This one little weakness…

Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related. I don't own Octopus Man either. But I envy the one who does...not really.

A/N 2017: Heya guys! If you somehow ended up here nine years after I wrote this, do know that I did too. I keep circling back to JN every few years and this time my motivation was high enough to rework this little piece here. I'm still not a native speaker, but my English should be better than it was when I was 15. So feel free to enjoy the new and improved version! ;)

Finally, it was Halloween. Thick fog wafted over the streets and streetlamps flickered ominously in the dark. People had gone to impressive lengths to make their part of Retroville look as scary as possible. Most houses sported a variety of Jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, coffins, bat sculptures, fake green goo and whatever else they could come up. The events of last year's Halloween were still fresh on everyone's mind and so unsurprisingly, the almost ancient 'Octopus Man 'costume had seen a stark rise in popularity. (Which only served to please a particularly duck- loving Dad).

Jimmy and his friends chuckled as they passed by yet another group of 'Octopus Men' who were eagerly trick or treating. They were a few years younger than the amigops, give or take. Jimmy had promised Carl and Sheen that he would not bring up the subject ever again, but the dressing up seemed even more childish (and embarrassing) than it had been last year. He looked down at his own getup which brilliantly illustrated his point…because how the heck had they convinced him to show himself in public like this?

Admittedly, it could have been worse. To transform himself into a 'Crazy Scientist', all he had needed to do was pimp up his lab coat, twist his hair this way and that way and apply a bit of make-up on the face (yuck). Regrettably, he had had to do all of that with his own two hands…after last year's (almost) disaster, Carl and Sheen had vowed to exact their full blown, sugar and nonsense- fueled vengeance on him, should he so much as think of using his machine again. Unsuccessfully, Jimmy had tried to explain that he had worked out most –if not all- kinks, but they had remained unimpressed.

"After all dude…" Sheen had said flatly. "…I love crazy monster hunts as much as the guy next door, but we're risking our candy profit here. And that, Dr. Science…" he had pointed at poor Jimmy, Carl nodding grimly at his side. "…is unhealthy."

Pulled back into the present, Jimmy sighed and rolled his eyes as Sheen and Carl were attempting to startle an old lady…only to jump away screaming instead, when she turned to reveal a genuine, yet fully toothless smile.

Sheen crossed his fingers in defense and howled: "Back away, ye demon!"

The old lady shrieked at the unexpected outburst and ran away. Satisfied, Sheen waved his fist after her and screeched:

"That's right, run away! Ultra Sheen shall be merciful!"

Jimmy slapped his forehead and glared at him.

"Sheen…if we end up sued by someone, I wouldn't be surprised."

Oblivious, Sheen posed. To the clearly impressed Carl he spoke with his chin lifted high in the air:

"I knew I shouldn't have abandoned my Ultralord costume last year…the old stuff is still the best." He wiped his eyes in barely convincing sentimentality.

"Didn't you tell us, you wore out your costume last year?" Carl asked confused.

Sheen dismissed the question with a hand wave.

"Yes, but I fixed it. On my own!"

A short pause ensued, as Carl and Jimmy stared at each other in mutual befuddlement. After a beat, however, they both burst out simultaneously:

"YOU?"

Sheen took offense.

"What's that supposed to mean? You guys think I can't handle a needle and a fiber? I tell you my sewing abilities are the greatest ever seen! And none shall-" he took a double take mid-sentence when he noticed the amused expressions on his friends' faces.

"This is way manlier than you think!" he yelled quickly and proceeded to stare at his feet.

Jimmy and Carl, both trying to hold in their laughter, nodded in agreement.

"Yes…" Carl started.

"Manly." Jimmy added sarcastically.

They burst into a loud fit of laughter, slapping their thighs. Sheen gritted his teeth at their merriment and prepared to snap back.

"Just so you know …" He never got to finish his sentence, because his pants slipped down in just that moment. Wide eyed, Sheen stared at the ground and quickly pulled them up again, trying to pass off his spreading blush with an innocently whistled tune. Jimmy and Carl increased the volume of their laughter.

