Chance Encounters (of the Horrible Kind)
Disclaimer: Both Invader Zim and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac were created by the man with the ill-proned belly, himself, Jhonen Vasquez; JtHM being the awesomely grotesque comic book of the late 90s, and IZ being the awesome but tragically short lived cartoon of the mid 00s. I do not own either of these fine works nor do I have proof of ownership, but I do own this shitty fanfic that you are about to consume with your eyes (and I own the alligator's name). I hope this digests well in your rotten little brain. If not, then I just gave you some form of heartburn, except it's for your brain. Please enjoy!
On an alarmingly pleasant day, at a not-so pleasant Kollege in the center of the horrible city, midday classes were done and the students were released to live their horrible lives. They would laugh with their own friends, cram into their individual cars and speed away, hang out in front of the Kollege premises and talk about if they wanted to grab a beer or something, or whatever it is that socialists do. To lead their own individual lives like a normal sheep would do.
Except for one guy
He stood outside the Kollege campus, underneath a large and shady oak tree, staring at a stack of papers that he held within his hand. Tired, with the look of a 'I just got the assignment of epic proportions' frown plastered upon his long face. He stood there BECAUSE he was just given an assignment of epic proportions. Oh, and he didn't have a car, so that meant no speeding home for him. He glanced over at a pair of female students who were giggling amongst each other as they walked past him, deliberately pushing into him as they gossiped back and forth. He combed his fingers through his short, somewhat unkempt raven-black hair as he heaved a sigh of frustration.
Such was the luck of Kollege student Dwicky.
At this point in his life, he barely had any money to his name, he was trying his hardest to keep his not-so-great-paying-part-time job, he lived in a piece of crap rented apartment, he barely had any friends, and he suspected that his girlfriend of two years was cheating on him.
At this point in his life, things weren't going the way that he had planned it to.
And now this. He looked at the stack of papers again and drew out a long, antagonizing groan of protest. But moaning and groaning wouldn't get his assignment done any faster, so he made himself smile a little.
'It won't be THAT bad,' he thought to himself, 'if I get started on it immediately, I'll have time to myself for the weekend. Yeah. And plus, I'm making it harder than it's supposed to be. Negative mentality is your enemy, Dwicky! C'mon, buck up and think only about the positive!' He smiled. 'Thatta boy. You can do this.'
"Hey, Dwicky!"
A voice he recognized. He lifted his gaze off of the papers and looked behind him at the portly little man that strolled over towards him. The closest thing he had to a 'best friend'; and for some odd reason, he didn't know this guy's name. So, he just the guy by his most outstanding features.
"Hey, Tinyarms!" He happily waved at his friend.
A gap-toothed grin spread across Tinyarms' face as he shuffled towards the much-more-taller man. "I heard ya got some huge homework from the professor, Dwicky. A week's worth, at that."
"Oh," he remembered. "Y-yeah, I do." He ran a hand through his hair again as he chuckled. "It really isn't alot to be concerned about; just a little note-taking, that's all."
Tinyarms noticed the stack that Dwicky had failed to conceal behind his back and turned his grin into a smirk. "Uh huh. The 'little' note-taking, that you refer to-"
"Yeah yeah yeah. I got it." Dwicky cut him short. "But it's not the width that counts. It's the content."
"And that looks like alot of content."
Dwicky smiled as he shrugged. "It's the price to pay for wanting to become an assistant counselor, I guess."
"Mm-hmm," Tinyarms knodded in agreement. "So, whatcha gotta do?"
"Fieldwork," a simple reply. "I have to study and take notes on the thought process on the troubled youth of the city. Take note, and see if counseling is the reasonable course of action to take to helping said youth." He walked away from the tree.
Tinyarms followed. "That sounds more like Psychiatry than counseling."
"Yeah, that's what I said to the Professor. But he told me that it's a step to solving problems of the youth today that helps shape the future leaders of tomorrow."
"That's certainly some deep wisdom."
"Indeed it is. So, what assignment did the professor give you?"
"I have to do an internship at the local elementary skool."
Dwicky laughed. "That sounds boring!"
"Say what?" Tinyarms rhetorted with a chuckle. "As if yours is any better."
"True, but this assignment gives me the chance to actually socialize with the cityfolk for a change. You, on the other hand, are gonna be stuck with children all day long."
"Touche, you haughty bastard!" Tinyarms replied with a laugh.
