AN: Thanks so much for all of the amazing reviews. It's late again, I know. But I'm trying to get better about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock, though I kind of wish I did.

Good News

Ali spent a large portion of the movie wondering when she would get to see Jason again. When she got home she automatically signed on to her instant messenger. She didn't have to worry about breaking the news to her family, or talking about the concert just yet. Nobody was home, with the exception of the family dog. It wasn't that she was embarrassed or that it was a bad thing, but she had no idea how her family would react to the fact that she 1) had a boyfriend and 2) he was a famous musician. She figured that Elizabeth saw it coming, Chrisy would either be in shock, denial, or make fun of her, but she had no clue as to how Harry would react to his little girl having a rock star boyfriend. She sat with her back to the wall, on her bed with her laptop in front of her.

"Hey, Jacob," she said as the fluffy dog jumped up onto the bed beside her. Technically it was her sister's dog and as a result the fact that the name coincided with a character in one of her favorite books was a coincidence that Ali found relatively amusing. "What do you think, do you approve of Jason?"

The dog barked once and wagged his tail.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ali giggled.

She scratched behind his ears and the dog curled up next to her and rested his head in her lap. Jacob looked curiously at her laptop.

"I know, nobody had signed on yet. Oops, spoke to soon." The dog's ears perked up at the sound of some one signing on, "It's Coco, I bet you a treat she asks about the concert." Jacob just stared at her, "Fine, no deal." She laughed at herself as she saw a window pop up with her friend's message.

Dancinqueen: Hi, how was the concert? I wish I could've gone.

Almost2normal: Maybe next time. It's not my fault you were jet setting.

Dancinqueen: Oh yeah, big travels, all the way to the next state… please tell me you caught the sarcasm… So, there's going to be a next time?

Monique figured there would be. With as much time as the pair spent talking she was pretty sure Ali would be welcome backstage anytime.

Almost2normal: I hope so, it kind of goes with dating a band member. At least I think it should.

Ali paused to get a reaction, she watched as the icon at the bottom of the window changed from 'typing' to 'entered text' several times. Ali giggled at her friend's reaction and wished that she could've seen her face.

Dancinqueen: O.O are you serious?!

Almost2normal: Yeah. Shane and I really hit it off

Ali laughed at the thought of her and Shane together.

Dancinqueen: . . .

Almost2normal: Just kidding! Like I would ever date Shane Gray.

Dancinqueen: Hey!

Monique was a long time fan of Shane's, it was more or less an automatic reaction to defend him. It wasn't as if Ali didn't like Shane, they were becoming friends. But the thought of her dating him was just plain ridiculous.

Almost2normal: You know I'm right

Dancinqueen: Yeah. So you and Jason?

Almost2normal: Yeah!!

Ali's grin grew across her face.

Dancinqueen: That's awesome. I bet you're thrilled.

Almost2normal: The fangirls at the meet and greet have nothing on me.

Dancinqueen: No kidding. Well I have to go, but I want to hear more when I get back.

Almost2normal: Of course. Later.

Monique signed off and Ali picked up her phone. This next contact was one that she was looking forward to. Ali hadn't talked to her friend Raia in ages, but she was one of those people that would call out of the blue after six months, just to tell you that she was going to the movies. She decided that a text would be best in this situation. Raia and Ali had become friends in their freshman year of high school. Since then Raia had traveled and lived all over the country, coming back to home base every year or so. As a result Ali had no idea what time zone her friend was in. At least it is something she'll want to know. Ali's lack of romance was a common topic of discussion when they did talk, Raia had pestered her about it for ages.

Guess who finally has a boyfriend, his name is Jason, he's the guitarist from Connect 3 Ali typed and sent the message. Within minutes she got a text in return.

It's about time!... who's Connect 3?

Ali rolled her eyes. Her friend was constantly out of the loop when it came to pop culture. Ali had figured she wouldn't be familiar with the band but had decided to give it a try anyway.

