A/N: I'd just like to say another thank you to all the wonderful people still reading this! Thank you! I was poking through the story stats and was amazed to learn that there are people on the other side of the globe reading this. Insane! :D
Anyway, here is what should have been the second half of Chapter 7.

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Nick spotted Kevin that morning coming around the corner from where he assumed he'd been with Macy. "Hey, we couldn't find you earlier on the field." Nick waited for an explanation but Kevin just smiled. "Right. Well, this morning I couldn't get back to sleep after your...incident so I was messing around on the computer and did a rough mix of that song we've been working on." Nick plugged his iPod into his locker's sound system. "I wanted your input."

Kevin nodded and leaned against the lockers as Nick started the song. The song was barely 30 seconds in when a wide smile split across Kevin's face. Frowning, Nick shared a quick look with Joe. The smile seemed out of place as the song really wouldn't be properly built up until the chorus hit the first time.

"Sup, Mace?"

Nick turned, forcing himself not to roll his eyes at Joe's greeting, and realized Macy had been what Kevin was smiling about, which really should have been more obvious to Nick.

Macy sidled up to Kevin and it wasn't until the pair shared another smile that her head suddenly cocked to the side as she took in the music they were playing. "H-hey is...is this?"

Nick had a question about the various fouls in rugby on the tip of his tongue before he noticed that Macy seemed suitably distracted by the combination of Kevin and the song. The tennis racket she was holding seemed to be in a harmless position. "Yeah, a new JONAS song we've been working on. You're the first person outside the family that's heard it now."

"Oh! Unreleased, unheard...exclusive...JONAS..." Macy's eyes rolled back and she went limp.

Kevin's arms shot out and he managed to catch her before she hit the floor.

Nick smiled as he watched Kevin carefully arrange the unconscious girl in his arms and cradle her against his chest. Yeah, Kevin wasn't crushing on Macy at all, please.

"Aw, I've been missing this! Girls fainting over me," Joe said, smiling at Macy's prone form in Kevin's arms.

"Over us," Nick corrected, glaring at Joe.

"Over new JONAS material," Kevin further corrected, glaring equally at both his brothers.

Joe plowed on, completely ignoring them both, "Thanks, Macy! You've made this morning pretty great so far." And, despite Kevin's elbowing, Joe reached out and pulled Macy into a one-sided hug.

"Joe, get your own girlfr -- girl that is a friend who...who I like, dammit! Stop touching her!" Kevin stomped on Joe's foot and reclaimed Macy. "She's mine!"

"Kevin, give her back! I just wanted a hug! Macy would welcome and cherish a hug from her favorite JONAS member. Cherish!" Joe reached out and grabbed hold of her ankle trying to tug her back.

"This is why we don't have girlfriends," Nick said, going completely unheard. Turning, Nick gave a nod to a few students who had slowed to watch. Yup, this was all completely normal. Nod and they'll walk on. "Guys, really?"

Macy gave a small groan and finally blinked her eyes open. She then blinked them again because there was no way she could be that close, in his arms close, to Kevin.

"Hey Macy! Welcome back! Oh, I should probably put you down."

By the time her feet touched the ground, both Joe and Nick noticed the dark blush on Macy's cheeks. She frowned briefly at her foot, giving her ankle a quick rotate. With a glance around the hallway, without making eye contact with any of the Lucases, Macy muttered a goodbye and left in a hurry.

"Macy?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Macy?" Kevin called out, knocking on the girl's bathroom door.

"Go away! Please?"

Kevin pressed his ear to the door and listened for movement. "You took off really quickly earlier and you tried to duck away from me just now... Did I...did I do something?" Kevin asked, slumping down the door frame to sit on the floor and bumping his forehead on the door. After she'd disappeared that morning before class, Kevin made a point of waiting for her after she left her first period European History class. Only to be dodged again. Macy wasn't one of the school's track stars for naught. "W-was it because of earlier when I got mad Joe was trying to hug you?" Maybe Joe was right. Maybe she would cherish a hug from him. Maybe he was her favorite JONAS member. Stupid Joe...

"Joe was trying to hug me?"

Kevin sighed and rolled his head away from the door to look up. Joe. Joe, Joe, Joe. "Did you have to focus on that, out of what I just said?"

"No," Macy's voice rang through the door. It was slightly louder this time, making Kevin realize she was slowly getting closer. "I was mostly focused on the fact that you think you did something that was making me avoid you. The Joe thing threw me off. I'm not avoiding you because of Joe."

"So you are ignoring me. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize!"

Kevin jerked up from his slumped position against the door frame when the door swung open. He glanced up to Macy and had to quickly look away again when he realized he was sitting far too close and low to her in her school skirt to be looking up at her. "But I did something to make you want to avoid me."

Macy folded herself into a seated position beside Kevin gracefully as she ruefully shook her head. "I was avoiding you because of what I did."

"But you didn't do anything. We already cleared up everything about the missed morning session. Then there was the new song and you fainting but other than that--"

"Other than that!" Macy repeated as she cut him off. She threw her arms up in frustration. "I spazzed out! Again! After I'd been doing so well. I don't know why you even want to bother with me at all..." She heaved a loud sigh and dropped her gaze to her lap before slowly gazing to her bared knee that was rubbing up against Kevin's leg. Lucky knee.

She thought he cared that she liked his music so much that she fainted? "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Our dad tends to get way more excited about new songs than we do. If it was more manly I'm sure he'd pass out too but he does these wild west sound effects instead." She quirked a small little smile but kept quiet and refused to look up. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand that had been tugging at a loose piece of thread on her skirt. Clutching her hand between his own finally caught her attention and when she finally glanced up, Kevin spoke again, "Macy, I think it's amazing that you're so passionate about things. And the fact that I'm passionate about one of those things too? That I help create one of those things you're so passionate about? That's...that's pretty awesome."

She thanked him quietly as she finally raised her head. "Are you positive you don't think it's too creepy weird?"

Kevin nodded and held out his pinkie. "I JONAS swear it." Seeing Macy grinning again and her shoulders unclenched did wonders for Kevin. He really did need to get around to telling her he really liked her. "So, you thought the song was great than? Cause we've been having issues with it..."

"It actually wasn't that great," Macy said in a moment of complete honesty before she realized who and what she was talking about. "I mean, it was! It was JONAS! B-but the drums were really overpowering during the second verse..."

"See, constructive! You should tell Nick that. He tends to not take me seriously when it comes to percussion." Kevin had it on good authority that there was never a bad time to use cowbell, despite what his brother said.

Macy hopped up and held a hand out to help Kevin up. "Uh, yeah... Maybe later."

Accepting the help, Kevin got to his feet and smiled down at Macy. "Here, I'll walk you to your Lit class." Feeling her start to pull her hand away, Kevin quickly locked his fingers around hers. He held his breath as he waited to see if she'd continue to pull away.

She didn't.

Wow. Kevin took a deep breath and quelled the urge to laugh maniacally. They were holding hands! They were walking down the hall and holding hands like it was a completely normal thing to do!

Maybe Kevin didn't have to even actually tell Macy he liked her. She had to know, right? Maybe they could just silently start dating without any awkward word sharing. Quietly celebrating their one month anniversary would sure show Nick that Kevin Lucas could do things low key.

"So, um, here's my class."

"Oh." Kevin blinked, and looked around the hall. Huh, he'd just walked up a flight of stairs without realizing it. That probably wasn't a good thing.

Macy looked down at their joined hands and seemed reluctant to let go. "You don't mind that I made our lunch, do you? I'm not trying to cheap out or anything!"

"Macy--"

"It's just...there aren't a lot of places that close to school and we only have lunch period," Macy said, wringing her hands together. The sudden realization that Kevin may think she was a cheap date won over the urge of never letting go of Kevin's large, warm hand. "We could sit in the bleachers or--"

"Macy!" Kevin interrupted. "That sounds great! You...you actually made us lunch?"

"Uh huh! I promise I'm an ok cook. Plus my dad helped, so if anything is gross it's sooo his fault."

"Great, I'll meet you by your locker at lunch." Kevin leaned in to, to something, he wasn't sure but he pulled back at the last moment and patted her on the shoulder instead. Maybe silent dating wasn't a good idea after all.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Macy...Macy... Why does that name sound familiar?" Tom asked, pulling Sandy away from her brainstorming again.

Sandy realized her husband had found yet another way to stall looking through the latest collection of interview requests for JONAS. Apparently talk of their eldest son's almost-girlfriend was the perfect distraction. She tried vainly to focus on the latest PTA project she'd been given. "Because Kevin's been talking about her the last few weeks?" Sandy said finally, most of her attention still focused on the folder in her lap. Double checking the numbers, she punched a few more figures into her calculator. Why were pom-poms so expensive? "Do kids still do car washes?"

"No, it's something else. Beyond that?" Tom went as far as to place his laptop down on the coffee table. "Wait, car wash? What?"

"The PTA assigned me to find a way to raise funds for the pep squad." Wait, car washes and cheerleaders? Bad, bad idea. Sandy scratched through her first idea and went on to bullet point two, a bake sale. Oh no, she was not baking any more muffins. Muffins brought Sandy's mind back to Macy. "Macy, she's Stella's bestfriend."

"Oh, closer. Stella...friend..."

"The website?" Sandy asked as she decided to not completely rule out a bake sale. She sometimes thought the PTA hoped to use her sons as the be-all and end-all to their fundraising woes.

"Ooh, right! She's the fangirl! She's also the girl the boys," and Tom quickly caught himself because his wife still didn't know about the unfortunate backup singing stunt the boys had tried to pull.

"I don't think we should refer to her as a 'fangirl'. Especially considering the fact that Kevin is working his way to asking her out."

"Well, she kept passing out that one time," Tom reminded his wife.

"Tom, she's clearly over that now. You know...she could be the first actual girlfriend any of the boys have." An actual girlfriend that one of her boys brought home to meet the family. A girlfriend that still brightened the face of one of her boy's even after a five day span.

"Still...still..." Tom trailed off. Heaving a loud sigh, he leaned forward and picked his laptop up again to at least try to make a dent in the interview requests. "Well, I guess it's finally time you have The Talk with Kevin."

"What?" Sandy jerked her head up, scattering her mental plans for the first meal she'd cook when they were properly introduced to Macy. "Thomas Kevin Lucas, you told me you had that Talk with him five years ago!"

"No, no, no. I had the other talk with him."

"What other talk?!" Sandy asked incredulously.

"The talk that, uh...oh, no."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

It was a perfect afternoon to be enjoying a meal outside.

And what a meal it was. Kevin had to admit it put the picnic he'd packed for that baseball game the one time to shame.

Macy was in the middle of a story about baby-sitting her cousin when Coach Washburne walked up to the bleachers.

"Misa! Can I have a word about the equipment you've been logging out of the gyms?"

With a nod, Macy excused herself and jogged down the bleachers.

As Kevin chewed on the chicken dumpling it suddenly dawned on him that Macy was talking with Coach Washburne, his gym teacher, alone and they were glancing his way. Kevin dropped his fork and quickly hurried down the bleachers. Crap! Crap, crap, crap!

Macy frowned as the Coach walked off and turned to Kevin. "You're not failing gym?"

"I--I...." Kevin stuttered as he tried vainly to spin this some how in his favor. But trying to twist the lie into a bigger, better lie was beyond Kevin at the moment as Macy gazed up at him.

"Kevin?"

Closing his eyes, Kevin sighed. "I lied. I used it as an excuse to spend time with you."

"You wanted to spend time with me?"

"Yeah." Kevin wasn't sure why Macy looked so confused.

