I'm trash at summaries and titles but I hope they are enough to get your attention! This story was written in record time (for me). I just enjoy writing these two fighting and being in love. Enjoy the tension of these dorks. So glad I decided to rewatch the series for the 100th time 😂
English class had turned out to be interesting for the day, aside from one small, little fact. They had read from her favorite poet, made plans to start the Shakespeare unit next week, which was something she had been looking forward to since the beginning of the class. It felt like the day couldn't have gone better. However, there just had to be that one snag that threw a wrench in Cindy's enjoyable day.
The class had been given a small, partnered assignment. It was something simple, writing a creative short story over the weekend with a randomly selected classmate. It sounded interesting and fun. That was, until her teacher called her name.
"Cynthia Vortex! Your partner will be James Neutron."
A warm flushed sensation came over her face and chest. Cindy was familiar with the feeling as she looked behind her at the outraged face of her assignment partner. The feeling was mutual, as it had been for years.
Rolling her eyes, she looked forward again, raising her hand.
"And no swapping partners." Her teacher said, knowing exactly what she was going to ask. "I don't want you being childish about a simple assignment."
"The most uncreative person in class." She muttered to herself. "Great."
The familiar voice, the voice that always made her chest tighten any time she heard it, spoke up behind her.
"Yeah, well it's not like you're my first choice either, Vortex."
Cindy pushed air through her nose, frowning and turning slightly to face him. "I'm going to fail for sure, with you as a partner."
He leaned forward on his arms, gripping the front of his small desk. "Did you forget who you're partnered with? I don't fail."
Almost turning around fully, Cindy shot back pushing her face into his. "At science, maybe. Did you forget who's the creative genius between the two of us?"
The teacher had continued naming off partners, ignoring their protests and not bothering to stop them.
The day Jimmy and Cindy were able to work as a team was the day that the world would explode, and everyone knew it. Cindy turned back around, feeling a little flustered at how close their faces had been. The warm feeling in her chest increased, muddled with the sensation of anger and agitated affection.
The relationship between the pair was a complicated one, dating back to their first meeting as children. They had always been pitted against one another. It seemed the way of the universe. Although, having brief moments of romantic clarity between heated exchanges of competition. There was nothing Cindy wanted to do more than best Jimmy at knowledge and there was nothing more she would rather do than pin him to the wall and best Jimmy at kissing.
Cindy blushed, still frowning. Again, a complicated relationship from the start.
After the school day had ended, Cindy gathered her belongings from her locker and walked outside, meeting Libby along the way.
"Hey Libs."
"Okay, who pissed you off?" Libby had always been extremely intuitive and even more so when it came to her best friend. Cindy looked up and sighed.
"Who do you think?"
Libby rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip. "Girl, what did he do now?"
"It's this stupid English assignment. My teacher assigned HIM as my partner." Cindy spoke with a venom she only saved for Jimmy.
"I thought you were friends with him now."
Cindy felt herself flush. When it came down to labels, she honestly considered their relationship as friends, but it was so frustrating that her and Jimmy couldn't just have a normal friendship. While they had become a lot closer than they used to be as kids, they still seemed unable to work together. It was almost like an instinct, an automatic reaction to beat him at anything she could.
"Yeah- I mean, we are but," She sighed again. "I just hate doing any sort of project with him. He always messes things up and makes them way more complicated than they have to be."
Libby nodded and smiled. "Sounds familiar."
Cindy pointed a finger at her friend. "Hey, this is a creative project, and you know how he doesn't even have a single atom of creativity in his body."
Libby only shrugged as they kept walking.
For Cindy, the instinct to be angry with him was mostly due to the fact that she was angry for being insanely attracted to him. She couldn't help her hormones and after years of them developing, she couldn't deny the feelings she felt for him anymore.
Jimmy stood with his two best friends, Sheen and Carl, in the parking lot of the school. Well, Sheen was sitting on the hood of his girlfriend's car, Carl and Jimmy were standing.
"She completely discounted everything I've ever done that's shown my creativity." He lifted his arms up in frustration.
He had been explaining to them the situation in his English class. His initial reaction had been anger, but the more he thought about working on a project with Cindy, the more he was warming up to the idea. She was rude, self-absorbed, and never gave his inventions half a glance. Sure, she had grown up around his inventions for most of their childhood, but it didn't mean she had to dismiss his efforts so easily.
Jimmy sighed. Their relationship was complicated. Cindy always felt the need to push herself to be better than him at anything and everything. Always striving to be the best. He attributed most of her aggression of competition to the influence of her mother.
When they had been in middle school, Jimmy had finally gotten up the nerve to face his fear of rejection and kissed Cindy straight on the lips. It had been an electric shock of pure bliss and for a while, so had their developing relationship. That was until her mother had gotten involved. One moment they were hanging out in her room, doing nothing more than having a study date, and the next he was being thrown out by her mother, claiming she was never to involve herself with the likes of him again.
While Cindy still hung around him and they still considered themselves friends, there was nothing more Jimmy could do about their romantic relationship.
At that moment, both Cindy and Libby walked up, giving a wave as they greeted his friends. Feeling his heartbeat increase at the sight of the girl he had been previously musing about, Jimmy pulled on his backpack strings and cleared his throat.
"Hey Cindy, I was wanting to talk to you."
There was a blush on her face and as she crossed her arms, he thought it was nothing but endearing. "Yeah, okay. So talk."
"Well, uhm, you know how we have that assignment we need to do this weekend?"
Cindy nodded, her charming smile turning into a scowl. "What, gonna bail on me, Neutron?"
