A/N: Was that big enough? Did it live up to its promise? I promise bigger things are coming, and…well…you'll see!
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Disclaimer: I inexplicably own all the songs on the Billboard Top One Hundred for 1982, but not the characters.
A/N: Thanks to dares to dream, inlo, animegrlsteph, Diamond and Stars and Hanner Nanner for reviewing. Sorry for my crappy updating skills.
And yes, we need some awkwardness. So let's start here.
Enjoy:
Nancy closed her eyes peacefully, hovering somewhere between asleep and awake. She could vaguely feel the weight of Frank's arm across her stomach and the warmth radiating off of him.
Nancy smiled. It seemed like everything had disappeared, even for a just a small period of time. Right now, it was just her and Frank.
She curled up against his side and felt sleep finally win her over. She could still feel the smile on her face when…
The phone rang suddenly and loudly from her beside table, shocking both Frank and Nancy up and awake.
Nancy felt her cheeks go very hot, as if they had been caught in the act. She scrambled up, taking the sheet with her in a very pathetic attempt to cover herself from Frank's eyes.
"H-hello?" she answered, trying to sound calm and collected.
"Nance, you've got to get down here," Joe's frantic voice came through the phone. "We think we found Seth."
"Really?" Nancy gasped, momentarily forgetting about modesty. "How?"
"It's a really long story," Joe told her, "and I'll explain everything when you and Frank get over here."
Oh. Right…me and…F-Frank," Nancy looked up at him as she said his name. He glanced up and tried to meet her eyes, but she just looked away and shifted the sheet higher up, clutching it tightly with her free hand.
"Yeah," Joe confirmed slowly, sounding confused. "We're at Nicholson Park. Hurry, Nance."
"We'll be there in five…ten minutes," Nancy promised. She hung up the phone very slowly and carefully, trying to prolong the activity as long as possible so she could avoid Frank's gaze.
"Nancy…" Frank spoke up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, still wrapped in a sheet himself.
"They want us to meet them at Nicholson Park," Nancy told him, her voice wavering a bit. "They think they know where Seth is."
"That's great, Nancy, but…"
"I know a really quick way to get there, so it'll take no time at all," Nancy blabbered, reaching down and grabbing her shirt off the floor. She let her hair fall down around her face, hiding her scarlet cheeks. She turned her back to him and continued gathering her clothes. She picked up Frank's shorts.
"Umm, here," Nancy cleared her voice, turning very briefly to hand them to him. He stared at her outstretched hand for a moment before finally reaching out and taking his shorts from her, their hands connecting very briefly. Nancy pulled hers away like she had been burned, and Frank felt a look of hurt cross his face
"Let's just…and then we can leave," Nancy told him, maneuvering the sheet around her so she could get dressed without him seeing any part of her skin.
"Nancy, what are you doing?" his voice came very suddenly from behind her.
"I'm…getting dressed," Nancy replied, inwardly dying at the sound of how lame her voice sounded.
"Are you seriously…pretending that we didn't just…?" Frank's voice trailed off incredulously.
"Frank…" Nancy's pleaded, shifting under the sheet. "Let's just…get dressed, okay? Joe is waiting."
"I…" Frank stared at her. "Yeah, okay…"
So silently, they got dressed, back to back.
When she was finished, Nancy cast the sheet to the floor, shifting her clothes around so they were more comfortable.
"Are you…finished?" Nancy asked, clearing her throat.
"Yes," Frank said, feeling his skin burn as Nancy turned around to face him.
"Okay…" Nancy swallowed. "Let's…let's go then. Do you want to--?"
"Nancy, you cannot be serious," Frank blurted out, taking a step towards her. "You cannot just pretend like that never happened.
"I'm not…pretending," Nancy let out an awkward laugh, taking a step back and wrapping her arms around herself.
"You're avoiding my gaze," Frank pointed out, taking another step forwards.
"I'm really…not. I'm…not," Nancy forced herself to look up, but the intensity of his eyes made her take another step back.
"Why are you walking away from me?" Frank cried in exasperation, taking two more steps forwards. Nancy shuffled backwards almost automatically, hitting her back against the wall.
"Because…" Nancy whispered, wrapping her arms even tighter across her chest.
"Because why?" Frank asked slowly, taking another step towards her. They were almost chest to chest now, and he could visibly see how uncomfortable Nancy was.