"I think your 'update' wasn't successful, Sheen…" Carl giggled.

Jimmy nodded in between his breaths. "Now that's manly."

Sheen cursed at them, still grabbing the seam of his purple pants when a realization hit him like a bucket of cold water to the face.

"Oh no! I can't let my queen see me like this…I gotta change!"

"Hmm…" Jimmy mocked him. "…I love to help my friends as much as the guy next door, but we're risking our candy profit here if we wait for you. And that, Ultra Sheen…" he grinned broadly at Sheen's utterly disgusted expression. "…is unhealthy."

Carl high-fived Jimmy and they walked away, still laughing. Cursing once more, Sheen struggled to run after them and 'keep his dignity' at the same time.

A few minutes later they reached Libby's house, where they were supposed to meet the girls. As they approached the neatly laid out garden, Jimmy realized something he really should have sooner. Sheen was not the only one with a predicament. It was bad enough that his friends had forced him to play dress up with them…but what the heck had they been thinking when they had sentenced him to go as 'Crazy Scientist'? With this getup, Cindy's opportunities to make a mockery of him were practically unlimited and she already did so easily enough without him helping it along. Jimmy's face burned at this thought…and the thought of the many more humiliations he had had to take in stride over the years. One day, he swore to himself, one day he would find an actual weakness of hers…and then they would see who had the last laugh!

But that was wishful thinking and he knew it. Ever since the whole gossip news show thing, he and Cindy were sort of…going out. Sort of.

Meaning, they were still arch rivals who had admitted some modicum of affection for one another, held hands from time to times, did some of the whole 'dating' stuff kids liked to do and got engaged in huge bickering sessions right after. And although Sheen called them a pair 'more insane than a bunch of sea monkeys', their time together had taught Jimmy one thing: Cindy Vortex kept her cards close to her heart when it came to weaknesses you could easily exploit for a laugh. She was the kind of person who would rather risk to get an 'F' on her report card than lose face in front of him. But someday, Jimmy repeated his vow with a vengeance; someday he was going to get to her.

While Jimmy was thus busy musing about his costume and his rather odd relationship, Sheen was worrying about a completely different matter…his pants. His hands were starting to strain and unfortunately 'Ultra Sheen' had no clue how to go about fixing his costume in time. It also did not help that Carl was already ringing the door bell. Wide-eyed and nauseatingly aware of his dilemma, Sheen watched the door open.

Libby and Cindy stepped out into the cool autumn evening, both carrying bags decorated with creepily cute papercraft in their hands. The three boys smiled at them, when they waved.

"Hey guys!" Libby greeted them and bounced her hair a little. She was dressed up as an ancient Egyptian queen, golden jewelry and glittery eyeshadow hinting 'discretely' at her origins. Beside her, Cindy wore a simple black dress, her face made up to look even paler than usual. To everyone's surprise after last year's events, she had decided to be a vampire again…only a fake one this time around. To anyone who cared to know, she had muttered something about 'owning' the look. On her own terms.

Carl and Jimmy politely waved back, but Libby had already spotted Sheen, who tried to hide the fact he was holding his pants up as well as he could. With a huge unconvincing smile plastered on his face, he nodded at her.

"Hey Shining One…lovely day isn't it?"

His girlfriend looked suspiciously at him.

"Okay. What's going on here?"

Jimmy and Carl grinned up at her.

"Oh nothing. Sheen's just being manly." Jimmy explained, clearly enjoying Sheen's distress.

"Wow…that word in one sentence with one of you dweebs. Now I've heard everything." Cindy immediately snarked from Libby's side.

Jimmy narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms, prepared, as always, to start an argument right then and there. Carl, however, imitating Jimmy's pose, beat him to it.

"Hey, we can be manly too! Today, I got a paper cut and I did NOT cry! Ha!"

Any tension in Jimmy's body instantly melted away.

"Carl…not helping…"he mumbled, while Cindy's smirk widened.

