Behind The Tube Glass
By alien freak And Xmimi89eR
story may contain gore/blood/violence/strong language
rating: T
ZaDr/ZaDf
Enjoy chapter seven!
English is my second language, my apologies if there are any mistakes.
disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim.
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The computers hummed slightly around him, everything felt out of place, he tried shifting but a weight on his chest held him in place, he opened his eyes, everything was blurry for a second before his eyes focused, he groaned and lift his hand to rub his eyes; the boy looked around, he must have fallen asleep, he almost forgot everything when his hand touched something warm, he blinked and looked down, he almost gasped as he saw the alien, his hand was near his cheeks.
The irken invader had let go of Dib's shirt, and crawled near the edge of the chair, if Dib had moved slightly forward the alien may have fell.
Dib looked at the screen, it was 3:45 PM, he must have slept for three hours, Dib yawned, he was still sleepy so what woke him up? He stared blankly at the screen, then he heard his stomach, he must be hungry, he should be since his breakfast was a cheese sandwich. he scratched his hair and fixed his glasses, then looked back at the irken, Zim seemed to be in deep sleep.
Dib never thought of his life that he'd have one day a sleeping alien in his lap, it was just impossible and stupid to think of, but now he could expect if the universe was made of cake.
He sneaked his hands underneath the alien and slightly lifted him up, just enough for Dib to stand up and then put the alien back at the chair, he prayed the irken won't wake up, and lucky for him, he didn't, but seemed to adjust the new object he now was sleeping on, antenna twitched twice then went back to its natural angle.
The human boy gazed at him for a second, was it really wise to leave an alien free wandering through his lab? Even though he can't walk yet, he still had the computer in front of him.
If the computer was closed he'd need a password to turn it on, and most important doors needed either a key, a hand scan, or a passcode; so he thought it might be okay, maybe.
The hunger only grew, making Dib shrug every thought he had and made his way to the large door, it opened with a hiss and as fast as Dib exited the door slammed shut with a click, this also made Dib slightly calm, the door will only open for him, the alien can't leave.
He grabbed his lab coat and slid his arms in it, now that he was satisfied with it, the boy made his way to the coffee shop beside the company.
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The shop was right beside the building, every scientists goes there to get coffee or donuts, the place used to be small, but the owner got super-rich because of his scientists customers and made the place a little bigger.
"Rich asshole..." Dib thought to himself, he didn't like that there was only one shop near the area, the owner probably showers with money.
he got inside and the door let out a 'ding' letting everyone knows someone entered. the shop looked like a normal coffee shop, the smell was like black coffee and cleaning liquid, it was weird, but not too weird, the place had three scientists since most of them buy their coffee then get back to the company. Dib made his way to the counter, who was a red hair boy, he looked like he didn't sleep for days, yet he looked familiar.
"Hello sir, how can i help you?" he said with a bored tone. it wasn't the first time Dib buy coffee from here, "hi, give me one espresso," he paused, Dib thought how many donuts should he buy, he was going to say in his lab late today it seemed, and he only wanted to get down here once,
above all, the only thing in his stomach was its acid, Dib could feel it eat his insides, he was indeed hungry, "and i want a small bag of donuts." the bag will have five donuts inside, it was a lot for a boy who can only eat one slice of pizza, but even if he couldn't eat them all today, he can easily get them back to his apartment.
"regular ones?" said the boy that was named... Dib actually didn't care to take a look at his name. "whatever." Dib said, then made his way to one of the tables to set down, waiting for his order.
he drew a finger on the clean table as he waited, Dib was the only one that didn't wear gloves, maybe he should next time he exits his lab.
after a few minutes, he heard a 'ding' and looked back to the same boy, on the counter was his order. he stood up and got his wallet out as he walked,
"that should be... seven dollars sir." the boy tried smiling but it only came looking disgusted, "yeah, thanks." he paid the annoyed boy.
coffee in his right hand, and the bag in the left, he got one of the donuts out and started eating it as he walked out,
"you eat a lot for a skinny boy don't you think?" a voice came from behind him, Dib turned around and almost choked as he saw Dale. to describe the man more, he was a very tall man, yet because of his weight, he looked much shorter,
but that didn't stop the fact that everyone needs to look high up to see his face; the man was huge, everyone feared he may step on them if they got too close.
he smelled like cigarettes, and always buys black coffee, some people said he never sleeps. even though he was overweighted, he had bony cheeks, blue eyes, and grey hair.
