Author's note: Last chapter was the best received/most reviewed so far, so thank you guys! There are either 2 or 3 chapters left after this one, it just depends on how it all looks on paper...and if you're a Shane/Mitchie shipper, well, you better stick around! Thanks for being patient, and please keep sending me your reviews!
Chapter Eight
"Holy shit," Travis said with wide-eyes. Mitchie spun around to see the source of the commotion, the view causing her stomach to turn.
"Shane!" Mitchie yelled. After years of avoiding the name it now seemed destined to fall from her mouth, rolling right off her tongue every time things took a turn for the worse.
"Don't, Mitch." Travis tried to hold his friend back as she moved to retrace her steps. Sure, he was a bit bigger than both of the members of Connect Three that stood in front of him, but that didn't make him feel any better about the situation. The way one boy knocked the other down with one punch made him nervous; there was no telling who he'd take a swing at next. Mitchie, however, seemed far-less concerned. She stormed over to the two friends, disgusted with the way one stood, triumphantly hovering over the other as he sat on the cold ground, holding his face in pain.
"Mitchie…" Shane said, half sighing, half whimpering.
"Don't even think of touching her," Travis warned Shane, watching Mitchie as she dropped to her knees to tend to Jason.
"Mind your own business," Shane growled, promptly biting his tongue as Mitchie shot him a searing glare. If looks could kill, he would've been dead on the spot.
"That…fucking hurt," Jason managed to say, pain washing over him with each word he spoke.
"Why did this happen?" Mitchie asked, and she realized all eyes were on her. She let a few tears roll down her cold cheek as she let the emotion set in: this was all her fault. All three boys stood in this spot because of her, and two friends had resorted to fist fighting over her.
"Don't cry," Jason said, "look, I'm alright." Even through his pain he found Mitchie more important than himself, and the notion still surprised her.
"You're not okay, and this is all because of me!"
"Here, man." Travis offered one hadn to Jason and the other to Mitchie, helping both of them back to their feet.
"Oh, your face…" Mitchie brought her hand softly to the brusie already forming on Jason's jaw, careful not to touch it.
"I do get that reaction a lot," Jason joked, trying to lighten the mood, "but really, I'm okay! I'm standing, aren't I?" He gave a thankful nod to Travis and then wrapped an arm firmly around Mitchie.
"I should've broken your jaw!" Shane cried, his eyes full of envy. Nothing had changed; Mitchie was still giving all her attention to Jason, leaving Shane alone again. He saw he was going about things the wrong way, but it was all he knew.
"Why are you even still here?" Mitchie demanded. "What are you trying to accomplish?"
"I'm just-"
"Shut up," Mitchie interrupted, "I didn't actually want to hear your answers. But really, Shane, who do you think you are? Your life is obviously a wreck, and it's not fair for you to try and drag us all down with you. Forget about that 'talk' you were hoping for; I'm so ove all of this." It was the most she had said to Shane in three years, and it certainly wasn't the way he expected things to play out. He wanted to reply, say something to justify his actions, but he just didn't' have it in him.
"Can we get out of here?" Mitchie asked once she realized Shane as truly shut up, at least for the time being. She moved to lead Jason and Travis away, but Shane reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Mitchie, wait." Shane ran his thumb across the bracelet wrapped around Mitchie's small wrist. She looked down at his finger on the metal, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Her eyes rose to meet his, giving him a look which said it was not the right time to get into such matters.
"I thought I told you not to touch her," Travis said sternly, pushing Shane's hand away.
"Sorry," Shane mumbled. He rubbed his sore fist as he watched the three walk away from him, and he felt pathetic for wanting to cry. Why couldn't they like him the way they liked Jason? Shane always had the popularity, his star always shined the brightest, but Jason was the one people genuinely liked. Once people got over the shock of being around a superstar, he was replaced by his best friend; why couldn't they give him a chance? He was ashamed of the way he'd acted, but no one had even bothered to let him apologize. Instead, he was left all alone in his foreign town, the metaphor of his life come to fruition.
As the distance between the group and Shane grew, Jason finally spoke again.
"I really don't know what happened back there, you guys, but I'm so sorry."
"He hit you; I don't think you need to apologize," Travis said. Mitchie heard the two boys talking, but she couldn't concentrate on what was being said. Her eyes were on the ground, her mind wandering as she considered everything that had just happened. Both parties involved in the argument had said less-than-friendly things about her, and she wondered how it had all come to that point.
