Let the puppets dance!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, but my life. Oh and the plot for this story. Everything else? I wish.
A/N 2017: Hello, hello beautiful people of 2017 who ended up looking at this story I wrote eight years ago. I've recently been hit by a wave of nostalgia and decided to rework this piece a little bit. Still not a native speaker, but my English should be better than it was when I was a teen, so hopefully it will read better. The story isn't quite my style anymore, but I didn't wanna change too much, so here you go, hope you get some enjoyment out of it. ;)
Jimmy had made a lot of inventions in his life.
This was an indisputable fact.
There were the dangerous ones, the amusing ones, the brilliant ones, the pointless ones and the ones that blew up half the town twice a week. (He seemed to have a knack for latter ones.)
You named it, he created it. His abilities were rightfully considered astounding, and his lab was filled with just about everything one could imagine. His friends had long since lost count of all his inventions. Because he was an inventor of the finest kind. Gifted.
(Of course, on top of all that he was applaudably modest too.)
But this device he held in his very hands…this one was special.
The triumphant genius patted Goddard's head and smiled at the result of yet another sleepless night. Admittedly, it was not an invention that would garner him a Nobel Prize. Hardly spectacular compared to some of the other innovations in science he had done. And as he thought about, it was not even a new idea.
But who said a reprise equaled trumpery?
He turned the shiny gadget around in his hands. Behind him, green letters glowed on Vox' screen, goo and neon colored chemicals bubbled, peeping noises rang from the working computers. Any other teenager of sixteen years would probably have been proud already if they managed to customize their bedroom to their taste. A Jimmy Neutron, however, did not even notice the unique kaleidoscope of strange machinery that was lab. This was his home, his sanctuary. The place where he could retreat from the busy and often confusing world outside and focus on the true love of his life: Science.
It was a sweet life.
A faint, yet malicious grin crept up his face as he continued eying his newest 'best invention of all times'. Oh yes, it would be science to lead him to ultimate success. He could not wait to try it out …now that it was finished.
"We'll see how she'll like that one, won't we Goddard?!" he grinned and held the gadget higher so his dog could admire it as well. Caught up in his euphoria, he did not notice the snickering, metallic sound he got as reply.
"This is the opportunity I've been waiting for, for much too long! Time to pay, Miss Vortex!" He looked around eagerly to receive some cheers, like a first year schoolboy who had managed to write down the entire alphabet by heart.
But sadly a pet did not always do as its master wished. And so all Jimmy got, instead of the enthusiastic applause he had meant to elicit, was a really slack reply, typed on Goddard's screen.
"You sure have got to sort out your issues one day."
Outraged by this demeaning statement, this absolutely disappointing and undeserved assessment, Jimmy scowled at his dog and took care to put all of the disapproval he could muster into his gaze. Education by experience. A robot dog had to respect his owner.
"What is that supposed to mean, Goddard?" he asked pointedly and raised an eyebrow.
A rumble of mechanical sounds that seemed to emulate laughter rang from the inside of the dog.
"Do I even have to say it?" Goddard's screen asked and the dog barked cheerily.
Jimmy kept glaring at him, which made the poor pet realize he had to be painfully blunt with his clueless master. However, instead of another verbal statement, Goddard just popped his screen out open again and played a playlist of scenes of their daily life in a random, sped- up order.
"Today she's going down!...Revenge is mine, Goddard….we'll see about that, ha!...Gotta find a way to pay her back...The last laugh is still mine" And array of rather unflattering and admittedly quite humiliating pictures of the genius himself accompanied the merry sounds.
Jimmy, who, surprisingly, was not half as amused as his faithful dog, hissed:
"You have a reason to waste my time with this, boy?!"
Goddard 'groaned' and shook his metallic head.
What was a robot dog to do?
Back to verbal speech it seemed. The glowing letters appeared once more.
"You're a teenage boy, right?"
Jimmy, clearly not aware of where this was heading, nodded. Maybe Goddard had a system fault? He should have known to come up with an upgrade sooner; you never knew what happened in the inner workings of aging software…
"Who'd you say annoys you the most?"
What kind of question was that? The genius scoffed.
"Vortex, of course! That—" the rest of that sentence was never meant to be heard.
"Would you say that you make a lot of inventions to a) pay her back b) show off to her c) impress her?"
Jimmy, annoyed by the sudden interrogation, shrugged and replied:
"Sure…so that she keeps her mouth shut!"
(If only. Wishful thinking.)
"So which girl do you think of most days?"
"Well, Cindy, I suppose. You know making revenge plans, dialing the MTSO for finally making them see that she is a threat to the whole country, finding every single fault in her presentations in class …."
"And you're a teenage boy. Do I need to say more?"
Jimmy just stared at his pet in confusion and scratched his neck. What in the world was Goddard trying to tell him? Was he trying to tell him something at all?
"Just what is it with you, boy?" he asked.
Goddard certainly would have rolled his eyes, if only he could. But sadly, the only way he had left to express his frustration was to turn away, sending one last message.
"I've got better things to do!"
It was not his job to babysit the boy, right?!
He trotted over to his sleeping place and 'smiled' at a photo that lay on the pillow. It showed an intergalactic dog lady…the proof of a very creepy but sweet past romance of his.
Jimmy blinked at Goddard's harsh reaction. As his dog did not seem to want to explain himself anytime soon, however, he tensed his shoulders and cried after him:
"Ya well…I've got better things to do, too! Like planning out my ultimate revenge and stuff, you know the drill!"
He turned his attention back to his newest invention, muttering under his breath. That was the trouble with creating thinking species, they developed a mind of their own.
But just as he was back to musing about a plan to showcase his brilliancy with the highest degree of success possible, two well-known faces appeared on Vox' screen, replacing the calculations the computer had been working on.
Speaking of 'thinking' species…
Jimmy grimaced and gently put his invention back on the table. He let out a small sigh of regret while doing so. But he did not put it far out of reach, truth be told, he was eager to share his success with his best pals, if they had to disturb him.
A loud, screechy voice rang through the loudspeaker just a moment later.
"Hey Jimmy! Let us in! Let us in! We have the biggest, scariest, most shocking news ever!" Sheen yelled and waved with his arms, excited. At his side a grossed out Carl cleaned his pale nose with a neat tissue, humming a 'calming' melody. Some things never changed.
Jimmy laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Don't tell me he found out Ultralord isn't real…." He muttered under his breath.
Of course that thought was ridiculous. IF that would have been the case, Retroville TV already would have given out the warning not to leave the house today. Or the entire week…or perhaps…
Not a second later, he heard violent poundings against his lab door. Shocked, he ran through his lab and opened the huge steel doors with a button push.
"JIMMY!" Sheen's loud voice immediately welcomed him. Jimmy jumped back and gasped, looking wide-eyed at his friend.
"But how did ya…why did ya…" An eye began to twitch, a finger was helplessly raised.
"NOBODY SHALL QUESTION ULTRALORD!"
Poor Jimmy just panted in shock:
"How the heck….did you…? I mean where'd ya come….I mean…" he stopped, just staring Sheen, who narrowed his eyes and raised his voice solemnly:
"I'll be there whenever my hero's honor is in question, clueless mortal!" With a nod, he folded his arms and continued glaring at poor, confused Jimmy.
"But…my security system and…Vox...and the…and…" The genius paused and pondered the situation.
This was Sheen Estevez standing in front of him.
"You know what?" he finally spoke up again. "I don't even want to know."
Sheen just scoffed pointedly… in silent agreement.
"Okay Jim….how's that thingy working again?" Carl whispered to his best friend beside him.
The three 'amigops' were hiding just outside of the Candy Bar behind a mail box, preparing to set Jimmy's little scheme in action. Completely oblivious to their surroundings, they did not notice all the weird looks they received from people passing them by.
Over the years, Jimmy had grown tired of explaining the same thing over and over again to a guy who was not able to remember which of TWO doors hid the cheese after the SEVENTIETH time. Before he had to decide how to proceed, he was saved by Sheen screaming right into their ears.
"DUDES CHECK THIS OUT!" The amount of awkwardly staring people increased. With a quick movement, Sheen pulled out a letter that was only half inserted into the mail box, as though the sender had been in a hurry to put it in. With a huge grin on his face, Sheen began to read the letter:
"Yo, Easter bunny dude…
It's me, Nick. As in Nick Dean. Yes, the Nick Dean.
