Author's Note: Hey you guys! So I know I should be working on Locked and Loaded and struggling with chapter nine some more, but I just haven't been able to get this story idea out of my head so I finally decided to put it to computer screen and here is the outcome of the first chapter! I don't even know where I got this idea from but I hope it's unique and good and that people like it! Anyways, review and let me know what you think, okay? Love you guys! Byeeee!

Disclaimer: I do not own Taylor Swift or Camp Rock or the Jonas Brothers. I just love using them in stories.

xoxo

Behind Enemy Lines

by xo Astral Love

Chapter One

xoxo

So how can I ever try to be better?
Nobody ever lets me in
I can still see you, this ain't the best view
On the outside looking in
I've been a lot of lonely places
I've never been on the outside

- "The Outside" by Taylor Swift

"What's it like to be famous?"

It's a question that people are asking me all the time. Or they ask me about what it's like to know that all across the world my face is plastered in bed rooms and little girls have dreams of marrying me. Or even that people write stories about me getting together with some unknown girl who isn't famous and is just down to earth. When you're standing in my shoes, looking back at all the cameras and the microphones waiting for the answer that could change the world's opinion on you by tomorrow, you start to realize just how demanding and how unfair this world is. One second you're standing there on top of the world with the biggest smile you've ever had on your face and you're thinking, "Nothing is going to change this. It's always going to be this way," and then the next thing you know, you're nothing but another face in the crowd as the world moves on without you, like you never existed.

That's what my life was like in Hollywood.

Now a days, if you hear the mention of my name or my band, people look at you weird and get this look on their face like, "Who is that?" I've even heard someone ask a used to be fan, "Who in the world are you talking about?" I guess ultimately that was what changed me. Knowing that people don't know who I am when my face has been plastered on every magazine, my CDs have gone double platinum, and I was at one time part of a band that was an international sensation... It just gets you where you shouldn't be gotten.

I think back on those times now and wonder what I could have done to change it, to make my dreams stick around, to continue to be the guy that everyone loved and all the girls were screaming about. No matter how many times I think back on that though, I can't figure out what it is I did wrong that made them push me to the outside. Not even Jason and Nate can figure it out. One second we were loved and then the next second, all of a sudden, everyone hated us. The media was against us, our fans were disappointed in us, and our label was telling us that we needed to take a break. And by taking a break, they meant kicking us from the label until Nate graduates and us developing a new sound. We didn't understand, we never pretended to, but you can't argue with your managers when they're telling you that they're firing you pretty much.

It's one of the deepest blows a musician has to take but at times, you can't do anything except lie down and be kicked.

Kind of like I've been doing ever since we moved to Washington state.

Day after day, it feels like I'm that dog that constantly gets kicked and beat because for some reason, I can never do the right thing no matter how much I want to.

xoxo

"Shaaaaneeeee. Come on, please? All of the others are going. Why can't we?" She was doing it again. She was whining and she was pouting and it was pushing my anger to the edge more and more with every single pronounced pout of her bottom lip. I couldn't stand it when she did this and she knew it. But did it stop her? Oh no, it never stopped Dallas Torres. "Shaaaaayyyy." Those perfect, cupid bow lips were curving downwards as she frowned up at me while her hands clutched the front of my shirt and I didn't even do anything except stare back into the dark brown eyes that were twinkling with excitement and mischief, destroying the image of sadness she was trying to put on. I rolled my eyes as she widened her eyes, trying to give me the puppy dog look she had become famous for in the small town I lived in but like always, I ignored it and within seconds, that pout had turned into a glare.

"I don't want to go to the first game, Dallas." My voice was gruff as I picked her fingers out of my shirt, turning away from her and linking my hands through the chain link fence that ran along the backside of the gym at Tenino High School. "Just go without me." The cold steel of the fence was biting into my fingers as I leaned my face against it and stared at the trees that lined the fence on the other side. Trees. They were all over the place around here and I was tired of seeing them already.

"But I don't want to go without you." Her voice was sullen as I turned my head and watched her out of the corner of my eye. I growled deeply in my throat and she just glared at me like she normally did before crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. If you won't go, the neither will I." Did she honestly think that was going to work on me?

