The first week back at Seabrook had some highs and lows for both Zed and Addison. They of course loved being around all their friends and teammates again, and they both felt completely refreshed after their vacation and were pumped to take on the remaining weeks of summer that they had left.
The main low of course was that they had to readjust to not spending every waking and sleeping moment side by side. Those first few nights they couldn't get much sleep, but they made it work, and by Wednesday night that first week back they were fine again. Of course, they didn't tell anyone else about their troubles, and even though they still spent as much time as possible in the evenings together, it would never be enough for them.
But now that they were in their routines once again things were going great. Right now it was Friday morning after their first week back. Zed, had just gotten dressed for the day and was sitting on his porch with Bonzo, both waiting on their cheerleaders to join them since they had a new morning routine since Addison got her new wheels.
"Morning Bonzo."
"Morrnin Zedski," Bonzo replied.
"So do you have any plans for this weekend?" Zed asked.
"Gra, Breezka plarn nochez."
"Cool, do you know what you two will be doing?"
"Zo, gru plarn. Zo idear. Bonzo grinned. Zurprize."
"Ah, I got you. Well wherever you go, I know you'll have fun tonight."
"Gru arg Addiska?"
"Nothing set. Obviously, we'll do something this weekend like we always do, but I don't know what. At the very least I'm sure we'll go get food somewhere, and Addison has been talking about some more places nearby Seabrook she wants to take me now we have wheels. So I'm sure we'll come up with something."
"Ag Misska y Dalski?" Bonzo asked him gently.
"Oh don't worry everything's cool there. They've still had me over for dinner this week, and they gave both of us a reminder that we still need to ask permission if we want to have a sleepover, and we need to have the door open. No more sneaking in the window allowed. But no threats of containment or anything." Zed tried to joke.
Bonzo just shook his head at him. "Gru zoth crazy."
"You bet I am, I'm crazy over Addison. And Bonzo, don't tell me you don't feel the same way, that last time we all spent the night at the wolf den, you and Bree looked pretty adorable all curled up together."
"Gra, ezto zimpatico." Bonzo admitted, "Zo warm. Arg Breezka zaid guzta to, perro no otra vez. Noz crazy guzta gru doz."
"Hey I understand, it's just that nothing ever feels as good as falling asleep holding her in my arms, and then waking up and her being the first thing I see in the morning. I would never give that up for anything."
"Ig underztand Zedski. Zomeday."
"Yeah, Bonzo someday." Zed laughed, "oh looks like our ride's here." Zed pointed at the small pink car pulling up in front of Zed's yard.
Addison had the window rolled down and she was smiling brightly. "Hey boys, you coming?"
"You bet." Zed slid into the passenger seat while Bonzo ducked into the back beside Bree. This had become their new routine, and they had quickly figured out that Bonzo needed to sit behind Addison on the driver's side to be able to fit his legs inside comfortably, while Bree was sitting behind Zed for the opposite reason and he could push his seat back. That first day, they had been forced to both ride with their legs pressed into their chests to fit inside.
"Good morning Handsome." Addison leaned closer to Zed to share a good morning kiss with him, which Zed was happy to give.
"Good morning to you too." Zed smiled, and then turned to the back to see Bree and Bonzo doing the same thing. "Good morning to you too Bree."
"Thanks, Zed." Bree smiled, "So are you two finally sleeping normally again, or has Addison's dad put bars over her window yet?"
"To answer your question Bree, yes to the former, and no to the latter. Everything is going to be fine." Addison answered confidently, but she couldn't hide her blush from Zed.
"As long as I have you."
"And that will never change."
"Yeah yeah." Bree shook her head at the both of them while Addison started driving to the school.
"So Bree, a little birdie told me that you have some plans for tonight. Care to share? Last I knew Addison and I are still looking for something fun to do this weekend." Zed asked.
"Nice try Zed, but I'm keeping it a surprise for a reason. So you Mister," Bree turned to Bonzo and playfully poked him in the chest, "are going to have to be patient and find out tonight."
"OKZ." Bonzo held up his hands in surrender, "Zo idear. Zall Zedski. Ig zag rready forr zurprize."
