Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Well. Guess who already decided to start a new fic, because they have no impulse control!

Hey guys. It’s me. And yes, this is my official announcement, that I am now in the process of rewriting the third Zombies movie!

How long did it take me to crack? Not even 2 days? Dang. But oh well. Who’s surprised at this point.

I got a lot of positive feedback on my last fic, and after all the people said that they would love to see a
a Z3 rewrite, i decided that I wanted to go for it!

Couple Things. First of all, no this is not chapter 1, but I promise that it will be out soon. I just need to finish it lol. This is me, explaining a couple things, and answering some common questions and requests I’ve been getting. Pls read this, because it’s important!

First of all. Thanks for all your comments on my last fic, I genuinely appreciate it a lot. Yall have made this possible, so thank you ❤️

Second of all. Last fic, I got a question, from someone about what was happening back in Shadyside and Sunnyside, and if the fruit was still dying, and how everyone was handling. I did respond to this, answering, but I thought I’d address it here just to clear it up.

In my mind, the last fic happens about one to two years before the events of Z4, so the blood fruit dying is not super urgent yet and is not causing any kind of panic among the people.

This leads into my third thing, which is the requests I keep getting about adding in Vargas, Vera and Ray, and when they are gonna be in the story. And then the answer to this question is a little longer.

Basically, when I got the idea for this fic, I was walking my dog while listening to Z2 songs and I just thought about what if nova and Victor were a part of it. That’s it that’s how it happened. And when I was thinking about this, I wasn’t really adding their friends into the equation.

Once I started riding my Z2 story, I started thinking about how the events of the story could lead into the third movie and I actually wrote out a quick draft for how I wanted this next fic to go. In fact to tell you a little secret, I have an outline for rewriting this movie and Z4.

All that being said. I wanted to add in Vera and Vargas in the last fic and I tried a couple times when I was drafting it but… in my head. I already had the events of a Z4 rewrite. And in my head, they still needed to be the catalyst for a lot of negative events that would happen in that story just like they are in the movie. They still need to be enemies and they still need to not fully trust each other. And if I try to bring them into this universe too early. I was afraid that it wouldn’t make sense if I did end up getting to rewriting the fourth movie.

All of this to say, and come to, yes they will be in this fic. However, it won’t be till a little bit later on and when they do, they won’t have a completely happy ending if I plan on leading this into the fourth movie.

A little longer than I planned, but now you guys have a general idea of where I’m trying to go with this series. The whole point of this fic in the first place was me trying to use nova and Victor as an example for Zed and Addison as to what warring people can look like. And the effects it can have on others, and to show nova and Victor, how people that previously were enemies can work together so that they can use those lessons once they get back to their own homes.

Anyway, after that long tangent, I would just like to say thank you all for all the support, and I hope you’re excited for this new journey. Please leave me comments with any questions, predictions suggestions or anything else about this fic or other fics. And again I’m sorry about the lack of Vera Vargas, Ray, nova and Victor content and if you really are more desperate to see some of that, I do have another series that I am writing about them together at camp so read that to hold you over for the time being.

I’m excited for this guys. Thanks so much for sticking around!

See you soon!

Edit: I almost forgot! I have a lot of drafted fics, and I’m not sure what to commit to. So, I thought I’d ask you all what you want to see. Let me know what off this list sounds interesting, and I’ll try to post it soon. Thanks again!

1. Human high school AU. Quiet Art student Victor, cheerleader Nova. Victor stops being so quiet, and starts being more social, and more outspoken. All the other cheerleaders start to like him, but nova feels jealous an oddly possessive because they have a past.

2. A Crossover between Z4 and Descendants: the Rise of Red. Chloe and Red accidentally end up messing with the Time Machine again, during their first year at Auradon prep, and end up being taken to an alternate reality, right at the beginning of Z4. Red ends up among Vampires, and Chloe ends up among Daywalkers

3. Sleeping beauty AU. Nova is raised in the woods after a curse placed on her by a rival kingdom, and she meets a mysterious boy in the woods that she had visions of. They fall in love, but the kingdoms start to war again.

Let me know!!

Chapter Text

If Nova had a dime, for every time in her life she was leaving her home town to go to a place with nobody else like her, she would have 2 dimes. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

She was currently sitting on her bed, looking out her window. The sun was low on the horizon, and Nova knew that soon it would go behind the edge of the ocean, still illuminating the sky, but invisible, and it would stay there until it rose later the next morning.

She sighed, looking down at the picture she was holding. Addison had taken it with a Polaroid camera on the last day of school.

It was a picture of Nova laughing, while Victor stared at her, one arm slung around her shoulder and a smile on his face.

She ran a thumb over the two of them.

She hadn't seen him since that day. They had said their goodbyes later, after they had already left Seabrook. They were walking back towards the island off the mainland, through the woods where they first met.

He stood maybe a foot away from her, his arm brushing hers every other step, filling the air with more tense electricity.

And when they reached the edge of the forest, he had stopped and said

“I guess this is where we part.”

She had stood there silent for a few moments, before practically launching herself onto him, and kissing him like it was her last day on earth.

He had responded in just as much earnest. He had immediately grabbed hold of her waist, and practically pinned her to a tree, while she kissed him liked the world depended on it. He kissed her back just as desperately, and she had licked against his fangs again, drawing out that low groan that made her shiver.

She hadn’t been able to think coherently in that moment, especially not when Victor's lips had trailed off from her mouth, and down her throat to the side of her neck.

She had said his name, her tone barely louder than a breath, and she had gasped when she felt the press of his fangs slightly at the base of her neck.

She had grabbed his neck, angled his face back to hers, and kissed him again. And this moment was forever burned into her memory.

Eventually they pulled away, cheeks flushed, chests heaving for air, and stars in their eyes.

He had laughed lowly, his eyes dark as he glanced over her face. He was so close that she had seen the dark flecks of red in his irises.

He had buried his face in her neck, laughing, and she had laughed too, pulling him into a hug.

They had stood like that for a while, just hugging and basking in each other's presence. She hadn’t wanted to let him go. She knew that if she did, he wouldn’t be coming back for a while. She wouldn’t see him until the fall.

And that? That was scariest part of all. Not seeing that boy was scarier than seeing him.

Eventually, he had pulled away, looking into her eyes, and stepping back. She had half a mind to beg him to stay, but she didn’t.

He had sighed, come forward slightly, and kissed her softly once, before kissing her hairline, and resting his forehead against hers. Then, quietly, he said,

“I'll see you soon sunshine. Okay?”

His voice had cracked on “sunshine”. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She nodded softly. He did too.

And then, slowly like it pained him, he pulled away, looked at her one last time, and rose into the air, flying off, and then disappearing from her view completely.

She had wiped away her tears, trying to focus on getting home, but getting halfway there, before she noticed the tingling on her neck, and had to use her phone camera to see the red mark, that would soon be purple, forming at the base of her throat.

She had changed into a higher necked shirt.

To tell you the truth, she had spent the last two months replaying that moment in her mind more times than she could count. The feeling of kissing him. The sound of his laugh, and the feeling of his fangs against her neck, and lips against hers. It was fucking with her mind a bit.

She sighed, leaning against the wall. She wasn’t sure what to think.

Victor and her… they had never defined what they were. In fact, other than the first time they kissed, they had never brought up love, or liking each other, or dating each other again. They hadn’t even kissed since the night of the fireworks before the last day.

She didn’t know whether or not to be happy about that. She hadn’t shared the fact that she had a sort-of-boyfriend who was a vampire, with anyone in Sunnyside. Not even Ray. Especially not Ray.

And it was at this moment, as she sat against her wall, thoughts full of brown eyes and red hair, that the very same Ray appeared in her doorway.

He cleared his throat, and Nova’s eyes snapped open. She looked up, to find him leaning against her doorframe, a contemplative smile on his face.

“All done packing?” He asked. Nova blinked a few times, before looking down at the duffel bags at her feet. She nodded, looking back up at him.

“Just about.”

He nodded, then pushed off from the doorway, and came to sit next to her on the bed. As discreetly as she could manage, she slipped the picture into her pocket.

“So.” He said, looking over at her.

“You’re going to a different town for the school year.” He said. She nodded. He continued.

“And you’ll be gone. You’ll spend only holidays at home, and won’t be back until next summer.”

At this point, she knew he was just stating facts he already knew to make it feel real for himself. To make himself get used to it. And she let him. Because she knew he needed to just say this, and he needed her to listen. Because that’s how it had always been with them. One of them needed something. And the other just listened. Best friends were like that.

And in that moment, despite how desperately she wanted to be back in Seabrook, she felt bad for leaving. Because she knew that Ray needed her more, than even she fully understood.

“I’ll be back, Ray.” She said quietly.

“I’m not leaving forever.”

He nodded, looking out the window.

“But you are leaving. For a long time.”

She sighed, looking down at her hands. She had to make him understand. She looked up again, taking his hand.

“I have to Ray. We may not fully understand it yet, but we need allies in other people more than we realize. I need to do this, not just for me, but for all of us. Can you understand that?” She said quietly.

And Ray was silent for a minute. And then slowly, he nodded. She let out a breath of relief she didn’t know she was holding. Then, she leaned her head on his shoulder, looking out the window.

She may have spent the end of last school year in Seabrook, and she may be heading back soon.

But that summer? She had come home. She still had family. She still had Ray. And honestly?

Sometimes, that was all you needed.

———————————————————————

“Vera, if you don’t stop dragging this out, I’m gonna be late.” Victor groaned, plopping down on his bed. Vera rolled her eyes, and slapped his leg, as she continued to fold and place shirts into his suitcase.

“If it weren’t for me, you would have thrown all of these in together, in a pile, and you would have looked like you crawled out of a pit of hell, in front of all your fancy friends.” She said, folding up his favorite sweaters and putting them into his other bag.

“Be grateful.”

He rolled his eyes, looking at Vargas, who was sitting sideways in the armchair across the room, legs slung over one side. He just shrugged, smiling at Victor.

