Thanks for all the reviews!

The next morning brought an air of joy and optimism. The birds were singing cheerfully, butterflies were fluttering, flowers were blooming everywhere, and it was very bright and sunny out. It was indeed a beautiful day on the pitiful Earth... but not to Gaz. She and her brother had to walk to that horrible place known as Skool, where it seemed almost everyone who attended had a severe case of the "brain-worms".

"...And that's a long list of reasons as to why you shouldn't have made a deal with Zim. I still haven't fully recovered from those radioactive gerbils gnawing on my head!" Dib shouted as he pointed at his head, his eye twitching madly.

"I can tell..." Gaz sarcastically told him as she kept walking.

"Oh, and another reason you shouldn't even talk to Zim-"

"DIB!" The girl snapped. "I already heard the first 50 reasons not to talk to Zim! I get that you're worried or whatever, but I can take care of myself. I don't want to hear another stupid Zim story! I don't even want to hear stupid Zim's voice-"

"HELLO FILTHY DIB MONKEY!" Zim yelled as loud as he could as he suddenly approached them.

" ZIM." Dib spat out the alien's name like venom.

" Dib-worm." Zim said hatefully to the boy with the large head. "Hello Gaz." He said pleasantly to the boy's scary sister.

Gaz just rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"So Dibsister, I am in the process of creating a much superior gaming device, one so amazing, our galaxy has never seen or imagined anything like it. I AM GENIUS! I'm sure you will be amazed." Zim told her proudly with his hands on his hips.

Gaz smirked at the alien. "Good. And by the way, you're invited to my house for dinner." She told him. A few students who were walking by froze in horror as the scary girl offered to invite the weird green kid to her house. She barely spoke to anyone unless she was dooming them, so an invitation to her house would most likely be a death wish.

"No, Gaz! What are you doing?!" Dib screamed.

This left Zim baffled as he snapped out of his arrogant pose. "Whaaaaaaaat?! Is this some kind of a joke?!" Zim shouted.

"No, my Dad wanted you to come over to prove to Dib that you're not an "alien". She told the alien in disguise.

"Quiet! I'm human! I'm normal!" Zim quickly responded, waving his hands in the air and started doing jumping jacks as he tried desperately not to blow his cover. The students were still watching in suspicion.

"Well, if you want to prove you're "normal", you'll come over to our house for dinner." Gaz smartly said to him.

" Dinner at filthy Dib-monkey's house?" Zim pondered aloud. He turned to face Dib. "Is this a stupid trap, Dib?!" He screamed at his nemesis.

"Yeah, Zim! How did you know?! I already spend almost ALL of my time stopping you from destroying humanity, and then I just decided I couldn't possibly have a peaceful dinner with my family without you!" Dib yelled sarcastically.

"I KNEW IT!" Zim yelled accusingly, pointing a finger at Dib.

Dib smacked his head at the green moron's clueless assumption. "Geez. It's not like I want you to come to my house, ZIM, my Dad expects you to come!"

"To prove that you're crazy? Sure, why not? I'll go home, finish creating scary Gaz-human's game device, go to dinner at your house, and then TAKE OVER FILTHY EARTH!" Zim shouted maniacally. He then realized the same group of students were still watching him. He turned to face Gaz. "What time do you expect the amazing ZIM's arrival?" He politely asked.

"Be there at 4:00." Gaz told him.

"Prepare your bladder for imminent release, Dib! I shall be there!" Zim yelled back to his enemy before running out of sight.

Dib and Gaz had successfully made it through another mind numbing day of Skool. As 4:00 rolled around, the Membrane household was preparing for Zim's arrival. Dib was in his room with his laptop and a spray bottle full of filthy rain water especially for Zim. Gaz was tapping her foot as she waited impatiently for her new game system, and Professor Membrane had a camera in his hands for some odd reason. The doorbell rings. Zim stands outside, also waiting impatiently. Professor Membrane eagerly answers the door.

" Hello little green child!" He said as he snapped a photo of Zim. Zim stepped backward as he was temporarily blinded by the flash. "Come in!" "Gaz! Your friend is here! Dib! Come down here son!"

" In a minute, Dad! I'm busy!" Dib yelled from his room.

" Son, there better not be any walking dead up there!" The Professor yelled back up to his son.

" That was only one time, and I said I was sorry!" Dib yelled back down to his father. "Agent Tuna Ghost...The alien has arrived." Dib said quietly as he talked on his laptop to a dark, shrouded figure.

"Excellent, Mothman" The woman replied. "You may proceed."

