Wow, another chapter! Aren't you all surprised? This one is pretty long, too, because I've been working on it on and off for a few days. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Jimmy Neutron, and I really don't want to be reminded!
Chapter 3: Meet Cynthia Neutron
Jimmy knocked on the apartment door and prayed that Cindy would be there. It seemed likely that she had gone to find her older self, but what if she was somewhere else completely?
Suddenly the door swung open to reveal Cynthia Neutron. She didn't seem to surprised to see him, which was unusual. Her blonde hair wasn't in a ponytail like he was accustomed to seeing it, but rather she had just let it down, and it was long and flowing. Her eyes were just like the Cindy's he knew, only they seemed different in some way. Maybe it was how she was looking at him kindly, instead of glaring at him like Cindy always did. She was also much taller than he was, and he found himself looking up at her.
Man, she's even more gorgeous in person, Jimmy thought. Immediately he felt like smacking himself upside the head. This was Cindy he was thinking about! An older, more attractive version, yes; but still Cindy.
"Hi, Jimmy," Cynthia said sweetly. She beckoned for him to come inside, and he followed, gazing up at her adoringly.
"You're letting him into your home?" Cindy demanded once she saw him, breaking Jimmy out of his lovestruck daze. "But he cheated on you!"
Cynthia chuckled. "No, he's uncontaminated. It's the older him that I can't stand." Jimmy shot a triumphant look at Cindy, and she shot him a sarcastic one in return. Cynthia didn't seem to notice, for suddenly her mood changed, and her face seemed to go pale. It was as if even the very mention of James drained the life out of her. Jimmy looked on sympathetically, wishing that both girls would just believe the truth and be done with it. The situation did seem pretty hopeless, however.
"How the heck did you find me?" Cindy wanted to know, arms crossed. She was sitting next to Libby on a sofa in their living room. Libby looked similar to how he had seen her last time with Carl and Sheen, but she had lost the "evil" look. Jimmy knew that Sheen would still be captivated if he saw her.
"James figured that you'd go where Cynthia had gone—Libby's house," Jimmy explained. "And it looks like he was right."
"So, tell us what you two're doin' here," Libby said.
"Well, I found out about what a jerk Neutron is in the future,"—here Cindy shot Jimmy an evil glare—"so I came here to console the older version of me," she finished, feeling very proud of her nobleness.
"Which Neutron?" Cynthia asked, wanting to smile. "I'm married to him, you know."
"Oh, yuck! I have to have that last name? I didn't even think about that!" Cindy groaned. She didn't think she could ever get used to this.
"Looks like I can start calling you Nerdtron now, Cindy," Jimmy smirked. "Or Dorktron. Or whatever other little parodies you have off of my name."
"Rub it in, why don't ya?" Cindy snapped.
"It's so cute to see you both fighting," Cynthia sighed. "If only things hadn't ended so horribly for the both of us." She held on to her stomach and a tear slid down her cheek. "To think, I'm going to have to raise them alone…" Cynthia's hands flew to her face and she began sobbing. Libby led her to the couch to sit down, rubbing her shoulder reassuringly.
Jimmy and Cindy stopped dead in their tracks, and they turned to look at Cynthia. "Please don't tell me you mean what I think you mean!" Cindy burst out, for the first time noticing Cynthia's protruding stomach.
"You're pregnant?!" Jimmy hyperventilated. "This can't be happening to me! I don't want to be a dad! I don't know anything about being a dad!"
"You think you've got it bad?" Cindy snapped at him. "You're not the one who has to go through the pain of child labor! Your job is easy compared to mine!"
"If you two don't be quiet, you're goin' to upset Cynthia even more!" Libby exclaimed. Jimmy and Cindy glanced at each other sheepishly. "Yes, she's pregnant, but that is OK. Isn't that right, Cynthia?" She turned to her best friend for support.
"Yes," Cynthia gasped. "It's going to be OK. I have to keep telling myself that. I just—I'll die if one of them looks like him!"
"One of them?" Jimmy repeated incredulously.
"You're having twins?" Cindy squealed. "Now I'll have to go through twice as much pain! Gosh, can this day get any worse?"
"I told you two to be quiet," Libby scolded.
"It's alright, Libby," Cynthia assured her. "I don't really care."
"So when are you, uh, expecting them?" Jimmy asked uneasily, feeling kind of embarrassed for wanting to know.
"Five months from now," Cynthia answered. "Probably sometime around your birthday."
Cindy cleared her throat. "Well," she began, changing the subject, "do you mind telling me about the whole...situation? I heard something about it on TV, but not the entire thing. And not from your point of view, either."
"I guess I could..." Cynthia replied. "But forgive me if I start crying during some parts. Sometimes my emotion just gets the better of me... I still love him, you know."
"But how can you?" Cindy questioned. "After he hurt you so badly?"
"If he just said he was sorry, I would take him back," Cynthia told her with a sigh. "But he won't even admit to what he did." Cindy nodded sympathetically.
Jimmy rolled his eyes at their ignorance. James wouldn't admit to it because he didn't do it! From what Jimmy caught on, he'd never even think of doing something like that! If the two loved each other so much, what was the problem here?
"Anyway, a few months ago, I noticed that James started coming home later from his teaching job at the university. I didn't think about it so much then, but it just makes more sense now that I know everything else. So then, not too long after, Betty admitted the whole thing to everyone. She said they'd been seeing each other, and that James even mentioned possibly divorcing me so that...they could...get married." At this, Cynthia burst into tears once more. "I just don't know what happened to him. He seemed like he loved me so much, and we were always happy together, but...I just don't know now."
"Don't worry, we'll be OK," Cindy said reassuringly.
Jimmy couldn't take this garbage anymore. "Why the heck do you believe Betty if James is the one that loves you?" he exclaimed.
"Just shut up, Jimmy!" Cindy yelled at him, pointing an accusing finger at his chest and getting up in his face. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault?" Jimmy repeated angrily. "Betty's the one that's destroyed our lives, and you're the one who believes her!"
"Please, both of you, stop it!" Cynthia cried. "I can't take it anymore!"
Jimmy and Cindy were immediately silenced.
"I'm sorry, Cynthia," Jimmy apologized remorsefully. "I didn't mean to make you more upset."
"Oh, so you're going to apologize to her but not to me?" Cindy demanded.
"Um, Cindy, let me remind you that...you're the same person!" Jimmy retorted.
Cynthia began to giggle, and then to laugh. "Are you jealous of yourself, Cindy?"
Cindy stuck out her bottom lip. "I'm not jealous of anyone," she declared, although she was jealous of the fact that Jimmy seemed to care more about her older self than her. He was acting like Cynthia was more important to him than she was. It didn't make any sense, because (like he said) they were the same person, after all.
"Well, I think it's time to be getting back to our time period," Jimmy decided suddenly. He was beginning to think that the future was too much to handle at this point. It would be much easier to just travel back in time two years and make sure that he and Cindy were never married in the first place. Then they could go home and forget this whole thing ever happened.
"What?" Cindy gaped. "You're just going to let our lives be ruined and not care? I don't think so! We're staying until this is all worked out! Got it?"
"Fine, if that's what you want," Jimmy gave in. He knew that if Cindy had her mind set on something, there was practically nothing he could do to change it. Plus, he felt too tired to argue with her at this point. Then he recalled what James had told him about his life being miserable if he tried to change the outcome of his feelings for Cindy...