Haiiii everyone ! ! ^_^ I hope you had a great weekend and I am so happy you came back for this update ! ! This
is another chapter named after a line from " Beautiful Disaster " by Kelly Clarkson because this line speaks to Zim beginning to unravel . This chapter is told from Dib's perspective :-D . You can expect a bit of bonding between Zim , Dib and Gaz , some slight arguing of course and then you'll also get to see that impromptu family dinner ! ! So let's see how it goes having these four at a table together O_O . I hope you love this chapter ! ! Please consider leaving me a comment or a review ! ! It would be super appreciated ! ! ^_^
Frayed at the Ends He Breaks
"I am freaking out Gaz." I say, running a hand through my hair and descending the staircase. She's sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal in front of her.
"Your voice is too loud for this early in the morning." She replies.
"I didn't sleep." I say back, going over to the cabinet.
"Is that why you look like that?" She asks.
"Like what?!" I ask, pushing my glasses up my face, feeling frantic for a brief moment.
"Never mind. I forgot, you always look terrible." She shrugs and keeps eating. I roll my eyes and open the cabinet looking for the Cocosplodeez cereal but when I pick it up it's basically empty as the sound of a handful of cereal crushes my soul.
"Gaz, did you eat all the cereal? I was gonna have this for breakfast you know!" I exclaim, waving the box around and listening to the crumbs inside jostle around.
"You think you own all the cereal. Well, you know what Dib? You don't. You just don't."
"Look, all I'm saying is if you're going to-" I start to explain why leaving two spoonfuls of cereal in the box for the next person is messed up but decide I don't have time to focus on that. "Forget it." I say, putting the box back in the cupboard and instead walking over to the fridge to get a meal replacement drink and then sitting down across from her.
"There's still Rice Krispie cereal in the cupboard. And eggs. And bread. And a bunch of other stuff, why are you drinking that?"
"I'm not actually hungry." I shrug. I know why she's asking but it really doesn't bother me. It tastes a little similar to this awful forcetive I was given the first time I was put in the crazy house for boys. I was ten and I refused to eat so dad gave them permission to force feed me. But this meal replacement is okay for now… I think.
"Okay." She replies, cautiously. "Dad said he'll be home at 7. He took Foodio with him to fix him."
"Oh, alright. So we have plenty of time to sneak Zim's food in here."
"You have plenty of time. I have school."
"Right." I sigh, gulping down some of the strawberry shake. She squints at me for a moment and then leans over and reaches into her purple tote bag, retrieving a small black bag and then pulling out a tube from there.
"Here." She says, handing it over.
"What is this?" I ask, holding it up but the words are all faded.
"Concealer. Hooking up before a family dinner wasn't very smart." She says, finishing off her breakfast.
"That's not what happened at all." I reply, feeling my face start to burn.
"Whatever. Just use it. Unless you want to answer dad's questions - and there will be plenty."
She's right.
"Thanks." I nod, downing the rest of the can in front of me. A little dazed at the fact that… Zim bit me… And I'm actually not complaining…
Well. Slightly terrifying revelations aside…
Suddenly, a car horn sounds outside. Gaz stands up and walks over to the door.
"Guess I'll uh… wash this bowl for you…" I call out and she ignores me. When I hear the lock click behind her, I stand up and toss the can I'm holding into the trash then clean the dishes Gaz used.
When I head upstairs, I finally stop in the bathroom to get a look at my lip. It doesn't even hurt but there are a few small red dots on the right side. Honestly, it doesn't even look like what it is. It could be anything but Gaz is right, I'd rather just avoid the questions altogether.
I use all my nervous energy to straighten up the house. Sweeping, mopping the kitchen floor, throwing away a box containing a few leftover slices of pizza. ( There is a high possibility that Gaz will murder me later for that ) .
When I've completely exhausted myself to the point where my anxiety has turned into this gray numbness, I collapse onto my bed, face in my pillow and my right arm hanging over the edge.
I'm still a bit annoyed that the werewolf I was looking for turned out to be a stray Deerhound. He was super mangy, matted fur and a few cuts over his back and face. He definitely didn't trust me at all, and why would he, I made the crate he was trapped in. Obviously he'd seen his fair share of fights living on the streets. As upset as I was, I still felt bad for him so I dropped the raw steak into the cage that I had brought to lure the werewolf and possibly distract him so I could shoot him with a tranquilizer gun. We hung out for a while and he was a surprisingly good listener when he finally stopped barking like a maniac. He isn't the first stray I've befriended and had the animal shelter come pick up. And he probably won't be the last.
