Salt and Sugar [ZADR] [IZ Au]

Return

Dib sighed. It was another incredibly boring day at school, and Zim still wasn't there. He had been gone for weeks, leaving Dib without any sources of entertainment, nor anything to keep him away from his thoughts. It just didn't feel right without him.

Someone Dib didn't recognize then entered the classroom that morning amongst the other students. He wore a pink zip-up hoodie, had black hair, was pale and freckly, and he wore a smug look on his face.

"Alright students," Ms. Bitters grumbled. "Please take your seats, and congratulations to Zim for overcoming his disgustingly hideous skin condition."

Dib's eyes widened and he turned to look at the boy once more. "Why thank you, Miss Bitters." Zim said, looking Dib right in the eye with a smirk on his face.

The irken then sat in his seat, looking pleased with himself. Dib clenched his fists. Sure, he was glad he was back, but there was no way in hell he would be able to expose him now. And sure, Dib had already lost most of his motivation to expose the alien in general, but knowing it would be incredibly difficult to do so now still frustrated him.

But what upset him the most is the fact that he would be made fun of even more than usual because of it.

More pointing and laughter, more pushes and shoves, more food being thrown at him, more 'I-told-you-so's, hell not even some of the freaks were being nice to him.

However, I guess to them he was the bully.

After school had ended that day, Dib went straight to his room, trying his best to ignore the bickering between his dad and his sister.

He collapsed onto his bed. Of course things were going to be worse when the Irken got back. Of course. He should have known.

Why did he want him to come back so badly, anyway? All he was was destructive.

That's all he was.

Destructive.

The next day, Zim sat alone at a table in the cafeteria, watching with utter delight and amusement as food was flung at Dib's seemingly large head. In his opinion, it was quite entertaining to watch.

In Dib's opinion, however, it was highly irritating.

The human got up from the table and left the cafeteria, leaving Gaz behind. It's not like she cared, of course, if anything it was a relief. She finally had peace and was able to play her game without food splattering somewhere near her on the table.

Dib sat on the stairs in front of the hi-skool building and sighed. Nowhere was safe anymore. Not home, not school, not anywhere.

At home there was nothing but arguments and fights and yelling, so much so Dib hardly ever left his room anymore.

On the other hand, there was school, where he was constantly made fun of and occasionally bullied, which had recently gotten worse.

Dib rested his chin in his hands. Somehow Zim made it all worth it at first, but now that he was back and in a completely different disguise?...Oh well.

It's not like much had really changed, anyway, and it wasn't like anything was going to.

....right?

***

Sobbing.

Right before walking into the men's restroom, Dib heard sobbing.

Personally, Dib wasn't exactly the kind of person who knew how to deal with crying, and those kinds of situations made him severely uncomfortable.

However, he went inside anyway. He at least wanted to try and comfort someone, even if he was the last person they wanted to see.

Turns out it was the other way around.

Zim. Somehow, Zim was the one who was upset. He couldn't help but wonder why.

Despite the fact that the two of them weren't on the best of terms, the human sat next to him on the floor. The Irken didn't acknowledge him until he said something.

"You alright, Zim?" He asked. The alien looked up, and his face transitioned between two different types of upset.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Zim asked, avoiding the question.

"Er- couple minutes, maybe? Long enough to wonder why the hell the least emotional person I've ever met is moping so much."

Zim wiped his eyes and crossed his arms, glaring at the human before him. "Well it's none of your concern, so please leave me alone now."

Dib stood up. "Alright, fair enough. If you ever need someone's shoulder to cry on, though, just come talk to me. I know you have my number."

Zim laughed. "And why would I have your stinking number?"

"I dunno, pranks? I did overhear you threaten to blackmail my sister if she didn't give you it, though."

"Psh, you heard nothing Dib-Human!"

"Riiiight. But seriously, if you need something, just give me a call, okay? I'm a lot more trustworthy than you think."

"Sure you are." Zim rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face. "Zim will consider it."

Dib smiled and left the bathroom, leaving the Irken alone once more. He couldn't help but continue to wonder what was wrong all of a sudden.

Once the school day was over, Dib sighed and tried to mentally prepare for the next argument he had to listen to when he got home.

The second he and Gaz stepped inside was when it started. A question was asked by their dad, and then Dib's sister would retort something in response, just like all of their arguments began.

Dib escaped upstairs to his room as the yelling started, gently shutting the door behind him. He took his phone out of his pocket and slipped on his headphones, turning on one of his playlists and raising the volume high enough that the music would drown out his family.

His phone then vibrated. A text from an unknown number.

'Hello, Dib-Stink.'

Dib cracked a smile. 'Greetings space boy'

A/N
I finally rewrote Salt and Sugar haha, and this time I actually have a plot! So many plans... evil, evil plans... 😈
Ok, they're not really that evil lol, but I do have some ideas!

I hope y'all have a good day, a good night, and make sure you drink some water and take care of yourselves. <3