A/N: Thanks for the reviews :3 I hope you enjoy this update!

Chapter 7

The next day Dib walked into the school in a daze. He'd not been able to sleep at all last night, his mind had just kept raging between being heartbreak and anger. Eventually he'd sobered up and now he just had a raging headache. He was just so mad about everything; himself, Zim… just at the whole stupid situation that he had got himself messed up in despite the fact that he'd seen it coming.

He knew he'd gotten too drunk and in retrospect he had been far too forward. His cheeks burned with shame when he thought about his actions last night. He shouldn't have tried to take things so fast, he'd just felt so sure that Zim was enjoying it. The humiliation and rejection he felt just fuelled his anger though. Zim had definitely reacted irrationally he assured himself. He could have just asked Dib to stop rather than trying to spear him. In truth it had really scared him, and he didn't want to be afraid of Zim.

Dib took a deep cleansing breath of the brisk morning air as he approached the doors, to clear his head before he went in. He was determined to try and not think about Zim today, but he knew that was going to be a challenge. Immediately he caught himself scanning the crowd for Zim's face, forcing himself to look down at his feet instead. When he stopped at his locker and finally looked back up, he realised that quite a few people were staring at him. He caught his own reflection in the shiny metal door and remembered the bruises that still patterned his skin.

After everything that had happened over the weekend he'd almost forgotten about the incident with those jocks. Of course people were going to be talking about him after that, it was probably the biggest thing that had happened in the school in years. He was also the only one not in hospital as a result, and no one was quite sure what had actually happened. He groaned as he realised he was probably going to get questioned about it again at some point. He thumped his head against the locker in exasperation. He really didn't have the energy for this day.

As he headed into the classroom his eyes automatically darted to Zim's seat before he could stop himself. What he saw caught him totally off guard however. Sat in Zim's chair was the girl from last night… Kat! It took a moment for his brain to kick back into action, and when it did he recalled that the last thing she probably saw of him was when he punched that blonde idiot. He looked quickly down at his feet in shame and hurried to his seat, hoping she hadn't noticed him.

After a minute or two though he felt someone standing over him, and he looked up into her familiar brown eyes. She smirked down at him knowingly, causing him to cringe.

"Hey! It's Dib right?" She greeted him cheerily.

"Uh yeah, hi Kat." Dib looked up at her reluctantly, waiting for the humiliation to begin.

"I just changed schools, what are the chances I'd be in your class huh? It's pretty awesome." She continued to smile at him while he looked for the catch. A thought niggled briefly in Dib's head that if she was new to the class then she had indeed replaced Zim, which meant he had left the school. Dib quickly tried to shake the thought away. It didn't matter now right? If anything it would just make things easier.

"Yeah, that's pretty weird." He responded belatedly, realising she was waiting for some sort of response.

"So you were pretty drunk last night huh?" She grinned at him.

"Uggh, yeah sorry about that." Dib blushed and dropped his gaze in embarassment, but Kat just giggled.

"Don't worry about it, most of my friends were totally wasted, I'm used to it. Though, none of them got into a fight." She continued to tease Dib. Dib groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm never drinking again! That was so unlike me, I swear…" Kat merely cocked an eyebrow at him, gesturing to the bruises on his face. "Oh… well apart from that I guess. But that was just me getting beaten up so it wasn't really a fight."

"I heard about that." Kat leaned in with interest, resting her elbows on his desk and her head on her hands. Girls and gossip, Dib thought exasperatedly. They were all the same.

"How did you hear about it already? You just got here." Dib complained, realising now that other students in the room were staring at him and muttering, trying to listen in if they were close enough.

"It's quite the headline around here. Five jocks in hospital? That's pretty big news. Lots of people are saying you did it, that you're some kind of psycho or something. They're quite afraid." She said with amusement, and Dib groaned again. So that was why everyone kept staring at him.

"It's okay anyway, I don't believe in silly stories like that." She conceded, having had her fun teasing him. "And last night you were just looking out for your boyfriend right?" Dib gave a tiny nod, blushing furiously now.

"We're not really… together," He said awkwardly. He wasn't sure they ever had been really, he'd just been kidding himself.

"Oh really? You seemed so close last night… did something happen?" She asked nosily, but not unkindly.

"Yeah…" Dib's face fell. He really didn't want to be talking about this.

"I'm sorry." Kat said genuinely, and Dib looked at her in surprise. She actually meant it, and was looking at him sympathetically.

