I can imagine some of you folks are getting kinda confused. So this is a chapter with more info on the Irken body.
When my gets off topic it usually does that only to fill you in with some additional information.
Also here are the ages of the characters.
Red, 24 DOB: March 21, 1969
Zannah, 17.5 DOB: September 5, 1976
Tenn, 16 DOB: April 24, 1977
Zeiden, 5 DOB: January 31, 1988 (I'm not sure if you guys could pronounce his name or not so i took the liberty of breaking it down. Zeiden (Zay-Dan) Izac (EE-Zake) Macale (Just as it's spelled.) The reason its pronounced and spelled so funny is because it's of Irken origin. Get it?)
And now we have a surprise character showing up in this chapter and another one in the next chapter!
Onwards with da story!
September 2, 1993
5 Months Later
". . . It was the hardest test I ever taken! I was so nervous I didn't get any sleep the night prior, mostly because I stayed up studying. But it paid off cause I finished in less than 2 and a half hours and got a 91 percent." Red bragged to his family and friends. They were in the backyard of their house celebrating Red's early graduation.
ZIM was getting tired of hearing the story so he wandered off with some neighborhood kids. Truth be told, Zeiden would much rather hang out with older people. Human's skill and brain development was a lot slower than an Irken's. Irkens not only developed quickly they also have more mental capacity they also have no need to go to the bathroom because of their almost lethal stomach acid breaks down food till they are nothing more than a gas bubble which results in belching. And most of them were flawlessly skinny and don't sweat unless sick. And since they rarely sweat they never get skin blemishes. But with every good thing there comes a bad thing. Irkens tend to get sick more often and have a slower immune system. And they don't grow that tall either. Probably 5 feet as an average height for an adult. But on the bright side, 1 Irken year is equivalent to 9.8 human years. They live for a very long time.
"Hey, Z!" ZIM whipped around to see who called him. An Irken girl slightly taller than him. He beamed when he saw her. His friend from Paddington, London. She was only one year older than him.
"Tak?" Was all he could say before he was choked off by a bone crushing hug. "Ack! Mmnh!"
"Oh Zeiden! I missed you so much! I haven't seen you in 4 months!" The purple-eyed female exclaimed pressing his face into her chest. Takayla Griffon, probably the craziest girl he knew. Red looked up from talking to his buddies to watch ZIM in his current predicament. He couldn't help but laugh.
"Tak! I … camt breeve!" ZIM's voice was muffled and strained. Tak loosened her grip on him but he remained in her arms. She kissed his cheek. Tak and her parents were close family friends. They helped Red with raising Zannah, Tenn, and himself when Red had gotten custody of them after their mother died. Tak's father worked as a social worker back in London and her mother was an accountant.
"Red invited me and my parents to his graduation. We're very proud of him." ZIM tried to pry himself out of her grasp.
"I'm proud of him too." He said managing to get out of her embrace. But as soon as he was out she took a hold of his hand. He could have sworn he heard Red snicker in the background. ZIM cleared his throat nervously. "How's London?" Tak curled her lips in distaste.
"Dreary, bleak, rainy. Same old, same old." She said with her own distinct accent. "We're gonna stay in Australia for a month for a long vacation. That means we can hang out everyday before you go traveling with Red!" She squealed at the thought of getting to see ZIM everyday for the next month. She hugged him again. ZIM groaned. He liked Tak, but not the same way Tak liked him. She ran finger down his antenna. This sent shivers down his spine. Usually only relatives, dating and/or married couples did that. He pulled his head away in a weak attempt for her to stop touching him. Now he was sure Red was laughing at him, if the nasally-sounding cackle was any indication.
"Ace." ZIM said sarcastically. Tak continued to pepper him hugs and kisses until Red finally stepped between the two.
"Uh, hey ZIM how 'bout you go and get more ice. We're running low." ZIM has never been more up to a task.
"Sure thing. Hooroo." He quickly said to Tak before dashing off.
"Wait! What's that mean? Do you need help?" ZIM denied her request for help and made his way into the kitchen.
'Gah. I love her like a friend! Why can't she understand that?' He thought to himself as Zannah walked into the kitchen. ZIM turned around quickly away from the freezer and nearly bumped into her.
"Hey kiddo, you look slightly disgruntled." Zee said making the last word sound funnier than normal. She liked to do that with certain words. "Is it cause Tak's here? I thought you liked her."
"I do but she's kinda clingy … plus she likes me more than just a friend. She admitted that last time we met 4 months ago."
"She has her faults, but keep in mind that you do too."
"Probably not as much as her." ZIM mumbled. Zee shook her head.
"She's clingy but you're annoying, she's temperamental and you're just … mental."
