"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Dib! Dib! Dib!" Dib jolts awake by Gir screeching his head off at the foot of his sleeping bag. The nylon fabric rustles together as the silver robot paws at it, slapping his hands at Dib's feet as he screams.
"Wha-? Wha's going on?" Dib rubs the sleep from his eyes, struggling to sit up. The beginnings of the day's birdsong drifts into the tent. Gir flops on his stomach, the blue lights from his eyes being the only illumination in the darkness.
"What time is it?" His voice comes out hoarse with sleep, the plastic smell in the small area making him crinkle his nose. "Gir, please quiet down, it's too early for this." Gir's electronic voice catches as if he's crying, and the little robot rolls over like a toddler in a fit.
"Where is my lesi? Where is he?" He screeches, kicking his cone shaped feet into the air.
"Christ, calm down, Gir. If I deliver you to Zim will you shut it?" Dib feels the ground next to his sleeping bag for his glasses, almost poking himself in the eye as he fumbles to put them on in the dark. He grumbles to himself, annoyed with his awakenness, as he unzips the sleeping bag and grabs his flashlight.
"Where is my lesi?" Gir whines.
"He's just across the campsite, jeez." He huffs, zipping open the tent door. Dib turns on the flashlight, and shines it across the way. Sure enough, on the other side of the fire pit is an identical dark grey tent, where Zim and his sister are residing. Together. Dib frowns and steps out of the tent. Over the horizon, a dim pink hue is beginning to form as the sun starts to rise, the night stars slowly dissipating into nothingness with it.
"Where is he? I don't see him!"
"Shush! He's just in that tent there! Go on." Gir takes a hesitant step forward, then steps back towards Dib.
"I'm scared… Will you come with me?" If Gir had a bottom lip, it would be jutting out right now, as the blue lights of his eyes do their best imitation of the puppy-dog look. Dib sighs and rolls his eyes at his new position as Gir's babysitter, but nonetheless he holds out a hand for Gir to grab onto.
"Yay!" Gir jumps with excitement, the leaves crackling as he hops along the forest floor.
"Yeah, yeah, just keep your voice down, okay?"
"Okay!" Gir yells, causing Dib to flinch. As the two walked hand in hand to the tent, Gir sang quietly to himself.
"Doom, doom, doom doom, doom!"
"What… what's that song?" Dib side-eyes Gir.
"It's the doom song!" He chirps happily, tilting his head side to side as he sings the song.
"Um, okay." Dib yawns and starts to unzip Zim's tent, shining the flashlight inside to wake up Zim, and he almost drops it in shock. For a split second, he sees the horrifying image of Gaz curled tightly into Zim's chest, his arms wrapped around her body, and his fingers intertwined with her hair. Before Dib has a chance to yell, Zim's eyes snap open.
In the span of a few seconds, Zim detached himself from Gaz and lunged through the partially open tent door to tackle Dib to the ground.
"Lesi!" Gir laughs, oblivious to the upcoming fight in front of him. Zim lands on top of Dib, instinctively pressing an elbow up against his throat.
"Ah! Get the fuck off me Zim!" Dib gasps.
"Khúv!" Zim hastily rolled off of Dib, making use of his pak legs to right himself.
"What the hell was that for?" Dib coughs, scrambling backwards away from Dib.
"I am sorry, you scare me."
"Excuse me? I scared you? That's the biggest bullshit I've heard since-"
"What on earth is going on out here?" Gaz grumbles, stumbling out of the tent.
"He attacked me!" Dib points an accusatory finger at Zim as he gets on his feet.
"You scare me. I was sleep!" He growls back.
"That's a stupid excuse!" Dib stomps a few steps away, angrily running his hands through his hair. He stops and spins on his heel, walking back towards Zim with his fists clenched.
"And another thing! Don't you touch my sister!" Zim's narrowed eyes widen in confusion.
"Eh?"
"You heard me! Don't-"
"Dib, what the hell are you talking about." Gaz crosses her arms and sighs.
"I saw it! He had his… alien arms around you!"
"Wh-what?" Her cheeks turn red as she blushes and looks towards Zim for confirmation, but he's still confused.
"Gaz, you are not sleeping with him anymore! I don't want him… trying anything." Gaz snaps her face upwards towards Dib, her face twisted with rage.
"Excuse you, I can take care of myself, and I was not sleeping with him! Christ Dib, calm the fuck down!"
"What does he mean?" Zim says, lost.
"I'm saying that-" A dog barking cuts Dib off. Immediately, all three, bickering adults turn to the source of the noise, to see a camper standing with their dog. A middle aged woman with dark brown hair, standing thirty feet away with her face frozen in open mouthed horror. Her golden retriever barking loudly in the direction of Zim's tent.
"Shit."
"Shit."
"Khúv."
"Doggy!" Gir screeches, running at full speed over to the woman. This seems to snap her out of her spell, as she screams, spinning on a dime and running over the hill, presumably towards her camp.
"Fuck we gotta go." Gaz whispers. "Now." She rushes into her tent, flinging the sleeping bags outside. Turning around, she finds Zim and Dib just standing there, staring at her.
"What are you waiting for? We need to pack this shit up!" She turns back to the tent, ripping the stakes out of the ground as fast as she can.
"Oh shit she's right." Dib mumbles, running back to his tent.
"Gir! A fií!" Zim orders. Gir stops running, his head spinning around with his eyes red. The robot salutes, then begins to run back towards the campsite, his eyes their normal blue color.
"Are you gonna help me or not?" Gaz huffs at Zim. He nods quickly, and the two of them set to work dismantling the tent. Not even bothering to neatly wrap up the tents, the three of them threw the loose fabric and poles into the back of the car. Dib hastily jumps into the driver's seat of the subaru, touching the right wires together to get the car to start.
"Gir! Koích eg khú!" Zim commands, causing the little robot to come running towards the car. With Gaz already sitting in the backseat, Zim corrals Gir into the passenger side of the car. As Zim slams the backseat car door shut, Dib floors the gas pedal, and the car bursts to life, driving away from the campsite at full force.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
"Sir, some fellas at the West Virginia division got a report of a green fella at a campground near Westover. Should we investigate?" Major Ian Johnson looked up from his paperwork, and reached for his radio.
"Guys, get ready to pack up and roll out, we got a sighting in West Virginia."
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
On a backroad in West Virginia, the inhabitants of a blue subaru outback sit in silence. The campsite, where they spent the night, long behind them. Inside the car, Zim and Gaz are both gazing out their respective windows, watching the fields roll by. In the front of the car, Dib squints against the light of the morning sun as he drives, readjusting the sun visor every few minutes in a weak effort to block the light. For once, Gir sits calmly in the passenger seat, fiddling with a small pile of leaves he grabbed from the campsite before the group's hasty departure.
"Little tree, little tree…" the small robot mumbles to himself. Dib adjusts the sun visor again, then glances in the rear view mirror.
"Hey, is anyone hungry? I'm starving, and I could use a bathroom." Gaz pulls away from the window to look at Dib.
"Yeah, I could definitely eat. Zim, you hungry?"
"Yes."
"I'm hungry too!" Gir yells.
"No, you can not eat." Zim sighs.
"But I wanna! I want waffles." Zim's left antenna twitches.
"No."
"You know what?" Dib says. "I could go for some waffles. I saw a sign a few miles back for a rest stop in a bit. I have some cash, you guys want to get waffles?"
"Uh, sure. I've gotta make the green bean look somewhat human first though." Gaz shrugs. "Now, where did I put that makeup?"
"What is makeup? Is it gun?" Gaz pauses her rifling of the shopping bags.
"What? No! It's a disguise for you." She shakes her head at Zim's misunderstanding of the English language, smiling ever so slightly.
"Aha!" Gaz pulls an assortment of tubes and brushes out of the shopping bag. She turns triumphantly to face Zim and plops the makeup on the seat in between them,
"This little thing is disguise?" Zim looks incredibly skeptical, and picks up one of the concealers to get a closer look at it.
"Yeah, it's going to make your skin less green. Like us." Gaz gestures towards herself, and picks up a tube of concealer to show Zim. "See? It's like my skin." Zim taps his fingers against his legs, and frowns.
"And this?" He points at his eyes. Gaz winces, reaching back into the bag once more.
"Yeah… I considered that. I already figured your eyes were too large for contacts, so I um, got these." She pulls large, round, and darkly tinted sunglasses from the shopping bag, as well as a roll of scotch tape.
"And since you don't have ears, or a nose, I'm gonna have to tape them to you face." She gently places the sunglasses and tape next to the makeup.
"You have to what?"
"Anyway let's get started!" Obviously she wasn't in the mood to answer questions, so Zim decides to quietly watch and observe. Gaz reaches for the foundations, and randomly grabs one.
"I don't use full coverage, so I don't know these brands that well, so I got a few, just in case one doesn't cover all the… green."
"I do not understand."