Their stroll lead them towards the sidewalk as they continued to chat amongst each other. At the corner of the sidewalk was a bus stop, which was where they ended their walk.
"Anyways," Tinyarms continued, "if that lil assignment isn't eating away at your social life sometime soon, do you wanna go out for a drink or two?"
"Well, not right now," Dwicky replied. "I have this to worry about right now," referring to the stack of papers in his hand. "How about a week from now, after my report's due?"
"That sounds fine to me!"
Moments later, a bus pulled up in front of the two of them and opened its doors. Tinyarms stepped onto the bus and glanced behind him at Dwicky, who remained on the sidewalk.
"Aren't you gonna get on?"
Dwicky put a hand up to decline, then put it back down. "Nah. I'm gonna get started on my fieldwork. The sooner I get it done, the better."
"You serious? It's the weekend!"
"I know. Which is why I'm starting right now. To have time for a few days before the next weekend."
"G-GAAAH!!!!!!" Tinyarms threw his tiny arms into the air as he screamed. "WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND YOUR... YOUR... HARDWORKING DEMEANOR?!!!!"
Dwicky shrugged with a grin. "It's a curse, I tell you."
Tinyarms threw himself to the floor dramatically as he grabbed his head in visible agony. The doors of the bus then closed as Tinyarms continued to throw a fit and it sped away, leaving Dwicky all by himself on the sidewalk. He inhaled deeply through his nose as he stretched outwards and he exhaled loudly through his mouth. He then returned to his normal posture and began walking down the sidewalk.
"Okay!" He exclaimed, expressing his cheerful disposition. "Time for some serious notes! Now, where to begin..."
Suddenly, his phone rang. So, wasting no time at all, he he placed the stack of papers in his hand into his shoulder bag, then reached into a front pocket and took out his cellphone. He glanced at the caller ID before pressing the button to talk. The name on the ID was 'April'; his girlfriend.
"Hello?" he instinctively addressed his caller.
"Hey Dwicky, it's me. I'm sorry to call you while you're busy, but this is kinda urgent and I couldn't wait."
"Really? Well what's the-"
"I'm breaking up with you."
His breath caught in his throat for a slight moment and he stopped in his tracks. "....W-what?"
"You heard me. I think that we should start seeing other people."
"But you just told me that you're-"
She interrupted as she continued. "I mean, we've been going through some tough times lately and we seem to be drifting apart, y'know?"
"...No," he replied, "actually, I don't."
"Well that's how I feel. But I-" she suddenly cut her sentence short and scoffed loudly away from the phone. "Watch where you're going, you scrawny little shit! Jesus! Of all the people to bump into on the damn street, why do I get the backwoods freaks and crackpots shruggin' me?! Yeah, I'm talkin 'bout you, asshole!!!"
"April?" Dwicky spoke up after her session died down. "April, what was that?"
"For the love of- oh. Oh, you still there, Dwicky?"
He sneered. "Uh, yeah?" He asked again. "What was that?"
"Oh, that? It was nothing. Just some boney freak bumped into me on the side walk. So, what were we talking about?"
"You breaking up with me."
"Oh yeah. So, don't worry about moving my stuff out of your place. I already swung by and got my things."
"Mm-hmm..." he answered, starting to become bored of the conversation.
"Look, don't take this so hard, okay? You'll get by without me. And that's a promise."
"I already do," he thought to himself.
"So, yeah, it's kinda hard for people to 'stay friends' once they've broken up, so I'll probably never talk to you again after we hang up. So while I'm on the subject, I've been seeing someone else behind your back for the past few months. Kisses!"
And then she hung up. Once she hung up, Dwicky stared at his phone for a few seconds before pressing the off button and returning the phone back into his pant pocket. He frowned a little and sighed.
"So much for urgency. But did that just really happen?" He asked aloud. "Yeah, it did." He shrugged and continued walking. "Oh well. It really wasn't working out between us. Maybe this day won't get any worse, I guess."
As if it were expected, right after he said that, he felt an ominous presence creep up behind him. Then there was a loud 'click' and the barrel of a glock pressed harshly against the back of his head. He knew of this situation, but was never subject to it; robbery.
"Gimme your money," the gruff voice of the gunman demanded, the gun pressing harder against Dwicky's head. "Or I swear that you'll die. Right here and now."
Fear quickly took over all of his thought processing and he began to shake uncontrollably. His hands quivered as they floated above his head; signifying surrender. His breathing became an unecessary laboring choke.