You think we can get a deal, man? I heard that you can hide everything. So please, dude, make all those fire hydrants disappear? It's like they're everywhere and chicks don't dig it when I crash into them and break my leg…not to mention the emotional pain I sorta go through every single time …so what do you say? I promise, Easter bunny, I'll never…" Sheen cut off, choking down a loud giggle.
Carl and Jimmy looked at each other, trying to process what they had just heard. From a scientific point, it was quite simple, Jimmy supposed.
Nick Dean had written a letter.
For a moment everything was silent. Lips were pressed shut. Hands were curled into fists, knuckles almost turning white.
"Ya well…" Carl eventually began breaking the silence.
"It is very, very rude to read personal letters, Sheen…" Jimmy continued, but he felt the corners of his mouth turn up.
Sheen nodded, realizing he had indeed been disrespectful.
"Yeah…I feel very bad now, dudes." He actually managed to look sort of guilty.
They hung in solemn silence for another few moments, not saying a word. But as they looked at each other, their blank stares quickly vanished and made way for huge grins.
Carl bit his lip hard. Sheen's eyes nearly bulged out. Jimmy's hands had no feeling anymore.
"OH HOLY-!"
There was no helping it.
They were laughing as though there was no tomorrow, faces bright red and gasping for oxygen.
"I soooo….hahahaha…..am gonna keep that!" Sheen laughed and put the letter in his jacket.
Carl hung one arm over Sheen's shoulders and gasped:
"But…Sheen…hahahaha….you can't….!"
"YEAH….be glad Nick's got somebody to share all his troubles with!" Jimmy chimed in and made a melodramatic pose.
Still shaking with their laughter, the boys leaned against the letter box. After a few…ten…fifteen minutes of continuous merriment, Carl eventually wiped his eyes and asked, still lightly chuckling:
"So what are we here for again?"
Jimmy blinked in realization and took his new gadget into his hands again. Its smooth surface reflected the bright light of winter and casted a faint glow on his face. How could he have forgotten this baby?!
"Oh yeah right…the plan! Well…." He started, thinking of the scientific explanation, when he reminded himself who he was talking to…
'Perhaps…just perhaps….I have to simplify things a bit…" he thought. As if on cue, he saw that Sheen's tongue was currently stuck against the icy mail box. Which how and when. Jimmy did not even want to know.
'Or simplify a LOT…'
"Okay, listen up guys!" he said and held his gadget up. "This brilliant device allows you to control other people's actions and speech as you wish – it's practically complete and total control." Jimmy smiled at them, awaiting the cheers. Short and to the point. His social skills were getting better, were they not?
But he waited in vain. Carl and Sheen exchanged a few glances; the latter's disadvantageous position only increasing the awkward effect. Finally, Carl tried with a fake smile:
"Wow…that's something… I guess…"
Jimmy raised one eyebrow. What was it with people today? Perhaps he had to rethink his social skills…again.
With a loud smack, Sheen freed his tongue from the frozen mail box and rubbed his mouth. The words were coming out quite awry as he spoke:
"Uh…dude…I don't wanna insult your brilliant genius thingy but…" he chuckled uneasily. "Isn't this kinda the same thing as your hypno-ray?"
Carl nodded, though the movement was almost unnoticeable. Nervous, he glanced around. Both, him and Sheen knew just too well (sadly by own experience) how Jimmy could get when one of his inventions was not the success he had imagined.
"Yeah...I sorta…think so too…"he managed to mumble.
Jimmy shook his head and objected forcefully:
"No, no you guys don't understand! This is way different from the hypno-ray! First of all, the use is much simpler. You just point at a person one time and the gadget will save their identity. Then, you only need to think your comment, and it will be obeyed!"
Carl made wide eyes.
"Wow…the thingy knows what I'm thinking?" Now, this was magic! Jimmy was a wizard! Who would have thought? Carl's eyes sparkled.
Jimmy cringed at this brutal oversimplification, but nodded. He had to keep things down to a low, but understandable level if he wanted them to comprehend. (At least his database had taught him that when he had made research on social skills)
"Uh…close. Anyways, the real difference is that the person will perceive everything! They will be able to talk and think on their own, but must obey the incoming comments immediately."
Sheen frowned confused:
"And this is good because…?" he made a wide gesture with his hands.
Jimmy smirked evilly at his two best friends.
"Can you picture Cindy's face when she's going to voluntarily admit in front of everyone I beat her at everything by a long shot ?!"
The two boys gasped, staring at him open-mouthed.
"Ooooohhh….." Carl said meaningfully. Someone was going to lose his head today, he just knew it!
Sheen, whose left eye was twitching (but sparkling all the same) stepped forward and patted Jimmy on the shoulders.
"Dude…after this humiliation she's gonna eat you alive!" he said cheerfully. "It's morally bankrupt, highly disconcerting and probably breaks numerous different laws. I say let's go do it!"
Jimmy kept on smiling.
"She won't dare to defy me in public for a long time once I'm through with the plan, believe me…"
He broke into creepy laughter and turned around…walking with the entire general decorum you would expect from a mad scientist.
(Which he was not, obviously…)
The sight creeped them out a little bit, but Carl and Sheen shrugged it off at the prospect of the glorious drama that was sure to unfold and followed Jimmy. Having been the clueless sidekicks for almost seven years now, they had learned not to question his plans. A bit of almost-world-destroying was a great way to pass the time after all.
However, Carl still whispered to Sheen:
"You'd think they'd grow up, wouldn't you?"
Sheen shrugged.
"Carl, these are Jimmy and Cindy…those two are more oblivious than Miss Fowl was to Ultralord's existence."
Carl pondered his friend's words of wisdom and nodded.
"Yep…that's about right."
The sky was grey, just like every other February noon.
Drinking her favorite milkshake, Cindy Vortex stared out of the Candy Bar's windows. Beside her, Libby was bobbing her head to the music in her headphones and tapping away on her cell phone. It was their normal girls' afternoon, like they had every week. Everyone needed a good break from the chaos (ALWAYS) caused by the guys of their acquaintance. However, much to Cindy's annoyance, Libby was entirely too entranced by her phone to talk. By now, her weekly habit to cause a big fuss when she chose a new ringtone that 'fit her personality' was really getting on Cindy's nerves. What was a girl supposed to do without her best source of new gossip?
She watched the people outside on the streets and sighed. Might as well recap recent events… she was obviously not going to get any good intel from Libby any time soon. Her day had been quite good actually… school had been exceedingly easy; she was wearing her favorite clothes, hanging out with Libby, her best friend…no apocalypse or intergalactic issues as of this day…
She rested her head on her left hand and stirred the spoon in her milkshake, resting in her own little world.
Yeah, it was a nice day. Okay, admittedly; she had not seen Neutron after school -
She quickly sat straight up, one eye twitching.
-BUT THAT MADE THE DAY EVEN BETTER, RIGHT?
She tapped the tip of her spoon on the desk, trying to get rid of those nasty thoughts forming in her head.
But despite her monumental task, Libby was still in possession of an admirable perception. She looked up from her cell's display and raised an eyebrow at her friend. The tapping of the spoon was interrupting her vibe.
"You okay, girl?" she asked suspiciously and put her cell phone aside with a great deal of regret. There had been such great ringtones.
Startled by the interruption, Cindy threw her hands in the air…causing the spoon to fall on her head and ruining her hairdo. Quickly, she ruffled through her blonde strands that were now stained with milkshake and replied:
"Yeah…uh yes, I uhm…"
Libby searched her purse for a tissue and leaned forward, sensing that something was up.
"Okay, Cind, spill!" She demanded.
Cindy chuckled nervously.
"What am supposed to spill? It was an accident. I was just thinking of how nice…" she seemed distracted for a second, but continued a little bit quieter: "…the day is."
Suddenly she seemed much more desperate to fix her hair. Libby followed Cindy's gaze to the front door and smirked darkly.
"Then I guess the day just got a whole nicer, huh?" She deadpanned and watched as none other than Jimmy, Carl and Sheen entered the Candy Bar.
We should have gone somewhere else, she thought sourly.
Sweet disaster, Folfax.
Cindy was still busy rubbing the milkshake out of her hair, but actually managed to scowl at Libby as if she was entirely clueless.
Which, sadly enough, she probably was.
