Author's note: Well, I'm finally here with a chapter update! Today is my first day off in over two weeks, and I am super glad that I finally had a chance to finish editing this chapter. I continue to hope that things will slow down. It has to at some point, right?

In any case, I love you all, and hope you are doing well out there. I know things are tough for a lot of us right now, but I want you to know that you are strong and amazing! Keep being your awesome selves, and I'll hopefully be back with another update soon.

ZzZzZzZ

In the end, Bree was the one to find Bonzo.

They had all elected to split up and search individually, in hopes of covering more ground. Zed had headed towards the bowling alley, taking off in a steady sprint. Eliza had headed towards the school with Addison, where they would check over the school grounds. But Bree was pretty sure that they wouldn't find him in either of those places.

She knew Bonzo. And when Bonzo was upset, there was one thing that always helped him feel better whenever things seemed dark; art. He wouldn't go to a bowling alley or to the school to comfort himself. He would go somewhere that inspired creativity.

As it turned out, Bonzo had hidden himself away in the only remaining part of the old Seabrook Power building; the large brick smokestack.

It had been spared during the demolition, much to the relief of the community. Now, the smokestack was being turned into a tiny art gallery, which connected to what would soon become the new cheer pavilion. The room would be host to a variety of works made by artists from Seabrook, Zombietown, as well as the wolves. And, most likely, Lunite artwork, now that they had joined Seabrook society. Bree wondered fleetingly what Lunite art might look like.

The tall and circular room had been painted a brilliant white, to serve as a neutral backdrop to the art that would be displayed there. A spiraling staircase ran in loops up the side of the walls, extending upwards for three stories. This would allow more room for art to be displayed, and provided a method for people to enjoy the gallery from multiple levels and angles.

But for now, the white walls were empty, and the room was still a construction zone. The polished concrete floor and the tall brick walls that encircled it created a profound echoing effect.

Bree's normally quiet steps reverberated loudly as she pulled back the plastic sheeting to enter the room. Though it was dim, the white of the walls made it seem much brighter.

Bonzo was on the opposite side of the space, sitting on the deck of a bright yellow scaffold. His legs were tucked up to his chest, head resting on his knees. She was sure that he heard her coming, but he did not move or react in any way.

Bree sighed.

Part of her wanted to feel angry at him for unceremoniously dumping her, not even an hour earlier. But it was hard to be mad at Bonzo. He was a sweet and sincere being, without a mean bone in his body. He would never in a million years hurt her on purpose. Now that she understood his reasoning, she was certain that he hadn't actually wanted to break up. He was just trying to pull away from her, due to some misguided belief that it would somehow help her or spare her feelings.

She wasn't going to let him pull away though. Not for all the glitter lip balm in the universe.

Walking over, Bree quickly climbed the small scaffold and made her way over to him. She sat next to him, close enough that their bodies were touching. Her legs dangled over the edge of the deck. Bree then leaned her head over, letting it come to rest on Bonzo's slumped shoulders. He didn't pull away, which she took as a good sign.

"No." Bree said, after a moment of silence.

This was apparently not what Bonzo was expecting her to say, because he immediately lifted his head to stare quizzically down at her.

"What?" He asked.

"No." Bree said, reaching out and gently taking his hand. "You aren't breaking up with me."

He blinked, looking back at her uncomprehendingly.

"Aren't you... Don't you hate me, now?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly. "My dad—"

"You're dad," Bree interjected. "has nothing to do with the person you are, Bonzo. And I could never hate you. I love you."

She leaned over, offering him a soft kiss on his chin.

A tear slid down her own cheek as she spoke. Noticing the teardrop flowing down her face, Bonzo gently lifted his hand towards her. With his thumb, he tenderly wiped the tear away as his eyes hesitantly met hers.

"I wouldn't blame you, you know. If you did hate me." He said, attempting a casual shrug as he flicked a small chunk of drywall across the circular room. It bounced against the plastic sheeting that currently served as a temporary entryway into the gallery.

Bree huffed out another sigh. "Well, I don't hate you. So it's a moo point."

She watched his face contort in confusion, and could tell he was trying to make sense of her statement. He was probably wondering if he was misinterpreting her words.

"...Moo point?" He finally asked in English, tilting his head quizzically has he peered down at her.

"Yup." Bree replied. "Moo point. It's like a cow's opinion; it doesn't matter."

He blinked as he stared at her for a brief second. Then, the gloom seemed to slide from his face, and he burst into laughter. He tilted back his head as laughter racked his body, shaggy green hair flopping messily across his forehead. She giggled too, and their laughs echoed back at them throughout the tall rounded room. Her little pun wasn't even that funny, but the comic relief seemed to be just what Bonzo needed.

