Chapter 7 The Big Date and Big Misunderstandings
Nick was pacing back and forth in his room as he organized together what he wanted to say to Macy that night. It was pretty momentous because it's not every day Nick Lucas professed his love to a girl. And she wasn't just any girl. It was Macy Misa for crying out loud— the girl who weeks ago Nick would never have thought of liking in a million years. They were complete opposites. They had nothing in common whatsoever. She was nothing more than a psychotic JONAS fan to him but all of that changed recently because Nick could only think about wonderful things for the particular girl. She somehow wedged herself into his life and by the looks of it, she seemed to have etched a permanent spot in his heart since all Nick wanted to do was hold her in his warm embrace. He was, without any exaggeration, deeply infatuated with Macy Misa. She was almost like a puzzle to him because despite the fact that she was a crazy fan to him weeks before, the few weeks they shared together proved that she was strong minded, determined, very caring, and so much more. Even though, they initially started hanging out so that he could win Penny's heart, the truth was that Nick wanted to have Macy's heart all to himself and tonight was the night when he wanted to express this desire to the said girl. He smiled to himself as he thought about how beautiful their relationship towards each other evolved. It was truly unexpected but it was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Nick was so nervous to the point that he didn't realize that he gained himself an audience as he tried to memorize the speech he planned on saying to Macy before he confessed his true feelings. He was so absorbed in looking over the piece of paper which carried his declaration of love to Macy that Joe's and Kevin's presence went unnoticed for quite awhile.
"Well, well, well," Kevin said finally as he walked up to him and put his arm around his shoulder in a brotherly fashion. "Word on the street is that tonight is a big night for you lil' bro. Are you ready to confess you feelings to Macy Misa?"
"Kev, can you leave me alone," Nick said exasperatingly. "I'm already a wreck as it is!"
Kevin let go of him but seemed hurt and so he said, "Why is it that I'm always left out of the loop when it comes to your love-life?"
"Because if I told you," Nick started to say in a mildly irritated voice. "You would've already done the confessing for me!"
"That's not true!" Kevin retorted. "I can keep a secret!"
"Okaay, like we believe you!" Joe now jumped in. "Remember that surprise party we planned for mom? Who's fault was it that none of us got to see her initial reaction because one of us decided to let it slip during dinner that we were going to take her to that French restaurant in the city?"
"Well, I didn't know we weren't supposed to tell her where we were going! Besides wasn't the real surprise the fact her brothers and sisters were coming all the way from Ohio?" Kevin pointed out.
"Yeah, but you also let that one slip out during dessert," Frankie answered as he entered his older brother's room. "Anyway, what are we arguing about? And why are you all dressed up Nick?"
"Well, Frankie, believe it or not, Nick has a big date tonight," Joe said excitedly.
"Oh, with that Penny girl?" Frankie asked inquisitively.
"No, no, no," Joe said with an amused expression on his face. "You see, your brother Nick is quite a playboy because he already moved on to another girl—
"JOSEPH!" Nick said harshly because he didn't like being called a playboy.
"Remember Stella's friend?" Joe asked him with a huge grin on his face as he ignored all of Nick's attempts to silence him.
"Oh yeah," Frankie said and then sighed quite dreamily as he said. "Macy…"
"Well, that's the girl Nick is now gaga over," Kevin piped in.
"You're going out with Macy!" Frankie exclaimed defensively. "You can't do that!"
All three brothers stared curiously at the eight-year-old boy.
"And why not?" Nick asked him questioningly as he finished tying his tie.
"Because I called dibs on her!" Frankie answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"WHAAAT!" all three boys exclaimed simultaneously.
"You all know I have a crush on her," Frankie said as looked at all three of them.
"You do?" all three of them said again. Since when did Frankie have a crush on Macy?
"Yeah, remember that time she baby-sat for me and I told you she said I was cute?" Frankie said.
"Oh yeah…" the three of them said as they now remembered that minor detail.
"But you never told us you liked her," Nick pointed out and then said reprimandingly. "Besides, Frankie it's not polite to say you call dibs on a girl. You only say that for stuff like food not human beings."
"Whatever, Nick," Frankie said heatedly. "She said she liked my free spirit."
Nick rolled his eyes but smiled to himself because that was such a Macy thing to say.
"I hate to break it to you, bro," Kevin said as he put a comforting arm around the eight-year-old boy. "She may like your free spirit but she sure loves Nick's lips since they're constantly making out all the time."
"THEY ARE?" Frankie cried out in horror.
"KEVIN!" both Nick and Joe yelled at their oldest brother. He really had no discretion whatsoever.
"Oops! Yup, you're right. I guess I can't keep a secret," Kevin said sheepishly but then exclaimed excitedly to the distraught young boy. "Hey Frankie! Why don't we go out for some ice cream?"
"No, I need to stay here and put an end to this!" Frankie yelled dramatically. "I can't let Nick take away the love of my life!"
Nick was about to say something but Kevin interrupted him and said, "Don't worry you guys! I got this. Hey Frankie why don't I buy you that video game you've been dying to get for your Playstation?"
"OKAY!" Frankie exclaimed in a completely different tone. For the youngest Lucas boy video games will always earn a top spot in his heart even before his self-proclaimed love-of-his-life.
When the two of them were gone, Nick continued preparing for the big night while Joe patiently watched him.
"Can this night be even more stressful?" Nick said as he changed out of his shirt to try another one. "I'm not even on my date yet and I already upset someone."
"Don't worry about Frankie," Joe laughed. "It's nothing but a school-boy crush."
"Yeah, but I don't like having Frankie mad at me," Nick said. "We never fight and now I'm going to have this in my conscience now."
"Nick! You need to relax," Joe said as he stood up and walked over to him. "You need to think about Macy especially since you're planning on confessing your feelings to her."
Nick sighed and admitted, "You're right, Joe. Tonight's suppose to be about Macy."
"That's right. And don't be so tense!" Joe said. "Besides, what is this paper you were looking at before?"
Joe quickly got the piece of paper Nick stuffed in his back pocket.
"GIVE THAT BACK!" Nick said as he now ran after Joe around his room.
"Macy," Joe began to read. "Before these past two weeks, I never could have imagined feeling what I feel when I'm with you. You've open the door to—
"JOSEPH! GIVE THAT BACK!" Nick yelled but Joe kept reading.
"—emotions that I never knew I could possess," Joe said but he couldn't help but laugh at that line. "When I'm with you I feel like a different person. Because of you, I've learned how to love—
"JOSEPH LUCAS I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T GIVE THAT BACK I'M GOING TO TELL MOM WHAT YOU AND STELLA WE'RE DOING IN THE BACKSEAT OF YOUR CAR!" Nick threatened.
That did the trick because Joe immediately returned the piece of paper to Nick.
"Geez, no need to stoop that low," Joe answered. "Besides, why did you type up a speech?"
"Because how else am I going to express my feelings," Nick said. "I need to organize it beforehand so that I won't mess up."
Joe chuckled because Nick really was the type of guy to plan every word out before confessing his love to a girl.
"Nick, you can't do that."
"Why not?" Nick asked him.
"Because it will seem unnatural," Joe pointed out. "She's going to know that what you're saying is not coming straight from your heart. And girls love it when you speak openly and genuinely. Macy at least deserves that much."
Nick sighed because Joe actually did have a point. If there was one thing Joe was better at than Nick it was how to win a girl's heart correctly.
"Fine…but what should I say? I can't just flat out say: Macy I like you. Let's go steady," Nick said.
"You should talk about things she likes," Joe said. "Make her feel at ease."
"Hm…She likes sports but she's a Red Sox fan so I don't want to talk about baseball because we'll end up arguing about who's the better team.," Nick said. "But she does like jokes."
"Jokes?"
"Yeah, actually I was going to ask you if you can give me some…um…material," Nick said. "I mean you got to have some corny jokes you haven't used yet, right?"
"Corny! Way to insult someone you're asking a favor from!" Joe retorted. "Anyway, if you don't want to talk about things she likes, then you should tell her why you like her. You can practice right now and tell me exactly why you like Macy Misa. But make it all come from your heart and not from some piece of paper."
Nick sighed once again but it was because there were so many things he could say.
"Well first of all, Macy's the most self-less person I know. She went out of her way to help me win Penny's heart. I mean who does that? She really wanted to see me succeed and be happy even if she had nothing to gain from it. And she's so down to earth. She isn't fake like other girls and she isn't afraid to just be herself. And she has this confidence about her that I really admire. She always speaks her mind. She isn't frail or fragile and she doesn't need to wear any make-up or put her hair up in a ridiculous hairstyle yet she's still unbelievably beautiful. And she's so strong and focused. Like when I taught her how to ride a bike, even though she fell a couple of times she got back up right away and was determined to learn. She really has a fighter spirit in her. And her voice—
"OKAY! I get the picture," Joe said as he interrupted the Macy-centric trance Nick was just in.
"Sorry I got carried away," Nick said sheepishly.
"No it's fine but that's it," Joe simply said.
"What's it?"
"That's exactly what you need to tell her before you confess."
"Really?" Nick said excitedly as he headed to his desk for a pen and paper. "Do you remember what I just said? I need to write it down."
"NICK!" Joe said as he snatched away the pen and pad of paper Nick held in his hand. "Just be yourself and say whatever comes to you. Believe me; you can't mess up."
"I don't know about that," Nick said quietly because he never felt this nervous before. Sure, he experienced anxiety when he was next to girls he had crushes on like Penny but now it was completely different. Because the feelings he now had for Macy was much stronger since he didn't like her just for her looks and personality. He liked how she made him feel every time he was with her. She was his better half. Now that he thought about it, it was really remarkable how he was so calm, cool, and collective with her before because right now Nick was a mess. He didn't know what shirt to wear. He didn't know how he should confess. And most of all he didn't know if Macy felt the same way about him.
