To say try-outs don't go the way Zed expected is an understatement.

He sits in the bleachers with the rest of the zombies – on the opposite side of the humans – while the squad captain finish handing out numbers. When she's done she blows into a whistle, attracting everyone's attention.

"Hi everyone! For those who don't know me, I'm Addison Wells and I'm the captain of this team. You all know that if anyone wants a spot this year, you got to try-out."

There's whispering through the crowd. They all know why this particular rule has been implanted. Addison continues her speech. She tells them that no one is guaranteed a spot even if they used to be on the team. She talks about she doesn't care about anyone's dynamic as long as they put in the work. She even throws a less than subtle reminder that she's the boss around here. The Williams alpha from earlier looks like he wants to say something, but she stares him down. Finally, she adds that she'll give everyone a fair chance, human or zombie. Zed hears the snorts around him and he can't help but agree. He's not the only one with good hearing though, because Addison turns an icy glare their way. Zed looks down at his phone to hide an amused smirk. That girl is something else.

Addison invites everyone trying out to take the floor. A lot of people are going for it and chaos descends on the gym for about a minute, yet Zed's gaze never leaves the blonde beta. He almost misses it. A curvy dark-skinned omega walks by Addison and pats her on the arm, sending her a encouraging smile. He doesn't miss the way Addison relaxes under her touch. Weird. He thought betas and omegas weren't usually a thing. He shrugs. To each their own as his Pops would say.

At first, Zed is not sure what Addison's plan is and obviously he's not the only one because most people in the bleachers are just as confused. He finally catches on when she starts the music a fourth time. Isn't she a devious little thing? Overall it seems like the same song, but the tempo is a little bit off everything. She's looking for people who can follow the rhythm, who don't readjust either because they haven't figured it out or because they're too stubborn. Addison ends up cutting off quite a few people. Zed's proud to note not of them are zombies. What can he say? Zombies have music in their blood.

She follows up with a few cheers. There's more tension in the gym, but Addison seems to ignore it, correcting mistakes and showing off exactly what she wants. 45 minutes in, she calls for a break after thanking more people for trying out, humans and zombies alike. Zed has to admit he's surprised with her choices so far. He's seen a few people stumble and miss a step. From what he knows about Seabrook's hard-on for perfection, he would have thought that they'd be the first ones out.

When the break is over, Addison gets them working on stunts. She keeps moving people around, obviously trying different combinations. She also starts cutting more people and some of his friends come back to sit with them. They're obviously disappointed, but they also seem to be taking it rather well. It's because of Addison, Zed realizes. She's always very firm about it, she won't go back on her decision, but at the same time she's sweet about it. She gives encouragement and compliments and invites them to try again next year.

Everything is going well until it isn't. One second Izobel is standing upright in the air, the next she's on the ground. Enzo is flying down the bleachers, Zed after him to stop him from doing anything stupid. Addison still beats them there. Her hands are on Izobel's ankle, moving it slowly.

AZAZAZ

Addison is not supposed to see it, but she does. Before she can step it, the zombie omega falls. Her body is moving before her brain can finish analyzing the situation. The girl is holding her ankle, breathing in slowly through the pain. Her Z-Band is glowing orange but Addison doesn't care at the moment. She kneels in front of her and warns the girl she needs to check up on her. The zombie nods and Addison carefully moves her ankle. They both sigh in relief when they realize it's not broken. Addison is vaguely aware of someone's growling behind her and she winced. Right, the omega in front of her is bonded. Weirdly enough, he stays put.

"Anything else hurt?"
"No. I'm fine, really. We can keep going."

The omega stubbornly tries to stand but she hisses in pain. That does it for her alpha who pushes through to help her. She does her best to stand straight, but it's clear to anyone with eyes that she can't quite support her own weight. Addison shakes her head sternly.

"No, I want to finish the try-outs."
"Seriously, you need to rest. And I don't need you to finish."

Izobel visibly deflates, Zed knows how much she wanted to be on the squad. Addison's expression softens into a smile.

"First practise on Friday. So you better ice this ankle, alright?"

