A/N: I'm not sure this story has the vision I originally intended for it, considering I had to completely overhaul it like three times due to how much it wasn't developing, but for the story that it is, I think it turned out rather well. Hope everyone enjoys!

Disclaimer: Jimmy Neutron and characters belong to Nickelodeon

She fully expected to hear him say it, but she hated that he did say it.

"MIT, as most of you could've probably guessed."

Carl was the one who asked Jimmy where he wanted to go for college, and Cindy felt a strong urge to kick Carl in the shins, because of it.

Again, it wasn't unexpected. Jimmy going to MIT was the only way people thought about Jimmy going to college. Any other school would've made everyone feel like something was wrong with the world.

Except, Cindy wasn't thinking realistically, she was thinking idealistically. She secretly hoped they would go to school together, not for the same degree, but just the same university. That couldn't happen with MIT, a school that didn't teach students to be lawyers.

There was the option of Harvard, but if she was being honest with herself, she really didn't like the overall feel of everything, there, and never had a moment during her visit where she thought that it was a place she really felt like she belonged. That came with both Yale and Columbia, her two finalists. It was a choice of either being two hours away from him or three hours away from him.

That was too far for her liking, though. Even thirty minutes seemed like a far drive to make to reunite with him. If it involved crossing state lines, it felt far.

Like his decision, her reaction wasn't unexpected, either. They were dating, again, and this time, they were on much more solid ground. They tried dating in fifth grade, but the fact that they were both eleven, then, shined through with their lack of variety in things to do. There can only be so many movie nights before the routine of it all kills any excitement, especially when the movies they could watch were also limited.. Add to that their inability to want to go public with it (which should signal that it's probably not a relationship worth engaging in), and they were given all the reason needed to decide it was worth breaking up. There was no malice, no hate. It didn't work, so they moved on.

However, they never dated anyone else after that, even as they got older. The break-up wasn't because they didn't like each other. It was because there was nothing to do when they were dating. However, once Cindy turned sixteen, Jimmy asked a simple question.

"Care to continue where we left off?"

The rest was history.

Now, though, she didn't want another end. People have drifted apart when they went to colleges of even closer proximity than that, and neither knew how busy the other would be. Jimmy was going to be gunning for a triple major in bio, chemical, and mechanical engineering. Cindy, meanwhile wanted a double major in economics and ethics, followed by going to law school. While neither were in college, yet (well, Jimmy was at one point, but those weren't the greatest of days), they could guess they'd be pretty busy with their schoolwork.

They were going to have to talk about this, at some point.

After Jimmy got home, he went straight to his computer to look up both Columbia and Yale. He, like most people, he assumed, knew them for their business and law schools, but he wanted to see if they had anything in the way of engineering.

Both had chemical and mechanical, but the third he would have to convert to biomedical engineering, instead of just bioengineering. It wouldn't be too big of a deal for him, though, if he did that.

Once it dawned on him what he was doing, though, he immediately exited out of the tabs that held the information about both colleges. He was actually thinking about changing his college of choice just because Cindy might be going to one of them. Sure, he'd love to be going to the same college as her, but this was college, the place where independence truly began for a lot of people. Choosing which college to go to isn't a light one to make, and he knew this decision had to be for himself. He knew MIT was the college he would go to before he even built Goddard. His resolve was made. It was MIT or nothing.

To help him take his mind off of what just happened, he started to do that night's assigned Calc homework. The material was a cinch for him to learn, but because his teacher required that all work must be shown for full credit, it took him longer to do than he would've liked. Ten problems later, he allowed himself some downtime until his mom called him for dinner.

"Jimmy, time for dinner."

"Coming," he shouted back.

The meal of the night was meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Hugh and Judy ate normally, and while Jimmy tried to, he did have a few momentary lapses of trailing off in thought.

"Something the matter, Jimmy?"

He snapped out of his daze.

"Oh, uh, sorry, mom. I've just been thinking about how close college is and no one else I know is going to MIT with me."

"Sweetie, it's alright. I'm sure you'll be able to make some new friends when you get there."

Jimmy nodded, knowing he kept the more specific truth to himself.

"Ah, college. You know, Jimbo, I was in the same position as you were, when I was your age. All my friends were discussing going to college for things like business and accounting at different schools around the country, but I knew my path was a different one than theirs. I wanted to go to the one place every Neutron has wanted to go since the time they were born."

"MIT?"

"Uh, no. Community college."

Not for Jimmy, it wasn't. The disappointment on his face was apparent.

"I went hoping to fulfill my dream of becoming a stage actor, one day. Everything was going great...until I actually got there."

"Your father dropped out after a week."

"One audition is, apparently, all it takes for people to tell if you can make it or not. I still say they just didn't appreciate the art that was my Ducks performance…"

As Hugh continued ranting, Judy leaned over to Jimmy and whispered to him.

"Cried for a bit, thought the common man would still like him if they met him, became a sales person to show off his personality, the rest is history."

Hugh still wasn't done.

"...just because The Nutcracker is known worldwide doesn't mean Ducks can't stand on the same level-"

"Dad. Hey, dad!"

Hugh went quiet and turned to his son.