Jimmy waved his hands. "No! No, I wouldn't do that to you. What I was going to say was that we should figure something out. Do you want to," he shrugged, trying to push away the nerves, "just hang out at the lab and figure out a starting point?"
"Oooh" Sheen spoke up, jumping off the car. "Is this a study date, I hear?"
"No," "NO!" Jimmy and Cindy spoke at the same time, both looking at each other. Jimmy could feel his face flustering, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"I wouldn't call it a study date, more of-"
Cindy cut him off. "More of let's just get this project over with so I don't have to look at your dumb face anymore."
Jimmy glared at her.
"Yup," Sheen concluded. "Definitely a study date."
Ignoring his friend, Jimmy held out a hand to Cindy. "We shouldn't waste any more time, then."
"What?"
This seemed to be the wrong thing to say because Cindy stepped back, as if he had grown a second head. Jimmy rolled his eyes. She had always been so dramatic.
"Look, you want to get this over with? The quickest way to get to my lab is with this." He thumbed behind him at his backpack.
Understanding crossed her face and she frowned. "Liked I'd trust you to fly both of us on your rickety old rocket."
"I'll have you know, this particular set has been kept updated and coded every month. It's why I'm able to use it so much."
Libby spoke up, rolling her eyes. "You can just go with him, Cindy."
Cindy turned, obviously feigning disgust. Libby simply continued.
"He's right, it'll be quicker and come on, it's Neutron. You know you trust him." She smiled as Cindy's eyes widened. Jimmy was able to hear Cindy as she leaned forward and whispered to her friend.
"Traitor."
Jimmy walked towards her, grabbing her around the waist, ignoring the heat pulsing from his fingertips.
"Just hold on, Vortex."
After years of being the shortest in class, Jimmy finally had his growth spurt. He was still short but instead of looking up to Cindy, he was now at eye level with her. He flashed a smile before powering the jets on his backpack and pushing off the ground.
Jimmy had always felt heroic flying around in his jetpack, but he was unprepared for the feeling of having Cindy in his arms as they flew high above the city.
To Cindy's credit, she was proud of the way she had been silent as Jimmy took off with her in his arms. She had flown with him and his jetpack before, quite a few times, and she had gotten used to the feeling of flying through the air. However, it still shocked her when he had grabbed her and taken off.
Trying not to grab onto him too tightly, wanting to keep some form of dignity as they rose into the air together, above her peers, Cindy pushed her hair out of her face as much as she could with the wind blowing through it. Luckily, she had been wearing a ponytail that day.
Cindy had gotten used to keeping her hair down, as her mother told her it was more vivacious and flirtatious that way. She internally groaned at what her mother would think if she saw her with Jimmy, flying around together.
She could feel Jimmy looking her way and as she turned, she was struck with the fact of how close they really were. Obviously, they were close, since he had his arms around her and their bodies were practically pressed against one another, but she really hadn't considered their faces being so close.
There was a blush on his face, and he smiled lightly. His expression shot through her like lightning and her body became hyper aware of his warm hands gripping her sides. It pulsed through her as she looked at him, unable to take her eyes away.
Jimmy's eyes were an icy ocean blue that she loved to get lost in any chance she got. The wind was blowing around them, creating its own atmosphere of heat and longing. Her mouth opened slightly as she looked briefly down at his lips and quickly back to his eyes. Cindy's heart was hammering in her chest as she felt his grip on her tighten.
Never had a flight with him felt this unnerving and so utterly breathtaking.
Like the universe always seemed to be against them, today was no different. Just as Jimmy opened his mouth, as if to say something, their bodies collided with several branches. They had flown too close to the streets and, since neither of them had been looking where they were flying, had crashed into Jimmy's front yard.
They fell, ungracefully, out of the tree and into the grass. Cindy began spitting obscenities.
"You stupid idiot! You should have been watching where you were going!"
She pushed herself off the ground and tried brushing off dirt from her pants and shirt. "If you ruined my clothes, I'm going to-"
"They're not ruined, Vortex." He interrupted, getting up from the ground as well. She could see his face was still flushed, most likely from the fall. "It's just a little dirt."
Her own face heated up in anger as he motioned for her to follow him. She did so begrudgingly with a sigh.
While she hated that their flight had been interrupted so abruptly, she was a little relieved they were on the ground. Specifically, not wrapped in each other's arms anymore. Cindy wasn't sure what would have happened if they had stayed that way any longer. She might have done something she would have regretted later, unable to stop the pull she always felt when around Jimmy.
They walked around to the side and towards his clubhouse, which still looked the same as it had years before.
This was the first time in years that he was letting her into his lab. As well, the first time in years that they were going to be ALONE in his lab. Cindy was used to being around him at school and when they would hang out with all their friends, but they never hung out alone anymore. Nothing as intimate as this.
Cindy let out a frustrated sigh as her heartbeat increased. Years ago, she would have jumped at the chance to be alone together with Jimmy, especially in his lab where the smell of chemicals and inventions filled her senses. She had to admit, she was looking forward to being back in the lab again but, with how she had handled being in his arms not moments before, she wasn't sure how she would be able to be alone with him now.
"Cindy," His voice broke through her thoughts. "Could you please turn around."
He was standing in front of his DNA scanner and Cindy put her hands on her hips. "What, like I don't know that you get into your lab using the DNA from your hair?"
Jimmy rolled his eyes but nodded, plucking his hair to let VOX scan it. "Okay but," he turned to her, smirking. "You better stand close."
It was unexpectedly flirty, and it made Cindy blush with agitation. She put a hand on her beating heart.
"E-excuse me?"
