Since Ned got his series of firsts, it's just fair that Nancy get hers too. Hope you enjoy!
The first time she'd gone to his house had been in early December.
"Uh huh, okay. No, you don't have to come. Hannah, don't worry I'll find a ride home. You just get home safely, yourself." Nancy murmured into the phone as she and Ned walked out of school.
"What happened?" Ned asked as she cut the call.
"Hannah's car skidded on ice while she was on her way here. The tires went over some stones and two of them are flattened." She explained.
"Oh no! Is she alright?" Ned asked worriedly.
"Yeah. She's fine. But she called the shop and they said it'll take them at least an hour to come get the car. Turns out there were a lot of such incidents today with the road conditions. Dad's out of town so he can't come pick me up either."
"I'll have to find another ride. George and Bess already left with Bess's mom so that might mean Geoff's still around..."
Geoff was George's older brother, a senior. He'd chaffeured the three girls enough times for her not to feel awkward asking him for a favour. She unlocked her phone to call him but Ned stopped her by speaking.
"Nan, you could come with me. Ashton's dropping me off. We could hang out at my place for a while and then one of my parents could drop you off. It's Friday and I don't have any plans."
"That sounds perfect, Ned." She looked up to see that he was already smiling down at her.
Ned's house was located in lovely green neighborhood in Mapleton, one of the localities in River Heights. The house was big and built in the same architecture as her own.
As Ned unlocked the door with his key, they were met by a woman in her late thirties or early forties. She had shoulder length blonde hair and was about the same height as Nancy's. Her pretty face lit up with a huge smile when she saw them. The corners of her blue eyes crinkled the same way as Ned's.
Before Ned had a chance to introduce them, she'd enveloped Nancy in a quick warm hug.
"You must be Nancy." She said, taking her hands. "Ned here is quite fond of you."
"I'm quite fond of him too, Mrs Nickerson." Nancy smiled back. Ned's mom had such a warm air around her that Nancy had liked her immediately.
"Please sweety, call me Edith. Now kids you must be famished. Does hot chocolate and marshmallows sound good?"
"Perfect!" Nancy and Ned said in unison.
They'd settled down on the couch and Ned was flipping through the channels on the TV when the picture wall on her right caught Nancy's eye.
Just then, Edith came into the room carrying two mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows. She must have noticed her looking at the pictures because she spoke.
"Nancy dear, I think I know something fun we could do. Would you like to see some of Ned's baby pictures?"
"Mom.." Ned began to protest but Nancy interrupted him.
"That'd be cool! I'd love to see baby Ned." She said poking him playfully on the side.
If Ned was hot now, he was adorable as a baby, Nancy thought as she looked through the albums. His dimpled smile and thick brown hair looked up at her from every picture.
And then she came across a picture that made her laugh. Ned was about two years old in it. The picture had been taken from the back against a background of the sea. Ned was looking back at his behind with a forlorn expression on his face. He was butt naked.
Edith laughed along with her.
"This is from when we took that vacation to Australia about fourteen years ago. You know, we never really got to figure out how Ned managed to get a sunburn only on his behind." She explained.
"You look like a baboon!" Nancy giggled, looking at Ned playfully.
He was blushing. It always started from his ears, she'd come to realise that. And he looked awfully cute.
"Mom, I told you Nan's an amazing detective. Maybe, she could figure this one out too." He said, chuckling along now too.
"But some things are better left a mystery." Nancy smiled.
An hour of chatting later, Mr Nickerson came home wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase.
James Nickerson was tall and strikingly handsome with a square jaw and broad shoulders. His wavy brown hair still hadn't greyed and his eyes were the same warm brown as Ned's. When he smiled, she noticed that he too had deep dimples.
Nancy was astounded to notice the resemblance between Ned and his father. He was almost a carbon copy.
Ned introduced them and explained about Hannah.
