I apologize for not updating the story in a while, but you can all expect more regular chapter uploads from now on.

A big thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with the story and those that have only recently found out.

A favourite and/or review would mean a lot, I appreciate all feedback.

Don't be afraid to ask any questions, I always try to reply.

Enjoy!

Chapter 13: Winning

"You all set, mister big shot?" Eliza asked with a grin, patting Zed on his shoulder as the two of them walked to the school's main hall.

"Yeah… Sure…" Zed mumbled, unable to completely concentrate on his presidential campaign with most recent heated conversation between him and Addison still ringing in his mind.

"Zed, focus!" Eliza hissed, elbowing him in his side.

"That's a little difficult with everything that's going on!" Zed snapped.

"I get that, I do." Eliza nodded. "But this is important as well, and you made a commitment. Zed, not to pressure you, but the zombie community is sort of counting on you."

"Way to keep the pressure off." Zed complained.

"You'll do great, Zed." Eliza tried to encourage him.

"So, what's with the kindness all of the sudden?" Zed asked with a half grin. "Yesterday you were still hammering home how incompetent I was."

"That was joking time, now is serious time." Eliza replied. "It's no use to try to bring you off your game when I actually want you to win."

"Thanks." Zed smirked.

"Come on, it's a debate against Bucky, it's like taking candy from a baby." Eliza went on.

"Well, knowing him he probably has something big planned." Zed argued.

"But still…" Eliza shrugged. "I know you can do this, Zed. I have faith in you. Now, our first job is to not be late, so let's go."

"Yes, boss." Zed grinned, still somewhat moved that Eliza still went through so much trouble for him.

"You just remember to smile, wave, and not get thrown off by Bucky's comments." Eliza reminded him as they neared the doors to the main hall. "You're going to prove to everyone that we're more than just…"

"Monsters…" Zed finished her sentence as they entered the main hall, where a terrible surprise awaited them.

Dozens of posters, some larger than banner size, were displayed all over the main hall. Half belonged to Bucky, with his toothy grin and sparkling eyes ever present. His smiling face was accompanied by the words 'Bucky for president'. The rest of the posters featured Zed, but definitely not in the way he would have liked to have been portrayed…

"Bucky made me look…" Zed began.

"Scary…" Eliza finished his sentence.

Zed got an uneasy feeling as he examined the posters once more. On these posters, he looked the way he did whenever he would take off his Z-band. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin even more pale than usual, and what scared him most was his expression. His mouth was wide open, with his teeth bared, and his hands were raised as if he was about to strike. All in all, it was a pretty accurate representation of misguided zombie fear. Aside from this unflattering portrait, the poster also featured the words 'Monster? Zed for prez, you for dinner?', which also didn't help the situation.

"Dammit." Eliza sighed.

"How many people do you think believe that?" Zed asked, looking over the rows of students who were already present, most of whom were enthusiastically pointing at the posters.

"Ignore it." Eliza barked.

"How do you expect me to do that?" Zed inquired. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but my gruesome zombie face is plastered all over the main hall."

"Play into it." Eliza advised. "Make jokes, and act like it's not a big deal. Make it look like Bucky's attempt to anger you failed. Show that you're above all this childishness."

"I'll try." Zed replied.

"No try!" Eliza snapped. "Do! Do, Zed! Do as I say, or we'll have to live with that oaf as our president." She added, just as Bucky entered the room, flanked by the Aceys.

"God, I just want to crush him…" Zed grunted, balling his fists.

"No violence!" Eliza warned. "Keep your cool, but try to make him lose his. Challenge him. Try to bring him off his game. Take advantage of Bucky's temper and show everyone that he's not mister cheery cheer, like everything thinks."

"I can only remember so much of your advice." Zed complained.

"Whatever. I'm gonna check up with Bonzo on the stage, you just try to relax." Eliza said as she patted him on the shoulder one more time before heading for the stage.

"What do you think of the decorations?" An obnoxious voice from behind Zed asked.

Zed slowly turned around, and stood face to face with a smiling Bucky.

"Horrendous, though I guess that's the point." Zed replied, staring down his opponent.

"Exactly." Bucky smirked. "I have to say, I'm glad that I'm not above a little slandering of my rival."

"And I have to say I'm not surprised." Zed retorted. "I would honestly applaud you, but I know that there's no way you came up with such a carefully thought out plan on your own."

