Author's Note: Yes, you could read this fic in its entirety on my LJ account. But you know what? You could also read it here and review. Plus I know not everyone bothers to check my LJ.

At any rate, cutie though he is, Jimmy doesn't belong to me. Nor do any of his friends, family, neighbors, or anyone else. I'm broke. Wah.

First Date

Today had not gone too well. Actually, that was an understatement. Today had been an unmitigated disaster. Nothing either said sounded the way it had in their heads and, what was worse, instead of apologizing, they'd spent more time sniping. It definitely complicated his plans, weeks in the making.

Sighing, Jimmy Neutron combed his hair fastidiously, doused himself in cologne, and mentally rehearsed his schedule. His parents giving him their blessing comforted him slimly; they were not the parents adverse to his relationship with her. (What relationship?) They even dubbed his crush 'adorable' and his father commenced singing what had to be the world's most humiliating love song. If this evening passed without too many hitches, he'd have to avoid bringing her home to his parents until he had a plan for that as well. However, to contemplate that might be jumping the gun.

Tonight happened to be the night of the meteor shower, an astronomical marvel many couples would gather to observe. Due to its purported beauty and his affinity with science, he wanted to share it with her and then tell her something he'd withheld for a very long time. However, that was contingent on his evening surviving to that point. Cindy, he reminded himself sternly, might not leave the house with him thanks to his behavior.

"Knock 'em dead, champ!" his father advised him and Jimmy sighed, staring at his reflection in the mirror. Debonair by Goddard's programmed standards, but would she agree? He'd forsaken his typical attire to don a red dress shirt and black slacks. Of course, he had his digital watch just in case, but his long sleeves concealed it. According to the weather, it would be cool enough not to suffer in the shirt. (Why did it seem like everything dangled on an increasingly slick rope with frayed edges? Oh, let tonight transpire accordingly...).

"Right..." Jimmy answered in a voice that resembled his, but only in the way a bear resembles a human by walking on its back legs. Wiping his brow, he gulped and focused on putting one foot in front of him. (When had walking become a chore?)

"You look adorable, sweetie!" Judy cried and posed accordingly with the camera. Jimmy's stomach gurgled and he clamped a tissue to his mouth. One foot in front of the other. Yes, that was the ticket. (Why did the stairs have so many stairs?)

Smiling, she hugged him and he tuned out whatever banal advice his father had. It involved ducks. Surprise, surprise. What use were ducks to him now?

"Thanks, Dad," he replied dully, staring at the front door. The instant he left the house, his plan would go into motion and everything he had regimented would either work spectacularly...or flop abysmally.

Here goes nothing.

Switching on his jet pack, he drifted up to Cindy's window. The pretty towheaded girl tapped her foot to a romantic song and glanced towards Jimmy's house. Or, rather, this had been the pattern before the boy himself arrived. Then she dropped the pencil in her hand and stared. An evil thought materialized- maybe I should let him float up there all night. Ha. Serves him right.

Jimmy knocked on the windowpane and Cindy, rather than invite him in, increased the volume. She was still angry with him for their disagreements and while the love song did remind her of him, she wasn't apt to reveal that information. Shutting her eyes, she laid back on the bed and smirked, pleased. He ought to be outside her window with his radio. Then maybe she'd give him the right time of day. Maybe. If she wasn't feeling vindictive.

Unfortunately, the music had risen to such a level that her mother heard. Irritated, she stuck her head in the door and chastised her daughter. Cindy flushed guiltily, glancing out the window where Jimmy had hovered a moment ago. He wasn't stupid- he wasn't going to levitate there for Mrs. Vortex to see him. She'd probably accuse him of kidnapping her daughter like she had after their period on the island. Definitely not how he planned to spend his evening, being berated.

Pointing her finger at her accusingly, she left and Cindy, jumping up, flung open her window. Currently, she was more irritated with her mother than Jimmy and therefore, he had sixty seconds to spew whatever garbage he'd concocted before she heaved him and his sorry rocket pack out.

"What do you want, Neutron?" Cindy snapped. "I'm not in the mood."

"There's a meteor show tonight..." Jimmy said, blushing lightly. "I was wondering if you'd do me the honor of-"

"Of what?" she retorted. "Verifying where each and every meteor struck the earth's atmosphere?"

