Chapter 4: Just another New York night

Mitchie unlocked the door to her New York apartment, switching the lights on as soon as she entered. She hated coming back to a dark place, it seemed so eerie and lonely, yet every morning she always forgot to leave any lights on.

She'd continued living with Nate for a year in L.A and they'd enjoyed each other's company. But then things got awkward.

Nate had been away for a few months on his first solo tour. After the loss of their figure head, Connect 3 parted ways. Jason had taken up acting (with quite a lot of success) whilst Nate continued in the music industry. While he'd been away Nate had phoned Mitchie every few days to make sure she was okay. They'd grown so used to having each other around all the time that being apart for more than a few days led to them both missing each other excessively.

When Nate arrived back he and Mitchie had spent hours catching up about everything that had happened while he'd been away, despite the fact they both already knew everything. It was just nice to hear each other's voices not through a phone so they allowed stories to be repeated late into the night, enjoying each other's company. Then something happened that changed their friendship in an instant.

They'd been sat on the sofa laughing about one of the many embarrassing moments Nate had experience on tour: a fan had thrown herself at him, sending both of them crashing to the ground. Mitchie found herself catching Nate's eye, completely by accident. Everything went silent and, without even realising what was happening, they suddenly found themselves inches apart. Then, their lips met in a simple, innocent, kiss. They pulled away, their eye contact still intact, neither sure how to react. For Nate, it was a moment he'd dreamed about since meeting Mitchie, when he'd fallen in love with her instantly, then lost her to his brother. As much as he missed Shane every day he thought that maybe, just maybe, it was finally his turn to get the girl.

Mitchie had always sensed Nate's feelings for her ran deeper than friendship, but to her he was like a little brother and though Shane had been gone over a year, she still wasn't ready to move on. She held on to the hope he would one day come back to her, even though it was quickly fading.

Eventually Mitchie turned away and the awkwardness that filled the room was unbearable. She excused herself to bed and by the time she returned downstairs the next morning, she'd already decided it was time to move out, and to do so as soon as possible.

That's how she found herself in a small apartment in New York. She'd lived off some of the money she'd earned from her music career before eventually taking a job as a waitress at 'The Jellybean Cafe', located just down the road from her home. It was there she gained the inspiration for her novel. One afternoon in the height of summer she'd been serving a table, subtly spying on the customers' conversations as she usually did. There had been two young girls sat at one of the tables discussing their friend who had been in an accident and she'd overheard them saying how he seemed unable to get his memory back, no matter how much he tried. Something in that caught Mitchie's attention and by the time she returned home from that shift she found herself grabbing a pen and a pad and sitting down, desperate to get her thoughts on paper. She'd missed writing and found that once she started it took a lot of effort to resist sitting and writing for hours.

Now the novel was about to be published, she once again found herself lacking inspiration. That story was over and now she would spend her evening in her apartment with very little to do. She still worked at the cafe, she'd become quite good friends with the owners and felt that even if the book did take off, she'd still want to remain an employee there. She enjoyed the variety of people she got to meet on a daily basis and hoped that one day they would maybe provide her with more inspiration.

The night after her meeting Mitchie found herself with nothing to do, on her own with no one to talk to, she felt totally alone. It was nights like this she missed the Grey brothers the most. So often she would go to sleep early, just in the hope that they would at least be with her in her dreams.

She switched the TV on and turned to some meaningless junk, just to provide her apartment with some background noise. She couldn't stand the silence. She had to admit she hated living alone and she had often wished she still lived with Nate. They'd kept in touch and were still good friend, but now they lived at opposite sides of the country, in different time zones even, they only saw each other very rarely and if they did, it was only for a few days at a time. Mitchie had to admit there had been many times over the four years since she'd moved out that she'd gotten very close to just turning up at his door and staying for a proper catch up. But each time she went to book plane tickets there, she would back out at the last minute, worried he wouldn't appreciate her sudden arrival. She had to remind herself that he had a new life now, new people he spent his time with that she didn't even know. She wasn't sure he'd welcome her quite as enthusiastically as he once would have.

She sighed, thinking of how different things could have been. She wasn't unhappy with her life, but it wasn't as she'd once imagined it could turn out to be.

Walking into the kitchen, Mitchie tried to think of something to eat. She hated cooking for one, she never could think of anything interesting to feed herself and usually ended up cooking some form of pasta dish. However this time her search of the kitchen was cut short by a knock at the door. Not expecting anyone, Mitchie was confused as to who could be demanding her attention at this time of night.

GNG- GNG- GNG

Tyler looked through his fridge, trying to find a way to silence his grumbling stomach, He'd gotten so deeply immersed into the end of Mitchie's book that he'd lost track of time. As he'd finished the final page, he'd glanced up at the clock, realising with surprise it was already ten o'clock.

'Why is it' he wondered to himself, 'always the nights I have no food that I leave eating till it's too late to nip out and buy supplies?' He moved to a drawer, in which he stored takeout menus from places all over the city for nights like this. Selecting his most frequently used pizza menu, he dialled the number and, being such a repetitive orderer, he gave his address and asked for his usual.

Settling back onto the sofa twenty minutes later, with a pizza box and root beer, Tyler found his thoughts returning to Mitchie's manuscript. He'd been really impressed until it came to the ending, which disappointed him. It seemed so dissatisfying having read the whole story.

