Author's Note: Chapter 4 at two-thirty in the morning. Go figure. I haven't been awake all that long, either, so it's not like I'm tired or anything. Just sick of sitting on my ass. I need to walk.

Disclaimer, blah blah blah. I don't own Zim or Jig, but Lez is mine.

No flaming. I kill you.

===THE FIRE GAMES===

The training dome. Huge and well-lit, the entire room must have been at least several hundred feet in diameter. The floor was black and made of some kind of rubbery substance, and marked off in red circular patterns were at least a dozen areas, each teaching a different use for survival.

The thirty-three Irkens were released and allowed to go to whichever station they wanted. Immediately, Lez was attracted to the archery sets. She had a sling-shot, but she doubted that would be readily available in the arena.

Zim also seemed to be interested in the bows. He picked one up and examined it cautiously. He'd seen these used many times on Earth, but he didn't know they'd be used here. He glanced over at the icy-eyed Free-Thinker, who was choosing a smaller, lighter bow. She also picked up a sheath of arrows and slid a bolt into the shaft. Zim copied her as well as he could.

The instructor walked over and grinned at the girl. "Hello! Have you used one of these before?" She shook her head slowly, mezmorized by the bow and arrow. "Why don't you take a shot? You already seem to know how to hold it."

She whipped around and faced the target. Taking the same stance as she did when she used a sling-shot, Lez fired the arrow. It hit the bullseye dead-on.

Zim's imaginary eyebrows shot up. The instructor clapped. "You're sure you haven't used an archery set before?" he asked.

"Well, I have a sling-shot. Just in case," Lez said sheepishly, blushing.

"I've never heard of a sling-shot being used as a bow and arrow, but if it works for you stick with it!" The instructor gave Lez a reassuring smile, which was returned with a nervous one.

"I... I-I think I'll go check out the... ropes..." Lez murmured, setting the bow aside. She started to run off, when she knocked right into a tall Irken. They both fell down.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Lez apologized immediately, getting to her feet. "Did I hurt you? I'm such a clutz!" The boy looked up, ready to tell her off, but he froze midword when he met her eyes. Lez held out her hand. "Here; lemme help you up," she offered. The boy took her hand without averting his eyes away from hers and she pulled him onto his feet.

"I'm Lez. What's your name?" Lez asked. The boy blinked a few times.

"I'm, uh... um..." he said quietly, forgetting his own name for a moment. "Uh, J-jig!" he said after shaking his head to try and clear it of the fog that had clouded his mind.

It was no use. She was just too... beautiful. From her shining ice-colored eyes to her M-shaped antennae to her perfect figure. Even the touch of her hand was soft and lovely, and her voice was sweet and small like a delicate glass bell.

"Nice to meet you, Jig. Hope to see you around!" Lez smiled. She let go of his hand and ran off to the rope-tying station. Jig simply stared off after her, his chest lighter than air and his legs numb. He felt like he was made of helium, and he could just float off into space and time.

Jig was taken out of his reverie by the snapping of fingers in his face. "Stop drooling!" a very short Irken, probably Zim from what Jig had heard, barked. The taller Irken glowered down at the ruby-eyed ex-invader and stormed off, annoyed by his sudden loss of thought.

A few hours later, Jig found himself at the hand-to-knife combat station. A few girls had surrounded the area as two boys showed off what they knew on the battle dummies. He saw that Lez was among the girls, her face showing her uncertainty about fighting. For a moment, Jig wanted to impress Lez with his fighting skills, but judging by the look on her face, he thought against it. There had to be something he could do, though.

Walking up to her, he tapped her shoulder lightly. Lez, as well as a couple other girls, turned around. The other females giggled once they saw how tall Jig was. "Um, is it Lez?" he asked. The girl nodded. "Wanna go... away from here?"

Some of the females chattered quietly among each other as Lez accepted, blushing. They passed by the fighting areas and ended up in a corner by the edible plants. "So, you wanted to talk to me?" Lez asked.

Jig shrugged. "Not really."

"Then what did you want?"

Jig swallowed loudly. He hadn't thought of that. "Well, not talk to you. I kinda wanted to talk with you."

Lez smiled. "About what?"

"Anything, I guess." Jig felt his face heat up as he spoke, digging himself a deeper hole with every word.

"HEY LEZ!" a voice from behind them called. Lez turned around and gasped.

"Mags? What are you doing here? You weren't Reaped!" she exclaimed. The Free-Thinker trotted up to the pair.

"No, but I got permission to be the head chef!" she squealed. Lez hugged the girl, going on about how wonderful it was.

Jig cleared his throat, wondering if the had forgotten he was there. "Oh. Sorry. Mags, this is Jig," Lez introduced. "Jig, this is Mags. She's an old friend of mine."

"Nice to meet ya, Jig," Mags said. She leaned over to Lez and harshly whispered, "He's cute!" Lez and Jig both flushed a violet color. "I gotta go, unless I want them to catch me," Mags said, hugging Lez and running off.

"What was, uh...?" Jig started.

"It's... not important anymore," Lez sighed. Jig grunted sympathetically.

The next day, Lez again went to the archery set first. This time, Jig, Zim, and a few others were there, too. Everyone's jaws dropped when she hit four bullseyes in a row straight away. Murmurs rippled through the tributes.

Lez knew what that meant. She was now a main target in the arena. She tried not to shudder at the thought of dying the moment the glass lifted.

No matter how much she and Jig tried to stay on task, they kept running into each other. It was almost like the universe was trying to get them together for something.

Even though she was an avid believer in fate, Lez thought that was silly. As if, she told herself at the end of the day.

===THE FIRE GAMES===

And now you know who Lez and Jig are going to end being paired with. I can't give spoilers, so I won't tell you if they both survive or not! MWUAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm evil.

Sigh. My eyes are hurting. But I must type out the next chapter while I have it in my head! But I'm going cross-eyed and my ears are numb from listening to the same song over and over again! ACK!

Review or be eaten by my pomeranain.