AN: Woah, you guys are unbelievable! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I know exactly where I'm going with this, but it'll be a little while before I get there. Just don't hate me, OK?
Thanks especially to ersy, 0o SillyLily o0, isabel4724, epobbp, AlexaJ, xbeautiful, Arya, XOXOXONickJonasluverXOXOXO, and LuckyBubbles for reading AND reviewing. And I want to especially thank 0o SillyLily o0 and isabel4724 for their awesome, genius, fantabulous ideas for the story. I'll definitely use them soon, but it might take a little bit longer to get there. Get it? Lol.
And I just wanted to give a special shout-out (er, type-out) to Isabel4724 for being my 100th reviewer! Congrats! I never imagined I'd get this far when I started writing this fanfic, so I just want to say, I'm soooo touched (starts tearing up). Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! You all are the best readers/reviewers any aspiring author could wish for. I can't thank you enough, but I can say that you guys are awesome, and you are seriously the best. Without you, I never would have come this far with the story. And thanks to everyone…You really are the ones who inspire me to keep writing. This chapter's for you.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my own ideas.
Chapter 12: Welcome To Our World
The next morning…
As soon as the jet touched down, everyone was jolted awake. Ella breathed a sigh of relief, and Jason put his arm around her to comfort her.
Then everyone got off, and walked towards the limo that was waiting for them, while people ran aboard the jet to get their luggage loaded into the limo.
"Good evening, sirs, ladies," The driver greeted them with a tip of his hat. "We won't be long, I'll just load your things into the trunk and we'll be off shortly. Everything you need has already been attended to. If there's anything else you need, just let me know."
"WOW!" Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Ella squealed, as their boyfriends smiled at them. Tess merely flicked off an imaginary piece of lint off her green silk shirt, and looked extremely bored.
"How do you get used to this?" Mitchie asked Shane.
"Very quickly," Shane said, laughing as Mitchie hit him playfully. "But seriously though, after a while, it becomes normal."
"No wonder you were such a jerk when I first met you," Mitchie reflected.
"And now I'm the irresistible and insanely hot jerk you know and love," Shane added.
"You said it, not me," Nate smirked, getting in on their conversation.
"HEY!" Shane shot back. "No one asked your opinion, so shut it!"
"Don't you start with my boyfriend," Caitlyn warned, her eyes flashing.
"YEAH!" Jason said randomly. "Wait, what's going on?"
"Nothing, never mind," Shane grumbled as Nate, Caitlyn, and Mitchie laughed.
After a few moments of silence. Mitchie spoke. "So, where are we going?"
"We're going to meet at the label, then spend some time recording some new stuff, and then we'll get a short break for lunch, then we'll go do some interviews and sign autographs, then go to the venue to rehearse for our new tour, which starts in a few days," Nate said.
"OMG (AN: In this story, OMG stands for Oh My Gray!)" All the girls (except Tess) squealed.
"You'll have a little free time, right, Shane?" Tess suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah, I guess," Shane said. "Why?"
"I was hoping you could help me write some songs," Tess said. "You know, about turning over a new leaf, starting over when everything's gone wrong?"
"I don't know, Tess, WE are going to be really busy the next few days, preparing for our own tour. Brown, would you mind helping her?" Nate asked. Tess stared angrily at Nate.
"I don't mind at all," Brown said, but Tess cut him off.
"Actually, I kind of wanted Shane's help on this. Since he's been through it recently," Tess insisted. "Well?"
"Yeah, Shane," Mitchie warned. Shane couldn't possibly miss what she was implying.
"OK, but on one condition," Shane said. "Mitchie, why don't you help us? You've got great ideas, and I'm sure Tess wouldn't mind, would you, Tess?"
"I'd love to," Mitchie inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing Shane wouldn't let Tess get in their way again.
"I guess," Tess said, sounding so not thrilled about having Mitchie help.
"Cool, I've got some stuff written already, maybe we can use some of that?" Mitchie said.
"We'll see," Tess said, knowing she wouldn't. She slipped on her headphones, pressed a few buttons on her iPod, and ignored everyone else in the limo.
Shane glanced at Tess to make sure she wasn't listening, then spoke quietly to Mitchie. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this, but I-"
"It's OK, I get it. This is one of those times I want to say thanks for dragging me into it," Mitchie said, hugging him.
"You're welcome," Shane said softly, gazing into Mitchie's eyes.
"Don't mind me," Brown growled, since he'd been ignored this whole time. "I'm just sitting here."
"Sorry, Uncle Brown," Shane said.
"Yeah, Brown, sorry for cutting you off like that," Mitchie looked apologetic.
"It's OK, love, I can take it," Brown smiled at her.
A short time later…
"OMG, it's Connect 3!" Girls stood outside of Connect 3's label, hoping for a chance to see any of the band members as they pulled up. When Shane, Nate, and Jason arrived, they started pushing and shoving each other to get a closer look, or even a picture of them, as security struggled to hold them back, trying to drown out the screams and cheers of fans all around them.
Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Ella went in first, drawing a few curious glances, but then they were ignored as their boyfriends followed them in, getting surround sound screaming on all sides.
"I LOVE YOU, SHANE!" Girls cried out.
Mitchie's POV: He's all mine, girls, so back off!
Shane's POV: I'm sure Mitchie must be really steaming mad right about now. I'd love to kiss that scowl off her face.
"Nate, will you marry me?" Other girls shouted.
Caitlyn's POV: Not if I marry him first.
Nate's POV: Sorry, girls, but I think Caitlyn should answer that question. Once I get up enough nerve to ask her…in about 5 years.
