DISCLAIMER: I do not own Nancy Drew or any of the characters belonging to the series.

Author's Note: To my loyal readers: Thanks for all your support. I've kind of fallen in love with this story and all the characters. (Is that kind of pathetic?) I wish Ned were real. Anyway, I know there have been changes to the original (it's an updated version... what did you expect?) but i hope it has bothered anyone too much. I am aware that Burt and Dave (featured in the previous chater) are not in this book, but in the next one, but I couldn't find a way NOT to put them in. After all, it was a party thrown for Ned's frat house and they are part of it. that and the fact that they are Ned's best friends. This chapter was not in the original book AT ALL, but I thought it would be kind of fun to add it in. Kind of like a close to Nancy's high school days and an explination to why she will now have all this free time. And yes, i made harriet up, but every high school has that girl. the one we all love to hate. Anyway, enjoy and please, please, please review!

Chapter 11

"I hate you. That's it. I just… I hate you."

Nancy smiled at Bess's pout.

"You're just jealous," George stated bluntly. "You want some supremely hot guy to make out with you on your porch and leave you feeling all tingly on the inside."

"No shit, dumb ass. Of course I want so ethereal God to shove his tongue into my mouth and grope me," Bess responded.

"He didn't grope me," Nancy said, but she couldn't keep a straight face.

"Oh shut up, he did so and you liked it," George retorted.

Nancy just grinned. George threw her Jeep into park and the girls got out of the car. George started around to the trunk and swung the back door open, grabbing a box full of decorations. Nancy and Bess each grabbed a box as well.

"How did you guys manage to talk me into this crap? The one place I don't want to be is here, now, today," George groaned. "At school. Again."

"Come on," her cousin prompted. "It's just for couple of hours."

George pretended to cry. She kicked the gym door open and set her box down on the floor near the bleachers. Nancy and Bess followed suit and straightened. The gym was undergoing the beginning stages of transformation into the prom dance floor. There were several students from the committee already setting up and a couple of teachers. Mrs. Veejay, the head of the committee, was passing by and Nancy jogged to catch up.

"Mrs. Veejay!" she called and the woman turned with a smile.

"Nancy, hi. What's wrong?" Veejay asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I just need to ask you something. A friend of mine is coming to help set up. Is that okay?"

"Friend of yours?" came a high-pitched, grating voice and George groaned, rolling her eyes. Harriet appeared suddenly beside Mrs. Veejay, hands on her hips. "I didn't know you had friends at this school."

"Well…" Nancy began.

"You mean they're not from this school?" Harriet trilled, reveling in the opportunity to belittle Nancy. "Gee, Nancy, you should've known that's not kosher."

"Why don't you scamper off, Harry?" George asked. "Don't you have to, like, oh my God! Go, like, work on your cheers or something?"

"Oh, is the little tomboy frustrated because she didn't make the cheerleading team?"

"What are you talking about? You barely made the B squad," Bess spoke up, defending her cousin. She added with an evil little grin, "Harry."

"Girls, please," Mrs. Veejay intervened. "Can we stop this childish fighting?"

"Look, Mrs. Veejay, I don't think it's fair that Nancy just waltzes in here and demands that her special friend comes and helps…" Harriet petered off, staring at the gym door.

Ned was standing in the doorway, hands casually in pockets. He glanced around until his eyes fell on Nancy and raised a hand to her with a smile, coming over. Nancy grinned back, more at the fact that Harriet's jaw had dropped and she was staring at Ned than anything else.

"Mrs. Veejay, this is Ned," Nancy introduced and they shook hands. "This is Mrs. Veejay, the best teacher at this school."

"Nancy, flattery will get you everywhere in life," Mrs. Veejay laughed.

"Nice to meet you," Ned said. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Intruding? Please," Harriet scoffed with an overly false laugh. "Isn't prom all about all friends coming together? You're welcome here, of course."

Nancy and Mrs. Veejay exchanged a look and the teacher walked off to finishing hanging some streamers.

"Nancy, you silly, aren't you going to introduce me?" Harriet asked.

"Oh, let me. Please," George said with an evil grin. "Ned, this is Harry."

"Harriet," she snapped, glaring at George.

"I like Harry better," Ned said, hiding a smile.

"But all my friends call me Harry, of course. I'm one of Nancy's good friends."

"You are?" Nancy asked, raising her eyebrows.

Harriet gave a trill laugh. "Of course! We always sat next to each other in physics."

"By force," George put in.

"Harriet!" Mrs. Veejay called out and the girl turned to look. "Could you come and help me hang streamers? Thank you."

