Yay! A fast update! Thank you for the reviews and let me know if this gets cheesy. I tend to be horribly cliche.
Under the burning sun
I take a look around
Imagine if this all came down
I'm waiting for the day to come
Zim's false Volkswagen purred in Ana's driveway. It bothered the neighbors, but they would never openly say anything. People were funny that way. Zim was struggling to keep his eyes open in the warmth of the Voot. He had been hard at work in the depths of his lab for many months. Occasionally he would speak with Tak and Skoodge, who would update him on the Vortians' movements. After his incident on the stone jungle planet, Zim had decided that to venture further on his own would be suicide. Therefore, he relied on his acquaintances to inform him of new data. The Irken pair operated out of a large asteroid where the remnants of the Irken race was attempting to rebuild. Luckily for the fallen armada, the Tallest had been rescued at the last minute and were locked deep with a camouflaged bunker while they oversaw the last few squads of elite soldiers. Tak and Skoodge ran reconnaissance and reported back often.
Zim's brow bone skin twitched imperceptibly as he thought of Dib. The human boy had returned to the alien's house several times after their fight, begging to use Zim's communication equipment. He needed to see her, he had said. He needed to hear her voice. Zim, with no time to lecture the young paranormal investigator, had simply ordered his lawn gnomes to chase Dib off if he even turned onto the cul-de-sac. Eventually, Dib apologized and asked Zim to collect his belongings from his house, which Gaz had sold. Zim agreed on the condition that Dib cease pestering him. Dib complied without hesitation. Zim gritted his teeth.
"Well," Gaz spoke quietly, "thanks for helping take care of me these last few days. It means a lot to me." She leaned into the door and it squeaked open with a springy motion. Zim grabbed her wrist. Gaz looked back at him, a shiver running up her spine. The ex-Invader rubbed his eyes with his free hand in a sleepy manner; his voice was husky with exhaustion.
"Listen… if you need to talk… please come by my base again. Dib isn't there anymore." He gazed at her with pleading eyes. Gaz's protests died silently in her throat. Zim pressed on, "I promise, Gaz…. I won't let anyone speak to you like that again, even if they are your family." Gaz gulped.
"What are you promising, exactly?"
"Whatever you want." Great Irk, what a corny line. "I want to be there for you, in whatever way you see fit." Gaz felt her heart flutter and for a second she thought she might kiss the alien in a fierce blaze of passion, but she caught herself and scrambled out of the Voot in a hurry.
"Thanks, Zim… again." She smiled as sweet as she knew how. "I think I'll take you up on that offer someday. Zim nodded vaguely and Gaz smiled once more before shutting the door and jogging up to the entry of Ana's house. When the last smudge of her black skirt had disappeared into the dim recesses of the small, well-kept suburban house, Zim flew away, turning the Volkswagen back to the Voot. He chewed the inside of his cheek, deep in thought. Gir fell out of a storage compartment and climbed into the seat next to Zim.
"Why are you makin' that face, Mastah?" He began to suck on his hand—it made tinny clink, clink noises. Zim glanced sidelong at his metallic companion, wondering if the little robot would even grasp the depth of his feelings. Perhaps not, but long ago, Zim's Invader Academy instructor had told him it was important to vent one's feelings occasionally. Zim had naturally laughed in her face, but that was before he had gone through his changes, both physical and emotionally. The alien, who was still so youthful despite his years, decided to confide in the SIR unit, starting with his disturbing, unchecked feelings for the human girl.
June.
Tenth grade came to an uneventful close with the usual summer break-ups and teachers running out of curriculum two weeks early. The stifling, muggy sort of heat that was so predictable in this small corner of the United States made the student body sluggish and most people opted to stand in idle groups, chatting about who was going to what party. They were going to get so wasted, some said. Others just boasted about the amazing cruises their parents were taking them on. Some even still had enough energy to gossip about Gaz and Ana, pondering if the palest pair in skool would get any sun this summer.
Ana slathered sunscreen on her makeup-less face, hissing under her breath at the fiery orb in the smoggy sky. She silently offered the bottle to Gaz, who sat on the bench next to her. Gaz only growled and continued clacking away at her Game Slave. Ana shrugged, readjusting her uncharacteristic sunhat.
