Title: Faithfully
Genre: Humor, Hurt/Comfort
Release Date: August 2009
Characters: Nick, Macy, Joe, Stella
Links: www. youtube. com/ watch?v=rj_jhmPMgI, www. youtube. com/ watch?v=5LFaO61b_74
Synopsis:
"I always thought you would be waiting for me, Macy. What happened to the girl who supposedly loved me?"
A Lucas brother is getting married to JONAS's number one super fan. Much to Nick's dismay, it is NOT him. On the day of the wedding, with only minutes to spare before the ceremony begins, Nick confronts Macy. Yet his hope for a happily ever after may jeopardize his brother's own happy ending and sever the fraternal bond they share.
Disclaimer: Oh the amazing things I would do to the JONAS storyline if I owned it. Alas, I do not. Also, you may recognize some allusions. One such allusion is the definition on true love Macy gives to Nick, which is the words the priest says to Frederick in Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms.I would like to make note that there is a slight reference to thiscoffeeshop's Trophy Wife, which sort of helped provide the basis behind Kevin and Macy's marriage-like relationship in this fic. thiscoffeeshop has several entertaining fics posted under the JONAS fandom. Go read them after you R&R this one. =]
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1
o.~.o.~Waiting in Vain~.o.~.o
If there was anything useful Macy's grandmother taught her, aside from her matrimonial duties and what to expect from her husband on their honeymoon, it was always to believe in signs. "There are signs everywhere," Lola would say in Tagalog. "Signs He will send you to assure you a miracle is going to happen." Although, Lola could have also meant: "God will send you a sign that a baby is on the way."
Macy's understanding was blurred due to one (if not all) of the following reasons. She was touched by the fact her grandmother was willing to fly in an airplane to attend her wedding. She was slightly inept in Tagalog-English translation. She was too horrified by the intimate images Lola described. Macy was never clear on the type of miracle her grandmother said.
"I prefer the generalized miracle," Macy told her reflection in the oval mirror on the cherry wooden vanity. "One that does not necessarily include a baby, at least not at this time."
Pum pum pum "Who is it?" she asked. A muffled answer came from the other side of the door. "Come in," said Macy.
She glanced at the upper right hand side of the mirror, observing the brooding figure that entered. "If I didn't know any better," she remarked. "I probably would've thought you were upset about me getting married." Macy then laughed at her own joke as she swiveled the cushioned stool in his direction and stood up with her arms open to embrace him.
Once Nick's arms made contact with her petite body, he reached a state of nirvana. Sensing that the wonderful feeling of completeness was beginning to dissipate in every inch Macy moved away from him to return to reality, Nick retaliated ever so stubbornly, pulling her closer and savoring the way she was outlined in a pink, sun glow light. Several small clouds took this opportune moment to unite and form a large umbrella over St. Bernard's, blocking the sun's golden rays from peering through the small window of the storage room. A dark shadow suddenly passed over the two. Reluctantly, Nick released Macy when she suggested she turn on a lamp above the black baby grand.
Macy motioned him to sit on the piano bench as she leaned against it. Elevator music already started playing in his head the minute she opened her mouth. The top of her powder blue satin robe threatened to open. Forming coherent sentences was out of the question at the moment for Nick. Macy titled her head to the side, wondering why he suddenly had the inability to speak.
"Nick, are you okay? I asked you, 'What's up?' Does it have anything to do with the fact you're going to be standing in front of 75 guests while wearing a ridiculous tuxedo? Or, are you still mad that Frankie got to be Kevin's best man?"
The elevator music came to a screeching halt. Kevin! Right, the lucky groom, he thought bitterly. His concentration on the annoying robe and what lied beneath there was immediately broken by the sound of his eldest brother's name.
"Yeah, well, I have every right to be upset," Nick muttered bluntly. Her eyes widened. He attempted to change his harsh tone. "I mean, look at me." Nick picked at the frilly dress shirt he was wearing. "Ruffles! I think I committed a crime against nature," he amended.
"Ha ha," she laughed, propping her left arm so her chin could rest on her palm. "Stella is probably mortified by Kevin's taste in tuxedos. It looks like you all traveled to the present from the '70s! What can I say though? A bet is a bet; he won fair in square."
Nick raised an eyebrow at this new revelation. "You mean I could have worn something else?"
Macy quickly backtracked. "Hehe, uh, what about those Nets?"
"It's not basketball season, Macy," he replied flatly.
She crossed her arms and walked back to the vanity. After a minute, Macy eventually confessed, "We flipped a coin. If the quarter landed on heads, the groomsmen would wear white barongs and black slacks. However, if the quarter landed on tails, the groomsmen would have to wear what Kevin wanted. It could have been worse, you know."
