Author's Note: I didn't think adding Nick would be a big surprise. Lol! Some of you commented on Nick and how much of a surprise he was. I seriously though that you were all expecting it. I know I was. Lol!
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Part 9: It Was Only A Glimpse And Then It Was Gone
There was a knock at the door and Cindy, being the only one available, answered it. When she pulled the door away from it's frame, she was both surprised and angry to see Jimmy standing there, looking as innocent and shy as he possibly could. Her eyes narrowed, asking the angry question that her lips could not.
"Ben," Jimmy answered completely knowing what exactly she wanted to ask him. "He asked me to come." He looked at his watch. "It's 2: 50. He said he'd be home by now, so. . ."
Cindy's eyes softened slightly, but only slightly, as her anger eased. It seemed plausible, but her suspicions grew again.
"What for?" she asked.
"He told me he wanted help with his science homework," Jimmy responded.
"Ben's a smart kid," Cindy guessed. She had been away for so long that she had no idea what exactly her brother was good at or not, but he looked like a very bright kid and she guessed he was a straight-A student. Plus, he was her brother after all and she had done great herself in school and she was more than positive that he was the same. "He doesn't need any help."
Jimmy was surprised at her reply, but it soon turned into amusement, which only angered Cindy further. "So you think I'm lying," Jimmy teased, a flirtatious grin on his face.
If he thought she'd fall for that he was wrong. Dead wrong. . .well, maybe he was only half right. Damn my weak will power! Cindy cursed. She found her cheeks growing warm and her knees weakening.
"Y-yeah," she stuttered, hating herself with every growing second. "W-what of it?"
She scolded herself for being so damn nervous. For crying out loud, this was Jimmy Neutron!
"Cindy," Jimmy said in the same tone. "Are you. . .blushing?"
She was mortified and not only that, it caused Cindy's blush to deepen. "N-no!" she exclaimed, her voice a little higher than she had intended it to be.
Jimmy smiled at her as he stepped into the house and now Cindy wished that she hadn't allowed Nick to go in the morning. He said he'd return later that day, but he had not shown up all day and she wished he were there now. If he had been there, he'd be following Cindy like a puppy and he would've gone to answer the door with her and she knew Jimmy wouldn't be trying this right now if Nick was standing beside her.
Cindy backed away. At this, Jimmy laughed. "What's so funny?"
"You act as if I'm here to hurt you," he said, a smile on his face.
Aren't you? She wanted to ask, but before she could even form the words on her tongue, Ben rushed inside, out of breath and tired.
"Jimmy!" he said as he looked up. He closed the door behind him.
"Hey!" Jimmy greeted as he turned to him.
Ben noticed his sister standing behind Jimmy and his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked at her. "Is my sister bothering you?" he asked.
Jimmy glanced over his shoulder at Cindy. "No, not all," he said smiling at her before turning to Ben again. "But I have a question for you?"
"Okay."
"Why exactly did you ask me to come today?"
"For help on my science," Ben answered. "I told you." He paused. "Why?"
"Because Cindy here tells me that you're a fine student and you don't need help on your science homework."
Ben scoffed. "How would she know?" Ben asked. "She hasn't been here for five years and we haven't even spoken during that time apart. She knows nothing about me. She can't even guess from before she left because she didn't know me then either."
Jimmy nodded. "So then maybe she was just confident that you were a good student on your own."
"Maybe," Ben replied. "And then again maybe not."
"What exactly is the problem?" Jimmy asked. "You seem like a bright kid at first glance."
"I'm good," Ben replied. "But I'm not that good. Especially, in science. I have no problem in any other class. It's just science. I like it, but I don't understand much of it." He shrugged, a frown on his face as he looked at Jimmy.
"What would you say is your average?"
"Uh, somewhere around a 75."
"Well, that's not bad," Jimmy replied.
"I just think I can do better," Ben answered. "I know I can and I wanted to prove to myself I can by raising it five to ten points."
