Chapter 5 A Mother's Request

Nick Lucas always imagined that the first time he would have a girl spend the night, it would be with a girl he loved so much. Thus, a night together would lead to a certain level of intimacy that would be followed by a night of blissful slumber. However, the next morning after Keith's party, there was nothing blissful about the night before. There was no level of intimacy that was crossed besides that awkward kiss. Nick was not holding a girl in a warm embrace but rather he found himself wedged in his bed with Macy's arm awkwardly spread across his chest. Even though she was rather petite, Macy had a strength that was not proportionate to her size. Therefore, any attempts to move out from under her hold was fruitless because Nick Lucas learned the hard way that a drunk Macy equaled a very handsy and strong Macy. As much as Nick tried to be a gentleman and give her his bed last night to sleep on, the brunette girl pinned him down quite aggressively as she slept the night away. Therefore, after multiple attempts of trying to escape her embrace failed, Nick succumbed to defeat and thus, found himself sleeping next to Macy on his queen-size bed. Because both teens were both exhausted, they did not hear the alarm that Nick set for them so that he could sneak her out of his house early that morning.

8:45 am. The alarm must have been ringing on snooze for quite a while that it was now heard down the hallway as Mrs. Lucas started to stir and wake up herself. The matron of the Lucas household was a creature of habit and can wake up by her own internal clock, which was a trait her two youngest sons inherited from her. Thus, it was rare for Nick to have set an alarm for himself and knowing her son to be a stickler to a schedule just like she was, Mrs. Lucas ventured towards his room to make sure he got up on time for whatever it was he had planned that morning.

"Nick, sweetie? Are you up?" she called and knocked twice on his bedroom door.

No answer. She waited for a couple more seconds before turning the doorknob to let herself in and boy, was she shocked to stumble upon the scene that unfolded in front of her eyes. Because there in his bed was not only Nick but an unfamiliar brunette girl who had her arm spread across her son's chest.

"AHEM," Nick's mother cleared her throat loudly.

This time Nick started to move but instead of opening his eyes he shifted in his sleep and now absently draped an arm around Macy's waist who was still deep in sleep and was starting to snore louder.

"NICHOLAS LUCAS I'M GIVING YOU TO THE COUNT OF THREE TO GET UP."

If there was a voice that could wake him up immediately, it would be the angry voice of his mother. It was a voice he rarely heard since he hardly got in trouble thus. Thus, when she spoke, Nick immediately sat up and fully acknowledged the situation he was in.

"Mom, it's not what you think," Nick said quickly because he knew that this looked bad. It did not help that Macy was still sleeping with now her arm draped lower across his waist.

"Oh and what do you think I'm thinking?" his mother said in a calm manner as she now observed the appearance of both teens and it became obvious that they were both wearing what appeared to be the same clothes they wore the night before.

"Shhhh! Keep it down," Macy mumbled in her sleep. "Just 5 more minutes."

"Macy, get up," Nick said hesitantly as he nudged her. For Macy, if there was a voice that could get her attention at any moment it would be the voice of Nick of JONAS. Thus, her eyes opened up wide in shock. How can it be? She immediately sat up and found herself staring straight into Nick's face.

"Oh my Jonas…" muttered Macy under her breath.

Where was she? Looking around she took in the light blue walls, the green and navy plaid comforter, a guitar in the corner. This had to be Nick Lucas' bedroom.

How did she get here? She looked back at Nick. Was this real life? If this was a dream, this was one she hoped to never wake up from. However, when she sat up she saw that on the other side of the bed there was a very angry-looking Mrs. Lucas.

"Mrs. Lucas…"was all Macy could say in an even more shocked tone. She had no idea what happened last night but she was quick to say. "I didn't do anything to your son!"

Except she was not sure herself, so she looked at Nick and asked, "Right?!"

Nick quickly shook his head 'no'.

"I am more concerned about what my son did," his mother glared at him as she was getting impatient as she continued assessing the situation in front of her.

"Mom, it's nothing like that," Nick said as he stood up now from the bed. "Macy and I went to a party last night and thought it would be best to have her sleep over since it ended really late. I was going to drop her off this morning at her place but I guess we both overslept."

