This chapter contains bullying, both physical as well as verbal. There is some homophobic content as well. These events are partially based off previous personal experiences. Sorry for the rambly bits. The Dib in this story tends to get lost in his thoughts at the worst times like I do.

Chapter 4: Dark Intentions

Dib's head was throbbing for the knock it got against the desk he had landed on. His vision was swirling and all of the alcohol running through his system was not helping to ease the dizziness. What had just happened? Such a simple shove would normally have never thrown him off this bad. He should never have let himself drink so much earlier, he knew he should not have but all the positive attention he had been receiving had distracted him and he did not know how to handle it. Saying no when someone had offered him a drink had seemed rude so he had mostly paced himself but had still long ago lost track of how many drinks he had been given. Lug had even been giving him straight shots of booze from his own bottle and he did not wish to anger the other in his own home by turning down such a generous offer. As he turned his unfocused vision to the other four coming into the room behind him he seriously wished he had slowed his drinking even further or said no and left long ago.

The door was closed and Dib could hear a faint click as the lock was turned, sealing him in with his tormentors. How had he ever let himself be fooled into thinking that maybe things would change, that they would change and treat him differently? He had allowed the attention and booze to distract him from the last few years of torture that these exact classmates had put him through. Just several hours earlier in class the one had been ready to pummel him in the locker room if the irkens had not interfered. Was he that hard up for acceptance by anyone that he would allow a few hours of being the center of positive attention to make him forget the last several years? Looking at the dark smirk on Lug's face as he came close enough to hover over him, Dib had to admit that he must be crazy after all. What else would explain how he had allowed Lug to completely deceive him into thinking things would be different from now on?

"Can't believe you fell for all that Dib. Did you really think after all of these years we would suddenly be your friend? You really must be crazy. Just because you changed how you look and are actually good in sports does not mean you are not a loser. You will always be a crazy loser freak to us no matter how much you try to change."

As Dib went to roll over and sit up so that Lug was not towering over him, two of the hulking beasts stepped to either side of the desk and pressed his shoulders back down against it and held him there. After years of similar treatment, Dib knew better than to try and fight back. His beating would just be that much more severe if he tried to get away. He adjusted himself against the desk so that the edge was no longer digging into his side and watched as Lug picked up the papers from the desk and placed them on a nearby shelf while moving around to sit in the office chair. This put his face slightly above Dib's so the thinner teen did not have to crane his neck so far back to look at his tormentor anymore. The last member of their gang moved the two guest chairs to the corners of the room so that it was not so crowded and sat in one until he received further instructions from their leader. Lug leaned back in the chair, that dark smirk showing even more clearly on his face now that Dib was so close.

"Lug, if this is about me being here, I swear we never knew that this was your place. Keef just saw the handouts for the party and decided we should do something. I promise, first thing in the morning, once one of us are sober, we will pack up to leave and not bother you again. If you want, I can call a cab and see if they will come out to get us and I can wake the others up and pack so we can leave as soon as the cab gets out here. Gaz or Tak can take my car home tomorrow so that you won't have to see us anymore."

"Now Dib, why do you think I would want you to leave so soon? We are just starting to get to know each other better after all. Thought you were such a great pal Dib. Turns out you have been hiding a lot from me all these years though. Have to say, I am pretty disappointed in you for keeping secrets from me."

Dib was thrown off listening to Lug speak. Friends? Them? That is not how friends treated each other at all, not that Dib had much to go off of until recently but still. If that was Lug's idea of friendship then he wanted none of it ever again. Even in his current lack of sobriety he could tell that Lug was mocking him for something but for the life of him he could not fathom why this time. He had done his best to keep his host happy after arriving and had truly thought that Lug was starting to think differently of him finally. That they could maybe, if not be friends, then have the taunts and beatings come to an end.

