Author's Note: Thank you, thank you, thank you! To all those who reviewed! I love you all! :) I noticed that all of you who reviewed were angry. I wondered why too. I couldn't remember what I wrote to make everyone so angry. Every time I got a review for chapter 5 I went back to read it over, to try and figure out what made everyone so mad. I was soooo confused. It was when I got a review from a certain reviewer that I realized why everyone was so pissed. It was Brat Child2 who helped me realize it so thank u very much, Brat Child2. This review had said, ". . .now I DON'T feel sorry for that smug little prick!!" LOL! When I read that, everything became so clear. He was smug! Jimmy was smug! That's why everyone was so pissed at him! Another reviewer I have to mention is Tiger5913. This review said, now brace yourselves for this, "DAMN! JIMMY IS F****** MEAN! *flings him headfirst into a wall* My goodness, I feel horrible for Cindy! *hugs her* Boy, I can't wait to see how Jimmy will make it up to Cindy! If he ever gets that smart to realize the stupid thing he did, anyway... .;" Lol! I don't mean to make fun, really. Tiger5913, I am sooo sorry to make you so mad, but hey, you brightened up my day. You made me smile. :) As for the rest of you thank you all again. Anyway, now I know I've said to much. Sorry. Enjoy!

The weekend past by quickly. Cindy dreaded going back to school. After what had happened on Friday she didn't want to face them all again, but thankfully no one had mentioned her humiliation on Friday because their minds were distracted by the new topic of gossip. Someone had started a fire some time during second period. For the rest of the period and some time into third period everyone stayed outside. No one had been hurt and no one knew exactly who it had been. The fire hadn't been too big, it had been only in one of the science lab rooms. Rumor had it that who ever it was who started the fire had been sent to the detention room, until the whole thing was cleared up. The was kept shut, so no one was able to see who it had been. Many tried peeking inside to see who it had been, but they were always caught. It had been the only topic talked in school. The day from there went by slow. The classes seemed to drag on forever. When Health with Mr. Wilmington rolled around, Cindy was exhausted. She noticed that Jimmy wasn't in class. She wondered why. She hadn't seen him around the school. He's probably at the hospital spending time with Rebecca, she thought, not giving another thought. She's smiled at the thought.

Suddenly, the door opened. Jimmy stepped into the room. Mr. Wilmington turned to him. He smiled.

"Jimmy!" he exclaimed with sarcastic enthusiasm as he walked over to him. "How nice of you to finally join us! I actually didn't think you'd be in class because of your little mishap today."

"What mishap?" Jimmy asked, suspiciously.

Cindy turned toward Jimmy. It was him?! The rest of the class stared at him in surprise as realization hit them all.

"Class lets give Jimmy a round of applause," Mr. Wilmington said, still with his sarcastic enthusiasm, ignoring Jimmy's question. He then began to clap, encouraging the rest of the class to do the same. Some clapped unsurely, the rest just stared at Mr. Wilmington completely confused. "Jimmy Neutron here was the one who started the fire in the science lab because of some chemical he had been working on and made everyone wait for an hour until it was all cleared up!" Whistling and howling began to spread like wild fire throughout the class. Jimmy tried to ignore it as he walked to his seat, but Mr. Wilmington pulled him back.

"I remember when you did something similar in the middle school," Mr. Wilmington began with real enthusiasm. "Remember when you flooded your science class with a little volcano. The 'lava' stuck to the floor for weeks. And after the stuff came off, the smell stayed for the rest of the year!" Mr. Wilmington laughed.

"Oh, oh, and in the seventh grade, Jimmy pulled the fire alarm after he thought the school would explode because of his little enhanced firework the last day of school. Everyone came running out! But it had only been a false alarm!" Sheen added.

"Yeah, and when you guys were in the eighth grade, Jimmy somehow managed to flood the boy's bathroom's on the second floor and when the janitor came in to fix the toilet he found some gizmo covered in sh - "

Suddenly, Cindy stood. "Can we talk about something else," she and Jimmy said in unison. They turned to look at each other for a moment then looked away. She sat back down. She remembered all three incidents very well. Jimmy had been sent to detention after each one of those little accidents. Sometimes she wondered if he did any of it on purpose. When she thought about it, Jimmy had gotten into so much trouble over the years. Was it a cry for help?

Jimmy sat down at his desk.

