AN: I'm back!!! And Nancy Drew FINALLY has a category on here! Yay! I'm dead after the season 3 finale. Just dead. And I don't believe Ace was ever convinced that she doesn't love him. Even after she slams the door in his face. That said, I decided to write a story about his reaction since we never get to see it. Also, I figured I would add the whole scene. Please read and review. It would mean the world to me. I don't own Nancy Drew and they wouldn't be in this mess if I did. Without further ado, here's my story!

Ace's POV:

I pace around my apartment and think about the past month. Nancy has been avoiding me ever since she killed Temperance. I want to believe that she's been avoiding me because she's scared to tell me she loves me. I just don't know anymore. I stop pacing and decide to go talk to her. Even if she doesn't want to talk to me, this has gone on long enough. I am about to turn around and leave my bedroom when I hear the door open. I freeze for a moment and then hear Nancy's beautiful voice.

"Hello?" I breathe a sigh of relief and then turn around. I see Nancy walking towards my desk so I step away from the doorframe and watch her for a minute. I see her finger my new ID for the morgue and I feel irritation rise up in me. She's here to steal my ID?

I finally walk out of my room and make my presence known. "If you're breaking into the morgue, you don't need to steal my ID. I'll just...let you in." She looks up at me as I speak and I cowardly look down as I finish talking. I look back up at her to study her reaction.

She's looking at me with an expression that I'm sure has been on my face any time I look at her. "You got a job at the morgue."

It's not a question so I don't bother confirming it. "That night at the Veil...I saw myself through your eyes and what I saw was lacking." As I speak, I see sadness appear in her eyes. "No direction or purpose. Just fear...disguised as anything but."

As I talk, I glance around the room. Why can't I look her in the eyes for more than a few seconds at a time? When I do look at her, I see tears in her eyes. "Ace..."

Her voice sounds so sad so I quickly interrupt her. "Wait, uh, no, this is good news." I walk closer to her as I speak. "Because by the time that I figured that out, this apartment opened up on the floor below Nick's. And I lined up a job that I really love." I look her directly in the eyes. "I'm not lacking anymore."

I study her facial expression. The tears haven't left her eyes and her voice breaks when she finally speaks. "You never were." She shakes her head slightly. After a few moments of just looking at each other, she breaks eye contact first to glance around the room. She nods slightly as she speaks again. "I've missed you."

She takes a few steps closer to me. She's close enough that I can smell her rose perfume. I instinctively reach out my hand, but pull it back before I can touch her. "You've been avoiding me for a month."

She nods her head slightly. "Mm-hmm."

"At The Claw, you'd leave as soon as I show up. I couldn't figure out why." I hesitate for a minute before remembering why I almost went to her house to talk to her whether she'd want to talk or not. I gather my courage. "Can I tell you what I hoped the reason was?" She shakes her head, but I see the yearning in her eyes so I nod. "It was because you felt as strongly about me as I do about you." My voice breaks slightly as I study her facial expression. I can clearly see the love in her eyes. "But for some reason, you're afraid to tell me that. If that's all it was, then I can-- I'll just tell you, that there's..."

Nancy leans in closer and finishes my sentence for me. "Nothing to be afraid of." I lean in to kiss her and hear something crack. We separate and look at my barometer. All three of the glass circles are shattered. "I shouldn't have come here." Nancy's voice is so different from just a moment ago.

I look at her to read her expression right as she starts walking around me. I see her heading to the door so I try to stop her. "Nancy, wait."

She turns to face me. Her voice is so much harsher than before. "Listen to me. We are friends. And those feelings that you have for me, I do not share them and I never will." She shakes her head as she talks and then turns towards the door.

I make my way to the door as I speak. "I don't believe you." She opens the door as my mind races with the sudden change in atmosphere. How did we go from almost kissing to this? "T-there's something else going on." She steps out of the apartment as I keep talking. "Are you in trouble?"

A lightbulb goes off in my head as I think about the night at the Veil, but I don't have time to think about it right now. Nancy practically yells at me. "Why?" She turns to face me. "Because I'm telling you something you don't want to hear?" My mind continues to spin as I study her facial expression. "Look through my eyes right now. What do you see?" I get the subtle hint and try to see myself through her eyes. I think about what happened a few moments ago and I know she loves me, too. I know she's lying for some reason. Why though? None of this makes sense.

I don't answer her and she closes the door. After a moment of silence, I hear her footsteps rushing down the hall. Then I hear the ding of the elevator. I wait until I hear the doors open and close before I go to my bedroom and collapse on my bed. Memories from the night of the Veil flood my mind as I try to make sense of what just happened and the lightbulb moment I had. She hesitated when she was about to kill Temperance and then decided to let her go. Trust me, I'm doing this for us, okay? Run. What did she mean by that? Then she apologized to me after Bess said more destruction would be coming. What if Temperance somehow sent a message to Nancy right before she decided to let her go free?

I hear a knock at the door and immediately get up to answer it. I open the door and hope it's Nancy. "Nancy, I-"

I'm cut off by Bess' angry yelling. "What did you say to Nancy?"

I shake my head in confusion. "What?"

Bess scoffs and pushes past me into the apartment. "Don't play stupid, Ace. I was waiting for the elevator and I saw Nancy when it opened. She was sobbing and then looked at me like a deer in the headlights. She begged me not to say anything to you, but she should know me better than that." I don't let Bess finish talking. I immediately rush out the door and down the hall to the stairs. I take them two at a time. I run to the building's front door and throw it open as I rush out. I frantically look around, but Nancy is long gone.

AN: I'm gonna stop this chapter here. I think I will make this a multi-chapter story, but I make no promises about when or how often I'll update it. I'm currently working on an original story that I plan to publish by Christmas of 2023. Look for it in stores if I successfully publish it! Thank you! Read and review please

Edit: I've updated the story a few times based on inspiration from YouTube comments and such. I give credit to anyone who sees something in the story that they put in a comment on Kate D's Nance videos. Please review and let me know if you see something in the story that you've said in the comments of her videos. Thank you. Have a great day or night.