"Thanks." Dib managed a feeble smile. He was grateful that the teacher entered the classroom then, and Kat sloped off to Zim's– her seat. Dib scowled at himself for how quickly his thoughts reverted to that wretched green idiot.

Still… Dib couldn't help but wonder where he was now.

Deep in the bowels of his Irken base Zim sat huddled tightly in his chair, a large screen before him. He had been sat there since he had fled Dib's house, and had barely moved an inch. His body trembled with the stress, his legs cramping as he held them close to his chest.

How could this have happened? He'd already hurt the Dib once before and he'd sworn he would never harm the boy again. It had just been such an instinctive reaction, it was totally out of his control. His antennae were so delicate, and the pain that Dib's tugging had induced had been so overwhelming that there had been no room for any other conscious thought or feeling at all. In a life or death situation his pak would always act on his behalf to save his body – did that mean that Dib would never truly be safe from him? Was he at risk from being speared by his spider legs at the slightest mishap?

Zim shuddered, the image of the metal – his metal – piercing Dib's flesh… it haunted him. He uncurled himself slightly, wincing at how stiff his limbs had become. He had to try and get a grip of himself. He doubted the Dib was going to come and save him from his anxiety this time around. He had to think of something else.

He tried instead to think of what had happened shortly before the incident. They had been so close together, closer than ever before. It had evoked such a primal feeling in him that he didn't understand. He had felt euphoric, and he yearned to feel it again. Just the thought of that human tongue sliding along his own, warm hands against the bare skin of his stomach… it was enough to send echoes of those feelings itching at his body once more.

They'd never kissed like that before and Zim wanted to know what that meant. The Dib had used the word 'sex' - could that be a hint? He'd heard it used before around school and on TV but had never bothered to find out what it meant. Determined now to find out what the Dib had been trying to accomplish, Zim decided to use his computer to hack into the global network the humans used to store their information. He could easily steal the connection from the wires feeding into his neighbour's house.

The information that filled his screen thanks to this dubious search term was quite overwhelming. His eyes widened at some of the results, his instinct to be disgusted - especially by the pictures. But he soon worked out that this 'sex' was just how the humans mated, although they seemed to put an awful lot of value on it. They considered the act enjoyable, aspirational even. He had no comparable – Irkens didn't need to mate anymore with every smeet born in a lab, and it never occurred to him that it could be done just for fun. He was sure they still had all the necessary organs, but he didn't know the first thing about how to use them.

The main thing that stood out to him though (although there seemed to be some debate on the matter) was that it was generally seen as something intimate done between two loving partners. Zim felt honoured that Dib would want to engage in something so intimate with him. His cheeks glowed as he smiled wistfully, but his face soon fell as he realised he would probably never get that close to the Dib again. If only the clumsy human hadn't pulled on his antenna, none of this would ever have happened.

What was he going to do?

Throughout the day Dib noticed a distinct change in the dynamics of the school. Zim had removed the students who had previously been at the top of the pecking order, and there was a reasonable amount of uncertainty as the sheep-like students didn't know who to look to anymore. There was definitely a more upbeat atmosphere though. Those guys had been responsible for a fair amount of misery amongst a lot of the other students and the school genuinely seemed like a happier place, at least for the time being.

Dib found his own status drastically changed. No longer was he invisible, but quite the opposite. Kat was quite right, a lot of people obviously were afraid of him. There was an air of mystery about him, as people began to realise that he existed they soon discovered no one really knew anything about him at all. He found he didn't mind being feared though. It was the closest he'd ever come to getting respect and hopefully it would be enough to keep the bullies away. Maybe this really would be a new start for him.

'I… feel good when I'm around you too… Dib-stink.' The memory echoed involuntarily through Dib's mind, catching him off guard. He shook his head furiously as if he could shake Zim right out of his brain. For all he knew Zim was already light-years away by now. His stomach dropped at that thought, but it had to be for the best right? He hung his head miserably. It had been so much easier when he'd been drunk and angry, but now he was sober he knew keeping to his resolve was going to be hard. His mind just kept straying to those deep ruby eyes, that cool silky green skin, that scaly alien tongue…

He shook his head again. He shuffled uncomfortably at the tightness in his pants, his body betraying him.

"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly brought Dib to his senses. He realised he'd just been stood in front of his locker shaking his head like a crazy person – great. Cringing he turned in the direction of the voice to see Kat slouching against the lockers next to him. "You know schools over, you can go home now." She smirked at him bemusedly.

