21 A/N: Hi Peeps! My first FanFic's here! Yayy! I'm so excited to share it with you guys. I have read many Francy stories out here and they all inspired me to write something. So, my first piece.
Eternal grateful to my bestie Sam and my friend Sarj, who gave me enough positivity about this one.
Special Thanks to Drumboy100 for the tips and encouragement to post a fic.
Disclaimer: Everything you don't recognize might be mine. Better be sure before assuming anything.
This story is inspired by Charlie Puth's We Don't Talk Anymore Ft. Selena Gomez. Nancy, Frank, Bess, George are 22 and Joe is 21.
Well, without further ado, I present to you We Don't Talk Anymore!
~"Maybe there's something you're afraid to say, or someone you're afraid to love, or somewhere you're afraid to go. It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt because it matters."~
-John Green
6:00 p.m.
August 1st, 2020
Drew Residence, River Heights, Illinois
"Relax, Nance," Bess Marvin, Nancy Drew's best friend advised her. "You are going only for a date with Ned, not an FBI interrogation."
Nancy dabbed some perfume on wrist and neck and checked her reflection in the mirror. A beautiful red-haired blue-eyed girl in a midnight blue evening dress stared back at her. Nancy turned towards her friend who was sitting on the bed munching on some cookies Nancy's long-time housekeeper Hannah Gruen had given the girls to eat.
"How can I relax, Bess when my brain is telling me something's up? Wish I could figure it out." Nancy turned towards the mirror again and picked a pearl necklace from the jewelry box. She wore it and spoke, "And he sure is acting weird about it. He refuses to say where we are going and tells me to dress up. Seriously, I wish I could guess what's going on. Which guy keeps his girl in suspense?"
She guiltily thought about how she close, she was to not being his "girl". Ned Nickerson and Nancy were drifting apart. Maybe a romantic night together is what we both need, she thought.
Georgia "George" Fayne, Nancy's other best friend was sitting on the ground cross-legged. "A guy has to do that when he wants to do something special for his girl and when the same girl is also a top-notch detective. Just Relax, Nan. Let him surprise you this time."
"I'm trying but it's against my nature. I can't help it if the suspense is driving me crazy." Nancy sighed and asked, "Well, despite everything how to do I look, girls?"
"Hot!" Bess exclaimed.
"Absolutely!" George chimed in. "You are gonna knock Ned's socks off."
Just then, the doorbell to the Drews' house rang.
Nancy quickly checked the window and put her pearl earrings on. "Girls, its Ned. Looks like I am about to get my answer now. Wanna come down to witness it?"
"Nah," George replied, shaking her hand. "You can give us all the details tomorrow."
"Besides, I am going to ask Hannah for some more cookies. These taste heavenly!" Bess chirped.
George rolled her eyes. "Weren't you on a diet?"
"I was but I thought all that can wait till I finish some more of these."
"Okay, you too," Nancy smiled at the cousins and her two best friends. "Thanks."
7:30 p.m.
August 1st, 2020
La Vita Riviera, River Heights, Illinois
Till now, this has been a wonderful and a normal evening. I wonder what Ned has up his sleeve, she thought.
Nancy looked up when she realized Ned was calling her name.
"Hey, are you okay? You seem distracted," Ned asked, his brown eyes gazing into her blue ones.
"Nothing much important. I was just wondering whether you were going to tell me the reason of this surprise date," she answered.
"I can't keep anything from you too long, huh?" Ned smiled. "I have got two things to share with you…" he trailed off for dramatic effect.
"And those are?" Nancy leaned forward, unable to keep her curiosity longer.
Ned laughed seeing her expression. "I… got selected for the Chicago Bulls!" Ned announced proudly. "I am going to play the NBA!"
"Oh Ned, that's so wonderful! I'm so happy for you!" Nancy excitedly got up from her chair and embraced him. Ned was the star quarter back of Emerson's football team, amazing basketball player and along with that an awesome baseball player too. She knew that everyone expected him to have an offer to play professionally in either sport or at least pursue a career in sports.
"Yeah, I am so excited," Ned beamed. "I'll be playing basketball with professional players in the NBA."
Nancy smoothed her dress as she sat down and picked up her wine glass. "Let's have a toast." She lifted the glass and clinked it with Ned's. "To Bright Future," they both said and took a sip of their wines.
