Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Camp Rock.
AN: It's been so long since I was even on FF, but unfortunately, real life does tend to take over sometimes (even though I got to go on holiday for a bit!)and I know I promised the end to Shane/Caitlyn as part of the follow up's to 'Water' when I got back so here it is. I feel rusty and out of practice so I apologise if it sucks, feedback would be great.
Final installment in the series including 'Water', 'Birthday Cards and Telephone Calls' and 'Tentative Conversations.' I think it can stand alone though.
Dedication: suburbs because she requested it so many months ago now that I'm sure she's forgotten about it. And she seems to have written a multitude of stories while I've been away which I look forward to reading.
"Caitlyn, pick up the phone!"
She heard him let out a growl of frustration as he hung up once again and her answer machine beeped to let her know she had yet another new message. She walked over to the answering machine and watched the screen going in and out of focus. She realised she wouldn't be able to avoid Shane forever, but she knew that if she spoke to him she was unlikely to make much sense at the moment.
Caitlyn waited five minutes for another message but to her surprise, the phone didn't ring again as it had been for the last hour. Deciding a bath would give her the chance to think about things, she made her way to the bathroom and poured in her favourite bubble bath and let the taps run. She didn't know how long it took to fill up, but soon enough, she was turning the taps off and waving her fingers through the water.
She pulled her slippers off and the split second before she decided to get into the water, she heard a knock at the door. "Caitlyn, it's me, please open the door!" She let out a sigh of relief, as she realised it was Mitchie and not Shane who was attempting to break down her front door.
She made sure to look through the peep hole before she opened the door just in case he was there with her. She had expected to be bombarded with questions the second she let the door swing open but to her surprise, Mitchie walked into her apartment calmly and took a seat on her sofa before turning to face her.
"Want to tell me what's going on?" she asked, with an eyebrow raised, and to her surprise, Caitlyn found she was glad that Mitchie had come over. Even though she and Mitchie had managed to put things behind them, it still surprised her when at times, she could barely tell that there was a time when they had stopped talking. They weren't the same way as they had been before then and Caitlyn knew they would never be like that again, but it was comforting to know they were doing well.
Caitlyn shuffled over to the sofa shrugging sheepishly. "If I say no, will you drop it?"
Mitchie let out a laugh. "Hell, no! I just had to start the conversation somehow. It's not often your ex-boyfriend calls you ranting at super speed about how your best friend is blanking him," she said.
Caitlyn groaned. "I'm not blanking him! I'm just trying to figure out what to do," she said.
"About what?"
"About the fact that I just realised I like him," Caitlyn mumbled.
Mitchie grinned. "What was that, Cait? I didn't quite catch that last bit?"
Caitlyn sighed. "You know perfectly well what I said. You've been waiting for me to admit it ever since…" she trailed off uncomfortably.
"Ever since we sorted things out. You are allowed to acknowledge that we stopped talking for a little bit Caitlyn," Mitchie finished.
"Yeah, I know. I wasn't lying then you know?"
Mitchie looked confused for a second before she smiled. "I know you didn't like Shane then, Cait."
Caitlyn sighed. "Yeah, but I do now. And I don't know what to do about it," she finished.
Mitchie laughed. "Why does it have to be such a big deal, Cait? I hate to say it, but you only made things worse by running off instead of talking to Shane. Actually, what did happen? Because Shane wasn't very clear…" Mitchie trailed off and Caitlyn found herself sighing again.
"It was so stupid. We were just going to meet up at his place to have dinner and catch up, because he's been so busy lately, we haven't really seen each other much. So I went over and he had actually cooked. And everything was fine for a while…we ate, chatted, and cleared up and then we were just going to watch whatever was on TV. But then it all got weird," she paused before carrying on. "We just sat on the sofa and you know when there's like an awkward pause? It was like that and then Shane said something about how it gets awkward on first dates and it hit me," she finished, placing extra emphasis on 'hit.'
Mitchie raised an eyebrow. "What hit you?"
Caitlyn groaned. "I just realised that it did feel a bit like a date. And that freaked me out. And if that wasn't enough, I kind of started to think that I wouldn't mind if it was a date…and then Shane looked at me and I felt butterflies, jelly knees and all that weird stuff you get when you like someone." She sighed. "So then I made up an excuse and ran back home," she added.
Mitchie let out a laugh and was met with a glare. "Sorry, but that is funny!" she exclaimed before dissolving into a fit of giggles and Caitlyn resumed glaring at her.
After she had calmed down a little, she looked at Caitlyn with a smirk. "Caity, its really not a bad thing that you realised you like Shane."
"I know, but now I feel weird around him. He's been a really good friend to me lately and I don't want to mess that up," she explained.
Mitchie sighed. "No I get that, but what I was trying to say is that its not a bad thing because…well, have you considered that Shane might like you too?"
"Don't be stupid, Mitch. We're just good friends, that's all," Caitlyn said.
An uncomfortable look passed over Mitchie's face.
"What do you know?"
"Just, okay, promise you won't freak out?" Mitchie asked.