“I’ve stopped trying to fight it man. You should too.” He said solemnly. In response, Vera threw a shoe at him. It hit him in the face and he gave her an offended look. She just shrugged.

“Dodge faster.” She said, zipping up his suitcase with a sigh, before sitting down and leaning her back against the side of his bed. The room was quite for a moment, before Vera spoke up again.

“Remind me why you need to go again?” She asked. Victor looked up, and sighed, leaning against the wall.

“I told you guys. Making allies among other monsters is important, and I need to show my aunt I can handle responsibility.” He said, telling the same story for maybe the fifth time. Vargas sighed.

“Right right. Monster treaty relationships, blah, blah blah…” Vargas said, hanging his head over the side of the chair. Vera snorted, putting up one knee and resting her hand on it.

“We already know that Victor. I’m asking what else. You clearly aren’t telling the whole story.” She said. Narrowing her eyes at him.

She was right. That wasn’t the whol truth. But he couldn’t just tell them that he had maybe sort of fallen in love with a Daywalker, who he missed more that the moon during the day, and would literally go insane if he didn’t see soon. They would hate him. Or possibly kill him.

Either way. Bad options.

Instead he opted for a lazy grin and a casual air.

“You wound me Vera. And I thought you cherished our friendship.” He said dramatically, flopping back onto the bed. He couldn’t see her but he could practically feel her eye roll.

“Okay okay we get it. Geez, and you wonder why I don’t hang out with you.” She mumbled. Vargas just laughed.

“Oh come one V. You know you love us.”

Vera just looked up at him with a glare, and threw another shoe at his head. But she didn’t deny it. Because she did, even if she didn’t say it.

And Victor saw it, at that moment. Sitting on his bed, while Vargas laughed at a shoe to the face, and Vera grumbled about having to pack his bags for him. He saw the people that he had grown up with. And he saw how no matter what happened. They would always be some of the most important people in his life.

When he thought of important people in his life, there were suddenly new faces. There was Zed and Addison, who had treated him like an adopted child. Wyatt, who had treated him like a brother. And most of all, Nova. Nova, who cried in his arms, kissed him under the moon and stood next to him in adversity.

And maybe he didn’t have it all figured out just yet. But now these were all people that he was not willing to let go of. And he knew that somehow, someday.

He would have to find a bridge between the two worlds.

Chapter Text

“Come on Zed, we have to have it set up properly,” she groaned, going over to her boyfriend and attempting to fix the banner he had been trying to hang up.

He clutched his chest in offense.

“I know that Addy. You don’t appreciate Zombie decorations. They ALWAYS look pretty bad. It’s part of the charm.” He said with a wink. She just rolled her eyes at his antics.

Ever since the moonstone debacle, their relationship has been pretty solid. Minimal bug arguments.

To be honest, most of that was likely rooted in the fact that she had stopped feeling so… uncomfortable in who she was.

Last year, she had been seeing all of Zeds zombie friends, and how well they all fit in with each other. And now that she was no longer trying her hardest to fit in with the humans she hadn’t really known who she was or where she fit in.

When she met the werewolves and the possibility of being one had been dangled in her face, seeing how they all interacted with each other had made her want to be one. For the community, if not for actually being a werewolf.

But now? She understood. Nova had helped her a lot. It wasn’t so much about belonging with a certain people, but having people that made you belong, even if you weren’t the same.

She had Zed. She had the cheerleaders, the zombies, even the werewolves. And in a few hours? She would have Nova.

She smiled just thinking about it. The slightly younger girl, had been so similar to her, and had become a very close friend, in a very short amount of time.

They had been texting all summer, and although it was nice, it wasn’t quite the same as having her just down the hall.

But now? She was coming back. And soon, Addison would have an entire year of nova company and advice.

She couldn’t wait.

In fact, she had been so anxious for their arrival that she had spent the last week painting banners for them to see upon arrival.

A little much? Maybe. But she was too excited to really care. And now, it wouldn’t be long before they arrived.

So, she ran around the park, checkiimg other decorations, and the “Welcome Back to Seabrook!” Banners.

The decorations were pink and green, but she had drawn all of the lettering in gold. As a small ode to Novas (quite honestly fabulous) style.

Zed, of course, had gone all out for Victor, and had drawn a Zombie themed banner that had blood dripping off the “M” like fangs.

He thought it was hilarious. They humored him.

“Addison!” She heard a voice call.

She whipped around, looking over to where Zed was frantically waving her over.

And next to him? Was a tall dark haired boy in red and black clothes.

She smiled, and rushed over, hugging Victor once she got close enough.

“Victor!” She exclaimed, as he laughed, hugging her back.

“Oh my god you’ve gotten taller.” She said, stepping back and smiling at him. He nodded at her, setting his bag down on the floor.

“Good to see you two again,” he said with a smile, looking between her and Zed.

“I’ve definitely missed you.” He said. Zed nodded, smiling back.

“We have too for sure. Especially Zoey, she missed your Mario kart expertise.” Zed said. Victor nodded seriously.

“Ah yes, the ever important Mario kart tournaments. How could I forget?”

They all stood quietly for a minute, before bursting out into fits of laughter.

Her ribs started to hurt, and she couldn’t help but feel a sense of normalcy. It felt… right. The only thing that was missing was-

“Nova!” An excited voice yelled from across the yard. They all whipped towards the sound, and saw a very excited Wynter tackle hug a very real Nova Bright.

She smiled and laughed, stumbling backwards as she caught Wynter. Her hair was half up in a ponytail, and she was wearing a gold and white sweater, with red shorts.

She smiled, hugging Wynter back, before noticing all the decorations.

“Wow, all of this for me?” She asked with a laugh. And before Addison could even say anything, Nova jogged over to meet them. When she saw Victor, her smile seemed to brighten impossibly, and she practically jumped into his arms to hug him.

Victor laughed, catching her with ease, and spinning her around in a circle. They both looked so happy, that Addison literally could have blown up from cuteness aggression.

Not dating her ass. Those two were the new standard for all relationships. Take notes, people.

Nova laughed in surprise, as Victor set her down, the smile on his face unmistakably wide

“Hey sunshine.” He said with a breathless laugh. And no matter how hard she tried to hide it, (or would try to deny it later,) a pink blush covered her cheeks, as she smiled back.

“Hey fangs.” She said, her words coming out breathy. They both stood there smiling,

Addison came forward, pulling Nova into a hug,

“Addison!” Nova exclaimed, squeezing her tightly, before pulling back.

“It’s so good to see you! Three months felt like forever!” She exclaimed , the tone of her voice sounding almost longing, like she still missed this.

Addison just smiled, her tone wildly enthusiastic in a way it hadn’t been in a while.

“I miss you Nova, it hasn’t felt the same around here.” She said, smiling. Zed nodded, stepping forward.

“Yeah it hasn’t been nearly as interesting, without anyone setting Bucky's fedora on fire.” He said. Nova groaned, putting her head in her hands.

“That was one time.” She mumbled, slapping Zeds arm as everyone laughed.

Yeah. This… this felt right.

Victor quietly picked up Novas bag, as they headed towards Addisons house, talking and laughing.

Nova gave a brief recap of her summer, (training, hanging with Ray, council meetings,) and tried to explain the concept of A “fire festiva” to the confused listeners.

She still didn’t fully understand that one.

Victor also talked about his summer, speaking animatedly about flying through woods, exploring, some friends he had, and several parties and festivals as well.

Addison couldn’t help but think, that if they were celebrating this much, it probably was a pretty fun place to live.

She hoped she would get to see it one day…

They helped Nova put away her bags, and then Zed and Victor left, saying that they were gonna go get him settled in, and then meet them at the high school.

“What’s at the high school?” Nova asked,folding her clothes into the dresser. Addison smiled, pulling out Novas cheer uniform.

“The big football game. It’s the championship, and it has a ton of college scouts there.” She said with a smile, holding out the uniform.

“You should cheer with us!”

Nova gave her a look, taking the uniform and smoothing it out on the bed.

“Addy, I have missed all the practices. I won’t even know what I’m doing.” She said exasperatedly, laying down. Addison laughed, sitting down next to her.

“Aww come on Nov, it’s all the same ones from last year. It’ll be fun please.” She said, drawing out the “e” and making a pouty face. Nova rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Alright alright geez, I’ll go. To see everyone else, if not for cheering.”

Addison gave her a look, sitting on the bed, leaning on her hands next to her.

“You mean Victor?” She asked innocently. Nova glared and threw a pillow at her, as Addison laughed.

“Whattt?” She asks in mock defense.

“You know what.” Nova said with a groan falling back on her pillow.

“No I don’t. All I know is that hug seemed pretty couple-y.” Addison said, looking at her in question. Nova sighed looking down.

“Well, we didn’t really talk this summer seeing as… we really couldn’t, and then before we said goodbye in the last day we…” she trailed off her cheeks turning pink. Addison raised an eyebrow.

“You did what?” She asked, giving Nova a look. Nova's cheeks got redder, and she fell back against the pillows again, using one to cover her face.

Addison laughed, and stood up, yanking Nova with her, who protested.

“Alright then. Here is what we are going to do. We are going to get ready for that game, and you are going to tell me all the drama. And then,” Addison shrugged dragging nova to the vanity.

“Who knows. Let’s just hope a meteor doesn’t kill us all, before you two figure your shit out.” She said, grabbing a brush for novas hair.

And as they sat there, Addison decided that maybe, there was a place she belonged, even if it was just here in this room with Nova.

And even thought she didn’t know it yet, there was a strange irony about who she was, and Novas names

Who knows, maybe she just belonged with people named after the stars…

Chapter Text

Nova was pretty nervous for the game tonight. Now, don’t get her wrong, it wasn’t her first game as a Mighty shrimp cheerleader.

But. It was her first game since getting back to the school. She had had minimal time to prep for it, (if martial arts camps in Sunnyside didn’t count.) and she didn’t have this much pressure on a game as the other times. This was crucial not only for the future of Zed, but of all monsters.

Long story short, she was nervous. But Addison had been trying to keep the atmosphere light hearted the whole way to the game, but she could tell she was nervous too.

