After dinner, they went back to the Necrodopolis house, where Addison hung around until Zoey went to bed and Mr. Necrodopolis came home. Then Zed offered to walk Addison back to her hotel, where they just walked and talked. Zed basically gave her the Seabrook tour, telling her a bullshit history explanation of random places that made her laugh.

After forty minutes, they had stopped in front of the only hotel in Seabrook. Addison stepped in front of him, swinging their linked hands back and forth. With her free hand, she pulled out her phone and held it out for him. "Put your number in," she told him. "So we can text about tomorrow."

Zed nodded, taking it and punching in his numbers with one hand. He also took the liberty to take a contact picture, making a stupid face at the camera that had her giggling. He was such an adorable dork.

Zed passed her her phone back and Addison looked, seeing he texted himself a random emoji—an elephant and a random heart, her two most recent emojis.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Zed asked.

"Of course, goodnight." She stood on her toes and pecked his lips, giggling. "Let me know when you get home. No detours, I'm timing you."

Zed chuckled. "Timing me?"

"I'll be nice and give you an hour," she teased. She set a timer and showed him her phone, earning a laugh.

"Okay, okay," he chuckled. "I'll text you as soon as I get home. I promise."

Addison nodded. "See you tomorrow!" She stood on her toes and pecked his lips again, getting a laugh out of him.

"One more," he said, leaning down and kissing her, this time for longer than a few seconds. Addison giggled when they pulled apart, ruffling his hair.

"Okay. Bye for real."

"Bye for real."

Addison skipped into the hotel, peaking through the glass doors and giving Zed another wave. He blew her a kiss, then started back down the road. Addison turned, bouncing to the staircase; she was too excited to stand in one spot in the elevator. Her wig was off once she was on her floor and she sprinted down the hall, fumbling with her room key in her pocket.

Addison spun into her room, a stupid grin on her face. Zed Necrodopolis…what a man! She flopped back onto her bed with a happy sigh.

Across the room, her cousin, travel companion, and personal 'bodyguard' Bucky chuckled. Addison didn't bother sitting up to acknowledge him and he said, "Someone's happy."

Addison rolled onto her side, facing her cousin. He had a mocking smile on his face that, if she weren't so stoked about Zed, she'd punch. Bucky had a very punchable face.

"The little girl liked the gifts?" Bucky asked.

"Yes, she had a great Christmas," Addison said. "And so did I! Her brother, her older, super hot brother, is also really sweet and we hung out. All day."

Bucky raised an eyebrow. Addison gave him a dreamy smile, imagining Zed's cute cheeks that she just wanted to pinch and hold all the time, his bright smile, his perfect brown eyes—and that was just his face! Truth be told, after she had read his letter about his family and his little sister, she may have done a bit of research to verify it was all true. And then she may have gotten sucked down the rabbit hole that was his very cute, very public Instagram page, filled with cute videos of him and his little sister and silly pictures of him and his friends.

He was cute and adorable and he seemed very sweet. So maybe she did a bit of begging to fly out to meet him. She didn't plan to fall for the guy. But…how could she resist such a charming, sweet, caring soul?

"You're drooling," Bucky stated, though Addison knew he was just exaggerating and frowned. "You better be joking about that. Wouldn't Aunt Missy find out you were whoring out on your vacation."

Addison propped herself up on her elbow. "I wasn't…I didn't do that," she argued, frowning and blushing all at once. Leave it to Bucky to ruin her good mood. "I'm not—that's—ugh!"

"Relax, Cuz, just teasing you," Bucky said. "Tell me about your day. With your super hot super sweet guy."

At the mention of Zed, a small smile started forming on her face. "He's so much cuter in person. And he's so nice. And his voice is fantastic! He did a whole Christmas song for the little kids! It was so sweet!" She sighed and rolled onto her back. "I kissed him. I just—I just kissed him! And it was great! It was so perfect and—we have a date. Tomorrow."

Bucky scoffed at that. "We're leaving in the morning."

