Nate Black glanced out the window of the limo that was taking him and his two bandmates to yet another concert. He was the quiet sort, but he still felt slightly left out today. Shane was in a totally different world, blissfully unaware of everything as he texted his girlfriend, Mitchie, and Jason was doing something strange on his phone and kept making weird faces, leaving Nate all by himself, once again, with only his thoughts for company. He smiled, thinking how interesting it was that whenever he didn't want to talk, that was when his bandmates seemed to have the most to say, but when he did feel like having a rational conversation, they were off in their own little worlds, completely oblivious.
He sighed. Sure, he was the quiet one. The one no one really cared about because they considered him too serious. When people interviewed Connect Three, they interviewed Shane, because, after all, he was Shane Grey. Every now and then, some brave person would ask Jason for his opinion and then they would wish they hadn't, but if they could help it, they never talked to Nate. In Shane's defense, he often tried to bring Nate into the conversation diplomatically, but few ever took the bait. They just kept smiling those false smiles and turned back to him, usually distracting him by asking how Mitchie was.
And he didn't mind. Not really. Once in a while, he would let his guard slip and then he would feel heartbroken, lonely, and miserable, but as soon as he started to feel any strong sentiments, up went his shield and the world became just a place where he existed again. That was the way life had been for years. At first, it had been hard, but now, it was like second nature.
"Nate," Shane said again, trying to bring his friend out of his trance-like state.
Nate shook his head, trying to shake off the deep thoughts he had been having as he snapped back to reality. "Sorry," he apologized. "What?"
"I asked if you were excited about the concert," Shane said.
"Yeah," Jason interrupted. "And he called your name, like, three times." The complete earnestness that always accompanied Jason's scatterbrained and completely random comments never ceased to amaze Nate.
"Sorry," Nate found himself saying again. "Why should I be so excited about this concert?" He racked his brain trying to think of something special that might be happening and found nothing. It wasn't like him to forget. "Is there something I forgot?"
"Not really," Shane said. "I just thought you might have been counting down the concerts until you had a break. This is our last concert before we head up to Camp Rock for the summer."
Nate smiled. "I'd forgotten." The gesture lit up his face so much that Shane briefly wondered why Nate didn't smile more often. Nate had changed. He was no longer the carefree boy he had once been, and Shane couldn't figure out what was wrong.
"Did you happen to remember that Uncle Brown had lengthened the camp stay to eight whole weeks?" the dreamy look that Shane assumed at that moment told Nate that once again, Shane was thinking about Mitchie. If he stopped and thought about it, he really couldn't blame the guy. With as rough a tour schedule as Connect Three had, Shane had a tough time staying in touch with Mitchie. Most long distance relationships would have frayed and broken by this point, but Mitchie remained flexible and so far, everything was good.
"I hadn't forgotten," Nate reassured him. "Your uncle also said that they had added another dance category. Care to give us a hint?"
Shane shrugged. "Wish I could, but my uncle didn't tell me anything more than he told you." Shane grinned. "I did notice, though, that you're signed up for the break dancing classes."
Nate shrugged, unwilling to give anything away. "What can I say? I like to breakdance instead of break heads."
Shane grinned, happy to see the illusive comedian aspect of his friend return once more. "The music industry is that bad, huh?" he asked.
"You don't feel the need every now and then to bang two people's heads together for being idiotic?" Nate asked, mock surprise written on his face.
Shane shook his head. "Nope. I feel it every day."
Jason shook his head sadly. "You're both very violent," he remarked. Nate and Shane exchanged smiles and said nothing.
"Who knows?" Shane said nonchalantly. "Maybe you'll meet someone interesting at camp this year. After all, we're campers and not counselors. We can mingle."
Nate rolled his eyes. "You're not getting me to go on another one of your "mingling" blind dates. I've had enough of girls. All I want is to go up to camp, learn some interesting new moves, and dance and sing at Final Jam. That's it." The tone of his voice warned Shane that the subject was old and had been regurgitated too many times. He let it go.
After that, the ride to the venue was rather quiet. Nate's mood seemed to hang over everyone like a dark cloud, and he knew it. Why was it always him who tore apart the happiness? When he thought about it, Shane was only trying to make sure that he was happy. A part of him whispered that it was none of Shane's business, but another part warned that Shane was a good friend and was worried about him. He hadn't been himself for years now, and it was only after Shane met Mitchie that he began to notice and care. He should be happy about his friend's concern, and all he was doing was staring sullenly out a window!
"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I shouldn't be so moody." Shane brightened and Jason nodded his head vigorously, a goofy smile on his face now that everything was back to normal.
"No worries," Shane admonished. "Let's get out there, do the concert, and then it's off to Camp Rock for a whole summer!"