Harriet fumed and gave a tense smile at Ned. "See you later."

"Bye," Bess crooned antagonistically.

When she was out of earshot, Ned scoffed. "What a tool."

The girls all laughed. They spent the day setting up the gym. The group bantered as they hung banners and streamers, set up tables at one end and Ned even helped to wax the floors. The teachers had ordered a lunch for all the volunteers and they sat at a table together to eat. Somehow, Mrs. Veejay managed to keep Harriet away from them. At the end of the day, Ned said goodbye to them, and the girls piled back into George's Jeep and drove home. Nancy and Bess spent the night at George's house, watching old horror movies. The next day, they all waited anxiously as prom time neared. The girls all met at Nancy's house.

Nancy was wearing a red strapless dress with a V-shaped neck line that pointed out slightly at the ends. It had a low back that was also in a V-shape. It was ankle length and a straight cut so that she couldn't really run. She had on strappy black shoes and dangling silver earrings. Her hair was wrapped into a loose bun, the front was pushed drastically to the side with little wisps of strawberry-blond flicking out behind her ears and framing her face.

Bess had on a pale blue ankle-length dress with spaghetti straps. The dress had a pale blued under-dress that was covered with a sheer over layer. It had two high slits on either side of the dress exposing long, creamy legs in pretty silver sandals. Her hair was molded into luscious golden waves that flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She had on a pretty white-gold bracelet and matching earrings.

George was wearing a black halter dress with a low back. It was up to her shins and a-lined so that it flared out. She had on pretty black peep-toes. The dress was simple, but she played it up with a vibrant red handbag and a matching shade of lipstick. She had rose shaped earrings on and a real rose in full bloom pinned behind her ear.

Mr. Drew and Hannah fawned over them and Hannah went picture crazy. George was complaining because in a moment of weakness she'd agreed to go to the prom with Michael Jones, a boy in her gym class. He was a cocky jock who had been bothering her since freshmen year. She whined, begging for them to let her ditch him. Bess shut her up. The first to arrive at the Drew was Bess's date, Jonathan Winters. Hannah took their picture. As she was going snap happy, Ned arrived. She instantly turned her attention to Nancy and her date.

"Okay, everyone's here," George said hurriedly. "Let's go now."

"No way," Bess demanded. "You're not getting out of this."

There was a knock at the door and George groaned. Mike came in a second later and Hannah demanded to take some more pictures. George cut her off after two pictures and forced the group to pile into the limo Mr. Drew had rented.

The gym was glorious and the music was loud. They found a table and sat. George and her date sat awkwardly beside Bess and her awkward date. Ned smiled charmingly at Nancy.

"Come one," he said, taking her hand and planting a little kiss on it. "We didn't come here to sit."

He pulled her close and danced with her. A few second later, Bess dragged her cousin and their dates onto the floor beside them. George shot her a glare. The group danced happily to the Michael Bublé song "Sway." Ned held Nancy close for a minute, then laughed and twirled her around. After the dancing, the couples all sat at the table.

"Want something to drink?" Ned asked over the music.

Nancy nodded, fanning herself with her hand. "Thanks."

Ned nodded and headed towards the buffet table. He grabbed a cup and ladled some punch into it. He raised it to his nose and sniffed, then grinned.

"Well, Ned! Funny to bump into you here."

Ned turned to look at Harriet. She was poured into a cream colored outfit with a billowing tulle skirt. He looked her over for a second.

"Harry, right?" he asked.

There was a hesitation before she forced what she believed was a coy, cute laugh. "Yeah, Harry. Harriet. Whatever." Ned turned and poured a second cup as Harriet smiled to herself. "Is that punch any good?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I haven't tried it yet."

"Oh, neither have I. I sure am thirsty."

"Here you go," Ned said, the smile on Harriet's face widening. A second later it dripped off as he moved aside, both cups in hand. "You can serve yourself. I'm done."

He left her standing there gaping. Ned smiled to himself as he sat next to Nancy. He handed her the drink.

"Here," he said. He grinned widely. "Someone spiked it."

"Someone?"

"What? It wasn't me."

"Well, it did take you quite a long time at the punch bowl."

"There was a line," he explained vaguely.

Nancy dismissed the issue, drinking the spiked punch with a smile. George leaned over to Ned from her conversation with Mike.

"I saw that," George whispered to him, giving him a look.

Ned smirked mischievously as the two of the looked over at Harriet sulking at the far corner of the gym near the punch bowl. He and George looked at each other and giggled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said as they sobered.