This is Real
So yeah, I know it's been awhile.
No, this is not the sequel to This is Me.
Sorry; but as Allume A Pense could probably tell you,
that idea didn't work out so great. Coming to you with a new story,
EatSleepBreatheJonas (goodness, I've missed typing that.)
The phone vibrated loudly against the bedside table, startling Mitchie from her dreams. She threw a hand out from under her body to grope for the phone. Her hand closed around the offending item and brought up to her eyes. "Holy snap." Mitchie breathed, flipping the phone open and shoving it against her ear. "Caitlyn?" She questioned, holding her breath and waiting for a reply.
The other girl's screams echoed in her ear, and Mitchie laughed, pulling the phone away from her ear. "Hey Mitchie." Caitlyn finally greeted, laughing at herself. "So where are you right now?" She added thoughtfully.
"In bed..." Mitchie said slowly, staring at her digital clock. "It's nearly 11 right now." She told her friend. Caitlyn 'ohhed' softly, glancing at her own wristwatch.
"Sorry about that. I got kinda sidetracked when I meant to call you earlier. But anyway," she barreled through the apology, continuing with the purpose for the late night call. "I bought a beach house." Caitlyn told Mitchie.
"Wow, congratulations!" Mitchie exclaimed, genuinely happy for her friend. "Where, California? Some beautiful Caribbean island?" She wondered. Caitlyn shook her head, wrinkling her nose in frustration when she realized her action had gone unseen.
"The Outer Banks, in North Carolina." She said proudly, looking again at the photo of her new property that rested in her lap. "And I wanted to know if you could come down for a couple of weeks." Caitlyn added.
"A couple of weeks? Sure, I don't see why not...anyone else coming?" Mitchie added as a side thought. Caitlyn winced. Her friend wasn't going to take this part so well. She sighed, not sure if she should admit to who the other guests would be, or if she should let it be a surprise.
"It's a surprise." She had chickened out, and she knew this wouldn't end well. "How soon can you get down here?" Caitlyn asked. Mitchie paused, thinking to herself.
"Well, if I can get back to sleep, I can pack in the morning, and hit the road once I'm done packing." She thought aloud. Caitlyn squealed, dancing around the room excitedly.
"That's great; you'll get here before everyone else and get the grand tour." She exclaimed, her joy showing in her tone. Mitchie laughed, rolling over and closing her eyes to the darkness.
"Great; well I'm going back to bed. E-mail me directions and I'll see you sometime late tomorrow." Mitchie told her friend, and Caitlyn quickly said goodnight, allowing Mitchie to snap the phone shut and throw her head back onto the pillow. "Well this is going to be fun...I wonder who else she invited." Mitchie wondered as she succumbed to exhaustion.
The wind tossed her hair out of its restraint, throwing the sunglasses somewhere behind her. Mitchie laughed, shaking her head and letting her long hair do what it pleased. She checked the directions Caitlyn had sent her that morning, then glanced back to the road. She should be turning soon, she thought, scanning the hand-printed street signs. "These houses are amazing..." She murmured, her eyes drifting over the architectural wonders. "Found it!" She cheered, turning onto the broken concrete road, her car bouncing slightly. The chunks of concrete fell away to white sand, and Mitchie slowed down, now glancing over house numbers.
"Maybe I didn't find it..." She muttered after ten minutes. Then, the house loomed up in front of her. It was at least four stories high, and painted a dark blueish gray. It was gorgeous. Mitchie slammed on the brakes, staring at it. The screen door flew open two stories above, and Caitlyn came dashing down the stairs and across the sand. "Oh my God." Mitchie breathed, staring at the house. She jumped over the side of her car, rushing to hug her friend. "I love your house." She told Caitlyn, pulling back to stare up at it. The other girl laughed and smiled softly, running back to the stairs. Mitchie grabbed her large suitcase, attempting to follow her friend.
"Just leave it, the guys will bring it up." Caitlyn yelled. Mitchie stopped in her tracks, staring after her friend. Caitlyn froze. She had said too much, and she knew it. Mitchie let the handle of her suitcase fall to the sand, her brow furrowed.
"Guys?" She inquired calmly, staring at Caitlyn's back. Her friend nodded, turning slowly with a false smile across her face. "What guys?" Mitchie asked, putting her hands on her hips. Caitlyn blinked.
"Just some guys from my college." Caitlyn shrugged, playing it off very casually. Mitchie relaxed, hoisting her suitcase back into the car and practically dancing after her friend up the stairs and into the house. "Grand tour time!" Caitlyn squealed, twirling around with her palms up. Mitchie laughed, letting her lead the way.
Dusk had fallen, and Caitlyn and Mitchie sat on the couch 4 stories above the beach, cross-legged and swapping stories from college. A car's headlights flashed up through the dim room, and Caitlyn shot up. "That's them. I gotta go do something; will you let them in?" She asked. Mitchie shrugged and propelled herself off the couch, heading for the spiral stairs that cut through the center of the house. Bouncing down the last few, she froze.
