Zim never fully understood humans. He doubt he ever would understand them. But, just because he didn't understand them, didn't mean he couldn't admire them.
It's a shocking thing to think of Zim as admiring humans. Zim knew that if he had been told that he'd admire humans six years ago, he would've vaporized the one foolish enough to tell him that. Hell, he probably would've done that a few weeks ago. But then he started to view things from a different mind-set.
He knew the Tallest… disliked him, to say the least. He'd established that after the first year spent on the dirt-ball that was planet earth. He just didn't know the full intensity of their dislike.
Right now, Zim sat in his seat at Hi Skool, chemistry class. He could honestly say that he liked chemistry; it was easy for him to understand, normally involving universal elements, he actually learned something, unlike his previous elementary skool. And, what he considered the best part was that this was one of the two classes he shared with the Dib-human.
Most would see two enemies the way they glared at each other in class. And the hate shared in those glares was real… on the human's side. For Zim, though, he saw it as a way to study and observe the human he found fascinating.
The Dib was looking out the window at the moment, away from Zim. Said alien could easily guess he was devising plans or theorizing what Zim was planning from the concentrated look on his face. Though, Zim didn't understand the flash of anger he felt that he wasn't being glared at or the Dib wasn't even paying attention to him.
Me… Look at me! Dammit Dib! Zim thought in frustration. He found his own eyes looking out the window, maybe to see what was more interesting than the amazing Zim in the flesh.
"Zim? Can you answer the question?" the teacher, to be referred to as Dr. Killman, asked.
"Oxygen and hydrogen," Zim answered with no hesitation. He watched Dib respond to his name being said and voice, his eyes widened and it seemed like he'd gone on the alert. Zim couldn't help but smirk at the obsessive human.
Zim controls all of your movements. Zim is all you should think about. Zim owns you, Dib, he thought with possession. And you should know this by now.
"Alright, I'm going to choose pairs for this new project," the teacher announced. The class groaned but Zim didn't care; he'd end up doing most of the project by himself with whoever he got paired with. He listened to the pairings being listed before growing bored and looking back over to Dib, who caught his gaze and returned it with a glare. Zim smirked, causing an incredulous look to pass over Dib's expression
"Zim and Dib," called the monotonous voice. Dib's eyes turn to the teacher and widened with fear and paranoia. Zim chuckled evilly. This'll be fun.
At the end of class, Zim and Dib both had lunch break next. Zim decided to let the human come after him while he passed to his locker. He knew he would, out of interest of his next plot – fake, of course, just to continue his involvement with the Dib, not that he'd believe him if he told him he'd given up on conquering the earth – or for the sake of the new project assignment.
Zim stood at his locker, placing notes into the crevice. He'd modified it with wires and he even had a monitor on the door of it, warning him of the approach of bullies or, more importantly, the Dib.
"Dib approaching," beeped the object in Irken, so that humans wouldn't understand the contraptions purpose. He swung it closed as the black scythe haired teen cautiously came toward the alien.
"Zim, I say that, for the time of this project, we put our differences in aside and focus on the assignment," Dib offered, although there was a spiteful underlying tone. Zim resisted a smirk at the Dib's approach. Time to play…
"I won't make any promises, Dib-monkey, but I'll perhaps make an attempt," Zim taunted. Dib sighed in frustration.
"I guess that's better than what I thought you were going to say," he said, defeated. Zim observed him blankly. His breathing was normal; his chest rose and fell every few seconds Zim knew it was the subconscious act that allowed every human life but, now it seemed fascinating due to Dib. His fascination with the human never ceased; he noticed small things as soon as he let go of his malice and anger.
Once Zim started to look past the all the bad there was on earth, he noticed the beauty of the planet; he paying more attention to the colours of the flowers rather than the filth it grew from, even picking out kind humans from the crowds instead of implying that all of them were piles of filth. He especially started to notice Dib.