"How about we take a walk alongside the river?" he suggested after a few minutes of comfortable silence between the pair.
"Sounds nice."
They both exited the posh Italian restaurant they had come to and walked hand in hand along the banks of Nori River.
The sun was almost setting, and the atmosphere was quite romantic.
"The second thing Nan," Ned hesitated slightly.
Nancy was too busy feeling the romantic air around her that she did not notice that Ned was no longer beside her. He was beside her alright, but he had bowed down.
He gazed into her eyes as she turned, "Nan, we toasted to a Bright future. I want to make it even brighter. It's been six long years with you. I want it to stay the same forever. Will you marry me, Nancy Drew?"
Nancy stared at her square-jawed boyfriend, who was on his knees in front of her asking her to be more than her boyfriend. To say that she wasn't expecting this would be an understatement. Even her usually sharp brain had gone numb. She lost all her train of thought as she stared at the handsome man bowed down in front of her.
"Nance?"
"Ned," she said but hesitated before continuing. Nancy closed her eyes to collect her senses and blurted out, "I can't, Ned, I can't. Oh my gosh, this is all so sudden. I can't marry you Ned. Not yet."
"Why?" Ned whispered, hurt laced in his voice. Nancy flinched at the tone of his voice. She didn't want to hurt him. She'd never. But she couldn't shun away from her feelings too.
"I love you, Ned, but I always saw myself settling a few things down and accomplishing my dreams before settling down with someone."
"Like?"
"Like…Since I have graduated…I have received an offer from the FBI…I'd like to pursue that."
What? FBI? Ned thought. Images he never ever wanted to see flashed through his brain. "What? FBI?" This time he uttered the words audibly. "You never told me about it. Seriously?"
"You wouldn't have been happy to hear it just like you are now," Nancy said defensively. "I've always dreamt of being an FBI agent since I was a teen. It was fascinating to see agents train in front of me when I was in that case in ."
Ned blew out a frustrated breath and stood up. "Seriously Nancy, sometimes it feels like your career, and I have been competing for six long years to win you and your attention. And from the past six years, your career and mysteries have always won. Previous six years, I tried it hard to support you Nancy. But I don't want to be second now."
Nancy blinked rapidly as the meaning of his words sank in her mind. "Ned? Are you asking me to…choose..? Is that what you feel about my job? Really?" She asked weakly.
"To be honest Nan, I've felt this for a long time. I supported you for six long years, Nan," Ned turned away from her, towards the river. "I'm sorry, Nan."
Nancy felt like someone had slapped her. And to her horror, she felt tears forming into her eyes. Was he saying that he put up with her and her detective work? It took a few moments for Nancy to reach a decision. Blinking the tears back, she said, "I'm sorry Ned, if you had to put up with my detecting. But it's something in me. Its makes me feel rare and special. It's me. I can't leave that. I can't. I can never imagine my life without any mystery."
Willing not to cry there in front of him, she continued, "I'm sorry for those six years where you had to put up with me. I'm sorry for ruining your proposal. But now, that we've talked, I think I need some more time to think about us and our future together."
Ned hesitated to ask what he wanted to ask for a long time. "Is there some other reason or… someone else because of you are…," he trailed off.
Nancy gaped at him. But before she could stop herself, her mind had visualized her standing close on that balcony, gazing into his soft, dark, brown eyes and smiling at the warmth in his smile. She gave herself a mental shake to dispel her visualization. "If you are talking about Frank Hardy, you and I both know very well that he and I have not communicated with each other since our last case a year ago. No emails, no phone call, no cards," Nancy tried to speak the words with a confidence she knew she didn't have. Nancy might not be talking to Frank Hardy but that didn't mean she had stopped loving him. Maybe that is one of the reasons I am not going to marry Ned, she thought.
Her voice wavered a bit as she continued, "I have tried my best to stay beside you, be it summer, winter, fall or spring. But Ned, how fair is it to doubt your girlfriend's commitment to you when I tried so hard to work everything out?"
And she left Ned to his thoughts in the dark on the Nori bank.
1:24 a.m.
August 2nd, 2020
Drew Residence, River Heights, Illinois
Nancy stared at the ceiling of her room desolately. It was past midnight, and she was no closer to falling asleep than she was an hour ago. Her mind recalled in vivid color the events that had occurred that evening.
