Addison doesn't know what gets into her. The rest of her afternoon is…interesting, to say the least.

Without work to distract her, and without Bree to keep her level heading, everything sort of spirals within her. Wyatt's moving on and up with life, Bree moved on a long time ago, all of her other friends started getting their lives together and succeeding a while ago. And here she is.

She doesn't even have a car to go on a long drive to clear her head, maybe even visit her brother to cry and think of a solution to her quarter life crisis. Or would it be a pre-midlife, post-quarter life crisis? Either way, she's left to walk around the Royal Gardens plaza, planning on getting her car fixed later, or even tomorrow.

Despite working in Royal Gardens her entire adult life, she never took a chance, never took a day, to sit back and take in all the sights or explore the part of Seabrook she had never been in. Back when she was in high school, they called this side of town "Zombietown." Addison never knew why. Her parents forbade her from ever setting foot there when she lived with them. She lives there now and still gets uneasy walking around.

Not today though. Zombietown isn't what it was ten years ago. Sure, it's still a little dangerous, a tiny bit grimy, but she feels more than fine walking around the shopping plaza. She only knows of the shops surrounding the diner — a candle store and a tattoo parlor. Yes, she considers going into the latter, but decides against it. Tattoos are expensive, and pretty painful in the moment. Maybe another time, when she'll have Bree to hold her hand.

She crosses to the opposite end, passing a Starbucks and a skin care store, then rounds another corner. A boutique — Rag Tag Co. — just two storefronts down from the Starbucks, catches her eye. The exterior paint, grey with dark red and green accents, clashes with the simple redwood of the majority of Royal Gardens. But in a good way. The sign looks like someone carved into a piece of old wood and exposed the yellow beneath it. And what really catches her eye are a pair of boots in the front window: black, leather, almost vintage but with newly added embroidery. And the four, maybe five inch heel isn't too bad either. She'd kill for those boots.

She doesn't end up committing a crime for a new pair of shoes. But, ten minutes later, Addison walks out of the boutique with a cute brown bag filled with the very boots, in her size. Spontaneous shopping, while a little reckless, and insanely fun. And the boots were barely fifty bucks.

She ends up at a ton of cool stores she didn't know existed. She buys a new dress (forty dollars), three new jeans (seventy six dollars), and gets a bra that actually fits properly (thirty dollars), as well as discovers she's been wearing the wrong bra size for at least five years.

Retail therapy works wonders. If she had a car, she'd upgrade her whole wardrobe. She hasn't been on a shopping trip since she was seventeen and getting ready for college. Considering she and her brother went to private school the majority of their lives, they didn't have many casual outfits, so their parents went nuts. Even though they both had a second whole new wardrobe by the end of their first semester, done by buying new clothes as the weeks went by and they discovered new things about their taste and sense of dress.

She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts of her brother. No sad things! Most days she can casually reminisce, but today she might end up crying. No Danny, no Wyatt, just good, happy thoughts.

Like…Zed. His handsome face immediately comes to mind, and she can't help but smile to herself. She could be the star of her own coffee shop movie. Who cares if Bree says he's trouble? Lots of people are trouble. Once, a guy told her she's too mentally unstable to ever be in a committed relationship. He was also a dick, but that's besides the point. She can't write Zed off because of a mysterious and ominous warning from Bree.

Of course, all of this would depend on Zed actually noticing her, or her running into him again. He's him — tall, handsome, clearly charming and smooth, and if he isn't actually rich he looks it, which usually means a guy's a bit self-absorbed but from their limited interaction, she didn't get that vibe. And She's hung around a ton of self-absorbed rich assholes.

She needs to get it together. Swooning over a guy like him isn't what she needs right now. Plus, he's probably in a relationship. She'll just continue to fantasize about him.

She starts to head to the bus stop, planning to go home, maybe do some intensive cleaning of her closet, maybe even get takeout! At the edge of the plaza, just on the other side of the street from the bus stop, is a beauty salon. Wen's Wilde Looks. She stops outside of it, looking at the sign with scrutiny.

She could use a professional wash and cut. Maybe she'll even get bangs! Who knows.

She has always craved a change in her look. Something shorter, or maybe some nice highlights. And, a great plus to a new look, she might get noticed more. Especially by a certain green-haired man.

Addison goes inside, asking the girl at the front desk if they take walkins. Lucky for her, two people called and canceled, so there's a wide open space for Addison to do whatever she wants. Her stumbling upon this place almost feels like fate.

"And what kind of service can we provide you with today?" the woman asks. "Do you want a haircut? Highlights? A simple wash-and-go?"

Addison looks up at the board of services, browsing the prices. A shampooing with a haircut is only forty-six dollars. She can handle that.