After all, this was a big day for Addison as well. This would determine whether or not she would be going to college with her boyfriend. The one she was completely in love with, and had fought multiple times to keep in the same places as her.

So. Yknow. Stressful night all around.

Even though tonight was stressful for many, there was something to be said about the enthusiasm of the fans. After all, no school had more team spirit than the mighty shrimp.

Addison led her over to where the cheerleaders were doing pregame warmup, and a run through of the cheers. And as she got in some practice rounds, she scanned the crowd for Victor.

Eventually she spotted him, near the face painting booth and he and Wyatt seemed to be trying to convince Willa of something.

“Good luck with whatever that is,” she thought, as the bases caught her in her fall. She may be okay with chasing danger every now and then, but against Willa?

Yeah that’s a losing battle.

Truthfully, the cheers weren’t that hard, and after maybe 5 or 6 sets of the same ones, she felt pretty confident in her abilities.

It was at this point, that Addison started to lead her over to the buses, where they would do some stunts to send off the team in the most dramatic way possible.

As soon as she got set up to tumble in, she saw Victor notice her.

His face broke out into a smile, and he blew her a kiss with a wink.

And damn. If she wasn’t nervous before, she was now.

The parade of instruments started, and Nova and a few other cheerleaders flipped in, while Bucky attempted to jump in and steal the spotlight.

Most people laughed, and rolled their eyes at his usual antics, but a few especially loud cheers sounded out, when Nova and a few others flipped high into the air.

The bases caught her, and she landed with a smile, shaking her Pom-poms high. From below, she could see the werewolves and Victor cheering and clapping.

Nova smiled, as she was dropped down onto her feet. All the football players ran in, as the cheerleaders cleared to the side. Zed was cheering his whole team on, and then seemed to be trying to cheer up Wynter, who apparently had joined the team in her absence.

She was clapping for the team, when she felt a familiar presence behind her.

“Hey.” Victor said, standing next to her. She smiled and looked back at him, nodding.

“Hey.” She laughed out. He smiled back, and glanced around at the surroundings.

“Quite the rally tonight.” He observed. She nodded. Then, he scratched behind his ear looking around again.

“You uh, you were really good. Your cheers were… amazing.” He said, sounding slightly nervous, but smiling all the same. She could feel the blush rise to her face, but she smiled anyway, ducking her head down.

“Thanks.” She said, smiling.

And maybe this was the first real conversation they had had since the summer, and maybe it was incredibly awkward and funny to an outsider.

But she was glad for it all the same. After all, she had missed his smile, even if it made her face burn brighter than the sun.

Before either of them could say anything else, a loud bang sounded to victors left.

They both jumped and looked over, to see where Wynter ran into the bus, denying it. They looked at each other, and then promptly burst out laughing.

They all gave Wynter a collectively loud cheer, with Zed enthusiastically shouting “you do you!”

She laughed, practically falling into Victors side.

“Well, that is how Wynter is I guess.” She said, wiping her eyes. Victor chuckled and nodded, smiling down at her.

“Yeah I gathered that.”

And for a moment, they just stood there, smiling at each other among the crowd of overexcited fans.

It was nice, just to be smiling like that with him.

“So, how was your summer?” He asked, putting his hands in his pockets. She shrugged.

“As well as you might expect. I was on house arrest for like two weeks, but after that it was a lot of training and some hanging out with friends.”

He nodded laughing a bit.

“Yeah, I was in a lot of trouble with my aunt. But, she had to keep up appearances for the peopl, after telling them me leaving was her idea, so my house arrest didn’t last too long.” He ran a hand through his hair.

“I spent a lot of time with Vera and Vargas, and they kept me sane mostly. Had a lot of questions I wasn’t allowed to answer though.” He said.

She winced, nodding in understanding. After the school year had ended, they had discussed what to say. They had agreed to say as much as “there was a Daywalker.” Or “there was a vampire.” But no more.

Still, nova had had a fair share of questions about it, especially from Ray and her father. Luckily, she had gotten pretty good at lying and/or deflecting about it.

She supposed she was spending too much time around Victor. Eh. At least it was proving useful.

“Yeah I get it. Vera and Vargas huh? Those your Vampire buddies?” She asked, as Zed and Addison went to go talk to the college recruiters.

Victor laughed and nodded.

“Yep, that’s my crew. They are the only reason I’m not dead. I probably wouldn’t have made it through my very reckless childhood without them.” He said. She gave him a look.

“For some reason, I believe that.”

He put a hand to his chest in mock offense, and she laughed. He rolled his eyes affectionately. Her making fun of him was just a past time at this point.

He was about to say something else, when suddenly a large boom sounded throughout the sky. Nova gripped Victors arm at the sound of the meteors, and he put a hand out to pull her slightly closer.

The meteor showers had been a regular thing nowadays, but she was still not totally used to them. After all, you can’t take the Daywalker out of the girl. It still scared her a lot.

Suddenly, people started screaming.

“Victor?” She asked, stepping out from behind him.

“What’s going on?”

He looked back at her like he didn’t know what to say. And then, a large mass started to descend from the sky, blinking lights blaring, and people running screaming.

They both looked at each other. And then?

They ran.

Chapter Text

People were running and screaming, and buildings were catching on fire as lasers were shot from the massive ship descending from the sky.

Novas looked around, as she and Victor ducked behind a car.

“What’s happening?” She asked him, more in disbelief than actually looking for answers. But Victor turned to her, the strong winds blowing his hair.

“Remember those old legends about people from other planets? The ones humans called aliens and made movies about?” He asked. She nodded, the old fairytales coming back to her.

“Well,” he said looking up at the large ship-like structure descending from the sky.

“I think they found us.”

———————————————————————

They ran through the street again, looking for Addison and Zed. But when a falling light pole almost hit them, Victor dragged her behind another car. From a few ones over, they could see Bree, Bucky, and Bonzo.

“Wow I can’t deal man. Is this really happening?” Bucky said. Bree looked up.

“Is this real? Or-or something I’m imagining.” She shrieked, as the three of them ran up.

“Am I hallucinating? Do you see what I’m seeing? This can’t be werewolves, zombies, or human beings.” The Aceys said from their position behind the same car.

“Out of the clouds, down from the sky, something is here, and we don’t know why.” They heard the werewolves say.

“Come on!” Victor yelled, taking her hand and leading her over to them.

“We gotta protect the moonstone tonight!” They were saying, as they got into defensive positions around it.

“Extraterrestrials all around, they’ve come to take over our town, Watch out!” Someone yelled, as another rain of lasers hit the pavements

“Oh, falling from the stars. A distant galaxy,
Oh! We’re not sure who they are. Friend or enemy.”

Nova looked around frantically, the wind blowing her hair around her face.

“Victor!” She called to him. He turned to her eyes wide and uncertain.

“Where is Zed and Addison?” She asked.

“Now we really know, that we’re not alone. It’s kind of scary though, but it’s kind of cool.”

“Film it on your phone. Hide in your home!”

“It’s an Alien Invasion!”

Victor looked around, like he was also looking before just shaking his head.

“I don’t know!” He called back, over the roaring winds.

Nova looked around scared, before catching sight of the familiar cheerleader in the middle of the street where the ship was descending, her white hair blowing in the wind.

“Addison!” She called, breaking away from the group and running to her friend. She could vaguely hear her name being called, but didn’t care as she ran up and hugged her friend.

“It’s an alien Invasion!” Addison said in disbelief.

Just then, both Zed and Victor ran up, Zed grabbing Addison's hands, and Victor wrapping Nova in a hug, before pulling back to look at her.

She smiled, then looked up at the ship with Addison.

“Can’t believe my eyes, is this really real life?” Addison asked.

“Don’t know if we should be standing here, or running for our lives.” Zed agreed.

“I can’t decide it’s way too much.” Addison said back, Zed nodding and replying.

“Don’t know what this means for us.”

“Don’t know what instinct to trust.” Nova said, gripping the victor's arm.

“They could laser us to dust!” He exclaimed, pulling her closer. He looked back at the four of them, eyes wide.

“Well either way, I’m ticked they picked today for all of this to go down.” He said. Zed nodded, turning to Addison and saying.

“Take my hand, I’ll get you somewhere safe until we figure this out.” She shook her head, smiling.

“I’ll handle myself, thanks anyways boo.” She said.

“We don’t even know what they came here to do!” Nova exclaimed.

“This could be the start of something new.” Addison said in awe.

“And if it’s the end,” the boys said, looking back at them.

“At least I’m with you.” The girls replied, drawing closer.

Just then, the ground shook violently as another blast hit it. The concert beneath their feet fell, and Zed lifted Addison over the side, jumping himself as as well.

Nova would have fallen, but the wind pulled her over the side, as Victor caught her, his eyes glowing faintly. When they all safely hit the ground, they all ran back to their friends, Zed and Addison ducking behind a tree, and Nova and Victor standing next to Willa and Wyatt.

“Oh, falling from the stars, a distant galaxy.
Oh! We’re not sure who they are. Friend or enemy.”

“Now we really know, that we’re not alone. It’s kind of scary though, but it’s kind of cool.”

“Film it on your phone. Hide in your home!”

“It’s an Alien Invasion!”

Nova looked up at the skip, just as a light descended from it, and many blue clad forms appeared on the ground. There was a collective yell of fear, as they began to say something, rhythmically coming closer.

“Victor.” She said, pulling his ear closer to her mouth.

“I know vampires have enhanced senses. Can you hear what they are saying over this noise?” She asked.

He looked back at her, then seemed to direct his attention to the incoming… things.

He seemed to listen intently for a moment, then winced falling backwards slightly.

“I-I can’t make all of it out. There is too much interfering noise. Something about a scout ship, and… “not dangerous?”” He said. She looked over concerned, as the aliens seems to form a formatting around a trio of them, that came up to the duvet in the ground.

“What are they looking at?” She wondered aloud.

Suddenly, a large rush of different Daywalker and Zombies tried to come forward and fight them, as they came back to formation.