"That's okay, alright, let's start with your face. Lean in for me?"
"This is gonna be hilarious." Dib mutters.
"Shut up, Dib." Gaz growls. He quickly looks back at the road, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. She sighs, and turns her attention back to Zim. Picking what seems to be the best foundation, she opens the bottle and pumps some of the liquid out on the back of her hand. Zim's face scrunches, and he leans back.
"Chin aom z̀eí'e!"
"Quit complaining, Zim. I promise, this is gonna be fine. Lean in, okay?" He frowns, but leans in anyway. Gaz gently dabs a bit of the thick gel on a brush, and leans in to apply some to Zim's cheek. He shivers slightly against the coldness of the liquid, but relaxes soon after. Gaz spreads the foundation carefully over his cheek, making sure not to spread it too thin, so his natural green hue doesn't show through. She adds more concealer around his eyes, using a thin brush to make sure she doesn't brush any of the liquid onto his eyes.
Zim sits still, and is calm. He only twitches once when the brush comes near his eyes the first time, and from then on he sits still. She spreads the concealer all over his face, as even as she can, but even so a few streaks of green peak out under the peach color of the makeup. When she's done with his face, he only looks mildly less alien like, the huge red eyes being a large tell. Nonetheless, she moves on to his neck.
She can't help but focus again on the large scar on the right side of his neck. She wants to ask so badly, but refuses to do so when Dib is within earshot. Sighing, she makes a mental note to ask the next time Dib is gone. Gently, she reaches for his neckline to pull his hoodie forward to spread concealer under the edge of the fabric so his green skin doesn't poke out. She can feel herself blushing, but thankfully she finishes with his neck quickly.
"Now, can I see your hands?" Zim hesitates, but holds his hands out to her. She hasn't taken the time to look before, but now she can see that just like the rest of him, small, thin scars adorn the backs of his hands, arching across his fingers and knuckles. Just as carefully as she did on his face, she spreads the makeup out across his hands over his knuckles, in between his fingers. Even onto his claw-like nails. The slightest bit of green could give him away… she had to be thorough.
Finally, after spreading the makeup on his wrists, she applies the setting powder. Just to make sure it doesn't rub off. Gaz leans back a minute to admire her handiwork. The last step is to somehow put on the sunglasses.
"Can you hold this? Like this?" She lifts the garishly large sunglasses up to Zim's face, and has him hold them up over his eyes. The large lenses just barely cover up his wide ruby eyes, but it was all they had. With Zim holding the glasses in place, Gaz carefully applied pieces of scotch tape to the sides so the glasses wouldn't fall off. She grimaces as she applies the tape.
"I'm sorry, but those are going to hurt when they come off…"
"It is okay."
"Okay, last step…" She reached her hands forward, past Zim's neck and grabbed his hoodie, and gently tugged the hood up and over his head. Pulling the draw strings so the hood tightens up and obscurs Zim's face in shadow, she is relieved to find that from a distance, he definitely looks human. Thank God.
"You look done, how does he look?" Dib pipes up.
"Good, he looks good." She whispers.
"Great, because the rest stop is coming up." The car pulls onto an exit lane, slowing down, and the rest stop comes into view behind a row of trees.
"Waffles?" Gir questions.
"Yeah, sure Gir."
"Dib, he can't eat-"
"Yeah well I'm tired of hearing him whine about it."
"Well, you get to be the one to tell him he can't order one when we get to the restaurant." She mutters.
The car pulls into the parking lot of the rest stop, parking far away from the door under a cluster of trees.
"Gir?" Gaz starts, "Can you turn on your disguise?" Gir nods enthusiastically, his whole body shaking from it. His image flickers for just a second, replaced by the same little blonde boy disguise he used at the grocery store.
"If I wear this, can I have waffles?"
"Um… sure…"
"Ha!" Dib exclaims. "You just promised him waffles too!"
"He's got to keep the disguise on!" Gaz hissed.
"Still, now you get to explain to him why-"
"Will we eat, or fight." Zim deadpans. Gaz shoots him a look, but she unbuckles her seatbelt and exits the car. After everyone gets out of the car, the four of them walk towards the large building, Gir insisting on holding Gaz's hand. She lets him do this, only to keep him quiet.
"So, what are we having for breakfast?" She asks as they head towards the building.
"Well, there's probably a number of fast food restaurants inside, but look, there's an attached diner. I'm voting for that." Dib points at the faded, multicolor facade of a 1950s style diner, complete with chrome linings on the windows and neon signs.
