I have to be honest with you. I don't really like chapter two. I ended up rushing through it, finishing it in only two sittings. And let's just say that one sitting was much longer than the other. So in an attempt to keep the story at a level of quality that I'm satisfied with, I will try to spend more time with each chapter. That might mean that there will be more time between chapters, but I hope you will understand. I'm still happy with working on this story, so I will still be writing whenever I have the time. Now, I sure hope this story will continue keeping you entertained. Enjoy!

"...What?" Dib asked, not sure whether he wanted to sound like he didn't know what was going on anymore, or that he was completely done with it all. He leaned towards the first option.

"Uhm…YES! The Dib-thing has personally invited to partake in this…sleeping-over?" Zim proudly proclaimed, before giving confused look to Dib, as if he would patiently explain the concept of a sleepover to him. When all he got was a vacant stare of someone who didn't know what was happening anymore, he turned back to look at the professor. Zim couldn't read the tall human's expression, but he was sure that some kind of thinking was going on inside Membrane's head. He took it as a sign that he needed to convince him some more and looked around the house as if he could find anything that could help him convince Dib's dad unit. It was then that he saw Dib himself, and realized that he apparently had gone into a self-induced coma, as he stood completely still, seemingly not breathing at all. Zim then came up with an idea that, while sickening him to his core, should be enough to complete his deception. With a loud gulp from his throat, he unceremoniously wrapped his arm around Dib, pushing the two together.

"Isn't that right, Dib?" He asked, not as a command, but as if Dib playing along would be nothing more than common courtesy.

Dib on the other hand needed a moment or two to process what was going on. It took him five seconds to accept that it was Zim's arm that was around him. And he just flat out refused to believe that Zim was doing it on his accord and that an eldritch monster wasn't forcing him to do it. Strangely enough, he relaxed a little more when he looked at Zim's face for a moment. The only thing thought that came to him, was that he couldn't think of anyone that could ever feel as uncomfortable as Zim did at that moment. Oh wait, he could. Himself. Right at that moment as well.

So there the two of them stood, with Zim trying his best to keep holding on to the human while waiting for the taller human to be deceived, and with Dib too uncomfortable to even attempt to get free from the alien's grip. It was as if he believed that as long as he ignored that it was happening, then it wasn't happening. The professor, on the other hand, stood as he had done all this time, looking on at the sad scene with no reaction whatsoever. Then to Zim's relief, it seemed that the human was finally done thinking.

"Well, that's GREAT! I'm so happy to see that you finally brought home a friend." Membrane said, addressing his son.

"Whew!" Zim exclaimed, before quickly removing his arm from Dib and taking a step away from him. He then started rubbing his limp furiously, to try and get off whatever germs that might have moved from the Dib-beast to him. The human meanwhile was laying on the floor as he had, in a moment of weakness, allowed himself to be partially kept up by Zim's body. He was still rubbing his arm with a desperate look on his face, even as the human pushed his upper body up from the ground, so he could face his dad.

"Dad, you can't be serious! I'm eight-teen, I'm too old to be having a sleepover!" Dib immediately regretted his choice of words. He could say stuff like that if this was a normal situation. But it wasn't. What was happening was that his greatest enemy was currently worming his way inside his home, and had already managed to fool his dad. But before he had the chance to say something that gave credit to the seriousness of the situation, Membrane had already started talking.

"Nonsense! Trust me, son, you can never be too old for a scientifically proven positive social development exercise with your friend! Unless you're an adult. Then that's scientifically too old."

"But he's not my friend! He's an al-" Dib stopped. For once, not because someone interrupted him. But because he knew that it wouldn't matter, whether he finished his sentence or not. He had said it so many times that it had lost all meaning. No one believed him anyway, and he had over time realized that using that line wasn't a very useful tactic for making someone trust you. It probably did the exact opposite. Besides, his dad had already heard that line enough times to automatically tune out all things that immediately followed that sentence. In the end, whether he had continued or not wouldn't have mattered as he was interrupted anyway.

Zim had stopped rubbing and walked over to Dib. He then started walking over the human's body, pushing Dib's torso back down to the ground, his arms failing to keep him up as Zim's weight was planted on his back.

"Lies Dib-stink. Lies!"

He then jumped off Dib's back, walking a few steps closer to Professor Membrane, so he stood right in front of him. Dib was meanwhile smiling to himself with his face planted to the floor, as he noted how surprisingly light the alien had been. He was definitely using that knowledge later when he got the chance. Especially if Zim decided to comment how thoroughly he had pushed Dib's face into the ground

"You'll have to excuse The Dib. He is simply embarrassed for having to compare himself to the glorious superiority of Zim. An honest mistake, nothing more." The alien noted casually, waving his hand dismissively.

"You're neither glorious nor superior, Space-boy" Dib's muffled voice commented from the floor. He was wondering how he had already managed to end up with his face in the ground two times that day. Zim then turned around.

"Why the lies, Dib? WHY THE LIES!" Zim yelled, dramatically shaking his fists in front of him.

