Author's Note: I'll make this short. Thank you all for reading my fic and for leaving your comments and thoughts. I appreciate it and yes, I know, Nick was very out of character. He even said it himself. Lol! I made him. Lol (clears throat) Well, enjoy and I hope you all like this one. Love, peace, and chicken grease! LOL! Oh, I love that.
Jimmy sat in class. He was distracted. He did not hear, Mr. Hunter, the criminal law teacher. His mind was else where. He was just a wreck and he wanted nothing more than to organize his thoughts. But then again his thoughts had been disorganized for a long time, just like his life. She must like you, came Nick's voice again. Does she? He asked himself. Can she? He was practically pulling out his hair with the thought of. He was unexplainably excited but then he dreaded it all at the same time. If Nick's guess was correct and if Cindy did in fact like him, then she'd stop at nothing to get closer to him and Jimmy didn't want that. She was dangerously close already and Jimmy knew that she was capable of breaking his heart. If anyone could, she could and for that he wanted to stay away. But it was harder now than it had been before because now that little crush he thought he had on her when everything had begun, was slowly turning into something that he thought was more.
"Jimmy," Mr Hunter called. "You haven't been here for a month and so I want you to take the place as the lawyer again."
Jimmy was pulled away from his thought. "What?"
"I'm choosing you for the role of the lawyer."
"I'm not up to it," he replied.
Mr. Hunter looked disappointed. "Well, alright. If you're not up to it then, I guess I'm gonna have to choose someone else." Students raised their hands with enthusiasm. Mr. Hunter looked about the room and Jimmy thanked him silently for not pressuring him to do anything. Jimmy sighed. His mind reeled. He was in danger now. Of getting his heart broken. With a sunken heart he prayed, Please don't let Nick's assumptions be true. If Cindy likes me then. . .
"Ah, if it isn't Miss Cindy Vortex," Mr. Hunter announced. Jimmy looked up his heart pounding. Cindy stood in the doorway, a smile on her face. "If I'm not mistaken, Cindy, you're in the wrong class. We don't meet til eighth period."
"I know, Mr. Hunter, but there's someone in your class who I'd really like to take from you right now. I need to catch him up on the things he's missed," Cindy replied. She held a notebook in her hands. Jimmy knew right away she was looking for him.
Mr. Hunter smiled. "I can already guess who you're looking for." He turned. "Jimmy," he called. "It's your lucky day."
No, it's not, Jimmy thought as he stood.
Mr. Hunter turned to Cindy again. She smiled and handed him a piece of paper. "Oh, so you have permission to take him away," Mr. Hunter said. Cindy nodded, happily. Jimmy placed a hand on his forehead. This day was nothing like he expected. He placed his book bag on his shoulder and walked toward Mr. Hunter and Cindy.
"Well, have fun then. Not too much fun, you hear?" Mr. Hunter said with a wink. Their were small giggles throughout the class, but they ceased as soon as Jimmy turned around with a warning glance.
Cindy took his hand in her's and pulled him away. His hand twitched as he felt her familiar warmth. She smiled and gently squeezed his hand. She led him into the hall way and Jimmy looked at Mr. Hunter one last time and saw a knowing smile on his face. It seemed like every teacher Jimmy met up with again who had seen him with Cindy gave him one of those smiles. Or to Cindy herself. This made Jimmy wonder what the hell was going on!
As soon as they were outside in the hall, Jimmy was able to pull himself away from her. He looked at her and she looked back at him. "What's the matter?" she asked. Concern suddenly filled her emerald eyes. "Do your hands hurt?" She reached for his hands at his sides, but he pulled away.
He shook his head. "What is it that you want from me this time, Vortex?" he asked.
She seemed a bit taken aback by it, but she replied, "I wanted to catch you up on things." She lifted the spiraled notebook in her hand. "I took notes for you while you were out. And Libby, Carl, and Sheen along with various others who'd like to remain nameless helped me. We don't have all the same classes so I found people from those classes we don't share to let me copy the notes so this way you wouldn't miss a day."
Jimmy smiled inwardly. She had taken notes for him. She's so thoughtful, Jimmy thought. He suddenly pushed the thought away. "What do you want me to say?"
Cindy scoffed. "A 'thank you' would be nice," she huffed.
Jimmy smiled, smugly. "Well, you're not going get one."
