AN- Guess WHAT? I got a laptop! It's an early birthday present. ;D And I'm super excited because today I'm coloring my hair. My side bang is gonna be HOT PINK, guys. So happy.

And on that note, I have a very important question. Do any of you guys make IZ fan videos? You know, with clips from the show? Because I seriously need to figure out where to download all of the episodes. So if any of you can help me with that. . . well, in short, you're a LIFE SAVER.

Onto the chapter!

Zim is here.

So is Keef.

I'm in the same cabin as both of them.

This thunderstorm is loud and I can't sleep.

I think I'm actually going insane.

Keef sits up and yawns. Glancing at the clock, he finds out it's 7:39. He smiles. He always has been an early riser. He slips out of his sleeping bag and hops out of bed, ready to start the day. He takes a few steps back and gazes up at the top bunk, wondering if Zim is awake. He's not there, so he must be up. But this cabin is only so big. . . where could he be?

Keef turns around, and is pleasantly surprised to see Zim in Dib's bed; bottom bunk, below Quinn; snuggled closely to the taller, dark-haired boy. Keef feels the sides of his mouth twitch, and before he can stop it—not that he ever would—his face is overtaken by a wide smile. They're absolutely adorable! Oh, Keef knew they were friends deep down!

He takes a few tip-toed steps to the side, finding the latter to the top bunk. He takes a few steps up until he comes across Quinn, who's curled up in his bed, asleep. At least Keef thinks he's asleep. But when he first nudges him, he jumps, his dark eyes snapping wide open. He almost shrieks, but covers his mouth with his hands before any real noise comes out. ". . . Oh." His falls as he sees Keef in front of him. In fact, it falls a little too much; so much that Quinn looks a little grumpy. Oh well, a lot of people are grumpy in the morning—it's no big deal! Quinn sighs, rubbing his head. "What do you want, Keef?"

Keef smiles again, feeling the excitement bubbling up inside of him. "Come look! Zim and Dib! They're—!"

Quinn comes face to face with Keef, his dark eyes eerily narrowing. "This better be good," he hisses, before forcefully ushering Keef down the latter. Then he climbs down the latter himself, muttering something bitterly under his breath.

Keef hardly takes Quinn's mood into consideration, smiling wildly as he points to the sleeping Zim and Dib. Quinn reaches the floor and looks in their direction, running a hand through his dark hair. His eyes widen as he stares at them. "Oh. . . wow," is all he says, early morning grumpiness forgotten.

"I know!" Keef all but squeals, clasping his hands in front of his chest. "I always knew they were really friends deep down, they just had to—"

Quinn frowns, tilting his head as he stares at the pair. "They seem more than just friendly to me. . ."

Keef absorbs this for a second. More. . . than just. . . friendly? He takes in the way Zim is curled up to Dib, his head resting on the other's chest. He notices how Dib's arms are wrapped around Zim's smaller body, and the way his lips linger just an inch away from Zim's forehead. . .

"So. . . what you're saying is. . . Dib and Zim like each other?"

Quinn blushes slightly, drifting his gaze to the ground. "I guess. . . I-I have nothing against it, really. . . I-I was just thinking—"

"That's great!" Keef exclaims, practically jumping a full foot in the air as his smile grows ear-to-ear. Once he reaches solid ground again, he rushes over to Quinn, throwing his arms around his shoulders and squeezing him tightly. Quinn turns an even brighter shade of pink.

"It is? I-I mean. . . it is?"

Keef releases him, instead grabbing firm hold of Quinn's shoulders. "Of course it is! Do you know what this means, Quinn?" he asks excitedly.

"Erm. . . yes?" He looks at Keef unsurely. ". . . No."

Keef's gleeful grin hardly fades. "It means we can set them up together! It's perfect! I mean, they'd be so cute together! They'll be so happy that we helped them, and they'll finally know that I'm their bestest friend ever!" He looks back to Quinn, his smile turning sheepish. "Er, I mean. . . That we're their bestest friends ever."

Quinn pouts, thinking it through. "I dunno, Keef. . . they might not want to be together. . ." He looks back to Keef, worry shining in his big brown eyes. "And even if they do, what if we mess things up? They could end up hating each other. . . more than they already do, that is."

Keef shoots him a mischievous grin, letting go of his shoulders at last. He waves a hand in casual reassurance, his eyes fluttering shut. "Don't worry, we won't do much. Just a few. . . ," he struggles on how to word it, ". . . nudges in the right direction."

Quinn gives him a weak smile in return. "Alright then. . . but nothing too drastic, okay?"

Keef nods, anticipation coursing through his veins. He clenches his fists in front of him. "Yes! I totally understand!"

As soon as their conversation has ended, a low, loud rumble is heard outside, filled with assorted hisses and shrieks. The noise is so loud that it awakens Dib and Zim, who both jump up, wide-eyed, clutching each other in fear and shock. They tentatively glance at each other, before Zim scowls, shoving Dib with such force that he hits his head against the wall. He hisses in pain as he rubs the bump that will most likely form. Thank God—nothing's changed.