"Come now, son. I'm sure you're friend here is a positively-"

The professor stopped in the middle of his sentence, as Zim had turned back around to him, looking up with a blank stare like a fish, wiping his spit away from when he had yelled at Dib. He looked down on Dib's green friend, with a look of concern growing on his face.

"-...exceptional, young man…" He continued looking down on Zim, before shaking his head, deciding it would be better if he just forget his concerns. He then started moving back to the kitchen.

"Well, no matter. I will make sure that there will be enough food for the four of us."

"But, but wait!" Dib cried out, fruitlessly reaching his arm out towards his father, but he continued on his way to the kitchen, with not a single look back to his son.

"He's not my…ugh." Dib let his arm fall to the floor with the rest of his body following suit, collapsing down on the ground. His dad had just gone into the kitchen, leaving a defeated Dib on the ground, and a victorious Zim standing high and mighty, who chuckled wickedly to himself. He realized that it was too late and that Zim had already won. He nearly wanted to cry from the realization.

It was then Dib heard someone come walking down to the hallway from the stairs. He lifted himself up once again, watching as Gaz walked with her Game Slave down the last steps. An irritated expression formed across his face, as he realized that she had probably been standing upstairs listening to their conversation. His suspicions were confirmed, when she walked over to him and Zim, who was still chuckling to himself, not even realizing that Gaz was behind him.

"So you're going to have a sleepover with Zim? How cute," She said with a wry smile. Zim let out a surprised scream as he turned around, observing the human female with a fearful and shocked expression, wondering how she had managed to sneak past the great Zim.

"You know you could have helped, right?" Dib resentfully asked, still on the ground for some reason. In return, Gaz just shrugged her shoulders and continued playing her game, moving towards the living room.

"Maybe. But I was in the middle of a game. Oh, and also, I don't care." She finally replied, before disappearing into the living room. Dib looked at her walk away, wondering whether he should be angry at her, or continue blaming all of this on Zim. He decided to blame Zim. Speaking of the alien, Dib looked as he scanned the entire hallway, trying to figure out where the Dib-sister could have come from. When he finally decided to give up, he walked right past Dib, ignoring his furious stare that was drilling into the back of Zim's head.

"Now that everything is going on according to Zim's plan, CAN ANY OF YOU HUMAN-WORMS TELL ME WHERE THE TV IS?!" Zim yelled, with much more volume than necessary, trying to catch the attention of any human who could answer his question.

"ZIM'S FAVORITE SHOW WILL SOON APPEAR ON THE TELE-BOX!"

"It's in the room to the right!" Membrane yelled from the kitchen.

"THANKS, WORM…I-I mean 'FELLOW' WORM!" Zim continued yelling. He then congratulated himself on the save, before waving his hand to the Professor(who could definitely not see him) and walking into the living room. The sound of the tv turning on soon followed. Dib could swear he could hear his dad sighing, but that might have been his imagination. He continued laying on the ground, contemplating whether he should go on strike and stay on the floor, or just give up and see if he can get anything out of this situation. He went with the latter option, as he was morbidly curious about what could be Zim's 'favorite' show. With a grunt, he lifted himself off the floor, and stretched his back, before walking into the living with slumped shoulders and a beaten expression.

What Dib learned was that Zim's favorite show was a reality show. It revolved around a big group of friends living together in one house, and that was all that Dib managed to gather as his brain pretty quickly started to make every word that came out of the contestants' mouths sound like white noise. He could barely stomach watching it, as every moment his eyes had to glimpse at the events unfold on the screen, he felt his brain cells die one by one. It was at that moment that Dib realized that Zim had never needed any of his bizarre plans to stop him. All Zim had needed to do was strap him in front of a TV showing nothing more than this. Because just a few hours of that show would have turned his mind into mush.

Speaking of Zim, he seemed to love every second of what was happening on the TV screen. He was always giggling or chuckling, and sometimes he would burst out laughing. Not even his normal evil laughter, but one that involved less screeching and dramatic flair. It reminded Dib of a hyena's laugh, but less deep. In truth, Dib wasn't very surprised by this revelation. Of course, the most entertaining thing for Zim on Earth would be watching humans act as dumb as possible. But he was starting to get worried that Zim might try and learn social norms from the show. Not that he had anything to say when it came to social norms.

Even though Dib found some enjoyment in watching Zim's different reactions to the shenanigans happening in the show, he still wasn't very comfortable sitting next to the alien on the couch. Gaz was still playing one of her games while sitting at the far right side of the couch with Dib at the opposite end. Zim had been sitting in the middle, but he had over time moved closer to Dib. He couldn't see when he did it, but it was starting to get rather noticeable, as he could start feeling the alien's spit hitting his face, whenever an outburst of laughter would take place. He was pretty convinced that Zim did it just so he could irritate him further. But he was too absorbed in the show to do anything to Dib, so was that really the reason? Or did he even realize what he was doing? It was then he made a decision.

His greatest enemy was sitting on his couch, and after careful examination and calculations, Dib had concluded that he would end up sitting right up against him if he didn't stop moving. He was tired from dealing with Zim all day, and his trench coat was starting to smell of sweat. His family didn't care that an alien was in their house, and his dad had given said alien the genius idea of having a sleepover with Dib, just so he could keep annoying him. Which might be the worst, and at the same time, the most infuriating plan Zim had ever come up with. Dib was still trying to wrap his head around it all. No one in this house cared anymore. Not even the alien cared about taking over the world anymore, and would rather just annoy Dib. So why should he?

Dib stood up and started walking up to his room. No one glanced as he was walking away. He went inside and started looking through his drawers and closet. If he was going to suffer through this night, he might as well do it in something comfortable. He found some gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. He took his other clothes and his coat off and changed into the new attire. He then walked back to the living room and sat down at the same spot on the couch. There he sat and stared at the wall behind the television, hoping if he looked for long enough, his sense of time would start deteriorating.

But it was then he started feeling uneasy as if someone was staring at him. It lasted for a minute or so when it suddenly disappeared. He decided to think nothing more of it when he felt something sharp poking at his exposed arm. He looked to his right, only to see Zim sitting on his knees, while still on the couch, poking to Dib's arm with one of his claws. A look of pure confusion, and a hint of terror, was plastered over his face. Dib felt a shiver of nervousness run through him, as he had no idea how to respond. Zim was just sitting in complete silence, his mouth slightly open, and eyes going from being open to squinting.

After a few moments, Dib couldn't take it anymore and hesitantly decided to ask what Zim was doing.

"Uhm…Space-boy…what are you doing?"

Zim kept poking and staring at his arm, even as he spoke.

"What…what is this?" His voice didn't have the usual theatrics but seemed completely sincere.

"...It's my arm." Dib carefully replied, not sure whether he should be worried for himself or Zim.

"Not that!" Zim shot back, before moving from picking to fumbling with the fabric of Dib's shirt. Slight panic set in, and Dib leaned a bit back from the alien. A bad idea, as the alien leaned forward, closer to Dib. His eyes now fixated solely on the human's clothing.

"What is it you're wearing?!" He asked bewildered, now moving closer to further examine the material. Dib kept leaning back, feeling the edge of the couch cutting into his back.

"It's called clothing!" Dib replied, the panic now officially set in. He kept leaning back, feeling the edge of the couch cutting into his back.

"I know what clothing is, you stupid moron! I'm asking why you aren't wearing your uniform?!" Zim kept questioning, his tone now turning aggressive- He then went from touching to pulling at the shirt, as if trying to rip it off Dib, who quickly caught on, and grabbed a different part of the shirt to try and pull it away from Zim.

"It's not a uniform you alien freak! And aren't I allowed to change clothes, or is that too much to ask?!" The panic had also turned to aggression, as his strategy changed from trying to get away from Zim, to getting Zim away from him. He tried grabbing onto Zim's shoulders and pushing him away, but the alien was adamant about not letting go.

"BUT YOU ALWAYS WEAR YOUR COAT-THINGY!" Zim yelled, completely serious, but Dib was too occupied to make fun of him. Zim was now violently pulling at the shirt, while at the same time pushing Dib away. Dib was nearly laying on his back, trying to use his legs to push the alien off. But Zim still wouldn't let go.

"I DON'T ALWAYS WEAR MY COAT! I CHANGE IT UP WHENEVER WE REACH SUMMER!" Dib yelled back, now also completely oblivious to how ridiculous their fight was starting to get.

"YOU LIE!"

Now they weren't even fighting over the shirt. They weren't even hitting each other. They were just rolling around on the couch, pushing and pulling at the other with no apparent goal, or even with a reason. Something that wasn't a rare occurrence. it would probably have continued like this until they had completely exhausted each other if it wasn't for Gaz deciding to chime in.

"Would you two just quit already? I'm trying to concentrate here, so you better stop." Gaz asked, wanting to at least give them the chance to stop before she got angry. It wasn't very effective.

"HE STARTED IT!" Zim screamed like they were fighting in the second grade.

"I DIDN'T START THIS! YOU DID!" Dib screamed back, and emboldened by the accusation, he started pinning Zim to the side of the couch. This seemed to set something off in the alien, as he started hissing, and swiping at the human's face with his claws.

Gaz started shaking lightly. She was clenching her teeth together, and a low growl was escaping from her mouth

"I said…you two better stop, or I swear to_"

"IT WAS YOU WHO STARTED PUSHING ZIM!" Zim interrupted, after managing to escape from Dib's hold, and now pinning him to the cushions. Even with his greater size, Dib couldn't manage to push Zim off and tried instead to sit back up, to Zim's physical protests.

"THAT WAS ONLY BECAUSE YOU TRIED RIPPING MY SHIRT OFF!"

"IF ZIM WANTS TO RIP OFF YOUR STINKING EARTH CLOTHES, THEN I WILL!"

They continued wrestling for a moment before they both suddenly stopped. They looked in front of them and saw Gaz standing in front of the TV, now showing nothing but ominous flames for some reason. Her head was hanging low, and all sound in the house had ceased. Even the sounds from outside the house had stopped. Only the sound of the flickering flames was permitted.

Then Gaz started slowly raising her head, her eyes soon meeting the two boys, who stared at her in fear and silence. Her eyes seemed like a black whirlpool, forcing them deeper and deeper inside the darkness of her soul. They both wanted to scream but were too scared of the possibility that it would anger her.

