As usual, I took forever writing this chapter. There were a few times when I had to push past my writer's block and just force creativity. It ain't easy, but contrary to popular belief, it can be done. So, this chapter is full of references to Romeo and Juliet. It's not necessary, but it might help you to read Act II, Scene II of the play. Or just read the whole thing, because it's one of my favorite plays ever.

By the way, the song in this chapter (Kevin's! Yay!) is my very favorite one that I wrote for this story.

Just to warn you, I didn't proofread very well, because I get bored reading my own writing right after I've written it, and I'm lazy. So I apologize for any mistakes.

I don't own JONAS. As for the many Romeo and Juliet references, credit goes to good old Bill Shakespeare.

How to Crush a Crush: The Easy-to-Use Manual on Losing a Stalker

Chapter 4: Here I Am, Juliet

*Macy*

I had a moral dilemma.

I had a crush on the same boy that Stella—my best friend—also liked. And to complicate things further, said hunk had just saved me from a most horrible fate, which only made him about five times more attractive. Plus, he'd been watching me shamelessly for days, and when confronted about it, practically told me he liked me.

What was a girl to do?

Was I supposed to let my best friend go after the guy that I liked and was pretty sure liked me back? Obviously, that wasn't what I wanted to do. But was it the right thing to do?

Would it be wrong for me to go after Hayden? I tried to justify it in my head. It was like Charlotte said at swim practice: Stella couldn't just call dibs on every cute guy in the school. And besides, it was me Hayden was interested in. And I couldn't help that I liked him back. Right?

That was what I was trying to convince myself as I pulled my Romeo and Juliet script from my locker. I felt as if I was carrying a fifty pound weight across my shoulders. I was dreading drama class. Sitting so close to Hayden. Listening to him breathe. Smelling that musky cologne.

Hm. That was strange.

Just as I thought about the way Hayden smelled, I swore I could smell his cologne. And not just imaginary smelling. For real smelling.

Then I heard a deep voice behind me.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Macy is the sun."

Before I could turn around, a hand appeared in front of me, holding a long-stemmed rose.

Romeo and Juliet: a pair of star-crossed lovers. A tragic tale of forbidden romance.

"What's in a name?" I asked, accepting the gift. "A rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet."

Mrs. Snart said that Romeo and Juliet was the most romantic play of all time. Or something like that. I was pretty sure she was on to something, because when I turned around to see Hayden in front of me, I realized that forbidden love was hot. Way hot.

*Nick*

"I just don't get what you two have against the guy," I told my brothers, as we walked together to our lockers.

"I just don't like him," Joe replied. "He walks around like he's the hottest thing ever. Who does he think he is, Orlando Bloom?"

"You just don't like him because Stella likes him," I replied. I turned to Kevin. "I have no idea why you don't like him."

"I just don't," Kevin said, simply.

"Why not?" I asked. "You're Kevin. You like everybody."

"Who says I have to like everybody?" Kevin asked, crossing his arms.

"No one said you have to. I've just never seen you dislike someone so strongly."

Joe came to a halt in front of us, causing Kevin and me to run into his back.

"Why aren't we moving?" Kevin asked, tapping Joe on the shoulder.

"Isn't that Hayden?" Joe asked, pointing toward Macy's locker.

Indeed it was. The guy that Joe had been so jealous over Stella liking, was leaning over Stella's best friend, who was pressed up against her locker hugging a book to her chest and holding a long-stemmed red rose.

"They look…cozy," I commented.

"Is that a flower?" Kevin asked. "Did he give her a flower?"

"Wait a sec," Joe said, confused. "I thought Stella called dibs on him."

I shrugged. "Just because Stella likes him doesn't mean he likes her back."

Joe looked offended. "Why not? What's wrong with Stella?"

"It doesn't matter why Hayden likes Macy instead of Stella," I told him, giving him a shove so he would continue walking forward. "The important thing is, you don't have to feel threatened anymore."

"Who says I felt threatened?" Joe replied, as he and I continued toward our lockers.

"Please, Joe. Everyone knows that you were jealous of…" I stopped walking when I realized that our oldest brother was not walking with us. "Kevin?" I said, turning around. "You coming?"

It was clear that he was not, because Kevin was still staring at Macy and Hayden, his hands clenched into tight fists.

"I know you're the expert on jealousy, not me," I said to Joe. "But I think I know now why Kevin hates Hayden so much."

