A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers! I'm so glad you guys thought last chapter was good; I was worried it might have been going too fast. Anyway, here's a new chapter; read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy boys, their friends, etc., and am making no money at all off this little story.

The next morning, Nancy woke up in her bedroom at Casa Verde. Groggily, she sat up, wincing at the pain in her aching limbs. She looked around. Vanessa was sitting on the next bed over watching the news, and Callie was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Nancy." Vanessa said. "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore." Nancy replied. Jumping off a roof would do that to you. "And yourself?"

"Oh, I'm great." Vanessa replied. "Although…" she displayed her blistered wrists, still red from being taped together for a long time.

Nancy cringed. "Ouch…"

Vanessa laughed. "I think I'm getting used to it."

"Good." Nancy teased, "Because if you continue to see Joe, this might happen a lot more often."

"Oh, it's totally worth it." Vanessa deadpanned.

"Oh, but of course." Nancy grinned. "Hey, what are you watching?"

"Weather." Vanessa groaned. She pulled back the curtains. "Look outside; it's pouring! It's freezing out too."

Nancy sighed when the TV suddenly caught her eye. "Check it out!" she gasped. The news anchor was reporting on the museum robbery.

"…Police are baffled by a break-in that occurred at the local museum around one am last night. Around 1:15, the police responded to an alarm that was triggered inside the museum, and ended up participating in a deadly showdown with two apparently-armed thieves. The officers shot them down only to discover that, when they got to the bodies, they were missing. It is obvious the thieves were after the Velasquez exhibit, although, mysteriously, nothing was taken. Only the two thieves were seen: both girls in their late teens or early twenties, one with long blonde hair and one with dark red. So far, there are no leads. If anyone has any information on the break-in, they are urged to call our tipline at 1-800-555-4352. In other news…"

Nancy switched off the TV. "So I guess it really happened." she said.

"Oh, it did." Vanessa agreed. "Did you think you got those bruises on the beach?"

"I was half-hoping it was all a dream…" Nancy sighed.

Vanessa cocked an eyebrow. "Even the liplock with Frank?" she asked teasingly.

Nancy blushed. "Actually, that was my favorite part..."

"You have to talk to him." Vanessa said wisely.

"I know." Nancy grumbled. "But I have to talk to Ned first."

"You mean break up with him?"

"Yes."

"Bummer."

"You're telling me."

Nancy felt insanely nervous huddling in the cold rain outside Ned's door. What a way to ruin a vacation, she thought. What kind of girl goes to the beach with a guy and goes home with a different one? But she was getting ahead of herself; it was entirely possible that Frank and Callie would work out their differences, the way she and Ned always did. Nancy sighed; But not today. She couldn't bring herself to hurt Ned anymore by being with him when she didn't love him. She had to end it today, before it got any worse, even though it scared her. She knew it was unspeakably selfish; but she didn't want to let go of Ned until she could be sure of Frank… but she couldn't be sure, and she had to let go. With a new resolve, she knocked on his door.

Ned opened the door. "Nan. You're back! How'd it go?" He held the door wide to let her in and gave her a halfhearted kiss on the forehead.

"It went fine. We got Vanessa back, didn't we?" Nancy kept her tone normal.

"What happened to you?" Ned asked with concern, eyeing her black-and-blue arms.

"Oh, you know, occupational hazards…" Nancy said lightly.

Ned smiled. "Yeah. I saw Frank about ten minutes ago. He's looking pretty beat up too. Shiner and everything."

Nancy winced. "Yeah, he had a hard night last night…Did he fill you in?" She wondered why she was beating around the bush instead of saying what she came to say.

"Briefly."

"Yeah…"

They were standing awkwardly just inside the door, not realizing they both needed to say the same thing.

"Ned-"

"Hold on, Nancy. I need to tell you something." Ned started painfully.

Nancy almost interrupted, but she could tell that he had something important to say. She let him lead her to a seat on the bed and listened guiltily, hoping he wouldn't say anything that would make her lose her nerve when it was her turn to talk.

"Okay, well, you know that when it comes to you and Frank, I've always been a little jealous, right, because you two have a lot in common and you understand each other a lot better than I do. And I know that you've always told me that even though Frank is a good friend, you're in love with me."

Nancy's insides were twisting. What was he saying? Nausea rose in her throat, but she tried not to show it.

Ned took a breath and went on. "And I've always been a little skeptical that you weren't in love with Frank. Even now, I don't know if you're telling the truth, or even if you know. But I want to give you a chance to figure it out. I think we should break it off."

Nancy gaped. Ned was breaking up with her! This was certainly a twist. She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or just pretend she was upset. She settled on a blank expression.

Ned didn't stop. "And I won't lie to you about why, either. It's because…well, because I've been spending a lot of time with Callie and I like her a lot."

Nancy couldn't stop her surprise from showing.

Ned must have taken her shocked expression for anger because he hurriedly continued. "I'm sorry, Nancy, but Callie and I have lots of things in common, and we can talk about anything, and I think this might be my only shot at… well, the kind of thing you and Frank have." He leveled his gaze at her, his brown eyes searching her face for some sign that she understood.

Nancy was stunned and relieved at the same time. She gave him a thin smile. "I, um, came here to say the same thing."

A shadow of anger flickered across Ned's face. "You and Frank? I knew it. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I haven't been lying to you." Nancy said honestly. "I'm still not sure what's going on between me and Frank, but… I'm willing to try this out and see what happens."

Ned nodded. Then, cracking a smile, he pulled her into a friendly hug. Suddenly, he pulled back. "Is Frank planning on breaking it off with Callie?" he asked anxiously.

Nancy frowned. "I don't know. We never talked about it." Something seemed to occur to her. "Ned, if they work things out, we can't come between them."

"I wouldn't want to." Ned said softly.

"You're a good guy, Ned Nickerson."

"Shouldn't you go find Frank?" Ned returned fondly.

Nancy bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know who Frank had chosen: her or Callie.

"You'll feel better once you know, no matter what happens." Ned said, being pretty much in the same boat.

Nancy nodded, then turned on her heel and headed into the pouring rain.

A/N: Alright, I'm going to need feedback on this one because it was hard to write. I tried to figure out how the characters would act, and this is what I got. Please let me know what you thought; I'd really appreciate it! By the way, I'm thinking one more chapter should wrap this up. Review!