Chapter Text
Ever since Zoe joined Spooky High, she'd made it a habit of starting her day early. This wasn't because she loved academics or played sports, and the only club she was a part of, cosplay club, only got together once a month. Let’s face it, Zoe was hardly considered popular or charismatic, especially not compared to some of the people who went to Spooky High. No. Zoe liked getting up early and sticking her non-existent nose in other people's business.
This fine morning, Zoe was sitting on a wall behind the school, sipping on a java chip frightachino and watching the Slayer as she set up several bear traps. The green eyed woman agreed to talk with her as long as Zoe didn't touch anything. The coffee Zoe brought probably helped too. The drink was ninety percent cream and sugar, just the way the Slayer liked it.
“So, if you and the Wolfpack did date, would you call it polyamory or would it just be monogamy, albeit five bodies are involved?” Zoe asked.
Aaravi half shrugged as she poured holy water onto the bear traps. “I mean, they share one brain, literally. It's really great for when I make more elaborate battle plans. I just have to write out diagrams and put everything into sports terms and they're one hundred and nine percent on board. ...Or whatever it is you say.”
Zoe nodded, taking in Aaravi's words. The 'two' had started hanging out a lot, after they both shoved Leonard into a trashcan, then threw that trash can into a locker, tore the locker out and flushed it down the toilet. They both got detention, but started growing closer. Probably something to do with anger and abandonment issues, or maybe because Aaravi needed more muscle on her dungeon raid team and The Wolfpack had a secret tomboy kink.
“Are you okay with taking a NSFW question?”
“What?” The Slayer said, cocking her head.
“So, when you guys bone-?” Zoe asked.
“What?!” Aaravi repeated, her face lighting up.
“I mean, when you're down there in a dungeon, and you're all sweaty, and there's sex pollen in the air...” Zoe was cut off by the crossbow bolt that missed her by several feet. “Looks like I gotta go. Talk to you later!”
With that, Zoe flipped over the wall, and jogged to the front of the school. She mentally made a note to herself about warning Damien and Liam about the Slayer's holy bear traps. The campus was livening up, with more and more students walking around, so maybe she could find someone else to hang out with until class started. As she turned the corner, her many eyes caught sight of a glittering carriage, pulled by a dozen aquatic horses. Zoe beamed, and jogged closer to the parked carriage. The normally busy walkway was empty, though that tended to happen when the carriage pulled in.
“Miranda!” Zoe called.
The carriage door was opened, revealing Miranda Vanderbilt. “Zoe!”
The tiny noble woman jumped past her bodyguards and wrapped her arms around Zoe. Miranda was not quite a princess, instead being the daughter of the king’s half sister, and it put her into a perilous position. Since she wasn’t a princess, but was still high up in the royal hierarchy, it meant Miranda had a massive target on her. Kidnappers, insurrectionists, sea monsters, they all wanted the mermaid duchess for various reasons. This meant that most of her youth was spent going to heavily secured private schools, but now that she was a woman, her mother wanted her to have more life experience. Though it meant Miranda never went anywhere without at least two bodyguards, that made it hard for people to get close to her, literally and figuratively. Unless you were a timeless being who wasn’t intimidated by a couple of swol flounders.
“Your tentacles look lovely this morning.” Miranda said.
“Thanks. I used aloe vera on them last night.” Zoe said.
The two parted, and walked up the stairs to the school, a body guard on either side.
“So, what are your plans for the day, Miri?” Zoe asked. “Have water polo practice after school?”
“No.” Miranda shook her head. “I've been kicked off the team.”
“Bummer.”
“Indeed. What's worse is that my dear uncle won't even do anything about it.” Miranda said.
“Maybe we could hang out after school? Catch a movie or something.”
Miranda opened her mouth, but no sound came out. They'd entered the school, a guard opening the door for them so they didn't have to pause their conversation. Zoe glanced at Miranda, then followed her line of sight. Realization dawned on Zoe. Walking down the hall in all his tall, dark and handsome glory was one of the four Stars of Spooky High, as she liked to call them. Brian Wu was tall and handsome in a rugged sort of way. He played on the school's football team, the Spooky High Monsters who Spook (But Also Play Sports), and was one of their top players. More importantly, he was Miranda's crush.
“Gonna try and talk to him today? Ask him if he's going to prom?” Zoe asked with a smirk.
Miranda blushed, and shook her head. Zoe couldn't help but be disappointed. Miranda and Brian would be really cute together, the height difference, their color schemes, how prim the mermaid was compared to the almost slovenly zombie. Oh well. The first bell rang, all around them students panicked, rushing off to their classes.
“Gotta go. Will I see you at lunch?” Zoe asked.
“Of course.” Miranda said.
The two seafood themed girls went their separate ways, Zoe heading to biology while Miranda headed to Haunted Math. Zoe entered the biology room, her gaze settling on one of the other Spooky High outcasts, and her friend, Calculester.
