This is an idea I've had for a few weeks now, but because of college midterms and essays, I was short on time to actually work on it! But I finally got around to it tonight after finishing all my schoolwork. This is a oneshot based on the episode Billion Dollar Boy.

Quick refresher: This is the episode where Jimmy wins a kite flying contest against Eustace Strych. Strych then invites the gang to his mansion and plays Cindy, making Jimmy jealous enough to bet his dog. Cindy begs Eustace not to kill Goddard, but he merely shoves her aside and tells her he "has no further use for Neutron's squeeze." (Always thought that insult was rather dark for a kid's show but I always liked Cindy's horrified expression when she hears this)

In the original episode, Goddard lives, but I've always wondered how the JC relationship would have played out had Goddard not survived. I imagine Jimmy being quite hostile towards Cindy because she is partly the reason he bets Goddard at all.

Jimmy is a bit darker than usual in this, but I think it fits, given the circumstances. Sorry for the long intro. Here's the story without further ado!

Close the door before it's late
We were born to love and hate
Turn it down for our own sake
We do no wrong.

-Thirteen Senses

It had been nearly two weeks since anyone had seen him. He had yet to emerge from the lab. Cindy knew this because she hoped she would catch a glimpse of him coming out to get something or to go for a walk. Of course, no such thing happened, and she only felt worse and worse as the days went by. It wasn't entirely her fault things had gone wrong. But then again, it was her fault things weren't right either. She sighed and looked out the window once more, a now familiar ache building up in her chest.

The first few days at school had been a consolation prize, she noted miserably. She had taken the helm once more—claiming her old spot at the top with great ease. But after about three days, the joy wore off, the guilt set in like bricks, and Cindy felt haplessly burdened with regret.

Truth be told, she'd expected Neutron to win the argument. She had enjoyed getting a rise out of him by fraternizing with his buck-toothed rival, but she hadn't at all foreseen the disastrous consequences of her petty behavior. And it wasn't like she wasn't a victim here either—Strych had dismissed her as Neutron's squeeze as he ignored her fervent pleas to spare Neutron's dog and pushed her aside. It had hurt a lot—being used and discarded like some doll; doomed to live and love in the shadow of a genius far better than her.

But if she hadn't joined in with Eustace in mocking Neutron, he never would have gotten jealous and overconfident and bet his dog. Goddard would still be functional, and Neutron would be competing with her in class as normal.

But alas—the sad fact of the matter was that Goddard was beyond repair, and it seemed like Neutron was too.

Cindy couldn't stand it. She rarely cried, but she wanted to now. Knowing that she'd hurt the boy she…liked (she still cringed when she confessed this to herself)…in ways that no one could possibly comprehend, had left her with a heavy conscience.

But she couldn't continue to sit in her room and mope about it. She would have to seek him out, apologize (she gulped anxiously), and beg his forgiveness. All three of these were things Cindy never really did…things she wasn't sure she was capable of. But she knew her relationship with Neutron was at stake…

So it was that Cindy found herself with a bag of hair (generously provided by Carl) at Neutron's lab on Saturday morning. Her hands were shaking, as she pulled a few strands out of the bag, and set them above the scanner. Instantly, she was sucked into the now well-known orange tube into the underground retreat and crudely dispensed onto the cold floor.

It was worse than she thought. As she dusted herself off, she noted soda cans thrown everywhere, wires left untended and untied, and a foreboding sense of…death. A cold fear gripped Cindy's heart as she rose to her feet and scanned the room for Jimmy. He couldn't have…no…she couldn't even dare to think it…

"Jimmy?" She called out his name anxiously. A figure stirred on the sofa to the far right. Cindy shyly made her way over to him. He was half covered in a blanket and half covered in blueprints. A closer look told her they were blueprints of Goddard's core parts.

Dark circles had formed under his blue eyes, which had lost their usual shine. His hair was tousled and messy, and his body hunched over in utter despair and failure. His pillow was stained with tears, Cindy realized.

She reached for his hand, but he flinched.

"What are you doing here, Vortex?" His voice was sour, full of a wretched bitterness.

"We're all worried about you…I'm worried about you." Her tone was mousy, timid.

"You worried about me?" He looked at her incredulously. For the first time in days he smiled. For a moment, Cindy felt relieved. But then—

"You mean to tell me you had enough heart to care about someone other than yourself?"

Cindy's eyes betrayed her deep hurt.

"Jimmy—you have to know, it wasn't my fault. I'm sorry I fell prey to Eustace's act but—he hurt me too." She bit her lip to keep from saying things she would regret.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Goddard is gone because of you and your spiteful games."

"You think I'm not trying to make amends? I'll help you look over blueprints, I'll pummel Strych to a pulp…Jimmy, I'm truly, sincerely sorry."

He looked at her with disgust as she uttered those words.

"You think I need your help? You think you of all people can help me? You who belittles and taunts me, who treats me lesser than the dirt on your shoe? " He laughed dryly again, ignoring the silent tears on Cindy's face.

Cindy weakly reached for his hand and rose it up to her trembling lips.

"I never want to speak to you again, Cindy."

She suppressed a sob as she left a quiet kiss on the back of his hand and rose up to leave. For a second, he stared after her surprised, some dark part of him wishing she would turn around and come back. But he knew her pride would never allow it, just as he would never have it in him to forgive her. In a strange, twisted way, seeing her squirm under his thumb gave him some sense of control. But as she exited, a harrowing sense of finality overtook him. Hatred had won over in the end…perhaps a shame, perhaps a godsend. They would never know.