J.M.J.

Author's note: Hi there! Thanks for reading! This is just an idea I had that I will probably be adding to very slowly and irregularly. The idea is to write one-shots about what's going on with Nancy's various friends during each of the Her Interactive computer games. The goal is to write a one-shot for each character that you can talk to on the phone in each game, or any two characters that you talk to together. It sounds like a fun way to me to revisit all the games. Of course, as I said, I'll be adding to the collection slowly, in between working on other things. I'll probably write them in series order for the games, since that's just the way I am. Also, each story will take place in the year that the game was released, which doesn't make a whole lot of difference most of the time, but it does explain why in the earlier ones, nobody has cell phones and it may make a difference for a few other technology-related items, possibly. So, if it sounds interesting to you, let me know in a review!

Also, I am totally still working on White Roses: Fallen Angel. I want to write the entire book and edit it before I start posting it, though, and it's shaping up to be the longest in the series so far. I've added a line at the top of my profile to give you updates on my progress. At this point, I'm thinking April is the earliest I can expect to have it done. It might not be that long, but realistically it probably will be. The good part about this is that at the end of it, I'm going to have a story that's really the best I can do.

The Common Area

Ned—Secrets Can Kill (Original)

1998

Football practice was just getting out, and Ned Nickerson was jogging toward the locker room. He kept a tight schedule between practice, classes, and studying, but it wasn't books or football that was on his mind right now. He was expecting an important phone call, and he didn't want to miss it. The minute he reached his locker, he started taking off his gear in a hurry, which ultimately meant it took longer than normal.

"This is going to be a great season," Tate Mendenhall was saying right next to Ned, and Ned realized a moment too late that Tate was talking to him. "Ned? Yo, Ned?" Tate waved his hand to try to get Ned's attention.

"Yeah, what?" Ned asked, looking up from the shoelaces that he had managed to get knotted.

"I said, this is going to be one of the best seasons Emerson College has ever had," Tate said. "Between you and Ed Martinez and Calvin Blake, we've got the best team I ever remember, and I've been watching Emerson football for a long time before I was playing on the team." Tate was a local kid, which was the only real explanation for his enthusiasm for Emerson football. It wasn't exactly a team that most people got excited about.

Ned chuckled, a little embarrassed by the praise. "You know, Ed and Calvin and I aren't really a three-man team. The rest of you guys are just as important."

"Yeah, but just to have somebody in the position," Tate argued. "Anybody who knows how to play football could fill the position just as well. But you guys, you're irreplaceable."

"I hope not. Chances are, we won't all be able to play every game," Ned reminded him.

"Don't even say such things," Tate said. "Without you guys, we'd never stand a chance against State."

By this time, Ned had managed to get the knot in his shoelaces undone. "We can definitely use any advantage we can get against them. Anyway, see you later, Tate. I've got to go."

"Why are you always in such a hurry to leave after practice?" Tate asked. In addition to being an Emerson fan from way back, he was also an endless talker who asked a million questions. Ned couldn't really fault him for that. After all, the person he was expecting a call from was always asking questions, too. Somehow, it wasn't the same coming from Tate, though.

"I've got to study, and I've got a phone call I don't want to miss."

Tate raised an eyebrow. "The phone call, I'll grant you. But studying? Seriously? I thought you were at Emerson to play football."

Ned shrugged. "Partly, sure, but I've also got a degree to get." He wasn't about to tell Tate that his major had initially been engineering, and then he had switched to English, while still getting an associate's degree in engineering. Somehow, most people he talked to didn't seem to understand that one person could be interested in sports, the arts, and science all at once. Tate definitely seemed like the sort of person who would find it weird, and Ned was tired of defending it. As if it was something that needed defending.

He gave Tate a short, smart wave and then headed to the showers. Before long, he was back in his room at Omega Chi Epsilon, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Then he settled down to work on a paper in one of the common areas while he waited for the phone to ring.

At least, he tried to. He wrote his name and the name of the class at the top of the paper. Then he sat and stared at the blank sheet as his brain refused to focus on writing a thematic comparison between Beowulf and Idylls of the King. He picked up the nearer of the two books, which happened to be Idylls of the King, and skimmed through it, but everything he had been thinking about writing earlier—about the differences in the poetry but the similarities in the subject and the differing biases of the authors, as well as their source materials—didn't seem interesting now.

