Normally Gaz wouldn't have paid attention to anything as insignificant as Zim's mood, but it's really starting to affect her life. It's a chain reaction, really. Zim starts acting even a degree different than usual and then Dib almost talks her ear off about it until she threatens to tear off his ears first. Then he seems to forget that after around two days and starts monologuing around her again.
This time is especially bad because Zim isn't just a degree or two off. He's completely flown off the handle. So much so that the entire school has noticed and is forming a wider circle around him than they make around Gaz. Which means Dib has been in "code red" mode for over a week now and it needs to stop before she has to actually show him the meaning of terror. Since the usual ass-kicking doesn't seem to be getting through to her unusually neurotic brother, Gaz has to do the unthinkable.
Go talk to Zim and ask what is going on.
You did this Dib. You forced me to go talk to Zim about his feelings. Whatever happens after this is officially your fault.
The last thing Gaz wanted to do was go out of her way to talk to him, so she figures she'll ditch Dib at lunch tomorrow and do it then. But then she has a stroke of luck. Kind of.
Gaz was assigned to Strike Three detention. Otherwise known as The End. If she screws up after this, that's it, Underground classes. How did Gaz let herself get so close? Kind of underwhelming, actually. First, Gaz never showed up to regular detention. Next, the school threatened to get her Dad involved and that's how she got into Strike Two. Then, after convincing her English teacher's wife to finally divorce his lame ass, she's been sent to Strike Three. Gaz is of the opinion that the last one was total bullshit because in reality, she saved both of them years of emotional damage before it ended violently by simply revealing the truth of their relationship. Also, his wife can do much can do better.
Regardless, she is in Strike Three with all of her fellow dumbass convicts who got caught, wondering if her life would be more interesting if she got sent into the Underground classes on purpose when in walks the little string bean.
He's brooding right now, but this morning he was too bat-shit for his mostly desensitized class. Gaz had no idea anyone could throw a used spit-ball through a kid's eye. Or that telling the guidance counselor his yellow tie was ugly would make him shed real tears.
There are only two other students in Strike Three with Gaz and Zim. One is the most embarrassing wannabe gangster she's ever seen and he looks like he's going to cry and piss himself any second out of sheer fear. He's been on the phone with his mom for the past few minutes and by the sound of it, she's an attorney. Which means he's in no danger of being sent to the Underground.
The other is a boy with bright red hair and enough facial piercings to be in a metal band. Gaz doesn't know how he got himself put here, but he keeps cracking jokes about the Underground classes to the rich gangster kid, bringing him closer to tears and loving any minute of it.
Since there are so few people in the room and plenty of seats there's no reason for Zim to sit anywhere near Gaz, so he doesn't. He sits in the back left corner of the room. Sulking and silent.
For over an hour the room feels like some strange limbo of Zim and Gaz being absolutely silent on opposite sides of the room, the wanna-be's sniveling, and the redhead's snickering. With only a few minutes left on their sentence, Gaz knows she's running out of time to make her move. She reluctantly leaves her seat in the middle-right side of the room to the desk in front of Zim.
Instead of ignoring her to continue pouting like she half expects him to, he almost jumps out of his seat. He's startled by her presence. Like he didn't even realize there was anyone else in the room until she appeared in front of him. Like he didn't even realize he was in the room.
"Dib-sister! What are you doing here?!" He shouts at Gaz, finding his balance on the stationary chair. She physically leans away from the volume of his voice and swallows her steadily rising temper before replying between grit teeth. She really doesn't appreciate noisy people.
"They say no good deed goes unpunished."
Zim opens his mouth to respond but she talks over him.
"Lower your voice, I'm right in front of you. And call me Gaz already."
He glowers at her for interrupting him but surprisingly doesn't reply. He just looks away and grumbles some things in what she assumes is Irken – talking to himself as if Gaz isn't there. Something is definitely wrong with him, and not in the usual way. Talking to himself isn't new and being distracted isn't new, but he seems so… defeated. Zim's supposed to be too delusional to know when he's defeated.
Even though Gaz can't understand him, she decides she doesn't like his tone. She growls at him to shut him up.
"Why did you come sit with Zim anyway?" He snaps at her, bouncing back from her mild intimidation way faster than their fellow students. It's starting to really piss her off.
"Because you've been having psychotic mood swings and it's driving Dib crazier, and that means it's driving me crazier. I don't know what you're going through but sort it out already before I make your life a hell of a lot worse." Zim scoffs at her glare.
He scoffs.
"Please Dib-sister. You may be powerful and frightening normally, but there's nothing you can threaten Zim with anymore. No matter how hard Zim tries, this pathetic planet cannot dish out sufficient punishment and neither can you."
Her jaw drops and the room goes silent. The rich gangster's whimpers have stopped, the red head's taunts have stopped, and they are both looking at Gaz and Zim. The rich kid looks shocked and frightened and the redhead looks riveted.
