A/N: Here's a quick update for you! And it's an extra treat because it's long AND full of fluff! I was very happy while writing and I hope it makes you happy as well!
Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock!!
Shane followed Mitchie into her room and looked around. He saw the obvious, a bed, a dresser, a desk, a little vanity thing, and a closet. He also noticed the keyboard and the laptop sitting next to her bed.
"Nice posters." He smirked at the various Connect Three posters hanging on her walls.
She blushed furiously and looked at the ground. "You're probably totally creeped out right now."
Shane smiled and shook his head. "No, not at all. It's actually quite flattering." He looked around and stood next to one of only him and mimicked the smile he had on.
She giggled as she looked up at him. "Oh, hold it there that is a perfect picture." She reached over and grabbed her digital camera and took a picture. She looked at the screen of the camera and grinned. "Perfect."
He walked behind her and peeked over her shoulder to see the picture and chuckled. The sound of his laugh so close to her sent shivers all the way down to her toes. She turned the camera off and placed it back onto the desk.
"Well I better get started." She motioned to her books on the desk and he nodded and took a step away.
She sat down on the chair and tried to focus on her work.
"What do you have left?" He asked as he approached her and stood next to the desk.
"Just a few more questions in English and Science."
She laughed as he stuck out his tongue and made a face.
"It won't take too long. It's pretty easy." She told him and he nodded. She smiled softly and then returned to her work.
He leaned against the desk for a few minutes and then started to wonder her room. He looked at all the sunglasses and hair brushes she had on her vanity, her guitar resting against a chair in the corner of her room, MORE Connect Three stuff, her colorful bedspread and finally came to her keyboard.
He ran his fingers against the keys and then turned it on. He adjusted the volume so it wouldn't disturb Mitchie that much and then started to play a light melody.
Mitchie looked up at the sound of the piano and glanced over to see Shane playing. "You play?" She asked.
He looked at her and nodded quietly, his fingers moving along the keys.
She smiled and rested her head against her hand. "I didn't know that."
"Not many people do." He said. "I've never played live at least in Connect Three."
"You should. You're really good." She sat in awe of him. Just when she thought he couldn't get any more amazing, now he can play the piano too? "What else can you play?"
"Just piano and guitar." He closed his eyes and just swayed to the music.
She brought her pencil up to her mouth and bit it without even realizing it. She was captivated by the way Shane played. On stage, he could be so crazy and wild but now, as she watched him, he was so graceful. It was like he was one with the music he was playing.
'Oh God, please don't let this be a dream.' She thought. 'It feels too good to be true but if this is a dream I don't ever want to wake up.'
He ended the song and opened his eyes to find that she was staring at him. "What?" He questioned.
She snapped out of her dreamlike state and once again, blushed at being caught staring. "That was beautiful." She said shyly.
'You're beautiful.' That's what he almost said. But he didn't work up the courage to. Instead he just said, "Thank You."
She bit her lip and smiled and returned to her work and he went into another song. This continued for another 20 minutes and Mitchie actually found it easier to concentrate with Shane playing the piano in the background.
"I'm almost done." Mitchie announced. "Just like two more questions."
Shane nodded and then something caught his attention. He stopped playing and moved to see what it was. Rested near her laptop was a yellow notebook that was labeled 'Mitchie's song's'.
He reached out and opened it, flipping through the pages. A smile appeared on his face as he read the lyrics in the small book.
"I'm done!" Mitchie proclaimed and spun around in her chair. She noticed Shane was looking at something with his back turned to her. "Shane?"
He looked up at the sound of his name and turned to see her staring at him with an inquisitive stare. He held up her book and smiled.
Mitchie bit her lip lightly and laughed nervously. "You…found my song book."
He nodded and opened it again as he walked towards her. "I didn't know you wrote songs."
She shrugged lightly and followed him with her eyes. "They're not really that good."
He looked up and raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you insane? They're amazing!"
Mitchie's cheeks turned a bright pink, "Well I wouldn't say amazing."
"Would you sing for me?" He asked suddenly and her eyes widened.
"What?"
"Would you sing for me?" He repeated and then added, "Please?"
Mitchie groaned quietly. "Do I have to?"
"You don't have to." Shane shook his head lightly and Mitchie let out a sigh of relief. "But I would really like it if you would." He smiled at her and she caved.
