This chapter is a little longer because it was short at first so I wanted it to be longer and now it's longer than usual. Anyways, I know where I want the plot to go but don't know how to go about getting to that point. So bear with me if these chapters suck. Also Zim and Dib are probably so OOC but I'm getting to the point where I don't even care lol.
We walked back to my house and I brought Zim into the kitchen. I opened the freezer and took out one of those ice pack things, placing it on Zim's head.
"There, that should help." I said. He didn't reply, just stood there holding the ice pack on his head. "What's wrong?" I asked, I could see something was bugging him. He was staring at the ground but when I asked that he looked at me.
"My tallest have abandoned me on this FILTHY planet and now I can't even defend against simple threats! I'm not as mighty of an invader as I try to be." he sounded genuinely upset.
"Oh Zim... no. What are you even saying? Do you hear yourself? You are THE mighty Invader Zim. You're unstoppable." I said softly, I took the hand that he wasn't using to hold the ice pack and held it tightly with both my hands. I swear I could see his cheeks become a darker green for a second until I heard Dib calling from the living room. I kept Zim's hand in mine and walked to the living room.
"Katie, I think I might have an idea of who did this. You're not going to like it though..." Dib said awkwardly. I put my free hand on my hip and tilted my head at him.
"Okay... shoot." I said, any leads at all would be good ones.
"Well... let's just say is Josh home?" Dib said slowly.
"Oh stop with this Dib, you already know-"
"Katie please, trust me on this. Is he here?" Dib asked. I sighed and walked towards the steps, keeping hold of Zim.
"Alright Dib, I trust you." I said. I let go of Zim and made my way upstairs.
I walked over to Josh's room and knocked. There was no answer, so I knocked again. "Josh, you in there?" I called.
"Uh yeah. Yep. Everything's cool. One sec!" Josh said, sounding frantic. I heard a few bumping noises and then he opened the door just a bit, his whole body blocking the room. It was pretty suspicious.
"Um why didn't you answer when I first knocked?" I asked.
"Had my earbuds in... yeah earbuds." he said with a nervous laugh. "Did you need something?"
"I just... was wondering what you're up to. We haven't really done much since we got here."
"Well you've been catching up with those old buddies of yours." he said, sounding annoyed.
"I know. I haven't seen them for five years so you have to forgive me. They just mean a lot to me. I don't know where I'd be without them. If you just-"
"If that's all you needed I think I'm going to go to bed. Night." he said and shut the door.
"Uh okay." I said, turning and heading back downstairs. Dib and Zim hadn't moved from the bottom of the steps.
"What happened?" Dib asked excitedly.
"Nothing. He was up there. He wouldn't let me see his room though. He was acting kind of weird. I... I don't know what to think." I said, shaking my head. "I don't know what's happening and I don't know if Josh is involved but for now I don't want to just throw around accusations." I said.
"Perhaps we can conduct some sort of investigation when the sun returns." Zim said thoughtfully.
"That sounds good. I'm exhausted." I said, stretching my arms up about my head.
"Alright." Dib said, looking a bit frustrated before standing up and heading towards the door.
"Wait!" I nearly squeaked, rushing towards him to grab his elbow.
"What?" Dib asked, giving me a quizzical look.
"I... don't want you guys to leave." I muttered. "Stay the night, please." I glanced up at Dib, then over at Zim.
"You make it kind of hard to say no." Dib said with a sigh, I grinned at him.
"I suppose that will make it easier to begin our investigation in the morning..." Zim said, I smiled even wider.
"Okay I'm gonna grab the sleeping bags, you guys can sleep up in my room. If you're cool with that." I said, walking over to a closet with the two of them trailing behind me.
"That's fine with me." Dib said, Zim simply made a noise of affirmation. I grabbed two sleeping bags, 2 pillows, and some extra blankets.
"Alright cool, follow me." I said, leading them up to my room. It was extremely clean, since I didn't spend much time in it. I handed the flashlight to Dib and laid the sleeping bags out on the floor, spreading a blanket over and placing a pillow on top of each one.
"Thanks Katie." Dib said appreciatively.
"Pfft you don't have to thank me. I do appreciate it though." I said, thankful for the fact that is was so dark and he wouldn't be able to see me blush. I took the flashlight from him and held it so they could get into the sleeping bags.
Seeing them all bundled up in the sleeping bags was both cute and a little funny, I giggled a bit and began to walk towards my dresser.