"Fine. Then go stay at home with your two little sisters. I'm sure they would love to have you around for a change." As I said the words, I had turned around, leaning back against the fence and crossing my arms over my chest like she had. One of my eyebrows arched as I sneered at her and she narrowed her eyes just a little bit more before humphing and spinning around on one foot. As I watched her stomp away, I felt my shoulder untense just a tad and I sighed slightly. She didn't deserve my attitude. It wasn't her fault that I was being forced to finish up my senior year at a high school I had never heard of and had never thought existed up until my parents had unloaded the news on us that we were moving here. It wasn't her fault that I was having problems getting over the fact that no one around here cared that we had once been famous and that for once I was having to work for what I wanted.

It wasn't her fault that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get my music to come to me anymore.

Another growl emanated from me as I listened to the dull roar of the buses coming to life before they pulled slowly out of the curving parking lot with their students to take them home on that first Friday of the first week of school. I could hear the laughter of the students fading as they took the buses leaving as their sign that it was time to clear out for the weekend, to not return to the hallowed halls until Monday morning. Within minutes, silence reigned supreme over the school and it was just me and my lonesome at the back of the school as I continued to stand there and stare at the dull red brick of a building that had seen too many years.

Just me and the silence that never seemed to go away.

xoxo

"But mom!"

"No buts, Nate. If you want to go to that game, you have to take either Jason or Shane with you." Denise Gray's eyebrows arched as she stared at her youngest son, Nate Gray, and finalized the decision that had been made earlier by the boy's father. "You can take it or leave it but if I find out you went to that game by yourself..." She let the words hang in the air as she gave him another look before turning and disappearing into the kitchen of their modest two story home. Nate gave an aggravated sigh as he threw himself down onto the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. He was almost sixteen and his parents were still treating him like a little kid. Ever since they had moved in at the beginning of the summer it had been perpetually "only if Shane or Jason is with you." Even if it was to go to the local swimming pool known as the Quarry.

He hated it.

And I knew that all too well as I sat in my chair with my history book open on my knees and staring down at the words that blurred together. I was trying to hide the fact that I had been listening, trying to hide that I was laughing on the inside at my poor younger brother's dilemma. But as his eyes focused on me and I glanced up at feeling his probing gaze, the laughter died completely at the smirk on his face.

"So, Shane..."

"What do you want, curly Q?" I already knew what he wanted. He already knew what my answer would be. Just like I already knew what was coming next even before he scowled at me and opened his mouth to say the words that were common after I used my infamous nickname for him.

"Dude, stop calling me that. It's a fro. Get it right. I'm fro boy. Cause I got the fro, you know?" He shook his head as he once again explained it to me and all I did was merely give him a small confused smile as if I couldn't even begin to comprehend what he was trying to tell me. We both knew that I understood but I just loved giving him hell for it by pretending that it was lost on me. He couldn't stand it and that was exactly why I did it. Irking my younger brother was one of my favorite past times. After all, it was one of the few that I could do here that never got old. "Anyways, what are you doing tonight? Going to the game with Dallas?"

"Nope." I popped the p on the word as I lowered my gaze and tried to read the first sentence on the first page of the reading assignment. But it was no use. American history was lost on me. I didn't even know why they tried to teach us it in school. What good was it going to do us to know about how killed who in the Civil War? Big whoop. It involved the north and the south and slavery. How the heck was this going to be useful to me as a song writer and a singer?

"But I thought she wanted to go with you. I heard her talking about it at lunch with Rave and Tess." His voice was laced with confusion and a sudden desperation as he started to realize he was going to be trapped in the house for the night. Poor boy, he was tortured enough by the limitations on his sixteen year old self. Did he really need to be subjected to a night with bird obsessed older brother Jason and broody, moody me?

Of course! It was what every little brother needed to endure in order to grow into a strong, well developed young adult like myself.

Not.

"So? She's a big girl. She can take care of herself for one football game." I tried to make it seem like I didn't care, that this wasn't the high light of my afternoon since I had gotten home only ten minutes ago, but I knew I was failing as I finally slammed shut my book with a quick and loud snap. "Forget this. I don't want to read about this crap." The book landed with a thud on the couch as I tossed it aside and leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling with growing frustration. It was a common thing that had been with me all summer and for the first three days of school. For the past eighty-four days, I had been experiencing nothing but frustration and anger at this small piece of civilization in the middle of nowhere that they dared to deem a town.

"So what are your plans then?" Couldn't he get the picture already? I wasn't going to take him to that damn game no matter how many times he asked.

"Just gonna hang out here and listen to music I guess. Maybe try my hand at another song." We both knew that I was lying even as I said the words and closed my eyes. I wasn't going to work on any song. If anything I was going to shut myself away in my room and listen to our old music while thinking about what had happened that had made everything go sour so quickly. Reliving memories that were best left forgotten if I wanted to go back to a life that came anywhere close to normal.

