*Chapter 9: Because Tonight Will Be the Night That I Will Fall For You*


After classes, she helped her mother in the kitchen, and then headed to supper with Ella and Peggy, because Tess was nowhere to be found.

"How was your day, Mitchie?" Ella asked as she slid into her seat after collecting her food.

"Oh, you know," Mitchie said. "Went by fast, what with me practicing my dancing to satisfy Tess."

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Don't bother," she advised. "First of all, there's nothing wrong with your dancing. And second of all, she's never going to let up on any of us. If you get better than her, she'll put you down and not allow anyone to see how good you really are. If you don't practice, she'll put you down for sucking. Just take it from Ella and I, Mitchie, it's better to just let her run her mouth and do what she says."

Mitchie was surprised at Peggy's words. She'd known that her and Ella hated the way Tess treated them, but she had never heard either of them speak against her before. "If you hate that she acts like that toward you, why do you put up with it?"

"Because she could hurt us a lot if we decided to cross her," Ella spoke up with a shrug. "And we've been her lackeys for so long that that's the only way people see us. It's too late to change anyone's opinion, so we stick with what we've got."

"At least this way, we have some sort of connection, even if it is to the bitch of the camp," Peggy added.

Their words gave Mitchie a lot to think about, but she was prevented from responding as Tess finally showed up and plunked her meal down to announce her presence.

"Where've you been?" Ella asked brightly, all traces of the previous heavy conversation gone.

Tess glanced around at all of them. "I got a phone call from my mother," she said smugly, looking around at them all. "She's going to be in L.A. later this week and wants to drop by to see me."

Mitchie's heart kind of went out to her at those words. Tess should have been happy and excited her mother was coming because it was what mothers did, not smug and cocky because her superstar mother found time in her schedule to fit her in. She lost track of the conversation then as the three of them rambled about how wonderful it would be for TJ Tyler to show up.

"What's wrong with you tonight?" Tess's voice finally cut into Mitchie's thoughts.

"I'm not really feeling well," Mitchie lied. "Haven't been all day."

"Well, this food, if you can call it that, wouldn't really help things," Tess said in disgust, pushing her plate away with much of the food still on it.

Mitchie fought the urge to defend her mother, saying instead, "Actually, I really like the meals here, so I don't think that has anything to do with it. I think I'll just go for a walk or something tonight and get some fresh air."

"Probably a good idea, Mitchie," Peggy said. "Being outside and not cooped up will definitely help you out."

Mitchie silently thanked Peggy for providing her with back up for her excuse to get away that night. Pushing her seat back and standing up, she said, "I'm going to go lie down for a little while first. I'll see you guys later."

"Sure," Peggy said, as she and Ella waved goodbye, while Tess kept her mouth shut and simply glared at Mitchie as she walked away.

Mitchie felt odd about the look Tess had given her, but shrugged it off as she left the mess hall, made sure no one was watching her, and circled around to the back to enter the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom," she greeted her mother with a kiss.

"Hi, Mitchie!" Connie responded, giving her daughter a hug. The two spent an hour talking while cleaning up the kitchen together, and Mitchie found herself extremely thankful that her mother was nothing like TJ Tyler seemed to be, despite her lie. She regretted having said that more and more every day, but concluded that she was too far deep in it already to retract her statements now. Caitlyn came in partway through Mitchie's cleanup, and the three of them joked around easily with each other.

When everything was almost done and Caitlyn was the only one in the kitchen with her, Mitchie received the first text message from Shane: Still on for tonight?

You know it she texted back with a grin.

Meet me down by the dock around 8 again? You okay with going back to the island?

Mitchie's heart fluttered as she thought about spending time with him on the island, where it was guaranteed to be just the two of them. More than okay. See you at 8 she responded, flipping the phone shut again and focusing on finishing up in the kitchen.

Caitlyn had watched as Mitchie spent a few minutes intensely focusing on her phone, and once her friend had put it back in her pocket, she walked over to her and leaned against the counter. "Shane?" she asked.

Mitchie nodded. "Yeah, we're hanging out again tonight. He wants to finish the song."

Caitlyn sighed, and Mitchie caught it. At the raise of her friend's eyebrows, Caitlyn said carefully, "Don't take this the wrong way, Mitch, because I'm glad that you guys are getting along so well. It's just… I mean, the more he lets you in and the more you help him out, I can't help but think you're setting yourself up to be hurt."

