Man, I'm taking less units this quarter, but I still have very little free time and it's so freaking absurd! Well, that's what I get, I suppose, for taking chemistry. But yeah, before I begin, I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, despite my sporadic updating schedule right now! (Hugs for all y'all)

And now for something completely different: standard disclaimer still applies, thank you very much. I own no part of JN and never, ever will. If I did… (Grins while thinking about it) but I don't, so that's why I'm writing this story. Woo.

To Cross the Rubicon
By: pottergal

Chapter Nine: Wanted: One Solution, Inquire Within

Only a few minutes had passed since leaving the school before Jimmy was setting the hovercraft down gently on the Ojufemi's lawn, and he and Cindy hopped out. He didn't bother setting the alarm, figuring that they'd only be staying a few minutes, and he followed Cindy up to the front door. She rang the doorbell and the two of them stood in an uncomfortable silence until a middle aged woman opened the door curiously.

"Cindy?"

Jimmy could only assume that the woman was Natesa's mother, as she had similar facial characteristics, but he couldn't believe how short and petite she was. She stood only about a head taller than Cindy, which was rather small for an adult woman.

"What on earth are you doing here, dear?" she asked, her tone warm but confused, and Jimmy tried to smile when her deep blue eyes flicked in his direction. "Shouldn't you be in school? And who's your friend?"

"I'm really sorry for disturbing you, Mrs. Ojufemi, but apparently it was urgent," Cindy said, glancing at him briefly. "This is my friend Jimmy Neutron from school and he wanted to ask you some questions about the necklace I wore for the dance."

Jimmy nodded as he watched the woman blink and look at him, realization flooding her features. He frowned inwardly at that; what had she just reacted to? His name, or the fact that he wanted to know about the necklace?

"Of course," she said, a halting note in her voice making his frown deepen. "Please come inside and have a seat on the couch in the living room. I'll go get the necklace for you." She stepped from the door way as she spoke and gestured to the depths of her house, holding the door open for them.

"Thank you for humoring him," Cindy said as they entered and Jimmy shot her a small glare. "He seems to think that I'm under the curse that was placed on the necklace." She laughed a little, but Mrs. Ojufemi merely uttered a small sound of assent and vanished up the stairs.

"Is she always like that?" Jimmy asked as they settled stiffly into the large leather couch, slightly on edge from the unfamiliarity of their surroundings.

"I'm not too sure," Cindy said, frowning slightly. "She never was distant during all our rehearsals; maybe something happened to distract her?"

Or there's more to this whole curse thing than either of us wants to admit, he thought grimly, looking around to pass the time. The Ojufemi household floor plan was similar enough to his own, being that most of the track houses in their neighborhood had been built by the same company with the same blueprint. The only difference was the décor, and Jimmy had to admit that this place was more appealing, if less functional, than his own home.

The house was elegantly decorated in warm tones of burgundy, tan, and black, as opposed to the cool blues and greens of his home, and it boasted a distinct Egyptian and Eastern influence. There was an ebony silk screen decorated with white cranes and cherry blossoms that sat in a corner by the window, and countless knickknacks were scattered around the room, littering the tables and shelves. A corner bookshelf made from beautiful mahogany showcased many of them, and a large beveled mirror hung over the fireplace across from Jimmy. It was a far cry from the stark yet hardy place he lived in, but he supposed his mother had little desire to decorate when his inventions had the tendency to destroy things.

"She sure is taking a while," he muttered as he glanced at Cindy, who was absently touching the large bouquet of red roses that sat on the end table beside her.

"She probably forgot where she put the necklace," she responded before looking at him and smiling gently. She edged closer, which set off his instinctive warnings instantly, and he sat up straighter, preparing to flee from the couch. "What were you going to do for lunch, Jimmy? I brought extra food, if you're interested…"

"Um," he said, hating how stupid he'd just sounded. He couldn't seem to form a coherent thought anymore, especially when she looked at him like that, with her green eyes all hopeful and enchanting…

Get a grip!