'Damn Shane Gray and his irresistibility.' She whined quietly and slugged her way over to her keyboard.
Shane grinned and took a seat on her bed. Finally, he was going to hear Mitchie sing again. And this time it was just the two of them.
She turned on her keyboard and looked at Shane. She felt her heart pounding in chest. It was really nerve wracking singing in front of a huge pop star like Shane Gray. She didn't think she was good enough to impress the Shane Gray.
She took a deep breath and then started to play the intro for the acoustic version of 'This is Me.'
She swallowed and then started to sing.
I've always been the kind of girl
That hid my face
So afraid to tell the world
What I've got to say
But I have this dream
Right inside of me
I'm gonna let it show, it's time
To let you know
This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now
Gonna let the light, shine on me
Now I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be
This is me
Shane sat there, awe clearly written across his handsome features. The last time he had heard Mitchie sing, it was only a short time and he had almost forgotten what her voice had sounded like due to the screaming fan girls and the argument they had afterwards. But he remembered that he thought that she was fantastic.
But now he realized. Fantastic was not nearly a good enough word to describe Mitchie's voice. Shane mulled over every word in his head: Extraordinary, Phantasmal, sensational, spectacular, heavenly…
None of those words seemed to fit it. None of those words could describe the way Mitchie Torres' voice sounded. She was absolutely breathtaking.
Do you know what it's like
To feel so in the dark
To dream about a life
Where you're the shining star
Even though it seems
Like it's too far away
I have to believe in myself
It's the only way
This is real, This is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now
Gonna let the light, shine on me
Now I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be
This is me
She started a little piano solo. Her eyes were closed as she played partly because she was afraid to look at Shane's reaction and partly because she was so into her music.
As the song headed towards the closing she nearly forgot that Shane was in the room.
This is me…
She let out a breath and opened her eyes daring herself to look at Shane. The pop star's face was unreadable so she just bit her lip and shrugged. "Well?"
"Wow." He whispered. He blinked a few times and then repeated it again. "Wow." He shook himself out of his stupor and rose to his feet. "Mitchie that was…" He looked down and struggled to find the right word again. "…amazing." And that word wasn't even half what she was. "Why didn't you sing at Final Jam?"
Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment in confusion. Oh! That's right, Shane was at Camp Rock! "I don't know." She shrugged. "I don't feel comfortable singing in front of people."
"Why not? You have a great voice."
And there she went blushing again. She didn't know what, there was something about Shane Gray that made her blush.
"Seriously Mitchie." He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have a talent and you should share it. People would love to hear your voice."
"And what if they don't?"
"Then they're insane and belong in a mental institution." He said sounding completely serious.
She let out a laugh and he cracked a smile. "Don't be afraid to hide yourself." He told her. "Just like you said in your song, let the shine on you, and show you really are."
Mitchie smiled and nodded. " 'kay." She muttered shyly. "So, what do you want to do?" She asked.
He shrugged lightly. "I don't know. I haven't done anything with another person for a while unless it involved recording or practicing or something like that."
"We could just sit and talk." Mitchie offered.
Shane smiled softly. "I would like that."
Mitchie grinned. "Great." They both walked over to Mitchie's bed and sat on top of it.
For the next 30 minutes or so, the two of them sat on her bed just talking. They talked about a lot of things. They asked each other questions to learn about more each other. Mitchie asked Shane about how he liked being a famous pop star ("Rock star!" Shane corrected her.). Then Shane asked about her school life. And he couldn't believe that she only had one friend.
Mitchie shrugged lightly, "I've only ever had one friend. I'm just not good enough to fit with the 'in' crowd." She then shook her head. "But I don't want to be anyway. They're all snobs and make other people feel inferior. I want friends who will treat me with respect as well as others."
"And people don't give you respect?" He asked cocking his head to the side.
She shook her head. "No. In Jr. High the kids used to tease me about my name."
"Mitchie?" He questioned.
She nodded. "They didn't think that qualified as a real name. My real name is Michelle but I don't go by that. Very few people call me that and the people that do, when I asked them to call me 'Mitchie' refused to. Even my teachers call me Mitchie."
"How could anyone not like your name?"
