Zed went through the entire next school day without seeing Addison, again. She was still nowhere in sight. He sighed heavily, his muscles aching just from the minor movement. And his legs burned as he walked towards the parking lot to head home.

He hadn't even completely left school grounds when Zed vaguely heard something odd. His brows furrowed.

As he got closer, he could hear laughing from some guys and what sounded like a girl in distress. His pace quickened as he went to investigate.

"Come on Wells. Where's the school slut we all know and love? You were waiting outside the locker room for us right?" Tanner antagonized mockingly, the two others laughing as they held her arms in place.

Addison clenched her teeth. Yes, she had been waiting outside the locker room when these dipshits walked out, but she definitely wasn't there for any of them. She came to congratulate Zed on making the team. Maybe apologize for kinda ghosting him the past couple of days. Not that she felt bad or anything…

"Three football players at once, seems like it'd be your dream come true! Or is one scrawny kid your new cup of tea." Addison glared at him and struggled but to no avail. How dare he talk about Zed that way?!

"You weren't a good fuck the first time, you won't be a good fuck now." She growled out. "Now get the fuck off me!" She demanded, trying (and failing) again to rip her arms out of their holds. But she did manage to fling a kick that hit Tanner in the thigh. Not quite where she was aiming.

Zed turned the corner around the side of the building to see his white-haired beauty restrained by three football players. His backpack dropped to the ground from shock.

"You little bitch." Tanner said through gritted teeth, pulling back and slapping her across the face. Addison yelped and stopped struggling.

Zed's feet were running forward before his brain had even fully processed what was happening and punched Tanner in the face. He followed the bigger dude down to the ground and continued to pound at his face.

"Zed," Addison whispered, a sob forming in her throat.

It took the other two a few seconds to even realize what was happening before they dropped Addison to pull Zed off of their friend. They double-teamed the green-haired boy, easily overpowering him with two against one.

Addison got up wobbly and grabbed one of their arms to stop them but he threw her off. She slammed back into the brick wall, her head snapping backward and her skull connecting hard against the rough surface. They punched and kicked Zed over a dozen times before someone noticed the ruckus.

"Hey!" The teacher yelled. The three football players cursed and took off running. "Get back here!" The adult took off after them. "Don't move!" He ordered towards the two grounded teens as he ran past.

Addison scrambled over to Zed's side. He was groaning and curled up in a ball on the ground, he was already sore from the horribly rough football practice earlier but this made it 10 times worse.

"Oh my god! Zed!" She cried.

This wasn't normal. Addison was actually crying. And it wasn't even because of her injuries. She's been through so much worse in the fights she's been in. But Zed had rushed in to her rescue, then got his ass beat.

He got his ass beat for her.

He turned over to spit out the blood that had formed in his mouth before turning back to her. "Addy." He whispered. "Are you ok? They didn't hurt you too bad, did they?" She laughed dryly. That's just like Zed, concerned about everyone but himself at all times.

"Dumbass. Be worried about yourself for once." She joked, gently brushing her thumb over his bruising cheekbone. He winced from the contact then looked up at her again.

"But you're ok? Right?" He persisted. She smiled and nodded, wiping the drying tear streaks from her cheeks.

"Thanks to you, Superman." She teased fondly. He sighed in relief.


They were escorted to Principal Lee's office when the teacher returned. After checking both of their injuries, he determined they shouldn't need any medical assistance. But that would be ultimately decided by their parents.

"Your parents should be here any minute." Principal Lee stated. Addison held an ice pack on the back of her head while Zed held his own to his blackened eye.

"Would either of you mind telling me what happened?" She asked. Addison opened her mouth but Zed beat her to the punch.

"It was a misunderstanding! I got most of this at practice today!" Zed lied. Badly, but lied anyways. Addison was impressed. She didn't think he had it in him.

"You got a black eye, bruised cheekbone, a busted nose, and bruised ribs at football practice." Her question came off flat and unbelieving.

