So, I had wanted to write a younger Caitlyn/Jason fic for a while. I came up with this idea, but then it ran away from me and ended up hitting over 10,000 words. It's totally fantastic and awesome. The math might be a little messed up, but there's three summers. The first where she meets Jason, the second where she's Tess's crony and the third that meets up with the movie.
And angellwings has a story, "Lost" that's a Natella companion of sorts. Read and enjoy.
Thirteen year-old Caitlyn Gellar slid the charm on her necklace back and forth as she walked into her first dance class ever at Camp Rock. She was really nervous. She scratched her ankle with her foot and looked around the room.
Her eyes fell on a boy sitting in the corner. He looked up at her and smiled. Caitlyn took that as an okay to sit by him while they waited for the instructor to come in.
"Hi. I'm Jason," he said.
"Caitlyn."
"Could I call you Caity?"
She blinked. "Um…okay." That was sort of strange, but whatever. She smiled at him. "This your first summer?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Second. What about you?"
"First. And first class starting like, now."
"You nervous?"
"Totally."
"You'll be fine. I saw you dancing earlier in the dining hall."
"Uh…you saw that?" Caitlyn asked with a blush.
Jason dropped his gaze to his guitar. "Yeah…" he said embarrassedly. "You're uh…you're kind of hard to miss with all those colors you're wearing."
She smiled. "I like to be noticed."
"You are…"
She gave him a weird look and he went back to fiddling with his guitar. Caitlyn resisted the urge to laugh. Jason was either really shy or he just really wanted his guitar tuned.
"How long have you been playing?" she asked him after a moment of silence.
"Since I was twelve…so three years almost."
"You're fifteen?" she asked. Okay, he was old. Compared to her.
"Yeah." He strummed his guitar and smiled. "Finally it sounds right. Thank god." He turned back to her. "How old are you, Caity?"
"Thirteen. Last year of middle school in the fall, thankfully."
He smiled at her and leaned towards her like he was about to tell her a secret. "Lemme just tell you, freshman year of high school is no picnic either."
Caitlyn groaned. "Why would you tell me something so horrible?"
He smirked. "Because you need to know."
"So…school doesn't get better? It just keeps on sucking?"
Jason shrugged. "Some parts are okay…but people still make fun of you if you don't fit into what they think is normal."
"I don't think you're weird," Caitlyn said with a small smile. It was the truth. Jason didn't strike her as weird.
He grinned back at her and bumped her shoulder. "Thanks, but I'm not sure if I should believe a girl who looks like my cousin's Barbie doll."
She made a noise of protest and slapped his shoulder. "Take that back! I dress way better than Barbie. And I'm not blonde-haired or blue-eyed!"
"Hey!" Jason exclaimed, grabbing her wrist. "Don't hit people you don't know!"
"And maybe you two shouldn't be interrupting my class!" came a new voice. "Jason! You shouldn't even be in here! Out!" The dance instructor said as she glared at them.
Muttering an apology, Caitlyn quickly got up and ran to the group of kids standing in the front of the cabin. She smiled guiltily at Jason as he fled from the room.
"Why were you talking to the dork?" asked Tess.
Caitlyn turned on her with a frown. She sort of hated her. "First of all, Tess: Jason's not a dork, second of all, he was nice to me and that's why I talked to him."
"Just because someone's nice, Caitlyn, it doesn't mean they're popular."
She crossed her arms and glared at the blonde. "It's none of your business who I speak to."
"You're sleeping in my cabin, I tell you who to talk to."
"You're not my boss, Tess. You can tell me what to do, but I'm not going to do it."
Tess gave her an evil smile. "I'll change that by the end of the summer."
Caitlyn snorted. "Good luck. I don't break easy."
"We'll see, Gellar."
Caitlyn hoped to see Jason when she got out of dance class, and after a few minutes of walking around, she found him.
"Hi, Jason," she said, sitting down next to him on the bench of the picnic table.
He looked up and smiled at her. "Hey, Caity. How was class?"
She shrugged. "Dancing was fun. Tess was not." She hoped that he wouldn't ask her about the Tess thing. She didn't really want to tell him that Tess called him a dork.
He snorted softly. "Ah, Tess. She's had it bad for my brother Shane since last summer."
Caitlyn looked at Jason in surprise. "And she hasn't made him into her boyfriend yet? She seems like the type to twist people into doing what she wants them to."
"Yeah, but Shane's just as stubborn as she is. I think that's why they like each other. But it's never going to last more than a couple of months if anything happens," he said with a shrug. He turned halfway around and picked up his guitar where it was leaning against the table before he started playing a tune that Caitlyn vaguely recognized as what he had been playing in the dance cabin.
"Have you been playing that same song since you ran out of dance class?" she asked with a smile.
The grin he gave her in response made her feel like she was being rewarded for doing something amazing. She blushed and looked down as she scuffed her shoes in the grass.
"Yep," he answered. "You have a good ear."
She shrugged. "I've been playing piano since forever. Less good with guitar."
"Well, I've been playing pretty constantly the last two weeks. I need to get my calluses back. I broke my wrist a couple of months ago and had to stop playing while I was in the cast."
"At least you're dedicated?" she said with a shrug. "I don't have my own guitar yet, so I have virtually no calluses…but my parents say maybe for my birthday in the fall…"
Jason bit his lip and looked at her shyly. "I could teach you if you wanted…they have lots of guitars you can borrow in one of the rehearsal cabins…"
"Really?" she asked timidly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You wouldn't mind?"
He smiled confidently and shook his head. "Not at all. I like teaching people."
"Well, okay. If you're sure."
"Of course I'm sure." They smiled at each other for a moment and then Jason cleared his throat. "Did you uh…want to go get the guitar now?"
"Really? Now?" She hadn't expected a guitar lesson right away.
Jason shrugged. "I don't have any classes until after lunch…and I assume since you're not rushing off to do anything, you don't either."
Caitlyn shook her head, her hair hitting Jason's shoulder. "Nope. Free 'til lunch."
"Great," he said with a beaming smile. "Let's go." He put his guitar on his back and grabbed Caitlyn's wrist, practically dragging her to the instrument cabin. When they got there, he opened one of the closets and brandished his hand.