Mitchie stared at the screen door, and the boy—man, she corrected her thoughts, stared back. "Caitlyn!" Mitchie screamed, turning on her heel and running back up the stairs. Caitlyn poked her head out of one of the bedrooms, laughing nervously. "Shane? You know we broke up years ago; why is he standing outside?" Mitchie demanded.
Caitlyn balked. "You didn't let him inside?" She questioned, shoving past her friend and skipping down the steps and flinging the screen door open. Shane, Nate and Jason tumbled through the doorway, loaded down with their own luggage and Mitchie's. "Hey guys, sorry Mitchie didn't let you in, she was a bit stunned." Shane rolled his eyes at the girl.
"So was I, I mean, I didn't exactly expect to see my ex-fiancé standing on the other side of the door." He commented sarcastically, running a hand through his hair. "You didn't tell us she'd be here." Shane grumbled.
Caitlyn shrugged. "You didn't ask." She grinned a bit smugly, dancing back to the kitchen a floor above. Nate turned to his friend, grinning.
"She has a point. Besides, don't act like you're not excited to see her." He teased, glancing towards the hall mirror to adjust his wind-swept hair. Jason nodded, flipping his hair to the side.
"You're not fooling anyone with that 'why is she here, I hate my life' attitude." Jason stated wisely, clapping Shane on the shoulder. Shane shrugged the hand off of him, staring up the stairs to where he knew Mitchie lurked.
"I'm gonna go for a walk on the beach." He decided, climbing the steps to follow Caitlyn and get room assignments. After being pointed to the fourth floor, he stepped through the door, glancing around. The room was painted sea foam green, and all the bedding was in white. A few shells decorated the bookcase, while a colored sketch of Cape Hatteras hung on the wall. There was a balcony, he noted with a smile. He stepped through the sliding glass doors, only to run into Mitchie. Her room and his must share a balcony, he thought grimly.
"I'm sorry." She muttered, not meeting his eyes and turning away. Shane reached out and caught her hand, drawing her back to him. "Shane, I..." She tugged at her hand, looking up into his startling dark eyes.
"Why are you acting like you're not ecstatic to see me?" He breathed, watching her carefully. Mitchie laughed gently, removing her hand from his grip and stepping back a few inches. "Because I'm happy to see you." He added lowly, his eyes growing darker. Mitchie blushed under the dark lighting.
"I don't know what Caitlyn's plan is, but I know I am kind of happy to see you. It's just...it's weird to be here, with you." Mitchie whispered, turning on her heel and heading back for her own room. Shane sighed.
"I'm going for a walk on the beach. Do you want to come with me?" He offered. Mitchie hesitated; smiling slightly. She shook her head, tilting it towards the still visible clouds that came rolling in slowly.
"It looks like rain. I'll take my chances on the 3rd floor hot tub." She laughed, stepping back through her own glass doors. Shane laughed in agreement, gazing out at the sky.
"Maybe I'll join you later." He said casually, entering his own room to change. Mitchie watched him disappear, a small smile playing on her mouth. Maybe this wouldn't be as awkward as she thought.
Caitlyn poked her head out onto the porch, holding up two wine glasses. "An apology of sorts?" She proposed, smiling at Mitchie, who had her head tipped back against the rim of the hot tub. She glanced up, nodding at Caitlyn, who quickly slid out of her her denim shorts and into the hot water.
Carefully, Caitlyn filled the glasses and passed one to Mitchie as the rain began to fall slowly. "I really am sorry for not telling you about Shane. You're not going to leave, are you?" She whispered, and Mitchie hesitated.
"I don't think I'll leave. It's just really awkward; being around him for the first time in 2 years." She admitted, and Caitlyn nodded sympathetically. "It was so bad, seeing him on the other side of that door. I wanted to die." Mitchie added.
"Why did you guys break up? You always seemed like you were so happy together." Caitlyn questioned, sipping from her glass quietly. Mitchie shrugged, staring out at where the rain met the ocean. "What does that shrug mean? You have to know why you broke up with him." She pointed out with a small smile.
"I honestly don't know. We got into a fight over something; a huge fight. All my 'friends' were encouraging me to dump him; that he wasn't worth my tears or something. I listened, they called him back and ended it. I still don't know why I listened to those girls." Mitchie sighed, her eyes still on the water. Caitlyn blinked.
"That's why you two aren't married now with lots of babies?" She asked incredulously. Mitchie laughed, taking a long drag from the glass. Caitlyn looked at her nervously; Mitchie hardly ever drank, and never that enthusiastically.
"I don't know about the babies part, but being married, yes, that's why." Mitchie sighed, finishing the wine in her glass. Caitlyn looked up, seeing Shane approach. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she should warn her friend.
"Shane's coming. I'm gonna go inside." Caitlyn whispered, pulling herself out of the hot tub. "Hey Shane, keep Mitchie company. I'm gonna go take a shower." She called, leaving her glass on the edge of the table for Shane. He stared at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Because I really needed to know that." Shane teased, peeling his damp shirt off and shedding his jeans. Mitchie blinked, trying not to stare at his stomach. He hoisted himself into the hot water, smiling at Mitchie. "Told you I'd be joining you later." He added casually. Mitchie nodded dumbly, reaching across him for the bottle of wine.
Shane picked up Caitlyn's glass and took the bottle from Mitchie, quickly refilling her glass before adding a little to his own. "Cheers." He tapped his glass to hers, taking a small sip from the opposite side of the lip gloss stain, Mitchie noted. She smiled weakly, not saying anything. She felt horribly awkward. "So I heard you and Caitlyn talking. Is it true that you really broke up with me because your so-called friends told you to?" His tone was still light and friendly, though his eyes betrayed his pain.
Mitchie winced, and took a deep breath. "I...I broke up with you because I was scared after that fight. I told my friends I was scared, and they told me that I didn't need to be with someone who scared me. Sarah dialed and handed me the phone, and I just broke up with you. I cried for months." Mitchie said softly. Shane stared at her.
"Why didn't you call me again? You know I would have forgiven you. I would have taken you back." He murmured, scooting slightly closer to her, letting one arm drape over her shoulders. She rested her head against his forearm, closing her eyes.
"I was too scared to face you. That's why I avoided your e-mails, calls and texts." Mitchie told him. Shane sighed, glancing down at her. His eyes traced over her body, smiling to himself at her choice of a simple black one-piece.
"You do realize that we could be married right now, and the only reason we're not is because that Sarah girl dialed the phone?" Shane asked, and Mitchie nodded, one tear falling. "Oh, Mitchie, don't cry." Shane whispered, brushing away the tear with the pad of his thumb. She shook her head, staring out at the ocean.
"I hate her now. I miss being with you; but I don't know you, not this new you. We've both changed in two years and we can't just expect to jump back to what we used to have." Mitchie breathed as Shane hovered over her. He brushed her cheek with his lips gently.
"You didn't say we couldn't try to get back to what we were." Shane mumbled, sitting back against the wall of the hot tub. Mitchie paused, replaying her words in her mind. Finally, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"You're right." She admitted, pushing herself out of the hot tub and wrapping a towel around her torso. She piled her hair on top of her head, running a smaller towel down her legs and over her arms. Shane climbed out, drying off as well. He held out his hand to her, smiling.
"I'll walk you to your room." He offered, and she laughed softly, continuing to run the towel over her body. Her eyes cut up to meet his, and the rain increased. A crash of thunder made her jump, and they both laughed at her shock.
"You don't have to, it's only one floor up." She reminded him, placing her hand in his. Shane shrugged, opening the sliding glass door to the commons room. Mitchie stepped through, her body tensing at the frigid burst of air conditioning. Shane laughed, hurrying to the spiral stair case.
"But your room is right next to mine; so I'm going that way anyway. We're the only two rooms up there; sneaky of Caitlyn, no?" Shane teased, and Mitchie blushed, careful not to trip over the stairs. Shane rounded the last curve, his hand still holding hers tightly. They walked down the hall, and paused at Mitchie's door. She started to pull away, but Shane pulled her back, pressing their cold bodies together. "I'm glad you're here." He mumbled, wrapping one of her wet curls around his finger. She blushed, nodding slowly.
"I'm glad you're here too." She rose on tiptoe, pressing her lips to his cheek and dropping back to her regular footing. "Good night Shane." Mitchie whispered, untangling their bodies and stepping through her door. She shut it softly, backing up against the wall and sighing in contentment. No, she was definitely not leaving. She turned towards the balcony, just in time to see Shane tap on her door. Confused, she crossed the room to open the door carefully. "Did you forget something?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Yes." Shane stated simply, cupping her face and pressing his mouth to hers gently. Mitchie froze, her eyes growing wide before fluttering shut, just in time to enjoy a brief moment of the kiss. Shane pulled away, smiling awkwardly. "Now I can go to bed." He whispered, running a hand through his hair. He backed away into his own room, and Mitchie stood there, her fingers ghosting over her lips.
"Oh wow." She breathed, falling back on the bed and hugging a pillow to her chest. "Oh wow." She repeated, staring at the ceiling with a look of total bliss in her eyes and smile. "There's no way I'm going home now." Mitchie breathed, smiling widely.
Thoughts? I'm not totally sure where
I'm going with this, but hopefully
you guys will respond to it
as well as you did with
This is Me.
Review!