Summary: Ever since their drama-filled trip to Egypt, Jimmy has been fascinated by Libby's exotic beauty. His duty is to Cindy. But where is his heart? Can he keep up the farce? Or will he betray his best friend and his girlfriend in the pursuit of…true love?

AN: This is set when the gang is around 16 or 17, to ease any confusion

Ms. Fowl was getting married, believe it or not. She planned to leave Lindbergh for a month after the nuptials to drive off into the sunset with her new husband. No one knew where he had come from, just that one day he appeared and was immediately smitten with Ms. Fowl's bird-like "beauty." All her students, past and present, were invited. But only her favorite fifth-grade class of all time was prepared to show up for what would definitely be the happiest day of her life.

Jimmy Neutron had the perfect gift in mind for the bride-to-be. It would no doubt make her wedding (and the wedding night) unforgettable. Currently, he was in the newly established laboratory of Lindbergh High School mixing the necessary chemicals and pheromones for her present.

His cerulean eyes caught Sheen and Libby lounging on the couches across the room, arms wrapped languidly around each other. Jimmy's brow wrinkled, but he tried not to show his frustration. He felt his hand tilt and was planning on shifting when-

"Focus Neutron!"

The shrill and bitter voice of his girlfriend made his poor eardrums ring. His beaker, which had already been tipped precariously, slipped from his fingers, spilling onto Cindy's exposed ankles as the glass shattered around them.

Jimmy cursed as Cindy screamed bloody murder, though the solution was relatively harmless. Mild irritation would result, but nothing major. Cindy threw her goggles to the ground and ran to the sink, using a damp paper towel to scrub at her reddening skin. Jimmy apologized profusely, but remained where he was. He didn't want to slip on the wet floor.

Sheen's voice, which had deepened and smoothed with age, carried across the now silent room.

"What's going on?" He absently rubbed the stubble of his sharp jawline and narrowed his eyes with concern. Jimmy hadn't yet grown facial hair, and felt wholly inadequate in that respect. Even Carl was more masculine-looking than he was.

Libby tightened her grip on Sheen and Jimmy averted his eyes. He tried to answer but a sudden lump had clogged his throat. Damn. He thought he was over his crush on Libby! How long can one crush last?! But when he glanced at her from under his thick lashes he knew he wouldn't get over her any time soon; if ever.

"Nerd-tron spilled the solution all over my legs! If I die Neutron, I swear I'll-" but Cindy was cut off by the voice of an angel, raspy and calm, as sweet as caramel and chocolate.

"Chill out dude, they're just chemicals. Jimmy would never drop anything dangerous on you, Cindy." His name on her lips brought a reaction he didn't want, but couldn't stop. He blushed. Furiously.

Sheen, taking his rapid discoloration for embarrassment, stood up and walked toward his best friend. After reaching him, he slung an arm around the narrow shoulders, engulfing the petite brunette boy.

"It's okay Jimmy," he soothes. "We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, Jimmy," Libby added as she walked past him with a sexy saunter. She helped Cindy pull up her capris and they depart to the nurse's office. Neither of the girls realized that the nurse wouldn't be there. School had closed hours ago.

In the safe security of an all-male environment, Sheen shook Jimmy and turned him until they were face-to-face.

"Why are you dating her," he asked with a slightly hysterical edge. "She's mean, vindictive, and I'm sorry, but does she really even love you?!"

Jimmy was at a loss. They had had this discussion numerous times before. Every single instance Jimmy had responded with: 'well, we've been together forever.'

As if that meant anything. In his heart, Jimmy knew that he only stayed with Cindy to keep ties with Libby. But why? He didn't love her. He loved Cindy; in a strange and twisted way. He had shared many things with her throughout his life. She was the first girl to ever be in his lab, for Science's sake! They had had their first kiss, first date, first everything together. They had fought, been jealous, made up, and fought again in an endless cycle of dysfunction. But always, even when Jimmy had been wonder-struck by Cindy, Libby had been floating in the back of his mind. Before, he could repress it. Cindy used to be all he ever wanted; Libby was just a minor twinge back then. But as he grew older and Cindy became obsessive and controlling (more so than usual), the twinge grew into an ache. Now his "crush" was full blown and still growing.

Sheen looked into his eyes, brown meeting blue. Carl and Sheen had always been closer to each other than they were to Jimmy, but lately Sheen had opened up. Carl hung out more and more with Elki, leaving the two of them to double date or just chill out. He couldn't tell Sheen. He could never tell Sheen.

It would ruin their friendship for good.

"We've been together forever, Sheen," Jimmy said, not meeting his eyes any longer.

"So," Sheen whined. "That's no reason to take her abuse! Dude, I didn't want to tell you this but it feels like I have no other choice."

Jimmy eyes snapped forward and his lip trembled. He's had that unfortunate habit since he turned thirteen. His upper lip quivered when he was nervous.

"What," he asked. "Tell me."

What does he know? Jimmy pondered.

"Well…"

He bit his lip and sighed deeply, as if burdened by the weight of the world.

"Come on!"

Silence.

Jimmy was prepared to step away when Sheen blurted, "Cindy is cheating on you with Nick!"

It was quite anticlimactic. Sheen was staring with those big doe eyes, frowning like he had broken his best friend. But…the world does not fall, the sky does not break, and his heart does not shatter. Jimmy felt nothing. His thoughts raced, sure. But they all came back to a singular sentence: How did I not realize sooner?

