Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ever since you could remember, you saw things that no one else could. Pets that people claimed to have passed on, people with clothing that looked like it came from completely different time periods. And then there were the strange entities that you could not tell if they had once been alive, or if were always a being that had lived between worlds. Sometimes they were kind, most times they were indifferent. But there were rare occasions where acknowledgement of the thing you could see, might mean certain death.

Not that anyone believed you. Gone were the days of your parents laughing delightfully of the funny tales you told of your “imaginary” friends. Four-year-olds were always so creative. Sadly no one listened to four-year-old you, after your mother tragically passed. The spirits told you of the arsonist, but the police chalked up the fire as being faulty electrical wiring. Your dad quickly remarried, and your step mom wasn’t really a “kid” person. It wasn’t a good arrangement for her so she made sure that she and your dad were hardly ever home.

That creepy habit of yours also didn’t sit well with her. At one point, she convinced your dad that you had a psychotic break and put you in the Crazy House for Girls. Seeing things that weren’t there surely had to be a sign of a crazy person. The time you spent there was a worse than any malevolent being you had ever encountered. You quickly learned to keep your ability to yourself to get out of that horrible place. When you finally were free, you made sure not to mention anything related to what you could see to anyone in fear of being sent back.

After some time, your family moved to a new town for some big business deal with a famous scientist. However, your family basically abandoned you to some sketchy city while they went to primarily stay at their vacation home on some island. Oh well, at least at home you could be yourself even if you were alone. It was odd going to high school in the city you lived in. For one they spelled it Hi-Skool. And pretty much everyone appeared to be either mildly stupid, or have some sort of brain damage from the heavy pollution that seemed frozen over the city.

The kids really didn’t pay much attention to you, unless it was to occasionally laugh at your clothing or interests, so you didn’t really have any friends to speak of. In a way the lack of attention on you was good because the bullies were absolutely ruthless. One kid in particular seemed to be everyone’s punching bag. That poor kid was Dib Membrane. Since you started school in the 9th grade, you witnessed Dib get dumped on every single day. Beaten, spit on, taunted, it was brutal. It broke your heart because, in addition to being unable to help him, you would occasionally see a woman around him who would weep heavily when he was being abused. She sometimes would give you a pleading look if you happened to glance in his direction. But the fear of being sent back to the Crazy House for Girls, outweighed the courage to help.

You were only vaguely aware of why Dib was picked on. Apparently before you moved there, he had been very chatty about the paranormal. He even claimed one of the students, Zim, was an alien. After actually meeting Zim you could see why he would think that. You were pretty sure Zim wasn’t human, but with little knowledge of aliens you couldn’t be one hundred percent sure. Despite all the gossip of Dib proclaiming all things mystical and unbelievable in the past, he didn’t seem to really talk much at all now. He mostly sat in the background with an unhappy expression writing in a notebook and trying to avoid other people.

Usually, Zim would be around talking loudly and trying to get a rise out of Dib. Sometimes it worked and there would be a screaming match in the hall or a lunch tray thrown at Zim’s head. But mostly it was just Dib trying to tune out Zim, while the green kid followed him like an annoying chihuahua. It was a weird friendship, but at least Dib had one person that talked to him.

You shared a few classes with Dib, and tried to be as cordial as possible since no one else would. He was always very skittish whenever you talked with him or approached him. The interactions were nice enough. He never scowled at you like the other students, or made comments about how your love sparkly things and fantasy themes was juvenile. Even with your positive interactions, he never tried engaging you in any conversations that weren’t class related. Sometimes you noticed him around you, but he never got close enough to initiate a conversation. You hoped that he didn’t think poorly of you. Despite his sad personality, he was very intelligent and nice to listen to in class. He seemed like the kind of person who wouldn’t treat you badly if he knew you could see spirits.

In your senior year you were assigned to be the student aid for the school nurse. Which meant that you were the nurse for the hour or so during that period while the actual nurse slept off a hangover in the teacher’s lounge. It wasn’t too bad. Hardly anyone came over unless it was for a band aid or they had to call home because they puked in the science teacher’s plant. So, it ended up being a free period for you to do your homework or just chill out until your next class.

That was until Dib showed up suddenly holding a very bloody hand with glass shards sticking out of it.

“Oh my god!” you cried out when he walked in with his hand dripping on the dirty tile floor. “What happened to your hand?”

The look on his face was of genuine surprise. He blinked owlishly for a moment before his eyes darted around the room looking for the nurse. “Uh… I accidentally brought down my fist on a table….. and a glass beaker was in the way.” Immediately he winced as if what he said was the dumbest thing on the planet. “So, uh… is the nurse not here? Should I come back later?”

“How do you “accidentally” bring down your fist on a table? And the nurse is… out. Plus, I think coming back later would be a bad idea since you’re bleeding a lot.”

Dib frowned and dragged his good hand down his face in embarrassment. “Damnit Zim….” He let out a deep sigh. “I don’t suppose you have any tweezers to remove the glass, do you?”

“Yeah, hang on have a seat,” you stated as you grabbed a few things from the medical supply cabinet. You pulled up a chair next to Dib as he rested his injured hand on the hopefully clean table.

The boy went to take the tools from you until you carefully grabbed his arm and used the tweezers to remove a shard of glass. “Whoa wait, what are you doing?” he stated a bit flustered.

“Removing the glass. Why what did you think I was doing?” you asked as you removed a few more shards.

Dib’s eyes watched your hands as you continued to address his injury. His face slightly flushed when his eyes lingered on you for a moment. “I can see that but… why?”

“Well, if I don’t remove the glass, the cuts might get infected. I mean that’s first aid 101. And I personally don’t like the thought of someone having their hand rot off,” you responded half joking to try and lighten the mood.

“No, I… I could have done it… I mean I know you must hate having to touch me since you know… you hate me and stuff?” the boy asked curiously.

“Huh? Where would you get an idea like that? I don’t hate anyone… well except maybe my step mom.”

Dib’s expression darkened. “Everyone hates me. This school, this city, everyone.”

You gave him a sad look. “I don’t hate you Dib… and despite your arguments with him, I don’t think Zim hates you either.”

Dib gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, he does… he’s part of the reason people hate me and think I’m insane”

After you pulled out the last shared you grabbed an alcohol-soaked cotton ball to clean up the wounds. “Hold on. This is going to sting.” Dib let out a hiss as you cleaned the cuts but didn’t try to pull away.

“Ok the cuts don’t look that deep so I don’t think you need stiches. I’ll just wrap up your hand and you should be ok until it’s time to go home. Unless it like really really hurts and you need some pain medication.” You looked up at the boy trying to give an encouraging smile as he really seemed to be having a horrid day.

But then you saw her. That woman. She was next to Dib with a heartbroken expression. It startled you and caused you to jump back out of your seat with a terrified look on your face.

Dib gave you a curious look and turned around to see what had got you so spooked. “What is it? Did something fall over?”

You were about to brush it off, but the woman’s tear-filled face locked eyes with yours. She was silently begging, for what you couldn’t tell. She had never spoken to you. You weren’t sure if it was because she wasn’t able to speak in life or she just didn’t have enough energy to. But her sorrow filled amber colored eyes pierced deep into your soul and you couldn’t look away. You could faintly make out Dib’s voice saying something to you, but your attention was still focused on the sad apparition.

“What are you looking at?” Dib huffed slightly sounding worried.

“Uh….nothing.. sorry”

The boy’s brow knit in confusion and he followed your gaze to the space the woman was currently floating in. “You seem pretty freaked out for it to be nothing.”

For a brief second the woman’s gazed looked to Dib giving you a moment to think properly. You grabbed the gauze and medical tape and starting wrapping the boy’s injured hand hoping the apparition would leave you alone.

After you completed the job you glanced up to see a pouting Dib way too close to your face, causing you to shrink back quickly.

“You see something don’t you?” he asked almost menacingly.

“Wh-what?....no? I don’t see anything,” you responded back nervously.
Dib smirked slightly. “Oh really? You don’t see the ghost standing right next to me?”

“You know she’s there?”

“AH HA!” Dib declared triumphantly placing one foot on the table as he dramatically pointed in your direction. “I was bluffing! I was making that up to see what you’d say, AND YOU FELL FOR IT!” A manic smile crept on Dib’s face.

Your heart sank to your stomach. How could you have been so careless? All this time avoiding the subject of seeing spirits, and you dropped the ball over a silly reverse psychology trick. Mentally you were kicking yourself. If word got back to your parents about your “horrible hallucinations” you’d be sent back to the Crazy House for Girls again. And this time you might not get out.

“So, there’s a ghost around me. What are they saying? What are they doing? Do you think it will show up in a photograph? Huh?” Dib’s face was alight with pure joy and adrenaline. Honestly if you weren’t in fear of losing your freedom you might have found his excitement refreshing. It was a complete 180 from his silent depressed demeanor.

“Please,” you begged meekly. “Please don’t say anything. My parents will send me away.”

Dib was only half paying attention as he pulled out his phone and started messing with the camera. “Ok so if I change the filters, would the ghost show up? I think there’s a thermal setting on here, but I haven’t had a chance to use it. Is it saying anything right now? Because if it doesn’t have a message for me then maybe it’s a residual curse from one of my old cryptid hunts.”

“Did you not hear what I just said?” He looked up slightly confused, and gave you a sheepish look. “Listen Dib, I would really appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone about this. My parents think I have psychotic hallucinations, and if they hear that I’m “seeing things” again they’re going to admit me to the Crazy House for Girls. I can’t go back their Dib…. They’re pure evil.”

The boy’s excited expression was immediately replaced by a dark and hallow gaze. “The Crazy House for Girls?” he said flatly. You nodded and glanced over to the space next to him. The woman was now full-on sobbing and huddled around Dib like she was trying to hug him. He glanced at his bandaged hand for a moment and then pocketed his phone. A long sigh escaped him as he stepped away from the table.

“Yeah ok… I won’t say anything if you don’t tell anyone I was rambling about ghosts.”

“Deal….but no hard feelings… I mean it’s nice that someone actually believes me for a change.”

He turned to you and thought for a moment. It suddenly occurred to you how tall he was. Even with his deflated posture, he still towered over you. And you slightly had to crane your head upward to meet his gaze when he approached you again. “So what is the woman saying?.. I mean if she’s around me what does she want?”

You looked at the woman again and then back at Dib. “She never says anything.. she just cries… I think she’s crying because she’s sad for you? Also, I’m not entirely sure if she’s a ghost.”

Dib looked puzzled by this. “Crying? For me? Why would a ghost feel the need to cry over me?”

“Every time I see you getting bullied, she’s there crying over you. I think she wants to help you but she can’t and that’s what makes her cry.”

“Why would a random ghost want to help me?” he spat sarcastically. “Please, this city doesn’t give two shits about what happens to anyone around here, especially not me.”

You thought for a moment as you looked at the crying woman again. Her features seemed somewhat familiar. And then it hit you. She had the same-colored eyes as Dib. “I think it’s your mom Dib.”

The boy’s eyes snapped wide open as he stared at you in disbelief. Suddenly the woman disappeared and it was just you and Dib in the room.

“That’s impossible,” Dib growled. “I don’t have a mom. I’ve never had a mom.”

“Everyone has a mom Dib. Even if we don’t meet them in life. We can’t really exist without one.” His frowned deepened.

“You’re not getting it,” he glowered in a dark hateful tone. “It’s impossible for me to have a mother. End of story!”

You flinched back at the sudden outburst. Dib was really angry and you weren’t sure why. He was adamant he didn’t have a mother but that was biologically impossible. You were about to apologize, even though you didn’t believe you had said anything wrong, but Dib stomped angrily out of the nurse’s office before you could say anything.

The rest of the day went as normal, except Dib had been absent from the few classes you shared with him. At the end of the day, you grabbed your things from your locker and found Zim standing next to you after slamming the locker door shut.

The green kid was short, like barely up to your shoulders short. He eyed you with a suspicious gaze that made you feel extremely uncomfortable. You knew he wasn’t human. The fact he had no ears or nose was a dead giveaway. No one else seemed to notice or care, so you weren’t entirely sure if you were the only one who could see him like that or if everyone else saw it too. Regardless you went out of your way to avoid him, as people who caught his ire tended to have bad things happen to them.

“Hi, Zim,” you managed to squeak out after a long moment of him just watching you silently. “Did, you need someth…”

“SILENCE!” you flinched at the sudden volume and prayed your ear drums were still intact.

“Dirtchild, what did you do to the Dib? Zim demands to know!”

“Oh, um I helped wrap his injured hand… and then he left. Does that answer your question?” Sure, you may have said something that upset him. But Zim didn’t need to know that part.

“Do not lie to Zim. The Dib never returned to his classes. You must have done something! Only Zim is allowed to do… eh somethings to his nemesis… yes.”

You gave a confused look. “Zim, I didn’t do anything to Dib. He was upset when he left though. Maybe he went home instead of back to class.”

The green kid looked nervous for a moment. Darting his eyes away from you as he tried to think of something else to say.

“I’ve got to go home now. Was there something else you needed?”

His eyes quickly snapped back to you. “Very well human female. You may leave. But if Zim finds out you caused damage to MY nemesis, there will be no saving you from your own doom. No matter what I agreed to, Zim will have his revenge if you’ve crushed the Dib-beast.” He turned on his heel and marched off.

All you could think was why Zim felt the need to blame you for Dib’s disappearance, and what exactly he agreed to that related to you. It made you a little nervous but that would have to wait for another day.

Chapter Text

Dib had wasted no time ditching school after his encounter with you in the nurse’s office. He was already upset from his outburst at Zim during science class. The result of that argument ended up with him being injured in the first place. Not to mention how he was not expecting the girl he had a crush on, being the one to tend to his completely avoidable injury.

His embarrassment for being in such a humiliating situation overrode his usual flustered response when he was around you. He knew he never had a chance with you, but his thoughts would occasionally betray him. He figured that despite your lack of mockery at his expense, and the fact that you may have been the only person to occasionally smile at him, you hated him just like everyone else. But you said you didn’t. To his face you said you didn’t hate him. It confused him greatly.

Perhaps you’d hate him if you knew how enjoyed watching you from afar. How he desperately wanted to talk to you, but could never gather up the courage. How he would linger around your table at lunch without ever actually sitting by you just to hear the sound of your voice. The brief moment in English class when you were paired together for group assignment had been the highlight of the semester. He even kept the sparkly unicorn pencil you left at his desk. Sure, he could have returned it. But it was a cute memento of yours he figured you wouldn’t miss.

Actually being treated like a human being by you set his poor teenaged heart aflame. The fact that the bare minimum of human kindness was the only thing he looked forward to in another person made him feel ashamed at his poor social skills. Despite his pronounced growth spurt and puberty being kinder to him in his senior year, his demolished reputation kept any potential relationships far, far away.

Except for Zim. That troublesome alien would not stop pestering him. Oh, how the tables had turned. Five years ago, Dib would have been gleefully breaking into Zim’s base and chasing him around in a fight to save the planet. But when he was committed in 8th grade after the school exploded, all of that ended for good. Now for some reason Zim was the one following him around, sneaking into his room, spying on him. Dib hated it. He also hated that some people thought he was in a romantic relationship with Zim because of Zim’s behavior. As if his lack of a love life hadn’t suffered enough.

The only reason he had been committed in the first place was because of Zim. In their last epic battle, he tried to present the injured alien to the authorities as proof of a pending invasion. What he got, was arrested and sent to the Crazy House for Boys for months on end. They had the nerve to blame the school’s explosion on him, when it was most likely Zim’s doing…. or a gas leak. The treatments he could remember being conscious for were barbaric to say the least.

Visits from his family went from insisting he wasn’t crazy to begging them to make the pain stop fairly quickly. His father assured him the asylum was trying to help him, and that they only had his best interests at heart. But the longer Dib stayed the more he felt he would actually go insane. To this day he doesn’t remember how or why he got out. His first free memory was sitting in the school cafeteria foggy headed and slightly drooling over his lunch tray with Zim just…. staring at him.