"Wow…" Caitlyn said softly. There had to be over a dozen beautiful guitars just hanging there.
"Pick one."
"I…I…I can't…they're all so pretty…"
He gave her a knowing smile and rolled his eyes. "Caity…just pick one. You can always pick another one next time."
"Okay, okay. Um…this one," she said, reaching forward and taking down a smallish, light-colored acoustic guitar with white flowers on the pickguard.
Jason smirked. "Okay. Pull up some stools and let's get started."
Caitlyn sat across from him on a stool and smiled. "So…how do we start?" she asked.
"Um…well, you know the chords, right?" he asked.
"Yeah. Well, mostly."
"Okay, what do you have trouble with?"
"Uh…some of the major chords trip me up. I can't get my fingers to hold the strings right."
He laughed and set his guitar down. "Okay, show me what you can do. I'll correct it if I need to."
She licked her lips and looked down at her guitar. She played three chords perfectly, but then she felt Jason's eyes on her, causing the next chord to go sharp. She growled and glared at her hands, cursing them for betraying her. Then Jason's hand appeared between hers. She looked up.
"Don't worry, Caity. You're doing good." He smiled at her earnestly and patted the guitar. The lunch bell rang just then and Caitlyn sighed.
"Guess we should get food," she said. "We could sit together?" she asked shyly. God, was she really acting like this around a boy? True, she had never really considered the boys she knew back home as anything other than friends, but that's because they were somewhere between 'girls have cooties' and 'girls are pretty'.
Jason smiled. "Sure. That'd be fun."
Caitlyn was once again sitting across from Jason as she cradled the guitar from yesterday in her lap. "Should we pick up where we left off?" she asked.
He nodded at her and she did a quick scale before attempting to do the chords. She got further than she did yesterday, but eventually fumbled. She looked up at Jason with an apologetic smile. "Help?" she asked softly.
He smiled and got up, coming around behind her. "Put your fingers on the strings…" he said softly. "No, bring the middle finger up a little more," he said, pointing to the spot where it should have been. Caitlyn tried to do what he asked, but his breath was hitting her shoulder and it distracted her, causing her to press the wrong string with the wrong finger. She cursed under her breath and heard Jason chuckle.
"Okay… that was pretty good… sort of. But if you put your fingers like this…" he said softly, putting his hand over hers and arranged her fingers on the frets. He put his other arm around her and lightly leaned his head against hers as he held her right hand, allowing them to strum the strings together. "It sounds much better."
Caitlyn was all but frozen. Jason had his arms around her and his warm, callused hands were covering hers. He smelled good. The boys her age didn't. She wasn't sure what to make of this development. She was so confused by this high school boy who was taking the time out to help her learn guitar because he didn't behave like her brothers or their friends and he smiled a lot and he was always mumbling something to himself that sounded like a song and he didn't seem to mind that she followed him around most of the day.
"So…want to try that again?" he asked.
Caitlyn jumped slightly and felt the stool wobble under her, but Jason, who still had his arms around her, steadied both her and the stool. "Thanks," she said in embarrassment.
"Welcome. Play, Caity," he said.. She nodded and played the chord again. Perfect. She looked up at Jason who was smiling at her proudly. "That was good."
"Really?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. Totally picked it up faster than me."
Caitlyn elbowed him lightly. "Flattery won't get you anywhere with me."
He snorted. "Big words from a shrimpy middle schooler."
"That means a lot coming from the bashful guitar boy."
Jason got a serious look on his face. "Is that all I am?" he asked softly.
Caitlyn blinked. "I don't think so."
He gave her a small smile and she realized his arms were still around her. And he seemed to be moving closer to her.
Oh god.
She was about to get her first kiss.
And from a boy that she wouldn't want to deck afterwards.
Just as she closed her eyes, she heard the creak of the door and she jumped, turning to the source of the noise.
"Oh. I didn't realize anyone was in here," said Tess. "Sorry."
Caitlyn resisted the urge to growl and moved away from Jason.
Tess smirked at them. "Lunch is about to start. You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"
"No, I guess we wouldn't," Caitlyn said, slipping off her stool and putting away the guitar.
"Well, see you in a little bit then," Tess said cheerfully as she walked out of the room.
"Caity," Jason said softly. "Uh…" he gulped as she turned around. "You want to sit with me at lunch?"
She tried to keep her face from falling. It seemed like he was going to ask her something else. She smiled though. "Sure, why not?"
Caitlyn placed her tray next to Jason's and sat down on the bench. She smiled as she felt his knee bump hers. He glanced over at her and gave her a small grin.
And then Shane shoved between the two of them.
"Dude! Excuse you! You can't just butt in like that," Jason said, sliding Shane's tray across the table to the other side. "Move over there. Now."
"Fine, fine…I just thought that you wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea about you and Rainbow Brite here," Shane said, moving to the other side.
"Excuse me?" Caitlyn said. "What do you mean, 'the wrong idea'? Also, Rainbow Brite? Really? I'm a girl and I barely know who she is." That earned her a small smile from Jason.
"I just meant that you're…sort of…not really Jason's type."
That stung, but Caitlyn huffed and kept her cool. "Oh, and you're Tess's type?"
"Tess is hot."
Jason gave Shane a hard glare and Caitlyn got up and angrily stomped from the table. She flopped onto the grass outside and looked up at the clouds. Breathing deeply in an attempt to keep calm, Caitlyn closed her eyes.
Then she heard someone walk up and stand in front of her.
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Hey, Jase."
"Hi," he said, sitting down next to her. "I brought you food. Some chicken tenders and an orange and a cookie."
"You mean my entire tray?" she asked with a smile as she sat up.
"Well, not the fries or the root beer… I only have two hands and I couldn't smuggle out the tray… but I did get you some barbecue and honey mustard packets to make up for that." He held out the plastic cups of dip to her and she took them.
"Thanks… that was nice of you." Jason confused her. He was really nice, but she wasn't sure if that was because he was just a nice guy or if there was something else there.
"I'm sorry Shane was a jerk to you back there," Jason said.
