Hello readers! Life got in the way and I wasn't able to post for a bit, but I'm back with chapter 2. This chapter has some backstory as well as plot development. It's a bit all over the place but I think it's worth it. I hope you enjoy!

CONTENT WARNING: mentions of suicide and depression.

I was feeling strange after leaving Jimmy's. Why was he suddenly so curious about why I didn't have friends? Jimmy never tried to talk to me afterwards. It was always some sort of unwritten rule that we just parted ways when we were done.

I was lost in my thoughts as I walked into my house. It wasn't until I closed and locked the door that I realized my mother and John were sitting on the couch.

"Where the hell have you been? I was about to call the police!" My mother practically shouted. I stood silently and stared at her. How late was it? I couldn't have been gone that long.

"Sasha, it's okay. She's home now." John tried to console my mother.

"It's not okay. She's out doing God knows what."

"I was just out for a walk. It's not that big of a deal," I replied in a cool voice.

"Right, out for a walk. I'm sure you were screwing that boy you've been seeing," my mother spat.

I glared at my mother. I hated when she got like this. "I'm just trying to be like Mommy and fuck any guy that gives me attention."

John choked on his drink in shock.

"Cynthia, apologize right now," my mother said sternly.

"No. You pretend you care about me, but you don't. If you did care, you'd know that Wendell broke up with me a month ago, and I never fucked him in the first place! You just put on this show of acting like you're perfectly happy. But I know that you're miserable, and you take it out on me."

"Right, I'm the adult so I'm the bad guy," my mother stated. "Well, since you want me to be the bad guy, I will. You are grounded."

"Wow, great punishment," I said sarcastically. "What are you grounding me from exactly? All I do is go to school and do homework." I didn't wait for a response. I just walked upstairs to my room.

I lay down on my bed and tried not to think about the chaos that was my life. My mother was overbearing yet neglectful and basically called me a whore. I had no friends and everyone at school thought I was a cold-hearted bitch. I was fucking around with my former friend, except he had a girlfriend, and only wanted to do it with me because his girlfriend wouldn't. I was a walking nightmare.

My phone pinged a new message. I huffed. What could Jimmy possibly want? He was the only person who ever messaged me. I looked at my phone and my scowl softened as I read the message from Jimmy: I forgot to tell you: Happy birthday.

I looked at the date on my phone. It was my birthday. I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten. Actually, I couldn't believe that my mother had forgotten. My phone pinged another message from Jimmy: I know we're not friends, but I figured you deserved at least one birthday message today.

I went through several emotions in a few seconds. First, I was flattered that Jimmy remembered my birthday. Next I was annoyed that my mother had forgotten. Then I was mad at Jimmy for being annoying and breaking our deal by being nice. Lastly, I was scared by how quickly my feelings for Jimmy changed. In just two short text messages, Jimmy had been more kind to me than anybody had in a very long time. I realized that I was falling for Jimmy. And now I was really fucked.

The next day I avoided Jimmy. I was unsure of what I would say to him. It's not like I had a reason to talk to him anyway. School went by quickly, and when the final bell rang, I dreaded going home. My mother never even realized that she had forgotten my birthday, and she was still mad at me for yelling at her. I sent her a message saying I had a study group meeting at the library. I didn't really have a plan, but I also really didn't want to go home.

I ended up walking into town. I went to the Candy Bar because I couldn't think of anything else to do. I found a booth, sat down, pulled out a book from my backpack and started reading.

"What can I–oh." I heard someone say. I looked up and saw Brittany in her Candy Bar uniform. I stared at her for a few seconds and then went back to my book.

"Either order something, or get out."

I glanced at Brittany from the corner of my eye and said, "Coke."

"Fine," Brittany replied. "Freak." I heard her mutter as she turned to leave. She came back a few minutes later with my drink. "Here. Can I get you anything else?" she sneered.

"Yeah, can you give me back the years of my life I wasted being friends with you?" I said without looking up.

"Oh please. It's your own fault. Everyone knows what you did, slut."

I set my book down. "I don't know what you're referring to."

"I have work to do. I don't have time to explain why everyone hates you."

Brittany started to walk away. I knocked my glass over and the soda spilled all over the table and floor. "Oops." I deadpanned. "Well, I guess that's another reason you can add to your list." I pulled out some cash and left it on the sticky table before collecting my things and standing up to leave. Brittany glared at me as I stepped over the sticky mess. "I guess you are busy. That's too bad. I was looking forward to hearing what other lies you came up with." I made my way toward the exit.