Every time they did, they were blasted back by some mystical energy the aliens were using. Eventually people stopped for fear of getting hurt.

“We’re under attack, in over our heads!” Bree exclaimed.

“We’ve gotta get back, before we’re all dead.” Zed said, dodging a piece of debris.

“I don’t wanna get zapped, Zombie out Zed,” Bucky cried, clinging to Zeds leg.

“Don’t overreact, they could be our friends!” Addison exclaimed

“Let’s settle this, right here right now!” The werewolves exclaimed.

“Move our defenses there!” Zed called.

“Get down!” Victor yelled to a group of cowering students.

“Extraterrestrials all around, they’ve come to take over our town, watch out!”

The aliens came closer, and the group of them came into the street coming closer in the same way.

“Oh! Falling from the stars. A distant galaxy.
Oh! We’re not sure who they are. Friend or enemy.”

As Nova got closer, she heard the sound of the aliens vaguely, and they sounded like they were saying… “we come in peace?”

Could that mean…

“Now we really know, that we’re not alone. It’s kind of scary though, but it’s kind of cool.”

“Film it on your phone, hide in your home!”

The two groups stopped, maybe five feet away from each other, their stances defensive, and the tension thick.

“It’s an Alien Invasion!”

—————————————————————

The two groups stood their, as Z-patrol cars pulled up behind the aliens.

Zed and Willa immediately came forward, their powers in full force.

Everyone followed suit, including Nova and Victor, who summoned fire and wind, respectively, and their eyes glowed molten gold, and bright red.

Unprompted, Nova threw a fireball at one of the aliens on the sidelines, who shrieked and tried furiously to pat out the fire she lit on their sleeve, and Zed came forward, almost aggressively zombieing out.

The aliens seemed to shrink back in fear, but before anyone could do anything, Addison rushed forward, pulling him back.

“Zed, stop it!”

The aliens looked concerned, and huddled together, discussing semi-loudly.

Although it was quiet enough that most couldn’t hear it, Victor hesitated, then lowered his wind and hand, his fangs retracting, and his eyes slowly turning back to brown.

“You know I can hear you, right?” He said to them. They looked slightly startled at his disbelief, then intrigued, when a flyer caught between their foot and the ground, and they picked it up.

After examining it for a minute, they all smiled, giving each other the same look, before the shorter one with the blue bob cut hair, stepped forward with her hands on her hips.

“Take us to your leader!” She announced to the group loudly.

“Your cheerleader!” The other alien with the shorter hair announced.

Before anyone could say anything, Addison stepped forward smiling.

“Hi.” She said, stepping forward.

The alien smiled at her, nodding.

“We accept your invitation to the national cheer off!”
They exclaimed. Addison looked around excitedly, as everyone else looked concerned.

“Z-patrol, arrest them!” Addison's father called.

Nova's heart skipped a few beats, as the officers came forward to arrest the aliens, who were smiling and clearly did not know what arresting meant.

As they lead the aliens away, Victor came forward to talk to her.

“Quite the eventful evening it turned out to be huh?” He asked with a laugh, as they put the aliens into cars.

Nova looked around at the damage done to the town, and sighed.

“Yeah. Eventful is a word for it.” She responded.

And as they headed back to the holding bulging either everyone else, she thought back to what Zed had said earlier.

What did this mean for us?

Chapter Text

The cell was slightly damp looking, and Nova was trying not to focus on the monitors, as she stood with Addison, and the mayor as other officials discussed what to do about the aliens. Something about the jails made her feel queasy. Still, she mainly just looked at the monitor where Victor, Zed, and Bonzo were talking to the alien (Who they had discovered was named “A-spen”)

She looked back to the mayor, trying to ignore the way Victor looked leaning nonchalantly against the wall through the monitor.

Jeez Nova. get a grip.
“Great idea separating the Aliens principal Lee.” Addsons father said with a nod. The principal gave a smug nod and smile

“Not my first time dealing with spacey teens.” she said smugly, before giving him a weird fist bump/handshake. Nova scoffed and let out an amused snort. Adults could be so… weird.

“They are probably here to clone me, and make an unstoppable cheer force. I mean, who wouldn't want more of me?” Bucky said with a scoff, spreading his arms. Nova rolled her eyes, pushing off from the wall she was leaning against.

“Get over yourself, Bucky. This probably has nothing to do with you.” she said. He gave her a short glare that she ignored, as the mayor shook her head.

“Well, they are uninvited and they have to leave.” she said definitively. Addison looked over, like she was affronted by that statement.

“But we invited everyone to compete for the Seabrook Cup!” she protested. Bucky turned to look at her, appalled.

“Um,” he started.

“You can't just give away my bling,” he said incredulously. Addison rolled her eyes, turning to Nova with a wink.

“I don't intend to lose.” she said with a smile at her. Nova smiled back, already excited. There was no shot they were losing that.

Addison turned back to her mom, her gaze pleading.

“I always believed cheer could bring people together. And now, maybe even worlds together!” she said. Bucky scoffed.

“Or tear our worlds apart. Mark my words, these aliens are here to take whats ours.” he said. Nova frowned, coming to her friend's defense.

“You don't know that bucky. For all we know, they are here for a really good reason. Its not like they are hiding under your bed, waiting to scare you.” she said, ending with a tone of sarcasm.

Suddenly, the room let out a collective shriek when the boy alien from earlier appeared behind them.

“Spoke too soon.” Nova said quickly.

The boy stood there, looking slightly shocked, but overall unconcerned with the tense air in the room.

“Greetings!” he said cheerfully, looking around at them.

“Did you want me to continue waiting alone?” he asked. They all looked at each other for a minute, trying to form a response, but mostly unintelligible nonsense coming form their mouths.

“Yes.” The Principal finally said, looking at him. He nodded.

“So then, shall I redon your ceremonial jewelry, and rewire your door panel?” he asked, holding up said door panel, and his handcuffs smiling all the while.

Nova let out a snort, and the adults continued their stuttered responses.

“Yes please. Thank you.” she finally said, smiling and nodding.

He smiled back at her, nodding and saying,

“May you find harmony.”

she smiled as he left, and then turned to Addison, mouthing “ceremonial jewelry?”

Her friend snorted, smiling at her, before looking back at her parents and the principal.

“Please mom?” she asked, her eyes going wide and pleading. Her mom sighed, then looked at her husband.

Nova looked back at the monitor with a sigh, knowing this was gonna take another minute. She noticed Victor talking to the alien with Zed, and a strange feeling entered her stomach.

She wondered what they were saying…

———————————————————————

Victor was sort of annoyed. Not just because aliens had crashed into the middle of the game taht was going to get his close friends into college, but also because they crashed the middle of his conversation with Nova, messed up his hair, and then made him stand in a dusty jail cell.

Just how he wanted to spend his Tuesday afternoon.
Bonzo hit the table with his fist, but the alien across from them seemed totally unfazed. Victor snorted as Zed grabbed his arm.

“Bonzo, lets not deal with the alien invasion right now,” he said placantingly. Then he turned back to the alien.

“Im kind of in an impossible situation right now.” he said. The alien nodded, saying

“I understand. To get here, we developed interstellar space flight, defeated space squids, traversed a carnivorous black hole..”

Victor choked on his spit.

“Carnivorous black hole?” he asked incredulously. The alien nodded.

“Twice.” They said, clearly not noticing the disbelieving look on his face. Zed looked a little shocked then continued

“Uh… okay, not that impossible. Because of you, I can't get into mountain college. The recruiter quit, and zombies can't apply.” he explained, sounding slightly agitated.

“Hmm.” the alien said. They pulled a pair of what looked like clear lab goggles out of their pocket. Both Zed and Bonzo jumped back in fear, but Victor looked forward curiously.

“Mountain college. Downloading.” the alien said, putting the glasses on and tapping the side.

“Wow.” Victor said, as blue text flashed across the glasses.

“What are they doing?” Zed asked skeptically, inching closer. Him and Bonzo released each other, and the alien sighed, putting their glasses down, and looking up at them.

“Too bad you are not exceptional.” they said. The room was quiet for a second, before VIctor keeled over laughing. Zed rolled his eyes kicking his shin, before turning back to the alien.

“What do you mean?” he asked, looking back at them.

“The only way for you to get in is to prove that you are exceptional.” they said matter of factly.

“Mountain College has a separate application for an exceptional student scholarship, and it does not specifically prohibit Zombies.”

Zed immediately looked around, like that was the best news he had ever heard.

“Hell yeah, that sounds exactly like me!” he exclaimed. The alien looked at him for a moment confused, before hesitating and then saying,

“Perhaps exceptional means something else in this galaxy.” they said. Victor, who had only just recovered from his previous laughing fit, burst out again, practically crying from laughter.

“Ah. okay you know what? Believe me, I'm pretty impressive.” Zed said with a wink. The alien just gave a strange look.

“Meh? I do not see it?”

“OH my god.” Victor gasped out, falling onto the floor from his laughter. Zed glared at him as The alien gave him a confused look.

“Is he okay?” they asked hesitantly.

“He’s an Ass.” Zed said with a glare at him, before looking back at the alien.

“But he's fine.”

Then Zed turned away, smiling towards Bonzo.

“I am going to get that scholarship to mountain college, and break down the door to higher education for all monsters!” he exclaimed, him and BOnzo cheering. The alien gave them a concerned look.

“Why are you so agitated?” they asked.

“Oh, we are not agitated, we are happy! You found a loophole, a way this zombie can get into college!” he said, holding up a hand for a high five. When they didn't respond, he just high fived himself, saying “alright!” His enthusiasm, too high to bring down.

“Oh. emotions are messy for telepaths so we suppress them. Though they do seem… interesting.” They said fascinatedly as Victor got up from the ground, wiping his eyes.

“They are. I have a feeling you are going to fit in just fine.” Victor said with a smile.

They would have said more, but a knock from the door made them all look over.

Standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, was Nova who was giving a small half smile.

“They are letting us go.” she said, with a nod to all of them, and a strange side glance to A-spen.