After a minute or so, their laughter gradually subsided into sporadic chuckles.

Bree reached out and grasped his hand.

"This horrible thing," she said, after a moment of silence. "Is not going to define us. Zen already made me lose one of the people I love the most. I am not about to let him take you away from me, too."

Bonzo seemed to hesitate for a short moment. Finally, though, he nodded his head slowly.

"I'm sorry I tried to break up with you, Breeska." He said, running his free hand along her hairline.

"I forgive you." She said with a giggle, but then grew slightly more serious. "But don't you dare do it again."

Bree pointed her finger at him, wagging it towards him in a scolding, accusatory motion.

"Nevsagrad." (Never.) He replied, eyes meeting hers earnestly.

"Ozk." (Good.) She said, nodding.

Reaching up, she grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him closer, so that they could kiss and make up properly.

ZzZzZzZ

After Bree returned with Bonzo, grasping one another's hands firmly, Zed and their friends had been able to let out a collective sigh of relief. However, it was also past midnight at that point, and they were all exhausted. After a quick phone conversation with her dad, Addison and Bree both decided that they would join the others and sleep over at the Zambie house.

Eliza sent Willa a text, letting the wolves know that Bonzo had been located and to call off the search. Willa had assured her that they would let the Lunites know, as well.

"Eliza," Zed said, yawning as they all trudged into the entryway of the overcrowded home. "How exactly are we all going to fit in your room at once?"

Eliza cocked her head to the side. "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping on the couch?"

"Yeah, Zed." Addison chimed in, sounding tired but firm. "I don't care if you do feel better; I'm still not letting you sleep on a cold wooden floor."

"Guys..." Zed started, but he didn't even bother to finish the sentence. Eliza and Addison were both some of the most stubborn people he knew, and he was pretty sure that neither Bonzo nor Bree would side with him. But he was a little deflated at the thought of sleeping downstairs, while his girlfriend was upstairs. So much for his cuddling plans.

Addison gave him a smirk, and he felt his cheeks warm slightly as he returned the grin. She seriously had the most beautiful smile in the universe. As he looked her over in her rumpled cheer uniform, he was increasingly disappointed that they wouldn't be sleeping in the same room. Jeez, she looked delicious.

Her smile widened as she rolled her eyes, and she leaned in to hug him as the others began to trudge up the narrow set of stairs.

"Go get some sleep, super zombie." Addy said, wrapping her arms around his torso as he leaned down to press his lips to the top of her head. "I'll see you in the morning."

Zed inhaled, taking in the scent of her rose-scented shampoo. Then, he exhaled a long, tired sigh.

"Okay," he said, in an almost grumbling voice. His hands were resting on either side of her waist, and he unhappily released his grip on her with another kiss to her hair.

"Good night, zandgrome." She said as she turned to make her way upstairs with the others.

"Good night, beautiful." Zed replied.

He watched her ascend the stairs, white hair glowing faintly as she faded from view.

Someday, he thought. Someday soon, I will get to sleep in the same room with her every night.

He was one lucky zombie.

Finally, Zed turned away from the stairway, and walked the few steps back into the tiny living room.

Aside from Eliza's parents, whose room was at the other end of the hall, everyone else was in one of the three rooms upstairs. The house was definitely filled beyond a comfortable capacity. But they had made it work, and he had enjoyed his time here with his friends and family. Tomorrow, things would be back to normal. Well, a new normal, anyway.

Zed trode into the living room, reaching down to hastily untie his high-tops. It was nice to be able to use both of his arms again. For the past two weeks he'd been letting Zoey tie his shoes every morning, to her great amusement. He grinned as he thought about it.

He suddenly realized that his sweatpants were upstairs, in Eliza's bathroom. Zed briefly considered retrieving them. As tired as he was, though, he definitely wasn't going to go to the trouble of going up to get a pair of sweats. Not to mention, Addison and Eliza would definitely chase him back down the stairs the minute he stepped onto the second floor landing.

He'd just have to sleep in his jeans tonight.

Sighing tiredly, Zed sat back into the old, tattered couch. The couch itself had been a human cast-off a few decades back, so it was neither aesthetic nor particularly comfortable. In addition to this, it was about a foot shorter than his tall frame, which meant that his feet and ankles dangled off of the edge whenever he laid down. He was definitely looking forward to sleeping in his own bed the following night.

He laid down, stretching out his legs over the length of the couch as he fluffed the pillow under his head. Upstairs, he heard the faint sound of a female laughing, probably Bree. He tried not be jealous of the fact that he had been left out of the impromptu sleepover upstairs. It was nearly one in the morning, so it wasn't like he would be missing out on much, since they were almost certainly going to sleep any minute. As though on cue, he heard the click of the light switch being turned off from the next floor.