"Just speak from your heart," Joe repeated. "What's the worse that could happen?"
"She can reject me…" Nick said solemnly.
"Nick, trust me," Joe said as he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She's not going to turn you down. I see the way she looks at you like you're some piece of meat. And I swear to god there were times when I thought she was going to jump you in public."
Nick blushed because if that was the case then Macy wasn't the only one. Nick chuckled because Joe was right again. He could tell Macy wanted him as much as he wanted her.
"You're right, Joe," Nick said with more confidence now. "There's nothing to worry about."
Because Nick was so nervous about the big night, he didn't realize that Macy had been acting weird around him all day. She kept playing that whole interaction she had with Penny in her head. She was so sad…it was so heartbreaking. Penny must really like Nick and Macy didn't realize this until it was brought to her attention because for the past few days, all she could think about was Nick Lucas.
Macy didn't mean for it to happen. It just did. It really wasn't her plan to fall in love with Nick. In fact, both of them didn't even foresee this outcome and if she remembered right, they both laughed at the idea of ever falling in love with each other because they knew that would never happen in a million years. But it did and now Macy felt guilty because she wronged Penny and in a way she wronged Nick. Did Nick think Macy had some hidden agenda when she offered her assistance? Oh god, she hoped not because that would be really awful. She didn't trick him… did she? Now she thought about that kiss…that kiss that started it all. If she hadn't done that she wouldn't be in this situation to begin with because now she felt guilty for forcing herself on Nick…That was her problem…She has the tendency to act so rashly.
She closed her eyes because she wanted to erase memories of a scenario that happened to her four years ago in junior high. She was afraid that this situation was becoming very similar to the one with her first boyfriend, Tyler Dentler, who wasn't afraid to use someone for selfish reasons.
Four Years Ago
"Emily! Emily!" yelled a thirteen- year-old Macy. "You'll never guess what happened!"
"What?" her friend said in a bored manner. Macy was always way too chirpy throughout the day.
"Tyler Dentler asked me out!" Macy yelled happily. "And you said I could never get a boyfriend! Well, there you go! IN YOUR FACE!"
"Tyler Dentler asked you out?" Emily said in a peculiar voice. "The jock, Tyler Dentler?"
"Yup, the one and only," Macy said dreamingly. "He must have known I had the biggest crush on him since third grade and now he realized that he felt the same way!"
"Hm…It's kind of odd though," Emily said.
"What's odd?"
"I mean we've known Tyler since grammar school and he doesn't really associate with anyone not in his clique."
"Yeah, I did think about that too but maybe he changed," Macy said. "Besides didn't we say once we're in junior high we're going to try to actually fit in and who knows maybe I can start hanging out with his friends and then maybe I'll be voted most popular—
"MACY!" Emily yelled at her. "You're jumping way ahead. Besides, it's kind of fishy that he just suddenly asked you out of the blue."
"Maybe it's not sudden. Maybe he noticed that I'm actually more mature now," Macy said as she tried to tighten her shirt to show her friend that she was starting to have cleavage and be more womanly. But Emily gave her a smirk because Macy was still as flat chested as the day she was born.
"Macy, that can't be it," Emily said bluntly. "Besides you have no goods to show."
"Hmph," Macy pouted. "Whatever. Just because I didn't jump two cup sizes like you during the summer doesn't mean I'm still a child. I'm quite mature myself. Maybe not in the body department but I have deep thoughts! Maybe Tyler likes deep thinkers! He's not so superficial. Besides this could be a gateway for me and you to actually make our mark in school. We can be one of the popular kids, Em!"
"Macy, I don't care about that…"
"Whatever, Em! Don't say you're not trying to fit in," Macy said tersely. "Otherwise you wouldn't be constantly trying to apply lip-gloss and mascara on your face."
"Wearing a little make-up doesn't mean I'm trying to become popular," Emily said hesitantly but Macy knew she was lying.
However, the petite brunette knew she shouldn't be picking on her because she just realized that she was the one with the guy and Emily was still single. This made her feel guilty so she said, "Don't worry, Em. There'll be a guy who is waiting to ask you out. It'll just be a matter of time."
"Shut up," Emily said gloomily.
"Be optimistic! Don't worry I'll find you the perfect guy," Macy answered encouragingly because she really didn't think Emily would have a hard time finding a boyfriend. If she was really honest with herself, Macy was the one who was jealous of her because Emily was so lucky that puberty was treating her nicely. She was no longer an odd duckling since she was growing up to become a beautiful young lady. Heck, Macy was surprised Emily wasn't the one sharing news of having a boyfriend before her.