The only thing Ned could think about right now was a certain strawberry-blonde girl who was currently in Florida. She wasn't vacationing on the beach like most other girls would be doing in Florida. No, she was going undercover as a student at Paseo del Mar High School to try to find a murderer. She was supposed to arrive that day and call Ned when she did. That was what dating Nancy Drew was like. It was a lot of waiting for phone calls and wondering whether she was all right. In other words, it was another thing that Ned wasn't sure he could explain to someone like Tate or most of the other guys on the team.

Normally, Ned didn't worry too much. Nancy knew what she was doing in solving a case and she knew how to take care of herself. This case was different, though. A student at this high school had gotten murdered, and Nancy had never worked a murder case before. She had gone up against just about every other type of criminals—including some who had tried to kill her—but never one who had actually managed to end another person's life. Ned really wished she'd call.

As if in answer to his wish, the fraternity's phone rang. Ned sprang at before anyone else could have a chance.

"Omega Chi Epsilon. This is Ned," he said, managing to curb his anxiety enough to answer the phone properly.

The voice that replied was a young woman's, but not Nancy's. "Hi, is Adam Bentley there?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. I'll see if I can find him," Ned replied in a subdued tone.

There wasn't anyone else in the common area, so Ned had to make a quick tour of the house to see if Adam was there. A part of him was tempted to just tell this girl that Adam wasn't there and end the conversation right then and there so that the phone would be free when Nancy called. The temptation grew stronger as he searched without success for Adam. Just when he was starting to think that he could honestly tell the girl that Adam wasn't there, he heard the fraternity brother's distinctive laugh from one of the other common rooms. It sounded like he was telling another one of his stories to some of the other guys.

Ned stepped into the room. "Hey, Adam. Phone call for you."

Adam turned toward him and laughingly asked, "Female?"

"Yeah."

"Probably his grandma," one of the other guys joked, much to the amusement of the others.

Adam gave him a playful shove before following Ned. "It's probably Lillian," he confided to Ned as they walked back toward the phone. "Or maybe Tanya. Could be Erica. I hope not. She's kind of weird."

"All I care about is whether this is going to be a long conversation," Ned replied.

Adam shrugged. "Could be. If it's Erica, it won't be. If it's Lillian or Tanya, on the other hand…"

"Could you try to keep it short?" Ned requested. "I'm expecting an important call."

"Nancy?" Adam asked. He shook his head. "Where is she this time? The Philippines? South Africa?"

"Florida," Ned replied. "She's on another case. She said she'd call me when she gets there."

"Ned, seriously, there are dozens of girls on this campus who would throw themselves at your feet if you gave them half a chance. You're one of the big football heroes, one of the guys who's helped put Emerson on the map. And you're all hung up on a girl who doesn't even remember to call you half the time while she's out globetrotting. You know she's probably having all kinds of fun with other guys while you're sitting here alone."

The compliments about his football skills did nothing to assuage the barb in that final sentence, and Ned bristled. "No, she's not. You don't know Nancy. She's not like that. She's loyal and honest and…"

"Boring, from the sounds of it."

The absurdity of that comment almost made Ned chuckle. "You definitely don't know Nancy. How many other girls do you know who put themselves out to help other people and who are smart enough to stop criminals?"

"I hope none. From everything I've ever heard about this Nancy, she definitely puts her mysteries before you. That's kind of like Erica with her gardening. All she ever wants to do is work in that garden and talk about it. I don't care a toothpick about gardening, so she bores me to death. Any appeal this Nancy has comes from her daring adventures as a detective, or whatever. I notice she never invites you along with her on these mysteries."

"The only reason I'm not there is because I'm here, in school, if you haven't noticed," Ned replied. "And I like hearing about her mysteries. For one thing, who wouldn't? And for another, that's what she loves to do. If she liked to garden, I'd like hearing about that, or if she liked swimming or cooking or art or whatever, I'd like hearing about it."

"She still spends a lot of time doing her thing without you." By this time, they had reached the phone that the girl had called on and Adam reached for the receiver.

"So what?" Ned retorted. "We're both still young and we've got to live our own lives and have our own experiences, to some extent. It's not like we're married."

Adam snickered. "Then why do you act like you are? I don't know, Ned; I hope you're not too devastated when your Nancy leaves you for some detective or something."

"Like she would." Ned turned away and went back to his paper, hoping once more that Adam's phone call wasn't going to last too long.