A/N: Hiya guys! Another chapter for you...but I'm going to start off the way I always do and that is thanking you awesome readers *Feel free to skip as I say the same things I have for the past five chapters.* I love you guys....actually love you all!!! I'm so glad that so many people are enjoying my story, and it is such an amazing feeling to get reviews from you all. As most of you know I try to reply to everyone of my reviews, but as I say, some slip through the cracks. Hopefully you all know how special each review is, and how thankful I am for them by now, becuase it's true! Thankyou. Thankyou. Thankyou.

Ok, I'm done. Please enjoy the next chapter.

All Just A Lie.

Chapter Seven: Lies, Lies, Lies.

Mitchie's neck snapped around to the television, her eyes bulging as she looked upon a piece of footage that showed Ruby and Shane, her Shane, stood together, arms entwined and large smiles upon their faces.

Mitchie stopped breathing completely, her head spinning, she could hear Nate saying her name, his hand upon her shoulder, the sound of water drumming continuously from the bathroom. This was Ruby, the Ruby, whom Shane loathed, hated, utterly despised, and now there he was, arms wrapped around her. What was he doing?

She studied Ruby's appearance, her blonde hair now one shade below yellow, her tanned skin one shade below orange, yet she was still beautiful. Underneath the several inches of plastered on foundation, lipstick and false lashes Ruby was beautiful, and that shone through. It shone through her evil demeanor and shone through enough to fool her audiences into thinking she was a nice human being, and apparently, it now shone through enough to make Shane fall back into her arms. But this couldn't be true, it couldn't be....could it?

She went rigid as she heard them speak, her mind only able to pick up certain parts of the conversation.

Back together.

Wedding bells?

And then the worst thing Mitchie had ever had the miss fortune to whiteness happened. Ruby had launched herself at Shane, her lips crashing against his own, the presenters eyes bulging, a smile upon his own features. Mitchie bit her tongue, praying that Shane would pull away, praying that he would suddenly remember her, remember her kisses, her touch and her undying love for him.

But he didn't.

Instead he placed one hand tenderly on her hip, his own lips working against hers. Mitchie felt part of her die that moment, but unfortunately for her, the part of her body that still possessed the pain was still at large, and producing more turmoil and agony than she had ever thought possible.

"So 'Shuby' is at large it seems, and wedding bells are in the distance. How long do you think it will be before we hear the pitter patter of tiny celebrity feet?" The presenter laughed, Mitchie feeling loathing bubbling inside her, but then the screen went black, Nate apparently realizing that this was hurting Mitchie. She thought she heard him mutter her name again, but it was muffled, her ears dominated by the sound of blood pumping furiously around her head, her pulse at a dangerously high level.

She still couldn't take her take her eyes off of the television, the clip playing over and over again in her mind. Had he really gotten over her already? Mitchie brought her hand to her mouth choking back a sob, as she realized she had lost, she had waited too long and now it was over. Shane was no longer within her reach, their relationship truly was over. All because she had waited too long.

She heard Nate whisper her name once more from behind her, her blood settling and allowing her to hear once more. But there was something missing, everything was too quiet. Mitchie swallowed, her eyes meeting Nate's as her mind tried to decipher what was missing from the room.

The shower.

She gasped, leaping up just seconds before the bathroom door opened, revealing Shane, his eyes upon his belt buckle as he proceeded to do it up.

"How you doing, Nate?" Shane asked softly, his hands moving over his trousers. Mitchie swallowed back tears at the sound of his voice, god she had missed him. Her whole body burned with the need to touch him, to hold him. Every limb in her body ached as she looked at him, the man she loved, that man who used to love her.

"Nate?" Shane added as he raised his head, his eyes falling upon the stiff and silent Nate, then moving across to the other figure in the room. "M-Mitchie?" He stammered, his heart bursting as he looked at her.

"Shane." She whispered back to him, unable to think of anything else that would even make sense to him, after all, she was randomly standing in the middle of his apartment.

"What…. What are you doing here?" Shane questioned, tripping over his words as he stared, with wide eyes at the rigid brunette.

Mitchie took a deep breath, her body shaking. She subconsciously pulled down the sleeve of her jacket, slipping her wrist behind her back, something that didn't go unnoticed by Shane.