"Yeah! Addison accidentally got too close when the guys were teaching me a new move!" Zed continued to poorly lie, sweat forming on his forehead but he forced a smile. Principal Lee frowned.

"Miss Wells, this type of incident does not surprise me coming from you. But Mr. Necrodopolis, I would have expected better from you." She scolded. Zed ducked his head in shame.

"At least you caught me this time." Addison joked. Principal Lee glared at her. Addison laughed. "Oh come on! If I didn't run, obviously we didn't do anything that bad!" She defended lightheartedly.

Principal Lee's stoney exterior cracked slightly and Zed smiled. This girl is amazing. She can break any rule in the book and her charisma can get her out of any consequences. Or at least most of them.

"Zed!" Suddenly the door burst open and Zed's mom came rushing in, checking his face a little too rough at first. "Oh my god! What happened honey?!"

"Ow! Mom! Stop!" Zed protested, pulling away from his mother's prodding. She frowned and looked over at the white-haired girl from the other day, seeing her holding the ice pack to the back of her head. She looked between them in shock.

"Did you hit her, Zedekiah?!" Zora exclaimed, smacking Zed in the back of the head, earning a yelp. Addison laughed loudly, earning a glare from Zed.

"I'm so flattered that you think I kicked his ass so bad for the little bump on my head!" She said in hysterics.

"Ms. Wells! Language!" Principal Lee scolded.

"And that you're more concerned about my safety than your son's!" She continued laughing. "I see who he gets his morals from!" Zora's eyes widened and she immediately returned to babying her injured boy.

"Oh, Zed! I'm so sorry for accusing you!" She cried, hugging Zed's head motheringly.

"Mooommm, stop." Zed groaned. Addison's laughter died down to a chuckle as she watched how affectionate Zed's mom was towards him. For a moment, she was a little jealous. Not that she held any kind of grudge towards Zed. Maybe that's why she was becoming so attached to him. Maybe she craved the affection she never got as a child.

Just as quickly and unexpectedly as Zora had entered, Addison's mother and father burst in, their faces showing nothing but anger and disgust. They stood on either side of Addison's chair, which she pretended as though they weren't even there.

"I can only imagine what you've done this time Addison." The man Zed'd had the 'pleasure' of meeting the other day reprimanded.

"If you didn't wait till she was in high school to be involved, maybe she'd have turned out more like a lady." The blonde woman snided. The man turned to the woman with a glare.

"If you'd raised her with some discipline, we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with." He countered sharply.

Principal Lee cleared her throat in an attempt to regain the attention of the adults. "Actually Chief Dale and Mayor Missy, your daughter is a victim in this case. These two were caught up in some sort of football accident, apparently." Principal Lee explained, still not completely believing the story, but also not enjoying the arguing parents in her office.

Both Zed and his mother stared at them with wide eyes. Chief?! Mayor?! Addison's parents were two of the most powerful people in the city?! Zed paled. Addison noticed the look on his face and deflated sadly.

"A football accident?" The Chief echoed curiously. Mayor Missy, however, wasn't so amused. She whipped around to glare at Zed.

"Yes Sir. I'm new to the team and some of the guys were, um, showing me some moves," he was such a horrible liar, "and Addy just kinda was in the wrong place at the wrong time, ya know?" Addison chuckled under her breath. Dale raised a brow at him.

"And you got injuries like that, from football moves." It wasn't quite a question but more of a disbelieving statement. Zed nodded nervously. To his surprise, Dale smirked and his chest puffed proudly.

"Initiation can be pretty rough, huh Kid?" He laughed. "I was on this school's football team back in my day! A fullback!" He informed.

"No way! I'm a fullback!" Zed exclaimed. Addison saw the shine of his eyes when he talked about football and, for some reason, it made her smile.

Dale's smile widened but before he could engage in more banter with the young man, Missy stepped in.