Spooky High hadn’t always been such an accepting place. It had only been last year when the school got rid of its outdated rules against robots. Calculester had sort of been an act of affirmative action, taking in a robot student as a statement. He’d entered the school around the same time she had, which was well into the second term, meaning that cliques and friend groups had already been formed. The two were paired together in Biology, which was ironic considering he was a robot and she was an abomination unto the natural world, but what can you do?
“How long have you been here?” Zoe asked, sliding onto the seat next to his.
“I came early to check on our yam.” Cal explained.
Their current biology project was that they had to grow a yam in a beaker. From the line up of glass containers, she could easily spot their yam. It was the biggest and healthiest. Yay, another class she could coast through! Zoe turned her attention back to Cal, who was looking past her, towards another student. Zoe heard a laugh, a familiar one. The elder being turned, seeing another one of the Stars of Spooky high, well, two of them.
Amira Rashid, the queen of Spooky High, had her head tossed back in a laugh. She was cool, the kind of person no one would ever mess with, possessing a sharp tongue, fire powers and a body to die for. Honestly, when Zoe first saw Amira it felt like she'd been bewitched, that sex appeal was strong enough to charm a god.
“So you're into Amira?” Zoe asked, one more with a smug smirk on her face.
Cal immediately turned his screen away from Amira, his hand going to his neck where he absently traced over the wires with his finger.
“... You are correct, I cannot lie about my admiration and attraction towards our classmate.” Cal said.
“Well, everyone has a crush on Amira.” Zoe said. “And didn't she help show you around school?”
“That's correct! She help guide me around Spooky high, but like you were by V-”
“Are you going to ask her out? Prom's coming up, you know.” Zoe interrupted.
“As much as I would like to, there is simply too much of a gap between us.” Cal said.
“... Because you're a robot?” Zoe hazarded a guess.
Cal turned his screen to her, displaying a : / face, which turned to a : ( as he looked back at the desk. Zoe felt a little bad. That had been a rather ignorant thing to say, even though she also worried about that same thing sometimes.
“Species is not what worries me. Amira's social net worth is astronomical. I could never compare.” Cal explained.
“Oh, it's only that?” Zoe said.
Amira wasn't sitting alone. At her table was another monster, another Star, and Zoe's childhood friend. ...You know, if you could call what she had a childhood.
“You know I sometimes hang out with Oz, right?” Zoe said. “I can ask him if a certain friend of his ever talks about you.”
Cal's face turned to a surprised emoji. “But I do not want to pry into Amira's personal affairs.”
“I promise Oz won't nark.” Zoe said.
That was when the teacher finally entered the room, pulling out the overhead projector. It looked like it was time to do actual school stuff and not just talk about who was smooching who.
“Sit with me at lunch. Then we can talk about it more.” Zoe whispered before the teacher went into a lecture about mitochondria.
~~~
After class, Zoe and Cal went their separate ways. The robot went to gym class, while Zoe tailed Oz, keeping her distance and watching as he talked with Amira. For a second, Zoe was worried she would get a chance to talk to her friend alone, but Amira took a turn, heading towards the bathrooms.
“Hey, Ozzy!” Zoe shouted, waving to her friend who was already wading into the sea of undulating bodies.
“Zoe?” Oz said, turning to her, his eyes going wide with recognition, the phobias on his shoulder bouncing with excitement.
There he was, the third Star of Spooky High. Oz was quiet, well read, and just plain adorable. As head of the art club, and a member of the student council, Oz did a lot for the school, and was well liked. Even if he was quiet, or maybe because of that, people listened to him when he talked.
“In the flesh, or at least, in the slime.” Zoe chuckled.
“What?” Oz asked, leaning in closer.
“I said- Never mind. Let's get some water.”
The two ageless monsters moved to the water cooler, where things were a little quieter. Zoe downed a small cup of water, while Oz nursed his, occasionally letting a phobia take a sip.
“So, what are you doing here?” Zoe asked.
“At the rave?” Oz asked, getting closer.
Zoe nodded. “This isn't really your style.”
“I just realized that I'm going to graduate soon, and I've hardly done anything you could classify as 'fun' or 'bold', so I thought I should try doing something different.”
“Why don't you do stuff with Amira? Everything she does is fun and bold.” Zoe said.
“I love her like a sister, but she's way too intense sometimes.” Oz said.
“Makes sense. So, is Amira seeing anyone?” Zoe said.
“You're interested in her?” Oz asked.
“Everyone is interested in her. I just happen to know someone who is especially into her.” Zoe said.
Oz chuckled. “Zoe, you don't have to be shy with me. I'd be cool if you got together with one of my friends. The only one of them who's taken is V-”
“So, have you been reading any good fanfics?” Zoe interrupted.
