Hello! Thanks again for all comments. I read and appreciate every single one of them.

Just to give a little update, I'm really going to spring to get this story done some time next week. I have it written until the end, and I'm just trying to clean it up a little when I can find the time. Fingers crosssed by this time next week the last chapter will have been posted.

Disclaimer: not my characters

Chapter 11: Brotherly advice

There were many things that Macy had to get used to living with the Lucas family as she was doing at the moment. She did her best to get used to them quickly. She did her best to get over the fact that she was living in a house with her three favourite people in the world. She was doing pretty well, if she did say so herself. Yet sometimes, she just couldn't contain herself.

When she walked in on Nick Lucas writing a song, for example, there was no stifling the fan girl within her. She had to concentrate very hard to keep herself from screaming.

"Are you okay, Macy?" he asked with genuine concern in his eyes.

"Fan girl moment," she squeaked.

"Ah. Should I pretend I don't notice you there or..."

"Just give me a second." Macy took in deep breaths. She tried to concentrate on all the relaxation tactics Stella had taught her that she thought would help. In the end, trying to remember the tactics was what got her focus off Nick and calmed her nerves.

"Better?" he asked when she seemed to have relaxed.

"Much."

"Good. Do you want to come sit next to me?"

She nodded, not sure she would be able to contain herself if she tried to speak words.

"What were you writing?" she finally asked.

"A new song."

She smiled softly.

"You had probably guessed that, right?"

"Is this what Anya's letters inspired?"

"Huh?"

Macy smiled at distracted Nick. She loved when the everyday Nick who was so serious and concentrated was lost to this one who could barely understand anything past the current song in his head.

"Kevin said you wanted the letters Anya gave him to inspire you. Is this what came out of it?"

"Oh, no. I completely forgot about those. I guess since Kevin wasn't heartbroken anymore, I lost the inspiration I thought I was going to find in them. I'm pretty sure I gave them back. I don't think he really cares about them anymore, anyway…"

"So what is the song about?"

"It is about two people who start out as friends and somehow become much more."

"Don't you already have a song about that?"

He smiled at her, a real smile that Macy had so rarely seen on his lips. "I was suddenly inspired for a part two."

"By what?"

"The world around me." He shrugged.

"What?"

"Tell you what. I'll play it for you when it's done, and we'll see if you get it."

Macy shrugged, not sure she understood what Nick was trying to tell her.

"Come on." He nudged her side and put down his guitar. "Let's start breakfast before Joe wakes up and almost burns the house down."

Kevin bit his lip, one hand on the doorknob and most of his attention on Macy.

"Maybe I should…"

"Go, Kevin," Macy interrupted. "We'll be fine."

"I know you'll be fine. It's just…"

"Go."

She pointed her finger toward the door and tried to look as stern as she possibly could. Finally, he slowly left the firehouse, leaving Macy to shake her head at Frankie with a chuckle.

Kevin was going a date. In fact, Kevin was going a date because Macy had managed to convince him that she would never forgive him if he didn't go on the date, as though there was anything Kevin could do that would ever make Macy hate him forever.

She could have bitten her tongue, really, but the idea of Kevin sacrificing anything else for her when he hadn't left her side since she'd shown up at the firehouse that early morning was simply too much. She refused to make him miss another date on top of everything, even if it did mean sending him out into Brooke's clutches. Besides, Kevin loved school dances, and she wasn't going to keep him from one.

"He's got separation issues," Frankie told her with a determined nod.

"I see that. You would think that the fact that he's going on a date would keep his mind off the separation."

Frankie shook his head. "She's not as pretty as you."

Macy smiled. "Thanks."

He shrugged.

"So how come you aren't at the dance?"

"Because I wanted to spend the evening with you," Macy answered, leaving out that she also felt the need to repay the generous Lucas family in some way.

"Didn't anyone ask you?"

"No—" Macy suddenly froze. "Oh no, someone did ask me and I completely forgot that I said yes."

In fact, Macy had completely forgotten about Alex in general. After his first failed attempt at asking her out, he had tried again a few days later, and with Macy upset that Kevin was taking Brooke to the dance, she had said yes because she thought that there was the slightest chance that jealousy might work on Kevin even though he hadn't seemed bothered by Alex's first request at a date with her. And then... well everything had happened and it had just slipped her mind.

"Well, where is he now?"

"Hopefully not at my house yet," Macy said as she reached for her cell phone to cancel the date.

"Sucks to be him," Frankie called over his shoulder. And then he was gone in the next room to find some mischief that Macy wasn't sure she was ready for.

At least, Macy decided as she heard a crash from the room next door, Frankie would probably provide her with enough distractions to keep her from thinking about Kevin and his date all night.

One hard phone call to make, and then one rambunctious child to run after, Macy thought to herself, taking a deep breath.

Her head sprang up quickly when the door opened.

"Hi," she said, hoping that her face hadn't dropped as quickly as her spirits had at the sight of the person entering the firehouse.

"Just me," he told her with a smile, "though you were pretty impressed with just me this morning."

"Well, your charm wears away pretty quickly, Nick Lucas."

He smiled and sat next to her on the couch, leaning over to get a look at Frankie.

"He fall asleep on you?"

"I didn't mind. The quiet was nice."

"You spent all night wondering how Kevin's date was."

"I never—"

"I told you that my latest song was inspired by something that was happening in the world around me."

Macy froze.

"Macy?"

"It's not what you think."

Nick shrugged. "Fine."

"I'm serious, Nick. It's not like that. Kevin doesn't think it's like that, does he?"

"Kevin knows you're a good friend, Macy. Whatever else is going on, that's all that matters in the end."

"But what if I—"

He shook his head at her and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her words. "Kevin's your friend, Macy. Whatever is going on, he'll understand. You just have to trust him. I know we rag on him a lot, but he's smarter than we give him credit for. He definitely reads people better than Joe or I do."

"Can't argue with that," Macy mumbled. If Nick thought she was falling for Kevin, he definitely didn't know what was going on in other people's minds.

"Things'll work out. You just have to hang in there. After all, I've never known Macy Misa to quit anything."

He winked at her, then stood up and carried Frankie away. It took almost half an hour before Macy realised that Nick hadn't answered her question.