"Nate," Ivy mumbled, face flushing. She couldn't hold back the emotions anymore. She took a step back, bumping into some pots and pans. She fumbled with the cookware, as the others watched on awkwardly, Mitchie wishing she could do something for her.

"I'm, um, I'm just going to go..." Ivy trailed off, feelings hot tears of embarassment, as she ran out of the kitchen.

"Ivy, wait!" Mitchie called out uselessly, but didn't chase after her. She knew Ivy would need some time to compose herself.

Once the back door slammed shut, a voice exploded.

"What the hell is she doing here?!"

Mitchie whipped around, surprised to hear it was Jason's voice. Sweet, innocent, funny, naive, Jason.

"She - She's working here this summer. Helping my mom out in the kitchen," Mitchie stuttered, still shocked by the pure venom in Jason's voice. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're teaching classes here this summer," Shane answered, placing a cautionary hand on Jason's shoulder. "I wanted to surprise you. I should've told you."

"It's not your fault, Shane," Nate said in a soft voice.

Mitchie kept looking at the back door, obviously still worried for her cousin.

"Go on, Mitchie," Shane said softly. "We'll catch up later. We should probably go unpack first anyway." Mitchie gave her boyfriend an appreciative as the rock band left the kitchen.

Once Mitchie exited the back door, she found Ivy sitting on the patio, knees curled up to her chest as tears poured down her face. Mitchie instantly wrapped her arms around her.

"I shouldn't have come here," Ivy sobbed. "Nothing good is going to come out of this summer. Especially with them here."

"You heard Jase?" Mitchie said more like a statement rather than a question.

Ivy nodded. "He -- He has every right -- to be angry with me," she sobbed. "But -- it still hurts. To hear sweet, innocent, Jason like that. At me."

"He doesn't know the truth," Mitchie tried to console. "Now, come on. Wipe your tears and wash your face. Let me introduce you to some of the other campers."

xoxoxo

"Guys, I want to introduce you to my cousin slash best friend, Ivy. She's helping out my mom in the kitchen this summer," Mitchie introduced to a crowd of teenagers. "This is Caitlyn, Peggy, Ella, Lola, Barron, and Sander."

"It's nice to meet you," Ivy replied politely, a fake smile on her lips. She politely shook hands with Mitchie's camp friends. However, when she came to Sander, he brought her hand to his lips, much like her first encounter with Nate. The memory whirled around her thoughts as tears welled up. But seeing his flirtatious smile made her feel something she hadn't felt in a while: just plain old good about herself.

"I'll have to keep my eye on you," Ivy winked, feeling a genuine smile replace the fake one. She noticed Mitchie raise an intrigued brow.

"Oh, so when I was the kitchen help, it ruined your rep just to be at the same table with me, but now that my cousin's the kitchen help, it's acceptable to hit on her?" Mitchie teased.

Sander held up his hands in defense as the others laughed, Ivy watching in confusion. "Don't put Barron's words in my mouth." They all laughed.

"Oh, so did you hear?" Caitlyn announced excitedly. "Connect 3's here this summer to teach some classes."

And just like that, her good mood disappeared as her shoulders slumped, fighting to keep the fake smile in place. Mitchie shot her a worried look. Nobody else had seemed to notice.

"You must've met them, right?" Caitlyn asked, turning to Ivy. "Everyone knows they stayed in your hometown so Shane could be close to Mitchie."

"Yeah," Ivy forced in a small voice. "They're all cool guys."

"There they are! Hey guys! Over here!" Caitlyn called out. Ivy felt her stomach drop to her toes, seeing no escape.

"Hey, Cait."

Ivy's heart joined her stomach as Nate reached to give Caitlyn a hug. Cait?

He froze momentarily, noticing that Ivy was there, but then regained his composure and acted as if nothing were the matter.

"You guys are friends?" Mitchie asked, apparently just as surprised as Ivy.

"Yeah, we met a couple summers back, before Connect 3 was big. And we've just recently been in touch again," Caitlyn explained with a smile.

Ivy tried her hardest to focus her attention on that single lone tree in the far distance and fight back the sudden urge to punch Caitlyn in the face. She wouldn't want to get sent home on her first day on the job. Wait a minute, the summer was bound to suck anyway, so maybe...

"Ivy?" Shane repeated. Ivy snapped out her daze and glanced over at Jason who was glaring at her, before shifting her attention to Shane, apparently the only Connect 3 member that didn't have an issue with her. Which reminded her, she needed to have a little talk with Mitchie about keeping her mouth shut...

"Sorry, Shane," Ivy apologized. "I guess I'm still in shock that I'm actually here at Camp Rock, ya know?" She offered him a weak smile. "Actually, I think I'm going to go head to my cabin and unpack, maybe get a nap in before I actually have to work. It was nice meeting you all."

"Why don't I accompany you? You never know what could be lurking in these woods," Sander offered. Barron and Lola rolled their eyes at their friend's obvious attempt to spend some time alone with their new friend.

"Yeah, sure," Ivy said. She just needed to get away from Nate and Caitlyn, fast.

As they walked away side by side, only Mitchie noticed Nate's face flinch ever so subtly as he watched Sander oh-so-casually throw his arm around Ivy's shoulders.

This was going to be an interesting summer indeed.

xoxoxo

"So, Ivy, how'd you get roped into working this summer?" Sander asked casually, arms swinging by his side. Ivy had playfully pulled out of his embrace, feeling someone's gaze burning her back as they had walked away.

Ivy shrugged. "Nothing to do. Needed to get away. At least this way, I get paid to spend the summer with my best friend."

"Needed to get away?" Sander asked. Boy, was he sharp. "What do you mean?"

"I went through a pretty bad break-up," Ivy answered after a moment. "It's a long story." And still not finished, she thought.

"We've got all summer," Sander offered, smiling.

She smiled back. "I might take you up on that sometime," she said. It wouldn't hurt to have another friend at camp, would it? "But I'm really drained."

"Alright," Sander said. "Will you be at Open Mic tonight?"

"Open Mic?" Ivy inquired.

"Yeah, it's where some of the campers can show off a bit. There are other jams, too, throughout the summer for us to showcase some of our skill, leading up to Final Jam at the end of the summer."

"I see. Well, I'll try and make it," Ivy smiled.

"It's a date," Sander winked, before walking off.

Ivy smiled to herself. Maybe the summer wouldn't be so bad, after all?

So here's the first chapter of Rainy Cloud! Much thanks to ashl3yj0nas43v3r for the title suggestion! I just took one of them and shortened it :) I want to thank everyone so much for the support! As I type this, I already have 14 reviews, 7 faves, and 29 alerts on thie story! :D

I just want to let you know that I wrote this chapter when I should have been writing my two essays that I need to have done in like a week. That's how much I love you. So please return the love by continuing with the AWESOME reviews!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ivy and the plot.

xoxoxo