Author's note:

Hey again everyone! My continued apologies as to the slower pace I've been keeping with my updates lately. It isn't by choice. I've been so busy at work that I rarely get to even look at my laptop. What a year 2020 is turning out to be, huh?

But, on the bright side, we are hearing from our beloved Bucky Buchanan in this chapter! He is one of my absolute favorite characters, and I enjoyed trying to write out his mannerisms and personality. Hope I did a decent job!

Enjoy, and please like and review, I can't tell you enough how much they make my day.

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Bucky flashed his confident, award-winning grin as he strode down the hallway, giving the occasional wink or thumbs up as he passed others along the way. Around him, students moved about, heading in all directions to their respective classes. Sometimes, he felt like a shark swimming through a school full of little fish, rather than his fellow classmates. Like fish with a shark, they seemed to automatically move away to clear his path. The fish knew that if they veered too close, they might end up as the shark's next meal.

Two or so years ago, that description probably would have fit him perfectly.

Bucky wasn't exactly proud of his past behavior towards the zombies and wolves, though he would never willingly admit it. He had grown up believing, knowing, that humans were superior. That he was superior. Zombies, on the other hand, were disgusting, dead-eyed freaks. It wasn't until that day on the football field, when the Acey's hacked Zed, Eliza and Bonzo's z-bands, that he saw firsthand how wrong those beliefs were.

He recalled the feel of the mud on his hands and uniform, and the faint scent of trash wafting from the garbage bins beneath the stands. As he stumbled away from Zed in his panic, he had stupidly cornered himself, sealing his fate at the hands of a rogue zombie. But then, something impossible had happened. Zed hadn't bitten him. He hadn't even attacked. Instead, Bucky had watched with shock and terror as Zed fought against his instincts, wrenching himself away from his easy prey.

Bucky hadn't known it was possible; had never considered that zombies were anything more than stupid, dead things. Even after what he witnessed, it had still taken months, (okay, years), for him to work on his own prejudices against those who lived on the other side of the barrier. Bucky had made progress, sure, but he knew he was still far from perfect. He was, in fact, a little jealous of how easy it had been for his cousin, Addison, to just accept everyone, regardless of species. While he'd never told her, Addison was truly someone he looked up to, when it came to her moral compass. When his own moral compass was sometimes lacking, she was always there to tell him the honest truth.

But as Bucky had heard Zed say countless times to Eliza, "Baby steps are still movement."

As Bucky rounded the corner to head towards the gym, the slight figure of one of his zombie cheerleaders came bouncing over to him. She was a freshman who was new to the squad, and her name was Zita. She was mostly hidden behind a comically large box, which she was carrying with surprising ease considering that she was less than five feet tall. That Zombie strength was no joke. Her green ponytail bobbed from side to side as she approached him.

While he was, technically speaking, no longer the cheer captain, he still assisted Addison in coaching duties, choreography for cheer routines, and training new cheerleaders. Bucky had found that even though he enjoyed the prestige that came with being class president, he was not able to entirely relinquish his squad.

He had made the Mighty Shrimp what they were today, after all.

"Hi, President Bucky! The new poms just came in!"

She craned her neck to the side, offering him the peppiest smile he'd ever seen.

Zita was the zombie embodiment of a perfect cheerleader. She was a perfect flyer, and always had a happy expression on her face.

She was staring at him expectantly, waiting for some kind of acknowledgement or instruction.

Be nice. He thought to himself.

Be nice. Be nice. Be—

"Well, what are you still standing there for, Zita? Take them to the gym for practice!" Bucky snapped as his brows dipped down in annoyance.

Oops.

That wasn't as polite as it had sounded in his head.

Zita nodded fervently, green hair frantically waving up and down as she nearly sprinted past him and towards the gym. He watched her go, wondering why it was so impossible for him to be nice, like Addison. It was exhausting. How did she manage it?

"THANK YOU!" He practically shouted to her, though the polite statement tasted sour leaving his mouth. He felt his face scowling at her as she rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

There, much better.

Bucky nodded approvingly, giving himself a mental pat on the back. He would get the hang of this "being a nice guy" stuff, sooner or later.

Continuing on his path, Bucky also headed towards the gym. He had a free period, and was planning on working out a few kinks in their routine for sectionals. Once it was absolutely perfect, as was his standard, he could more efficiently teach the other squad members.