"I said,"
Jimmy didn't give her time to think further before he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, still giving her that stupid, pompous, adorable look. Their faces were close again and all Cindy could think of was how beautiful the flush on his face was.
"Stand close."
It was said softly, and it almost turned her legs to jelly. She felt like she would have fallen right there if his arms weren't holding her up and her body wasn't pressed against his in the best possible way.
This had been the second time today that Jimmy had grabbed her unexpectedly and she was starting to think she could get used to the feeling. That was, until she felt the floor beneath her disappear and their bodies were sent shooting through the network of tubing, he had apparently never gotten rid of.
In hindsight, Cindy should have known Jimmy's flirtation was too good to be true.
"NEUTRON!"
Unfortunately, the surprise of falling had Cindy clutching on to Jimmy for her life. She knew she was always safe in his arms. It was something she never admitted to anyone, but the sensation of falling had caught her off guard. The fact that she felt the need to cling to him in the first place was embarrassing, and the fact that clinging to him had been her natural response to danger made her more irritated than anything.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
Jimmy threw his head back in laughter as they rocketed through his entry system. He always relished the feeling of teasing her and the feeling of her in his arms was something he didn't mind either.
As they fell in a heap on the landing pad, Jimmy turned their bodies at the last second, making sure to keep the brunt of the force on his back and direct it away from Cindy. It wasn't like it would have hurt either of them, but he didn't want her to be any more angry with him than she already was.
Even with Cindy's body laying heavily on top of him, Jimmy couldn't stop laughing. It was only when he opened his eyes that his breath was stolen from him.
She hadn't landed fully on top of him, but as Cindy was pushing herself off, her arms were around the side of his face and the only thing Jimmy could really process was how unimaginably beautiful she was. Her hair tie had come slightly loose, letting her bangs sway around her face. She was a bundle of chaotic fury and it was the loveliest thing he had ever seen.
Jimmy was speechless for a second as Cindy pulled her body away from his, hitting him in the arm a couple times as she rambled about how angry she was. He barely felt a thing as he sat up, feeling a dumbstruck smile form on his face.
"Neutron, you did that on purpose, you jerk!"
Her face was flushed and the feeling of affection pulsing through him wasn't anything he had been prepared for.
Jimmy numbly nodded, still smiling as he eloquently spoke. "Yeah."
Cindy had picked herself up fully, dusting herself off again for a second time. Jimmy shook his head, trying to shake away the fog.
"You know," he said as she put out a hand for him to grab. "After all those times coming down here, you think you would have gotten used to this."
Cindy pulled him up and began to smile. "Yeah well," She shrugged looking away. "It's been a while."
There was a long moment where Jimmy forgot how to breath. Cindy still held his hand and her warmth pulsed through his palm. His grip tightened slightly but unfortunately it broke whatever Cindy had been thinking about and she dropped his hand quickly, stepping away from him.
"S-so," She said, and it almost seemed like she was nervous but that wasn't anything he was familiar with. "What do you think we should do?"
Jimmy had been so stuck in the sensation of her hand that he wasn't sure what she was talking about for a moment. "Huh?"
"What do you want to do for our project?"
With another shake of his head, Jimmy clapped his hands together, trying to rub away the feeling of Cindy's smooth skin.
"Right! Okay, well." He walked over to his computer, putting a hand on the chair. "Originally, I had planned on making the sorry sap I got landed with, write the story themselves and I would offer my services in other, more scientific subjects."
Cindy crossed her arms, puffing her chest out. "If you think I'm just going to do the whole assignment MYSELF, then you-"
Jimmy held up his hands in defense.
"Woah wait," He said, interrupting her. "I was GOING to say, that's what I had originally thought of doing, but since I got paired with you, I thought we could come up with something together."
Cindy was quiet for a moment. She uncrossed her arms and nodded.
"Oh," she said, a little caught off guard. "Yeah, okay, that sounds fine."
Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Well, since the assignment is to create a story, what kind of story should we start with?"
"I prefer narrative stories," Cindy said, putting a finger to her pink lips. "But that would probably be too complicated for you."
"Excuse me-"
Cindy ignored him, smiling to herself. "If only you had something that could…"
She paused in thought, clearly coming up with some sort of idea. Jimmy couldn't help his aching heart watching her nose wrinkle in concentration. He would never admit this to her, but he had always thought her most stunning when she was in deep thought.
Then she spoke up. "So, you're not good at writing,"
Jimmy let out a sigh. Cindy knew the exact buttons to press to make him tick and he hated how it worked so well.
"I am not that bad."
She gave him a look that said she thought otherwise and then continued. "But you are good at inventing."
It was the closest she had ever come to complimenting him and it confused him. "What's your point?"
"What if we both made something that could," Cindy shrugged, "create the story for us using our collective minds to make it write accurately."
"Wait," This reminded him of an invention he had used as a kid to try and best Cindy at poem writing. The bots didn't do the writing themselves, but it was all the same idea.
"Don't you remember what happened with the nano-bots?"
Cindy shuttered, obviously knowing what he was talking about. She shook her head.
"Yeah but, we could make something that could analyze and pull from a large selection of stories, writing the whole thing from scratch."
Jimmy thought for a moment but felt skeptical.
"But you know that most of my AI technology can be buggy and won't understand the actual assignment enough to write something with enough feeling and emotion into it."
Cindy explained her idea further, thinking that if they scanned each story, accounting for human emotion and not just logistics, then used the downloaded data of real emotions from human subjects, they could create a better AI that wouldn't get caught up on technicalities.
Their plan was to use technical equations to create the story in a formulaic way as Jimmy would and then combine it with Cindy's more emotional approach to creative writing. It was a blending of their intelligence and knowledge and something he was quickly starting to get excited about.
