Lilith had decided to come back with jimmy peacefully, and Jimmy was surprised when Cindy agreed to let him take her home on his hover car. Cindy didn't seem mad at Lilith for kidnapping her, but she did seem a little weird about going home, and was acting strange.
Lilith had an ability neutralizer on her wrists, which basically measured and regulated her abilities, and kept her powers contained. Lilith seemed quite worried about Cindy, there must have been some sort of unspoken vibe between the two, as if they had both shared a secret.
Cindy sat in the front seat of the hover car, and Lilith sat quietly in the back. Jimmy had already forgiven Lilith for the way she was acting, she was confused, and in a state of shock, and she wasn't a mean demon, she agreed to allow Jimmy to keep her contained and research her until he figured out a way to send her back.
Cindy looked at her feet, as Jimmy and the rest of the group remained silent for the entire ride back to his hometown.
"What is your name fleshling," Lilith spoke, breaking the silence.
"Uh, Jimmy Neutron." Jimmy replied, watching as Lilith nodded her head, before sitting back and admiring the surrounding view.
Cindy remained quiet, she didn't once speak to Jimmy, even after the fight ended. She just nodded her head when he asked a question, or just stared off into the distance almost as if she were so lost in thought she would never come back to reality.
Cindy never said thank you, or asked if he was okay, he understood she might have been in shock, but after Lilith apologized, she still didn't relax. Something didn't add up, Cindy has been through a lot of dangerous situations, but Jimmy didn't think she was very ecstatic about the fight ending with Lilith.
Jimmy thought for a second, "Lilith, why did you kidnap Cindy in the first place?"
Jimmy almost smiled when he saw a crack appear in Cindy's expression, almost as if she were panicking. Jimmy knew something in Cindy's household triggered the demon to feel the need to protect her, Lilith had said humans were hurting her, and in her state on confusion she tried to help, by accidently kidnapping Cindy.
"There is awkward tension between you two, demons can sniff out emotions and feelings. I can sense that both of you are hurting, and desperately crave each other's attention." Lilith said.
Jimmy was so embarrassed and surprise, he jerked the steering wheel of his hover car making the entire vehicle jerk, making Cindy slam into Jimmy's body. Cindy cried out in pain, but Jimmy was too disoriented to understand that Lilith had said they both felt that way.
"T-That's ridiculous, I am completely fine without Cindy in my life!" Jimmy said quickly. Cindy puffed out her cheeks, and her face started to grow red in anger, as she shoved Jimmy out of his seat.
Jimmy was shocked by Cindy's sudden change in behavior, as she took control of the hover car and forced it to land.
The hover car stopped rumbling, as the engine shut off. Cindy hopped out of the hover car and stormed off, leaving Jimmy to yell after her.
"I-I'm sorry Cindy, that came out wrong!" Jimmy yelled after her. Cindy turned around and stared at him, before replying.
"Just stay away from me! We are both better off without each other right?"
Jimmy flinched, why did he always have to mess things up with her? Jimmy bit his lip, he was such a moron, it didn't matter what he did, he always got into a fight with Cindy. His emotions always kick in, offending Cindy, and just making her mad at him all over again.
Why was he so upset over this? Cindy didn't even want him in her life anyways, he was just saying what was true, right?
"Humans are interesting creatures, the way they interact is very fascinating." Lilith said, shifting her arms as her power reducing handcuffs beeped loudly.
"She is interesting, no one really knows what is going through her mind most of the time." Jimmy replied.
Jimmy had no idea where Cindy was going, but he didn't really care anymore, there was nothing else he could try and do to make peace with her. Jimmy touched his stinging chest, the claw marks were still there, and the fresh wound was starting to bleed.
Jimmy's body was exhausted, he had always been weak when it came to physical activity and strength. Jimmy turned to Lilith who was wandering around the street, looking at the many houses that were lined up in the neighborhood.
"What is this place, filled with extraordinary sights and smells. It is so lively, and not filled with death and despair, go figure." Lilith said, sniffing the air, Lilith has never seen sunlight, or not stood in one place without millions of souls screaming. The silence, and the peacefulness she was experiencing, it was something beautiful.