"You to better stop, or I will rip out your intestines, wrap them around the two of you, and then throw you in a deep, deep hole, and I will fill that hole with rats. While you're being devoured alive, you can then continue with your annoying argument, until your lungs get eaten. Or…you can shut up now, and not make another sound until dinner. Is that understood?"

Her voice was like a thousand knives scratching against each other, and her cold, dead eyes only revealed her inner fury, which burned hotter than the sun.

The two frightened boys on the couch were completely for but a moment, as her threat was processed by their terrified minds. When her offer had finally been understood, they moved away from each other and sat back down on the couch, stiff as a board.

"Yep, yep understood-"

"I humbly accept your offer, oh merciful-"

"Sorry about that Gaz, it won't happen again-"

"Zim shall stay still for as long as you command-"

"We'll stop now-"

They continued apologizing for a few seconds longer, before keeping quiet again. Feeling the outcome to have been adequate, Gaz walked back to her spot and sat down.

"And this has been our mandatory five-minute fire break, to remind you of the existence of fire! We will now return to our regularly scheduled program." A disembodied voice from the TV said before the flames disappeared, and the reality show was back on the screen. The sounds from outside returned together with the house, now accompanied by the low sound of Professor Membrane humming in the background. Everything had returned to normal. But Zim and Dib were still sitting completely frozen, their gazes focused on the floor below them. They even kept their hands on their thighs, as if scared that they would throw punches around if unsupervised. They continued sitting like that, without uttering a single word or insult, until Membrane's voice could be heard echoing through the house.

"DINNERS READY!"

Dib kept an anxious eye on Gaz as she stood up and walked over to the kitchen. When she was finally out of sight, he let out a pent-up sigh. He then stood up as well and turned towards the kitchen. But before he started walking, he took a look back at Zim, who was still sitting on the couch. The alien was staring at where Gaz had walked, and when he noticed the human staring at him, he gave him a confused look. It was then that Dib was struck by a thought.

"You do know how dinner works…right?" He was for some reason worried that Zim was going to make a fool of himself at the table. He didn't know why, it was Zim's fault that he had ended up in this situation in the first place. But he felt a kind of responsibility for the alien. Maybe it was because his dad was still under the assumption that it was Dib who had invited him over, and therefore he who had to deal with whatever trouble Zim could get himself into.

As if sensing the meer thought that he had to be taken care of, Zim's face lit up with an insulted look, and he crossed his arms.

"Of course, I know of this 'dinner' ritual! I'm not some smeet that has to be looked after!"

"I wasn't saying that."

"GOOD!" Zim stared at Dib, with the pupils of his contacts as pointy as the tip of a spear. He kept looking at him for a moment, with Dib looking back with a slightly disgruntled look.

"Well, are you going to move Space-boy, or do I have to drag you?"

Zim let out a short "hmpf", before walking away with closed eyes and his chin high in the air. Dib looked on in mild annoyance before rolling his eyes and following him. When he reached the kitchen and the dinner table, he was quick to notice that his dad and Gaz had already taken seats, on one side of the table. Unfortunately, that left two seats for Dib and Zim. Seats that were right next to each other. He was considering moving the chairs to the opposite ends of the table but felt it was too petty to do in front of his family. he begrudgingly sat down on one of the chairs, waiting for the annoying pest to sit next to him. When he didn't come, Dib looked and saw Zim standing next to the chair, going from looking at it to Dib, having the same conundrum that he had just experienced.

"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to sit next to your friend?" Professor Membrane wholesomely asked, unaware of the cringe Zim felt as he realized he had to sit next to The Dib while he ate with his gross mouth.

"Yes…I will…sit next to my friiieeeend." Zim said, forcing the last word out of his mouth with a grimace. Dib felt infuriated, thinking back to how Zim had no problem saying it when he had to convince his dad.

With hesitant movements, he sat down on the chair. It ended with Dib sitting in front of Gaz, and Zim in front of his dad. But whenever the Professor was busy eating, he would jerk the chair a few centimeters away from Dib, who had no problem with it whatsoever. He considered doing it himself but reconsidered when he factored his luck into the equation. He was most likely going to get caught or would trip the chair. Other than that the dinner proceeded as usual. Except for Zim, who was not planning on eating the green beans and steak in front of him. Dib had to give him credit, he had tried. And then promptly let it silently slip out of his mouth to the floor below. After that, he instead decided to act like he was eating it, and dispose of it. How he did it, was that he would take his plate, turn to the side, and take the plate behind his mouth. He would then make an "aaahhhh" sound as he scraped it down to the floor. He must have thought that it was working, as he just kept going. Even when every time he did it, Professor membrane would look at him with a concerned look. Dib couldn't help but feel embarrassed, whether by how ignorant Zim was to the fact he was doing a bad job of hiding he wasn't eating, or that he had to sit next to him while he did it. He was also concerned that a small pile of food would former under Zim, but luckily a small cleaning robot the size of a Roomba was rolling around the kitchen, sucking up anything it could find on the floor.

