Chapter 13 - The Reason Behind It All

Going from ride to ride, both of them were distracting themselves from what just happened. Jimmy was lost in his thoughts with what just happened. Okay, first the movies, then that time at the mall and now this?! The first few times I just took it as her teasing, but now I can't ignore the truth! Even though she teased me throughout she basically said that she liked me!

Cindy would've usually made a jab at his awkward silence, but this time, she was right there with him. I can't believe I said all that out loud! I lost control of myself! I probably scared him a bit. Honestly surprised he didn't run after all that. As they were walking, both of them decided to break the ice at the same time…

"I'm gonna use the restroom."

"I'll be right back."

…only for that ice to get denser. Both of them took a breather and once they were done Jimmy pointed at a nearby bench, "Wanna sit there for a bit?"

"Y-yeah, that's fine." Cindy nervously answered. After a minute or so, the awkwardness didn't let up. If this keeps up neither of us will likely talk for a while. Gotta say something! "So…" she turned to say and put her hand out, only to put it back on the bench. Nothing else came to mind, so she turned back and faced forward.

Jimmy briefly thought of remaining silent. Small talk wasn't usually his thing and with what just happened, he was extremely nervous. Still, he was eager to address it, so the only way he thought of doing it was to be blunt about it. "Tell me something, Vortex…"

She turned his way again.

"Do you like me, or is that merely just you teasing me?" Jimmy looked her in the eyes.

"Well yeah!" Cindy said annoyedly. "You think I'd do all that for nothing?"

Jimmy was taken aback by how quickly she answered, evident from the blushing on his face. "Of course not! I just want to know the context."

"What do you mean?"

"When we first met, you bullied me, then we became rivals and somewhat friends. I leave and move back years later and now this happens. I'm just confused at the sudden change."

"It's not as sudden as you think." She sadly smiled. "It kinda started shortly before you left."

"You mean with 976-J?"

"Closer to the Intergalactic Showdown." She corrected him. "But it really started when you visited 3 years ago."

Jimmy recognized it right away. "You mean that time when I… when your dog…"

"Yeah," Cindy confirmed.

A Few Years Ago…

Three years back in time, they were still in high school. Both are nearly done with sophomore year, yet living separate lives. Jimmy was dealing with a pretty rough relationship with someone in Derryville and has been on edge. She was possessive of him so he didn't have much time to catch up with friends or even have some time on his own. Even his family only really sees him for the bare minimum. He just got back home from what he considered a study date. He wasn't necessarily blind to how she treats him, but he was no longer one to stand up for himself. He could only really confide in Goddard. He was about to take a nap when his mother entered his room.

"Jimmy!" He looked to his mother slightly annoyed.

"Yeah?"

"First off why were you gone for so long?"

"I had a study… session." he attempted to explain.

"Next time let us know cause we were worried sick!" Judy warned.

"Duly noted," Jimmy said sheepishly.

"Anyway," she continued. "We have some… rough news."

"If it's about financial expenses, you know I can get some coal to turn into diamonds to pay for things," Jimmy reminded her.

"It's not that son," Hugh walked in soberly. "We just got a call from the Vortexes." Jimmy turned immediately to his dad at the sound of that name. "Cindy's grieving the loss of her dog."

"Humphrey…" Jimmy remembered.

Judy continued. "She wants you to be there when they bury him."

Jimmy immediately asked. "When is it happening?"

"Tomorrow around 4pm," she stated.

On an impulse, Jimmy ran to get his jetpack. "I'll be there ASAP!"

"I'd recommend getting some sleep beforehand since it's late," Judy advised. "Besides, she's probably asleep now anyway so maybe startling her isn't the best idea."

"Alright," Jimmy understood and went to sleep. Sorry Taylor, I'm gonna have to rain check our plans for the next few days. This takes importance.

The next day, Jimmy put on his jetpack, put some things in his hypercube to sustain him. He said his goodbyes to his parents and Goddard and flew off. As he was flying he had to get used to a few things since it's been a while since he last flew.

