A/N: Watch the ending for trigger warnings!

This took so long to write. I think I've been working on a this for four-five months. Enjoy, love it!

soulmate

/ˈsōl ˌmāt/

noun

a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner

The first time Zed learned about the timers—really, truly learned—was his sixth birthday. At the time, his timer—which sits "comfortable" on the inside of his right wrist (it doesn't)—had read: 8 yr 5 mo 15 d 20 hrs with the minutes and seconds continuing to count down. His mother told him all about how the timers count down to the moment he'll meet his soulmate. Then she goes on to explain what a soulmate is: the one person in the world who knows, accepts, and believes in him before anyone else and when no one else would; the one person who knows you better than anyone else; someone he'll carry with him forever—a love and trust that he'll keep forever; and no matter what, they'll always love him (and vise versa).

It all sounds cheesy and romantic to him. But it's probably the happiest version of 'The Talk' he has with his parents. His timer sits comfortably in his right wrist, his Z-band snug on the other. Whenever he asked why he always has to wear his Z-band, his parents would just say it was to keep him safe and it'd be easier to explain 'when he's older'.

'When he's older' happens the next year. Zed is walking home from school (it's not a far walk, really, and he's seven now) when his neighbor comes tumbling out from an alley, veins bulging and swollen, eyes sunken in even further in his head and deep groans and jumbled Zombie-tongue coming from his mouth. He's going on about brains and he's stripped almost bare except for a torn pair of bottoms. It takes Zed half a second to realize that this is what happens without a Z-band.

Zed spends most of that evening in Zombie Containment with a Zombie Patrol explaining to him what the Z-band does, why they electrocuted his neighbor, and why he has to stay in the cell until his parents come. The Patrol talked to him in the same voice his teacher did, like he was talking to an ignorant baby who didn't even understand English rather than a fully capable seven year old.

In simplest terms, the Z-band was to keep him from moaning and groaning and eating brains. It made him more human, in a sense.

His timer says 7 yr 1 mo 25 d 1 hr and counting (he's seven) when his soulmate breaks their leg.

Zed is out in the street, playing with his new friend Eliza. Eliza lives across the street from him. He'd seen her before, occasionally out in her yard and kicking around a soccer ball or reading something. They had been in the same class since kindergarten but haven't talked until now (the first grade).

Eliza's timer is always covered up. She'd shown Zed the screen once, revealing that her timer was blank. Most kids in his grade were sympathized for having timers that had 40+ years on it, but he'd never seen or heard of a blank timer. Eliza doesn't seem affected by her blank timer (she actually seems a little appalled by mostly everyone except for Zed).

The two of them are kicking her soccer ball back and forth in the street, trying to find ways to entertain themselves during the summer. Everything is fine one minute, then the next Zed's on the ground. Shooting, burning pain flares through his left leg. He wasn't even kicking with that leg or doing anything that would cause so much pain.

Black spots dance at the corner of his vision and he hears far away screaming. It takes him a second to realize that it's him who's screaming.

Zed vaguely registers the Z-band pulsing more violently and insistently, working overtime to keep him from going Zombie. It only ever does that when his heart rate speeds up or drops to dangerous levels, which makes him worry even more than he already is.

Zed must have blacked out, for when he opened his eyes he's in a bare, dimly-lit, white-walled room. The pain in his leg has faded (though he can't feel anything below the waist, really). It takes him a minute to understand that he's in the hospital ward of Zombie Containment, and another to see his parents standing beside his bed.

Within the next hour, he stays practically motionless in bed, letting the human doctors poke and probe him and talk in hushed voices to each other and his parents. Eliza comes in after the doctors leave. She tells him about how the Zombie Patrol came and carted him and his mom off, then another truck came to escort his dad (she had forced them to take her as well).

Then, because she's Eliza, she punched him in the arm. "That's for scaring me," she says as a way of explanation. The punch feels like nothing, mostly because she didn't intend on hurting him, but he gets the message.

When he asks what had happened, it makes his parents nervous (like when he had asked what the timer does or why he had to wear a Z-band). Zed looks to Eliza for some sort of explanation or support and she just shrugs.

His dad then goes to explain (talking to Zed like he's an infant) that, sometimes, soulmates have an extra special connection. One that's so strong, they're able to feel each other's pain and, if it's strong enough and they're close in distance, their emotions.

"There's an office in Seabrook for cases like this," his mom tells him. "To check if everything with your soulmate is alright."

"And don't worry, they're fine," his dad interjects quickly. "They just had a little accident."

Eliza makes a noise between a laugh and a scoff. Zed raised a questioning eyebrow at her. "They said your soulmate broke their leg so bad that the bone had cut through skin." It sounds disgusting and totally awesome all at once.

Zed gets a little sister when his timer reads 6 yr 0 mo 24 d 20 hr (he's eight), a tiny and delicate little baby named Zoey Necrodopolus. Zoey and his dad come home three days after Zoey was born, without his mom. A few hours later, he has two bags—one packed with most of his clothes and another with a bunch of baby supplies—and is staying with his best friend, Eliza and her family across the street.

When his timer reads 6 yr 0 mo 20 d 3 hr, his dad comes back from the hospital alone. He takes Zed and Zoey home, and Zed later finds out that his mom isn't coming back from the hospital—that she wouldn't come home at all.

When his timer is at 3 yr 0 mo 26 d 1 hr, the gates of the barrier are opened for the first time since...ever. Two hours later, a human family wanders into Zombietown. Zed watches from his window as they walk through the streets—a tall blonde woman, a dark haired man, and a little girl with blonde hair and dressed in a cheer uniform (he'd seen cheer competitions on the few channels they were allowed). He catches the screen of his timer flash 4 min before returning to its normal countdown.

Zed's timer says 2 mo 11 d 21 hr when he finds out that, in the next coming school year, Zombies will be allowed in human school. Eliza isn't impressed much (with age she only grew bitter). Zed celebrates with Bonzo instead, partying at the abandoned Seabrook Powerplant.

When Zed checks a calendar, he realizes that his timer countdown ends during the first week of school, which makes him speculate his soulmate might be human. He thinks back to when he was eleven and saw that little human cheerleader and his timer had switched. It almost makes him regret not getting off of his bed that day and going down to see why they were there. Maybe he'd have met his soulmate 3 years early.

The day his timer is at 2 d and counting is not the best. For starters, that morning (the first day of school at human high school), him and all his fellow Zombies are put in a basement instead of a classroom. His new principal—Principal Lee, who clearly didn't want Zombies in her school—shuts down his (and his friends) ideas and hopes of leaving the basement to pursue...dreams.

So Zed does the only smart thing and sneaks out of the basement. Not two minutes later does he trigger the Zombie Alert and gets trapped in a 'Zombie Safe Room' (some safe room, he got right in no problem). He feels his timer vibrate and sees the numbers flash from 1 day 4 hr 19 min and counting to 30 s And then back again. It looks like it's glitching, like how his Z-band looked that time he'd slammed it against a wall (on accident) when he was 9.

The Zombie Safe Room is secured, but he's still anxious, running around and bumping into literally everything in the room.

Zed only stops when he hears a girl call out "Hello?"

"Hello?" Zed called back. As far as he was concerned, he was alone in the surprisingly empty safe room. Whoever this girl is, she isn't his soulmate. His timer may be flashing and glitching, but it hasn't settled and read out a name (that he'd seen happen to a few friends during school).

More insistently, the girl called "Hello?"

After taking a second to calm his breathing, Zed decides to use the charisma Eliza goes on about him having. "Why, hello."

The strange girl scoffs at him. In the dark, Zed can see her fold her arms over her chest. "Don't get any ideas, buster. The only thing more deadly than my high kick is my low kick."

Zed let out a nervous laugh, zigzagging his way through the shelves. "I'm sorry," he apologizes. "This just isn't how I was expecting my first day at a new school to go."

"You weren't expecting to be trapped in a Zombie Safe Room?"

"Oh, no, that I expected. That happens to me all the time. It's sort of my thing." This makes the girl laugh lightly, letting her arms drop to her side.

For assurance, Zed asked, "So I'm not gonna get low kicked?"

"You're safe." After a pause, she added, "for now."

Zed let out a relieved sigh. "Good. 'Cause today's a big day. I'm trying out for the football team." Even though Principal Lee had explicitly told him not to leave the basement.

"Well, we're both having big days." she breathed out in excitement. "I'm trying out for the cheer squad."

Zed had been in Seabrook for one day, but he knew cheer was practically impossible to make. Seabrook was known for cheerleading, so every aspect of it had to be perfect. "That's a tough gig to get."

The girl shrugged innocently. "Yeah, but I love it. My parents have had me in cheer camp since forever."

Zed doesn't really know why, but he says "My dad doesn't even think I'm gonna make the team."

The girl let's out a disbelieving "What?" Zed nods in agreement, confirming that she heard right. "No, sure you will. You just need someone to cheer for you. And soon, fingers crossed, it'll be, like, my job. So…" she shrugged, rocking slightly on her heels.

And, even though they weren't soulmates, making friends was a good way to start the school year. "I'm Zed. What's your name?"

"Addison. Nice to meet you."

The 'All clear' goes off and the lights come on. "Ah! Zombie!" Addison shrieked, then she punched Zed in the face.

It takes Zed a second to recover from the shook (the human he just met just punched him in the face). He holds his nose, feeling it throbbing slowly.

