Zed's POV
Class after class I sit though anxiously. I can't focus on what anyone is saying, not the teachers, not even Eliza or Bonzo. All I can think about is Addison.
Normal POV
"Hellloooo. Earth to Zed!" Eliza says, waving a hand in front of his face. He blinks in confusion and turns to her.
"Oh, sorry. What did you say?" Zed asked. Eliza stared at him blankly for a minute, not impressed with his lack of concentration. After a few silent moments, Zed had lost interest once again and propped his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his fist, staring off with an unreadable expression. Eliza's expression shifted from slight irritation to sheer anger as Zed was once again completely ignoring her.
"What the hell is the matter with you?!" She yelled, drawing the attention of the entire room back to their seats near the end of the classroom. The teacher looked up from the book she were reading at the trio of zombies.
"Is everything alright back there?" She asked, with a look of authority. Eliza smiled apologetically.
"Yes, ma'am! Sorry about that." She said, Bonzo nodding and throwing his arm over Zed's shoulder to show they were all good. The teacher raised an eyebrow and turned back to the rest of the class.
"Nothing to gawk at people! Continue working with your groups!" She instructed.
Zed was staring at Eliza in shock at her outburst. She turned back to him with an angry expression still covering her features.
"Seriously, what is wrong with you? You've been distracted and depressing all day!" She whisper yelled at him. He looked confused at her statement.
"What do you mean? I haven't been depressing or distracted!" Zed asked smiling, but he knew he has been off today. Eliza raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah? Ok, then you wouldn't have any problem telling me what we are working on for this project!" She challenged. Zed panicked, a nervous laugh escaping him.
"Uh, yeah! We are working on, um... what class are we in again...?" He timidly asked. Eliza crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back in her chair, scrutinizing the zombie across from her. Bonzo pressed the back of his hand against Zed's forehead to check for a fever. Zed gently pushed his hand away.
"Guys, I'm fine! I'm just," he paused a second. Eliza and Bonzo looked at each other. "worried about the game tonight, and about Addison." His voice trailed with her name and his gaze started to drift.
"No! Not again, you don't!" Eliza protested. Zed refocused on her, surprised again. "Look, we are your best friends. We know when something is wrong. Just tell us and maybe we can help." Eliza explained.
"Za!" Bonzo chimed in.
Zed was reluctant but he sighed, giving in because he knew they were right. He rubbed his face with his hands in exasperation, attempting to clear his thoughts or just be able to conjure up a coherent explanation of what was happening to him.
"I don't really know honestly. Lately, I've been feeling like I'm loosing control when I'm with Addy." He explained. Eliza cut in.
"Wait, 'loosing control' as in...?" She asked. Zed looked around to make sure no other students around were listening, luckily they were all focused on their group assignments.
"Like, intimately..." He whispered, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. Bonzo's eyes widened and he immediately looked very uncomfortable with the conversation but was forcing himself to stick it out for his friend. Eliza had her hand rubbing her chin as she thought about what Zed was saying. "And I don't wanna go into too much detail, but last night I... growled."
Both Eliza and Bonzo looked surprised.
"Growled? As in growled?" Eliza clarified. Zed just nodded. She thought it over again. "Hmm, have you and Addison been doing anything differently?"
Zed tried thinking about it. "I don't think so." His face was red again, he hated talking about this stuff out loud. "We, uh, took a little break for a while because we were both so busy before. But this morning was, well, different." He said remembering their little moment on the way to his house. His mind flashed with the image of Addison's flushed face, the sound of her muffled moans, her back pressed against the rough brick. His pants were tight and his chest constricted in panic, this was not the place to think of this.
"What happened this morning?" Eliza asked. Zed was slumped over his desk. His two friends were suddenly worried.
"I have to go." He said, low. Much lower than his usual tone. And he was gone. The door not even closed all the way behind him.
"H-hey! Where are you going?!" He teacher exclaimed. Eliza and Bonzo stood quickly.