"This is a human place to eat?" Zim's facial expressions are hard to make out under the darkness of the hood and large sunglasses, but he doesn't look impressed.
"Hey, it's not so bad!" Dib defends.
"Yeah…"
"No really! This is a human tradition! You know, when you go on a road trip, which is basically what we're doing, you have to go to a diner at some point. And this is definitely a classic american diner." They reach the doors of the diner, and head inside, the hinges creaking as they walk through. Customers in the diner are few and far between. A few truckers at the high top bar with their coffees, and a couple of families eating breakfast.
Zim watches, unamused, as a small child near them uses their sleeve to wipe the maple syrup from their face, only succeeding to smear more of it on their cheek. He frowns, feeling his squeedlyspooch lurch a bit.
"Dib, you have low wants."
"Excuse me? Look I'm telling you, diners are great." Dib places his hands on his hips, and takes a deep breath of the diner air. He winces.
"Well, maybe this one isn't so-" Gaz interrupts him.
"Look Zim, they're not the best, but they're okay, I promise."
"Okay." He nods.
"What? I just said that! And you accept it from her? What's with that?" Dib demands, a waitress hesitantly approaching them.
"I do not like you." Gaz coughs in her hand to avoid laughing as Dib's face flushes with annoyance.
"Oh, real mature Zim."
"Hi! Can I get y'all a table?" The waitress says.
"Oh, uh, yeah, table for four, please." Dib responds, gesturing to the four of them. She nods, and picks up four menus and waves the group over to follow her. As they walk, she glances over her shoulder at Gir, still holding hands with Gaz, and smiles at her.
"Your son is real cute ma'am!" Gaz opens her mouth to argue with the waitress, but realizes she can't deny claim to Gir, because then, well, she'd have to explain where she got a random child.
"Ah, thanks." She mumbles. Gir's holographic child form beams with happiness at being called cute.
"You're welcome! Now, is this table okay?" Gaz notices Zim's horrified look and quickly speaks.
"Yep! This is good, thanks!" She hustles Zim into the booth, sitting next to him, and directs Gir to sit on the other side with Dib.
"Can I get y'all started with anything to drink?"
"Waffles!" Gir screeches. The waitress doesn't even blink, definitely having dealt with children before.
"Just water, please." Gaz says, hoping the waitress goes away. Her smile hasn't come off her face, but she keeps glancing at Zim, who still looks a little odd. The waitress smiles, and addresses her attention back to Gir.
"You want some waffles, honey? Is that good with mama?" She glances back to Gaz for approval, and Gaz nervously nods.
"Arighty then, I'll go put in that order for four waters and a kid's waffles. Do y'all adults know what you want or do you need a minute?"
"I think we're ready, actually." Dib says.
"Am I getting waffles?" Gir bounces up and down in his seat.
"Yeah, yeah, me too, buddy. Uh, can I get some waffles too?"
"Sure thing, sugar! Waffles for you too. And y'all?"
"I'll have some waffles too, and you Zim?" Zim looks up from the menu he was pretending to read.
"What has sugar? Many sugar?" The waitress's smile momentarily disappears in shock at hearing Zim's thick accent, but it's back within seconds.
"Uh, waffles I guess, maybe with some chocolate in them? And I can put powdered sugar on top of those for ya." Zim perks up, his antenna pushing up against the back of his hoodie.
"Powdered sugar?"
"Yeah, and of course I'll bring out maple syrup for ya too, hon." Zim opens his mouth to ask, but Gaz places her hand over his and whispers to him.
"I'll explain, okay?" He nods. The waitress finishes writing in her notebook, nods to herself and walks away. Dib stretches and yawns.
"Damn I forgot to order coffee. When she comes back I'm going to ask her for some." He runs his hand through his hair, the long cowlick bouncing back up into place. "I'm going to go to the bathroom, be right back." He gets up, leaving Zim and Gaz alone with Gir, who has begun to play with his silverware, clattering them together loudly. Zim begins to tap his fingers against the table and bounce his knee absentmindedly as they quietly watch Gir together.
"When am I getting waffles?" Gir cries out, dropping his silverware to the floor. Zim ignores Gir's whining and turns his attention to the windowsill, running a disdainful finger along the sill, he lifts his hand and frowns at the amount of dust on his makeup covered fingertip.
"This is a human eating place? It is not nice."
"Zim, come on, you don't expect everything to be pristine and clean, do you?"
"Yes, I do." Gaz rolls her eyes.
"Well, it's not like that here on earth so you best get used to it."
"Where are my waffles?" Gir cries.