"Umm, this is Retroville, please get back in the hover car before someone calls the police. You said you were friendly, so please don't make this difficult." Jimmy said, as the demon looked at Jimmy and then back at the sky.
"Yes… Retroville, such a peaceful place. These humans, they are living in harmony, this is something I do not understand." Lilith said, climbing back into the hover car, as Jimmy turned on the vehicle.
"What do you mean you don't understand?" Jimmy asked Lilith.
Lilith's ears twitched as she picked up on every conversation that was happening within a two miles radius.
"Humans, they kill and destroy everything they touch, along with themselves. I was told earth was filled with hateful and evil people, that build things to destroy the ones they despise, I was told I was the one to end all the conflict. But… this place…. It is not what Lucifer described at all." Lilith said, she could hear every word out everyone's mouths.
"Eat your dinner, we have to go to your college conference in thirty minutes." Said one voice, Lilith listened more carefully, "My heart belongs to you, and no one else." Another voice said. Lilith didn't understand, where was the suffering, and the hatred that earth had? The people she had met in hell, they were all billions of people that had caused harm and misfortune to others, but this young human was willing to sacrifice so much for another.
"There are always bad people Lilith, trust me the world is full of them, but I just try to focus on the good in the world." Jimmy said, he knew this must have been a big change after where Lilith used to live, no wonder she went on a rampage. Lilith thought the earth was bad, Jimmy could see that she didn't understand why what she was told wasn't all true.
"Yes.. bad people.. Like the ones hurting your friend. They are the ones I see in the underworld, and… people like you… where do you go when you die?" Lilith asked, watching as Jimmy gripped the steering wheel, making his knuckles turn white.
"W-Who hurt Cindy, what are you talking about?" Jimmy said, his voice rising with anger. Lilith could feel the intense protective anger surging around Jimmy, but she did not understand this, she had thought that they hated each other. Why would this human care about how his friend was treated, when he hated her? Lilith thumped her tail while she thought, his anger, was not like normal anger, it had a small light coming from it, even though anger pulls from darkness.
"I felt strong negative energy, and as a demon, I went towards it, seeking power, for it is the only energy I have ever known. I saw… your friend… cowering like the tortured souls in the lake of fire, I saw them beat your friend, like my father used to do to me. I shielded that human, the only way I knew how." Lilith replied.
Something about those two humans… Jimmy.. and.. Cindy, made her curious. For some reason she felt compelled to help the human named Cindy, and was curious about Jimmy. Lilith could easily dispose of them both and rampage through this place named Retroville, but something kept her from doing so. Earth had a certain shine to it, and she wanted to learn about the humans, they were destructive and foolish at times, but they were also charming and fun to watch.
Lilith had only agreed to come with Jimmy so she could examine him and observe his behavior and way of life. Lilith was a death machine, but she has always secretly admired life, and wanted to understand it, before she destroyed it.
Lilith was brought to strange living quarters, she could sniff out the scents of three humans that have constantly been there. Jimmy helped Lilith out of the hover car, before leading her over some strange patch of plant life.
"What is this abomination, why has it taken over your territory?" Lilith said, throwing herself on the ground, inspecting the grass that was apparently an abomination. Lilith touched the grass with her finger, and jumped back when the plant touched her skin.
"Have you never seen grass before, Lilith?" Jimmy asked, watching as Lilith scrunched up her face in confusion.
"What is this… grass you speak of…" Lilith replied, watching as Jimmy went to his lab, and plucked a hair from his head. The scanner identified its creator, and unlocked the door to his lair, as Lilith gently touched her foot on the grass.
Jimmy watched the demon flinch, as her bare foot touched the vegetation that grew on his backyard. Jimmy has never seen anything so interested in such a common thing that grew on earth, but where Lilith came from, it must have been a lot different than burning rocks and intense fire.
Jimmy gently plucked a piece of grass from the ground, before flicking it into the air, "see Lilith, it is harmless, it's just a plant that grows pretty much everywhere."
The piece of grass blew away in the wind, making Lilith jump at the cool change in temperature.
"AHA, I am amused human! Summon that mysterious ghostly presence once more, so that I may bask in its strangely brisk wake!" Lilith demanded, looking around her as if something were going to pop up.
