I don't own JONAS, but the songs in this story are all mine.
How to Crush a Crush: The Easy-to-Use Manual on Losing a Stalker
Chapter 6: Like Snow in the Middle of August
*Macy*
"Hayden!" I shouted, catching up to my boyfriend as he made his way to the doors from the parking lot.
"Hey, Macy," he said, turning around to wait for me. He put an arm around me when I caught up with him and he planted a kiss on my forehead.
"Hayden!" I hissed, looking around us. "People are watching."
Hayden shrugged. "So what? I can't kiss my girlfriend in the parking lot?"
"Not like that."
He looked confused. "Like what?"
"Like that. Like you're trying to make sure everyone knows I belong to you or something."
"Don't you?"
I looked up sternly at my boyfriend. "I'm going to ignore that comment. Look, I have a basketball game this weekend."
"So?"
"So, I'm gonna need my charm back."
Hayden raised an eyebrow. "What charm?"
"The charm I had around my wrist when you rescued me."
"When I re—oh, right. When I rescued you." Hayden scratched his neck. "I don't think you were wearing a charm."
"Of course I was wearing a charm. I tied it around my wrist and it got caught in a filter. That's why I couldn't swim back up."
"Oh," Hayden said. "Well, I don't remember it. Maybe it's still in the filter."
"No, I checked. Are you sure you don't have it? I need it for the basketball game."
Hayden laughed. "Why do you need a charm to play basketball?"
"Because it's good luck. I can't win a game without it."
"Macy, Macy, Macy," Hayden said, squeezing my shoulder. "Good luck charms are just a silly superstition. They don't help or hinder us in any way."
"Yes they do. I always win my games when I wear my lucky number one charm. And Kevin has this boot that he wears during concerts that keep him from being struck by…"
"Why do you bring up that guy every time we talk?" Hayden interrupted me.
"Because I like Kevin," I replied, my voice and blood pressure rising. "He's my friend."
"Are you sure about that? Because the way to talk about him, I'm beginning to think he's more than that."
"Look," I said, pulling his hand off of my shoulder and taking a step away from him. "I can have as many friends as I want to. I don't belong to you."
"Where are you going?" Hayden asked as I began to walk away.
"I have class," I shouted over my shoulder. "I'll talk to you when you're done being an idiot."
*Kevin*
Maybe this made me a terrible person, but I was thrilled to see Macy's unhappy face on Tuesday morning. Every sign of dissatisfaction in her relationship with Hayden was a good sign to me. There was no doubt in my mind that I was head-over-heels in love with her. I only wished I'd realized it a week sooner, when she was still crazy Macy, and still crazy about me. But despite the drama of the past week, I still believed in destiny, and I knew that destiny could not allow a girl as awesome as Macy to remain attached to a snake as slimy as Hayden Bradley. So when I saw her melancholy gaze that morning, I knew there was trouble in paradise.
"Hey Joe," I said, nudging my brother. "What do you think is up with Macy?"
Joe shrugged. "Stella says Hayden's starting to get on her nerves with his possessiveness." He handed me a black velvet box. "Can you put this in your locker?"
"You think they're gonna break up?" I asked, trying not to look too interested. I stuffed the box into my locker and shut the door.
"I don't suppose it can last too much longer. Macy's pretty independent, and if Hayden's as possessive as Stella says he is, she can't really be very happy with him. But the only way to know for sure is to ask her."
"I don't think so."
"Come on," Joe said, grabbing my arm. "Let's go talk to her."
"What?" I said, trying to pull away. "No, Joe. I don't want to talk to—Hi Macy!"
Macy smiled at us and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Hey guys. What's up?"
"Not much," Joe replied, as the three of us began walking down the hall. "What's up with you?"
He nudged me in the side. "Yeah," I piped up. "How is everything with Hayden?"
Macy groaned. "Oh, now, you want to talk about my charming boyfriend?"
"Why?" I asked, suddenly wanting very much to talk about Hayden. "Is something wrong with him?"
"Besides the obvious," Joe added. Macy and I both sent him questioning glances. "His feet," Joe explained. "He has, like, huge feet. Haven't you noticed?"
Macy rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore Joe. "Hayden's a little…protective."
"And by 'protective'," Joe cut in, "you mean 'possessive'."
Macy sighed. "Okay, so Hayden has the slight tendency to be somewhat possessive, but that's only because he's trying to be…chivalrous."
Joe smiled and nodded. "Right, I forgot. Hayden's a romantic."
"Look, Hayden only acts the way he does because it's his way of defending me," Macy explained. "Like Romeo does for Juliet."