Dib, who was occupied and making a plan to capture ZIM on his laptop, begins to run down the stairs, with his laptop in one hand and water bottle in the other hand. He nearly tripped down the steps. He turns the corner before arriving to his kitchen only to watch in horror... Zim and his family talking, laughing and having a normal conversation at the dinner table.

"... and that's why I created artificial beavers!" Membrane told Zim.

"Fascinating! Those beavers are quite useful!" Zim responded.

" I'm glad to see my daughter has made a friend who has such an interest in science! I just love your theory on protoplasmic generators! What a bright child!" Membrane said proudly.

" He also likes video games." Gaz said, hinting at Zim for the whereabouts of her new game system. Zim, of course was clueless.

"Maybe after dinner we could all play some video games! Games are excellent for developing hand-eye coordination!" The Professor eagerly said.

Dib is stunned at the fact Zim is sitting at the table with his family, pretending to get along with them. His jaw drops. He also notices that Zim is sitting right next to Gaz.

"Okay, this is too weird. Even for me! And I've seen so much weird, but this is somehow even weirder!" Dib shouted as he propped the open laptop at the table for the Swollen Eyeball Agent to see Zim.

"Son, have a seat. We were just having a great conversation- Son, put the laptop away." The Professor ordered.

"But, Dad-" Dib started to pout.

"Son, we have company. It's rude to have a laptop out when we have company! It shows you don't care at all about your guest!"

"But I don't care!" Dib told him.

"Son, turn off the computer with the mysterious person hiding in the shadows, and talk to your guest. " Professor Membrane said as he closed the laptop. "We were just having a great conversation about science! ZIM seems to know a lot about science!"

"Yeah, I bet he does, considering he's an ALIEN!"

" Nonsense! I am a perfectly normal, filthy human who loves science and video games!" Zim answered.

" Dib! Why must you lash out against science with your paranormal accusations!? Gaz? Do you think your friend ZIM is an alien?" Membrane asked.

" Yeah, Zim's an alien who came to our stupid planet because he wants to conquer it and take over. That's just why he goes to Skool with us!" Gaz blatantly answered.

Zim looks terrified for a moment at the possibility that the sanest person on Earth blatantly told her scientist Dad that he is in fact an alien. Dib looks overjoyed at the fact Gaz finally admitted to their Dad that Zim is an alien. Membrane suddenly begins to burst out laughing.

" Ha Ha! That's my funny daughter!" He said as he patted her on the head.

Membrane is laughing, Gaz begins to snicker, and Zim even begins to slowly laugh, realizing he is not doomed. Dib slams his head onto the kitchen table in disappointment. Gaz had succeeded in making a fool out of everybody for her own entertainment. The doorbell rings. A very sloppy looking delivery boy comes to the door to deliver Bloaty's pizza.

"Pizza's here everyone! I'll get it." He said as he quickly leaves to go to the door.

"I'm watching you ZIM." Dib said quietly. "Let's see how your alien guts handle Bloaty's pizza!" He said as he laughs mockingly.

Zim smirks, but then begins to look concerned. He turns to face Gaz.

"So this pizza, is it poisonous?" He asked her.

"Only if it's not from Bloaty's. Their pizza is actually good." She told him.

Membrane comes in with the pizza. He opens the box, and Dib, Gaz, and Membrane all grab a slice. They all look at Zim, who has not grabbed a slice of pizza yet. Zim, feeling awkward, slowly reaches for a slice. He stares at it and contemplates whether or not he wants to risk eating it or not. He then thinks about what Gaz had said, and decides to give it a try.

"Watch closely, Dad. He can't eat Earth food. He's going to have a terrible reaction, or throw up or something!" Dib whispered to his father.

Zim cautiously takes a bite and chews slowly. He swallows it, waiting for something horrible to happen... nothing happens.

" Hey! Huh?! This is actually pretty good!" Zim said, actually chewing and swallowing the pizza without going into a spastic fit and spitting food all over.

" I told you Bloaty's pizza is the best." Gaz reminded him.

" Oh come on! Every time we watch you eat lunch in Skool you're always burning from it, or flailing on the ground in pain! Now suddenly you can eat pizza and you're just fine! It doesn't make any sense!" Dib yelled, pounding his fist on the table.

" I have allergies." Zim said with a shrug.

" I think Skool lunch tastes horrible. Maybe I'm an alien too, Dib!" Gaz told her older brother, much to his annoyance. Things were starting to get entertaining.

"Son, the poor boy has allergies." The Professor told him.

"Okay, well I have to admit Skool lunch does taste bad...but it's edible to people, not aliens!" Dib replied.

"Seriously, Dib? That's your argument? Skool lunch isn't edible at all." Gaz told him.