"Mitch, are you alright?" Travis asked, causing Mitchie to look up. She realized Jason had been supporting most of her weight, practically dragging her down the sidewalk.
"I'm fine," Mitchie lied, looking around, " So, where are we going?"
"My room, for now; I didn't' know where else to go." Travis shrugged.
"Sounds good to me; I've never been in a dorm room," Jason admitted. He could tell Mitchie wasn't okay, and he rubbed her arm gently in an attempt to ease her mind.
"Well, here we are!" Travis held the building's front door open, ushering the pair inside. They walked by the front desk, empty like the majority of the school now was; Winter Break had officially begun, and most of the students had already migrated home.
"Home, sweet home." Travis said sarcastically as he led the way into his room.
"Wow, this is pretty cool!" Jason looked around the room in wonder. "I'm kind of jealous, I never got to do the whole college thing. So, where's your roommate?"
"I don't have one."
"Travis is a trust fund kid from the next town over," Mitchie interjected, "He didn't even need to stay on campus, but he wanted that 'authentic' college experience."
"Pretty stupid, right? I forgot that the housekeeper wasn't coming with me." Travis scowled as he kicked dirty clothes out of his way. Jason laughed and Mitchie feigned a smile, feeling increasingly out of place. She never had the luxury of being waited on the way the two boys in front of her had, and she knew she wasn't in on the joke. Without another word she took a seat on Travis' bed, pulling Jason down to sit beside her. It was clear the two had things they needed to talk about, and Travis took the hint.
"I'm going to leave you guys alone for a while," Travis said, backing up to the door once again, "Just don't, um…don't disrespect my bed!" He quickly slipped into the hallway, missing the blush he'd managed to draw from the pair.
"That was embarrassing," Mitchie said as she shifted uncomfortably, "this whole day has been…" She trailed off, unsure of the right words to use.
"Weird? Awkward?" Jason offered. He shifted his aching jaw into a smile, trying to coax the same out of Mitchie.
"Both of those work." Mitchie nodded, her sullen face refusing to budge.
"Are you sure you're okay, I mean, really? You can talk to me; I know today has been rough."
"I'm not the one that got punched," Mitchie scoffed, trying to push the focus of the conversation away from herself.
"Yeah, but you still got it pretty bad from Shane."
"You had some pretty awful things to say, too!" Mitchie exclaimed, finally saying what was on her mind. The way the band mates had fought over her, talked about her like she was nothing more than a piece of meat, still stung.
"I can't believe I said what I said out there, Mitchie." Jason looked Mitchie square in the eyes, and it was evident he was being sincere. "That wasn't me; you know that, right?"
"I know, Jason. You're so sweet, and this week has been pretty amazing. I'm glad to have you back in my life," Mitchie said as she wrapped her arms around Jason, "you're such a good friend." She wished she had stopped after she spoke her last sentence; the term 'friends' seemed potentially too loose after what had happened the previous night. She looked at him apprehensively, trying to gauge his reaction.
"It's cool," Jason assured genuinely, "I'm happy we met back up, too. We've had fun together, but I've been around the block enough times to see that you really love Shane."
"Why would you even say that? It's so not true," Mitchie protested. She pulled her arms away from Jason and crossed them firmly across her chest, scowling.
"Come on, I can read you like a book, Mitchie. You obviously care a lot about Shane after all this time, and he feels the same."
"He does a really terrible job of showing it." Mitchie rolled her eyes.
"See, so you get that! Shane is great at expressing himself in song, but he's a wreck outside of music. The way he acted outside, that's just his temper getting the best of him. Trust me, you've been his world since the day you two met. Please, just talk to him?" Jason had perfected his salesman act, and Mitchie admired his dedication to his friend despite the fight they'd just had.
"I don't know if I can," Mitchie said, shaking her head. "This is all too much, too fast."
"Hear him out; you might be surprised by what he has to say."
"Is this all part of Shane's plan? Did he pay you to get on my good side so you could convince me to talk to him?" Mitchie asked, her suspicions growing. She considered Jason far too kind to create such a scheme, but it definitely didn't seem far off of Shane's moral compass.
"Not a chance! Shane might be my best friend, but I do try to think for myself these days. I care about you, I care about Shane, and you two obviously care for each other; what kind of person would I be if I didn't use my powers to bring you guys together?" Jason smirked as much as his aching jaw would allow, and Mitchie felt her heart swell. How had she managed to be so lucky, to have so many people so willing to help her?