Libby walked down the stairs of her porch and threw a glance at another group of kids passing by. With a shake of her head, she asked:

"Did you notice you started a real trend last year, Jimmy?" She cocked up an eyebrow at Sheen, who quickly scooted away from her approaching figure.

Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about it, Dad was ecstatic…you don't wanna know any details, believe me. It seems every kid in town is wearing an 'Octopus Man' costume."

"Speaking of costumes…" Cindy said and looked him up and down. "…what is it that you are supposed to be again?"

Jimmy immediately started to cough. Gaining a few weird looks by his friends, he intertwined his own fingers, but stayed quiet. He could not let her have this one, he just could not.

"Hey Dweebtron! Lost your tongue?" Cindy asked louder, graciously ignoring Libby who was grimacing at her.

"No, I…"

"Well Cindy, Jimmy is a-"Carl began.

"Okay, okay…" Jimmy interrupted angrily. Voice dripping with disgust, he raised his eyes to meet Cindy's and spoke:

"I am…" There was an audible gulp. "…a 'Crazy Scientist'."

For a brief moment all was quiet. Anxiously, Jimmy waited for a response, laughter…anything.

But Cindy only shrugged. Looking bored, she spoke:

"I already knew that."

She brushed past him and caught up with Libby, who was dragging poor Sheen along the street. Jimmy scratched his head, amazed, yet pleased. For once, Cindy had missed a chance to tease him. Perhaps she was not as tough and witty on the spot as she always pretended to be!

But then, she turned around and smirked at him:

"You know Jimmy…knowing your faults is the first step to fixing them. You're making progress."

Laughter immediately rang in his ears and Jimmy scoffed. He should have known.

"Oh yeah Vortex, well for your information…"

"At least they'll always have a warm, nice cell in the loony house for you, in case you blow up your own house any time soon. Again."

Jimmy clenched his fists and walked faster to catch up to her.

"Hey, I…"

"Perhaps you'll even get pity bonus, if you show your dad's duck collection to them! Isn't that lucky?"

"Cindy!"

"It wasn't his fault he went mad and destroyed the town, officer…he never had a chance in the first place!" Cindy wiped false tears out of her eyes.

"CINDY!" Jimmy cried out furiously.

"Hey now, don't overclock that clouded mind of yours, Neutron or…"

"Cindy…" Jimmy walked up to her and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. "…shut up."

One and a half hours later, their bags had gained significant weight. Of course, Carl and Sheen were ecstatic at the sight of the candy, but even they could not help but notice that things were getting boring.

"Jimmy…on a second thought, can't you let loose one of your inventions again?" Sheen asked, still holding up his pants with violently shaking hands.

Carl nodded and added with utmost sincerity:

"That one woman wasn't even scared of us…she hugged us!"

For a moment Cindy looked like she was fighting an internal battle against her lips, one that she evidently lost.

"Carl? How exactly do you expect people to be scared of….whatever you want to call your costume…."

Carl twirled around and glared at her.

"I am Llama Boy with cape!" He struck a pose, proudly showing off the small sheet of fabric on his back, which caused both Cindy and Libby to roll their eyes in sync.

Jimmy, however, felt validated.

"See! I told you we are too old for dressing up and going trick or treating! We should have-"

"Jimmy, cut it." Libby interrupted, voice calm yet firm. "The only problem is that it just ain't scary around here…everyone wears the same stupid outfit except us!"

The gang nodded, realizing Libby was right.

"Ya well…nothing good can come from people taking fashion tips from a crazy scientist." Cindy said. Jimmy just glared at her. Chuckling, she batted her eyelashes at him and asked innocently:

"Weak spot, Mr. Lunatic?"

Jimmy scoffed.

"You'll see Vortex! One day I'm gonna find yours and then…"

Cindy burst into loud laughter.

"I'd like to see you try! Face it, Neutron, you can't get to me."

Despite his rising temper, Jimmy decided to concentrate on their Halloween dilemma.

"Anyways, we can't just transform everyone else into monsters, to make Halloween scarier."

