Blessing In Disguise (A ZaDr Collab)

Back To The Present

Dib

Hours I had been flying the ship, and while I didn't expect to find Zim in the first five minutes, I wished something interesting would happen.

I quickly discovered that leaving at 2am when I hadn't slept since the night before wasn't the smartest plan, as I nearly fell asleep at the control before the computer made loud angry beeping noises to wake me up.

I let go of the control for a second to stretch, yawning.

"You seem to be falling asleep. You can set the ship into auto pilot, you know that, right?" Said the computer after my eyes began to flutter closed.

"What?" I jumped, my eyes snapping open. "No, I didn't. Can you do that?" I asked, after realizing it was only the computer.

There was a click and a beep before the computer said, "Set. Now go sleep."

I smiled lightly and stood, shuffling to the back of the ship and searching through my bag for the blanket. I managed to pull it out from the stuffed bag, and draped it over my shoulders to curl up in the corner.

Though I was exhausted, sleep still wouldn't come, and I was stuck with my thoughts again.

The cafeteria was bustling with children, some sharing food with friends, others throwing theirs at their enemies. Dib, however, was only sitting alone at the lunch table no one dared sit at because of his presence, including Gaz, who now sat with more popular kids.

Today, though, Dib realized he did not sit alone when the clattering of a tray meeting a table sounded next to him. Looking over, he realized that it was who he least expected; Zim.

"What're you doing, sitting over here?" He asked, skipping the usual insult.

"They kicked Zim off his table," Responded Zim, pointing to the table he previously sat at, where the popular students now sat. "So now Zim is here."

Dib raised his eyebrow as Zim sat down, prodding carefully at his food.

"You know, the food isn't that bad. As long as you get some that isn't poisoned." Said Dib, gesturing to Zim's tray with his fork.

"Maybe to you, stink face." Zim growled, pushing away his tray. "Besides, I don't need this FILTHY skool food."

"Aren't you hungry?" Dib asked.

"No." Zim scoffed, dusting off his shirt for really no reason, he didn't get anything on it anyway.

"Well after all day you should be hungry."

"Zim doesn't get hungry, stink beast." He answered, crossing his arms.

"Really? That's pretty cool. So you can eat whatever you want but you don't need to eat at all? Do you get full?" Dib asked.

"No, but I can get sick."

"Neat!" Dib said, smiling.

"Yes, it is very neat. Zim is very neat."

Dib was about to agree, before remembering that, as Zim's enemy, he wasn't really supposed to. In fact, he wasn't really supposed to be having a friendly conversation with his nemisis anyway.

"Keep telling yourself that, self absorbed prick." Dib murmured, and stood to walk away. Maybe he could eat lunch in the bathroom instead.

"Where are you going?" Zim asked immediately, tugging Dib's sleeve so he'd sit back down. Dib sighed, rolling his eyes and returning to his original seat.

"You know, I am really quite fascinating." Zim smiled and said, like Dib needed reminding.

"Yeah, yeah." He sighed again, picking at his lunch.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing Zim. Just leave me alone." Zim poked Dib in the side. "I'm not stupid, Dib. I AM AMAZING! I can tell when something is wrong with you...humans...quite easily."

"It's nothing, okay! You're just really starting to bug me." Zim inched closer.

"Tell Ziiiiiiim!"

"I won't." He scooted closer still, looking into Dib's eyes. The look on Zim's face was terrifying. "Zim...what the Hell are you doing?"

"Eyes are the windows to the soul, right?"

"Zim that's just an expression..."

"I am looking for your soul." Zim told Dib simply, grabbing either side of his paper face and tilting it this way and that. Dib could feel white hot tendrils of embarrassment creeping their way up his neck and onto his face.

They locked eyes.

His face was full on red now, and Zim seemed either too intent or too embarrassed to say anything or move.

"Zim...seriously. Get off me." Dib muttered.

"Oooooh, look!" Came the unmistakable voice of Zita. "Dib's got himself a boyfriend!" That snapped Dib out of whatever had been holding him back before. He grabbed Zim's hands and wrenched them off his face, snatched up his lunch tray, and stormed out of the lunchroom. That bathroom sounded pretty inviting by now.

My eyes snapped open with a start. I sighed, pulling my knees to my chest. I took off my glasses and put them in their case, blinking a bit after removing them.

As awful as it seemed at the time, I would give anything to be back there again. It seemed better than current time now.

I pulled out my laptop, opening my folder on Zim. Almost a hundred pictures were in the folder, with them he progressively got taller (by a little bit) and his disguise became, dare I say it, almost a bit better. Eventually he'd changed his wig to one that covered where his ears should be, it was a curly black that still had the elvis-like top, but pieces dangles in his face, and the end of it curled just at the nape of his neck. He'd also changed his contacts to blue, upon finding that purple was not a very common eye color among humans. I'd liked that, blue was my favorite color.

Perhaps because blue is the color of many things.

The color of the sound of rain and thunder on a day when I lie lazily in bed, for once almost relaxed. Blue, the color of the misty graveyard at night that I've searched a thousand times over for ghosts. Blue, the color of the few times I've smiled with genuine joy. Blue, the color of Zim when he looks at me with curiosity and concern instead of hatred and rage. Blue, the color of those bittersweet memories. Blue, the color of the car crash my mom died in. Blue, the color of days when me and Gaz tried to throw together whatever we could to eat because dad hadn't been home in weeks. Blue, the color of the broken beer bottles covering the floor because all dad wanted was to forget mom. Blue, the color of me breaking the mirror because I couldn't stand to look at myself anymore. Blue, the color of not a single person in the world caring for me other than my biggest enemy. Blue, the color of Zim being gone and never being seen again for years as I questioned his existence and my sanity. Blue, the color of me accidentally falling for the alien who was meant to be my enemy, who left me and the entire planet behind.

Blue, the color of the life of Dib Membrane.

I slept with the only picture of a smiling Zim open next to me.