"Yeah Bree, I'm just curious and trying to think of something fun to do, unless you have something planned that I don't know about." Zed turned to ask Addison.
"I don't. Well, Bree if you wouldn't mind, and it's totally fine if you say no, but how'd you like to adjust your plans a bit and we can go on a double date again? It's been forever since we've done something like that." Addison asked.
"Sure, that sounds like the most fun." Bree smiled brilliantly at the suggestion. "You know what, we can talk about at the end of cheer practice and pool our ideas together."
"Sounds like a plan Bree," Addison replied.
"Good, now that means you, don't try to eavesdrop on us with your zombie powers, I still want it to be a surprise for you Bonzo." Bree warned him off.
"OKZ." Bonzo nodded. "Zo lizenin."
"So, do I get to be in the loop then?" Zed asked.
"No," Addison decided, "it can be a surprise for you too."
"Well, as long as the surprise is time I get to spend with you, I can be patient," Zed promised.
"Alrighty then." Bree clapped her hands in excitement.
Just in time, they pulled into the school parking lot. Everyone jumped out and walked through the doors together, both couples hand in hand. Until they reached the gym and the two of them had to part ways for the moment.
"I have to hit the weight room, but I'll see you soon." Zed leaned down to give Addison one more kiss.
"Go knock em' dead Zed. I heard Wynter say she was close to beating your records while you were gone, you better show her how it's done." Addison warned him.
"Knowing her, she's probably close to doing it too. She's tackled me so many times this week, I can already taste the grass I'm going to be eating today." Zed joked back.
"Stay strong, I need you in one piece for tonight."
"Oh, trust me, you'll all the motivation I'll ever need." Zed leered down at her and captured her lips in one more long, drawn-out kiss. "Gar Gar Gaza Addie."
"Gar Gar Gaza Zed." Addison replied.
They finally unclasped their hands and Zed jogged down to the weight room, while Addison turned towards the doors to join the cheer squad once more.
"Took you two long enough today, but it's better than you were on Monday." Bree teased her as they started stretching out together.
"Yeah, yeah." Addison just shook her head at her. "So, what did you have planned? But also seriously it's no trouble at all if you don't want to change your guys' thing, we can go on a double date another time."
"Don't worry Addison it is no trouble at all, and to be perfectly honest, I'm pretty sure you and Zed aren't the only ones who could as you like to say, Vitamin A and Z time. We all missed you, and while Bonzo and I always have plenty of alone time too, I just know we'll have lots of fun together."
"Yeah, I know you're right, so can you fill me in."
Bree glanced around to see Bonzo near the other end of the gym stretching and talking with some other cheerleaders. "Yeah, we should be fine with the music playing and everyone chatting during warm-ups." Bree whispered, "So I was thinking…."
Bree whispered her original idea into Addison's ear, and Addison thought it sounded great, but together they came up with a few changes to make it even better. Between the two of them, they quickly came up with a plan that they thought would be absolute cheerfection, and just in time too as Bucky walked up to them after they finished stretching.
"What's going on you two? Should I be worried at how much you're plotting something without me?" Bucky teased him good-naturedly.
"No don't worry Bucky, we're planning something, but it's for our tall, handsome zoms." Addison giggled.
"Yeah, and we really didn't want Bonzo to hear anything, so we made sure to whisper," Bree added.
Bucky glanced over to where Bonzo was still stretching himself out. "In that case make sure you pay attention, I don't want you two to fall when we're stunting cause you're distracted thinking about your boyfriends."
"Don't worry Bucky, we have everything planned already. So now we're one hundred percent focused on cheer again." Addison promised him.
"Whatever you say, Captain," Bucky laughed, "so can I do the honors?"
"Take it away Bucky."
"Thanks." Bucky blew his captain's whistle loudly, calling everyone to attention. "OK! Let's Go! Line Up!" He turned to Addison and Bree, "oh you two have no idea how much I've missed doing that." Then he turned back to the rest of the cheerleaders.
"OK folks, so as you know we only have a few weeks left until school starts again, and with that comes tryouts. But with what Addison, Bree, and I have seen so far, I'm certain we'll all have the best squad ever thanks to our veterans from last year, and all our new recruits that have been putting in the work with us this summer."