"Dude…which part of 'Crazy Scientist' do you not understand? Of course we can!"

Jimmy ignored Sheen.

"Why don't we try something a little more traditional? We could watch a horror movie at my lab."

"What?… sounds like a snooze fest, Neutron." Cindy said immediately.

The others looked at each other.

"Actually…why not?" Libby said. Carl and Sheen nodded.

"Would you really rather stay in his nerdy little lab instead of collecting candy?" Cindy asked and glanced nervously at her friends.

"I'm bored! Let's go with the movie, I say!" Sheen screeched.

"You can watch a stinking movie every day! Today's Halloween! A one-night-only thing! The night of-"

"BOREDOM!" Sheen and Carl yelled simultaneously and gave each other a thumbs-up (Sheen tried to, at least). Even Libby could not hold in a small giggle at the sight.

"Who needs your opinion, anyways, you little dorks?" Cindy snapped and clenched her fists.

"Well…it seems like we're four against one, Miss Vortex!" Jimmy told her triumphantly.

Cindy bit her lip.

"But…it's totally going ruin the…uh Halloween spirit!"

The others exchanged confused looks.

"Halloween spirit?" Libby deadpanned.

Cindy nodded quickly and pressed on:

"Yes… you know the mood! A movie's …um…" she trailed off as she realized there was no use. With the boys she might have had a chance, but Libby had the unnerving ability to see through her like glass.

Jimmy raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, putting on his most annoying know-it-all face.

"Well…if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're chickening out!"

Carl and Sheen gasped at this down right blasphemous statement.

Cindy's eyes widened, but she caught herself almost instantly.

"Whatever is that supposed to mean?" she hissed.

"It means that it looks like you're afraid of watching a horror movie with us, Cindy."

For a second, Cindy was actually at a loss for words.

"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life, Nerdtron!" she sputtered. "I just happen think that it's been boring enough without what is sure to be disastrous trip to Dweebville! But, if you all insist-"

They did insist. Groaning, Cindy trailed behind her friends and muttered under her breath, clearly irritated. Thus occupied, she was startled when she felt a light touch on her cheek. Flushing red, she turned her head to see Jimmy smiling at her, a spiteful twinkle in his eyes.

"You know, there's really no shame in being afraid, Cindy…" he teased.

The girl touched the tingling spot on her skin he just had kissed and glared at him.

"I'm never afraid, you jerk."

"Okay…. guys, you wanna watch this one?" Jimmy held up a dark red DVD cover. It showcased a tasteful arrangement of various blood splatters and googly eyed monsters. "Or this one?"

Cindy rolled her eyes and said loudly:

"How about neither?"

All eyes turned to her. Realizing her mistake, she quickly added:

"Not that I am afraid or anything…"

Sheen plopped down on the couch Jimmy had had Vox set up for them in the middle of the lab, happy as a clam to finally give his hands the rest they deserved.

"Suuuure you're not…"he drawled, flexing his fingers.

Libby smirked and elbowed Carl in the side.

"That'd be ridiculous, huh?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah…Cindy is never afraid of anything!" Carl agreed as teasingly as he could manage. Which was not much, yet just enough to rattle Cindy.

"Would you guys cut it out?! I just don't feel like spending my evening watching some cockamamie movies!" she snapped at them.

Jimmy raised one eyebrow at her.

"But you'd dare watch them?"

Cindy groaned in frustration.

"What's it with you dweebs?! Of course I dare! I am not afraid, don't you get it?!" She threw her hands up in the air, just barely missing Carl's face. Intimidated, he scooted away from her.

Jimmy, however, smiled at her…in a way that promised that he would milk this semi-victory for all its worth. She hated it when he did that- clearly, it was her job!

"Well then, I say we go for them. Both of them."

Cindy's face noticeably paled, even under the white make up.

"Seeing that none of us here are afraid…" Jimmy continued to rub it in.

