Dib let go of Zim completely as the Irken slid down to the ground and hid his face in his hands. From where Dib was standing, it looked like Zim was crying, which surprised Dib. He didn't think Irkens could cry and even if they could, he never expected Zim would be the one breaking down in front of him. In all the years he had known Zim, the other had never expressed any other emotions besides anger, fear, and insane happiness whenever he came up with some "ingenious" plan for world conquest. But this was just out of character for the once proud invader. What Dib felt was even more out of character for himself was the fact that he actually felt sorry for the Irken in that moment. He had always thought he'd feel great the day he finally beat Zim but now, he felt the exact opposite. His chest ached, but he didn't know what he could say or do to make the other feel better.

     After a few moments of just watching Zim sob at his feet in silence, Dib finally moved to grab one of the candles from on top of the lockers before kneeling down in front of Zim. Holding the candle up to get a better look at one of the cuts on Zim's face that was still bleeding, Dib wiped some of it away with his free hand. "Your blood's so warm, but your skin is cold." he noted more to himself than Zim. Pulling his hand back, he ripped a bit of his shirt off at the hem so he could hold it to the alien's head until the bleeding stopped.

     Placing the candle back down on the ground, he reached out with his other hand to touch the Irken's wet cheek. Being careful of the other's eye, he used his thumb to wipe away any stray tears he could reach. Zim's skin was even smoother than Dib had thought, more delicate than any human's could ever be. Lowering his voice down to just barely above a whisper, Dib tried to calm the alien with gentle words. "I'm sorry, for yelling, I mean. Please, don't cry. If I hurt you, then I didn't mean to. I just wanted some answers. That's all. But if you don't know, then I guess I'll just have to get them from somewhere else." he said, pulling one of his hands back as soon as he was sure the bleeding had stopped.

     Zim was staring right into Dib's eyes as though he was scared. But he was only shocked really and had his teeth showing a little at the side of his mouth. He reached to touch his own cheek near Dib's hand before shifting his gaze off of Dib, his eyes shining, mostly because of the crying.

     After Zim had calmed to a considerable point where only a few sniffles could be heard, Dib pulled his other hand away to sit back and watch as the Irken finished wiping the last of his tears away. Letting out a somewhat tired yet relieved sigh that the other had stopped crying, Dib let his eyes droop down over his eyes. He was tired and suddenly didn't feel like moving at all, even to get the blanket Zim had left in the gym. He would have been more than happy at this point to just fall asleep right where he was sitting. He didn't even really feel cold anymore. More numb than anything really. But he knew better than to just let himself fall asleep in such cold weather.

     Looking over at Zim, he considered his options again. Share the blanket with Zim. It had been his first option to begin with and still his only option in the end. Perhaps they could call some kind of truce for now. Dib was tired of fighting for the day. It had been full of too much stress and confusion for his liking. Yawning once, he addressed the Irken again in that same gentle voice. "Zim, it's getting colder outside. Can we call a truce for the night and just get some sleep? Please. I promise I won't try anything while you're sleeping if you won't try anything while I'm sleeping." he said, blinking to keep his vision from blurring too much as he fought to stay awake.

     Zim glared at him before his look softened. He looked down at his feet. "I don't know why I have the feeling that you’re telling the truth....You usually tell me HORRIBLE lies....BUT for some reason, I’ve felt safe being near you tonight....And you should be PROUD!" he blushed. "So....my answer's....fine...." He was still sitting and hugging his legs. Then he stood up. "But we’re not going to sleep in THIS fridge, are we?"

     Dib shook his head slowly in exhaustion. "No. Let's move back into the gym. We'll find an empty spot on the bleachers to sleep." he said, motioning for the other to follow him. It sounded as though the commotion outside had ended already as Dib led Zim out of the boys' locker room back into the gym. It seemed everybody was sleeping now as Dib quickly located the blanket. Picking it up and folding it over one arm, Zim and Dib made their way up to the top of the bleachers where it was mostly isolated. Unfolding the blanket and shaking it out, Dib took a seat and wrapped part of it around himself, holding the other half up for Zim. The Irken seemed hesitant to take it at first, his glare never leaving as he stared at Dib. When Zim refused to take it, Dib lowered his arm and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Zim. Don't give me that look. In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to be nice to you. So just come on already. I don't bite." he said, sending Zim a hard stare as he lifted the blanket up to him again.

     Zim turned his back and crossed his arms so Dib wouldn't see the blush on his face. Then he realized he HAD no choice in the matter, so he just turned around and did as Dib said. "But DON'T tell me what to do, Dib-monkey." he blushed as they were even closer now.