Victor smiled, coming over to her, as she helf the door for them to exit. And as they went out into the hallway, Victor suddenly had a sneaky realization.

He didn't know what this year would hold, but he knew that whatever it was would be… interesting.

———————————————————————

Nova wasn’t sure what to expect when Victor pulled her aside while walking the aliens out of the building. But when he leaned against the wall as they waited for the others, she was certain it wasnt to just discuss the weather..

“So.” he said nodding towards the three aliens, who were looking around in slight confusion and wonder.

“What do you think?” he asked. She gave him a confused look.

“About what?” she asked. He gave her his own look, one that said, “really?”

“The aliens. What do you think of them?”

She sighed, glancing over at them.

“I dont know. I cant decide if they are being genuine, or if they are being very elaborately tricky.”

Victor sighed, looking over again.

“Yeah I don't know either. I mean, I just talked to one for like 20 minutes. I don't fully trust them, but if they are acting, they are a hell of a lot better at it than anyone I know.” he said. Nova glanced over and nodded subtly.

“I agree. I don't think they are here to hurt anyone, but.. I don't think they are telling the whole truth. Nobody would cross a whole galaxy to compete in a cheer competition.” she said. Victor nodded along like he agreed.

“Well, let's watch them. See if we can figure out what they are up to.” he said to her, and she nodded. And maybe it was something in his eyes, or the way he had said “We” but she could feel her stomach swoop.

He smiled at her again before glancing to where the werewolves were coming to them.

“We should probably go over there before Willa kills them.” he said with a fanged smirk in her direction. She rolled her eyes and nodded, following him as he came back to them.

Well. This was certainly going to be more interesting than a football game.

Chapter Text

Victor hadn't been sure what to expect when the aliens were invited to go to school with them. It certainly hadn't been this.

It was his first day back since last year, and with the way people were staring at him, you would have thought he was the one that descended from a spaceship.

As for the aliens, they were scattered across every couple hallways, like they were slowly invading. Which was kind of a funny sentence. In fact, there were so many of them, that Victor's red and black clothing looked more out of place than their electric blue.

Maybe that's why everyone was staring and whispering.

Still, he didn't pay much attention. It wasn't all that different from last year. The thing that was different was his classes, and he almost got lost twice before a familiar Werewolf boy found him.

Wyatt was leaning against a wall, giving him an amused look when he stumbled down the wrong hall. Again.

“You lost there dude?” he said. Victor gave him an annoyed look.

“Nope im loving roaming these stupid halls alone.” he said sarcastically. Wyatt snorted, coming to stand next to him.

“Right. Well, I have to say it is pretty amusing to watch the wave of giggling that happens whenever you enter a room. Still, we should probably get to class.”

Victor gave him a confused look.

“No one is giggling when I enter a room,” he said. Wyatt let out a snort at that.

“Right. And my name is Jacob.” he said with a laugh. When victor still looked confused though, the look on Wyatt's face morphed from amusement to disbelief.

“Wait, you're serious?” he asked. When Victor nodded, he burst out laughing gesturing to a group of girls in the corner of the science classroom they entered.

“Look at them dude. They always glance over and giggle at you. Me too. I was serious about the jacob thing, they keep saying it when i walk past.” he looked over at Victor, slightly concerned

“I think they are plotting something.”

Victor tilted his head in the direction of the girls.

“I guess I never noticed,” he said thoughtfully. Wyatt laughed, clapping him on the back.

“We know dude.”

Just then, he noticed Nova and Willa talking at a table. The second he spotted her, his face split into a grin, and he waved. She smiled back at him, and waved. Wyatt followed his gaze, and smirked when he saw what he was staring at.

“And that,” Wyatt said, slapping the back of his head and walking past him towards willa,

“Is why you never notice.” he said, with a glance at Nova. Victor rolled his eyes, rubbing his head as his cheeks turned red. Nova gave him a confused, but slightly amused look. He just shrugged, coming to sit next to her.

“What was that about?” she asked with a laugh as he sat down. He shrugged, smiling.

“Eh, who knows?”

She smiled, looking back at her paper, and for some reason he felt like he’d won something. And as he got back to his work, he thought that maybe it was okay if he didn't notice, as long as it was because of her.

———————————————————————

Nova felt pretty damn happy. And that was not something she said often. Maybe what Addison called having ‘optimism’ is worth it. But she had a feeling it had more to do with Victor.

He had been the perfect gentleman all day, walking her to class and carrying her things, all the while smiling and cracking jokes to make her laugh. It felt… nice. Something about being back in this building with these people made her feel more welcomed than she ever did at home. Maybe it was because there wasn't any looming thought of her father being disappointed or ray bugging her about things she couldn't say. There was just… them.

It was nice, even if it didn't feel real.

One thing that had definitely not let up, if increased, was the amount of girls giggling at VIctor. Apparently, the amount of vampire content they had consumed over the summer had further rotted their brains. Typical, even if it was pretty annoying.

But the other thing that she had noticed was the increased number of people that would stare when she and Victor would be.. Together. She could be in class, and she would notice someone staring with a giggly smile when Victor handed her something, or she would hear a faint “aww” when he helped her get to class.

She didn't know what that was about but it was… strange.

She entered her last class of the day ready to go home. She was excited because despite the alien invasion, Addison had said she still wanted to go through with something she already had preplanned. Something about a group movie night? She wasn't sure.

She didnt have any friends in this class, so she set down her things and got out her notebook at an empty desk in the back. She heard the minute bell ring, and a flood of chatting students began to fill the room. She ignored them, but as always she could feel a couple lingering eyes on her.

A knock on her desk surprised her, and she looked up from her desk to see someone standing over it.

“Mind if I sit here?’’ she asked, chewing a piece of gum. She looked tall, maybe 5’6 or 5’7 with long black hair that was dyed purple on the ends. She had sharp cheekbones, and dark brown eyes. She had a smile that looked nice enough, but there was a glint of mischief in her smile.

Nova shook her head in response to her question, gesturing for her to sit down. The girl smiled, sitting down and throwing down her bag.

“Thank you.” she said. Nova smiled back.

“Im Kylie.” she said, offering Nova a hand. Nova took it, feeling the softness of her tanned skin.

“Nova.” she said back. The girl, Kylie, withdrew her hand smiling.

“Ah yes. The Daywalker. You've caused quite the stir around here this past year.” she said. Nova snorted.

“I guess. You would think that people would care more about aliens invading though.” she said absentmindedly. Kylie nodded, snorting.

“Oh yeah, most people in this school are dicks. Well, more like 50%. They dont know how to mind their business. Still,” she said, leaning back and shrugging.

“You do interest me. Not like that though,” she said, when she got a funny look.

“No, I wouldn't touch that kind of thing with a 90 foot pole. You're hot, but you're not my type. Besides, everyone with two eyes and a brain would know not to get between you and vampy.” she said with a grin. Nova looked confused.

“You mean Victor? Oh we’re not- he's not-” Nova stuttered out. Kylie cut her off with a snort.

“Yeah spare me the bullshit blondie, I have eyes. That boy gives a death glare to anyone who so much as looks at you, and you almost snapped a pencil in fury when that alien chick was flirting with him at lunch.” she said with a smug look.

Nova almost choked on her spit. During lunch, the alien girl from earlier had been very… chatty with Victor. A-li was her name. For some reason it had made her… more jealous than she was expecting.

She didn't know she'd been that obvious.

“Yes it was that obvious.” Kylie said matter of factly at Nova's red cheeks, as if she had read her mind.

Nova sighed, dropping her pencil.

“Its not like that. We’re not dating.” she mumbled. Kylie gave her a look up and down.

“Okay…” she said, clearly not believing her.

“Whatever you say blondie. In the meantime, could you tell me the name of your cute werewolf friend? The one with the space buns?” she asked.

That broke the tension, and Nova laughed, telling her about Wynter.

And just then, maybe she wasn’t sure of what was going on in her life, but she had just made a new friend.

And right now? She needed all the ones she could get.

Chapter Text

Nova stepped out of school, with Addison bouncing on her heels excitedly.

“Aren’t the aliens amazing!” she was saying, as they turned towards her street.

“They have a non-hierarchical approach to leadership. Theyre a fashion forward, peaceful people!” She exclaimed. Nova snorted.

“Okay, well, they did kinda blow up seabrook, Right?” she said, waving nervously at one of them. Addison rolled her eyes.

“That was an accident Nova. i mean, just imagine the courage needed to come to a new planet.” she said, sighing as they walked forward.

“I mean, im just nervous about going to college alone!” she said. Nova stopped, looking over at her.

“Alone?” she asked, confused as she glanced over to where Zed and Victor were walking home.

Addison straightened, her eyes widening like she let something slip.

“Well- no not alone. With Zed, of course.” she said quickly.

“Addison.” Nova said slowly.

“Is everything okay?” she asked

--<3--

“Zed,” Victor asked, his gaze questioning.

“Does Addy seem, I don't know… a little over enthusiastic about the aliens?” he asked. Zed stiffened, his gaze slipping over to where Nova and Addison were leaving the school.

“No.” he said too quickly.

“Shes not. She just… wants to help with the inclusion in cheer.” he said, looking down. Victor looked over at him, his gaze questioning.

“Is everything… okay? With you two?” he asked hesitantly.

“With me and Addy? Yes of course!” he said, too quickly.

--<3--

“With me and Zed?” she asked, her smile too wide

“Yes! Why wouldn't it be?” she asked, rushing forward.

“Zed and I are going to get into, mountain college, and then we are going to be together, forever.” she giggled out. Then, she skipped forward and started to sing.

“It's him and me, for the rest of our lives together.” she sang with a smile, slinging an arm over her shoulders.

--<3--

“We’re not breaking up, we’re not falling out, we won’t change.” Zed laughed strolling through the streets of Zombietown.

“I hope.” Victor mumbled, rushing after him.

--<3--

“Living perfectly, so happily till forever.” Addison sang, skipping along.

“When it comes to trust, there's nothing that we can't say.” she continued.

