A/n: So I'm sitting here, sick and bored and drugged up on too much Nyquil and decided that I should let my hands type for a bit and see what happens. I just thought it might be fun to put myself in each character's head for a little to see how much I like it there. This will be four chapters long, and I may get all four done tonight and put up, but I doubt it. No, I'm not ignoring YOLT, which is really what I should be working on, but after finishing up FPL today, I really just needed to give my brain a rest from complex plot. At any rate, I'm gonna stop rambling, now. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: Do I look like Jhonen? Thought not.
Goldfish Don't Bounce.
PART ONE: Gaz.
He was talking again, his voice just droning on and on, seemingly completely unaware of the fact that I was not, under any circumstances, listening to a single word he had to say. Nor was I even interested in the subject matter. In fact, his very presence was grating on my nerves and I would have started walking faster had I not known that I would have to deal with his blathering once we got home, anyhow. It was better to put up with it now and have him run out of stamina early than have him ruin my concentration tonight. I was on the last level of Kick Ass Fighting Game VI for my at home consol, and there was no way I was going to let him distract me from my victory. The idiot.
"Did you notice Zim acting funny today, Gaz?" My brother asked. I could feel my annoyance grow as I accidentally hit the wrong button on my GameSlave, causing my midget piggy killer to become damaged. Why did Dib still have to walk with me home every day? He was 17 for Christ's sake, why couldn't he just drive like a normal person? Oh yeah, cos that would require some level of normalcy. I forgot.
"I bet he's up to something," he continued, oblivious to the fact that he was really only speaking to himself, "I should go over there tonight and spy on him. See what he's planning."
"You do that." I mumbled in response. Honestly, what the hell was Dib's boner over Zim, anyhow? Yeah, sure, so the guy was an alien. Big deal. There's no way that stupid little green moron was going to ever take over the earth. It just wasn't going to happen. The world was completely safe, but my brother just couldn't realize that. How did he think he was supposed to be some great paranormal investigator, seeking out and exposing the unexplainable, when he couldn't see five feet beyond his own personal delusional bubble?
And you know, Dib was still annoying before Zim arrived—he had been attached to my hip ever since Mom's car accident—but at least then the subject matter varied. While he was still obsessed with that paranormal junk, some of his ramblings on Big Feet or ghosts were kind of interesting. But for the past 5 years it was just Zim this and Zim that. I was so tired of hearing that stupid kid's name come from my stupid brother's stupid mouth. And he wondered why he didn't have any friends. Sheesh.
"—Zim's base. Hey, you should come with me!" Dib brought my focus back to him once again and I stopped dead on the sidewalk. He had to be kidding me.
"You have to be kidding me."
He stopped as well, turning to face me, a moronic grin on his face, "It makes perfect sense, Gaz! You could be my decoy, my distraction! C'mon!"
There was no way. "No." I stated, starting to walk again. He paused for a few seconds, taking in my rejection before hurrying to catch back up with me.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" He asked.
Honestly, sometimes that boy could be so dense. "What do you think I mean by 'no'? I mean I'm not doing it."
"Oh, c'mon, Gaz, with your help, I have the perfect plan! The gnomes never bother you, Gir is crazy about you—you're the perfect distraction."
"Gir is crazy in general, and no." I tried to block out his whining by raising the volume on my GameSlave. He didn't get the hint.
"Please, Gaz, I need you." He was really starting to get pitiful, now. I felt a familiar wave of anger and annoyance.
"What you need is to shut up before I kick your ass for not knowing when to give up. No." I growled.
"What else did you have planned tonight? It couldn't hurt you to help me this one time."
"If you must know, I have a date with the last level of Kick Ass Fighting Game VI. Victory has eluded me long enough and tonight I am going to finally beat it. No. If you ask again I am going to break your nose."
"You can beat that game, anytime! This has to happen tonight! Tomorrow it may be too late!"
I raised my eyes from my game to glare at him. He flinched back instinctively, assuming I was going to make good on my threat to break his nose. Again. Ok, so the first time was an accident—I didn't know he was walking towards the door when I opened it that one day, effectively bashing his face in, but still. The fact that I stuck fear into the heart of my older and much stronger brother made some dark, angry part of me smile.
"Ok, wait, lemme think…" I paused for dramatic effect, watching as his eyes lit up in hope, and then continued, "No."
The light faded, but still he was relentless. "The fate of the world may be at stake!"
We finally had reached our house. Thank god. His pathetic pleas were becoming too much, the anger within me growing to a point where I didn't know if I could control it anymore. As I turned the key in the lock, I decided that I didn't feel like controlling it at that moment, and I spun around to face my brother.
"No, the fate of the world is not at stake, Dib." I hissed, the dark part of me grinning madly in my brain, "Even if Zim weren't a complete failure at Invading or whatever the hell he is supposed to be doing here, your pathetic little plans couldn't stop an invasion of ants, nevertheless some 'advanced' alien race. You are a moron and you're annoying the hell out of me, so for the last time, no."
I saw the hurt in his eyes as my words hit him, his entire body seeming to deflate under their hateful tone, and that dark part started laughing. Without another word I turned and walked into the house, shutting and locking the door behind me, leaving my brother alone on the stoop. After a moment's thought I realized that I had the keys to the house and I had just locked him out. A small, mostly unused part of me whispered that I should at least unlock the deadbolt so that he could come inside, but the darkness overruled it, scoffing. Fuck it, he can find his own way back into the house.
I decided to make a sandwich instead.
--
A/n: Well, that was completely different than what I was originally thinking. I kinda wanted to show some kind of deep seated compassion in Gaz, maybe showing why she is the way she is, but in reality…she's just kind of a bitch. At least here she is. For some reason, today my brain just wouldn't garner any sympathy for her. This story is going to just be a collection of moments, and in this moment, Bitch Gaz wins out.
Oh well.
R and R, people, please?
-j