"But speaking of tryouts," Addison spoke up now, "we want everyone to be the absolute best they can be, so we're going to start practicing the tryout routine to make sure everyone is ready without any stress."
"Well, maybe a little stress," Bucky said softly to Addison.
"Bucky." Addison shot him a look.
"Come on, a little bit of stress never hurts anything. That's how you strive for perfection."
"Yeah, I don't think so Bucky. So anyway everyone," Addison clapped her hands in front of her, "we have about a month left for everyone to learn the back handspring mashed potato split with a robot down powering finish. And when that day comes you'll all be able to do it in your sleep."
"So, let's get started!" Bree cheered and blew her whistle.
The rest of practice went like the summer had been going, but today was the first day they were upping the ante a little bit. A few prospective freshmen and some of the newer zombie and wolf recruits needed a bit extra coaching, but everyone was happy to help everyone else. Addison always knew cheer could bring people together, and this was just more proof of that, and even Bucky was great at giving tips and helping more than just shouting wrong and showing himself off.
By the time practice was over everyone was still smiling and having fun when it was time for them to swap places with the other sports teams and head into the weight room themselves.
Before Addison went in though she slipped out into the hallway to grab a quick drink, or at least that's what she told Bree. She walked over to the drinking fountain to fill up her water bottle and it wasn't very long before she felt two cool, slightly sweaty arms circle her waist from behind her.
"Hey there Gorgeous," Zed whispered in her ear.
"Hey there Handsome." Addison took a step back until her back was pressed against his chest. "How's your workout so far?"
"Great, I'm still on top of the record board."
"Good, and Bree and I are all on top of tonight, it's going to be great."
"Every night's great with you."
"I know, but I better get going before Bree comes looking for me again."
"I know." Zed reluctantly pulled away from Addison. "In fact, I guarantee in about five seconds, Wynter-"
"Zed!" "Addison!"
They both heard their names being called from opposite directions, Wynter and Bree were both smirking at them with their arms crossed.
"I swear Zed, you're the one that needs a leash," Wynter said. "Let's get on the field, or one of these days it'll be Coach who comes looking for you instead of me."
"Yeah, next time I notice you're not with us I'll send Bucky to hunt you down instead," Bree warned her.
"Alright, we're coming, we were really about to rejoin you guys anyway," Zed claimed.
"I'm sure, but I know you'll have all weekend to spend time together. So let's hop to it." Bree said sternly.
"Don't worry Bree. I'm coming." Addison started jogging over to join Bree. "I'll see you later Zed."
"See ya, Addison." Zed called out as he ran to catch up with Wynter. He wouldn't ever give up football practice for anything. Well, besides one thing, Zed just couldn't help himself sometimes. And he knew Addison always stepped out to fill her bottle now for the exact same reason.
But now that Addison time was just what he needed cause now was ready to run some drills. Just like the cheerleaders, official tryouts wouldn't be until the first day of school, but Coach and Zed had chosen this week to start upping the difficulty to make sure they would all be prepared for the new season.
Sometime later, the cheerleaders were all packing up and ready to head home. After one more pep talk and breakdown, Addison, Bree and Bucky released everyone for the day, and with Bonzo and the Aceys' help, they quickly finished cleaning up the weight room and the gym.
Bucky and the Aceys all walked out to ride in Bucky's van together, while Bonzo and Bree turned to Addison for their ride home. But they knew they had to wait for Zed to finish his practice first.
Addison checked her watch, she knew the football team probably had another fifteen minutes left, and to her, that was plenty of time. "You guys can head out to my car." Addison tossed her keys to Bree. "I'm going to go wait for Zed at the football field."
"Addie, I think you mean ogle Zed." Bree laughed at her. "You're lucky Coach and everyone else knows you only have eyes for one person or else you'd probably be in a heap of trouble for scoping out the football team every day."
"I'm gonna do what I wanna. Let them talk if they wanna." Addison just laughed Bree off and headed out the doors.
