(A/N: Hello! Let's get right down to Chapter 4!)

Fudge didn't see Zim before he went to school that morning. He figured he must have still been sleeping in the basement. There were rats and spiders down there. The boy decided to finish his homework early and spend all of his extra time with the strange green boy.

If he was going to be staying there, he might as well get to know him, right? It was the right thing to do, after all.

So, that day, Fudge hurried home from another day of test acing as quickly as his little legs would carry him. FOR ZIM!

When his homework was complete, he made his way down the stairs with his toy box. Hopefully, Zim would show some interest. He set the box down in the living room and knocked on the door to the basement.

Zim soon showed up and opened it.

"Hello?" He greeted like the basement was his home.

"Hi, Zim! Wanna come out and play?"

"Play? With you?" Zim said it like doing such a thing would infect him with a terminal illness.

"I mean, since we're neighbors and all..." Fudge fumbled for words. Something about Zim's sour tone caused him discomfort."And, I don't know you very well...could you please- -"

"ALRIGHT!" Zim cut him off."Hurry and set up your playthings; I have one last thing to tend to and I shall be right up."

Fudge tried to peek past him."What are you doing down there?"

"..."

SLAM!

Just like that, the door to the basement was closed again.

Fudge let out a sigh and set up his toys in front of the couch. He would keep trying to be polite to Zim, despite the fact that he didn't understand him. His parents had taught him that every person deserves to be treated with kindness, to treat others how you would like them to treat you, and most importantly- -oh, he's already here.

"So, what are we going to play with?" Zim attempted a friendly speech pattern.

Fudge couldn't help but correct his error."Zim, you're not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition."

The look on Zim's face showed that he clearly did not understand...

"...like, you should have said 'With what are we going to play?'..."

"LIAR!" Zim stamped his foot."I said what I should have said!"

"Okay, okay!" Fudge raised his hands defensively."What do you want to play, Zim?"

The green boy rummaged around in the toy box, grumbling to himself."Do you have any chess?"

"Uhm, we have checkers."

"..." Zim continued searching the box and muttered "insufficient". Eventually, he just decided to let Fudge decide. With a tussle of his bright red hair, Fudge decided to build some blocks with Zim.

"Hmm!" Zim actually seemed to like this idea. A smirk grew on his face as Fudge laid out the blocks."And what will we be constructing?"

"How about...an office building?" Fudge held up an action figure; it was a man in a suit."For Business Man to work on his taxes!"

Zim wasn't too thrilled by this concept, but he didn't have any better ideas, so he finally knelt down and helped Fudge build a "foundation". The two of them took turns stacking one block at a time, and the building slowly took shape.

The silence was awkward. Up until this point, Fudge hadn't ever been alone with Zim; GIR or the rest of the Hopkins family were always close by, and Zim would keep most of his focus on his dog. At least if GIR were there, it would surely provide some random break of the silence. Looked like Fudge would have to deal with that on his own...

"Where's GIR?"

"...hm?" Zim looked up."Forgive me, I was lost in thought."

Fudge was surprised by how pleasantly his odd house guest had just addressed him."I asked where GIR is."

"He's in the basement," Zim said out of the corner of his mouth.

Of course. What response was Fudge expecting, exactly? His parents were at work, and his sister was locked up her room. She did that often.

He dismissed that topic and the tranquility resumed.

"...who's 'we'?" Zim asked suddenly.

"What?"

"You said 'we have checkers'," Zim reminded him. He was giving Fudge a hard look, and he repeated his question."Who is this 'we'?"

"I just meant my family and I..." Fudge trailed off. Did Zim really not know what he meant? Was it a pronoun thing?

"Are you from a different country?"

Zim let a chuckle slip at this. Fudge took that as a "yes". He pressed on with his questions.

"Why are you green?"

"It's a skin condition."

"Oh."

Wow, Zim sure was docile when GIR wasn't around.

"Are you feeling better?" Fudge clasped his hands together in his lap."You didn't come to school yesterday. Or today."

"I don't go to that school. My school is very far away. It's very filthy."

"But why? You live next door, don't you? I mean, that's what you- -Ah!" Fudge's gesture had accidentally knocked his hand into the blocks, tipping them over.

Zim bristled with rage. He took a deep breath and built the base over again. Fudge didn't join him this time.

"...I had forgotten what silence sounds like," Zim thought out loud. He was doing that a lot. Maybe it had something to do with the building? As long it kept Zim talking to him, Fudge was all for it. For what seemed like the first time all after noon, Zim noticed something about the child sitting next to him.

It was the bandaid on his right knee.

"Um, Sprinkles...scratched me," Fudge answered before he could ask.

"Oh, I'm so sorry...pfft..." Zim murmured. He was obviously trying to hide a smile. What was he so joyful about...? Fudge was unfamiliar with the idea of laughing at another's pain.

Must have just been a cultural thing. Hey, maybe Zim was German? Schadenfreude and all that...

Zim perked up, seemingly having recalled something."But I was referring to you."

"What?" Fudge must have missed something Zim had said while he silently questioned his nationality. At least, that's what he thought...

"I was referring to you, Fudge-human, not your entire assortment of relatives." Zim stacked another block.

"'Fudge-human'? Why do you call me that?"

"Zim asked a question first!"

"You just spoke in third person...why did you do that?"

"ANSWER!"

"Okay!" Fudge complied, despite his massive confusion."Uh, well, when you said 'you', I just thought you meant whatever was in the house, and...the house belongs to my family, not just me...so, that's why I said that."

Wow, that sounded better in his head. It was hard to explain out loud...

Zim didn't respond to that, and he left Fudge's previous two questions unanswered. He just kept building the skyscraper. It was looking pretty good.

...

More awkward silence.

...

Zim hissed at Fudge when he tried grabbing another building block. Fudge didn't move after that.

...

"I don't see why you felt the need to bring your family into this," said Zim."You say that as if I address all of you."

Fudge groaned.

He didn't like this.

He didn't like juggling between politeness and rudeness, being addressed as "Fudge-human", and not being allowed to play with his own blocks.

He didn't like having a broken conversation, being cut off from his own basement, and having to break awkward silences.

Fudge did not like this...stranger, who showed up at his house and treated his family like his own.

He didn't like Zim.

...what was that? Fudge had never not liked someone in his life.

It felt horrible.

(A/N: Mmmm, I dunno about this chapter. Sort of dragged on at bits. But I tried to fit certain stuff in there, and maybe I'll edit more later. I'm just glad I finally updated!

I hope you enjoyed, please review, fave and follow, and I shall see you next time. Au revoir!)