AN EARLY UPDATE! Yes you guys are so spoiled by me, but then again, you are my collected bunch of test subjects and I am your crazy overlord King of all IZ Fanfiction. So I guess it works out.

Anyway, this chapter is a nice chapter, it's a little sugary in places but it has some nice establishment going on, especially in the first 'page' as it where. I love the descriptions of Gaz in this, I feel it really adds a lot to her character.

Only one experiment this week. To see if FF is really not posting up this story on the 'update' page. Last week I'm almost positive it didn't, which annoyed me a lot.

Anyway, ENJOY KIDS!

She hadn't seem Zim for the rest of the day, hell, she hadn't even heard him. Usually she caught glances of him at break, or more likely, heard him shouting at something or someone. It was hard to ignore Zim after all, he was a tiny, green guy with serious short man's syndrome. And yet since that afternoon she hadn't heard a sound.

Gaz stood outside the hi-skool, the long steps reaching down to the main road, cars rushing about in a frantic drive to get away from the prison-esk looking building. She wished she had her own car, she could sit in it at break times and play games with no distractions whatsoever, plus she could go and get whatever she wanted when she wanted it.

People walked about around her, chatting, laughing, some couple kissed with their hands around each other's waists.

And she stood in the centre, alone, with all these people moving about her. She didn't know why she was standing and waiting, waiting for who? Zim? He wouldn't want to talk to her or keep her company, and besides, she wouldn't talk to him either. She would walk with him beside her and play her game.

She blinked, and suddenly, she was alone. Now only stragglers, people with nothing to do or people waiting for lifts home were left, sitting on the skool walls in groups of three or fours chatting and laughing in the summer afternoon sun.

So why was she still waiting? Why not just walk home alone?

Inside she knew why she was waiting. She wanted to just... see him. Gaz hated herself because really she knew it was all thanks to that annoying feeling of guilt that had settled like a film of oil across her mind. It was thin, and could be broken with just one glance at his silly quiff hair.

Stupid guilt. She hated feeling it. Gaz would always get that stupid pang after punching Dib in the head for annoying her but the moment she saw him again she would feel better. Just knowing that those she had lashed out against were still... okay, made her feel less guilty about hurting them in the first place.

Gaz allowed a sigh of annoyance to escape her. Fine. If he was going to be a dick about this he could be, she was going home. Pulling her shoulder strap from her left shoulder to her right so the strap now went across her body rather than to her side, she set off, heavy boots crunching against the tiny stones on the pavement.

Stupid Zim. That annoying alien deserved every punch he received, hell, she was even starting to see why Dib hated the little green guy so much. He had a way of getting right into your head and staying there like a fly that buzzed about your mind but you could never swat.

She didn't feel like playing her game right now, rather, she unfurled the earphones from her MYphone and quickly threw on some heavy, angry death metal. She never went out without music in her ears. Gaz didn't want to look or hear anyone whilst she was out, she wanted to cut the world off and be like a ghost on it's streets. Unnoticed and forgotten in a glance.

It was hard enough connecting with her own family, never mind other people.

The streets were surprisingly empty, although from behind fences she could hear children laughing and dogs barking. A cat crossed her path, glancing at her for a moment before rushing across the road, avoiding a large dark purple and silver Jeep which growled past her.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of peace fall upon her. She liked this, being an observer, looking out at others. Gaz got angry and frustrated around people, she felt like she was surrounded by idiots. It was like when they were not around her, she could think of things to say, think of witty replies and intelligent conversation, but the moment she saw these people again it all just... blocked up. She just gave sharp answers and looked away and later cursed herself for not being more like she wanted to be.

The few times she'd really give 'being herself' effort and trying to talk with other people, she had always found other people to be backstabbing assholes, idiots or just annoying. She had given up trying to be nice to people when she was young and stopped bothering to be herself to other people soon after.

Gaz the anti-social loner was both the real and not the real her. It was... strange.

She looked down at this thought, her fingers playing slightly with the badges on her satchel. She didn't need people though, well, other than the ones she shot online. People really were jerks, just one look at her fellow students confirmed that. She would never tell him, but sometimes, she could sympathise with Dib when he complained about being alone in a world with people who didn't believe him.

She was so far away in her thoughts that she didn't notice a small green figure step out from around a corner and into her path. Not until she was right on top of the alien did she finally stop.

The teen blinked in surprised as she almost stumbled into him and quickly took out her headphones, still somewhat shocked to see him pop out of nowhere. "Zim?"

"Hello Gaz-human," Zim addressed simply, almost sternly, like he was addressing someone he respected.

Immediately those scenarios she wished she could fill ran through her mind. Apologise for hurting him so bad, let him know you're not as stupid as Dib, thank him for fixing the Gameslave.

"What do you want?" Goddamnit.

