I hope you're enjoying the other two chapters. I'll probably upload a couple more within the next few days. Please review. I have a number of pre-written chapers and reviewing encourages me to upload faster.
It was lunch time on the day of a concert in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Shane had, as was his custom, shown up late to catering. As he looked around at the tables and chairs, he saw that only a handful were occupied.
He stepped towards the now cold entrees and took a little of everything left. As he turned around and searched for a seat to best serve his desire for seclusion, he spotted Mitchie. On pure instinct alone, his feet led him to her and he took a spot on her left. She had noticed him the moment he had stepped into the catering tent, but her current state of mind prevented her from calling out to him.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, hey there, Mitchie," he managed to stammer out.
"Hi, Shane," she responded unenthusiastically.
Shane became increasingly puzzled. Their friendship was somewhat new as it had only been as old as the tour they were currently on, which last week had reached its two month milestone. And while that might not be that lengthy, they had spent much of their free time confiding in one another and develop a routine together. This wasn't the way they were with one another.
"Is…Is something wrong? Are you mad at me?" he asked, feeling alarmed.
She looked up at him with a stricken expression. "No, of course not. You could never make me mad at you. I'm so sorry for making you think that. I've just had a terrible day," she said with an apologetic tone.
"Really? I could never make you mad at me? I'm going to spread Nutella all over your entire wardrobe and then remind you of this conversation," he teased.
That managed to make her smile. "Thank you. I needed your particular brand of humor now more than you know."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Shane asked.
"No, I don't. It's frustrating me over and over every time I think about it."
"Well, it's still on your mind. I can tell. You don't normally have those frown lines on your forehead. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you without a smile on your face," he remarked with an uncharacteristically serious tone. "I could give you an outside perspective. Plus, I'm legendary for my advice."
With a smile on her face and a "you asked for it" sigh, "It's Nate. He's…ugh," she huffed. Shane waited patiently for her to begin again.
"I played him a song I wrote. He kept telling me that the chord progression wasn't working and that he could fix it for me. I refused, and we began arguing over that. It just… it kept growing and growing until we were both arguing about anything and everything else but music. He told me that I needed to grow up and act my age. How did I expect to make it anywhere, especially music, if I couldn't handle some conductive criticism. That I never listen to anyone but myself and that I was selfish. Eventually, he…uh…he…" she trailed off in an uncomfortable tone. At this point, her cheeks were strawberry red with embarrassment.
"Mitch, you can tell me anything. And I mean that. You know things about me that I can't even admit to myself most of the time, "he said with obvious sincerity.
"H-He said that I never do anything for him. That we've been together for four years and that he'd waited long enough to, um, consummate the relationship," she finished up uneasily. The blush from her cheeks had now managed to encompass her entire face. She looked down in embarrassment, hoping to shield her face from Shane.
Now, Shane had more than his fair share of being angry. He spent much of his time being angry at Nate and his good fortune. But nothing could compare to his current feelings for his band mate. He was well-aware of the fact that he was always going to be biased when it came to Mitchie and Nate's relationship. But that did nothing to quell the fire of hate that he was currently possessing for Nate.
It was well-known amongst all in their inner circle that Mitchie would always be the definitive "good" girl. She did not partake in anything that would get her into any trouble. Some of the backup dancers had even taken to calling her Mary behind her because she reminded them of the Virgin Mary. It was widely assumed that she was waiting until marriage.
The thought of anyone corrupting her, especially the highly undeserving Nate, almost crushed Shane. He had almost forgotten about the shy girl sitting in front of him who was awaiting his response.
"Well, what did you do?" he asked with great difficulty.
"I told him that I wasn't ready and then I walked out. I couldn't be around him like that." She paused. "I know it's been four years. I know that anyone else would have walked away by now. But, I don't want to do it because he deserves it, you know? To me, it's something you do when you're emotionally ready. And I'm not. I just want to be secure in myself and in the other person before I take that step."
Shane took a resigned breath and closed his eyes. As much as he hated the idea of Mitchie with anyone in that way, she seemed to have her head and heart in the right place. It was at that point that Shane knew that whatever choice Mitchie made, he would support. Because Mitchie wasn't another irresponsible teenager with an "I know what I'm doing" attitude. She was thoughtful, intelligent, and mindful of actions and their consequences. If she chose to sleep with Nate, it was because she knew it was the right thing for her. He opened his eyes and looked at the woman before him.
"I think you did the right thing. He didn't mean any of those things. It's probably a heat of the moment type of response. Little arguments turning into much bigger arguments because you've been on tour a while and you can't escape each other. Give Nate some time to cool off. He should be fine. You guys can never stay mad for too long," he said.
His words resulted in a patented Mitchie smile. "Thank you. Now I can see why your advice is legendary," she teased. She leaned over and engulfed him in a hug. "You always make me feel better. Thank you for listening to me. It means the world," she whispered in his ear.
And with that, she bid him a quick goodbye and left, leaving a sadly smitten Shane to ponder his predicament.
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