" Okay, maybe you have a point." Dib reluctantly realized.

Professor Membrane decided to change the subject. " So, ZIM, since you have such an interest in science, then that must be why my daughter brought you to the lab!"

" Yeah, she brought me there because she knows how much I love science. And I'm normal." Zim answered.

Gaz simply growled.

"So how long have you two been friends?" Membrane asked curiously. Gaz wasn't one to make friends or want friends, so he was naturally curious. Even happy for her.

" They're not friends! He wants to destroy all of humanity!" Dib shouted.

" Quiet, son."

" We have been friends for awhile now. We had fun together that one time." Zim began to lie.

"You mean the time you captured me and put me in a test tube in space and Gaz had to rescue me?!" Dib shrieked.

" No! That time we uh... went to that magical game place." Zim answered.

"The arcade?" Gaz asked as she rolled her eyes.

"Yes?! It was magical! I had fun! I actually enjoy your horrible, doom- filled company. That's why I made you a game device. Especially for you." Zim told her.

" Yeah, yeah." She said.

Professor Membrane watched him, even analyzed the green boy who claimed to be his daughter's friend. "Zim, I'm going to ask this question outright. Do you like my daughter?"

Dib gasped and Gaz just cringed while Zim searched for words.

" ... Yesss." Zim answered. He was naive about it.

The whole situation just became very awkward. Dib chokes on his pizza and pounds his fists on the table furiously, Gaz smacks her head at the idiocy that surrounds her. Zim looks around the room in confusion. He didn't realize that Professor Membrane had just asked him if he has a crush on Gaz. Professor Membrane became very quiet. He even appeared somewhat frightening to Zim.

" Wonderful!" The Professor declared happily. "Dib, is that why you're being so overprotective?" He asked his son.

Dib is gasping for air and searching for words after he nearly died on Bloaty's pizza. "No, Dad, you don't get it -"

"You have to understand that this was going to happen sooner or later. Gaz needs a wonderful friend like ZIM. He clearly cares about her." Membrane answered.

" But DAD! HE-ALIEN-HELP!" Dib sputtered.

"Son, your sister's friend is a very nice kid. You have to stop calling him an alien just because he has a crush on her." Membrane told him.

Zim looks in confusion. " Crush?" He begins to silently ponder what he meant by that, looking over at a very annoyed Gaz, who has her arms crossed. She looked as if she was going to flip out. Meanwhile Dib is now horrified and possibly scarred for life at the mere thought of what his father had just said. The words Zim, crush, and sister did not belong in the same sentence.

" Gaz, I know that you wanted to go to that new arcade at the new amusement park..." Her dad began to say.

" Yeah?..." She asked with her eyebrow raised.

"You and Zim can go together." Membrane told her.

Zim looks genuinely shocked, Gaz looks frustrated, and Dib just looks...well, psychotic.

" But Dad, I was just gonna go by myself." Gaz told her father.

"No, you shouldn't go by yourself. It will be CRAZY there opening night!" Membrane told her.

" Dad, I'm 14" She told him

"Honey, it's going to be NUTS there! " Membrane exclaimed.

"I'll take the bat." She told him, not really wanting to go with Zim.

" Besides, it will be even more fun if you take your little green friend with you. It's either that or you take your older brother with you." Membrane told her, giving her an ultimatum.

" I'll go!" Dib desperately shouted.

Gaz rolled her eyes. She realized it would be far worse to take her annoying brother with her than a psychotic alien. "No way, Dib! ...Zim, you're coming with me Saturday." She ordered the Irken.

"What?!" Zim yelled in shock. He had much better things to do than accompany an Earth girl to an amusement park.

Gaz stomps on Zim's foot underneath the kitchen table. "You heard me." She growled.

" But I have so much to do! SO MUCH!" Zim yelped.

" You can do that ANOTHER TIME! I really want to go to this new arcade." She told him. She leaned in close to Zim's face and whispered to him. "Don't you dare make me go with Dib."

Zim felt his face begin to get warm. He didn't understand why, but he was blushing a darker shade of green, and he felt slightly nervous. He begins to ponder about going with the girl, as he understands just how annoying Dib can be. She is scary, and if he didn't listen she just might rip his limbs off. He noticed the look of disgust on Dib's face. He thought one time couldn't hurt. He's had far worse missions, and this one would anger Dib greatly. He would use this as a way to annoy him at least. He ultimately decided it would be worth it.

" Okay. I'll go with you." Zim calmly told her as he smiled sweetly.

" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'll go with you, Gaz!" Dib pleaded to his sister.

