Dib stared fixedly in front of him at the sign Ms. Bitters had tacked to the wall. In large red letters, 'Countdown to Dance' was scrawled across the top of a piece of off-white poster board. A 2 was pinned in the center, ominous for reasons that Dib doubted he could ever comprehend.
Really, the sign was rather pointless; they'd spent the previous day making it, it would stay up for the remaining two days, then it'd be torn down and disposed of. Ms. Bitters' assignments were generally more difficult and time consuming, such as defining the contents of glue and their affects of the human digestive system after Melvin's paste-incident, or a two thousand word essay on why democracy as we know it is doomed and the horrors of disillusionment.
Her class was depressing, to say the least.
His gaze shifted from the poster to the clock, which was considerably more interesting than just paper despite how long it seemed to take for the hands to move.
The week had been odd, more so than usual. After his confrontation with Zim on Monday, the two hadn't spoken. Not even a passing insult in the hallway or vicious remark in class. They hadn't even exchanged the usual glares and general harassment that composed their day-to-day life.
People had noticed the change in behavior, making it all the more strange. Dib had stopped ranting about Zim, who'd been to preoccupied with Keef to attempt any of his doomed schemes, and Dib had been spending time usually designated to Zim talking to Gretchen. Professor Membrane took this as a good sign and had been oh-so-subtly dropping hints that maybe the time for Real Science had come. Even a few of his classmates had noticed the change and had cut back slightly on their daily torments.
Despite all this, Dib was miserable. Regular life just didn't appeal to him; what was the point if it wasn't full of mystery and danger? He'd gotten far too used to his rightfully paranoid lifestyle to enjoy a normal, peaceful existence.
His musings were interrupted by the all too familiar feeling of being hit with a paper ball. He scowled instinctively across the room at Zim, knowing where the offending paper must have come from.
Instead of the false innocence, victorious smirk, or superior sneer he was expecting, Zim made small unfolding motions with his hands before hastily facing front.
Suspiciously, he unfolded the ball of paper and was surprised at the non-threatening contents of the note.
Dib-beast
We need to talk. Meet me near the tether ball court after skool. Important.
ZiM
He raised a brow and glanced across the room again at Zim. Like he expected, the alien had been watching him from the corner of his eye. He tilted his head questioningly for Dib's response. He nodded slightly, carefully watching Zim's expression for any of the tell-tale signs of a trap the alien was prone to throwing off when he thought of a plan. Instead, he got a brief smile and a flash of relief behind the contacts.
Somehow that was incredibly unsettling. Zim being cautious and discreet about messages was bizarre enough, but to set up a meeting using such measures was just scary. Zim didn't do meetings, Zim didn't plan, Zim didn't use caution. Something was wrong here.
The day dragged endlessly on, the minutes ticking by like hours until the bell finally screeched to life. Children swarmed out of classroom in their usual herds, choosing whichever route would get them out fastest be it door or window.
Zim joined in the pushing throng for once, having learned that waiting at his desk like he usually did until the reeking masses had passed just made him that much easier to find and corner, which he didn't want. He could put up with the flood of humans for a day if it meant temporary freedom from Keef.
He scurried the opposite way most of the humans were heading and fought his way to the cafeteria exit.
The playground was rather desolate after school. All but a few scattered handfuls of children had gone home, the only reason the others stayed was waiting for a ride or lack of anything better to do at home.
The tether ball court was barren when Zim approached. He'd chosen it because, of all the spots on the playground, it was one of the most concealed and least suspicious. Partially hidden in a corner of the school, he could hide until Dib arrived. When he did, there would be nothing strange about two kids discussing a tether ball match or some such game related thing, and since it was far enough away from the other playground equipment they could see someone approach. Zim could be quite crafty when he wanted to be.
He hadn't been waiting long before Dib entered the playground. He was breathing hard as he came up to the court, looking around like he expected an ambush. Zim grinned, not very long ago that would probably be right, but now they had other things to worry about than just each other.
"So you did come after all, Dib-worm," Zim said, emerging from his hiding place. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show..."
Dib faced him, glaring suspiciously. "I had to get away from Gretchen. What are you up to, Zim? This isn't how you usually attack me, what's your plan?"
Okay, cutting to the chase. "Dib, it seems we're both having similar... problems. Obstacles keeping us from our missions, from settling this grudge. I believe you know what I mean, yes?"
Dib nodded. "Gretchen and Keef."
"Right. Neither of us seems capable of ridding ourselves of them, so I say we form a temporary alliance-"
"No way! Gretchen may be annoying sometimes, but that's no reason to kill her! She's nice, and I still need to survive this dance, remember? Keef is your problem, you deal with him!" He turned to stalk away, furious.
