As soon as Ray left her house that morning, Dib rushed up to her, having noticed her house on the walk to Skool. "Good morning, Ray!" he told her cheerfully, "Do you want to walk to Skool with me?" He had the feeling that she would say yes, but had asked her just to make sure.
"Oh, sure!" she told him, "Gladly!" Dib could hear an odd yipping sound coming from inside her house. "I'll take care of that..." Ray murmured, entering her house for a split-second. The yipping stopped, and Dib thought he could see Ray carrying a small animal around.
When she came back, she noticed Dib's confused expression and explained, "That's my pet fox, Vir. She can be really sweet, but is also kind of crazy." Dib laughed and started walking with Ray walking beside him. Within seconds, they were lost in a whole other conversation.
Neither of them noticed the figure watching them from up in a tree. That figure just happened to be Zim. He was staring at the back of Ray's head, her long, dark hair blowing slightly in the breeze. It was actually kind of...pretty. She was kind of pretty.
Wait, Zim thought, What am I saying? Humans are disgusting creatures! What's gotten into me? He craned his neck to see more of what Ray and Dib were doing - perhaps to hear more of their conversation - but tripped over another branch and fell onto the grass with a yelp of shock.
"Oh, my gosh!" Ray cried, "Are you okay?" She immediately climbed up over the fence and dropped down onto her neighbor's lawn...only to find Zim, sprawled out on the grass and somehow not bleeding...much. There was some red blood on the grass, but not much.
"Zim!" Ray screamed, "Zim! What happenend?" Recognizing Ray's voice, Zim looked up and saw her worried eyes staring into his own. He struggled to get up, but couldn't - he was in too much pain. He twitched slightly, wishing he hadn't fallen at all.
"I...I fell out of a tree," he moaned quietly. In but an instant, Zim felt Ray's arms under him. She lifted him up and got him back on his feet. Zim staggered a little, but then managed to stay up. He shot Ray a weak smile and leaned up against the fence.
"Th-thank you," he stuttered, wondering why it was so awkward to talk to her. She smiled and took his hand, and the two of them climbed back over the fence. Their feet touched the sidewalk at the exact same time. Dib looked up, noticed Zim, and frowned a bit.
"You're welcome," she responded, "Do you want to walk to Skool with Dib and me?" Zim said nothing at first, because right when he was about to, a tiny voice interrupted his thoughts. At first, he couldn't hear what it was saying, but then he came back to Earth.
What are you DOING? the voice shouted, You're ruining your reputation! You look like an idiot doing this! Stop it! STOP IT! Zim shook his head wildly, trying to get the voice out of his head, until he realized the voice was right - he did look like an idiot.
"Um, no thanks," he muttered, "See you in class." He then took off, running as fast as his legs could possibly carry him. At the same time, he tried to convince himself that walking with Ray wasn't worth anything. After all, Dib was with her. Dib, my worst enemy...
Zim ended up arriving at Skool much earlier than Ray and Dib. By the time they arrived, class was already about to start. Ray waved at Dib before taking her seat. Zim looked the other way, not wanting to get entranced by her stare yet again.
Class started right then. "Students," Miss Bitters began, skipping over the "good mornings," "The principal has asked me to assign an extremely difficult science project. This will also involve me choosing who your partners will be. So, let's draw some names out of a perfectly normal hat."
Zim felt storm clouds forming above his head. A human partner? For a science project? Ugh. Normally, he finished these projects within about one day - by getting a computer to do them for him. However, he knew this time would be different.
After several names being drawn out of the dirty-looking top hat, Dib finally heard his name being called. He looked up hopefully, daydreaming of fantasies in which he and Ray would get to be partners. However, when the name "Willie" was called, Dib buried his face in his hands. This is going to be a long project...
Zim held back laughter as he saw the stupid kid called Willie pick his nose in the back of the room, but was suddenly on high alert when Miss Bitters called his name. Please let it be someone who's at least somewhat smart so we can get this finished quickly, he thought.
"Zim," Miss Bitters muttered, "Your partner is...Ray." Ray looked over at Zim - an expression of mixed shock and horror was frozen onto his face - and waved happily. Zim didn't respond - he was too horrified at the name the hat had given him.
