A/N: Thank you so much for you really nice reviews! I'm glad that you guys liked this story. I just had to update for you guys! I hope you like this chapter too :)

2. Regret

After the big split up between Mitchie and Shane, Mitchie decided that it was best if she left Hollywood and moved back to the quiet neighborhoods of her old hometown in Dallas, Texas. She would get her old job back at Barney's Burgers and serve fast food everyday like she did when she was a teenager before that glorious summer at Camp Rock. Everyday she would provide those hungry and disputatious customers with that disgusting thing they called food with no complaint. But the only reason why Mitchie kept that routine going on was because she thought that it was for the best.

Well, she thought.

Mitchie may act like she's completely content with her job, her position, her life even; but really, everyday as she scribbled messily on that notepad, trying to remember the table number and the orders, she knows that her life is like a living hell for her. It was like she had no reason anymore. There were no more dreams to pursue. Life wasn't worth living.

Mitchie could remember when she was bigger than life. She could remember when she was on her way up – no, she was already up there at the very top. And no one could possibly pull her down. (As she thought.) Mitchie could easily evoke when she was directly under that luminous spotlight and every single pair of eyes were on her. People around the world screamed her name, "Mitchie! Mitchie! Mitchie!" That was almost as beautiful as the sound of music in Mitchie's ears.

But that was all in the past. Mitchie needed to snap back in to reality because there was no way that her stardom was ever going to repeat in her lifetime again. She was washed up, unremembered, uncared for. No one could probably recall the name, 'Mitchie Torres' anymore.

Because of Shane Gray and that big split up, Mitchie was nothing.

Mitchie sighed longingly as she stood behind the counter and waited for a customer to come in. She's been in that position for about three hours, and no one was coming. She glanced at the manager, Victoria, hinting her that no one was going to show up, and they should go home. But Victoria was oblivious and kept on counting the money greedily in the register. Mitchie groaned and laid her head on the counter, close to falling asleep.

It's Saturday night. No one in their right mind would come here at Saturday night! Why doesn't this stupid place just close for today, so I could go home?! Mitchie yelled in her mind, frustrated.

As if the world turned around, the door opened. Mitchie's head shot up, but she instantly placed it back down on the counter once she saw who it was. "Oh, God," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Tracey, go home." Mitchie ordered her little sister. Tracy frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"Is that any way to treat a customer?" she asked, smirking at her older sister and at the manager at the same time.

"No, but it is a way to treat my irritating little sister." Mitchie shot back. Tracy stuck her tongue out, making Mitchie do the same. "Okay, so what do you want? Shouldn't you be home? Does Mom or Dad know that you're here?" Mitchie asked. Tracy rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, they know. Stop acting so overprotective on me." Tracy said, shaking her head in annoyance. "Now, the reason why I'm here is because I need a teensy weensy favor." Tracy squeaked, putting on her best innocent baby sister voice. Mitchie raised an eyebrow at her and eyed her carefully.

"Okay and what is this 'teensy weensy favor'?" Mitchie asked carefully.

"Well…let me just show you." Tracy pulled out two concert tickets from her back pocket. She slowly handed them to her older sister, nervously waiting for her reaction.

Mitchie looked at the tickets, unmoving. She felt like her breath got stuck in her throat and her heart stop beating. Mitchie gulped and dropped the tickets back onto the counter almost out of fear. "Connect 3." She whispered.

"Okay, before you go all ballistic and start yelling at the top of your lungs, listen to me first!" Tracy said as Mitchie was about to open her mouth again. Mitchie sent daggers at Tracy's way, wanting so badly to rip those concert tickets apart. "It's my sixteenth birthday this weekend, if you forgot." Mitchie's anger soothed down. She did forget. Every year she forgot. "And this is all I want for my birthday. Mom and Dad can't take me since they have work, and my friends won't come with me because they rather dig a hole in a mount of crap and die than listen to Connect 3. Leaving only you as my last resort coming with me to this concert."