"Ghostly presence? Are you talking about the wind?" Jimmy asked, curious as to how his female demon companion would respond.
"The Wind, so that is its name… Such a powerful and elegant presence, I must learn more about this creature. I must have its bitter power for myself." Lilith said dramatically, as Jimmy rolled his eyes and grabbed Lilith's arm.
"Come on, you said you would let me run some tests. I need to know everything about you, this could be a scientific breakthrough!" Jimmy said, tugging Lilith into his lab, the demon whimpered as she reached her hand towards the sun, wanting to experience more of this "wind," and "grass."
"Be patient human, I wish to learn as well. I do very much enjoy watching what occurs in your world, just as much as you yearn to learn about my dimension." Lilith said, as the door behind her slammed shut.
Jimmy lead his demon acquaintance down the lab, Lilith's heart was leaping out of her chest, she was so excited, this was so much better then where she came from. Lilith grunted, as she folded back her black feathery wings and drooled at all the fun things hanging on the walls and shelves, oh how much excitement awaited her.
Jimmy approached Lilith, before unlocking her power reducing handcuffs, making the metal cuffs drop to the floor. Lilith eyed Jimmy, after all the things she has done to him, he actually trusted her enough to let her powers run rampant.
"Human, why free me of these binds, when I have done nothing but harm you. This does not seem very wise of you, and a very bad move on your part, I do not understand this." Lilith said, as Jimmy placed the handcuffs on a table.
"You tried to help Cindy, and you stopped attacking once you understood that I wasn't a threat. You turned yourself in, and allowed me to take you to my lab, I don't see why I should consider you an enemy, when all you've done was try and protect someone who needed to be safe." Jimmy said, watching as Lilith tried to piece everything together in her mind.
Jimmy had just trusted Lilith not to attack him right then, she could have ended his life in seconds, but for some reason he knew she wouldn't. Lilith didn't understand this, in her dimension, there was no such thing as trust, you had to fight to survive, but here, on earth, there was a chance of peace for Lilith.
"I-I never have been shown kindness before, thank you fleshling." Lilith said. Jimmy felt bad for the demon, she wasn't a bad creature, and she never meant to harm anyone, the least Jimmy could do was not make her feel like a prisoner in his own lab.
"You can just call me Jimmy, and you are welcome. Just try to stay in the lab, in the quarantined section, until we can send you back to your original home." Jimmy said, as he looked at Lilith turn paler which was physically impossible. Jimmy didn't know for sure, but he thought he saw a hint of fear in the demon's eyes.
"I am compelled to bring forth my upmost and divine gratitude by your actions, and I hereby establish my power to undo the damage I have so shamelessly presented." Lilith said, approaching Jimmy. Jimmy froze, as the demon reached out, he didn't exactly say he saw Lilith as a friend, he just said not an enemy.
Jimmy couldn't help but cry out in fear, as Lilith grabbed his arm. Jimmy clawed at the walls in panic, as Lilith held him down.
"Stop moving fleshling, and let my demonic power rejuvenate the flesh I had slain." Lilith growled, spreading her wings to where a shadow fell over Jimmy's terrified body.
Perhaps letting the demon loose was not a good idea.
Lilith opened her mouth, as she held Jimmy's head to the cold hard floor. Jimmy squirmed in fear, as Lilith touched his stinging cheek, that she had clawed earlier that day. Lilith released a shadow from her finger tips, and the shadow consumed Jimmy's entire cheek, making him paralyzed with fear.
Lilith released Jimmy, and the teenager quickly moved away from Lilith and ran to a mirror to see what horrible thing the demon had done to him.
Jimmy was shocked to see that the claw marks and pain had completely vanished, leaving nothing but smooth skin that looked healthier than before. Jimmy rubbed his cheek, as his heart slowed down, Lilith had a weird way of explaining things, but she was just trying to heal him.
Lilith stood with a goofy grin on her face, Lilith never really smiled like this, she just felt strange after helping this… human out.
"Y-You have healing abilities?" Jimmy asked, touching his chest, and realizing the fleshy burning claw marks were gone.
"I have just discovered this ability as well, my comprehension on this 'healing' meaning, is not something I normally encounter." Lilith replied, making small embers appear on her hand, lighting up the dark lab.