Addison shook her head. "I already called Daddy and asked if I could spend a little more time with Zoey and her family, and he said yes."

"Oh really? Did you mention your little boy toy? Who's probably just into you because you're rich and famous? What did Daddy Dale say to that, huh?"

Addison pursed her lips. She moved to a sitting position, running her fingers through her hair. "I…I don't think so. I think…I think he likes me, like for real."

Bucky scoffed. "We'll see."

Addison rolled into her back. She was sure, in her heart, that Zed could be the one. They instantly clicked! It was as if they had known each other for years! But…there were always those people, who just faked interest, because she was famous, and her parents were rich. And Zed would be the type—he was poor, which he emphasized a lot in his letter. But he was too sweet to do that. He didn't even notice all the hints she had dropped all day, not until she had basically flung herself onto him.

"And if you think I'm not going with you tomorrow—"

Addison sat up and shouted, "What! Why!"

Bucky was standing at the foot of her bed now and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Last time I left you alone, you went out and got yourself a boyfriend!"

"You can't—chaperone my date!"

"Watch me!"

Addison groaned, falling onto her bed. "Bucky!" she whined.

"Don't give me that tone," Bucky argued. "Last I checked, I'm your personal bodyguard. I don't like something, it doesn't happen. You know I didn't want you coming out here, and now you want to go out with some boy?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes. Addison pouted and looked down, knowing he was right. "I could call Garrett and have us out of here by ten. But I'm being nice. Aren't I, Addison?"

She nodded, silently relenting.

"Wherever you go with this—what's his name?"

"Zed."

"That's a dumb name," he muttered, then he continued with his rant. "Wherever you go, I'm there. It's my job to keep you safe. Got it?"

"Yes."

Bucky started walking away, muttering, "Lucky I don't call her parents. Bet Aunt Missy would shut this down in a second."

Addison rolled her eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. Bucky could tell her dad and mom, who were her producer and manager, respectively. She didn't know what would happen if they found out she had a thing for some farm boy (which was just what they liked to call "irrelevant" people). It probably wouldn't be good.

Bucky disappeared into the bathroom and left her thoughts. Instead, all the possible ways Zed planned on charming her tomorrow went through her mind. Not that he needed to charm her anymore. She was already whipped. He was so cute…and so nice and caring. And his voice! She wondered idly if he would write a song about her. Maybe she could write one about him. He was pretty great, and she couldn't stop thinking about how he made her feel.

She rolled off her bed, hitting the floor and shrieking. "Okay, bad idea," she muttered to herself, getting to her knees.

She stood up and crossed the room, taking her guitar out of the case on the desk. She went back and sat on her bed, already strumming out a tune.

"…and that's a good mood, have you feeling like you getting in a good groove, feeling better than you feeling in awhile. I just wanna make you smile."

Addison smiled, thinking of Zed's sweet smile. Her phone vibrated and she jumped, grabbing and seeing a text from the man who occupied all her thoughts.

Zed Necrodopolis: Hey Addy Dee! I'm at home and I'm going to bed! I'll text you in the morning for the plans for tomorrow.

She giggled, typing out her reply. Me: Okay goodnight! See you tomorrow!

Zed sent several emojis—hearts and kissing faces and smiling faces—and Addison giggled. He was incredibly adorable and affectionate. She would get used to that.

Another message went through—a mirror selfie of Zed, in a loose and fraying tee shirt on, grinning at the mirror, toothbrush in his mouth and foam dripping down his chin. He even captions it 'Goodnight Beautiful! I'll be thinking of you!' And—how did she get so lucky? It felt like they had been dating forever and not…four hours.

And he called her beautiful!

Addison propped her phone up on the desk, managing to snap a picture of her and her guitar. She hit send and added, 'Feeling inspired by a certain Zombae. See you tomorrow!'

Zed's leg bounced nervously, shaking the couch and annoying his sister. She kept shooting him glares but he ignored her, trying to concentrate on the dumb show on the television. She ignored it too, or at least he thought she was, until she muted the television and turned to him.