They are one of the most popular pop groups around. But that's as you say, a 'minor detail' focus on the word BOYFRIEND Ali responded. It wasn't long after the message was sent that the phone rang. Ali smiled and answered it.

"Hi Raia."

"Hi, you know I don't text much. So you got yourself a boyfriend? This makes what… two?"

Ali rolled her eyes, "Well excuse me. Not all of us can be serial daters." Raia didn't seem to stay single for very long, regardless of where she went.

Her friend laughed, "Well is he cute?"

"First things first. Where are you calling from?" The last time Ali talked to her she was living with her grandmother in Kansas, before that she was with an aunt in Germany.

"As of now I am on a boat headed for New Zealand."

"I think I officially hate you," Ali joked, she was mildly envious of her friend's travels.

"I thought you had a boyfriend. A musician or something," she reminded.

"Good point. Never mind," Ali retracted her statement Though I wouldn't mind going on tour.

"Enough about me. So this guy, is he cute, what's he looks like, what does he do?"

"Do you remember all of those posters in Chrisy's room?"

"Vaguely. The guys with the bad clothes?"

Ali sighed, "yeah." She knew that it was pointless to argue. Raia was a big fan of the western style, cowboy boots, hats, jeans and all. Pretty much the opposite of what Connect 3 tended to wear, with the exception of Jason's footwear.

"Well that's the band. He plays guitar, I'll send you some links."

"Is he a good kisser?"

Ali giggled, "I wouldn't know. We just got together after their concert yesterday. I haven't seen him since."

"Why wasn't I invited?" She asked in a snooty joking tone.

"You are on your way to New Zealand remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"Besides you barely know who they are."

"That's true. Speaking of which. Which one is your guy again?"

Ali smiled my guy she thought, can get used to that. "He's the one I have a poster of in my room. I think you were there when I put it up."

"Oh, ok. I think I remember that one. The one with the purple background? Him?" It was finally starting to click in, Ali could tell.

"Yep," Ali was sure that her friend could hear the smile in her voice.

"Wait. You are telling me that you are now dating your favorite popstar?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"That is proof that it has been too long since we really talked. Whan did this happen?" Raia knew Ali well enough to know that she usually didn't just jump into things, when Ali did something there was usually a lot of thought behind it.

Ali thought back to her summer at Camp Rock. She had to start the story at the beginning.

"Remember Chrisy was going to go to camp last summer…"

- - - - -

Jason had just finished packing and was grumbling about having to leave. There was a knock at his door, without waiting for an answer Shane waltzed in and plopped down on the chair in the corner. "Dude, you excited about the trip?" Shane asked. Jason wasn't really in the mood.

"Where are we going?" Jason had found that the fastest way to get his friends to leave him alone was to play dumb. Shane rolled his eyes.

"Dude, she'll be here when we get back," he told the disgruntled guitarist.

Jason just looked at him.

"Fine," Shane said in defeat, "Take my advice, don't plan on calling her too much."

This caught Jason off guard, he and Ali communicated constantly, he remembered when Shane and Mitchie first got together, they had been the same way. Why should that change?

"Why not?" He tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Two words dude," Shane held out two fingers, "'Time difference'. It's the worst, with our schedules and her classes I don't know if you'll be able to talk at all."

Jason seemed to take that in for a moment. There was still e-mail right? It wasn't like they would loose contact completely. Shane just watched his friend. "Have you told her yet?"

"No," Jason mumbled.

"I would do that soon if I were you. I have few phone calls to make myself, so I'll see you later." Shane paused in the doorway, "I just realized that I had no point in coming over here."

Jason just shook his head and took out his phone. It's now or never he thought as Shane left the room. Jason glanced around his room as he listened to the phone ring.

- - - - -

Ali was still on the phone with her friend when she heard the call waiting chirp. She checked the screen and saw who it was.

"Raia, can I call you back? Jason's on the other line."

"Sure."

"Thanks, bye." Ali pressed into the call waiting, "Hello?"

"Hi songbird. How was the movie?"

