. All right, this is the second fanfic I have ever posted. This idea came to me when I was trying to write a ZADR, but it just took a different direction from there. I guess it seems like a ZADR at this point, but it isn't. I know the title sucks, but until I find a better one, it stays as Another Chance. I'm aiming for about 12 chapters because this story is probably the most twisted IZ fic you will ever read. So read, review, whatever.

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It's been two years since Zim arrived on Earth.

In that amount of time, Zim had not yet succeeded in taking over Earth. What's even more, he had given up entirely on taking over Earth.

Since then, things had changed. So slowly so that it was scarcely noticeable to the naked eye.

It had started a while back. The beginning of seventh grade. During lunch, I sat quietly, occasionally taking bites of the hardly edible gruel they served. Alone, as usual. I was used to it by then. As I bent down to take a bite, I noticed a glimpse of green out of the corner of my eye and heard a small thump. I glanced up and saw my long time-enemy, Zim, sitting across from me. But it was different now. His face no longer bore the malicious and vengeful look. He seemed... indifferent. As if it was his daily routine. He said nothing. I said nothing. We sat in a silence that was no longer weighted with harsh feelings of the past. I did not yell and accuse him of luring me into some kind of trap. I felt... comforted, in a way.

Gradually, we began to talk. Slowly, at first, with the names we had used back in elementary. But even those had lost their bite, even becoming affectionate. We then started conversation, with simple matters such as classes and people. He eventually began to tell me of his past.

Back at Irk, he was always a little behind everyone. He was the small one. The one who always screwed up. He told me about Operation Impending Doom I, about his faults. He didn't mean to destroy everything. He just wanted to be recognized for once. For once, he wanted people to think he was a good soldier. But the Tallest banished him to Foodcourtia, the highest level of disgrace. But then he heard of the Great Assigning. He thought he still had a chance. He went there, and they assigned Planet Earth to him. He was now an invader. He was so proud that he went from a fry cook to an invader, the most respected of all irkens. But a week before he befriended me, while he was transmitting to the Tallest to report on his progress, he heard devastating news.

There was no mission. They had sent him to what they thought was a void in space in the hopes that he would get lost and soon perish. When they heard that Zim was still alive and trying to take over Earth, they allowed him to go on. He would never succeed in taking over anyway. They did not think he was an invader. They thought he was annoying. A nuisance, even. When they were done... they laughed. They laughed at his stupidity. He was horrified. He had even considered suicide. There was no hope... or was there? There was one person... and that was me.

His eyes filled with tears as he told me all this. I did something I never thought I would do. I wrapped my arms around him, and comforted him. I told him I thought he was worthy enough to be an invader. He shed a tear that made its way down his face and finally to the floor.

I asked him if the tears burned. He said yes. That they burned as much as the water on this planet. I wiped them away for him. But he then did something that confused me. He leaned down causing his lips to press against my own.

I did not stop him. I am ashamed to say I kissed him back. But I then pushed him away with a look of utter horror. He had a look of confusion on his face. I backed away, and the 5th period bell rang. Without a single word, I got my backpack and left him dejected.