I'VE EVALUATED OUR TIME TOGETHER AND RUN THE CALCULATIONS. WE ARE IN LOVE.

The zombies were still trying to calm Carson down when Principal Lee called them over, her eyes fixed on something.

"Zed. Carson," the principal called, following with a whistle.

When Carson wouldn't budge, Bonzo had to physically pick her up and carry her down the hall himself. She was put on her feet next to Principal Lee. She was looking through a window at a classroom that had most of the aliens inside.

"They did the entire course in twenty-three minutes. It only took them that long because they couldn't figure out how to work a pencil sharpener," she informed them.

They watched as A-Li got so frustrated that she screamed and broke a pencil in half. Carson knew the feeling well. But then A-Spen seemed to finally understand that you turn the handle of the pencil sharpener while the pencil was inside to sharpen it.

"Look, the utensil is functional again!" they said excitedly while showing the pencil off to the cheering aliens. Then they touched the tip and accidentally pricked their finger.

Zed sighed heavily. "The aliens stole all our class rankings," he grumbled.

"Gur zurwapa," Bonzo said, pointing behind them.

"And beat Zed's athletic records," Carson said, nodding. But then she and Zed realized what she'd repeated.

"What?" Zed said, turning around. They saw Coach replacing all of the plaques with Zed's name with new ones that were for A-Lan. "Hey!"

As they rushed over, Coach grinned at them, not sensing the tension. "Oowee, Zed, A-Lan just obliterated your best times. He ran crop circles around you. Bench press records, blew yours away. Couldn't quite get past Carson's high jump, but still got way higher than you, Zed. He's a VFO — Very Identifiable Flying Object."

As selfish as it was, Carson felt better knowing her high jump record was still intact.

"He has six-pack abs," Coach went on.

Carson leaned to the side to look at A-Lan, who was standing at the stairs and surrounded by admirers. He smiled charmingly at them. "I can get to eight, Coach. Just give me time."

"Yeah, that's kind of impressive," Carson had to admit while looking back at Coach.

"And the best part?" Coach asked excitedly. "The laws of gravity do not apply to them."

They all watched as A-Lan fiddled with his watch. Then he lifted in the air effortlessly, not held down by gravity. "I'd be happy to dunk on you, Zed," he offered.

"That'd be fun to see," Coach said, chuckling. Then he went off, likely to find more records that A-Lan could attempt to smash.

"Well, there goes your chance," Eliza said, everyone's mood much worse. "Now monsters will never get in."

"I mean, maybe we can find a way," Carson said, running a hand through her hair. No, she didn't think Wyatt not going to college with her was going to ruin their relationship. Mountain College wasn't that far from Seabrook, and they already discussed and planned their visiting weekends. But it would be a lot more fun if all of Carson's friends and packmates could join her. "Look, Carson Lupin-Buchanan does not hang out with losers, okay? And I don't want to have to stop hanging out with you—"

"Says number eleven," Eliza chimed in.

Carson glared at the computer, tempted to shut her off. But then she moved on. "We'll do something — call someone. Don't start sweating yet."

"Okay," Zed breathed out.

Then they were joined by A-Lan, as well as A-Spen and A-Li. "Yes, being better than others is very enjoyable," A-Lan said, standing next to Carson. "You knew me quite well."

"Hey, aliens," Zed greeted in a short tone. "You are ruining my chances to get into Mountain College."

"And somehow bringing down my class ranking even though my GPA is perfect and you'd have to somehow get more perfect than perfect grades to even get higher than me—" Bonzo placed a hand on Carson's shoulder to silently tell her to calm down. Carson took in a deep breath and let out a soft, "Awoo." Then she opened her eyes and forced a smile. "All good."

"Oh! I do not like this conflict," A-Li said, seeing the rage brewing in Carson's eyes.

A-Lan nodded in agreement. "Cannot wait to leave this discord."

"Yeah, okay, so then why don't you just go back to your own planet?" Zed asked them tensely.

But then A-Spen began to cry, surprising them all. "Because it was destroyed. We don't have a home," she revealed, continuing to sob. A-Li glared at Zed for upsetting them.

"Uh, I - I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I really am," Zed said, finally calming down. Carson did too, knowing how it felt to lose your home. "You know, as tough as things have been for zombies, we've always had Zombietown."

"Yeah. I may be the only witch here, but I've always had a family and a pack as my home," Carson said, sighing.