"Pretty good, I told my friends about us."

Ali said the word us and smiled. Jason heard it and did the same. Us, that sounds really good they both thought.

"How was that?"

"Surprisingly easy. But if by any chance Will contacts you, please let me know."

Ali had been cautious to keep her phone, and as a result Jason's number, close to her and away from Will. She highly doubted he would do anything, but just incase, she thought she'd give Jason a heads up.

"Is that something I should worry about?"

"Probably not, he's harmless… for the most part," Ali joked. "What's up? You sound less bubbly than usual." She hoped that wasn't a side affect of their new status.

"I'm a moron," he stated.

"Jason, you aren't a moron," Ali debated.

"Stupid."

"No."

"Useless."

"Definitely not."

"An airhead?"

"Jace," she said in an exasperated tone, but he could hear a hint of amusement regardless.

"Well, then give me forgetful at least."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I was so excited about you being at the concert that I completely spaced. Me and the guys are going to leaving for a few weeks, to promote the album."

"Oh," was all Ali could say, she hoped that her disappointment didn't come through in her voice.

"I know, I wish I didn't have to go. I'm sorry," Jason honestly did not want to go, he had been looking forward to spending time with her, but it looked like those plans would be put on hold.

"Don't be, it's a part of the job description. It's what you do, remember," Ali said cheerfully, she was determined to assure him that she was fine with it. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere. Where are you going anyway?"

"Europe, the CD just came out over there."

"Cool. For how long?" Ali was almost afraid of the answer.

"Six weeks," Jason said dejectedly.

"Wow. When are you leaving?" please don't say tomorrow Ali silently pleaded.

"Tonight,"

Figures, Ali thought, I ask for it to not be tomorrow and instead it's sooner.

"Well in that case I'm expecting a lot of post cards," she joked, she heard him chuckle on the other end.

"One from every city," Jason promised.

"Sounds like a plan. So I guess I'll see you the next time you're in town?"

"Of course!" There was shouting in the background, "I have to go. Hey Ali, I know it's a little soon; you don't have to say it back. I just want to say it before I leave... Songbird, I love you." Ali barely had time to register what he said before he hung up.

Ali couldn't seem to think in coherent sentences. They had talked once about saying 'I love you' to people. It was something that Ali personally had a hard time with, a fact that Jason remembered apparently. Ok, so he's a bit of an airhead, but he's amazing and… Jason's words sunk in and he loves me. But then she remembered the reason for his phone call.

Chrisy had come in while Ali was on the phone and was sitting on her sister's bed admiring her posters when Ali hung up with Jason.

"This sucks!" She exclaimed. Chrisy looked at her quizzically, startled by the sudden outburst, after what had been a quiet conversation.

"What? Who were you on the phone with?" Chrisy asked, she had only caught the end of the conversation.

"Jason…He's going to Europe, for six weeks! We talk on IM and on the phone, now I'm finally his girlfriend and I can't even call him because of the stupid time difference," she ranted, "Sure, I'm going to need to be studying for finals and stuff anyway, but still. Is it so wrong that I want to spend time with my boyfriend? I was really looking forward to him being in LA for a while now, since they have a little down time before summer. At least they usually do. I know that he's going to have to be gone a lot for tours and they split their time between New York and LA. I get that, it's part of the package. But we just got together and now I won't get to see him at all until after school gets out… Ok," Ali took a deep breath, "rant over." Chrisy just stared at her with a mix of emotions displayed on her face.

"I'm guessing you stopped at 'I'm his girlfriend'?" Ali guessed. Christine nodded. "too bad you were out of town, it was a great concert."

Christine grabbed at Ali's hand, looking at her ring, "Does Mom know?" she asked after a moment.

"Um…" Ali stalled, she hadn't really seen her mom since the concert. Elizabeth had been asleep when they got home from the concert and was out of the house by the time they got up. It sounded horrible that she had told her friends before her family, but Ali thought it would be better to do that in person.

"What about Daddy? What do you think he'll say?"