"Ever since I got that boggart bacterium, I've sunburned terribly fast." She leaned back, "Well, I won't have to deal with that too much longer anyway." Gaz's thumb slipped and her avatar leapt into a bottomless pit. The words "Game Over" flashed across the screen in angry red letters. Gaz snapped the handheld shut, turning to glare at her only friend with narrowed eyes.
"Really? You had to go there?"
Ana lowered her sunglasses, her pale eyes glittering without expression. Gaz continued her unwavering glare, burning tears welling up in her squinted, amber eyes. The silent staring contest continued until Gaz inhaled sharply and stood up, brushing dry grass from her stockings.
"It doesn't matter, I suppose," she muttered, almost as if she was talking more to herself than her silver-haired friend, "I'll see you later." The dark teen stalked away, leaving Ana alone on the bench in the courtyard. The girl simply sighed and raised her porcelain face towards the sky, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth. After the end bell rang, she took a deep breath and whispered to herself. Her mouth moved minutely.
"Four more months," she stopped, cocking her head as though listening. "I don't really mind anymore."
Dib kicked the useless machine, grunting loudly with exertion. It toppled over with a bang; the glass components shattered. Dib roared in frustration and stomped the glass shards. They tinkled mournfully.
"Useless junk! Damn garbage!" He thrust an accusing finger at the pile of rubbish. "That's what you are," he panted. Sweat made his thin t-shirt cling to his gangly body between his shoulder blades and across his abdomen. Overgrown black hair was slick against his neck in cloying tendrils that smelled of body oil and last week's shampoo. With every heave of breath, his glasses fogged and became clear again. After a few minutes, Dib stomped away and sank into his desk chair with a frail sigh.
His lab dorm was dusty vortex of gloom. His old things still sat in columns of packed boxes, gathering layers of dust with every month. Dishes were piled haphazardly in the clinical, stainless steel sink. Flies buzzed on the muddy remnants of food. Countless gushes from the faucet had blended the collection of macaroni and cheese, wheat toast and gristle, leaving it all a nauseating brown color with the texture of mashed potatoes. The young man's bedroom was not much different: dark blue, drawn curtains cast insufficient light on a carpet littered with sticky, empty cans of energy drinks and other unfortunate garbage. His bed was a tangled mess of blankets as dark and disquieting as his curtains. They were stained and smelled of the fears one has when facing an apocalyptic even alone—as well as the desires one has for a person millions of miles away.
Truth be told, Dib had not escaped the nightmares that haunted his sister and her friend. Lucky for him, they only bothered him when he slept, but unlucky was the fact that his dreams were far more gruesome, sparing little detail of what was to come. Grit of blood and entrails coated the walls of these dreams and thousands of putrefying bodies clogged whatever pathway Dib ran along, screaming until his voice was hoarse and raw. For a while, the dorm maids would come rushing in to his room to make sure he was all right (and sane) when he screamed, but he told them he was fine. He just needed his time alone to work. Professor Membrane couldn't have been more proud, thinking that his son was following in his own workaholic footsteps. Dib told himself to let them think what they will. They wouldn't understand even if he told them.
In love with an alien? At a time like this? He wasn't an ex-pat, for heaven's sake. He was the furthest thing from that. So often he had dreamed of saving his country and planet that it would be nigh a sin to accuse him otherwise. But… perhaps it was that deep-seeded drive within him that had brought him to the place he was now. He hardly slept anymore due to the nightmares. His stomach was so twisted with stress that he couldn't eat very much either. Would he perhaps waste away in the bowels of his personal lab before the invasion even began? The boy smirked, letting a dark chuckle slip past his lips. All this work for nothing: that would be the way to go. The rolling chair creaked in protest as he leaned back, bringing one leg across the other and resting a hand on his knee.
Four months to go. Would he live to see the end?
"Zim! Please!" Gaz pounded a fist on the familiar purple door, her teeth chattering from her sobs. The reek of July surrounded her, reaching a crumbling fist into her throat and filling her lungs with stifling, dusty air. It was times like these that pollution from the city would slip down into the suburbs, making the peaceful neighborhoods thick with the sludge of factories, the oil and noxious fumes of a thousand cars idling in traffic. The news had predicted the usual hot and muggy, yet on this day, when Gaz had decided to take a long walk, rain began to fall. Not a refreshing rain, nor a rain that smelled of thunder and felt like electricity, but a rain that burned. Raindrops so big and acidic they shot through the smog like bullets, leaving smoking trails and sizzling against the pavement. It rolled in waves and made sounds like a train and Gaz had barely a minute when she realized what was coming. It roared behind her, searing everything it touched. A chemical weapon by an unseen enemy with plans to harvest planets for revenge.
