A/N: Finally, Smitchie's first proper date has arrived! This is mostly just fluff, and it gets especially hot towards the end (I love writing make-out scenes)! Despite the secrecy, Shane's plans were actually relatively simple. I thought something too fancy would detract from the intimacy (mostly of the non-physical sort), so I went a different route that oddly seemed to suit this couple. I hope it lives up to your expectations! By the way, I actually eat spaghetti the way Shane does all the time. It's really good!
"Okay, seriously, where are we going?" Mitchie asked once more, amused despite herself as Shane led her by the hand up the third consecutive flight of steps of an enclosed staircase within the concert hall. "And if you say 'You'll see' one more time, there will be dire consequences, Shane Joseph Gray!"
Shane laughed smugly. "Careful, Mitch. You're starting to sound eerily like my mother."
Her jaw dropped. "Oh, no, you didn't!" she said in mock offense as she hurried to keep up with his eager ascent. "You did not just tell your girlfriend she reminds you of your mother! Do you not know anything about women?! It seems jerky Shane has returned!"
Shane rolled his eyes in amusement as he finally approached the large gray door he was seeking. He stopped and felt her nearly run into him before turning to face her. "Trust me, Mitch. There's nothing maternal about what you are to me, and I'd like to keep it that way. Besides, would a jerk set something like this up?" He shoved the door open, and Mitchie's jaw dropped in genuine surprise this time as the scene before her was revealed.
They were on the concrete roof of the concert all, surrounded by solid railing on all sides and a twilit sky above. A couple yards ahead and to the right of the stair shaft where she stood was a round wooden table draped with a deep green table cloth flanked by two chairs with deep red upholstery on the seats. A pepperoni pizza on a metal pan sat in the center of the table with an ornately decorated plate in front of each chair. There was also a two-liter bottle of Coke and a pair of plastic cups next to the pizza. As she followed Shane towards it, a slightly bewildered glance around also revealed a large, white projection canvas erected against the stair shaft's right wall. A few feet away from the table and a few yards away from the canvas was a metal cart bearing what looked like a digital projector and a portable DVD player. Finally, strewn out between the projector and canvas was a large, deep red blanket and three throw-pillows of matching color.
"I wanted to do something nice but also casual, so I went with dinner-and-a-movie," Shane explained as they approached the table. "It also needed to be private, and unless some paparazzo or crazy fan has Spider-Man powers, I think we're safe."
Mitchie giggled as he pulled out one of the chairs for her. "Pizza, huh?" she quipped while sitting down with a smile.
He chuckled nervously. "I know. Not the most romantic of menus, but like I said, I didn't want to overdo the fanciness. I hope you like it."
She smiled sincerely. "I love it. I think something fancier would've felt a little fake, like you were trying too hard to make an impression. It's probably better to save the more formal stuff for special occasions."
Shane smiled back and nodded in agreement as he poured some cola into each of the cups he had and offered one to her. "I thought so, too. And trust me, this is the best pizza in town! Last time I was in the area, I stopped by this little mom-and-pop pizzeria and got hooked right away!"
Mitchie accepted her drink and transferred a slice of pizza onto her plate, the stringiness of the melted cheese whetting her appetite. "So what movie are we watching?"
He took a slice for himself as he responded. "Well, I tried to pick one that I thought we both would enjoy, and I came up with That Thing You Do. Have you seen it?"
His girlfriend pondered. "I don't think so."
"I think you'll like it," said Shane. "It's basically about a '60s garage band that makes it to the big time, mostly thanks to the drummer. I saw it for the first time with my dad, and I asked him to teach me to play the guitar right after it. It was so cool, and I think it was my first inspiration to get into music and singing."
"I can't wait to watch it, then!" Mitchie grinned, sipping her Coke. "It would've really sucked if you'd never gotten that inspiration. There'd be no Connect Three, and we probably never would've met."
"True," he replied with a grin of his own. "Life would've definitely been different, and I'm not sure that I'd like it."
Chuckling slightly and taking the first bite of her pizza, his girlfriend groaned in pleasure. "You're so right about this pizza! This is awesome! The flavor is amazing!"
"I know! Isn't it?!" Shane responded as he briefly chugged his soda, excited that she apparently shared his fondness for the Italo-American delicacy. "I swear, I am so investing in a generous donation to the Sole Blu so they can expand into an actual restaurant chain!"