As Miss Bitters passed out sheets of paper that put the subject of the science project in better detail, Zim looked over at Ray again. She was looking up at their teacher as if she was being taught how to live forever. Under normal circumstances, Zim would've laughed, but this was Ray.
Dib, on the other hand, was furious. Seriously? he thought, My worst enemy gets partnered with my new best friend? A low growl echoed from the back of his throat as he glared directly at Zim. Zim was too busy being terrified about his partner to notice.
Ray was completely oblivious to the nasty thoughts that were going through Dib's head and the scared ones that went through Zim's. She was only happy about getting to be partners with the guy she had helped that morning. True, she was sad about not being able to partner with Dib, but oh, well.
After a long explanation about the project that gradually led into a whole different lesson, Zim had finally calmed down, but only slightly. Dib was still furious, squeezing his desk like he was about to break it. Ray, on the other hand, was actually paying attention to the lesson.
Dib blinked and tried to think about good things. Ray was the only thing on his mind, though. He hadn't noticed the look of shock on Zim's face, and had no idea that Zim really didn't want to partner with Ray. The irony of the situation was ironic in itself.
Several lessons went by, and Dib gradually sank back into his usual routine of half-paying attention and half-thinking about Ray. Zim was stil nervous about partnering with Ray - What if I do something stupid in front of her? What if my whole plan gets ruined...?
Zim still had no idea about why he felt so worried while he was around Ray. She was just a new student - nothing special...except that she had somehow become Dib's friend. That, and the fact that she just...wasn't like the others. Zim didn't know why.
...
Ray entered the cafeteria to find that Dib had already sat down, and was waving at her. He had a strange look on his face - he looked like he had been positively furious just a little while ago. Ray wondered what could have made him so angry.
In an instant, her eyes darted over to where Zim sat. He was staring down at his tray, still not eating. Ray wondered why he never seemed to eat much. Maybe he's on a diet or something, she thought to herself, I probably shouldn't pry into his personal life.
"Just a second, Dib!" she called, walking over to Zim. Dib watched her, smiling in a way that almost looked fake. Inside, he was storming - he had a bad feeling about Ray and Zim being partnered - maybe it was just because he and Zim were worst enemies.
As Ray approached, Zim still didn't look up. Ray wondered why he seemed to be ignoring her. It's almost as if...he doesn't like me. Her smile faded slightly. How could he hate me? Did I do something to offend him? I hope I didn't do anything wrong...
"Um..." she began, sounding slightly nervous, "Hi, Zim." At first, Zim didn't do anything at all, but then looked up and just stared at her. His expression was slightly empty, as though he had just completely forgotten what he was about to say.
Finally, he spoke up. "Hello, Ray," he muttered, staring at the floor, "Is there something you want to tell me?" He sounded slightly nervous, which confused Ray even further. However, she ignored it and decided to respond as though she felt perfectly normal.
"So...I guess we're partners for the project, huh?" Ray asked quietly, rocking back and forth on her heels. Zim wondered why she was just reminding him of his imminent doom. Like her, he decided to sound normal, despite the storm of thoughts that filled his head.
"Yeah, I guess so," Zim responded, still not looking up, "Why?" He quickly gestured to the seat next to him, and Ray sat down, hoping that was what he meant. She supposed that it was, because Zim was looking at her again. She guessed that meant that he was okay.
"Um, I was wondering..." she murmured, suddenly feeling sort of shy, "...if we could work on the project after Skool?" She looked up at Zim hopefully, wondering what was going on inside his head. His eyes, gray and somewhat cold-looking, told her nothing.
"Sure," Zim answered, smiling slightly, "I guess we could work on it at my house." Inside, the voice in his head that was obviously against Ray was screaming in protest. "Would that be okay with you?" His smile faded again due to shyness, but appeared again as Ray spoke up.
"Yeah, that would be great," she told him, "So where is it?" She glanced over at Dib, who was giving her a pained expression. Ray wondered if she had somehow hurt his feelings, and knew she would have to go over there in a little while and apologize.
"I'll walk you there after Skool," Zim explained, trying to ignore the voice in his head, which was now yelling as loud as possible in an attempt to torture him, "Meet me out front once class ends." Ray nodded to show that she understood, and the two of them became silent.
