A/N: This chapter didn't want to be written. But I needed to get Stella in there because she's going to be important in the sequel that I'm planning... :) Besides, I needed to bridge to the end... yes, the end... because it's ending. There's only three or four chapters left, to be honest. I'm sad and excited, because the next one is going to be epic. And people will DIE. -dramatic music- Well, hopefully, if I can actually manage to kill people off without you guys killing me or me killing myself. -demolishes pitchforks and other devices of torture-

Disclaimer: I don't own JONAS or WOWP. I think we all know that by now...

chapter twelve: safety pin swords

(nickpov)

I suppose I deserved it.

I had lied, however pathetic it might have been, to my parents to try and keep them from finding out what I really was. I had hid, and somehow manipulated one of their own to set me free when was trapped. Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to be mad at my family for not showing up. I was more mad at myself for too many reasons to be mad at anyone else.

And even after I knew they weren't coming, I'd somehow detached myself from Alex, throwing punchlines and channeling all my anger at the one girl who was the only one I could truly trust. She was so forgiving, so willing to love me, and I wanted to love her back, so why was I so hesitant? I didn't want to rope her into my fate, but it was a little too late for that, and now it was impossible to save her, and I was hesitant because I wanted to do the impossible. I wanted to save the girl I loved.

It must have been hours I spent outside the hospital, crouched in the bushes, waiting for something to come of me. The word was so deafeningly silent that it killed me, and both Alex and even Samael were completely quiet. For some reason, though, I liked the silence. If it was going to kill me, than why not? Of course... now I wasn't even making sense. Great.

And time goes on...

"Hey." A girl walked over to me and sat down in the dirt as if it was completely normal for some guy to be hiding in a bush. She reminded me of that Penny girl I had a crush on once. They looked almost exactly alike, but she was just... different, and I couldn't quite place it. "Something wrong?"

"No, I'm hiding in a bush because I think it's fun," I muttered sarcastically, pulling up some grass and letting it fall through my fingers.

"Then can you tell me what you find so amusing about it?" she asked in the same sarcastic tone. When I stared at her for at least ten long seconds, she smiled. "Thought so." Continuing as if I actually did want her here, she said, "Well, I'm Juliet. And my boyfriend sent me over here to talk to you. Apparently you know his sister?"

"Depends."

"Well, do you?"

Silence.

"Justin. Justin Russo is my boyfriend. His sister is Alex. Ring any bells?" I must have flinched or something, because then she added, "Yeah, I knew it. You must be Nick, then."

"How do you know my name?" I snapped, before thinking anything through, and realizing that she might just know it for reasons other than stalking me.

She grinned. "I'll let you in on a secret – I know just about everything." I rolled my eyes at this, but she went on to state quite simply, "I'm a vampire."

"Great for you. I learned this four days ago, but I'm a wizard." Part of me said I should be scared that there was this bloodsucking monster sitting next to me, but according to what Alex had said earlier, my own family was more dangerous than her, so I stayed quiet. I had to trust her. It wasn't like I had anyone else to be with. "And just being different has torn my whole life apart."

"I know. Alex told me." She put her arm around me, and I pulled it right off again. Juliet looked stunned that I had the courage to manhandle a vampire like that. I simply didn't care. Angering a vampire could be the least of my problems. "Listen, she told me to invite you to stay with her. I mean, the whole Russo family."

I was startled by this invitation. How did they even know I had nowhere to go? I wanted so badly to turn it down, to keep my pride, but alone, I was so vulnerable, even with magic and everything on my side. "Sure," I sighed, giving in to the vampire's blinking blue eyes and my heart, beating faster and faster, wanting to see Alex. Stupid love. It got too complicated.

"Great!" Juliet pulled me to my feet and started to tow me along when she finally realized that I was pretty much incapacitated with my left leg encased in plaster from my foot to right below my knee. "Oh, sorry," she apologized, and handed me my crutches, letting me follow her into the building.

That's when I decided that drinking blood was the least of the factors that made me want to call a vampire "creepy."

(stellapov)

Nick was not in school the next day. And absolutely no one would tell me why. Every time his name would come up with a conversation, Joe and Kevin would immediately change the subject and, if necessary, pretend they didn't even know who I was talking about. Macy wasn't quite as bad, but it was obvious she was pretending she didn't know. It was like trying to kill someone with a stupid little pin – all you were going to do was scratch up the surface, but you weren't going to get deep.

And when he didn't show up the next day, either, I knew that there had to be something wrong, that there was something they were hiding. I planned my battle strategy well. Macy would be hard to crack, and Kevin, as obvious as it was that he was lying, wouldn't spill. I knew that I was one of Joe's only weaknesses, and if there was anyone to crack him...

"Joseph!" I called, rushing down the hallway. It was after school, and everyone had just about left, but he was there, taking his time putting his books in his bag.

"Yeah, what's up?" All nonchalant and innocent. There had to be something wrong with Nick... I narrowed my eyes and stood on my toes to reach his height. His own brown eyes suddenly got all intense and completely impossible to read. I looked away and at his ear so I wouldn't give in to them.

"Where's Nick?" I demanded. Better to go at it directly than to avoid it. Making Joe uncomfortable was something I was good at, and once he felt uneasy, he would sing like a canary.