“Not as many as I'd like, but The_Gaming_Dead_54 put out a really good ongoing fic...”
The two talked about fanfics for the rest of the period, Oz leaving when Liam called him over. Zoe felt like she had something to warn Liam about, but could put her finger on what it could be. When Oz left, Zoe turned to the rave tree.
“How long have you been there?” Zoe said.
To her surprise, Polly Geist peeked out. The ghost girl was cool, not as cool as Amira, but a free spirited hedonist who lived life by her own rules. Despite that, she never hung out with the cool kids, instead tuning out the world and doing her own thing.
“I was just back here twerking, not listening to your conversation.” Polly insisted.
“Really?” Zoe asked, raising an eyebrow.
Polly's brow furrowed, then she lowered her gaze. “Ugh fine. You're Oz's friend, right?”
“It's true.” Zoe said.
Was it just her shipping goggles, but was she sensing some sexual tension here? Polly floated closer, so Zoe could see the light dusting of pink on the ghost’s blue cheeks.
“Well you see, I'm kind of interested in your pal.” Polly continued.
Zoe punched the air. She knew it!
“Sorry to interrupt, please continue.” Zoe said.
“I know what you're thinking: Polly Geist, into a goody-two-shoes like Oz? Girl, why are you wasting your time?”
“You don't have to explain your crush to me, love works in weird ways.” Zoe said. “But what doesn't make sense is why you haven't snapped him up yet. I mean, he's got a sex drive, he'd be interested in a night with Polly Geist.”
“I know but...” Polly started.
Ohhh! Was this a bad girl hopelessly in love with the good boy!? This wasn't something you saw as much, considering how many more people liked bad boys and wanted to see them reform and settle down. This was exciting.
“Every time I flash him or ask him if he wants a blow-job he faints.” Polly finished.
Oh, that made sense. Still, Oz did say he wanted to live a wilder life. Maybe Polly could help him experience more of what life had to offer, even if she wasn't exactly alive.
“Hey, maybe I can give you some advice. As someone who's known Oz for a long time, and is obsessed with everything related to love and relationships, I could give you some great pointers on seducing Oz without causing him to melt down.” Zoe said.
“Really? You'd do that?” Polly said, and leaned in closer. “What do you want in return?”
Zoe's eyes widened at the sight of Polly's cleavage. Damn, and she'd flashed those things at Oz? No wonder he fainted.
“The only reward I need is making love happen, and knowing one of my best buds has scored.” Zoe said. “Meet me at lunch today, thought there might be a few friends of mine there too.”
~~~
After the rave, Zoe felt a little bad that she'd invited so many people to lunch. She hoped Miranda wouldn't be mad. Maybe she could explain it to the mermaid. Zoe headed to Miranda's locker, where she found the mermaid putting away her books.
“Hey Miri.” Zoe said.
“Zoe! How are you?”
“Doing good. You still want to have lunch together?”
Before Miranda could answer, someone stopped beside them. Both girls turned, and were greeted by Vicky Schmidt and her heart stopping smile.
“Hello. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I just wanted to see if you two were going to go to tonight's football game.”
Zoe could feel her heart pound in her chest, or at least, the organ she's modeled after a heart and put in the approximate place of one. Everyone knew Vicky, she was quite possibly the most beloved monster in all of Spooky High. Smart, friendly, kind, head of the student council, and always there for everyone, and not to mention cute as a button, Vicky was the total package.
The patchwork girl just stood there, unbothered by the awkward silence, which came to an end when Brian came up behind her.
“Is Vicky trying to get you to come to tonight's game?” Brian asked.
Zoe was aware of Miranda's heart beat now.
“Sorry. It's just a big game, and I want to make sure everyone knows they can come. We've gotta show our school spirit!” Vicky cheered.
“We can cheer you guys on.” Zoe said, gear turning.
Brian smiled. “That'd be cool, having two cute girls cheering for me. But don't come if you don't want to.”
“Of course I'll come!” Miranda blurted.
“Well if you insist.” Brian said, glancing at Miranda.
Zoe raised her tentacle behind Miranda. The redhead just might faint from having Brian smile at her like that.
“Yay! I love seeing participation-” Vicky said, but what cut off as a large form scooped her up.
“Vicky!” It was not a wild beast, or a bear who had decided to kidnap Vicky. It was Scott Howl. Vicky's boyfriend.
“Scott! Put me down, please.” Vicky laughed.
“Aww, okay.” Scott said, putting her down, then turning to Zoe and Miranda. “You two are coming to the game.”
“Yes! Mother says I should broaden my horizons.” Miranda said.
“S- Same.” Zoe answered.
“That's so cool! I'm going to play extra good now!” Scott said with a wink.
“You hear there might be scouts at tonight's game?” Brian asked.