"I have to admit, this sounds like it might actually work."
The smile that formed on Cindy's face was wide, she was almost beaming at him as she put her hands on her hips.
"Of course, it'll work! It was my idea!"
Jimmy pulled out some blueprint paper as Cindy continued to talk, prancing around the lab with her head held high.
"Writing is based on the creative input of human emotions, Jimmy. An AI can't substitute for that and using the data of scanned human emotion can compensate for the error. It's perfect."
Jimmy found himself staring at Cindy and could feel his cheeks flushing. She was still walking around, talking about how innovative and brilliant she was. Jimmy smiled and couldn't help but whisper to himself, watching her move around his lab.
"Yeah, perfect."
He caught himself before she heard him and quickly turned around to his table to make sure she wouldn't distract him further.
The idea had sound logic and was beginning to become something he could easily picture in his head. The shape of the machine, the inner workings, and the data they would have to download into the final product.
Cindy planned to collect the data of human emotions with a separate invention of Jimmy's while he drew out and started construction on the machine itself. Working as a team had turned out to be a lot more thrilling than he really thought it would be.
The next day, Cindy spent most of the morning talking to her neighbors and scanning anyone she could for the project Jimmy and her were working on. Most people were easy enough to scan but others took some convincing. Cindy had to promise multiple times that nothing bad would happen to them by simply scanning their brains.
It was early in the afternoon when Cindy made it over to Jimmy's house. Their project was turning out to be exciting, especially since Jimmy had complimented her on her idea the night before. It was small but it made her heart swell with pride and affection to finally hear him respect an idea she had come up with.
When Cindy had knocked on the lab door, Jimmy's face appeared on the screen above the DNA scanner. He looked disheveled but he didn't seem to be upset in any way. A moment later, Cindy was sent falling downward towards the lab. She did not scream this time.
"Hey." She said as she got up from the floor. Jimmy was at his computer typing away.
"Hey, Cindy." He sounded distracted but not a moment later he jumped out of his seat and ran over to her, grabbing her hand.
"Look! Look at it!"
His excitement was intoxicating, and Cindy found herself smiling as Jimmy led them over to one of his tables.
"Is this-?"
Jimmy was smiling as he presented the contraption.
"The Creative Writing Bot 2000." He leaned over with a staged whisper. "I just added the 2000 so it would sound cooler."
Cindy laughed and touched the machine, looking it over. It was shiny and reminded her of a futuristic typewriter, the keys were all the same, but it had a digital screen.
Jimmy was anything but a slow inventor, so she wasn't surprised that he had gotten started on the project already, but she hadn't expected it to be fully built. Cindy looked at his computer screen and saw what looked to be the coding for the programing.
"Wow," She said, a little stunned. "You must have been working on this all night."
Jimmy nodded, going back towards his computer chair. "All night and all morning. I don't think I slept much last night."
"Jimmy!"
Cindy wasn't really that surprised but it was sometimes a destructive quality of him to not stop, not eat or sleep, until he got to what he thought was an adequate stopping point. When it came to his inventions, Jimmy was a workaholic.
"You didn't need to work through the night. Have you eaten today?"
Jimmy gave her a shy smile and Cindy rolled her eyes. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey, I was actually excited about this one."
Cindy couldn't help the smile from forming on her face, it was too affectionate, so she turned away, examining the machine again.
"Yeah," she said quietly. "I could tell."
Either not hearing her or choosing to ignore her, Jimmy hopped back up onto his computer chair. Cindy handed him the emotion samples she had gathered that morning and watched as he applied them through a coding process.
It was something she was able to follow easily until it came to the actual part of putting it into the device. But Jimmy told her that wasn't until tomorrow. Today he was spending his time on the actual digital AI card.
A couple hours later, when she felt she had run her course of productivity, Cindy decided she could work on some of the homework she had brought along, in a hopeful effort that perhaps they might have a chance to peacefully do some studying together.
When she looked around the room for somewhere to set her stuff, she realized there wasn't anywhere to sit in his lab. She found that odd, since Sheen and Carl had hung out in his lab countless times, but this was the place Jimmy mainly worked on his inventions rather than simply hanging out. He most likely didn't need any type of seating when working.
"Hey, Neutron? Got anywhere I can sit? I was gonna work on some homework and I don't think sitting on a concrete floor is the most comfortable option."
Jimmy turned around and thought for a moment, looking around the lab. She was vaguely jealous of his tall computer chair. It looked extremely comfortable and something she had always coveted when they were kids.
His eyes landed on a nearby wall of the room, and he seemed to stop, coming to some realization. Jimmy's eyes widened for a second and he became slightly flustered as he began to speak.
"Uhm, well."
He cleared his throat as Cindy gave him an expectant look. She was getting a little irritated that he seemed to know a solution but apparently didn't want to share it.
"VOX:" He spoke up, directing his attention to his computer. "Access holographic room imaging. File Name: Hef, excluding all but section C."
There was a light whirring sound and then VOX responded. "Uploading Section C. Subsection 395 or 296?"
"Uhh," Jimmy stammered for a moment, not seeming to remember which section he was needing. "Subsection 296?"
Suddenly a large bed, covered in silk sheets and warm lighting flipped out of the wall. It was a little startling to see something obviously meant to be romantic and suggestive. Jimmy practically screamed.
"395! VOX: 395!"
Just as quickly as it had appeared, it changed into a loveseat couch and the lighting disappeared. The shock of the moment and the reaction of Jimmy had Cindy throwing a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter that was building up. She was unsuccessful and began laughing full heartedly as Jimmy sat in his chair, completely red in the face.
