"October 19th, 2001.

Today was okay. I think.I hit myself in the face during 1st period. It was fucking embarrassing.

I've made a fool out of myself once again, but what else am I good at doing.

I studied so hard, but I couldn't do it. I didn't remember a single thing. Nothing at all. I bombed that test. And on top of that, Zim came up and talked to me too. He was being more of a weirdo like usual. I don't know… he might be planning something. I don't trust him, he's still an asshole."

"Still? An asshole?" Zim echoed as he stumbled down onto the bathroom floor, trying to read the boy's smudged handwriting.

"Yesterday was pretty shit too. I want to be alone today. I think that's the best. Always, maybe. I don't know."

Zim brings the paper closer to his vision, intrigued— but also very perplexed. Everything else that was written had been crossed out, making it almost impossible to read. He flips the paper around to see if there was more to this, something he could use to assist him; but all he found are more indented gray-colored streaks that nearly tore through the page.

"There's nothing," Zim sighed, "Why did he scribble all of this out? None of this is eligible!"

He hissed in defeat, raising the paper high above him.

"This is use…less?" He took a look again at the paper, noticing that the fluorescent lights had made some of Dib's handwriting slightly legible. Zim's antenna raised in hope as he slowly stood up, not taking his eyes off the paper."I am planning to go to the park around midnight, it should help."

"Midnight?" Zim's eyes widened, "that sounds suspicious."

Out of those 5 years, Zim has never gone to a park; He always thought it was filthy, especially the playgrounds. Confusion ran through Zim's body, and his stomach twisted and turned. The boy could be in danger, but Zim knew following him was not the smartest idea.

He still had no clue what in the world was going on with the human, but he could at least confirm something was wrong now.

It was close to school's dismissal, and the alien was still sitting in the cold, empty bathroom. He stood up and brushed himself off. Walking up to the sink, he grabs it by the edge and leans into the mirror head first, dropping the paper in his hands. He looked deep into his synthetic eyes; Even though they were fake, one could still tell he was suffering from a lack of sleep. Dark, black eyebags consumed the bottom half of his eyes. Irkens have no need to sleep, but the longer Zim stayed on earth, the more he began to feel drowsy past midnight.

The human's eyes looked even worse than his own; they were dreadful and lifeless.

He gulps and shuts his eyes, but the image of Dib's piercing eyes remains, brimming with obvious insomnia and depression.

Zim gasps and grips the sink vigorously, gritting his zipper-like teeth.I must follow him.

"No!" the alien reacts to his thoughts, finally letting go of the sink, "He doesn't need me."

Yeah, he'll be fine…He's Dib,of course he'll get back to his old self.I am his mortal enemy, I shouldn't be helping him anyways.

A sudden loud noise startles Zim, making him shudder. The final bell rang, and the students immediately stormed out, causing commotion once more. Zim loses his balance as the floor rumbles beneath him.

"God," Zim rolls his eyes, "This is worse than the cafeteria!"

Gaining stability once more, he looks down at his shoes. His eyebrows were saddening. The ear-piercing noises suddenly went deaf, and the room became blurry. Thoughts of the boy flooded the alien's mind; All he could think about was his face. His grotesque face. His ghastly eyes, his rough acne-containing complexion, and his ridiculously large glasses that cover most of his upper face. Zim remained stagnant, disassociating even more than before. Sure, Dib's face was ugly, but he was still worried. Everything about his enemy was revolting. Zim lifts his head up, staring at the empty bathroom stall the boy was in, approaching the exact spot their conversation had become a disaster.

He towered over an imaginary Dib sitting on the floor and gave the boy a sickened face before the figure looked up at him. His features looked the same, but for some reason, the thumping of the alien's heart increased rapidly, and his palms began to sweat. Dib's eyes shined with the bathroom lights, revealing a hue of dark brown, which reminded Zim of chocolate. His skin was incredibly bumpy, but the color of the skin seemed radiant, giving a honey-colored complexion that Zim never noted before. His glasses frames were thin and black, and they gave off a nerdy look. The figure gave him a soft smile, which made Zim stumble backward in panic, becoming more flustered than before. The alien shook his head vigorously, closing his eyes, but when he opened them again, the imaginary boy had disappeared.

