Chapter 6: Expect the Unexpected
It was one day during lunch when the three boys enjoyed the solitude of eating on the rooftop of their school. Nick was able to enjoy the company of his two friends undisturbed as an interesting conversation unfolded.
"Guess what?" DZ started off saying with a smirk on his face. "Someone's got an admirer."
Their boisterous friend nudged his taller friend on the shoulder in a playful way. Randolph was the youngest in their trio of friends so they liked to tease him like their "younger brother".
"Shut up, DZ," snapped Randolph because he really did not want to be bothered with what he knew DZ was going to say next.
"Oh? Someone likes Randy?" inquired Nick now with his own amused look. He was happy for once not to be the subject of conversation. He sat next to DZ as he unloaded his lunch and asked. "Who's the lucky girl?"
"You know Olivia from history class?" gossiped DZ. "She asked Randy to tutor her for their next test."
"Olivia? Hm… Is she the one on the cheerleading squad with Penny?"
"Yep the one and only," answered DZ. "She seems to have her sights on our boy here...sigh…Now I'm actual jealous since I'm the only one left without a girl."
"It's nothing like that," Randolph said clearly annoyed. "She knows that I tutor for that class so it's not weird for her to ask me for help."
"Yeah, that may be true but she also asked if you wanted to grab dinner afterwards," his friend pointed out.
This time it was Nick who teased him, "I hate to break it to you, bro, but that does sound like a date to me."
"Well, it isn't," Randolph said as he tried to concentrate on eating his egg sandwich. "I'm just going to help her study for the next exam."
"Yeah, help her 'study for an exam' alright," DZ continued to tease him as he nudged Randy's arm. "I saw you chatting her up at Keith's party. You guys looked mighty cozy together. Hahaha."
"What are you talking about?" retorted Randolph. "I was talking to a bunch of people at the party. I was talking to Macy, too, you know."
"But she doesn't count," DZ answered.
"How does she not—
"Honestly, I don't know why you're trying to fight it," continued DZ without listening to what his friend was saying. "Olivia's cute."
"Then why don't you go to dinner with her," snapped Randolph, hoping his friends will drop the subject.
"I actually agree with DZ here," Nick said which surprised both DZ and Randolph, with the former grinning from ear to ear. "One date isn't going to hurt. She seems like a nice girl unless you really don't like her because I don't know, maybe there's another girl you like?"
Randolph knew that Nick wasn't insinuating anything but the moment he put that thought out there, he could feel his cheeks burning red.
"OH MY GOSH," yelled DZ suddenly. "THERE IS ANOTHER GIRL?! Why are you holding out on us? Who is she?"
"Who is what?" Randy said now trying his best to pretend to look for something in his school bag. He wished his cheeks could go back to its normal color soon.
This time Nick and DZ exchanged a knowing look but now it was the Lucas boy who piped in and said, "Who's this girl you're crushing on?"
"I don't know who you're talking about," Randolph lied miserably because he noticed his body temperature shoot up as the conversation took an uncomfortable turn.
"The girl!" his two friends cried out in unison.
"It's no one."
"You're as red as a tomato," DZ chuckled, now he went over to him and put an arm around his shoulder. "There is someone. That's why you don't want to go out with Olivia. It makes sense now. You like another girl… Unless, of course it's a guy. Nothing wrong with that. We're not judging because you will always be our wittle Randy."
"Shut up, DZ," Randy said exasperatingly. "It's not a guy."
"So it is a girl," said DZ.
"Tell us," Nick urged him. Randolph was the shyest one out of the three but he never had any issue opening up to them so it was odd to Nick that he was being so secretive.
Their shaggy haired friend looked at them both and knew they would not let this topic go and so he said dejectedly, "It's stupid though because I know she doesn't like me."
"How do you know that?" Nick asked him earnestly.
"Because she likes someone else."
"She's already in a relationship?" DZ said frowning because he really wanted to help his friend out too.
"Um…yeah I guess you can say that," Randolph said uncomfortably.
"Well then that's kind of tough because I don't think we should break them up," said Nick and he was about to say something else but was interrupted quite abruptly by his coy friend.