Caitlyn shrugged. "I'm sort of used to it." She picked up one of the chicken tenders and dipped it in the honey mustard.
"You shouldn't be though," Jason said. "I mean… yeah, you don't look like Tess, but… I kind of like it better that way."
"Yeah?" she asked, not wanting to think about what he was saying too much.
"Yeah… I mean… I find you… attractive…" he mumbled.
Caitlyn stared blankly at him.
Jason looked up from the grass suddenly, his eyes wide in worry. "I'm sorry. Is that weird? I mean, because I'm older than you? And we only just met a yesterday? Did I mess this up? I'm sorry."
"It's a little weird," she admitted. "But then again, so am I." She grinned at him and broke the cookie in two, giving half to him. "I think we're even."
He smiled at her. "So, uh… do you want to practice guitar again before dinner? I'm sure we can talk to Brown if you want to borrow that guitar for the rest of camp."
"You think he would?" Caitlyn asked.
Jason shrugged. "He let me do it last year."
"Isn't he your uncle, though?"
"Yeah, but I'm sure he'd be okay with it if I vouched for you. Who knows? He might even let you keep it."
"I could not do that. Just let him give me a guitar from camp? That's unthinkable."
"He does it a lot more often than you think. Usually with the older instruments. But seriously, show dedication and love to that guitar of yours, and always be practicing it when you have free time… but especially name it and fuss over it and he will have to give it to you. Especially if you play it during a jam."
Caitlyn shook her head. "No. No. I don't sing in front of people. I'll dance… but I don't sing by myself. I refuse."
"Why not? I'm sure you sing great."
She gave him a look. "And I know you sing great, but why is it when you're performing at a jam with your brothers that you always sing back-up?"
He shrugged. "I don't really need the spotlight. As long as I have my guitar, I'm happy."
"You don't need anything else?"
He gave her a sideways glance. "There might be one or two other things I'd like to have."
Caitlyn paused slightly. He couldn't be talking about her. That'd be ridiculous. "Like these chicken tenders?" she said with a grin, wanting to brush off the feeling of awkwardness.
He threw a piece of orange rind at her. "Yes. Like these chicken tenders."
It had been two weeks since Caitlyn had met Jason. They had eaten meals together, practiced guitar and talked until curfew. It was ridiculous. But now she was waiting outside the instrument cabin and Jason hadn't shown up yet.
She was not concerned.
Well, maybe a little.
But not that much.
She pulled at her striped knee socks and sat down on the steps with a heavy sigh. After ten minutes had passed, she got up and was about to walk away when Jason came running up.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. I was doing something with my brothers. But I'm here now. So… want to practice?" he asked, giving her an apologetic smile.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes but smiled back. "Sure. I've been practicing by myself all last night and this morning. I think I have 'Do You Believe in Magic' down pat."
"Sweet," Jason said, pulling her into the cabin and sitting down across from her. "Let's hear it. Words and all."
"W-words?" Caitlyn asked nervously. "Y-you want me to sing?"
He nodded. "Yes. Please? It's only us two in here. Just…just do it for me, alright Caity?"
She could feel her resolve weakening. Jason was giving her puppy dog eyes and pouting. She sighed and bit her lip. "Fine… just… don't laugh okay? I don't have the best voice."
"Pinky promise," he said with a grin.
Caitlyn snorted in mild amusement and linked her finger with his for a quick moment before she started playing. When she looked up after she had finished, Jason was staring at her with adoration.
"So?" she asked shyly.
"That was… you were great, Caity. Really."
She looked down at her guitar and smiled shyly. He was going to have to stop being so nice to her if he didn't want her to develop a serious crush on him. As an addition to the mild crush she had on him.
"Your turn now, Jase. Sing something for me."
"W-what?" he looked scared.
She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "I sang for you, you sing for me. Anything you want."
He sighed and brought out his guitar. "Fine. You like the Beatles?"
Caitlyn nodded.
"Good," he said with a grin as he started to play 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'.
Jason was amazing.
She found herself staring at him as he sang with a dopey smile on her face.
This was bad.
Really bad.
As he finished the song, he looked up and grinned. "So?"
"I… um… wow… that was… that was good. Like, wow." She literally had no words.
He smirked. "I see I rendered you speechless with my amazing voice and charming good looks."
She blushed but raised a brow at him. "I see all that time you've been spending with Shane has rubbed off on you."
"Touché, Caity. But I can do something my brothers can't."
"What's that?"
He waved his hands in front of him. "Magic," he said with a huge smile.
"Prove it," she said crossing her arms.
He got off his stool and stood in front of her. Holding up his pick he said, "I will make this disappear and reappear somewhere else."
Jason held it between his fingers, made his hand into a fist and opened it. The pick was nowhere to be seen. He looked at her expectantly.
"Ooh!" she said mockingly.
"If you're just going to make fun of me, I won't do it," he said with a pout.
"No, no, no. Seriously. It's cool. I love magic tricks. I'm a total sucker for the wand that turns into flowers."
He gave her a smile. "That's better. Now… do you know where the pick is?" he asked.
"Is it… in your other hand?" she asked.
He held up his other hand. "Nope." He smiled at her before he leaned in close to her face. "I think there's something in your hair, Caity…" He tucked a strand behind her ear and with a flourish, the pick was back between his fingers. "Got it," he smirked.
"That was… that was something, Jase. Really." She hoped she wasn't blushing. Because she really liked the feeling of his hand in her hair for that brief moment.
He grinned. "I think this belongs to you, milady," he said, dropping the pick into her hand.
She smiled. "You sure?"
He nodded. "Yep. I'm always losing them, so I have plenty. Keep it. Maybe it'll bring you luck."
"Thanks…" she said softly. They smiled at each other for a moment, and Jason opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of the door opening made them both jump and look toward the source of the noise.
Brown.
"Jason, there you are. You should know not to go running off with a girl right now. You and your brothers need to treat this project with respect. And if you're leaving every hour to wander off with Caitlyn here, that's going to make my friends think you're not serious about their offer."
"What offer?" Caitlyn asked.
Jason shook his head. "Nothing. Just a thing. I'll see you at lunch?" he asked.