She shrugged and let out a sigh, "I don't know. They just didn't. And then they made fun of Sierra and then made fun of me because I was hanging out with Sierra." She brought her knees up to her chest to get more comfortable. "It almost ruined our friendship once."
"That's too bad." Shane said softly.
"Yeah…" She muttered. "But we're fine now. We reached high school and we grew up unlike most people." Shane smirked at that. "Now, I don't care what people think, most of the time anyway. Sierra is my best friend and nothing will ever change that."
"Kids can be mean, can't they?"
Mitchie nodded and looked over at him. "But what do you know about that, pop star?"
Shane raised his eyebrows. "Mitchie, I wasn't always famous. In fact, up until around 7th grade I was teased."
"You?" She questioned her eyes wide. "I don't believe it."
He nodded. "Believe it. In elementary school, the kids used to make fun of my last name and told me that I would turn the color gray one day because of it. And like a stupid little six year old, I believed it and ran home crying. It took an hour to for my mom to convince me that my skin wouldn't change color."
Mitchie sniggered and then covered her mouth trying to stop herself. He chuckled right along with her. "No, it's alright, it is pretty funny."
Mitchie let out a short laugh that didn't last too long and then she just grinned.
"And then later on, my hair got so long sometimes that the kids would start calling me a girl. So, in sixth grade I cut it really short."
Mitchie's jaw dropped slightly and her eyes widened. He chuckled at her expression, "Yeah, I know. Shane Gray with short hair? But that just made it worse. The kids who would tease me about having long hair would say stuff like, 'Oh did Shaney get sick of being a girl? It doesn't matter; you still look like a dork anyway.' Right around that time was when I really started focusing on my music. I needed an escape from the real life and I took up guitar and piano. Over the course of a few years, I played at a few talent shows and then when I was around 15, my uncle showed up at one of the shows and insisted that I come to Camp Rock. And that's where I met Nate and Jason and then, well you know the rest."
"Wow." She uttered. "I didn't know that you were teased like that."
He shrugged lightly. "It doesn't bother me much now. It was all in the past." He smirked. "But I do wish that I could see the look on those boys' faces. I wish that I could see the look on their face when they turned on the TV to find Hot Tunes announcing Connect Three for the first time. And how they're girlfriends are probably squealing over me."
She giggled and straightened her legs back out. "I can understand that." At the smirk on his face, she quickly clarified, "I-I mean about how you would like to see the look on their faces."
The smirk on his face grew at her apparent apprehension. "Uh huh Mitchie, you keep telling yourself that."
She blushed again and nudged him with her foot gently and he laughed.
"Mitchie!" They both turned their head when they heard someone call her name from downstairs.
"Yeah Mom?" Mitchie called back.
"Dinner time!"
"Coming!" Mitchie exclaimed and looked at Shane. "Hungry?"
"Starved." He nodded. She grinned and hopped off the bed. "Come on!"
He got off the bed and they both headed downstairs.
Mitchie bounded into the kitchen with Shane following quietly behind. Mitchie rested her elbows on the counter near where her mother was standing. "What's for dinner Mom?"
"You're dad is outside making our famous 'Torres burger'. I figured since we had a guest, we would treat him." She gave Shane a small smile and Shane returned it.
"Dad's home?" Mitchie asked, a hint of worry etched on her face. Ever since the incident, her father growled whenever Shane's name was mentioned.
"Oh, don't worry sweetie." Connie reassured her. "I had a talk with him. He promised to be on his best behavior." Connie gave her a look which meant 'but Shane better be on his best behavior too.'
Mitchie nodded and gave a small smile. She knew Shane wouldn't make a scene.
All three heads turned at the sound of the back door closing. Steve Torres appeared in the doorway, holding a plate of burgers in his hand.
Shane swallowed and felt like a little mouse under the cold, hard gaze of Mitchie's father. "H-Hi Mr. Torres." He stuttered out and stuck his hand out towards the older man.
"Mr. Gray." He stated coldly and walked into the kitchen, blatantly disregarding Shane's out stretched hand. Shane's face dropped and he let his hand fall back to his side. Well now that he was on Mitchie's good side, all he had to worry about were her parents. Her mother seemed to be kinda warming up to him but her father…if looks could kill, Shane Gray would be a very dead man.