Cindy tried hiding a smile, but it was hard. She never realized how much Ben was like her. He sounded just as determined as she had been at that age. She had never given up on anything, except for maybe her relationship with Jimmy and her family. . .and her friends and even. . .Nick. She sighed to herself. What happened to me?
"Okay," came Jimmy voice, breaking Cindy's thoughts. "I'll help you. How could I not?"
Ben smiled and his joy made Cindy regret leaving him five years ago. He was growing up and she had missed how he had become such a. . .different person than he had use to be. Assuming, of course, that she knew who he once had been. It was easy to see, though, that he was growing into quite the young man.
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After hours of laughter that had been meant for science homework help, Jimmy was finally leaving.
"Oh, please, don't go," Mrs. Vortex pleaded. "Have dinner with us."
"I can't," Jimmy replied.
"Sure, you can," Mr. Vortex added. "Just call up you mother, tell her you'll be staying here for dinner. Maybe she, Hugh, and Becca can join us."
"We have plenty of food to go around," Mrs. Vortex put in, encouraging him to stay.
Cindy was on her way back down the stairs as Jimmy walked to the front door, the Vortex family right behind him.
Jimmy caught Cindy's eye before she could look away. "I'll tell you what," he began. "I'll stay if it's all right with Cindy."
Everyone turned to her. She looked from face to face, not knowing exactly what to say. Her father stared at her with piercing eyes that spoke of his anger, her mother seemed almost pleading and Ben silently spoke of his anger when he mouthed the words, "I hate you."
She had been surprised that her brother's silent words hurt her so much, but she looked away and turned to go back up the stairs. "I couldn't care less," she said as she went back to her room.
When she was safely back in her room, she could hear Jimmy's voice below. "I'll. . .uh, take that as a no," he said.
Her mother's voice along with her father's and Ben's protested, but Jimmy explained that, "Cindy is clearly uncomfortable and I don't want to cause anything." He suggested another time and her family had no choice but to accept.
Cindy sighed.
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That night was no better than that afternoon, so Cindy decided she'd take a walk. Maybe it'd relieve some of her stress. She really didn't know why it all bothered her so much. None of what was happening should matter. It shouldn't be bothering her at all and yet it was. This was why she had decided it would be best take a walk in the park and it hadn't taken her very long to get there.
For about a half an hour, she walked in the same tired, old circle. She could've worn a whole into the ground at the pace she was going at. She was just so. . .tense about everything and it pissed her off to know that!
A sudden rustle in the bushes and the snap of a twig made her turn. She looked about in the dark, but found nothing. She turned away and began to walk toward the lamp post, but her walk soon became a full fledged run when she heard heavy footsteps behind her.
A hand reached out and pulled her back and she let out a loud scream. Whoever it was was strong, but that wasn't a reason for Cindy to give up. It only made her try harder to escape the person's grasp. She gave another scream, which caused the person to cover her mouth. "Stop!" they commanded.
"Cindy?"
Her heart began to pound when she realized that the second voice belonged to Jimmy. Boy, am I glad to hear his voice.
Knowing now that Jimmy was close by, Cindy struggled harder and managed to pull away from the person's hands long enough to cry for Jimmy's help.
"Jimmy!"
The person was quick, but not quick enough. The damage had been done and now Jimmy was on his way. In seconds, Cindy was down with her attacker on top of her and Jimmy on top of her attacker. She pulled herself from underneath them both and stood, pulling down her skirt. She could vaguely see two figures: Jimmy's and her attackers. There were a few grunts, some of which had belonged to Jimmy, the other's belonging to the attacker. A fist went flying and one of them went down. The winner stood to brush himself off and then he cautiously approached her.
"Cindy?"
With tears in her eyes and both fear and gratitude in her heart, Cindy threw herself on Jimmy and embraced him, crying on his shoulder. "I was so scared!" she cried. She knew this wasn't like her at all. She wasn't scared easily, but with all the tension in her house and among herself and her ex-friends and just everything in general and then this-being attacked-it was too much for her right now.