"What's worse than an outfit that gives Stella, fashion stylist extraordinaire, a coronary?"
She replied, "The wedding party could have cross-dressed. It was Kevin's idea: groomsmen don gowns while the bridesmaids don tuxedos."
I would have gone through with the idea too if it didn't anger my side of the family though. They are really conservative when it comes to weddings. Everything- the church, the ceremony, the attire- has to go according to tradition. I convinced Kevin to choose something else, which just so happened to be black, ruffled, frilly Austin Powers rockin' tuxedos."
He swallowed with difficulty before admitting, "Family is…important."
She smiled at him, explaining. "Lola, for example, is past the age where traveling to another country is acceptable. She should be taking it easy yet she doesn't. Stubborn, old woman that she is doesn't care because she wants to lay the foundation for our family's happiness. She wants to be assured that everyone is taken care of after she's gone. The only way she can get that reassurance is to see her children get married, have children, pass on traditions she helped prolong, or anything her ancient heart desires. She sacrificed so much for our family."
Family is really a form of Love, and without them we have nothing. I don't mind submitting to some of their requests now and then. They've done so much for me, Nick, I should do the same."
Nick nodded in understanding. He felt a pang in his chest as she said, "Family is important. Honestly, I'm honored to be joining your wonderful, loving family."
Nick could not decide whether he should feel guilty or mad for thinking otherwise. I love Kevin. He's my brother. He has looked out for me and vice versa. I can't do this to him, especially on his wedding day. Why does she have to be marrying my brother? His right index finger and thumb pinched the bridge of his nose. Stupid, decrepit old woman with tattooed eyebrows and long black hair for giving Macy ideas. Of course, family is important. Why do you think I have a problem telling my possible future sister-in-law that I—
A loud clatter of silver and shouts interrupted Nick's thoughts.
"Joseph, give me back my bouquet!" Stella cried.
"Joseph, give me back my bouquet!" Joe parroted in an exact squeal.
Lola is right about signs. Surely, Stella will see through Joe's juvenile tactics as a way to get her attention. After all, Joe admitted four years ago a boy is only mean to a girl because he likes her.
"I'm wearing heels!"
Nick and Macy heard a crash coming from the other side of the door. Macy sighed. Those two will never get old.
Nick noticed Macy look at the clock's reflection through the mirror. The ceremony was going to start soon, and he had not even confessed to Macy yet.
Macy realized she was going to marry Kevin of JONAS, Kevin of school, her former classmate at HMA, Kevin Lucas, son of Tom and Sandy Lucas, eldest brother to Joe, Nick, and Frankie, just Kevin…in a matter of twenty minutes.
Thump thump
Her heart rate sped up. She looked at the clock again. Thump thump She felt hot all of a sudden. She figured blowing at her bangs, pulling back her curled hair, and trying to air out the back of her neck would relieve the sudden rise in temperature. Her slip became sticky underneath the powdered blue robe. Macy wiped her sweaty brow. "Hey, Nick? Can you help me into my wedding dress?"
Before he could give an answer, Macy ran behind a screen and dropped her robe. Nick eyes followed the shadow. "It's hard to get into this Stella-Kevin original," she mentioned casually. He snorted. "Hey, hey, hey. Everyone has questionable aspirations. You said you worked on Broadway and possibly consider doing it again in the near future. So you definitely have no right to judge, Mr. Nick of JONAS. Just because Kevin likes designing clothes, especially women's, does not mean what I know you are thinking but you just don't want to say what I know you are thinking because you know I know."
"Are you finished?" he asked flatly.
The minute Macy stepped away from the dressing screen and into his line of vision, Nick found it hard to breathe as he praised her. "Y-you look beautiful."
"Just for today," she winked as she grabbed hold of the thick princess ball gown train to walk toward him. Macy turned her back to him, admiring how the organza fabric felt beneath her fingers. Meanwhile, Nick tried to restrain himself from touching her caramel shoulders and the arch along her back line inappropriately. There goes the elevator music again. Macy was clueless, rambling about something or other. Oh, that's right the wedding dress. Nick sort of tuned Macy out as he scanned every caramel curve on the dorsal side of her body. "Usually Stella would help, but she seems to be busy at the moment. Remind me to sic some fan girls on Joe later." Nick remained silent at the piano bench, occasionally tightening and loosening his grip on the sides. "Nick, hey, what's wrong?"