"What in the world is that supposed to mean?!"
Libby sighed. So they were playing that game again.
Hooray.
Heaven only knew how much more of this ridiculous charade she had to put up with. It was just so painfully obvious! She bet her entire CD collection, that even Bolbi, between all his slap clap dances and weird antics had figured out, what the two supposedly smartest people in town were too thick to see after years and years!
"Mercy!"
She just knew she was going to crack, and soon.
Inside there was a battle.
Carl knew he should have seen it coming. He should have known that the invention would cause nothing but chaos. (Didn't it always?) He should have known Jimmy and Cindy would overdo their little pseudo-feud (note the 'pseudo') without any bounds or reservations.
And he had known, he realized as he climbed out of the garbage can Cindy had 'put' him in…( not to say KICKED)! Rubbing his hurting scapula, he berated himself for not having stopped his friend's madness.
With a great deal of effort, he pulled the shivering, garbage covered Sheen out of the can after him. A banana peel hung all over Sheen's head, but he seemed too scared of the prospect of Cindy returning to do anything about it.
Who could blame him?
From the inside of the Candy Bar, Carl still heard their loud voices battling.
He was not even surprised that Cindy had guessed Jimmy's intentions the moment he had pulled out his genius invention. Because obviously the genius could not resist bragging and had accidentally revealing the gadget's purpose. And just as obviously, Cindy had immediately reacted and kicked the invention out of his hands.
All that aside, Cindy really had not had any reason to dump him and Sheen in the next garbage can she could find. After all it HAD been pretty damn funny watching her and Jimmy tug at the gadget and bickering like two kindergarten children,
A girl approached them just then, coming from the distance with light and rhythmic steps. She sent Sheen a small, pitiful smile, but there was too much excitement hidden in her dark brown eyes to keep the compassionate face up for long. In one hand, she held up a shiny little object.
"Why don't we let the puppets dance for once, guys?" she asked smugly.
Carl stared at her. Was she really going to…? His gaze went from her face to her gadget and back. Finally. It took but a nod and the affair was decided.
Perhaps keeping his mouth shut had not been such a bad idea after all.
Jimmy immediately sensed that something was wrong with him. One moment he was screaming at this…this OBNOXIOUS person, the next…
…his feet carried him out the Candy Bar against his will. The door swung open wide, he staggered forwards… He tried his best to stop walking, but realized he was not able to. The people in the Candy Bar stared after him. They had never seen Jimmy cut off a really heated argument with Cindy like this…what was happening? But as they were citizen of Retroville and were used to much worse, they quickly forgot about the situation and went back to mind their own business.
Cindy, on the other hand, who was not sure whether he had just ditched her (oh he had better not) or given up (making her the winner of today's argument!) blinked in confusion at the open door.
"Well then…" she called after him, if somewhat lamely."If that's how you want to end this, then go on, ruuuuuun—"
She did not get any further. Shocked, she watched herself follow Jimmy's path...as if driven by some unknown force.
It was decidedly not a pleasant feeling.
"HEY!" she yelled and waved with her hands in wild movements, as if there was anyone around who could help her. "I don't care what kind of joke this is, stop it!"
A few people laughed. Which, was not a smart move, because Cindy was good at remembering faces.
As of the present, however, she just kept marching forward.
A few minutes, several bruised teens who had crossed her way, a lot of squirrels that were kicked out of the way and a load of choice swear words later, her feet finally had the great generosity of halting this involuntary walk through the city.
Confused, mad and very red-faced, Cindy observed her surroundings. If there was anything she hated, it was to be messed with in such an obvious manner; but sadly, there was no time to let her anger get the best of her. For who other than the usually suspect should she see standing there, just a few meters away in the middle of Retroville park?
Teeth gnashed loudly.
Neutron.
What was he playing it now? If he knew what was good for him, the guy had better run home and lock himself behind a good, thick steel door or two!
She prepared herself for a powerful, biting, destructive, admittedly slightly violent but doubtlessly witty (!) speech to throw at him, but then-
-it occurred to her, that the look on Neutron's face was anything but smug, triumphant…or…well smart.
He looked upset.
And that was all.
Cindy frowned and remained still. Why in the world was he fed up?
He was not faking it that was for sure. There were a lot of things you could say about Jimmy Neutron (and she abused that fact to her heart's content), but if there was one thing that was indisputable it was the fact that he was the worst actor this world had ever had the misfortune to see.
"Hey Nerdtron!" she called out, not even bothering to sound remotely polite.
(Hey, she was Cindy Vortex…she did not do polite.)
Jimmy spun around and grimaced unhappily as he caught sight of her. Immediately, that notorious red light in Cindy's head began to flash bright (as it did perhaps a tad too often). Just because they were mortal, immortal and ever so loathing rivals forever and always, he did not have to cringe when he saw her, did it?! That obnoxious, clueless little…
"Go away!" he hissed and tried to shoo her.
Big mistake. Cindy Vortex was not to be treated like an unwanted cur.
She simply was not.
"What the heck, Spewtron?!" she spat, putting her hands on her hips, and glaring at him. "Y—"
"Cut it out, will you Vortex?!"
Yep, he was positively willing to die.
For some reason she did not know (thanks a lot!) he kept his voice very low, almost as if he was scared of being heard. Despite her irritation, Cindy could not help but roll her eyes…who knew if his paranoia had kicked in again!
She vividly remembered the day when they had been eleven and he had crashed into her. Out of the blue, he had started to fret about happy zombies following him- which would have been enough to get him locked up in the nuthouse for a long, long time…
… had the happy zombies not been real, but that was beside the point. Because the real point was-
"I have no idea what they're up to, but it won't be good, I can tell!" Jimmy interrupted her thoughts. He glanced at all sides, awkwardly standing on his spot.
(Paranoid!)
She snorted and scowled at her dearest nemesis. God, how she despised him right now! Just the way he stood there and talked to her and...she rolled her eyes again. He, of course, wore his most serious the-world-has-a-problem-and-I-alone-must-save-it face which was probably the lamest sight she had ever seen. The guy was driving her nuts!
…In a negative sense of course.
(In the one and only negative sense there was. The one that was so negative, there was nothing positive about it anymore and…)
Uhm. Yes. Something like that.
"So, who is it? Some kind of mad professor?" Cindy asked, banning all interest from her voice. She just could not wait to see who he had upset so much again that it had to ruin her day as well. It was times like these, when she felt like crying out as loud as she could: Stupid 'genius', stupid Retroville, stupid squirrels that seemed to pop out of nowhere all the time, stupid…
"No, worse." Jimmy replied shortly, his expression still glum.
Cursing her bad luck, she waited for him to elaborate on the most informative words: 'No, worse.'
A whole minute long.
Disbelieving.
Confused.
Exasperated beyond belief.
While she stood there, she watched him whistle, twiddle his thumbs, awkwardly count the squirrels on a nearby branch, tap his foot on the ground and do everything but anything that would be helpful. In purest, most unnerving and totally oblivious silence.
Her left eye began to twitch. Nobody could be that obtuse, could they?
Maybe it was time to show some good will, she told herself, trying to contain her impatience. Maybe dorks needed longer to get to the point. Maybe he would reach enlightenment eventually. Maybe Sheen would grow up and stop worshipping a purple doll. Maybe.
But when he started voicelessly listing prime numbers with four digits, she knew she had to draw the line!
"Then…some freaky alien?" she offered impatiently, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger as to distract herself. Jimmy shook his head. And that was it.
Perhaps the most reasonable thing to do right then and there would have been to storm off, but then, she did want to know who had messed with her so shamefully. (And the reason why she had to give half of Retroville's population a black eye on her way here). That was all she asked for.
Finally, Jimmy deigned to speak again.
"No, no, much worse."
She stopped herself from shouting in frustration.
"A monster?"
(With Jimmy Neutron you never knew)
The boy rolled his eyes and tapped his left foot on the ground.
"Monsters do not exist, Vortex. It's nothing but a term for fictional creatures with traits, that…"
"Geez, Neutron spare me! Do I look like I'm dying to hear one of your endless lectures?"
He groaned in response and kicked a few pebbles away. Way to be childish!
Cindy demonstratively folded her arms and deepened her glare. What right did HE have to groan and sulk?
The genius met her gaze again and capitulated…reluctantly.
"Excuse me, Miss Vortex. I'll talk slow for you: no, it's not a monster." She could practically hear the contempt in his voice.
