You guys should be proud of me. I was inspired by your reviews and since most of you said you were excited for the next chapter, I worked hard to finish this one quickly, and it's still long! Don't mind me, I'm just patting myself on the back over here. (Kidding!)

Once again, I am extremely nervous about how this chapter will be received. I hope this lives up to everyone's expectations - please read the other author's note at the end of the chapter when you're done, and remember to review!

Dangerous

I wanted to ask Cindy if she was okay again, but I knew better. She seemed perkier after her first cup of coffee was gone and I gave her my version of a practice exam with questions that I thought would be on the real test. I didn't have much to do - I was still avoiding Betty's texts - as she worked on the test, so I just watched her. She'd made herself comfortable on my bed by laying on her stomach, her feet kicked up in the air. Her blonde hair had come completely free from its hair tie and was flowing down her back and over her shoulders instead. I could tell that her brows were furrowed in concentration, but I couldn't see her eyes since her head was down. I could just see long, dark eyelashes. Even though I thought it was pretty warm in my room, she was still wearing my jacket. The sleeves were too long for her and she had to keep pushing them up her arms as she wrote furiously on the paper. She looked beautiful.

She looked up at me suddenly, but didn't seemed to be startled by me already looking at her. She handed me the paper and smiled. "I don't mean to brag, but I think I aced that."

I laughed. "We'll just see about that."

Two hours flew by without us even realizing it. We'd spent most of the time going over problems and the rest of the time I listened to Cindy rant about all the girls on the cheerleading squad that she didn't like. While picking through some of the snacks on my desk, she had stumbled upon some of my college applications, most of which were for ivy league schools. I watched with interest as her eyes lit up when she held up Princeton's application almost reverently.

"Is that where you want to go?" She nodded. "I'm not sure where I want to go yet," I said quietly. I definitely thought I would have that figured out sooner than this.

"Maybe we'll end up going to the same school. UPenn is only a short drive from Princeton too," she commented. It was easy to imagine doing the exact same things we were doing now but at college instead. It made me smile.

"I might graduate early," I said abruptly. I hadn't told anyone, including Sheen and Carl, that I was thinking about that. Cindy looked up at me with wide eyes.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. You could probably have a college degree by now if you wanted to," she replied with a short laugh. She set the applications back down and I had the feeling she was going to leave soon. I had the urge to keep talking so she would stay a little longer.

"But I don't mind high school. I kind of like where I'm at right now."

"I'm not sure what Retroville would be like without you," Cindy admitted, her voice soft. I stood up and tossed all our study sheets onto the desk. She looked up at me, and I wondered what it would be like to kiss her while we were both completely sober.

But you have Betty, my mind piped up. I did have Betty, and she was an amazing person. I knew how I felt about Betty. I knew that I liked her a lot and wanted to continue spending time with her. What I was feeling for Cindy, at least in this moment, wasn't anything I'd felt before.

I tugged lightly on one of the sleeve's to my jacket, causing Cindy to look down at her arm. "I'm starting to think you really like this jacket," I mused.

It was almost comical to see her cheeks turn a bright pink and she laughed nervously. "I should probably give this back to you," she said, and started to take it off. I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Keep it. It's pretty much yours by now, anyway."

She just smiled up at me, still looking a little embarrassed. Her eyes widened as she glanced towards the clock on my wall. "Is it really after seven already? I told my mom I'd be home for dinner." She turned away from me and started shoving her books in her backpack. I watched her slide the straps onto her shoulders and she hesitated as she started to leave my room. "I really can't thank you enough for helping me, Jimmy. Just know that if I end up failing this test I'm taking you down with me."

"Who would I have to compete against if I let you fail this test and then get kicked out of school?"

She laughed, and stepped closer to me, much like she had earlier after chemistry when I wouldn't let her leave. "Don't get carried away, Neutron. I'll always be around to keep you on your toes."

