Author's Note: Hello. I'm sorry this took long. School and blah blah, you know. I also had some writer's block. But it's all good now and so I hope enjoy this new chapter. And to Mr. Cuete, of course I want to be your amiga! I hope the offer still stands. Lol! I want to be everyone's friend! Oh, and I remember one reviewer asked about Jimmy and Libby. I think it was MzBojanles. Well, you'll just have to keep reading. Oh, and please forgive the " -" things. They indicate a break in the fic. It's all the QuickEdit will allow from my uploaded documents other than my story, I mean. I can't even fix it with the QuickEdit because I can't. The site won't let me. Anyway, enjoy.

" -"

Part 4: Why Was It That You Came Back?

Jimmy ran down the street where he saw Marcy emerge from the book store. She looked at him worriedly as he breathed with difficulty. He adverted the worry in her eyes and looked at her with hope, wanting to know if his sister had been seen by the store owner.

"She wasn't there," Marcy said. "And the manager hasn't seen her."

Damnit! He thought. Where could she be!

At that moment he heard a familiar laugh and he was flooded with relief as he turned. Becca walked beside Benjamin as she laughed.

"Becca!" he called. The girl wiped her eyes of the tears and looked up. Her smile slowly faded. He ran to her. His chest heaved with every breath he took as he stopped. He placed his hands on her shoulders and fell to his knees too exhausted and too happy to stand. He embraced her then and the girl didn't know how to respond. "I was so worried about you."

In seconds Marcy was at his side. "We searched just about every where for you," she said. "Mr. Neutron was very concerned. He was going mad with worry."

Becca pulled away from him. "You're being a little dramatic, don't you think?"

Jimmy looked at her too stunned to think. He shook his head and spoke. "What are you talking about? I was out of my mind looking for you! Geez, do you know how many things run through a guy's mind when his sister has gone missing!"

He stood now.

"I wasn't missing!" Becca replied. "I was with Ben." She looked away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "We went to the Candy Bar."

Jimmy looked at her. "But I thought we were-"

"Yeah," she said, looking at him. "We were. Until you invited that-"

"Hey!" Jimmy interrupted. "Don't talk about her like that."

"I didn't even say anything."

"Yet."

"And how do you even know I was going to say anything that bad?"

Benjamin was unable to contain his laughter. The rest of the group turned to him.

"What's so funny?" Becca asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing," he answered. "I just think it's funny." He shrugged. "I don't know. Look, why don't you guys just make up already. If you don't now, you will later, so why wait til then?"

Jimmy stared at the boy and after a while, he smiled at him. Benjamin returned his smile with one of his own. Jimmy turned to Becca.

"Listen," he began. The girl faced him. "I'm sorry. It's just that. . .I still-"

"Love her," Becca finished, disappointedly.

"Yeah, and I wanted to be with her even for a little while and I thought it'd be nice to invite her along with us." He smiled sadly at her. "Just as friends."

"Whatever."

"What she means is," Benjamin said, "that she understands very well and you're forgiven."

Becca turned to him narrowing her eyes at him. He smiled sweetly at her and she turned away. "Yeah," she said eventually. "What he said." She looked at Jimmy from the corner of her eye and watched as he brightened with joy and she was unable to hold back a smile. She always liked him best when he smiled. Ben elbowed her lightly and motioned toward Jimmy and Becca pretended to be exasperated. She made her way to Jimmy and hugged him.

"I love you," Jimmy whispered to her and she smiled. Now she hoped that things would stay this way. She hoped that there wouldn't be any more nonsense about Cindy.

" -"

Cindy sat back on the couch, flipping through the channels. She constantly looked out the window toward Jimmy's house. He hadn't returned yet and Becca and Benjamin were a no-show as well. She sat up straight and turned the t.v. off. She looked out the window and gazed outside. Still no sign of Jimmy or her little brother or Becca. She placed the remote on the coffee table and stood. She made her way to the window and gently pulled the curtain aside to give herself a better view. She leaned against the wall beside the window and watched the road for any sign of human life. She was completely bored and at this moment nothing sparked any interest other than seeing Jimmy again, which she found strange. She tore herself away from the window. What the hell am I doing? She asked herself. What does it matter if he's not back yet? Why do I even care? But oddly enough it did matter and she did care, she just didn't want to admit it to herself.