Jerk.
"Okay…what is it then? Yetis? The monster of Loch Ness? Robots? Dracula? Ninjas? PANDA BEARS?" Frustrated, she threw her hands up in the air.
What the heck was he talking about?
"Nope, much, much worse…" The volume of his voice rose. "So bad in fact-"
He did not get any further. Because just in that moment they both heard a loud voice screeching from behind their backs. Startled, they spun around and tried to make out the source of the noise.
They did not have to wait long to find out…
…unfortunately enough.
"RAISE THE ROOF AND DANCE LIKE CHICKENS! THE MASTER IS IN THE HOOOOUUSE! GLORY, GLORY, ULTRA GLORY!"
Cindy's face fell immediately. Jimmy cringed.
Both of them swore that every single squirrel on the nearby branches had dropped its acorn.
"So that's what's worse than Yetis, Robots and mad scientists…" Cindy concluded weakly and gave Jimmy a baleful look.
"…Our friends."
He gulped in response.
"Alright, Ladies…" Sheen folded his arms behind his back and threw a doubtful gaze at Cindy. "…and Gentlemen…"
"What-"
"We're assembled here today, for one simple reason. A simple, teeny weeny reason. It is…" He spun around sharply and pointed with his index finger directly at Jimmy's face, who, in return, backed a few steps away.
"…simple."
Sheen smirked haughtily and continued to walk up and down in front of them, like an officer in front of his troop.
"Now you might wonder WHAT exactly this simple reason is…"
"Could you spit it out any time soon, Ultra Loser?!" Cindy snapped and flicked her ponytail over her left shoulder.
Immediately, Sheen stepped in front of her and sent her a nasty glare.
"Don't ruin the dramatic effect, will you?!" he whined, then looked over his shoulder back at Libby.
"Why are we doing this again?!" he asked loudly and pointed at Cindy. "She's sooo mean!"
The blonde slapped his arm away and hissed:
"You bet! Now stop this theatre and tell us what's going on!"
"CAAARL!" Sheen cried and looked around, searching for support. "Abusive blonde ahead! I need backup! Quick!"
Confused, he realized that his friend was nowhere to be found. The even more worrisome thing however, was the fact that Cindy's face had grown noticeably darker. With all his might, Sheen cried again:
"CARL! EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta!"
Suddenly, Carl popped out of nowhere at his side, red faced, wide-eyed and with a squirrel sitting in his hair.
"Emergency alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta?" he echoed in disbelief.
" …alpha beta gamma delta epsilon zeta?" Jimmy asked dumbfounded.
Sheen nodded cheerfully.
"Yeah, you know one day we've were playing in your lab…", he ignored the horrified outcry from Jimmy, "…and then we decided we'd need some really cool names for emergency situations…"
Now Carl piped up.
"Ya, but we kinda forgot the cool names all the time, so we asked Goddard for help…"
"…and he told us to add more words to 'emergency' the more threatening the situation is. That way, we certainly can't forget anything." Sheen finished, satisfied with their clever solution.
Jimmy just stared at them.
"You guys know AND remember the Greek alphabet?!"
He would have sworn up and down that this was utterly impossible. Perhaps, he had underestimated them?
Well, of course…puberty was bound to have changed some things! Why had he not seen it before? All his studies, all his data about them – useless!
Just as his thoughts were starting to take some truly ridiculous turns, Sheen's saved his sanity.
"Greek? Dude, who's talking about Greek? We just add those funny words, Goddard taught us." He scowled again at Cindy, who watched the conversation with a mix of amusement, exasperation and impatience. "But till now, we've never had to resort to 'zeta' before!"
Cindy raised her fist at him.
"Wanna add an eta, theta and iota to that?!" she threatened, causing Sheen to jump behind Carl.
"She decoded our system, dude!" he yelled out, eyes wide with panic. Carl fiddled his glasses nervously and glanced at Libby, begging for help.
Sighing, she stepped between the guys and her best friend. Not even five minutes had passed since she and the two amigops had arrived at the scene and they had already managed to cause a scene! She played with the gadget in her pocket. There was only one thing she wanted accomplish right now and nothing was going to stop her.
"Alright guys, that's enough. We're not here to hear about all the ridiculous things Goddard taught you." She said and rolled her eyes – on principle.
"But you have to admit, that one time when he showed us how to drink an entire ice cold Purple Flurp without getting a brain freeze was pretty neat!" Sheen objected, receiving a supportive nod from Carl and a very puzzled reply from Jimmy.
"Seriously guys, how much time do you spend with my dog? It's starting to scare me…"
"With those two, I reckon you're better off if you don't know, Nerdtron…" Cindy smirked lazily and folded her arms…for lack of any better activity.
"Hey, who asked you emergency alpha beta gamma zeta…no delta epsilon …er…uh…?!"
Libby groaned loudly.
What had she done in a previous life to end up with dorks like them?
"ENOUGH!" she cried at the tops of her lungs, finally getting the attention of everyone. "YOU TWO!" she shouted and pointed sternly at Sheen and Carl. "You come here!"
Obedient like two puppies, the two boys trotted over to her side.
"And YOU two!" Libby turned to Cindy and Jimmy again. "You look at THIS!"
Curiously, the two leaned forward. Confusion was written all over their faces.
Sheen threw a questioning glance at Carl. He had expected horror, shock or even gasps of terror when Libby showed them the gadget.
Not just plain confusion.
But then, he saw the thing Libby really was showing them.
Her left sleeve.
Covered with milkshake, ice cream and other unidentifiable stuff.
That was all.
"Do you see that?" Libby inquired angrily. And when she received no reply, a tad louder: "Do you SEE that?!"
"Uh…your…sleeve? Libs…?" Cindy tried and shrugged awkwardly.
"No, this…" Libby pointed at her sweatshirt again. "Was one of my favorite outfits. But ever since your little encounter at the Candy Bar a few minutes ago it ain't so pretty anymore, is it?!" She glared at them, trying to make them understand just what they had done.
Jimmy held up his hands in apology. "Uh…Sorry, Libby…I guess…"
She scoffed at him. "Sure yeah, I'm sorry too. For having been near you two. But that ain't the point now anyways. I am at the end of my rope, you guys, and dork and dorkus here are too. Heck, all of Retroville is!"
Sheen and Carl nodded.
"I'm FED UP guys!" Libby emphasized one last time. "So that's why we're finally gonna play."
Slightly intimidated, Cindy watched her movements.
"What are we gonna play…?" her voice sounded wary.
Libby gave them a small, smug smile and pulled a certain something out of her pocket.
She thoroughly enjoyed the shock that began to spread on Cindy's and Jimmy's faces. Pointing the little remote control right at their eyes, she said:
"You."
"No…fast…movements…" Jimmy spoke slowly...but his voice did some hysteric jitters.
He and Cindy were simultaneously stepping back from the thing that was pointed at their faces. Both of them were perfectly aware of its purpose…Jimmy by inventing it in the first place, Cindy by hearing him brag about it for two minutes.
Neither was very amused.
With a swift movement, Libby shoved the gadget back into her pocket. Smiling she told them:
"You don't need to get all worked up, guys. I've already saved your identity in here. There ain't anything you can do about that."
"HA!" Sheen yelled out and high-fived Carl.
"And now you're gonna do the chicken dance!"
"WHAT?!" Jimmy and Cindy cried out at the same time.
Libby turned around and scowled at her boyfriend.
"No, Sheen they're NOT gonna do the chicken dance."
"Aw man! " Sheen deflated and muttered grumpily under his breath.
"Instead…" Libby continued and her smile widened. "We're gonna sort out those issues you two are having. And I mean, there's some serious work to do. Honestly."
"And then you're gonna do the chicken dance."
Everyone looked at Sheen in exasperation.
"Well…after the whole sorting-problems-out thingy…" he muttered sheepishly, but shut up as he met Libby's glare.
Taking the brief opportunity to speak, an irritated Cindy piped up, putting her hands on her hips and scowling at everyone in reach. Even at the squirrels, who seemed to watch their encounter. She was ticked off like that.
"What kinda problems do you mean?!" She flicked her hair once more over her shoulder, almost hitting Jimmy in the face with her ponytail. Unintentionally, of course.
"Yeah!" he agreed after evading her hair. As odd as it felt to agree with his nemesis, he had to admit that his friends were not making any sense.