"I hope so," I said honestly, surprising the both of us.

Cindy's smile fell and her expression was replaced with a look of yearning instead. She stepped closer to me and put a hand to my face, touching my cheek gently. I felt my breathing nearly stop and it was like I was frozen in place, unable to move or speak. Her hand moved to the back of my neck slowly, fingers curling into my hair, making me shiver. She turned her face up towards mine, just mere inches away from connecting our lips together. I could've swore she had a gravitational pull around her that threatened to pull me in and keep me there. But I had to stop her, because this was moving so slowly and yet way too fast at the same time and I couldn't do this to Betty.

"Cindy..." I said uneasily, effectively stopping her before things could go any further. She pulled her hand away from like she was burned and her face went blank. "Maybe we should talk about this. You know I'm dating Betty-"

"You're right, Neutron. It won't happen again," she said coldly. She left my room quickly, slamming the door shut behind her.

I tried my best to wrap my mind around what had just happened but I could only replay what had just happened in my mind like a broken record: Cindy Vortex was about to kiss me, and I pushed her away. I was still dating Betty. I couldn't hurt Betty like that, but I wanted to kiss Cindy.

My room, which smelled like coffee and vanilla, felt empty and just a little lonely now that she was gone. I thought about how easy and comfortable it was to be around her - whether it was in my room or she was just standing across from me in my kitchen. I wanted to rid myself of the itchy, skin-crawling feeling that I had when I was around her or even thought about her. But it was a good feeling. A feeling that had probably always been there, but had erupted when she kissed me during spin-the-bottle. It was a feeling I'd always written off as dislike as a result of our rivalry. I didn't know why she was driving me crazy, but I wanted to figure it out. I wanted to know if she felt the same way.

I had a decision to make. I could stay where I was and call Betty. Or I could go after Cindy.

I need to go after her.

With that thought, I quickly walked across my room and opened the door. I nearly ran into someone in my hurry to leave, and for a fleeting moment I thought - hoped - that it was Cindy. But it wasn't.

"Betty?"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Cindy

I nearly stumbled down the stairs in Jimmy's house trying to leave as fast as I could. Luckily, neither of his parents were anywhere in sight and I took out my phone with the intent to call Libby as I shut the front door behind me. Since I wasn't paying attention, I was startled when I nearly bumped into someone coming down the stairs connected to the porch.

Betty Quinlan was there in front of me, in all of her perfect glory. "Hi Cindy," she said with a small smile. "What are you doing here?"

So, apparently Jimmy didn't tell Betty everything.

"Oh, uh, I was just over here asking Jimmy for some help with a test we have tomorrow for chemistry. I was just leaving," I said quickly, hoping it didn't sound like I had tried to kiss her love interest in his room mere moments ago.

"He's so helpful, isn't he?" She gushed, and I nearly gagged.

"He sure is," I muttered sarcastically, but I don't think she heard me.

"He invited me over tonight but I think I'm a little early. I hope I didn't cut your study session short," she continued, tilting her head at me slightly.

"Nope, you're fine," I said tightly, wanting nothing more than to get the hell away from this situation. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

I scooted past her and walked off quickly before she could say anything else. Instead of going inside my house, I just got in my car and decided to go to Libby's house rather than just call her. This was definitely an emergency. I made a few questionable driving choices; including running a stop sign and texting my mom to tell her I was going to study at Libby's for awhile before coming home. I had a feeling she wouldn't care if I skipped dinner.

I knocked frantically on Libby's door when I got there, and luckily she was the one who answered. She took one look at my panicked face and stepped outside onto her porch, shutting the door behind her. "Cindy, what's wrong?"

"Do you want to go shopping?"

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

Libby was a good friend, so she didn't bring up my odd behavior right away. With a confused look on her face, she agreed to go shopping, even though it was nearly eight o'clock at night now. We got into my car and I drove in the direction of the mall. I wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. I knew I could tell her anything and she wouldn't judge me for it. I decided to say the one thing that I'd been hiding for weeks now.