She soon made it to the football field and climbed up to sit on the first row of the bleachers. And to her delight, it apparently was a shirts vs skins day, and like usual, Zed wasn't one to disappoint her with his apparel or lack thereof l. His gray skin was gleaming with sweat in the sunlight, and she felt her brain dipping into a fog. She had made it just in time to watch them do their last couple of conditioning drills. And right before Zed started running, he happened to turn towards the bleachers and even through his helmet, Addison could feel his eyes boring into her. Probably the same way he could always sense her presence.
Coach then blew his whistle and they were off. They had to sprint every 10-yard line and then sprint back and then sprint on to the next one. And with 30-40 guys, and one girl, several of them supernatural, Addison was happy to know she was safe from the stampede up in the bleachers.
As the drill continued, the players gradually got more spread out, most of the werewolf players started naturally taking the lead, while the zombies and humans still mostly on pace with each other. But there were two athletes that were running neck and neck leading the pack a few yards ahead of everyone else.
Addison was pretty sure it was Wynter, she still had on her green practice jersey and helmet, but Addison could see her braids sticking down from under her helmet. And beside her was Zed, Addison was pretty sure it was taking everything he had to stick with Wynter.
Addison watched him closely even though she was far away, she could still trace the smooth curves of his pale muscles, and his veins pulsing against his skin, not dark full zom veins, but with Addison's focus, no detail could escape her gaze.
The two leaders were finally nearing the end of the drill, and this meant they had to run from one endzone to another and then back again. Addison watched them both as they both picked up speed, they were still moving basically step for step. Addison watched them both closely, but Zed wasn't looking more full zom than usual, and she couldn't see any sign of Wynter's necklace glowing either.
They turned around to start sprinting back and now Wynter really made her move she gradually picked up even more speed in those final seconds so that she crossed the line only a heartbeat or two before Zed did behind her, and both of them were panting, but they shared a high five.
Then Zed looked up at Addison in the bleachers again, so Addison blew him a kiss, and he mimed catching it and placing it right over his heart.
The rest of the team quickly finished, and it looked like just about all of them were ready to call it a day, but it was only after some final words from Coach that they broke down with the familiar chant.
"Let's go Mighty Shrimp break! On Five! Huh!"
Everyone else started slowly walking back to the locker room but both Zed and Wynter hung back until Addison ran over to join them.
"Good job you guys!" Addison cheered.
"Oh hey Addison, I didn't see you there." Zed tried to act nonchalant as he was still catching his breath.
"Yeah right." Wynter laughed at him. "I had to howl in your ear to get you to pay attention once you saw her! I didn't know for sure what you were looking at, but I think I know now."
"Ok fine, guilty as charged." Zed shook his head and pulled his practice jersey back on, covering his torso back up, which definitely made it quite a bit easier for Addison to focus on the conversation at hand.
"Whatever you say." Addison just shook her head at him, and then once he threw his arm around her shoulder as they walked inside, she whispered, in his ear. "Don't worry, I couldn't look away either."
"Yeah I could tell, why do you think I killed myself against Wynter in that last drill? Don't get me wrong I'm always pushing the limit, but she's one step above the entire team when it comes to running all out like that."
"And I'm still the alpha, even if you're captain Zed."
"Don't worry Wynter, and I'm sure everyone else will agree with me after we have a couple of games under our belts. You'll be co-captain right next to me."
"Co-captain?" Wynter scratched her chin for a few moments in thought, "I like the sound of that. Zombies and wolves on the team, those Eels aren't going to know what hit them after we shred them into a million tiny pieces and pick the bits out of our teeth!" Wynter growled, and then looked at Zed and Addison's stunned faces, "Too much?"
"Never too much, I love the enthusiasm, Wynter." By now they were nearing the locker rooms. "I'll just grab my stuff real quick and I'll be right out." Zed squeezed Addison tight for a moment and then jogged into the guys' locker room.
"See you later Addison." Wynter waved as she walked into the girls' room to change.
"See you, Wynter." Addison waved back.
She walked over to lean against the nearby lockers while she waited for Zed and, true to his word, Zed was in and out in under five minutes and they could be on their way again.
Once they were all riding in the car again. Zed asked the question that was still on everyone's brains. "So, what are the plans for tonight?"
"Bree and I have decided that we are going to surprise both of you."
"Zo hinz?" Bonzo asked.
"No, the answer is still no. We've got everything planned out. All you two need to know is to be ready at 8 for a late dinner." Bree replied.