"Thanks Lilith, I didn't really understand what you were doing at first, I am sorry for acting so strangely." Jimmy said, observing the demon's goofy grin.
"Your apology is not required, I would have quivered in terror if I were a fleshling in the presence of a demonic guardian." Lilith said, her tail swishing to the side, sweeping the floor with her feathers.
"Hey Lilith, why do you speak that way? There is no need to speak so formally." Jimmy said, as Lilith's ears twitched.
"I do not understand, is this not the way humans address those that are lower than them?" Lilith asked.
Jimmy blinked, what did she mean by lower? "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that, come over here please."
Lilith obeyed, before hovering and looking at something. Jimmy didn't notice until he turned around to see Lilith poking at something, Jimmy screamed at Lilith to stop, but his holographic disguise faltered and went away revealing a strange picture. Lilith watched as Jimmy cringed, when she picked up a photo that was disguised as a stack of papers earlier.
"Interesting, this image frozen in time seems to have very strong male hormones attached to it. If I were to put my memory to the test, I would have to say that these chemicals smell like-" Lilith was stopped as Jimmy snatched the picture of a photo shopped image of him and Betty Quinlan.
"Stop touching things, this is n-nothing OKAY!" Jimmy shouted, shoving Lilith into the quarantined section of his lab.
Lilith lost her footing and slammed into the metal floor, as Jimmy stood behind a thick bullet proof glass. Jimmy's heart was racing, if anyone knew that he still had a crush on Betty from middle school, he would be laughed at until graduation. Especially if Cindy knew, she would tease and bully him about it until he died of old age. He could never really understand why Cindy would always get so mad whenever Betty was around, she was so happy when Betty went to another school, and Jimmy never knew why.
"Who was that female human, and why did that picture smell so strongly of Oxytocin." Lilith asked curiously, Jimmy quickly tried to change the subject.
"Lilith, tell me the abilities you possess and demonstrate them." Jimmy said, through a speaker, to where it reached Lilith's ears.
"I shall demonstrate my power, and will leave you speechless!" Lilith said, making fire appear in her palms. The flames intensified, as Lilith's black hair blew around from some mysterious breeze that was present in the quarantined chamber.
"What are you doing now?" Jimmy asked curiously, as Lilith grinned at him from behind the glass.
"Getting ready to steal your soul," Lilith dryly replied.
Jimmy's curiosity died, as his body started being sucked towards the metal wall that separated him and the demon. Jimmy thrashed, trying to break free of the mysterious force that held him down, and slowly dragged him into the wall. Jimmy closed his eyes, as his body was pulled into the quarantined chamber through the wall.
Jimmy popped out on the other side, as his body began feeling like it was crushed under the weight of some invisible tank. Lilith opened her wings, standing over Jimmy with an excited look on her face, but Jimmy was too surprised to speak.
Lilith opened her mouth, and Jimmy started to feel his body grow weak. Jimmy rested his head on the ground, his breathing becoming shallow, as his fingers twitched, and his heart rate started to weaken.
It was too much, and Jimmy lost consciousness.
Jimmy's lungs sprung to life, as air rushed into them. Jimmy's eyes started to adjust, and started to become less blurry after a few minutes. Jimmy's body ached, and his muscles shook when he tried to sit himself up.
Lilith was peering over him, her wings folded back, and her red eyes scanning him over curiously. Jimmy grunted, as he sat all the way up, and looked around the room, magazines and devices were thrown all over the section he put Lilith in, along with weird stains all over the walls.
Lilith was biting into a mustered bottle, her fangs crushed the bottle, making liquid splatter all over the walls.
"HA, this is amusing, what do you call this interesting fluid container." Lilith said, as she squirted mustard all over the floor and glass.
"W-Wha? Where did you get all this stuff?" Jimmy asked, looking around the room, and seeing a soda machine lying on its side, as if someone had ripped it right out of the ground.
"These are gifts, I demand your attention and satisfaction." Lilith replied, handing Jimmy a bottle of emergency pills.
"Lilith where did you get these?" Jimmy asked in fear, Lilith shrugged before yawning and stretching.