Nick's nimble fingers instantly connected with any musical material. When it came to Macy and her wedding dress, he became nervous. Nick's fingers shook as he slowly zipped the white zipper and placed the white cord into the proper loops of the gown. He managed to muster, "Just thinking."
"Oh, about what?"
You.
"About Frankie," Nick lied, slowly drawing out the "a" in his little brother's name. "I'm three IQ points shy of a genius. How do I lose to a twelve-year-old?"
"You and Joe put up a good fight in the competition," Macy offered. "Firstly, the chocolate covered taco eating contest was a curve ball. I mean, there is just so much chocolate and beef a person could eat! What I don't understand is why Joe stopped after two tacos though. Nevertheless, you pulled through in the following event, Kevin's lucky boot edition of find the needle in the pile of woodland creature stuffed animals. Kevin has so many adorable stuffed animals!"
Nick looked at her incredulously. "I finally lost to Frankie in hide-and-seek."
"I know!" Macy gasped. "How could Big Man fit in the Stellavator?"
"Anyway, there should be no competition," he stated rather haughtily, continuing to work on the back of the gown.
"Ha ha, I think you have on a little too much hair gel. It might be seeping to your roots and to some nerve endings in your brain," she teased.
How can Macy not see what was wrong? He stopped buttoning once he reached the top of the gown. Now or never, he concluded.
Nick ignored her quip and hugged her from behind. Macy was locked in an awkward embrace. "Nick?" she asked worriedly, biting her lip afterward.
"Just let me get this out, okay? Before you say anything to stop me." Nick felt Macy bob her head. "There should be no competition," he repeated. "I'm the reasonable one. I'm the almost genius. I mean, I make sure he doesn't fall out of his bed at night. I give him the prize in the Crunchy Cats box if I'm the one who finds it. I provide most of the material for JONAS songs. I—"
"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia," she interrupted playfully.
"Macy, I'm being serious!"
She pouted, "Sorry. Go ahead."
"I helped him write a song for you. I suggested he go after you," Nick confessed. Macy had to stop breathing for a few seconds to hear what he said next. "I clearly am the better man," he uttered quietly.
Macy froze when she felt his lips kiss her hair. The stickiness from her curled hair was gone. The sweat from her brow was gone. She felt cold. She felt dirty and small. She suddenly felt trapped.
She gulped nervously before breaking the ice. "You're, uh, not talking about Frankie, right?"
Nick rolled his eyes and scoffed, "No."
"Look, Nick—"
That was his cue to release her. The customary I'm-not-into-you tone a guy gets from a girl he likes. "Macy, never mind," he waved off nonchalantly. "Forget I said anything. Okay?"
"No, listen to me," Macy commanded. "I want to know how long and since when. How long have you…?"
"I don't know."
"Are you lying?"
"No."
Macy paced back and forth, occasionally glimpsing at the clock above the door. She stopped pacing to look at him, throwing up her arms. "So you are telling me you, as in Nick Lucas of JONAS likes me, Macy Misa?" She bit her lip.
Nick nodded, curious as to where the conversation was leading. The Macy standing in front of him was different from the girl he knew back in high school. Why is Macy acting this way? Shouldn't she be ecstatic that not one, but TWO JONAS brothers are in love with her?
"You're taking this well," he praised coolly.
She raised her hand to silence him. "You do know the wedding is about to start in seven minutes, right?"
Nick nodded and watched Macy pace again, lugging the heavy gown back and forth. He started to get annoyed. "I always thought you would be waiting for me, Macy. What happened to the girl who supposedly loved me? The girl who would do anything to get her hands on Nick of JONAS?"
She instantly stopped pacing, possibly giving herself whiplash as she quickly turned her head to stare at him agape. "Nick, if you told me this confession of yours when I was a sophomore, I probably— Oh, don't give me that you-can't-be-serious look. Alright, fine, I most likely without a doubt would have been thrilled to return your feelings… In reality, my sixteen-year-old self went through everything, humiliation and all, to get your attention. Whatever attempts I made were futile in the long run. You either tried to avoid me or flaunt some random girl whose name we forget after one week around. You wrote songs about other girls. Yet I'm not sixteen anymore, Nick. I'm twenty-years-old!"
Why didn't you tell me the truth then? There were plenty of chances. Whenever you broke up with a girl, when JONAS was trapped in the thrift store, when Nick, I mean, Randolph asked me out, when I was helping Joe plan Stella's surprise karaoke party, when I stayed at the firehouse temporarily because my house flooded. You even asked me out to the winter dance, but you never said anything mostly because the only thing you felt towards me was pity."