"I have no idea," Ali answered honestly. Their father Harry had picked Chrisy up from their cousin's house and was currently banging around the kitchen, clearly not in the best of moods. They listened to the commotion coming from downstairs.

"Maybe I should wait 'til Mom gets home," Ali suggested.

- - - - - -

A few hours later Connect 3 was sitting on their plane. Shane was staring out the window and Nate and Jason were talking.

"But where do the hours go?" Jason asked for the third time since Nate had started explaining the time difference between LA and Germany. He groaned and threw his head back against the seat's headrest, he heard Shane snicker on his other side. The youngest member turned back towards Jason again, who was still looking at him confusedly. Nate sighed and decided to change his strategy.

"They get dissolved into the space-time continuum and into the black hole of space, where they can only be retrieved by a time machine and flux capacitor."

Jason stared at him for a moment. Nate braced himself to hear the question yet again. Instead his band mate's face lit up

"Oh!" he exclaimed, as if having an epiphany, "I get it!"

Nate gawked openly at his friend for a moment, "Of course you do," he finally said, shaking his head.

- - - - - -

"So how was the concert?" her mother asked.

"What?" Ali asked, coming out of her daydream, "Oh, it was awesome. They always are. We hung out back stage for a while after the show. It was so nice to be around them again. Oh, and I got to talk to Mitchie, remember I told you about her, the girl that sang with Shane just after Final Jam."

"I remember," Elizabeth stated.

"Did anything else happen after the show?" Chrisy asked, just wanting to see how Ali would handle it. Ali glared openly at her.

"Do you know something we don't?" Elizabeth asked her younger daughter. The girl looked over at her older sister, who was still glaring.

"Maybe," Chrisy dared.

"Fine, you win," Ali sighed, "It's not like you didn't see this coming Mom," She shot an anxious glance at her father, "Jason kind of asked me out after the concert."

"Kind of?" Her father asked, there was a slight edge in his voice, "Kind of as in you go out as part of a group, kind of as in you might go out sometime? What does that mean, 'kind of'?"

"Kind of as in I'm his girlfriend but he's currently touring in Europe so we can't actually go out on a date at the moment," Ali defined, her annoyance at the situation coming through slightly. She looked around the table. Her sister was smirking, knowing that she had forced Ali into the situation. Elizabeth was smiling. She couldn't read her father's expression at all. "Daddy?" She asked after a moment.

"Huh? Oh… well when I can I meet Jason?" It seemed that Harry didn't know how to react. He wasn't used to his daughter having much of a social life, let alone a boyfriend.

"I think you met him after Christmas. I'm not sure when you'll be able to meet him again. He's in Europe for the next six weeks and after that I don't know."

"Speaking of after six weeks," Elizabeth hinted, "Shouldn't you be looking for a summer job."

Ali sighed as the conversation moved on.

- - - - -

The first few weeks weren't ideal. Ali and Jason exchanged e-mails and had a few short IM conversations. They had quickly found, to their dismay, that Shane was right; phone calls would be few and far between. Ali found it amusing, once she got past her irritation, that she and Jason had been more or less limited to the communication they had when they were first becoming friends.

"How's Ali doing?" Nate asked when he saw Jason close the laptop in front of him.

"Good," Jason said, then frowned, "She says that finals are coming up so she won't be able to talk as much."

"Well that's for the best. We have an even busier schedule coming up."

The frown didn't leave Jason's face.

"Dude, she gets that we are going to be gone a lot. I'm sure she understands," Nate reasoned. Jason nodded. Nate remembered something that he had talked about with Shane. "Besides, after this we have the summer at Camp Rock, remember?"

Jason thought about it and grinned. Nothing was definite yet but he was hoping to spend the summer with Ali.

- - - - - -

Ali had given up on studying for the day. She needed a break and had already checked her e-mail. At this point she needed to think about what she would do for the summer. She should have been looking for a job days ago. That was the down side to working at a school, she had the summers off. While she enjoyed it, her bank account didn't. She had started a list of places she wouldn't mind working when she was jolted from her work at the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hello?" Ali asked answering, the number was unfamiliar but it was the home phone, so she answered it anyway.