"What do you mean?" Mitchie frowned in confusion.

"You lied, Mitchie," Caitlyn said bluntly. "Since the first day you got here, you lied about your mom, and it's just kind of spiraled from there. Remember how pissed I was when I found out? It can only end up worse for you and Shane. You know I've never been a fan of the guy, but I think you've got to tell him before this blows up and you really hurt him too."

Mitchie was silent as she continued to clean off the counters, thinking about her friend's words. "I've thought about it, Cait," she admitted finally. "A lot. But the way I figure it, it's gonna look bad no matter what. Either way, he's not going to be happy with me. And I'm afraid that if he finds out I lied about that, he's going to think I'm just trying to use him or something. It just seems like my only option is to let this play out, and hope that eventually we just get close enough for it to not be that big of a deal if the truth ever does come out."

Caitlyn sighed, and reached out to grasp Mitchie's arm so that her friend would stop cleaning and focus on her instead. "I hope you know what you're doing, Mitchie," she said seriously. "Do what you need to do, and you know I'm always here to back you up. I'm just trying to prevent a major disaster here, because we all know how Shane Gray gets when things don't go his way."

Appreciating her friend's attempt to lighten the intense atmosphere, Mitchie let a grin come over her face. "And I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure he doesn't get hurt," she promised.

Nodding, Caitlyn let go of Mitchie's arm, and began cleaning up again. The two of them slid easily back into their familiar banter, and it was enough to allow Mitchie to push the conversation to the back of her mind.


A few minutes before 8, Mitchie hurried back to her cabin, pulled on some jeans and a hoodie, slipped into her sneakers, and headed down toward the lake. As she neared the beach, she headed immediately toward the dock where she knew Shane would be waiting. Sure enough, after bypassing the few people hanging out on the sand, she found him lounging in the motorboat underneath the dock, looking completely relaxed as he leaned back against it with his eyes closed.

She crept up behind him and leaned her face down next to his ear. "Oh my God, it's Shane Gray!" Mitchie exclaimed loudly, quickly falling over with laughter as Shane sat up and scrambled forward on the boat, looking around wildly with a terrified expression on his face.

When he finally spotted Mitchie and began to realize what had happened, he relaxed obviously, sagging back against the boat and putting his head backward, running a hand over his face as his chest heaved.

"That," he panted, trying to get his heart rate down, "was not cool."

Mitchie was still giggling as she hopped into the boat and kneeled down in front of him. "Would've thought you'd be used to all those fans screaming excitedly at you?"

"Not when I'm hiding under a dock where they can't even find me," he glared.

"Just trying to keep you on your guard," she grinned.

Shane rolled his eyes and moved past her to return to the back of the boat. "Maybe you should be on your guard so you don't get pushed into the lake," he growled, making Mitchie laugh even harder as he started the motor and they headed out onto the water.

After a few moments of silence, Mitchie began to grow worried at the serious look on his face. "Shane, are you actually mad?"

She saw him struggle to hide a smile for a moment, and then his face softened. "Okay," he admitted. "It was mildly funny."

"Oh, come on!" Mitchie's face broke into a grin. "That was hilarious!"

Shane laughed and said, "Kind of, yes, because I didn't expect it. Guess that's what I get for letting my guard down."

"Mmm, maybe you should learn not to do that in the future," Mitchie teased.

Shane shrugged. "Not my fault that I trust you and you abused that trust."

Mitchie rolled her eyes and groaned. "Milking this for all it's worth, aren't you?" She saw Shane nod vigorously. "Pretty sure you've done stuff like that to me before. And I'm even more sure you'll do stuff like that in the future. I'm just getting my fun in while I can." She looked out over the lake, internally scolding herself for adding that last part.

Shane frowned. "While you can?"

Mitchie turned back to him with a smile on her face. "While the night is young, hot shot," she quickly covered. She didn't feel like telling him that she was worried he wouldn't want to be friends anymore after their time at camp was over.

Looking at her oddly, Shane just cracked a smile, and continued to steer them toward the beach on the opposite side of the lake. Reaching it, he helped her out, and the two of them followed the trail to the fire pit. While Shane worked on lighting it, Mitchie grabbed the blanket and spread it out on the sand.

They sat facing each other on the blanket beside the fire for a while, scribbling down lyrics and taking turns with Shane's guitar. Finally, about two hours later, Shane leaned back with a grin on his face. "I think we may finally be done."

