Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, nor am I affiliated with Disney Channel in any way. I do own the original characters featured in this story and they aren't to be mentioned or used elsewhere without my permission.
Author's Note: So, I finally got around to writing the Camp Rock story I wanted. I had a great idea for this one and I just had to start writing before I lost it, so here it is, the first part of the Shane/Alec Camp Rock story, Nothing Ventured. The story is mostly always in Alec's point of view, but on occasion, I'll switch it up to someone else's or in third person. Enjoy!
1/
Camp Rock. Great. I can't believe my parents signed me up for this. They said I was a "talented teenager who should pursue his dream to be in the music business." I laughed every time they told me that. It's not like I thought I wasn't talented, I knew I was, but it's not like I'm the only person in the world who can sing and play the guitar and drums. But my parents signed me up anyway, packed my bags, kissed my forehead, and said they'd see me later. My uncle drove me to the place early Saturday morning, right after breakfast. We arrived around 10ish and everyone was already there. "Uncle Scott, can you believe they forced me into this?" I asked, sitting stiffly in his dark blue BMW M5.
He laughed and took a sip of his coffee. "Look, Alec. You're talented, you're smart, you're outgoing, you're tough as hell. You'll survive."
I rolled my eyes and looked out the window at the other teenagers standing around and conversing. I sighed and strummed my fingers along my leg, never taking my eyes off the 'Camp Rock' sign above the entrance to the grounds. He cleared his throat and set his coffee cup in the holder. "So, you ready to do this?"
I nodded once and got out of the car. He opened the trunk revealing my luggage bags and guitar case, the limited edition Fender Stratocaster with the Union Jack design printed on it sitting inside. I hoisted it over my shoulder and picked up my black backpack, holding it by my side. Scott unloaded the two black and yellow duffel bags from the trunk and set them down, closing it. "Don't forget, I'll stop by to bring you your drum set later today."
I sighed again and nodded. "All right."
He smiled and held my shoulders. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. You have your cell phone - your mom, dad, and I are just a phone call away. I know you don't like being away from home for long…hell, if I had it my way, you wouldn't even be here, but it's what Angela and my brother think is best for you." I nodded again. He kissed my forehead and smiled. "See you soon."
He got in the sedan and revved the engine twice before driving away. I cleared my throat and looked around. My eyes stopped on someone I recognized - my friend Amanda from freshmen year in high school - I didn't even have to say a word. She spotted me and dashed through the crowd of people, stopping once to set her stuff down next to mine. She jumped into a hug, squeezing me tight. "Alec! I haven't seen you in ages, how are you?"
I looked around again and looked back at her. "I've been better," I hesitated to say. "My parents made me do this."
She laughed and scratched her arm awkwardly. "Yeah, mine too, but I don't know, I kind of want to do this. I mean, it'll be a really good opportunity."
"Yeah. Maybe if I'm lucky, we'll get the same camp…house…thing."
"Yeah I never know what those are called anyway. I once tried Googling it - nothing. But…"
"What?"
"I was hoping to get paired up with Shane Grey."
I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Who?"
"You've never heard of Shane Grey? The lead singer from the band Connect 3? Along with Nate and Jason?"
"He comes here?"
She nodded. "Yeah, he came the last time Camp Rock opened, and he'll be here almost every time. He's already famous and whatnot, so he basically just does this for fun and the memories he, Nate, and Jason have of this place."
"Doesn't everyone like, love him? How does he not get attacked by the massive fans?"
"Most of them here are already used to him being here so they don't make a big deal out of it."
I nodded and pulled out my phone to check the time. "When does this thing start?"
She was about to reply when who I assumed was the camp leader stood up on the stage in the middle of the grounds and talked through a bullhorn. "Welcome to Camp Rock!" he greeted with a British accent, the teenagers surrounding him cheering in response. "All right, all right, settle down. Now, I'm sure most of you want to get settled into your bunks and all that, and some of you are wondering who's going to be staying with Shane Grey?"
More cheering and screaming from the crowd. I flinched as three girls next to me almost had a heart attack upon hearing the celebrity's name. I blinked and focused on the man talking. "Right, well we've chosen at random before we sorted everyone into their bunks, and the person that'll be staying in the Presidential Suite," the two words made a lot of the teen girls laugh. "With Shane is…Alec Martin!"
Amanda gasped and jumped up and down screaming, pointing at me. "Alec, it's you!"
My eyes widened. Great. More attention. I sighed and tried to melt into a discreet little puddle. No luck. The camp leader told everyone to settle down and continued talking. "Now, everyone else - in order to find out where you'll be staying, head over to one of the several camp leaders, give them your name, and they'll tell you where you'll be." He looked around and smiled. "Well don't just stand there and stare at me! Get out there and get rocking!"
Everyone cheered again and headed over to the camp leaders to find out where to go. Amanda hugged me and said she'd see me later before turning to find a camp leader. "Wait, Amanda. Where's the Presidential Suite?"
She laughed and pointed across the grounds to a camp house in the middle, surrounded by bushes and small trees, a sign that said 'Presidential Suite' written on it. She smiled and turned away, waving as she walked. I gathered my belongings and headed over to my house for the remaining of the summer. I kicked the door open and kicked it closed with my foot, dropping my stuff down on one of the two empty beds.
I exhaled and brushed myself off before having a look at the place. It was rather spacious and better than I'd have expected. First of all, the floor was carpeted, a huge improvement already. Both beds were rather big, obviously made for one person, but still, big. There were two nightstands, one on the left of the first bed, one on the right of the second. Across the room in the right corner was a door leading to the bathroom, and it was a nice one too, complete with a shower. The floor was white linoleum, the sink and toilet the same color. There was a medicine cabinet above the sink, a mirror on the front of it. A towel and wash cloth rack hung from the wall on the side of the door, and blue mat sat on the floor in front of the shower.
I left the bathroom and opened the doors to the closet, a plastic divider in the middle of it, separating one's clothes from another's, giving both inhabitants plenty of room. There were also two dressers, one on one side of the room, another on the other. A large ceiling fan hung from the center of the room as well. "Wow. When they say Presidential Suite, they really mean it."
Putting my jeans and shirts in the closet and my other clothes in the dresser before making the bed, I crossed the room and looked at myself in the mirror. My dark brown eyes radiated boredom and minor aggravation, my black hair gelled into a faux hawk signifying independence. I was about 5' 8", one hundred forty pounds of muscle, musical talent, intelligence, and sarcasm. Once I gained a six pack and v-lines, I felt compelled to take a picture for MySpace with my shirt pulled up. I never thought I'd degrade myself to such a level, but I did, and I was happy. I wore black skinny jeans tucked into black and white Shift combat boots. They weren't really combat boots, more like motorcycle boots, but either why, they were stylish and comfortable. The jeans had front and back pockets that zipper open and closed, my white studded belt around my waist. Attached to the belt hoops on the jeans were black and white checkered suspenders, hanging freely by my side. I wore a black shirt with a white design on the front, and a black jacket with zippers on it, the sleeves pulled up to my forearms. I left it unzipped so my shirt and belt would show, the way I like it, with black sunglasses clipped to the collar of my shirt.
I smiled at my appearance and realized I looked a bit like Michael Jackson in the music video for 'Bad'. I laughed, but stopped instantly when I heard the door open behind me. I turned around to see Shane Grey drop his stuff on the other bed and look up at me and smile. "Hey!" he yelled, making me flinch. "Oh, whoops," he laughed, pulling out his iPod earphones. "Sorry about that. Hey, I'm Shane."
I smiled, "Alec."
"Nice name. Looks like we're room mates."
I nodded and sat on my bed, watching him unpack. He finished and stared at me, tilting his head. "You look like Michael Jackson."
"I told myself that when I put this outfit together," I laughed. He returned the laugh and sat on his bed, facing me.
"So, you're new here?" I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll show you around and tell you everything you want to know. How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
He nodded. "Junior?"
I nodded. He smiled and looked at the alarm clock. The time was 10:37am. I noticed I owned the same shirt he was wearing, dark blue with thin black horizontal stripes. He had jeans the same color as me, skinny but not as skinny as mine, and white slip on Vans. I liked his hair style a lot - messy, yet stylish. "So, you're the famous Shane Grey," I smiled.
"Yeah. I'm just glad people don't make a big deal of it around here anymore. You should've seen it last summer when I came here - I was being chased around like I robbed a bank."
I laughed, "That's fame for you. So, what do you exactly do here? Not you personally, but in general."
"Well, it's not as bad as you think, it's actually kind of fun, and it's changed since last summer. Depending on what your talent or interest is, you put yourself in groups. Singing, dancing, music producing, playing guitar, drums, piano, all that. Everyone shows everyone else in the group what they've got, and they come together to make something, and then perform it at the end of the year. You can choose to go solo if you want, but everyone has to perform what they've come up with during their time here. Like I said, it's not as bad as it sounds."
I nodded in approval. "It sounds fun. What do you, Shane Grey, do?"
"I teach a dancing class, hang around with people, and I'm going to start going to different groups and joining in what they do, and perform with them. I don't know when I'll do it, probably whenever I feel like it, but this summer, I'm just going to practice some new things. What do you do?"
"I play the guitar and drums."
He smiled, "Not bad. You should play something for me sometime."
"Sure."
"Oh, and you probably didn't know, but the British guy that spoke to everyone this morning is my uncle, the Camp Rock big cheese."
I laughed, a smile coming across my face. Shane was cooler in person, and he was the first famous person I've ever met. I don't think any of my friends will believe I hung out and shared a room with Shane Grey this summer. We spent the rest of the morning talking about random stuff, like our background and stuff, and I learned a lot about him. Then we started talking about serious, personal stuff. He asked me a question and didn't think I took it the right way, but I told him it was all right and I knew what he meant. I learned he was bisexual and only had three girlfriends in his entire life. I myself only had one, and it didn't work out at all. She was one of those people you wanted to get to know better, and once you know more, it's just like "Oh my God, what was I thinking?!", you know?
The clock struck noon and it was time for lunch. I didn't feel like leaving my bed at all. Shane smiled and got my attention. "Hey, how would you like it if I went to get us something for lunch and brought it here so we can hang out? Just you and me."
I smiled, "That'd be pretty awesome."
"All right, I'll be right back."
With that, Shane left the room and headed to the lunch hall. I stretched out on the bed, my arms behind my head, and stared at the ceiling. Shane Grey was an amazing guy. He was bisexual, so was I, and I swore I felt a little something for him. I mean, how could I not? He was sexy, talented, had a great personality - the boy's perfect. I wonder if he'd be interested in me. But then again, what if he just thinks of me as a friend, especially since we just met? I'm not the type of person to take those kinds of chances…but for Shane Grey, that's incredibly worth it.
A few minutes later, Shane came back and jumped on his bed. He handed me a sandwich, a bag of chips, and root beer before getting comfortable on his bed and giving me a look that said he didn't want to stop talking to me. "So, what were we talking about?"
I bit my lip and laughed. "I don't remember."
He smiled and took a sip of his root beer, setting it down on the nightstand. I was about to tell him something when a voice came over the PA system. "Would Alec Martin please come to the camp leader's office, please. Alec Martin to the camp leader's office."
"What for?"
"My drums are here!" I laughed, getting off the bed.
"Wait," he said as I headed for the door, "You're just going to leave me here?"
"Of course not. Come on."
He jumped off the bed and followed me out the door to his uncle's office. When I got there, my uncle was just leaving. He gave me a hug and said he'd see me soon. Shane helped me carry the set back to the room and set it up in the open space on the opposite wall of the two beds. When it was finished, the two of us finished our lunch and Shane showed me his guitar. I showed him mine and he couldn't believe I had one like that. "Where'd you find one with the British flag on it?"
"I had it custom made. It was $30 more, but it was worth it."
I set mine back in it's case and slid it under the bed. Shane caught my eyes in his and smiled. "What?"
"Can I see your cell phone?"
I handed him the black Sidekick Slide and watched as he typed something in and handed it back. "What did you do?"
"I added my cell phone number, that way when this is over, we can hang out whenever we both have free time. It's nice to have a friend who doesn't freak out over you because you're famous."
I smiled, "Thanks." I sighed, wondering whether or not I should tell Shane how I felt about him. I know we just met, but still, maybe he'd feel the same way. I shook my head and looked at him, giving him a smile. "Can I tell you something? It's kind of important."
"I think I already know."
I raised an eyebrow. "You do?"
"Well, I think I do. You like me."
"How did you know?"
He looked around, hesitant to answer the question. I could tell he wanted to tell me something, but part of him didn't want to say anything. "Shane," I said, his eyes meeting mine. "Don't tell me you're psychic."
He smiled and traced shapes on his bed. "I'm not psychic," he laughed. "It's just, I kind of like you too. I know we just met but I think you're handsome, funny, and I don't know, maybe something could happen - if you want to, I mean."
"So," I smiled, "What are you saying?"
"Do you want to go out with me, Alec?"
My smile grew wider, and I could tell he knew my answer. "Yes."
He returned the smile and kicked his feet back and forth like a shy little kid. I wondered if he was going to tell anyone. No, he wouldn't - he doesn't like all the attention anyway, and something like that would bring him all the attention in the world. "You won't tell anyone, right?"
"Of course not. I was just wondering if you were going to tell anyone, but I know you don't like that sort of attention, neither do I."
He reached into the drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a black digital camera. It was a Fujifilm Finepix Z20fd. "I have the same one in green."
He smiled and turned it on. "Come here."
I got up and sat next to him, smiling when I realized what he was doing. He turned the camera toward us and put his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. "Smile," he laughed. The flash went off and he showed me the picture - it captured us perfectly. "I'm putting that on MySpace."
I laughed. "You better send me it when you put it up."
"I will," he smiled.
We both stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours. Shane smiled a few times, looking away, but looking back when he realized I was still looking at him. A minute passed, and I wondered if he was waiting for something. I was just about to say something when he leaned in and kissed me. Shane Grey kissed me, Alec Martin. His lips were warm and soft, tasting of root beer and faintly of mint, probably his chapstick.
His arms went around my waist, the kiss growing more intense. A moment later, he broke the kiss, our foreheads and noses touching as he breathed heavily. "I love you Alec."
"I love you too, Shane."
He smiled and kissed me again, this one short but meaningful. I couldn't believe it - I met Shane Grey, fell in love with him, and he felt the same way about me. Maybe this whole Camp Rock thing wasn't such a bad idea after all. I mean, how often does the one you love actually love you back?
All I knew was that I never wanted to leave Shane's side. I wanted to be with him forever.
Chapter One is finished! I very much enjoyed writing this as I hope you've enjoyed reading it. You should let me know what you thought by leaving a review! Expect Chapter Two very soon.
