Author's Note: Yee-hoo! I have found the time to post another chapter!
Yep, yep, small accomplishments mean the world to me. Anyways, I have
included songs in this chapter, so brace yourselves. I tried to find songs
that might mesh well with the slightly older 'Invader Zim' characters. So,
I am crossing my fingers in hopes that this works! Oh, and I want to keep
it PG, so if there is a line that I am not too sure about, I may have to
alter it a bit. Sorry! As far as romance goes, I will not try to hide the
fact that I am a -huge- Shakespeare fanatic, and in Shakespeare one must
believe twinkling-of-an-eye changes in character; therefore, please suspend
your logically analytical brain cells from working and enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with 'Invader Zim'; so please do not hurt me! Ah, have my repetitious pleas for mercy had any affect yet? Duracell batteries do not belong to me, now that I come to think of it; I am not sure who to give acknowledgment to for those. I also do not own any of the songs in this chapter; I will try to give all the credit that is due at the end of the chapter. As a -truly- final note, I also adapt some more of "As You Like It". All righty!
A Little Homecoming Doom
"Hmm," an infamous little alien stroked his chin. Zim slowly paced a few feet in his base, murmuring to no one in particular and poking his head with his finger. He was obviously in a deep contemplation. What could the green creature be concentrating so hard on? "I need an -amazing- ensemble for this Dressing-Uppy Day...or whatever the primates call it." It is nice to control the flow of information.
"Dressing-Uppy Day?" GIR mindlessly repeated. "Wha's at?" It was extremely difficult to hear good grammar from the robot's speech mechanism.
Zim answered the servant with a groan. "It is a day in which filthy students in the atrocious High Skool wear obscurely ridiculous garments to convey a miniscule attempt at expressing 'skool spirit'." The taller alien put two hands on his hips and loomed over the optimistic robot. "Does that explain it?"
"Yes," the metallic voice responded.
"Really?" Zim blinked in surprise at his assistant's understanding.
"No," GIR screeched. "Yes no yes no," the frivolous android continued. The Invader moaned and massaged his superior head. "I wanna be a mongoose!" The line was an obvious addition.
"Mongoose," Zim considered with another thoughtful rub of the lower half of his facade. "Yes."
"Chipmunk!" GIR squeaked.
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"Phft," Gaz snorted as she reread a certain green-tinted note. "This is such lunacy. Yet..." The girl permitted herself to partake in a sigh. She instinctively wanted to crumple all of Zim's idiotic poems and dump them into the nearest garbage can. Another feeling in her, however, wanted to cherish the little futile love notes.
-Why- did she want to preserve the insane declarations of love? They could not possibly mean much, coming from a self-centered alien who wanted nothing more than to conquer her planet. Or did he really want nothing more than that? Did she want him to want more than that?
"This is stupid," she growled. Love was not an indulgence that she or Zim could enjoy. She stood from her bedside and strode to her trash disposal unit. As she extended her arms to toss the writings into the trash, her eyes skimmed a line that the extraterrestrial had written.
"'Sentiments unfelt prior now unfold
Inside me, which did not know this feeling.
Warmth envelops my soul that was once cold
All thoughts of Gaz will send my love reeling."
"A sonnet," Gaz brilliantly concluded. She opened a squinted eye to read the poem in its entirety. "A Shakespearean sonnet!" she spoke in a fuddled manner. "It is not too badly written either. I wonder how I missed it before." The girl aloofly turned from the garbage can and distantly walked to her desk.
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"You look stupider than you did when those guys tagged you," Gaz devilishly grinned.
The Membrane offspring were walking to skool, and Dib was once again in dismay.
"Cruel. You are too cruel," Dib grunted. "Of all the times our father could involve himself in our lives, he decided to dress us in costumes for this dressing day." The poor paranormal devotee was dressed like a giant Duracell battery. He wore a cardboard ring around his neck, and orange and black cloth hung from the disc to form a cylinder around his body. There was orange material on the top portion, and black below, with the words 'It keeps going,' in white letters. "Did not even get the stupid slogan correct," he spurned, "this is the worst week of my life."
"It is not even halfway finished yet," Gaz reminded him. The sibling was wearing more dignified attire, a medieval-ish garb. She wore an elegant black and green dress that was cut to the fashion of that time. Her magenta hair was intricately tied behind her head and accompanied with little ribbons and beads. She even had one of those spiffy masks on a rod, which covered about half of her face.
A discouraged sigh escaped from Dib. "I cannot believe I have to undergo two days without my trench coat."
"You shall live," his sister scoffed. Nearing the skool, Gaz glanced ahead to see a swarm of students gathering at the entrance to the building.
"I think I will wait for a little while until that crowd thins," Dib announced. Gaz nodded her head and proceeded to encounter the mob of children.
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Zim impatiently tapped a finger on his arm. He stood with his arm crossed inside the skool next to the front entrance. The Invader knew Gaz would arrive soon with her brother, and his military training would enable him to see her come in despite the large crowd. He had researched some human chivalrous acts that men usually performed for females who they cared about. Knowing better than to become anxious, Zim was still a bit eager to try his hand at carrying books and walking Gaz to class.
That was love after all, was it not?
Gaz pushed her way through the doors to the skool, only to spy an impetuous alien dressed in blue and silk pajamas and standing by the wall closest to her. "Urgh," she groaned and rolled her eyes, for she did not feel like meeting Zim at the moment to see more of his lousy attempts at proving his love. The girl raised her mask to cover her face, but it was apparent that Zim could still distinguish her from the other students.
"Hey human," Zim frowned as he grabbed Gaz by the arm and yanked her over to where he was standing. "Do you know when the Gaz gets here?"
The Membrane daughter glared at the alien from behind the concealing mask. "The Gaz?" she darkly repeated. How dare he call her that to her face? Wait, he could not clearly see her face.....
"Yes," he sternly answered, "I do not have time for repeating silly questions. Do you or do you not know when she will be here?" he interrogated.
"Are you seriously asking me about Gaz?" she decisively questioned. 'If he honestly could not decipher who I am,' she mentally planned. The girl's brain began plotting; poor, poor, doomed Zim.
"Yes, I am seriously asking you about Gaz," the alien aggressively repeated. "Am I wasting my superior time?"
"No, you are not. You must be the pathetic individual who planted those sticky notes everywhere yesterday. Yes?"
The question distracted Zim from his previous inquiry. He slowly nodded his head affirmatively. "Why do you ask this, beast-girl?"
"So you would know who actually wrote the poems, yes?" Gaz could not help but grin behind her façade. "I desire to seek this poor sap and help to cure him of his hapless 'feelings'."
The pajama-clad boy raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "I am that sap! I mean, I am him," Zim replied. He could not see Gaz's evil smirk from behind her mask.
"Oh, no, you could not be the author. I am looking for some one who is in love with Gaz. You cannot be the one who is ill fatedly in love."
Zim crossly frowned. "I can assure you that I am." When the disguised Gaz solemnly shook her head, the alien burst, "I am a disgustingly putrid -human- boy who is madly in love with a desirable human girl!"
'Did he say '-desirable- human girl'?' Gaz internally wondered. "Well, you must be the pitiable person I sought. Please, allow me to help you with your sickness of love."