But little did she know that the tables would turn on her…
Macy didn't want to think about it. She was at home trying to get ready for the big date. Maybe Nick wasn't going to confess? Also, she didn't intentionally hurt Penny because everything between her and Nick was unexpected. She didn't want to fall in love with him in the first place…right?
It was 6:50 and Macy heard the doorbell ring. She was so excited to be with Nick but she felt conflicted because it was still fresh in her mind how hurt Penny looked like in the locker room. But Macy didn't owe anything to Penny. Besides, didn't she still have Jimmy to turn to?
Come on, Macy thought to herself. This is not like the whole Tyler thing because I'm not that heartless. Besides this is a dinner between friends…Yup, Nick and I are just friends.
She rushed down and saw that Nick looked quite dashing in dress pants and a casual coat and tie. When Macy heard that Nick got them reservations in Belle's Bistro, the fancy and authentic French cuisine downtown, Macy was really impressed that a seventeen year old boy could even get into a place like that since it was usually packed every night. But she forgot that Nick is not just any other boy. He's an international superstar so of course making dinner reservations in a fancy place was no hurdle for him.
"Wow, you look nice," Nick said as he stared at Macy, who wore the only fancy cocktail dress she owned, which was a strapless form fitting black dress. She was so beautiful.
"You don't look so bad yourself," Macy said with a charming smile. The moment she saw Nick she successfully put to rest any thoughts about Penny. "Okay, Mom. We're going to head out. I'll be back before ten!"
"Hold on!" Mrs. Macy said as she hurried down the stairs. "I need to take one picture!"
"Mom!"
"Macy, it's not every day my daughter gets to go out with a rock star," her mother said excitedly. "Stand over there with Nick and let me get a picture. I'm going to send this out to all our relatives."
Macy turned to Nick and whispered, "Sorry about this."
"No, it's cool," Nick said and he took Macy's hand and posed for what should have been one photo but ended up being almost twenty shots.
The moment they were in his car, Nick turned towards her and gave her a quick peck on the lips before starting the car.
"I missed you," Nick said.
"What?"
"I just realized we didn't get to see each other that much in school today," Nick said as he kept his eyes up-front at the road in which he was driving in. He could feel his heart beating so fast in his chest. "We didn't have our usual practice session."
"Oh that…um…well," Macy said. "I was just really busy today."
She had to close her eyes for a second because images of Penny's crying face suddenly returned. That was the real reason she felt uncomfortable being around Nick during school. The wounded girl's face was fresh in her memory.
"Well, in that case I'm glad you were able to pencil me in your hectic schedule," Nick teased.
"Nick, stop it," Macy replied but then added jokingly. "Besides I penciled in you way before so it's not like you're wasting my valuable time."
"Me? Wasting your valuable time!" Nick scoffed at that idea. "How about my valuable time? You should count yourself lucky, Mace. You know how many girls would die to be in your position right now?"
"What! Me? Lucky? Are you some sort of prince charming, Nick?" Macy fired back. "Someone's obviously got a big ego."
"Big ego! Like you're the one to talk saying you have valuable time doing other things!"
And just like that Nick and Macy got into their usual arguments centered on who was more conceited but it was only playful banter. However, Nick was glad that they were able to still be so candid with each other because unbeknownst to Macy, he was so nervous about what he planned to say to her tonight.
When they reached Belle's Bistro, Macy couldn't help but marvel at the exquisiteness of the restaurant's architecture. It was like they were transported to Europe.
"Wow, look at the ceiling," Macy said as she stared up. The ceilings were painted in a style very similar to the one in the Sistine chapel. But Nick didn't follow her gaze. Instead, he was too busy staring at Macy because she was so pretty. He didn't know when was the right time to confess to her but his mouth was getting dry so he kept drinking the glass of water that was next to him.
"I'm glad you like this place," Nick said as he cleared his throat. He had the urge to loosen his tie because it was getting really hot inside. The restaurant must use halogen lights or something because the temperature seemed to sky rocket.
"Are you kidding? I never ate in a place this fancy," Macy said excitedly and she finally looked over at Nick who seemed to be really thirsty since he was gulping down his glass of water. "Thanks for taking me here."
"No –ahem- problem."
"So tell me," Macy started of saying. "How many girls have you taken here? Two? Four?"
"What?" Nick said quite surprised but then he admitted really nervously. "You're…um…the first girl I took here."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks," Macy said as she felt herself blushing profusely.
"Macy, I—
But at that moment when Nick mustered up the courage to say how he felt about her, their waiter came to give them their menus. So the two of them remained quiet for awhile as they poured over the list of dishes they could get.
"Nick?" Macy said as she continued looking at the menu. "I think they made a mistake with the menu."
"Huh?" Nick said as he now looked at his menu closely. But he didn't see any mistakes.
"They didn't list the prices!" Macy pointed out. "How am I supposed to know if the lobster dish cost more than the steak?"