"Shane, don't lie. You aren't going to work on any song and both of us know that." His voice was laced with anger as he jumped over the back of the couch and landed in the middle before he stretched himself out across the length of it. Somewhere from upstairs, we heard the pounding of a hammer. Probably from Jason's room. He had been on a mission to make a bird haven of our backyard ever since we moved in. It was most likely his way of dealing with the fact that we were no longer living the dream that all of us had carried with us for the past three years. "Why don't you go with me to the game? Get out of the house for a bit and maybe, dare I say it, have some fun for the first time since we got here?"

"No."

"Come on, why not?" He was staring at me now, begging me with his eyes. I knew he wanted to get out of the house, to get away from mom and dad and the constant disappointment that laid like a thick blanket over the house. But like all the times before, I just couldn't bring myself to care as I answered him.

"No."

"Shane!"

"Nope."

"Come on, please?"

"No."

"Please, please, please."

"I already said no."

"Why not!?"

"Because I don't want to!"

"For fuck's sake, Shane, what is your problem!?" My eyes shot open as my head jerked forward and I stared at my younger brother. He was standing now, his hands balled into fists as he glared at me and let his lips twist into a snarl. "Ever since we got here, you've been pulling this woe is me routine out of your ass like you're not the only one suffering! Think about someone else for once in your fucking life!" His voice rose with every word he said and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end as I curled my hands into fists, my nails biting into my skin as I pressed my lips together and tried to keep my anger in check. "How much longer do you honestly think people are going to put up with you walking around here sulking about what happened months ago? How much more do you think mom and dad are going to be able to take with you blaming them constantly for moving us out into the middle of bumfuck nowhere? How much more of a disappointment are you going to be to everyone?"

"Shut up, Nate." The words were whispered harshly as I glared at him while he just continued to rant on.

"You haven't been able to do anything except mope around here and listen to our music since the day it happened. You haven't even picked up your guitar in weeks. You haven't even tried to write a new song or even try to work towards putting back together the pieces. Instead you've just been crying over spilled milk. Maybe it's time that you try picking up the pieces and cleaning up the milk. Did you ever think of that?" My shoulders were laced with tension as I stood up and knocked over the coffee table that separated us, my knees hitting it and almost buckling underneath me at the impact but I shakily kept my stance as I glared at him.

"Shut. Up."

"No. Someone needs to knock some sense into your head and no one else seems to be willing to do that. Listen to yourself for a change, Shane. 'What did we do wrong? We didn't do anything to deserve this. Why did everything fall apart? We were living our dream and now we're nothing. I can't stand to live like this. I want to go to Paris, to London, to get away from here. I can't stand living a normal life like everyone else in the world does. I want to go back to being famous and swooned over!'"

Suddenly I was lunging forward and pushing him backwards, knocking over the couch as I tackled him and pinned him to the ground. My head knocked against the floor as we tumbled backward but I had already shoved him off of me and rolled over to where I was on top of him, yelling straight into his face. 'You have no idea what I'm going through! You don't know how I feel or what I'm thinking about or why I can't write songs! You have no idea!"

"Yes I do! I'm going through the same damn thing! Haven't you realized that!? We were both in the band! It wasn't just you, Shane! It was all of us! Me, you, and Jason! We're all going through the same thing!"

"No, we aren't! I can't write, I can't eat, I can't sleep! At least you can pretend to act normal, like nothing's wrong! I can't even do that." Somewhere between yelling at him, knocking him over, and struggling with him as he tried to shove me off of him, I had lost steam. Just as he had. Instead, I just pushed myself up and away from him and turned my back on him while looking out the window, staring out at the street that we lived on, at the overweight girl and her skinny best friend that were riding the bikes down the street and yelling back and forth happily. "I can't do that..."

Silence fell over the room as I listened to my mom racing up the steps to the living room from her and dad's downstairs half basement bedroom. She paused in the door way as she looked between me and my brother to the knocked over couch and coffee table. "What in the world is going on up here!?"

But Nate and I ignored her as I heard him pick himself up off the ground and stand up before he asked quietly, "Why?"

As I turned around, I couldn't meet his gaze as I stared at my mother and saw the concern lying in her ocean blue eyes as well as the thin veil of disappointment that she couldn't keep masked no matter how hard she tried. My mouth seemed to work of its own function as I stared at the ground and whispered the words that had been repeating themselves over and over in my head like a broken record since the day it had happened, since the day I had first realized that I had torn apart our dreams.