"Zed, I'm so sorry." Addison rushed out, grimacing slightly. Or maybe he was grimacing, it was all a little fuzzy. "My parents have always taught me that Zombies are disgusting dead-eyed freaks but…" Zed glanced down at her, seeing her blinking slowly (was that a bruise forming on her nose?). "You're not hideous at all."

"Uh, thanks. I'll take it."

She was definitely getting a bruise on her nose. Before Zed could point it out, Addison went on to explain. "My parents have always hated Zombies since one bit my grandpa's ear off."

"But now we'll just talk your ear off." Addison laughed at that. She had a really pretty laugh. She was really pretty. It made Zed a little disappointed they weren't soulmates. But having really pretty friends is just as good as having a really pretty soulmate.

The door to the Safe Room burst open. Zed turned his head, watching as four cheerleaders sauntered in. The obvious leader exclaimed "There you are!" while his entourage said their own variations of "Ew!" "Zombie germs." And "Nasty!"

Zed recognizes the lead cheerleader as Bucky. Who wouldn't recognize him, though? He has his face plastered on nearly every hall of Seabrook High.

Bucky looked over Addison quickly, turning and giving Zed a sharp look. "If you ever touch my cousin again, it won't be pretty. Which, as you can see, is off-brand for me."

The cheer captain pulled Addison with him, the group of five backing out of the room quickly. "To the cheer tryouts. Seabrook awaits."

For the first time since he entered the Safe Room, his timer settles on 1 d 3 hr 51 min and counting.

Zed doesn't make the football team. Really, he didn't even get to try out. Eliza isn't surprised and Bonzo offers him some sympathy. When Zed tells his dad, he gives Zed a comforting 'They don't know what they're missing' before going back to making dinner. It's the typical thing he says, his way of offering condolences for another situation that was cursed because they were Zombies.

Zed spends most of the afternoon in his room, getting some homework done (seriously, who gives homework on the first day?). He's not really sure what he puts as answers; he's a little distracted with thoughts of Addison. The whole encounter was really bizarre. The first human he meets happens to be related to the most popular face in Seabrook (it would've been more bizarre if the first human he'd ever met also happened to be his soulmate, but stuff like that only happens in the movies).

Bucky and his entourage were, like most humans, excessively rude. A complete 180 of how Addison was (at least to him). Sure, she had punched him in the face, but it wasn't like she had outright told him how disgusting he was (okay so maybe she did but not in that context) and acted as if, at any moment, he would jump out and kill her.

Zed is pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of a car pulling up on the street. Most Zombies don't have cars (because they can't drive), which is exactly why Zed got up out of bed and moved to the window. His timer starts to buzz, and with one glance he can see it bugging out again. It flashes from 17 h 29 m and counting (which is what it's supposed to read), to 2 min and counting, the number flickering back and forth between red and purple and blue and white—the numbers were usually always white (for an unknown soulmate); red meant that it was definitely a romantic soulmate, purple meant platonic, and blue meant temporary. It's the first time the colors on his timer have changed and it's slightly worrying (not enough for him to act on it, though).

A second later, Zed hears his dad call Zoey inside for dinner, the front door opens and closes quickly after. He moved out of his room and down the stairs in a rush, nearly toppling his little sister over.

"There's humans outside, Zed," she says excitedly. "Real humans."

Zed looks at his sister in confusion. "What're you talking about?"

"They pulled up in a pink van and two cheerleaders—real cheerleaders!—stepped out! And then—" Zoey's explanation is interrupted by screams coming from outside and a revving engine.

"What was that?" Zed's dad asked, peering his head out from the kitchen.

Zed shrugged helplessly, moving toward the front door. "I'll go check," he suggested.

Zed doesn't bother putting on the top part of his (mandatory) coveralls, walking outside and skipping down the steps to stand on the curb. The streets is mostly empty, and he sees Eliza's mom going back inside her house, shaking her head to herself. He turns to go back inside and freezes when he catches a glimpse of neon pink and green hidden between his and his neighbor's house. It takes Zed a second to register that this is Addison—the same Addison he'd thought of as sweet and nice—squatting and holding a carton of eggs with her cheerleader friend.

This isn't the first time cheerleaders have gone into Zombietown after dark and egged houses. But from the brief encounter Zed had had with Addison, he thought she was better than that. He feels really disappointed—in her and in himself for thinking humans weren't all out to get him. He also feels a strange sense of guilt, like it isn't his own but he can still sense it.

His dad comes out, calling out to him, "Everything okay out here?" After Zed didn't answer, he called out his name, asking "Anybody there?"

Zed swallows thickly, forcing his eyes from Addison to his dad. "Uh, no. Nobody."

"Come on back inside, then."

Zed glanced at Addison briefly before moving make to his way back inside. He doesn't have time to worry about some (backstabbing) cheerleader. According to his timer—which finally settles on 17 hr 22 min and counting—he's going to meet his soulmate tomorrow afternoon. He won't get hung up on Addison.

So that was a big lie. The next morning (5 hr 36 min and counting), he goes about telling his friends all about the parts of his day they weren't around for.

"Yeah, Bonzo. In addition to getting rejected from football, I met a cheerleader and I thought she was cool, you know? I thought she was different. I thought…" he sighed, stopping himself from finishing that. There was no way she was the one. The timer didn't stop when they met the first time, not the second time. "But I was wrong. Cheerleaders are all terrible."

Zed feels her before he sees her, the insistent vibrations in his timer starting up at the same time as the janitor (Sorry, teacher—Mr. Zeck) calls out "Hey, what...There's no human students in the basement."

Zed and his friends (and everyone else in the room) turned to the door to see Addison shift awkwardly in the doorway. "Uh, someone yakked in the cafeteria." she muttered loudly.

Mr. Zeck groaned, mumbling to himself, "Oh, right. Still, the janitor."

Addison looks at the ground then up at Zed; he took that as his cue to step closer to make their conversation more...private. Or as private as a conversation can be in an echo inducing basement. "Wow. This is... Awful."

Eliza pipes up from a few feet behind him, "Yeah, we would have cleaned but the teacher is territorial about his mop."

Addison glanced down and Zed can't help but feel strangely guilty and ashamed. Instead of acknowledging the off feeling, he asks the only human in the room, "Addison, what're you doing here?"

Addison looks up at him and holds his gaze for the first time that morning. "Apologizing." Zed raised an eyebrow at that. "My cousin, he's a jerk about Zombies and last night was cheer initiation. Not that that's a good excuse. I'm so sorry."

Zed forced a frown. "Well, what if Bucky sees us talking?"

"We'll make sure he doesn't," Addison suggested, rocking on her heels and cracking a smile.

Zed cracks a smile, ducking his head down slightly. It was silent, the cutesy one where they just smiled at each other, until Addison asked him, "Uh, see you at the pep rally this afternoon?"

Before Zed can agree—because going to a pep rally and cheering on Addison (who isn't a total piece of crap like he thought) sounds awesome—Eliza says "Zombies don't do pep rallies."

Addison looks deflated and Zed feels a little bad and sad. "We'll think about it." he tells her.

Addison grins slightly, jumping slightly at the sound of the bell. She gives them a little wave before rushing out of the basement, closing the door tightly behind her. Zed must have been staring where she was once standing, because Eliza snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Okay, can we, like, crack a window open in here? It stinks of human." she says.

"Eliza, we have to go to the pep rally," Zed stated.

Eliza barely glanced up from her computer, shaking her head at her best friend. "Eliza, my timer runs out two minutes after the pep rally starts. That's gotta mean something, right?"

"That you'll meet your soulmate at 1:32?" Eliza said, completely disinterested.

Zed huffed in annoyance. For a best friend she was being extremely rude. "I've already met everyone in this room, 'Liza. That means my soulmate is gonna be at that pep rally, and I've gotta be there."

Without giving him much attention, Eliza replied "You know you aren't supposed to go hunting your soulmate."

"It's not looking it's fate!" Zed whispered-exclaimed. "I have got to be there I just know it. And...and I need my best friend there. For support and whatever other sappy crap you need for an explanation."

Eliza frowned, tilting her head to gaze at Zed. To sell it, Zed offered up his best adorable-pout. Eliza held her front for another second before groaning. "I'm not going alone," she stated.

Zed nodded in excitement. "Yeah of course. Bonzo will be there."

"And Jaz."

Zed nodded in agreement. He wasn't quite sure why she wanted to invite Jaz, but it didn't matter as long as Eliza was there. They had been through pretty much everything together, from learning to write in cursive to learning to ride a bike and their multiplication table and other, seemingly small, milestones.

Only a few other Zombies want to join them at the pep rally. Zed gets it, not wanting to be shunned or anything if it all falls apart. So the small group they've gathered head to the gym. No one really stops them from going up.

Once they settle in their seats, Zed glances at his timer anxiously: 4 min and counting.

"I can't believe you dragged us out here to see Cheery McCheerstein. I'm gonna be sick." Eliza grumbled. She turned to look at Zed and Bonzo, asking, "Do I look green? Greener than usual?"

Zed rolled his eyes at her. The crowd starts chanting Bucky's name, sounding more like a creepy cult than a high school pep rally. The cheerleaders run out from the side; it doesn't take long for him to spot Addison, kinda in the middle and in the front. It's weird, considering they're in the same room but his timer isn't acting up (weird but certainly appreciated).

From the giant, hanging banner of Bucky springs Bucky, ripping through the material and landing perfectly on the gym floor. The ripped banner falls and reveals another identical banner (it's all just so...Bucky). The crowd cheers louder as Bucky grins, waiting for them to quiet down.