"Tracy, I'll buy you a TV, a laptop, a cell phone, an iPod, a car, or a freaking house! But I will not go anywhere within a hundred feet with that guy! Let alone, go to one of his concerts! Never, ever, ever, ever! No!" Mitchie said sternly. Tracy pouted and got down on her knees. She clasped her hands together as if she was praying and gave Mitchie the sweetest look she could put on. "No! You're not going to win like that! I'm not going to their concert, Tracy, and that's final!"

"Mitchie, why on earth are you yelling at this girl?" Victoria asked. Mitchie gritted her teeth and stood still, glaring ahead of her. Victoria looked down at Tracy. "And why are you on the floor? Are you going to order anything?" she asked, attempting to sound outgoing and kind. Tracy rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'm standing now, happy?" she retorted.

"Mitchie, we're closing now." Victoria said indignantly, completely ignoring Tracy. Mitchie nodded and hung her apron. She then grabbed her bag and Tracy's wrist and dragged them both outside to the parking lot. Tracy frowned, knowing that now she was going to receive an earful.

"I just don't understand why you still like them! You do remember what their stupid lead singer did to me years ago, right?!" Mitchie yelled.

"Key word: years ago. God, Mitchie, stop being a paranoid whiner! It's not like we're actually going to see them up close and personal! I bought middle seats, crappy middle seats, in the worst rows ever! Gigantic posters will be hung everywhere in sight, making it almost impossible for us to see them, and you will not be seen by Shane freaking Gray!" Mitchie froze at the sound of his name. She closed her eyes and choked back a sob before walking back to her car in a slower pace.

"I'll still have to listen to his stupid voice." She muttered.

"Oh, then bring your iPod or something! Please, I just need you come with me to this one concert, and I'll never ask you for anything else again." Tracy said, calming down. She just couldn't raise her voice at Mitchie while seeing her devastated again. Mitchie didn't reply but just merely shrugged. "If it makes you feel better, the only reason why I want to watch the concert is because of Jason and Nate. I mean, I still love Connect 3. But don't get me wrong, I hate…him just as much as you do."

The two sisters stopped in front of the car. Mitchie stared down at the concrete as she pondered on whether to accompany Tracy to the concert or not. Mitchie sighed and unlocked her car. "Fine, I'll go to that stupid concert with you." She mumbled before getting into the car and slamming it in front of Tracy's face. Mitchie jumped to hear Tracy squealing and jumping up and down excitedly, clapping her hands merrily.

"I'm going to see Connect 3!" she shrieked. Mitchie rolled her eyes and started the ignition. She signaled Tracy to get into the car before she drove off and left her all alone in the streets.


Shane weakly strummed his guitar, playing a terrible sound. Why would it matter anyway? There was no magic, no inspiration, no love. Shane set his guitar aside and lay down on the hotel bed. He looked out of the window but immediately regretted it once he did. Outside, he could see the same church where he and Mitchie were supposed to be married. A pang hit Shane's chest, and he felt like he was close to tears again. He closed his eyes and frowned, grasping the pillow next to him. He needed to hit something, rip it up to shreds.

Suddenly, the door opened. "Happy Saturday, Shane!" Jason greeted before plopping onto the bed next to his band member. "Today is our last concert of the tour! And this one sold out in four days! I guess Dallas must really love us." Jason chuckled. Shane turned and faced the other side. He placed a pillow on his head, trying to block out all noises coming from Jason. "So what are you going to do during our vacation? I told Nate that I wanted to go to China! Wouldn't that be cool to see the Great Wall?"

"And get pushed off by a bunch of overly obsessed Asian fan girls? Yeah, I don't think so. We might as well just stay in freaking LA." Shane responded sourly. Jason gave Shane a sympathetic look and stood up.

"I'll be going now." He said quietly. Jason slowly walked out of the suite wordlessly.

"Finally." Shane mumbled.

