(Time for the Bronzo one-shot collection~! As I said in Beyond the Barrier, I'll be updating either that or this every other day. And I posted my mutants theory fic, A Zombie History Lesson, which gives some context to some things that are coming up in Beyond the Barrier so if you're reading that, I recommend you read History Lesson too! Now, to Bronzo. This ended up much longer than I thought it would be. We're starting with the story of how Bree first got interested in Bonzo, and this weekend (probably), you can expect the story of how Bonzo first got interested in Bree~)
This... is a bad idea...
Bree's eyes went wide at the mention of spirit sticks. She remembered being told that in an emergency, fire would always, always, scare away a zombie. But that was in an emergency. This was a pep rally, and the zombies, as far as she could tell, had only come to watch like everybody else. What was Bucky's deal? Couldn't he just let them go?
She didn't dare say anything, though. She wasn't about to risk getting kicked off the squad, especially not when she was just a stand-in.
She pushed it to the back of her mind and followed Addison out into the gym, giving her friend a good-luck hug and an encouraging grin before she took her place by the bleachers. As the music started and the cheer squad ran into position, the spirit sticks were forgotten. Despite being stuck on the sidelines, Bree couldn't help cheering along, more for Addy than for the Mighty Shrimps. Somewhere behind her, she heard someone chanting, a deep voice, but certainly enthusiastic. She glanced up into the crowd and among the few zombies dotted around, she recognised the one they'd seen in Zombie Town the night before. Zed, Addison had told her. But he wasn't the one chanting – it was the taller zombie beside him. He was obviously enjoying himself, despite the sour look the girl next to him, another friend of theirs, Bree assumed, was giving him. Something about the scene made Bree giggle to herself.
She turned back to the action, feeling good knowing even the zombies were having fun. Then she was reminded of why she was so worried about them earlier. The spirit sticks.
"FIRE!"
Bree's head snapped back round to the crowd behind her. Every zombie there looked at least a little concerned but the boy who had only a moment ago seemed so happy to be there, was suddenly shaking in fear. Zed had an arm around him, restraining him, and was clearly trying to calm him down but it was no use. He broke out of Zed's grip, knocking him down, and began pushing his way down to the floor. Bree's hands flew to her mouth, her pom-poms partially blocking her view. The boy was terrified and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him, and even a little guilty. Maybe she should have spoken up when Bucky came up with his plan.
It all went downhill from there. In his blind panic, the zombie boy ran straight through the cheerleaders' path, causing the three boys standing there to flee before they could catch-
"Addy...!" Bree gasped when she saw.
"Addison!" Zed called out at the same time.
His voice was oddly low and gruff, and his eyes looked way too dark. There wasn't much time to think about that, though, as he came crashing down the bleachers and sent the football team flying on his way to catch Addison just in time. The whole room burst into cheers, Zed was taken away by the coach and Bree rushed to Addison's side.
"Addy, oh my gosh, are you OK?" the words came tumbling out, "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Bree, I'm fine..." She seemed slightly dazed but otherwise alright. Still, Bree couldn't help fussing a little. Addison's eyes were fixed on the door Zed had walked out of a minute ago. Bree sighed and shook her head, giving her a quick once-over just to make sure, but something was bothering her. She looked around.
The zombie boy was gone.
- ANOTHER GIRL, ANOTHER ZOMBIE -
First, there had been zombies in the basement, then there were zombies at the pep rally and now, there were zombies in the cafeteria. Things were changing fast and Bree wasn't entirely sure how to take it. It got even more complicated when she noticed Addison staring off into the distance.
"It's Zed..."
Bree followed her gaze to where Zed and his friends sat in the back corner of the room, messing around like any other teenagers. It suddenly clicked in her head.
"Do you like-like him? Do you like-like the zombie?" she whispered, "Wow..."
And yes, that was bad. Possibly dangerous. For a number of reasons. But to Bree, that only meant sticking by Addison, being her friend, keeping her safe. Everything would be fine, as long as this was kept quiet.
"Nothing's going to happen! He probably doesn't even remember my name."
"Addison!"
Oh, no...
Bree looked up in surprise. Not only did he clearly remember her name, he was totally prepared to call it out in the middle of the cafeteria at lunch.
But then the zombie sitting opposite Zed also looked up, right at them, and Bree immediately recognised him as the one who had run from the pep rally. And for a brief second, their eyes met.
Bree flushed and turned back to Addison, hopefully, before he noticed.
Don't...
"Well, I can't be rude...!"
Don't...
... She meant Addison, right? "Don't" as in "don't go over there", right?
Definitely not "don't look at him again". Because why would she need to tell herself that?
Well.