Dib never questioned it. Sometimes he thought maybe he never actually got out and his freedom was all in his head. Regardless of how it happened Dib resigned himself to never speaking of the paranormal again, in an effort to prevent going back. If Zim wanted to enslave or blow up the planet he could have it. Whenever it happened Dib hoped he’d be in the bullseye for the destruction so he wouldn’t have to deal with the stupidity of humanity anymore.

Was he even a human really? Being a clone of his father, he was technically human. But did that really matter in the grand scheme of things? And then he remembered why he was so angry to begin with. You mentioned his mother. Clones grown in a tube don’t have mothers. Suddenly he realized he had taken out over a decade of aggression on you unwarranted, and now you probably really did hate him. He cursed himself and punched wall. He immediately regretted that action as the pain in his hand resurfaced.

Pushing down all of his feelings had caused him to have angry outbursts. Those outbursts only seemed to cause him pain. Like now. The white bandages you so caringly wrapped around his hand were staining red because of his short-sighted anger. Oh well, he deserved it for scaring you.

After entering the house, he made his way to the basement lab for an accelerated healing ointment to fix his injury. Having a super scientist dad proved to be advantageous for an accident prone, constantly beaten teen. Dib was only two steps into the lab when he saw the looming presence of a white lab coat that was his father.

He was home….shit.

“Son, what are you doing home so early? School is still in session if I’m not mistaken,” the Professor asked with tone of concern lacing his normal bombastic voice.

Dib held up his bandaged hand, which was more red than white at this point. “Accident in science class, also I didn’t feel well in general so I came home….I forgot to let my teacher know.”

Membrane nodded at this. “I see. Well son if you’re not feeling well that is understandable. I will notify the school of your absence so that your homework can be collected.”

The boy huffed in response after he had taken off the soiled bandages. He didn’t notice his father move beside him as he rubbed a generous portion of the healing ointment on his hand.

“Is everything alright Dib?” the Professor asked as he gently put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If something is bothering you, you can always talk to me.”

Dib froze at the added weight to his shoulder. He wanted to smack his father’s hand away in that moment. How dare he ask if something was wrong. Couldn’t he see the boy had been in constant mental anguish for years? Why was he asking now of all times? Was it a test?

“Dad…..I know you don’t really care so why bother asking?” Dib said as he shrugged off the Professor’s hand.

The Professor’s brow knit in concern over his goggles. “Son that’s not true at all. Of course I care about you. You’re my only son. I’ll admit I haven’t been around often but even I can see that you are upset. Did something happen?”

“Yeah, five years ago,” Dib spat out.

Membrane let out a deep sigh. “Dib, you were not well. The treatment was to help with your psychotic outbursts….and that explosion. I know it wasn’t pleasant but you’re doing so much better now.”

“Says you.”
The Professor let out another sigh. “Son, what happened at school today? Something has obviously agitated you enough to cause a possible relapse in your treatment.”

“…..Someone commented about whether or not I have a mom. And we both know the answer to that,” Dib gave his father and accusatory glare.

All of the color drained from the Professor’s face. “Oh… oh Dib… I’m so sorry. I … I know we never talked about it… but….”

“But what? You didn’t want to freak out your already ‘insane clone’ so you just pretended like everything was normal? Newsflash, cloning yourself and passing it off as your child is not normal.”

There was a long silent pause as the Professor slowly sat on a nearby stool and buried his face in his hands.

Dib gritted his teeth as he glowered at the Professor. “Yeah. I saw your notes. How you planned to clone yourself and have it live out your legacy when you were too old to continue. I know I’m a failed experiment. Every day is just another reminder that I never lived up to the standards of the ‘scientific genius’ I was created to be.”

“I never went through with it,” came a quite whisper from the boy’s father.

“What are you talking about? Gaz and I are living breathing proof of your hubris!”

There was a slight chuckle from Membrane as he looked up from his seat. “You think both you and your sister are clones?”

“What do you mean think? I know we are. I read your notes. I saw the vats we were created in. Clones don’t have mothers. We’re just clumps of cells formatted from your DNA. You’re not going to reason your way out of this.”

“I see… how long have you been carrying this weight on your mind?” the Professor asked quietly.

“Since I was 8. It was really scary to know that I’m just a carbon copy of you and not a real person.”

“You aren’t a clone son,” Membrane interjected a little more forcefully. “It’s true that I initially created that project to continue my legacy… but I scrapped it because it wasn’t needed anymore.”

Dib glared at Membrane not believing a word the man said. “Oh really? And why wasn’t it needed anymore?”

“Because…I met your mother,” Membrane stated.

The boy deflated a little and then anger roared in his ears. “STOP LYING!! You can’t fool me with a ridiculous lie like that!” Dib ran back up to the house and up the stairs to his room, slamming the door. He threw himself on his bed and screamed into his pillow angrily. Why couldn’t his dad just confess? Why did he have to lie?

A long time had passed before there was a knock at the door.

“Leave me alone. You’ve been pretty good at it for over a decade now, so just go away already!” the boy shouted.

“Son, I am respecting your privacy by knocking, but asserting my authority as your father by coming in anyway,” Membrane dictated as he opened the door.

Dib groaned loudly as the Professor approached his bed. “Son… please have a look at this.”

The boy lifted his head slightly to see his father holding out an old photo album. He gave an irritated but curious look to the Professor before sitting up and taking the book from him.

He opened the book seeing a photo of a violet haired woman holding a baby.

“That is your mother Dib. A few days after you were born.”

Chapter Text

There wasn’t anything in the fridge worth making so you settled on ordering Chinese takeout for dinner. After eating you decided to enjoy the rest of your Friday evening lazily lingering on the couch watching tv and trying to forget the pit in your stomach. You still felt bad about Dib. You didn’t mean to upset him. And you really didn’t want anyone to find out your secret seeing ability.

It was sad. If you didn’t have to hide your ability maybe you and Dib could have been friends. Paranormal subjects really did appear to be something of great interest to him. Just the mention of ghosts seemed to light him up in a way you’ve never seen before. He was excited, passionate, happy…… cute. The last thought made you blush. Did you just think Dib was cute? He wasn’t unattractive, but you never really thought that way about Dib before. Then again you never really thought about anyone that way before. Today had been all kinds of weird, and you just wanted your mind to be at peace.

As you tried to quell the strange new thoughts you were having, there was a loud pounding at the front door that almost knocked you out of your seat. You sat up and glanced in the direction of the noise.

Who in the world would be beating down the door this late at night? Even if your parents bothered to come to the house for whatever reason, they wouldn’t have banged on the door. Well.. unless maybe they forgot the keys? You walked over to the front door a little afraid of what you might find. Looking through the eye hole you saw Dib, persistently knocking as if the world was falling apart outside. How on earth did he know where you lived? For a moment you thought about not answering the door. But maybe the poor guy needed help and you were the only one he felt he could talk to. Also you really didn’t want the neighbors to get irritated with the noise and possibly call the cops.

“Just a minute,” you said as you began undoing the locks. Cautiously you opened the door slowly and peered out. “Dib?....Is everything ok?

His face was flushed and his eyes appeared to be red and raw looking. Had he been crying?

“I wanted to ask about that woman you saw,” the boy said hoarsely and slightly out of breath.

“Oh? A-are you sure? You seemed really upset when I mentioned her last time.”

The boy grimaced in embarrassment and shivered a little in the cold autumn air. “Sorry, about that…I wasn’t mad at you… it was a sore subject….C-can I come in?”

You stepped aside and let the boy in closing the door behind him. He rubbed the sides of his arms to gather some warmth for a moment before turning back to you.

“Um… would you like something warm to drink? You look really cold,” you asked a little concerned.

He froze for a moment, not sure how to answer. On the one hand he was cold and a warm drink sounded nice. On the other hand, he just showed up unannounced and uninvited after blowing up at you during school. So taking your offer would be even more of an imposition.

The lack of response clued you in to his internal struggle. “Well, um I was going to make some hot chocolate anyway so adding some extra milk wouldn’t hurt,” you lied.

“O-oh…sure I guess. Thanks,” Dib mumbled out. You nodded and headed for the kitchen grabbing the ingredients for hot chocolate.

“So, what did you want to ask me?” you stated as you turned on the stove to heat the saucepan of milk.

Dib cleared his throat. “Right the ghost….I wanted to ask you what she looked like. I mean if you thought she was my mom she must have had black hair like me right?

You shook your head. “It wasn’t black. It was like a violet color. But you do have the same eyes. That’s what clued me in. You have a slightly unusual eye color.”

The boy’s tired eyes widened in disbelief. “Holy shit you’re the real deal. I just said the thing about the black hair to see if you were just messing with me. You actually saw my mom.”

You frowned a little seeing that Dib had tried to trick you again. But you realized that there were a lot of fakers out there who may have fooled Dib in the past so you let it slide.
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s actually your mom or just a lingering image of your mom,” you explained stirring the milk.

“So like a left over regret or maybe a residual haunt,” Dib said as if he were reciting from a textbook. “That would make sense. Maybe that’s why she can’t talk and only appears when I’m being distressed by other people. She’s not here right now is she?”

“No she vanished right after I mentioned that she was your mom.”

“Right, right of course. That makes sense,” Dib spoke under his breath as he rubbed his eye.

“Are you ok Dib? You look like you’ve been crying.. did I cause you to be that upset?”

Dib tensed up and looked at the ground in shame. “It’s…it’s not you….to make a long story short I believed for years that I was a science experiment of my Dad’s…and well when you brought up the mom subject, it hit a nerve. I ditched class and my Dad was actually home for a change. I brought it up and he told me the truth about my Mom. I had no idea she existed until today.”

His response was heartbreaking, no wonder he was so upset. “I’m so sorry Dib. That’s a lot to deal with.”

The boy snorted in a half hearted attempt to not start crying again. “That’s not even the worst of it. The reason my Dad never brought it up was because she was murdered in front of me before I was two. He thought it would screw me up more if I remembered it.”

Your blood ran cold and immediately your head felt like it was splitting in two. Everything around you had melted away and you were standing in the entry way of house. It was no longer autumn, as you could hear the lingering sound of cicadas in the distance from an open window. The smell of freshly cut grass filled your senses. It felt like some kind of strange time warp.

“Please don’t hurt him!” said a frantic female voice.

“This is his fault! He ruined EVERYTHING!” another angrier voice roared. Something about this voice sounded wrong, as if it had been distorted by a machine. “If he hadn’t been born everything would have been different!”

“He’s just a baby! He didn’t do anything to you!”

You looked over and saw the crying woman again, but this time as a living person. She was pleading with a masked figure as they held out a gun towards a small child.

“Mommy?” squeaked out the little boy through frightened tears.

“It’s ok Bean Sprout…it’s going to be ok……My son is just a baby… there’s no way he could have wronged you. Please just leave us alone!”

The stranger cocked the gun. “I’m cleansing this mistake from the planet.” The woman charged the intruder and struggled to get the gun away. A shot ran out causing the child to scream in pain. Quickly the mother ran to the bleeding child when another shot rang out. She hit the floor slightly on top of the screaming boy trying to shield him from the attacker. You watched it all in horror. It was so vivid you could smell the blood.

“NO!” screamed the attacker as they stood over the lifeless body of the woman. “This is wrong. You weren’t supposed to… I didn’t want this… no! NO!” The intruder ran out the door and into the night screaming like a lunatic. The world started to melt again as the screams of the little boy morphed into panicked calls from Dib. He was yelling your name as if you were the one who had been shot.

Your vision came back into focus. Dib was shaking your shoulders trying to get your attention.

You let out a choked scream as tears spilled down your face. It caused Dib to stop shaking you. “What happened?” he asked frantically. “You just stopped talking and then your eyes rolled to the back of your head. Were you having a seizure? Do you need to take medication or something? Where is it? I’ll bring it to you.”

Shaking your head quickly, you tried to compose yourself as you wiped the tears from your eyes. “That’s never happened before. I’ve never had a vision like that. Why did I see that?” Dib looked concerned and wanted to help but had no idea how to comfort you.

“You had a vision? What did you see?” he asked as kindly as he could.

“I saw your mom get murdered…..it was awful… you were shot too.”

“Hold up. You saw what happened?” he responded shocked. “How? I thought you only saw ghosts?”

“It’s not just ghosts. I see other things too… but I’ve never had visions.. and what I just saw was horrifying… There was so much blood. And the murderer was wearing a mask and had a strange voice.. Your poor mom. She was trying to protect you.”

Dib felt crushed. He had no memory of what you were talking about, and now you were likely traumatized by what had happened because of him. “This is all my fault I should have just gone home instead of the nurse’s office today. Now you’re freaked out because of me.”

You sniffled a bit and looked up at Dib. “ ‘snot your fault Dib,” you hiccupped out. “What happened to you was really sad.”

He curled in on himself a bit and turned away from you slightly. “It is my fault…..I seem to have a knack for ruining everything. Damnit I shouldn’t have come here I just wanted to know if you really saw my mom or not…..I’m really sorry I won’t bother you ag…..HOLY SHIT THE MILK!!!”

Before you could react, Dib had run to the stove and shut it off. He then proceeded to chuck the burning saucepan, and somehow now on fire, substance that used to be milk into the sink. The smoke detector was blaring by the time he was drowning the saucepan in water.

“HOT HOT HOT HOT… damn and it just healed over…” Dib griped running his hand under the cold water.

“Oh my god, are you ok? I can’t believe I forgot about the milk,” you apologized as you waved a dishtowel at the smoke detector to get it to stop beeping.

Dib looked to you and glanced you up and down. “You didn’t get burned, did you?”
You shook you head, and he sighed in relief. “Well after all the craziness from me ruining your day, and almost burning your house down, how about I make it up to you with a hot chocolate? There’s uhh… a café not too far from here that I study at sometimes.”

“Are you sure? It’s kind of late, would they even still be open? And what about your hand?”

“My hand has suffered worse. It will be fine. Besides my Dad has stuff to heal injuries like these quickly. As for the café, they’re only open in the evenings anyway so we don’t need to worry about it being closed.” Dib fidgeted a bit waiting to see if you would accept his offer. “I mean you don’t have to go if you don’t want to or anything.”

“I guess it’s ok,” you replied back. “What else am I gonna do on a Friday night? Are you sure you’re ok though?”

The boy blushed slightly. “Injuries happens to me all the time. I’ll be fine.”

A few minutes later you and Dib were walking down the street in your neighborhood in relative silence. Dib would occasionally glance over to you nervously, but stopped just short of saying anything.

You decided to break the silence to try and ease the tension. “So um Dib, you’re really knowledgeable about paranormal stuff. How come you don’t really talk about it at school?”

He sighed and kicked a bit of stray gravel on the sidewalk. “The same reason you don’t let anyone know you can see spirits.”

“You’ve been sent to the Crazy House too?” you asked in utter shock.

He nodded solemnly. ”I was committed after I caught Zim. He framed me for blowing up the middle school and after that, any mention of paranormal stuff had people questioning if I should be sent back.”

“Wow, you’ve really had a tough time Dib. I’m sorry… But in a weird way I guess it’s nice I can relate to someone about the Crazy House stuff. I never really was able to talk about it with anyone before.”

“Hey, you’re right,” Dib realized in an almost excited tone. “I’ve never met another Crazy House survivor before. Someone who understands…… all the bad stuff…” Dib stopped for a moment and seemed to be lost in thought. You turned to look at him. “Dib?...Dib..did I say something wrong?”

The boy shook his head as if trying to rid it of unwanted memories. “Yeah, I’m fine… just blanked out for a second. Anyway, we’re here.” Both of you looked up at the lit-up sign that read Dead Tired Café.

“That’s kind of a fun name,” you stated as you both went up to the door.

Dib chuckled. “It’s a little weird, but the drinks are pretty good and it’s mostly quiet.” He held the door open and gestured for you to enter.