"Hi, this is Brown Cesario, director at Camp Rock; may I speak with Alinda Spencer?"

"This is she. Hi Brown, good to hear from you," Ali was hoping that there was a good reason for Brown's call. Maybe something about that offer he made last year. Brown had mentioned the possibility of her getting a job at camp the coming summer.

"Not as good as it is to talk to you, Ali. I have a proposition for you. If you remember I offered you a position as a junior councilor." This was the call Ali was hoping for,"Well, some of the powers that be and I were discussing some options for this summer, trying to shake up the camp a little you know. Anyway, we decided that we wanted to add a younger age group to the atmosphere. Mind you, it wouldn't be much of a change. It would be mostly separate from the rest of the camp. The little tikes would stay for most of the day and be picked up by their parents in the afternoon. We were looking at having them work with the older kids for the big performances like a group number in Final Jam."

"That sounds awesome Brown. But what does it have to do with me?"

"Thing is we need someone that could teach singing to the little ones and I heard that you work at a school, with young children especially. I know you've got the pipes for it. I wanted to contact you first. You were a great addition to the camp last year and I would love to see you come back. There is plenty of freedom within the program. We aren't sure about class size, or other activities. All I know is that I would love to have you be involved. It would be a full time job, good pay. You would live at the camp like last summer in the cabins, meals and everything taken care of." Brown finished. He was fairly certain that he had covered all the bases, anything else could be covered at camp.

"Wow, um, I'm not sure how to respond. Thank you so much for thinking of me. I would love to work with the kids this summer. I need to check with my family see if there are any big plans. I don't think there are, but just in case." Ali was thrilled, yet intimidated. Out of all of the people at camp and all the people he could hire he had called to see if she wanted in. She didn't think she made that much of an impression. It was a dream come true.

"If there are family obligations I'm sure we could work something out. Thank you poppet. Oh, and I hope you don't mind but with you as a vocalist, it would be sensible for me to call in a musical accompaniment and I happen to know that my nephew and his friends are free this summer." He left the statement almost hanging.

Ali usually didn't talk to adults like she does with her friends, Brown seemed to be the exception to that rule, "Brown, seriously, what are you saying?"

"A certain guitarist is looking forward to working with you this summer. Find out about your plans and get back to me. Thanks again Ali." With that he hung up. Ali's mouth was still hanging open.

I'm going to spend all summer with Jason? I get to be a music teacher with my favorite age group, using my talents, and with my boyfriend on top of all that? Ali hung up the phone and proceeded to jump up and down before dialing Jason's number to double check the facts. She waited impatiently as the phone rang. She did the math quickly and realized it would be late where he was, but she hoped that he was still up.

"Hey songbird," his voice sounded on the other end, "does it bug you when I call you that?" It was something that he had wanted to ask for a while, but he tended to forget.

"Honestly? I love it. It's rare that I like my nicknames, but you found one," she confessed, "But at the moment that is beside the point. Guess who I just got off the phone with."

"Um…"

"Is it true that we are going to be working at Camp Rock this summer?"

Jason smiled, "Only if you take the job, if not I'll be working with a lot of small children and a stranger."

"Yay!" She squealed, almost causing him to wince. "This summer will be amazing. Well provided I don't fail at being a teacher and Brown fires me."

Jason just laughed, "You'll be awesome. Oh, I think Nate knows a little more, here he is."

Ali could hear shuffling, "Hey, this is Nate, did Brown tell you that the camp starts early for you, because we are part of the new unit?"

"No, he told me it would almost be like a separate camp," Ali was starting to think things through; there were a bunch of questions she would have to ask before she officially accepted the job.

"Yeah, it's closer to town, easier for the parents that way. Things are a little hectic at the moment, I'll send you an e-mail with the specifics that I know about. For now I think I'll pass you back to Jason."