Plus they had stolen his 'ultimate successes.
Forced him to walk through the town like a complete idiot.
And now they were threatening him with his invention. (With a smile on their faces!)
Some friends they were.
Sheen and Carl glanced at Libby, hoping that she would step up to reply. They did not want to be the ones breaking the 'news' to their friends, for who knew what they would be able to do to them…even under the influence of mind control.
Libby was the most reasonable one anyways. She would know the right words to make them 'see the light' without starting a battery of assault, the two boys told themselves. Yes, Libby would make everything right.
But suddenly, expressing her thoughts on the extremely odd relationship right in front of her, was not as easy as Libby had thought.
Trying to think of the right way to FINALLY tell them to just get together already, Libby opened and closed her mouth.
'Get a grip of yourself, girl!' she told herself.
She had watched this charade since elementary school, just as everyone had. Never had she interfered, nor done anything more than make a few suggestive comments towards Cindy. It had not been her business, after all. It still was not, actually.
But a girl could only take so much obliviousness and stupidity.
Libby knew that she was ready to knock the truth into them.
But how to start?
"Well…you see…" she began, uncertain, only to receive to two twin looks of exasperation. Immediately her resolve crumbled a bit. "Errr…"
Perhaps she had not been as ready as she had thought?
"It's just…" Sheen tried to help her, but cut himself off. What the hell was he doing? Trying to defy nature? Or even worse – trying to purposely upset Cindy?! Ultra Lord only knew! "Hmmm…it's kinda funny to say, but…"
"You know, you two…and…problems and…err…well…DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!" Carl cried out and dragged his hands through his hair.
Jimmy and Cindy just watched them. Uncertain, whether their friends had gone mental or simply wanted to waste their time.
For a moment, everything was silent. Discretely, so as to cover up their discomfort, Sheen and Carl pretended to play with the squirrels, but got bitten instead.
Several times.
Cindy looked at her best friend with obvious impatience now. She could not care less whether the two idiots got eaten by a crazy bunch of squirrels, but the sight, she imagined, would be gruesome. She would rather be elsewhere when it happened.
"Okay, listen up…" Libby finally told them and steadied her voice. It was her right to tell them off!
"The thing is: Nobody in this town can take all this love-hate crap you two share anymore! Seriously guys! We've been watching it since the very beginning, all the fights, all the competition and heck even all the flirts! And if there's one thing I can tell you it's that it's way exhausting. I won't stand for it anymore, guys." She rolled her eyes. "So in order to save you and us the trouble, can you just make up and kiss or do we have to bring out the big guns?"
Two jaws dropped to the ground.
Only the squeaking sounds of the squirrels broke the complete silence that ensued, as they were busy tearing at Carl's hair. But nobody paid any attention to the little menaces, not even Carl himself who was bound to come out of this assault bald.
There was just no reaction.
The world could just as well have stopped spinning, Miss Fowl could have danced around in pink underwear and Nick Dean could have been making out with Flippy 2, Jimmy and Cindy could not have cared less.
If Sheen had forced them to watch a twenty-hour Ultra Lord marathon right now, they would have gone along with it.
If Carl had begged them to caress his imaginary llama herd, they would have said: 'So be it.'
If Bolbi had invited them to slap clap dance with him, well they would have thrown the confetti.
Because Cindy Vortex and Jimmy Neutron were officially shell-shocked. Without any doubt, deeply, creepily, totally…
shocked.
As in the-apocalypse-is-near shocked. Or my-best-friends-have-gone-insane-and-I-don't-even-notice -that-they're-getting-eaten -by-bloodthirsty-squirrels-right–now kind of shocked.
(shock 1 (shk): Something that jars the mind or emotions as if with a violent unexpected blow.)
What had this world come to?
"Erm…Cindy…Jimmy…? You guys there?" Carl asked nervously and glanced down. The silence was giving him the creeps. He was not used to seeing the two teenagers speechless.
'Now we've done it.' He thought warily and pressed his hands to his chest.
Finally, Jimmy and Cindy showed a reaction. But whatever their friends had anticipated, it had not been that.
In the middle of the park, beneath the shadows of trees and bushes, they stood laughing so hard, that their sides ached and their breaths went flat.
The echo of their excessive laughter gave Libby, Sheen and Carl a very uneasy feeling about whatever they had unleashed.
"Now that…"Sheen said and turned to his bewildered partners in crime. "…that went better than I would have thought…I guess."
Libby and Carl nodded slowly.
"Love- hate?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Cindy finally gasped for breath. With a shake of her head she pointed at Jimmy.
"Are you guys riding on a sugar high? You really think I'm supposed to like that dork over there?!"
Provoked by the contempt dripping from her voice Jimmy's laughter faded instantly and made way for a very angry frown. She never ceased to ruin his mood, no matter what he was doing! He would actually admire her for that 'outstanding' talent, if it were not for the tiny little fact that he hated her guts.
"Excuse me? If anything deserves to be called insane, it has got to be the notion that I could ever like a bossy, selfish, snooty hag like you!" he snapped back at her.
Cindy made an indignant sound and poked her index finger into his chest. Both were already forgetting about their friends, as was often the case.
"Better being a snooty hag than a megalomaniac cretin with an oversized head!"
"You might want to compare our IQ scores before you continue calling me a cretin, Miss Vortex! Oh, but wait! That'd be a thing people with reason would do and is as such way out of the realm of your expertise!"
"Oh and I guess nearly blowing up the entire town counts as an action of reason for you, right Neutron?"
"You wouldn't even know how to do that, no matter how hard you'd try to!"
"Oh, boohoo I am so jealous! Why the heck would I even want to do that? Your comebacks are pathetic!"
"Not as pathetic as you!"
"Ha! And I repeat: weak! C'mon Neutron, read my lips!"
Libby sighed deeply.
"Seems as if we do have to bring out the big guns…" she muttered in resignation and clasped her hand more tightly around Jimmy's newest invention.
Looking for reassurance, she threw a quick glance at Sheen and Carl, who were torn between exasperation, excitement and the urge to cheer for Jimmy.
"It didn't have to get this far, guys…" she muttered while recalling everything Jimmy had explained about the gadget in the Candy Bar. "But I can't say that it won't be fun either."
Her fingers stroke the touchpad of the invention.
"Alright you two!" she yelled loudly, getting their attention for a few seconds. "Now that you've so graphically and loudly demonstrated the 'hate', let's get to the love-part of your relationship."
A faint look of terror passed over Cindy's and Jimmy's face.
"What-"Cindy began, but closed her mouth immediately again –if the look on her face was anything to go by, not voluntarily. Frowning, she tried to reopen it, but finding herself unable to do so. The red tinge on her cheeks deepened noticeably.
Leave it to Neutron to invent a mind control device that did not even need to be activated by verbal speech, but by thoughts! They were utterly at to their insane friends' mercy! The realization made her sick. Why on earth would anyone invent such a thing?
"Look…" Jimmy spoke up and raised his hands in defeat. "…I don't know what has gotten into your heads, but she-"he gestured towards Cindy. "- is insufferable, obnoxious, bad-tempered and -Her eyes are so beautiful. Like two sparkling emeralds."
Pure horror washed over the Jimmy as he heard the words that came tumbling out of his own mouth. He covered it with one hand, turning bright red, but unfortunately the harm was already done. Wide-eyed he stared at his friends.
Those cruel, cruel creatures!
The girl his involuntary words had been directed at was not doing any better. In the matter of a second her face had turned to a very unhealthy red shade and even her death glare had transformed into a quite interesting expression of shock.
Dying with embarrassment, the two poor rivals watched Sheen and Carl erupt into loud laughter.
Libby, who of course had caused Jimmy's sudden 'change of mind', halfheartedly told them to stop, but she enjoyed herself too much as put actual effort in it. The look on their faces was priceless! She had no plan yet as to how she would get out of the aftermath alive, but for the present she was enjoying herself just fine.
When the laughter finally subdued, Jimmy pointed at Libby.
"You-"he gasped."-Just-don't-do-that….ever again!"
His two supposed best friends began to laugh harder than before.
"Have you HEARD that, Carl?!" Sheen screeched loudly, nudging his friend in the side. As he wiped his eyes, he looked at poor Jimmy. "'Like sparkling emeralds'! Dude, you sounded like a girl!"
