AN: Wow, so many one-shots lately! lol, I hope that's okay with all of you! Anyway, this idea came to me randomly today...I hope you enjoy...(and, convince me with enough good reviews, and I may add one more chapter!) By the way, as you can see form below, couldn't really decide which title I liked... what do you think? Also: does anyone know how to get the dumb asterisks to stay? Whever i try to add them, I push "save changes' and, poof! They disappear!

Disclaimer: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."- John 8:32

Tell Me Truly

(or)

Deeply, Madly, Truly

He crept around the house, avoiding the bushes as best he could as he strayed from the sidewalk. Reaching into his pocket, he drew several small stones out, just as he reached the window he had been seeking.

Looking up at it with a rapidly beating heart, he threw one.

Tink, it went, shattering the silent night air. Though he knew it had been a very quiet impact, he felt the resounding of it shiver through him. He threw another, this time guiding its journey with a soft undertone.

"Cindy!"

tink!

"…Cindy?"

He was preparing to throw yet another when a small light came on, illuminating the formerly dead window. With a slight creak, it was opened slowly, and the twenty-something stuck her head out the window to investigate the cause of her sleep's interruption.

"What?" She asked, in a groggy whispered tone. "Who's out there?"

"Cindy…it's me." He replied, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Neutron?" She asked, uncertainly. "Why- What-" She was too muzzy to finish her sentences. Rubbing her face, she glanced down again, squinting into the night. When she looked again, she was amazed to find that it was indeedhim! She couldn't believe it! As this realization dawned on her, her tired mind tried to weave itself around the matter of why. Why was her proclaimed arch-rival throwing rocks at her window at four in the morning?

"What I your problem, Lord Dork? Why are you here at four in the stupid morning throwing rocks at my window?"

He paused for a moment at her icy tone. "Can I…can I come up?"

This was a new level of surprise to her. "What?" She asked, too amazed to answer rudely.

"Can I-"

"I heard you, stupid!" he cut him off in a hurried whisper. "No, you can't come up! I don't know what you're trying to pull here, Whippy-dip-head, but I'm not falling for it. Whatever the problem is, I want no part of it."

"But I only want to-"

"To what? Bug me in the middle of the night? Come on, Neutron, don't you get enough of that during the day?"

"I need to talk to you. There isn't much time left now."

This gave her pause. Was he crazy? What was he trying to do? Was this some kind of trick to humiliate her? And… where did he go?

She looked down again, searching for the dark outline of his body. Where was he now? She hoped, as she considered the possibilities, that he hadn't gone around the front to ring the doorbell until she talked to him or whatever. He would wake up Libby, too! Her roommate and best friend was not a good person to awaken prematurely. Just as she was turning to the stairs to stop him with a few severe words, she heard a rustling behind her. Turning to meet it, she barely snuffed a shout of surprise.

"What are you doing? In my window?" She said, sentences in pieces.

He hung there, uncertainly, arm draped over her windowsill. "Um…well, I really, really need to talk to you, and I didn't want to wake Libby." He admitted, sheepish for a moment.

She just looked at him, mouth open. Her heart beat wildly as she tried to think of something to say. "You…you climbed the terrace?" She asked, completely astonished.

"Yes."

"Cripes, Nerdtron. I guess you really do want to talk to me."

He smiled softly and nodded, climbing in before she could stop him.

She was surprised and not all together unpleased by the nauseous feeling slowly creeping through her stomach. She he never seen him smile this way…at her. She kept her wits, though, hiding quickly behind her wall once more. "Well, make it quick, I want to go back to bed."

"Okay. I'm in love with you."

At those words, her brain simply turned off. Reboot! Reboot! She commanded herself, trying desperately to regain composure. But all she could mange to think was Did he just say what I think he said? After a painstakingly long moment, she laughed nervously.

"Yeah, right. What are you trying to pull, here?"

"I'm serious, Cindy!" He said, whispered tone becoming insistent.

She blinked at him. "You're out of your mind." She said, slowly. "Out of your freakishly large mind."

"Don't be silly," He said, dismissing the notion with a waved hand. "I've just injected myself with my truth serum, that's all."