Dib had outgrown the alien in height, frustrating the irken at first but then he noticed other changes. The both of them had outgrown their original name-calling games, instead resorting to physical violence, more often than they did than when they were children. Because of this, Zim got to see more of Dib than any other human did. He got to see the way Dib would sweat during their brief feuds, got to feel the lean muscles when they tackled each other, toned from years of their fights. He heard Dib make sounds that no one heard him make.
Most of all, he got to see the burning determination in the liquid gold eyes when they battled.
"Uh, Zim? Are you okay?" Dib asked, hesitantly backing away from the alien who was lost in a daze. Zim was immersed in his memories though; the closeness of them when they fought for dominance. How, every time they touched, Zim felt his inhuman heart beat like the wings of the elusive Jublanack.
"Okay, I'll be going now." These words from the human's mouth shattered through Zim's thoughts, making him respond.
"When should we work on this project?" he asked. Dib froze and shrugged.
"Tonight, if we want to get a head start on it," the teen responded, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. Zim sensed he was becoming uncomfortable. "Uh, your house or my house?"
Zim's eyes widened at this question, sickening and unwanted thoughts passing through his mind. Over the past week, he had been getting these thoughts often. He was disgusted the first time those subconscious wants presented themselves; now, he accepted them and had to resist.
"I don't believe it would be wise to do it at my base; Gir would destroy everything," he stated in an even tone. It was true, too.
"And my sister isn't in the greatest mood tonight; I made her mess up her video game by causing a blackout this morning and I'm pretty sure she'll make my day a misery if we go there," Dib explained. Zim rolled his eyes at this.
"Fine, we'll work at my base but only for this one night." Although he said this offhandedly, his tone annoyed, on the inside he was gladly accepting of this excuse. It gave him reason for the Dib to be over; he could just lock Gir in a room when Dib arrived.
"Well, alright then," Dib murmured with uncertainty before retreating. Zim ran through the rest of his day, but everything blurred together, only thoughts of Dib prominent in his mind.
He mapped out every possible situation he could place the Dib in, calculated every reaction the Dib may have, every response, even every emotion. Zim had grown adept at identifying his emotions; his brief moments of happiness, his infatuations, grief, confusion, and his fear. Dib would never guess that the person who knew the most about him was the alien he hated.
When he arrived at home base, his immediate first action was yelling, "Computer! Locate Gir and lock him in that box cell that was created for the very purpose of keeping him in containment."
"Yes master," answered the computer's tired voice. With Gir out of the way, nothing would stop Zim from… studying with the human. He growled to himself; why would he want to do anything with the human? He knew of his obsession and didn't deny the thoughts he had pass through his mind every once in a while but… did he really want to do something with the Dib?
He knew how the reproductive organs worked with humans from those horrible health classes in the beginning of Hi Skool but pictures and texts weren't enough to satisfy Zim. The alien was always more of a hands on learner and not having any of those organs himself, neither the male or female, he couldn't fully understand those lessons. One of the first classes, he asked, "What is the purpose of the fur?" and, from then on, he avoided asking the questions that filled his mind.
If he was going to settle these questions, he decided that the Dib would be the perfect experiment subject. He knew the human was never, as they call it, 'sexually stimulated' because he never saw Dib with a girl, too obsessed with the paranormal. And, of course, chasing the almighty Zim.
With that final thought, a knock sounded at the door. "Dib is at the door," the computer notified. Zim, nodding before adding the request, "Computer, activate sleep mode for the next few hours."
With the sound of buzzing dying down in the house, Zim went to the door, straightening the hair piece he wore.
Dib waited outside the door, glancing nervously at the red eyed gnomes. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, he thought until he heard of shuffle on the other side of the door. Zim answered the door, causing a slight relief in Dib until he realized he had to go in and stay there for a few hours. The relief Dib felt turned to vapor as the door closed behind them.
"You don't seem to have any spy bugs on you," Zim deduced with certainty. Dib gave him an incredulous look. How did he know that quickly?
