A/N: This chapter gets a bit all-over-the-gaff. You have been forwarned.

Dedication: For SullenxGirl. Whose review just about made my week. : )

Chapter 7.

Fearless - Taylor Swift.


Macy smiled as she looked in the mirror. It was the first time she'd smiled at her reflection in a long time.
She blamed herself. For Shane. She'd known something was wrong with him long before he was diagnosed. She'd known and she hadn't said anything to anyone. It was her fault and she'd never been happy looking at herself since. Mostly because when she saw herself smiling she looked like Shane. He was always smiling, she didn't know a time when he wasn't smiling. She'd stripped her hair after she'd locked up last night. It was her own natural, Shane-like brown. Wavy, as God had intended it and on her face she wore no makeup. She looked like old Macy. She felt weird and she knew that anyone who saw her today would either not recognise her or get the shock of their lives. Her mother already had, not believing it when she'd come downstairs for breakfast and she was sporting her very own smile along with everything else. Macy told her Mom all about Kevin and the zoo and her mom had given her the same look that Mrs. Reid had.

Macy walked out to the main shop of the thrift store and was surprised to see that Kevin was already there. "Kevin, you're here early." She smiled and Kevin turned to give his explanation before stopping.

"Wow, Macy." He said smiling. "I like your hair."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Well, I'm here early because I thought we could go get ice cream before hand."

Macy nodded. "That would be nice." She walked over and gave Kevin a quick hug before explaining how she was just going to say goodbye to her mother and that she'd meet him outside.

Kevin walked outside and noticed how there were a few clouds but overall it was a nice day-a perfect day-for a visit to the zoo. He watched as Macy gave her mom a hug and the woman seemed genuinely surprised before wrapping her arms around her daughter. Kevin smiled to himself.

Making Macy smile had been the best decision he'd ever made.


"Nick!" Hazel called as Nick entered the library that day, earning glares from the students who were spending their weekend studying. Why they were doing so, so early in the year Hazel couldn't understand and so she glared back at them. She was not in any mood to put up with swats. "Hazel." Nick smiled. "The book was great but I'm shattered today from staying up all night to-"

"Not now, Nick." Hazel cut across him. "We need to talk, seriously."

Nick's eyes widened. "About?" He asked, sceptically.

"Your girlfriend." Hazel deadpanned and a few people looked around, both annoyed and intrigued by the conversation.

"Mandy isn't my girlfriend, Hazel. Well, not until tonight, anyway. Jealous?" He smirked.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Nick. I'm being serious here." She told him, pulling him off to the back of the library, not wanting to cause a spectacle. "I overheard Amanda talking to her friend yesterday."

"You were eavesdropping on Mandy? You sure you're not jealous?" He smirked again.

Hazel picked a random paperback from a shelf and hit Nick's arm with it. "Will you stop trying to make this about me? Besides," She said, putting the book back down. "It's not eavesdropping if they're practically shouting."

Nick rolled his eyes.

"Anyway," She started walking again. "I went to give them a piece of my mind for disrupting the library and I overheard Amanda telling her friend that she's planning on using you to make herself famous. Then she's going to break your heart and use it as her own sob story."

There was a long silence between the two before Nick started laughing.

"Hazel, I know it's fun to mess with me but, seriously, I think you're jealous."

"Oh sure." Hazel rolled her eyes. "Like I'd be jealous. You're a narcissistic jerk who'd rather laugh in my face than listen to what I'm trying to tell you. You know what?" She smiled sarcastically. "Forget I said anything." She moved around him. "Jealous? You. Wish." And with that she walked away. Nick walked briskly after her.

"Clearly, you are jealous." He said, noticing when she rolled her eyes. "Making up stories about people to mess with my head is either jealous or you're some sort of sadist."

She spun around and glared fiercely at him. "Nick Lucas, I'm neither jealous nor insane. You don't want to listen to me, that's your problem. But you don't even know me, so don't go calling me names that you probably don't understand."

"What reason would Mandy possibly have for wanting to do that to me, Hazel?" Nick said, rationally. "Maybe you just had a really vivid dream."

"Maybe I did." Hazel said, her voice thick with anger. "Or maybe I was just trying to help someone I thought was my friend. I hope you enjoy heartbreak, Nick Lucas, because clearly I'm not the only one who thinks it's funny to mess with you."


"I haven't had a chocolate, vanilla, nut Swirl in forever." Macy said as herself and Kevin walked through the park with their Swirls.

Kevin smiled. "Is it as good as you remember?" He asked.

She nodded, a spoonful in her mouth and he laughed, seeing her so childlike was nice. This time two weeks ago she'd have rolled her eyes and walked away.

"Kevin," She started, swallowing.

"Macy." He smiled.

"Thanks." She gave him a small smile. "For everything."

Kevin nudged her. "You're welcome, Mace."

She smiled again at the nickname, then her face grew serious. "Kevin, I know I ask you this a lot but… Why do you care so much?"

Kevin thought about it for a few seconds and then shrugged. "I don't know Macy. I just… Do." He answered with his usual answer but something felt off with his words. His brow furrowed. Why did he care so much?


"Mandy," Nick took a seat next to the girl and she smiled at him, making his heart race.

No. He thought. Don't let her affect you. You have to know if Hazel was telling the truth or not.

"Nick." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and Nick shut his eyes. "Mandy, I have to know… Do you like me or do you like Nick of JONAS?"

