Author's Note: HI EVERYBODY! It's so nice to be back in action. This is my brand new story that I've been writhing (and still in progress) of about a year….yes, I know….I'm slow. Well, anyway, just to get a few things out of the way before I begin. I got the idea for this story after reading another fan-fiction By Hafa Wanabe, this was called "The pain of Love Lost before it was Gained." If you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about here, if not you MIGHT want to read it. (Your choice)

This takes place right after the story. Although I made some changes to the age, and some other things I can't remember right now, it's still pretty basic.

BIG thanks to Hafa for the Idea and a great sad story to read.

Let's get this show on the ROAD!

Bark (translations)

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

In Love and Death

Chapter 1: A Hero Has Fallen

We'd always thought he would be there for us; or at least, I did. I came into Tenth grade from summer vacation with three things I wanted to do in my mind. The first was I wanted to beat Jimmy Neutron at, at least one thing; at test, quiz, project, whatever, I just wanted to beat him. The second was I wanted to humiliate him as bad as I could, nothing too serious but just enough to show him up. Finally, the third and most important one of all was I wanted to show how I really felt about him. Under all the aggressiveness and "hatred" I really….loved him, and I think it was about time I told him, I mean, six years is a long enough time to hide it! Sadly, I never got to do those things, not one. Jimmy Neutron was found inside his lab, slumped over his working table, dead.

I stood in front of the headstone of the boy I had loved, far from the time when I knew

what love was, crying my eyes out.

"He loved you, you know?" Goddard said through his electronic screen. Jimmy had left Goddard for me to take care of in his will. After all I did to him, he still trusted me with Goddard, and I was going to take real good care of him. "That's why he brought his inventions to school." He continued. "He was trying to impress you."

I could barely talk over my sobbing but I still gathered up the strength to say "It always worked."

"You loved him, too?" the metallic dog asked.

I nodded in reply. "But he never knew…I wanted to tell him this year…But-but but…" I couldn't continue. He was gone, and the last thing I said to him was so…so heartless. I was telling Libby, Sheen, Carl and Mary that I was going away after school and it was, well, after school.

FLASHBACK

"So girl, where are ya going'?" asked my best friend Libby Folfex.

"We're going to Florida to visit my Aunt at her cottage." I replied to her smiling.

"That's cool!" Sheen said while holding hands with Libby. The two had been dating since November and, frankly, looked cute together. 'God, how I wish Jimmy and me could do that' I thought, looking at the couple. 'Maybe I should tell him how I feel when I get back…Yeah, that's what I'll do!'

"Yeah, I bet you'll be missing Jimmy while you're gone, huh?" Commented Carl.

"Yeah…." I sighed. Realizing what I had said I immediately tried to take it back. "I mean, NO!" I yelled. "I mean who would miss Nerdtron?" I ranted not paying attention to the looks of horror they were giving me.

"Cin…I think you'd…oh my-" Mary, Carl's llama loving girlfriend, tried to stop me. But I kept going.

"If he were to disappear the whole town, no, the whole world would be a better place and everyone would be a hell of a lot happier!" I finished smiling triumphantly, only then did I notice their looks. "What?"

"You have a nice summer, too, Vortex…" said a voice behind me. I turned sharply at hearing the voice and was staring into the eyes I could get lost in forever, Jimmy Neutron's. Little did I know, that would be the last time I would stare into them and hear his voice. I thought he was going to yell at me but he really didn't need to. The look in his eyes said it all, pain, sadness and…heartbreak?

"Jimmy, I …I didn't-" I tried to say but he cut me off.

"Save it Vortex!" He said looking me in the eyes with a look that he's never given me, and it hurt and scared me. "I guess I'll see you next year….Hopefully." With that, he walked away.

'Shit!' I thought. "Jimmy, I'm sorry!" I tried to yell to him, but he was gone.

END FLASHBACK

That was the last time I ever would see his face again. "Oh God, Jimmy…" I whispered kneeling down to sit next to his headstone. "I'm so, so sorry I said all those things about you. The truth is it was a cover, a cover over my real feelings for you. The truth is…I love you….and always will." I lent in and kissed the headstone softly, saying what I had been dying to say for a very long time.

