The bus smelled like stale snacks, spilled soda, and the faintest whiff of sweat that no one was admitting to. Bellatrix slouched in her seat, hood up, earbuds in, staring blankly at the passing trees. Cheer camp had come to an end, and while Addison chattered away about memories made and routines perfected, Bella counted down the minutes until they’d be back in Seabrook and away from anything remotely “peppy.”

Addison nudged her shoulder. “Come on, Bella, wasn’t it fun? Just a little?”

Bellatrix pulled one earbud out. “If ‘fun’ means losing my voice yelling cheers, feeling every muscle in my body on the verge of collapse, and becoming part of a glitter cloud, then… sure, a blast.”

Addison laughed, taking Bella’s sarcasm as a win. She always did. “You did great, though! I was actually proud of you!”

“Wow, high praise,” Bella muttered, shoving her earbud back in. But she didn’t turn the music back on. As the bus lumbered along, she listened, letting Addison’s cheerful hum and her teammates’ exhausted chatter mix with the steady rumble of the road.

It was then that she felt the bus jerk.

“What the—?” Bella gripped her seat as the bus swerved, and her head smacked against the window. She yanked her earbuds out and looked around, wide-eyed.

“Bella!” Addison hissed, eyes huge, one hand gripping Bella’s arm and the other on the seat in front of them. “Something’s wrong! The driver—he just swerved!”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Bella replied, eyes narrowing as she peeked over the seat. “What, did a raccoon run out onto the road, or—?”

A scream erupted from the front of the bus. Bella spotted Bree, who was pointing frantically out the window. “Oh my gosh! That’s Zed!”

Bella’s eyebrows shot up as she squinted through the windshield. Sure enough, there was Zed, right in the middle of the road, holding up a giant sign that read: Addison, will you go to Prawn with me? He looked as proud as if he were planning the Olympics, not a high school dance.

Bella’s jaw dropped. “Unbelievable. The zombie’s proposing for a dance and practically gets us all flattened.”

The bus driver honked wildly, but Zed looked in surprise standing on a ladder screwing in light bulbs into an arrow sign.

Bella could see the horror in Addison’s eyes as she realized what was happening.

“Oh, Zed, no—”

“Move, zombie!” Bella yelled, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. The driver cranked the wheel to the right, swerving to avoid Zed. The bus skidded and lurched forward, tires shrieking as it veered off the road. Addison screamed, and Bella’s heart jumped into her throat.

“Brace yourselves!” the driver shouted, as if that was somehow comforting.

The bus smashed through the rusted old gate that led to the forbidden woods, plunging them into a part of Seabrook no one was supposed to visit. Branches whipped against the windows as the bus ground to a halt, half-tilted against a tree. The students groaned as they picked themselves up, many looking pale and wide-eyed. Bella could practically hear her pulse in her ears, but she was quick to cover up any trace of fear.

“Fantastic. Now we’re all in the woods like a low-budget horror film,” Bella muttered, pulling herself to her feet. “Addison, care to explain your boyfriend’s genius stunt?”

Addison shot her an apologetic look. “He didn’t mean to cause all this, I’m sure! I just… I didn’t know he was going to… you know…”

“Stand in the middle of the road with a billboard? Good thinking.” Bella rolled her eyes, brushing leaves off her black hoodie. “If we’re all mauled by forest monsters, at least he’ll know it was a memorable proposal.”

As she adjusted her hoodie, the driver spoke up, addressing the murmuring group. “Alright, everybody, stay calm. I’m going to radio for help and see if we can get another bus out here to pick you all up.”

But as the driver checked his radio, he only heard static. Bella sighed, crossing her arms. “Of course. We’re officially in the Seabrook dead zone.”

Some of the cheerleaders started muttering, exchanging worried glances. Bella couldn’t blame them. The forbidden woods weren’t exactly a go-to camping spot for a reason—people said they were haunted. And given Seabrook’s history with werewolves and zombies, Bella wasn’t ruling anything out.

Bree wrung her hands, wide-eyed. “Are we… are we going to be okay?”

“Of course, Bree. We’re just stuck in the middle of a cursed forest with no cell service and a bus that’s probably totaled. What could possibly go wrong?” Bella deadpanned, leaning back against her seat. She threw a glance toward Addison. “This is why I don’t do cheer camp.”

Addison gave her a look, part apologetic, part pleading. “Can’t you try to stay positive for once?”

“Sure, I’ll stay positive. Positively certain we’re doomed.”

Addison shook her head, though Bella saw the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. They sat in silence for a moment, waiting for someone to come up with a solution. Bella kept glancing out the window, half-expecting to see a pair of glowing eyes in the shadows.

But before she could voice her thoughts, the silence was shattered by a loud banging on the bus door. A few of the cheerleaders screamed, and Bella felt her own heart leap. Zed’s face appeared in the door’s window, looking flustered and mouthing the words, “Are you okay?”

Bella rolled her eyes. “Seriously? He gets us into this mess and then decides to check on us now?”

Addison hurried to the front, signaling to the driver to let Zed in. As soon as the doors opened, Zed stumbled up the steps, brushing twigs out of his hair.

“Addison! Bella! I’m so sorry—I didn’t think it would cause all this! I just wanted to surprise you!” Zed’s big, hopeful eyes turned to Addison, who looked ready to scold and forgive him in the same breath.

“Well, you definitely surprised us,” Bella said dryly. “Especially with that grand finale of almost getting flattened.”

Zed rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “Uh… yeah, that wasn’t part of the plan. But hey, I got the sign and everything! So… what do you think, Addison? Will you go to Prawn with me?”

Addison’s cheeks flushed, and she let out a nervous laugh, clearly torn between yelling at him and hugging him. “Zed… maybe next time, a text would work?”

Bella groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Please. Save the romance for when we’re not stranded.”

The group erupted into laughter, the tension breaking, even as the shadows around them deepened. As they waited for help, Bella couldn’t help but feel a strange satisfaction—a story to tell, and for once, not the same boring routine. Maybe the forbidden woods weren’t so bad after all.

But tomorrow? She was telling Addison to handle her boyfriend.

After all, getting stranded in the middle of a haunted forest wasn’t exactly Bella’s idea of a scenic route back to Seabrook.