"Umm, sorry Lug…I did not think you wanted to bother with anything about me. Uh, if you want me to answer or do anything for you, just say so. My life is pretty boring though, just the old fighting with Zim I used to do and hanging out with Keef and Skoodge to play games and have a few drinks now and then. I barely talk to Zim now except in the classes we have together so that can be scratched off though. Sometimes dad has me working in the labs with him though. Umm, that is about it now, you know everything else about me."

He knew he was rambling. Even when sober it has always been a bad habit of his to let his mouth get ahead of his brain. It had gotten him more than a few of his previous beatings with this same group, not to mention a couple others and a certain green alien. He never was one to think things through before saying them most times. He swore, if sober Dib remembered this in the morning, he was going to work even harder at not getting himself stuck in more situations like his current one. Hopefully Lug would not lay into him too bad this time since they were in his father's office and blood was pretty hard to clean up.

"Dib Dib Dib. Did you think that was all that this is about? Oh no, this is about how you have been humiliating me all day. First in the locker room, having your short boyfriend come save you and giving me a black eye. My eye still hurts from that by the way. Next was in class while, you have been keeping secrets from us for quite a while. I was really not happy that you were better than me with all of our track work today. You could have been a real help if you had joined the football team instead of being such a freak and stalking your boyfriend for all these years. Then, to top it all off, you show up at my house as well. Being a total show off and getting all of my guests to pay attention to you. What did you think would happen Dib? I would let you into my house like we were the best of buddies? This black eye alone would need some kind of compensation. What do you think would be a good payment for all this trouble you put me through today?"

Well shit. Guess he was not getting out of a beating at the least. Hopefully they still would not go too hard on him since he still had to get all of their things packed and get home. Not to mention, if he got beat too badly this time, a good chunk of their grade and a few others were all there and not all of them took too kindly to bullies. It was one reason Lug left anywhere that could be visible like his arms and face alone. He needed to stay on the school's good side if he wanted to stay on the football team. He was their star player but the school had a very low tolerance towards bullying after all. There was word that several universities were also scooting the school and had their eye on him as well. With his parent's status and possible scholarships to some good universities, he did not want to chance losing face and having his good life taken from him.

"What can I do to pay you back? What are you wanting from me? If you want I can do your science assignments that are almost due. I promise to make them so that you have a decent passing grade but not too high that they get suspicious of you again. First thing in the morning when I get home I can start on them for you."

His captor leaned back in the chair and looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling. He seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his head and looking back down at Dib. A cruel smile playing at his lips as he made eye contact once again with the prone boy.

"Nope, not good enough. That's not enough to make up for everything today. A good beating should put you back in your place, and after that you get the hell off of my property as fast as you can without waking my guests. Once you get home you can get started on my homework and, depending on if it is done by Monday or not, maybe I will forgive you and let you off without needing to teach you another lesson. At least this time your psycho boyfriend is not here to save your ass again."

"Fuck you. How many times do I have to say it before it gets through that thick head of yours? He is not my god damned boyfriend!"

Yup, there went that mouth of his again. As he watched, his classmate's face went from the superior smirk to an outright furious scowl. He realized too late that he should have just kept quiet as a fist shot forward. Unable to move, he turned his head away as quickly as he could and was struck in the temple. The blow whipped his head further back and Dib was nearly knocked out from the force behind it. His body was frozen for a moment after bowing back slightly before the pain registered and his body slumped forward on the desk again. It had been years since he had taken a blow with this much power behind it and he had almost forgotten just how much it hurt. Lug had never hit him in the head before, well not after the first time a few years back when a teacher had seen Dib return to class with a black eye and a busted lip. Zim had been absent from school that day due to settling Skoodge into his home so their teacher knew that it had not been the two friends, as everyone called the boys, roughhousing like they used to. That had brought on a lecture about bullying since Dib would not say who did it and the teacher asked that if any student saw it happen again, they were to report it to the nearest teacher. No one would turn Lug in anyway but, just in case, after that all the bruises were left on Dib's torso and legs. Anywhere a t-shirt and shorts would cover.

