Limelight

Roz: Tryouts

(I'm getting back into the swing of things now, guys! I have a lot of Limelights in the works, plus a BtB, more planned for both and the Tattooed Mistakes bonus chapter is becoming a multichapter sequel! Maybe just a two- or three-shot, but it could end up even longer! And it's just as angsty, if not moreso, than the original TM~

But here on the canon timeline, everything's fine and we have some Rozeira to enjoy ^^)

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"I know Bucky's been a little nicer lately, but he's still Bucky..."

Roz had to agree with that, but still, they weren't going to just accept that their girlfriend might not make the squad, "Addison's gonna be there, right? She'll make sure he's being fair."

After the cheer championship, Bucky had apparently done some soul-searching and decided to give those he may have been a little too harsh on the first time around another chance, so Keira, and a few other humans, were going to a second tryout.

"I guess..." Keira nodded. She and Roz were walking hand-in-hand towards the gym, while the halls were relatively quiet, "... You think I can do it?"

"Are you kidding me? You were on fire at the championship!" Roz nudged her gently with their shoulder, making Keira giggle, "And with a smile like that, they'll be lucky to have you on the team," they quirked an eyebrow and smirked as Keira laughed, starting to blush and nudging Roz back, "Cheerleaders are supposed to have these beautiful, bright smiles, right?"

"Oh, my God...!" Keira covered her mouth, still laughing and still blushing, and Roz relished in the sound, then faked a pout as they pulled her hands down.

"Hey, no fair! I can't see it that way!"

Neither of them could stop giggling now until Keira took a breath and sighed.

"I'm still a little nervous..." she mumbled, chewing her bottom lip, "Bucky can be pretty intimidating."

"Listen, Keira," Roz took both her hands and looked her in the eye, "You're amazing," they let go and stepped back, "You're gonna be amazing."

Keira smiled down at them, her hands clasped in front of her as she swayed side-to-side, "Kiss for good luck?"

Roz gladly obliged, standing on tiptoes as Keira leaned down to peck their lips, her hands cupping her face while they rested theirs on her waist. Pulling away, Keira moved her hands down to Roz's shoulders.

"Grodge zugrak, garzi'ka."

Keira thought for a moment, "... OK, I know 'grodge' and I know 'garzi'ka'..."

"I said 'good luck'," Roz explained and Keira beamed, giving them another kiss.

"Gazaru!" Thank you!

Z, Roz could swear they actually had a heartbeat whenever Keira spoke Zombie.

But then a few other humans were showing up outside the gym. No zombies. Not today, at least. Not that Roz wanted to join the cheer squad themself, but it was obvious Bucky still wanted to prioritise the humans. And they knew for a fact that the only reason zombies were going to get to try out at all was because Zeke Blakeley had punched some guy in the face over it.

Roz was shaken from their thoughts by Keira hugging them tightly.

"I'll text you later, OK?"

"Alright. Have fun!"

Keira rolled her eyes exaggeratedly as she stepped back, "I'll try," she grinned when Roz laughed, then waved and finally turned to follow the others.

Roz stood staring after her for a moment or two until their Z-band beeped and they snapped back to reality. They looked down at the screen, frowning at the rude interruption, and two more messages came in as they did.

Zephyr: you know I can see you

Zephyr: and I've been calling your name for ages

Zephyr: come on we got practice

Their eyes went wide and their head jerked up; Zephyr was leaning against the wall a few feet away with a knowing smirk on his face. He walked over.

"You done daydreaming about her yet?"

Roz gave him a look of 'you're kidding, right?'.

"Right, like you never zone out thinking about Alonzo."

"How dare you call me out like that?" Zephyr demanded, acting offended until Roz laughed, "Come on, the guys are waiting for us."

"More like Al's waiting for you."

"Oh, so we're playing this game now, huh?"

– LIMELIGHT –

They were taking a break when Roz got a text as they were drifting off to sleep on their drumkit, waiting for Al and Zach to figure something out. They blinked a few times then looked down at their Z-band to see Keira's name and quickly opened it, then grinned.

"What, something keeping you awake, Roz?" Zephyr asked and they waved their hand dismissively at him.

"Shut up."

They were still smiling giddily at their band, though, and Zephyr noticed, "That Keira?" Roz nodded, "What's up?"

"She made the squad!"

"Wait, what?" Alonzo suddenly turned around when he heard, "She got in?"

"Yeah, look," they beckoned him over to show him the text and Zeph and Zach came over as well. Al immediately grabbed Roz by the shoulders, staring straight at them.

"Dude, you know what this means? You're dating a cheerleader...!"