"Why are you doing that?" she snapped, annoyed.

Zed jumped in surprise. "What?"

"Why are you nervous? You hung out with Addy Dee all day yesterday. You stole my Christmas present." Zoey complained. "And you get to hang out with her again!"

"Zoey." Zed rolled his eyes. "You don't understand."

"I'm eleven, not dumb."

Zed closed his eyes and huffed out a sigh. "You're not going on a date with a celebrity, are you?" he snapped back. "I'm allowed to be nervous, okay."

Zoey rolled her eyes and got off the couch. "Whatever. I'm gonna go get ready."

Zed fixed her a confused look. She walked backward out of the den and said, "You're going on your date with Addy Dee, I'm sleeping over at Sofi's house."

"Are you mad?"

Zoey let out a loud groan in response, turned and ran up to her room. Zed closed his eyes and sighed. Eleven was such a tender age. Every age was a tender age with Zoey. Zed got off the couch and left the den, heading for the stairs.

"Zoey!" Zed called.

"Leave me alone!"

Zed rolled his eyes and took the stairs three at a time. At least, until there were knocks on the door. He froze and turned, knowing it was Addison, therefor their date. He groaned and ran down the stairs, quickly unlocking it. He smiled at Addison, dressed all cute in her white sweater and orange skirt, blonde hair curling around her shoulders. Then his smile fell when he noted the grinning man behind her, dark hair, incredibly tanned for the middle of winter, annoying little dimples.

Zed mentally shook his head and smiled again. "Addison! Hey!" he greeted. "And…"

"This is Bucky, my—"

"Cousin, bodyguard, protector. You get the gist." He grinned and Zed couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, his smile actually falling.

"Uh, nice to meet you?"

Addison rolled her eyes. "He insisted on chaperoning," she whispered.

"Well that's fine," Zed smiled. He stepped to the side and said, "You guys can come inside. Let me get Zoey out of here and then we can go."

Addison nodded and they both walked inside. Zed directed them to the chairs at the kitchen table, locking the door, then bolted upstairs.

Bucky whistled and Addison turned, watching her cousin slowly wander the living room. He slowed at the patchy couch, clicking his tongue at the buster seams with cotton poking out. Her stomach dropped once she realized he was judging, judging the Necrodopolis' hard, and there was no way they'd pass his judgment.

"How…comfortable," Bucky mumbled.

"Bucky—"

He turned and gave her an innocent smile. "I'm just looking around, Addy Dear," he said. "Nothing to worry about. It's a…well I wouldn't call it lovely, but it sure is a home." He laughed, his annoying, cocky laugh that always made her glare.

"It's so dark in here," he commented. His fingers brushed over the dangling yarn of a wired lightbulb that stood out from the wall, throwing a dim light over the living room. "Yellow lights…ugh. Kinda tacky."

"Don't be a jerk," she scolded. "I think it's cute, classic."

"Of course you do, you're swooning for this bum."

"Bucky."

He laughed and smiled at his cousin. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. He was so, so stupid sometimes. Those jokes were never funny. They were just mean, and unfair.

Bucky crouched by the side table, humming, and Addison rushed over to see what had caught his attention. It couldn't have been anything good, it never was when it came to Bucky. There wasn't anything on the table beside a pad of sticky notes, a marker, and three framed pictures. But Bucky grabbed the largest of the three. Addison peered around her cousin, her eyes landing on the old family picture. It had to be recent because both Zoey and Zed looked nearly the same, smiling on a park bench, their dad in the corner of the selfie, and a woman wedged between Zed and Zoey, grinning. It had to be their mother.

They all had green hair, except the woman, who had a white scarf wrapped around her head. It was definitely their mom. But it had to be a few months old. Zed had written in his letter how she had passed back in September from cancer.

"Bucky, don't play with that," she warned.