"Is there anything we can do?" Zed asked them.

The three aliens looked at them in wonder. "You would help us?" A-Spen questioned, managing to dry their eyes.

Carson reached for their hand, ignoring the way her magic buzzed from the alien spark. "Of course, we'll help you."

Zed and Carson found a spot to sit down in the cafeteria, leaving behind Bonzo and the Eliza bot. Carson wasn't exactly sure how they were expected to help the aliens, but they listened intently as Ali held up the little object that Wyatt thought was a camera earlier.

"With our Luma Lenses, we probed all the minds of Seabrook," A-Li explained.

Carson and Zed shared a frown. Yes, Carson had magic that could allow her to look into people's minds and also alter their thoughts, but she considered it wrong and an invasion of privacy. But here the aliens were, reading minds left and right.

"Mind probes? Why would you do that?" Zed asked, raising an eyebrow.

A-Spen sat up straighter. "To learn about—"

"Cheer, obviously," the three aliens spoke in sync. "Cheer."

"Okay, but what about people's privacy?" Carson questioned. "You should've asked before scanning my entire pack."

"Yeah, I mean, you can't just scan people's..." Zed trailed off and looked at a memory displayed on A-Lan's Luma Lens. He saw his name on a sheet of paper being graded. "Hey, what is that?"

"Oh, your biology teacher's brain scan," A-Lan explained.

"Is that my test?" he questioned. Then the teacher wrote a large 'D+' in red marker before moving to the next one. "A D-plus? That is... ouch."

"I could beat that easily," A-Lan said confidently.

"Me too," Carson agreed. "Zed, how were you third before they came here?"

Zed simply shot back with, "Eleven," which had Carson clenching her fist again.

"You were unfairly marked," A-Spen then told him. "Your answers correctly highlight the purpose of brains for zombies."

"Your teacher does not understand zombie culture," A-Li added, making him feel better.

Then A-Lan waved a hand over his Luma Lens, and they watched as Zed's grade changed to a B- right before their eyes. "That's the grade you should have gotten."

"Yes!" Zed exclaimed excitedly. He hugged Carson tightly while jumping up and down. "Just like that? Thank you!"

"So there is something you can do for us," A-Li then said. As she held up her own Luma Lens, the image inside had Carson tensing. It was the moonstone. "This image appears in many scans. What is it?"

"That is the moonstone," Zed informed them, thinking nothing of it. "It is the most precious thing in Seabrook. It's the life force for werewolves."

The aliens all shared a look of wonder. "Instrumomo."

"But stay away from it," Carson said sharply. She slammed her hand on the lunch table, claws less than an inch away from A-Li's hand and Luma Lens. "We don't let outsiders near it. And I promise you'll regret it if you do."

"Yeah, they're very territorial," Zed added, squeezing Carson's shoulder. "Wouldn't want you guys getting hurt."

"You are so caring," A-Spen gushed. With that, A-Spen moved forward in their chair and hugged Zed's waist tightly.

He awkwardly hugged them back. "Okay, well..."

"Zed, we shall reward your help by improving your application," A-Lan told the zombie.

"It's not rocket science, but knowing rocket science won't hurt," A-Li said, smiling.

Zed chuckled happily while grinning. A-Spen raised a curious eyebrow. "What does that expression mean?"

"It means that the universe has sent me an intergalactic alien dream team to help get this zombie into college!" he exclaimed. Zed raised a hand, asking A-Lan for a high five. But the alien didn't understand and held up three fingers. Zed simply grabbed his hand and shook it. "Yeah. Okay."

A-Spen then leaned their head on their hand and stared up at Zed, letting out a dreamy sigh. Carson stifled a giggle, recognizing the adoring look on their face. She thought it was cute that the alien was slowly forming a first crush.

"Oh, and we have not forgotten your help, Carson," A-Lan said. He then held her hand while looking up at her from his seat. "What do you so desire?"

Other than her class ranking back? "There's not really anything I need," she told them while pulling her hand from A-Lan's. Boy, these aliens were sure touchy-feely. Then she smiled at Zed. "But helping Zed is also helping my pack."

☽︎

After finishing up with the aliens, Zed sent a copy of his improved application to Eliza so that she could proofread it. And she was quite impressed with what she saw as she rolled alongside Zed, Carson, and Bonzo. "This looks really good. How'd you get the application done so fast?"