Izobel beams at her. She's the first one to officially be on the team. While she's being congratulated by their friends, Zed studies Addison. A zombie omega as her first team pick. She's got to know how unconventional it is.

"What's your name?"
"Izobel, why?"
"Can't call you 23, now can I?" Addison teases, gesturing at the number on her shirt.

"Well, she sure ain't number one." Someone in the crowd huffs.

Addison can hear Izobel's alpha growling again – seriously? The guy needs to take a chill pill. She appreciates the sentiment though and she knows exactly who that voice belongs to. Addison whirls around to face a veteran cheerleader.

"Oh! I'm not done with you, Nancy!"

Addison has to look up to talk to the alpha, the girl is half a foot taller than her; but Addison is furious right now.

"Excuse me?"
"What the hell do you think you were pulling out there?" Addison point-blank accuses her.
"Oh come on! It's not my fault the omega doesn't have any balance!"
"You're out!"
"What?"
"You're off the team. I was very clear about this. My squad, my rules. And there's no place on my team for someone who deliberately doesn't spot her teammates and lets them fall. You're out."

You could hear a pin drop. No one dares to speak as Addison and Nancy stare off.

"Fine. But you're losing both of us."

It takes everything Addison has not to crumble. She knows – hell every human knows – exactly what she means. Timothy. Addison hears him whimper. She controls a wince. She's been cheering with him since they were 5 years old on the Mini Shrimp Squad. They both live for cheer and even though they've been hanging out less and less since he got engaged to Nancy, she considers him a friend.

Zed is not sure exactly what's going on until he hears it… and smells it. The scent of distress comes from an omega boy. He's not tall but not short either, lanky too. Around him, zombies are also connections the dots. They look at the alpha incredulously; she can't actually be serious, what century is this? Cheer obviously means a lot to him if he's that distressed about it. The omega is stinking up the whole gym. Everyone's eyes are glued to the alpha but Zed's are on Addison. She's stoic, but the way she plays with the scrub hue on her wrist betrays her emotional state.

Addison looks at Nancy and then at Timothy again. She knows Nancy is trying to break her resolve, trying to keep her spot on the squad, but she can't allow it. Frustration grows inside her, but she keeps a tight lock on it. She turns to Timothy.

"You don't have to. You're welcome on the squad."

Gasps erupt around her. If she'd been an alpha, it would have been considered a challenge, going over an alpha's decision for their omega. As a beta, it's a grave faux-pas. Timothy looks at her, his eyes shining with tears, but he shakes his head softly.

"Thank you, Addison, but no. I don't think I'll have enough time for cheer after all."

Addison wants to scream! She knows he's just trying to save face, pretending like his alpha isn't a bitch and that's his decision. They both know school without cheer is going to be hell. Nancy smirks at her and all but drags Timothy away. Addison looks at them go, powerless.

After that she wraps up the tryouts; she already knows who she wants on her team. She hurries through the roster and sends everyone home. People must feel the tension because no one lingers. Bree slows but she seems to understand that she needs to be alone. As soon as everyone is gone, Addison lock herself in the locker room. Anger and helplessness finally get to her, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobs. It's not fair.

Her sobs are shortly joined by hiccups when she realized it could have been her. By all accounts, it should have been her life too. More than ever it cements her choice of keeping her dynamic a secret. One more year. She just has to get through one more year and then she can leave and never come back. She forces herself to get up and to dry her tears. No doubts her mother will want to hear all about try-outs, and she doesn't want to come up with an excuse for her lateness.

AZAZAZ

Just like they arrived together, the plan is to leave together. Zed just can't shake the feeling that he has something else to do first, so he waves his friends off. Everyone is too fired up from what happened to care… except Eliza who is sending him a warning look. He shrugs at his friend and leans against a bench to wait.

And wait he does. It's long enough to make him wonder if maybe she hasn't left by another exit, meaning he just looks like an idiot. He's counting down another five minutes before he leaves when she pushes through the doors. Her head is down and she looks defeated. Nothing like the little spitfire that ran the try-outs. For some reason, it bothers him; enough to make him want to rekindle the blaze in her eyes from when she chew him up. The words are out of his mouth before he can think.

"Yo, blondie!"