She heard a laugh and turned around to look out the window. It was Becca. She was laughing at something Ben had said and Jimmy was rolling his eyes. That girl was walking beside him, trying to contain her laughter as she blushed from who knew what! She blushed for a variety of reasons it was hard to tell what she was blushing about sometimes. Cindy scoffed as she watched her. She folded her arms across her chest and thought, Is that what he likes? Young, innocent girls who look like they should be working in a library! Her eyes narrowed and she turned away and stormed toward the door. She reached for the door knob, but stopped before she touched it. She let her hand fall at her side. What am I doing? Why am I acting this way? Her anger completely fell away now, making way for confusion. She shook her head and walked back to the window. She didn't look out to watch them this time. Instead, she went to sit on the couch and as Ben made his way to the front door, Cindy fell gently to her side on the couch, wondering what was wrong with her. She shouldn't be caring this much about who Jimmy was with, if he was actually with her. She shouldn't care at all!

Ben opened the door and made his way up stairs never once looking towards the couch where Cindy lay. He didn't know she was there. She could hear him sigh happily to himself and soon after he began to whistle, a happy song as he walked up the stairs, skipping every other step.

"He sounds happy," came her father's voice behind her to no one in particular.

"He was out with Becca," she said, not realizing she had said it allowed. She sat up and turned to look at him. He stared at her for a moment as if he had seen her for the first time. The shock disappeared quickly and he walked away without another word.

Cindy flopped back on the couch, her head buried in a pillow. Her whole family was against her.

" -"

Today would be the day to have some fun in the sun! The whether was perfect for a trip to the beach and the sun sat high up in the sky. Becca happily put on her shorts over her bathing suit as she whistled to herself. It would only be Jimmy and her and the gang. No Cindy today! At the beach she'd be able to finally tell Jimmy what her plans were for the invention they would create together, like they use to. She wanted things to go back to normal and she hoped today would be the start of that.

"Becca!"

"I'm coming!" she called.

"Becca!"

"I'm coming!" she shouted. "Geez, keep your shirt on!" She made her way to her brother who stood waiting for her outside. Libby and Sheen were being playful with one another as Carl sat back and watched them with a blushing Marcy.

"Have fun, you guys," Mrs. Neutron said as Becca ran to the car, all smiles. She took Marcy's hand and pulled her inside after her. Sheen and Libby followed.

"We will," Jimmy assured as he walked to the car. He heard Becca scream and looked inside. Libby and Sheen were tickling her. He smiled to himself and as if he sensed her he looked up and caught Cindy walking out of her house just as his parents headed inside. He opened his mouth, ready to invite her, but he looked in the car when Becca screamed again, a smile on her face as Libby and Sheen continued tickling her and he smiled to himself. He couldn't let her down again. She was too important. He looked up at Cindy again. She too was very important, but he had promised his sister.

Cindy looked up as if she knew that Jimmy had been staring and she stared back. A hard, cold stare. He smiled weakly and waved with uncertainty. Her face expression never changed as she gave a small, unenthusiastic wave. She was hiding a lot and Jimmy knew it. He knew he had done something five years ago when they last saw each other, he just wished he knew what it was.

"Cindy, come along."

The screaming and fun in the car stopped as soon as the words had been said. Everyone looked up and toward Jimmy. He shook his head slowly and looked at Carl who was waving Cindy over. "We're all going to the beach! You should come with-"

In seconds Libby and Sheen were out of the car, covering Carl's mouth. Becca jumped out soon after. "He didn't mean that!" she shouted back to Cindy. "Shove him in the car! Shove him in the car!"

Carl gave a struggle as Libby and Sheen were trying to do as Becca ordered. Marcy, though shy and not very persuasive attempted to settle everyone down with, "Can't we j-just get a long?"

"Jimmy, help me!" Carl managed to say as Sheen momentarily removed his hand from his mouth.

"Cover it!" Libby demanded.

"Well, help me get him in the car!" Sheen argued.

"Hey, guys," Jimmy said. "Guys!" He joined the struggle, trying to release Carl from Libby and Sheen's grip and Becca's too. "Stop!" he said as he managed to pull them all away from each other. He straightened his shirt and looked up at Cindy who watched with slight amusement. She looked at him, waiting for him to speak. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"You should come along with us," Carl contributed. "It'll be fun. Jimmy and I don't mind. I'm sure Marcy doesn't either, right, Marcy."

The girl shook her head. "But-"

"See," Carl said. "She doesn't mind."

"But I do!" Becca, Sheen, and Libby protested.

Cindy was just about ready to decline Carl's offer when he made his way to her and took her hand, leading her inside. "Come on," he urged. "It'll be fun."

Cindy was only speechless. She allowed Carl the permission to lead her into the house to her room.

Becca stood staring. She turned to Jimmy. He shook his head, but she stomped toward the front door and stormed inside. "Fine!" she shouted. "If she comes then Ben is coming too!" And with that she ran up the stairs. She remembered where Ben's room was and when she came to his door, she opened it and pulled him along back down the stairs.

