In Seabrook, the tenth anniversary of the alien's arrival quickly approaches, and so does the tenth annual Seabrook Cheer-Off and the ten year reunion of Seabrook High's most honorable alumni. It's a big year — a big month — and despite everything, Zed is excited.

The meteor showers officially return. They rain down from the sky at least three to four times a month, almost four times as often as they used to. It's not a sign. It's not, although deep in his gut, he hopes it's a sign.

The entire town is alive with anticipation for the endless events. Dozens of cheer squads from all over the country have already started arriving in Seabrook for the two day event this weekend, as well as all their old friends heading back after years of drifting apart. With the high numbers of visitors to Seabrook, Zed and Bree, the latter being the organizer of the Cheer-Off, have been tasked with making all the preparations for the blockbuster summer of events.

During their Monday morning meeting, Zed enters the room filled with his closest friends/employees. "Okay, we are officially in crunch mode people!," he says. "Cheer-Off Thursday and Friday, reunion Saturday, Bonzo and Bree's super awesome wedding Sunday, and everything needs to be spectacular!"

No one shares in his excitement. Eliza goes as far as to stroke her forehead as if she had a headache, grumbling, "Zed, it's seven in the morning, please calm down."

He just grins in response.

He's been feeling a lot more like himself lately. Two years ago, he fell back into his old, lonely habits, after thinking Addison might have returned. He did nothing but work and look for her for months. He constantly dreamed of her return, but would wake up every night before she could ever speak to him or hug him or even touch him.

But things are better now.

He's been in therapy for almost a full year now, and has family dinner with his dad and Zoey once a week, while family dinner with his closest friends occurs once a month. They keep him company, keep him busy, and keep his mind off of Addison. He's been on a few dates here and there too! Although nothing ever becomes permanent. He doesn't spend as much time longing for Addison as he used to, either. He still writes to her, but only once or twice a week now, only one page, and folds it neatly into an envelope, tucking it away in a box under his desk, filled with hundreds of letters to her.

He even went through his box of all Addison-related things, putting most of it away in the attic for safe keeping. He keeps a few things out and on display, like their first Prawn photo and a picture of the two of them at the first ever Seabrook-Zombietown block party.

He's moving on. He's living a life without her, and while the thought of that still hurts, he knows in his heart that she'd be proud of him.

"First on the docket: reunion this weekend," he says, earning a series of groans from the group.

"Do we really have to go?" Willa groans.

"How do you even dress for one of those?" Wyatt asks.

"You think I can pull off the whole robot look again?"

Zed rolls his eyes. All they ever do is whine. "We will all be there in person, we will look amazing, and it's going to be an awesome night!"

"Who put you in charge?" Willa grumbles.

"All of you, when you all decided to work for me."

"We're co-charge," Eliza points out.

Zed sticks his tongue out in childish retaliation, drawing a quiet laugh from his friends.

From outside and above comes a loud bang that rattled the building. Zed jumps, and they all turn and look out the large window lining the back office wall. A meteor explodes outside, raining down above Seabrook. Another darts across the sky, exploding in a shower of red just like the others have done for years.

"This can't be normal," Willa says. Zed turns back and looks at her, catching her moonstone buzzing red for a moment before she continues. "I'm no meteoriticist, but regular meteor shows for this long can't be normal."

"And a town full of monsters is?" Eliza quips.

"This is different," Willa says. "It feels…" She locks eyes with Zed then looks away, finishing, "strange. That's all."

He knows what she was going to say, what she's thinking, what everyone is thinking. But he pushes those thoughts away. He can't get his hopes up, not again, only to be crushed, again.

"Let's not focus on the meteors, okay,?" he says. "We've got a hell of a week. Principal Lee and Bucky asked me to make sure you guys actually show up to the reunion on Saturday, and we have the cheer-off finals on Friday. Speaking of, Bree—" Bree looks up at the sound of her name, "are your cheer classes ready?"

Bree leans her laptop closed, putting a brief pause on her last minute wedding preparations. "Oh, we were born ready! We're gonna crush it and win the Seabrook Cup for the third year in a row!"

"Woo!" Zed hollers. "Plus, Sunday morning, best day of the year! No, the century!"

"Za!" Bonzo shouts. Zed grins, leaning over and high-fiving his best friend and Bree.

"Bachelor party right after the reunion!" Zed adds.

This catches Wyatt's attention. He perks up like a wolf, his eyes bright at the prospect. "We are gonna get tanked!" he calls, rousing a chorus of cheers and grunts from Zed and Bonzo.