"Macy, is it? I wish my son would have introduced us under better circumstances, but I think it is a good idea for Nick to bring you home now. We don't want to worry your parents even more and Nick, I leave it up to you to explain to them how nothing happened between you and their daughter," she said the last part sternly and then added in a milder tone. "And then after that, I would like to have a nice long chat with you, my son."

And with that the tall figure of Mrs. Lucas left the room for the two teens to go over what just happened.

"Shit…I'm in trouble…" Nick murmured to himself as he got ready to bring Macy home

But Macy was frozen as she was trying to process what was happening. It didn't help that now she was feeling a pressure in her head. It felt like the room was spinning.

"Nick? What happened last night?" Macy asked urgently but had to close her eyes because she was feeling the intensity of her headache increasing. "Did we…really not do anything…?"

Macy trailed off the last thought as she glowed scarlet as the thought of doing more than kissing with Nick popped up in her mind. She checked under the covers just to make sure she was still dressed.

"No nothing happened!" replied Nick quickly but before he can say anything more, Macy sighed loudly in relief.

"Okay thank goodness because I don't know what I would do with myself if something did," Macy rambled on in her usual fast paced speech. "I mean I like you, Nick, but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of stuff yet especially since yesterday was our first date and I haven't even had my first kiss yet…"

She said the last part more in a hushed toned but Nick heard every word. He pursed his lips and decided that it would be best not to tell Macy that she technically had her first "kiss" already with him last night but he did not want to burden the brunette girl even more. Plus, the kiss meant nothing but a drunken mistake so why worth mentioning it?

So Nick recounted the events of last night to her. He explained how she got so drunk to the point she could barely stand and so he and Randolph had to bring her back to his place. They thought it would be best for her to sober up there rather than cause a disturbance at her home but his plan did not go accordingly when he overslept through his alarm.

"Oh I see. Thanks for not telling your mom about me being drunk," Macy said slowly as bits and pieces of last night started to come back to her. Her cheeks reddened even more as she grew more embarrassed at the thought of Nick seeing her intoxicated. Did she say anything or do anything embarrassing? What would Nick think of her now? "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. I really don't drink at all. That was actually my first time drinking alcohol."

"It's okay. It happens," Nick said reassuringly. He remembered all the times he had to take care of a drunken Penny and this was nothing compared to how the blonde girl would get. However, he then added hurriedly. "Let's take you home. I'll explain everything to your parents."

The brunette girl happened to look at his wall clock at that moment and suddenly panicked.

"OH MY GOSH IS THAT THE TIME?!" Macy exclaimed as she quickly gathered her stuff. It was close to 9:30 AM. "I'm going to be so late."

She rushed down the stairs with Nick following close behind.

"Hey, wait for me!" Nick exclaimed as he tried to catch up with the brunette girl. As much as he wanted to avoid any confrontation, he felt responsible for clearing things up with her parents.

The walk over to the Misa household was quiet but both teens didn't mind. Nick was busy thinking of what to say to her parents because the idea of bringing Macy home in the morning wearing the same clothes she left with the night before was not a good first impression. He was praying that her parents were more understanding than his mom. Meanwhile, Macy was hoping she could get to her grandmother's birthday celebration on time. Honestly, she was debating whether or not to have Nick walk her home because his presence might cause even more trouble for her.

"Nick, it's okay. You don't really need to go with me. I can explain to my family what happened," assured Macy.

Nick was really considering this. He was one to always strive to leave a good first impression, so it was stressing him out that he was put in this awkward situation especially with a girl he was not really dating. But before he was going to answer and take this opportunity as a way out, the voice of Sandy Lucas rang loud in his ears that he needed 'to do the decent thing'.

Hence, he grudgingly replied, "No, Macy, it's okay. I really should-

Except before Nick could finish that thought, a taxi-cab screeched to a halt in front of them and out appeared a beautiful girl with black wavy hair and the same almond shaped eyes as the brunette girl that he was with.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" the new girl said with a sly grin as she gathered her stuff from the cab.

"Hey sis…" muttered Macy who now wore a disdained look on her face.

"Hey, Macy," her older sister said with an amused look. She signaled to the cab that she was okay being dropped over here since it was only a block away from her destination.

"Vic, what are you doing here?"