Zim paused in doubt. He wanted to love Gaz, and he wanted her to love him in return, but what if she could not? The mighty Zim could not stand to be -rejected-! No, it could not be possible for the grand Zim to be unwanted.
"Fine," the olive-tinted creature simply answered.
From the corner of her eye, Gaz could see her brother entering the skool building. If he greeted her, Zim could not be so daft as to remain ignorant of her identity! "Good then! I have to go to class now, so meet me at lunch next to the makeshift stage, and I shall heal you of your affliction of love," she quickly spoke. "Farewell for now!" she said and hastily departed.
With her exit, Dib immediately arrived at the location that Zim was positioning himself at. "Hello spaceman," the human leered.
"Formal greetings to you, Dib-ape."
"Thank you for revealing to me that -aliens- like to wear -human- pajamas," Dib triumphantly smiled.
"A costume is nothing more than a costume," the rival shot. With a blink of awareness, he spoke louder, "except when you are an averagely ordinary person!"
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Lex started blowing bubbles into her toxic chocolate milk. Dressing-Up Day was rather dull for her. Two threatening upperclassmen had tagged her that morning, but no one seemed to notice since some students had voluntarily adorned wilder garments than her. Lunch was no more interesting than the morning.
"Hi," a somewhat familiar voice greeted. "W-would you mind if I sat here?"
Lex raised her line of vision from her lethal lunch to the boy who helped her yesterday. "D-Dib?" she stuttered as her cheeks lightly pinked. "Oh, yes, y-you can-sit," yielding to her loss of speech, she used her hand to indicate for him to sit by her.
Dib's actions perplexed the boy. Why did he actually approach Lex? Was that really he who confronted a girl? "So, how are you faring today?" was this really Dib starting a conversation practically with a stranger? Why are there so many questions?
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"Wow, Dib does not even look that comfortable when he talks to me," from across the cafeteria, Gaz marveled at the openness in which he acted with Lex. "Of course, it is not as if I -want- him to be at ease." She noticed Zim walking towards her, and she pretended to study his movement judgment. The alien saw this, and self-consciously walked with uncertainty.
"Well?" the Invader hastily asked upon arriving within seven feet of the masked Gaz. He obviously despised being unsure of himself. 'This 'love' may be worse than she told me,' the extraterrestrial pondered.
"You are perceptively in love," Gaz stalled by stating what was already clear. "Come, pretend that I am Gaz. What would you say to me right now?"
Without a second of indecision, Zim proudly smiled and answered, "I would declare my undying feelings for you. I would ask that you return them to me, and then you would equal my adoration. We would carry on to enjoy what every normal pair evidently does; and walk hand in hand, execute rituals of togetherness on 'dats'-I mean-'dates', and fulfill all those other love-y- activities."
Gaz unintentionally took a deep breath. How disillusioned could he be? The stupid media or something probably misinformed him to believe in false ideas about the gentler emotions. "Where do I begin?" she grumpily muttered.
"At the beginning," Zim brilliantly responded.
"Right," Gaz rolled her eyes; it might have been a good thing that Zim could not see that. "So, why do you declare you 'undying feelings' for me? Can you be so sure that you possess those feelings?"
"Of course I am sure, Zim is always sure," he confidently grinned.
"So declare it."
"'Gaz', I love you from the bottom of my liver! Do you love me too?"
"You use the word 'love' too meaninglessly," Gaz curtly answered. "I do not love you, and I hope that I never have to lay my eyes on you or your liver again."
Zim gasped in horror. "Gaz would never refuse me, my love, or my liver!"
'Does he even have a liver?' Gas asked herself in her head. 'And where did liver come from?' She shook her head to clear the question from her mind. "Remember, I am playing the role of your Gaz, and I do not want to love you."
"But-why not?" a stupefied Zim demanded.
"Because you are not the perfect being. You have many faults that I do not want to tolerate, and so I refuse to bear them. You are too proud and you are too ignorant, I refuse to blindly accept your empty claims of adoration." Gaz paused to let this sink in. Zim listened very closely to this girl who promised to help him, only to receive strikes against his character that he found to be true. His overbearing attitude had subsided a bit from the time when he initially lived on Earth, but he was often eccentric. He had to understand that; and he seemed to be doing so. "How does that make you feel?"
Zim balled and released his fists as he tried to find a word that accurately described his thoughts. "I do not like that," was all he could conclude.
"Well, let us try a different approach. Swear your love to me again."
"I do not think I can the same way I did before," Zim lamented. "But," the determined Zim decided to try, "Gaz, I love you, will you accept me?"
"With all of my -heart- and liver!" The response brightened Zim's disheartened expression.
"Really?" he passively asked.
"Yes! I think we are soul mates, and I believe we should be married!" Zim smiled. He had researched marriages, and he looked forward to matching himself with Gaz in such a permanent manner. Gaz looked at the stage, to see a crew of people working on a machine on the platform. She called for the attention of one of the people. "Will you mock-marry us?" The confused man nodded his head. "Good!"
Zim and the disguised Gaz were 'married' by the crewman. Within the two minutes, Zim was looking much happier than he did when he was rejected. "Now," Gaz spoke, "I am your wife." She hunched over to ruin her posture, and tried her best to show Zim that she was scowling from behind her mask.
"Why do you look so irritable? I do not want my wife to be so unpleasant!" Zim proclaimed.
"You have no control over this, neither do I," Gaz stated. "I will not be perfect all of the time, I will possess different moods at different times. I may worship you one day, and be cantankerous the next. If you really love me, than you will tolerate my faults, just like I will stand with yours."
Zim was once again appalled. "Will Gaz really be so unpredictable? Can she really change to such varying and ugly dispositions?"
His teacher nodded her head with seriousness. "She will do what I do. She will be like me."
This was too horrendous to Zim. "I-I need to go eat my lunch," he lied. 'I need to think about this,' he told himself.
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"Okay kiddies! Since it is Homecoming, there will be activities during the lunchtimes! Is that not stupendous?" a cheery teacher chirped into a microphone on the stage by the cafeteria. It was actually not much of a stage, more of a large chunk of raised floor that was carpeted. For the purposes of lunchtime activities, however, it was a theatre.
"Activities during lunch? Why was there nothing yesterday?" Dib curiously asked from his seat.
"Remember the hats?" Lex recalled. Acquiring understanding, Dib tossed his head back with a soft "ah" and resumed listening to the happy teacher onstage.
"Today's fun is karaoke!" Roughly two hundred faces paled at the announcement. "Anyone can come to the stage, select a song, and sign-up! Youpi!" Having told that, she bounced off of the stage.
Dib turned to look at Lex. The girl appeared as if her head had floated to another planet. He slightly blushed as he spoke, "so, uhm, are you going to sing? I might."
She snapped back to attention. "Oh, yes! Come, how about we go and sign- up now before it is too late!" With determination, she snatched Dib's hand and led him to the stage.
When they reached their destination, Lex did not leg go of Dib's hand. The flustered boy could not hide his rosy cheeks. 'I cannot believe s-she is actually holding my hand!' he thought.
'I cannot believe I am holding his precious hand. And his is allowing me to!' Lex internally blushed.
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"Okay! Our first little star is...Zi-Zirn? What is this?"
