Confessions of a Teenage Zombie

Alex couldn't sit still, surprisingly. He would get up, walk in a few circles, and sit back down. He always seemed so calm and collected; it was odd that he couldn't just stay there. I wondered for a second if we switched bodies, but quickly realized if that was the case, I wouldn't be seeing him jump up and down while thinking my own thoughts. If that makes sense.

"You okay, kiddo?" I asked. He turned to me, grinning like a dope. He leaned into me, giving me a quick kiss on the lips. What had honestly gotten into him? I hoped I didn't give him zombie cooties or anything. I'd have to ask Art about zombie diseases later. "Seriously, man. You're freaking me out with the sudden burst of energy.

Was he dying? I'd read stories about people having sudden bursts of energy before they died. Was this the case? It probably would be my luck; getting a boyfriend, and then he ended up dying shortly after.

Why was I being so cynical, all of a sudden? I needed to be happy! I got a boyfriend, and he was the nicest, cutest little thing ever! But still a little creepy right now.

"I'm just happy is all," he said. Took him long enough to respond. I was going to call Brent if he didn't calm down; Brent would know if Alex was dying. Alex crossed his legs. "For once in my life, I just don't feel like having to worry about anyone's opinions about what I'm doing. It's just like 'fuck it, I can do what I want', which is weird, but whatever."

"That's how I feel most of the time." I shrugged my shoulders and smiled. I wanted to think that I was the reason for this sudden change it attitude, and hey, maybe I actually was. "So you wanna get bite to eat or something?"

"Actually, my parents are out for today, and they gave me a list of things they wanted me to get from the store for when they get home tonight. You know, dinner things," Alex explained. "But you can come along! It'll be fun."

Shopping was the least fun thing to do, in my opinion. Okay, maybe it was a little better than watching paint dry, but not by much. But shopping with Alex couldn't be too bad, right? He was a sweet kid; I always had to go shopping with my sisters, and they always got mad at me. Like, how dare I sneak several boxes of Cookie Crisp into the shopping cart?

"Okay." The idea of shopping was still horrible, but I was very possibly just making it seem worse than it actually was.

We were at the store twenty minutes later. I could smell people right away; they all seemed so delicious. Like, add some salt, mm-mm-mm!

No! I would not allow myself to be tempted to just dig into one's brain matter. I was going to behave myself and be as human as possible! For Alex!

"They like potatoes too," Alex stated. I think he might have been trying to talk to me; start a conversation or something. I hadn't taken in a word he said, so I nodded my head. He sighed and start putting some potatoes in his basket.

"Sorry. I was deep in my own head." I wanted to be able to concentrate fully on Alex, but it was hard with so many people around. It was fine when it was just me and one other person, but crowded places were not a good mix with me. "What were you saying?"

"Nothing, never mind," Alex mumbled. He was just going to get passive-aggressive with me; I know he was. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to miss everything you were saying; I just can't concentrate here." I knew it was no excuse, and I hoped he wouldn't just sigh and carry on as if it didn't bug him, because I knew it did. He turned and looked at me fully.

"Is everything okay?" he inquired. He still cared; of course he would calm down. I didn't mean to take advantage of his kindness at all in what I said; I just wanted him to know I did actually care.

"I have a sensitive sense of smell; sometimes everything is just too much for me to handle, and I lost concentration in what's going on," I explained. It definitely beat telling him that I hungered for brain matter; he'd scream and run away if I did. "Sorry."

"No! There's no need to apologize. If I knew, I wouldn't have asked you to come along. Do you wanna go outside and wait?" Alex asked. "You'll be okay? You seemed so fine in the park."

"It's not bad if there aren't too many people around, but when there's tons of people? Forget it; I go crazy." It was like I was telling him the truth without giving away my cover; this could be great!

"Okay. Well, really, maybe you should just go outside and wait for me. I shouldn't be too long," Alex said. He smiled at me. I smiled back and turned around to leave the store.

As I got outside, my phone rang. I leaned back against a pole and checked the caller ID; it was Brent. I swear, if he was calling to tell me Ryan started freaking out and ran off, I was going to break some knee caps.

"Hey," I greeted.

"It's Ryan!" I didn't expect for him to call; I didn't even know how he could use a phone, even. He was a ghost when I left him.

"How are you using a phone?" I inquired.

"Brent's holding it up for me," Ryan replied. "I asked if he would help me call you, and he did. How's everything going over there?"

"Everything's fine. I cleaned up the kitchen; I think Art and Shane were both asleep," I explained. "Actually, I left the house as soon as I finished cleaning. Alex called, and we talked about what happened. Ryan, I have a boyfriend now!"

"Oh, Brendon!" Ryan exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you! I know you were sad that he ran off on you. What happened with him?"

"His parents. He hasn't told them he's gay; he doesn't know how they'd take it, and he just thought too much about it and ran away," I explained. I felt kind of bad. Should I be sharing something so personal about Alex with someone he doesn't even know? They might not ever meet, so what was the harm, right? Alex wouldn't know.

"That sucks, but they'll probably be fine with it. I'm sure he's a good kid, right?" Ryan inquired. "And speaking of kid, what you're doing is legal, right? He is still sixteen."

"Dude, I know. I get it; I think it'll be fine." Leave it to Ryan to ask those pesky legal questions I didn't really want to think about. "Hey, it looks like he's coming out from the store, so I'm gonna get going. Talk to you later?"

"Yeah. Just call Brent and ask for me if you wanna chat, okay?" Ryan sounded happy. Good for him!

"Yeah. Love you, dude. Bye." I hung up. I never told Ryan I loved him, and he better not take it to mean I wanna marry him. I looked over, seeing Alex. "That was really fast."

"Short line," Alex stated. "Who were you on the phone with?"

"Ah, my room mate. He's like a weird brother, you know?" I asked. "Like, he's cool and all, but you kind of don't want anyone knowing you said that."

"Except you just told me," Alex said, chuckling. He probably thought he was super clever or something. Dork. "Hey, maybe I'll meet him one day?"

"Maybe," I mumbled.

Maybe not was more like it. Alex wouldn't stand a chance if he ever came to my house; he'd either run out screaming after seeing Ryan, or get his blood sucked out of him by Shane.

Both of them were horrible options, so I'd avoid Alex coming over if possible. It sucked, definitely, but I'd manage it. Somehow.