Zombie Mode: Off

Marcus felt like a zombie walking through the halls of North Valley High, his brain fogged from three hours of sleep and too many TikTok doomscrolls at 2 AM. His messy bed-hair defied gravity in ways that should've been impossible, but honestly? He was too exhausted to care.

"Bro, your hair looks like you got struck by lightning," Jace said, slapping Marcus's shoulder as they headed to fourth period. "You good?"

"Zombie mode, activated," Marcus mumbled, though they both knew it wasn't just the lack of sleep. Ever since Jace had made varsity baseball and Marcus hadn't, everything felt wrong. Their friendship had shifted like tectonic plates—slow, invisible, until you noticed the earthquake damage.

The worst part? Marcus had sort of become a spy in his own life. He'd catch himself watching Jace's Instagram stories, tracking who hung out at the baseball field after practice, who got invited to the team dinners. Pathetic.

Friday night's game changed everything. Marcus sat in the bleachers, supposedly supporting his best friend but actually feeling like the world's biggest fraud. Then Jace struck out in the bottom of the ninth, costing them the championship.

The baseball field went silent. Jace's shoulders collapsed.

Marcus didn't think. He just ran.

"You okay?" he asked, finding Jace behind the dugout, sitting alone in the dirt.

Jace looked up, eyes red. "I can't believe I missed that pitch. Everyone saw—"

"Yeah, everyone saw." Marcus dropped beside him. "And everyone who matters also saw that you carried the team all season. So you had one bad moment. Welcome to being human, bro."

Jace let out this sound that was half laugh, half sob. "Your hair is actually ridiculous, by the way."

Marcus laughed, genuinely laughed, for the first time in weeks. "I know. My mom says it looks like a bird's nest. But I'm thinking of keeping it."

"Do it." Jace bumped his shoulder. "Not everything needs to be perfect."

They sat there as the stadium lights flickered off, zombie feelings fading into something real. Maybe being a spy in your own life wasn't about watching from the sidelines. Maybe it was about showing up when it mattered.

"You coming to practice Monday?" Jace asked.

"Nah." Marcus grinned. "But I'll be there to watch you fail again."

"Perfect." Jace stood up and offered his hand. "That's what best friends are for."