I sit up and pull my book bag closer to the bed, unzipping it and waiting a beat before retrieving the new weapon. It's rectangular and dark gray with a red handle and the safety is a square pink button on top. When I press it (apparently it needs a lot of force) there's a popping sound that startles me and I almost drop it. When I finish fumbling, I see the square piece at the front has shifted upwards, revealing the black hole the beam would presumably come out of. It's definitely got some weight to it and doesn't feel like something I should just be walking around with. I don't even think I'd ever use this on anyone, Irken or not, it sounds horrible. It actually scares me to think that if the Tallests found out about this, they might want it for themselves. To permanently get rid of Irkens they dislike. Zim obviously truly is insane if he just spent all his time creating a weapon for his own destruction. I can almost hear twelve year old me yelling at me about the opportunity in my hands. It's hilarious to think that romancing Zim could have been the perfect plan to capture him all this time. Could have been. But oh well, I shrug then turn the safety back on.
I lean down and push the rug in the middle of my floor back. There's one loose floorboard that I can hook my fingers under and pull away a few adjacent planks of wood. I sit it to the side and place the destabilizer in the opening. I started keeping smaller things hidden here after dad made me clear out the garage of all my 'parascience'. He did let me keep Tak's ship though. There are quite a few things down here actually. For one, I have a jewelry box containing the DNA altering tac that Zim made to get back at me that time I threw bologna at him. Neither of us could figure out a cure but thankfully our bodies filtered it out on their own after a while and the whole process reversed itself. Zim's quicker than my own so by the time he was back to normal I still tasted like bologna to all the stray dogs chasing me around. I also have the peace day bracelet he altered that day he opened the FLORPUS hole. Jeez, was that thing intense? It turned into a full on metal body restraint on my arms and legs AND gagged me. And I still have a decent sized sample of that huge water balloon he made. I mean I still need to figure out what it's made from to have been able to hold THAT much water! And to survive flying through space! Dedicated little maniac.
I cover the spot back up and straighten out the rug, climbing back into bed and staring up at the ceiling. At this point, I haven't slept since Tuesday morning and I am begging myself to just get some rest. If I don't, there's no way I'll make it through dinner tonight.
So, after being awake for over 40 consistent hours, I finally am shown some mercy and I drift off to sleep. I think I have multiple dreams but the only one that isn't hazy seems to take place back at the theater parking lot. I'm sitting with the dog I found and even though he's in the cage, he looks much better. A clean, healthy coat, no open wounds, basically the complete opposite of how he was when I found him and he's nicer. Tail wagging, sticking a nose between the metal bars to sniff at me. But when I go to hand him the steak, I'm suddenly handing it to him from inside of the cage and he takes it, running off into the darkness. And now I'm in the middle of the dark lot, stuck in a cage that I made myself.
That's the last one I have before I'm blinking my eyes open at around 4PM, still feeling utterly miserable. However, four hours of sleep is still better than none. I groggily reach under my pillow first finding my glasses then finding my phone. I send a quick text to Zim reminding him to bring the food and I don't expect a response since he doesn't really like to text, then get up and give myself a once over in the mirror hanging on the back of my door. My hair is a mess but that isn't new, I usually just run a hand through it a few times and call it a day. I'll see how it cooperates after a shower. This two piece, maroon colored thermal pajama set has got to go, though. Immediately. It's comfortable and everything but it just serves to accent that fact that I'm way too skinny. I reach over to the dresser and pick up the concealer, wondering if I could possibly use it under my eyes, too. I don't actually have time to ponder this though, so I sit it down on my pillow and rifle through my clothes, finally settling on a t-shirt with horizontal black and purple stripes along with black skinny jeans and some black combat boots.
After a quick shower, when I'm finally dressed and I have given up on doing anything with my hair while it dries, I apply the concealer. It's pretty easy actually but I still decide against using it on my eyes since Gaz didn't explicitly tell me I could. For all I know, she's got it set to explode or something if I use more than I'm supposed to. I'm in the hallway sitting the tube down on the table near her door when I hear the downstairs door open so I head down.