Caitlyn nodded, vaguely aware that if she was going to freak out, she couldn't really help it.
"Okay, well Connect 3 have had all sorts of interviews going on lately, right? Promoting their new album?"
Caitlyn nodded, not bothering to point out that she already knew this.
"Well, one of the interviewers asked the guys about who they were dating and…" she trailed off uncomfortably.
Caitlyn could fill in the gaps in her head. The look on the interviewers face when they found out that the singers of Connect 3 had both dated Mitchie, with Nate and Mitchie getting together days after Nate and Caitlyn had broken up. Not to mention that Nate was dating his best friend's ex – something she was sure the interviewer would have picked up on.
Mitchie's voice cut into her thoughts. "Anyway, it wasn't too bad. Shane said that he was happy for me and Nate and that you were too and we were all fine hanging out with each other," Mitchie continued.
Caitlyn bit back a sarcastic retort when she realised Mitchie was right. They were fine hanging out with each other now, but it hadn't come that easily at first. Those early get-togethers had been full of uncomfortable glances and awkward pauses and Jason and Tess taking over the roles of entertainers.
"Anyway, then the guy who was interviewing them, and this was only the day before yesterday, hinted that there might be something going on with you and Shane, because of the way he spoke about you. And Shane gave his standard good friend answer, but Nate told me afterwards, that he wanted to talk to him." Caitlyn looked up at the pause in the story, to see Mitchie standing up and going into her kitchen.
"Mitchie, you can't pause at such a crucial point in the story!" Caitlyn complained.
Mitchie walked back into the living room with a glass of water, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, so Shane went to speak to Nate after the interviews were over, and he might have said something vague about liking someone. And Nate figured it was you so he asked him and Shane didn't deny it. He just said something about wanting to give Nate a heads up which… well, Nate figured it was probably a reference to, well, us getting together…" Mitchie trailed off, and Caitlyn refrained from rolling her eyes. She had no doubt that Shane would have tried to throw in as many digs as he could, just for her, and the thought made her smile. The idea that Shane might possibly feel the same way about her was too good to be true.
"Stop smiling, Cait," Mitchie smirked. "What are you still doing here?"
Caitlyn looked over at her best friend. "I don't know what you want me to do."
Mitchie laughed. "It's not about what I want you to do, it's about what you want to do. Shane was at Nate's place when I came over, so you could probably still catch up with him there."
Caitlyn looked horrified. "No! I can't do that! What would I even say? Hey, Shane, sorry for walking out on you before, but Mitchie just told me that Nate thinks you like me. That sounds stupid, even in my head," she explained.
"Cait, quit playing dumb. Go and talk to him. And please don't mention me and Nate. I…erm…don't think either of you need that reminder."
An uncomfortable silence descended upon the room.
Caitlyn sighed. "This is weird, isn't it?"
Mitchie shrugged. "Not really. Well, yeah, a little. I don't think I'm the best person to be giving you advice on this. I think you should tell him but if you don't want to, I'm not going to force you. I just, I've seen how you two are with each other, and I've thought for ages there was something going on. I just didn't want to push you, I guess."
Caitlyn sighed. She really didn't know what to do, but part of her did want to speak to Shane. If not to tell him how she felt, then she should at least apologise for walking out on him before. And for some reason, she had always felt she could talk to him about her problems and although this problem did involve him, she didn't think he would turn her away for that.
She picked up her keys and looked over at Mitchie who was smiling. "I'm going to go over to Nate's. Do you want to come or go back to yours?" Caitlyn asked, aware that if Mitchie did tag along it would be a little strange.
"No, I'm going to head home. I was on my way anyway when Shane told me to come talk to you," she explained with a roll of her eyes. "I remembered thinking he must really be lost if he was giving me orders," she added, laughing.
Caitlyn waited for Mitchie to leave the apartment lost in her thoughts. She made her way down the stairs and said goodnight to Mitchie with a promise that she would call first thing tomorrow, to update her on the situation. As she turned the ignition, she decided there was no way she would be able to lie to Shane and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. She couldn't believe she was considering telling Shane that she had feelings for him when she had only realised the fact a few hours ago. Sighing, she began to drive to Nate's house.
She found herself at Nate's place in record time and she took her time getting out of the car. Walking up to the house, she couldn't help but notice the butterflies in her stomach that seemed to be doing somersaults or that all of a sudden, her palms were sweaty and her mouth had gone completely dry. She rang the doorbell and cleared her throat and to her surprise, the door swung open almost immediately and Caitlyn saw Nate standing on the other side with Shane standing just behind him, fiddling with his car keys and looking at the floor and her stomach twisted in guilt. She could tell he was still angry at her.
"Hey Nate, Shane," she said.
Nate replied, but Shane chose to nod, again at the floor, and between everything she was feeling, she couldn't help feel a little irritated. Pushing the feeling away, she looked directly at Shane. "Can we talk?"
Nate glanced over his shoulder in time to see Shane stalk off into the living room and he gave Caitlyn what she assumed was an apologetic look before muttering 'Good luck' and letting her in. She followed Shane's footsteps and took a deep breath before pushing open the living room door and entering.
