Chapter 12: Reunion

She had loathed the day the invite came in the mail. She had sworn the minute she stepped off the stage with her diploma that she would never again return to Retroville. Being married to Jimmy Neutron who, unlike herself, was still on very good terms with his family had put a damper on that and had forced her to return to her hometown. But while that could not be avoided, she could at least avoid the place that had given her the most trial, so she had simply reformed her previous plan to never return to Retroville to the more easily attainable, plan to never return to Retroville High School. When she had read over the invite for the high school reunion, she had simply tossed it in the trash.

She had completely forgot about it to be truthful, and when Jimmy was cleaning up the trash he had spilled in the kitchen, he had found it and called to her. "Cindy? What's the invitation to our high school reunion doing in the trash?"

She had steeled herself for what she was sure to be an uphill battle. "It's trash. That's where trash goes."

He came out to the living room, eyebrows furrowed, wrinkled invitation in hand. "And you didn't see the need to talk to me about it?"

"Well-"

"Maybe I want to go."

"Why?"

Smoothing out the edge of the invite with his fingers he mused, "Shouldn't this be reversed? Shouldn't you, Miss-Popular-Head Cheerleader-Homecoming Queen be begging me for a chance to relive your glory days while I, the Nerd-Head of the Science Club, be adamant in never returning?"

She snorted. "Please. Look at you. Richest man alive? Most powerful man in the world? Shouldn't you be biting at the bit for a chance to go and rub your success in the faces of the classmates who made fun of you?"

"And shouldn't you, the wife of the richest man alive and the most powerful man in the world, not to mention, NYC's first female DA want to return as well?"

She wanted to tell him that he didn't get it. That if they returned, things would be just as they always had been. He would be better at her on everything. That she would be struggling to even get a glimpse of the limelight. That RHS was nothing but a giant prison to her that she had longed to leave every moment she was in high school. But he was looking at her like that and she knew that if anyone deserved a chance to go back to high school in triumph it was Jimmy. "Alright."

She had been praised many times in the courtroom for her almost uncanny ability to predict the future. Some thought she was psychic, but she just had certain, feelings, of how situations were going to go. Forty-five minutes into the first day of the reunion, she was not at all surprised to see that her ability was still going strong as ever.

They had started off together, making the rounds in the gym together. But little by little, people had approached them (well, Jimmy really) and soon she found herself further and further away from his side until she was outside the circle of people completely. She stood there for a moment before sighing and looking around. Almost everyone was deep in conversation with somebody else. She caught Libby's eye from across the room, who gave her a look of concern but she merely shook her head before breaking contact to go refill her glass.

Which is how she found herself standing by the punch bowl feeling like every awkward teenager since the dawn of time. "Damn Vortex! You look fine!" A voice broke behind her and she was suddenly overwhelmed by an urge to vomit.

"Thanks Nick," She grumbled as she refilled her punch glass, attempting to go as quickly as she could to ignore talking with Nick at all. This trip had already been declared a disaster in her mind, and that absolute last thing she wanted to do was talk to her slimeball of an ex-boyfriend.

"Ya know, if you were my wife, you wouldn't be standing at the punch bowl all alone." He said as he moved himself to her line of view, and leaned in, eyeing her up suggestively.

She rolled her eyes. "If I was your wife, I would have divorced your sorry ass a long time ago." Suddenly, a scent she knew all too well, one that she would always associate with Nick Dean, came over her. She wrinkled her nose. "Have you been drinking?"

"No," He slurred, "C'mon Vortex. We haven't really chatted since you dumped me for no good reason."

"No good reason? Really? You were an egotistical jerk. You cheated on me with Betty Quinlan, then got her pregnant. You fooled around behind my back with half the female population at this were plenty of reasons Dean."

He laughed then grabbed onto the table for support. "I was young and naive Vortex."

"Its Neutron now." She corrected him coldly.

"Neutron-" He spoke aloud, rolling the word around on his tongue as if testing it out for the first time. "Well, considering how he's over there surrounded by people and you're over here alone, I think that perhaps there might be some trouble in paradise." He slid closer to her. "So why don't you just come with me for awhile?"

He attempted to wrap his arm around her, but she quickly shrugged it off. "Why don't you just go back to the rock you climbed out from under?" She snapped as she turned to walk away.

"Now, I remember why I cheated on you." Nick shouted at her retreating back. "You're such a bitch."

Her cup shattered on the floor and she turned around, eyes flashing. But before she could do anything, Nick Dean was on the floor, then being shoved up against the wall by his collar by Jimmy. "What did you just call my wife, Dean?" The genius hissed.

The entire gymnasium was watching them by this point. Sheen and Carl had moved to a position where they could back up their best friend if Nick decided to try and push back. Although at the current time, he seemed to be having more trouble forming words then focusing on retaliating. "L-look Neutron, I didn't-"

Jimmy shoved him against the wall again. "Didn't I warn you once to stay away from her? Was I not absolutely crystal clear? Or do I need to reiterate?"

"Jimmy, put him down." Cindy ordered as she took her place in her husband's line of sight.

"Y-yeah, listen to the woman Neutron-"

"Shut up Dean." Both of them ordered, Cindy's gaze locked on Jimmy, while Jimmy was still glaring Nick daggers.

"Jimmy-" She tried again, softer this time.