Dib stepped back just to get a better look at the man's face, "i work a lot." he said, what the hell was wrong with this man?!
"oh, that seems to be taking all your time,eh? you never leave your lab till a late hour," he spat his words,
now was the time for a good lie, "i want my first device that I'll make here to be big, it's a good start for me since I'm taking my father's place,"
the smirk on the man's face vanished, at less the school bullies taught him something.
when the man didn't answer, Dib turned around to get the hell out of that place.
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he took the cursed white lab coat off of him, not only because it made him look like a mad scientist, but also because he wears it whenever he gets out, and when he gets out, he'll have to face the nosy man. Dib dreamed of firing him when he becomes the world scientist.
he wore back his trench coat, grabbed the bag and coffee, then walked through the main door.
for a second he forgot completely about the sleeping irken on his chair, but the green arm that was hanging from the side of the chair reminded him. he put the bag and coffee on the table, then walked slowly to the chair, he looked down at it,
the irken was still sleeping, but seemed to have shifted to rest his cheeks on the chair arm, Dib stared down at him, he needs to get used at having an alien wandering around the lab from now on.
after meeting with Dale, Dib no longer felt that hungry, he would only have one donut and leave the rest in the lab, he walked to the exa-room for his laptop, the rest of his donut was in his hand as he tried finishing it.
he finally made it back to the main room and sat in one of the chairs beside the table, he put down his laptop and turned it on, the laptop came to life and showed him that he had some unread emails.
Dib finished his donut and start drinking his coffee as he scrolled down the stupid emails.
Zim shifted again, antennae picked the computers hums around him, he opened his eyes and looked down the floor as he tried remembering what happened, his eyes snapped open as memory rash through his head,
he looked around then his antennae picked another sound rather than hums, it was clicking, keyboard clicking, he froze for a second then decided to look behind the chair, antenna twitching now and then at the noise.
far, but not too far, sat the human boy, who seemed busy as he wrote in his laptop, his bag was tossed aside on the table, and his coffee cup was already empty.
he kept on going like this for a few minutes, then he stopped and leaned back on his chair, he let out a sigh, his gaze then went to the main chair,
Dib's eyes went wide, he screamed and held his shirt as he almost fell back to the floor, he gasped for air and looked at the alien who was watching him from behind the chair; Zim jumped slightly in place when he heard the scream, but didn't get his eyes off of the boy, neither did he talk.
"you fucking scared me..." Dib said under his breath, he shifted on his chair and panted slightly, trying to get his heartbeats under control, ruby eyes stared at him,
the alien said nothing, Dib even wondered if the irken could remember what happened, much like last time he woke up, he thought maybe that's why irkens don't sleep, they forget everything for few seconds, like if the PAK takes that time to actually turns on and load their memory.
Dib waved a hand, "uh.. hi...?" he only said it to get an answer back from the alien, Zim surprisingly waved back,
the boy wondered if he even knew what it meant or just copied what he did.
silence invaded the place once again, Dib leaned closer to the table and drew random lines on the table with his finger, when a question came to his mind, "can you walk?" Dib said looking from the alien to the table then back to the alien,
Zim blinked, his antennae rose slightly, he gazed at Dib for a second then looked at his legs, he moved them back and forth, they slightly hurt even though they felt numb. the irken hissed in frustration and looked back at Dib without a word.
"you can't can you?..." he was too stubborn, Dib won't be surprised if he refused help even if he was dying.
"sooo, you're just gonna stare at me, huh? great," that would be creepy, so Dib tried again to fill the silence, "you know, when I went to get coffee and donuts, I met with a guy named Dale or something, and he. was. crazy! he kept saying that I'm hiding something here otherwise I won't be staying late in the lab, he's fucking suspicious about me!
so I guess, working fast on your ship to get you out of here is a good idea..." he said, god he hated that man!.
Zim stared at him then finally said, "you went to get what?" his expressions were blank even while asking.
Dib blinked at him, "to um, to get coffee... and some donuts?..." he gave a questioning look towards the irken.
"earth also m- m- make donuts?..." he looked at his hands, "huh."
"wait... you have something like that in your home planet?" he wondered what else they had.
