Being liked is so weird.
Addison has spent her entire life within the walls of the castle. Everyone there who wasn't a wolf was a zillion years older than her, and the majority looked down on her because she was so young. Which was odd, considering in about a year they'd all be following her every order. It didn't change the fact that they treated her like a child and usually ignored her, making her completely unprepared for actually being liked.
The first people she meets are Bucky's 'best friends.' They act more like his followers, a strange entourage that she can't comment on. Stacey, Lacey, and Tracey, the Aceys. They're all packed in Bucky's van when he shows up to pick her up for school.
The Aceys bombard her with questions and selfies the entire drive over. Annoying and obscure stuff like if she ever had a crush on her guard, if she bathed herself, what her opinion is on zombie rights. Lacey manages to take the prize for the strangest question, asking Addison, "When you were at the children's hospital on March 22 of last year, your guard said something to you as you left the room with the kid named Aidan, and you laughed. What was it?" It earns her an eye roll from Bucky and a slap on the shoulder from Stacey. The Aceys obsess over Addison in strange ways. She's gotten tagged in more story posts in the ten-minute car ride than she has in her entire life.
They get to school and luckily, Bucky manages to stave off the crowd that rushes toward them. He's like a human version of Wyatt except less fun, shielding and protecting her, keeping people away, and getting her inside the school with minimal issue.
The minimal issue being the mostly unconscious zombie she talks to for two minutes at the gate separating the two sides of the school. Barely two minutes, yet Bucky freaks out over it.
He drags her away from the hurt zombie before she can even make sure he's okay. In his defense, the warning bell for class had rung, though she's sure he was more worried about the zombie than tardiness.
Bucky speaks as they walk through the main entrance. "I know you're new here, Baby Cuz, but talking to zombies is the biggest no-no there is."
Addison nods quietly. School hasn't started yet, and she's already done something wrong! If any more mishaps happen, her parents will definitely pull her out and get her a tutor again. And she hasn't even gotten a chance to meet anyone besides Bucky's posse! So the less she messes up today, the better. And that means following and listening to Bucky's every word.
They walk up the main staircase of the school, heading…somewhere. Although she spent all night studying the campus map so she wouldn't get lost, it didn't make the whole thing any less confusing. The buildings all had obscure names, the halls were twisty and weird, and there was an excessive amount of everything. Two dance studios in the East Wing, one on the second floor in the South Hall, there were maybe two more in the auditorium. Not to mention the more than excessive amounts of Zombie Safe Rooms. There were at least four in every wing. It was just a lot.
"And we can't let those monsters change this town, Cuz," Bucky continues. "Ew."
Addison raises her eyebrows at that, though she doesn't say anything. The zombies she'd seen seemed nice. A little strange and off the beaten path, but kinda nice. But Bucky says they're bad, so they must be, right? He was older and more experienced than she is, so he must know better. Though she can't help but ask, "But…they're just going to school like us. What's wrong with that?"
Bucky recoils in disgust. "Like us?" He scoffs. "People love me, okay? I got jazz hands. Those freaks are nothing like us." She opens her mouth to argue, but before she can, he adds, "They tried to eat our grandfather!"
Addison stammers for a response. "It was just a small…bite."
Bucky rolls his eyes as they finally reach the top of the stairs. Other humans have already noticed her presence, but luckily they don't crowd around her as they did outside. Their eyes still follow her, their conversations dying down, eyes watching her every move like a polar bear at the zoo, all of them waiting to see what the princess does next.
Bucky pats her shoulder while giving their onlookers a dazzling smile. Addison does the same, waving at those whose eyes she catches. Bucky leans in to whisper so no one else can hear, "You're playing devil's advocate for the literal devil, Baby Cuz. And you're going to lose this game. Zombies are bad news."
Addison swallows thickly, giving him a short nod. Everyone watches them still, so she keeps up her smile, though it feels much more strained and forced now. Bucky grins, stepping away from her. He looks around the crowding hallways and calls out, "Cheer tryouts today after school, everybody!" Dozens of students perk up at the mention of cheer tryouts, some even cheering.
"Let's go, Mighty Shrimp!" Bucky calls.
Some girl right in front of them, with dark skin and long black hair, all decked out in Seabrook pink, whips around, cheering along with Bucky. "Woo! Go, bottom feeders!"
Addison stifles a laugh. Bucky gives the girl the stink eye, not amused. The girl, to her credit, tries to explain, "Wait, you know, 'cause shrimp. They eat the…" Bucky walks off, his posse following behind him, none of them listening to what the girl has to say.
