Chapter 10 Frankie's consolation
The youngest Lucas boy was noticeably in good spirits despite losing his little league game the day before. Nick was prepared for the moping to set in as his younger brother was very sensitive to these things but instead, Frankie was bouncing around the hallways and humming a happy tune. He peered into the younger brother's room and was surprised to find clothes strewn everywhere. It was so unlike him because Frankie was just as neat as him if not more. Was Frankie having some sort of mental breakdown?
"Um…Frankie is everything okay?" asked Nick hesitantly as he watched him dive into his closet headfirst and started throwing out even more clothes. "Because you know, you can talk to me about yesterday. Everyone has a bad day. I remember when I struck out on my first little league game, Joe and Kevin wouldn't—
"Nick, which one of these shirts give off a cool and sophisticated vibe?" the youngest Lucas boy asked clearly not listening to what Nick was saying. He held out two shirts- one navy blue and the other one striped white and baby blue.
"What?" Nick asked caught off guard by his younger brother's question. Clearly, he was having some type of dissociative episode because the last time Frankie lost a baseball game the whole family had to take him out to his favorite restaurant- Chuck E Cheese where he could eat and play games to his heart's content.
"I need to know which shirt is cooler!" Frankie cried out exasperatingly. "Look if you aren't going to help me choose then I don't know why you're here. You're just getting in my way."
"Okay, okay," Nick said as Frankie tried to push him out of his bedroom. "The dark blue is nicer. But what is this all about? Where are you going?"
"Nothing. It's nothing," Frankie said quickly avoiding his gaze.
Nick narrowed his eyes as the youngest Lucas boy continued rummaging through his stuff.
"You have plans today, right?" Frankie called out to him with his back turned as he now changed into the navy blue polo.
"Yeah, Randy is coming over to help me with some homework but I can tell him to come later if you want. We can have a bro day and go to Chuck E. Cheese," Nick offered kindly. He will definitely get some brownie points from his mom for being such a caring older brother.
"NO!" Frankie exclaimed as he now turned around to face him. "I need you to be…er… I mean I don't need any company. I'm okay. I'm just…uh…changing my wardrobe and cleaning out my closet. I'm almost ten years old now, Nick. Gotta act more mature and dress the part, you know?"
Nick laughed because since when was ten years old considered a year to be mature.
This time Frankie had to assure his older brother that he was not having some sort of mental breakdown and said, "Look I'm fine. Absolutely A-okay. You win some, you lose some. What can I say? The other team played a better game. I'm not perfect."
Hmm… maybe Frankie really was growing up, Nick thought.
"Okay, well, that's very mature of you to think like that," Nick said as he ruffled the young boy's hair. "Proud of you, bro. Maybe we can practice one day and I'll show you some pointers."
"Oh thanks but no need to. I'm okay," Frankie said quickly as he checked out his appearance in his floor length mirror. "What time is Randolph coming over?"
"Probably in an hour or so but I really can cancel if you want some company."
"Nick, I'll be fine," the young boy reassured him. "You need to catch up on your homework. School should always be your number one priority."
And with that, his younger brother ushered him out of his room. Despite Frankie's odd behavior, the older Lucas boy gladly headed downstairs. He hadn't had breakfast and the aroma of eggs and bacon traveling enticingly from the kitchen made his stomach grumble with hunger. His dad was already at the table reading the morning paper as his mom just finished cooking when he sat down.
"Morning, sweetie," his mother said as she set his plate. "How are you feeling today?"
"Much better," Nick said as he started digging into his plate. Nothing beats crispy bacon and scrambled eggs first thing in the morning.
"That's good," his mother said. "You had quite the caretaker yesterday."
Nick ignored her comment as he busied himself with his meal. It was still odd for him to get used to his mom pushing for something to happen between him and Macy because she was always such a harsh critic when it came to girls for him and his older brothers. The only one who passed her good graces was Stella Malone but of course, his brother screwed that relationship up.
