Not a Monster Anymore (Double Crossed Book 2)

Chapter 4

(Dib's P.O.V)

---

Zim breathes heavily in my grip. He clutches my arms with his hands, in a stance that looks like he's almost trying to stabilize himself. His eyes meet mine as he turns his head, his expression a mixture of anger and fear.

"Dib, you already know Zim? Wow, you're so sociable," Keef says from in front of us. Zim tenses up, and he pulls my arms tighter around him.

"We should probably get going, Keef," I say, worried that Zim will do something bad if we stay for much longer.

"Oh, okay! I'll see you on Monday," he calls as I turn to leave, unwrapping my arms from around Zim and grabbing his hand to keep him from lashing out.

Once we're far enough from the crowd, I turn around and hold Zim by the shoulders. "What was going on back there?"

"He was pissing me off," Zim grunts, eye twitching. Then he calms down a bit. "How did you know where I was?"

"I woke up while you were leaving," I answer. "I just kinda followed you."

Zim crosses his arms. "I needed to clear my head. And my chest."

"Uh, what?"

"When I woke up, there was like... this intense pressure on my chest. I thought a walk would fix it, but it didn't really go away until just a minute ago." Zim looks down, looking concerned. "I... I don't know what caused it... I think it might've been what made me so irritable. Somehow," he mumbles.

"At least it's gone now," I say, tugging him a bit closer to try and comfort him. He wraps his arms around me, burying his face in my chest.

"Love you," Zim says, his voice muffled.

"Love you too," I answer, rubbing the top of his head affectionately. "Let's get home, it's getting late."

Zim pulls away from my chest and grabs my hand, walking back to the house with his fingers interlocked with mine. He seems a bit on edge on the way there, though, his hand keeps clenching and unclenching, squeezing against my hand every few seconds, then releasing as he realizes what he's doing, only to space out and do it again mere moments later. He's usually more down to Earth- pun not intended.

When we walk through the door, Zim pops off his disguise, and the first thing I notice is that his antennae are flicking around, too swiftly and randomly to be considered normal. I shut the door behind me as I walk in. "Zim? You okay?"

He nods blankly. "Yeah... I think... I think I just need to rest." Without another word, he opens one of the entrances to the underground base, and disappears down the chute.

I know that he can't hear me, but after a moment, I say, "Feel better."

---

Zim hadn't come up from the underground base for a few hours, and when I look at the clock, it's almost ten o'clock. I decide to get some rest too, and I open the chute that Zim had used to descend.

My room is fairly close to the living room entrance chute, so it's a very short walk once I get down. It's decorated almost exactly how it was back at my house, minus the paranormal crap. I think Zim is enough paranormal for me.

I flop down on my bed, arms splayed out carelessly. I close my eyes and try to ebb the concern that's settled in my stomach. Hopefully tomorrow Zim will be perfectly fine, and maybe even remember the trip. Then, on Monday, we can finally go to school together, and I can spend time with him without accusing him of being an alien. Everything will be fine, I just need to sleep...