He glanced at her and chuckled. "What? Don't want me ruining the perfect family picture." He tossed it lightly in the air and pretended to drop it. "Woah," he teased, laughing when she gasped.

"Bucky that's not funny!"

"What, this?" He let it slip from his grip again and caught it by the corner, chuckling.

"Bucky—"

"Relax, Addison." He grinned, returning his eyes to the picture. "I'm not you."

She rolled her eyes, wanting to back away and let him screw up. But she couldn't. That picture had to be important to the family; if something happened to it, they'd be crushed. And, a little less importantly but still pretty important, they'd blame her, which would ruin her chance with Zed. And she happened to really like him.

"Just stop," she whispered.

He grinned at her, chuckling. "Fine," he sang. "You're no fun."

Bucky went to place the frame on the table, letting it go prematurely. The frame clipped the edge of the table, the cousins watching in horror, the frame free falling and hitting the ground with a resonating crash. Glass shards scatter on the floor, the ear-splitting sounds of cracking and breaking wood echoing in their ears.

Addison stared with wide eyes, unable to formulate any words other than, "Shit shit shit shit."

Footsteps pounded on the stairs. Addison whipped around, her pulse thundering in her veins. Zed jumped over the railing, eyeing the scene before him, while Zoey continued the normal way.

"What's going—" Zed's eyes landed on the broken frame and he froze. Addison and Bucky looked at the frame, then at each other, then back to Zed, sidestepping away from the mess.

"What…what did you do?"

Addison opened and closed her mouth, unable to find the right words. Zed floated over the carpet, kneeling down in front of the mess.

"I-I'm so sorry," Addison stuttered.

Zed nodded once. He cleared his throat and said in a forced positive voice, "It's fine. I can fix it later."

Addison frowned, her chest flooding with guilt. It wasn't even her fault. But it wouldn't have happened if she hadn't caved and let Bucky chaperone. So it was her fault. In some sick, twisted way.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can…buy you a new frame, or something."

Zed looked up and gave her a smile. "It's fine, really," he assured her. "Let me just clean this up before we go."

"I can help."

"I'd rather you not." He smiled, just to be polite, and she nodded, her face flushing. The message was clear: he didn't want her screwing things up anymore. Or Bucky for that matter.

This date was already off to a great start.

Dinner was a lot less fun knowing his every move was being watched by her overbearing, overprotective, annoying, snarky cousin. He walked behind them the entire way, butting into their conversation and overall killing the vibe. All Zed wanted was a nice night out with Addy Dee, not an okay evening with Addy Dee and her bodyguard.

Thankfully, Bucky sat at a different table, several spaces away from the little corner booth Zed and Addison occupied. Zed was just glad Erin was hosting. Either way, he wasn't going to let Bucky ruin his date.

Addison couldn't stop looking around the dining room with a wistful smile. "What is this place?" she asked. "It's so…amazing. I love it."

Zed lifted the menu for her to see, saying, "Cove & Co.?"

Addison giggled. She scooted closer, smiling. "It's so pretty," she whispered. "Do you bring all your dates here?"

The way she batted her eyelashes sent his heart into a frenzy. He managed to play it off with a low laugh, shaking his head. "This happens to be the classiest restaurant in all of Zombietown," he informed her. "And owned by my best friend's mom, so I get an amazing discount, because Mac loves me."

She tilted her head at him. "Who friend?"

"I only have two friends!"

Addison laughed, her shoulders shaking, leaning forward. She chewed the corner of her lip like she always did when she laughed, grinning at him from the corner of her eye. His breath caught in his throat; she was so beautiful, adorable, amazing. And she was there, with him of all people. How did he get so lucky?

"I just wanted to tease you," she said. "Though your two friends are pretty dope."

"Eh, they're all right."

She giggled, bashfully ducking her head down. She had the most adorable dimple in her left cheek. Who was he kidding, everything about her was charming, delightful, cute.

Addison smiled at him, a devilish twinkle in her eyes. She scooted closer, their thighs brushing together. His eyes stare at the extra contact, her white tights pressing against his jeans. It was nothing, it shouldn't have sent his heart into a frenzy the way it did.