"I didn't say I was going to kill her, though you certainly seem eager enough.I just said-"
"'Rid ourselves of them.' Fine, no killing, experimenting, enslaving, maiming, incapacitating..."
"So no fun. FINE! But you'll rue the day you refused this offer! You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, human! She'll destroy everything you've ever worked for!"
"You're insane! You hate being around Keef so you expect me to hate Gretchen! Well I don't! What if I like somebody accepting me? What if I like spending time with someone who isn't plotting my doom? Huh? Huh? I'm not miserable, Zim!" He glared at the alien, waiting for some sort of response. When he received none, he left, leaving a silent Zim staring after him.
Zim was somewhat shocked. He'd never seen Dib blow up like that before at anyone, for any reason. He somehow doubted his denial of misery, though. He knew better.
The thought that Dib really was miserable infuriated Zim. The girl was stepping into his territory. No, it was past that. She'd run head-first into it and was now merrily doing a little hoe-down in it. He was the one responsible for Dib's misery! He ruined Dib's life! If anyone was going to waste their time making Dib suffer, it would be ZIM! This girl was taking over his place, and had to be stopped.
Had he been aware at all of what human emotions meant, he'd realize he was a bit jealous. He'd never admit it, of course, but it was there. He had been the sole focus in Dib's life for the longest time... and now some awkward, pathetic human was moving in.
His mood was so black as he marched home that he didn't even look up when Keef joined him from the skool steps. He just continued to trudge foreword, not hearing the stream of happy chatter or acknowledging the presence beside him.
Keef, meanwhile, had come to his own conclusions behind the cheerful babble he kept up. He'd witnessed part of the meeting between the two enemies, though he hadn't heard what was said. All he knew was that something Dib had done had caused such a black mood for his bestest bestest friend. That was unacceptable. He'd have to talk this over with Gretchen once Zim was home...
Dib slammed the door to his room, earning a warning from Gaz to keep it down or suffer her wrath. Dib wasn't particularly impressed today, but opted against saying so. Even at her least intimidating, Gaz was scary.
The phone rang, and he cringed. He hated that sound, hated it with a passion. Maybe if he just didn't answer it, it'd stop...
And it did stop, but his sigh of relief was cut short as Gaz kicked open his door. "Don't make me answer it again, Dib," she threatened, tossing the phone at him.
She left, and he stared at it like she'd thrown a dead squirrel at him. "Hello?" He knew who it was, nobody else would call.
"Hey Dib!" Gretchen's stutter seemed to be improving, maybe it was because she never shut up. Or maybe she was just getting more comfortable talking to him.
After initial greetings, she readied herself for the tale of her latest trip to the orthodontists. Dib couldn't take it.
"Um, Gretchen? Sorry, I'm not feeling well. Call back later, okay?" He practically pleaded to get off the phone. Talking to her could be physically painful for such an intelligent person, his brain was already throbbing.
"O-oh, uhm, okay. Feel better, okay, Dib? Um, bye!" She still spoke haltingly, and he didn't say goodbye back.
He collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe he should've taken Zim up on that offer, he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. She was just so blindingly normal! Average intelligence, ordinary day-to-day adventures, everything about her was just too normal. Too dull.
As consciousness slowly began fading, he thought about Gretchen's utter normalcy and his lack thereof. Maybe that's what she found so attractive. He didn't fit into her world at all, or vice versa, but whereas she was fascinated by him, he couldn't possibly care less.
She was a nice girl, certainly. But maybe he wasn't looking for nice...
A green face flashed across his mind, but he wasn't certain if he was dreaming, so he ignored it. He let his thoughts drift to calmer topics, and was soon asleep.
Gretchen hung up the phone, saddened that Dib was sick but still on the adrenaline rush from calling him. She'd just turned to the kitchen for a soda when the phone rang, startling her.
"Uhm, hullo?"
"Heya Gretch! It's Keef!" She smiled.
"Hi! How's Zim?"
"Not so good. He was talking to Dib again, and now he's all angry. How's Dib?"
"Oh, he said he didn't feel good."
"Aww, that's too bad!" His tone implied no such thing. "We need to start trying harder to keep them apart, then. Look how sad they get when they're together!" Gretchen agreed.
"Yeah, you're right. I think by the dance we can have them split! We just have to work a little harder."
"That's the spirit, Gretchen! Okay, you concentrate on Dib, call him in a little while. I'm gonna go cheer Zim up! See ya later!"
"Bye!" She hung up, cheered by Keef's incessant good mood, and grabbed her soda. There was one day until the dance, they'd have to make it count...