The lead had discovered who was trying to stop him remembering and confronted them about it, only to discover they were doing it for the sake of those who his accident had made him leave behind. Those he used to know all assumed he was dead and had grieved and moved on with their lives. After that realisation, the lead gained his memory back but didn't return to his old life, continuing with the new life he had made for himself.

Tyler made a few notes on his thoughts to give to Mitchie when he next saw her. He wrote the query that caused his main dissatisfaction with the ending: What was the point in reading the story if he never actually changes anything, he is the same at the end as he is at the start, he has not moved on at all.

He felt bad that he was able to find flaw in her story, but then again, he reminded himself, she was a new writer and it was quite surprising that he'd only found one major issue with it.

Having demolished his pizza, Tyler decided to take the rest of the night off. He flicked through the TV channels, eventually landing on Hot Tunes where a celebrity gossip story actually caught his attention.

"The ring is rumoured to be a Tiffany's original costing around $10,000" the reporter said as the screen showed a blurry close up of a diamond engagement ring. "When asked if they planned to marry soon, Jason Green replied that he and his fiance Ella Pador have 'only just gotten engaged and haven't even started thinking about the wedding yet.' We at Hot Tunes with them all the best for the future."

Tyler was surprised that Jason Green was actually settling down. He'd always thought the former member of Connect 3 would never take anything in life seriously.

As the reporter went on to discuss gossip about other celebrities who Tyler couldn't care less about, he switched the TV off. In the quiet of his living room he suddenly found himself feeling very lonely and wondering, as he often did, if he'd made the right choices in his life.

Throwing his pizza box away, Tyler decided that with nothing better to do, he may as well get an early night. But not before promising that at the weekend he would live up to what was expected of twenty-five year olds like himself and hit the town.

GNG-GNG-GNG

When Mitchie opened the door, she gave her visitor quite an unexpected greeting. She laughed. Nothing more than that, for a full 30 seconds she laughed at the person she saw standing there.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind after not seeing you for six months." The visitor said once Mitchie had calmed down.

"Sorry Nate, it's just I was literally just thinking about you." Nate Grey had been the last person she expected to be seeing tonight, but there he was, outside her apartment, thousands of miles from his home.

"So, can I come in?" He said when she didn't make any move to invite him.

"Of course, sorry, I'm just rather surprised to see you." She moved aside and allowed him to enter, leading him to the living room and suddenly feeling rather guilty about the state she'd let it get to. "Sorry about the mess. If I'd had some warning I could have done something about it." She apologised as they both took a seat.

"If I'd given you warning then this wouldn't have been a surprise, would it?" Nate teased. He was really glad to see his best friend. Being apart so long made him realise just how comfortable they were together. They could just slip back into conversation as if they'd never been apart. He knew it had been too long since they were last around each other for more than a few hours.

"What are you doing here anyway? I didn't know you were on a tour at the moment or doing any press." Mitchie didn't normally see Nate in her part of the country unless the visit was tied into some form of work.

"I'm not." He replied. If he was honest he didn't really know why he was here, but something inside had told him that it was time he went and spent some proper time with her. "Can't I just come and visit you without some other reason behind it?"

"Well you can, but you haven't before." Though she didn't mean there to be, a slight tone of hurt infused her voice as she responded. She missed being able to just see Nate because they wanted to see each other, not because it was convenient.

"I'm here to make up for that." Nate said, feeling rather guilty it had taken him so long to do this. "I'm taking a break from my career and I thought what better way to spend my time than staying and spending time with one of my best friends. If she'll let me that is?" He knew it was a bit cheeky just turning up on her doorstep and asking to stay. He had a hotel booked in case she said no but he really hoped she wouldn't.

"Stay here?" Mitchie asked, wanting to be sure she understood what he was suggesting. Nate nodded and Mitchie couldn't help but smile. How was it that exactly what she wanted was happening without her even having to ask. "Well... I'm not sure." She replied, just to wind him up.

"Oh, that's cool I can just go to a hotel, as long as I get to see you I'm happy." Nate said, slightly saddened.

"Of course you can stay here you idiot, do you really think I would turn you away?" Nate instantly brightened up.

"You're sure?" He felt bad imposing.

"Don't be daft. Though, how long are you planning on staying?" She assumed it would only be a few days, it always was.

"How does a month sound to you? I mean I don't have to stay here all that time."

Mitchie was shocked. Just when she'd been feeling desperate to spend some proper time with her friend, he appears ready to do exactly that. It felt like this was her best day in a long time.

"That would be fantastic!" She squealed excitedly, "but don't you have stuff to get back to? And you have no luggage!" She didn't want him to be jeopardising his career just because of her.

"I've been working for the label for nearly ten years now, I think I deserve a proper break for once. It just means my next album will be a little later, but people have waited a year for it already, I'm sure they won't mind a few extra months." And even if they did, he thought, sometimes friendships need to come first. "And Jase is sending some stuff over for me, once he's decided whether he's flying out as well or not". Though Mitchie may not realise it, Nate had come to think that the next month could be hard for all of them.

"Well I better go set up your room then!" Mitchie said, realising the guest room wasn't exactly prepared for visitors.

As she headed towards the stairs Nate called out to her.

"Hey Mitch." He said, "It's really great to see you."

"You too." She replied with a massive smile, before disappearing to get everything organised. She finally had her best friend back in her life, just when she felt she really needed him.

AN: You're getting a new chapter because I passed my driving theory test and am pretty please. If you could make me even happier and review I'll think of you when driving my car. Plus you might get a sneak peak of the next chapter!