"Is this…" he lifted his eyes to her, gulping at the sight of her crystal blue eyes looking up at him through dark lashes, "too close?"

Heat crawled up his neck, his mouth running dry. "No, uh, no," he muttered.

"You sure? You seem a little nervous." She laid her hand on his shoulder, her fingers tweaking in his hair. She got closer, impossibly closer, smiling like a little minx.

He needed to cool it. Calm down. He huffed out a breath and smiled, playing off his nerves. "Where would you get an idea like that?"

She giggled, leaning forward and closing the gap between them. Their noses bumped together clumsily, but their lips moved in silent, perfect harmony. His mind drew blank. Everything before that was quick, chaste, tender. Barely there kisses. This, this was slow, worthwhile, everything.

Kissing Addison, under the soft yellow lights, soft funk music playing over the speakers, it was like nothing he'd ever done before. His hand brushed her ear, tangling in her hair. Addison shifted, turning more to him, almost sliding in his lap.

Almost…

Someone cleared their throat and they both jumped, separating. Zed looked over, blushing under the gaze of his favorite waitress, Emma. He cleared his throat, swiping his hand at his mouth, eyes going wide at the red stain that comes back. He's frazzled and a little all over the place, and he can't imagine how Addison is. Except he couldn't look at her, or her go red all over and forget how to speak. He just knows it.

"I'm sorry folks, this is a dining establishment, we kindly ask you to not get frisky in the booths," Emma said with a smirk.

Zed fought back a groan. There was no way he'd live this down. Emma would tell Mac, who'd tell Eliza, who would tease him forever about it all.

"Hi Emma," he said with a forced smile.

"Mr. Necrodopolis, nice to see you again." She eyed Addison and Zed finally looked over. She had shrunk back into the seat, letting her brown wig hide her face, though the short, frizzy bob did little work. They were just lucky the restaurant was dim. "So, you gonna introduce me to your date?"

"Um, no," Zed said. He gave her a sheepish grin and Addison snorted.

"Wow, okay then," Emma said. "What do you want to drink?"

"A water please," Addison said, her voice higher than normal.

"Me too."

Emma nodded and walked off, not saying much more to them. The second she was out of sight, both of them started laughing. They share a look, trying to keep quiet. But it's all so insane and odd and fun, a type of fun neither of them have experienced in a long time.

"Okay, okay, I'm gonna go like, fix myself," Addison said. "I'm pretty sure you nearly pulled off my wig."

"Yeah, and I'm definitely wearing your lipstick," Zed joked, following her.

She pulled down her skirt once she stood. His hand slid around her waist, resting comfortably on her back. Like they've been dating for years and not less than a day. It's all so comfortable and familiar, and it's crazy. He led her toward the back of the restaurant, the two of them separating at the bathrooms.

Zed stared at his reflection—the little strands of hair that were messy from her fingers, his swollen lips, the little smears of red around his mouth. And best of all his smile. He was happy, actually happy, happier than he'd been in a long time.

He wasn't going to mess this up, he wouldn't lose her. She was beyond his wildest dreams, too good for him, too good to him, yet she was there, on a date, with Zed. Whatever it took, he wouldn't screw this up.

Zed turned on the sink. He grabbed for a paper towel, letting it soak for a moment, then brought it to his face to clean his mouth. The heavy door of the bathroom pushed open and Zed glanced through the mirror, seeing Bucky walking towards him and groaned under his breath. Right, of course, the one small technicality in all of this. The only thing standing between Zed and Addison.

"You," Bucky hissed.

Zed glanced at him. "Me," he replied cheekily.

Bucky stalked over to him, glaring and smirking all at once. It was creepy, partially intimidating. "You have some nerve, Ted," he spat.

"It's Zed."

"It could be goddamn David Beckham for all I care," Bucky snapped. "Keep your hands to yourself and your grimy tongue out of my baby cousin's mouth."