"No? Whoo! Go Seabrook!"
The girl pumps her arms in the air excitedly. Her energy is contagious, filling Addison with a renewed sense of excitement and optimism. It's the first day! It may be off to a bumpy start, but it's still going to be awesome!
Addison walks up to the girl with a wide grin, giggling. She first only gets a spared glance from the other student, who then does a double-take once she realizes who's standing next to her.
"Hi!" Addison says.
"Omg! Omg, you're—" the girl stammers.
Addison nods, smiling. "I'm Addison, it's nice to meet you! What's your name?"
"I-I'm Bree! Oh my God! I'm talking to—Sorry, sorry, freaking out a bit!"
Addison giggles, while Bree continues her excited rambling. "I just moved here from East Shoria and I-I mean I've always dreamed of being on the cheer squad because I really want to be a flyer. Tossed high in the sky…"
Bree looks off wistfully.
"I love cheer too," Addison says. "Bucky used to teach me when we were younger, before he became cheer captain." After that…well he was too busy to spend time with her after that. It was all about cheer and his new friends who weren't her. It used to hurt a lot, being traded in for his new friends. But now, as long as she didn't think of it, it hurt less.
"Are you trying out for the cheer team too?" Bree asks.
"Oh me? No, no. It's…it's too dangerous." She smiles sadly, shaking her head. "Gotta keep up appearances," she whispers.
"Oh." Bree gives her a sad smile. "It's okay! You can still cheer from the sidelines."
Addison grins. "That's the plan! I'm way fired up for this year!" She leans in and whispers mischievously, "Think you can steal me some pom-poms?" adding a wink at the end.
Bree laughs alongside Addison. "I think you and me are going to get along great," Bree says. The bell rings, people around them rushing off to class. Addison jumps, the ringing much louder than she had thought. Do people actually get used to that? Or do they just pretend so they don't look like frightened freshmen or like her?
"Where's your homeroom?" Bree asks.
"Oh!" Addison reaches into the cup pocket of her backpack, pulling out her schedule. "Room 210."
"No way! Me too!" Bree squeals. "Come on, let's go!"
Although Addison would've loved to sit in the front row, she follows Bree to almost the back of the classroom because they'd blend in more. Which works. She gets a few shocked and surprised looks, but overall, people don't notice her presence.
After the bell rings at eight am, their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Greenwood, clicks on the flat screen hanging in the corner of the classroom, and they spend the next few minutes watching the morning announcements with everyone's favorite cheerleaders, Lacey, Stacey, and Tracey. Well, she watched, most people were on their phones or talking with their friends. Even Bree, but she can't blame her. She finds it a tad bit strange that the Aceys and Bucky are everywhere in this school. Literally. There are giant posters all over with their names and faces. It's…creepy.
After the morning show ends, Mrs. Greenwood starts going over the school rules. But most of the class is filled with juniors and seniors, so no one pays much attention to what she says. Addison doesn't mind it, seeing as she's read the student handbook cover to cover. Twice.
Partway through Mrs. Greenwood's droning spiel, an alarm blares throughout the school. There must be a siren in every classroom, in every hall, everywhere. The combined sounds are deafening.
Addison covers her ears, frantically looking around for a source or what to do in a situation like this. Bucky had told her that emergency drills don't start until the third or fourth month of school. So either someone was confused, or there was an actual, real-life emergency going on right now.
Mrs. Greenwood stands, looking around in confusion. Other people around Addison do the same, seconds before the door flies open and a preppy cheerleader shouts, "Rogue zombie! Run!"
Everyone in the room freaks, jumping up and running in a panic. And she freaks out too. A lot. On the inside, though, because everyone around her is freaking out and as the princess and the future queen, she's supposed to take charge in situations like these. Keep her people calm, be a model of thriving in the face of danger.
Though, she's never experienced an emergency before. If things go wrong, Wyatt takes her somewhere safe immediately and she never has to witness or experience anything bad. But something in her comes to life when she sees everyone freaking out. Especially Bree, the girl she's dubbed as her new best friend.
She may not be able to calm everyone at once—she'd probably throw up if she had to do that—but she rushes to Bree, trying to calm her hyperventilating.
She guides her through her breathing, weaving through the crowds of people running in the halls. Seabrook High may be a giant, complicated maze, especially with everyone freaking out and running, but one room's location is clear in her mind.
"I know this is scary, Bree, but there's a zombie safe room right there." Addison points down the hall. "It's gonna be okay."
