Beyond the Barrier: Zombie Town One-shots

It's Alive - Part 2

(The Bronzo AU and BG zombies one-shot collection have started so let's get back to some BtB~ Disneyfan50 on Tumblr suggested (ages ago) that I write about how opening night of Seabrook High's Zombie Prom production goes. Seriously, I highly recommend looking up the Zombie Prom cast album or watching one of the performances that are on YouTube (there's no boot of the original cast, sadly, but there's plenty of amateur shows floating around) because it's the most ridiculous thing but it works so well for ZOMBIES, and the songs are really catchy

I've been thinking about the BG zombies a lot lately, so I had to throw a quick mention of some of them in too~)

He wasn't nervous.

He wasn't nervous.

He was not nervous.

It was opening night of Zombie Prom and Zed was pacing back and forth backstage. He was the first in the cast to be completely ready, eager to show off his newfound acting skills to everyone, but now he was starting to feel-

Not nervous.

Bonzo had done his human makeup already but Zed had a feeling he might just sweat it off before the show even started with how (not) nervous he was. He didn't notice Bonzo and Eliza passing through the wings and spotting him. He was too busy pacing back and forth, telling himself not to be so-

"Nervous?"

"What? No!" he spun around to face them the second Eliza spoke, weakly waving a hand, "Pfft, are you kidding me? I've practically lived this role, I just... wanna get out there, y'know?"

"Uh-huh."

She didn't look convinced. Bonzo quirked an eyebrow at Zed, glancing down at Eliza beside him then back up – he wasn't, either. Zed rolled his eyes, but soon went back to pacing. Eliza held up a hand, blocking his path.

"You don't need to worry about this, alright? You're gonna be great. You nailed it in rehearsals, and you really did live the role. Sort of. All you have to do is-"

"Please don't tell me to picture the audience naked or in their underwear or whatever."

"What? No. Your family's out there. And Alonzo. And Izabelle. I'm not wishing that on anybody."

Bonzo looked conflicted over her mention of his cousin for a moment, but shrugged it off and Eliza continued.

"I was going to say 'relax'."

Zed gave in, "That's easy for you to say, you're not onstage!"

"Hey, if you screw something up, the audience doesn't have to know, you can play it off. But if I screw up, everyone knows."

"Ag, zet." Me, too.

"Please, you could play your own part and find a way to cover for half the band, too, and it could beat anything on Broadway."

Bonzo opened his mouth to protest but, honestly, she was right. He looked from Eliza to Zed and back again, then promptly turned and walked away. Once he was gone, they both couldn't help laughing. Eliza shook her head and sighed.

"Seriously, you got this. OK? Break a leg," she went to follow Bonzo but paused, pointing at Zed, "Break it, but keep it on. Don't wanna freak out the humans too much."

As she walked away, Zed took a deep breath. He could do this. With a few minutes still to go, he took a peak around the audience from behind the curtain. His dad was there, a couple of rows back, with Zoey bouncing in her seat next to him. Rizzo, Zephyr and Alonzo whispering excitedly to one another. Izabelle and her friend, Zadie, with Zadie's sister, Jazz, already having to calm the two of them before they started shouting or otherwise aggravating the nearby humans. Zane was on Rizzo's other side, reading a flyer, with Paizley leaning over his shoulder to look. There was a solid group of zombies, pretty much all clustered together. A patch of green, grey and navy blue amongst the pastel tones the rest of Seabrook still favoured. Zed smiled, but it didn't last long.

What would they think of the show? Eliza had eased up a little over time, having watched it over and over again, discussing the story and giving it some consideration. But these guys weren't going to have that. Would they be offended by anything in it? What were they going to think of his human look?

"Zedka...?"

He stepped away from the curtain to see Bonzo had returned, carrying a binder of sheet music. He seemed to think for a moment, then approached Zed.

"Ru grodge?"

"I'm fine," Zed nodded, "Or, once I get out there, I will be."

Bonzo placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Elizaka zazig," Eliza's right, "Zonzig zu ru zorog." You've got nothing to worry about.

"... You think so?"

"Za," Bonzo grinned and nudged his shoulder, "Goro zombie? Geh?"

"I'm the zombie!"

They high-fived and Bonzo hurried away, but Zed wasn't left alone. As Bonzo ran out, Addison appeared in a light brown wig and a pink poodle skirt. She had one hand on the top of her head while the other tugged at the ponytail.

"You'd think I'd be used to wearing these by now, but it's been a while. Don't judge me."

"And... who are you, again?" he joked and she faked a punch to his chin. Zed raised his hands in defeat and laughed along with her before pulling her into a hug. She pressed a good-luck kiss to his cheek and smiled but then she noticed his distracted look.

"You OK?"

Zed looked down at her. Eliza and Bonzo had done what they could but seeing her finally calmed his nerves completely.

"Yeah. I'm great. You ready?"

"Yup," she took his hand, "Let's do this."

- BEYOND THE BARRIER -

When he had first walked out onto the stage, all rosy cheeks and black hair, Zed couldn't help noticing the few zombies in the audience who held their breath for a second, or cringed just a little bit. But as the show went on, they got more into it. They even laughed at the death puns, which he took as a good sign.

Singing the opening of Blast From The Past from backstage, all the makeup and hairspray washed away, he wondered how they would react. He wondered what they might be saying to each other right now, as he built himself up.

"Toffee, Toffee, come set me free. Toffee, Toffee, are you ready for more? Open the door, Toffee, open the door...!"

Then came the big reveal; when he burst out of the locker as his zombie self. There was a cheer from the audience, and that included some of the humans, but the zombies were louder. Zephyr and Alonzo had jumped up from seats and Rizzo had to pull them back down. Izabelle and Zadie were aggressively shaking each other, pointing at him and beaming. Paizley threw up her arms and danced in her seat as he sang.

"I'm a blast from the past, I'm a force for the future. A teenaged zombie, an acquired taste, oxy-clear and toxic waste! I'm a blast, blast, blast... from the all too recent past!"

They were loving it. He could see his dad applauding (way too loud, but he had expected that) and Zoey was in total awe. His friends had been right, he had nothing to worry about.

- BEYOND THE BARRIER -

It came time for the curtain call and when Zed stepped forward, every zombie in the audience stood, Plus a few humans, including Addison's parents, but his friends were screaming his name and it didn't look like they were going to stop anytime soon. He laughed and waved to them.

He got offstage and within a matter of seconds, Eliza was there, her arms folded and a smug "told-you-so" smile on her face.