Hey everyone! I know its been forever since i updated, but I'm back and with a long chapter. For those who read this when i first started the story i apologize for the long wait. I did go back and fix up the previous chapters as my writing has improved since i last updated. You don't have to go back and read it again as the changes i made were only minor grammatical and spelling errors, but if you would like by all means be my guest. Anyway this chapter used to be twice as long, but i felt bad at keeping the chapter from everyone whos been waiting. So i decided to break this chapter into two chapters that way when i finish the next chapter it will be posted much sooner. Also so you don't have to wait even longer till i finish it. Anyhow hope you enjoy the next segment! Read away! :)

Chapter 5 - What a Day

Besides the memory flashback, the next two days went by as any normal high school day should. Cindy was starting to like the feeling of a normal day of school. She really didn't go to school. Well, not unless there was a reason behind it, then it was only for a few days till what she was sent there for was accomplished. She hadn't had an actual day of school since she left Retroville and she couldn't help but like the feeling of being a normal teenager. All she hoped was that this normal life would be there to stay. She walked into her chemistry class Thursday morning and sat down next to Jimmy who had just gotten there as well. He smiled at her and she gave a small smile back.

Jimmy leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I'm really glad I can be next to you again."

Cindy would have blushed, but for her any emotion that wasn't forced was a rare one, or at least used to be, until she came back here. Now, it took her a little will power to hold back the butterflies that flew in her stomach.

Before Cindy could reply to Jimmy's comment, the teacher walked in and announced, "I want you all to make a chemical experiment from the book. If you need help, which you probably will, feel free to ask me for help. I don't want any explosions in this class." With that statement, she turned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, I know you would probably complain on why you have to do such a simple chemistry experiment, so I will give you free reign, but it must be a safe chemical experiment. If something blows up again, Jimmy I swear-"

"Don't worry, Ms. Lee, I will pick a safe chemical experiment." Jimmy cut her off, trying to reassure her.

"Good. Oh, and Cindy, since you will be working next to Jimmy, I will give you free reign also, since Jimmy will probably drag you into one of his experiments" Ms. Lee said, knowingly.

Cindy could feel all the eyes fall on her and Jimmy and she didn't like it. Her blood pressure started to rise rapidly and she gripped tightly onto her pants while biting hard on her lip making it, bleed slightly. Jimmy looked over at Cindy happily, until he looked at her pale face and clinched jeans. He started to worry and taped Cindy lightly on the shoulder. Cindy first instincts kicked in less than a second and she grabbed Jimmy's hand with a death grip and was about to attack his neck with her other hand, but quickly stopped herself. Coming back to reality, she realized what she did and dropped his hand looking around quickly making sure no one saw. Fortunately, everyone was already into their experiment. She sighed in relief. She couldn't believe she almost lost control. She hadn't lost control in years, she thought, as she looked at Jimmy, who was staring at her intensely. She could see his genius brain trying to work out why she did what she did.

She quickly uttered the first excuse she could think of, "Sorry, reflexes from martial arts." Which was no lie; she was a master in multiple martial arts.

Jimmy knew that wasn't the only reason. Her actions showed otherwise, but he didn't want to pressure the matter right now, so he asked, "Did you want to work together or are you going to do your own?"

"Um, on my own," Cindy replied, as she looked over all the chemicals she had to work with.

"Oh, okay," Jimmy felt a little depressed at her response. He then got to work on one of his experiments after thirty minutes of creating a basic chemical experiment. He looked over at Cindy's side to see her focused in on her work. He looked over the chemicals she picked out and tried to piece out what she was putting together. After another five minutes, Cindy had finished whatever she was making and capped it off with a cork and stuck it into her pocket.

"So, Cindy, what did you create?" Jimmy asked her.

"Just an experiment," Cindy shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it.

Jimmy was going to ask her more about it when the bell rang.

Jimmy got up and Cindy asked as they walked out of the class, "What did you make?"

"Oh, you know the usual sleep potion," He showed her a blue substance as she looked at it intensely.

She then asked, "Does it work?"

"Of course, I've tested it many times to make sure it works." Jimmy boasted proudly.

"Can I have it?" Cindy asked, looking at it in almost a robot manner.

Jimmy eyed her suspiciously and smiled, "Sure." He handed it over to her.
Cindy smiled back, "Thanks." She then quickly grabbed it and gave Jimmy a quick kiss on the cheek to show her gratitude.