"They'll be out soon, Gir. Chill." The holographic child pouts, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Fuck, don't cry, Gir." Gaz immediately is struck by how odd it is that she's consoling an alien robot, and also realizes that this should not be her duty.
"Zim, handle this, will you?" He taps his nails harder against the table, sighing.
"Gir, rith zhul ezoz." He mumbles, going back to staring out the window. Gaz frowns, grumbling.
"You're not helping." Luckily, the waitress comes back with the waters, and brings with her a children's coloring placemat and crayons.
"Here you go honey!" She coos, placing it in front of Gir. "See, no need to cry, is there?" Gir grins at the new toys, and begins to scribble all over the placemat. Gaz mouths a silent thank you at the waitress, and does not like how she feels like a harried parent. She especially doesn't like the knowing wink the waitress sends. She turns to leave, but Gaz speaks up.
"Oh, my idiot brother forgot to order coffee." Gaz says, pointing at Dib's empty space. "Can I order a coffee for him?" The waitress smiles, and nods.
"Sure thing! I'll go get you that coffee."
"Thanks."
"No problem! And your food will be out soon." Gir looks up from his coloring and smiles.
"Yay! Waffles!" The waitress laughs and leans down to look Gir in the eyes.
"That's right baby! Gosh, he's so cute! What's his name?" She says, turning back to Zim and Gaz. Thinking quickly, Gaz answers.
"It's Gerald. Yeah, uh, but we call him Gir for short."
"We?" The waitress glances between her and Zim. Gaz can feel her stomach knot, but she just nods.
"Yep, he's always preferred it." She laughs weakly.
"Huh. Well, let me get y'all your coffee and food." She says, walking off.
"God, how awkward…" Gaz mumbles to herself. Zim taps his fingers, and nods.
"What did I miss?" Dib announces as he slides into his seat.
"Nothing much, uh, the waitress thinks Gir is our son, and I ordered your coffee."
"Ah, thanks, and- wait what?" Dib grimaces, looking between them. "I don't like that."
"Oh, relax Dib. It's not like we'll ever see anyone here again."
"Hmm. Still I-" The waitress came back, carrying a large tray with waffles.
"Waffles!" Gir shrieked, clapping his hands with excitement. She chuckles as she begins to unload the tray.
"That's right buddy! Waffles!" She places all the other plates, and then hands Zim his sugar covered chocolate waffles.
"Here's the maple syrup, honey. Y'all need anything else?"
"I think we're good." Dib says as he reaches for the sugar packet for his coffee.
"Alright then! I'll leave y'all to it!" As she walks off, Dib stirs the sugar into his coffee, Gaz begins to cut into her waffles, and Gir faceplants into his waffle, thankfully a waffle that didn't have any maple syrup on it yet.
"What is maple syrup?" Zim asks.
"Oh! It's this." She passes the brown bottle to Zim. "It's a kind of natural sugar, from trees. It goes on breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles. You'll like it." Zim nods excitedly, shakily pouring massive amounts of maple syrup all over his waffles. Dib looks over, disgusted, and gags.
"Okay, Gaz, what is with him and sugar?"
"Huh? Oh, his species eats a lot of it. They need it, just like we need water, apparently." Dib frowns.
"That doesn't sound right." Zim narrows his eyes and scowls at Dib.
"What, you know Irkezeích now?"
"...Good point. How are you still so skinny after eating all that sugar then?" Gaz rolls her eyes.
"He's an alien, Dib. He metabolizes the sugar differently. Come on, use that big head of yours to think."
"I do not have a big head!"
"Yes you do." Zim smiles slyly in between bites of his sugary abomination.
"Why can't I eat these?" Gir whines, desperately pressing bits of waffle against his holographic mouth.
"You can not eat, Gir." Zim groans. "You do not have a mouth."
"That's not fair!"
"I do not understand."
"Life isn't fair." Dib interjects. "Sometimes, stuff happens. Like, being a robot, I guess." He reaches for the sugar packets, grabbing one more for his coffee.
"What is that?" Zim points at the sugar packets.
"Oh, sugar. For the coffee." Dib gestures to his coffee as he stirs. Zim perks up more, and nods.
"Humans eat a lot of sugar too." He says quietly to himself.
"How's everything going over here?" The waitress says, coming back to the table.
"It's good!" Gaz says. "We're all good thank-"
"I can't eat my waffle!" Gir cries, shoving his plate of ripped up waffle chunks away from him.