She was so cute. Nick smiled at her and said, "Um, Mace, they didn't make a mistake. You see the diners here don't really have an issue with how much the food cost."
"Ohhhh," Macy said slowly because she understood what Nick meant. She felt embarrassed because she should have known that was the reason why the menu omitted the prices. She looked around and saw that everyone was dressed so nicely and expensively. They looked so rich. Suddenly, Macy felt out of place.
Nick could sense that Macy was embarrassed so he reached over and put his hand over hers.
"It's okay," Nick said. "I didn't know that until recently, too. I don't often eat in places like this."
Macy stared at him skeptically but she appreciated his attempt to make her feel better.
"So…Macy…about the thing I wanted to tell you—
"Hey Nick did you see that statue over there?" Macy interrupted him.
She had a feeling what he wanted to say would be something she wasn't ready to hear just yet especially now that she knew how Penny felt. And more than anything she didn't want to think about the blonde-haired girl right now.
"What?"
"I could have sworn it just moved," Macy said quickly. And sure enough when she looked at it again she saw the marble statue wave at her.
"Oh really?" Nick said less enthusiastically as he looked over his shoulder. He really didn't care for moving statues right now. "Anyway, Mace, I wanted to let you know—
"Wow, I really need to go to the bathroom," Macy interrupted him once again. "Will you excuse me?"
Nick leaned back in his chair while sighing and said, "Sure go ahead."
And throughout the night when Nick wanted to confess, Macy happened to always interrupt him just when he was about to finish his sentence.
Of course, Macy was doing it on purpose. As much as she wanted to hear Nick say the words he wanted to say, Macy knew she wouldn't be able to take it because images of Penny crying and memories of a distant past kept coming back to her. So instead of giving him a chance to say anything more, Macy did what she did best when she was nervous: she talked A LOT.
"And then my brother dared me to do a back flip while attempting to make a basket and you know me, I can't back down on a challenge," Macy continued telling Nick her story. "So I did it and what do you know! I made the basket in the middle of making a handstand. People don't call my Mighty-Macy-Misa-sports-girl-extraordinaire for nothing!"
"Wow, that's some story Mace," Nick said politely but he was getting a little restless because they had been eating for an hour now and he wasn't able to get a word in edgewise. He thought Macy would take a breather and let him speak for once but no, that girl had an unstoppable mouth because she began another tale that lasted until they were already in the car.
"And then I said to Stella you go into the elevator first but she was like no I can't do that but then I was like—
But Nick didn't let her finish because he desperately wanted her to stop talking so he could confess his feelings to her. So at that moment when he shut off the engine and parked a couple spaces away from her house, he turned towards Macy and put a hand on her shoulder to make her face him and gave her a long kiss. He knew this would shut her up so he kept his mouth over hers for quite awhile because he wanted to appreciate the much needed silence before he attempted to speak.
Because his kiss was so sudden Macy was left speechless. Thus, Nick broke away from her with a huge grin on his face and said, "I thought that would shut you up for a bit."
Macy could feel her cheeks burning because his kiss did shut her up. He was such a good kisser.
"Look, Mace, the reason why I took you out tonight was because there's something I need to get off my chest," Nick confessed.
Macy gulped because she knew what was coming.
"You see…I…uh…want to talk to you about my feelings…"Nick began to say. His heart began to race and he could feel his palms sweating but he continued speaking because this was really important. "Macy, there was a time when I had a whole different perspective about you…to be honest I never wanted to become this close with you because well, you were pretty intense for my liking…but now—
"Nick please don't—
"No, Macy let me finish," Nick said. "What I'm trying to say is that being with you for these past few weeks made me see you in a whole different light. You're still Macy Misa to me but you're also more…if that makes any sense. Because just recently I realized you're not like other girls and even though I didn't notice it before I—
"Nick—
"Please, Mace, I need to tell you this."
But Macy could hear Penny's words ringing in her ears: You took him away from me. How could you?
"What I'm trying to say is…" Nick continued hesitantly.
You took him away from me…
"This is not part of the plan," Macy interrupted him loudly.
You took him away from me…
"What?" Nick said quite perplexed by her sudden outburst.
"Nick I –uh- can't do this anymore," she replied. She was trying to catch her breath because she couldn't help but remember Penny's face that fateful afternoon.
'You took him away from me' was all she could hear ringing through her ears.
"What?" Nick said clearly devastated by what she was saying.
"I have to go," she said and she quickly opened the door of his car and ran down the block to her house. She could hear Nick calling after her but she didn't want to look back because there were tears in her eyes. This was not supposed to happen.
'You took him away from me. How could you?' said Penny's voice inside of her head but it was growing louder now and it didn't help that her mind was conjuring up images of that night when her best friend and her ex-boyfriend stabbed her in the back.
Four Years Ago
Out of all Tyler's friends that actually accepted Macy's new presence in the clique it was none other than the beautiful blonde-hair girl named Stella Malone who welcomed her with open arms. She was by far the nicest girl Macy ever met.