Jimmy blushed a deep red and froze in place for a second, until he snapped back to his senses. He quickly caught up to Cindy and walked side by side with her and lightly grabbed her hand. Cindy tensed up then relaxed her hand around his, as a smile formed on her face. They walked into the gym, hand in hand, and sat down against the wall were the gang always sat together.

"Girl, I just can't wait till we get to go shopping," Libby announced joyfully, turning to Cindy.

"Hey, can we join?" Sheen asked.

"Awe, honey, you know I would love for you to join but this is me and Cindy's girl date," Libby consoled to Sheen, then whispered to Jimmy "Also, we wouldn't want you to see Cindy's sexy outfit before the dance, would we?"

Jimmy turned a bright red at the thought of Cindy in a sexy outfit. He looked over at Cindy who was shuffling through Libby's iPod. He smiled widely as Libby just laughed in her mind thinking, it's just too easy to mess with him when Cindy's around.

Cindy looked up to see Jimmy staring at her love struck. Cindy, to her own surprise, blushed a light pink and bit her lip fully aware of what must be going through his mind with the look he was giving her.

Libby smiled at the couple then turned back to talking to Sheen and Carl. She decided to not wreck Jimmy and Cindy's moment by talking about what was to come with the shopping and all.

The teacher then walked in and told the students to do a mile around the track. Then once they were done they could change their clothes and wait for the bell to ring. All of the students groaned, but walked outside and started their run. Cindy, knowing she could do the run in minutes, held back as she ran next to Jimmy, not wanting to attract attention to herself.

"You want to race?" Jimmy goaded Cindy, giving her a competitive look.

"You know I will cream your butt, Neutron,"

"Hey, I've gotten faster," Jimmy said in his defense.

Cindy gave him a competitive grin. "You're on, Neutron."
Once they got to the starting line, Cindy set the rules, "Three laps, whoever wins owes the other one a date."

Jimmy smiled "You're on."

They stood at the line for a minute till Jimmy announced, "Go."

With that, both of them were off. Cindy fought back the urge to run at full speed, knowing she should store energy for the later laps. Her and Jimmy were toe in toe at a consistent pace till they rounded the corner of the last lap. That's where Cindy used her held back energy and took off like a cheetah chasing prey. Jimmy tried to catch up, but to no avail as Cindy had already reached the finish line while he was still half a lap away. He decided to jog the rest of the way, seeing Cindy with her hands above her head slowly catching her breath.

"Still can't beat you, it seems," he huffed, leaning against the track bar catching his breath.

Cindy smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then hurried off to the locker room. Jimmy touched his cheek and felt a big smile form on his face, then went to change.

By the time Jimmy got out of the locker room, Cindy was sitting on the bleachers looking over her surroundings. Jimmy walked over to her, sat down and held her hand. He felt her tense yet again but then settle her hand in his.

He looked at her as she looked at him. She noticed his eyes drop to her lips. She bit her lip in anticipation, feeling the need to have his lips on hers. Although, both of them knew they could not act out their carnal desire as class was still in session. So, they just decided to stare at each other, letting their minds have its way with its fantasy. They were both brought out of their imagination as Libby sat on the step above them and made a clicking sound with her tongue. They both looked up at her as they felt their face go red with embarrassment and let go of each other's hands.

Libby laughed at the two love birds as Sheen joined their group. Libby and Sheen playfully picked on Jimmy and Cindy, when they all turned at the sound of heavy heaving. They held back their laughter as Carl laid on the step below both couples and wheezed louder.

"You okay there, big boy?" Libby asked jokingly.

He just waved his hand to signal that he was fine as his breaths finally started to level. Cindy then stood up to have a little stretch, and unfortunately to Cindy's horror, Sheen saw a brown liquid tube falling out of Cindy's pocket.

Sheen grabbed the tube as it was starting to fall and exclaimed, "Cool! An experiment that looks like soda!"

Cindy eyes went wide and she yelled, "Sheen, don't!" But it was too late Sheen had already chugged it down in one gulp.

Libby smacked Sheen upside the head and scolded him, "You idiot! What did you just drink?" She then turned to Cindy and asked, worriedly, "What did he just drink?"

Cindy groaned, "He drank a paralysis potion. He will be paralyzed for at least two hours, maybe a little longer, but don't worry the effects aren't permanent."