Once it's quiet enough, Bucky says in a very loud, very peppy voice, "Welcome to the Seabrook High cheer rally!" Everyone cheers again. If Zed didn't know he was the naturally happy one in his little friend group, he would've been just as annoyed as Eliza.

"It is gonna be a great year. We are gonna win the State Cheer Championship again."

The crowd cheers again, this time Bonzo with them. Zed grins at his friend, catching sight of Eliza's irritated expression. Time for him to ease her. "Come on, Eliza, ease up. Cheer's contagious."

Eliza gives him a smug smirk. "So is pink eye."

She's being a lot more difficult than usual, but Zed let's her be. He can see Bucky doing the most in his peripheral, sucking all the attention off everyone. Instead, focusing his attention on the cheerleaders—or more specifically, Addison. He grins at the sight of her, and he's pretty sure her cheer-smile grows a tiny bit. She raised an eyebrow, probably to acknowledge she sees him (out of the whole crowd!).

It's two minutes in before everything goes to hell. Another crowd of cheerleaders runs out with sparklers (they called them spirit sticks, he thinks). Zed feels a little surge of panic at the sight before telling himself that 'it's too far away, it can't hurt me'. Unfortunately, Bonzo and him don't have the same train of thought (or experiences with fire).

Bonzo stands in his place, not moving from the shock of seeing fire. Eliza and Jaz look over, panic and worry spreading over their faces.

"Don't worry about it," Zed says. He's addressing Bonzo but says it loud enough for them all to hear. "A little fire's not gonna hurt us."

That seems to snap Bonzo out of his haze. He shouts in shock and surprise "Fire!"

Bonzo moves to surge forward; at the same time, Zed reaches across him to hold him back. He seems to be the least affected by the sparklers, which means he has to keep things from going wrong (otherwise it's back to the basement). "It's gonna be fine! Don't worry."

Bonzo pushes him off forcibly, sending Zed crashing to the bleachers. His arm hits the metal hard, hard enough to displace his Z-band and send it into instability. Zed glanced down at his wrist in panic, no longer feeling the (soothing) electromagnetic pulses.

When Zed stood up, his whole body shaking violently, he saw Bonzo pushing his way through the crowd. When he opens his mouth to call out "Bonzo, no! Stop!" he barely recognizes his own voice.

Zed pushes his way through the crowd to the stairs, stopping and letting out an involuntary growl (thank god no one notices him; they're all too focused on the cheerleaders). Zed watches the cheerleaders for a second, people still waving around sparklers and one in the front—it takes him a minute to realize it's Addison—flying through the air.

"Bonzo!"

Bonzo breaks through the crowd, charging across the gym floor and scaring away most of the cheerleaders.

"Addison!" Zed charges down the steps, breaking through the horde of people in his way. He can feel his inner-Zombie forcing its way to the surface, screaming at him about the giant crowd of fresh brains just waiting to be harvested. It takes everything in him to keep on moving forward.

'Save Addison,' he told it. 'Then brains.'

Addison is falling to the ground (in perfect form, might he add). Zed makes a dive for her, getting his arms out just as she reaches ground level. Her momentum forces his arms down hard, slamming his Z-band against the hardwood and effectively stabilizing it.

Zed does his best to sound natural when he says "Hey," though he's completely breathless and flustered.

Addison, still panting, cracks a small smile before replying "Hi."

The next second is filled with the loud, piercing sound of two timers going off simultaneously. In the haste of the sparklers and Bonzo (where was Bonzo?) and Addison nearly falling to her death, it had slipped Zed's mind that his timer was still counting down.

The strange thing is, Zed's timer goes off, and the second timer is going off right in his ear. Addison slowly draws her arm from around his neck, staring at her own timer before looking up at Zed. The entire gym falls silent as the situation sets in. As far as he knows, it's the first time ever the timers brought together a Zombie and a human. With one glance at the cheerleader's timer, he sees his name printed in a deep crimson beneath her skin (they're also outlined in black to make them easier to read).

No one knows what to do or what to say. All the humans hate Zombies, but the laws pertaining to Soulmates overpower any opinions and prejudices anyone has, especially a romantic soulmate. No matter what, once both parties involved are eighteen, they have to get married. It's the whole reason there are timers—to drop the divorce rate to almost nothing.

Zed feels kinda awkward there, the entire student body watching him while he still was holding Addison—his soulmate. She's not even that heavy, but they've been there for at least three long, awkward minutes that's it's starting to take its toll.

Principal Lee seems to be the first to recover, her heels clicking loudly as she marches across the gym floor. Zed let's Addison down, standing up and taking a cautious step back and to the side as Principal Lee reaches the middle of the floor.

"Uh, today was a...great, pep rally," she starts, laughing awkwardly. "Let's all head back to class now, and don't forget about our first football game tomorrow at four."

People shift a little but no one moves to the exits or back to class. Principal Lee watches for a second before turning back to the cheerleaders (and Zed). "Bucky, play us out," she whispers harshly. Her attention fixes on Zed and Addison. "You two, my office."

Zed and Addison are in two separate rooms. Addison sits inside Principal Lee's office on the other side of campus, while Zed had been redirected to the Cheerleaders Lounge by the gym. It's just him and Principal Lee for a while, the older woman pacing around the room while Zed sits there. He's got his head ducked down, still a little afraid of her but mostly to stare at the name on his wrist.

It's weird. Zed had met Addison twice before their timers went off (of course, to everyone else, they had just met). He's never heard of anything like that. Though if it had happened, the soulmates probably would've kept it under wraps like he was planning to do.

The football coach burst into the lounge in a frenzy, a little flustered from running (probably). He launches right into it, saying excitedly "He went through our offensive linemen like they were scrawny freshmen!"

This isn't about the whole soulmate fiasco, Zed realizes. It's about when he almost went full Zombie and knocked around a lot of people. Zed's eyes go a little wide as he stands, saying, "Principal Lee, I can explain."

She cuts him off though. "Coach wants you on his team."

It sounded like she was going to let him be on the team too. It all sounded too good to be true (like Addison, the first human he formally meets and also the nicest and prettiest person ever, wound up being his soulmate). "Really?"

Coach answers him. "Yeah. With a monster like—monster player—like you we can turn the football team around. And with fan support maybe I can keep my job. Move out of my parent's basement. Get a cat. Get a gym membership. Turn it all around." It had all gotten really deep and personal and a little sad really fast. It made Zed slightly uncomfortable, if he was being honest. Coach grabs ahold of Zed's collar, shaking him frantically. "It sounds so dreamy. I need you on the team, Zed."

"Um, okay. Can you just give me a second to think about it?"

Coach let him go, patting him softly and wiping his jacket. "Yeah, sure. Cool. We're cool."

"Pull it together," Principal Lee whispered harshly.

Zed takes a second to swipe his hand through his hair. He's a little flustered and confused. The whole afternoon had been a mess of events that were too random and jumbled to make any sense.

He turned back to the two adults. "I can only agree if there are some changes. Full integration for all zombies—"

"Oh, excuse me," Principal Lee interrupted. "There's only one little problem. You haven't won a game yet."

"That's a mere technicality." Zed said slowly.

Luckily, Coach comes to his rescue. It's a lot harder making demands for Zombie rights without a human to reason with the other humans. "Could you throw my star player a bone? Not literally."

"Okay, look," she sighs, "in good faith I will allow Zombies to eat in the cafeteria. And once you start racking in those wins, then we'll talk about those other demands, all right?"

Zed wasn't really expecting much of anything. That's an amazing deal, and it's just gonna get better and sweeter. "Yeah, deal."

Coach practically squeals in excitement. Zed tries not to give the man who just got him his dream a weird look. Coach turns to him, saying "I'll see you at practice."

Zed nodded once, saying "Yeah, see ya, Coach" and watching said coach leave the lounge.

Zed looks at Principal Lee, grinning slightly. "You're the best," he tells her.

"Yeah no," she says. "I have to go do damage control and you are needed in my office, Mr. Necrodopolus."

"In accordance with the School Handbook—which I'm certain neither of you took the time to read—you both are to be held at the same standard as all students who attend school here with a soulmate."

'That's a first,' Zed thinks. He can clearly remember being forced in the school's basement instead of a classroom, and being restricted to said basement for the entire school day. He wasn't even allowed to try out for the football team because he wasn't the same as everyone else.

"Please keep the touching, kissing, and 'loving up' on each other to a bare minimum. This is still school and a public environment, where students and teachers—and especially me—do not want to see any of your appendages in places they shouldn't be."

Zed felt his cheeks heat up—he knew from experience that his cheeks finally got some color.

"I'm not really sure what the protocol is when a Zombie meets their soulmate, but as for right now please continue to abide to any rules and regulations applied to either of you, especially you, Zed."

Zed got her hint; just because his timer read the name of a human, didn't mean anything would change. The Soulmate Laws didn't override the Zombie Laws, at least in Seabrook.

"Don't think you two are special, either," Principal Lee added. For some odd reason, her gaze kept on returning to Zed. "I gave this same spiel six times yesterday and twice this morning, and expect to give it many more times in the near future."

Principal Lee glanced between the two of them, her expression asking if they had any question. Neither Zed nor Addison looked at each other, and after a quiet minute, Principal Lee said, "If that's all then head off to your respective activities."

Addison gets up first, stepping around the outside of her chair and moving to the door. She waits for Zed by the door, holding the door open for him. They both stand in the hall for a second, not making eye contact and not moving.

