A/N: Hey guys, I know that it's been like forever since I've updated Qualities and I am sorry. I had a busy school year and summer since I have summer work that I have to do. Oh, and I had the worse case of writer's block ever and when I did manage to write something...it sucked. So, since I haven't updated in the longest time, this chapter is somewhat longer than the other two. PLEASE read and review... I haven't written in a long while and I want to see if I started sucking.
I hope you guys like it
Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) don't own Jimmy Neutron
At 17, Cindy still couldn't get over how tall he's gotten. At times it annoys her that he's so much taller than she is. It annoys her that when she tries to kiss him, she has to stand on the tips of her toes while he's bending his neck down just to do it. Bothers her that their roles have been reversed and now he's the one teasing her about her height. Not too much though, she makes sure of that.
But then again, there were still some perks about being 8 inches shorter than her boyfriend. She loved it when he hugged her. When he did, she usually covered her face in his chest, the feel of his calm and steady heartbeat was the most soothing sound she ever heard. And how, when he's tired of bending down to kiss her, he just carries her and places her on a table or some other platform just so he can kiss her better.
As hard as it was to imagine, Cindy could remember the time when everyone towered over Jimmy.
Then, James Neutron almost always stood in the front of every class picture and throughout the years has earned a variety of other nicknames like, "Shortstop," and "Shorty." The only thing that made him seem taller than he really was, was his hair. Everything else about him was fine. He was decently muscular, his voice had deepened; the only problem was his height. So from the 3rd grade all the way to 9th, he was the shortest guy in all his classes. It wasn't until the beginning of 10th grade that people stopped talking.
When Jimmy arrived to Retroville High on the first day, all eyes were on him. Literally. From the staff, to the year's freshmen, to the seniors. They all knew Jimmy...and what they saw was something to be stunned at.
His group of friends was the most surprised. He had left Retroville for the summer to visit his grandmother and the rest of his family. When he left, they could remember that he stood at 5 foot 4". Without his classic hairdo, he stood at 5 foot 1".
But…that wasn't the case anymore.
When they stood before him, their eyes were wide, mouths slightly opened. He finally was more or less the same height as Sheen and Carl. Taller than Carl, and shorter than Sheen. The girls however were different story. He towered over Libby, Danielle (A/N: Carl's girlfriend), and Cindy. The girls had to look up to him just to meet his eyes; the top most part of their heads barely reached the middle of his chest.
The summer had brought a big change to the local boy genius. Not only had he grown over a foot, to stand at 6 foot 2" without the hair. Since coming back from his grandmother's house, Jimmy had his hair chopped off. The result: his hair was shorter than ever but not quite as short as Sheen's. It was almost like a less strict version of a military cut. So, in no way what so ever, was his hair a factor in his height. Along with that, his shoulders and chest widened considerably to fit the growth spurt he experienced. And, in so many words, he became every girl's dream guy in the course of one summer.
Cindy stood before Jimmy with a small disbelieving smile. There, in front of her, was her Neutron, her (once) short yet incredibly cute boyfriend, making her feel small. Because there she stood before him at 5 foot 6", feeling like a child; knowing that it wouldn't matter how hard she tried to stand on her toes, it wouldn't make a difference in their heights.
Cindy quickly got over her astonishment and went over to hug her boyfriend; welcoming him home. She hugged him hard, her face buried in his chest. Her arms barely able to reach all the way around his body due to his wide shoulders and chest. And all the while she was doing so, the hug felt extremely strange and different but…it also felt amazingly good.
After a few moments, she gasped as his strong, muscular arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up. She gave him a small amused smile as she wound her arms around his neck. She stared into his sapphire eyes and whispered teasingly, "You know Neutron, I seem to remember telling you before you left, that when you came back you had better not had changed in the slightest. What happened?"
Jimmy's face exploded into a grin, "Come on Vortex…I didn't change that much. It's just a haircut."
