Author's Note: Hey guys! I know I haven't posted any stories in awhile, so sorrrryyy D: Hopefully this story makes up for it? :D The idea has been in my head for a looong time, so I hope you all enjoy it!
The boy stared at the red liquid that taunted him from the sink.
Blood.
Dib knew something was wrong. Humans didn't normal cough up blood every morning after all. Besides, this wasn't the first time this had happened.
The first time Dib dismissed it, blaming the unusual occourance on stress. The next time he blamed it on a fight with Zim. He continued to think of more and more excuses until he realized he couldn't deny it anymore. His daily condition was worsening; mysterious bruises forming on his body, constant fatigue, chronic headaches, even vomiting. There was definitely something wrong with him.
He didn't want to let his father know for various reasons. To start, he didn't want to become Membrane's test subject. He knew that if his father knew about his symptom's, he would feel compelled to solve the mystery of what's wrong with his son, not stopping at any experimental measures.
On top of that, Dib had learned in his fifteen years of life not to ask too much of his dad. He was always too busy anyway. Family night? 'I have to go to the lab tonight.' Parent-teacher confrences? 'The other scientists need me.' Family summer vacation? 'Who has time for that?'
Dib had prided himself in learning to take care of himself. As soon as this had started Dib had decided he would handle it on his own. He didn't need or want his father's help. But, the more it went on, the more and more Dib was coming to accpet that maybe this was out of his hands.
"Dib!" The name was shouted as if it was the nasiest, most disgusting word ever muttered, which indicated that it had come from Dib's oh-so loving sister, Gaz.
"I'll be there in a minute, Gaz!" Dib called downstairs. With a glance of the clock, he could tell he was dangerously close to making his sister late for school, and therefore dangerously close to envoking her wrath.
He grabbed his backpack and flew down the steps, mumbling a "sorry" to Gaz. The girl only took her eyes off her Gameslave for a moment to glare at her increasingly annoying brother. She was thankful that they at least didn't have to spend seven hours together in the same building anymore. She was in seventh grade, and her big-headed brother was a freshman in high skool. Even knowing this fact, their father still required that they walked to skool together every day.
"The Junior High is on the way," Membrane had told Dib. "You can drop your little sister off on the way."
This had earned whining from Gaz for weeks, but, as she realized things weren't going to change, the complaints became less and less until they dropped to an occasion whimper of a protest. The thing that mostly bothered her now was how long it took Dib to get ready in the mornings.
"What takes you so long?" Gaz asked as her and the future paranormal investigator set off for school.
"I don't know." Dib muttered, too tired and annoyed to give his siste a proper response.
"You're such a girl," Gaz scoffed. "I don't even take that long in the bathroom."
"I guess that makes you a man." Dib quipped, and for a moment he thought he would need to prepare a will, but instead of the sound of Gaz murdering him, he instead heard a bemused hiccup of a laugh. He turned to look at the purple-haired girl, but her eyes were still trained on her game, her face expressing indifference.
Dib smiled to himself, glad to be reminded that Gaz didn't always hate everything about him.
Most of the skool day went pretty normal for Dib. At least, what you would classify as "normal" for the supposedly insane boy. Most of his classes-which Zim was convienently in-were relatively quiet and calm.
The Irken had learned to tone things down over the years. He had managed to figure out that most humans don't shout aloud whatever they're thinking followed by claims of "I'm normal!" He could still be his old, obnoxious self, but mostly around Dib and not so much in public.
"You're not eating your disgusting Earth-food." Zim pointed out at lunch, setting his tray across from Dib's.
"Neither are you." Dib countered, tossing a frustrated glance at the alien for having chosen to sit with him today.
It was true that both boys had grown accustomed to sitting together at lunch (mostly because no one else would sit with either of them, and they found each other's company more entertaining than being alone), but Dib was in no mood to deal with the alien today.
"I all ready ate some," Zim lied. "It was delicious." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Now, why aren't you eating?"
"I'm just not feeling well, okay?" Dib replied, exasperated. He pushed his tray away so he could lie his head down on the table.
Zim took a moment to study the earthling. There was bags under his eyes and his skin was pale. When the boy spoke, his voice came out harsh and forced. Conclusion: Dib was sick.
"You're not looking well, either." Zim commented, mindlessly shoveling a spoonful of cafeteria glob into his mouth, which he promptly spit out.
"Gee, thanks." Dib muttered the muffled reply, seeing as has how his head was now burried in his arms.
"Shouldn't your parental unit take you to the, uh..." Zim searched for the word.
"Hospital?" Dib finished. The Irken nodded and Dib sighed. "He doesn't know I'm sick," He admitted. "Besides, I don't remember him ever taking me to a hospital before. The last time I was at one was probably the day I was born."
Zim seemed confused at the idea of human offspring being birthed in a hospital, but decided he could research it later. "Whatever you say, hyuu-man." Zim mumbled. He stood up, throwing his tray away just as the bell rang.
As Dib Membrane sat though his last class of the day, pain rippling throughout his head. He decided then that he would have to tell his father about his sickness. It was causing him too much pain to keep secret anymore.
As soon as the bell rang, Dib was filled with anxiety. He was almost a little afriad of his dad and how he would react to Dib interuptting his studies to say he was sick. He breathed out to try to expel some of the nerves.
"Are you dying?" The question came from above him. Dib looked up from his desk at the green-skinned face that contained nothing but pure curiosity.
"No, Zim!" The scythe-haired boy exclaimed, frustrated with the alien's incessant questions.
Dib stood up, towering over Zim. During his time on Earth, Zim had grown to be 5'2", an accomplishment he was proud of. It was short for a human, but tall for an Irken. He explained his sudden growth on the Earth's atmospheric pressure.
The only thing that angered him about this whole "growing" thing was that The Dib had grown, too. His large-headed nemesis was now a staggering 5'9". At first, Zim had been almost impressed by the human's dramatic change in elevation in such a short period of time; that is, until he realized that this was a normal occourence for Earthlings. Most of their classmates had shot up above the poor Irken over what seemed like one Earth-season. Zim wondered why that was.
He opened his mouth to question The Dib-Stink on human growth patterns, only to realize that the raven-haired boy had all ready left. Zim shrugged his shoulders, and gathered his things, leaving the now-empty room.
