A Cindy-rella Story

Chapter 2: Movie Night

"Vortex?"

She rolled her eyes "you know Neutron most people answer with hello"

"Fine" he spoke in a fake tone one would use for customer service, "why hello Cindy what a pleasant surprise! What can I do for you on this fine evening?" he dropped the tone and returned to normal, "Better?"

"Yeah I can do without the sarcasm, but I was wondering if you wanted to like come over and hang out? My dad is working late again and I'd rather not spend a Friday night doing nothing by myself, plus I figured we could get pizza or something" she obviously wouldn't tell him this, but she was actually nervous he was going to say no.

"Sure, but would you mind coming to the lab instead? I was sort of in the middle of something when you called"

She sighed in relief, but not loud enough for him to hear. "Yeah sure that's fine, I'll be over in a minute"

"Okay see you in a few then, bye"

"Bye" she ended the call and went upstairs to her room to get ready.

She wasn't entirely sure what to wear, it's not like they were going on a date or anything yet at the same time she also wanted to look cute and attractive in his eyes. She finally settled on a pair of jean shorts and a flowy lavender tank top, she thought about grabbing her sweater but figured she'd be fine since Texas was warm even in October plus it was only across the street. She also decided to keep her hair down, he had actually told her once he liked it when it was down. So with that she walked down the stairs, out her front door, and across the street to the Neutrons backyard.

She walked up to the clubhouse door "Neutron I'm here let me in!" she was expecting the doormat to give way like it always used to but instead the door simply opened, so she blinked and walked inside. She saw nothing out of the ordinary, to her it looked like a regular small shed one would keep outside equipment in.

"Um Jimmy?" she wasn't sure if he could actually see or hear her, but apparently he had because part of the floor suddenly opened to reveal a staircase. She shrugged and walked down the stairs into the lab. As she entered the lab she realized how long it had been since she'd been there, once they started middle school it seemed like the adventures they all used to have stopped. Of course they were all still friends, but it seemed like life had gotten in the way and they all became too busy in their separate lives to do all the crazy things they used to as kids. As she looked around she noticed some additional rooms had been added; a small study with a computer and bookshelf full of every resource you could need, a bathroom, a tiny kitchen with a mini fridge and microwave, a lounge area with a TV and a love seat, and a small bedroom with only a single bed and side table with a lamp. The room she entered from the stairs was the catwalk that led to the main part of the lab, she decided to check that first to see if he was there.

"Neutron are you in here?"

"Yeah over here" he was currently standing in front a long table with a few tools spread out in front of him.

She walked over to him and noticed Goddard was on the table, but he didn't seem to be on and that actually concerned her "so what are you doing anyways? Is Goddard okay?"

He chuckled and continued working then answered without looking at her, "I'm glad you're concerned but don't worry he's fine, I'm just giving him a tune up"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "didn't that not go well last time?"

"Okay first of all I have done plenty of tune ups and they all go just fine, and secondly I know which time you are referring to and I'm confident that Timmy Turner isn't going to come bursting in here and nearly kill my dog this time" he was silent for a minute and then added "I still don't understand what you ever saw in that idiot" he tried to make it sound like a joke but something in his tone made her look at him seriously. Was that jealousy she detected? She had known back in the day those two boys at least felt something for her, they nearly killed each other for her attention.