“Thank you Dib,” you said kindly as you entered the café. For a split second you though you saw a dark whirling abyss of screaming souls until the darkness poofed out like smoke and was nowhere to be seen. The heaviness that came with the abyss lingered for a moment then lifted as well, almost as if it was wiped away magically. A tall skinny man stood behind the counter with a disinterested look, until he noticed you.

“ARE YOU HERE FOR A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE?!!” he yelled out half crazed almost bounding over the counter.

“Wha.. um no,” you squeaked out.

“Nny she’s with me, and no we’re not here for pumpkin spice lattes,” Dib responded standing in front of you almost as if he was shielding you from a rabid dog.

“Oh,” the skinny figure let out and backed off the counter. “Dib, it’s good to see you. Sorry, just all these people demanding pumpkin spice lattes. And then COMPLAINING when they say it doesn’t taste like the ones from Starshmucks. THOSE LATTES DON’T EVEN HAVE PUMPKIN IN THEM!!”

“Well it’s just the flavoring associated with pumpkin pie, so it shouldn’t really have pumpkin in it to begin with,” you reasoned.

“SEE, SHE GET’S IT!! Why can’t those basic idiots understand that the reason the taste is different isn’t because there’s no pumpkin in it? It tastes different because it’s not made from the bile and greed of CORPORATE MONSTERS WHO SPECIFICALLY MAKE IT LIMITED TO TRICK IDIOTS INTO CONSUMING IT FOR SELFIES AND LIKES!!”

Dib sighed slightly embarrassed, but looked over at you as you let out a small giggle.

“He’s very passionate about coffee I take it,” you smiled at Dib.

“You have no idea,” Dib smiled back.

Nny looked between you two and grinned. “So Dib I take it you’re not here for studying.”

“Uh no, we’re here for hot chocolate…. please?” Dib replied with a somewhat pleading look.

Nny nodded. “Right right you guys want whipped cream?”

“Yes please,” you chimed out happily.

Dib asked that you find a place to sit while he paid for the drinks at the counter.

“I find it interesting you brought the sparkly unicorn pencil girl here,” Nny said with a smirk.

Dib blushed. “Are you trying to blow my cover?” he whispered harshly. “She has no idea how I feel, and I doubt she’d be interested if you blurted it out.”

Nny just shrugged as he took the payment. “Normally I don’t care about this sort of thing. But after watching you get crapped on for years, I can’t help being a little satisfied for this tiny victory. It’s like when Squee got a girlfriend, he was so happy. I was so excited for him. Then that bitch screwed him over and had to pay for her betrayal.”

“Wait, wasn’t that the same girl who went missing like a year ago?”

“Oh, she’s not missing….” Nny said ominously. “Anyway, what I’m trying to get across is that this one seems nice. So, don’t be too afraid to put yourself out there.”

The boy let out a tired sigh before going over to the table you acquired for them.

“Everything ok?” you asked seeing Dib’s slightly upset.

“I should be asking you that. After all the weird stuff I’ve put you through today, you should probably be upset with me.”

You shook your head. “I see scary stuff all the time. Just never had anyone to talk to about it before. But the whole vision thing was new. At least I can mention it without fear around you. Having someone who believes me is nice… even if the kitchen almost caught on fire.” You gave Dib a warm smile and the boy thought for sure his insides were on a rollercoaster.

“Being believed must feel pretty great,” Dib mumbled quietly.

You two sat and talked for a while about stuff after Nny brought over the hot chocolate. Your reaction to the sparkly sprinkles on your whipped cream was absolutely adorable, and Dib couldn’t help but smile. Nny discreetly gave a thumbs up the next time he caught the boy’s eye.

He couldn’t believe he was actually out alone with you having a drink. If you didn’t have your full attention on him during the conversation, he would have pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

It wasn’t until he noticed your eyelids drooping, and the occasional yawn that it had been very late at night.

“We should head back. It’s really late,” Dib said quietly.

“Hmm,” you nodded with your eyes closed. “Yeah, I think I need to get to bed.”

The walk back to your house was quite again, but this time it was a more comfortable silence. As you opened the door with a yawn you turned to say goodbye to Dib.

“You going to be ok heading home? It’s dark ‘n stuff,” you slurred sleepily.

Dib shrugged. “I’ve been out later than this. Plus, my house is just down the street.”

You nodded slowly. “Ok, thanks for the hot chocolate n’hanging out with me. It was nice.”

The boy turned five shades of red and let out an awkward cough. “Um yeah. It was nice… maybe we can do it again sometime and talk about … stuff or something.”

“That sounds fun. It would be nice to have a friend.” Half-awake you reached out and gave Dib a small hug, not noticing the amazed squeak the boy let out before he shyly hugged you back. “Goodnight Dib. I hope you feel better tomorrow,” you said as you dragged yourself inside and closed the door.

Dib stood there in absolute shock. You willingly hugged him. He could still feel your warmth lingering on his body. If Zim decided to vaporize him right then and there he’d have zero regrets. For all the horrible stuff that had happened that day he couldn’t believe his actual stroke of good luck.

He started giggling a little as he practically skipped the entire way back home. It was a dream come true. You saw him as a friend, and he could openly talk to you about his passions without being dismissed are called crazy. Opening the front door, he almost leaped through the threshold squealing with joy. That is until his sister noticed his presence.

“Dib? Why the hell are you coming in the house this late? I thought you went to bed hours ago,” Gaz grumbled out through gritted teeth, as she paused her game from the couch.

It was at that moment Dib knew he screwed up. After Gaz had come home from school there was a very serious family discussion about what happened to their mother. Dib was very upset to learn Gaz already knew all about who she was and what had happened to her, as she had asked the Professor about her years ago. A huge argument, and lots of tears, followed before Dib had locked himself in his room for the evening. He had snuck out the window to go see you, and in his moment of pure joy forgot to sneak back in.

“I went for a walk Gaz,” he replied curtly. “To help calm my nerves. Besides why do you care? It’s not like I’m withholding important information about our family from you for years on end right?” Dib gave a very snarky glare towards his sister, for once not caring if it earned him a beating.

Gaz glowered at her brother. “It’s not my fault you were too much of a chicken to just man up and ask Dad about where Mom was Dib. Don’t pin your misguided rage on me.”

“You have pictures of her, and saw the home movies. We could have shared that, and I wouldn’t have thought we were clones this whole time!” Dib’s eyes began to water again. “Do you know how terrified I’ve been after seeing Dad’s cloning notes? That fear could have been wiped away if you had just been honest with me!”

“Since when have you ever been honest with me? Or did you forget the whole ‘Pig Girl’ incident?”

Dib frowned and wiped his eyes. “You know what screw it. I’m not going to let you ruin the one good thing that’s happened to me in years. I’m done talking to you.” And with that Dib stomped upstairs to his room. However, he realized he had locked the door before leaving so he couldn’t get inside. “Dang it.” He was about to shamefully walk back downstairs passed his sister to go outside and climb the drainpipe to his bedroom window, when the door suddenly swung open.

Despite being grateful for not having to go back downstairs, the boy frowned as he entered his seemingly empty room. It was a far cry from what it used to be. All of his cryptid posters and Zim evidence boards had been taken down leaving the walls mostly bare. Save for a few “calming” images approved of by his father per doctor’s orders. He still had his computer equipment, but it was mostly regulated for schoolwork nowadays. He glanced around seeing his bed had been made, the clothes he left on the floor had been picked up, and the soda cans left on his desk had been removed.

“I know you’re in here Zim,” Dib spat out. “You’re making a weird and creepy habit out of cleaning my room when I’m not home. I left it messy on purpose to find out if you’ve been snooping or not.”

There was a slight laugh from a dark corner of the room. “Please, Earth-stink. Everyone knows you are the filthiest of filth creatures on this pathetic dirtball.” Zim stepped out of the shadow and smirked at the tired boy. “You may not be as disgusting as you used to be, but you’re still a messy idiot. Zim is only fixing messes so the Dib doesn’t return to being a chair.”

“Yeah yeah whatever. So why are you annoying me this time? Was the shattered glass in my hand not enough tormenting for one day?”

“Where were you human?” Zim asked as serious as a police interrogation. “It is far passed the time most humans are normally unconscious. And since you gave up doing those ‘cryptmas’ hunts, you should be here looking at your primitive technological devices.”

Dib let out an annoyed sigh. “They’re called cryptids Zim.”

“SILENCE!”

The boy gave Zim a deep frown. “I’m not in the mood Zim. Besides, I’m 18 now which means as a legal adult I can be out as late as I want to.” Dib shoved passed the alien and sat on his bed to remove his shoes.

Zim pouted and crossed his arms in defiance but his antennae wiggled slightly at the scent coming from Dib.

“Why do you smell like that?” he asked curiously.

“Oh my god Zim. I get it, I smell bad. It’s just part of being a teenager.”

“Normally yes, Zim would agree that you reek of human garbage… but there’s a different smell coming off of you. It smells… tolerable. What did you roll in?”
“Tolerable? Are you actually saying I smell nice?”

“LIES! YOU ARE FILLED WITH DISGUSTING LIES!”

A loud stomping noise from downstairs reached the door as it was kicked open by Gaz. “If you two don’t quit with the stupid loud lover’s quarrel I will strangle both of you with each other’s intestines!”

“We are NOT lover’s Gaz,” Dib scowled.

“And Zim does not possess intestines. Besides, the Dib smells different and will not say why.”

Gaz opened one eye and looked over at her brother. “What is he talking about?”

“Beats me. He says I smells different.”

“The Dib Beast’s pheromones do not have the same rancid smell as before. Now it’s like .. I dunno.. flowers or something… but somehow still Dib.”

“Did you get laid or something?” Gaz asked bluntly.

“WHAT NO!!” Dib shrieked turning bright red.

“Ok? So then where did you go? If you’ve murdered someone and their scent is on you, I need to come up with an alibi that will convince dad you’re not a serial killer.”

“I didn’t murder anyon… wait you’d actually cover for me if I was a serial killer?”

Gaz shrugged. “I mean if it was someone who deserved it, probably.”

“I don’t know whether to feel touched or disgusted….”

“Enough with the murdering of breakfast confections!” Zim roared. “What where you doing out DIB?”

Dib grumbled. “Fine, I was at the café I like to study at. You happy?”

“That’s not the whole story is it Dib-smell?”

“Tell us everything Dib,” Gaz stated slightly less harshly than her normal speaking voice. “You said something good happened. What was it?”

The discomfort Dib was feeling felt amplified under the waiting gazes. He let out a defeated sigh as his face darkened red. “You know that girl in class I have a crush on?”

Gaz face twisted in a slight grimace. “The one who’s pencil you kept like a total creep?”

“Hey….but yes.”

“Ah yes the crushing female. Zim knew she was up to something,” Zim droned out menacingly.

Dib frowned at Zim but continued. “Anyway… I kind of yelled at her today and went to her house to apologize….. and then her house almost caught on fire when we were trying to make hot chocolate. So I offered to take her out for some at the café. We started talking and we actually had a nice time…” He couldn’t help the goofy love struck look on his face as he recounted the evenings events.

“How in the hell did she agree to go on a date with you after you yelled at her and then almost burn her house down?” Gaz snarked.

“It wasn’t exactly a date. Look there was more to it than that but it’s not any of your business so just… back off ok?”

Zim pouted and glared intensely at Dib. “The human female has done something then? She’s the reason you’ve changed… interesting.”

“Zim I swear on Mothman if you do ANYTHING to hurt her I’ll actually kill you.”

The alien laughed gleefully. “Oh please, you haven’t tried to murder me in years. Even if you finally found the motivation to be a proper nemesis again, you’re so out of practice that even Gir would finish you off before you could step outside your disgusting room.”
“I hate you,” Dib shot back tiredly.

“And Zim hates you Dib beast,” he proclaimed proudly puffing out his chest.

Gaz grabbed Zim by the scruff of his uniform and lifted the tiny alien off the floor, causing him to go limp. “Ok mystery solved. No more loud arguments. Now go to bed Dib, you look like the walking dead. And don’t forget to take your meds.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever,” The boy grumbled as he rummaged in his night stand drawer for his medication.

Gaz left Dib’s room and carried the now compliant alien downstairs to the living room and tossed him on the couch like a rag doll.

“Must you insist on throwing Zim every time there is an update?”

“Shh. Dib might hear us….” There was a beat of silence to see if Dib had reacted to the noise. When Gaz heard the tell-tale signs of Dib’s snoring, she continued. “So, what happened? Did the rift get larger? Is that why you’re here?”

“No actually,” Zim stated as he pulled a screen out of his pak. “The brain wave signal changed drastically, but the rift seems to have mended slightly…not by much of course but it was significant enough to set off alarms.”

“It’s mended? Does that mean the medication is correcting the tear?” Gaz asked hopefully.

Zim shook his head. “No, the medication doesn’t have enough Meekrob energy to appropriately fix the tear, only keep it from growing larger. This was caused by something else… I need to investigate this crush human.”

Gaz frowned. “You honestly think the girl he’s had a crush on for years is the reason that stupid crack in that weird protective barrier is finally correcting itself?”

The alien was typing on the screen as Gaz spoke and barely looked up at her when she finished. “It’s the only significant change that’s happened since the rift occurred.”

“What about him finding out what happened to our mom?” she retorted quickly. “That happened today. Maybe him trying to remember what happened triggered the repair.”

“And what caused him to investigate that?” Zim asked seriously. “He’s never thought to bring it up before now. Something happened.”

Gaz was about to say something snarky until she realized Zim was right. “True…..but why would she have brought that up? She doesn’t seem like the bitchy confrontational type.”

Zim continued working on the screen. “The Dib was not very forthcoming about encountering her, or what they talked about. He’s hiding something. This female caused a reaction, and Zim is going to find out what it is.”

“You going to take him to your hollo chamber again to try and read his mind? He’s tired enough to not wake up in the middle of it like that one time.”

The alien grimaced. “Do you have to bring that up every time? That was Gir’s fault. And I changed that memory so he’s none the wiser.”

“Whatever. If there’s a way to fix that stupid tear so Dib’s brain doesn’t blow him and the solar system into dust then let’s use it as quickly as possible.” Gaz grunted sitting back on the couch to resume her game.

“Agreed,” Zim stated. “And then Zim can get back to taking over this stupid planet and thoroughly beating Dib once and for all.”

“Pssh yeah right. Like you’d kill Dib after all the trouble of trying to keep him from blowing up for half a decade.”

Chapter Text

You were standing in a beautiful field of flowers, surrounded by breathtakingly tall trees. The sunlight felt warm against your skin and the wind gently wafted the fragrance from the petals all around you. It was calm and peaceful; you couldn’t remember the last time you felt so at peace. While you enjoyed the scenery someone approached you, but lingered just outside of your peripheral vision. The new presence had an intimidating aura, but you somehow felt that whoever it was wasn’t going to harm you. Stranger yet, you couldn’t face them no matter what direction you turned your body in.

“It’s really pretty here,” a voice said next to you.

“Yes, it is,” you replied.

The voice sighed slightly. “But it’s not always like this… It’s usually very ugly and severely damaged… I wonder what happened.”

“Something good probably,” you said as you tried to think about how you got there in the first place.

“No one else is supposed to be here you know,” the voice said somewhat jokingly. “Not that I mind. Maybe you’re the reason it’s nice here again… I was getting tired of the bleakness. Honestly, I never thought this place would be beautiful ever again. You brought my hope back.”

You let out a small laugh. “Me? What did I do? I don’t even know how I got here.”

“It’s true though… you have to be the reason it’s healed,” the voice said.

“Well, I hope it stays pretty here even if I’m not around,” you said with your mind feeling hazy.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you close to the person behind you. And while it startled you at first, you still had that feeling whoever it was wasn’t going to harm you.

“You could stay here if you wanted to. I would enjoy the company,” the voice said soothingly against your ear.

A small pleasant shiver ran up your spine. It was nice thought, but you weren’t sure if it was a good idea to make such a decision, especially without knowing where you were or who you were even talking to.

