ofstorybooks
a closed starter for @caughtmycye.
DO AS YOU’RE told and you’ll make it far in high school. That was something that her parents had reassured her of and yet it never sat quite right with her. She hated hiding things about herself. Whether it was her natural silvery white hair color or the little quirks that she had. Dishonesty was almost second-nature for the popular kids at Sparkwood High and that made Addison feel like she didn’t belong with them even more. Maybe that’s why she decided that she wasn’t going to speak up when she saw some of the jocks on the football team accompanied by some of the cheerleading squad picking on a familiar face. Instead of doing the right thing, she had decided to stand by their side and silently watch as the bullying escalated to the point of throwing a punch. The look of shock and hurt on her face was more than evident but she still remained silent and it took a great deal of her self-restraint to remain so. When the crowd dissipated, she was left standing there with Zed alone. “Are you okay…?” She promised herself that she would only stick around to help take care of any potential wounds before she forced herself to leave him.
Bullying wasn’t something uncommon to Zed at this point. Sure, the whole naturally green hair thing did cause a bit more of it to happen, but there was nothing he could really do about it. He usually shrugged it off until he was left to ponder on it later when he was alone at home. However, there really was no shrugging off a small crowd that had you trapped in place. He’d awkwardly laugh and try to push through, but the kids didn’t budge. He noticed Addison in the small group, their eyes meeting. He was sure she’d say something, or at least help him clear a path out of there. But, that wasn’t the case. Confusion had crossed his features. He’s considered them friends at this point, so why wouldn’t she help him? Before he could say or do anything else, he felt a very solid fist rush in and make contact with his cheek. He groaned and staggered back, cradling his face as pain quickly bloomed from the spot. He didn’t dare move or retaliate back as everyone left. At least they had their fun. He felt a little blood begin to pool from his split lip, carefully wiping at it. It was a bit too dark, but maybe that came with this whole new zombie thing. He heard Addison speak up, honestly surprised she was still there. His heart ached just looking at her. “I’m fine. Why didn’t you say anything? You could’ve stopped them, they would have listened to you,” he asked, feeling betrayed in a way thought he knew he shouldn’t be. Besides, those were Addison’s friends. He wasn’t a part of them.












