None of the wolves addressed her as they left for Seabrook High. Not one.
The woman in charge had given them all classes they were expected to go to. Addison didn't go to any, not wanting to risk seeing the wolf pack. They didn't want anything to do with her, and the feeling was mutual. Or mostly mutual. She didn't know yet.
Addison ended up holing herself in the library again. She sat in an aisle, surrounded by books from the school. She didn't bring her scroll with her, instead borrowing a journal from the school store and using it to take notes.
Anything that seemed out of the ordinary. It was the only lead Addison had. Seabrook was perfect, their history was perfect. Even though the textbooks were wrong, especially in regards to werewolves, they were perfect depictions of history. How would she even know if something was out of the ordinary? She wasn't even from Seabrook, all of it sounded so strange to her.
Was it even worth it? No matter what happened, she'd lose.
There was rustling behind her and Addison turned quickly, catching a cheerleader walk into the aisle. The girl stopped, her eyes going wide behind her pink glasses. "Oh, sorry!" she whispered loudly. "I didn't know anyone else was here. I'll go."
"No, it's fine," Addison grumbled. "I was about to leave anyway."
"Okay…"
Addison's turned to her mess of books and sighed. The cheerleader edged a little closer. "Well, if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing?"
"Just some bogus research. Didn't find anything anyway." Addison closed her notebook and shoved it into her bag.
"Oh."
She lurked as Addison carelessly stacked up books. Addison ignored her presence. The faster she got rid of the books the faster she could run off and do…something far away from the library. Maybe even the school.
"That's not how the books go."
Addison glanced up. The cheerleader got down on her knees only a few feet away from Addison. "Mr. Sylvite—the librarian—will blow his top if you destroy his library," she said with a smile. "I'm kinda surprised he hasn't already kicked you out." She laughed, albeit nervously, and Addison couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face.
"Oh I'm pretty sure he's afraid of me," she joked. "Big bad werewolf, hiding out in his library."
The girl laughed for real this time. "Well, big bad werewolf, it's always easier to just do things the way that doesn't make other people's jobs harder, you know," the girl said. "The colors alternate, and they're all in certain sections. A lot of work."
"I got time," Addison grumbled. She had all the time in the world. Hide from the wolves, hide from Zed, hide from her one responsibility.
The cheerleader smiled at Addison. She staked a bunch of books in her arms and stood up and Addison followed suit, balancing the rest in her arms.
"I'm Addison, by the way."
"I know," the cheerleader said. "My friend—well, he's been talking about you all morning. It's kinda annoying, but in the cute, boy way."
"Wait." Addison grinned, shaking her head. There was no way that the one human who'd come up to her was friends with the one zombie she'd talked to. The odds weren't there. "You're friends with Zed?"
"Yeah! Well, it's more like we hang out because his best friend is this guy I really really like and I'm pretty sure we're boyfriend-girlfriend. But he only speaks Old Zombie Tongue so it's hard to be sure. And he never even asked me to Prawn, officially. And now we can't even go together with the stupid Monster Laws and—"
The girl paused, finally taking a breath. Addison just blinked in surprise. This girl could talk.
The cheerleader smiled sheepishly. "I'm Bree. Sorry for getting off topic."
Addison smiled. "It's fine, really," she assured her. "It's…it's nice to have the company."
Bree grinned. She led Addison out of the aisle and they went around the library, returning the books to their shelves. Bree talked, a lot, about nothing important. Whatever caught her eye, she had some long winded story for which led to another story, that usually led to something else, none of which Addison minded.
Bree was nice, and sweet. She was kind of like Wynter. They were bubbly and energetic, always talking about nothing in particular, yet their words always made her feel more relaxed. Bree was a lot funnier than Wynter though, and she definitely didn't stop every time she screwed up to scold herself and beat against her head. Yes, Addison loved Wynter, but she could be a bit much sometimes.
"That's the last of it!" Bree declared. She grinned at Addison, the infectious smile spreading across Addison's face.
"Thanks for the help," she said.