"But…" Cindy cut him off. Libby, Sheen and Carl exchanged amused glances. The shaky quality of her voice left no room for doubts. Strangely fascinated by the unknown sight, Sheen and Carl settled deeper against the couch cushions and reached for the popcorn Vox offered. After a short internal struggle between conflicting loyalties, Libby joined them. She always did enjoy a good laugh.

"Yes Cindy?" Jimmy asked sickeningly sweet.

"I -I don't think our parents would want us to watch these kind of…" Cindy rambled, trying to ignore the snickers and sounds of crunching popcorn from beside her.

Jimmy waved her words off.

"They are rated for our age. There's hardly anything in there your parents could find worrying, except of course if you're…uh…rather sensitive."

She narrowed her eyes.

"I'll show you sensitive!" She shoved up the right sleeve of her dress, but Jimmy was already continuing:

"I guess it's settled then, isn't it?"

Cindy realized that the trap had snapped shut around her. From her left, three pairs of eyes were practically boring holes in her. In front of her Jimmy smiled that damnably arrogant smile of his. With a sigh, she slumped against the back of the sofa and crossed her arms.

"Fine, let's just get this over with!"

The lights dimmed and soon they were sitting in the dark, barely able to see each other except for the cold glaring light reflected from the lab's screen. A slight hum came from the back of the room, as experiments were still running their course, but otherwise the silence was unperturbed.

The movie had just started and a certain someone cleared her throat. Loudly.

"You know, I am thirsty…be right back!" Cindy said and stood up…only to be pulled back down by her sleeve. Jimmy grinned at her.

"You don't want to miss anything, do you?" he goaded her on. "Goddard! One Purple Flurp please!"

She accepted the bottle with one jerky movement, a touch harsher than necessary.

The movie's plot was hardly anything to write home about, but Jimmy was well aware that the effective use of eerie music and well timed suspense could elicit a rather extreme reaction from certain individuals. And although he never would have entertained the idea by himself, it became fairly obvious that his (kind of) girlfriend belonged to these people.

Perhaps Halloween is not so bad after all, he thought amused.

Indeed, Cindy's mouth quivered every time the music changed. Again and again he saw her tense up, biting her lip, trying to still her hands. The sight was entirely unfamiliar and he found himself observing her more than he actually looked at the movie. Even Carl of all people seemed to have a good time. And that was saying a lot.

"Do we have to watch the entire movie?" Cindy suddenly piped up.

All heads turned towards to her.

"Why not?" they asked at the same time.

She let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I just don't want…um" Cindy paused for a second. "…uh…Carl to get too scared." She turned to him with an expression that obviously pleaded: Please don't leave me hanging here!

Unfortunately, for once in his life, Carl was actually not scared.

"That excuse ain't working this time, girl friend!" he said sassily.

Cindy gulped.

"It's okay if you wanna stop, Cin!" Libby reassured her, but there was a definite twinkle in her eye. "We won't judge. Much."

"Pff…no I…I…I'm good!" Cindy said awkwardly and jerked her head back towards the screen.

The movie went on with a minimum of interruptions. Suddenly, Jimmy felt a clammy hand slipping into his. Puzzled, he was about to turn his head, but the hand squeezed tight. A faint smirk reappeared on his face. Someone's façade was cracking.

A scream echoed through the lab and the hand's intense grip doubled. If it did not threaten to cut off all blood transfer in his fingers, it might even have felt nice. It always did when they held hands. Unfortunately, this time he actually had to doubt if he would come out of the movie with functional use of his left hand.

But he was enjoying the sweet taste of victory. Whether she admitted it or not, she had bared a definite weakness. Years of rivalry affected him too much to not take a substantial amount of pleasure in the fact.

Nevertheless, Jimmy turned towards her after a few minutes of enduring her iron grip. She was staring straight at the screen, eyes wide.

"Uh…could you please not squeeze my hand to death, Cindy?" he whispered.

Cindy startled, and looked at him with a confused frown. Jimmy realized that her assault on his hand had not been conscious. Clearly embarrassed, she lightened the pressure, but to his secret joy she did not pull away.