Libby looked at Sheen worriedly and turned to Carl saying, "Come on, let's get him to the nurse's office."

Carl nodded in agreement and heaved himself up.

Jimmy asked, "Wait, do you need my help?"

"No, you go and spend some alone time with Cindy. I will take care of this reckless idiot myself," Libby winked at the couple and helped Carl take Sheen to the nurse's office.

Jimmy and Cindy sat in awkward silence, until Jimmy broke the ice and asked, "Why did you make a paralysis potion?"

Cindy remand silent and only shrugged in response.

Jimmy sighed, then stood up saying, "Shall we go then, since class is almost over? We could probably get away with saying we need to help Sheen."

Cindy gave a faint smile, "Okay, but where to Neutron? We only have one open period."

Jimmy tapped his chin a few times, "I know. I got the perfect place." He then got permission to leave early and led them to his hover craft. They both got in and Jimmy flew off.

"Where are we headed Jimmy?" Cindy asked as she relaxed into the seat.

"You'll see," Jimmy smiled.

Cindy nodded and looked around the scenery taking it all in. She could remember all the fun times she had at the different locations. Finally, they parked by a lake. The lake shimmered as the sun light beat down on it.

Jimmy took Cindy's hand and helped her out of the hover craft. He was fully aware she could get in and out of it with ease, but he wanted to be a gentleman and help his lady out.

She examined the scenery and could remember the place well.

It was one of the few places she and Jimmy went to get away from life and just relax together. She walked over to a tree and trailed her hand over the spot that they had carved a "J and C" with a heart around it. She smiled at the memory. Jimmy walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him and he smiled down at her, then put his hand over hers that still lingered on their carving.

"You know no matter where you go or how long you're gone I have and will always love you," Jimmy promised.

She turned to face Jimmy as her hand lightly caressed his cheek saying, "I know and that means the universe to me."

Jimmy lowered his head as Cindy lifted hers to let their lips meet. Just with the soft kiss, sparks went flying through both the teenagers' heads. Being years since they had kissed each other on the lips for more than a mare second, neither one was ready to move away from the other. Cindy wrapped her arms around Jimmy's neck as he pulled her close to him. Their tongues swirled in harmony together, as they both felt their hearts leap for joy. Oh, how they longed for each other. Finally, Jimmy pulled away from the kiss to regain his breath.

"You taste intergalactic," he sighed. Cindy giggled and blushed, until Jimmy attempted to move the hair that always covers her one eye out of the way.

Cindy quickly retreated from his hand and said firmly "Don't."

Jimmy was taken aback by her sudden change in attitude and moved his hand away from her hair.

Jimmy started to say, "What's wron-" but was cut off by Cindy saying, "We need to get back."

Jimmy was going to protest but Cindy had already headed to the hover craft.

The ride back was a silent one. Jimmy was in deep thought on why Cindy would be so against him moving away her hair. He racked his brain in search for answer, while Cindy only sat quietly looking down at her hands. She remembered it well, the blood splatting across the floor as a dark shadow loomed over her. She quickly shook her head to break her out of her thoughts, knowing not to dwell back into those memories. She looked up at Jimmy to see him still deep in thought. She inwardly sighed and went back to stare out at the scenery.

Once they got back to school, they headed to Cindy's art class. Once near the class, they stood there silently starring at each other.

Cindy then got up on her toes and kissed Jimmy lightly on the lips, stating, "I love you James Isaac Neutron, and don't ever think otherwise." And with that last statement, she walked inside her classroom, leaving Jimmy stunned yet again at what just happened.

Cindy sat in her seat and rested her chin on her arms, when Libby sat next to her.

Cindy turned her head and asked, "Is Sheen okay?"

Libby smiled, "Yeah, he still motionless, but I could see his fingers start to move slightly."

Cindy gave Libby an apologetic look, "Sorry."

Libby just shook her head, "It's not your fault. That boy needs to learn to not drink or eat anything that looks appetizing. Maybe him not being able to move will help him realize that."

Cindy shook her head in understanding, but couldn't help but still feel a tinge of guilt.

"So, right after school we meet at my locker, okay?" Libby asked excitingly.

