This is my very first JONAS story! Thank you for reading it :) We really need our own category on this site...
xx
"I love…I love…" Nick stuttered. He had to do it. He had to tell Macy how he felt. If he didn't, he would explode. She had to know.
"Don't say it, Nick…don't do it!" Macy begged. This is NOT happening…this is NOT happening…
"I have to, Macy! I love Hannah Montana!" Nick buried his face in his hands. He was glad he finally got it out. After years of only listening to Hannah Montana on his iPod when his brothers weren't around, someone could finally know his secret obsession.
The two teenagers were sitting in the Lucas's bedroom, mulling over the new found discovery that, yes, Nick loved Hannah Montana.
"How could you, Nick? She's an embarrassment to the music industry!"
"It's just…her songs are so uplifting! I mean, 'Nobody's Perfect'? 'Who Said'? Macy, she is the number-one self-esteem booster."
Macy shook her head, ashamed of her friend's interest in music. Surely Macy's favorite band member of her favorite band couldn't love HANNAH MONTANA! That was just impossible.
Right?
Obviously not, if he was admitting this to Macy. In his bedroom. On a Friday afternoon in the middle of summer.
"I expected more from you, Nick of JONAS!" Macy said jokingly. She had long gotten over her fan-girl days. It was a relief to…well, everyone. It meant no more physical pain for the Lucas brothers. It also meant no fainting from Macy and Stella could breathe easy instead of being on edge when they were both around the Lucas brothers.
"I just can't help it. It's a guilty pleasure."
"Yeah, I understand. I've had a couple of those." They both laughed a little before falling silent. Nick was laying flat on his back on his bed with Macy sitting to his side Indian style. Nick's arms were bent behind his head as if he were look at clouds, only in Macy's direction. His head was in the clouds just looking at her…no matter how cheesy that sounds.
"Oh really, now? I can't imagine little Macy Misa having any guilty pleasures."
"Everyone has them, Nick!" Macy smiled. When wasn't she smiling? The peppy girl was never without a smile or at least a beaming face.
"I gave you one of mine. You give me one of yours."
"Well, I've always loved pottery. Sometimes I go to the pottery store downtown and they let me make a small clay vase or two."
"There's another one. I just know it. Pottery isn't too big. There's something behind Macy Misa that she isn't telling me…hmm…is it…Mitchell Musso?"
"Mitchell Musso? Why would he be a guilty pleasure?" Macy tried to hide the fact that there was a big guilty pleasure she was keeping from her favorite Lucas brother.
"I don't know, just guessing." He gave her a long hard stare. His purpose was to; of course, get her to fess up to her little secret. It was Macy Misa, and so, of course it worked within seconds.
"Alright—FINE! It's baking and eating MUFFINS!" She slapped her hands over her mouth, eyes widening. Macy had never told anyone of her secret obsession with muffins. Not even Stella! When she wasn't doing something with the JONAS fan site or sports, she was doing something with muffins. Baking them, eating them, decorating them…why do you think she made Kevin-head muffins? Because she was obsessed with muffins.
"Muffins? Macy Misa makes MUFFINS? How could you?" Nick feigned anger. It wasn't often that Macy got to see him so relaxed, so she played along.
"I know, I know! It's just…so…addicting." She gasped, as if giving away her deepest secret. She collapsed on top of Nick.
"There's only one thing to do." Nick shook his head, faking shame. Macy sat up, alert and wondering what was going on in that mind of Nick's.
"And what's that?" She leaned forward, her elbow on her knee and her chin resting on her knuckles. She narrowed her eyes playfully.
"Bake some more muffins." Nick whispered, like it was a big secret. Muffin making? Nick? Well, only because it was with Macy. He would never go near the stove when Joe and Kevin were involved. Not since the whole home video incident. But seriously, who's never heard of a colander?
Macy gasped. "Nick Lucas is asking me to bake muffins with him? What an honor!" Macy wiped away invisible tears and stood up. She offered her hand to Nick.
