Author's note: I own nothing, except the plot line. All characters and all that jazz belong to Disney. I also do not own MapQuest, the Jolly Green Giant, or Hummer, but I'm sure you all are smart enough to figure that out.

Summary: What will happen when Mitchie returns home from her long, eventful summer at Camp Rock? Will she stay in touch with Shane Gray? What about Caitlyn, Tess, and the rest of the Camp Rock gang? When Mitchie returns to school, she will realize that her summer at Camp Rock has put her popularity in the fast lane. Especially because of the fact that she has the phone numbers of Connect 3. :)


Normally, Mitchie would be excited for the first weekend of the school year. She should be even more excited since it's her fifteenth birthday. But, today is not just a hang out at home and eat cake day. It's a day to go to the spa with Tess Tyler. Oh joy.

"Rise and shine, birthday girl!" Connie sang as she and Rich came into Mitchie's bedroom. Rich was filming on an ancient video camera he got for free from a guy who works at Torres hardware. Connie pulled the covers off of Mitchie.

"Morning," Mitchie said sleepily, sitting up slowly. If I wanted a wake up call, I would have asked for one. Okay, that sounds kind of rude, but really. It's nine o'clock on a Saturday morning.

Rich smiled and put the camera down on the foot of Mitchie's bed. "So how does it feel to be fifteen?" he asked, leaning over to kiss Mitchie on the forehead.

"Well," Mitchie said as she got out of bed, "It feels the same as being fourteen so far," she grinned. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Connie sat down on the edge of Mitchie's bed. "So, we know you're going to be at the spa with Tess today, but we're having a party for you here when you get back. We invited some of your friends, so it'll be tons of fun," Connie smiled widely.

"I'm sure it will be. Thanks, guys!" Mitchie smiled but knew the only people who will probably come to her party would only be Sierra and that ten year old across the street who Connie thinks is adorable because she idolizes Mitchie. "Hey, Mom, umm, Tess said I have to dress 'comfy-cute', whatever that means," Mitchie scrunched up her nose and put air quotes around Tess' description on appropriate spa wear.

Connie pursed her lips. "She told you how to dress?" Connie asked sourly, though she stood up and headed toward Mitchie's closet. Mitchie's eyes widened as she realized her new bikini from the boys was hanging right inside the door.

"Wait!" She said, rushing over toward her mother. "Actually, I just thought of the perfect thing to wear, really. Thanks anyways, Ma," Mitchie laughed nervously as Connie dropped her hand from the closet doorknob.

"Oh-kay," Connie said slowly, glancing at Rich. "I guess the weird teenage behavior has kicked in," she gestured to Rich and the two left Mitchie room. "We'll see you downstairs for your special birthday breakfast!" Connie called from the hallway.

Mitchie sighed in relief and opened her closet. She reached for the bikini and folded it as small as she could, then walked over to her dresser and put it at the bottom of her underwear drawer.

After about ten minutes of searching for something 'comfy-cute', she finally decided on her purple sweatpants capris she wore at Camp Rock a few times for dance class and a white tank top with a gray zip up sweatshirt. She showered quickly and did her hair and make up.

"Mmm, smells good in here," Mitchie grinned as she entered the kitchen.

"Well, it better," Connie said with a smile, "I've been working on it since eight o'clock. Now you have a seat here," Connie instructed, pulling Mitchie toward the kitchen table. Rich was already sitting, reading the newpaper and drinking coffee.

Mitchie sat and Connie placed a plate in front of her. Eggs, bacon, fruit and orange juice. "Wow, Mom, this looks great! But, um, why did it take you since eight o'clock this morning?" Mitchie asked, thinking the meal couldn't have taken more than half an hour to prepare.

"You haven't seen everything yet, sweets," Connie told her mysteriously. Mitchie began eating her eggs while she waited for her mother to show her what else there could be. "Here it is!" Connie announced, placing a huge cake in the middle of the table.

"Whoa! Mom, this looks amazing!" Mitchie breathed, eyeing her cake with intense restraint to keep herself from eating it before her breakfast.

"Thank you, sweets. But want to hear the best part? It's not a real cake. Its a pancake cake! It has fruit, all your favorites, blueberries, strawberries, banana slices. It's made out of my special pancake recipe. So, it's a breakfast cake! Your real cake will be ready for your party!" Connie finished looking pleased with herself.

Mitchie grinned. "Aw, this is the best cake I've ever had!" Mitchie leaned over and gave her mom a hug, and she kissed her dad on the cheek just for the heck of it, because she knew there's no way Richard Torres could have had anything to do with baking if the product hadn't turned out burnt.

Connie grabbed herself and her husband plates and sat down next to Mitchie. "Dig in!" She announced.


"Dudes, I don't know why, but I'm nervous to go to Mitchie's tonight," Shane admitted, pouring more milk in his cereal bowl. Jason looked up from the section of the newspaper he was reading. The funnies. Always the funnies with him. Nate yawned and layed his head down on the table.

"Why?" he mumbled, his voice muffled by table top. Nate lifted his head and leaned back in his chair. Then he decided maybe getting some coffee in his system would wake him up.