Jimmy's arms warmly embraced her, allowing her to lean into him. He gently rubbed her back to sooth her fears as he placed his head lovingly on her's. "Shhh. . .it's okay. I'm here, it's alright."
A painful grunt came from the darkness where the attacker lay. Jimmy quickly turned, keeping Cindy behind him to protect her. She held onto his shoulders as she peeked over toward her attacker.
"What do you want?" Jimmy asked, a warning and a challenge in his voice.
Cindy looked at him. She had never heard him speak that way before and to be honest it was. . .it was turning her on. But she quickly shook her head, scolding herself for thinking such things. But can you really blame yourself? came a voice. Not really. No. He's a great guy and he's grown up a lot over the years and he's got a great-
She shook the thoughts away again. This time she didn't notice her blush, but as soon as she did, she thanked god that she was hidden in the darkness and Jimmy wasn't facing her.
"Geez," came a familiar voice. "I'm happy to see you too."
Cindy stepped away from Jimmy, but he moved in front of her again. She rested her hand on his arm and gently lowered it before stepping forward again. "Nick?" she called.
"Yeah," he replied. "Who the hell did you think I was?"
He was angry, but who could blame him? Than again he snuck up on her and made her think she was under attack.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?"
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he countered.
"I asked you first!" Cindy exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.
"I was looking for you," he replied. "I didn't come earlier like I said I would and I thought it'd be a good idea to come by now. Better late than never, right? But when I arrived at your house, I saw you down the street and I decided to follow you and surprise you."
"By attacking me!"
"I didn't attack you!"
Cindy growled. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"When you began to run, I thought you were just playing around until I noticed you weren't and I wanted to catch you to explain. And then I panicked when you screamed."
There was silence for only a moment.
"Anyway, I should've known you and Jimmy were together."
Cindy stared at Nick's figure. Me and Jimmy? She thought. Together? She could feel Jimmy's smirk and she turned to give him a warning glance, though it was dark, she knew he'd understand.She turned to Nick again. "Jimmy and I aren't together. I didn't come here with him or to meet him. I came here alone to think about. . .to think."
"Then what's he doing here?" Nick asked, pointing a finger at Jimmy.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to point," Jimmy commented, approaching Nick to push his hand down. "And I, always come here."
"At night?" Nick asked suspiciously.
"Yes," Jimmy shot back. "Always."
The sudden tension was suffocating.
"Where's your girlfriend, Neutron?" Nick questioned.
"Girlfriend?" Jimmy asked. "What girlfriend?"
"The librarian-looking one."
"Oh! That's just Marcy," Jimmy replied. "She's not my girlfriend. She's a little young."
"Mmhm."
"Cut the crap," Cindy cut in. She sighed and turned away. "I'm going home."
"Cindy, wait!" Nick and Jimmy called. They looked at one another and turned to Cindy.
"Cindy, wait for me. I called you first," Jimmy replied.
"I called you first," Nick protested.
"No, I did."
"You wish," Nick scoffed. "I did."
"I did."
"I did."
"You called me at the same damn time!" Cindy shouted, finally fed up with them both. "And I'm not going to wait for either one of you." She let out a frustrated breath before walking away.
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"Nick jumped her?"
"Pretty much," Jimmy replied, harboring a grudge.
"Maybe I'm giving him too much credit," Libby began, "but it doesn't sound like something he'd do."
"Yeah, Jim," Carl agreed.
"Maybe, and this is all hypocritically speaking-"
"Hypothetically," Libby corrected.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Sheen continued. "Hypocritically."
Libby sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes.
"And you're going to marry him," Jimmy commented, trying to keep from laughing.
"Don't remind me," she replied.
"Listen," Sheen said.
"We're all listening, sug," Libby said sweetly.