"Because, Frank," Nancy scooted to her left, trying to find a way around him, "because I'm afraid if you get too close…"
"What?" Frank asked after a beat. "What are you afraid of?"
"You!" Nancy cried, slapping a hand over her mouth instantly. A look of pain crossed Frank's face.
"Why are you afraid of me?" Frank whispered, looking down at her with soft eyes. "Did I…hurt you? What did I do, Nancy, please!"
"It wasn't just you, Frank, it was us!" Nancy cried, slipping around him and walking backwards towards her bed. "It what we did, there!"
"What did we do, Nancy?" Frank asked her, cocking his head to the left. "Say it."
"We did…we had…" Nancy stammered, feeling like a sixth grader. The word perched at the tip of her tongue, burning into it like acid. "We…"
"Had sex, Nancy!" Frank cried. "Why are you acting like it was nothing?!"
"Frank…" Nancy said quietly, turning away and running her hand over the fabric of her pillow case. "Maybe it was…"
'You're a freaking liar,' she thought to herself.'That wasn't nothing. That was everything. The best thing to ever freaking happen to you. You love him. Tell him, you idiot!'
'I can't tell him!' She panicked, her thoughts overlapping her other ones. 'We can't…be together! Not right now! We have to…we can't…'
'What is WRONG with you?! You love him! He loves you! You just…you know. Why can't you just be happy and BE with him? He wants to! You want to!'
"What?!" Frank cried, feeling like the breath had been knocked out of him.
'You really hate yourself, don't you?'
'It's for everyone's own good that we…don't right now,' she told herself.
'So why don't you TELL HIM THAT?!'
Nancy bit her lip and willed herself not to cry. She took a large step towards the door, grabbing the keys to Hannah's car off her desk as she did.
"Why don't you get it, Nancy?" Frank cried, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving. The force spun her around to face him again. She looked up at him, eyes blazing, and Frank realized for the first time that Nancy was very small compared to him. She tried to worm her wrist away from him, but it was useless. Even though he wasn't using much force, his hand wrapped all the way around her wrist…and maybe, she thought to herself in a moment of delusion, she didn't really want to get away from him. "Everyone, Nan, everyone knows that we're supposed to be together! How can you not see what they do?"
"I can't see what isn't there, Frank," Nancy said, her voice seemingly cold but Frank didn't miss the slight waver in her words.
"You do, Nancy!" Frank insisted, letting go of her wrist and grabbing her shoulders firmly. "Nancy, I've already told you: I love you. I always have. I tried to resist it for so long that I actually think I ended up wanting you more, if it's possible."
Nancy's wrist went limp in his hand.
"Frank," Nancy whispered hoarsely, hoping she wouldn't cry. "We can't right now, alright? Please don't question it."
Frank gazed down at her, feeling something burn strongly in his stomach.
"Fine," Frank looked away and released her wrist. "Whenever you're ready, Nancy."
With that, he moved around her, very briefly and gently bumping shoulders with her and left the room.
Nancy hugged her arms around her waist tightly and gazed after him.
"You'll be okay," she told herself as the last piece of her heart…slowly…broke…
'It's your own fault.'
--
Bess, Joe and George sat silently, side by side, on a park bench. Bess squirmed from side to side, looking down at the bench with dismay.
"Would you…not?" George asked, sighing and turning towards her cousin.
"It's so…contaminated!" Bess cried, smoothing her skirt down over her legs.
"As long as you don't like the bottom of your skirt, I'm sure you'll be fine," George told her.
"That's a shame, because I was so looking forward to doing that later," Bess snapped, reaching into her purse and pulling out a mini bottle of hand sanitizer. She squirted a small puddle into the palm of her hand and rubbed them together before dropping the bottle back in her purse.
"That smells like crap," George informed her, slumping her shoulders.
"It smells like melon," Bess pronounced. "See, it even says so on the bottle!"
"Melon my ass," George rolled her eyes. "Maybe melon after it's been through the digestive system."
"Oh, stop complaining!" Bess nudged her with her shoulder. "It's just hand sanitizer! I will NOT get H1N1, George."
"What a shame it would be if you did," George muttered under her breath.
"Hey!" Bess cried, nudging her again. "That's not very--!"
