The Morning After

Opening her eyes, she saw that it was six forty-eight. She knew that it was school today, today was a Thursday. Blinking, she saw that it said PM, and that the cord had been yanked out of the wall and it most definitely was not either that early in the morning or that late in the afternoon. Sitting up, she noticed that she was still in her clothes from yesterday.

"Dad's dead Gaz."

The sun was up, but not warm enough to be noon, so Gaz made the guess that it was probably eleven or twelve. She stood up, stretching out a sore neck and grabbing fresh clothing. She headed out and crossed the hall to the bathroom, after making sure no one was out there. She started stripping off her clothes, stopping to look at her face in the mirror. Her eyes almost looked bloodshot and her face was pale, well, paler then usual. That image in her mind she stepped into the shower.

"I saw his body."

She skimmed down the stairs in her bare feet. Dib was in the kitchen, sitting at the table. A bowl of cereal sat in front of him, but it had not even looked as if he had touched the spoon. She sat down across from him, staring down at the table's surface. He did not say anything and she couldn't.

"What's going to happen?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure," he stared at his coffee mug, which was barely touched. "I went over some of the details with Mr. Fortif-"

"Who?"

"An authority for- he was going to- Gaz, he wants to take you to a foster home."

She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Dib sighed, rubbing his forehead. "He did not know our age- thinking about it, no one really ever has bothered to check anything about us, the scientists still think we're in middle skool. I have a few weeks until I am eighteen, but you're only fifteen. Unless I can prove that I can care for you... they'll take you away."

"I don't need someone to care for me," Gaz rolled her eyes.

"By the law, your not allowed to," Dib shook his head.

"Dad-" Gaz stopped. Clearing her throat, she continued, "The money ought to be enough to support us."

"A lot of Dad's money went with the lab, the rest is for any other injuries, deaths, and other stuff for the other scientists there. A lot of people lost their jobs," Dib shut his eyes and rested his head on the table. "And the fact that we have money has nothing to do with it, it is whether there is anyone who can continue to earn money in the household."

"This is all stupid," she muttered.

"I have a month to be able to get custody of you."

Gaz stared up at him. "You... get custody of me?"

Dib brought his head back and nodded. "Either that or I loose you."

"Loose me?" Gaz scoffed. "You're crazy."

A raspy laugh came from his throat. "And that exactly will get you in a foster home."

Gaz opened her mouth to say something, but she could not find anything to say. She hated her brother, most of the time, but the last thing she wanted was to be placed in a house with a lot of strange kids who would not leave her alone, or with a family that wanted to "love" her.

"That's just stupid," she growled. "Just because you're crazy doesn't mean we can't do the same things we have been doing all our lives. He... was never home anyways."

"They won't take that," Dib picked up the mug and sipped at it.

"By the law you're supposed to be twenty-one!" Gaz shot back.

"I know," Dib looked up at her. "But apparently I am going to be allowed some leverage... for being... Membrane's son."

"And why are you acting like you even care if I'm here?" she grumbled, leaning forward on the table.

"Look Gaz," Dib coughed. "I know you hate me and a lot of the time, you really bug me too! But, we're the only ones left! You're all that's left of my family!"

"When did a family matter so much to you?" she asked, her voice raising. "It never mattered!"

"It seemed to matter to you when I said Dad died!" he shouted at her, slamming his mug back on the table. Furious that he would shout at her, she stood up and went to the front door.

"It's now that I only have one piece of it left," she heard him whisper.

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Why isn't the Dib-beast in class? Zim's eyes wandered again over to the empty seat. The empty seat which was right next to him. Not that Zim minded Dib-stink gone for science, it just let Zim shine in his own personal glory, but it just made him curious why he was not here.

Whispers went around that the Dib finally did something illegal ran like wildfire through the school. Zim did not remember anyone saying that with a fact. After a past incident (which will not be stated here) he did not believe the 'flying' words called rumors. He was not going to listen to something that was not true, that would just get his hopes up in order to smash them and tell him that something actually good happened to his enemy.

The weirder thing was, that the Gaz-monster was not at school either. Zim narrowed his eyes at the window, not paying that much attention to the idiotic man who said he had a science degree. At home, while Gir was watching the television, Probing the Membrane of Science had been canceled. Zim was not fool, whatever was going on with the three was a family matter.

Zim could never understand the meaning of that word. He had looked it up and it had said family: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head. Then, he had looked at his example of a family, the Dib's of course. Dib-worm and the Gaz-creature did live under the same roof, but their father Professor Membrane rarely came home (Zim knew that from his spying at Dib's house). Then came the second part of the statement. 'Under one head.' Zim was positive that each one of them had their own head. Although the Dib's head was large enough to share with Membrane and the Dib-sister, she simply would not stand for sharing a head with anyone, and Membrane was off in so many places he could not let the head he used stay behind for any amount of time. All in all, they obviously were not a family.

The part that annoyed him most was how boring class was with the Dib not bothering him. He felt like he was wasting his time when he could be in his base working on his next plan of world conquest. In fact, that sounded like the best idea that was sounded all day. So, as soon as the bell rang he shot off to skip the rest of the day. Not that one day would matter with his grades. He was Zim!

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"Watch it!" she snapped at the person who bumped into her. She narrowed her eyes in irritation when she saw who it was.

