Nate did have the general idea. I thought he'd been joking when he said my throat would hurt the next morning. But he was actually right.

When we got to the studio, Connect 3 and their manager led us into one of their recording rooms. I'd never been in one before, so I was amazed at the amount of gadgets and speakers everywhere. Caitlyn was looking around, probably understanding way more than I did at the moment. I hung close to Shane, who seemed to find my insecure look funny.

"Stop freaking out," he said teasingly.

"I'm not freaking out," I glanced around and saw his skeptical look. "Just… intimidated, I guess."

Shane chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. "You can stand up to Tess Tyler, but you're scared of a recording session with me?"

"Looks that way."

Shane had only rolled his eyes. One of the producers, a guy called Mike, explained everything to me. It was all really simple. All I had to do was sing just like in Final Jam. I would be in the room with Shane and they'd put the lyrics on the screen just to help him. The room and main studio were divided by a glass window. Mike would ask us to sing each others parts, but Riley wouldn't let him touch the sound.

"It's perfect the way it is!" he had insisted. "Do a remix if nothing else satisfies you, but the original is original." No one had argued with him.

"Okay, here we go," Mike flicked a few switches and turned to Caitlyn. "I don't expect you have the music right now, but do you?"

"Yes, I do," Caitlyn grinned and pulled out a CD in a case from her bag.

"Excellent," Mike grinned. "I'm going to ask you the details later. For now…" he put the CD in and indicated for us to put on the headphones. Before the music began, he spoke into a microphone somewhere we heard his voice. "The exact way you sang in Final Jam for now, but Shane, join in at the chorus. Later, we'll try some other ways."

I heard the music and felt calm. This was my favorite song and I had always dreamed of singing it in front of an appreciative audience. Singing it with Shane in a recording room for an album's single was a different story though.

Shane noticed my hands trembling as I smoothed my hair and smiled the dazzling smile that took my breath away. So obviously, it didn't help my nerves. My voice shook slightly as the music began but I was calm throughout the rest of the song. I knew I was blushing like crazy. Shane hadn't taken his eyes off me all the time we were singing. I was touched that he knew all the words of one of my songs by heart.

The song finished and I saw Caitlyn smile widely. Maybe I hadn't made too many mistakes…

"That was-just wow. Your voices… they just harmonize naturally. Mike didn't touch anything!" Nate was grinning as he said all this. "I didn't think jerky Shane could sing such an amazing song."

"Shut it, Nate."

"Hey, guys!" said Jason. He was sitting in a corner, flipping through a magazine. "Great song, Mitchie. You too Shane. By the way, Kayla called. She-"

"I think its time you guys rested," interrupted Caitlyn. I threw her a look of confusion. Who was Kayla?

"Who's Kayla, Jason?" I asked.

"Later," said Nate hurriedly. "Hey, Mike! Any more tries?"

"Yes, a few more," said Mike, nodding. "Just a while more and you'll be free to go. This time…"

We sang for a total of two hours. My throat was hurting by the fifth session and Shane saw my grimace as I spoke to Caitlyn. He wouldn't let Mike make me sing again.

"She's exhausted, can't you see?" he insisted. "Let her rest, she'll be back tomorrow anyway."

"Shane, its fine-" I had tried to reason, but he wouldn't listen. Part of me was annoyed at him thinking I was so fragile, the other part thought it incredibly sweet of him.

Shane got his way in the end and we were allowed to go. I was half asleep in the car and had to be carried inside.

I was vaguely aware of Shane putting me down on my bed and drawing the covers around me. I heard Caitlyn and Nate talking in the background. I was sure I was imagining their conversation.

"It's stupid!" Caitlyn was hissing. "She deserves to know!"

"Kayla's been begging him, but until Tuesday…"

"It's not that! You can't expect her to just waltz in and become best friends with her! If he doesn't say anything-"

I fell asleep before Caitlyn finished talking. Shane kissed me good night and left. The light switched off a little later and Caitlyn fell asleep as well. I didn't realize how much Shane had hidden from me until the next day.

yes short chapter, i know. i'll update before my result, if i survive. pray for meeeee

i'll be introducing shane's little secret in the next chapter... how will mitchie take it? review me ur opinions and guesses, i love to hear em!