"Yes, clean up this filth, machine. I command it." Zim hissed at the robot, leaning down to the ground while pointing threateningly at it, as it would improve its effectiveness at cleaning. He then leaned back up and continued as normal. Professor Membrane must have gotten tired of the silence that filled the table, as he finally decided to address their guest.

"So…Zim was it? How do you find the food?"

Zim seemed surprised at being addressed but was quick to come up with a response.

"Oh, it's very yummy," he said completely earnestly as if he hadn't been scraping it all to the floor. He then started rubbing his stomach.

"Hmmm, very delicious."

"I see." Membrane said, deciding it was best to just drop the matter entirely. Dib could feel sweat forming on his forehead, wiping it away with a swift motion. He was hoping that his dad was done talking and that they could just continue eating in awkward silence like they were used to. Or else Zim might do something that makes him look more like an idiot than he already is. Wait, why did he worry about that?

"I don't think I've ever gotten to know-" The Professor said while leaning forward in his eat, starting a new conversation to Dib's newfound concern. "-where it is you come from." He continued, now having stopped eating, and instead sat expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, I'm from Ir-" Zim suddenly stopped, his face twisting into an expression as if he was a piece of glass that had just cracked. The expression remained, as he sat completely still as if frozen.

"Ir-Ireland! Yes, he meant Ireland!" Dib shot in from nowhere, with Gaz having a surprised expression. Which meant that she just slightly raised her eyebrows, but still. After the words had left Dib's mouth, he quickly shifted into the same expression as Zim had.

Why did I do that? He was about to say the name of his planet, and I covered for him?! What's wrong with me! Okay think Dib, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. Maybe I've just gotten sloppy, or too used to Zim, that I'm starting to consider him, ugh, human. No that can't be it, I'm to smart let such a thing like that happened. No, it's something else. Maybe I'm just…covering for myself, yes! That's it! If Zim keeps acting like an idiot, then dad is going to think that my only 'friend' is some kind of weirdo. Yeah, that makes sense. No need to look deeper. Nope!

Dib felt someone stare at him, and looked to his left, and saw Zim looking right at him, with a shocked expression on his face. He wasn't quite sure whether he was going to say anything, but it didn't matter, as his dad still wasn't done.

"Really? Then why did it sound like he was going to say something starting with 'ur'?" He said while looking at Dib, and pointing his fork at Zim.

"Uhm…that's how they say it in Ireland?" Dib slowly muttered, not sure whether his Dad would believe. After all, it would only work if his dad had never heard an Irish person say Ireland in all of his life.

"Yes, that's right!" Zim suddenly chimed in, with confidence in his voice. Dib was concerned that Zim might have become butt-hurt that he had helped him, but fortunately, it didn't seem to be the case. Now all Zim had to do was just shut up, and everything would be fine.

"That's how we say it in the Land of Ure." Zim innocently added, not noticing Dib's neck snap in his direction. Dib felt an incredible need to strangle Zim but settled on slapping himself in the face. Professor Membrane shifted from looking at the blank-faced Zim to Dib who was pulling hair out of his head. After doing it a few times, he leaned back in his chair.

"Okay," He casually commented, before taking a sip from his glass of water. While Zim kept pretending to eat his food with no worries in the world, Dib looked at his dad in utter disbelief. He kept staring while a feeling of dread was overwhelming him. His dad, the smartest person on the planet, had just let that slide with no comment or further investigations whatsoever? He didn't know whether to smack his face into the table, or just start crying. No matter what, the dinner continued in silence. When the dinner was finally over, Membrane quickly addressed his son, before he had the chance to walk away.

"Now Dib, why don't you go up and prepare a place for Zim to sleep in your room. Dib froze up, as he recollected how this night was meant to go. If there was any chance that he could escape this grizzly fate, it was now.

"Dad, you can't still be thinking that I'm actually going to have a sleepover. If you haven't noticed, I'm still too old! Remember!"

His dad just quietly shook his head, as if he was some kind of wise mentor.

"Come now, son. Your friend has already stayed for so long. You can't just send him home now." Dib gave Zim an uneasy look, who was too occupied with patting the cleaning robot on the head while complimenting its ability to serve its rightful master and future ruler of the Earth. Dib looked from his dad, who was smiling encouragingly under his coat, to the stupid alien who had snuck his way into his house.

Well, it's not like I can make Zim away anyway. Might as well make the most of it. Now I can at least keep a close eye on him.

Dib tlited his head back, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Ugh…fine."

Dib was sitting down on his bed while looking at the makeshift bed he had made. It was made out of a single mattress, a few sheets, a small pillow, and a very thin blanket. Zim was also standing in Dib's room, looking down on the shoddy bed, with a rather unimpressed look. Which Dib found very fitting. It was just what Dib thought that he deserved.

"You expect Zim to lay on…this," Zim said, gesturing at the bed. Dib nodded to him in response, as he was unable to keep up any sense of seriousness in his voice.

"You can always just sleep on the floor if you want to." He commented with a wry smile, to Zim's contempt.

"I can always just lay in your bed." He threatened, with an evil smirk to accompany it. Dib kept the wry smile and leaned forward on the bed, having a small staring contest with Zim.

