Last night I had a dream about you
In this dream I'm dancing right beside you
And it looked like everyone was having fun
the kind of feeling I've waited so long
The shy little child prodigy looked out into the distance, every kid from first grade to fifth, gathered around the presence of the "King Of Cool," himself, Nickolas "Nick" Dean. He's not that big on brains, and in fact had to repeat the fourth grade due to chronic tardiness. But that didn't matter to anyone, because he was popular. Nick knew how to act, how to dress, and how to defy gravity on a regular kid-powered skateboard. While most young boys somewhat envied his good looks and charms, the rest would sell their souls just to be the macho figure he is. Almost every girl in school wanted him to be their future husband. Then there's James Isaac Neutron, "King Of Fool." The tween had a deformed head, a goofy puffy haircut, a complex vocabulary that puts children in debate if he's human or not, but that's only half of Lindbergh's turn-offs. Nick was the prince, while Jimmy was the clown. No girl would ever share a conversation with him, even if it meant repopulating the Earth. Everything between the two, Jimmy and Nick, was absolutely incomparable.
Whenever a bully sees Nick, they give him a warm greeting. Whenever a bully sets their sight on Jimmy, that's his signal to run. Nick gets hit with blown kisses. Jimmy gets hit with fists. The school laughs with Nick. The school laughs at Jimmy, and so do his friends whenever they get caught in the moment. They all looked down on the poor genius, and still would even if he grew some height. Back on the scene, Jimmy took a deep sigh as he turned his eyes away from the crowd, and decided to proceed to his next period, since the commotion isn't worth his time anyways. Carl Wheezer looked over his best friend. Judging by his expression and the way he looked at Nick, Carl can only presume that Jimmy is intimidated. Seeing his best friend like this only brought him into a frown. It's quite understandable why an undersized geek like Jimmy would hold any jealousy against Nick, who's at the top of the food chain, while Jimmy's sunk to the deep end. Walking to the next classroom, Carl puts his arm around him, followed by a brotherly pat.
In Carl's opinion, popularity is overrated. Jimmy scales a 10/10 to him any day. Because of how nice the boy genius has been to him, more than anyone else, Carl assured to make him feel like a million bucks. Jimmy's weak, bully bait, and prone to many accidents, but that never stopped him. Carl would rather stay beside his nerdy friend than Elementary's golden boy. Speaking of which, if only Carl could save Jimmy from his own insecurities. Like, whenever Nick passes by, he'll sometimes tease the boy for his short height. All the other students have treated him worse than that, but Carl could see it still gets to Jimmy. Nick's not really a bad guy, for he has helped the boy genius occasionally, such as giving him life hacking advice, or coming to his aid whenever he has his hands full with bullies. Jimmy thanks him afterwards, but then he gets all timid and embarrassed. Carl thought, even while trying to help, it never made him feel any better. All those "good deeds" were probably just Nick's way of reminding Jimmy how much of a defenseless weakling he is, and not to mention, an unrelatable dweeb.
Another thing that has concerned Carl, from the easily noticeable mood Jimmy always gave whenever Nick is socializing with Cindy Vortex. Cindy was a bratty know-it-all in pigtails, and Jimmy's quote-on-quote rival. Long ago, before Jimmy transferred into Lindbergh, Cindy had been the smartest kid in school. The fact that her new competition turned out to be none other than a boy, she's been trying to drag him through the mud since then. Jimmy tried to make a good impression, even tried being nice to her, but after a week he eventually gave up and then came a war. If Cindy wants to play that game, then that's how it's gonna be. They argued a lot, never agreed on anything, but every time Nick and Cindy made a scene, Jimmy would give that same depressed look he had whenever he saw Nick surrounded by all the pretty girls in school, followed by some anger. For some reason, Jimmy gets his buttons in a bunch for every moment Nick gives Cindy attention. And out of all of the females, Cindy was the luckiest to get to him. Rumor has it that Nick's got a girlfriend proposal planned in mind, just for Cindy. Whether true or not, picturing those two as a couple made the small boy's blood boil. He can't let him have her. During recess, Carl discussed this topic with Sheen. Jimmy and Cindy hate each other. You can't put them in the same room together without them coming at one another's throat. So why does he get offended every time she gets affectionate all over Nick?
