CHAPTER SEVEN
July14th
"Why do I even have to be here?" I groaned, sitting in the chair designated to me. I could be at Camp Rock right now with Miley.
"Because you are part of this band, Mate." Brown rolled his eyes at me. "And this is your song, don't you want to be in the video?"
"I'm not in the video." I deadpanned, "Nate's the star, Jase and I are glorified extras."
"That's not true, Shane." Brown tried to deny, but even as we spoke Nate was getting his make-up touched up, I was bored and miserable, and Jason was trying to flirt with one of the extras.
"It's cool." I shrugged, I wasn't particularly fussed with the video; I get to sing Miley's name and the reasons I love her, the whole world will know how much I lover, and as of today it's 12 days until I get back to her. "I care about the music anyway, not the video."
"That's a true artist speaking." Brown grinned, but I rolled my eyes.
"Can't Jase and I just do our scenes and go back to camp?" I resisted the urge to whine.
"And that's a boy in love." Brown rolled his eyes.
"Man." I grumbled, slouching down in my chair. "I'm a man."
"Sure thing, Kid." I clenched my fists, but didn't say anything.
"Okay, places everybody." The directors assistant called out. We were outside today, doing the parking lot and street scenes.
"Playback!" The director yelled. The song Miley started blaring and I felt the familiar tingles knowing that my dream was coming true; I was sharing my music with th
e world, and the whole world would know how I feel about Miley. "Action!" It started with Nate in a parking lot handing the fake 'Miley' girl her cell phone with all the tough bully guys around them.
Later the tough guys would be in a car chasing Nate down; I felt a sick sense of satisfaction every time I read that part of the script. Nate was finally getting a taste of his own medicine, being a victim of a bully. Even if it was only on camera; he got to play up the victim with the girls when the videos came out, and I got to get to see him chased down by a car and pushed around a little.
The actress who was playing 'Miley' was pretty enough I guess but every time I looked at her I thought of Miley; Miley was a brunette with pretty blue eyes and a smile that made me feel fuzzy; this girl wasn't any of that. I guess the song did say she was a blond, but that's only because I couldn't think of anything that rhymed with dumb. Nate handed the girl her phone as the bullies surrounded him; I glanced down to my own phone, I'd been texting and calling Miley since I left, but she was in class right now, and it was dance class so she couldn't exactly be texting in her seat because there were no seats.
"And; cut!" The director yelled, I don't know how long I'd been zoned out, but it must have been a while. "Let's get Connect Three in the car together." ince Jason was the oldest of the three of us - he turned 16 last December - he was going to be driving because he a;ready has his Learners Permit. Jason jumped in the front of the blue convertible with a giddy grin; how he was the oldest I didn't know. Nate climbed into the back after retouching his make up. Honestly, I don't know why he needed so much, he looked the same as before, but he insisted on it, so whatever I slid into shotgun and dropped my prop bag at my feet. Jason and I didn't have make up or anything like, we'd just had our hair styled, Hell, we even get to wear our own clothes. "Okay, Jason, you're just going to do some driving around. Nick, stratch out, look comfortable. Shane... Look... Alive." The director instructed each of us. I rolled my eyes, but comlied, sitting up straight and pasting a happy look on my face. It's not that I wasn't happy to get to be in a music video - for a song I wrote and for the band I'm in - I just wish it didn't mean being away from Miley so much and my heart hurting like it did.
Jason started to drive in slow circles through the parking lot, letting the camera men capture us from all angles. I sat back and relaxed, thinking; I was going to turn 16 before the Summer was over which meant I could get my Learners Permit too. We were going to behome schooled again like last year, but if I had my licence then I could go places. Maybe I could convince my Mom to let me go to New York some time, to see Miley. That thought made a lazy grin take over my face.
The car stopped for the 10th time and two girls got in the back with Nate. I had images in my head of me and Miley running away; we could run away like Bonnie and Clyde. Miley, a car, a couple of guitars; that's all I needed. But, I couldn't leave my Mom, or Papi. I guess my happilly ever after was going to have to wait for more than my 16th birthday.
In the meantime, though, my happilly right now was only twelve days away.
CR
July 18th
"And here we have the Joseph-us Gray-us in its natural habitat." I rolled my eyes at Jason's cheezey comentry as he shoved a camera in my face. I was sitting on set, waiting for all the lighting to get set up so we could start the performing scenes that was going to be cut through-out the video. I had my guitar in my lap and book at my side, trying to write a song. "Beware of the rare and solitary Joseph-us, an almost extinct spiecies exclusively mated to the even rarer Miley-us Stewart-us." I put my guitar, I couldn't help but smile a little, Jason was actually calling me my name.
"And now." I grabbed Jason's camera and turned it on him. "Meet the Jason Dorkus, brother to most awesome and cool Joseph creature, the Jason is most famous for his obsessions with birds and the houses they live in."
"Dude, I'm not obsessed." Jason objected, advancing on me as I kept backing away with the camera still trained on him.
"Dude, you asked three different mall Santa's for a birdhouse last year." I scoffed back, "plus you wrote him a letter, and you've asked me every day of camp for the last two Summers to build you one."
