29A/N: Hiya everybody! Did you all miss me? I certainly hope so ;) It's been almost 17 weeks since I've seen y'all...WDTA is almost 3 months old...(woah!)
I am a Music Inspired person. WDTA was a music inspired piece and this one is too. I can't seem to stop myself from putting Nancy and Frank (and others too) into different situations that are presented by different artists in different songs. Back to You (from TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY) is one of my (many) favorites and I had a wonderful time putting my favorite characters into a story inspired from Selena Gomez and playing with different aspects of emotions that Nancy and Frank face.
All the characters in this story are in their early twenties. The story is set in Wilder University and New York as their primary locations.
DISCLAIMER: Let me re-assure you. My name isn't Carolyn Keene or Franklin W. Dixon or Selena Gomez. Nancy and Frank and Back To You are not mine (I wish!)
And finally, the part I was most excited for,
Dedication: This one's dedicated to my accomplice in crime. This one is dedicated to you, Sam, to seven wonderful years of us, to much more we've both experienced together (and to fangirling SG together!). I would never, never be able to thank you enough for just being there for me, beside me all the time, just a phone call away. There's no one better I'd find in this entire galaxy. Here's to you, Selling Price!
xoxo
October 2021
Friday
PRESENT DAY
Wilder University
She plugged her phone into the speakers and tapped on a song from the search results on Spotify. Guitar tunes immediately rang out in her dorm room as the song began. She opened a well-hidden drawer and took a photo out of it. Gazing at this photo resurfaced many bitter-sweet memories in her brain as she plopped on her bed.
It had been a while since she had done this- looked at his and her picture from Egypt. Both of them looked so… radiant. He definitely looked handsome with his strong, square jaw. She loved his deep brown eyes, and soft silky dark hair. For a long time. But she kept the photo hidden because every time she looked at it, it made a piece of her heartache and Ned angry. When he still tolerated her, that is. So, she pretty much never looked at this picture of theirs. Until today. Today was different.
Behind her, Selena Gomez crooned,
"Took you like a shot
Thought that I could chase you with a cold evenin'
Let a couple years water down how I'm feeling' about you."
Today was indeed different. This morning her roommate Jessica had blared this very song in their room while they were getting ready. While she was perfectly fine with getting ready in solitude, her roommate wasn't apparently. Dressing up in peace was not an option for Jessica. Well, she didn't mind it, anyways. She congratulated herself on having successfully managed to secure herself in her walls. Even Jessica with her bubbly, cheerful, and charming personality couldn't crack those walls.
When the song was about to end, she got up and put the song on loop, and stared at the photo, quietly. She picked up her calligraphy pen and her journal before settling back on her bed.
She opened a new page and began writing down something. Not even halfway through her task, her ringing phone interrupted her. She picked it up without even glancing at the caller ID.
"Nancy Drew speaking."
"Nancy! It's me. Frank," a deep, soothing voice spoke through the phone.
Nancy dropped the pen in her hand and tore the phone from her ear to check the caller ID. Definitely Frank Hardy. The man she…she shook her head. No thinking about that right now, she told herself. It was a few minutes before she recovered her voice. "Frank?"
"Hi Nan, how's everything going on?"
"Everything is..." Nancy paused. "Busy, I guess. I've been buried in schoolwork and whatever free time I have that goes in food or sleep." Here, that is better, Drew. You're not sounding hollow, and you are chatting like friends.
"You must have been very distracted to not check the caller ID before picking the call," Frank Hardy mused.
"Umm…No. Just completing my assignment my professor assigned me in the class, today," Nancy spoke as she hurriedly closed her journal hid it along with the picture under her pillow as if someone was spying on her.
"Oh. How's Bess, Nan? And George? How's forensic science going for you?"
Nan. Her heart tugged a bit when her nickname came out of his mouth. "B and G are good, I guess."
"I guess?" Frank asked. Nancy could tell he was frowning at her statement even miles away from him.
"Yeah, I have been busy," she hesitated, "We are yet to catch up with each other. Bess is busy with her psychology and George is doing medicine." At least that part was partially true. Both of her best friends were also busy but not too busy to not support her. It was her. She was the one to push them away after Ned had broken up with her two years ago and she had closed up. Nonetheless, she missed them both like hell. "As for forensic science, well, that has always been the same. Exciting." As she spoke the words, she couldn't help letting a little passion enter her voice.
Frank laughed. A full, rumbling laugh that made Nancy's chest constrict. It made her feel oddly at peace too. She felt unusually relieved knowing that he still understood her as no one else did.
"Well, Nance, I was calling you because Gray Man contacted us today. For a case," Frank added. "Network has got some intel that there is someone among the FBI leaking some serious info to other countries."
"Someone from FBI?" Nancy whistled as some excitement began coursing through her blood despite her heartsickness. "That's pretty dangerous." It felt good to be talking, albeit uptight, with someone who understood you so damn well after a long time.
"Yeah. Anyways, are you in? I figured with a break coming up you'll get free, but I get it if you have some plans…" Frank trailed off.