"I would like to see you try." He challenged Zim, who to his surprise didn't immediately jump on it like a hungry animal. Even he must be tired by now, it seemed.

"Maybe I will." He responded with a carefree tone, turning around to look around Dib's room. Dib felt a bit diapåointed. A fight with Zim could always lighten up his mood. But only if he was winning, of course. It was then that the boys' attention turned to the door, as it slowly opened. The Professor peeked in, shortly before dropping off a bag. He then turned to address Zim.

"I don't know if you have some clothes in that backpack of yours, but here's some of Dib's old clothing if you need it." He disappeared as quickly as he had come and closed the door, with Dib rolling his eyes at his dad mentioning Zim's 'backpack'. If he had any idea of what it really was, he would have ripped it right off Zim's back and started disassembling it, trying to find out its secrets. Dib looked up at Zim, who had a confused expression on his face. When he noticed Dib looking at him, he turned back to face him.

"Why was your Dad-unit referring to extra clothing." Zim's comment made a few cogs in Dib's head turn, and he came to a realization.

"Oh god…You really don't even know what a sleepover is, do you?"

Zim gave him an irritated look, before looking away, as dramatically he could, swinging his head to the side.

"I know what a sleepover is! I guess by the name it refers to sleeping until something is over, yes?" He said dismissively as if there wasn't possibly any better explanation. Dib rubbed his tired eyes, before responding.

"Well, I guess it's close enough."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I don't require sleep." Zim added, with a smug expression, while still having his head turned away from Dib, who felt a surge of interest light up in him, as he processed that the alien might just have revealed something about his race.

"Really? You don't need sleep? At all?" He tried to sound as amazed as possible, hoping to bait Zim into revealing more info. But even though he pretended to sound amazed, he actually had a giddy feeling in his stomach.

"Of course not! Our PAK takes care of such wasteful bodily functions so that we can continue our work without any need for pause. A lesson all you lesser species should take note of." He had fallen for the bait, as he talked with pride and huge amounts of ego. He had even turned his head back to Dib, though the smug expression persisted.

It was at that moment, Dib finally found some use for this situation he had found himself in. With the two of them forced together, Zim would have no way to avoid his questions. As long as he could keep masquerading his amazement, it should go without problems. But it could wait. He had the entire night after all.

"But, isn't that going to be a problem? You know, not being able to sleep at a sleepover."

Now it was Zim's turn to roll his eyes. And beyond that, he placed his hand on his forehead, muttering something to himself, before finally addressing Dib again.

"Stupid human. Zim can still sleep! Just without the whole-" He gestured a circle in the air, trying to find the right word. "-falling into an unconscious state, like a worthless Shruba."

Dib had no idea what that meant, but he kinda got the idea. Before he had any time to say anything else, Zim moved towards the door, his eyes fixed on the bag Dib's dad had left. He crouched down and fumbled through its content. He ended with picking up a light blue shirt, and a pair of black jeans. He looked at them with a disgusted look, carrying them as far away from his body as possible, back to Dib. He then dropped them down on the makeshift bed. His disgusted look had then turned into one of insult.

"That human expects me to remove my invader uniform, to wear these stinking rags!" He finished by gesturing at the clothes with both his arms. Before Dib had time to be insulted, he was struck by a thought.

"How do you know that it stinks. Can you even smell things?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course, Zim can smell. I do it like every other normal species." He said, very matter-of-factly. Dib thought to himself if that was right, then maybe he does have a nose, and maybe also other species. If that's possible, then maybe humans and other races aren't so different after all? Just because they come from different planets, some things can connect them all together, even by a basic concept like a nose. It would be beautiful if that's the case, Dib thought to himself.

"I smell through my face skin!" He said, more loudly than he need to as if he knew what kind of reaction Dib would have.

"There it was," He said to himself, turning away for a moment to shudder. He decided the best way to stop thinking about it would be to come up with a new line of questioning. He turned back, shaking his shudder off.

"So, you don't take off your uniform?"

"Well sometimes, but only when it needs to be repaired or cleaned. Not for something as moronic as this!" He answered, most likely referring to the whole situation he had put himself in.

"So you're not going to wear my clothes?

"WHAT?! Naturally, I'm not going to wear you're filthy Earth clothes!" Zim replied, alarmed by the mere idea that it was a possibility.

Dib was about to fire back with 'Oh thank god' when he got a better idea. In normal circumstances, it shouldn't work on anybody. But Zim isn't a normal circumstance. Instead, if there were someone it could work on, then it would be Zim.

"Well, it's your funeral." He said to himself, before laying down on his bed, preparing to fall asleep. But his comment hadn't gone unnoticed by Zim.

"Eh, what's that supposed to mean?" He asked with his normal tone, but there was a hint of concern in there. Dib turned his head and saw that the alien had tensed up. He couldn't believe that this was actually going to work.

"What, don't tell me you don't know how serious the sleepover ritual is?" Dib asked surprised, getting up from the bed to sit on it again. Zim looked at him, now with a concerned expression, as he cautiously moved closer to the human.