"No..." Jimmy replied, frowning. What if she refuses point blank to accompany me? Maybe I should have forewarned her.

"If you're looking for someone to play your lackey, Carl lives right next door." She reached to slam the window shut, but he hurriedly propelled himself inside.

"Now you're breaking and entering."

"Cindy, would you please hear me out?" he said and she blinked, surprised by his politeness. Crossing the room to her pink phone, she sat on the bed and placed it in her lap.

"You have five minutes before I call the cops."

You have got to be kidding me.

Swallowing hard, fighting an eruption, Jimmy gritted his teeth and joined her. She shoved him off; her eyes blazed angrily. Slowly he mentally counted to ten. Experts said it helped relieve stress and calm you down. He certainly hoped that was the case, because his carefully constructed figurative note cards were tumbling into the water and dissolving upon impact.

"All I wanted to do was ask you to accompany me to the meteor showers. Nothing. No cheap tricks," he said and her eyes narrowed. Why is she so distrustful?

"What's the catch?" she retorted.

"There is none. Cindy..." he said, swallowing his pride. As you can imagine, due to its sheer size, that was quite a gulp. "I'm asking you out."

The phone dropped to the floor and fell off the hook. She looked at him like she'd never seen him before. Her mouth fell agape.

"You're what?"

"Asking you out," he repeated. "On a date."

"Wait? You want me to go out with you?"

Jimmy yearned to bang his head against the wall. They were wasting precious time while she questioned his intent and irritated him beyond mention. Innumerable sarcastic replies flitted across his mind, but he suppressed them all. Instead, he nodded and she grinned, relieving him.

"I'd love to! I mean..." Grand, she came off too eager. Plus there was the matter of her mother. Thinking about it wiped the smile off her face and she crept to the door and stuck her head out.

"What about her? She'll notice it if I sneak out."

Jimmy reached into his backpack and retrieved a hologram projector. Adjusting the controls, he produced a feasible replication of her and situated it where she had been before. Cindy stared, gazing at it and him.

"You've been planning this out for a while, haven't you?" she said suspiciously and he nodded again, resembling an energetic dog near its precious bone. Her heart skipped a beat- finally, a real date.

"I'll go out with you, Neutron, but you'd better not be-"

He snatched her hand and squeezed it. Her heart skipped another beat.

"I promise."

"Okay," she said.

What could go wrong?

Everything.

"The park," was all Jimmy would say when Cindy asked and, relegated to a silent role during their transportation, her mind buzzed excitedly. Instead of utilizing the hover car, he flew them via his jet pack, which meant she had to clasp him tightly lest she plunge however many feet there were to the ground. Truthfully, she didn't care. She delighted in their bodies so close and his heartbeat against hers. His arm clutched her and his hair waved in the wind.

However, her mother nagged at the back of her mind. She ostensibly examined the roads below to verify a car didn't trail them, but the pitch blackness prevented much search. She had to trust that her mother believed Jimmy's facsimile and asked no questions. Anxious, she bid her worries to cease. She had to let the night take its turn, not dictate its actions or fret over what might occur.

The two touched down in the park where a myriad of other couples enjoyed the evening. Sheen and Libby, it surprised her to see, ensconced themselves near a rock formation that, given a nudge, might become a cave. Sam and Ms. Fowl occupied another, a blanket spread out on the grass beneath them. Cindy raised her hand to hail Libby, but Jimmy tugged her along.

Crunching autumn leaves underfoot, the two entered a secluded area, but while walking, Cindy sensed a presence lingering and observing them; it judged her. She hastened her pace, but its eyes tracked her. Gulping, she hurried Jimmy and shook her head, denying anything troubled her. Meanwhile, she couldn't shake the feeling someone scrutinized them and bode its time before striking.

Concealed, Sasha Vortex trailed her daughter and her disapproved companion. Honestly, how many times had she warned her against befriending the 'enemy'? Judging by their interlinked hands, she had progressed further than friendship. Gritting her teeth, she mentally accumulated Cindy's indiscretions and demarked their relevancy. In due time, she'd separate them and punish her daughter. However, that was contingent on her behavior with him. If they commenced kissing or 'making out', she'd haul Cindy kicking and screaming home, if need be.

