Dib stared out the window from his desk, tapping his pencil impatiently against his desk. It was almost lunch time. It was still snowing outside, though not nearly as heavily as it had been earlier that morning. He stopped his tapping and looked up at the clock. 5 minutes to go. Leaning back in his seat, he let his eyes wander, looking for something interesting to stare at for the remaining 5 minutes other than the snow. Nothing seemed to catch his eye as being too interesting until he swept his gaze across the row of students Zim was sitting in. The alien was staring straight at him, though he looked away quickly when Dib noticed him. Dib sat up straighter and looked away also, staring back down at his desk top. How long had Zim been staring at him? Was it possible that Zim had been staring at him this entire time and he just hadn't noticed? He felt his face heat up once again, though this time he had no idea why.

     The lunch bell rang, though it could hardly be heard above the voices of students cheering for joy. Dib sighed in a bit of relief as the other students stampeded out of the classroom to try and get a good spot in line at the cafeteria. Dib had never been all that trusting of the slop they served at skool after that one incident in the fifth grade that he'd rather forget. Ever since then, he had started bringing his own lunch from home. It was cheaper and less likely to eat his head off. Though today, he wasn't at all hungry for anything.

     Picking his things up, he slowly began making his way to the cafeteria. He didn't have to worry about finding a place to sit. For as long as he and Gaz had both been going to skool together, he had sat with her every day at the same table. Everybody else was too scared to even go anywhere near Gaz.

    Zim was disgusted by the food that was put before him. He poked as it and heard it give a little "squee". He felt a little fearful when the meat ball stood up and glared at Zim. Zim quickly yelled, accidently screaming out the thoughts he had been thinking...or part of them at least. "I DON'T MAYBE WANT DIB!!!!" He quickly covered his mouth and looked at the confused children that were staring at him. He blushed and tried to think of an excuse for what he had just said. Only one thought came to mind and wasn't sure whether the children would take it. So he gulped and raised a finger. "I...mean....I hate you, dirty meat-ball?" He closed his eyes tight, waiting for the children's response. When the children acted like nothing had happened, Zim opened one of his eyes, his bottom lip sticking out. Then in relief, he sat back and rubbed the sweat from his forehead. When he was about to "eat" (or poke) the thing that was supposed to be spaghetti, however, he quickly shot up like a dog had bit his butt. Slowly, he turned his eyes to see if Dib had been listening or not. He was a little afraid but still looked.

     Dib had jumped at the sudden scream and mention of his name in that scream. He instantly recognized the voice. He'd know that voice anywhere. Turning, he looked over at the table Zim usually sat at during lunch. Their eyes met for a few brief moments, the flustered alien blushing and looking away when Dib gave him a "What the hell?!" kind of look. What was that about? He was used to Zim yelling out random things, but that was just plain weird, even for Zim. Turning back around to face the table, he stared wide eyed at his lunch, which he had barely touched. Why was he feeling this way? Ever since the end of their first class that morning, things between him and Zim had turned awkward. Now he couldn't even so much as look at the alien without a blush coming to his face. And it seemed, neither could Zim. Perhaps all he needed was some fresh air.

     After about 25 minutes of sitting with his sister, he pushed himself up onto his feet to leave. Gaz didn't even acknowledge his leaving; she was too busy playing one of her handheld game systems to even care. Dib wanted the last 20 minutes of lunch to himself to think. Leaving the naturally noisy lunchroom full of students, he made his way down to now empty hallways. He doubted anybody would be outside in this weather so he headed towards the skool's front doors. Pushing one of them open, he took a few steps outside. A chilly breeze blew past him, making him grip his arms and shiver as he walked out farther. White snowflakes clung to his trench coat as he stared up at the sky. A few flakes of snow landed on his face, melting almost the instant they made contact with his warm skin.