It was a Friday night and Macy hasn't heard from Tyler at all. She planned a perfect little date for them that night. She even cooked him lasagna because that was his favorite food.
She kept looking at her phone wondering why he hadn't called her back or texted her.
When her phone vibrated Macy quickly dashed towards it but instead of it saying Tyler on her caller ID screen, it read Stella.
"Stella? Hey, what's up?" Macy said in her best cheerful voice.
"Macy…um…do you know where Tyler is?" she asked her uneasily.
"No, but I was about to ask you that exact question!"
"Hm…okay well this is awkward…"
"What's awkward?" Macy asked her innocently.
"Um…did you guys break up or something?"
"NO! Of course not! Why would you say that?"
"Then, I think there's something you should know…"
What Stella said next could not be possible. Macy didn't understand where she could get such a preposterous idea! She had to see it for herself because there was no way Tyler nor Emily could do that to her. She walked all the way to Raymond Lane's house, who was a fellow jock like Tyler. He apparently took advantage of the fact that his parents were out of town for the weekend and decided to throw a big party. She didn't understand why Tyler didn't even mention it to her…she was still in denial about what Stella told her.
It was super crowded inside the two story house. The whole student body seemed have been invited. She tried looking for a familiar face and then she saw Stella talking to a group of girls who also hung out with Tyler.
"Hey Stella," Macy said. "Where's Tyler?"
But before she could answer, Melissa another girl from Tyler's clique who wasn't that welcoming towards Macy said to Stella, "What is she doing here?"
"She has the right to know, Mel."
"I thought Tyler specifically told us not to invite her—
"What?" Macy cried out unbelievably. "Why would he say that? And where's Emily?"
"Macy, promise you won't get mad at me," Stella said. "I only found out today about his plan but I swear I would've have told you the minute I heard it."
"Stella where is he?"
She led her upstairs and opened the door to one of the rooms and the scene that was laid out before her broke Macy's heart into pieces.
"Tyler? Emily?" she said loudly as she witnessed them making out on a bed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"MACY!" they both said shocked and quickly got off each other.
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?"
"What are you doing here?" Tyler had the nerve to ask her without even justifying why he was making out with her best friend.
"Why don't you tell her what I heard you telling Ray a couple of minutes ago," Stella said firmly to the guilty jock. "Because if you don't, I will. You're such a jerk Tyler."
But Macy didn't listen to them.
"Emily, how could you do this to me?" Macy said in complete shock and in denial.
She could tell that her friend was struggling to answer her but managed to say, "Well, I mean I've always liked Tyler…"
"No you haven't!" Macy said angrily. "You knew he was mine!"
"Yes, but I've always liked him too. But it's always about you Macy. You never listen to what I have to say and besides Tyler said he likes me. He never really liked you…"
Macy could feel her body shaking from anger and embarrassment.
"What are you saying?"
"Tyler tell her, you big scumbag!" Stella yelled forcefully.
The boy cleared his throat and said, "Well, I didn't mean for it to happen, Macy. You were just so forward that time at the game. You kind of forced yourself on me—
"That's complete bullshit Tyler!" Stella said as she defended Macy who was now speechless. "Don't listen to him, Macy. He used you so he could get closer to Emily."
"Is that true, Tyler?" Macy said through gritted teeth. Was she a pawn to him?
There was a moment of silence before he said, "Yes, it's true…"
The memory itself was enough to bring back the emotion she felt that night. Her first experience in love was far from perfect. It was full of deceit and lies like the situation she was in now with Nick and Penny. But even though she could never be as heartless as Tyler, Macy found that she paralleled him in some ways and that's what scared her. She did hype up Nick to Penny with the sole intention for them getting together. But only recently did she start thinking about herself without realizing how it could affect Penny, who clearly was in love with him…Emily was right…she only thinks about herself and not others. And then the whole kiss between her and Nick…clearly it was she who forced herself on him…Why did she have to kiss him? Maybe if she didn't do that, Nick would still be paying attention to Penny the girl he initially liked…and not her…
She knew what she had to do to fix the situation because she couldn't take the fact that she could cause someone distress due to something she did. She couldn't be like Tyler in that way because she cared too much about people. Nick is probably confused with his feelings about her and she needed to let him see that Penny was the girl for him…even if that would break her heart. After all, he chose Penny first…She didn't want Nick to realize later on that Macy tricked him into falling in love with her instead because she really didn't mean to steal Nick away from Penny. She couldn't risk getting hurt again in love. Nick and Penny belonged with each other. They had so many things in common. Nick would be better off with the blonde-haired girl as his girlfriend and not her. She was doing him a favor…she couldn't be selfish anymore…she couldn't be like Tyler Dentler, who saw no problem about using another person for his own means.
