A/N: I am half falling asleep right now, but I had told myself to upload this yesterday and I ended up getting sick, so I'm forcing myself to do it now! I just want to thank everyone who reviews, especially those who do it consistently, for how happy you make me. I get a little burst of sunshine every time I see that someone liked what I wrote.

I really am about to pass out now, so sorry no song (I suck) and here you gooo!

It was only Tuesday and Mitchie could've sworn that she was never going to be able to move her body after one week of dance classes with Shane Gray. She was already sore; she didn't see how she would be able to survive the entire summer continuing on like she was.

She trudged to her guitar lesson with Jason, who was conducting the course outside again. At least in the class she got to sit down and relax, just her and her guitar. The class was easy to her, since it was a diverse group of students. There were a few beginners and some people who had been playing only for a little while, then there were some others that, like her, had been playing for years. As much as she enjoyed Jason's class, she couldn't help but to look forward to spending some time with Shane. She didn't know him really well, but she knew that she wanted to. So when Jason glimpsed at his watch (ok, when some other camper reminded him to look at his watch), and he announced the lesson was over, Mitchie was the first one to jump up.

"I'll see you at dinner, right Jason?"

"Duh. We need to talk color schemes!"

"Okay, well, you think of a few you really like, alright?" Mitchie shoved her notebook into her messenger bag.

"Consider it done! I'll make up some color swatches."

Mitchie didn't really know what to say to that, so she just grinned and nodded. As she turned to walk away with the rest of the students, something caught her eye. Shane Gray stood about forty feet away, leaning casually against a tree, looking all sorts of sinfully delicious.

She couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as she made her way to him across the clearing where their guitar lessons had been held.

"Ditching class early, I see," she commented lightly.

"Hey, the kids were good! They deserved a few extra minutes." Shane let a devious smile spread across his face. "That, and they all looked about ready to pass out."

"Ugh, tell me about it!" Mitchie hung her head. "I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow. My life hurts."

Shane let out a small laugh and reached over and grabbed her guitar case.

"Well, then let me take that, and we can get going."

"Shouldn't I go drop that off in my cabin?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "I wanted to play you something anyway." He turned and started to walk into the forest. Mitchie hesitated for a brief moment before hurrying to catch up.

"And you thought the best place for this to happen was in the woods?"

"Hah hah. And no, I'm not taking you to the woods. It's just a shortcut. I figured I'd give you a break from all the stares and whispers, too."

"My hero." Mitchie batted her eyelashes at him. "But, unfortunately, I think Jason has single handedly fueled the camp gossip for the rest of the week."

She recounted the tale of lunch, and how she had finally agreed to make a birdhouse with him.

"You can't tell him you know though! It's supposed to be a secret." Shane snickered and shook his head at her.

"You don't have to do that, you know," he told her after he managed to stop laughing.

"Do what?"

"Oh, you know, build a birdhouse with him."

"Why wouldn't I want to?"

"Listen, I know Jason can be a little –"

"Awesome?" Mitchie interrupted. "I spend five minutes with the guy and it's like I'm instantly reverted to my 8 year old self. Who wouldn't want that?"

Shane was a little skeptical.

"You mean you honestly don't mind building this birdhouse with him?"

"Of course not. He's picking out color schemes as we speak." She grinned at him slyly. "Besides, if I don't help him, who will? Because I heard of a certain jerky Popstar that shot down the birdhouse idea…"

"Me and Jason? With a hammer? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," Shane snarked back but with a smile on his face. Mitchie was about to respond when she suddenly stepped out of the woods and onto a…beach?

"How did we get to the lake?" She wondered aloud.

They were right on the edge, where the water came up to reach the tree line, before the trees and dirt turned to sand and rocks lining the shore. There were canoes lined up in front of them, with the dock not too far off. She could see the walking paths a little father beyond. It really was the perfect spot – sitting behind the canoes, no one would be able to see them from the paths and yet they had a perfect view of both the camp and the lake.

"I found this place when I was in my first year at Camp Rock." Shane led her over to the canoes and sat down easily, leaning against a nearby one. Mitchie sat down beside him, relaxing instantly.