Her pupils narrowed and she panted as she turned to run with every ounce of strength she had. Somehow, despite the brimstone rain tearing along behind her and the blinding fear that she would die in this hellish manner, she found herself on the doorstep of the glowing green house. She pressed her body against the door in the hopes that whatever overhang the roof possessed would save her life. The flood of tears happened when five minutes passed and the door remained closed. So Gaz broke—she screamed and sobbed and just when the rain began to blow at an angle, everything went silent but her frantically beating heart. She accepted that this was the end: this was her death. She stopped knocking and felt her knees five out, millisecond by millisecond.
The door opened. Zim seemed like he was shouting as he lurched forward, arms outstretched. Gaz could only hear her heart. Zim caught her before she fell, pulling her small frame to his. He slammed the door behind them, gesturing to the computer to get the shields up. He leaned down to slide one arm behind Gaz's knees, lifting her into his arms bridal-style. The young girl's hearing returned, but she stayed limp.
"Gaz! Gaz-human, you must stay conscious, do you hear Zim?" He gave her a little shake and she blinked. Mascara was smudged around her eyes.
"They're here, Zim. They're already in our galaxy… our solar system."
"Yes… Zim knows."
"Maybe… I should just…" she began to close her eyes, "rest."
Zim flinched, "No, Gaz, you can't do that! You have to stay awake! Your body is firing shock sensors… Gaz you could die!" Zim began shouting as he felt the girl's final strength ebb away from her limbs. He cursed loudly and began to run towards the elevator, shouting instructions to set up a hospital table immediately. As he descended in the rose colored elevator, a single jade tear slid down his face.
"Stay with me."
Ana had waited far too long for Gaz to get home. She had gotten so bored that she even set up a plate of leftovers and waited at the dinner table. The clock in the kitchen had a particularly annoying tick that seemed to get more obnoxious with time. Instead of simply clicking away as it was meant to, the second hand would drag itself for just a moment before moving on. It had always reminded Ana of a disobedient toddler dragging their feet, but this time it seemed to fall as the hand of judgment itself.
When Ana couldn't stand it anymore, her phone rang. The call I.D. displayed her friend's name. Ana answered, relieved and upset at the same time. She slid her thumb across the answer bar and hissed into the phone's receiver.
"Where have you been?"
"Is this the Gaz-human's companion?"
Ana stopped short, "Excuse me?"
The vaguely-familiar voice continued, "If this is the human called 'Ana', say yes." Ana squeaked out a small 'yes'. The voice pressed on, "Then you need to meet me at the address I've just texted you; it's urgent and concerns your human friend." With that, the line went dead. Ana gaped for a moment before checking her phone for new messages. Sure enough, a small red marker blinked on the screen. She opened it, then grabbed her coat and rushed out of the house.
The house was not what the silver-haired girl had expected. It was tall and narrow and glowed a bright, eerie green. A chill ran up her spine, which she shrugged off. So Ana pulled her cardigan around her a bit tighter and knocked on the door, which resembled a public restroom door. An alarming squeal sounded from within and the door flew open with a bang.
If Ana thought the house was strange, the bizarre creature masquerading as a dog was the cherry on top. It blinked up at her; a pink, lifeless tongue dangling from what she assumed was its mouth. It suddenly raised stubby black arms.
"Mistress' friend! You came just in time! Mastah was about to go lookin' for you!" Ana only raised an eyebrow. Then, a familiar face appeared.
"You're late, pathetic human! Zim has no patience for those who aren't punctual to emergencies." The alien crossed his arms stiffly. Ana began to tremble.
"Where is Gaz?"
The ex-Invader's face fell.
"She… is not doing very well." He gestured for her to follow. Ana trailed after him warily, down a pink elevator and through several corridors until they arrived at a brighter-lit room, where a Gaz lay on something horribly akin to a hospital bed.