     Zim looked worried, eyeing the place Dib had left. He was blushing and didn't even know how to act anymore. He wished that someone would throw pork at him or something. The alien looked up and closed his eyes, giving a sigh with his arms crossed. He had an ingenious plan this morning but it looked like he had forgotten it all. Something about replacing school desserts, chocolate chip ice-creams, with cinnamon and marzipan dust covered ice-cream. He thought that was ingenious this morning but now that he had completely forgotten about it, he stood up and made his way to the scary sister of the big-headed boy. Zim cleared his throat before saying something to Gaz. "Why is the Dib acting so...er...Unnormal? I saw that he was telling you a lot of things, so I thought...what's the stink boy's problem? AND DO NOT SAY NO TO ME! ZIMMM! Because I can make a lot of....horrible...er....THINGS!"

     Gaz glanced up at Zim as soon as he addressed her but only for a second before returning to her game. "Why do you care? It's not like he's getting in your way of world conquest or whatever the hell you're doing right now. I thought you of all people would be happy he's not being his old, crazy self. Besides, it's none of your damn business what his problem is. If you want to know so damn badly, then why don't you ask him yourself? Not me. Now go away before I cast you into a nightmare world from which there is no return." she glared at him in an intimidating way.

     She really didn't care what was wrong with Dib, and she didn't see any reason for anybody else to care, especially Zim. It wasn't like Zim could do anything to change how Dib acted. His problem lay in the past, and that's where it would stay because no matter how hard one tries, the past can't be changed. His only option now was to just move on with his life, as hard as that was. In a way, he had, though a small part of him still clung to the past, and that was what Dib had to get over. Unless he did so, he'd never stop acting this way during the holidays.

     He stepped back, a little scared now, but he didn't wanted to show it that much. So he just waved his hand. "I DO NOT CARE ABOUT HIM AS MUCH AS YOU THINK! Besides....I would rather talk to you than to HIM. And you know it's BORING him not being HIM anymore. It's just not normal. And I SEE there is something wrong in that stupid boy's head! I can SMELL it!"

     Gaz growled lowly but audibly when Zim refused to leave. "Zim, if you don't care then don't ask because you're sure as hell not going to get any answers out of me. As much as I love to see Dib being tormented, this is a personal issue that even I wouldn't step ground on. If you're really so damn curious about it then you'll have to ask Dib about it, not that he'd tell you anything about it. Dib's never been all that open of a person. The chances of you actually getting him to tell you anything are slim to none. If I were you, I'd just drop it already because I'm not saying another word to you about this. Now, I'll give you one last chance to leave with your arms and legs attached to your body. GO! AWAY! Your voice is almost as annoying as Dib's is." she sent him a death glare. The way things were going, she was going to lose her game if Zim didn't stop distracting her.

    He wanted to say, "Well of course you would drop it all. That's all that you do, you human, female stink creature!" But closed his mouth and went away, a little frightened. He sat at the table again, being sad this time. He wanted to know why Dib was acting this way so much, but he just couldn't ask Dib. So he just thought, 'Eh. I guess I'll just wait. Maybe HE will tell me it all by himself....?' But he quickly shook his head. "UURGH! What do -I- care?" He pulled out a box of space juice from his PAK. He knew it would come in handy, so he started to slurp it through a straw, trying to act all "I-don't-careISH." And he was doing well at that. But when he started to think about what was wrong with Dib, or why HE was caring so much about Dib, he started blushing and hoped that Gaz didn't see it if she just happened to look up from her game for even a second.

     Gaz never looked up, too concentrated on finishing her game. She could care less about what Zim thought of her. At least she knew Dib wouldn't want to talk to anybody about it.

     Meanwhile, back with Dib, the boy had been standing outside in the snow for the past 15 minutes. It had been peaceful enough, allowing him time to get his thoughts under control. It wasn't until the wind had started to pick up a bit that he decided it best that he be heading in. The bell hadn't rung yet, but lunch had to be nearly over by now. He shivered as one last gust of wind whipped against him, noticing that the snowfall was becoming heavier once more. An audible whistle rose from the wind as it zipped past the leafless trees. A storm was coming.

