1Secrets by nancy nickerson (original title Still Sweet Sixteen, but I changed at the last second)

Story Summary: Nancy, Frank, and Joe solve the murder of one of Nancy's best friends while Frank and Joe visit River Heights. Nancy discovers a huge secret about herself when a mysterious stranger shows up. This takes place about 5 months after my first story, The Meeting. This will probably be around 20 chapters long.

New Characters: Jake and Troy (Nancy's cousins, Jamie's two sons) ; Laila Nickerson (Ned's 17 year old sister, one of Nancy's best friends) ; Sarah Calfur (Troy's girlfriend, one of Nancy's other friends) ; Alisa Johnson (you'll have to wait to find out who she is) ;mysterious stranger who you will have to wait to find out about ( : More new characters could show up at any time.

Disclaimer: Everyone except the new characters I introduce are not mine. Trust me.

A/N: Here's my new story! Told you it'd be up before the new year. I've always thought it was kind of weird that Nancy didn't have any relatives other than Aunt Eloise...I mean, even though Elizabeth died, she still had to see her family, right? I also thought it was strange that the only real friends she had were Bess, George, and Ned. So I decided to give her more friends and relatives, who you can count on showing up in all of my stories. I also decided to give her a part time job. Also, to those of you who haven't read my first story, The Meeting, it might help you clear up some things if you did. Wow, this is like a page of opening remarks! Whatever, enjoy!

Chapter 1

Visiting

"Okay guys, I have to go pick up Frank and Joe at the airport now," 17 year old Nancy Drew said to three of her best friends, Bess Marvin, George Fayne, and Laila Nickerson. The four had slept over Bess' house Friday night and now Nancy had to leave to pick up 17 year old Frank and 16 year old Joe Hardy, who were visiting River Heights, Illinois, from Bayport, New York. The three had met when Nancy was an exchange student and had solved a mystery concerning Nancy, who was being stalked, and her mother, who had been murdered 14 years before. Nancy had visited them in Bayport since then, but this was the first time they were visiting her and she couldn't wait.

"K," George said. "Are we all still coming over to your house tonight to watch movies?"

"Yup," Nancy confirmed.

"Oh, guys," Laila interrupted. "I can't make in tonight, I've got a date, but Ned got back early from college for the summer yesterday, so he told me to tell you all that he's coming, too. And one of his friends from college is coming over, too."

"Who is he?" Bess asked.

"Not sure," Laila said. "Ned just told me to tell you that one of his friends is coming too. I guess you guys will meet him tonight, and I'll probably be meeting him eventually."

"Great!" Nancy said, looking at her watch. "I'll see you all later, but I really have to go," she said, grabbing her bag and running out the door.

"Bye!" the girls chorused.

Nancy jumped into her blue Mustang convertible and drove toward the River Heights airport, thinking about all the things the she and the Hardys would do while they were in town. She would have to show them all the hangouts, Chicago, restaurants, her dad's office, the place where she worked, and, much as she hated to go there during the summer, her high school.

As she turned into the airport parking lot, she thought more about school. She couldn't believe she was a senior this year! She was actually the youngest of her friends, since she had a summer birthday, and should only be going into 11th grade this year, but she had started school a year early. She didn't know if she would go to college yet, but it was definitely a possibility. Maybe she would join the police force, or even open a private detective agency. That would be cool- except for the fact that her father would probably want her to go to college.

She was driving around, looking for a spot, when she saw Frank and Joe waiting at the entrance. She glanced at the clock and saw that she was 15 minutes late.

"Hey guys," she said, pulling up in a parking spot that she saw just a few feet away from the exit. She climbed out, went over to them, and hugged them both. "Welcome to River Heights!"

"Hey Nancy," Frank said. "It's great to be here."

"Yeah," Joe agreed. "We came outside thinking it might be easier to find you out here."

"You were right, too," Nancy said, leading them to her car and opening the trunk so that they could put their bags in. "We'd better get going, because we have a lot to do before tonight."

"What's tonight?" Joe asked, climbing into the backseat while Frank got in the front.

"And what do we have to do before then?" Frank asked.

"Well," Nancy said, starting her car and pulling away. "I'm going to take you on a little sightseeing, just to some local places, and then everyone's coming over to my house for movie night."

"Who's everyone?" Frank asked.

"Bess and George, I've told you about them before, maybe my neighbor Nikki, but I'm not sure, because she thought her aunt and uncle may be getting into town today. Um, Laila, my other best friend, can't come because she's got a date, my cousins, Jake and Troy, Ned, and he's bringing some guy from his college who's visiting, or so Laila's told me." Nancy named the people as she put in a CD.