"To explain, my pak detects electric magnetic pulses. You should know what they are. The ones you're giving off are standard for a human so I know you can't be hiding anything," Zim explained. Dammit, that means it'll be harder to sneak one in.
"Why do you ask anyways?" he questioned. As an answer, Zim removed his wig to let his antennae free from the artificial hairs and pulled the gray contacts from his eyes, revealing large, crimson orbs.
"Well, let us get down to this project. We are to study chemical addictions?" he stated.
"They're normally called drugs but, yes, if you want to call them that," Dib verified. Zim nodded and sat on the couch, inviting Dib to follow. A panel rose from the floor with an irken keyboard and Dib observed, noting everything in his mind. The TV glowed and opened with the human internet.
"So, with just a simple search of drugs, it gives me relations to abuse and addiction. Some of the first listed drugs are Meth, Cocaine, Marijuana… these are odd," Zim murmured. Dib looked at the alien, knowing that he wouldn't understand human practicing of this stuff. He was actually glad that Zim wouldn't have taken any from the school's dealers.
"Well, people try this stuff and it messes up their brain," Dib explained in the simplest way he could. "It's like candy for children but more extreme; it's not good for them but they keep going back for more because of how it makes them feel."
"How does it make them feel?" Zim pressed, wanting Dib to talk to him more. It wasn't often that they talked without one of them screaming obscenities at the other so Zim was rather enjoying the positive attention.
"Um, happy? I wouldn't know; I've never done the stuff. I value my life span too much to stoop that low for just some brief artificial happiness," Dib answered. Zim looked at up at Dib with large red orbs.
"Are their any healthy addictions?" he asked. Dib glanced at his enemy, wondering where this was coming from.
"Uh, maybe. I can't think of any right now," he hesitated. Hell, were there any? Dib wondered. The first thing that came to his mind was sex but even that wasn't healthy if it caused diseases and pregnancy. Of course, the pregnancy part would be a problem with his preferences…
Dib didn't need to be a genius to know he was gay. He figures it was ever since the Tak experience that he's drawn away from female interests. That, along with the self-esteem blow of being Gretchen's crush for the longest time and having the demon sister from hell in the same house. Basically, he hadn't had the best experiences with girls so he drew away from them.
"… Furthermore, it also can become a dangerous poison when combined with the incorrect chemicals. The addiction levels are high and the drug is not very difficult to find…" Zim continued to read from the TV's screen, Dib paying little attention. For some odd reason, he found himself watching Zim's gloved fingers drift across the keyboard, wondering how sharp the claws that left him with scars would be without the gloves subduing the points.
Dib willed away such thoughts. What was getting to him? Was Zim sitting closer to him than before? He could smell the alien at the proximity he was at; he smelled like… vanilla. It was an odd way for an alien to smell but, it was alluring…
Dib dug his nails into his palm, an act of resistance. The alien had been dominating his mind and not in the normal manner of hate and malice, but in a confusion of… lust? Dib wouldn't call it any kind of love or admiration because of the denial he was in so he settled for referring to it as a lust phase. He'd get over it… but, the arousal of being so near the alien at the moment was undeniably irresistible.
Goddamn body, Dib cursed, fearing a physical reaction that would surely embarrass him. Just, make an excuse and retreat!
"Uh, Zim?" Dib interjected shakily. Zim glared.
"You dare interrupt the mighty Zim!" he screeched, diving at the Dib. Any excuse for a fight and feel the human beneath me, Zim thought.
Dib knew that he should've run but remained frozen on the spot. Crap!
Zim tackled Dib to the floor and pinned his wrists over his head, his legs straddling his waist. Anyone would be able to see the implications of this position and so did Dib, the blood draining from the raven-haired teens face, most likely heading south.
"Now, Dib-human, you will never interrupt the almighty Zim ever- huh!" Zim cut off sharply as he felt something poke at his lower backside.
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Hehheheh, I'm evil, no?
Leaving you with the cliffhanger of the century! Tell me what you think so far though!
Peace, Lexi