"Let's go make some muffins!"
xx
Two hours later, Nick and Macy were sitting on the couch upstairs, with a large plate of blueberry muffins (sugar-free, of course), and huge smiles on their faces.
"And that's why I never mention koalas around Kevin anymore." Nick finished his story, while Macy laughed giddily. Her mood was light, like she was floating on air. It usually was because she was around Nick a lot lately. Unlike her crazed fan-girl days, the "new" Macy didn't feel awkward or as much like an outsider to their group anymore. It was a nice feeling.
"I'll keep that in mind for future preference." She laughed, and then bit into another muffin. Nick did that little half-smile at her. It's not possible that someone can look so…adorable while eating a muffin. That's just not right. Nick forgot where he was momentarily. "What?"
"What?" Nick was brought out of his reverie by Macy's voice.
"You were staring at me with this weird, far-off look. I thought you were going to pass out." Macy leaned forward and placed a hand on Nick's forehead to check and see if he was feeling okay. She looked concerned. "Are you all right? You've been acting slightly off lately."
It was true. This wasn't the only incident in which Nick had suddenly gone off into his own little world. Oftentimes, it was during lunch or a regular conversation with Macy. She was hardly amused, for it made her feel like he didn't care about their conversations. Whenever she asked Nick about it, he would just distance himself from her for a few hours. Sometimes physically, sometimes not. Most of the time, it included silent treatment.
"I'm fine!" Nick assured with an angry edge. Why did she have to go and act all concerned for him? How was he supposed hang out with her when she keeps acting all…Macy? How was he supposed to hold a conversation with her when she has those eyes and that nose?
Macy on the other hand, was frightened. Nick had begun to pace on the other side of the room, his head in his hands while doing so. She wasn't sure whether to leave or stay. "Nick?"
"What?" He asked into his hands. He had finally stopped pacing, which was a start. Macy had no idea what was up with this sudden outburst anyways. They were just having a light conversation! How had it turned in to this?
"What's going on?" Macy crossed the room and stood in front of him, arms crossed. She had had enough. She was sick of this treatment.
"Nothing, nothing's going on." He ran his hands over his face one last time before settling with just putting them on his hips. "Just another girl." LIES! She's not 'just another girl', you big doofus!
"Oh." Macy's face noticeably fell. At least he was finally letting up and talking to her about it instead of running away. "Who is it?"
"Uhm…I'll tell you later." Nick made a quick escape down one of the fire poles, leaving a very upset Macy behind.
xx
Twenty-five minutes later, Macy finally found Nick.
He was sitting on a swing in a nearby park, looking at the ground. His hands gripped the chains holding him up as he absentmindedly swung lightly back and forth. The sun was beginning to hide behind grey clouds, so Macy figured she'd better hurry and cheer up Nick before it started raining.
"Nick, I don't know what's going on with you, but it's really freaking me out." She sat on the swing next to him. She didn't take her eyes off of him for even a moment.
"I'm sorry, Macy. I'm freaking myself out." He wouldn't look Macy in the eye; he couldn't. "I don't know…I just got kind of freaked out when you asked me who 'the girl' was."
"Why?"
"Because." That was all Nick gave her. He couldn't tell her. No. That would be the worst idea ever. Or maybe not…you never know. His inner voice sing-sang to him. What a jerk.
"Nick. This game of yours is getting old. If you don't want to tell me, just say so!" Macy turned away from him for the first time in five minutes. She looked down at her lap where her hands now rested.
"It's not that." Nick looked out at the playground. As it got darker in the sky due to the clouds, anyone who had been at the playground began to leave. It wasn't like Macy and Nick noticed anyway.
"Then what is it? Because for the past half an hour, I've been thinking up excuse why my best guy friend is suddenly treating me like the plague. You've been distancing yourself from me for WEEKS. What happened?"
"You did."
"What?"
"You happened! All of a sudden you went from this crazy fan-girl—" Macy blushed at this. It was pretty embarrassing to think about her past behavior around the boys. "—to this awesome, cool, fun Macy. What am I supposed to do about that?"