"I…didn't do it cause I was afraid, if that's what you're thinking, Neutron!" she whispered back.

Jimmy sent her a meaningful look.

"Whatever…"

Five minutes later, she was sitting much closer to him than she had when they had started out. Truth be told, she was all but hanging over him. As hilarious that it was that strong, independent Cindy was getting scared by a PG rated horror movie, Jimmy preferred to get oxygen. And there was no way to remove her discretely.

He rolled his eyes and whispered again:

"Okay Cindy…just admit it. It's okay, really!"

She looked at him again, her gaze not as nearly as firm as she probably intended it to be.

"What makes you say that?!"

Jimmy shook his head in exasperation and tried to scoot a few inches away…his lungs were screaming for more oxygen.

"Duh…I dunno? Maybe because you're almost suffocating me?"

Cindy closed her eyes as rapid flashes danced across the screen. When they fluttered open again, she glared at him.

"You would just love that, wouldn't you?"

Jimmy just smirked at her.

With a sigh, Cindy rolled her eyes and let go of their position. Cuddling deeper into the couch, she mumbled:

"Alright. I, Cindy Vortex am afraid of horror movies. Happy now?"

Jimmy's face lit up in delight at her confession. Finally! Finally, he had officially found the ever so 'undefeatable' Cynthia Aurora Vortex' weak spot. Whatever he had said about Halloween before, the day could not have gone any better! With a grin, he told her:

"Actually, I am now."

Cindy scoffed and scooted further away from him. Jimmy's face softened.

"But, you know…" he muttered and she looked at him again, tentatively."…you really shouldn't be scared. It's just a stupid movie. Scientifically everything on screen is completely impossible and crud."

He kept his voice low, so his friends would not catch on. Indeed the other three were too entranced by the movie to notice, Libby leaning her head against Sheen's shoulder, Carl noisily shoving bucket loads of popcorn into his mouth. So Jimmy found the courage to do something that both Cindy and he were actually too shy to do most of the time. Swallowing all awkwardness he felt inside, he pulled her into a kind of hug, holding her oddly tight. Cindy's eyes widened at the unexpected gesture and she stared blankly at him. However, when she saw him smile, she allowed herself to relax. For a moment, it did not matter that they usually would not display their (kind of) affection for each other that openly…on top of it in 'public'.

She snuggled closer against him and they simply rested in this position. Cindy smiled weakly:

"Problem is, you can't kick those monsters in the butt when they deserve it."

Her eyes widened in shock at the movie's current scene and she clang to him. Still partly amazed that this frightened girl was his Cindy, Jimmy stared at her:

"You would try to kick a monster in the butt. You probably have already."

Cindy grew very still, but did not answer. Sensing that she was not going to say anything else, Jimmy returned his attention to the screen. Suddenly however, he felt a soft pressure against his lips and froze. The kiss did not last long, but it still sent a major shiver down his spine. Cindy laughed quietly at his surprised expression and smirked in a manner that seemed much more familiar on her face.

"Don't you expect a weak moment like this to ever happen again, Neutron!" She threatened him, but her tone was playful.

Jimmy just smiled and replied:

"I won't, Vortex."

Five minutes later, however, she was clinging on to him for dear life again.

When the movie ended, Sheen leapt up from the sofa and screeched:

"Wasn't this terrifying?! AWESOME!"

His friends just stared at him with disturbed faces. Carl coughed nervously, trying to give him a hint.

Sheen looked around, dazed, until his eyes reached the very ground beneath him. Blushing deep red, he bent down and pulled up his Ultralord pants. With a sheepish chuckle, he said:

"…Happy Halloween…"

A/N 2008: This horror movie fear…well it's something I' m way too familiar with. I just got this idea, Cindy doesn't always seem so brave after all (one scene that I remembered clearly while writing was the one in Win, Lose and Kaboom, when she hides behind Libby when the voices begin to call them) …and I just felt like writing it. What do you think? Good? Bad? Nothing? I really want to know! Please review.

Love and a Happy Halloween, firepearl!