This chapter is a whopper, and I appreciate anyone who has the time and patience to read it! I would've had it up yesterday but I was honestly struggling with writing the last few scenes. I hope everyone likes it, and please leave a constructive review if you didn't! This chapter starts out with Jimmy's POV - most of the chapter is in his POV, actually. All I gotta say is - damn Betty. ;)

Dangerous

My nerves skyrocketed as Sheen clumsily parked on the street outside of Betty's house. I got out quickly, ready to breathe in some fresh air and distance myself a little from the blonde that had been sitting next to me. I waited for everyone to get out of the car and Cindy just gave me an odd look.

"Wow, there's a lot of people here," Libby commented. She was right. There were several cars parked on the street in front of us and even more in the driveway. I could hear the low bass from the music coming from the house and the chatter from all the people inside. My nerves started to disappear slowly as I thought more about the party - it's not like I had never been to a party before. I had already proved to myself I could talk to Betty without making a fool of myself because I had done it all summer. Sure, these were different circumstances, but I just knew everything would be fine.

Everyone had started walking towards the house while I was deep in thought. I ran to catch up to them. "Hey! We need to make a plan," I insisted.

They all turned around and I was met with several annoyed looks.

"Jimmy, c'mon! We don't need to do this every time we go somewhere other than school!" Sheen exclaimed.

"What do you mean by a plan?" Libby inquired.

"I just think it's best that since we all came together, we can decide who is going to be designated driver and what time we should leave," I explained. I didn't know why they were being so angry about it, I thought it was a great idea.

Libby just laughed. "Haven't you heard of going with the flow?"

"Are you serious? This is Nerdtron we are talking about here," Cindy cut in. "He wouldn't know how to go with the flow even if he invented the concept himself. Oh, I have an idea! Why don't you be designated driver, since you brought it up?" She tapped her chin with a finger and pretended to look like she was deep in thought, smirking at me all the while.

I glared at her. "I was going to say we could play an elimination game or something-"

Cindy was already shaking her head at me. "Libby and I already decided we were going to walk to her house after the party anyway, so we are going inside now…" she trailed off and grabbed Libby's arm, obviously intending to walk away.

I took another glance - probably longer than an actual glance - at Cindy's outfit, taking note of her short skirt and the cool breeze I could feel. "No," I said flatly. "No one is walking home. We are going to decide right now."

Like always, something I had brought up to the group had turned into a personal argument between Cindy and I. I could practically feel the collective eye roll from Libby, Sheen, and Carl.

Cindy whirled back around and narrowed her eyes at me. "What do you mean no? That wasn't something that was up for debate, Nerdtron."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Carl beat me to it. "Guys, I will drive us home. I don't really feel like drinking anyway. It's not a big deal, and if you girls feel like walking I'm sure you'd be fine too." He gave me a pointed look and I suddenly felt a little bad.

I knew trying to tell Cindy Vortex what to do wasn't a good idea. But the idea of her walking home late at night in the cold while possibly drunk didn't settle well with me.

Libby sighed, "Are you sure, Carl? We want you to have fun, too. We can just choose straws or something like Jimmy suggested so it's fair."

He shrugged. "Like I said, I don't really want to drink. I might as well drive home."

Sheen nodded frantically, taking Libby's hand and pulling her down the sidewalk. "He's definitely sure! Thanks man!"

Carl started walking behind them and yelled at Sheen, "You can be DD next time!"

I wasn't too happy about the way the conversation ended but I decided to let it go. Then, I remembered something. "Wait, we need to decide what time we are leaving!" I called after them.

"Give a rest, Neutron," Cindy muttered, crossing her arms. She turned on her heel and walked away from me. As annoying as she was, I didn't want to walk into the party alone. I caught up with her easily and she glanced at me with surprise showing on her features. Her arms were still crossed but she didn't look angry at me anymore.

"Are you cold? You can have my jacket, if you want," I offered somewhat awkwardly. I was still thinking about her hand touching mine in the car. That had been the longest five minutes of my life but...not in a bad way.