She sneered as she turned away from him. "Fine." She walked off. "Come on, I still have to catch you up on the things you missed." She turned. "Don't make me repeat myself, Neutron."
"Don't make melaugh, Vortex," Jimmy said.
She sneered one more time before turning away. Jimmy watched her as she walked down the hall toward the stair case. He watched her hips especially. He seemed hypnotized as they swayed. He shook his head as he followed her.
"By the way," Cindy began as she turned. Jimmy took a step back as she did so. "You missed first period and for homework we have to write a poem about someone you love. Tomorrow Mrs. Philips will have us read them aloud. I don't know what your second period homework was," I didn't get a chance to speak with Sheen afterward like I usually do, so you'll have to ask him later. And I also have all the handouts that you missed." She turned away and continued her way down the hall to the stair case.
Write a poem about someone you love? Jimmy thought. Hm. . .someone you love. His eyes traveled up toward the girl in front of him. Someone you love. . . He shook his head. No! It has to be someone you love!
He walked up the stairs, following Cindy. It didn't take long for them to finally reach the library on the second floor. They walked inside and Cindy signed them both in. Jimmy choose a quiet, excluded table in the far corner. People stared at them for some time, not believing that Jimmy Neutron, crazed psycho was with charming Cindy Vortex. The whole school had the wrong perspectives of both of them, so Jimmy thought. Jimmy scowled at them and they turned away. Cindy sat back and opened up the spiraled notebook. As Cindy flipped through it to show him how much he missed, he noted that notes were written on almost every page and the handouts were neatly tucked between pages or sitting in the pockets of the folder in the spiraled notebook. It was also divided into sections. Each section held notes for different classes. Cindy turned to the first page again. "This was in English," she began. "These are notes for Edgar Allen Poe. Or lesson on him didn't finish. But this isn't to important." She turned to the next page. "We've read two books while you were out and we started a poetry unit yesterday."
The first thing written on the page was the date. It was on the top right corner of the sheet and beneath it was an aim and do now. Beneath that in huge, bold, black, underlined letters, Jimmy read the title, Shane by Jack Schaefer.There weren't many notes written underneath and so Cindy continued to flip through the pages, while giving him small summaries of every page. "This was the second book we read." Jimmy read, Animal Farm by George Orwell. Cindy again summarize the notes and the plot of the story, but Jimmy interrupted her.
"I've read this before, during my free time in the summer, two years ago. I read it to Becca when she was. . . sick in the hospital," Jimmy replied, unsure whether or not he should've said the last part or not. "Every character represents someone during the Russian Revolution. Napoleon represents Stalin, Snowball represents Tratski, Molly represents those who left Russia and those who wanted different things. And so on and so forth."
"Oh," Cindy replied. "Alright. Well, now we have the poem unit. We haven't taken many notes, but this is what we have." She showed him the remaining English notes. They quickly went over the next subjects. Jimmy, being the genius that he was, already knew the material. He needed little help with the notes, but Cindy helped him none-the-less. She was very frustrated with him when he interrupted her to show her that he knew what they were talking about.
"Well," Cindy siad. "That's it. Those were all the notes." She closed the book and a loud thump seemed to silently echo. "You're probably going to have to make up the tests and things you missed, but because you know so much I think you'll do fine." She was being sarcastic. It was in her voice. She then gave him a fake smile.
Jimmy looked down and shook his head, his body turned to her. "I don't understand you," he said.
"What do you mean?" Cindy asked, curiosity getting the best of her. She cocked her head slightly as she looked at him. Her anger very visible in her eyes.
Jimmy looked at her. "You know I know more than you and it pisses you off and yet you go out of your way to help me out."
Cindy did not respond.
"Why?" he asked. "I know you don't like me, so why did you go out of your way to convince Nick to allow me back?"
Cindy stopped. She looked at him, her eyes wide. "H-how do you know that?"
"Nick," Jimmy answered simply.
"He told you?"
Jimmy nodded. "So tell me, Cindy. Answer my question. Why did you go out of your way to convince him to bring me back?" He leaned forward. Cindy's cheeks brightened and Jimmy caught a glimpse of it. She turned her attention to the notebook on the desk as she placed her hands in her lap. "It's a simple question, Cindy. Just answer it." She didn't answer. "I know you, Cindy - "
"Do you, now?" She asked, turning her body to face him. Their knees touched.
