Author's Note: Hello Everybody! :)

Since I'm more than addicted to Shane&Mitchie I've finally decided to jump on the fanfiction
train concerning this couple and "Camp Rock" in General.
Usually I'm writing Spuffy fics and fics for a German fandom (the German version of "Ugly Betty").
Concerning this story, I would be happy if someone is willing to become my beta reader because
I like to share my ideas with someone.
Of course a second opinion is also a good thing before posting ;)

Story Stuff: Exspect a bumpy ride with a very jerky Shane, a not so pleasant past and Smitchie/Naitlyn
arguments all the way :)

Hope you'll like it guys! Your opinion is more than appreciated! :)

Disclaimer: Well, nothing's mine except my imagination. All characters belong to Disney (don't we know it ;))

Til Death Do Us Part

"Geez, Mitchie. I think I almost broke every traffic law in this country just to get here ASAP," Caitlyn tried to catch her breath, while her best friend simply yanked the young woman into the house and shut the door with such a force, that a picture on the wall came crashing down with a loud thud.

"Whoa girl, you really are out of line."

Her eyes lingered on the broken glass for a moment before she finally took into the appearance of the other girl.

In all the years of their friendship Caitlyn Gellar had never seen Mitchie Torres with such a shocked expression on her delicate face.

"Mitch, what is going on?"

Ever since Mitchie's call and her words "Oh my god.. he.. can't breathe" and "What should I do now"
Caitlyn hasn't heard her friend speak up again and this, truthfully, scared her more than she could express at the moment.

"It's not your family, isn't it?"

Caitlyn's heart was gripped by fear and she silently prayed that nothing bad had happened to a member of the
Torres clan.

Mitchie however wasn't able to come up with anything beside a short shake of her head which signalled her friend that the topic would not lie in that department.

Her mind however seemed to be occupied by things Caitlyn couldn't even figure out in the slightest.

And on top of it, she couldn't stop shaking.

"Maybe you should sit down first and then you're gonna tell what happened, k?"

Caitlyn was smiling at her in a soothing way and Mitchie didn't protest when her friend pushed her softly onto the huge leather couch in the living room, while all the 22-years old woman could do was nodding in a numb way.

It seemed like Michelle Torres was just a shell of herself at the moment and Caitlyn didn't dare to push her too much even though she was the clueless one here.

Hanging in between a phone call that hadn't made sense at all and a still speechless best friend, who scared her more and more with every passing minute.

"You know I'm usually a very patient person," she finally tried again, hoping to get her friend's attention at last.
"But this here really creeps me out. So please tell me what happened."

Her green eyes seemed to bore into Mitchie's brown ones and the still silent woman finally broke out of her blank stare and started to focus on the person in front of her.

Worry, confusion – all these emotions were reflected right back at her and she knew in an instant that Caitlyn was literally going crazy on the inside.

Crazy because she still didn't know what this was all about.

Mitchie wanted to tell her, she really wanted to get this unbearable thing of her chest but all she managed to come up with was a meek sound that Caitlyn could barely register.

Defeated, she immediately let out a deep sigh and buried her head in her hands.

But before Caitlyn could touch her left shoulder, the brown eyed woman let out a short frustrated scream, that startled her best friend so much that she stumbled a few feet backwards.

"Gosh Mitch. You almost gave me a heart attack," the blond one exclaimed in a strong voice, glaring at her best friend for a moment.

This was crazy.

Correction – This was beyond crazy.

"Sorry Cait," Mitchie's voice finally cut through the silence.
"But this is all..so…so"

She slowly pushed her long tresses out of her face and searched Caitlyns eyes, showing her emotions that could without a doubt be classified as worry, confusion and guilt.

"Well, at least you've found your voice again, because this silent treatment is so not my style."

A small encouraging smile appeared on her shiny lips which caused Mitchie's depressed expression to soften for a bit before Caitlyn took a seat next to her.

"And now fill me in. But in whole sentences please, so my brainie won't come up with different types of scenarios."

One of her arms made its way around Mitchie's small shoulders in a comforting manner and let her friend instantly relax into the touch.

"I.. I don't know where to start," Mitchie admitted in a depressed tone, biting the inside of her lips.

A habit that always came forward when problems were bugging her.

"Well, how about the beginning? All I know is that you should be at that little fancy restaurant making moon eyes at your honey bunny, while violins are playing in the background. But since you're here, looking like someone gave you a run for your money, I can only guess that your evening wasn't that romantic at all."

"No, it was," Mitchie sighed immediately, confusing Caitlyn even more.

"It was?"

Mitchie simply nodded.

"Very romantic, actually."

"So let me get this straight.
No one died or got hurt in a physical way and you had a romantic evening with Mister Perfect."

"Yes," she sighed again, breaking the eye contact for a moment.

"Then why the hell are you sitting here like a shadow of yourself, freaking me out with a phone call that almost got people hurt on my way over there?"