"Yeah I know. I was just…" Dib blushed furiously, unable to come up with an explanation.

"Bad hangover huh?" Kat laughed at him.

"You could say that." Dib finished with his locker and slung his bag on his back after pulling on his trench coat. He began to walk down the corridor towards the doors, and Kat fell in step beside him. "What are you stalking me now?" He said jokingly, hoping he hadn't come across as rude but suspecting he sounded bitter.

"Maybe." She just grinned, taking him aback.

'Maybe I don't care what anyone else thinks.' Dib ignored the words that floated through his head.

"Oh." Dib had no idea what to say now. This girl was so confident, pretty even – too pretty for him he was sure. He just couldn't understand why she was still talking to him.

"I thought you could walk me home." Dib just blinked at her until she looked at him for a response.

"Oh… sure," Wait, had he wanted to agree to this? She'd caught him so off guard again that he'd just got flustered and accepted, but he wasn't sure if he'd rather be alone right now. As soon as he was alone though, his thoughts went straight back to… no. This was what he needed.

So he accompanied her to her house which wasn't far and forced himself to make conversation with her along the way. He didn't find it as difficult as he usually did, she was surprisingly easy to get along with. He had the same dilemma running through his head though as he had previously about Zim. Did he actually like her or was he just enjoying the attention? Was it different than when he was with Zim? Yes, definitely. But was it better? Or just different? If he could choose between the two - minus all the complications of course - who would he pick? He had a sneaking suspicion he knew the answer to that one, but he didn't want to admit that right now.

He scolded himself for overthinking. He was just walking her home for Christ's sake, and he'd missed what she'd just said to him. She was looking at him expectantly, and he realised they had stopped. He panicked and opened his mouth, but no words came out. Thankfully she laughed at him well-naturedly.

"Maybe next time huh? I think you need to get some sleep and recover from last night." She giggled at him.

"Um… yeah. Sorry." Dib mumbled bashfully.

"No worries. Thanks for walking me home!" She winked at him before trotting off down her front path. Dib watched as she disappeared inside her house before looking around, trying to get his bearings.

His heart sank when he realised that Zim's house stood between here and his own. He could easily take a different route of course but the temptation to walk past it was enormous. He really wanted to know if Zim was just hiding out there or if he had actually left the planet. His heart hammered at the thought of seeing Zim and he tried to calm himself, logically reasoning it out. If he discovered that Zim was truly gone and never coming back, surely it would make it easier to get over him. It was all the excuse he needed, and he quickly found himself power walking in that direction.

The closer he got the more nervous he felt. As he neared Zim's street he imagined what he might find there. A gaping hole in the ground where Zim's base and labs had been uprooted? But as he rounded the corner there it stood, in all its magnificent green and purple glory. He couldn't deny that he felt relieved, but the betrayal of his feelings angered him.

Dib's emotions raged as he stood before the house. His heart ached for the Irken there was no doubting it. But as he took a deep breath to calm himself, the small action caused the wounds in his shoulders to catch against the straps of his backpack and he winced in pain. It was enough to relight the anger he also felt towards Zim. He gritted his teeth as his shoulders throbbed and stepped back. What was he doing here? He turned away and angrily stormed off.

Deep within the base Zim's hope crumpled as he saw the boy walk away.

Zim couldn't bear that the Dib had gotten his hopes up before tearing them back down. He'd been so close, standing right outside his base… why had he come here if he wasn't going to knock? The worst part though had been the look of anger that had been plastered on the boy's face before he stalked away.

After some time of mulling it over Zim decided he couldn't leave it this way. He couldn't take it anymore, he just had to face him and make things right again. He had to apologise for the misunderstanding, and for hurting the boy again. If he didn't he was sure the guilt would eat him alive.

Zim slunk out of his base and into the night, swiftly climbing over the rooftops with his spider legs. When he reached the Dibs house he hesitated. How should he approach this? Using the mechanical legs he lowered himself down from the roof, just enough so that he could peek into Dib's room. The boy was sat on his bed with his knees up and his head in his hands, shaking. Zim peered a little closer, confused until Dib moved his arm and Zim could see the moisture rolling down the boys reddened cheeks. His squeedly-spooch lurched sickeningly. He was… crying? Was it about him? He wished he knew.

