Ways for AU:
Jimmy has an older stepsister, Britney. She is a senior in high school and he, along with his friends, is a freshman. Nick and Butch are also high school seniors, but they are twenty now - two years repeating. Or, Nick would be a high school senior if he hadn't dropped out junior year when he was eighteen. Also, Betty idolizes Jimmy, but she is eight years younger than him.
Fandom: The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius Pairing(s): exes Sheen/Libby, exes Britney/Nick, eventual Jimmy/Cindy Words: 3,204 Warning(s): slight AU
There is a winter festival celebrating the first day after the weeklong blizzard, on Christmas Eve. Fourteen-year-old freshman Jimmy was having a party last night with his best friends Carl and Sheen, which turned into a sleepover when they got snowed in. Now, the snow around the house is good enough to trek through, though people are skeptical about actually being on the road. His parents have already left for the festival, since they are volunteers, by the time Jimmy and his friends wake up.
"Hey, Loser." Seventeen-year-old Britney calls out, stepping over the empty chip bags and crushed coke cans littered across the living room. "Better clean this crap up before the folks see."
"Why can't you do it instead of hanging out with your idiot friends?" Jimmy groans, sitting up from his stretched-out position on the recliner.
"Whatever." She answers, grabbing a beer from the fridge and popping the tab.
"Does Judy know you drink?" He questions her, referring to his step-mom.
"Please." She scoffs. "Mom knows way more than she lets on. I'm sure she knows all about whatever you hide under your grungy bed too."
"Whatever." Jimmy sighs, knowing he's lost the battle.
He flips backward, landing on his feet and on some more cans. Sheen jolts from his upside-down position hanging off the couch, while Carl just looks over from lying on the floor amid the half-eaten pizza. Jimmy grabs his backpack and wordlessly his friends follow in suit, also collecting their pads, helmets and boards. As they trek through the small mounds of snow and ice, they pass Betty's house. The six-year-old girl is struggling with her ice skates and the three boys watch her wipeout.
There are rides, a frozen lake, dozens of stands and exhibits, and an iced-over skatepark not too far away. Iceboarding is the hot new thing. Boarders drench their snowboards down with a special gelled spray that gives the allusion of hovering over the ice. Jimmy and his friends are okay at skateboarding on a regular day, so they stick with the amateur drips, not even doing good with that. Nick is the most chill college student, if he could get into college. He's a high school dropout but he doesn't care and is King of the Boarders by the Icebowl.
As the trio make their way through all the rides, they run into two girls they've known practically their whole lives: Cindy and Libby. Libby immediately goes on insulting Sheen's intelligence for riding the most upchuck-inducing ride at the festival, while Cindy rolls her eyes, ignoring them.
"What's up, Nerdtron? Doing the battle of the bands thing again?"
"Yeah, why not?" He doesn't mean to sound defensive but Cindy backs away anyway.
"Whatever. It was just a question. C'mon, Lib."
Cindy grabs Libby's arm, pulling her away from the ongoing argument the two start up almost every time they see one another. Libby and sheen have most of the same classes this year, whereas Jimmy and Cindy surprisingly only have three. Things are different in high school, but also some things never change. They ride a couple more rides and finally head out to one of the food booths for some junkyard fries and apple cider. The trio only gets a few bites down before Butch and his cronies have a lockdown on them.
Butch is a twenty-something senior who has been tormenting most of the freshmen with an iron fist all semester. Jimmy has known him since he was nine and Butch was fifteen. They were only two grades apart then: Butch ran the elementary school. He and his two cronies join the trio at the table they had picked out. Nervously, Jimmy tries to reason with Butch, pulling Carl and Sheen into the conversation. A kid named Bolbi walks by with a cup of hot chocolate. Bolbi is in Betty's grade. As he passes by, Butch stops him, drinking half the hot chocolate and dropping the rest on the kid's shoes.