Shane sighed and jabbed his spoon in his bowl over and over. Because I want her parents to like me. "No particular reason. I guess maybe I think Mr. Torres doesn't... want me hanging with his daughter. I don't want him to get all mad at me or something."

"Shane, Mrs. Torres invited us. I'm sure she wouldn't have if her husband wasn't cool with it," Jason said as he flipped the page of his newspaper.

"Yeah," Nate agreed when he returned with a mug of coffee. "Jason's probably right." Nate furrowed his brow and Jason stared at him proudly. "Okay, I'm definitely not awake yet if I just said what I think I said."


Tess' driver Pete pulled up to Mitchie's house at twelve noon on the dot. Tess sat in the back of limo, not wanting to get out of her car. She knocked on the glass partition that always separated herself from Pete. It rolled down slowly. "Pete, would you mind going up to get Mitchie? I just think it would make a better impression."

Pete nodded reluctantly. The little Tyler is worse than her mother. But I know that somewhere beneath her demanding attitude is a heart of gold. Or, at least bronze. Pete chuckled to himself at his little joke.

Tess watched from the tinted window as Pete walked up the sidewalk to Mitchie's quaint little house. He rang the doorbell once, and was immediately greeted by Mrs. Torres. Tess smiled softly, suddenly wishing she had gone up instead of Pete. Talking to Mrs. Torres would be nice after spending a few weeks away from her now.

Mitchie came up to the door, greeted Pete, and said goodbye to her mother with a hug. Tess' heart hurt a little. She has the kind of mother I've always wanted. Tess brought her hands up to her hair to finger-fluff the ends, and put on a huge smile.

Pete opened the door for Mitchie, who thanked him politely and then slid in next to Tess. "Hi, Tess."

"Happy birthday, Mitchie!" Tess grinned, reaching over to hug her. Mitchie furrowed her brow and patted her back awkwardly. "Here, I got you something," Tess pulled a small white envelope out of her purse and handed it to Mitchie.

"Aw, Tess, you shouldn't have. The spa thing is enough, trust me," Mitchie began, but she took the envelope anyway. She opened it and pulled out the contents. "Oh my God!" Mitchie squealed.

"I hope you like it," Tess smiled sweetly. "It took me a long time to think of what to get you. I figured everyone likes to eat, right?"

Mitchie nodded eagerly. "The Rose in only the coolest restaurant in the world! I saw this special on tv about it once, you know because my mom is always watching cooking shows and stuff. I can't believe I get to go there!" She stared at the gift certificate in her hand. Five hundred dollars?! Who gets a fifteen year old something for five hundred dollars? "Thank you so much, Tess!"

Tess smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "No problem. Now, you'll have to call me when you wanna go, because you'll need reservations to get in. I'll set them for you, and you can just go in under my name, kay?"

Mitchie grinned. "Wow. This is the best day ever! The spa, getting to go to The Rose, my mom's amazing pancake cake surprise, the party tonight..."

"Party?" Tess asked. "You're having a party tonight?" Tess knew she and Mitchie weren't great friends or anything, but a party is a small thing to exchange for a spa day and a five hundred dollar gift certificate. Not that she needs to repay me for a birthday gift, Tess reminded herself.

"Oh, yeah," Mitchie said quickly, realizing that she probably shouldn't have mentioned it. "It's nothing big, trust me," she said in her most convincing tone. "So, um, what are we doing at the spa? I've never been to one before."

Tess tried to push the fact that she wasn't invited to Mitchie's party out of her mind. "Well, we're going to get manis and pedis, a massage and a facial. It'll be tons of fun. My mom's old roommate from college owns the place, so we get VIP treatment," Tess added with a giggle.


"Why exactly are we leaving so early?" Jason asked as he maneuvered his Hummer out of their three stall garage. "I mean, Mrs. T said the party isn't going to be till, like, five o'clock. Didn't she say Mitchie's going to be out all day?"

Shane put on his aviators and leaned back in the passenger seat. " Yes, Mitchie's going to be out all day, but I think we should get there early to help her parents set up and everything. We want to make a good impression," he explained.

"Mrs. Torres already knows us, though," Nate said as he leaned forward in his seat to join the conversation. "Unless... you want a good impression for Mr. Torres, don't you?" He smirked at Shane.

"Yeah, duh. He doesn't want his daughter with boys he doesn't trust, does he? I mean, think back to last weekend. When Mitchie hugged us, he looked like he wanted to hit us with golf clubs."

Jason nodded. "I guess you're right. Do you think there'll be cake?"

"Dude. It's a birthday party. What kind of birthday party doesn't have cake?" Shane pointed out as he fiddled with the air conditioning and the radio dial.

"Yeah, especially when the mother of the girl who's having the party has her own catering company?" Nate added.


Mitchie eyed the cuticle scissors with fear. "Um, do those things hurt?" she squeaked, gulping as Tara, her bleached blond manicurist, brought them dangerously closer to her trembling fingers.

Tess laughed in apology to Tara, as Heidi, her own manicurist, cut hers with out a problem. "She's a newcomer to manicures," Tess explained, and both women laughed in understanding. "Trust me, Mitchie, you'll be fine."

