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Endocytosis	By : Alienlint Category: +G through L > Invader Zim > Slash - Male/Male Views: 924 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Endocytosis: Chapter 2
Rating: PG-13
Warning: None.
Pairing: MAER (Membrane and Elliot)
Summary: As teenagers, Elliot and the Professor shared a ‘special friendship’. However, over the years, they grew apart. Can old feelings be rekindled, or is it all to remain in the past?

Summer hit full force that year. The air sizzled and blurred with the heat and the ground cracked in desperation for water, but the sky was unmercifully cloudless. Along a bumpy dirt road rolled an old, dirty bus filled with screaming, sweaty kids. The ages varied, but most of them were in their early to late teens. The bus driver was an old, fat, grumpy lady who twitched each time a paper airplane hit the back of her head. She picked up the speed, determined to get the smelly, annoying children off her bus and to the camp, they’d be their problem then. Eventually, the bus crossed a creaky wooden bride that stretched across a thick creek, and pulled to a stop in front of a large lodge. Tables and piles of luggage littered the wide yard and from the middle of the chaos waved a high flag with a large smiling lake. The words ‘Happy Lakes’ spread across the fabric in large, bold letters.

“Out! All of you little rats!” The doors of the bus swung open and the kids poured out.

One of the last to step out was a much younger Elliot. Atop his head was a light khaki fishing hat, the edges splaying over and shading his eyes. A few wisps of blonde bangs peeked out and stuck to his slightly sweaty forehead. He wore a thin, brown sweater vest with a crisp white short sleeved shirt beneath it. Khaki shorts ended a little below mid-thigh and revealed knobby knees, he was still growing into his body. On his feet he wore a pair of brown sandals, toes idly wiggling with excitement. Upon seeing that he had finally arrived in that magical place, he grinned, revealing rows of braces.

“I can’t believe this…” A voice grumbled behind Elliot and he blinked, looking back.

“Kid. Get off.” The bus driver growled, her blood pressure at dangerous levels.

“This is the wrong camp!” A flustered boy in goggles and lab coat threw out his arms, spreading his gloved fingers out in frustration.

“Look, kid... You need to talk to them about it. Not my problem. I just drive you little rodents here. Now get off.” She pressed the gas a little, the engine revving impatiently.

“Fine.” The boy grumbled and stepped off the bus to stand beside Elliot. His arms folded grumpily.

“Hiya!” Elliot beamed at the other. “My name’s Elliot. What’s yours?”

“Membrane…” The taller boy mumbled, eyes scanning the area for someone who could assist him.

“So you’re at the wrong camp?” The blonde tilted his head curiously.

“Yes. I was supposed to be at Science Camp.” He started to walk away, towards a counselor.

“Well this camp is fun too!” Elliot trailed after the boy. “I come here every year. It’s got marshmallow roasts, and canoeing, and swimming, and horseback riding, and fishing, and crafts, and hiking, and softball, and sometimes we have dances!”

“Yes. Yes. All that sounds wonderful, but I’m not supposed to be here!” Membrane waved a hand at the other boy as he approached a counselor. “Excuse me.”

“Hi there. I’m Terry and I’ll be one of your counselors here at Happy Lakes.” The tall, lanky man, dressed in a white shirt with the camp logo on it, smiled at the two. “Elliot, good to see you. Brought a friend this year?” He waved his clipboard as he spoke.

“We just met, but I’m sure we’ll become great pals!” Braces flashed at Membrane in a wide grin.

“There has been a mistake with my papers. I’m not supposed to be at this camp.” Membrane was too focused on getting out of there to acknowledge Elliot’s comment.

“Hm. What’s your name?”

“Membrane.”

“Membrane… Membrane…” The counselor flipped through a few pages before he paused, found what he had been looking for, and pulled a sticker off the page, placing it on the boy’s chest. “Membrane! Here we are! Cabin five.” The sticker simply had the boy’s name and cabin number.

“Me next!” Elliot squeaked and Terry flipped through the pages, soon placing a sticker on his chest.

“Cabin five as well.” The man smiled. “Looks like you’ll be bunking with your new buddy here.”

“But… I’m not supposed to be here…” Membrane twitched a little.

“Well, it says here that you are. You’ll have to bring your luggage to your cabin yourself. Better hurry before all the good bunks are taken!” The man smiled and began to walk away, waving a hand at the two. “See you later, kids.”

“Hey. It’ll be fun. You just gotta make the best of it.” Elliot rolled on his heels a bit before stepping forward. “Come on. Let’s get our stuff.”

“Fine.” Membrane trudged after the other boy as he made a mental note to have a talk with the camp supervisor.