Shane was standing facing the door and to her surprise, he looked up when she entered. One look at his eyes told her she had been misled – he wasn't angry at her, he actually seemed more upset. She sighed before throwing herself down onto the sofa.
"Shane? I'm really sorry," she stated.
"For what?" He stated flatly.
She inwardly groaned. She really wasn't a fan of apologising. "Well, you know. For walking out on you, first off. And then not answering your calls or replying your messages. I just needed some space and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I am really sorry," she said, softly. "And, I thought that was a pretty good apology, so please don't make me say it again," she added, pleasantly surprised when he gave her a small smile. Maybe she wouldn't even have to bring up her reason for bailing on him.
"I get that you needed space, Cait, but next time, you could just tell me that. I called 23 times," he informed her and she winced. "Anyway, you, er, want to tell me what happened? And needing space is a pretty good excuse because no-one will question it, but things don't get past me that easily," he added with a small smile.
"Shane, you're probably the least observant person I know unless it comes to your appearance," she teased.
He shook his head before taking a seat next to her. "Not when it comes to you," he said softly, and for some reason the first thing that she thought of was the fact that everything seemed different. This wasn't like one of their usual conversations – there wasn't much of their usual banter and she didn't like it. She didn't want things to get worse between them.
"So, you can tell me, you know. I'm pretty good at this listening stuff. Which is what one of my closest friends tells me," he said, meeting her eyes and at once the butterflies, jelly knees and shortness of breath returned in full force. This was it. The moment. She could tell him what had happened or she could carry on as though she didn't have feelings for her best friend. He had given her an opening – let him in, or keep him out, it was in her hands.
She took a deep breath. "I just realised something and I needed to think it over. We're pretty good friends right?" she asked him.
He looked confused but answered anyway. "Yeah, of course we are. What's up?"
The thought that this was a strange conversation was reaffirmed when he answered without a sarcastic remark. "Do you think you can like someone without realising it?" she asked, being purposefully vague.
Shane frowned. "Yeah, I think it's possible. I mean, if it's the sort of situation when you've known someone for a long time and then you start to like them, it's difficult to notice at first because you're so used to seeing them as a friend that it can feel strange seeing them in any other way," he explained and Caitlyn stared at him. That explanation seemed too fitting at the moment and she couldn't help but wonder if Mitchie was right. Maybe?
"Why do you ask, Cait?" he asked, pausing for an answer before carrying on. "Ohhh, who's the lucky guy?" he asked, smirking and she blushed. She looked at him and saw that even though he was teasing her, his eyes were missing the usual spark that was ever present during one of their arguments. She knew there and then that she had to tell him. He looked so unlike himself even though she could tell he was trying hard to act normal.
She let out a breath she didn't even realise she had been holding before starting to speak. "Um, you?" she said and regretted immediately that it had come out so unsure. She watched the smirk fall from his face and when she looked at him, she saw that he looked uncertain.
"What?"
She blushed again as he looked at her intently and decided to spit it out. "I like you, Shane. And it only really hit me tonight, which is why I kind of freaked out and ran out on you. Which was stupid, but I didn't really know how to react." She paused to check his reaction but when she realised he was still staring at her, she felt her confidence falter a little. "It's fine if you don't feel the same way. I just figured I owed you an explanation for my behaviour tonight," she added quietly.
"You really didn't figure it out?" he asked and she was confused.
"What do you mean?"
To her surprise he smirked before smiling softly at her. "I kind of threw out that comment about first dates hoping that it would lead to a conversation that would somehow help me tell you that I want to take you out on a date." He paused, and took her hand before continuing. "It might have worked but you got all freaked out and ran off, so I kind of thought you had made the connection and didn't want anything to do with me," he added.
Her mouth had gone dry again and she was grateful she was sitting down because she was sure her knees would have let her down if she was standing. She couldn't quite believe what Shane was saying.
"Shane?" she asked uncertainly.
He smiled sensing what she was trying to ask. "I really like you too, Caitlyn. I kind of have for some time but I didn't want to freak you out or push you into something you weren't ready for." She felt tears creep into her eyes at the thought of how considerate he'd been, knowing that her failed relationship with Nate had left her feeling vulnerable and let down. She hadn't felt more respect for him than at that moment.
He looked alarmed. "Jeez, you don't need to cry about it," he said with a smile and she laughed, wiping her eyes with her free hand.
"So what now? Where do we go from here?" she asked.
He smiled and brushed his lips across her knuckles. "Well, I think I should take you on a real date tomorrow," he said and she nodded. "We do have a bit of a problem, though," he informed her with a playful smirk.
"What's that then?" she asked.
"I don't really think I can wait 'til tomorrow to kiss you," he admitted and she caught a hint of a blush on his cheeks.
It was her turn to smirk as she replied, "Maybe you won't have to."
She leaned in just as he asked "Sure?"
She smiled and as he leaned in and kissed her softly, in the back of her head she was grateful they were sitting down because her knees had turned to jelly again and the butterflies were back to their somersaults.