Jimmy shook himself slightly before finally responding. "If this doesn't take much longer, I'll stop by my home and get something," he said, watching as Cindy looked away, her disappointment as clear as day. He winced at the crestfallen expression on her face, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. She'd only been trying to be nice, and she hadn't hugged him or tried to kiss him…

Gas planets! Hang me for being such a pushover!

"But if it does, then I guess I wouldn't mind sharing what you brought," he said, looking away as she brightened, her eyes shining happily. He jumped slightly when she took his hand in hers, her grip tightening in a gentle squeeze, and when he glanced at her, his brain froze again at the look on her face. It was a soft smile, illuminated sweetly by the sun pouring through the window, and for the briefest of instances he swore that she was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Mrs. Ojufemi's voice startled him from the trance he'd been in and he jerked away from Cindy as the woman entered the living room. She carried a small jewelry box and a rather large book, and she set them both on the coffee table before sitting in one of the armchairs that flanked the fireplace.

"I remembered something my great grandmother gave me along with the necklace and I thought it might be useful to you," she continued, and Jimmy decided that she looked distinctly nervous. "I believe it details everything about the necklace, from when it was made to the nature of its strange powers."

"So there is a curse on it then?" Jimmy asked, and a small wince from her told him he'd accurately discerned the cause of her discomfort. He plucked both the book and the case from the coffee table as he spoke, setting them on his lap.

"I didn't think there was," Mrs. Ojufemi said, her tone slightly defensive, and he opened the case to reveal the necklace Cindy had worn yesterday. "I wore it once a few months ago without experiencing anything, so I figured it was safe to lend it to her." She looked over at Cindy as she spoke, eyeing the girl curiously. "But what has happened to make you think she's cursed? I don't see anything different about her."

"She thinks she's in love with me," Jimmy said matter-of-factly as he shut the case and opened the book.

"I don't merely think so," Cindy snapped as he turned the cover page carefully; the book was yellowed with age and smelled faintly pungent. "I know I love you. How many times must I repeat myself until you believe me?"

"The more you say it, Cindy dear, the more I think you've lost your mind," he said, throwing her a look before frowning down at the book. It was written entirely in hieroglyphs and was accompanied by fading drawings done in traditional Egyptian style.

"Where exactly did this book come from, Mrs. Ojufemi?" he asked as he turned another page. "And can you tell me anything about the curse that was supposedly placed on this necklace?"

"That's what the book is for," the woman said, and Jimmy caught trace amounts of a smile on her face. "You'll have to forgive me, but that book has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. I think my great grandmother knew how to read some of it, but as you can see, it's in rather bad condition; no one has been taking care of it. I've been meaning to take it somewhere and have it translated, as I can't read Egyptian to save my life, but I haven't found a place within a reasonable driving radius."

"I can translate this easily," Jimmy said as he shut the book. "So am I correct in assuming that you know nothing aside from the fact that the necklace may or may not be cursed?"

"You are," Mrs. Ojufemi responded, looking away regretfully, and he furrowed his brow in thought.

"Did your great grandmother say anything at all about the curse itself? Or did she just tell you that the necklace must never be worn?" He'd been hoping to get some useful information to work with, and everything he'd learned so far wasn't helping at all.

"The latter," Mrs. Ojufemi said, sounding slightly embarrassed. "I only met her once, and that was when she gave these things to me. She also told me the story behind the necklace, and the gist of it was that Isis, wanting to punish some of her more vain followers, had this necklace created and sent to Earth, where it caused much confusion and suffering."

"Interesting," he murmured, frowning in thought. Perhaps there was something more plausible behind the necklace after all, but to be absolutely certain, he was going to have to run a few tests. "You don't mind if I take both the book and the necklace, do you? I'd like to study both back at my lab."

