Hah, sike! There's more fluff! Sorry, but you probably already knew this was coming.
Seriously though, I'm so happy to see how much positive feedback there has been to this story so far. But most of all, I'm happy to see that people have enjoyed their time with it. I know that it might seem like there hasn't been so much happening, but I swear, it's going somewhere...eventually...Don't worry, I'm only partially joking! It has ended up a lot longer than I expected, I won't lie about that. I still haven't figured out whether that's a good or a bad thing. But that's up to you in the end. Just remind me whenever I reach the point of using 500 words to describe a table. At that point, no excuse would be enough to redeem me.
"Zim."
Dib was standing at the side of a cafeteria table, looking down on Zim, who was busy poking a soup that was way too thick, with a spoon. Once he heard the all too familiar voice of his arch-enemy, he slowly turned around to face Dib, while still sitting at the table.
"Well well well, if it isn't The Dib!" He exclaimed asked with mockery clear in his voice while gesturing at Dib with his arm.
The entire cafeteria, once bustling with voices from every table, suddenly turned silent in a single moment. Their attention was immediately turned to the single long table in the middle of the cafeteria, the place that Zim would always be sitting at. Dib had his own table in a corner, but he would sometimes come over to Zim if only to continue a previous fight or start a new one. But the students could tell something was different. They usually started with an insult, which would lead to an argument, and then a fight that would last until a teacher sounded the 'Zim-and-Dib' alarm. So something new was definitely going to happen.
"Yes, it's me," Dib answered back, standing dramatically with his arms crossed. The two were staring intensely at each other, completely oblivious to the other students holding their breath in anticipation.
"If I remember correctly, you owe me something, Space-boy." He continued, his tone monotone, and almost threatening.
"Do I now, Dib-stink?" Zim continued in the same mocking turn, as he leaned forward, to the surprise of the rest of the students, who recoiled in fear.
They all had the same thought. That this might be it. This might be the day the two of them finally kill each other, and they can have peace once and for all. They all knew that it was normal that friends would fight sometimes, but this whole situation between them had lasted for so long, that the school had accepted that these two took their whole rivalry seriously. Serious to a fault. And now they might just spill blood in the middle of lunch. The students didn't know whether to run away and hide from the oncoming destruction or start betting money on who wins.
"Yes you do, if you haven't already forgotten." Dib continued, taking a step closer to Zim. Shocked gasps were let by all the onlookers, who had formed a circle around the duo, that were still being completely unaware of the spectators to their discussion.
"You would think that with such a big head, you would be better able to remember information. But I guess it's to compensate for the squishy little brain you have." Zim retorted with a big grin on his face, finding his insult very much enjoyable. Dib, however, looked at him confused, waving slightly from trying to find better footing, as he prepared a response.
"What are you talking about, alien scum?"
He tried to hide it with a calm tone, but it was clear he had been taken off-guard by Zim's statement.
"Well, it seems I have to remind you of our deal, human."
He then pointed a claw at Dib, who didn't react in the slightest.
"You have something I want, which you will give-" He then pointed the claw at him, his expression now turned serious, with a dissatisfied frown on his face. "-to Zim. Then you can expect the reward you're so desperate for."
The students were confused at first, wondering what it was that he was talking about. But they soon stopped caring, as they saw Dib clenching his teeth together, his grip around his arms tightening.
"Oh...so that's how it is."
"Yes, do you understand now, stupid worm!" Zim hissed, his body lunging forward as if he wanted to snap at Dib with his sharp teeth. Still, Dib stood perfectly still. Which the students knew was weird, as Dib had always been paranoid about Zim, and would act like he was about to pull out a knife and stab him, whenever he made any sudden motion towards him. Which in this situation, only fueled their impression that shit was about to go down.
"Oh don't worry. I understand. I understand perfectly." Dib replied coldly, reaching for something from inside his trench coat. A wave of fear washed over the students, and the most level-headed of them made a b-line for the nearest exit or window. None of them dared to try to guess what he was about to pull out. For all, they cared he could pull out a samurai sword. What they cared about, was the epic fight that was about to commence. A fight that would be remembered for the rest of history, and would mark this building forever as a memorial in remembrance of the two psycho kids who would, unfortunately, kill each other on this faithful day. Ending once and for all, the biggest menace this school has ever faced.
Zim looked impatiently at Dib, as he slowly pulled out something from his back. Dib kept a cold look in his eyes, as he pulled the item out of his trench coat, and held it out to Zim.
What was in Dib's hand, was a bag, with the symbol of a popular donut chain on both sides. The spectators who had held in their breath for nearly a minute now, awkwardly let it seep out of their mouths, as they looked at the bag in confusion. Not even disappointed, just confused.