For a few seconds, Ray stared down at the table, wondering what to do. Zim, on the other hand, was staring at her, wondering why he just couldn't stop doing that. Ray's eyes darted up, noticed Dib's hurt look, and realized that he was waiting for her.
"I'll see you after Skool," she stated, getting up. She waved slightly before walking away, and as she walked over to where Dib was, she caught a glimpse of Zim waving at her. He's so shy, she thought, still smiling, but it's kind of cute.
"Hey," Dib began, sounding just as hurt as his expression was, "Why were you talking to Zim? Is something up?" Ray smiled a little, hoping it would cheer him up a bit, and sat down next to him. Dib looked less pained, but only slightly...it was as though he had just been punched.
"Well, since we're partners, I thought we'd plan to meet up after Skool and work on the project," Ray explained, still smiling. Dib stared down at the ground sadly. His younger sister, Gaz, was sitting across from them, lost in a video game and totally ignoring them.
"Oh," Dib muttered gloomily, "I...I guess that's fine." He had the strange feeling that Ray was in danger. After all, he knew who Zim really was, and if Ray figured that out, she could get killed. Dib didn't want her to die - she was...well, she was pretty much his first friend.
"Is something wrong?" Ray asked gently, tilting her head slightly in confusion. Had Dib looked up and saw her worried face, he would've noticed how her dark eyes seemed to grow larger as she stared straight at him. However, he felt too shy and sad to even bother.
"Nothing's wrong," Dib murmured, dropping his voice so nobody would hear, "It's just...have you noticed that Zim is kind of...strange?" He was trying to convince Ray that being within a five-foot radius of Zim would probably end her life, but it wasn't working.
"I guess so," Ray answered, blinking inquisitively, "but isn't everyone? You're pretty strange - no offense," she continued, smiling a little, "and I'm strange. Our teacher is strange, and everyone is strange...wow, I'm overusing the word 'strange.'" She laughed quietly, but Dib didn't even smile.
"It's not that," he told his friend, wishing he could stare into her eyes without completely losing it, "It's...um, I don't know...Zim is just...out there. He's even kind of deadly." He carefully avoided certain words, because if Zim heard what he was saying, he would be good as dead.
"Deadly?" Ray asked, taking Dib's hand in hers, "Don't worry. I'll be fine, I promise. And if something bad happens, well...oh, I don't know. We're friends, right? I won't get into any trouble. I can take care of myself, after all." Her smile completely disarmed him.
An electric current surged through Dib's arm as Ray took his hand. He felt his face grow red, and he looked up into her eyes, not really knowing what to say. He didn't think Ray could stop Zim if he threatened her, but if she ever got stuck like that...
"Okay," Dib almost-whispered, smiling faintly, "And if you get into trouble, I promise I'll protect you." Ray's eyes widened, although the blush that shone through her pale cheeks was almost invisible. She completely froze, unsure about what to say.
He just promised that he would protect me, she told herself, What do I say to that? Should I...tell him I'll protect him as well? Should I just sit here like an idiot and say nothing? I have no idea. Finally, she came up with a small solution - she laughed almost-inaudibly.
"That's really sweet of you," Ray responded softly, "If I ever get into trouble, I'll just call your name. You'll be my hero." Hero. The word sounded different when she said it like that. Instead of thinking of a knight in shining armor, she thought of Dib, avoiding obstacles just to protect her.
Ray blushed harder as Dib spoke up. "Hero," he murmured quietly, "I guess that sums it up." He paused then, because he couldn't think of anything else to say. As far as the ten-year-old knew, there wasn't anything better to say, and that was all that mattered.
Unbeknownst to Ray and Dib, they were actually being watched. Their watcher was Zim, who's eyes had followed Ray's path as she walked away. About halfway through, their voices had become softer, so he couldn't hear them from that distance, but their eyes told him everything.
There was a strange look in their eyes that Zim couldn't place. The way their faces were turning slightly pink made him wonder if they had somehow gotten sick. He had to face the facts - he had no idea what they were saying, but whatever it was, he didn't like it.
In order to take his mind off of their conversation, Zim tried to focus on the science project. He hadn't been listening to the explanation, but Ray had been, so maybe the two of them would get the project done quickly. He hoped so - he wanted to get this Ray business over with.