"I want you." Zim replied simply, his purple-hazed eyes locking onto hers, reflecting an odd sort of sobriety that the irken rarely possessed.

If some other guy had told her this, she probably would have kicked them in the nuts and walked on but from Zim, she knew it meant something else entirely... and in it's own way, that was more worrying than the usual meaning.

She raised an eyebrow slowly, "What?"

"Today you defeated me in single combat," the irken comment quickly, an obvious hint of anger in his voice, but also, a strange sense of bitter respect, "Therefore, I demand that you teach me how you did it."

"... what?" This was unexpected. She blinked at this before frowning, "I beat you up and you ask me to show you how?" She scoffed, "Zim. You're really stupid."

The invader growled and stepped forward at her, his eyes blazing with a reserved anger. She suspected that he really didn't want to do this, which only made her wonder why he was bothering. "An invader learns from his mistakes, Gaz-stink. If you beat me in a fight I must know how."

"So you can use it against me later?" The teen couldn't help but smirk back, "How very cunning of you."

"QUIET!" Zim barked before shaking a fist at the woman, "Teach Zim your combat skills! I demand it of you!"

"... no," Gaz replied with a frown, "I told you to leave me alone." She went to walk around the small irken, but he quickly stepped in her way.

His eyes locked onto hers and without showing it Gaz was surprised at the level of determination that shone within them. "You must show me! Or I'll-"

"You'll do what?" Gaz snapped back, her patience with the little irken growing thin, "Fight me and get your ass kicked again?"

"If needs be, yes," Zim replied with cold determination. The reply made Gaz wonder just how suicidal the irken was, he wouldn't really put himself through that kind of beating every day just to learn how to throw a punch, would he? Gaz may be mean to those who annoy her but she wasn't a bully. She hit only when it was required of her... or when Dib annoyed her.

There was a moment of silence in the street, masking the battle of the wills between Zim and Gaz. The tiny irken refused to step down to the taller human. Yes her height and gothic appearance made her an intimidating opponent, but he was a Invader elite and he would not be defeated again, not when he could be on the verge of uncovering the very thing that could tip the scales in his battles with Dib.

"Go home, Zim." Gaz's deadpan voice finally shattered the glass air between them. She turned and walked past the irken, who let her pass, perhaps now seeing that simply forcing her to train him was not going to work.

He needed some kind of leverage, something to offer her which she didn't have. She was about to cross the road and away from Zim and his mind raced for something, anything to grab her attention with. "A reward!"

Gaz paused, stopping just to look over her shoulder and back at the annoying little irken. She didn't say anything though, just narrowed her eyes at him. However, Zim took advantage of this and quickly pressed, "I'll reward you! Anything you want, ZIM will give it to you. Just let me know the secrets of your fighting arts."

"Anything?" Gaz had to admit, this was... interesting. She wondered just what exactly she could get out of Zim, especially since she knew how utterly vast his resources were.

"Anything." The irken brought a hand up to his chin slowly, a cunning smile forming on his face, "For example, I noticed your puny gaming system is amazingly backwards in the face of mighty irken gaming technology."

Mighty irken gaming technology? That was a new one. However, Gaz couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of interest, she was a video game addict, any offer of something new and better than the last gen of gaming was too tempting for her to reject.

Besides, a new thought hit her. Zim was essentially handing himself over to her... almost like a servant. She could tell him any kind of crap and he'd buy it, all in the name of defeating Dib. She could really have some fun with this, both in a sadistic sense and in a more creative sense. She could make him into someone that, just perhaps, she wouldn't mind eating with at lunch times.

Now that was far more valuable than a new game.

Inside a little nagging voice told her that she was only doing this because she still felt bad about those large, dark bruises all over his face but she pushed it down. "Fine." She couldn't stop a tiny smirk appearing on her face. "I'll be along later today."

"VICTORY FOR ZIIIM!" The irken shouted, a grin plastered on his face.

Gaz only shook her head and turned, walking away and down the street, earphones put back and her world again blocked out by guitar solos. Zim stood and watched her, his pride returned. Today's defeat had been humiliating, however, like any good solider he had turned a defeat into a victory. The Gaz-stink was a force to be reckoned with, he had always know that, but now he was finally using her own destructive power for his own needs. With the secrets of Gaz's power under his command, he would be unstoppable!

He cackled softly to himself, yes, he had a very good feeling about this plan.

So another chapter over and done with! Aren't you guys happieee? The next chapter will be all Zim-focused for a change, a bit of which you saw at the end of this.

The only reference here being MYphone and I don't really have to explain that, do I?

Thanks to all ya'll comments last time, they really helped spur me on to write this chapter. I'm also playing with a few plot ideas now, making expanding on this whole story a bit more and making something more epic with it, as well as perhaps landing in a few original takes on old ideas.

Tell me what you think guys. Read, review, what you liked and didn't! Till next time!