Why do I feel like this? I don't understand what this feeling is.

The pounding of his heart, the slight shiver of his body, and the blood rushing up to his irken face were all new to him.

"Whatisthis?" he nervously asks himself, "Am I sick?"

The alien hurriedly walks up to the mirror once more and turns around, trying to catch a glimpse at his pak, but sees nothing out of the ordinary.

"Computer! Run a diagnostics, I feel…" he looks at his hands, "weird."

Diagnostics complete.

No damage was found internally or externally.

Everything is adequate.

96%

Zim stares at himself in the mirror dumbfounded, the feelings disappearing rapidly.

"This weird feeling," he grasps his irken dress, "Might just be my instincts telling me that the Dib-thing is in danger."

He snaps his fingers, standing triumphantly, "That makes sense! Then I must follow him! This feeling won't go away until my pak knows he's okay!"

He picks up the boy's note and hurriedly shoves it into his pocket.

Sprinting to the bathroom door, he places his palm onto the icy metal door, firmly pushing it. Cold air brushes his face as he takes his first breath outside the bathroom since lunch, which was after his 3rd period. Everyone is gone, and the hallways are empty. Only a few minutes have passed since the final bell, but it was Friday after all.

Zim's eyebrows furrow, "I'm coming for you, Dib. Whether you like it or not."

Hours pass and Zim paces back and forth in his base living room. He looks up to the clock on top of the entrance. 11:57 p.m.

Almost time.

As every second passes, the clock ticks louder than before. Dib's note was taken out and was in the hands of Zim, crinkled.

I'll find out what's going on once and for all tonight.

He glanced at the clock once more, 11:59 p.m.

Shoving the note into his pocket once more, Zim made his way to the front door.

"Gir," he puts on an amaranth-colored jacket, "I'll be back soon, try not to destroy anything."

"Okay!" the green dog giggled before jumping into the kitchen garbage can.

Zim sighs at the sight and looks up, "Okay."

He takes a deep breath and opens the door. Immediately, a sharp wind blows at him, causing chills to run up his body. It was almost November, and the cold nights were finally starting to set in. Closing the door behind him, he began walking. The street was empty and quiet; it gave off the eerie feeling of an abandoned neighborhood. The flickering street lamps shone on the culdesac and the faint sound of crickets was heard. It was uncomfortable, and it made Zim feel somewhat sick.

"Why on earth would Dib be at the park at this hour! It's freezing!" Zim spoke to himself, teeth chattering. Anxiety consumed his body as he walked each step. Every inch and every second felt worse than the prior one.

Regret and shame suddenly started to shadow him.Am I really doing this? Is this the right choice? What if I make him angrier with me?

Zim's thoughts continued to devour him, but his body kept moving unconsciously for him— saying 'Keep going, you have to.'

Every step felt hours long. Every step felt as if the ground crumbled beneath him as his black boots picked up and threw gravel with each lift. Every step was louder than before. The sound of the wind and gravel was deafening. He had already gone far enough, there was no turning back. Every step suddenly deafened, and the air density plummeted. He continued walking for a few minutes, still feeling anxious until he saw a park with a small playground; Slides, swings, and monkey bars all became clear as Zim walked closer. However, a blurry figure was seen sitting on the swingset. Zim squinted his eyes, seeing a figure so unique that he finally exhaled with relief. Dib's glasses reflected with the shiny streetlights and the boy's strand of hair sticking up was a dead giveaway.

Zim halted.Am I really going to talk to Dib again?

He stepped onto the mulch, making a faint sound.

TLCH.

Dib's neck turns at the speed of light; His eyes widened and his eyebrows knitted, looking as if to yell before realizing who it really was. And even though his expression had lasted less than a second, Zim sensed fear throughout the boy's body.

"Oh," Dib says in a slightly shaky voice, "It's just you."

"What are you doing here?" Zim asks, trying to be nonchalant.Shit…I should have thought this out more before coming here.

"What am Idoinghere?" Dib scoffs uneasily, "What the hell areyoudoing here? How did you find me?"

