When Wednesday arrived, Zim got back to his skool routine. He was picking up stuff from his locker when Tak came over to him.
"Hey." She greeted awkwardly.
"Hey, Tak." Zim greeted back monotonously.
"Are you okay?" Tak asked placing a hand on Zim's arm. "It's been two days since you don't come to skool, and what happened that last time you called me?"
"I guess I'm just a moron." Zim shrugged playing out a fake smile that hid the tears that threatened to fall down his face.
"What happened?" Tak asked again worried, removing her hand from his arm.
"… That time I called you…" Zim started after a moment. "Gaz heard what I said. She went to my base that day and heard everything about the 'pretending to date Gaz' part."
"Zim…" Tak said slowly. She could see that Zim seemed to be on the verge of tears.
"But…" Zim shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't be so hard if I wasn't feeling this way for her."
"What do you mean?" Tak asked raising an eyebrow.
"I love her, Tak." Zim said plainly.
Tak was taken aback by that last part. She was about to ask something else, but caught Zim staring at the distance. Tak saw Dib taking large, quick steps towards them. He directed himself straight to Zim.
"Zim…" Dib started, breathless. "I… tried to talk to Gaz, yesterday."
"And? How did it go?" Zim asked with a pinch of hope in his tone.
"Well…" Dib started, but was cut off by Gaz pushing him aside.
Dib bumped on the lockers as Gaz, who was following him close behind, came over unannounced, punching Zim right where his nose should be.
"Ow…" Zim let out in pain.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Gaz yelled pointing an accusatory finger at Zim, gathering even more attention from the passersby in the hall. "Now you're going to get all friendly with my brother and trick him into convincing me to go back to you? Is that how it's going to be?!"
"Gaz, listen up. I…" Zim started, but was cut off by Gaz.
"Shut up!" Gaz yelled. "'Oh, he's suffering so much for you.'" Gaz mimicked Dib's voice mockingly. "Yeah, like you're just a poor little thing."
"Gaz, this isn't…" Tak cut in.
"Oh, fuck off, you bitch! You knew about this all along, didn't you?!" Gaz interrupted.
"Well, yeah… But-." Tak tried explaining herself.
"Burn in hell." Gaz cut off with pure repulse on her face before walking off, but not before she looked up at Zim and added… "Oh, and don't even try to tell me it was all just a big misunderstanding. Because I know it wasn't."
Gaz walked away with whatever dignity had left in her, leaving the three teenagers staring at her from a distance as she disappeared in the crowd of students that whispered amongst themselves.
It was lunch break, and Gaz sat with Francine at a table avoiding Zim, Tak and Dib at all costs, who sat together at a separated table. Zim, of course, wasn't paying attention at his lunch. He couldn't eat the cafeteria's food anyway, but he had his eyes landed on Gaz from a distance.
"Leave it alone, Zim." Tak said as she caught her friend staring at Gaz. "It's not worth it keep pushing it."
"I guess you've never been in love before, have you?" Zim looked down at Tak.
"Zim." Dib cut in. "I know it hurts, but trust me: you don't want to keep pushing it. Plus, it's Gaz we're talking about! When she decides something, it's hard to make her change her mind."
Zim looked at the tabletop, as if pondering about something.
"I'll go talk to her." Zim rose from his seat before anyone could say anything else. Tak looked up at Dib who sighed.
Zim quickly made his way to the table where Gaz and Francine were sitting at, taking a place by Gaz's side then smiled awkwardly at her.
"C'mon Francine, let's eat someplace else." Gaz called, rising from her seat, Francine followed her lead.
"Wait, Gaz!" Zim quickly grabbed Gaz's sleeve, making her stop on her tracks. "Can I least try to explain myself?"
Gaz looked up at Francine who looked back at her feeling unsure. Gaz nodded, as if telling her to give them privacy. Francine obeyed and, reluctantly, walked away from them.
"Alright." Gaz started, sitting back down on the table. "You have one minute."
Zim sighed before speaking.
