"Who are you calling?" Shane pried. He turned around to watch his friend's face.
"Why do you care?" Nate retorted, pressing his phone to his ear. "Hey."
"Well if it isn't our famous sixteen year old," Caitlyn said on the other end. "How'd it go?!"
"I passed!"
"Yay! See, I told you that you would! And now you know never to doubt the words of the fabulous Caitlyn Gellar."
"Someone thinks very highly of themselves,"
"Shut up, sore loser. I heard you lost to Jase when you guys went go-carting,"
Shane raised an eye brow. "How do you know about that already, Cait? We just left!"
"HotTunes. Their reporters are really good at staying undercover. So anyway, what are you guys doing?"
"Heading back to the hotel to rest for a little bit before the show. Jason's driving, Shane's been staring at himself in the mirror since we left-"
"Nate..." He said with a warning.
"I'm talking to you," Nate glanced down at his friend, who was curled up against him. "And Mitchie is KO'd. I think tour life is starting to get to her."
"Aww, poor girl. Hey, when she wakes up, tell her I miss her. Anyway, I gotta go, My cab's here."
"Cab?" Shane once again raised his eye brow, suspicious of his cousin. "Where are you going, Gellar? Do you have a date?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Caitlyn Margaret Marie-"
"Gah! No! Don't do that! Like my middle names aren't bad enough. If you really must know, cousin dearest, I don't have a date. I'm just moving hotels."
"As long as you don't have a date."
"Dumb ass," Caitlyn snickered. "Bye, Jase! Don't forget to tell Miss. Mitchie that I miss her. Bye, Nathaniel, love you, Shaney."
"Yeah yeah." He muttered. "Love you too, Len."
"Bye Cait,"
"She'd better not have a date."
"Relax," Nate told his band mate, as he hung up. "Are we there yet?"
"Almost, Mitchie-Jr." Jason responded, his eyes focused on the traffic ahead of him. "Do me a favor, will ya? Wake her up. She won't sleep tonight if she keeps napping like this."
"Sure,"
He began to shake her, causing Mitchie to crack an eyelid. "What do you want?"
"Wake up, Princess. We're at the hotel,"
"Okay," She shrugged, dropping her head back down onto his shoulder. "Again. Why am I awake?"
"Because you won't sleep tonight if you're sleeping right now," Jason was already out of the car, opening the backdoor for her to get out. "C'mon, guys."
The parking lot was deserted, thanks to their security team. Jason took his sister by the hand and led the way inside.
"Oh my gosh!" She screamed, pulling away from him. She ran and threw her arms around a very familiar looking girl.
Nate laughed, Shane shook his head in disbelief and Jason grinned.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were coming?!"
"I can't surprise four of my favorite people?" Caitlyn asked with a smile. "I missed you guys, and my parents were kind of tired of watching me mope around, so they agreed to let me stay the weekend, if it's okay with you guys, of course."
"Are you kidding me?" Shane asked. "Get over here!"
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her against him. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Arrogant pop star. Now can you let go of me? I'd like to hug the remaining two members of Connect 3."
Rolling his eyes, he passed her off to his older friend.
"Hey, Caity-Cat!" Jason greeted, picking her up and spinning her around. She laughed, much like his own sister did when he did the same thing to her.
"Hey, Jase!"
Nate waited patiently, she ran into his arms, slipping hers around his waist.
"I missed you," Caitlyn muttered, even though they hadn't been talking so much in the past year, they were still close, after meeting through Shane at Camp Rock.
"I missed you too, Cait." He said with a low voice. "It's not the same without you."
"I am pretty awesome," She agreed, giggling as he poked her side. "So, what are we doing tonight?"
"Concert," Mitchie told her. "Bring ear plugs."
"Right here." Caitlyn patted her bag, causing the girls to crack up.
"Umm, guys. I hate to have to be the one to break up this beautiful moment, but we are in a hotel lobby. And I think people are starting to recognize us."
They all looked to where Jason was pointing; three teenage girls had their phones out, taking pictures.
"Right." Shane grabbed her duffle bag with one hand and wrapped his free arm around her shoulder. "C'mon, Gellar. We can finish this reunion upstairs."
"Right," She repeated, grabbing Mitchie's hand and pulling her along ahead of the two older boys. Nate scrambled to keep up.
"Staircase race?" Mitchie asked, raising an eye brow at her two age-sharers.
"Staircase race," They repeated, heading for the door. Jason and Shane sighed, sharing a look as the three sixteen year olds disappeared.
"I'm responsible for Mitchie," He began, hitting the button for the elevator. "You're responsible for Caitlyn..."
"Right..." Shane waited for him to continue, very intrigued to see what his point would be.
"So, which one of us is going to claim Nate, when the three of them are together?"