"Your pestering questions have bore me, I am exhausted from my day of exploring and I demand to rest my weary eyes!" Lilith said, with a big yawn, as she curled up on the floor and started to breathe softly.
"Lilith did these come from the emergency room, at a hospital? These are pills for people that are getting ready to have a stroke!" Jimmy said, Lilith popped an eye open, before sticking out her tongue, licking a puddle of ketchup, and curling up to go back to sleep.
Jimmy yawned, what time was it? Lilith must have gone out of the lab for hours to make such a big mess, he just hoped no one saw her. Lilith had tried to steal his soul, (he would have to explain to Lilith not to do that) and he must have been knocked out for a few hours.
"VOX, what is the current time?" Jimmy yelled, waiting until his artificial intelligence responded back.
"The current time is six ten, AM." VOX replied from the speaker hanging from the ceiling.
"Shoot, my mom is going to murder me if I don't get my butt to class. I've already ditched school once, I should thank my lucky stars that no one called her to confirm I wasn't at school." Jimmy whispered, making Lilith's eye pop open, and an evil smile curl from her lips.
"School? I know exactly where that is, I shall take you there out of my generosity." Lilith said, Jimmy had no time to react, as Lilith opened her wings, and snatched Jimmy's leg. Jimmy screamed in terror, as Lilith flapped her feathery wings, before ascending upwards into the ceiling.
Jimmy hung upside down, as Lilith cloaked herself in darkness, and became a deep dark shadow. Lilith broke through the surface of Jimmy's lab, letting the morning sun wash over her, but her screaming companion was not letting her enjoy her moment.
"Oh hush fleshling, I am trying to appreciate the beauty of earth!" Lilith growled, before swooping down towards the road. The tip of Jimmy's hair grazed the road, as Lilith flew at blinding speeds, whizzing past all the parked cars. Jimmy couldn't see, the piercing wind was tearing at his eyes, making a stream of tears flow down his cheeks.
Lilith suddenly stopped, making Jimmy's neck almost snap. Lilith dropped Jimmy on his head, and Jimmy cried out in pain as his skull smashed against the concrete. Lilith landed, her shadowy disguise melting into her normal teenage-like look.
Lilith's black ears picked up on many teenagers chattering, as they entered Retroville High, with exhausted faces. Lilith crouched behind the brick wall, that was surrounded by a large parking lot that went on for a very long time. Lilith peeked behind the wall, looking curiously at all the teenagers flooding into the building, after dropping off their cars in the parking lot.
"Lilith, you have to be more gentle, I could have received a concussion!" Jimmy hissed, even though Lilith was too memorized by the way the humans interacted with each other.
"I found out about these intriguing gathering grounds called a 'school,' while you were insensible. These strange hormonal creatures seem to dread coming here, by the way they interacted with each other at their living quarters." Lilith reported, as a large number of students trampled each other to avoid being late to class.
"Okay Lilith you have had a strange, and probably illegal night, so I am going to put this tracker on you, and you are going to go straight back to the lab! Do not leave the lab until I come back and get you, get some rest, and we will continue where we left off, before you tried to… you know.. STEAL MY SOUL!" Jimmy said clenching his teeth.
Jimmy grabbed Lilith's arm, and placed his watch against her skin. The watch lit up, and digitally stuck a tracker on her arm that was invisible to the naked eye, but would tell Jimmy if Lilith tried to leave his lab for any reason.
"B-But, I want to explore," Lilith whimpered, watching as Jimmy sighed.
"Lab, now!" Jimmy replied, making Lilith's lip quiver, before she stomped her foot and shot a fireball out of her mouth. The fireball sailed through the air, before crashing into an inactive parking lot light.
The metal burst apart from the impact, and the intense heat melted the metal to where it started to flow into a puddle on the concrete. Wires sparked and twitched, as the glass from the light crashed onto the ground.
"Lilith, please just cooperate and go to the lab." Jimmy said, pleading with the demon until she stopped spitting fire out of her mouth.
"F-Fine, I shall anxiously await your arrival until my imprisonment is no longer valid," Lilith snorted, before melting into a shadow, and darting away until she was out of sight.