His gaze slid over to her and he looked back at Nick. He slowly released Nick who slid to the floor. "If you ever talk to, or as so much look at, Cindy again, I will blast you into space, understand?" Nick merely nodded meekly and quickly scampered away as Jimmy stormed out the doors to the gym.

Everyone watched him go before looking at his wife. Libby was at her side in an instant and told her, "I saw you talking to Nick. Considering the past I thought it would be wise to grab Jimmy."

"I don't know if that made it better or worse." Cindy admitted. "What did he mean when he said he warned Nick once?" Neither Carl or Sheen knew and Cindy glanced at the giant clock on the gym wall. "Well, I'd better go talk to him then."

She wasn't at all surprised to find that Retroville High School hadn't changed a bit during her absence. Same horrid puke green lockers. Same trophies in the case. Same classrooms lining the halls. Knowing her husband as she did, she walked through the various hallways until she found him in his favorite high school hang-out, the lab.

"Whatever you have to say to me Cindy, save it."

She shrugged as she closed the door behind her. "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Liar."

She sighed, and as she had done many times during her high school career, she hoisted herself onto the cool ledge of the lab table, swinging her legs as she watched him. "I think you have some explaining to do." She said quietly.

He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Do you remember when you found out Nick was cheating on you with Betty Quinlan?" He inquired as he looked out the window, his back still to her.

"Its pretty hard not to," She admitted. She had discovered them in a closet, and had immediately bolted, ignoring Nick's shouts to her. She had raced through the school until she had found an empty row of books in the library, where she had sobbed. Not 5 minutes into her pity party, Jimmy had appeared. He hadn't said a word, merely sat down beside her. When her crying had subsidized, Jimmy had wordlessly handed her the other half of his lunch, which the two of them ate in silence before he escorted her back to class.

Jimmy shifted his weight from one foot to another. "You were just so upset, and I hated seeing you like that. When I was walking home that night, I crossed paths with Nick." He paused. "He started talking to me like we were old friends. He said some… not so nice things about you and something in me snapped. Next thing I knew I had him up against the brick wall of the alley, quite similar to today infact, and told him that if he ever as so much looked in your direction again, I would kill him."

"You were the one who gave him that black eye!"

"Not intentionally!" He objected. "I just wanted to talk to him and things escalated. That's all." He was prepared for yelling, a silent treatment, or a bout of crying. But he was not prepared for her to start laughing, hysterically.

"You, Jimmy Neutron, beat up Nick Dean?"

He turned around to face her, an eyebrow raised, "Why is this so funny?"

"Nothing." But she giggled again. "Okay, well, its just so- unexpected."

Raising his eyes to the ceiling, wondering how on earth his wife was considered competent enough to prosecute people. He told her, "You should know by now that I would do anything for you. Even back then."

She sombered. "I know." She picked at the loose string on her sweater. "But today-"

"I wanted to get to you. I noticed you weren't at my side and I panicked. Libby found her way to me and I saw him putting his arm around you. I went over-"

"Just in time to hear him call me a bitch."

"Yeah-" He leaned on the edge of her lab table. "You're not mad."

"No. It was rather funny. And he did have it coming."

He smirked then sighed. "I now understand why you didn't want to come. All these people, vying for my attention, half of which didn't even talk to me in high school. I wanted to rub it in their faces then have them leave me alone." She giggled at that and he grinned. "I really should just start agreeing to whatever you say."

"Duh." She said as he leaned into kiss her. But a knock at the door interrupted them.

"You guys better have clothes on!" Sheen called out as he opened the door and walked in, his eyes covered with his hand. He paused then peeked at them from between his fingers. "Oh thank goodness!" He cried in relief as he walked the rest of the way in, followed by Libby, Carl and Elkie.

Libby rolled her eyes at her husband. "For goodness sakes Sheen." She turned to her best friend. "Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. But everyone's wondering where you are Jimmy."

The genius in question groaned and looked at his wife. "What do you say we ditch the rest of this shindig?"

"I wouldn't object." Carl muttered and Elkie nodded. "I hated these people then and I hate them now!"

"Agreed!" Sheen said.

"Well, then. Cindy and I have my parent's place to ourselves while their in Oregon. What do you guys say to an old fashioned cook-out? Just the gang?" Jimmy's suggestion was answered with a chorus of cheers.

Libby held up Cindy' purse and Jimmy's jacket. "I had an inkling you might say that," She told them as she handed them their articles. "Figured you wouldn't want to go back in there."

"You got that right." Jimmy agreed as he slipped his jacket back on. He turned and lifted Cindy off the table, setting her on her feet beside him. "Let's go."

Forty minutes later, the boys were huddled around the Neutron's grill watching the burgers as the girls were sitting at the table, drinking mimosas and catching up. "So much better than being in that stinky gymnasium." Elkie said happily as her friends agreed.

"And just think," Libby said with a wicked grin. "All it took was Nick hitting on Cindy for us to get out of there."

Before Cindy could respond, her husband's voice came from behind her. "Do not mention that name around me again." Jimmy reached down and placed the plate of burgers in the center of the table. "But I will say, this is a lot better than being at that reunion."

There was a hum of agreement as the group sat down to eat. For Cindy, it was like coming home. The familiar buzz of conversation, the laughs. It was wonderful. From across the table, she caught her husband's eye, who smiled at her and mouthed, "I love you."

Perfect.