She just raised a brow at me. "I'm fine...thanks though. I think if you keep giving me jackets at the rate you have been, you won't have any left," she said with a slight smile.

I just laughed. We reached the front door then, where the other three were waiting on us. Libby grinned at us and grabbed Cindy's hand excitedly, opening the door to Betty's house.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It didn't take long for the five of us to split up. I was immediately on the lookout for Betty but didn't see her right away. I was slightly disappointed. For some reason, I had expected her to be the first one to greet us. Sheen saw a few of his soccer teammates where they were gathered around a table playing beer pong and took off without a second glance. So much for trying to romance Libby tonight. I glanced at her and she had an annoyed expression on her face.

Suddenly, a tall guy wearing a letterman's jacket appeared next to us, holding two red solo cups in his hands. "Hello ladies," He was looking down at Cindy and Libby and grinning. He handed each of them a cup. Libby took a sip immediately, and Cindy looked at him warily.

"Do I know you?" I had to turn my head slightly so I could hide my laugh at that.

"My name is Bryan, and I am the alcohol supplier for this party, if you will. I saw you two come in and just knew I had to say to the most beautiful ladies here," he said, still smiling. I wasn't sure who this guy was, but he was annoying. Cindy just rolled her eyes.

Finally, Bryan acknowledged Carl and I for the first time. "Hey dudes," he nodded at us. "There's beer in the kitchen." Then he walked away.

"Well, that was weird," Libby declared. "Let's go dance." She tugged on Cindy's hand and they disappeared into another room.

I sighed. It was going to be a long night.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I finally found Betty in the kitchen a little while later while searching for the drinks. Carl had disappeared just moments before. His love of llamas has led him to working at a local farm near Retroville that of course, has llamas. He had ran into his coworker on the way to the kitchen and I didn't stick around to talk. I was too anxious to find a more familiar face.

There was another beer pong table set up there and she seemed to be watching the game. She smiled at me widely as I approached her. "Jimmy, you made it! I was hoping you would," she said warmly.

"Well, of course. It seems like the entire population of Retroville is here," I commented. There were people everywhere. Betty's house was huge and so far everyone room I had been in seemed to be at max capacity. I could even catch a glimpse of the back yard through the kitchen window where even more people were hanging out.

She laughed. "I don't know how these things always get so out of hand. I definitely didn't invite all these people."

She asked if I wanted to play the next round of beer pong with her, and I agreed even though I had never played. Since I'd seen the game being played many times before, I figured it couldn't be too hard. She introduced me to a few of her friends and they were all seniors that I had seen at school but never talked to. They seemed nice. I wondered, for a moment, where my friends were.

I didn't have to worry for long, because Libby burst into the kitchen with Cindy in a tow just a moment later.

"Are you ready to play?' Betty's voice in my ear was so close I nearly jumped. I looked towards her and she was still smiling prettily.

"Sure," I said, and she handed me a small ball.

Cindy and Libby were filling their cups up from the large punch bowl sitting on the counter. I had no doubt that it was a sickly-sweet tasting concoction that had way too much alcohol in it. I noticed Cindy's cheeks were tinged pink but I didn't know if it was from the alcohol or the dancing she had been doing.

"Hey girls, you should play against us!" Betty called out to them suddenly, and Cindy and Libby looked over at us curiously.

I was surprised that Betty was trying to interact with them at all, especially after the seat incident on Thursday. I was worried Cindy would be a bitch to Betty and make things awkward.

Luckily, I didn't seem to have much to worry about, because Libby nodded her head and Cindy just smiled at me innocently.

"I'm going to kick your ass, Neutron."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Two and a half rounds of beer pong later and seven refills of that damned punch between the four of us of later, Betty and I were losing miserably. We had beat Cindy and Libby in the first round, and since Cindy was apparently unable to accept defeat, she demanded we do best two out of three games as winner instead. They had won the second round. I had a strong feeling they would win this round and I could tell by the mischievous look in Cindy's eye that she knew it, too. Damn her.