"Sorry I don't have any pjs for you guys." I said as I began to pull out pjs of my own and headed towards the bathroom. A sleepy mumbled word was my response, clearly from Dib. I shook my head and changed into the pjs and returned to my room to find them both fast asleep.
"Goodnight." I whispered, climbing into my bed and shutting the flashlight off before falling fast asleep.
The next morning I woke up first, as I tend to do, and went about my daily routine. Get up, shower, get dressed, make breakfast. It was as if all that stuff never happened, it also seemed that the power was back to normal. I began making pancakes and bacon while trying to wrap my head around the complicated situation I was in.
"Morning!" some said cheerily behind me, making me jump. I turned to see Josh just before he wrapped me up in a hug.
"Jeez you startled me." I said, giving him a one armed hug while awkwardly holding the spatula in my other hand.
"Heh sorry Kate." he replied, kissing the the top of my head. He was oddly cheery and affectionate today.
"No prob. Want some bacon and pancakes?" I offered. He nodded, taking one of the plates I had just put the bacon onto and bringing it over to the table. I heard footsteps before seeing Rachel enter the kitchen, on her phone again. When was she not on the phone?
"Morning Rachel, want some pancakes and bacon?" I asked her, offering the plate out for her. She took the plate and sat at the table just as someone knocked at the door.
"I got it Kate." Josh offered, walking towards the door. I continued my cooking until Josh called me. I turned off the burner and headed to the front door.
"Leah! Hey!" I said, giving her a big hug.
"Hey girl! I'm sorry I didn't come by yesterday, family wanted to get together and such. I have another family thing today but the rest of my week is clear. Want to exchange numbers and make some plans?" she offered with a grin.
"Of course!" I replied, pulling out my phone. We exchanged number and another hug before she was off on her way. Josh had returned to the kitchen to finish eating. I headed into the kitchen just before I heard someone coming down the steps. Well, two someones, Dib and Zim now joined the rest of us in the kitchen.
"Morning sleepy heads!" I said cheerily, looking over at them and letting out a laugh at Dib's hair. "Look at your bedhead! You're precious." I added. Dib grumbled and walked over to me, looking at what was in the pan.
"Mm that looks good." He said.
"Want some?" I offered, he nodded. I finished cooking what was in the pan and plopped in onto a new plate, handing it to Dib.
"Thanks Katie." he said gratefully, he sat at the table looking awkward for a moment before digging in. Zim was still standing at the entryway to the kitchen.
"Do you want some too?" I asked him, beckoning for him to come over. He hesitated for a moment before walking over to join me.
"What is it?" he asked, looking slightly disgusted.
"Bacon and pancakes. Uh pig and waffles that aren't exactly waffles? I don't know." I said helplessly, I picked up a slice of bacon and held it out towards him. "Give it a try." He seemed a bit taken aback but slowly took the bacon and bit it.
"Human food is disgusting... this is tolerable though." he said, I smiled and handed him a plate as well. He joined the others at the table and surprisingly Dib seemed relieved. I finished cooking some up for myself and Rachel got up and placed her dish in the sink, without even thanking me.
"You're welcome!" I yelled after her as I heard her putting her shoes on, probably to go out somewhere.
"Whatever." she called back to me before leaving. I let out a sigh and plopped down into the empty seat.
"She's kind of ruder than I remember." Dib said.
"Well she doesn't actually want to be here. She's changed a lot since we were here. I mean so have I but..." I trailed off, taking a bite of my pancakes. Josh seemed to be staring me, looking slightly frustrated but I decided not to comment.
"You're changed yet still the same. It's good." Dib remarked with a tiny smile. Zim glanced up at me for a moment before continuing to eat his food.
"You're sweet, Dib." I said before stuffing more food into my mouth as if I could hide my blush.
The rest of the breakfast went by in a slightly awkward manner before I picked up all the plates and brought them over to the sink to wash them. When I returned to the table Josh looked even more irritated than before, Zim looked smug about something, and Dib looked worried before noticing I had returned to the room.
"Katie! Wow thank you for that amazing breakfast!" He said with a nervous laugh.
"What's going on in here?" I asked, looking around at all of their mock innocent faces.
"Nothing, just small talk." Josh said. I crossed my arms, clearly not amused. Zim stood up and walked over to me.
"Your bump is gone." I murmured, reaching up to touch his head where it had been last night.
"I have healing abilities superior to your pitiful human ones. I told you that yesterday." he said. "Come, we have work to do." He shot a glance at Dib before looking at me again. He stood awkwardly for a moment before reaching for my hand and pulling me into the living room.