"But not so drunk you're too hungover for the wedding," Bree reminds them.

"Right!" Zed claps his hands together. "This week, everyone's going to be pulling double duty because we have so much going on."

He crosses the room, dramatically flipping the white board he's spent the last four days prepping for this meeting. With pictures, color-coding, and even yarn, he put way more detail into this than he should have. His therapist would be so proud of him. Four days spent building this and not thinking of Addison (gorgeous blue eyes, the kindest, most dazzling smile he's ever seen, god he misses her). "Bree, Zoey's back in town for the wedding so she'll be available to help you coach your cheerleaders. And I know it's last minute, and feel free to say no 'cause I know you're super busy this week, but do you think you can get your old cheer team back together for a special performance? Just to make the tenth cheer off even more epic!"

"Oh my god, that'd be awesome! We'll do it, we'll so do it! I'll make it work, but I'm on it!"

"Yes!" Zed glances at the board, then looks at his next target, Wyatt. "Wy, City Council asked for some extra hands to prep Zombietown for the cheer-off. Maybe you can take out a few classes, give them some volunteer hours or something."

"You got it, boss."

"Great. I'll get you more on that later today, remind me. Willa and Wynter, I'm putting you guys in charge of all rec-sports this week. Scheduling, placing, all of it. We're short-handed on staff, so you'll have to make do with what you have. I need a Monday and Tuesday schedule by nine, and the rest of the week's schedule by the end of the day."

"Oh god," Wynter gasps.

"We got it," Willa says.

Zed claps, grinning. "Last thing. Mayor Millers is putting us in charge of all marketing for the cheer-off this year. We need to get as many Seabrook High alums as we can in those seats. Football players, mathletes, everyone. This is gonna be a 'me, Bonzo, and Eliza' task but if anyone has any free time we'll need the help. We'll start by contacting Bucky, since he's in charge of making sure everyone makes it to the reunion. And Bonzo, see if you can get in contact with Mr. and Mrs. Wells, maybe they can come by for the celebrations."

"Gutologz?" Bonzo asks.

Zed pauses and thinks. Bonzo has a point, maybe someone other than him should reach out to the Wells'. They don't speak zombie tongue, plus they never really knew Bonzo like that. He ignores the part where Bonzo suggests Zed do it, instead turning to Eliza and says, "You're right. Eliza, you reach out to them—"

"You!" Eliza exclaims. Zed freezes. "You should. You knew them better than any of us did."

"Y-yeah, but…"

"No buts, this will be good for you," Willa insists.

"Yeah! This is Addison's legacy, Zed," Wynter says. "The tenth annual National Cheer-Off for the Seabrook Cup, a competition she created to celebrate her favorite thing!"

"And you haven't talked to them in years," Eliza points out. "Call them, invite them for dinner. Just talk to them. They love you, you know. They probably miss you. And it'd be good to talk to them again. "

Zed chews his lip thoughtfully. The last time he saw them was opening day. All they did during their visit back then was admire the Addison Wells Cheer Arena. They barely exchanged any words outside of informal pleasantries, all parties feeling too awkward, their entire relationship clouded by their missing link. He doesn't think he can stomach seeing them again, especially for such a huge event…

But Dr. Steve would probably advise him to. And they used to be close. Plus, it would be rude to not invite Mr. and Mrs. Wells to celebrate basically ten years of Addison's influence on Seabrook.

Zed sighs. "Okay, I'll call them." Eliza gives him an encouraging smile. "And you and I are gonna help Bucky plan the reunion and schedule the cheer-off. We've all got lots to do, so everyone, off to work."

His friends leave him and Eliza alone in the office, heading off to their respective tasks. Zed pulls out his clunky cell-phone, walking back to his desk where he keeps his address book. He's gonna do it, he's really gonna do it. He'll call the Wells', invite them back to Seabrook, and be completely normal about it. One hundred percent normal.

Eliza stands, walking over to his desk. He watches her until she stops in front of him and folds her arms. "Are you sure you're okay to do this? Do you want me here for like…moral support?"

"No, I got this. This is Addison's legacy," he says. "If it weren't for her, the cheer-off wouldn't even be a thing. Plus, the Seabrook Cup is technically a family heirloom…"

Eliza nods. She pats his shoulder gently. "I'm gonna head out then, see if Wynter and Willa need some help. Let me know if you need anything. Just holler."

Zed nods. He looks down at his phone, waiting until he hears the door close. With a sigh, he flips through his address book until he lands on Dale Wells. He slowly dials the numbers and hits send, listening to the line trill for almost a minute before Mr. Wells answers.

