Chapter Text
Nova Bright was fairly certain that today was going to suck.
I mean, it’s not like she wanted it to. She didn’t! But she just had a feeling.
It was her first day at Seabrook high. And even though Zoey was going to cheer tryouts with her for moral support, she was certain that something was going to happen. Either the Aceys were gonna make fun of them, the seniors would make fun of them, or-
Actually. Maybe she just didn’t want to start high school.
I mean honestly, who did?
She felt like she had poured her heart and soul into her middle school community. Last year had been spent making new friendships, flirting with boys, and generally having a good time.
Now? Half the people that would be in her grade she didn’t know. She wasn’t even close to guaranteed a spot on the cheer team. And it was almost entirely possible she was going to have to build her popularity from the ground up.
She sighed, finishing tying up her ponytail. She needed to get to the car before Zoey left without her.
She went outside, looking around for her friend. And sure enough, there was Zoey, green hair and all. When she saw Nova, she squealed and came running over.
“Oh my god Nova!! Aren’t you so excited!” She was saying, hooking her arm through Nova’s. Nova laughed.
“Ready for what? Purgatory?” She asked teasingly, hugging her friend back. Zoey just rolled her eyes pulling back.
“Oh come on, Zed says it’s not even that bad. Right Zed?” She called, looking over her shoulder. From the car, Zoey’s older brother honked in a non verbal “yes”
Zed was older than Zoey by about 5 years, but they were closer than most siblings. In fact, now that Zed was a senior and Zoey was in 8th grade, he had made it his personal responsibility to chauffeur her. And Zoey, being Zoey, insisted he take Nova.
This was how she found herself being shoved into the backseat of Zed's car, on her way to school.
“So.” Zoey said, turning to her.
“Aren’t you excited to try out for the high school cheer squad?” Zoey asked, grabbing her arm. Nova groaned.
“Sort of. I’d be a lot more excited if you were going with me.” She sighed, dropping her head into her hands.
“Why did you have to be a year younger, and not go to high school at the same time as me?” She asked, muffled through her fingers. Zoey laughed, stroking her hair.
“Oh come on, it will be find. All the girls are gonna be there. And now, more zombies are going to school, so you won’t be what most people are focusing on!” She said trying to cheer her up. Nova sighed. Yeah. There was at least that.
Seabrook, was divided into a few different parts. But the main two, was the Seabrook main neighborhood, and “Zombietown”.
Now, why was it called zombie town? Well. Imagine a town, where most things are made out of brick, looks like an abandoned building, almost everything looks 20 years old, and run down.
That was Zombietown. The running joke was that it looked like a zombie apocalypse had happened, and started the nickname.
The reality? The people that lived there just had harder lives. Low income, single parents, that kind of thing. It had gotten so bad, that people harassed, and even made fun of the people that lived there. They even started calling them “Zombies”
Nova had never liked it. Especially not when she was a kid. She didn’t understand why people would hate someone who was having a harder time than them. It wasn’t right.
That was, until four years ago. A group of teens, including Zed, had started to go to Seabrook high, after their old school burned down. And in an act of defiance, they dyed their hair green, and dubbed the name “the zombies”
Now, almost all the kids from Zombietown had fully embraced the aesthetic of this, and if they had green hair it was a dead giveaway.
In the beginning, people had resisted them. And they probably would have continued to, if it wasn’t for Zed and Addison.
Everyone knew the story. Addison was the mayors daughter, the golden girl cheerleader. Zed was the boy from the wrong side of the tracks. They had fallen in love, and together, (through much trial and error) had single handedly changed most people’s opinions on zombies.
It was because of them, that she still believed in true love.
Since then, opinions on Zombies had greatly improved. And Zed and Addison had become the king and queen of Seabrook high. And Nova knew them. She was celebrity adjacent.
Well. Sort of.
Obviously, she kind of knew Zed. He was her best friends brother. But their interactions had mainly consisted of rides to school, and the occasional time he would pick up Zoey from her house. And she had never met Addison.