"Just before killing Juliet's cousin," I added.
Macy stared at me, open-mouthed for a moment before replying, "By accident."
Joe laughed. "Why would you want your relationship to be like Romeo and Juliet? They have to keep it a big secret right until the end when they kill themselves."
Macy crossed her arms. "You guys just don't understand romance."
"Hey," Joe replied, "I'm a romantic guy. Just ask my girlfriend. But romance does not equal a relationship." He put an arm over each of our shoulders. "A relationship shouldn't be about romance. It should be about two people who like each other a lot. Because they started out as friends. Or as a superstar and his biggest fan."
I elbowed my brother hard on the side, not about to thank him for his not-so-subtle hints.
"What exactly are you saying?" Macy asked Joe, suspiciously, sneaking a peek at me.
"Maybe you're life's not like Romeo and Juliet," Joe told her, taking a few steps ahead of us and turning around, walking backwards so he could face the two of us. "Maybe it's more like A Midsummer Night's Dream or Twelfth Night. You know, something with a happy ending. One of those plays where everyone discovers that they were in love with the wrong person all along."
Macy and I stopped walking at the same moment, both staring at Joe in surprise.
"What?" Joe said, just before turning the corner. "I know my Shakespeare."
"Was he just suggesting what I think he was suggesting?" Macy asked, turning to face me.
I shifted uncomfortably. "Depends what you think he was suggesting." Before Macy could open her mouth, I looked down at my wrist animatedly. "What do you know? Time for class. Let's go."
"Kevin!" Macy cried, as I hurried to class. "You're not even wearing a watch! Kev, wait up!"
*Stella*
My stomach did a flip as I spotted Joe walking toward me.
"Hey there," he greeted me, smiling.
"Hello Joe," I replied, welcoming his good morning kiss. "And how are you this morning?"
"What can I say," Joe replied. "You make me a better person. It's only eight o'clock and I've already made a positive contribution to society."
I nodded. "And by that you mean that you've sneakily interfered in my best friend's love life in order to make her realize that she is meant to be with your brother."
"Hey, you know as well as I do that those two are meant to be. They're so alike, it's scary."
"I don't think it's my place to say who Macy belongs with."
"Come on, Stells," Joe said, putting an arm around me. "You think a jerk like Hayden is better for Macy than my sweet and innocent older brother?"
"What has Hayden done to make you think he's such a jerk?" I asked
Joe's mouth snapped shut like he'd just realized he'd said something wrong.
"What?" I asked. "Did he do something to Macy that I don't know about? Joe, tell me!"
"There's nothing to tell," Joe said quickly.
I rolled my eyes. "Why do I always feel like you're keeping some big secret from me?"
"There's nothing to hide," he replied. His mouth suddenly curved into a sly grin. "Well, there's one thing. But that's a surprise."
I smiled. "You got me a present?"
"Maybe."
"What is it?" I asked, squeezing him around the waist.
"I'm not telling."
"Is it in your locker?" I prodded. "Because I'll find it. I know your combination."
"Which is why I asked Kevin to put it in his locker," Joe replied. "Do you know his combination?"
"No," I said, pouting.
"Good," Joe said, kissing me on the cheek before walking off to class.
I grinned. "But I know someone who does."
*Macy*
"Macymacymacymacymacymacymacy!" a tall blonde hurricane shouted at me as I headed toward the caf for lunch.
"Excited much, Stells?" I asked, as my best friend came to a screeching halt at my side.
"Macy, I need your help with something."
"Anything. Name it."
She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. "I need you to help me break into Kevin's locker."
"Except that," I amended, prying her hands off of my shoulders.
"Come on, Mace! I know you know the combo. I just need to take a teeny tiny peek at a present that Joe is hiding from me in there." She fell to her knees in front of me. "Pretty please?"
"Hello, whatever happened to invasion of privacy? Or does that only apply to crazed JONAS fans?"
"Privacy, shmivacy," Stella replied, waving the thought away. "This is an emergency."
"Yeah, I get it," I said, rolling my eyes. "This is one of those, break-into-Kevin's-locker, invasion-of-privacy emergencies."
Stella stuck out her bottom lip. "Pwease Mwacy?"
I sighed. "Fine. But you're taking the fall for this when the guys accuse me of being crazy."
"Absolutely," Stella said, jumping to her feet. "Let's go."
She grabbed my hand and tore down the hall, dragging me behind her.
"Okay," she said, when we arrived at the oldest Lucas's locker. "Do your thing."
"Here goes," I said, taking hold of the lock. "Turn right the number of JONAS albums that have gone platinum. Left the number of weeks their first hit topped the charts. Right the number of fake JONAS accounts following me on Twitter."