Zim chuckled to himself, before reaching out to grab the bag. Dib yanked it bag a few centimeters, just out of the alien's reach. Zim kept his arm in the air, as if in shock that the bag had been taken away from his grasp. He looked at the empty palm of his hand, before turning his face to Dib with a frustrated glint in his eyes.
"Give Zim the bag, now!" He commanded, stomping his foot in the ground, with an angry grunt. Dib would be amused if it wasn't because he too was impatient to get his share of the deal.
"You know what we discussed, Zim. You have to give me some alien technology in return, understand? I'm not going to give you these donuts out of the kindness of my heart." Dib explained, his cold attitude replaced by one of annoyance. Even Zim's expression had changed as he now looked just looked displeased with the situation. Specifically, the part where he had to give something away.
He mumbled to himself something about 'stupid human hearts', before disinterestedly fumbling around in his PAK, looking for something. He continued for a few moments, while the human watched, getting more irritated with each second that passed. Then, Zim suddenly let out an *ow*, his face twisting in pain. The pain then seemed to disappear, as fumbled for about another second, before stopping and pulling the object out. It was something small, as his hand was able to close completely around it. He took it over to the table, placing it carefully on its surface. When he finally removed his hand, it was revealed he had been holding on to a single purple screw, which looked very out of place when compared to the almost empty table it was now on.
Dib was too occupied with staring at the screw in total disbelief to notice Zim calmy taking the bag out of his hand, before opening and inspecting its contents. His head slowly turned from the screw, over to Zim, who looked surprisingly pleased with the selection of donuts.
"What is that?" He asked, angry with Zim's audacity. The alien was meanwhile stuffing his face with a sugar-glazed donut, before turning to face Dib again, looking at him with an innocent expression.
"*Chewing*...Eh?" Zim was surprised at the human's apparent dissatisfaction with what he had been graciously given by the great Zim. Dib looked even more surprised, frustrated at the fact that Zim seemed ignorant of the reason he was angry.
"I asked for actual alien technology, and you give me a screw!" He said loudly, pointing accusingly at the lonely screw, who had done nothing to deserve being put in this situation.
"Do you even know what this is?!" The alien answered back, just as aggressive as Dib, as he was starting to get annoyed by the human's ignorance of what he was pointing at. Dib didn't have any good comeback, as he couldn't exactly claim to know more about alien stuff than Zim. But there was one thing he was sure of.
"It's a screw," He replied, trying to sound as mocking as possible, though his uncertainty was already showing. The only fallback he had, was to say 'screw you Zim', which he hoped he would get the chance to as he thought it was a hilarious pun. It wasn't.
"That's not just a 'screw', ugh!" Zim said, clearly irritated by the fact that he had to explain something that was already well known in the rest of the galaxy. Except on this filthy ball of dirt, apparently.
"That thing...is made out of chysilium, the toughest material in the galaxy! It can only be found on asteroids that have been stuck in a wormhole for a schmillion years and takes a hundred earth years and magma from the planet Vougma just to forge it into something that can even be used. " He explained, pointing intensely at the screw while staring at Dib. He looked first at Zim, and then the screw.
"Really?" Dib asked, sincerely fascinated by all the information that had just been dumped on him. He didn't know if he would ever be able to use any of it, but he wasn't about to complain. He then turned his attention back to the screw, now studying it thoroughly, trying to see if he could spot its extraordinary properties.
"What do you use it for, since you make it into screws." He continued asking, his face twisting into a speculate expression, as he poked at the screw. Very carefully of course. He had been raised by a scientist after all.
"We use it to keep the outer shell of our ships together. As there are THOUSANDS of Irken warships, Chysilium screws are in big demand." Zim proudly said, a smug smile across his face. He even leaned against the table, clearly relishing the chance to explain the pure military might of his race.
"But didn't you basically say that it was super rare?" Dib casually asked, too occupied with examining the screw to properly dig into Zim's enlarged ego and pry out more information. Zim then turned uncharacteristically quiet, to the point that Dib had to give him a questioning look, for him to finally spill the beans.
"Well...yes. That's why we can only use four screws for each one of the enormous plates that the shells consist of."
Dib continued looking at him, running the information through his head, again and again, trying to understand the logic behind what Zim had just explained. He then picked up the screw, holding it in his hand, before he turned to Zim.
"Why don't you just...use something else than chrsysilili-whatever it's called, and then use more screws?"
Zim looked at him as if that was the most stupid thing he had ever heard in his entire life. An expression he used so often, that it was starting to make the description seem meaningless.
"Then what would we do with the Chysillium, if it isn't used for screws?! " He asked, utterly flabbergasted at the notion of using the material for anything else than what they already had been assigned for. Probably because it was the Tallest's idea in the first place. But Dib didn't know that, and just assumed that this was another instance where something only made sense for Zim, and therefore anyone who said anything else was wrong.