"Because it's my fault."

xoxo

"Dinner was great, mom, thanks." Nate was the only one who had spoken throughout dinner. He had been the only one besides mom and dad who had been eating. Jason hadn't even come out from his room since that morning and I had been stabbing at my food instead of eating it. I wasn't hungry.

But then again, that was normal.

"Thank you, honey..." I looked up from my food just in time to catch the weak smile that my mom gave Nate before she went back to staring down at her half eaten plate. Already I could feel my stomach tying itself up in knots as I watched the sadness that had been with her constantly since Connect 3 had been crushed sink down around her shoulders. I wasn't the only one though as I silently watched my dad reach over and grip her shoulder lightly causing her to look up and give him a smile that was laced with sadness. This was what I had caused. A constant depression that never seemed to leave her for more then a few moments.

"Yeah, it was good, mom." My quiet words caused her head to jerk up and a confused smile to grace her lips as she stuttered out a thank you. "I'll get the dishes." Although my words were still quiet, the shock on my dad's face and on Nate's face was evident as I stood up and gathered up their plates before I walked into the kitchen. Normally I would have just disappeared upstairs or not even come down to dinner. But tonight... it was different. I couldn't stand to see my mom like this anymore, not tonight at least.

"Shane..."

I tried to ignore Nate as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen staring at me while I turned on the water to clean the food from the plates. "Don't worry about doing the dishes tonight, bro. I got it." Even though I knew that wasn't what he wanted to ask, wasn't what he was going to say anything about, I didn't care. I didn't want him to ask why I was doing this. I didn't want to have to think of answer that I knew I didn't have. There were already too many questions that had been asked that had been left unanswered because of that very reason.

"Shane. Stop it. What are you doing?"

Once again, I didn't answer him as I grabbed the sponge from the back of the sink and started to scrub at the food that clung to the plates. The rushing of the water was the only answer he got as I listened to him take a step into the kitchen. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. Just...go relax. I'll get this."

"No you won't."

"Nate I al-"

My words were cut off as I turned to stare into the face of my smiling mother, a smile that I hadn't seen since eighty-four days ago. Since we had officially left our home in Westlake, Texas and moved to Tenino, Washington. Since we had been cut from the labal. "Shane, go get ready for the game. Go out and enjoy yourself tonight. I can get these."

"But mom, I don't want to-"

"Then you won't mind babysitting the Torres' younger daughter Madison tonight while me and your father go to the game."

Those words sealed the deal as I smiled at my mother and then at my younger brother who stood gripping the door jam with a look of horror on his face at the prospect of babysitting the little demon that they called a child.

"You wanna know what? I think I want to go that game after all. Come on, Nate. Let's get going."

xoxo

The Tenino Beavers.

How corny could it get? Here we were at a football stadium that was jam packed with home fans and visitor fans at a game between our high school and the neighboring high school Rainier. And we were supporting the Tenino High School Beavers. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the fact that I was actually going to a high school that had a beaver for a mascot. Okay, correction, a steroid injected beaver for a mascot.

Go figure, right?

"It feels good to be out of the house, right, bro?" Nate was grinning from cheek to cheek as he stood on his tip toes, straining to see some of his friends as he stood there bouncing on the balls of his feet. We had just gotten through the front gate and as soon as we had stepped foot inside, we had been assaulted by a bunch of middle schoolers who wanted autographs. Apparently, even though we were no longer a band, we were still loved by some people. "I can't see anyone over this crowd..." He was frowning slightly but almost as if it were a sign, the crowd parted and his eyes lit up when he seemed to spot his friends. Within seconds he was gone with a hurried good bye and I was left standing there by myself next to the stairs with my hands shoved into my pockets. It wasn't that bad, listening to the band warm up before the game and the crowds of people as they made their way to their seats. The energy and excitement almost reminded me of what it was like before a concert and I could feel myself starting to smile as I started to walk towards the front of the stadium only to stop when I heard my name being yelled.

"Shane! Shane! Wait up!"

Turning around, I spotted Dallas's shoulder length blonde and brown highlighted hair even before I saw her smiling face and dancing eyes as she jogged toward me. At seeing her excitement about the game and the war marks on her face - the two lines of red and black on each cheek and her Beavers football shirt - I couldn't help but let a small smile cross my face. "Hey." I leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek while she threw her arms around my neck and pulled me close.

