The new chapter, as promised. Thanks for reviewing chapter 6. Sorry that Macy is starting to get a little out of character. She's getting closer to Kevin, so I didn't think it would make sense for her to still be obsessed with him. Enjoy chapter 7!
14 Reasons Why Not
Chapter 7: Sunglasses and Stocking Caps
"Kevin!" Macy called out, running to catch up with the oldest JONAS in the hall on Tuesday morning. "Kevin, wait up!"
Kevin didn't slow down, but Macy managed to catch up with him anyways.
"What's wrong?" Macy asked, falling into step with him. "Why did you bail on everyone last night after I got on the roller coaster? And why are you all distant now?"
"Amusement park rides just make me feel a little weird," Kevin replied. "And I'm not distant."
"Please, you're a million miles away. What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"
Kevin didn't reply, but just kept walking.
"Will you at least talk to me?"
"Why don't you talk to your new boyfriend?"
A smile formed on Macy's lips as she realized what was going on. "Kevin, are you jealous of Justin?"
Kevin faked a laugh. "That guy? Give me a break. I didn't see anything special about him."
"Well I thought he was kinda cute," Macy replied.
Kevin's fake smile wavered. "I am not jealous of Justin," he insisted.
"Okay. You're not jealous," Macy surrendered, grinning.
"Thank you."
"So what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong!" Kevin exploded, coming to a halt.
The smile fell from Macy's face. "Clearly," she replied. "Do you…Do you not want to be my friend anymore?"
Kevin sighed. "I'm sorry, Macy. It's not you."
"Then what is it?" Macy asked once more.
"It's this," Kevin answered finally, pulling a magazine out of his backpack and handing it to her.
"More tabloids?" Macy said, reading the headline. "Is Kevin Losing His Touch?"it read.
"Read it."
Macy flipped to the page with the article on it and began reading. "'Fame is a fickle thing, here today and gone tomorrow. And for Kevin Lucas, singer and guitar player in the brother band JONAS, things are not looking good. It seems his love life is on the rocks. His mystery girl was seen making a hasty departure from his home on Saturday, and she was spotted entering an amusement park with Lucas yesterday and leaving with a mystery man of her own. With Lucas's love life going downhill, and his musical talent constantly outshined by his brothers, can it be that the oldest JONAS member has peaked at eighteen?' Kevin, that's ridiculous. You can't believe this piece of garbage, can you?"
"No," Kevin sighed. "I don't believe it."
"Then why are you letting it upset you?"
"It's hard to explain. It's like…Do you have biology with Mrs. Calf?"
"Yeah, fourth period. Why?"
"Well, I kinda feel like one of those amoebas on the slides."
Macy wrinkled her forehead. "Meaning?"
"You know, like I'm always under a microscope. I can't split into two cells or swallow paramecium without someone's big eyeball watching me. Just for once, I'd like to live like a normal teenager without being watched by the entire world."
Macy thought about this for a minute before responding. "Do you have sunglasses?"
"Sunglasses?" Kevin repeated. "Macy, I'm pouring out my soul to you here."
Macy fished through her bag, "You'll need a hat too. And you'll want to change into something a little less conspicuous. "
"Like a disguise? Why?"
Macy looked at Kevin as if it should have been obvious. "We're getting out of here."
"Getting out?"
"You and I are taking a mental health day."
"You mean…playing hooky? I don't know Macy. If my mom…"
Macy placed her finger over Kevin's mouth. He shut up immediately.
"Listen to me, Kevin," she said.
He nodded in reply.
"You're going to need a pair of sunglasses," she told him, "and a hat."
xoxoxo
"So, where do you want to go first?"
Kevin nervously pulled his stocking cap farther down on his head. "I don't know. I wasn't even expecting to get out of the school safely."
"You of little faith," Macy replied. "Come with me."
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere where no one will recognize you and no one will ask why we're not in school."
"And it's within walking distance?"
"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time," Macy replied, taking Kevin's hand. His nervousness faded away as he laced his fingers with hers. "Come on, it's a little place downtown. Just a few blocks away."
"Does this place have food? Because I'm starving."
"Oh, the best."
"Good."