Her head snaps up immediately, her eyes zoning in on him in seconds. She narrows them at him in annoyance and Zed can't stop the smirk tugging at his lips. She strides to him, stopping a respectable few feet away.

"My name's Addison."
"Zed. And I don't know, blondie suits you."

It earns him an eyeroll but flames are dancing in her eyes so he counts that as a win.

"Anything you want?"
"Thank you."

The acknowledgement takes her by surprise, Zed feels like he has to elaborate.

"Izobel. Most people wouldn't care."
"I do."

Addison is confused now. She thought Izobel was with that other alpha, so why is this one thanking her. She clears her throat, the boy ducks his head.

"Your team is pretty balanced," Zed offers.
"Well I did say I didn't care. I want us to be the best."
"You took people who stumbled."

Zed's voice betrays his confusion and Addison wonders if she's been that transparent to everyone else. She doesn't owe the alpha anything, yet she still explains herself.

"Hard work and attitude are better than people who think they're perfect."
"Doesn't sound very Seabrook."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You're different."
"'Cause I'm not as much a hard ass as the previous captain?"

The words stings, she's always being compared to Bucky, the perfect alpha.

"Bucky?"
"You've met?" Well color her surprise.
"I've had the displeasure."

She snorts. Saying Bucky doesn't like zombies is an understatement. If this alpha crossed paths with her cousins she can imagine it didn't go to well.

"Huh huh."
"For the record, I can feel it. You're totally a hard ass too."
"Is that why a big bad alpha like yourself didn't try-out?"

Addison clamps down on the instinct to bat her eyelashes at him, making sure her tone is derisive. Zed surprises her again by chuckling.

"Nah, cheer just isn't my thang, you know."
"Really? Then what is your "thang"?"
"Football."
"Oh god, you're a jock."

Zed doesn't know what exactly sets him off, but he starts laughing. Addison doesn't look amused. She places her hands on her hips and looks three seconds away from stomping her foot.

"This is Seabrook," Zed reminds her. "If anything, you're the jock, cheerleader."

She gasps at him. Who the hell does he think he is?

"Whatever you say, jock."

She stares him down, challenging him. Addison can feel her heartbeat jackrabbiting in her chest. This is the fourth time today she's confronted an alpha – this particular one twice. Just because they all think she's a beta doesn't mean her instincts are not going berserk. They want her to submit and apologize to the alpha in front of her, but she won't. She hasn't done anything wrong. He doesn't seem to mind.

"You're something else, you know that? Didn't think –"
"If you're going to say that I'm too bossy for a beta, fuck off."

Addison decides she's done with this this conversation. She pushes by him, ignoring his alpha scent as she does so. You're supposed to be a beta, she reminds herself, he doesn't affect you. She's a few paces away when he calls out.

"I wouldn't know."

What? She turns back to him and cocks her head to the side.

"I wouldn't know. Zombies are not betas. Like ever. We're either alphas or omegas."
"How would you even know I'm a beta."
"Well, you're the one who mentioned it just now. And just because Zombie Patrol is mostly alphas doesn't mean there aren't betas at Containment," he can't help but tease her.

Addison blushes, a light dusty pink covering her cheeks.

"Right. Well, I need to get home. See you around, jock."
"I'll see you tomorrow, cheerleader."

His words are still teasing, but they don't sting. She turns her back to him – another thing an omega shouldn't do – and walks away. When she deems it far enough, she can't keep away the tiny smile that forms on her lips. Alphas are idiots but this one is entertaining.

AZAZAZ

Zed steps inside the metallic fence of their home, presses a kiss to his little sister's head and goes to find his father. He finds him reading a book on the couch.

"Hey, Pops."
"Zed! How did try-outs go?"
"Good enough. What do you know about betas?"

The question pulls his dad away from his reading. Zevon Necrodopolis studies his son. He can't say he ever expected him to ask.

"Third dynamic amongst humans. Why the sudden interest?"
"Mmm… just wondering." Zed grabs an abandoned football and start twirling it.

See if Zed had just left, maybe – maybe – Zevon would have believed it. But the twirling thing? Definitely Zed's biggest tell. Zevon sighs and closes his book. No matter what his wife says, he'd not completely oblivious. There's something there.

