Happy New Year! Well, almost. Here's a little something to hold you over until then. And if it's already the new year in your part of the world, sorry I'm late! Enjoy!

Tonight is the night of all nights: New Year's Eve. To scientists, it means the Earth has once again successfully voyaged around the great ball of fire known as the sun. To historians, it marks the end of another year to record in their books. But to most of the world's population, it means the last chance to make stupid decisions and do foolish things before you feel like you can start fresh and new with all your previous shenanigans forgiven. Unless of course, you're Jimmy Neutron and you're about to make the stupidest mistake of all time: kissing the school slut Olivia Cher at midnight on New Years.

"How did you hear about this Libby?" I asked my best friend, who arrived at my house bright and early to deliver the news. As she spoke, I sat on my unmade bed, still in my pajamas, trying to process what she was saying.

"I was exchanging some Christmas gifts at the mall yesterday and I overheard her and Bimbo Brenda talking about it as I passed by them while they were waiting for the elevator."

"So if you only passed by, maybe you didn't even hear them correctly." I said.

"Oh, I know what I heard. His first and last name, the words 'New Year'... Cindy, you know what's filling in those blanks!"

It's true, I do. Olivia Cher has a tendency of revealing to the world the type of guys she'll be hooking up with in a very public way. At some point during the summer, she'll start 'dating' a certain type of guy and that will be the kind she sticks with for the first half of the school year. For the second half, her traditional way of announcing it is by kissing a member of her newest group of victims at midnight on New Years. Seeing as her newest target is Jimmy, she'll be going for the smart guys this time.

She's never personally told me the reasoning behind this, not that I would ever allow myself to be near her long enough for her to tell me. But from what I've heard, it keeps relationships (if you want to call them that) fresh and exciting for her so that she never gets bored.

Of course, being Olivia Cher, she has to do this in a public setting with lots of people. And where else to do it than at an underage, unchaperoned, and alcohol-filled New Years party?

This year the party happens to be held at Sheen's house, whose parents are away visiting family in Mexico. Being Sheen's girlfriend, this makes Libby pretty happy.

"Okay. So?"

"So?! Girl, you've got to do something!"

I looked at her. "Why would I need to do anything?"

"You know why."

"Well, you should probably enlighten me because I have no clue."

"It's because you know that after all these years, you still have feelings for Jimmy."

I got up from bed and went to lean against the dresser. "Oh, Libby, not that again."

"Look, I'm done trying to get you to admit it out loud, but I know you do. And the fact that Olivia Cher is going to get to him before you is tearing you up inside."

"'Get to him?' Jimmy is not some prize to be won." Libby gave me the face that is usually reserved for whenever I contradict myself. I rolled my eyes. "So let's say I want to do something because I do have feelings for Jimmy."

"Which you do." I heard Libby mumble, but decided to ignore it.

"What would I do? How can I stop Olivia from kissing him?"

"Simple. You go to that party and stop her from getting her claws on him at all."

"Libby, you know that's not really my scene, but I only go to be with you guys. I don't ever really have another reason to be there." Plus it beats the alternative: New Years with my parents. And at the age of seventeen, I'm sure nobody wants to do that.

"Well, now you have a reason to go." She came up to me and took my hands in hers. "Look, we've been best friends for a long time, and I can see that you're hurting over the fact that you haven't been honest with yourself about your feelings. I am not expecting you to tell him how you feel, become boyfriend and girlfriend, and live happily ever after overnight. But there will be a much lesser chance of that ever happening if you don't stop this kiss tonight. So what do you say?"

Libby was always very convincing, even if it came at my own expense.

"Okay." I replied, a smile tugging its way onto my lips. A wider one rushed onto Libby's face. "I'll do it. What time does the party start?"

"Nine. Come to my house earlier and we'll drive over together."

"Alright."

"I'm going to go." She grabbed her purse off my bed. "I'll see you later. Oh, and wear something hot." I looked at the floor and shook my head, smiling slightly, a reaction she didn't see since her back was turned." I'm serious!" he called as she was walking out the doorway of my bedroom.

"Okay!" I called after her.

Since I didn't have any New Year's plans prior to this morning, I informed my parents of them which they were completely okay with. I didn't tell them of my true intentions, obviously.