"No, I felt guilty because I asked two girls to the dance. In particular, with you because you are my friend," Nick admitted sadly. "I admit expecting to walk into the gym with two girls at my side and both girls being okay with it was pretty foolish."
"Aw, Nick of JONAS felt guilty for me," she sighed dreamily.
"You are more touched by that confession instead of the one where I admitted to loving you?" he asked incredulously.
She nodded. "Of course, since that was the truth."
"What?"
"Nick, you don't really love me. Like and Love are independent of one another. It may seem like the two events have an association, but they aren't actually dependent. Like is just a euphemism for crush, fancy, or fondness. Love is so much stronger than that. Love is absolute, eternal, kind, patient, and sacrifice. When you say you truly love someone, you have to really mean it. For instance, Stella might say she loves her cell phone—"
"Really, you are going to use Stella as an example?"
"Right, bad example. Okay, remember that time when all of you 'loved' Picarillo's pizza? You all said you all 'loved' that poor excuse for a New Jersey pizza pie because you all were 'in love with' Maria. The moment she walked out the firehouse door, claiming JONAS was creepy, you all stopped 'loving' that nasty pizza and the 'cute' pizza girl who delivered it."
"Why'd you put air quotes around cute?"
"Hello? Kevin thought that horrible girl was cute. He was seduced under false pretenses. Anyway, do you understand now, Nick? If you all really loved that disgusting pizza and girl you would have done everything in your power to stop her from leaving, waited for her, sacrificed your life, something that indicated love was truly there. But—"
"We didn't," he finished for her, "It was Like the whole time."
"Just like it is now. When I asked how long you loved me, you said you didn't know. When I asked you if you liked me, you said 'yes.' Nick, you didn't even correct me. When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve. The little things really mean something when it concerns Love like dates, images, memories, gestures, preferences, and I could go on. Sorry, Nick, you're just too quick to judge when it comes to matters of the heart. You fall too quickly."
"So I've been told," he replied dully. "I do love you though."
Macy laughed at his ignorance as she walked to the window. "Really? What's my favorite sport to play?" Nick assumed she leaned forward to take in the beautiful scenery of the garden outside. The clouds took this opportune moment to abandon its job as a large umbrella to part ways with the sun. The sun's rays returned to kiss Macy's caramel skin, eliciting a pink, sun glow outline once again. In actuality, she thought she saw a hooded figure with a camera. Strange, nobody is out there.
Out of the corner of her right eye, Macy saw Nick pause to think about her question. The shocked expression on his face was a good sign.
Nick did not know. Macy played a great number of sports, that he knew. How could he pinpoint one sport though? He was about to retort, "How should I know?" However, he saw Macy smirk as he made his own revelation.
"Kevin knows."
"That's obvious," Nick muttered. "According to you and Hemingway, Love, preferences, and sacrifice go hand in hand. Clearly, Kevin loves you since everyday he risks bodily harm whenever he is in your presence. "
She narrowed her eyes and turned to him. "I have matured, thank you very much. Even though I just so happen to be clumsy around him, everything works out in the end. My kisses have healing powers." He raised an eyebrow. "It's true; the bruises go away instantly. Besides, I am over my JONAS fan girl obsessing tendencies. Making signs for JONAS concerts and screaming at said concerts are my way of supporting my fiancé who happens to be in the band, okay?"
Nick joined Macy at the window, carefully avoiding her long train. "I do feel something for you, Macy. It may not be Love, it's something though."
"Jealousy and lust are always plausible reasons."
"Why is that?"
"You lust after what you can't have. Perhaps you think I'm your ticket to a happily ever after. Maybe you want to experience success in love because you see Kevin experiencing his fairy tale ending with me. Maybe you want that stability in your life too so you associate me with love and vie for my affections."
"Or maybe my hormones are wacky, thus blowing the crush I have on you out of proportion," Nick offered
Macy shrugged. "That works too."
Nick raised his black cuff to glance at his watch. "It's about time we head on out."
"Right. Time to get married!" she clapped excitedly. Macy patted the window three times for good luck, then glided to the storage room door, quickly grabbing the bouquet off the vanity.
As Macy's hand reached to turn the brass knob, Stella burst into the room. Lines from an Etch-a-Sketch were no match for the lines of worry that marred Stella's round face. She reached out to Macy. "I'm sorry, Macy, Kevin's missing. It's been three hours since we all left the firehouse, and Kevin's still not here. We've tried several times to reach him on his mobile and he still hasn't answered…I think it's a no show." Macy stared blankly at the painting outside the door as she stood still in Stella's awkward hug, with her arms at her sides and her bouquet of yellow asters on the tiled floor forgotten.