*Kevin*

"We're in for a treat today," Mrs. Snart announced, as the class took their seats. "Today we get to read act two, scene two of Romeo and Juliet. The Balcony Scene."

There were a few delighted squeals from some of the girls in the class, as well as a few groans from the guys. Hayden turned around in his seat to smile slyly at Macy, who giggled. I felt my stomach twist around itself like it'd been put through a cotton candy machine.

"Tessa Bartlett," Mrs. Snart said. "Why don't you read the part of Juliet for us?"

A cheerleader in the front row nodded.

"And for a Romeo, how about…" Mrs. Snart scanned the room, her eyes falling at last on Hayden. "Mr. Bradley."

Hayden snuck another peek at Macy before nodding at Mrs. Snart.

"Wonderful. Now, if the two of you will start reading from the beginning of act two, scene two."

Hayden nodded and began to read from his script. "He jests at scars that never felt a wound. But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" he read, as nearly every female in the class swooned. "It is the east, and Macy is the sun."

"'Juliet', Mr. Bradley," Mrs. Snart corrected him.

Hayden turned his head to look at Macy and smiled. "My mistake."

I saw Macy's ears go crimson, as she lowered her head shyly.

"Just keep reading," Mrs. Snart instructed.

Hayden continued reading Romeo's part. All the while, I watched Macy, who kept staring dreamily at Hayden. I could feel the jealousy welling up inside me. It wasn't fair. It should have been me Macy was obsessing over. She was my biggest fan. That was how it was supposed to be. And I had been the one who saved her. Yet, there she sat, a row ahead of me and a row to the right, staring longingly at the wrong Romeo.

See the way she lays her hand upon her cheek
with that far-off look in her brown eyes
that I wish could be for me.
See the way she runs her fingers through her hair.
I wish that I could do the same
and I'm trying not to stare.
If she only knew what I would give
if I could be her man.
To touch that hair.
To brush that cheek.
To be a glove upon that hand.

Juliet, how could you know
that you and I belong?
I'm the one that you've been searching for.
I've been here all along.
you stand up on your balcony.
If you would just look down below
you'd see me waiting here for you
and know that I'm your Romeo.

What is that light that from yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and she's the sun.
She doesn't know how my heart aches.
What is this fire I've never felt before?
Only she can make me feel this way.
She is all that I adore.
Her smile lights up the morning sky
like the sunrise in early June.
She sheds the light.
She fans the flame.
She kills the envious moon.

Juliet, how could you know
that you and I belong?
I'm the one that you've been searching for.
I've been here all along.
You stand up on your balcony.
If you would just look down below
you'd see me waiting here for you
and know that I'm your Romeo.

I felt a sudden jab in my side that woke me from my daydream.

"Ow!" I cried, sitting upright.

"Is there a problem, Kevin of…Mr. Lucas?" Mrs. Snart asked.

"No. No problem," I responded, looking around to see who had prodded me. My eyes fell on Macy, who was turned around in her seat.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I thought you were falling asleep."

"Carry on, Miss Bartlett," Mrs. Snart instructed, as Macy turned back around to face forward.

"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound," Tessa Bartlett read. "Art thou not Romeo and a Montegue?"

"Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike," Hayden replied.

Macy turned around again, a sappy grin on her face. "Isn't he good?" she whispered to me. "Hayden's a natural romantic."

*Stella*

"Stella, I need your help with something," Nick said, taking a seat beside me in the cafeteria.

"Not again, Nick," I moaned. "If you'd hang your jacket up by the collar instead of by the hood I wouldn't have to keep sewing it back on for you."

"What? No, that's not what I need your help with. Although the hood is starting to fall off again…"

I shook my head. "What do you need then?"

"It's about a girl," Nick began.

"Alicia Roberts?" I guessed. "You want to know whether she likes you?"

"How did you know?"

"Please, Nick. It's me you're talking to."

"Right," Nick replied. "So, what do you think? Does she?"

"It's hard to say," I replied, placing my straw into my milk carton. "Has she said anything to make you think she likes you?"

"Well, yesterday she said I was smart," Nick said. "And either handsome or talented, but I'm not sure which. Ben thinks I'm talented."

"Who's Ben?" I asked, confused.

Nick shook his head. "Nobody. So, does Alicia like me?"

"Honestly, Nick? I don't know."

Nick looked disappointed. "But aren't you supposed to know, like, everything about who likes who at this school?"