It had been quite awhile since Cindy and I had competed against each other. We still compared grades for tests on occasion but I was still banned from most school science fairs and as we have grown older, the competition aspect of our relationship was less prominent. Cindy seemed more focused on doing her own thing these days, although the amount of jabs she took towards my "big nerdy head" had only decreased slightly in the past few years. This competition was a little different than our academic ones but it was heated just the same. Plenty of witty jabs had been thrown back and forth between us and I had to admit...I was having a lot of fun. We were also hogging the table so no one else could play, but since it was Betty's party, I guessed no one else minded. Quite a crowd had formed around us, obviously entertained.

I had forgotten the thrill of what it felt like to go toe-to-toe verbally and mentally with Cindy Vortex.

I was about to throw what I had hoped would be a successful shot, when Cindy waved her arms frantically. "Wait, wait, wait!" I stopped and looked at her. "I really need to go to the bathroom. Don't play without me!" And then she took off out of the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes and yelled after her, "You're just stalling, Vortex!" The group of people that had been around us started to disperse slowly.

I turned to Betty and she was looking at me intensely. I started to feel a little lightheaded and I didn't know if it was from her looking at me or the amount of "punch" I had consumed in the past hour. Either way, I probably needed to slow down.

"You two always have some sort of rivalry going on," she said, sounding amused. I wanted to kick myself. Here I was, at Betty's Quinlan's party, and spending all my time obsessed with winning a game against Cindy Vortex. I definitely remembered the "one-on-one talk" Betty had mentioned the other day, too. Hopefully she hadn't changed her mind about that.

I laughed slightly and scratched my neck nervously. "Heh, yeah, I'm sorry about that. She truly does bring out the worst in me."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Libby staring at us with narrowed eyes. I didn't really know why she would be angry, though. "I'm going to go make sure Cindy's okay," she said as she walked out of the room.

"Hey, I think it's pretty entertaining. But maybe we should give up on the game for now," suddenly a wicked grin formed on her face and she grabbed my hand confidently. "I want to play a different game, actually."

And just like that, she was leading me down into her basement and I had no choice but to follow her.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy

As I was finishing up washing my hands in one of the many upstairs bathrooms in Betty's house, I glanced at myself in the mirror. I felt a little drunker than I probably should be. It was still pretty early in the evening. But I had to admit that this party was way more fun that I thought it would be, even if most of my time had been consumed by trying to beat Nerdtron at a stupid game. But I was winning, so that's all that matters. I took my time to smooth my hair and try to lessen the redness of my cheeks by fanning them, but there was no use. I suddenly heard a sharp knock on the door. I rolled my eyes, knowing it was probably some horny couple wanting some privacy.

"Just a second," I called out. The longer I took, the angrier Neutron would be when I came downstairs. Therefore, the worse he would play. The thought of his angry expression almost made me laugh aloud.

The person on the other side of the door knocked a second time, this time longer. Extremely annoyed, I opened the door quickly and there stood Libby, and my annoyance disappeared.

"Girl what's taking you so long? I had to search through like, eight bathrooms to find you. I couldn't stand to be in the kitchen alone with Jimmy and Betty anymore and watch them make googly eyes at each other," she grabbed my shoulders and shook them slightly, making me laugh.

"Don't be so dramatic, Libby. I doubt they were making googly eyes at each other. And I didn't realize that was a term that people still use, by the way," I laughed at her as we made our way down the stairs.

She gave me a mock glare and stopped me briefly as we landed on the bottom stair. "By the way, are you doing okay?"

I immediately waved her question off with my hand. I didn't - couldn't - think about my dad and Princeton right now. I was feeling too warm, bubbly, and happy for that. I wanted the moment to last as long as I could make it. "I'm fine, I'm going to figure something out for Princeton."

"No, I was talking about Jimmy and Betty. Are you okay with...them?"