With a nearly inaudible click, the lock gave way and the locker door swung open.
"I'm impressed," Stella commented. "Girl knows her JONAS."
"No one knows JONAS like I do," I assured her. "Now, what are you waiting for? Go invade privacy."
I stood over Stella's shoulder as she rummaged through the locker.
"Any idea what you're looking for?"
"I don't know," Stella replied. "Something that looks like something a guy would give a girl like…like a velvet jewelry box. Jackpot."
"Ooh," I said, when Stella held up the black velvet box. "Open it. Let's see it."
Stella snapped open the box.
"Well?" I said. "What is it? A necklace?"
Stella frowned. "It's a note."
"Joe put a note for you in a velvet box in Kevin's locker?"
"'Dear Stella, Congratulations, you've found an empty box. You're real present is hidden somewhere much safer. You'll just have to be patient. Happy one day anniversary. Love, Joe.'"
"So does Joe actually think that every day is an anniversary?" I asked, as I began peeking through the random items on the second shelf. "Cause that could get annoying pretty fast. You'll be sick of him by your six day anniversary."
"I can't believe I went to all this trouble for a stinking note."
"I told you to stay out of Kevin's locker, didn't I?"
"Says the girl who stuffed herself into said locker last week," Stella replied, tossing the black box back into the locker. "Besides, what are you doing right now?"
"What? I'm curious."
"Well, duh. It's Kevin. Everyone's curious about him, but they don't inspect his knick knacks."
"What does a high school boy want with a green stuffed giraffe or a…?" I trailed off as a glint of gold caught my eye.
"Macy? What is it?"
"Stella," I said, reaching into the locker and pulling out the gold chain. "What's my lucky number one charm doing in Kevin's locker?"
*Joe*
"It's beautiful," Alicia said, handing back the silver bracelet. "Stella will love it."
"You think?"
"I know. Although I don't think most people celebrate one day anniversaries."
"Macy doesn't think I can be romantic," I said, slipping the bracelet into my pocket. "But I'm Mr. Romance. That is what I bring to the group. Nick is the smart one, Kevin's the loveable one, and I'm the romantic one. And the hot one. And the…"
"Speaking of your brothers," Alicia cut me off, "where are they? Because you're starting to get on my nerves."
I took a giant bite of my pudding. "Nurse's office," I said around a mouthful of tapioca. "Kevin accidently super glued his hand to Nick's neck."
"How did Kevin accidently glue his hand to Nick?"
I swallowed my bite of pudding. "Well we were in shop class, see? And Kevin was working on his—"
"Joseph Lucas!"
I jumped at the sound of my girlfriend's voice. "Stella! Macy," I said, patting the seat beside me. "Have a seat. What's up?"
Stella took a seat, pulling Macy down in the seat beside her. "Where's Kevin?" she demanded.
"Having his hand removed from Nick's neck. Why?"
Macy cringed. "Again?"
"What does she mean 'again'?" Alicia interjected.
Stella waved away Alicia's question. "Never mind. You won't believe what we just found in Kevin's locker."
I laughed. "Ah, you found the decoy present. Funny, right?"
Neither Stella nor Macy looked at all amused.
"Tough crowd," I commented. "Alicia thought it was funny."
"No I didn't," Alicia said.
"But you laughed."
"Yeah, but not at your joke. At you."
"Hey, that decoy present was a funny prank, and you know it."
"Joe!" Stella shouted. "We're not talking about the decoy present!"
Alicia leaned forward. "You mean you found something else in Kevin's locker? Was it a dirty magazine, because if it was, my mind will be blown."
"What was it?" I asked.
Macy sighed and held out her left fist. Alicia and I watched intently as she dramatically unfolded her palm to reveal a golden number one charm on a broken chain.
Alicia frowned. "I don't get it."
I gasped. "He left it in his locker? I thought it was in his backpack!"
"Wait," Stella said. "You knew about this?"
"I…uh…well…"
"You knew that Kevin had my charm?" Macy asked, placing the charm on the table.
"I might have been aware of that fact, yes," I admitted.
"Does it mean what we think it means?" Stella asked.
I swallowed hard as both Stella and Macy began staring me down. Finally, I broke down. "Yes. Kevin is the one who saved Macy from drowning last week."
Alicia gasped. "Kevin was the one who…? Wait, I still don't know what's going on. Does this have something to do with that day that Kevin burst in on Nick and me soaking wet and clutching one of his boots?"