"What's going on?" he looked outside to Jimmy and Marcy as they reached the front door. He looked back at Becca.

"Your sister," she said through gritted teeth, "is coming with us to the beach."

"Your brother-"

"Carl."

"Oh," Ben replied. "Okay, but what does this have to do with me?"

Becca stopped and turned to him with a forced smile. Her teeth were still clenched. "You're coming too." She turned away and called for Mr. and Mrs. Vortex.

They emerged from the back of the house and met Becca in the livingroom.

"Rebecca!" Mrs. Vortex exclaimed. "It's so nice to see you. It's been such a long time since we last saw each other like this."

Becca smiled as she nodded. "Yes," she said. "It's been too long." She sounded sad all of a sudden and guilty.

Mr. Vortex looked down at his son and then at Becca and he caught them holding hands. He soon realized what was going on and nodded. "You need to tell us something?"

"Huh?" Becca replied. "Oh, yes." She paused and then continued, "Can Ben come with me and my brother. We're going to the beach. Sheen, Libby and Carl are coming too. So is Marcy, our new friend and. . .Cindy."

Mr. Vortex raised his eyebrows. "You guys are talking to her?'

"Not exactly," Becca replied, honestly. "Carl invited her and so. . .she's coming. I thought it'd be nice to have Ben come along too so he wouldn't stay home alone. I know he doesn't have much to do and I wanted him to come along."

"Well, it's alright with me," Mrs. Vortex replied.

"Sure," Mr. Vortex agreed.

Becca brightened. "Thank you!" she said before pulling Ben away and to his room again. As they passed the door, they saw Jimmy and Marcy approach. "Be back in 5."

Ben looked at Jimmy and Marcy, pleadingly, mouthing the words, "Help me."

Jimmy only smiled as he waved him off.

"Trader," the boy mouthed as Becca continued to pull him up the stairs.

" -"

"Carl."

"Here. You'll need this and that."

"Carl."

"And another pair of shorts just-"

"Carl!"

Carl turned to the angry blonde. She shook her head. "What are you doing?"

He smiled at her. "I'm helping you get ready for the beach."

She shook her head again as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What makes you think I want to go?"

Carl looked at her with a smile on his face and a gentle sadness in his eyes. "Because you came back."

Cindy stopped. She looked at him wondering what he meant.

"You came back here," he said. "To Retroville. To your family. To your friends. To Jimmy."

"I didn't come for-"

"Yes, you did," Carl said softly. "You did come back for Jimmy because you still love him and you wanted to see him again."

"I never loved him," she protested.

"Yes, you did," Carl replied. "Ever since elementary school."

"That was just some stupid little crush that I got over when we hit middle school."

"That's not true," Carl said. "You two dated in eighth grade."

"What are you talking about!" she asked. "That wasn't a date. We just went to the eighth grade dance together because Nick had broken up with me and Jimmy had no one to go with. We were doing each other a favor!"

Carl shook his head as he smiled. He knew it went much deeper than that. He had seen the look in Jimmy's eyes the following Monday at school. He was happy and so was she. They both had stars in their eyes even two days after the dance. They had even been nice to each other for the last month or two of school and throughout summer too.

"If you don't love Jimmy and if you don't care about your fiends, then why was it that you came back?" Carl asked.

Cindy stayed quiet for a while. Why did I come back? She asked herself. She thought for a moment and the silence between her and Carl seemed longer than it should've been. She then answered his question with,"I was invited here."

"But you never came before when I called you. You didn't come until you knew for sure Jimmy would be here. You didn't come until I told you Jimmy would be here too."

She closed her mouth and turned away and Carl knew he had her. He made his way out the door.

"Come on," he said. "Change into your bathing suit and then we can go." He smiled one more time before he closed the door behind him.

"I don't love him, you know!"she said once the door was shut. "I don't love him."

" -"

Becca rummaged through Ben's things looking for a back pack to put everything in. He watched her as she did this, wondering why exactly she wanted him to go along, although, he was pretty sure he knew why.

"Becca," he called.

"Hmm," she replied as she looked in his closet.

"I know you don't really want me to go," he announced.

She stopped and turned to him. "Of course, I do," she protested, though she didn't sound very genuine.

He frowned at her as he folded his arms across his chest, indicating that he did not believe her. Becca walked over to his bed and flopped down. "Fine," she said with a sigh. "Don't get all pissy about it."

Ben rolled his eyes, but said nothing about her comment.