I was suddenly all too aware of the party happening around us. I couldn't even begin to formulate a proper response to her question. Why did she think she needed to ask that question and more importantly - why didn't I know the answer right away? The answer should be yes, I was okay with it. I was definitely fine with whoever Jimmy Neutron spent his romantic time with. Because it was none of my business.

But I thought about how he had pressed his hand into mine in the car on the way here earlier and I felt...empty.

Luckily, I didn't need to respond to the question, because Sheen appeared in front of us. "Hey guys! We are starting a very interesting game in the basement if you wanna join." He rubbed his hands together mischievously and waggled his eyebrows.

I spoke up quickly.

"We would love to."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy

I wasn't entirely sure how I had gotten myself into this situation. I was anxious the entire time Betty had led me down to her basement, and even more so when I realized we were going to be playing spin the bottle. I had never played this game, nor had I ever planned on playing it in my lifetime but I felt like I didn't have a choice. At first I thought Betty had brought me down here to talk, but Nick and Brittany were already down here and they were the ones who suggested we play the game. The rest felt like a blur. All I knew was that there was a very likely chance that I could kiss Betty Quinlan tonight.

So now I was seated next to her on the ground, with Sheen, Libby, Brittany Tenelli, Nick Dean, Carl, and Cindy making up the rest of the circle. Cindy was sitting on her knees directly across from me, hands fiddling with the hem of her skirt. She had a blank look on her face. Sheen had dragged Libby and Cindy down here once he had found me and realized what was happening. I knew he wanted to kiss Libby. I glanced at Carl, who was next to Cindy, and he definitely looked uneasy.

"Hey party people," unfamiliar voice called out. I turned around and saw it was Bryan, the guy that had greeted us at the door. He was carrying a nearly full bottle of what looked like vodka and several plastic shot glasses. He handed everyone a full shot and I glanced at Betty, who didn't look happy that this guy was here. "I heard you needed a bottle for a game but you didn't say whether it needed to be empty or not," he joked, eliciting a laugh from a few people.

He squeezed between Cindy and Carl, who both scooted over to make room for him. "You're playing?" Betty asked, her tone incredulous.

He just shrugged. "Of course, why wouldn't I?" Betty didn't reply. I noticed she didn't seem too fond of Bryan. I wondered if there was some sort of history there.

I glanced over at him in time to catch him pouring Cindy another shot, who smiled at him. I wanted to rip that bottle out of his hands. Her eyes were a little glassy and only an idiot wouldn't be able to notice that she didn't need anymore to drink.

Bryan set the now half-empty bottle in the middle and grinned. "So who wants to go first?"

The circle was quiet for a moment, except for Brittany's giggle.

"I'll go!" Sheen broke the silence and spun the bottle, landing on...Carl. "Damn it, I'm not kissing Carl!" Everyone laughed.

"If you land on someone of the same sex and neither want to kiss, then the next person can go. Or, I guess, you can go again," Betty told him. He sighed and shrugged towards Cindy, who was on his left.

"Who wants another shot?" Bryan said. Several people, including Cindy and Sheen, took one. I just shook my head when the bottle was passed my way.

Cindy leaned forward in order to spin the bottle and I was too focused on Bryan's wandering eyes that had landed on Cindy to notice that the bottle had landed right on me. I noticed a second after everyone else did, after realizing they were all staring at me. Alarmed, I looked straight at Cindy, who had an undecipherable expression on her face.

After we sat staring at each other without moving for a few long moments, Libby started laughing, "Old bitter rivals come together in a new way. C'mon, scaredy cats."

"KISS!" Sheen pumped his fist in the air. I rolled my eyes. I wanted to see Betty's expression but I was too scared to look at her. Cindy still hadn't said or done anything.

"Oh just get it over with already. It's not like it hasn't happened before," Nick said quietly, nudging Brittany in the side so she could join in laughing at his joke. She did laugh, but I'm not sure if she actually knew what was going on.

I felt like I was frozen. I knew everyone else here wanted us to kiss so we could move on with the game. But that didn't say anything about Betty or Cindy. With the way Cindy was acting, she was probably unhappy that she gotten me.

