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He was sick of it. If he had to hear one more comment about how he only did all this for Addison, he’d lose it.
Zed was sitting on the stage in the atrium, watching Mr. Zeck and the other janitors clean up. He had just lost the election, and was already treading a thin line. The zombie sighed and dropped his head in his hands, he shouldn’t have taken that damn moonstone.
A group of zombies sat in the corner of the auditorium on the bleachers, clearly as upset as Zed was. They had lost their chance at a normal year, had lost the chance to be the teenagers they were. Now, the humans would just see them as monsters who needed to be watched, who needed specific laws.
Zed heard Bucky before he saw him. His loud, annoying voice carried its way into the atrium, booming laughter following. The cheerleader burst into the atrium, followed quickly by his squad of Aceys. He caught sight of Zed almost immediately, and made a beeline for the solemn zombie.
Letting out a little chuckle, Bucky clapped his hand down on Zed’s shoulder. “Oh, come on now Zed, it wasn’t a fair fight. I mean, I’m me, the best around, everyone loves me! And it’s not like you lost much, I mean, we all know you only did this to go to Prawn with Addison.”
That was it, that was the last straw. An inhuman growl left Zed’s throat, and the zombie popped up quickly from his seated position, grabbing Bucky by the collar of his cheer jacket, and slammed him against a pillar. The Aceys screamed and jumped back, while Bucky let out a high pitched squeal.
“I’ve had enough of that bullshit Bucky!” Zed growled out. “I have done NOTHING but try and help my people. Everything I fucking do is for them!”
Bucky gulped, and glanced at the Aceys for help, but the group of zombies had come down to see what the commotion was, and had them blocked in. The minions huddled together, too scared to move or do anything.
Bucky let out a nervous chuckle. “Zed, buddy, it was a joke. I didn’t mean it!”
Zed snarled. “But you did Bucky! You always do! You’re so full of yourself, that you don’t realize how your words will hit! I have done everything to keep my temper around you, it has taken everything in me to be optimistic, to be happy here!” Zed’s grip on the cheerleader’s jacket tightened. “But dammit Bucky, I’m fucking sick of it!”
“Zed, man, please…” Bucky begged.
“No! It’s my turn to talk Bucky, you listen!” The zombie roughly tossed the cheerleader to the ground and stood over him, getting right in his face. “I grew up with jack shit! Do you know how hard it is to be a zombie? Do you know what shit we went through, because of people like you?!”
As he said this, Eliza walked into the room, ready to talk to Zed about their mini spat, though when she saw the scene, her eyes grew wide. She ran over to pull Zed off, but the group of zombies stopped her in her tracks. They too wanted to cut in, stop Zed’s rampage, but they knew Bucky deserved this, knew he needed to hear this.
“Our houses got egged everyday! If we went out alone, we had a 50/50 chance of getting jumped by a bunch of jocks! Everything I’ve done here is to keep that from happening! I joined the football team so that the jocks would leave us alone! Yes, I also personally wanted to, but have you seen the respect I get now? And do you know how that translates to all my friends?
“No one has fucked with them in a while Bucky! I took a beating on the field for them! I take verbal beatings from you for them! I went full blown zombie, because of you, FOR THEM!! Yes, I really want to go to the Prawn with Addison, that was our dream, but I didn’t run for president just for her!’ Zed let go of Bucky’s jacket, and started to pace, fire in his heart gone, leaving a cold emptiness behind. “Fuck, Bucky, I’m just so tired.”
The zombie plopped back down onto the stage and dropped his head in his hands. The mood in the room grew somber, everyone quieting down. The zombies sat themselves in a circle around Zed, giving him all the comfort they could, while the Aceys picked their leader up off the floor. Bucky was quiet, taking in everything that was said to him, and Eliza sat down next to her best friend and looked at the cheerleaders.
“It’s true Bucky, everything Zed has done, while it may seem selfish, he did for us. His conditions for joining the football team were to better our lives here. He messed with his Z-Band so that he could win, and while yes, that is cheating, he did it so that we zombies could have equal rights here at Seabrook High.” Eliza sighed and shook her head. “Zed isn’t as selfish as you think he is, isn’t selfish at all really. He may lose his way sometimes, but it’s all for the greater good.”
Bucky sighed, and moved over to sit next to Zed. He laid his hand on the zombies shoulder once more, this time in comfort. “Don’t tell anyone this, because I will vehemently deny it, but…I’m sorry Zed.”
Zed let out a tired chuckle. “I’m just so tired of the negativity. It’s so hard trying to be happy and optimistic when everyone around you resents life itself.”
The cheer captain went to reply, but was cut off by the Z-Alarm going off. “Attention! Attention! Monster activity at Seabrook Power.”
Zed shot up. “Addison.”