Chapter 2
Months passed.
The two took to walking home together every day. They became nigh inseparable.
Dib slowly helped Xia learn more and more English, and though she learned fast, she couldn't quite grasp personal pronouns, which for some reason always made Dib laugh.
And though she almost never left his side, people refused to believe that she actually liked listening to him chattering about the paranormal. Though he had stopped talking about that around them, the stories never left. They all figured that she couldn't understand him most times, and as soon as she did, she'd quit hanging out with him.
They didn't realize that while she could mostly understand English, she couldn't speak it.
Though he had to admit, it was funny when they said things, thinking she couldn't understand, and she would respond cynically in her broken English.
And it was at one of these moments that everything started.
"Hey Xia!"
It was one of the jocks.
She glanced up at the teacher, who was literally asleep in his seat, then turned around.
"Yes?"
"How much do you go for?"
"How much do you pay normally to men?"
This sent the girls in the class into ill-hidden giggles.
She grinned at him and returned to her work, which in this case, was a notebook filled with drawings. Everything went silent again. She sighed lightly.
Dib was in a different class for this particular hour, so she was rather lonely. This was always the class when the more perverted males made their lewd jokes and passes at her.
She glanced over at the boy sitting in the desk three over from hers. His head was resting on his desk and his eyes were closed, one eye hidden by the scruffy black hair that fell over it. His outfit was more human than the pictures she'd seen before. He wore a deep pink shirt with a symbol on it, long denim jeans, and boots.
The bell rang. Xia stood, happy. This was the last class of the day and Friday. She could go home now.
Most everyone raced out of the class as she collected her various books, some of the males getting a bit too friendly with their hands as they brushed past. She sighed, frustrated. So many of the men here were perverted. It just wasn't fair sometimes.
A half-awake sigh interrupted her thoughts. She looked up.
It was Zim.
He hadn't moved much, only replacing his head so his face was on the desk. She walked up to him.
"Zim? Are you okay?"
His head lifted and he glanced around. Had he just heard…? His eyes slowly focused on the girl in front of him.
"Zim?"
He sighed. He had been mistaken.
"Zim?"
The green alien stood and walked past her towards the door, ignoring her. She followed him out, still trying to get him to respond.
Out in the crowded hall, Dib stood, waiting for Xia, headphones cranked up all the way. It was raining out and he had to. The last time it had rained and he'd left her, she'd pounced him and he'd had to carry her home. He laughed.
She was weird like that. Where she came from, there really wasn't rain. And they never saw it as a good thing. In their culture, it was extremely bad to go out in it when it did happen without protection.
A hand grabbed his arm roughly. He pulled off the headphones as he faced the group of males and females behind him.
"Yeah?"
"Freak, give Xia this."
One of the guys handed him an envelope.
"What is it and why?"
"You her bodyguard? It's an invitation. For the Halloween party. She won't take one from us."
"I wonder why?"
One of the bigger guys grabbed his coat, yanking him roughly forward. Dib stood at 5'8", a good inch and a half below this grunt, but he wasn't afraid. These guys were all bark and no bite.
"Listen dweeb, give her that and have her show, or we kick your ass on Monday."
"Mhm. Sure," He grinned indignantly, "Hey, can I come too? I always wondered what big apes like you do at parties. Probably sit in the corner and jerk off."
He was on the ground before he could blink. The envelope hit him in the face.
"Just give it to her."
And they were gone. The teen stood and brushed himself off, glancing around. Speaking of her, where was she?
He moved towards the doorway, finally seeing her walk out tailing Zim, trying to get him to talk to her. She never learned.
"Xia!"
She stopped and turned, giving up.
"'Lo Dib. We go now?"
"Yeah."
They walked towards the outside, stopping under the overhang.
It was then that he realized he didn't have an umbrella. He groaned.
"Dibness?"
It was a nickname she'd given him a while back.
"Yeah?"
"Umbrella?"
He sighed, "No. I forgot it. Are you sure you can't just walk home without it?"
She nodded vehemently, "Against culture. Dib knows."
"Yeah, Dib knows…" A thought hit him and he pulled off his coat, "Here. This is rainproof."
She took it gratefully and draped it around her light form.
"What about you?"
"I'm fine."
He pushed open the doors and exited, her following soon after, flinching until she was absolutely certain that no water was getting through. He laughed at her, his crimson shirt becoming a shade darker with the rain, clinging to his thin frame.
"No faith."
She smiled back, "Cautious."
"Sure."
He glanced back and saw the big dope from earlier glaring at him. He sighed. Might as well.
He pulled the invitation out of the outside coat pocket and handed it to her. She looked up at him questioningly.
"It's a party invitation to a Halloween party."
"Oh…" Then, "What's Halloween?"
He stared at her for a minute, "It's a holiday that people dress up in costumes and go to parties and stuff."
"Okay…" She smiled, "Is Dib coming?"
"I don't really want to, but sure."
"Then Xia goes too."
"Fine. I'll pick you up for it," He glanced at the invitation, "It's tomorrow at ten."
"Good. See you then."
They reached her house. She hopped up onto the steps and turned around in a flamboyant gesture.
"Dib shall never get this coat back!"
And with that she was gone. He laughed and walked to his house.
She really was weird.