"Fucking bitch!" Brittany yelled after me.

It didn't really matter what Brittany had to say. I knew that she was the one who had started all the rumors about me. I don't actually remember what I did to make her so mad at me, but freshman year of high school she started telling people that I was sleeping with one of my teachers and that I was also trading sex for drugs. She would write horrendous notes to me and was mean in general. At the time she really got to me. I had just lost Libby as a friend and my dad had decided to marry the girl he left us for. The one true thing in all of this mess was that I was feeling depressed. My mom had signed me up for therapy to help with everything. I missed a couple days of school for some doctor's appointments and some psychological evaluations for therapy, and that was when Brittany started the rumor that I tried to kill myself.

None of what she said was true. But it didn't matter if I defended myself. No one would believe me. It was then that I decided that I didn't need anybody. People were going to believe what they wanted to believe so I figured I should just ignore everyone and not care what anyone thought.

I walked out of the Candy Bar and headed towards the park. At least there nobody would bother me. I settled on a bench underneath a tree and pulled my book out again. I was just getting comfortable when I heard a voice mutter, "Oh shit."

I peered over my book and saw Wendell walking down the path. He paused, hesitated as he thought of turning around, sighed, and continued toward me. I didn't plan on saying anything to him, so I pulled my book closer to my face and tried to read. I sensed that he had stopped. "What do you want, Wendell?" I said without looking up.

"I can't just stop to say hi?" he replied.

"Not to me you can't."

"C'mon, Cindy, you can't still be mad at me."

I closed my book and set it on the bench. "I have every right to be mad at you. You only dated me because you thought I would sleep with you. And then when I wouldn't, you dumped me. I honestly would have had more respect for you if you just said you wanted to hook up."

"Wait, really?" Wendell's eyes widened and a smile grew on his face. "I'm not busy now."

"Go fuck yourself."

"Bitch." Wendell continued on his way.

I stayed at the park until dusk and watched the sunset. I really didn't want to go home, but I didn't have a choice anymore. If I didn't show up soon, my mother was sure to call the cops. I started walking in the direction of my house, slowly. The streets weren't very busy. I figured most people were probably at home eating dinner.

A car pulled up to me as I walked down the sidewalk. The passenger side window was lowered revealing Jimmy sitting in the driver's seat, a blank expression on his face. "Get in," he said flatly. I opened the passenger door and sat down. I didn't know what to say. After my realization that I actually liked Jimmy I wasn't sure if I should say something. Jimmy didn't say anything either so we drove in silence.

He drove right past our houses without slowing down. I looked over at him. He was silent, but I saw his grip tighten on the steering wheel. He drove us to the end of town towards the wooded park. He parked the car in the unlit parking lot and shut the engine off.

"What are we doing here?" I finally asked.

Jimmy got out of the car without a word and started walking towards the woods. I was hesitant. It was late, and getting dark. I didn't know what Jimmy wanted, but I had an idea. I just didn't know why he wanted to do it here instead of in his lab like normal.

I flinched when Jimmy tapped on my window. "Are you coming or not?" He almost sounded angry. I opened the door and followed Jimmy into the woods, my heart rate slightly increasing. We walked along the trail for a few minutes. He still said nothing. He turned off the trail and led me through a thick wooded area. I could hardly see where I was going.

He stopped suddenly, grabbed me and pushed me up against a tree. He had me trapped between his arms as he started kissing me, which was weird because he never kisses me when we hook up. They weren't passionate kisses either, more forceful and desperate, like he needed them to mean something. It wasn't what I thought it would be like to kiss him. I knew what Jimmy was like with me while we were fooling around, but from an outsider's perspective I always just assumed he would be more kind and compassionate.

Jimmy pulled back and looked at me with a confused look on his face. It was then that I realized that I hadn't been reciprocating the kiss. "Sorry. My mind was somewhere else," I said as I grabbed onto the back of his head to pull him into a kiss. He returned to sucking on my face and I felt his hands move down my sides and he unbuttoned my jeans. He lowered the zipper and stuck his hand down the front of my pants. My breath caught as he touched me through my underwear. I stopped kissing him, too distracted by his touch that I began to unravel.

