Author's Note:

For those who re-read this, you may notice subtle changes as I go through and re-edit.

The skies were an unusual calm for the shade of gray they were over the neighborhood of neatly kept fenced in two story cookie cutter houses. Even the air didn't feel as thick as it should have with the amount of cloud cover present. Every visual clue that afternoon implied that there should be a thunderstorm at any moment, meanwhile it felt as dry and hot as any other typical day. However all of this was lost for the two souls too busy sulking in their own thoughts and concerns.

Dib had his hands shoved so deep into his black trench coats pockets one might think his arms were shorter than they truly were. He was so lost in his own head that he'd nearly trampled over a handful of children and a small gray chihuahua with a chewed up ear. Since leaving the garage not only was he trying to figure out what that blinking purple dot meant, but his mind had even traced back to the strange behavior of Gaz.

While Dib for the most part was silently keeping to himself, Zim on the hand was quite the source of alarm with his rather dramatic stomping his way back to his own green home. All the while muttering at varying levels of volume to himself. "Stupid vixen. With HER stupid POWER. Stupid little SHE-DEVIL with her ARROGANCE and her STUBBORNness. SHE'LL see. SHE'LL be SORRY. Yes SHE will. ZIM will be sure of THAT." This continued the entirety of his walk back with intermittent shouts and attacks of violence towards anything that crossed his path.

He didn't stop his mutterings until he reached his home and violently swung his door open. "Gir!" He shouted with all his might and impatiently tapped his foot, his arms crossed, "GIR!?"

Zim slammed the door behind him as he went back to the kitchen in search of his asinine robotic assistant, only to not find him there. "GIR! Where are YOU!?"

"Sir?" came the mellow tone of the computer

"What?" Zim snapped back as he took the goggles off his face.

"Gir isn't here at the moment."

"Well where is he?" Zim snarled, as he glared at the ceiling.

"How should I know."

"AAAAAH!" Zim shouted as he threw his goggles at the couch, and continued shouting while he collapsed into one of the dining room chairs and slammed his head onto the table "I'm surrounded by INCOMPETENT FOOLS."

"Sir, if I may?" The computers voice came again with a slight air of what can only can be described as concern.

"No you may not." Zim said lack-lusterless, only rolling his head so that his mouth was free from the table and there he remained for the rest of the evening.

It'd been a week since Gaz's breakdown and something was off. At least Dib thought something was off, he had no reason to, for all intents and purposes everything seemed to have returned back to the way it used to be. Gaz begrudgingly agreed to allow Dib to tutor her, although for whatever reason she insisted that their tutoring sessions take place after school at the library. Zim had even started to bother him again from time to time. However it was almost like everyone was on auto pilot, not really focused on what they were supposedly focused on. Then finally a spark of life appeared out of nowhere.

It was on another gray skied afternoon, as Dib and Gaz walked back from another fruitless tutoring session at the library. Dib didn't even know why he was still bothering with it, all Gaz did was watch the door the entire time. As the siblings arrived home, Dib noticed something sitting on the door step. He stopped to pick up, what appeared to be a single black rose with an attached card, as Gaz brushed past him.

Elsewhere Zim was focused on repairing a mechanical glitch in his pack, when Gir clumsily appeared looking rather charred. Zim rolled his eyes and went to continue his pack repairs when her heard Dib's voice come from one of the monitors behind him, "Hey Gaz, looks like someone wants to take you to Homecoming."

"What?" Zim and Gaz said simultaneously. Zim hurriedly put his pack back on and searched the screens for the siblings, there he could see Dib was entering his house holding a black rose in front of him, while Gaz stared at him from the kitchen looking rather impatient.

"Yeah, they left this on the door step, with a note." Dib said as he gestured for Gaz to take the rose from him. Gaz sighed in exasperation and took it from him and quickly read the note. Zim meanwhile stared intently at the screen his fingers clenched onto the desk. After a moment of silence Dib decided to cautiously ask, "So? You gonna go?"

"With a complete stranger? Sure that'd be fun." Gaz returned not even trying to hide the cynicism in her voice. Zim sighed as he relaxed back into his moon shaped chair. He couldn't help but notice though that Gaz continued to examine that rose.

"Oh come on, you never know, it COULD be fun." Dib insisted with a smile. Happy for the possibility of someone else possibly helping get Gaz out of her current funk. It'd be good for is sister to get out of the house and with other people other than himself.

"Maybe." Gaz said as a means to shut her brother up as she made her way to her bedroom and locking herself away there.

Zim stared at the computer screen showing Gaz's bedroom door. He thought after distancing himself that whatever little spell she had cast over him would wear off but now his theory was being proved wrong as his thoughts were again focused on her and his insides felt heavy.

Gaz silently lay on her bed staring at her ceiling the black rose in her hand. Once again hating being female for the flood of emotions overcoming her, a small portion felt a tinge of happiness at the thought that somebody, anybody had noticed her. Not her brother, not her father, but HER. However she couldn't help but feel disappointed and worried, someone else had noticed her, had said they worried about her and she had pushed them away. Did she even deserve to be noticed again. What was she thinking, did she honestly think Zim was being truthful or serious, it was all a ruse. She sighed, and again found herself chanting until she fell asleep that it had all been a trick.