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Invader Zim: Valentine’s Day(Started February 14, 2025, 5:40 pm cen.) Dib sat in his room quietly. He hated Valentines Day. He never got anything from anyone besides Gretchen, who never seemed to leave him alone. Sure, he could at least be friends with her, but he was never able to talk to her about any of interests before she began yelling at him, saying it was “all he ever talked about.” Which yes, that might have been true years ago, but now that he was older, he didn’t talk to anyone about his interests besides Gaz and Zim, who were the only ones who seemed to tolerate his babbling when he wasn’t fighting with them. Starting in 6th grade, the skool had a mandatory “Valentine’s Dance” that they hosted every year. You didn’t have to do anything, really, you just had to show up for at least an hour or so, and then you can leave. Zim never attended skool on Valentine’s Day, he only attended the dance for about an hour before he left, ignoring everybody. Dib checked the time and decided he should start getting ready, though all he did was change into a suit and put on his black and white tennis shoes. He walked downstairs where he saw Gaz in a black and purple dress. The top part was black, and it had long, sheer sleeves with jewels on them. The skirt part was a deep dark purple. He felt a small sense of pride at seeing his sister.
“Nice dress,” he said, grabbing his keys off of the counter. “Are you ready to go?” “Sorry, Dib, I’m going with somebody.” Of course she had a date. “Yeah… alright. I’ll see you there then.” “Yeah, sure. See ya,” she said before walking out. Dib sighed. He was by himself once more, but he still needed to go. He walked into the bathroom, grabbing his anxiety meds and popping them in his mouth before heading out of the house. He got in his truck before deciding he should make sure Zim was able to get there. He stopped at Zim’s house, got out of the truck, and opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked. And there was Zim, sitting on his couch huddled under a pile of blankets while Gir colored mindlessly on the floor. “Hey, are you coming to the dance?” Dib asked, leaning on the door frame. Zim’s gaze flicked to him in confusion and surprise. He clearly hadn’t noticed Dib walking into the house. “Why would Zim go to that filthy human dance?” “Uh… because you’re required to?” He walked over to Zim, grabbing him by his arms and pulling him up despite several vile insults and protests. He let go once the alien was fully standing and stepped back awkwardly. “I’ll drive you. Just… go get ready.” Zim didn’t reply, just squinted at him with a slight shimmer of anger in his eyes before stalking off to get ready. Dib sighed and rubbed his palms up and down on his face. He sat on the couch for about twenty minutes before going to look for Zim. He walked into a room which Dib assumed was the bathroom. His stomach dropped. Zim was standing in front of the mirror, gazing as his reflection. The only thing he had on was dress pants. No disguise either. He was just standing in silence, his face soaked from tears, and more continued to roll down his cheeks. He turned and looked at Dib, letting out a small whimper. “Zim doesn’t want to go to the dance…” he said softly, choking on his words. “Oh my God…” Dib breathed. He reached out his arms, and Zim came forward and planted his face on Dib’s chest. Dib wrapped his arms around him tightly, hoping to provide some comfort for the Irken. He could her Zim’s light sobs, and it felt like someone had just twisted Dib’s gut. Hearing the normally ever-so confident Zim sob in his arms just felt… wrong. He continued to stand with him for a few minutes, rocking him back and forth lightly before checking the time. “Hey, we have to go…”Zim pulled away slightly, still holding onto Dib, and looked up at him with wide red eyes. “But I-“ “Just trust me. We just need to be there for an hour. Just an hour.” Zim sighed and rubbed his arm. “Fine… now get out, stinky! Allow Zim to get ready.” “Alright,” Dib chuckled. “I’ll leave you alone. Be out here in at least 20 minutes.” Zim shut the door, and after about 10 minutes, he popped out of the bathroom. He had his disguise on this time. He did something different with his hair, and it definitely looked better than usual. He had the rest of his suit on, and his eyes didn’t look so dull. “Zim is ready.” “Alright, good.” Dib grabbed the keys and hopped in the truck, driving off in the direction of the skool. Zim stayed quiet for the duration of the car ride, but Dib didn’t mind. The duo finally arrived, and they both walked in simultaneously. Dib looked around. The gym had pink lights all around, there were heart decorations in every form you could think of, and hundreds of other Valentine’s themed decorations. Several heads turned to look at them, Keef and Gretchen being two. Gretchen just turned away, and Keef gave Dib a nasty glare. Zim seemed to notice this and turned to ask Dib why, but he was already answering. “They think we’re a couple,” he whispered. “That’s REVOLTING!” Zim said, making a vomiting