Not a Monster Anymore (Double Crossed Book 2)

Chapter 3

(Dib's P.O.V)

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Two weeks after Zim left, I hear the roof hatch open, which tells me that the voot cruiser is landing upstairs. I rush up, wanting to see Zim as soon as possible. When I get there, Zim is climbing out of the cruiser, looking really confused. When I run up and hug him, he looks dazed.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

"I..." Zim mumbles, his brow creasing. "I can't exactly remember. I left... and then I was back. I... somehow I know that I did whatever it was I left to do... but I can't for the life of me remember anything about the trip." He looks up at me with big eyes. "How long was I gone?"

"Two weeks," I answer, which just seems to deepen his confusion.

"I feel like I just left..." he says. He puts a hand to his head. "My mind is all fuzzy."

"Come sit down," I suggest. "Maybe that'll help clear your head."

Zim holds my hand the whole way down, and his legs seem wobbly. Once we're on the couch, he leans up on me, as if exerting the energy to sit up straight is exhausting him. His eyes flutter closed, and after a moment I can feel his breathing steady. Months of sleeping on Earth have made him a regular snoozer, and he gets tired like any regular human. Strange how an environment can change someone so drastically.

I let him sleep as I blankly watch the TV. It's kind of hard to focus when you're confused about something. Zim has traveled into space countless times before, so I don't think it would be that. Of course, the space travel he goes through is insanely fast, but he's used to it.

Is it possible that whatever creatures he met wiped his memory? It almost makes less sense than the space travel theory; Zim is agile and determined, so much so that in some cases he's just about invincible. But the advanced technology of alien species' compared to humans... sometimes they get crazy good with their precision and abilities.

Unless of course, he's just exhausted from not having traveled such a long distance in awhile, and after a day or two he'll remember. I've heard that can happen. Until proven wrong, I don't want to assume the worst.

Gir waddles in through the door, saying goodbye to someone before walking farther in, kicking the door closed, due to his hands being occupied by his usual slush drink. This time it was a bright blue colour. He walks directly in front of the TV, and grins like a dork.

"D'aaaaaaw, you guys are so cuuute," he chirps, sucking on his drink noisily.

"Shhh," I shush him, gesturing to Zim, who grunts quietly and snuggles closer into me.

Gir giggles quietly, sticking his tongue out. "Okee dokee." For whatever reason, he listened to me much more than Zim.

Zim grunts again, agitated by the disturbance, and to calm him down I lean over and plant a kiss on his forehead. His antennae twitch for a second, and then he calms down, once again settling into the crease between my arm and torso. After a few minutes, the steady pattern of his breathing settles me down, and my eyelids grow heavy.

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(Zim's P.O.V)

When I wake up, I hear Dib's heart beating. A strange first thing to notice, but I think it might be because I'm so aware of my own chest, which feels heavy. Carefully, I lift Dib's arm off of my shoulder, leaving him lying alone on the couch as I stand up, hoping that walking around will clear my mind- and hopefully lift the unexplainable pressure off of my chest. My vision goes black for a few moments, and I windmill my arms to keep from falling over from the wave of dizziness that came with the darkness.

I'm still disoriented from having forgotten two weeks of my entire life thus far, and I almost leave the house without my disguise. It takes me a few moments to find it, because the world seems off somehow, and my mind doesn't clear. When I reach out my arm to grab the disguise, it feels like someone else's arm, like I was just watching someone do something, rather than doing it myself.

Something is wrong. Definitely wrong.

Hoping now more than ever that a walk will clear my head, I twist the doorknob and walk outside. The cool breeze of Earth's December hits me, but I almost don't register it. Once again, my senses feel like they've been replaced with someone else's.

All the sounds around me are shallow, like I'm underwater and everyone else is going about their daily lives as if I weren't there. I pass through a crowd, barely registering when someone says something to me.

"Hey," they call out. "Hey! Zim!"

I turn around- only hearing slightly clearer- to see Keef. "I thought you were dead," I say blankly.

"Nah, I'm okay! I went to the doctor, and it turns out I had the wrong eyeballs, so they just put in my old ones."

I stare at Keef stupidly. "How did they get- Y'know what, nevermind. What did you want?"

"You haven't been at school in awhile," he answers. "Where did you go?"

"I went on a... vacation?" I try. Keef is dumb enough to believe me, right?

"Oh, well, there's a new kid! He's really cool," Keef chirps, clapping his hands. "I think his name is Dib."

I nod. "Uh-huh. Well, I'll most likely be back at school tomorrow." I go to turn away, wanting to just continue my walk.

"But tomorrow is Saturday," Keef says from behind me. I huff and clench my hands.

"Then I'll be there on Monday," I say hotly, trying to walk away again. I shouldn't have said anything about going back, maybe then he'd have shut up.

"Oh, okay! Just to let you know, you missed the Secret Santa gift swap we had a few days ago, so we gave your gift to Gretchen, I hope you don't-"

"Okay. Alright. That's fine," I growl, finally starting to walk again. Keef, however, follows me.

"You're gonna love the new kid! He's the best! He wears this really awesome black coat that makes him look really mature, and he has these big glasses that make him look so smart, also his hair-"

"Is scythe-like. Yes, I know, now can you leave me be?" I almost scream, squeezing my eyes shut. The pressure in my chest hasn't disappeared. If anything, it's gotten worse.

Keef stares at me in awe. "Woah... you're a psychic?" he asks, clasping his hands together.

My pulse starts racing, and all I can hear is a high-pitched ringing. The pressure in my chest builds even further, and it gets so big that I'm just about ready to let it burst out. I turn around, feeling my antennae trying to twitch under my wig. My hands are bunched up so tightly that I'm almost convinced my gloves will tear if I clench my fists any further.

But, right as I'm about to explode, I feel something wrap around me, something soft and warm, which calms me down a little bit. My pulse slows to an almost normal pace, and my breathing becomes normal again. The pressure in my chest has ebbed, leaving just a little sensation, almost like someone pressing a hand against my chest.

I lift my neck to see Dib holding me, looking very concerned.

"Zim, what the hell was just happening?"