Jimmy let out a sigh of relief, as he looked at his watch watching Lilith move at impossible speeds from his tracker. Her little dot on Retroville's map, was headed towards Jimmy's lab, he was sure she could find it, she did in fact leave several times when he was knocked out.
Jimmy hesitated before heading to school, whatever happened to Cindy after she stormed off? Her parents were shaken and in shock, and she was reported missing, did everything go okay? Jimmy was sure Cindy turned herself into the police, and solved the mystery of where she had gone, but Jimmy was pretty sure she would never tell them about the demon.
No one would believe Cindy if she told them a demon kidnapped her, so what exactly did she tell everyone?
Jimmy took a deep breath, and walked out from behind the wall. Jimmy then examined the hallway, and saw everything was normal, just some classmates selling last minute answers to their homework for money.
"Jimmy!" An out of breath voice said, as Jimmy turned to look at Carl who was struggling to run towards his friend.
Carl finally reached Jimmy, huffing and puffing, as he opened his mouth to speak, only to have Sheen speak from down the hall.
"Jimmy did you hear about Cindy? She returned and confessed to drugging her parents and leaving the state!" Sheen shouted.
"Sheen, stoooop, that's just a rumor!" Carl said swatting his hand at Sheen.
Sheen ran from the other side of the hall to meet his friends, and grin at them with a hyperactive smile.
"It can't be a rumor, the whole drugging her parents thing adds up perfectly! It explains why they were talking about creatures, and fire, and why they were all loony!" Sheen said shoving Carl, who was mocking him behind his back.
"Sheen there really was a demon, you were there when we released it, her name was Lilith remember? She is currently in my lab, she never meant to harm anyone." Jimmy said, checking his watch and seeing that Lilith was unmoving in his lab, probably fast asleep.
Carl nodded, "Yeah uh-huh, sure Jimmy stop trying to scare me." Carl crossed his arms, refusing to believe Jimmy, until he saw that Jimmy wasn't cracking a smile, and was actually serious, Carl's eyes grew wide, "AWARRGG, Jimmy is keeping a demon in his LAB AWRGG-"
Jimmy slapped a hand over Carl's mouth, "Shh, we don't want the entire school to hear us right?"
Sheen grinned, "Cool, Jimmy has a pet demon! I want to walk it, Jimmy come on please, I want to play catch and teach it to attack those teenagers that come by my house every night and set fire to my Ultra Lord collection in my garage."
Jimmy blinked, and just moved on past the weirdness of Sheen.
"I have to get to class, I'll see you two at lunch." Jimmy said, walking away from his friends and headed to class. Carl tapped his chin, raising his finger, and stuttering as he tried to remember something.
"Sheen, what was that really important thingie I told you to remind me about so I could tell Jimmy, I feel like it was really important." Carl whined, shaking Sheen until he remembered.
"If it was important Carl, why did you forget it?" Sheen said.
"That is why I told you to REMIND me Sheeeen!" Carl said, slapping Sheen on the back angrily.
Jimmy slipped into his first class, which was an hour of AP World History. Jimmy's heart stopped when he saw Cindy staring at her phone, Libby was trying to get her attention, but she was ignoring her.
"Cindy I am serious, you can't just disappear like that! You gave me a heart attack, do you know how hard it is to clean runny mascara off of your eyes with this school's toilet paper?" Libby said in a harsh tone.
Cindy shrugged, as she scrolled through her phone, Jimmy squinted when he saw a cowl neck, that Cindy got for Christmas a long time ago. She had always said she hated it, he wondered why she was wearing it now.
Cindy buried her face in her cowl, hiding everything but her eyes, as Libby chewed her out relentlessly.
Jimmy sat next to some sort of muscular guy that he has never seen before, his biceps were bulging, and his eyes were hard and prying. Jimmy gulped, and slid in his seat, as the giant teenager next to him scoffed when he saw Jimmy.
"H-Hey, my name is Jimmy Neutron, I haven't seen you before, are you new?" Jimmy asked, trying to break the ice and show the kid that he was friendly.
"My name is Marcus, I am here because my parents got a divorce, and my father couldn't afford my old school, so now I am here, with people like you." Marcus growled, moving his seat away from Jimmy and throwing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand.