Addison jumped at the sharp sound that rained from the ceiling. It had been going off all day, and yesterday too. It was like some sort of alarm, except no one seemed to be panicking like they should.
She looked to Bree, who was failing at hiding her laughter. "What was that?" Addison asked, her face twisted in fearful confusion.
"It's the bell," Bree explained. "It tells us when class ends. That was the end of the second block, which was my study hall."
Addison frowned and raised an eyebrow. "These words you're saying aren't making sense."
"Yeah, school's weird like that!" Bree shrugged and Addison couldn't help but smile. At least she wasn't the only one who thought it was weird.
"We're coming up on lunch and advisory," Bree said. "Both of which I have to spend at cheer practice."
"Lunch? Isn't that when you eat?"
"Yeah, but Bucky is planning a huge pep rally when he wins—and he's so gonna win the election," Addison's eyebrows rose at how quickly Bree's train of thought diverted, "'cause they're just big popularity contests and Bucky is the most popular guy in—shoot, wait, no. I'm team Zed."
Addison laughed. "So cheer practice? Pep rally?" she asked, redirecting her new friend.
"Right! So if Bucky wins, he wants us to do some killer new routine on Friday, when he'll announce the new cheer captains. 'Cause he can't have it all, which is so unfair since Zed gets to be football captain and president when—if he wins." Bree grinned, proud of herself for actually finishing her train of thought.
"Right, of course."
"Do you want me to help you find your werewolf friends first? I know you guys like to stick together and it's a big school. I mean, I got lost three times in my first hour here!"
They both giggled. "Thanks for the offer," Addison said, "but I don't really wanna see them. We're kinda—"
"Fighting? I get it. I mean. I only hang out with zombies and I'm pretty sure half the time they wanna eat my brains."
Addison's eyes widened but Bree was grinning, which means she's only joking. Hopefully.
"What're your lunch plans?" Bree asked.
Addison turned and gestured to the library. "I've kinda been hiding in here all morning."
Bree pursed her lips, rocking on her heels. The gears in her head were turning and Addison watched, until Bree grinned, an idea brimming on her face. "Wanna come cheer with me?"
"What? No, I-I couldn't—"
"Addy—can I call you that?" Addison nodded. "The cheer team is for everyone. Bucky can't turn you away. It'll be so much fun!"
"Well…" Bree smiled hopefully and Addison couldn't help but relent, not that she was putting up much of a fight. She'd always been intrigued by the cheerleaders in the woods every summer, and now she was getting an opportunity to be a part of them. She grinned at Bree and nodded, both of them squealing in excitement and running off towards the gym.
All noise ceased as soon as she stepped into the gymnasium, standing tall despite all the staring, her moonstone shining under the neon lights above. She walked right up to who she assumed was in charge, some kid named Bucky whose president posters had been plastered right alongside Zed's, and she could tell his smile was forced and it was far too bright when he smiled at her, clasping his hands together.
"I'm sorry, but we're in the middle of practice-"
"I want to try out for cheer." Addison interrupted, her jaw up and chest puffed out, confidence radiating off her skin.
Someone on the team squeaked at her brashness. No one else moved, not daring to disturb the delicate balance Bucky had created over the years that Addison was attempting to push her way into.
Three cheerleaders rushed to flank Bucky, clearly his betas—a pale blonde girl with her hair pulled back in an insanely tight ponytail, and a boy and a girl with deep brown skin, though the twist of their faces was anything but pleasant. The girl with rich dark skin had big, wild hair, like a wolf. Almost like Willa's, except much shorter and tamer.
The blonde one who's ponytail was destroying her hairline snapped her neck. "Tryouts aren't until August."
The other boy crossed his arms, his eyes scrutinizing her every breath. "And we don't need the likes of you on our team."
The third girl's face twisted, worse than when Willa would demean Addison. It was more sarcastic and belittling. "Do mutts even cheer?"
Heat spread through her chest, a low growl rumbling deep in her throat. "What did you call me?" she said, her voice low and rumbling. The beta cheerleaders had the decency to be afraid, scurrying away from her and hanging around several feet away.