Brown shook his head before Caitlyn could get a word in. "Sorry, mate. But you won't have time today. Maybe you'll see her at dinner."
Caitlyn looked down at her guitar and frowned. This wasn't fair. She had just met Jason and he was proving to be a really good friend… and now he was always busy and didn't seem to have time for her.
She wasn't going to lie. It hurt.
She looked up and gave Jason an understanding smile. "It's okay. I'll just sit with Lola and Sander, I guess."
Something flashed across Jason's face, but then he smiled. "I really am sorry, Caity."
"Jason, come on. We can't keep them waiting," Brown said pointedly.
"Okay, okay," Jason said, rolling his eyes as he slid his guitar to his back. "Bye, Caity."
The door slammed closed behind them and Caitlyn's shoulders slumped. She pressed her forehead against the back of the neck of her guitar and whined.
She felt absolutely pathetic for missing a boy she barely knew this much.
Caitlyn got up and put her guitar away, then went back to her cabin where she fell on her bed with a heavy sigh. Stupid Camp Rock. Giving her a friend and then taking him away. She made a noise of frustration and put her pillow over her head. Maybe if she couldn't see or hear anything, this entire… thing wouldn't be happening.
Yeah, right. She was thirteen, not stupid.
"You do know that he's avoiding you purposefully, right, Gellar?"
Caitlyn lifted her pillow up and turned her head towards Tess. "How about you shut up and leave me in peace?"
"I'm just trying to help you see the truth honey. Yeah, he might have almost kissed you the other day, but that's all it was. An almost kiss. If he really liked you, he would have actually kissed you."
"Maybe he just wants to keep private things private, Tess," Caitlyn growled.
"That matter's between you and him… I'm just saying, that's all."
"You know what, Tess? Just shut the hell up, okay? Leave me alone."
"So you can cry?" Tess asked in a mocking voice. "Has Jason broken your little heart?"
Caitlyn didn't respond.
"Oh, that's so sweet. The bird-watching dork is capable of breaking the heart of the glittery, rainbow fairy."
Caitlyn got up and shoved Tess. "Jason is not a bird-watching dork, Tess. And I'm not a glittery, rainbow fairy," she said with a snarl.
"I'm just calling them like I see them."
"Yeah, well, see this," Caitlyn yelled, drawing back her fist.
"Punch me, and I'll make sure you regret it for the rest of the summer. So much so that you'll never want to come back here again," Tess said dangerously. "Got it?"
"Just… leave me alone, okay?" Caitlyn ordered, running for the door.
Tess caught up with her and pushed the screen door closed, blocking Caitlyn from leaving. "I will when you come to terms with the fact that He. Is. Not. Interested. His brothers don't like you, he doesn't like you, nobody likes you, Gellar."
"Out of my way, Tyler." Caitlyn pushed her out of the way and ran down the steps, towards the lake.
"Just admit you know the truth! It hurts a lot less that way!" Tess yelled through the door.
Caitlyn kept running, not caring where she was going or how far it was. When she finally stumbled and fell, she burst into tears. She told herself it was because she had skinned her knee in the fall, but she knew it was really all of what Tess had said.
But the bleeding knee helped.
She leaned against a tree, pulled her knees under her chin and cried silently to herself.
By the time she had cried her eyes out, it was well past lunch but she wasn't all that hungry.
She wiped the tears off her face and sniffled when she heard someone behind her. She turned and jumped when she saw Ella standing there.
"Caitlyn?" she asked in concern. "Are you okay?"
She didn't want to talk to one of Tess's lackeys right now. She really, really, didn't. But it was Ella and as far as lackeys went, Ella was harmless. A little happily oblivious, but harmless.
"I'm fine… I guess. Tess got under my skin a little just now."
"Oh. One of those things," Ella said understandingly.
"Yeah… I just… it's hard, you know?"
"Yeah…" Ella agreed. "Listen," she said, dropping her voice, even though there was clearly no one around to hear them. "You didn't hear this from me… but… if you reorganize Tess's styling products, she won't be able to function for the rest of the day and her hair will frizz out like an ungroomed poodle."
Caitlyn gave Ella a knowing look. "And you know this because…?"
"I might have done it once or twice."
"Congratulations, you might just be my new favorite person at Camp Rock."
"I thought you had a thing for Jason…"
Caitlyn snorted. "I'm having about as much luck with that as you are with Nate."
"Is it that obvious?" Ella asked with a blush.
"Yes. He's just too broody. Give him a couple of years, maybe."
Ella snorted. "I'll keep that in mind. Now come on. I always keep a few granola bars in the room. You need some food."
When they got back to the cabin, Tess was there waiting for them.
"Hey, Caity. Sorry about before… I was just jealous, I guess. Shane doesn't seem to pay attention to me much anymore. If you really want Jason, I suppose I can try to help you out with that…"
"Don't call me Caity," she said in response. "But if you were to help me… I guess that'd be okay… maybe…" Caitlyn knew she probably shouldn't be trusting Tess, but she seemed sincere and honestly, Caitlyn was tired of the sheer amount of crap she'd have to put up with if she didn't take up Tess's offer.
"Okay," Tess said with a grin. "I think with Jason, you should play hard-to-get. And maybe wear some different clothes… not all different… but just not as many colors…"
"Um… okay…" Caitlyn said uncomfortably. She didn't want to get rid of all her colors… she liked them…
"And I think you should do some more to your makeup…"
"How much more?" Caitlyn asked suspiciously.
"Just a bit. A little bit of eyeliner. And maybe some more color on your cheeks."
Caitlyn bit her lip and reached into her pocket, pulling out the pick Jason had given her. She looked down at it and sighed. "Okay. Do whatever you want."
Tess smiled. "Okay."
By the time the dinner bell rang, Caitlyn was in a flowery pink and white dress with a brown belt, leather sandals, more makeup than she'd ever worn in her life, and soft, girly, romantic jewelry. She looked pretty, but she didn't feel like herself. She walked with Tess and Ella to the dining hall and looked around for Jason.