"I found out that my dad isn't really my dad," I said, casually shattering the silent bubble we had created in the car. I felt tears prick at my eyes and I realized that this was the first time I'd said those words aloud - and they still didn't feel real.

Libby gasped. "Wait...wait. I think you just told me that your dad isn't your real dad. I might have been hallucinating though. Are you for real?" She asked in disbelief. Her shocked response was probably the most appropriate one. I'd been given a few months to think about it and I wasn't really shocked anymore...just upset and angry.

I nodded but didn't say anything else. I could feel her staring at me, but I concentrated on the road in front of me. I knew that if I looked at her directly, I would burst into tears.

"Cindy...I honestly don't know what to say first. Like, how did you find out? And how did we not ever know this growing up?"

"He told me when I asked him about paying for college. That was when school started," I replied, and Libby let a noise of distress. "Today he told me he had the money but wouldn't be paying for school since I'm not his daughter."

I felt like a robot and my words were just a well-rehearsed, generic reply that I was programmed to say. I found a spot to park at the mall close to the doors. We only had an hour until the mall closed, but I wasn't even sure if I could even think about actually shopping.

"Oh my God, girl, I'm so sorry. I understand this is hard to talk about but I wish you would've said something sooner so I would've been able to help you," Libby said sadly and I pressed my hands to my cheeks, as if I could will the tears welling up into my eyes to go back down.

"You're the only person I've told."

She pulled me into a hug, and I congratulated myself on only letting out a few tears. I didn't need to cry over it because crying wouldn't help the situation I was in. I sniffed a little as the hug ended and I decided getting out of the car and moving on from this would be a good idea after all, so I opened my door and Libby followed suit.

"Wait, so were you at your dad's since we got out of school? It's kind of late."

"Uh...no, actually I was studying for awhile," I said, caught off guard by the question. I could hear my own voice sound a little unsure and I winced when I noticed Libby's suddenly suspicious facial expression. She stopped walking just as we were a few feet shy of the entrance doors to the mall and pinned me down with a look.

"Studying? Where and with who?"

"Why do you think I was with someone?"

"Because I know you. I know you can't lie for shit, and that if you were just studying alone or at your house, you would've just said so," she said smugly, and I grumbled a little.

"Fine. I was at Jimmy's."

I walked up to the doors and went inside, not wanting to see how she reacted to that. She caught up to me quickly, though. "I can't believe this. Were the two of you actually getting along?"

I tried not to remember the way he had looked at me and how close we had been to kissing barely an hour ago. I didn't want my mind to wander to places it didn't need to go. I didn't want to imagine what could've happened if I abruptly left his house like I'd had - because I actually did know what would've happened. I would've kissed him, and he probably would've kissed me back. And then Betty would have appeared out of nowhere, ruining everything.

"Yeah, it went fine," I said shortly, and Libby fell silent again. Probably thinking of more questions to ask me. We made our way into the Halloween store and browsed through the expansive collection of decor covered in fake blood.

We spent the next forty minutes giggling over the ridiculous costume choices until the bored-looking person working the counter announced to us that they were closing. We left the mall empty-handed but Libby was full of couple-costume ideas for her and Sheen. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to even celebrate Halloween, but it provided a good distraction.

I stopped in front of Libby's house to drop her off. She turned to me before she exited the car, "I hope you know you don't have to go through any of this alone. I know now why you've been working so hard in school lately. I wish this wasn't happening to you." Great, now I felt like crying again. I opened my mouth to say something, but she continued. "I'm here for you whenever you want to talk about your family stuff. Or Jimmy."

She got out and shut the door before I could say a word. I sat there, staring at the spot she had just vacated, for a few long moments before I convinced myself to go home.

Or Jimmy? I hadn't even told her what had happened with Jimmy. I swear that girl was a psychic sometimes.