"Guys!" Joe cried, turning his eyes on them. "Will you just calm down for a minute?"
"Sorry, Joe," they muttered in unison.
"Just…please," Joe sighed, looking at his watch and then back up at the park, studying the rickety, graffiti covered play structure. It had been well past ten minutes sine he had called Nancy, and there was still no sign of either her or Frank.
"Where the hell are they?" Joe muttered, surveying the area again.
"I don't know, Joe, but I'm getting really creeped out knowing that there is a rapist near by," Bess said to him, getting to her feet and taking a few steps towards him, her flip flops clomping noisily against the ground. She stood in front of him, hands on her hips and purse swaying back and forth from where it dangled on her shoulder.
"I would like to leave," she told him. "Please."
"Then leave," Joe told her sincerely. "You and George. If Seth honestly is around here, I'd feel ten times better if you just left. I want you guys to be safe, and I don't feel like you will be here. I already don't feel right about Nancy being here, but there is no possible way I could keep her away."
"I don't want to leave!" George cried, jumping to her feet. "Come on, Joe!"
"Please, George?" Joe stood as well. "I know you're probably stronger than me and could take Seth out, but I don't want to leave Bess alone either."
George sighed, jammed her hands into her pockets and nodded.
"Fine, Hardy," George told him with a glare. "Only because your concern is sweet."
"Thank you," Joe smiled slightly and gave them both hugs before watching them walk away.
He sat back down on the bench and sighed. He bent forward and rested his elbows on his legs, his face in his palms.
"Come on, guys," he muttered, stealing another look at his watch. Realizing it had been half an hour since he had first called, he got to his feet, very badly wishing he had asked Bess if he could keep her cell phone.
He walked around the play structure, hands in his pockets.
'Let's just hope the police don't cruise by,' he thought to himself with a snort. 'You'll either be charged as a drug dealer or a pedophile.'
No sooner than he had thought that, he looked up to see Frank and Nancy walking speedily towards him, their eyes on the ground.
"Guys!" Joe jogged over to them. "What the hell took you so long?"
Frank turned his head towards Nancy, as if daring her to look at him, but she didn't even raise her head (but Joe could still see a dark blush stain her cheeks).
"Seriously, what happened?" Joe asked, cocking an eyebrow. When Nancy still refused to look up, he turned towards his brother, who merely shrugged his shoulders weakly and swallowed hard.
"Okay…" Joe furrowed his eyebrows together. "I guess it isn't important…"
"No, it's not," Nancy spoke up hurriedly, startling Joe with her voice. "Let's just…so…I mean…Seth?"
Joe looked back and forth between them, trying to draw some sort of conclusion.
"Okay, who saw who naked?" he joked after a moment of awkward silence. When Frank and Nancy both whipped their heads towards each other, than away, then began stammering and nervous laughing, Joe took a large step back and felt his jaw drop.
"I…oh," he mumbled, looking at them in horror. "You two…? Oh, ew…I mean, no ew…I…oh, God…"
Nancy and Frank began stammering even louder and Joe pressed his hands to his ears.
"I don't want to hear it, I really don't!" he cried, shutting his eyes tightly. "You're right, Frank, I should just shut my big mouth! Now, when I uncover my ears, I want there to be SILENCE!"
Taking several deep breaths, he opened his eyes slowly and uncovered his ears. Nancy and Frank were both staring at the ground.
"I don't know what is going on between you two," Joe spoke up slowly, "and I don't really think you guys know either. But for the sake of Amy, we all need to co-operate and never ever talk about this again. Agreed?"
Nancy and Frank both nodded silently.
"Okay," Joe said softly. "Now, there is a motel over there, and I am almost positive that Seth is in there."
"Is…" Frank spoke slowly, then paused. When Joe gave him a nod signaling for him to go on, he opened his mouth again. "Is his car in the parking lot?"
"I haven't checked yet," Joe admitted, "but I have the feeling that Seth isn't really smart enough to park his car somewhere else."
"Okay," Nancy whispered. "Let's go."
A/N: Well…there you go. I don't…know. I suppose it's okay. Just needed to update at this point. I think the next chapter will probably be better.
BTW, I am sorry for torturing you Frank/Nancy fanatics. Would it help if I said that everything turns out okay?
Probably not.
Anyways, this chapter is un-betaed, so all faults are my own.
Reviews?