Honestly, I don't know how to go about tonight. I'd be lying if I said Libby was mistaken about what she said towards my feelings for Jimmy. But I guess it is time I come to terms with it.

Everyone seemed to get the idea that Jimmy and I had a thing when we were younger. Going on all those adventures we went on only seemed to add fuel to the flame and neither of us really did anything to stop it. As we got older though, real life began to take over and we were unable to go to our sometimes life-threatening journeys as often as we used to. It got to a point where we stopped going on them altogether.

It was around then that we entered high school and because we were both in all the Honors classes, I got to see him as much as I liked. Not that I ever told him or anybody else that. Naturally, with our egos and stubbornness, our elementary school rivalry continued. And it only got worse as high school progressed and our education expanded. Still, we had our special and unique moments from time to time. I'm referring to the special and unique moments that made people think Jimmy and I had a thing in the first place. And while Libby may be right about my feelings towards Neutron, I'm right in telling you that they are definitely one-sided emotions.

And I wouldn't be the only girl with them.

Jimmy's changed in ways other than becoming more of a brainiac. Towards the end of eighth grade, he cut his hair and stopped styling it, leaving messy brown locks that stick out in every direction. A couple of months later he got his braces off, something he had originally been against getting when he told his parents he could build a device that could fix his teeth in half the time and for free by himself. Along with this, he hit his growth spurt at fourteen, and quickly starting towering over most of our friends. And all the heavy lifting he does in the lab has definitely been beneficial to his upper body.

Although he's too stupid to see it, let alone acknowledge it, all this has led to me not being the only girl at Retroville High School who has taken an interest in him. But if all goes well, by the end of tonight, I'll be the only one he notices.

The day passed much faster than I expected the last day of the year to go. After an early dinner, I was dressed and ready to go to Libby's house by seven. Seeing as we both have very different views on what a 'hot' outfit looks like, I wore what I felt was my own interpretation of one. I dressed in black flats, blue jeans, and a red sleeveless blouse. I knew there was a low chance of my outfit being Libby approved for an event such as tonight. I did leave my hair down instead of putting it in my usual ponytail though, so I should be able to earn some points for that.

My dad drove me to Libby's where her mom told me she was up in her room and that I can make my way up there myself. After knocking, she opened the door to reveal herself. She was in her bathrobe and her rollers in her hair. I noticed a fresh manicure that she did not have this morning when I saw her. She already had her makeup done.

"Hi. Not dressed yet, I see." I stepped into her room.

"Cindy, you're not really wearing that are you?"

I knew it.

"Did you already have something else in mind?"

"Girl, you know me way too well."

It's a good thing Libby and I are nearly the same size so that she can use most of her clothes to play Barbie on me. Tonight it wasn't nearly as grueling as usual since she narrowed down her options to two dresses, one of which I was supposed to choose for tonight.

Almost two hours later, I had my hair, makeup, and reluctantly, my nails done. Libby miraculously managed to get herself ready despite her tending to me the whole time I've been here. She was taking out the dresses out of her closet, as I was putting on a pair of strappy, three inch heels that Libby insisted I wear. In cases such as these, it is really beneficial when you and your best friend share the same shoe size.

After zipping me up in my dress, Libby excused herself to use the bathroom, I turned to see myself in her full-length mirror. Looking into it, I honestly thought I looked really good. My blonde, now curly hair framed my face, and the makeup enhanced my features, making my green eyes look brighter. The dress I ended up choosing was black and stopped a little before mid-thigh. It made my legs look a lot longer than they actually were. I was suddenly thankful that I had shaved this morning. The dress was tight yet comfortable on my body.

I stepped back, placed a hand on my hip, and gave a slight smirk to my own reflection.

"Damn, Cindy." Libby came in saying, with her arms crossed. "I don't think you're going to have any trouble tonight. With the way you look, Jimmy is going to be crawling to you tonight."

"I- tha- that's not what I'm trying to do." I defended myself.

"Sure, okay. And I'm the Queen of England. Anyway, we should go. It's 9:30. Olivia's probably already there, trying to sink her claws into your man."

