Ch. 2 Introductions
Maggie POV
It was completely natural and expected that I would be cranky, even if I had managed to ace all my finals and finish off the year with a 97 GPA. The end of the school year normally meant the end of occupation, but not this year. Nope, this year I would be just as occupied as ever, but with music and creativity and all that fun stuff that I normally dedicated my free time to, not my normal time. Now my free time would be dedicated to my novel and my science, instead of it being the other way around. I would normally have been pissed and cranky about it, but Mitchie really wanted me to come, so I came. Besides, last summer we hadn't gotten our usual summer of awesomeness, so this summer would have to make up for it.
I sat at the window seat, with Mitchie in the middle and Aunt Connie in the driver's seat. I stared out of the window, watching the world fly by my eyes and so many places I wished to have stopped at and observe fly by me without a second thought. I sighed, imaging what I would normally be doing now if I had the blessing of being home. I probably would be driving out to work at the museum as a tour guide. I might stop at one of my sisters' apartments to say hi, or I might not. I might have breakfast (mmm McGrittles) or I might not. I would lead people on a tour of the Life through Time exhibit, and go through two of these tours before lunch. Then I would eat lunch one of the Museum's food places, a bag lunch if I had no cash, the vending machines if I had little cash, McDonalds if I had a decent amount of cash or the fancy restaurant if I had loads of cash. Then I would go and do three more tours before being off the clock and getting to go home for the day. Then I would probably write in my novel or play piano if the fancy suited me. Now I was up for chaos and total music immersion. I didn't know if I should be taking this as quietly as I was.
I sighed. I knew I was being insanely ungrateful to both Mitchie and Aunt Connie. I resolved, right then and there in the catering van, to be a mature person and enjoy this summer at Camp Rock. Mitchie was right; this would be an awesome summer all about music. I would finish my piano composition, work on my guitar skills and having genuine fun with my cousin, and maybe even finish my book. I wouldn't let thoughts of what might have been run through my head. Whenever those happened, after all, trouble usually followed my daydreaming.
I looked back over at my cousin, who was drumming the stereo and looking out the window in excitement. Aunt Connie was laughing and asking her to stop being so jumpy, she was trying to drive. I smirked and leaned over casually, trying to change the channel on the stereo.
"Hey!" Mitchie laughed, "I liked that song!" her outrage became even greater as I changed the channel to the alternative/rock channel, away from the pop music station.
"Ha!" I grinned. We both began a channel-changing fight, giggling and pushing each other in the long front seat.
"Hey! Both of you, sit still! I have to concentrate!" Connie sighed, "We have perishable food in the back!"
We both immediately calmed down and looked straight ahead, leaving the music on the Hip Hop channel (which we both sometimes liked and sometimes hated.) After a few seconds we looked at each other and burst into fresh giggles. Connie just rolled her eyes and continued driving.
Soon we pulled up to a place that looked like your typical camp; the woods surrounded a small campground next to a giant lake. There were some mountains covered with dense trees. I assessed the woods and decided that it was coniferous, my favorite. The camp itself had nice neat little wooden buildings, and we were pulling up to a giant drop-off area. Two busses pulled in behind us along with a couple of limos. The buses were okay, but the limos were intimidating me quite a bit.
Relax, Maggie. Mitchie warned you about this, I calmed down and grinned at Mitchie. We both rushed out of the van without another word to Connie, although I could hear her laugh from yards away. We rushed into the drop-off area, and Mitchie immediately began looking around as kids started getting off the buses.
Suddenly she squealed particularly loudly and rushed over to an Asian girl and two African-American girls, who were all talking together animatedly. They all squealed in response and entered a group hug, except for the taller and curly-haired African-American girl, who rolled her eyes and grinned at Mitchie. I walked over cautiously, worried that I would be intruding.
Mitchie turned to me, "Ella, Peggy, Lola, this is Maggie, my cousin."
"Hi, I'm Ella!" the Asian girl laughed. She looked like the sparkly typed, all decked out in a heart shaped shirt and loads of jewelry. She also had on quite a bit of makeup and sparkly nail polish. I smiled politely, "Hi, I'm Maggie."
The straight-longed haired African American grinned as well, "Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Peggy. Is your name Margaret, by any chance?" she laughed. She wasn't as glamorous as Ella, but she was wearing lip-gloss, a stylish shirt and nail polish.
"Yeah, Margaret Sara Kristen Dubois," I smiled.
"Sweet, another person named Margaret," Peggy laughed. I grinned and nodded, feeling her pain.
"And I'm Lola," the poofy-haired girl smiled, but not as eagerly as Peggy and definetly not as eagerly as Ella. She wasn't glamorous in the traditional sense, but she definetly had style. I nodded, smiling back at her. Mitchie immediately began gushing about her school year and Ella and Peggy gushed as well. Lola rolled her eyes at me, and I nodded with my own eye roll.
Suddenly a girl with curly brown hair, earrings and pretty awesome clothes (stuff that I would actually wear, for example) snuck over and tapped Mitchie on the back. She turned around, and both girls started screaming when they saw each other. I covered my ears and scrunched up my face in pain, annoyed that Mitchie was acting preppy today.
"Oh my God! Where were you?" Mitchie laughed.
"I was on the other bus, these losers got the first one," the girl grinned.
"Well, we have to find a cabin! Oh, this is Maggie," Mitchie turned to me. I rolled my eyes and smiled at the girl.
"Hi," I laughed, "I take it you're Caitlyn."
"Yup," she nodded, "It's nice to meet you, roomie."
I laughed out loud.
"Hey, where's Shane?" Caitlyn asked Mitchie, "I would think you would be attached to him."
Mitchie shrugged, "I'll find him eventually." I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Lola, Peggy and Ella walked off, talking about finding a cabin. I watched in amusement as Mitchie looked around anxiously without being conspicuous about it. I prayed that Shane would get here soon so that we wouldn't have to suffer through Mitchie's waiting any longer.
CampRock
Shane POV
The limo drove slowly; it seemed, down the highway. I bounced in my seat, unable to sit still. I was anxious and excited to see Mitchie again, after three long months on tour, and also excited to have a relaxing summer at Camp. There would be no lie-drama, no attitude-drama, just music and Mitchie, the two halves of my soul.
Nate glared at me from across the seat. He was annoyed with my constant bouncing. Nate was definetly a party pooper. Jason, on the other hand, was reading another book about birds, but this time about extinct ones. I would never be able to understand his fascination with birds.
"Hey, guys, did you know that the Elephant Bird laid the biggest eggs known to man?" Jason suddenly blurted out. I raised my eyebrows, managed to stop bouncing out of shock, and looked at Nate. He shrugged and shook his head, meaning that he didn't get it either.
"Oh, and the Do-Do Bird was actually driven to extinction by man! Well, that's stupid," Jason scowled, "Why would man kill the Do-Do bird anyway?"
"Got me, Jason," I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"Oh, this is quite interesting. Archaeopteryx was the first bird, but might not have evolved into the true birds, but was just a cousin of their direct ancestor! Wow. You learn something new every day," Jason sighed, then flipped to another page in his book. I groaned and looked over at Nate. He sighed and lay back in his seat, and I became insanely excited as I heard the talking and general mayhem of camp. The limo slowed to a stop, but without even waiting for the driver to open the door I burst out of the limo and ran to the cabin I would be sharing with my band mates, not even waiting up for them.
I entered the cabin and threw my things quickly on the bed. I ran back to the drop-off area, passing Nate and Jason carrying their own things as I went. I distinctly think Nate was rolling his eyes at me, but I couldn't care less. I searched the drop-off area frantically for Mitchie. I saw her mom's catering truck, and looking about I finally found her. Mitchie was laughing with Caitlyn, as predicted, her hair in a messy ponytail and her smile as wide as it had ever been. I felt my heart flip at the sight of her. Next to her, however, was a new girl. She was similar in appearance to Mitchie, but her brown hair was noticeably thicker. She was smiling shyly at Caitlyn; her hair in a side-swept ponytail. I immediately realized that this must be Mitchie's cousin Maggie.
I ran forward eagerly, parting the crowd as best I could. Mitchie finally looked up and saw me.
"Hey!" I called out as best I could. She rushed forward to me and we hugged each other tightly.
Ah, as Jason once said, much better.
We hugged for the longest time, I was breathing in her hair's scent and she was giggling into my shoulder. I felt so insanely happy that I couldn't think clearly even if I wanted to.
Finally, Mitchie pulled away, much to my annoyance.
"C'mon," she winked, "I have someone I'd like you to meet."
I shrugged and followed her like the lovesick puppy I was. Mitchie led me over to Caitlyn and who I presumed was Maggie, the latter giving me a questioning and amused look.
"Hey Caitlyn," I nodded to the curly-haired producer.
"Hey Shane," she grinned slyly, "glad to see you didn't meet any pretty French girls."
I chuckled, "Well, I did, but they were not nearly as pretty as Mitchie." I held Mitchie closer to me as she burst into fresh giggles.
"Shane, this is my cousin, Maggie," Mitchie began, "She's the lucky girl who got my mom's discount."
"Ah," I smiled at her warmly, "You'll have fun here."
"Sure," Maggie rolled her eyes in amusement. I could definetly see the resemblance to Nate as well as Mitchie.
Caitlyn looked from Mitchie to me in the silence that followed.