Later, the two had made their way to their assigned cabin. Elliot lugged a large black trunk, while membrane simply carried two metal suitcases. The blonde heaved his trunk up the steps and past the open screen door, glancing around for a free bed. Membrane walked past him, eyeing the room. It seemed as if every bed was taken, piles of luggage marking each boy’s claim. He spotted a free bed in the back of the small room and walked over to it, a top bunk. Setting his suitcases down, he climbed halfway up the wooden ladder on the back of the bunk to inspect the bed.

“Looks like you’ll be on top of me!” Elliot peeked over the edge of the bed, grinning braces at the other before ducking down to shove his trunk under his bed.

A brow raised, but Membrane shook his head before climbing back down. “Indeed.”

“Oh, you’ll just love the campfire tonight.” Elliot reached a hand out to touch the older boy’s sleeve. “The marshmallows here are delicious.”

“Don’t they taste like marshmallows everywhere else?” Membrane glanced at the hand, his arms folding across his chest.

“Oh, no! They taste even better! Sitting around a big fire with a bunch of friends.” The boy paused and sighed happily. “It makes it… magical.” Fingers splayed out and wiggled.

After supper, the campers were rounded up and lead to a large open field with a huge bonfire blazing in the center. Large, long logs surrounded it in a sort of broken hexagon. A few teens sat by the fire, while others perched themselves on the logs. The night sky stretched its dark dappled blanket overhead. Crickets chirped over the crackle of the flames. Membrane and Elliot sat on the far end, where there were fewer people. Less than pleased, Membrane twirled his stick, which had a flaming marshmallow on the end, and he idly watched the fire consume the sugary blob. Elliot roasted his own marshmallow to a rich golden brown, and placed his stick between his knees so he could pluck it off and eat the delicious treat.

“You know. This is probably bad for my braces.” The blonde commented as he sucked the thick goo off a finger.

“Hmm.” Membrane only made a noise as he watched his flaming marshmallow melt off his stick and fall into the fire.

“They don’t taste very good all burnt.” Elliot glanced over at the crispy marshmallow, another finger slipping into his mouth to be thoroughly sucked. “Do you not like them?” There was a wet smack as he popped his finger from his mouth.

“I don’t feel like eating anything now.” Membrane leaned forward a little to poke at a burning piece of wood.

“Still upset about ending up here?” He suckled on a finger, speaking with it in his mouth.

“Yes. An entire summer wasted! Think of all the Science I could be doing!” A gloved fist squeaked.

“Aw. Doncha worry. I’ll help you make this the best summer ever!” Elliot grinned as he reached over into the little bag of marshmallows to place another on his stick to roast. “I promise.”

“I suppose I have no choice.” Membrane’s shoulders slumped a little.

“Cheer up! This is camp! It is supposed to be fun!” Elliot wrapped an arm around Membrane in a sort of half hug, his hand gripping the far shoulder as he leaned his head on the closer one.

“Eh. I suppose I could work on some small experiments.” Membrane looked to the side as the other’s head rested on his shoulder. “But I don’t have all the tools necessary for anything important.”

“See? It isn’t all bad.” Elliot soon placed another sticky golden marshmallow in his mouth. He suddenly perked his head up off the other’s shoulder. “Hmfff...” He paused to chew and swallow. “Hey. Wanna see something neat and spooky?”

“Are we allowed?” Membrane raised a brow as he watched the blonde suck the marshmallow off his fingers.

“Aw. We won’t get caught. It isn’t that far. Mmmm.” Elliot happily purred as he licked the last bit of sticky sugar off his fingers and pulled his other hand off the taller boy. “Lemme just go get a flashlight.” He rose and looked down at Membrane with a smile. “Come on.”

“Fine.” The taller boy stood and followed Elliot, though he seemed much less enthused about the whole idea.

It wasn’t long before the two found themselves on a well worn trail in the dark of the woods. Elliot walked closely beside Membrane as he bounced the light of his flashlight on the path ahead. Every so often his sandals would crunch over a tiny fallen twig, and with each sound, he would tense slightly, and seemed to revel in the creepiness. Membrane was much less interested, following the other for the simple fact of having nothing better to do. A few moments of silence had passed, and curiosity began to take its toll.

“Where are we going?” A glance was given to the blonde.

“An old graveyard. It is oh so spooky.” Elliot grinned at the other. “I wonder if it has ghosts.”

“Ghosts aren’t real. They are nothing more than figments of the imagination, or weather balloons, or something.” Membrane rolled a dismissive hand.

“Aw. But it is fun to believe in stuff like that. Even if it isn’t real, it’s fun to get scared sometimes.”

“I suppose.”

“Here we are!” Elliot turned off the main path and down a small slope to little clearing.