Zed couldn't help but smirk, saying, "Well actually there was no tongue," like a stupid, smartass looking for trouble. His mom always told him he had trouble holding his tongue.

Bucky narrowed his eyes. "You think this is funny?"

He did, but he wouldn't say that out loud. Not this time, at least. Instead, he shook his head. He turned off the water, turning to face Bucky more fully.

"Look, I get why you don't like me," Zed said. "I have a little sister, and I would commit murder before I let anyone hurt her."

"Don't try to relate to me," Bucky scolded. He eyed Zed up and down and added, "farm boy."

Zed reeled back. Farm boy? Were there even farms in New Hampshire?

"I've got my eyes on you, Ned."

Zed stared at him, shocked to say the least. He really had the nerve to threaten him. As if Zed didn't remember that, not even an hour ago, Bucky broke his picture frame. Not just any frame either, but it was his mom's favorite frame, that she'd hand-selected over FaceTime from Michaels.

There was no way Zed was gonna let some asshole midget treat him like that. His expression hardened. "I hope you enjoy the show," he teased. He couldn't help himself and winked, walking past Bucky and out of the bathroom. He could not believe he just did that.

He went out into the hall, ready to head back to the table—was he supposed to go back or should he wait for her? Would she have waited for him? Whatever, she wasn't a baby, she could find their table, if she wasn't already there. His internal debate didn't matter much, because Addison was standing off to the side of the women's room, talking to some guy Zed vaguely recognized. He was taller than Addison, but not as tall as Zed, brooding and dark and ominous. Zed frowned. He wasn't jealous, or threatened, or anything. He was…just observing, for a second longer than he probably should have.

He didn't hear much of the conversation, not until Addison said, "I'm gonna—go back to my date now."

"Oh come on, Babe, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we just talk a bit more." His hand touched her shoulder and Zed sucked in a breath, anger rising within his chest.

Addison stepped away from him, saying, "I really have to go…"

The guy grabbed her and growled something, his voice low and quiet and turning Zed's stomach upside down. "Please don't touch me," Addison said, clearly uncomfortable.

Behind him, the bathroom door swung open, Bucky shouting, "I'm not done with you, Red!"

Zed's head throbbed, actually throbbed, rage pulsing in his veins. The frame, the stupid teen drama, the Bucky, the asshole. It was too much, too many little things that he kept trying to be cool about, kept trying to be smart and keep a level head, not do something stupid. He growled low under his breath, red dancing in the corner of his vision. He marched toward Addison and the pervy psycho.

There's arguing, a lot of shoving, none of which Zed remembered. He never remembered when he got in a fight, just that he did something stupid, that always, always had awful consequences.

He's walking down the sidewalk, a cold water bottle pressed to his bruising eye. Addison was long gone, dragged off by her security team almost against her will. But it was for the best. Bad things happened to people Zed cared about.

Behind him, a siren blared and he stopped, groaning. Officer Skully rolled down his window, raising an eyebrow at Zed. "You really shouldn't be walking home this late at night, Zed," he said.

"I know."

"Need a ride?"

It was a bar fight, four years ago. Zed wasn't old enough to be there to begin with, let alone drink or dance with the girls there. Especially girls who, apparently, were in a relationship. He was fifteen, and stupid, with a broken nose, in the back of a police car. Officer Darrel Barton, affectionately nicknamed Skully (for no other reason than being bald).

Zed was no stranger to the backseat of Skully's car, his lectures or words of advice. He was no stranger to Skully's dinner table and his six year old son Alex that Zed got to babysit. Skully was like a second home.

So Zed nodded his head and went around the hood, climbing into the passenger seat. Skully drove off without a word. They don't talk, the occasional sounds from the police radar breaking the quiet but nothing more.

Zed looked at his phone through his one good eye, the cursor blinking angrily at him. He wanted to text her, apologize, make things alright. But he couldn't. Everything was already ruined. The best thing to ever happen to him, gone, just like that.