"I think the little Romeno's in loooooooovvvvvvve." Said Sheen.
"Jimmy? In love with Cindy? Get out, he hates her. Have you ever met his Girl-Eating plant?" Carl replied.
"You really don't watch much of TV, don't you Carl? When a man and a woman argue so much, and both are completely obsessed with getting revenge with each other, even if it's not worth it, that's there way of expressing their romantic passion. The feuding is used as a mask to cover up the feelings they're too reluctant to show their friends."
"C'mon, Sheen. TV is TV, and this is… …not TV. This is real life."
"You'll never know unless you ask him. Oh, and if he says No, then he could be lying."
Carl walked over to his best friend, who was lying belly down on the grass, sketching out a W.I.P for his newest invention. He felt nervous getting into his personal life like this, but he's really worried for him. If he doesn't ask, he may never get this curiosity off his chest before it actually happens. He took a deep breath, inhaled into his inhaler, then out came the question.
"Jimmy?"
"Yeah, Carl?"
"I was wondering; Do you like Cindy Vortex?"
"NOOOO! What gave you that idea?! I'd rather kiss one of the most venomous insects roaming around the rainforest than her! No! No way in Mars!"
Carl wasn't satisfied with his answer.
"Jimmy, are you lying?"
"Don't you know your own best friend? I'm positive that's the truth!"
"The truth that you're lying?"
"NO, the truth that Cindy is the least person on Earth I could ever fall heads over heels for!"
"Okay. Thank you."
Carl went back to Sheen just to gloat about him being right, but that only resulted in Sheen slapping the palm on his face in annoyance.
It was Valentines day at Lindbergh Elementary, and all the students are making a mess out of the arts and crafts tools. They made cards, some with macaroni noodles pasted on, and some with overuse of glitter. Most Valentine gifts are store bought. The children didn't really care for romance, or finding their special Valentine. They only participate just to receive goodies, and stuff their faces with candy. The kids that did care for Valentines Day wrote for the ones they loved, only because that felt right to their hearts. Sheen wrote to UltraLord, including his UltraLord dolls. Carl wrote a card for his mom, dad, and best friend Jimmy, with a pattern of xs and os. As awkward as it made Jimmy feel, he gave him a new inhaler with a red bow wrapped around it to show his appreciation. In response, Carl gave him a big loving warm hug, of course he let go immediately after he heard choking from the boy genius.
"Hey Jim, what do you say we had right down to the Candy Bar? My treat! You only get those adorable pink and red heart sprinkles once a year."
"Awwww, you go ahead, Carl. I'll meet you there. I need to hand out my final draft papers."
"Okay. See ya!"
As soon as Carl left, Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. He was waiting for Carl to leave cuz he can't afford him getting into his fudgy hair while he sets out to make his move. Jimmy sets his jetpack down, then pulled out an envelope with a heart-shaped sticker sealing it closed. He held it up to his face for a bit, sweat trailing down his face, with his heart racing in his chest. On account of urges, he must do it, but he feels he's gonna regret it later on. Jimmy quietly prowled among the hallways, looking back, fourth, and behind himself just to make sure no one catches him in the act. The job would be much easier if he haven't left his invisibility gum at home. He pressed his back against a random locker of an unknown student, which is where his destination had been. With shaky hands and sweaty palms, he stood on his toes as he shoved the letter right into that locker, then ran for cover before anyone walks in. He peeked from behind the wall, watching carefully for his sweetheart to arrive and read his note.
Up walked in Cindy, with Nick behind her. Jimmy leaned in closer, and began biting his nails as he concentrated his focus on Cindy, who's leaning against the locker he dropped the letter in. She was being cornered by her crush Nick, while she giggled and blushed madly like a bubbly school girl, asking him if he has any plans this Valentine's Day, or if he's seen any girls lately. She got an answer out of him, but not what she had in mind.