"I thought you weren't coming." Her cheeks were colored a rosy red as she whispered breathlessly into my ear and my arms automatically slipped around her waist as she giggled lightly.

"Well maybe I decided that I couldn't stay away from you." Her laughter was all I needed to hear as I felt the familiar smile she spawned curve my lips while I breathed in the apple cinnamon that was her scent. Dallas had been one of the only good things about this place. She had been the only person to be real to me since day one when we had moved in down the street and I can still remember how shocked I had been to open the front door only have a pot roast shoved into my hands while she glowered at me and mumbled something about her mom wanting to welcome us to the neighborhood. Things had only gotten better from there.

"Hehe, you're funny..." Her words trailed off as she pulled back and bit her lip before looking up at me with those eyes of hers. I smiled back down at her as she leaned up and planted a kiss on my lips right before another voice broke through our moment and ruined it. Turning with a huff and a glare, she peeled herself out of my arms and turned towards a younger girl who looked like she was twelve that stood off to the side with a Siberian Husky.

"Aww, now isn't that cute. Dallas is breaking mom's rules to see her dashing prince charming." I guessed it was her little sister from the way the girl spoke. While I stepped back and let them have their space, my eyes roved over the girl before me trying to figure out how old she was and who she was. Long straight brown hair that fell to her waist and bangs that framed her face and a matching pair of dancing brown eyes. Those eyes were exactly like Dallas's. Except instead of making you feel warm, they seemed to straight right through you, straight into your soul. When I cleared my throat and she turned to look at me, I shivered before of how cold that stare was. To me, she looked like she was about the age of thirteen or twelve. A middle school student.

"Mitchie, oh my god, can't you just leave me alone for more then five minutes?" Dallas seemed irritated as she regarded her sister, her hands on her hips as she rolled her eyes and I could hear the aggravation in her voice.

"Am I interrupting something?" Nate's voice cut through the tension that had started to form in the air but it didn't seem to bother either of the sisters as I turned to face him and patted him on the back. "Hey, Shane. Uhh...what's going?"

"No, I can't. Because you're grounded, Dal. You're supposed to be at home obeying the rules. Not breaking them. I can't wait to tell mom about this one." The girl she had called Mitchie was laughing at this point and I could tell that Dallas was mad now. The way she balled her fists up and started to pout while shaking her head - that was what she always did when we would fight.

"Dallas is grounded but she snuck out to come to the game and I'm guessing...her second youngest sister caught her?" I wasn't sure if they were related or not. I didn't know.

"Oh yeah, that's her younger sister. Older the Madison but younger then her. She's in my grade. She's sixteen too." Nate was smiling and from the way that Mitchie smiled back at him I realized that they were friends. But from the way that Nate's eyes warmed as he looked at her, I had a feeling it was something more for him, something that might have vaguely resembled what I felt for Dallas.

"Oh puhlease, you aren't going to tell mom. Because if you do, then I'll tell her you came to the game by yourself." Dallas was smirking now as she stared at her little sister who just glared right back. My eyebrows had risen in surprise at hearing she was sixteen. I could have sworn she was only thirteen. But as I looked at her now, I saw the tell tale signs that spoke of teenager.

"That's so not true, Dal! I'm here with Nate." But apparently, the argument didn't seem to go over well with Dallas as she started laughing when she turned around to look at my curly haired younger brother who's smile faded at the laughter. "It's not funny!" Mitchie's cheeks were red as she stamped her foot.

"She'll love this. You came to the game with a boy. Who is he? Your boyfriend? You know we're not allowed to date." The younger girl was staring at the ground as Dallas turned away and linked her arm through mine but she wasn't finished as she said over her shoulder, "Don't tell mom and I won't tell on you. We'll both get in trouble. So you might as well just keep your mouth shut, Mitch. After all, you don't want to be locked away even more then you already are." She had started to walk away already and I followed hesitantly while looking back at her, at the way she gently touched the dog on the top of the head and said something before it started to guide her towards the exit. I could hear Nate trying to tell her to stop, to stay and enjoy the game but all she did was shake her head and left him standing there while she walked out of the fence and into the darkness.