"Joint custody?"
"Joint custody."
"Here's what I'm thinking." Shane said to him later, they sat side by side in the limo, waiting to get to the concert.
"Yeah?" Jason asked, he removed his headphones and shot a quick glance at his sister, who was working on a song with Nate. Caitlyn was also reading the lyrics over his shoulder, though not as interested as the other two.
"You and I have joint custody of Nate; but when I have Caitlyn here, you have to be his primary caregiver, because Len is worse than the two of them put together."
"Dude. You're still thinking about that?"
He laughed and ran a hand through his head. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Hey, Shaney." Caitlyn called from across the vast space. "It might just be my imagination, but you haven't been acting like Mr. Arrogant-Jerky Pop Star in quite a while. Anything you wanna tell me, dearest cousin of mine?"
Shane actually blushed; he knew the reason behind his dramatic attitude change, but did they notice it too?
"I guess I just got tired of acting like that," He lied. "You want Mr. Arrogant-Jerky Pop Star to come back? Get a boyfriend,"
"God. You're still on that! I don't have a boyfriend, and I don't plan on having one for a very long time."
Mitchie rolled her eyes. "Over protective much?"
"Look!" Jason pointed out the window, eager to stop their bickering. "We're here."
Someone opened the limo door for them; she had to practically tear Nate away from his notebook.
"Gah! Fine!" He gave into her and Caitlyn's weak attempt, he got out first and threw his arms around them. "Tomorrow, Mitch? Writing session?"
"I'd like that," She responded, following the boys inside.
"One more encore," She called to Caitlyn. They had to shout to be able to hear each other.
"Thanks for the tips about the ear plugs!" Caitlyn yelled back, she sat back in her chair and watched the boys preform.
There she goes again
The girl I'm in love with
It's cool we're just friends
We walk the halls at school
We know it's casual
It's cool we're just...
I don't wanna lead you on
No
The truth is I've grown fond
Yeah
Everyone knows it's meant to be
Falling in love, just you and me
'Til the end of time
'Til I'm on her mind
It'll happen
I've been making lots of plans
Like a picket fence and a rose garden
I'll just keep on dreaming
But it's cool cause we're just friends
Small talk on IM
Just one word sentences
It's cool we're just friends
And if I had my way
We would talk and talk all day
Yeah
Everyone knows it's meant to be
Falling in love, just you and me
Till the end of time
Til I'm on her mind
It'll happen
I've been making lots of plans
Like a picket fence and a rose garden
I'll just keep on dreaming
But it's cool cause we're just friends
Thinking about how
We're gonna say our vows
It's cool we're just friends
As she walks down the aisle
I see all my friends smile
Cause now we're more than friends
Everyone knows it's meant to be
Falling in love, just you and me
Til the end of time
Til I'm on her mind
It'll happen
We've been making lots of plans
Like a picket fence and a rose garden
I'll just keep on dreaming
Keep on thinking
Of when we used to be just friends
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
When we used to be just friends
When we used to be
La la la la
La la la la
Yeah
La la la la
Yeah
When we used to be just friends
"Man, what a great show." Caitlyn praised as she dropped down onto the couch in Connect 3's large dressing room.
"It twas," Mitchie agreed, sliding down next to her. Within seconds, she was asleep, her head on Caitlyn's lap.
"Mitchie has all the right ideas," She said with a yawn, before she too, was asleep.
Jason and Shane turned to Nate.
"You're not allowed to fall asleep." Shane told him. "Because we're not carrying you out too."
"I'll carry Caitlyn," He offered, rather quickly. "I mean, I don't mind."
The eighteen year old laughed. "If you really want too. Jase? You want a break? I'll carry Mitchie."
Jason made them laugh by pretending to stretch. "Thank god! My arms are getting tired."
With an eye roll, he wrapped his arms the darker brunet and picked her up. He held her as he had carried Caitlyn as a child, with her arms around his neck, her legs loose around his hips.
Nate carried Caitlyn bridal style, her head cradled on his shoulder. He was gentle with his movements, hoping that they wouldn't rock her too much.
Jason led the way, he was careful to make sure that the limo met them out in back, where fans weren't allowed.
The driver opened the door, and they began a hand off. Jason got in first and readied to take his sister.
Shane reluctantly handed her over, he watched with a small smile as her brother laid her on the seat across from him, buckling her in.
Nate handed Caitlyn off, Shane passed his cousin to his older friend.
Jason buckled her in as well, before moving back so his band mates could get in. This time, Shane opted to sit between them.
He rubbed Mitchie's back with one hand, the other absentmindedly ran through Caitlyn's hair.
Jason watched him carefully, but this time, a small smile was displayed on his face. It was very refreshing that his Mitchie was starting to become close to his best friends.