Great. This was coming from a guy whose greatest hero wore purple bodysuits.
"It's not as if I meant to!" Jimmy cried out indignantly and stomped his right food. "She- is just too gorgeous as not to notice…"
Libby laughed into the his face. "What was that Jimmy? Guys, I think someone's gonna to confess a big time!"
"WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP THAT?!" Jimmy yelled and was about to storm towards her. Libby raised her left eyebrow. Instantly, the genius stood still on his spot, scowling deeply, but unable to move away.
"Chill Jimmy, we're not done yet." She told him and smiled widely.
Her two partners in crime continued to sneer loudly.
Suddenly, though, a voice spoke up – sounding very strained.
"You really think I'm…" Cindy's face was clouded over with deepest anger, in stark contrast to the sweet hopefulness in her voice. The guys swore that they heard her teeth gnash as she spoke the next word.
"…gorgeous?"
As soon as she had managed to get the terrible question out of her mouth, her head snapped around. Unfortunately, that was all she could do, since Libby already had taken care of her ability to walk. (Smart move.)
"I'll kill you Libby."
Libby just cocked up an eyebrow at her. This was more fun than she had originally had thought…time to get to the real action.
Before the two 'tortured' kids could express any protest, they turned around to face each other – standing a bit too close to each other for their liking.
Jimmy looked ready to commit murder.
"Well…yes, I guess…no I…urgh! What I actually meant is that…you know…" he rubbed the back of his neck, although the movement was not as smooth as it normally should have been. "It's just that-Okay, why am I stuttering like a blithering idiot?!"He blurted out, interrupting the very 'productive' speech before.
Libby threw him an annoyed look. This guy had seriously not watched a single romantic movie in his entire life, had he?
"It's okay…" Cindy instantly 'reassured' him. "I think it's kinda cute, actually…-EXCUSE ME?!" She violently managed to jerk her head around to stare at Libby disbelievingly. "You did NOT just make me call him 'cute', did you?!"
"Cindy-", Jimmy's voice sounded, before Libby actually had to reply. "–there's something I wanted to ask you…but…I'm not sure…well…"
The girl leaned 'curiously' forwards, eyes sparkling with anger.
"Yes?" she inquired with a 'smile'. "Just go ahead Jimmy…Or not." Scoffing, she put a hand on her hip.
He grimaced at her. "Believe me I'd rather-ask you right away. Would you like to go to the Candy Bar with me? You know…as a date?!" His eyeballs nearly popped out of his head. "WHAT? Me going out with her?! Are you kidding me?!"
Meanwhile Cindy's facial expression was torn between blind anger and deep embarrassment.
"I'd love to, Jimmy…" her left eye began to twitch. "Which time do you have in mind? May I offer NEVER?" she added loudly, mirroring Jimmy's disgusted expression.
"Why not now? It's a beautiful day for a date, don't you think? Of course not as beautiful as y—"
"Oh come ON, Libby!" Sheen suddenly interrupted, saving Jimmy from the shame of another incredibly corny compliment. "Only the guys in those weepy-weepy-kiss movies say stuff like that! What about they just do the chicken dance together now?"
Libby scowled at her boyfriend.
"Would please cut out that 'chicken dance' crap? I'm trying to hook these two up here!"
"But we don't want to-"Jimmy and Cindy both started; but had to find that nobody paid them any mind.
Disgruntled, they closed their mouths again. In perfect synchrony.
"I thought Libby did a marvelous start, Sheen…" Carl said nervously. He did not know a lot, but the past few years with Jimmy had taught him that provoking the person holding a mind control device was generally a bad move.
"Yeah, because you're just worse than any girl!" Sheen screeched and crossed his arms. "People don't want to see this corny lovey-dovey stuff, they want to see chickens! CHICKENS!"
"Oh yeah?" Libby retorted sharply. "And care to explain how the chicken dance is going to get them to admit their feelings?"
Amazingly enough Sheen found a retort to that.
Somewhat awkwardly, the two teenagers the whole fuss was about watched the argument that unfolded in front of them. Sadly, they still were not able to move and the close position they found themselves in felt a lot more disconcerting when they were just standing there, rather than talking, though neither could really say why.
Jimmy cleared his throat.
"So…erm…how are we gonna kill them?" he asked in an almost amiable voice.
Cindy's scowl did not leave her face, but there was a tinge of pink on her cheeks, that did not seem to originate from her anger.
"Painfully." she said and looked away.
A short silence developed between them, neither saying a word. As he took another look at his friends, who were still arguing over the best way to get him together with a person he hated, Jimmy made another attempt at a conversation.
"Can you believe they'd come up with something like that? I mean…the thought itself is ridiculous! You…and…and me…" he trailed off, shaking his head.
Cindy looked up at him, expression unreadable and opened her mouth to speak:
"Actually I think it's a wonderful idea."
The genius' eyes widened in shock. However, as he saw the violent expression on her face, it occurred to him that she was already speaking under control again. She looked ready to tear someone apart for having made her say that.
He was not quite sure why, but he suddenly felt a little sting of disappointment.
"No." Cindy cried out immediately as her eyes caught side of the giant sign.
Satisfied, Libby smiled at her. "You have to."
Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "No. Freaking. Way." Violently, she shook her head from side to side. "You can't possibly do that!"
"I hate to say this…" Jimmy spoke up, equally stressed. "…but I have to agree with Vortex. Forget it! Not in a million years am I going to…"
"Hey!" Libby interrupted him. "We can do this my way, or I could give the reins to Sheen during your 'date'. Which do you prefer?"
"Is there an option where we blow the whole thing off and I can finally start punching you all into oblivion?!" Cindy asked angrily.
Sheen, Carl and Libby exchanged a grin, before turning back to her.
"Nope." They exclaimed simultaneously and high-fived.
Cindy was sure she never had seen a more despicable sight than this.
"Now, in there you go!" Libby commanded and gave them a little push in the backs.
"C'mon, you can't do this to me." Jimmy pleaded." People are going to see us! They're going to….going to…" his voice cracked at the thought of the soon-to-come embarrassment. "We can't be seen like that! I mean…she's…she's…her!" he pointed at her as if that was saying it all.
"Thanks for putting it that way, Neutron!" Cindy spat, venom dripping from her voice. To neither's enjoyment, Jimmy grabbed her hand and made a step forward.
"Let's go in there now, shall we?" Jimmy 'asked' her and pushed the door of the Candy Bar open.
Greatly disgusted with herself, Cindy let a small girlish giggle and followed him into the lion's den.
"What was that for?!" she could not keep herself from commenting. "What he said wasn't even fun- I love this place."
"I know, that's why I chose it…Stop this now and RUN!" Jimmy exploded, but guided his 'date' with a 'smile' towards one of the tables.
As if he had any choice.
Pleased, Libby, Carl and Sheen followed them and sat down at a nearby table, close enough to listen to their friends' 'conversations', but at the same time far enough as not to be seen with them.
"So, what would you like to order?" Jimmy asked sitting down and scoffed. "Yeah like I care!"
Cindy glared at him. "Don't worry I didn't expect you to-Well…I haven't decided yet." Rolling her eyes, she turned on her seat and looked straight at her friends, who pretended not to notice them.
"Oh but I have! What about your heads served on a silver pl-Jimmy? You haven't quite told me yet, why you asked me out of the blue…it's somehow quite unexpected…"
Of course, she giggled again…with a horrendous grimace.
They both groaned immediately.
On their way to the Candy Bar, their friends had tortured them with 'goodies' like 'the way her hair gleamed in the sun', 'his ocean blue eyes that seemed to be as deep as the sea', 'her brilliant mind he never ceased to admire despite all his efforts to hide that fact', as well as 'his cute boyish naivety that immediately stood out to her from the very beginning'.
They even had been forced to stop by a flower shop, where Jimmy had to buy a lily for her as 'she deserved such a beautiful flower that fit her so perfectly'!
It was torture, plain and simple, and Libby seriously needed to start watching less trashy movies.
"Well…I guess I've always kind of…you know…" Jimmy began 'sheepishly'. 'Hated you.' He mouthed to her, hoping his friends would not catch on.
'Mutual feeling' she mouthed back, before leaning closer in and asking:
"Yes Jimmy?" she cringed at the pathetically sweet tone of her voice.