"Ah. Carson's daughter. I've been waiting to finally meet you." Mr Nickerson said in a warm voice. "Edith and I met your father by chance while we were out for dinner a couple of weeks back. It was really nice to catch up again. How is he?"
"Yes Mr Nickerson. He said it was great to see you too. He's currently in Seattle for business but he'll be back on Sunday."
"I see. I assume you'll need a ride back?"
"Yes, Mr Nickerson. I was just about to call Hannah to come pick me up. I'm sure her car's done by now."
"Oh don't bother her." He smiled. "Edith and I have some Christmas errands to run. We're going that way. We'll drop you off on the way. Just give me fifteen minutes to change into something more comfortable."
The ride back was pleasant with steady conversation between James and Edith in the front and Ned and her at the back.
"Sweety, it was so nice to get to know you." Edith said when they reached her house.
"Yes, dear." James added. "Please drop by anytime you'd like."
"Bye Nan!" Ned said, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'll see you in school on Monday."
Nancy smiled as she walked into her house. Mr and Mrs Nickerson were such wonderfully nice people, it was no surprise that Ned had turned out to be so amazing. And something told her, she'd be seeing a lot of them.
The first time he'd held her hand had been just before Christmas.
They'd gone to the River Heights Winter Fair where Bess had dragged Eric to the snacks stands while George and Adam had gone ice skating.
Nancy and Ned had decided to check out the rides.
She had been idly wondering whether he would like the Christmas present Hannah and she had bought for him earlier that day, a teal cashmere sweater, when he suddenly spoke.
"That one looks fun." Ned pointed towards a mass of twisted steel with chairs which now held a screaming bunch of people hanging upside down high up in the air.
"The Death Machine. I can't think of a worthier name." Nancy chuckled. "But I bet it's not as scary as it looks."
But she had been dead wrong. As the ride started and she shot up at breakneck speed, she felt like her insides were in a blender.
I really shouldn't have had that hotdog. She thought ruefully, peeking a sideways glance at Ned who seemed be enjoying to the fullest.
Well it's just 7 more minutes, she thought, gripping the safety bar tightly.
"Don't tell me, Drew. You're scared!" Ned was shouting but she could still hear the amusement behind his voice.
"Umm maybe." She shouted back.
And then Ned had taken one of her hands and held it tightly with his own. He had long fingers, she'd noticed that before but the warmth surprised her. All too soon, the 7 minutes were over.
He'd dropped her hand only after the operator had come and unbuckled them.
"You know, Nickerson, that wasn't so bad. Maybe we should go again." She said looking up at his dark brown eyes.
"Well, I did quite enjoy it." His eyes glinted mischievously and he immediately held her hand again.
It worked, Nancy thought happily as they walked hand in hand back to the ticket counter.
The first she almost kissed him was the day after her fifteenth birthday.
She'd had a small party at her house to celebrate but there had been a lot of food leftover so the next day being a Sunday, Hannah had called George, Bess and Ned for lunch.
"Hey George, do you think you could carry me? I ate so much I can't move." Bess said as Mrs Marvin honked her car in Nancy's driveway.
"Negative. I'll be surprised if I manage to climb the stairs to my room myself today. Anyway, Nan thanks for the food." George gave Nancy a quick hug and the cousins left.
"What are they complaining about? Hannah makes such amazing food, I could eat a truck full of it." Ned said, from the couch.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Nancy teased him. "You're a bottomless pit."
"What can I say I'm just a guy who loves food." Ned grinned. "I'd love to stay around, Nan but I still have some homework left to do so I should get going."
He started rising from his position but plopped down again.
"Oof. There might be some truth behind what George and Bess said. I might have overestimated my abilities. I'll need five more minutes." He said in mock seriousness, rubbing his stomach.
Nancy laughed.
Ned's phone rang then. It was his mom.
As he spoke to her, Nancy looked over at him.
He was wonderfully gorgeous with his chiseled jaw and broad shoulders. His dark eyes hooded with thick lashes, his dimples, his generous mouth, his mouth...
