossed the ruined remnants of his paintings and art desk out the broken window and into a large pile on the street below, where other zombies, humans and wolves were loading trucks to send to the landfill. Eliza had worried that seeing his art destroyed would upset him even further. Instead, he had simply pulled Bree in close and smiled, stating that this was nothing more than an opportunity to create something even better.

In addition to Bonzo's improved mood, Zed was healing up well. In the privacy of his smoke-damaged room, he had gotten teary-eyed as he examined the blackened family pictures and antique football memorabilia on the wall. Then, in regular Zed fashion, he had perked up, straightened his shoulders (well, one anyway), and had gotten to work cleaning. Addison and, surprisingly, her mom, had also spent hours at the Necrodopolis house, scrubbing the grime from picture frames and gathering up any linens that were salvageable to be laundered. While the mayor hadn't exactly looked happy to be there, the fact that she'd been willing to help was a big step. Addy's dad had even ordered pizza to provide dinner for everyone living in the Zambie house the evening before. They seemed to be accepting, at least in part, that their daughter's boyfriend and friends weren't going anywhere.

All in all, things were mostly looking up.

Except...

As far as Eliza and the others had been able to tell, none of the adults or the city officials of Seabrook seemed to be aware of the existence of a second moonstone. Any time it was mentioned in the news, the events of the other night were simply labeled as "a mysterious explosion." No one had said anything to the contrary, outside of her circle of friends. Which meant that if Charon did, if fact, have the stone, he had managed to obtain it quickly and with an impressive amount of secrecy. If anyone could manage that, though, she supposed a crazed alien with mind-tampering powers would be the most capable.

But, where would he take it, and why?

The amount of unknowns currently bouncing around in her head made her jittery with nerves. She had debated more than once about telling her parents, or even Addison's parents, about the moonstone and the potential danger involving Charon. If she did, though, she'd have to explain about the Lunites, and Mayar didn't seem like she wanted her people to be revealed to the majority of the above-ground residents of Seabrook, just yet.

It made sense. They'd spent about a thousand years in secrecy, so it was understandable that it would be scary or difficult for them to join the community of Seabrook. When zombies had been integrated into the Seabrook school system, it had definitely been a stressful time. And unfortunately, the humans in charge of things had a history of not being particularly accepting. But things were different now, and Eliza and the others were already becoming quietly excited about the Lunite people joining their circle of friends and integrating into Seabrook.

As Eliza slung a section of charred timber out of the broken window, a cloud of ash and dust billowed around her face as the delicate wood broke apart, covering her face and hair in a layer of blackish gray soot. Stumbling back, she coughed and sputtered as she attempted to clear her vision by shaking her head frantically from side to side. Looking across Bonzo's room at the cracked, sooty mirror above his dresser, she couldn't help but let out a short burst of laughter. She looked like she had been rolling around in a pile of charcoal.

Still giggling, Eliza turned to look for a rag to wipe her face with, only to look up and see Willa standing in the doorway, her right arm loaded down with a paper bag that instantly smelled delicious.

"Having problems?" Willa asked as her lips twisted into a half-grin.

"More like having fun." Eliza continued to laugh.

"I actually like demolition, apparently. If they hadn't opened up colleges to zombies and wolves this year, maybe I would have ended up working demo. Getting to break stuff without getting in trouble is fun."

Willa joined her in laughter, the tips of her fangs shining in the fading sunlight.

Eliza couldn't help but turn her head to the side as she admiringly watched Willa approach.

The last day and a half, since Willa had kissed her on the cheek, things had been a little different between them. They seemed to have suddenly become very touchy-feely. The zombie and wolf had briefly held hands several times, or squeezed an arm or shoulder mid-conversation. It was different, but she wasn't sure what it meant. It was encouraging, yes, but that didn't mean Eliza was going to so anything drastic, like asking Willa out on a date or something.

"— on a date."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Eliza blinked, sure she hadn't heard correctly. She took a moment to be grateful that all of the grime and ash on her face would obscure her blush.

"I was, um," Willa paused, looking uncharacteristically nervous. Wait, was she blushing too?

"I asked you if you'd want to have dinner with me sometime. Like, on a date."