"Oh, ok."

Kevin frowned as Macy turned and started back towards where they'd abandoned their lunch. "Y-you're ok with the lying?"

Macy paused, tapping her chin as she mulled it over. "In theory, I really am. I think it's kinda sweet that you went through all the trouble but--"

And here it comes, Kevin realized, a sick feeling welling in his stomach. I think you're sweet but... I think you're a really nice guy but...

"If you wanted to hang out with me you could of just asked. Believe me, it wouldn't have been a difficult conversation."

'Hang out', though, wasn't quite what Kevin had been striving for. 'Hang out' didn't fully express... He had to tell her the full truth. Had to tell her that while he did very much wish to hang out with her that he was a little more interested in something a less bit platonic.

"I..." It should have been easy. They were three simple words. Kevin was pretty sure they would be words any girl would be happy to hear from a guy. "I like you," Kevin finally got out in a rush. He let it hang there in the air a moment before deciding to say it again, seeing as the first time caused such a bubble of excitement in his chest. "I like you, Macy," Kevin admitted, smiling as the words came a little easier this time, smiling at the added touch of her name. "I really like you."

Kevin admitted to himself that for a moment he half expected Macy to perhaps faint. He expected some loud squeaky noise and maybe a little flailing. A giggle maybe before she launched herself at him and strangled him with a bear hug.

Instead, Macy's gaze dropped to the ground and pink blossomed high across her cheeks. Her gaze flickered up only once to meet his before darting away again as she softly asked, "Really?"

Kevin nodded mutely, at a sudden lose of words. Seeing Macy so shy and demur was melting Kevin, more so than normal. It was making him utterly incoherent. Making him want to reach out and tuck back the hair that Macy was now using as a curtain to hide her blush.

So he did.

The touch came easily, his fingers smoothing her hair back behind her ear and tracing carefully around her earlobe before running along her jaw. He had spent an impossible amount of time studying her features from afar and to be this close and to be able to touch...it was easily one the most amazing things Kevin had ever experienced.

Macy really did have impossibly large eyes. And a cute little nose. And...and lips. Kevin brushed his thumb over Macy's cheek again but couldn't seem to pull his attention away from her lightly glossed mouth.

It wasn't until his nose bumped into hers that Kevin even realized he was leaning in to kiss her. He'd long since closed his eyes, unable to stare any longer into the brown depth of hers. The first press of his lips on hers couldn't be considered more than a touch. Pulling back slightly, he checked for any signs of horror or disgust. Upon finding none his attention was again drawn down to her mouth.

Pressing in a few inches closer, Kevin captured her lips again.

This, this was a kiss. This was The Kiss. It was everything he'd ever read or heard about. Everything and so much more because it was Macy. It was Macy's soft, plump lips that tasted faintly like strawberries. It was Macy's long, silky hair that his hand was burrowed in. It was Macy's little nose that was brushing against his. It was Macy's body that was pressed knees to chest to his.

It was Macy.

It was Macy whose hands weren't touching him.

Kevin pulled back slowly and let his arms drop to his side.

"Did...did you just kiss me?" Macy asked in a small whisper.

Kevin stared blankly at Macy lips for a moment. "What? What?! No! No, I... You had cake on your face! You're welcome!" Kevin knew what he was about to do was quite possibly the stupidest thing he'd ever done. But knowing and doing were two very different things.

Kevin turned and sped away from Macy without another word.

xox_TBC_xox

Author's Note: Yup, I'm totally going to end it there for now. One last chap...fear not, m'friends, when push comes to shove, I'm a total sap! ;D All good fluff needs a little, trite as I know it was, tension.
Random sad(lame)ness on my behalf, I was trying to clean up the scene with the Lucas parents when I realized each and every time I've ever written Sandy I've stuck her in the kitchen. Ha! Feminism fail! So, yeah, I tried to reset the scene and have her doing something that wasn't simply cooking meals for the men in her life.