Everything We've Known
Chapter 9 – She Deserves Him

Alex practically skipped back to her cabin, her shirt finally dried from the morning sun. She hummed quietly under her breath as she looked up at the sky, grinning at the picturesque clouds and shining sun. She took her time getting back, even though she only had 30 minutes to unpack and get ready for rehearsal. She reached the door of Cabin 10, where she and Mitchie would have the entire place to themselves. As returning campers, they had the privilege of choosing to bunk up with just one other person in a cabin, and it was an easy decision to decide to room together. She flung open the door and spun inside, dancing towards Mitchie with a smile on her face. Mitchie looked up from her suitcase, which she had been unpacking, and laughed.

"Too many happy pills in your Froot Loops this morning, Alex?" Mitchie joked, raising her eyebrow at her.

Alex grinned and danced over to Mitchie, grabbing her hand and twirling her around in a circle. "Isn't today a fantastic day, Mitch?" Alex asked, sighing contentedly.

"That it may be," Mitchie said, giggling and scrunching her face up at Alex, "But you didn't seem to think it was so fantastic when I was waking you up in the car earlier!"

Alex laughed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her, causing Mitchie to snicker. "Real mature, Lex," she quipped, ducking as Alex's pillow came flying toward her head.

"But anyways," Mitchie continued, yanking a pair of patterned Converse out of her suitcase, "I think it's a great day too."

"So what kind of happy pills did you take?" Alex grinned, lunging for Mitchie's shoes and slipping them onto her own feet, admiring them.

"Hugs, not drugs!" Mitchie said cheesily, and Alex laughed. "No, but seriously. I think I have a confession," she said, folding a pair of grey skinny jeans.

"Oh yeah?" Alex said absentmindedly, snatching Mitchie's jeans and holding them up to her legs.

"Alex!" Mitchie cried, "I just folded those! Plus, you should be listening to my confession!"

"Oops," Alex giggled apologetically, attempting to messily refold the jeans and then giving up and flopping down onto Mitchie's bunk. "I'm listening!"

Mitchie laughed and sat down next to Alex, messing with her bangs. Alex noticed–it was something she only did when she was nervous.

"What's up, Mitch?" Alex asked, looking at her concernedly.

"Okay, well...you have to pink promise not to tell anybody, okay?" Mitchie asked, continuing to finger her bangs nervously. Alex stuck out her pinky and shook, still gazing at Mitchie in worry. It must be something big–she and Mitchie always trusted each other without question.

Mitchie must have sensed Alex's worry, and she hurriedly said, "It's not that I don't trust you, Als! It's just...it might be hard for you to keep this a secret from a certain...person..." she trailed off uncertainly.

"Mitchie!" Alex interrupted, "You know I wouldn't tell anyone, especially after I pinky promised!" she smiled, and Mitchie nodded.

"Okay, I'm just going to say it," Mitchie said slowly, fiddling with her fingers. Alex gave her an encouraging smile, secretly dying to just shake the words out of her.

"So...I mean, okay. I don't know for sure, but...well, I think...I don't...okay, so well...I LIKE NATE!" she blurted, and her hand flew up to her mouth, looking shocked that the words had spilled out of her mouth.

Alex stared unblinkingly, her mouth falling slightly open. She sat totally still, her facial expression completely locked into one position. Her mouth parted and dropped open a little more, and then it closed again. Had she heard that right?

"Wait, what?" Alex found herself saying, her voice sounding oddly unattached from her body. And then suddenly, Mitchie was talking a million miles a minute, words shooting out of her mouth at top speed.

"He's just so cute, and I mean, I noticed before, but I never really thought about it, because...well, he's NATE, you know? But then a while ago I was thinking about it and I was like, well, why not? Because really, it's kinda perfect, don't you think? So many girls would kill to date him, and I know him so well, I mean, I've practically known him my whole life! And I know, I know it's kind of a bad time because he's leaving and all, but this could be my last chance, right? And I think I just wanna tell him and see what he says...and if he says no, that's no biggie, right? He's leaving anyways, I won't have to be embarrassed. So really, I have nothing to lose. Plus, he's been acting kinda different lately, did you notice? I don't know, maybe I'm reading all the signs wrong, but maybe he likes me too?"

