When Addison got back home, Bucky was laying on the floor of her living room. It was weird considering her parents were at work and Bucky didn't have a key. Her and Zed paid him no mind, making a show to step over him and sit on the couch.

Bucky lifted his head and said to them, "You guys are the fucking worst."

"Write a story about it," Addison mused.

"Why are you on the floor?" Zed asked.

"We don't have enough cheerleaders to compete," Bucky whined. "I have to turn in a roster in four days and need at least eight more cheerleaders. The routine is in shambles. I've got two flyers left—Addison and Bree—and I've got no bases. This is my last chance at a cheer competition and your stupid Zombie Mash ruined it!"

Zed frowned as Bucky flopped back onto the floor. "I mean, I'm sure you could open the team up. There's gotta be at least eight Zombies who would cheer with you." Zed said.

Addison gasped, understanding what he was hinting at. Zach had cheered with them. Hell , he was pretty much in the front. "That's a great idea!" Addison exclaimed. "We could start with the ones who performed with us at the championship last year!"

Bucky sat up and scowled. "No way! I'm not having a dysfunctional team!" He glanced at Zed and said, "No offense."

"Offense taken," Zed stated. "I thought we were past all this Zombie hating drama?"

"We are," Bucky argued. "Not my team. My team needs to be perfect."

Zed shrugged. "You could've won last year if it wasn't for your desperation for perfection. Don't let it be your downfall again."

He stood up, leaned down and kissed his girlfriend. "I gotta go. I've got lunch plans with the team."

"Okay. Call you later."

Zed stepped over Bucky again and made his way out. "Good luck Bucky," he said then left.

Bucky groaned and laid back on the floor. Addison pulled her feet up onto the couch. She needed to convince him to open the team up to Zombies (something she was planning on doing once he graduated anyway).

"Zombies are a lot more tolerant to pain and shit," Addison said. "They're flexible too. You'd get flyers and less worries about people getting hospitalized. Plus, Zed would join us. And he could probably get the guys on football to be bases."

Bucky just grumbled in response.

"You don't have any other offers," Addison stated. "Do you really want last year to be your legacy?"

Bucky groaned and turned his head to look at her. "I hope you know your Zombies because we're going through the old routine and calling every single one of them."

The deal was that Addison and Zed would work on getting on the scary Zombies (mainly Zeke and Izabelle) to agree to join while Bucky would ask all the less scary, friendly Zombies to join. Zed has said four of them are usually hanging out all the time.

They went at it the next morning. When Bucky found them—Bowling for Zoup, the Zombie band who performed at every event—it was just Alonzo and Zephyr (names he learned from the video) walking through Zombietown. They were nice and said they'd do it, just to let them know when they needed to be at practice. Then they pointed him in the direction of the next person on his list: Zach.

"We just came from practice," Zephyr told him. "So Zach's probably just chilling at the old Power Plant. You know where it is, right?"

"Yeah, thanks," Bucky said. "We're practicing later, just letting you know." Bucky began jogger to the old Power Plant. He turned back and called, "At noon. In the gym!"

Alonzo gave him a thumbs up and Bucky turned, sprinting to the old Power Plant. He was hoping he'd be lucky and Zach wouldn't be alone. He did not want to face him again.

When he got to the Power Plant, he used the emergency stairs that were still barricaded off from the accident to get down to the dance level. He could hear the bass pounding as he made his way down, which became actual music the closer he got. He looked through the bars of the stairs and fought back a gasp.

There was Zach, in all his glory, dancing and popping and locking and everything to some 6ix9ine song. And he was good. Bucky sat down on the steps and watched, pretty much mesmerized and blushing a little as he watched Zach move.

Bucky watched him as he started the song over three times before deciding he was being creepy and had other Zombies to see.

When Bucky got off the last step Zach paused the music and turned to him with a grin. "I was wondering when you'd announce your presence," he said.

Despite himself, Bucky blushed. "You knew I was here?"

Zach shrugged, shoving his hands in his pocket. "I knew someone was there," he said. "The stairs aren't exactly quiet. I didn't know it was you."

"Couldn't help but watch," Bucky said with a shrug. "You're a good dancer, dude."

"Thanks."

"That song's really old though."

Zach shrugged. "They filter music for Zombies. I can't control what I've heard. It's good though."

"He's in jail," Bucky said. "For life."

"I've heard." Zach said. "Any reason you're here?"

"Oh! Um, I wanted to ask if you…if you wanted to join the cheer team?"

