Chapter Two: Laugh

Macy jerked her head in time with the guitar, ignoring the way her brown hair flew around her face. She mouthed the lyrics, uncaring of who saw her rather… unfeminine behavior.

TROGDOR WAS A MAN!

She didn't seem to notice the stares she got from other students as she crossed to her locker. No one had seen her 'rock out' like this for about three or four years.

I MEAN—HE WAS A DRAGON-MAN!

Of course, one didn't rock out to a JONAS song. Not like she was doing now, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut as she tested the flexibility of her neck. She clutched at her now open locker door tightly, fighting hard not to let her middle and ring fingers curl toward her palm.

OR, MAYBE, HE WAS JUST A DRAGON…

She didn't notice a commotion traveling down the hall toward her as people dove out of the way. Papers flew, hasty apologies were called out, and one lone Horace Mantis student barreled across the tile. He came to a stop about a foot away from her, stunned that she hadn't yet noticed him and at her peculiar behavior. He came closer and could faintly hear a voice wailing over a screeching and crazy guitar.

"Burninating all the peoples! And their thatched-roof COTTAGES!"

Wait… he knew that song.

"Trogdor, Macy?" he said finally, pulling out one of her earbuds.

She spun, startled, and narrowly avoided hitting him with her binder. Upon identifying her would-be victim, she relaxed. "Nick! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sneak up on you?" Nick said. He raised his eyebrows and smirked before pointing back the way he'd come. Macy looked on the destruction with surprise.

"Wow," she said. Her expression softened suddenly and she turned her eyes back to Nick. "You did all that just to talk to me?"

His cheeks flushed pink and he glanced down at his shoes for a moment. "Well, yeah. I wanted to tell you that I finished the song."

At that moment, another screech emitted from Macy's earphones.

"SQUEEDLY WINS!"

Nick picked up the dangling earbud. "But I guess that if you want to listen to Strong Bad—"

"NO!" shouted the brunette. Nick dropped the little bud, not exactly surprised at her reaction, but rather her volume. "Sorry, I just… I felt this strange need to rock out to some harder music today…"

"So, beside Strong Bad, what else do you 'rock out' to? Metallica?" Nick's eyebrows went up and he smirked playfully, but the gesture was lost on Macy.

"Why, do you not like Metallica?" Macy asked, suddenly on edge. Her eyes were wide and a little fearful. At Nick's stunned silence, she blinked and looked away. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't think it would bother you."

"Bother me?" It was Nick's turn to blink. "I like Metallica. I just didn't think you would." She still didn't meet his eyes, so he gripped her chin and gently turned her face toward his. "Liking someone other than JONAS isn't going to make me stop lo—"

"Nick!"

They both jumped and turned to see who had interrupted, finding that the oldest Lucas brother was dashing up to them, an eager look on his face.

"Oh, hey, Macy," he said, giving the girl a quick smile. He turned back to Nick. "I've been looking all over for you! I finally perfected the banana joke!"

"The banana…?" Nick narrowed his brown eyes in concentration. However, when he remembered what his brother was referring to, he rolled them in annoyance. "Oh. That."

"What's the banana joke?" asked Macy, curious more as to why Nick looked so peeved than the actual joke. Kevin beamed at her and bent low in an over-dramatic bow.

"Thank you for asking, milady!" He grinned cheekily, ignoring the way his younger brother bristled. He was sure that the only reason he was still alive was because Macy would be present to witness the carnage if Nick attacked him. "Okay… what did the banana do when the police showed up?"

He waited, eyebrows raised expectantly. He first looked at Nick, who was frowning impatiently, before he turned to Macy.

"I don't know," the girl said at last. "What did he do?"

"He SPLIT!" Kevin said, breaking into hysterical laughter. "Geddit? He split!"

The bell rang and the young man walked away, still laughing wildly at his own joke. The other two could only blink in bewilderment before they turned to look at one another. All of a sudden, the pair burst out laughing in the middle of the hall, neither exactly sure what had brought on the attack (for it was definitely not Kevin's joke). Eventually, though, they had to start down the hall for Algebra II.

"So, um," Macy said, trying to keep herself from bursting into giggles again. "What were you saying when Kevin interrupted?"