"Oh just go, Mitchie. I'll show Maggie around," Caitlyn rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Thanks," I answered for the both of us before Mitchie could get a word in edgewise. We walked off together to our area behind the kitchens, and since last year the trees had grown even more so the spot was even more secluded.
"If my cousin, who I believe I've mentioned is more like my twin, get's lost I'm blaming you, not Cait," she laughed as we sat down.
"I'll take it," I smirked, and finally after three long months leaned in to kiss her. She sighed and wrapped her arms around me, deepening the kiss. We kissed each other for a few more moments before I pulled back and buried my face in her hair.
"It was a long three months," I breathed. Mitchie giggled.
"Wow, Italian girls don't compete to me?" she chortled, hugging me tightly.
"Oh, come on," I groaned, officially annoyed with this particular question, "never."
Mitchie pulled back and smiled up at me, "That helps my ego."
"Glad to know," I breathed and kissed her again. This time it was shorter, and in amusement Mitchie pulled away.
"How many times can you kiss me?" Mitchie chuckled.
' "Just once more," I begged, leaning in. Mitchie rolled her eyes and deepened the kiss, causing my heart to beat wildly as it went on for a few more minuets.
Finally, she pulled away again.
"Good things come in moderation," Mitchie reminded me.
"Beauty should be overwhelming," I answered, kissing her neck.
"Too much candy makes an upset stomach," Mitchie giggled.
"More good music influences more good music," I replied, smirking.
"Aye carumba," Mitchie sighed, rolling her eyes and burying her face in my chest.
"Anyways, tell me more about your cousin. You haven't given me details over the phone," I paused, calming myself down.
"Maggie? Well, let's se… her full name is Margaret Sarah Kristen Dubois… she loves to play piano, write, compose, play guitar, paint, doodle, study science and history, read and design things… she's really unique, in a good way… erm… she's 17 and just finished her junior year, like me. She's my mom's niece, my closest cousin and my best friend since we were little; she has four older sisters and can speak Spanish fluently. Oh and her mom's Latina but her dad's Canadian, so she can also speak French. There you go," Mitchie smiled.
"Wow, amalgamation," I smirked.
Mitchie rolled her eyes, "You don't know the half of it."
I pulled her close, done again with all this talking. Three months had been torture. I know I probably said this already, but I don't care. I love her, and I was glad that I would be getting three months with her all the time to make up for my three months in Europe.
"I really missed you, Shane," Mitchie murmured into my neck, "You weren't just across the country… you were across the Atlantic… who knows what could have happened," She sighed, burying herself closer to me.
I sighed helplessly, "I barely could handle it. I love you, Mitchie," I breathed, glad to finally say those words after so long.
She looked up at me with that large smile of hers, "I love you too, Shane."
I pulled her in for another kiss, but briefer this time. I knew we couldn't get caught here, behind all these trees and buildings and alone, no matter how famous I was.
We pulled back and laughed simultaneously.
"C'mon," Mitchie stood up, "I've got to show my cousin around, and Caitlyn, Maggie and I need to find our own cabin."
"What about Lola?" I asked with a smirk, following her.
"Peggy and Ella are moving into her cabin cause Jade is in college now, and Caitlyn offered to move out and be with me, but we knew we needed another cabin-mate so I asked Maggie, and the rest you knew," Mitchie said all this in a rush, but I had learned how to decipher Mitchie's speed talking early on.
"How close is said cabin to the counselor's complex?" I grinned cockily. Mitchie slapped me on the arm.
"Hey! I was just joking!" I groaned, rubbing my arms as we reached the drop-off area.
"I know," she smirked, "Just making sure you don't get any ideas. But I don't know yet, we haven't picked one."
Caitlyn came running up then, grinning at us excitedly.
"Maggie and I found the perfect cabin, Maggie's setting up and stuff," Caitlyn rushed.
"Cool, which one?" Mitchie grinned.
"Cabin Stones!" Caitlyn laughed.
"You mean the one next to Barron and Sander's cabin, which is next to the counselor complex?" Mitchie gasped.
"That's the one! And it has a bunk bed, a single bed and a huge area for my keyboard! Maggie called the bottom bunk and I called the single, just so you know," Caitlyn continued.
"Awesome, she remembered I like the top bunk! Well, I have to go settle in, but I'll see you soon Shane," Mitchie leaned up and abruptly kissed me on the cheek before running off with Caitlyn.
I sighed and smiled, watching them go.
This summer will be brilliant.
AN: Hey everyone! I forgot to put this on the last chapter, but I love reviews. They make me happy, which makes me write more, which makes me update faster, which gives you guys more story, which makes you review, which makes me happy… it's a cycle of goodness. So please review! :-)