"Jason, I built you a birdhouse. Do you like it?" Some girls held up a birdhouse for Jason to look at, hoping he'd take theirs.
Jason's POV: Ella's so beautiful, I love the way she looks. And her lip gloss makes her lips so shiny. I wonder what they taste like right now…Come to think of it, her red lip gloss goes perfectly with the shade of green she and I painted our birdhouse. It's so beautiful, I hope birds will come and live in it soon. I want to see what the birds look like, and what different colors they are. Yeah!
Ella's POV: I wonder if Jason likes the lip gloss I'm wearing. Should I change the color? Maybe I should put some more on. Yeah!
"Wow," Mitchie breathed as soon as she got in the door. Tess was outside, signing autographs and having her picture taken by fans of her mom.
"Double wow," Caitlyn agreed, leaning her back against the wall.
"Hey, you girls OK?" Shane asked Mitchie and Caitlyn.
"Yup, we're good to go," Caitlyn answered. "You?"
"It was nothing," Shane said. "Just wait until you see-"
"Boys, good to see you! Come in, come in!" Rob said, waving them over to his office. "How was the flight? Was everything OK? Are you OK?"
"We're good, Rob," Nate said. "Now, about our tour schedule…"
"Always taking care of business, aren't you, Nate? You make my job so much easier," Rob said.
"Excuse me," a lady poked her head into Rob's office. "We have some caterers here for Connect 3's tour, and we need to know what they'd like to eat."
"FOOD!" Shane said, jumping up from his chair and practically running the woman over to get it. Jason followed right behind him, and Nate stood up. "Excuse us girls, but we need to pick out what kind of food we want to eat on tour."
"No problem," Mitchie said, as Caitlyn blew a kiss at Nate.
Ella searched through her purse until she found the perfect shade of red lip gloss. She whipped out her compact and started applying her lip gloss liberally. She smacked her lips several times and smiled at herself in the mirror, then fixed her hair and eyes.
"So, it gets pretty busy around here," Mitchie commented, as Rob ignored them completely. "I'm sure you've been around here a long time, haven't you?"
"Mmm-hmm," Rob grunted as he continued to work, not even bothering to look up.
"So, exactly how long have you worked here? It must be really exciting," Caitlyn commented, trying to get his attention. It worked, as Rob finally looked down his nose at them.
"Listen girls, I don't have time to chat, so since you're not working, the least you could do is NOT DISTRACT ME!" Rob bellowed at the end.
"OK, sorry," Mitchie and Caitlyn apologized. They glanced at each other before leaving.
"Wow, rude much?" Mitchie murmured, stepping into the lobby.
"You're telling me," Caitlyn said, shocked that anyone could be so mean. They quickly recovered, as they saw Tess coming towards them.
"Tess, where've you been?" Mitchie said. "And wasn't Peggy supposed to come on tour too?"
"Where do you think I've been? I've been here all this time. And anyway, it's none of your business what I do or don't do," Tess said in her usual I'm-better-than-you-and-everyone-knows-it tone of voice. "As for Peggy, she'll be coming in later today. Not that it's any of your business, since Peggy's MY friend, not yours."
Tess stalked off, as Mitchie and Caitlyn glanced at each other, thinking the same thing. Same old Tess.
"Hey, girls, you want anything?" Jason found them standing there, with shocked expressions on their faces.
"Yeah, maybe," Mitchie and Caitlyn said quickly. Maybe munching snacks would help them get used to this place.
When Jason, Mitchie, and Caitlyn got to where Shane was busily scarfing down some food, Jason offered a bottled water to each girl and a plate. "Help yourself to whatever you like," Jason said, smiling at them.
"Thanks, Jason," Mitchie and Caitlyn smiled back.
Jason went off to find Ella, and no sooner did Mitchie and Caitlyn pick up something to eat then the caterers noticed them, and told someone who worked at the studio.
"Who are these girls, and why are they eating our food? SECURITY!" The person yelled.
Shane was leaning down, mid-bite, when he stopped and overheard what was going on.
"Is there a problem here?" Shane said, putting on his bad-boy image.
"No, everything's fine. Once these little fangirls get out of here. I hope they didn't bother you at all," The studio person said (AN: I don't know what people who work at studios are called, so just go with it).
"Those fangirls," Shane spat out, letting his voice rise, and pausing momentarily for dramatic effect, "are my girlfriend and her best friend, who's also Nate's girlfriend. You were saying?"
"N-nothing, Mr. Gray. Miss, would you like some food?" The caterers sprang into action and the girls were instantly offered everything they could ever want to eat on a plate.
"No thanks, I just lost my appetite," Mitchie said, pushing her plate away. Caitlyn did the same, and they ignored the people's constant apologies.
"I'm sorry about that," Shane said, after he walked over to them.
"Now I know why you became such a big jerk. You had to deal with them." Mitchie said, referring to the caterers.
"It kinda goes with the territory," Shane admitted. "Are you still in?"
"Yeah, it can't get much worse, can it?" Mitchie said.
"Hello…Tess…" Caitlyn reminded her friend.
"Oh, right…I almost forgot," Mitchie said, not wanting to see what Tess was like when she didn't get her way.
AN: Soooo, what'd you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Did you think it was boring or stupid? Or what?
And if you have any ideas, please let me know. I love all the ones I've heard so far, so please keep them coming!
Next up, Connect 3 gets interviewed, and the girls find out more about their rockstar boyfriends. Will Connect 3 be forced to answer some tough questions about their personal lives? Of course they will…Plus Mitchie, Caitlyn, and Ella will find out what Tess really wants. And I'm not talking about the spotlight.