Zim slumped on his desk, his head resting on one arm as he stared off into space. His wig was messy and somewhat lopsided, though it was unlikely that anyone but Dib would notice. He was startled out of his stupor as the teacher, Mr. Angorz, yelled, "ZIM!"
"Uh, what... yes?" Zim responded, hastily trying to figure out what Angorz wanted.
"Iasked, what is the answer to number 42?"
As if reciting from memory (which he probably was), he said dully, "Five ounces of water."
"Thank you, Zim. Class, your homework for the holidays is-"
The bell rang just then, cutting off the teacher, and the general mass of kids snatched up their books and piled out. Zim, having no books to carry, waited at the door while Dib attempted to gather up his enormous pile of books. "Hey, Dib, that pile is almost as big as your gigantic head," he taunted, smirking.
By the time that the human had finally stumbled over, Zim had gotten bored of mocking him. Instead, as they headed for the hi-skool cafeteria, Zim suddenly grabbed several textbooks and notebooks off the top of Dib's load and asked sarcastically, "Need some help with those?" A moment later, he chucked them at Dib, moving on ahead to merge with the general crowd of kids.
Dib scowled, readjusting his books and continuing to the lunchroom to get rid of them. He dropped them in his usual seat next to Gaz and got in the back of the lunch line, scowling at Zim, who was just getting out.
Zim strided over to the same lunch table that Dib had left his junk at and sat down across from Gaz. When he had first sat with them, a year ago, he'd said it was because humans had invaded his table and that theirs was the only one anywhere close to empty. But, as time passed, Zim had begun to strike up a friendship with Gaz and his and Dib's hatred started to lessen... slightly.
Gaz was munching on some chips that she'd brought while she played her new Game Slave Lite, which she had forced Dib to buy several months previously. Spotting the pizza that the green-skinned kid was looking wearily at, she snatched it up and took a bite. She smirked, and once she'd finished chewing, sneered, "Tough luck, Zim."
He shrugged, ignoring her, instead watching Dib finally get out of the lunch line.
The dark-haired teen scowled as he set his lunch down and put his books on the floor. Before Zim could say anything, he growled, "Don't bug me, Zim. Today's not a good day."
Zim smirked. "Poor Dibby."
Gaz snorted with amusement. "Dibby... I'll remember that for when I destroy you."
As a snowball with a core of ice whammed into the back of his head, Dib pitched forward and fell onto the ground, recieving a faceful of snow. He climbed back up, ignoring the bite of the cold, and simply continued on home, wrapping his trenchcoat tighter around himself.
Zim laughed loudly and mocking called, "Are you cold, Dib?" As he walked, Zim bent over and scooped up a chunk of ice and snow. Aiming at Dib's head again, he chucked it.
He continued to do it again repeatedly, until Gaz knocked him flat with a ball of pure ice. She grinned darkly at him, dodging the snowball he threw in return. Caught up in the moment, the battling dup hardly noticed when Dib disappeared from sight into his and Gaz's house.
After a good fifteen minutes or so, they were both coated in snow and bruises from falling or ice balls. And snow was beginning to fall. Quite a lot of it, and it was pretty thick.
Gaz was the first to notice, crossing her arms tightly across her chest to conserve heat. She gazed at Zim, who seemed wary of the falling snow, and asked, "D'you want to hang out at my place until this blows over?"
Shivering slightly, he nodded, and the two made a dash for Gaz's house.
As they slammed open the door, the first thing Gaz noticed was the distinctive smell of her mom's old recipe for hot chocolate, while the first thing Zim noticed was Dib hanging ornaments on a small pine tree in the corner of the room.
Gaz slung her backpack at the chair to her right and threw her snow-covered coat on top before heading immediately for the kitchen. Zim slammed the door behind him, taking off his thin gray jacket, and hissed, "Dib."
The teen didn't bother to turn as he replied, "Who did you expect to see in my house?"
Zim scowled, as Gaz called from the kitchen, "Zim, get your ass in here." Even he, one of the biggest idiots in town, knew to obey rather than risk Gaz's wrath.
He walked over and demanded, "What?"
"Stop messing with Dib, or you're going to find yourself trapped underwater," she growled with a smirk, clasping her mug of hot cocoa in her cold hands.
He rolled his eyes, and followed Gaz back into the TV room and onto the couch. She continued to hold her mug, occasionally sipping from it, while Zim sat next to her. Well, not quite next to her.
"You know, Gaz, you're going to have to tell Dad why you brought an alien home," Dib said suddenly.
She stuck out her tongue at him, ignoring his statement.
Zim shot her a curious glance, but she waved him off by ordering, "Turn on the TV- doesn't matter what."
He obeyed, taking the remote and jabbing the red power button. After living on Earth for four years, Zim had picked up most of the basic skills and knowledge that he needed to maintain his disguise (i.e. working a TV), though he'd stopped actively trying to conquer the planet over a year ago. As such, Dib didn't obsessively stalk him quite as much, and to the casual observer, the two were friends... despite their almost constant bickering and small-scale fights. And then there was his blooming relationship with Gaz, of course.