" Son, you had your chance to go." Membrane reminded him.

"I said I wanted to go! Hasn't anyone been paying attention?!" Dib shouted.

" Your sister wants to go have fun with her friend that day!" Membrane reminded him. Dib smacked his head.

" Sorry, Dib, but the amazing Zim wishes to spend his time with scary Gaz that day." He said as he puts his arm around Gaz, who looks angry at first, but then realizes how irritated Dib looks and decides to just let him. Both stare at him.

Dib feels frustrated and is about to lose his sanity. " Oh come on!" He begged.

" Stop pouting, son, you can go the next day. Now who wants ice cream?" Membrane said.

" I'll have some." Gaz said.

Dib sighed deeply. " Me too."

" Zim? Do you want some?" The Professor asked.

" uh... I sure do!" Zim said, not wanting to look weird.

Membrane hands out bowls of ice cream to each of the kids. Zim stares at his, poking it with a spoon reluctantly. He turns to Gaz.

" Is this good? Gir eats this stuff all the time, so I don't know what to think." Zim asked.

" Yeah, it's good. It's the new Coco fang flavor." She told him as she ate a scoop.

"Okay, here I go!" Zim said, deciding to trust Gaz, eat some. "Hey! This is pretty good! And it doesn't taste like sawdust at all!"

"Told you." She said.

" By the way, I completed your gaming device and included one of my own games I created to go with it." Zim told her.

" It's a trap, Gaz! Don't take it!" Her older brother warned.

"Quiet, Dib!" She told her brother before turning to Zim " ...I didn't think you would complete it that fast."

"Of course I would! I am genius! I'm sure you'll be impressed." The alien gloated.

"We'll see." She told him.

They all finish eating their ice cream. Zim and Gaz head to the living room, and sit on the couch together. Zim notices her GS2, perfectly in tact, on the coffee table. He gets angry.

" Hey! I thought I broke that!" Zim shouted as he pointed at the new Game slave.

Gaz rolls her eyes. "That's a different one, stupid. I got it at the mall. Had to beat idiots up to get it. It was the last one."

"Then why did you have me create one?!" Zim yelled, losing his cool.

" Because you broke it, and you should take the time to replace it. I got that one because I thought you would take longer to make me one." She told him.

" No matter. This is a superior one. Go on. Try it." He insisted.

Gaz begins to play with the strange new game system complete with Zim's video game. It was a fighting game about beating other races of aliens. She is intrigued with it, and her eyes widen with amazement. The psychotic alien wasn't bluffing. He actually made a pretty amazing game system and video game.

"Is this your game?" She asked.

" Yeah, it's one of my favorites. I brought it from back home and added my own features and design, and made it playable with a handheld device." Zim bragged.

" It's pretty violent... I like it. It's cool." Gaz said as she paid Zim a genuine compliment.

Zim is surprised that Gaz of all people had just paid him a compliment. " Thanks... I told you it would be AMAZING!"

"Well, I believe you." She said.

"Um, I wanted to ask you something..." Zim started to say.

"Sure. Go for it." She reluctantly said.

"What did your father mean by 'crush'? I did not crush you. Why did he say that?" Zim asked her.

She really did not want to have this conversation with Zim. " Crush means...you like someone." She told him.

"Like someone? You mean like not wanting to destroy the person? Explain to Zim!" He asked.

Gaz growled..."It's like you're in love with someone, okay?!"

Zim was taken aback by this. He had horrible flashbacks of his experience with Tak, pelting him with meat and BBQ sauce when she was in Skool. His eye began to twitch. Awkward silence filled the atmosphere. "And your father thinks that I am in love with you?!"

"Yeah, he thinks that you like me. That's why he wants us both to go to the amusement park." She flatly told him.

"Wait...Do you have the crush on me?!" Zim asked in a panic.

"No, you idiot. I just want to go to the arcade." She explained.

"Oh..." Zim said. He felt...oddly disappointed in her answer, although he would deny it.

Gaz squinted her eyes at one of the characters on the screen. "Uh, Zim?"

"What?" He asked her.

"This character looks like Dib, except it looks even dumber than usual." Gaz said to him.

"Oh, that's because that's supposed to be the Dib monkey! I added him to this game!" Zim told her.

"Why?" She asked with her eyebrow raised.

"I'll show you. Hit that green button there." He said with excitement.

"Okay..." She hit the green button, only to reveal an ugly monstrosity which came out of a cave and swallowed computerized Dib.

Gaz smiled and even giggled. "That's too funny."

"I know, right! There's like a million other ways to torture him on here!" Zim boasted.

" Hey, do you want a turn?" She asked him.