Bree nods, though her attention is split between frantically looking around the hall. She suddenly screams and flees in the opposite direction of the safe room. Addison tries to run after her, but Bree quickly gets lost in the crowd of students.
Addison quickly gets swallowed in the sea of people bigger, stronger, and much more panicked than she is. She can barely push her way through the crowd, the bodies closing in around her as everyone flees the rogue zombie.
With every passing second, she feels smaller and smaller, the tiniest fish being knocked around and swallowed by the vast, never-ending ocean. Every moment she's away from Bucky or Bree, she sinks further into the dark. Alone, vulnerable, terrified.
She thinks she might cry, or vomit, or both. Maybe just scream? The more people panic, the more she panics. She hyperventilates, her mind going a mile a minute delisted no actual coherent thoughts coming forward. Just find Bree, find Bucky, find somebody to help her.
She can't find her voice to call for help. All she knows is she needs to get out of this crowd before she has a breakdown. People may not notice her now as they run around and away from the threat, but they'll surely notice when the princess of Seabrook has a meltdown in the middle of the hallway.
She worms her way through the crowd, ducking under arms and pushing through groups of people until she ends up in front of the large metal door that leads to the zombie safe room. The one place on campus she'll be safe from zombies and the crowd of humans who clearly didn't think of the safe room.
She pushes the door open, slipping inside. The heavy door clicks shut and a robotic female voice says, "Zombie safe room secure."
Addison leans back against the door, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to fight off the threatening tears.
Her first day of school may be off to a rocky start, but… She can't think of a highlight, a tiny shred of optimism to get her through the next few minutes. Today sucks, and it's barely been fifteen minutes. First, everyone flaunted her like a trophy, now there's a zombie running loose, and everyone abandons her! The entire school was panicking and she couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible. No matter how much that didn't make sense, she still does.
Tears spill down her cheeks whether she wants them to or not. She can't hear anything over her pounding heart and the painful sobs that break free. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong in the shortest amount of time possible. The only way this day could get worse is if her wig were to come off!
Across the room, there's a crash and a startled yelp, enough to make Addison jump. She's not alone. She's crying and she's not alone! Her parents would kill her if word gets out that she's crying at school!
She straightens up, quickly wiping her eyes. "H-hello!" she calls.
A pair of sneakers squeaks to a halt. "Hello?"
Addison sniffs again. It was a guy, she thinks, who sounds just as surprised as she is that there's another person in the room.
"Hello!" She calls more insistently. She scans through the metal shelves and beds and cabinets, trying to find the other person in the room.
"Hey," the guy says softly. "Were you…crying?"
Addison sniffs again, wiping her eyes. "A-and if I was?"
"Hey, no shame in crying. It's actually pretty good for you, ya' know." Her eyes finally find him, a tall silhouette on the other side of the room, slowly making his way through the maze of shelves. "My pops says when we cry it's a sign to others that we need help." The guy pauses, then asks cautiously, "Are you okay?"
Addison nods. "Yeah. I just…it's not how I was expecting my first day at school to go…" She rubs her arms nervously.
"You weren't expecting to get trapped in a zombie safe room?" The guy asks with a chuckle.
She can't help but smile slightly in return, knowing he can't see it in the dark. He's still moving towards her, so she starts to do the same.
"No, I wasn't," she says. "Were you?"
He chuckles. "Oh yeah, that I expected. That happens to me all the time. It's sort of my thing."
Addison giggles. He's a little weird but in a good way. A nice, funny way.
"Uh, do you wanna talk about what was bugging you? I've been told I'm a good listener!" And he's sweet. A weird, funny, sweet guy.
Addison smiles softly. "It's my first day in school, I was homeschooled before, and today has been a little…overwhelming, to say the least." She turns a corner, slowly making her way through the maze. Although she wants to open up to him, she enjoys the mystery and secrecy the dark room provides. She's not her royal highness Princess Addison Victoria Elizabeth Jada Buchanan-Mountchristen-Wells of Seabrook. She's just another kid at Seabrook High. Just like her mystery man.
"My parents are really strict. They only let me come if I promised to stay by my cousin's side. And then he ditched me…"
"I'm sorry," the guy says. "You must be freaking out pretty hard, huh."
Addison nods. "Yeah. This is…a lot."
"On the bright side, there's no rogue zombie out there. Trust me on that."
"Well, that's good. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure my parents would never let me leave the ca—the house. Would never let me leave, if the zombies were randomly going rogue."