"Hello?"

"H-hi Mr. Wells," Zed greets.

"Zed! How's it going, son?"

"I'm good, how are you? How are things in Shoreside?"

"They're good, they're good."

"That's good," Zed says. "So, I don't know if you know, but the Seabrook Cheer-Off is this weekend. We're celebrating ten years of national cheer, and we wanted to see if you guys wanted to come down a little early and join the festivities!"

"Oh, I don't know…"

"It's running Thursday and Friday, and we'd all love to have you guys here!" Zed says. "Honoring one of Seabrook's oldest traditions: dominating cheer!"

"Well, we were already flying down Saturday for the wedding. I-I guess we could come down earlier for the Cheer-Off."

Zed lets out a relieved breath. "That would mean so much to us," he says, despite wanting to say how much it would mean to him. It's good and healthy to confront the things that trouble him, rather than avoid them at all costs. And not speaking to Addison's parents has haunted him for years. "If you guys can swing it, come down like Wednesday or Thursday. We can all go out to dinner, my treat!"

"Uh, sure, yeah. I'll see if we can modify our hotel reservation, but let's say Wednesday for now ?"

"Wednesday sounds great, Mr. Wells. And if you can't adjust your reservation you can always stay with either me or my dad, we've both got plenty of space."

Zed can hear someone speaking in the background of the other line. "Okay, we might take you up on that," Mr. Wells says with a chuckle. "I've got to get back to work, but I will see you Wednesday, son."

"Okay, bye."

The line clicks and Zed puts his phone down on the desk. He sighs, but also smiles.

That went well. It went better than well, if he's being honest. He hopes they do make it down, and maybe they'll be able to talk and regrow their relationship. Even without Addison around.

He looks at their Prawn picture sitting on his desk, right next to the photo of him and his family at Zoey's college graduation a few weeks ago. He picks up the picture, popping out the frame and pulling out the letter from years and years ago, back when they'd send each other letters every day while she was away at cheer camp, hidden away behind their picture.

Zed, always know this: WE BELONG TOGETHER.

He's getting better, but a reminder of her love for him doesn't hurt every once in a while. He's going to be alright.

Late in day, Bucky Buchanan pays Zed and Eliza a visit. As their former president, he was in charge of planning and organizing their high school reunion. The only problem is that Bucky is in charge of planning.

Now, Bucky throws a killer party. But he has a few…anti-monster tendencies. The last Bucky-led event they attended was their graduation party, which had no monster friendly snacks! Just vanilla froyo, cookies and punch. They were all delicious, but the point still stands. He never cared to include monsters in his festivities and is only here now because Principal Lee is forcing him to include Eliza and Zed in his planning.

"So the theme is…" Bucky pauses for dramatic effect, then finishes, "Mighty Shrimp Disco! The whole place decked in silver, everything shiny. And a complementary photo booth with all your favorite Mighty Shrimp and Bucky props."

Zed and Eliza exchange a look, both bored and shocked by him. "The wolves are allergic to silver, Bucky," Eliza says.

"Potato tomato."

"That's not how you say that."

"Obviously it's not real silver," Bucky says, overly exasperated. "Decorative! I'm not a monst—I'm not crazy!"

Zed's eyebrows jump at his blunder. He holds back a laugh, shaking his head. "Just fake silver everywhere? I feel like we should include stuff that celebrates everyone in our class — humans, like yourself, zombies, and werewolves."

Bucky scoffs. "And why would we do that? It'd make the whole place look tacky!"

"Or, here me out, it'd guarantee everyone has a good time." Unlike last time.

"And no Bucky-props, no one wants that," Eliza adds.

Bucky scoffs (again), this time much more dramatically. He folds his arms in protest. "You two are ruining my creative vision!"

"What if instead of Bucky-props, we just have your super sparkly, decked out dance floor, and all the cool cheer props from over the years for the photo booth," Zed suggests. "It's in the gym, right?"

Bucky nods.

"We could put up faux rocks and stuff in the bleachers. You know, for the wolves."

Eliza sits up, suddenly interested. "Right, that'd be cool," she says. "And for zombies…we could dig up some stuff from our old Zombie Mashes. Really kick it up!"

"That all sounds terrible," Bucky mumbles.

"Well, you can't make our entire class reunion about you. We'll give you fifty percent."

"I want seventy-five!"

"You get fifty-five, take it or leave it," Eliza says. "And you know we'll redecorate behind your back if you don't agree."

Bucky frowns but eventually gives in, whining, "Fine. But all your 'zombie decorations' must go through me! Hear that? I'm in charge!"