"Okay," Sheen said. "So, hypothetically speaking-" he grinned from ear to ear as he gave Libby a wink, which only made Libby's jaw drop. When he opened hi mouth to speak again, he paused. His smile faded as confusion took over. ". . .I forgot."
Jimmy burst into laughter.
Libby sighed. "It was only a glimpse and then it was gone."
Sheen rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Yeah." He shrugged.
"I know you're smart, Sheen," Carl confided in a small voice.
"Thanks, Carl," Sheen replied.
At that moment, Mrs. Neutron appeared from the kitchen, holding a tray of cookies. Goddard appeared soon after, carrying a tray of glasses, each full with milk. "I hope you guys want some cookies."
"Always."
"Yeah!"
"Of course."
"I love you."
The room grew quiet. Every head turned to Carl. He blushed furiously.
"For baking cookies," he said quickly. "I love you for baking cookies."
"Oh," Mrs. Neutron replied, a little unsure of herself.
Sheen tried not to laugh. Libby looked at Jimmy to see his reaction. He looked a little disgusted.
"Then, I love you too, Carl," Mrs. Neutron said finally.
Carl's face grew crimson and then he said, "Thanks, Judy. Uh, Mrs. Neutron. Thank you, Mrs. Neutron."
Sheen shook his head still trying not to laugh as Mrs. Neutron walked back into the kitchen, Goddard in tow.
"Carl," Jimmy began, but he didn't finish. He simply shook his head.
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Sitting in the Candy Bar, Jimmy was feeling like his old self again, except he was missing his friends. He smiled as he recalled the many memories he shared with everyone. He stretched out his arms and legs and yawned.
"A little tired?"
Jimmy looked up. He sat up straight as soon as he saw Cindy's face staring back at him. "Just a little," he answered. "Uh, sit down. Please, sit down." He stood, gesturing her to sit. She hesitated, but only for a moment.
"Your mom told me you were here," she said.
A cocky, toothy grin broke across Jimmy's features. "You were looking for me?"
"It's not what you think," she said quickly. "I wanted to explain about last night. I-I was jumpy and I was. . .looking for comfort, so I was glad to hear your voice."
"You were glad to hear my voice?" he asked, his cocky grin growing again.
"Stop grinning like that!" she demanded. "You're taking it all the wrong way! I was only glad to hear your voice because-" Oh, god. "-I was. . .scared." Her voice had become low on the last word.
Jimmy leaned forward, holding a hand to his ear. "What was that?"
"I was scared, alright!" She breathed heavily as she leaned back into her seat, crossing her arms over her chest. "I heard your voice and I thought, 'salvation!' because it was comforting to know that someone I knew was close by to help me. I knew you would. Help me, that is."
Jimmy smiled sweetly as he reached to touch her arm. "Your welcome."
The sound of his voice and his sudden touch made her shiver in anticipation. It created an ache in her chest and then she flinched. She pulled away from him then and his smile fell away.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head as she rapped her arms around herself, feeling a sudden chill.
"Are you cold?" Jimmy questioned as he began to remove his button-downed shirt. She blushed and immediately turned away. He laughed. "I have a t-shirt underneath."
She scowled at him. "I knew that."
"Sure."
"And, no, I'm not cold."
Jimmy nodded, deciding not to question her again, but then there was nothing left to say. He wondered what was on her mind as he looked at her. She looked as if she wanted to say something and he hoped that she'd tell him. Although, it'd be fine if she didn't because now he knew that she had something for him. She had opened up. Even if it was just a little, that was progress, wasn't it? It was progress enough. To Jimmy anyway.
Cindy suddenly stood. "I need to go."
He could see the door close back up again, but he stood too and took her arm before she could walk away. "Wait."
The word made her flinch again and this time it hit him that something was really wrong. He knew it for sure now.
She turned to him and waited for him to speak, but he couldn't find the words. Her beautiful, sorrowful eyes had captivated him. She pulled away from him then, annoyed by him. "If you won't say anything, then I will," she said. She fixed the strap of her purse and looked him in the face. "I know what you did."