"So," Addison starts. Zed glanced over at her, seeing her rocking on her heels and giving him a slight smile.

"So," Zed counters.

Addison breaths out a little laugh. "This is so weird," she admits. "I'd never have guessed my soulmate would be a zombie." After a second, she rushes to add, "No offense to you. You're awesome, I think. I don't really know you, actually."

"Except for the several occasions we met before our timers went off," Zed pointed out.

"Yeah," she nods. "What was that about, anyway? I didn't even know stuff like that could happened."

Zed shrugged helplessly. Before either of them can say, three cheerleaders—Bucky's assistant captains, known widely as 'the Aceys'—come around the corner. The boy Acey—Tracey—throws his hands up, calling out her name and leading the group over.

"We've been looking all over for you," Lacey says. "Your cousin is not going to be happy you were skipping practice."

"We need to go, like, yesterday," Stacey adds.

Stacey and Tracey grab Addison by her arms, beginning to pull her in the direction of the gym. Addison gives Zed an apologetic look as she's being dragged away. "See you later? Or tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah," he stammers in response.

Addison gives him another futile smile before they pull her around the corner. Zed's about to head off to field when he hears Lacey call, "Hey Zombie!" When he looks back, the perky blonde cheerleader is giving him a rather rude gesture.

"Hello, students. This is Principal Lee. As you may have heard, Zombie students are now allowed to eat in the cafeteria." Even through the steel doors, Zed could hear the clear disgust coming from the human students inside. "Ugh! Just deal with it!"

It wasn't the warmest welcome, though Zed felt a little special with the Z-Patrol opening the doors for them. The cafeteria was deathly silent as they walked through. Everyone stared at them, some with looks of disgust, some with shock.

From beside him, Eliza muttered, "The human cafeteria." She hit his arm lightly, saying to him, "Wow, Zed. You really delivered."

Zed didn't respond, leading the Zombie crowd toward the lunch line. He stepped out of the way to look back at the crowd they had just walked through, his eyes landing on Addison. Her expression morphed first into a shy smile, then into a wider grin. Zed felt his lips twitch up in a smile, before heading to the join the lunch line.

Zed's lunch, as well as all the Zombies, was pretty suckish. It wouldn't be as insulting if he hadn't seen the humans' trays, decorated with tea or juice in cute little jars and cupcakes and flowers. The humans' trays were pretty and Zed's tray had no flowers or cupcakes or…the plate just had a piece of toast and some beige slop.

"Wow," Eliza said, her tone full of enthusiasm and mock-excitement, with her usual undertone of sarcasm. Or, at least it sounded like sarcasm. "Our very own lunch table, in the darkest corner, under cheap fluorescent lights and by the trash cans."

"I know. It's perfect." Zed gave his friend a grin, sliding into his chair and adding, "Living large and in charge."

Barely five minutes into lunch, the conversation had drifting from casual and nothing in particular to Zed—more specifically, his soulmate. "How're things going with Perky von Cheerstick?"

"If you mean Addison, then I have no idea."

Bonzo looked up at him, raising an eyebrow and asking, "Guzzy non graten?"

Zed shook his head. "I don't see her at school, Bonzo. I think, right now, is the first time I've seen her since yesterday."

"Gidz?"

Zed pointed toward the lunchroom. "There," he said, before calling, "Addison!"

Everyone froze and Addison looked up, smiling slightly at him. Zed gave her a slight wave and smile. She whispered something to her friend before sliding out of her chair, walking over to their table.

"Hi," she greeted, grinning at him. Zed smiled back. "Um, as they say in old Zombie tongue—'Ga zar nutty garzane garsick'."

Considering what she said was wrong, and how proud she looked that she had said it right, Zed gave her some pity. That wasn't the case with everyone else at the table, snickering under their breath and whispering to each other.

"Uh, you just thanked me for rubbing peanut butter on your umbrella," Zed told her.

Addison had the decency to look embarrassed as the other Zombies at the table laughed. "Oh, um... I meant...Welcome to the cafeteria."

Zed smiled slightly. He was pretty sure that's not what she meant, but it was nice nonetheless. "Thanks."

Bonzo, who had been minding his own business and eating lunch, looked up at Addison. "For you," he said in Zombie, holding up his hands and revealing an apple carved in the shape of a rose.

Addison broke into smile, gently taking the fruit from him. "Thank you."

Zed grinned at her. She was nice to his friends, at least so far, which was just perfect. Of course the moment had to be ruined by Eliza. "Why is Perky von Cheerstick here? The point of having our own table is to avoid people like her."

Zed rolled his eyes to himself; leave it to Eliza to make his soulmate feel unwelcomed. Addison is quick to fix the situation, rushing out "Oh, no, I just wanted to thank Zed for rescuing me from the…" three cheerleaders—Bucky's assistant captains—came up from behind her, grabbing her arms and pulling her away. "Oh, excuse me."

Zed took the opportunity to glare at Eliza, who had the audacity to look innocent.

The Aceys had taken Addison only a few feet away from their table, just in hearing range. "You know you're talking to Zombies, right?" Tracey asked.

"I'm fighting against intolerance."

From where Zed was watching, Lacey beamed, saying, "I fought mine by eliminating dairy."

"Oh my god," Eliza groaned.

"Uh, Zombie intolerance," Addison corrected.

"Okay, look. You're cousin is not gonna be happy you're palling around with Zombies," Lacey said, whispering the last word.

"But he's my—"

Stacey interrupted her, saying, "Cheerleaders don't support freaks."

Tracey snapped his fingers, looking Addison up and down. "Oh, right, Bucky said there was something different about you. I can see that now."

Though he couldn't see very well, Addison seemed to panic. "No. I'm not different." she rushed out.

The Aceys went into full interrogation mode. Lacey said in her most condescending tone, "Your smile. Is that an overbite?"

"Is one leg longer than the other?" Stacey asked.

"Do you wear corrective lenses?"

Again, Addison rushed to fix their mistakes. "No. No, no. I'm not different. I'm the samest person you've ever met."

The Aceys, clearly satisfied with their intimidation, smirked at each other. Lacey went on to say "Hanging with Zombies can be hazardous. Soulmate or not. You could end up at the reject table like—" Cue sassy, simultaneous snap— "That."

The cheerleaders sashayed away, leaving Addison standing there, looking like a kicked puppy. She glanced at Zed briefly, taking a second to wipe her eyes before rushing off out of the cafeteria.

"Well that was dramatic," Eliza muttered. Zed makes a split second decision, taking the flower and his bag before rushing off to follow Addison. Eliza's voice fades away the farther he gets until he can't distinguish her from the chatter of the cafeteria.

He finds Addison a few hallways away from the cafeteria, standing in front of the cheer lounge. She's staring at the trophy case full of all the cheer accomplishments they've ever gotten. She still looks upset, so he walks over to her, holding out her gift and saying in a mock-French accent, "Ah, ze perfect picnic spot." The accent, as well as other things, cheers his sister up whenever she's down.

It seems to do the trick for Addison as well. She gives a breathy giggle, taking his offer of Bonzo's creation. Addison glances at the ground briefly, saying in a shy voice, "Um, sorry I couldn't sit with you at lunch. I wanted to, it's just…" she looked up at him a little helplessly. "Everyone is…"

Zed shrugs, cutting her off with, "I get it. Someday, maybe."

The corner of her mouth twitches up a sort of smile. "Oh! Thanks for saving me at the pep rally, by the way. I feel like I haven't gotten a chance to talk to you…"

Zed grinned in understanding. "That whole thing worked out amazing, Addison. In the least crazy way, I've been waiting forever to meet you and talk to you and everything. I was actually a little disappointed that first time we'd met and the timer didn't go off."

"Is it weird that I felt the same way?"

They both laugh. Addison turns, leading them toward the staircase. "And, I'm gonna be on the football team."

Addison's beams at him. "That's awesome, Zed. That so cool!"

"Right!" They both laugh again. It's surprisingly easy to talk to her. Everyone had told him that meeting his soulmate at fourteen would result in awkward stuttering and stumbling, like most young relationships. But Addison was such a nice person, and she was so easy to talk to.

Zed goes on, telling her more about the agreement him and Principal Lee had come to. "And if things go well Zombies will be more accepted." After a second, he adds, "And we could, like, hang out in public."

They reach the top of the staircase, Addison's turning to stand in front of Zed. "Wouldn't that be something?" Her smile falters, and she says in a quieter, more depressing tone, "This town. This school. It's... It's hard not fitting in."

"Well, how would you know? You're perfect." The words just slip out, but it's not something he regrets.

Addison looks up at him, her expression like she's contemplating revealing her biggest secret. Which is strange, considering humans in Seabrook don't have secrets 'cause they're all perfect.

Addison pulls on the ends of her blonde hair, rushing out, "It's a wig. My real hair is freakish and I... I can't change it."

Zed takes back everything he thought about Seabrook people, any mean or cruel things he'd ever said about them, even if most of it was to himself. Freakish could be anything that wasn't a natural hair color, from contrasting highlights that were too noticeable to Zombie-green hair.

"Well, can I see it?" he asks, reaching slightly for her hair.

Addison moves back, looking at him like he's crazy. "Never." She then goes on to apologize, saying, "Sorry. My parents always made me cover my hair. And they're right. 'Cause now I'm on the squad and... And I fit in."

Zeds about to say something, when he hears two teachers coming down the hall. Zed grabs Addison's hand, sprinting down the hall the other way.