“I hope.” Nova sighed, before running to catch up.

--<3--

“We're not worried. Definitely not worried.” Zed continued, as Victor trailed behind him, and led him away from obstacles.

“At all?” Victor asked in disbelief as he followed along.
--<3--

“So disturbing, how all of these stars align.” Addison sang, as Nova yanked her away from the road work.

“But how?” she said with a sigh, her own memories of nervousness coming up

--<3--

“We’re not nervous, and totally unconcerned with, things uncertain.”

Zed said, as VIctor and him reached the town center, the water fountain spewing as Zed stood up on the side of it.

“And there is a lot.” Victor said, thinking of his own problems.

And on two sides of town, in nearly identical places, a mentor sang as their slightly younger version watched.

--<3--

“We’re gonna be fine! So fine! Ain't no doubt about it,”

“It’s working out right! Alright! All im thinkin bout is,”

“How everything's gonna be okay, no complications in our way,”

“It's fine! We’re fine! Ain't no doubt about it!”

--<3--

“Okay.” Nova said, sighing, as her and Addison came to meet each other by the fountain.

“I get that you and Zed are like star crossed lovers. But like-”

--<3--

“How did you know? When you were in love?” Victor asked, sitting down on the fountain ledge next to Zed.

“Why do you ask?” he said slyly, sitting down next to him.

--<3--

“Are you asking me because of a certain Vampire?” Addison asked Nova with a smug smile, as she sat down on the fountain edge.

Novas cheeks flushed, and she sighed again.

“I mean, maybe? I don't know. Its just-”

--<3--

“Doesnt it seem king of crazy?” he asked, looking out at the sunny town.

“To say that i love her.”

--<3--

“Doesnt seem crazy to me.” Addison said with a shrug

“I mean, we are so young.” Nova said, as she sat there, her head in her hands.

--<3--

Zed snorted.

“I mean, you’re not that young,” he said. Victor snorted.

“All I'm asking is, how do you KNOW?” he asked. Zed sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Look man,” he started.

--<3--

“Honestly, if you're asking me, you're not crazy.” Addison sang, as she led Nova back through town.

--<3--

“Yeah you're old enough to know you're in love, that's no lie.” Zed said, as they walked.

“But we're 16!” Victor exclaimed

--<3--

“If you promise me that you'll always be on the same page,” Addy said, looking at her with a smile.

“Then I promise you, he'll be choosing you every time.”

“Every, every time?” she asked uncertainly, as Addison pulled her along again.

--<3--

“We're not worried. Definitely not worried.” Zed sang.

--<3--

“So disturbing, how all of these stars aligned.” Addison sang, leading Nova back into town once they left their backpacks on the front porch.

--<3--

“We’re not nervous, and totally unconcerned with, things uncertain.” Zed said, leading him towards the gates of zombietown.

--<3--

“Youre gonna be fine! So fine. Ain't no doubt about it,”

“It's working out right! Alright! All im thinking bout is,”

“How everything's gonna be okay, no complications in your way.

“Its fine. You're fine! Ain't no doubt about it!”

--<3--

Zed and Addison laughed, as they led the slightly panicking teens back into town square. When they spotted each other, they got a look on their faces, before leading each other together, and pushing Victor and Nova together.

“We’re not worried, definitely not worried.” The two nervously started to sing, as kids all around them stared .

“So disturbing, how all of these stars align. Were not nervous, and totally unconcerned with, things uncertain.” they sang, starting to run forward.

“This is gonna be good.” Zed and Addison said with a laugh, running up to the two kids and starting to sing with them.

“We’re gonna be fine. So fine! Ain't no doubt about it,”

“It's working out right. Alright! All I’m thinkin, bout is,”

“How everything's gonna be okay, no complications in our way,”

“Its fine! We’re fine! Ain't no doubt about it!”

Chapter Text

The Day was starting off fairly strange. I mean, Victor had expected that the arrival of otherworldly beings would cause some confusion, but… nothing on this scale. It was like watching a toddler enter a school for the first time… if the toddler was a genius.

The Aliens, to put it simply, were clearly geniuses. However, most human concepts seemed completely foreign to them. A prime example of this, had been in AP bio. Wyatt had been ranting to him about said aliens, while they obliterated test after test.

“All I'm saying is that there is no chance a group of aliens came to earth just to join a cheer competition.” Wyatt was saying, while trying to balance a pencil on his forehead. Victor snorted, sending a small gust of wind with a flick of his wrist that knocked the pencil off his head.

“I agree, but we can't just go around hating them. There is no telling why they are actually here, and all we can do is wait and see.” he said, while Wyatt picked up his pencil, grumbling slightly.

“Yeah, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.” he said sourly. Victor rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on, just because Eliza is in the city for her internship, doesn't mean you have to be all moody. We can't take the twilight thing too literally.” he said. Wyatt looked offended.

“I told you about her in confidence!” he said in mock offense. Victor snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Whatevr helps you sleep at night man.” he said humorously. Wyatt slapped the back of his head, but he was smiling.

Yeah. He hated and loved the guy.

They watched in some form of amusement, as the aliens completely obliterated all of the assignments. It didn't bother them too much when they beat them because… well. It wasnt like he was valedictorian. He was… selectively smart. Meh, its not like most human subjects were hard.

All that being said, a loud yell got Victor out of his head, as the alien girl with the short hair, (A-li… he thinks?) screamed and snapped a pencil. Wyatt snorted.

“All that intelligence, and they cant work a pencil sharpener.”

Victor snorted, partially agreeing. Still, he had promised he would help them. And it wasnt like it would take much.

He sighed, and stood up, approaching the aliens.

“Hi.” he said, drawing the girl's furious expression away from the snapped pencil.

“I’m, uh, Victor. I was there at the invasion, and um… the prison?” he said. The two aliens just looked at him, their expressions curious.

“Right, right. Well um,” he said, taking the pencil gently from her hand to show her.

“This is called a pencil. We use it to write. However, it gets dull as you use it, so you need to continuously sharpen it. To do that,” he continued, gesturing to the sharpener on the table, as the girl looked at him with an awed expression.

“You stick it in here, and you just,” he demonstrated, slowly turning the handle. The aliens let out a collective “oooh.” and he had to resist the urge to laugh at the absurdity of the whole interaction.

“Wow.” A-li said, looking into his face.

“That was most impressive. Thank you for showing us the way to operate your humanic machinery.” she said with a smile.

“Uh… don't mention it.” he mumbled, sticking his hands into his pockets, slightly uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him.

“You are very helpful.” she repeated a little too enthusiastically, her smile wide.

A-spen, clearing reading A-li’s mind, leaned in, and chimed in.

“And, very conventionally attractive.”

A-li elbowed A-spen, and they sat down, a mischievous grin on their face. A-li turned back to him with a smile, but he just took a step back.

“Cool. um, I'm just gonna.. Uh-” he mumbled, jerking a thumb to his seat, and turning around. He nearly tripped, and winced at the abrupt end to the conversation. It was strange, he was normally very good at casual flirting, but now… it almost left a bad taste in his mouth. Strange.

Wyatt snickered at him as he sat down.

“Real smooth dude.” he commented with a smirk, and Victor rolled his eyes.

“Shut up.” he mumbled. Wyatt just laughed again, leaning back.

“Hey, all I'm saying is that you already have every girl in seabrook in love with you, maybe take it easy on the otherworldly endeavours.”

Victor flicked a pencil at his face. Man, he loved him but he could be such an ass sometimes.
—--------------------------------------------------

Nova tried to listen to Addison spiel about the national cheer off. She really did. But, at the moment it was nearly impossible!

The second she had gotten home the other day, she had received a call from her father. He had been calling to check on her, then subtly hinted that she should gather information on the habits of the Vampire.

Nova had sighed, and rubbed her temples, having to remind her dad, yet again, that the conditions on which she could stay here by the seabrook committee, clearly stated that no information on other species intended for criminal use, could be taken from species under their protection. In the case of Seabrook, and the specific laws, that included Vampires.

Well. really just Victor, as he was considered a relation to the werewolves. Legally at least.

Her father had sounded annoyed, but he didn't bring it up again. Still, she felt uneasy about it. Something in his voice told her that he wasn't letting it go that easy.

All of this was running through her head, as Addison mindlessly droned on and on about her plans for the cheer routine, and the way that the alien species would be competing in comparison to the rest of them. It wasn't that she didn't care about the aliens, (although she didn't really.)

It was just… hard for her to trust them. She had spent her whole life, being trained not to trust others. Even if that training was specifically aimed at Vampires, and even if she trusted a vampire now, she certainly didn't trust all of them. And so an entirely new species, that stumbles into their planet for… cheerleading?

It didn't make any sense. But she wasn't going to SAY that. Addison was way too excited. It would be like telling a little kid that Santa Claus wasnt real.

She sighed, as Addison continued.

“-And their anti-gravity powers could possibly help them with their stunts. Do you thinking that-” she was saying. But nova, (Unintentionally) cut her off when she caught sight of Zed.

“Zed!” she called out. He looked up, but instead of his usual greeting he looked… a little put out to be honest.

“Hey Addy,” she said distractedly, heading over to where Zed and Bonzo stood slowly.

“Im gonna catch up with them, then go meet kylie for english. Ill.. see you at cheer practice.” she said. Addison smiled and nodded, and Nova immediately bolted to see what was up with the zombies.

She was so done with aliens.

“Hey Zed,” she said, approaching with a smile.

“Whats got you so down?”

He sighed, looking over at the sports record charts.

“Aliens.” he grumbled. Bonzo nodded sympathetically, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I don't understand. This has to be academic malpractice.” a voice spoke up. Nova jumped, then looked over to see a wall-e looking robot standing next to Zed. and on the screen of it?

“Eliza?” she said, looking at the invention in confusion. Her zombie friend smiled, waving through the screen, and with one of her robotic arms.

“Pretty cool huh? I built it in the labs the other day to be there. In spirit at least.”

Nova smiled, her eyes roving over the invention in awe.