It was the next day and Nick was in a confused daze. He didn't tell his brothers everything that happened. He just told them he chickened out from his chance to confess to Macy. When he reached his locker, he noticed a small not was left for him there.
Wait for me by your locker before lunch period. – Macy
Nick was excited because the note showed that Macy wanted to see him and maybe she would explain her odd behavior last night. He saw her during class but she was keeping her distance from him. Throughout the morning, Nick kept staring at the clock praying that it would go faster. Thus, when the bell rang after the fourth period, Nick ran down the hallway and waited by his locker for Macy to appear.
"Macy!" Nick called out to her when he spotted the brunette girl making her way towards him.
But the moment she reached him, she told Nick simply, "I promised to stick to our plan…"
"But Macy—
"No, hold on," Macy said as she looked over and sure enough the blonde hair and blue eyed girl was about to pass them. She took a deep breath and got ready to give her best performance for their epic break-up scene.
"NICK! I'M SO SORRY!" Macy said in her best acting voice. "YOU'RE RIGHT. WE'RE NOT RIGHT FOR EACH OTHER. AND I PROMISE I WON'T BOTHER YOU ANYMORE."
"Macy, please don't do this," Nick whispered to her because he really didn't want to stick to the plan anymore. "I don't want—
"AND EVEN THOUGH I THOUGHT WE COULD WORK OUT, I REALIZE THAT I'M JUST HOLDING YOU BACK FROM FINDING YOUR ONE TRUE LOVE," Macy continued. She could feel all eyes on her as everyone in Horace Mantis Academy was staring at her and Nick. "SO PLEASE JUST TREASURE THE MOMENTS WE HAD TOGETHER."
Nick was out of words because he had no idea why Macy was doing this. He was so sure that she felt the same way about him. What was going on?
"I'LL TAKE YOUR SILENCE AS A SIGN FOR ME TO LEAVE," Macy said sadly. "GOOD-BYE NICK."
And just like that the brunette girl ran down the hallway all the way into the girl's bathroom where she locked herself in one of the stalls so that she could cry to herself. She knew it would be a matter of minutes before Penny made her move.
Nick still was trying to recover from what just happened. Why did Macy want to push through with the plan? He thought it was pretty obvious how he felt about her. He was sitting in the atrium contemplating why Macy was acting so weird lately.
"Mind if I join you?" Penny asked him.
"Sure," Nick said gloomily.
"I guess love hasn't been good to us this past week," Penny sighed sadly.
"Yeah…I guess not," Nick said but then he looked at Penny because he didn't know how her statement applied to her. "Wait. Did something happen between you and—
"So how long do you think they'll wait before they get together?" she interrupted him.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Jamie and Macy!" Penny said frustratingly. "Don't you see, Nick! That's the whole reason why they both broke up with us so they can be together…"
"No, that can't be. Macy doesn't like Jimmy," Nick said at first sternly but then he wasn't sure anymore because he now remembered when Macy considered dating Jimmy that time in the park.
"How naïve can you be?" Penny said but she said in a calmer tone. "But I don't blame you because I also didn't believe Jimmy had feelings for her at first but I could tell by the way his face would light up every time he talked about Macy. When you've been with someone for as long as Jimmy and I have you know what the other person is feeling even if they don't flat out tell you."
"Macy doesn't like Jimmy," Nick repeated more as an assurance to himself because the more he thought about it the more plausible the notion seemed. Maybe that's why she ran away last night because she was confused about her feelings for him and Jimmy…
"Nick, she does! She told me to my face that she likes him!" Penny said with a little anger in her voice.
"She told you to your face that she liked Jimmy?" Nick said loudly because he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maybe that's why she went through with the whole break up scene because she chose Jimmy instead and left him hanging.
"Yes! That little witch admitted it to my face with no remorse whatsoever," Penny said. "That must have been her whole plan all along with the us going out on a double date! She wanted to get closer to him. And Jimmy bought into it. Those two are the most manipulative people I've ever met."
"She said she likes Jimmy…" Nick said in a barely audible whisper because he could feel his heart breaking.
"Nick, how could she do this to me?" Penny said as she felt the tears coming. "I love Jimmy…He's my everything…I've known him since I was little and our families would joke that we would get married because we cared so much about each other…and even though we may like different things, I still love him because he was my Jimmy…he was mine…and then she came along…and took him away…just like that..."
There were so many things running in his mind. He placed his arm around Penny to comfort her as she sobbed into his chest. But as much as he wanted to ease the pain for her, he couldn't believe that Macy two-timed him. Was she really that great of a pretender? But before he jumped to conclusions, he needed to speak to Macy and hear it from her because he still didn't want to believe that Macy chose Jimmy over him.
The moment Nick was comforting Penny, Macy happened to pass by the glass wall atrium. The sight was enough to break her heart. Penny had Nick and Nick had Penny. All was right. Her plan worked but she couldn't ignore the pain she felt in her heart.