"It's perfect. It's nice to get out from the prying eyes." She closed her eyes and let out a breath.

"Yeah. You know, it's nice to have someone who gets it."

"Uh-huh. 'Cause our lives are so similar." Mitchie peeked an eye open, looking at him.

"Could be worse," he said simply.

"We are polar opposites, Shane Gray," Mitchie disagreed.

"Oh yeah? Why?" He challenged.

And that is how they found themselves, an hour later, still leaning against the canoe, guitar forgotten and shoes kicked off, talking about just how different they are.

"I don't get it. You say you live in California, if anything, you should be a Dodgers fan." Shane sounded legitimately outraged at Mitchie.

"And you live in California, too – and yet you're not a Dodgers fan! And besides, I told you, my dad's from the east coast. I was born a Red Sox fan."

"Well, I spend enough time in New York to be an honorary citizen. And I am telling you, the Yankees are going all the way this year."

"You are a fool. A very handsome fool, but a fool."

"You think I'm handsome?" Shane smirked.

"Couldn't you focus on the 'fool' part?" Mitchie groaned. "Besides, it's not like it's news to you. You know you're attractive. Hell, you market yourself that way."

"I don't," Shane said, suddenly serious. "The label does. The label does pretty much everything. Controls our music, controls our looks, controls our-"

"Attitudes?" Mitchie interjected.

"Well, no. But trust me, they wish they did."

"I bet they do."

"What do you mean?"

Mitchie didn't want to make him upset or get him to be all defensive, but she also didn't want to sugarcoat anything that she had to say. She chose somewhere in the middle – nothing as harsh as some of the things she had thought about saying.

"I just mean, all the news reports are about how much you're pissing the label off by being this 'bad boy.' They can't be thrilled with their superstar going off on people all the time, or ditching charity events."

"The Leukemia Society thing?" Shane inquired, earning him a nod from Mitchie. "Okay, listen, I felt really bad about that. But they made it out to be something that it wasn't, and besides, I went back to the hospital afterwards and talked to the kids."

"They didn't mention that-"

"On Hot Tunes? In Pop Informer? That's because it wasn't a publicity stunt, Mitchie. I didn't go through the label for that, I just did it for myself."

Mitchie felt her face flush. She wasn't embarrassed, she just felt a little guilty. But on the other hand, how was she supposed to know?

"I didn't mean for you to get all defensive, Shane. I just…I didn't know. And yeah, it wasn't on Hot Tunes or in the magazines, but how else would I have known? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did the right thing. And I know that you're not this terrible, arrogant rockstar that the media makes you out to be. I just wish that other people saw that, too."

"You really think I'm a rockstar?" Shane asked with a twinkle in his eye, letting Mitchie know that he didn't behold her for thinking the things she did.

"I might have to rethink that 'arrogant' thing…"

"Favorite Connect 3 song?" Shane suddenly asked, situating himself against the canoes more comfortably.

"What?"

"C'mon, favorite Connect 3 song. This is me getting to know you."

"Well this is me telling you that I'm not going to boost your ego even more. What's your favorite song…a song that's not Connect 3?"

Shane raised his eyebrows. "You want me to choose a song by someone else?"

"Where would you be without all your heroes? All the people that made you want to sing in the first place? All your favorite songs that get stuck in your head?"

"My heroes? Gosh…I don't know." Just when Mitchie was about speak up, he snapped his fingers and it was like a lightbulb went off over his head. "I've got it! 'Rebel Rebel' by David Bowie. Pure perfection."

"Solid choice," Mitchie agreed. "Mine would have to be 'The Longest Time' by Billy Joel. I could listen to it forever."

Shane watched her for a minute before Mitchie shifted under his uncomfortable gaze.

"Favorite movie?" Mitchie was now sitting facing Shane, her feet twisted into her lap, her shoulder resting on the canoe.

"Pulp Fiction."

"Never seen it."

"Are you kidding me?" The look on Shane's face was one of pure horror. Mitchie just shrugged. "It won Oscars! It is like, the quintessential crime film. It is everything a guy could ever want in a film."

Mitchie shot him a look. "Not exactly making me want to go see it."