"Alright," Mr. Wilmington began as he wiped away a tear. He had been laughing too hard. "Well, like I was saying, those projects of yours are due sometime this week."

The class moaned in disappointment.

"I told you all last week that I wasn't going to give you much time for this," he pointed out becoming serious again.

"But we have to make a poster and a diorama," one of the students said.

"What's your point?" Mr. Wilmington asked.

"It's too much work," Libby added.

"Ah, did I give you guys too much?" he asked in mock sympathy. A majority of the class nodded. "Well, that's just too damn bad. You'll do it all. And keep in mind that it's due any day of this week not including today. So you all better work hard. And remember, put some effort in it."

The bell rang and the students were off. They filed out of the class. Cindy walked up to Jimmy. She gave him a warning glace. "Remember. Five thirty sharp."

"I remember. Get off my back already," he said as he moved toward the door.

"You wish I was on your back. Literally. Or at least on mine," she said snobbily.

Jimmy laughed louder than Cindy had ever thought possible for him. "Yeah, that's my fantasy. To have you on your back!" He shook his head as he walked out into the hall way and away from her, continuing to laugh all the while. Cindy scoffed.

"Kids," Cindy heard Mr. Wilmington say as she walked out into the hall.

When school was finally out, Cindy went straight to cheerleading practice. One of the girls could not keep up with the rest. Cindy had to take her out. To her surprise the group seemed to work faster without her. Libby stayed by to watch. Cindy had never understood why Libby had quit cheerleading. She had been captain before she quit and gave Cindy the title. She still went to the practices though. To see how they were doing and how everything worked out. Cindy was a tough but dedicated captain as Libby was. She couldn't wait til practice was over to go home, take a long bath and sleep for a couple hours before doing her homework. She just wanted to relax.

"Great practice everyone!" Cindy complimented. "Same time tomorrow!"

"Nice, Cindy. You're really getting them to work hard. Very strict. I like it," Libby commented. "So you're gonna meet up with Jimmy today, right?"

Oh, that's right! She had forgotten. How could she after she reminded Jimmy so much. Now she couldn't rest. She checked her watch. Ten minutes to five thirty. Damn! She was running late. She had lost track of time. Practice was suppose to end twenty minutes before five!

"Thanks for reminding me. I have to go. I'm running late. See you later. Have fun hanging with Sheen at the library!" She laughed. Of all the places to have fun.

Libby waved to her. Cindy quickly got on her bike and sped away. She thought of Rebecca as she rode her bike to her house. That poor girl. What was it exactly that she had? She wanted to know, but Jimmy had been right. It wasn't her place. It wasn't her business. She would only interfere and she would never want to ask. Asking was out of the question. She'd get another lecture from Jimmy about how it was none of her business. Although, it was harsh of him to say it the way he had at the hospital, he was right none-the-less. She inhaled deeply and then exhaled sharply.

When she finally got home she greeted her mother and rushed up the stairs. She quickly took a shower. When she got out she began to change. Her mother shouted up at her, "Cindy! Your father and I are about to leave!"

"Where are you going?!" Cindy asked as she shouted back.

"We're going to pick your brother up!" Her father shouted.

Cindy dressed quickly. She heard the door shut as she put on her shirt. She looked over at the alarm clock. It was already 5:43 and Jimmy wasn't at her house yet. How rude?! He better show up, Cindy thought. I gave up time to do this project. She sighed heavily, in frustration. She turned on her stereo for just a while. She soon her the door open and close. That's when She opened the door to her room and walked out. She walked to the stairs. Her mother was talking to someone.

"It's nice to see you again," she said, gently.

Cindy couldn't remember when exactly this huge transformation began or where it had come from, but her mother had changed over the years. She had become much more caring, especially toward her family. She gave compassion to others outside the family. Something she had never done before. Cindy remembered her mother as a snobbish type of woman. She didn't care much for others, when she was involved. She had been stuck up and quite bossy, but that changed. Something happened and then all of a sudden she stopped being herself and changed. It was like a caterpillar coming out of it's cocoon as a beautiful butterfly. Thinking back on it, Cindy could almost be certain that about three years ago it had started. First, she became close to Cindy's father. The marriage seemed to be going smoothly after a long talk that had caused her mother to weep. And then Mrs. Vortex started acting like those t.v. mom's, making dinner, breakfast, watching her kids leave off to school. Stuff like that.