Bucky's smile immediately disappeared. "You're going down, greenhair. You may have corrupted my sweet, innocent cousin, but there's still plenty of people in this school that want you gone."

"That's why I'm here…" Zed smirked, spreading his arms. "To change their minds. And maybe yours in the process…"

"Dream on, weirdo." Bucky scoffed as he moved past Zed towards the podium. On his way, he encountered Eliza, who sneered at him as she passed him.

"Everything's set." She said as she neared Zed. "You're not too pissed off, are you?"

"I have no idea what you mean." Zed grinned as he started walking to the stage as well.

"You're ready? You got your speech?" Eliza asked, sounding more than a little paranoid.

"Right here." Zed replied as he reached into his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper that Eliza had provided for him.

"What's that?" Eliza asked, looking intently at what Zed held in his hand.

Looking down, Zed saw to his shock that along with his speech, he had also grabbed Addison's moonstone necklace out of his pocket. Panicking, he tried to immediately stuff the necklace into his breast pocket.

"Addison's necklace?" Eliza inquired, having obviously recognized it.

"I-I took it." Zed spat out, feeling like lying wasn't an option at this point.

"Zed!" Eliza exclaimed, looking disappointed.

"I can't let her become a werewolf!" Zed retorted. "I know they're taking advantage of her somehow, and I need to protect her! All of this… Running for president… It was all for her…"

Eliza sharply slapped Zed on his arm. "No, Zed! This is bigger than that, okay? Becoming the first zombie president is not something you should take likely! This is for you, for me, for all zombies everywhere! Whatever your intentions were, they don't matter anymore! This is more important than anything else, you understand?"

"Yes, but…" Zed began, before Eliza interrupted him.

"No buts!" She snapped. "Zed, I can't even begin to imagine how angry Addison will be when she finds out."

"She has to understand." Zed shrugged. "She just has to…"

"I… I-I'll…" Eliza stammered, her hand shaking in apparent anger. "Look, we'll deal with this later, okay? No matter how big of an idiot you are, first you need to become president."

"You still want me to?" Zed asked, a little perplexed.

"It doesn't matter what I want." Eliza spat. "What matters is what's best for all zombies! And a zombie president, that's what zombies need."

Zed felt somewhat ashamed after Eliza's rant, especially because she really hammered home how important his presidency would be for zombie-kind. The reason why Zed had initially signed up was simply to be able to take Addison to prawn. He hadn't even considered that his decision would actually have any sort of major impact on other aspects of his life.

"Attention! Will all contestants please report at the stage. Repeat, will all contestants please report at the stage." A voice said over the speakers.

"Let's just get up there." Eliza sighed. "Break a leg, maybe for real."

"Thanks." Zed mumbled as Eliza and him headed for the stage. Despite everything Zed was still trying to psych himself up a little.

Principal Lee stood in the middle of the stage with a mic, waiting to introduce both contestants.

"Good afternoon, students. Welcome to your presidential debate. I shall now hand the mic to the running mates of both contestants, who will help introduce both candidates for the debate. Alright, without further ado…" Principal Lee spoke into her microphone before Lacey suddenly yanked it out of her hand.

"Running for president, wearing the sequined Mighty Shrimp uniform… Three-time *MVC… Lean, mean, cheering machine…" She addressed the crowd with the air of an announcer.

"And captain of our hearts…" Stacey joined in, appearing next to her fellow Acey.

"Bucky!" All three Aceys then shouted, followed by almost feverish applause from all the students in the stands.

Bucky smiled and waved, obviously enjoying all the attention he was getting as he walked up the stage, blowing kisses and winking to his adoring fans.

Principal Lee applauded as well, though more politely than the outrageous students. "Alright…" She stated once she'd retaken the mic from the Aceys. "Now, your other candidate of…"

Obviously not wanting to be outdone, Eliza also ran up to Principal Lee and snatched the microphone.

"Introducing our soon-to-be first green-haired president!" Eliza began, trying to hype up the crowd. "And repping a proud people… Zed!"

Perfectly timed, Zed then jumped onto the stage with his arms held up high. Again there was a loud applause, with the zombies in the audience obviously making the most noise.

"Hear him roar!" Eliza went on, making some wild gestures while trying to rile up the crowd.

Zed, realizing that this particular choice of words alongside the array of unflattering posters was not a particularly good combination, quickly took hold of the mic.