"You...you said that this was the toughest material in the galaxy! You could literally use it for..for...*sigh* whatever." He wasn't in the mood to argue about this specific subject, as there was something else he would much rather know the answer to.
"If it really is that valuable, then why are giving it to me?"
The alien looked at him with a blank expression, until he started rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Dib could already tell that the next words out of Zim's words, would either be really stupid or give him a headache.
"...Uhm...yes, you see, I accidentally...bent it."
At first, Dib was surprised by the rather boring explanation, when he remembered what the screw was made out of. As the color drained from his face, he slowly took it up to his face. Yes, just as Zim said, it was bent. He didn't know how he had missed it, but he quickly forget about that fact, as he started wondering how Zim had managed to bend the toughest material in the entire galaxy.
"How did you even?..."
"NOT IMPORTANT!!!" Zim yelled, pointing dramatically at Dib, who wasn't very amused by the gesture. He then slowly let the claw down, as he continued.
"So I can't...use it, for anything. Actually, in essence, it's completely useless!" Zim lit up with joy while saying the last sentence as if he had just been presented with a gift.
"Which is why I thought it would be perfect for our little exchange. You're welcome." He finished with a little taunting chuckle, as a final touch.
"You're too kind. But still, all I did was bring you a few donuts." Dib pointed at the donut bag, which Zim was unconsciously digging through, trying to find another donut to eat.
"Actually, according to our deal, you will keep bringing me more donuts. Indefinitely."
"No, according to our deal, I would be bringing you donuts for only a few more days." The human put the screw in his pocket, and crossed his arms, having already concluded that he was about to argue the terms of their exchange once again. Changing agreed-upon deals seemed to be Zim's favorite pass time.
"Six months," Zim replied threateningly. He wasn't going to let it go that easily. No matter how ludicrous his demands were.
"A week."
"A month," Zim continued, now leaning forward. Dib returned the favor and also moved closer. As they continued, they slowly kept making their way closer to each other, ending with their brows nearly touching.
"Two weeks."
"Four weeks."
"That's the same as a-! Okay, it's either two weeks or nothing. Got it, Space-boy?!"
They now both stood up, pushing their foreheads together, in an attempt to intimidate the other. A tactic that had never worked, but they kept doing it like it was the old reliable. Zim had started growling quietly, but Dib still wasn't deterred. After a few moments, Zim finally gave in, as his forehead was starting to hurt. He couldn't compete with Dib's giant malformed head.
"Fine, Dib-beast!"
"Good. Why do you always have to make it so-"
Dib had looked around for but a moment, and then suddenly turned quiet, as he froze still like a statue. Zim was too busy mumbling threats while eating donuts to notice. It was only when the human was able to speak again, that Zim turned to face him again, with a face stuffed with donuts.
"Uhm...Zim?"
The alien was at first angry at the interruption to his snack-consuming, when he realized why Dib was looking around the cafeteria, with a panicked expression.
It was only just now that the duo had become fully aware of the crowd that had gathered around them. It seemed nearly impossible for them to not have noticed, but somehow they had managed it. Now they just both looked around at all the people, who looked back at them with a shocked and practically manic expression as if the devil had just appeared in front of them. The two of them could do nothing but look on, as the crowd kept silent, though their mouths were wide open. Zim wasn't even sure that the humans were breathing. Meanwhile, Dib was wondering what possibly could have made them so shocked or interested in him and Zim. In the end, all he could think of was getting away from the whole situation, as he wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly jumped them like a pack of hungry lions.
"I uh...I think we should go back to class, Zim." He wanted to say it casually, but it came out as a scared whisper. He then started taking one slow step after another, towards the exit.
"Yeah...this human weirdness is starting to unnerve even me," Zim muttered, as he quickly took the donut bag, and walked over to Dib's side.
"Me too," Dib mumbled, so only he and Zim could hear it. Now that they were walking together, their steps became more confident, and the panic slowly dripped away from them. They then started talking again, hoping it would distract them from all the eyes that were following them, as they left the cafeteria.
"I must congratulate you worm, you actually managed to get the donuts that I specifically requested," Zim said, taking a donut and pushing it into his mouth.
"Of course, how could I forget? You only told me about a hundred times."
"How else could I be sure that the order would penetrate that thick skull of yours, Dib-thing?"
Even after they had left, the other students still looked in their direction, as if they still were in denial at what had just transpired. The silence kept its hold over the room, and it seemed it would never leave. That was until one brave student decided to break the silent curse, to ask the most important question. A question that was on everybody's mind, which plagued them from the inside and made their stomachs twist in the horror of their ignorance.
"WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!!!"