Zim thought carefully before deciding to flick his disguise on, and headed down to the front door to ring the bell. There was no response for a few minutes and Zim began to think that no one would answer. But just when he'd been about to head back up to the window the door opened, and his pulse quickened as he saw that it was Dib. He'd dried his eyes, but they were still quite red. The boy's eyes widened in shock as he saw who it was.

"What are you doing here Zim?" Dib asked coolly, quickly trying to regain his composure.

"Ca…can't I come in?" Zim's voice was barely louder than a whisper. Dib's face contorted at Zim's words, but the Irken just couldn't read what was going through the boys head. Dib dropped his gaze, unable to meet the Irkens eyes any more. They both knew that Zim had only rung the doorbell as he'd almost certainly been to the window first and seen him crying. This angered Dib further, his hand gripping the door-frame tightly turning his knuckles white.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Dib eventually answered, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

"Oh…" Zim's disappointment was overwhelming. He sucked it up and tried to continue. "I wanted to take a look at your shoulders, I was going to fix them up for you."

"No." Dib said quickly. "They're fine, I don't need your help." Zim's face crumpled at his words.

"Dib… I'm sorry." Dib finally met his eyes at this, and Zim continued hopefully. "The last thing I wanted was to hurt you. Please…"

"But you did." Dib's resolve almost crumbled at Zim's emotional apology, but he swiftly recovered his stern expression and dropped his eyes once more. He mentally kicked himself for not having the guts to say these things whilst maintaining eye contact. "Just go Zim. Please."

Zim's eyes welled up and Dib's heart broke all over again. If the alien didn't leave soon he wouldn't be able to keep this up.

"I don't want to be alone." Zim choked out, barely audible. Dib's throat clenched and he had to force his next words out.

"That's just it isn't it. You don't care about me, you just want someone to keep you company until you go back to your own people."

"You know that's not true Dib-"

"I can't trust you not to hurt me." Dib cut him off quickly, he couldn't afford to let the alien speak. "What's the point if you're just going to leave? You'll go back to your own planet, and then I'll be alone. I'm done." And with that Dib closed the door, unable to bear the sight of Zim's heartbroken face any longer and unable to hold back the tears he didn't want Zim to see. He leaned against the closed door sobbing quietly, knowing that Zim was stood on the other side.

He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that weeping against the dark wood, but some time later he eventually opened the door, almost hoping the Irken would still be stood there. Instead he stared out into the empty night.

Zim didn't know what to do any more. How had he managed to screw this up so badly? He considered his options. His invention was complete, so he could go ahead with his plot at any time. He didn't have to be alone, he had a real opportunity to prove himself to his own people. And all he had to do to take this pain away was to turn his inhibitor back on and he wouldn't care any more.

So why was he still sat here in misery? There was something about Dib's wording that halted him. 'What's the point if you're just going to leave?' Was that what this was all about? Did the Dib want him to stay?

It suddenly seemed so clear to him. He was totally ready to fulfil the plan to return to his old life and yet he was still halting. All he could think about was fixing things with the Dib, and when he thought about pleasing his Tallest and being loved by his people he felt nothing. However when he thought about the Dib human holding him close he felt totally overwhelmed by emotions. He'd made his choice some time ago, he just hadn't realised it yet.

He felt a swell of joy. Maybe that was all he needed to do - tell the Dib he was staying and everything would be alright again. It suddenly seemed so simple and he felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders by finally making a decision. But how to tell him? Dib didn't seem to want to hear anything he had to say right now. The human was still so angry at him even after Zim's heartfelt apology. He probably wouldn't even answer the door to him again. So how was he going to get close enough to tell him how he felt?

Tomorrow the Dib would be at school again - that had to be his best shot. He wouldn't be able to go as 'Red' though, he'd have to alter his disguise first. His pak swiftly connected to the console and he brought the hologram disguise up on screen. He couldn't change the image too drastically. It wrapped around the shape of his Irken body pretty closely, as this made it look more realistic and reduced other risks. He would be in trouble if for example he made his arm much longer and didn't realise that his hand was sticking halfway through a table. If someone tried to touch his hand they would pass straight through the image of those extra fingers and feel his three bony claws, so he had to be careful.

He changed the style and colour of his hair to an average looking messy brown, changed his eye colour to green and slightly darkened the tone of his skin. He changed the clothes to something more plain and boring too – tomorrow he didn't want the Dib noticing him straight away. Zim was sure the boy wouldn't come anywhere near him if he knew it was him right away.