Her confusion, mixed with concern and the feeling of not having the slightest clue about her friend's problem, let her voice come out way louder than intended, regretting it in an instant.

"I'm sorry, I didn't.."

"No, I'm sorry Cait," Mitchie interrupted her in a soft tone, searching her eyes again.
"I'm the one with the mayor problem here."

"Well, a problem isn't so big anymore when you share it with someone.
And you can call yourself lucky because I happen to know someone who is willing to fill in for that part,"
Caitlyn nudged her side with a typical Caitlyn Gellar smile that could always lighten the mood for a moment, even if a dark cloud was literally looming over your head.

"Cait..," The auburn heard woman smiled sadly.
"I'm a horrible person. I don't deserve any sort of kindness."

"What? Have you completely lost your mind?," Caitlyn protested before Mitchie could continue.
"You're the most loving, kindred, talented and honest person that has ever crossed my way.
You deserve a bunch of kindness and love."

She gave her the "Don't you dare to disagree with Caitlyn Gellar"- look that no one has ever dared to ignore, hoping that it would get her friend away from this stupid train of thoughts.

Michelle Torres a horrible person – Not possible.

Period.

But Mitchie didn't share this opinion in the slightest and had a hard time to hold her tears back at Caitlys words.


God, her life could never go the easy way, couldn't it?

"I'm not a honest person, Cait," she instantly spoke up again, forcing herself to look straight into her best friend's eyes.

"What? You don't want to come up with this sweater story again, don't you?
That was hardly a crime Mitch and I would never hold it against you, you know that."

"I wish it would be something meaningless," Mitchie whispered.
"But it's not."

Caitlyn could see that her friend had a hard time to come up with the right words, tears already glistening in her brown eyes.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise not to judge you," the blond woman reassured her, gripping Mitchies left hand in a friendly way, only to feel something sharp digging into the palm of her own hand.

"Ouch.. what is..," she instantly removed her hand, only to fell silent when she got a closer look at what exactly had been digging into her palm a moment earlier.

"Is this what I think it is," she finally questioned, when her brain had caught up with her voice.

Before Mitchie could register what Caitlyn was talking about the young woman already had a grip on said hand again and lifted it just enough for the small ring to shine in the dim lights of the living room.

"Oh my god, Mitch. He finally asked you? Is this why you're so out of line?"

Caitlyn was almost bouncing in her seat like a child on Christmas Eve while Mitchie choose to stare at the ring as if she would see it for the first time.

"Did he get on his knees? Was there a big declaration of undying love?," Cait wanted to know, not realising that her best friend wasn't exited at all, till Mitchie abruptly snatched her hand away and ripped the ring off as if it would burn her skin.

"Whoa whoa, you're acting like this ring would bite you any minute," the blonde one stated, more confused than ever.

"I didn't realise that I still had it on," Mitchie commented in a hurtful tone, not daring to look at the beautiful ring now lying on top of the table.

"Well, if someone proposes to you and ask you to marry him, it's not so unusual to wear an engagement ring, you know. Especially one as beautiful as this one," Caitlyn announced, reaching out to said jewel.

"DON'T!," the bride to be hold her back, letting her friend drop her arm instantly.

"What is wrong with you, Mitch? Luke "the dreamguy" Taylor wants to spend the rest of his life with you and you're acting like this is the worst thing that ever happened to you!"

Caitlyn couldn't believe that her friend, who had been head over heels for said man since the first meeting in a department store 2 years ago, wasn't going crazy for joy at the moment.

Luke was everything a woman could hope for.
Kind, Handsome, Humorous, Witty and not to mention wealthy as hell, even though money didn't matter to either Mitchie or Caitlyn.

"I don't deserve him," Mitchie finally whispered, clasping her hands tightly in her lap.

"You're out of your mind!," Caitlyn exclaimed, hardly suppressing the urge to smack her beloved friend upside the head.
"Of course you deserve him. You make him happy and he loves you!

"He won't love me anymore when he gets to know the truth," the other woman stated ashamed, still not daring to look her friend in the eyes again.

"What truth?" Cait grew impatient again and still had no clue what made Mitchie so miserable.
"Don't you love him anymore?"

A slight shaking of her head announced that this was out of the question.

"Then what Mitch?"

"I can't marry him," her best friend sighed, letting a tear slide down her left cheek.

"But what's holding you back? Are you afraid of commitment?"

"No." It was short and meek, but definitely a no.

"Then what sweety? I'm seriously running out of options here," Caitlyn tried to catch a glimpse of her eyes, that were shielded by her soft locks.

"I can't marry him," Mitchie simply repeated.

"So you said. But WHY?"

"Don't you understand?," she finally looked up at her friend, tears present in her eyes.

"Understand what?"

"I am not able to marry him!"

"What do you mean…," Caitlyn started again, her confusion already getting the better of her.

"I'm saying that I can't marry him because I'm already married!"

Silence.

All that followed was silence.