He saw her and smiled before he blinked in confusion. When she got through the line and sat next to him, he gave her a once-over. "You look nice," he said. "Special occasion?" he asked.
She looked up at him shyly, then back down at her plate. "Maybe," she said softly.
"So… I… missed… hanging out with you today…" he said in a whisper.
Caitlyn wanted to smile and give him a huge hug, but Tess caught her eye and shook her head.
"Well, that's too bad for you," Caitlyn said, looking over at Tess for approval.
Jason frowned slightly and blinked twice before continuing. "So… do you want to take a walk with me after dinner?"
"Sure… I'll have to get my sweater though… so I'll apologize for keeping you waiting…"
He gave her a strange look. "Okay… I guess…"
After they finished their food, Caitlyn gave Jason a small smile and asked him to meet her by the docks in a few minutes.
She ran back to the cabin, put on a touch more lip gloss and body spray and grabbed her sweater. She met Tess on the way out, and she grinned at her.
"Jason's waiting for you. You better get out there now," she said, pushing her out the door.
Caitlyn bit her lip shyly as she made her way to where Jason was sitting at the edge of the dock. She was confident that this time, Tess would leave them alone. What she wasn't confident about was whether or not Jason actually liked her. Yeah, Tess said she was just jealous, but… Jason was older than her. And even though he was really nice, that might not mean anything…
"Hey, Caitlyn," he said quietly as she approached.
She frowned. Jason had never called her Caitlyn. It was always Caity. And she liked it that way.
"Jason," she said in greeting. "What's up?"
He shrugged. "Not much… just thinking…"
"About what?"
He shrugged again. "You…" he said in a non-committal tone.
She sat down next to him, scooting somewhat close to him. "What about me?"
Jason gave her a look. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." He fell silent and looked out over the water.
Caitlyn sighed. "I thought you said you wanted to take a walk."
"I don't really feel like it anymore," he said, bringing his legs up from hanging over the dock and turning away from Caitlyn.
She could feel the slight prickle of tears starting and swallowed the lump in her throat. "What do you feel like?"
"I don't really know anymore," he said quietly. He picked up a rock that was lying on the dock and threw it violently into the water. Then he got up. "I think I'm going to go to bed. My brothers and I are leaving camp tomorrow morning."
"What? Why?" she asked in alarm.
"Because… because…" he started. He sighed and dropped his voice. "Because we signed a record contract. We're going to be a real band. But we have to leave Camp Rock so we can get started. I'm sorry, Caity. We'll be gone before breakfast."
So. He didn't actually like her, he was leaving camp tomorrow and she had put on a dress and makeup for nothing.
God, she was so stupid.
So stupid over a boy.
She looked up at him. He looked sad. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, give him a hug, anything that would get that look off his face. But since he didn't like her… she wasn't going to.
"Have a good summer. Bye," he said.
"Good luck with getting famous," Caitlyn said quietly as Jason walked off.
She took off the jewelry and bit her lip hard to resist the urge to cry as she made her way back to the cabin. She pushed the screen door open and let it slam shut behind her as she ran for her bed.
She cried herself to sleep that night and the next morning, went to breakfast, wearing the clothes she had slept in.
She didn't care. Jason wasn't around for her to impress. Not like he'd have noticed anyway.
"Caitlyn. You look awful. Want me to fix you up before class? You need to wash your face and get some concealer on those dark circles," said Tess as she sat down across from her.
"Gee. Thanks, Tess. That makes me feel so much better, considering what happened last night."
"He doesn't like you?" Tess asked in shock. "But I was so sure…"
"I have some really fabulous chocolate my dad sent me…you can have some while we get you ready…" Ella said softly.
Caitlyn looked up at Tess and Ella's faces and shrugged. "Sure. Why not? It could be fun."
Tess smiled and pulled Caitlyn out of her chair. "Let's go," she said, linking her arm through Caitlyn's. "Maybe I'll let you borrow something of mine."
When Caitlyn emerged from the cabin for dance class, she was decked out in patterned tights, a pair of chunky boots, a short black skirt and a shimmery purple top. She didn't feel like herself, but she did feel rather pretty.
Maybe being friends with Tess and Ella wouldn't be so bad.
Jason sat in the limo, looking out the window as they drove away from Camp Rock and sighed.
He really didn't want to believe what Tess had told him last night.
Apparently, Caity didn't like him the way he liked her.
That's what Tess said, anyway.
"What makes you think she'd like someone like you?"
He shrugged. "Because I'm nice?"
She snorted. "That's why you think she likes you. But she doesn't. You're nothing but a goofy friend that teaches her how to play guitar."
And then she left. And he stood there on the dock, wondering if that was really true… and if so, why?
Then Caitlyn came up to him and he didn't know what to do. Yeah, he could have asked her if she liked him, but he wasn't about to do that with the doubt that was nagging at him.
So he kept quiet and didn't say what he wanted to. Instead, he told her he was leaving and then he walked away.
He had a feeling he was going to regret that for the rest of his life.
And he was only fifteen.
He thought he had at least another year before he'd be making big mistakes involving girls.
Apparently not.
He sighed again and shifted on the seat.
"Upset you lost your chance with Gellar?" Shane asked.
"You could call her by her real name instead of Gellar, you know."
"You mean Caity?" Shane said, stretching out the last syllable.
Jason gave him a look. "No. I'm the only one who calls her that."
"Geez. Sorry. Caitlyn, then." Shane crossed his arms. "But are you?"
Jason growled. "Yes, if you must know. Your little girlfriend sort of made that happen."
"Dude. Get over it. We're going to be rock stars. We can have our pick of girls."
"But I really just want Caity…" Jason said softly.
"Dude. She's thirteen. Gross," Shane said, wrinkling his nose.
"Shane. Get over yourself."
"Can you two stop arguing? I'm trying to sleep," Nate said, rolling over and glaring at both of them.
"Fine," Shane and Jason said in unison. Shane plugged himself in to his iPod and started snoring pretty soon afterward.
Jason sighed as they turned off the dirt road that led to camp and onto the backroad of the interstate. "Bye, Caity," he whispered as he stretched out on his side of the limo and tried to sleep.
