The Other Gray Chapter 32, a camp rock fanfic

A/N: Hey here's the newest chapter of the other gray hopefully the other one should be up soon-once I've worked out how to finish it. Hope you like it and sorry if the layouts really weird. For some reason this chapter has been uploaded differently from the others.

I hope it's just a glitch cos it took me 4 tries and ages to try and sort it out!

Lol hope you enjoy this and thank you for reading and reviewing!

BTW anyone on summer hols have fun and for those like me living in England (especially around london where it's supposed to be BOILING!)enjoy the heatwave-lol we deserve some sun for once so enjoy it! I know I am! :P

xoxo

Chapter 32

"Are you sure this will work? I mean she's pretty pissed at us-well you mainly-but still... how do you know that this just won't make things worse?" Nate asked worriedly as he glanced over at Layla who was sitting at the other end of the classroom chatting with Danny and Jason like usual before returning his gaze to his highly excitable friend.

With just seconds to spare Shane had come rushing into the classroom at full speed rambling on about how Nate and Caitlyn were geniuses and he had suddenly come up with some master plan to get Layla to forgive them. At first Nate was flattered by the compliment but the second he heard what Shane was planning he couldn't help but feel like this was going to end up backfiring and biting him on the ass.

Shane obviously didn't share the same worries as he shook his head assertively, completely confident in his plan working.

"It'll work-trust me."

Nate sighed in defeat. There was no way that he could talk Shane out of it. Not when he was like this-he hadn't seen Shane this excited in ages-so he did the only thing he could to.

"Okay I'll go along with it but if this comes back and bites me on the ass I'm gonna blame you."

"It wont. Jeez have a little faith in me will you!"

Nate rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I better get Jase...fill him on in the plan. You can do the rest." He mumbled as he wandered off towards the back of the room waiting until he had managed to separate Jason from Layla and Danny before filling him in on the plan. Anxiously Shane waited on the sidelines for the okay from the brothers who were still whispering furiously to each other.

Suddenly they became silent and the blank look on Jason's face became thoughtful as he thought it through before looking at Shane and tipping his head slightly indicating that he was it on the plan.

Grinning Shane nodded back before letting off a loud wolf whistle and the campers quickly began rushing around to find a seat while the guys sneaked off into the back back room where the instruments were kept. Making a note of where Layla and Danny were sitting Shane quickly got on with starting the class, recapping everything that had happened last lesson and ensuring there wasn't any problems before moving onto the most important part-the part where he could finally put his plan into action.

"Okay so as you all know Camp Fire Jam is tonight and all of you are more than welcome to sign up if you haven't done so already. This Jam is for you guys to go up there and show everyone exactly what you're made of but before you do we would like you to show us."

The campers instantly started murmuring to each other with a sense of panic at the idea of getting up and performing a song they'd only just started in front of a group for the first time-that is all accept one.

From the back of the room Layla calmly watched her brother with suspicion in her eyes. She had seen the way he had come rushing into the cabin and the interaction between him and Nate before the latter had come over and dragged Jason away for a similar conversation less than a couple of minutes later. They were up to something the only thing was she couldn't work out what.

Shane caught the look in his sister's eyes and his smile faltered for a second at the thought of her working out what he was planning and that was the last thing he wanted. If she found out she'd be out of there like a shot and he'd never get this chance again. Not wanting to let it slip by he quickly set about picking people to come up and perform.

The first was a young girl, not much older than 13 with long curly red hair who looked like she was about to pass out any second due to stage fright. Even though she was scared she managed to get through all that she had written and by the time she sat back down was smiling happily to herself. Shane congratulated her truly happy with the progress she had made before moving on to someone else.

A couple more people got up and performed, some better than others before Shane finally focused his attention on the back row-the row where Layla was currently sitting. The second he moved on to her row it clicked in her head what he was up to and she shook her head furiously at him long before he called out her name.

"LJ-Your turn."

