A/N: This chapter gets kind of intense o_o.
Or… it felt intense when I was writing it.
Thanks for the awesome reviews :D.
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"Home, sweet home." Mitchie and Alex walked into the loft. "It's not much, but it's just me and my mom."
"Are you kidding? This is great. It's so cozy." Alex followed Mitchie to her room.
"If you want to lay down or anything, you're welcome to it. I can get some ice for you." Mitchie joked.
"No thanks, Torres."
Mitchie's room was very plain other than the few band posters that were plastered on the neutral colored walls. There was a very full bookshelf in the corner next to a few unpacked moving boxes filled with CDs. A small desk with a laptop sat against a wall next to a twin bed. The room would have been the neatest Alex had ever seen next to Justin's if it weren't for some books that were scattered across the floor.
Alex accidentally stepped on one and picked it up. "You sure like to read, don't you?" Alex placed it on the desk.
"Yeah, I love it."
"Well." Alex plopped onto Mitchie's bed and placed the guitar she was carrying next to her. "If I recall correctly, you owe me a song."
"I never agreed to that."
"Come oooon. What do you have to be afraid of?"
"I don't know. Singing is like, the most honest thing about a person."
"You can be honest with me." Alex smiled cheekily.
"Oddly enough… I know that." Mitchie said looking into Alex's eyes. "What is it about you that makes me feel like it's okay to be… expressive?"
"Argh, it is okay to be expressive." Alex groaned. "How are you going to be a famous musician if you can't express yourself?"
"I never said I wanted to be famous." Mitchie sat next to Alex on the bed.
"Well, you will be if you let people hear you. You're awesome. It's unfair to keep that talent hidden." Mitchie blushed. "You know how many people would kill for what you have?" Mitchie was silent. "A lot, Mitchie. A lot of people. Are you just unconfident, or have you had some sort of a bad experience with music that has scarred you for life?" Alex joked.
Mitchie looked down with a sullen expression.
"Mitchie?" Alex said, concerned. "I'm sorry. What happened?"
"It's a long story." Mitchie shook her head. Alex gave her an I've-got-time look.
Mitchie sighed. "I lied to you."
"What?"
"You asked me before if I've ever considered performing. I said no. It's actually always been sort of a dream of mine." Alex was silent, afraid to interrupt. "This is stupid, you don't want to hear this."
"No, please. Go on."
"Alright, well I even went to a camp for aspiring musicians called Camp Rock. I thought it was going to be amazing, but it was too much drama. It wasn't even about the music there. Anyways, I met a guy there. You might know him. Shane Gray."
Alex's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, well. He was pretty much the only person that was nice to me. All those kids had money or were related to fame. I was just nothing. My family could barely afford the camp. My mom had to cater the place so I could stay. But Shane was really sweet and I fell for him like every other girl. However, things took a turn for the worst near the end of camp. During the Final Jam, that's our finale performance, Shane pulled some strings to get me a solo feature performance. When I really started getting into my singing on stage, I felt something pour onto my head. Shane and his groupies rigged a bucket of paint to spill on me during my song." Alex looked horrified.
"It turns out they had been planning the whole thing from the get go. Shane never liked me. I couldn't believe it. I really thought he cared about me. It was just a stupid prank, but it hit me hard. So, my mom packed our things up and we left without another word to those kids."
Alex was about to speak, but Mitchie continued. "When me and my mom got home, we found my dad passed out on the kitchen table. It was okay, he did that occasionally after having a few too many while watching a football game. It wasn't until we found the pill bottle in his hand that we found out he was dead." Alex covered her mouth in shock. "He was the one that taught me how to play the piano. I loved to sing and play with him when I was little." Mitchie smiled sadly, her eyes clouded over with the memories. "We used to give little concerts for my mom. I just… don't understand why he left us. He was so happy. Always smiling. My mom says I got my smile from him." Alex carefully grasped Mitchie's hand in her own. "I wish I knew why, you know?"
There were no tears in Mitchie's eyes. She didn't feel like crying.
