In the Dark-Chapter 2: Teamwork
Disclaimer- We do not own the cartoon that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Rating: M for later chapters
Zim: ZimPLUSDib
Dib: Me
Having forgotten already that he was really, REALLY late for school by now, Zim walked slowly through the snow towards the educational establishment, a confused and even slightly sad look plastered on his face. He couldn't stop thinking about the large headed boy as he stared morosely at his feet, the other's words playing on rerun over and over again inside his head. The human never yelled at him like that so he didn't even know how to react to it. All he knew was that it had been a change from the normal witty banter they usually tossed back and forth on a daily basis.
'What's wrong with the stink-boy? He NEVER tells me to leave him alone. He's always tracking me down, taking stupid photos, and yelling things like, "I know what you are, Zim!"' Zim thought, kicking at a bit of snow on the ground.
Stopping in his tracks, Zim then lifted his head a bit, another thought coming to his mind. '...He's not trying to stop me anymore.' he thought, his eyes growing wide as he recalled all the times in the past the human boy had tried to stop him.
Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he then continued walking in the direction of the school. 'UGH! WHY DO I CARE? SO he's not trying to dissect me today! BIG DEAL! Perhaps this is a GOOD thing.' he thought, an evil smirk growing on his face.
'MAYBE...I can even manage to do something REALLY evil. SOMETHING HE WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP UNTIL THE TASTE OF DOOM HAS COME TO THE HUMANS! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!...Hahaha...hahaha...hah...' he thought before waving those thoughts away with a hand. ''Oh, forget evil laugh is so much more fun when I know that Dib is actually out to get me.' he sighed, wanting to know why his Dib wasn't acting like his usual, paranoid self.
Stopping once again, his eyes grew wide at his own thought processes. Had he just referred to the Dib as HIS Dib? Wanting to reach beneath his wig and tug at his antennas for that, he stopped when he remembered just how late he was.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! THE SCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!" he began running through the snow towards the building, having forgotten the ingenious plan he had had planned for that day.
-
Snapping their heads up at the loud "BANG!" that came with Zim's entrance, Dib and the entire rest of the class couldn't help but stare for a few long moments at the panting Irken standing in the doorway. Out of breath, Zim had thrown the classroom door open in his hurry and was currently trying to regain his composure.
Their Biology teacher stopped his lecturing and turned to glare at the disguised alien. "Zim! You're late!" he pointed at the other accusingly.
Bringing up a finger, ready to explain his tardiness, Zim was cut off by the teacher before he could even get a word in.
"I want none of your excuses, Zim! Just take your seat and see me after class. Same goes for you, Dib!" he sent Dib a pointed look before turning back to continue his lecture. Hopefully there would be no more interruptions during his last 15 minutes of class time.
Dib cursed under his breath. He had really hoped the teacher had forgotten about him. Most likely, he'd give them both detention or pile them up with loads of extra homework. Either way, it would just be more crap he'd have to deal with in his life. Watching Zim scramble past the teacher to take a seat near the middle, back of the classroom, Dib then returned back to his doodle, hell-bent on keeping himself distracted until their first class let out.
Taking a seat at one of the tables in the back, Zim sent Dib a slightly suspicious look. He wanted to ask the human why he wasn't acting like himself but thought throwing a note to him would be too risky at this point. So he just sat there, looking back and forth between Dib and the classroom clock. He'd ask after class was over, when he wouldn't be in danger of making their Biology teacher even more angry.
After dragging on for what felt like hours, the class bell finally rang, signaling a ten minute break for students to get a drink, use the bathroom, and get whatever books they needed for their second period classes. As the rest of the students flooded out into the hallway, both Zim and Dib remained behind to receive whatever punishment their Biology teacher had in store for them.
