A/N: This is the only update I had a chance of finishing before I head out for the day. So I did and here it is. I'm going to try to finish some of the others later, but who knows how late I'll be out and I have to go to bed early because tomorrow is black friday and I'm absolutely going shopping. So. Yeah. I'll see what I can do. Happy Thanksgiving!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or places you recognize from Camp Rock. Their characters may be tweaked a bit, but hopefully not too much.

"Come on Mitchie!" Caitlyn calls excitedly. "Time to get ready for your date! He'll be here in, oh crap, in an hour! We have to hurry."

"What's the point?" I groan but get off the couch anyway. I drag myself to my room and throw on jeans and a cute sweater; I have no intention of impressing Nate.

"You don't actually think you're wearing that do you?" Caitlyn asks as she looks over my choice of clothes.

"That's exactly what I think," I nod.

"Mitchie, those aren't date clothes. Those are lazy day clothes."

"Look Cait, I'm only going on this date because he cornered me in to it. I don't actually want to, he knows that. So sorry for not worrying about impressing him."

"I don't care if you want to impress him or not. I won't let you go on your first post-Shane date in a pair of jeans and a sweater."

"But I-"

"Please?" Caitlyn pouts. "For me?"

"Fine," I sigh. It's worthless to argue with her when she's willing to pout.

"Yes!"

"Nothing over the top though," I warn her.

"I know just what to pick!" Caitlyn says excitedly running to my closet.

After many debates we finally settled on a simple pink, flowy dress with a solid thick ribbon under the chest tied into a bow. Once that was done Caitlyn forced me in to a chair to apply my make up and fix my hair, saying that if I did it myself I wouldn't get the right effect – like that mattered. Needless to say, by the time Nate arrived to pick me up I was grumpier then ever with Caitlyn.

"Okay! That's him Mitch," Caitlyn smiles rushing me towards the door. "Now be nice! And smile," she adds before shoving me at the door and hiding from site.

I grumble but open the door regardless.

"You look great Mitchie," he greets, offering me a bouquet of lilies.

I roll my eyes but accept them. "Thanks Nate. Let me take care of these and we can go."

"You can be excited Mitchie," he calls after me. "It's okay, I know you are."

"You wish!" I call back over my shoulder, a small smirk on my face.

Once I'm sure I'm out of his sight I bring the flowers to my nose and inhale deeply. Lilies are my favorite flowers. They're so much more elegant to me than a rose any day. I briefly wonder if he knew I like them better or if he got them by luck before placing them in a vase and returning to him.

"Ready?" he smiles.

"Let's go," I sigh.

The car ride was quiet. Nate tried to start a conversation a few times, but I mostly ignored him so he gave up. It wasn't until we pulled up outside of a fancy resturant that he turned to look at me.

"Look Mitchie," he sighs. "I know you don't want to be here. I know things with Shane are still bothering you."

"It doesn't bother me," I mutter.

"But we're friends Mitchie," he goes on like he didn't hear me. "You might not want to be on a date with me but we've been friends for four years now. You're making this more difficult then it has to be."

With that he opened the door and handed his keys to the valet, walking around to open my door for me. I smiled at the gentlemanly gesture and surprised him by taking the arm he offered as he walked me to the door. He was right. We were friends, had been for four years. Just because he got on my nerves when I wanted to be alone last night didn't mean I had to be a grump the whole night. Neither of us would have a good time if that were the case. The least I could do was try to have a good time, for both of our sakes.

Once we were seated at our reserved table – which I was, for some reason, surprised to find was in a secluded area – he looked at me curiously, his head tilted just the slightest bit to the side.

"This is a nice place Nate," I smile, lifting my menu and making a mental note to thank Caitlyn for not letting me wear the jeans. "Thank you for bringing me."

He doesn't say anything and I look up to see he's still looking at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing," he shakes his head with a small smile. "That was just a quick change."

"Oh please," I roll my eyes. "I can be grumpy again if you'd like. I wouldn't mind."

"I'll take you this way thanks," he smirks.

"Look Nate, you were right," I begin to explain, placing my menu down. "We're friends; I don't need to make this difficult. Unless you're seriously delusional you know full well that once this date ends we'll go back to being friends. End of story. Now let's enjoy our dinner."