"Okay," Cindy agreed as the teacher walked in. He lectured throughout the class about art history from cave paintings to graffiti. Cindy listened to everything the teacher was saying, but still was watching her surroundings carefully. Just two days and she could read most of her classmate's movements and what they would do. Finally, the bell rang and she and Libby walked to Cindy's class.

"Gosh, I swear the art teacher can be so boring sometimes," Libby complained.

Cindy just shrugged.

Libby then looked at her, "Yeah, you seriously need some girl time."

Cindy slightly smiled at her comment. She thought about girl time. How girl time was amazing, but then it dawned on her how would girl time be now. She surely wasn't the same person from when she left and in all honesty, she didn't want to fake emotions when coming to Libby, which she could do with ease. She gripped onto her jeans and felt disgusted at the thought of faking her emotions to someone that still meant a lot to her.

They got to Cindy's calculus class and Libby hugged her, then walked to her class. Cindy quickly took her seat in the far back. She could feel her uneasiness rise greatly whenever she was in this class. She kept to herself as usual, but kept a watchful eye on everything around her. Once calculus was over, she made sure she blended in with the rest of the class as they left, then once she was out the door, quickly left the crowd and went over to Libby's locker.

Libby was already there talking to Sheen, who seemed to be mostly functional, but still needed some support from Carl. Cindy stood there when she felt a presence come up from behind her. By how the footsteps sounded, she knew it was Jimmy and relaxed into his arms that wrapped around her. She looked up at him and gave her usual small smile.

He kissed her forehead, "Since Libby gets your time today, can I have your time on Friday and Sunday?"

"Yeah," she agreed happily.

"Good," Jimmy said, wrapping his arms tighter around her.

It felt weird to her. She felt a sense of protection, something she hadn't felt in years. She always had to protect herself and now she felt like he actually gave her that sense of protection and security. She couldn't help but like it.

Libby turned and smiled at the couple, "I know you want to be together and all, but it will have to wait till the day of the dance because she is mine."

"Think what you want Libby, but she will always be mine," Jimmy smirked.

"In your dreams, lover boy," Libby jested playfully and pulled Cindy out of Jimmy's arms.

Cindy quickly felt a change in emotion. That sense of security was gone from not being in his arms and it dawned on her she will always have to protect herself and Jimmy won't always be there to help calm her nerves. She had to get her wall back up. She knew she was getting too comfortable with life right now and that was not a good thing.

Libby and Cindy finally made it to the mall as Libby gabbed on about the latest classes. Cindy smiled and listened to her friend constantly talk. Cindy would be lying if she said she didn't miss her best friend Libby. It was comforting in an odd way, hearing her friend gab on.

They walked into the mall and Libby announced, "Okay, first-place-first is Tilly's." She then dragged Cindy to Tilly's.

Cindy could feel her panic rise in the midst of being around all the people. Part of her was regretting this whole plan. She gripped tightly to her butterfly knife in her pocket and used her best acting skills which she developed over the years to not look awkward or out of place.

After about four hours of shopping and trying on one set of clothes after another, Cindy slumped her head down on one of the food court tables and groaned, "I don't know how I used to do it."

Libby laughed, "Child, please, I will get you back into shopping shape!"

Cindy smiled at her friend when she felt a presence behind her. She tensed up immediately and clutched her knife until she heard Libby say, "Nick, Britney, I wasn't expecting you guys here today."

Cindy slightly turned her head to verify who Libby was talking about. Once she confirmed who they were, she breathed a quiet breath of relief and turned her head back around to face Libby.

"Well, you're not the only one who had to get a new outfit for my party," Britney replied.

Britney and Nick pulled up a chair at their table. Cindy didn't particularly care for them joining without asking, but seeing as Libby and Britney where already talking about what clothes they got she knew it was futile to try and leave. She looked away from Britney and Libby to Nick who was staring at her with a smirk. She eyed him suspiciously, not liking the look he was giving her.

Nick asked Cindy, "How are you?"

Cindy putting on her acting skills smiled and replied, "I'm good and you?"

"I'm good, so, what have you been up to? Haven't talked to you in years," Nick observed, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, just traveling around. Nowhere in particular," Cindy waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Well, hopefully, you will be staying in town for a while," he whispered as he leaned forward and graced her leg with his hand.

It took all of Cindy's strength to not cut his hand off, instead she swatted his hand with hers and replied, "Yeah, well I probably will. Wouldn't want to leave my BOYFRIEND Jimmy anytime soon," Cindy said, stressing the word boyfriend in a fake sweet voice, while batting her eyes.