"Cindy, I need to get to my locker."
How humiliating. Face glowing red, she threw herself off of his locker. She felt like she embarrassed herself, getting in his way all day and pestering him with questions, only to get a stoic response. That probably means she isn't likely to get a chance with him. He accepted her homemade chocolate truffles, but Nick pretty much accepted every girls' gift, even the most weird ones, like assorted meats. She fears, what if somebody else gets to him before she does? As she walked on, she kept her eyes on Nick, watching him open his locker. However, she didn't watch where she was going and bumped into a wall on the way. Nick undid the combination of his locker and opened it wide, that's when he met the first thing that caught his eye; A letter, from an anonymous admirer. Nick wasn't really amused. He has run dry reading these ignorant girls love cards all day, so does he have to put up with another one? So many mushy words and failed attempts at poetry, he's on the verge to fall sick any time soon. Unfortunately, Nick decided to swallow his pride. This will be the last note he'll read for today, then he's calling up for quits on Valentines. He teared away the sticker and flung it aside, opening the envelope to reach in for the letter.
When he unfolded the letter, he hasn't read one word, yet this note already had him at hello. It was different. No cheap decorative touch-ups such as plastic gems or glitter, but something more simple. Very simple, but that's what made it so pleasant. The only touch-up this letter possessed was an animated flashing heart. He read each paragraph, every word in between the lines. It wasn't so mushy after all, but instead it looked like someone paid a famous novelist to write this note. It was pleasing and relaxing, even if he didn't understand two of the vocabulary words. Halfway through the note, Nick could feel the butterflies spawning inside him. Each sentence was written with true modesty, making sure to convince the reader that their feelings are real as day. Like all the Valentine cards he's read, this one ended with an "I love you" but adding on, "Although, I'm not sure you'd feel the same way." Whoever wrote this, Nick said to himself, has definitely won themself a Valentine, except Nick didn't knew who they were. He doesn't even recognize the handwriting.
Jimmy blushed while placing a hand over his mouth. Judging by Nick's body gesture, he could tell he liked it. But, how would he react if he ever found out the writer behind the note? Jimmy Neutron never hated Nick, nor was he jealous at all. He was in love with him. Not for his looks, but for who he was, unlike all the other groupies. The reason why Jimmy always looks so sad whenever he's looking at Nick from a distance, while in the company of those who praised him, because he's out of reach for him. Nick comes to him sometimes, but with their unbalanced popularity statuses, it takes luck for the biggest nerd to see Nick on his own. Worse, it's a boy loving a boy, living in a heteronormative society. The only one he's truly jealous of is Cindy, who's always trying non-stop to make Nick hers. The Girl-Eating Plant was invented as a stress reliever, for every time Cindy lures in Nick's attention like a fly to honey. He can't let Nick have her. It's him he should have.
This feeling drives Jimmy off the wall. He's best at hiding his affection, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Whenever Nick's near him, or even speaks to him, Jimmy always feels like he wants to run away and hide. He's never told anybody about this crush. Not to his friends, family, or even Goddard. In spite of being at the bottom of the food chain, Nick actually had some respect for him. Plus, Nick has done nice favors for Jimmy, such as giving him life hacking advice and saving him any trouble from bullies. Nick treated him like he were one of his bros, without any care of what anyone around him thinks. What if Nick doesn't love him back? What if Nick isn't into the same gender? The most miserable thing in the world, in his book, is dealing with a crush you're not so sure returns your love. He's a scientist, he can make that happen. But, forcing Nick to fall in love with him wouldn't make him feel any good.
Don't stop come a little closer
As we jam the rhythm gets stronger
There's nothing wrong with just a little little fun
We were dancing all night long
The time is right to put my arms around you
You're feeling right
You wrap your arms around too
But suddenly I feel the shining sun
Before I knew it this dream was all gone