I just updated not that long ago, but I've been working on this (instead of my salutatorian speech) so I can have longer, more in depth chapters. Yay me and my progressing writing abilities!

Disclaimer: I totally would, but I'm just too cool for it, you know. I'd rather own something better...like Starbucks, or Dance Dance Revolution. Something more freaking VALUEABLE!

Reunited

Chapter 10 - Realizations

"Libby! Hey! How are you?" Jimmy exclaimed, knowing that if he straight off asked for Cindy, he could've gotten slapped. And tht didn't sound fun at all.

Libby shook her head a few times, blinking at him. She looked really tired.

"Oh, hey. Uh...long time, no see, huh Jimmy?!" She giggled.

Jimmy refrained from rolling his eyes. He should've known that spending such a long period of time hanging around Sheen would definitely do some severe damage to her brain cells.

"Yeah. Sure. So where's...everyone else?" He was careful with his words. But Libby didn't notice.

"Well, I don't exactly know. Cindy ran off, Sheen went nuts and ran off, me and Henry ran off because Carl was in the bathroom and then Henry ran away from me so now I'm all alone. Carl's probably still in the bathroom...," she was rambling now.

Jimmy sighed. "Well, how about we go find them, then?"

Libby nodded. "That sounds like a great idea." She was still nodding. She almost resemembled one of those bobblehead ducks his dad has...

Jimmy started to walk away with Libby in tow, blue eyes searching the crowd for blonde hair. Of course, to Libby it looked like he was looking for Sheen or Carl (or that Henry dude, whoever he was), but he could've walked right past them and not even notice.

Yes, they were his friends, too, but they still kept in contact. Jimmy wasn't completely disconnected from them for the two years he had been gone like he had been with Cindy. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why would he pass it up?

Cindy was frustrated. First of all, her emotions were all jumbled up and she couldn't tell whether she wanted to actually see Jimmy or hide from him, so she had finally stopped walking around and sat down on a bench, sporting a severely pissed off look on her face.

Hey, at least everyone left her alone.

She just hoped no one would find her just sitting there. She didn't want to be caught off guard or anything. She didn't do well in situations like those.

She sighed. What was she to do now? She couldn't find Libby, Henry, or Carl, and she definitely didn't want to see Sheen again. If she had to choose between being on a stranded island with him or eating live insects, she would choose the latter.

Because Sheen was so annoying, it almost made her skin crawl. And that was more damage than any insect could do to her.

Her cell phone was useless, because it was still dead, and she didn't have any spare change. And she felt foolish for wanting to call her friends anyways. She could deal without them for a few hours, couldn't she? She was an independent woman. She didn't need anyone else.

Instantly, her posture straightened and her expression became more determined as she gave herself a pep talk. So what if she still didn't know whether or not she wanted to see Jimmy?

She couldn't fight fate, after all.

Carl looked at the two guys, Ryan and Wade with amusement in his eyes. One of them, the one named Wade, reminded him of Sheen. A little insane and loud. Girl-crazy.

Ryan was calmer, but looked a little suspicious of his surroundings. He acted familar, but he couldn't place a finger on who it was.

"Yeah, I'm Carl. Didn't we go over this...?"

Wade nodded. "Yeah, dude. But that name sound so familar! Do you happen to know a Jimmy Neu-"

He was cut off suddenly, with a swift jab in the ribs by Ryan. Wade just looked at him and matched Ryan's hard glare with one of his own. "Hey, that hurt you know! What the hell was the for, anyways?"

Ryan lowered his voice to a whisper so Carl couldn't hear, and said, "You can't just go talking to some stranger about Jimmy! This might not be the Carl he knows! He could be dangerous!"

Wade scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Have you taken a good look at this guy? The red hair, the glasses, the outfit. This guy just screams safety. Seriously."

Ryan stared at Carl and shrugged. "Well, you may be right. But we still don't know-"

"Who cares? Geez, you've been hanging around Jimmy too long, you know that? You think you're so smart..." Wade grumbled under his breath for a few moments and then turned back to Carl.

"Like I was saying, before I got so rudely interrupted...is...well...I can't remember." Wade grinned at Carl sheepishly. "Sorry."

Carl shrugged. "It's okay, it happens to me and Sheen all the time."

Wade's and Ryan's eyes widened. "Sheen! I've heard of-"

Ryan abruptly put his hand over Wade's mouth, cutting him off again. "Listen, Carl, what Wade is trying to ask is whether or not you know Jimmy Neutron."

Carl looked dumbfounded for a moment. "Jimmy? Well, he used to live in Retroville. That's where I live."

Ryan nodded. "You guys used to be friends, right?"

Carl nodded slowly.

"Well, we're his friends here!" Wade finished off, and Ryan gave him a mean look. Wade shook his head and put his hands up. "What are you today, the speech police?"

Ryan sighed and shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something when he heard a voice...