Soon enough, after his class started, his teacher started handing out a test that the entire class had been studying for that counted for a large portion of their grade. Jimmy didn't seem too bothered by this, but he couldn't help but look at Cindy and hope she would pass.
Cindy didn't even pick up her pencil, she just ignored the time that was being wasted every minute she didn't answer questions. Jimmy shook Cindy out of his head, he had to ace this test, colleges were starting to watch him, and he needed to not get distracted with what Cindy was doing with her life.
The entire hour was being used for this test, Jimmy didn't even break a sweat, but his mind kept wandering, as he thought about Cindy and her troubles.
When Jimmy looked over at Cindy, she was still focused on her phone, and Libby was trying to whisper to her.
Jimmy noticed something in the corner of his eye, and saw Marcus glancing over at his paper. Jimmy felt a cold hand grip his spine, was Marcus trying to cheat off of him?
Jimmy was too cowardly to say anything, his bulging muscles intimidated him, but if the teacher saw his paper and Marcus's same exact answers, the teacher might throw out both their tests and give them both zeros.
"Marcus, hey," Jimmy whispered, watching as Marcus turned around and glared at him. "If you want to use my answers that is fine, just please change them a bit so I don't get caught okay?"
Marcus snarled at Jimmy, making him shrink in his seat.
"Shut up man I am going to get caught! Hush up, or you are going to regret it! If I go down, you better bet your hide I am taking you down with me." Marcus spat, making Jimmy jump in terror.
Jimmy didn't notice, but Marcus's threat, had caught someone's wandering eye.
Jimmy snapped his head back to his test, and was too scared to say anything else, his top grades could take a beating, he would just have to do extra credit to make up for it, if he got caught.
Suddenly Jimmy heard the sound of paper being swiped from a table, Jimmy flinched and slowly turned to see his teacher reading over Marcus's test answers. Marcus turned his head to stare at Jimmy, with a murderous gaze, even though he was the one that got caught glancing at Jimmy's paper.
"Jimmy hand me your test," his teacher demanded. Jimmy cringed, when he felt everyone's eyes boring holes into his back. Jimmy slowly handed his teacher his test, his hands shaking, as the teacher read over his answers and compared them.
Jimmy was feeling the murderous aura flowing from Marcus's body, as his teacher shook his head in disappointment.
"Jimmy you are a smart boy, were you letting Marcus cheat off of your test because he was new? I highly doubt you didn't notice his prying eyes, but even so, I still do not tolerate cheating, so explain yourself." He said.
Jimmy swallowed, as the room stayed dead silent.
"Well, I-I, he didn't cheat I promise! I forced him to look at my answers, w-wait I mean he didn't look at my answers, I mean I-I cheated off of his test, please believe me!" Jimmy pleaded, trying hard to take all the blame.
The teacher shook his head, before flicking his head towards the door and making Marcus get up out of his seat.
Marcus slowly got up, as the teacher folded up his test and held it in his hand. Marcus glanced at the teenagers cowering in their seats, cheating on a test like this could get you suspended, on in worst case scenario, expelled.
The teacher put his hand on Marcus's back, but before Marcus disappeared out of the classroom, he gave Jimmy the most hideous and terrifying smile he could muster, chilling Jimmy to the core of his soul.
Marcus was gone after that, making Jimmy feel dead inside, because he knew he wasn't going to last a second once Marcus found him.
Jimmy wanted to sob softly in his seat, he had no physical defenses except for his brain, and he didn't have time to build something to protect himself with. Marcus was huge, he could squash him like a grape and throw his remains in the trash, without anyone ever knowing.
The rest of class, Jimmy was staring at the clock, once his class got out, he had to run to his next class and avoid every person possible. Jimmy knew he was an atheist, but he really started to beg whatever God was out there to use its power to send Marcus home for the day, so Jimmy would have time to build something to protect him.
When class let out, everyone flooded out to their next classes, leaving Jimmy to tip toe the opposite way. Perhaps if he went outside, and went around the school building, and entered the gym, and went to class that way, he could avoid people.
Jimmy exited the school building, and squeezed himself against the brick wall, his breathing increasing each step he took. There was no way Marcus would be out here right? Marcus wouldn't think to ambush Jimmy, right?
