Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS.

A/N: Happy Birthday Beth! I asked Poet on the Run what story she wanted as a birthday present, and she said a Macy/Van Dyke friendship story. So here it is. I apologize for the quality – stupid real life. But I hope you enjoy it anyway! I am so happy I've gotten to know you through PHM!

They were gone.

The boys had left on their world tour, Stella was off at her amazing internship, and Macy was at home with a long, lonely summer stretching in front of her. She had known that it would be tough when they left, but she hadn't expected to feel quite this depressed. Sighing, she realized she could sit in her room moping all summer, or she could get up and do something productive.

Sitting and moping was very tempting, but it was also weak and pathetic. And Macy didn't want to be either of those things, so she sighed once more for good measure, got up and got dressed.

But then she realized she had no idea what to do with herself.

She didn't have an amazing internship or a world tour this summer – all she had was a part-time job at her mom's store. And it wasn't even her day to work. She could watch television or update her JONAS site, but she was pretty sure no one wanted to hear her whine about not being on tour with the boys, which is pretty much all she could think of to say about them right then.

There were always sports. Summer was great for sports – swimming, boating, biking, tennis…

Grimacing, she remembered the lecture she had received from her tennis coach on the last day of school; something about needing to show dedication to the sport if she wanted to make varsity next year, which she totally did. If she made tennis then she was a shoe-in to break the current record for most varsity sports in a year by a student at Horace Mantis. Glancing at the clock on her wall, she figured she could hit a few tennis balls before it got too hot.

"What do you mean I can't practice?" Macy asked incredulously. "During the season I come over twice a week and hit balls."

The tennis pro shrugged, "Sorry Macy, but it's summer. We've got tennis camps and leagues going. If you want to get a court, you'll need to find someone to play with you and put your name on a waiting list over there."

Macy gritted her teeth and took several deep breaths. Tennis was supposed to cheer her up and distract her from the fact that she was alone and friendless for the summer, not make her feel like an even bigger looser. "But Mitch, I don't have anyone to play with and Coach told me to work on my game this summer. How can I do that if you won't give me a court?"

"You're a good player. I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding someone to play with you."

"I'll totally play with her," a slightly smarmy voice said from behind her. "She's hot."

Macy couldn't even see the guy, and she could tell from the tone of his voice that he was checking out her ass. Just when she thought her day couldn't get any worse, some Neanderthal had to come along and prove her wrong. What kind of guy said something like that? Narrowing her eyes, Macy whipped around, ready to tell the sleaze ball in question exactly what she thought of his suggestive tone and idiotic comment, but she froze when she saw who it was.

Van Dyke Tosh?

She wasn't sure which one of them was more surprised. From the shocked look on his face, he obviously hadn't realized it was her.

"Girl-dude?" He stammered out, his face turning a bright shade of pink. She couldn't prove it, but she suspected from his slightly panicked look that he was thinking of the time she flipped the football team's defensive back during a self-defense demonstration.

"Tosh," she answered icily.

Mitch smirked as he asked, "You two know each other."

"We go to the same school," Van Dyke replied. "She's a little scary," he added in a bad stage whisper.

"I struck him out eleven times in one game," Macy added.

"Perfect!" Mitch said. "Then you obviously need a rematch."

"It was baseball, not tennis," Macy pointed out. "Plus he just hit on me and insulted me in less than a minute." The last thing she wanted to do was spend her afternoon playing tennis with her airheaded, sexist schoolmate.

"But the guy could obviously use a chance to reclaim his masculinity or dignity or something," the tennis pro said quickly, handing Macy her racket. "Or maybe you could teach him some manners. Either way, he solves your problem. Now you have someone to place with. Why don't you take that court right over there." He point off into the distance before turning and hurrying away.

"I think he was trying to get rid of me," Macy said suspiciously.

"I think he just called me a girl," Van Dyke added, sounding offended.

"Whatever," she said grumpily. "Let's just go play and get this over with."

"Geez," Van Dyke said, holding up his hands defensively. "You don't have to sound so excited. If you don't want to play with me, just say so."

She felt a tiny bit guilty about being so grumpy with him; it wasn't his fault she was having a bad day. Sure he was dumb as a board and was a bit of a player, but she supposed he wasn't actually a bad guy. He had even paid for her meat after Joe and Stella's sword fight during the infamous double date.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I'm just having a bad day."

"What's wrong?"

She should have just brushed off his question; she barely knew the guy, and he had never seemed to be particularly good at listening to people. But she desperately wanted to complain to someone, and he was there so she said bitterly, "My friends all left to do fun, exciting things this summer, and I'm stuck here."

"That sucks."

She blinked in surprise. He sounded like he meant it. "It really does," she replied.

He looked down at her intently. "Well, how about we head over to the court. I'm not that good, so maybe demolishing me at another sport will make you feel better."

Macy cracked a smile. "That does sound good," she admitted. Grabbing her bag, she started over towards the far court. As Van Dyke fell into step next to her, she glanced over at him. "It's Macy."

"Huh?"

"My name. It's not girl-dude – it's Macy."

"Oh," he said, obviously catching on to her point. "Macy. Got it."

"And you should probably not walk up to random girls and announce they're hot. It's sort of offensive."

"Really?" Macy rolled her eyes at the genuine surprise in his voice. "I thought girls dug that sort of thing."

"Not so much."

"Good to know," he replied, and she had to bit her lip to keep from laughing; he actually did sound thankful for the advice. "That would probably explain why that senior slapped me last week when I told her she was a sweet piece of eye candy."

"Probably."

As they arrived at the court, Van Dyke looked over at her, "You know, I'm playing in a summer softball league. We could use a good pitcher if you're interested."

Macy's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"If you have some free time," he said. "It would be nice to have your arm working for me instead of against me. You have the meanest fastball ever!"

Macy smiled at him. He may be a total idiot, but he could be sort of sweet. "That sounds great," she replied.

Maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad after all.