"M-m-m-m-my wallet.... it's i-in my w-w-wallet.... the b-back pocket..."
Even though his speech was exceedingly hesitant, the thief understood what Dwicky had told him. Without a moment of pause, he shoved his free hand directly into the correct pocket that held Dwicky's wallet. He pulled it out and looked inside. The wallet held more than three hundred consecutive dollars, along with an ID card and a credit card. Being satisfied, the man shoved the wallet into his coat pocket and quickly took off in the direction he came from, leaving Dwicky alone and shaken up.
His legs gave out and his knees hit the pavement.
"He... he took all my money..." he said aloud, reaching down and grabbing his chest. "A-at least he didn't kill me. Yeah. Heh. That's always a good thing." He nervously chuckled. "Yeah... I'll just go to the police and report the theft."
He had to force himself to stand up. He grabbed onto a lightpost, which conveniently stood next to him and hoisted himself onto his feet. He was still shaky and his legs wobbled vigorously, but he began striding at a fast pace.
"I just hope that this day won't become any more worse than what-"
His second tempt of fate costed him the strap of his shoulderbag, which snapped at its base and fell to the ground. He stopped walking and looked down at the bag that laid at his feet.
"...Not a problem!" He bent down and picked it back up "I needed to buy a new bag, anyways." He continued walking at the pace that he started with. "Right after I get my money back."
The stress that rode on his shoulders was immense and his mind was too cluttered to focus on anything but his dilemmas. With too much stress on his mind, he failed to notice that he had bumped into someone that walked past him, and that the person apologized to him. Even still, he continued to think.
"I'll just get field report done, then I'll go to the police station and report the theft, then I'll go home and go to sleep. Yeah. Shouldn't be much of a problem, I guess."
He stopped at an intersection with oncoming traffic zooming past him and the people that stood around him. He, like those that surrounded him, waited for the crossing light ahead of him to change so that he could walk. But, the anticipation of the light staying on red was too much for him and he ran a hand roughly through his hair and groaned loudly.
"Oh come on already," he demanded, aggitated. "I just want this day to be over. I wanna go home. I wanna sleep. I really don't want this day to get-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was once again cut off by a car that zoomed out past him. It hit a puddle that was sprawled out directly in front of him. The water hit Dwicky and soaked him from head to toe. The people around him pointed at him while giggling and laughing. The crossing light then gave the signal that it was okay to walk and the people began crossing. Except Dwicky. Dwicky was now frowning from ear to ear.
"..............WORSE." He finally finished his previous rant with that angry statement. He then shuffled down the street, muttering to himself. "Forget the cops. Forget the report. I'll do all that crap tomorrow. I'm just gonna go home. I'm gonna get a shower. I'm gonna go to sleep."
With that, he trudged straight home. No sidestops. No distractions. He was gonna get home even if he had to crawl, dammit!
After a few minutes, he finally stepped onto his doorstep. He was HOME. He was cold, wet, and tired, but he was now home. He withdrew a pair of keys from his front pocket and unlocked the door and opened the door. He turned on a light and stepped into the living room, setting his bag down and flopping onto his couch facedown. The warmth of the fabric pressing against him was reassurance that even though times are bad, comfort can be found in the comfort of his home. His angry aura soon faded and the feel-good, the sweet nothings that he cherished, surrounded his entire body like a blanket. He smiled as he sighed.
"Well, this has been quite an eventful day, to say the least..... maybe this could have been avoided if I had accepted Tiny's offer and just rode the bus." He shrugged. "Oh well." He turned onto his back and covered his eyes with one arm. As tired as he was, it took no time for him to feel drowsy. He yawned. "At least this day is finally over."
"Says you."
The sudden reply meant only one thing to him; someone had broke into his house. As soon as he had jolted upwards, there was an electric shock surging through his body and he locked up. He toppled over and hit the floor, stars fogging his vision. The last thing he saw before completely blacking out was a pair of silver steel-toed boots.
Yay! I got my very first chapter up!!! Sorry that it took so long, though. I kinda got a little sidetrackted. ^-^; But anyhoo, Dwicky has it bad, don't he? It seemed to play right to how I want the story to go! (another yay!) but hopefully, I'll really get back on the ball on writing my fic and try to finish it before the year is up. Please hang on until then. The next chapter is where things get more interesting!