It was like an epidemic. The shocked students in the cafeteria seemed to have spread whatever was wrong with them, to the rest of the school. In every class that followed, Dib and Zim would be stared at by their classmates. Even the teachers seemed to have it. They practically had to hide away from the others, to avoid the weird stares that kept hounding them. It was then to their relief, the day finally ended. Yet still, they needed to sneak away from the school grounds, as they could see groups waiting for them to come out. So only after going through a window and walking as far away from the school as they could, did they find peace.
They didn't talk for the rest of the way. Dib noticed that Zim seemed as stunned as he was. He did want to mention, that he had come up with a pretty sound theory, as what had caused the whole school to look at them like they were pair of monkeys in human clothes.
The two of them had kept their little...arrangement going for a little over a week at that point. At first, the result was just awkward tension between them. It felt like a physical struggle for them not to torment each other. It was only when he had accidentally bumped into Zim, whereupon he started screaming and slinging insults, that Dib realized that it was maybe just how they operated. Screaming and insulting each other, followed by a few moments of peace and casual talk. So Dib returned the insults, and they yelled at each other for nearly an hour straight, as if all their insults had been slowly accumulating inside of them, and were finally released. After that, it went a little more smoothly the following days.
They didn't exactly try to keep it hidden, but it seemed unnatural to do something else than abuse each other in front of other people. It was only with time, they both unconsciously came to the agreement, that they didn't care what the others thought. besides, it wasn't like they had cared before when Dib and Zim had been fighting for all those years. More so, they just seemed annoyed by it. But apparently, they had cared greatly, as proven by their shock. Dib had known that there might have been a slight reaction, but he didn't anticipate the whole school going into a coma-like state, as if their whole worldview had been turned upside down.
He could talk with Zim about it, but he was nearly a hundred percent sure he didn't have a single care for what the others thought. Well, as long as they kept thinking he was a human. But that was more out of necessity than anything else. In nearly all other aspects, he was completely himself, in all the good and bad ways. Dib had also never given that much thought to other people's opinions, but that didn't mean the alienation and ridicule had been any less bad for his mental health. But Zim...was just Zim. Nothing ever seemed to be enough to bring him down or doubt himself. At least, that was what Dib believed.
"See you next day, Dib-thing! And if you don't have any more donuts with you, I will rip out your limbs one by one, and leave you wriggling on the ground like the worm you are...OH! Also, get more of those pink ones, they're delicious!"
"Noted. See you too." Dib replied rather tired. It had been a long day.
He looked from his front lawn as Zim walked away, in a surprisingly good mood. Zim usually only acted like that whenever he had won over Dib in some manner. However petty it might have been. Dib felt a strange melancholy as he saw the alien disappear from his sight. Only a few weeks back, this was the same alien Dib was sure would rip out his intestines if he looked at him slightly threateningly. Now he might as well be his buddy, for how little serious fighting they had been doing these last few days. He still hadn't properly adjusted to it all. It seemed so far away from everything they had been before, it was like they could only function within this new situation, as long as they acted as if it had always been like this. But it hadn't always been like this.
Dib kept looking out on the road before a sad smile appeared on his face and he walked over to his front door. He opened the door and nearly had a heart attack, as Gaz stood on the other side, looking directly at Dib.
"GAZ! What the hell, can I at least get inside before you start scaring me like that?"
"Tell me...now," Gaz asked, ignoring Dib's question. Her tone was stern as if scolding a child.
"Tell you what?" He said with a slight panic in his voice.
He had a bad feeling about what she might be referring to.
"Tell me when you became all buddy-buddy with Zim." Her stern tone continued. It didn't take a genius to tell that this was something he couldn't just wiggle his way out of. But he still didn't get the memo.
"Oh, I thought that was just how we had always acted. That was what you said after all if you remember. So I'm not quite sure what you're referring to-" His sentence came to an abrupt end as Gaz, with the speed of a demon, took hold of his shirt's collar, and pulled him right over to her face. The scariest part was, that even as she continued to speak, her tone didn't change at all. Even as she kept her grip so he couldn't escape, her voice didn't betray a single hint of emotion.
"Don't play games with me, Dib. Tell me what you two freaks are up to, or I will make those drawings of you dissecting Zim seem like child's play."
Dib groaned, only partially from the pain in his neck.
'Why does she always have to involve personal things.' He thought, still not entirely convinced she was being serious. A mistake he had made so many times before, it was a wonder he was still alive.
"Seriously, I don't know what you are talking about. Nothing is going on between me and-" Once again he was caught off, as Gaz released the grip on his collar, and moved it up to his throat. She wasn't choking him, just keeping a firm grasp around his air pipe. She knew it was enough.
"Okay okay, I will tell you everything right from the beginning, I swear! Just...can you let go of me now?"
Well...he tried.
Once again, I'm happy for all of the support, and I hope you will be here for the next chapter. Have a good day, and see you next time!