"You'll see it. You will see it and you will love it." He looked so firm in his decision that Mitchie couldn't help but nod. "What's yours?"

"Probably…the Lord of the Rings trilogy." Shane's jaw dropped. "I know, I know, I am a huge geek. I'm not even that big of a science fiction fan, I just really like the movies."

"No, no! I mean, you're not a geek. I just don't think I've ever met a girl that said those were her favorite movies." Mitchie blushed intensely. "They're good movies. In fact, I haven't seen them in a while…we'll watch those after we watch Pulp Fiction."

"After we watch what now?"

"I told you that you had to see it. Why can't it be with me?"

Mitchie had to bite her tongue at that. There were so many reasons why it shouldn't be with him, but she knew that it wasn't the time to bring it up. In fact, she'd be perfectly content with them never talking about why they were so incompatible. But at the same time, she was going crazy overanalyzing everything. In her mind, they were so wrong for each other, but the more this conversation progressed, the more she realized how similar they were.

"Favorite candy?" She asked, switching subjects.

"Okay, favorite candy, or favorite sweet?" Shane sat up a little bit straighter. "This is a serious subject. I need clarification."

"Um, let's start with favorite sweet."

"Swedish fish. You?"

"Peanut M&Ms."

"Favorite TV show?"

"Law and Order. You?"

"The Office."

"Ooh, who's your favorite character?" Mitchie didn't realize that she had been inching closer and closer to him as their little game of questions carried on until she went to touch his knee excitedly and realized her knee was already touching his. She noticed this and inched back a little, trying to remain cool.

"Dwight. Easily."

"It would be," she joked. "Mine is Jim. I'm kinda like a fangirl for Jim and Pam."

"You're a fangirl for characters on a TV show, but not a international sensation rock band?"

"I don't know anyone that's in a rock band…"

"Funny." He suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to convince you I'm a rockstar by showing you my expensive things." Mitchie laughed out loud at the seriousness in his voice before she heard a soft 'click.' "Or I was trying to get you to laugh so I could get a picture for my cell phone."

Mock outrage spread across her face. "Jerk!"

"Hey, don't get mad at me! I'm not the one that looks beautiful when I smile." His voice had a teasing tone to it, but Mitchie saw the seriousness underlying it.

"Beautiful, huh?" She murmured quietly, allowing some hair to fall off her shoulder and into her face.

"Yup," Shane answered back just as softly.

"Is this how you get all the Hollywood girls, Shane Gray?"

"By telling them they're beautiful and my favorite movie is Pulp Fiction? Please. I get them by telling them they're hot and that my favorite movie is The Notebook."

Mitchie cracked up at this and soon enough, Shane was laughing whole-heartedly, too.

"So, what do you say, Mitchie?" Shane asked after his laughter had subsided. "Can I have your number?" He had the audacity to pull the puppy pout on her, too.

"Ugh, you're pathetic," she said with a smile. "Give it here." She held her hand out for his phone. He handed it to her happily, and she quickly typed her number in and hit 'save.' The home screen popped up and Mitchie turned an even fiercer shade of red when she saw that it was her picture already as his wallpaper. She was about to make a sassy comment about it when she saw the time in the corner.

"Is that the time? Oh my god!" She leapt to her feet and ran her fingers through her hair worriedly. "Shane, I have got to get to the kitchen. I'm sorry, I didn't realize we had been talking for so long!"

Shane pushed himself up and grabbed her guitar.

"It's okay, it's fine. Do you want me to put your guitar in your cabin?" Mitchie's face lit up.

"Would you mind? That'd be so perfect! Ugh, thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She spontaneously hugged Shane, which he instantly reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her tightly. It took Mitchie a few more moments to realize where she was and the fact that she was supposed to be hurrying before she pulled away.

"I should…" she nodded to the general direction of the kitchen.

Shane cleared his throat, nodding. "Yeah, you probably should…"

Mitchie looked him in the eyes for a moment more, and with another quick 'thanks,' she took off for the paths leading to the kitchen. Shane watched her disappear, her legs carrying her swiftly as she pulled her hair up while running. He laughed aloud at her almost running down a younger camper, and could even hear her 'sorry!' from his position by the canoes.