"I am ZIM!" the distinguished creatures shouted. He marched to the stage from his nearby seat in the cafeteria. Gaz closely watched the alien as he lowered the microphone to his four-foot eight-inch body. He was a little short, but unfamiliarity of Earth's properties stretched Zim's body to the point in which he was almost the same height as the majority of the students. As she stared at him, she wondered if Zim still felt strongly about her after she had destroyed his idealistic beliefs. After all that time, she did destroy him. Or, at least, she might have.
"Okay," Zim announced as he readied himself. "This is 'Gravity of Love' by Enigma."
A gentle chanting emerged from silence. A deep heartbeat slowly pounded and grew in strength. A bell chimed on after every few beats. This was Zim's cue to sing.
"Turn around and smell what you don't see
Close your eyes...it is so clear."
His voice was surprisingly lower than usual, and his singing tone was extremely melodic and soothing with the underlying music.
"Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen
On both ways you can get in."
A burst of music flowingly expanded.
"Don't think twice before you listen to your heart
Follow the trace for a new start."
A drum joined the low beat to move the motion of the previously slow song.
"What you need and everything you'll feel
Is just a question of the deal.
Another accented beat, and Zim raised his voice to express a more profound sound.
"In the eye of the storm you'll see a lonely dove."
Zim once again freed his voice to increase the impact of the coming theme.
"The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love."
As Zim paused the music played a short break. The drumbeat strengthened and the opening chorus chanted the melody. While the singers chanted, Zim gently spoke the next lines.
"The path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom"
The machine repeated the line, and Zim resumed his passionate singing.
"Try to think about it...
That's the chance to live your life and discover
What it is, what's the gravity of love."
The chanting and chorus sang their emphasis of the line. When the voiced quieted, a solo guitar played a melody that led to Zim's passionate reentrance.
"Look around just people, can you hear their voice
Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice."
With a rising climax, Zim searched for Gaz in the audience, but did not let the strength of his song subside when he failed to find her. His target smiled behind the mask she still adorned. He was appealing to her. He did care about her.
"But if you're in the eye of the storm
Just think of the lonely dove
The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love."
The drums and chorus fulfilled their part with more power than all previous times. After the machine's recorded assembly finished their chanting, the drums continued, and then abruptly stopped. Everyone in the cafeteria was a bit overwhelmed by the power of the piece and Zim's input. It was undoubtedly a great and powerful song, but it may have been too heavy for the lunchtime children. Gaz was uncharacteristically joyful. She had declared to herself that she did share feelings for Zim, and his turn on the karaoke machine proved to her that her warnings did not mar his sentiments for her.
She jumped back into reality when she saw that her brother was nervously standing on the stage. He fiddled with the microphone, trying to readjust it from Zim's inferior height. "All right," he sighed when he was finally satisfied with the positioning. "This is 'Precious Illusions'." Dib took a quick breath and sang when he saw that the karaoke machine started to play. A lone guitar played a simple chord as he meekly sang.
"You'll rescue me right?
In the exact same way they never did
I'll be happy right?
When your healing powers kick in."
Dib was terrified; he was opening himself before hundreds of students who probably could not care less what he did on the stage. He was relieved to receive help when a soft but involved drum faintly accompanied the next lines.
"You'll complete me right?
Then my life can finally begin
I'll be worth it right?
Only when you realize the gem I am."
Music burst into full mode as Dib glanced at Lex and continued to sing. The song was moving too fast for him to worry about singing in public. He focused his attention on the task at hand. Sing for Lex.
"But this won't work now the way it once did
And I won't keep it up even though I would love to
Once I know who I'm not then I'll know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim."
Dib was backed more by the supporting instruments in the machine, and his confidence grew considerably. People seemed relieved to hear a long lighter than Zim's introducing one, and Dib could sense the acceptance. With more strength in his voice, he continued.
"These precious illusions in my head
Did not let me down when I was defenseless
And parting with them is like
Parting with invisible best friends."
The background music softened a little to allow Dib to be singing more solo, but he did not mind the isolation now. He smiled despite himself as a few people tapped their feet.
"This ring will help me yet as will you knight in shining armor
This thing will help me yet as will these ones gone through like water."
The guitar and drums increased, but Dib no longer cared what the music did. He was having fun singing. One or two people started to dance in the back of the cafeteria; but he only saw Lex gleefully smiling at him.
"But this won't work now the way it once did
Cuz I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not
I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim."
More people were clearly keeping in time with the beat and listened to Dib's light singing voice. It was a nice pitch for singing to mesh well with Alanis Morrisettes's music. His male voice was a bit deeper, but it worked well enough.
"These precious illusions in my head
Did not let me down when I was a kid
And parting with them is like
Parting with a childhood best friend."
He paused to prepare for the closing lines. He completely opened and sang from the heart.
"I've spent so much time firmly looking outside me
I've spent so much time living in survival mode."
The music dropped to leave Dib with the light guitar and drum from the beginning. He released the microphone and sang into the technology.
"But this won't work now the way it once did
Cuz I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not
I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim."
The instruments once more joined him and played stronger than before. But this more confident Dib would not be drowned by the music. He built his voice to sing the ending.
"These precious illusions in my head
Did not let me down when I was defenseless
And parting with them is like
Parting with invisible best friends."
Dib repeated the second chorus. As the music continued, he sang a few long notes, and took a deep breath as the music fainted into silence. At the conclusion of the piece, almost everyone in the room clapped and some even cheered for Dib. He was flabbergasted at the amount of positive attention. He did not even receive many 'thank you' s from people about the Hatsy Day incident, but he was openly applauded for singing an enjoyable song. Well, that is how the world spins. Maybe even Irk?
When he returned to his seat next to Lex, he saw that she was happy yet also a little anxious. "Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.
"Oh, no," she reacted, with honest enthusiasm she added, "you were wonderful there!"
Once again, Dib found himself blushing. "Thank you. But is something troubling you?"
It was then Lex's turn to redden. "No, I just, I am afraid that I will look pretty silly when I go sing now."
"Do not worry. I think you will sound beautiful, no matter what anyone else thinks," Dib honestly stated. He blinked at his words. "D-did I really--?" with the boy's stammering; it was clear that self-esteem could be fairly unpredictable.
Lex leaned forward and gave Dib a light peck on his cheek. "Thank you," she softly said as her cheeks turned a light rosy color. She climbed onto the stage and swept her gaze over the audience. Many of the faces were anticipating a song matching Dib's, as many students could see that Dib and Lex seemed to like each other. There were one or two faces covered by the masks of costumes, and one sad-looking green kid played with his lunch. Lex lightly shrugged; maybe her singing would not offend the already cheerful people.
Not needing to adjust the microphone, Lex leapt into her turn and said, "This is 'Things I'll Never Say'."
A regular guitar strummed a positive introduction with a tapping of a drum. Lex sang some liberated notes to start the mood of the piece. With a milder cue, Lex began to sing the lyrics.
"I'm tugging at my hair
I'm pulling at my clothes
I'm trying to keep my cool
I know it shows
I'm staring at my feet
My cheeks are turning red
I'm searching for the words inside my head
The music supporting her was rather simple. A drum kept the beat for her, and a guitar provided a light harmony. Lex possessed a rather simple singing voice. It was smoother than her speaking voice, and of a somewhat high pitch. She sounded a lot like Avril Lavigne, who performed the song. The background music mostly stayed the same as she moved into the pre- chorus.