Suddenly, Betty spoke up. "If you two really don't want to, it's okay. Cindy can spin again."

I knew she had said that to relieve some of the tension in the room and to possibly make me feel better, but it had the opposite effect. It made me think that she didn't want Cindy and I to kiss.

Cindy let out a harsh breath, like she was extremely annoyed. "Oh my god. Let's do this Nerdtron." She crawled forward a bit and grabbed the front of my shirt in one fluid move, and I was forced to lean forward too; even while sitting she was still way shorter than me. We were barely an inch away from each other and all I could see was her green eyes. I didn't even have a chance to think about what was happening before her lips were on mine. My eyes slipped closed automatically.

Cindy tasted like cheap vodka, pineapple juice, and another sweetness that I didn't recognize. Her lips were warm and soft, and I put a hand on her cheek the second I started to feel them disconnect from mine after just a few seconds. I was pretty sure that the kisses in these games were only supposed to last for a couple seconds anyway, but it felt like we had surpassed that now. However, the passing of time wasn't what I was concerned with. I wanted her closer. I could only smell vanilla perfume and feel Cindy's warm, smooth cheek under my hand. At the exact second that I felt her mouth open against mine, her tongue just barely touching my lips, my brain started to short-circuit. I heard a cough somewhere next to me and remembered where I was and who we were with. I pulled away quickly. My lips tingled distinctly.

Sheen was laughing so hard I swore he was crying, "You two are priceless. I can't believe this."

I looked around and saw Libby and Carl share a look that I didn't understand. Nick just rolled his eyes again and Brittany seemed bored. Once again, I didn't dare look at Betty. I felt...guilty. But for what? It was just a game that most people our age played. I highly doubted that Betty thought of me as anything more than a friendly classmate or acquaintance. Maybe she thought it was funny, too.

I did sneak a look at Cindy though. Her cheeks were pink and I had a feeling it wasn't from all the shots she took. Other than that, she looked normal. She glanced up at me but quickly looked away.

Shit.

The game continued, with Bryan spinning next. I still felt like I couldn't really think straight. I definitely didn't want to be playing this game anymore. Bryan's spin landed on Cindy and a wolfish grin appeared on his face. Before Cindy could even do anything, he was grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her into him. After only a second or two of them kissing, Cindy pushed him away and rolled her eyes. I felt a form of satisfaction at her reaction but I tried not to think about it why I felt that way. I finally dared to glance at Betty, but she looked calm and relaxed.

Unfortunately, I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

Carl's spin landed on Brittany. She giggled the entire time and Carl blushed deeply. Then it was Betty's turn. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until we heard a crash upstairs and I let the air out of my lungs slowly. It sounded like something expensive had been smashed into more than just a few pieces.

"That can't be good," Nick said lightly.

Betty shot up and ran upstairs, with Nick, Brittany, and Bryan following her, probably to witness the chaos.

"Well I guess the game is over," Sheen said while shooting a disappointed look at Libby that she didn't catch.

"Maybe I should go help," I said and quickly ran upstairs, ignoring the odd looks I received from my friends.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Someone had bumped into the fireplace in Betty's living room, knocking over a vase that had been placed on the mantle. I helped her clean up the pieces and she smiled at me gratefully. I was relieved that she didn't seem mad at me.

I heard the music resume its loud tempo as we took the trash outside on the side of Betty's house. I knew that this was the perfect moment to say something.

"This party is turning out to be way more interesting than I had imagined," I said, hoping it wasn't the wrong thing to say. Maybe making light of the situation was the best possible option.

Betty giggled and I was relieved. "You're definitely right about that one. I'm considering staying out here for the rest of the evening."

"I hope you aren't...mad about what happened in there." I said slowly.

It was dark outside, but I could still see Betty's face by the light of the moon and stars. She quirked an eyebrow at me but she was still smiling. "Oh you mean that kiss?"

