N o M o r e H i d i n g

by xo Astral Love

xoxo

A u t h o r ` s N o t e

Hey everyone, welcome to my story: No More Hiding. This is my first Camp Rock fanfiction ever. So I'm kind of nervous at the moment. Okay that's an understatement. I'm shaking in my boots right now. xD But basically...let me give you a break down.

The shippings in the story are going to be: Shane/Mitchie. Nate/Caitlin. Jason/?. And OC/OC. The story is told from an original character's perspective. Buuut. The other five main characters, you know, Shane, Mitchie, Nate, Caitlin, and Jason are very prominent throughout the story so don't worry about it like drifting away from them! It's just told from my own creation's POV.

But I hope you like it. It's basically is what happens - in my imagination - the second summer that Mitchie is at Camp Rock. If you do like it, don't forget to review. If you read it, don't forget to review. If you think I could improve it, don't forget to review! All right, hope you guys like! Enjoy!

xoxo

D i s c l a i m e r

I DO NOT OWN CAMP ROCK OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT IN THIS STORY BEYOND THE PLOT AND MY CHARACTERS - Rachel Banawa, Orion Smitherson, and Kandy Gallows.

xoxo

P r o l o g u e

"I've always been the kind of girl
That hid my face."

If anyone can honestly say that, it would definitely have to be Mitchie Torres. I'd been one of the people that had gone to camp with her and for someone who wasn't afraid to lie to people, she sure as hell was scared to get up and open her mouth in front of every body. But when she did, she had one of the best voices to be heard in this generation. And that was exactly why she was my idol.

"So afraid to tell the world
What I've got to say."

Back when we had been at Camp Rock, that had been true. But now a days? It was the biggest untruth that had ever crossed her lips. Mitchie had quickly become one of those people you see plastered across walls, in lockers, on binders, on billboards. She was the poster role model girl for little girls everywhere and everyone loved her except for those that hated the fact that she was dating Shane Grey. Which was most teenage females - celebrities and non celebrities. But even with that public hatred from teenage girls, the younger ones still loved her and most of them still liked her music and bought it. She was a role model and what she said mattered and she wasn't scared anymore.

If only I could say the same thing.

"But I have this dream
Bright inside of me."

A sigh came from me as I rolled onto my back while listening to the song. I could say the same exact thing on her. I had the biggest dream of them all, to be a superstar sensation like she was. I wanted to tell people what I had to say through my music - to show them that there was someone out there that understood. To touch people's hearts and just be able to help at least one person with advice or else just get through something that was hard with a song… That was my dream.

"I'm gonna let it show
It's time to let you know
To let you know…"

For her it had been time to let everyone see her because that day had been hers no matter what anyone said. Mitchie had been amazing at Final Jam that day and sure enough, that school year, she had taken the public, the media, and the music industry by storm with her quirky, loving personality and her brilliant songs. Had it been my time? No. I had hidden in the shadows and just tried to blend in with my surroundings while struggling with my music. I had been going to Camp Rock for three years - since I was thirteen - but no one really knew me. Last summer hadn't been my chance and I didn't think that this year would be either but it was my last chance. Now I just have to figure out a way to let people know.

"This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed
To be now."

On the stage with the lights shining only on me while I belted my heart out for the crowd to hear and let them hear the true emotion behind my music. That was where I belonged. That was me. That was real. I shut my eyes and smiled as I imagined Final Jam this year at Camp Rock. It would be amazing. I was going to show everyone just what exactly I was made of this year. I was going to show them just who Rachel Banawa was.

"Gonna let the shine on me
Now I've found who I am
There's no way to hold it in."

There was every way to hold it in that I could think of. But how much longer could I honestly do that before every chance that I was offered to shine would be gone? I had stood back for the past three years and slowly watched opportunities slip by, watched doors slam in my face that could have led to my dreams, and now I was left with one last summer filled with chances. I couldn't let it slip by. I had to do something this year instead of holding it in and standing back and watching others take those chances.

"No more hiding who I want to be
This is me."

I sang along softly with the song that had just been released on the radio not even a week earlier before I opened my eyes and stood up. My room was plastered with lyrics graffiti on the walls and filled with posters of different stars. The ones that inspired me, the ones that I thought had actually worked to get where they were now, the ones that had touched me in some way. Trophies from musical achievements that I had gotten throughout my school career were scattered on shelves, certificates stating that I was the most musically talented student in my school district hung on the walls. This was me. Music was me.

"Do you know what it's like
To feel so in the dark
To dream about a life
Where you're the shining star?"

I stared at myself in the mirror above my dresser, just stared. Black hair streaked with red and golden highlights framed my face that was a naturally golden tan color due to my Filipino heritage. Big, brown eyes framed with thick eyelashes stared at me, hanging on my face above apple round cheekbones that led to a defying jaw and a soft chin. Cupid bow lips and freckles that were scattered across my cheeks and my button nose. I was nothing special, just another face in the crowd that didn't matter. But one day. One day I was going to live that dream that every musician had. I was going to be the shining star in the center of my life and I was going to live the dream that I had held close since I was so young.

"Even though it seems
Like it's too far away

I have to believe in myself
It's the only way."

My fingers traced my features. I had never believed in myself enough to really do anything spectacular. Everything I had done had never really required a lot of self belief. This year though, what I had to do to seize the chance and make my dreams come true. It required everything. If Mitchie could do that her first year at Camp Rock…if she could make everything she had ever hoped for come true. Then why couldn't I? I could do it. I knew it. I just had to believe and trust myself. I had to trust myself enough to believe that when I took the risk and jumped that I would land safely at the bottom of the cliff.

"This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed
To be now."

Another image flashed through my mind as I shut my eyes and the grin that split my lips and formed on my face must have been ridiculous. It was me on the stage, singing for all of my peers who had always taken me for granted, who knew me but didn't know me. Just watching their shock when I sang and showed who I was, just like Mitchie. That image was the one that I had to hold close in order to do this, to make it through that summer. Because in that image, that was the real me. The only me and it was time to stop hiding.

"Gonna let the light shine on me
Now I've found who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be.
This is me."

No more hiding, Rae. That was what I told myself. This was my year. This was the year that the light was going to shine for me and me only. I was going to show everyone just who exactly they were dealing with. I was going to prove who I was once and for all and seize any chance that came my way to do that. As of this moment up until the moment that Final Jam ends, Rachel Banawa was no more. No, it was Rae's time to come through.

It was my time to shine.

xoxo

A u t h o r ` s N o t e

And that's it for the prologue! I hope you liked it and I'm off to go work on chapter one now! See you guys soon. Don't forget to review.