"Hey! Not cool, mate!" ZIM said rather loudly. Zee shrugged.
"Just be kind to her, Z. That's all I ask."
"Yeah, okay."
"Because Red just invited her and her family to stay the night."
"What!" ZIM exclaimed in more of a statement than a question.
...
"…So when he approached me I thought he was going to ask me to dance. But it turned out he just wanted more punch from the snack bar."
"Uh-huh."
"Not that I would have danced with him anyway. He was not cute!"
"Uh-huh."
"I shouldn't have sat next to the snack bar. Everyone was dropping food all over the floor."
"Uh-huh."
"So I was stepping in the food every time I got up."
"Uh-huh." ZIM continued to half listen to Tak's rambling. It was 11:45 at night and she would not shut up.
ZIM groaned and stuffed his face into his pillow on the ground. Red told him to sleep on the floor and give Tak his bed. He didn't know why she couldn't sleep in the spare room with her parents.
"I was wondering if you'd like to do something tomorrow with me. We could go into town and we can go shopping and we can go-"
"Yes, Tak. That sounds wonderful." ZIM said exasperatedly.
"Soooo, it's a date?" Tak asked hopefully.
"Yeah, sure whatever." He said not really hearing her. He yelped as he felt someone crushing him. Tak jumped off the bed and onto his back to give him one of her famous death hugs.
"Oh we're gonna have so much fun tomorrow!" ZIM gasped for breath.
"Yeah … release ple- … ease!" He grunted. Tak hopped back onto his bed.
"Night, Junior." She said excitedly. Tak knew he got bothered by that title. ZIM rolled his eyes.
'What have I gotten myself into?'
The next day Tak woke up early. She slid off the deep blue and white silk sheets and nearly stepped on ZIM. She bent down to get closer to the sleeping boy.
"Zei-Zei?" She whispered. "Hey." She poked the side of his face that wasn't buried in his pillow. "Zimmy? ZIM? Z?" She started to get annoyed. She must of forgotten he was a heavy sleeper. "Zeiden Izac Macale Junior! I will not be ignored!" She yelled in his antenna. He jumped a foot in the air as he let out a startled scream. Tak giggled at his little show.
"Holy Dooley!" ZIM exclaimed, then he cursed in Irken when he saw it was just Tak. Tak whacked him upside the head as she speaks Irken as well.
"Watch your language." ZIM rubbed his head.
"What do you want?"
"I want to get up and begin our day." ZIM looked at his clock on the night stand.
"It's 7 AM! I tend to sleep till noon!" Tak scowled.
"Sleep is good for you, but too much sleep, that's bad." ZIM ignored her and tried to settle back in to his makeshift bed on the floor. This made Tak frown even further. She grabbed his sheet and yanked it off his body. ZIM still ignored her. She then whipped the pillow out from underneath his head. He still had no response. Tak grinned evilly as she had a plan. She left the room for a minute and came back with a cup of freezing water and a cup of flour. "Here's your last call to wake up now, or prepare for humiliation." She threatened. Nothing. She smiled. Tak then dumped the icy water on him making him screech in surprise then threw the flour on him which stuck to his now wet body.
"Tak!"
"What?" She asked innocently. The bedroom door slowly crept open and a tired looking Red peaked his head in. He took one look at the messy, ZIM covered in white goo, and the laughing Tak before shaking his head and closing the door again.
ZIM growled. "I'm gonna go take a shower. And don't try to follow me in there!" Tak snickered.
"Don't forget to wash your back!" She called after him. ZIM cursed in their native tongue again as he made his way to his bathroom.
An hour later both Tak and ZIM were ready to get on with their day. The duo bounded down the steps and into the kitchen. There Red and Mr. Griffon were talking about his plans for his future job while sharing coffee.
"Hey mate," Red said as he pulled his younger brother in for a hug. "Heard you had quite the rude awakening."
"You have no idea." Zeiden mumbled into his brother.
"ZIM and I are gonna go in town today." Tak said. Her dad raised a brow.
"By yourself?"
"That or maybe with a few more friends." ZIM said. Tak shook her head.
"No, it's just gonna be us."
"I don't like the idea of a 5 and 6 year old going into town by themselves." Red countered.
"Me either!" ZIM agreed quickly.
"I'll go see if Tenn or Zee will go with you." Red said. "Oh if you take Tenn you can go birthday shopping for Zee." Tak looked like she was getting mad. Maybe because now the two of them wouldn't get to be alone. Not that ZIM cared, he was still in the, 'Girls are icky' stage.
"Yeah go get Tenn!" ZIM exclaimed. Tak grabbed his arm and pulled him to her so she could whisper in his antenna.