Jason entered Nate's suite. He found him lying on the bed with his Blackberry in his hands, typing quickly. "I think Shane's mad at me again." Jason whined, sitting down next to Nate. Nate scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"That guy's always mad. I thought you would be used to it by now." Nate replied back.

"No, let me rephrase that. I think Shane's sad again." Jason said. Nate stopped texting and gave Jason a confused look. He placed his cell phone on the nightstand and faced Jason.

"What do you mean?"

"Shane is getting killed in the inside, Nate. Think about it. We're in Dallas, where Mitchie lives. It's obvious that Shane's not over her. Plus, I think we accidentally booked in the wrong hotel. This is the same hotel name where Mitchie found Shane and that girl…"

"Oh shit." Nate groaned. "Dammit, Shane's gonna play horrible tonight and give everybody an even bitchier attitude."

Then the two heard a glass breaking. Nate and Jason instantly got up and ran to Shane's suite. They found him yelling into a pillow and a shattered lamp on the floor. Shane's brutal yells quickly turned into despondent cries. Soon enough, the pillow was sodden. Jason and Nate kneeled by Shane's side.

"Shane, are you okay?" Jason asked.

"What does it look like?! Of course I'm not okay!" Shane roared. Jason winced, and Nate glared at Shane. He was about to yell at him and defend Jason, but Jason shook his head no, signaling Nate to stop. Nate angrily backed away and folded his arms across his chest.

"It'll be alright. It's only one night and then we can go back to LA." Jason promised, patting Shane's arm. Shane was still discouraged.

"What if she sees me?!" he asked frantically.

"She won't see you, Shane. We're not even sure if she's living in Texas." Jason answered calmly.

"What if I run into her?!"

"You won't run into her.

"What if-"

"Shane, relax. Everything is going to be okay." Jason assured his band member. Shane nodded and wiped his tears away shamefully. Shane hated crying. It ruined his bad boy rockstar image. But he hated feelings more, especially sadness. "If you need us, just get us, okay?" Jason said. Shane nodded but kept his eyes away from the two. He couldn't believe that he cried – especially in front of Jason and Nate.

Jason pulled Nate and dragged him back to their suites, leaving Shane to stare blankly at the wide horizon of openness. Shane felt empty, weak, sad. He just wanted to rip all of that out and throw it out the window. But he couldn't. Doing that is the same thing as ripping Mitchie out of his brain and throwing her out of the window, out of his life. Shane couldn't do that. It was something that simply can't be done.

Shane felt his cell phone ringing. He reluctantly answered it to see Camille's name pop up on his caller ID. "Hey," he muttered, bored.

"Hi, sweetie! How's Dallas?" Camille asked. Shane grunted. "So do you miss me? Because I miss you so much! My bed is so lonely without you." Shane grimaced. He stared darkly at the broken vase, wishing that it was fixed so he could break it again.

"Yeah, I miss you too." He mumbled.

"You sound tired. Is my Shaney-waney overworking again? You know how much this rockstar stuff stresses you out. I tell you everyday to relax and take a breather, but you're always so tight and tense."

"I'm just tired, Camille." Shane replied bitterly. "I just got off the plane and it's really late here. I'm just going to go to bed." Shane lied. It was only evening and his concert was hours away.

"Oh, well good night! I love you!" Camille replied back, ignoring Shane's lies. Shane blinked, hating every time she said those words to him since she expected an 'I love you' back. But Shane couldn't give one back. Those three words were only reserved to one girl and one girl only. Shane took a deep breath.

"Good night, Camille." He said before hanging up.

It's not his fault that he doesn't love her. She just didn't complete him. She wasn't the harmony to his melody, the instruments to his music, the voice to his song, the lyrics to his music. Camille didn't even please Shane at all. But why did he even think about choosing her as his girlfriend? Well, she was the only one there. Camille was there when Shane was going through the rocky patches about the split up. She was his shoulder to cry on, she was his friend to vent to, and in time, she helped him stand on his two feet.