“Really?” Vicky asked him, eyes wide.
Brian nodded. “I'm going to get some food. Keep each other safe.”
With that he patted both his friends shoulders, and headed off to the cafeteria. No doubt he needed to up his carbs or protein or whatever. There was still so much about bodies Zoe didn't understand.
“Well, it was nice seeing you two. We should really hang out more, Zoe. I had so much fun when I showed you around.” Vicky said.
“That'd be cool.” Zoe said, feeling her face warm.
“Alright Scott, let's go eat lunch in the quad.” Vicky said, taking Scott's hand.
Zoe looked away, facing Miranda, favouring the mermaid's glowing expression over … Them. Miranda did look adorable though, practically radiating with delight.
“Brian called me cute!” Miranda gasped.
“He sure did.” Zoe said, not even bothering to point out that the compliment had been aimed at both of them.
Miranda basked in the joy of her crush noticing her for a few minutes more, then glanced up at Zoe.
“Am I misremembering, or were you asking me something?” Miranda said.
“Oh yeah! At lunch. I hope you're okay with sharing a table with a few other people.” Zoe said.
“I would actually quite like that.” Miranda said.
Zoe felt like this was the start of something beautiful. She would use her shipping expertise to help three of her fellow outcasts find love! She couldn't wait to go over shipping charts and share her favorite tropes with her new lunch mates.
“Let's get some lunch, Miri.” Zoe said.
The two froze as a stretcher rocketed down the hallway. It was being pushed by Nurse Chubacabra, and on the stretcher itself was Liam. A bear trap was over the vampire's leg, and it glistened with holy sparkles. Miranda and Zoe watched the hipster get wheeled to the nurses office, and the little purple disaster slapped her forehead with her tentacle.
“That was it! That's what I was supposed to warn Liam about!” Zoe cried.
~~~
“Roll call time!” Zoe announced. “Miranda?”
“Present.”
“Calculester?”
“Present.”
“Polly?”
The four sat at a table in the darker corner of the cafeteria, out of the way of everyone. It was both by design and by choice. It was a nice place for Zoe to work on her art while she ate, easy for Miranda's guards to keep watch, and right next to an outlet. It was also the table no one else used, since it was slightly lopsided, and once more, the light overhead was either dull or flickering.
“Polly?” Zoe repeated.
The ghost babe didn't even look up from her phone. “I'm here.”
“Alright. Now that everyone is accounted for we can discuss our plan of action. You know why I brought you all here?”
“You wish to be my courtship planning serf?” Miranda said.
“We are all friends?” Calculester offered.
“We're all thirsty AF?” Polly stated.
Zoe thought for a moment. “I guess those are all true? But yeah, by the time Monster Prom rolls around, each of you will be hooking up with an eligible star of the school!”
“But Vicky is-” Calculester began, only to be interrupted.
“Cal, you're taking biology with Amira. She's not doing great in that class, and helping her with her yam could be her ticket to not having to not fail biology, and your ticket to make-outsvile!”
“But Amira is so intimidating. Whenever I attempt to converse with her my system is at risk of overclocking.”
“She's just a monster, but you can always practice what you're going to say beforehand.” Zoe said, then turned her attention to Polly. “Oz is a shy cinnamon roll, but if you just listen to him and give him time, he will talk your ear off.”
“So, do you have a cool plan for me to seduce him?” Polly asked.
“I got some rave tickets from Valarie. Why don't you invite him out?” Zoe said, sliding the tickets over to Polly.
The ghost examined them, a glint in her eyes. “Ohhh! This place is the best! Really now, what do I owe you?”
Once more Polly leaned forward, chest threatening to pour out of her top.
“Absolutely nothing! Miranda!” Zoe pointed to the mermaid, who had been looking at Polly's chest. “I'm going to get you a prince!”
“You think he will find me... Titillating?” Miranda asked.
“Of course! Now, a good start is critical. Tonight, we're all going to the team's big game, and I'm going to make sure all of you have a moment with your crush.” Zoe explained.
“The football game?” Polly asked.
“Yeah. Everyone will be there. Even Oz comes to cheer Brian on and keep Amira company.” Zoe explained, looking too Cal.
“But Brian will be playing. Do you really think I can talk to him?” Miranda said.
“Babe, you can talk to him after the game. Try to make reservations for a fancy restaurant. I stalked his instagram, the guy loves to eat. Invite him out on a date. If he wins, it's a celebration. If he loses, it’s a pick-me-up.”
Zoe looked over the table. Everyone was quiet, and a little blushy, which was adorable.
“Eh, what have I got to lose?” Polly said.
“Yes, I already promised Brian I would cheer him on.” Miranda said.
“The chances of winning over Amira seem slim, but I would like to join in these... Shenanigans.” Calculester added.
Zoe smiled. “Then we're all going to the game tonight!”