"Good idea!" she said with a nod, taking another bite. "America does not know what it's missing!"
The rock star chuckled. "Totally!"
"And the weird thing is…pizza is the only thing I particularly care for that involves tomato sauce," Mitchie revealed, taking another bite and savoring the taste again.
Mirroring her actions with his own slice, Shane looked at her quizzically. "Really?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I like spaghetti if the sauce isn't too chunky, but that's about it."
"Well, obviously you haven't tried spaghetti à la Shane!" her boyfriend declared smugly. "Picture this: no tomato sauce whatsoever; just melted butter, parmesan cheese, and bacon bits."
Mitchie visualized the dish he had just described. "You know,…that actually sounds pretty darn good!" She chuckled. "I'll have to run that idea by my mom sometime. How'd you come up with that?"
"My brother's an aspiring chef. Has been since he was five," answered Shane. "That was one of his earlier creations that was actually not only safe to eat but quite tasty too."
His girlfriend laughed out loud and plucked a piece of pepperoni off the bitten-off edge of her pizza. "He didn't poison his own family, did he?" she asked with a smirk as she put the spicy slice into her mouth.
"No, but not for lack of trying," he answered as he seized a large mouthful of his own pizza between his teeth. "Mom learned very quickly to hide the blender."
Mitchie giggled again. "Maybe I could teach him a thing or two. Growing up with a caterer for a mom, you learn a few things."
"I bet," Shane replied, pausing to chew. "Anyway, you never did tell me what inspired you to get into music. I know you learned from your aunt, but what brought it on?"
She blushed slightly. "Well, my mom always used to catch me humming random tunes. If I got a song stuck in my head, I'd hum it at odd times for days on end until I heard something else that I liked. As I got older, I started throwing in a few melodies of my own. At first, Mom thought it was cute, but if I did it for too long at a time, it would start getting on her nerves. My Aunt Carla was a music teacher at the high school in our area, and she convinced my mom that all I needed was a better outlet. So, one Christmas, I woke up to find a guitar waiting for me under the tree. Carla promised to teach me how to play, and I absolutely loved it!" Mitchie grinned at the memories. "I would get so proud of myself whenever I learned to play a new song! I got my first guitar when I was seven, and when I was nine, my aunt and I moved on to the piano. Eventually, between the piano and the guitar, I learned enough about notes and tones and stuff to start writing down some of the original stuff I had floating around in my head. It was a while before I could compose an entire song, though. I had alot of fun writing my first whole song! I was eleven, and it was actually a poem I'd written for English class that I decided one day to put to music."
Shane, who'd continued eating as he listened attentively with an amusedly warm smile on his face, spoke up at this moment. "I'd love to hear it."
His girlfriend blushed crimson. "Nah, it's nothing. It's not like 'This Is Me' or 'Who Will I Be.'"
"Well, maybe it wasn't your best work, but I doubt it's nothing."
"And how would you know?" she challenged.
"Because you wrote it."
Mitchie chuckled and blushed again simultaneously. "Flattery will get you nowhere, rock star," she retorted playfully.
"I'm just stating the facts," Shane answered with impish smugness.
"I tell you what. I'll play my first song for you if you'll play your first song for me."
"Uh-huh, right. That's so not happening."
"And why not?"
"Because it's…kinda cheesy."
"I'm sure it's great, Shane. And so what if it is a bit corny? It's your first composition. That makes it special!"
"Well, your first composition is special too!"
A tiny smile of pleasure colored Mitchie's response. "Fine. So, I repeat. I'll sing you mine if you sing me yours."
"Deal," Shane relented.
She smiled warmly at him. "Cool!"
The couple soon finished their current slices of pizza and decided to enjoy seconds while watching the movie. Mitchie grabbed a new slice and sat cross-legged on the red blanket while Shane turned on the projector and started playing the DVD. Gazing down at her for a moment, he smiled to himself before grabbing his own second slice of pizza and claiming a seat beside her. It was not long before Shane was lightly mocking the inappropriate tempo of the title song's original version as played by the characters in their garage, and his girlfriend reluctantly agreed that it didn't quite fit. Soon after, Mitchie hailed the drummer's impromptu tempo boost as "sheer genius" and began wholeheartedly swaying her entire upper body to the newly upbeat tune, a sight which Shane found rather enticing. As the characters' rise to fame continued along with the drama that accompanied it, she found herself beaming with pride as the main female character gave what she dubbed "one of the best break-up speeches ever." Finally, a gleeful cry of "I knew it!" made Shane laugh in amusement as the drummer that started it all kissed his bandmate's ex-girlfriend, claiming her as his own. As the credits began to roll, she turned to Shane with a smile on her face. "That was a cool movie! I can see why you like it. I totally sow the whole Guy/Faye thing coming! I mean, he just seemed so much more attentive than Jimmy."