"Very interesting story...but, is there a point to it?"

"Yes, and that is that you're doing much better than everyone who came before you. Keep doing what you're doing, son."

"O-okay. Thanks...I guess."

As he was about to continue eating, he felt his phone vibrate. He took a quick glance at it.

Cindy: Mind if we talk, later?

Jimmy: Whenever you want to.

He put his phone away and continued eating dinner with his family.

Later translated to around 7:30, when she texted him that she was in his backyard, waiting under one of the trees.

"We're lucky the weather's changing," he commented.

"Yeah…"

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

She took a breath.

"I want to talk about college."

"Shouldn't that be a decision you make with your folks?"

"That's not what I meant. I want to talk about what college might do to us."

"Why?"

"Because we're not going to be going to the same schools."

He wanted to ask why it mattered, but remembered what he did when he got home from school.

"Yeah. Probably would be a good idea."

He took a spot next to her, leaning against the trunk of the tree.

"You're not going anywhere that isn't MIT, will you?"

He shrugged.

"How could I? Why would I want to go anywhere else other than the most renowned science school in the world?"

She shouldn't have expected anything less. At least, that meant he wasn't thinking about going to somewhere like Oxford or Cambridge. The thought of being apart on land sucked enough without throwing the Atlantic Ocean into the mix, as well.

"You know I won't be going up there with you."

"I wouldn't want you to, if you weren't happy."

"And I just wasn't with Harvard."

"Trust me: I know what it's like to not have high expectations met."

He flashed back to when he attempted college life in fifth grade. He still hadn't told her about how miserable he was.

"Back in fifth grade?"

And now was as good a time as any.

"Yeah. It sucked. Why do you think I came back?"

She remembered the first day he came back, he said he preferred the company of people his age. He never said he actually hated the experience.

Not wanting to dwell on that particular moment of his life, he decided to ask her something.

"Did you check out Boston College while you were up there?"

"Jimmy…"

"Just want to make sure you've all your bases."

"More like you're trying to get me to follow you to Massachusetts. But, yeah, I did. I just want to go to a more prestigious school than them."

That dig reminded him so much of the opening of The Social Network, one of Jimmy's all-time favorite movies. Perhaps it was a good thing she wasn't going there. The last thing he wanted to turn into was a guy who constantly threw insults at his girlfriend over university prestige. They would probably still do that, but they preferred their fights to be give and take, rather than just one person getting the better of the other, every single time.

"So, I'm guessing Yale."

"Them and Columbia."

"You're not thinking of Berkeley or Stanford, anymore, either?"

"No, and no, it's not because of you. I crossed them out a few weeks ago."

"And here I thought Berkeley would be a great fit for you. You'd fit right in with that mouth of yours."

"Right, and MIT is just perfect for you because only the biggest geeks go to a college like that."

"Just remember, you're dating one of those geeks."

"And you're dating a loud mouth. Who made the worse decision?"

"Yes."

They heard the back door open to see Jimmy's mom let Goddard out, who happily ran up to his master. She saw that her son was with Cindy.

"Hi, you two. Don't go and do anything stupid, now. You hear me?"

"Mom, we're just talking."

It took all of Cindy's will to not make an advance on him in front of his mother, but she knew embarrassing someone in front of their own parents had worse consequences than in front of either strangers or friends.

"Well, just be smart. See you inside, Jimmy."

Cindy didn't even have to embarrass him. His mom was doing a good enough job of that, already. They didn't even go beyond kissing, yet.

Cindy could see the discomfort in his face.

"Don't worry, she's just looking out for us."

"There is never a good time for moms to go there. How would you feel if your mom did that?"

"She has, and it's not the most fun thing in the world. I'll give you that."

Jimmy sat down to be with Goddard and Cindy joined him in sitting.

Getting back on topic, Jimmy spoke up.

"So, it really is between those two schools?"

"Yeah. I know they're not what you want out of a college, so I don't blame you for not wanting to come."

Jimmy waited a couple seconds before responding.

"Would you believe me if I said I looked up their engineering programs, earlier today?"

She turned her head so she could see him.

"You did?"

"Yeah...and they do have them."

Cindy was trying to process this. Was he saying there was a chance he might go with her to one of those two schools?

"Are you...being serious."

"I am...but I quickly dismissed it."

That, she was able to process, easily.

"Like I said, MIT's really the only option that makes sense for me."

Cindy was resigned to face the truth.

"So...we aren't going to be going to college together."

Jimmy was just as resigned as she was.

"I guess not."

Both were in a little pain, but at least it was official. They could, at least, begin the process of coping with this information.

"Well, since it's official, Jimmy, can I ask that you promise me something?"

He turned away from Goddard to look at her.

"What is it?"

"Promise me you won't leave me behind."

He shifted his whole body to face her.

"Cindy, why would you think that?"

"I just know the stories of how people lose touch, over the years, once they go to college, and..."

"Woah, Cindy. I have no interest in breaking off what we have. Even if we were going to schools in different hemispheres, I'd still want to call you every day and make sure everything was going well, for you. I'm not going to lose you that easily."

It was her turn to turn her body towards him.

"Please tell me you mean it."

