Chapter 4 Bicycle
"Just pedal, Macy!" Nick cried out frustratingly.
He thought teaching Macy would only take an hour or two for her to master the art of riding a bicycle. He factored in the fact that Macy Misa was a very athletic girl so he counted on her to be a very fast learner but he was surprised that she had no sense of balance whatsoever. That was why it was taking them the whole morning for her to get the hang of it.
"I can't!" Macy complained.
They were in the park on a beautiful Saturday morning but the sun was now making it ascent as it became perpendicular to the ground indicating that it was almost noon.
"Just lift your other leg up," Nick ordered her. He tried his best to be patient with her but Macy was being stubborn because she didn't trust his judgment.
She was hesitant to take her foot off the ground.
"If I do that, I'm going to fall," Macy said as she gripped the handle bars tightly.
"At this rate, you'll never even move!" Nick pointed out. He let out a sigh of frustration. "Don't you want me to teach you how to ride a bike or not?"
"Y-yeah…but I'm scared to lift my foot," Macy said sheepishly. She didn't know why she was so scared to bring her foot up to the pedal. She loved to do extreme sports but for some reason, balancing herself on a bicycle was far scarier for her than jumping off a cliff.
"Don't be scared, Macy," Nick assured her. "I'm here. I won't let you fall."
Macy turned her head towards him and said, "You promise?"
Nick smiled at her and said, "Yeah, I promise."
"Nick, you better not let go," Macy said now determined to put her foot up. "Okay?"
"I won't," Nick said. He was happy to see her finally putting her foot up to the pedal. "Okay, now pedal, Macy."
She followed his orders and the bicycle began to move. She was doing it! She was riding a bike!
"Nick, I'm doing it!" she cried out happily as she began pedaling faster.
"You sure are!" Nick said running along behind her while holding onto the back of the bike to keep it steady.
"I'm actually riding a bike!" Macy said loudly. She was picking up momentum and then she yelled back to Nick. "Am I going too fast, Nick? You want me to slow down?"
She knew Nick was running behind her but she was going fast now and she wasn't sure if he could keep up. So she waited for his response but there was none.
"Nick?" she said again but this time she no longer heard his footsteps behind her. "NICK!"
"JUST KEEP PEDALING, MACY!" Nick yelled at her from far away.
"You said you wouldn't let go!" Macy yelled back. Her bike started to swerve unsteadily because fear struck in her when she realized that the curly-haired boy wasn't supporting her anymore. "OH NO! I'M GOING TO DIE! NICK! AHHHHHH!"
She yelled as she felt her bike tilt towards the right side and in a matter of seconds, Macy met the pavement.
"MACY!" Nick yelled while running towards her and when he reached her he asked her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said heatedly.
"What happened? You were doing so well!"
He offered his hand to help her up but she ignored him. Instead Macy glared up at him as she picked herself up from the ground. Thankfully, she had no deep bruises.
"You said you wouldn't let go!" Macy said curtly as she continued to glare at him.
Nick rolled his eyes but said while smiling, "Of course, I had to let go at one point. Before, you even realized I wasn't there anymore, you were riding on your own, Macy. You rode a bike!"
But Macy wasn't reveling in that fact because all she said was "You promised you wouldn't let me fall."
"Okay, I'm sorry," Nick apologized but then he couldn't help but say amusingly. "But come on, Mace. You were being a bit dramatic. Oh no I'm going to die!"
He couldn't help but laugh when he said the last part. He thought mocking her would lighten the mood and point out that she was overreacting. But Macy didn't appreciate his humor at this time. She was glaring even more at him and punched him hard on his arm as she said angrily, "That's not funny."
"Fine, Macy," Nick said as he rubbed his arm. She really did hit him hard. "I'm sorry."
He really thought Macy was going to bail on him now that she realized he wasn't reliable in keeping his promises but he was surprised when she said. "Okay, let's do this again."
"Really?" he asked her kind of surprised.
"Yeah," Macy said as she sighed loudly. "I'm not going to let this minor setback stop me from learning."
"That's the spirit," Nick said admiringly. She really was a determined individual. That was one thing they had in common.
So they resumed their positions again. But this time, Macy turned around to face Nick and said, "Don't let go until I tell you to, okay?"
Nick nodded his head and repeated her order, "Okay, I won't let go until you tell me to."