motion and gagging. “Uh-huh.” Dib rolled his eyes as the alien continued to exaggerate his disgust. “Look, I’m going to get some water.” He doubted Zim had actually heard him, but he turned to walk away. Over by the drink and snacks table, he spotted Gretchen once more, and he caught her casting him several glances. “Uh… hey, Gretchen.” “Oh, hey… Dib. You havin’ fun with Zim?” she said in an odd tone Dib couldn’t place, though he could tell it wasn’t meant to be a jab at him. “We’re not together. Well, I guess we did come together, but he just uh…” Dib trailed off, unwilling to explain what happened. “He needed me to pick him up because he was afraid of getting his suit dirty.” “Oh, I see.” She seemed to relax at that, which allowed Dib to relax as well. He sighed and filled up a cup with water, taking a small sip. She and her friends walked away, giggling quietly. Dib continued to observe the room in silence, taking in all of his surroundings. He realized people were shouting and decided to see what was happening. Setting his cup down, he strolled over towards the direction of the commotion. He froze when he saw Zim sitting on the floor against a wall, blood pouring from beneath his eye as several other kids surrounded him. He ran over to Zim, shoving the others out of the way to get to him, pulling him up. “What’s wrong with you morons?” he shouted, feeling rage boil up inside of him. “Oh great, now the ‘paranormal’ freak is defending him,” some kid laughed. Dib’s gaze flicked from each person to another, Zim still leaning on his arm. He shook Zim off and punched the kid in front of him, the one who had been closest to Zim and the one Dib had assumed had done most of the taunting. He felt a sharp pain in his fist but refused to show any evidence of it. “Hey, what’s your problem man? Thought you hated this freak.” “That has nothing to do with you, or any of you idiots.”The guy swung right at Dib and hit him square in the jaw, causing him to stagger backwards. Dib attempted to hit his opponent, but he was hit in the face once more before he could properly respond. He felt blood trickle from his nose and down to his lip. He stumbled backwards, the room spinning for a moment. He heard a glass shatter and looked up to see Zim standing on a chair, the remains of a glass cup in his hand. “It was an accident,” he said flatly, glancing at Dib with amusement before fully taking in the condition of his friend. He stepped off of the chair and rushed over to help him stand fully upright. The group of kids were too busy helping their dazed friend to notice. “Your face is red and liquid-y,” Zim said with an edge of panic. “That blood, you retard,” Dib replied, holding his hand up to his face in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Zim looked confused but didn’t say anything, just lead him over to a chair before he darted off to grab a handful, or clawful, of napkins and a cup of water. He placed them on a table and sat down across from Dib. “Zim didn’t need to be saved,” “A ‘thank you’ would suffice.” “Hey, Zim was not the only one who was saved here, Dib-stink.” Dib just sighed and continued to hold napkins up to his nose. “Does this mean we can go now?” Zim asked reluctantly before a furious Gaz stormed over. “What’s this about you guys getting into a fight?” “Nothing Gaz… it’s-“ “No, it’s not fine,” she snapped, slapping Dib on the cheek but not hard enough to cause any real pain. “C’mon, I’m driving you guys home.” “Gaz, it’s okay-“ Too late. She already had the keys, and Zim was following her out the door. Dib sighed and ran up to keep after them, hopping in the backseat because Gaz refused to let either of them sit in the passenger seat. “What happened to your date?” Dib asked after several minutes of painful silence. “He got punched by my brother and a glass broken over his head by his idiot friend.” Dib inhaled sharply and he saw Zim stiffen. They pulled into the driveway, and all three of them hopped out before Gaz tossed Dib his keys, not saying a word. They walked inside, Zim following Dib upstairs. Dib showered and Zim wiped himself off, and he allowed the alien to use some of his pajamas. Dib came out of the bathroom to see Zim staring out of his window quietly. He was in Dib’s T-shirt and sweatpants, his disguise off. He turned around and looked at him with large, red eyes. “Can we go outside?” Zim asked softly. “Yeah, sure,” he replied, grabbing a few blankets and climbing out onto the roof. His father had built him a small balcony attached to the chimney after seeing Dib spend so many nights on the roof. Dib climbed out onto it and laid one blanket down. Zim followed, and together, they sat down. Dib pulled the other few blankets over himself. “Tonight has been an… event,” Dib murmured. “Mhm…” They continued to sit in silence, staring at the stars, occasionally pointing out visible planets or shooting stars to each other. Dib began growing more and more tired, while Zim continued to stare at the sky unwaveringly.A few hours passed by before Dib fell asleep, leaning against Zim’s shoulder. The End.(Completed February 15, 2025. 1:15 am cen.)