"I could kiss you right now, Jason, do you know that?"
"Be gentle!" Jason exclaimed with a wink. The next instant Mitchie's lips were on his, a hand tangled in his brown hair. It was her attempt at both giving her thanks and easing his pain, and as he relaxed into her she could tell it was working. They were both consumed with each other, too preoccupied to notice the door open.
"Guys," Travis said as he took two steps into the room, causing the pair to shoot apart.
"Travis," Mitchie blurted, the word tumbling from her lips, "we were, um, just, uh, it's not what you're thinking-"
"I don't care about it, Mitch." Travis' voice was flat and precise, a fact that concerned the rest of the room.
"What's wrong?" Mitchie looked at her friend with worry.
"You guys need to come out here." Travis motioned to the hall sternly, convincing Mitchie and Jason to rise to their feet. The spilled out into the hallway, surprised by the scene that greeted them.
"Uh, what's going on?" Jason asked. His eyes fell upon the two uniformed men standing behind Travis.
"Sire, we're from Campus Security," one of the men spoke, "we received a report that the three of you, along with another person already in our custody, were involved in an altercation about forty-five minutes ago."
"Oh my God; you're kidding me, right?" Mitchie sighed. The news that Shane had apparently already been taken in provided her no relief; she couldn't believe any of this was actually happening.
"No, ma'am; the university takes reports of physical disputes very seriously. We're going to have to ask that you all come with us to the Security Station so we can settle this." The three friends looked at each other, and Travis mumbled a few angry words as the followed the men out of the building in shame.
The security building was one of the very few on campus that Mitchie had never been in, and she longed for the luxury of keeping it that way.
"This is awful," Jason whispered as the group was led to the waiting room. The walls were painted an uncomfortably bright shade of white, as if someone had primed them and then neglected to cover it with a more suitable color. Once the shock of the décor dissipated, they were left to deal with the presence of Shane. He occupied the furthest right chair in a row of four, a look of disgrace on his face. For different reasons-hope for Jason, spite for Travis-the two boys took their seats, leaving Mitchie the chair directly next to Shane.
"I'll stand," Mitchie snarled, shooting her friends a glare as she leaned against the cold wall.
"Sit down, ma'am," One of the security guards commanded, causing Travis and Jason to snicker. Mitchie begrudgingly took her seat, letting out a little shiver as the cool plastic hit the back of her thighs. She was suddenly forced to realize that she as still wearing her workout clothes, and she wasn't sure she could've felt more self-conscious.
"Alright, you two can come with me first." The security guard pointed a finger at Jason and Travis, demanding that they rise from the chairs they had just begun to occupy. Travis opened his mouth to protest, but Mitchie shook her head to silence him; they were already there, so what good would it do to refuse to cooperate? She watched as the two followed the man into the next room, leaving her alone with the last person she wanted to be around.
"Why didn't you move to a different chair?" Shane inquired, breaking the awkward silence that had washed over the pair.
"What?" Mitchie was instantly annoyed; Shane had finally gained the courage to speak to her, and he had chosen such a rude question.
"You'd rather stand than have to sit next to me," Shane explained, looking slightly hurt at the thought, "so why didn't' you move as soon as you had the chance?"
"I'm not even going to dignify that stupid question with a response," Mitchie said. The truth was, however, that she didn't know how to answer; the reason was still a mystery to her as well.
"Fine," Shane shook off the insult, "but you know, you wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for me." Mitchie let out a husky laugh, the kind he knew always accompanied an annoyed remark.
"You are absolutely right, Shane! I wouldn't be caught dead in this building, and I've got you to thank for bringing me here." Mitchie was now fuming. She'd never been in trouble, aside from the problems Shane seemed to drag her into; none of it seemed like anything he should want to take responsibility for.
"No, think bigger," Shane urged.
"I have no idea what you're getting at, and I don't want to play this game."
"This life you're living right now…do you think this is where you'd be if we were still together?" The question threw Mitchie off-guard, as did the sincerity of Shane's voice. It was a point she'd never given any thought, and it made her curious. Maybe she'd gone about things the wrong way; maybe she should've heard him out instead of investing so much time in avoiding him.
"Mister Gray, can you join us in here?" One of the security guards poked his head out of the door to speak, jarring Mitchie from her considerations.
"Don't worry about it," Shane said softly, noticing the way Mitchie was looking at him, "any of it." He shuffled fearlessly through the doorway, leaving her alone to contemplate the idea he had just placed in her mind.