"Uhm, no. Actually, we're not going to roar… No roaring…" He tried to reassure the audience, causing Eliza to glare at him once more.

"Zed will fight for you!" She quickly yelled into the mic while Zed wasn't focused.

"No! Y-you know what, um, I'm not going to fight. Because this isn't a fight…" Zed hastily corrected Eliza's outburst. "This is just a nice lil' cordial debate we're having here today."

"Good to hear, Zed." Principal Lee said as she patted him on his shoulder and took the mic off him.

Zed raised his arms victoriously one more time, also taking the time to high five the principal, before he walked back over to his personal stand, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"Very well." Principal Lee smiled as she walked off the stage and placed the mic on a stand in between the contestants' stage and the students on the stands. "The way this works is that I will be asking you questions that have been sent in by the students, which I have here in this hat…" She told Bucky and Zed. "You each get the opportunity to answer the question and comment on what your opponent has said. Are we clear?"

"Clear as cheer." Bucky replied, still smiling broadly for the audience.

"Clear." Zed repeated, tapping his fingers on his stand.

"Very well…" Principal Lee repeated, shuffling a number of cue cards in her hands. "Let's begin…"

And so, the debate started. Principal Lee drummed up numerous questions, which were either provided by herself, the school board or the students themselves. Zed answered every question truthfully or to the best of his knowledge. Bucky did the same, to Zed's surprise, and actually provided some solid plans.

Zed occasionally checked his Z-band, which also told the time, and kept thinking about Addison. Sure, he'd taken her moon necklace, but he was sure that she would still tell the werewolves about the location of the actual moonstone. Knowing the werewolves, they would probably not want to waste even a single minute. They were probably already heading for the powerplant, intent on finally reclaiming their lost relic. Would Addison be with them?

Zed felt a twinge of relief knowing that she wouldn't be able to transform into an actual werewolf without her moon necklace. Then his thoughts spiraled further, and he started imagining all the possible ways Addison might respond to him stealing her necklace. Would she understand his intentions? Would she forgive him?

"Zed!" Someone hissed, awakening Zed from his contemplations.

Everyone in the hall was staring at him, and Zed immediately straightened himself.

"Ehm… Excuse me?" Zed mumbled, directing himself to Principal Lee.

"The question was…" Principal Lee began, obviously a little ticked off. "Are there any major changes in school policy you hope to introduce?"

"Oh! Ehm, yeah… Yeah…" Zed rambled, quickly trying to organize his thoughts.

"I am more than happy to answer while my opponent gathers his thoughts." Bucky interjected, smiling condescendingly at Zed's troubles.

"I'll allow it." Principal Lee stated before Zed could protest.

"Students… Friends…" Bucky began, spreading his arms in what was probably supposed to be a warm gesture. "We don't need to lie to ourselves… We all know that our school is, by far, the best in the country… Nay, the world even… Take a gander at our cheer trophies, and it's easy to see that our school is great. It's just great… So, why mess with success? As president, I intend to let our school stay as awesome as it already is! Let's save our tradition and keep those cheer trophies coming! Bucky for president!"

"Yay! Bucky!" The Aceys all cheered, clapping their hands in an exasperated fashion. They weren't the only ones though, as a lot of students in the crowd seemed to agree with Bucky's points.

"Mister Necrodopolis, a rebuttal perhaps?" Principal Lee then asked Zed.

Zed took a second to breathe in and out. "Look…" He began, his hands clamping his stand. "I'm not saying our school isn't great… It certainly has a rich history… But…" He slowly went on, looking to his side, where Eliza was giving him a thumbs up. "But we can also learn from our history… Up until barely a year ago, me and my people weren't even allowed in this school. Changes have already been made, and these were positive changes. We're on a good trajectory, and I believe that together we can make sure that every new day will be a better day for both human- and zombiekind. Let's keep voting for change!"

A thunderous applause erupted from the crowd, with particularly the zombies letting themselves be heard.

To his left, Zed saw Bucky's usual grin dissolve into an angry and annoyed grimace.

"Very well…" Principal Lee spoke, once the applause had died down. "Now we can…"

"Principal Lee, could I maybe offer a rebuttal to that rebuttal?" Bucky then interrupted her, his big smile having reappeared on his face.

"That, ehm… Yes… I'll allow it…" Principal Lee replied, a little taken aback.