As I watched the darkness swallow her up, all I could think about were the haunting brown eyes that seemed to stare right into your soul.

xoxo

It had been two hours since we had gotten home and the entire time back, Nate had been sulking because of his ruined "date" with his friend Mitchie. The girl who he liked and the girl who I couldn't get out of my mind because of her eyes. We hadn't said a word about the fight that we had witnessed between the Torres sisters but it had caused a small tiff between me and Dallas when I had told her she shouldn't have been so harsh with her. I didn't care. She shouldn't have been. The girl obviousy had been hurt by what she had said. Hurt enough to where instead of staying and enjoying the game, she had gone home. But her parting words had been what confused me when she had gotten out of the car before she slammed the door shut and walked away.

"I don't see why it matters, it's not like she would have been able to see the game anyways."

They had been running back and forth through my mind constantly and Nate had muttered something about her being a bitch after she had gotten out of the car. I hadn't asked why even though it was eating me alive from my curiosity. It had been driving me crazy enough to where I couldn't get to sleep and now as I lay staring up at the ceiling, I was trying to put together what she could have possibly meant. But still it wouldn't come. And that was when it hit me.

Nate would know.

Sitting up, I strained my ears to try and figure out if anyone else in the house was awake and just ever so faintly I could hear the strumming of a guitar from next door which meant that Nate was awake. Quietly, I stood up and made my way across my messy room, wincing as I stepped on something sharp and mouthing the word ow as I opened the door after stubbing my toe against my dresser. You would think that after all of the time that had passed, I would be used to a new room. Or maybe I was just a natural born klutz. That didn't matter though as I softly knocked on Nate's door before opening it and popping my head in to meet his shocked gaze.

"Hey, can I come in really quick? I wanted to ask you something."

"Uhh..." Nate seemed to be at a loss for words as he glanced down at the sheet music in his lap before he set his guitar to the side and shoved the music back into the folder he normally kept it in. "Sure." I nodded my thanks as I stepped into his room, his orderly room, and shut the door quietly behind me. "What's up?"

I opened my mouth but snapped it shut as I tried to figure out how to ask him the question that was running through my mind and eating it alive. I didn't know how though as I cautiously walked around his room, running my hands over the framed pictures of concerts and CDs that he had on his walls. As well as the guitars that we had first started out with, the guitars that Uncle Brown had given us our first day at Camp Rock the first year it had started. "I...I was just wondering if you knew what was up with that Mitchie girl. She had that dog with her and then Dallas said something in the car about her not being able to see the game anyways even though she was there. Do you know what she meant by it?"

I didn't turn around as I waited for him to answer, instead I just stared at the picture of all three of us on the red carpet at the premiere of our movie, Connect 3: The 3D Concert Experience. That had been only months ago. It was hard to believe that we had come so far from them and fallen so far as well. Minutes stretched in which there was silence as I stared at it before finally turning to face Nate, trying to figure out why he hadn't answered yet. "Nate, do you know?"

His gaze was filled with sadness as he stared at me before hanging his head and uttered the words that I never thought would the answer. I never would have considered it an option but as I thought about it after hearing it, all of the signs added up perfectly and it made me realize that my situation compared to others wasn't all that bad. Hell, it wasn't half as bad compared to the girl known as Mitchie Torres who in less then twenty-four hours had shaken up my world enough to where I couldn't get her out of my thoughts.

"Shane...she's blind."

xoxo

Author's Note: Didn't see that coming, now did ya!? This is why I'm so excited about this one. It's different and unique and oooo I just can't wait to write it. Btw, for those of you curious about their location, the boys now live in Tenino Washington, which is about fifteen miles south of the capital of the state, Olympia. I used to live there and I grew up there and I loved it. It's so small and quaint and I'm thrilled to be writing a story that takes place there. Anyways, here's the teaser for chapter two! Which will be out in another week or so after I post and catch up with Locked and Loaded.

xoxo

Teaser

I couldn't pull my eyes away from her as she stared at me - stared right through me and in the deepest parts of my soul. I felt as if she was reading my inner most thoughts, going through my emotions, my secrets, my memories, one by one and picking me apart piece by piece. I felt as if she were learning every last inch of the inner me and that feeling of being completely naked crept over me so suddenly it took my breath away as I stared right back at her.

"What's the name of your dog?" My words were whispered and strained as I tried to silence the pounding of my heart as I watched her instinctively reach out and stroke the soft fur of her husky and a soft smile tugged at her lips as she tilted her head in his direction but still watched me. I knew she couldn't see me but I felt almost as if she could.

"Yuki."

"What does that mean?" The words felt heavy on my tongue as she blushed and hid her face before mumbling the words that snagged my attention and drew me into the Venus fly trap that was Mitchie, so deadly but so innocent looking.

"It means snow in Japanese."