"Caretaker? Who are you talking about?" his dad now piped in as he put his paper down to drink his coffee.
"Oh, honey, you know whom I'm talking about," his mother said as she now took a seat between her husband and son. "Macy! Remember she was here yesterday morning?"
"Ahh, yes," his dad said now with a smile. "She really is one of a kind, son."
"That she is," his mother added. "She has a good head on her shoulders. In fact, she reminds me of myself."
Nick almost choked on the orange juice he was drinking because as much as he appreciated Macy spending time with him, he did not find any similarities between her and his mom. But then again, she did take care of him just as his mother usually did. It was really sweet and selfless of her to do that. He tried not to think too much about it because it was confusing to think of Macy as more than just a fan.
Thankfully, his silence on this subject matter went unnoticed as his parents continued talking about Macy and more so, his mother continued to emphasize again how delighted she was that Nick finally picked a good one. It was becoming more and more uncomfortable for him to listen to his parents' take on his "love life" that he was determined to excuse himself from the table after he quickly stuffed the last pieces of bacon and eggs in his mouth. However, at that moment the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!" Nick said quickly, glad to have an excuse to step away from this awkward conversation with his parents but just as he was about to get up, his younger brother ran down the stairs.
"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" Frankie yelled loudly. "NO NEED TO GET UP! I GOT IT!"
"Who could that be?" his mother asked inquisitively.
"No clue," Nick said at first but then added. "Actually, it might be Randy. He's helping me with some of the schoolwork I missed."
"Oh, Nick, before I forget," his father said. "I spoke with Malcolm last night. He liked the song and said that it could be a potential single but he wants to hear more options."
"Okay, I have some other stuff I'm working on," Nick answered eagerly. "I can show you. I still need to polish them a bit, but it could work."
"Great! I'll get back to him later this week and tell him to set up the meeting then," his father replied.
"Meeting?" his mother now interjected. "What meeting?"
"Meeting with the producers in LA," his father clarified.
"Tom, you know how I feel about the boys missing school," his mother said sternly.
"Honey, I'll make sure it's over a weekend and maybe an extra two days tops," his dad assured her and then directed his attention back to Nick. "If you can finish at least two more songs, Malcolm can schedule something with the record company. He said it can be as soon as the end of this year that they can put something out."
"Wow, that's great!" Nick now said in better spirits. "Let me show you what I've been working on."
Nick got up from the table to head upstairs to his room and on his way there, he saw his brother and Macy talking in the foyer.
"Oh hi, Macy," Nick said quickly as he made his way to the stairs.
"Hi, Nick," greeted Macy cheerfully. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Yep, feeling great," he replied as he passed her and was about to go up the staircase when it suddenly registered to him what just happened. Therefore, he paused mid-step and turned around to stare at Macy, who was still standing next to Frankie. He said with great confusion, "MACY?! What are you doing here?"
He now noticed his brother, who was wearing the navy blue polo, khaki shorts and a rich blush on his cheeks. He obviously looked quite smitten as he stared admiringly at the brunette girl. Nick backtracked towards them and as he drew closer, he could smell his cologne which was wafting through the air in such a pungent manner around his younger brother.
"Frankie, are you wearing my cologne?" Nick asked him curtly.
"No, why would you think that," Frankie said dismissively while still staring at Macy with adoring eyes. "I'm so glad you can help me, Macy."
"Of course. I hope you're ready for some of my ultra secret batting tips!" Macy said happily giving him a small wink and by now, Nick noticed she was carrying a gym bag and a baseball bat.
"Yep, I could use all the help that I can get especially after how badly I played yesterday," Frankie said with what Nick could only describe as mock sadness. "I can't thank you enough, Macy."
For once, Nick felt like a fly on the wall since no one seemed to notice him as he stared back and forth between his younger brother and Macy. It was an odd feeling as Macy was always paying attention to him but now she wasn't there for him but for Frankie Lucas.