He grabbed her guitar case and slung it on his back. As he made his way back to the staff cabins, he couldn't help but think that it was the best conversation he had had with anyone in a long time.

"I'm here!" Mitchie burst into the kitchen, attracting the attention of all the workers, including her mom.

"Yes, but where you before you were here?" Her mom was smiling, so Mitchie knew she wasn't in actual trouble. Instead, her mom just looked curious.

"I got caught up," Mitchie answered cryptically, sliding on an apron. "Where do you want me?"

Connie pointed her to some vegetables and bowls. "Start separating, please? It's tacos tonight, but we're doing alright for time."

Mitchie nodded and began washing up when her mom sidled up to her.

"So, caught up with who?"

"Who says I was with somebody?" Mitchie refused to meet her eyes.

"Well, there was that boy that came to see you…"

"Shane, mom. Shane Gray."

"That's the one!" Connie feigned ignorance while Mitchie rolled her eyes and put down the head of lettuce that was in her hands.

"Yes, I was with him and no, it wasn't anything like you think it was. And no," she hurried on as Connie's mouth opened to comment, "he isn't like he comes across in the news. He's different."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Then what?"

"I was going to say, what about Joey?"

"What about Joey, mom? I broke up with him months ago!"

"You broke up with him? But I thought you said-"

"What I said was that I dumped him. What you heard from god knows who was that he dumped me. Not the case."

"Well, no matter who dumped who, aren't you going to get back with him? I mean, I'm sure this Shane character is nice, but you and Joey have a history…"

"Joey and I are history. I can't go back to a relationship with him. I won't. And I'm not even in a relationship with 'that Shane character,' so it doesn't matter anyway."

"Sure you're not, honey."

Mitchie ignored her mother's patronizing tone and continued to shred lettuce viciously while Connie wandered away to finish preparing. Mitchie couldn't believe that she had the audacity to even assume that her and Joey were going to get back together. She may have not known about the hell that school was, but Mitchie had thought she explained the circumstances surrounding the breakup very clearly to her mom. Apparently not.

She continued to shred and slice and dice until it no longer held any therapeutic value to her. She didn't know why her mom had reacted that way. She had honestly thought that her mom had given up thoughts of Joey, or at least she would once she realized how happy Mitchie was without him (school not withstanding) and maybe Connie could even see that there were other possibilities for Mitchie, not just Joey. She was supportive in every other aspect of Mitchie's life, why not this one part?

"Ugh," she groaned, looking down at her hand. She hadn't realized just how frustrated she had been…until she felt the gooey mess of a tomato in her hand, which she had pulverized. She washed off the pulp and turned to her mother, who was watching her with wide eyes. "I'm leaving." Connie just nodded.

Mitchie went back to her cabin and changed into jeans before leaving for dinner. As she left, she ran into Jason and Nate coming out of their own cabin next door.

"Hey guys, going to the mess hall?"

"Yep, what's for dinner?" Jason bounded towards her, his curly hair bouncing lightly.

"Please, don't say tacos," Nate begged. "Don't say tacos."

"Well, I can't, 'cause it is." Mitchie was confused – were tacos a bad thing?

"REALLY?" Jason sounded absolutely elated. "Why are we still standing here? Let's go, people!"

"Why does he-" Mitchie tried asking Nate before she was unceremoniously scooped up and hoisted over Jason's shoulder in a fireman's hold. "Aaaaah!"

"Taking too long! We need tacos now."

Mitchie raised her head, intending to call over her shoulder for Jason to put her down, or at least for Nate to control him, when something caught her eye. Shane was watching from the window of his cabin with a strange expression on his face. She gave him a questioning look and a little wave, but his face remained the same. Mitchie was going to call out to him, but Jason started running with her still over his shoulder and she was soon only capable of shrieks.

