A/N: I DON'T OWN JIMMY NEUTRON OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OF THE SHOW. I AM MEARLY A FAN. (and a poor one at that, mr/mrs lawyers, esq.)
Betty Quinlin was nervous. Standing on her boyfriend's front porch, hoping everything would just go smoothly, she waited for someone to answer the door. Reaching to press the doorbell a second time, she paused as she heard a muffled voice followed by a scuffle and thump at the door. Slowly the door opened, revealing a slightly disheveled blond in a lab coat. "Jimmy will be right down, Betty. Come on in," invited Cindy as she brushed herself off.
Conflicting feelings of jealousy and relief swirled through the brunette as she entered the Neutron household. These thoughts raced through her head. "It's her. It's always her. But, this means Jimmy hasn't forgotten. He won't be late. She makes sure Jimmy sticks to his schedules. But why always her? Why not me?" Steeling her feelings and quelling the uneasiness in her stomach, Betty walked into the living room. Cindy ran up the stairs to retrieve Jimmy. Hearing the blond call for Jimmy once again turned Betty's stomach. Smoothing the shear black dress she had on, Betty forced a smile onto her face and stepped through the living room into the kitchen.
"Hello, Betty, dear," came the gentle tones of Judy Neutron.
"Hi, Mrs. Neutron," replied Betty, smiling at the older woman baking pies in the kitchen.
"So tonight is a big night for you two, right?"
"Yes, our three year anniversary."
"Jimmy mentioned you were planning things," commented Mrs. Neutron, studying the younger girl with knowing eyes. While Betty and her son certainly cared quite a bit for one another, lately the two of them seemed a half a step off in almost all they did. Jimmy was consistently late for the start of their dates due to his various experiments. Betty, though she tried, would repeatedly get lost while her son discussed his latest project. And most importantly, there was Cindy. Lately, the two of them were inseparable. While Judy did not doubt the intentions of either of the young scientists, the way they acted lately was unnaturally close for mere science partners, or even for close friends. Although Betty covered it well, Judy noticed the pain in the young girl's eyes; the occasional flash of jealousy when Jimmy and Cindy had a moment. Even that Nick boy Cindy was dating noticed it once in a while. Unfortunately, the two causing the trouble never realized what was truly happening. Dismissing his mothers worries with comments like 'We're just friends, Mom,' came easily to the clueless boy genius. Smiling serenely at Betty, Mrs. Neutron wished the best for all parties involved.
"Yes, I wanted it to be special," said Betty. "And since Jim was really sweet the last two anniversaries, and he put so much thought and effort into them, I decided to treat him to a wonderful time and not worry him with the planning since he's been so busy lately. Especially with that new chemical thingy he and Cindy are working on," she continued, hoping he didn't bite off Cindy's name harshly. Continuing the conversation in her head, she thought to herself, 'I KNOW they really are just friends. I mean, they say so. They just are working so hard on that… thing. And Cindy has Nick, the guy she was chasing for years. Quite vocally chasing. And the reigning school hero after the game this afternoon… which Cindy did attend, without Jim… yea, it's okay. He still says he loves me. And he wouldn't knowingly ever tell a lie…" That last thought burned in her mind, but she couldn't quite understand why.
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"Stay still while I tie this thing for you," exclaimed a slightly exasperated Cindy. "Don't move," she commanded, moving behind Jimmy. Reaching up over his shoulders, her hands traced his collar and down the front of his shirt searching out the black ribbons of cloth that made up his tie. "I swear, you're a genius to whom space travel is boring and mundane, yet the intricacies of a simple necktie have you baffled." she scoffed, manipulating the two ends into a neat half-windsor. "At least I had to do this for that play last year, or you'd be running to your mommy to make you pretty," she teased. As she pulled the knot tight to his neck, their height difference brought her chest tight against his back. Jimmy turned inside her embrace, facing her as her arms draped up and clasped behind his neck. Leaning in and giving her a gentle peck on her forehead, his arms reached up under hers and he hugged her gently. "Thanks Cin, don't know what I'd do without you," he smiled warmly.
Cindy was suddenly aware of Jimmy. The firmness of his chest, the warmth of his body, the faint scent of his cologne...flushed, she dropped her hands to the side and looked away. "No prob." she replied. Quelling the butterflies in her stomach, she looked back at him and took a step back. "You look great tonight." And he did. As he grabbed his black suit jacket, Cindy was amazed at how GOOD Jimmy looked. As he flashed her a smile of thanks, the words 'sexy, too' floated to her mind. As he walked out his door and down the stairs to his date, Cindy paused. "Did I just think SEXY, about Jimmy?" she wondered half aloud. Shaking her head to clear these foreign thoughts from her mind, she watched Jimmy turn the corner at the bottom of the stairs. "Nice butt, too," she thought, then paused again at what she was thinking. Shuddering at her sudden revelations, she forced her mind clear and ran down the stairs to see Jimmy off. "Can't forget my date with Nick tonight, either," she reassured herself, not entirely knowing why she needed to reassure herself of that.
Entering the kitchen, Cindy saw Jimmy and Betty locked in a tight hug, and seeing the joy on his face, she smiled. Betty made Jimmy happy, and that was important. Unconsciously rubbing her chest as if to rub a bruise or sore muscle, Cindy was unaware of the momentary look of pain her face showed, as well as missing the all too understanding gaze of a woman several years her senior. With Jimmy and Betty bidding goodbye to Cindy and Mrs. Neutron, the exited out to the driveway joking how Betty was going to be driving this date, and yes the roadways were safe with her at the wheel. Mrs. Neutron leaned over and gave a supportive hug to the young blond and turned to finish her pies. Unsure why she needed comforting but thankful for it, Cindy excused herself to get ready for her own date. Crossing the street, her own emotions were a swirling cloud of gray. Unsure what all her emotions were telling her, Cindy attempted to clear her mind. She had a date with Nick Dean in under an hour, and she needed to hurry. He had been anxious all week long to tell her something tonight on their date. As she pondered Nick's forthcoming conversation, back across the street Mrs. Neutron glanced out the window and sighed. Her son and his friends were in for a bumpy ride.
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UPDATE – I changed Betty's dialogue – she calls Jimmy "Jim" – minor tweak
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A/N: so much to happen, and I'm very unsure of my work here. I don't know if the emotions came out clearly, if the dialogue made sense, etc. It felt a bit rushed to me, but at least at this point I'm stumped. So I'd rather just get this part of the plot out to you all. PLEASE read and review. I hope to respond and fix if necessary.
-Tim