"Great, let's get going," Macy said and then called out. "Bye, Nick! Frankie said you had plans but it would have been really cool if you can join us, too."
"Oh yeah, Frankie said that, didn't he?" Nick said still focusing on Frankie, who was now doing everything to avoid his gaze.
"Well, I wasn't lying. Say hi to Randolph for me!" called out Frankie as he closely followed behind Macy, but Nick grabbed the back of his shirt's collar to pull him back in just as he was about to step out.
"Sorry, Macy. Just give us a second," Nick called after her as she now stood on the front porch.
Nick still had a good grip on Frankie's shirt when he dragged him to the living room for some privacy.
"What are you trying to pull?" demanded Nick.
"Whatever do you mean, big brother?" Frankie asked innocently.
"Why is Macy here?"
"She's going to teach me how to better my game," replied Frankie like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You could ask me or dad to help you with that," the older boy argued.
Nick had a point as the young boy bit his lip and contemplated this.
"I can't ask you since you're sick," answered the young boy when he found this to be a valid reason.
"Well, I'm better now."
Frankie mumbled his next response.
"What was that?"
"I said you're better now thanks to Macy," retorted Frankie in an envious tone.
This time Nick blushed because he couldn't deny that and so he replied, "Okay but what does that have to do with anything?"
"It's not fair you got to have her all to yourself yesterday!" shot back Frankie. "She even missed my game!"
This time Nick understood where his younger brother was coming from and said in a calmer yet now amused tone. "Frankie, Macy's my friend. She wanted to come over and spend time with me. You can't force her to hang out with you."
"I'm not forcing her!" his younger brother argued. "She volunteered! And you said friend not girlfriend so that means that she's still fair game."
"Frankie, you know what I mean," Nick said in an annoyed voice.
But before the Lucas boys could continue arguing, the very girl they were talking about popped her head in and asked, "Everything okay in here?"
And so, in a completely different yet cheerful tone, Frankie answered, "Yep, everything's great! I'm all yours, Macy!"
Nick pursed his lips as he watched his younger brother practically rush towards Macy with an obvious bounce in his step. It was odd to see his brother crushing on a girl especially since as far as Nick could remember, Frankie had no interest in the opposite sex until now. Was Macy really that special? Was she Frankie's consolation prize for losing the game? Because Frankie was never like this when Penny was around. There was an unsettling feeling brewing inside him. He was tempted to cancel plans with Randolph but stopped himself. What was he afraid would happen? Frankie was almost ten. It's not like he would do anything funny with Macy. He shook any doubts from his head because he knew he was being silly. However, it didn't help that when he saw Macy that weird tingling feeling returned in the pit of his stomach. Nevertheless, he was about to grab his coat to join them but just at that moment, Randolph gave him a call to let him know he was only five minutes away. So as much as he wanted to be a third wheel for whatever Frankie had planned with Macy, he decided to leave them alone. After all, he did have a lot of schoolwork he needed to catch up on.
Randolph finally arrived and the two hit the books. While DZ was the resident gossip in their trio of friends, Randolph was the one who excelled in school. Thus, Nick was able to finish a week's worth of homework in less than two hours giving them time to just hang out.
Randolph plopped down on his bed while Nick took to his computer to sort out the new songs he wrote.
"What's DZ up to?" Randolph asked.
"I think his sister is visiting so they went to the city for lunch."
"Ahh I see," replied Randolph. He started playing with Nick's Rubik's cube but he was not really trying to solve it because he used it more as a distraction for the next question that he was about to ask. "And where's Macy? I'm surprised she isn't here."
"I know thank god," Nick said jokingly as was his custom to show his relief to be rid off Macy despite things being different with them now. However, he didn't want to admit that just yet since he was still sorting out what this "difference" was.
"I would've thought that she would want to spend the whole weekend with you since she was here yesterday," he replied offhandedly.