"I wish," I sighed, propping my elbows on the table. "Then I would know whether Hayden Bradley likes me."

Nick quickly tried to hide his face from me.

"What?" I asked, noting his strange behavior.

"Nothing," Nick replied, refusing to face me. "I didn't say anything."

"But you know something," I said, tugging on his shoulder so he would look at me. "About Hayden? Come on, Nick, spill it."

"Fine," Nick gave in. "This morning I saw Hayden giving a flower to…a girl."

I felt my cheeks growing hot with jealousy. "What girl?" I asked. "Do you know her? Was she pretty?"

"Just a girl," Nick replied.

"Was she pretty?" I repeated.

"Yeah, she was pretty," Nick replied.

I sighed. "I should have known he liked someone else. But when Macy told me she saw him looking at me, I thought…"

"You should just forget about Hayden," Nick cut me off. "He's just a guy."

"A really cute guy," I replied.

"Well, I happen to know a guy who thinks the world of you," Nick said, stealing a French fry off of my tray. "A guy who's funny, good-hearted, and reasonably attractive."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

Nick stood up and turned to leave.

"Nick!" I cried, as he started to walk away. "Who is it?"

Nick continued walking, but shouted over his shoulder, "You know who it is!"

My eyes fell on Joe, who was seated alone at a table nearby. Our eyes met momentarily, before I quickly turned around and went back to my lunch.

*Joe*

School was not the same when Stella refused to talk to me.

First, I walked around for half of the day with a severe cowlick because I didn't have Stella to point it out for me and then fix it with her extra-hold hair gel.

Then I ate lunch alone, because Kevin and Nick both had their minds on girls, and Stella wasn't speaking to me for reasons I still did not quite understand.

And then history class rolled around. Mr. Brown droned on and on about the American Civil War, and because I didn't have Stella to pass notes with the entire time, I was forced to actually pay attention. I had nothing to do but stare ahead in class and occasionally take notes when something seemed important. I was…learning.

It was horrible.

I needed to get Stella to talk to me again.

But how? Not only was she mad at me for avoiding her psychotic best friend and suspicious of my brothers and me concerning said best friend's "guardian angel", but she had a crush on a guy who was possibly cooler, stronger, and more attractive than I was and who, according to rumors, spoke at least four languages. How could I compete with that? I only spoke one language. Two if you counted Pig Latin. Two and a half if you counted what I'd learned during my two years of Spanish, although I'd barely retained any of it. All I could remember what how to ask for the bathroom, how to count to fourteen, and a song of very few words about a cockroach that can't walk because it's missing some feet. And while Spanish is called the language of love, I was quite certain that none of those things would impress Stella.

It was sad, really, that Stella was so infatuated with Hayden and so loyal to Macy. Seeing as Hayden was not terribly interested in Stella and Macy was acting a little less than loyal. They clearly liked each other. If Stella had seen the way those two had been flirting that morning...

Of course, she couldn't know that they liked each other. It would crush her. And then she'd have to come running to trusty old Joe and I'd have to patch things up and she'd realize that I was always there for her and that I was the only guy for her and that I was much cooler and more attractive than Hayden Bradley even though I wasn't as athletic and could only speak two and half languages if you counted Pig Latin and the Spanish cockroach song.

I tried to shake thoughts of Stella out of my head as I turned my attention back to Mr. Brown, who was still going on about the Civil War. It was probably healthier to focus on history than to let my mind wander. It tended to drift into dangerous waters.

School was not the same when Stella refused to talk to me.

*Kevin*

"Macy!" I called, approaching the petite girl at her locker. For the first time that day, I'd finally cornered her when she was alone. Stella was nowhere to be seen. My brothers were out of sight. And most importantly, Hayden wasn't around. No way could I tell her what I needed to tell her with Romeo hanging over her shoulder.

"Oh, hi Kevin. Didn't see you there," Macy greeted me as if I was just any other guy and not her idol who she'd worshipped for years.

I forced myself to push past the painful greeting and get right to the point. "Macy, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure. Anything."

"It's about…" I searched my brain for the right way to phrase it. "It's about your guardian angel," is what I finally came up with.

Macy's face lit up. "It's Hayden! I know it is!"

I cringed. "About that…"

Macy sighed. "I know what you're thinking."

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

She nodded. "You're going to say that it's not right for me to obsess over this guardian angel thing."

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. I guess. But…"

"But Stella's a big girl. I think she'll understand."