"I can explain that."
Cindy continued to laugh as she walked towards the small couch. The couch was familiar, reminding her of the time Jimmy had been exposed to his romantic chemical compound and confessed his love to her on Valentine's Day. The memory made her blush, and she felt a lump in her throat, interrupting her laughter.
It wasn't the same couch, thankfully, though she was sure it was intended for the same purpose. Instead of tacky zebra stripes it was a velvety red and as she sat down, she sighed. It was just as comfortable as she remembered.
"Well, this looks familiar."
She looked at Jimmy's blushing face and smiled, unable to hide her own blush. She hoped he thought it was from the laughter.
"Though, I don't remember there being a bed last time." Looking at him pointedly she let out a few more laughs. "New addition, Neutron?"
A while later, after the whole bed fiasco, they had thankfully fallen into an easy rhythm. Cindy studied to the sound of Jimmy's typing and she sighed to herself.
This felt so natural. When it was just them, alone, they never had anything to worry about. Cindy had almost always been under the impression that she had to hate him, she needed to hate him, to keep the balance of things. The pressure of school, and, if she was honest with herself, the pressure of her mother was something so inescapable it felt suffocatingly perfect. A disgusting perfect that was just about at its limit.
It reminded her of when they had been stranded on that island together for two blissful days. Like then, she felt unimaginably happy with him, like nothing could ever harm her while she was with him, physically or emotionally. It wasn't anything she had wanted to give up then and she was realizing it wasn't anything she wanted to give up now.
She looked over at Jimmy, unaware of her inner turmoil, and longed for him to just turn and look at her. Turn and see the struggle she was going through and come help her break free from it.
It was something she wasn't sure she was allowed to wish for but something she knew she had to wish for.
It was Sunday, the day before the presentation of their project, and by Cindy's orders Jimmy hadn't worked on the machine all night. When she had left the night before he had gone inside for dinner with his parents and went to sleep early.
Cindy had come over in the afternoon again, ready to finish their project and see what it was able to write. She seemed really excited, and it only fueled his passion to finish.
The process was a bit tedious but there was a moment when both Jimmy and Cindy's fingers had touched and, while he knew it was ridiculous to confide in a singular moment that lasted less than a second, he was so drawn to the electricity between them.
When they had finally completed the machine, they were both eager to test it out.
"Okay, Neutron."
Jimmy nodded. "Moment of truth."
Jimmy reached to press the button, but Cindy suddenly stopped him, holding his wrist. "Wait," She looked at him and smiled. "Together?"
Jimmy flushed and looked away. He nodded again and, with Cindy's manicured hand above his own, they pressed the button together.
He could feel the vibration of the invention as it began to make a small humming sound. They stepped back, neither of them realizing they were still holding each other's hand, and watched the machine do its job.
As paper began to slowly shift out of the top, Jimmy felt the hand in his tighten, making him realize who he was standing next to. The blush moved to his chest, warming him in excitement and a happiness he hadn't felt in a long time.
"It's working." His partner whispered beside him. Jimmy only nodded, keeping a close eye on anything that might go awry.
After a long moment of sweating and nervous excitement, the machine finally turned itself off, powering down. It was only then that Cindy let go of his hand and Jimmy felt he could finally breathe again.
"Okay!" Cindy all but shouted. "That was good right?! Let's read it!"
She was practically buzzing, and it didn't help the warm feeling in his chest. Cindy grabbed the papers from the desk where they had been spat out and began scanning them. Jimmy's brain was far too muddled to care that he had to wait to see what the machine had written.
While Cindy read, she handed him the pages, one by one, and after a small moment he began to read as well.
The story turned out to be entertaining and seemed to have only a few marginal errors of grammar in insignificant places. Easily avoidable and correctable. Jimmy smiled and looked at Cindy as he finished the last page.
"Wow." He spoke.
Cindy's cheeks were flushed with what he only assumed was excitement as she nodded.
"Yeah. Who'd have thought that Cindy Vortex and James Neutron would create something together!"
Jimmy laughed. "And, that it would actually be successful!"
There was a warm sensation pulsing through Jimmy the rest of the night. They had let the bot make a couple more stories, just to give it a good average, but they were both confident in getting an excellent grade. While it was busy writing a selection of various stories, they had decided to work on some of their homework together.
Jimmy wanted nothing more than this. He smiled warmly at Cindy, watching her tap her pencil on her lips, concentrating on her work. She was so attractive when she was thinking. It was endearing and something he didn't want to take his eyes away from.
At some point, Cindy had laid down on her stomach, stretching out on the couch, while she studied. Jimmy continued to watch her from his chair as she began to doze off. Her hand was dangerously close to falling off the side and her head was bobbing up and down, as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
They were alone together in his lab, surrounded by nothing but a calm atmosphere and Cindy was so peaceful, unlike most of the time when she was a wild ball of eclectic energy. Jimmy found, with a start, that this was something he wanted to see every day.
He wanted to see her resting, he wanted to see her when she was laughing, he even wanted to see her when she was red with fury and her anger was directed at him. After having Cindy to himself for more than a brief moment, Jimmy wasn't sure he would be able to give her up.
There was a pull at his chest, suddenly. He needed her to know. While he knew she might not feel the same after five years, it would be worse for him to never tell her.
There was a sound as Cindy jolted awake. She mumbled to herself as she began to sit up. Jimmy quickly looked away, trying to act as if he hadn't been staring at her for the last 10 minutes.
"Jimmy, it's getting late. I need to go home." Cindy rubbed her eyes for a second before packing her books away.
There were multiple scenarios that went through Jimmy's head but what stood out was the single fact that he didn't want her to leave.