"Sit down."
"Dad," Zed groans, because it's the exact same tone Zevon used when they had their first talk about sex when he was 12, then again when he decided to share his ruts with other people at 16.
"Oh no! You're not getting out of that one. Sit."

Zed does sit but he pouts at his dad.

"Betas are not like alphas and omegas. They are usually more level-headed than alphas and don't have submissive instincts like omegas. While they do bond, they don't have ruts or heats," They both know where this talk is going so Zevon doesn't beat around the bush. "They don't have knots and they don't produce slick. Look, if you want to spend a rut… or even just experiment –"
"Dad!"
"You're eighteen, Zed. I was your age once. You still need protection because while not as fertile as omegas, you could still get a girl pregnant… Betas…Look it might be simplistic a bit but betas are not as strong and sturdy as alphas and not as…" he hesitates, trying to find the right word without being insulting, "pliant as omegas. Their bodies are not meant for your knot. It'll take some… preparation. Especially with a zombie alpha."

Zed's face feels like it's burning up, but he knows it probably doesn't show that much. Thank god for zombie biology. He finally risks a glance at his dad's face. The man looks at little too chipper for this conversation.

"Can I go now?"
"Sure." Zevon says with a smile… he can't wait for his wife to come home.

Zed climbs the stairs to his room two at a time. He should have looked it up on the internet and something, avoid that conversation altogether. The worst part is the way his erection strains against his pants. When his dad mentioned sharing his rut with a beta… Fuck! Don't get him wrong, spending his ruts with an alpha is fun, but there's no way they knot each other. Hell, his favourite rut partner, she'll take everything he has to give, but that. It's why she's his favourite and why he doesn't share her ruts. He's not into the opposite.

He's imagined it though, how it would feel pushing his knot into a willing hole. Zed throws himself on his bed, pushing his pants down. He blindly searches at the lube he keeps in his side table. As soon as he finds it, his hand makes its way to his aching cock. He hisses and throw his head back. His knot is already swelling. He won't take an omega to bed until he finds her, but maybe he could enjoy it with a beta. As he pumps his erection, Addison's face comes to his mind. She's small and headstrong. He tries to remember her scent, but the thought just turns him off… betas are so neutral. Instead he thinks about the fire in her eyes. Oh Z! He's getting so close. He simply knows he couldn't spend a rut with her, she's too fragile no matter how stubborn she is, but maybe they could have some fun. His hand speeds up. If he prepares her, she might be even willing to take his knot. It would stretch her so wide. Zed comes hard, a grunt on his lips. He can't believe he popped a knot during a masturbation session.

He sighs. What is wrong with him? He's never been interested by betas before, he's never fantasized about knotting unless it was with his faceless omega. A part of him – romantic and old-fashioned as it is – wants to keep it for her. He might have slept with other people, but this would be hers only. Fuck! What's gotten into him?

AZAZAZ

Addison comes home to an empty house and her notes from her parents that they went out for the night and will see her in the morning. She sighs even though she can admit to herself that she's glad she doesn't have to deal with them after the day she had.

She lays on her bed, texting Bree that she's fine – if not a little emotional – and that she's home safe. It's actually the truth she ascertains, she is fine. She's nowhere as close to a breakdown as she was when she first walked out of school. Her mind conjures the image of the zombie alpha. Zed. He's tall, charming if you're into alphas – which she's not – and so goddamn infuriating. Calling her, a jock. Who the fuck does he think he is?

However, she'll admit that arguing with him did make her feel better. Not that she'll tell him anytime soon, he would probably let it go to his head, the smirking assholes. But what a smirk, her treacherous brain whispers to her. She huffs into the empty room. Ok so he might have a cute smile, that's about all he has going for him. The memory of his scent floods her senses, and something lurches in her stomach. Addison swallows hard. No. Just no. She's not going down that rabbit hole.

Can't believe I wrote this so quick, but I needed to get it down before I could focus on my other fic. I'll be updating this one too, I just have no idea what, when and how! I'm glad to see some interest though.

Let me know how you liked this chapter because reviews are the best kind of dopamine!