"I don't want to suffer alone, okay?" she said. "I can't stand the girl and I'm just not going to go through another day of crap from Cindy Vortex. Not alone anyway."

Ben had taken this in a way Becca hadn't meant it to sound and he became angry."So you thought 'Why not bring Ben because he obviously doesn't suffer enough at home-"

"No, that's not what I-"

"'-He just lives with her and all. That possibly can't be enough punishment.' " He shook his head. "I live with her and yet that isn't enough suffering? I have to hang out with her too!"

Becca stood, narrowing her eyes. "You know what? Fine, don't come!" she shouted as she shoved him aside. "I didn't even mean it like that!" She slammed the door behind her.

Ben sighed. "Becca, wait," he said exasperated and frustrated with himself. He opened his door. "Becca!" He caught up to her and stopped her. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just. . .I've had enough of Cindy for one day, you know? I mean, I wake up and there she is, in the room right beside me and then when I eat, there she is again. Sitting beside me or across from me or whatever. It's no picnic for me."

"And for me it is?" Becca asked.

"No, I know it isn't," he replied. "But I live with her. I have to see her everyday. You don't."

Becca looked down. "I guess then it was selfish of me to think you'd come along just like that."

"Not at all," he said as he gently touched her arm to reassure her. She looked at him. "I just overacted is all."

"I really do want you to come," She said softly, a small blush spreading across he cheeks.

"And I really want to go," he whispered with a smile, making her blush even more.

"Woo!" came Libby's voice.

"You can say that again," Sheen replied.

Becca and Ben turned to their audience. Mrs. Vortex stood, her head tilted to one side, tears of joy in her eyes. "My little boy is growing up so fast," she said to which Mr. Vortex who stood behind her agreed.

"My boy is finally becoming a man."

Sheen and Libby stood side by side as well as Marcy and Jimmy who looked at them with smiling faces.

"You know," Sheen said. "For a minute I thought it was touch and go there. You two were going at it and I thought that you wouldn't pull through."

Libby tried keeping her laughter to herself.

Ben and Becca looked down to hid their blushes.

"We're just a big joke to you, aren't we," they said in unison as they descended the stairs.

"Of course not," Jimmy said. "Come here, my little brother-in-law." Jimmy pulled Ben to him and rubbed his head, messing up his hair. Sheen soon pulled the boy away from Jimmy and got him in a head lock. Ben attempted to escape, but to no avail. Sheen was playful, but Ben didn't like it. He continued to try and escape. He called to Becca for help, but she just smiled and walked away. She ran up the stairs as Sheen continued to play around.

Carl soon came down holding Cindy's bag. Cindy followed him and for the first time since he had seen her again, Jimmy had seen something else other than anger. She was uncomfortable and she didn't know how to act. He wondered what had happened. Carl looked happy. A ray of sunshine, ready for the beach. Really ready with sun screen on his nose and huge sunglasses over his eyes and a long button down shit and a pair of shorts and his shoes and a nice pair of socks. He wore a hat to help keep any more sun from hitting his face.

Sheen's grip on Ben's head loosened and Ben took this opportunity to make his way to his room. It didn't take Becca long to come back down and Ben soon after. Nothing was spoken between the group, not even when they were all huddled up in the car. Mrs. Vortex had attempted to say something nice before they left, something she thought would help lighten the mood: "Have a great time at the beach, kids!"

Mr. Vortex had left the room as soon as Cindy had come down, so he did not see them off as Mrs. Vortex had. Becca only hoped that the day would get better. She didn't think it'd be too bad. She had Ben with her.

" -"

"Isn't this great!"

Becca stood up, tired of laying down on her towel. She watched the people enjoying themselves as they splashed about in the water. She looked at Ben who sat reading a book. The cover read, The Catcher in the Rye. She rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said as she pulled on his arm. He looked at her.

"I'm reading."

"I can see that," she replied. She pulled on his arm again and managed to pull him up on his feet. "He had some emotional break down and ended up in a mental institution or something. That's where he's telling his story from. Now, come on!"

"You just ruined it for me!" he said, a smile on his face. He tried to keep from laughing. He wasn't angry, for some reason he was just the opposite. She smiled at him and pulled him toward the water. He threw his book aside and allowed Becca to pull him.

"Aren't they just cute?" Libby asked as she turned to Sheen. He smiled.

"They aren't half as cute as you are," he said. He leaned forward, closing his eyes and expecting a kiss.

"But they are the cutest!" Libby exclaimed, ignoring her fiancee.

He bowed his head low as if he had just lost a battle.

"I think I've been in the sun too long,"came Carl's voice behind them. "Or maybe I'm just allergic."

