Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron. How many times must I drill this into your thick heads?
Chapter 14: Almost There
Betty offered to drive Jimmy to the Neutron estate, and since he wanted to get there as fast as possible, he reluctantly agreed. She noticed disappointment wash over his face when they got to her car.
"I'm not rich, you know," she told him sadly. "Those flying cars cost a fortune, since James just patented them. But look on the bright side!" she added happily, a big grin spreading across her face. "When he marries me, I'll get one for free!"
"But that's not the reason you want to marry him..." Jimmy glanced at her pointedly as he got into the small transportation vehicle.
Betty giggled (a bit nervously, Jimmy thought). "Oh, of—of course not! But being rich certainly is a plus side of the union, don't ya think?"
Jimmy didn't reply. It was obvious that money was one of the major reasons she wanted to marry his older self...and James' fame had to play a big part, too. I bet I wasn't rich when Cindy married me, he thought with a tiny smile.
He glanced over at Betty as she pulled out of the driveway. "Um, aren't you going to put on your seat belt?" he reminded her.
"Seat belt?" Betty laughed. "Who needs those dumb old things? They're so out of style."
Jimmy rolled his eyes. What was up with her?
Throughout the rest of the drive, he felt like Betty kept trying to flirt with him. It was awkward, so he tried to ignore her and think about what he'd just accomplished. Nothing could go wrong this time.
Then he realized that all the stuff she was saying was going to be on CD. It'd be embarrassing playing that for Cindy—and Cynthia—but it wasn't like he could pull the recorder out of his back pocket with Betty sitting right next to him. Yes, he'd begun to question her mental capabilities recently, but she wasn't that dumb. She'd definitely realize that he'd been recording her, and who knew how violent she could get if he made her mad. Maybe he'd just stop the CD before it came to this...
As soon as they pulled into James' driveway, he jumped out (after undoing his seat belt, of course—at least someone cared about car safety between the two) and ran up to the front door. He only had to knock once before Cindy flung it open.
"Jimmy!" she exclaimed, a huge smile on her face. "You're the best!"
He rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "Well, thanks, Cindy—but I didn't even tell you if I succeeded yet," he pointed out.
"Oh." She seemed a little disappointed, but waited for him to go on.
"I did," he told her simply, grinning.
"Oh!" The huge smile instantly reappeared, then suddenly vanished. It didn't take him long to figure out why.
"You're here too?" a sneering voice came from behind him, aimed at Cindy.
"B-Betty?" she gasped, her mouth dropping open. "You're so...blonde!"
Betty rolled her eyes. "No duh. Took you long enough."
"I've only seen you for about two seconds!" Cindy scowled. "And you're way ruder, too!" She crossed her arms. "At least in our time you were nice...and knew when to back off!" she added.
"Would you just let us in?" Betty asked, tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm catching a cold out here!" She shivered, rubbing the arms of her big fluffy jacket.
Cindy looked at her as if she were crazy, then snapped, "I'll let Jimmy in, but not some loser who tries to imitate me to win a guy's heart!"
"Then why are you inside?" Betty shot back.
Jimmy and Cindy glanced confusedly at each other, eyebrows furrowed.
"Um...right...," Jimmy began awkwardly. "I'll see you later, Betty," he added pointedly, hoping she'd take the hint.
She didn't. "Later? I'm staying, Jimmy. Don't let the dumb blonde intimidate you!"
"You're a blonde, too!" Cindy burst out in annoyance. "And way dumber than me, although I'm ten years younger than you!"
"I am not dumb, you little...kid!" Betty yelled.
Before Cindy could retaliate further, James appeared behind her in the doorway. "Is something wr—oh, Betty, I wasn't expecting you." His eyebrows shot up in surprise upon noticing her, and he gave Jimmy a questioning glance, who shrugged in reply.
"I was here to tell you that even your younger self is on my side, James," she said sweetly, instantly changing her facial expression to match.
Cindy looked to Jimmy, and he mouthed the word, "no." She nodded in understanding, and he relished in how trusting she was of him now. Too bad things couldn't stay that way.
"Why, Cindy," Betty added suspiciously, "you don't look too disappointed."
"Uh—" Cindy's face blanked for a second, but she quickly blurted out, "Jimmy, you're such a jerk!" and punched his arm lightly. Unfortunately, it came across as flirtatious rather than what she'd intended.
"She's not the girlfriend you were referring to, is she Jimmy?" Betty asked with a pout, finally putting two and two together.