I didn't need to talk about Jimmy. I really wanted to pretend that I didn't know why I had felt the sudden, intense urge to kiss him earlier. It was the combination of how he had looked at me and told me he hoped I'd always be around and the fact that he'd insisted on helping me study for a stupid fucking test. It was the fact that I've had some sort of feelings for him for as long as I've known him. It's just intensified now; like my heart has been spiralling out of control ever since we kissed at Betty's party. It was how comfortable I felt being around him, just talking and taking jabs at each other without any of the real malice we used to use when interacting.

And for as long as I can remember, Jimmy Neutron has always felt comfortable. Like the feeling of coming home after a long trip and wearing your favorite clothes, curling up to watch your favorite movie, and sleeping in your own bed. Because even when we're fighting or he makes me so angry that I can't see straight, it just feels right to me. He's always been there. As my neighbor, my rival, eventually my friend and now...I felt more than all of that for him. I didn't know if he felt the same way about me. For all I knew, I was just his annoying neighbor and classmate that tried to one-up him in everything. The girl who insulted his hair and brain and was always defensive.

I could see why he liked Betty so much. She was the queen of being nice, lovely, and warm. She deserved someone like Jimmy Neutron, who is loyal and funny and smart, and he deserves her, too. Someone that he can get along with all of the time. Someone who isn't too stubborn to admit when she's wrong or her feelings. And that was definitely me. I wanted more than anything to tell him how I really felt, but I was too fucking scared. I knew he couldn't possibly feel an ounce of what I felt for him.

I felt shitty for even trying to kiss Jimmy - who was obviously doing his best to stay faithful to Betty without hurting my feelings. But they were hurt anyway. I wanted to be the one he had feelings for. No matter what way I looked at it, I was in the wrong here. I would be lucky if Jimmy decided not to tell Betty what happened earlier. She would probably put my head on a pitchfork and carry it through the town square. They both had every right to be angry with me.

I pulled into my driveway and got out of my car, not even bothering to take my backpack with me. There was no use in studying anymore. I wasn't going to Princeton without any money - unless I wanted to take out nearly 200,00 dollars in student loans. I still wanted to do well in school but Princeton, which used to feel like my near future, now felt like a pipe dream.

Betty's car was still parked outside of Jimmy's house and I quickly went inside. I forced Humphrey to follow me up to my room so I didn't have to be alone. I laid on my bed and tried not to cry. I watched Humphrey as he turned several circles at the foot of my bed before settling down with a dramatic sigh. He looked up at me with dark eyes for a few moments before he drifted off to sleep. I could only hope it would be that easy for me to fall asleep, too.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Jimmy

"What are you doing here?" I asked the smiling, dark-haired girl in front of me.

Betty giggled, rolling her eyes at me playfully. "I'm here to see you silly!" She grabbed my hand and pulled us both into my room, shutting the door with a soft click.

I was caught halfway between wanting to ask her if she had seen Cindy leave and cursing myself for not checking my phone when I'd had the chance when Betty pulled me into a kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Usually when Betty and I kissed, it was soft and almost shy, never lasting more than a minute or so. I always wanted to take things a little further but I was unsure if she felt the same, so I never took the initiative. This kiss, however, was much different than all the others. It felt more passionate and real, like a coming home kiss, if I'd ever experienced one. I instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer. I was so surprised when I felt her tongue tap against my lips that I pulled away from her.

"Was that too much ?" She asked with worry in her wide eyes.

"No, no. I'm sorry," I said, and she relaxed visibly. "Betty, is everything okay?"

She untangled her arms from my neck and sat down on the bed with a flop that was very un-Betty like. "Everything's fine. I just...missed you," she admitted quickly. "We haven't really talked except for at school all week and I know we're both busy with our own things but I was starting to get afraid that maybe...your feelings towards me had changed."