Bucky clapped and Addison whipped her attention to him. The power from her moonstone continued to course through her veins, strength flowing through her every nerve. One wrong word and she's have this sparkly cheerleader stuck between her fangs.
He grinned, stupid dimples accentuating his pretentious face. "What the Aceys mean to say is that tryouts are closed, but, I am legally obligated to allow…monsters, such as yourself on the team." He chuckled to himself, several of the other cheerleaders laughing awkwardly alongside him.
Addison raised an eyebrow, looking between them all. They were very strange. Bucky smiled at her, all teeth, and added, "Think you can keep up…Alpha?"
Addison stepped closer to him. "Addison will do just fine," she told him. "And I've got more than enough, as you say, shish boom bah." His mocking grin dropped and she smirked.
"I didn't expect you wolves to cheer in your damp cave or wherever you live."
"A den?"
"Don't care."
Bucky blew his whistle, the loud, piercing sound startling Addison. The cheerleaders started running into places and Addison watched for a moment, then walked over to the formation, standing on the end of the first line.
"We're learning a new routine today," Bucky announced. "Lacey. Jacey, take the A-team. Stacey, take the stunt team. Z-team, you're with me."
He blew his whistle again and commotion broke out in the gym. Addison barely heard him call, "You too, Wolfie!"
Addison hit the hardwood with a grunt, the ground beneath her letting out an ear splitting crack that pounded in her ears. All the air left her lungs, pain flaring through her back and spreading to every already aching limb. She heard quiet snickers around her but ignored them. Her moonstone glowed hot against her skin, its power healing her from the drop.
Those dumb humans had dropped her in the middle of a stunt and had the audacity to laugh. She growled quietly and the cheerleaders all froze, as they should. The line between humans and zombies being afraid of her and liking her was a fine one, and Addison walked it hard.
"Addy!" Bree cried, looming over her. Addison snapped her gaze to her friend, wanting to be angry but unable to hold the feeling at the sight of Bree's concern. She took Bree's outstretched hand, getting onto her feet.
Her moonstone was hot, too hot against her skin, her vision blurring, black spots dancing in the corner of her eyes. "Woah," she muttered, gripping onto Bree for support. Everything had happened too fast—her body aches and her moonstone tried with all of its power to heal her, ease her pain, something, anything. But it turned out to be too low on charge, going green against her skin and sucking the life out of her instead.
Her claws dig into Bree's arm, her other hand clutching her moonstone away from her skin. She coughed, dry, painful coughs that sucked everything from her.
She was sure the cheerleaders were looking at her, but they were the least of her concern. Her limbs grew heavy, aches settling in her bones. A further reminder that she needed to hurry up and find the moonstone before the sickness got to her too.
Just as she was on the verge of ripping off her moonstone, the coughing faded, her vision returning to normal as well as all the feeling in her body. She hadn't even noticed that Bree had guided her away from the center of the court and both Bree and Bucky were holding her up with support.
"Addy, are you okay?" Bree asked.
Addison swallowed, trying to quench her dry throat. It was a particularly bad spout of the sickness and she wished she were home, at the den, where she could get some tea to help her feel better. She simply nodded for Bree.
"What was that?" Bucky asked. "I wouldn't want the downfall of the alpha on my hands and all."
"My moonstone," she whispered, her fingers still clutching the foggy gem. "It's losing its charge."
Bucky raised an eyebrow at that. "Moonstone?"
"It's what makes werewolves, werewolves," Addison explained. "Without it, we die."
"Well, can't you just recharge it?" Bucky scoffed. "You monsters, always making things way more complicated than they need to be. I know, I know, I'm a genius."
Addison fought the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn't have expected him to know or understand how serious the situation was, all she could do was try and explain it to him. He wasn't a wolf, and she was fairly certain she was the first wolf he'd interacted with. There was no reason for her to be so critical of him and his wolf knowledge.