Jimmy nodded. "More than you think," he answered, leaning closer. His heart beat was fast, but he payed no mind to it. "So tell me, why would you want me back here. You of all people. You'd want me to stay out of the school so you could have the place as the number 1 student. You want the glory, the attention. ."
"Stop," Cindy interrupted.
". . .the undying truth of your genius. You want them all to know that you are the smartest kid in school. Not me. You'd want me out of the way. . ."
"Stop," Cindy repeated, her voice quivering slightly.
". . .out of the limelight so you could take the place you so rightly deserve. Isn't that right, Cindy?"
She shook her head. "Stop," she repeated a third time, lightly sobbing this time.
"Isn't that right, Cindy!" Jimmy repeated. The librarian warned him to quit down, but he ignored her. "Because that's what the Cindy Vortex I grew up with would just love!"
"Stop it!" Cindy shouted as she stood. "What kind of person do you think I am?!"
"Shh!" The librarian commanded.
"I knew you needed to get out of there before you went crazy! Before you did something you'd regret! And Becca needed you to get back to school because she herself needed to go back to school! I was worried and I wanted to see you again, dammit!"
"Shhh!" The librarian repeated.
"Shut up!" Cindy demanded turning to the librarian. "I'm talking here!" Jimmy was stunned. He had never seen Cindy raise her voice to an adult before. She turned back to him, tears streaming down her face. "I don't even know why I bother with you!" But Jimmy sensed that her last sentence was a lie. She knew exactly why she bothered with him and Jimmy suddenly found himself, wondering what it was. "You don't appreciate anything I do for you! You never have!"
"Yes, I have!" Jimmy protested. "Sure, not all the time, but I have!"
"You have a weird way of showing it then!" She picked up her back pack and the spiral notebook and turning to him one last time she said, "Here take this stupid thing!" And with that she slammed the book between his legs. Jimmy knew that she had done it on purpose. He let out a loud cry of pain as he bent over, holding back the cry in his throat, not allowing himself to show anymore of his pain. He looked up at her, his voice seemed a bit higher than usual.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She shouted before turning away. Jimmy quickly got up, still holding back a cry of pain. He picked up his book bag and the spiraled notebook and dashed toward the door after Cindy as fast as he possibly could at the moment. As soon as he stepped outside, he spotted her turning the corner. He called to her, but she did not turn. The bell rang and a sudden swarm of students poured into the hall. Fifth period, Jimmy thought. That means. . .Lunch! She's heading to lunch. . .! Dammit! I have to see Swanson! The pain he felt between his legs was unbearable. He needed to lie down. Sheen popped out of one of the classrooms and walked toward Jimmy as soon as he spotted him.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you're in some pain," Sheen Concluded. His eyes opened wide in realization as he looked at Jimmy. "Your hands!" He noticed the bandages on his knuckles.
"No!" Jimmy shouted. "My. . ." Jimmy's voice trailed. He tilted his head as his eyes flashed, trying to signal to him. Sheen lifted an eye brow. He scratched his head.
"You want to play charades?"
Jimmy shook his head. He tried pointing this time, without seeming to obvious, so the people around him couldn't guess.
"Oh!" Sheen said. Jimmy nodded. "Your thigh! Your thigh hurts!"
"No!" Jimmy yelled. "My groin!" The crowed of students seemed to stop all at once. Jimmy blushed furiously. He cast his eyes down and turned in the opposite direction. Sheen followed close behind. Jimmy did not stop walking until he bumped into Libby. She looked at him.
"What was that about?" she asked, a smile on her face.
Jimmy scowled as he walked away. Now he just headed toward Dr. Swanson's office.
"Jimmy! The cafeteria is this way!" Sheen shouted as he pointed in the opposite direction.
"Not going!" Jimmy shouted back.
He walked down the hall and found another flight of stairs. He went down and found himself heading to Dr. Swanson's office in rapid strides. His face was still beet-red. When he arrived he fumbled with the door knob and then walked inside and quickly shut the door. He sat down with his hand covering his face. Dr. Swanson turned as the bell rang.
"Jimmy," she said, a bit nervously. "How are you?"
"Just don't ask," he replied. "I'm not having a very good day and I just might take it out on you."