The TV flashed on, showing a newscaster with a red Santa hat, who was clearly excited that it was almost the holidays. "Christmas shopper levels have been at their highest this week in over a century," he said cheerfully, "and it seems as if no one is letting the cold weather stop them. Speaking of the weather, here's Fred with the semi-hourly weather report." As the screen switched to a red-haired man, also with a Santa hat, Gaz leaned back into the couch, closing her eyes quietly.
"If you could have anything for Christmas, Zim, what would it be?" she asked abruptly, kicking off her boots and resting her feet on the coffee table.
"Anything...," he mused, actually thinking for once. "I'd have to say that I would want to be Tallest, even if only for a day."
Dib snorted, nearly dropping an ornament. "You're just barely five feet tall, Zim- you're still a shrimp compared to humans, let alone your leaders!"
He scowled. "Fuck off, Dib."
Gaz, ignoring them, as usual, murmured, "I'd like to have Dad actually come home for once and just spend time with us instead of working.
Meanwhile, Zim and Dib continued to argue. "I'm still taller than you, Zim. Even I have a better chance of becoming Tallest than you do."
"You're not a superior Irken, like myself, and therefore you aren't allowed to be our ruler, no matter how tall you may be."
"Not like I'd want to be your ruler."
"And the same to you, Di-"
Gaz cut him off with an angry snarl, "Shut up, you morons, or face your worst nightmares."
They shut up, Dib returning his attention back to the tree, and Zim turning his back to Gaz.
At that moment, the door opened, to reveal a tall man with a dark brown coat wrapped over a long white lab coat. Gaz's eyes brightened slightly, as she gazed over the back of the couch.
Zim glanced back at Membrane, and quickly decided to turn back to the TV, and turned it off.
Professor Membrane took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair, saying as he did so, "How's the tree coming along, son?"
"Almost done," Dib replied simply.
"Good, good." If his face was visible, it may have been possible to discern whether or not he'd smiled, but since it wasn't, that was one more mystery to add to the list. He walked over towards the couch, and Gaz moved over, bumping into Zim in the process. She blushed ever so faintly, while Membrane sat down. "New friend?" he asked.
From behind the tree, Dib smirked. "Hasn't been new for about five months now," he muttered.
Gaz nodded briskly. "Dad, this is Zim. He's the foreign studen that Dib's so obsessed with."
"Alien," Dib growled under his breath.
Offering a hand, Membrane said, "I believe we've met?"
Zim glared at the hand, then at the scientist as he briefly nodded. "Yes."
Under his irritated glare, Membrane withdrew his hand quickly. "So.. staying for the holidays, I presume?"
Zim's haughty expression change to that of disgust. "Staying? Why would I do that?" he sneered.
Surprise etched itself on the scientist's face. "Why, haven't you seen the weather?"
"No," Zim and Gaz responded in unison.
"The entire state is being buried by a huge blizzard, and the streets are nearly impassable," explained Professor Membrane.
"Then how'd you get here?" retorted Zim.
"I got here just as it was getting worse."
"Crap," Zim muttered to himself. "GIR's alone..."
Gaz scowled. "You left that.. thing alone?"
"Yup."
As if on cue, the sound of metal hitting glass echoed from upstairs. "GIR," Zim mumbled, standing. "I'll go and look." The green-skinned male headed over to the hallway and dashed up the stairs, directing himself towards the sound. Surprisingly enough, GIR had chosen Dib's room. Zim entered and fumbled with the lock on the window before opening it. A blast of snow and freezing air smacked him in the face, along with a certain green dog. Zim slammed it shut again and locked it before trying to pry GIR off his head. "Get off, GIR," he snarled, finally yanking the insane robot off.
"MASTAH! I'm so happeeeee to see you again!" GIR squealed happily. "It was sooo lonely 'cuz you weren't home!"
"That's great, GIR. Now go downstairs and say hi to Dib," Zim responded, distracted by a strange marking on a drawer in the desk. While the robot trotted out obediently, the disguised alien walked over and opened the drawer. Inside was merely several photographs, a yellowed piece of paper, and a child's drawing. He pulled out the photos, gazing curiously at the lovely earth-worm woman featured in them. Hearing footsteps, Zim crammed the photos back in and shoved the drawer closed, just as Dib appeared in the doorway, arms crossed.
"Get out of my room, alien."
"What's with the photos, Dib? Your elusive girlfriend, perhaps?"
"That's NOT my girlfriend!" the human teen snarled angrily, taking a step towards Zim.
"Then, who is it?"
Dib's expression turned to that of depressed unhappiness. "It's my mother," he said softly. "She died when Gaz was born."
Zim snorted arrogantly. "Dumb way to die." At Dib's absolutely furious expression, which was pretty spooky, he raised his hands in sarcastic defeat. "If I'm going to have to stay here over the holidays, you're going to leave me alone," he sneered as he passed into the hallway.