"After he died, I went back to school that summer, and my mom went straight to work. I was okay for a while, but I randomly started getting panic attacks. You know, when like, your chest starts to feel heavy, and no matter how much you try to breathe it's never enough. I threw up every time I tried to play my piano. One day I casually suggested we move away, and my mom jumped at the chance. So here we are. Cowards." There was pain written all over Mitchie's face.
"You're not a coward."
"Yes, I am! I ran away from my problems! My mom works thirteen hours a day, and I'm not much better! I hadn't played the piano for about a year until I moved here. When you heard me singing… that was the first time I have since Camp Rock." Mitchie confessed.
"You're not a coward!" Alex looked into Mitchie's eyes. "You're human. No one deserves to go through any of that. You had every reason to give up on music, but you haven't. You love it, don't you?" Mitchie nodded. "Then eventually you'll be ready to live it again. Fate played a tough hand. You had your voice takenfrom you. Temporarily." Mitchie looked at Alex curiously. "I'm sorry for prying." She let go of Mitchie's hand.
"No! I willingly spilled my guts." Mitchie smiled sincerely. "I needed that. I've never told anyone about that before. The Russo Charm worked."
Alex smiled goofily. "Let's just… chill."
"We can watch T.V. or something." They both stood up from the bed. Mitchie was about to exit her room when Alex swiftly enveloped her in a warm hug. "You can talk to me about anything anytime." She whispered into Mitchie's ear.
For once, Mitchie forgot her awkwardness for a minute and hugged back, enjoying the moment. Now she felt like crying.
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"We should do that someday." Alex said, popping a grape into her mouth.
"Bust a myth or skydive?" Mitchie also ate a grape.
They were both on the couch in Mitchie's living room, watching Mythbusters, and eating from a bowl of grapes placed between them. Alex was lying down comfortably, using the armrest as a pillow, while Mitchie was sitting cross-legged on the other end of the couch.
"Skydive."
"What? No way. I'm perfectly fine staying on the ground."
"Oh, yeah. You're not very good with gravity." Alex teased.
"I'm not even going to try to challenge that. I know I'm clumsy."
Alex laughed. "When does your mom get off work?"
"Uhh, not for another couple of hours. It's just six." Mitchie said, checking her phone's time. She looked up to see Alex shooting her a harmless glare.
"What?"
"That's the last grape." Alex squinted her eyes in mock anger, referring to the grape in Mitchie's hand.
"You ate almost all of them." Mitchie protested. "Besides, this one looks extra plump. Juicy. Sweet." Mitchie taunted Alex by waving it in front of her. She slowly brought the grape up to her mouth and grasped it with her teeth, trying to get a rise out of Alex… which wasn't very hard.
Alex smirked, getting up from her relaxed position, and crawled towards Mitchie. Mitchie's smile fell, still holding the grape in her teeth. The closer Alex got, the more Mitchie leaned back against the couches armrest, until it was impossible to distance herself without falling onto the floor. Alex steadied herself with her arms on the couch on either side of Mitchie's nervous form.
"Wha are ou oing?" Mitchie asked unintelligibly in a small voice.
Alex was steadily closing the distance between their faces. Mitchie compared her ragged breathing to the calm puffs of hot air Alex breathed onto her as she slowly seized the grape out of Mitchie's mouth with her teeth. Mitchie closed her eyes, and although their lips never brushed Mitchie's lungs were struggling to function properly as she listened to Alex chew on the grape.
Alex swallowed and hesitantly brought her face to the crook of Mitchie's neck, brushing her lips against her soft, heated skin. Mitchie involuntarily arched her back slightly at the contact, surprising them both.
"Mitchie?"
Mitchie's eyes shot open in shock before she accidentally slipped out from under Alex onto the floor.
"Mitchie?" Mitchie's mother opened the door of the loft, calling from behind some grocery bags as she entered. "Is that you, sweetie?" She put the bags on down and looked up at the strange scene.