Nervous butterflies filled Zim's belly at the thought of being at school with Dib again. Someone had already taken his place in their class, but he supposed that was probably for the best or Dib might work out it was him too quickly. He was anxious to see that the boy was okay after his latest injuries, knowing that he hadn't cared for the last one properly on his own. But mainly he was just excited to see him, regardless of the hurtful words that still echoed around his head. The Dib had become like a drug to him and he just couldn't function properly without him. He felt so confident that he was going to get him back now, and he could barely wait.

The following morning Dib trudged into school in much the same manner as he had the previous day. Yet again he had barely slept, the incident with Zim playing over and over in his head. He still couldn't decide if he'd made the right decision about turning Zim away. The image of Zim's dejected eyes seared into his memory. He'd spent most of the night regretting it deeply, wanting nothing more than to wrap his arms around the Irken and hold him close.

At the same time though he was proud of his resolve, and perhaps the hardest part was over. He tried to look ahead and think instead of seeing Kat today, but he couldn't pretend to himself that he was looking forward to seeing her. He put it down to the lack of sleep and emotional trauma and tried to get on with his day.

Dib had agreed to meet Kat outside for lunch, and as he stepped out of the doors into the fresh breeze he took a minute to clear his head. After a moment of peace he scanned the playground for signs of her. She was easy to spot with her vibrant blue hair, but his stomach sank when he saw she had chosen the same spot under that tree that he and Zim had spoken under last week. Had that really only been a matter of days ago? It felt like a lifetime. Sighing he made his way reluctantly over to her.

He put on a brave face for the girl that lunchtime. He did genuinely like her and he knew she was exactly what he needed right now, but somehow it still felt like bad timing. A week ago he would have been overjoyed to meet her, and would probably have fallen for her in a day. But now… there was just something indescribable missing.

Zim watched from his hiding place as the Dib sat himself down beside that scrawny human girl. He had taken a much stealthier approach to observing him this time around. He knew despite the alterations he had made to his disguise Dib wouldn't fall for it a second time. It was enough to fool the other stinking humans but he knew Dib was too smart and knew his face too well to be fooled. Besides the second Zim opened his mouth to talk Dib would recognise his voice.

He'd probably only have one shot at trying to confront him. He'd been trying and failing to pluck up the courage to face Dib all day and had hoped to catch him in this quiet corner, remembering it was where they had talked once before. He'd been right about the location of course, but he'd never expected the Dib to have company. He couldn't hold back the anger and frustration he felt at his new companion. Why did it have to be her? Dib had assured him that he didn't know this human, had he been lying to him? He just couldn't understand this emotion that raged through him. It was a potent mixture of anger and hurt that made him want to rip her smug face off.

He knew he should just walk away and try another time, but he still couldn't tear himself away. Perhaps if he heard the Dib talking it would help him to understand how the boy was feeling, he reasoned to himself. It could be beneficial to his cause. So he justified hiding around the corner, just within hearing distance and peeking around the wall at the humans to watch their actions. They talked for a while, though he thought Dib didn't seem all that interested.

"You're miles away again aren't you?" Dib started as he realised Kat was looking at him for some sort of a response.

"Huh… what? I'm sorry I…" Dib blushed.

"Don't worry. Are you alright? You look so tired."

"I had a bad night." Dib said rubbing his eyes wearily. Kat paused for a moment before asking.

"Was it Zim again?" She asked delicately. Dib locked eyes with her for a moment before nodding hesitantly. Before he really knew what was happening she was hugging him. Dib froze in shock, before awkwardly putting an arm around her.

'Zim wants to try again. I did it wrong.' Dib winced as Zim's voice echoed through his head once more. Would this ever end? He hoped Kat couldn't sense his reluctance, but she soon pulled back.

"Don't let him get to you. If he's hurting you, you just need to move on." Dib frowned a little at her words. He knew that's what he needed to do but he didn't feel it was her place to tell him that. What did she know anyway? "I can help you with that you know…" She leaned in towards him.

Zim's blood had boiled at Kat's mention of him and her touching of his Dib. But now as she leaned her face in close to his it ran ice cold, a nauseous feeling punching him in the stomach so that he couldn't breathe. He pulled back around the wall, suddenly unable to watch any more.

Dib panicked as he realised how close Kat had somehow managed to get her face to his. He could not do this right now. He flinched backwards, and thankfully it was enough to make her realise he wasn't going to kiss her.