"I think he sort of had an idea of how you felt." Goddard wrote. "I mean, I may not be real and know what makes a human tic, but I guess I have a pretty good idea on emotions."

"What?" I asked drying my tears from my face.

"That day," He said. "Jimmy came home sad and angry."

"Don't you record what conversations take place between you and Jimmy?" I asked. He nodded. "Can you play that day?" I asked as tears formed in my eyes at what he could have said.

"Bark, Bark!" The dog replied. Then out of his mouth came a hollow projector and Jimmy appeared in his room.

"What's wrong?" The dog asked in a robotic sounding voice.

"Cindy said something that really hurt today…" The saddened boy replied.

"What'd she say?"

"She said that if I were to die the how world would be a better place." He said looking at the ground.

"I know your lying." The dog said. "Don't think like that, it scares me."

"I'm sorry boy…Its just; I wish she would lighten up. Where's the Cindy I spent five days with on that island?" He asked him, patting the dog on the head.

"So you do love her, don't you?" Goddard snickered.

"NO!" He retorted too quickly. "Alright yeah I do, you know that. You, my family and her are the only reasons I wouldn't want to die or go away. Just in case, though, I think I should start making a Will or something because that experiment is getting pretty dangerous."

"Don't lie." The dog advised switching to his writing system. "I can read the two of you like books. And we'll do the will thing later, anyway.

"You know what boy." The genius said smiling for the first time since he got home. "I think that when she gets back I'll tell her how I really feel. Rejection or not….Well that is after I show her up for the thousandth time."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's just get down there and finish this thing." The dog wrote impatiently wagging his tail.

"Well aren't we excited?" He said walking to the whole in his room. "Well, come on boy!" And then the transmission ended and Goddard closed his mouth.

"I shouldn't have left…" I sobbed as tears pored down my face. "It's all my fault!" I yelled as I broke down. Goddard then came over and tried to comfort me…and it worked a little.

"Cindy…" he whimpered as he wrote. "Please don't leave me, too. You're all that I've got left. I'll miss him too, but we have to be strong."

"You're right." I replied, hugging the metal pooch. "What were you guys working on down in the lab, anyway?" I asked standing up.

"Well, Jimmy thought I was lonely so we were making two girl poodles."

"Two?" I asked.

"Yeah, one for me and...one for you."

"For me!" I asked astonished.

"Yeah, for when you get back from vacation and he told you how he really felt."

"Great minds think alike." I whispered as tears came pouring down my face. "I was planning the same thing, minus the dogs." The dog came over and licked my face with his metal tongue.

"He knew you loved him, one way or another, he knew…" He wrote.

"And I still do…" I whispered patting him on the head. "Goddard…" I asked not wanting to bring up the death of his master, but I had to know. "How did Jimmy die?"

"I…don't know, he said I shouldn't be in that lab because the explosion would damage the electrons in my brain. I found him in his lab…a few hours later."

"What did the police say?" I asked sniffling.

"Oh, them" He wrote in an angry speed. "Because they couldn't find any evidence, they concluded it was a suicide." He wrote the last word being smothered with disbelief. "Frankly, I don't believe it, He was fine that day…his neural signs showed no hint of depression, a bit of nervousness, but no depression."

"Neither do I." I said as I stood up. 'Jimmy may have been teased, but he sure as hell wasn't suicidal.' I thought. "Goddard, it may just be the guilt." I said looking down at the metal dog. "But I think something's up…"

He looked up at me and nodded. "Bark Grr, bark!" I think I was beginning to understand him because, to me, that sounded a lot like 'me too'.

"What about VOX?" I asked.

"His screen popped up again and he started writing. "He turned it off, but I thin he kept the recorder on so he could save what he did for later. Plus I need to show you the will because there was some…personal, stuff on it."

"Did everyone else see it?" I asked slightly blushing.

"No, he made another tape just for you."

'How can we get in if we don't have a piece of his hair?' I thought. Jimmy had told us how to get into the lab at the start of 7th grade and we'd all hang out around there having fun parties and stuff. I smiled at the memories. 'I'll let you rest…' "Okay boy," I said. "How do we get in?"

He just nodded and wrote. "Leave that to me."

Chapter One….over! R/R please!

kingdom219!