Jimmy came around the corner, and strong hands grabbed him, before slamming him into the brick wall, making his spine shift.
"How dumb do you think I am? I wouldn't ever try to beat the living daylights out of you in public, but out here, your screams won't attract anyone." Marcus said.
Jimmy felt paralyzed with fear, he tried so hard to cover for Marcus, but in the end he still got caught. Marcus licked his lips, as Jimmy cowered under his gaze he was going to get crushed.
Marcus slammed his fist into Jimmy's jaw, almost dislocating it, as Jimmy fell on the concrete. Marcus then kicked Jimmy in his ribcage, making the weaker teenager scream in panic and pain, as the air was knocked out of his lungs.
Marcus grabbed the back of his shirt, and slammed his head into the brick wall, making the brick rip at his face and skin. Marcus repeated this multiple times, until Jimmy started to lose his vision.
"Because of you, I might get suspended, I am going to break every bone in your pathetic body." Marcus thundered, as Jimmy tried to crawl away, his hands and body shaking as he dragged himself away from his attacker.
Marcus stormed towards him, not wanting his victim to escape.
Suddenly Marcus was ripped back, and his head was slammed into the brick wall. Marcus recovered, to see a little blond girl standing her ground, as she stared at him with fierce and agitated eyes. Marcus wiped the blood from his lip, as he smiled, towering over the girl with an intimidating gaze.
"I will let you have that one, since I am not wanting to fight a little girl." Marcus taunted, watching as her green eyes lit up in fury.
"Just try it," she spat back, kicking Marcus in his tender area. Marcus doubled over in pain, as the girl slammed her elbow in the crook of his neck. Marcus cried out in pain as he shook his head clear of pain, and shot up, ready to fight the girl that challenged him.
He took a swing, the girl dodged, punching him in the face, and making his vision blurry, as she quickly delivered a savage throat punch. Marcus coughed and choked, as she jumped in the air, spun, and dealt a spinning roundhouse kick.
Marcus was flung to the side, and his head crashed into the brick wall. The girl landed in a battle-ready position, as Marcus struggled to breathe and pick himself up to stand solidly on his feet.
Marcus wobbled over to the girl, before trying to throw a weak punch. The girl caught his fist, and twisted his arm until there was a loud snap. Marcus cried out in pain, and the girl released him, throwing him into a large group of metal trashcans, making them all fall over him.
Marcus struggled to get up with his dislocated arm, but was pressed down by a strong foot, as the girl leaned over him.
"If I ever see you lay a finger on Jimmy again, I will personally escort you to your grave, do you hear ME?" She yelled.
Marcus nodded, before fleeing with his arm cradled to his side. The girl turned to see Jimmy coughing up spit and struggling to breathe. The female fighter, approached him, before offering him a hand.
Jimmy's vision cleared, and his eyes locked onto familiar green orbs, that seemed to show softness towards him for the first time in his life.
"Cindy? W-Why would you do that for me?" Jimmy asked, as Cindy helped him up.
"Listen up Nerdtron, that is the only time I am doing that for you. We are not friends, we aren't anything, and we never will be, got it?" Cindy said, poking Jimmy in his tender chest. Jimmy flinched, as he looked into Cindy's eyes which were now furious and hard once more.
Jimmy's eyes wandered to Cindy's lip, her neck cowl was down, and her lip was scabby as if it were injured. Jimmy knew that her lip only had a scab on it because it was bleeding at some point today, but Cindy wouldn't have fought anyone earlier today right?
"Cindy, what happened to your lip?" Jimmy asked, reaching out, pretty much forgetting that Cindy was hostile towards him right now.
Cindy panicked, and covered her mouth with her cowl, before shoving Jimmy's hand away and storming off. Jimmy wanted to run after her, but his body was so beaten, he fell to his knees.
Why was Cindy so defensive? Why did Cindy help Jimmy? What was she hiding?
Jimmy curled up in a ball and just wanted to die, the pain in his body was almost too much for him to bare, but suddenly his face lit up in a goofy grin.
It didn't matter how much Cindy didn't want to admit it, she did care about what happens to him, or she wouldn't have stood up to Marcus.
If she liked it or not, she cared for him, and Jimmy was going to use that to his advantage, to try and make things right.