The guy chuckles, almost a little nervous. "That doesn't happen. Plus, it'd kinda ruin the first day of school. Your big day!"
Addison giggles. "What about you? I mean…are you new too? Or have you been here for a while…?"
"Oh, well I'm a junior—"
"Me too!"
"Yeah?" The guy asks excitedly. "It's my first day at this school too. What a coincidence."
Addison giggles. She stops walking when she's looking at him through just one shelf. The mystery of it all…it's kind of fun. She's never felt more like herself than when she talks to him.
"I'm trying out for football later today. Hopefully, this incident doesn't ruin that."
"Really? I-I've always wanted to do a sport. I've always dreamed of cheering.."
The guy whistles lowly. "Cheer? That's a tough gig to get."
Addison nods in agreement. Cheer was the biggest accomplishment Seabrook had in the past fifty years. It was the center of their community youth programs. The program centered on getting kids into sports and afterschool programs. Over the years, their cheer program had become more and more elite, with the high school cheer squad being the epitome of it all.
"I know…but I love it," she says. "I've basically been cheering since I could walk. I love it so much."
"You should try out! I'm sure you'd make the team."
Addison shakes her head. "I-I can't," she whispers. "I'm not—I'm not supposed to. But if I could, I'd be there right now."
"Someday, maybe," he says.
Addison raises an eyebrow. "Someday?"
They both round the corners, standing face to face in the dark. The guy is much taller than she is. Tall and lanky. And funny, and very sweet.
"Yeah," he says. "Someday, all our dreams will come true. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday."
Huh. Addison nods along. "Someday."
"Oh, I'm Zed by the way." He shifts, scratching the back of his neck. "What's your name?"
She takes a shaky breath. Talking to him as just another human being was going great, and she didn't want all of that to suddenly change once he found out who she was. But also knows she can't hide forever. The lights will turn on and he'll recognize her immediately, especially since her face is plastered pretty much everywhere, all the time.
"I-I'm Addison."
A robotic female voice fills the room. "All clear."
All of the lights flood back on, red lights and alarms shutting off as quickly as they had come on. Addison inhales sharply. She finally gets to see the guy who's been making her stomach erupt with butterflies for the past few minutes.
Green hair, red eyes, metal Z-Band. Zombie.
Naturally, she screams. "Ah! Zombie!" Her next instinct is to protect herself like her royal guard had taught her. She swings, hitting the zombie right in the nose.
The zombie cries out, his head snapping to the side when her fist hits him in the face. He cradles his bruised nose in his hands, which finally snaps Addison out of her terrified state of self-defense.
He hadn't even done anything to her and she socked him. In the face.
"Oh my god, Zed, I'm so sorry." She rushes out.
Zed groans and winces, and she feels immensely worse. His hands are covering his face, probably trying to dull the pain. Oh god, when her parents find out that she punched someone…
She pushes that thought aside, instead deciding to continue apologizing. "My parents have always taught me that zombies are disgusting dead-eyed freaks but…" She trails off, looking from the ground then back to him. Heat unintentionally spreads across her cheeks before she says, "You're not hideous. At all."
Zed looks up at her again, saying, "Thanks, I'll take…" He trails off, then freezes. "You—You're—"
She momentarily forgets that she's her royal highness. The blood that's dripping down from under his hands draws her attention first. "Oh my goodness, your nose!"
"My—My what? You're—" Zed swallows, then, finally finding his words, says, "You're the princess. The—the princess just punched me in the face. Oh my god. Eliza's never going to believe me."
Addison ignores him and rushes off, searching the Zombie Safe Room until she finds one of the first aid packs. She rushes back to a still stunned Zed.
She places a gentle hand on his arm, startling him back to attention. "Your nose is bleeding," she says softly.
He pulls his hand away from his face. "Huh, it would appear so."
She tries but fails to hide her giggles. He may be shocked that the princess is in his presence, but he still acts like the Zed she had been talking to before. She pulls him along, guiding him over to one of the stretchers in the corner. They both sit and Addison opens the medical pack, pulling out packets of gauze.
"I'm really sorry," she says again. "I didn't mean to hurt you." She opens the packet. "I mean, I did. But I was just freaked out. I-I've never met a zombie before." She scoots closer to him, then lightly dabs at the blood on his face. "E-Especially not a really cute one."
A smile spreads on his face, some human-like color sprinkling on his cheeks. "You-You think I'm cute?" He asks shyly.
She nods. "Especially without all the blood," she jokes.
Zed lets out a small chuckle. "I usually don't bleed this much when I get punched."
"You get punched often?"