"I erm…" Mitchie stammered, could she really tell him the truth now? He obviously didn't care for her any longer, she would just humiliate herself, she would merely get rejected. "I came to see Nate." She choked out, her eyes falling upon a confused looking Nate, she shook her head at him slightly, her eyes pleading with him to remain quiet.

"Oh…right." Shane replied, trying to hide his disappointment. Her eyes seemed to be fixated upon him, the spark he loved so much was not present and she seemed different, he just couldn't place what was wrong.

She looked tired, disheveled, dark circles surrounding her eyes. Yet, she was still stunningly beautiful and her presence bought up a whirlwind of emotions within Shane, the pain he had previously suffered nothing to what he felt now. He yearned for her, her lips, her body, just her.

"Well, I think you should leave now." Shane muttered as he felt tears begin to push their way up his throat. He couldn't handle seeing her, not now, not yet, maybe not ever. He knew one more second with her and he would most likely collapse on to his knees begging for another chance, begging for her to love him again.

"Of course." Mitchie replied, her voice cracking but she quickly passed it off as a cough, she could feel Nate's eyes burning into her and she knew she hadn't fooled him. "I don't want to be here when the new girlfriend gets here." Mitchie snorted, unable to hide the detest from her voice.

"Oh, so you heard about that?" Shane said, his face expressionless as he himself tried to keep the disdain from his own voice.

"Well it's hard not to when you're sucking on her face in front of all the cameras." Mitchie spat, her fists clenching.

"Like you're one to talk." Shane retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mitchie questioned, utterly confused. Shane wanted to argue, but he couldn't, he couldn't be mad at her, and he especially couldn't bring up the topic of the photographs, it hurt too much.

"Can you please just leave." Shane said wearily.

"Yeah, sure…" Mitchie whispered as she wandered, shakily over to the door, but she turned just before she reached the door handle. "I thought you hated her?" She muttered, desperately trying to sound normal. Shane was caught of guard by this question.

"I did, but things change." Shane mumbled, despising himself for it.

"Did you love me at all?" Mitchie asked before she could even comprehend a reply. She wanted to take the words back but she couldn't.

"What? Are you seriously asking me that question? You left me for another guy for gods sake, and now just because I'm moving on I didn't love you!" Shane yelled, stalking a few steps closer to the brunette. "You are unbelievable."

"But it's her. Why her!?!" Mitchie blurted out, she knew she was making herself sound very hypocritical, she knew what Shane thought was the reason for their break-up, but she just couldn't stop herself.

"Stop acting like you care, Mitchie! I know you don't, so go back to the person who was worth end our relationship for, and I'll go back to the girl who actually does love me." Shane shouted, his eyes narrowing as he waited for Mitchie to yell back, but she didn't. Instead he watched her eyes flutter slightly before she fell backwards against the door, her legs crumbling beneath her.

Nate jumped to his feet as Shane caught her in his arms, his eyes alive with panic. Her eyes bolted open within seconds, darting around the room, and then landing on Shane's face. His touch was so familiar, and she knew she would soon break down into hysterical tears. She quickly pulled herself to her feet, Shane quickly recoiling his arms from her, trying to hide the concern etched onto his face.

"Are you ok?" Nate's voice cut in, Shane thankful that he had asked the question he was too scared to voice. Mitchie looked at the pair before turning sharply and disappearing from the room, leaving a truly shocked, pained and scared Shane in her wake.

He froze as her felt Nate pat him tenderly on the shoulder, murmuring something about how thin Mitchie was. Shane sucked in a breath as he heard the words, as he remembered how she had looked just seconds before. She had lost weight, why?

He saw a sharp blur then heard a shutting door, realizing that Nate had gone after her. He stumbled back, sliding down the wall, tears prickling his eyes.

She wasn't his concern anymore, she didn't love him, she had someone else to look after her now. He would not go running to her. He would not admit he still loved her. Shane Gray would not humiliate himself one inch further.

But still he couldn't help the fear that clutched onto him.

"Mitchie." Mitchie sped up slightly as she heard Nate call her name, furiously wiping away her tears as she heard his footsteps quicken.

"Mitchie." He called again before he appeared at her side, a sympathetic smile on his face. "What's wrong?" He asked, the look in his eyes telling her than he already knew. "I thought you were with someone else, you broke up with him, Mitch." Nate informed her, she winced slightly at the memory.

"I know, I did. But…" Mitchie's words faded out, if she told Nate, he would tell Shane. And as of now, she did not want Shane to know what she had done for him.

