Zed's POV
A growl rumbled in my chest. I glanced over my shoulder to see the girls leaving the doorway. My hands are wrapped around Addison's tiny waist, my fingers spread over the silky skin of her lower back. My body is starting to react to her closeness.
"Zed?" I finally hear. From her tone, it sounds like it's the second or third time she's asked. I snap out of my daze.
"W-what?" I ask. Her blue eyes are looking up at me worriedly.
"You can let go of me now." She told me quietly. I quickly pull my hands off her and take a step back.
"Oh! Right, sorry!" I say, missing her warmth already. Zinnia chuckles behind me from her workbench and heads towards the door.
"You make sure her shoulder is wrapped to keep the herbs on the bite. I'll go get the cookies out of the oven." She instructed, then when she was half way down the hall she called. "And no baby making in my house!" Both Addison and I blushed furiously. Then we hear a grossed out Eliza yell for her mom to stop.
I chuckled and shook my head, stepping towards Addison again. "Sorry baby." I whisper, leaning down to softly peck her lips.
"It's ok. I just thought I lost you there for a second." She teases me.
"You can never lose me." I assure her. We both laugh lightly as I rewrap the bandages around her shoulder and help get her dressed. Once she's dressed and ready, we head back out to the living room with our friends.
"You didn't defile my mom's work room, did you?" Eliza accused.
"If we had, you would've heard a lot more moaning." I retort. Eliza's face twists in disgust but then I see that smirk. 'Oh god.' I think.
"I'm sure, Addison can probably make you moan all night long like her little bitch." Eliza mocks. Before I can say anything, Addison starts in with her sweetest tone.
"Oh Eliza," Addy says like she's remembered something important, she quirks an eyebrow as if questioning what she's about to bring up. "why don't you tell us about your most recent sexscapade since we're sharing?" Addison chimed, pressing herself flush against my side. Eliza's eyes widen, and if she weren't a zombie, I'm sure she would have paled. "What was going on the other night with Lacey? I heard that you and her-" Eliza quickly shushed her and waved her arms around wildly to get her to stop. Bree's face was flaming as well, having heard the whole story from the gossip during cheer practices.
"Whaaat?" I drawl in question, raising a brow at Eliza.
"Nothing that is any of your concern happened." She said low and glared at us. I laugh in response and lean down to kiss Addy again. Just then, Eliza's Mom entered the room with a plate of fresh cookies.
"Now, now children. I'm happy to help you all with injuries or even information, but I don't want to hear all the juicy details of your lives." Zinnia said as she walked up to each of them to offer cookies.
"Oh my gosh!" Bree suddenly exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. She looked at Addy with wide eyes. "The Homecoming Game!" She yelled.
"Crap!" I yell as well. I grab our bags and throw them over my shoulders. "We gotta go!" I tell Addy, turning my back for her to hop on.
"No you don't! I'm not riding on your back just to exhaust you before the game! I can run just fine!" She argued.
"Addy-" I start to beg, but from the look on her face she isn't going to let me win. I sigh and turn back towards her. "Ok, but we aren't running then." She opens her mouth to protest, but I just raise my brows at her in warning so she shuts her mouth and nods her agreement.
"Thank you so much Miss Zinnia for all your help!" Addison thanked her politely.
"Think nothing of it! Zed is like an adopted son to me. Anything you kids need, feel free to stop by!" She said with a smile. "Now you all better get going if you want to make it to your game in time!" She waved her arms as if to shoo us away.
Everyone thanks her for everything before all of us head out the door.
"Addy! Are you going to be able to cheer?" Bree questions with worry. I didn't miss the sad look on her face before she places a forced smile on her lips.
"No, I have to make sure my shoulder is healed before working it too much. But that's ok! I'm gonna root for you guys and Zed from the bench!" She replied enthusiastically. I felt horribly guilty. Her last football to cheer for and she can't, because of my zombie instincts. I'm an awful boyfriend. She must be able to feel my guilt because she squeezes my hand and rubs my bicep with her other. "It's really ok Zed." She whispers just loud enough for me to hear. I glance down at her, but I can see her disappointment In her eyes.
Cheer is her passion. And I took that away from her. Or maybe not.
"No Addy, you should cheer." I tell her, she looks surprised but I continue. "Zinnia said you're at least half way healed." I pause to deliberate if this is a good idea, but I can't keep Addison from doing what she loves. I've already decided, so I point at her warningly. "So as long as you promise not to do any crazy stunts and not over work yourself, I think you should be ok if you want to cheer on the sidelines."