     Pushing the front doors open to let himself in, he had some difficulty forcing the doors closed again due to the wind. When he finally got them to close all the way, his nose and ears were red, this time from how cold it was outside. Bringing his hands to his mouth, he tried to breathe warm air into his hands to warm up. It didn't help much as his hands shook slightly. Tucking his hands into his pockets, he began walking back towards his locker at a brisk pace to drop off his backpack. He wouldn't need any books for his next class.

     The bell rang, and Dib groaned. Gym class. He hated that class with a passion. First there would be physical abuse, then more yelling, and lastly, vigorous exercises. Taking a deep breath, he headed towards the boys' locker room by the gym. He heard voices inside already and knew he wouldn't escape a beating from the other boys in his class. They found amusement in beating him up and stuffing him into a locker all because he refused to fight back. He walked in, hoping they would just ignore him, and headed to his locker to get changed into his gym clothes. As he opened his locker and reached in to find the ugly shorts and top the skool made them wear, he felt a firm hand grab his shoulder from behind to spin him around. He instantly came face to face with three other boys from his class.

     The one directly in front of him spoke first. "Hey, Dib. I think you're in the wrong locker room. The girls' locker room is on the opposite end of the gym."

     The one to his left spoke up next. "Yeah, you fag! Now, why don't you just head on over there?" he smirked, the three boys laughing in unison.

     Dib glared. "Well, if this is the boys' locker room then what the hell are you three doing in here?"

     The three boys stopped their laughing, one of them grabbing the front of his shirt. "What the hell did you just say?! I hope you like the colors black and blue cause that's all you'll be seeing for a while now!"

     They proceeded to start beating the crap out of him. While one of the boys held him from behind, the other two punched and kicked him in the gut repeatedly. Dib tried his best to break free, but the more he struggled, the tighter they held him. One of them kicked him straight in the groin, causing him to go to his knees and let out a pained yelp. Tears swelled in his eyes, but he wouldn't cry. Not in front of these jerks. After a few more choice kicks to his chest and face, they finally got bored, deciding to just stuff him in his locker, which was a bit small for him. Struggling and screaming for them to let him go, they forced him into the cramped area before closing and locking the locker door, leaving him to scream until somebody finally let him out. As Dib hit against the inside of his locker and yelled continuously, the three boys merely laughed mockingly at his futile attempts to break free before leaving to go to class.

          Zim walked past Dib's locker when heard him screaming. He looked through the locker holes to see Dib. "Dib-stink? What are you doing in THERE? Are you hiding from someone?" he asked, worried and blushing. But he quickly hid it though by saying, "Um....like a scared rabbit?"

     Dib was desperate the get out as he banged on his locker door. Then he heard that unmistakable voice again. Zim. Of all the people who could have found him, it just had to be the one who hated him the most. Why did his luck have to suck so much?!

     Dib glared out at the alien standing in front of his locker. "No, I am not hiding from someone! Those jerks in our class beat the shit out of me and stuffed me in here! Now let me out of here already, goddamnit! I'm claustrophobic!" he said, a bit of panic building in his voice as he began to breath heavily. He had never liked being trapped in tight spaces, and he was always afraid no one would let him out to breath. And to make things worse, he was in pain due to how tightly packed in he was with his new injuries. No doubt there would be multiple bruises all over his body as well as swelling around one of his eyes. He even tasted blood in his mouth when he coughed in a bit of discomfort. But the teachers didn't care. They never seemed to care what the other students did.

     Zim glared at him. "And WHY should I help YOU?" It was then that he remembered they were supposed to be working on a project together. So he opened the locker and helped him out. "HOW -DARE- THOSE MISERABLE HUMANS DO THIS TO MY ENEMY?!? Only -I- can make -MY- enemy miserable." he said, shaking his fists and looking at his feet, STILL blushing.