She looked up at me, total vulnerability written across her face. Even in such a serious moment, I was struck by the personality differences between the two girls I felt like I was being pulled between. In front of me sat Betty, who was so honest and open with me, and Cindy kept running away - literally.

I sat down on my bed next to her and grabbed her hand. She gave me a squeeze. "My feelings haven't changed," I assured her. That part was true and I didn't mind telling her. The part I was afraid to admit was that maybe I was developing feelings weren't for her. "I just want to continue taking things slow, if that's okay with you."

She gave me a small, hopeful smile. "I came over here to ask you something else, but it might not be in your best interest now that you've said that."

"What is it?"

"Every year for Halloween my parents throw a huge party and invite everyone they know. There's always good food and a little haunted house they put together in our backyard. It should be fun. I was hoping that you would come with me," she said.

"Why is that not in my best interest?" I asked, confused.

"If you want to take things slow you might not want me to introduce you to my parents just yet."

I felt nervous at the prospect of making things between us so official. "It does sound like fun," I replied. "Can I have a little time to think about it?"

"Of course!"

She pulled me into a hug and I wrapped my arms around her back. She seemed content to stay in this position for awhile, with her head tucked under my chin. I ignored the little feeling I had that was telling me to run.

What was I getting myself into?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Cindy

I woke up the next day still wearing the clothes I wore the day before, including Jimmy's jacket. I threw all the clothes into the washing machine after I showered. I had to return the jacket soon. It didn't belong to me.

I needed to find a way to move on, but I didn't know where to start. A good plan would be to pass my chemistry test today with flying colors, continue saving money for school (whether that school happened to be Princeton or not), and forget about Jimmy forever. I wasn't feeling so confident about achieving all of those things.

I went into the kitchen so I could say hi to mom before leaving for school. She was on the phone so I kept walking, but she waved her hand to stop me. She pulled the phone away from her face briefly to say, "Libby is waiting in the living room. Have a good day at school!"

Confused, I walked into the living room and sure enough, there was Libby. "Hey!" she said happily when she saw me. "I thought we could ride to school together today, is that okay?"

I shrugged, grabbing the cheerleading jacket that was part of uniform from the closet by the front door. "That's fine, but I have practice after school today."

"No biggie! Sheen has a soccer game after school and I'm his ride, too. You can come watch his game with me when you're done with practice!"

We walked out my front door and I could see Sheen and Carl sitting in the backseat of Libby's car. Sheen was talking animatedly.

"I also thought we could go shopping again afterwards, if you want. I really want to get a Halloween costume this time, and then we can get some makeup to match and -"

"Woah, calm down Libby! Did Sheen slip you some of his meds this morning?" I said in order to stop her ramblings. She just laughed.

"No, I just...I don't want want you to be alone. I know you'll never ask me or anyone else for help so I'm forcing it upon you," she said somewhat sheepishly. I couldn't help but smile at her gratefully. "Plus, this way I can make sure our Halloween costumes look bangin' for Bryan's party."

I was grabbing my backpack out of my backseat as she said this and nearly dropped it when she said that. "Hold it - I never said I would go to that party."

"I think it would be good for you. If you don't have fun within the first thirty minutes, then we can leave, I promise. But I think you deserve to have a good time," she pleaded.

"Fine," I said on a sigh. "But if I don't have fun then no one else at that party will be having fun either." With that declaration, I stomped off towards her car.

"That's the Cindy I know and love!"

The ride to school felt odd without our fifth person with us, no matter how much I wanted to avoid him. As soon as the school building came into sight, I began to feel nervous about my upcoming chemistry test. Unfortunately I had all day to feel nervous before I could get it over with.

I was immediately bombarded by Jamie when I walked in the building. "Did you hear what's happening today?" She asked me excitedly, nearly jumping up and down.

"Is it that you're going to shut up and leave me alone?" I muttered under my breath. Libby elbowed me in the ribs. Jamie didn't act like she had heard me and continued to bounce around annoyingly.