"Dib-sister!" exclaimed Zim. She began to walk away. She normally could care less what he had to say and that had not changed. She only found him a little less annoying than her brother, but the fact that he made her brother even more annoying took that small amount of leniency away from him. "Wait!"

"Not now Zim," she grumbled like she normally did.

"Where's the Dib-worm?" she heard him following after her.

"Somewhere else," she snapped. "Why do you think I care?"

Zim paused, seeming taken aback. "You... are the Dib-sister, right?"

She bit her tongue. "This had better be good," Gaz seethed.

"Where's your Game Slave?"

Gaz blinked, not even have noticing it gone. Her pocket felt empty without it there, waiting for her to pick it up. She remembered going into the virtual world shortly after Mom died. She drowned out the surrounding noise, and went into a world where she could restart someone else's life. Then Gaz recalled where she had dropped it in the hall the night before.

But Gaz did not want her Game Slave.

"None of your damn business, is it Zim?" she told him flatly, and where she usually would have given him an evil smile to freak him out, she narrowed her eyes and left. Zim backed away and did not follow her.

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Zim tried to shoot something back at the moody teenager, but habit made him shut his mouth. The last thing he needed was for his enemy's sister to beat the hell out of him. As much as he hated to admit it, the Dib-sister could beat both him and the Dib, even at their own games. Everything was a game for her, so he knew better then to say anything else, she obviously was not going to answer his question. He went back to his previous set of mind, which told him to head back to his base.

On his way back, he saw the big-headed figure in the distance.

Dib.

"What are you and your enormously large head doing out of skool, Dib-beast?" he asked slyly, coming up beside his enemy. The Dib did not respond to his obvious taunt and did not respond to the head comment, which told Zim something was wrong, which made him glad. Sorrow and upsetting things distracted ones mind and made one susceptible to mind attacks, which gave Zim an idea for his next world conquering plan.

"It's none of your business Zim," Dib replied in a monotone voice, continuing to walk by him without even giving him a glance.

"Yes, it is Zim's business," Zim retorted, feeling deja-vu coming on as he caught up with Dib. "What you fail to realize, Dib-beast, is that as soon as you messed with me, you became Zim's business!"

"No, I think not," Dib said, still continuing to go into town.

"Well you think wrong-" Zim began before Dib wheeled around on him.

"Look Zim," he hissed, reminding Zim of the Gaz-creature. "As much as I knew and and as close as I was to exposing you, I need to get a real life now, and fast. So I'd appreciate it if you'd leave me alone for a while. I'll bother you when I have the time!" He then proceeded back in the direction that he was heading in the first place.

"When you have the time?" Zim followed Dib, knowing it would be easier to get answers out of him. "What is that supposed to mean, Dib-worm? You'll make the time!"

Dib stopped in his tracks, causing Zim to bump into him. He turned and sat on the sidewalk curb, putting his face in his hands.

"Look Zim," his voice was muffled, but Zim could still hear it. "I know you could care less about what I am going to say to you, and this isn't because I want you to know, it's because I need to tell someone."

Zim cocked his head and looked down at the worm-baby on the sidewalk. "What is this?"

Dib sighed, "I need to get a job."

Zim could not help but laugh at him, he was just so stupid! "I thought you said your Paramedics was your job," he laughed.

"Paranormal," Dib corrected.

"I said that," Zim replied.

"It will be my job," Dib continued. "Once I get paid for it. But I need to get there quickly, so I can't spend time talking with you," he stood up.

"I thought all your supplies were bought by Membrane," Zim frowned.

"Well, they aren't anymore," Dib looked at him, his eyes all watery. "Since he's dead."

"Dead?" Zim narrowed his eyes. "And what difference does that make?"

"You just DON'T GET IT!" Dib shouted at Zim, surprising him. "He's DEAD!" Dib slumped down to the ground again, his face hidden against his knees.

Zim did not respond to that. In fact, he tried to understand Dib's point of view, though why, he told himself it was for his Human psychological studies. Zim figured, since Membrane had provided for the two siblings, they would be upset now that they had to fend for themselves. He found it pathetic that they would act that way, especially since it was Dib. His enemy had been fending for himself for as long as he had known him, he did not have to get all weepy over it now! It was only one thing less in his way!

"Now you don't have to spend any time trying to get any of his approval," Zim shrugged.

"You JERK!" Dib leaped at Zim, knocking him over. Zim bared his teeth and brought up his hands to attack as Dib put his own hands around Zim's neck. Zim coughed, scratching at Dib. He could have ended it quickly, by pulling out his spider legs, but in the middle of the city with anyone able to walk around the corner and see them, he attempted to pry Dib's hands off with his fingers. He abandoned that idea when things started to become black from the lack of air. He brought one mechanical leg out to bat Dib aside, which knocked him against the store wall.

"What was that for?" Zim snarled, striding up to Dib to finish what the other had started.

"For making it sound as if Dad didn't matter," Dib spat at him, causing Zim's forehead to start burning.

"Ahhhhhh!!! My face! Zim's beautiful face!" Zim screamed, running away to recuperate.

Zim just does not understand...

Well, on a lighter note, Merry Christmas!

-crickets start chirping-

Oh, come on! Bad timing again?

... Hope you people like...