Shane watched as Jason carried Mitchie away, unable to decipher what he was feeling. By all accounts, it shouldn't bother him as much as it did to see Jason hanging out with Mitchie. And that's all it was, anyway – hanging out. He knew that despite what it could've looked like to others, Jason wasn't actually flirting with Mitchie. Was he? He did say how excited he was to have Mitchie as a friend, and he wanted her help in building a birdhouse…but that wasn't how Jason acted with girls he liked…was it? He hadn't dated anyone in a long time, not since he had been in a long-term relationship with a girl that sold him out. His girlfriend had finally been able to get Jason to open up to her, to be serious and tell her about his hopes and dreams, and had then gone and sold them to the highest bidder. He hadn't even attempted to date anyone after that, so Shane really couldn't remember if this was his typical flirting M.O.

He let out a frustrated groan as he flopped into his bed. He had no right to feel this way! Mitchie wasn't his girlfriend. Mitchie was barely a friend – he had only known her for a few days. And so what if Jason wanted to hang out with her? He should be encouraging Jason to get out there more, not resenting him. But at the same time, Shane wanted nothing more than to be the guy out there that scooped Mitchie up and ran with her in his arms. He wanted to get to know her, he wanted to watch Pulp Fiction with her and explain to her all the intricacies and throw popcorn at her when she made that face she seemed to make whenever she thought about something too hard…

With a spur of the moment decision, Shane hopped out of bed and grabbed his signature leather coat before swiping a comb through his hair. He hadn't planned on going to dinner, opting instead to avoid the hushed whispers and blatant stares that his bandmates were apparently comfortable with, but he figured the campers would have to get used to him sometime. And since he – and most of the camp – had just heard Jason announce that it was tacos for dinner, he knew that it was food that he could eat without running the risk of anaphylactic shock.

He headed to the mess hall, a smile playing on his lips. He was surprisingly happy with his decision to eat with his friends.

"'Oy there!" He was about to open the doors to the mess hall, when Brown's voice cut through the air. He turned to see him jogging up to him. "You know, you're going to give me a complex. First, you don't even show up to some classes. Now, you're sending people to my office. It's enough to make my head spin." Brown came to a stop in front of him.

"Yeah, about that…" Shane didn't really know what was proper procedure for kicking kids out of class. He had acted on pure instinct today, and he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to do it.

"Yes, well, as happy as I am that you are taking this teaching gig seriously, you can't go kicking people out of class every time they talk out of turn."

"Talk out of turn? Are you kidding me?" Shane couldn't believe the girl had actually gone so far as to lie about the reason she was kicked out of class. "That's what she told you?"

"Yes, Shelley said that she failed to raise her hand when answering a question and you, so kindly, gave her the boot."

"No no no. That's not what happened. She talked out of turn when she went to insult another camper, and then me."

"Really? What did she say?"

Shane became a bit embarrassed when he thought about what the girl – this Shelley girl – had said to Mitchie.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked. Brown seemed to ponder this for a bit.

"Just write up a report. Nothing too big," he hurried on, seeing the apprehension on Shane's face. "Just write why you kicked her out…the entire situation. I'll deal with it from there."

"Thanks, Uncle Brown."

"Not a problem. Thanks for being the uncool teacher this year; I so didn't want to be that guy again. So, are you braving the masses and eating with the common folk tonight?" He nodded to the cafeteria.

"Thought I'd try it out for a bit," he answered noncommittally.

"I'll let you get to it, then. Let me know if anyone tries to mob you…maybe we can kick them out of the mess hall."

Shane just rolled his eyes and opened the doors. By now he was definitely one of the last campers in, and thankfully, it wasn't hard for him to find Mitchie and her friends. They were the only table that didn't stop everything they were doing when he walked in. They were sitting at a table by a screened in window with only three benches which were occupied by Mitchie, Nate, Jason, Caitlyn, Lola, Barron, Sander and Andy. He noticed that Jason and Mitchie were sitting together on a bench, but he instantly told himself to cool down and not let it bother him. Besides, that just meant that there was room for him to sit next to Mitchie.

"Is there room at this table for one more?" He asked quietly into Mitchie's ear. She let out a little gasp of surprise before hitting him lightly in the stomach.

"You scared me half to death!" She glared at him as he slid in next to her. He flashed her a smile and greeted the rest of the table.

"Thought you didn't feel up to coming to dinner, man?" Nate asked curiously. Shane just shrugged.

"I wasn't, but then I think everyone in this hemisphere heard how excited Jason was for tacos that I couldn't help myself."

