Author's Notes

Okay, the reason this thing is rated so high is because of language, which will become very clear shortly in this chapter, and also, likely for "adult" situations much later on. Now, some people may or may not like where this fic may go (it's going to be gritty and likely OOC) but I really don't care. This is more for me, than anyone else -- I'm posting it because I think other people might enjoy it, and the Veronica XTimmy pairing really REALLY needs some love in the Internet. That is all.

Oh, almost forgot -- Fairly Odd Parents does not belong to me, nor od the characters. It's all from Butch Hartman, he's the genius, not me.

Care to Repeat That?

Timmy rolled over in his bed, pulling the blankets over his head at the bright sunlight streaming through his bedroom window. His body felt strangely heavy, and he felt exhausted for some reason.

"Timmy, whoohooo, earth to Timmy! Hey, wake up sleepy head!" the high pitched voice of Cosmo floated mischievously above his head.

Reluctantly, Timmy rolled himself out of bed, and stretched. His isntantly got the feeling his body was too large and cumbersome for him. He stretched his arm in front of him seeing the muscles pull themselves bulge and stretch underneath his skin. Sudden wonder filling within him, he rushed to the mirror on the dresser next to his bed. The face the reflected back at him was not one he instantly recognized.

There was a little bit of a five o'clock shadow along his jaw, his hair was shorter than he expected (but his bangs still managed to hang in his eyes), his shoulders had broadened and lithe muscles corded under his skin -- he was also happy to notice he sported a six-pack. The only thing that he truly recognized was his characteristic buckteeth, and blue eyes. If it were not for those two features he would have thought he was looking at a complete stranger.

"Sweet!" Timmy exclaimed, instantly noting his deepened voice and that his voice wasn't cracking, "I could get used to this!"

"Hey, Timmy, look! It's snowing outside!" Cosmo announced, chipper as usual.

"Snow!?" Timmy and Wanda shouted together and rushed to the window where Cosmo was hovering.

It was actually snowing outside, in September no less. That was, well, weird. To add to the bizarre turn of events, a polar bear ambled past; it's white fur almost making it invisible in the snowy landscape.

"Ooooh, I bet we're in Canada, it's always snowing there!" Cosmo thought excitedly. He liked snow, he liked snow a lot.

"Cosmo," Wanda despaired, "Canada isn't always snowing."

"Yeah, whatever, the important thing isn't where we are, but why aren't we in Dimmsdale. I'd like an answer please," Timmy cut in, his usual way of talking seemed at odds with the deep sound of his voice.

"Sweetie, I don't know, but you're right, I don't think we're in Dimmsdale anymore," agreed Wanda.

"You wanna fix that, please?" Timmy asked.

Cosmo and Wanda answered with a little wave of their wands, and with a puff a smoke the sign sporting "Welcome to Dimmsdale" was in front of them. Of course, Wanda and Cosmo forget to 'poof' some clothes onto Timmy, and he stood shivering in the brisk September wind in a pair of plaid pajama pants.

Chattering through his teeth Timmy managed to get out, "Hey, could I get some clothes over here? It's not like it's below freezing or anything!"

"Oops, sorry, Timmy," Wanda responded, waving her wand as she did so. Timmy's pajamas were instantly replaced with a pair of dark jeans with several tears in them and a dark red hoodie over a grey t-shirt, accompanied by pair of white running shoes. Timmy immediately felt warmer.

"Well, Cosmo, Wanda," Timmy stated, "I think it's time for a trip to the high school don't you think? Let's see how much things have changed."

On cue, Cosmo and Wanda waved their wands again.

MWMWMWMWMWMWMWMW

The high school that he remembered in grade nine (or more correctly, the one he went to yesterday) was really different than four years prior. For starters, it was in a completely different neighbourhood. It was also much more ghetto.

"Wow, this is pretty cool, and very safe too," commented a squirrel disguised Cosmo, "and all the people look so friendly."

But to both Wanda and Timmy – from the graffiti splashed across the red brick walls, the ominous chain link fence around the perimeter, the grungy and unwashed windows that had the occasional spider web crack riveting through it, to the thuggish looking teenagers that hung around the doorway – they got the feeling that this school was anything but friendly and safe. But Timmy had to admit, it did look pretty cool.

"Well, this is different. Maybe we screwed up the wish?" Wanda (also disguised as a squirrel, but not as a fat squirrel) confessed worriedly. It was rare for her to suggest that she made a mistake, being such a perfectionist, but something really did fit. Four years really could not change something to this extreme, could it?

"Hmm, I don't know, let's see if I can A.J. or Chester," Timmy suggested as he shrugged towards the mass of people heading towards the building, "Maybe they can tell us what happened."

But after vigilantly searching through the mass of teenagers Timmy had landed up with nothing. No one really seemed to recognize his face or his name, and pretty much everyone was reluctant to talk with him. He had even tried wandering down the halls, but had forgoed that option when he realized just how packed the hallways were: they were almost impossible to traverse.