"Late dinner huh? So what should we be wearing?" Zed asked.
"Just casual clothes, we'll probably be in shorts and T-shirts. But that is all the information you're going to be getting buster." Addison said cryptically.
"OK, ok, message received," Zed agreed, "But no hints at all"
"Not for you. Don't worry I know you both are going to love it just as much as Bree and I will." Addison promised.
"Of course, we will because we both love you. Right Bonzo?"
"Grigt Zedski." Bonzo nodded along.
"Bonzo!" Bree laughed and held her hands in front of her face he leaned in close to her. "And before you try anything to convince us to spill it isn't going to work. Not this time!"
"Yeah, and that goes double for you buster." Addison warned Zed.
Undeterred, Zed just leaned over to kiss her cheek in response. "Sounds like a challenge to me…Addiska." Zed growled lightly in her ear.
"Hey, I'm driving, and we already told you it's not going to work."
"Fine, you're safe…for now." Zed joked and leaned back in his seat. "So if we can't talk about tonight, how was cheer this morning?"
"Just as great as always, we're starting to get into real preseason stuff now so we're all fired up for the first pep rally and your first game."
"Coach has had us doing the exact same thing this week. I'm sure everything will be better than ever."
Later that night, Bonzo and Zed were both sitting out on Zed's front porch again, waiting for their sparkly girlfriends to return and bring them to whatever they had planned. Zed and Bonzo still had no idea of any specifics that were happening tonight, despite his best efforts when he and Addison shared their lunch break earlier that afternoon, she had remained tight-lipped, no matter what methods he tried to use to open them up.
By now, the sky was just barely glowing orange as the sunset, and right then, a familiar pink car once again pulled up in front of his house.
Addison and Bree both stepped out, wearing matching pink and white t-shirts with pink shorts, and as they walked closer to the porch, both zombies quickly ran over to swing their respective girlfriends around in a hug.
"Wow Bree, looks like some people are pretty excited." Addison laughed as Zed set her down again.
"I think they're just tired of us keeping them in suspense." Bree laughed.
"Both are true. Now, are you going to tell us?" Zed asked once again.
"Hmm." Addison thought for a moment. "Bree, should we tell them?"
"I suppose, otherwise I think both of them are about to explode in anticipation." Bree giggled back at her.
"Grat we doin?" Bonzo asked once more.
"How would you two feel about a sunset picnic on the beach?" Bree asked. "Double Date style?"
"I think that sounds like a great idea."
"Letz Gro!" Bonzo cheered and with the secret out of the bag both guys were even more excited. So they quickly hopped in the car and drove off to the beach.
Once they got there, Addison popped her trunk open and Zed and Bonzo were both all too eager to grab the blankets and picnic basket stowed inside.
They walked out on the sand, by now the sky was about halfway between fiery orange and soft lavender, and it was completely beautiful. They spread out the blankets about halfway from the water, but they were still close enough to hear the gentle crash of the tides hitting the shore.
They sat down and quickly dug into the PBJ sandwiches Addison and Bree had made before they picked up the boys, along with some fruit and Bree's mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies. Zed's reaction was the same as everyone else's had been a few weeks ago, they were to die for.
Once they finished eating, both couples sat back and leaned into each other. It was still plenty warm, but none of them were afraid to share body heat to keep away the slight chill as night fell around them.
"Aren't all those stars the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" Addison asked everyone else. Everyone brought their attention to the sky above them.
"Second most beautiful," Zed said with finality before kissing her temple.
"In all seriousness Addie it is really pretty," Bree answered.
"Noz bonitza zky." Bonzo promised and squeezed her even tighter.
"Bree, I'll say it again this was a really great idea, and thanks for letting us tag along." Addison said.
"It's fine, you two are our best friends. Plus you know, we got a free ride of it so we can spend more time cuddling before we have to go home."
"I know, that's literally the best part of Addison's car, date nights get to be an extra 10-15 minutes longer."
"Says you." Addison shook her head at him. "With how you act every time we go somewhere, we're lucky we still make it on time if we don't have other passengers."
"I don't think I've ever heard you complaining about that." Zed shot back.