"…definitely not what I would do but I don't actually care." Gaz says as she enters the living room.
"Yeah, no, I wouldn't either." I hear next.
I'm standing at the bottom of the steps just watching as Zim follows behind her.
"Uh." I say, looking between the two of them.
"Found something for you outside." Gaz replies, pointing a thumb towards him as she makes her way to the kitchen. Zim closes the door and then turns towards me.
"Earthanoid. This is my food." He says, holding out a glass, rectangular tray that's covered with a fitting lid. He's wearing a long sleeve, pink turtleneck sweater and dark gray jeans with - of course - his black gloves and boots but I have to admit that for someone who hasn't lived on this planet very long, he cleans up pretty nicely these days.
"You brought a lot." I reply, crossing the room and taking it from him.
"Well I wasn't sure how the proportions should be. I don't usually eat like this. But whatever is left over, GIR can have it." He says, following me to the kitchen and I nod.
"Gaz, we're having dinner in like an hour and a half, why are you eating?" I ask. She's sitting at the table with a bag of pretzels and a cup of hummus in front of her. She doesn't respond beyond throwing a handful of pretzels at me. I place Zim's food in the microwave since Foodio likely won't be using it to make our dinner. Zim takes a seat across from Gaz while I start cleaning up the pretzels.
"You should tie them up and torture them until they apologize." Zim says and I snap my head up.
"Wait what?" I ask.
"And when they finally do, kill them anyway." He continues.
"As much fun as that would be, I don't even know where they are." Gaz replies.
"Then let's find them!" Zim says excitedly. "All we need is a hairbrush from their house and I'll have a tracker made in no time!"
"Hmm." Gaz says, chewing thoughtfully and an insidious smile spreads across Zim's face.
"Now wait a minute here-" I start.
"I have a few really intricate new weapons and I would appreciate an opportunity to find out how they affect humans." He says.
"What is going on here!?" I ask loudly and Zim finally flicks his gaze up to my own.
"Nothing Dib. Some people owe me some money, that's all." She shrugs, still focused on her snack. "Don't worry about it, Zim. I have people for this sort of thing."
Zim nods and squints his eyes, observing her.
"It's a real chore keeping you both out of jail." I sigh, taking a seat next to Zim.
"Then stop trying. Earth prison is pitiful anyway." Zim shrugs. Gaz finishes off her snack and stands up, dusting off her black dress.
"Can you actually throw that away? I've been cleaning all day." I say pointing at the trash she's left on the table. She crosses her arms over her chest for a second, giving me a hard look before picking up the empty bag and cup. I almost count it as a small victory until I feel the back of my shirt being tugged and she stuffs the trash down it. "Gaz!" I half shout, reaching my hands around to remove it but it's further down than I thought and Zim bursts into laughter. "It's not funny!" I complain. Gaz shoves the back of my head forward before disappearing into the living room. "I keep forgetting what a nightmare it is to have the two of you in the same room."
"Yeah yeah. Alright werewolf hunter. Where is the amazing photo evidence?" Zim asks, leaning an elbow against the table, still watching me struggle to get the trash out of my shirt.
"Oh. That. Well…" I start, finally pulling the garbage from the bottom of my shirt and sitting it on the table.
"Stray dog?" He asks.
"Stray dog." I confirm.
"The sooner you accept that Zim is always right, the better." He says standing from the table. He goes into the living room and I follow, taking a seat on the floor in front of him as he sits next to Gaz on the couch.
They play some ghost piggies game and Zim is absolutely raging as he loses. It's honestly kind of cute…
"Unacceptable, I want to play again!" He screams and Gaz smirks.
"Pffft. Whiner." She replies as she restarts the game. Zim is so overly concentrated on the game, it's actually hilarious to watch. His eyes are squinted and focused in on the screen and his tongue is hanging out of the side of his mouth. It doesn't matter how focused he is though, Gaz beats him effortlessly each time. I lean my head back against one of his legs while I'm just listening to them bicker for about twenty minutes. "Dib, your boyfriend is as big a loser as you are." Gaz says, ending the game with another win.
"What?!" Zim asks.
"He's not my-" I start but Zim interrupts me.
"You told the sister?!" He asks, flinging his controller down on my head.