"And you stay out of my room!" Dib yelled at the alien's retreating back.
"Mastah, why's Dib so unhappy?"
Busy helping Gaz take inventory of what food they have to last out being stranded, Zim waved the robot away. "I don't know- go ask him yourself."
"Okee!"
While the little robot trotted away, Zim returned to scribbling down the names of various foods as Gaz read them off containers. It certainly didn't take long for the pair to complete their task, a tribute to the fact that the house hardly had any food in it.
As they searhed the kitchen for anything they missed, Membrane entered. "How are we doing in the way of food, daughter?"
"Does 'not much' help?" Gaz snarled, closing the cupboard she had been searching and turning around to face her father. "What do we have, Zim?"
He rolled his eyes. "One and a half boxes of cereal, four cans of ravioli, one gallon of milk, half of a juice container, a leftover pizza, several apples and oranges, some watermelon slices... stuff for hot chocolate, marshmallows, several boxes of macaroni and cheese.. oh, and some potato chips," Zim recited, reading off his small list.
"In other wors,we have maybe three days' worth of food for four people..." at Zim's glare, she corrected, "for three people."
Membrane gazed at them curiously. "But there are four people and a dog to feed."
"Zim doesn't eat much... he's, ah.. on a diet," Gaz invented, trying to come up with a plausible reason for the alien's high dislike of human food.
As always, at a bad time, GIR burst in. "Mastah, can I make waffles?" he pleaded, looking hopefully at Zim.
Membrane curiously looked at the robot, disguised as a green dog, as usual. "You taught it to talk and cook?"
"I wouldn't eat anything he cooks," Zim muttered, having been horribly reminded of an incidence several years ago that involved waffles with soap in them. Aloud, he responded, "No, GIR, no waffles. Go pester Dib some more instead."
"Okay!" The robot grinned happily and trotted off.
Both Gaz and Zim rolled their eyes, as Membrane watched them with an odd expression.
As the evening passed, the snow continued falling, and the house gradually began to get colder.
Of course, it was then, at eight pm, that the power decided to go out, taking the heat with it. Eevryone present-except GIR-shivered in the total darkness, while Dib's arm traveled along the fireplace mantle until he found a box of matcfhes. Lighting one, he lit a nearby candle, bathing the room in a very dim light.
GIR's doggy suit unzipped at the top as he pulled out a flashlight, handing it to Zim.
"Dad, I thought he had a generator," Dib said irritably, as he began trying to light a fire in the fireplace.
"We do," Membrane replied, "but it's probably frozen. I doubt that we'll get power back for a day or two, at the least."
Gaz groaned, moving closer to Zim on the couch. "We'll freeze," she snarled, shivering.
"Go get some sweaters and blankets, then, and we'll freeze together," Membrane replied, chuckling.
She muttered something inaudibly and grabbed a fistful of Zim's uniform, dragging him along behind her as she went up the stairs. Zim had long since switched on his flashlight, and meekly pointed it around Gaz as he followed her to her bedroom.
"Stay in the doorway," she growled, while stalking over to a tall chest, opening the drawer below the top. She pulled out several dark-colored sweaters before slamming it shut and snatching up a pile of blankets from the foot of her bed. Gaz returned to the doorway, thrusting the clothing and blankets into Zim's arms. "Carry," she ordered briskly, walking around him and across the hall into Dib's room. She opened the chest's top drawer first, and pulled out a small knife with disgust. "Dib, you moron," she snarled, pocketing it before opening the next drawer. She pulled out several more sweaters and slammed that closed as well. Dropping Dib's sweaters into Zim's already full arms, she took the flashlight and led the way back downstairs. Gaz snatched up Dib's sweaters and threw them at him before grabbing one of her own, pulling it on.
Meanwhile, Zim dropped the pile on the floor beside GIR, who was giggling as he played with a squeaky moose. The green-skinned male sat back down on the couch, shivering slightly.
Gaz grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around herself before throwing a sweater at Zim. "Put it on, moron, or you'll freeze into an icicle."
He shrugged, doing as she said, and watching as she sat down, snuggling close to him. For a moment, they all sat in silence, until Dib finally succeeded in lighting a fire.
Gaz pulled the knife out of her pocket, remembering it, and handed it to her father, who sat on the other end of the couch. "Oh, Dad, this was in Dib's dresser," she said nonchalantly, smirking at her brother.
Membrane took it, looking at the knife for several moments in disbelief. "Dib, explain yourself," he said at last.
The teen glared at Gaz and protested, "I didn't use it!"
But the professor merely shook his head sadly. "My poor, insane son," he murmured.
A/N:: gasp Dib's being all NOT-CHEERY! The next chapter... who knows when that will come? This was thirteen pages, and it took me a week to write, so perhaps the next chapter will be up by the weekend... or at least written by then. Of course, now my fingers hurt from typing, lol, so I'll work on Final Battle tomorrow... I promise.