     Dib just sighed and shook his head in defeat as the Irken took the seat next to him to wrap his half of the blanket around himself. "Whatever you say, Zim. Let's just get some sleep." he mumbled non-committedly. He was too tired to argue with the other anymore. Tugging the blanket tighter around them so they would both stay warm, Dib leaned back against the wall behind him. Being a bit bigger than the Irken, he had to scoot in a little closer than he would have liked to Zim, but it was worth it to finally be warm. Zim, on the other hand, had managed to tightly tuck himself deep into the blanket, making it seem as though he had been swallowed whole. Dib had a feeling Zim was pouting under the layers of blanket around him as he stared at the bundle huddling next to him. He blinked once, twice, a third time, each time his vision blurring more and more until darkness surrounded him and sleep took its effect. He had forgotten to remove his glasses, which slid down to the end of his nose as his head fell forward in his dream filled slumber. His silent breathing became slower as all consciousness left him completely.

     Zim, on the other hand, wasn't sleeping. He was watching all the other kids sleep. One of them was snoring so loud that he wondered how the others could sleep so well. Then he wondered, if he slapped him hard enough, would he shut up? But when the kid stopped snoring, Zim sighed in relief and suddenly felt tired. He looked at Dib, who was fast asleep, dreaming. At first, Zim was looking at him with an annoyed look, but then his face suddenly changed into a confused one. He blushed as he thought that Dib looked kind of....cute when he was asleep but quickly shook that thought out of his head. He was also starting to fall asleep, so he just closed his eyes and went to the place where Dib already was: dreamland. He didn't feel himself leaning up against Dib a little as consciousness left him.

     Dib felt movement as the body next to him shifted to the point it was resting up against him. He didn't protest as he subconsciously shifted also to get more comfortable. He felt that body curled tightly against his chest as he settled again in his sleep. It was a snug fit, the weight of the other being light enough that it was almost pleasant. His body easily went lax as his chest rose and fell with each steady breath that came with his relaxed state. Reaching around the other to clutch the blanket tightly, he tugged it and the body closer for more warmth.

     And so Dib dreamt. He dreamt of his past experiences with Zim but most of all, he dreamt of his mother. He missed her so much and dreamed about her almost every night. He remembered the last time he had seen her alive. It had been snowing that day too. He could still remember every event that had led up to her death perfectly despite how young he had been at the time. It had been the worst day of his life, and he wished he could just forget about it but he couldn't. It would forever be imprinted in his memory.

     Dib shifted again as his dreams took over. Letting a few small noises escape him in his sleep, Dib shivered. He wasn't cold anymore, but the memory was chilling. As the night hours passed into early morning, Dib continued to relive those haunting memories as he did every night during this time of the year. He whimpered lightly, calling out to his mother every so often until he came to with a start when he heard the voices of other students talking once more. Eyes flying open, Dib sat up straight and looked around, his breathing heavy. Sunlight filtered in through the high up windows in the gym, lighting the room enough for students to move about now. It was morning. But he couldn't see. Everything was blurry as he swallowed thickly and blindly began searching for his glasses, which must have fallen off at some point in the night. As he searched, he prayed to God that he hadn't been talking in his sleep the entire night, which he had been known to do on occasion according to his sister.

     Zim opened his eyes and stretched a little, yawning. He stood up, a little sleepy, not realizing that his wig had fallen off. But he did realize he had stood up on Dib's glasses.

     Dib's eyes grew wide as he heard the loud, crunching noise. The Irken seemed to have jumped at the sound of glass breaking under his foot, tripping over Dib, who had been searching for his glasses on the ground. Dib covered his face with one hand and groaned. "Oh, God. Please don't tell me what I think just happened, happened." he said, slowly peaking out at the other, who was now eye level with him. He was completely blind without his glasses.

     Pulling his hand away from his face, he reached toward where he had heard the crunch. What he found, however, didn't feel like his glasses. Picking up the object his hand had landed on, he took a good look at it until he realized what he had grabbed. It was Zim's wig. Turning his eyes back on the blurry green and red figure next to him, he could just barely make out the two black stalks twitching on the Irken's head. Reaching up to gently take one of them between his fingers, he tugged it lightly, just enough to get the other's attention without hurting him. "You dropped something." he held the wig up to Zim.

     Zim gasped and quickly put his wig on, looking around in hope that no one had seen that. When he realized no one had seen him, he sighed in relief. "I never thought that the truce would continue even AFTER the night, Dib." he smiled. Then he picked up Dib's glasses and looked confusedly at them. "And umm....you should put your things in a safer place, Dib-thing..." He stood up in front of Dib and put his glasses on his face. There was a little crack on one of the lens.