Being her boyfriend was the only thing Shane could do to thank her, for she loved him. No, she was desperately in love with him. Camille did things that she shouldn't have, but all is fair in love and war, right? So when Shane agreed to be her boyfriend, Camille was ecstatic. She didn't care that he didn't love her, she didn't give a damn whether or not Shane was happy with her or not. What mattered to her was that Shane Gray was with Camille Bells. And that was all.


"Oh, looks like there's no parking space! Let's go home-"

"Mitchie!" Tracy whined. Mitchie sighed, defeated once again, as she took another turn around the arena's parking lot. Tracy pressed her face against the window, darting her eyes in every corner, making sure that she will not miss an empty parking space. "There has to be a parking spot somewhere! The concert is in three hours! How can this place be already packed?" Mitchie snorted.

"You really thought that you would be early if you came in three hours in advance? We're at a Connect 3 concert, Trace. Three hours early is like coming in the last minute." Mitchie scoffed. She made another turn around, happy to see that there were no parking spaces available. Mitchie assumed that Tracy would just grow irritated and give up on the concert.

"Oh, I see one!" Tracy squealed. She was practically off her seat as she pointed frantically at the open car space. Mitchie groaned and parked her car into it. Before she even put the car in park, Tracy took off like a bullet. She was already half way down the parking lot when Mitchie was out of the car. Mitchie unwillingly ran after her crazy sister.

"Tracy Torres, get back here!" Mitchie yelled. She pulled her hood up and placed her sunglasses tightly around her eyes so that no one could recognize her. Mitchie tried not to act paranoid as teenage girls stared at her weirdly. But then again, she was running like a wild woman in the middle of a parking lot. "Tracy!" Mitchie screamed. Tracy finally stopped, causing Mitchie to bump into her, almost knocking both of them over. Mitchie panted and fanned herself, trying to catch her breath. "Run away from me again, and I'll leave you here." Mitchie threatened in between her breaths.

Tracy rolled her eyes and grabbed Mitchie's hand. "Come on, we need to get to our seats!" Tracy said, dragging Mitchie into the arena.

After showing their tickets, the sisters made their way into the stadium and took their seats. Mitchie looked around in awe. Every single seat in every single row in this immense stadium was filled. Not one inch of floor was uncovered. Mitchie looked around, smiling. The red velvety chairs, the balconies on top, the stage in the front. Mitchie closed her eyes, remembering the days when her concerts were packed like this. She could feel the music around her, touch the rhythm that was helping her, and taste the adrenaline in her mouth.

"Wow, there are a lot of people in here." Tracy commented, looking around. "Meaning that Shane can't possibly see you! See, everyone wins!" she said, elbowing Mitchie in the side. Mitchie glared at Tracy before standing up.

"I need to go to the bathroom really quick." She said.

"Hurry up! You don't want to miss the concert when it starts!" Mitchie shook her head.

Yes I do. She thought before walking into the back. Mitchie looked around, trying to find the bathroom. She played in this stadium before; she should know where the bathroom is. Mitchie frowned unhopefully to see that she was lost. Every step she took led her to a completely different place, and it seemed like there was no way back. Mitchie slowly made another move, hoping that she reached the bathroom or back at the stadium.

To her surprise, she ended up in a crowded hallway filled with musicians and other busy people. She tried to stealthily sneak her way back out, but every door and exit was either locked or blocked. Mitchie bit her lip and spun around, trying to find another way out. She kept on walking forward, telling herself to not make eye contact with anyone. She adjusted her sunglasses awkwardly, trying to look as normal and invisible as possible.

"Where is my freaking microphone?! I am not using these shitty ones!" Mitchie heard a voice yell. Immediately, the entire back stage quieted down. Mitchie stopped moving. She felt her heart racing and sweat droplets forming in her forehead. "Where the hell is it?! Why don't you people do your jobs and find it! I'm not playing with crappy microphones!" his voice sounded closer. Mitchie closed her eyes tightly, hoping that she was no where near him. She then heard footsteps. From the corner of her eye, Mitchie saw Shane Gray himself, walking towards her. "You, get me my microphone." He ordered, pointing at her.