Amanda laughed. "What's brought this on?" She asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just… Everyone always likes me for being Nick of JONAS… And I know you were a fan anyway… So I just…"

"Trust me." Amanda said. "It's not Nick of JONAS I'm interested in." She leaned forward and kissed his lips softly.

Somewhere in Nick's mind he registered that this was his first kiss with the girl and that he should feel sparks and all his worries should go away.

But he didn't and they didn't.

He felt nothing.


Kevin and Macy walked through the zoo, having decided not to go on a tour and to just look around at the animals, themselves.

"Sometimes, I know how these animals feel." Kevin told Macy. "I think that's why I like the zoo so much."

"How do you know how they feel, Kevin?" Macy asked, stopping to look at a giant cage with an eagle inside.

"Well," Kevin said thoughtfully. "You see how there's lots of space in that cage for the eagle to fly around in?"

Macy nodded.

"What we don't see is that, no matter how much space there is for him, he's still trapped. And there are all these people staring at him and flashing cameras in his face and, even though there's lots of space, he can't hide. He's always in the public eye."

Macy frowned. "That's awful." She said, after a moment.

"Meh," Kevin shrugged. "He's used to it. He does it for the fans."

Kevin smiled down at Macy who gave him a small smile in return.

Suddenly, and as if on cue, a stampede of girls came running toward Kevin, forcing Macy back. She stood there for a moment, watching (and smiling a little) as Kevin signed a few things and tried to leave, as graciously as he could.

"I see what you mean." Macy raised her eyebrows as herself and Kevin decided it was time to call 'zoo-time' quits. "About always being on show for the rest of the world."

Kevin chuckled. "You're lucky I'm not Joe or Nick." He looked down at her, a little smile on his face. "Or they'd never have gone away."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Macy asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

Kevin chuckled. "Let's just say that, although they like me, I'm not their favourite."

Kevin opened the car door for Macy and she got inside, nodding her head in thanks. Kevin got in the other side and started the engine. "I put it down to the fact that I don't sing."

"But you do sing." Macy said, staring out at the road and, in her head, trying to figure out why the fans would prefer Mr-Three-Points-Shy and Mr-In-Love-With-My-Stylist to Mr-I'm-Going-To-Make-It-My-Job-To-Make-This-Random-Girl-I-Just-Met-Happy. "You sing the harmonies."

"Well, yeah." Kevin nodded, a little. "But you can barely hear them."

Macy let out a sarcastic laugh. "Are you kidding? When you're singing I always notice. Your range is better than Nick or Joe's."

Kevin smiled. A few seconds later they pulled into Macy's drive and Kevin turned to Macy. "You said when."

"What?" Macy asked, confused.

"You said when you hear me singing which means when you listen to our songs, which means you do. You listen to JONAS."

Macy's eyes widened. "N-no, I don't!" She exclaimed, her face reddening.

"You were listening to 'Hold On' yesterday." Kevin arched an eyebrow.

"Lucky coincidence." Macy shrugged, her face going brighter red at the memory.

"When we were eating lunch the other day you said that you thought that 'Tell Me Why' wasn't a bad song."

"So?" Macy shifted awkwardly.

"You said that you heard it when they played it on the radio." Suddenly Kevin realised what had bothered him about that sentence.

Macy nodded and Kevin continued; "But, it hasn't been released as a single yet. They don't play it on the radio. You can only hear it on our CD."

Macy bit her lip. "Well, you know… Stella… And…" She trailed. Kevin smirked, his eyebrow still raised.

Macy sighed and pulled out her iPod. Handing it to Kevin she said, "Go on. See for yourself."

Kevin looked at the iPod and shook his head. "No, no. You say you don't have our Music, I believe you."

Macy laughed then, flicking through her iPod herself. "My most played song is Numb by Linkin Park."

Kevin nodded, understanding that she'd like that kind of Music. "My second most played song is Hold On." She told him, smiling. "Then there's a few random songs before there are four of your songs in a row."

Kevin's brow furrowed. "In your Top Twenty Five?" He asked.

Macy nodded, almost proudly. "I have all your albums. It's a secret." She smiled and Kevin felt as though he'd never liked anyone this much-ever.

"Myself and Shane went to a concert a few years back. I don't even remember who, they were Shane's kind of band." She told Kevin. "JONAS opened for them and that was all I took from the whole concert. Shane laughed at me when I bought your CD the following day." She smiled then, her eyes sparkling. "But I came home from training one day to find the CD gone. I went to yell at him for hiding it on me, only to find him rocking out to it." She laughed a little. "Hold On was our song."

Kevin smiled back at her, not really knowing what to say.

"That's okay." She said. "You don't have to say anything." She smiled.

"Did I blurt out what I was thinking again?" Kevin slapped his forehead, embarrassed.

Macy shook her head. "No. You didn't."

Kevin looked at her, an odd expression on his face.

"I should go." Macy sighed. "It's almost curfew." She opened the car door.

"I'll walk you to the door." Kevin said, getting out the other side.

They walked to the door in silence and Macy thanked Kevin for the day before opening the door.

"Goodnight Macy." Kevin said before turning around.

"Kevin?" Macy called and Kevin turned to see her smiling a small, genuine smile.

"Yes, Macy?" He asked.

"Just thought you'd like to know…" Her smile grew a little. "You were always my favourite."

And with that she closed the door.

Kevin sat into the car, a goofy grin spreading across his face and his heart beating like when Nick took out his frustration on the drum kit.


Ba-dam-pum-chhh. :)