Problem

Part 3

"Back to your place or mine?" She offered with a hint of seduction in her tone, her implication clear for anyone in earshot. And she spoke up too.

He was fucking Addison Wells. And it was only his second day.

"Holy shit." Tanner muttered in shock. Addison and Zed were already halfway across the parking lot before any of them could even make a move to stop them.

"You didn't have to do that." He grumbled as they walked along the sidewalk when I finally crossed the street, off school property and home-free in their subdivision.

"What? Get those meatballs off your back?" She questioned in confusion.

"Yeah. I guess. Kinda? I don't know!" He yelled as he threw his head back in frustration. "I'm never gonna fit into the football team anyways. It doesn't matter." He sighed in disappointment. Addison raised a brow.

"Football means that much to you?" She asked. He nodded.

"You could say it's my family's legacy." He explained with a proud nostalgic look in his eyes. "All the boys of the family have been All-Star fullbacks that've led their teams to victory." Then he sighed again. "But I'm probably not even gonna make the team."

Addison frowned. Why did she hate that look on his face so much?

"You'll definitely make the team." She stated. Zed looked over at her curiously.

"What?"

"You must be pretty good if they're trying to knock you down a couple notches. They're jealous." She said like it was obvious.

"You think?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah. Now, how're your hands?" She grabbed his wrists, stopping them in the middle of the sidewalk, and checked the scrapes. Zed winced when she plucked out a pebble. "They're not terrible. Probably be sore for a while. But you need to get them cleaned." She instructed and pulled him back onto their path towards home by one wrist she refused to release.

~*~

Addison barged into the Necrodopolis household, with Zed in tow, and headed straight to the kitchen. Not even bothering to look at his mother, who was in the middle of prepping dinner, as she shoved his hands under the faucet and washed the wounds at expert speed, yet surprisingly gently.

Zora stared silently in shock and confusion. But when the intruder started to dry off her son's hands, she shook her head to snap out of her daze and put on a firm frown.

"What in the world is going on?!" She finally voiced, marching over and snatching his hand from Addison's with a glare. She quickly looked him over, noticing the fresh rips in his pants. "Zed! Those jeans weren't cheap!" She pulled him away from the girl with a stern look on her face. "You better not have been rolling around with that white-haired harlot!" She accused through clenched teeth.

Zed blanched. "W-what?! No, Mom, it was nothing like that! Addison just—" he tried to explain but stopped abruptly when said girl pipes in.

"I wouldn't mind taking him out to roll in the dirt~!" Addison snarkily remarked, playing right into the role Zora was portraying her as.

Zed could basically see the smoke coming out of his mom's ears from how furious Addison's comment made her. And when he looked over, Addison was smirking at her. Only making things worse!

He was terrified (of both women) but prepared himself to get in between them if a cat fight broke out.

Right on cue, however, the front door opened. All three of their heads turned to see Zevon and Zoey waltzing in, completely unaware of the situation they were walking into.