Zim slides closer to her on the couch. " Sure."

He begins to play his favorite game and becomes immersed in it. " DIE GASQUIGGASPLORCH!" He yelled as he mashed the buttons.

Gaz laughs. " Try this combo move." She places her fingers over Zim's and executes a new combo move. The two are sitting very close to each other.

" I didn't even know that was possible! NEAT! You're good at destroying!" Zim said as he began to grin.

" I know." Gaz smiled slightly at Zim, who doesn't compliment anybody but himself.

The two share the game for awhile, enjoying each other's company on the sofa. Meanwhile, Dib tries to watch them from the kitchen. He is sitting with his Dad at the table.

" Son! Stop spying on your sister and her friend! It's just not polite." Membrane scolded his son.

"Dad! I'm telling you! Take a good look at Zim! He's clearly an alien!"

"Son, please leave them alone. Look at them. That boy clearly likes your sister..." The Professor said as he pointed at the duo.

Zim is laughing really loud like a goof, and pointing at the game screen, which causes Gaz to laugh softly. The two smile at each other. They are enjoying each other's company.

"...See?"

"Wait! I have a way to prove he's an alien!" Dib said, as he ran for his spray bottle with polluted rainwater. He came back with the bottle and pointed at it. "This! This is going to prove everything!"

"That's just water." The Professor said.

"Not just any water! Rain water! Zim is going to be burning from it!" Dib ran with the spray bottle in the living room, sneaking behind the sofa.

"My poor, insane son..." The Professor mumbled.

Dib jumped up, suddenly spraying Zim.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! It burns my flesh! My beautiful Zim flesh!" Zim screamed in pain as the polluted water splashed onto his skin. As he flailed his arms, he accidentally knocked the bottle out of Dib's hand, which spilled filthy water on Gaz's Game Slave.

Gaz grimaced before yelling dramatically "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Professor Membrane rushed over to Zim "Are you okay, green boy?"

"Uh-"

"See, Dad? What human burns from water?" Dib made his point as he looked over at Zim.

"Uh, um, it's my...allergies! The acid rain burns my flesh, ya know!" Zim screamed, flailing on the floor like a fish.

"It's RUINED! You wrecked my Game Slave, Dib!" Gaz yelled in fiery fury, about to attack her brother.

"Son! He clearly has bad allergies! That's why he's so green and sickly!" The Professor exclaimed. "And now you broke your sister's Game slave!"

"Sorry, Gaz!" Dib said, looking worried.

"Son, first I want you to get your sister another Game Slave. Then go to your room. You're grounded for the rest of the week." Membrane ordered.

"But Dad-"

"No buts!"

"Wait- I can't be grounded Saturday! I need to go keep an eye on- I mean go someplace important!" Dib pouted.

"Yes, you're grounded Saturday as well." Membrane told him.

Poor Dib's brain almost short circuited. He couldn't be grounded. Not Saturday. He needed to go to the amusement park so he can keep a watchful eye on Zim and protect his little sister from whatever the alien would be scheming. He reluctantly stomped to his room and slammed the door shut. Gaz grabbed Zim's hand and pulled him up off the floor. Zim felt a little odd again, as did Gaz.

"I'm sorry about Dib's insane behavior, Zim." Professor Membrane told him.

"Oh, it's okay. He is quite insane. I still had a good time none the less." Zim said to him.

"And don't worry about your game system, sweetie. Dib will get you a new one as soon as possible!" Membrane told his daughter.

She growled. "...Well, at least I still have the one Zim made for me..."

"It's getting pretty late, kids. Your parents are probably worried about you, Zim." Membrane told the green boy.

"Eh...they usually don't care. But I should be going home. Sooo, bye, Dibsister. I shall see you at Skool." Zim told the girl.

"And I'll see you on Saturday." She reminded him.

"I shall be there. I promise!" Zim told her as he marched out the front door. He felt strangely happy.

Professor Membrane and Gaz watched the alien in disguise leave their house and head home.

"Daughter..." Membrane started to say.

"Yes?" Gaz asked.

"I believe...that boy is a keeper! He likes science, video games, and he's the only one who can tolerate your brother's insanity!" Her Dad pointed that out to her.

Gaz simply smacked her head and walked upstairs, with her new game system from Zim in her hand. Saturday wasn't too far away, and she actually found herself looking forward to going to the amusement park and the arcade. As for Dib, Saturday might be his only chance to stop Zim and help out his sister. That's if he could sneak out and follow them. He shuddered at what his Dad said about Zim having a crush on his sister. Those words were still echoing in his head. But it couldn't be true...could it?