Chapter 3! What will happen to Dib! Oooooooooh!
…
All right, I'll shut up now.
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"All right, back off, everyone! Back off or suffer the wrath of Zim and the scary Dib-sister!" Zim yelled, swinging a janitor's mop that he somehow acquired.
Gaz was kneeling by Dib, who had passed out.
"Poor Dib," she whispered sadly. "He was just trying to help me…"
"YOU! Stink child with the hand that is stuck shut! Step away or suffer the consequences!"
Zim swung the mop, sending several kids flying away with various animal noises.
"Good! I think we're safe now!" Zim announced as the kids scattered. "The earth-children fear the might of Zim."
Smacky staggered forward with a large bite mark in one of his arms.
"I'll…make you…sorry…you messed…with Torque Smacky!" he roared, charging forward and flailing.
Simultaneously, Gaz's and Zim's heads whipped up, saw Smacky, grabbed some corn and mayonnaise off nearby trays, and flung a handful into Smacky's eyes. The mayonnaisey corn took immediate effect.
"Augh! My eyes!" Torque yelled, stumbling around blindly. "It burns!"
"Hey! Where are you going?" Zim called after Gaz, who had picked up Dib and was carrying him out of the cafeteria.
"I'm going to take Dib home," she said. "He needs to rest, and Dad'll know how to help him heal."
Zim scratched his wig (gently, so it wouldn't fall off), puzzled. He didn't understand these human emotions. He also didn't fully understand what being a friend meant. Maybe he should do some research…
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Dib was aware of someone carrying him. His head felt heavy, and he felt groggy and woozy, but his stubborn pride made him speak up.
"Hey…please put me down…I can walk…"
The person hesitated, then gently set him on his feet. Dib stood still for a moment with his eyes still closed so he could wait for the world to stop spinning. After it slowed down a bit, he opened his eyes.
"Gaz?"
His emotionless sister had carried him home?
Seeing Gaz brought back the fight. Dib dug around in his pockets for the Game Slave 2. He finally pulled it out of one of his inner pockets of his trench coat.
"Here, Gaz," he said, handing it to her. "Somehow I managed to hold on to it during the fight. I not sure if it's broken or not, and I'm sorry if it is. You should-"
Gaz suddenly buried her face against his shirt, and Dib found himself patting her head.
What a crazy day…then again, I am crazy, so this should all be normal for me, right?
"Shut up, Dib!" she said, a little muffled. Was she crying?
"You're horrible! It was such a stupid thing to do! Why did you fight? Why? You can't fight! You know that! Why did you? You shouldn't have! You shouldn't! You shouldn't have…"
They stood there in the middle of the sidewalk in silence for a while, then Dib spoke up.
"I don't know what happened, Gaz," he said out loud, as though talking to himself as well as Gaz. "I just got so angry when I saw that jerk take your Game Slave…"
Gaz didn't say anything. Dib thought he heard her sniffle.
"Gaz, are you all right? I saw you leap at Smacky and bite his arm. Good pair of choppers ya got," he said, trying to make her feel better (for whatever the reason was that she wasn't).
Gaz chuckled a little, then stepped away from him and quickly turned her back to him. Dib waited a little while as she gained her composure.
"You okay, Gaz?"
"Forget it. Let's just go home."
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"Hello, son! And how was your day at school?" the floating image of Professor Membrane asked.
"Mmuhmm," Dib muttered, quickly walking towards his room.
"That's great. And how about you, honey? How was your day at school?"
Gaz stalked in, her usual aura of horror restored. "There was a fight."
"Oh? Between who?"
Gaz was silent for a moment. "Between Dib and Torque Smacky."
Membrane gasped. "Torque Smacky? That big child? And my son? How? Dib knows better than to get into fights! It ends in pain! Ah, well, he is insane. Who knows what he thinks. Did he say what the cause of the fight was?"
Gaz plopped down onto the couch. "It was because…Torque took my Game Slave. Dib got angry and told him to give it back. Torque didn't, so Dib said that he would fight him for it. And so…Dib's…his face…he's all…bloody and…two black eyes…cuts on his face…everywhere…"
Gaz trailed off, and Membrane seized the opportunity to ask more questions.
"Were you involved in any way? Did you get hurt?"
"No, I…bit Torque on his arm. And threw corn and mayonnaise in his eye."
"Yup, that's my daughter, tactful as ever. Well, I suppose I should see to your brother. The way you described it, he must be beaten up pretty badly."
The projected image whizzed upstairs to Dib's room. The door was closed, and Professor Membrane decided that, after calling several times, Dib had fallen asleep. He hovered away.
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Dib waited until the hovering projection of his dad had gone away, and then sighed. His face felt swollen badly, and it hurt his ribs and his legs to move. Everything hurt. Breathing, blinking…sleep would probably give him nightmares, but that was a chance he would have to take…
A mechanical spider leg tapped on his window. Dib hurried over and quickly opened it.
Zim was attached to the side of Dib's house by his spider legs and was holding a jar of murky green liquid that looked like swamp water.
"Hey, Zim," Dib sighed, stepping back from the window so that Zim could come in.
Zim dropped onto Dib's bed, his spider legs retracting into the small pack on his back. He held out the jar of liquid and Dib took it, not quite sure what to do with it.
Zim sighed, and Dib got the feeling that he was embarrassed.
"I had Gir make some soup for you. I wouldn't eat it though; I saw him dumping everything he could get his hands on into the pot," Zim warned.
Dib frowned slightly, confused. "Uh, thanks? Why…why did you do this?"
Zim shrugged. "It said that when friends are sick, they bring each other soup to make them feel better. Although the soup's usually not made by a crazy robot."
"Thanks, Zim," Dib said, looking down at the jar. "This is all new to me, you know? The friend stuff."
"Well it's not any better for me!" Zim declared, folding his arms. "My good deed is done. I'm going home now."
"Aww…you're just shy."
"What? Zim is not shy! I just, ah, have much business to attend to! And must leave! Now."
"Come 'ere!"
"Ouch! My antennae! You pulled it, Dib! Let go! Ow!"
"Wow! Your wig feels like real hair!"
"Give it back! Give it back or suffer!"
"Hey, how do I look?"
"Stupid! You look stupid, Dib! Now give me my wig back!"
"No! I'm gonna keep it!"
"You dare-"
Dib gave him a quick peck on the cheek to shut him up.
"AAAUGH! It burns! The lips!"
Zim snatched his wig back and scurried out the window. There was a barely audible thump and a cry of "My Squeedelyspooch!"
Dib eyed the jar suspiciously, and decided he would make his own soup.
So kisses burn Zim, huh? Gotta write that down…
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"I'm fine, Dad."
"Huh? Did you say something, son?"
"No, nothing important, I guess."
Dib was slightly wary of going to school, with the fight still vivid in his mind and evident on his face. Dib had to put ice on his eyes for a few days to make the swelling go down, but they still hurt.
"Come on, Gaz, let's walk to school."
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End of chapter 3! Yahoo. That peck is about as lovey as it's gonna get. Love burns Zim, I guess. It might be a while before I post again. Keep those reviews comin'!
Quote for…now?: "Go home and shave that big head of yours with your bad self!" –Zim (Backseat Drivers From Outer Space)