Caitlyn frowned at herself in the mirror and brushed through her hair again. It was Final Jam tonight and she was performing with Tess and Ella. She was a little nervous, but she was mainly just tired of Tess's harping.
She added a touch more lip gloss to her mouth and smiled. That would have to do. She stared at herself one last time and her eyes widened when she noticed that Jason's pick (now on a chain around her neck) was hanging outside of her dress. She tucked it down the collar of her top and smoothed the dress where it puckered.
"Cait? You ready?" asked Ella.
"Sure," she said, turning around. "Nervous at all?"
"A little. But I have my lucky bracelet on," Ella said, jangling her wrist.
Caitlyn fingered the pick through her dress and closed her eyes as she waited for the music to start. Back at the beginning of the summer, she had thought that she would be playing her guitar in her first jam. With Jason either right beside her or watching from the audience. Not singing backup to Tess Tyler.
But you really couldn't plan on what life gave you.
And life hadn't given her Jason.
"And what about you, Jason? What qualities are you looking for in a dream girl?" asked the interviewer.
Jason didn't hear her. He ran his fingers over the base of his guitar's neck where he had carved 'Caity' eight months ago. The day he left Camp Rock.
"Yo, Jase!" Shane said, slapping the back of his head. "Answer the woman."
Jason jumped. "Sorry," he said, giving an apologetic smile to the journalist. "What did you say?"
"What qualities are you looking for in a dream girl?" she repeated.
"Um…I like girls who dress in bright colors. She's gotta be pretty cheerful because…I'm pretty cheerful. I sort of like shy girls who can be rather bossy. And funny. Love funny girls. I like to laugh. And if she's musical and likes to dance, the other stuff doesn't really matter. But I like brunettes."
"That sounds sort of specific."
Jason coughed and blushed as he covered Caity's name with his hand. "Nah…"
Shane and Nate exchanged a look and Jason glared at them.
"Well, thanks, boys. Great interview."
She got up and left, and as soon as she was gone, Jason pressed his forehead against his guitar.
"Bro. You gotta stop beating yourself up about this," Nate said. "You lost out on a chance with a pretty girl. So what? Write a song and move on."
"That might work for you, but not for me…"
"Look. Just start dating one of the backup singers. Now, I call the redhead…but you can have the brunette if you want…" Shane said.
"Shane. I am not dividing up the backup dancers with you," Jason said. "I told you both before. I want Caity."
"Yeah. The proof of that's engraved on your guitar," said Shane.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. It was a stupid thing to do," Jason said agitatedly.
"But she doesn't like you apparently. So…"
"So, let's not mention Caity again, alright?" Jason said. "Ever."
Caitlyn had a secret obsession.
Every week without fail, she'd get on her bike and ride to the mall where she'd go to the bookstore and load up on every single teenybopper magazine that had any mention of Connect 3 or Jason Grey.
She scoured the music store for posters and bought their CD. She even went to their first concert.
Wearing the outfit she had met Jason in.
Plus his pick around her neck.
Brown had let her keep the guitar and she practiced it every day without fail.
But no one at camp knew about her obsession with Connect 3, or more specifically, Jason.
That second summer was hard. Everyone was talking about Connect 3. And she could feel herself being edged out of Tess's favorites by that new girl, Peggy.
She just wanted some time to herself. But Tess came bursting in the cabin and demanded why she wasn't pulling her weight at jam rehearsal that afternoon.
"Gee, I don't know Tess, maybe it's because I'm trying to work on a mix of my own and it's getting harder to balance guitar, dance, your song and my mix," Caitlyn said with a sigh.
"Well, maybe you should drop that stupid guitar, Cait. It's not like Jason's coming back anytime soon to see you at this grungy little camp in the middle of nowhere."
"I'm not dropping guitar, Tess. I like guitar. It's an outlet for all the bad emotions I feel because of you."
"Oh, you like all those bad emotions? Here's one that should make you feel like shit. I lied."
Caitlyn blinked in confusion. "You lied about what?"
"Last year. I lied to you. And Jason. About each other. You two were head over heels for each other and I put a stop to it."
Caitlyn felt like she was about to cry. "What…why…why would you do that?" she stammered.
Tess shrugged and pulled out a nail file. "Maybe I was bored. Maybe I was jealous that you had a boyfriend and I didn't. Maybe I just wanted to see someone suffer. I don't know. It was over a year ago and I'm not really good at remembering things that don't matter to me."
Caitlyn clenched her fists and counted to ten before she said in a very calm and quiet voice, "Tess. You. Are. A. Bitch."
"What?"
"You heard me. You're a bitch. You ruined my life and Jason's all because you were jealous and couldn't stand to see us happy."
"Don't you think you're being a little overly-dramatic, Caity? I mean, Jason never even kissed you, did he?"
"'Cause you interrupted us."
"Details," Tess said in a bored tone. "Now, I need to take a shower, but I hope you're still here when I get out. We need to work on your stage presence."
"No way in hell, Tess," Caitlyn said acidly. "I'm not going to be one of your lackeys anymore. I'm not going to do what you want. I am done with you. I'm moving out of this cabin and I'm refusing to take part in your performance for jam."
"Really? You think you can be done with me just like that?"
"Yes, I do," Caitlyn said as she walked towards the door. "Oh, another thing, Tess? Your song sucks."
She stormed out the door and down the path, not really sure where she was going.
"Caitlyn?" said a hesitant voice.
She looked up. "Oh, hey, Lola."
"You okay?"
"I got in a fight with Tess…and I told her I was moving out of the cabin…but now I realize that I don't actually have a place to go…"
"You want to stay in my cabin? I'm sure Brown would be fine with it."
"Really?" Caitlyn asked. She was surprised. She and Lola had been sort of friends that first summer, but when she started hanging out with Tess, that had changed some.
"Sure. You need a place to stay, I need a cabin mate who's not crazy."
Caitlyn smiled and gave Lola a tight hug. "Thank you. And I'm sorry."
"It's okay. We all know how Tess can be…and at least you're out of her clutches now."
They both laughed and walked off to Lola's cabin. Caitlyn could get her stuff tomorrow.