The distance, the nagging, the constant physical advances that Jimmy always had to reject. Cindy was feeling neglected. And she had found solace in Nick. Of course.

"Wow."

"Yeah," Sheen said apologetically, right as the girls pranced into the room. Jimmy turned his head, on reflex more than actually caring about them entering, and stopped short.

Cindy looked…

Ridiculous.

She was wearing skin-tight leopard print jeggins (at least that what Jimmy thought they were called) with a bedazzled black top that didn't cover her midriff. She looked pasty and sickly and just plain off-putting. Obviously she was wearing Libby's clothes. But where Libby had the curves and the coloring to pull these looks off, Cindy didn't. She was the total opposite of Libby in every way, and placing Cindy in Libby's clothes just seemed…wrong.

"Look at you, hot stuff," Sheen said jokingly to Cindy. She stood awkwardly in her high heels, and Jimmy felt angry at the fact that she now towered over him. As if he didn't already feel like less of a man.

"Thanks," she said, looking down at her feet. Her toenails were painted a nice shade of pink. It's the same pink that donned Libby's toes as well.

"You're welcome," Sheen said, now turning his attention back to Libby. Never one to be mean, he truly only speaks to Cindy because she's dating one of his oldest and closest friends. If Jimmy and Cindy had never started dating, Sheen would have stopped hanging out with her a long time ago.

Jimmy remembered the mess and begins to walk toward the storage closet for a broom, but is halted by Libby's brown arm wrapping around him. She pulled Jimmy over and hugged him around the neck, teasingly making kissy noises in the air around his face.

"If you can flirt with Cindy, I can flirt with Jimmy," she sang, sticking her tongue out at Sheen. He let out a big guffaw and gripped her waist, wrenching her from Jimmy and planting a smacking kiss on her glossy lips. Jimmy felt sick and practically ran to the closet. He didn't know how much longer he could take this torture.

"Jimmy," he heard a quiet voice behind him. He turned to look at Cindy and before she can open her mouth, he brought his lips to hers. She gasped and melted, slinking pale arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. Her tongue attempted to part his lips, but Jimmy kept it strictly closed mouthed. Still, Cindy enjoyed the kiss and was deliriously happy that this time he initiated the affection before she did. Finally free from rejection, Cindy doesn't want this to end. She's not even angry about the spill any longer.

But her mind strayed.

Nick wasn't as good of a kisser, but he made her feel desirable. That's all she really wanted; to be desirable to someone. Jimmy preferably, but any guy with good looks and a nice bank account would do. Cindy was materialistic, yes. But deep deep down she loved Jimmy. She knew it! Just because she and Nick had a little fun together behind Jimmy's back didn't mean anything. Right?

Cindy thought, and as she thought, the kiss turned sour. Almost at the same time, they broke apart. Both were panting and both were perplexed.

Jimmy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, blinked once, left the closet, and then left the room. He never swept his mess, and it stayed on the floor through the weekend to be discovered on a bright and sunny Monday morning by a janitor and young Mr. Jameson.

Mr. Jameson was Ms. Fowl's fiancé. He was handsome, in his mid-thirties, and thrilled to be engaged to who he felt was the most beautiful woman in the world. He always wore a suit and tie, mainly to show off his riches. He spoke many languages perfectly, but sadly his English was almost incomprehensible. He spoke with a mix of accents, like someone who had lived everywhere and anywhere but didn't want to drop the speech patterns. That only worsened his ability to speak clearly and understandably.

He swaggered down the hall Monday morning looking for his love, when a curious scent tingled the hairs in his nose.

"Oo-loo-ka-her," he said with a wide grin. "Wah-roam-es-es?"

He practically skipped through the laboratory doors, smacking a female janitor in the face and knocking her onto her back.

"Eh-soy-soar-ey," he screams, reaching out to grip her calloused palm in his. She's butch and perhaps a good ten years his senior, but in this light she somehow looks…desirable?

Mr. Jameson is flummoxed. He is engaged for Pete's sake! He can't possibly be having feelings for this woman! What kind of man was he?!

The janitor sniffed deeply and turned her head toward the green spill she has been meaning to get to. Her name was Elmira. Despite her looks, the woman was pretty intelligent. She knew that Jimmy and his friends mixed concoctions all the time in this room. Never before had they left such a large mess, and it was partially dried in so it must be a few days old. Whatever it was, she knew that it was the cause of the desire stirring within her for this man: Ms. Fowl's man. No Elmira and Ms. Fowl weren't friends, but Elmira could never betray her that way! Or could she?

Soon, as they enter and staring match, Elmira realized that she can't resist the pull of the laboratory fumes. And she doesn't want to. She can see the desire -and disgust- written plainly on his face. Should she give in to the pull?

"Scoo-say-me," he said, trying to retreat, but Elmira gripped him by the color and planted a big kiss on the man. The smell of her breath and the feel of her sweaty cheeks against his face brought him out of his haze, but the loud gasp of horror from the open doorway was like an electric shock.

Principle Willabee.

He puts up a hand to his lips and runs. He's quite fast for an old man, but Mr. Jameson is faster. He sprints out of the room after Willabee, leaving Elmira to faint in the room alone. She is found dead two days later by a man that returned from visiting a college across the country. This man had never before set foot in the school's lab; the harsh chemicals made him woozy. But on that day, that seemingly ordinary Wednesday, he finds a woman dead on the laboratory floor, lying in a puddle of green ooze and broken glass.