Nearly a week went by, and no one seemed to notice Dib's absence. No one at school took it to any interest, except a few people who had a huge party.
Gaz spent nearly all of her time at Zim's house, talking about how they would take over the world or the stupidity of the human race. They grew to enjoy each other's company.
Professor Membrane, who was barely home anyway, never noticed that Dib wasn't there. He simply thought that Dib was upstairs or at a friend's place. He never noticed that he hadn't seen his only son in a week.
Dib, however, realized moments too late that he had nowhere to stay. His money was no good and his dad hadn't even been born yet. It wasn't until Hannah's mother had told him that he better goes home now. Then he realized. "I...don't...nowhere...can't...I have no home." He said. Hannah's mother looked at him in disbelief. A thousand apologies came out of her eyes. "Well, you better stay here then." She had said solemnly. And maybe, just maybe, for a second or so, he saw a smile come across Hannah's mouth, but it looked like it was meant to be hidden.
He spent the night there, but not in Hannah's room. Under her mother's watching eyes, he wouldn't be caught dead in that room. Dib slept in the spare room, it had no bed, but there was a small worn-out sofa.
"We've had this sofa for almost twenty years, it's not exactly 'in style' but it'll be the best good night's sleep you'll ever have." Hannah's mom had explained.
***
Gaz looked at her cards and thought carefully. She hit the floor with her fist.
"You knocked?!" Zim exclaimed in annoyance. He picked up another card. A seven of hearts. He put down his five of hearts on the pile.
Gir grabbed a card and then immediately put it in the pile.
Gaz laid her cards; a queen of clubs, a jack of clubs and a nine of clubs. "29" She said proudly.
Zim laid down his cards; an Ace of hearts, jack of hearts and seven of hearts. "28" He said.
Gir put down his two of spades, two of diamonds and two of clubs. "I WIN!"
"Gir! The object of 31 is to get the highest amount of points!" Zim told him.
"Oh yeah." Gir reached for another nickel to put in the center.
"You were on your honor, now go play with your pig." Zim ordered.
Gir ran downstairs with his pig.
"NOT NEAR MY EQUIPMENT!!" Zim shouted.
Gaz chuckled.
"What?" Zim asked.
"I was just wondering, are alien's 'equipment' like human's, 'equipment'?" She giggled.
"Of course not, ours is much better." Zim said.
Gaz laughed. "Okay then."
"Your humor is very crude."
Gaz smiled, "So, on Irk, do they have romance?"
"Romance is unsophisticated."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, love does not truly exist, nowhere on this planet, or any other."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It is so."
Gaz looked longingly into Zim's eyes.
"Oh, who am I kidding." Zim said, "I have a love, and it is true."
"Who is it?" Gaz asked.
Zim sighed in exhaustion. He returned his look to Gaz. They leaned over and nearly devoured each other's lips.
***
Dib pulled another box out of the cabinet. He was helping Hannah and her mother clean out the house. He knew he wasn't exactly 'part of the family' but he still decided to help; after all, he slept in their basement and ate their food, free of charge.
"Where should I put this?" He asked Hannah.
"Hmm...let me see what's in it." Hannah opened the box. "My goodness, old picture albums! I haven't seen these in months. Set them in living room, I want to look through them."
Dib put the box down on the carpet in the living room.
Hannah grabbed an ancient-looking album; then she opened it.
Dib looked at the pictures. Some were hard to understand, no one was smiling in any of them, and they were all black and white.
Hannah suddenly found one picture that made her gasp. She took it out of the album. It was a picture of a man, he was tall, and rather stern looking; mainly because he wasn't smiling. Hannah ran her finger across the man's hair.
"Who is that?" Dib asked.
"My father." Hannah said.
Dib looked at him. He didn't look like a real father; but, come to think of it, Dib had never seen a 'real father' before. He had seen his uncles, and his father, and Zim's robot dad, but none of those people were real fathers. All of his uncles had no children, his dad was always at work, or a meeting, or something, Zim's robot dad...wasn't even human.
"I have to tell you about my dad." Hannah said.
"You don't have to."
"I want to, I want to so much, it feels like a need."
"Okay." Dib said.
"About a year ago, I was in my room listening to the radio when..."
***FLASHBACK***
Someone knocked on the door.
