Aw! I really didn't expect this much support! Thank you all! :) Here's another chapter for YOUU!

hmm. I wouldn't expect 'Stardust' to be in the library on a small military base like this, but i'm pretty sure it would be in a regular city library. Neil Gaiman is a fairly famous author. If not, I would suggest Barnes and Nobles or I know that you can purchase it online.

And, without further ado...

Chapter 7

Dib and Prof. Membrane were toasting marshmallows, the other sticks already filled and ready on the stump beside them. They looked up as Zim and Gaz approached.

Unwillingly, Dib felt a tug at the corners of his mouth. He had begun to worry slightly. About Gaz, that is. He handed her the remaining sticks, brightly. He knew how much she loved marshmallows.

Gaz took the sticks, sitting down. She handed the other one to Zim, holding hers over the flame. She didn't bother hiding the grin on her face. She could remember smearing melted marshmallow goop in Dib's hair when she was four.

Zim just stood where he was, analyzing the scene with his innate invader mind. The humans were heating the marshmallows (he knew what they were all TOO well, thanks to Gir) over the open flame, before stuffing their mouths with the gooey paste-like substance. How primitive!! They were making quite a mess, too. Disgusting creatures!!!

He froze. They were all staring at him with befuddled, yet expectant expressions on their faces. Wiping the look of disapproval off his face, he sat back into his chair, marshmallows over the fire. He watched to see how long the marshmallows needed to be submersed in flame.

Prof. Membrane held his over the fire with a blank face for both long and short amounts of time. He seemed to eat them on the basis of whenever he snapped out of another reverie. Gaz dug her stick into the coals, waiting for it to catch on fire. Raising it to her face with a pensive, inspective stare, she blew out the flame and consumed the burnt, runny mass. Dib roasted his about three inches above the coals for a minute or so, tested the outsides with his fingers for crispness, then ate them in slow, blissful bites.

Zim decided to imitate Gaz, not wanting to do anything like the Dib-human. He let the marshmallows catch on fire, inspected the flame engulfing them, then blew it out. He shoved the toasted substance into his mouth, chewing guardedly. Dib was watching him closely, presumably to see if he keeled over or not. Besides his mouth becoming increasingly hard to open, he could sense no horrific threat. His raised his head haughtily, fixing Dib with a look of superiority.

Dib was wondering how Zim could even chew. He had stuffed ALL of the marshmallows in his mouth at once, seven or eight to be exact. He returned to cooking his next serving. Smirking, he imagined Zim's jaw getting stuck together as the marshmallows in his mouth cooled down.

----------------------------------------------------------

Zim lay awake in the sleeping bag, pondering the occurrences of the day. His mouth was still dry from the marshmallows, despite the glass of milk Gaz told him to drink. That pathetic Dib-monkey had just pointed and laughed at him. HIM.

He turned to face Dib, who was presently asleep. A small trickle of drool ran down the human's chin. He was sleeping with his mouth wide open, but that was probably only because Zim had stuffed his nose with candy wrappers. The incredibly NOISE the human nose makes! He couldn't concentrate or sleep with that racket.

He returned his gaze to the tent roof, smirking. He hoped the blocked nose passage resulted in a decrease of the human's brain functioning capacity.

Slowly, with much reluctance, Zim let his eyes close and drifted off to sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dib was laying spread-eagle, candy wrappers protruding from his nostrils. Zim was curled against the opposite side of the tent, wig askew, one contact laying off to the side.

Gaz smirked. Wakey wakey!!

She began treading on them. Her boots were off since she was inside the tent, but she knew she had substantial weight on her side. She was in a good mood, though. She refrained from stomping on their faces.

They started moving and groaning. She left, in a better mood than before.

Dib opened his eyes, wondering why his sister had to play Godzilla in the mornings. His nose hurt for some strange reason. He extracted a large sum of candy wrappers from it. Concluding who had put them there, Dib turned to glare at Zim.

The alien was still sleeping, facing the tent wall. Dib moved closer, picking up the loose contact. He debated on whether or not to hide it somewhere. He decided against it, on the count that today they were probably going to swim in the lake. He reached for the antenna that was visible from beneath the lop-sided wig, and yanked it, hard.

Zim let out a screech, connecting a foot with Dib's chest. Dib was sent flying into the other wall, the wind knocked out of him. He still managed to laugh loudly, somehow.

Zim glared at him as he fixed the wig, replacing his contact.

"You...wheeze...ha ha..." Dib was doubled over, laughing, even though he really didn't know why. "That's what you...wheeze...GET for stuffing wrappers up my nose."

"It's not my fault you FILTHY creatures are so annoying loud when you sleep!!" Zim was holding his head, pointing an accusing finger at Dib. He noticed Gaz standing in the doorway and lowered his hand, but continued to glare viciously at Dib.

Gaz just squinted at them quietly, munching on a pancake. "Breakfast's ready." She turned away in indifference.

The two boys walked outside, scrutinizing each other for any signs of an attack. They sat down in the chairs, deliberately looking in opposite directions.

Prof. Membrane passed them plates with pancakes drenched in syrup. Dib smirked at Zim, cutting his pancakes into bite sized pieces. Lets see how he gets out of this...

Zim gave Dib a condescending peek before pressing the top pancake into his mouth. He knew what they were, and contemplated the fact that they would probably be less damaging than the ones Gir made. He opened his mouth wide to show Dib the chewed up mess. Sulking, Dib returned to his plate and began eating in silence.

"I think its time to try out the water!" Prof. Membrane stood facing the lake, hands at his hips. He turned to face his children. "I've brought you a little something." He began digging in one of the bags on the ground. He pulled out something black and purple. Holding them up, Dib and Gaz could see it was a purple swimsuit and some black swimming trunks. "I couldn't remember if you two had swim suits or not..."

"I brought my own pair, dad." Dib was once again surprised that his father remembered his existence.

"Then your friend can use these if he didn't bring any."

Dib eyed Zim, on the brink of hysteria.

Prof. Membrane handed Zim the swimming trunks, taking his silent look of shock as merely having forgotten his own.

Zim took the shorts, looking very much like Prof. Membrane was the grim reaper handing him a tombstone with his name on it.

Gaz was watching the scenario with one eye wide open, fingers still on her Game Slave. Her eyes moved from Zim's face to the purple swim suit her father was holding out to her. She almost felt as sorry for Zim as she did for herself. She took the suit from her father, her mouth a grim line.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Dib was searching for his towel as Zim sat in absolute silence, glaring at the floor. He was wearing the black swimming trunks, and a black t-shirt Dib had thrown at him out of pity.

Dib looked at him dubiously. He wondered how the alien was going to bypass this one. By feigning a dread of water? Saying he never learned to swim. Those were both the truth, actually. Dib almost felt sorry for him, although he couldn't fathom why.

"You wouldn't happen to have any paste by chance, would you?"

Dib looked up at Zim, confused. "Why?"

"Unlike you HUMANS, I find it delicious." He lied. Of course he wouldn't tell the dirt-child the truth.

Dib looked at him incredulously. How could he still be hungry after all those pancakes? And why the alien would want to eat before meeting his doom, he didn't understand. "Uh, no I don't regularly require paste. You might try Gaz, though. She likes to make those demented looking things out of paper mache." (A/N um...however you spell it...)

He watched Zim get up an leave with an exasperated sigh. He grinned nastily. Prepare to meet your DOOM, Zim.

Zim walked over to Gaz's tent, head down. What would he do if she didn't have any paste? He forced himself not to think about it as he reached the doorway.

"Uh...Gaz? Can I ask you something?" He marveled at his politeness towards her.

He listened to the zipper as the door opened slowly.

"If you even BEGIN to laugh, I will kill you." Gaz growled darkly as she stepped into the light.

Zim wondered at her threat. She didn't look funny. But the change of apparel did take him by surprise. The 'swim suit' was a much lighter shade of purple than her stockings ever were, it complimented her hair and eyes nicely. What WAS he thinking? He shook his head furiously, then looked down at her. She was peering at him threateningly.

"WHAT do you want?" She crossed her arms over her chest, looking violently inclined.

He backed up a step. "I ...uh...I was wondering if you had any paste?" he asked quickly, getting it over with. He screwed his eyes shut, waiting for the subsequently negative response.

She gave him an utterly baffled expression before replacing her grimace. "Yes. Why do you want it?"

Zim's eyes snapped open. She had paste!!! Thanking the Tallest instinctively, he replied. "For...something..." what should he say?

"You bug me." Gaz said the first thing that popped into her mind before retreating into her tent and fetching the paste. Why was she wishing he had said she looked nice?

She handed him the paste, muttering about how something looked. Zim was barely paying any attention to her, though. He was too busy ranting about his victory over the dirt-monkey's plotting. "How ingenious I am!!! Bwahahahaha! cough (he choked on his spit temporarily) hahahah! And I will repay you for this morning, DIB! You are no match for my superior invader skills!!"

Gaz pushed past him, menacingly.

-----------------------------------------------

Zim stood at the water's edge, eyeing his arch-nemesis dangerously. The pig- smelly was completely unaware of his presence. An evil grin spread across Zim's face. Now...

"You used it ALL!!!!" Gaz yelled, holding an empty canister of paste. Zim turned around, startled. He saw Gaz catering to an immensely furious glare before he was kicked into the water with tremendous gusto.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Bwaha! (looks around) Aw, come on...he deserved to be kicked in for not admitting she was pretty!!

Hmmm....Gaz was more in character this chapter, i think. I made her more agressive to show she was trying to hide the secret feelings she harbors for Zim. But I had her give him the paste, it was too cute an idea to pass up. :)

She regularly steps on Dib in the morning, though...nothing special there. : P