Author's note: Hey everyone! Once again, I've been constantly busy out in the real world, and I just realized today that it's been almost two weeks since I last posted. Yikes!

If anyone reads my tumblr (which I'm fairly certain has zero followers, lmao), I will be posting pics of Coach's two cats, Blitz and Fumble. Also, I recently realized that I never actually posted Qamar's character profile, so I will try to get that uploaded there soon as well. More chapters headed your way soon!

ZzZzZzZ

Surprisingly, Tuesday ended up being a pretty average school day. Most students, and teachers for that matter, were already in vacation mode. So the majority of classes consisted of casual discussions, movies, and fairly easy busywork. Willa's literature class consisted of watching the movie Romeo and Juliet on a large television, which her teacher had rolled in on a sleek metal cart.

Though the television was new, the film itself was old, and so the video had a blurry, grainy quality to it that made it difficult to see small details. Willa watched with a somewhat bored expression as Romeo kneeled before Juliet's sleeping form, believing her to be dead.

"Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath,

Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty:

Thou art not conquer'd; beauty's ensign yet

Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks,

And death's pale flag is not advanced there."

Willa sighed, leaning over to gently nudge Eliza's foot at the desk next to her. Eliza jumped slightly, apparently absorbed in the film. She shot Willa a slight grin in the dim light, unable to offer a full smile yet due to the stitches that remained in her lower lip. The light from the television screen flickered across Eliza's face, creating a kaleidoscope of shifting colors that danced along her lovely features.

It is the east, Willa thought with an affectionate smile, and Juliet is the sun.

"What are you looking at?" Eliza whispered, lowering the pen she had been using to take notes. Only Eliza had a love for learning so strong that she took notes on a movie day.

"Nothing," Willa replied softly. "Just thinking about how beautiful you are."

Eliza snorted quietly, a light blush flushing across her cheeks..

"If you say so." She replied, rolling her eyes as Romeo continued to drone on about his love for Juliet in the background.

"I do say so." Willa replied, holding her head up with an authoritative air in her stance. "And since I'm the werewolf alpha, my word is law. So there."

Both of them snickered, earning them a withering look from the teacher at the front of the classroom.

"Yes, mam'm." Eliza replied to Willa with a small, playful salute. Good grief, she was cute.

As upset as Willa was that Eliza had been injured in yesterday's fake moonstone debacle, she was certain that the scar which would grace Eliza's lip could only enhance her beauty. It was a testament to her zombie's strength and bravery. Though of course, the fact that Charon had hurt her mate meant that he was now officially enemy number one. He thought he could threaten Willa's mate, brother, and best friends?

No. She would get him back for it, tenfold.

On the television screen, Romeo was preparing to tip back the small vial of poison, hoping to be reunited with his love in the afterlife. Willa had not grown up hearing this story as the human and zombie children had. But when she'd first read the play, she couldn't help but find the entire thing to be ridiculous. A bitter family feud and two lovesick teenagers had wrought so much tragedy and destruction. It was crazy how much damage could be done in such a short amount of time.

Willa was not a big fan of Shakespeare. In her opinion, the characters were overly dramatic, as well as being frequently stupid and reactionary. Eliza, on the other hand, had a great appreciation for the morality lessons the plays offered. She enjoyed analysing the words, and trying to interpret the myriad of possible meanings within each page. But most of all, she enjoyed arguing about the characters and their frequently tragic story arcs, much like some people might enjoy arguing about which athletic team was worse.

Eliza was, by nature, a defiant person. If she felt that something was wrong in any way, everyone nearby would be sure to hear about it. Apparently, that extended to subjects that were fictional in nature as well. Willa always looked forward to literature, simply to listen to her girlfriend's impassioned arguments with their irate teacher about whatever it was they were reading that week. It was like watching an abnormally entertaining political debate.

Willa watched as Romeo died onscreen with a ridiculously exaggerated level of melodrama.

"O, true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick. Thus, with a kiss I die!"

He kissed Juliet, then clutched his chest, slumping dramatically onto the ground below her.

Willa rolled her eyes as she turned back to Eliza, who's brows were dipped down as if in thought.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Just, the movie is making me wonder. What I would do if something ever happened to you." She paused, shaking her head as though the mere thought was too horrible to even imagine. "I mean, obviously I wouldn't immediately start chugging poison. But..." She paused again, looking pained. "I can understand why it would feel like the end of the world."

Willa felt a small clench in her stomach. She understood what Eliza was saying. She, too, could not imagine living in a world without her other half in it. And she wouldn't have to. Both wolves and zombies had a much longer life expectancy than humans. With a little luck, both of them would live to a ripe old age of around one hundred. Their human counterparts, on the other hand, had an average life expectancy of only seventy-eight.

Statistics was another one of her favorite subjects.

"Look," Willa replied matter-of-factly, reaching out to gently hold Eliza's hand. "You're stuck with me for the next several decades, so you'd better get used to having me around. And I plan on keeping you around just as long. I'm talking white dresses, little zombies and wolves running around our ankles, and matching rocking chairs when we're old and wrinkly. So enough with the doom and gloom, Zambie, got it?"

Eliza released a snort of laughter, but she was smiling, and her eyes sparkled with a look of love that made Willa's breath catch in her throat. "Such a bossy wolf... But, that sounds pretty great to me, too."

They both leaned in, eyes locked on one another's in the dimness of the room.

"Ms. Zambie. Ms. Lykensen." The teacher stated flatly. "Eyes on the screen, ladies."

"Sorry, Mrs. Ganes."

Both girls readjusted their seats and looked forward, as Prince Escalus addressed a somber crowd on the television screen.

"For never was a story of more woe,

Than this of Juliet, and her Romeo."

