Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron, Jigsaw or Hello Kitty

Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY! It's been, like, a month since my last update. Schools starting in a week, so I've been busy getting ready. So I'm not gonna waste any more time. Here ya GO!

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Chapter 21: A New Day

"What am I going to do tomorrow?" Jak asked me as we walked towards the Neutrons.

"You're going to go to school." I replied plainly.

"What's the point? The only friend I have is Sarah." He replied miserably. "I don't know most of the people she introduced me to."

"Hey, Jak." I said stopping him. I bent down to his level and looked him in the eye. "What do you think Sarah would do if she saw you like this?" I asked.

He looked puzzled and shrugged. "Tell me to cheer up, that everything will turn out okay."

"Do you believe that?"

…a little."

"Then why are ya moping?" He mumbled something under his breath. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I said, I don't know!" he spoke up. "Seeing her like this makes me feel, I don't know, hurt. Like, REALLY hurt. She's my best friend, and I care for her a lot. Most boys my age would run from girls, because of 'kooties'. But I know, for a fact, that they don't exist. I…I feel great, like REALLY great, when I'm with her….but…."

"But what?"

"I can't explain it….but I like it…." He said smiling up at me. "Do you know what it is?"

'What is it with genius boys and not knowing what love is?' "Yes."

"Really, what is it?"

"Not telling…"

"Wha-what!" He exclaimed, clearly not prepared for that answer. "Why not?"

"You'll find out." I smiled.

"When?"

"When you're older."

"Argh! You're not a lot of help, you know that, right?" He sighed, frustrated.

"Yep!" I laughed, and he joined in.

"What's so funny?" A voice said. I looked up to see none other than Nick Dean. "Hey Cindy, how you doing?" He said smiling his ink stained teeth.

"Hello Nick." I sneered. "Still got ink in your mouth, I see."

"Ha…Heard what happened to the little Neutron girl," He smirked. "Coma, right? Darn, should've died, if you ask me, could've saved the town a lot of future problems."

"You son of a-mphf!" I cut Jak off by covering his mouth with my hand.

"Nick, I suggest you get out of the way." I calmly said. "Unless you want another pen down your throat?" His smile vanished and he walked by.

"See ya later…Cindy." He smirked. "Jak."

'How did he?' I thought astonished. Once he was gone I took my hand off Jak's mouth. "How'd he know your name?" I asked.

"He's my cousin…" He answered. "On Karl's side.

"That stinks," I remarked.

"Yeah, tell about it."

"Here, I'll carry you the rest of the way." I offered. "You look tired."

"Thank you, Cindy." He said climbing on my back.

"Anytime, Jak." I replied, and we headed home.

After I dropped Jak off, I headed toward my house. When I got inside, I saw there was a new message on the answering machine. I pressed play and walked to get a drink.

"Hey, Cindy" Matt's voice said. "Just calling to say there's ANOTHER problem at work and that I won't be home until after you're at school. Dinner's in the fridge, just call-I know, Jake, I'm getting it now!- if you need me. God, I need a vacation…Love ya, see you soon, bye!" Matt was a accountant, and hated it. Lot's of money, too many problems.

After I ate my dinner and did my homework, I decided to go to bed.

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The next day, I woke up early and decide to walk Jak to school. After I had gotten dressed, I went out to get the paper. I was shocked at what the first page read.

"Jigsaw Strikes Again: Yesterday, 'Jigsaw' was seen fleeing the scene of an accident where a bus rammed into sixteen year old Betty Quinlin, killing her instantly. The bus, after striking Quinlin, continued down Dannon Street until it was struck at the intersection and the tipped on the right side. The driver was the only causality and an eight year old girl was put into a coma. Friends and Family can call for Sam Forester at Billy Santer's Funeral Home from 5 to 10 pm on Saturday and at Rena Jay Home from 5 to 10 pm on Wednesday, Tomorrow, for Betty Quinlin. 'Jigsaw' is wanted for the murder of local genius, James Neutron. If you have any information about the whereabouts of 'Jigsaw', pleas call 9-1-1 or your local emergency operator.

I set the paper down and sighed. "Poor Betty…" I put my shoes on, ate breakfast, grabbed my things and crossed the street. Once I got to the Neutrons I knocked on the door.