"Ouch! No! I didn't!" I insist, rubbing the top of my head until he grabs my hair and yanks it back so he can properly glare at me.
"You lie. You LIE!" He continues, pulling my hair harder. Gaz is laughing the entire time and finally catches enough breath to speak.
"He didn't tell me, Zim. You just did." She shrugs. Zim just stares at her and I'm staring at him since I can't look anywhere else the way he's still holding my hair. She raises an eyebrow and points to what he's doing, smirking. "Relax. I know friends with benefits when I see it. I was just teasing you."
Zim squints at her and then looks down at me, finally releasing my hair and shoving my head forward.
"We're friends Gaz." I manage, scooting forwards a bit. Zim isn't good with labels. I get it. But Jeez, if I'm going to be around both of them at once, I need a suit of armor. Gaz just rolls her eyes and shrugs. Then, there's a ping sound from Zim's PAK and he extends a leg holding a small surveillance camera, hopping up from the couch.
"So help me… GIR!" He shouts. "Put those back and get out of the lab! Computer, why isn't that cabinet locked?!" I don't hear a response come as he makes his way to the front door and steps outside. I'm staring at the door for a moment when I feel another painful clunk against my head and I whip my head around to Gaz. She's laughing and I pick up the second controller, chucking it across the room and glaring at her.
"You said you wouldn't call him that." I murmur.
"I never said that." She shrugs. "You two are interesting to watch, though. What kind of non relationship is this?"
"I don't know."
"Okay well what kind do you want it to be?"
"Gaz, I really don't know. I'm kind of trying this new method called living in the moment." I say back blandly.
"So if you're just 'living in the moment' does that mean you even know what you're getting yourself into?" She asks, looking to the door and then back at me.
"Not at all." I smile.
By the time Zim comes back inside, Gaz has gone upstairs and I'm still on the floor leaning against the couch.
"What are you doing, human? There's nothing playing on this screen." He points out.
"Huh? Oh I thought there was. Must be the concussion." I say back, unamused..
"Sarcasm." He nods and I just roll my eyes. He sits down where Gaz was sitting and I move from the floor to the couch, too. He's just sitting with his hands clasped in his lap, staring forward. His left eye twitches and he takes a deep breath, shaking his head.
"Is… everything okay at the base?" I ask and he seems startled when he turns to look at me. He just stares at me, but there's no way for me to tell what he's thinking, especially not with those contacts in and his antennae hidden. "…Zim?" I ask cautiously. As soon as it leaves my lips, in a flash, his arms are around my neck. I would fall backwards if it weren't for the arm of the couch. It takes a second but then I wrap my arms around his middle and he pulls himself up so his knees are pressing into the couch, and he tightens his hold on me, resting his head on my shoulder. I have no idea what happened, GIR doesn't usually get him this upset, but I keep my hold on him just under his PAK. "It's… it's okay." I whisper, feeling him release a breath into my neck and shake his head. "Why not?" I ask but he doesn't respond. "You can talk to me."
For some reason, he bristles and I don't understand what I said wrong. I've barely said anything, but he tugs away from me and sits back on his heels.
"I need to leave." He says, abruptly standing up from the couch and starting towards the door again.
"Wait what?" I ask, reaching out and grabbing his hand. He stops but snatches it away.
"I said I'm leaving!" He shouts. "That's what you want right?"
"No you aren't! I-I don't! What?!" I say back, standing up now as well. "Is this because of what Gaz said?'' I ask, catching his hand again. "Because I can talk to her, it's-"
"What are you talking about?!" He asks, trying to tug away again but I don't let him, even when I hear the deep threatening growl.
"When she-" I start but then the door opens and I release his hand, standing up straighter. He also turns to look at the door as my dad steps into the living room. How did I not hear all of those cars pulling up? He's followed by Foodio who goes straight into the kitchen and I feel my hands start to sweat, glancing at Zim and then back at my dad. They know each other and Zim already said himself that he likes my dad. And even Gaz can tell that my Dad is oddly fond of Zim. But they've only ever spoken in passing. And honestly, they're both the kind of people that normal people could only handle in small doses.
"Son! And your little foreign friend is here already!" He says and I feel my face heat up.
"Zim. Please call him Zim." I reply quietly. Zim looks at me then back at my dad.