“That’s kind of you.. but I don’t know who you are or where this place even is,” you said nervously.

The voice chuckled. “That’s true, I hope you’re not afraid. The last thing I want to do is scare you. Is it alright if I hold you like this a little longer before you have to leave?”

You smiled slightly at suddenly hearing the nervous tone from entity that was tenderly holding you. “Yes, for just a bit longer.”

“Thank you,” they whispered to you lovingly.

Your eyes fluttered open. A sliver of sunlight had peeked through the curtains and was shining right in your face. Strangely though, that wasn’t what drew you out of your deep slumber. There was a soft rumbling purring sound emitting from something resting on your chest. You shifted slightly and found a very blue cat snoozing away.

“Oh, hello there kitty. How did you get in here?” you inquired sleepily. Had you left a window open somehow, and the poor thing snuck in to escape the cold? The cat in question blinked awake and rose its head to meet your gaze. It had the sweetest most adorable expression on its face as it looked back at you.

“Aw what a cutie,” you cooed as you scratched the strange cat under its chin. “Did you need a warm place to stay? I don’t think you’re from my neighbors, are you? Did someone dye your fur blue and you had to get away?”

The blue cat purred under your touch. How sweet, it liked you. For a moment you were considering maybe keeping the creature until it suddenly yawned. You had heard people joke about how cats unhinged their jaws while yawning made looked like terrifying beasts as a result. However, this yawn was truly terrifying. The cat’s jaw appeared to have grown triple in size as it reared its head back, exposing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.

As much as you wanted to scream in terror and run away you were frozen in place gazing into the horrifying maw of some sort of shapeshifting creature. When the beast had finished its agonizingly long yawn it mewed innocently up at you and stood up on all six of its paws.

“Um… nice kitty?” you squeaked out hoping those wouldn’t be your final words. The blue cat hopped up to your face to nuzzled and lick your cheek for a moment before jumping off the bed. It mewed at you again and quietly pawed at your slightly open bedroom door.

“I hope I have a can of tuna,” you thought aloud as you fully opened the door and headed to the kitchen after the strange six-legged cat. Perhaps if you gave this creature food, it wouldn’t try to devour you later. Quickly you checked the pantry and were relieved to discover a can of tuna. After emptying the contents in a small bowl, you laid it on the floor and stepped away for the cat to approach. Grateful mews and chitters rose from the cat as it ate its meal gleefully.

“Ok kitty I’m not sure… where you belong or what you are, but is there a reason you’re in my house?” It quirked its head to the side staring at you for a moment and then proceeded to lick its front paw.

“You’re not an animal spirit are you? Or like a shapeshifting magical creature?” you asked trying to figure out what to do now that it had eaten. Before you could ask anything else the cat lovingly rubbed against your legs and dashed over to the kitchen window. To your shock and horror, it managed to open the window with its tail and leap away quickly.

“I need to make sure everything is locked from now on,” you said to yourself in awe.

Chapter Text

“Gaz? GAZ!!” Dib cried out frantically running around the house.

“WHAT?” Gaz shouted irritated from being woken up. “You better be dying Dib. What’s wrong?”

“Is Blu with you? I haven’t seen her since yesterday. She wasn’t with me this morning, or in the back yard, and she’s not in her igloo. And the last time she left the house for a while all those cows disappeared and it was a big deal on the news!”

“Relax Dib. You know that weird alien cat of yours likes you too much to stay gone for long. She’s probably using the beach for a litter box or something. As long as I don’t have to clean it up, I don’t care.”

“But Gaz, what if Animal Control tries to take her to the pound?” Dib argued still panicking.

“Blu’s not dumb enough to let the pound put her down Dib.”

“I know that. I’m more worried about her eating Animal Control if they corner her.”

Gaz grumbled. “Look Dib that cat has been with us for years. Maybe she’s tired of being around creatures that aren’t from her planet. Maybe she wants to go and explore bigger and better things than what suburban life can offer a feral alien cat. Or maybe she’s old by her standards and decided to move on because it was her time to go. You’re just going to have to accept that maybe she won’t be coming ba… oh there she is.”

“BLU!” Dib declared in relief. “Where have you been? I was so worried.”

The snarlbeast purred and rubbed against Dib’s leg shortly before being picked up by the boy. “Don’t scare me like tha….” He frowned slightly and sniffed. “Why do you smell like tuna?”

“Looks like she found some breakfast,” Gaz said uninterested.

“I mean… did someone feed you or did you get an actual fish from a pond or something?”

Blu just lovingly licked Dib’s face in reply. “Well as long as it’s not on the news I guess I shouldn’t worry too much.” Dib’s watch beeped and he gave a slight frown.

“Go do your mandatory workout, before the stupid alarms go off. Breakfast should be ready by the time you’re done,” Gaz said as she made her way down the stairs.

Dib sighed. He hated having the ridiculous schedule his dad had set up for him for “health reasons.” Workouts to keep his endorphins up, part time work at his father’s labs to build work ethic and self-esteem, and homework for his college courses his dad signed him up for to keep his mind sharp. It made Dib angry. Sure, the schedule did allow him to have free time, but it wasn’t fair that he had to do all of this to seem “healthy and balanced.”

Despite his dislike of the activities there were some upsides. For one, he would have a college diploma and high school diploma at the end of the school year. Maybe his dad would lay off and he could go travel or something after graduation. His father made sure to actually pay him for the lab work that he did, which had been building into a pretty sweet savings account. And even though the workouts were annoying, Dib had to admit he liked having nice abs and strength to move things. However, he made sure not to take it too far as he didn’t want to get grotesquely huge again.

After his workout and a quick shower, he walked into the kitchen to get his breakfast. A floating screen with an image of his father fluttered over to him. The word “live” posted in the corner. The Professor was actually listening in for a change.

“Good morning son!” the Professor greeted happily. Dib gave a noncommittal grunt in response. He was still upset about yesterday and wasn’t ready to be pleasant with his dad yet. The Professor wilted a little but bounced back with a confident posture.

“As yesterday was… overwhelming, I thought it would be best if you had the day off from the lab today to go enjoy some stress reliving activities.”

Dib’s eyebrow quirked. “You’re letting me have an unscheduled free day?”

“Well of course son,” Membrane chirped happily. “I think it would be helpful for your wellbeing to enjoy your Saturday in full. Your shift would have been only four hours, there’s no lasting harm if you miss it today. Go have fun outside and soak up some much-needed vitamin D for mood boosting. It’s the scientific way!”

The boy rolled his eyes but was glad he could enjoy the rest of his day instead of dragging himself to the lab for routine project assistance. He waved off the annoying screen as he sat down at the table. Foodio 3000 laid a large plate of eggs hash browns and toast in front of him and added a small bowl of fruit after handing Dib a fork. Dib ate quietly trying to think of what he could spend the day doing, since all of his other duties had been scrapped.
Gaz stared at her brother with a tinge of concern. “So what did you and your crush talk about yesterday?”

There was a tense silence that followed the clink of Dib’s fork against his plate.
“Why do you care?” he asked suspiciously.

The dark girl thought carefully about her next move. While she knew she could take anything her brother dished out, there were moments where his anger made him just as scary as she could be.

She shrugged slightly. “You seemed so giddy last night. Just curious as to what you two talked about that actually made your grim ass smile.”

Dib’s harsh gaze softened for a moment as he rummaged through his brain for something that would throw her off.

“Butterflies.”

“Huh?”

“We talked about butterflies,” he recited quietly. “You remember that project I had to do for freshman biology? It was in the science fair.”

“Oh yeah. The one that inspired everyone to glitter bomb your locker for two weeks straight?” Gaz chuckled. “That was pretty funny.”

A deep frown graced Dib’s face for a moment, but then he cleared his throat to continue.

“Yeah well… that was the first time we ever really talked to each other…. So we were reminiscing about it.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Gaz replied. “She’s really into that frilly colorful goo goo stuff. I’m surprised an edgelord like you is even interested in someone like that.”

Dib blushed deeply. “I wasn’t… it just kind of happened.”

Gaz opened one eye at that. She could tell there was more to the story than what Dib had let on, but he was still being quiet about it.

The siblings finished their breakfast in silence. Dib left the kitchen and went to his room to grab his shoes and trench coat.

“So where are you going for your free day?” Gaz asked nonchalantly while she tapped away at her game.

“I don’t know, “Dib responded. “Probably get a Suck Monkey or something. I haven’t had one in forever….” He looked down at his clothes with slight concern. “Do you think I need to change my wardrobe…. Make it more… I don’t know.. mature?”

“Pfsst.. are you actually worried about your lame fashion sense now that a girl is talking to you? You’re like a decade overdue for a style change Dib.”

Dib grabbed an old backpack and stomped out of his room grumbling. “I don’t even know why I bother asking you anything.”

“Hey,” Gaz called out to her brother as he was leaving the house.

“What?” Dib groaned as he put on his coat, eager to leave and be alone for a while.

“If that girl somehow likes you back… then it doesn’t really matter what you wear. She’d like you just the way you are.”

Dib was stunned into silence. “huh?”

Gaz clenched her teeth and spoke in a strained voice, as if being nice was physically painful for her. “You don’t need to change who you are to try and make someone like you. So don’t come home with a bunch of bland grown-up clothing to try and look ‘desirable’ or whatever.”

“Um… ok ..thanks I guess,” he said before closing the door behind him.

Chapter Text

The line at the grocery store was taking forever. You knew the risks of shopping so close to Turkey Day, but after the visit from the strange blue cat you were not taking any chances being caught without tuna. That, and you needed to buy yourself some cake mix and frosting for your upcoming birthday that happened to fall on Turkey Day that year. It was really disappointing. This time of year brought families closer and there was this warm and comforting feeling that seemed to surround those that were together. Meanwhile you would be alone, again.

You tried calling your dad, but his voicemail was full. The emails you sent him and your step mom went unanswered. After several years of being mostly ignored, you would still hold out hope that maybe you’d have someone to celebrate your birthday with. Alas it appeared as your entered into your 18th year of life, it would once again be spent alone. At least you didn’t have to share the cake with anyone.

When you finally paid for your groceries, you shuffled your way through the busy crowds of people hustling for ingredients and decorations needed for the upcoming holiday. While the thought of being alone hurt your heart, you were at least comforted that Christmas was getting closer. You’d still be alone, but you could at least distract yourself with pretty decorations, cookies, and lots of Christmas cartoons and no one would judge you for it.

The bags filled with tuna cans started to weigh your arms down after a while. You tried to pick up speed to get home faster but that made it more uncomfortable. A sigh escaped you as you tried to speed walk with the heavy bags around the rude rushing people in town. Suddenly a pedestrian knocked into you throwing you off balance. As soon as you caught yourself the plastic bags holding the tuna cans ripped open spilling their contents.

“No,” you whined as you bent down to try and gather the fallen items. “Stupid cheap plastic bags.”

As soon as you reached out to try and pick up the fallen cans, a blur of green faceplanted into the small pile. You shrieked and drew back your hand quickly, hoping to avoid contact with the strange foreign object.

“CAAAAAAANNNS!” screamed a green dog with a zipper on its chest. The strange dog grabbed one can shoving it in its mouth while using another to bash against its forehead.

“Hey those are mine don’t put them in your mouth!” you chided trying to remove the cans from the green creature. You only stopped briefly as the can in the little monster’s mouth was covered in slobber slightly grossing you out.

“Ug so gross.”

“I like cans!” the green thing declared grabbing more from the ground. “I keeps em in mah head with da bees!”

“What are you talking about?” you said now wrestling the box of cake mix from the strange creature. “What even are you?”

The green dog just giggled madly as he ripped open the box of cake mix and poured it down his gullet.

“NO stop it! That was … that was mine,” you cried out defeated. You knew your birthday was going to be a hard day to get through alone, but now with your cake plans dashed the sadness of it all hit you hard. Try as you might, you couldn’t help the pitiful sniffling and emerging tears. The little green dog looked up at you concerned.

“Aw whasa matter? You wanna share?” it said holding up the empty half chewed box.

“Why did you do that?” you sniffled as you once again tried to gather the fallen cans of tuna.

“I have no idea… I just dooooo. You wanna hug?” it said as it proceeded to hug your arm. While the situation was upsetting you couldn’t help but think the strange beast was cute and probably didn’t mean any harm by his actions…..probably.

“Hey! Zim’s evil robot,” yelled a familiar voice. “I got you a Suck Monkey.”

The little dog’s head perked up and turned towards a frowning Dib, who was holding out a drink.

“CHOCOLATE BUBBLEGUM!” screeched the dog as he almost tackled the boy to get the beverage. Dib managed to side step the flying dog and race over to your side.

“Are you ok? Did that thing hurt you?” he asked quickly taking off his backpack.

You shook your head and wiped at your eyes. “My bags ripped open.”

“I got it,” Dib said putting all the cans in his backpack. “Your frosting is ok, but I think you’ll need another box of cake mix.” He noticed your face droop as you looked again at the destroyed box. “Hey it’s ok. I can help you get another one,” he said awkwardly trying to be supportive. “So uh.. I guess your family does the eating fish for Turkey Day thing? That’s cool.. I mean there’s no law saying you have to eat turkey… right?”

“Oh… um.. true but that’s not what I got the cans for,” you explained as Dib gently helped you stand.

“Really? So why all the tuna then?”

“Something weird happened……” you looked around seeing all the people within earshot. “I’ll tell you what it was but we should go somewhere less crowded.”

Dib nodded and shrugged his backpack on. Just as the two of you were on the move the strange green dog climbed up Dib’s leg and draped over the boy’s shoulder happily sucking the straw on his beverage.

“Mary gonna get more food?” it screeched out.

The boy winced at the shrill voice right next to his ear. “No, we’re going somewhere quiet….if promise to be quiet you can come with us. And if you behave after we’re done I’ll get you tacos.”

“YAY TACOS…. Oh I mean……yay tacoooss.”

You couldn’t help but giggle at the drastic response. “He’s an odd creature. What is he exactly?” you asked feeling a little more at ease.

“This is Zim’s robot minion badly disguised as a dog,” Dib replied. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the giant zipper, that he’s green, and the fact he’s basically a toddler blitzed out on sugar.”

“That is a very good description,” you said watching the dog sway on Dib’s shoulder as if they were friends. “He seems very fond of you.”

“We’re ok with each other, I guess. He responds well to promises of food. How and why he can eat I have no idea.”

After a short walk you two found an empty playground and sat on the swings as the little robot ran to one of the rocking horses on springs with his drink.

“ Ok.. so about the tuna,” you started as you kicked a little at the dirt. “This morning I had a very strange visitor.”

Dib quirked an eyebrow but stayed silent.

“I don’t know how it got in.. but there was this strange cat that was sleeping on my chest when I woke up. It was super cute and cuddly.. but when it yawned it was like this horrifying monster with rows of teeth… and I fed it tuna because I did not want to risk it being hungry and getting eaten. After it left I decided to stock up on tuna so if it comes back it hopefully won’t try to make me it’s lunch.”

The boy’s face was white as a sheet. “Was it a blue cat with six legs?” he asked nervously.

“YES. That’s it exactly. Have you seen it before?”

He let out a long shaky sigh. “Please don’t freak out…. but that creature is an alien cat called a snarlbeast.. and it’s actually sort of my pet.”

“Wait really?” you asked slightly impressed. “How did you get an alien cat for a pet?”

“Well it’s more like I’m her pet.. I think. How I got her is an incredible long story that involves Zim. But yeah, that’s for another day. For whatever reason she likes me and hangs around quasi protectively. Oddly enough I’m not allergic to her, so her dander must differ from Earth cats. But her true form is this huge ravaged beast with several mouths all with teeth……so…. many…teeth”

He looked over at you worried. “She didn’t get aggressive with you. Did she? Sometimes she attacks people, but that’s usually if they’ve been hostile towards me.”