Standing in front of the teacher's desk, they both fidgeted nervously as they waited to hear what they'd have to do this time. As the teacher finished answering some last minute questions, he then turned to face the two boys before him. Taking a seat at his desk and folding his hands neatly in front of him, he breathed out a calming breath before settling his eyes on the two boys. "Before I punish you, would either of you care to tell me why you're always late to my class?" he asked, sending them both an equally stern look.
Shooting a glare at Zim, Dib was the first to speak up. "Well, I wouldn't have been late if it weren't for Zim." he said, balling his hands up into tight fists.
The teacher sighed at that answer. "You use that excuse every week, Dib. It's getting old. And I'm tired of you both interrupting my class. It distracts the other students. But nothing ever seems to work on you two. No matter what I do, it's always the same story with both of you. 'Zim this!' 'Dib that!' I can't take it anymore! Perhaps what you two need is a lesson on teamwork. We'll be beginning a section on sexual reproduction after Winter Break. I'd like you two to work on a 10 page presentation for that...together. You're going to present it in front of the class after the holidays since you don't seem to care that much about my own teaching. I'd like to see how well you do teaching a class of your own. I'll look over your presentation, of course, to make sure all your facts are straight. You can either turn it in before or after Winter Break, but I expect the both of you to work on it. And because it's such a huge section in our biology books, I'm making it worth 50% of your final grade. Now, how does that sound?" he smirked evilly at them.
Time seemed to stand still as all the life just completely drained out of Dib's face. "W..What...? You want us to...NO! We can't! Please! Anything but that!" he pleaded, the room seeming to spin as all the blood rushed back to his face in a deep, red blush. He didn't dare look over at Zim as he kept his eyes glued to the ground.
Their teacher simply shook his head. "You should have thought of that before you came late to my class." he said with finality, standing up from his desk to pack up the rest of his things.
His body shaking all over, Zim just stood there, one of his lower eyelids twitching. Bringing up a hand, he slowly pointed his shaking finger at the teacher. "...You're...You're..mad..." he said before covering his face with two hands. "What the Irk...? HAVE YOU THE BRAIN MAGGOTS? I DON'T EVEN WANT TO DO THIS! And what if I refuse to accept this mission?" he asked, crossing his arms and turning to face away from both the teacher and Dib.
The teacher didn't seem at all phased by Zim's stubbornness. "Well, if one of you refuses to do it, then you both fail and get to take my class all over again next year. You may not care all that much about your grade in this class seeing as how you're already not doing well in it, Zim, but I'm fairly certain Dib is much more concerned about his grades." he shifted his eyes from Zim to Dib.
Eyes snapping wide open at that last part, Dib whipped his head up to stare at his teacher in horrified disbelief. "WHAT? You mean if Zim doesn't help me with this then I fail too? That's not fair!" Dib protested. He just couldn't fail this class! Not only would he be held back and have to take the class again, but his father would surely kill him if he failed a class that fell into the science category. And to make matters worse, he'd be taking the class with his sister. He shuddered at that thought. As much as he loved her, she scared the living hell out of him half the time. He didn't think he could handle it.
The teacher simply shrugged. "Remember, this assignment is about teamwork. Either the both of you work together on this and pass the class, or you fail and join me again next year. It's all up to you now." he said, finishing packing up all his belongings into his bag.
A hesitant moment of silence passed before Dib spoke up again, this time in a much quieter voice. "We'll do it..." he said, not about to let Zim's unwillingness to work with him ruin his grade. Looking back down at the ground, just knowing Zim had to be giving him one of those "You're crazy!" looks, he fell silent in submission to his teacher's punishment.
The teacher just smiled and nodded in response. "Very well, then. The both of you are free to go." he said before heading on out of the classroom himself to head for his next class.
Dib just kept his head bowed, watching his feet as he proceeded to leave the classroom. He couldn't believe he was caught in this situation. But he wouldn't fail this class, even if he had to write up the entire presentation himself.
A/N: And there you have it for Chapter 2. 8D One more chapter to be posted tonight. =3 Then you'll all have to be patient for future updates. ^^