Dib tried to curl in on himself and protect his head from more blows but the two lackeys would not let him up from the desk. They held him against it as their leader lay a few more hits to his head and one between his shoulder blades before sitting back in his chair again to watch as Dib tried to recover his breath. Once it looked as though he was could focus on him again, Lug reached forward and grabbed Dib by the chin to hold his head up so that he could look him in the eyes again. There was signs that Dib would have a black eye on his left side and his lip was bleeding from a cut after he bit down on it to keep from crying out. If he had been wearing his glasses, he was pretty sure they would have been broken as well.

"Now why did you have to go and make me do that? This could have gone a lot easier for you if you had only kept quiet. Now you're gonna have to come up with a reason for these bruises and cuts. You should just say that you and that green freak were being rougher than usual. Sounds like something you two would do. No one would be surprised to hear that you like it rough."

A thumb brushed roughly over Dib's cut lip when it was mentioned and he had to restrain himself from biting down on the offending digit. Though, as Lug finished speaking to him and returning his finger to keep hold on his chin, he wished he had bit him after all. Why were they always saying the he and the crazy alien were a couple? Yeah he could admit that, as kids, he had quite a bit of an obsession with the menace and was always seen stalking him or talking about him. He had long grown out of that phase after the first couple years once he realized just how incompetent the alien really was. Zim was amazing when it came to creating things but none of his inventions worked out due to GIR getting in the way or Zim himself being unable to complete the project properly. Dib had seen several of Zim's plans over the years that could have easily worked but the alien had stated were not good enough. One was of a quick spreading virus that used mosquitos and ticks to transfer it to humans. Once a human was infected they could also spread it and it went almost completely undetectable until Zim felt like activating it using satellites. The virus only affected humans and worked as a mind control. Dib had watched as Zim used one of his hobo test subjects to spend the day playing with GIR and learning to cook meals that the alien could eat. The first thing he had the hobo do was take a bath and clean himself up though so that more germs were not dragged through his house. The alien had eventually released his hold on the guy, deeming him to be too boring, and from what cam footage he got, the guy was still living at the base but was now more like a servant than a slave. He knew Zim was an alien but did not care since he got a roof over his head, three meals a day, and Zim had even told Computer to construct a room for him to stay in. Dib had to admit, the guy was now living a much better life than before.

A sharp slap brought him back to the present situation. Fuck, he really needed to focus and not get distracted with thoughts of Zim and his strange behaviour over the last couple years. Thinking of the alien at a time like this was probably not the best idea. Even when not around, Zim always seemed to get him into trouble for one reason or another even after all these years.

"Pay attention Dib. It's rude to ignore people when they are talking to you. You really like making things hard on yourself, don't you? I'll have to punish you for that too now. What do you think I should add on? Seems like a beating and my assignments is not enough."

"Maybe try letting me go this time and it will have better results?"

"Nice try, but not gonna happen. You need to be put back in your place and quit trying to act like you are better than what you are. Everyone knows you are a loser, freak, and a homo. Quit trying to be what you are not. You have always been that and always will be. No matter how hard you try, you will never be up to my level. You are nothing Dib, and you always will be. Only thing you have is your dad's money and fame. I'm surprised he has not just left you in The Crazy House For Boys yet. That way he would not have to deal with all your craziness anymore. I would have. It is the only place you actually belong. No one wants you around, everyone was just being nice to you since they feel bad for you and I had introduced you to the group. Hope you enjoyed your one day in the spotlight since Monday will be back to normal. You will go back to being the loser you really are. Generally ignored and looked down on by the rest of us. Maybe, one day, you will get it through that ginormous head of yours that nobody wants you and just lock yourself away. Your sister barely tolerates you. Your dad is never home to be around you. Your classmates can barely stand your presence. Everyone you've ever met finds you annoying. Heck, the only friends you have been able to make were ones that even that green freak rejected. They probably only stay around you because of your dad's money and to make themselves feel better. Get a clue for once Dib. You're worthless, an embarrassment to society and nobody wants you around."