"Wh-what was that?" Quinn stumbles through his words, literally shaking in fear as he stares at the door— the origin of the sound.

Zim rushes out of bed, intent on finding out the source of the strange rumbling that dared to awaken him. He stomps to the door in a huff and yanks open the door, Keef staying close behind him. All they see is the girls huddled outside of the cabin across from them. Tix is on her knees, with her arms wrapped around Noemi, her head on her shoulder. Noemi herself is sitting on the wooden porch, her face buried in her knees, which are pulled up to her chest. Yeci looks at the pair, her worry restrained. Abby is walking back to them, looking awfully angry about. . . well, they're about to find out.

Quinn, who had merely glanced outside in fear, rushes to the doorway, pushing Zim and Keef out of the way. "Noemi!" he gasps, quickly becoming a nervous wreck. "What happened to Noemi?"

"We'll find out," Zim insists darkly, making enough room for himself to walk outside. Quinn follows, gnawing on his lip. Keef wanders outside after them, his expression just screaming curiosity. Dib, who had been staring in their direction in shock and wonder, smoothens out his hair before cautiously getting out of bed to follow them.

"Hey!" Zim shouts out just as Dib closes the door behind him. "What in the name of your filthy planet is going on?"

A good fifteen yards away, Abby, who is bending down to coax Noemi as well, narrows her eyes at Zim. "None of your damn business, Zim!" Dib tries not to smile, loving the way she says Zim's name. Full of hatred and bitterness, just the way Zim's name should be said.

Zim practically launches himself off of the cabin porch trying to attack Abby. Thankfully Dib is there to yank on the back of his collar, glaring down at him. "Zim! Control yourself!" Zim just growls at him, scornfully returning the glare. Dib looks back to the girls, making sure to keep a firm grip on the back of Zim's baggy pajama shirt, which must be at least four sizes too big. "Sorry, Abby," she apologizes, forcing a smile onto his face. "He's just. . . concerned, is all."

Abby frowns, scrunching her thin mouth to one side. "Suuure." She spares a look to the side, frown spreading out across her face again. "If you really must know, some raccoons ran by the cabins just before you guys came out."

Zim's face goes full-on deadpan. "Really."

Abby nods matter-of-factly. "Really."

Zim lunges forward again, shouting, "Lies! You lie, Earth Dirt! You liiieee!" Dib is taken by surprise by the sudden movement, and has to wrap his arms around Zim's waist to stop him from tripping over the porch steps.

The universe just loves to prove Zim wrong. This fact is blissfully confirmed when a stray raccoon rushes past the cabin, its tail following it like a streak of calligraphy paint. Noemi shrieks, recoiling as she scrambles backwards. Zim just stares at it in surprise, relaxing into Dib's arms.

"Oh. Well then, what's wrong with the purple-headed one?"

Abby rolls her eyes, sneering. "Noemi got bit by one." Noemi looks up at her with teary eyes. She opens her mouth to speak, but Abby shushes her before she gets the chance. "Shh. It's okay, I know you're upset. . ."

Quinn's eyes look like they might pop out of his head. "She was bitten?" he shrieks, his face paling. "Sh-she could have rabies!" He clutches his shirt, staring at them in horrified silence.

"Abby. . . ," Noemi says in almost a scolding tone, her eyes beginning to narrow at Abby.

Abby, on the other hand, doesn't miss a single beat. "Yeah," she says seriously. "We're gonna take her to the nurse's office though, she'll be fine." She gives them what looks like an extremely forced smile, helping Noemi to her feet. On her other side, Tix has already stepped back from Noemi, letting her arms fall to her sides. "You guys can go, we'll be okay on our own."

"Okay. . . ," says Dib, eying them oddly. His eyes grow wide as he notices how he's still holding Zim close to his chest. He releases him, feeling his cheeks grow warm. He takes a few quick steps to the door, opening it and walking back inside. The others follow, none of them looking particularly happy.

Keef's expression can be best described as worry—his eyebrows slanted slightly, his mouth caught up in a simple pout. "Poor Noemi. . . ," he says, walking to his bed and sitting on the edge of it.

"Yes. . . ," Zim says carefully, scowling. He hardly seems worried—he looks more angry than anything. "Well, it's her fault for not being more careful."

Quinn, still standing by the doorway, covers his hands with his eyes, letting out a tearful moan. Keef looks at him, more worried than Dib has ever seen him. "Quinn, it's okay. . . Abby said she'll be fine. . ."

Quinn lets out another sharp cry, hunching his shoulders as a few stray tears fall down his cheeks. "B-but what if she's n-not?" he blubbers. "What if she's not?"

AN- 1,826 words! A new record! This chapter was actually going to be MUCH longer, but I decided to cut it short. I'll have time for long-ass chapters later. . .

Now, about the raccoon thing. . . that actually happened. I was Quinn in that scenario . . . except I didn't have a mad crush on the girl that got bit. XD SPOILERS! Not. Yes, in case you're too dense to tell, Quinn has a little crush on Noemi here. Why? I don't know, I just thought it was really cute. That, and she's the only NICE girl around. . .