'Cause I'm feeling nervous
Trying to be so perfect
'Cause I know you're worth it
You're worth it
Yeah."
The guitars that were once passive, then mildly exploded with supporting sound. Like Dib, Lex was able to relax a bit. She pretended that she was Avril Lavigne, who was truly connected with this song. She imagined she had sung this before thousands of people on many occasions. The thoughts comforted her, and enabled her to sound better as she sang the stronger chorus.
"If I could say what I wanted to say
I'd say I want to blow you ...away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight
If I could say what I wanted to see
I want to see you go down
On one knee
Marry me today
Yes, I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say."
The guitar played a short musical break, and Lex mentally prepared herself for the next part. Why could she not sing as comfortably as Dib? He was such an idol.
"It don't do me any good
It's just a waste of time
What use is it to you
What's on my mind
If it ain't coming out
We're not going anywhere
So why can't I just tell you that I care"
Lex's mind disconnected as she instinctively sang the pre-chorus and chorus again. People could easily tell that she was not as calm singing as Dib was. She wished he could come and sing the rest of the song for her. On the other hand, what would that do? She wanted to sing for Dib. She wanted to tell him that she cared about him without having to stress over finding the right way to tell him. Why was she failing now? This was for him, why should her fears ruin this? By the time the chorus was finished, she was ready to sing with her soul.
"What's wrong with my tongue?
These words keep slipping away
I stutter, I stumble
Like I've got nothing to say."
Since the pre-chorus was now familiar to her, she took the opportunity to center her attention on Dib. The audience, and especially her focus could tell that she was feeling better onstage. She repeated the random notes that opened the song, except now they were stronger and truly sung with an open spirit.
"Yes I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say.
If I could say what I wanted to say
I'd say I want to blow you ...away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight
If I could say what I want to see
I want to see you go down
On one knee
Marry me today
Yes, I'm wishing my life away"
The guitars, drums, and other instruments backed away, but Lex still sang with the same strength and emotion as she pretended that only Dib was present.
"With these things I'll never say
These things I'll never say."
At the conclusion of the song, Lex promptly leapt off of the stage and retreated to her seat adjacent to Dib. He smiled at her as she stared at the ground. "You sang well," he timidly comforted. Not knowing how to respond to his kindness, Lex leaned into Dib and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt comfortably there, and decided against moving if the boy would let her remain there. Dib mildly blushed and gently tilted his head so it rested on her head without burdening her with any pressure.
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Zim softly growled in dismay at the human couple of Dib and Lex. How could they be so happy when his efforts for Gaz failed miserably? Perhaps the sticky notes were not true expressions of love, but his karaoke song was completely different! "Sons of Irk," he muttered to himself, "I am trusting my ardor to be expressed with sticky notes and karaoke songs."
"Okaly-dokaly," the insanely cheerful teacher from before sung into the microphone. "Next to go is, Gaz."
"Gaz?" Zim was startled into attention. He zealously looked for her, but she still was not in his sight. Suddenly, the girl in the big dress who he spoke to earlier stood and gracefully walked to the stage. She reached the microphone and lowered her little mask to reveal her face. Zim sat astonished at this revelation. In a very rare moment, words failed the green alien, and he stayed in his position, utterly stupefied.
"You Look So Fine," Gaz knowingly recited the song title.
A recorded piano gently played a repeated tune while a soft beating sound pounded in the background. Gaz inhaled and prepared to sing.
"You look so fine."
A drum provided a gentle beat to fill the pause between the verses. Gaz's singing voice was beautifully velvety as she vocalized the slow and deep notes.
"I want to break you heart
And give you mine.
You're taking me over."
Through her squinted eyes, Zim could see that the singer was looking at him, watching him. The song seemed as intense as his was, but others appeared to be more open to this one. A few people were already tapping feet and fingers to the beat of the drum.
"It's all the same
You've got me securely maintained.
I hear your name
And I'm falling over.
The previously serious music brightened a bit for a higher pitch, and Gaz expertly ready to flow with the song.
"I'm not like all the other girls
I can't take it like the other girls
I won't share it like the other girls
That you used to know."
Students were not sure if they could dance to the slow song, but they sub- consciously swayed to the music in pure enjoyment.
"You look so fine."
Gaz held the last note, 'fine', for a while, and a handful of people applauded for the strength with which she sang the essential note. The music raised and Gaz sang with a growing passion.
"Knocked down, cried out
Been down just to find out.
I'm through
Looking for you."
The music calmed, as the flow resumed to the same manner as the opening.
"I'm open wide
I want to take you home
We'll waste some time.
You're the only one for me."
Zim faltered under Gaz's stare. He could feel that even with her mostly closed eyes, she was looking into him. Her concentration was so intense, he felt as though she was peering into his very essence. Could she mean that: He was the only one for her?
"You look so fine.
I'm like the desert tonight,
Leave her behind,
If you want to show me.
The music climbed for the final time, as Gaz released her voice to climactically sing. Everyone was either swaying to the melody, tapping with the rhythm, or on his or her feet dancing. Everyone, that is, except Zim, who could only manage to sit mesmerized by the only human who could sincerely astound him.
"I'm not like
I won't take it like
I won't fake it like
That you used to know."
Gaz paused for a brief musical break. She took the opportunity to smile at Zim. It was more of a faint upward curling of her lips, but it was as affective as the broadest beam to Zim. With an honesty that she could not hide, she concluded her turn on the karaoke machine.
"You're taking me over
Over and over
I'm falling over
Over and over."
She repeated 'over and over' until the music dwindled to an end, the machine preserved a woman's voice singing repeated lines about 'let's pretend' and 'happy end', but she did not concentrate on that. She could only see Zim. For the first time in all of Dressing-Up Day, Zim could not only see the face of Gaz, but that was all his focus could note. As the two gazed at one another, Zim asked himself in a soft whisper, "does this mean...? Could this possibly mean...?"
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What an...interesting conclusion to Tuesday! I hope no one is grossed by the mushiness of this chapter, but you -knew- there would be romance (even if I am bad at writing it)! Ahem, anyways, I hope this chapter was enjoyable! I realize this has been an incredibly long chapter, but a lot of it consists of lyrics anyway. Lastly, if you have any comments, I would be more than happy to hear them! If you have any questions, like 'why is a liver mentioned?' or 'where did Zim get the idea to wear pajamas when he was rubbing his chin over a mongoose?' or 'will you ever give Dib a break with his clothes?!' or 'what is homecoming?' or even 'why did you make Zim and Dib sing songs that -female- singers perform?', I would be more than joyful to answer that ^_^ Now for credits with the music, I shall try to include everything that my little brain can.
"Gravity of Love" is by Enigma. I think Sandra Cretu sings it, and it is copyrighted in 1999 to 'Virgin Schallplatten GmbH, under exclusive license to Virgin Records America, Inc.', whatever that means.
"Precious Illusions" is by Alanis Morissette. She sings and writes this material, the mind-boggling genius. She produced the CD it is on as well. It appears to be copyrighted in 2002 by Maverick Recording Company; the lucky, lucky folks.
"Things I'll Never Say" is by Avril Lavigne. Since I do not actually own the CD it is on, -I have no idea what else to say about it-. I can admit that -I- have nothing to do with its ownership, is that enough?