An hour later, Mitchie and Tess had undergone nail makeovers and were heading to the back of the spa for their facials and massages. "Now," Tess began as they entered the small room with two massage tables, "Don't freak when the masseuses come in. I'm pretty sure they're both men, so we'll be wearing robes until we get under the sheets."

Mitchie felt slightly awkward as Paolo and Antonio rubbed her shoulders and neck. Tess was completely fine with the whole thing. Mitchie guessed it was the fact that Tess is rich enough to go to a spa once a month probably.

Finally, it was time for the facials, which Mitchie found to be something she could handle. Cucumber slices were placed over her eyes and some green gunk was rubbed over her face. I feel like I'm wearing a Jolly Green Giant mask.


"You boys are so sweet for helping me set up," Mrs. Torres gushed, handing Jason and Nate another handful of balloons took blow up. Jason grinned and to a pink one.

"It's no problem, Mrs. T. We had nothing else to do today so we figured we might as well come help you out," Nate added as he took a deep breath to blow up a green balloon.

Connie smiled. "Well, it's very considerate for you to think of it. Please help yourselves to anything you would like. There's plenty of food in the fridge and there is some pop out in the garage. I'm going to go see if Shane and Mr. Torres need any help." Connie the kitchen and headed into the living room where Shane was helping Rich set up the karaoke machine that Mr. Torres borrowed from Scott, one of his employees.

"You like baseball, Shane?" Mr. Torres asked as he searched for the correct wire to plug in. Shane held it up and handed it to him.

"Um, no, not so much. I used to play when I was kid, but, uh, I kind of got turned off to it after something happened one night after I was coming home from a little league game," Shane replied quietly, hoping he wouldn't have to explain more.

Connie took the silence as an opportunity to ask if there was anything she could do. Shane looked up, startled by voice. Rich waved a hand in the air.

"Nope, we're good in here, honey. Has anyone else arrived yet?" Rich asked as he stood up, having completely forgotten about the baseball conversation he and Shane had been having.

Connie shook her head. "No, we're still waiting on the others. Caitlyn called and said she'll be here in in about twenty minutes. I haven't heard from Sierra or Margaret or Ella, though."

Shane stood up as well. "What else can I do for you?" he asked with a charming smile.

Rich clapped him on the back. "Such a gentleman. Why don't you help Nate and Jason blow up some more balloons?"


After Tess and Mitchie's facials, they were back in the limo and on their way to Mitchie's house. Mitchie realized she hadn't gotten anything to tell Gwen about yet.

"So, Tess, what's your school like?" Mitchie asked suddenly, hoping there would be something worth Gwen's assignment somewhere in the conversation.

"Oh, it's just like any other school, really. Boring," Tess giggled. "I'm in choir and I'm on the volleyball team, so that's fun. It's supposed to be the best private school in the country, but I'll vouch otherwise. I used to go to a public school a couple years ago, and it's not much different. My mom used to go to the private school though, so she donates a bunch of money and insists that I continue her legacy of school domination," Tess snorted. "She thinks she's raising a ruler, I guess."

Mitchie smiled. "What about your father?" Mitchie asked, realizing she had never heard Tess talka bout him. "What does he do?"

Tess bit her lip and looked down at her hands. Mitchie got a sinking feeling that she had just brought up something Tess would rather not talk about. "Um, well, he's not around anymore. I honestly don't know what happened to him. When I was really little, like four, he didn't come home from work one day. I ask my mom about him sometimes, but, um, she says I shouldn't worry about it. But she'll never give me a straight answer. It kind of sucks sometimes, you know? I just want to know where my dad is and no one will tell me," Tess' eyes were welling up and Mitchie felt herself become sad.

"Tess, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked," Mitchie said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Tess sniffled a few times and looked at Mitchie with red eyes.

"It's alright, you didn't know. I just wish someone would tell me what ever happened to Harold Tyler," Tess forced a small smile. She furrowed her brow and looked past Mitchie out the window. "Hey, who's Hummer is that? It wasn't here when I picked you up."

Mitchie's heart began to beat faster. A Hummer? At my house? And then it dawned on her. My parents must have invited Shane and Jason and Nate to my party. "Oh, um, I think that's my uncle," she lied. "He must be here for my party."

Pete pulled to a stop in front of Mitchie's house. Mitchie opened the door and jumped out, eager to get inside where Connect Three was. "Thank you so much for taking me to the spa, and for the gift certificate. I can't wait to go."

"No problem," Tess said. "I'll talk to you soon, okay? Have fun at your party!"

The limo left the front of Mitchie's house and started down the street. Mitchie stared at her house. Connect Three is in my house. Right. Now. If Tess knew, she'd absolutely die!

Mitchie couldn't wait to see Shane inside. Fifteen is gonna be my year. I can feel it.


So, there is the next chapter. I hope you like. Next chapter, obviously, is gonna be the party, plus something I'm pretty sure no one is expecting.

Oh, there is this nifty little contraption that the website has rigged up for everyone. It's a little button near the bottom of your page, and get this: it lets you give me feedback about my story. Wanna try it out?? For me? Please? :D haha

Much love,
Wish