The siblings glared at each other for a second (the most eye contact they'd had all day) before Layla finally relented knowing that she couldn't refuse. She was the camper in this situation and Shane was the councillor-no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't refuse him. So,with a groan, she got up and stomped up to her position at the front of the class. She shot Shane a sarcastic smile before turning to the group and starting.

"Okay I guess I have no choice but to play you what I've written so far. I haven't quite put the finishing touches on it so bare with me..." She shuffled around slightly nervous for a second before grabbing the microphone of Shane and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Been there done that messed around

I'm having fun don't put me down

I'll never let you sweep me off my feet

I wont let you in again

The messages I've tried to send

My information's just not going in

Burning bridges shore to shore

I break away from something more

I'm not to, not to love until it's cheap

Been there done that messed around

I'm having fun don't put me down

I'll never let you sweep me off my feet

This time baby I'll be bulletproof

I wont let you turn around

And tell me now I'm much too proud

To walk away from something when it's dead

Do do do your dirty worst

Come out to play when you are hurt

There's certain things that should be left unsaid

Tick tick tick on the watch

Life's too short for me to stop

Oh baby your time is running out

I wont let you turn around

And tell me now I'm much too proud

All you do is fill me up with doubt

This time baby I'll be bulletproof

Everyone in the room where shocked into silence not only by how good Layla's voice and the song was but by the meaning of the lyrics as well. The most shocked of them all was Shane who stared at her in disbelief wondering more now than ever what had happened to his sister while he was gone before Jason's loud cough pulled him out of it. Right now the plan was more important-once that was sorted out he could work out what was had been going on in Layla's life before he came back (and more importantly who with).

"Er that was great Layla-good job." The rest of the class began clapping encouragingly and Layla smiled slightly before moving away only to be held back by Shane. "Ah not so fast you see when I called you up here I was after another song-one a little bit more specific."

Layla looked at him confused.

"What? I've only ever written completely written three songs in my life. I sang one at opening jam and another one now, the only other one I've written was with...." It suddenly dawned on her what he was getting at and she gasped in anger. " Oh no! No way! Nuh uh! I wont do it!"

Not taking no for an answer,Shane smirked at her before nodding his head slightly and out of no where Jason and Nate reappeared playing an all too familiar tune. Grabbing another microphone he threw the other one back to Layla and stared at her expectantly, a cheeky smile on his face as he looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Now would be the time to start singing-unless you want to look stupid." He leaned down and whispered in her ear as Jason and Nate came to stand behind them grins spread across their faces as they watched her debating with herself, eventually giving in with a sigh.

"I hate you." She whispered darkly causing Shane to chuckle slightly under his breath.

"I know." He smirked back glad at least that she was talking to him again even if it was to tell him that she hated him. Hey it was progress! Before Shane could smirk any more the song started and the room was suddenly filled with Layla's voice.

(a/n: Okay so Layla's part is bold, Shane's is Italic, Nate's is underline and all of them is...well.. ALL OF THEM! :P)

Come on guys tell me what we're doing

We're hangin' around when we could be all over the place

The sun is shinin' just the way we like it

Let's get out of this hallway Show the world our face

It's Friday but there's nowhere to go

Anywhere is cool but we're not going home

And we can do anything we wanna do It's all up to me and you

All: Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above

These skateboard heels all right so cool

Everyone is waiting for us

So anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

Anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

Layla: Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

We got the party with us

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

We got the party with us

Radio, let me be a DJ

I'll turn you up because we're moving 'till we're on a roll

Everyone is dancing to their own beat

And letting go, everybody's got a soul

It's Friday and there's nowhere to be

We're kickin' it together it's so good to be free

We got each other and that's all we need

The rest is up to you and me

Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above

These skateboard heels all right so cool

Everyone is waiting for us

So anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

Anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

We got the party with us

Wooo!

We got the party!

Life is for dreamers and I'm a believer

That nothing can stand in our way

To start the place to play

Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above

These skateboard's here's our ride so pull on up

So pull on up everyone is waiting for us

Anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

Anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above

We got the party with us

Skateboards, heels

So pull on up everyone is waiting for us

Anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

We got the party with us

Anywhere we are

Anywhere we go

Everybody knows

Oh oh oh

We got the party, we got the party, we got the party, we got the party with us

Oh oh oh oh oh

We got the party with us

Before Layla even knew what was going on the entire classroom exploded into applause a thousand times louder than before and she had been swept into a group hug by Jason. She was in such a state of shock that she didn't notice who else she was hugging until Jason let go and she was quickly picked up and twirled excitedly around the room by another pair of familiar but completely different arms.

"You were great LJ!" Nate exclaimed as he finally put her down on the ground and grinned at her excitedly. "Not that I didn't love your other songs or when you used to sing that before...but that time...wow."

Layla grinned at him as he continued to ramble excitedly.

"Thanks...I think. You weren't so bad yourself Nathaniel. In fact if I didn't know better I would think that you'd been practising."

Nate blushed slightly and she laughed deeply before rushing forward and hugging him.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven then?" He whispered in her ear as he hugged her tighter, glad to have her back again.

Although their relationship wasn't as strong as Layla and Jason's or even her and Shane's (when they were younger at least) Nate had always loved Layla like a sister and was more than glad she was back in their lives. In fact he found himself at a loss these last couple of days and the thought of having his "little sister" and best friend so close again only to have her pulled away again caused him great pain so when she let out a snort and hit him playfully on the shoulder he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief because he knew before she even said it that everything would be okay and he couldn't have been happier.

"Honestly Nate did you still think I was mad at you? Sure what you did was idiotic and stupid but hey! You've always been like that how can I hold that against you?"

He looked at her with a puzzled expression as he tried to work out what she was getting at.

"So why did you.." His eyes narrowed and he gasped. "You've been playing me! You just wanted to see me squirm! Why I should..."

Layla raised an eyebrow at him questioningly and he stopped. Both of them knew full well that he would never do anything.

Before they could get any further though there was a loud cough from behind them and they turned around to see Shane hovering around nervously behind them, one hand rubbing the back of his neck and the other shoved in the front left side pocket of his jeans as he watched Layla hesitantly. Ever so slightly his eyes moved to Nate and quickly getting the picture he nodded quickly at Shane before slowly backing away leaving the two siblings to talk to each other.

"Erm..you were really good L...I mean really good." He mumbled nervously as he dropped his gaze to the ground.

Layla was shocked by his actions and it showed briefly on her face and in her eyes before she managed to replace it with a cold hard expression of anger.

In truth she was more shocked and confused than angry. Shane never acted like this the whole time she had known him. She'd never once seen him nervous around her after an argument or squabble (which although never really serious were common between the two of them growing up). She had always given him the silent treatment, come up with some way to get back at him which of course would make him even angrier they would end up throwing stuff or wrestling (the Gray siblings were quite violent compared to their friends!) and then everything would be okay therefore the idea that he would not only make the first move but actually be scared of her reaction shocked her to the core.

This wasn't what she wanted!

Of course she wanted Shane to realise that she was different, that they were different and move on but she never wanted him to be worried of how she would react!

No matter how much they argued and how much she denied it and fought against it she loved her brother and deep down could never hate him nor blame him for what he'd done. But neither could she truly forgive him-at least not yet-so instead of doing the right thing and actually talking to him she replaced her feeling of sympathy and confusion for her brother with an emotion she was more familiar with-anger.

"Let me guess that's what this was all about." She snapped. "You thought you'd drag me up here and get me to sing that stupid song with you and everything would be fine again. We'd be one big happy family and move on right?"

Shane's eyes widened in shock as his eyes snapped up to look at her.

This wasn't what he wanted and was everything that he feared. She was going off on one and Shane was her target this was the last thing he ever wanted!

"What?! No! I just..."

"You just what Shane?! Just wanted to drag me up here and make me feel like an idiot just so that you could feel better about the fact that you screwed up all those years ago.

Just face it Shane! You always try to do the right thing and always get it wrong! Why don't you just give it up! No matter how many songs or apologies or anything you do is ever going to make up for what you did!"

"Oh right so you can't forgive me but you can forgive them!" Shane snapped back, grateful that Nate and Jason had the rest of the group occupied enough that they weren't watching him and his sister fight again. He'd had enough of having an audience whenever his temper became frayed and Layla's last comment had been the final straw.

He had tried Caitlyn's theory and tried to reconnect with the new Layla but it was clear that she was having none of it and the only way to get through to her was to behave the same way they always had which of course meant more fighting.

"That's different." She argued back but her eyes never made contact with his for they both knew it was a lie.

"Why? Because what they did was soo much better right? Nate came up with that plan to force Jason into lying to you not me! You know that right? I realised what we were doing was wrong but Nate wouldn't take no for an answer and blackmailed him into it but you'd rather forgive him than forgive me!

And Jason! Jason lied to you...about everything! Musical Jam, Tess, going into care... everything. All he ever does is lie to you bur you don't seem to care when it comes to him! In your eyes he can do no wrong!

He knew all about you going into care-in fact he agreed to it-he was the only one over 18 and no longer a minor so if any one should be to blame it should be him!

But no! He's the first one you forgive! Do you have any idea what it's been like the last 24 hours watching you laughing and joking with him when you can't bare to look at me?!"

"Don't you dare blame Jason or Nate! You're my BROTHER Shane not them!"

"Exactly! So how come you can forgive them but not me?! They're just as much to blame as I am so how come you can forgive them but the idea of even talking to me disgusts you?!"

She growled in frustration and threw her arms up into the air as her eyes scrunched up in anger.

"Because that's what they do Shane! Jason's always doing the thing he thinks is right and getting it wrong and Nate's an idiot. He'll do anything to protect you and Jase no matter how stupid it may be but you're supposed to be different Shane you're supposed to know me better but you don't know me at all!

Nate and Jason were just being Nate and Jason but you? All you've done is screw up my life over and over and over and I am sick of it! I am sick and tired of you making decisions about my life without my knowledge and completely screwing me over! It's not fair and as my brother you should know better but obviously you don't because here you are doing it again!"

Shane stared at her incredulously.

"Is that was this is all about? Me leaving you at Sunflower House?" He saw the slight flicker of recognition in her eyes and screamed in frustration.

"How many times do we have to go over this! I thought I was doing what was right how was I supposed to know what would happen?!"

"What did you think would happen?!" She shrieked loudly catching the attention of Nate and Jason who sensing something big was about to happen quickly explained to the rest of the campers that classes were cancelled so they could practice for Final jam and shoved them out of the door before racing to make sure they were within grabbing distance of the brother and sister in case things turned nasty.

"You knew that I needed you! I always have so what the hell did you think would happen when you left Shane?! You're the only real family I have yet you thought leaving me was "for the best"?! Can't you see how fucked up that is! Christ Shane all you ever think is about yourself you never cared about what would happen to me when you left you just-"

"SHUT UP!JUST SHUT UP!" Shane shouted so loudly and with so much anger that Layla jumped in shock at the force of it and she cowered slightly.

Never ever in her life had she ever seen her brother so angry that he was physically shaking and the sight scared her almost to death and certainly shocked her into silence.

"Ever since you've got here all you've done is have a go at me for what I did and I am SICK OF IT!

I was 17 Layla the same age you are now. Are you telling me that if you'd lost the only parent you've ever knew died after years of watching her slowly waste away, leaving you to look after a scared 10 year old girl are you telling me you wouldn't make the same decision!?"

Layla's gaze softened slightly as she realised he was right.

"I thought so. So don't stand there and tell me I screwed your life up, that you were so much worse off than me because you don't know the half of it! You weren't the only one who suffered but your the only one who's selfish enough to think that everything is about you! We all suffered Layla and I am sick of you always trying to make out that you were the only one...I sick of everything."

Stunned Layla watched as he turned and stormed out of the room leaving her standing there with Jason and Nate staring after him speechlessly. It was like time had frozen as she stood there dumb stuck waiting for him to come back before she realised nothing was going to happen and her gaze fell to the floor as she tried to hold the tears in.

"He didn't come back." She whispered softly, a single tear falling from her eyes and falling to the ground.

"Did you really expect him to?" Someone snapped and Layla gasped suddenly remembering that she wasn't alone as her head snapped up to look up into the sad and disappointing eyes of Nate and Jason.

"He never walks away...he always comes back." She whispered earning an incredulous scoff from Nate as he raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"If you were him would you? You've just told him that every thing he's ever done has hurt you, that his coming back was the worst thing he could ever do to you, almost as bad as him leaving you in the first place! If you were him would you come back?"

She lowered her eyes to the ground again in shame as she shook her head slightly.

Of course she wouldn't-no one in their right mind would after the way she had treated him.

"You have no idea what he went through do you?" A softer voice added and Layla raised her head to look into the slightly less hostile eyes of the eldest Carter brother. He saw the look in her eyes and sighed.

"You didn't even bother to ask did you?"

"Why would I?"

Nate screamed in frustration as he ran his hands through his hair in annoyance.

"You just don't get it do you?!" He yelled. "You weren't the only one who suffered in all this yet all you seem to care about is yourself!"

"He was the one who left NOT ME!" She yelled back angered by the fact that he was not only taking Shane's side but that he had the nerve to call her selfish after everything he had done to her and Jason for his own personal gain.

He wasn't exactly looking out for her best interests or even Jason's then so why should she listen to him now?!

"So what? That means your life was so much worse than his? Is that what you're getting at?"

Her eyes quickly darted to Jason and the two shared a secret look before she shrugged slightly and turned back to Nate giving him her answer.

"Something like that." She mumbled and Nate groaned again in frustration.

"God Layla how could you be so selfish and immature and..and..Jason help me out here before I do something stupid."

Jason sighed loudly and stepped in for his brother who had walked off the other side of the room to cool down.

"I think what my brother is trying to say is that although went you went through was terrible and we will forever feel guilty about it you weren't the only one who got hurt by this-we all did...Shane more than the rest."

Layla's stomach twisted at he thought of her brother being in pain and any feelings of anger she had towards him disappeared as she threw herself dejectedly into the nearest chair and covered her face with her hands in defeat. As much as she may hate him at times, want to scream and fight with him, she still loved her brother and the idea of him being in pain and her not knowing made her feel sick to her stomach and in that moment she suddenly realised how Shane felt whenever she told him about her past.

Layla felt a wave of guilt wash over her at the thought and it was all she could do not to break out into tears.

"Tell me." She whispered silently, her voice thick with unshed tears just waiting to fall.

"Are you sure?" By this time both brothers had calmed down, saddened by the desolate look on their friend's face and were sitting on either side of her watching her with sympathetic eyes. They knew that she still loved and cared for her brother deeply no matter how angry she may seem to be and knew that although she needed to know the truth it could cause her untold amounts of pain and sadness-something they never wanted to see her go through.

She nodded silently as she looked down at the table she was sitting behind, unable to say anything. She knew too that whatever they were about to say would be hard on everyone and suddenly found herself unable to say a word. The room was eerily silent before Jason suddenly sat forward, grabbed her hand gently and began recalling the untold story that had been a huge part of their lives ever since she left.

"After your mum died Shane was devastated, not just upset but completely and totally destroyed. Rachel was a lot sicker than you thought, than any of us thought, but Shane felt that it was his duty as a good son and brother to look after her himself and shield you from just how bad it really was. When she died he was convinced that it was his fault and that he'd failed her and you in some way. After the funeral he just got worse, always shutting himself away, bottling it up, blaming himself until he finally snapped one day and lashed out."

"I remember that!" Layla exclaimed as the memories of her last years with Shane and her mother suddenly came flooding back.

"I was in my room and I heard loads of crashing noises in the front room so I went out and looked. The whole front room was trashed and when I asked what happened Shane started screaming and yelling at me. I spent the night at yours with Sandy and Nate while you stayed with Shane. He came over and apologised the next day. I forgot about it until now."

Jason nodded sadly as he remembered the day when she had turned up at their door sobbing nosily as tears streamed down her face.

"That's when we knew he couldn't handle it. Shane would've never shouted at you like that before. He hated seeing you upset, still does, and when you came over crying your eyes out because he shouted at you we knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it. Of course he felt bad about it afterwards and convinced himself that he was fine and that he could handle looking after you but we knew what would happen. He would snap again and again and it would only get worse unless we did something about it.

That's why when me and Nate found out that we had joint guardianship of you we told him that the best thing would be to put you in to care. We didn't tell Sandy because we knew that she would fight to keep you and then Shane would never have left."

"But I didn't want him to leave! You had no right to force him into it!" Layla screamed angered that they'd forced Shane's hand into putting her into care.

"He had to Layla!" Nate yelled back. "He was freaking out LJ the only thing that kept him from completely losing it was the band and his music! Music had got him through everything Layla how could you just expect him to throw that all away?!"

"I didn't!" She screamed back at him. " But he should've stayed! Why wouldn't you let him stay?! We could've been fine! We would've been fine!"

"No you wouldn't of Layla and you know it." Jason added calmly shooting a look at the two volatile members of their little group.

"Shane needed the chance to break down, to grieve and he couldn't do that if you were around. Shane has always been more worried about you than he's ever been about himself. If we hadn't signed that record deal and put you into care he would've given up his dreams and never had the chance to move on.

He would bottle everything in again and that could only end in trouble...for both of you."

Layla snorted loudly in bitter amusement.

"Well that worked out well didn't it?! I might've missed out a lot over the last couple of years but I'm pretty sure he went off the rails a little don't you think? Or was that all part of the plan?"

Nate winced a little and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, knowing he'd been caught out.

"Okay I admit things didn't go too well after we left it but that was part of the reason why we had to leave you for so long. After we left Shane was the first one to realise what a huge mistake we'd made but by then it was too late. We were on the road all the time, moving from place to place playing anywhere and anything to get attention. We didn't want you to be around that, most of the time we didn't want to be around it but there was no choice.

That's what pushed him over the edge. He knew that he had made a mistake but he couldn't go back and fix it. After that everything went downhill. He couldn't handle the grief at losing you and your mum or the guilt so did whatever he could to make it go away.

In that sense what you and Shane went through wasn't that different. You both did whatever you could to avoid the pain, to make it go away in whatever destructive way you could. You two are more alike than you think."

She narrowed her eyes at him, her blood beginning to boil at his suggestion.

"One small difference in your theory there..he had you two to set him straight, to be there for him, I didn't."

"We tried." Jason took over as he looked at her calmly. Unlike his brother he could keep his temper a little better and sensing another argument between the two jumped in before anything could happen again.

"When he turned 18 we reminded him of his promise, told him that things were good enough now, that we were settled enough for you to come back but he only got worse. He demanded that we stopped talking to you, thinking about you, speaking about you because we were a bad influence and all we would do would make you think he was coming back when he had no intention to. After that any time we tried to talk about you he would scream and yell then go off a get into trouble.

"Like what?"

"Damn you really we're living under a rock weren't you?" Layla scowled at Nate's comment. In return he just rolled his eyes at her and stuck his tongue out.

"Oh real mature." She shot back earning hersel fnaother disapproving snort from Nate.

"Please you're one to talk about being mature."

Sensing another fight (and a huge headache) coming on Jason stepped in before they could start bickering again.

"I think that's something Shane should tell you about not us." He said calmly as the Nate and Layla, slouched back in their chairs pouting childishly as they stared each other down. "All you need to know for now is Shane was a mess. He did some stuff he wasn't proud of, that we weren't proud of and he ended up turning into someone we didn't know and sure as hell didn't like because of it."

"That's how he ended up at Camp Rock again." Nate cut in after he'd finished pouting, finally deciding it was better to tell her the truth and get it over with rather than antagonising her more.

"We were talking about you not knowing he was listening and he got so angry that he completely trashed his dressing room before finally storming off the set. That's when we realised that this was too big for us to deal with so we sent Shane here. And things began to change."

"He met Mitchie." Layla stated and the two of them chuckled slightly.

"Yeah he met Mitchie and she knocked some sense into his stupid head. She didn't know about you of course-no Shane left that little piece of information until after they were married-but she knew enough to see that really he was a good guy underneath all that attitude. It took her a while but she finally got back the old Shane, or at least the closest thing to it, he wasn't completely back because Shane just isn't the same without you."

"That's where I came to the rescue again."

Their heads snapped back to see Mitchie standing in the doorway smirking at them, Caitlyn standing behind her, her face as pinched up and annoyed as Nate's had been.

"The second Caitlyn told me about her little chat with your brother I knew something like this would happen." She walked into the room and grabbed the chair in front of a shocked looking Layla and turned it around so that she was sitting directly in front of her.

Layla blushed with embarrassment as she looked down at the table again tracing patterns into it with her fingernail.

"How much of that did you hear?" She whispered dreading the answer as Mitchie looked at her intently, her eyes a mixture of sadness and disappointment as she looked at her sister in law.

"Oh we turned up round about the time that you started shouting at him. Isn't that right Cait?"

The other woman nodded and Layla groaned as her head fell onto the table with a heavy thunk.

"Great so basically everyone knows what an idiot I've been."

"Glad to see you've finally noticed." Caitlyn snapped angrily as she glared at Layla's head.

Not even when she had found out about Nate and Tess had she been as angry as she was right now! At least Nate didn't realise the pain he was causing and had no intention of hurting anyone. Layla on the other hand knew exactly what she was doing and if one thing annoyed Caitlyn more than anything it was people hurting each other for no reason.

"All you've done since you've got here is make Shane feel bad about a decision he made when he was a teenager. What he did was out of love not hatred or cruelty and all you've done is throw it back in his face!"

"Caity.." Jason said warningly seeing the pained expression on Layla's face but she just ignored him.

"This lot will tip toe around you because they think that you can't handle to truth, that you'll go off and to something stupid and reckless like the last time but I'm not like that. I love you like a sister we all do but I am sick of all this crap! It's time you grow up and start acting like an adult not some spoilt little brat!

You're brother went through hell and back just so that he could get you back here again and it's time that you start recognising just how much Shane's done for you!"

Gasping loudly as she tried to catch her breath after her rant Caitlyn leaned back tiredly against Nate who wrapped an arm around her waist, the other rubbing her arm supportively as he stared at her admiration and love shining in his eyes.

That was one thing he had always loved about Caitlyn, her ability to be direct, to the point and stick up for what she believed in (no mater how infuriating it could be or how many fights it caused.)

"She's right you know." Mitchie said softly, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group as she leaned over and tucked a stay piece of Layla's hair behind her ear.

The action caused the teenager to look up and Mitchie sighed deeply at the look of despair in her eyes, knowing that what Caitlyn had said had really gotten to her.

"Ever since I met him Shane was always bottling things in, even when I thought I knew everything about him I always had this feeling there was something he was holding back-just within my grasp but I was never quite able to reach it-able to know him completely. Eventually he caved and that's when I found out about you. At first I was shocked not at what he'd done, I could never imagine what it would be like to be in that situation, but that he'd waited until after we were married to tell me. I thought it was because he didn't trust me but now I know it's because he didn't trust himself.

After that it was like a floodgate had been opened and all those memories he had of the two of you came flooding back. He would talk about you all the time, tell me what you were like, the things you used to do together and every time he did I could see a little bit more of him come alive until suddenly he was almost a totally different person-a happier person. That's why I suggested he get you back."

Layla gasped and looked at her wide eyed.

"You were the one who told him to come back! Why?!"

"Because you need each other! I didn't even know you and I knew that, I could see it in the way he talked about you-even in the way the guys talked about you-I couldn't bare to see them like that any more so I told him to go for it."

"But what took him so long? I mean you said he started talking about me a couple of months after you got married. You've been married for over a year now-what took him so long to come back?"

"He was scared." Mitchie stated simply as she leaned back in her seat and watched her sister in law intently, finding the range of emotions flitting across her face as she spoke strangely fascinating.

The whole time Layla had been here it was like she had been wearing a mask, like she could only show certain emotions and feeling but now it was like all the different expressions she knew before had suddenly come back, each one reflecting even the slightest change in her emotion as she listened to Mitchie's words.

"He was scared that if after all that time he stayed away to protect you he would finally get you back and hurt you in some way. Can't you see the last couple of weeks have been an absolute nightmare for him?! It's like everything he's ever feared is suddenly coming true."

"But it's not his fault!" Layla shouted angrily as she jumped out of her seat, sending it crashing to the ground as she began pacing the studio floor.

"All he's ever done since I got back is look after me! He hasn't done anything wrong! It's me, it's all me I pushed him away!"

By now she was hysterical, running her hands through he hair in agony as her pacing increased, her feet stomping angrily across the floor until suddenly she stopped and turned to face Mitchie, her eyes wide with horror.

"What did I do Mitchie?! I've ruined everything!"

Shaking her head in defiance Mitchie rushed up to her and gathered her into a tight hug, hugging her close as the younger woman's breath hitched painfully as she tried to keep her tears in check.

"You haven't ruined anything okay? Shane's a big boy he can handle much worse than what you've thrown at him."

"But I've been so horrible Mitch! All this time I've been blaming him for everything that's gone wrong in the past without stopping to think that he was going through the same thing! I've been blaming him for living in the past when I'm the one who keeps dragging it up again every time!

If anyone's to blame for this whole mess it's me! He tries to make it better, to apologise and all I do is make it worse! I'm a terrible person Mitchie!"

Mitchie opened her mouth to defend her when Caitlyn stepped in, her temper yet again flaring up as she listened to the conversation between her two friends and the direction it had taken.

"You know what you are. You are a mean, terrible person. I don't know why we bother with you."

They all gasped and more tears came to Layla's eyes.

"Caitlyn!" Nate yelled appalled at her behaviour. Sure he had found her honesty refreshing earlier but now it was bordering on crewlty "How could you say something like that?"

Caitlyn just rolled her eyes at him.

"If you had let me finish." she said pointedly glaring at him. " You'd know that I was going to say that yes you are a terrible person but then again we all are at some point.

How many people in this room can say that they haven't done something that they felt so bad about that they hated themselves for it?"

Everyone suddenly looked down and Caitlyn smirked smugly to herself happy that she'd proved her point.

"Exactly."

She stated after a couple of seconds before sighing and walking up to Layla, placing a hand on her shoulder as her voice softened.

"We all do things we're not proud of but it takes courage to stand up and say that you were wrong and to fight for what's right."

"Someone's been watching too much day time tv." Nate muttered sarcastically under his breath but not quite quiet enough for Caitlyn to notice, who swiftly swatted him around the back of his head for his insolence.

"All I'm saying is that the two of you made mistakes. You both said and did things that you were ashamed of and it's gonna be hard to work through it but you can as long as you sit down and talk to each other! Hopefully now you've realised there's always more than one side of the story you'll finally listen to each other."

Layla sniffled a little pushing back the tears as she smiled and leaned forward hugging Caitlyn that was so sudden, unexpected an full of emotion that she was stunned for a couple of seconds before her arms wrapped around the girl, returning the affectionate gesture.

Almost as quickly as it happened she let go, whispered her thanks and sped out of the room.

"What are you doing?" She yelled after her retreating figure. Layla stopped for a second and turned to look at her, a wide grin spread across her face. "I'm going to fix something that should've been fixed a long time ago!"

A/n: So? What did you think? Hope you liked it anyway I've had that planned for ages.

BTW songs used were Bulletproof by La Roux and We got the party by Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) and The Jonas Brothers.

Thanks for reading :P