Confessions of a Teenage Zombie

I made it back to the house in record time. I felt really bad for leaving Alex to wonder what the hell was wrong with me. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and it would’ve been cool to get to know him more. Damn me and my cravings for brain! I even told Art I’d try to tone down my hunger, too.

“Hey,” Art greeted when I entered the house. I waved halfheartedly and walked into the living room, throwing myself dramatically on the couch. If there was one thing I was a master at, it was being dramatic. Not as dramatic as Ryan, but still pretty dramatic. Art walked into the living room. “Want me to go upstairs so you can angst about whatever happened?”

“You know me too well,” I stated, turning my head to look at him. He was holding a mug of what I could only guess was tea, although I sometimes wondered if it was the blood of innocent children or something. I mean, the guy was a bit of a mystery to me. “I just need to lie down for a bit.”

“Something troubling you?” Art inquired. I sat up, and he took a seat next to me.

“Well, I met someone who was kind of cool, right?” I inquired. Art nodded his head. “Well, he gave me a Hello Kitty band-aid, and we were talking, but then I got hungry for brains because there were too many people around, and I had to leave. Well, at least I had to if I wanted to avoid causing a ruckus. I like the word ruckus.”

“It is a good word,” Art agreed.

“I know, right? There are so many good words out there that people never use!” I took in a deep breath and looked around. “So... where's Shane? I haven't seen him all day.”

“He's sleeping under his bed. He said it was too bright for him today, and he needed a cave,” Art explained. He ran his fingers through his hair. “And there are really no caves nearby, so I told him going under his bed was the best bet for a cave-like experience. I checked on him two hours later, and he was sleeping like a baby.”

“I guess that makes sense.” I looked at the floor. “He seems pretty content with being inside all the time. If I were more content, the craving for brains wouldn't be a problem. I don't have them here.”

“Shane's always liked being inside, even before he got bitten,” Art stated. I looked at him.

“Did you know him before he turned into a vampire?” I inquired.

“Not really,” Art answered. “He used to pass by the house sometimes and take snapshots. I don't think he knew it was occupied. I never did anything; he was enjoying himself, so why stop him?"

“How sweet!” I exclaimed.

“I guess.” Art chuckled. “He was surprised when I got him here; I don't think he ever thought he'd be in this house. Actually, he was probably more surprised when I showed up at the cave with a pair of pants."

I started laughing hysterically. If I was stranded somewhere naked, and some person I didn't know had shown up, that would be a little awkward, yet funny at the same time. Somehow.

“So you knew he was in that cave?” I questioned after calming myself down. Art nodded his head. “How? I mean, he told me that it was a drunk, spur of the moment dare.”

“Sixth sense, I guess,” Art stated.

“You sense dead people?” I asked. “Who the hell do you think you are, Haley Joel Osment? Although he saw dead people, not sensed them. You get my point. So um... how did we get here again?”

“You were freaking out because you were craving brain.” Art crossed his legs. I looked up at the ceiling. “Perhaps I should've let you outside sooner. You would've acclimated to the scent by now.”

“Probably.” I looked at him. If he had let me outside earlier, I wouldn't know what to do. I don't think I even wanted to go outside too much before yesterday. I still needed to adjust to the fact that I was dead. Sure, I could still do most things living people could, but I had to be able to actually remember at all times that I was still dead. “It was better to stay inside and be able to fully process that I was dead. I can't end up being all sad like Ryan, right?”

“I suppose.” Art took a sip of his drink, which still nay or may not be the blood of the innocent. “So your friend Brent seemed nice. Pretty calm, considering the household. Does he know about everything?”

“Yeah.” I licked my bottom lip, which was nasty and dry. A bit of dead, no pun intended, skin fell off and onto the floor. “He was raised by parents who are way into the paranormal. Like, they'd be thrilled if they knew about Ryan. I have no idea what their take on vampires or zombies is.”

Art arched an eyebrow.

“Not that Brent would say anything though!” I continued. “He said so himself, remember? And he's a man of his word.”

“I didn't imply he would say anything.” Art took another sip of his tea. I was getting paranoid. I've been getting freaky lately, and I knew I had to tone it down. If I wanted to try and blend in outside, I had to stop acting like a weirdo.

“I'm gonna go see what Ryan's up to.” Before Art could reply, I got up and dashed upstairs. I ran into Ryan's room and immediately jumped on his bed. He was standing by the window, staring at me. “Yo, Ryan. What's the haps?”

“Excuse me?” he cocked his head a bit.

“The haps. What's going down?” I questioned. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at me. I sighed heavily, because I wanted to make him feel bad. Yes, I was that mean. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” he sighed. I rolled my eyes and laid down. I noticed that there was a guitar in the corner of the room. I looked at it for a minute before turning back to Ryan.

“You play guitar?” I inquired.

“I did,” Ryan stated. He walked closer to me. “My best friend and I, we wanted to start a band. I mean, we had a band, but it was just a blink-182 cover band.”

“Good taste in music,” I stated. Ryan smiled; I guess he was happy that I wasn't criticizing his music. That was quite sad, actually. I heard yawning, and I looked out of the room. Shane was stretching his arms over his head. His hair was all kinds of messy. I turned to Ryan. “Shane's up, so I'm gonna go.”

“Bye,” he mumbled. I waved and left. I ran to Shane, tackling him.

“Zombie attack!” he screamed, looking up at me. “Oh god! He wants my brain! I'm in trouble!”

“What brain?” I inquired. Shane stuck out his tongue and poked my nose. I giggled and got off of him. He stood up and looked at me. “Art told me you were sleeping under your bed because it was too bright for you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” he yawned again and linked his arm with mine, leading me downstairs. “I feel better now that I've had more sleep. Anything good happen while I was slumbering?”

“My friend was here. Ooh, and my finger fell off!” I explained. Shane arched an eyebrow. “What? A finger falling off can be good. It's better than if my hand fell off.”

“Yeah, that's true.” Shane shrugged his shoulders. We stopped in the living room, where Art was still sitting on the couch. Shane let go of my arm and made a run for Art. “Artemis, my love!”

“Hi Sha--” Before Art could finish, Shane had jumped on him in an attempt to hug him. Art gasped, and I heard something crunch. Shane probably hadn't taken into account that Art was small, and probably got hurt easily. I mean, the guy didn't look like he could take much.

I stared at the two, wondering if Art was going to come back up. Shane stared down at him, probably wondering the same thing. Eventually, Art pushed Shane off of him and sat up, shaking his head quickly.

“Are you okay!?” Shane wrapped his arms around Art and started kissing his cheek. “I thought you'd be able to withstand my hug attack! Baby, I'm so sorry.”

“It's fine.” Art smiled and gave Shane a kiss. They made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever they acted like a couple. Like, hey, that could be me and someone one day.

Or, it could've been if I wasn't a zombie or anything. I'm not sure there are many people looking for a zombie boyfriend. Or maybe there are. Weirdos.

I'm a pretty optimistic person; I knew somehow, I'd find someone.