As she watched Addison stand and make her way to the zombies' table, along with, apparently, the rest of the student body, Bree's eyes slowly shifted back to the zombie boy. Now that he wasn't paying attention to her, she got a good look at him. He was taller than Zed, and Zed was pretty tall, with long, shaggy hair. He didn't wear any jacket or coat made out of the government-mandated uniforms like the others, although he had at the pep rally, as she recalled. The sleeves had been ripped off. She'd noticed. While Zed and Addison talked, Bree watched him pick up the apple peel lying on the table in front of him and craft it into some kind of sculpture, which he presented to Addison. Something fluttered in Bree's heart when she saw the small smile on his face.
Then she blinked and looked down.
She shook her head. Behind her, the Aceys were stepping down from the captains' table and taking the opportunity while they drew everyone's attention, she quietly stood and slipped out of the cafeteria.
In the empty hallway, Bree paced back and forth, her eyes closed, her hands splayed out in front of her, almost looking like Bucky's jazz-hands, and her voice a soft whisper.
"OK, OK, you don't like the zombie, you don't like the zombie, you don't like the zombie..."
She didn't know him. She hadn't talked to him. She couldn't possibly like him. She sighed, stopped pacing and opened her eyes. But ahead of her, she saw Addison, her head down, leave the cafeteria as well. Not quite feeling up to talking about this just yet, Bree turned a corner and waited until Addison was gone.
- ANOTHER GIRL, ANOTHER ZOMBIE -
Bree was practically overflowing with joy when another member of the squad couldn't be at the football game – she was in. She stood next to Addison, smile bright, pom-poms waving, ready to face the fans. True, the team certainly was not the best, but she was there. Nothing else mattered. Then, once again, she heard a voice from the bleachers, a much younger one this time.
"Go, Seabrook! Go, Seabrook!"
Bree couldn't help feeling proud of whoever this little girl was. When Bucky wasn't looking, she turned back and scanned the crowd. The little girl was a zombie, held in her father's arms. And right next to her... him.
Holding a stuffed dog which, Bree guessed, must have belonged to the little girl.
Oh, no...
"Go, Seabrook!"
As she cheered, the boy lifted up the stuffed dog, waving its paws in time. The same sweet smile graced his features. Bree let out a long sigh.
Why'd he have to be cute?
It went on. He was at every game, of course, supporting his friend. He sat with Zed at lunch every day. Always there, in her line of sight. She tried to keep her eyes forward but she somehow found herself twisting round to look at him every time. She started seeing him around the hallways as the zombies were further integrated into the school.
And she seemed to feel especially peppy whenever she saw him.
Eventually, she gave in. She had to know more about him. But she wasn't about to go and walk up to a zombie and start a conversation. Sure, some of the other students did, but those students weren't on the cheer squad. Those students didn't have Bucky and the Aceys watching their every move. At lunch one day, she let Addison see when she quickly glanced over at the zombies' table, although without making it too obvious she was looking at one zombie in particular.
"So... Zed's friends...?"
"What about them?" Addison smiled, oblivious.
"What're they like?"
"They're pretty cool, actually," Addison seemed to brighten up, "Eliza's great with computers and tech and that sort of thing. Zed told me she even hacked her Z-band to play video games on it. She's fun to hang out with once you get to know her. She can be a little intense sometimes, and sarcastic, but she's cool."
Bree nodded, "And... the guy...?"
"Bonzo! He's awesome, he's like a master of art and music, it's insane" if she noticed the smile tugging at the corner of Bree's mouth, she didn't say anything about it, "And he's really positive, too, kinda like you. I've never met a guy that dishes out hugs like Bonzo."
Bree chuckled softly, looking down.
"Bonzo..." she muttered with a smile, tasting the name. She pretended not to see Addison's questioning look, "Uh, so... I know this was weeks ago but I just remembered," that was a lie, she'd been thinking about this the whole time, "He ran off at the pep rally at the start of the year, right? Was... was he OK?"
Addison's face fell.
"Oh... Wow, I totally forgot to ask... I mean, I hope so, he seriously did not deserve that. He's such a sweet guy."
"Is he?" Bree asked, forgetting herself for a brief moment. She tilted her head, unable to stop herself from smiling.
Addison frowned, a smirk appearing on her lips.
"You seem awfully interested in Bonzo."
"What?" Bree's eyebrows shot up for a second and she nervously giggled, "No, I-I was just curious, you know, you're getting really close to Zed and all so I just thought..." she trailed off and Addison propped her chin up on her fist, quirking an eyebrow, "Addy...!"
"Sounds like you've got your eye on your very own zombie."
"Addy!"
Bree gaped at her.
"Bree!" she giggled, but then softened, "It's OK. Look at me, I have Zed. And you have Bonzo."
"I don't have him..."
"Not yet."