Macy faced straight ahead and gripped the handlebars tightly. She took a deep breath and slowly but steadily lifted her foot up to the pedal. And she began pedaling. She started to pedal some more and she heard Nick's footsteps behind her as he now began running to keep his hands on the bike itself.
"You're doing it Mace!" he said happily.
"I know!" Macy yelled back enthusiastically.
"I'm still holding on," Nick assured her.
Macy smiled when he said that. Nick kept his promise this time but she knew what he said before was right. He needed to let go at one point so she took a deep breath and said, "You can let go now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, Nick," Macy answered confidently. "I think I can take it from here."
And just like that, Nick let go and watched as Macy pedaled away from him. She was doing it all on her own and she kept going. Nick wasn't sure when she was planning to stop so he began running after her so that he can continue looking after her just in case she fell again. But she seemed to finally have the hang of it. She didn't need him anymore.
Macy was riding her bike—well, it was actually his bike but still, she was riding a bike nonetheless! She enjoyed the wind blowing through her hair as the sun shone in front of her. She no longer felt nervous because Nick helped her and he didn't let go until she gave him permission. He was a nice guy. Macy blushed because she never asked him to teach her, he offered on his own…She was busy thinking about what a nice guy Nick was that she didn't even notice the big rock on the pathway that sent her flying off her bike once she ran into it.
"MACY!" she heard Nick call after her but instead of wincing in pain, as she landed safely on the grass, Macy burst out in laughter.
"Macy?" Nick said curiously when he noticed her odd reaction.
"Wow…HAHAHAHAHA…twice in a row I managed to make a complete fool out of myself!" Macy said as she continued laughing. She really was a trooper. They don't call her mighty-Macy-Misa-sports-girl-extraordinaire for nothing.
Nick laughed hesitantly because he wasn't sure if he had the permission to join in on her laughter. He didn't want her to hit him again.
"Did you see me go flying off?" Macy asked him amused.
"Yeah," Nick said while laughing with her. "Yet you managed to do it so gracefully."
"Gracefully! Hah! I'm such a klutz!" Macy retorted as her laughter subsided. She laid on the ground and didn't even bother to get up so Nick sat next to her on the grass.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Nick asked her clearly concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Some minor scratches but nothing big."
"That's good. But should we take a break and grab something to eat?" Nick suggested.
Macy nodded her head and she and Nick went to a nearby vendor and bought some soda and hot dogs. They found an empty bench nearby to sit on while they ate their lunch together.
"Sorry for hitting you before," Macy said before she took a bite of her hot dog.
"No problemo," Nick replied. "I deserved it."
Macy shook her head and said, "No, you didn't…"
The sun was still shining brightly so that when Nick looked at Macy, he saw her in a different light. He never noticed how big her almond shaped eyes really were. She really did have pretty eyes.
"Nick?" Macy said while looking at him curiously.
"What?" Nick said as he tried to mentally shake himself away from that weird trance.
"I was just saying thank you for spending your Saturday teaching me how to ride a bike," Macy said. She smiled at him and added jokingly. "You're really great, Nicky-boo."
Nick shook his head as he smiled at Macy and said, "Please, don't call me that. It was so hard to put up with it last night…Macy-bear."
"Ugh…you're right," Macy said as she expressed her disgust. "I can't believe Penny and Jimmy call each other cutesy names like that."
"Yeah, I know," Nick replied. "I don't think I can handle that. Makes me want to gag."
"Well, when you get together with Penny, you need to lay some ground rules with her or else you'll be called Nicky- pooh all the time," Macy kidded with him. She was laughing loudly at the thought of Nick being called Nicky-pooh for the rest of his life.
Nick rolled his eyes at Macy and took a big sip of his coke.
"Hm…maybe when you and Penny get together, I should consider asking Jimmy out," she considered this thought half-seriously because she didn't really feel that attracted to Jimmy if anything she pictured him to be a very good friend in the long run but the moment she put the idea of dating him out in the open, Nick immediately spit out the coke that was in his mouth moments ago.
"Whoa! Nick are you okay?" Macy asked him concerned as she began to pat his back hard because she thought he might be choking.
"N-no I'm fine but what did you just say before?" Nick said as he wiped his mouth and tried to recover from his embarrassing reaction.
"I was thinking about maybe asking Jimmy out after our whole plan succeeds. He's a pretty decent guy," Macy pointed out. "And he's really funny."