"You could," He fumbled slightly over his words. "You could stay."
Cindy stopped and looked over at him, sleepily smiling. "As much as I enjoy doing homework with you," She said sincerely. "I really need to get home and go to bed."
Jimmy noted that she said it with no hint of sarcasm or meanness behind her words. She genuinely enjoyed his company, and her words gave him courage. This was the moment, and he was going to tell her.
"Yeah," Jimmy says quietly. "You could sleep here."
Cindy seemed to be brought out of her stupor, sobering up to his words. "What?"
"Stay."
Cindy's heart was racing now. She had almost been to the point of falling asleep on her homework when Jimmy sent a shock through her chest.
He was asking her to stay.
There didn't seem to be any underlying intentions of sexual innuendo, and she knew Jimmy would never advance on her like that, but Cindy was still trying to figure out what he really meant by the word 'Stay.'"
The only time Cindy had ever stayed at another guy's house was when she was making out with him and it got sexual. It didn't happen all that often, and while she really trusted Jimmy, she felt a little nervous and excited at the idea.
"Jimmy," she says slowly and quietly, testing the atmosphere. "You know I live across the street."
Jimmy swallowed thickly and began fumbling over his words.
"Well, you know, I have space here. And you're tired. You could just," he shrugged, "stay here."
The expression on Jimmy's face and how red it was becoming made Cindy realize it couldn't be that he was simply being nice. He wasn't inviting her to stay because he saw that she was tired. From the look on his face, he wasn't just going to leave Cindy to sleep in his lab alone while he went to his own room.
Jimmy was inviting her to stay the night, with him, in his lab.
Cindy felt her face and chest burning. She had to be sure.
"Jimmy, I'm really tired." Out of nervousness, she began to motion with her hands. "Are you asking me to stay here for the night?"
Jimmy nodded.
Swallowing, Cindy continued. "With you?"
He took a deep breath but nodded again, slowly. "Yes."
Unable to help the thudding of her heart, Cindy sat up straight. With a start, she realized she had been waiting for this moment ever since admitting to herself what she really felt for him. Nothing could compare to the pure excitement she felt and, even the thought of her mother finding out that she had slept at Jimmy Neutron's house, didn't scare her.
This was what she wanted.
"Okay."
Jimmy let out the breath he was holding while she had been silent. He stared at her.
"Okay?"
Nodding, Cindy giddily pushed down a smile bubbling to the surface with the bite of her lip. A breathless laugh escaped.
"Yeah."
Suddenly Jimmy was standing. "Okay!"
He looked eager and Cindy finally let herself laugh, smiling as she put the rest of her books away in her bag.
"I guess I need to clear the couch then." She said and Jimmy ran over to her, stumbling along the way, reaching for her arms as she stood up.
"Here, I'll help you get up."
She was already standing but she let him grab her arms lightly, enjoying the warm sensation. Cindy wanted to berate him but, in her own excitement, she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I'm already standing, Dorktron."
"Right! Okay, right. I'll just-" And with a nervous smile he ran towards the computer, typing a few things into the keyboard.
Jimmy was the most adorable dork she had ever seen in her life. He fumbled around a bit more before changing the seating of the couch to the flip out bed she had seen the day before. It almost made her sick thinking that he had made the bed addition in hopes of getting it with another girl, but she pushed the horrid thoughts away, knowing he hadn't dated anybody for years.
By the time Jimmy set everything up and turned off the lights, the excitement had turned to nervousness. Nothing was said between the two as Cindy slid under the covers. Luckily, the athletic outfit she had worn was fairly comfortable to sleep in and she didn't have to run to her house for a change of clothes.
Cindy felt Jimmy get into the bed beside her and she held her breath. Now had to be the moment he would say something. If he wanted her to stay like she thought, like she hoped he did, then he would be talking to her right now.
A few minutes past and Jimmy hadn't said anything. It was starting to make Cindy wonder about his intentions that night. It wasn't like she was looking for something physical but an explanation on why she was there would have been nice to hear.
There was the sound of soft whirring from machinery in the lab. It was calming, as was the sound of Jimmy's steady breathing beside her, but the simple question 'why?' was burning away at Cindy.
"Jimmy?" She asked, hearing a small grunt in response. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah." His voice was a little groggy but clear. Cindy turned around under the covers, balling her hands under her chin.
"Can't sleep, huh?"
Jimmy turned his head towards her and in the dim light, Cindy could see him smile. "No, you?"
Cindy smiled back and shook her head.
They were quiet for a moment. As she stared at Jimmy, the glow from various mechanics was enough to let her study his features. He looked tired but fully awake. It could have been the ambient gleam of the lights, but she thought she saw his cheeks tinted pink as they gazed at one another.
They were so close, their faces mere inches from each other. Over the years they had only gotten this close on a few occasions. Her eyes darted from his ice blue ones to his lips and back.
Cindy felt her heartbeat pick up, making her feel nervous and excited all at one time.
"Jimmy?" She spoke softly, breathing in, before she continued. "Why am I here?"
Now Cindy was sure he was blushing because it deepened.
"Because I asked you to stay."
Her heart lodged into her throat, but she gave him an exasperated look, pushing herself up onto her elbow, towering over him slightly.
"You know what I mean."
Jimmy looked like he was trying not to smile but failing. He turned away. "And did I not respond?"
"Oh, okay Mr. Specifies." Cindy was a little upset but loved the rush of affection she felt when he contradicted her.
"Why did you ask me to stay?"
Jimmy looked up at her, still pink in the face and still smiling.
"Because I wanted you to."