"You could…accept it?" Macy was confused. Was he happy she changed or mad? "Nick, I don't know what you're saying. Are you mad at me for not being obsessed with you anymore?" In any other situation, Macy would have laughed at the insane question. But not now. This afternoon certainly took a turn…
"No! No…it's just, I don't know what to do."
"About what?" The more Nick talked, the more confused Macy got. He wasn't making any sense.
"About you! I mean, all of a sudden, I notice that you're a girl. A really pretty girl." Macy's eyes widened. Is this what I think it is? Is that what this whole thing is about? Nick wasn't one to talk like this. He usually kept everything to himself. He was very reserved. This…this was new.
"And…?" Macy urged. She was definitely curious now.
"And I like you. Like, a lot. And you know those girls I fell too fast for? You're not one of them. I'm falling in slow motion. Every day, I fall a little more, and a little more. It's driving me insane. I thought that maybe if I pulled away a little, we could still be friends without driving me into insanity. It didn't work." Nick put his head in his hands. He was acting on impulse and totally out of character, but he didn't care. If he didn't get it out, it would be like his Hannah Montana obsession all over again.
"Nick, you could've just told me." Macy put her hand on his shoulder.
"It's not as simple as it sounds. Not for me, anyway." Both of them felt drops fall from the sky. Macy looked up to see the storm overhead.
"We better get back to your house if we want to stay dry." Macy stood up and wiped her shorts off. She offered her hand to Nick. "Let's go. And just to let you know…what you're feeling? I'm feeling the exact same thing. Well, not with myself. With you." She smiled and pulled Nick up. He sent her a rare Nick-Smile before they ran home just as the rain began to pour.
xx
They stood at the threshold of the Lucas house. Above, you could hear Joe and Stella fighting (or flirting, whichever way you look at it) and Kevin playing guitar in the background to tune out the "fight". The Lucas parents had taken Frankie to his friend's house for a sleepover and afterwards went out for dinner. So it was just Macy and Nick…alone on the first floor.
They faced each other; hair soaking, faces bright.
"What do we do now?" Macy asked.
"Well, in movies right now they usually kiss."
"You know, I've always liked movies." Macy smiled her bright, happy smile and took a daring step towards Nick.
"Oh, really?" Just as he was about to kiss Macy, Kevin decided to interrupt their little moment.
"Nick! You know how the granny koalas we talked about were supposed to destroy the human race tomo—ohhh I'll be back in…never…bye. Hi, Macy!" Kevin waved then ran back upstairs. "JOE! STELLA! Nick! Macy!" They heard Kevin shout.
"I knew it!" Joe and Stella screamed at the same time. Then a bunch of girly screaming erupted…whether from Joe or Stella or both, they never knew.
"This is where the guy says 'Where were we?'" Macy informed, her voice getting deeper when mimicking a guy.
"And this is where the girl leans in and kisses the boy." So that's what they did. They kissed. And kissed. And kissed….
"We're so cheesy, Nick Lucas." Macy laughed when they separated.
"I like us just that way, Macy Misa."
Meanwhile, Stella was grilling Joe. Aren't they so…Stella and Joe? It was exactly what Nick had hoped to avoid when he first realized his feelings for Macy.
"Why can't you be more like Nick, Joe?"Stella asked. "He's brave and actually admits his feelings!"
"You said you wanted to be just friends! I obviously want to be something more!" Joe answered, bravely. He made sure to puff out his chest. He was too brave! Nick was not braver than Joe…hopefully.
"When a girl says they just want to be friends, it obviously means they want to be more than that!" With each sentence, the two stepped closer together. Just a usual Joe and Stella argument.
"Excuse me for not knowing girl talk!"
"You're excused!"
"Well then, I love you, Stella Malone!" He said with attitude.
"I love you, too, Joseph Lucas!"
Kevin just shook his head. I guess the koalas will have to wait until next week…
xx
BIG BIG thanks to Erickson for being my very first beta :) The granny koalas were mentioned just for you ;D