Christmas present! Yes, I suck for my lack of updating. Oh, wait. I forgot. This is a crap chapter, it's hardly even filler. EW. HATE IT. Anyway…

Here you go! 3


I was woken up by Gaz.

Not that she burst into my room, or anything, but she liked heavy metal pounding into her head before nine a.m.

But, technically, what woke me up was my lamp crashing to the floor because the thudding sound had pushed it too close to the edge.

My eyes snapped open and I yawned painfully, before thinking, 'Breakfast.'

I slid out of bed, hit the floor, grabbed a random cloth item, discovered it was pants and pulled them on. I crawled toward the door tiredly, pulling myself up by the handle and stretched, feeling kinks and cracks loosen, opening the door to head downstairs.

Gas sat at the table, sullenly eating Piggie-O's.

"You left your music on," I commented casually as the dishes rattled and clinked dangerously. I got some OJ and sat down.

"I broke my iPod," she explained half-heartedly, as if she didn't really want to talk to me.

"Why?"

"I crushed it."

"On purpose?"

"NO! Idiot-boy…"

"So…?"

At this, she clutched her spoon tightly and her knuckles turned white.

"You drank the last soda." Hatred made her words stall and turn venomous.

"Oh…well, sorry."

She growled. "I was holding my iPod at the time…and..so..much…..anger…." I noticed her spoon started to shake in her grip. I honestly expected her cereal to start boiling. Used to her demonic rage, I took a sip of OJ.

"Was the club fun?" Gaz asked unexpectedly. I felt myself start.

"Uh…yeah, I guess. Why do you care?"

She looked up at me and raised her eyebrows."Because I like Lydia and I don't understand why she's friends with you."

I nodded in expected compliance. 'Oh,' I thought. 'Wonderful.'

I got up then, dropped my glass off at the sink, and headed toward the stairs to possibly get more sleep but Gas wasn't finished.

"I heard from Gretchen that she saw you carrying Zim home last night."

At this, I froze, memories flashing through my head, and I felt myself get sick from my forgetfulness. In my mind's eye, Zim's alien face with his zipper grin, traveled toward me, a replay of last night.

'I forgot! How could I?! Gotta tell someone…um…Gaz doesn't care. Lydia!'

Ignoring Gaz's evil laughter, I raced upstairs, struggling out of my pants, while reaching for my phone, and dialed for Lydia. As the phone rang slowly, I slid on some tight jeans and a random shirt.

She picked up. "Hel-lo?"

"I'm coming to your house. Now. Be there in 5 minutes."

Her loud protests echoed back at me as I hung up.

I grabbed my jacket and ran back downstairs to pull on my boots.

Gaz said something else to me, most likely hurtful, but I didn't hear it. I really couldn't hear anything, just the panic in my head.

Then I was out the door, fast walking down the sidewalk, despite the cold.


When I reached her house, I burst in with uncharacteristic flair and already started to say, "Lydia! He –"

But I paused because I interrupted an obvious sleepover.

Lydia and a cute, goth-looking girl stood in the kitchen, staring at me and my outburst. Lydia looked extremely annoyed and she shook her head lightly at me. The girl was grinning apologetically at me over her cup of steaming something.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Lydia emphasized, setting her own cup down. The girl looked between us and when Lydia started to eye-communicate with me, she exclaimed.

"Oh, don't mind me! I'll just…"

"No, Rain, don't, he's an idiot, he can come back later-" Lydia was protesting, much to my growing discomfort.

"…go on the computer," Rain finished, grinning at Lydia's display. She smiled in my direction and disappeared into a room.

Lydia sighed at me and I stepped up to the counter that separated the living room from the kitchen.

"What is this important thing you had to interrupt my morning with?" she said, meeting my eyes annoyed but resigned.

"Sorry."

"Whatever. Story, now."

I took a scared, shaky breath and began. "So…last night, Zim was drunk, right? And we were all dancing, remember? Well, in that moment, he almost kissed me-"

"Almost?!" she squealed, perking up immediately.

"Yeah, your elbow broke it up."

She glanced at her elbows, held one up, pointed a finger at it, and scolded, "Bad elbow!" Then she looked back at me, interested.

"So, he was drunk, did I say that? And we were chasing him down because…um…he was ashamed but he passed out because he was drunk, ya know, and I had to carry him home."

She giggled.

"Shut up." I continued. "So, after I dropped him off at his house, I went home and tried to fall asleep but, you know, he almost freakin' kissed me! So I was replaying it over and over, thinking about it, basically until I fell asleep. Something at my window woke me up, and LO AND BEHOLD, it was Zim!"

"AW!!" she cried. "That's so cute!!"

I sighed shakily, reliving it in my mind with difficulty and continued, "So, of course, I'm confused and he explains, saying that he wanted to 'finish what he started at the club!' " I used air quotes as Lydia clapped her hands to her mouth, hiding a smile of pure enjoyment.

"And, guess what? He comes over to me; all seductive-like, leans down, and kisses me!!"

She screamed, "OHMYGOD. Did you kiss back!?"

I blinked. "What? Um…does it really matter?"

"YES."

I rolled my eyes. "Well…yes."

She laughed and shrieked. "YAY! Are you- wait." She paused for a moment, looking off into space, then turned her attention back to me.

"Do you like Zim?"

I felt my eyes widen and I swallowed. "Um…well…I- there's…um…"

She probed with her eyes, a look of confused wonderment passing across her features.

"Dib. Do you like Zim?"

I started to say something, my mouth opening and motioning uselessly, before closing it and simply nodding.

She exploded, throwing her hands up. "Why am I just hearing about this now?!"

Lame excuses filled my head. "I…forgot…"

"How long?"

"What?"

"How freakin' long have you liked him?!"

"Um…" I tried to remember. "Since our fight…with the dreams…"

Her eyes almost popped out of her head. "That long?"

"It's…not long…just-"

"Does-!" She paused and cleared her throat, calming down. "Does he, you know, like you back?"

"Well, he kissed me. That could be a clue…"

"But, do you know?"

"What?"

"If he absolutely does."

"He…hasn't actually told me, if that's what you mean…"

She got exasperated again. "Then you can't know!"

"But-" I tried to get my say in but she was having none of it.

"Look," she said seriously, "you should have unreasonable doubts than real, tangible doubts."

I didn't understand. "I don't understand."

"Go tell him! Confess!"

That was the last thing I expected. "WHAT? NO!"

"Are you waiting for him to come to you?" she asked and before I could answer, she continued, "He's not gonna do that and you know it."

"But!" I started indignantly, despite my lack of argument. "Going to him…desperate…"

"And you're not?" she countered. "You like him, he kissed you, you're confused. You have the right to go to him!"

"But…this is scary…"

"Love often is."

"I never said-!"

She snorted. "Please. I can tell."

I deflated, staring at her. We looked at each other for a moment, her eyes encouraging, mine debating.

"What are you gonna do?" she asked.

I stared again, calculating the inevitable, and whispered, "Go to him."

"GO!" she screamed and, like a racehorse; I jumped and scurried towards the door but paused.

"Thanks, Lydia."

She grinned mischievously and growled, "Go get 'em, tiger."

I smiled, unable to manage a laugh and started my way back to go confront him.

Zim.


Hee, hee. Juicy chapter coming. :D