"It's nice to be here," came Jimmy's voice.

Jimmy? He was here. This caused Cindy to pull away from her thoughts. She quickly patted down her wet hair, making sure it wasn't frizzy. She began her way down the stairs, but stopped as soon as her mother spoke.

"So how is your sister doing?" Cindy's mother asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Uh, she's fine. My aunt Meryl told me that she needed to stay overnight again," Jimmy explained.

"What for?" Mr. Vortex asked.

Don't be so nosey, dad! Cindy mentally scolded. Don't you know he won't answer you?

"Um, well, last night she had trouble breathing and my aunt found her struggling to call for help," Jimmy replied.

Cindy sat down on one of the stairs as she held her breath. He had answered the question? But, why? He would have never answered it if it was her who was asking the question! Why did he have to be so damn complicated? Oh, she thought. We aren't any where near friends. That's why he wouldn't have answered the question if it had been me who asked it. Yes, it was true. He hated her and you can't trust someone you hate with something like this. Hell, you can't trust someone you hate with anything! So of course he wouldn't have said anything, but still, it would've been nice to know that Jimmy was able to confide in her. But she would be living a lie if she told herself that he ever would.

"The doctors don't know exactly what she has," he continued. "Some of them say it's asthma."

"Well, asthma isn't all that bad," Mrs. Vortex said.

Cindy watched Jimmy carefully. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He was angry. He tried to stay clam, but she noticed the silent anger that surfaced in his eyes.

"Asthma is one of the top reasons why children under 16 years of age visit the emergency room every year," he voiced.

Things were silent for a moment as Mr. And Mrs. Vortex cast their eyes down.

"I had no idea," Mrs. Vortex replied.

"Not many people do," Jimmy returned, slightly bitter. He turned his head.

Cindy continued to watch him. She saw him shut his eyes as he took a deep breath. He was calming himself down. He really didn't want to come off as a jerk. She knew he was trying his best to stay in control. It was an ugly thing when he lost all control of his anger and it was amazing to watch him try to sooth it down. Jimmy continued to intrigue her every step of the way and she found herself growing more and more interested in this old school mate of hers.

Jimmy turned to face Cindy's parents again. "I don't think it's asthma," he admitted.

There was a long pause after Jimmy's opinion.

"How are you so sure?" Mr. Vortex asked, quizzically.

"I'm not," Jimmy answered, bluntly. "I just feel it's something. . .less common? I don't know. Maybe even more. . ."

"Deadly," Mrs. Vortex finished.

Jimmy nodded. "Yes. And it's true," he said, "she does have some symptoms for asthma. Like the shortness of breath and the tightness in the chest, but the wheezing and the coughing she doesn't have. I've never once heard her cough and I barely ever hear her wheezing when she gets these. . .attacks or whatever it is that they are."

Cindy wondered thoughtfully. If Rebecca didn't have asthma, then what was it? What could this possibly be? Could it be true about what Jimmy says? Could it really be deadly? It was really hard to say. Jimmy wasn't a doctor and neither was she and even with the knowledge she had, nothing came to mind. But it surprised her, to know that Jimmy for once didn't have all the answers like everyone had always thought. He had always known so much about everything. But not about this. Not this time. It had intrigued her. This new knowledge she gained. But at the same time it scared her because if Jimmy didn't have the answers who did?

"Hopefully the doctors figure something out," Mr. Vortex added.

Jimmy nodded. A long silence soon after filled the room. No one spoke a word. But soon Mrs. Vortex broke the silence with a new topic for conversation.

"Your mother has been talking about your father," she said.

Jimmy looked up at her with surprise. Cindy did as well. She noticed Jimmy's eyes. They became intense. She also noticed his body tense at the mention of his father. Cindy's eyes perked and her back straightened in a desire to hear more.

"My father?" Jimmy asked, bitterly. He turned away for a bit. "She hasn't mentioned anything to me."

"Well, she said that you're very delicate when it comes to your father. She didn't want to upset you."

Delicate? Jimmy?! Cindy thought, holding in her laughter. But she saw Jimmy's hands ball up into fists. He was becoming increasingly angry. This wasn't a very good topic. Cindy's laughter became easier to control as she watched Jimmy. She was afraid he'd explode from the rage she knew was gradually building inside him and yet she found herself sitting still, waiting to hear more. She figured his anger had something to do with his father. Of course he was angry with his sister's condition, but there was so much more to his anger and she was going to get to the bottom of it, even if it killed her.