This Jimmy Neutron appeared wholesome, but appearances deceived. Besides, hadn't her daughter any decency? Rivals did not suddenly metamorphose into romantic entanglements and if they did, then the problem had to be remedied. How could her daughter sully her reputation by capitulating to her hormones? How could she ever expect to beat him if she submitted to him? (In her mind, nothing else existed save competition. Thus, she dominated her husband).

Cindy giggled and Sasha seethed, noting Jimmy's hand brushing her cheek. If Sasha cared to notice it, she'd have acknowledged the love brimming in Jimmy's eyes and reciprocated in Cindy's. The two certainly did, because they nervously glanced away, hands still together. They were young, innocent, and in love. They had to be divided.

Since her daughter could not divine the truth, she had to be the one to facilitate it. She had to prove her wrongness. It was for the best.

Guiding her to an embroidered "Neutron" blanket, he waited patiently for her to sit and then joined her. Overhead, meteors lit the sky and those actively watching, rather than 'smooching', proclaimed their awe. Cindy's eyes unconsciously drifted heavenward and Jimmy, beside her, grabbed her hand again. She swiveled her head to regard him and he inhaled slowly, praying for courage.

"You know, Neutron, you've actually been decent to me tonight," she said. "What gives?"

The surname threw him off and he sighed, deciding his confession could wait. Instead, he retrieved a hidden fruit basket and offered the contents to her. She smiled, grabbing grapes. Once you pop one, you can't stop.

In the moonlight, her face radiated beauty and stole his breath away. He remembered her in the spacesuit (guiltily, because it had activated his accursed hormones and deprived him of critical judgment) and he gaped, turning into a slack jawed yokel by her bewitching sight. Meanwhile, behind them, a certain mother shared not that impression.

Put your eyes back in your head, Sasha mentally hissed, careful not to dislodge a tree branch or otherwise alert the two. Cindy hadn't recognized his staring, or, if she had, she enjoyed it. Some 'boy genius'.

Love, she supposed, had its own rules and regulations, but Sasha had not given her permission to enter its arena. She disapproved of Jimmy heartily; if she had to venture a better partner, she'd propose Eustace Strych. The boy had money and power, both of which Cindy could monopolize to her advantage. Jimmy possessed no such useful qualities.

In her mind, true love belonged in movies and television, not real life. She herself had never slipped in its ranks and she developed into a better person because of it. Love sullied the waters and blurred the senses. It intoxicated decisions and inebriated common sense. She would not let Cindy fall into its treacherous clutches.

A line from Bewitched popped into her head and Sasha stifled her laughter. "I'm your mother. I'll tell you when you're happy."

Hesitantly, Jimmy wrapped an arm about Cindy's waist. Cindy glanced at him and his heart skipped a beat. He expected repudiation. He received no such thing.

Cindy smiled, scooting closer. Maybe it was the romantic setting, maybe it was the way her heart raced (her pulse beneath his fingers), but he thought he stood a chance. Maybe he was deluded in that thought, but a spark of hope brightened the night. It could still go according to plan. Everything else had.

"I...I invited you on this excursion to tell you something rather important," he fumbled, bidding his racing heart to calm and his mind to cease creating horrific outcomes to his confession. That was the problem with being a boy genius- no matter what, your brain always hummed with activity.

"Yes?" she whispered, her breath warming his cheek.

Sasha Vortex had never been closer to darting in there and grabbing her before he professed whatever insignificant thing that plagued him. Puppy love. That was it. He'd never be anything more than a crush to Cindy if that much. She knew. She knew her daughter better than she knew herself.

Besides, Jimmy couldn't provide her with a future. Eustace could. Those crappy little inventions of Jimmy's made nice playthings, but he never planned ahead. His family's wealth was supported by a cantankerous old woman, reputably. What kind of boy was that for her daughter? Feh.

Maybe Cindy would reject him and she need never intercede. Unfortunately, she doubted that would be the case. Not given their proximity and their once more interlocked hands. Cindy was smitten.

Foolish boy. Leave my daughter alone...or I'll keep her away from you by force.

His eyes shone a soft robin's blue in the moonlight and his chestnut hair, worn in that ridiculous fashion, brought a smile to her face. So, she believed, would his next few words. With bated breath, she anticipated it and caressed his cheek. Soft and warm, like him.

"I love you."