"Well, um, she probably knew I needed some space," Nick made that excuse because he didn't want to reveal that today his younger brother occupied her time since it was still bothering him. However, he just realized something. "But wait…how did you know…?"
"She answered the door when I dropped by yesterday. I thought you could use some company but I saw that you were already in good hands so I left," his friend explained as he watched Nick closely. Randolph was really curious about what alone time with Macy entailed for the two of them.
"Oh, yeah…um…she just came over to hangout," Nick turned around towards his computer because he could feel his cheeks blushing. He felt uncomfortable talking about this with Randolph. He could not pinpoint why but Nick did not want to advertise that Macy took care of him. It might send the wrong message because it wasn't like there was anything going on between them no matter what it may look like to those on the outside.
Randolph put the Rubik's cube down and said, "Macy is an interesting girl, isn't she?"
"That's one way to put it," replied Nick still with his back turned to his friend as he was mixing tracks on his computer.
Randolph stared at his friend and because he was curious, he asked, "Nick, do you…um… find Macy interesting?"
Nick finally turned around to face him to see if this was a serious question and was surprised that it was and so he replied, "I mean I guess you can say she is as interesting as an overactive puppy. Small and tiny but has way too much energy."
Nick chuckled at his own description of the brunette girl. Because as comical as his description was of her, it was pretty accurate. He noticed any attention he gave to her was enough to make her excited just like an eager dog who was fed a treat.
"Yeah, like a puppy," replied Randolph with a small laugh. "Puppies are cute though… So you think Macy is cute?"
Now Nick's mind went back to when he kissed her on the cheek yesterday. He was afraid to think too much about it because he was struggling with why he did that.
"I mean she's not unattractive," answered Nick truthfully. "But you have to look past her…um… intensity to appreciate it. You know what I mean?"
Randolph nodded in agreement as he was deep in thought about what he just said but Nick did not catch his friend's reaction because he turned again back to his computer.
"Why all these questions about Macy?" Nick asked now as he pretended to concentrate on his music, but he was curious why his friend was asking so much about the brunette girl.
"Just wondering," Randolph said as he continued to look over at him. "But I just think hanging out with her like this might give her the wrong impression that you're interested in her. I mean unless your feelings have changed…?"
"No, it hasn't," he said. At least, he didn't think so. But he felt that weird feeling again in his chest. He really did not want to talk about her anymore. He already had enough Macy-talk from his parents earlier this morning so he decided to switch subjects when he asked. "But enough about me. What about you and this girl that you're secretly crushing on?"
This time it was Randolph who was caught off guard.
"Oh that…um…well there's really not much to report," Randolph answered earnestly.
"What about that girl Olivia? She seemed interested."
"Yeah, we went out…"
"You did?!"
"Yeah…" Randolph said coyly as he picked up the Rubik's cube again but this time he was now determined to solve it.
"And?" Nick pressed on.
"And what? Nothing happened. We went out to eat but I didn't feel any spark," he retorted.
"That's a shame," Nick said. "But you can't help it if you don't feel it."
"Yeah, she isn't really my type," he admitted.
"What is your type?" Nick asked curiously.
Even though he knew Nick didn't mean anything more by his question, without thinking, he answered defensively, "Why do you want to know?"
"So I can help you find a girl," he answered quite taken aback by Randolph's tone.
"Oh…um…thanks," his friend answered sheepishly but evaded his question. "I'm fine though. But what do you think I should do about…um… that girl I like."
"I mean I do agree with DZ that long distance is hard and if she has a boyfriend…" trailed Nick.
"But I don't see it lasting long. You can say it's a relatively new relationship," his shaggy haired friend continued.
"Oh, okay and you really like this girl?" Nick asked him as he watched his friend closely.
"Yeah, I do and it's been a while now actually," admitted Randolph sheepishly.