"But he doesn't care about her!" Randolph exclaimed loudly. "It's just so stupid and I hope she can realize it soon enough. I honestly don't know why she likes him. They have nothing in common and she is completely in love with him just because he's popular and..."
He stopped himself quickly before revealing too much.
"Who are you talking about? Do we know her?" Nick asked now very curious. He was trying to think of all the couples at Horace Mantis Academy.
"Uh… it's no one you guys know," his friend replied as he shifted uneasily in his seat. "She's…um…a family friend. Yeah… long distance…like really far away."
"Well then that's not fun," DZ said. "Long distance relationships are doomed to fail. You can ask my sisters."
"Can we please just drop it," asked Randolph abruptly.
"Okay, DZ, let's stop," Nick agreed because he could tell his friend was getting irritated. "But Randy it's been awhile since you've been interested in someone. Long distance or not, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. We just want you to be happy."
"Yeah I know."
"But I mean if there is anything I can do, let me know. I'd like to help."
"Really?" Randy asked in better spirits.
"Yeah of course," Nick answered.
"Ok, then I'll hold you to it."
Meanwhile, the brunette girl who was also a recipient of the rumor mill was having a drastically different time back in school. Macy was haunted by images of the party. It didn't help that after talking with her sister who regaled her own drunken escapades to her that Macy started to panic that she may have behaved in a similar manner while intoxicated. Could it be that their blood relation carried over to similar behavior when drunk? Little by little things were coming back to her. She remembered throwing up in the front yard and walking home with Nick. However, the memory that stuck out to her was an image of her kissing Nick on the lips. But Nick said nothing happened. She knew she could be very bold and loud but how was she when she was drunk? She had no one to ask besides Nick. But the girl was utterly embarrassed by what happened that Sunday morning. She could not believe that she slept over at the Lucas' home and was caught by his mom, who scolded them about what they may or may not have done. The brunette girl wanted to hang her head in shame. Even though Nick said nothing happened, she had serious doubt. However, instead of asking him again about the party and the morning after, Macy found herself trying to avoid any direct contact with the Lucas boy.
It didn't help that her locker was now full of hate mail from adoring fans of Nick. She did not bother reading them. She can feel the eyes of everyone on her and the whispers following her wherever she went. Unlike, Nick, who was used to the fame and being stared at, this was all new to the brunette girl. She heard the rumor going around school saying that Nick hooked up with Penny but left with her. The last part was right but was the first part true? Would Nick really get back together with his ex? She was getting so paranoid that it was one day when she was rushing to her JONAS fan club meeting that she wasn't looking where she was going and bumped into the very boy she was avoiding all week. After exchanging a few words, Macy ran off quickly because she was still so mortified by her behavior over the weekend. She knew she shouldn't have gone to that stupid party.
However, her wish for things to be the same was cut short when she reached the classroom where the JONAS fan club meeting was being held and found the door to be locked with all the members inside. After knocking, Rosalind, the vice-president of the club, opened the door halfway determined to keep Macy out and asked quite waspishly, "What do you want?"
"I'm here for the meeting," Macy replied in an obvious manner.
"Well, here's the thing, Macy, we decided to ban you from the club from now on," the girl bluntly said.
"Wha-at?! You can't do that. I'm the president!"
"You WERE the president," corrected the red-haired girl.
"What do you mean 'were'?"
"The members voted and kicked you out and now you're looking at the new and improved president," gloated the chubby faced girl.
"Kicked me out? But why?!"
"Because you had the nerve to go out with Nick," she said angrily. "It's unfair and selfish."
"Excuse me?"
"We, as fans, know to admire the boys from afar and to protect them at all costs. We know not to take them away from their masses of fans but you selfishly claimed Nick for yourself. What kind of fan are you!"
"This is crazy," Macy argued. "Nick asked me out. I didn't cross the line—
"But we heard the rumors, Macy. Did you or did you not sleep over at Nick's?"
"Well…um…yeah," Macy stammered not knowing how to answer this question in her favor. "But we didn't do anything!"