Her eyes drift over to the coloring wall. Not just highlights, but full hair color changes. She's spent her entire life blonde. Would it be that bad to switch it up? It's not like she needs to be blonde to live her life effectively. Eliza won't fire her if she got some highlights, or got blue ends, or…did the whole thing a whole new color.

'Fuck it!' she thinks. She's always wanted something new, and anyone who gives her shit about it can kiss her white ass.

She turns her attention back to the woman behind the desk, grinning. "I would like a wash, a cut, and to dye my hair."

The girl's smile turns from a normal customer-service smile, to an excited, almost mischievous, grin. Probably a mirror of how Addison looks. "We can do that," she says, " What color?"

Addison looks at the chart of colors, the very last one steering her gaze. "Number sixty four, please."

"I know just who can help." the woman smirks, a very mischievous, almost worrying smirk. If Addison wasn't in a 'screw everything' mood, she might be afraid. But right now, she's not afraid of anything. Not the woman behind the counter, or dying her hair a mystery color, not her mother and her criticisms, and certainly not afraid of some guy Bree thinks is trouble. She can do whatever the hell she wants! She's a grown ass woman.

Addison sits in the chair, hair freshly washed and wrapped in foil, waiting for the color to finish setting. Her raging has settled a lot in the hour she's spent at the salon. Still a little manic, but she doesn't think she'll be doing any more outrageous things today.

Something still feels off. Nothing she did today ended up being much fun. Liberating? Of course. But fun? Not really. She wants something stupid, maybe even a little out of character. Like a drunk hookup, though she has no way to contact the only person she wants to do anything remotely romantic with.

She may not be able to see Zed again, but that doesn't mean she can't still get drunk and make out with a hot guy. If she so chooses, at least.

She switches from the e-book she'd been reading while waiting, to her messaging app, opening the group chat with the majority of her friends in it.

Addison:

Anyone feel like doing something stupid tonight

It only takes ten seconds for the responses to come flooding in, almost all at once. And just as expected, her friends go absolutely wild. They're not normal, which is why she loves them.

Bree:

Girls night!? Cuz the Regal Riches remake isn't as awful as you'd think

Wynter:

I've got a coke guy!

Willa:

Define stupid blondie

Wynter:

Or ecstasy if you're into that

Bree:

Wynter you're not allowed to do hard drugs

Willa:

No one wants to do drugs Wynter

Wynter:

You guys are lame

Willa: You don't even do drugs and you know Addison would never

Willa:

She's kinda lame

Addison chuckles under her breath, quickly typing out a reply. The messages come in fast, and if she isn't quick, she won't get a word in.

Addison:

I could so do drugs

Addison:

I did weed with my brother once

Bree:

So movies and pizza then? Your place?

Addison scoffs, rolling her eyes. She's too predictable, too boring and bland and too…practical. She needs to do something crazy. Not hard-drugs crazy, but crazier than movie night.

Addison:

Let's go to a club

can't remember the last time we all went out plus I'm not working tmrw

I wanna get drunk and dance with my favorite people ever

And, silence. At least for a solid minute, which in the world of texting, is forever. They better answer, though. She refuses to go out by herself, and if she doesn't do something she fears she might explode!

Bree:

srsly?

I work the night tomorrow I can SO go clubbing

don't play with me Addison Catherine Wells

Addison:

Serious

I wanna get drunk and make out with strangers like i'm in college on a long weekend

Wynter:

crying I'm running a story early in the morning

I'll come out for like an hour or two tho!

drunk Addy is so fun

Willa:

Yeah same I'm meeting up with my group in the morning but I can come out for a few

Bree:

we're going to zombie mash

I know the guard dog so we won't spend forever in line

they open at nine so let's get there around 9:30/10

Addison:

Meet there or before?

Bree:

My place

Lemme check with bonz first but he'll probably say yes

Addison goes back to her ebook. Bree's technically at work, and so is Bonzo, so it would probably take a little while before they got confirmation. She manages to get through two more pages, but her excitement distracts her too much to properly focus on what she's reading. Finally, after what feels like forever, Bree texts back.

Bree:

be there at eight

I'll order pizza too

can't drink on an empty stomach!

Addison smiles. She'll go out and drink bad alcohol, dance with her friends, and if things go well she might even make out with a hot guy! she'll even have a one night stand! She hasn't been with a guy in a year.

Maybe…maybe Zed will be there. And she could talk to him, outside of the diner. Wouldn't that be something?

But she doubts someone like him would want anything to do with her, or that he's even single, or that he casually visits clubs on Friday nights. But a girl can dream, and dream she will.