At first, Nick looked angry at her, but then he smirked, "Don't worry, you'll forget all about Nerdtron when you see my skills."

Cindy rolled her eyes, "Thanks, but I'll pass." She got up and informed Libby, "Hey, Libs we need to go. I have to get home before my mother flips."

"Okay, see you guys later," Libby waved to her friends and got up from the table.

Both Cindy and Libby walked away, but Cindy looked back as Nick winked at her. She laughed inwardly at his attempt to try and charm her.

Once Cindy walked into her house with some bags of clothes, her mother walked into the living room asking in a serious voice as always, "Any reports?"

"Negative," Cindy replied, expressionless.

Cindy's mother smiled, "Good." Then she walked into the kitchen.

Cindy sighed as she walked up to her room. No matter how hard she tried to get away from reality and just have a good time she always got sucked right back into reality. She set her bags down in the room and put the potion Jimmy gave her in the top drawer of her dresser under a stack of clothes. Next to a few different colored vials. She then laid down on her bed.

She looked up at the ceiling and groaned, "God, will I ever be free like I used to?"

She stayed looking at the ceiling till she drifted asleep.

She stood in the shadows, listening for the signal to go.

"Are you ready?" Her mother asked into the listening device Cindy had in her ear.

"Affirmative," Cindy replied.

"Go," her mother ordered and Cindy was off.

She jumped onto one of the ceiling pipes looking down to see two men standing around on the second floor. She let herself land quietly behind them, as she took out her knife and slit both their throats in a swift motion. The bodies fell lifeless, blood pouring out from their necks. The old Cindy would have puked at the sight, but that wasn't her anymore. She was used to the sight and didn't care anymore. She was on a mission and she was going to kill anyone in the way; if needed. She used a great deal of her strength and dragged them to a dark area behind some boxes.

She took a deep breath and her mother observed, "Good job. You have a man walking around the corner. Take him out."

"Roger," Cindy whispered and quietly hoped on the boxes and looked to the other side, seeing the guy about to walk past her. Once he walked past her, she jumped down from the boxes as light as a feather and stalked behind him till he turned around to face her. That was her opportunity to grab his head and snap his neck. The guy fell, lifeless, like the previous two and she again used a lot of her strength to drag him to the same corner.

She took a second to breathe and regain her strength as her mother continued, "With them out of the way, you're clear to go straight down the hall. You will want the door to the left, but there are about six men in there. You will need to climb into the vent latch above the hall way."

"Roger," Cindy replied.

She took another deep breath and snuck down the hall. She looked above at the vent to see a cover screwed tightly over it. She grabbed her wire cutters from her pocket belt and looked around for something to help her get up to it. Thankfully, she saw another ceiling pipe a little to the left of the vent and jumped onto that. She wrapped her legs around it and swung her arms to the vent. She grabbed on with one hand to the vent cover and used the other to start cutting the wires. Luckily this wasn't her first rodeo at cutting them and she did it fairly quick. Once the vent had a big enough opening for her to get through, she dropped down from the ceiling pipe and jumped up into the vent. She couldn't help but wince at the sound it made when she got into it.

"You're making too much noise," her mother warned her.

She clinched her fist and tried to hold back her temper, "I know."

"Then, be silent," she heard in her ear piece.

She couldn't help but feel annoyed at her mother. She was trying to concentrate on the mission and didn't need her snappy remarks. She took another big breath and lightly crawled through the vent.

"The room is right bellow you," her mother informed her.

Cindy crawled a little further till she saw anther vent cover. She looked down to locate how everyone was positioned.

"How am I supposed to take down everyone?" Cindy asked.

"Well-"

Ring, Ring,

Ring, Ring, Ring

Cindy sat up in her bed and shut off her alarm. She rubbed her tired eyes and walked into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror. She watched her hair fall into place as she flattened it out.

She mumbled to her reflection, "Can I just not dream about the past?"

So what did you guys think. Hopefully it was worth the wait. I know i left it off on more of a cliffhanger, but don't worry for those who haven't caught on to what happened to Cindy in the past it will be further revealed in the next chapter. Please comment and review as i love to hear from you guys! Anyway thanks for reading. Until next time, Luna out! :)