Zed nods. "All the time. My friends say I have a very punchable face."
"Well, I disagree."
Zed chuckles again.
Addison pulls away the bloody gauze. She grabs an instant ice pack, popping it and wrapping it in a towel, then offers it to Zed.
"Thank you."
Addison sits quietly while he ices his nose. He looks familiar, especially now that he's not profusely bleeding from the nose. It takes her a second to realize she saw him earlier that day.
"Aren't you the kid who got hit in the head with a football?"
Zed winces. "Yep. It's been an awesome start to my first day."
Addison smiles sadly. "I'm so sorry for hitting you," she says again.
Zed chuckles. "It's okay, you're forgiven. And you don't have to keep apologizing."
"It's just…My parents have always told me that zombies are bad news. My entire family, really. They've hated zombies, ever since one bit my grandpa's ear off."
Zed nods solemnly. "That's sad, since ears are probably the least tasty part of the body."
Addison's eyes widen, but he quickly amends. "It's a joke! A lame zombie joke. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. I don't plan on eating you. We don't eat humans. At least, not anymore."
Addison nods. Zed's eyes shift nervously, and he adds in a quieter voice, "Besides, I would never eat you."
"Because I'm 'her royal highness'?"
Zed chuckles. "No, because you're the first human I've ever met that's actually been really nice to me." He pauses, then adds, "Minus the part when you punched me."
Addison giggles again. "Yeah, that's my bad."
"I'll let it slide, just this once though."
"How's your nose?"
Zed pulls the ice pack away, using his other hand to feel the bruised bridge of his face. "Better."
Addison leans closer, inspecting for herself. It's only been a few minutes, but the bruising is starting to fade and the bleeding has stopped completely. "Wow," she breathes.
"Us zombies heal pretty fast," he explains. "Technically it's not healing, more like things stop hurting and being, like, genuinely broken. It's hard to explain."
"Really? I had no idea."
Zed smiles brightly in return. Addison raises an eyebrow, though she can't help smiling as well. His smile is insanely cute and incredibly infectious.
She thinks a zombie is cute! Who is she anymore!
"I'm sorry, I never thought…I never thought a human would be so cool and nice. Especially not her royal highness."
Addison giggles. "You can just call me Addison. We're friends, after all."
His eyes widen in shock. If he was shocked that she was nice to him, he must be losing his mind that she called him her friend. But she doesn't regret the choice. Zed is sweet and funny. And heart-meltingly cute. In another life, she'd probably date him. But there was no way her parents would allow her to even express an interest in a zombie. So. Friends.
"I can't believe the princess of Seabrook is talking to me," he says in earnest. "I just…I know humans don't really like zombies. And I knew it'd be hard to go to human school. I mean, I set off the Z-Alert within ten minutes of being here! And then I meet none other than her royal highness, and she—you—are the nicest person in the whole world!"
Addison blushes. "Zed…"
The doors of the safe room are forced open, and Zed and Addison both jump as they turn. Bucky and his squadron of preppy followers, the Aceys, rush in.
"There you are!" Bucky exclaims.
He runs over, grabbing and pulling her off of the gurney. She almost falls, but Bucky neither notices nor cares.
"Ew!"
"Nasty!"
"Zombie germs!"
Bucky stands between her and Zed, holding his arms out in front of her protectively. The Aceys grab her, pushing her away from Zed even more. He glares at Zed, a nasty, disgusted look. "If you ever touch my cousin again, it won't be pretty," he spits.
He sizes up Zed, then snaps his fingers. In an instant, Lacey and Stacey start dragging Addison away. She doesn't even get a chance to turn around, though she gives Zed an apologetic look, one he mirrors until she can't see him anymore. Although she instantly misses him.
As soon as they're out in the hall, the Aceys release her, joining Tracey at Bucky's side.
"Well, that could've been a disaster!" Bucky says, grinning. "Can't let that monster get to you. Aunt Missy and Uncle Dale would kill me and lock you in a tower until some prince comes to rescue you." Bucky rolls his eyes.
Addison nods meekly. "I'm sorry," she whispers.
Bucky hums, smiling. "Don't worry, that won't happen again. I'll make sure of it."
Addison raises an eyebrow, but Bucky doesn't elaborate. Instead, he claps his hands and says, "Back to class. Then, this afternoon, cheer tryouts."
He snaps his fingers, and the Aceys all turn, heading back to class. Bucky smirks at Addison, then turns too. She follows behind like a puppy, away from Zed and wherever Bucky wants her to go.