They don't have a destination in sight—neither of them wanting to go back to the cafeteria—and find themselves at the Zombie Safe Room. "In here," Zed tells her.

Addison stops outside, pulling him away from the door. "Are you kidding? It's a Zombie Safe Room."

"Yeah, it's a safe room for Zombies."

Addison just stares at him. "It's a safe room from Zombies."

Zed shrugs in denial. "Same thing," he says, pushing the door open for her.

Addison laughs, stepping inside and allowing Zed to come in and let the door swing shut behind him. She seemed more caught up in the room, letting out a whispered 'wow'. With a glance back at him, she said, "This is where we first met."

Zed dropped his bag on the ground, saying jokingly, "This is where we had our first punch." He punched the air for dramatic effect, eliciting a laugh on her part.

"I elect to make this safe room the official safe place of us," Zed went on. "Where we can just…we can be us."

"Their words won't affect us here," she said, sighing in a blissful sense.

"And if anyone tries to tell us something—"

"We'll let them talk—they're gonna do it anyway. We're gonna do what we want."

Zed walked over to her, taking her hands in his own. "You're a human and I'm a Zombie, and we're soulmates. And no matter how much they try to tear us apart, we're gonna be someday."

So football doesn't go exactly as planned. It was already halftime and they were losing…bad. They weren't down enough to be mercied—the game ended when it's zero to an high lead, around thirty where they were—but it was getting close. And Coach had clearly given up, providing them with a pretty terrible speech.

The rest of the team had left already, pushing Zed to the back of the crowd. Coach took the opportunity to go up to him, a sad smile on his face. "Doggone if you didn't get me dreaming of winning, huh? Oh, shame on me." Then, in a more desperate voice, he said, "What is happening out there?"

Zed shrugged helplessly. "I... I don't know, Coach. Maybe it's team chemistry, but honestly I'm not sure the team is actually blocking for me."

"Hey, Zed." Both Zed and Coach looked up, seeing a furious looking Principal Lee standing in the doorway of locker room. "I thought we had a deal. You didn't keep your end of it. Hmm? So win this game or it's back to the basement."

Zed groaned under his breath. Principal Lee moved to leave, turning back to say, "Oh, hey, Coach, great idea. Now people hate us and we're losing."

This time Coach groaned, waiting for Principal Lee to leave before asking Zed, "What happened to that brute strength I saw at the pep rally?"

"Oh, my Z-band was—"

Coach cut him off, saying excitedly, "Great! Use that! Take it and use it."

"No, I…." Coach was already rushing back to the field, not listening to Zed's protests. "…can't." He sighed, glancing around the locker room slowly.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Wait, I can," he said, grinning to himself.

Watching the football game was painful, in a way. Everyone in the stands was booing the Zombie on the field—Addison's soulmate—for the entire first half. It didn't help that Bucky was being a jerk about their failure. As a side note, every instance Zed was hit or fell, got tripped or tackled, Addison felt it everywhere and more, the shock and pain spreading throughout her body. She wasn't sure if she got his pain and some more or she got only part of his pain, but just imagining that he was going through that while being hated made her stomach twist and turn. "C'mon Zed," she whispered from the sidelines.

Halftime provided her some time to recover; she finally got to sit down while the Varsity dancers performed. She could even feel the ache in her legs from all the running he was doing—though it wasn't as bad as when she actually ran.

Her cousin, Bucky sat down beside her, passing her a water. "You don't look so good, Addison."

"It's nothing," she tells him, throwing back some water. Her throat is a little raw from the cheers they had just been doing, adding on top of the pile of complaints.

Bucky narrows his eyes at her. In a serious tone, he says to her, "You look like you've been punched in the gut and slapped in the face and every move you make looks like you're in pain."

"I'm not, like, injured, if that's what you're implying," she says. She then winced, feeling her already sore shoulders flare with pain briefly.

"You gotta tell your captain what's up." Bucky instructs her. "No, you gotta tell your cousin. You know, we tell each other everything. You know more about me than anyone else."

He had a point. Though they might disagree on a few things (like Zombies), they were closest in their family. Bucky had been her first friend, he'd been the one who comforted her when she was young, telling her that even though she was imperfect he'd still love her.

Addison let out a sigh. "You know Zed—my soulmate—is out there on the field, getting beaten and battered and all that." Bucky nodded along, looking like he was trying not to smirk at the thought. "Well, I don't know how…How normal it is, but I can feel his pain. Like anytime. And he can feel mine, like when I broke me leg that one time."

"Well, that's what you get when your soulmate is a very ambitious Zombie with no common sense." She wasn't sure what she had expected of him. She wasn't even surprised he had been so uncaring. It barely even stung anymore; he'd said countless rude things to her in the past, which goes to show how terrible the rest of her family was, considering he was one of the nicest people in it.

Still, she narrowed her eyes at him, saying in an equally cold voice, "I hope you remember this. I hope that every time you look at that field and see him get tackled, fall, or anything, you see me, your baby cousin, on that field, being trampled and crushed."

Addison stands up and so does Bucky, glaring at her. "I put your friend on the team. Don't think I'm afraid to cut her off."

"Actually you can't, unless you want to be suspended from cheer for nepotistic rulings."

Addison walks away before he can respond, heading back to the rest of the squad.

The football team went back out onto the field a moment later. Addison could feel Zed's sense of joy, like he was thrilled to get back on the field and get beat up some more. Not a second later, she felt a jolt in her left wrist, the shock and tingling spread up her arm. When she pulled up the sleeve of her uniform, she saw dark, throbbing veins protruding from her pale skin, fading as they went up. "What the hell," she muttered to herself.

Addison soon forgot about the building veins, more concerned with the sudden touchdown the football team had gotten. A touchdown—six points, within the first few seconds of the third quarter. If it were that easy, why weren't they doing it before?

Just when Addison is about to cheer, Bucky's shushing them. Everyone stops their cheering out of fear for the captain. It doesn't make much sense to Addison. They're cheerleaders, it's their job to cheer.

Zed gets the extra point, almost as easily as he gets the touchdown. Bucky's still refusing to let them cheer, which is annoying. Addison rolls her eyes, marching toward him and snatching the cone from his hands. 'I have to do everything myself.'

"Feel that breeze? It's not a sneeze! Zombies score and run with ease! Whoo!" Addison cheers, sending the crowd into more frenzy then they already are.

Bucky pushes the cone down to keep her from cheering more. "What're you doing?"

"Cheering." she said as if it were obvious. "The football team hasn't won since forever. But we can change that. I bet the whole squad cheering together could lead the football team to victory."

When Bucky grins at her, it makes her feel like she's finally getting through to somebody. That, someday soon, she can actually tell her parents she met her soulmate, and that he's a Zombie, and they'll be okay with it. That they could live like romantic soulmates do.

"You know what?" Bucky asked. Addison nodded, waiting for what he was going to say. "That whole idealistic kind of positive attitude has no place in cheer. So stop."

There are a few things Addison learns that day: Bucky is a complete tool, and Zed is amazing at football.

"You're either pro-cheerleader, or pro-Zombie."

"What?" It's the first time she's seen Bucky so cold and demanding, like he's angry at the world and at her and trying to stay in control of everything everywhere.

"Decide now." Bucky demands.

"You can't just…he's my soulmate…I've worked for years for this…"

"Well then, I guess it's time to decide," Bucky states. "You can go with the flesh eating monster—your 'soulmate' if you can even call it that. Or you can go to the team that'll have your back, that you've been working toward your entire life." Bucky laughed in a manic way. "I mean, how else would you fit in?"

Addison wants to cheer, she does. Otherwise she just wasted eleven years of her life. But Zed is her soulmate. They were literally made for each other. She can't turn her back on him, even if it means quitting the one thing she loves.

With a sigh, she tells Bucky, "I choose Zed. He-he's my soulmate, and like it or not, we're gonna be together."

Bucky scowls, stepping closer to her. "I didn't want to have to bring this up," he whispers harshly to her, "but I bet you wouldn't want your parents to know you're with a Zombie? You do remember that Zombies nearly killed our grandfather, don't you?"

Bucky has a point. She hadn't told her parents about meetings her soulmate all those weeks ago for obvious reasons. Her dad was the chief of Zombie Patrol, working first hand with Zombies, particularly the dangerous ones. He's not exactly in favor of the creatures, especially them mingling in Seabrook. And it was her maternal grandfather who'd lost an ear to a Zombie, so her mom was out of the question.

Telling her parents would be a suicide mission. They'd probably go on a quest to prove the timers are flawed, just so that they can get rid of Zed, which Addison doesn't want. She enjoys spending time with him—he's cute and always makes her laugh, and he's charming and smart and just so much fun to be around. Even though Addison knows they're soulmates, her parents would be dead set on restarting her timer for a human match.

"I do not," she mutters, agreeing with Bucky.

"Of course, I wouldn't betray my own family like that," Bucky states. "Though, I'm not so sure my assistant captains feel the same."

"I actually realized that I'd rather be a cheerleader," Addison lies. It'd be easier to cheer and carefully avoid seeing Zed and seeing Bucky at the same time, than being forced away from Zed.

Bucky pulls back, grinning triumphantly.

"It's...it's all I've ever wanted."

The next few weeks are great. The football team remains undefeated, mostly because of Zed. Addison couldn't be prouder. And, if she wasn't afraid of the lingering threat from Bucky, she would be with him 24/7, congratulating him and falling more in love with him than she already had. This was the time they were supposed to be bonding and falling in love, and it was being ruined because of the insensitive and discriminatory town.