     Dib blinked up at the Irken, blushing slightly. "Yeah, well I...ummm...they kind of just fell off when I was sleeping and...Thank you..." he stopped trying to explain himself to the Irken. He had been even more thrown off guard by the fact that Zim had actually said his name with absolutely no insults attached to it. He smiled at Zim. It wasn't cruel in any way. It was a genuine smile with no hate involved. Dib cleared his throat as he stood up next to Zim. "And about the truce...ummm....I was kind of hoping since, you know, we have to work on that assignment together...that maybe we keep it just a little longer? I mean, at least until we're finished with it." he said, looking to the side the entire time.

     Zim looked at Dib curiously when he gave him a smile like THAT and shrugged, looking to the side. "Eh. I guess so. But when do we start....?"
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
     Dib looked around at all the students and teachers that were just sitting around talking or playing. "Whenever we get out of here, I guess. We were supposed to start working on it today but unless the skool has found a way to clear out the snow, we're stuck here. Then again, you could start at least reading the reproduction section in the book like you said you would yesterday. And I guess I could start writing up an introduction." he said, looking up at the ceiling in thought.

     It was at that very moment that the lights flickered back on as power was restored to the skool. Both Zim and Dib looked to the front of the gym when they heard a microphone being tapped on to get everybody's attention. "Excuse me." the principal spoke into it, waiting for all the students and teachers to look his way. "Good news, everybody. The power is back online, and we have some specialists on their way to clear the snow from the entrance of the skool. The storm has finally passed, and it's believed you should all be free to go in a little over an hour. That leaves you all enough time to grab your things and get some breakfast in the cafeteria before going. And you can just drop your blankets off by the front doors before leaving." he smiled before turning off the microphone.

     Dib sighed in some relief at that announcement before turning back to face Zim. "Or we could wait until we get to my house." he said, wanting more than anything to just go home so he could take a nice, warm shower and grab a new change of clothes.

     Zim looked curiously at Dib and then happily smiled. "Well then." He started his way to the bathroom.

     Dib just stood there, blinking in a bit of confusion as the other left in the direction of the bathrooms. The Irken hadn't really answered his question of whether he wanted to start their assignment at skool or not, but Dib just decided to take Zim's smile as not there but at his house. Shrugging to himself, he decided to just head for the cafeteria to grab himself some breakfast, expecting that Zim would catch up with him later. He wouldn't be too surprised if Zim didn't show up for breakfast. Chances were they would be serving something he was allergic to anyways. So he picked up the blanket and his backpack before heading to the cafeteria. He would meet up with Zim before he left the skool.

     Zim was in the boys' bathroom, looking into the mirror a little sadly. 'What is going on?' he thought to himself in his mind. 'The Dib smiled at me. SMILED. I mean, I know we have a truce, but he didn't HAVE to smile at ME!....Curses. Now I'm starting to think like that Dib-thing. Being all PARANOID. *gasp* What if he's watching?!' He quickly turned around to see no one. He checked all the bathroom stalls. Nothing. He sighed and stared into the mirror again. He noticed that there was a piece of dirt inside his lens, so he just took it off to remove the dirt.

     Dib stood in line at the cafeteria, waiting to see exactly what it was they were going to try and serve as breakfast. He wasn't expecting it to be any better than the lunches they served at skool, though he hoped to at least find something he could nibble on until they were allowed to leave. He could always make himself something as soon as he got home, but he was starving and would settle for anything they had to offer. Reaching the front of the line, he grabbed a plate before scooting down more in the line to see what had been set out. Lifting the tops of each large container there, he saw that they were serving some kind of runny oatmeal, eggs mixed with some kind of meat, sausages, and toast. Nothing seemed to really appeal to him as he stood there trying to decide on what to eat. Sighing in defeat at the poor selection, he finally settled on grabbing a few pieces of toast and a small packet or two of butter before moving on to take a seat.

     He hadn't bothered to grab a drink, not all that thirsty. All they had been serving anyways was hot apple cider for the students and coffee for the teachers, both of which he wasn't a big fan of. Spreading some butter on his toast, he took a big bite, silently munching on it as students moved around to different tables. One student in particular ran by carrying a steaming cup of cider. As he was passing behind Dib, he accidentally ran head first into one of the teachers. Nobody had time to react as the cup went flying out of his hand and straight into Dib's lap, spilling the hot liquid all over his shirt and pants.