"You self-seeking witch. How dare you corrupt him! What makes you think you deserve him?!"
"This is crazy. I didn't corrupt him. Hey, Rosie, come back here! I started this club!" yelled Macy but it was useless because Rosalind closed the door and made sure to lock it so she could not get in.
The week continued to dampen her spirit. Now she couldn't even interact with her fellow Jonas-heads. And to make matters worse, when she tried to log onto her JONAS fan website that she shared with Rosalind, the password changed so now that she cannot control anything anymore. Things started becoming more unexpected for the Misa girl when an unfamiliar girl happily greeted her by her locker one day.
"Hey Macy!" greeted the girl with curly brown hair and freckles. She was beaming at her as if they were close friends.
"Oh hey there…um…" struggled Macy, who clearly forgot her name.
"It's Abby, remember? We met at Keith's," she said with a small chuckle. "Although you were a bit tipsy that night."
Crap. She was at Keith's party. Did she do something weird?
"Anyway, I want to thank you for volunteering for the PTA's annual fall fashion show."
"The what now?"
"The fashion show! Remember you agreed to do it at the party," revealed Abby.
Macy had no idea what she was talking about. Did she really agree to do this when she was drunk? Unlike her best friend, Stella, the brunette girl has no interest in anything fashion whatsoever. She was a true tomboy at heart.
"Oh yeah. I remember now," lied Macy while thinking if there was still a possibility to weasel her way out of this.
"Yeah, it will be great. We're raising funds for the Childhood Leukemia Foundation. Our first meeting is next Tuesday at 5:30. Don't miss it!"
Crap. She couldn't back out now especially since they were raising money for a good cause and so Macy said "Sure. I'll be there."
This made Macy wonder 'What else did she agree to do while drunk'? The thought worried her immensely but thankfully, it was nearing the end of the day. She was finishing up tennis practice and there was a tense show down when she was paired up against Penny and the brunette girl knew by the way she was hitting the balls, the blonde girl was aiming for her face. Thankfully, being the seasoned athlete that she was, Macy was able to evade all her shots. However, the biggest surprise of the week was when she saw a familiar figure waiting for her by her locker after practice. She had an urge to turn around and wait for him to leave, but it was just her luck, that he already spotted her and gave her a small wave.
"Hey, Nick," Macy said shyly. Was he actually waiting for her?
"Hey, um, can we talk?" he asked her.
"Sure."
They took a seat in the nearby atrium. When they finally sat next to each other on the bench, Nick finally said what was bothering him the whole week and asked, "I'm sorry but did I do something wrong?"
"What?" replied Macy taken aback by his question.
"I mean I can't help but notice that you've been avoiding me all week," the Lucas boy commented. "Did something happen with your parents? Are they upset with me because I can talk to them and—
"N-no, Nick it's not that," she quickly said as she started to blush.
"But you haven't been acting like yourself," Nick pointed out. He really was coming out of a place for concern because he had no idea of what the aftermath with Macy and her parents was.
Macy looked at the floor as she admitted the reason why she was behaving this way.
"You see…Nick…" she started to say slowly. "I can't help but feel ashamed."
"Ashamed? What? Why?" he asked confused.
The brunette girl hung her head even lower and even turned her back towards him to avoid his gaze and said, "Everyone somehow knows I slept over your place. And your mom was upset with us. She probably thinks I corrupted you in some way. And also I can't help but think that I did something inappropriate."
She lamented about all of these things as she thought about what Rosie said to her and the image of her kissing Nick popped up in her head again.
"What? No, I told you nothing happened," Nick said now hesitantly. He really did not want to divulge to Macy that she kissed him because what good will it do? Plus, why trouble the girl even more? And so he continue, "And seriously, Macy, my mom doesn't think bad of you. In fact…um…she wants to invite you over for Sunday dinner."
"WHAT?" Macy cried out in shock.
"Yeah, she wants to meet you properly," disclosed Nick quite uncomfortably because even though they were not really dating, he thought it was too early to bring any girl home to meet his parents. However, his mother had been pestering him all week to invite Macy over and since it was Friday, Nick knew his time was almost up.
