Mitchie Torres admitted defeat. She had just spent the past three hours practicing a piece for her Classical Guitar assessment tomorrow and her fingers bled from it. This was the one class she just did not like no matter how hard she tried. The music didn't speak to her at all but it was required and after this semester, she was done with it.

Three years ago, Mitchie had spent her summer at the prestigious music camp, Camp Rock. It was there that she had finally found her voice and allowed herself to connect with her music with out being ashamed of it. She had also met Shane Gray from Connect 3. They sang together at Final Jam and kissed the next day but nothing more came from it. Oh, sure, they had exchanged phone numbers and talked on the phone for a few months, but the distance was too great for the both of them. Without ever even dating, they ended things as amicably as they possibly could in spite of how hurt they both were. But Shane didn't know that Mitchie had fallen in love with him and had only recently recovered from the heartache of not even speaking to him.

Now, at nineteen and about to start her second year at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mitchie was struggling for the first time since that fateful summer with her music. She had always dreamed of going to school there and was awarded a full scholarship due to her talent and passion. Her parents were still back in California and their business were stable, but not thriving.

"I give up!" she declared and put her guitar back in its case and put it by her desk. She lived alone, off campus and away from the noise of the other students but still near enough to walk to class and the grocery store. Her apartment consisted of one main room that she slept and did everything else in, and a kitchen.

She flopped on her bed and turned on the TV just as "Entertainment Tonight" was ending.

"And in other news, the band Connect 3 has announced that they are going on hiatus until further notice." Mitchie sat up and with wide eyes, stared at the TV. "The band has issued a statement that reads "There are things that we need to do together and as individuals. Now feels like the most appropriate time to accomplish those goals before we continue on in our careers." No word as to what the boys will be doing, but they have promised at least one more album."

Mitchie shrugged. Good for them. They deserved a break. Connect 3 had released three albums in the past three years and had been touring for the past two. She thought nothing more of it as she got her guitar again and thought about what she would play tomorrow. Berklee had a showcase at the beginning of each year in which each student got to go up on stage and had two minutes to do whatever they did best. It started at eleven in the morning and went until four in the afternoon. She was definitely going to do one of her own songs, it wasn't mandatory but it was encouraged. She strummed the beginnings to various songs she had written over the years, smiling when she came to an all too familiar one.

THE NEXT DAY

"Guys, we're actually here!"

Shane couldn't help but smile at the look on Jason's face when they pulled up in front of the building. Nate looked just as excited but was grinning from ear to ear instead of bouncing up and down in his seat like Jason was. The chauffeur opened the limo door for them and handed them each their guitars as they strode into the building, barely able to contain themselves. Shane ignored the audible gasps that surrounded them as they made their way through the lobby and concert hall until they finally found their seats in the audience. Once they got in though, everyone was too nervous to pay them any attention. Because of their background Nate, Jason, and Shane had all been placed in the sophomore class.

Shane took his guitar out of its case and wondered what he would do when it was his turn. Part of him wanted to just do a Connect 3 song that everyone knew and would be a big crowd pleaser but another part was telling him to play something more meaningful. As he tuned his instrument, humming the choices to himself, he heard Nate call him from the row behind him.

"Shane! Come look at this!" Nate was standing about twenty feet from him, staring at a seat.

"What?" He climbed over the seats and several people until he reached his friend. Nate just pointed at the chair next to his, which was marked "Nathaniel Thomas," as Jason came over to see what all the fuss was about. Shane looked at the faded blue seat that had a piece of masking tape on the back with a name on it. "Michelle Torres."

"Wasn't Mitchie's real name Michelle?" Nate asked, sitting in his seat. Shane was confused. He couldn't believe that it was possible for her to be here, too.

"Mitchie! I miss her! She made me the best birdhouse!" Jason exclaimed before heading back to his mark a few seats away.

"Shane, is it possible?" Nate asked, very seriously.

"I guess it is. I mean, I know that this was her dream school but she didn't think she could afford it." Shane ruffled his hair, trying to make sense of this. "Dude, Torres isn't exactly a rare name and neither is Michelle. It's probably not her."

"But it could be."

"But it probably isn't."

"Come on, man. You think that it is more likely that there is another girl the same age as Mitchie with the same name going to her dream school."

"Yes. I do," Shane stated matter-of-factly.

"You just don't want to get your hopes up."

"Maybe. Maybe I just don't want to get crushed again."

"Dude, you crushed each other." Nate sighed. They had had this conversation many times before.

"I know that, but it doesn't change anything. She didn't love me back."

"You never told her you loved her."

"She knew."

"No, she didn't. She never saw you again so how was she supposed to know?"

"Whatever." Shane went back to his seat, missing Mitchie's entrance from the other end of the row.

"Omigod! Mitchie!"

Mitchie looked at the guy in front of her in complete disbelief. "Jason?" She set down her guitar just in time to be swept up in his arms.

"You made me the best birdhouse!" he said once he finally put her down. She giggled, glad to see that all the success he had had hadn't turned him into a jerk. He was still goofy, loveable Jason.

"I'm glad you liked it. What are you doing here?" she said, making her way through the seats to her own. She was shocked to see Nate sitting next to her own spot.

"We're students now." Nate stated simply. He kept glancing at a guy with straight, dark hair a row in front of them.

"No way." She sat down next to Nate with a thump. "He's here, too?"

"Yup." Nate took out his own guitar and began fooling around on it. "How do you feel about that?"

"It's… um… Jesus, Nate, I have no idea. I haven't seen him since he kissed me before you guys left Camp Rock and I haven't spoken to him since Thanksgiving of that year. I'm… very overwhelmed." She nervously played with her bangs, unsure of how the day was going to go.