--Previously--

"Remind me, who is 'Zim' again?"
"He's that kid that randomly knocked on our door after the first day of school."
"Okay, yeah, got the right guy then..." He mumbled.

I raised an eyebrow. Whatever I felt right now, confusion, I knew something was bound to happen. Whether it did any good, I had no idea, but what I knew was that it most likely had something to do with Zim.
That left me suspicious...
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It was a breezy, dark morning. Hurds of people ran through the streets to go to school, just the usual. I, of course, travelled the opposite way of them just to knock for Dib and Gaz, like I usually do. But oddly enough, there wasn't any answer. My main thought was that Professor Membrane had left the house and taken the kids to school, either that or they were all heavy sleepers and never bothered to wake up. That second one isn't likely though. An odd feeling dwelled in my chest, one of uncertainty. I wasn't sure why, but my gut was telling me that something was wrong.

I kept telling myself to grow up, that everything was fine and I was just overreacting. But really, I never thought that was the case. Either way, I had to go to school, so whatever went on would have to wait.
"HUMAN! WAIT!!" Zim screeched, trying to catch up with me. He definitely had no stamina, and the boy did not look prepared for today at all. His hair was a mess, the bags under his eyes, the tiredness of his voice, and oh how smelly and sweaty he was. Now I felt concerned for him.
"Geez, something keep you up all night?" I asked, looking at his bad condition. He felt confused at this and tilted his head. Before realising I was staring at him because of his state. Quickly, he fixed himself up the best he could. He fixed his hair, made sure his contacts stayed on and stood straight. That didn't change the fact that he had bags under his eyes, and that he was all sweaty. Perhaps he was in such a big rush because of things at home kept him there longer. Maybe he hadn't had much sleep last night, might even be both. "Are you alright, Zim?"
He stayed quiet for a while, staring at me deep in thought. It wasn't too long before he got out of his trance, shaking his head and replying, "Huh? Oh yes! Yes! I'm fine-!"
"Really? Are you?" I didn't sound so convinced. It was obviously not true. Judging by his condition something serious happened.
People sure were acting strange today. Dib and Gaz didn't answer, Zim's not doing so great either, plus, people were in a bigger rush then usual. The day wasn't that special, it was a Wednesday in mid-October. Today really felt off, and I didn't like it one bit....
"Zim is fine! Okay!?" He yelled back grumpily. His yell was so loud, I swear my ear was falling off. And after that, I never bothered to talk. So the short walk kept us silent as we observed the children walking by from afar. When we got to school, nothing changed.

When we did registration, neither Dib or Gaz were in school. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, trying my best to stay awake during the nonsense the teacher was chattering about. I was more interested at the fact that Dib and Gaz weren't in, and I didn't feel like it was a common cold or illness that kept them from coming in. So I barely listened to Ms Bitters. And it carried on like that all the way till lunch time, when I was left alone to sit at the table.

Zim latched onto me today, as he would not leave me alone. It annoyed me, but I never said anything about it. I could guess that it was Zim's nature to cling onto people when he had friends. And only now am I realising the handful of insults I'm thinking about that boy too.
"Human." Zim said, eyeing my sandwich. I offered it to him, but he politely declined, saying that he wasn't hungry. "That's not what I was asking about. I wanted to know if you wanted to 'hang out' with me after school?"
I would usually give out a nod, but I couldn't. I remembered my Dad needing me to do a couple of favours for him after school. So I shook my head apologetically.
"Sorry Zim, I'll be busy."
"O-oh..." He sounded almost disappointed. "Okay, I'll be leaving now. Bye."
Awkwardly, Zim left the table. And now it was only me, a slice of bread and a milkshake left at peace. I felt bad, he was really trying now, was he. I guess he may now feel bad from that rude, first impression he gave me. Either that or he's after something.
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Finally, it was the end of the day. Zim and I walked home, and our conversation wasn't actually dull this time. It was one of the first conversations that wasn't left awkward and I had actually enjoyed it. Sure, it was about the most random shit in the world, but that's how I liked my conversations.
I opened the door to the flat, a big, wide grin on my face. I was just so happy that the two of us were starting to get along now!!

Dad walked into the living room, where I stood, and saw my happy face. To this, he smiled along with me.
"What's gotten you feeling so positive today?" He lightened up the mood in his voice, trying to cover the fact that he was stressed out from his job.
"Well, you know that rude kid, Zim? I think he's actually warming up to me!!" I cheered. In a rush, I dumped my school bag on the couch, took off my coat and shoes, then ran to turn on the TV.
"(Y/N), do you like Zim?"
"Oh god no!" I replied, thinking he meant it in a 'romantic' way. Then, I payed no attention to anything else and stared at the TV. I never noticed my Dad grabbing my bag and taking it to my room. He put the bag down next to the drawers and took out my empty lunch box. Then, he went to the kitchen, putting the sandwich box and spoon in the sink.

"Anyway, what did you need help with?" I asked my Dad, who had just recently got back into the living room. He waited for me to ignore the television before he spoke again.
"Well, Dib tells me that there's an alien in your school." Dad mentioned with an interested look on his face. I raised an eyebrow,
"Yeah?" I said, not catching on. And once I realised, I felt pure shock. "Wait, you don't actually believe him, do you?" I tensed up, seeing him nod.
Never in a million years would I expect my own Dad to believe something so.... fake. Not to sound rude or anything, but how could he be so stupid!?
I slapped my forehead, purely in shame. Dad never questioned it, nor did he really care how I felt about him with that situation. He expected such a response from me, seeing as I was more like my mother. I never believed things as absurd as that, and always thought of a realistic explanation. But, that did make me curious. There's a possibility for anything, you don't see that if you don't believe things. If Zim was an alien, then why was he here?
I shook my head, thinking about how pathetic I was being.

"Well, you have been saying that he's weird." He made a point, to this, I replied,
"And? That's not a valid point though, is it?" I huffed, before continuing on. "He's just quirky."
"Mhm, he would be, because he's an alien." Dad raised his voice at that last part. Not in a mean way, but he was trying to make a point.
"Okay, now you sound just as silly as Dib." I got up and took out my phone, I checked for any notifications, but I got nothing. Still, I decided I might as well talk to Gaz for a while. "I'm going to bed."

Despite it being 4:30pm, that never stopped me from going to my room. Now, I wasn't actually going to go to bed. I was just texting Gaz, telling her about the recent situation. Not only did I tell her about that, but I also told her about the situation in school. However, it didn't shock me that there was no reply.
Then I remembered that I never saw her today. Hopefully I'd see the two siblings tomorrow, I had to. Tomorrow was when we'd all meet up at Zim's house for the project. I sighed, looking outside. Only 4:45pm and it was already going dark. Though, the season would explain everything. I watched as all the cars passed by, trying to see if I could spot Dib and Gaz anywhere. As expected, I didn't find much. All except for Zim running across the street. I perked up at that.
Just where was he off too..?
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Word count: 1560 words

Amberzoeheart~