On campus eateries were many and closely located. Some were famous chains like McMeaty’s, while others were owned and operated by the board and student faculty of UNS. It was one of the university’s perks. One of very few. Gang activity was moderate, drugs were frequent and there were even a few cases of prostitution. On the whole, UNS was just like any city one might stumble upon. Dib preferred to think of it more along the terms of a reservation. The campus had a law of its own, a way of living that was unlike the world on the outside. Their own voluntary seclusion from real and illusion.

Dib took his tray of fruit and sandwiches to a far off table in the corner of the eating establishment. His whole body ached, but his stomach was the loudest of the cries and needed to be answered first. He had chosen the lightest foods he could think of, trying to steer clear of things that would take his recovery on a backwards trip. The beautiful people sitting with their beautiful friends looked at him from the corner of their beautiful eyes as he passed, his black trench coat billowing behind him. Dib was feeling too bad to care if they stared or not. In truth, he did feel better than he had that morning. Something about putting on fresh clothes after a long nap wrapped up in one’s favorite blanket really hit the spot. There was just something about waking up naked that made him feel sick to his stomach, though. He felt awkward enough in the things Jax and Nye dressed him in: mesh shirts that may as well have not been there, as they clung to every curve of his body they caressed and conveniently left his middle bare. And there were the black leather pants that revealed all too much if he chose to sit down on a stool or any such chair that exposed his back. The dog collars and pacifiers, chains and necklaces, fake belly button rings and coal smudged eyes that were supposed to be just for fun always seemed to attract the wrong attention. Dib popped a grape in his mouth. How did Jax do it everyday?

Jax was what Dib had always considered a Goth. Gaz had brought plenty of them home but he'd always thought they were like her, uninvolved and just plain scary. Jax and he were in the same biology class in this, their freshman year at UNS, and had proved by piercing his fetal pig's nose and putting eyeliner and glitter on it, that he was more fun than freaky. Jax dressed as if all of life was a party, earrings littering his body in a glow of metal, in tight and revealing clothing that made whores gawk. As if he'd summoned up the vision, Jax waltzed into the eatery, catching Dib's gaze in a moment and smiling until his cheeks overtook his eyes. He looked a little more modest than usual, with a yellow T-shirt on that read "ME" in red.

"Hiya, Dib!" he said, taking the seat across from him and reaching over to steal a strawberry. "Looks like Zim didn't kill ya. I wish you were sober enough to have seen the look on his face. Sometimes I think he really wants to kill me!"

Dib snorted. "He probably has an arsenal waiting for just that mission."

Taking it as a joke, Jax laughed. "Yeah, I bet he does."

"Hey, Jax...." Dib watched another strawberry disappear between Jax's lips. "Last night...what happened?"

Jax shrugged. "You drank too much again? I was dancing, so I really don't know. I met this groovy chick though, Dib! You should have seen her! Double D's on a size ten, with the most amazing blue eyes!"

Dib shook his head. "Jax, something happened last night. Someone put something in my drink."

Jax stopped laughing and looked nervously at his friend. "Something? Like what? You okay?"

Dib ran his fingers over his hair, realizing he hadn't brushed it at all. "I don't know. Zim was telling me about it. Said I was raving and practically gave myself an concussion." He let his head fall to his open palms. "This morning I kept seeing flashes of last night, some things from years ago, some things that happened when Zim was trying to get me to control myself."

"Sounds like a buzzed out trip," Jax said, leaning in closer. "I'm real sorry, Dib. If I'd have known, I'd have stayed or taken you to the hospital or something."

Dib scoffed. "I'm glad you didn't. I'll get expelled if I get in trouble for drinking again."

"No hard feelings then!" Jax smiled, popping yet another fruit from Dib's plate into his mouth. "You hear about the party tomorrow?"

Dib would have stared in disbelief, but found it was too easy to believe him as it was. "I'm partied out, Jax," he started, breaking his sandwich in two and handing the other half to his friend, "My head's still buzzing from last night."

"It's an Pi Alpha Phi party," Jax sang, leaning back and eating the sandwich in one big bite.

Anyone who overheard immediately went silent and leaned over to listen more intently to the private conversation. Dib's eyes bulged. "Pi Alpha Phi? How the hell did you get invited to one of those?!"

"Us invited, "Jax corrected. "Nye pulled a few strings with the higher ups. They owe him for a couple of deals, so he called it in and got us passes." Jax whipped out two laminated passes with Greek symbols on them, the light flashing off of the slick surface. "What do you say? There's always time nurse a hangover later. Opportunities like these only come around once."

Dib bit his bottom lip. "Zim's gonna kill me for this."

"I don't see why you're still rooming with him, if he's that much of a problem."

"It's not the simple," Dib muttered. "I've tried to get moved, but their computers are all messed up. They say I don't have a roommate, so the residential board just thinks I want to move closer to my friends or something."

Jax shrugged. "Sucks to be you. The guy's a nut case."

"You don't know the half of it. I've known him since the fourth grade."

His friend whistled in astonishment. "And you're both still alive? I'd have thought you'd have killed each other off, just looking at the way you treat each other."

Dib restrained the laugh that bubbled in his nose. Sometimes people were so close to the truth, it was funny. "Well he hates you, so of course he's gonna act violent around you," Dib explained. "Not to sound like I'm defending him or anything, but he can be okay sometimes. I mean, he does patch me up and keep quiet about it. And last night, he even got hurt trying to help me. I don't know. Sometimes, when I'm in the same room with him, I want to kill him."

"What do you want to do to him the rest of the time?" Jax asked, lifting his brow with insinuation.

Dib growled. "Jax, I doubt you'd understand. Zim is as complex as...as.... He's very complex."

"Who isn't?" Jax asked. "If we weren't, we'd be boring." He seemed to sit and ponder for a while. Jax had a very obvious pondering look; he always put his index finger in his mouth, resting it on his front bottom teeth. "You know what, why not bring him with us?" Jax asked. "I'm sure Nye can get Zim in there, too."

"Are you serious?" Dib's face was alight with shock. "You want to invite Zim to a party? A Pi Alpha Phi party?!"

"Why not? Obviously he isn't that bad, if he's kind enough to take care of you when you party too hard. And maybe it'll make living with him more tolerable if he, you know, likes me!" Jax smiled proudly at himself. "Yeah, see, it'll work out great! You can go to the party, Zim can get to know me and Nye and everyone can go home happy!"

Dib rolled his eyes, "I doubt it'll be that simple."

"Ah, come on, Dib!" Jax shouted, patting him on the shoulder. "How bad can Zim be? I mean, he's only human!"