'Be there at eight' means no will will actually arrive at eight. Most times, it means that Bree will order pizza a little before eight; Addison will get there around eight-oh-five and get ready with Bree; Willa will show up around eight thirty, sometimes with her girlfriend, sometimes not; and Wynter will show up closer to nine, definitely after the pizza arrives. It's messy, but it works.

Except today, of course.

After leaving the hair salon, Addison throws her new clothes in the machine for a quick wash. She thinks she'll have enough time, but by the time they finish, it's almost eight. She throws together an outfit consisting of her new black skinny jeans lined with rips along the knee, an old navy crop top she bought specifically for her first ever college party (that she wore twice, way back then, and never again), and her new boots. Once she deems herself acceptable, she drops her makeup bag in her purse and heads to the bus stop.

It takes fifteen minutes for the late night bus to arrive, another fifteen for it to leave Zombietown and hit Uptown, running along the outskirts of downtown Seabrook — with its sky rises and office buildings — sandwiched between Zombietown and the suburbs.

She doesn't get to Bree's until almost eight thirty. Whatever Bonzo does — private security, she thinks — means he makes a lot of money. Enough to own a huge penthouse in Uptown, which, while not as fancy as mansion lane on the outskirts, or the beach front properties in the suburbs, is still pretty classy. The building itself is relatively new, popping up around the time she dropped out of college along with a few sister properties. Wyatt always jokes that the folks who own the diner own the buildings and pretty much half of Seabrook, which doesn't sound real in the slightest.

Addison gets buzzed up, taking the rickety elevator up to their place. Once she reaches the top floor, she struts down the hallway, letting herself in. Bree never remembers to lock the front door. Addison knows from experience.

"Sorry I'm late!" she calls into the empty apartment in lieu of a greeting.

"Kitchen!" Bree calls back.

Granted, Addison has only been by a few times, but she makes a guess where the kitchen is. The front door opens straight into the living room. She stands at two hallways converging at the entrance, takes a wild guess and goes left, since that's where most kitchens tend to be. It sounds and feels right, and she ends up being right, so win-win.

She's late, which already is odd, but everyone beat her there, which is even more odd! Even the pizza got there before her!

"Sorry! Sorry! I lost track of time and…" Addison gets cut off in her apology by her friends, all suddenly taking notice of her new hair cut and new clothes and new…everything, really.

"Holy shit you dyed your hair!" Wynter shouts, cutting her off.

Addison barely catches Willa eyeing her before she says, "Damn I didn't know you had a waist! Okay booty!" She adds a wink with her cackled laugh, while Addison just giggles, red flushing her cheeks.

She gives her friends a little twirl. "Like the new look?" She poses, leg kicked up behind her, then another looking over her shoulder, egged on by her friends' cheering.

"You look amazing!" Bree cries. She rushes around the kitchen island, going over to inspect Addison. She reaches up for Addison's choppy, newly dyed, purely white bob. "Can I?"

Addison nods, her hair bouncing around her shoulders. She really likes it short. Her head feels lighter, quite literally. Sure, it's weird not having hair on her back, but this is so much better. She'll probably keep it this short for a while, maybe forever.

"It's so pretty!" Bree says softly. She looks back at Addison's face. "I never thought you'd change it."

"Why did you change it?" Wynter asks. "Not that I don't love it. You look super pretty, seriously."

Addison shrugs. "I wanted to. I needed a change."

Bree raises an eyebrow, her lips pulling down in a small frown. "Yeah?" she asks, hee voice gentle. Almost…concerned.

Addison fights her own frown, "Yeah," she says pointedly.

Willa jumps in. "Not to over analyze or anything, but a lot of times when people make a drastic change to their appearance, it's…kind of a sign." She tries to be gentle, Addison knows it in her tone, but Willa just isn't. And her friends' sudden concern for her well being ticks her off. They mean well, she knows, but it doesn't change how annoyed she is.

"I'm fine," Addison insists. She crosses the kitchen, grabbing a slice of pizza and biting off more than she can handle. Whatever, it's fine. Just like everything around her going to shit and also not is fine.

"We don't have to go out," Willa offers. "We can hang out here, probably. Watch movies. Talk about our feelings." She says the last one while wiggling her fingers, voice wavering like she's suggesting a spooky subject.

Addison rolls her eyes. "I wanna go and get drunk and dance with my friends. Is that too much to ask?"

"We could do that here though!" Bree suggests. "I doubt Bonzo would be mad if we broke into his liquor collection! And there's surround sound in the other room. The base is killer!"

"If you guys don't wanna come with me, that's okay," Addison says. "But I haven't gone out in forever, so I'm going. Time I live a little, ya know?"