"You can't be serious, Macy?" Nick said disdainfully. "Out of all the guys you can ask out, you're going to consider Jimmy?"
"Why? What's wrong with him?" Macy asked him questioningly.
"I mean Jimmy is nice and all but he's not that funny," Nick said somewhat forcefully. "I mean if you go for that kind of stuff, suit yourself but I can't picture you with him…"
"How can you not picture me with him? We both have the same sense of humor and he loves extreme sports just like me!" Macy argued. She didn't understand why Nick could be so against her getting together with Jimmy.
"Okay. Fine you do have some stuff in common but is that really all you look for in a guy? Corny jokes and a love for extreme sports?" Nick asked her. He didn't understand why he was getting all riled up about this. It's not like he's competing with Jimmy or anything…right?
"That's not the only thing," Macy said quietly. "You read what I put on my questionnaire…"
Nick did read what she wrote and he was curious about that too because she only wrote one criteria on what she looked for in a guy.
"I did read it," Nick said slowly. "And you only listed honesty as the main thing you look for in a guy. And that's good and all but isn't that kind of broad? I mean a guy can be honest but be the biggest douche-bag in the world."
"That's true," Macy answered.
Nick could tell that Macy was thinking of something but she didn't seem to want to disclose whatever it was she was thinking of, so he continued. "If you don't mind me asking, if you had to choose, let's say... four more traits, what would they be?"
For reasons unknown to him, Nick grew very curious on how Macy would answer his question.
"Four more?" Macy repeated.
"Yeah, four more."
"Hm…" Macy had to think about it because she could tell that Nick was really keen on knowing how she was going to respond to his question. She suddenly felt nervous but she finally said, "Well, for starters, I like guys who are funny."
Nick nodded. Even though Joe was considered the funniest Lucas brother, Nick had his moments with his clever and witty one-liners. He wasn't serious all the time. He can be a funny guy too, Nick thought to himself
"And he needs to have good manners," Macy added. She noticed that when she said this Nick sat up straight and had a smug expression on his face. Nick didn't like to brag but thanks to his parents, he was one of the best mannered boys in the world.
"Go on," Nick said simply.
Macy smiled and continued, "And he needs to have a good sense of style. It shows that he has confidence, which is definitely a major plus."
Nick looked at his outfit. He wore a fitted white t-shirt, a plaid-blue button-down shirt he wore open, and khaki pants. It was a very preppy looking outfit but definitely put together. He never left the house without making sure everything matched. He was pretty stylish for a boy his age.
"And he must always keep me interested," Macy finished. "He can't be boring."
Hm…Nick thought. Kevin was the Lucas brother who always told interesting stories. His oldest brother wasn't boring at all. Nick started feeling a little bit insecure because he knew he was often labeled the quiet and sometimes the dull one but he had his moments too. He didn't like to talk all the time but when he did have something to say, everyone would say that it was really interesting or enlightening. Wait a minute...Nick had to stop his line of thinking...
'Why am I applying myself to everything Macy's saying about her ideal guy?' Nick thought to himself. 'It's not like I'm interested in her…'
"So that's the other four traits I look for in a guy," Macy said. She could tell that Nick was deep in thought about something. She was starting to feel a little weird around him. Why did it feel like her stomach was full of butterflies again?
"That's a good list," Nick finally said. He looked at the ground because he was still thinking about everything she just told him.
"Nick?"
"Yes?"
"So for you, Penny's the complete package, huh?" Macy asked him. She started feeling a bit insecure about herself.
"What?" Nick asked her because he wasn't really paying attention to her since he was still deep in thought.
"I mean when I read how you answered that same question for what you look for in a girl you basically described Penny Madison," Macy pointed out. She started to shift uncomfortably in her seat. "She has to be tall, blonde, blue-eyes, sincere, polite, and pretty."
"Well…um…I mean that's my preference," Nick said but quickly added. "But it's not set in stone or anything. I mean she doesn't necessarily have to be blonde. She can have brown hair. That's superficial stuff. And yes, Penny is pretty but you're pretty, too."
"What did you say?" Macy asked him because she was surprised by his unexpected compliment. Her heart felt as if it could burst out from her chest.
"I mean, other girls are pretty and yeah, Penny is not the only pretty face out there," Nick explained as he felt himself blushing profusely. Why was his heart beating rapidly like last night? "I'm just saying that Penny is almost the complete package because she fits my ideal girl."