"You're allergic to everything, Carl," came Sheen's reply.

"I am not," Carl whined.

"You are too," Sheen argued.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Stop it!" Libby finally shouted. "You guys sound like you're in elementary school again.

"Do not," Sheen and Carl both protested.

Libby shook her head with a sigh. Jimmy only laughed and then turned to Marcy.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked.

She pushed her glasses up her nose. "Oh, yes, sir. . .Jimmy."

He smiled. "Good." He looked to Cindy. She sat on her towel, her shorts on. She was still looking uncomfortable. She hadn't spoken a word since they got there and everyone had ignored her. Everyone except Carl, who spoke to her. But she never replied to him. Just nodded to show she was listening every so often. But now Carl looked about ready to fall asleep and Cindy looked alone, sitting there, hugging her legs, watching everyone else have fun. Something tugged at his heart and to relieve his pain as well as her's, he approached her and sat down. For a while he didn't speak and she didn't really seem to notice he was there. He watched her from the corner of his eye. She looked deep in thought.

"Cindy," he said and she turned to him, acknowledging him. He shrugged as he spoke. "Why don't you go out there and join the fun."

She looked at Becca and Ben, playfully splashing water at each other, flirting with one another. She shook her head.

"Why not?"

Cindy licked her lips and took a deep breath as she turned to him. "They both hate me. Or did you forget that?" She turned away from him to watch the two youngest at play.

Jimmy was stunned to have heard her voice and even more so at the words that she had spoken.

Everyone had turned to them, watching, waiting.

"They don't hate you," Jimmy said. "They're just-"

"Angry? Upset?"

"Well. . .yeah."

She shook her head. "It goes so much deeper than that, can't you see? I hurt them in a way that was unimaginable to them both and over the years that anger and denial and whatever it was they felt while I was away manifested itself to something so much more powerful." She paused. "Hate."

Jimmy did not respond.

"They hate me, Jimmy," she said as she placed her head on her knees. She expressed sadness and guilt for the first time. Jimmy felt for her and to try to comfort her, he slowly moved his arm, ready to place it over her shoulders until-

"Oh. . .my. . .GOD!" Everyone turned except for Cindy. "Janice! Janice!"

"Wha-Ohmygod. . ."

Sheen stood. "May I help you ladies?" he said flirtatiously. The girls giggled.

"Down, Romeo," Libby said as she pushed him aside, throwing him off balance and making him land not so gracefully on the warm sand.

"May I help you?" Libby asked politely.

"It's you!" one of the girls said. "You're Libby Folfax! And she's-" she said pointing at Cindy now, "Cindy Vortex!"

"OHMYGOD!" the one called Janice shouted. "I would so love your autograph!"

"Oh, me too!" the other one shouted.

Libby smiled. "Of course."

"OHMYGOD!" the girls screamed.

"Do you have a pen?"

The girls looked at one another and scrambled back to their towels. "We'll be right back they said as they made their way back to their things.

A few moments later the girls came back with a pen and paper. They took turns getting Libby's signature and Cindy had been civil enough to sign for them too. They returned about half an hour later asking for Jimmy's autograph realizing he was in last weeks Seventeen magazine. One of the photographers had been stalking him and took some pictures of him as he walked out of the building where he worked for something to eat. The girls had asked him to sign on his picture and he did.

It seemed to calm down after that. There hadn't been to many people there and so they were safe from a swarm of fans. Not many other people had approached them after and so when the people stopped coming, Jimmy sat beside Cindy again. She was still watching everyone else. This time though he was thankful that it was just the two of them. Libby and Sheen went off to join Becca and Ben in their fun and had convinced Carl to join them. Jimmy had declined their offer and Cindy had declined Carl's offer. Marcy had been dragged in whether she wanted to join or not and they all seemed to be having fun.

Jimmy opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm not going to tell you anything about how I feel, so you're wasting your time," Cindy said. She wasn't very cold, just a little upset.

He nodded. "Okay," he said. "But-"

"Just don't talk," she interrupted. "Please."

Jimmy nodded again and sat there, silently beside her, watching the others have fun. He looked at her for few seconds before turning away. He wanted to say something that sounded supporting. Something that sounded inviting and. . .friendly because he knew that it was what she needed. But she didn't want him to speak and if he were ever going to become her friend again then he'd have to win her trust back. So he'd grant her every request even if it took a life time for her to finally forgive him. But he hoped it'd get better. This was a start, though. At least now they were actually talking and actually hearing one another for a change and they were on friendly terms, considering their situation.

I just want you to be happy, he thought to himself as he looked at her from the corner of his eye.