"HEY! What are you Hooligans doing here again?! Yeah!" Sam's rude voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. With a wipe in his hand, he rushed towards them and stared down at them.
Apparently he still was quite upset about the chaos they had caused about, oh, not even an hour ago.
Cindy thought of the mess and had to admit, if she was in his place, she too would be.
"We were just…" she began, but Jimmy overtook the job of saving their necks- although his words were not quite his own.
"We're not here to cause any more trouble, Sam…" he or rather Libby assured the upset establishment owner. "And before you kick us out, think about my offer: in order to make up for the dismay, I shall order the most giant sundae you can get us! You think we can get a deal?"
Sam's eyes began to sparkle, although his expression remained the same.
"Alright then…" he reluctantly muttered. "…but I'll watch you crazy kids, yeah!"
With that said, he wandered off again, sparing them one last disgruntled look.
"Wow Jimmy…" Cindy cheered while rolling her eyes. "I didn't know you were so good in dealing with people!"
"Yeah well, there's a lot you don't know about me." Jimmy replied cockily and slammed his head onto the desk. The pain was a nice distraction from his misery. He would shoot them up to the moon, where they had to spend the rest of their lives with Brobot and his family, oh yes he would!
"But you could find out…"
And, of course Cindy giggled again.
While thinking of the most satisfying way to murder the three annoying pests that called themselves their friends.
"Neutron? Cindy?! Is that really you?"
Two heads shot up in the air, looking around in a panic to make out the owner of the voice. Their spoons fell to on the table with a loud, shattering sound.
"Nick?!" Cindy cried out, two octaves higher than was her usual tone of voice.
"What are you doing here?" Jimmy asked equally hysteric, glancing over his classmate's shoulder. As he had dreaded, half of the class was following the supposedly coolest guy in school around.
'Figures!' he cursed silently.
His pulse accelerated immediately. He felt so sick, he just wanted to run from this place and hide from civilization until he had become a blabbering old person nobody paid any attention to, like his grandmother.
His mother would get his chemicals and his experiments.
His father would take care of Goddard.
His friends would burn in hell.
Hear the last will of Jimmy Neutron!
Not even the memory of Nick's letter to the Easter bunny was able to stop him from hyperventilating now.
And he had been through a lot already this day.
Heck, he was out on a date with Cindy Vortex for a freaking hour and not by his choice! He really should never have invented the damn thing in the first place, if this was what people would do with it when given the chance. Lesson learned, moving on!
But if he had thought his life had already been BAD, he obviously had been very much mistaken.
Life obviously hated him.
Nick stared at them as if they were a pair of aliens, trying to understand what he was seeing right in front of his very eyes. Of all the strange things he had witnessed throughout the years, he bet his entire hair products collection that this was definitely the strangest.
"Are you guys doing what I think you're doing?" he asked them and ruffled through his extra smooth hair.
The kids behind him eyed them in anticipation, confused beyond reason to find these two sitting like this together, without their friends. With only one sundae.
And two spoons.
Horrified, Jimmy chuckled and tried to come up with a way out of this catastrophe. Preferably, before his friends got the chance to interfere.
"Uhm…" he gulped. "What do you think we're doing, Nick?"
He flinched as he felt Cindy kicik his shin under the table. She shook her head slightly, but the look in her eyes was urging him to shut up.
Jimmy swallowed hard. Obviously he had messed up.
Nick's right eyebrow lifted up.
"Well if it wasn't for the fact that it's you two sitting here…" he shook his head. "I'd almost say you're….dating?" his own voice cracked at the last word as he was too overwhelmed by the possibility.
Cindy closed her eyes, hoping that this horrible moment would pass quickly. Unfortunately, she was attached to her seat; otherwise she would have instantly walked over to her three friends and poured the entire sundae over their heads.
Jimmy, she noticed, of course had no idea how to handle the situation…he never had been that good when it came to social interaction, she knew that just too well.
'Think quick, think quick….' She urged herself, desperately hoping for a brilliant thought to strike her.
There was no way she would let them ruin her reputation like this.
No way in hell.
"Actually…"
Her eyes met the Jimmy's for a second, and she tried to silently assure the terrified boy that she was going to set things right. His expression did not make it any easier for her to come up with something so convincing that it would erase all doubts from the crowd's mind and she was already stressed enough by her own fears.
There had to be an excuse…
An opportunity…
The opportunity to switch back to normal – as far as anyone knew.
But then, from one moment to another, it hit her … this dreadful feeling of losing every control over one's actions. Like a thunderbolt, she experienced it. Speaking without any thought.
"We are."
The entire restaurant fell silent.
A dozen pair of eyes widened.
"Yes…" said Jimmy with a resigned expression on his face. Slowly he reached over the table and grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze.
"We're in love."
And then it crashed all down… Their reputations, their pride, their worlds.
All shattered by this one forced confession.
God, they hated life.
"So…" Jimmy leaned back into his chair, casually addressing the gaping crowd. "Did you know that the one and only Nick Dean wrote a very touching letter to the Easter Bunny?"
"I can't believe you would do this to us! I just CAN'T!" Cindy screamed and threw her hands in the air. "How could you! How could you be so sick?!" Her voice violently shattered the peaceful silence of the park.
Libby cringed under her friend's infuriated gaze. She had not seen her girl that angry in their entire time as best friends, not once throughout all their troubles and adventures. Cindy's eyes were literally on fire. There was fury, there was anger, frustration, loathing, but most painfully of it all, there was deep, deep disappointment, all present in one single look.
Maybe their little joke had gone a little too far, Libby noted weakly in her mind.
Jimmy at Cindy's side, mirrored the expression, although he had not spoken a word since they had left the Candy Bar. Silent rage did not suit him and she was starting to worry about the revenge plans he was probably cooking up right now.
But Libby really could not blame them.
The entire crowd at the Candy Bar had been stunned. Some jaws had dropped, some eyes had twitched. None of them were going to forget what they had heard and seen any time soon. Of course, word would spread around town soon and then people would start to whisper, gossip and laugh. She doubted Jimmy could use his hypno-ray on the entire town to make them forget.
And now they blamed her for it.
"We just wanted to help you guys…" she tried to justify her actions, but was immediately shot down by Cindy.
"Help us? HELP us?! Do we look like we need your help? Did it ever occur to you that we didn't want your help from the very beginning?! Just once?!"
Libby did feel ashamed of what she had done to them...they both held an insufferable pride, but she knew that they could not take it very well to have this pride bruised so badly. They had any right to be furious.
But something about her best friend's words bothered her…
…she could not quite put her finger on it, but it was there.
And then it snapped and she realized it all.
The entire truth.
And she knew exactly what she had to do.
"Sorry guys…" she said calmly, yet firmly.
Despite the gasps of the boys, and the furious outcries from Jimmy and Cindy that assured a painful revenge, she pulled the gadget out of her pocket and pointed it directly at their faces, like she had done earlier this day.
"…but my job isn't entirely done, yet."
Sheen stepped forward and laid one hand on her shoulder.
"Please tell me you want them to do the chicken dance and nothing else, my queen!" he asked her fearfully, trying to save her from making a big mistake.
"Sorry but no. No chicken dances for today…or for anytime for that matter." She cleared her throat, fully foreseeing the reaction her next words would cause. "We might have gotten them to 'admit' their feelings…but the deal ain't sealed yet."
"You wouldn't dare…" Jimmy spoke, voice dangerously low.
Libby smiled at him weakly.
'Closer.'
Gasps escaped their lips, when their feet dragged them slowly towards each other.
'Closer.'
Two steps separated them. Two tiny steps. It took so little to finish this farce for good.
The gadget began to slip through Libby's fingers, but she did not care.
'Closer.'
Their faces were merely inches away and they were just too well aware of it.
Undeniable heat crept up their arms, their necks, their faces, dangerous yet so desirable.
It scared them.
Libby closed her eyes.
'Too close.'
Sheen and Carl held their breaths not even realizing that they were hugging each other in anticipation. A lonely squirrel jumped on Carl's head.
Their eyes were furious, fiery, in flames as their faces drew nearer.
But beneath all that there was this certain spark…this certain spark Libby's entire action depended on.
It was subtle, but it was there. That was all it took.
And then their lips crashed into each other.