"So your ideal girl has to be tall, blonde, and blue-eyed?" asked Macy.
"Yes…er… I mean no! She's just the model of what I consider ideal," Nick tried to explain but he knew he was making a complete fool out of himself.
"Oh…" Macy said somewhat disappointedly because she was none of that at all. She wasn't tall nor blonde nor blue-eyed. Instead she was short, brunette, and brown-eyed— not Nick's ideal. But why was she upset that she didn't fit his description? It's not like she's competing with Penny for Nick's affection.
"But looks aren't everything," Nick added because he was trying to redeem himself from yet another embarrassing situation. "I want a girl who I can carry a conversation with."
"Really?" Macy asked him hopefully.
"Yeah, I mean a relationship is based on communication right?" Nick proclaimed.
"That's true," Macy agreed happily. She was comforted by this fact because she was someone who could definitely carry a conversation with Nick even if it meant arguing with him about mundane things like whether the Red Sox or the Yankees was the better team. Wait a minute…Hold up...
'Why do I care if I can carry a conversation with Nick?' Macy thought to herself. 'It's not like I'm dating Nick. Hahahaha! What an absurd thought!'
The sun was beginning to make its descent and at that moment when Macy looked at Nick, she realized that he really did have soft-looking lips. She wondered how they felt like…Macy could feel herself blushing when an image of her kissing Nick popped in her head.
'What am I thinking!' Macy thought to herself. 'I don't like Nick!'
They finished their meal and when they realized that it was almost 5 in the afternoon, they decided to call it a day. Nick walked her home and when they neared her house he asked, "Macy, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," Macy said. "Go ahead."
Nick gulped and said, "You promise to be honest, okay?"
"Okay," Macy agreed. What could this be about?
"Do you think I'm boring?" Nick asked her sheepishly because that question had been bugging him the whole afternoon when Macy mentioned that her ideal guy had to be interesting.
The question caught her off guard and so she took a while to answer. She noticed that Nick was becoming even more distressed with every passing second.
"I guess that's a yes," Nick said crestfallen.
'Oh my god. She thinks I'm dull,' Nick thought to himself.
"No!" Macy said quickly. "The question was so unexpected that's why I couldn't answer right away. But no, Nick, you're not boring at all. Some people talk all the time but everything they say is pointless. But everything you say makes sense. And even though you don't talk as much as your brothers, when you do talk, it's always so profound and very interesting."
"Really?" Nick said in visibly higher spirits. He wasn't boring after all.
"Yeah," Macy assured him.
They reached her house and when she was about to go inside she thanked Nick again.
"Thanks for everything, Nick," Macy said. "You really didn't have to do this."
"Of course I had to," Nick said. "What are friends for?"
Friends. Macy wasn't sure why that word didn't uplift her spirits like it did before when any of the Lucas brothers called her their friend. It was like she was expecting more from Nick. But she didn't want to linger on that thought.
"I really appreciate it," Macy said and she walked towards him and gave him a big hug. "Thank you."
Nick felt his heart racing again and he let go of his bike and wrapped his arms around her too. This was a nice hug, he thought. She felt so warm and comforting.
"Bye, Nick," Macy said when she broke away from him. She could tell she was blushing even harder now because her whole body seemed to become hot all of a sudden.
"Bye, Macy," he said as he watched her go inside. He started experiencing the same symptoms he felt when he was near a certain blonde-haired girl but that girl wasn't near him at all. The only girl in front of him was Macy but no...it couldn't be…it just can't…Nick needed to get a grip because he didn't have feelings for Macy Misa.
'Macy's just a friend,' Nick kept telling himself. 'She's just a friend…'
Or so he thought...
Closing Remarks:
Nick and Macy are both in denial. They don't want to accept that things are starting to change between them but the signs are there. The seed has been planted, so to speak. Who do you think will cave in first to their emotions? What will happen to their initial plan? Will Nick succeed in winning Penny's heart? or is there another girl he rather be with? So many questions!
It was a nice change of pace to have one whole chapter devoted to the sole interaction between Nick and Macy. Usually, all my NACY scenes come at the beginning or at the end but never really in the middle so this is definitely something different. If you like this story then you should check out my other story 'A Complete 180.' However, feel free to read my other stories too! (But they'll have much more drama than this).
Read and REVIEW! THANKS! :-)
-Penelope36