Since he was taller than Zita, he spotted her ahead of him. She had been joined by three other zombies, also members of the cheer squad. He recognized the tall, stout zombie as a guy named Zeke, but couldn't remember the names of the others. Zeke seemed to have taken the box from her, hefting the giant thing effortlessly onto his right shoulder.

Bucky took a moment to appreciate the new uniforms he and Addison had chosen this year. Rather than the white and pink with green stripes, which they had done a variation on for the past several years, these uniforms were a vibrant emerald. The skirts (and pants) had shimmering silver stripes which cascaded downward from the waist. The tops were also green, with glittery silver and pink lining emblazoned across the front and back.

Bonzo, who was also still on the squad, had helped to design them.

Normally, Bucky was fervently against anything different, ever, but he'd had to begrudgingly admit that the new uniforms were pretty cool. The new poms were designed to match the uniforms with their metallic green, pink and silver that were meant to sparkle when in use during the routine.

This year's competitions would be excellent.

As they approached the gym, Bucky began to pick up the pace, wanting to get started on his choreography as soon as possible. He didn't even mind if they stayed, so long as they learned something and didn't bug him.

Bucky watched as one of the taller female zombies in the group ahead of him reached to open the door to the gymnasium.

Then he heard a noise that didn't fit in with the bustling of the school's halls.

Pop.

As she opened the door, there was a sound like a small firework being set off, like the ones he and Addy had played with as kids every Shore Day. A small puff of debris scattered across the doorway of the gym. Amidst the smoke, Bucky saw a glint of shining purple as shards of what looked like glass spraying across the zombies as they stood in the entryway. His brain didn't immediately process what was happening, as he watched his fellow squad members flinch back from the small explosion.

Zeke dropped the box, which tumbled to its side and spilled it's contents across the floor in a wave of glittering green and pink. A few students nearby yelped in surprise, as the four zombies in cheer uniforms began to spasm in a strange, terrifying way. Bucky vaguely saw the red flashing of their z-bands, which were now covered in purple shards of glass.

No, not glass. Stone.

Bucky suddenly recognized the familiar gleam of moonstone, fragments seeming to magnetically attach themselves to the now malfunctioning z-bands. His mind flashed back to the memory of he and Zed's presidential debate the past year, when Zed's z-band had briefly short-circuted after coming into contact with moonstone. At the time, it had ensured Bucky's well-deserved victory.

Now, Bucky was standing dumbstruck, watching as Zita, Zeke and the others began to become feral before his very eyes. Dozens of tiny shards were now sticking to their z-bands, as well as slicing lightly into their skin and clothing.

His eyes grew wide, and Bucky heard a mixture of growls and grumbled zombie tongue with the sudden wailing of a z-alarm. Someone nearby must have pulled it. He swerved around, quickly ducking behind a large wooden trophy case, which hand barely enough space for him to squeeze behind unnoticed. All around, the hall erupted in chaos. Most students were running, though a few seemed to be momentarily frozen in place.

He watched as the zombies began to shuffle back up the hall, in the direction they had previously traveled from. He gasped as he looked at Zita, with her coal-black eyes and snapping jaw. They looked haggard, but were moving at a brisk pace as they followed their prey. Luckily, the miniature horde quickly passed him by, seemingly without notice. Quietly, Bucky released a short breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

Down the hall, where he couldn't see, he heard a series of shouts and the sounds of retreating feet. People were running now, but soon, he was sure that people would spring into action and take down the feral zombies. Bucky flinched as he felt an unfamiliar pain in his chest. It was an emotion, but not the normal pride and self-confidence that he always felt. Guilt? Worry?

Bucky thought about Zita, with her tiny frame and bright smile.

What if she and the others got hurt? It wasn't even their fault.

He wasn't sure what had happened, but it almost seemed like someone had intentionally set up a trap, ensuring that any zombie nearby was certain to glitch. A new feeling began to blossom in his chest, taking him completely by surprise. Bravery. Bucky didn't want to stay hidden behind the trophy case. He needed to go and help his cheerleaders.

Resolved but terrified, he silently slid out from behind his hiding spot and quickly sprinted down the hall, in the direction of the chaos he could hear boiling over around the corner. As he rounded it, he briefly skidded to a stop as he took in the scene unfolding before him.

There was bedlam in the hall, as clusters of humans ran to escape the zombies. Some of the zombie students were fleeing as well, while a few others appeared to be too stunned to react. As he watched, a girl zombie with short cropped hair and a full-figured frame tackled one of the rogues who's name Bucky didn't know. They both tumbled across the tile floor, slamming roughly into the lockers. The feral one snapped and growled at her, but she had him securely pinned down.