"Count me in, Frank. I'll be free after I complete my assignments and they're not bound to take two or more days if I am determined." Together, Nancy and Frank chuckled as they thought of her strong stubborn streak.
Both of them grew silent. "Well, I guess, I'd better let you go," he finally said. Was he reluctant? Can't be.
"Yeah. I've got an hour of solitude before my roommate disrupts it. Jessica is bound to be back before I know it and I won't be able to finish then," she opened up a bit, surprising herself.
"Nance, It's Friday night. Though I'm not a fan too, I'd like to channel a bit Joe advice here and tell you to go out. Relax for a day before you get started with us on this case. You still don't know what a menace Network can be. So, I'd suggest enjoying the calm before the storm." Was he trying to know if she and Ned were still together? A glimmer of hope, although small, surged through her body.
"Right, right, Hardy. You are telling me that you aren't excited about this case too. You, Franklin Charles Hardy, are out in the night following Joe's advice," Nancy challenged Frank.
"Well…you know me too much, Nan. Too well," Frank replied. "Anyways, I guess I'd better run now. Goodbye Nance."
"Bye, Frank," Nancy said. She slowly removed the phone from her ear. What was she supposed to do now?
"And every time we talk
Every single word builds up to this moment
And I gotta convince myself I don't want it, even though I do"
You're supposed to think, Drew.
She teleported herself back to Egypt. She still remembered laying on the narrow bed of the ship's quite-small-but-not-so-small infirmary. Her head had ached badly that time but seeing Frank there in the infirmary looking so worried and so concerned telling her she'll be alright, she needed her rest. Even though he was nothing to her, her pretend 'husband', just someone whom she had kissed, decidedly her friend who understood her the best, her body had relaxed for a moment, loving the sense of security he provided her. He had held her, rubbed her back soothingly, to help her feel comfortable, telling her it was okay that she couldn't remember who attacked her, he'll hunt him down, he'll find him, and told her not to get frustrated.
Nancy remembered Bess telling her how Frank had not left the waiting room even when the doctor had shooed him out of her room, sitting there and waiting for the nurse to let him in again so that he could just sit down and watch over her. Protect her in case Kimball or any of his associates might try to her hurt her again.
She remembered thinking then, love. I love this guy. Her heart throbbed today as she reminisced. She has loved him ever since. And the love has slowly and slowly grown bigger. Each time they met, they connected, it continued growing. To this date.
Her chest constricted once again as she removed something from her drawer and slid it on her finger. I need some air to clear my head. Fresh air, Nancy thought. She quickly changed into her favorite blue sweatpants and pulled the first hoodie she found in her closet over her head. She unplugged her phone from the speakers and connected them to her headphones before putting her sneakers on and locking her dorm room.
Nancy stepped into the chilly Friday air. It was very cold for an October night. She shivered as the chilly wind blew and regretted not putting a jacket over her hoodie. The University campus was quiet on Fridays and today was no exception.
Nancy wondered what Bess and George might be doing. Knowing them, she was sure; Bess would be trying to coax George to go to some late party with her, and George would be stubbornly refusing her. In the end, Bess would bribe George, telling her that she would go to a soccer match with her if she went to the party with her and George would grudgingly agree. Nancy laughed in the October air at the thought. Her thoughts traveled towards Frank and Joe. What would they be doing right now?
Sighing softly, Nancy felt an uncomfortable twinge in my chest for the who-knows-what-time as she rounded the campus again. She hadn't gone on a date in what felt like an eternity. Not that she was unattractive enough not to pique someone's interest. She could count the number of dates she had gone on after moving to Wilder, with her single hand. But at some point, she had stopped trying. What was the point when it was clear that she didn't want to fall in love with somebody else?
Nancy wished she could hold Frank, provide him comfort like he had done for her, cheer him in his lows, support him in his highs and have his backs in all the adventures. All their adventures together. How she wished she could go back in time and tell him everything, so she'd become his and he hers.
"I wanna hold you when I'm not supposed to
When I'm lying close to someone else
You're stuck in my head,
And I can't get you out of it
If I could do it all again
I know I'd go back to you."
"Sometimes, it is so weird that some songs can relate so much to your life. It seems like Selena Gomez looked at my life and wrote and sang this one for me," Nancy muttered, to no one in particular.
She'd completed the first round of the university campus jogging. She was somewhere near the secluded part of the campus. She bent, stretching her arms, down to her legs. Being fit, never went into vain, especially if you were a detective. She stood up, straightening her spine, turning to return to her dorm room. But before Nancy could take another step, a familiar voice screamed into the air, "Help!"
Back To You has not be beta-ed by anyone since this was a surprise for Sam (who also happens to be my beta). All mistakes are my own. Please feel free to tell me about them.
This chapter was a lil short, but I promise, the next four chapters will make up for it. Nothing would make me happier than hearing your thoughts about this. Do you guys like it? A review please?
I'll be back on next Wednesday with the second chapter. All updates will be weekly.
Nan girl