Aliens Do Exist...

Wounded

Dib ran home as swiftly as he could, not knowing that Zim was silently following behind him for the most part. He shoved through the door, slammed it shut, and went to go to his room. He has stumbled as he did so, almost falling down the first few stairs before struggling and picking himself back up. He kept it a little slower, not wanting to trip again and crack his glasses or something.

He felt so stupid, so guileless, so feckless. He was so caught up in what could be that he failed to see an obvious cliche, something people have said aliens would do for so long. He overlooked that so he could be happy, keep his little happy world equanimous. Was it wrong of him to think highly of the alien, to want him to be limpid and not nefarious like how shows and movies made aliens out to be?

Finally, in his room, he shut and locked the door, sniffling as he wobbled his way to the bed. His knees felt weak. His whole body felt very weak. He looked to see how his arm was holding up. It was still bleeding for Dib hadn't done anything with it, so when he had the courage to leave his room, he made his way to the bathroom. He locked the door and took his coat off, needing to see the wound without his stupid coat being in the way.

Looking at it, he sniffled as his eyebrows knitted together in an anxious, worried expression. Right now, he couldn't feel how much it really hurt for adrenaline was pumping through him like how his blood did after a sprint. He teared up as he saw how the blood slowly trickled down and around his arm, dribbling off when it couldn't keep itself on his arm. Blood had already begun to dry up around the cuts and bloodstains covered his arm, showing him where all of it was. His blood wasn't gushing, he'd be far more apprehensive if it was. It was as if he had gotten a few cuts and they were bleeding normally. But this hurt. Not so much physically, at least not right now, but emotionally.

It hurt. He didn't want his planet to be destroyed. He didn't want this tiny alien to be evil and bad. He didn't want to have this bite mark. He didn't want any of this. He just wanted to be right. He wanted to finally have an alien, to show his father, make him proud, have something to believe in.

With a shaky, weak sigh, he started to take his clothes off, making sure to be careful of his shirt while sliding it over his arm. Getting into the shower, he let his hands go over the chilled knobs that were above the bottom faucet. Turning them, his feet were hit with the initial cold water that would splash out before getting warmer as time passed. He used his feet to test if the water temperature was where he wanted it to be. He debated on having a frigid, self-loathing shower that he could sit in and regret his decisions, but his need for comfort was a little stronger, so he kept the water on the hotter side.

Turning on the showerhead, he jumped when it turned on for, just like the bottom faucet, the water was always cold at first. His shoulders went slack, back muscles relaxing as the heated water ran down his trembling, aching body. His hair got damp quickly, the longer part blending it with the rest of his hair. He felt his fingers tingle gently as the rest of his body started to heat up, the warmth spreading across his weak body. Hugging himself, he just stood there. He stood under the water, needing a moment to himself. His skin felt smooth now that it was all wet, and he decided to turn away from the showerhead so his back would be hit by the water.

He sighed as the slightly sweltering water slid down the arch of his back, falling below his feet and leaving him to go to the drain. That didn't matter, though. More water came as more water left, keeping him warm and somewhat complacent. Something he needed to feel right now. The bite on his arm hurt and stung, the hot water now helping at all, but it was okay because, for the most part, he felt okay right here. This was just way better than moping. Sure, he felt crushed, but he didn't want to just think about that right now.

Deciding that he should start doing something, he began lazily washing his hair, massaging his scalp at the soap bubbled under his movements. He used conditioner as well, enjoying how soft his hair would be afterwards.

When he was done showering, he slowly stepped out, wincing as his very warm foot hit the cold, sleek white floor. He took his time drying off, slightly patting the mark to dry it off instead of wiping. Dry, he wrapped the towel around his waist and started to clean the bite with hydrogen peroxide, hissing as the white bubbles rose to the tops of the teeth marks and the painful sensation of disinfecting happened. He then put a gauze pad over the cut before getting out some elastic bandage and wrapping around the wound. Lastly, he used the two clips to hold it in place.

Getting out of the bathroom and going to his room, he changed into his blue boxers, black, baggy sweatpants, and put on an azure long sleeve that had white stars and planets where his chest is. Dusting himself off, he got into bed and lied there, staring at the ceiling fan as he lied supine. 

Getting bored, he turned away, back facing the door now. He pulled the covers up to his shoulders and grabbed the spare pillow he had. hugging it close to his body, he sighed and closes his eyes, just wanting- no, needing to rest now. With a soft, wispy sigh, he burrowed his face into the pillow after taking his glasses off and folding them shut, placing them on his nightstand. 

Warm, comfortable, safe, he let the clutches of somnolence pull him down into the innocent, serene darkness that was sleep. The thought about sequoias, the dewy petrichor, not having his planet destroyed as he slept and waited for the morning aurora. 

There he was, feeling fine, better than before, not thinking about all of what had happened today. It was nice to have peace and silence. It was nice to have ahold of that. But before DIb knew it, that was ripped from him as he heard a crashing sound in his room.