     Dib's glare disappeared at Zim's response as a bit of fear crossed his features. He thought for a moment there that Zim was going to leave him in that locker for the rest of the day which is why it surprised him so much when Zim actually opened the locker to help him out. Dib scrambled out of the closed in space into the open, relieved that he could move again. Looking back up at Zim once he had regained some of his composure, he finally spoke. "Ummm...thank you." he said without a hint of any hate in his voice for once. He was actually thankful for Zim helping him out even if his reason for doing so wasn't the best.

     He listened as the Irken began speaking out loud, more to himself than Dib. The alien's words had him blushing slightly, though he wasn't sure why. Normally if Zim had said something like that, Dib would have gotten upset and angry with the alien but for some unknown reason, Dib couldn't bring himself to feel insulted by the Irken's words. Deciding it would just be best to let them slide, Dib instantly remembered why they were even in the locker room to begin with. Gym class! He was already late enough as it was as he frantically began searching his locker for his gym clothes. Their gym teacher would surely mark them down for being late.

     Making a happy noise when he found his gym shorts, he quickly began stripping down to get changed. Throwing his trench coat and blue sweater into his locker, he stopped undressing when he felt eyes on him. He had been about to pull his pants off so he could get his shorts on but when he turned, Zim was watching him closely. Already standing half naked in front of the Irken, he blushed and sent Zim a somewhat shy look. "Do you mind?" he said in a slightly annoyed voice, hoping the Irken would catch his hint to either turn around or go away.

     The alien blushed, unable to move a muscle. He just stood there with a curious look, blushing a deep red. He felt something weird in his squeedly spooch. Something tickled him inside, and in that moment he felt  he liked the Dib. For some reason he took a step closer, still blushing. For the first time, he took a step towards Dib not to glare at him or as an insult, not even in anger but for...a chance to touch Dib's body.

     Dib backed up when Zim took another step closer, his back pressing up against the cold locker. He shivered. What was Zim doing?! The alien seemed hypnotized as he reached a hand out towards Dib's face. "Zim, What are you-?" he cut himself off before he could finish, shrinking back and closing his eyes tightly as, out of habit, he expected to feel some kind of pain. What he felt, however, was the exact opposite, making his eyes shoot wide open to stare at the dazed alien. 3 long, slender fingers touched his cheek, pulled away slightly, then returned to stroke his face gently. Dib's blush only grew as he questioned the Irken, his voice shaking. "W...What the hell, Zim?!" he said with as much force as he could. He wanted to move away but he was frozen in place as he closed his eyes once again. "P...Please....Stop..."he pleaded with the alien but nothing he said seemed to be able to break him from this trance.

     Dib felt those icy fingers slip down his face to run along his jaw line, drag down his neck, and continue tracing along his collar bone. Dib couldn't take it anymore. This was too much to handle. In one last desperate attempt to get Zim to back off before he trailed those Irken claws any lower, he yelled. "STOP!" About 1 second after yelling that, a loud "BANG!" was heard as someone threw open the locker room door. He wasn't sure whether it was his yell or the sound of the door slamming open that had done it, but either way, something seemed to snap Zim out of his daze. His eyes went wide as he seemed to realize what he was doing and pulled his hand away slightly so he was no longer touching Dib.

     Dib didn't have time to let out a relieved breath as their gym teacher barged in at that very moment. "Zim! Dib! You're late! Just what the hell is going on in here?!" he looked from Zim to Dib. "On second thought, I don't want to know what you two are doing alone in here! Just hurry up and get to class!" he pointed Zim out the door to go join the others in the gym while Dib finished getting dressed. Dib blushed at their gym teacher's words, but obeyed quickly, pulling on his gym clothes and running out to join the others for exercises.