ZzZzZzZ

Zed sighed, resting his chin in his hand as the football team sprinted down the length of the field, perfectly executing play Z-17. He may have been sidelined for the next couple of weeks, but he had still attended practically every practice to encourage his teammates. He wanted to be supportive to his friends and team, and so he tried to take a page out of Addison's book, and cheer on others rather than being cheered for himself.

"Come on, guys! Keep going, you're doing awesome!" He bellowed, clapping enthusiastically.

As he watched, Wynter tackled Clayton, sending him sprawling to the turf in a cloud of dirt clods and blades of Kentucky bluegrass. The ball flew out of his grasp, tumbling across the thirty yard line. It landed below a banner which enthusiastically stated "Inspiration Crustacean," with a dancing cartoon shrimp giving the team a double thumbs up.

Zed wondered if shrimp even had thumbs. Probably not.

When Wynter had joined the football team, it had ruffled several proverbial feathers amongst the citizens of Seabrook. Not merely because she was the first werewolf on the team; but also because she was the first girl on the team. Zed had encouraged her to join after she had painfully tackled him to the ground outside of the Zombietown movie theater, back when they had just met. With her physical strength and rough, tough wolfy attitude, she would make an excellent offensive lineman. (Linewolf?)

Coach had been hesitant at first, but he trusted Zed. Letting one monster onto the team had turned out to be one of the best coaching decisions he'd made, so he was more than happy to give her a try out. When she'd struck the tackling dummy hard enough to tear it into two pieces, Coach had immediately stood and declared that she was officially on the team.

Wynter was not one to pay much attention to negative comments, and so she had largely ignored the many comments and phone calls to the school over the following days. Zed was very proud of his teammate, and she had quickly become a great asset to the mighty shrimp. In the coming months, other monsters had followed her and Zed's lead. Now, several wolves and zombies had joined up with the football team, as well as a plethora of other sports programs at Seabrook High. These monster inclusions had made all of Seabrook's athletic programs into unstoppable forces, easily defeating practically everything rival schools could throw at them.

Coach sat down beside Zed, causing the bench to wobble with movement and abruptly pulling him out of his thoughts.

"How you doing, Zed?" Coach asked, lightly clapping a hand on Zed's uninjured shoulder.

"I'm okay, Coach." he replied, smiling pleasantly down at the man. "Just... Ready to be back out there, is all."

Zed stared a bit glumly out towards the rest of the team, as they continued to run through different plays.

"We're ready to have you." Coach nodded, watching the team along with him. "But, you'll be back at it before you know it. As long as you don't go tackling anyone else in the hallway." He added with a laugh, shaking his head.

"Boy, things sure have been crazy lately," Coach continued, his expression changing to one of mild stress. "I mean, first, there was that mysterious explosion in Zombietown. Then, some knucklehead sets up a booby trap outside the gym. I just don't understand the world sometimes, Zed. Not to mention, my fro-yo business is picking up so much, I'm gonna have to hire part-time help to run the second cart!"

Zed's head perked up at that. He needed a job. Especially now that his dad had loaned him the money to pay off Addison's ring. He knew his dad didn't have a lot of savings, and he wanted to pay him back as soon as possible.

"You're looking for part-time help?" Zed asked, trying not to sound too overly enthusiastic.

"Yup," Coach nodded, brows dipping down. "My Great-Aunt Edna says I'm not spending enough time with the cats. She's worried that Blitz and Fumble are going to get a complex."

Zed smiled at the names Coach had given the two kittens, which the team had gifted him with at the end of last football season. The two felines had been a housewarming gift for his new house. Coach had finally moved out of his parents' basement, and now rented a duplex from his aunt, who lived in the other side as his next-door neighbor. Since the coach maintained a nearly constant verbal stream of consciousness, Zed and the rest of the team knew way more about his personal life than they were really comfortable with.

"Um, Coach? I'm actually looking for a part-time job." Zed interjected, as Coach continued to talk about the emotional status of his two cats. "Do you think... I mean, would you be interested in hiring me?"

Coach paused in is monologue, giving Zed a surprised look. Then he shot him a grin.

"You know what? That could be perfect! As long as you having a job wouldn't interfere with your work on the football team, that is."

Zed shook his head.

"No sir, I promise it won't!"

"Then Zed, I believe you have yourself a job! We'll talk details once you get that brace off in a couple of weeks." The coach nodded, looking pleased with the turn the conversation had taken.

"That sounds perfect, Coach!"

The coach extended his hand, which Zed shook enthusiastically.

"Well, I'd better get back to it." The coach said, standing as he blew his whistle. In a booming voice, Coach directed the team to begin running sprints up and down the length of the field. Zed was still smiling broadly.

His first job! He couldn't wait to tell Addy.

Zed's smile diminished slightly, as he remembered that he wouldn't be seeing Addison this evening. At lunch, she and Bree had declared tonight a "girls night," insisting that they needed an evening off from strategizing. Eliza had agreed, and Wynter and Willa had promised to invite Mayar and Aruna to come along. Bree's parents were out of town until Thursday, so they would all be having a sleepover at her house, doing... Well. Whatever it was that girls did at sleepovers. Knowing the wolves, it would probably involve manicures.

Maybe Zed would be able to convince some of the guys to meet up and have a "guy's night." They could go to the bowling alley, eat junk food and have guy talk. He couldn't remember the last time they'd done anything like that. It could be fun, and he'd get to tell them about his new job! Plus, it would be good for morale to have a night off from their current drama with Charon. Honestly, he got mad just thinking about the jerk.

Zed stood as he heard the school bell ring in the distance, signaling the end of fifth period. Resolved, he decided to catch Bonzo and Wyatt before science class to see what they thought about his "guy's night" plan. Suddenly, he was looking forward to this evening.

Hanging out with Addison would always be his first choice, but being around their friends was the next best thing.