"Seabrook settlers stole our moonstone—" Bucky held up a finger and Addison stopped, glaring at the appendage.
"Save the history lesson for class, Alpha," he told her. "We have more important things to discuss."
"Like you," Bree muttered, just as Bucky said, "Like me!"
He was kind of awful.
Luckily, the doors to the gym burst open. All heads turned, Zed and two of his friends pausing in the doorway. Zed! She hadn't seen him for a few hours and she already missed him beyond belief. He was so cute.
Bucky groaned, rolling his eyes. "Bonzo, you're late! Again!"
"Relax Bucky," the girl from yesterday said. "We were with Principal Lee, doing the music for the debate."
"I wasn't talking to you, Zambie."
The girl and Bucky continued to argue, but Addison tuned them out because Zed was heading to her. She inwardly squealed, letting go of Bree and flattening out her hair. It didn't matter that she was exhausted and in pain, she'd faked it for her pack, she could fake it for Zed.
He stopped in front of her and smiled, first at Bree then Addison—who couldn't help but notice the way it grew when he smiled at her. "Hey Bree, hey Addison."
"Hi," Addison said.
He nodded, his thumbs looping in the belt loops of his pants. "I, uh, didn't know you were into cheer," he said. "It's cool."
"It's a pain," she said, making him laugh.
"I didn't want to make you feel bad," he admitted. "Bucky is kind of a—"
"Zed!" Bucky shouted, making both of them jump.
Addison looked up at him and he just rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "That," he said. He turned around to give Bucky his attention.
"Use that draggy leg and get your ass to Principal Lee, I'm not gonna wait all day here!"
Zed groaned, turning back to Addison. "I have a meeting for the presidential debate tomorrow," he explained. "But I'll see you later?"
"Yes!" she said, too quickly, too energetically. She was starting to sound like Wynter, which was never a good thing. "I-I'll be here. Hanging with my new friend Bree."
"I'll be back." He gave her one last smile, then turned and jogged over to Bucky.
Addison let out a blissful sigh. He was even cute running. She couldn't imagine him during football season, being the star of whatever he called himself. She'd already seen the pictures in different newspapers in the library. Seeing him in person, all sweaty and cute. It would be the death of her.
"Aw!" Bree gushed. Heat spread across Addison's cheeks. She turned around to her friend, smiling shyly. "You guys are so cute!"
Addison giggled, glancing down at the ground. "He's so handsome and so nice," she whispered. She looked up at Bree and added, "I mean, I like, really like spending time with him. I feel like he could be…you know, the one."
Bree gasped, grabbing Addison's hands and drawing her attention. Her smile was wider than Addison had ever seen it, if that was even possible. "Oh my gosh! You like like Zed!"
Addison beamed too, though she wasn't quite sure what 'like like' meant, as opposed to regular liking. Whatever the case, it sounded good.
Bucky blew his whistle and everyone froze, whipping around to him, still standing by the door with Zed and his two friends. "Get into position!"
Bree dragged Addison back to the center of the court, where they fell in line again. "I'll be back soon, and when I come back, we'll run through the routine again, and it will be flawless," Bucky said.
He fixed his team with a final glare, then stalked out of the gym, calling behind him, "Let's go Stringbean!"
No one moved for several seconds after Bucky left. Technically speaking, when the alpha wasn't present, the beta was in charge. Which meant that, with Bucky gone, his three lackeys should have been running practice.
Instead, the second Zed and Bucky left the gym, the cheerleaders broke off into groups, talking or sitting around with their friends. Addison turned, seeking out Bree to find her hugging the tall zombie that had come in with Zed—they'd called him Bonzo. She shouldn't interrupt. From the way they were acting, they had to be romantically involved, probably mates or something. But she also couldn't stand in the middle of the gym like a lost werepup.
Her eyes landed on the girl zombie who had been with Zed—both the day before when the wolves were in Zombietown, and earlier when they had walked into the gym. Ellen or Eleanor or Ellie or something. Something with an E. She was settling in the raised benches. Addison marched over to her, crossing the gym with quick confidence, climbing the benches like stairs and stopping next to Zed's friend.