And last but -not- least, "You Look So Fine" is by Garbage. I praise Shirley Manson for singing it and everything else she has done for the group. I see that it was copyrighted in 1998 to Almo Sounds, Inc.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with 'Invader Zim'; so please do not hurt me! Ah, have my repetitious pleas for mercy had any affect yet? Duracell batteries do not belong to me, now that I come to think of it; I am not sure who to give acknowledgment to for those. I also do not own any of the songs in this chapter; I will try to give all the credit that is due at the end of the chapter. As a -truly- final note, I also adapt some more of "As You Like It". All righty!
A Little Homecoming Doom
"Hmm," an infamous little alien stroked his chin. Zim slowly paced a few feet in his base, murmuring to no one in particular and poking his head with his finger. He was obviously in a deep contemplation. What could the green creature be concentrating so hard on? "I need an -amazing- ensemble for this Dressing-Uppy Day...or whatever the primates call it." It is nice to control the flow of information.
"Dressing-Uppy Day?" GIR mindlessly repeated. "Wha's at?" It was extremely difficult to hear good grammar from the robot's speech mechanism.
Zim answered the servant with a groan. "It is a day in which filthy students in the atrocious High Skool wear obscurely ridiculous garments to convey a miniscule attempt at expressing 'skool spirit'." The taller alien put two hands on his hips and loomed over the optimistic robot. "Does that explain it?"
"Yes," the metallic voice responded.
"Really?" Zim blinked in surprise at his assistant's understanding.
"No," GIR screeched. "Yes no yes no," the frivolous android continued. The Invader moaned and massaged his superior head. "I wanna be a mongoose!" The line was an obvious addition.
"Mongoose," Zim considered with another thoughtful rub of the lower half of his facade. "Yes."
"Chipmunk!" GIR squeaked.
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"Phft," Gaz snorted as she reread a certain green-tinted note. "This is such lunacy. Yet..." The girl permitted herself to partake in a sigh. She instinctively wanted to crumple all of Zim's idiotic poems and dump them into the nearest garbage can. Another feeling in her, however, wanted to cherish the little futile love notes.
-Why- did she want to preserve the insane declarations of love? They could not possibly mean much, coming from a self-centered alien who wanted nothing more than to conquer her planet. Or did he really want nothing more than that? Did she want him to want more than that?
"This is stupid," she growled. Love was not an indulgence that she or Zim could enjoy. She stood from her bedside and strode to her trash disposal unit. As she extended her arms to toss the writings into the trash, her eyes skimmed a line that the extraterrestrial had written.
"'Sentiments unfelt prior now unfold
Inside me, which did not know this feeling.
Warmth envelops my soul that was once cold
All thoughts of Gaz will send my love reeling."
"A sonnet," Gaz brilliantly concluded. She opened a squinted eye to read the poem in its entirety. "A Shakespearean sonnet!" she spoke in a fuddled manner. "It is not too badly written either. I wonder how I missed it before." The girl aloofly turned from the garbage can and distantly walked to her desk.
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"You look stupider than you did when those guys tagged you," Gaz devilishly grinned.
The Membrane offspring were walking to skool, and Dib was once again in dismay.
"Cruel. You are too cruel," Dib grunted. "Of all the times our father could involve himself in our lives, he decided to dress us in costumes for this dressing day." The poor paranormal devotee was dressed like a giant Duracell battery. He wore a cardboard ring around his neck, and orange and black cloth hung from the disc to form a cylinder around his body. There was orange material on the top portion, and black below, with the words 'It keeps going,' in white letters. "Did not even get the stupid slogan correct," he spurned, "this is the worst week of my life."
"It is not even halfway finished yet," Gaz reminded him. The sibling was wearing more dignified attire, a medieval-ish garb. She wore an elegant black and green dress that was cut to the fashion of that time. Her magenta hair was intricately tied behind her head and accompanied with little ribbons and beads. She even had one of those spiffy masks on a rod, which covered about half of her face.
A discouraged sigh escaped from Dib. "I cannot believe I have to undergo two days without my trench coat."
"You shall live," his sister scoffed. Nearing the skool, Gaz glanced ahead to see a swarm of students gathering at the entrance to the building.
"I think I will wait for a little while until that crowd thins," Dib announced. Gaz nodded her head and proceeded to encounter the mob of children.
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Zim impatiently tapped a finger on his arm. He stood with his arm crossed inside the skool next to the front entrance. The Invader knew Gaz would arrive soon with her brother, and his military training would enable him to see her come in despite the large crowd. He had researched some human chivalrous acts that men usually performed for females who they cared about. Knowing better than to become anxious, Zim was still a bit eager to try his hand at carrying books and walking Gaz to class.
That was love after all, was it not?
Gaz pushed her way through the doors to the skool, only to spy an impetuous alien dressed in blue and silk pajamas and standing by the wall closest to her. "Urgh," she groaned and rolled her eyes, for she did not feel like meeting Zim at the moment to see more of his lousy attempts at proving his love. The girl raised her mask to cover her face, but it was apparent that Zim could still distinguish her from the other students.
"Hey human," Zim frowned as he grabbed Gaz by the arm and yanked her over to where he was standing. "Do you know when the Gaz gets here?"
The Membrane daughter glared at the alien from behind the concealing mask. "The Gaz?" she darkly repeated. How dare he call her that to her face? Wait, he could not clearly see her face.....
"Yes," he sternly answered, "I do not have time for repeating silly questions. Do you or do you not know when she will be here?" he interrogated.
"Are you seriously asking me about Gaz?" she decisively questioned. 'If he honestly could not decipher who I am,' she mentally planned. The girl's brain began plotting; poor, poor, doomed Zim.
"Yes, I am seriously asking you about Gaz," the alien aggressively repeated. "Am I wasting my superior time?"
"No, you are not. You must be the pathetic individual who planted those sticky notes everywhere yesterday. Yes?"
The question distracted Zim from his previous inquiry. He slowly nodded his head affirmatively. "Why do you ask this, beast-girl?"
"So you would know who actually wrote the poems, yes?" Gaz could not help but grin behind her façade. "I desire to seek this poor sap and help to cure him of his hapless 'feelings'."
The pajama-clad boy raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "I am that sap! I mean, I am him," Zim replied. He could not see Gaz's evil smirk from behind her mask.
"Oh, no, you could not be the author. I am looking for some one who is in love with Gaz. You cannot be the one who is ill fatedly in love."
Zim crossly frowned. "I can assure you that I am." When the disguised Gaz solemnly shook her head, the alien burst, "I am a disgustingly putrid -human- boy who is madly in love with a desirable human girl!"
'Did he say '-desirable- human girl'?' Gaz internally wondered. "Well, you must be the pitiable person I sought. Please, allow me to help you with your sickness of love."
Zim paused in doubt. He wanted to love Gaz, and he wanted her to love him in return, but what if she could not? The mighty Zim could not stand to be -rejected-! No, it could not be possible for the grand Zim to be unwanted.
"Fine," the olive-tinted creature simply answered.
From the corner of her eye, Gaz could see her brother entering the skool building. If he greeted her, Zim could not be so daft as to remain ignorant of her identity! "Good then! I have to go to class now, so meet me at lunch next to the makeshift stage, and I shall heal you of your affliction of love," she quickly spoke. "Farewell for now!" she said and hastily departed.