"We?" Mitchie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. I think I recall you being with me writing this for the past couple of days."

"I just helped you along a little, they were your ideas," Mitchie said shyly, turning her gaze toward the crackling fire. Her attention was brought back when she felt Shane grab her hand.

"Hey," he said softly. "I don't think you have any idea how much of this is because of you. You reminded me of the music I love, and helped me write something light-hearted and meaningful for once. I need you to understand how thankful I am, Mitch."

Mitchie was a little blown away at his words. It warmed her heart to know that he appreciated her so much. "It was fun, Shane, and you're welcome. It'll be nice to know I had some small part in it when I hear this song on the radio pretty soon."

"Going back to making those assumptions you like so much, are you?" Shane laughed.

"Come on, Shane, like you really believe this won't be a hit song. As a fan, I know it's good, and I know I'll love it when you kick in the beat with Nate and Jason. Hearing it will be a great reminder of the days I spent at camp with Shane Gray, rock star extraordinaire." At this, she smiled sadly as she realized yet again that this perfect little world where she and Shane were close wouldn't last forever. The idea that he would be returning to the real world, where more than a few camp girls screaming his name provided testament to his celebrity status, had been in the back of her mind since the night before, and it was beginning to make her sad. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the look of surprise on Shane's face.

He saw the faraway look in her eyes and grew concerned after a moment. He reached out and caught her chin in his hand, turning her face toward him. "Why do you look so sad all of a sudden?"

Mitchie tried to recover and forced a smile. "Sorry, got distracted."

He shook his head. "Don't do that, Mitch, don't lie to me. Your ability to be honest with me is one of the things I like most about you; please don't avoid whatever it is. You know you can talk to me."

"I know," Mitchie said softly, her eyes never leaving his. "And that's what I was thinking about – how much I'll miss talking to you after camp, because you're a really great guy and I enjoy spending time with this side of you. It'll just be strange to go back to seeing you as a huge celebrity on TV."

Shane was shocked. "Mitchie," he said, shaking his head. "When did we ever agree that we'd never speak to each other again after this summer?"

Mitchie's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "Well, I just assumed you'd have no need for some random camp girl once you got back out in the real world."

Shane laughed and shook his head. "That assumption is seriously the worst one you've made yet." Mitchie glared at him, and he continued more seriously. "Okay, let's re-hash a little bit. Have I not told you that I don't trust easily? That I enjoy your company? And, I mean, clearly I've wanted to hang out with you a lot. I'm not sure why you think that would change just because we're not at camp anymore." He paused for a moment to let the information sink in for her, and looked into her eyes. "And I don't know if you've noticed, but I kinda like you."

Mitchie blushed at his words, even as her heart fluttered. "That's good to hear," she commented softly. "Because I kinda like you, too."

Shane grinned and leaned over to brush his lips against hers. "I have no plans of giving this up when we leave camp."

"This?" Mitchie asked softly, maneuvering to sit beside him and resting her head on his shoulder. "What is this, Shane?"

Shane was silent for a few moments, before he turned his head and kissed the top of hers. "Will you be my girlfriend, Mitchie Torres?" he murmured against her hair.

Mitchie froze in surprise and then whipped her head around to look into his nervous face. "Are you serious?" she whispered back. She saw him nod, and a huge smile lit up her face. "Yes, Shane, yes! Of course!"

Shane's face also split into a grin, and he immediately attacked Mitchie with kisses. She laughed and kissed him back enthusiastically, overwhelmed with happiness.


A/N: They're finally official! Caitlyn was serious for once and tried to snap Mitchie out of it! And Tess is a bitch! Surprise!

Haha okay so I've finally realized that this is going to be an absolutely monstrous story. The total word count on my computer is close to 100,000 already and there are a hell of a lot of chapters left to write. And your reviews have been absolutely wonderful, so I figured that I'd put up another chapter tonight. No idea when the next one will come – maybe tomorrow, but if not, probably not till late in the week because I have an insane amount of papers due.

Thanks for reviewing, I really just needed to know that people were enjoying it :) Also, to Angielala, thanks for your detailed thoughts on each chapter! Something you said gave me an idea (although I'm clearly not going to say what haha), so thanks for that. I'll mention it when we get to it a while from now. Everyone's thoughts and encouraging comments were greatly appreciated, please continue to let me know what you think!

Chapter title is from "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade.

March 7, 2010