Willa's eyebrows dipped in slightly, as though worried that she might not get the answer she was hoping for. Despite being the most confident and self-assured person Eliza knew, she looked oddly vulnerable in that short moment.

Then, Eliza felt her face breaking into a wide smile.

"That would be awesome! I'd love to." Eliza replied, unable to hide her grin. She felt joy blossoming in her heart. She knew it! Willa liked her back!

Willa's face suddenly mirrored her own grin.

"Good, because I happen to have dinner right now." Willa shook the bag gently to call Eliza's attention back to the food.

"That Italian place, Canta Insieme, just put out a menu full of zombie and werewolf options. I thought you'd want to try it with me." The wolf continued to grin, clearly excited for another win for team monster. Even something as small as a restaurant menu was a step forward.

Eliza blinked.

"Wait, you want to have a date now? Right here?"

She gestured at her dust-covered head and upper body, unable to stop from laughing again.

"I've had a crush on you for months, and you waited until I look like a chimney sweep to ask me out?"

Willa shrugged, and shook the bag of food again.

"You'd look great no matter what, Zambie." Willa reached in the bag, revealing a handful of wet wipes from the restaurant. "Now come sit down with me!"

Eliza grinned as she reached out for the wipes.

Then, moving around a pile of fresh plywood and two buckets, they managed to fashion themselves a rudimentary table and chairs. The food was delicious. They sat together in the muted afternoon light, discussing their excitement about the following night's bonfire meeting, and speculating on how to best retrieve the second moonstone. After dinner, they had spent another hour doing demo work, laughing as they pried out burnt sections of floor and threw chucks of drywall at one another.

For years afterwords, and despite it only being their first date, this evening would continue to stand out in Eliza's and Willa's memories as one of their favorites.

ZzZzZzZ

"I need to talk to you about something." Addison said.

It was the next day at school, and she and Zed were both in the Safe Room, their continued secret getaway whenever they wanted time alone. She was resting her head in his lap as she reached up to play absent-mindedly with his hair.

Zed, who had been reading through his history book, looked down at her.

"Everything okay?" He asked, offering her a wide, confident grin to hide his nervousness.

He had heard from several of his friends that any conversation that started with "we need to talk" was not going to end well. Was something wrong? While Zed had made great strides in better-handling his insecurities, he found it was hard to keep his fear of losing her completely at bay. The thought of there being some kind of problem in their relationship he hadn't know about caused his stomach to twist lightly.

"Hey, calm down," Addison said, gently cupping his face in her hand as she smiled at him.

"Everything is perfect with us, Zed. I seriously couldn't be happier. You're my someday and my always."

He felt himself calm slightly as she sat up and turned towards him. She lifted her legs so that she was partially sitting on his lap as they leaned against the wall behind the bed. Addy cuddled against him slightly, still cautious of his various injuries despite Zed's reassurances that he was fine.

"You're my always, too, Ads. What's up?"

He looked at her, feeling mildly concerned as her brows arched inward with worry.

"I need to tell you... Ugh, I don't know how to say it, but I have this thing going on. It started when the second moonstone crashed."

"Tell me." Zed said, immediately, giving her a gentle squeeze of encouragement. Whatever she was worried about, he was absolutely confident that together, they could deal with it.

Addison smiled, maybe a bit nervously. "Okay," she said.

"Okay. So, you know that the Lunites can read minds and feel other people's emotions and stuff, right?"

"Right." Zed nodded as he recalled the historical account Mayar had given them. He looked at her as she seemed to struggle to continue.

"Well, you remember that when I was close to Mayar, my hair lit up blue."

Zed just nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"The thing is... Ever since the moonstone crashed the other night, I've been... Different. Less like a person and more like a Lunite. My hair lights up like fireflies. I can feel everyone's emotions and speak to the other Lunites, telepathically. And Zed," she said nervously as she looked at him, "I can hear and see what you're thinking, Zed. I've been able to the last three days."

"Wait, just me?" He asked, feeling his cheeks burning in surpris.

Zed felt his eyes widen as his body stiffened slightly at the revelation his girlfriend had provided.

Oh.

Oh, no.