"Didn't mom tell you I was coming home around 9:30? Obviously, you forgot," replied Victoria as she smiled even broader and was looking back and forth between her younger sister and Nick. "Hey, I know you. You're Joe's brother, right?"

"Yeah, Nick Lucas," answered the bashful boy as he started to recognize Macy's older sister, as a girl who used to hang out with Joe when they were both in high school. "I was just walking Macy home after the party we went to and-

"A party?!" repeated Victoria clearly surprised and raised her eyebrows at Macy. Because since when did her little sister go out partying?

"Yeah, um…Macy slept over since the party ended late and I'm just walking her home," Nick started to say and he would have continued to ensure her that nothing happened but was interrupted yet again by the older Misa girl.

"OH SHE SLEPT OVER, DID SHE?" repeated Victoria humorously with her eyebrows raised even more as she tried to stifle her giddiness because she was just having a blast especially seeing how red Macy was turning. "What else did you guys do?"

"Okaaaay, uh… enough with that," Macy said as she grabbed her sister's shoulders and began pushing her towards their house. "Nick, sorry, I'll take it from here. Thanks for everything. I'll see you in school tomorrow!"

She hurried her older sister to their home without looking back at Nick. Could this day get even more embarrassing? Once they were inside, Victoria could not help but burst out in laughter. This was just way too good.

"All I can say is WOW," her sister said as she finally stopped laughing. "Seems like you had quite the night, lil sissy. You went to a party and slept over a guy's place? I know a walk-of-shame when I see one. But to have the guy actually walk you home, now that's rare. Was the sex that good?"

"Shut up, Vic," Macy said irritatingly as her sister continued to laugh. "It wasn't like that but please can you keep it down. I'm having this really bad headache."

"OH MY GOSH. Are you hungover?!" her sister said now staring at her in amazement. "It's like I'm looking at a mini version of me. I'm so proud."

Macy gave her sister a scathing look enough to make her shut up.

"Please, stop talking so loud," Macy said as she sat down and buried her head in her crossed arms.

"If there's one thing I am a master at, it's how to get over a hangover quick," stepped up Victoria who finally saw that her little sister was in need.

"Thanks, Vic," Macy said sincerely but the moment she checked her watch, she jumped up in urgency. "Oh my gosh, we need to leave soon. It's almost 10. Grammy is waiting for us."

"Shhhh…chill, Mace," her sister said while continuing to put stuff in the blender for her hangover cure. "I texted mom that I was running late before all this so we're covered."

"Thanks," replied Macy.

It was definitely a change of pace for Macy because for once, her older sister was taking charge which helped assuage her apprehension. Because her dress was completely ruined and smelled of alcohol and vomit, she had to borrow her sister's purple cardigan that she paired with a white tank and khaki pants. Truly, her sister was a hangover genius because after drinking her concoction, her headache dissipated almost immediately. Thus, they were only 15 minutes late when they arrived at St. Augustine's with their grandmother's cake in hand.

"Finally, you two decide to show up!" their mother exclaimed as she gave both of them a stern look. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, ma, I missed the earlier train," Victoria lamented. "I hope we didn't miss much."

"No, thankfully, but your grandmother has been asking about you guys nonstop," she replied and then now gave an even more firm look at her younger daughter. "And Macy what time did you get in last night? I didn't see you this morning and your bed didn't look like you slept in it. Did you come home?"

"Oh, um… you see…" stammered Macy because she did not feel like telling her mother the truth.

"I asked Macy to meet me at the train station," Victoria butted in when she noticed Macy's distress. "She had to leave early because of the…um…traffic!"

"Yeah," Macy agreed quickly as she gave her older sister a thankful look.

"But why?" her mother said suspiciously as she continued to narrow her eyes at both of them.

"You see…um…I … uh… forgot my WALLET! Yes, that's it," the older Misa girl said excitedly as something was starting to come to her. "I just had enough for the train and didn't have money for a cab."

"Oh?"

"Yeah and I called Macy to meet me there so that she can pay for a cab ride back," she continued.

"Exactly," Macy said finally speaking up. "I met up with her to pay for the cab."

Her mother continued staring at both of them.

"So you took a cab there to pick up your sister and then took a cab ride back?" confirmed her mother.

"Exactly!" Victoria and Macy said in unison and then Victoria added. "So grateful to have a sister like her. What would I do without you, right Macy?"