So, for the past five minutes he had been sitting on the bottom step to the entrance to the school, trying to come up with a plan. The school bell had already rung, so the traffic was much less, a fact that Timmy found encouraging. It meant he could contemplate without having to worry about being stepped on. He had enough worries as it was.

He was surprised at how upsetting it was to find not one person who remembered him or that he recognized. And why was the school in a different part of town? In the midst of his pondering it was then that he finally caught wind of something he recognized: a flash of blonde hair and a whisper of a voice.

Dashing from his spot he chased after his ghost of a chance – shoving people rudely out of the way while he made his mad sprint. The girl he was chasing after had shorter blonde hair than he remembered, she must have cut it over the years. He did not dare call out her name – she probably would avoid him the instant she recognized him and his chance to finally figure out the messed up future would be lost. She did not even notice him making his way towards her; she was too busy talking to another girl whose hair was dyed a brilliant shade of blue.

She did notice when he turned her forcefully around, the blue eyes that flared with anger wonderfully familiar. It was then he got a good look of who he had been chasing after. Dark, heavy eyeliner and eye shadow made her eyes look smoky, bringing out the brilliance of her eyes, while dark lipstick defined the shape of her lips. Several piercing marked her face – a piercing on her right eyebrow, dozens of earring hoops clung to her earlobes and the edge of the cartilage on her ear, a delicate stud in her one nostril, and there was even a stud that was between her bottom lip and the fleshy top curve of her chin. She was quite curvy, with wide hips, and an ample chest – the dark sweater she wore softening her curves. Her blonde hair was short, like he first guessed; it barely brushed across her shoulders and the top of the dog collar fastened around her neck.

"Uh, can I help you?" There was no hint of a familiar valley girl accent; instead, every word was accented with harsh sarcasm.

"Uh, oh, sorry," Timmy instantly removed his grip, "you just looked like someone I know."

"Oh? And who would that be?" the blonde asked, the amusement in her voice obviously faked.

"Uh, Veronica Star," Timmy nervously replied, feeling strangely threatened by the blonde, despite the fact that he towered over her.

Sarcastically the blonde answered, "Ha, ha, very funny. I am Veronica Star."

The world as Timmy knew it suddenly stopped its normal rotation, leaving a buzzing in his ears, before it cranked and began to turn again. What kind of messed up alternate reality did Cosmo and Wanda send him to?

"Aaaaand," a pissed looking Veronica looked him up and down, "who the hell are you?"

A little upset with Veronica's tone, Timmy stumbled over his answer, "I'm, uh, ummm … wait, you don't recognize me?"

"Not in the slightest, sweet heart. Should I?" Veronica stated her voice cold and bored.

"I'm Timmy! You know … Timmy Turner," Timmy pointed at his chest dramatically at the dubious looks Veronica was giving him, "I was always chasing after Trixie Tang, trying to get her like me, and you hated me?" He knew, though, she secretly had liked him, but she didn't need to know that he knew that.

"You used to call me a loser, and make fun of me all the time? I was the unpopular kid, remember?" Timmy said, grasping at straws.

Something he said must have stuck, because recognition lit across Veronica's face suddenly.

"Timmy? Timmy Turner?" Veronica whispered, leaning in closer with narrowed, distrustful eyes. Timmy instantly felt uncomfortable – their noses where inches apart. After a few heartbeats passed by Veronica pulled back, as if Timmy had passed some unseen test.

Beckoning with a hand for Timmy to tag along, Veronica called out as she walked away, "Come on, Timothy, I need a smoke before we start the heavy reminiscing."

MWMWMWMWMW

They had walked around the school, until they were on the in the back of the school parking lot behind the school (right along the paved road entrance) and underneath the naked limbs of a tree. It was there, that they stopped, and Veronica pulled out a cigarette from a silver case and a clear pink lighter from her pocket. After a few attempts she managed to light her cigarette, taking a few puffs before her gaze fell on Timmy.

"Sorry, where's my manners," Veronica said as she flipped open the cigarette case, "want one?"

Instinctively, Timmy replied, "Don't you know those are bad for you?"

Veronica chuckled, stuffing both light and silver case back into her jeans pockets, "Meh, we each have our vices."

Timmy made no reply. Minutes passed away with no talking, just Veronica blowing wisps of white smoke from her open mouth after every puff of her cigarette. Timmy felt a headache coming on, and the smell of the smoke was disgusting. He really had no idea what to say, all his questions seemed childish to him in the face of the hard edged Veronica. Had everybody who knew changed this drastically? This was not what he had wished for.

"What happened?" Timmy asked quietly.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Veronica asked as she flicked away the cherry off her smoke.

"With you, with this, with everything," Timmy asked with despair, gesturing at Veronica, the school, and then just wildly.