She'd imagined him kissing her, more than once. She'd blamed it on hormones in the beginning. After all, he was a friend. And definitely, one of the best guys she'd ever known. His birthday present to her had been so thoughtful she'd almost cried. Her favourite author's new mystery novel had released around ten days back. The reception had been unprecedented so by the time Nancy had gotten around to go the bookstore, it had been sold out. She'd checked a few more stores but none had a copy left and it would have taken at least two weeks before they got the next shipment. But Ned had been to Chicago with his parents for the last weekend where the author was participating in a workshop. He'd not only managed to find a book but had also had it signed by the writer.
It hadn't been that Nancy had never had a crush before. But, every time before this, her interest in someone had died down within weeks, if not days.
However with Ned, it had only grown. Every time they were together, she'd felt so ridiculously happy she could burst.
She hadn't been the only girl around to notice him though. She'd been surprised at the pang of jealousy she felt when the cheerleaders cooed over him after football or basketball or baseball matches. But then, his eyes would find hers and he would forget everything and smile that dazzling smile and she would feel butterflies in her stomach again.
Hannah, Bess and George had known her for so long, they'd figured it out sooner or later. They'd tease her but she hadn't confirmed it to them yet. In the seven months she'd known Ned, he hadn't dated anyone and quite often she had caught him looking at her with a look that made her feel lightheaded. And then they'd look away and pretend none of that ever happened.
She had considered telling him about her feelings but every time she'd ultimately chickened out because in the end, if things got weird she'd hate to lose him as a friend.
"So that was Mom. I have to hurry. She wants me to run a million errands before I get home. Umm Nan, would you come with me to the car?" Ned said, getting up. "I umm want to give you something."
Nancy nodded and followed, wondering why he was being so shy.
At his car, Ned reached in to his glove compartment and pulled out a tiny box, delicately wrapped in gift paper. He handed it to her.
'For my favourite girl detective. Love, Ned' The tag pasted on top read.
"What's the special occasion, Nickerson?" She smiled up at him.
He ran his hands through his hair and looked away.
"Just something else I picked up from Chicago. I wanted to give it to you yesterday but I couldn't get you alone. Open it."
The gift was a keychain. Attached to the ring was small magnifying glass about the size of her thumb. Her name was etched on the handle. It also had a tiny flashlight.
"The magnifying glass is real. The flashlight runs on those mercury button cells and you can change the intensity and the beam with the slider. It's supposed to run for months without needing change. And if you twist the bottom of the handle of the magnifying glass, it opens a compartment where you can store extra cells. It's worrying how much you love investigating in dark, seedy places and it's even more worrying how forgetful you're about charging your phone. So I thought, this might come in handy some day."
"Ned this is the best gift ever." She smiled at him.
"I actually asked the guy whether I could get one with a few lock picking tools attached but he looked really suspicious so I just got out as fast as I could." He chuckled.
She laughed along with him. Her friends had been highly impressed when she'd managed to self teach herself how to pick locks over winter break.
She looked up to see that he was looking down at her with so much fondness in his eyes that it made her knees weak.
She wondered whether it would ruin them if she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him then. She started rising on her toes.
"Ned, dear, this doesn't happen to be yours does it?" Hannah called from the doorway, dangling Bess's new key chain.
"Yes Hannah, of course. That sparkly pink monstrosity couldn't be anyone else's but mine." Ned shouted back humourously.
"It's Bess's, Hannah. I'll return it to her in school tomorrow." Nancy called back.
She slid back on her heels. And when Hannah had gone back in, she gently wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Thank you, Ned. You're nice."
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"You're welcome, Nan."
She felt so safe in his embrace. Maybe she wanted more, but some things were just too great to risk losing.
I know it's frustrating, Nancy and Ned not getting together but it's been really fun writing these friendship stories and I feel they'll give more meaning to their relationship in the future chapters. About them becoming a couple, maybe next chapter? ;)