"Yes of course! How are you, Zim?" He asks and Zim blinks at him.
"I am great." Zim replies and I start feeling faint and lightheaded and oh my goodness, is the entire dinner going to be this awkward? Probably not if I can't even convince Zim to stay.
"Wonderful!" Dad replies, "Foodio, alert me when dinner is ready, I'll be down in the lab." He calls into the kitchen and then heads towards the basement door. When he's gone, Zim sighs.
"Now for you. Are you going to tell me why you're running away?" I ask, turning to look at him.
"Because I'm tired." He replies, confidently.
"No, you aren't. What are you lying for?" I ask, dragging a hand down my face.
"I am not lying!" He says.
"You are!" I say throwing my hands up. "But if you want to leave so badly, go ahead." He watches me cautiously for a moment before turning to march towards the door. I bite my lip to avoid saying anything else because I know it'll set him off but focusing on the ache doesn't stop the words from spilling out anyway. "Seems pretty weak to me, though." He's already at the door with his hand on it but he turns around immediately.
"Excuse me?" He asks and I shrug.
"I said you're weak." I reply, stepping closer.
"No. I'm not." He says firmly, still standing by the door.
"You can't even handle one dinner. Yes you are." I say back and he grimaces, looking towards the staircase and his left eye twitches and he squeezes them both shut but he's still got a hand on the doorknob. Maybe I don't want to avoid amping him up right now. Maybe it's exactly what I need to do. There's just a small voice in the back of my head telling me I can't allow him to go. And it's telling me to do whatever I can to make him stay. I know that voice. I know it can get dangerous to listen to it too often but it can't hurt. I just want him to stay for dinner, I'm not trying to kidnap him… "It's patheti-" I start and I finally get a rise out of him, he races over to where I'm standing, grabbing the front of my shirt and shaking me.
"I AM not!" He insists and I grab his wrist.
"Then stop trying to run away from everything!" I reply. He shakes his head quickly, then snaps his gaze back to mine.
"Stop it!" He says through gritted teeth and I keep trying to tug his hands away from my shirt.
"You first!" I half shout.
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
"Then tell me!"
"What does it even matter?! What do you really need me to be here for?!" He asks, using the fist full of my shirt he's holding to fling me backwards, onto the couch.
"Because, believe it or not, it's important to me!" I reply, rolling my eyes. His face shifts from anger to confusion as he stares down at me. "You're so clueless, it drives me insane." I mumble and before he can say anything else, Gaz comes back downstairs with her GS7.
"Food's almost ready." She says without looking up.
"How'd you know that?" I ask, standing up when Zim takes a step back.
"I was watching." She shrugs.
"You… You put surveillance in places other than your room?" I ask, feeling my face pale when she doesn't respond. "Okay. Mortifying. But okay."
She goes into the kitchen and I look over at Zim. "Are you-"
"I'm staying." He replies.
"Oh. Alright. Good. Good! Well, come on." I say, completely unsure of what changed his mind so quickly. I briefly wonder what's going on in his head, he's been a bit off lately but I've written it off as nerves about going back to Irk… Of course now, I can't be sure.
We both head into the kitchen before he can change his mind yet again. The setup is perfect because Foodio already has the plates on the table. Four large white plates of French fries mixed with hot dogs and four chilled glasses of something red next to each dish. In the middle of the table are condiments.
"Watashi wa anata no chichioya o te ni ireyou. Soshite isu (私はあなたの父親を手に入れよう。 そして椅子。)." Foodio announces as he leaves.
"What…?" I ask quietly.
"He's going to get dad. And a chair." Gaz replies.
"How do you… Nevermind. Okay." I say as soon as he's gone. "Um… Here, sit down." I tell Zim, gesturing to the chair across from Gaz before going over and pulling it out from the table. "I'll sit in the one Foodio brings up." He sits down and stares at the plate in front of him as I cross the kitchen, retrieving a clean dish and quickly transferring some of the food from the tray he brought to his plate. "You want me to reheat it?"
"No, I eat this type of food at room temperature." Zim replies, still inspecting the food in front of him. I take up the plate and replace it with his food, wrapping it up in foil and setting it in the microwave atop the container he brought.
"I completely forgot about the drink." I admit picking up the glass full of punch.
