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by Mooηy

{Chapter 1}

There was a shift.

Nancy could feel her weight shift off of the jet bridge onto the solid structure of the plane, her heart always leaping as her eyes glance at the distance between her and the solid pavement feet below her. One would guess that she would be used to air travel by now, but her heart always felt more secure in a train or taxi. She shuffled her passport and I.D. into her shoulder bag, feeling empty without any kind of suitcase. Hers was lost in her previous adventure, and she thought with regret of her photo album she'd lost with it. She drifted through the herd of passengers and shrugged herself into her seat, wishing she had a sweater for the chilly airplane ride ahead of her. She thought of the cold recycled air that would surround her in this metal tube for the next however many hours, and she fought to unclench her stomach.

Her eyes drifted towards her ticket as she took a slow breath. Bayport. She was on her way home. Home—another word that made her stomach drop. She hadn't been home it what felt like years. She'd been traveling the world, and having the time of her life. She was reminded of her last argument with Ned. He never liked her traveling to foreign places or doing her detective work. She remembers a time when their lives were so similar—they had the same group of friends, they were both in school… Now, everything is so different. He used to be all right with her mysteries, but she wasn't that little girl from River Heights who liked puzzles, anymore. Now she was a woman, and a detective. People relied on her, gave her responsibilities. She is no longer dependent on her father, and she didn't go to college. Ned's life is in such a nice box; he has a great summer job with his family, he is in school, he is on the football team, he is good looking…

Her stomach clenched as she felt a hard knot of guilt rise up in her throat. Ned was such an amazing person, and amazing boyfriend, and her life is going down a different path than his. She tried to imagine giving up being a detective to get married in Mapleton and living in one town for the rest of her life—the biggest mystery being what her husband Ned might want for supper. She shook her head and changed her glance towards the window beside her, watching the men load the passenger's bags under the lights of the airport, the dark air dangerously surrounding the safety of their glowing spotlights. She is in her twenties now, and marriage felt like it was just around the corner. Why wouldn't it be? She'd been with Ned forever. He became a constant in her life just like her dog Togo was. She never questioned it. He was just always there. They never had any real enough problems to threaten their relationship, so they were always together. Was her heart still in it? She remembered the argument they had during her last case. She was staying in a beautiful castle in Germany, and all he could think about was how he was left out of her life. And she agreed. He was. He didn't have room in it, anymore. He tried, because he is sweet, but the encouraging remarks she left him felt dead in her heart. The guilt was killing her.

But was the guilt she had only over the distance she'd put between them? The hesitation in Frank's voice rang in her head, and she jumped in her seat, feeling a jolt of anger. She would not allow herself to think of Frank. She'd already reprimanded herself for avoiding around telling Ned how much she and Frank spoke on the phone. How he was the one she called before she got on the airplane. How he was the one picking her up today at the airport…

Not that that could be avoided. The closest airport to River Heights, which was not even large enough to be considered a city, was in Bayport. Where Frank and Joe Hardy lived. It just made sense. And they were friends, why shouldn't Frank be allowed to pick her up? She began arguing with Ned in her head about why Frank has every right to be her best friend. They were both detectives. Frank was caring, sweet, and intelligent. He helps her on most of her cases. And he is nice to pick her up. They are nice—They are nice to pick her up. Joe will come, of course. Her stomach twisted again as she attempted to stop thinking about Frank, and the way his smile dimples when he looks at her, always with a hint of sadness in his eyes. Ugh. She never has these problems. She isn't a girly girl. She isn't "boy crazy". That is Bess's job. Bess..

"Sure, Nan, Ned is nice. I'm not saying he isn't. I'm just asking if you still feel the same."

"Why wouldn't I feel the same? You are so boy crazy, Bess, you just can't imagine a girl settling down with one guy and actually being happy." Nancy's cheeks were red and her heart was pumping in her ears at the stress of fighting with her best friend.

"Well, Gee, I'm sorry Nancy, that I'm just looking out for your best interests. There are a lot of nice guys out there. Does that mean you love them? What do you and Ned have in common? You loved him when you were young. You're in a different place, now."

"Why do you care? If I'm happy?"

"Are you Nan? When have you ever talked about Ned? Sighed over Ned? Are you even excited to see him? This is your weekend off, and here you are in River Heights with me again, letting him down once more for a date. Why? Why would you prefer to go to the movies with us over a date with Ned? I was just curious, that's all."

Nancy closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing down to a normal pace. "You guys are a lot of fun. Besides, Frank and Joe are in town. I can always see Ned later."

"Oh, the Hardy Boys are in town, of course…"

A sudden "Bing!" broke Nancy from her thoughts, and the stewardess's voice began to ring about her head. She shifted under her seatbelt as she tucked her belongings under her seat, removing her CD player and placing it in her lap. Her fingers itched to blast the music in her ears as soon as they were in the air, flushing any thoughts out of her mind. Airplane rides always gave her too much time to think, too little distraction, not enough moving around. Too much quiet.

She hated airplanes.