I'm Not Crazy (ZaDR)

2

It had been three days since the green boy showed up. Dib hadn’t gotten much of anything done since then.

Dib sighed. Zim was sitting on Dib’s desk on top of some papers in his lab. The two were surrounded by experiments, and almost everything was white. Other scientists wearing similar outfits to Dib were sprinkled around the large room. Zim looked over at Dib. 

With his huge lab coat and goggles covering his face, he looked just like his dad. It made Zim wonder where Professor Membrane was.

“You’re not going to tell me to move?” Zim asked.

Dib stopped typing on his computer to answer him. “No.”

“Do you still think I’m not real?” Zim asked.

“I know you’re not real,” Dib answered, typing on his computer again.

“So you think I’m not real. Got it.” Zim leaned back against Dib’s computer.

Dib sighed. “Would you please just shut up and let me do my work?”

Zim groaned. “You’re always doing work! How are you supposed to save Earth at this desk?”

“I’m doing paperwork and getting the city’s permission to use uranium and have a test sub--” Dib began. But Zim interrupted him.

“Boring!” Zim shouted, and several other people in the room turned to look at him. “See, look! They can see me!”

Dib looked around, most of the people that were looking had looked away. He then looked at Zim. He had the same old disguise that he had back in elementary school.

Dib shook his head. “Who can see you?”

Zim pointed to the people who had just looked at him. “Them! They can! Why can’t you see that! That means I’m real!”

Dib shook his head. “They didn’t even look at you, how can you tell they can see you? Even if they did it’d just be part of the hal--”

“Professor Membrane.” Zim and Dib both turned their heads to see the man leaning over Dib’s computer. He glanced at Zim and then back to Dib. “You can leave. You have an interview in like, twenty minutes.”

Zim looked around for Dib’s dad before realizing. Dib is Professor Membrane now. Zim swallowed. He’d been gone for a while hadn’t he.

Dib rolled his eyes. “You don’t tell me when I can leave. I can leave whenever I want.” Dib cleared his throat. “Also I know that. About the meeting.” 

He did not know that. About the meeting.

He forgot.

Dib quickly stood up from his chair and grabbed his bag. “But since you’ve offered, I will leave.”

Zim followed closely behind as Dib left the room and out of the laboratory.

“Where are you going?” Zim asked, trying not to trip over rocks as he tried to keep up with Dib who kept walking faster.

“Home, where else?” Dib answered, getting into his car.

“I thought you had an interview?” Zim asked, attempting to get into the car after Dib, but finding it locked.

“I do. I have to get ready.” Dib said, starting the car.

“Oh. I don’t have to do that. Zim’s always ready.” Zim said and kicked the glass of the car door’s window, climbing inside.

When he got in, he smiled at Dib, who did not look amused. “It’s not real. My car is fine…” He muttered to himself as he started to drive.

“It is so very real,” Zim said.

“No it’s not. You’re not real.” Dib said. Zim opened his mouth to protest, but Dib stopped him, covering his mouth. “Do not say another word.” 

Zim tried to speak again, but it was muffled, so in an attempt to make Dib let go he licked his hand. Dib pulled back and Zim laughed. “What is wrong with you!?”

Zim laughed the entire ride to Dib’s house, and when Dib got out of the car, Zim didn’t even notice. When he started to calm down and look around, he finally noticed Dib had left.

He climbed up the wall and jumped through the already opened window into Dib’s room where he was nowhere to be found.

“Dib-stink!” Zim called, to which he heard Dib mutter from the kitchen.

“You really still call me that…?”

Zim found him at the table eating a muffin. “I thought you had to get ready.”

“I’m hungry.” Dib answered simply. 

“Huh. Ok.” Zim sat down on the table beside Dib’s muffin.

“...This has been going on for a week. This is ridiculous. I’ve gotten my meds changed three times, and you’re still here.” Dib said, continuing to stuff his face.

“Then why does nobody else remember you! Why am I the only one going to therapy?” Dib asked.

“I-- I can’t tell you that!” Zim said, taking the muffin from Dib and trying a bite. Immediately regretting it, Zim tossed it to the side. “How do you eat this stuff?”

Dib sighed and let his head fall against the table. “But it just doesn’t make any sense. How could you be real!? Aliens aren’t real!” 

Zim sighed and pulled off one of his contacts. He grabbed Dib’s hand and placed it on the palm of his hand. “Maybe I’m not real.”

Dib looked up at Zim with a confused look on his face.

“But why does that matter? I’m here. Why won’t you ju--” Zim spoke quickly, already seeing Dib about to interrupt him.

“What? Go outside and fight the air? People will think I’m crazy. I have a life now, how many times do I have to tell you?” Dib said, pulling his hand away.

“Why can’t I be in it?” Zim asked.

Dib stood up abruptly and grabbed a nearby botted plant. “Why do you want to be in my life so badly!? Why won’t you just leave me alone!?” Dib shouted, throwing the plant at Zim, missing by a hair. The pot shattered behind him.

Zim’s eyes started to tear up and he smiled. “You don’t get it. Humans really are stupid.”

Dib straightened up, his voice still shouting. “Then why don’t you go back to your planet!?”

Zim swallowed.

He had convinced himself that he had come back for Dib. That was only part of the reason.

But thinking about the main reason why he came back made Zim fall to his knees sobbing.