After she had left Ned at the bank, she had called a cab and came back home. She had holed herself in her room when Bess and George had called her.
"Hey Nance, what happened? What was the surprise? Come on girl you are holding out the details," Bess said to her impatiently.
Nancy could hear George rolling her eyes at Bess before she interrupted, "Give her chance to speak, Bess! How can she speak when you're not lettin' her?"
"Okay, okay. Nancy, begin please," Bess requested her, sheepishly.
"Ned proposed me," Nancy said without any preamble.
"WHAT?" She heard the cousins exclaim in unison.
"Are you serious, Na…" But before Bess could even complete her sentence, Nancy heard Hannah scream in the kitchen.
"Bess, something's wrong. I heard Hannah scream. I'll call you guys later." Nancy quickly hung the phone and dashed downstairs.
Hannah apparently hadn't needed any Nancy's help at all. She had the situation well under control. As she entered the kitchen, Nancy saw Hannah standing on a stool near the kitchen island, glaring at something near the refrigerator. She had a spatula in her hand that she had raised threateningly.
As Nancy neared her, she saw what had caused Hannah to scream. Running behind the fridge was a scared rat that had supposedly scared Hannah. Nancy had laughed out loud causing Hannah to glare at her in turn. Seeing the deathly glare from her beloved housekeeper, Nancy had quickly escaped to her room.
Nancy sighed remembering that she hadn't called Bess and George after that and they still didn't know that she had almost turned Ned down. Not that that's not what she'll do later.
Making a note that she would call them the first thing in the morning and thinking about the day's events again and again, eventually made Nancy fall into a fitful sleep.
12:34 a.m.
August 2nd, 2020
Marvin Residence, River Heights, Illinois
"Bess, could you just stop chatting with whoever who are talking to and sleep and let me too sleep!" George admonished her cousin.
"Yeah, yeah. Just let me type this last text and then we'll sleep," Bess replied.
She typed the last text into her phone to somebody:
Btw, Ned proposed Nancy today:)
She'd check her phone the first thing in the morning to see his response.
1:34 a.m.
August 2nd, 2020
Joe Hardy's apartment, Bayport, New York
"Sweet Jesus," Joe Hardy commented when he read Bess's last text before she went offline. He and Bess were close friends despite his brother's relationship with Bess's best friend Nancy. He was typing a response to her text when he heard his brother behind him.
"What happened?"
"Nothing," The brothers had just returned from a stakeout and Joe hoped his brother would believe him and go back to his apartment without any other questions.
"I did not certainly hear you say 'Sweet Jesus' for nothing, Joe. Something's up so, speak."
Joe sighed inwardly. People always underestimated him. Frank was the smart one, sure. But no one knew that he also had brains. No one knew that he always read people better than his brother. And those people also included Frank. He wasn't blind. He saw how Nancy and Frank looked at each other when they were together. Hell, he had even seen them finishing the other's thoughts. They were always in sync-no matter wherever they were. And…he knew what happened in Egypt too. Oh yes, he knew that his brother had it bad. "Maybe Nancy should be the one to tell you, Frank," he said.
"Joseph Brooks Hardy, spill it," Frank ordered his brother. He looked at his brother and decided he wouldn't like the message, whatever it was.
"Well, Nancy…Ned proposed her. She's getting married," Joe sighed.
Tension was so thick in the air that one could slice it with the knife. Joe peeked at his brother and saw him leaning on the doorway of is apartment room. He was standing there expressionless, his poker face firmly in its face. He would have looked normal to anyone else but after all, Joe knew his brother like his ABC. He noticed many emotions reflect in Frank's eyes. Sadness, regret, and guilt before Frank saw Joe staring at him concerned and schooled his features better.
"Well, I'm happy for her. Guess what, I am very exhausted and I'm going to catch some z's. See you tomorrow, Joe."
Without waiting for a reply, he walked out abruptly, the door slamming behind him.
Joe winced. That went well.
3:30 a.m.
August 2nd, 2020
Frank Hardy's Apartment, Bayport, New York
Frank's thoughts were troubled that night. He couldn't stop thinking about Nancy, her beautiful red hair, or her sparkling blue eyes. Ever since he met her, he knew it that she was the one. He was not the one to be like this. But he had never felt so strongly for someone. No, not even the girls he had dated in the past, not even Callie.