"Honestly, if you like this girl that much and you're willing to bridge the distance, then you should at least tell her how you feel," Nick encouraged him.
"Okay, thanks for the advice," Randolph said quite relieved.
"I wish there was something I can do to help."
This piqued Randolph's interest and so he said in a casual yet excited tone, "Oh so, if you could help me out, you would?"
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I?"
"Great, thank you. I'll keep that in mind," replied Randolph in a cheerful manner.
"But now I'm really curious. Tell me about her," Nick asked keenly. "What type of girl captured your heart?"
"WHAT?!" His friend replied in surprise. His cheeks started to blush as the conversation took an awkward turn for him.
"Randy, are you okay?" Nick said now concerned. "You seem on edge."
"I'm -uh- fine," assured Randolph as he stood up quickly. "Well, why don't you look at the time! I really should be going. My uncle's expecting me at the shop. I'll see you tomorrow!"
And with that, his friend rushed out leaving Nick alone in his room. That was odd, the Lucas boy thought. His friend seemed nervous when he questioned him about this mysterious girl he liked. It's been a while since Randolph showed any interest in any girl and Nick wanted to see what he can do to help his friend because he still harbored guilt from the last time his friend had a crush on someone, and instead of helping him, he developed feelings for the same girl and basically took her away for himself. Sigh. He made a promise to himself and to Randolph to never let this happen again.
Nevertheless, the rest of the day Nick tried to busy himself with fine tuning his tracks, but he was distracted by the time. It was almost 4 in the afternoon and Frankie wasn't back yet. He tried to lay down but kept looking out his window to see if there were any signs of the two of them. What could they be doing for this long? His restlessness led him to sit in the front porch with the excuse of wanting some "fresh air." But the minutes passed, and the sun was starting to descend while still casting some warmth from its rays. It created a rather cozy atmosphere that fall afternoon. Nick closed his eyes for a bit. He lost track of time when he finally heard his little brother say, "Funny place for you to sleep, bro."
"What?" Nick said groggily as he opened his eyes. He must have dozed off when he leaned his head against the banister. Macy and Frankie were both staring down at him with amused expressions. This time Nick sat up straight and reprimanded his brother, "Do you know what time it is?! It's…uh…5:15…which is a time for you…to…uh…be home."
"Don't get your panties in a twist," Frankie retorted. "I'm back now."
"Sorry, I kept him out the whole day," Macy interjected. "We had to go over a lot more than I expected. But after today Frankie will be playing like a pro."
"No, Macy, it isn't your fault," Nick said quickly as he continued to glare at his brother but before he could say anything else, his mom called the young boy inside leaving Macy and Nick by themselves.
"Well, today was a success," Macy said as she sat next to Nick on the porch. "Frankie's a good kid."
Nick chuckled and said, "Yeah, he's a good kid alright but I can guarantee you that he was faking how bad he was."
"What? Why?"
"Because that little twerp was voted MVP for his team last year," Nick ratted out his brother and then further revealed. "But I guess it can't be helped because…he has a crush on you."
"Oh what?! Really!?!" exclaimed Macy in great surprise but then gave a knowing nod. "That actually explains a lot…especially the cologne."
"Please don't be too hard on him when you break his heart," Nick answered with a chuckle. "Actually, scratch that. I think you should be hard on him. It will toughen him up in the future."
They both laughed and at that moment they heard the front door open briefly and shut. Nick looked over and saw his mom holding Frankie back from going out and distinctively heard her say, "Leave them alone."
At that moment, his phone went off and saw that it was Penny calling him.
"Oh, sorry you should get that. I should head home," Macy said and was about to get up but Nick stopped her.
"No, it's not important," he quickly said as he silenced the ring tone. Normally, he would answer a call from his ex at any moment, but it was different now. He knew he had to stand firm and not get sucked back into her manipulative ways.
"Okay," Macy said happily as she sat back down. "So how are you feeling about the upcoming game against Don Basco?"