When Joe heard the music, he grimaced. "Shania? You listen to country?"

"On occasion," Nancy said, grinning. "And you'd better learn to like it, because Laila is addicted to it, and whenever she's at my house, she's gonna be listening to it."

"Great," Frank said sarcastically. "Just great."

"Okay then, what do you guys listen to? And just so you know, I don't listen to it all the time. I listen to other things a lot more."

"We listen to everything but country," Joe said.

"Oh, so you guys listen to opera then?" Nancy asked. Frank and Joe just rolled their eyes. Just then, Nancy pulled up in front of an office building. "Here we are," she announced, pulling up in an empty slot.

"Here?" Frank asked.

"My dad's law firm," Nancy said, pointing to a sign reading 'Drew Law Offices.' "I work here sometimes when my dad gets overloaded with cases- along with my other job, at Sam's."

"What is Sam's?" Joe asked.

"It's just kind of a hangout," Nancy said. "It's also a restaurant, but a lot of people go there for dancing, too," she explained while signing in the register at the front desk. "We can go see Dad right away," she said, leading them to an elevator.

"This is my office," she said, opening a door on the second floor.

"You have your own office?" Frank asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes I come here after school to do homework. Or if I have a research project, I research in the firm's huge library on the third floor, and then get all my notes together in here. I'm just altogether here a lot. My dad got tired of me being in his office all the time, so he gave me my own. I decorated it myself."

The chairs had black cushions with red pillows that went with the red walls. A glass-topped desk sat at one end. On it was a charger for a cell phone, a mug full of pens and pencils, a desk lamp, and a clear space, probably for a laptop. Posters of various singers and bands were up on the walls.

"Let's go introduce you to my dad," Nancy said, leading them just down the hall to her father's office. She tapped on the closed door twice.

"Who is it?" her father's voice came out through the door.

"Me, dad," Nancy replied.

"Come on in," Carson Drew told her.

"Hey Dad," she greeted walking over to give him a hug. "Dad, I want you to meet Frank and Joe Hardy. Frank and Joe, this is my dad, Carson Drew."

"Nice to meet you," Frank and Joe said, each shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Mr. Drew said. "Nancy has told me so much about both of you, it's great to finally meet you."

Frank looked around the office. On the desk was a picture of a younger Mr. Drew, with a little girl, probably Nancy, about 3. A woman with blue eyes and blonde hair was also in the picture. "Is that your mom?" he asked, pointing to the picture.

"Yes," Nancy said smiling. "6 months before she died," she said, her smile fading. When she had just gotten to Bayport, Nancy and the Hardys had solved a case, and in the process of doing so, found her mother's real murderer. It had been hard on her and her dad, with the new trials that were taking place, more publicity, and just the overall pain of Elizabeth's death being brought up again.

"You look just like her," Joe complimented, comparing the picture of Elizabeth Drew to Nancy."

"I tell her that all the time," Mr. Drew said. "Except for her hair. Who knows where she got that from. Now I've got to get to court, so you three can go to Nancy's office or something."

"Actually, Dad," Nancy said. "I was going to take them to Sam's then run by Blockbuster to get some movies for movie night, and then go home."

"Okay then. I'll see you around 10, I've got a late business dinner."

"K," Nancy said walking out to the elevator. When the elevator stopped at the first floor, they got out. Carson went to his car, and Nancy, Frank, and Joe went to her car and drove off into the light afternoon traffic.

A/N: Well here's chapter 1! I know the ending isn't so great, but I couldn't figure out how to put a cliffhanger in the first chapter when the case isn't even introduced until chapter 2. Plus I just wanted to give you all a sense of what was going on. I know, I know, I told some of you it wouldn't be up until tomorrow, but I'm not gonna have a chance tomorrow, so I figured you all wouldn't mind if it was a day early! I've given up Quote of the Day and am now moving on to NASCAR fact of the day. I love NASCAR, it's my favorite sport.

NASCAR Fact of the Day: The first Daytona 500 was held on Daytona Beach, Florida on February 22, 1959. 39 NASCAR Grand Nationals and 20 Convertibles started the race, with 41,921 spectators looking on. #73 Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, but spectators closest to the finish line said that #42, Lee Petty had won. NASCAR president Bill France said the film would have to be studied, and more evidence came that showed Petty was the winner. On Wednesday, February 25, 61 hours after the race had ended, photos came in, and Lee Petty was declared the official winner!

REVIEW! XOXO Lillie