If words could make someone bleed, then these would have left very deep cuts. Dib had already thought these things for most of his life and having someone say them aloud to him only made him feel like they were true. Finding out he was one of his father's science experiments did not help his self-image either. He saw himself as a failed experiment and a disappointment to Professor Membrane. Yes, he looked exactly like his creator, was just as intelligent, and they both became obsessed with things they were passionate about but that was where the similarities ended. He felt like it was his fault his father was never home. Once Dib had started voicing his love of paranormal and Membrane could not get him to follow Real Science, the professor created a hovering TV to replace himself as their parent and left him and a very young Gaz home for longer and longer periods of time until he was home only a few times a month in recent years. Gaz was the professor's idea of creating a sibling for Dib as well as his attempt at creating life from scratch by combining genetics. Less pressure was put on her than Dib over their lives since she did not have as much expectations placed on her. She had resented Dib and blamed him for a while because of their lack of parent but had slowly gotten over it as they got older and realized that the professor was the one who should be held accountable. The siblings were on good terms now, but at one point after Dib found out where he came from and before making friends with Keef and Skoodge, Gaz had even shunned him and he had been truly alone. Those were dark times for a preteen and he had contemplated suicide most nights. Only thing to keep him going was Zim, the fights with the alien kept him distracted from his own dark thoughts. When Zim was not around, then it was thoughts that, if he was gone, no one would be left to stop the alien and he felt like it was his duty to protect his sister. By this point he did not care so much about the rest of the world, but his sister and a few who had shown him some kindness over the years still deserved to be saved.

Those dark times were still a part of Dib, probably always would be, and so ingrained into his mind that many times he would catch himself thinking dark thoughts again. Then he would remember that people did care about him. Yes, he and his father were not close, but the guy was just a really crappy parent. Raising a family was not for him, he was a scientist through and through, and he had not thought it through properly when he decided to create children of his own. He tried, in his own way, and made sure that they were provided for. Gaz and he had become close, Gaz would even open up to him at times and she was always around if he needed her. Keef and Skoodge were truly friends of his and not just using him. The alien had no use for his dad's technology or Earth money after all and just enjoyed that he did not have to hide his true self with Dib around. For the first time in his long life, he could be himself without being judged by someone. Once Keef's eyes were fixed, he had no need to stay near Dib and be friends with him. Most people did not know him or even remember him from grade skool so when he joined Dib's hi-skool the rest of the students had first tried to befriend him. Especially since he avoided Zim right from the beginning. Only once he tracked Dib down at lunch to sit with him, Gaz, and Skoodge did their classmates begin treating him as an outcast as well.

Keeping these thoughts in mind, Dib decided that he was not going to let Lug push him around anymore. He has friends and family that care for him, he was smart and going somewhere with his life, even if it was not the exact plan that Membrane had laid out for him on creation. Yes, he may not be popular, but at least he knew who he was and did not let things like popularity dictate his life. This time, when Lug jerked his head to face him again after Dib had let his eyes wander to the desk below while thinking, Dib reacted by spitting in his captor's face. He watched in satisfaction at the look of shock that crossed the other boy's face as thick glob landed just below his eye. The look quickly changed to disgust as he removed his hand from Dib's face to wipe away the wet patch on his cheek and to notice that it was mostly blood. Wiping it away had only ended up smearing the offending matter further across his cheek as well.

"Go screw yourself. Or, better yet, get these goons of yours to do it for you since you can't seem to do anything without them. I am tired of being your punching bag. I'm not the weakling that you make me out to be. Without out them here with you, you probably would not do anything aside from insult me. Having people follow you like dogs help with that ego of yours since football and your parents money is the only thing you have going for you? At least I don't need people to lick my boots to feel better about myself."

His mouth really needed to start asking his brain things first before acting. Like, maybe it would be best to not insult someone and spit on them while being pinned down by guys that were nearly twice his weight. Lug's face went dark red and became angrier than Dib had ever seen as he spoke and Dib could feel the two above him tense up at his words. The last thing he saw was Lug's fist flying at his face again before the world around him spun out of control then went black.

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