Now I was confused. "What? Who said anything about Stella?"

"You did," Macy responded.

"I did?"

"I know it's probably wrong for me to go after a guy that Stella likes," Macy continued. "But I can't help that I like him too. And I'm pretty sure he likes me. Plus, he saved my life. How could I not like him?"

"Wait a minute," I said. This conversation was not going as I'd planned. "You don't know that he's the one who saved you."

"But I do," Macy corrected me. "Hayden and I have a real connection. It's like…telepathy."

I shook my head, confused. "Wait a minute, when did we start talking about telephone connections?"

"Kevin," Macy said. "If a person likes a friend, don't you think it's only right that that person let the friend know how they feel?"

Finally, this conversation was going in the direction I wanted it to. I nodded. "Definitely."

Macy smiled. "Then I have to tell Hayden that I like him."

Whoa. U-turn. This was not the direction I was going for. "Wait a second…"

"Thanks for the talk, Kevin," Macy said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Now I'm off to go get my guardian angel."

"Wait a minute!" I called after her, as she started to walk away. "What if he's not your guardian angel?"

"He is," Macy assured me. "Thanks for telling me to go for it, Kev."

I stared in wonder as she wandered away. Was that really what I'd told her? Because it definitely wasn't what I'd meant to tell her.

*Macy*

I took a deep breath as I approached Hayden. As usual, he was engulfed in sweaty, Neanderthal basketball robots, but I was tired of waiting for the opportune moment to talk to him. I was beginning to doubt that it would ever come. So I stood up straight, squared my shoulders, and marched into the crowd.

"Hayden, can we talk?"

Immediately, all of his basketball buddies ceased their conversations and turned to look at me.

Hayden nodded. "Sure."

"Alone," I specified, regretting seconds later how cliché I'd sounded.

The basketball robots oohed and snickered at Hayden as he stepped around one of his friends towards me. Seizing me by the arm, he pulled me a safe distance away from the team.

"What's up?" he asked.

After swallowing hard, I decided to get right to the point. "I like you."

Apparently we hadn't gone far enough away from the basketball robots, because they all started cheering and whistling at Hayden.

Somehow, he managed to ignore his friends. "I like you too," he said simply.

I wasn't sure how to react. I hadn't expected it to be that simple.

"Oh. Well, that was easy," I commented. After a moment of silence, I added, "Now what?"

Hayden smiled. "I think next I'm supposed to take you on a date."

I grinned. "That sounds nice." Suddenly, reality set in and my smile slipped away. "But I can't go out with you."

Hayden frowned. "Whoa. Anticlimactic. That's not your next line."

I sighed. "Unfortunately, Hayden, this isn't a play."

"Then what's with the drama?" Hayden replied.

"The thing is," I rubbed the back of my neck, awkwardly, "my best friend likes you too."

"Stella?"

I nodded. "And, well…she's my best friend."

"So she should understand. She should be able to forgive and forget."

"She shouldn't have to."

"And you shouldn't have to make your decisions based on how Stella feels. Isn't she going out with that JONAS guy, anyways?"

"Not exactly."

"But they like each other?"

"Obviously."

"So what's the problem?"

I sighed. Forbidden love. "It's like you're...off limits."

"Off limits?" Hayden repeated, incredulously. "I'm just a person."

I shook my head. "No, you're Hayden. Captain of the basketball team and most popular guy at Horace Mantis Academy."

Hayden took my hand. "Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike."

If I was gonna resist this guy, he was gonna have to stop quoting Shakespeare.

I thought about pulling my hand away, but decided against it. "I just have one question," I said.

"Shoot."

"Are you the one who saved me from drowning on Wednesday afternoon?"

*Nick*

"So if angles A and B are congruent, then lines AC and BC are the same length?"

I nodded. "Exactly."

"So how do I find out the perimeter of the semi-circle?"

"All you have to do find the length of line AB to find the diameter and divide by two to find the…" I saw Alicia's eyes start to gloss over. "Why don't we talk about something else for a while?"

Alicia looked up at me. "Got anything in mind?"

I took a deep breath. "Actually, I do."

She smiled. "Go ahead."

"I wanted to talk about…us."

"You and me?"

"Yeah."

Alicia looked…nervous? Frightened? Sick? I wasn't sure.

I wiped my clammy hands on my knees before continuing. "Alicia, I was wondering if… I think that you and I… What I mean to say is…"

"Nick, you have to help me!"