The way she looked at the younger Misa girl, Macy knew the meaning encompassed more than the conversation they were having.

There was a pause before her mother finally spoke and said, "Okay. Although I'm happy you guys are finally getting along, I can't believe how much money you wasted for an extra cab ride! You know how tight we are on money already."

"I know, ma," apologized Victoria. "I'm sorry. I promise not to be so forgetful anymore."

"Yeah, sorry, mom," added Macy showing just as much remorse as her sister. "I should have told you before I left this morning."

"Yes, I got so worried," Mrs. Misa replied. "Well, at least you guys are both here now. Hey wait a minute. Where's the dress you were going to wear, Macy?

Crap. What excuse can she give now?

"Oh mom that's my fault too, "Victoria lamented. "The ride over was so bumpy that I spilled my coffee on her dress. I didn't mean for it to happen…"

Victoria should get an Oscar award or something, Macy thought. The way she was coming up with excuse after excuse on the fly was truly amazing. What was even more remarkable was the fact that their mother seemed to be buying it all.

"I guess that can't be helped," she sighed. "At least you found something purple to wear. Now go over to Grammy. She's been waiting for you guys."

Macy mouthed "thank you" to Victoria when their mother wasn't looking. The recreational room at St. Augustine's was decked out with purple balloons and streamers. About twenty other fellow residents were present for the matron Misa's birthday party. Sitting in the center of the room behind a rectangular table was none other than the 80-year-old celebrant.

"Finally! My girls are here!" cried out their grandmother gleefully. She wheeled herself around the table to greet them. "Let me come take a good look at you guys."

Macy was overjoyed to see her grandmother who really was still in good spirits despite them being late. Even though she put on a bright smile, Macy felt guilty that she was not on time for her birthday party. Her grandmother enveloped both she and Victoria in a big hug and kissed them both on the cheek.

"My how you are all grown up and oh so beautiful!" she exclaimed as she brought them back into her warm embrace. "Your father would have been so proud of you guys."

"Thank you, grammy," Macy said quickly. "We're so sorry we're both late."

"Oh nonsense. Don't worry about it," their grammy said. "You guys are young. I'm sure you had some fun excuse last night. Please tell me so. I need to live vicariously through your youth."

Victoria laughed and added, "Oh I think Macy definitely had some fun."

This caused Macy to blush profusely, which caused their grandmother to stare at her with great intrigue, "Oooh? What kind of fun? Fun with the opposite sex kind of fun?"

"N-no, nothing like that!" she said quickly. As much as she loved her grandma, she tended to make inappropriate comments like this, and it was easy to see where her older sister inherited her personality.

"Makes me think about my young days when I had so much fun with your grandfather," she continued as she had a look in her eyes as she thought about her beloved.

Because they knew how much she missed their grandfather, her sister was quick to catch this as a cue and asked, "Grammy, tell us again how you guys met?"

"Well, gals, it all started with you grandfather's vintage Cadillac…" their grandmother started off to say.

And so, the girls took a seat next to their grandmother as she retold them about her love story with her late husband.

Meanwhile, Nick was dreading heading back home after dropping Macy off. He did not exactly get to explain to Macy's parents why he was dropping off their daughter in the morning but it seemed like she had it covered. Thus, he left it up to Macy to take care of that conversation and probably, without him there, it would be easier for her to tell it in such a way that did not get her in much trouble. However, he knew he could not avoid the conversation he was about to have with his mother because as soon as he reached home, his mother immediately summoned him to the kitchen.

"NICHOLAS!" his mother called just as he opened the front door.

"Hi, mom."

"Have a seat," she said as she indicated the seat in front of her and the moment he took his spot, his mother did not waste any time. "What on earth were you thinking of bringing home a girl last night? Under my roof? I don't want any funny business happening when I'm here, Nicholas. And your little brother is in the room next to yours. How can you be so careless!"

"Mom, I'm telling you the truth that nothing happened!" said Nick honestly. "I really did not do anything with Macy."

But his mother was half listening as she continued, "I know, you're having a rough time after breaking up with Penny but you cannot go down this path where you are just having a rebound girl and fooling around. I did not raise you to be like this. How can you treat her so casually?"