"Not at all," she responded, her lips curving in a small smile. "From the looks of it, the curse is one that makes the wearer fall for someone, and I figured that you'd want to take them for further analysis. You are the genius everyone talks about, after all."

"Thank you," he said graciously as he stood, noticing that Cindy had rolled her eyes before standing as well. "I'll be sure to return both of these when I'm done." The woman nodded and stood, intending to show them out. They headed for the door, thanked Mrs. Ojufemi for her time, and made to leave.

"Wait one moment, Jimmy," Mrs. Ojufemi said softly once Cindy had walked out the door, and Jimmy paused to look up at her. She crouched slightly so that they were eye to eye and she smiled. "I thought you ought to know that you were all Cindy ever seemed to focus on during our practices; I don't think I've ever seen anyone so driven before."

Jimmy laughed nervously before responding. "We do have the tendency to compete quite viciously…" Mrs. Ojufemi laughed a little and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"I'm just saying that there might be something more behind her actions than you may realize," she said before winking and standing. "Off you go now; you have a necklace to examine, don't you?"

"Yeah," he said, slightly confused, but he stepped out of the house and made his way over to the hover car.

"What'd she want?" Cindy asked as they hopped into the vehicle and Jimmy initiated the startup sequence. He waved at Mrs. Ojufemi in farewell before responding.

"To wish me luck," he lied, feeling that what the woman had told him had been intended for his ears only. "She said that she hoped everything worked out and asked if I would give her a copy of the translated text."

"Oh," Cindy said simply as they lifted off and Jimmy plotted a course for his lab. He wanted to get the book in a vacuum to help preserve it until he had a chance to set up a program to translate it, which would be after school. He hated working with delicate items, as they had a tendency to crumble, and he had a feeling that if left much longer, the book would revert to dust.

"So you believe her then?" Cindy asked suddenly, jarring him from his mental planning. "You think I'm under some kind of crazy curse?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder to find her watching houses go by, her expression pensive and slightly sad. Some part of him gave a guilty twinge and he squashed it before it could grow.

"Listen, I'm not sure what to believe right now," he said, turning his attention back to the road. "Part of me is still convinced that you're doing this just for kicks while another part of me is trying to think up different chemical imbalances that might cause this sort of situation."

"Leave it to you to reduce love to something as unromantic as a stupid chemical imbalance," he heard her mutter, and could see her resting her chin in her hand glumly. "When we were talking to Mrs. Ojufemi you sure sounded convinced that it was a curse," she added and he sighed.

"I find that it's easier to extract the needed information from someone if you listen to what they have to say before trying to disprove it," he said and he heard her snort softly.

"And you do this when exactly?" she asked and he turned to her in disbelief. Was she back to normal? But no, her teasing grin told him that she was still lacking that better judgment of hers.

"More often than you think," he grumbled as he turned back to the road, and tensed when she embraced him from behind, her chin coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Because my Jimmy isn't a stuck up egotist at all," she whispered and giggled softly when he tried his best to wiggle out of her grip while remaining in control of the hover car at the same time.

"Cindy, you promised," he said sternly and felt her look at him. "You promised you wouldn't glom onto me!"

"And I'm not," she said and he stared at her. "This is called 'draping', Jimmy dearest. I've draped myself over you." He muttered several curses as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, and Cindy giggled again.

"Fine then! No draping, no hugging, no touching me! Period, end of story, case closed!" he said, his voice rising steadily in annoyance, and she sighed before removing her arms and returning to her seat. "Thank you!"

"Aren't you a stiff," she said, her tone light and teasing. "Any normal guy would be thrilled to have a cute girl fawning all over him." He threw a glare over his shoulder and she grinned at him.

"Since we've established that I'm as far from normal as possible, I think it's safe to say that I don't find the appeal in it," he shot back and heard her click her tongue slightly.

"I bet you wouldn't be complaining if it were Betty Quinlan," she said, her tone both light and bitter, and he began sputtering denials.