I nodded and looked down, unsure of what to say next. She continued, "Of course I'm not mad. It's just a game, silly." She put her hand, which was cold but soft, on my arm and squeezed. "Jimmy, I want to be honest with you."

I looked up at her. "You-you do? Honest about what?"

A shy expression unfolded on her face. "Well, I invited you to my party tonight because I had such a good time with you this summer...and I wanted that to continue."

"I want that, too. To be honest myself, I didn't think we would become such close friends like we have," I said. She nodded, her short, dark hair moving along her shoulders.

"Sure, friends. I was actually hoping you sort of…," she trailed off and moved in closer to me, still holding onto my arm. "...felt a little more than just friendly towards me."

Once again, I was suddenly tongue-tied and confused. "Is that how you feel about me? More than friends?"

Instead of answering me directly, she just smiled at me. She had moved in even closer now. "Let's just say I was really hoping for the bottle to land on you earlier so I could do this."

Then she kissed me. And unlike Cindy, Betty was gentle and slow and there was no tongue. I slid a hand onto her hip and scolded myself in my head for even thinking about Cindy right now. I was just starting to settle into Betty's kiss when she pulled away, and smiled at me.

"I should probably go inside now and make sure everything is going okay. But first, hand me your phone." Without a word, I slid my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her. After a moment, she handed it back to me. "Now you have my number. Call me." She gave me a small kiss on my cheek and disappeared around the house.

I stared down at the new contact in my phone with near disbelief. I didn't get a chance to process the gravity of what had just happened when a new contact popped up on the screen - Libby was calling me. I cleared my throat and answered.

"Jimmy? Where are you?"

"I just stepped outside for a minute but I'm coming back in now. Are you guys ready to leave?"

"Actually, I need your help."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy

I wasn't sure what time it was when I found myself in the same bathroom as before; but this time I was throwing up. I vaguely remember grabbing the vodka bottle from the basement floor and sharing it with Brittany and Nick upstairs. I remember dancing and laughing with them. I don't remember how I got up here, but I was grateful that I had managed to make it to a toilet instead of throwing up anywhere else. I was pretty sure that puking on Betty's expensive carpeted floors would mean I wasn't ever allowed to go to another party here.

Not that I planned on ever coming back. So far, this party has been a shitshow.

I flushed the toilet and thought about getting up and trying to find Libby or Carl or someone who could take me home, but I didn't want to get up. The cold, tile floor felt good. Maybe I could just lie down…

I could hear the familiar buzzing of my phone somewhere close to me, but the room was still spinning so I didn't open my eyes to find it. I was definitely never drinking this much again.

I cracked open an eye when I heard the bathroom door open softly. From my position on the floor, I could only see the new occupant of the room upside down. It was Bryan, and he was smiling.

"Wow, you've had a fun night, huh?" He leaned in the doorway and I attempted to scowl at him.

"Go away."

"Don't you want some help?" He asked.

"Yeah, you could hand me my phone...wherever it is," I said, reaching my hand into the air so he could place my phone in it.

"I was thinking more along the lines of getting you off the ground, but okay," he picked my phone off the counter and handed it to me. I had to close one eye in order to see the screen straight. I had four missed calls. Three from Libby, one from Jimmy, and at least six text messages that I knew I couldn't read right now. I decided to call Libby back. She answered after the first ring.

"Cindy! Where are you? I've been looking for you for like, an hour now. You didn't leave the party, did you?" She sounded frantic and I felt a little bad for not answering my phone earlier. I knew that Sheen and Libby had something going on, and I didn't feel offended when she left with him shortly after spin the bottle had ended. At that moment, I knew I needed a distraction from everything so that's why I had grabbed the vodka bottle - and that's how I ended up in the predicament I was in now.

"Sorry Libby. I didn't leave. I'm in a bathroom...somewhere," I finished lamely, and watched Bryan shake his head at me, obviously amused. I flipped him off and his smile grew.

"You're upstairs, first room to the left," his stage-whispered. I relayed the information to Libby.

"Great, I'll have Jimmy come get you. He's closer. I'll meet you guys outside!"

