A/N: I do not own Invader Zim. This is all for fun. Hope you enjoy the machinations of my silly mind. Please feel free to leave reviews and any suggestions.

Tick….Tock….

Gaz stared lazily at the clock. She sat at her school desk in a semi-daze.

Tick….Tock….

'When had things become….so mundane?'

She gave an indigent huff of air, some might even go as far as to say that she let out a sigh, but she couldn't help but be smothered by the constant pressure of the apathy weighing her down.

'When did I become so melodramatic.'

A chuckle slipped through her lips, causing gasps from the other students. Gaz grimaced and bit her lip, glaring at the intrusive eyes around her. The other students quickly looked away, retreating into their own little worlds. Worlds filled with meaningless, insipid thoughts.

For most of Gaz's adolescence, she wondered why everyone around her seemed so insignificant. Apart from her overbearing brother, no one mattered. She had no sense of kinship with anyone, only disdain for the lowlifes she was forced to endure daily.

She had a hard time understanding why there was never any connection with her 'peers.'

That is until she learned the truth, and that reality was harsh. It wasn't that she had some superiority complex, it was the simple fact that she wasn't even human. She was just a copy. She shouldn't even exist.

This had been a hard pill to swallow for Gaz. It was around 5 years ago, when she was 16, that she realized that she did feel lonely. When she had made her attempts to fraternize, as it were, people were uncomfortable with her presence. As sad as it is to say no one wanted to be her friend and it irked her to no end, but that was also the year that her life changed forever.

She remembered how lunch that day left a sour taste in her mouth. Her half-hearted attempts at making friends were met with awkward stares, leaving her annoyed and restless. She wandered into the restroom seeking escape. During this time a few of her classmates had wandered in. She was going to leave the stall but stopped when she heard them speak.

"Hey, what do you think about Gaz?"

"Oh, that scary girl…I don't know she just doesn't feel right you know?"

"Yeah, she looks normal or whatever, but….somethings just off. Out of nowhere, she wants to be friends, after being the 'doom and gloom' kid for years."

"I know what you mean. It's like warning bells start going off in my head and my body just naturally wants to run away. It's freaky."

"Not to mention that she has always had that nasty stuck-up attitude. Yeah, we get it you're the smartest kid in this stupid dump, but that doesn't mean you're better than everyone else."

The girls laughed and vacated the small space. Gaz couldn't explain why she stayed hidden. Typically when she heard people talking shit about her she would make herself known and put those underneath her in their place, but this time it was different. She felt something she had never felt before, and that feeling was…shame. If the heat that she could feel spreading across her cheeks was any indicator, then this horrible feeling deep within her chest was confirmation as well. This bitter feeling gnawed at her, urging her to stay hidden. For the first time in her entire life, Gaz felt ashamed and embarrassed.

She clenched her fist and kicked the stall of the bathroom door open. 'Fuck them. I don't need their acceptance, their validation.'She was Gaz Membrane and she was better than them. It was this town and the people living in it that were fucking weird, not her.

She exhaled slowly and decided that she had had enough of this place. She ditched school and decided to walk home. Some air and light exercise would do her some good. On her way home she noticed that the path she had chosen had led her through the local park. She would never admit it to anyone, but she did enjoy nature and the peace that it offered. Even in this polluted cesspool of a town, there were still places like this park that she could escape to. Her short-lived peace would soon come to an end though.

"Graxu! Vak'ra zhok graxu'ra tarkil?! Mi'kor'ra zak ku'ra lorkash nu z'hok!"

Gaz stopped her leisurely pace. Recognition setting in. Zim. The little green idiot was at it again. She was going to continue on her way, but paused when she heard Zim yell out again in frustration.

"T'raas!"

She knew perfectly well why she did what she did, but looking back, she didn't think that her absentminded curiosity would have led her down a path of discovery. Discovering who she was and what she was.

Irk Translations:

"Graxu Vak'ra zhok graxu'ra tarkil?! Mi'kor'ra zak ku'ra lorkash nu z'hok!"

"Fuck, why isn't this fucking working? My calculations are correct I should be able to send the transmission!"

T'raas: Damn