Zombie Love Story

In the beginning, Alex had quite a hard time adjusting to his new body, as well as to his new life. He was damned to an eternal Halloween, although he didn't feel damned at all. He did feel like an infant, though, learning to live life all over again. Fortunately, it didn't bother the teen as much as it should have, all because he knew he would have Jack by his side, for as long as he wanted him there.

As he shuffled alongside the other boy under the moonlight, Alex thought about how he'd never felt more alive since he'd died. Chucking at the absurd sentence that ran through his head, Alex focused his attention back on his boyfriend, who'd been chatting away for hours, now.

"...We probably haven't passed any humans for a while, otherwise you'd know what I'm talking about. You're going to have to learn who to pick out, though, like people who are dangers to society, and when you're going to need to eat animals. Unless you want to kill whoever, then go right ahead. You'll be able to control your hunger easier as you age, though, trust me. I-"

"How old are you?" Alex interrupted, simultaneously tripping over a rock. He could tell that one of his toes had fallen off in his shoe, although he was unsure of which exactly. He made a mental note to fix that later, as Jack laughed and grabbed his elbow to steady the younger boy carefully.

"I died in 1456." Jack answered, almost looking proud of himself, yellow teeth catching the light of the moon as he smiled.

Alex gasped, jaw falling as the information made it's way into his ears. "How'd you die?"

"Well, there wasn't another zombie, like there was with you. I think I died of some disease or something, I can't really remember which. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in a coffin, scared as hell - and hungry." Jack explained. "I guess some spirit just wanted me to come back. I had something left to "live" for, I suppose. Now that I think about, they probably just wanted me to meet you." The older boy punctuated his sentence with a kiss to Alex's slowly rotting cheek, which probably would have made the smaller boy blush, if he wasn't, well, dead now.

It'd been about two weeks since Halloween night, and Jack had slowly been showing Alex the ropes of being undead. They'd started off with wandering away into a large forest, far from anyone the younger boy may have known. After the initial shock over his own appearance and death had passed, Alex had become incredibly distressed about his friends and family. He asked Jack if he'd ever be able to see them again, and after receiving a small shake of the head, Alex fired countless questions at the older boy. Why couldn't he go back? What was stopping him? How come Jack was able to visit him when he was still alive? Rolling his eyes, Jack gently pushed Alex into a seated position on the ground, being careful of his fragile limbs. After giving the younger boy a stern look that obviously meant 'shut up,' Jack began to speak once again.

"Look, Alex, it really is more complicated than you think. If we go back into that city, "Jack explained, pointing a bent finger in the direction that they had come from, "We're going to ruin everything. We're going to contaminate everyone, and it's all going to be over. You don't want that to happen, do you?"

Alex shook his head from his spot on the ground, speaking up and repeating a question from earlier, "Well, how come you were able to visit me, then?"

"I was getting to that!" Jack answered, pacing back in forth in front of the younger boy. "You won't be able to go back until next Halloween. That's how it works. If we go back now, we're going to rip their brains right out of their skulls-" Jack paused to chuckle at Alex's horrified face, "You'll get used to it, babe. Anyways, we'd kill them all and eat their remains. It's not the same on Halloween, though. On Halloween, anyone we infect will just change. We won't feel the need to tear them apart, so we can interact with humans on that day."

"So I can go back next year, then? To see my friends and family?" Alex asked, eyebrows raised.

"I wouldn't recommend it, Lexy," Jack sighed, mirroring the way Alex was now hanging his head, "We don't want them finding about us. You're going to freak out anyone you used to know. It's better off that they just think you're dead. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Alex smiled weakly, before Jack blew up once again.

"But it is my fault! It's totally my fault! I should have never started talking to you, I should have kept my distance! I should have never agreed to meet you on Halloween, either! Not that having you here with me isn't amazing, but you should be at home with your loved ones. Not dead, with me. It's just not right!" Jack huffed, taking a seat beside Alex.

Leaning his head on Jack's shoulder, Alex let out a breath, whispering, "It really is okay."

Alex's hand found Jack's across their laps, and they twined their fingers together. The younger boy smiled into the worn material covering his lover's shoulder, asking, "So, what's next for us, then?"

"We can go wherever you want, babe, and we have forever to do so. For now, why don't we go find something to eat?" Alex's eyes widened at Jack's question, and Jack chuckled once again, pressing a kiss to the smaller boy's lips before standing up and reaching a hand out for him. "You're going to have to do it eventually. Come on, it's not so bad."

Alex smiled up and Jack and took his hand, and with that, they were off.

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"And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever."