A/N: Welcome to Chapter 3!

Enjoy!

After school, Jimmy and Cindy got on the bus to go home. Cindy had avoided Jimmy the rest of the day, still furious with him. She sat at the back of the bus with some of her friends and watched as Jimmy sat by himself at the front of the bus. As much as she hated to admit it, she still needed his help. Going a day pretending to know someone was exhausting and she really needed to get her memories back. She decided to text him.

Cindy: I'm sorry.

Jimmy: For what?

Cindy: Getting mad at you. I know it's probably weird for you if I go out with someone else.

Jimmy: No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I told you not to force your feelings for me.

Cindy: Are we still on for this afternoon?

Jimmy: Yeah, we can start as soon as we get home

Cindy: Okay

The bus stopped on Jimmy and Cindy's street and they both exited. Jimmy started walking toward his house, but Cindy just stood on the curb, not sure if she should follow him. She felt weird.

"Are you coming?" Jimmy asked. "I don't have all day you know. I still have homework and I need to spend some time fixing the memory device you broke."

Cindy started walking toward Jimmy. "I already said I was sorry for that. Will you let it go?"

"Eventually. Maybe after I fix it. Or maybe after the banquet," Jimmy teased.

"I still can't believe you're making me go on a date with you. Of all the favors…"

Jimmy said nothing. He was still embarrassed about that. He couldn't believe what he had blurted out. And he really couldn't believe that Cindy had agreed.

"So, I guess the best place to start would be when I met you," Jimmy explained as he and Cindy settled in the lab.

"Still going off of your stupid rules where you get to decide everything?" Cindy grumbled.

"Do you really want that to be one of your three questions?" Jimmy threatened.

"This is so stupid and unfair."

"Well you have about a month before the banquet. Hopefully that will be enough time for an attitude makeover."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just tell me the stupid memory so I can go home."

"Fine." Jimmy huffed before starting. "One day when I was seven I came home from school and there was a moving truck outside. I ran home to see if my mom knew who was moving in. I remember her telling me that it was a family with a girl my age, and that she was going to be in my class. I was disappointed," Jimmy began.

"Gee, thanks," Cindy muttered.

"Give me a break, I was seven! Anyway, my mom told me she had already gone over to introduce herself and see if the family needed help—"

"I remember that! I remember Mrs. Neutron coming over to say hi," Cindy interrupted.

"Interesting. You remember my parents, but not me. Well, I'll jump ahead then," Jimmy thought out loud.

"Later that evening my mom, dad, and I walked over to your house. We brought you cookies. You opened the door, and the first thing you said to me was, 'Ew. My mom told me there was a boy who lived across the street.'"

Cindy laughed, starting to loosen up. "For real? I'm so sorry."

Jimmy smiled. "It's okay, because I wasn't very nice to you either. I replied with, 'Yeah, well my girl-eating plant is almost fully grown, so you better watch out!'"

"Wait, you have a girl-eating plant?" Cindy questioned.

"That's one question," Jimmy said. "And no, not anymore! Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"

Cindy laughed. "No wonder you can't get a date on your own."

Jimmy rolled his eyes and continued. "So, your family invited my family inside and your mom told you to show me your room. You took me upstairs and the first thing you showed me in your room were all your trophies. Karate trophies, soccer trophies, spelling bee trophies, geography bee trophies. Every single one. Then you said, 'I'm the smartest kid in my school, and I could kick your butt.'"

Cindy covered her face in embarrassment. "I can't believe I did that. I'm such a brat!"

"Well, don't be too hard on yourself. I'm not much better. I told you about my lab and about all the inventions I had made. At first you didn't believe me, but then I showed you my watch—" Jimmy pulled up his jacket sleeve to reveal the same watch that he had made years ago. "I showed you all of the things my watch could do, and I think you were a little jealous." Jimmy winked.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. Sure."

Jimmy chuckled and continued. "I think you were upset as you realized that you were no longer the smartest kid in school. That was the first time you called me Nerdtron."

"Wait, so how did we end up in the same friend group then?" Cindy asked. From the story, it seemed like she and Jimmy had never gotten along.

"That's two questions. We sort of became friends after we defeated the Yolkians," Jimmy said casually. He didn't think about the fact that Cindy would have no idea what he was talking about.

"Excuse me? Defeated who?"

"Oh, crap. Sorry. That happened later. I guess I'm not doing a great job of easing you into this. We had quite a few adventures as kids."

"It's okay. Can we take a break anyway? I'm feeling overwhelmed," Cindy asked.

"Sure. I wanted to start looking at my memory device to see if I can try and fix it." Jimmy stood up and grabbed the device off of the shelf.

"You really are a genius, aren't you?" Cindy inquired.

Jimmy walked back over to his desk chair. "Well, yes. I have a high I.Q., and I've made lots of different inventions. Like this memory device was something I created to help retrieve memories that have been forgotten. I made it after I accidentally wiped Sheen's memory of the third grade."

"That's amazing!"

"Not all my inventions are this practical though, like the girl-eating plant. Or, this one time, I made a cheese ray. Talk about pointless!" Jimmy laughed.

"Seriously? Do you still have all your inventions?"

"Of course! Even the impractical ones are worth keeping. They remind me that I'm capable of anything."

Cindy smiled. She could tell that Jimmy was proud of himself, and she began to think about what their relationship might have been like before the accident. She walked up behind Jimmy to look at the device. "Maybe I can help you fix it. I'm no genius by your standards I'm sure, but I can help. Do you have any schematics I can look at?"

Jimmy could sense Cindy leaning over his shoulder. He could smell her shampoo, jasmine and vanilla. He closed his eyes and silently breathed in the intoxicating scent. He sat there, frozen, relishing the moment, knowing that he would have never had a moment like this before the accident.

"Hello?" Cindy tapped Jimmy's head, pulling him out of the trance.

"What? Schematics? No, I keep them all stored on my computer. I'm not about to let you go through my files." Jimmy reverted back to his typical demeanor.

Cindy walked away, sighing. "I was just trying to help."

"I don't need your help. I can do this on my own," Jimmy replied absent-mindedly.

Cindy stopped in her tracks. She had this odd sensation in her stomach when he said that. Like an instinctual reaction to the phrase, 'I don't need your help.' She felt like that had been said to her several times. She brushed it off. "Whatever. I guess I'll just see you tomorrow." Jimmy didn't even turn around or respond to her. She rolled her eyes and walked out of the lab.

Cindy had come over to the lab every day after school where Jimmy told her stories of their childhood. Instead of relaying stories in chronological order, Jimmy thought it would be best to share major stories that could potentially trigger a memory. He told her about when they went to space to rescue their parents, he told her about the time they switched brains, and when they found that lost Egyptian tomb. Unfortunately nothing seemed to be helping her actually remember anything. He would work on the memory device after she would leave and when he wasn't doing favors for Cindy, he was working on his speech for the banquet which was fast approaching.

It was finally Friday and Cindy had her date with Nick that evening. She was excited and nervous, but she also felt slightly guilty. She had never actually told Jimmy that she was going out with Nick. She knew that he was aware that Nick wanted to ask her out, but she never actually told him that he did and that she had said yes. It's not like it mattered anyway. She'd spent every day after school with him and had felt nothing. She couldn't force herself to like Jimmy, especially if her memories never came back. It wouldn't be fair to either of them if she pretended to like him.

Cindy was waiting at the bus stop trying to decide if she should tell Jimmy or not. She didn't have long to think though because Jimmy was walking over. They were the only two at the bus stop currently, more students would most likely join them soon. "Hi Jimmy."

"Vortex."

Cindy furrowed her brow, confused, before she recognized that same instinctual sensation in her stomach from when Jimmy had said 'I don't need your help.' She paused for a moment, trying to understand the sensation. "Why did you call me that?"

"It's your last name."

"I'm not stupid. Why did you call me by my last name?"

"I don't know. It's just something we do." Jimmy shrugged. He wasn't actually sure when or why they started doing that, but had always kind of liked it when she called him 'Neutron.'

"Oh. That seems really weird and childish, but whatever. Listen, I can't come over today."

"Why not?"

"I have plans."

"You're breaking rule one."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Those rules are stupid."

"Stupid or not, if you don't follow the rules, then I won't help you anymore."

"Well, then I guess you're just going to have to trick some other girl to be your date then."

"Nope, you're already locked into that deal. The deal was I would help you try to remember your memories. I never specified how much. I've already done my part, and now you have to hold up your end of the deal," Jimmy explained with a smug smile.

Cindy glared at him. "You never said that."

Jimmy shrugged. "You never asked."

"You're a jerk."

"If you want my help, then you'll be there today after school."

"Well, you'll have to make an exception to the rule, because I really can't."

"What do you have that's so important?"

Cindy hesitated for a moment before telling him the truth. "I have a date."

Jimmy stared at Cindy for several seconds, not speaking. "Oh," he finally said, looking away. "With Nick?"

"Yeah."

"Have a good time, I guess," Jimmy said in a hollow voice.

"Jimmy, you can't seriously be mad at me about this. You're the one that said I shouldn't try to force my feelings for you. You said that when I got my memories back then I would know how I feel."

"I'm not mad."

"Then will you at least look at me?"

Jimmy looked at Cindy. "Don't bother coming over anymore." He turned around and walked back toward his house. He didn't feel like taking the bus today. He knew she was right. He didn't have the right to be mad at her, but not because she thought they were together. He didn't have the right to be mad at her because they were never dating in the first place. He was mad though. Well, not mad so much as he was envious. He couldn't be mad at Nick for having the guts to actually ask her out. Jimmy had been pining after Cindy for years, yet he never even tried to ask her on a date. He knew it was immature of him to storm off and refuse to help Cindy anymore, but he just couldn't be around her. It was too hard.

Cindy scowled the whole bus ride to school. Jimmy was so irritating. Now he was refusing to help her because she had a date? He was such a hypocrite. She was still scowling while she was putting her things away in her locker, when Libby came up. "What's up with you today?" Libby asked, noticing Cindy's mood.

"Neutron," Cindy said automatically. She surprised herself with how natural it felt to call him that.

"I guess it was bound to happen," Libby said mostly to herself.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean that you two have been a lot more civil to each other the last few days. We were all waiting to see when one of you would snap."

Cindy's heart started to race. She clearly hadn't been behaving in a way that would be considered 'normal' for her and Jimmy. But if that was the case, then why hadn't Jimmy said anything? "Whatever, I'm not talking to him anymore," Cindy finally stated.

"I take it you finished your biology project then?"

Cindy's eyes went wide. She and Jimmy had been so busy with her memory stuff that they had completely forgotten about their science project that was due next week. "Crap!"

Libby furrowed her brow. "So you're not done? What have you guys been doing?"

"I've gotta go," Cindy said as she slammed her locker, leaving Libby's questions unanswered. She walked with purpose as she weaved her way through the crowded hallways. She needed to speak with Mr. Glover before school started. She did not want to work with Jimmy. Not after what he had said to her that morning. She made it to the science hallway and walked into Mr. Glover's class to see Jimmy already in there talking to their teacher. "I have a question, Mr. Glover."

"If you're going to ask me if you can work on your project alone, the answer is no. Jimmy just asked me the same question. You two will just have to figure out a way to work together."

"Sir, I don't see why I need to work with her. You know I can do it on my own," Jimmy argued.

"Jimmy, the answer is no. Either work with Cindy, or take the zero. The choice is yours."

"Mr. Glover, please. He's too difficult to work with," Cindy butted in.

"If you two refuse to work together, then you will earn a zero for the project. End of discussion."

Cindy sighed in defeat and walked out of the classroom. She heard Jimmy plead another time before turning the corner out to the main hallway. She sat down on a bench in the commons and waited for the bell to ring. A few moments later Jimmy came storming into the area. His face was twisted in anger and he was muttering to himself. He walked right up to Cindy and said, "Don't worry about the project. I'll take care of it myself." Before storming off again, not giving her any time to respond.

Cindy did her best to ignore Jimmy the rest of the day, though it was hard because they shared a lot of the same classes. She avoided him at lunch, and by the time last period rolled around she knew she would have to talk to him sometime. Their last class of the day was biology, and today they were finishing up their current lab where she and Jimmy were partners.

Jimmy was already sitting at the table he and Cindy shared for science. Cindy hadn't said a word to him all day. She sat down and set her notebook and pen out on the table. She took a deep breath and asked, "Did you really mean that?"

Jimmy looked at her and cocked his eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Cindy huffed. "Use some deductive reasoning skills then."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Or you could quit playing stupid mind games and just tell me what you're referring to."

"This morning. You said you wouldn't help me anymore. Did you mean it?" Cindy said quietly.

No. Jimmy thought. "Yes. I meant it. You got yourself into this mess, you can get yourself out of it," Jimmy retorted.

Cindy glared at him. "You know what? I'm glad I lost all my memories of you. It just makes it that much easier to ignore you."

A/N: What a mess Cindy and Jimmy find themselves in!
The next chapter will include Cindy and Nick's date, however, I am currently hating what I have written for that part right now, so it needs some major revising. Leave a review! I love seeing your predictions and sometimes they help me fix and update things.