okay, you poor souls have waited long enough (plus i freakin' got grounded again. being un-emancipated sucks so much). :I anyway... i found this ZADR site but i have no idea how i can get hyperlinks up here (or even if i can). so just write this down and type it and and click the little "go" button:

http/ be grateful to me for it. at least i HOPE you will... :)

oh, and also--it is realllllly hard to write zim's POV. so i think at least for the time being i'll stick with the dib POV and see how that goes. impermanance sucks almost as much as lack of emancipation. (ALMOST, but not quite...)

Regretting Every Minute

Chapter Four

(still) Dib's POV

"How?"

What is he talking about? Prove it how? What could I possibly have that he wants?

This has to be the only time in my life that I have ever wanted to be proven wrong.

"I need to know things."

Things?

"Things?" I repeat my own thought, puzzled.

"Yes, things." Zim seems to be getting annoyed. "I know you're not as stupid as the rest of your species. Tell me things about Earth."

"Wait--isn't that what you came here to find out for yourself?"

"That's taking too long."

"Then why are you asking me?"

"Because if I ask anybody else, they'll know that I don't know and therefore am not of this miserable planet. You already know, so trying to convince you otherwise is a waste of time. So tell me about Earth."

"What do you want to know?"

"What 'love' is."

The way he says it, I can tell he has no idea. And, to be perfectly honest, neither do I.

"Where did you hear that word?"

"From the 'television'. Gir is always watching these horrible shows in which two Earth-humans talk a lot and then put their lips together."

"Like kissing? You mean soap operas."

"Yes, 'soap operas'. They use that word, 'love', constantly, and I want to know what it means."

"Well... it's... " I give up. "I don't exactly know. I mean, I do know, kind of. It's when two people like each other a lot."

"So it's a feeling?"

"Yeah. Kind of."

"How can you tell if you have it?"

"You say it like it's some kind of disease."

"It's isn't?"

"I guess it's kind of like that."

"So what does it feel like?"

"I... I wouldn't know. I've never been in love."

"I didn't think so. None of the other filthy human children seem to like you at all, let alone enough to love you."

"Not really."

"I see."

Well, now what? "What else do you want to know?"

Zim looks surprised. "What else?"

"Yeah. Didn't you want to know anything else?"

"No, not really. I'll let you know when I need any more translations."

Oh.

"Well... 'bye."

"See you at skool?"

I guess now would be a good time to say something sarcastic. No, I'll see you at Bloaties, you stupid... alien,... thingy.

"Sure. See ya."

I'll let you know when I need another translation.

I wonder what he'll ask me to "translate" next.

i don't. being thr author, i would know these things. and being readers, you don't. muahahahaha. well, i'll tell you later. ;)