"No, tell me how serious this 'ritual' is?" He said, eyeing Dib hesitantly. In return, Dib looked at him with a malicious grin.

"Well, if you don't change clothes during a sleepover things can…happen," He said the last part as wickedly he could. Which seemed to be successful, as Zim had moved a step back, with a shocked expression on his face.

"What things can happen? Explain!" Zim continued asking, now with his worry clear in his voice. Dib's grin grew wider, as he realized his plan was working just as he had hoped.

"Oh you know…deadly things. Very deadly things." While the girn was still there Dib made an effort to sound as cold as possible. He was worried he might have been too good at it, as Zim had completely frozen up, the only thing moving was his head, as it tilted downwards. When his face was turned down to the floor, Zim started chuckling. Now Dib was definitely worried he might have been too good.

"Uhm, Zim? Are you okay?"

"Now I see, Dib-beast." Zim replied coldly his stare still stuck at the floor. Dib felt a chill on the back of his neck as if something horrible was about to happen.

"See what, Space-boy?" Even the name-calling felt weird in his mouth, as Zim just kept chuckling. Then his gaze finally went up, and Zim was now staring directly at Dib, his eyes moving nowhere else.

"This has been your plan all along, hasn't it, you human-worm? You have lured Zim here just to try and kill him with one of your dark human rituals." His voice was still cold, and his stare was still stuck on Dib. He was starting to feel fear building up inside him.

"Technically it was you who forced me to be a part of this, so-" Before he had time to finish, Zim reached for his back, and Dib flinched and tried blocking with his arms, as was scared that he was going to pull some kind of alien weapon from his back. But instead, he just kept fumbling, his eyes still focused on Dib.

"But your plan will fail, for the mighty Zim will now be so easily defeated!"

It was then that Dib heard something that reminded him of the sound of zippers. Then it hit him.

"Zim what are you doing?!" Dib asked, the desperation clear in his voice.

"You might have thought you won today, but you shall see-"

"Zim what the hell are you doing?!" Dib kept going, the panic only making him more and more hysterical. It was then that Zim's uniform seemed to become less and less tight, and he started grabbing the alien fabric at his shoulders.

"ZIM I BEG YOU, STOP!"

"-that Zim will never be defeated by a worthless, stupid worm like you!" It was then he started pulling at his unfirm, and it revealed his green shoulders that were underneath.

"JUST WAIT JUST WAIT FOR A FREAKING MOMENT ZIM!"

Zim kept pulling.

"Have you now realized your grave mistake, Dib-" He didn't have time to finish, as Dib dashed towards the door, and practically flew out of the room, before returning for but a moment, to close the door shut with a bang. Zim looked at the door perplexed, before shaking his head, and continuing to undress. Dib was leaning up against the door, breathing heavily.

HE COULD HAVE WARNED ME! HE COULD AT LEAST HAVE DONE THAT! NOW I'M NEVER GOING TO GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Dib let his head fall down, feeling like he might cry any moment now. It was then that he noticed Gaz standing in the hallway, looking at him with a neutral look. Which was rather considerate, considering what she possibly had just heard and witnessed. Dib looked at her with a hysterical expression, still breathing heavily.

"DON'T YOU DARE ASK!" He screamed at her, pointing a shaking hand at her. She just continued looking at him.

"I wasn't going to." She said, before turning away, and continuing to walk towards the toilet. Dib kept pointing at her, with an intense look in his eyes. When she was finally out of sight, he let his arm fall down.

After a minute or two, Dib leaned his mouth up against the door.

"Are you done yet?"

"What? Oh, it's you Dib-thing! I had merrily forgotten all about you and your pitiful existence."

Dib let out a frustrated growl, before speaking again.

"I asked you something!"

"That? Yes yes, I'm done with my business."

Dib gripped the door handle, and took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. He quickly swung the door open, his eyes still closed.

"*Ahem*…"

Dib finally started slowly opening his eyes. Fortunately for him, Zim still had clothes on. He let out a sigh of relief, to which the alien responded with a confused look. He then quickly realized that it was his clothes he had on instead. Whatever feeling that might have awakened, he buried deep, deep inside of him. So deep he completely forgot about it. He took a closer look, and for the first time, remembered he had never seen the alines hands or feet before. The hands had three claws, which had the same skin color as the rest of his body. The feet were similar to humans, with only two claws on each foot, somewhat resembling that of a hawk. Zim shifted, as he was starting to get annoyed by the human's starring. As if trying to cover for something, Dib started yawning, and walked back over to his bed and laid down. Zim had followed the human's movements, before nervously looking down on the bed. He then tried mimicking The Dib's movements and laid down on it. They lay in silence for a few moments, before Zim couldn't take it anymore.

"Is this all we're supposed to do now?" He asked, clearly already bored.

"Yep."

"This is a complete waste of time," Zim said disgruntled, crossing his arms, and now staring at the ceiling with a frustrated look.

"Hey, Zim?" Dib asked quietly, slightly turning his head to face Zim.

"What?!" He replied aggressively, clearly irritated by the whole situation.

"Why were you angry that I wasn't wearing my coat?"