“No, she was very affectonate and kept rubbing against my legs. I thought maybe she was like a shapeshifter. But an alien cat makes more sense. Why did she come to my house though?”

Dib thought for a moment. “Maybe she went looking for me last night and smelled my scent from when we were out yesterday…you.. you wanna come over and see her? She’s really calm most of the time.. and if she gets used to you, you won’t have to worry if she’s going to eat you or something. You don’t have to though if that’s too weird or creepy. I mean she is intimidating but she can be really nice.”

The boy kept rambling nervously. His concern over the situation with his pet was so endearing and sweet you couldn’t help but smile. Your smile then turned into a giggle which caused Dib to notice.

He stopped talking immediately and looked at the ground. You wondered if maybe you hurt his feelings.

“Dib?” you asked carefully. “You ok?”

“I talk too much don’t I?” he said dejectedly.

“Oh no. Dib I’m sorry I wasn’t laughing at you because of that. I just thought it was very sweet of you to be so worried over your cat. It just shows how much you care.”

He bent forward on the swing and cupped his hands over his face. The tips of his ears were bright red and you were scared he was holding back tears from being insulted by you.

In truth he was blushing madly and had a hurricane of butterflies in his stomach. You thinking his anxious ramblings were sweet put his brain into overdrive and he honestly had no idea how to handle the situation. He was so used to having someone yell at him to shut up, that he wouldn’t have flinched if you had said it yourself.

But you didn’t tell him to shut up. As usual, when you did speak to him it was like he was a human being and it kept throwing him for a loop.

“Dib?” you asked worriedly feeling like you might have done something to make the boy feel miserable. “Are you ok? Did I somehow offend you?”

“No,” he replied quickly and slightly muffled by his hands. “I’m ok.. um..” he raised back up avoiding your gaze with his face slightly flushed. “Just not used to being thought of a sweet. No one’s ever said that about me before.”

“Really? But you put so much thought into everything. How could no one think that’s sweet?”

Oh god he was melting. Your words were almost as amazing as the hug from yesterday. He coughed awkwardly. “Well um yeah I guess. So did you want to meet Blu? My cat’s named Blu… for obvious reasons.” He gave a nervous smile your way hoping he didn’t look like a total creep.

“Sure,” you beamed. “Now that I know what she is, I’d love to get to know Blu better. But we should probably drop off the tuna back at my house. Having all that metal in your backpack has to be uncomfortable.”

The nervous boy blushed again. But he nodded and followed your lead. Well, he attempted to, until a tiny robot dog clamped against his right leg. Dib sighed begrudgingly down at the creature’s hopeful, pleading gaze.

“I didn’t forget about the tacos. You did good being quiet this time so I’ll throw in a soda.”

The dog gave a huge smile… which was slightly gross and still dripping with the chocolatey bubblegum concoction from earlier.

“Wow he drank that whole Suck Monkey?” you said impressed.

“Yeah, he’s weird like that,” Dib replied pulling the dog off his leg and onto his shoulder. “My dad let me have a free day so I thought I’d get one, but I had a feeling I’d run into him eventually. So I got him one too. Works out pretty well.”

“See? Very thought out,” you grinned. “Very considerate, very sweet.” You let out a quick laugh with Dib following you to your house.

“I like her, she’s nice. And ohhhhh so sparkly,” the robot replied slightly whispering to Dib. The boy shushed the creature, but silently he agreed with him.

Chapter Text

Getting home was a lot faster with Dib. You were able to get the tuna put away fairly quickly and were about to leave but then you heard running upstairs.

“Where’s the robot?” you asked.

“Oh crap. Hey Zim’s robot where did you go?” Dib cried out looking around.

“I FOUND A UNICORN!!” you heard from one of the upstairs bedrooms. Panic rose in your chest. It was no secret you loved all things frilly, sparkly, and fantasy related. But having someone other than you see that your room looked like Lisa Frank exploded on everything was something you were too embarrassed to face.

Unfortunately for you, Dib raced upstairs looking for the screaming robot.
“Get over here right now! This isn’t your house you little monster!”

“W-wait,” you called out running after them.

“Lookie what I found,” said the little green dog waving around a stuffed unicorn plush you kept on you bed. “It’s so round and fluffy like a marshmallow.”

“Put it down it doesn’t belong to you,” Dib chided almost sounding like a parent.

“Aww but I like it. And it’s pretty.”

Dib sighed. “Yes, it’s very pretty. Everything in this room is pretty, but that doesn’t change the fact that it doesn’t belong to you. So put it back.” The dog hesitated and hugged the plush defiantly. Dib sighed. “Hey now do you still want those tacos? I was thinking of adding on a churro, but if you really want to take that unicorn…”

“Not my tacos! I NEED THEM! Please Mary don’t take my tacos!” The dog bawled releasing the toy and begging at the boy’s feet with tears pouring out of its eyes.

“Ok then. Let’s go get tacos.”

“YAY,” the little robot screamed as it passed you to run back downstairs.

You were nervous. Dib was in your room and no doubt saw all the colorful posters on your wall and celestial magic themed bedding. While you loved such things, you knew it was frowned upon by your peers as they were just entering adult hood. It was that self-consciousness that kept you from interacting with others as you didn’t want to risk being taunted. You got enough of that from your stepmom.

Dib glanced around your room a bit and then turned to you. He saw that you were worried, and he knew exactly why. Being tormented and bullied because of what you love the most wasn’t foreign to him. He knew how much you loved glitter and fantasy, and he longed for the days when he could plaster his walls with his old cryptid and UFO posters. But those days were gone, and he wasn’t going to make you hurt the way he had been hurt.

“You know, they just opened up a store at the mall I think you’d really like,” he said offhandedly as he walked out of your room. “It’s a character from Japan I think… and she has all these little animal friends. Your room reminds me of it. I can’t remember the name of it though.”

Your eyes widened. “Are you talking about Ohayo Nyan? There’s a Ohayo Nyan store at the mall?” you questioned excitedly.

Dib smiled. “Is that’s what it’s called? Well, it had some super cute stuff inside. You should check it out. Maybe you’ll find something nice to ask your parents for Christmas.”

A small nervous giggle escaped your throat. “If I waited for Christmas, I’d never see anything cutesy again. But I’m definitely checking out that store.”

Your answer concerned him a bit. Now that he thought of it, he never saw anyone but you at your house. There were zero pictures of people on the walls and despite almost burning it down, the kitchen looked relatively unused as well. And wasn’t your birthday coming up soon?

“So does your family not celebrate Christmas?” he asked as you locked the front door.

“Oh, they do. Just on their private island ….alone and without me. I can probably count the number of times they’ve actually been at this house on one hand since I moved here.”

Dib felt guilty for asking the question. He could hear the sorrow behind the sarcasm. “What do you do for your birthday then?”

You froze. “Um well I have cake. At least that was the plan until this one ate my cake mix.”

The green dog gasped dramatically. “I ate your birthday cake? Oh no. Robby I’m so sorry!” The creature whined as it groveled at your feet.

“Robby?” you looked at Dib confused.

He shrugged. “I guarantee he will never call you by your actual name. I speak from experience. He knows my name, I’ve heard him say my name, but he never actually calls me by it.”

Suddenly the groveling creature stood up. “I’ll make you a NEW cake with sprinkles and sparklers!” and with zero hesitation, the green dog ran off into the street almost causing a huge accident in the intersection before disappearing into some bushes.

“Well, I don’t have to go to Crazy Taco now. That’s a plus.”

“He’s not really going to make a cake and come back, is he?” you asked bewildered.

Dib shrugged. “Fifty fifty he forgets and goes on to cause another disaster. But there is a chance he does make it and comes back to shove it in your face. If that happens, I wouldn’t recommend eating it. The ingredients will likely not be edible.”

“Good to know,” you replied and the two of you walked towards Dib’s house.

Everything was normal again until you noticed something strange and stopped. Dib paused to look over at you once he realized you weren’t moving forward.

You had a look of dread on your face and you took a step back as if you might run off in fear.

“We need to go another way,” you said in s shushed voice.

“Why, what’s wrong?” Dib asked quietly matching your volume.

Your eyes drifted forward again to the strange sight. There was a dark and ghastly presence on the sidewalk towards the end of the street. Its tall slender body hunched over away from you, thankfully not noticing you or Dib. The head of the creature slightly moved to gaze at a passing car with interest.

“There’s a disaster spirit at the end of the street. If it notices us it might try to attach itself and cause bad things to happen. It feeds off of pain and misery. It’s really skinny so I think it hasn’t fed in a while,” you whispered quietly backing away.

Dib looked back at the end of the street seeing nothing. But he had recalled that area had a lot of break ins and car accidents in the past, so the pain and misery aspect made sense. He grabbed your hand and moved quickly in the opposite direction down another street.

No sooner had you two turned the corner did you hear a deafening collision shortly followed by screaming. You trembled in fear and held in tears. No matter how much you wanted to prevent the calamity, there was nothing you could do to stop it. That entity had found its meal, and from the sounds of the injured parties it appeared to be a feast.

Dib was shocked at how quickly things had gone sour from your warning of the spirit. Avoiding the chaos only confirmed your abilities to him more as he gently squeezed your hand in an attempt to comfort your guilt of escaping the accident.

“I hope no one died,” you whimpered rubbing at your teary eyes. “If I knew how to get those things to go away I would. But even that might get me locked up again.”

“Hey it’s ok… you helped me at least,” Dib said kindly. “If you hadn’t warned me, I might have taken the hit. So don’t feel guilty.”

You nodded slightly as the two of you continued to walk towards Dib’s house hearing the distant sound of ambulance sirens grow closer.

Chapter Text

By the time you two had arrived at Dib’s house you were able to successfully push back your guilt-ridden tears. The boy felt bad as well, but didn’t dwell on it as most of the people in town treated him like garbage. For once he wasn’t the one in pain. Still, he felt bad that you felt responsible for something that you had no way of preventing.

As he opened the door, he called out that he was home and that you were with him. Silence was his response.

“I guess no one is home,” he said apathetically. “Well, let me go check if Blu is in her igloo, I’ll bring her over.” The boy dashed upstairs excitedly, as it just hit him that he had a girl over for the first time ever and it just happened to be his crush. His face became flushed at the realization and he didn’t know if he should jump for joy or hide under his bed. That all changed when he was greeted by a soft myark by his feet.

“Hey Blu,” he cooed bending down to pick up the snarlcat. “Listen, I have a guest over and it’s really important that you don’t scare or maul her, ok? Please?”

The tiny sarlbeast licked the boy’s nose and let out a sweet myark. Dib never knew if Blu actually understood him or not. Still, the response was positive so he felt ok about the whole ordeal. He walked back down the stairs with Blu in his arms. Immediately he saw the look of recognition on your face as you looked at the blue cat he was holding.

“Well hello again,” you laughed. “I wasn’t dreaming. She really is your pet.”

“Yeah, she’s an odd one. But she’s mostly friendly.”

Blu shuffled out of Dib’s grasp and jumped on your shoulder. The sudden action cased both of you to shriek in surprise. However, the intense purring and nuzzles against your face brought instant relief.

“Wow she must really like you,” Dib said amazed. “She never does that with anyone but me.”

You giggled as you pet Blu. “I’m sure you say that to everyone that comes over,” you teased.

Dib’s shoulders slumped a little. “I.. actually never had anyone over before.”

“O-oh, sorry about that. If it makes you feel any better no one comes over to my house either.”

A small part of Dib took that information and internally smiled at being the only one allowed in your house. That small part of him also thought how easy it would be to visit you alone whenever he wanted. But he quickly pushed that down to try and control his inner creep.

Blu myarked loudly throwing Dib out of his thoughts.

“I’m guessing this is how she normally sounds?” you asked hesitantly petting the snarlcat. “She made normal cat noises when she was at my house.”

Dib quirked a smile. “Blu is very good at adapting to her surroundings. Anytime she’s outside of the house she adopts normal Earth cat behavior to blend in. I mean literally no one but you has noticed her extra legs or blue fur as weird. But even so she won’t make her normal snarl noises unless she feels at ease.”

“That’s really smart. You’re such a smart girl Blu,” you cooed as you gently scratched under Blu’s chin. She made some more happy sounding noises you didn’t recognize, proving to you she felt comfortable with your presence.

“I guess I have her trust,” you giggled. “And thanks for believing me earlier about the disaster spirit. … you could’ve gotten hurt if we kept going.  And that’s the last thing I want to happen to you.”

Dib blushed. “Well it wouldn’t be the first time disaster struck. I’ve actually been injured a lot in the past.. mostly from Zim..” He frowned remembering all the times his encounters with the small alien ha d royally screwed him over.

“You ok?” you asked with an edge of worry to your voice.

The boy shook his head as if he was trying to shake out old thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine. There’s just a lot of reasons to hate that stupid bug.”

“Bug?”

“Oh right, you’ve never seen Zim without his disguise. He’s got two antennae and big red bug eyes. I’m not sure if he’s actually a bug species per say, but his planet’s social structure is very similar to like a bee hive or colony of ants.”

“Wow, that’s really interesting,” you responded with a smile. “You’ve done your research.”

“Well when an alien invader comes to your planet to enslave and conquer, it’s best to pay attention,” Dib said shyly.

You blinked for a moment. “Wait…what? Is….is that really why Zim is here?”

Dib nodded. “I’ve been trying to expose him for years…well I used to at least. People called me crazy for pointing out that Zim was an alien. Then after he blew up the middle school I got blamed for it and committed.  I think he’s kind of given up on it for now. He hasn’t really been scheming as much as he used to.”

“He blew up the school? That’s horrifying,” you exclaimed as Blu nuzzled you.

“What’s horrifying is I have no clue how he did it. He was stupid enough to get blasted but no one else got seriously injured. I tried to show the police what he was but they cuffed me instead and held me down until the men from the Crazy House showed up.”

“That.. that doesn’t make sense though, why would they take you if Zim was the one who caused it?”

The boy shrugged. “He was injured and I wasn’t. So they blamed me.”

You felt your head start to ache and the room seemed to get darker. Faintly you could hear the taunting and mocking laughter of children. Then out of the din of cruel voices, there was silence except for a single phrase.

You should kill yourself

Chapter Text

“Whoa are you ok?” Dib asked in a worried voice.

Everything came back into focus. “Wh-what?”

“Your face is really pale. Do you need to sit down?” he asked standing beside you in case you fell over.

“Um….yeah I think I should… I haven’t eaten yet today so I guess I got tired.”

Dib frowned and guided you to the kitchen and sat you down at the table.

“Hey Foodio 3000 we have a guest that hasn’t eaten,” Dib stated to a powered down robot who quickly booted up after being spoken to.

“Welcome GUEST,” the robot said in a strange but friendly voice. “Please list any food allergies, restrictions, and flavor preferences for meal calibration.”

After going over your dietary needs with the robot there were several beeps.

“The pallet profile for GUEST has been recorded. Your meal will be prepared shortly.”

Dib sat by you as the robot made some strange noises and suddenly a fully cooked meal appeared before you.

“Oh wow that’s amazing!”

“Foodio 3000 hopes GUEST enjoys the food and is filled with nourishment. No one else should feel the lingering emptiness I suffer.”

“I’m sorry wha..”

Dib let out a nervous laugh. “He says weird stuff every now and then I wouldn’t worry about it.”

You normally would have argued but your thoughts were interrupted by your grumbling stomach. Picking up a fork you dug into the meal and let out a contented sigh. It was so good, and not at all like the half cooked or overdone mess that normally occurred whenever you attempted to cook.

“This is really good thank you,” you stated taking another bite. Foodio 3000 appeared to be thrilled that you were enjoying your food as he hovered over you and made sure to offer napkins or more to drink as needed.

Dib gazed at you peacefully feeling grateful that he was able to bring you sustenance and comfort. He felt calm and warm at the notion that you were safe and happy, and it was because he took care of you. He was so content by this notion that he didn’t realize his hand gently thumbed away some crumbs on the side of your face. It was only after he saw your shocked expression at his hand still lingering on your cheek that he realized what he had done.