"Jimmy is not my man."

"Mmm Hmm. You ready?" I nodded. "Cool. Let's go." She collected her car keys from the dresser on her way out of her bedroom. I followed and closed the door behind me. We made our way to Libby's car quickly and quietly, her house already deserted since her parents had left to their New Year's Eve party about an hour ago.

"So what's the plan?" She asked once the car was on the road.

"I mean, there's not really a plan. Keeping him away from Olivia is a plan in itself I guess."

"True. But if you're going to be hogging him all night, you'll have to talk about something at least. Maybe your undying love for him would be a good icebreaker."

"Libby! Weren't you the one saying that I shouldn't make a big deal of this?"

"So? That doesn't mean you shouldn't tell him how you feel."

"That's exactly what it means. You were just saying that this morning!"

"No, I said I wasn't expecting you to tell him. I do think you should."

"Whatever." I shrugged. Libby made no more comments about Jimmy and I the rest of the way, and after about fifteen minutes, we had arrived at Sheen's house.

We could already hear music from the party from about four houses down, and now that we were up close we could see how big the party had gotten in the near hour since its beginning. Looking around and seeing the other cars parked in the street, I noticed Olivia Cher's pristine white convertible. She was already here.

I realized we were on Sheen's driveway and that the garage door was opening as we approached it.

"Why are you parking in the garage?"

"I'm keeping the car in here since I'm spending the night. Speaking of which, I told my parents I was going to sleep over at your place, so could you cover for me if anything?" I shot her an incredulous look. "What?"

"Libby, if you're spending the night here, who's going to drive me home?"

"I'm sure you'll find someone to take you back." I sighed, knowing fully well who she meant by 'someone'. "But you'll cover for me, right?"

I smiled. "Yes, of course." She returned my smile in thanks.

Once in the garage, Libby closed the door, shut off the car, and we both got out. We went through a door that I knew led to the kitchen. From here the music was still loud but it was muffled so Libby could speak without having to lean closer. "Let's go find Sheen and Carl. Jimmy's probably with them." I nodded and followed her out into the living room.

It took about a minute, but we quickly spotted Sheen by his height across the room.

Sheen is also one of those people that changed a tremendous amount. In his case, the transformation really began when Ultra Lord was cancelled early in freshmen year. He was upset about it sure, but it wasn't nearly as annoying as we all expected it to be. Ultimately, this made me stop calling him Ultra Dork, although he never really got over his favorite childhood show. He instead starting focusing his time and attention on something else: courting my best friend. After nearly eight months of trying and in some cases, failing miserably, he succeed. They've been together ever since.

Then there was Carl, who was physically probably the one that changed the most. Over the years, he lost a lot of weight and looks better than I've ever seen him. He no longer wears glasses and let his hair grow into a red, floppy mess. Carl is still allergic to pretty much everything, but thanks to new medication, is much better at dealing with it. He's also much more his own person and doesn't follow Sheen and Jimmy around as much as he used to.

As soon as we reached them, Libby swung her arms around Sheen's neck and kissed him. Carl and I looked away uncomfortably until the lovebirds broke apart.

"Hi Carl." Libby spoke.

"Hey Libby. Hey Cindy."

"Hi guys. Neutron here?" I asked with with a hint of annoyance, the way I usually find myself talking about Jimmy to anybody other than Libby.

"He was." Sheen started. "He said something about going to get a drink or the bathroom about ten minutes ago but never came back." He took a drink from his cup and that was when I noticed that Libby had one in her hand as well.

"Oh, that's unfortunate. Cindy, maybe you should go look for him. Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Libby answered with an emphasis on the word 'trouble'.

"Aww, Libbypop! What kind of trouble could Jimmy get into here? He's at Casa de Sheen!" He extended his arms out as if to present his house. If it were anybody else, I'd wonder if the alcohol was beginning to take effect. But since it's Sheen, I had no reason to worry. At least not yet.

"Did you see which way he went?" I asked the boys.

"That way." Carl answered and pointed in the direction Jimmy headed.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later."I turned and headed in the direction Carl had pointed out to me. The living room and about half the dining room became the dance floor and I found it difficult to navigate my way through here. There was no way Jimmy would be dancing so I didn't even have to bother looking for him here. Unless...