Zim looks at the floor in panic, trying to think of an answer that didn't seem suspicious.

"It's a public place…?" He looks at Dib, wincing, hoping the answer was convincing enough. The boy gave him an annoyed glare, "Did you follow me?"

Zim crossed his arms, "No."

"I thought I told you to leave me alone, you gross roach." Dib grunts frustratedly.

"Don't call me a roach, you pig!"

"Then why are you here, huh?"

"To help you, you moron!" Zim yelled.

Dib's eyes widened and his face flushed a light pink color, but he quickly looks away, "Oh come on Zim…again?" His voice sounded sorrowful, "This is getting ridiculous."

Zim stiffens, locked in place. "You can go home now," Dib said, "I'm doing just fine—"

"What happened to your arms?" Zim abruptly asked.

Dib's face goes blank, and he looks up at the alien.

Zim recalls seeing similar types of injuries back on Irk and Impending Doom One, but something seemed off about them.

"I already told you I fell and hit my arms, remember?" he replied nervously.

"Dib," the alien said, "I'm not that stupid, you know?"

"Well, I already told you. If you don't want to believe me, that's on you," he murmured quietly.

"What about those cuts then? Why are they all horizontal and in rows?" he asked, giving the boy a hard glare.

The boy looks embarrassed, "A coincidence."

Zim stares at the boy's covered arms, trying to reimagine exactly what he saw earlier.

"Well, if that's what you'll tell me for now, I can help you heal them if you'd like," Zim replied as he took something out of his pak.

A small glass bottle with a phosphoresce purple liquid in it.

"What is that?" Dib eyes the bottle, rightfully concerned.

"It's just some healing liquid," Zim clasps the lid, struggling to open the bottle, "Think of it as rubbing alcohol but better and much faster."

"I don't think rubbing alcohol heals wounds, just cleans them," Dib corrected, a smirk forming.

Zim shoots another glare at him, and the boy goes quiet for a bit, "Does it hurt?"

"It stings a little, yes, but it'll heal in a few minutes," Zim replies, finally opening the bottle with a smile following.

"I don't know," Dib grasps the rusty metal chains and leans back on the swing, "I like the look of them."

Zim finally looks up, smile vanishing, "You like the look of what?"

"My scars! They make me look cool," Dib sits up tall, but immediately sinks back into the swing, "I think."

"Hm, well I suppose battle injuries do look kinda cool sometimes, don't they?" Zim smiles once more, setting the bottle onto the floor, and takes off his gloves, showing multiple healed scars on his hands— too many to count.

"Look," He sits on the swing next to the boy, and points to a set of particularly large scars "I got these 3 from a fight on planet Xoudh!" he gleams, "And these three are from one of my past missions, Impending Doom One!"

Dib focused on the alien's hands, "What about this one?" he points to a burn scar covering almost his entire thumb.

"...And the rest are from my home planet," Zim mumbles.

The boy looks at him, staying silent for a few seconds, "Were you… abused on your home planet?"

Zim opens his mouth but quickly closes it. He stares at the floor, pondering before finally answering, "I wouldn't say we were abused…We were created to conquer, so we had to go through the standard Irken training procedures."

Dib's gaze softens.

"Well, I suppose I should put this away," He shakily puts the cap back on the bottle.

"Hey..."

"Hm?" He responds, trying not to look at the boy.

"I think we are alike in some way," Dib spoke quietly.

Zim looks up immediately, confused, "Alike?"

"Yeah…" Dib rubs the side of his arm, "We've both been through a lot..."

Zim turns his body away from the boy, "I don't know what you've been through, or what is going on, but…I think I can agree."

Dib lets out a grin, "Your scars are cool, I have some too. Wanna see em'?"

Zim nods happily.I think I'm finally getting along with him.

Lifting up his right coat sleeve completely up to his shoulder, dozens within dozens of healed horizontal cuts rise from his wrist up to his forearm. Some looked darker than the others; Hues ranging from normal light pink to odd shades of brown, meaning they did not heal correctly or had gotten infected at some point.

Zim's expression drops, "How did you get this many? I mean— these are way more than mine."

"You know, some struggles." Dib shrugs.