Hannah walked downstairs; her black hair covered by red hat. Hannah's mother and father also walked in from the kitchen. Without waiting for someone to answer the door, they walked in.
A man held up a search warrant. All three men were wearing black button-down suits and had a red band on their arm with a symbol that looked like a + with a line angling out the ends.
She knew that the men were nazis.
"We're here for Mr. Jonassen." One of them said. Another one grabbed my father and led him outside.
I didn't know what was happening at the time, but as they led my father away, I heard him whisper, "Goodbye, I love you."
Then the three men left.
***
Hannah sat there, crying. "They sent us a letter a month later saying that my father had died. It was horrible. I never got to tell him that he was the best father ever, or that I loved him.
"And now, every two months, I have to get my awful hair dyed blonde, to cover up the black." Hannah cried into her hands.
"Why?" Dib asked.
"To hide who I really am...a Jew." She said.
Dib realized now what was happening. It was World War II. Hitler was going after every Jew and killing them all out. He had only read about it. He hadn't realized how hard it was for the people actually living at that time.
"Hannah!" Her mother screamed. "We have a letter!"
Hannah's mother walked into the living room. She opened the letter. "Dear Jonassen family," Ms. Jonassen started, "in exactly three days, at 800 hours, please gather all your things and report to bus stop 12A. We will meet you there. If you do not come to us, we will come to you. That is a promise." Hannah's mother started to become concerned, "It's not signed." She said.
Hannah kneeled down and prayed.
***
Gaz and Zim wrapped their arms around each other and locked their lips. Gaz stared into his inhuman eyes, "Zim, when we rule the Earth, I want every day to be like this. No school, No homework, No adults and best of all, No Dib."
Zim smiled.
"WARNING" The computer said, "WARNING, TEN DAY FREE TRIAL ON TIME TRANSPORTAL MACHINE EXPIRES IN THREE DAYS."
"What was that?" Gaz asked.
"I'm sure its nothing" Zim said.
"Let's go check." Gaz said. She walked into the kitchen and transported herself into the lair with Zim following behind. "Computer" She said, "How long is Dib going to be in 1945?"
"AD or BC?" The computer asked.
"AD"
"Three more days"
"THREE DAYS!" Gaz said, "This was a free trial machine??!"
"The real one was incredibly expensive!" Zim said.
Gaz couldn't believe it. "If Dib comes back, he'll ruin us."
Zim sighed. "We could have ruled the world. I would have been king of the world and you would have been my queen! That Dib, he ruins everything."
Gaz looked into Zim's eyes. "Three days."
***
Someone taped on his shoulder. Dib rolled over and looked up. "Hannah? Is that you?" He asked without opening his eyes.
"No. It's you."
"What?" Dib opened his eyes and saw a person that looked exactly like him. "Who are you?"
"I'm you."
"What?" Dib asked himself.
"Listen, I know you're confused, so was I when this happened, but anyway, I have to warn you."
"Warn be about what? Have you been stalking me?"
"No! I can't stalk you, I am you!"
"So I'm talking to myself?"
"Yes...I guess. In a way."
"Oh, okay, I get it know. I guess."
"All right, listen, I came here to tell you that in three days you're going to be sent back into the future."
"I am!?"
"Yes, you have only three days to show Hannah how much you love her."
"But...that's not enough time!"
"I know, but there's nothing I can do."
"Please, try something, I don't want to leave her. I like it here with her."
"Good night."
And with that, Dib instantly fell asleep.
***
Gaz walked in through the front door. There was no need to knock; she came there every day.
Zim and Gir were still eating breakfast in the kitchen; waffles made by Gir.
"Zim...I was thinking about...us."
"Oh," Zim said, then he turned to Gir, "go downstairs and break something."
"Yes sir!" Gir said before running off.
"I was just wondering," Gaz said, "do you think that it's for the best that we don't stay together? I mean, it might start to get weird."
Zim grabbed a photo, "You're right, it would probably be best if I stuck to my own family anyway."
Gaz stood up, "You have a family!?"
"Of course, it's a standard Irken procedure to be married and produce children."
"So you have a wife!" She kicked him.
"It wasn't by choice! They set me up with a spouse."
Gaz suddenly got very confused. "What?" She asked.
"Every Irken gets set up with a spouse whom they are forced to marry."
"So you don't even get to pick who you marry?"
Zim laughed. "Of course not! That's ridiculous!"
