A Lot Like Love

"Did they pay you to do this?" Macon questioned, raising her eye brow. "I can't believe I'm nervous. This isn’t even a real date, it's like a surprise ambush set up by my soon to be dead sister, and friend." Macon thought, feeing herself tense up. She bounced from foot to foot unsettled from Nick's presence.

"Yes, but not much. I was easily persuaded." Nick joked, opening the door to the Cold Stone Creamery for Macon. Fred was leaning on the counter, like always, which made Macon relax a tiny bit. She tripped over herself to get to the door, but then stopped. She tuned around and looked at Nick.

"You wanna just" Macon trailed off in quick thought. "Take a walk?"

Macon knew all she and Nick ever did was walk around, but the four walls of the ice cream shop would trap her and Nick together. She was suffocated enough as it was out in the open of the world. Fred would be staring her and Nick down with his parental eye adding too Macon's anxiety. She needed air to breath if she was going to make it out alive with her date. Nick seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.

"Why not, I don't feel up for ice cream anyways." Nick tried assure Macon. She cracked a weak smile back at Nick, then mouthed sorry back at Fred, who had his head hug to the side in confusion. Macon knew that Fred would understand, but she still felt bad. Nick let go of the door to start walking closely next to Macon.

"We seem to have a lot of these walks, don't we?" Nick teased, trying to muster up some small talk. He didn't understand why Macon never wanted to sit down and have a real date with him, but any time with her was good enough, even if it was always walking beside her.

"Yeah.." Macon trailed off awkwardly, not making eye contact with him. Nick shuffled his hands along his side, while Macon starred at his feet that stumbled across the cracking cement. You could hear a pin drop between the two of them; the only noise to be heard was of the kid's down the street giggling. ” Thank god we are walking in the direction of my house, I don't know how much of this ungainly silence I can take." Macon reflected trying to walk faster in hope they would reach her house quicker.

"Why is this so awkward?" Nick chuckled, uneasy.

"I have no idea." Macon laughed as well; there was another uncomfortable period of speechlessness‘. "How did Moray and Brittney get a hold of you in the first place?"

"Moray called Ashley, who then called David, who then called me to ask if it was okay if he gave my number to Ashley to give to Moray. At first I was hoping Moray had asked Ashley because you wanted my number but I guess that wasn't the case." Nick confessed out of breath, looking at Macon. She peered back at him, smiling for the first time.

"You wanted me to have your number?" Macon asked in disbelief, almost flattered.

"Well yeah." Nick admitted, blushing a bit. One part of Macon's mind hopped up and down in joy and the other one huffed in disgusted. She was torn between the two.

"I actually didn't even know you were coming today." Macon replied, honestly.

"Ohh, so this was a surprise attack on you?" Nick stated rather than questioning, throwing his head back to laugh. Macon nodded, giggling a bit to herself.

"Sorry to ruin your day."

"Don't worry you didn't, you probably saved me from Moray taking me baby shopping too. She dragged Brittney away like her hostage, I bet Brit is having a great old time right about now" Macon sassily remarked, laughing at the thought of Brittney having to hold all of the baby crap Moray shelled at her. Macon could feel the sun beating down on her cheeks, it burned her forhead. She wrinkled her nose and squinted her blue eyes. Nick then began to chuckle lightly, staring at Macon.

"What is there something on my face?" Macon asked in dismay, whipping her face hysterically. Nick smirked, waving his hands in the air, signaling to her that there wasn't.

"No it's just." Nick stopped himself.

"No, what is it?" Macon urged, still rubbing her cheeks and now picking at her teeth. She was afraid she might have had some food stuck in between teeth, and that was why Nick was laughing at her. Nick grabbed her hands off her face, holding them in his. Macon could feel her palms begging to sweat from nervousness of her and Nick holding hands.

"You just look really cute when you wrinkled up your nose like that." Nick declared smirking at Macon whose cheeks began to change colors, not from the sun but from Nick's sincerity. "Great there he goes again, making me blush like a pattering school girl. I thought he understood that I couldn’t trust him? I was pretty sure I made that crystal clear. Although, he was probably thinking I liked him or something since he thought this was a date. Is this a date? This isn't a date; I would have to be informed ahead of time if it was. This isn't a date it's a trap, it's a bigger trap than Fred's for walled ice cream shop could ever wish to be. " Macon tried rationalizing even though she knew she was afriad of getting close to him. She pulled her hands out of Nick's.

