Z-O-M-B-I-E-S

Chapter 9

Zed and I were going to have dinner before homecoming, and Addy came over to get ready with me. I had my Macbook on one of my nightstands and had it hooked up to my speakers. The lively playlist I had going consisted of artists such as Why Don't We and Cardi B. On my dresser, I had a pumpkin spice candle lit. Basic. I know right? It smelled amazing though.

We were sitting at my vanity doing our makeup. My eyeshadows were a few shades of brown and peaches. It was smoked out at the corners just a tad. My eyeliner was gold, and you can bet my highlight was poppin'. For lips, I used a pinkish nude velvet liquid lipstick. I wanted my makeup to be considerably natural, so it wouldn't overpower my somewhat extra dress. When I was pleased with the look, and Addy finished her hair, she curled mine and pulled the top section into a bun. I'd really been into the half-up half-down look lately.

I stepped into my dress and pulled it up. Addy zipped up the back for me, and I slipped into the gold heels, fastening the ankle straps. The heels were four and a half inches high. It was a good thing I'd been wearing heels practically my whole life. As long as the heel didn't snap off, I would be perfectly fine. I stood in front of my full length mirror and did a twirl. "Oh, you look so good! Zed is going to drop dead when he sees you! The joke was unintentional," Addy backtracks. "Well, he should be here any minute. When you guys get to the dance, you have to tell me what happened at dinner. I will not let you onto the dance floor until you spill the tea. Got it?"

"Yeah, I just took a mental note of it," I replied dryly, rolling my eyes. I was going to tell her immediately anyway. How could I not? She was my best friend after all.

My phone buzzed, and Addy picked it up. "Okay, he's on his way. Should be only a few more minutes!" She took my hand and led me to my living room. "Oh, you're getting a little nervous aren't you? You're doing the fidgety thing with your fingers."

I uncurled my fingers and dropped my hand to my side. "Yeah, just a little anxious."

She frowned. "I don't see why you're worried. You look gorgeous, and you already know Zed likes you."

"I know. I know. It's just the stupid self conscious thoughts clawing to the front of my mind." Just then, the doorbell rang. "Okay, okay. I got this."

"Deeeep breath." Addy breathed in and out, and I did the same. I opened the door and Zed's eyes widened. He handed me a bouquet of flowers, still speechless.

Addy peeked our from behind me and teased, "You might wanna blink or your eyes will dry up, Zed".

He laughed nervously. "You look amazing, Y/N."

I was probably fiercely blushing in the moment. "Thanks. You look pretty good too." I reached out behind me and passed the flowers to Addy for her to put in water. Then I grabbed Zed's hand, and we made our way to a small restaurant not too far from the school. I'd never been to Cleo before, but I heard they had the best food around. Well... there aren't that many restaurants around though.

The waitress seated us at a booth and lit some candles as we scanned the menu. Cleo served Mediterranean cuisine, something I hadn't had in a long time. I opted for the grilled octopus, and Zed couldn't decide, so he ordered the sample platter. We didn't want to be dancing on full stomachs anyway.

Throughout the meal, it seemed as if Zed wanted to ask me something. We would be having a normal conversation and he'd kind of start to change the subject, but would say never mind. I was wondering if Addy was right, and he was planning to ask me out. Was he just nervous or was something else going on? I didn't want to prod him. If he needed to say something, he would say it eventually. I didn't want to pressure him.

After our meal, we walked the short route to school. Luckily, all the roads and sidewalks are pretty smooth. We made some small talk on the way there, flirting back and forth. As we approached the building, pink and green lights filled the sky. The spotlights from inside the dance were also shining through the windows a little, creating a pretty scene.

Zed and I stepped inside and quickly made our way to the gym where everyone else was. We stopped by the snacks and refreshments table on the outskirts first to grab some punch before moving towards the center of the crowd. I don't know why, but punch is so underrated. Maybe that's just the inner child in me, but it's seriously so good.

We danced for a bit to the upbeat music, and Addy popped up to say hi. The three of us decided to go vote for homecoming king and queen. On the way to the booth, Zed and Addy kept glancing at each other. It was definitely suspicious, and I knew they were up to something. I pretended that I didn't notice anything weird going on.

At the booth, Bucky was still shouting for people to vote for him. I ignored him and scanned down the voting card for king. I didn't recognize any of the names other than Bucky, so I checked off a random box. Then I picked up the queen voting card, and Addy started giggling. At the very bottom was my name.