Dead Fruit & Wild Things

I looked like a zombie after pulling an all-nighter for finals. Dark circles, brain fog, the whole deal. But somehow Maya convinced me to come to Jackson's party anyway.

"You can't just rot in your room all summer," she'd said. "Live a little, zombie girl."

The party was already in full swing when we arrived. I grabbed a papaya punch from the makeshift bar—some sketchy concoction that tasted like regret and artificial fruit flavor. But hey, at least it was something.

Then I saw him. Leo. The fox.

That's what everyone called him, not because he was sly or anything, but because he had this wild orange hair and the cleverest comebacks in AP Bio. He'd been my lab partner all year, and I'd spent approximately zero percent of that time actually functioning around him because *distraction*.

He was by the back door, scrolling through his phone like everyone else in the room wasn't trying way too hard to look cool.

"Zombie girl," he said, spotting me. "Nice to see you emerged from the grave."

"Barely," I managed, forgetting how to form coherent sentences immediately. "That papaya punch is honestly terrible."

Leo laughed. "Yeah, Jackson's mom bought it on clearance. Probably expired in 2019."

We ended up on the back porch, talking about everything and nothing. His fox-like grin kept catching me off guard, making me forget what I was going to say. He admitted he was scared about college applications. I told him I was terrified of graduating and becoming an actual adult who had to figure out taxes and health insurance.

"Same," he said. "I feel like I'm just zombie-walking through most days. You know?"

"Literally same."

The papaya punch was forgotten. The noise from inside faded to background static. And for the first time all year, my brain felt completely awake.

"Hey," Leo said suddenly. "Your phone's blowing up."

Maya had texted seventeen times. Where r u??? ARE U OKAY DID U DIE???

I grinned. "Maya thinks I got lost or something."

"Tell her you're busy," Leo said, and there was something in his voice that made my stomach do a backflip. "Tell her you found something better than zombie mode."

Maybe being undead wasn't so bad after all. Not when you finally found someone who made you feel alive.