Veronica took a final drag off her smoke before letting it fall to the ground and crushing it under the ball of her foot. "A lot shit happened you know, after you moved. The school got burnt down; some pyro set it on fire a couple years back. Instead of rebuilding it, the board just decided to renovate the old school building downtown. Said it was cheaper and would bring some life back to the downtown or something like that. It's not bad, but it's just a couple blocks from the bad part of town, so you have to watch yourself. A couple of niners got the shit kicked out of them last year, and then there's the occasional mugging. You don't want to be around after dark, for sure."

Timmy felt suddenly unsafe, but Veronica didn't even seem nervous. "And, what about you, you're totally different from what I remembered. And where is everybody, like Trixie, A.J. and Chester? You're the first person I've found."

Veronica smirked a little, "People change you know, Timothy. I quit hanging around Trixie way back in grade ten, though one could say I was deviating from being a carbon copy of whatever monster Trixie is back in grade nine. Let's just say I was getting tired of being her lackey. Good thing too, otherwise I'd have gotten myself knocked up and sent to St. Augustine's District Catholic School, just like Trixie. Trixie had an abortion before transferring and has been going to SADCS ever since. Haven't kept in contact with her, but I'll bet she's crawling with STI's right about now. Let's see … if I remember right A.J. graduated two years ago and is going to Harvard -- can't remember for what. He came back a few times last year to sub for the senior physics class. And Chester, hmm, well, after his braces came off he became a little bit of a ladies man. Apparently, he's a very good cook from the rumours."

Hungry for answers Timmy pressed on, "And what about Sanjay, Elmer, Tootie, Francis, and Tad and Chad?"

"Hmm … I don't know about Sanjay, but Elmer had the boil on his neck removed few years back, and T? Well, T and I hang out all the time, she's a very real person, very refreshing with all these fakers around. She was heart broken when you left you know. She really liked you," Veronica sighed before continuing, "Francis, like me, is short a few credits and is repeating this year. But unlike him I passed the literacy test. He'll likely be back next year too, if they don't kick him out. He's a drug dealer, but he deals mostly in weed, I think he's scared of toeing on someone else's turf he tries dealing any harder stuff. And on that subject, if you're smart, don't piss off a drug dealer, not unless you feel like having the crap beaten out of you or worse. Tad and Chad are, of course, still popular, still rich and still obnoxious. That just about covers everyone you used to know, I think."

Feeling a little better knowing what had happened but still completely bewildered Timmy asked something that was bugging him, "And me? You said I moved. I'm kind of curious what the rumours are."

Chewing on her bottom lip, Veronica looked like she wanted to avoid the subject. "Well, from what I know, you moved half-way through the school year when you were in grade nine. If I got it right you moved out to Alaska or something."

Timmy nodded as the little bits of information started falling to place. Everything was starting to make sense. "And why did I move out there in the first place?" Timmy asked with a laugh.

Veronica's face dropped, "Man, I'm glad to see you're feeling better about it, I mean you were in some serious shit after it happened. I mean, when they found out about the cancer you only got a few weeks left with your mom before she died. I mean, fuck, if my mother only had a few weeks left before she died I'd would have been be pretty screwed up too and been forced to move up to Alaska."

Timmy barely heard what Veronica had said. He just started to walk away. Cancer … a few weeks … died …

"Timothy? Timothy? Timmy? Yo, man, I'm sorry. What I said was insensitive," Veronica called out, a couple steps behind.

Timmy just mumbled, "yeah, it's okay, it's fine," before walking off, barely listening to Veronica's various apologies. There was a buzzing in his head. Mom … cancer …died …

It was only a few blocks away when Timmy took a sharp turn down a vacant alley and sat down on the cold pavement of the alleyway, steaming rising from the vent only a few feet away.

"Timmy? Sweetie, are you okay?" the kind voice of Wanda asked him. He looked to his left and saw a small pink squirrel looking up at him.

"Yeah, totally fine," Timmy said even as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Oh, sweetie," said Wanda as she 'poofed' back to her normal self, fiercely hugging her god child. Cosmo followed suit, confused and depressed at Timmy's sadness.

"U-unwish the w-w-wish, n-now," pleaded Timmy, his sobbing becoming more erratic with every passing second.

Without even a second thought Cosmo and Wanda waved their wands in unison, but the unthinkable happened. Their wands went limp as if they had just melted and the noise of someone blowing a raspberry combined with a car engine turning over indicated the wish was unwishable.

Wanda shook her wand wildy and tried again, but still to the same effect. "I'm sorry, Timmy, we can't."

Now completely in despair, Timmy wailed, "W-w-why n-not?!"

From out of nowhere, a new voice piped up, "Because you're breaking one of the rules, of course."

Author's Notes

Soooooooo, what do you people think thus far? And is it just me or do I have a case of Disney-itus -- where, I must kill off a important faily member (Tim's mom is this fic, Hanabi in my Close Quarters)?