I pick my menu back up and he soon follows my lead.

"So how you been Mitch?" he asks after we placed our orders. "It's been about a month since we've really talked much."

And he was right. For the last month before the wedding I pretty much locked myself away in my own little world. Some nights I'd cry because Tess was getting my happily ever after. Other nights I'd devour any book I can get my hands on, trying to get lost in the fictional worlds. In the more recent nights before the wedding though I'd give myself pep talks. I had to prepare myself to go to his wedding and act like I was happy. I was happy for him, don't get me wrong, I just wished I could share that happiness with him the way Tess could. Ha, and here I thought I was done being jealous of Tess years ago.

"Mitchie?" Nate broke through my thoughts.

"Sorry, my mind was wandering."

Nate nodded and I had a feeling he knew exactly where my thoughts had gone.

"So what have you been up to?" he repeats.

"The usual, you know, song writing, reading, a little shopping."

Nate nods again and this time I could see the sympathy in his eyes.

"Knock it off Nate," I mutter, suddenly annoyed.

"Knock what off?" he asks, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"Stop pretending like you know what I'm thinking. And before you even say it," I continue when I see him open his mouth to respond. "It doesn't bother me."

Nate nods and there was a long silence – accompainied by our meals arriving – before either of us spoke again.

"I'm just going to say one thing and I'll drop the subject okay?" I nod. "The only reason I know it bothers you is because you let it bother you. I'm in love with someone you know. And she's in love with someone else. I don't let it bother me though. Because if I let it bother me I'd dwell on it, then I'd miss out on a lot of things. So just think about that, then let me know when you're ready to pick this date back up."

Nate didn't say another word, forcing me to think about what he said. He was right I knew. I missed what could have been a lot of good times over the past year. And why? Just because Shane decided he didn't love me anymore? When did I become the girl who depended on a guy for happiness and a good time? He went on with his life, I mean, he just got married for crying out loud! I was done. I'd move on. I'd start to have fun and fully experience life again. Starting with this date… which was practically over. Great going Mitchie! Just when you decide to get over it you're finishing your meals and nearly going home.

"Hey Nate, I-"

"Can I interest you two in some dessert this evening?" the waitress cut in. You just got to love her timing.

"No, I believe we're all set," he declines.

"Actually," I speek up, causing them both to turn to me. "May we see the menu?"

The waitress nods and goes to get it while Nate continues to stare at me.

"You don't mind do you?" I ask uncertainly.

"No, I just thought you'd want to go home."

"I'm in no rush," I grin.

It took a few moments, but he smiles back, understanding that his words finally got through to me.

"Dessert it is then."

We chatted away while picking at the desserts we'd ordered. When I didn't have much to say because my life had been seriously lacking he'd fill the silence with random, and hilarious, stories about his days galavanting all around with Jason and Shane. Often, telling a tale of Jason doing something silly. I told my few stories, usually centering around random interactions with Caitlyn or who ever popped up in the studio. By the time we were outside waiting for the valet to get the car I wasn't in any mood to go home. I actually wanted to be on this date with Nate now.

"Hey Nate?" I ask excitedly, climbing in the door he held open for me. I waited until he was in his own seat before continuing. "How about we go bowling?"

"In that dress Mitchie?" he raises an eyebrow.

"I can pull it off," I shrug. "Come on it'll be fun. I haven't bowled in forever! And it's one of those all night bowling nights too isn't it? With the DJ and the cool lights and everything?"

"Yeah it is," he chuckles. "And if you want to go I'm up for it."

"Yes please!" I beam at him.

"Bowling it is then," he nods, smiling.

I was excited. Bowling was certainly not on the list of things that I'd done post-Shane. Caitlyn was a terrible bowler and adamently refused to go so even if I felt like going I wouldn't have been able too. I have Nate now though. And Nate is a good bowler and would probably go with me even if he weren't just to keep me out longer.

"I won't go easy on you just because you're my date," Nate warns when he finally pulls in to the bowling alley.

"Like you have any chance of beating me," I say teasingly.

"You'll regret saying that Mitchie Torres, mark my words," he teases back.

I forgot Nate was the competitive one. I was about to get my butt kicked, no contest. This should be good.

A/N: So that's chapter 2. I know it wasn't terribly eventful, but chapter 3 should be quite fun.