"Are you kidding me?" Cindy fumed, this time sounding more serious than before. "I wouldn't go out with that—that—"
"Jerk?" Jimmy suggested.
"Exactly!" she agreed, struggling not to laugh out loud. He really would say anything to get rid of Betty, she realized with pleasure.
"Well, anyways," Betty huffed, "I'd better get going. All of this has really worn me out." She lifted her hand to her forehead in an exaggerated gesture to prove her point. "I'll see you later, James. Give me a call tonight." With a wink at him, she turned and headed back towards her car.
"She sure is something," James sighed. "And I'm glad she's gone. Why don't you come in and explain everything to us, Jimmy?"
"Yes, do!" Cindy chimed in excitedly, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "You said you succeeded, right? I was a little unsure when Betty came up behind you, but now I'm positive that you weren't lying to me."
Jimmy smiled and, with his free arm, took the CD recorder from his back pocket and switched it off. "OK, let's go sit down and you can listen to the whole thing yourselves," he suggested.
Cindy sat down on the sofa and pulled him down next to her. Surprisingly, she had him seated in between her and James, instead of choosing to sit in the middle spot herself. Although it sounded strange, he had to admit that he kind of liked having her beside him and not his older counterpart. In fact, he realized that he was growing more and more attracted to her...and by now she usually acted much more kindly to him than before they'd come on this trip to the future. He knew it probably wouldn't last; after every other single romantic episode they'd had together, things pretty much went back to their normal argumentative ways. But he could always hope, at least.
"So, let's start this thing up," James said, rubbing his hands together. "I just hope nothing went wrong with the recording," he added with a frown. "We couldn't afford for that to happen."
"I'm sure nothing's wrong with it," Cindy said optimistically. "Just press play."
Jimmy handed the device to James, figuring that he'd be better off working it from now on. James pressed the play button, and they all sat back and relaxed, listening to the conversation that went on between Jimmy and Betty.
All three made faces whenever Betty made a dumb comment, a few of which caused them to laugh hysterically. But as the CD got to the part when Jimmy had wanted to leave, he quickly grabbed the recorder from James and blurted out, "Let's stop it now!"
"Wha—why?" Cindy demanded, growing a bit suspicious. "You don't have anything to hide, do you?"
"O-of course not!" Jimmy quickly blurted out.
"Then prove it to me by letting me hear the rest!" It was the obvious solution to the problem, after all. Sure, she could just take his word for it...but if he was embarrassed by whatever was on there, then it had to be something good.
"She's got a point, you know," James agreed. "I know you're on our side, but that did seem kind of fishy."
"Fine! You want me to keep playing it? I'll keep playing it!" he exclaimed, upset and exasperated. "But you won't like what you hear!"
"OK. I don't care," Cindy said calmly. "Just turn it back on!"
"Sheesh! Alright, already!"
The recording started up again, and what was said next kindled a fire in Cindy:
"Didn't you want to ask me out or something?"
"Doesn't she mean James?" Cindy barked.
"You mean James, right?"
"Oh, no, I meant you. Surely one date couldn't hurt!"
"What?" Cindy snapped, her face growing hot with anger. "He's a minor! Aren't there laws against that? I mean, hello! One word: pedophile!"
"Only, she didn't actually do anything," James reminded her. "You can't exactly arrest someone for a sick mind. Plus, Jimmy's kind of...me...from the past... I don't know what the police will say to that one!"
"True," Cindy grumbled. "They'd probably arrest you instead for being crazy or something. And even if you didn't, I got the feeling that you kind of wanted to keep the whole time travelling thing a secret from the public."
"That's one invention I'm not distributing," James nodded. "I mean, could you imagine someone like Betty getting a hold of one?"
Jimmy shuddered and Cindy's eyes widened in horror. "She might try to go back and prevent the marriage altogether or something!" she gasped.
"Exactly. So there's really nothing we can do except ignore her. I don't think you two will be seeing much more of her anyway, since this CD should be all the proof Cynthia needs. Then she can come back and you can return to the past." He smiled and closed his eyes. "I can't wait."
"Then why don't we call her right now and play it for her?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah!" Jimmy chimed in enthusiastically.
James took a deep breath, then nodded. "I guess it's now or never."
Cindy smiled at Jimmy and squeezed his hand as James called Libby's number on his cell. "Libby? Hi, it's James... Yes, I do... I know, but will you tell her I have proof? Jimmy got Betty to confess everything and we have it here recorded on CD..."