"Mom, really, you have to believe me. I'm not treating Macy casually," argued Nick. "I did not do anything you wouldn't be proud of. I swear I'm telling you the truth! I didn't do anything inappropriate."

This time his mother narrowed her eyes at him. Out of all her sons, Nick was the one who was the most like her so she can tell rather accurately if her son was lying to her but instead of meeting her eyes, Nick was staring at his lap because even though he did not hook up with Macy, his intentions with her were not exactly kosher since it was -if anything- a fake relationship at least on his part. He knew if his mother knew this, this would have the same type of reaction and scolding.

"Okay then," his mother said as she now folded her arms in front of her. "If this Macy girl isn't a rebound, I want to meet her properly."

"What?" Nick said clearly surprised.

"You heard me," his mother said sternly. "If you are taking her seriously, then I want you to bring her over to dinner on Sunday."

"Wha-at?" he repeated with more emphasis.

"I want to meet this new girl of yours. Do I make myself clear?" his mother repeated impatiently. "If what you say is true, then there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

This time Nick was looking straight at her with his mouth hanging open. He knew that look on her face when she was being serious and there was no point arguing with her.

The next day at Horace Mantis Academy was supposed to be like any other day. However, when the Lucas boy arrived, there seemed to be an unexpected chain reaction. People within his vicinity would stop what they were doing and pause for a brief second before whispering with more fervor to those around them. Nick was used to people staring at him when he was outside of school with his fans. However, he has been in Horace Mantis Academy for almost 4 years now, and the fan crazed behavior was minimal to none since the student population was used to his presence there. Nevertheless, the reason for the odd behavior amongst his peers was not due to his celebrity status but rather, it concerned the latest piece of gossip, which was this: Penny tried to get back with Nick at Keith's party but the Lucas boy went home with Macy. And not only did Macy go home with Nick, but apparently the brunette girl was spotted leaving his house early the next morning wearing the exact same clothes as the night before. Safe to say, the rumor mill at Horace Mantis Academy was running high this Monday morning.

"Well, aren't you the talk of the town," Nick's animated friend, DZ, teased him as he caught up with him at his locker. "Seriously, I could not have come up with a better plan."

"What are you talking about?" asked Nick in an uninterested voice. He did not have the energy to entertain his friend's nonsense so early in the morning. He had enough to worry about as it is with his mother's request.

"What am I talking about?! You're turning out to be quite a Casanova, "his friend continued to tease.

"Do you even know what a Casanova is?" Nick asked because he did not appreciate the comparison but was also impressed that DZ knew the literary term.

"Of course, I do," replied DZ. "It's exactly what you are. Everyone's talking about it!"

"About what?" asked Randolph who now joined the picture.

"Keith's party! People saw you go upstairs with Penny to quote unquote 'talk' but then you had the nerve to leave with Macy," said DZ with an impish smile.

"It's not like I wanted to!" exclaimed Nick. "You saw how drunk she was."

"Yeah, DZ you know what really happened," Randolph butted in.

"Well, yeah of course, I know what happened," DZ retorted. "But the way everyone else sees it, is that you rejected Penny after she tried to get back together with you and you hooked up with Macy instead."

"That doesn't sound like Nick at all," pointed out Randolph. "It's so dumb."

"But you gotta admit it does make for a compelling story," snickered DZ. "Apparently, Penny is embarrassed about it all. Not only is she ashamed she lost to Macy but she can't believe you went home with her."

Nick frowned for a bit because he had an urge to clear things up with his ex. He did not want Penny to think that anything happened between him and Macy. However, he knew to keep this thought to himself because his two friends always picked on him for always harboring a soft spot for Penny no matter what she did whether right or wrong.

Throughout the day, Nick had to ignore unnecessary attention from girls who found him to be even more alluring since he was able to resist Penny's flirtatious ways. Even though she was known to be the queen bee, Penny definitely had her fair share of enemies. However, it was only a few days after Keith's party did Nick realize something peculiar. The rumor involved three people and Nick was expecting that a certain person who was involved in the latest piece of gossip would have made her presence much more known around him but that was not the case.

It was one Thursday afternoon when Nick was rushing through the hallways to avoid any unnecessary chit chat when he was suddenly bumped from behind causing him to lose his balance. Thus, he and the unknown assailant fell simultaneously on the floor.