"Truth serum?" She said, sounding unbelieving now. What was he trying to do?

"Yep." He said, definite.

"Oh, grow up! You expect me to believe-"

"Listen," He said now, cutting her off with a desperate voice. "I don't have much time. He serum wears of after an hour or two, so I haven't got long to say what I need to say."

"This is all some elaborate plan to embarrass me, isn't it?" She moved closer, peering at him. "Where's the camera? The microphone?"

Taking advantage of her dangerously close stance, he grabbed her by the arms, giving her a tiny shake.

"You don't get it, Cindy. I'm not trying to pull anything! I was working late tonight, on a new drug that can be used by the police in hard cases. I've been developing the Neutron Truth Serum for weeks now, and I was so close! After I finished it, though…I somehow managed to stick myself with the injection needle. Too many long hours, I guess."

She looked at him in disgust. He was making it all up…wasn't he? She wouldn't allow herself to think otherwise. Meanwhile, his adrenaline rushed mind was still set on what he was saying.

"I knew, after I got the shot, that all the things I never allowed myself to admit were true! Cindy, I've had a crush on you since I was 9!" He announced, as he continued pacing in front of her.

Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the words. It can't be true. It can't be true.

He continued. "I also knew that I would never be able to have a better chance to tell you how I feel." He turned his deep blue eyes to her, stopping his pacing with a long stare. She found herself mesmerized by those eyes…just as she had been for years.

"Cindy," He said, breaking the silence and the stare when he dropped his head with a sigh, "I'm not brave like you. I can't just say what I want to say. I'm ashamed…" He held out his hands, peering at them. "I'm ashamed that I have to do this under the influence of a truth serum. By the stars!" He said, in frustration, "I wish I would have told you this all years ago!"

He looked at her again, a mix of emotions and thoughts. She was on the verge of tears, unable to tell what was real and not real…both in his speech, and in her own mind.

"You…Don't believe me, do you?" He said, glumly.

"…" She looked at him, unreadable.

"Cindy, you have to! Can't you see it? All the years of fighting, teasing…acting like I hated you…I never did! I only was afraid of you…of how I felt around you! Ever since the Yolkian attack, I knew there was more to you than the angry shell you show me. I've seen the way you can be! You're smart and strong and kind to people! You love animals and science, and…" He blushed now. "There's so many things I couldn't help but think were beautiful about you. The way you do tai-chi, the way you walk, even. I…I feel so embarrassed, telling you all this all of a sudden…but there's nothing I can do to stop myself!"

She started to blink back tears now, frozen in her numb feeling body.

"And you know, the weirdest thing is…I really love the way you fight. With me. You challenge me, Cindy, like no one else can! You never let me slide by with anything but my best. This is going to sound so cheesy…" He took a breath once more, unable to stop the words from continuing to flow. "But…it's like there's a fire in your eyes. Like you're a million suns, trapped in a Earth girl's body. Like you won't ever give up until you get what you want. I've always…I've always wished that what you wanted was…me."

She let one single tear fall now, as she whispered something unintelligible.

"I…didn't hear you." He admitted.

"Get out." She said, voice barely hearable.

"But-'

"Get out!" She said, as loud as she dared. Tears flowed from her face as she held her arms close to her body in defensive mode. "Get out of my house. Get out of my room."

"Cindy, I-"

"Is this your idea of a joke?" She said, voice gaining urgency and volume with every word. "Comeing here to mess with my feelings like this? I hate you! Get out!"

"But I'm telling-"

"What? The truth? You expect me to believe that? Come on, Jimmy, I wasn't born yesterday."

He looked at her, silent and leaden.

After a lifetime of moments, he finally spoke.

"…Okay." He turned to go, sticking a leg out the window. Looking back at her sunken features, he watched her begin to cry softly. "Cindy…" He whispered, one last time. 'I can't force you to believe me. But everything I said tonight was true, you have to know that!" He paused for a moment. "And I'm so sorry I made you cry… I…" He fell silent as the pain from her tear-stained face engulfed him. Letting a tear fall himself, he crept outside. "I never wanted to make you cry…I'll never do it again." He promised, voice low and sad.

And with that, he was gone.