A/N: Suspense! I like it! I had to end it somewhere, because this is over 4 pages long in Microsoft Word. It'll be even longer with this author's note and my replies to your reviews! Let me tell you all again how much I appreciate those reviews!
You have my friend Shine to thank for the quick update. She lets me write when I'm at her house (which is a lot). She even helped me figure out where to end this chapter. I don't think I have too many left until the end of this story, and then—on to the prequel, Far Away!
I know Betty is out of character, but as you can see, so does Cindy. She's changed a lot since she was 12, that's for sure. Maybe it was bad influences, who knows. Plus, greed can do a lot to a person...
iloveslinky: Yes, I did help LoganxLola4ever with her story. She's the friend I gave a shout out to in my author's note. I even helped edit the first chapter of Back to the Future for grammar, and I will continue editing if she allows. :) You're right, Betty IS way desperate. She's got some serious issues goin' on. XD Also, congrats on being the first to review the last chapter!
acosta perez jose ramiro: Well, I think you mean "spay," not "neuter," but I get your point! XD Yes, I'm very proud of Jimmy!
linklovesme: Well, as you can see, he didn't forget to start it. Still, I hope there won't be any problems in the next chapter...dun dun dun... LOL to "soonday"! Quoting from Love Potion #976/J is just brilliant!
Poisoned Elfie: Here's the update! Yeah, Betty thought dying her hair blonde like Cindy's would help attract James. But I don't think it worked! And, yeah, Cindy would've killed Jimmy if she knew about the kiss...hopefully it doesn't slip out on accident later...that would be bad.
RetroChica: Well, here's that next chapter. Yeah, it is pretty wrong. Betty is one big sicko, that's all I have to say. Too bad she went downhill after age 12!
Vampire of Romance: Yeah, she pretty much is. Even Jimmy is suspecting mental problems now!
fergalicious1210: No, she doesn't look good, but I don't think she's MOCKING Cindy. I think it's actually more of a compliment to Cindy, because it's suggesting that Jimmy likes her hair better than Betty's. I don't know whose side I'm on, really; I just want the two to get back together again!
Legend of Sheen the freak: Yes, she is. And I'm glad you see Cynthia's side of the story as well. I know at first everyone hated her. But her talk with Jimmy helped, and so did Betty's talk with Jimmy. And the prequel will help even more.
PixieVortex: I'm glad you found that chapter exciting! Hopefully this one leaves you with another cliffhanger:D
Lady Lola: Y'know, I never liked Betty either! What a shock! LOL!
Sonomi-chan: Don't worry, I like rambling! I do it all the time! I'm glad you're seeing Cynthia's side of the story as well. Far Away (the prequel) will be mostly from her perspective, so hopefully everyone will feel sorry for her instead of hating her.
Fiends23: Nice try impersonating my friend. It didn't work.
KittyKiChi: You've got that right! Only, she's actually 21...you know, she's a year older than the rest of the gang (except for Sheen, he's two years older), and a grade ahead of them, too. So I'd say that's even worse!
MidnightSuburbia: Wow, if I got you to laugh at the Betty bashing, then I guess I really must be a good writer! XD I hope you know from this chapter that I don't really think she's like that in the show, though. I even had Cindy admit she was nice when she was younger.
kprrs3000: I'd probably laugh, too! What a loser! XD
Andre.ar: Is it that easy? Good question. I can't tell you yet; you'll have to read the next chapter! There's about 3 or 4 chapters left, I think. I can't give you an exact number, though. It could change. But it's definitely not many. As for Strange Memories, I do realize I need to update that story as well. It's going to be longer than this one, and I'm feeling kind of intimidated...especially with Far Away in the works. Plus, I think this one is more popular than Strange Memories. But I WILL try to finish it, I promise! I just don't know when!
J.F.Mitchell: Aw, come on, now! Give Cynthia some compassion! She's not totally to blame here!
starrlightstarbrite: Yes, we're back! I'm glad you're happy. I love making readers happy! Unfortunately, not EVERYONE hates Betty...but I think everyone does hate the Betty in MY story! I'm glad I'm not letting it die, too:D
xtigerlily23x: Wow, you catch on fast. I wrote the beginning part of this chapter even before I read your review for the last one. So, yeah, there's the answer to your question! And I'm so glad that you're on Cynthia's side, too! So am I! You're definitely right, of course. She could, but she doesn't have to...we just need her to see that! And yes, the young Jimmy and Cindy are adorable. It's too bad that James keeps interrupting their "moments", though. XD