"Coach is announcing team captain today!"

I glanced at Libby and she was looking at me with wide eyes. "How do you know this?" I asked.

"It's all the seniors have been talking about for like, three days now. Everyone says it's going to be Betty Quinlan but I bet it'll be you."

"Why has it taken her so long to announce captain? Football season is almost over," Libby said.

Jamie just shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's more symbolic than anything else. Team captain gets all the glory if we win the Dallas competition. You'd be the star of the team." Her eyes took on a dreamy look.

Libby chuckled. "You hear that, Cin? That you could be you."

I rolled my eyes and Jamie walked away, seemingly disappointed by our unspirited reactions to her news.

"Well, I would love getting all the glory."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Jimmy

I didn't see much of Cindy until lunchtime. She hadn't so much as given me a second glance all morning long. I was surprised to see her, along with everyone else, already sitting down when I got to the table. It was a rare occurrence that she sat with us at lunch anymore, always seeming too busy with other things to take the time to eat anything. She was picking at her lunch absently and didn't even look up at me when I sat down in my usual spot across from her.

"-I don't care what I said in the past, I think this needs to be a fair draw between all of us," Sheen was saying when I sat down.

"I was DD for the last party, and I told you that you'd have to be DD next time-"

"He did say that," Libby chimed in, interrupting Carl's heated rant. Sheen gave Libby a pleading look that said please agree with me.

"- and you're gonna actually do it this time!" Carl finished.

Sheen poked me. "Jim, we need your input. Do you think we should draw straws to decide who is DD for the Halloween party?" His eyes lit up suddenly. "Unless you wanna volunteer."

"Actually, I don't think I'm going to that party," I said. "And to be honest I don't think you guys should either."

Everyone at the table, including Cindy, stopped what they were doing to give me an odd look.

"Why aren't you going?" Carl asked.

"Betty's parents have a big Halloween party every year and she invited me to go with her...to meet her parents and stuff," I said uncomfortably.

Sheen waggled his eyebrows. "Hell yeah, things are getting serious between Jimmy and Queen Bee! I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers," he said seriously, patting me on the back. I rolled my eyes at him. He turned to glare at Carl. "Looks like it's between me and you, buddy."

"Well what about the girls? They can drive, too," Carl complained.

Libby scoffed. "Hell no I can't," she said and Sheen nodded.

"Whatever my queen says she can't do, she doesn't have to do."

The three of them turned to look at Cindy, who set her fork down on her tray with a clang, making Carl jump slightly. "I'm not being DD. I'm the one who got invited to the party in the first place," she said.

"Homegirl has a point."

Sheen's glare went up tenfold. "I guess it's between you and me, buddy," he said to Carl.

I decided to speak up before things went any further. "Guys, can't you find a different party to go to that doesn't require you to drive at all?"

"Why don't you want us to go to this party?" Sheen asked.

I didn't actually know how to answer that. "Maybe it's because he doesn't know how to have fun," Cindy said smartly, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Are you kidding me? Jimmy is loads of fun," Sheen insisted. "He has a hover car and all kinds of other cool stuff for me to play with."

"Is that all I'm good for?" I asked but it fell on deaf ears.

Cindy started to get up from the table even though it was only half way through the lunch period. "I can't handle being around you nerds anymore. I'll see you later, Libby." She was walking away before Libby replied.

"Is it just me, or is Blondezilla extra cranky today?" Sheen observed.

No one bothered to answer him.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Cindy

It wasn't every day that I forced my teachers to grade my tests immediately after I took them, but this one was an exception. I couldn't wait another second to find out if I had passed, and Ms. Jennings was notoriously slow at grading.

She didn't put up much of a fight when I made my request; just raising an eyebrow before taking out a red pen and hunkering over my paper.

It was the longest ten minutes of my life.