"Every single word."

They were the most necessary and comforting words she ever heard him say.

She loved this side of Jimmy, the one who could reassure her by reminding her of what they have and the kind of guy he is. It hardly made sense when it was considered how important science was to his life. Science would tell him that monogamy had no scientific benefits or even a natural standing. The evolutionary purpose of nearly all living things was to ensure the survival of the species by producing offspring. The role of a male should be to conceive children with any woman his brain deemed attractive enough. Science would even tell him that the more beautiful the woman, the healthier her offspring would be.

However, Jimmy wasn't listening to science, here. Beauty is subjective, and Jimmy saw Cindy as the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and he wasn't interested in any other girl. He was already dating the one girl he knew was better than the rest of them, the one girl who was like him.

Maybe science was at play. His parents' long-standing marriage instilled in him the emotional power of only having one love in life, or the importance two monogamous partners have when raising a child.

Whatever the reason, Jimmy wasn't about to cast her aside. He just wasn't the kind of person to do that to someone he loves.

After he relaxed into his previous position, she cuddled up to him, resting her head on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I got so paranoid."

"It's alright. It's cute how much you care."

She responded to that by lightly shoving her hand into his cheek. It didn't wipe away his smile, though.

"You know I can barely remember much of my life before you came into it?"

"What is it that you do remember?"

"Having friends, getting good grades...feeling lonely, at times."

"You too?"

She shifted her eyes up to look at him.

"I can only imagine what your life was like."

Jimmy let his head fall backwards onto the tree trunk.

"At least you had friends, back then."

She saw him glance at Goddard, a faint pain visible on her face. Jimmy only met Carl and Sheen when they all got to third grade. He met Cindy a year later.

"Guess I'll be starting from square one, all over again."

"Both of us will."

"I don't doubt you'll have an easier time making friends than I will."

"Oh, just don't blow anything up on the first day, and you'll be fine."

"So, basically, you're asking me to not be myself."

"How'd that go for you before we met?"

"I got Carl and Sheen to be my friends, didn't I?"

"Not exactly a high standard you set."

"Considering the position I was in, I happily took what I could get"

"Look, all I'm saying that when you go to college, you can get some better ones."

"I'm starting to take back my assumption you'll have an easy time making friends."

"Oh, please. I could get along with everyone."

"Right, because that's totally been the scientific conclusion you've established for yourself. Why would you be on anyone's bad side?"

"Me? What about you?"

A few seconds of arguing about who was more prone to getting on the wrong side of people passed before they brought themselves back to easy talking.

"Even after we start dating, we still do this."

"You say that as though it's a bad thing."

"I never said it was."

Jimmy couldn't help but laugh a little.

"You ever get the feeling we're the only two people who could handle each other?"

"Are you saying I couldn't get any guy I wanted?"

"Not with that mouth."

"Keep up that kind of talking, and I'll put that theory to the test."

"If my insults were the cause of you leaving, you would've already done it. Just admit I'm the only guy who can handle you."

"No. You just got lucky as all."

"Yeah, the competition was fierce."

"It always is for such a smart, beautiful, popular, cute, and lovable girl, such as myself."

"Popular's debatable, but you got the rest right."

She wanted to hear him say those words to her. She smiled as she laid her head in his lap, looking right up at him.

"What did I get right?"

"You being beautiful, smart, cute, and lovable."

He lived to see the smiles she made when he said things like that to her, which was usually followed by her returning the favor. She removed her head from his lap.

"Well, it's hard to say 'no' to such a smart, handsome, and amazing guy like you."

"I wouldn't have minded hearing 'adventurous' in there, too."

"Then I'll remember it for next time."

She leaned in and gave him a kiss.

For a couple who built much of their relationship on competition, tonight was tame, by their standards. The insults they made were in no way the best ones they could've come up with, but considering the purpose for the talk, they said everything that made sense to say. Their relationship mattered much more to them than the aesthetic they created for it.

After she broke the kiss, she threw her whole body over Jimmy's, covering him like a blanket, wrapping him in her arms as he responded in kind. Both were content to enjoy each other's warmth as the night grew cooler with each passing minute.

"Please don't leave me," she said. "I don't want my life to be without you."

"I don't, either."

She felt him kiss her head.

She would go home to tell her mother that Yale was the college she decided on. She absolutely loved the college and it would give her an extra hour to spend with Jimmy when they were together.

Maybe she'd get lucky and convince him to get a Ph.D. or two from Columbia, too. It has been said that it was better to go to grad school at a different place than where one got their bachelor's from. It wouldn't crush her if he didn't go with her, as she would go, anyway, since the school was famous for its studies in corporate law. A girl can dream, though.

Whatever he decided on, she already had the ultimate prize: her boyfriend in her life, no matter what the future held.

A/N: Sorry if the dialogue wasn't as combative as everyone's probably used to from them. I figured their age and official status as a couple may have mellowed them, though they will never not look for an opportunity to throw shade at the other. And yes, I don't see Cindy as a Harvard student. Not that she couldn't get in, I just feel it wouldn't be the right college for her.

Hope everyone enjoyed. Stay safe out there and have a blessed day.