The zombie slowly lifted her head, raising her eyebrow. "Uh, hello?" she said.
Addison smiled and sat down next to her. "Hi," she said. "I'm Addison."
The zombie smiled. "I know who you are," she said. "Eliza. We met yesterday."
"Yeah, I remember," Addison said.
Eliza nodded, glancing around the gym. Addison's knee bounced, her gaze looking around too. It was silent between them and Addison smiled to herself. Eliza hadn't told her to leave yet. She was nice, nicer than most wolves. A lot of the humans and zombies were pretty nice to her.
"Is there, like, a reason you came up to me?" Eliza asked.
Addison turned to her and smiled. "Well, I'm at cheer because my new friend Bree invited me and Bucky let me try," she explained. "And now we're on break, and Bree is clearly hanging with her mate. And I don't know anyone on the team. And you're one of Zed's friends, which means you aren't a total jerk."
Eliza giggled at that, ducking her head down. "Uh, thanks," she said. "I'll take 'not a total jerk' over 'loud, angry, annoying zombie' any day."
Addison gave her a smile and slid closer. "If it's any consolation, I've known you for like, five seconds, and I don't think any of those things."
"It's not, but thanks for trying," Eliza said. "Why are you even here? I saw your pack like, ten minutes ago, scouring the halls for their 'moonstone' or something."
"I'm kind of avoiding them," Addison drew out. "We don't really…get along."
Eliza nodded her head. "I get it," she said. "We used to be the three musketeers. But this high school stuff, it really changed us. I mean, Bonzo does every after school activity. And when he's not doing that, he's with Bree, his maybe-kinda-girlfriend. It's like he never had time for us. And I'm pretty sure Zed hates me now."
"What? I don't think he hates you. I don't even think he has the capacity to hate someone."
Eliza scoffed. "Yeah right," she muttered. She slid onto the bench in front of Addison. Addison's brows rose in surprise. She hadn't dubbed Eliza as the preaching type, but that's exactly what she did. "We've been fighting for zombie rights our whole lives. And things only get better when we conform and change to fit in with the humans. And now, the humans want to tear down the single most important piece of zombie history so they can build another cheer place, as if we need that!"
Eliza huffed, shaking her head. Addison watched with confused eyes. Seabrook was supposed to be perfect, but the way Eliza was talking made it sound…awful.
"I didn't realize zombies had it so bad," Addison said. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? It's not like it's your fault. Unless you know something I don't."
Addison shook her head. She reached into the secret pocket of her vest and pulled out her journal. "Trust me, I don't know anything," she said. "Everything I know about this town is here and I mean, it doesn't seem like it's all real or the truth."
Eliza nodded slowly, eyeing the notebook suspiciously. "Where'd you get that from?"
Addison smiled. "I borrowed it from the school store."
"You can't borrow things from the—oh my Z you stole it." Eliza groaned but laughed, shaking her head.
Addison just watched, her confusion deepening. Talking to Eliza wasn't like talking to anyone else she'd met. She was real and honest and unapologetically herself, not even fazed by Addison being a wolf. Of course, she said things Addison didn't quite understand, but Addison didn't feel embarrassed asking for clarification. Eliza wouldn't mock her when she asked questions.
"What does 'oh my Z' mean?"
"Oh, it's just an expression," Eliza waved off. "Like the zombie version of 'oh my gosh' or like, 'wow.'"
Addison nodded slowly. She flipped her journal to the last page she had been writing on. "Can I write that down? I'm trying to keep track of slightly out of the ordinary things in Seabrook."
"To find your moonstone, right." Eliza shrugged. "I don't mind. Ask me anything if you want."
"Really?"
Eliza nodded. "Of course," she said.
Addison smiled and scrubbed down the phrase. "Why Z? 'Cause you guys are zombies?"
Eliza shook her head. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a hunk of mental and pieces, which she opened like a book and began typing into. "Z was the first zombie," she explained.
"The…first?"