Mitchie noticed the interaction between Shane and her father and noticed the glare on her father's face and the hurt on Shane's. She shot a worried look at her mother and they both knew it. This was her father controlling himself, if he wasn't Shane would be halfway to Timbuktu.
"Well, let's eat, shall we?" Connie stated, breaking the tension.
Steve placed the burgers in the center of the table and sat down. Connie walked over and took a seat next to him.
Mitchie walked over to Shane. "Just be yourself." She whispered to him and gave him a small push towards the table. He swallowed again and watched Mitchie as she walked over to the seat next to him. Before she had a chance to pull the seat out, he reached over and did it for her. She looked up at him in surprise but took a seat anyway. Shane glanced over to her father and saw that he was eyeing him suspiciously. Shane took a seat next to Mitchie and scooted in closer to the table.
After a few minutes of a very awkward silence, Connie finally decided to break it.
"So, Shane what did you have to give Mitchie?"
Mitchie's tensed face relaxed slightly when she thought about what Shane had done for her and she looked at Shane. He swallowed the bite of burger he had in his mouth and then addressed the question.
"Well, as you well know, a couple of weeks ago I was a…big jerk to Mitchie and I wanted to make it up to her. So I created a petition to get her web show back on and then went around getting people to sign it. And that's what I gave her today."
Connie stared at Shane in amazement. She couldn't believe that Shane would do that for Mitchie.
Mitchie nodded, "And he talked to Hot Tunes and they will pay me for every show that I do."
Connie's eyes widened. "Really?"
Mitchie nodded with a grin. "Yes!"
"Wow. Shane, that was uh really nice of you." Connie commented.
Shane smiled lightly. "It's the least I could do."
Mitchie noticed that her father was still eyeing Shane suspiciously. She also noticed Shane looking uncomfortable under her father's gaze.
"Dad." Steve looked at Mitchie. "You want to ask Shane anything?"
Steve opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again. He was resisting the urge to say something harsh. After a few more moments of silence, Steve finally spoke.
"I've heard, over the past few weeks, you have sought out Mitchie on numerous occasions. I have to ask Mr. Gray, what is your interest in my daughter?"
Mitchie groaned inwardly and sunk down in her seat awaiting Shane's answer.
Shane answered without even having to think about it. "Sir, your daughter is the best person that I have ever met. And I've met a lot of people. And despite the fact that I said some pretty mean things to her, instead of just keeping everything inside, she told me exactly how she was feeling. She told me some pretty good information about myself and it opened my eyes to what I refused to see before. And for that, I owe her so much more than I can give her."
Mitchie sunk further into her seat as she blushed, thankful that her parents were looking at Shane and not her.
"And why should I trust you?" Steve asked.
"Well I gave you no reason to in the past. And I know you probably don't want me anywhere near Mitchie. But, if you would give me a chance, I would like to prove to you that I'm not who I used to be. Mitchie helped me change and I'm not going back."
Mitchie lifted herself back up and looked at her father. His face had softened the slightest and his face was scrunched up which meant that he was seriously thinking something over. Mitchie got a hopeful look on her face. Shane was handling the situation very well and he even seemed more confident in himself in front of her father.
Steve looked from Shane to Mitchie. He noticed the hopeful look on her face and let out a sigh. "Mr. Gray, my daughter is a very good judge in character and if she can trust you, I suppose I can too."
Mitchie grinned and relief spread across Shane's face.
Steve pointed a finger at him and said seriously, "But I am keeping an eye on you."
Shane nodded. "That is perfectly understandable, sir."
"You can call me Mr. Torres."
"In that case, if you would, please call me Shane."
Steve cocked his head to the side. "You prefer being called Shane?"
Shane furrowed his brow in confusion. "It-it is my name."
"Yes, I know." He nodded. "But since you are famous I figured when you were being spoken to by someone you didn't know you would like to be called something more formal."
"I may be famous but sometimes I wish to be treated like I wasn't. This would be one of those times. I don't want you to see me as some famous pop star. I want you to see me as one of Mitchie's friends. Because when I'm around Mitchie I feel like I can be myself and not have to worry about any of that fame stuff. I can just be Shane."
"Are you just saying this stuff to impress me?" Steve asked narrowing his eyes slightly.
Shane shook his head and answered immediately. "Absolutely not. I mean every word I'm saying."
"Very well Shane. You have my approval."