"Nick, I thought I made it cut-and-dry that I couldn't get involved with a boy." Macon stated, gulping. "Could we be, like, just friends or something?"

Nick's smile faded, disappearing completely from his face. Those where the last words Nick wanted to hear from Macon. He knew deep down inside she didn't want to be just friends and he certainly didn't want to either. Nick knew if he could just get his freakin' foot in the door, that he could get to Macon but she had the door locked pretty damn tight.

"Okay." Nick said, flattly.

"So how's the rock star like?" Macon changed the subject, beaming at Nick.

"Pretty good, I can't complain." Nick grinned. Nick turned down Macon's street, Macon walking beside him.

"Tell me something that no one else knows about you." Macon wondered, jolly and excited for no apparent reason. She wanted to clear the air, she didn't want to be on his bad side, she just didn't want to give him the wrong message either.

"Humm..." Nick thought. "I like the way orange juice tasted after I bush my teeth."

"No stupid." Macon giggled, pushing Nick off the side walk playfully. "Something genuine and bona fided, something no one else knows."

"Something no ones else knows, aye?" Nick trailed off. "Okay, I like you. That‘s something know one else knows."

Macon's good attitude died just as quick as it began. She sighed, looking ahead to see her house coming up, but not fast enough for her not address Nick's comment.

"I thought we handled this already? Didn't we agree to be friends, like two seconds ago?" Macon bit her lip.

"No, you agreed, I just said okay" Nick rectified, not knowing why him liking her was such a problem. Macon started to march toward her front door as they approached her house. She was pissed off now. "This is way guys are impossible they never take no for a answer." Macon thought, angrily.

"Macon, Stop!" Nick hollered, jogging up to her. "What the hells up with you? You like me one moment and then hate me, then like me again? You play these games with my head and I can't take it anymore. Either make up your mind or I'm going home" Nick demanded, now pissed himself. He was tired of Macon's little shenanigans, it was time she said what she meant or just shut up.

Macon darted back grounded, pacing back to Nick, who was now on her front steps.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She wondered, putting her hands on her hips.

"What do you think it means!" Nick exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air.

"I don't know what your talking about because I made up my mind, I wanted to be just friends but you seem to be having a wee bit of trouble with that." Macon hissed, reminding him.

"No you see, I don't believe that. I don't believe that for a single second." Nick shook his head, knowing better. "I don't think you want to be just friends because if you did you wouldn’t blush when I compliment you, and you wouldn't have gotten that look of fear on your face when I held your hand. Why can't you ever just say how you feel for once?"

"I can do that." Macon stuttered sheepishly. She pushed the hair out of her face, stalling for time. Nick's jaw clenched in disappointment and grievance before he turned to walk away.

"I can!" Macon shouted. Nick turned back around, waiting. Macon inhaled deeply and breathed out shaky.

"I-" Macon cut herself off, stepping closer and closer to Nick. She could feel the heat radiating off her body, she was about to do something irrational, something she never does, something she would except Moray to do. "I-"

Macon, not knowing what to say, just crashed her lips on to Nick's. She kissed him so tensely she was afraid she might be hurting him. "Ohh god what am I doing? I can't do this, can I? I'm being stupid, but kissing him doesn't mean like him. Does it? No, it mean's I wanted to kiss him because...." Macon thoughts trailed off as she continued to make-out with Nick. His hands somehow made into her hair, and her arms where magically around his neck now.

"It's because I wanted to kiss him. It doesn't have to mean anything other than that. This is happing way to fast. Ohh god what am I doing?" Macon told herself in her head, thinking. Macon forced herself off of Nick.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" Nick asked, worried that he might be a bad kisser. He looked at Macon's confused faced, she obviously didn't know up from down at the moment.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to-" Macon paused, touching her lips that had just been pressed up against Nick's. "I have to go"

"Macon!" Macon heard Nick yelled out as she slammed her front door. She slid down the door, feeling like a idiot. "Ohh God, what am I doing? So much for not sending him the wrong message." Macon deliberated to herself, putting her face into her hands.