His face flushed a deep crimson as he tried to reason away the intimate gesture. “I uh… s-sorry. You had a little something … on your face… um. Big brother instincts I guess.” He laughed nervously and then quickly drew his hand back as if he just touched a hot stove.

“Oh…. You have younger siblings?” you questioned trying to figure out why your face felt so hot.

“Younger sister.. Gaz. She’s a year behind us.”

“Oh, Gaz is your sister?” You thought for a moment. “I’ve heard about her but never really talked to her or anything.”

“She’s usually playing video games.”

“Yeah I heard about that… and everyone seems to be afraid of her.”

Dib gave another nervous laugh. “She uh doesn’t like when people interrupt her games. It took a while for our classmates to figure that out. And me….”

“You two must be close then,” you said smiling.

The expression on Dib’s face wilted. “No… not really. I’m not close with anyone in my family.”

You felt a pang of guilt. No matter how hard you tried to be nice to Dib, somehow something you said or did seemed to make him sad. It occurred to you that maybe you were just a downer. No wonder you didn’t have friends.

“I’m sorry Dib.”

“What why?” he asked confused.

“I’ve made you sad again,” you sulked taking another bite of your food. “ I guess I have a knack for it.”

“No, no, no you’ve got it all wrong,” Dib stuttered out quickly. “You never have done anything to make me sad. My life has just been a continuous string of disappointments and dealing with abusive assholes. It just gets harder to push down the frustration is all. Please don’t blame yourself.”

You still kept a sad look on your face even after Blu tried to nuzzle your shoulder. “It’s just…. I know you have it bad but I feel like I say things that open the wounds. I don’t want to make you sad.”

“YOU DON’T!” Dib screamed in a panicked tone as he quickly grabbed your hand. “I mean… you don’t make me sad. You’re the only one that actually treats me like I’m a person.”

It was slightly shocking to have your hand grabbed so abruptly. But after hearing that you truly were the only one to treat him decently it made a little more sense. The scared look in his eyes made it very clear that he was afraid you’d stop talking to him altogether and leave. There was a faint image of the crying mother. So she probably appears when Dib feels threatened. You’d keep her faint appearance to yourself this time.

You held his hand back as best you could from the angle that he had grabbed it.

“Don’t worry Dib,” you smiled kindly. ”I’m not going to stop being friends with you. I just didn’t want you to be unhappy because of me.”

Dib’s whole body sagged in relief as he exhaled. “Yeah ok. Thanks. Last time I made a friend… well they tried to hollow out the Earth and fill the planet with snacks.”

“Huh, that’s … interesting. I promise not to do something that drastic. Wait what about Nny? Isn’t he your friend?”

“Kinda?” Dib responded sounding confused. “He’s somewhat friendly, but he has the most drastic mood swings that just come out of nowhere. Plus I’ve never seen him outside of the coffeeshop, so we don’t hang out. I’m fairly certain if I did see him outside of work, he’d ignore me and then yell at me for ignoring him.”

You laughed at that. Nny was really odd, but you couldn’t tell if he’d be someone you’d want to hang out with alone. Something about that didn’t sit well with you even though he had never been threatening to you directly.

“Well even so. I don’t want to stop being friends. You’re the first friend I’ve had in a long time. You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

Both of you laughed at that until the sound of the door slamming open disrupted the moment. Dib quickly pulled his hand away from yours as if he had done something wrong.

Grumbling could be heard as a tall purple haired girl stomped into the kitchen.

“Since when do you bring people over Dib?” she stated bluntly.

“Hey, I can have people over if I want to. There’s no rule that says I can’t” the boy snapped back annoyed.

Gaz gave you a calculating stare before moving to the refrigerator and pulling out a soda.

“Um hi there, it’s nice to meet you,” you greeted as nicely as you could.

Gaz continued to stare at you. It was as if she was trying to determine if you were a threat that needed to be taken out or not. After a beat of uncomfortable silence Gaz grunted and took a swig of her soda.

“So this is what you were doing on your free day?” she groused at Dib. “Picking up girls?”

You and Dib both blushed. “Why do you have to be rude Gaz? I invited her over to meet Blu.”

Gaz glanced over to see the snarlcat rubbing it’s face into your shin while you were sitting, causing a look of shock to grow on her face.

“Are you like a fairy princess or something? I’ve never seen that crazy cat do that with anyone else but Dib.”

You laughed nervously. “Um I guess she just thinks I’m a safe person to be around?”

“…….whatever, I’m going upstairs. Just a heads up Dib, Dad might be home for dinner today,” Gaz said as she drank more of her soda and headed for her room.

Dib’s expression soured.

“Sorry about her. She’s rude with everyone except Dad,” Dib said slightly irritated. “If you want maybe we could go for a walk or check out a store or something. Anything to be away from here.”

“Ok,” you replied back quickly. You didn’t want to be rude, but you felt like you were intruding at Dib’s house after meeting his sister.

Dib gathered your dishes and took them to the sink. He called up to Gaz that the two of you were leaving as you both headed out the door. The air was colder than before, and you unconsciously shivered at the way the wind was biting your face.

Dib felt guilty making you walk with him in the cold. He thought if he had a car, he could have taken you places more comfortably. He vaguely remembered his dad promising to buy him one when he turned eighteen. However, when his birthday came and went with zero acknowledgement, he just chalked it up to typical family neglect. Well, not entirely true. Gaz did get him an oversized cupcake with a bat on it and a gift card to an electronic store he liked. She claimed she asked for a moth and not a bat, but the stupid clerk who took the order messed it up.

Remembering the cupcake debacle also reminded Dib of your own birthday mishap with the cake mix earlier.

“So uh,” he began clumsily. “Refresh my memory, what plans did you have for your birthday?”

You shrunk a little. “The usual. I make boxed cake and watch tv by myself”

“What really? You aren’t going to have a party? I thought you were turning eighteen,” he responded shocked.

“I am,” you responded. “But my parents haven’t responded to any of my messages, and honestly they haven’t visited me in years. I doubt they would come even if there was a party.”

Dib frowned at that. He wanted to say that your parents were jerks, but his dad basically was the same way in some regards. There was no party or fanfare at his own 18^th birthday, and despite Gaz’s best effort he felt really unloved and unwanted. It wasn’t fair, why shouldn’t they get a nice cake and party like the other teens in their class? Outcast weirdos deserve to feel special too don’t they?

“Well maybe we could do something….you know to celebrate,” Dib offered awkwardly.

You looked up at Dib a little surprised, not aware of the soft hopeful look in your eyes. “Really?”

It took all of Dib’s willpower not to melt like a popsicle on hot sidewalk after seeing the sweet look on your face. How can anyone be that adorable? He was going to move mountains for those puppy dog eyes come hell or highwater.

“Y-yeah, I mean it’s a holiday so we can get decorations, some cake and maybe watch some movies or something… You know …. like other birthday parties that I’ve totally been to.”

“Can we watch stop motion Christmas specials?” you asked in awe.

“Uh sure… never watched those before, Sounds like fun”

Your face went from awestruck to utter shock. ”Wait, you’ve never seen the classic stop motion Christmas specials before?”

Dib rubbed the back of his head slightly embarrassed. “No… and I haven’t seen a lot of the hand drawn or live action ones either….wasn’t really allowed to.”

“Not allowed to? But why?”

“My Dad…. He…has a thing about Christmas. We still celebrate it.. but he kind of loses his mind over it too, and not in the regular way most people get upset at Christmas,” Dib explained slightly irritated.

You looked at Dib worriedly. “Did something really bad happen at Christmas?”

“It’s what didn’t happen.” There was a long drawn out groan as Dib slid his hand over his hair. “My Dad has a personal vendetta against Santa Clause.”

Chapter Text

To say Zim was frustrated with the planet was an understatement. How could an Irken elite such as himself have come so low as to be degraded to what was basically a glorified babysitter? Stupid Dib and his stupid stupid giant head, forcing him to put his plans of domination on hold. It had been five grueling Earth years, and only now had there been the slightest of progress. That sparkly human girl had to be the reason the barrier containing Dib’s brain power had mended. All he had to do was get close enough to her to investigate what she had done.

He would have had her in his lab scanning her mind already if it hadn’t been for that infernal snarlbeast! The moment he arrived at the earth female’s home that thing was waiting for him on the front stoop. When he tried to go in through a window on the first floor it had the nerve to bat him away and run inside, slamming he window on his superior fingers. After trying the second-floor window where she was asleep, to his horror the beast was perched on the human giving him the smuggest look he’d ever seen on any creature. Clearly it was shielding her from him, but for what reason Zim couldn’t fathom.

As his plot had failed that evening, he decided to send Gir out for surveillance. A decision he was starting to regret as the moronic bot had yet to return. His organic brain was buzzing in his skull, with irritation and fury.

“Infernal snarlbeast. useless Gir. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid Dib!” Zim screamed as he banged his keyboard with each word.

“You’re going to break that if you keep hitting it like that,” the computer drawled on.

“SILENCE!” screamed Zim as he gave the keyboard a great might whack to emphasize his point.

“Jeez, moody.”

“JeEZ MoODy. Maybe if you actually provided useful information, I wouldn’t NEED to vent my frustrations on my equipment,” the small alien mocked back.

“…..rude,” quipped the computer.

“Were you able to find anything about that sparkly crush female yet? The only things I know about her is home address and that she cries in the skool bathroom when she thinks she’s alone.”

“You follow her into the bathroom? That’s creepy even for you Zim,” berated the mechanical voice.

“I go in the wrong door one time!”

“INCOMMING CALL FROM THE HOUSE PHONE!”

Zim grabbed at his antenna from the sudden loud volume.

“Yeah, yelling really loud suddenly doesn’t feel great does it?” the computer scolded.

“Why must all of my minions torment Zim so?” whined Zim rubbing his temples at the headache blooming in his skull.

“So…do you want to answer the phone call orrrr…..?”

“Just patch in the call already,” Zim bleated.

The computer put the phone call through as instructed.

“What?” glowered Zim.

“Try again,” a familiar female voice warned.

The alien rolled its eyes dramatically. “Fine, why are you calling me Gaz beast?”

“Better. Still needs work though,” Gaz sniggered. “I’m calling you because that girl was just over at my house with Dib. They walked out like two seconds ago.”

“What? Where is Gir? He should have been following her. That idiot.”

Gaz let out an annoyed sigh, “He wasn’t here at the house when I arrived but I have no idea if he was with them earlier. Were you able to find anything out about her? So far all I was able to find out was her mom’s obituary from way back.”

“Dib’s stupid snarlbeast broke into her home and had the utter audacity to smirk at me while it lounged on the female crush beast as she slept. I don’t know why that thing cares for the Dib beast, or why it was guarding that girl. But mark my words..” Zim declared lowly.  “I’m going to skin that snarlcat, feast on all ten thousand of its eyeballs, and use its claws as a backscratcher!”

There was a long pause on the phone. “You have a headache don’t you.” Gaz stated accusingly.

“No,” Zim piped up furiously rubbing the pain in his skull. “Pfft what? What gave you that idea? Zim feels no pain.”

“He’s been massaging his head for like ten minutes now,” tattled the computer.

“SILENCE!! Silence you traitor!” screeched Zim as he banged against his keyboard yet again.

“Zim please,” the girl retorted. “You’re only this much of a sourpuss when you’re getting one of your migraines.” Gaz teased.

“MY PUSS IS NOT SOUR!! LIES!!”

An eruption of cackling could be heard on the phone. It was a sound that startled Zim as he had never heard that sort of mirth erupt from the dark girl.

“Oh my gawddd haha!” she weezed in laughter. “ I can’t breaheeth!!” The more time that passed the more she laughed. Zim kept waiting for her to finish her sentence but the girl could not stop giggling to get the words out. “I..I have to call you back….Oh god I’m crying!!”

The call ended abruptly and Zim stood there in stunned silence. “I will never understand humans and their earth humor. Computer get me a cold pack and dim the lights. I have to sit for a moment until this pain subsides”

“Your headaches are starting to become more frequent sir,” the computer said as it lowered a gel cold pack to Zim from the ceiling. “Do you require maintenance on your pack see if it can repair the issue?”

“No,” Zim stated as he placed the cold pack on his head. “I’ve tried fixing this issue and each time it becomes worse. Until the Dib problem is under control, Zim will just have to endure. I’m sure this pain will go away once I’m victorious in correcting the rift and making Dib normal.. well normal-er, again.”

Zim leaned back in his chair trying to rid the pain pulsing in his brain. He knew something was wrong but had no way of finding exactly what. Irken brains were technically in their paks, but even with the advanced healing properties paks provided, the organic brain still had problems. It worried the alien that maybe there was nothing he could do about this strange wave of pain that would appear sporadically. Was it the planet that was causing this, or was this from the many…many explosions that he’s endured since Dib’s power awakening?

Power. The one thing Zim longed for more than anything. It had almost been in his grasp. Had he known what Dib really was back when he first arrived, he would have vaporized that large headed boy on site. His cover be damned. Why would a cosmic entity of pure energy choose to be born as a sniveling human worm baby? And a stupid one at that? It made no sense. It still didn’t make sense.

“Just a little longer,” Zim thought out loud. “Heal that stupid rift. Defeat Dib without destroying the galaxy, and then claim my prize. All this agony will have been worth it once I win.” Slowly Zim started to relax and let the humming of his lab lull him into a peaceful state to wait out his migraine. It was nice to not have to focus on anything for a moment.

“MASTER I’M BACK!! AND GUESS WHAT? THE SPARKLY GIRL HAS A BIRTHDAY!!! WE NEED TO MAKE A CAKE!!”

While Gir continued to screech about birthday parties, Zim was considering that maybe letting the earth blow to smithereens would actually be a win for him.

Chapter Text

You hiccuped and wheezed between apologies as you wiped tears from your eyes from the persistent laughter.

“I’m sorry,” you laughed again. “I don’t mean to make fun. That’s just such an unexpected reason for someone like your dad to dislike the holidays.”

Dib shrugged, grinning himself. He knew how ridiculous the “man of science” looked being in a one-sided feud with Santa Clause. But seeing you finding it hilarious took away the shame of explaining it out loud. Anything that brought such a sweet smile to your face was worth its weight in gold.

“Yeah, to be fair asking for radioactive material as a kid would have been an obvious no for anyone,” Dib responded to your now fading giggles.

“Does he have an intense hatred for socks as well or just Santa? “you asked finally regaining your composure.

“Socks only tick him off if there’s like a ton of them around. Only found that out when Gaz and I put off doing laundry far longer than we should have. My dad was so mad he threw the entire sock pile out on the front lawn.”

You looked a little worried after hearing that. Dib noticed and tried to regroup.

“Oh uh, it wasn’t bad or anything. It was actually kind of funny,” he explained quickly. “The best part was Zim saw this and thought it was a normal thing to do since my dad was the one who did the act. He actually bought tons of socks and threw them all over his front lawn. His neighbors called the cops on him for a welfare check because of how weird it looked.”

“The police actually showed up?”

“Yep. Zim was pissed. He somehow managed to get out of it but he was ranting about socks for weeks after that.”

A smile spread even wider on your face as you listened to Dib talk. He was just so fun to listen to. The way his eyes brightened when telling a story, how his grin quirked to one side when he found something funny. All of it drew you in. His enthusiasm when he spoke freely was just so genuine and endearing that you had to listen. It felt so normal and comfortable to be around him. You wanted to listen for as long as possible.

“So where would you like to go?” he asked with an amused grin.

“Well I was thinking the library to rent the Christmas movies,” you replied fidgeting with your thumbs. For some reason you felt shy all of a sudden and you weren’t sure why.

Dib scrunched up his nose at the mention of the word library. He hated how draconian the late fee rules were. And he did not want you to risk losing your retinas.

