Vacationing (Gravity Falls and Invader Zim Fanfic)

The Arcade

Dib sprinted back to town, trenchcoat streaming behind him. Come on, hotel, hotel... There has to be one around here!  He looked around frantically. It wasn't only spending time with Dipper, but the sun was setting and Dib obviously didn't want to be outside in a strange place alone at night.

His eyes finally locked on a small inn. He walked in, money in hand, stuff trailing behind him. "Can I get a room?" Dib asked.

"How long are you staying?"

"Er... Until the end of the summer."

He handed the man behind the desk his money. "Room 313," The man behind the desk passed Dib a key.

"Thanks," Dib took it gladly and dragged his stuff upstairs.

His room was small, with two twin beds, a desk, and a TV. Dib flopped down on one of the beds, ready to just fall asleep.

His eyes were just closing when he realized--

He had absolutely no idea where Gaz was.

Leaving his stuff out on the floor, Dib slammed his door and, armed with nothing but his room key, sprinted outside into the near darkness.

The lights of the various buildings and the occasional streetlamp were the only things that lit up the road; no one was about. Every now and then he heard the chatter of a few people, but they were never in sight. "Arcade... Arcade..." Dib looked around.

His eyes finally locked on the building. "YES! Okay, Gaz. You better still be in here..." Dib mumbled, sprinting over.

The inside of the arcade was relatively normal. There were some pinball machines, some classics (Dib was admittedly drawn to Space Invaders, but refrained from popping a quarter in), and some creepy looking games with big-eyed Japanese schoolgirls. It wasn't crowded, but Dib didn't expect it to be. This is an INSANELY small town, after all.

He located Gaz beside a taller man in a gray hat, shorts, and a green t-shirt. They seemed to be playing a fighting game that Dib didn't recognize.

"Y'know, the character I'm playing as once came to life."

"Shut up. Just play."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Gaz! Come on, why are you here? It's late."

"Shut up, Dib. I'm gonna beat this guy," Gaz growled in reply, fiddling with her joystick. "I rock at Fight Fighters."

"I've never heard of it."

"You've never heard of Fight Fighters? Dude, it's a great game," The man glanced back for a moment. "You should play next."

"I'm not going to play next! It's late and we need to get home, Gaz." Dib snapped. Gaz sighed and mashed the button for a bit. The man countered it by blocking all of them.

"Oops, that didn't kill him. Guess I need to keep playing." Gaz replied nonchalantly, causing Dib to sigh.

"Fine. Ten minutes."

"Make it twenty, dude! You have to play!"

"No thanks, random tall man," Dib frowned. "...Wait, yeah, who are you?"

"I'm Soos! Nice to meet you, dude."

"That's my stupid brother." Gaz introduced simply.

"Oh, Dib! Gaz has been complaining about you since I got here." Soos laughed.

"Great. Thanks," Dib rolled his eyes and grabbed a quarter from his pocket. "I'll be over by Space Invaders. Meet me when you're done."

"I wouldn't if I were you, dude. Pacifica is over there right now." Soos advised gently, suddenly turning his joystick completely around in a circle. Gaz growled.

"...Who?"

"Some chic chick who this stupid town hasn't shut up about since we got here. Do you pay attention to anything, Dib?" Gaz explained bitterly. Dib shrugged.

"I'll just go talk to her, then," He pushed his glasses up on his nose and made his way over to the arcade machine. "...Excuse me? Could I play next?"

Pacifica looked at him, one eyebrow raised. She laughed. "Uh, I'm sorry. I didn't think I was going to share this game with one of the commoners."

Dib was admittedly thrown off by this. A lot. Instead of protesting he simply watched her play the game. It wasn't like he really wanted to play, anyway. It was simply something to do.

Pacifica was not good at the game at all and she didn't even seem like she was having fun, but she was apparently hell-bent on making sure Dib never got a turn. He sighed and looked over at Gaz and Soos, who seemed more than content to stay there the entire night. He hung his head (was it always so heavy?) and decided that this was a losing battle, anyway.

Slinking over to Fight Fighters (were Gaz had entered what Dib liked to call her 'death stance'), Dib slipped his other room key into Gaz's bag and crept away, tossing a rueful glance at Pacifica before going out into the streets.

It was completely dark, now, and Dib felt a small pang of homesickness. It was quieter here than it was at home. Much, much quieter. But he didn't dwell on that for too long, instead subconsciously changing course to head toward the mystery shack.

He could have sworn that he saw a flash of yellow from the bushes, but he continued on toward the shack anyway.

(i'm baaAAAACK)