Callie. She had told him that she didn't want to worry anymore. She didn't want to be the one always living in fear. She had asked him to choose between her or his mysteries. Of course, he had chosen mysteries.
Frank always wanted a partner who understood him fully. Just like his brother. And Nancy was the one who understood him fully. Her brain seemed to work the same way his did. She too like him lived for adventure and mysteries. And maybe that was the reason he had fallen in love with her.
Frank and Callie had broken a month ago before going to Egypt on the case. Joe had even insisted to take the case just to distract his mind from Callie. But Frank had warned Joe not to tell Nancy or Bess about his breakup.
He was a coward. He was afraid that Nancy didn't feel the same way about him just like he did, and it would affect their friendship. He certainly didn't want to lose that precious connection. But well, what good had it done? Nancy had already begun distancing herself from him. She didn't feel the same at all, he thought miserably.
He regretted each day about that moment when he agreed with Nancy after the kiss on the balcony that they were just friends. That that kiss was a mistake. Oh, he never regretted the kiss. He just regretted that he had not told Nancy the three words that engraved on his heart: I love you.
Come what may, but I am going to tell Nancy the first thing tomorrow that I love her. I am not ready to lose her, at least not without a fight.
With that, Frank fell into a sporadic sleep.
5:30 a.m.
August 2nd, 2020
Drew Residence, River Heights, Illinois
Nancy awoke as soon as the first ray of sunlight touched her face peeking through the window of her teenage room.
She got up and went into her bathroom. Ten minutes later, she was leaning on the railing in the balcony, watching her neighbourhood wake as the Sun travelled higher up.
No better time to reflect upon your life than in the morning, thought Nancy. Her love life was a chaos. She loved Frank but she was still anxious to confront him with her feelings because a large part of her was afraid. Afraid of losing him and his friendship if he didn't feel anything for her. In this fear only, she had begun distancing herself from him, thinking that if they wouldn't talk, or be near each other, she would overcome her feelings and attraction would be over. That was better than having one-sided love.
But her heart didn't agree to this, and she found herself thinking more and more about Frank than she should have. "You should be thinking about Ned, Nancy!" she had even chastised herself. Nancy knew it was wrong to be with Ned when she was not in love with him, when her heart was no longer with him but Frank. But he was her constant. Even after tiring cases in different part of the world, she always came home. If the things didn't work out with Frank, then Nancy would have no one.
Nancy Drew was all for taking risks while solving cases but when it came to her love-life, she was the biggest coward in the entire universe.
Nancy leaned back from the railing; her decision made. She went back to her bedroom, and wrote a note to Ned in her feminine scrawl and put it in an envelope. Then, she went over to her closet and took out a duffel. She packed a few clothes, put in some essentials, and zipped the bag shut. Next, she picked her phone and called Bess.
Three rings after, Nancy heard Bess's groggy voice come over the phone.
"Nancy?"
"Hey Bess, it's me. Can you do something for me?" Nancy asked.
Nancy heard George's voice come over the phone as Bess hissed at her to wake.
"Nancy is that you? Why are you calling so early?" she heard George speak.
"I need you guys to do me a favor. Actually, two. Are you guys up for it?"
"Just say the word Nance," George said.
"But it better be worth it otherwise I'll kill you for waking me at 6 o'clock in the morning," Bess added.
George chuckled over the phone. Somethings never change. "Come on, Nancy, spill."
"First, there's a note for Ned. I want you to give it to him. I am going to turn him down. I'm not marrying Ned."
Both the cousins gasped but Nancy continued as if she didn't hear them. "And the other thing is…George can you book me the next flight to Bayport? I'll tell you guys more about it later."
"'Kay Nancy, you got it." Both the cousins replied as Nancy hung the phone.
Nancy couldn't help the fluttering of her nerves or the wild beating of her heart in her chest as she heaved back on her bed. Well, Frank is certainly going to get a surprise.
~"Let's flip a coin. Heads. I'm yours. Tails. you're mine."~
-Anonymous
Thank you so much for reading it. I would love to hear your thoughts. *insert a puppy dog face* A Review please? I'd love to leave a reply for all my reviewers!
Nan girl