"What makes you think…? I wouldn't! I don't like her like that; it's just a friendly admiration! You're crazy! I don't like girls yet!" But the look on Cindy's face clearly said she wasn't buying it. "What makes you think that I like her that way?"

"You might as well wear a sign, Jimmy," she said as she rolled her eyes, and he shifted in his seat embarrassedly. "You turn into a drooling fanboy whenever you see her, and instead of stopping you while you still have some dignity left, she just lets you make a complete idiot of yourself."

"That bothers you?" he asked in disbelief and she gave him a look.

"Jimmy, do you know how hard it is to sit by and watch as the one you love makes a complete and total doofus of himself?" She sounded so pained that he had trouble believing that she was lying. "I know that I'd always try to bring you out of it, but it's funny. I can't seem to remember how I'd do it."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "That one's easy: you insult me enough to infuriate me." Cindy shook her head at that, waving her hand slightly in dismissal.

"That's impossible, Jimmy. I've already told you that I couldn't be horrible to you," she said and he groaned softly, his head tilting back in his frustration. "I love you too much to hurt you like that."

"Okay, stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Stop saying you love me!"

"But it's true. Why should I stop saying it?"

"Because I don't need to be reminded that you've lost your mind, that's why!"

"I haven't lost my mind! And it seems I need to remind you as much as possible, so I can beat it into your thick skull just how much I care!"

"ARG!"

Jimmy couldn't take it any longer, and it was a good thing that they'd reached his lab. Setting down the hover car, he put it on standby and turned in his chair to face Cindy, who looked about as frazzled as he felt.

"Let's make a deal, all right? Both of us are annoyed beyond belief by the other," he began and held up a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. "Don't try to tell me that my constant uncertainty of your sanity isn't bothering you." She looked away guiltily at that. "So here's my proposal: both of us will stop saying the phrase that most exasperates the other. Sound satisfactory?"

"How long does it stand?"

"I don't know, until I figure something out?"

Cindy looked thoughtful for a moment, but soon held out her hand and smiled. "I'll stop if you will."

"Deal," he said and they shook on it. He then grabbed the book and the case before vaulting over the side of the car and jogging up to the entrance to his lab.

"You know something, Jimmy?" Cindy called, and he turned to find her watching him with a soft look, her chin resting on her folded arms, which sat on the railing of the car. "That's another thing that I really lo-" She cut herself off with an apologetic smile and then continued. "I mean, I really like about you. You always have a solution to the problem, no matter how difficult things get."

He blinked at her for a moment, working through what she'd said, and he couldn't stop the small smile that rose to his lips.

"Thanks," he said before vanishing into his lab and giving himself a good mental shake. What was happening to him? It was like he was getting used to this new Cindy. First he'd lost it at the Ojufemi household, and then just now…

Focus! He told himself sharply. He had to figure out a solution to this whole mess so that he could turn Cindy back to normal. Imagining her stuck as the hug-happy Jimmy-fanatic she was now gave him chills.

Wait a second. Why would that be bad? Don't you enjoy having her fawn all over you? Part of him asked and he told it roughly to shut up. Of course it was bad! And no, he most certainly did not enjoy having Cindy throw herself at him! It wasn't just Cindy either; he'd do a double take if any girl just started announcing her undying love for him. The only reason he'd reacted like he had… well, it was Cindy, and she wasn't supposed to do those kinds of things. Besides, his instincts were telling him that whatever had caused this nightmare of a situation hadn't given Cindy a choice in the matter, and that in itself was wrong.

Nick was right. Cindy wouldn't continuously spout proclamations of love or give me compliments of her own free will. And she certainly wouldn't share her lunch... It was up to him to correct things and make sure that the old Cindy was returned, even if it meant putting up with her insults.

"I have a sense of right and wrong, thank you," he muttered as he entered the main chamber of his lab, pressing a few buttons on the main console to bring things back from their low-power mode. The lights brightened slightly and the main screen flickered to life.