"Here." Zim says, extending a PAK leg that's holding a weird looking purple and beige canister with latches on the sides. I take it and observe it for a moment, noting the little Irken symbol on the side, then pop the latches and remove the lid. The contents are so cold, condensation overflows from it when it's opened.
"What is this?" I ask, sniffing it but there's no scent. "A witches brew?"
"It is my drink, now get your smelly nose out of it." Zim hisses. I turn around to get a clean glass from the cabinet to pour the drink into, sitting it in front of him and taking the red punch.
"This for GIR, too?" I ask and he nods so I pour it into the canister, securing it and handing it back to him.
"Well. That was easier than I thought it would be." I say, walking around to stand next to where Zim is seated and Gaz scoffs.
"I told you you were being stupid." She says, still playing her game.
"Seriously though, what is this? It looks like water." I ask, pointing to the glass in front of Zim.
"It's Zentian nectar." He replies. "You should try it."
"Okay." I say, eyeing him suspiciously but picking up the drink and taking a sip. "Oh- oh no." I gag, immediately setting it back down. "That's awful! Oh my God."
"What's it taste like?" Gaz asks, briefly looking up from her game.
"It's- it's- it's minty sugar! It's candy canes on crack!" I reply incredulously and Zim just laughs. Finally, Foodio and dad come into the kitchen, Foodio placing one of the folding chairs behind me. "Thanks." I say, taking my seat and dad sits across from me, next to Gaz who powers off her game.
"Yūshoku o o tanoshimi kudasai (夕食をお楽しみください。)" Foodio says, bowing and exiting the kitchen.
"Dad, why is Foodio speaking…" I start but I'm not sure what language it is.
"Japanese." Gaz says, picking up her fork to start eating.
"Because Gaz is learning it and I want to encourage her. Multilingualism is an important skill." He replies and I just nod. He's still got his goggles and gloves on but his lab coat is zipped down just under his chin so he can eat. I pick up my fork and look over at Zim who's just staring at my dad so I elbow him in the side and he looks at me. I point my fork to his food and it looks like he just remembered he's supposed to be eating.
"So, Zim" Dad starts, emphasizing Zim's name and I sigh. "Tell me more about this trip you'll be taking."
Zim looks at him like he's grown a second head and then looks at me so I clear my throat.
"It's just a regular trip to the Bermuda Triangle. Nothing huge." I say pointedly trying to get Zim on board but he still looks confused.
"Ah, uh, yes. This triangle in Bermuda, I've always wanted to… climb it?" Zim replies, and Gaz giggles. I facepalm.
"Ha! Your sense of humor is refreshing." Dad laughs, refocusing on eating and I exhale quietly. How did I forget to tell Zim what story I made up? That's such a rookie mistake and this whole thing is stressing me out.
We're all eating quietly and it's unbelievable how small the bites of food Zim is eating are. He'd do better if I had sat a bag of sugar down in front of him with a spoon. I'm trying to keep my breathing steady and just focus on forcing down one forkful after the other but my hands are starting to sweat again and my right leg starts to shake. I don't know how to calm down at this moment. I've never brought anyone over for a family dinner. A part of me is wishing my dad would see that and connect the dots but another part of me is happy that he doesn't because I'm just not ready to tell him. But I still need this to go well. I need to be absolutely sure that dad likes him and vice versa but I don't know why because it wouldn't change anything if they didn't. I wish I had as much confidence in this as Gaz.
I'm still falling down this well of thoughts when I feel a sudden pain of something sharp scraping down my back and I'm jolted out of my head, sitting up straighter. I look at dad and Gaz but they appear totally oblivious as Zim slides the PAK leg away and laughs quietly down at his food.
"Oh, Zim" Dad starts.
"Sir!?" Zim asks, startled into I straightening up in his seat.
"Have you given any thought about where you might go to college?" He asks around a bite of food.
"Dad, not everyone wants to talk about college all the time." I roll my eyes. But he ignores me, watching Zim carefully.
"I'm thinking about studying abroad." Zim replies calmly.
"Really? Where?" Dad asks, taking a sip of his drink.
"New Zealand." He says back and my eyebrows shoot up. Even Gaz looks up at that, first to Zim then to me for a second before continuing to eat.
"I see. That's a great choice, the outdoor exploration would be a fantastic experience." Dad replies and Zim nods.