You giggled a bit at his expression. “Don’t worry not that library. There are way too many dark entities hanging around that place. The first time I tried to go there a demon waved at me from one of the windows. It freaked me out so much I didn’t go down that road for a whole month. There’s a smaller library up this way I go to that functions normally. They even have a small café.”

“Oh.. ok good. I try to do all my research online. That place sucks and I am not about to have my retinas ripped out because I lost a book when I was seven. Lead the way,” Dib gestured for you to lead.

As the two of you made your way to the library, you were blissfully unaware of the eyes that were intently watching. A fancy sports car was parked in front of a convenience store down the street with a perfect view of the road up to the library. The driver, Chet Logan, was the most popular jock at skool. He was the embodiment of the stereotypical high school football player bully, and he relished in that. Since moving to town five years ago, he made sure that everyone knew he was the star of the skool. Anyone who didn’t acknowledge his greatness was made to pay in one way or another.

Girls wanted him, guys wanted him while also wanting to be him, and almost everyone wanted to be in his inner circle. Those deemed unworthy were his to torment for the fun of it. And oh, did he have fun with it. Dib was his favorite punching bag. Watching that insane nerd eye’s blaze with hatred gave him greater satisfaction then placing a winning touchdown. However….. Chet was also very fascinated with the ladies. Especially ladies that provided a challenge.

You were so sweet, so innocent with your colorful clothes, sparkly accessories and your oblivious nature when it came to flirting. He saw how other boys stared at you, and you never seemed to notice. But he did. He also noticed that Dib was very interested in you despite trying to hide it. As if that four eyed freak could pick up a sweet thing like you. And yet there you were, smiling and talking with that psycho alone. Chet’s blood boiled.

He wanted to be the one to claim you, to toy with just like he did with the other girls. The difference here though was those other girls threw themselves at him. While they were fun to play with there was no challenge, no rush from the conquest. Finding a girl that had to be lured in to be enticed and brought down was far more interesting. Dib’s despair over his crush being taken by another would be and added bonus to his plans. Just the thought of watching that tall freak’s body be washed over with hopelessness and pain made Chet’s heart pound in excitement.

“Looks like I have some planning to do,” Chet smirked as he began to drive away. “Enjoy your time with the fairy princess while you can Membrane,” he growled. “I’m going to make sure you get rejected in the worst way possible.”

As the car drove away in the opposite direction both you and Dib felt a cold chill run down your spine.

“I think something bad might have happened,” Dib said suddenly. You looked up at him with a worried expression.

“Did you feel that as well?” you asked quietly as you both entered the library.

He looked behind him for a moment. “Yeah….never had a feeling like that before. But I’m pretty sure it’s not good.”

There was a beat of silence before you both silently agreed to move past the uneasy feeling.

As you entered further into the library a sense of calm replaced any feelings of dread. A few people milling about that were checking out or gathering books for various projects and study sessions. You made your way over to the front counter to ask about the movies while Dib hung back to look around. It was nice here. He could see why you would like it. The quiet space offered a nice break from the outside world and he found himself planning to make a visit of his own in the near future. While he’d never admit it, he was secretly glad that Zim indirectly caused him to get injured so he could be with you like this. Maybe he’d thank Zim for his help in finally talking to you……maybe.

Chapter Text

Professor Membrane had been having another whirlwind day at the lab. Most of the experiments and projects were going smoothly, as usual. However, since he let Dib off for the day there weren’t as many safety checks being performed which had resulted in no less than five explosions before lunch. In the past he would have shrugged off such mishaps “for the pursuit of science,” and kept moving forward. But after having his son work in the lab, and reducing the problems of the past, he was realizing that maybe his team wasn’t as efficient as he had once believed.

“As long as this break helps Dib recover from his emotional distress, five explosions should not be an issue,” the professor thought aloud as he opened a packet of tea. Off in the distance there was another loud bang followed by screams. He paused and sighed deeply. “Six explosions.”

“Professor, we have a response from Takai Industries regarding the strange pulses you’ve been looking into,” came the voice of the professor’s assistant over the commlink.

“Thank you for notifying me Simmons. And what did they have to say?”

Simmons cleared his throat. “Well sir, Dr. Ningen wishes to come to the lab immediately. She stated that the pulses we have been recording, could be volatile and have the potential to greatly endanger the planet”

“I see,” responded the professor as his tea steeped. “So my theory is correct. These aren’t normal seismic occurrences or geomagnetic storms. This is something entirely new and unexpected.”

“That’s correct sir,” Simmons responded quickly. “The doctor asked if we were able to pin point what the location these pulses were radiating from. Are we able to provide an answer?”

Membrane grumbled slightly. “Unfortunately, not Simmons. This issue has been plaguing me for years. The radius of these pulses are so large that it engulfs the entire city. There isn’t a way to find out what region we could narrow down the search to find the epicenter. I was hoping Takai Industries could shed some insight as they have been very successful with locating potential seismic activity prior to an actual earthquake.”

Membrane fiddled with the tag from the tea bag hoping that Dr. Ningen’s theory wasn’t as disastrous as they were stating. There had been enough dangerous and horrible things happening since the incident from Dib’s skool. Everything that was bad about life seemed to stem from that singular moment. His son was blamed for the explosion, institutionalized, and then the strange waves of energy caused the earth to shake at seemingly random intervals. There was no rhyme or reason for anything.

Dib was better in some ways now, but their relationship had never been worse. He acted more like a distant acquaintance than family. The professor couldn’t really blame him though, especially now that the boy truly understood what happened to his mother….. Aggressively he tossed the used tea bag into the trash. Thinking about his deceased wife, even after all these years, was unbearable. It was bad enough that his children had her sharp eyes and her unwavering spirit. And the older Gaz became, the more she resembled her mother’s features. Even the brief moments that he got to spend with his children brought up too many memories that he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on lest he become a puddle of tears.

One day he can grieve, but he needed to stay busy, to stay sharp. The great Professor Membrane couldn’t show any form of weakness as the entire planet was depending on him. He had to make the Earth a better place for his children to grow and thrive in. That’s what she would have wanted. That shooter was never found…..a great failure on his part. He wasn’t going to fail ever again. He had to make everything better, no matter the cost or sacrifice. This was his penance for not being there for Eva.

“Sir, are you still there?” Simmons asked breaking the silence the professor hadn’t been aware of.

“Uh yes Simmons,” he responded while sipping his tea. “Still here.”

“Shall I make arrangements for Dr. Ningen’s visit sir, or did you want to speak with her first?”

“Go ahead and book the flight and lodging for the doctor and her team, I can speak with her as soon as she arrives. Also let’s make special dinner reservations for Turkey Day. I’m sure our Japanese college will be interested to learn about the holiday. She can meet the children as well.”

Scribbling could be heard over the commlink as Simmons wrote down his notes. “Very good sir. How many for the dinner reservations?”

The professor paused a moment. He knew the doctor had been widowed, much like himself, but wasn’t sure if she had been seeing anyone. “Make it for five just in case she has a plus one. I don’t want to accidentally be rude and leave out anyone.”

“Right five for Turkey Day. I’ll get right on this. And sir?”

“Hmm?” mumbled the professor after a long swig of tea.

“Can you let us know ahead of time when Dib will be off so we can save the more complicated procedures on a day that he’s here? The agriculture team is too afraid to run the fertilizer experiment because it could explode.”

“Ah.. yes right. Sorry about that Simmons. The boy needed a break… and I may have been looking at the wrong schedule when I said he didn’t have to come in. But he’ll be back on Monday for sure.”

“Thank you sir. I will contact you again if there are any further issues,” Simmons stated before ending the call.

Membrane proceeded to drink his tea while looking over some paperwork. He had another request from the tech company Mindsweep, for a business partnership. That shady business made his blood boil. They had the nerve to try and sneak in a clause to take ownership of Membrane Labs if certain conditions weren’t met. Even more appalling, the wife of the owner was so clearly trying to move on him so she could get her hands on his estate. Despite how clueless he was with women, even he could see what her obvious intentions were. The whole lot of them made him sick, so he refused to do anything with them. Besides, no one could ever replace Eva. She was his one and only and he was going to keep it that way forever.

He threw down the paperwork with a huff. This weekend had been a bust and he quite honestly was done with everything. Perhaps he should find out if Dib and Gaz wanted to go out to eat for dinner. He set up a quick video call to check in and see if they were home.

Gaz answered rubbing her eyes where her mascara had obviously run. “Hey Dad.”

“Is everything alright? Were you crying?” Membrane belted out in concern.

“Huh? Oh yeah, heard something really funny. Just got over it. I’m fine,” the girl stated trying not to laugh again.

“I see, well laughter is important for mental health. Glad to hear you’re in good spirits. I called to find out if you and your brother wanted to have dinner somewhere.”

The girl made an annoyed face. “Dib’s not here he left with his crush over an hour ago.”

“Ah I see, I’m glad and his little foreign friend are finally getting along.”

Gaz paused. “What are you talking about Dad?”

“His green friend, isn’t that his crush? I mean Dib used to talk about him nonstop I thought that was who he was interested in.”

“Dad,” Gaz got out trying not to burst into laughter again. “Dib has a crush on a girl, not Zim. Did you think Dib was after Zim this whole time?”

Membrane was honestly shocked.” You mean he wasn’t pinning over that boy? I could have sworn that’s why he was so obsessed with him. How odd. All this time I had pride flags for him when he finally felt safe to come out.”

“That’s really sweet of you Dad but Dib wants this sparkly froufrou girl from school. Apparently, they are talking now. But I am definitely going to rub this in his face later,” Gaz laughed.

“Will he be home in time for us to go to dinner?” the professor asked as he tried to remember all the different girls in Dib’s class that his crush could be.

“No idea,” Gaz shrugged. “You can try messaging him but he might not read it.”

“Hmmm, well I’ll do just that. Anywhere you’d like to go?”

“It’s me Dad, do you even need to ask?” Gaz chuckled.

“Normally no, but I think today both Dib and I will need someplace a little quieter to eat. Bloaty’s Pizza Hog would be too noisy for my taste right now. We can go another time.”

Gaz hummed. “Yeah that’s fair. What about Japanese?”

The professor chuckled. “How coincidental, Japanese food does sound good. I’ll message your brother. Could you try calling him as well? He might not read the message if he sees it’s from me.”

“Right. So which Japanese place you want to go to Dad?”

“Basho is nice. It will be quiet enough for us to talk.”

“Ok I’ll call Dib and tell him to meet us there. See you later Dad.”

The Professor waved and then signed off.

Gaz stared at the blank screen for a moment, her eyes traveling as if following movement from a film. She dialed on her phone frowning as rang.

“Did you finally cease your laughter Gaz human?” came Zim’s voice over the phone.

“Do you know anyone from Japan?” she asked curtly.

“Eh? Japan?........You mean that island with the giant city destroying lizard?”

The increasingly irritated girl pinched her nose in frustration. “Sure, why not? Yes, that island. Do you know anyone from there?”

“No, I don’t. Why are you asking?”

“Got one of those feelings again. Someone important is coming from Japan…. I think they know you… not sure though. Just be alert and don’t do anything stupid”

“Ah so this is one of your gutsy feelings… hmm then it must be happening soon. I’ll add it to the log and try to see if we can decipher this one. Any other feelings?” asked the alien as he could be heard furiously typing.

“Yeah….. that girl today. When I met her in person….for a split second I felt like her eyes might glow…like if she had night vision of something.”

In an instant the typing stopped. “Glow you say?”

“Yeah?” Gaz answered confused.

“But did they actually glow?”

“No,” she answered. “It was a strong feeling though. So something is going on with her. Something not normal.”

Zim was quiet. “I will investigate this.”

“Hey remember you promised not to harm her so she better not have her brain removed or whatever. Dib might actually explode.”

“No harm will come to the sparkly one…just know I’m going to be around her a lot more now. I have to see what’s going on.”

“Don’t be a stalker or I’ll sick Blu on you myself,” Gaz nagged.

“I will be a perfectly normal worm baby and get close to her the normal way.”

“And that would be?”

“Becoming best-est best friends!” Zim said in the most sickeningly sweet voice.

The girl scrunched her nose in disgust. “Ew, never talk like that again.”

This time it was Zim’s turn to cackle like mad. “NOOOOOO PROMISES!”  Zim ended the call with enthusiastic laughter.

As soon as the call Gaz dialed Dib’s number. “You’re lucky we’re friends or I would have ripped out your antennas by now you dork.”

Chapter Text

“Ok so we have the movies, what else did you want for the party?” Dib asked with a thoughtful look on his face. “Maybe some decorations? How about a cake? I can try to find a nice bakery that makes good cakes if you want.”

You laughed nervously. It had been a very long time since you had an actual birthday party, and you weren’t exactly sure what you should do now that you’re turning eighteen.

“Well… I mean, it’s only going to be us two. Does that really qualify for decorating? It wouldn’t be much of a party. Not saying that it just being you and me is bad.. it just seems like a lot to decorate and get party food when it’s just two people.”

Dib nodded not taking offense as he understood your reasoning. “Yeah, I get that. Are there other people you want to invite? I can help get invitations to them so more people will show up.”

Your shoulders sagged a little. “No, there’s no one I’d really want to come over. Our classmates never really took an interest into being friends. Honestly, I think you’re the only person I’d really want to hang out with anyway. It’s nice to be around you.”

The sweet smile you gave Dib at the end of your statement made his heart flutter. Not in the entirety of his life had anyone ever said it was nice to be around him. Hell, even the Swollen Eyeball just seemed to tolerate him when he had worked for them in the past.

“You think I’m nice to be around?” the boy said in quiet astonishment.

“Yeah,” you replied enthusiastically. “I love listening to you. You’re really smart and funny.”

A feeling of weightlessness enveloped Dib’s body. It was as if his very essence was ascending to a higher plane of existence. Was this what it was like to be on drugs? He felt so wonderful you enjoyed his presence that he might take off in flight. As he was absorbing the wonderful feeling of acceptance and pure joy, he vaguely could make out that you were speaking to him. Dib couldn’t understand what you were saying, but just the sound of your voice was keeping him calm and solidified in his moment of bliss.

“……ib ….th….s…..oating…” he barely heard.

There was a tinge of distress in your voice that was slightly taking him out of his joyful state. Then all of a sudden, he got the most intense static shock of his life as you tugged at his arm frantically.

You let out a shriek and recoiled back at the shock which was enough to snap Dib out of his haze.

“Wha.. What happened? Are you ok?” Dib called out as he reached for you. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

You shook your head furiously and then pointed towards the street. “The cars, they’re FLOATING?”

Dib looked in the direction you were pointing, to see every single car parked on the street was hovering about five feet in the air. Before he could even blink all the cars fell in a cacophony of crashes. You shrieked again at the loud sounds as both you and Dib covered your ears.

The broken metal settling and random car alarms were only sounds cutting through the tense atmosphere. You could feel a kind of almost electric energy hanging in the air, which explained the shock when you touched Dib.

He was staring at the piles of destroyed cars in horror. No doubt the public would pin this catastrophe on him as people shuffled out of buildings to see what had happened. Dib’s anxiety was starting to build, and he took a step back. You looked at him and could see the terror in his eyes. Slowly the image of his crying mother appeared. You had to find a way to make him feel safe again.

“Hey,” you said quietly tugging at his sleeve again. “Le’s go this way.” Gently you lead Dib down a back alley to another street, and walked for several blocks. He numbly followed you, his eyes darted everywhere waiting for someone to start yelling at him. After several minutes of walking without any shouting or accusing in his direction, Dib slowly started to let out the breath he’d been holding. It was then that the ghost of his mother faded away.

“We should be far enough away from that now,” you said calmly. “Are you ok?”

“Uh…. Yeah… I think so,” the boy replied still shell shocked from what he just witnessed. “What caused all of that? Did gravity reverse itself?”

“I don’t know. They just all started floating. Normally when I see that stuff there’s a spirit or ghost manipulating it, but there wasn’t anything. I’ve never seen something like that before.”

