Bucky couldn't explain how much he enjoyed the Zombie Mash

Zombies danced in celebration of the latest football game win and the new perks they received because of it. No one seemed to care about Bucky joining them. Besides a couple strange looks at the beginning, nothing negative was said to the human, which Bucky made him even happier that he could dance with his girlfriend with little to no judgement.

So he wouldn't stand out as much, Bucky wore a dark green shirt and dark jeans, showing off his fit form. Admittedly, Eliza swooned at the sight of him. When they met up for the occasion and were first within arms-length of each other, the zombie teen immediately stepped on her tip-toes to kiss her human boyfriend, catching him by surprise. When they parted, Bucky joked about 'dressing up' more often so she would initiate the kiss more often.

Everything seemed to be going so well—

Until Bucky saw his cousin being led into the Zombie Mash by the zombie's football star.

Nudging his girlfriend's shoulder lightly, so she didn't lose her dancing rhythm, Bucky gestured to the entrance. "Addison's here," Bucky muttered discretely to his beloved. "Do you want us to stay, or do you want me to hide? It's up to you."

Watching as Zed showed Addison the Z-band mural, Eliza adverted her gaze back to her beloved. Smiling softly, she wrapped her arms around his neck while he placed his hands respectively on her waist. "I'm tired of hiding," Eliza admitted, her smile growing a bit wider. "I'm tired of keeping us secret."

Leaning her forehead against his, Eliza confessed, "I love you, Bucky."

Overfilling with joy, Bucky kissed his beloved's breath away. They could have stayed like that forever—

If they didn't hear a big boom resonating throughout the building.

Pulling away from her reluctant boyfriend, Eliza gasped in alarm. "It's starting already!" she exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Wait." Grabbing his girlfriend wrist to keep her from leaving, Bucky suggested, "Let's tell them tonight, after the Zombie Mash."

Smile growing wider in agreeance, Eliza teased, "If we don't miss it first."


The Zombie Mash was something out of this world!

Neon lights lit up each room the performer would dance in. So many routines were going on right after each other that Bucky was afraid he missed something. A good portion of the time, he ran around with the other zombies to find the next performance. Bucky managed to get to the next room just as another routine would start.

Truthfully, Bucky couldn't keep his eyes off Eliza. She and Zed were both involved in a majority of the performances. Eliza looked like she was having so much fun. Her upbeat attitude was so contagious that Bucky found himself smiling just from watching her.

During the final performance in this giant entryway, the zombies jumped higher than the human expected. After watching for a few seconds, Bucky noticed their steps having somewhat of a spring to them. Upon further investigation and stepping on it for himself, the cheer captain realized the 'concrete floor' was actually a trampoline floor! It could give anyone the perfect bounce for any dance, trick, or stunt they wanted to attempt. Maybe Bucky could talk with the principal about purchasing something like this for training new cheer recruits.

As the grand performance finally ended, Bucky lost track of his beloved's whereabouts. Walking aimlessly around the maze of rooms, he finally called out, "Liza! Where are you?"

"In here, Bucky!" called his beloved's voice from just down the hall.

Sighing in relief, Bucky walked into the next room, immediately spotting his girlfriend. Sure, he may have noticed the other three occupants, but his entire focus was on his Eliza, who smiled dreamily at him. Admiring at how beautiful she looked with the lighting in the room, Bucky pulled her close to kiss her, causing Eliza to smile even more.

Only after hearing gasps did they pull away.

"Oh!" Eliza turned back toward the group, barely noticing that Bucky had his arms wrapped around her waist. "Zoey, Zed, Addison. This is my boyfriend, Bucky."

"BOYFRIEND!"

Eliza winced at the reaction from the zombie siblings and the cheerleader she no longer despised. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she hoped for something more cheerful and happy instead of complete shock.

"Yes, boyfriend." Bucky confirmed as he held her a little tighter. "We've been together since the first day of school, when I bumped into her."

Eliza turned her head slightly to raise an eyebrow curiously at her boyfriend. "You mean when you ran me over like a front lineman?"

"Same thing," he teased while kissing her forehead lovingly. "I told you I was sorry."

"Wait a minute," Addison requested, the pieces slowly clicking together. "Is she reason why you've been trying to get the cheerleaders to treat zombies like equals?"

"And why I check my phone between every cheer during games," he joked, causing a guilty smile to appear on Eliza's face.