"That's what I thought." Zim says, continuing to eat and I remember to keep shoveling food down as well as dad talks about it in more detail. Zim knows more about it than I thought he did, which makes me wonder if it's a cover story or not.
"Of course, if you change your mind, I could set you up at Membrane University." Dad continues and I almost choke on the bite of food in my mouth. Even Zim sputters in his drink and Gaz drops her mouth, looking between the three of us.
"Oh. That is. I uh." Zim says, scratching at his chin. "Appreciate that."
"It's the least I could do. I really appreciate what a good friend you've been to Dib for all these years. Just let your parents know if you want to go to MU, I'll talk with them. It wouldn't cost a dime. I'll be sending these two off soon, as well. You could all go, I am sure it would make the experience even better." Dad replies.
Gaz is quietly laughing into her glass as she sips the punch and my face is on fire but Zim, he's just staring at my dad with wide eyes.
"I… That's... You don't have to…" Zim starts, still in some kind of trance.
"Oh it wouldn't be anything. Like I said, you've been the only friend I've heard about for a long time, what since middle school? You're basically part of the family." Dad smiles proudly and I bite the inside of my lip, focusing on the oddly satisfying dull soreness that still remains.
"Thanks." Zim says, looking down at his food but I'm close enough to see the blue starting to form across his disguised cheeks. It actually looks kind of adorable and I feel a sudden wave of relief wash over me. As weird as this whole thing has been, maybe Gaz was right. Overall, it seems to be going okay.
I pick up my fork and continue eating, finally actually tasting the food and noticing it's really good! I haven't had salchipapas since the last time we visited Grandma Membrane and that was three years ago. Dad and Gaz start discussing some project she's working on for school and I'm finally feeling more relaxed. It doesn't last long though because only moments later, I feel a searing pain in my right thigh. When I look down, Zim's hand is dug into it, easily cutting through my jeans and when I look up to ask him what the hell, he scoots his chair back and is violently throwing up everything he just ate right onto the floor of the kitchen.
"Oh, cool. I think I've eaten enough." Gaz says, setting her fork down on her mostly empty plate. I almost reach out but I decide against it and he's still retching.
"I- Sorry dad!" I say quickly.
"Sorry? What do you- Is he okay? Are you okay, Zim?" He asks but Zim is gasping and doesn't respond. "Should I call your parents?"
"NO!" Zim, Gaz, and I all shout in unison and dad looks between the three of us in confusion.
"It's um, it just happens sometimes. He's… got a… chronic… digestive… condition." I say lamely, hoping it's convincing enough for why the vomit all over the floor is bluish black. I stand up and open the cabinet under the sink, retrieving tile cleaner and a roll of napkins. Zim places his hands over his eyes and shakes his head for a moment and I start feeling panic bubble up in my chest as he looks like he's about to have a full blown meltdown.
"Professor? Clembrane says that night shift ran into an issue." Simmons says, poking his head through the living room door and the four of us turn to stare at him. If he notices the peculiar scene in front of him, he does a good job of hiding it.
"Alright, tell him I'll be there soon. I just need a moment." Dad replies. "Zim, I can have them drop you off at home if you aren't feeling well."
"No! I mean, I um, I'll drive him home." I say before Zim can respond.
"I don't know…" Dad says, eyeing him thoughtfully and Zim finally clears his throat.
"I will be alright. Thanks for your concern. And for dinner. I will contact my parents, no need to worry."
"Okay. If you're sure…" Dad says, still seemingly unconvinced. "Dib, remember what I said about this trip."
"Of course dad…" I say. He stands up and leaves the kitchen, walking towards the front door. I sit the cleaning supplies down on the floor and follow him. "Dad!" I say, just as he's opening the door. He turns and looks at me expectantly. "I'm… Thank you. For making the time for this. It was really important to me." I admit, palming the back of my neck. I glance over at Gaz as she heads upstairs, then back at dad. He's watching me carefully but I can't tell what expression he's wearing under the coat and goggles. He looks over towards the kitchen and then back at me, still quiet for a few seconds.
"Of course, son." He replies. "Take care of your friend."
"I will." I smile and he pats my shoulder, then leaves.
When I get back into the kitchen, Zim is still sitting in his chair with his knees pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs, staring forward. I decide it best not to say anything and instead set to work cleaning up the floor.