A/N: Wouldn't you know? Two chapters in one day. I'm surprised at myself. I think it's a new personal record, two updates in one day…
Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or all related characters but if I did, the show would continue on for forever…
Jimmy froze. His face was expressionless but his eyes showed his hesitation and conflict. Sensing the hesitation, Cindy said hurriedly, "I'm not saying that you have to, it's just for the first time, and I can't believe actually admitting it but… I don't think that I can manage on my own without you here."
Despite his earlier misgivings, his face softened at Cindy's words. The silence was deafening before he replied, "Not a problem."
When he saw Cindy's tired face beam and light up with just the whisper of two words, to Jimmy, it would be worth whatever feeling of pain and longing he would get in the long run. He gave her a sad smile though he knew that she wouldn't be able to see him. "Now…since it's settled that I won't be going anywhere. I want you to sleep. Your body needs as much rest as it can to recover from whatever bug you have."
She gave him a look of surprised realization, "I just realized, where are you going to sleep?"
"Me? I can sleep on the couch downstairs…" Even in the dim light, Jimmy could see the look of distress that the girl was trying to hide. Quickly he added, "Or, I could sleep on your windowsill. It's wide and sturdy enough to hold me. Now please Cindy, rest."
Cindy struggled to give him a small smile, exhaustion sweeping through her body. It wasn't long before she finally let sleep take her.
Jimmy sighed. He made his way to his "bed" and sat on the edge, his face in his hands. It was so hard for him. Having to be so close to her after 2 months of hardly talking. Then just knowing that he wouldn't have been in this position had she not been sick.
They were friends, if you could call not talking and just being in the same vicinity as one another as friendship.
The break up destroyed him but after a while he had found a way to recover, somewhat. The longing, the pain, they still felt as fresh as it had when they ended things but it was manageable. He had gotten good at hiding it. He could have lived with having to resort back to stolen glances and accidental contact, but then the universe just had a funny way of putting them in this situation. A situation where they had to be close. To talk after so many months of silence.
To feel the tension that haunted them. It hung around them like a cloud, not as noticeable before due to the lack of time that they spent with one another.
Jimmy looked up. He made his way to the girl's bed and he looked down, his face softening. She was finally asleep, her breathing deep and even; the medicine finally easing the stuffiness from her nose. For the first time of that day, her face looked peaceful.
Without meaning to, he found himself kneeling before her. Slowly, hesitantly he reached his hand out and put it on the side of her face. On contact, he felt as if his hand was on fire. It was amazing that such as a small contact could make him feel in such a way. He stroked her hair and caressed the side of her face.
He whispered, "They never make it easy. Life's not fair is it? It just has this way of making things more complicated and complex between the both of us." He laughed humorlessly and sighed.
At that, he rose from the floor and walked back to the windowsill. He took off his shirt, leaving him in an undershirt and shorts. He then sat on the cool, hard plaster; his back to the wall and his stretched out legs had to bend to fit between the two walls.
He gave the girl on the bed one more glance before he leaned his head on the wall. It took a while but in the end, Jimmy finally managed to drift to sleep.
The sleep however was short-lived. Jimmy woke when he heard the slight creaking of Cindy's bed. His eyes opened immediately, scanning the room. When his gaze turned towards the bed, the boy saw Cindy walking towards him, eyes half-lidded, a blanket draped around her shoulders.
Once she neared him, Jimmy said in a loud whisper, "What are you doing awake? It's almost three in the morning and you need to rest. Come on Cindy, you have to get back to bed."
Jimmy was about to stand and guide her back to her bed when he could see her shivering. She mumbled, continuing to walk closer to him, "Too cold."
As she continued to make her way to him, Jimmy could see, in the dim light, that her eyes were hardly open, and the closer that he looked, Jimmy could see the girl fighting to stay awake but was losing. With every step that she took, the more she swayed.
Jimmy jumped from his seat and grabbed the girl's waist before she fell. Cindy leaned against the genius's chest and managed to mumble, "Can't…sleep…anymore. Blankets not enough to stop the cold. It's cold…"
Jimmy led the girl back to the windowsill. Once the reached his so called bed, Jimmy didn't know what else to do other than to sit her on his lap.
Her head rested on the crook of his neck, her legs pulled up to her chest was tucked between his legs. The boy could feel the girl tremble in his arms but when she felt her skin, it was the opposite. So much for a fever reducing syrup.
He breathed out in worry and wrapped both the blanket and his arms around her in an attempt to ward her from the cold, to give her as much warmth as possible. He let out a breath of anger, he felt completely worthless; there was nothing more that he could to help her.
The boy panicked, his mind went blank and he felt useless. His heart thudded against his chest so loudly that he was amazed that the girl in his arms didn't wake from it.