Zed stretched his arms back behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

It had been an interesting couple of nights. More interesting than he could currently remember, in fact. He thought back to the conversation in the cemetery, sitting amongst the headstones with the other guys. They had gone to the top of the hill, and Bucky had made his surprise apology to Zed and the others. Then, they had all taken casual seats amongst the headstones, talking about nothing in particular. He didn't really recall any of the conversation, though, other than discussing the work being done to the homes in Zombietown.

Regardless, the view really had been amazing. Maybe he should take Addison up there sometime. She would love seeing their town lit up at night. However, she probably wouldn't been too keen on hanging out in a cemetery.

A cemetery was basically the opposite of everything that Addison was. The cemetery was full of death and sadness and dark shadows. Addison, on the other hand, was pure joy and happiness, and filled with light.

Turning his head, Zed squinted to look over at the old clock that hung on the living room wall. 1:30 in the morning. He really should try and get some sleep. With the way things had been going lately, who knew what random thing might happen tomorrow. Maybe Charon would make some crazy plan to escape from jail. Or, maybe sea monsters would come splashing out of the ocean and declare that they, too, wanted to join Seabrook society.

Zed chuckled to himself at the thought.

Relaxing back into his pillow, he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, feeling sleep drawing him in.

This couch wasn't so uncomfortable, once you got used to it...

Creak.

Zed's eyes slid open, and his gaze darted to the little hallway where the sound had originated. Someone was standing in the doorway. Someone with dimly glowing white-blue hair. Zed couldn't help but jump a little, though he recognized her immediately.

"Ads?" He asked, meeting her eyes across the room.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"S'okay." He said, shrugging lightly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Addison assured him as she tiptoed gently into the room. "I just wanted to... I mean, if you don't mind... Can I sleep on the couch with you? I missed you, upstairs."

She smiled softly, and her glowing hair flared slightly brighter.

Zed felt his face breaking into a tired grin, and he was already patting the outer side of the couch as he scooted over to give her room.

"C'mon." He said, raising out an arm in invitation.

Addison tiptoed briskly across the old floor, which groaned quietly under her weight. He caught a fleeting glimpse of her smile, teeth flashing dimly in the white-blue glow of her hair as she reached the couch.

She immediately folded herself into his side, resting her head on his right shoulder and draping an arm across his chest. She pulled her knees up slightly, so that her legs were partially covering his. Zed wrapped both arms tightly around her, relishing in her closeness. He tipped his head downward and into her hair, inhaling deeply.

She smelled like sunshine and roses.

"Are you smelling me?" Addison giggled, looking up to meet his gaze.

"I can't help it, your smell is irresistible." Zed replied, wagging his eyebrows up and down as she laughed.

"I spent two hours in cheer practice, and another two hours wandering around Zombietown. I probably smell like sweat and body odor." She sighed. She briefly rotated her head down, sniffing her own armpit as her nose crinkled delicately. "Yeah. No sunshine and flowers here."

Zed laughed, doing his best to keep his voice down so as not to disturb the other residents of the house.

"I respectfully disagree, my future wife." Zed quipped, once again sniffing the top of her head. "Because you definitely smell amazing."

She smiled and shook her head, and they both relaxed back into the old couch.

They rested there that way for a few minutes, just cuddling and enjoying being in one another's presence. Things had been so crazy lately, and Zed felt like it had been forever since they'd had any time to themselves. It was indescribably wonderful. After a while, he felt Addison gradually relaxing in his arms, and he was pretty sure she had fallen asleep. He wasn't far from it, himself. He yawned, and settled his head into the lumpy pillow behind him.

"Zed?" Addison spoke softly, causing him to start.

"Hmm?" He sighed, running his thumb along her arm in a soothing pattern.

"You really scared me, last night." Her voice was quiet, yet earnest. "When your heart kept stopping. I was afraid I was going to lose you."

"Never." He replied in an equally low voice, making his words come out huskier than normal. "You're stuck with me, Ads."

"But..." She said, tensing a little as her grip on him tightened. "What if something else happens to you?"

"Shh," He soothed, take aback by her apparent fear. He might not remember the previous evening, but it was clearly still weighing heavily on his girlfriend's mind. "Addy, nothing is going to happen. I promise."

"What if you're wrong?" She whispered. "What if something happens, and I can't save you?"

"We'll save each other." Zed replied, holding her close. "Always."

"Always." She echoed, and they cuddled closer.

"Gar garga za." Addison said, reaching her hand across his chest to hold his, their fingers interlacing and gripping tightly.

"Gar garga za." He whispered back.