"What did she say?' Jimmy questioned

"She - " Mrs. Vortex began, but it was obvious to Cindy that her mother was uncertain whether she should proceed or not, but she soon continued. "She had a dream."

"A dream?" Jimmy inquired. He didn't sound very curious. He sounded more serious than anything.

"A dream," Mrs. Vortex confirmed. "Hugh happened to be in it. He had returned to his family."

Cindy's eyes grew wide in realization. She covered her mouth with her hand. He had left! Mr. Neutron had just left the family! That's why Jimmy was bitter! That's why he was so touchy when his father was mentioned! That's why she felt there was something missing the first day they worked on their project at his house! That poor guy, Cindy wept.

It had thrown her completely by surprise. Hugh didn't even seem like the type of guy to just get up and run out on his family. She wondered when this had happened and why she had never noticed it before. Why hadn't anyone ever mentioned it to her before? She had completely missed all the signs, all the changes. Cindy's mom had gotten a job (two to be exact), she was almost always trying to show her other emotions, and she had stopped seeing Mr. Neutron going to work and coming home from work everyday. It had been a bout a year - no, more than a year since the last time she had last seen Mr. Neutron.

That's when Jimmy spoke again, breaking the silence and Cindy's train of thought. "He's never coming back," Jimmy retorted., turning to Mr. And Mrs. Vortex.

"Your mother says the dream gave her hope," Mrs. Vortex, added.

"She's always had hope that my so called father would return to his so called family." He paused, then continued again, "She's just setting herself up for more disappointment."

There was more silence that followed. Cindy held her breath. She suddenly began to fear that she'd be caught. She had no intension of being caught listening to what seemed like a private conversation. Jimmy would never forgive her for it.

"Jimmy?" Mrs. Vortex broke the silence. He looked at her. "I know it's not my place to ask, but what exactly happened between you and your father? Why is it that you have so much hate for him?"

More silence. Cindy straightened her back once again as she lifted her head. Where was her mother going? Didn't she know the consequences of actions? She looked over at Jimmy. He clenched his fists as he solemnly cast his eyes down. His back had tensed. It was too much for him. He looked as if he'd cry, but he'd probably replace it with rage if the tears threatened to surface. She wouldn't be able to witness another outrage. It was too much for her the first time. And she could only imagine the things he'd say to her parents. Plus, he looked really upset. Almost as if the memories brought back too much pain and she couldn't help but feel for him. Besides, his ego and pride needed rescuing otherwise his pride would become bruised. That's when Cindy stood and continued down the stairs. She walked into the livingroom.

"You guys are still here?" she asked. Everyone turned to look at her. She looked at Jimmy and for a split second she could've sworn she saw thankfulness in his eyes. "What's going on?"

She acted as if she knew of nothing and she convinced everyone but one person. Her mother. She figured her mother wouldn't have believed her, but Mrs. Vortex played along non-the-less.

"Nothing," Mrs. Vortex replied.

"We were just talking to Jimmy," her father added.

"You're late," Cindy announced, turning to him. He rolled his eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest. Jimmy turned away from her and her heart sank. If only she could treat him nicely without him thinking there were strings attached, then she could comfort him with or without her parents around. She'd have no shame. She'd hold him and allow him to lean on her for support and cry on her shoulder. She soon found herself wishing they were close friends. If we were close, she thought, I'd get him to open up. I'd heal the wounds of his heart. I'd mend it so that it's no longer torn apart by pain and sorrow.

"Cindy," her mother urged, "be nice."

Cindy rolled her eyes as her mother said this. Her father stood.

"We should be on our way now," he said.

Jimmy stood up just as Mrs. Vortex did. Cindy's parents soon walked toward the door. Cindy walked behind them and Jimmy walked behind Cindy. Cindy was just about to close the door, when Mr. Vortex stepped inside. He looked at Jimmy. "If you ever need someone to talk to, a another guy, maybe a father type, I'm here for you. You can come to me whenever. Don't be ashamed and don't, please, don't be afraid to come talk to me."

Cindy looked at Jimmy, who cast his eyes down as he nodded. Mr. Vortex patted Jimmy lightly on his back. He kissed Cindy's forehead and walked out the door. Neither Jimmy nor Cindy spoke.