"True," he agreed casually before rising.
Mitchie stood up and took his hands in hers. "Shane, I want to thank you for pulling this together. I had a great time tonight," she said. "It stinks that we can't do this more often."
"I was hoping you'd say that," Shane replied. "That's why I got you this." He rummaged through the metal cart briefly, withdrew a package of moderate size, and handed it to her with a gentle smile.
"A webcam?" she observed quizzically.
"Yep. I have one just like it. This way, our talks on AIM can be one step closer to actually being together."
"Shane, I can't accept this. It looks really expensive."
"Yeah, it took quite a chunk out of my rock star's paycheck," he quipped sarcastically before turning momentarily serious. "Really, Mitch. I want you to have it. It's as much for me as it is for you."
She raised her eyebrows in mock suspicion. "My computer's in my bedroom. This thing won't secretly stay on while I'm undressing or something, will it?"
"Darn! You're on to me!" he joked back, feigning frustration.
Mitchie gasped in surprise and slapped his arm playfully before turning sincere. "Thank you, Shane. This'll definitely make it a little easier to deal with you being gone for another month."
"That's the idea," Shane grinned.
"Maybe we can play songs to each other with this!" she realized. "Now I don't have to wait so long to hear Shane Gray's very first song!"
He rolled his eyes. "Only if you go first!"
Mitchie gasped. "Nuh-uh! You're the famous rock star! Or should I say 'spoiled pop star'?" she said impishly.
Shane glared at her in mock offense. "'Spoiled pop star?' Oh, you shall pay, Michelle Demetria Torres!" He poked her sides, soliciting a high-pitched yelp from her. Satisfied with the results of this test, he looked at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye. Mitchie caught his meaning and moved to escape, but he was too quick. He grabbed her and started tickling her mercilessly. "The 'spoiled' part was bad enough, but I'm afraid 'pop' is crossing the line!"
She giggled helplessly as she tried in vain to wriggle free from his grip. "Ah!...Shane!...Stop it!...I mean it!...This is…not funny!"
"Then why are you laughing?" Shane teased as he continued tickling her, loving the sound of her giggles. "Huh? Huh? Huh?"
An odd move of attempted escape from Mitchie suddenly caused her to lose her footing. Shane moved to catch her but lost his own balance in the process. He landed clumsily on the blanket with Mitchie on top of him. They both laughed heartily as they faced each other, but their expressions turned thoughtful as a loaded silence soon ensued.
"A soulful moment brought on by ending up in a compromising position after a play-fight," he pondered. "It's cheesy, but it works." The rock star pulled her closer and captured her lips with his.
She giggled briefly into the kiss before parting her lips to deepen it. Gripping her tightly about the waist, Shane soon rolled them both onto their sides. Mitchie wrapped her arms around his neck and met his lips with hers again. Their mouths continued to interlock passionately and repeatedly. Shane sucked on her lower lip for a moment before trailing a few kisses down her jawline, in response to which Mitchie leaned her head back instinctively. She shivered in pleasure as he kissed his way down her neck to her collarbone before gripping his face along the jawline and reclaiming his swollen lips with her own. Shane's hands moved up and down her sides, his thumbs gently massaging her stomach. Mitchie moaned softly and kissed him with increased ardor, prompting a similar sound to escape from his lips as he trembled in pleasure.
"Mitchie..." her boyfriend managed to breathe between kisses, pulling away slightly to look into her eyes, "…what time is it?"
She ventured a look at her watch and groaned. "We gotta go," she whispered regrettably.
Shane grunted and rose slowly. He then took her hand and brought her to her feet. Smiling gently at her, he planted a single, lingering kiss on her lips before turning to lead her by the hand back to the stair shaft. Mitchie followed with a somewhat sad yet satisfied smile of her own accenting her visage.