But Macy's heart now was beating fast. Meet his parents? Macy knew very little about dating but what little she did know was that meeting the family was a big deal. And this was not just any family but it was the family that brought into the world her favorite band, JONAS.
"Earth to Macy?" Nick said as he waved his hand in front of her since she seemed to be in a daze.
"Sorry, Nick," she apologized as she was brought back to reality. Her head was clearly full of many thoughts. "I'm just surprised."
"I mean if you're not free then that's fine. I completely understand," Nick said quickly hoping this was the case.
She thought about this. Avoiding his mother will look bad on her part because it might seem like she has something to hide. Macy stared at Nick who was now looking curiously at her.
"Ok, yeah. I'll come over," Macy finally agreed albeit reluctantly. As much as she liked Nick, she didn't think she would be meeting the whole Lucas clan so soon.
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Everyone in the Lucas family was home except Nick's two older brothers, Kevin and Joe, who were away at college. The house smelled of pot roast, mashed potatoes and Sandy Lucas' famous mac and cheese.
"Is it someone's birthday?" Frankie asked as he wandered into the kitchen trying to sneak a bite of the creamy cheesy mixture.
"Frankie, not until we sit for dinner," his mother scolded him as she stopped him from getting a bite of her mac and cheese. "Why don't you help set up the table. I put the plates over there."
The young boy sighed and grudgingly picked up the plates.
"Five plates? Are we expecting someone?"
"Yes, five plates," his mother said as she continued putting some last minute touches. "Nick is bringing a friend."
"Oh, is it Penny?" the young Lucas boy asked gloomily. It was clear that Frankie was not a fan of his older brother's ex.
"No, it's not Penny," his mother answered as she continued cutting up the pot roast. "He has a new lady friend named Macy."
"Macy?" the young boy repeated and joked. "Like the store?"
"Frankie, be nice," his mom gave him a stern look.
"I will as long as she isn't like Penny-wise," snickered Frankie as he revealed his nickname for the blond haired girl
"Frankie…" reprimanded his mother.
"Okay, okay," the eight-year-old boy said. "I'll set up the table."
Meanwhile, Nick was stressing out about the dinner. Was Randolph right? Would his mom scare Macy away? It would definitely help him end things with her but he felt guilty for subjecting Macy to his mother's wrath without fair warning. He still remembered the first time his mother met Penny and let's just say the blonde girl left in tears and this was with Nick prepping her beforehand.
"So Nick," his father started to say as he entered his room. "Your mother told me what happened last weekend."
"Dad, nothing happened," Nick said reassuringly.
"I know I trust your word but tell me about this Macy girl," his dad pressed.
"Um…like what?" Nick said because now that he really thought about it, he did not really know much about the girl coming to dinner.
"I guess the basics like who is she? What does she like?"
"Oh, of course yeah," Nick stammered. "Well, Macy is in my class. She is…um… a big fan of the band. Very devoted fan. She also likes to play sports. And yeah…"
"A fan, huh? That's great to hear!" his father commented. "Your mother and I just want to make sure that you're not rushing into anything after your breakup with…um…what was her name?"
"Penny."
"Yes, Penny. Young love can be very fickle. We want you to make smart decisions. We both know how your mother can be but know that she means well. She is just very protective of all you boys. You're probably nervous about tonight but I told your mom to behave so don't worry."
"Thanks, dad."
With that, Nick heard the doorbell ring and rushed down the stairs to answer the door but was surprised to find that his younger brother beat him to it.
"Hey Macy," Nick greeted her as he stood behind Frankie and he was a bit taken aback because he was so used to see Macy with her hair up and in her school uniform but today she wore her hair straight down with a headband pulling her hair back. She wore a dark pink blouse and jeans and was carrying a large bowl in her hands. She looked different.
"So this is Macy," Frankie whispered to Nick, who now noticed a reddish hue on his younger brother's cheeks.
"Hi, Nick and this handsome fella must be Frankie," Macy greeted them both happily. She tried her best to mask her nervousness.
"Hi, Macy," Frankie greeted her sheepishly. "Let me get that for you."