"You mean it Zed?!" She squeals with excitement and jumps into my arms to hug around my neck. I smile at how happy she is. I always want her to be this happy. Always.
With all the commotion, our friends look at us with raised eyebrows. Addison notices too and exclaims, "Zed thinks I can cheer for the game!" Bree smiled excitedly and hugs her.
"You sure you'll be up to it?" She asks with worry. Addison nodded eagerly.
"I'll just do some basics and not go too crazy!" She says rolling her eyes in a teasing way. Bree giggles then they both squeal again. "But we really gotta get a move on! We don't wanna be late for our last game!" She said smiling at me, grabbing my hand and tugging me along more quickly than before. I'm able to catch my footing and match her pace.
XxX
We finally reach the field just in time to get ready and warm up. Eliza and Bonzo part ways with us to head for the bleachers while Bree, Addy and I make our ways to the locker rooms.
"You go ahead Bree! I'll meet you in there in a minute!" Addison called, Bree nodded before rushing in to get ready.
Addy turned back to me and her eyes were sparkling. I could get so lost in her eyes and never regret a second. She stretches up onto her tiptoes and kisses me hard. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against me. I can smell her arousal and a low growl rumbles in my throat. It seems to snap her out of her haze as she quickly pulls back.
"Sorry!" She squeaks. I scratch the back of my head and chuckle. "Thank you Zed." She says softly.
"Anything for you." I whisper, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. She smiles shyly.
"Good luck! I'll be cheering for you!" She says cheerfully, it's contagious and makes me smile wide.
"Thanks." I say before she smiles bright and runs off in the direction of the girl's locker room. I watch her until she's out of sight and sigh before heading into the guy's locker room.
XxX
Addison's POV
I see my parent in the front row of the bleachers next to Zed's Dad, Zoey, Bonzo and Eliza as soon as the cheer squad and I come out of the locker room and they wave me over.
"Addy!" Zoey exclaims, waving her homemade pom poms to greet me. I wave my silver ones back at her.
"Hi Zo!" I answer then my mom interrupts.
"How are you feeling Sweetie? Your father told me you went home sick today!" Mom questioned with concern. "I was worried!"
"I'm ok! Really! After I took a nap I felt much better! I'm just going to take it easy cheering to be sure!" I assure them with a smile. I catch a glimpse of Eliza smirking and glancing sideways at Bonzo. But my parents seem happy enough with my answer as they smile back.
"If you think so, we'll root for you!" Dad enthused. I laughed.
"Enjoy your last football game Honey!" Mom called as I hurried back to the team.
"Go Seabrook! Go Seabroooook!" I hear Zoey yelling and it makes my smile widen.
XxX
I can feel it. All of it. Every time I see Zed get hit, it's like I'm taking the hit with him. It's not like it's excruciating, but it's definitely jarring. Yes, cheerleading could hurt sometimes with some bad injuries, but I wasn't use to taking blows like this. And why was he getting hit so much? He's not playing the same.
"What's going on with you Zed?" I whisper to myself.
XxX
Zed's POV
It's nearing the end of the 4th quarter, the last minutes of the game. This was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be. We were down a touchdown and extra point. I was trying my best to focus on the game. I really was. But damn if my head didn't turn to check on Addison ever second I got the chance.
It didn't help that Coach had me playing both offense and defense. Of course, I was the Fullback on offense, but he had me playing Safety on defense. He wanted me to play Cornerback to be right on a receiver, but settled for Safety so I wouldn't be too exhausted to play offense. So I was hung back in the backfield to stop anyone who might break through the others. It requires me to pay close attention to who has the ball which, at the moment, was quite the challenge.
Their quarterback was calling to his team, readying them for the snap. My eyes look over to the sidelines and catch Addison staring back at me with worried eyes. I find my head subconsciously turning the rest of the way to stare at her. Her face shifts to confusion and the next thing I know, a solid body in forcefully slamming me to the ground. I vaguely hear Addison squeak and gasp in a breath from the sideline.
"Ow." I breath from the wind getting knocked out of me, the whistle blows. My head snaps in its direction and the ref is signaling for a touchdown.
"Oh shit." I mutter under my breath.
"What the fuck Necrodopolus?!" "What were you doing?!" "Get your head in the game!" Were just a few of the 'nicer' things his teammates were yelling at me. My head hangs with disappointment in myself.
"Shit." I mutter a second time.