Eliza rolls her eyes. "Yes Bucky, you're in charge."

"Good! Now if you excuse me, I need to go see what crappy routine Seabrook's putting on this year and jazz it up."

Eliza rolls her eyes. "Don't be a dick, Bree's working really hard and she has a ton going on this week." Eliza stands, pointing a threatening finger at him. Zed stands too, arms crossed menacingly. "If you make her cry I will eat your brains," Eliza threatens.

"Slowly so you feel every last bite," Zed adds, glowering.

Bucky cowers, taking a step back. "N-noted," he stutters. "Well, it was good seeing you. I'll be back tomorrow for, uh, zombie decor or whatever. Yup!" He turns and rushes out of the office.

Zed and Eliza hold their expressions until the door closes. Then they both break, bursting into a fit of giggles.

"I love scaring him."

"It's so easy!" Zed laughs.

"We don't eat brains! Imagine!"

Zed laughs heartily. "I could go for some blended brains, though."

"Yeah me too."

"I think we're out in the kitchen, but since I love you so much I'll go buy some." Zed yanks open his drawer, grabbing his phone and keys.

"You just don't want to work."

He spares her a single glance as he rushes out of the office. "No comment!"

She laughs as he walks out. He exits through the back door, not really in the mood for random small talk with any of the teachers or activity leads on site today. He loves them, but he just had a meeting with Bucky. He needs some time to regroup. Bucky takes a lot out of him.

He walks down the sidewalk, playing with the keys on his chain. He stays on the mainroad, smiling and nodding at the people he passes. He knows everyone in Seabrook, one way or another, or at least recognizes their faces. Zombies, humans, and werewolves have been coexisting in peace for years, minus the tiny shake-up with the aliens. Seabrook was pretty perfect.

Perfect homes because everyone loved their homes — humans had their neat and trim yard, zombies had their wild decorations, and the wolves always brought a little bit of the forest into Seabrook. Perfect clothes, with crazy combos of fur and zombie-chic and Seabrook pink and blue. To an outsider, they might look crazy, but Zed loved it. It really is a perfect life.

He rounds the corner to the grocery store, but a clamoring of metal and person-sounding groans from the adjacent alley stop him in his tracks. He takes a step back and peers into the alley but finds nothing and no but the big green dumpster and a few piles of dirty boxes. "Hello?" he calls.

He doesn't hear or see anyone or anything unusual, though the sky slowly gets darker with each passing minute, making it much harder to see in the alley. Anyone else would leave, ignoring the strange noise, chalking it up to Seabrook being Seabrook. They get hundreds of strange noises and strange creatures everyday. Hell, they had mermaids in town for a few weeks three summers ago, not that anyone minded.

He walks through the shadowy alley. "Hello? Is someone…there?" he calls. He catches sight of a flash of silver hiding behind the dumpster, his heart immediately pounding. It could be a werewolf, or worse a werepup, caught in some trash that's hurting them! They try to keep the silver off the streets these days, but lots of it still ends up injuring a poor, unlucky werewolf from time to time.

Zed rushes forward, starting to say, "It's okay, I…" when the words die on his tongue, his eyes landing on a pair of familiar, wide blue ones, just above the cutest button nose he could recognize from a galaxy away.

His heart stilts, thundering in his ears as he looks at her: long, light blue hair, pale skin, frantic blue eyes, decked in silver and white and blue that's stained with dark browns and reds. She's curled almost within herself, hiding from the world, but he'd know that face, those cheeks and eyes and nose, anywhere.

"A-Addison?" he breathes.

Her chest rises and falls heavily, but her panic quickly softens, her eyes watering instantly. "Zed…?"

His mouth gapes, tears pricking at the back of his eyes. It can't be her, it can't. He's spent years dreaming of this day, and this must be another one of those cruel, cruel nightmares where right when they're about to reunite, he wakes up.

He reaches out for her on instinct still and she does the same. Their fingers touch briefly, a sharp, painful burst of electricity violently rocking his body, nearly sending him tumbling back. He holds his ground though, unable to stop himself from linking his fingers in hers.

He's holding her hand. He doesn't wake up, and she's really, really here.

A/N: So…

If you came here to read angsty Zed, I'd say this is the last time you'll see him. The story from here on out will be less 'angst' and way more hurt/comfort, because I'm a sucker for a happy-ish ending.

If you want a story about Zed coping with the loss of Addison, stop here. HOWEVER if you want a story about two people separated by circumstance who find their way back together, let's keep this party rolling!