They had been exchanging notes in their lockers over the weeks. Even though the Aceys were constantly following her to make sure they didn't talk, they couldn't stop her from passing his locker.

As a side note, the rash on her wrist was getting worse and worse everyday. It only bothered her when she was outside or working out—like cheer practice or football games. But other than the rash, everything was going great.

The football team had been winning games back to back. And because Bucky held some sort of vendetta against Zombies, which transferred onto the football team, the cheerleaders were really slacking.

Monday's game—exactly four days before the big Homecoming game and twelve days before the Regional Cheer Championship—has proven successful with another win. Addison gave them her standard cheers, the same as she'd been doing for weeks.

Someone came up beside her, doing a little bird call. With a glance to her left she figures out its one of Zed's Zombie friends—Bonzo. He's flying a origami crane on her other side, before offering it to her. Before she can open it he gives her a side hug, then practically runs away.

Inside is a note from Zed: Ready to break every rule in the book? Meet me at the barrier. Thursday 7.

"I could get in so much trouble," Addison says to herself.

She catches Zed's eye across the field, grinning and giving a short nod. Addison's not really sure why he wants to meet her at the barrier on Thursday night—the day before the big Homecoming game—but she's at the point where she'd do anything to just saying hello to him.

When Thursday comes, Addison tells her parents she has a major essay to finish working on and several projects to start on. She takes her dinner to her room, making sure to lock the door before getting ready. She still had no idea where Zed was taking her or what the point was.

Addison didn't have anything to make her look inconspicuous—all the clothing sold in Seabrook was some bright or pastel version of yellow, pink, blue, green, purple, or orange, and most everyone only bought/wore pink and blue. She settles on jeans and a tee-shirt, both of them pastel pink along with a jacket to hopefully help conceal her.

Sneaking out was a lot easier than Addison thought it would be. There weren't locks on the windows, so she didn't have to worry about getting back. Not to mention there was a rather large tree outside it that she could climb down.

The human side of the barrier was decorated all nice and pretty, with clear warnings to stay away because there was a lot of Zombie activity. She walks through the open gate at the same time as Zed is making his way over, both of them smiling shyly and nervously at each other.

"Hey. You made it." Zed says in lieu of greeting.

"Yeah, and I'm totally not freaked out at all."

Zed offers her a smile. "You're gonna love this."

"Okay," she says, trying to reassure herself. "Let's do this."

"Can I ask you something?" Zed nods. "Is everything okay? You don't look…" she didn't want to be rude and comment on how sick he'd been looking and how his energy was transferring to her, so she just says, "so hot."

"Ouch," Zed says, mock hurt.

"You know what I meant."

Zed laughs lightly, fading off into a sad look. He glances down. "I-I have to mess with my Z-band to win games."

"What? Isn't that dangerous?" She didn't know much of anything about Zombies or Z-bands, but it didn't seem like something that was supposed to be done. From the sounds of it, he was lessening his Z-band to be more 'Zombie'.

Zed just sighs. "Addison, if I don't win, Zombies will never be accepted."

"I know how that feels."

The elevator doors slides open, revealing a huge room filled with lights and loud music and Zombies. It's cool and awesome. It's her first time ever going to an underground party, and no Seabrook party or media high school party would ever compare.

"Are you serious!"Addison exclaims.

Zed moved up beside her, grinning like it's Christmas. "It's a chance to get loose and be ourselves!"

He walks ahead of her to greet more people, leaving her to bask in the party some more. After a second, Addison joins him, asking, "So, this whole celebration is for you winning football games?"

"It's more than that," Zed said. "It's a win for all of us. And we really needed a win."

It makes a lot of sense. Addison looks around some more, seeing the place decorated in pictures and curves she's seen Zombies wear around school.

Zed turns to see what she's looking at. "It's Zombie tongue." he explained. "We have a rich language. Twenty-three different words for brains."

"Whoa." Then a stupid joke pops in her head. "So, you like a girl with brains?" she asks, waving her hands at him in a mock state of attack. Zed laughed, because it was funny.

From behind them, Zed's friend Eliza did not find it that way. "You know that's super offensive." she stated, walking over.

"Oh, no, no, no. It was just a joke. I'm sorry." Eliza had always made her feel a little uncomfortable, like anything she said was wrong and offensive.

Eliza turns to address Zed. "You brought little Miss Cheer Boots to our Zombie mash? A human, here?"

Zed just rolls his eyes at that. The music cuts out and the lights dim. "Oh, it's starting." Zed says. "Come on."

He runs off, leaving Addison with Eliza. She makes a split second decision to follow him, only stopping when she lost him in the crowd.

'It' was a huge song and dance number. It was impressive and amazing and so much fun. Addison even got in on it. Her and Eliza had their fair share of teasing, Zed was sweet and helped her with the dances. It was an all around great time.

Even though Addison was lost in the massive group of Zombies, she was sure she'd find her way back to Zed of Eliza or someone she knew. She finds herself wandering into an open area, where she can hear the most adorable chants coming from the next room over. "I'm crazy! I'm cute! Zombies to boot!"

Addison turns around the corner, seeing a little Zombie girl cheering up on a platform. She waved around pom poms made from newspapers, but was surprisingly really good.

"I'm rocking, I smile, Zombies aren't vile!" she cheers, jumping around on the stage. "Yay!"

Addison claps softly, the little girl jumping in surprise. "That's some great cheering," Addison says.

"I wasn't doing anything. Certainly not cheering." the little Zombie says, her pom poms falling to the ground. "Please don't tell anyone."

From what Zed's told her in the notes, this little girl sounds like his little sister: adorable, loved to cheer, with cute little green pigtails.

"You're Zed's little sister, right?"

"I'm Zoey," she confirms. "You're…Addison."

Addison smiles and nods. She moves over so they're not far apart, Zoey getting on her knees to level with Addison. "When I cheer, it makes me happy," Zoey confesses.

"Me, too." Addison agrees with a smile. "You're great at cheerleading, Zoey."

Zoey smiles brightly. "Thanks, but my pet Zander—" she picked up the stuff animal beside, a patchwork dog, "doesn't seem that impressed."

Addison couldn't help but giggle. "Well, he should be," she says, smiling at them. "But I think you're old enough to have a real pet. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Zoey's face lights up at that. The moment of sheer joy is disturbed by Eliza, to no surprise. "Stop teasing her. You know they don't allow Zombies to have pets."

"I didn't know that," Addison points out. Eliza seems surprised at that, probably figuring that Addison knew the most about Zombies, considering her mother was the mayor and her father was the chief of Zombie Patrol. "I'm still learning that Zombies aren't what I was taught."

She doesn't know why, but she keeps going with, "I mean, look at you. You're smart, cool, pretty—"

"Yo-you think I'm pretty?"

"Yeah," Addison says. Eliza and Zoey seem surprised at the compliment. It takes Addison a second to understand that Zombies don't get much compliments.

Zed rounds the corner, spotting Addison first. "There you are!" he says, walking over and spotting his little sister. "Zoey, whoa! What're you doing here?"

"Please. I'm not gonna miss a Zombie mash." the little zombie says as if it were obvious.

Zed folds his arms over his chest, giving his sister a serious look. "Zoey."

Addison looks between the sibling pair. Zed is trying his best to hold his serious expression, while Zoey seems to be to conjuring up an idea.

"Come on," she said in a sort of whine. "Who's a good boy?"

Zed pouts, glancing at Eliza, than his sister, than at Addison before back to Zoey. He barks gruffly, kind of like a dog, much to the surprise of Addison. He scampered over to her, arms up like how a person would pretend to be a dog, panting lightly. "Me."

Addison tries her best to hide her surprise, but from the way Eliza grins at her she knows she gaping obviously.

Zoey pats her brother on the head. "Good boy. Good boy."

"All right," Eliza interrupts, moving over and picking up Zoey. "I'll take you home. Zed's gotta make sure Addison gets outta here."

"We should hang out, Eliza," Addison says. "And I really like your boots."

Eliza smiles sweetly, the first time ever that Addison has seen. "Oh, thanks. They're orthotic. I got this draggy foot thing going on, so." Addison giggles lightly, watching as she gets a few feet away to talk to Zed.

Even though they had moved away and were whispering, Addison could still hear them. "She's cool," Eliza whispers, nodding in Addison direction.

"Yeah," Zed agrees, then adds, "for a human, right?"

"No. She's just cool." Eliza glances at Addison briefly; Addison turns so it doesn't look like she was listening. "You guys look good together."

Eliza moves to head out, just when Addison notices the stuffed animal still sitting on the platform. "Hey!" she calls, picking up the dog and jogging to catch up to them. "Don't forget Zander."

"See ya," Zed calls, and Zoey calls back her goodbyes.

Once they're out of earshot, Addison turns and grins at Zed. "So.…What was that all about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zed lied easily.

Addison laughs and Zed grins, moving over to her and taking her hand in his. "Come on, Addy, I wanna show you something."

They don't go too far, climbing over a few railings into another similar area, the space dark save the soft glow of the light bulbs. Like most rooms in the building, there are Zombie inspired murals on the walls.

"Wow," she breathes out, looking around. "what is this place?"

"It's a zombie-light garden," Zed answers.

"It's beautiful," she finds herself saying. Zed pulls her along further. "Where're we going?"

"For a walk in the park." It's a nudge at a few weeks ago, when they were singing in the Zombie Safe Room and everything was perfect.