"Goddard!" he called and was rewarded with a happy bark from another room. It was only a few minutes before his dog came bounding towards him, wagging his little tail happily.

"Hey there, nice to see you too," he said as he bent down and patted Goddard's metallic head, laughing when he was rewarded with a happy lick on his cheek. "I can't stay long, boy, as we have to be back for class soon, but I need to store something in one of the vacuum units. Do you remember where we put them?"

Goddard gave a short series of barks before bounding off to the other room. Jimmy followed behind shortly to find his dog tugging the large unit (which was actually an old converted dryer) from one of the many closets.

"Thanks, boy," he said, patting Goddard's head again, and found the nearest outlet to plug it in to. A faint hum rewarded him for his efforts, and after carefully placing the book inside the unit, he shut the front door and set the vacuum level.

"While I'm gone, I want you run some x-ray tests on the necklace in that case. I want to make sure that it's just a stone and some metal." Goddard barked once as they headed back to the main room, and Jimmy patted his head one last time before making his way back outside.

"Come on, Jimmy! We've only got ten minutes left of lunch!" Cindy called when he emerged from the lab, blinking in the sunlight.

"All right, all right! I'm coming!" he called in response and hopped into the hover car, bringing it back from standby.

"Hey, Jimmy? How many demerits is a tardy worth?" Cindy asked as they lifted smoothly from the ground and he sent her a slightly confused look. "It's been so long since my last one that I've forgotten."

"I think it's either two or three, but I'm not sure," he said as he began plotting a course back to school. "Why? What were you thinking?"

"Well, since we've wasted most of our lunch break, I suggest that we go on a picnic," she said and he shook his head, his face settling into a stern frown.

"Uh-uh, no way Cindy," he said, tensing as she slid up into the seat next to him. "I'm not going on any picnic with you, and besides. I'm not hungry."

"Oh really?" she asked mildly, his stomach choosing that perfect moment to growl loudly. "Please, Jimmy? It'll be a lot of fun, and I know you've got all the gear for a perfect picnic in the park." She was leaning closer steadily as she spoke, her expression set in a dewy-eyed plea.

"Please?"

He'd been chewing on the inside of his cheek, trying his hardest to resist her, but her look had slowly melted down every line of defense he had. It had been that final pitiful appeal that had really done him in, her soft, whispery voice turning his insides to jelly and making him wonder where on Earth she'd gotten this kind of power.

Maybe it comes naturally to women, he thought darkly as he sighed heavily in defeat.

"Which park?" he grumbled and her squeal of delight made him cringe.

"One that's nice and deserted," she said, and he blinked when she began pressing a few buttons on the dashboard.

What? His mouth fell open slightly when a radar screen appeared before her and began running scans on the surrounding area. How in the world did she know what to do?

"In case you were wondering," she said, as though she'd heard his thoughts, "I've watched you do this enough that it comes automatically." She gave him a smile before placing a hand under his chin and shutting his mouth gently. "As cute as you are when you're astounded, I really don't think it's a good idea to have your mouth hanging open when you're driving."

"So, um…" he said as he turned back to the road, trying to collect his scattered thoughts. "Which park is it?"

"Retroville Gardens," she said, giggling faintly, and he punched in their new destination, trying hard not to think about the coming meal. He had a sick, sinking feeling that it was going to be the worst picnic of his young life…

So there you have it, a chapter filled with some light fluff. I'm trying my hardest not to make Jimmy out of character (Cindy is already out of character due to something, so there's no trying there), and hopefully I'm succeeding. I've crossed my fingers and bought out a good luck charm store, so that might be just enough to make me successful. It's up to you guys to decide, right? Tell me if Jimmy seems plausible, given the situation, and if he doesn't, I'll have to fix it some how. :

Anyway, how do you like the story's latest development? And do you think Jimmy will discover the necklace's true nature? Or is he chasing a wild goose? (Grins evilly) Review and I'll love you forever!