Zim nodded, "uh-huh, we eat e- e- everything sugary," he slightly laughed, "heh, my tallest can't get enough of it, maybe this planet isn't THAT useless," saying this only reminded him of his home, he hated that he missed it,
an irken is supposed to be used at being far away,
an irken is not supposed to 'miss'.
Dib looked from the irken to the abounded bag of donuts, minutes ago he was about to just through it out, or maybe take it with him to his house, but now he had a better idea, "are you... hungry?" he knew what he was going to reserve as a reply, it was all a part of his tiny plan.
"no," Zim said as he shook his head, "my PAK fills my body with the energy it needs." it was true,
even though his spooch was empty and it would be nice to eat something, he didn't have any, and don't need any, a soldier doesn't need such a thing, especially from his enemy!
"i still have some," Dib said, trying to stop himself from smirking, "i don't eat a lot so you can have them if you want,"
"i told you, i'm n- n- not hungry," Zim gave Dib a glare, "and how do i know you didn't poison them?"
"idiot, i didn't even know you can eat them," he glared back at the paranoid irken, "are you... scared?" he couldn't help the smirk that danced on his lips, it was funny how easy it is to get under the alien's skin,
"i fear nothing- g- g, human!" Zim snapped, how dare he say something like that?!
"prove it then," it felt like he was trying to convince a kid to eat his vegetables, and for now, it seemed like it was working, "prove you're not afraid of little harmless donuts." he rested his cheeks on his hand and his elbow at the table,
"stupid human, an irken fears nothing! and I'll show you that!" he snapped, yes, it was too easy and funny.
Zim glared hard at Dib, then he looked at his legs, they were numb, and he was sure if he tried walking he'd end up face first to the floor, he looked around for anything that may help him, a stick maybe, or maybe not, that will make him look stupid.
what else was in this filthy lab he could use to walk? oh he hated how broken his PAK was, he would have used its metal legs to walk, or at less not broken so it would heal his body faster.
his eyes landed on the boy, no he won't ask for help to WALK of course not, he can order the human to get the bag for him!
"gimme the bag!" he moved his hands towards the bag, his eyes on the human.
Dib rose an eyebrow, what did the alien think he is, a waiter? maybe a slave? what? he folded his arms, and shot the alien a hard glare.
Zim's hands twitched, "heeeey!" he yelled annoyed, then folded his arms as well.
"sooner or later, you'd have to work on your ship, and you know i can't get the whole thing to you," Dib snapped, "so you either accept help or get stuck here in this planet forever."
Zim's expression changed a bit at the hard fact, if the human was right about the 'Dale-beast' man, then he might be in danger, yet he can't walk.
"we made a truce remember? you won't hurt me, i won't hurt, you won't tell on earth and i will not tell on you, and i offered to help you get out of here," Dib counted the facts on his finger, then folded his arms again, "so helping you walk is a part of my truce, irkens stick to their words right? to their truce."
"of course we do." he snapped, then seemed to be considering the facts.
"Agh, fiiiine, i give you permission to help me," he nodded to himself, still not liking the whole thing.
Dib rolled his eyes and stood up, "i said i'll help you, not be your slave, keep that in mind." He said as he walked towards the irken.
Zim's expressions changed as he looked at how tall the boy was, from the irken view, he literally had to hold his gaze high to look at him, he was a foot taller, and since he was skinny, he appeared the more tall.
Zim leaned back at the chair; in the tube, he was floating, which meant he was three or four feet taller as he floated, now that he's not, meant he'd have to stand on toes if he talked to the human,... if he could stand anyway.
The irken shook his thoughts as he tried to keep the glare on the boy, but his antennae never moved but stayed in place, glowed to the back of his head, he swallowed and tried setting straight again.
"Stop folding your arms," Dib said, "and stop looking at me like that."
Zim did what he was told NOT because the human said so, no, because he wanted to get out of this filthy planet.
The boy leaned down to put the alien's arm at his shoulder, then put his hand on Zim's hip; he shifted his weight on the other leg and started walking towards the table; he also needs to get used to this as well...
Zim hated being treated like a smeet, but he tried thinking on the positive side, he'll be out of here, and oh, those Meekrob will pay!
They reached the table, Dib laid down to set the irken on the chair beside his. Zim sat with a huff, he folded his arms again, Dib gazed at him, he literally looked like an angry kid.