"He, uh, wasn't feeling well! We'll just go check on him!" Eliza cheerfully explained as they backed away towards the door. Rushing out and closing the door behind them. "We need to find him. Something's not right. You go check the boys bathroom and I'll go find Addison to help. She seems to be the reason for whatever change is happening in Zed." She told Bonzo. Bonzo nodded but his face looked a little distraught.
"Lizaka, grah razuh gitzig?" Bonzo asked hopefully. Eliza smiled up at the big lug.
"Yes Bonzo, I think Zed will be ok." She reassured. Bonzo smiled and rushed off towards the bathroom. Eliza sprinted in the opposite direction towards Addison's class.
She knocked on the door and didn't wait to be called in. The whole class was turned to look at her. Addison's brows were furrowed, knowing something was wrong for Eliza to be in her class.
"Can I help you?" The teacher asked, looking up from the text they were reading from. Eliza nervously laughed and waltzed over to Addison's desk, gently pulling her to her feet by her elbow.
"Well, there was an incident in the gym with some pompoms and we could really use the Cheer Captain to get it resolved! So I'm just going to borrow her for a bit and bring her back once everything is cleared up!" She said and she led Addy to the door as they escaped any further questioning.
"Eliza, what's really going on?" Addison asked. Eliza turned to her as they hurried down the hallways.
"I'm not 100% sure yet, but something is going on with Zed. He ran out of class with his voice sounding all zombie!" She emphasized, worry creasing her forehead. Addison gasped.
"Where is he? Is he ok?" She rattled.
"I sent Bonzo to try and find him. I think it has something to do with you though." Eliza explained.
"Me?" Addison asked. Eliza nodded.
"I have a feeling that your 'sexual activity' is somehow affecting him." She said, air quoting with her fingers. Addison looked mortified.
"Lizaka! Addiska!" Suddenly, Bonzo came around the corner. The girls rushed to meet up with him. He was pointing frantically the way he had come. "Zedka!" Hearing the name sent Addison into a sprint in that direction. She could hear the groaning coming from the boys bathroom. She didn't even hesitate rushing in, shutting and locking the door behind her. Eliza and Bonzo banged on the door.
"Addison! What are you doing?! Unlock the door!" Eliza exclaimed.
"Addiska!" She also heard Bonzo yell, panic in both of their voices.
"It's alright guys! I'll make sure Zed is ok and we'll be right out!" Addison said cheerfully to comfort them. It didn't really work.
"Addison, Bonzo said Zed's full zombie in there! It's not because of his Z band! Let us in!" Eliza demanded. Addison just ignored her friends. She didn't have time to waste, Zed needs her.
She slowly made her way further into the bathroom until it opened up, the stalls and urinals lining the walls. She scanned and she could just see Zed's legs poking out from behind the last stall, he was sitting in the far corner.
"Zed?" She called sweetly to make her presence known, not wanting to surprise him. She saw his feet jerk, but he hadn't moved, the room now eerily quiet as his groaning and the banging on the door had stopped. She proceeded forward. She reached the final stall and peeked around the corner before she was fully in front of him.
Her eyes widened and tears pricked her eyes. Zed was staring up at her, his darkened eyes wide with fear, black veins covering his skin. She fell to her knees in front of him and scrambled to hold him. She hugged his torso as tears began to soak his shirt.
"Zed! I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! You'll be ok! I promise!" She cried into his chest. Zed, ever so hesitantly, places his arms around the sobbing girl, resting his nose in her hair, the scent calming him. She calmed herself and pulled back to look up at him. She placed her hands on either side of his face. "Are you ok?" She asked, searching his eyes.
"Za." He responded, his voice deep. She wasn't used to hearing him speak zombie tongue but she knew what most words meant from listening to Bonzo and Zed explaining it to her over the years. She sighed in relief and gave him a reassuring smile to let him know everything was going to be ok.
"Zodzig." He says, what's that word? Sorry?
Then he did something she didn't expect, he kissed her.