"Oh thank you! Just be careful. It might be heavy for you," Macy said hesitantly. "I brought my mom's fruit salad. It's her specialty."
The young boy grabbed it from her showing that he was a strong boy and made his way back into the house leaving Nick and Macy by themselves.
"Thanks for coming," Nick said and because he felt like he was having Macy walk into a disaster zone, he gave her a hug and murmured. "Sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Macy asked with a puzzled look as she returned his embrace.
"Erm… I meant don't worry," Nick quickly recovered. "My mom can be a bit tough."
But before she could respond, a tall older fellow with dark brown hair appeared behind Nick.
"Hi, you must be Macy," his father greeted her. "I'm Nick's father. I heard so much about you."
"Nice to meet you, sir," Macy said as he shook his hand.
"Macy, nice to see you again," Mrs. Lucas said as she gave her a quick hug. "Have a seat. I just finished prepping dinner. Thank you for the fruit salad."
The last time Nick brought a girl over was with Penny and he gave her a whole run down of her family before she met them. Penny was grilled on his mother's favorite food, drink, drama show, brand of clothing. But no matter how much he prepped her, Mrs. Lucas proved to be a formidable opponent. However, because of Nick, his mother developed a more tolerable relationship with the said girl but there was no warmth in their interactions. He looked over at Macy who took her seat between him and his mother. A sense of guilt started to overcome him. He was figuratively feeding Macy into the fire of his mother's questioning. Even though his father told him he asked her to tone it down, Mr. Lucas still wore a nervous expression on his face.
"So Macy, do you know what your plans are after senior year?" his mother asked. Starting with the tough questions, Nick observed.
"Oh, I got into early decision with NYU," Macy said quickly.
"Wow, early decision?" his mother said with great interest. "That's impressive. You must have really good grades."
"I get by," Macy answered modestly.
"What's your GPA—
"Mom!" Nick remarked at the inappropriate question.
"No, it's okay," Macy smiled. "It's 4.2. I take a lot of AP classes."
"Wow, 4.2," his mother sat back in her chair clearly awe-struck. "You must be top in the class."
"I don't know about that."
"No, you must be," his mother continued. Nick noticed that his mother was smiling quite widely. "What are you planning to major in in NYU?"
"Journalism," she replied. "I want to follow in my father's footstep."
"Your father must be so proud," Mr. Lucas now piped in. "Does he write for a paper or is he a reporter on TV?"
Macy smiled and said, "He used to write for the Jersey Journal. He had his own sports column."
"Used to write?" his mother picked up on the past tense. "Did something happen?"
"He passed away 8 years ago from colon cancer," admitted Macy as her smile faltered a bit. Nick didn't know that. In fact, it was just then that he realized he did not know much about Macy's family.
"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Lucas said while giving Nick a pointed look because that would have been information he should have told them before her arrival.
"I'm an avid reader of the Jersey Journal for years," his father said, "What was your father's column called?"
"Misa's Mindless Musings," Macy remarked with a giggle. "Clearly, my dad was a big fan of alliteration."
Both his parents laughed which Nick watched with his mouthed open. His mother was actually laughing? What was going on?
"Yes, I remember reading his work!" his father responded excitedly. "He had really good insight. If I remember correctly, he was a big fan of the Mets."
"Hm…Misa, is it? Why does that name sound so familiar," his mother thought out loud. "Oh! Is your mother Vivian Misa the owner of the thrift store down town?"
"Yep, that's my mom," replied Macy with a nod. "She owns Misa's Pieces."
"Yes!" his mother exclaimed as she now looked at Nick. "Did you know her mom lent us some clothes during your early years as a band. In fact, Joe's iconic red leather pants came from their store. My goodness. I haven't seen Viv in such a long time. How is she doing?"
"She's doing well," the brunette girl replied. Nick noticed that Macy seemed to be more at ease. She seemed to be really enjoying their company.
"I need to give her a call one of these days," his mother mentioned happily. "She still has the same number?"
"Yep."