Nick looked down at her, surprised she remembered. "Oh! Ah…" He raised a hand to scratch his dark brown curls. "Just that, you know, nobody's going to hate you for, you know, liking somebody beside JONAS."

Both knew that he had been about to say something very different, but Macy chose not to call him on it. Nick never saw the small smile on her lips as they entered their first class.

X

Normally, lunch was a grand affair for JONAS and associated parties. Joe and Stella would open talks by trying to top each other's morning woes.

Oh, Stella would say. I barely had time to do my hair.

That's nothing, Joe would scoff. I had to skip breakfast!

And so Stella would come back with a long list of misfortune, to which Joe would respond with a bald-faced lie. And after being called out on his attempted trickery, Joe would apologize and surrender victory to Stella. The rare but highly entertaining instances that saw Joe defending his lie also occasionally ended with Kevin and Macy attempting to break the tense silence—but usually led to a high-speed chase around the cafeteria.

While the two created havoc, Kevin and Macy would fill Nick and each other in on the most recent complaints and comments made by either side. Nick would usually smirk in his way and refuse to comment, instead bringing up some recent sporting event.

Today was not one of those rare days, however.

"Joe, Kevin told me when he got to school this morning that you forgot to set your alarm." Stella said. She glared at her peas, refusing to meet the boy's eyes. She stabbed the ugly green vegetables with more force the necessary, muttering under her breath, "Raccoons, huh? Yeah, right…"

There was silence for a moment, during which the other three people at the table found themselves extremely uncomfortable. Finally, just as Nick was about to spring in with a 'How about them Mets?' Joe bowed his head. "Okay, Stella, you win. I'm sorry."

This led to a glowing (coughGLOATINGcough) Stella, who immediately began rattling off details about the new modifications to the Stellavator (patent pending).

"I've been working with Macy's Stellavator on voice activation—" she began.

"Wait, Macy's got a Stellavator?" Joe interrupted.

The lone blonde of the five sent him a look—one that simply screamed 'don't push your luck.' "Macy's is the prototype. I needed to test it somehow, and I don't exactly need one, do I?"

Joe's mouth flapped uselessly for a moment until Stella decided to spare him and turned to his younger brother. "So, what finally broke your writer's block on Out of Mind?"

"How did you know about that?" asked Nick. He glared at his brothers accusingly and sent a curious glance at the small brunette beside him.

"I saw the sheet music in the shower," replied Stella, causing the boy to wince. "So what happened?"

Macy, who had been enjoying the show up until the mention of Nick's song, found herself tensing up. Would he tell her the truth? If he did, there was no WAY their meeting that afternoon would resemble private. If he didn't, she wouldn't know what to think. For shame or safety?

Before she could reach a definite conclusion in her head, he supplied an answer.

"I talked to Macy about it yesterday and she actually helped a lot," Nick said. He sent her a brief smile that shattered her internal debate to smithereens. "I was coming at it from a wrong perspective."

He wasn't looking at the blonde any more, but instead into Macy's chocolate eyes. If he had been paying attention, he may have notice Stella's stunned and happy expression. But he didn't, so he was entirely unprepared for the Macy-like squeal that erupted from the mouth of his oldest friend.

"Ow," his brothers complained in unison, to which he agreed whole-heartedly.

"Stella, it's just a song," Macy said. She was unable to keep a smile from pulling at the corners of her mouth as she continued, "Deep breaths!"

There was stunned silence at the table before they all burst out laughing.

X

Macy sat with a groan on the bench in the atrium, unable to suppress a grimace as she rubbed her temple. Stella was just so… so…

Stubborn? Pig-headed? Annoying?

She shook her head of such thoughts, which weren't really worthy of her best friend. She was just in a bad mood because she was late for their meeting—and so was Nick.

She knew that he wasn't so impatient that he would leave after ten minutes (like Joe). Nor was he so easily distracted, so he couldn't have wandered off (like Kevin). And he certainly wasn't spending the time primping or fussing over that stain on his tie (like Stella). So the fact that he wasn't there was a glaring sign that something was wrong.