"S-sorry. That was silly of me." She apologised, and for the first time she was the one blushing.

"No… I'm sorry. I really am. It's just… I'm not ready for this. It's too soon." Dib mumbled flustered, quickly getting up to leave. He didn't wait for her response, he couldn't even look at her right now in case he'd ruined everything. He grabbed his bag and rushed away, turning the corner brusquely and walking straight into someone, knocking them hard to the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry." Dib muttered embarrassed, still feeling very agitated and wanting to put distance between himself and Kat. He bent down to offer a hand to whomever he had knocked down, grabbing their arm to pull them up and lifting their petite body with ease. The face he looked into confused him even more. He froze, his brain trying to process everything that was going on. Why did it sort of like… Red - well Zim, but not Zim…

For a moment they both just stood, immobilised. Zim stared at Dib horror struck, not sure whether to be upset and angry at what he had just witnessed, or embarrassed and scared that he had been caught watching them. The feeling of Dib's warm hand on his arm tingled on his cool skin.

"Dib… I…" Zim stuttered, momentarily forgetting he was wearing his disguise and that hearing his voice was all Dib needed as confirmation.

"It IS you isn't it? What the fuck Zim! Are you spying on me now?" Dib exploded, quickly whipping his hand off the 'boys' arm.

"Dib I just need to talk to you." Zim said urgently, ignoring the human's drama. He couldn't miss this opportunity, he just had to tell Dib he was staying and then he wouldn't have to be mad at him anymore. But Dib didn't want to listen.

"I said everything I needed to say last night Zim. Seriously, this is the last straw." Dib knew he was partly only so worked up because he was embarrassed that Zim had seen him nearly kiss Kat. He knew it shouldn't matter to him but he didn't want Zim to see that, and he felt guilty. It was easier to let the anger take over.

"Dib please! Just listen!" Zim begged him, grabbing onto his shirt in desperation and bringing them closer together. It was more than Dib could handle to be so close to the Irken right now. He could feel those claws against chest and it made his heart miss a beat even now. His body's betraying reaction just made him angrier, and he brushed the claws off his top with a swipe of his hand.

"Why won't you leave me alone Zim? What makes you think you can go around snooping on me after I've told you that I'm done with this? Just get it through your head already." His voice fell to a low, dangerous tone. "I don't want to be around you anymore. I need to be with my own kind, to have a chance at a real relationship. Don't you want that for me? After all I did to help you, how can you be so selfish?"

Zim wanted to respond but suddenly he couldn't find his tongue any more. Every word Dib said was a knife in his chest. He'd never seen the boy so incensed and he was actually frightened, the human towering over him.

When Dib saw that Zim wasn't going to respond he turned away and began storming back towards the school. He'd never felt so angry in all his life. He growled as he heard his phone buzz with a text message, and cringed when he saw that it was from Kat. She had probably heard all of that.

'Are you okay?' It simply read.

'Fine. Do you want to come over to mine after school to hang out?' He quickly text back, his decision made. Her response was instant.

'Sounds great ;)'

Dib spent the rest of the school day in emotional turmoil. He had come up with a million excuses to cancel on Kat, but every time he'd get angry again and force himself to stop chickening out. 'I need this' he kept telling himself, over and over. If he went home alone he might cave and seek Zim out. He was just so angry at the little green squirt for spying on him. How long had he been following him around for anyway?

Eventually the day passed and before he knew it Dib found himself sat in his bedroom with Kat perched confidently on his bed. He shuffled about uneasily, feeling embarrassed about the state of his room. He hadn't thought his plan all the way through when he'd asked her over, he'd been too busy being pissed at Zim. He quickly scuttled about picking up the litter from his floor, trying not to think too hard about who had made it. He froze as his eyes fell on Zim's gloves and boots that the alien had left here two nights ago in his hurry to flee. He couldn't make himself pick them up so he ignored them, moving on to tidy another corner of his room.

"Dib stop fussing, it doesn't matter that your room's messy. Everyone's room is messy. Come and sit down!" Kat urged him, getting bored of waiting. Dib gulped, dumping the rubbish in his bin and heading over to the bed. He sat down awkwardly about as far from the girl as he could manage.

"What would you like to do?" Dib asked awkwardly, not meeting her eyes.

"Mmm." Kat looked around his room curiously, her eyes landing on the video games that still lay near the beanbag. "We could play some video games?"

'Zim always wins.' Zim's words echoed through his head.