"So… This whole 'pretending to like you' thing… Is not entirely true, okay?" Zim explained to Gaz, who just kept silent, crossing her arms in disapproval. "I mean… I was pretending to date you, only to get to Dib, who was just getting to my last nerves. But I didn't expect to develop feelings for you. It was wrong, I know! But, trust me: if I was really pretending the whole time… it wouldn't get to this point."
"Well, maybe if you didn't start all this bullshit, it wouldn't get to this point." Gaz raised a brow accusatorily. "Are you done?"
"Well, I…" Zim started, but Gaz was already rising from her seat and walking away with her tray of food. "Gaz, wait!" Zim grabbed Gaz's sleeve one more time, preventing her to leave. Gaz looked down at him with despise. "I just wanted to tell you that… I love you, okay?"
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Gaz replied.
Zim was taken aback by her answer. Gaz shook her arm off Zim's grip and resumed walking away from him. Zim watched as she encountered Francine among the mass of students and they both disappeared from the Irken's sight.
As days passed by, rumors started to spread about Zim and Gaz around skool. Gaz figured it was Jessica's doing, she never forgave Gaz for start dating Zim and taking her friend away. It was a few days before prom, and Gaz was changing her clothes after a shower after PE was over. Just when she opened her locker and unwrapped the towel, exposing her fully naked body, Gaz heard a camera shot in the distance. Jessica was holding up her phone as she took a naked picture of Gaz.
"Oh, yeah. This one is so going to the internet." Jessica smiled victoriously.
Gaz was without any action for a moment, but then she charged towards Jessica, trying to yank her phone out of her hands.
"I don't think so, honey!" Jessica exclaimed as she successfully dodged Gaz's attack and ran out the locker room and out the hallways where Gaz couldn't follow her, for she was still naked.
Gaz stood there fuming before she quickly dressed herself up and ran after Jessica, but couldn't find her. Gaz was already starting to lose it when she bumped on someone. Looking up she saw Zim in front of her.
"Outta my way, asshole." Gaz said, rudely pushing Zim aside as she resumed running after Jessica.
Zim knew by now that Gaz didn't want to talk to him anymore but, finding her behavior strange, he ran after her.
"Gaz!" Zim called to her, Gaz slowly stopped on her tracks. "W… What's going on?"
"Do you really wanna know?" Gaz turned to face him. "That blonde bitch crossed the line."
"What did she do, this time?" Zim asked worried.
"Like that's any of your business." Gaz replied dryly as she resumed her run after Jessica, but Zim wouldn't drop the subject that easily.
"Gaz, come on!" Zim called as he caught up to Gaz. "Tell me what happened!"
Zim exclaimed as he grabbed Gaz's arm, making her stop on her tracks abruptly.
"She took a naked picture of me in the locker room, okay?!" Gaz finally turned to face Zim.
Zim was taken aback for a moment but, suddenly, something clicked.
Jessica was at an empty classroom trying to send Gaz's picture to the internet, but was surprised by someone yanking her phone from her hand. Zim had finally found Jessica, and proceeded to erase Gaz's picture from her phone.
"Hey!" Jessica tried to reach for her phone, but Zim was faster, pushing her with such strength she fell back first on the floor of the classroom.
"Next time you do that kind of shit you'll really regret it." Zim said morbidly before throwing Jessica's phone back at her.
Jessica watched fuming as Zim walked away, leaving the room.
Zim started looking for Gaz shortly after, and found her curled up in a ball at a corner in the hallway. She had given up on finding Jessica.
"Gaz…" Zim said softly, kneeling by her side. "Is all okay, now... I found her."
Gaz slightly raised her head from behind her arms, exposing her swollen eyes.
"I erased the picture." Zim explained, as if Gaz had implied something about it. "You don't have to worry, anymore. She didn't do anything with it." Zim smiled tenderly, but Gaz still didn't answer.
Zim reached a hand out to her, trying to comfort her, but decided otherwise. They stayed like that in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before the bell rang.
"Bye." Zim said before getting up and heading out to the exit, looking back at Gaz from behind his shoulder before leaving the building.