The graveyard was indeed old. Ragged, worn tombstones rose out of the ground in odd angles. Some were broke in half with pieces scattered about their base. Others bore huge cracks, threatening to topple over themselves at any second. The inscriptions were faded and thin moss slowly consumed the surfaces. Tiny plants and weeds grew over the area. It wasn’t well kept, in fact, the only reason the forest hadn’t swallowed the graveyard was because of all the curious young campers that stomped about year after year. Elliot moved to stand in the middle, turning a bit to smile and wave Membrane over.

“Come on. Don’t be scared.” The blonde gave a reassuring smile.

“Why would I be scared? There is nothing to be scared of. Ghosts don’t exist.” Membrane blinked as he stood next to the boy.

“Well--” Elliot suddenly gasped as a low groan sounded through the woods. It was muffled by the dark wall of trees surrounding the tiny clearing. The boy’s hand whipped out to grab the other’s, holding tightly. “What was that?”

“Well.” Membrane blinked down at the hand firmly clamped on his own. “It sounds like the cooling of molecules after an extended period of heat exposure. Heat causes them to expand.” He paused after Elliot blinked at him. “It was a tree.”

“But wasn’t it spooky?” The blonde boy grinned and didn’t seem to notice that they were holding hands.

“Sure.” Membrane decided to humor the other a little. Something so simple and scientifically explainable wasn’t ‘spooky’ at all.

“Aw. You need to loosen up.” Elliot swayed their hands a little, as if holding hands with a newfound friend was indeed normal.

“I suppose graveyards are just… not the things I would find spooky.” A free hand lifted to Membrane’s chin and he pondered a bit. “Perhaps a genetic engineering experiment gone wrong would be spooky.”

“That’s the spirit!” Elliot flashed braces. “Well, we should probably—Eeek!” Elliot squealed as a loud, high pitched screech suddenly lashed through the air. He turned and latched onto Membrane tightly, eyes closed, their eyewear pressed flat against each other. The flash light fell to the ground with a thump as his arms clung around the other boy’s middle.

Membrane blinked a moment before slowly, awkwardly, placing his own arms around the startled boy. He glanced over at a near by tree where the sound of shaking branches revealed a creamy colored owl, barely visible in the dim light. “It was just a Tyto alba. They often screech in flight, usually for territorial reasons.” He looked back down at Elliot. “Just a common barn owl.”

Unseen in the darkness, color had painted the blonde’s cheeks and he glanced to the side, but didn’t move from the taller boy. Elliot bit his lip a little, each word Membrane had spoken was a tiny bit of warmth against his face, cooled slightly by the fabric of the lab coat’s collar. The arms that wrapped and rested loosely around him only made the color brighter. Membrane was silent for a few moments, battling his own demons of awkward, but it didn’t show on the outside.

“I think we should go… Before the counselors notice we are gone…” Elliot whispered low, gripping his fingers into the lab coat a little before he began to pull away and lean over to pick up the flashlight. Membrane didn’t say a word as he followed the other back to camp.

The windows of the cabin were open, nothing but tightly woven mesh screens to keep the campers free of any annoying insects. The main door was open as well, but the screen door kept out any pesky critters. A tiny latch was hinged about three fourths up inside the door frame, and was the only thing that kept the teens ‘locked in’. Membrane lay in his bed, staring at the dark expanse of wooden beams above him. His thoughts were a jumble. Gloved hands lay across his chest, and his goggles remained on. It had been an hour or so since the two sneaked back. They had barely made it in time before lights out, and dismissed themselves with the excuse of ‘they couldn’t find the bathrooms’. Luckily for them, no one questioned why two boys went off alone in search of a restroom.

“Membrane. Hey, Membrane.” There was a soft whisper before a blonde head and bright blue eyes peeked over the edge of the bunk, near the older boy’s head. “Are you awake?”

There was no response for a moment, perhaps reluctant to talk to the boy, or perhaps lost in his thoughts. “Yes.” He whispered back, for fear of waking the others.

“Hey… You know about the graveyard thing?” Elliot bit at his lip a bit.

“Hm? That? What about it?” Membrane raised an unseen brow, his head turning to look at the other’s face.

“You’re not mad, are you?” The whisper dived a little lower, barely audible.

“You were just startled. Why would I be mad?”

“Well. When you…” The blonde gave a little squeak and tried to hush himself. “You put your arms around me.” A little grin grew, though it was tinged with nervousness, and he began to fidget.

“You put yours around me first.”

Elliot was a little surprised by the cool calm in Membrane’s voice. “And it didn’t bother you?” There was an odd tone to his voice, as if testing.

“No.”

“Good!” The boy soon put a hand over his mouth, realizing it was a tad over a whisper. He pulled his hand away and smiled. “I’ll see yah in the morning, kay? You sleep well.” He reached a hand out to pat the older boy’s arm before he ducked back to his own bunk.

“Kay…” Membrane simply repeated the word Elliot had used before he mumbled “Goodnight.”
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Endocytosis