"CARL!"

A tall guy with dark hair and dark brown eyes, clad in black and purple Ultralord attire came running over to the red-headed guy talking to Ryan and Wade.

"Gosh! I've been looking for you for like years! Where have you been? Whose are these people?" He just wouldn't stop.

"This is...uh...this is, um. People, I have met. Oh, they say they know Jimmy!" Ryan stared at Carl as he stumbled over his words. They just talked two seconds ago, did he already forget their names?

"I'm Ryan and this is Wade." He introduced them.

The guy nodded. "I'm Sheen. Wait, you know Jimmy?!"

Wade nodded. "We're his best fri-"

Wade was suddenly pulled away from the conversation completely, thanks to Ryan. "Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Ryan sighed. "Listen, Wade. Usually I don't care, and I know we've been friends with Jimmy for awhile, but they've known him longer! We can't just go around saying we're his best friends, because people might get mad. Especially those two." He cocked his head to the confused Sheen and Carl. "You got me?"

He stuck his hand out in a friendly gesture. Wade sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. He slapped Ryan's hand and said, "Yeah, I got it. You don't have to be so dramatic, though. You're probably wrong!"

Ryan rolled his eyes at him and they both walked back to Sheen and Carl.

"What's going on?" Sheen asked.

"Oh, we just wanted to say that we know Jimmy and we're his friends, too. Have you talked to him lately?" Ryan replied.

Sheen put a hand on his chin, appearing to be in deep thought. Carl shrugged. Wade smirked.

Sheen suddenly put his pointer finger in the air, his eyes widening. Ryan could practically see the lightbulb go on above his head. "Yes! I talked to him on the phone earlier! And so did Cindy. You know, she got really, really mad at me because I gave Jimmy her number and she didn't want me to but I did anyways. She hit me in the arm. Can you see a bruise? Because I can feel one. It hurts."

Ryan stopped him before they started talking about something unrelated to the topic at hand. It happened to him everyday. Actually, it happened everytime he talked to Wade.

"Wait, when did Jimmy call Cindy?" Ryan glanced at Wade, but he looked confused.

"Oh, I don't know. Around...one or so? That was a long time ago, it seems like. What time is it now?" Sheen whirled around, looking in all directions, obviously looking for a clock.

Wade gasped. "That's who Jimmy was talking to earlier when he left!" He hissed to Ryan.

Ryan nodded. "Why didn't he tell us?"

Wade shrugged. "I don't know, but what I do know is that Jimmy has a LADY FRIEND!"

"Hey."

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped about five feet in the air, not recognizing the voice or the touch. She leapt off the bench and whirled around, her heart beating fast. Had she fallen asleep or something?

She let out a rush of air when she saw who it was. Henry.

"What the hell? You about gave me a heart attack!" She scolded him.

He grinned. "Sorry. Doing some deep thinking?" He sat down on the bench, patting the seat next to him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Cindy sighed and sat next to him on the bench. "I don't know. Kind of. I guess. Yes."

Henry nodded. "Yeah, what about?"

She glared at him. "Do you even have to ask?"

He smiled again, lifting his hands in surrender. "Sorry, grouchy. Gosh, you should've slept in the SUV or something, instead of harassing everyone else. That would save you time sleeping on a bench at the Convention."

She slapped his arm, not very lightly. "If you're gonna make fun of me, just leave me alone! I'm not in the mood."

Henry shrugged. "But seriously, what's wrong?"

Cindy shook her head. "Jimmy! I feel like he's everywhere, but I haven't seen him in two years!"

"Isn't that a sign or something?"

She glanced at him, confused.

Henry turned more towards her. "If he's always on your mind, doesn't that mean something?"

She groaned. "That maybe I'm in love with him? I know this! I've known this for like the past five years! But what am I supposed to do about it?"

Henry didn't know whether it was the fact that she sounded so sad and miserable and desperate or maybe it was because he was a kind person at heart and just truly wanted to help her, but he did. She needed it.

"Well, I think you should find him."

"But I don't know if I want to find him."

"Then why don't you let him find you?"

"I've been hiding!"

"Why?"

That was harder of a question than it sounded. "I don't know! I'm afraid of what's going to happen, you know? I don't want to be rejected. Again."

Henry didn't know the whole story, but he could make a pretty good guess.

"Well, I think he's stupid if he rejects you. You're awesome! Like, in a friend-to-friend way. I don't like you like that, if that's-"

Cindy laughed nervously. "No, I understand. But you really think so?"

Henry nodded, the ever-present grin back on his face.

"I know so."

That was longer, right? I didn't want to write too much in one chapter. Please, please review!

Ha, I was watching the Potter Puppet Pals in "The Vortex" and it was hilarious. I recommend you look it up on YouTube, right after you review, okay? XD.

Anyway, I should be writing my salutatorian speech right now. Graduation is Friday! Wish me luck!