"So you're telling me Jimmy is virtually dependent on you now? " Libby asked Cindy.
Cindy gave Libby the 'did you seriously forget what happened recently?' Type of look.
Libby soon recalled the recent events as she kept herself quiet.
The two girls were waiting at the Candy Bar for their friends Carl and Sheen to show up. While the two of them were waiting, Libby had asked Cindy how things were going, completely unaware just how bad the damage was.
Cindy had been honest with her because of course she had, explaining to Libby just how dependent on her Jimmy had become.
So when Cindy gave her the look she had just given her, Libby knew she had now said too much, keeping herself quiet.
Cindy sighed, smiling at her best friend. "It's okay Libby, I wasn't expecting to be the only one Jimmy would trust right away either." Cindy said, a sad tone to her voice.
Libby frowned, Unable to imagine how hard it must've been. "How bad is it? "She whispered.
"Quite bad. The damage Nick caused Has permanently affected his memory. He barely knows anything."
Libby let out a quiet gasp. "Wow...So he remembers absolutely nothing?" Libby asked.
Cindy looked as though she was about to cry. "Yep, he remembers absolutely nothing. He didn't even remember he was a genius. I had to tell him." Cindy explained.
"I'm sorry." Was all Libby could say.
But, that's not all Cindy had to worry about.
She was worried for Jimmy's best friends Carl and Sheen. The boys didn't know Jimmy had lost his memory completely, the boys didn't know that Jimmy wouldn't remember them being friends, and it hurt Cindy's heart more than it was supposed to.
She didn't want to do this.
But she knew, very well, that this was inevitable. Jimmy may have forgotten all of his old life, but that doesn't mean he couldn't start a new one, and starting that 'new' life requires him to make new friends. Even if his new friends are just re-introducing him to his old friends again.
Speaking of old friends, Carl and Sheen ran into the ice cream shop, sitting next to Cindy and Libby.
"I'm so excited to see Jimmy!" Sheen screamed with joy, unable to sit still as fingers tapped on the table as his body uncontrollably started to bounce in his seat.
Cindy couldn't help but giggle at his excitement. "Hey Sheen, hey Carl." She greeted.
The boys couldn't help but wave, giddy and excited to see their friend after the horrendous accident.
But seeing their excitement to see their friend again made Cindy's heart drop. She was dreading to see their faces when Jimmy didn't recognise them, she was dreading to see Jimmy's face when he didn't recognise them either.
She was dreading all of it, but there was nothing she could do.
She felt Libby squeeze her hand reassuringly just like she had been doing since everything changed. Cindy manages to look at Libby, who gave her a reassuring smile. she squeezed back, taking a breath, clearing her throat to get the boys attention.
"Okay guys," She sighed. "There's something I have to explain before we all see Jimmy today." Cindy said firmly.
The boys nodded, understanding that this was serious.
She could do this.
It would be okay.
"Jimmy has completely lost his memory." Cindy finally said.
The boys' eyes widen in confusion and fear.
Cindy already knowing their reaction would be this. She knew one of the boys would start to cry, confused, thinking this was some kind of sick prank.
Sheen started shaking, tears beginning to fall.
Yep. She called it. Guilt ate her alive. Just reminding her how bad of an idea this was.
"Does he still remember us?" He asked, looking at Cindy as though she had suddenly grown two heads, and that she was some kind of wicked witch from a puppet show that they used to watch his kids.
Cindy shook her head, unable to say the word.
This broke her heart.
Carl, just as emotional as the boy sitting next to him, smiled, and put his hand on his friend's.
The thing Cindy always liked about Carl, was that even in the most difficult situations, Carl was always there to say something bittersweet that would just lift up the mood enough that it wasn't all depressing. That was something nice that she didn't tell Carl more often. Note to self, learn to appreciate Carl more.
"My Nana died of dementia last year, she totally forgot who I was. But there was a thing she said but I've never been able to forget. She said, 'I may not remember you, but I do remember this one thing. I remember that I love you.' And that sentence stuck with me ever since she died. So even though Jimmy might not remember us, we can still be his friends." Carl says.
Libby couldn't help but smile at the wholesome declaration their llama loving friend made. Cindy laughed as well as she pulled out a 10 dollar bill paying for both hers and Libby's treats, pulling out an extra five as a tip. Once the blonde girl left the money, the group of friends waved to the elderly ice cream owner as they left the ice cream shop, heading up to see their friend.
Meanwhile.
Jimmy was in his hospital room with his parents and a doctor. The doctor was discussing Jimmy's progress to the family.
"Well Mr and Mrs Neutron, looks like your son is recovering well. I'd say he'd be home in a day or two." The doctor said smiling as he held his clipboard. Jimmy smiled excitedly, happy that he'd get to go home soon.
The doctor continued to discuss things with them until the doctor didn't have anything else to discuss, leaving the family in a happy aura.
"Isn't that wonderful Jimmy deer? You get to go home soon! "Judy exclaimed.