They walked the three blocks together hand in hand, ignoring the questioning glances they received from older people who passed them on the sidewalk. Finally, they arrived at a tiny oriental restaurant, camouflaged between a movie theater and a record store.
"What is this place?" Kevin asked, allowing Macy to drag him inside.
"It's my place," she answered. "And I've decided to share it with you."
The atmosphere in the restaurant was warm and cozy, with bamboo scrolls hanging on the walls and paper lanterns hanging above the black wooden tables.
"Macy Misa!" cried the dark-skinned, balding man behind the counter, in his deep, friendly voice. "What brings you here on this fine Tuesday?"
Macy gestured toward Kevin. "Kevin here has never tried your amazing Thai tea."
"Never had my Thai tea?" the man said, looking at Kevin in disbelief.
"Unless you count having it dumped down my shirt," Kevin replied with a shrug.
"Well, we'll just have to fix that, now won't we?" the man said. "Two Thai teas coming right up. Have a seat."
Kevin followed Macy's lead and took a seat in one of the tall red-padded stools at the counter. The man placed two mugs in front of them, filled with an opaque tan liquid.
Kevin stared hesitantly at his drink. "This looks like nothing I've ever seen before," he whispered to Macy.
"It tastes like nothing you've ever tried before too," she assured him.
He took a cautious sip of the tea, and was pleasantly surprised by the sweetness of the drink.
"This is excellent!" he commented.
"Why thank you," the balding man said. "I do my best. So, Macy, you and your friend have any big plans for your day?"
"No plans," Macy replied. "We're just seeing what they day has in store for us." She lowered her voice, as if there was anyone in the room besides the three of them. "Kevin and I are playing hooky."
xoxoxo
"Hey, Joe. Have you seen Kevin?" Nick asked, approaching his brother in the atrium during lunch. "I found out something important that I have to tell him."
"Nope. Haven't seen him all day," Joe replied, not looking up from the notebook in his hands. "Nick, what rhymes with 'fast'?"
Nick rolled his eyes. "I'd help you with your cheesy little love song to Stella, but I have to find Kevin."
"It is not a love song!" Joe shouted, but Nick was already gone.
Joe shook his head and went back to his notebook, singing quietly to himself. "I remember back when we were kids, I used to pull your hair. It was the only way I knew back then to show you that I care. And I'd chase you on the playground, but you always ran too fast… Fast. Cast. Blast. Mast. Grass…ed. Catch? Fast. Catch. Fast. Catch. You're still the only girl today I'll ever try to catch."
Joe nodded to himself and jotted down the corny new lyric on the notebook. Then he continued his quiet singing. "I'd play the prince with your glass slipper, and you'd be my Cinderella. Looks like a perfect fit to me, my one and only…Stella! When did you get here?"
"About two seconds ago," replied the blonde girl who stood before him. "Are you writing a song? Can I hear it?"
"No! I mean—it's not very good. And it isn't finished yet."
Stella nodded. "Okay. I was just looking for Macy. Have you seen her?"
Joe shook his head. "I haven't seen her all day."
"Weird. She wasn't in homeroom, and she won't answer her cell. Do you think she's sick?"
"Maybe she had to go to the nurse's office," Joe suggested. "Maybe she fainted again and Kevin had to carry her there. That could be why Nick and I haven't seen Kevin all day."
"Wait, Kevin's gone too?"
"Nick just came out here looking for him, and he wasn't in gym."
"Oh, this is big! This is huge." Stella exclaimed, excitedly hitting Macy's speed dial key on her cell phone. "Come on Macy. Please pick up. Please pick up!"
xoxoxo
"I missed four calls from Stella!" Macy said, flipping her cell phone closed.
"Shouldn't you call her back then?" Kevin asked, as the two wandered aimlessly around town.
Macy shook her head. "This is our mental health day. It has to be one hundred percent stress free. That means no JONAS for you and no Stella for me."
"Okay. We have some time left before school gets out. Where to next? We already hit the oriental place, the movie, and the arcade."
"Hmm," Macy said thoughtfully. "How about there?"
Kevin looked to where Macy was pointing, an empty, neglected playground with a graffiti-covered jungle gym, a rusty set of swings, and a broken teeter-totter.
"Looks like fun. Race you there?"