"I got friends in high places, what can I say?" Zed asked, not wanting to give away what the aliens did. Eliza would so not approve of a grade change, though she'd have been amazed at how easily they hacked into the system.

"This is huge. Zed, you did it," she said, grinning.

"Yeah, and all I have left is the home interview for Mountain College."

"Zombie-kind is depending on you," Eliza reminded him.

"And wolf-kind," Carson added.

Zed frowned, thinking about all the responsibility he was now shouldering. "Yeah, it's all on me."

"Gur zu?" Bonzo questioned, thinking he looked a little paler than normal.

"Hey, don't worry, man. I got this," Zed said, shaking his head.

Then he and Bonzo growled in sync before rushing off to their last classes. Carson waved goodbye to Eliza before going as well. On the way, she passed by Wynter.

"Hey, you still coming to hang at the pizza place after school?" Carson asked. She, along with Addison, Bree, Lacey, and Stacey, was going to get some snacks before practice for the Cheer Off. Wynter and Willa had been invited to the girls-only time, which Willa turned down — she was still ticked off about Bucky suggesting she become an Acey and didn't want to encourage his stupid idea by hanging out with the girls.

"I'll be there!" Wynter said excitedly. Then she kept walking and noticed the rolling machine with Eliza's face on the screen. She couldn't help but rush over with a giddy smile. "Eliza, is that you?"

"Cool, right?" Eliza said, hoping that the wolf was impressed. "You know, can't beat zombie tech."

"Well, I mean, I wouldn't underestimate wolf tech," she said, pulling off her necklace and spinning the leather band around. "But this is pretty neat. Not as good as if you were really here, though."

"I know," Eliza said, smiling. "I wish I was in Seabrook, too. I can't believe I'm missing all of this. But I'll have you to catch me up on anything exciting."

"Definitely," she said, beaming. Then Wynter bit her lip nervously. "Hey, I was thinking, um, maybe we could have like, like a, you know, remote study date or—"

Wynter got a bit too carried away with fiddling with her necklace and it crashed into Eliza's machine. The moonstone glowed as it interacted with the machine, causing it to malfunction and shut down, letting out puffs of smoke.

"Oops," Wynter winced. Then she backed away and looked around for someone to help, her shoulders sagging. "Uh, Zed? Carson? Oh, no."

☽︎

Right after school, Carson and Wynter met up with the others at Zita's Trashfire Pizza. Was it the best idea to load up on pizza before an extensive cheerleading practice? Probably not, but Carson's appetite had increased greatly since becoming a wolf hybrid.

And they ended up getting to greet the people on the Eastside Eels team, as the squad was also hanging out before practice. As the Eastside team left, their mascot Eely had a very intense stare-down with Shrimpy before moving on.

"Everything's all set for cheer practice tonight, Captain," Stacey said while coming in and sitting next to Lacey and Wynter.

"Great. Thanks, Stace," Carson said. "We'll head over in — ah!"

A-Spen had appeared behind Addison so suddenly and quietly that none of them noticed the alien. Meaning they were all quite startled when Carson let out a little yelp after seeing them. A-Spen also yelled out, copying their sounds.

"Fear. I recognize that emotion," A-Spen said, chuckling. Then they looked between Carson and Addison, as they were presented as their leaders. "Oh, great leader of cheer, I need your help."

"Yeah, of course," Addison said, nodding.

"Is it the same stuff from before?" Carson questioned. Perhaps they'd seen something else in a mind scan that intrigued them. She hoped so — them asking about the moonstone made her uneasy, no matter how friendly they were.

"Oh, no. I have a feeling I cannot define," they said with a concerned frown. "My palms are sweaty, and it feels like space moths are in my stomach."

Bree nodded knowingly. "Space flu."

Addison shook her head, remembering how Bree thought she also had the flu when she had feelings for Zed. "I think you have a crush, A-Spen."

The word confused the alien, who crushed their hands together. "Crush?"

"No, um, it's when you like-like someone. You know, love," she better explained.

"I do not know."

"It's when you connect with someone in a really strong way," Carson simplified. "And then—"

"And desire, somewhat irrationally, to be with them?" they asked, eyes brightening with recognition. Addison and Carson nodded. "Yes, that is it."

Bree let out an excited sound. "Who's the lucky person?"

"A zombie," the revealed.