"Because I want one." He whined childishly.
"Obsessed." I insisted teasingly.
"Hey." Jason stopped, looking thoughtfull.
"What?" I frowned, lowering the camera a little.
"You called me your brother." Jason replied, like it meant the world.
"So." I shrugged, it wasn't a big deal. "You are my brother, what's the problem?"
"You never called me your brother before." Jase smiled.
"Doesn't mean you're not. I mean, just because someone doesn't say something, doesn't mean it's not true." I explained, closing the camera and sitting down. on the edge of the stage.
"Huh?"
"Even if I don't always say you're my brother it doesn't mean you're not. You're always going to be my brother, Dude."
"Cool." Jason sat next to me with a happy grin. "I always wanted a brother."
"Well, now you have one." I don't know, it felt kind of cool to hve a brother, even if we'd only been brothers for a month. I guess if I ran away with Miley I'd have to leave Jason too, and brothers don't do that.
CR
July 22nd
"Ciao, Bello, come va? Ho sentito dire che è meraviglioso, a New York Città." I sang softly as I strummed my guitar, feeling a little dejected; it was still 4 days until we go back to Camp Rock. "Io è stato mancare lei, è vero."
"Hi." I looked up to see the girl who was playing the fake Miley standing in front of me.
"Hi." I mumbled back. "Ma, Ho voglia di piangere." I wrote the new lyrics down as I strummed out a few chords.
"What are you playing?" The girl persisted to try and have a conversationg with me. "No offence, but it doesn't even sound like words."
"It's Italian." I muttered.
"Why not just write in English? That way people will understand it without needing a translator."
"The person who matters does understand it." I tried not to snap; I only had four days left, I didn't want to get on anyone's bad side.
"Who?" The girl just wouldn't leave me alone.
"Miley." I finally told her.
"Yes?" Good God, I thought dumb blondes was just a sterotype, but this girl was determind to prove it.
"No, the girl I'm writing the song for is Miley." I explained slowly, hoping she would get it, but she still looked confused; like when I tried to tutuor Jason in science. I have him up to a A in everything else, but the guy just doesn't get science, he's actually really smart when I can keep him focussed long enough. "Not you, the real Miley, the one the song is about, my girlfriend."
"Oh, you have a girlfriend?" She looked down at that.
"Yeah, for three years now." I grinned, this was something I could talk about. "I love her."
"That's nice." She was disinterested now. "Hey, do you know if the other two have girlfriends?"
"They don't." I denied bluntly, rolling my eyes. I turned back to my guitar, starting to strum again. "Perche 'vorrei pettine in tutto il mondo." I guess the fake Miley was right, it would be easier in English, but I know how much Miley likes it when I speak Italian, and I'd do anything to see Miley happy. "Vedere tutto e non accontentarsi mai." I think if I finished this before I went back to Camp Rock I'd play it for Miley. "Se non sono i tuoi occhi." It was different than the first time I started writing it two Summers ago when Miley and I sang the mash-up at Final Jam. Maybe I could get this song on the album - in English of course - that would make Miley really proud.
"Try English, Shane." I was interrupted again by Uncle Brown.
"Miley likes when I speak Italian." I shrugged, closing my lyrics book and setting my guitar down; clearly I wasn't going to finish this now. "She thinks it's romantic."
"Playing the girls heartstrings, huh?" Brown shook his head in amusement, but I frowned. "Big dog on campus?" He barked at me like a dog
"I'm not playing her, I'm pleasing her." Or at least I hoped I was.
"Better not be pleasing her in every way." Brown muttered under his breath. I flushed, my mind flashing back to that day in my cabin with her. "You're, what, fourteen now?"
"Fifteen." I rolled my eyes, really my own Uncle couldn't even remember how old I am? "Sixteen next month."
"Huh." Brown said thoughtfully. "Fifteen, so you and I need to have a little talk; man-to-man." This couldn't be real?
"About what?" I asked slowly, horror creeping up on me.
"Hmm." Brown hummed, going silent for a seond. "I know that you're a teenager now, and you've certainly reached puberty-" oh God, it was The Talk.
"Uncle Brown." I cut in, feeling embarassed and mortified. "I had Sex Ed. at school, I have the internet, I know what sex is, and Miley and I are not having sex." I stood up resolutely, hoping to get away as quick as possible without having to answer any more questions. Because what happened between Miley and me in my cabin is between us and I didn't want anyone else to know about it. It was one of our special moments.
1) Instead of translating all the Italian I might as well just tell you it's the first verse and part of the chorus of Hello Beautiful.
2) Sorry this chapter took so long
3) Okay, so the original plan for the story I was gonna write didn't turn out so good, but I do hav the prologue for a similar idea all written and ready. The question is should I finish this Camp Rock year before I post it or post them together?
4) This chapter was only supposed to be a segment at the video shooting, but then I wanted to show more of Joseph on his own, so this is what I got. Plus I thought Joseph and Jason had a nice little brother-bonding moment :D
5) It probably tells you all you need to know about it, but the working title for the new story is What If Go To School For.
6) Three chapters left in this Summer, is there anything any of you wanted to see or happen?
Smiler For Joe!