With her exit, Dib immediately arrived at the location that Zim was positioning himself at. "Hello spaceman," the human leered.
"Formal greetings to you, Dib-ape."
"Thank you for revealing to me that -aliens- like to wear -human- pajamas," Dib triumphantly smiled.
"A costume is nothing more than a costume," the rival shot. With a blink of awareness, he spoke louder, "except when you are an averagely ordinary person!"
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Lex started blowing bubbles into her toxic chocolate milk. Dressing-Up Day was rather dull for her. Two threatening upperclassmen had tagged her that morning, but no one seemed to notice since some students had voluntarily adorned wilder garments than her. Lunch was no more interesting than the morning.
"Hi," a somewhat familiar voice greeted. "W-would you mind if I sat here?"
Lex raised her line of vision from her lethal lunch to the boy who helped her yesterday. "D-Dib?" she stuttered as her cheeks lightly pinked. "Oh, yes, y-you can-sit," yielding to her loss of speech, she used her hand to indicate for him to sit by her.
Dib's actions perplexed the boy. Why did he actually approach Lex? Was that really he who confronted a girl? "So, how are you faring today?" was this really Dib starting a conversation practically with a stranger? Why are there so many questions?
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"Wow, Dib does not even look that comfortable when he talks to me," from across the cafeteria, Gaz marveled at the openness in which he acted with Lex. "Of course, it is not as if I -want- him to be at ease." She noticed Zim walking towards her, and she pretended to study his movement judgment. The alien saw this, and self-consciously walked with uncertainty.
"Well?" the Invader hastily asked upon arriving within seven feet of the masked Gaz. He obviously despised being unsure of himself. 'This 'love' may be worse than she told me,' the extraterrestrial pondered.
"You are perceptively in love," Gaz stalled by stating what was already clear. "Come, pretend that I am Gaz. What would you say to me right now?"
Without a second of indecision, Zim proudly smiled and answered, "I would declare my undying feelings for you. I would ask that you return them to me, and then you would equal my adoration. We would carry on to enjoy what every normal pair evidently does; and walk hand in hand, execute rituals of togetherness on 'dats'-I mean-'dates', and fulfill all those other love-y- activities."
Gaz unintentionally took a deep breath. How disillusioned could he be? The stupid media or something probably misinformed him to believe in false ideas about the gentler emotions. "Where do I begin?" she grumpily muttered.
"At the beginning," Zim brilliantly responded.
"Right," Gaz rolled her eyes; it might have been a good thing that Zim could not see that. "So, why do you declare you 'undying feelings' for me? Can you be so sure that you possess those feelings?"
"Of course I am sure, Zim is always sure," he confidently grinned.
"So declare it."
"'Gaz', I love you from the bottom of my liver! Do you love me too?"
"You use the word 'love' too meaninglessly," Gaz curtly answered. "I do not love you, and I hope that I never have to lay my eyes on you or your liver again."
Zim gasped in horror. "Gaz would never refuse me, my love, or my liver!"
'Does he even have a liver?' Gas asked herself in her head. 'And where did liver come from?' She shook her head to clear the question from her mind. "Remember, I am playing the role of your Gaz, and I do not want to love you."
"But-why not?" a stupefied Zim demanded.
"Because you are not the perfect being. You have many faults that I do not want to tolerate, and so I refuse to bear them. You are too proud and you are too ignorant, I refuse to blindly accept your empty claims of adoration." Gaz paused to let this sink in. Zim listened very closely to this girl who promised to help him, only to receive strikes against his character that he found to be true. His overbearing attitude had subsided a bit from the time when he initially lived on Earth, but he was often eccentric. He had to understand that; and he seemed to be doing so. "How does that make you feel?"
Zim balled and released his fists as he tried to find a word that accurately described his thoughts. "I do not like that," was all he could conclude.
"Well, let us try a different approach. Swear your love to me again."
"I do not think I can the same way I did before," Zim lamented. "But," the determined Zim decided to try, "Gaz, I love you, will you accept me?"
"With all of my -heart- and liver!" The response brightened Zim's disheartened expression.
"Really?" he passively asked.
"Yes! I think we are soul mates, and I believe we should be married!" Zim smiled. He had researched marriages, and he looked forward to matching himself with Gaz in such a permanent manner. Gaz looked at the stage, to see a crew of people working on a machine on the platform. She called for the attention of one of the people. "Will you mock-marry us?" The confused man nodded his head. "Good!"
Zim and the disguised Gaz were 'married' by the crewman. Within the two minutes, Zim was looking much happier than he did when he was rejected. "Now," Gaz spoke, "I am your wife." She hunched over to ruin her posture, and tried her best to show Zim that she was scowling from behind her mask.
"Why do you look so irritable? I do not want my wife to be so unpleasant!" Zim proclaimed.
"You have no control over this, neither do I," Gaz stated. "I will not be perfect all of the time, I will possess different moods at different times. I may worship you one day, and be cantankerous the next. If you really love me, than you will tolerate my faults, just like I will stand with yours."
Zim was once again appalled. "Will Gaz really be so unpredictable? Can she really change to such varying and ugly dispositions?"
His teacher nodded her head with seriousness. "She will do what I do. She will be like me."
This was too horrendous to Zim. "I-I need to go eat my lunch," he lied. 'I need to think about this,' he told himself.
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"Okay kiddies! Since it is Homecoming, there will be activities during the lunchtimes! Is that not stupendous?" a cheery teacher chirped into a microphone on the stage by the cafeteria. It was actually not much of a stage, more of a large chunk of raised floor that was carpeted. For the purposes of lunchtime activities, however, it was a theatre.
"Activities during lunch? Why was there nothing yesterday?" Dib curiously asked from his seat.
"Remember the hats?" Lex recalled. Acquiring understanding, Dib tossed his head back with a soft "ah" and resumed listening to the happy teacher onstage.
"Today's fun is karaoke!" Roughly two hundred faces paled at the announcement. "Anyone can come to the stage, select a song, and sign-up! Youpi!" Having told that, she bounced off of the stage.
Dib turned to look at Lex. The girl appeared as if her head had floated to another planet. He slightly blushed as he spoke, "so, uhm, are you going to sing? I might."
She snapped back to attention. "Oh, yes! Come, how about we go and sign- up now before it is too late!" With determination, she snatched Dib's hand and led him to the stage.
When they reached their destination, Lex did not leg go of Dib's hand. The flustered boy could not hide his rosy cheeks. 'I cannot believe s-she is actually holding my hand!' he thought.
'I cannot believe I am holding his precious hand. And his is allowing me to!' Lex internally blushed.
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"Okay! Our first little star is...Zi-Zirn? What is this?"
"I am ZIM!" the distinguished creatures shouted. He marched to the stage from his nearby seat in the cafeteria. Gaz closely watched the alien as he lowered the microphone to his four-foot eight-inch body. He was a little short, but unfamiliarity of Earth's properties stretched Zim's body to the point in which he was almost the same height as the majority of the students. As she stared at him, she wondered if Zim still felt strongly about her after she had destroyed his idealistic beliefs. After all that time, she did destroy him. Or, at least, she might have.
"Okay," Zim announced as he readied himself. "This is 'Gravity of Love' by Enigma."