"HE gave you the cellphone?" Zoey interrogated in an almost mad tone. "But that ain't fair!"

The pair of couples chuckled at the little girl's whiny reaction. "You must be Zoey," Bucky deduced when the laughter died down a bit. "Eliza told me about you. She said you like cheer. How about one game you join us cheerleaders? It'll give you some practice before you join the team when you're older."

"You can make arrangements later," Eliza promised as she got out of Bucky's grip to reach out for Zoey, who jumped into her arms and rested on a hip. "I'll take you home. Zed has to make sure Addison gets home safely and Bucky can't stay any longer."

"Awe!" Zoey cried in sadness, arms full of homemade pom-poms. "Why not?"

"I still have to work on the routine for the Cheer Championship," Bucky explained to the young girl. "I've been putting it off longer than I should have. To make it up to you, at the homecoming game, I will watch some of it with you and Liza."

Nodding happily, the trio began walking away, until Addison shouted, "Hey!"

As they turned around, Addison made the short jog toward them with a toy dog in her hands. "You can't forget Zander."

Passing her pom-poms to Eliza, Zoey gladly took hold of her puppy, squeezing it like it was the most precious thing to her—

Not knowing of the horrors she would see in her near future.


Within a few minutes, Eliza and Bucky escorted the young child back into the ZombieTown neighborhood. Zoey played with Zander while the couple watched from Eliza's front porch. The couple enjoyed the night stroll, as it was their first time out in the open without worrying about hiding from others.

Then came the terror when sirens sounded in the distance.

"Zombie Patrol." Eliza assumed fearfully, standing within the next second. "Get inside your house, Zoey," she ordered the child. "Go to bed now. If they come to your door, act like you've been home the entire time."

With a quick nod, Zoey ran inside her house faster than Eliza could count to 'one'. As the sirens grew louder, Eliza made the quick decision of dragging Bucky into her home.

Closing the door behind them, Eliza explained, "The Zombie Patrol comes out every night to make sure all of the zombies are in their houses. We broke our curfew by nearly 3 hours, which is the unreasonable time of 6 p.m."

"And I told you to be home by eight," chided a friendly voice.

The couple jumped, turning to face a slightly heavy set, middle-aged woman with very short green hair. The woman appeared to have been waiting for Eliza and didn't look the least bit happy. Glaring at the teen, she sternly reminded, "I warned you to be home early so you wouldn't get caught."

"Sorry, Mom," Eliza apologized unapologetically. "The Zombie Mash didn't start until eight and I didn't want to miss it "

Her mother sighed. "At least you are safe," she commented. "That's all that matters."

The mother finally addressed the human boy with a raised eyebrow, "And who are you?"

"This is Bucky," Eliza answered for him, holding his hand for reassurance, "the captain of Seabrook High's cheer squad and my boyfriend of over three months, since I started attending the human school."

"Three months!" The mother exclaimed in a tizzy. "And you are just now introducing him to me?"

She smiled at the young boy, shaking his hand politely. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm glad there is a human that liked us from the start. I'm sorry you can't meet my husband. He's . . . um—"

"Liza told me," Bucky informed before the woman could explain. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I had no idea that humans could be so cruel to zombies."

"It isn't fair," Eliza muttered bitterly.

"You think everything isn't fair for zombies," her mother retorted, used to her daughter's attitude. "Ever since your father died while you were such a young age, you talked about starting a revolution so we can be treated the same." A small smile emerged on the elder's face. "And now I know why you suddenly stopped talking that way."

A blush crept to Eliza's cheek which caused Bucky to chuckle slightly. "I better go," he insisted. "I need to leave before they catch me in ZombieTown. They'll drag me to my uncle without any questions."

"Why not stay the night?" Eliza's mother suggested. "The Zombie Patrol will be here for a couple hours and by then you'll be too tired to go. You can share Eliza's bed and leave in the morning when no one else is up."

"Are you sure, Mom?" Eliza wondered skeptically.

"It'll be fine!" The mother promised as she smiled mischievously. "I know you two won't do anything because I am far too young to be a grandmother. I say in another year or so will be fine. I wouldn't mind having grandchildren running around soon."

Blushing at the comment, the couple couldn't have the chance to dispute the accusations since the human's phone rang, signaling a text message. Taking a moment to read the message, Bucky groaned in annoyance. "I have to go," he insisted, explaining with a sigh, "They caught Addison."