ZADR Orange Chapter 111

   In a bit of a daze still, Zim shook his head at Dib's question. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm coming." he hopped up and rushed to the door, still a bit shaken.

   Rose eyed Zim curiously. "Everything alright, Zim? You look like you've just seen a ghost." she said, referring to how pale he had suddenly become.

   "I'm fine!" Zim snapped, grinning at her to prove it.

   Confused now, Rose blinked down at him. "A-Alright then..." she turned to Dib. "And how about you, Dib? Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

   "Hmm?" Dib lazily blinked his eyes up at her before letting them drop. "O-Oh...Yeah...I'm fine..." he said in a somewhat tired voice.

   "Sooo...Are we going to eat?" Zim asked, changing the subject.

   "Oh...Yes. Follow me. I have the table set downstairs in the living room." Rose said, leading them downstairs.

   Curious as to what they would be eating, Zim followed.

   As she led them down the stairs, Rose turned her head to smile at them. "We made a lot of food to choose from, so feel free to take whatever you like. Oh, and Zim, if you'd like, we went ahead and made some spaghetti without the sauce in case you felt like eating anything other than sweets. But Purple helped me make the Rice Crispy Treats you wanted. And there are plenty of other snacks available to you if you'd like." she said just as they were reaching the bottom of the stairs, at which point Stella came bounding up to them, grabbing hold of Dib's arm with both hands.

   "Come on, Dib. I saved you a seat next to me." Stella said, tugging him away from Zim and Rose, all the while smiling back at him and batting her eyelashes.

   Eyes wide, Zim froze, his mouth dropping open as Dib was pulled out of his sight. "Wh-Who...WHO THE IRK WAS THAT?!" he shouted at Rose angrily.

   Holding her hands up defensively, Rose instantly took a few steps back. "N-Now, calm down, Zim. Th-That was just my niece, Stella. Sh-She said earlier today that she wanted to sit next to Dib at dinner. Nothing to be worried about though. Th-There's nothing wrong with wanting to sit next to someone at dinner. A-And I made sure the other seat next to Dib was reserved for you." she smiled nervously at him.

   Clenching his fists, Zim growled. "That stupid worm is fawning over MY Dib! And you are letting her!" he pointed accusingly at Rose.

   "Zim, calm down. I'm not letting her. In fact, I've been trying to keep her from going anywhere near him all day. But she kept insisting that I let her sit next to him at dinner. I figured it couldn't hurt to at least let her do that. I-I mean...You're still the one with the ring here. It's not like Dib's going to fall for her or anything. He loves YOU. If anything, it's Stella who's going to be hurt when this is all said and done."

   Crossing his arms, Zim pouted and glared at the floor angrily. "Well...She just better keep her hands off of him." he said in a huff.

   "You know, Zim. If it's really bothering you that much, why don't you just come out and tell her you and Dib are already in a relationship? I was considering doing that earlier but didn't know whether either of you would care if I told her. But really, what harm could it do to let her know if you don't want her crushing on Dib like that? None really, if you think about it."

   Zim sighed heavily. "Dib wouldn't like it...He'd get embarrassed and leave..." he said, just imagining how that would go down.

   Rose's face fell. "I suppose you're right...But really...If Dib's feeling as uncomfortable about this as you are, perhaps he wouldn't mind you telling her as much." she said, not seeing any other way around it at this point.

   "...Maybe..."

   "Well...I'll leave it up to you what you decide to do or not do..."

   Nodding as they entered the dining room, Zim saw the open seat next to Dib and took it quickly.

   Antennae drooping now, Dib glanced over at Zim nervously.

   Glaring at Stella, Zim scooted his chair closer to Dib possessively.

   Sighing out dreamily, Stella was too focused on Dib to notice Zim at first as she tried to strike up a conversation. "So, Dib...You wouldn't happen to have a girlfriend already by any chance, would you?" she asked, cutting straight to the point at hand.

   Looking back at her nervously, Dib glanced back at Zim before answering. "W-Well...I...Umm...No...Not a girlfriend exactly..." he stuttered out.

   Gripping Dib's hand, Zim squeezed it a little.

   Stella still didn't notice however. "Ohhh...So that means you're available then?" she asked, leaning in closer to him.

   "N-No! No...N-Not really..."

   "Not really? What's that supposed to mean?"

   Zim's eyes widened. "Yes, what DOES that mean?" he pouted a little. 'Doesn't Dib think we're together?' he thought to himself.

   "Well, I..." Dib glanced over at Zim first then Stella, both of whom were now glaring at him as he sank down farther into his seat, pulling his hand away from Zim's as his antennae drooped down low.

   When Dib pulled away, Zim's eyes widened even more. "Oh...I see..." he glared and pulled away as well, crossing his arms over his chest and avoiding looking at Dib.

   Standing up abruptly from the table when Zim pulled away, Dib turned to yell at him. "You know! Why can't you just trust me for once in your life!" he exclaimed before shoving past the other to leave.

   Snapping to attention, Zim's antennas knocked his wig off kilter. "Well, maybe if you weren't so embarrassed to be seen with me!" he shouted back, jumping out of his chair and following Dib.

   Dib turned back on Zim. "I never said I was, you bastard! Never! Not once! But you always just jump to conclusions like that!" he threw his arms up in the air in an exaggerated motion.

   "Well, it's not like you help!" Zim spat back, clenching his fists. "What do you mean 'MAYBE?' Huh?! Am I not good enough for you?! Damn it! I do the best I can!" he exclaimed, glaring daggers at the hybrid.

   "You know what?! I don't need to stand here and take this shit from you, Zim! Because I haven't done anything wrong! I haven't said anything wrong! And still you're yelling at me! No matter what I say, you always turn it into a question of whether I'm with you or not! But since you can't seem to get it into your goddamn skull, let me spell it out for you! YES! I'M WITH YOU! AND ONLY YOU! I'VE NEVER BEEN WITH ANYONE ELSE, I DON'T WANT TO BE WITH ANYONE ELSE, AND I NEVER WILL BE WITH ANYONE ELSE! BECAUSE TO THE REST OF THE FUCKING WORLD, I'M JUST 'THE CRAZY KID!'" Dib screamed back at the other before turning to leave angrily.

   Flinching visibly and biting his lip as Dib left, Zim stared at the door for a moment before running after him. "Dib! Wait!" he called after the other.

   Heading for the stairs again to head upstairs to the room he had been in all day, Dib ignored Zim, slamming the door shut on Zim and locking it so the other couldn't follow him into the room.

   Meanwhile, everybody else at the table was just staring with wide eyes at where the two had been sitting, Rose the first one to get up and pick up Zim's wig from the floor before following him with a sigh.

   "I'll be right back..." Rose said to the still shocked room of people.