"No wait! Can't you just come up here-" I tried arguing, but she had already hung up. Damn. Looks like I was going to come face-to-face to the person I had been avoiding all night. Up until now, I had shoved our little kiss into the back of mind to think about...hopefully never.

I had to get off this floor before Neutron could see me like this and rub it into my face that I was a lightweight. It was bad enough that Bryan was still standing there and laughing at my condition.

"Don't you have anything better to do than stand there and be annoying?" I grumbled at him and searched for something I could grab to help myself up. So far I only had the toilet (ew) and the counter as options.

Bryan just laughed again. "You know, you're really kind of mean. But I like it. Here, I'll help you up," he stepped further inside the bathroom so I was no longer seeing him upside down, and started to reach for my hands.

"What's going on in here?" A new, familiar voice chimed in from behind me. Damn, again. It was Jimmy.

I looked up at him upside down but wasn't sure what to say. Suddenly, this entire situation was very funny to me and I started to laugh.

I could hear Jimmy sigh but Bryan was laughing again too, "Don't worry man, I got this. I think she just needs some water and she will be good to go." He grabbed a hold of my hands and tried pulling me up but I felt like a ragdoll. Not to mention, I was still laughing uncontrollably.

Well, this was embarrassing.

Jimmy just ignored him and put his hands under my arms and stood me up. "Woah, I don't like being vertical," I said. The room wasn't spinning any more than it was before but I didn't feel like laughing anymore.

"Unfortunately you'll need to be vertical for awhile, at least until we get you home," I could feel rather than hear Jimmy's deep voice, considering that my back was pressed up against his chest.

"I don't want to go home," my own voice sounded high-pitched and frightened, and it didn't sound like my voice at all. I didn't want to go home to my mom. She had a way of finding out everything and if I went home now, she would know I had been drinking and I would be getting the lecture of the year.

Bryan was watching us with narrowed eyes, "She doesn't want to leave with you, man. She wants to stay here."

I didn't even know this guy, and I didn't want to stay here. I opened my mouth to say this myself, but Jimmy beat me to it.

"No," I immediately recognized the arrogant, take-no-shit tone of voice Neutron had perfected over the years. Usually it annoyed the hell out of me, but right now I was actually kind of grateful for it. "She doesn't need your help and she's coming with me."

"Who even are you?"

"I'm one of her best friends," Jimmy said easily, and the statement stuck in my head immediately, repeating itself over and over again. Then, Jimmy said to me quietly, "You're going to Libby's, remember?" I nodded and felt relieved. I couldn't believe I had forgot. "Do you think you can walk?" I nodded again but I wasn't actually sure. Either way, he was setting me up completely on my feet and I just hoped I didn't fall.

Luckily for me, I was able to walk out of the room with only a little help from Neutron's hand on my back. We left Bryan and the rest of the party behind.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy

Libby was standing next to Sheen's car, tapping her foot impatiently. Carl was leaning on the car patiently and Sheen was nowhere to be seen.

Cindy had tripped a little going down the porch stairs and nearly fell down, laughing the entire time. I shook my head at her and let her hold onto my arm for the rest of the way.

When Libby spotted - or more like heard Cindy's maniacal laughter - she rolled her eyes. "Do I even want to know what you've been up to?"

"Do I even want to to know what you two lovebirds have been-wait, where's Sheen?" Cindy said.

"He said he has to say goodbye to everyone he talked to before he leaves," Libby said with a laugh. "Are you okay? Did you throw up?"

I decided to answer for her, "Judging by the fact that I found her lying on the bathroom floor, I would say no, she's not okay and yes, she did throw up. But don't worry, she's still the same annoying Vortex as always." Cindy glared at me and let go of my arm immediately.

"For the record, Nerdtron, I could've gotten out of that bathroom just fine by myself. I didn't need anyone's help. Especially not yours," she said while pointing at me, still glaring.

"Oh sure, like you wouldn't have accepted help from that Bryan guy," I muttered.

"I didn't ask him for help! He just showed up!" She yelled.

