Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron.

Cindy

I continued running until all of my energy had been completely drained. Jimmy actually has the nerve to try to kiss me after all he's put me though these past few days. The nerve! How dare he try to magnetize me by working his twisted charms! He even acted like I was actually supposed to like the fact that he actually wanted to kiss me and dare I say it—confess how he really felt! When I tried to be nice to him a few days before, he literally stomped on my heart, and then all of a sudden he just changes his mind? Knowing Neutron, it must have been a setup.

It was at that moment that I couldn't take any more chances. I wasn't going to give my heart or emotions away too easily with anyone anymore. It just wasn't worth it.

I stopped running and took a look around at my surroundings. I'd never away from the city before, and had decided if I went somewhere that no one would ever find me that I would be a whole lot better off. One of the first things I noticed was the monotonous rows of old, crumbing shacks up and down the street. I didn't have a clue where I was. I then heard a loud crash like the sound glass makes when it breaks. A sudden rush of fear overcame me as I began walk a bit slower. It was then that I realized I was in a much rougher part of Retroville where crime and violence were most prominent.

"That must've been the person who threw that rock! After her!"

I turned around to see some much older boys with their baseball caps turned backwards, ragged, torn white T-shirts and baggy pants charging after me. I picked up my pace and started to run once more. I didn't know where to hide or even find help. They even have the gall to accuse me of throwing a rock through some window when they've never even seen me before! My heart was pounding as I quickly scanned the area for a place to hide. I had completely forgotten to bring my cell phone with me and there wasn't a phone as far as the eye could see in this wasteland.

I know I could have probably tried my advanced tai chi skills on those losers, but five against one was a lot more than I could physically handle and I was already extremely exhausted from running. If I couldn't find a place to go soon, I would be captured for sure, and with no possible way out, I might not have survived.

It was in that moment of possible defeat that I found a sewer cover laid to one side straight ahead of me. As much as I hate sewers and would never be caught dead in a dark, smelly ruin such as one, I knew I had to go somewhere and it was my only sanctuary away from who was chasing me. I quickly climbed down the ladder and closed it up. It would take at least a minute or two to get the cover off, which bought me a few extra minutes to escape.

I took as many turns and shortcuts as I could as I started to hear their voices once more. I felt my stomach cramp and my legs give out, and I knew that if I didn't stop soon I'd collapse. I had almost begun to lose hope when I noticed an opening just barely large enough for my to crawl through near the end of the particular tunnel I was in. I made one last sprint towards it and got down on my knees. I quickly crawled into the dwelling as far back as I possibly could until I was certain they wouldn't find me.

Eventually I heard voices and saw their footsteps as they got closer to the end of the tunnel.

"I could've sworn I saw her go this way!" one of them shouted.

"Great job, man! Now we've lost her!" another said.

"Well it wasn't my fault that you had to go the wrong way! She must have taken a right turn instead of a left!"

"You saw her go left just as well as I did! Why are you accusing me of getting us lost!"

"Getting lost has nothing to do with that chick who broke out one of our windows!"

"All I know is that we better find her soon, or she'll expose our gang, Chris."

"As if we aren't already exposed…"

"Shut up, dude!"

I felt my body begin to tense up as I remained huddled in that tight cramped little space. Gang? I thought. I had left the comfort and security of my own neighborhood and entered into a world fully of hate and violence. Here, I wasn't one of the toughest because the toughest survive in groups, not alone. Instead of having one enemy I sort-of hated, I now had 4 unknown enemies after me, accusing me of spying on an organization I knew nothing about.

Frightened, cold and alone, I still didn't know exactly where I was. This wasn't like visiting some unknown planet with Neutron and my friends where we were usually the dominant, fearless culture that never shied away from challenges. Working together as a team, we could always overcome obstacles no matter how large they were. The only problem was, I wasn't with my friends on another planet, I was stuck in this cold sewer in a dangerous neighborhood far away from home.

The first thing I had to do was find the other end of the opening and get out of this place. I may not have been able to get home, but I could at least go back to the surface to find something to eat, and a good place to stay for the night. I looked to the right of me to see nothing but darkness. I had to keep crawling until I could find the other end and I was also curious to find out where it would take me.