After a few minutes of massaging me, he pulled his hand away and leaned in next to my ear and whispered, "On your knees, Vortex."

Those words always triggered my stubbornness. I liked it when he bossed me around, but I liked it more when he got angry when I didn't listen to him. I stood in front of him, trying not to smile, waiting to see what he would do.

Jimmy narrowed his eyes at me. "I said, 'on your knees, Vortex.'" I didn't move. He growled in frustration. "Do you need me to teach you a lesson?" He pulled my pants down slightly and moved my underwear out of the way, sticking his middle finger inside me.

I braced onto the tree behind me. A small whimper escaped from my lips. I saw a wicked smile grow on Jimmy's face, and I knew it wouldn't be long before I was putty in his hands. "I like it when you take control," I managed to utter in between breaths.

Jimmy held his hand still as he leaned into my ear again and whispered, "Then get down on your fucking knees, Vortex." He removed his finger from me and undid the button and zipper on his pants. I listened this time and kneeled down in front of him. The ground was hard and uneven, and it was a subtle reminder that we were in a public place. I pulled out his dick and started licking and sucking. "Good girl." I heard Jimmy sigh. He raked his fingers through my hair and held it back and took control of my movements.

He pushed my head closer to him until I couldn't take any more. I was gagging and coughing and tried to pull away, but he continued to hold my head. I felt him come down my throat and he finally released my head. I gasped for air as I fell back and knocked into the tree behind me. "Are you trying to kill me?" I sputtered after I caught my breath.

"Quit being dramatic. You said you wanted me to take control." Jimmy adjusted himself and zipped his pants back up.

"What is with you tonight? Why are you being so aggressive?" I stood up and fixed myself, wiping the spit off my face and zipping up my pants.

"I needed to see you. Betty's been a real tease lately."

"Why don't you just fuck her then?"

Jimmy laughed. "Yeah, right." We started walking back towards the car.

"Why did we come out here?"

Jimmy was silent.

"Oh, ew. Is she at your lab right now?" I asked, realizing why we couldn't go to our regular spot.

"No, but I gave her a key. I can't risk her walking in on this."

"Then why did you give her a key?"

"Because, Vortex."

"That's not an answer," I argued.

"Shut the fuck up and get in the car."

I wanted to just walk away, but we were about ten minutes from our neighborhood by car and it was late, so I opened the passenger door and sat down. We drove in silence for a few minutes. Something was off with Jimmy.

Finally, Jimmy sighed and said, "Look, Cindy. Things have been getting pretty serious with Betty. This, you and me, is done."

I sat quietly for a moment thinking of what to say. It wasn't what I was expecting him to say. "So she decided to sleep with you then?" I asked.

"No, but I'm hopeful, and I can't keep lying to her while I wait. It isn't fair."

I didn't have any right to be upset. This was the deal. But I was upset. This wasn't how I expected things to end. I sat quietly unsure of what to say.

Jimmy pulled into his driveway. "I'm really sorr–"

"Don't you fucking apologize to me. We both knew what this was. Good luck with Betty, I guess." I unbuckled my seatbelt, got out of the car quickly, and crossed the street as fast as I could so he wouldn't see me cry.

Of course my mother was waiting for me in the living room. "Where the hell have you been?" That seemed to be her new favorite phrase.

"I told you I was at the library." I tried to wipe the tears off my face as best as I could. It's not like she noticed though.

"Don't lie to me. I saw you get out of Jimmy Neutron's car."

"Did you ever consider that he was at the library too and he gave me a ride?" I lied.

"I don't trust a single word that comes out of your mouth. Have you been screwing him?" she accused.

"God, Mom! Give me a break. He has a girlfriend."

"Oh. Well, I hope you thanked him for the ride. He is such a sweet boy."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going to bed." I walked upstairs and slammed my door.

It wasn't fair. Why does Betty get to be with Jimmy and I don't? She didn't deserve him. She wouldn't sleep with him. She couldn't give him what he wanted. I could though. I could be everything that he wanted. I knew what he liked. And he knew what I would do for him. I realized that I didn't just like Jimmy. I was obsessed. I couldn't imagine not being with him. It made me angry to think that Betty got him all to herself now. It was then that I knew: if I couldn't have him, nobody could.

I went to bed hatching a scheme to win Jimmy back.

A/N: Leave a review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading.