AN: I know I've said this before but I am truly amazed by my readers. This story is still getting added to alert lists and reviews are coming in. You are the best! I have a legit reason for the delay this time, I felt like I really needed to get this and the next chapters right, there is some actual plot development going on and it deserved as much attention as my fluffier chapters. Shout out to LaPaige for being my BETA for this one and the quick turn around. You rock :)

Disclaimer: What if I stood here and told you I did own Camp Rock? Would you believe me? … I didn't think so either. I don't own.

Recap: The last time we saw Jason and Ali they were at Ali's family dinner, the last time they would have together before he left on tour.

A Shift in Normalcy

"So this is it?" Ali asked Jason as they stood in the driveway of her house. Jason was leaving. The family dinner had been pretty much perfect, but it was time for him to head back home.

Jason shrugged, "I guess so."

Ali started work the next day, and classes later that week. Connect 3 was leaving on their tour on Thursday. The only way she would be able to say goodbye in person was by skipping out on her college classes.

"You know, I could just blow off…"

"No!" Jason insisted, "You wouldn't let me skip on the writing sessions this summer, I'm not letting you skip on your classes now."

"But that was different. We were together all summer. Being gone for a few hours wasn't a huge deal. Now you are going to be gone for a few months, which is a pretty huge deal."

"I don't think it's that different. Writing is part of my job. A job that, you pointed out, I love. Your education class is a part of your job and I know for a fact that you love your job. I would love to be able to kiss you goodbye before getting on the bus, but I would rather know you were where you are supposed to be, getting closer to your goal of being able to do what you love."

Ali nodded, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. She didn't want to cry in front of him. She didn't like to show that kind of weakness to anyone. She took a deep breath but she couldn't keep the shudder out of it.

"Aw, Songbird, please don't cry," Jason begged, looking into her eyes andcupping her face. She attempted to smile, but a whimper slipped out.

"I can't help it." She knew it shouldn't have been such a big deal. They wouldn't have seen much of each otheranyway once she started work again. But something in her stomach made her question this goodbye.

Jason kissed her gently before pulling her against him and wrapping her in a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder. He held her close, humming softly until she sighed and pulled away.

"Thanks, you always know just what to do." Ali tried to give him an honest smile. She looked up at him and saw the sadness in his eyes, "Hey now, we can't both loose it."

This time she cupped his face in her hands. "I love you Jason, you're going to have a great time on this tour. We'll talk and text and e-mail. It will be like the beginning." She smiled at the memories.

"If you say so." He didn't sound convinced.

"I know so," she corrected before leaning up to kiss him. She pulled away just as she heard her front door open. They both turned to see Elizabeth standing in the doorway.

"Ali, I didn't want to rush you, but you start work tomorrow and it's getting late."

Ali nodded, "I'll be right in Mom." Elizabeth gave them a small smile and a nod before closing the door.

Ali took a breath before looking back in to Jason's eyes again. "So…"

"So," Jason mirrored.

"Goodnight and goodbye Guitar Man," she closed the distance between them and poured as much emotion into their kiss as she could. She used a hand on the back of his neck to keep him close as the other went into his curls. Similarly Jason wound an arm around her waist and his other went up into her hair, holding her as near to him as humanly possible. They broke apart when oxygen became an issue, both with goofy, lazy smiles on their faces. They stood there a moment longer before Ali gave him another, short kiss. This one was final. They stared at each other; Ali tried to convey a goodbye without looking too heartbroken or having to say it again. She wasn't sure if he would leave on his own accord.

As usual, Jason understood, "Goodbye Songbird." He placed a kiss on her hand, her forehead, and a lingering, final kiss on her lips before getting in his car.

Ali smiled as she watched him drive off, waiting until he turned the corner before she broke down and cried as she made her way to her room.

- - - - -

To say that Ali was slightly distracted during class that Thursday would be similar to saying that a handful of girls think Shane is kind of cute: a huge understatement. She knew that a couple of hours north of where she sat Connect 3 was about to get on their tour bus.

She looked regretfully at the clock, out the window, and at her teacher who at the time was lecturing on the importance of teamwork in classrooms, something she was already acutely aware of. She made sure that his back was turned before slipping her phone out of her pocket and sending a message to Jason.

- - - - -

Mitchie, Caitlyn, and the boys were saying their goodbyes when Jason's phone went off. He pulled it out and checked the message.

I couldn't be left out of the send off. Say good bye to the guys for me. Love you. –Ali

Jason smiled, "Ali says goodbye." His voice wasn't as up beat as it could have been as he saw Shane with his arm around Mitchie. She and Caitlyn didn't start school until the following Monday, so they could say goodbye in person.

Before he could dwell on too many jealous thoughts Jasper came walking up.

"Ok boys, time for final goodbyes."

"Bye girls," Jason said giving quick hugs to them before getting on the bus.

"See ya," Caitlyn waved and turned to Nate, "You too." She ruffled his hair. He caught her hand and pulled her into a hug.

"It's your job to be my eyes and ears of the music scene while I'm gone. Got it?" He told her as they pulled apart.

"Nate, you know I am the music scene." Nate rolled his eyes before heading toward the bus door.

Shane and Mitchie were in a tight embrace.

"Don't even pretend you won't miss me," Shane mumbled into her hair.

"Well you're going to miss me too. Unless you fall for some other girl on tour," she mumbled into his neck.

"Yeah, right," they pulled apart, "Love you Mitchie."

"I love you too Shane." They shared a quick kiss before Nate pulled Shane away.

"Dude, the goal is to leave today," the irritation in his voice didn't travel to his eyes as he pushed his band mate onto the bus. He turned around and waved one more time. "I'll take care of him Mitch. Bye Caiti."

After that the bus door shut and they were gone.

"So Ali's coming up here this weekend right?" Mitchie asked.

"That's the plan," Caitlyn confirmed, "It's going to be weird, our first weekend without the guys."

- - - - -

The first week passed without any real trouble. Jason and Ali had managed to talk to each other nearly every day. Ali texted him during her lunch break and they managed to talk briefly before he would go onstage. It was almost like he wasn't gone. The only difference was that he wasn't physically there. She figured that since she made it through the first week things would only get easier. The second week Ali couldn't talk to him as much and began to really miss his voice. She thought it was just a fluke and the ache of missing him would go away. By the end of the third week she thought it might have actually gotten worse.

"I miss you," she told him on the phone one night. They had just finished playing a show. Ali knew she should have been trying to get to sleep, but she hadn't been able to speak to him in days.

"I miss you too, but we are talking right now."

"I know baby. I think I just miss being around you." It was true. The weekend at Mitchie's had been fun, but there was almost an awkwardness to it. Her living room had felt so empty without the three extra bodies.

"That makes two of us." There was a slight pause, "Nate just held up a piece of paper that said cloning machine. Does that mean something to you or is he mocking me?"

Ali giggled, "Why would he be mocking you? Nate and I had joked that I should build a cloning machine and make a double of myself. That way I could follow you guys on tour and be in class at the same time."

"That sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Speaking of class, what time do you have to get up tomorrow?"

Ali looked at the clock and winced, "In about four hours." She hadn't been able to concentrate on her homework and was getting up early to work on it.

"Ali that's crazy, weren't you the one lecturing me about sleep? Back in that second e-mail you sent me?"

Ali was stunned, "Yeah, I was. How do you remember that? It was almost a year ago."

"I was really excited to hear from you. Why wouldn't I remember? You did. Anyway, I'm going to return the favor now and say that you need to get sleep. I won't be responsible for you falling asleep in your classroom."

"Fine, you win." Ali sighed. She wanted to talk to him, but she knew he was right. "Good night G-man."

"Sweet dreams Songbird."

Two days later Ali checked her e-mail to find a letter from Nate.

Hey stranger,
So, do you miss us yet? How's that cloning machine coming? I told you that you should have taken a science this semester. It's weird to be back on the bus. I got so used to having open space, especially at camp. I forgot how different it is being outside. According to the Weather Channel our lyrics are still right and it's wonderful in California. How about you send some of that sunshine in our direction? We did an acoustic show the other night because a lightning storm knocked out the power. Jason tried to do what he called an "anti-rain dance" it kind of worked. It hailed instead!

The friend of a mis-directed weather wizard,
Nate

Ali couldn't help but giggle. She could picture the whole thing clear as day. Jason would be dancing around during sound check, probably nearly falling off the stage in the process. Shane would laugh and shake his head. Nate would roll his eyes, trying to hide his amusement. She could only guess at what the rest of their crew would think - she didn't know them as well but was willing to guess that they were used to Jason's antics. Thinking about it only made her miss them more. She quickly clicked the reply button and began to type, adding a smiley face as the subject.

I know that you were listening to at least part of the conversation the other night, so I'm willing to bet that you heard him say 'I miss you too' which would imply that I said 'I miss you' first. That goes to all you guys. Anyway, I'm rambling.

So now I'm not only making a cloning machine, but a weather machine as well? Gosh Nate, maybe you can send one of your tech guys to help me, or buy me a robotics team. Haha, actually, my friend Rory (you met her), she's on a robotics team, it's pretty awesome. Anyway, I bet your fans loved the acoustic show. Personally, those are my favorites. Your fans are the best in the world. They would probably drive through a blizzard to get to your shows. Well, I've got to get to work on that heavy machinery. Lol. Oh, and don't be too hard on that weather wizard of mine. He means well, you know that.

Later,
Ali

- - - - - -

More days and weeks passed, Ali and Jason tried to talk regularly, but it never seemed to work out, never the less, they communicated back and forth. At one point they had a date via webcam, just so they could talk face to face, or with the illusion of it at least. They had planned others, but things came up and they were canceled. Ali had a hard time without him. No one could tell just by talking to her, but when she was on her own or had free time in class, she got very distracted very easily.

The fifth week, she didn't talk to him until after their Friday night show.

"You'll never guess what happened tonight Songbird." Jason told her. She could hear the smile in his voice, it made her forget all about the canceled webchats and the fact that they hadn't spoken in ages.

"Shane fell off the stage?" She guessed sarcastically.

"How did you know?" he asked, sounding honestly curious.

Ali was shocked, "I was right? I just guessed. Oh my gosh, Shane actually fell off the stage? Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. More embarrassed than anything else I think. Nate showing him all the different angles of it that are already on youtube isn't helping."

Ali laughed, "Well that's good - the not being hurt part, I mean. Power slide gone bad?"

She could hear Nate laughing in the background.

"Yeah, security had to fish him out of the crowd."

"I might have to look that up. Have Nate send me the best video he finds."

Jason relayed the message and she heard Nate shout a "can do" towards that phone.

"Believe it or not that is the best news I've heard all week."

Jason frowned, "Bad week at school?"

"No, my week was pretty average, not too exciting. It's the best news because it's coming from you. I missed your voice."

"I missed yours too. Nate stole our CD out of my computer last night. He said he was tired of hearing it all the time."

"Why don't you wear headphones?"

"I do. I guess he can hear it too. We are in pretty close quarters. I told him I would erase his calendar on his phone if he didn't give it back. But that didn't work. He just glared at me so hard I thought my head might burst into flames or something," Jason almost sounded worried at the memory of Nate's death stare.

Ali smiled, she missed them, all three of them, "Well how about this. I will e-mail and negotiate the hostage situation with Mr. Turner."

"Thanks Songbird. But it's still not the same as talking to you."

"I know Jace, I know. But don't you have a break coming up? You were supposed to be coming home for a few days. I thought I could stay with the girls and we could all hang out."

She heard Jason sigh and pause before he spoke.

"Nate told me today that the break was canceled. We added more tour dates. Sorry baby."

Ali hung her head, but tried to keep her voice light, she could tell he felt bad and didn't want to make it any worse.

"Don't apologize to me. I'm just sorry you guys won't get a break." She had stopped following the band as closely once she became friends with them. It just felt weird to be getting all of the e-mails from the fan club when she got the information two days earlier from the band themselves, as a result she hadn't heard about the added dates. Well, maybe I'll go up and stay with the girls anyway Ali thought as she tried to get past the fact that the weekend she had been looking forward to was now gone.

- - - - - -

As more weeks passed, she distanced herself more and more from her friends and became more and more attached to her e-mail. She had more or less given up on actually talking to Jason. Between her studying, homework, classes and work, and his schedule of shows, interviews and meet-and-greets, it was nearly impossible to have a conversation on the phone. Instead of getting used to the distance Ali only seemed more and more weighed down by it.

It was mid October and Ali's friends were trying to convince her to go out with them after class.

"Come on Als, we haven't gone to the movies in forever," Will begged.

"But Jason and I have a webchat scheduled for later."

"That's what you said last time," Coco reasoned.

"And what happened?" Rory asked.

"It got canceled," Ali grumbled.

"Besides, if you aren't there he'll call you," Will explained.

"And I won't be able to hear it because I'll be in the theater," Ali countered, "Sorry guys. I'd just rather be home tonight."

Her friends recognized that they wouldn't make anymore progress and gave up.

"If that's what you want, fine. But we kind of miss you."

"I know guys. Maybe next time."

Ali was relieved when they didn't ask about her date the next time they saw her, it was hard enough to try to convince herself that she wasn't disappointed that Jason had canceled again. She didn't want to have to get that act passed her friends too. Technically Jason didn't cancel - Jasper had done it for him. Butregardless of who had done it, Ali had been crushed.

- - - - - -

A couple of days later Ali decided to call Jason on a whim. Usually she didn't bother because it seemed like every time he had a free minute she was in class, as she was now. She had thought of stepping out during her classes but didn't want to have to tell him that when he asked what she was up to. He was definitely opposed to her skipping or neglecting any school work on account of him. Instead she waited and the instant she was out of class and called him. Hoping he would answer. She had no real reason for calling; she just wanted to hear his voice.

"Hey Ali," a voice answered. Ali was surprised to find that the person on the other end wasn't Jason.

"Shane?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you answering Jason's phone?" She looked at her phone to make sure she had called the right number out of habit. Though she was sure she had.

"Well Jasper has me hold onto it when we are really busy, otherwise Jace gets too distracted."

"I see," Ali took that in for a minute. They actually had to take his cell? Was she that much of a distraction? That can't be good for the band. She shook the thoughts off quickly, "Are you guys free? Do you think I could talk to Jason for a bit?"

"Actually, we just got out of an interview, your timing is perfect."

Before long she and Jason were talking as if it was something they did everyday. Ali felt relaxed for the first time in ages.

"Ugh," she sighed, exhausted.

"What's wrong Songbird?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing. My classes are just a lot more work than I thought they'd be."

"You want to go study? If you need to do homework or something I don't want to distract you."

"No!" There was a trace of panic in her voice, she tried to backtrack and cover it, "No," she said more calmly, "I've got it under control, I can handle it. I want to talk to you." I need to talk to you she added mentally. That should have been a red flag. She did like the lack of control that feeling brought. But at that moment she didn't process the need or remember the empty feeling she would feel when they said good bye and hung up. All she knew at that moment was that she and Jason were talking, which meant everything was right with the world.

- - - - - -

On Halloween Ali saw her class arrive and couldn't wait to call Jason that afternoon. She sent him a pix message during lunch of a group of boys she referred to as 'the three musketeers'. They were best friends and rarely seen on their own. This year it looked like they had persuaded their parents to collaborate on their costumes. As a result Ali spent the day watching a mini-Connect 3 run around the playground.

"You would not believe how cute they were Jace," she gushed when she, by some miracle, caught him on the phone later that day. "I didn't realize until today that they kind of have the same traits as you guys. Jerry is quiet, he kind of keeps the other two out of trouble, Adam is a piece of work, but he usually means well, and Paul, well it's hard to find Paul without a smile on his face."

"I wish I could have come to visit, it sounds like fun. I showed the picture to the guys."

Ali heard a little commotion for the other end.

"Looks like they want to say something."

Before Ali could say anything she heard the phone change hands.

"That kid in the middle has great style." Shane joked.

Ali laughed, "His name is Adam and he thinks so too."

"Tell him that he rocks."

"I will," she promised before hearing more shifting on the other end.

"That kid on the end" Nate started.

"Let me guess, looks cool, together, or smart?"

"Or all of the above," Nate joked.

"Remarkable how you can get all of that out of one photo," she stated sarcastically.

"What can I say, it's a gift."

"I'll tell him you think he's amazing. He actually is really smart, especially if you take in the fact that he's the youngest in the class."

"See, I knew it."

Ali rolled her eyes, "Bye Nate."

Nate chuckled, "Later Als."

Ali was still trying to figure out how long it'd been since she heard Nate use her nickname when Jason came back on the phone.

"Did you dress up?"

"Only a little, I was a hippie, so I wore my old jeans and a tie dye t-shirt. Nothing too out of the ordinary for me."

"I bet it looked great."

"Thanks love. Maybe when you're back in town you can come visit. The kids would think it's amazing. They are big fans you know."

She heard Jason sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked frowning.

"Sometimes it feels like this tour is never going to end. We keep adding more dates, and it fun, but I miss you."

Ali's heart went out to him. She knew how he felt. The few conversations they had these days always started with apologies and never lasted long enough. It broke her heart to think about what their relationship had become but there was no way she would tell him that. She wasn't even thinking about the toll the relation was taking on her.

"I miss you too Guitar Man. But I also know how much love performing. I've never seen your face light up like it does when you're on stage. You think it's ready to end, but I bet if you think about it there is no where you'd rather be than on that stage." She played the supportive girlfriend and didn't let him know how much his absence, and their lack of contact was hurting her.

"Well right now I feel like I'd rather be with you," he paused and thought for a moment before continuing, "Maybe, being on stage with you in the audience."

"Front row?"

"Of course. That sounds perfect."

"You have no idea."

She didn't realize until after she hung up the phone that their conversation was just like so many she had seen on TV; the girl hiding her emotions from the guy. She'd seen this plot and it always ended up with some one getting hurt.

- - - - -

Just as she had said, her relationship with Jason was fairly similar to how it had been in the beginning. She talked to him and Nate as often as time would allow. Her e-mails with Nate were always amusing because of his sarcasm and the fact that he gave an outside view of Jason's antics. Also she was keen on talking to Nate because Jason's birthday was coming up and they were planning something special.

While she loved getting e-mails from Jason, if she thought about them for to long it left an unsettled feeling in her stomach. More often than not it was like reading the ticker tape at the bottom of a news channel, regular updates on their lives. Only difference was that his ended with "Love, Your Guitar Man" and there was a 'Jason-ism' thrown in once in a while.

She knew that if something was bothering her Jason would want her to tell him. That was how they worked, total honesty. It wasn't as if she was trying to hide, or blatantly lying to him. It was just when she had the chance to talk to him everything else faded away and there was no problem to solve.

- - - - - -

Connect 3 was sitting on their bus, riding to the next town. Jason looked at his phone, and checked the time before sighing and tossing it down lightly next to him.

"She's in class?" Nate asked knowingly.

Jason nodded.

"How are they going anyway?" Nate asked out of curiosity. Their e-mails were usually filled with running jokes; there wasn't a whole lot of real conversation going on.

Jason paused for a moment before shrugging, "I don't know."

"You mean there's something about Ali that you don't know?" Shane, who had been eavesdropping up to this point, teased.

"I guess we don't talk like we used to." This revelation put a frown on both Nate and Jason's faces. That's not how it's supposed to be Jason thought. He knew that what he and Ali had was special because they talked about everything. He needed to find a way to get that back. However, whatever his plan might have been was forgotten the next time he talked with Ali because he forgot any problems the instant he heard her voice.

- - - - - -

A few days later Ali was sitting in her room pretending to do homework when something hit her in the back of the head.

"What?" she looked and found a paper ball on her laptop. She unfolded it and read the note written in it.

Turn Around

Ali did as it said and turned to see Rory standing in her doorway.

"Hey, why are you in my house? Not that I mind." Ali didn't realize until that moment that she hadn't seen her friends in ages.

Her friend ignored her question and looked passed her.

"It looks sad and tired, typical symptoms of an addicted user," Rory stated, looking at Ali's laptop as it sat on the kitchen table.

"I am not!" she argued; knowing full and well that it was a lie.

"You aren't addicted to your e-mail?" she asked, knowing what she would say.

"No. I'm not." They both knew that wasn't the right answer.

"Ok, how many times a day do you check it?"

Ali looked down, "Could we go by hour? That would be easier to count."

"See, that's what I mean. I bet you couldn't last a few hours without your laptop."

"I don't have a computer at school," she defended.

"True, but you wouldn't have time to check even if you did. But if you think I'm so wrong prove it to me," she challenged, "Come over my house, without your laptop, and chill with me. If you can make it through the whole day on Saturday without me needing to physically restrain you from the computers then I will take back everything I just said."

- - - -

Saturday came and Ali was checking and refreshing her e-mail up until the moment she left the house. When she got there she was surprised by how well she handled the detachment - at first. Ali threw herself into a conversation with Rory about all kinds of nonsense things that only they would understand. The only time she lost focus was when she wondered if Jason would have understood what they were saying about gnomes in fridges and happy porcupines, which was the current topic. "Hot Tunes" was on in the background and Ali hadn't even noticed until she heard them mention Connect 3. Automatically turning towards the TV, She nearly leapt over the back of the couch to get the remote and turn up the volume.

"…Romance developing on tour. Connect 3 guitarist Jason Walker was spotted having an intimate moment with their drummer…" There was a snap shot of Jason and Kat, the drummer Ali had met at the tour rehearsal; he was holding her in a tight hug, with her head on his shoulder. "…Have things ended between him and his last love Ali? Was the strain of tour just too much, or does the guitarist think he can keep secrets from his girl at home?"

Rory's eyes went straight to Ali. Ali's hadn't left the screen. She looked puzzled, not angry, or hurt. She looked like she was trying to decode a piece abstract art work.

"You don't think…"

"No way! Jace wouldn't."

She was about to defend her guitar man when he called. She looked pointedly at her friend before answering.

"Hi Jason, watching 'Hot Tunes'?"

"Ali I swear I didn't do anything. She was crying because her boyfriend broke up with her. I was just trying to help. She was so sad, and I couldn't stand it. It made me think of how hard it must be for you, if her boyfriend broke up with her just because of the distance. I couldn't just leave her by herself. I had to do something. I just wanted to help," Jason quickly explained before taking a much needed breath.

"I know G-man," Ali said simply, shrugging.

"You do?" Ali could almost see his puzzled face.

"Well I knew it had to be something. I trust you Jace. Don't worry about me getting the wrong impression. I should be happy that I'm with a guy that is so caring about the people around him."

"Technically I'm not with you, I'm in Texas." Jason pointed out.

"That's not the point."

"You rock Songbird," he said definitively.

"I know," Ali told him, giggling afterwards. She heard Nate's voice from somewhere near Jason. She couldn't understand what he was saying but she was fairly sure what Jason would say next.

"I've got to go," they both said, sounding resigned.

"But we're good right?" Jason asked.

"Yep, we're good. Talk to you later."

"I love you. Bye." He was gone before she could respond.

Ali sighed as she heard dead air on the other end, "Love you too."

- - - - -

"Hey, she didn't get to say it back," Jason huffed as Shane took the phone from him and ended the call before stuffing it in his pocket.

"But you know that she was going to, so let's move on."

"What are we doing now?" Jason asked. He hadn't talked to Ali in a while and he hated that it took a romantic scandal to let Shane relinquish his hold on his phone.

"There's this thing called performing. It's kind of what we do. And we need to be doing in on stage in about 5 minutes." Shane pointed out.

"Only the sound check," he mumbled.

Nate saw the disappointment on Jason's face when he had to hang up the phone and he was pretty sure that Ali's face would look similar if he could see it. He sighed and pulled out his phone, texting Ali quickly before heading out to finish setting up.

- - - - -

Ali tried to focus on picking out a movie. They had decided to shut off "Hot Tunes" not wanting to hear about any more false drama.

"So how about 27 Dresses?" Rory asked.

"Huh, what? Um, sure," Ali answered, not looking up from her phone.

"Now I see why Shane takes Jason's phone. Do I need to take that from you?" She put out her hand.

Ali looked up. "Sorry, distracted." She saw the DVD case in her friend's hand. "Ooh, yeah, let's watch that. I love that movie."

Just as the previews started Ali's phone chirped alerting her of a text from Nate. Sorry Als, we have a sound check. I'll try to get you guys some talk time soon. Miss you -Nate

A genuine smiled shined on Ali's face.

"What?"

She passed her phone to her puzzled friend. "That's sweet."

"They are good guys."

Ali knew that Nate came off as the serious business man to most people, but that text message was proof that he was nothing but a big softy underneath. She was willing to bet that Jason didn't even know about it. Nate was really was a great friend and Ali knew it was their schedule, not the fault of anyone involved, that kept her and Jason apart.

- - - - - -

That promised time came a few days later but was cut short due to midterms that Ali desperately needed to study for. Unfortunately getting off the phone did nothing because try as she might her thoughts always drifted back to Jason.

- - - - - -

The guys were finishing up yet another interview with the local radio station and were on their way to sound check when Jasper managed to get off the phone. He had excused himself just before the interview started because his phone rang. The group was able to see him through the glass at the studio and could only guess at what he could be talking about or who he could be talking to. He had waved his arms around, gone through various mocking facial expressions, and held the phone away from him and yelled at it. At one point his face had turned red. By the time the boys left the studio he was calm and talking in a rather resigned voice.

As soon as the flip phone closed all eyes landed on Jasper. He let out a sigh before giving them the news, "Change of plans boys. It looks like there won't be any down time in the next few weeks. Hope you guys didn't have any plans," he looked sympathetically at Jason. The guitarist had been planning to go home for his birthday, see his mom and spend time with Ali. Instead it looked like it would be another canceled date with his songbird.

Nate saw Jason's face fall. They had all been looking forward to the time off, Jason most of all. It wasn't just their plans that were being canceled. He'd been talking with Ali about a birthday surprise for the guitarist. Ali Nate thought quickly She'll be crushed. That won't make Jace feel any better. He knew that Ali had been a trooper with the canceled dates and lack of time. He had overheard a couple of conversations between her and Jason when he would call and tell her he couldn't do something. Nate was amazed every time he heard her. He could never detect any disappointment or anything though he knew it must be there. He wasn't sure how much more she could take until her façade shattered, so he decided to warn her this time.

He pulled out his phone and text Ali.

Heads up, Jason's b-day break is off.

- - - - -

Ali had just gotten out of class when her phone buzzed; I guess I forgot to shut it off, oops. She smiled when she saw that it was from Nate. Once she read the short message a small part of her brain was incredibly thankful that she had gotten it after class. The first emotion to hit her was sadness, to the point that she was fighting back tears. I haven't seen him in months now. That was supposed to be his day. It was going to be great. How could they take that away from us? The more she thought about that the angrier she got. As if flipping a switch she was outraged. How dare they take those days away? Those boys are only human. The need rest and a chance to relax. What about Jace? He loves birthdays, they are so special to him. It isn't fair that he doesn't get the same treatment. In her upset state she didn't think about their schedules or the repercussions. Her thoughts were focused on Jason as she sent a response to Nate.

Then I'll come to you.

Ali realized how much he must have wanted to do something for Jason when the ever planning, business oriented, public concerned Nate he swiftly replied with What did you have in mind?

A/N: I had a really hard time with this chapter so I would appreciate feedback. I know I go forever without updating so I would appreciate a review even just letting me know you are still reading. Also, Shane falling off the stage was a suggestion I got in a review. The method was inspired by a comic by BlueSeptember on deviantart, the link is in my profile.