Jimmy

I paced back and forth in my room with a heartbroken expression on my face. I had totally ruined my chances with Cindy, and now she didn't want anything to do with me or with anyone else. I only wanted to call a truce and make things right with her again because I really and truly needed her beside me. Without Cindy, I wasn't anything, and I was finally starting to realize that. Through all the competition and the arguments there was always that spark we seemed to have every time we looked at each other. We've always had some type of intellectual chemistry that's attracted us to each other. Cindy probably even knew that but never thought I could ever have had the same kind of strong feelings that she had for me.

I've known all this time that she's secretly liked me, but at the same time I still knew she hated me because I never wanted to ever see things from her perspective; I was always right and succeeded in proving her wrong nearly every single time. Cindy could never be as smart as I was because she was a girl and it was always my theory that boys are smarter and better at everything. There wasn't one thing they could do that I couldn't do better.

I finally began to realize at that point that I missed her immensely and felt an extreme pang of guilt hurting me inside. She wanted to apologize for how she had treated me because she cared for me, and all I could do was continue to push her away and keep treating her the way I always had. I was afraid of change…I knew the moment Cindy and I decided we truly wanted to be together that things would go completely wrong. If I ever did anything to hurt her, even if it was unintentional, she would hate me even more and vice versa for myself. I didn't believe a relationship at our age was normal, much less healthy for us because I didn't feel that we were mature enough to handle one.

I still couldn't take my eyes of girls like Betty Quinlan due to the fact that I was always attracted to their looks and never their IQ level. I'm pretty sure girls like her were intelligent, no doubt, but their constant flirtations with me normally shut down my complete train of thought. All I could ever think about was how pretty they looked and how nice they appeared to act. Those two value judgements weren't enough for me to really know those types of girls. I don't even know any more about Betty except for the fact that she was beautiful, popular and seemed to be nice. Outside of that, I knew nothing about her.

Cindy and I knew more about each other than anyone else we ever knew. We were interested in most of the same academic subjects, enjoyed space travel (she always came with me and my friends nearly every time because she felt she could be useful, and she actually has been an important asset to me), we both had an extreme passion for science, logic and knowledge, we liked to compete with each other, and we definitely enjoyed challenges. It never even bothered me that much that she was slightly taller than I was. She wasn't just beautiful physically, but on the inside as well. Cindy was the only person I not only admired, but was also attracted to for her beauty, her intellect and her tough inner shell. She never let anyone or anything get in her way because she could take anything or anyone head-on.

I had to face facts. I was in love with her.

I sat looking out my window as I was drifting in and out of conscious thought. After what seemed like hours, a knock came at my door from my mother.

"Jimmy, Mrs. Vortex just called. Have you seen Cindy at all today?"

I absently gazed out my window with that continued look of rejection plastered on my face.

"Yeah, I saw her."

"She told me she's been gone all day and she hasn't come home yet. She's calling everyone to ask where she might have gone."

I turned to face her with a worried expression on my face. I may not have known where she went, but I did know why, and it was my fault.

"I think I know why she might have run away, Mom. I have to find her!" I leaped off the bed and tried to leave my room, but she prevented me from leaving.

"Jimmy, it's after dark! You know it's way too dangerous to be out this time of night!"

"I know, but this is something I have to do, if not for her, then for myself. I'm the one that caused her to run away, and I have to bring her back! She might be hurt."

Now normally if it had been anyone else, she never would have let me leave the house. My mother's always worried for my safety and always wants me to be careful. But this time, I saw a look on my face I had never seen before. I think even she knew that I cared about Cindy more than anything. I didn't have to beg or even plead, and I saw her expression soften when she let me go.

"I know you care about Cindy. Just…be careful."

I gave her a hug as I bolted for the stairs.

"Don't stay out too late! And make sure to call us or Cindy's mom if you find her, or if anything happens!"

I called out to Goddard as I quickly headed to the hovercar.

"Goddard, I need you to locate Cindy!" I commanded as we took off.

A/N: This was a quicker update than usual. I came up with an interesting conflict that works well with how I want the story to turn out. Cindy and Jimmy still have many obstacles to overcome, especially as events unfold a little later on.