     Dib didn't wait for an apology as he was up in a flash, making a mad dash for the bathroom, all the while repeating, "HOT! HOT! HOT!" over and over again to himself as he ran through the hallway. Throwing the door to the boys' bathroom open in a hurry, he ran up to the sink and grabbed a hand-full of paper towels to run under cold water, trying to clean off the hot cider to find some relief. He hadn't realized that in doing so he had pushed one very startled Irken to the ground. Hissing in pain, he was frantically trying to soak up the liquid with several paper towels.

     Zim was thrown to the ground. He laid on his stomach in pain and then gave Dib an annoyed glare, drumming his fingers on the floor and holding his cheek in his palm.

     Dib managed to dry up most of the cider that had spilled on his pants but was having no such luck with his shirt, which the majority of the drink had spilled on. Unable to take it anymore, he tugged it off, using the last of the paper towels in his hand to dry off his skin there. That had been even more painful than the beating he had received yesterday. Finally drying himself off completely, he only seemed to just notice the other's presence. Turning to blink at the obviously annoyed Irken, Dib just stood staring at him a few long moments in silence. Then, letting out a nervous laugh and smiling uneasily at the look Zim was giving him, Dib took a few steps back. "Ummm...Sorry?" he said, hoping Zim wouldn't decide to start beating the crap out of him.

     Zim looked annoyed but suddenly blushed. "You could at least help me UP, DIB! " He growled and slammed his fist to the floor, crossing his arms and still lying there. His uniform top that looked like a tunic had slid up his body a bit, but he hadn't noticed.

     Dib blushed a bit and let out another nervous laugh. "Heh...Sorry." he held out a hand to help the other up. Pulling the Irken back to his feet, he noticed Zim was missing one of his contacts, revealing one of those crimson orbs Dib rarely got to see nowadays. "Ummm...You're missing one of your...ummm..." he made a circle gesture while pointing to one of his own eyes, hoping the other would understand. Looking around the room for Zim's other contact, he located it near one of the sinks and quickly picked it up to brush off before handing it over to the Irken. "Here. Let me just..." his sentence trailed off as he helped straighten Zim's uniform top since he had been the one who had knocked Zim over. "There. That's better." he said, tilting his head one way as he gave Zim a good look over before returning to drying off his discarded sweater.

     Zim looked completely shocked. His heart started to beat faster, and his cheeks started to blush. His legs were shaking a little. The alien looked at his hands and then curiously looked up to Dib after putting the lens back in. He sighed a little, a smile coming to his face that he tried to hide under his hands. 'What's going on with me?!' he thought as he slowly walked away after giving Dib a "Gee, thanks....I guess."

     Dib just continued with his drying, never looking up as he responded with a "Hmmm." as the other was leaving. "Listen. Just meet me by the front doors to the skool. I'll only be a few more minutes. Then I think we can leave. We'll head over to my house to start the project. Okay?" he said before the other could leave the room completely. Looking up once, he could see Zim's back as he stopped with the door partially open. The Irken merely nodded from his spot, not bothering to turn around and face Dib before leaving in a hurry. Dib stared after him in confusion a few moments after the Irken had left before just shrugging and returning to his sweater. Dib exited the bathroom a couple minutes later, his sweater for the most part dry, and headed back towards the cafeteria to grab his backpack and the blanket before heading to meet Zim at the front doors to the skool.

     Zim was waiting for Dib, looking at his feet and trying not to blush. He crossed his arms and thought, 'Why don't I feel hatred towards the earth boy anymore?' He poked at his PAK. 'Maybe my PAK's malfunctioning...?Nah, It would be different. But strangely, I have this feeling inside me. And his body....oh, Irk....was it.…’ He had a perverted smile on his face, drooling a bit as he blushed but quickly shook his head. "GAH! What on Irk am I THINKING?!"

     Dib could see Zim waiting for him down the hallway. Picking his pace up a bit, he approached the waiting alien. Coming to a stop in front of him, he addressed the Irken. "Hey. Are you ready to go?" he asked. The alien seemed to be lost in thought at the moment. Dib waved a hand in front of his face to get the other's attention. "Hello? Earth to Zim. Anybody home in there?" he asked, lightly knocking on Zim's head. The Irken jumped, swatting Dib's hand away and glaring. Dib was surprised. He had never seen the alien so deep in thought before. Pulling his hand back as though it had been hurt, Dib gave him a somewhat upset look. "Geeze, Zim. No need to get violent. I was just asking if you were ready to go yet." he said, turning to drop the blanket in the pile with the rest before walking out the skool's front doors, which had been cleared. The storm seemed to have covered everything from cars to trees to entire buildings. The entire landscape was far whiter than Dib last remembered.