Does this mean she knows about how often I stare at her butt, or think about her... Oh, geez.

Zed felt his face grow hot and his slow pulse quickened as he watched her attempt to disguise a sputter of laughter as a cough.

Had she heard that, too?

Addison nodded with another chuckle, confirming his guess. She really could hear what he was thinking. They were both still snuggling calmly together, but Zed was trying desperately not to panic. What would she think when she realized how much she meant to him? That he had started a savings account his sophomore year, specifically to purchase her engagement ring. That he had dreams about what their children would look like. That he was in it for life, if she would have him.

She would think he was crazy. He would lose her-

"Zed." Addison spoke as she firmly met his gaze, instantly quieting the cacophony of insecurities bouncing around in his head. She was always so good at that.

"This doesn't change anything for us, at least not for me. I love you just as much as I always have. Maybe even more. You're my soulmate. I've always known it. But now, I feel it."

She rested her hand against his heart, gently grasping the fabric of his cotton t-shirt.

"I hope it doesn't change anything for you, either. But, I mean, if it does, I understand." She said, to his horror, as he watched her flinch away slightly.

"Addy, are you serious?" He pulled her into his chest, running his fingers into her snowy hair.

"Nothing in this world, or other worlds for that matter, could change how I feel about you. I mean, I'm not promising that you won't hear some dumb stuff coming out of my head, and I apologize in advance for that. But, It's no big deal. We'll get used to it, we'll work through it together. Right?"

She pulled back to look up at him as a smile of relief painted it's way across her face.

"Right." She said, nodding firmly.

She leaned in, and Zed took a moment to appreciate the way the soft blue light of her hair seemed to make her cheeks glow. Whoa, her hair. That was another thing that he was glad to adapt to. For her, anything.

"I've been practicing at bedtime!" Addison squeaked with pride.

"How does it look?"

Zed watched in awe as white-blue flickers of light danced through her hair. It was almost like watching his girlfriend adorn a crown of fireflies. She was breathtaking. And somehow, she was also his.

She looked like a goddess.

Zed smiled, not caring that he was blushing visibly.

You're beautiful. He thought the words fervently, like a prayer, and knew by her softening expression that she really could hear what he was thinking.

Distantly, Zed heard the bell ring, signaling that they needed to go back to class.

"Want to skip Zombie as a Second Language?" Zed asked, and lowered his voice into what he hoped would be flirtatiously irresistible. "I could teach you a few phrases right now, if fact." He said, winking to lay it on extra thick.

Addison's face lit up even more as she laughed, making him wonder briefly if her mood affected the light in her hair. Another question to bring up at the bonfire tonight.

Then, he noticed that Addison's eyebrows were suddenly knitting down and inward, like she was worried, and she was moving her head from side to side. Then, he heard it too. It was no longer the regular ringing of a school bell announcing the time. Now, the pervasive sound buzzing in his Zed's ears was the sharp, incessant screech of a Z-Alarm.

Outside the door, he and Addison could hear the sounds of shouts and retreating footfalls. The bright flickers of light seemed to sizzle out of her hair almost instantly.

"Zed!" Addison exclaimed in a whisper, "Do you think it's like before? When you hurt your toe, and Stacey pulled the alarm out of panic?"

They were both standing now, Zed now holding up his fists towards the door, and Addison standing in a standard kick-boxing stance, ready to show off her low kick. Horrifyingly, they could now hear shuffles across the door in the hallway. Hissing, angry growls mumbled from the zombies as they passed the still-closed door of the panic room. From what he could see, it looked like there were only three or four rouges.

"No." Zed said quietly as he watched the feet of his fellow classmates clatter in a shuffle of uncoordinated movements that made him shiver.

"No, Addy, I don't think this is like that time at all."

"We have to go help them!"Addison hissed, looking at him with panic. "Whatever happened, we have to keep the zombie students safe until they can get rebooted! Someone might try to hurt them."

He nodded, cracking open the door and glancing left and right to ensure that the hallway was now empty.

Zed squeezed her hand and saw her hair flicker in the corner of his eye.

"Let's go. We've got this."

With that, they quietly opened the door and slipped unnoticed into the hallway.