And a completely speechless Caitlyn Gellar.

Well, completely speechless for at least a minute.

"How?..I mean when?.. Or more important WHO?"

To say that she was overwhelmed would have been an understatement.

Mitchie however looked completely crushed, ashamed of herself and the way she had kept this topic a secret for so long.

"I'm so sorry Cait," she started, guilt crashing over her in more and more waves.
"I never wanted to keep it from you. But the memory..everything was so painful and cruel..
I just wanted to forget about it."

"Is that why you moved to Canada out of the blue? Just before my parents were telling me to study in Vancouver?"

Mitchie simply nodded, while Caitlyn's mind seemed to put some pieces into the right places.

"I'm so so sorry Cait." Mitchie choked, her throat suddenly too dry from her tears.
"I'm such a horrible person."

"That's not true,"Caitlyn stated softly, her own heart breaking at the sight of her best friend.
"You're only human."

Before Mitchie could come up with another sob, Caitlyn had already embraced her in a tight hug, telling her that she would stick to her promise.

Always on your side, no matter what.

"Thank you," Mitchie whispered into her shoulder, trying hardly to suppress more tears.

"I know that you don't want to talk about it in detail," Caitlyn started again, when both girls had slowly loosened the hold on each other, "and I already have a not so pleasant person in mind but…"

"Yeah, it's him. Who else would it be," Mitchie almost spat, her eyes suddenly filled with a emotion that could only be described as a mixture of anger and hurt.

"Well, even though I already came up with this thought, give me a minute to cope with the fact that you're actually married to Shane "The Jerk" Gray."

"Only by law!", her best friend immediately pointed out in a firm voice, trying to block out images of a time that didn't matter anymore.

She had managed to live without a single memory for so long and she wanted to make sure that it stayed the way.
The name Shane Gray was only a bittersweet taste on her tongue that she had learned to rinse out with a new life.

"So I guess I've overcome the internal shock mode," Caitlyn finally confessed after a short time, letting Mitchie's eyes searching hers in an instant again.
"And let me say that I can so see your dilemma now. I mean you want to marry Luke, right?"

"More than anything," Mitchie exclaimed without hesitation.

Luke had everything she wanted in a guy.
He literally was Prince Charming, who had swept her off her feet when she had almost given up on love.

"Well, then we have to make sure that you'll get your Happily Ever After," Caitlyn announced, making it sound like something you could easily do every day.

"And how, may I ask?," Mitchie questioned, catching a glimpse of the beautiful engagement ring out of the corner of her eyes.

"First of all," the petite Blond stated, taking said ring from the table.

"You put that back on, or Luke will get suspicious the next time he comes over. Beside, it's such a waste to put such a beautiful thing somewhere in a dark corner."

She smiled at her beloved friend and handed her the piece of jewel, before she focused on the main topic again.

"And then we have to get you divorced, before Luke and you are walking down the aisle."

"When you say it, it sounds so simple," Mitchie sighed, softly fingering her engagement ring in her left hand.

"Well, you just have to fill in for divorce and.."

"You forget that he needs to agree with this," the auburn haired woman stated matter of factly, giving her friend the "You know what this means"-look.

"Why shouldn't he…," Caitlyn started confused, when a certain thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"You think he would.."

"He so would," Mitchie answered, her lips set in a straight line.
"Even if it's just for his ego. Beside god knows where he is right now."

The truth was, she didn't care.
Or she didn't want to.

"Maybe his jerky attitude had already backfired and he is rotting in a dark hole somewhere in Timbuktu.
Along with his heartless better half," Caitlyn hissed, allowing herself to even bring up a certain someone who had broken her heart in many little pieces without a second glance.

Yeah, she certainly hoped Nate Silver had also gotten what he deserved.

"Referring to Jerk Number Two, I see," the brown eyed woman commented in a flat tone, remembering Nate's behaviour towards her best friend very clearly.

Yeah, this one didn't deserve any better than his so called best friend.

"But as much as I like this thought, it would only make it harder for me.
I mean who can agree to a divorce, when he's rotting in a hole on the other side of the planet," she stated,
earning a nod from the blonde beside her.

"No matter what. We have to fish in that bowl again and catch the one marked "Jerk of the Century"," Cait proclaimed. "And if he decides to play dirty.. well we just play dirtier."

At this Mitchie raised her left eyebrow a bit and studied her best friend with a strange expression.

"Now you're the one who's scaring me," she announced with a small smile.

"Well, everything's fair in love and war.
And you want Luke- Love, so we have to go on the Grey field and blow said Jerk away. Literally."

Her eyes told Mitchie that she was willing to go this way with her, even if it would become a dirty ride.

And for the first time Mitchie felt that she could really do it.

Because she had someone at her side who would never let her down.

"Then let us find the so called Shane Gray and get me divorced," Mitchie finally exclaimed, her mind only focussed
on one thing.

Rinsing out the bittersweet taste of him once and for all.