Alicia whipped her head around to see who was calling for me. She looked as displeased as I was to see Joe running up to our secluded library table. Or was she relieved? I couldn't be sure.

"Joe, what are you doing here?" I asked, annoyed.

"I need your help," he panted. "I want to impress a girl."

"Stella?" Alicia guessed.

Joe looked concerned. "Does everyone know I like her?"

"Pretty much," Alicia replied.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, urging him to get to the point.

"I need you to teach me another language."

I rolled my eyes. "Joe, I don't know another language."

Joe cocked his head to the side. "You don't?"

I shook my head.

"You don't speak Spanish?"

I shook my head again.

"Russian?"

"No."

"Portuguese?"

"Look, Joe, even if I did know another language—which I don't, so you can stop listing languages—I wouldn't be able to teach it to you during study hall."

Joe looked disappointed. "Aren't you supposed to be like a genius?"

"Which is why he's helping me with my geometry," Alicia said.

"So, as you can see, I'm busy right now."

Joe looked from me to Alicia, finally understanding what he was interrupting. "Oh. Oh. I'll just leave you two alone then."

But before he had the chance to turn and walk away, we had another interruption.

"Nick, I need to talk to you!" Kevin cried, running up behind Joe.

"Kevin, I'm in the middle of something," I replied.

"This is important," Kevin said. "It's about…" he eyed Alicia and lowered his voice. "M-A-C-Y."

"Um, I can hear you," Alicia informed him. "And I can spell."

"That's right, Kev," Joe put in. "It's math she sucks at."

"Hey!" Alicia cried.

I glared from one brother to the other. "Joe, shut up. Kevin, what do you want?"

"I have to tell her," Kevin announced.

"Tell who what?" Joe asked.

"Macy," Kevin replied. "You know how I am about lying. It's killing me. Plus…"

"What?" Joe asked. "Why?"

"You can't!" I told him. "She finally acting normal around us."

"I know that," Kevin said. "But I don't want her to be normal. I want her to be her, because..."

"You like her," I finished, knowingly.

"Shh!" Kevin hissed. "Don't say it out loud!"

"Look, Kev, can we talk about this later? I was just talking to Alicia about…"

"Later might be too late!" Kevin interrupted me. "I need to tell Macy the truth and I need to tell her now!"

Alicia looked confused. "If you're all gonna be talking about whatever it is you're talking about while Nick and I are studying, could someone at least fill me in here?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but once again, I was interrupted. This time it was Stella. She raced into the library and took a seat beside me.

"Nick, remember how I gave you advice today at lunch?"

"If I remember correctly," I replied, "I asked you for advice and we ended up talking about you."

"Right," Stella said, clearly not hearing what I'd just said and showing no sign of caring. "Well, I need to you return the favor."

"You need boy advice?" I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"I need your advice..." Stella began.

"I can leave if you want," Joe offered, grinning, "if you want to talk about me."

"...about Hayden," Stella finished.

Joe looked deflated. "What?"

"Now, I know you said he likes some other girl, but I was thinking maybe I still have a chance. I mean, Macy did say she saw him staring at me. And besides, how do we know this mystery girl is interested in him?"

"Trust me," Kevin said dryly. "She interested in him."

Stella looked desperate. "But maybe…"

"Stella!" Joe cut her off. "He likes someone else. Get over it."

Stella glared at Joe. "Who asked you?"

"Guys!" I cried. "Can you not see that I'm busy here? I don't have time to get into your personal lives."

Joe, Kevin, and Stella all looked at me, wide-eyed.

"But she…" Joe said, pointing at Stella. His voice trailed off.

"But Hayden…" Stella said, her voice, too, trailing off.

"But Macy…" Kevin said when he was cut off by somebody else entering the library.

"Hey guys," Macy greeted us, walking hand-in-hand with Hayden Bradley. "Did I just hear my name?"

The five of us stared in awe at the apparent couple before us.

"Macy," Stella said, looking concerned. "What's going on?"

Macy looked guiltily at Hayden, then back at Stella. "Stella," she said softly, "there's something I need to tell you."

Stella crossed her arms. "Clearly."

"Well, I just asked Hayden," Macy said, speaking to all of us, "if he was the one who saved me. And he said yes. He's my guardian angel."

Please review and tell me what you thought! Especially about the song (or any of the songs in this story). I'd really appreciate some feedback.

Next Chapter: Read Between the Lines