"Yeah! I can't wait to tell Cindy! She'll be so happy!" Jimmy said, his face Lighting up with joy.
Hugh smiled at his son. "I'm sure she will, isn't she coming over today?" He questioned.
Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, she said that she's gonna bring some of her friends to meet me!" He says excitedly, unaware how heartbreaking what he said was.
Hugh and Judy were definitely struggling after the accident. Judy couldn't look at her son without breaking into tears as she did so, her son heartbreakingly thinking that this was his fault and crying alongside her. Judy would sit on the bedside with him, trying to console him gently. Telling him that she was here, not touching him, allowing him to feel comfortable around her. It took a long time for Jimmy to come to grips with the fact that, yes, they were indeed his parents, Jimmy was slowly getting used to them, they weren't at the stage where he would call them 'Mom' and 'Dad' yep, that would take time, but they would wait as long as it took.
"Hello! "A nurse with blondish brown curly hair wearing a white uniform holding Jimmy's morning medication greeted.
Jimmy smiled, waving her in. "Hi Debi!" He greeted cheerfully. His mom smiled, waving to him. "I'll see you later, Jimmy!" She called over her shoulder, her husband following as they left for work.
Debi smiled as she handed Jimmy the cup of water in a non-spill cup. He opened his mouth as she put the first five mills into his mouth, Jimmy making a face of pure disgust, causing the nurse to laugh.
Jimmy took the last of the medicine, some spilling out of his mouth. "All done! "She said with a smile, the boy smiled back at her. "Thank you, Debi! See you later." Jimmy said as she left with a pep in her step.
Meanwhile, with the others.
Cindy, Libby, Sheen and Carl were walking along to Jimmy's hospital room. Cindy leading them, all of them eager to see their friend.
Cindy was a little worried, she didn't know how Jimmy was going to react. She didn't know whether this would be a good idea or not until she got to the room. The boys were babbling excitedly about Jimmy and how excited they were. Cindy's stomach churned, doing backflips as she walked. She continued to walk down the hall, sounds of keyboards hospital beds and medical staff walking around filling her ears.
121. This, was Jimmy's hospital room.
Cindy stopped, turning around to face her friends. "We're here. "She said.
The babbling from the boys had stopped, they were quiet. Realisation must've hit them. "You guys okay?" Libby asked.
The boys didn't respond, they couldn't. Cindy smiled, walking over to them and giving them a reassuring hug. "He's okay." She whispered reassuringly, pulling back. "How about I go first? "She suggested, already going to do that anyway.
The boys nodded, scooting back to Libby.
With a smile, Cindy knocked on the door. "Come in!" She heard Jimmy say, she opened the door coming in the room and closing it behind her. The two of them shared a hug, Cindy pulling up a chair and sitting next to her wheelchair-bound friend. "Hey Jimmy, you seem excited today. " Cindy said with a giggle.
Jimmy giggled as well. "That's cause I am excited! I have some exciting news!" He exclaimed.
His smile reminded her of how excited he got when he was eagerly showing her his latest inventions. His blue eyes twinkled with excitement she hadn't seen in him for a long time. It made her heart break a little seeing him this excited over something other than inventions, knowing that he most likely wouldn't be able to do that again. But she smiled anyway, eager to hear what he had to say. "What is it?" She asked, her green eyes fully fixated on him.
"I GET TO GO HOME SOON!" He cheered.
Cindy gasped, coming over and hugging him again. "Oh Jimmy that's great! I'm so happy for you! "She says just as excitedly.
The two of them talked for awhile, Jimmy talking about his progress and Cindy taking in all the information. Cindy then smiled. "Hey, Jimmy? Do you wanna meet my friends? They're so excited to see you. "She said.
Cindy noticed her friend becoming a little anxious at the thought, thinking that her plan had miserably backfired. But Cindy still persisted. "Would you like to meet Libby first?" Cindy asked, Jimmy looking a bit unsure. "I'll be with you. " she reassured.
Jimmy nodded, although it was still a bit hesitant, but Cindy smiled poking her head out the door. "Libby? Jimmy is ready to meet you. " She said softly.
Libby smiled, going in his hospital room leaving Carl and Sheen to peer anxiously in the door.
Cindy pulled up a chair for Libby to sit on, she gratefully taking the chair. Libby waved, smiling at him. Cindy introduced her. "Jimmy, this is my friend Libby." She said warmly, causing Libby to wave again.
"H-H-Hi!" He squeaked, unable to make eye contact with her.
"Nice to meet you, Jimmy. "She said with a smile. Libby told him about herself, sharing her passion for music and fashion with the 10-year-old boy, Jimmy listening intently. Eventually the group of kids were laughing, which, for Cindy, was a lovely sight to see.
After the laughing calmed down, Cindy turned to Jimmy. "Do you wanna meet some more of my friends? "She asked softly.
Jimmy hesitantly nodded and she went to go and get the boys. Carl stepped forward, volunteering to go in next. Cindy guided him into the room, giving him a chair to sit on.