A gentle chanting emerged from silence. A deep heartbeat slowly pounded and grew in strength. A bell chimed on after every few beats. This was Zim's cue to sing.
"Turn around and smell what you don't see
Close your eyes...it is so clear."
His voice was surprisingly lower than usual, and his singing tone was extremely melodic and soothing with the underlying music.
"Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen
On both ways you can get in."
A burst of music flowingly expanded.
"Don't think twice before you listen to your heart
Follow the trace for a new start."
A drum joined the low beat to move the motion of the previously slow song.
"What you need and everything you'll feel
Is just a question of the deal.
Another accented beat, and Zim raised his voice to express a more profound sound.
"In the eye of the storm you'll see a lonely dove."
Zim once again freed his voice to increase the impact of the coming theme.
"The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love."
As Zim paused the music played a short break. The drumbeat strengthened and the opening chorus chanted the melody. While the singers chanted, Zim gently spoke the next lines.
"The path of excess leads to the tower of wisdom"
The machine repeated the line, and Zim resumed his passionate singing.
"Try to think about it...
That's the chance to live your life and discover
What it is, what's the gravity of love."
The chanting and chorus sang their emphasis of the line. When the voiced quieted, a solo guitar played a melody that led to Zim's passionate reentrance.
"Look around just people, can you hear their voice
Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice."
With a rising climax, Zim searched for Gaz in the audience, but did not let the strength of his song subside when he failed to find her. His target smiled behind the mask she still adorned. He was appealing to her. He did care about her.
"But if you're in the eye of the storm
Just think of the lonely dove
The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love."
The drums and chorus fulfilled their part with more power than all previous times. After the machine's recorded assembly finished their chanting, the drums continued, and then abruptly stopped. Everyone in the cafeteria was a bit overwhelmed by the power of the piece and Zim's input. It was undoubtedly a great and powerful song, but it may have been too heavy for the lunchtime children. Gaz was uncharacteristically joyful. She had declared to herself that she did share feelings for Zim, and his turn on the karaoke machine proved to her that her warnings did not mar his sentiments for her.
She jumped back into reality when she saw that her brother was nervously standing on the stage. He fiddled with the microphone, trying to readjust it from Zim's inferior height. "All right," he sighed when he was finally satisfied with the positioning. "This is 'Precious Illusions'." Dib took a quick breath and sang when he saw that the karaoke machine started to play. A lone guitar played a simple chord as he meekly sang.
"You'll rescue me right?
In the exact same way they never did
I'll be happy right?
When your healing powers kick in."
Dib was terrified; he was opening himself before hundreds of students who probably could not care less what he did on the stage. He was relieved to receive help when a soft but involved drum faintly accompanied the next lines.
"You'll complete me right?
Then my life can finally begin
I'll be worth it right?
Only when you realize the gem I am."
Music burst into full mode as Dib glanced at Lex and continued to sing. The song was moving too fast for him to worry about singing in public. He focused his attention on the task at hand. Sing for Lex.
"But this won't work now the way it once did
And I won't keep it up even though I would love to
Once I know who I'm not then I'll know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim."
Dib was backed more by the supporting instruments in the machine, and his confidence grew considerably. People seemed relieved to hear a long lighter than Zim's introducing one, and Dib could sense the acceptance. With more strength in his voice, he continued.
"These precious illusions in my head
Did not let me down when I was defenseless
And parting with them is like
Parting with invisible best friends."
The background music softened a little to allow Dib to be singing more solo, but he did not mind the isolation now. He smiled despite himself as a few people tapped their feet.
"This ring will help me yet as will you knight in shining armor
This thing will help me yet as will these ones gone through like water."
The guitar and drums increased, but Dib no longer cared what the music did. He was having fun singing. One or two people started to dance in the back of the cafeteria; but he only saw Lex gleefully smiling at him.
"But this won't work now the way it once did
Cuz I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not
I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim."
More people were clearly keeping in time with the beat and listened to Dib's light singing voice. It was a nice pitch for singing to mesh well with Alanis Morrisettes's music. His male voice was a bit deeper, but it worked well enough.
"These precious illusions in my head
Did not let me down when I was a kid
And parting with them is like
Parting with a childhood best friend."
He paused to prepare for the closing lines. He completely opened and sang from the heart.
"I've spent so much time firmly looking outside me
I've spent so much time living in survival mode."
The music dropped to leave Dib with the light guitar and drum from the beginning. He released the microphone and sang into the technology.
"But this won't work now the way it once did
Cuz I want to decide between survival and bliss
And though I know who I'm not
I still don't know who I am
But I know I won't keep on playing the victim."
The instruments once more joined him and played stronger than before. But this more confident Dib would not be drowned by the music. He built his voice to sing the ending.
"These precious illusions in my head
Did not let me down when I was defenseless
And parting with them is like
Parting with invisible best friends."
Dib repeated the second chorus. As the music continued, he sang a few long notes, and took a deep breath as the music fainted into silence. At the conclusion of the piece, almost everyone in the room clapped and some even cheered for Dib. He was flabbergasted at the amount of positive attention. He did not even receive many 'thank you' s from people about the Hatsy Day incident, but he was openly applauded for singing an enjoyable song. Well, that is how the world spins. Maybe even Irk?
When he returned to his seat next to Lex, he saw that she was happy yet also a little anxious. "Is something wrong?" he asked with concern.
"Oh, no," she reacted, with honest enthusiasm she added, "you were wonderful there!"
Once again, Dib found himself blushing. "Thank you. But is something troubling you?"
It was then Lex's turn to redden. "No, I just, I am afraid that I will look pretty silly when I go sing now."
"Do not worry. I think you will sound beautiful, no matter what anyone else thinks," Dib honestly stated. He blinked at his words. "D-did I really--?" with the boy's stammering; it was clear that self-esteem could be fairly unpredictable.
Lex leaned forward and gave Dib a light peck on his cheek. "Thank you," she softly said as her cheeks turned a light rosy color. She climbed onto the stage and swept her gaze over the audience. Many of the faces were anticipating a song matching Dib's, as many students could see that Dib and Lex seemed to like each other. There were one or two faces covered by the masks of costumes, and one sad-looking green kid played with his lunch. Lex lightly shrugged; maybe her singing would not offend the already cheerful people.
Not needing to adjust the microphone, Lex leapt into her turn and said, "This is 'Things I'll Never Say'."
A regular guitar strummed a positive introduction with a tapping of a drum. Lex sang some liberated notes to start the mood of the piece. With a milder cue, Lex began to sing the lyrics.
"I'm tugging at my hair
I'm pulling at my clothes
I'm trying to keep my cool
I know it shows
I'm staring at my feet
My cheeks are turning red
I'm searching for the words inside my head
The music supporting her was rather simple. A drum kept the beat for her, and a guitar provided a light harmony. Lex possessed a rather simple singing voice. It was smoother than her speaking voice, and of a somewhat high pitch. She sounded a lot like Avril Lavigne, who performed the song. The background music mostly stayed the same as she moved into the pre- chorus.
'Cause I'm feeling nervous
Trying to be so perfect
'Cause I know you're worth it
You're worth it
Yeah."
The guitars that were once passive, then mildly exploded with supporting sound. Like Dib, Lex was able to relax a bit. She pretended that she was Avril Lavigne, who was truly connected with this song. She imagined she had sung this before thousands of people on many occasions. The thoughts comforted her, and enabled her to sound better as she sang the stronger chorus.