Still. Being just adjacent would make people like her. At least for a while.
She looked over at Zoey’s smiling face for a minute.
She was also, quite obviously, a so-called “zombie”. She had green hair, the sort of boho ripped denim style and she had grown up in Zombietown. But she was Zoey.
She was popular, because she was impossible to hate. She was all smiles, encouraging words, unbridled optimism and enthusiasm, and just all around a good person. It helped that she was Zeds little sister. And very, very pretty.
She had been Nova’s saving grace in middle school. But now she didn’t have that.
They pulled up to Seabrook middle school, and Zoey sighed, standing up. She got out of the car, straightening her cardigan, and fixing the dyed strands of pink among her green hair.
“Okay Nov.” she said, as Nova stepped out to hug her goodbye.
“Remember to be optimistic. And that I am only a phone call and a few blocks away.”
Nova laughed hugging her friend.
“Trust me, I know. Try not to miss me.” She said, hugging her friend. She tried to sound humorous, but her voice cracked on the last few words. Luckily, Zoey didn’t say anything, just hugged her tighter.
All too soon, she had to let go and watch as Zoey walked off to go join her 8th grade friends. Trying not to show the tears in her eyes, she wiped her face furiously, and got back into the car.
Maybe Zed could tell she didn’t want to talk about it, because he didn’t say a word as they drove the few short blocks to the high school. But as they pulled up to the tall looming building, and got out of the car, Zed put a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey.” He said quietly.
“It’ll be alright. This school is a much better place. And you’ve got people in your corner.” He said softly. She turned to him, and he gave her a small smile. Then, he patted her shoulder and started to walk away.
“Good luck Bright.”
She sighed, and straightened her white bag. She inhaled deeply, before walking up to the school.
From the corner of her eyes, she saw a few familiar faces. She could see the Zombies, the bad kids turned cool hanging out around. She could see some sophomores in cheer uniforms, and felt a pang of longing go through her.
Then, she saw a group of some girls from her year she recognized, and was about to walk up to them, when she felt something clip her heel.
She almost fell forward, tripping slightly, but a strong warm hand caught her wrist.
“Wow. I’m sorry, are you okay?” A low concerned voice asked. She turned around and was about to say she was fine, when she froze.
She got a good look at who was holding her arm, and the all too familiar brown eyes made her tense.
“Oh. Nova.” He said.
She and Victor Barton stared at each other for at least two minutes.
And yes. She knew exactly who this was. The sight of his warm brown eyes, and soft bronze skin was all too familiar, and memories of swing sets and treehouses flashed in her mind. Pool parties, and laughing fits, and times when they had no one to worry about.
But among them, she remembered a tearful conversation in a backyard, and a goodbye.
She hadn’t spoken to him in nearly 2 years not since…
He looked more or less the same. But also… very different.
He had spent the last two years quietly sitting in the back of classrooms. He didn’t answer questions, he didn’t talk to anyone but his friends. Just sat quietly, drawing in his sketchbook.
But now? He looked… well. To put it simply, he looked good.
He was wearing a white shirt, that had the Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” cover on it, and black baggy jeans. He was wearing white Nikes and his hair…
His hair. It was slicked back, and had red streaks dyed throughout. He was also, noticeably, much taller.
She remembered to breath, and stepped back, words evading her as she stared into his face, sharp handsome features illuminated by the early morning sun.
“Hey.” He said simply, like he didn’t know what else to say. She tried to respond, but all words stuck in her throat.
He seemed to notice. He just laughed softly, (when did his laugh get that low?) and shook his head.
“Well then. Be careful where you step sunshine.” He said, before walking away skateboard in tow.
So that’s what clipped my heel she thought stupidly, before remembering she was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, like an idiot
She shook herself, and forced her eyes to move away from where Victor had gone to stand next to his friends.
As she walked towards her own friends, she couldn’t help herself from replaying that conversation in her mind.
And as she came to stand next to her friend Sonya, she knew at least one thing.
Freshman year had just gotten significantly more interesting.