Macy smacked her forehead. "The lucky boot. Of course. But I don't get it. Why wouldn't Kevin want me to know that it was him? Why would he let me believe it was Hayden?"
I bit my lip nervously. "Because when you were obsessing over your guardian angel…"
I saw the light go on in Stella's eyes. "…she didn't have time to obsess over you guys," she finished for me.
The dark mood surrounding the table was momentarily broken when Kevin ran up, followed closely behind by Nick.
"Good news," Kevin announced, holding up his left hand. "We're detached."
"Bad news," Nick added, tightening the scarf around his neck. "The acetone the nurse used gave me a rash again."
Nick's jaw clenched when he spotted Macy's lucky charm on the table.
Kevin looked around the table, concerned. "Why the long faces, everyone?"
Nick elbowed Kevin in the side and pointed to the charm. Kevin swallowed hard. "Macy, I can explain."
"Joe already explained it," Macy replied, getting to her feet. "You know, if I was such a pain as your biggest fan, you could have just told me. Instead of letting me make a fool of myself."
"You're not a pain," Kevin said quickly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Macy, you're the greatest."
"What Kevin means," Nick put in, "is that you're our friend."
"Well if this is the way JONAS treats their friends," Macy replied, snatching up her lucky charm, "then I'm no fan of yours."
"I'd better follow her," Stella whispered, as Macy walked away.
"Are you mad?" I asked, as Stella stood up.
"I'll get over it," Stella assured me. "Macy might not, though."
*Nick*
"Nick. Hello?"
I shook my thoughts away and turned my attention to the girl sitting across from me. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I was distracted.
"On our first date?" Alicia replied. "We're off to a good start."
"Sorry," I said again. "It's just this whole Macy thing…"
"You need to let that go," Alicia said. "At least while you're out with me. It'll all blow over. Trust me."
I nodded. "You're right."
"Of course I'm right."
I sighed. "Except that this is kinda my fault. Kevin wanted to tell her the truth and I told him…"
"Nick," Alicia interrupted.
"Sorry."
"That's okay."
I cleared my throat, forcing the Macy dilemma from my mind. "You look nice tonight."
Alicia smiled. "Thank you. You can hold my hand across the table if you want to."
I gladly accepted her hand, gently stoking her slender fingers.
"So," I said, trying to think of anything to talk about besides Macy and Kevin. "You and me, huh?"
"We're good together," Alicia replied.
"I'm glad we agree on that."
"Should we eat our food before it gets cold?"
"Or I could just keep holding your hand."
She laughed. "That's fine with me."
I was about to reply when I noticed something strange. I must have been incredibly distracted not to notice it before. The man sitting by himself behind Alicia was acting…not normal. For one thing, he'd been sitting with his menu open for at least thirty minutes. Only, I still hadn't seen him look down at the menu. He was still staring at me. That when I noticed something unusual about the menu.
Now, fancy restaurants like these were known to have strange items on the menus, but this man's menu had something particularly unusual on it.
A camera lens.
"Nick, is something wrong?" Alicia asked.
"Photographer," I whispered. "Right behind you."
Alicia nodded, as if she was not at all surprised by this. "There's one behind you too."
I peeked over my shoulder and found that she was right. Another paparazzi with a faux menu sat alone at the table behind me.
"And another behind that plant," Alicia continued. "And one peeking through the window."
Alicia's calm attitude about this situation was unsettling.
"How did they find me here?"
Alicia shrugged. "I invited them."
There is nothing she could have said that would have shocked me more than that did. If she'd claimed that she'd been born out of Lady Gaga's ear and grown in a petri dish in the Horace Mantis chemistry lab, I would have been less surprised.
"You…invited them?"
"Yeah. Why? What's wrong?"
I let go of her hand. "Why would you do that?"
"It's good publicity."
"Publicity?"
Alicia nodded. "Yeah. I mean, what's the point in dating a rock star if you're not gonna make a few headlines?"
"Gee, I don't know," I replied, sarcastically. "Maybe because you like me."
Alicia looked taken aback. "Of course I like you, Nick."
"Why? Because I'm a rock star?"
"That's not the only reason."
"Why else then?"
Alicia looked down at her hands.
My mouth fell open in disbelief. "You can't think of anything? Do you know anything about me besides that I'm in JONAS?"
Alicia remained silent.
"So this was all about the fame."
I took her silence as a yes.
"I can't believe you would use me like that."
"I wasn't using you. I was…I just wanted to be someone, you know?"
"In other words, you were using me."
"You don't understand," Alicia defended herself. "You don't know what it's like to be nobody."
"So this was all about getting noticed," I concluded, standing up and pulling my wallet from my back pocket. "Well, here's a headline for you: 'Unknown red-haired girl eats alone.'"