As he was flying there, he got a call from his girlfriend at the time, Taylor. "Talk to me!" He spoke.

"James! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Taylor furiously said over Jimmy's watch phone. "We agreed to go to the movies!"

"Taylor, look I'm sorry, but I need to raincheck, I have to-" Jimmy tried to explain.

"No excuses!" She didn't let up. "You plan something, you commit to it!"

"Well technically you planned this," Jimmy retorted calmly.

"You still agreed to it! We go see a movie of my choosing, then you get us a good dinner like you usually do, and then you take me home to study some more! Isn't that what we usually do?!"

"It is, but this takes greater priority!" Jimmy tried to reason. "It's a-"

"What could possibly be more important than me?! I prioritize someone like you over everyone else when we hang out-"

Jimmy jabbed just loud enough for her to hear. "Ignoring the fact that you're on your phone 74.3% of the time around me."

"Don't get fricken technical with me, wiseass!" Taylor was having none of it. "I deserve the same respect!"

Jimmy then spat out. "My friend's dog-"

"On 2nd thought, don't tell me!" She closed the conversation. "I'm sure it's "super" important, whatever the hell it is!" She then hung up.

Jimmy shook his head. Great! Now I made her mad. Can't wait to endure that once I'm back. She didn't even let me reason with her! Next thing he knew, the jetpack started to malfunction. "Leaping Leptons! I forgot to tune the exhaust! This is gonna be a bumpy landing!" He was beginning to rapidly descend into Retroville. The best he could do was aim for the water in the park and brace for impact. As he crashed on the water, he swam to safety. Once he made his way to land, he caught his breath and looked at his drenched, and broken jetpack.

"No, that's cool," Jimmy shook his head. "I didn't want this trip to be easy anyway."

After drying himself and his backpack, he started to make way to the Vortex household. He knocked on her door.

"Doors open!" Someone shouted from the other side. He opened the door to see Carl, Sheen, Libby and various other family members and friends. The former recognized Jimmy right away.

"Jimmy!" The three shouted as they ran to him and gave him a tight group hug. It was mostly tight Because of Carl.

Jimmy nervously smiled. "It's good to see you guys, but it hasn't been that long since I was here last."

"Are you kidding?! It's been like a bazillion hours since you were in town!" Sheen retorted.

"Yeah, you haven't visited much lately!" Carl scoffed. "I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten about us."

"If you really think I'd forget about The Three Amigops, you're gladly mistaken!" Jimmy then fist bumped the two of them. Knowing Libby was next to them, Jimmy then explained. "Oh, the three-."

"I know what it is," Libby smiled while shaking her head. "I've been around these two long enough to hear them talk about it. Sometimes for hours on end."

Jimmy sheepishly replied. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Jimmy was catching up with his friends and their family members. Pretty soon, Cindy caught wind of Jimmy's arrival. As she walked into the room, she caught his attention immediately.

"So Neutron!" She declared. "You think you have the nerve to show up after so long?!"

"Well I-" Jimmy attempted to explain as Cindy was marching towards him.

"And you pick now of all times to show up?! What do you consider this, stealing my thunder to feed your ego!?" she angrily marched closer.

"That's not the reason Vortex!" Jimmy took one step back, while expecting her to respond right away.

"Well?! What is it then?" She was only a foot in front of him.

Jimmy took no restraint in telling her. He didn't want to repeat what happened earlier, so he outright said, "I'm here because I heard about what happened and I care about you!" This left Cindy in silence for a bit. Everyone's eyes were on the two of them. Jimmy's confidence then faltered a bit but still managed to get his next words out. "Well, I wanted to make sure that you were okay… or at the very least not alone." He began to scratch the back of his head and look down. He wasn't sure what to expect next.

Next thing he knew, she proceeded to hug him tightly for a few seconds. Tighter than Carl's ever could match. Jimmy reciprocated for a second or two. Cindy whispered to him. "Thanks for coming over, Jimmy."

"Of course," Jimmy said back. He was beginning to wonder if she was joking earlier, but knew this wasn't the mood to ask.

She remained close to him and the others as Humphrey was buried in the backyard. Everyone was looking on in silence under the cloudy sky. Some were crying. Cindy had one or two tears fall as she was trying to contain herself. Libby was right by her side. Jimmy felt like he wanted to do or say something, but couldn't find the right words.

The next couple hours seemed like a blur. Eventually, after some guests left and said their goodbyes, Jimmy mustered up the courage to talk to her. He'd noticed that she was feeling detached from everyone. "Hey," Jimmy waved as he sat next to her on the couch.

"Hey," Cindy said back without looking at him.

"So…" Jimmy turned to say and put his hand out, as if to resume the banter they had before, only to pull it back and twiddle his thumbs. He saw that this wasn't the time to do such a thing. Nothing else came to mind, so he turned back and faced forward in silence.

A few moments later, Cindy spoke. "You know… It must be great to have a dog like Goddard. Someone who can do all these things, and the only thing you have to worry about is cleaning random nuts and bolts. Plus he… could probably… live forever."

"Yeah…" Jimmy was finding what to say. "I suppose there's some truth to that. But… What point is there to live on forever?"

"What do you mean?" Cindy asked while shedding a tear.

"I mean," he was thinking of the best way to say it. "One thing I've learned over the years is that the longer life feels, the more depressing it becomes. I may not know much about him, but I know Humphrey lived a good life with you. And I think he'd want you to keep enjoying that life, being happy."

"Wow, I never thought of it like that." Cindy said while thinking about it.

Jimmy then stood up in front of her with a half grin. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah," Cindy said quietly, then a little louder. "I do!"

Later on, Jimmy and Cindy found themselves at Retroland, going on many of the same rides they'd go on years later. They also played various games and messed around a bit.

"You wanna go on Bat Outta Heck?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm down, especially since they'll renovate the ride soon," Cindy responded as they went. They had a blast, screaming and cheering all the way.

"That was rougher than I remembered," Jimmy said, feeling a tad dizzy.

"Years of wear and tear will do that to ya," she shrugged. "Wanna play some laser tag?"

"Let's go!" he said. It was a close call between the two of them, but Cindy was more athletic which gave her a winning edge.

"Where'd you go?" He was aiming for her while trying to hide behind a wall.

"Right behind you!" she quipped as she fired.

Jimmy yelled in defeat as Cindy was laughing. They then went go-karting to see who was faster. Once again, it was a close call, but Cindy messed up towards the end as she turned too early when Jimmy passed her.

"Victory is mine!" he cheered.

"Yeah, yeah!" she dismissed and began to laugh along. Following this, they went to a photo booth and took some pictures together. The first one was them hogging the photo space, the second one was with both of them making goofy faces, and the third one was of the two of them laughing. The last photo, then showed a genuine smile from the two of them with arms around each other's shoulders.

After several more rides, they found themselves on a bench. The clouds around them started to fade away as the sunset revealed itself across the warm colored sky.

"So, that was fun!" Jimmy smiled. "Wish I was able to take us into the Orion Nebula, but maybe next time!"

"This was amazing!" Cindy smiled back. "Thank you so much for getting me into Retroland! It was a blast!"

"I'm happy to help!" he continued to smile. "So what do you wanna do next?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe we could-" both of them suddenly felt hungry.

"Sit tight!" Jimmy then ran off. "I'll be right back."

"Okay!" A few moments passed and Jimmy ran back with two corn dogs.

"Here you go!" Jimmy handed one of them to her. "I got each flavor, because I didn't know what you like yours with."

"Oh thanks Neutron!" Cindy was surprised. "You didn't have to do all that!"