"Now look here…" Bucky began, turning to the audience. "That's all well and good, what my opponent said… Yes, it is true that we have changed our laws and traditions before… With, ehm, middling results…"

Zed scoffed, briefly forgetting that there was a microphone right in front of him and that everyone could hear him.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is." Bucky then went on, turning specifically to Zed. "You zombies had nothing, and we graciously allowed you into our school already. You should be thankful!"

"Thankful!?" Zed exclaimed, not even bothering to ask Principal Lee for permission. "We were locked behind your walls for decades like rats in a cage! After all those years of neglect, I think we are at least owed equal rights! We're not asking for special treatment! We just want to be able to do the same things as you!"

Again the zombies in the audience applauded, while Bucky audibly exhaled through his nose. Principal Lee spoke into her mic a little timidly, trying to calm everyone down.

"Ehm, alright…" She stammered, addressing Zed and Bucky. "I have to remind you that this debate is purely school orientated. Please refrain from discussing any topics not relating to the school. Is that understood?"

"Yes." Zed and Bucky said in unison.

"Fine, then continue." Principal Lee added.

"I was just saying…" Bucky began, before Zed could speak up. "I get you want 'equal rights' and everything, but, ehm, do you truly expect things to change just like that? Change takes time, in case you don't know. Compare what you zombies have now to what you had just a year ago, and you can't deny we've made things much better for you."

"Well…" Zed stammered, momentarily thrown off.

"And aside from that…" Bucky continued, not waiting for Zed's response. "You say you want equal rights, but you're not equal! Not to us! You're zombies! You're monsters!"

"We aren't monsters!" Zed protested, really starting to get annoyed. "How are we any different from you!? We're on the football team… We join the cheer squad… Monsters wouldn't do those things."

Bucky wanted to interject, but Zed talked right through him.

"I have gotten to know plenty of humans in the past months, and I know that most of you have your head on the right way… You know me! You know us zombies ! Again, we zombies don't want any special treatment. We've got a good attitude, and we are not monsters!" Zed practically shouted, getting a far more spirited response from the zombies in the audience.

Bucky seemed less happy, chewing his cheek and staring daggers at Zed. "Right… Right… You say that you're not monsters!? You eat brains for cheer's sake!"

"Well, you don't have any, so you'd be safe!" Zed spat, really getting fed up.

A lot of people in the crowd started laughing uncontrollably, with even Eliza holding a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter.

Bucky was now basically fuming, his head having turned a threatening shade of red. "Y-you're all weird and strange! You joke about eating people's brains! You can honestly not be surprised that we humans might not want a zombie president!"

"We want change!" Zed retorted. "We don't want to take anything away from you humans, but we do want to improve things for zombies. We need a president who would do whatever it takes to make things better for all students!"

Again students applauded, and Zed couldn't help but notice several human students also joining in this time.

Bucky apparently noticed this as well, because his eyes narrowed when he turned back to Zed. "Look, greenhair, we can go back and forth all we want… In the end, it's just a fact that you're a monster, and you can't debate that."

"Not a monster, just a zombie." Zed replied, calming himself with a few careful breaths. "A zombie with a few good plans and even better intentions."

"You want to change Seabrook!" Bucky spat, openly pointing. The actual structure of the debate was now all but forgotten.

"For the better." Zed retorted.

"How?" Bucky questioned, crossing his arms.

"First, allowing zombies to go to prawn." Zed answered.

"How's it better to have zombies at prawn?" Bucky countered, looking towards the audience as if he'd made an actual point.

"Ehm, let's see…" Zed said, pretending to be in deep thought. "For one, our dance game's strong." He added, proceeding to moonwalk all the way to Bucky's and back to his own and doing a spin before posing.

The audience laughed and applauded, and Bucky almost seemed insulted that Zed used dance to shut him up. "Right… Right, yeah… You'll do your little dance moves before hulking out and eating everyone." Bucky spat.

"We're already attending school, so what's the harm with allowing us to party a little as well?" Zed offered. "Us zombies can throw one hell of a party, isn't that right, Bonzo?"

"Gruzik!" Bonzo enthusiastically shouted, before blowing into his personal brass instrument.

Most students in the crowd laughed, and Zed spotted Bree jumping up and down on the front row.

"That! That!" Bucky interjected, pointing at Bonzo with a trembling finger. "Y-your language! T-that zombie tongue! You want that taught at our school, don't you? You want us to adapt to your primitive life style!"

"I wouldn't say it like that…" Zed shrugged, trying to act casual. "Why not have zombie as a second language? I mean, it'd be an easy A…"

Bucky snorted. "Yeah, right… And what else? You want zombie dates on the calendar?"

"More holidays." Zed simply replied.

More cheering, with about three quarters of the human students also joining in. It was only now that Zed saw some genuine panic in Bucky's eyes.

"What exactly will you bring to the table, Bucky?" Zed asked once the applause died down. "I mean, aside from giving the cheer squad even more privileges… You must have some plans to make the school a better place for us regular students?"

Bucky's eyes widened as he turned to the crowd. Most students were clearly not satisfied with Bucky's statements up to this point. "I, ehm…" He stammered. "Of course… What, ehm… What about, 'no more homework'?" Bucky exclaimed, spreading his arms as if he was distributing candy.

There was barely any reaction from the audience.

"That is not something you can promise, mister Bucky." Principal Lee intervened. "Homework is still a mandate from the school board."

Now some laughter erupted among the crowd, but it was obviously meant to ridicule instead of support Bucky.

"Are there any other points either of you would like to discuss?" Principal Lee asked the candidates.

Bucky opened his mouth, but soon closed it when no sound came out.

"I believe I've made all my statements, Principal Lee." Zed spoke, trying to sound calm and collected. "Just one more thing…" He added, stepping away from his stand onto the center of the podium. "Zed for prez!"

The crowd loudly cheered, with only a handful of stubborn cheerleaders keeping their arms crossed in support of Bucky.

"Vote for me, because I swear I'm no monster." Zed grinned, placing his right hand on his heart. For a brief moment, he felt like the most confident zombie in the world…

That moment lasted but a second though… Because immediately after he put his hand on his chest, he felt something was wrong. It was as if he was suddenly getting tased. He felt his entire body tense up, from the tips of his fingers all the way down to his toes. It was a strange, but also familiar sensation. He knew what was happening… His Z-band was malfunctioning…

The other students must have seen it too, because the applause died out almost immediately.

Abruptly, there was a red gleam in front of Zed's eyes… He felt a raw power coursing through his veins… He could suddenly smell the blood running through the human students' bodies… He could hear their hearts pumping… His mouth was dry… Unbearably dry… With jolty movements, Zed spread his arms and took a step towards the wide-eyed crowd. He then raised up his head and let out a thunderous roar…

Everyone immediately panicked, and dozens of students started screaming as they scrambled to get to the emergency exits.

There was a strange, high-pitched ringing in Zed's ears, and he could barely distinguish any sound. Aside from that, he also couldn't really focus on anything aside from brains…

"Zed! Zed!" Eliza yelled from the sidelines, though her voice seemed to be coming from miles away. "Addison's necklace is shutting down your Z-band! Zed! Take it off!"

From the corner of his eye, Zed saw how Addison's moon necklace had latched itself onto his Z-band, which was flickering and malfunctioning. Still, Zed didn't have the willpower or the focus to remove it.

"See! See! He is a monster!" Bucky basically cheered as he watched Zed stumble further down the podium.

Strangely, it was this comment that made Zed briefly regain his senses, and he tried to pull Addison's necklace away from his Z-band. However, his cramped up limbs still didn't do what he wanted them to do, and soon his thoughts were again consumed by brains.

"Zed!" Eliza again yelled, jumping up onto the podium and approaching him carefully. "Zed! Breathe! Try to focus, okay?" She said, trying to calm him. "You can control this! You are stronger than this! You don't have to hide, Zed!"

Again Zed briefly slipped from his stupor, and he painstakingly tried to control his staggering arms. Even in his red-eyed state, he realized that he had never been able to somewhat control his zombie mind the way he was doing now…

"Nice going, greenhair!" Bucky jeered as he appeared on Zed's other side.

"Bucky! Stop! This is serious!" Eliza scoffed, staring daggers at Bucky.

"I know! He just seriously flunked his chances of ever becoming president!" Bucky laughed, standing agonizingly close to Zed with his cocky grin. "I know you won't hurt me, big guy… But they don't…" He added, gesturing to the panicking crowd.

Briefly consumed by anger, Zed lashed out with his left hand and took a hold of Bucky's shiny letterman jacket before yanking him closer to him.

"Zed! No!" Eliza screamed.

Bucky was screaming as well, and struggled with all his might to escape Zed's grasp.

Zed growled as he pulled Bucky even closer, and he was able to see the absolute fear in his victim's eyes. For one second, Zed genuinely wanted to crush Bucky's skull, but then he again briefly regained focus.

He felt ashamed… Bucky's fear, which he had enjoyed but a few seconds ago, now made him nauseous… Zed immediately let go of Bucky, who fell to the ground and started crawling backwards. Not wasting anymore time, Zed snatched his right wrist with his left hand, and pulled desperately.

The necklace came off, and the change was immediate. It was as if Zed had been underwater all this time, and only now had he been able to again get some air. His head cleared, and all murderous intent vanished instantly. His limbs were no longer cramped, and Zed felt eternally grateful for that. His sight, hearing, smell and taste all returned to normal, but that also meant that he could only now hear the screaming in all its chaotic glory.

"Zed! Zed! Are you okay?" Eliza rambled as she ran up to him and tightly clutched his shoulders.

Zed took a few deep breaths, feeling as though he had just ran a marathon. To his left, a still terrified looking Bucky was slowly and shakily getting to his feet. Bonzo stood a little further back, looking even more pale than usual. Bree was standing next to him, her hands covering her mouth in shock.

The shame that Zed had felt returned, and he couldn't bear all the looks of fear and anger with which both the humans and zombies stared at him. He turned around, brushing off Eliza's hands, and walked off the stage.

"Zed! Zed! Stop!" Eliza yelled as she gave chase.

Zed didn't stop until he had left the main hall. He was still breathing heavily as he leaned against some lockers.

"Zed?" Eliza softly asked as she walked up to him. "Zed, you need to talk to me…"

"I just lost the debate…" Zed mumbled, only now truly realizing the consequences of his transformation.

"Maybe…" Eliza hesitantly replied. "Probably…" She added. "Yeah, you did…"

"All of zombiekind was counting on me…" Zed groaned. "And I let them down… I lost the election and I lost the zombies what little pride we have in our community…"

"Yes, but the problem is that you lost yourself first!" Eliza spat, turning strict in an instant.

"What?" Zed reacted, more surprised than anything else.

"You lost yourself first!" Eliza repeated. "These last weeks, you've been a completely different person! I barely recognized you anymore!"

"Wha- Wait a minute! You supported me in my campaign!" Zed retorted.

"Because that was what was best for zombiekind, not because I thought you were doing such a good job!" Eliza scoffed. "You turned into a pompous jerk! You tried to act more human, you have always been a total asshole to the werewolves, and you have become blinded by your goals!"

"My goals are to make things better for zombiekind!" Zed shouted.

"Please…" Eliza rolled her eyes. "We both know that's not why you wanted to run for president in the first place…"

"I… I…" Zed stammered. "I wanted to get zombies into prawn…"

"Because…" Eliza went on, looking at Zed expectantly.

"Because I wanted to take Addison…" Zed admitted. "And what's so bad about that?"

"Nothing, aside from the fact that you have completely neglected her feelings as well!" Eliza went on.

Now Zed felt a twinge of anger, but his newly regained clear-headedness also stopped him from immediately falling out at her. "What does that mean!?"

"She's unhappy, and you know it!" Eliza snapped. "All she wants is to help the werewolves, but you don't want that because you only want her all to yourself!"

"That's not-" Zed tried to interject, but Eliza wasn't finished.

"You've become so possessive! And frankly, it's been creeping me out!" Eliza continued. "If you actually loved Addison, you'd let her follow her dreams and actually help her along the way! Instead, all you do is complain, try to sabotage the werewolves and dismiss Addison's dreams!"

Zed felt gob smacked. The things Eliza said were all the things he had been fearing in the back of his mind. Was it all true? Had he been so focused on trying to take Addison to prawn that he had neglected their relationship? Had he been such a shitty boyfriend that he had actually jeopardized their entire relationship?

"Newsflash, Zed! The world doesn't revolve around you! You can't just write off anyone that doesn't fit in your perfect little worldview! I understand you might feel a little hesitant about the werewolves, but I expected you to at least care a little about someone you love, like Addison!" Eliza raged on.

"I-I do…" Zed weakly replied.

"Then start acting like it!" Eliza said, slapping Zed on his arm. "Look, you may have ruined your chances of becoming president, but doesn't mean you've ruined everything! You can still make it up to Addison, which means apologizing to the werewolves and helping them as well."