As much as Mitchie wanted to kick Shane and slap him for being such a needy prick, she felt overpowered, weak, but worst of all, scared. Shane Gray was mad – no, beyond pissed. Mitchie has known Shane long enough what to do and what not to do in a situation like this. Only a fool would stand up to him right now. "M-me?" Mitchie whispered, praying to Christ that he was speaking the person next to her. Shane rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Yes you. Now go get them! I have a concert to play!" he roared. Mitchie stumbled back, her eyes widening. Honestly, she has never seen Shane this angry in a while. Yes, she's seen him act like a complete asshole but never this mad. Mitchie continued to stay in place, her body frozen. "Do you want to get fired?!" Shane threatened.

"I – I – uh…" Mitchie stuttered.

"Wait, she doesn't work here." One of the other workers pointed out. Shane's glare softened only slightly. He looked carefully at Mitchie, his eyes moving down to up.

"Then what the hell is she doing here? Security!"

"I just need to find the bathroom!" Mitchie whined. "God, you're such a spoiled jerk of a popstar! I mean, you're picking on a person who happened to get lost in this stupid stadium in one of your stupid concerts!" Mitchie closed her mouth, regretting what she just said. Shane gave Mitchie an incredulous look. Everyone in backstage looked at Mitchie as well, disbelieving. They couldn't believe their ears.

"Who are you and what gives you the right to talk to me like that?" Shane asked shakily. He almost wanted to hit this girl in front of him. "And it's rockstar not popstar!" Shane exclaimed.

"In my world, you're just a cookie-cutter-popstar." Mitchie spat back. She covered her mouth with her hand, wishing that she could stop thinking out loud. Shane blinked at Mitchie, shocked. He only knew one person who referred him as a cookie-cutter-popstar. Shane's cold dark eyes completely softened out, his edgy body loosened, and his scrunched up angry face alleviated. "I – um – where is the bathroom?" Mitchie asked quickly, desperately wanting to go now.

Shane slowly reached out towards Mitchie. He pulled her hood down, revealing Mitchie's straight brown hair. Shane felt his heart beating faster and faster as realization zoomed through his mind. Mitchie looked down, hoping that Shane would stop there. To her dismay, Shane pulled her sunglasses away from her eyes. He gasped once he saw what was hiding behind that disguise.

Nate and Jason arrived into the hallway, Nate looking annoyed again while Jason looked perky as always. "Shane, I can't believe you're yelling at these people again-" Nate stopped before he could finish his sentence. He looked at Jason before back at Shane and Mitchie.

"Mitchie!" Jason exclaimed, running over to her to hug her. Mitchie stumbled into the hug but smiled and patted Jason's back. "It's been so long since the last time I saw you!" he said. Apparently, Jason is the only one who wasn't in shock. "So how's it going? And why are you here? I wouldn't think that you would come to one of our concerts."

"Oh…well it's my little sister's birthday and this is what she wanted so…um…" Mitchie said uneasily. Her eyes were planted firmly on the floor because she knew that Shane was staring right at her, probably still gaping. Mitchie glanced up to see that she was right. Seeing his eyes on her, knowing that it actually is her, was something Mitchie couldn't handle. "The bathroom?" she asked weakly, knowing that was her only excuse. But now, she can't find the urge to go.

"Someone take her to the bathroom." Shane ordered. He looked around himself, seeing that nobody has still moved an inch. "Now." He said. Immediately, four people rushed towards Mitchie, personally escorting her into one of the bathrooms in the stadium.

Shane frowned and trudged back into his dressing room. He couldn't believe himself. The one person he couldn't stand seeing get hurt just got yelled at painfully by him. Shane couldn't stand the fear Mitchie expressed when he raised his voice at her. He would rather have her hate him than be afraid of him. Shane groaned and buried his face into his hands, muttering curse words.