"Alright," Dr. Swanson replied as she sat down. "Tell me about everything."
"I'm not in the mood to talk to you or anyone for that matter," Jimmy responded with his hand still covering his face. His face was hot with embarrassment.
"Ok, then. We could always just. . .sit."
"Great."
And that's what they did. For Jimmy's first therapy session they just. . .sat, waiting for nothing in particular. Jimmy sat trying to gather all of his thoughts. He had obviously said something that had really upset Cindy, but he didn't think it had been that bad. He was verbalizing his thoughts, telling her what he believed was true and she had blown up in his face. Just for speaking the truth?! Jimmy scolded himself. She's more sensitive then she lets on, Jimmy told himself. You've got to stop treating her like that little girl from fourth grade. She's not that Cindy Vortex anymore! He took a deep breath. He unmasked his face and looked up at Dr. Swanson. She was writing in her notebook. Jimmy barely had time to wonder what it was. Damn, right Cindy isn't that Cindy Vortex from fourth grade anymore, came another voice. She's meaner. She's heartless! She's cold! Cindy does what she wants when she wants. She's playing with you! Playing you like a fool! Jimmy looked down. Of course that's what she was doing. She was messing around. Right? What else could it be? The answer did not come and soon the bell rang.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," Dr. Swanson said, a bit unsurely.
Jimmy stood and walked out the door without a word. He walked into the hall of swarming kids. He was off to Mr. Wilmington's class. Out of all the teachers, he wanted to see Mr. Wilmington most. Actually, Mr. Wilmington was the only teacher Jimmy wanted to see. He looked down at the spiraled notebook in his hand. He had almost forgotten about it. With a sigh, he walked on, knowing he'd have to face Cindy again.
He entered Mr. Wilmington's class, looking about. He spotted Nick. He forgot about him too. Now what the hell was Jimmy suppose to do? That restraining order was still in full effect and by law he'd have to respect it. He suddenly remembered what Nick had said. Forget about it. I won't tell anyone if you don't. But Mr. Wilmington would have to obey the wants of Mrs. Dean. Jimmy stepped back. He bumped into someone and then he was pushed, violently into the classroom. He turned.
"Watch it, Neutron," Cindy shouted, walking into the class. Libby stood in the entrance of the doorway, looking stunned. She walked to Jimmy and leaned forward.
"What did you do?" she asked, watching Cindy take her seat.
"I must've said something," Jimmy answered as he shrugged. Libby nodded as she sighed.
"Well, lookey here!" Mr. Wilmington exclaimed. "Jimmy! It's great to see you, buddy. Welcome back. Have a seat." Mr. Wilmington extended a hand and led Jimmy to an open seat. Jimmy looked at him, questioning him. Mr. Wilmington smiled at him, understanding Jimmy's silent question. "Nick, told me to forget about that restraining order. We'll treat it as null and void," he whispered. He smiled again. Jimmy felt a smile, a real smile cross his face for what felt like the first time in the whole day. He took his seat and sat back to listen to Mr. Wilmington's lesson. The class went by quickly. A little too quickly for Jimmy's taste, but it was satisfying. He stayed after to talk to Mr. Wilmington. This man was the only teacher Jimmy felt he could talk to at the time and he was just so sorry he realized it so late in the year. A lot of his problems would've been out in the open and maybe he would've felt better about going to school. Sheen and Carl waited outside for him. When Jimmy walked out into the hall, they swarmed him, asking him where he had been during lunch and why Cindy had been so upset. Jimmy didn't give them real answers, but they didn't push him. Jimmy thanked them both for that. They soon went there separate ways.
Jimmy walked to his next class. Seventh period he had always dreaded. It wasn't that he didn't like the class. Art was a great subject, he had to admit, but one person he shared the class with, was not the greatest person in the world. It was his ex-girlfriend, Sarah. Jimmy sighed. He still couldn't believe how much it still hurt him to even think about her. He could've sworn that they were meant to be when they were with each other, but he was obviously not what she had been looking for because she had dumped him. It had taken her time for him to let her in, before he had actually begun to trust her, but she was patient. She had waited two years for him. And her waiting had paid off when their ninth grade year rolled around. She had been sweet to him and always very flirtatious. Jimmy couldn't help but feel drawn to her. And though he fought himself, debating whether or not to let her in, he eventually did and she was along side Rebecca on the list of "Most Important People" in his life. He had told her everything and Jimmy thought things were good between them. He even told himself that she was the one. The one. But that was all shattered when she didn't show up for their usual "Friday Night Movie Night." He called her up, but her mother said she had gone out to his house over an hour before and she had thought that she was there. Saturday and Sunday had been the same. She wasn't home or she wouldn't pick up. On Monday, Jimmy confronted her.