"I'm not, I'm just saying. As much as I can't wait for school to get back for cheer I hope we don't get too busy again."
"Don't worry, yeah football and cheer and school and everything else will take more time again, but we should hopefully have more time to be together even if it's just in class or at lunch or the safe room."
"I know."
"So since it's almost August and it looks like we have to be talking about school again, are you two ready to go back again soon," Zed asked.
Bree nodded, "Oh yeah, cheer and football games and pep rallies make up like 90% of my motivation though, don't get me wrong I like school, but I'd like to have no homework and relax at home as much as possible."
"Zorperrngido." Bonzo answered. "Greer, muzicka, arrrt. I'g gready."
"Yeah, I'm sure we'll all still have plenty of time to have fun." Zed said.
"Speaking of school though, Zed what's Coach going to do with his froyo carts now?" Bree asked.
Zed whispered dramatically, "Well, you didn't hear this from me, but in case you couldn't tell Coach and I have been raking it in all summer, so much that Coach thinks he has enough to not only move out of his mom's basement, which he is doing right before school starts. Actually, that's a surprise that the whole football team is going to help him move everything. But anyway not the point." Zed shook his head and then kept talking. "So in addition to that, Coach also think's he has enough money in the bank to make a down payment on a permanent storefront. He's already got a spot picked out."
"Where's it going to be?" Addison asked.
"In Zombietown, right across from Flat Pie Red Eye, the pizza place. So Zombietown will finally officially get its own froyo."
"Zat guzta zombie flavorrs agrready." Bonzo nodded.
"How is Coach going to handle everything at school and Froyo if he's really starting to take off in both?" Bree asked.
"Coach will go back to coaching and teaching PE like he's always done. We have to defend our championship, don't we? And for the time being, he'll still have his cart out on the weekends only. And then whenever he builds his shop, he'll hire all new employees to work it. And actually, either his mom or his Great Aunt Edna might play a manager role in the beginning. Coach has been asking me for help on his game plan for this too, but I think things are looking bright."
"Zedski, arg gru?"
"Well, Coach says he'll always have a spot open for me as long as I want it. But I'm going to focus on school, football, and Addison right now. But if I ever need a little extra cash I can just take my cart out whenever I feel like it."
"Sounds great," Addison told him.
"And just in case we really do run Cheery on Top to the ground with our awesomeness, You and the Aceys are always welcome to join the winning side," Zed promised.
"We'll see about that. I'm pretty sure all of us cheerleaders plan on just falling back on cheer and school once the summer's over."
"Yeah, cheer is a full-time job, especially when we're captains. I can remember all those late nights last year." Bree sighed.
"I know, but I can't wait for them. We always had such great talks when it was just the two of us Bree."
"Yeah I know, and this time we'll have Bucky with us, I feel like they're going to be a bit different."
"But it will be a good different."
"Yeah, the more things change, the more they stay the same. As long as I have Bonzo and you guys and everyone else, this next year is going to be great."
"You know it bestie. Whether the Eels are on the football field or on stage, they aren't going to know what hit them." Addison agreed.
"Oh also before school starts, at least we have something else fun to do beforehand," Bree added.
"What's that Bree? I think it's safe to say I'm the only one not in the loop if this is a cheerleader thing." Zed asked.
"I thought you knew about it, I'm sure Zoey's excited for it," Addison said.
"Well if she was, she still hasn't stopped talking about our vacation last week, so what are all you cheerleaders planning?"
"The Mini Shrimp Cheer Summer Camp," Addison said. "Next weekend, the Squad and all of Zoey's squad are going out to the campsite we went to over spring break. It's so much fun, it's where I got all of my summer cheer trophies."
"It does sound fun but, um three days?" Zed asked, fighting internally to keep his voice even, he knew he could handle this.
"I'g conozco." Bonzo chuckled in Bree's ear.
"I know, anyone could have seen that coming," Bree whispered back to him.
"Don't worry, it's just one weekend, Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. I promise I'll see you right before I leave and right when we get back when you drop off and pick up Zoey." Addison promised him.
"I know, but…you know if it's the weekend, I don't have to stay in Seabrook…" Zed got a mischievous look in his eye.