He suddenly pushed me away from him. "And by Nick, you mean..?" he tried as an obvious and desperate attempt to divert the subject away from his little brother. "And for your information, I am not a bird."

I hadn't said that aloud, had I? "I didn't say anything about birds," I said, confused. Joe swore under his breath. Had he just read my mind...? "And you know perfectly well who Nick is. Your little brother? Curly hair, brown eyes? Pretty voice?"

"I thought that you thought that my voice was pretty," he pouted, trying to get me off the subject. I wasn't that easily thrown, however.

"Joe, get off the subject one more time and I will stab you with my safety pins, you got that?"

"Are you threatening me, Stella Malone?" He actually batted his eyelashesat me. I wanted to absolutely murder him at this point. Safety pins just weren't going to cut it. Why wouldn't he tell me the truth?

"Yes, yes I am," I said. "Now where's Nick?"

He sighed. Please give in, please give in, please give in, I thought desperately. Joe took a deep breath, and said, "No, Stella, I won't give in to you. Not this time."

Is it at all possible that he could read my mind? "Joe, please. I care about your brother, and I'd at least like to know that he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine," he muttered stiffly.

"You mean you don't know?"

He looked into my eyes, and what I saw in them was the depth and knowledge of a thousand years. This wasn't the Joe I knew, this was someone else. "I can't tell you any more," he whispered softly, and walked away, leaving his locker door wide open and me standing there in the hallway with a million possibilities in my head about what exactly happened to Nicholas Jerry Lucas.

And none of them made sense.

I ran all the way to the firehouse so I would get home before Joe. I had to check one thing. "Oh, hey Stella," Mr. Lucas said as I walked in the door.

"Hey," I replied. "Um, is Nick here? 'Cause he wasn't at school today and I need to run something by him really quick."

A look of panic crossed over his face. "Sorry, Stella," he said. "I'm sure you heard about the accident yesterday. He's still at the hospital, I was just heading over there. Sorry 'bout that."

"Oh, can I come?" I asked, trying to stay innocent and naïve. Hopefully he wouldn't catch on to me. And I also hoped that he couldn't read my mind like his son apparently could.

"No, sorry, Stella. Family only. They're very strict about that," he said, trying to act apologetic.

"So you'll call me when he gets home? And he'll be in school tomorrow?"

"Probably not," he said, obviously lying at this point. "I'm sorry, Stella, but if you'd like, I could take whatever you want to give him."

I shook my head. "It's fine," I said. "Thanks anyway." And I walked out the door more confused than I had been when I first walked in there. Who else would know about Nick besides his family and besides Macy?

Then I thought of that girl at the sub shop we went to a couple days ago. Why did I think that she knew something? It was a stupid idea, but I drove there anyway, desperate for any information I could get about Nick.

The sign above the store said "Waverly Sub Station", and I opened the door slowly to a very busy restaurant. Dinner rush. Of course. Silently, I slipped inside and looked around. There was a large, sweaty man working the kitchen, a Latino woman waitressing, and a young boy with short brown hair clearing tables. Another boy with darker, messier hair in a waiter's apron was sitting at a table, talking to a pretty blonde-haired girl. And finally, there was a long, dark haired girl sitting behind the counter next to the most familiar face in the room – a curly haired, brown-eyed boy holding a guitar and smiling. That was how I almost missed him. It was the smile. It was so out of place on his face, but yet, it suited him quite well...

"Hi, welcome to Waverly Sub Station." I jumped when I heard someone start talking to me, and I whirled around to see the messy-haired boy standing behind me, his girlfriend playing with a straw at the table behind her. "Can I help you?"

"Um..." I didn't quite have a good excuse, nor did I even remember the girl's name. I had to start somewhere. "I'm here to see Nick, I guess."

He looked at me like I was insane. "Wait, do all the fans know that he's here? Are we going to get mauled?" He paused. "Are you some sort of super-stalker-fangirl?"

"No!" I said quickly. "I'm a friend."

"That's what they all say," he muttered, and towed me over to Nick. "This girl claims she knows you," he said, then walked away to go join his girlfriend again.

"Stella," Nick breathed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," I said. "Your brothers are being all dense and 'Nick who', and Macy knows something but won't tell me what, and your dad said you were at the hospital..." My eyes fell on his cast.

The smile faded from his face. "Why didn't you just trust him?"

"Because I knew he was lying. Joe was lying about it, and they wouldn't tell me, and I knew something was wrong. Why won't they tell me?"

"This isn't your fight, Stella," he said softly. "Maybe someday you'll learn, but for now it's best if you leave me alone. I'm not like you, none of us are. And if we could tell the truth, if I could tell you how my relationship with Joe and Kevin has changed, then I would, but the only part of the truth you can know is that you can't know. And it's for your safety as well as mine." His chocolate eyes glistened with tears. The girl had his arm in her hand and was squeezing it tight in warning. "I'm sorry."

"Fine," I whispered. "You can keep secrets. I'm sure it's worth it. What ever it is." And I ran out of the restaurant as Joe and Kevin ran in. And by the look on their faces, it didn't look like they were going to apologize to their brother.

The look on their faces seemed intent on death.