They sing again, slow and sweet. Zed's voice makes her swoon every time she hears it, makes her fall in love with him even more every time.

Zed's standing so close to her, close enough to kiss her. Her breath hitches in her throat when she realizes that he just might, his hand reaching up to cradle her jaw. Addison closes her eyes, leaning into his touch. That's when she feels a tugging on her hair, her real hair, realizing that Zed could see her actual hair.

Her eyes shoot open and she pushes his hand away, trying her best to cover it up. Zed looks at her, complete love and adoration in his eyes. He gently pulls her hands away and she relents. "It's beautiful," he tells her.

"You're beautiful," he adds softly, then leans down to close the space between them.

Addison's heart flutters in her chest at the first soft press of lips against her own. She sighs and melts into him, their lips moving in a slow, perfect harmony against the other.

A second later they pull apart, panting a little and giving each other shy looks.

"That was…"

"Yeah," Addison finishes, her voice wistful and faraway.

The corner of Zed's mouth twitches up in a sort of smile. He leans down to kiss her again; before his lips can touch hers, the lights cut out and the music in the main room cuts.

"Zombies show yourselves!" a Zombie Patrol officer calls through the room. In the darkness, Addison sees Zed run away from her, gone faster than she can blink.

"You're out past curfew!" another officer calls.

'Zombies have curfew?'

From behind her, a Patrol says, "Zombie, please turn around."

Addison figures that it's too late to run now, and if anything the patrol would know her family and might let it slide. She turns around willingly, squinting through the bright light.

"Addison?"

She spots her dad's second in command, standing there and flashing a light in her eyes. "Gus?"

"What're you doing here?" Gus asks. "This is a hot bed for Zombie activity. It's not safe for humans." Addison doesn't answer him, her gaze shifting to the ground. "Come on, let's get you home."

Needless to say, her parents are furious. Addison's never seen them this angry. Not even when the city council declared that Zombies would be allowed in human schools. They're in the middle of their evening chores when Addison went inside with Gus right behind her, making sure she didn't just sneak back in her window.

"Addison?" her dad asks curiously. He looks between his daughter and his officer. "Where are you coming from?"

"Chief, I went with a team to shut down a Zombie rave at the Old Power Plant and found Addison several layers inside," Gus explained.

Her parents look at her in shock. Missy is the first one to say anything. "You snuck out? Addison!"

Addison tries to say something but her dad speaks up instead. "Do you know how dangerous it is out there?"

Gus, feeling as though he shouldn't be there for the conversation, says, "I'm gonna go, chief," to which Dale shuts down immediately.

This town is full of monstrous Zombies," Missy says. Addison can't help but feel a sense of shame, covering her timer with her free hand. "What were you up to?"

"I…" There's only one way this will play out, which means there's no point in hiding it. "I was out with a boy." Addison admits.

Everyone seems surprised (including Gus). "Oh, boy," her dad groans.

"Probably a good idea I just leave, chief." Again he's shut down.

"Now who exactly is this boy?" Missy asks.

Addison takes a step towards them and bares her wrist to them, showing them for the first time her soulmate's name. "His name is Zed," she explains. She can't help the dreamy smile that comes to her face. "We're soulmates. He's so nice and cute and sweet and a great guy, honestly."

Her parents read over the name inside her wrist with furrowed brows. After a second her dad looks up at her, surprise and disgust written all over his face.

"He's a Zombie," he says in realization.

Addison eyes go wide. She shakes her head furiously, saying, "No no no," she rushed out.

"Yes he is," her dad states. "Zed Necrodopolus. He-he's on the football team. He's the…the fullback. He's always late for appointments at Containment and has been caught out past curfew six times in the past year. That boy is trouble."

Her mother gapes at her. "You've been seeing a Zombie behind our backs? Addison!"

Gus, now completely uncomfortable, says from the back, "Goodnight, chief."

"Ah!" Dale says, holding a finger up at Gus.

Her mother shakes her head in frustration. "I-I don't know what to do. It can't be possible for your soulmate to be a Zombie."

"We should've never given them timers in the first place," Dale adds.

"Maybe…" Missy starts. "Maybe send you away. You won't see this monster again, and eventually his timer will change and so will yours."

"Wh-what?" Addison stammers. They can't possibly be serious. Soulmates were a precious valuable thing. Timers rarely ever changed, and when they did it was before the soulmates ever met or when one dies. This was a big stretch, a giant 'what-if', all because Zed was a Zombie.

"Yeah Honey, what?" Dale asks.

Missy sighs, again frustrated. "I'm not changing my mind, Dale," she states. "We should've sent her a long time ago, somewhere she can be groomed into a proper lady and now will change her soulmate."

Addison was no stranger to her parents conspiring to send her to a boarding school with etiquette classes and all that nonsense. But those were just thoughts. They never actually sounded serious about them.

Now her mother was already planning on going through with it, and her dad didn't seem like he was going to fight it. Her only hope is in Gus making them realize how incredibly stupid the decision is. Except Gus just wants to go home and her parents have already made up their minds. They look to Gus to see if he has anything to say on the matter, to which he just nods and leaves.

Addison turns at the call of her name, going down a few steps when she realizes it's Zed. "Addison," he says when he reaches her. "Last night, I wanted to help when the Zombie patrol arrived but I was just...I was afraid…"

"Zed," Addison says, ending his rant and drawing his attention to her face. He still looks nervous, to which she puts her hand on his shoulder gently. "it's not your fault."

"Was, was everything okay?" Zed asks. "I went back to see if you were still there but I couldn't find you."

"One of the officers took me home," she explains. "And I got in trouble for sneaking out."

"I'm sorry," he says. It feels like he's been saying sorry the entire conversation.

Addison gives him a sad smile. "They're sending me to boarding school," she explains. "It's in England, a finishing school to make me more ladylike. They think the time I spend away will change my timer."

It takes Zed a second to fully understand what it means. His already sad expressions deflates completely. "You're lying."

"It's not the first time they've considered doing this," she adds. "But now that they know about…" she doesn't want to make it seem like it's his fault, because it's not. He hasn't done anything wrong. All he's done is be himself, but none of that matters because he's different.

Addison sighs in defeat. "I'm so sorry," is all she says.

"I'm sorry," Zed apologizes. "For making things difficult for you."

"Zed…"

"If we weren't soulmates we could've been friends, you wouldn't be uprooted and forced halfway around the world for some finishing school." Zed looks up at her with a hopeless look. "Just say it, Addison. I'm ruining your life."

The warning bell rang. "You aren't, Zed, honestly," she tries to say.

Zed turns slightly, heading back the way he came. "I have to go, I'm late for class."

Addison's mom grabs her arm before she can leave the house, her long sleeve rolling down her arm and revealing the worsening rash on her wrist. "What's this?" Missy asks.

"It's a rash."

"From what?" Dale asks

"Zed's Z-Band gives him a rash," Addison states. "I have to go, Bucky wants us to practice before the big game today."

"A rash?"

Addison yanks her arm back, turning and heading to the door. "Can I enjoy my last few days in Seabrook before you ruin the rest of my life?"

She walks through the door, barely hearing her parents call her name as she leaves. She's walking down the driveway when she feels it again, the sharp pain coming from her wrist and spreading up through her arm, across her chest and through her body. It burns like an icy fire and stings like she's being electrocuted. Addison nearly falls over from the pain.

Instead she does what she always does: squeeze her wrist and count backwards from one hundred until it passes. It usually doesn't take longer than 87 for it to pass, but today she gets down to 42 before it fades.

Addison isn't willing to tell Zed that what he's doing with his Z-Band is just as excruciating for her as it is for him. It's just one more game, anyway.

The game goes fairly well. Seabrook is in the lead the entire first half, and by the end of the third they're up by enough to basically close the game. The only thing that hinders the mercy rule is that the Tigers scored two touchdowns.

Between the third and the fourth there's a five minute break, fifteen minutes less than halftime. It's a lot longer than it was supposed to be, considering Zed had gone to the bathroom near the end of the timeout.

"It's an emergency," Zed said. "You don't have to wait for me, I might be a while."

He had ran off before anyone could protest. It had been ten minutes now and the game had continued without him.

Addison used the time to take in the sight of the football team winning. Where she was going there weren't any competitive sports. She wouldn't even get to cheer. She was a little grateful for the break, consider she kept feeling her her pompoms pricking at her wrists like needles.

It doesn't take long for her to realize it's not her pompoms and it is, in fact, whatever Zed is doing in the bathroom. The pricking stops for a second and she's grateful, at least until she feels a sharp pain spread through her arm.

It's even more painful than the Z-Band hack, then the time she fractured her leg in two places or when she fell down a flight of stairs and got a concussion and dislocated shoulder. It hurts so bad she screams, clutching her arm to her chest to try to cap the foreign pain.

Her vision tunnels and her senses dim. Addison can't think straight, all she knows is that it feels like her skin is being ripped open and every individual nerve ending it being poked and prodded and ripped at. It's the worst pain she's ever felt.

It doesn't take much for her to make the connection. She manages to say "Zed" in a week and quiet voice before she blacks out, knowing that something he's doing is causing this and that wherever he is something horrible is happening.

The first thing she registers is the beeping. It's insanely silent except for the even, constant beeping. It takes Addison a minute to understand that it's a heart monitor—that she's in a hospital with the lights out and completely alone; not even her parents are there.

She sits up with a groan, taking a look around the room. Her backpack and all the stuff she'd brought with her to the football game are in a pile in the corner. There's a curtain drawn dividing the room and letting her know there's someone else in there with her.

Addison is still in her cheer uniform minus her shoes and socks, which tells her that she couldn't have been in the hospital for long or for anything serious otherwise they would've changed her.

She feels numb all over but manages to get up off the bed. She's sore and aching all over, and the sleeves of her top are rolled up to reveal bandages all over. There's an IV connected to her right wrist as well as a bunch of other wires and needles that make it hard for her to walk around the room. She finds the machines she's attached to, pushing them in front of herself so she can wander around the room.

Addison peaks her head around the curtain before moving around to get a closer look and holding back a choked gasp. Lying in the bed, unconscious and looking both dead and alive, is Zed, her soulmate. He doesn't look like a Zombie in this state but he's still pale and looks sick. He's got a bipap over his face. He's bare chested with tape and bandages and wires coming out all over his exposed skin. There's a screen on his left that looks like a more complex version of his Z-Band screen, the wire from that piercing his skin in place of the actual bracelet.

Addison had heard once that when Zombies were on their deathbed they went back to human form before ultimately dying. She hadn't believed it until now, when she was staring at this dying Zombie who looks more human than ever. Her eyes swell up with tears and the only thing that stops her from rushing to his bedside is her current state of weakness and immobility.

Addison's manages to get around the bed and in a chair at Zed's bedside. Cautiously, she picks up his right hand, the one where his timer is covered up by layers of bandages and gauze with two tubes sticking out—one his IV and the other dripping blood into his body.

A few minutes after she first woke up the door opens, her parents, two nurses, and a doctor coming inside. She can hear them baffled by her absence in her bed, before one of the nurses peaks around the curtain. "I found her," he says quietly, then pulls the curtain all the way back.

Her parents look disappointed and flustered. Addison glanced up at them for a second before looking back at Zed. "Addison, what're you doing there?" her dad asks.

She doesn't answer, instead rubbing her thumb over the back of his limp hand.

"Don't ignore your father."

Addison just looks at them, not saying anything.

This time the nurse speaks in a soft and caring voice. "Addison, you really shouldn't be out of bed," she says. Addison just shrugs in response. The nurse walks over to her and crouches down, moving into her line of sight. "Addison, I need you to go back to your bed so we can complete your final examination."

Addison shook her head once. She said something so quiet that they didn't hear. "Can you repeat sweetheart?" the nurse asked.

"Do it here."

The nurse just nods, motioning for her colleagues to go ahead. She moves around to Addison's other side to let the other nurse work, talking Addison through the procedure. Addison isn't listening and everyone in the room notices. No one comments though, so she keeps ignoring them. The poking and probing are just background to what's going on.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Zed was doing. He'd tried to take out his timer, knowing the consequences of doing so. Timers were connected to several major arteries and veins-you'd barely prick your skin before passing out from the pain. He must have numbed his wrist so he could get through the pain. The numbing agent mustn't've worked on Addison's part, and when she fell and blacked out from the pain was when people got concerned.

Zed knew that the only thing that resulted in timer removal was death. He sacrificed his own life so that Addison could continue living hers. The only way her soulmate's name would change was if one of them died and he knew that.

Addison feels numb all over, too shocked to respond to anything—her parents, the hospital staff, her feelings.

Addison gets discharged within the hour. She doesn't leave though. She ends up in a screaming match with the hospital staff on keeping him there, keeping him on life support, and keeping him away from Zombie Authorities. It didn't matter what she said though. Zed's family couldn't afford to keep him alive for more than a day in a human hospital. And a transfer to the Zombie hospital would kill him.

It's the next day when her parents try to coax her into going home that she breaks. Addison cries and begs them not to make her go, to let her stay with Zed until he wakes up. The odds of that happening aren't in her favor but at that point she just wants to be with him forever.

Something changes in her parents that day. It's got nothing to do with the dying Zombie, and fully centers around their heartbroken daughter. Addison finds out later that day that they paid for Zed's hospital bill for the next week and a half, that they set up fundraising websites to pay for his stay even longer.

If it wasn't their fault Zed was in the hospital, Addison would be relieved. Instead she silently thanks them.

Because Addison is his soulmate she's the only person beside his dad allowed to stay with him overnight. His dad has to work and take care of Zoey though, and Addison doesn't plan on leaving his side still. Her mom brings her a bag of overnight things—some clothes to change into and her toothbrush and shower supplies.

Zed gets moved into his own private room at the end of the week. His charts say he's in an indefinite coma, that his chances for survival are 7%. The doctor says that Zed's hacking his Z-Band caused him to develop an irregular heartbeat that decreases his survival rate.

On the weekend his friends come visit. The maximum number of visitors in the room is three and Addison doesn't plan on leaving. None of them say anything to her, taking in the sight of the pair quietly and speaking in Zombie Tongue to each other before quietly leaving. Some of the Zombies bring flowers and balloons and cards for him. None of them acknowledge Addison's presence in the room.

On Sunday his family comes. Zevon looks like he hasn't slept in days and Zoey likes she's been crying since Zed was first admitted. Addison wonders if she looks like a combination of the two, but can't work up the nerve to look at herself in the mirror.

Zoey sits in Addison's lap and hides her face in Addison's shirt. Zevon tells her that he's going to recite a Zombie prayer, one that has bits and pieces of what the other Zombies said when they visited. Zoey translates for Addison. Before she leaves she tucks her stuffed dog under Zed's arm. There's probably some family history behind Zander that she can't bring herself to ask about at a time like this.

Zed's hair starts to grow brown after eight days. It's the worst possible sign that he's actually dying.

Her parents visit her in the morning. Eliza and Bonzo come after school everyday with Zoey. Zevon comes on the weekends.

Nurse Emma and Cowen make sure she's eating and sleeping regularly, that she takes a shower and that she moves around every few hours. After a few weeks though, Addison's lost a lot of weight and her will to live. She can't think of a life without Zed. He's her soulmate, and she loves him.

Zed's hair is completely brown. Cowen has been giving him haircuts every few weeks and generally taking good care of him in his state.

Addison takes off her wig once his hair is completely brown. It's dirty anyway and it's not worth keeping on. Emma and Cowen are surprised by the sudden change but don't comment on it, continuing with their assigned jobs.

The winter holidays come and go; Zoey opens her Christmas present in his hospital room and brings one for Addison. Both girls know that the holiday just isn't the same though.

Addison is three months behind on her schoolwork. At this point she's going to end up in either summer school or repeating the year. She doesn't really care though. School's the last thing on her mind.

Emma had called in a grief counselor—Amanda Seracul. Addison doesn't respond to anything she says and doesn't really listen. She doesn't need grief counseling because Zed's is going to wake up.

Except for the fact that as the days go by his survival chances decrease a fraction of a number. In the three months he's been hospitalized it's gone down three whole percent. The only reason they're still trying is because of her—because in the end the soulmate makes the final call rather than the parents.

Zed's name is slowly losing its color on her timer. Everyone tells her she's torturing herself, to let go already. Every few nights though, there's a spike in his heart monitor or she feels a jolt in her timer telling Addison that he's fighting for his life.

By February his heart rate has improved to a normal Zombie's level. His hair is starting to grow green again and his Z-Band monitor no longer reads 'DANGER'. His name is a vibrant red against her pale skin.

It's enough good news that Addison starts to do more—she eats a little more every day and actually touches the work Bree has been bringing her over the weeks.

Zoey notices the green in his hair and makes sure to tell everyone. The number of visitors increases tenfold—Zombies and humans alike visit him on the weekends so often that they had to start limiting their stays and who could come and when.

March sixth is Zed's fifteenth birthday. Three Zombie Patrol come in and change the software in the Z-Band Monitor. Zoey tells her that they get software updates every year on their birthdays.

Not much has changed in Zed's condition. He's grown out almost all of the brown hair and his skin has faded back to the pale grey hue it usually is.

Addison's parents hire her a tutor. She still refuses to leave the hospital room but she can't get too far behind in school. The tutor is an easy compromise. He's not comfortable with Zed being there but Addison could care less about what he thinks. He's being paid to tutor her, not disrespect her soulmate.

Zed's not awake but he might as well be.

It's a few days after Easter. Like most days, Addison sits in her chair beside him, holding his hand and reading a novel.

She dismisses it at first, saying it's just her imagination. A few minutes later it happens again—soft, gentle, barely there. But Addison knows it when she feels it: Zed is squeezing her hand. It only happens every few minutes and it's barely anything.

Emma had told her to call if there was any change in Zed's behavior. Getting to the call button would mean moving from her current position. It could possibly mean letting go of his hand, which she definitely doesn't want do.

When Emma comes in for the morning check up two hours later, Zed's gone from squeezing her hand to rubbing his thumb over the back of Addison's hand. Quietly and without moving, Addison alerts the nurse of the progression.

It all goes uphill from there: he's blinking and responding to stimuli within a week, he's off the bipap by the end of the month. He's making noises that Eliza tells her are Zombie Tongue (he's talking!).

Cowen marks him as 'awake from coma' a few weeks later. He's in less of a dreamlike state, he isn't using a feeding tube, he's got nearly complete control of his bladder and bowel movements. And the fact that he's lost a significant amount of muscle mass, that he's predicted to be in physical therapy for the next year and a half don't matter to Addison.

Zed is alive, he's awake. He's her soulmate. They're staying together, and nothing's getting in their way.