"Didn't you say they were a coincidence? These scars look exactly like the cuts you have on your left arm."

"No, these were, erm, from something else, just like yours!" He nervously smiles and pulls down his sleeve.

"I got mine from fighting, did you fight someone? I am so confused." He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Well, sometimes I fight myself," Dib chuckles.

Zim's eyes widened in horror as he finally understood what the boy had been referencing. He jumps out of the swing and grips Dib by the shoulders, "Did you inflict these onto yourself?"

Dib looks into his eyes, frightened, "It was…It was an accident."

Zim grits his teeth. "You idiot!" He scolded, "Why would you ever do that!"

"You're hurting me!' Dib cried as he tries getting off zims hands from his shoulders.

Zim stands back, alarmed, finally letting go of him, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Dib furrows his eyebrows, "Whatever. Just don't call me an idiot."

Immediately taking out the glass bottle once more from his pak, Zim opens it with ease this time. "Your arms, show me them."

"No need," Dib scoffs as he pushes the alien away, "You act as if you care all of a sudden."

He gets up from the swing, "Go ahead and laugh at me already, it doesn't matter anymore."

Zim's thoughts start to race as Dib walks past him.

You're letting him go. Don't let him go. You can't. Shit! I have to think of something.

"Wait!" Zim quickly ruffles through his pockets," I found this page of your notebook when you left the bathroom earlier." He extends his arm, holding the paper.

Dib stops in his tracks and looks back, dread in his eyes.

"You can have it back," Zim says.

Dib stares at the paper in Zim's hand, "What's written in it?" the boy asks, starting to shake.

The alien takes back the paper to examine it once more, "You scribbled almost everything out, so I don't know," Zim responded, "But, this is how I found you."

No response causes the alien to look up. The boy's eyes were overflowing with tears; They slid off with ease as if his face were water-resistant. He grasps his shirt and falls onto his knees, groveling in the mulch, his throat straining as his voice cracks, and the tears suffocated him. "Zim—!" He gasps for air; It was as if his throat were closing upon him— as if his own body was going against him. Millions of paper cuts began to sting his esophagus as he violently coughed, making it worse. Dib gasps again, desperately looking for help. He was disoriented. "Zim, where are you!" He choked.

Zim was standing three feet away from the boy and was in a state of immobile shock. The alien stared at the boy, terrified. "Zim!" The boy shrieked, "Please! It feels like I'm going todie!"

"I don't know what's happening to you!" Zim shakes in panic.

"Zim—!" Dib hyperventilates, before slamming his hand on his mouth, realizing who he has been crying out to. He muffles his cries and shakes his head, fumbling as he gets up, trying to escape the embarrassment he had caused himself. He sets afoot onto the mulch and prepares to run. To run somewhere he would finally be alone. Someplace where he would feel no embarrassment or shame, no guilt or sadness. A hand reaches out behind him, and suddenly Dib is pulled onto the floor.

"Ack—!"

Both boys had taken a hit as they landed, and were now covered in compost.

"Where are you going!" Zim coughed.

Dib avoids looking in the alien's direction, "Go away!" He yelled.

"I'm not leaving you again!" Zim replied angrily, grasping the boys' coat collar, so as to not hurt the injuries on his arms. Tears continued to fall down Dib's face; He continues to shake but stays stationary, sitting on the ground. Zim gently lets go of his coat.

"I want to be alone," He sobs, raising his hand up to his shirt and using it as a tissue, "This is the worst."

"I'm not letting you be alone," Zim repeated.

Dib lets out a hic, burying his face in his hands out of embarrassment. Zim's expression softens looking at the boy; He was struggling a lot with something, and Zim was determined to find the cause of all of this.

He scoots closer to the boy, who was still hiding his face, and hugged him. Zim worried if the embrace had upset him, as the boy started to cry harder, but soon realized that Dib had inclined right into his body, welcoming the hug.

"We're supposed to hate each other, y'know," He snivels.

Zim squeezes the boy, "I don't hate you."

As tears continued to stain his black leggings, Dib's face starts to redden; And his weeping soon turned into a tender smile.

Dib was glad Zim had found him, But he would never admit that.