"Oh, honey! You're supposed to eat your food, not play with it!" The waitress chuckles. Do you need help from mama?" Gaz, thinking quickly, jumps to action.
"Actually, uh, honey, can you take Gir out to the car? I think he needs a nap." She looks expectantly at Zim, who continues to eat his waffle in blissful happiness. He looks up, startled.
"What?" Gaz grits her teeth and nudges him under the table. "I think you need to take Gir to the car, to have a nap." His face lights up in understanding, and he nods. Gaz slides out of the booth to let Zim out, and gestures for Dib to do the same.
"Do y'all want his waffle packed up for later?"
"Yeah, uh, sure." Gaz knows she'll say whatever she needs to in order for this waitress to leave them alone. "And can you get the check, please?"
"Sure thing, sugar!" She walks off, and Gaz turns to Zim.
"Okay, can you take him to the car, and put him in sleep mode or something? Just entertain him. We'll be right there." Zim nods, and smiles loosely.
"Yes, Gaz. You are right, this establishment is not so bad." Gaz blinks in surprise.
"What? You like it now?"
"Yes, the food was good!" He turns to Gir, smiling. "A fím, Gir."
"But I want my waffles!" Zim bends down to Gir.
" 'A al a tul kaí, al pat vaí waffles gep. Okay?" Gir nods and jumps up and down. Zim
turns to Gaz. "I will be at the car. See you there." He walks off, Gir trotting behind him like an excited puppy.
"Wonder what he said to get Gir to go with him that easily." Dib mumbled.
"Well, he said waffles, so it was probably just a promise for more of them."
"Figures. That waitress had a lot of nerve thinking you guys were a couple."
"Oh, relax Dib." Gaz says, sitting back down to finish her waffles. "Let her assume, it doesn't matter to me." She muttered, her face flushing.
"Sure it doesn't matter to you." Dib paces back and forth in front of the table. "You know what I think?" Gaz sighs.
"What do you think?"
"I think that you-" Dib's voice was cut off with a thump as he fell to the floor. Gaz looks up, surprised, to not see her brother standing.
Dib rubs the back of his head, wincing in pain from the soreness he felt. He pushed himself up off the floor to see a woman sitting up and off the floor, opposite of him. He felt his heart stop as her face came into view. Long, red hair gently curled around a round face. Her bright green eyes shimmered as her face scrunched up in anger, but Dib didn't notice. He was too entranced by her eyes. He feels as though he could stare at her forever and-
"Watch where you're going!" She exclaimed, reaching forward to grab her cell phone.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." Dib scrambled to his feet, offering a hand to help her up. She frowned, then accepted the help, nimbly coming to her feet in no time. She dusted off her flannel, glaring upwards at Dib, being at least a head and a half shorter than him.
"Nice one, dingus." Gaz muttered.
"I am so, so, sorry. Is your phone okay?"
"My- yes, it's fine. No thanks to you." She muttered, pushing back Dib and walking off. He turned around like a lost puppy, watching her leave the diner.
"Pull yourself together Dib." Gaz said, pulling some cash out of her purse and leaving it on the table.
"She was so pretty…" Gaz rolled her eyes.
"Yes she was. Now come on stupid, we have to go." Gaz said as she stood. Dib sulked, but followed Gaz out of the diner, pausing at a big map of West Virginia situated outside the door.
"Oh, that's right. We're in West Virginia." He muttered to himself.
"Yeah, we are, incredible observational skills."
"No, no, no! Gaz! We're in West Virginia! Look!" He pointed at the map. "We're here," He points to a town called Clarksburg. "And the town of Point Pleasant is here! Gaz, that's the home of the Mothman! We have to go!"
"No, we do not. Have you forgotten why we are on a road trip right now?"
"Well, I know, but a little detour wouldn't kill us!"
"It actually could. Literally."
"Seriously Gaz, please let me have this one thing. I have always wanted to go there!" Gaz sighed, and took a step towards the map. Below the map were little bifold maps of the contiguous United States. Gaz grabbed one, and opened it.
"Fine, but if you get to pick somewhere, I get to pick somewhere." She muttered, scanning the map for any attractive destinations. "Aha! Here. I want to go here." She pointed at the bifold.
"You want to go to… New Orleans? But that's so far out of the way!"
"Don't be a whiner, Dib. A deal's a deal. Oh, and Zim gets to pick a place too."
"He doesn't even know America!"
"Don't care. Do we have a deal?" Dib crossed his arms and sulked.
"Fine."
"Perfect! Now let's get the fuck out of here before anyone reports us for being weird."