(A/N: Well I'm back again. I know the first chapter was kind of short, but that's how my brain works. Quick bursts lest it travel too far from its original plan and wind up somewhere convoluted and scary. Anyway, I still don't own Invader Zim and I'm not going to hear any nonsense from the anti-ZaDr crowd. My fic, my idea *sticks tongue out*. Again, to Jhonen, I'm sorry.)
Chapter 2—Hope to Forget
Dib stared at himself in the mirror, a blank look of distaste slowly twisting his face. It wasn't pointed at anything in particular, but he knew that he could look better, that he should have a girlfriend. He also knew that he was just wasn't normal enough for something like that to happen. Why couldn't the kids have forgotten that he was a freak as easily as they had forgotten that Zim was an alien the few times he had gotten his point across? Of course, all he could do was hope to forget those days, when the abuse had been more frequent and the only thing keeping him anchored to life was chasing Zim.
He growled, angry perhaps that his thoughts had been dragged back to such a time. He had grown since then, his body long and lean, 6'3'' the last time he measured, taller if you counted his hair. His head finally fit his body, a fact that he was thankful for and Zim tactfully avoided when they would talk about their past and the childhood they had shared. But still, he didn't look happy, his clothes black, still covered by a trench coat, his glasses were still a point of mockery, though he did his best to ignore that fact. No wonder his only friends were Gaz and Zim, he was creepy, and the kids at Hi Skool were all so…similar.
A smile came to his face, he was simply different. They were sad because there would never be a defined personality among them. He was an individual, and he had friends that knew they were just as different from the rest of the pack. Zim, Gaz, and Dib, none of them had much in the way of a normal life. In fact most of his home-cooked meals and 'family' dinners had been served by Zim's robot GIR and were taken in the 'alien's' base. They actually spent a good deal of time over there, though Gaz was likely just using Zim for the incredible video games that he had never really cared for. Dib told himself that he was still going to try to reveal what Zim had been, but he didn't really care.
Dib grabbed his backpack and opened his bedroom door, running smack into Gaz. She stood stock still, silent. Her new game system stolen directly from Zim was nothing more than a pair of glasses. They projected the game into her mind and allowed her to think her strategy, though Dib occasionally caught her twitching her fingers as though they were gripping a controller or portable device. Smiling dimly he spun his sister around; she was shorter than he was 5'7'' but no less threatening. Her eyes had not lost the squint brought on by long years of hand-held gaming but she had allowed her hair to grow out. It fell to her waist and was restrained in a haphazard braid regularly maintained by GIR.
Things had changed, and he was glad for them. He could hope to forget what life had been like before Zim had changed, though he knew that he would always hold on to it. The abuse, the fear and the hate, all of that had shaped him to be what he had become. Though his interest in the paranormal had all but vanished in gaining access to Zim's computer and learning all that he was right about, he was still obsessed with science. He was closer to what his father deemed 'sane' and though he no longer obsessed over earning the man's approval it still felt good to think that maybe one day…there would be something of fatherly love behind the statement 'my son'.
With a skill that came from having to repeat the action for years, Dib marched Gaz down the hall and escorted her down the stairs so that she didn't fail. In the morning her brain was not alert enough to process the game and other visual input so she went into a state of trance, and remarkably didn't punch Dib for his assistance. They both grabbed a microwave breakfast, eating from the portable sleeve as they left the house; they always walked to meet Zim before school started. Dib sort of liked the way his life had gone. It was an improvement.
(A/N: I know, not that interesting. But now the establishing chapters are done. I don't have to keep telling you what has happened to everyone in the last 8 years because these 3 are the only important ones. Not sure when the next chapter will be done but I promise to make it longer. Reviews are love.)