"What are you doing? I thought it was gonna be just us." ZIM feigned being upset.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I totally forgot!" Tak growled. ZIM curled the corner of his mouth downwards. This was going to be a long day, no, month.
...
"She's not staying for the entire month is she?" Zeiden asked his sibling closest to his age. He was wrapping Zee's present he got for her when he spent the day with Tak and Tenn. It was a Bach sheet music book for the viola. One of Zee's passions. She was good too. Heck, they were all musically inclined. Red could jam on the drums, guitar and bass, as could ZIM, Red was currently teaching him how to play piano and they all could sing and dance. Tenn shrugged.
"I heard she was staying in a hotel with her parents." ZIM sighed with relief.
"Thank Irk." Tenn glanced at her little sibling.
"You don't like her?"
"It's not that I don't like her. It's just that she annoys me with her constant clinging and caressing my antenna and pinching my cheeks, and I'm not talking about my facial cheeks here!" He said putting emphasize on the, 'not'. Tenn stared at ZIM with a skeptical look. She couldn't help but smile at his quirkiness.
"So? She obviously likes you. Who could blame her?" Tenn said bending down and pinching ZIM's cheeks. The ones on his face. "You are just the most adorable little guy in the world!" She teased. ZIM swatted her hands away.
"You're just saying that because we look alike." He grumbled. "You shoulda seen her today at the music store! She kept wanting to hold my hand and she put her arms around my waist and grabbing my-"
"Hey Tenn! Zimmy!" Tak said skipping into the kitchen. She gave ZIM a quick pat on the shoulder. ZIM inwardly groaned as he heard Tenn chuckle.
"You need something?" He asked politely. Tak shook her head.
"Just wanted to see my boy friend." ZIM did a sharp intake of breath and turned purple in between his eyes and on his cheeks, the Irken equivalent to blushing. His antenna perked up a bit as he heard the words flow from her mouth. Tak seemed to see his uneasiness and did a quick edit of what she just said. "I mean, my friend who just so happens to be of the male gender." She said awkwardly. Tenn burst into a fit of laughter.
"You guys are so cute!" She exclaimed walking out of the room. "I'll leave you two alone." She added.
"No! No need to leave! Really! I like your company!" ZIM called after her. He sighed as the door to his room closed. He looked back at Tak. She was really smart, but it was funny how clueless she was when it came to their relationship.
"So," Tak got up and walked to the trembling short Irken. "What do you wanna do?" She put her arms around his neck. He resisted the feeling of shuttering.
"Crawl in my bed and sleep." He said nervously. ZIM suddenly felt a sharp, and not to mention painful, smack across his face. "Ow! Why? What was that for?" Tak crossed her arms.
"I'm not sleeping with you!"
"Wha- what? Huh? Th-that's not what I was-! . . . No!" ZIM stammered growing a deeper color of purple. His heart was pounding hard in his chest. "I-I . . . It's not . . . That wasn't-"
"How 'bout we dance instead? Do you ballroom?" She butted in.
"Ballroom?"
"Yes, ballroom! A waltz! We do it all the time in England! Here let me teach you!" She said taking a step closer. She put her arms around his neck again. "Normally girls only dance with taller gentlemen but Ill make an exception in your case." ZIM tried to move away from her but she kept getting closer. "Put your left arm around my waist." ZIM looked at her funny but nevertheless did as told. She then rested her right hand on his shoulder. "Now clasp your remaining hand with mine." They did. "Good, now follow my lead." She said taking a step toward him. "Our bodies have to be touching, silly boy."
"Tak, I don't waltz." She ignored his comment and took a step to the left with her left, ZIM following. She started to gracefully sway back and forth and took steps in various directions as ZIM stumbled after her. "Tak, this isn't fun for me." The purple-eyed female frowned.
"I always thought of you as open-minded."
"I am. But this is just . . ." His voice trailed off as he looked in her glossy eyes. He could see his reflection in those mysterious eyes. Something inside him suddenly snapped. His stomach felt weird. "Um . . . Your eyes are big." He said stupidly. She cocked a brow. "That's a good thing!" He said quickly. She smiled. They stood there in each others arms for a long time before Tak cleared her throat.
"Zeiden," She started. ZIM cringed. Her tone was serious and monotone, plus she used his birth name. That was unordinary of her. "I know you don't like me the way I like you but I just want you to know you'll grow out of it and one of these days you'll come around and finally ask me to be your girlfriend." She said quickly. With that she kissed him between his eyes and dashed out of his room. ZIM stood there stunned. He wiped where he was kissed and shook his head.
"Forward, isn't she?" He asked to no one in particular.