“Thats so cool!” she exclaimed. She could see her friend smile in pride over the camera, and she felt happy that she could bring some amount of joy. But then, a pointed cough made both of the girls look back over to the other people in the room.

“Hello? Remember me? Still likely to not get into college, and in the middle of an alien induced existential crisis?” he asked. Eliza rolled her eyes, and Nova straightened, a question in her eyes.

“Wait, so whats going on?” she asked. Zed sighed, and gestured at the board behind him.

“Its the aliens. They are so smart, and… otherworldly, that they are breaking all student records, including my own. And, they are beating me out of a class grade point average.” he said solemnly. She glanced over at the metal plates behind him, wincing when she saw the name “A-lin” replacing most of Zeds records.

“Oh. yikes.” she said. Zed sighed, nodding.

“Yeah. Yikes.”

They all stood there, when Willa came over, Wynter behind her.

“That's not the only problem. Addison is completely enamored with them. She is convinced they are here for only cheer, and is being way too optimistic. But i dont think that's the case. That can't be the only reason they are here. We need to find it out.” she said firmly. Zed sighed, shaking his head.

“But how can we do all of that, while still making sure I secure a spot, so that all other monsters can follow?” he said tiredly. Nova wrapped her arms around herself.

“I don't know.”

The room went silent for a minute, as three individual minds began plotting. And maybe they didn't have the whole picture yet, but one thing was clear. Whatever had brought the aliens here, and whatever they were hiding?

It wouldn't stay hidden long.

Chapter Text

Nova walked into cheer practice that day, with practically no expectations for what the aliens would look like while practicing. She hadn’t been expecting them to be bad persay, but more confused. After all, they didn’t know what cheerleading WAS until a few days ago.

Apparently, nova underestimated the power of people able to download online information into their brains.

She walked in, to find the aliens performing possibly one of the most complicated cheer routines they had ever seen.

Her mouth practically fell open, as she watched them use their anti-gravity powers to float and maneuver in the air.

“Damn, Addy was right.” she mumbled, as she came to stand next to Bree. Fortunately, the older girl didn’t seem to hear her.

They all watched in amazement as A-lin pulled off another impressive combo, before coming to an ending position. They stood there for a few seconds in stunned silence.

Enthusiastically, Addison began to clap for the aliens, who immediately gave cheerful smiles, as the rest of the team followed suit. Some, more energetic than others.

The aliens came down the steps, coming to stop in front of them with huge smiles.

“Our telepathic group makes cheer so… easy.” A-li said enthusiastically, oblivious to the dirty looks she got from the Acey’s. A-lin nodded, and continued cheerfully.

“Yes. we are even better than you, and you've practiced your whole life.” he said with a smile. That sentence would have been a lot more insulting if it hadn’t been said with so much… innocence? Or ignorance. Either way, it was hard to be anything other than just stunned.

“So fun. Thank you for inviting us.” A-spen said happily, before leading the rest of the cheerleaders away, completely oblivious to the dark looks they were receiving.

As they walked away, Addison walked to the front, to address the dazed looking team.

“Hey! It's us against them, and we are going to win. We aren't going to let them take what's ours.” she said firmly, looking around encouragingly.

“Like, the seabrook cup.” bucky said ironically, looking around at everyone

“Right, the seabrook cup! Come on everyone,” she said, putting her hand in. Everyone laughed a little, putting their hands in the middle.

“Go, Seabrook!”

Nova laughed, as Bucky nodded.

“Thats the spirit! See, you just needed a common enemy to motivate you.” he said with a laugh, glancing around. Something in Addison’s expression shifted, and she sighed.

“No. We are going to win, because this squad loves each other, not because we hate anyone else. Its not who we are.” she said firmly, glancing around. Bree smiled, and nodded in agreement.

“This cheer off, is our last chance to cheer together. And to win it, we’ll have to try a… a triple hop, double tuck lindy!” she exclaimed. Everyone gasped, and Addison's expression shifted again.

“That move is impossible!” Stacey exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. Jacey nodded quickly, agreeing with her.

“I can’t do that move without face-planting,” he said worriedly.

“Yeah, and his face cannot take another nose job.” Lacey said matter of factly. He turned towards her in offence.

“Together, we can do anything. Come on you guys, we got this!” Addison said brightly, leading them up to practice. Nova smiled, and sighed leaning into Bree.

“Well, this should be fun.”

Addison led them through drills meticulously. One after the other, doing her best to make sure everyone got reps in. Although, there was a sort of weird energy about her, like she was nervous or worried about something. Nova’s eyebrows crinkled, and she leaned over to ask Bree about it, while Addison was working with another section.

“What’s up with Addy today?” she asked, glancing at the blonde girl. Bree gave her a curious look.

“What do you mean?” she asked. Nova shrugged, leaning down to tie her shoes.

“I don’t know. She just is acting like a loaded spring. Did something come up?” she asked, curiously. Bree thought about it for a minute, before her face broke out into a small smile.

“I mean, not really. Other than the thing with the aliens having crushes.”

That made Nova stop, mid redo of her ponytail and look at Bree.

“What?” she asked in confusion. Bree laughed, and shook her head.

“Oh, it's nothing. While we were in the cafe earlier, A-spen and A-li came up to us and asked about why they were feeling so nervous around certain people. We had to explain to them the concept of a crush.” Breeze said, unscrewing her water bottle to take a sip. Nova nodded slowly, processing that information.

“And how did they take that information?” she asked. Bree shrugged, rescrewing her bottle.

“Pretty much how they've taken everything else. Confused. Oh! And get this,” she continued, turning to Nova with amusement in her eyes.

“You’ll never guess who they had a crush on.” she said with a laugh. Nova raised an eyebrow.

“Who was it?” she asked. Bree smiled, and put her bottle down, before leaning in conspiratorily.

“A-spen, had a crush on Zed.” she said with a wink. Nova's mouth dropped open.

“No they did NOT. really? How did Addy take that?” she asked in disbelief. Bree nodded, looking over at Addison.

“Yeah it was insane. Addison reacted fairly normally, trying to explain how relationships work, and love. But there was a lot of stuttering and uncertainty talking about love, so possibly the conversation made her overthink about her and Zed more than usual.” Bree said simply, starting to stretch. Nova joined her, her expression confused.

“Usual?” she asked. Bree sighed.

“Addy has always had trouble trusting people's commitment. For the first few months of our friendship, she would constantly be afraid that I would just leave her. I think it's because of all the pressure put on her by her parents growing up. And with all of this talk of the future, and college, I think that she is questioning her and Zed a lot more. Not necessarily the relationship but… whether or not he is telling the truth when he says he will love her forever.” Bree explained. Nova frowned, and gave her a confused look.

“But they are so in love. How could she not know that?” she asked. Bree shrugged.

“I don’t know. I don't think that she has ever felt she fit in anywhere, so the possibility of someone wanting her there no matter what is foreign to her. She’ll learn eventually, we just have to let her.” she said simply. Nova sighed, and nodded, stretching her arm as she thought about it.

She supposed it made sense. It definitely fit the version of Addy that she had known since coming to seabrook. But it still made her a bit uneasy. After all, if they could so easily be confused about love… how was anyone sure what to feel.

Seeming to notice her emotional turmoil, Bree smiled and nudged her.

“Hey, but on a slightly funnier note, do you want to know what A-li said?” Bree asked mischievously. Nova gave her a confused look, and tilted her head.

“Who?” she asked. Bree smiled, and leaned in.

“Victor.”

Nova leaned back in surprise, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Victor?” she said in surprise. Bree nodded, leaning back and going back to stretching while she spoke.

“Yep. apparently, he is “extremely charming”. That was a more interesting conversation, because i had to explain the concept of liking someone who likes someone else. Wasn’t taken with much understanding either.” Bree said with a laugh. Nova’s brows furrowed, and she coughed.

“What, um. Why would you… say that? He’s not dating anyone.” She said simply, not looking Bree in the eyes. Bree gave her a look, and snorted.

“Seriously? Come on Nov, you’re not fooling anyone. The two of you may not be dating, but I haven’t seen two teenagers so pathetically in love since zed and Addison.” She said with a laugh. Nova’s cheeks flushed, and she looked back at her bag.

“Yeah well… like you said we’re not dating. Maybe he’ll want to date an alien.” She said, barely able to keep the bitter tone from her voice.

Bree laughed, and shook her head fondly.

“Try not to be too jealous Nov, nothing will happen. Victor, is way too gone for you, to notice anything about anyone else.”

And Nova felt her cheeks flush again, unable to form a witty response for that. And when Addison called them over to continue drills, she was almost grateful for the distraction.

Maybe she and Victor weren’t official… but for some reason the thought of her other friends having her back about it, and warning others off warmed her heart.

At least someone was rooting for her.

———————————————————————

She walked out of the gym that day, with her bag slung over her shoulder and her head full of thoughts.

She wasn’t thinking about an alien having a crush on Victor

She wasn’t

She just… was contemplating it. Platonically of course.

It wasn’t her fault that it immediately made the fire inside of her boil with anger. It also wasn’t her fault that she didn’t want to recognize that emotion just yet.

It was just… well. It was just him. Him and his stupid smirk, and the times he spent with her. His presence, just being there, took up most of her mind. And she didn’t know what they were, and it made every sense in her body insecure, and unsure of what to do.

He had held her while she cried. He has listened. Despite everything, he had been a good friend. He had also kissed her against a tree, in a way that made her forget she was supposed to defend herself against a vampire trying to devour her.

Because that is exactly what it had felt like. He wanted to devour her, no fangs or blood needed. And god, she liked it.

The thought of anyone else getting to experience that from him, no matter how unlikely it was.

It made fire nearly light in her hand, and made her seriously wonder about how flammable alien fabrics were.

She shook herself, heading to the school doors. She knew he had likely stayed with zed, and she just needed to see him. To talk to him. After everything with her dad, and the aliens she just needed to see him look like that at her again.

Selfish? Maybe. She didn’t really care.

She opened the door, just as a familiar face nearly ran into her.