"Hey you should watch where you're going!" Nick cried out as he tried to get up but when he turned to look who it was, his expression changed completely. "Oh hey Macy…"

It was only then that it registered to him that he had not seen nor heard from the very girl in a couple days.

"H-hey Nick," she said sheepishly as she got up quickly. "Sorry, I…uh… didn't mean to…I wasn't looking…"

"No, it's fine," he replied. He realized the last time he saw her was when she walked her home that Sunday morning. She wasn't her usual herself. In fact, he noticed that she was avoiding eye contact. "Um… was everything fine that day? I hope you didn't get in trouble."

"Oh no, nothing like that," she assured him while shifting uncomfortably. "Anyway, I gotta go. Have a meeting to catch. I…uh…will see you around."

He watched her hurry down the corridor. That was odd. He wondered what was up with her unusual behavior. It's not like he wanted to disturb the peace. Could it be that Macy lied and got in trouble and was forbidden to see him again? Although he hated the possibility that her parents had an unfavorable impression of him, if it meant that the farce between him and Macy had to "unfortunately" end, he could not help it. Maybe he can say that they broke up and his mother would stop nagging about meeting her.

There were no more Macy Misa incident after that. It was almost like she disappeared out of existence. He would catch a glimpse of her here and there in the school's corridors. Furthermore, she also no longer waited for him at the end of baseball practice. Maybe she got over her crush of him? But now it made him wonder if he did something to upset her. He caught himself paying attention to her whenever he caught sight of her at school and outwardly, she seemed okay. The only time she seemed flustered was if she was within his vicinity. It became obvious one day, when Nick caught Macy and Randolph talking after their biology class. Nick was on his way to lunch but he decided to make his way towards them. However, the moment he approached them, Macy quickly said to Randolph, "Well, I…um…gotta go. Lemme know if you need to copy my notes. I can give it you later. Bye!"

This was annoying. It was now so obvious that she was avoiding him

"Hey, Randy," greeted Nick but he was still staring at Macy's moving figure away from them. "Have you noticed anything odd with Macy?"

"Macy? No, she seems perfectly fine," his friend replied. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

The Lucas boy pursed his lips. He was hoping that his friend would have noticed a change in her behavior as well but now this just confirmed that she had a problem with just him.

Because he did not want to bring any attention to this, Nick just dismissed it and said, "Oh it's nothing."

"But Nick you are still going to talk to her?"

"Huh?"

"I mean about this whole pretend date thing. You're not really going to continue with it, are you?" asked Randolph as he walked alongside his best friend.

"Oh yeah, I plan to," answered Nick. "But get this. My mom wants me to bring her over one day."

"What? Why?!"

"She saw that Macy slept over that night and thinks I'm just using her as a rebound and so, she wants me to prove to her she isn't," Nick said gloomily. "You know how my mom can get."

"Oh yeah," agreed Randolph. "I think it was only last year did she start warming up to DZ."

They both laughed at that because the three of them have been friends since elementary school.

"But you know this could be it," his friend continued now with a whole new expression.

"What could be it?

"Your way out of this," started off Randolph. "No offense but your mom is so hard to please. Didn't you say she didn't like Penny when you first started going out?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm not saying Macy is bad but I'm sure your mom will find some fault one way or another with her and make it difficult for you guys to continue dating," his friend reasoned.

"That is very true," Nick said slowly as his friend made a valid point.

Why do any work when his mom could do it all? This changed Nick's whole perception that inviting Macy over won't be such a bad thing after all. However, the biggest obstacle right now seemed to be finding a way to invite her over which was proving to be easier said than done since it seemed that the brunette girl was doing everything she can to avoid him.

Oh how the tables have turned.


Closing remarks:

I initially wrote this to be a much longer chapter but realized that I could divide it into two separate chapters so expect the next chapter to be uploaded soon after I proofread it. The character casting for Macy's sister Victoria is none other than Vanessa Hudgens. I basically described her as such and it helped that they are both half-filipino.

Anyways, I hope you guys review. Sigh...there really is no more NACY fans out there anymore or at least not as much as before. But nevertheless, I still intend to finish this story and like I mentioned earlier, I anticipate this to be one of my longest stories.

Review! Thanks.

- Penelope36