"Come on in!" a voice shouted from the inside. I walked in and saw Mr. and Mrs. Neutron sitting gat the table. "Good morning, Cindy!" Hugh said.

"Morning…" I replied.

"What are you doing here this early?" Judy asked, walking to me and giving me a hug. "Schools not for another hour."

"Well, I thought I'd walk Jak to school." I replied sitting at the table.

"That's a good idea, Cindy." Hugh replied. "You could go wake him up in a few minutes."

I nodded. "Any news about his mother?"

"She should be back today; she'll be picking him up after school." Judy said.

"Good." I replied. I looked on the table and saw the paper. I shook my head and sighed sadly. "These last few weeks have been rough on all of us, huh?"

"Yes, they have." Hugh replied. "Jimmy, Eustace, Sarah, and now that Betty Quinlin girl."

"All bad events leading up to the same person." Judy added. "Jigsaw. Every time something bad happens, we get a little closer to finding out who he really is."

"But how much or what do we have to lose to reach that?" I asked.

Nobody answered.

"I'll go wake Jak up." I said, coming out of my deep thought.

"He's in Sarah's room." Judy said as I made my way upstairs. When I got to the top, I went straight for the pink door. It was closed so I opened it and poked my head in.

The carpet was the same as Jimmy's Room but the walls were yellow and pink with green flowers on the edges. The dresser had a giant mirror and had a wine red hue to it. On it, were some books, papers and a red rose with a note 'Wake up soon, feel better and get up and play. Love, Jak.' Slowly, I walked towards the 'Hello Kitty' Covered bed, with the giant lump on it.

"Jak…" I whispered shaking the lump carefully. "Time to get up."

"Five more minutes, Sarah…" He grumbled rolling towards his stitches.

'This'll hurt…' I cringed.

"OW!" He yelled as he rolled onto them completely. "Why di-" his eyes glazed over and his face fell. "Oh…yeah…." He sighed.

"You okay, Jak?" I asked him. He looked up and forced a smile.

"Yeah, Cindy…I'll be okay…" he answered.

"Come on and get dressed," I said standing up and walking towards the door. "I'm walking ya to school today."

"Okay…" he replied, hopping off the bed, grabbing his clothes and heading towards the bathroom. "I'll be down in a few."

"Okay!" I said as he shut the door. I headed down stairs to wait.

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"So whatcha doin' in school today?" I asked as we headed to the Elementary School.

"Mrs. Kerby is giving us a test on multiplication"

"How do you think you'll do?" He rolled his eyes and laughed.

"I've been doing trigonometry for a year." He said. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yep!"

As we got to the school, we noticed people around the flag pole, holding hands with their heads bowed. As we passed them I felt Jak take a hold of my hand and squeeze. "It'll be okay, Jak…" I reassured.

"I know…" he whispered. "Just nervous…"

I nodded as we entered the building. "So, where's your locker?"

"Right….Here!" He answered running to a green locker that was next to a red on and a yellow one. "This one is Sarah's." He pointed to the red locker to his right.

I looked at the time and saw that it was twenty minutes to seven. "Hey Jak," I said as he shut his locker door and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "I got to get going…" God only knows, I would have loved to spend the whole day with him, but I still needed to get to school.

"Yeah, I know…" he smiled, once again, forced. "I'll see you later, right?"

"Of course."

"Mom is picking me up after school today, and then we're going to the hospital to drop off…something."

"The rose?" I smirked as he blushed a dark red and nodded.

"Her favorite flower."

"Yeah, I know…" I nodded. "I'll see ya later!"

"See ya!" he said hugging me, I returned it gladly. "Bye…"

"Bye…" I waved, and was out the door.

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Hey, that's it for now. Since schools starting, I'm going to try and update at least once every week. But for now here's a preview!

"Who's it from" Judy asked walking next to me.

"No return address…" I answered opening the box. Inside was and envelope. Written on it was my name in black pen. Hesitantly, I opened it and a note with some pictures fell out. I pick up the note and read aloud. "Stay out of this, or I'll add more bodies to my count…" I turned to Judy and asked. "What does th-" I stopped when I saw her horrorstricken face. I followed her gazed and gasped.

Well, until next time…

R/R

-Kingdom219