"Last one to the swing set is a rotten egg!" Macy shouted, sprinting toward the playground.
"First one has to eat it!" Kevin shot back, tearing after her.
Kevin arrived at the swings a good thirty seconds after Macy, holding his sides and panting breathlessly.
"Rotten egg," Macy said with a grin, taking a seat in one of the plastic swings.
Kevin collapsed into the swing next to her. "You had a head start."
"Sore loser," Macy said, kicking her legs to get the squeaky swing moving.
"I think I need a push to get started," Kevin told her. "That race wore me out."
Macy obliged, jumping off of her swing and running behind Kevin's. He kicked out his legs enthusiastically as she gave him the first giant shove. She continued pushing him until he soared well above her head, high enough that she could run underneath of him and take a seat on her own swing. She pumped her legs hard to catch up with Kevin's swing, until the two were in synch, soaring high enough that when they reached their greatest height, the entire swing set wobbled slightly.
"I could do this forever!" Macy cried out joyfully.
"I feel like a bird!" Kevin shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I feel…like I…can fly!" At the word fly, Macy let go of her swing and flew through the air, landing softly on the sand a few yards away.
"Macy! Wait…for…me!" Kevin cried, jumping off after her, and landing beside her with a soft thud.
Macy laughed and rolled over on the sand, so that her head was resting on Kevin's shoulder. "I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid."
"This was a good day," Kevin replied. "It's nice to feel like a kid again. To have…"
"Nothing to worry about?" Macy finished.
"Exactly. But we're gonna be in so much trouble."
Macy elbowed him gently in the side. "You're not supposed to be worrying, remember?"
"Sorry."
"You're forgiven."
The two of them lay on the sand in silence for a while, before Kevin spoke again. "We should get back to school before my brothers get out of class and wonder where I am."
Macy nodded into Kevin's shoulder. "I guess the best mental health day ever can't last forever."
Kevin stood up and brushed the sand off of his clothes before reaching down to help Macy up. She took his hand and let him help her to her feet.
"I pushed you on the swings," Macy told him. "Which means you owe me a piggy back ride."
Kevin smiled and turned around, kneeling down and holding out his arms to allow Macy to jump onto his back. She climbed on and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck. Kevin pretended not to notice her breath on his neck, which he quite enjoyed. He stood back up and began his trek.
xoxoxo
After the final bell rang, Nick walked to Kevin's locker, where he was surprised to find his brother grabbing his text books.
"You're here?" Nick said. "I was looking for you today. I thought maybe you were playing hooky."
Kevin's eyes widened. "Keep your voice down!" he hissed.
Nick gasped. "You did. Mom's gonna kill you!"
"Only if she finds out."
"Mom always finds out."
Kevin frowned. "Oh, man. You're right."
"Are you new?" Nick asked, smacking his brother on the shoulder. "I'm always right."
"I knew I'd have to pay for this mental health day."
"Why would you skip school? Do you have a death wish?"
"Macy talked me into it. She's very convincing," Kevin replied. "And she's…what's the word?"
"Spontaneous?" Nick supplied.
"That's the one. You have that yellow notepad? I'm writing that down."
Nick pulled the yellow notepad out of his backpack and handed it to Kevin. "Reason # 7: She's too spontaneous." he jotted.
"Where's Joe?" Kevin asked, handing the notepad back to Nick.
Nick shrugged. "The last time I saw him was at lunch. He was writing a mushy song about Stella."
Kevin laughed. "Really?"
"Dude, ever since I asked Stella to the amusement park, Joe's been jumping through hoops trying to impress her."
"I'm not impressed by people jumping through hoops unless the hoops are on fire," Kevin commented.
Nick rolled his eyes. "It's a figure of speech."
"Right. I knew that. So, why were you looking for me?"
"Huh?" Nick said, shoving the notepad back into his bag.
"You said you were looking for me earlier."
"Oh yeah. I had something important to tell you."
"And?" Kevin urged. "What was it?"
Nick wrinkled his forehead. "I forgot."
"It must not have been that important then."
Nick shrugged. "I'll probably remember again tomorrow."
The two weeks are halfway over! What did you think of Joe's corny love song? Please review!
Next Chapter: Jealousy and Jelly-Knees