Frantically, I did a quick scan of both rooms from where I stood. I searched for a boy with an overly large head dancing with a girl with fake blonde hair and a fake tan to match. Despite it being dark, I didn't find anything of the sort and found it safe to move on to another room. I continued walking and heard a voice besides me.

"Holy crap, is that Cindy Vortex?! She looks friggin' hot!" While a comment like this would have made any other girl feel proud, it got nothing out of me. There was only one boy I want complimenting me tonight and it certainly wasn't some inebriated jock.

I continued looking for Jimmy and starting hoping that he wasn't alone. Him alone would make it easier for me to find him, but the same would be true for Olivia.

I reached the next part of the house with no luck. I stepped out onto the patio for some fresh air and to regroup my thoughts. This proved difficult to do when there were drunken idiots cheering and hollering for who knows what reason by the kegs. I noticed someone else vomiting into the bushes. There was a couple who were not being as discreet as they thought over by one corner. My eyes widened as I took a few short steps forward to try to identify the boy. Thankfully, it turned out not to be Jimmy but instead just a classmate of mine.

Clearly, this was not going as planned. What's even worse is that now I look and feel like a crazy stalker trying to prevent something that's probably going to happen anyway. Why should I even care what Neutron does with his life? He's never even given a shit about mine.

Impulsively, I reached right over to where the kegs were grabbed a red plastic cup, and poured myself a cup that nearly spilled over the edge. I began drinking as I started walking back into the house, the only thing on my mind being to go up to Sheen and asking if he had anything stronger to drink.

For some reason I can't explain, my feet led me back into the kitchen. Once I stepped through the swinging door, I noticed a body with its back to me, standing in front of the open fridge.

I'd recognize that head anywhere.

My mouth formed to say his name, but because we're supposed to be rivals, with no knowledge of the other's first name, no matter how strong our attraction to one another is, my brain corrected my mouth to say, "Neutron."

He turned around, already knowing who was calling his name.

"Vortex." He replied as the refrigerator door closed shut behind him. I didn't know what to do. My plan went as far as this. Find him. That was the goal. But now that he was found, what? "You've been drinking." He noticed the cup in my hand.

"No. I'm holding it for a friend." It was supposed to come out funny. Like a casual moment between friends. But that's just it. We're not friends. Not really. It didn't have to come out so sarcastically though.

"Oh." Jimmy said with a small smile, already doing better at talking to me like a friend than I was. "You look nice. Really nice." He did too. In his black pants and shoes, red dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top button undone. He looked...handsome.

I should say it.

"Wow. You said something nice to me. Maybe you're the one who's been drinking."

"Jesus, Vortex, it's a compliment. Take it, will you?" This is exactly what he's been doing the past few months. He's trying. He doesn't treat me the way I treat him. At least, not if provoked.

"Thanks. Libby did it." I replied, referring to the dolled-up girl standing in front of him.

"I know." He answers.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Why do I do that? Why do I question everything he says as if it's an insult, even when it's not?

"I didn't mean it in a bad way." He assures me.

"I know." I say instantly. Jimmy smiles as he glances away, as if realizing that he finally got me, which I guess he sort of did.

"So you were looking for me?" He asks as he runs his hand through his hair, the way I've seen him do when he's stressed out about something.

"Yeah." I actually had forgotten the reason we were in these conditions.

"For what?"

"To...talk."

"About what?"

I let out a laugh. "Jeez Neutron, can't a girl talk to her intellectual colleague without being interrogated over it?" Why did I say that? I shouldn't be starting an argument. That'll drive him away, which would have made all this pointless.

"Fair enough." He raised his hands in surrender. It got quiet after that. It became obvious that he was waiting for me to say something. But to spite him I didn't and instead waited for him to speak. Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, he did. "So did you hear that I'm supposedly Olivia Cher's new target?"

I wasn't expecting him to say that.

"Really? That's great. Seeing as you're both extremely narcissistic and arrogant. I'm sure you two will be very happy together."

"It doesn't bother you at all?" Neutron cocked an eyebrow, paying no attention to the fact that I just insulted him.

"No." I replied irritably. "Why would it?"