"As much as we'd all love to relive your glory days, I have meetings to attend." She snapped.

"Yeah, my glory days before you came along." He snapped back. Missy was fuming and it was obvious.

"Like you didn't ruin my glory days too!" She yelled.

"What are you talking about?! I'm the reason you were able to get elected to begin with!" Dale argued just as loudly. Addison slouched in her chair with her hands covering her face. Zed's brows furrowed in worry.

"Um! Excuse me? Yes! Hi! Chief Dale? Mayor Missy?" Zed's mom spoke up and got the arguing parent's attention.

"For the time being, shouldn't we just be glad our children are alright?" She asked more timidly since the screaming match was over. Both of them seemed to look down at Addison then scowled back at one another. Missy patted Addison on the head, which she winced and pulled away.

"You're right, Ms...?" Missy questioned with a drawl.

"Necrodopolis! Zora Necrodopolis." She introduced herself and shook both their hands.

"It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Necrodopolis. Now! If you'll all excuse me, I must be going!" Mayor Missy was a very busy woman and she couldn't be caught up for too long with common civilian situations. Addison rolled her eyes.

Principal Lee sighed. "Yes, Mayor. Have a nice day."

And with that, Missy was gone.

"Come on, Addison." Chief Dale said, not waiting for her as he headed for the door. She got up leisurely.

"It's been lit, Principal Lee!" She joked. The woman rolled her eyes but smiled. She felt bad for how Addison's parents treated her. That could be why she tended to go easy on her even when she got in trouble.

"See you tomorrow morning, Ms. Wells. Mr. Necrodopolis."

"Come on, Zed. Let's go home too. You're father and Zoey should be getting there soon." Zora suggested, wrapping an arm around his shoulder in comfort like a good mother would. The three exited together, Zed holding the door for, first, his mother, then Addison. She paused in the doorway right in front of him. She gently lifted a hand and brushed away some dried blood from his upper lip.

"Frozen peas are the best thing for a broken nose." She offered, as he knew, from experience.

"Thanks." He smiled fondly down at her. She chuckled as she shook her head and hurried out the front door to the father's awaiting patrol car.

"I would say she's a bad influence, but she seems like a sweet girl for what she has to deal with." His mom whispered to him.

"Yeah, I had no idea her home life was like, that." He agreed with creased brows of worry.


When they got home, Zed immediately saw the patrol car in the driveway and Addison sitting on the front porch. He got out of his mom's car and gave her a sad smile as he waved. In return, he got a salute with her cigarette-less hand and a sly smirk on her lips.

He couldn't help his chuckle.

"Come inside, Zed!" His mother called. He glanced at Addison one more time before sluggishly heading into the house.

Zora had gone straight to the freezer and grabbed him a bag of peas, wrapping it in a hand towel before rushing over to him. "Here you go, Honey." She cooed, placing the makeshift ice pack against his cheek. He winced and took it out of her hand, being more gentle with his pressure.

Much to Zed's annoyance, his dad and Zoey had, in fact, beat them home. So his annoying little sister was already snickering from her spot at the table.

"Uh? What happened to your face?" Zevon asked.

Zoey started to crack up with laughter. "What do you mean, Dad? Zed's always had a busted-up face!" She cackled.

"Zoey, don't be a smart aleck." Zora scolded. Zed scowled at his sister, shrugging off his dad to avoid giving Zoey any more ammunition.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He denied, turning instead to his mom. "Can I just go to bed?"

Zora's brows knitted with worry. "Are you sure, Sweetie? Dinner won't take long." She offered. But Zed shook his head.

"I'm not really hungry, Mom." He told her dejectedly, making her soften.

"Ok." She finally conceded, reaching up and pulling his head down to plant a kiss on his temple. "Get some rest, Honey."

"Goodnight, Mom. Dad." He said, heading for his room.

"Hey! What about me?!" Zoey complained, getting hushed scolds from their parents but he didn't care enough to stick around.