"Hey," someone said behind her. She yelped with surprised and leapt out of her seat.

"Nick!" she exclaimed. He released a dazzling grin on her. "I-I… Sorry I'm late—"

"Macy," he interrupted. Not again!

"Stella just wouldn't stop talking about the song and me breaking your block—"

"Macy."

"And I just couldn't get away without looking suspicious—"

"Macy."

"And it sounded like you really didn't want an audience for this—"

"Macy," the curly-haired boy said insistently, but she was on a roll. Only drastic measures would get her to stop. He sighed and propped his guitar on the end of the bench.

"And I don't, either, to be—" The girl cut herself off when Nick took her by the shoulders and sat her down. His eyes were locked on hers and, though his mouth was set in a serious line, she could see a smile in his gaze.

"Macy," he began. "I got here later than you, so I should be apologizing." He closed his eyes and held a hand between them to halt the flood of protests. "I don't want to hear it. I apologize for being late and I'm not taking that back."

Macy's first instinct was to pout, but this only made her companion laugh as he reached for his guitar.

"That only works on Kevin," he teased. She stuck her tongue out at him, this time aiming for the chuckle she got.

"So," she said, after he'd calmed into a smiling silence. She patted the bench next to her, begging him to sit with her mind. He was already taller than her when they were both standing; he didn't need to put a crick in her neck when it could be avoided. He sat.

They were silent for a long moment, but it wasn't as uneasy as it might have been, say, twenty-four hours ago. Macy smiled a little when she thought about the difference one little note had brought.

Finally, Nick let out a sigh.

"Look, I've been sweating over this all day," he said. "So I'm just gonna go ahead and sing the song. Um… okay?"

The brunette blinked at the rather… abrupt manner in which this came, but nodded and shared her grin with him. She was rewarded immediately with one of his signature half-smiles—the kind that had the tendency to turn her into a puddle of happy goo.

He started strumming on the guitar, but he had barely got out a chord when he stopped and snapped his fingers.

"Oh! I nearly forgot to tell you," he said. Now he really smiled, like he had yesterday, right before… well. "I wrote this for you, Macy. It was always going to be for you, even before you helped me out."

"You what?" Macy asked, but he was already strumming again.

A little miffed that he hadn't bothered to answer her, she still got a sense of pleasure that she'd been right about the uplifting tone; what he was playing reminded her of some of the band's earliest work, right after they'd done a few Disney covers a few years ago.

And then he began to sing.

There's a freckle on your chin,
And a wave in your hair.
Your smile is so amazing
That I just have to stare.

There's so much I could say,
But I can't say it all.
You just took one look at me
And I began to fall.

His eyes never left her while he sang and Macy could feel herself smiling in spite of her shock. He had written her a song? He had noticed all of these things about her? He really felt this way; so strongly that he couldn't express it all in a song? He was smiling so brightly as he sang, his voice was so earnest, his eyes were so expressive. What he couldn't say with words, he was trying to tell her with his eyes… And there was no way it was anything but the truth.

You're out of my hair,
But you're under my skin.
There's no way I could forget you
Or the way you pull me in.

You're out of my sight,
But you're still on my mind.
And even when you're not there
I can still see your eyes.

Her eyes lit up when she heard the chorus. He'd really taken her advice! It worked so much better now that he was 'reassuring' his listener (her!) that she was always on his mind. Two years ago, she was listening to CDs and pretending she was getting a private concert. Now, she was sitting right next to him, listening to a song that he wrote for her to tell her that he never stopped thinking about her, that even when she was gone, he was still thinking of her, that she "pulled him in."

You barely blink;
But that's okay,
'Cause I don't mind at all.
I'll just stare into your chocolate eyes
And let myself fall.

I can't taste the sugar,
But I can look all I need!
A special heartache,
A secret longing,
And I forget to breathe.

She smiled a little wanly at the reference to his medical condition. Was he implying that she was too sweet for him to handle?

You're out of my hair,
But you're under my skin.
There's no way I could forget you
Or the way you pull me in.

You're out of my sight,
But you're still on my mind.
And even when you're not there
I can still see your eyes.