"I wanted to. This is your day!" He reassured her as he sat down.

"When did you get to be such a sweet dork?" she chuckled. "I appreciate it greatly." They spent the rest of the afternoon with each other feeling as content as they could be, more away from the distractions than ever before.

Present

Fast forward to now, they're sitting on that exact same bench and on the same time of day. Cindy looked at him after explaining. "So yeah! You really made my day back then. Even though my mom was mad that I left for the afternoon, I didn't care. You made a day that I'd otherwise wish to forget to end on a high note. Ever since then, I'd just wonder what things would've been like between us if you never left."

Jimmy looked away with a tear. "I'm sorry I left, I just wish I-"

"It's okay now, because you came back!" Cindy smiled and took his hand. "But I do want to know now. What do you think of me?"

"Honestly," Jimmy said as he started to blush. "The thought of being with you has… crossed my mind… more times than I could count. Admittedly, if I wasn't with my ex at the time of visiting you back then, I would've probably confessed on the spot."

Cindy started to laugh. "You're such a dork! You know that Neutron?"

Jimmy felt offended at the response. "I'm leaving."

"Wait a sec!" Cindy said while still holding onto his hand. "I meant it the same way I did before. But I haven't heard what you think now."

Jimmy was feeling incredibly nervous as his heart began pounding and he was looking down. "I… think… No…" He noticed a longing look on her face, so he then once again stopped holding back and looked directly in her eyes. Even if it's just one of her jokes, which is highly unlikely now, it's better to know the truth. "As overwhelming as it was at first to take you on, I really enjoy the time we share together. While I'm very apprehensive and flustered around you, I'm also very excited at the thought of seeing you next! Always curious as to what move you make next! Because you've always been one thing I couldn't figure out! And there's one answer I've eventually concluded to, especially after our time with each other since my return! And that's that, I love you Cindy! I may have not realized it for a while, but I've loved you for a long time… W-will you go out with me?" There, I've said it! I played my move! Whatever happens next is up to you, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

Cindy was left silent. She was like a video that was taking forever to load. Jimmy got increasingly stressed by the lack of response as his confidence inversely faded. Eventually, he opened his eyes to get a visual. He saw her shed a tear or two, but made no move otherwise. "I'm sorry! I might've said too much! I-"

Cindy then lit up once more. "Are you kidding me?! You got nothing to apologize for! I've been waiting for the longest time for you to say something! I just can't believe it's real! Still a dork though!"

"Yeah, well," Jimmy's resolve returned as he looked at her directly. "I'm still in shock too, but I need to hear it from you!"

"You already know how I feel!" Cindy shrugged off. A moment or two passes. "Are you gonna make me say it?" Jimmy nodded in reply. "Fine! I'll do it for you Neutron! Or should I say James?!" Jimmy was taken aback as he was still getting used to her calling him by his first name. "I love you! I've always loved you! I was annoyed by you a lot as a kid, but I saw you as someone who really gave it his all! Even though my parents pushed me, you were the one that motivated me to do as well as I did now! Even though we've changed since then, I still see that same spark in your eyes when you have a crazy, but potentially amazing idea! I may enjoy life either way, but you enhance my life! So that's how I feel! And to answer your freaking proposal, of course I'll go out with you!"

Jimmy was now the one stunned in silence. He felt his eyes get watery and his cheeks red as they've usually been lately. Seeing her blush too over realizing what she said, and the sunset reflecting on her beautiful face, he decided in that moment that he didn't care about anything or anyone. To Jimmy, taking on a relationship once more was a huge risk, especially one with his childhood rival Cindy. "YES!" He shouted as he pulled her into a tight and warm embrace, to which she reciprocated immediately. Both of them could feel tears going down each other's shoulders. "Yes!" Jimmy said more quietly as he then leaned in to kiss her. But this time, there wasn't any second guessing, or anyone interrupting them. Just Jimmy and Cindy and all the time in the world.

To him, she's worth it.