"Finnegan is doubling up on practice," Nick retorted. "I know he's going to give me hell for missing a whole week."
"Sigh…if only he will let me back in. I really was only trying to help…okay maybe a little too much. But you know I could also teach you some pointers to help improve your game."
"Are you saying I suck?" Nick retorted while sporting an offended look on his face.
"No! You know I don't mean that," she answered quickly with a flustered look.
"I'm just joking," Nick laughed to assure her. "But you're right. I can definitely use some help. We're going to need more than just luck against them."
"Oh wait. Speaking of luck!" Macy said loudly as she now rummaged through her gym bag. "I forgot to give you this yesterday."
She finally found what she was looking for and gave him the yarn bracelet that she made in the nursing home that one afternoon with her grandmother.
"I made it for you," she admitted meekly. "Jade stones represent good luck and fortune. I made a matching one for myself. See?"
She showed him a similar bracelet on her wrist.
"Oh, wow. Thanks, Macy," Nick answered as he looked at her thoughtful gift. He made a memo to himself to hide it from Frankie who would probably try to steal it from him.
"That right there and my training, of course, is all that you need for the big game," Macy joked.
"Remind me to thank you when we win," he replied as he slipped the bracelet on.
"You definitely will win with my help," Macy said confidently. "Just ask Frankie. He'll tell you how much he enjoyed his training session today."
"Um, well I don't know if I can trust Frankie's opinion since it's kinda skewed, isn't it?" Nick pointed out with a smirk. "You can teach him how to knit and he'd probably rave about it."
"Hey!" Macy nudged him with her shoulder and then admitted shyly. "I actually do knit."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that and quilting," Macy said but when she saw Nick raise his eyebrows, she continued to defend herself. "It relieves my stress!"
"Do you also play bingo on Sundays?" Nick said now with a big grin.
"Nick!" she said as she playfully hit his arm but then she added sheepishly. "And I actually do play bingo on Sundays at the nursing home…"
Nick tried to stifle his laughter but noticed that she was turning beet red and then added, "Macy, no it's cool. I consider myself an old soul too. I swear sometimes I feel like I'm the oldest. Just look at Joe and Kev."
Macy smiled now, "Yeah, I always forget Joe is older than you."
"I know, right?" Nick agreed. He noticed she was more at ease again. "And Macy?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for yesterday," Nick said now sincerely. He could feel that tingling feeling return. "I never had anyone really take care of me like that before."
This time Macy was surprised and raised her eyebrows, "Really? Not even with...?"
Nick shook his head and said, "Nope. With her, it would be more like she won't come over because she wouldn't want to get sick."
"Oh," Macy replied. "Well, I'm glad I helped this time around instead of giving you food poisoning."
They both laughed and at that moment, Nick found himself looking at the brunette girl almost like for the first time. He noticed the crinkle between her eyebrows when she laughed. Her eyes were big and almond shaped, and her iris was a hazel brown with a hint of green. He never noticed them before. In fact, up until that moment, he never thought of Macy to be anything but a diehard Jonas fan that stalked his every move. But was he starting to see her in a different light? Why did he feel tingly again?
"Um…Nick?" Macy said now waving a hand in front of him. "You there?"
"Oh sorry," apologized Nick as he mentally shook himself from that odd trance.
"Anyway, I was saying that I really should head home. It's getting late," Macy said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you," Nick said as he was still lost in his thoughts.
He felt his heart racing now because he knew his view of Macy was starting to change. And that in itself was scaring him completely because there was no way he could fall for Macy Misa. Absolutely, no way. At least, that was what he was telling himself.
Closing Remarks:
Nick is still in denial because he is afraid to acknowledge his feelings are changing towards Macy. Any predictions of what will happen? And what about Randolph? Sigh... could there be a love triangle brewing? Stay tuned.
Please review! Thank you.
-Penelope36