This time she could mouth along to the lyrics, even if she didn't dare sing them. She saw him smile as he watched her—was he amused that she'd learned the chorus so quickly? With a little trill on the last word, Nick strummed to a finish. His eyes were anxious and he bit his lip before posing the inevitable question.

"Well?" he said, putting his guitar off to the side.

"That was AMAZING!" Macy exclaimed. "I mean, yesterday was great, but… wow."

He smiled with relief and took her hand in his. "I've been so worried about this. You're the only girl beside Stella that I've ever been afraid to write about."

Macy laughed. "You've tried to write about Stella?"

"Sort of," Nick said, chuckling himself. "It was right before we hit it big—I was trying to go for something about friendship, but my songs kept disappearing. I blamed Joe at the time and I'm still not convinced that he was innocent."

The brunette laughed again and he joined her, finding humor simply in the way her eyes crinkled at the corners and her mouth stretched into a wide grin.

"It really is frustrating, the way those two can get," Macy agreed. "Stella is so convinced that a relationship would ruin everything."

"I can't say that I agree," Nick said. He leaned closer to the girl and whispered conspiratorially. "And neither can Joe."

Macy caught the joke and leaned toward him. "Really?"

It hit her how close they were right then. She could count his eyelashes if she wanted to. This seemed to be apparent to Nick, because the look in his eyes was quickly changing. The joking disappeared and was replaced by something she couldn't quite name. He came even closer, so that their noses brushed against each other. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Really," he murmured, then closed the distance between them. It was not the hard, rushed kiss of yesterday. His mouth was gentle, moving slowly against hers in a way that she couldn't help but respond. She was hesitant at first, but encouraged when she felt him smile into her mouth.

She didn't remember when her free hand went to his hair, but it was there and she wasn't going to move it any time soon. The curls were soft and seemed to wrap themselves around her fingers as she teased the strands.

She didn't remember when his free hand had found her waist, but it had and she never wanted it to move. His fingers discovered a spot where he could trace small circles without tickling her and she knew without a doubt that his piano was a very lucky instrument.

Somehow, their hands were still tangled when he finally pulled away. He didn't move far, but rested his forehead against hers while he caught his breath.

"Wow," Macy said. Even this close, Nick could see that her smile was dazzling. "I… you… WOW."

"You certainly have a way with words," said the boy. He winked and kissed her again. "Wow."

Sorely tempted to thumb her nose at him, Macy merely grinned and asked, "Now will you tell me what you were going to say when Kevin interrupted us this morning?"

He seemed to give it careful consideration before he beamed, picked up his guitar, and said, "If you can catch me."

He bolted and laughter echoed through the empty hall.

"NICK!" Macy yelled, giving chase. "COME BACK HERE!"

fin

a/n: Omigod. This is like, way too long. Now I know why authors are always apologizing about length. This is really ridiculous! When I first typed it up directly from my composition book, it was 2996 words. Now it's 3139. RIDICULOUS.

So, this is THE END. If you are new to the story, YOU DO NOT NEED TO PUT IT ON ALERT. If I do anything else in this universe (meaning, the universe of Seven Times Better. And it's not likely, unless it's Joella) it will be put in a different story.

Also, though I'm not sure why this is a problem, I've had people alerting my one-shots. Rejection is a one-shot and will only be expanded if I feel like it. So please, DON'T BOTHER ALERTING COMPLETED STORIES. :D

Um. So. That's pretty much it. If you have any questions or concerns, review or PM. Even if you don't have any questions or concerns, a review would be nice. :D

OH! And a MILLION-BILLION-JILLION thanks to WyszLo, who corrected a song title in the last chapter. I wasn't thinking when I was typing everything up.

So, I guess this is good-bye for now.

Much love,
Beth

edit again: I forgot to mention in the author's note that I'm looking for a beta willing to do Camp Rock and JONAS stories. If you could PM me or review with information, I would be profoundly grateful.

I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT!! My brother gets full credit for the banana joke. It was reluctantly supplied—as a matter of fact, my brother yelled at me for using it. And Trogdor. But who cares what he says, anyways? So long as he keeps supplying me with lame/awesome jokes.

He literally squeezed my head when he found out I used Trogdor. I couldn't stop laughing.