Finding Comfort in the Enemy, Chapter 9 -ZADR-

Finding Comfort in the Enemy
By HeidiMoose

Chapter 9

Dib didn't see Zim anywhere at school. It was almost 6th period, which was P.E. that day, and there were no signs of Zim. He didn't show up to their English class and Dib couldn't find him in the hallways anywhere. He was disappointed. He was sure that Zim was going to be there.

Dib walked up to his gym locker and grabbed his gym clothes. He walked over to a toilet stall to change. Just as he turned around to shut the door he saw that stupid green alien standing there. His heart skipped a beat.

"Where have you been all day?" He asked. Zim shrugged.

"This is the only class that amuses Zim." The alien replied. Zim had his own gym clothes in hand and entered the stall next to Dib. One thing they had in common. They did not like to change in front of others. Although Dib was sure that Zim did so because his anatomy was probably different, Dib's reason for this behavior was much more personal.

Dib always looked forward to P.E. with Zim. They were very competitive with each other. The competitiveness was fueled by their enemyhood of course. If Dib was having a bad day he was always able to take it out on Zim in class and it was just a good way to pick on him in general. Just little, petty things. Despite their recent interactions with each other, Dib was still looking forward to nailing Zim in the head a few times with a dodgeball today. All in good fun, of course. He was sure the feeling was mutual.

Today was a free-for-all day of dodgeball, as opposed to the usual team dodgeball. Dib always preferred playing it this way because he could focus his attention solely on Zim, save for the other kids who always made it a point to pick on Dib. But the other kids usually saved Dib for the end of class. The two of them were very competitive toward the other and only focused on each other. Dib was better at dodging the balls than Zim so Zim had to sit out more often until Dib was hit. But whenever they were both actively playing and not sitting out, they were going only after each other. Both pumped with adrenaline and the desire to best the other.

There was something different about it today though. It felt more like friendly competition as opposed to the usual fire-fueled competition that the two normally experienced. Dib's hate for Zim had lessened over the last couple of weeks and he didn't want to hurt him too much should he hit his target.

The period was closing in toward dismissal and this was normally the time that the other kids made it a point to gang up on Dib. It was almost like a ritual for them. Oh, the joys of being "that crazy kid". Zim usually joined in with the other students, but it was different today. A few of Dib's peers started throwing their balls at Dib and a couple of them hit. One managed to hit Dib square in the face and knocked his glasses off onto the floor.

"Hey!" Zim shouted. He threw his dodgeball hard at the kid who hit Dib and managed to get him right in the face like he had hit Dib. The impact knocked the kid over.

"I'm the only one who gets to hit the Dib-stink!" he yelled. The room fell silent and the other kids stopped their game.

"If I see any of you aim a ball at him or hit him, you will have to face the wrath of Zim!" he continued. Dib blushed from embarrassment. What the heck was Zim doing?

He fished around for his glasses. He was blind as a bat without them. When he found them he put them up to his face to realize that they were bent and cracked. Great. Just great. He thought.

"Alright, it's time to call it a day. Go get changed!" One of the gym teachers, Mr. Carter, shouted. He walked up to Zim after the students began to go toward the locker rooms.

"Are we going to have problems, Zim?" Mr. Carter asked.

"Eh?" Zim responded.

"You intentionally socked another student in the face with a dodgeball. You know that's against the rules."

Zim shrugged at the teacher. As if he, Zim, actually cared about the rules.

"He hit Dib in the face, first." He said to Mr. Carter. The teachers never really cared about what happened to Dib, though. Afterall, Dib was crazy. "I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine." He smirked.

"Detention, Zim." The teacher responded.

"What!? Why!?"

"For being a smartass." Mr. Carter grabbed Zim's arm and dragged him into the locker room where the teacher's office was. He placed a device around his neck, similar to the hall pass in appearance and function. It was timed to explode after a certain amount of time if the student didn't get to the detention room quickly, however, and that's what made it different. Earth schools meant serious business.

"Detention room 52." The teacher said bluntly to Zim, handing him a sheet of paper. "Get your clothes and get over there immediately." Zim mumbled under his breath as he obeyed orders. With that thing around his neck, he was stuck there until a teacher or administrator removed it unless he wanted to explode.

He walked past Dib and stared at him briefly. His eyes were screaming "this is all your fault" to him. It was as if he wanted Dib to feel guilty about the ordeal. He was genuinely ticked off.

"You're going too, Dib!" Mr. Carter shouted suddenly.

"What? Why me?" Dib asked, confused.

"For having a freakishly huge head." The teacher responded. As if that was a valid reason to send a student to detention. Dib wasn't going to argue it, though. He was used to it.