Mitchie continued to ramble on, her voice droning in the background of Alex's thoughts. Three words rang over and over like a broken record in Alex's thoughts.

Nothing to lose.

That was it. That was the difference between them, the advantage Mitchie had over Alex. She had nothing to lose, while Alex had everything to lose. Mitchie could walk away from whatever happened without a scratch, while Alex would have to walk away covered in scars. It just wasn't worth the fight, it was a losing battle already. And Alex, however much she wanted something, put her friends before everything. No matter how cynical and distant she might seem to others, she always knew when to do the right thing. Mitchie had been hurt so many times that she hardly even believed in love anymore. She was carefree on the outside, but Alex knew better. Alex was the strong, confident type. Mitchie, on the other hand, was too innocent. She would never admit it, but it was true. She believed in people, and the good of the world. She would wait and wait until something came knocking. Alex could make ends meet, while Mitchie needed them to come together on her own. How could Alex have missed this? Alex couldn't ruin this for her friend. It was Mitchie's turn now.

"That's...great, Mitch." Alex said, her throat dry and her voice cracking.

"Oh, you really think so?" Mitchie asked, her eyes lighting up as she beamed at Alex.

Alex looked at her, her excitement too visible. She was so readable, her thoughts so out there. How could she let her get hurt? And how could she have missed it, after all this time? She'd been so caught up in Nate that she hadn't even noticed that her own best friend was falling for him too.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' Alex kicked herself mentally, 'How could I have been so stupid?'

"Yeah, Mitch." she said slowly, managing a smile. It was difficult for her to even say the words, but she really did want the best for Mitchie. And Nate was the best for her friend. Hadn't she said to herself earlier that he was too good for her? It was true. Mitchie was a better person than her.

'God, I can't even be happy for my own friend,' Alex sighed, 'How could I ever think for even one second, that he might like me back? He's too good. He's everything I'm not, everything that Mitchie is.'

Mitchie deserved him.

"I really think so, Mitchie." she said quietly, "It's fantastic."

Mitchie grinned, bouncing on the bed and grabbing Alex into a lung-crushing hug. "I'm so happy, Als. I was so worried you might think I was crazy...I mean, he is our best friend. But I just...really, really like him, Lex." she smiled, looking off into the distance. "Thanks Al," she crowed, "You're the best."

She leaped off and ran out of the cabin, waving cheerily at Alex. "See you at rehearsal!" she called, slamming the door behind her and skipping off into the distance.

And to think that Alex had thought about telling Nate, today, after rehearsal. How had things changed so fast?

"What happened?" Alex whispered to herself, sinking on to her own bed. She wanted so badly to go back in time, to stay right there on that dock with Nate. She would have told him then, if she had known. Or she would have just stayed there, in his arms. What did it matter?

'There you go again, Alex, being selfish. You can't tell him, not now. You can't ruin this. You've already made this bad enough. No, you and Nate are just friends.'

Mitchie deserved him.


A/N: First off--101 REVIEWS! You have no idea how happy that makes me. It makes me want to dance, and sing, and jump around. And of course, write more chapters. THANK YOU!

Now, please please please let me know what you think. I know this is a huge twist, but I really wanted this to add to the plot. I have some very exciting things planned for upcoming chapters--but I can only hope that you like this. Also, I want to point out that what happened in the film version of Camp Rock never happened in this 'fic--they did go to CR four years ago, but when they attended, Connect 3 did not exist, and they were all friends from before. Hence, Shane & Mitchie were never together. I just want to make this clear in case any of you were confused! I truly hope that none of you are thrown off/hate this twist. Let me know, I worked hard on it! Just press that button, and instant happiness on my part! xoxo, Cami