Still not giving up, Cindy held her ground and frustratingly continued. "And why do you want me to stay?"
Jimmy suddenly pushed himself up on his elbow to bring himself at eye level with her. "Maybe I like your company."
"Enough to invite me into your bed?" She said incredulously, motioning with her free hand to the covers they were sharing.
Jimmy held his gaze with her. "Perhaps even more."
Cindy lost her breath for a second, stunned but only for a moment before she pushed herself up further, on to her palm.
"Well, m-maybe I like your company too."
The adrenaline that was pulsing between them was so strong, Cindy knew they were both bound to say things without thinking but it was an addictive quality to their unique relationship.
Jimmy pushed himself up on his palms, not wanting to lose any dominance. "Enough to invite me into YOUR bed?"
"You've never been over long enough to find out." She said, leaning closer.
Jimmy leaned in as well. "Is that an invitation?"
Pointing her finger, she drove it into his chest. "You're goddamn right it is."
"God, you're beautiful when you're flustered."
It was said through his breath, but it felt like he had injected her blood with electricity, her nerves spiking in sensitivity. The hand she had jabbed at him now rested on his chest and she balled his shirt in her fist. It was like fire under her fingers.
"Just fucking kiss me already, Neutron."
It took everything in her body and mind to hold back a moan when his lips crashed into hers. She had thought just the breath over her face had been electric but there was no describing the pure intensity of his lips on hers.
When Cindy had first asked why he had invited her to stay, Jimmy wasn't sure how to respond. Initially, his invitation to stay the night had been his way of letting her know how he felt about her, and while the night was going better than he had expected, he wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
Cindy was important to him. Romantically, physically, and emotionally important to him, but unfortunately, his emotional and romantic side had always been hard to navigate. While, over time he had figured out how to navigate simple emotions with other people, Cindy was the only one who could confuse him to the point of frustration. And confusion, or more importantly, not knowing the correct answer was something Jimmy loathed more than anything in the universe.
Yet here she was, the girl who had confused him from day one. The girl who had challenged him, changed him, and really, when he was honest with himself, had taken his heart years ago.
The moment their lips met was the most electric pulse he had ever felt in his life and it was pure bliss. They had kissed a handful of times before, but this kiss was beyond compare, full of passion, agitation, and years and years of pent-up emotion.
They were still half sitting up and Cindy's free hand had moved from his shirt to grip his neck, pulling him to her tightly. Jimmy responded willingly, gripping at her shoulder. Slowly, Cindy began to move their bodies, pushing Jimmy into the pillows. When her full body weight pressed against his, pinning him below her, he couldn't help moaning at the feeling of her above him.
There was a smile on Cindy's face, he could feel it, but the smug attitude dissolved when he pushed his pelvis upward, eager to feel more of her body. She broke the kiss, breathing in heavily, and looked down at him with shocked but determined eyes.
"Is this how you get women into your bed?" Cindy said, again pressing her lips to his roughly. "Getting them to stay-" she said brokenly between kisses, "by acting like it's just a harmless sleepover?"
She tugged on his bottom lip and Jimmy couldn't stop his eyes from rolling back into his head.
"Then pouncing on them when they least expect it?"
Cindy's hair fell around her face, tickling the sides of his own as her kisses trailed down his neck.
"F-fuck." He shivered, "I'm the one pouncing?"
Cindy laughed. A beautiful full-hearted laugh and he could feel every movement of her muscles ripple above him.
"Besides." He said, pushing himself up on his elbows, making Cindy slide down onto his lap. "I wouldn't know."
Cindy looked confused so he brought his lips to her neck breathing in the jasmine scent he loved so much.
"I've never had a woman in my bed before."
Jealousy and protectiveness were things Cindy had trouble never letting go of, even when the unspoken terms of their friendship was beginning. She had always gotten upset any time Jimmy even looked at another girl.
So, when he pulled back and saw her pupils dilate at the realization that she was the first girl to ever be with him in his bed, he smiled.
Although Cindy was the jealous type, it never bothered Jimmy. In fact, it gave him comfort that she still had feelings for him any time she scowled at a girl or, on occasion, got hostile with Jimmy himself if she had seen him talking with someone else. It was a safety net that he tended to test every now and again, too afraid to face the fact of its meaning directly.
As he looked up at Cindy, her skin was flushed all the way down to her chest and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He laid back against the pillows again and put his hands on her hips.
"God, Cindy" He breathed. "You're just-"
It was hard to speak, having her above him like she was and having too many emotions and sensations pulsing through his body. It was a sensory overload to his brain. The immense heat between his legs combined with the heat of her body pressing into him was a heat he had never experienced before. She was smiling down at him, still flushed, and just the sight of her made his tongue numb.
"Y-you know I'm no good at this."
Cindy moved her hands over his and pushed her pelvis against his own, making him see stars for a second, throwing his head back.
"Jimmy, we both know you've always been a fast learner."
He gripped her hips and ran his hands up her sides.
"Cindy, wait. I have to- I have to tell you-"
Cindy stopped moving, giving him a moment to breath, looking down at him with hurt and confusion on her face.
Jimmy raised one of his hands, shaking his head. "Before we- I mean I want to, god how I want-, but I'm just so bad at this, at talking."
Cindy let out a small breathy laugh. "Trust me, Nerdtron. You've always been good at talking."
"Talking about emotions." He corrected.
A deep blush spread across Cindy's face and she smiled to herself. "Oh."
"Cindy," He pushed himself into a sitting position, forcing her to move beside him. He looked down at his hands for a moment before carefully touching Cindy's hand. She responded by linking her fingers with his.
"You," he started, looking up into her eyes. "You're beautiful."