Sheen's and Carl's jaws nearly hit the ground, when they watched their friends kissing each other. Boundlessly, freely, desiring, just like that. The sight they had always thought to be impossible, although they had been very well aware of their feelings for a few years now. It was happening right there, right in front of them.
Cindy's arms went around his neck, whereas Jimmy's hands cradled her waist, both pulling the other one closer to each other. In this moment, he could not care less, that she had 'golden silky hair that enticed him to run his fingers through it' or 'those amazing sparkling emerald eyes ' Libby had him made gush about. And she did not give it a damn how 'insanely cute' she his nervousness apparently found or how his 'brilliancy' supposedly made her 'swoon' (which it really did not).
Because for all they knew, it was Cindy Vortex kissing Jimmy Neutron. Not two saps from a soap opera, with compliments so elaborative and meaningless they did not even justify a rerun. Just them…
…hating each other.
…competing with one another.
…fighting.
And yet falling for it all the same.
Because that was just the way they were.
A loud crash shattered the heated silence and made the colorful bubble of conflicting thoughts burst. The invention that had caused this mess broke into pieces, sparks flying into all directions.
Their lips immediately broke apart.
Reality set in again…or whatever it was called, they did not know for sure anymore.
Cindy's voice was as poisonous as the purest venom.
"Run."
Libby, Carl and Sheen did not need to be told twice.
"You think…" Sheen panted and leaned against a fire hydrant. "You think we got rid of them?"
Libby, equally out of breath, swallowed hard and tried to calm down her accelerated pulse.
"I don't know. I haven't seen them…anywhere…I hope we have…oh my god…" she moaned and held her sides. Disgustingly unattractive sweat ran down her face, but she was too exhausted to make any efforts to wipe it away.
Who would have thought Jimmy and Cindy had such a good running condition? After being chased for almost twenty five minutes through the entire town, Libby had almost lost all hope of escaping their wrath. Especially since Carl had fallen flat on his face after not even five minutes of straight running. It seemed like a miracle now that Sheen and her had managed to rescue him before their 'slightly' angry friends had been able to grasp him.
"But we can't escape them!" Carl whined and sniffed into a used tissue he pulled out of his pocket. "Jimmy's a genius, he will find us sooner or later, he always does…and Cindy, Cindy is a…a…" his voice cracked. "She's a…"
Hysterically he grabbed Libby's shoulders and shook her violently. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE YET!"
"Tell me again why we did that!" Sheen asked. Libby struggled to break free from Carl's death grip. "All we achieved was getting Jimmy and Cindy humiliated big time and now they're thirsty for our blood!" He shook his head frantically. "I 'd like my blood to stay where it is right now! Oh Ultra Lord, save me!"
Instead of a supernatural force coming to rescue him, he only met a dirty paper that fluttered against his face.
"I already told you…" Libby gasped and pushed the hyperventilating Carl away. "We wanted to show them how much they'd like to actually get along with each other…and we weren't that unsuccessfully, now were we?"
The boys looked at her as though she had lost her mind.
"Are you kidding me?!" Sheen screeched and pointed at her. However, seeing that his face was currently covered, his accusing gesture adressed nothing but the empty alley they had managed to hide in. "They want to eat us alive right now! What kind of success is that?"
Libby rolled her eyes. "Didn't you listen to what I said back when…?"
"You've been serious?!" Carl almost screamed out and covered his face with his hands, unable to properly process this information. "You really didn't have…"
"Anything to do with the scene at the Candy Bar?" Libby offered with a smug smile on her face. "Nah, that was all them. I didn't even realize Nick and his fans were there before it was already too late."
Carl stared dumbstruck at her. The tissue floated gently to the ground.
"But…they do think it's your fault…" he pointed out, trying to wrap his head around the sheer impossibility of what she had just said.
Libby's smile just widened. "Just as they think that little kiss was my doing…"
"WHAT?!" Carl's eyes nearly bulged out.
"I had the gadget's power switched off right before." Libby admitted cheekily. "They just needed to think that they were under mind control…the rest they did themselves."
"You…You…" Carl stuttered, and then shook his head.
"You're a pure evil genius, Libby…"
She giggled, flattered by his words. "So I've heard."
"But still…" he added after a few seconds of further pondering. "…they'll still be in denial won't they? Maybe they're never gonna get over it now!"
Libby shook her head. "Believe me; I think I learned something today. I guess they really don't need our help at all. If they're meant to be, they'll work it out on their own…in their own way. It may just take a little longer…"
Her words lingered in the air, and even though Carl still had no clue whether they had actually helped or permanently disturbed their friends, he solemnly nodded at her.
Libby frowned..
"Oh, let's just get out of here before I sound like a total sap! Get going, guys!"
Taking one last long breath, the three of them continued their escape. As good as it had felt to take this little break, none of them wanted to risk Jimmy and Cindy finding them – or even worse finding the truth out much too early.
They had jogged for a few minutes, when Sheen, who had been strangely quiet until now, spoke up, with audible awe in his voice.
"Wait a second…" he said slowly. "Does that mean when Jimmy and Cindy thought they were just thinking to mack on each other….they were in fact macking on each other?" He blinked at them. "Right?"
Libby rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.
"Yeah…actually that's just it."
Sheen stared awestruck at her, then at Carl.
"Dude…that's just sick!"
Somewhere in Retroville, a certain blonde girl was finally kissing the boy she had always thought was unattainable for her. Her heart beat wildly, her cheeks flushed red, her mind was floating…she was basking in her bliss, knowing that nobody, nobody in the entire world could take away this feeling. That feeling only he could give her.
And as she gave in to his soft lips, she knew that there was nothing better than this intoxicating taste. Her heart had found its home after all those years. She realized that…
"GET A ROOM WOULD YOU?!" a grossed out Cindy Vortex yelled over the street and interrupted the ever so magical moment.
Instantly, Nick and Brittany broke apart, red faced and deeply embarrassed. They stared at the rude intruders of their personal moment, and then quickly sauntered away, not willing to comment on their public make out session. They were lucky that Jimmy and Cindy had a lot more to worry about currently than their affairs and so they got away with relative discretion.
"Not cool…not cool at all…" the two heard Nick mutter under his breath.
Jimmy smirked at the boy's back. He could imagine that Nick was not exactly having the best day either. First his secret letter had been exposed to the world, and then his 'quality' time with Brittany had been interrupted.
Unfortunate events.
And Jimmy would have felt sorry for the guy - if it was not for the fact, that there was no one in this town more miserable than him right now!
"Look at them…" Cindy said with disgust. "Like two hormonal love-sick puppies…" She shuddered.
"I'll kill them."
Jimmy knew she was not talking about Nick and Brittany anymore.
"I'll help, believe me. To think they wanted us to act the same as…this…" he trailed off, feeling a faint blush creeping up his cheeks, but made sure to wrinkle his nose in as much disgust as he could muster.
Just…to be safe.
Reminded of the 'incident' and the awkwardness between them, Cindy scooted a few inches away from him, taking a sudden interest in her feet.
"I will kill them." She repeated, much quieter this time.
Jimmy nodded stiffly. For a few seconds neither said a word. They had lost track of their friends somewhere between their school and McSpanky's…and the sudden lack of their task or company made them rather uncomfortable.
Especially with those nasty memories of earlier in the back of their minds.
"You know, of course, that this all your fault, Neutron?" Cindy said finally, finding her voice again.
Jimmy groaned. "Figures. Blame me, Vortex, why don't you? Never mind that it was our insane friends who messed with my perfectly safe invention!"
She smirked at him. "Well, what did you expect? I hate you."
Oddly enough, he had to smile on hearing those words that would have made him scowl under any normal circumstance. Why that was, he was not completely sure, but after everything that had happened he did not care to let it bother him.
Maybe, just maybe he had realized something.
It was at least a possibility.
"I know." Jimmy therefore replied. "But that's okay. Because honestly…" Smirking he grabbed her hand and began to walk away from the road.
"…I hate you too."
A/N 2009: Well this turned out a bit longer than I intended it to be…I'm quite insecure about it though. As I'm about my writing in general. But oh well, I hope it was enjoyable though. I'm aware it may seem odd for the laid-back Libby to take the initiative like that, but I guess she just really snapped this time. And we all know how she gets when she tastes the power (Dictator Libby, LSTN anyone? :) ) Plus they're older, so I hope we're good. Please share your thoughts about this one with me, I aim at improving my skills after all ^^.
Love, firepearl!