"Why?
"What if we didn't pick the right person? It saves us all from the pain and heartbreak of divorce."
"That's just stupid! It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!"
Zim laughed. "Who came up with that silly phrase? Your half-wit brother?"
Gaz thought a minute. "It is silly, isn't it? I mean, who wants to fall in love with someone and then lose it all!"
"Exactly!" Zim said.
"Even if it was the best love of your life, to have it end would be worse than to never start it at all!"
"You see, it makes more sense this way."
"But I don't get it, how did I, a human, fall in love with...you! I mean you're irken!"
"Love is a good blind. You never know who you want to be with, until you touch their skin. Then you truly understand the one you are meant to spend your life with. No matter what."
Gaz clapped. "So you're a poet?"
"I do a little spare time writing. Just for fun. I used to have a small poetry section in our school newspaper."
"Wow. You know...even though you're married, and you're not human, I still can't help it, want to be with you."
"Well, it would never work."
"You're right." Gaz sighed. I wish it could, she thought.
There was a loud crash that came from downstairs.
***
"Hannah!" Dib said. "Hannah! Wake up!"
Hannah stirred. She muttered, "Mmmm"
"Hannah? Are you awake?"
She nodded. "What?"
"The sun's rising. Come watch it with me." Dib said.
Hannah lifted her head up and opened her eyes; she was like a newborn kitten looking at the sun for the first time. "Dib, it's six in the morning."
"Please." He said.
Hannah sat up and then struggled to put her feet on the floor.
"You'll love this. I promise." Dib said.
Hannah smiled.
Dib loved it when she smiled. It was the greatest thing on the good green earth.
Hannah and Dib sat in the backyard watching the sun peak over the hills in the distance. Hannah thought that the sun just might come over the two of them, capturing them in that moment forever. She wouldn't mind.
Dib looked at her eyes as they watched the breathtaking sunset he knew that three days would not be enough, but he would make all he could of them.
"Hannah," Dib grabbed her hand, "I'm going to show you how much I love you in the next three days, as much as I can. I promise it to you and to God, I'll only love you more as time goes on!"
Hannah cried. "Thank you, Dib."
***
End of chapter two!
Wow, I actually finished it! Hot damn I'm good!
Gaz spent nearly all of her time at Zim's house, talking about how they would take over the world or the stupidity of the human race. They grew to enjoy each other's company.
Professor Membrane, who was barely home anyway, never noticed that Dib wasn't there. He simply thought that Dib was upstairs or at a friend's place. He never noticed that he hadn't seen his only son in a week.
Dib, however, realized moments too late that he had nowhere to stay. His money was no good and his dad hadn't even been born yet. It wasn't until Hannah's mother had told him that he better goes home now. Then he realized. "I...don't...nowhere...can't...I have no home." He said. Hannah's mother looked at him in disbelief. A thousand apologies came out of her eyes. "Well, you better stay here then." She had said solemnly. And maybe, just maybe, for a second or so, he saw a smile come across Hannah's mouth, but it looked like it was meant to be hidden.
He spent the night there, but not in Hannah's room. Under her mother's watching eyes, he wouldn't be caught dead in that room. Dib slept in the spare room, it had no bed, but there was a small worn-out sofa.
"We've had this sofa for almost twenty years, it's not exactly 'in style' but it'll be the best good night's sleep you'll ever have." Hannah's mom had explained.
***
Gaz looked at her cards and thought carefully. She hit the floor with her fist.
"You knocked?!" Zim exclaimed in annoyance. He picked up another card. A seven of hearts. He put down his five of hearts on the pile.
Gir grabbed a card and then immediately put it in the pile.
Gaz laid her cards; a queen of clubs, a jack of clubs and a nine of clubs. "29" She said proudly.
Zim laid down his cards; an Ace of hearts, jack of hearts and seven of hearts. "28" He said.
Gir put down his two of spades, two of diamonds and two of clubs. "I WIN!"
"Gir! The object of 31 is to get the highest amount of points!" Zim told him.
"Oh yeah." Gir reached for another nickel to put in the center.
"You were on your honor, now go play with your pig." Zim ordered.
Gir ran downstairs with his pig.
"NOT NEAR MY EQUIPMENT!!" Zim shouted.
Gaz chuckled.
"What?" Zim asked.