     Zim quickly realized what he had done and after a few seconds, he ran out to join the others. But first he banged his head against the wall, making it bleed a little but not much. Nothing serious at all. Just a little bleeding on the forehead....but his cheeks....MAN were they RED! He uttered to himself, "How STUPID of me....er....and how STUPID of Dib being so.....so...GAH! I DON'T EVEN WANNA SAY IT! And I WON'T CAUSE I don't CARE!!!!" And after a few seconds of lying to himself, he finally joined the others. He looked at the gym teacher. "If something's disturbing you....Me and the Dib monkey were just...um....he got a lot of muffin crumbs on his face! Yea! So I and my NORMAL hand just swept them off. OKAY?!" he said with a big, toothy I-am-normal grin when he said the "OKAY?!" part.

     The gym teacher merely rolled his eyes as he marked a few things on a clipboard. "Sure you were." he said sarcastically. "Just line up with the others already." he pointed to the rows of boys standing in the middle of the gym waiting for further instructions.

     Dib came out about a minute later, still slightly shaken by the whole ordeal back in the locker room. He continued to stare aimlessly down at his feet as he took his spot in line. When he looked up, he noticed the three boys from earlier glaring at him. He quickly looked away just to come face to face with Zim. He blinked his eyes a few times, backing up to gain back a bit of his personal space. He had forgotten that he and Zim stood next to each other in gym. Noticing the bit of blood on Zim's forehead, he pointed it out to the other. "You're bleeding." He knew the Irken had hit his head on the way out of the locker room, but he hadn't realized he had hit it that hard. After a moment of hesitation, he reached forward to wipe it off, thinking it was the least he could do for Zim letting him out of that locker. Pulling his hand back, he wiped the blood off on his shirt before turning back towards the front when the teacher addressed the class.

     "Alright. All of you drop and give me 30 pushups." he pointed to the ground for them to begin and blew his whistle.

     At first, Zim hadn't heard the whistle because he was looking at Dib, wide-eyed, blushing, with his mouth opened and tongue hanging out. He felt weird. Something inside him was warm but confusing. He couldn't believe that after what he had just done to Dib that Dib would even LOOK at him. He touched his forehead and smiled a little, with eyes turning happy, but when he heard his name again, he joined the others in doing pushups.

     Dib and Zim did as the teacher ordered them, dropping to the ground to do their pushups. Although he wasn't bad at them, Dib hated pushups. They always left him out of breath and sweaty, not to mention Zim always made him look bad. Zim always seemed to do them with such ease, probably due to his training before he came to Earth. He may have looked scrawny, but he did have more strength than others would think just by looking at him.

     Zim finished first, Dib completing his a good minute and a half later. Zim was already standing, ready to do more exercises when Dib knelt back on his knees to catch his breath. Zim had beaten him again. Panting as he sat back on his knees, he looked up at the waiting Irken. He had barely even broken a sweat doing all those pushups. The little perspiration that did cling to his body made his lime green skin glow almost as though a light were being shined directly on him.

     Despite the color of his skin, a lot of the girls in their class envied him. Most girls would die for such a lean and flexible body, and his lack of blemishes just made them all the more jealous. Dib had always wondered how Irkens had managed to keep their skin so perfect. He recalled a few skin problems he had all through 7th, 8th, and 9th grade. Thankfully, it had cleared up about halfway through his second year of high-skool. For years the other kids had called him all sorts of demeaning names.

     As Dib knelt there admiring Zim's perfect body, lost in thought, the coach yelled at him to stop daydreaming and get up to run laps with the rest of the class. Getting back to his feet, he started jogging around the perimeter of the gym with the other boys. After so many years of chasing Zim around, both he and Zim were used to this. Dib was a natural born runner, faster than most of the others in his class. But once again, Zim was better. The Irken outran him every time. It explained why Dib was never able to actually catch him. This was one instance in which his long legs didn't give him an advantage over Zim. Dib watched Zim's steady pace, wondering how it was possible for somebody to be so short but still run so damn fast.