Her daughter was lying on the ground, halfway under the coffee table, and a scared looking girl she had never seen before was on all fours on the couch next to her.
"Um, hello." She smiled at Alex. "I didn't know you were having a guest over, Mitch."
"I didn't know you were coming home early." Mitchie grumbled, as she picked herself off of the floor. "This is my friend Alex."
"Hello. Nice to meet you." Alex said to her mother as she got up from her awkward position on the couch to shake her hand. She looked at Mitchie standing next to her. "Oh my gosh!"
"What?"
"You're bleeding!"
"What?!" Mitchie brought a hand to her face.
"You must have hit your head on the table." Alex said, the color draining from her face.
"Oh, there are some bandages in the bathroom, Mitchie. It doesn't look bad. Just a small scrape." Mitchie's mother said, walking to the kitchen, used to Mitchie's little accidents.
Alex followed Mitchie to the bathroom. "I know they're here somewhere." Mitchie mumbled while rummaging through the medicine cabinet. "Aha!" She pulled out a small box of band-aids.
"Let me." Alex said, taking the box from her. She picked out a bandage and unwrapped it. She looked up and Mitchie, still pale. The cut was tiny. Not even bandage-worthy. Alex stared at the small drop of blood that was escaping the small knick above her eyebrow.
"Are you okay?" Mitchie asked.
"Yeah, why?" Alex swallowed before gently placing the bandage over the wound.
"You look like you're about to pass out."
"I'm… I'm not very good with blood."
"Well you didn't have to help me."
"I wanted to." Alex breathed out before placing a soft kiss on the band-aid. "All done." Alex's smile fell when she saw the apprehension in Mitchie's eyes. "Sorry. I need to stop invading your personal space-"
Mitchie swiftly cut her off, pressing her lips against Alex's. Alex thought she was imagining things until she felt the girl grasp her face with shaky hands, setting her insides ablaze. Mitchie quickly broke the kiss and started to back away.
"I'm sorry-"
Alex lunged at her lips, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's neck.
Mitchie, filled with newfound courage and adrenaline, slammed Alex against the bathroom door and attacked her mouth with her pent up passion.
'Screw bashfulness'
It turned into a playful, uncoordinated battle of dominance.
Alex pushed off of the bathroom door and walked Mitchie unsteadily backwards, across the small bathroom. She roughly pinned her to the wall, still locked in the deliciously forceful kiss.
"Mitchie, are you guys alright?" Mitchie's mother yelled from the living room.
Alex stopped assaulting Mitchie's lips and began trailing wet kisses down to the soft skin of her neck. Mitchie's grunts of pleasure sent her to a more primal state.
"Y-YEAH MOM, I JUST- oh, dear god- I JUST FELL AGAIN! Oh my gosh." Mitchie barely got the words out, too preoccupied with the girl who was gently nipping at her neck. Alex stopped to kiss Mitchie's lips, but Mitchie pushed off of the wall, tangling her fingers in Alex's dark tresses.
"Mmm" Alex was pushed against the sink as Mitchie nibbled on her bottom lip. She tried to gain control but smiled as Mitchie held her tighter against her. Mitchie licked Alex's lip and gained permission to explore her mouth further. Alex arched her back, pressing against her even more.
Mitchie moaned into Alex's mouth as Alex scraped her nails down the thin t-shirt fabric that covered her back.
Alex managed to push off of the sink, but sent them both ungracefully to the ground. Their kisses became more frantic, both afraid of losing the moment, as they wrestled on the ground for dominance.
Alex straddled Mitchie's waist. "Alex" Mitchie said against her lips. "Alex!"
Alex broke the kiss, breathing heavily.
"My mom could walk in." Mitchie panted.
They stayed on the ground, catching their breath for a moment. Alex looked at Mitchie with confusion in her features. "What just happened?" She breathed out.
"I have no idea."
Alex's growing smile spread onto Mitchie's face as she sweetly pecked her on the lips.
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Yay. Maybe things will start to get fluffy now. Or maybe they'll start to get angsty. *tum tum tum*