Jimmy remained quiet, Carl just waved, smiling a big smile. Cindy introduced him. "Jimmy, this is Carl, he is also one of my friends. "Cindy said softly.
Carl waved again, smiling a dopey smile that made Jimmy chuckle.
They all started to talk with one another. Cindy was almost in tears at the pure joy radiating off of Jimmy, he was the happiest she'd seen him in so long. Jimmy laughed so much that Cindy was pretty sure he was going to wet himself from laughing so much. For once Cindy was happy Jimmy didn't remember anything, because, for a short second, Jimmy was happy, genuinely.
Once Cindy had calmed down from her giggling fit, she offered to go get Sheen, Who had anxiously been waiting at the door, unsure whether he wanted to see Jimmy now. She walked out the door, seeing her other friend had resided himself to the chairs outside.
"Sheen, come on! We're gonna go down to the cafe with the others! Libby tells me there's Ultra Lord cookies there~!" Cindy sang bribingly.
But unfortunately, the Ultra Lord Superfan didn't want to go. He started yelling at Cindy, angry that his best friend didn't remember him anymore. Cindy trying to defend their injured friend by telling Sheen that it would be doing more harm than good to Jimmy if they tried to make him remember things, but the boy was not having any of it.
Cindy somehow already knew that would happen, even if it was a cliche fanfiction story beat. But, she knew better than to force him. "If you don't wanna come Sheen, that's fine. I understand that it can be a little scary, so it's okay." Cindy said, getting up and going back into the room.
Cindy sighed, sitting herself back down in the chair. She saw Libby look at her with a worried expression.
"Where's Sheen?" Libby asked.
Jimmy perked up. "Who's Sheen?" Jimmy asked.
Cindy winced, knowing the confrontation she had with Sheen mere moments ago. "Oh, Just another one of my friends, unfortunately he got too upset and won't be joining us." She said quickly, hoping if she said it quick enough Jimmy would mishear what she said, and not asked questions about it.
But even if Jimmy wasn't necessarily a genius anymore, he could still hear what Cindy was saying, much to her frustration.
"Oh," Jimmy said sadly, his eyes downcast a little. "It's because of me, isn't it?" He asked weakly.
But before Cindy could step in, Libby ended up jumping in headfirst. No idea what she was doing.
She was nervous, saying something that made the situation much much worse. Before Libby could say anything more, Cindy quickly, and rather skilfully, from where she was sat covered Libby's mouth, glaring at her, giving a non-verbal threat to her that Jimmy was too vulnerable to hear.
But unfortunately, things were just going downhill. Jimmy was clearly overwhelmed, so overwhelmed in fact, the poor boy started to cry from everything that was going on. Cindy lept into action, Coming over to Jimmy trying to calm him down.
Libby looked apologetic, panicked, as she had never seen Jimmy so vulnerable. Libby walked over to them, wanting to be at least some help.
Both girls started speaking calmly to him, Libby following Cindy's lead. Cindy trying her absolute hardest to distract the boy.
"Jimmy? Are we gonna show the others the special garden?" She asked gently, gripping both of his hands tightly.
The poor boy continued to shake, overwhelmed as his brain tried to process things.
Libby noticed a white teddy bear on his bed, quickly grabbing it for him.
Jimmy grabbed the bear, hugging it close to him as he squeezed the literal life out of it.
Libby stepped away, going over to where Carl was standing, knowing that her friend had it under control.
Cindy was gently talking to Jimmy, calm and quiet. She was like a different person, Libby had never seen her so calm.
She wasn't yelling at him, she was soft, gentle, reassuring. "Jimmy, hey, It's okay…You're doing so well. Do you want to go to the cafe?" She asked softly.
Jimmy nodded.
"Okay." She responds, she then turns back to her friends, Libby looking so confused. "What happened to Cindy Vortex?" Libby asked.
"Trauma." Was Cindy's only response, unintentionally harsh, bitter, almost painful.
Why can't people understand trauma can change people?
Libby frowned, heading for the door and opening it. silently, Cindy pushed Jimmy out of the room, he still clutching his comfort bear. Together, awkwardly, they headed off. Cindy getting a quick glance at her other friend, nonverbally telling him that the invitation was still open. But the boy shook his head staying still, only brave enough to move his eyes over to see Jimmy for a brief second before he looked away.
Then, they disappeared.
Cindy was silent as she pushed Jimmy along, no words spoken between her or Libby. The girl knowing she had yet again said too much. Libby realised she had been doing that a lot today, maybe she should've just waited for Cindy to have calmed him down before she did anything. But Libby, being the wing girl to Cindy felt like she had to help somehow. And her help wasn't required.
Cindy then turned to her, smiling understandingly. Understanding that she was just trying to help.
"It's okay Libbs, I get it, you just wanted to help. I appreciate that, thank you." Cindy said quietly.
Well, that could've gone exponentially better. Jimmy had a panic attack, and Sheen selfishly chickened out. It could be worse.
But Cindy wouldn't think about it right now.
A/N: Can you spot the reference?