"I was just wondering, are alien's 'equipment' like human's, 'equipment'?" She giggled.
"Of course not, ours is much better." Zim said.
Gaz laughed. "Okay then."
"Your humor is very crude."
Gaz smiled, "So, on Irk, do they have romance?"
"Romance is unsophisticated."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, love does not truly exist, nowhere on this planet, or any other."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It is so."
Gaz looked longingly into Zim's eyes.
"Oh, who am I kidding." Zim said, "I have a love, and it is true."
"Who is it?" Gaz asked.
Zim sighed in exhaustion. He returned his look to Gaz. They leaned over and nearly devoured each other's lips.
***
Dib pulled another box out of the cabinet. He was helping Hannah and her mother clean out the house. He knew he wasn't exactly 'part of the family' but he still decided to help; after all, he slept in their basement and ate their food, free of charge.
"Where should I put this?" He asked Hannah.
"Hmm...let me see what's in it." Hannah opened the box. "My goodness, old picture albums! I haven't seen these in months. Set them in living room, I want to look through them."
Dib put the box down on the carpet in the living room.
Hannah grabbed an ancient-looking album; then she opened it.
Dib looked at the pictures. Some were hard to understand, no one was smiling in any of them, and they were all black and white.
Hannah suddenly found one picture that made her gasp. She took it out of the album. It was a picture of a man, he was tall, and rather stern looking; mainly because he wasn't smiling. Hannah ran her finger across the man's hair.
"Who is that?" Dib asked.
"My father." Hannah said.
Dib looked at him. He didn't look like a real father; but, come to think of it, Dib had never seen a 'real father' before. He had seen his uncles, and his father, and Zim's robot dad, but none of those people were real fathers. All of his uncles had no children, his dad was always at work, or a meeting, or something, Zim's robot dad...wasn't even human.
"I have to tell you about my dad." Hannah said.
"You don't have to."
"I want to, I want to so much, it feels like a need."
"Okay." Dib said.
"About a year ago, I was in my room listening to the radio when..."
***FLASHBACK***
Someone knocked on the door.
Hannah walked downstairs; her black hair covered by red hat. Hannah's mother and father also walked in from the kitchen. Without waiting for someone to answer the door, they walked in.
A man held up a search warrant. All three men were wearing black button-down suits and had a red band on their arm with a symbol that looked like a + with a line angling out the ends.
She knew that the men were nazis.
"We're here for Mr. Jonassen." One of them said. Another one grabbed my father and led him outside.
I didn't know what was happening at the time, but as they led my father away, I heard him whisper, "Goodbye, I love you."
Then the three men left.
***
Hannah sat there, crying. "They sent us a letter a month later saying that my father had died. It was horrible. I never got to tell him that he was the best father ever, or that I loved him.
"And now, every two months, I have to get my awful hair dyed blonde, to cover up the black." Hannah cried into her hands.
"Why?" Dib asked.
"To hide who I really am...a Jew." She said.
Dib realized now what was happening. It was World War II. Hitler was going after every Jew and killing them all out. He had only read about it. He hadn't realized how hard it was for the people actually living at that time.
"Hannah!" Her mother screamed. "We have a letter!"
Hannah's mother walked into the living room. She opened the letter. "Dear Jonassen family," Ms. Jonassen started, "in exactly three days, at 800 hours, please gather all your things and report to bus stop 12A. We will meet you there. If you do not come to us, we will come to you. That is a promise." Hannah's mother started to become concerned, "It's not signed." She said.
Hannah kneeled down and prayed.
***
Gaz and Zim wrapped their arms around each other and locked their lips. Gaz stared into his inhuman eyes, "Zim, when we rule the Earth, I want every day to be like this. No school, No homework, No adults and best of all, No Dib."
Zim smiled.
"WARNING" The computer said, "WARNING, TEN DAY FREE TRIAL ON TIME TRANSPORTAL MACHINE EXPIRES IN THREE DAYS."
"What was that?" Gaz asked.
"I'm sure its nothing" Zim said.
"Let's go check." Gaz said. She walked into the kitchen and transported herself into the lair with Zim following behind. "Computer" She said, "How long is Dib going to be in 1945?"
"AD or BC?" The computer asked.
"AD"
"Three more days"
"THREE DAYS!" Gaz said, "This was a free trial machine??!"
"The real one was incredibly expensive!" Zim said.