Dib glanced at you, then got a pondering look. “This feels like something Zim would do. He hasn’t tried anything like this for a long time. I knew I shouldn’t have let my guard down! Maybe this was his plan all along, get me to give up so he could swoop in and take over!“ He was seething with anger, and it broke your heart a little.

“It’s ok Dib,” you reassured. “You weren’t tricked. Besides, I’m pretty sure this wasn’t Zim’s doing.”

The tall frowning boy quirked an eyebrow. “Why do you think Zim isn’t involved in this? He’s done stuff like this before.”

“Well, Zim is very arrogant,” you stated. “He loves to announce and brag about everything. One of the classes I share with him is Home Ec. He’s always flaunting his cooking skills even though he never eats. Actually, he does eat the sweet foods, but that’s it.. Last week he made the biggest pizza I’ve ever seen. He kept announcing he was “King of the Zah”. Then he called us all disgusting for eating and enjoying it.”

Dib looked even more confused. But his eyes pleaded for you to continue.

“Uh sorry, I’m rambling. What I mean is, if this was Zim’s fault, he either would have been showing off what he was about to do or gloat about it after the fact. And since he isn’t around bragging about the inferior Earth gravity, I’m pretty sure he didn’t do this.”

The realization hit Dib. You were right. Zim couldn’t resist taking credit for his deeds no matter how trivial they were. “Yeah, that makes sense… thanks I was about to lose it for a second.”

You smiled. “It’s ok. You were worried about people blaming you. I didn’t want you to spiral because you were already in a bad head space.”

Dib chuckled a little. “Wow, you really do care about me.”

“Of course,” you said with a smile. “That’s what friends do.”

“There’s only one problem. If Zim didn’t do this, what did? This could be something dangerous. Maybe I should look into this.”

Before you could respond Dibs phone pinged. He glanced at it and grimaced.

“Is it your dad?”

“Yeah,” Dib grumbled. “Not answering it. He tells me I have a free day, then starts asking for stuff. Typical.”

“Was it something important?” you asked slightly worried.

He huffed. “Probably not. Anyway we should go..”

His phone started ringing. “Damn it what now?”

Dib frowned again as he gazed at his phone, but this time he answered. “Yeah Gaz?

You waited patiently as Dib spoke with his sister. He seemed really irritated and bemoaned having to meet up with his family for dinner. Still, there was that lingering electrical feeling in the air that just kept nagging at you. What was causing it? And why did it destroy all of those cars?

“I’m sorry,” Dib lamented as he hung up the phone. “My Dad and sister are saying I have to meet up with them for dinner. Um ….is…..is it ok if I get your cell number so we can coordinate about the party?”

Embarrassed, you looked down at your feet> “I….I don’t actually have a cell phone.”

“Really?” Dib replied shocked. “I mean… I thought everyone at school had one.”

“My parents said they were going to get me one, but they never followed through. It’s been like that for a while. They won’t even let me get a part time job to save up for one.”

“That’s so stupid,” exclaimed Dib angrily. “Having your own job would solve the problem.”

“Yeah… I know,” you mumbled embarrassed. “I have a monthly allowance for food and other stuff, but it’d be wiped out if I spent it on a phone.”

“That’s….” Dib took in a breath. “Ok do you have a landline number at least?”

You nodded and gave him the number.

“Thanks. Would it be ok with you if I came over just to check in about the party?”

Again, you nodded still trying to shake off your embarrassment. “You can come over anytime.”

That phrase tickled Dib’s brain. Anytime? Anytime at all? He could just show up? You were always alone… no NO. He had to dial it back. You were not something to study, you were his friend. Being creepy was saved for hunting dangerous cyrptids and Zim, not the girl he’s been pinning over.

“Uh sure. Ok,” he replied with his voice cracking. “Um I have to go now. We can figure out the food and other stuff later.”

“Thanks Dib. I really appreciate this. It will be a lot of fun.”

The two of you waved your goodbyes and left in different directions. It was a little bitter sweet for Dib as he wanted to stay in your company longer. Why did his Dad have to insist on dinner?

You made your way home sad that you have to cut your time with Dib short. And even worse, was knowing that something unknown was powerful enough to crash multiple cars without leaving a trace. Everything still felt heavy, making your nerves light up with anxiety.

As you nervously made your way home, you felt like someone was watching you. No matter how often you looked around, there wasn’t anyone there. All you could do as you entered the, house was wonder about all the strange things that had been happening lately. That and wondering when your neighbors decided to get so many lawn gnomes.

Chapter Text

Dib frowned deeply at the restaurant table. Gaz was giving him a side glance while she unwrapped and separated her chopsticks.

“So I get called away from what I was doing, to sit and wait an extended period of time for Dad to maybe show up?” Dib complained crossing his arms.

“Relax, he’s coming,” Gaz replied. A waiter placed a plate of mixed tempura and gyoza on the table then quickly moved away at seeing Dib’s sour expression.

“Just eat something so you’re not a huge jerk when Dad gets here,” Gaz said biting into a sweet potato tempura.

As much as Dib wanted to continue ranting about being upset, his stomach overrode his attention. Quietly he took a gyoza and a shrimp tempura and ate with his hands.

Gaz rolled her eyes. “You’re such a guy, use the chopsticks so you don’t look like a barbarian.”

“Not everything needs to be eaten with chopsticks Gaz,” Dib huffed.

“Sushi is the only exception, and that’s not what you’re eating right now. Besides I’m trying to spare you from getting a lecture from Dad. I don’t want to spend the rest of dinner hearing about ‘proper table manners’ when we can talk about anything else.”

Defiantly Dib grabbed the chopsticks next to his plate and began to pull them out as dramatically as possible before using them to dip his gyoza in sauce.

His sister rolled her eyes at the display and continued to eat as she checked her phone. The siblings ate quietly for a few moments until their father appeared at the entrance and waved at them.

Gaz gave a happy wave back while Dib took a very loud bite of his tempura letting the crunch convey his annoyance.

“Apologies children,” the Professor stated as he sat next to Gaz. “I had to go over the logistics of accommodating a special guest coming to visit the lab.”

“What kind of special guest?” Gaz asked sounding interested. Dib just huffed and added more tempura to his plate and continued to crunch loudly.

The displeased crunches did not go unnoticed by the professor. “Our guest will be a very prolific doctor from Japan. One of her areas of expertise is seismology. Lately there have been some strange occurrences with sudden pulses of energy and we are trying to uncover the source.”

“And you think she’ll be able to find the cause?” Gaz questioned as she gazed over the menu.

“That is the hope,” the Professor responded.

“You’ve never mentioned this before,” Dib spat. “So you interrupted my time for a sudden incident?”

The Professor’s brow furrowed as he let out a sigh. “Son, I’m aware that I have upset you, but please at least be civil at dinner.”

Dib rolled his eyes and looked over the menu.

“Anyway,” the Professor continued. “In addition to having Dr. Ningen and her team visiting, we will be having dinner with them on Turkey Day. Reservations have been made, so I ask the two of you to be on your best behavior.

At that realization Dib put his menu down. “I have plans that day so I won’t be coming.”

This time it was the Professor’s turn to huff in displeasure. “Turkey Day is a national holiday. Everything will be closed. What plans could you possibly have?”

“Why does it matter to you? You can’t just plan things for other people without asking them first.”

“He’s got you there Dad,” Gaz responded as she gave the food order to the waiter since neither Dib or the Professor were close to picking anything from the menu.

“Well…. generally the holiday is spent with family….,” began the Professor.

“You’re never around for any holidays,” Dib spat. “If we’re going off ‘family expectations’ then it’s expected you won’t be around. So because of that I made plans. Also, my friend’s birthday is on that day so it can’t be helped.”

“You’re green friend..”

“Zim is not my friend, and no it’s not his birthday!” Dib interrupted.

The Professor was growing weary. All he wanted was a nice peaceful meal with his family, but Dib’s attitude was souring his mood. “Dib, I understand you’re upset with me. Much of it is granted, however you cannot behave badly just because you’re upset.”

“You throw temper tantrums on live TV when people don’t answer questions fast enough. If you’re going to criticize me don’t be a hypocrite about it.”

The Professor was getting even more annoyed. “Dib, I was planning on getting you a car when you turn 18 next year, but with this attitude I may have to rethink that decision.”

Gaz’s eye flew wide open and she stared down her father with utter disbelief. Dib had an equally shocked expression as the menu fell from his now shaking hands.

“What did you say?” Dib asked in a tense voice.

“When you turn 18..” began the Professor.

“I AM 18!” Dib exclaimed as he stood up from the table. “Did….did you really not know that? Is that why you completely ignored my birthday all together?” The hurt in Dib’s voice was heartbreaking to hear, even for Gaz.

Shock rolled through the Professor’s very being. Had he seriously miscalculated how old his son was? Again? Now so much of Dib’s aggression and dismissiveness made more sense. He wasn’t just upset about the situation of his mother’s passing. The hurt and anger was so much deeper than he suspected.

“I….I didn’t realize..”

“The smartest man on Earth didn’t realize that not only did he miss his son’s birthday, but the birthday where his son legally became an adult?” Dib grabbed his backpack. “You have me monitored with a crazy schedule to meet your standards and you can’t even keep track of your own?”

The Professor began to shrink into himself as he was frozen in doubt.

“You never forget Gaz’s birthday…….but whatever enjoy your dinner I’m leaving.”

Before Gaz could get in a word, Dib was out the door. She glanced at her dad still frozen in shock and shame.

“Dad, did you really not know Dib was 18? Please tell me you just misspoke or you got my birthday mixed up with his.”

“Excuse me for a moment,” the Professor said slowly as he stood up. He made his way outside the restaurant over to the side parking lot. He called over his commlink waiting as it rang.

“Hello sir, what can I help you with?”

There was a long pause. “Sir? Is everything….?”

“SIMMONS!! I DID IT AGAIN!”

Meanwhile you were walking down the street from an Indian restaurant, carrying your second attempt at dinner back home. Your swollen eyes from your prior anxiety ridden tears on full display. Why was cooking so hard? You followed the recipe as it was written, it should have come out fine. The bag containing the curry you purchased felt heavy in your hand. It mirrored the heavy guilt you felt in your heart. All these years on your own and you still couldn’t take care of yourself properly.

You sniffled again, trying to hold back a new wave of tears. God you were such a crybaby. Why would anyone want to hang out with you when everything caused you to openly weep at the drop of a hat? Or rather a burnt casserole. You couldn’t decide if it was you or the appliances that were bad. Regardless, it meant anything you cooked resulted in inedible meals meant for the trash. You barely managed to make your own birthday cake without it looking like mush. The only saving grace out of this is that the owners of the restaurant knew you and tried to cheer you up when you made your order.

As you made your way down the street internally punishing yourself, a sudden chill went down your spine. Some spirit was watching you. And it wasn’t the benign kind. It was a terrifying feeling. Not only would you have to wait to eat your food, you wouldn’t be able to go home. Discretely you glanced behind you as if you were looking to cross the street. There it was, a woman in a red dress with black dead eyes.

She had a grin that was far too large for her face outlined in what you hoped was bright red lipstick. No one else was on the street besides you and her, but she moved closer to you. Quickly, you crossed the street and walked in the opposite direction of home. The strange woman followed you letting out an unsettling giggle.

“Excuse me,” said the woman in sing song voice. “Would you help me? I’m afraid I don’t know how to get back to my hotel.”

Abruptly, another person was walking past you on the opposite side of the side walk. They excused themselves as they moved along but didn’t acknowledge the woman behind you. So she wasn’t visible to most people. Great, how were supposed to shake this ghost?

“I know you can hear me,” proclaimed the woman in a threatening tone. “Why don’t you help me find my way to my hotel? Do you think I’m a bad person? Are you that judgmental?”

You visibly shivered and remarked how cold it was and picked up the pace. The clicking of high heels behind you also started moving faster.

“Hey little girl I’m talking to you,” the woman stated angrily. “You think you can ignore me just because I’m not virgin like you?”

Pondering why such a phrase would be an insult, you moved even faster towards a more urban area of town. More people meant more chances to lose the threat so you could go home and eat in peace.

“Come on don’t you want to be a good neighbor and help me? What would your parents think of you if they knew were this rude?”

Honestly, your parents wouldn’t have cared either way. Still, you didn’t flinch. You’ve played this game before. As long as you didn’t openly show that you knew the spirit was there, they’d eventually give up and leave you alone or target someone else.

Before you had a chance to move more quickly a person rounded the corner and almost collided with you.

For a moment you thought you were going to get yelled at when you saw the person was Dib. His distraught expression faded once he recognized you.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”

“There you are,” you stammered in a strained voice. “I was just coming to get you.”

Dib quirked an eyebrow confused until he glanced up.

“Young man, could you please help me?” the lady in red said seductively. “This girl is being so rude to me and refuses to help. But I think someone as handsome and intelligent as yourself could do a much better job.”

Dib’s arm felt your tight clutching at his sleeve. The fear in your eyes told him everything he needed to know. He could see that the woman was not normal. It also troubled him a little that he was able to see her. It must have been a very powerful entity if that was the case.

“Sorry, I made you wait,” he responded to you playing along. “I see you got the food. Everyone is waiting on us we need to hurry.”

The both of you took off running towards town. A guttural wail of frustration rattled behind you as the clicking of heals took off in a full sprint. Suddenly you were hoisted into Dib’s arms princess style and he bolted, running faster than you have ever run in your life.

“COME BACK HERE! YOU LITTLE SHITS AREN’T GOING TO LET ME GO HUNGRY!!”

You buried your face into Dib’s chest fearing the worst as the world spiraled for a minute or two. Your eyes were tightly closed until you heard a door slam behind you followed by an unholy scream.

“We made it,” Dib said out of breath. “Damn that thing was fast. How the hell was she so fast in those heels?”

As much as you wanted to respond the floodgates opened and you started crying all over again.

“Whoa.. uh it’s ok. She didn’t get us.” Dib awkwardly comforted.

“I… was.. so scared,” you cried into Dib’s chest. “Thank god you were able to outrun her.”

Dib’s whole face and chest became warm. This was probably the first time he’d ever been thanked for helping someone escape the paranormal. Except maybe for Chewie Rodriguez, but he didn’t count. Chewie was just an idiot who couldn’t get out of a chicken costume.

Gently he wrapped his arms around you in a hug trying his best to soothe you despite not knowing how to do so. After a few moments your sniffles stopped and you pulled away.

“Sorry,” you said wiping your eyes.

“Not your fault. Let’s get you home,” he said pulling you up to your feet. It was at that moment you realized you had been sitting in the entryway of a church.

“Is it safe to go outside?” you asked clutching your thankfully unharmed dinner.

Dib cautiously opened the door and looked around. Not a hint of red could be seen anywhere. You glanced outside yourself. The air was chilly, but the heavy feeling of danger and evil spirits was gone.

“Do you see her still?” Dib asked.

You shook your head. “She’s gone, I’m curious to know what she was, but glad I didn’t get to find out.”

Dib nodded. “Same here.”

At that moment, your and Dib’s stomachs let out a loud grumble. Both of you turned scarlet red from the embarrassment.

“I…I haven’t eaten yet,” you stated as you lifted your bag of food for emphasis.

“Yeah… I left my dinner back at the restaurant…..”

“Do…do you want to come over and have curry with me?” you asked shyly.

Dib looked a little flustered. “I don’t want to put you out.”

“You won’t be,” you replied quickly. “I got the large order and Miss Sita gave me some extra naan since she saw I was upset.”

“Upset? What happened?”

You looked at the ground in shame. “I’m not good at cooking. I tried to make a casserole and it burned really bad.

“Oh,” Dib responded. “Well, if you’re ok with sharing I’ll have dinner with you.

You smiled and nodded as the two of you made your way back home. It was hard to believe that it had only been a day since the two of you started talking, and so much had happened.

It made you so happy that someone was willing to rescue you from evil spirits. And that warmed your spirit more than any curry ever could.