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Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?	By : Lopez0101 Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > Het- Male/Female Views: 2292 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Dib removed his glasses and leaned against his desk resting his head in his hand. His desk lamp faintly illuminated his small dorm room and shone on the incomplete researcher paper filling his monitor. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and yawned; a small LED clock at the edge of the desk glowing the time in green: 12:14 a.m.
"Real science," as his dad, Professor Membrane, called it was much less interesting when he wasn't working in a lab or tinkering with some gadget. Thesis and research were completely boring; he wanted to be out in the field, getting his hands dirty. Dib's roommate, Keef, an old acquaintance from skool, began snoring loudly. Dib tossed an extra pen at his head, striking him perfectly in the eye. Keef nearly woke up before rolling over away from any future assault and quieted. Dib snickered and turned his attention back to his laptop to finish typing his final for the semester.
The small clock glowed 1:05 when Dib closed the laptop with a faint click; the signal that he could finally go to sleep. He left his hair wearily and went to the small bathroom to brush his teeth. Feeling refreshed he stripped down to his boxers and tossed the dirty garments into his nearby hamper. He slid under his sheets and set his watch alarm an hour later than normal; it wouldn't hurt to be late to his first class or even miss it altogether.
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Dib's alarm beeped loudly in his ear and he jolted awake. He realized sheepishly that it was only his watch and yawned; heart rate returning to a normal beat. Keef's bed was vacant and in shambles, clothes littered the floor on his side of the room. Dib showered quickly and rummaged through his dresser for clean clothes. He stepped into a pair of black jeans, put on a dark blue t-shirt and slid on his favorite black leather jacket. It was getting warmer outside as the season changed but, it wasn't quite Spring yet. Dib trimmed the short goatee he sported, shaved the rest of his face and fixed his spike of hair. Satisfied with his self image he grabbed his backpack and left his room for his second class of the day.
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The professor droned on about the chemical properties of iodine and its effectiveness when used as an anti-radiation drug. Dib yawned and cast a side long glance at his watch. He only sat through this particular class at the end of the day to get the homework assignment for the night. Back in High Skool he delusions of grandeur that college would be ended up being crushed. College wasn't quite the epitome of knowledge and learning that his father made it out to be. It was easy and very, very dull. He hoped that Senior level classes would ramp up in difficulty but as a Junior he wasn't expecting much.
A cute blonde girl in the corner caught his attention with an innocent repositioning of her hair behind her ear. She was clearly immersed in the lecture, diligently taking notes. Dib put his chin in his hand, watching her with moderate interest. She glanced in Dib's direction and caught his gaze; she blushed instantly and turned back to her notes. Dib grinned to himself. He had her.
When he was younger and much more eccentric he was very, very far from popular or even likeable. Once he was in his late teens and graduating from High Skool he had matured quite well. Part of becoming socially accepted was giving up on trying to prove that his arch nemesis, Zim, was an alien. All the years of chasing and fighting Zim had the benefit of keeping him in good shape. After giving up on his attempts to save mankind from the evil alien menace he shifted gears towards studying legitimate science. Keeping thwarting Zim's pitiful attempts at taking over the Earth and the paranormal as strict hobbies.
The professor's lecture came to a droll conclusion and he wrote out the evenings assignment in his notebook. With the class dismissed Dib walked over to the girl he'd been eying and sat on her desk. She looked up from packing her books and smiled shyly.
"Having any trouble with the class?" Dib asked, leaning down to hold her backpack open for her.
"A little bit, thanks." She pushed a few errant strands of hair behind her ear nervously. The girl placed her belongings into the pack and took it from Dib.
"The professor can be rather erratic and confusing at times. If you ever need any help I usually sit up there." Dib pointed to an upper middle section of seats.
"Okay, I'll be sure to remember that." She replied, smiling expectantly.
"I'm Dib, by the way." He said smoothly, sliding off of the desk and leaning against it. Her eyes light up in recognition when he said his name. It didn't bother him that the majority of people knew who he was once he introduced himself; if anything he was a small time scientific celebrity. Dib managed to ride the line of extremely intelligent, attractive and personable that most scientists couldn't.
"I'm Aria," she stuttered nervously. Dib put on his most soothing smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Need any help with your things?" He offered.
"Oh no, thank you! I don't live in the dorms and drive home. You can walk me to my car though." She smiled. Dib leaned closer to her, taking her pack and hefting it onto his shoulders.
"So, what's your major?" Dib started, walking her out of the classroom.
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Dib strolled out of McMeaties munching hungrily on a grease dripping double stack burger. The streets were practically dead at the late hour. Streetlights selectively lit the sidewalk Dib patrolled. The burger in Dib's hand steamed in the frigid air. He yawned between bites and wished he was already back in his room under his warm blankets.
The city passed him by as oblivious to him as he was to it. It was not long before he approached the university campus and his thoughts drifted back to earlier in the day. A self satisfied smile spread across his face. The girl had been more receptive to his advances than he'd hoped. He had even gotten a quick hug out of her before she got into her car.
Dib arrived at the entrance to the campus and decided to cut across the large park that dominated the center of the grounds. The campus was much dimmer than the rest of the city and the center of the park offered a brilliant view of the evening sky. Dib stopped when he reached the top of a small hill at the center of the park and cast his gaze to the stars.
No clouds blocked his view and the chilly evening combined to make for perfect star gazing. Every major constellation was on display; he had memorized them all long ago. He was still fascinated by space and the few times he had left the Earth only made him want to venture further out into the unknown. Dib silently wondered if one of the stars in the sky held Irk, the planet Zim was from, in its grasp. The thought made him feel sadly reminiscent of his days of youth. He missed the trouble he and Zim would often find themselves in with their shenanigans.
When Dib left for college Zim seemed to appear less often in his life. He was legitimately surprised when Zim didn't try to worm his way into the same college just to torment him. Dib thought to himself how boring the past few years had been without Zim being a constant nuisance. He had never really bothered to find out why Zim had become so reclusive. There was a period of time Dib thought the green alien may have had an ingenious plan in the works. Zim was more like his old self when Dib was getting into his base, hacking his computers and trying to thwart his attempts at the subjugation of the Human race.
Eventually Dib discovered that Zim had been up to nothing particularly evil and returned to concentrating on school. His poor grades a clear reflection of his re-purposed attentions on Zim and he did not enjoy bearing the disappointment of his father. As Dib got older he spent more time working in his father's lab and on breaks from school spent all his waking hours with his father, inventing new and wonderful things.
Dib chuckled at the thought of inventions, wondering what his father and the other scientists would think if they found out many of Dib's own 'discoveries' were based off of Irken technology spliced with Human tech. He grinned at his imagined image of Zim cursing him and asking how he had the gall to bastardize his people's great advances. Dib accomplished many of the things he did with all he learned and continued to glean from Tak's Voot cruiser he acquired when it crash landed in his backyard all those years ago. He even took the time to teach himself Irken simply to perturb Zim to no end by arguing with the alien in his own language; the exchanges also doubled as a great chance to hone his skills.
Dib's breath came out in a fog and he shivered under his jacket. He concluded that since he hadn't seen Zim for over a month he would stop by the alien's 'secret base' on Saturday and pester him.
The stars watched over Dib silently as he left the park. One particular pin prick of distant light was coming specifically for him.
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Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?