"Not Eliza!" Wynter exclaimed, hitting her hands on the table.

"Wyn," Carson said, amusement clear in her tone. "They haven't met Eliza."

"Right," she mumbled sheepishly while calming down.

"Oh! Bonzo is so not available!" Bree snapped while removing her glasses to get ready for a fight. "Hey, hold my glasses, Addy."

A-Spen quickly shook their head to calm Bree down. "I love Zed."

Everyone at the table — aside from Carson who giggled — gasped loudly. Bree slowly took her glasses back as Addison spoke up. "Uh, you love Zed?" It earned a nod of confirmation. "Uh, A-Spen, um, I love Zed."

"We both love Zed. How wonderful!" they said while grinning brightly. Then they pulled Addison into a hug.

"Yeah, you can't like her boyfriend," Lacey said, crossing her arms.

"I mean, actually, some people have the capacity to fall in love with more than one person," Carson chimed in. "Though... judging by the looks I'm receiving, Addy's not one for sharing."

A-Spen tilted their head in confusion once more. "One must control who they love?"

While the Aceys nodded, Addison and Carson shook their heads. "Uh, well, no. You can't control love," Addison replied. "But Zed and I are a couple, and we wanna be together for..."

Though Addison trailed off, A-Spen could finish for her. "Forever?"

At the mention of forever, Carson could've sworn her cousin got paler. "Well, if he gets into Mountain College then, yeah, forever," she said uneasily.

"It's only an hour and a half away, Addy," Carson said, eyeing her cousin. She was supposed to love Zed, after all. And college shouldn't affect their love. "You're really gonna break up with him over not getting into college? Ouch."

"No, uh, I - I mean, well—"

"Or maybe he will not get in, change his mind, and love me when you go away," A-Spen interrupted while smirking.

Most of the girls gasped at the bold wish, and Addison nervously chuckled. "Um, yeah, um, let's talk about this after practice."

"Practice," A-Spen said, straightening up. "Sounds fun!"

"Yeah, and we'll show you why the Mighty Shrimp are the best cheerleaders in the galaxy," Bree said proudly.

"Excellent," they said. Then they looked at Carson. "And you will be there, Carson?"

"I will," she assured them.

"Stellar! I shall find A-Lan and explain my new findings. When we meet at practice, I believe he shall declare his love for you."

Carson's expression froze in the most awkward expression as she sort of slid down in her chair. Meanwhile, Wynter let out the most offended gasp. "A-Lan loves me?"

"Yes," A-Spen said, nodding emphatically. "Perhaps more than I love Zed with how sweet he finds you and your shared competitive ambitions. So, now, you two are in love."

"I'll handle it," Carson said, not worrying about it much.

Wynter shared a knowing look with Lacey from behind. "Wyatt is gonna lose it," she muttered.

"Mhm," the blonde agreed while sipping on her soda. "If it's funny, take a video."

☽︎

It was rare that Carson was so amazed she couldn't speak. But that was how insanely amazing the cheer routine put on by the aliens was. They moved in perfect sync while pulling nearly impossible moves. And then near the end, they started to defy gravity by messing with their Luna Lenses. Without gravity holding them down, they managed to form an upside-down pyramid with A-Lan holding them all up.

"No," Carson said, shaking her head. "No, because Addy made me put in the rules that I couldn't use magic. If I can't use magic to make our routine better, they can't do that."

"You're right," Addy said, nodding. "We'll tell them at a different time."

When the routine came to an end, the applause was scattered. Though Carson was a bit nervous about competing against them, she clapped for them. It was perfect, so they deserved the applause. Then the group of aliens came over.

"Our telepathic groupthink makes cheer so easy," A-Li bragged to them.

"Yes. We are even better than you, and you've practiced your whole life," A-Lan added, smiling happily, ignoring how many of the Seabrook squad gasped, greatly offended.

"So fun. Thank you for inviting us," A-Spen told them.

With that, the aliens began to leave so that Seabrook could use the practice space. But as they passed, A-Lan paused and seemed to remember something. His eyes shined as his gaze landed on Carson. Everyone got the drift, and because they felt like causing drama, Lacey and JC pushed Carson closer to them.

"Carson," A-Lan said, taking her hands in his. She winced internally while forcing a smile. "I am in love with you."

Carson nodded a little while awkwardly running her tongue over one of her fangs, thinking of what to say. "It'll pass," she assured him, smiling.