As the kid runs away, Sheen accidentally drizzles some ketchup across the table and on Butch's shirt. They start running. They split up and race all over the fairgrounds. Jimmy finally loses them by diving under an educational tent. It is a tent designed specifically for winter bird habitation. He knows his homeroom teacher Miss Fowl is responsible for it being here. He tries to back out slowly without being detected, but he runs into Cindy.
"Oh, uh, hey, Vortex."
"What is it, Neutron?" She huffs quietly.
"I uh, I just. So, you like birds? My dad likes ducks you know. He quacks a lot but my step-mom doesn't like pigeons cause y'know? They're just like rats with wings?"
"Are you sure we have the same GPA?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. "Your dad quacks?"
"I, um, it's like, Quack!"
He starts quacking in her face and she runs off, not wanting to be seen around him. Jimmy sighs in defeat, slumping against the canister of bird fossilization. A few hours later, after he and his friends go on a few more rides, the Battle of the Bands is about to begin. Carl and Sheen are mildly freaking out and walk to the back to find Jimmy pacing. They go over to talk with him.
"Why you walking around out here?" Sheen questions his friend. "It's cool. We'll be fine. And even if we're not, so what? We can't stink up the show worse than Carl's armpits."
"I have sensitive sweat glands." Carl retorts.
Jimmy shakes his head and jumps out of the way from a runaway kid on a toboggan. He turns around to face the small crowd of performers when a man carrying a sign for the event passes by, accidentally striking Jimmy in the head.
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"Hey, Loser." Jimmy hears his seventeen-year-old stepsister calling out.
He sits up dazedly, and maybe a little too quickly. He misses the armrest of the recliner he had been lying in, toppling to the floor. He hears Britney snort in amusement. He hears the fridge door open and shut, and when he looks up, Britney has a beer in her hand.
"Better clean this crap up before the folks see." She looks over to him, regarding the mess in the living room.
"Does Judy know you drink?" The question is out before he can stop it.
"Please." She scoffs. "Mom knows way more than she lets on. I'm sure she knows all about whatever you hide under your grungy bed too."
Jimmy's eyes widen at the exact lines from before. "What day is it?"
"Christmas Eve, Loser."
Britney rolls her eyes and grabs her coat before heading outside. He looks over at Sheen hanging upside-down on the couch and to Carl, asleep by the pizza boxes.
"Retroland awaits!" Jimmy shouts, successfully gaining the attention of his friends.
Jimmy collects his things: backpack, pads helmets and boards. Like before, his friends wordlessly follow in suit. As they march through the little mounds of snow and ice, they pass Betty's house. The six-year-old girl is once again struggling with her ice skates and the three boys watch her wipeout. At the festival, nothing has changed. There are still wild rides, a frozen lake, dozens of stands and exhibits, and an iced-over skatepark not too far away.
The trio goes on the same rides as before, screaming all the same. After a particular upchucking ride, the boys cross Cindy and Libby. Before anything else, Sheen and Libby are in each other's faces. Carl trails behind, and Jimmy and Cindy are out of their groups again, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.
"What's up, Nerdtron? Doing the battle of the bands thing again?"
"Yeah." The tips of his mouth quirk upward. "It'll be alright."
"You're not nervous?"
"Nervous? Ha!" Jimmy lets some overconfidence slide off his back. "I'll be chillin while everyone else is freezing, cause I'm way better than you think."
"Whatever." Cindy scowls. "Mr. High-and-Mighty, better than all us freaks. Let's go, Lib."
Jimmy smacks himself with his hand, not needing to hear a sarcastic 'Smooth' from his friend. Carl and Sheen set out to distract Jimmy with some more rides. It is a success and he leads the trio away from a perfectly good table, and toward a less desirable one with their junkyard fries and cider. As if on a clock, Butch and his colleagues march up to a nearby table to mess with some younger kids and steal their fries. Jimmy and his crew decide to get up and leave. When Bolbi passes by, Jimmy tries to drag him away but only manages on tripping him and sending the hot chocolate flying to Butch's pants.
