A/N: I tried uploading this yesterday but my document manager wasn't working :( But here it is! Enjoy!

Shane pushed open the door to the coffee shop after wading through the sea of reporters parked outside. The song had hit the radio two days ago, and just as Rick had said, it was already huge. When Shane had heard that the paparazzi had figured out who Mitchie was and where she worked, he figured she might need some company on her way home. He remembered how overwhelming it was for him when they first started getting big.

"Shane? What are you doing here?" Mitchie asked happily at the sight of him. She was bussing a couple newly-empty tables. "I'm just finishing up."

"I figured you might need me," he replied.

She looked at him confusedly and brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't looked outside recently, have you…"

"What are you talking about? What's outside?" she asked.

Before he could answer, she pushed the door open and stuck her head out. She was instantly greeted with dozens of camera flashes and photographers screaming her name. Mitchie took a few steps backwards and let the door close on its own. Shane could tell by the shocked look on her face that she hadn't expected any instant fame – he wasn't sure she'd really expected any at all.

"What the…how do they…why are they…" Mitchie stuttered.

Shane moved across the café towards Mitchie, leading her to a small table in the corner to try to escape the attention they were getting from the customers. He sat down next to her and put his hand on her arm.

"Mitchie…the song is huge. It was the most requested song in the country yesterday," he told her. "People want to know who you are."

"Why?"

Shane smirked. She really hadn't expected any of this. "Because you have an incredible voice, Mitchie. They want to know who you are, and they want to hear more of your music."

Mitchie didn't say anything. Shane could imagine how hard all of this was to absorb. He could tell she was scared out of her mind, trying to figure out how a girl as shy as her was going to deal with being in the spotlight all of the sudden.

"Come on. Go grab your stuff and I'll take you home," he said. "It'll be easier to go out there if you don't have to do it alone."

She nodded, standing up and disappearing into the back of the café quickly. After a few minutes, she reemerged with her purse and looked at him nervously. "I can't go out there, Shane. I look terrible."

"Stop. You look beautiful," he insisted, pushing her hair behind her ears.

Mitchie could feel the butterflies again. Having him so close to her and hearing him say that was too much. These were the moments that made her fall in love, but she couldn't let that happen. Not with him. She still couldn't figure out why he was even here; why was he being so nice to her? There were a million Hollywood girls he could be spending his time with. She thought he must be taking pity on her. She just wished he would stop making her feel so special. It was making it that much harder to resist him.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm right here," he told her. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath and nodded nervously. Shane put his arm around her waist protectively and her heart jumped. He led her out the door, into the crowd of paparazzi.

"What should I do?" she whispered to him.

"Just smile and wave."

Mitchie's eyes were wide, staring at the cameras like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. She couldn't take her eyes off of them; and Shane couldn't take his off of her. Under her fear, he could see the tiniest bit of excitement. He hoped that meant she was coming out of her shell a little – she'd have to, if she was going to build her own fan base. But he kind of liked how she was now, so shy and quiet. It made every time she let him, even just a little, feel like an accomplishment. And for some reason, that had suddenly become very important to him – to get her to open up. Just to him.

He opened the door to his white SUV and helped her in. As they pulled out onto busy 6th Avenue, she just stared out the window at the photographers running beside the car. It was obvious to Shane that she genuinely didn't understand why they were trying to take her picture. It was so refreshing for him to have found someone like her. All of the girls he hung out with knew exactly which angle to face the photographers at so the most flattering pictures of them would be published in the tabloids. They knew just where to be and what to say to get as much publicity as possible for whatever they were trying to promote. Everything they did was so calculated. But not Mitchie. She was so naïve about fame – and Shane didn't think that was a bad thing.

"That was…nuts," Mitchie sighed after a few minutes.

"Well, it's only going to get worse once the tour starts," he smirked.

She stared at him blankly. "The tour?"

"Well, yeah…you're coming with us."

"Me?" she asked, shocked. "But…I can't, Shane…I have to work."

Shane laughed and rested his hand on hers. Mitchie looked down at their hands quickly and her entire body went on alert. He had to stop doing things like that or she wasn't going to be able to keep her feelings in check for long.

"I think you'll reconsider once you see the contracts...I bet we pay a little better."