That didn't seem to offend him as he went on. "And you love me?"

"Well," she said, her voice going up an octave. She tried to ignore Bucky, who was, in fact, filming this. "Actually, A-Lan, I'm already in love with Wyatt. See, werewolves are a little different than humans. We have mates, and mates are someone that you love forever — it doesn't pass."

"That's wonderful that you love Wyatt," he said, still smiling. "But you must also love me. I've evaluated our time together and run the calculations. We are in love."

"A-Lan, I have had a great time getting to know you, and I think that we're gonna continue to get along super well, especially with our shared interest," she said, choosing her words carefully. "But I'm not in love with you."

"But that makes no sense," he said, the corners of his lips turning down.

Then, Carson realized A-Lan had never been turned down or broken up with, so she could use any cliché necessary. "It's not you, it's me. And we're looking for different things. But one day, you're gonna make some lucky person really happy one day."

A-Lan appeared upset but took in a deep breath and nodded. "I understand, I believe. You are not good enough for me."

"Now, hold on just a second—"

Bonzo grabbed Carson as she'd tried to move forward, and Bree whispered in her ear. "Stop before your pride gets you in a second relationship."

"Yes," Carson said, gritting her teeth together. "I am not good enough for you, A-Lan."

"We can still be friends," A-Lan told her, grinning. "You will make an exemplary best friend."

Several of the cheerleaders giggled as the aliens walked away, finding Carson's unfortunate situation hilarious. She spun on her heel and narrowed her eyes. "What are you all laughing about? Do you have any idea how many drills I'm gonna make you run to get us ready to beat that performance? You won't be laughing later when you want to saw your legs off."

That shut everyone right back up as they thought back on the aliens' cheer routine. Addison quickly joined Carson's side to try and make them feel better. "Hey, it's us against them, and we are going to win. We're not gonna let them take what's ours."

"Like the Seabrook Cup," Bucky interjected.

"Right, the Seabrook Cup," Addison added.

"And if we lose my senior year, I'll kill someone in a fit of rage — haven't decided who," Carson noted at the end. Then she grinned brightly. "Go, Seabrook!"

"Go, Seabrook!" they all chorused.

"Yes. That's the spirit," Bucky said happily. "See? Your squad just needed a common enemy to motivate you."

"Exactly," Carson agreed.

"No," Addison objected, sighing. "We are going to win because this squad loves each other, not because we hate anyone else. It's not who we are."

"Barf," Carson and Bucky whispered in sync.

"This Cheer Off is our last chance to cheer together," Bree said, getting emotional, "and to win it, we have to try a... triple hip-hop double tuck Lindy."

"That move's impossible," Stacey said after gasping.

"I can't do that move without face-planting," JC said, greatly concerned.

"His face cannot take another nose job," Lacey said, not caring how JC glared at her.

"I can do it," Carson then said confidently, putting her hands on her hips.

Addison shot her cousin a worried look. "Carson, cheerleaders have been hospitalized trying that move if they're not thrown high enough or get the timing wrong. Everything factors into the landing."

"Good thing we have super strong zombies that can throw me higher than our human spotters," she said. "We can do anything I set my mind to. Now come on, guys. Let's go. We're wasting time."

The aliens did not stay behind to watch Seabrook's performance as they did for them. It struck Carson as odd while they were working through the routine. After all, they'd been asking so many questions and even probing minds to learn about cheerleading, so why wouldn't they take the time to watch a team in person?

She decided to ask them about it the next time she saw them. It wasn't as if she was going to chase them down in the middle of practice — nothing could draw her from practice after watching how immaculate their competition was.

Well, not nothing.

When Carson stumbled on her landing for a back handspring, her teammates knew something was wrong. The witch zoned out, her magic feeling violated in a horrible way.

"Carson?" Addison called hesitantly. She saw Carson's eyes glowing gold and red and timidly touched her shoulder.

"The protection spell is down," Carson whispered, a storm of rage building inside of her.

"What?" Bree questioned.

Then Carson let out a howl so loud that those around her had to cover their ears. It was the howl of an alpha, a call that would be heard from any point in town as she let her pack know what was happening.

Addison winced while uncovering her ears. "Carson, what—"

"Someone's after the moonstone!" she snapped. Then, Carson disappeared in a cloud of shimmering red smoke, teleporting away and toward where she was needed most.