Again, the three separate, racing in all directions. Jimmy follows what he had previously done, crawling under Miss Fowl's habitation exhibit. He doesn't see Miss Fowl, but still bumps into Cindy.
"Oh, uh, hey, Vortex."
"What is it, Neutron?" She huffs quietly.
"My dad likes ducks. Which are kinda like winter birds. Hey, I wonder if Miss Fowl's parents knew she'd be into birds so much," He starts laughing nervously while Cindy tries to point over with her eyes. "I wonder if she's got foul breath. Get it? Like, not chicken breath cause that's her name but Fowl.. Uh, she's standing behind me. Isn't she?"
"Very astute, Mister?"
He closes his eyes. "Neutron."
"Right, Neutron. You're in my class, aren't you, Mister Neutron?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Well, we'll see what the New Year brings us, won't we, Mister Neutron?"
Jimmy sighs in defeat, slumping against the canister of bird fossilization. A few hours later, after he and his friends go on a few more rides, Jimmy is up at the Icebowl, ready to take it on. Apparently, it was more ready to take him on, as he wipes out entirely, with the board coming back to attack his groin. A few icepacks and thirty minutes later, the Battle of the Bands is about to begin. Carl and Sheen are mildly freaking out and walk to the back to find Jimmy pacing. They go over to talk with him.
"Why you walking around out here?" Sheen questions his friend. "It's cool. We'll be fine. And even if we're not, so what? We can't stink up the show worse than Carl's armpits."
"I have sensitive sweat glands." Carl retorts.
Jimmy shakes his head at the same lines. Again, he jumps out of the way from a runaway kid on a toboggan. He turns around to face the small crowd of performers when a man carrying a sign for the event passes by, accidentally striking Jimmy in the head.
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"Hey, Loser." Britney's voice rings out.
Jimmy sits up quickly, missing the armrest of the recliner he had been lying in, toppling to the floor. Britney snorts in amusement, grabbing a beer from the fridge. Jimmy scrambles to his feet, trying to believe what is happening is real.
"Better clean this crap up before the folks see." She looks over to him, regarding the mess in the living room.
"How long has Judy known you've been drinking?" She opens her mouth but he interrupts. "And I know she looks under my grungy bed when she cleans."
"Whatever." She rolls her eyes, grabbing her coat and leaves the house.
Jimmy turns to his friends. "Retroland awaits!"
The three grab all they'll need for the festival. Betty struggles on her skates and wipes out. After going on a few rides, instead of hitting up the most upchucking ride, Jimmy talks the others into riding the Ferris wheel. When it stops at a particular spot, Libby spies the boys in the cab below them.
"Hey, Sheen-diot!"
Sheen looks up time for Cindy and Libby to call out 'bombs away!' They pour their lukewarm cider and popcorn all over the boys. They groan and run off the ride to avoid any more incidents. They head to a different snack stand, grabbing some hotdogs before Jimmy grabs his board and heads for the Icebowl again. He crashes once more but rolls out of the way for the oncoming board. Nick offers him some pointers, on staying 'one with the chrome, your melon chrome.' Jimmy thanks him for the advice and joins his friends for more rides. By the end of the day, the battle of the Bands is about to begin. The kid in the toboggan almost crashes into him and he ducks from the bar - only for it to strike him in the face again.
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"Hey, Loser."
Jimmy is woken up again and again by his stepsister's taunting voice. Day after day, she pops the tab on a can of beer and leaves the house with her coat. Jimmy wakes up his friends, they grab their gear and head out to the festival, seeing Betty crash on her skates. Time and time again, Libby confronts Sheen and Jimmy and Cindy talk. Jimmy says the wrong thing or Cindy takes it the wrong way and the girls leave. The boys get on rides and grab junk food, getting tormented by Butch and his people. Jimmy sneaks away and crashes into either Cindy or Miss Fowl in the habitation area. Jimmy heads out to the Icebowl, only to crash and burn. He, Carl and Sheen are talking out behind the stage. A kid on a toboggan nearly knocks him over. Sometimes, he is hit with the board. He has also tripped over an un-iced snowboard, hit by a flying hockey stick, a chunk of hardened ice and a runaway sled, and he has been hit square in the jaw by a couple of college kids fighting in the same vicinity.