You did a good thing, Macy, she reminded herself. They are meant to be together. You and Nick together wouldn't last any way. You don't want to relive through another heart ache.
Macy didn't want to run into Penny or Nick at the end of the day so she laid low by hiding in the bathroom until she was sure they both left school.
She made her way to her locker to get her books.
"Macy!" called a voice.
She turned around and saw a familiar face.
"Hey, Jimmy!"
"So I saw what happened between you and Nick during lunch," Jimmy said with no hint of sympathy at all. In fact, if Macy listened carefully, he sounded happy if anything.
"Yeah, things just didn't work out between us," Macy admitted sadly.
"Oh is that the only reason you broke up with him?" Jimmy said a bit confused.
"Yeah…well there are other things…but it's a little complicated…"
Jimmy took comfort in hearing this because he took other things as something else.
"So how long should we wait?"
"Huh?" Macy said confused.
"I mean for us to start going out…We don't want to do it too soon," Jimmy reasoned out. "It will look bad for both of us on our part."
"Jimmy, what on earth are you talking about?" Macy asked him because he really didn't understand.
"Well, I like you Macy and I thought you like me…" Jimmy admitted honestly. "Isn't that why you were paying so much attention to me during the double date? And you were laughing at all my jokes so I thought…"
"WHAT?" Macy cried out. "No, I'm sorry Jimmy but I don't like you in that way…"
"Oh…" Jimmy said sadly.
Macy couldn't believe this. She managed to fix everything for Penny and Nick but now she made Jimmy upset. Why must she always end up hurting someone!
"Look, Jimmy, I'm flattered that you like me and all but I'm sorry if you misunderstood my friendliness for anything else," Macy apologized but Jimmy was still clearly upset and embarrassed by the whole situation. "You're a great guy and any girl would be happy to date you but I'm sorry that I can't return you're feelings."
"Wow…I really thought we had something going on…" Jimmy said sheepishly. "So this is how rejection feels like, huh? But no worries. I'm not going to force you into something you're not ready for. And really, Macy, the next guy you end up with is going to be really lucky to have you."
Macy smiled at Jimmy and said, "Jimmy you are too sweet."
"How about we forget about me making a fool out of myself?" Jimmy asked her hopefully.
"Okay," Macy said while smiling.
"Friends?"
"Of course!" Macy said and she was surprised when he gave her a friendly hug. The hug wasn't necessarily long but the moment they were in each other's embrace both Jimmy and Macy were quite startled when they heard a locker door slam shut really loudly. She looked over and there was Nick. Looking at them with a serious expression on his face.
"Nick?" Macy said apprehensively as he walked towards them but Nick Lucas paid them no attention as he passed them by.
He couldn't look at them because he was so angry that Macy led him on. He couldn't believe it! Macy chose Jimmy over him! Everything makes sense now. The reason why she didn't want to hear him confess was because she already had feelings for Jimmy. She probably toyed with his affection while stringing Jimmy along too. She wanted to keep her options open but when he was ready to settle down and go steady with her, she probably got cold feet. He was a toy to her and that's why she kissed him. Penny was right. Those two are the most manipulative people he had ever met.
He remembered Joe's warning about someone getting hurt because of their plan. As selfish at it may sound, not once did Nick suspect it would be him who would get wounded. But he felt it clearly in his heart— the pain of losing Macy to Jimmy.
He wasn't just upset though, Nick Lucas was angry.
Let the jealousy war begin…
Closing Remarks:
Sorry for the long wait guys! I swear I would have uploaded earlier but I had so much stuff going on with school. And yes this is a long chapter (over 8000+ words) but hopefully you guys enjoyed it.
Now I'll give the reviewer shout outs to all of you guys who guessed what was really going on with Penny and Jimmy and what Macy would do next. So here's to Snoupy, secretkp831, Nic, ShowBones, Tsukikotenshi, and Sly-88 who all mentioned that they thought Penny was really talking about Jimmy and that Macy would end up breaking Nick's heart and hers as well.
So what do you think will happen next? How will Nick's jealousy affect Macy? The end is near as everything comes into place. I hope you guys understand why Macy decided to go through with the plan. Even though one reviewer did bring out the fact that Nick and Macy are always open to talk to each other, we must realize that the two of them aren't technically in a "real" relationship in this story. Basically they are still pretending with each other. But when Nick tried to actually make something out of it, Macy is reminded of Penny and her past so it makes sense for her to avoid any sort of drama because she is still wounded by what Tyler did to her and that's why she's hesitant to get into another relationship especially since it would cause pain to another individual (or so she thinks).
Well enough about the technicalities! I'll try to update soon. But please review!
Also, because I made you guys wait so long, I'm going to upload a one shot I wrote last night. It's rated M so only those readers who are mature enough should go check it out. I haven't written an M-rated story in a while. It's pretty dark and unlike anything I have written so far. It's a one-shot entitled A Brother's Betrayal.
-Penelope36
