Our Purpose

Chapter 8

Dib opened the door to his household quietly, peeking into the living room and trying to spot Gaz or the Professor. Seeing no one, Dib walked in and silently closed the door, his eyes and ears hyper focused as he walked over to the stairs. 

Before walking up, Dib squinted up the dark stairway, and despite not actually being able to see the hallway from where he was standing, he tried to see if anyone was there. He looked around him again, overly cautious in his own home. He spotted his homemade PAK still on the table where he left it and decided to grab it, having forgotten it was there. He slung it onto his back, going back to the stairs.

Now, with the PAK on his back, Dib finally climbed the stairs. 

This was the quietest he'd ever been and tried to be, and his heart was racing. 

He made it to the top of the stairs. No sign of life. 

He made it to his bedroom door. No signs of anyone around. 

He opened the door and stepped inside, latching it back in place and moving toward his bed once inside and setting the PAK down. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"... He told you, huh?" A sudden familiar voice said from behind him, causing Dib to gasp in surprise, stumbling forward slightly. He quickly looked over at his sister, who was leaning against his door nonchalantly.

"G-Gaz! Um," Dib looked around, in a panic. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He wanted to be alone. It looked like there wasn't an option. 

Dib sighed, looking away from his sister. "Yeah." He looked back at her a second later. "You knew, didn't you?" He asked her, his voice just above a whisper.

He received no response other than her gaze averting to the side. He moved his own gaze away from her for a moment. "I knew it." He hugged himself instinctively, his expression growing darker.

Gaz moved toward her brother swiftly. "I never said you were wrong, Dib. I never said I was human, either." Her brother took in a deep breath, looking at her.

"Yeah. I know. It just... hurts, you know? That neither of you ever thought to tell me directly that I wasn't actually human," he said, exasperated.

Gaz clearly felt guilty. Dib could see it in her eyes, but he knew she didn't regret not telling him sooner. There was one question on his mind that definitely needed answering, however.

"How long have you known?"

Gaz looked up at her brother once again. 

"A few years. Or, I'm not sure, actually. I think I've always kind of known. Dad just confirmed it a while back."

Dib felt so stupid. He'd already figured out how obvious everything was, how readily apparent the answer to every single one of his questions was, but he felt even worse. 

He was so wrapped up in trying to reveal the inconsistencies in Zim's life, but he'd never taken the time to evaluate the inconsistencies in his own.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Dib asked her after a minute or so of silence.

"You were so passionate about your paranormal things or whatever. Didn't want to ruin it," she said in response.

"But you called me insane," he pointed out.

"You're my brother. Of course you're insane."

He frowned at her, but he knew that despite the fact that she didn't tell him what he was, she never denied it either. She wasn't the one to blame. Dib sat on the edge of his bed, thinking.