Zach raised a surprised eyebrow and suddenly Bucky felt nervous. He didn't even know why but he felt pretty small and invalid, like Zach would reject him. Not you, you just want him to cheer. Don't make this personal.

Luckily, Zach grinned and nodded. "Yeah that sounds awesome! When do I start?"

"Oh, uh, we have practice at noon today. The-the cheer championship is coming up. So…we're getting ready for that."

Zach chuckled and stepped closer to Bucky. Bucky's eyes widen and he felt his pulse quicken. Zach had two, maybe three inches on Bucky. Not enough to be truly threatening but Bucky was still oddly nervous.

"What's wrong, Bucky?" Zach asked with a raised eyebrow. "Am I making you nervous?"

Despite the fact that Zach was making him nervous, Bucky narrowed his eyes at him. "I don't know what gives you the right to, but yeah, you are," Bucky stated. "Cut it out."

"I haven't don't anything different than I do with my friends," Zach said with a chuckle.

"We are not friends. You're a cheerleader now. I'm your superior."

"Are you not friends with your cheerleaders?"

"It's just business."

Zach raised an amused eyebrow. "Am I also just business? A little play thing for when you get bored? Or—" He tilted his head down and leaned closer until they were practically touching. "Does the thought of me being this close to you make your heart pound so loud it's all you can hear? Is my presence making you nervous, in the best way possible?"

If this were some romantic movie scene, they might have kissed.

The thought crossed Bucky's mind for a second. It was overshadowed with the fact that Zach thought he could talk to Bucky in such a manor. And the fact that all of it was true.

Bucky turned around and stormed toward the stairs. "Be in the gym at noon or you're out!" he shouted as he left, the sound of Zach's laughter following him as he rushed up the stairs.

Zach had stopped by Roz's house to walk with her to Seabrook High and leave his bass in her house, considering he never actually got the chance to go home. He always stored some extra clothes at her house anyway.

He also wanted to talk with someone about his encounter with Bucky. Zane and Denzel were way too out of the loop for Zach to bring it up with—he'd have to start from the beginning which may have only been a few days ago but felt like a lifetime.

"He was blushing like the entire time!" Zach said excitedly. "I don't know what came over me but like, I was teasing him and I could tell every time I got closer he got nervous. But not a bad nervous, a good nervous. I think. Is there a good nervous?"

"There is."

"Anyway, I think I've got this whole flirting thing down," Zach said. "I've gotta thank his cousin though. She works fast."

"We'll see her at cheer practice," Roz decided.

"Holy shit," Zach said in wonder. "We're gonna be cheerleaders!"

Unfortunately for Zach, cheer practice wasn't all it cracked up to be. According to the captains, they all had to get through the day of tryouts in order to even be considered. Bucky took his craft seriously and made sure anyone who wouldn't left the gym.

Bucky was cheer captain as well as Stacey and Tracey (they were all graduating that year and Bucky had decided they deserved the promotion). Lacey and Addison were the assistant captains. The Aceys were Bucky's hype-people, and Lacey and Addison were typically the voice of reason.

They went out on the track and ran two laps. Stacey and Tracey sized everyone up, splitting them into groups. The small people who looked light went with Bree and Addison—the flyers.

The rest of them were split between the four remaining captains and assistant captains. Zach ended up in Bucky and Lacey's group. They were split on those who could flip and split, and everyone else who would do regular cheer stuff and act as bases in stunts.

Cheer practice was intense and Bucky was serious. They went for four hours before Addison convinced her cousin to send everyone home (there was no tryouts at all which made some of them angry and quit).

"Same time tomorrow. We'll do an hour of stretching then go right into the routine." Bucky said. "States is less than two weeks away. I will whip you all into shape and we will be perfect. No, we'll be better than perfect."

"Bucky," Addison said warningly. "Don't be insane."

"Don't tell me how to captain my team," Bucky snapped.

Addison rolled her eyes behind him. Bucky returned to addressing the team. "A few rules you all should be aware of. Every minute that you're late to practice—late means here after the clock hits twelve, not dressed and in starting position—is another lap. If you're more than fifteen minutes late, you're out. This isn't amateur hour!"

Everyone flinched at his shouting. Roz glanced at Zach, who was watching Bucky intently. He was pretty much mesmerized by Bucky and his command and dramatics and the way he just commanded the room. Roz has never actually seen her friend like that—there weren't even words to describe it. He often claimed he was in love (usually with someone he'd had a three second conversation with) but looking at him, she could see he was so smitten with Bucky.

She was determined to get them together. One way or the other.