"Zombies didn't always exist. Like, fifty years ago, there was an accident at Seabrook Power. A little lime soda and some industrial strength Seabrook energy and bam. Zombies."
Addison nodded, taking a moment to process the information then scribble it down. None of this was written in any of the history books Addison had gone through, not to this extent.
"They're trying to tear down Seabrook Power," Eliza went on. "Which is so unjust. It's the birthplace of all zombies—it's like the cultural hub of everything we come from." Eliza leaned forward on her elbows. "Seabrook Power holds everything about zombies past, present, and future. They can't tear it down!"
Addison nodded in agreement, her eyebrows turning down with the same seriousness Eliza carried. Humans loved to flex their power over monsters, first stealing the wolves's moonstone and banishing them to the Forbidden Forest, then "protecting the humans" by placing zombies under strict "recommendations" like curfew and a barrier and uniforms.
"What are we gonna do to stop them?" Addison asked.
"Eliza!" They both jumped. Addison turned and saw Zed, breaking into a wide, excited grin. She hadn't seen him all day and now he was walking towards her, making her heart flutter and every fiber of her being buzzed with excitement.
He looked upset and somewhat concerned, but when his eyes met hers he softened and smiled, taking the seat beside her. "What's she doing? Corrupting you?" Zed asked, a playful smile on his lips.
Addison couldn't help but giggle. "I'm not corrupting her," Eliza said. "Just getting to know your girlfriend."
Eliza grinned wicked and Zed blanched, going stiff beside her. Addison whipped her attention to him, hearing him stutter and stammer, "She's—what—we're not—she's not my girlfriend."
Addison looked at him in confusion. She was his girl friend. Unless he didn't think of her as a friend, and she'd been reading into something that wasn't there. "Yes I am."
Zed looked at her with wild eyes while Eliza snickered, though Addison wasn't sure what was so surprising or funny about it. "I'm your girl friend," Addison repeated. "Like Eliza!"
Eliza laughed, dropping her head onto her knees, her whole body shaking. Addison raised an eyebrow, turning to Zed and asking, "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, no," he assured her. "It's just—there's a difference between a friend who's a girl, and a girlfriend."
She stared at him blankly. "I don't understand."
Eliza laughed at her and Addison frowned. She didn't make fun of people for not understanding her references. That was plain mean.
"You don't know what a girlfriend is?" Zed asked.
She shook her head, looking to the ground. In the den, if you didn't know something, people would line up just to teach you and expand your knowledge. In Seabrook, they made fun of each other. Good to know.
"It's like, it's someone you date," he said.
"Date?"
"Yeah! Like, taking walks in the park and getting food together."
Addison raised an eyebrow. Those sounded suspiciously like dog things, and she'd had her fair share of rude comments in her days at Seabrook High. "Did you say those things 'cause I'm a werewolf?"
"What? No! I—Okay I get how that sounds bad. But it's just, you know, normal boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."
"So having a boyfriend-girlfriend is like having a pet?"
"No it's—"
"For Z's sake," Eliza grumbled. Both of them looked at her, Addison's eyebrows drawn together. Maybe Eliza would get this to make sense. Addison already knew she'd have a condescending attitude, but she'd dealt with know-it-alls her whole life (Willa).
"Look, down on the court," Eliza said. Addison and Zed both turned around. "See Bree and Bonzo? What do you think they are?"
"Mates," Addison answered. She turned back to Eliza and added, "Two people born to be together, deeply in love, bonded for life. You know, mates." She shrugged and smiled.
Zed and Eliza exchanged a surprised look that set her on edge. It was like every word she said was wrong.
"Okay, so if you dialed that down by, like, a lot, you've got the concept of dating," Eliza said. "It's like trying to find your mate. You spend time with someone doing special activities. All that good stuff."
Addison nodded. She opened her notebook again, scrubbing down a quick note: boyfriend, girlfriend, dating—trial run on being mates? It wasn't technically relevant to her investigation, but still important to know.
Zed leaned over her shoulder to look at her notebook. "What's all this?" he whispered.