"And…Zed?" Addison asked.
"I don't suppose you need any chaperones?"
"We have the whole cheer squad. And with all the kids, we're already going to have two packed buses."
"How about the wolves and I decide to go camping for a few days? Especially because that's the last weekend before the real practices start for all our sports. And if you just happen to get lost in the woods…"
"Really Zed?" Addison giggled at him.
"Please Addie? And I know with school our parents really aren't going to allow us very many sleepovers." Zed looked straight into her eyes, and Addison could feel her willpower quickly crumbling, not that it was ever strong when it came to Zed in the first place.
"How can I ever tell you no?" Addison shook her head but smiled up at him.
"You don't need to, I know you want this just as much as I do."
"You know I do."
"Let me think, I know at night all the high schoolers are spread around with all the kids…" Addison said.
"But the captains are in charge of everyone." Bree reminded Addison, "and as captain, I'll give you permission to sneak away, as long as me and Bonzo can join you guys for a little while. We can come to hang out for a little bit, everyone has free time right before bed anyway. And then we'll go back and run things for the nights. As long as you make sure you're back in the mornings before Bucky or Zoey notice anything."
"Yeah I think you're right, they're probably the only ones I'd have to worry about noticing I'm gone. But Bree you don't have to do this."
"I know how you two operate. And while I can at least trust Addison to still be peppy when she's missing Zed, I already know if you don't go to him, Zed's going to already be in the woods and then probably sneak into the sleeping lodge no matter what. And then Bucky and Zoey will probably find him."
"I think you're doubting my self-control skills a little bit," Zed said.
"Zo, greer zot." Bonzo shook his head.
Addison just laughed and shot him a knowing look.
"OK, you're probably right, but that doesn't matter, I can't wait until next weekend now. And I'm sure the wolves and I will have tons of fun during the days doing our own thing. Even more, if I can convince Eliza to come."
They spent another hour or so chatting with each other, and both couples made sure to share plenty of not-so-secret kisses with each other. But eventually, they all knew they had to get back home soon, so they folded up the blankets and put the cups and plates they brought back in the bag. They hardly even had any crumbs left over thanks to Zed and Bonzo's handiwork. They took everything back to the car and they were soon on their way back to Zombietown.
When they pulled in. Addison parked the car outside Zed and Bonzo's yards and both couples stepped out to walk in separate directions. Each walking up a different porch.
When they got there, Zed turned around to face Addison. "Thanks for tonight, this was really fun."
"Yeah, I know, and you know I always have fun with you. But are you really going to camp out at cheer camp?"
"Of course I am, I'm crazy for you."
"I know, and I'm crazy for you too." Addison stepped forward to hug him close. "Let me know if you need any help with the specifics of your master plan, but Bree, Bucky, Bonzo, I, and all the other cheerleaders are going to be super busy this week making sure everything's ready."
"I know everything is going to go perfectly because you have the best captains any squad could ask for."
"Well, I really can't wait for next week now. And I'll see you tomorrow Zed."
"Goodnight Addison. I love you."
"I love you too."
Zed and Addison both stepped closer to each other until their lips met just one more time. They both held on for one more long moment before pulling away.
"Gar Gar Gaza." Addison stepped closer to hug Zed tighter one more time.
"Gar Gar Gaza." Zed replied, holding onto Addison just as tightly. "You'll still call me when you get home right?"
"Count on it." Addison gave him one more peck on the cheek. And then finally let go and walked back to her car. Zed watched her go for a few moments and then finally entered his house, closing the door behind him.
Addison got in the driver's seat and Bree was already waiting on the passenger's side.
"Did you have a good night Bree?'
"Of course I did, all I need to have is Bonzo, and you and Zed were just icing on the cake."
"Me too. But we better get home soon, it is pretty late."
"Yeah, and we have a lot of planning to do if we want everything to go smoothly next week, both our cheer game plan and your nighttime game plan."
"Do you think we're being silly?"
"Oh I think it's hilarious, but I know how you two are." Bree laughed, "Trust me, Bonzo and I are the same way, even if we have a little more self-control than others. Plus we get the bonus of cheering with each other every day."
"Yeah. Everything's going to be great. I know we have nothing to worry about."