Cindy nervously twisted her hands together in her lap and she tried not to keep looking at the gorgeous man next to her that was driving to her apartment. When she saw that Jimmy would be driving her home, Cindy was expecting to see some sort of car, but this was Jimmy Neutron they were talking about. When they came to the parking lot, she saw a hover car that resembled the one that they gang used to ride in when they were kids. This one was much more complex and looked very modern compared to the giant brown one that was made out of household items. Every now and then, she would sneak a glance at Jimmy as they were driving, to whom she would see shift around in his seat uncomfortably and try to look busy. He looked nervous.

She would smile at this. No matter how much Jimmy has changed over the years, he would still be the same geeky kid that she grew up with.

After a few painful minutes of silence, Jimmy coughed awkwardly and said, "So…what brought you to Columbia after all these years?"

Cindy rolled her eyes and replied, "C'mon Neutron, we both know that Retroville is not exactly the virtue of education. Besides, I was ready to leave the little town and start over. I mean sure, there is nothing I love more than our hometown, but I needed to get a change in my life."

Jimmy gave a cold smile and said in almost a whisper, "Trust me, Vortex. Sometimes it's better not to change."

Cindy looked down at her hands once again and bit the bottom in her lip in deep thought. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jimmy keep looking back and forth and her and the road. His hair was moving along the direction of the hover craft.

"Why do you keep looking at me?"

Jimmy chuckled and said, "I still cannot believe how much you have grown in the past few years. Seems like it was just yesterday you were yelling at me for accidentally switching our bodies or turning Ms. Fowl into a giant leaf monster."

Cindy smirked and replied, "You should have seen the look on Carl and Sheen's face when I told them I was a girl. I swear, I thought that their mouths were start going to start nesting bugs."

They both laughed at this and then grew quiet gradually. In a small voice, Cindy said, "When I was in your body, people kept on coming up to me and asking for help. They really relied on you and trusted you back home. You were the hero in the town, Neutron and people really needed you."

Jimmy avoided eye contact with her and focused his attention on the road. Several moments passed in the vehicle without either of them talking. She waited for him to reply but he never did.

Why was he being so distant with her?

She sighed and instead of pressing forward, she change the mood of the atmosphere by asking, "So, why poetry? I mean chemistry I understand, heck I would even get mythology! I mean, please, when that space rock came into town, you were drooling all over the ancient legends behind it. But what influenced the great James Isaac Neutron to take up the non-scientific subject of poetry? And why teaching?"

Jimmy gave a devilish smile and said, "Hey, I was just as amazed as you are now. As you probably know, poetry was a GE that I had to take at the time and I absolutely hated the subject. It was no surprise that I was failing the class at first; I was naïve enough to think that the professor hated me." Not too long after, Jimmy pulled up to the front of Cindy's apartment. He parked the car and took the key out of the ignition and sat back in his chair.

Cindy gave a soft frown and asked, "Well, what changed your mind, may I ask?"

Jimmy threw his head back to look up to the stars. Cindy carefully watched his face as he spoke.

"Cindy, there comes a point in your life where you crave something more than just facts alone. Sure, I will always love science and math for the rest of my life and continue to practice it, but I also wanted something emotional. When I look up to the stars, you know what I would see? Just huge balls of gas and the mathematics of when it was formed and how long it will last or if it is even still alive. When I was in poetry, people were not writing about the analytics behind the stars, they were talking about them as if they had something more to offer. As if there was some emotional aspect that I was unable to see; so I did what any other scientist did when they are unfamiliar with something, I embraced the unknown."

She smiled at this.

"I desired to see things in a better perspective, I wanted to feel the emotional expressions that these famous authors were writing. At first, I was frustrated. What the hell was I looking for? But after a few tries," Jimmy looked into Cindy's eyes and said in almost a whisper, "you find inspiration."

Cindy took her own turn to look up and the sky. With all the city lights, there was no way to see much of anything, but she was not fooled. From her travels with the gang, she knew that the sky was littered with millions upon millions of stars. Her heart fluttered with different feelings and she turned back to look and Neutron, who himself was still looking at Cindy.

"As for teaching," Jimmy said after a minute, "I needed to do something while my inventions are in the making. I figured instead of waiting around for my inventions to sell to corporations all day, might as well try to do something different. I want to build a business of my own, but we both know that it does not happen overnight; so I looked for a side job. Teaching one class seemed like the best possibility. Temporary of course, but somewhat satisfying."

Listening to Jimmy's story made Cindy realize that he was no longer prone to sensitivity, but now relishing in it. He was something much more than what she originally thought or could ever imagine. She was amazed as what the genius had formed with his life and was curious to find out more.

The child-hood friend spoke in a softer tone and said, "I really did miss you guys, though. More than you could ever imagine. I am truly sorry."

Cindy looked at him reluctantly and replied with an unsteady voice, "I know..."

The way he looked at her was almost enough to stop her heart. She did not know what to say next, but Jimmy knew exactly what to do. He took her hand softly in his and kissed her knuckles lightly. Cindy's eyes fluttered shut. He moved to sit with her in the passenger seat, closing the space between them. He kissed the side of her mouth and she leaned back on the control switch. She responded by placing her arms around his neck and leaning into him. He snaked his hand up to her hair where he pulled out her pony tail and let it all flow free. Before he was able to actually fully kiss her, Cindy's back pressed onto a button that set off a shrilling alarm system.

"Shit!" Jimmy exclaimed and he pressed a series of switches that killed the noise.

Cindy's eyes went wide and she placed her hand on her head.

What was I thinking?! Neutron is my professor!

The pair avoided eye contact for a few minutes until Cindy said, "What we just did, never happened."

Jimmy looked at her with a shocked expression, "What?"

"Goodnight, professor."

With that, Cindy got out of the hovercraft as fast as she could and quickly got inside her apartment. She shut the door behind her and leaned back against the frame in relief. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind from all the emotions that were rushing through her.

Inside, Zoe was sitting in an armchair next to the lit fireplace with her feet on the coffee table. Her arms were crossed and she looked at her roommate like she had been expecting her for hours.

"Have you seen the time? I didn't know a book worm like you could be out so late," she joked as she stretched out her legs. "Oh how was the party?"

Cindy blurted out before she could stop herself, "Professor Neutron was there."

Zoe raised an eyebrow, "And how was that?"

Cindy replied by walking to her room and closing the door firmly behind her.

"Sheesh," Zoe said.