"No thanks, I just… don't really fancy playing on that right now." Dib muttered his excuse. She raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging it off.

"Okay, we could snuggle up and watch a film?" She winked at him.

'Human TV is stupid.'

Dib cringed again. Was there anything in this room that didn't remind him of Zim anymore? She didn't spot his reaction and walked over to his desk where 'Donnie Darko' lay at the top of the pile, and picked it up. "Hm, good film. How about this?" She held it up for him to see and his stomach dropped. He quickly got up and took the DVD out of her hands, putting it away on the shelf.

"Not this one." He muttered quickly, trying not to sound rude. "Um, I only just watched it the other day you know?"

"No problem, something else then." She picked up a different one and Dib nodded, putting the disc in without even looking to see what she had chosen. "Are you alright? You seem a bit weird." She questioned.

"I'm fine, I just have a bit of a… uh a headache. Yeah." Dib knew how pathetic he was sounding, but this was harder than he thought. Just having her here felt so strange. It was where he and Zim had spent the most time together he supposed, and although it was just his bedroom it had so quickly come to feel like their space. It was so much harder to have her here in Zim's place than he had expected, and suddenly the anger he'd felt towards the alien all day was somewhat hard to find.

They settled down on his bed together to watch the film, Dib being very careful not to sit too close. He didn't take much of the film in. It was all he could do to keep his eyes focused as his mind whirled sickeningly with thoughts about the last few days. So it was quite a surprise when he realised that Kat had somehow manage to snuggle right up next to him, her hand resting delicately on his chest. Dib felt himself go rigid, not sure how to react or feel. He closed his eyes for a moment and imagined it were Zim lying against him instead, and felt a swell of warmth flow through his body.

Without meaning to Dib sighed in contentment and it didn't go unnoticed by Kat. He was still miles away when he felt her lips brush against his again. He knew he must be giving off mixed signals, but damn this girl was forward. He tried not to freak out, and slowly began to respond to the kiss. It was all the confirmation she needed and suddenly she was ravishing him, deepening the kiss and running her hands up and down his body needily.

Dib gasped at the suddenness of it all - he couldn't think. His body craved this so badly (he was a virgin teenage boy after all). What if this was his only shot at it? No one had ever been interested in him before let alone be ready to make out with him, and maybe no one ever would again. Even if he got back with Zim, maybe it wasn't a physical possibility between them. Their bodies might not be compatible. Perhaps that was why Zim had freaked out so much? This really could be his only chance.

So he let his mind go numb, and allowed his body to take control.

Zim was so angry at himself for messing up at school today. It really couldn't have gone much worse. It hurt so bad to see the Dib acting intimately with that stupid female - worse than he could ever have imagined. He was at his wits end. He had to tell Dib the way he felt, and at the very least say goodbye if he refused him. This was his last chance he realised. His last two attempts to talk to the boy had gone so badly, so he knew now it was all or nothing.

Despite all this Zim was still eager to see the Dib, without that irritating human hanging around him too. He wanted to tell the Dib that he was ready to try the sex thing, that he was excited even. He had psyched himself up for this final confrontation. He wouldn't be ignored, this time the Dib would shut up and listen to him.

And so this found him clambering over the rooftops on spider legs, on the route to Dib's house that he knew so well. He slowed as he reached Dib's roof, nervous butterflies wriggling in his guts. This really could be it for them. He wouldn't disturb the boy again if he turned him away this time, he had made his decision. He couldn't take any more heartbreak.

Carefully he lowered himself from the oh so familiar roof, to peer into Dib's room. It was dark, the only light coming from the TV screen which drew his eyes in first. The dim light fell on a figure on the bed and for a moment his belly fluttered. Then the figure became two, and his blood ran cold. They were pressed so closely together that at first he hadn't realised. A flash of blue hair and he knew instantly who the other person was.

Her hands were deep in Dib's hair, holding his face fiercely against her own as he kissed her just the way he had kissed Zim not two days ago, and in the same bed too. Their hands eagerly explored each other's bodies and thanks to his newfound knowledge Zim knew what was going on. And all happening in what he had come to think of as his special place of security and comfort. He felt something within him break, an agony worse than any physical pain he could imagine.

So this was it. They wouldn't even have a goodbye. Zim knew what he had to do now, he couldn't live like this anymore. Not now.

He turned and left, unnoticed by those within.

A/N: Dib is so messed up right now :O Poor Zim. /3