Nick gaped at everyone at the table. Macy was winning over his parents with no prep at all. He did not foresee this. To further add to this surprise, his mother was just absolutely delighted when Macy offered to help clean up the table and wash the dishes. He even heard them laughing and having a good time as they washed the plates together.
"I gotta say, Nick, you picked a good one," his father said as the boys convened in the living room. "I haven't seen your mother enjoy herself at dinner in such a long time. She seems to really like Macy."
"Yeah, I can tell," agreed Nick as a pit settled in his stomach. How was Macy so good at winning over his parents? And not only that, he wasn't oblivious to the fact that his younger brother seemed to also be a fan with the way he was doting over her throughout dinner making sure her plate was never empty.
"Yeah, I don't get why she chose you," Frankie retorted with obvious envy. "I'm sure I could win her over."
Their father laughed at his joke.
"Oh Frankie, she's a bit older than you," his father chuckled as he ruffled his hair. "Plus, don't grow up too fast on me, you hear? You have years ahead of you before thinking about girls."
It was around 9pm when Macy bid farewell and his mother practically pushed Nick out the door to walk her home. So it was a familiar situation but under totally different circumstances that Macy and the Lucas boy walked back from his place to hers.
"Tonight was really fun," Macy said happily. "Your parents were great. I really like your mom."
"She seemed to really like you too," agreed Nick. He was still reeling from shock because none of the girls he or his brothers brought home ever met his mother's standards especially not at first meeting.
"I was really nervous," admitted Macy. When they finally reached her house she turned to Nick and gave him a big hug. "I was so worried they wouldn't like me. Thanks for inviting me."
"Yeah, no problem," Nick said taken aback by her tight hug. "I'm glad you had a good time."
"And I'm sorry I've been acting so weird this past week," she said. "It's just that being with you, I'm experiencing so many things I've never experienced before. And it's overwhelming and I get self-conscious about everything, which may be a surprise to you because I know I can be a bit loud and come off very confident. But the truth is that I'm not. I can get very insecure. And after Keith's party, I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be with me anymore because parties really aren't my scene. I don't like to drink. But Nick, if you want to go to future parties that's fine but I'll probably won't tag along anymore. I hope you understand."
"No it's okay. I get it," Nick replied as he listened to what she had to say. He actually wasn't much of a partier either.
"And Nick…" Macy started off hesitantly because she wanted to ask him something that was bothering her the whole week. "Those rumors about Penny. Did…um… something happen between you two at the party?"
Nick paused because he didn't expect Macy to ask him about that. Nick was not one to lie but if he ever had to bend the truth, it was always to protect someone. Just like when he chose not to tell Macy about her drunken kiss with him, this was no different matter.
"She just wanted to talk," he said albeit a bit uneasily.
"Was she trying to get back to together with you?" Macy pressed on.
"Uh…yeah something like that," admitted Nick. "But nothing happened."
That was partly true because he did not get back together with Penny. Macy didn't need to know that they almost made out.
"Of course, nothing happened," Macy said a happier tone." I should've known not to listen to the gossip. I'm sorry I doubted you."
"Ahem," Nick cleared his throat as he felt his mouth go dry. "It's okay."
She felt ashamed that she even had to ask because Nick was the most stand-up guy out there. However, she was just so happy that Nick put her mind at ease, and so she hugged him again and this time gave him a quick peck on his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow. I promise to be back to my normal self."
As Nick watched Macy go inside her home, a feeling of uneasiness overcame him. He didn't expect the night to go so smoothly in Macy's favor. Instead of his mother scaring her away, his parents and Frankie completely adored her. Was he missing something? Because now after tonight, Macy was successfully intertwining her life with his. This definitely was going to make it so much harder for the Lucas boy to break things off with her.
Closing Remarks:
I know I am taking my time with the Nacy romance here but upon rereading some of my previous stories I felt like I did rush some storylines. Thus, I'm taking my sweet time for the character development here. Lol. Again, this story can exist without the JONAS back drop but I really miss the Nick and Macy pairing.
And I think it is pretty obvious who Randolph is crushing on... oh the drama...
Review! Thank you.
- Penelope36