Shane let out a smile and looked at Mitchie. She looked at back at him and shared his smile and then looked at her father. "Thank you Dad."
The mood in the room after that changed into a warmer and comforting one. Shane was still a little awkward to express himself fully, worried that he might make a bad impression but he eventually came around. They talked and laughed all throughout dinner.
"So Shane, is your band playing somewhere around here?" Steve asked as they all sat around the table after they had finished eating.
"No, actually." He shook his head. "My band mates are in Idaho. We're on tour right now."
Steve furrowed his brow and leaned forward in his seat. "Then what are you doing all the way over here?"
"I came here to see Mitchie." Shane responded.
"You flew all the way out here while your band was on tour to see Mitchie?"
Shane nodded and glanced at Mitchie. She smiled softly and looked down at the table.
Steve and Connie looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking.
Shane looked at the clock on the wall. "I actually should be going soon. My hotel is a few miles away and I know Mitchie has school tomorrow and I have to get up early."
Mitchie whined and looked at him. "Do you have to go?"
Shane looked at Mitchie. He really didn't want to go but he knew that if he didn't go now, he would probably never leave. But of course, her parents would kick him out sooner or later. But he knew he would up for a while and the sooner he got to his hotel the better. He nodded, "I really should."
Mitchie let out a sigh. "Alright."
He hated the disappointed tone to her voice. "Hey, it's not like I'm dropping off the face of the planet. You can call me at anytime."
Mitchie nodded and smiled sadly. The first day she had with Shane and it seemed to go by so quickly.
Shane rose from his seat and all three Torres' followed his lead. Shane reached over the table and stuck out his hand for Mr. Torres. "Thank you for having me for dinner Mr. Torres. Your burgers are the best I've ever tasted."
Steve shook his hand. "Well thank you Shane. And nice grip by the way."
"Thanks."
Both men dropped their hands and Shane turned to Connie. "And thank you as well Mrs. Torres for letting me stay over."
Connie smiled gently. "It was my pleasure Shane. Feel free to stop by anytime."
"I think I just might take you up on that offer." Shane smiled.
Mitchie watched the interaction between her new friend and her parents and smiled. She was glad that they adjusted to Shane so well and so quickly. She could tell her father was still a little bit unsure about Shane and so was her mother but she knew in time that they would fully trust Shane.
"Come on Shane, I'll show you to the door." Mitchie motioned her head towards the front door.
Shane nodded and looked at Connie and Steve once more. "Thank you again." He then walked over to Mitchie and the two of them headed towards the front door.
Mitchie opened the front door and rested against it and looked at Shane. "Thank you again Shane for the whole petition thing."
"Thank you Mitchie for forgiving me."
"You're welcome." She whispered shyly.
He stepped out onto the front porch and looked at her. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you later."
Mitchie smiled and nodded. "Yeah, talk to you later."
Meanwhile, Steve and Connie stood in the kitchen doorway watching the two.
"He's a good kid." Connie told her husband.
"She likes him." Steve stated as he observed his daughter. "A lot."
Connie chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder. "And he likes her."
They both watched as Mitchie laughed at something Shane had said and they both broke out into grins.
"You can see it in eyes." Connie stated. "Every time he looks at her."
"And by what he does." Steve added. "He flew all the way over here, not really sure if he was going to get her forgiveness or not."
"Twice." Connie said. Steve looked at her with a confused expression.
"He flew here twice. The first time didn't go over so well but he came back anyway."
"Wow." He looked back at the two teenagers. "He's really got it bad."
They watched as Shane and Mitchie half waved at each other and then Shane walked off. Mitchie stood at the door a few more moments and then closed the door. She rested back against the wood, bit her lip, and let out a high pitched squeal.
Mitchie headed back towards them and they didn't even try to hide the fact that they were watching them. Instead of going to the kitchen, Mitchie headed towards the steps. Once she took the first step, she looked at her parents.
"I'm just gonna go upstairs for the rest of the night." She said happily, the grin never leaving her face.
"Okay." Connie laughed softly. "Good night sweetie."
"Night mom, Night Dad."
They watched her scurry up the stairs and they looked at each other.
"And so does she."
A/N: Now tell me that you weren't smiling. TELL ME! Haha. A nice long chapter for you! Review!!