"You want him back?" He asked tenderly, Mitchie mused on this for a moment, of course she wanted him back, she loved him, but could she trust Nate not to tell him?

"...No, I have someone else now." Mitchie settled on, sighing as more guilt and regret flooded her body.

"Then why…?"

"I don't know. I guess I still care about him, I just don't want him to get hurt, I know what Ruby can be like." Mitchie muttered, this was technically true.

"But you didn't know about that until you came round." Nate recited. Mitchie clenched her jaw. What was he, a detective?

"I…erm…I thought that maybe we could work things out and still be friends." Mitchie lied, stunned by how good she was getting at it now.

"You still can be." Nate offered, Mitchie shook her head, fighting off her tears.

"Not with her in the picture." Mitchie said bitterly, desperate to change the subject. "Nate, about Caitlyn…" She stopped as Nate's eyes seemed to glaze over, his legs halting. "I think…I think maybe you should talk to her. I know what she did was wrong, but I…I just can't help thinking there's more to this." Mitchie said to him, turning so she could look him straight in the eye. "I think you should go see her."

Nate stayed silent, his eyes no longer locked onto her hers, she wondered if he was even listening to her.

"What you have is special, you should hold onto it. It's hard losing someone you love, I don't want you to go through it." Mitchie told him her voice cracking, Nate's eyes finally focusing on hers again.

"You do want him back, don't you?" Nate questioned.

"Just go see her, Nate, you'll regret it if you don't." Mitchie told him, before turning and walking away, leaving Nate with one hard decision. And leaving herself with her own life hanging in the balance, her mind thinking back to the knife that lay on the kitchen floor.

Caitlyn shifted on the sofa as she dialed Mitchie's number once more. She was starting to get seriously worried about that girl. She hadn't seen or even spoken to Mitchie since she had broken up with Shane, she didn't even know who this mystery man was.

She flipped the phone back down, throwing in angrily at a vase that sat upon her coffee table. She watched unconcerned as the vase shattered into a thousand pieces, the sound crashing against her ears. That and the sound of someone knocking against he door. She groaned, rising up and carefully maneuvering herself around the broken shards of glass.

"Oh my god." She whispered, her heart stopping as she whisked open the door, a nervous looking Nate stood on the other side. "Nate." She added, breathless. "Come in." She said a smile breaking onto her face as he wandered in, his own face stony.

"You wanted to see me." Nate mumbled, raising an eyebrow at her as he noticed the broken vase.

"I…erm…you know I have a temper." Caitlyn replied a little sheepishly.

"Yeah." He replied with a small laugh. "Anyway, what did you want?" He asked, his voice edgy. Caitlyn stared at him for a moment, realizing that she was not at all forgiven.

"Look, Nate, I know you're mad at me, but I'm begging you to give me a second chance." Caitlyn pleaded as she stepped closer to him, gripping the collar of his shirt.

"I can't just forgive you Caitlyn, You slept with someone else!" He exclaimed. "You're pregnant for gods sake."

"No, Nate…I….God damnit!" She cursed, stepping back and rubbing her hands over her face. "Please, just stay with me a little big longer, I can't tell you everything, but you'll see!" Caitlyn cried.

"What are you talking about?" Nate clamored, staring at the disturbingly agitated Caitlyn.

"I can't….I can't tell you." Caitlyn whispered, shaking her head and letting a few choice, foul words slip from her mouth.

"Then I can't trust you." Nate retorted.

"You can, you can trust me. You just have to wait." Caitlyn told him. "Please."

"Caitlyn, I want to be with you, of course I do. I just can't, you're pregnant with someone else's child." Nate said, snarling a little at the though.

"Do you...." She paused, taking a deep breath, her eyes closing softly, petrified to even ask the next question that danced over her tongue. "Do you still love me?"

"Yes." Nate replied immediately, his adam's apple quivering as Caitlyn's lids lifted, exposing her tear soaked eyes.

"Then I'm begging you, stay, stay with me. You'll see." She pleaded gripping his shirt once more, fierce intensity filling her wide, moist eyes.

"See what?" Nate questioned sadly, shaking his head at the begging girl infront of him.

"Just tell him." Nate's quickly turned his head to the new voice in the room, a young girl had appeared from Caitlyn's bedroom, one hand resting on her stomach. Nate turned back to Caitlyn whose hands had loosened their grip, her head drooped and her eyes closed once more.