"If I could say what I wanted to say
I'd say I want to blow you ...away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight
If I could say what I wanted to see
I want to see you go down
On one knee
Marry me today
Yes, I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say."
The guitar played a short musical break, and Lex mentally prepared herself for the next part. Why could she not sing as comfortably as Dib? He was such an idol.
"It don't do me any good
It's just a waste of time
What use is it to you
What's on my mind
If it ain't coming out
We're not going anywhere
So why can't I just tell you that I care"
Lex's mind disconnected as she instinctively sang the pre-chorus and chorus again. People could easily tell that she was not as calm singing as Dib was. She wished he could come and sing the rest of the song for her. On the other hand, what would that do? She wanted to sing for Dib. She wanted to tell him that she cared about him without having to stress over finding the right way to tell him. Why was she failing now? This was for him, why should her fears ruin this? By the time the chorus was finished, she was ready to sing with her soul.
"What's wrong with my tongue?
These words keep slipping away
I stutter, I stumble
Like I've got nothing to say."
Since the pre-chorus was now familiar to her, she took the opportunity to center her attention on Dib. The audience, and especially her focus could tell that she was feeling better onstage. She repeated the random notes that opened the song, except now they were stronger and truly sung with an open spirit.
"Yes I'm wishing my life away
With these things I'll never say.
If I could say what I wanted to say
I'd say I want to blow you ...away
Be with you every night
Am I squeezing you too tight
If I could say what I want to see
I want to see you go down
On one knee
Marry me today
Yes, I'm wishing my life away"
The guitars, drums, and other instruments backed away, but Lex still sang with the same strength and emotion as she pretended that only Dib was present.
"With these things I'll never say
These things I'll never say."
At the conclusion of the song, Lex promptly leapt off of the stage and retreated to her seat adjacent to Dib. He smiled at her as she stared at the ground. "You sang well," he timidly comforted. Not knowing how to respond to his kindness, Lex leaned into Dib and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt comfortably there, and decided against moving if the boy would let her remain there. Dib mildly blushed and gently tilted his head so it rested on her head without burdening her with any pressure.
OeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeO
Zim softly growled in dismay at the human couple of Dib and Lex. How could they be so happy when his efforts for Gaz failed miserably? Perhaps the sticky notes were not true expressions of love, but his karaoke song was completely different! "Sons of Irk," he muttered to himself, "I am trusting my ardor to be expressed with sticky notes and karaoke songs."
"Okaly-dokaly," the insanely cheerful teacher from before sung into the microphone. "Next to go is, Gaz."
"Gaz?" Zim was startled into attention. He zealously looked for her, but she still was not in his sight. Suddenly, the girl in the big dress who he spoke to earlier stood and gracefully walked to the stage. She reached the microphone and lowered her little mask to reveal her face. Zim sat astonished at this revelation. In a very rare moment, words failed the green alien, and he stayed in his position, utterly stupefied.
"You Look So Fine," Gaz knowingly recited the song title.
A recorded piano gently played a repeated tune while a soft beating sound pounded in the background. Gaz inhaled and prepared to sing.
"You look so fine."
A drum provided a gentle beat to fill the pause between the verses. Gaz's singing voice was beautifully velvety as she vocalized the slow and deep notes.
"I want to break you heart
And give you mine.
You're taking me over."
Through her squinted eyes, Zim could see that the singer was looking at him, watching him. The song seemed as intense as his was, but others appeared to be more open to this one. A few people were already tapping feet and fingers to the beat of the drum.
"It's all the same
You've got me securely maintained.
I hear your name
And I'm falling over.
The previously serious music brightened a bit for a higher pitch, and Gaz expertly ready to flow with the song.
"I'm not like all the other girls
I can't take it like the other girls
I won't share it like the other girls
That you used to know."
Students were not sure if they could dance to the slow song, but they sub- consciously swayed to the music in pure enjoyment.
"You look so fine."
Gaz held the last note, 'fine', for a while, and a handful of people applauded for the strength with which she sang the essential note. The music raised and Gaz sang with a growing passion.
"Knocked down, cried out
Been down just to find out.
I'm through
Looking for you."
The music calmed, as the flow resumed to the same manner as the opening.
"I'm open wide
I want to take you home
We'll waste some time.
You're the only one for me."
Zim faltered under Gaz's stare. He could feel that even with her mostly closed eyes, she was looking into him. Her concentration was so intense, he felt as though she was peering into his very essence. Could she mean that: He was the only one for her?
"You look so fine.
I'm like the desert tonight,
Leave her behind,
If you want to show me.
The music climbed for the final time, as Gaz released her voice to climactically sing. Everyone was either swaying to the melody, tapping with the rhythm, or on his or her feet dancing. Everyone, that is, except Zim, who could only manage to sit mesmerized by the only human who could sincerely astound him.
"I'm not like
I won't take it like
I won't fake it like
That you used to know."
Gaz paused for a brief musical break. She took the opportunity to smile at Zim. It was more of a faint upward curling of her lips, but it was as affective as the broadest beam to Zim. With an honesty that she could not hide, she concluded her turn on the karaoke machine.
"You're taking me over
Over and over
I'm falling over
Over and over."
She repeated 'over and over' until the music dwindled to an end, the machine preserved a woman's voice singing repeated lines about 'let's pretend' and 'happy end', but she did not concentrate on that. She could only see Zim. For the first time in all of Dressing-Up Day, Zim could not only see the face of Gaz, but that was all his focus could note. As the two gazed at one another, Zim asked himself in a soft whisper, "does this mean...? Could this possibly mean...?"
OeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeO
What an...interesting conclusion to Tuesday! I hope no one is grossed by the mushiness of this chapter, but you -knew- there would be romance (even if I am bad at writing it)! Ahem, anyways, I hope this chapter was enjoyable! I realize this has been an incredibly long chapter, but a lot of it consists of lyrics anyway. Lastly, if you have any comments, I would be more than happy to hear them! If you have any questions, like 'why is a liver mentioned?' or 'where did Zim get the idea to wear pajamas when he was rubbing his chin over a mongoose?' or 'will you ever give Dib a break with his clothes?!' or 'what is homecoming?' or even 'why did you make Zim and Dib sing songs that -female- singers perform?', I would be more than joyful to answer that ^_^ Now for credits with the music, I shall try to include everything that my little brain can.
"Gravity of Love" is by Enigma. I think Sandra Cretu sings it, and it is copyrighted in 1999 to 'Virgin Schallplatten GmbH, under exclusive license to Virgin Records America, Inc.', whatever that means.
"Precious Illusions" is by Alanis Morissette. She sings and writes this material, the mind-boggling genius. She produced the CD it is on as well. It appears to be copyrighted in 2002 by Maverick Recording Company; the lucky, lucky folks.
"Things I'll Never Say" is by Avril Lavigne. Since I do not actually own the CD it is on, -I have no idea what else to say about it-. I can admit that -I- have nothing to do with its ownership, is that enough?
And last but -not- least, "You Look So Fine" is by Garbage. I praise Shirley Manson for singing it and everything else she has done for the group. I see that it was copyrighted in 1998 to Almo Sounds, Inc.