Jimmy was taken aback by this sudden accusation. "Wha-"
"No!" she warned. "Don't deny it! I saw you with her!"
He shook his head. "Cindy, I-"
"No!" she shouted again, louder this time. People turned to stare. "I saw you and Libby together! You were talking crap about me." She looked almost ready to break down, but he could tell that she was holding her tears back. "Both of you! The two people who meant everything to me, turned around, and dated each other behind my back!"
Jimmy was speechless. He opened his mouth to speak, but he could not. How had she found out about it? How had she found out about his relationship with Libby?
She shook her head, unable to look at him any longer and stormed out of the Candy Bar.
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"She said what!"
Jimmy watched as Libby paced the room.
"How did she find out?"
"I don't know," Jimmy replied. "But now that I think about it, I don't think she was talking about us."
Libby turned to him. "What?"
"Well," he began, in the way only a scientist could. "When I spoke to her-better yet-when she was yelled at me, she said, and I quote-" Libby rolled her eyes.
"Jimmy we're not at the lab."
He shrugged. "Just listen."
Libby sat herself down on her couch and looked up at him.
"She said, 'I saw you and Libby together! You were talking crap about me.' "
Libby looked at him questioningly. "When did we ever talk crap about her? Me and you always just-"
"Exactly," Jimmy pointed out before she could finish what he knew she would say. "See, I was too surprised and overwhelmed to think thoroughly about what she said at that moment." Jimmy shook his head. "She also mentioned something about, 'The two people who meant everything to me, turned around, and dated each other behind my back.' "
Jimmy plopped himself down beside Libby with a heavy sigh. This was turning out just the opposite of what he had originally wanted. He and Cindy were suppose to be together. If he had things his way, they'd be together and he'd be sitting with her not with Libby. Not that sitting with Libby was a bad thing, it was just that he wanted Cindy back and Libby, no matter how much he wanted her to be, was not Cindy.
"We didn't date behind her back," Libby replied. "Well, we dated-no, we didn't date. We just had sex!"
Jimmy shook his head.
"That's hardly dating," Libby argued. "That's just. . .having sex!"
"Will you keep your voice down!" Jimmy whispered harshly as he stood, gritting his teeth.
"It's not like Sheen is here. He's at his own house and my parents aren't renting this suite with me, so we're fine."
"Oh, good," Jimmy replied sarcastically. "Then let's just let all your fellow suite-mates find out about our sexual experiences!"
Libby looked up at him. "Geez, Jimmy," she said. "You say I'm loud. You should listen to yourself!"
He walked toward the door. "I don't want this out," he said.
It felt like a needle had punctured her heart, but she understood just why he didn't want it out. She amazingly agreed. She didn't want Sheen to find out before the wedding. . .or after, for that matter. But it still hurt her, the way he said it.
"Neither do I," she agreed, hiding her hurt. "She's just bringing up the past that doesn't exist."
"It exists to her!" Jimmy argued as he turned to her. "This was probably why she left, can't you see! Five years have come and gone and Cindy never honored us with a visit or a phone call because she believed her boyfriend and best friend were doing the crazy dance!"
Libby covered her mouth.
"Yeah!" he shouted. "That's what it comes down to."
She cleared her throat as she placed a hand on her chest and stood. Jimmy eyed her suspiciously. "What's so funny?"
"The crazy dance, Jimmy?" she asked.
He blushed. "I don't know. What are kids calling it these days?"
"It's sex, Jimmy," she said. "Just call it that. We're adults now." She smiled at him as she leaned over him.
He became nervous as their lips grew closer. "We can't," he said.
"I know,"she said as she opened the door. "I was just reaching for the door knob." She pushed the door open and shoved him outside, a smile on her face. "I'm almost a married woman, James. I can't have any of that."
She smile one last time before closing the door . Jimmy could only smile.