Behind them, Bucky saw that Zita had cornered two humans, and was closing in on them in the corner. He flew forward, all the while in awe of how ridiculously idiotic he was being, and charged into the dead space between zombie and human. Almost hyperventilating, Bucky held his hands out defensively towards her.

"ZITA!" He yelled, his voice breaking in his panic.

He couldn't belive that he, Bucky Buchanan, was about to be eaten by a zombie.

But then, like Zed had nearly two years ago, Zita did something that surprised him.

She paused, blackened and bloodshot eyes boring into his. She was breathing in short, gasping growls as her hands and fingers twitched in a bone-chilling way. Her jaw continued to snap periodically.

But Zita didn't attack. She stared at him, as though waiting for him to finish his declaration. Hesitantly, Bucky inched closer, hands still drawn in front of him in supplication."

"Zita," Bucky said, trying to project his normal confidence and self-assurance.

"Listen to me, everything is going to be fine. I know it's scary,"

Bucky took another step forward.

"But everything is going to be just fine."

Step.

"Your z-band is just glitching because of the moonstones."

He gestured down to her dainty wrist, where the z-band, covered in small shards of the gently glowing purple rock. Her arms and face were littered with cuts and scrapes from the tiny explosion, a few shards actually embedded into the flesh. She jerked her head down and towards the band, as though she had forgotten it was there.

"We need to take them off, Zita. Will you let me help?"

Clearly he had gone insane. The old, sane Bucky had a strong sense of self-preservation. This new version of himself apparently had none.

Step.

He was right next to her now, and gingerly reached out as she watched him. He touched the top of the z-band, feeling the razor edges of the shards and realizing that he was going to get cut. Bucky winced delicately as his fingers scraped against the moonstones. It was like trying to move magnetic blades off of one another. Tricky and painful, but manageable. Still watching him as he quickly tore off the final chunk, she let out a soft shriek. Her knees buckled as black veins faded to normal grey.

He started to move forward to help her, when a short roar bellowed directly behind him.

Bucky turned around just in time to watch as Zed catapulted himself onto Zeke, who had been inches from taking a bite out of the back of Bucky's head. They tumbled past him, Zita's crying nearly muted by a second roar from Zeke as they hit the floor hard. Zed screamed as his shoulder made contact with the hard tile floor, absorbing a large amount of impact. Bucky immediately began to race towards the two, and nearly collided with Addison as she to ran forward to help.

They both stared at one another in complete astonishment for one short second. Then, they dashed together to Zed and Zeke, who was still pinned under a clearly agonized Zed.

"Hurry!" Zed gasped.

Together, Bucky and Addison managed to make fairly quick work of removing the shards, both receiving multiple slices into their fingers and hands as they worked.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over.

The four zombies were all back online, due to quick action of their fellow human and zombie students. The hall that had been filled with screams and shouts had now devolved into Zita's muffled sobs, The continued dull ring of the alarms, and what Bucky was fairly certain were curse words spilling out of Zed's mouth in hushed zombie tongue. Bucky quickly stood and sprinted back towards Zita, only to find that he was suddenly a lightheaded. He sat roughly next to her on the cold floor, and leaned his head against the lockers behind them in hopes of alleviating his dizziness.

Zita was still letting out tiny, hiccuping cries. Without thinking, he reached over and took her hand, letting her squeeze it as she wept. He looked down at his traitorous hand, and again wondered whether the great Bucky Buchanan had lost him mind. There were suddenly about 20 adults in the hallway as z-patrol and teachers finally arrived. For a moment, there was silence from the flabbergasted officers, who had clearly not expected the scene that was unfolded before them. Ms. Lee was striding towards one of the other recovering zombies, her heels clipping loudly against the floor as the z-alarm abruptly stopped.

Bucky sucked in a deep breath, trying to ease his mildly spinning head.

A few other teachers and z-patrol officers followed, rushing to help the students and ensure that no one had been hurt. Over where Addison, Zed and Zeke were sitting, an officer seemed to already be taking a statement from them.

"-heard the z-alarm, and came to help. We recognized the glowing fragments, but I have no idea where the shards of moonstone came from. Maybe one of the wolves necklaces broke or something?"

"No," Bucky said, rapidly swiveling his head to face the little group and becoming nauseated in the process.

"This wasn't an accident. Someone did this on purpose."

Then, in keeping with the dramatics of his normal self, Bucky fainted.