The whistle brew again, Coach called a timeout. I groan, knowing I'm about to get an earful and hustle to the sideline.
"What in the world just happened?! You just stopped out of no where!" Coach yelled.
"I-I don't know Coach, I just, zoned out! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" I promise, even though I wasn't 100% sure I can keep it. Coach sighs and lands a heavy hand on my shoulder pad.
"Maybe you're just too tired to play the whole game. Maybe you should sit out for the remainder." He said, my eyes widen.
"No Coach! Really! I'm good! I can't let the team down! Please! Just give me another shot!" I beg. He looks at me as if he's debating then sighs again.
"Ok ok! Go get some water and take a break for a bit. You'll go back in on defense." He instructs. I nod and run over to the water cooler. I plop down on the bench and grab one of the pre-filled Mighty Shrimp water bottles, squeezing a large mouthful then swallowing hard.
Then, I suddenly have another hand on my shoulder pad, a much smaller, more delicate hand. My head turns to find Addison sitting beside me with a very worried expression on her face.
"Are you ok Zed?" She asked softly. I gulp.
"Y-yeah! I'm fine! I just, uh, am a little distracted." I deflate, I can't hide it from her. I know she can feel my feelings.
"It's because of me, isn't it." She states more than asks.
"No, no, no Addy! None of this is your fault!" I gently grab both of her shoulders to get her to look at me. "All of this is my problem. Things inside me are changing and I just don't know exactly how to cope yet." I admit. She smiles up at me, bringing a hand to cup my cheek.
"Zinnia said your Zombie wants what's best for me. Are you worried? About if I'll get hurt cheering?" She asks. I thought for a second and nodded. Her eyes soften. "I plan to keep my promise of not doing anything reckless over here. I'll just be rooting you on!" She pulled my forehead to rest against hers. "Win this game for all of us, ok? My mate." She whispered. My insides warmed with pride when she called me that. I smile and replace my forehead with my lips to kiss her.
"Thanks Addy." I say, jumping off the bench and running to tell Coach I'm ready to go back in. He's quick to throw me into the offense since it's 3rd and long. Luckily though, the other team had missed their extra point before we even got the ball back.
Now that I'm completely trusting Addison not to get herself hurt, I'm able to focus fully on the game. I smirk as I stare down the linemen in front of me, determined to win this. They look a little scared from my expression, they know something's happened.
With only a minute and 30 seconds left in the game, the ball is snapped. The quarterback hands me the ball and I take off. The line makes a perfect hole for me to slip by and I'm basically home free. I avoid the other team's attempts to tackle me and even spin off one of them as I land in the in-zone. The ref whistles for the touchdown.
My teammates help me off the ground and excitedly congratulate me with pats and high fives. But my eyes turn to see Addison jumping up and down wildly with her pom poms. I smile and hurry back to the line, we're going for 2 extra points to give us the advantage later. And it works, they short pass me the ball and I make it across the goal line. If we can manage another touchdown we'd win. Coach calls our last timeout so I can grab a drink of water before rushing back on the field for defense.
I'm in the back field to protect the in-zone. Everyone is counting on me, no more timeouts, barely any time left on the clock. No one's going to get past me again. Their quarterback yells hike and the clock starts ticking down. 30 second. They're trying to go long to make a quick touchdown and solidify their win. Perfect for me. I watch where the quarterback is looking. 'I got him.' I think, as I rush towards the unexpecting receiver.
He has his arms extended to catch the ball, but I jump in its path and intercept it instead. And with no one around me, I'm sprinting down the field again. I'm dodging their players left and right. They can't even touch me. The last second ticks by so there's no time left. Then I'm in our in-zone again.
Everyone in the stands and on the sidelines were going wild. I held my arms up with the ball in one hand just before the whole team attacks me. A handful of them lift me onto their shoulders in celebration. My eyes immediately search the sidelines to find Addison and I'm not disappointed by her bright, excited face watching me.
I pull my helmet off and smile over at her. I could swear her smile brightens even more and my heart swells. I feel like I'm literally on top of the world. I scream out with all the adrenaline and happiness coursing through me. But I want Addison. I pat my teammate's shoulders and they put me down, as soon as my feet touch the ground I run towards her. She's doing the same. I immediately wrap her in my arms and swing her around in the air. I crash my lips to hers and she doesn't hesitate to return my affections.
We kiss in the midst of all the celebration without a care in the world. All that matters is us and our season ending game. Ending with a win for both of us.
