"Mitch,"

That was all he had to say, just her name, and she was in his arms, her own encircling his waist.

"You're freezing, Mitch." Shane muttered, tightening his grip on her. "Geez."

"It's the end of September, Shay." Mitchie reminded him. "Everyone's cold."

Eventually, he pulled away to look at her, shaking off his leather jacket in the process and wrapping it around her shoulders. "There. Better?"

"Much. Thank you."

She hadn't been able to get far, she had walked for fifteen minutes before getting tired. They were completely alone, and he felt comfortable enough to keep his arm around her. Part of it was to ensure that she wouldn't be running away again, the other just because he wanted to hold her.

"So that was incredibly stupid." Shane told her, shaking his head. "What were you thinking, Mitch? Are you trying to give one of us a heart attack?"

"I'm sorry." She mumbled. "I just couldn't take it...Is that really what my brother thinks of me? Really, Shay?"

"Mitchie." He scolded, pulling her in for another hug. "No. Of course not. Jason was just upset...and I think I might have contributed to it by telling him that he'd been holding everything in for too long."

"So I'm not screwing anything up for him?"

"Of course not." Shane whispered, kissing her forehead, twice. "God, Mitch, if anything, you've made Jason into the guy I always knew he could be; the guy I've always wanted to be. The type of guy that has someone he would do anything for."

"You want to be like Jason?"

"Of course I do. I mean, the bad boy image is okay, I guess, but it's not everything. I'm not the bad guy. But again, Jason has you. You're the luckiest person alive if you have someone you'd do anything for."

Mitchie glanced up at him."Thank you."

"You're welcome." He laughed and they started walking again. "Umm, Mitch?"

"Yeah?"

Shane sighed. Apologies were one thing he wasn't good at. "About how I acted earlier...I didn't mean it. This month has been one of the best months of my life, and..."

"Shane?" Mitchie smiled slightly, elbowing him. "What is it? You know you can tell me,"

He sighed, unsure of how to put what he was about to admit. He glanced down at her and smiled. "You're the one person I would do anything for."

He wasn't sure how it happened, he wasn't sure if Mitchie made the first move, or if it was he himself.

But he was kissing Jason's sixteen year old sister.

Very bad idea.

"I..." Mitchie seemed to regain control of herself and she pulled away, her cheeks almost burning with embarrassment. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

Shane nodded, reluctantly, in agreement. "It can't happen. Unless, of course, you wanted to take my place as lead singer of Connect 3 while millions of fans search for my body, which they will never find, because believe it or not. Jason can actually be a genius."

She laughed, dropping down onto the damp grass. She grabbed his hand and pulled him down to sit beside her.

"Please don't tell Jason." She begged.

He looked at her gravely. "I don't have a death wish, Mitch. But...Can I ask you a question? Just one, I promise."

"Sure," Mitchie nodded. "But it's only fair that I get to ask you one in return?"

He had a feeling about what she would ask him. And it would kill him to break her heart.

"Do you like me?"

"I didn't mean too," She muttered, playing with bits of grass. "But yeah..."

"Oh,"

"Oh?" Mitchie nudged him, teasingly. She was smiling, despite the fact that he now knew her true feelings. It was scary, to admit this to him. Her hands were shaking, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"I guess you know my question then, huh?"

"Mitchie," Shane muttered, grabbing her hands. "What I said earlier was true. You and I have such a strong friendship, and I never want to lose that. And that's why we can't be..."

"More than friends?" She finished. "I get it, Shane. I totally get it. We'll always be friends, right?"

"Of course we will," He said honestly, leaning in to kiss her one last time. "You're my best friend, Mitch. Nothing could ever change that."

Shane was lying, not to her knowledge, but he was. It was killing him inside not to tell her that he loved her, that he needed her.

But he couldn't go there, not now,

There was always someday.