She recapped her pen and handed the paper to me, and I found myself staring at a big fat A at the top of my paper. "Oh my God, I got an A," I breathed.

"Congratulations," she deadpanned, not even looking at me.

"Can I take this with me?" I asked excitedly, and she just waved me off.

I only had ten minutes now to get ready for practice, but I didn't care. I had passed. I pushed on the classroom door harder than what was probably needed, and I heard an "oh shit" from behind it and I panicked.

Looking around the door, I found Jimmy. He was rubbing his hand. "You need to watch where you're swinging doors, Vortex. You're lucky I saw that coming and held my hand out."

I waved the test in his face without even acknowledging his words. Any of thought of avoiding him, Betty Quinlan, or our almost-kiss disappeared from my consciousness completely. I was too elated to even think about those things.

He snatched the paper out of my hand to get a better look. He looked up at me and grinned widely. "You got an A!"

And then we were hugging each other in the middle of the damn hallway like we were in some sort of cheesy romantic comedy. After a second, I realized what was happening and pulled away from him completely. Fortunately, the hallways were already of clear of everyone except for a few stragglers.

"I gotta get to practice," I said quickly, grabbing my test back from him.

"Cindy, wait just a minute. I want to talk to you."

"I'm going to be late, Neutron. Thanks for making sure I got an A."

I started to walk away but he suddenly had a firm grasp around my wrist, pulling me back towards him. I tried to pull away but it was clear that he was stronger than me and apparently more determined. "Just let me go, Jimmy," I said pleadingly.

"If I let you walk away right now, I know we won't ever talk about what happened. You're a pro at avoiding me."

"There's nothing to talk about because nothing happened," I shot back at him.

"That's only because I stopped you," he said somewhat arrogantly.

By now his hold had loosened somewhat on my arm and he obviously thought I was going to stand here and listen to what he think he needed to say. I ripped my arm out of his grasp and took a step back for good measure.

"I want you to forget about what happened or didn't happen yesterday in your room, because it was a mistake on my end - one that I don't plan on ever repeating. I want you to leave me alone. Do you think you can handle that?"

The words were just falling out of me as if the filter I had between my mind and my mouth had malfunctioned. Here's what I really wanted to say: It wasn't a mistake. Please break up with Betty and be with me instead. I love you.

I couldn't say any of those things, though. I knew exactly what the consequences would be if I did. He would reject me and ultimately tell me that Betty was the one who wanted to be with - and that would kill me.

Jimmy just stared at me, his face blank. It felt like ages had passed when he finally spoke. "If that's what you want," he said quietly.

It wasn't what I wanted at all but it was how it had to be. My eyes were threatening to leak tears for what seemed to be the millionth time this week, so I quickly turned and walked down the hall in the direction of the gym. I was probably already late for practice, but I didn't care anymore.

When I was younger, my mom always told me that high school would be the best four years of my life. I was starting to think that she had lied about that, too.

Y'all are gonna hate me. Listen...I liked writing Betty and Jimmy's scene probably as much as you liked reading it, but it was necessary to the plot, okay? I promise I'm not evil! And remember - this story has a happy ending. It just takes awhile to get there. Jimmy is very confused right now. Cindy knows herself but she uses anger to push people away. That's all I can say.

Just in case you're confused - Cindy leaves Jimmy's house and bumps into Betty, who then goes upstairs to see Jimmy - it just doesn't seem that it happens in that order. The way I'd wrote this sort of makes it sound like Betty is upstairs with Jimmy but then downstairs again when she bumps into Cindy in the next scene. However, I'm not sure if I'm overthinking it, so that's how I left it. My god...I hope I was just overthinking it. I think my brain is fried. I'm also probably the Queen of Long Author's Notes.

Next chapter: we find out who gets to be team captain, and you'll get to read Jimmy's thoughts about Cindy and Betty. Then, Bryan's party!

Any guesses on who will be captain, or what the gang will wear for Halloween? ;)