So, this is supposed to feel discordant. You'll see why. I love you if you are reading this. Also, I read a book of Emily Dickinson's poems recently. You can see that. :)
I don't own things.
Dream
The scene around her is idyllic.
It is filled with golden light and unparalleled peace.
Rolling meadows as far as the eye can see,
multitudes of wildflowers painting the grass with rainbow colors.
There's a path beneath her feet that winds and twists into the horizon.
Ahead there's a willow tree, with branches stooped low, waiting to kiss those who walk by.
All the beauty brims her heart and her eyes.
Then she feels movement at her side. She turns to see Jimmy Neutron standing next to her.
She opens her mouth, and no words come out. He tips his head toward the awaiting road.
Together, they walk.
There's no arguing.
Their footsteps become a steady rhythm of comfortable companionship.
She hadn't known they could be without sharp words or egos.
She delights in the tentative truce.
When she feels the light brush of Jimmy's hand against hers, she looks down, somewhat shocked.
Only to shock herself when she grabs him before he can move away.
A boundless feeling is born in her chest, fragile and new.
She thinks it might be happiness.
Time passes like molasses, thick and slow, but sweet all the same.
They arrive under the willow, and she turns to look at Jimmy.
Something clicks inside of her heart.
She falls weightless into a moment larger than herself as they move closer and closer.
Their lips brush.
Her heart floods with sensations.
His lips are gentle and soft.
Sweet and warm.
She's like an air balloon rising into an ever blue sky.
He pulls away, and she blinks down at him.
The scene begins to blur around the edges,
It's a world in motion, fading too quickly.
She grasps his hand tightly as she opens her mouth to protest, only to find silence.
There is something hard and cold pressing against her back. She opens her eyes and recognizes the ceiling of the lab above her. What was she doing there?
Then it all comes back. Trading lives with Jimmy, the machine he'd built so their friends could return their minds to normal. Lastly, the country lane, which she knows now, was a dream.
She is annoyed, confused, and embarrassed. Stupid Neutron and his absurd inventions!
"I can't see my ankles," Jimmy's voice breaks her from her thoughts.
"Oh no, he's blind!" Carl yells in horror.
"No, I've got my pants back."
"I warn you, Neutron, if anything at all is wrong with my brain-" she starts.
"You mean other than what was wrong with it before?" He quips with a smile and a fist punch to Carl.
"I will hit you so hard in the mouth; it will wake up your dentist!"
There is a moment of silence, then Libby clears her throat. "Well, this calls for some ice cream."
"Me! Pick me!" Sheen exclaims as he waves his hand around in excitement.
Carl nods in agreement. "I'm in!"
The three friends study Jimmy and Cindy. Jimmy nods, but Cindy shakes her head. Libby frowns in confusion, Cindy quickly comes up with an explanation. "I just got my brain out of Neutron's body. That kind of trauma warrants a little time to recover."
"You think being in your body was a piece of cake? Well, it wasn't!" Jimmy snaps at her with a scowl.
"Let's go, guys," Libby says with a hint of impatience to Carl and Sheen.
As Jimmy starts to follow them, she wonders what to do. She has so many questions. Did Jimmy remember? What if it had only been in her mind? She knows that she might not get the chance to bring this up again. She finds her courage as they step out of the lab.
"Did you, um, notice when our brains were floating inside that thing together, which was disgusting, by the way. Uh, one of us was imagining us walking down a country lane holding hands and um, kissing?"
"Okay, I remember that. But it wasn't my brain thinking it!" He defensively argues, and she notices that he won't make eye contact with her.
"Well, it sure as heck wasn't mine!"
"It must have been yours, Vortex, because it was not mine."
"You said you remembered it, so that proves that it was you," she argues.
"It does not!"
"Can you provide evidence that it wasn't you?"
"Why are you cross-examining me?"
She laughs. "Because I like torturing you."
"Well, that's quite evident." They've reached the sidewalk now, and Jimmy turns to her. "Are you sure you don't want to come to the Candy Bar?"
"Yes," her answer is final and cold, but she needs to untangle all the knots in her brain.
Jimmy shrugs and walks down the street. She goes into the house, kicks off her shoes, and ignores her parents questioning voices.
Once she's safely in her room, she slides to the floor, her legs folding beneath her like paper. Her heartbeat races, and her mind is fuzzy. Sure, she'd always kind of liked Jimmy, even though he was a show-off, and his ego was larger than his monstrous head. But a new frontier had opened up through his warm hand and a stolen kiss. She briefly wonders why Neutron kept kissing her in dream states, but she decides that's a riddle for another day.
Because Jimmy had kissed her, and she thinks she might not object it to happening again, for real.
Her stomach swoops like she's tripped up the stairs as realization dawns. She didn't have a crush on Nick anymore. He'd been eclipsed in a surreal world of summer sunlight and flowers.
-x-