I've got several irons in the fire right now, but this particular one demanded attention tonight. Hopefully, I'll have two up this week with more of an AU feel to them.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron belong to Nickelodeon.


Alone. He was completely, horrifyingly, and exhilaratingly alone for the past week. No one had called for the past week since his mother and father had left him after helping him move in. After all of those years of being constantly bombarded with distractions, chores, or noise, he found the silence to be deafening. It filled him with a different kind of fright.

Fright was probably the wrong kind of word, he mused as he washed the remnants of his last dinner off the dishes. Loneliness seemed to suit better.

Jimmy then walked over to his small, quaint bedroom. He was far too mentally exhausted to work on any projects, and just laid down face up on his bed, eyes closed. It took a little while, but he began to hear his pulse against his eardrum, and that began to weigh him down emotionally too.

Were things really so bad that even hearing his heart beat was grating?

Curiosity got the better of him in that moment and he pulled out his phone, partly to see the time, and partly to see what notifications had come up in the… half hour he lay there. A few emails, most likely spam, but there weren't any calls or texts for him to respond to. Great. Sighs were more and more common with him the past few days, but this one was more than necessary.

Loneliness wasn't quite what he was expecting. The ache in his chest had days when it was unbearable and others when it was barely there at all. The few comforts from this came in burying himself in his work until he was too tired to feel anymore.

His fingers languidly moved the phone screen to see all the emails, and delete the spam that showed up. The screen changed suddenly, displaying a call coming in. He answered it and placed it to his ear before even looking. Then his eyes grew wide at the voice on the other end.

"Hey, Neutron… I know this isn't exactly a good reason to call. But… will you just talk to me for a little bit?"

Almost instantly, he felt the hole get a little smaller.


Consider this one a prequel to Bubble. It fits nicely. Thanks for reading. Please leave a review.