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Weeks pass, and this is his twenty-seventh Christmas Eve in a row. He can wake up before the "Hey, Loser" now. He does. He wakes up about thirty minutes early and hides the beer from his sister. He wakes up his friends and they are ready to head out when Britney comes into the kitchen. She looks over at the mess, but Jimmy already has the door shut when he hears her shout. Jimmy calls out to Betty to focus ahead, but she still crashes. Jimmy separates from Carl and Sheen while they go on a ride, and he sets out to find his dad. Instead, he runs into a woman with half a butterfly painted on her face.
"Hey, have you seen my dad?"
"Are you Jimmy?"
"Yeah." He nods uncomfortably. "Have you seen him?"
"He's gone to find more paint. Say, are you in high school yet?"
"Yeah. I'm a freshman."
"Then you must know my son!" She claps her hands. "He's a senior."
"I don't really know any seniors." He shakes his head. "Aside from my sister and Butch."
"That's him." She smiles fondly. "But that's just a nickname. My son's name is Belvedere."
"Belvedere?" It takes all Jimmy's got not to laugh. "Interesting choice."
"Oh, yes." She grins. "It's French for bright raven."
"Huh, learn something new every day." He replies, turning to leave.
"Oh wait, didn't you want to see your dad?"
"It can wait. Cool meeting you!"
"You too, dear!"
Jimmy meets up with Carl and Sheen at the Icebowl. Instead of trying that out, they opt for their regular track at the amateur drip. Jimmy shows off what he has learned over the past weeks of repeating the day. The rest of the day goes by pretty normal and Jimmy is hit with a hockey puck this time.
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Day twenty-eight and Jimmy is out early. He is awake before his friends wake up and before his sister can taunt him. He is at the festival early, only to set up a prank involving Butch, a Porta Potty and some rope. He leaves soon after, choosing instead to help Betty with her skating. By then, Carl and Sheen are already gone to the festival and Jimmy takes the day off. He helps Betty, and then practices boarding and band at home.
On day twenty-nine, Jimmy sets out early again. He isn't as early this time, but helps Betty out before heading to the carnival. He forgoes his friends and the girls. He forgets about the rides, heading straight for the Icebowl. He's got the lingo and the patterns down flat. An expert punk college student boarder shows Jimmy up, setting him up for a competition. Jimmy is fluid and doesn't let it get to him. Anything the punk sets up for him, Jimmy follows through with ease. His friends start watching him once they catch wind of an amateur taking on an proficient.
The punk does something nearly physically impossible and Jimmy does it one better. Nick and the other boarders are mucho impressed, congratulating him on joining their crew. Britney is immediately at his side though, telling the boarders off, insisting that Jimmy is too young for their kind of lifestyle. When Jimmy asks for better information on this lifestyle, he realizes Britney is right. These guys are airheads and most likely drug abusers. He blows them off and sets out to find Carl and Sheen, who have already left the celebration. He finds them in the local arcade. When they act as if he's not even there, Jimmy instantly wishes he could change everything and gets hit by a moving game.
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This is day thirty. Jimmy's thirtieth day of Christmas Eve. He wakes up early and cleans up the living room. He hides all the beer in the house and grabs his things, set for the festival. He stops by Betty's house, as she is just coming out. He explains to her that she needs to "be one with her chrome". He then helps her learn to focus and he heads out for an abandoned park to be alone. He runs into Britney here, and she feels sudden sibling guilt. She jogs over.
"You okay, Loser?" She asks affectionately.
He glances up with hard tears stained on his cheeks.
"Britney? I'm gonna tell you something. If I'm lying you can have all the money in my college savings fund."
"I am intrigued. Spill."
"I'm living the same day over and over. Don't laugh; I'm serious. I have lived a month of Christmas Eves."
"Right. Where's the fund? Still in your little toy chest?"