Two years. Two long years and Camp Rock still looked the same to Jason.
But things were different. He straightened his hair now. He had more guitars than he could imagine. He routinely played in arenas packed full of screaming girls. And yet… he felt like he was fifteen again as the limo pulled up to the main cabin and Shane got out.
That was really why they were here.
Because of Shane. And the way he let the fame go to his head.
Not so he could maybe see if Caitlyn still came here. Because he was not going to ask Uncle Brown. Who would probably make him feel guilty for the way he treated her that last night.
Jason sighed. He thought of Caitlyn a lot. Mainly because he still had that guitar with her name carved on it. He wondered what she was like now. Maybe she had cut her hair, or grown it out, or dyed it. Maybe she had grown. Maybe she had a face full of piercings. Maybe she was one of the band's crazy fangirls. Maybe she had moved on from Camp Rock.
There were a lot of maybes where Caitlyn was concerned.
"Thinking of Caitlyn?" Nate asked, distracting Jason from his thoughts.
He shook his head and looked over at his younger brother. "Yeah… I mean… This is where I met her."
Nate gave him a sympathetic look. "I can relate," he said as the limo drove off.
Jason looked out the window as Camp Rock grew smaller and finally disappeared behind the trees. "Yeah…" he agreed softly, not really paying attention to Nate as he leaned back in his seat and tried to fall asleep.
Caitlyn stared up at Jason during Beach Jam as she danced along to his guitar playing. He was just a few feet from her. In broad daylight. If he ever looked up, he might see her.
He had changed. She knew that of course. But she had been seeing him through magazines and music videos. Not on a small outdoor stage where she was in the front row.
She wanted to approach Jason after Jam, but then Tess went and destroyed Mitchie's reputation and Caitlyn had to go be a good friend. By the time she and Mrs. Torres got Mitchie to calm down, Jason and Nate had already left camp.
Even though she had forgiven Mitchie for lying to her, Caitlyn was a little grumpy with her following the Beach Jam Blowout. She knew it wasn't Mitchie's fault, but she wanted someone to blame for her not being able to talk to Jason.
Jason couldn't believe it. He really, truly couldn't.
Caitlyn Gellar was still a Camp Rocker.
He saw her almost immediately when he ran onstage. It took him a second to recognize her, but… it was Caity. He grinned and might have added another spin or two during their performance. Because he was happy. Not to show off. Because what was the point of showing off for a girl who didn't like him? Even if he was the lead guitarist for a hugely-popular band.
He wanted to find her afterward, but then Tess made a big deal out of something and everyone started ganging up on Caitlyn's friend. Including Shane.
He and Nate exchanged a look and went off to track down Shane. To make sure he didn't do something stupid. And while they were successful in keeping him from trashing a cabin or breaking any instruments, it took the entire day he and Nate were allotted for the performance. So he had no chance to see Caitlyn.
He groaned loudly and hit his head against the window as he and Nate left Camp Rock (and Caity) behind. Again.
Caitlyn couldn't breathe. It wasn't enough that Tess had framed her and Mitchie for stealing her bracelet. No, now neither of them could participate in Final Jam.
And then Brown had to go and announce that Connect 3 would be judging Final Jam and the winner would get a record deal and sing with them.
Her perfect chance to see Jason again, and Tess ruined it.
God, she hated Tess. Really, really hated Tess.
She ran Jason's pick back and forth across its chain as she thought of all the ways she could take care of Tess.
She could rip all her hair out. She could destroy all of Tess's clothes. She could push her off the docks. She could mess with the soundboard during Tess's Final Jam song. She could knock her unconscious, blindfold her, drag her into the middle of the woods and leave her there. She could—
"…the end of Final Jam!" Mitchie exclaimed suddenly.
"Excuse me?" Caitlyn asked in confusion.
"Come on. I totally have a plan," Mitchie said, jumping up and dragging Caitlyn with her. "I need your help."
Jason held his breath as people started walking in the auditorium for Final Jam. He jiggled his leg so much that Nate finally hit the back of his head. He drummed his fingers on the desk, once again incurring Nate's wrath.
"Dude. Just stop it. If you want to see Caitlyn that badly, just ask Brown what cabin she's in."
"But…"
"Do not try to tell me you don't want to see her. Yeah, I know that Tess told you Caitlyn didn't like you, but you have the girl's damn name carved in your guitar. At least talk to her. Maybe she's come to her senses. Maybe she liked you all along and just didn't want to say anything. Maybe—"
"Maybe she has a boyfriend," Jason said glumly as he saw Caitlyn enter with Mitchie on one side and a boy he didn't recognize on the other.
"Well, you're a rock star. Maybe you could steal her."
Jason turned to Nate. "Did you and Shane switch bodies without telling me?"
Nate gave him a bored look. "Not that I'm aware of. But seriously. If we leave this place again and you don't talk to her, I will break the Caity guitar."
Jason's expression turned to fear as the lights went down. "You wouldn't," he hissed before turning his attention to the stage.
"I would. Now pay attention. I don't want to have to record with a total amateur."
Jason watched the three performances and ranked them mentally. First, that Margaret girl with the guitar, then the group that sang and danced, and finally Tess.
When he and his brothers went to the back to deliberate with Brown, he looked over at the section where he had seen Caitlyn sit down earlier, just to see if he could catch her eye.
She wasn't there.
A noise came through the speakers just then and Brown frowned and walked back to the stage and into one of the wings.
Jason craned his neck to attempt to see what was happening in the wing, but he couldn't. He sighed heavily and pouted as he crossed his arms. Brown ran up to them and hushed them as music filled the room. Jason looked up in confusion as he saw Mitchie walk on stage and start singing. His gaze flew back to the wing as he caught a flash of movement and…
Caitlyn was standing there, providing Mitchie's accompaniment and grinning like nothing could go wrong.
Jason smiled softly as he watched her play.
"That's the song!" Shane said.
Jason narrowed his eyes. He better not be talking about Caity… Oh. Shane was staring at Mitchie. No worries.
"So that must be the girl?" Nate said.
"Ya think?" Jason said.