"Notes for my investigation."
"Your what?"
"Just go with it," Eliza said, "the less questions the better."
"I just don't understand where dating plays into—"
The gym doors burst open yet again. Her pack's scent flooded her nose and she inwardly groaned. The day had been going so well.
"There she is!" Wyatt shouted.
"Hey!" Bucky protested. "This is a closed practice!"
Addison groaned, closing her book. "I better go see what they want," she said, giving Zed an apologetic smile. "But I'll be right back. Promise." He smiled in return, nodding.
Addison flipped her notebook closed and stood. Zed and Eliza both watched her stand there for a second, before she turned to Zed, holding out her book and asking, "Keep this safe until I get back?"
"Of course," he said with a smile.
She handed it to him, then leaned down and kissed his cheek. His cheek! He flushed, excitement bubbling through his core. She straightened and he looked up at her, seeing her sweet smile.
"I hope I didn't overstep, I just thought that's what girlfriends did."
Girlfriend.
He nodded, afraid his voice would betray him if he tried to talk. Addison giggled and rushed down the bleachers, leaving him with Eliza. Zed could barely breathe; he was sure if he had a heart, it would have stopped.
Everything with Addison was simpler than he'd thought it'd be. He was fairly certain that she considered herself his girlfriend. Everything about her was like nothing he'd ever known before.
"Well she's weird," Eliza said. "But cool."
Zed nodded, finally regaining some of his composure. "For a werewolf."
"Nah, she's just…cool," Eliza said. "You guys look good together."
Zed grinned, glancing down at the notebook in his hand. Addison's notebook.
"I really like her," he whispered. "She's just so…different." He lifted his gaze and nodded. "She's not like anyone I've ever met."
He knew Eliza didn't care and had probably stopped listening a long time ago. But he continued, wanting to figure out this thing with Addison. It was more than just testing out the waters because he liked her and she liked him. So much more was at stake, because he was a zombie and she was a werewolf. So much more could go wrong.
"She's not like the wolves," he said.
Eliza snorted. "Yeah they all hate you." He fixed her with a glare that she just laughed at. "I'm serious, all the wolves hate you, except her."
"That's not my fault! I tried being nice to them."
"You tried to get them to change themselves so they could fit in."
"Yeah and they chose to stand out like a sore thumb and make everyone's lives more difficult." Zed huffed, shaking his head. "I mean, you can't really think that scaring the entire Seabrook population is a good thing. We've spent years trying to get humans to accept us. And now humans are just lumping us all together, even though we're trying so hard to fit in and the wolves couldn't care less. It's so…ugh."
Eliza hummed in response. "I know," she said. "Years of hard work, down the drain. Everything we've worked for just gets taken away because of stupid werewolves. But," she grinned at him, "with you as president, you can change that."
"I know," he said. "Make life better for zombies." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. It'd be an impossible task with the werewolves around. Every time the zombies made a step forward, the wolves would screw it up and push them ten steps back. And they didn't even care.
Eliza stiffened, her eyes trained behind him. She muttered, "Oh no," and Zed turned around, seeing the wolves all arguing with Addison on the gym floor. It was loud, not loud enough for them to know what was going on, but close to it.
Zed and Eliza both stand, ready to march down there and…and do what? Two zombies against a pack of werewolves? Maybe if they didn't have their Z-Bands, but Zed wasn't sure if he was willing to risk his entire campaign for that. If the cheerleaders saw him and Eliza fighting, they'd spread the word like gossip. He'd be nothing more than a monster, and he was more than that.
He could handle this just like any human could: talking.
But Willa shoved Addison's shoulder, saying something harsh that Zed couldn't hear from up in the bleachers. Addison shook her head, shoving past Willa and Wyatt and running—running right out of the gym. Everyone was stunned, silent, the gym doors banging closed with a resonating echo.
Before he realized it, he was running. Running down the steps, shooting a glare at the werewolves as he passed. Running after Addison, bursting through the gym doors and chasing after her.