At first, she wasn't certain she'd heard him right. She'd spent months hoping he'd utter those three words and now that he had, her brain experienced a delay while processing them. The moment seemed to be too good to be true.

And, in retrospect, it was.

Sasha inwardly scoffed. Typical. Why else would a boy bring a girl here if not to profess their love? To watch the natural phenomenon? Ha.

Cindy's words shocked her, though, like her daughter, in retrospect, she should have anticipated them.

"I...I love you too. I always have. But I've never said anything because it was never the right moment or I couldn't get it out..."

There was a pause and then words uttered through clenched teeth. "Or my mother's pressure influenced me."

Jimmy nodded understandingly, titling her head in his palm and staring deeply into her emerald eyes. She stared back into his and shut her eyes. Her whole body tingled expectantly. This was the night for everything.

Gently, like a feeble wind, his lips brushed her cheek and then her lips. The action sent adrenaline rushing through her and the world melted away. The contact hadn't lasted longer than a moment, but she had never felt more alive.

Jimmy smiled at the wonderment in her expression and rested his hand on the back of her neck. Possession. She found she liked the idea of belonging to him because he belonged to her. They were equals. Not rivals. Not enemies.

Grinning back, Cindy kissed him with youthful abandon. He prolonged it, tapping her lips with his tongue. His arms wrapped firmly about her back and he massaged it. She let the moment take her away.

And Sasha's rage took her away. No longer pleased with her daughter's actions in the slightest, she crashed through the shrubbery and physically hoisted her daughter off her former rival. Ten seconds ago, they were in an 'intimate' embrace (intimate for them, anyway), and now, Cindy was flailing in midair. If Sasha wasn't so vexed, it'd be amusing.

"You...what do you think you're doing?" Cindy sputtered, finding her voice at last.

Jimmy jumped to his feet, but she had no interest in however he wished to justify the matter. She focused on her quivering daughter, who had relinquished her hold on her and now, fuming, stood at Jimmy's side. Sasha's temper arched a few more notches.

"Apparently, witnessing you ruining your life."

Jimmy saw it, but he wasn't certain he believed it. Naturally, through his adventures, he'd observed a great many odd things, but this was definitely the highest. On what, he couldn't tell you. The rude shock of being sheared from Cindy had disrupted his natural thought processes.

"Ruining her life?" Jimmy said, dimly aware he probably ought to stay out of this but furious himself.

"It's just a kiss," Cindy snapped. "It's not like I'm doing anything else."

What else would they do, anyway? They were, after all, only eleven. The mysteries of adults were known to Jimmy, but he wasn't going to explore them with Cindy. Somehow, he doubted she'd permit him even if his curiosity compelled him.

Sasha stiffened, glaring at the couple. "I do not approve of him. We're going home."

That ought to resolve any argument. Cindy quivered, hands forming fists. Jimmy, never one to back down, challenged her authority.

"Why? And just because you disapprove doesn't mean-"

"Stay out of this, little boy," Sasha snapped.

It means the world to her. And since I'm part of it, I have to respect her decisions. But this isn't fair! She can't mandate my every action! Who would she rather I was with? Eustace?

Cindy shuddered at the thought and seized Jimmy's hand. "Approval or not, I love him."

Jimmy smiled wanly and she rewarded him with a smile of her own.

"This isn't up for debate," her mother retorted, wrenching the two apart. "You're coming home with me and you're coming home this instant."

"Or what?" Cindy snapped, surprising and irritating her mother to no end. Sasha glared and Cindy quailed under the furious gaze. That infamous Vortex backbone would not be used against her.

"I don't think," her mother replied smoothly, "you'd care for that 'or what'."

Cindy glanced at Jimmy helplessly and Sasha smirked, Bidding Jimmy a rather rude goodbye, she proceeded to yank Cindy home. Jimmy attempted to follow, but Sasha threatened to alert the police on his alleged breaking and entering.

Fools in love

A couple weeks passed since Sasha separated the two new 'lovers' and since then, interaction between the two had been relegated to school and internet conversations. Not the phone, because Cindy's mother had blocked Jimmy's phone number. And certainly not meeting, because Sasha had threatened to put a restraining order on him.

And, thus, Friday night found Cindy staring morosely, longingly out her window.

Run away, rocket boy...