Nate just rolled his eyes and leaned towards Jason. "So, Shane has his girl…You need to go get yours."
"In a little bit," Jason said distractedly, pushing Nate away.
Caitlyn was walking back to the cabin by herself, wanting to get a head start on packing while everyone else was at the party. As she passed the docks, she heard very soft guitar music. She turned towards the source of the noise and almost fell over when she saw Jason sitting there.
She took a deep breath and fingered the pick through her shirt before she walked towards him.
"Hey, Jase," she said, stopping a few feet from him.
He turned around and looked up, blinking for a moment before he got to his feet. "Caity," he said softly.
She smiled. He called her Caity. She had missed that. She bit her lip as she looked up at him and exhaled slowly. "Jase… we need to talk…"
She saw him flinch almost imperceptibly and tighten his grip on his guitar. "Okay," he said with trepidation.
"I uh…" she started before she sighed and began again. "The summer before last? When we met?" she looked up at him and he motioned for her to continue. "I um… I sort of had a thing for you, I think." She smiled down at her feet. "Well, I know I did, but that's not the point," she said as she shook her head and got back on track.
She felt Jason take a step closer to her and she inhaled sharply as she began to speak more quickly.
"Tess, uh… Tess had something to do with what happened. She made me think that you were just some high school boy who wanted to flirt or whatever… And I didn't want to believe that, but I did, for whatever reason. And then the night before you left… you didn't want to talk, so I just sort of believed it even more… But uh… The thing you need to know, like really need to know?" Caitlyn asked, looking up at him.
He nodded with interest. She took a deep breath and pulled out the pick from under her shirt, squeezing it tightly in her hand. "Last summer, Tess… Tess told me something… Tess said she lied. To both of us. About us liking each other. Because apparently… we did. Like each other, I mean."
She looked up at Jason hopefully. He had his lips pressed together as he stared down at his guitar. She sighed and dropped her gaze. She had waited too long, apparently. Maybe he was over her. Maybe he was interested in someone else. Maybe…
She was sick of maybes.
"Jason?" she asked, putting a hand on his guitar.
"Hold on. I'm still processing."
"Jase? How long is it going to take?"
He smiled and took another step closer. "Why do you want to know?"
"Be-because... because I've been waiting for you to kiss me since I was thirteen and now I'm fifteen and I'm sick of waiting."
He took one last step towards her, his guitar the only thing in between them and put a hand on her face. "I'm sick of waiting too, Caity," he said softly as he leaned towards her.
She felt his lips press gently against hers and she sighed happily, sliding her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders. His hand was resting on his guitar, his fingers brushing against her stomach when he suddenly pulled back. Caitlyn whined in protest and he laughed.
"Just hold on, Caity. My guitar is in the way," he said as he took it off his shoulders. He looked around for a place to put it and frowned.
"Just put it on your jacket," she said dismissively. She grabbed his guitar out of his hands as he shrugged out of his hoodie. Her brow furrowed when she felt scratches at the base of its neck.
She turned the guitar around so she could study the back and she gasped, almost dropping the instrument.
"Jase…how long has my name been carved in your guitar?" she asked slowly.
He blushed and raked a hand through his hair. "Um… maybe since like… the day I left camp three years ago?"
She laughed and put her arms around him in a hug. "While you're being all awkward and revealing your secrets and stuff… I think it's only fair to let you know something…"
Jason tugged her to the end of the dock and pulled her down to sit next to him. "Yeah? What would that be?"
She wordlessly pulled the pick around from the back of her neck where it had migrated from their kissing earlier.
"Is that…?" he trailed off.
"The pick you did a magic trick with and then gave to me?" She nodded and smiled at him. "I wear it all the time. I only ever take it off if I'm swimming in the lake."
He smiled and brushed his thumb over her cheek. He leaned forward and kissed her other cheek. "Let's make a promise right now, okay?" he asked.
"Anything," she said with a sigh.
He grinned. "Let's not listen to anything Tess says, yeah?"
She nodded. "Yeah," she agreed softly. "Good plan."
Jason tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You got really pretty since I saw you last, Caity."
She blushed and mumbled, "You got pretty nice-looking yourself."
He smiled widely and pushed on the back of Caitlyn's head to bring her close. "Thank you, Caity. That's very nice of you. You can compliment me more later, but right now, I really just want to kiss you again."
She nodded. "Fine with me." She played with his hair. "I don't really know if I'm okay with the idea of my boyfriend using the same brand straightener as I use, though."
He crinkled his brow. "How would you know what kind of flatiron I use?" he asked.
Caitlyn giggled as she scooted closer to him. "I might have sort of became a Connect 3 fangirl sometime over the past few years."
He smirked.
Caitlyn pouted. "What? I had to keep up with you somehow…"
Jason laughed. "Fair enough. Now be quiet," he said softly as he captured her lips with his and threaded his fingers through the hair on her scalp. She whimpered and locked her arms around his neck as she tried to scoot closer to him. He smiled at her action and pressed his tongue against her mouth. The noise that left her mouth in response made him laugh and he pulled away, trying to catch his breath.
She leaned against his shoulder and pressed a quick kiss to his neck. "Good god, am I glad that Shane started acting up…"
He put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. "Me too, Caity. Just a little."
They stayed that way for a while, silent as they enjoyed each other's company, when Caitlyn suddenly groaned in dismay.
"Yes, Caity?" Jason asked in mild amusement. "Tired of me already?"
"No, of course not. I just realized. Camp ends tomorrow. We're going our separate ways again."
He tipped her chin up and smiled. "We might be going our separate ways tomorrow, but we're going to keep in touch this time. I demand it of you. Three years of not talking to you was ridiculously hard, you know that? There were girls I talked to for months that didn't get me as well as you did in a week."
Caitlyn got a big goofy grin on her face as she threw her arms around him. "I sort of think I love you, you know that?"
"Now I do," he said, smiling at her. "But what I'd really like to know is whether or not you want to go back to the party with me. Because I really, really want to go rub this is Tess's face."
Caitlyn smiled evilly and kissed his cheek. "I think this boyfriend-girlfriend thing will work out quite well. Now let's go get some of Mrs. Torres' food."