"There's no chocolate sauce," Jason whined.

Shane began to make a taco as Caitlyn consoled Jason. He helped himself to the taco shells in the center of the table, which was occupied by a lazy Susan type platform which contained small bowls of all the typical taco toppings.

"They're hot," Mitchie warned as he went to go put some peppers on his taco. "Just saying – no one else is a big fan of them. They're some sort of Mexican tradition; I'm used to them, but apparently no one else is."

"I love spicy food," he reassured her. "Hot Buffalo wings are my favorite food."

"Hmm…" Mitchie popped a pepper in her mouth. "Good to know."

"So, Mitchie, are you going to perform in this weekend's jam?" Lola asked politely.

"I hadn't really thought about it…it is only Tuesday. What's the theme, anyway?" The table looked at her as though she had five heads.

"Girl, we will get you a schedule," Caitlyn insisted.

"What's the big deal?"

"Most of the people here have been planning what they're going to perform for weeks now." Lola explained. "They've got everything down to their outfits picked out."

"I just found out I was going to Camp Rock like, a week before I came." Mitchie swallowed to prevent herself from sounding overwhelmed, which she was. "But whatever. We'll see what happens."

"Well this week is the Beatles Jam," Caitlyn told her. "It's basically campers putting their own spin on a Beatles song. It's not as personal as performing an original piece, but it's always fun to see what people come up with." Mitchie let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding.

"Maybe I'll do it then, I don't know."

"Even without anything planned?" Lola looked skeptical.

"Well, who doesn't know Beatles songs? I grew up playing those, I can just choose one, right? We can do any song?"

"Yeah, although it's pretty much just a whole bunch of campers singing 'Let It Be' or 'Love Is All You Need,'" Nate remembered from his time at camp.

"Are you guys gonna play?" Mitchie asked excitedly.

"We will if you do," Shane said quickly, earning strange looks from both Jason and Nate. They had already committed to playing a song at every jam, but Mitchie didn't know that, and Shane had to admit, he was very curious about her voice.

"O-o-okay," Mitchie managed, before nodding, growing more confident. "Okay, yeah. I will play. And so will you."

"Good thing we were already – OW!" Jason rubbed his shin. "Who keeps kicking me?"

The rest of dinner passed by uneventfully. Shane was pleasantly surprised to find that Mitchie made an effort to keep everyone involved in the conversation, never letting the topics to be one sided. They were having so much fun that eventually they realized that they were one of the last tables to be occupied in the mess hall.

"Mitchie!" Connie poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, okay," Mitchie called back, turning to her friends. "I really got to start cleaning up. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"I'll help!" Caitlyn hopped up, starting to stack plates.

"You don't need to, really – you help enough, Cait." Caitlyn just shrugged this off. "I'll be right back, I've got to go grab some stuff from the kitchen, but Jason, I'll find you after, okay?"

She didn't wait for him to respond as she headed for the kitchen, grabbing some towels and the rolling cart to stack plates and silverware. She pushed it out through the swinging doors and was taken aback by what she saw.

Caitlyn, Nate, and Jason were stacking plates and Lola, Barron, Sander and Andy were filling empty cups with silverware and clearing off the lazy Susans.

"What are you guys doing?" Mitchie asked softly, not really expecting a response.

"Didn't think we'd just leave you to clean up this whole mess, did you?" Shane appeared suddenly to the side of her.

"It's too much…"

"For you to do all by yourself. My thoughts exactly." He grinned at her, which she couldn't help but to mirror.

"You know what I mean, Shane…" He just shrugged innocently and grabbed some towels.

"Get to work, slacker," he said as he tossed one at her, which she caught instinctively. He then went to the corner of the room where the sound system was and turned on the radio, having it echo around the room from speakers throughout.

And that's how Connie found them a few minutes later when she went to investigate the noise. A Connect 3 song was blaring from the Top 40 station with laughable vocals being provided by Lola and Caitlyn, imitating the three boys that stared at them in disbelief. Barron and Sander were doing all the cheesy boy band dance moves that they could think of, all while piling dishes. Mitchie just watched them with a smile on her face as she washed down the tables, wondering what she did to deserve such great friends.