Slamming a wad of bills down on the table, I turned on my heels and stormed away.
*Macy*
I stood up from my spot on the bottom bleacher when Hayden walked into the pool area.
"You wanted me to meet you here?" he said, walking up beside me.
"Hayden, we need to talk," I told him.
"Those are never good words," he remarked, taking a seat.
I sat back down beside him. "Hayden, remember what I told you on the day that we admitted we liked each other?"
Hayden searched my face, as if to figure out whether I was asking him a trick question. "That you liked me?"
I sighed. "I said that this isn't a play."
He raised an eyebrow. "I don't get where you're going with this."
"It's not a play, Hayden," I repeated. "But you've been acting this entire time."
"Acting?"
"It was Kevin!" I cried. "Kevin was the one who saved my life, and you told me it was you."
Hayden stood up, crossing his arms defensively. "Can he prove this?"
"He had this." I replied, pulling my charm out of my pocket.
He shrugged. "Okay, fine. I didn't save your life. So, are you gonna dump me and start going out with Kevin now just because he's your 'guardian angel'?"
I crossed my arms. "No. I'm not. But I am dumping you."
Hayden's mouth fell open. "You're really breaking up with me over this?"
"No."
"But you just said…"
"I'm dumping you because you're possessive, you're arrogant, and I just ran out of reasons to believe that you're the romantic guy I thought you were."
Hayden was silent for a moment before he muttered, "Is there a reason you wanted me to meet you by the pool?"
I smiled. "Because when I dump a guy…" I stepped forward and gave him a little shove, watching him tumble into the pool, "I really dump him."
xoxoxo
I pulled my sweater tighter around my shoulders as I walked along the sidewalk next to the park. It was getting dark outside, and the wind was starting to get chilly, but I wasn't ready to go home. I knew that as soon as I did, I would be in bed, eating cookie dough and being forced to stare at my posters of JONAS. I couldn't bear to look into Kevin's eyes just yet.
As I strolled toward my destination—the playground—I swore I heard guitar music. As I grew closer, I realized I was right. Sitting on one of the swings, his back to me, was Nick, playing a slow tune on his guitar. I stood behind him while he played, not wanting to discourage him from continuing his song.
It happened again.
I fell in love
with a girl I thought I knew.
And I guess it all
happened so fast
that I never really got a good look at you.
Because I fell for you
Like snow in the middle of August
you took me by surprise.
You came without even a warning.
you had me hypnotized.
Like snow in the middle of August.
I didn't know
I could be so wrong
but I didn't know you at all.
It just goes to show
that what you see
isn't what you get after all.
And maybe this is all my fault.
Maybe I shouldn't have let you in.
I didn't know you could be so cold,
like ice against my skin.
Like snow in the middle of August
you took me by surprise.
You put me under your spell
and I fell for all your lies.
Like a bullet to the chest
I found out what you were.
I learned the truth about you
and I didn't know how bad I could hurt.
Like snow in the middle of August.
I clapped for him as I walked forward and took a seat on the swing beside him.
"Macy!" Nick cried. "Were you there the whole time?"
"I take it your date didn't go so well," I replied. "I like to sit on the swings after a heartbreak too."
Nick sighed. "I thought I understood people until today."
"And you were wrong?" I asked.
He looked straight into my eyes. "I'm an idiot, Macy."
"I'm sure that's not true."
"Then why did I trust a phony like Alicia," Nick replied, "and tell Kevin that you were dangerous?"
I began to pump my legs lightly. "So you misjudged me and mistrusted Alicia. That doesn't mean you're an idiot."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Nick?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do people lie?"
Nick strummed lightly on his guitar. "Because they want something from you. That's why Alicia lied to me. And why Hayden lied to you."
"Is that why you guys lied to me?"
Nick stopped strumming. He sighed again. "Mace, my brothers lied because I convinced them it was necessary."
"And your brothers do whatever you tell them to?"
He set his guitar gingerly on the ground and began to pump his legs as well. "Usually. Yeah."
"Then I guess you're all idiots."
That got a small laugh out of Nick.
We both pumped our legs in silence for a while before Nick said, "Kevin wanted to be honest with you all along."
"But he wasn't."
"For my sake," Nick replied. "But Kevin actually likes all of your fan girl…eccentricities."
I let this information sink in. "He does?"
He pumped his legs harder to get the swing moving higher. "He likes everything about you, actually."
"He does?"
"To be honest, Macy," Nick said, swinging higher and higher, "I think he's in love with you."
Next Chapter: Happy Endings