Kylie raised an eyebrow at her frenzied state, and then her face slid into a slow smirk.

“He’s on the roof.” She said simply, stepping past her.

“It’s gonna be dark soon, so don’t stay out too long, and be responsible. I think he’s waiting for you.” She said simply, walking away.

Normally, Nova would have a response for that. She would have argued about at least have of what Kylie said. But today?

She entered the building, and went up the roof stairs with thoughts of fangs and brown eyes in her mind.

Chapter Text

Nova entered the roof, with the quiet stealth of someone who had trained their whole lives to be a soldier. But, only so much can be concealed from someone with super senses.

She could see the small smirk on Victor’s face as she came to stand next to him.

“You heard me coming.” she said simply, more statement than question. He shrugged.

“Sort of. I heard your heart beating.” he said softly. She raised an eyebrow.

“You can hear heartbeats?” she asked. He nodded, looking down at the lit up town below them.

“If I concentrate. I don’t just hear them constantly, that would be torture.” he said with a small laugh. She shrugged, nudging him.

“I suppose. All I can do is tell people's body temperature.” she said with a laugh. He raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” he asked. She nodded. He smiled, and turned to face her.

“Well then. Am I as cold and dead as you thought I was?” he asked teasingly. She laughed, and shook her head turning to look at him.

“No. as always, you continue to surprise me.” she said with a smile. He smiles back, his dark hair glinting slightly under the moonlight of the slowly darkening sky.

“So. Why did we come up here?” she asked, looking around. He gave her a smile.

“I never told you I would be here,” he said simply. She gave him a look.

“But you knew I would come anyway.” she said, more statement than question. He shrugged, smiling down at her.

“I hoped you would.”

She smiled, the air feeling soft and warm. Not the harsh sunlight of the day, and not the cool bitterness of the late night. Just that soft twilight, that felt like a place to meet in the middle.

She walked across the roof a bit, putting her hands into her white hoodie, and glancing up. He fell into step beside her, his hands casually in his own pockets as he waited for her to speak.

“I got a call last night.” she began, glancing up at him. He gave her a curious look, and she inhaled before continuing.

“From, um. From Ray.” she said simply, her voice sounding faraway. Victor raised an eyebrow.

“Ray?” he asked. She nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah, um. He's my… best friend back in sunnyside. Well, more like my only friend. His dad works for mine, so we sort of grew up together.” she explained, fidgeting as she avoided his eyes. He nodded slowly.

“And? What did he say?” he asked, his tone slightly confused. She shrugged, still not fully looking at him.

“Not anything crazy. Mostly just things about how it was going down here, how i was doing. And… well you.” she rushed out at the end. Victor tilted his head.

“Me?” he asked. She nodded, looking at him before quickly looking back at her hands.

“Yeah. well, not you specifically by name, but you know. He said “The vampire”. Which, obviously is referring to you, because there isnt another one here, at least that he knows, which obviously means you, but of course he doesnt, know, um…” she trailed off, her cheeks heating when she saw his gentle smirk at her rambling.

“Ah, I see. And what did you tell him?” he asked, clearly giving her an out from her outburst. She took it gratefully, continuing with a small laugh.

“Yeah, um nothing crazy.” she said simply, looking away again. VIctor stopped, gentle amusement, and even a slight amount of concern on his face.

“Nova. whats really going on? Why do you bring this up? You only act like this when somethings on your mind.” he said simply, eyeing her curiously. She stopped dead at the abrupt call out, and stood there for a minute momentarily frozen.

She tried to open her mouth to say something, and a thousand different options flowed through her head. They ranged from telling the truth, to deflecting, to blatantly and outrageously lying. Every single one of them felt like a bad idea.

She sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets.

“I don’t know. It’s just, it has me worried. My people, well really my father, are not ones to simply let me do something like this with no strings attached. I was honestly surprised when he agreed to let me come back. And after how Ray was asking about you today…” she trailed off, the worry in her voice clear as Victor looked at her with creased brows.

“It has me worried for you Victor. For us, me. Seabrook and all my new friends. It feels like… I’ve been living in this bubble of happiness and it’s only a matter of time before they do something to take advantage of all of this.” She said quietly.

Victor looked contemplative, as she bit nervously at her nails, looking over the town. Then, he took the hand she was biting, and softly put it to her side.

“Hey,” he said, voice sincere as he lightly gripped her hand, not quite letting it go.

“It’s going to be alright. We may not know exactly what your father is planning, or hell, even what my aunt is planning. But we have grown so much as people, and together, that I doubt there is much they could do.”

He ran a thumb over the back of her hand smiling softly to himself.

“To tell you the truth, being here with you last year, and this year, has changed so much of what I know about who I am, and how I live my life. Even small things that didn’t used to matter.” He said.

“I mean, everytime I saw a candle flicker back home I would think of your solar flares, and how mad you looked on the first day we met when you nearly fried off my eyebrows. And despite that being a very silly, and slightly terrifying memory, Vera had to smack me to wake me up from the daydreaming it would put me in.” He laughed out. Nova felt her breath catch, as she looked up into his dark warm eyes. He smiled at the sight.

“I don’t know what will happen.” He continued, squeezing her hand, and looking down at her with a small smile.

“But I know whatever it is… I’m not worried. Because I have you.” He said simply. like it made the most sense in the world. Like she wasn’t everything he had been raised to hate.

But honestly… at this moment she didn’t think much about it. For the first time, she saw what he meant about it not mattering. Because yes, he was a vampire and that did make him her enemy by nature.

But on the other… he was Victor. He was all soft smiles, and quiet reassurance. A comforting shoulder, a protective presence. Who he was, or where he came from didn’t matter, because all she saw was who he truly was.

If someone was truly her enemy… she didn’t think she was supposed to care for them this much.

So, she stepped forward, for once not thinking about her responsibility to her people. Because the connection she had with him was more powerful than anything she had felt with her people. Her own family. And maybe that should have been scary… but it wasn’t.

It might be crazy, but it felt right.

“You know, I was talking to Bree.” She said slowly. Victor raised an eyebrow at the mention.

“And she was telling me about the aliens… and how they had crushes on some people we knew. Specifically… our friends.” She got out. He laughed lightly.

“Well duh. I don’t think anyone could have missed the goo-goo eyes that A-Lin was sending your way,” he said with a laugh. She rolled her eyes, cheeks flushing.

“No, you moron. She was actually talking about how A-spen Liked Zed. And how… A-li liked you.” She finished slowly. Victor's eyebrows shot up, like he wasn’t expecting that.

“Really?” He asked. She nodded.

“Yes.”

He nodded too, stepping forward slightly.

“And… how did that make you feel?” He said slowly, looking down at her, her eyes feeling hooded and just slightly overwhelmed from his heavy gaze.

“Surprised. Appalled. More than a little jealous.” She got out, the words breathy. Victor swallowed.

“And… Why is that?” He asked, his eyes looking into her own as if searching for the answer. She smiled up at him.

“Because it’s you. Because you also make me feel like a better person, like my life is permanently changed. I couldn’t feel a slight breeze without thinking of your smirk when you used your powers to blow my hair, or see the color red without thinking about the color of your eyes the day I left.”

She could hear his breath hitch slightly, as she looked up at him, her hand coming to rest on his forearm.

“And to be honest, I’m not even mad anymore. You’re not my enemy, and knowing that now… makes me feel like I could be a better leader than ever. Like someday… we could fix this. Together.” She said softly, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. He looked dazed as she lifted their intertwined fingers and pressed her lips to them, and then absolutely dumbstruck when she gave him that smile after pulling away.

“So to summarize…” she said with a little laugh.

“Yes I felt a little jealous… because she may have a crush on you. But me?” She asked quietly, leaning forward.

“I did first.”

Victor looked absolutely starstruck. Like the very sight of her had struck him dumb, like her words had eased his every fear.

“You did?” He asked. She felt her cheeks flush, but still nodded.

He swallowed, seeming to nod, before slowly leaning down, his mouth an inch from hers. She felt like she was going to pass out. Or die. Or both.

“Don’t be jealous.” He said softly, the words practically a whisper on her own lips.

“Because whatever Bree said to reassure you was probably right. A-li is… not the one I want.” He said. She swallowed, her breath growing shallow at the way he slowly slid his hand on to her waist, And hers slid over his chest.

“She’s not?” She asked, the words practically a breath. He smiled, and shook his head.

“No.”

She felt dizzy. She felt like the world was spinning, and any second she would wake up from a dream and be back in Sunnyside. But she wouldn’t, because this was here, and this was real.

Victor's eyes, his arms, his words, his mouth. They were all here, right in front of her, and practically FOR her. He seemed wrecked, like he was completely under her spell.

That was… an intoxicating amount of power to hold. But god, was it the best feeling in the world.

Their lips brushed, briefly, barely enough to feel it, and yet it burned hotter than her inner fire ever could.

Before she could react, or kiss him senseless, or do ANYTHING, a loud yelp, and a series of growls and loud alien ship noises came from the town square.

The two of them pulled back in surprise, snapped out of their private world, pulled back to the reality of the school roof, and the still crazy situation they were in.

Both of them had flushed cheeks and wide eyes, and hearts bubbling over with the reality of their words.

Nova looked over at him. Her blue eyes wide with surprise. He looked in a similar state, glancing over at her and then back at the square as if concerned.

She almost felt angry at the interruption, but then shook it off, reminding herself how silly that was. Still, she couldn’t help but run a hand over her face to try and calm the furious blush, as gestured one hand to where the noise was coming from.

“We should um, probably go see what’s going on.” she said, trying to school her voice to sound normal. Victor appeared to shake himself out of it, before giving a small smile and a gesture forward.

“Yeah um, right.” he said, still sounding just as dazed. He ran a hand through his hair and then gestured a nervous hand for her to move forward.

“Ladies first.”

Nervously, she went ahead, trying to calm her racing heart. But alas, she couldn’t help the smile that had creeped onto her face, even as she led herself to what was bound to be an eventful situation.

That was just their effect, she supposed.