"Is this about what I said last night?" Bree asks. "I didn't mean it in like, a rude way. I just meant—"

"Bree, I seriously don't care. I just wanna have fun! With my friends! Is that too much to ask?" Addison finishes her pizza, grabbing another slice from the box. "Come on, let's go. Uber's on me."

She leaves, still munching on her food. It takes a minute for her friends to follow her, the three of them quickly sharing their worries over her as they gather their belongings. Addison's long gone, waiting for the elevator, missing Bree telling Willa and Wynter to keep a close eye on her. It's only a matter of time before she falls over the edge she's so precariously balancing on.

True to her word, Bree knows the bouncer at the club deep in Zombietown. The Zombie Mash line stretches around the block, but they walk right up to the front doors under the neon green sign. The bouncer — short and stout but bulking with muscles and tattoos lining his arms — frowns at first, but breaks into a grin when he gets a closer look, mostly at Bree.

"Ladies, nice to see you again," he greets.

Addison raises an eyebrow. Do her friends go clubbing without her? And they're chummy with the bouncer? At least, enough to joke around. That feels…fine, and normal. Totally okay, even. She isn't jealous or hurt at all. They're allowed to live outside of her.

But going clubbing as a group without her…hurts. Just a little.

"Hey Zayne!" Bree greets happily. "We good to go in?"

He nods, ripping off four green wristbands. "Of course, of course." He passes Bree the wristbands, then adds offhandedly, "I think the boss will be in later. I'll let them know you're here."

"Gonna snitch on me, big guy?" Bree teases.

"Those are the rules. Unless you wanna start paying a cover!"

Bree laughs as she passes around the bracelets. "If you see them, send them our way."

"Have fun in there," Zayne wishes.

Bree leads the way through the front doors. Addison moves up to her side, leaning in close and asking, "How do you know him?"

Bree hums. "One of Bonzo's friends."

As in, is Zayne one of Bonzo's friends? Or maybe Bonzo is friends with someone who knows Zayne. Addison doesn't get a chance to ask. They walk through the dark, damp, and kind of smoky entryway. The walls around them vibrate from the heavy base from inside the club. Then they're in the club, packed with moving bodies and music that's barely heard outside of the actual base.

Addison forgot how insane clubbing is. Red and green lights dance around the room. The floor is kind of sticky with spilled drinks. The four of them push through the sea of people, all varying degrees of drunk or just naturally crazy.

Addison goes with Willa to steal a table near the back corner, while Wynter and Bree go and grab them drinks.

After two rounds of shots, almost an hour on the dance floor, another round of shots, and even more dancing, their group of four dwindles down to two. Willa and Wynter head out, leaving Addison and Bree to dance and drink into the night. Addison still has no idea what songs the DJ plays, but doesn't care, jumping and head-banging with Bree until her head spins.

Addison's danced with a few guys since they've been there, some of which got a little too handsy (that her friends graciously took care of). But none of them really…stuck. She wants to be stupid and young and have fun! Dance with a hot guy, maybe even make out with him and like, other stuff. But…

She can't stop thinking about Zed.

She wants so badly to see him again. Talk to him, hang out with him, just get to know him. She's sick and tired of missing out on life, on every opportunity she gets to live and enjoy herself.

Bree spins Addison around, forcing Addison to focus on staying upright as she's sent stumbling into the group of college girls next to them. Addison giggles, calling out an apology as she reorients herself and turns back to Bree. Over her friend's shoulder, a dim white light catches on a head of green hair, walking across the balcony on the restricted second level. It can't be…but not many people in Seabrook walk around with bright green hair. It looks too familiar to not be him, even though it's logically impossible.

Drunk Addison ends up being more bold than normal addison. Either more bold or more stupid. Either way, she somehow rationalizes sneaking off to find out if it really is Zed she sees up there. She looks at Bree, saying loudly over the music, "I'm going to get another drink."

Bree nods, and Addison slips away before any of them can follow her. She heads to the bar, her eyes scanning the upper level. Though she can't find him again. Maybe she was confused, and it was him after all. She probably got wrapped up in her fantasy so much she imagined it. Honestly? What are the odds he's here? Or that he even wants to see her? Or that he's even single!

She sighs, turning to the counter and ordering herself a beer. Just enjoy a night out with her friends. After all, she's going to have to work everyday for the next month at least to afford rent, fixing her car, and every other stupid bill she'll have to pay, even with the rest of her mugging money.

The woman behind the counter slides her a beer. When she grabs it, someone behind her taps her shoulder. She starts to move out of their way, saying a quick apology, but freezes when she spots the familiar head of green hair.

Zed's eyebrows furrow, before rising in amusement, a shit-eating grin stretching across his handsome features. "No fucking way. Addison, right?"