The question shook the alien to his core. He wasn't expecting to have to explain his actions. Escpiecelly, not those actions. Those he couldn't completely explain himself.

"Well…" He started confident enough, but it soon shriveled up to a silent whisper. He turned to face away from Dib, who was now looking down on him from the bed.

"You always wear it, when you fight Zim. You always have. It's because it's your uniform, isn't it?" There was a curiosity in his voice, which Dib rarely heard from him.

"Now I wouldn't say…you know what? Maybe you're right. It's my uniform."

"Like Zim's?"

The question surprised him, and he turned to see Zim's face, but he had rolled to the other side, so Dib couldn't see his face. He looked at him for a moment, before answering.

"Yeah, you could say that"

he then laid back in the back, and they stared up at the ceiling. They both weren't used to this. To asking each other questions, and having a proper conversation, that didn't involve an insult in every other sentence. But before they could think about what that meant, Dib had another question ready.

"Hey, weren't you going to do your plan tonight?"

He could see Zim physically tense up at the question, and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"That's-that's…none of your business DIB!" Zim yelled, clearly flustered, as he had forgotten all about his former plan. But even after that small banter, there still was an awkward silence between them. Or was it tension? Whatever it was it didn't matter, for Dib then quickly remembered the plan he had formed for what he was going to do this night.

"You know, I don't know that much about Irken biology."

Zim then suddenly turned to face him, and he had an annoyed expression with him.

"You've always have had a sick fascination with how my insides work, human."

Before Dib had anything to say in defense, Zim had pointed his claw at the wall up against Dib's bed, which was filled with drawings of Dib dissecting Zim. There were pictures with him using a different tool, dissecting parts, and even different scenarios. They had gotten more detailed over the years, some even having little notes written next to imaginary alien organs. Dib gulped, but thought it was smarter to hide away from his enemy, he had gotten over the whole 'dissecting a living being' thing.

"Oh, that? That's just to help me sleep."

Zim rolled his eyes and turned away from Dib again. In turn, Dib crawled over to the edge of his bed and looked down at Zim.

"Hey, I wasn't finished Space-boy!" Zim looked back at him with an annoyed look, waiting for the human to explain himself.

"Now that you're stuck here, and you can't sleep anyway, then do you know what that means?"

Zim squinted his eyes, and slowly shook his head. A devilish smile appeared on Dib's face, as he raised himself from the bed, now towering over the alien beneath him, who looked at him puzzled.

"That means I have the entire night to ask you questions about your biology, your race, your empire, about everything I want to. And unless you want to blow your cover, you can do nothing to stop me from asking questions…all night long."

Dib started chuckling as a look of concern spread across Zim's face, as he realized he had been cornered. Then something hit him. Something very heavy, and something that had been building for some time. What was it again? Oh yeah, tiredness. In the blink of an eye, Dib fell instantly asleep, falling down on his bed with a squeak. It didn't take long before he already started drooling. Zim looked at him cautiously, wondering if this was one of The Dib's tricks. When still nothing happened, he sat on his knees, and slowly moved towards the bed. He looked at the sleeping, defenseless human with curiosity. Then a thought struck him.

I could kill him. I could kill him right here and now, and then I can finally take over this filthy planet! I just…need to…ugh!

Zim had moved his hands towards the human's throat but stopped just as they were about to touch his delicate skin. They were shaking in the air, as he tried to force them around his neck. When still nothing happened, he took his hands back and forth, hoping that they accidentally would finally grip around something he could squeeze. But it didn't happen. He was wondering how it could be possible. He was a trained killer, an Irken warrior, one of the elites! Perhaps the greatest of all Irkens, right under the Tallest of course. Yet he couldn't do it. He couldn't make himself kill this one stinky human.

As a last attempt, he took out his PAK legs and tried to stab him with them. But they too stopped right before making contact with his flesh. With a frustrated grunt, he let himself fall back into the sad excuse of a bed. He looked up at the ceiling, only now realizing the stars shining in the dark.

Why…why can't I do it? It's…he has done something, yes! That's it! He has done some vile human ritual on Zim, which is keeping me from killing that giant-headed human! But what? I have to stick around him, try and figure out what it is. Yes. Just stay closer to him. That's a great plan. He will soon learn that nothing can stop the mighty and superior Zim! Just wait Dib-thing. Just wait…I will be rid of you soon.

Suddenly, a feeling of something dreadful came over Zim. He looked around, trying to see if it was a bug or something. Then he realized that it came from within. He didn't like that feeling. It was the same he had felt when he thought he had failed the Tallest. He hated it. But why did he feel it when thinking of the Dib-thing? He shook his head and looked back up at the stars. The human had messed with his head all day. He just had to wait it out.

He kept staring up at the ceiling. Then a small smirk formed on his face.

"Those are the least accurate stars I have ever witnessed. For someone with such a big head, I thought you would know."

He looked over at Dib, but no reply came. Zim then scoffed and turned away from the human.

"Whatever, Dib-stink."

Well…that was long. Yeesh. Just to warn you, the next chapter is probably going to be a bit short. But hey, that just means that it might come out sooner! Well, let's just wait and see. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for the next. Have a good day.