He was breathing heavily and trying to calm his nerves for what he really wanted to say. When he had invited her to sleep over, he thought that would have been adequate enough, bold enough to let her know how he really felt about her, but he realized he needed to be forward, if he was going to do this right.
"And you mean the world to me." Cindy took in a breath and her grip tightened in his.
"This isn't just about physical attraction, although I know we have a lot of chemistry. I mean when I watch you fight, dance, or even just walk down the halls at school I get this overpowering urge to be near you and touch you and-"
He stopped himself but a grin was beginning to form on Cindy's face. He continued, his heart hammering in his chest.
"This weekend, you've been over here every day and I've not been able to focus on any of my work. You distract me. You've always distracted me. There's nothing in the universe that could distract me more."
Jimmy smiled sheepishly but continued. "Look, I know we have differences and I know your mom doesn't like me,"
He saw Cindy's smile drop and that was something unacceptable. He gently lifted his free hand to her cheek.
"I don't know how to function around you but what I do know, is that I don't care, and that I like it."
"Jimmy," Cindy said softly.
"I want you to be right here next to me, every day. Having you around this week showed me I'm a mess around you but made me realize I don't think I could properly function without you. You inspire me. You move me."
His chest was beating so loudly, he was sure she could hear it. He could barely hear what he was saying through the drumming in his ears. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes, and he realized, with a surge of affection, that the toughest girl he knew, the girl he held in his arms, was also tearing up at his confession.
He pulled her close to his lips, feeling the light pressure of her skin on his.
"Cindy," She took in a ragged breath, clutching at his chest.
"Oh my god, Jimmy-"
"I love you."
It was quiet but he knew she had heard him because not a millisecond later she was pressing her lips against his, tears now fully streaming down her face, which in turn made his own eyes do the same. Kissing was always a good sign and after pouring his heart out to her like he did, he wasn't sure if he could take any form of a rejection.
"Fuck-" She said kissing him softly. "I can't-" Cindy put her hands on the side of his head. "You stupid- big headed-"
There was a pause as she kissed him thoroughly, pressing and moving her open lips against him. It was still soft, but she held his head firmly, like she was afraid he would pull away.
"I can't believe you said it before me!"
There was shock on Jimmy's face as she kissed him. Cindy knew that with the beautiful words Jimmy had confessed to her, she would have to tell him how she felt. How his words had made her feel and how she felt the exact same way.
Cindy had always been better than Jimmy at emotions, but she could be a bit forward. There was no other way to describe what she was feeling other than fiery passion and a surge of affection she knew meant much more. She was floating in a dream, a dream she didn't want to end and, she realized with a breath, one she wouldn't have to end.
"Jimmy," she said, finally leaning back to breath. "I hate you."
There was a moment of fear in Jimmy's eyes, wondering how serious her words were, until he saw her face. She could feel the hot tears on her cheek, ruining her strong and calm image.
Cindy hiccupped and then laughed.
"God, I've wanted to hear you say that for years."
Jimmy smiled, rubbing his hands down the side of her body. His expression was so open, and he was looking at her like she was the rarest chemical compound he had ever discovered. It made her chest overwhelmingly warm.
"Really?"
She nodded and smiled back. "Of course, shit-" Cindy wiped a stray tear away with the palm of her hand and laughed again.
"Jimmy, hearing you say all of those things, it's hard to process." She looked at him and put a hand on his chest as he began to look fearful again. "In the best way!"
Cindy took a breath and looked him in the eyes. Like she had wanted to hear it from him before, it was him that was needing to hear confirmation from her now. She knew what she had to say and with refreshing clarity she hadn't really felt since the day they had been on the island, she knew what she wanted to tell him.
"I love you, Jimmy."
Jimmy's breath caught and he held a hand over his lips. Cindy continued.
"I don't think I've ever stopped loving you since that stupid kiss in the alley behind the TV station."
Jimmy let out a small laugh and reached for her face, gently touching her cheek.
"I-" he hesitated, "I never regretted that."
Cindy put her hand over his, leaning into his touch. It was so warm, and it made her ache for him in a way she was unfamiliar. The confession of his love for her combined with the overpowering urge to never part from him was still so overwhelming for Cindy. She breathed in deeply, trying to keep her heart from hammering out of her chest.
"So," Jimmy said, breaking her out of her revere. "What are you doing next Friday?"
It was such a sudden break in the moment Cindy couldn't help but laugh slightly. She sat up as straight as she could and motioned with her free hand.
"Are you asking me out?"
Jimmy just smiled. "I believe that's what this is called."
Cindy shoved him in the shoulder lightly, feigning outrage. "Neutron, if you think I'm going to wait an entire week for our first date then you need to seriously rethink this relationship."
There were crinkles at the edge of Jimmy's eyes from his wide smile and it was so beautiful and felt so personal to see up close, her breath was caught in her throat.
"So, is that a yes?"
"A yes to what?" Cindy said, a little lost in the moment to really care.
Jimmy put his other hand on her face and held her so softly that Cindy wasn't sure how she could have ever survived not having him hold her like this every single day.
"A yes to being my girlfriend."
Her eyes were unfocused for a second before she realized he was leaning towards her, his lips almost touching hers and it took all of Cindy's willpower to hold in a breathless sigh at the feeling. She closed the distance quickly, grabbing his head in her hands.
"I think you know the answer."
"Tell me anyway." Jimmy said as he kissed her sweetly.
"Please," She found herself begging. "I want to be your girlfriend."
Jimmy lightly moaned in her mouth as they kissed, sighing happily at her response. He leaned her down onto the bed, setting her head delicately into the pillows.
"With pleasure."