"Can you two not fight right now? Please?" Carl spoke up. I didn't say anything else and Libby forced Cindy to get into the car, shutting the door behind her. Then, she turned to me.

"Come on, Jimmy. I'm sure with that big brain of yours you know better than to egg her on like that when she's been drinking," she said.

"Why is this my fault? I didn't force her to drink that much!" I said defensively. I was starting to regret even volunteering to help Libby find Cindy. I could have declined and caught up with Betty again, who was most likely not puking or yelling at anyone right now.

Libby stepped closer to me and lowered her voice, "She's had a rough week, okay? Usually I would be angry at her for drinking so much, too. But for now I think she just needs us to be understanding."

I nodded slowly. I remembered how in the bathroom I had mentioned going home and the desperate sound of her voice when she had said she didn't want to go there. "What happened?"

"If she wanted you to know, she would tell you," Libby shrugged. I was about to speak up and say how unfair that was because there's no way Cindy Vortex was going to tell me anything, but we were interrupted by Sheen running towards us.

"Hey guys! That was some party, wasn't it?"

He was definitely right about that.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Less than fifteen minutes later, I was standing outside with Cindy while Libby went inside to make sure that her parents were asleep and the two of them could sneak in successfully. Carl was currently driving to McDonald's upon Sheen's request. I had declined riding along so I could help out with the girls just in case Cindy threw up again. Luckily, she hadn't yet.

Cindy wasn't speaking to me but I didn't know if it was because of the alcohol or if she was really that angry with me. Either way, I still felt a twinge of guilt as I looked at her standing next to me. She looked small; with her arms crossed tightly to ward off the cold.

She was right about the jacket thing, I thought as I started to take mine off. I wasn't going to have any left if this kept happening. I settled the jacket around her shoulders and she looked at me. "You don't have to do that," she said quietly.

"Are you trying to tell me you're not cold?" I said jokingly, but she didn't laugh or even smile - just looked at the ground. "Look, Vortex, I know you're pissed at me but-"

"Am I annoying?" She said quickly, like she was trying to rip off a bandaid.

"Uh...what?"

"You called me annoying earlier. Do you really think I am?"

I had no idea how to answer and I cursed the rest of the group for leaving us alone together. The twinge of guilt I had felt earlier bloomed into a full on lump in my stomach. "No, actually...you're not really that annoying, Cindy. Except for maybe when you're insulting the size of my head."

She nodded thoughtfully as if I were trying to give her the answer to a particularly difficult math problem. "I'm sorry you feel like you have to help me. Again."

"Is everything okay? Other than the fact that you might be only a few hours away from a wicked hangover, something just seems off with you," I said slowly, hoping that she didn't take offense.

She shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Everything's fine, Neutron," she said tiredly.

I knew there would be no pushing her for an answer. Cindy Vortex was like a mysterious, unmovable force. A very stubborn one, too. I could already tell she was going to be putting an emotional defense wall up between the two of us soon. I had the sudden urge to bring up the kiss but the questions I had didn't seem productive for a conversation between the two of us: Why did you kiss me like that? Why did I like it so much?

For all I knew, she hadn't thought twice about the kiss.

"Did you mean the other thing that you said earlier?" Cindy's voice cut through my thoughts. I racked my brain trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"Please enlighten me."

"You told Bryan you were one of my best friends."

Oh, that. I had said that without even really thinking. We were friends. Best friends was a little bit of a stretch, but I had just wanted to get her away from the creep that was definitely way too old for her. "We are friends, Cindy."

"Best friends?" Again, I wanted to ask her why it was so important to her, but I remembered what Libby had said about Cindy needing understanding so I kept my mouth shut except to answer her question.

"Yes. Best friends. We will have to continue our game of beer pong, by the way. I'm definitely going to kick your ass next time."

I looked at her once more, and she was smiling now, her green eyes lighting up. Think about Betty, think about Betty, I told myself, but there was really no use.

All I could think about was kissing Cindy Vortex.