Zed didn't answer, as he was deep in thought. Eliza's rant really made him think, and he realized that he would probably have to reevaluate every decision he'd made ever since Addison returned from cheer camp. Really, even with the admittedly good points Eliza was making, Zed didn't really 'want' to help the werewolves… Or so he thought… He had promised Addison that he would try to help the werewolves, but he had known from day one that he only did so to please Addison, not because he felt any sympathy towards them.

Did that make him a bad person? Zed liked to think he wasn't, but who was he to judge? Zed did feel a deep sense of regret, which indicated to him that he knew he had done something wrong…

He then naturally started thinking about Addison… Addison, who he loved so much… Addison, who had always supported him… Addison, who had occasionally seemed so unhappy in the couple of weeks… Addison, who had asked him to do one thing, which he hadn't done… Addison, whose feelings he had completely neglected… Addison, whose necklace he had stolen…

"I want to make things right between me and Addison." Zed resolutely said.

"Then you have to suck it up and apologize to the werewolves! Not to mention give Addison her necklace back!" Eliza told him.

"But…" Zed groaned, staring at the necklace he still held in his hand. "But what if she won't forgive me?"

"What matters is doing the right thing." Eliza responded. "Don't tell me you're honestly so selfish that you'd only help Addison if it'd make you happier!"

"No!" Zed immediately replied. "I want her to be happy!"

"Becoming a werewolf would make her happy. Would you 'allow' her to do that?" Eliza asked, crossing her arms.

This again silenced Zed, who kept staring at the necklace. He simply didn't have an answer at the ready.

"That's what I thought." Eliza spat before abruptly turning around.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Zed asked.

"To find Addison, Willa and the other werewolves!" Eliza replied. "I don't give a shit about your ego anymore, and I'm gonna help the werewolves whether you like it or not! You can either show up, or keep on being a selfish prick!" And with that, she walked off in quite a hurry, fists balled and obviously agitated.

"Wait! Don't go!" Zed pleaded.

"I'm not gonna fight your freaking battles anymore! Do something yourself for once!" Eliza added, giving Zed the finger before turning a corner.

Zed felt even more depressed. He stared down at the necklace in his hand, and kept feeling worse.

He didn't know how long he was actually standing there in that hallway. Zed's thoughts were a whirlwind, and he was having severe trouble actually focusing on anything. His body was still reeling from his transformation, and there was a persistent tremor present in his hands. Zed kept breathing in and out, closing his eyes to try and get rid of his newly emerged headache as well.

Numerous students passed him, both humans and zombies, and they all gave him the same look of fear and distrust. Still, Zed couldn't care less about what these people thought of him at the moment.

Before he could try and mend things with both the zombie and human communities at the school, he would have to mend things with one human in particular.

Zed banged his head against the lockers, cursing himself for being such a freaking idiot. Did he truly care more about his own ego than about Addison? Of course not! And did he think he knew what would make Addison happy better than she did herself?

In retrospect, Zed and Addison had lately definitely hit a rough patch, which was something Zed hated to admit. He liked to imagine that Addison and he have always been and will always be the perfect couple, and didn't like to think there was anything wrong with them. To admit that they were out of sync, meant to admit that there was something wrong with one or both of them.

Zed again banged his head against the lockers. Was he honestly considering whether this rough patch might be Addison's fault? Eliza was right… He had turned into a pompous asshole… Addison had done nothing wrong… Poor Addison, who had only tried to help a group of people in dire need… No, this was all Zed's fault…

Could he still make things right? Should he at least try?

Zed squeezed the necklace in his hand as he straightened back up and began walking down the corridor. He needed to do what was right, whether he would come out better on the other side or not…

Right as he turned a corner, a bright, red light suddenly started flickering above him.

"Attention! Attention! Monster activity! Monster activity! Please stay away Seabrook Power." A loud voice called out over the speakers. The message then kept on repeating, with the lights continuing to flicker as well.

Zed felt his heart beating faster. Seabrook Power? Surely this was the werewolves' doing… But the alarm meant that they had been caught…

Zed started running. Whatever was going on, he was sure that Addison would be with the werewolves. Addison's moon necklace was still clutched in his hand while he ran, but even after all his reconsidering, he still didn't know if he wanted to give it back…

*Most Valuable Cheerleader