"Bye Nate." She hadn't said it in time so Jason relayed the message. She heard a muffled good-bye from Nate through the phone. "Jace, does it make any sense that I miss you? I mean it's not like we hang out all the time. I'm talking to you almost as much as when we first starting writing. It that weird?"

"I miss you too. Hang on," Jason was silent for a moment. Ali could hear a voice in the background, it sounded like Jasper and then Jason releasing a frustrated sigh, "Looks like I have to go. Some meeting for something, with some one."

"Sounds very specific," Ali laughed.

"Bye songbird."

"I'll talk to you later love."

- - - - -

A few days later Connect 3 was spending some much needed down time in their hotel room.

"This summer is going to be awesome," Jason declared out of the blue. He had been working on a nameless piece of music. There were only a couple of weeks left before they headed home.

"What, you're finally going to get that birdhouse?" Nate joked from his place at the table, this time Jason was the one to roll his eyes.

"Looks like we have a full summer gig," Shane stated getting off the phone, "That was Brown, looks like everything has been sorted out for Camp Rock. Including the 'junior rockers division'," he said to Jason, "Ali is officially a Camp Rock instructor."

"Yes!" Jason cheered, "This is gonna be so cool!"

"Have you ever even worked with kids?" Shane asked. He was aware that Jason would spend almost the entire camp with young children.

"I'm not too worried, he'll be able to relate to them," Nate told him. It was true. Jason usually had the mentality of a kid, especially when it came to his attention span and memory. If there was something he wanted he would hold onto the information or request for ages, otherwise, he didn't seem to remember much, or pay attention.

Jason looked at Nate, unsure if he was being insulted, after a moment he decided that he didn't care and shrugged, still smiling.

- - - - -

"So you get to spend all summer with your boyfriend, far away from you parents, and get paid for it?" Ali was on the phone with Raia once again. Her friend was having a little trouble wrapping her mind around Ali's summer plans.

"That's the plan. Don't make it sound so scandalous. We are going to be working with little kids for eight hours, five days a week. He's sharing a cabin with Nate and Shane, and I've been bunked with Mitchie and Caitlyn. You make it sound like we are going to be on our honeymoon."

"No, you skipped the honeymoon and went straight to having a family. I want pictures of you with the kids," Raia laughed. Ali hadn't really thought about it that way, but she was kind of right. If class rooms were families then she and Jason were the parents, "What, no response? What do your parents think about it?"

"They're thrilled that I have a summer job, doing what I want to be doing. Mom trusts the guys, we spent a weekend with them remember. I don't know if my dad knows that Jason is going to be there," Ali told her. Harry tended to forget major details. For example Ali had choir practice every Tuesday during the school year, for two years and yet when she would go to leave on Tuesday nights he would ask where she was going. "But even then it shouldn't be an issue."

"Is that so? How did he take the news originally?"

"I think he's kind of in denial. All he did was ask when he could meet Jace; which I couldn't give him an answer to. Though now it looks like final jam is the next time. That's the big show at the end of camp," Ali explained, she tended to forget that her friends had never been to Camp Rock.

"Well good luck. I'll take to you later."

"Bye."

Just as Ali hung up the phone she got a message from Monique.

dancinQueen: When are you leaving again?

Ali smiled, she was so excited for the summer to start, she typed as quickly as her fingers would let her.

Almost2normal: I'm heading up there on Monday. I'm sorry that I'm going to miss your birthday.

She was going to drive up to camp, that way she would have a car if she wanted to go into town on the weekends. It was a full day's drive, but she was up to it. Downside to being gone all summer was that she would be missing Will's and Monique's birthdays.

dancinQueen: Don't worry about it, have fun.

Almost2normal: I will, and I'll tell Shane you say hi.

dancinQueen: haha… wait, you actually could couldn't you.

Almost2normal: Yes I could.

After that the conversation was simple and fun. It lasted until Elizabeth came in and insisted that Ali pack for camp.

- - - - - -