Love & Lies on Campus

Summary: When someone begins threatening the daughter of a prominent lawyer, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys go undercover as law students to solve the case. Takes place several months after Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

Disclaimer: Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys are not mine. But I love them as though they were my own.

A/N: As promised, here's the next chapter. I forgot to mention in my earlier Author's Notes that I'm more of a character-driven writer than an action-oriented one. So this case is pretty much just a backdrop to get our detectives together and develop Nancy & Frank's relationship. My apologies if the case itself isn't going to be very exciting, but I hope you guys enjoy the story nevertheless. Happy reading!

Chapter 3

Frank Hardy couldn't stop the slow smile that spread across his face when he saw who was with Gillian Blake. "Nancy," he said simply, stepping forward and enveloping her in his arms. She felt so good, and as always, he held her longer than necessary.

It wasn't until Joe cleared his throat that he returned to his senses and released her. Nancy was smiling, her blue eyes sparkling. "It's great to see you too, Frank."

"Ahem," Joe repeated meaningfully, and Nancy turned to him. "You too, Joe," she added with a laugh as she gave him a hello hug of her own.

"You know Nancy, I just don't get it," Joe complained good-naturedly. "Every time we run into each other, you always notice Frank first. Does my charm not work on you?"

Nancy grinned and rolled her eyes. "Sorry Joe. It's nothing personal."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled. Frank socked him lightly in the arm. "Ouch. Battered student. I'm calling campus security!"

Gillian was watching their exchange the whole time, looking a little mystified. "So I take it you guys know each other?"

"Yeah, we've worked on some cases together in the past," Frank explained, smiling. "Nancy's going to be your roommate?"

Gillian nodded. "I've briefed her on what's going on so far, but I think it would be better if we could all sit down and discuss the case in more detail. By the way," she added in a low tone, "Don't forget, Nancy's last name here is Dawson, and Frank and Joe are the Hollis brothers."

At that moment her mobile phone chirped. She dug it out of her pocket and checked the new message. "Shoot, I promised I'd meet Parker at the library for that taxation report." She grinned apologetically. "Look, why don't you guys get reacquainted and we could meet up at our dorm room for dinner? We can order pizza. Guico's triple cheese pepperoni is legendary around campus."

Joe's stomach growled audibly. "Sounds good to me."

Frank shot him an exasperated look. "Didn't you just eat a Big Mac an hour ago?"

"Hey, that wasn't a complete meal," Joe said defensively. "You forgot the fries."

Nancy shook her head and laughed. "Okay Gillian, we'll see you later then."

"Oh," Gillian looked around the sparsely-populated park. "Just in case anyone's looking…" She walked over to Frank and to Nancy's surprise, gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Bye."

"Uh, see you later," Frank said, his face turning red.

Nancy waited until Gillian was out of earshot before turning to the Hardys with a puzzled look. "So Joe, I noticed Gillian was immune to your charms too," she joked, trying to ignore the twinge of jealousy she felt.

"Nothing personal, Nan," Joe retorted with a smirk. "That's because my big brother here was chosen to play the part of Gillian's boyfriend."

Frank glared at him. "Well Joe, if you could only manage to not ogle every female student that walks by, I'm sure you could play the boyfriend part just fine."

"Yeah, well," Joe shrugged. "I can't turn my back on my true calling." He winked at Nancy.

Nancy had to smile fondly at Joe even if Frank's assignment caught her by surprise. Like one of her two best friends, Bess Marvin, Joe Hardy was a notorious flirt. They had a case in Egypt that required the four of them to play the part of newlyweds, and while Nancy and Frank played their part well—too well, if she was honest about it—Joe and Bess had spent most of the time checking out the cute teenagers in their tour group.

This time, it was weird to see Frank go undercover as someone else's boyfriend, especially in light of the last time they spoke to each other…

Nancy suddenly became aware of Frank calling her name. "Sorry, what?"

"I was asking if you'd like to grab a cup of coffee," he repeated with a warm smile. "There's a quiet coffee shop a few minutes outside campus."

"Sure." She smiled back at him.

"Hey, can I come too?" Joe asked teasingly.

ndhbndhbndhbndhb

The Willow Lane Coffee Shop was a five-minute walk from campus that served strong brewed coffee and delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies. Nancy watched on in amusement as Joe practically inhaled the two large chewy cookies he ordered. "These are great!" he exclaimed. "They're as good as Aunt Gertrude's."

"Speaking of Aunt Gertrude, how's your family doing?" Nancy asked Frank.

Frank set down his cup of coffee. "They're doing well. Dad just finished a case and he and mom are planning a trip to Europe on their wedding anniversary. And Aunt Gertrude is Aunt Gertrude. How's Hannah and your dad?"

"They're good, too," Nancy said. "Hannah's visiting her sister in Seattle this weekend and dad is busy on a case as usual. He was the one who asked me to look into this case as a favor to Gillian's dad."

"Same here," Joe added around a mouthful of cookie. "Apparently, our dad worked with Charles Blake on a case or two a few years ago and he called up dad to ask if we could do him a favor."

"Small world. So when did guys get here?" Nancy asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yesterday," Frank said. "Gillian gave us the note she received." He dug in his shirt pocket and brought out a folded slip of bond paper. Nancy took it from him, their fingers brushing, and unfolded the note. Typed in big block letters were the words: BETTER WATCH OUT SPOILED BITCH.

"Gillian said the note was slipped under her door about three weeks ago," Frank said. "She found it the next morning."

"Didn't Gillian have a roommate? Could the note be for her?" Nancy thought out loud.

"I thought of that," Frank admitted. "Carly Bright. I spoke to her this morning. From what I gathered, she's the eldest of six siblings from a modest neighborhood in Cleaveland. She's been a working student since she was a high school junior. She got in Stanton Pike on a scholarship."

"Definitely doesn't fit the description of a spoiled brat," Nancy agreed. "It must be for Gillian then. Any suspects?"

"None so far," Joe said. "Gillian told us she lived a quiet life at college until the threats started coming in."

"Yeah, she told me the same thing earlier," Nancy sighed. "How about her friends? She mentioned she was meeting Parker at the library. Have you met him?"

Frank and Joe shook their heads. "She's mentioned him a few times but we haven't gotten the chance to talk to him," Frank said.

Joe drained his coffee cup and set it down with a clink. "I could do that," he offered. "Talk to Gillian's friends. Frank's job here is to protect his girlfriend," he grinned.

Frank ignored him. "We should also check out the scratches on Gillian's car," he told Nancy, who nodded. She looked around the quiet coffee shop. A student with wire-rimmed glasses was staring intently at his laptop screen a few tables away, while on the couch by the window, a girl in a green jersey flipped the page of a thick paperback novel and continued reading.

The guy with the laptop leaned back in his chair with a tired sigh and folded his arms. The gesture reminded her of Ned and she quickly looked away, her blue eyes troubled.

"Are you okay, Nan?" Frank asked in concern.

Nancy met his warm brown eyes and gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine. C'mon, let's take a look at that car."

It's another Monday and I need some love. Reviews will do very nicely. ; )