Gaz doesn't respond or wait for Zim to change his mind and beg for mercy. She grabs Zim's head with her hands and takes action. She slams Zim's head down into his desk face first with an impressive amount of violence and lets it bounce off the surface. Behind her, the rich kid lets out a little shriek of fright and the redhead experiences a short burst of hysterical laughter.
Before Zim fully recovers from the shock and pain of a possible concussion and likely broken nose if he had one Gaz grabs him by his collar and yanks his face close to her own. His eyes are dazed, alarmed, and completely void of their previous emotional fog. Good, it's a start.
"I don't know what the fuck drove you to be this suicidal, but I swear to you I can show you punishment it that's what you're looking for. Watch your tone around me, insect."
Then, Zim does something unusual again.
"… Zim would like to invite Miss Gaz over after detention." He says, barely louder than a whisper. He's got an unfamiliar look in his eyes and it takes Gaz an immense amount of self-control to not pull away from him. It's not threatening. There's nothing in his eyes that gives her the unfamiliar sensation of being prey. But it's strange, like hearing a foreign instrument that she doesn't know if she likes the tune of.
She forces herself to maintain eye contact and slowly lets go of his shirt, uncurling her fingers with a deliberate show of control. She's letting go of him now because she's decided to, not because she felt compelled to.
"Fine… But only because I can understand not wanting to have a serious talk in front of an audience," She rudely gestures to the two boys on their right, "and because 'Miss Gaz' is an improvement." Now that her problem is at least set up to be solved she turns away from him to sit sideways in the chair rather than retreating to her original desk location. Gaz pulls out her notebook to doodle to make the next hour pass quicker, trying to ignore Zim's eyes burning holes in the back of her neck and the stupid grin of the redhead who's looking at her like she's his soulmate.
When the latch on the door finally releases with a clunk the maximum security students are set free for the evening. Gaz snaps her notebook shut and walks to the door, not acknowledging the alien behind her with even the slightest change in her confident pace and posture. Despite her hostile presence that she wears like a second skin, she is stopped by the redhead who had completely abandoned teasing the rich kid.
"Hey, Gaz, right?" He asks. She's mildly annoyed that he's taking up her time, but so far he's made no egregious errors. Zim, on the other hand, hisses from behind her with palpable anger.
"Yes. What is it?" She decides it's probably best to keep this short. She does have an angry alien to counsel.
"I just, uh, haven't really seen you around and I figured there's no way I coulda missed a girl like you." Zim's moved in even closer to her and has practically glued himself to her back, glaring darkly over her shoulder. While Gaz is definitely annoyed by the redhead's words the unsolicited contact from Zim is worse so she elbows him in the abdomen sharply to make him back off. The redhead's smile only grows wider and he keeps talking. "After dealing with that green kid wanna meet up sometime? I've got a great idea to prank the principal and I think you'd be interested."
"I'm not much of a prankster, but thanks." She replies before continuing down the hall with a seething Zim trailing a full pace behind once again. The interaction went surprisingly well, most guys with that much attitude manage to say something disrespectful about her body within the first two sentences.
Unfortunately, Zim seems to have gotten a different impression and has been hissing to himself in Irken, despite having left the guy behind five minutes ago. But Gaz is used to listening to Dib ramble on the way home and this isn't quite as bad. It's certainly quieter and she doesn't have to deal with the agony of understanding Zim's words.
Once inside Zim's house, Gaz throws her stuff on the ground and spreads out over his couch like she owns the place.
"Alright, Zim. You invited me here so I'm assuming you're ready to talk. Unless this is another kidnapping attempt. If it is you better have gotten the good shit this time or I'm out of here." When she was younger Zim had tried to kidnap her to use her against Dib but he had made the fatal mistake of not getting the good snacks she demanded in exchange for playing along. Needless to say, that plot of Zim's was foiled within the hour. Only because Gaz was feeling generous that day.
But this really doesn't seem like another plot to her. Zim is standing in front of her, his hands clasped in front of his hips twisting his fingers anxiously as he struggles for words, looking exceedingly uncomfortable in his own home.
But Gaz has never been known for her patience.
"Spit it out already!" She snaps.
He jumps a bit but quickly stammers out: "Dib-sister… I-I am about to share some very confidential information. You will not tell the Dib?" She raises an eyebrow in response. If it's that secret it's odd that he would ever consider confiding in the sister of his sworn enemy. Not that I would, but it doesn't make a lot of sense.
"Zim, if there's anyone who can respect and maintain privacy, it's me." Along with her temper, Gaz is known for being private. "Also, you called be Dib-sister again. Stop. You'll only perpetuate your own suspicions that I have a connection to him. Go back to 'Miss Gaz.'"
Zim nods in understanding but remains stiff as he finally confesses. "Miss Gaz. It has recently come to Zim's attention that… My- Zim's home planet has abandoned him. Zim… Zim is defective.