Gaz couldn't believe it. "If Dib comes back, he'll ruin us."
Zim sighed. "We could have ruled the world. I would have been king of the world and you would have been my queen! That Dib, he ruins everything."
Gaz looked into Zim's eyes. "Three days."
***
Someone taped on his shoulder. Dib rolled over and looked up. "Hannah? Is that you?" He asked without opening his eyes.
"No. It's you."
"What?" Dib opened his eyes and saw a person that looked exactly like him. "Who are you?"
"I'm you."
"What?" Dib asked himself.
"Listen, I know you're confused, so was I when this happened, but anyway, I have to warn you."
"Warn be about what? Have you been stalking me?"
"No! I can't stalk you, I am you!"
"So I'm talking to myself?"
"Yes...I guess. In a way."
"Oh, okay, I get it know. I guess."
"All right, listen, I came here to tell you that in three days you're going to be sent back into the future."
"I am!?"
"Yes, you have only three days to show Hannah how much you love her."
"But...that's not enough time!"
"I know, but there's nothing I can do."
"Please, try something, I don't want to leave her. I like it here with her."
"Good night."
And with that, Dib instantly fell asleep.
***
Gaz walked in through the front door. There was no need to knock; she came there every day.
Zim and Gir were still eating breakfast in the kitchen; waffles made by Gir.
"Zim...I was thinking about...us."
"Oh," Zim said, then he turned to Gir, "go downstairs and break something."
"Yes sir!" Gir said before running off.
"I was just wondering," Gaz said, "do you think that it's for the best that we don't stay together? I mean, it might start to get weird."
Zim grabbed a photo, "You're right, it would probably be best if I stuck to my own family anyway."
Gaz stood up, "You have a family!?"
"Of course, it's a standard Irken procedure to be married and produce children."
"So you have a wife!" She kicked him.
"It wasn't by choice! They set me up with a spouse."
Gaz suddenly got very confused. "What?" She asked.
"Every Irken gets set up with a spouse whom they are forced to marry."
"So you don't even get to pick who you marry?"
Zim laughed. "Of course not! That's ridiculous!"
"Why?
"What if we didn't pick the right person? It saves us all from the pain and heartbreak of divorce."
"That's just stupid! It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!"
Zim laughed. "Who came up with that silly phrase? Your half-wit brother?"
Gaz thought a minute. "It is silly, isn't it? I mean, who wants to fall in love with someone and then lose it all!"
"Exactly!" Zim said.
"Even if it was the best love of your life, to have it end would be worse than to never start it at all!"
"You see, it makes more sense this way."
"But I don't get it, how did I, a human, fall in love with...you! I mean you're irken!"
"Love is a good blind. You never know who you want to be with, until you touch their skin. Then you truly understand the one you are meant to spend your life with. No matter what."
Gaz clapped. "So you're a poet?"
"I do a little spare time writing. Just for fun. I used to have a small poetry section in our school newspaper."
"Wow. You know...even though you're married, and you're not human, I still can't help it, want to be with you."
"Well, it would never work."
"You're right." Gaz sighed. I wish it could, she thought.
There was a loud crash that came from downstairs.
***
"Hannah!" Dib said. "Hannah! Wake up!"
Hannah stirred. She muttered, "Mmmm"
"Hannah? Are you awake?"
She nodded. "What?"
"The sun's rising. Come watch it with me." Dib said.
Hannah lifted her head up and opened her eyes; she was like a newborn kitten looking at the sun for the first time. "Dib, it's six in the morning."
"Please." He said.
Hannah sat up and then struggled to put her feet on the floor.
"You'll love this. I promise." Dib said.
Hannah smiled.
Dib loved it when she smiled. It was the greatest thing on the good green earth.
Hannah and Dib sat in the backyard watching the sun peak over the hills in the distance. Hannah thought that the sun just might come over the two of them, capturing them in that moment forever. She wouldn't mind.
Dib looked at her eyes as they watched the breathtaking sunset he knew that three days would not be enough, but he would make all he could of them.
"Hannah," Dib grabbed her hand, "I'm going to show you how much I love you in the next three days, as much as I can. I promise it to you and to God, I'll only love you more as time goes on!"
Hannah cried. "Thank you, Dib."
***
End of chapter two!
Wow, I actually finished it! Hot damn I'm good!