"Yeah, you prove you're not afraid and I'll finish some things on the laptop, then we can go see your ship." He said as he sat down and looked back at his screen, ignoring the glare the irken was still giving.
"Uh-huh! I'll prove it to you!" He yelled and glared more at the boy then his gaze traveled to the bag, it was tossed aside, almost near his reach, almost. But that won't stop him!
He shifted his knees to stand on them on the chair as he leaned to get the bag, it took two tries but he managed to snatch it. Dib watched the scene play in front of him, funny, he thought.
Zim opened the bag and got a donut out, he studied it, then looked at the human boy, he hesitated as if it going to bite him. Dib gave him an unimpressed look then gazed back at his screen and started typing.
The irken looked at his screen, it was full of words and letters as the human kept writing more, then his gaze went back at the donut, he wasn't hungry, but he did want to eat, to taste something other than his vomit.
So he swallowed and took a small bite of it, he knew what a donut was, but maybe earth donut will burn him, just like the blue liquid they call 'water'.
He closed his eyes as he chewed on it, he waited for any burns or poison to hit, but got nothing. He opened his eyes again then took another bite, "hey, these aren't so bad," he said to himself.
Dob looked back when he heard the alien talk, "i told they weren't poisoned," he shrugged, "do they taste like irken donuts?"
"Eh? no, they need more sugar!" Even though the donuts were literally covered with sugar, the irken didn't seem to taste it, but even so he kept eating, his antennae leaned forward; Dib wondered what that meant, but whatever it was Zim seemed to enjoy his food, so that angle should be pleasant, maybe.
He stared for a moment then went back to his screen as he tried finishing his job in there.
Minutes went by, Zim had already finished with all the four donuts, he looked at the empty bag, then back at Dib who was still tab tabbing his laptop, the irken shifted and sat crossed legs, his hands on his lap, antennae high up as he watched the boy.
Dib stopped as he felt eyes on him, he turned slowly to blink in surprise at how close the irken was, Zim's face blank, his eyes wide.
"What are you typing?" He asked, still trying to read the screen,
"It's some emails i had to respond to," he looked at how long his reply was; he didn't only talk a lot, but also typed a lot, maybe that's why he had no online friends.
He glanced at the empty bag, he wondered how a small and thin person can eat that much, at less that 'person' isn't human, or isn't his sister.
"Did you like them?" He asked, Zim just shrugged in response, it was weird how the irken had two personalities, one that was literally blank, and the other was loud and determined-
Well... he wasn't so different from him, since the real personality of Dib was hidden- no it was buried and dying under pressure and depression, he shows people what they want to see,
They wanted an emotionless smart boy who follows his father's steps; completely ignoring the crying child in him, he really missed that determination, now there's none.
But what was the alien other blank personality? Is it his real personality? (Dib doubted that...) was it sadness? Confusion? He seemed to be hiding things... a lot of things,
But Dib was not in the place to ask.
The boy looked through the alien as he drowned, then shut his eyes tight, he was tired, too tired; not physically but emotionally; he was drained.
Through the years he became the mute boy, he never talks, and when he does his voice always quiet, he always look at the ground and never at the sky, he always has books and homework papers all over his table, in school and in his house.
He looked serious most of the time, depressed and no one wanted to even look at him.
Yet now...
An alien never stops gazing.
Maybe aliens didn't seem to see him that bad,
Or maybe he was too bad that they see him as a moving joke and liked staring...
Maybe.
His eyes snapped open as he felt something on his face, he blinked and froze when he saw the irken's claw on his nose, he gazed at the irken who was giving him a confused and questioning look.
"Stop thinking." He said as he pressed his finger forward to push Dib's head back.
the boy put a hand on his nose, his face slightly red, the feeling of those fingers made his stomach turn.
"we still have to w- w- work on my voot, remember?" Zim pointed out, "now help me get up!" he folded his arms, and looked like an angry child.
Dib saw how quickly he changed back to his loud self, he gazed at his laptop and decided that was enough words then send the whole thing and closed the laptop,
"yea, right..." Dib agreed.
END OF CHAPTER!
Alien freak: so this was supposed to be a long looong chapter but i cut it in half, sorry about the cliffhanger.
I may upload the next chapter tomorrow, or like always (after two days).
Thanks for understanding :D
This is alien freak, signing off.