Author's Note: Is it just me, or have I not updated in forever? Well, I'm not sick anymore and its the weekend! So, here's your reward.

Chapter 8

No one would notice. No one would care. He took another shaky sigh and placed another foot forward; his scuffed, black combat boot hitting the shiny tile once again. His trench coat felt itchy and stuck to his skin. He passed another window and glanced at his reflection. He ran a pale hand through his inky hair, making sure it looked decent. He adjusted his glasses before he continued walking at his slow, monotonous pace. The mall was quiet and empty, giving it an eerie feel. At least he wouldn't run into anyone from school. He had no idea why he was so fidgety; no one even gave him a second glance. He just needed to get that present.

Upon entering the store, he gave an audible sighed and stepped up to the counter. A nice, middle-aged lady tended to him and took his cash with grace. She handed him the neatly-wrapped box he had ordered. He left without a second glance. He pulled the ribbon gently as he walked out of the mall and into the parking lot glazed with slush. He slowly and carefully pulled the lid off with a shaky hand. He gasped in shock when he saw the beauty of the object. Pulling it from the box with a shaky hand, he was amazed by its beauty. There was no doubt Zim would like it.

Upon Dib's entrance into the house, he noticed Gir walking casually by. When he noticed the human, his cyan eyes widened and went brighter. His little metallic legs moved faster in order to catch the teenager before he left.

"Hiya, Mary!" The android screeched. He attacked Dib's leg, holding on for dear life. The teenager glanced down at the robot, but said nothing. He continued on his way to the elevator, hoping not to run into Zim. All he needed to do was keep it hidden until tomorrow. The Irken hated secrets. He tucked the box deep into the pocket of his coat and stepped into the elevator. Gir was still wrapped around his legs tightly. When the doors opened again, the human stepped out with the android still attached to his legs.

"Just a little bit..." He mumbled under his breath. He could see his door down the hallway. Just a few more steps and he would be home free.

"WHATCHA DOIN, MARY?" Gir screamed in a high-pitched voice. The teenager flinched and looked down at the spastic robot. He had detached himself from Dib's legs but was now holding a box. The box from inside Dib's pocket.

"Gir!" He yelled, glaring at the robot. "Give that back! Its very important!"

"Ooooh," The robots mouth formed an O shape as he slowly began to pry open the box. The teenager gritted his teeth and took a leap at the robot. The android screeched and quickly moved out of they way, making the human meet floor, and not robot. He crashed down onto the metallic floor with a loud 'Ooof!'. The teenager lifted his head painfully to see the robot had opened the box and was trotting around with the present. The way his cyan eyes ogled the shiny object made Dib worry a little. He needed that present back; he was in no mood for an argument with the robot. Before the teenager's eyes, the box and the present were ripped from the androids metallic hands. His tiny antenna fell and he looked up with sad eyes. The human scrambled to his feet and met eyes with Zim.

The Irken was holding the present in his hand. He turned it over in his claw, inspecting it. Dib sighed, feeling defeated.

"What is this?" Zim asked quietly.

"It's...a watch." He murmured. The alien's eyes drifted towards the shiny, silver watch again. The tiny hands ticked away, keeping time like it was meant to. Behind the hands were little dials that had the date: December 24th. The Irkens eyes widened when he realized what the background was: the Irken symbol.

"How...how did you get this?" The alien looked back at Dib; his magenta eyes shining with a secret happiness.

"I gave them a picture and they put it in the watch. It cost a little more, but-"

"Why would you get this for Zim?"

"Its a present for Christmas, Zim." The teenager met eyes with the alien; his heart pounding at a rapid pace. He nervously pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled. "Its what people who care about each other do." The boy moved his pale hands to the watch that Zim's claws were clutched around. The alien loosened his grip and let Dib take it. With shaky hands, he wrapped the watch around Zim's left wrist and locked the watch around his frail bones. After adjusting the watch to its correct position, he let his hands go and returned them to his sides. The magenta eyes of the alien's studied the watch carefully before deeming it acceptable to be placed on his wrist. Zim's eyes returned to Dib's.

"Sorry about opening it..." The alien mumbled. "I know this...Christmas celebration isn't until tomorrow."

"Its alright; I mean, you like it, right?" Dib looked at Zim with pleading eyes. The Irken nodded, flooding the teenager with relief.

"Zim has a present for you, Dib-human."

"Zim, you didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh, okay. I guess you'd rather die..." A smile tugged at the Irken's green lips, giving Dib a menacing zipper-toothed smile.

"Wait, what?" A needle was suddenly injected into his arm from nowhere, making the human flinch. Zim continued to smile at the helpless boy as he shrank to the ground. He was loosing control of his body and was falling to the floor. He felt as if millions of lead weights were attached to him and that he was going to drown in a sea of nothing. But it wasn't really nothing; it was that familiar dark abyss he had been drowning in most of his life. It had been patched by his love for the Irken; but everything he had worked to build up had quickly crashed down, leaving Dib with that dark abyss again. He looked up with narrowed eyes at Zim. How could he? It had been a plot to trick the human boy all along. The teenagers honey eyes met the victorious ones of his enemies. A lonely, and silent tear fell from his eyes and headed down the human's pale face. The cyan-eyed robot looked in fear as Dib began to slip away from reality. The human wanted to fight and scream and punch the Irken, but he was ridiculously weak. He only managed to get his last words out before he slipped under.

"I...I love you, Zim."

Author's Note: It's not over yet.