"Because...you know..."

"Know what Neutron?" I answered exasperatedly.

"Jimmy, there you are! I've been looking for you."

Speak of the devil herself, in entered Olivia Cher as casually as if we had invited her into our conversation. Naturally, she had pretended I wasn't even there as she seductively walked over to Jimmy in her nude pumps and short blue dress. Her bottle blonde hair was pin straight and although her back was turned to me, I could tell she had on a mischievous smirk.

"You owe me a dance."

"I do?" He played along, ignoring the glare I was giving the two.

"Of course! And this is one of my favorite songs. You have to join me!"

"Sure." He said, as if he had no clue what her true intentions were. He took her hand and the two made their way out the kitchen through the door I had come from. I could punch him. I should. "See you later Cindy." His faced was angled in my direction but I couldn't tell what his expression was since I refused to look at him. I heard the door swing shut behind me at the same time I felt a shudder run through my body.

"Don't you dare." I said to myself as I gripped the counter in front of me.

Neutron's an idiot. No doubt about it. Even if he is trying to confirm something, which I was beginning to think he was, what he's doing is totally not the right way to go about it. Because if he thinks I'm going to go chasing after him, he's even dumber than I thought.

All this was such a waste. I should never had let Libby talk me into this. It's not her fault though. She was just trying to help me with something I don't even care about.

And I shouldn't care. I shouldn't. I meant what I said before. Based on their attributes, Jimmy and Olivia are good together. But not perfect. Not like us. Jimmy and I are both arrogant and brilliant and defensive and impressive. And we're the best at it. But hell, we're even better together. And I refuse to let anybody under any circumstances prevent me from being the best that I can be. I know Jimmy would say the same. We need each other. Every bit of it, both the good and the bad. We're better. The best.

We're perfection.

I turned and stormed out of the kitchen, determination running all over my body. The two were dancing so they were either in the living room or dining room. Thankfully, it didn't take long to find them. There is no word in the English language to describe how closely the two of them were dancing. Or at least how close the tramp was trying to get to him. With a roll of my eyes and confidence in my stride, I walked over to the two. I grabbed Neutron's hand and pulled as hard as I could, away from Olivia.

"Excuse us." I said as politely as I could, with a phony smile on my face. We walked, his hand in mine, until I felt his tugging against mine, wanting to pull away. When he did, it only forced me to turn around.

"Vortex, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What the hell are you doing? Do you want to be infected with whatever she's got all over herself? Why are you dancing with Olivia?"

"What does it matter?!"

"It matters to me!"

"Why?!"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Why aren't you answering any of them?"

"You know the type of reputation she has. Do you really want to be associated with her?"

"Since when do you care, Cindy?"

"Jimmy, don't be stupid! You know that I care about you!" And that's how Neutron and I stood in his best friend's living room on New Year's Eve having a screaming match. It didn't exactly help that the music had abruptly stopped and said best friend had climbed the stairs to tower over the party guests to make an announcement.

"Okay, everyone listen up! The New Year is just seconds away. Let's start the countdown! Ten!" Everyone else joined him after that. All except for Neutron and I, who couldn't seem to stop staring into each other's eyes. I knew my declaration of caring about him probably had something to do with it.

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

We didn't speak a word. And both of us seemed to agree that we weren't going to look away.

"Seven!"

He was doing it again, challenging me, his favorite pastime. But I wasn't going to be the one to cave in.

"Six!"

"You called me 'Jimmy'." See?

"Five!"

"You called me 'Cindy'." He gave me that smirk that I grew to love over the years.

"Four!"

Damn it.

"Three!"

"Happy New Year, Neutron."

"Two!"

"Happy New Year, Vortex."

"One!"

And while everyone surrounding us shouted 'Happy New Year', and put their noisemakers and horns to good use, Neutron and I were already a step ahead as he slid his hands onto my hips to pull me closer while I wrapped my arms around his neck. We then met for a long anticipated, by both parties, kiss.

I wouldn't have asked for it in any other way.

It was perfect.

I hope everyone had a great 2013 and I wish you all happiness and love for 2014 and the years beyond. Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a review if you can. I love reading them! Happy New Year!