"I'm telling the truth, Brit."
She stares at his determined eyes and her resolve is let down. "Okay, okay. So I might believe you. Prove it."
Jimmy grins. He grabs his backpack in one hand and Britney's hand in the other. They wander through the festival and Jimmy starts pointing out everything he knows will happen. He points to Bolbi walking up to the drink stand.
"Hot chocolate. Seven marshmallows."
The little boy asks for a hot chocolate. He counts the marshmallows and then calls up to the chocolatier. "I want seven marshmallows. Can I have two more?"
The man gives it to the boy and he smiles, walking away confidently. Jimmy points to a set of blonde girls dancing with their cotton candy in the air.
"Spiderwebbed hair."
A strong gust of wind blows, knocking the girls' cotton candy into a nearby teenager's hair. Britney looks impressed. Suddenly, Butch rams into Jimmy, knocking him into Britney. With a newfound confidence, Jimmy shouts to the kid almost twice his size.
"Hey, watch it, Butch! Or should I say, Belvedere?"
Butch turns to face him with hesitation. "Keep it cool, Li'l man."
"I'll keep it cool." Jimmy nods. "If you keep cool."
"Huh?"
"Lay off the bathroom bullying, and I'll keep your real name off social media."
Grudgingly, Butch accepts the deal. He and his friends stomp away and Britney turns to face Jimmy with a grin. "You can keep the college fund."
"Thanks. I gotta go see a girl about some birds."
She smiles, watching him run away toward the educational booth. Jimmy ducks under the habitation exhibit, making a quick joke with Miss Fowl before finding Cindy in a closed-
off room that leads to a sanctuary.
"Hey, Cindy."
"Jimmy. What are you doing here?"
"I like the birds." He gestures to them. "They make me calm."
"Yeah, I get that." She smiles.
"Well, there's another reason I came in here." He pauses. "I thought I'd find you here. Look, I'm sorry about all the stupid stuff I've said to you. I've just been nervous. I wanted to tell you all those years ago. You know, the last time you were in Battle of the Bands with us?"
"Yeah?" She allows a blush to come over her face.
"Well, I like you." He finally admits. "Like, more than a friend."
She giggles a little at his insecurities. She leans over and gives him a soft kiss on the lips. His eyes widen but he kisses her back with a smile. They drop their hands and interlock their fingers, walking out of the sanctuary. Cindy meets up with Libby and Jimmy meets up with Carl and Sheen. Everyone has a lot of questions, and Cindy and Jimmy agree to fill them in - if Libby and sheen can get along. Later on, Battle of the Bands comes up and The Atomic Dorks rocks the house. They win the competition and a microphone stand malfunctions, hitting Jimmy on the head and knocking him off the stage.
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"Hey, Li'l Bro."
Britney's voice breaks out, saying something different than all the other times. This is the reason Jimmy blinks his eyes open and sits up in bed. Bed. His head hurts from yesterday. Yesterday. Jimmy looks at all the faces around him. His parents and sister are around his bed. Carl and Sheen are in the doorway. Cindy and Libby are in the hall. Jimmy blinks again.
"What day is it?"
"Christmas Day." Britney laughs lightly. "Glad you're up."
"Cindy?"
"Hey, Nerdtron." The blonde girl walks in, grabbing his hand.
"When you feel up to it, come join us in the kitchen for waffles before digging into the presents." Judy smiles.
She, Jimmy's dad, Britney, Carl, Sheen and Libby leave for the kitchen - with the latter two playfully shoving each other in the hall. Jimmy turns to face Cindy, who smiles down at him.
"Sheen and Libby might get back together. Congrats on winning the band thing."
"We won?"
"Do you remember anything from yesterday."
Jimmy smiles. "I remember a whole lot. But I'm glad it's over now."
"Me too." Cindy agrees, leaning down to kiss her new boyfriend. "Merry Christmas."
[][][][] Day 30 of 45. I hope I can get this uploaded in time. I've been having problems with the Internet. Love ya'll! [][][][]