Zim smiled. It was that evil, conniving smile that Dib was all too familiar with. It had been a while since he had seen Zim smile like that. He practically welcomed that cocky smirk with a smile of his own. Dib received the same device from the teacher.

"Detention room 52, Dib."

At least Dib was going to be in the same room as Zim. He was looking forward to being alone with him, although he didn't understand why.

The two didn't say a word to each other as they walked toward the detention hall. They handed their papers to a lady sitting behind a desk at the beginning of the hall. She got up and escorted them to the detention room. She removed the devices around their necks and locked the door from the outside. The only way the door could be open is if it was accessed from the outside. There were four desks sitting in the room. The room had one window but it was a narrow slit close to the ceiling and it was sealed shut. No child was getting out of detention. This wasn't the first time they had been stuck together in a detention room, but Dib didn't assume he would mind it as much today.

"This is your fault, Dib-stink." Zim hissed. He was definitely mad.

"My fault!? You're the one who freaked out in front of the entire class!" Dib raised his voice. Zim shook his head.

"Well, maybe if you stood up for yourself for once I wouldn't have to do it for you!" He shouted, throwing his arms up in the air.

"You, stand up for me!?" Dib shouted back. His emotions made him blind to the events of the last couple of weeks and he felt that familiar hatred boiling under his skin.

"You're mine, stink-beast!" Zim yelled. Dib emitted a stupid look of confusion almost immediately. He was blushing. That rush of hatred he suddenly started feeling again disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"What!?"

"Zim is the only one who's allowed to harm you!" The short alien shouted. "I'm the only one who's allowed to lay a finger on you!"

"Me… Zim!" he pointed to himself.

"Nobody else!" he pointed to the door.

Dib just stood there, still expressing that stupid, confused look. Since when was Zim so possessive over him? Zim walked up and pulled Dib down by his shirt collar so he could level his eyes with his.

"Do you understand?" He hissed.

That urge was creeping up on Dib again. That urge to press his lips hard against the Irken's. It was much more intense than it had been the previous times. He didn't just want to press their lips together. He wanted to pull him in and practically assault the alien. There was just something about the way Zim was clenching onto his collar and the look he had in his eyes; that passionate, fiery look that Dib used to see all the time up until recently.

Don't do it, Dib. Resist. Resist… Dib pinched his eyes shut as he took a moment to breathe through the urge until it went away.

He opened his eyes.

"Do you mind letting me go, Zim?" He asked calmly. It was almost painful how close he was to the alien and he needed to have more space before he did something he would regret. Zim stared at Dib intensely for a few more seconds before shoving him away. He walked over to one of the desks and sat down. He crossed his arms and let out a huff before slouching down in the chair. He was sulking.

Dib sat down in the desk behind Zim, folded his arms and buried his head in them. What was coming over him? Why was he feeling these urges? Why was he having these dreams?

*****

A few hours had passed and the school day was over. Zim and Dib hadn't said another word to each other since their exchange. Dib was almost too embarrassed to say anything to Zim. The lady in charge of the detention hall came in to allow them to leave the room. They walked down the hallway together, side by side but not saying a word to each other. They walked to the school doors and exited together. They both stopped at the top of the stairs. Zim looked over at Dib.

"Let me come over."

Dib looked back over to the alien.

"What? Why?" he responded. Unadmitteldly, he felt a bit angry at the Irken for getting him stuck in detention for the last half of the day.

"I don't want to be alone…" Zim mumbled. "And you said you'd start showing me things that I might like about your filthy planet. Zim demands you start showing him things." He said a bit louder. How could Dib say no? He wasn't the type to go back on his word.

"Zim, I-" Dib started. Zim suddenly grabbed hold of his hand and practically dragged Dib down the stairs and started walking in the direction of his house.

"You will show Zim stuff!" the Irken exclaimed. Dib felt helpless as he was being dragged down the street by the alien. It must have looked so pathetic, being overpowered by someone so much shorter than him. He did find that he was enjoying the touch of Zim's hand against his, though.

"Zim! You don't need to drag me!" Dib finally shouted. The alien came to a halt, hand still gripped firmly around Dib's. Dib raised their connected hands and stared at them for a brief moment. How would it feel to lace their fingers together?

Dib slid his hand against Zim's until it was in a position he could intertwine their fingers in and proceeded to close in on the alien's claws. Zim looked up at Dib, blushing, wondering what he was doing. With their hands intertwined together, Dib lowered them and began to walk again, Zim following his lead. Although Zim's hand had two less digits than Dib's, they seemed to intertwine perfectly. Dib could feel his heart pounding and his stomach fluttering. And for the first time since this whole thing with Zim started he gave into it. He let it happen. And he was enjoying every second of it.