"Who are you?" Nate asked, utterly bewildered. Staring at the young girl who was wrapped in a white T-shirt and grey sweat pants, her golden-brown hair pulled into a lose ponytail.

"I'm..." But the mystery girl was silenced by Caitlyn who snapped up straight, stepping in between Nate and the golden haired girl, turning to face her.

"Don't you dare." Caitlyn shouted in a tone that made Nate shrink back slightly, but the girl merely straightened herself, her eyes challenging.

"We can trust him." The girl said confidently. Caitlyn's eyes found Nate's for a moment before turning back to the young girl.

"Yes, I know we can, but I don't want you to tell him." Caitlyn retorted.

"What the hell is going on?" Nate finally cut in, deciding he had enough of these riddles and codes.

"I'm Caitlyn's sister, Julie…"

"Julie!" Caitlyn snapped warningly.

"I'm the one who's pregnant, not Caitlyn." Julie said convincingly. Caitlyn shook her head, running her hands through her hair.

"What?" Nate stuttered, excitement and happiness coursing through him at the girl's words. That and a dose of skepticism, this girl couldn't have been over sixteen. "Then why…"

"Because my boyfriend and the father of the child is very violent, he's searching for me now, so Caitlyn has been hiding me." Julie stated, shocking Nate with her matter of fact attitude.

"Julie! For Christ's sake, go to your room!" Caitlyn bellowed, watching angrily as the girl smiled at Nate and disappeared into Caitlyn's bedroom. Caitlyn, her back still to Nate buried her head into her hands, hunching her shoulders.

"Caity.." Nate whispered as he wandered over to her, placing his hands upon her upper arms. "Why didn't you tell me the truth, don't you trust me?" Nate questioned, the obvious hurt in his voice. Caitlyn turned around to face him, pressing her body against his and wrapping her arms around his neck. Nate smiled at the gesture, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Of course, I trust you….It's just….Alex, he's so violent. If he found out my sister was here, he wouldn't just hurt her, he'd hurt me as well." Caitlyn sobbed, Nate tightening his grip around her at the thought.

"Then why…"

"I didn't want you involved, I didn't want you to get hurt." She choked out pressing her face harder into his shoulder.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

"You were protecting me." He whispered as it dawned on him, he felt Caitlyn nod. "You are amazing, you know that right?" A small laugh rumbled from her. She pulled away after, her hands still upon him.

"Do you think that maybe….we could not see each other for a while. He's never met me so it hasn't been too bad at the moment, but it's only a matter of time before he finds us. I don't want you to be here for that…." She stopped, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "So could you just not come around here for a while?" Caitlyn whispered. Nate smiled at her, kissing her on the forehead before he spoke.

"No." Nate said simply, a small smile on his face.

"What? No, Nate!" Caitlyn began, utterly stunned.

"You can argue all you like, Caity, I'm not going to leave you." Nate told her confidently, her eyes widening. "I'm going to protect you…and your sister." He added with a smile.

"No, Nate. You don't understand how dangerous he is." Caitlyn begged. "Please, just stay away from us for a while."

"Absolutely not. I would rather die that have someone hurt you, Caitlyn. So there is no way in hell I'm just going to walk away, in fact, I'm staying here until this whole thing gets sorted out." Nate explained, slightly amused by the horror on her face.

"I don't want you to get hurt…" She whispered, tears glistening in her beautiful eyes.

"And you think that's what I want for you?" He retorted. "You don't get to decide this…I'm here for you." Nate added. Caitlyn looked up at him, opening her mouth to argue further but instead she began to cry again, pulling him into her.

"I love you." She whispered through her tears.

"I love you, too." Nate replied, kissing her shoulder as he tried to push away the fear that was building up inside of him.

A/n: Tadaaah. Look, that can hardly even be considered a cliff hanger!! Woo, aren't you proud of me. Ok I guess it can be slightly, and I suppose the Smitchie part ended a bit dramatically. I do apologise for all the cliffies and the drama...but hey, you all love drama, don't deny it! :D

Oh and I'd like to take this moment to apologise for any mistakes, spelling or otherwise that have occured at any point throughout my story. I find proof reading pretty boring because I always just want to post it, so it's always done in a half-arsed manner. So I do apologise and I hope it's not too bad.

Anywhoo, thanks for reading, it would be totally awesome if you could review....pretty please, with a cherry on top! :)

I love you all! :D

Emma. x