"Raven," he said, using her nickname, "Where were you this weekend? I called you up, but on Friday your mother didn't know where you were and Saturday it was the same. Sunday I couldn't reach you either."
She had explained that she had gone out with Robin, her best friend who's real name was Patricia and her older sister, Denise. Jimmy remembered Sarah explaining to him that her nickname was given to her by Patricia as kids and Sarah had given her friend the name of Robin. It was part of their obsession with birds. They had both lived unhappy childhoods and wished that they themselves were free. They wanted the ability to fly like the birds they held so dear; a Raven and a Robin. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made him stop. Someone ran into him, but he did not look up.
"Watch it!" they shouted.
"I'm sorry," Jimmy apologized without even thinking. He looked away and began walking again. The warning bell rang and he was late yet again for another class.
Mrs. Owens, the art teacher, pointed Jimmy in the direction of the table he himself had chosen in the beginning of the year, right next to Sarah. The girl looked up at him, her eyes expressing her joy, an emotion which she had rarely showed and he couldn't stand it. He turned away from her and looked back at the teacher.
"Can I have pass to lunch?" Jimmy asked, hurriedly. "I didn't get lunch today because of. . .you know. . ." It was all he had to say. Every teacher in the district knew who he was, what he did, and the consequences of his actions. He wouldn't have been surprised if the whole nation had known about it. It had been on the news a few times. Mrs. Owens nodded as she pulled out a piece of paper. She took a pen out of the disheveled bun she had in her hair and began to scribble. She handed it to him and began explaining their next project as Jimmy walked out of the classroom. He walked to the lunch room as fast as he could.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the cafeteria. People looked at him with fear in their eyes, but he payed no attention to it. He sat alone at a deserted table and placed his head in in his arms as he groaned. He needed to clear his head. Don't think of Sarah, don't think of Sarah, don't think of. . .the thought faded and a new one took it's place. The delicate features of Cindy soon appeared, a smile on her face. Jimmy found himself smiling as he thought of her, but the memory disappeared when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"What the hell do you. . ?" His voice faded. Sarah stood in front of him. She took the seat next to him. Jimmy's heart began to pound. Please, no!
"How have you been?" she asked, reaching out to touch him. He closed his eyes and pulled away.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Just wanted to know how you were," she answered. "I thought a lot about you while you were gone. And I wondered about Rebecca. Is she any better?"
"Look," Jimmy began, he turned to face her and caught a glimpse of Cindy walking into the cafeteria. She spotted him and froze. For a moment Jimmy did too. Sarah noticed it and turned around. Cindy caught Sarah and walked off. Sarah turned to Jimmy again and narrowed her eyes, she shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak but Jimmy beat her to it. "I know you really don't care how I'm feeling or how Rebecca is doing, so just tell me what you want and then just leave me alone."
"It's that Vortex girl, isn't it?" she asked. Jimmy stopped and stared at her. He smiled inwardly. The emotion she was felt was clear in her eyes.
"You jealous?"
Sarah scoffed. "Of that bitch?! Never!" She turned away from him, too frustrated to look him in the eyes. "You know I do care how you are and how Rebecca is!" Her voice became softer. "I heard about your dad."
Jimmy was stunned. How did she know. . .?
As if reading his mind she answered, "Your mom called me. She wanted me to help you get over this. I told her I'd try, but I had no idea how to handle it because I'm not going through it. My dad left me and he never came back and he won't be coming back anytime soon. Not like your dad." She sighed and stood, preparing to walked off, but stopped. "Do you like her?"
Jimmy was speechless. He didn't know what to say. She nodded and walked away. He watched her leave until she was no longer in the cafeteria. He stood up then and walked across the cafeteria toward one of the side doors which led to the outdoor tables. He needed some fresh air. He stepped outside and the cool breeze seemed to calm him. He sat on one of the lunch tables outside and relaxed there until the bell rang for the next class.