"I can't believe Mitchie ended up here! Isn't that so cool?" Shane heard Jason say. Shane looked up to see Nate and Jason already next to him. "She still looks really pretty…but scared? Shane, what did you do to her?" Jason asked. Shane opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, telling them that he didn't mean to yell at her like that. But he was too caught up in shock to even speak. Jason frowned and gave Shane a stern look. "She was the one you were yelling at, wasn't she?" he asked.

"I didn't know it was her-"

"You weren't supposed to be yelling in the first place!" Nate cut him off. He groaned, aggravated, and rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to treat people with respect, Shane, not like they're some piece of worthless crap. And you freaked out because they had the wrong microphone? What the hell is up with you?! You know, right now, I'm glad that Mitchie has sense to stay away from someone like you!"

Shane didn't punch Nate. He didn't yell at him, telling him off angrily. Instead, he sighed, totally agreeing with his band member. Mitchie needed someone with self-control, someone with a heart. Shane sadly doesn't have those anymore. "I want her back." Is what Shane said instead. His voice so desperate, so hopeless, so alone. Nate's irritated look disappeared while Jason gave Shane a solemn look. "I need her back. She belongs to me. She has always been mine! I want her back!" Shane said, sounding like a whiny child who didn't get what he wanted.

"Shane, Mitchie isn't just a piece of property you own. You can't just get her back that easily." Nate said, his voice soothing and soft.

"I don't care! I want her back!" Shane said.

"Shane, you can't always get what you want." Shane frowned and folded his arms across his chest.

"We'll see about that."


Mitchie was escorted back to her seat by one of Shane's workers. As she sat down, Mitchie felt the biggest need to just ditch Tracy and run all the way back home. She couldn't be here since Shane knows that she's within a mile radius of him. Mitchie needed a way out, an escape from Shane his ability to push her into a whirlwind of depression. She doesn't want Shane anywhere near her. And she definitely does not want to be that poor sap that is getting yelled at by Shane Gray again.

"Are you okay?" Tracy asked. Mitchie snapped out of her fear and looked at her sister. "You've been in the bathroom for a long time. I wouldn't expect a long line since the concert is starting soon." Tracy said anxiously. She was worried about her older sister since Mitchie looked like a paranoid wreck.

"Oh…um…I got lost. No biggie." Mitchie muttered back. Tracy nodded, knowing that Mitchie wasn't telling the whole story, but she ignored it. Tonight was her birthday, and she was going to celebrate it in the best ways possible.

Music began to blast from the speakers and lights shot up throughout the stadium. Everyone stood up and began to cheer for Connect 3. Mitchie winced and grabbed her iPod. She turned the music up to its loudest, hoping that it could beat the noise from the speakers and the screaming fans. Mitchie sighed in discontent as the unwanted noise around her was still louder than her iPod. Mitchie decided to put her iPod away and just watch the concert. She has nothing to lose this time.

Bright sparkling lights boomed and smoke pervaded the stage. Connect 3 themselves rose up from the stage, earning piercing screams from every girl from the stadium. Mitchie raised an eyebrow, noticing Shane's smile. It wasn't forced or faked. It was a true, genuine, happy smile. Shane Gray – happy? Impossible.

"Hello, Dallas! Are you ready tonight?!" Shane asked excitedly into the microphone. It was like all of that anger washed away and replaced itself with something else. Something un-Shane like. Normally, it was Jason or Nate who greeted the city. It was always them who looked like they were ready to have the time of their lives. Not Shane. Never Shane.

Mitchie blinked. She also couldn't help but notice how Shane's eyes looked like they were directly on her. But she was far away. He couldn't spot her from this distance. Though, it still seemed like Shane kept on staring and staring at her. And his eyes didn't move anywhere else for the rest of the concert.