This chappie goes to ktooty cause their review made me remember to update =)

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chapter 4

kiss and tell

So Shane had finally called her.

But he'd called at 10pm. Just an hour before she had to leave for work and then proceeded to tell her to immediately quit her job and that he'd come pick her up at 11. Oh, he'd also told her to be in her pj's when he fetched her.

Mitchie was seriously beginning to think he'd gone insane.

Yet, she found herself complying with his wishes and she'd just gotten off the phone with her manager and submitted her resignation. Her manager hadn't been happy, not in the slightest and she had a feeling that she wouldn't get her job back in a hurry if she needed to…

She gulped. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to go groveling for it back.

Sighing, she pulled her black hoodie closer to her body. Her apartment was rather chilly this time of the evening. Her eyes scanned the familiar beige wall paint of her small home and a smile curved her lips. This tiny flat had been her first taste of freedom from everything, especially her parents. Not that she didn't love them, but it was nice to move away from her small town and into the bustling city of LA.

She tilted her head to the left and the small kitchen greeted her. It didn't have anything fancy, but it was just perfect for her. It wasn't as though she cooked much anyway.

To her right was the door leading to a bathroom, fully equipped with a bath as well as shower and then the other door led into her room. That was probably her favourite room out of the entire place. Not just because it was hers, but it was very comforting with it's lilac purple wall paint and coconut smell.

Her phone's vibration, followed by a short message tone, caught her unawares and she was startled. But she quickly realized what had made the noise and tentatively reached out to grab her mobile. It could only be Shane…

And she was right. Couldn't he just call, or even come get her himself instead of texting her to come to his car? It wasn't like there'd be paparazzi following him this late right? If they were even still following him…

She shrugged and swiftly grabbed her nearby duffle bag. It had a change of clothes as well as some toiletries. She wasn't sure how long Shane was planning on keeping and so it was best to be prepared.

Locking her door was no problem and she was in the elevator only a few moments later.

She could recognize Shane's car as soon as she exited the building and she wrapped her arms around herself when she was hit by the cold. It seemed to be getting colder by the day and the thin, yet long, pj pants she wore didn't exactly help too much. The fluffy, boot-shaped slippers helped a little more. But overall, she couldn't wait to get into Shane's car as he'd probably have the heater on.

She was pleasantly surprised when he jumped out the door, shivering at the change of temperature, and moved to open her door for her. She sent him a grateful smile, one that he returned before the singer hastily got back inside his car.

"You planning on staying a few days?" he joked, referring to her duffle.

Mitchie merely rolled her eyes, "A few days with you? I don't think I'd be able to survive!"

"Don't you mean, you don't know how you'll be-able to survive a few without me?"

Oh, how she was beginning to have a love/hate relationship with that incredibly sexy smirk of his…

"You look really cute in your pj's, just by the way," he remarked, quickly eyeing her with a wink before turning his attention back to the road. Mitchie blushed. Did he have to just say that? Now she'd feel self-conscious for the rest of their time together.

"Well, you look pretty adorable too." It was true, his navy tracksuit pants fitted him snugly, but well and his white v-neck jersey gave away a hint of the muscles beneath them. His usually straightened hair was beginning to curl too. He really did look adorable, with just a touch of sexy… okay fine, maybe more than just a touch.

They drove in comfortable silence, not even bothering to turn the radio on before Shane pulled up to a 24h mart. Mitchie looked at him curiously.

He didn't answer, he just smiled as he got out the car. Mitchie's curiosity was too much for her to simply sit and wait for him to return, so she followed him.

She shivered at the cold and quickly stepped into the warmer store, Shane only a meter in front of her. She was surprised that he didn't have his usual baseball cap on or any form of disguise. Well, it wasn't as though the store was overly busy, there was barely three customers inside, but still.

"Go ahead and pick anything you want in the store," he explained as the famous rocker came to a shop in the chocolate section of the store. He glanced around at the various chocolates and smirked at Mitchie's facial expression. He loved how her face contorted when she was happy, or in this case, in awe.

"Anything?" he nodded, "Even if I want the entire store?" she sent him a teasing glance.

He chuckled, "Yeah, even if you want the entire store." Her smile brightened the room.

Mitchie barely glanced at the other aisles as she ravaged the chocolate section. The creamy, milky goodness could be considered a weakness. Barely a day went by where she didn't have at least a piece of chocolate sometime during it.

She instantly picked her favorite - a Cadbury Tempo. Then came the Top Deck slab along with the Chocolate Log - Shane really should stop her, before she ended up taking more than she should and more than what was necessary. But, with one glimpse at him, he was actually enjoying her little moment. Hell, he even had a few items of his own and a 2L of Mountain Dew tucked under his arm. It looked like they were going to have some form of… sleepover?

"You sure that's all you want?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He had a packet of some form of chips along with several other forms of candy, including some Skittles. Oh, they had something else in common. She didn't reply as she walked over to him and grabbed another packet of the multi-coloured candies.

"Now I'm done," she told him proudly, smiling all the time.

"Did you see how that cashier looked at you funny?" Mitchie was saying as Shane laughed, trying to get his house keys from his pocket without dropping any of the many items he held. It was quite funny to watch him try.

"Here, let me hold something," she offered as he gratefully piled most of his items onto her own. They'd opted not to get packets as the cashier had been staring at Shane a little too intently for both of their liking. So, they'd paid and made a quick escape. Well, more like Shane had paid, despite her protests. He was already going to pay her college bills; she didn't want him to pay for everything else too.

With the items removed from his grasp, he opened his door with ease, and being the gentleman he was, he waited for her to enter first. Ladies first after all.

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"Wowza… talk about living the life of the rich and famous."

He couldn't help but laugh at Mitchie's wide-eyed expression and awed tone of voice. His apartment wasn't exactly all that. He'd seen other stars with much bigger, more elaborate places than this. He preferred it sweet and simple, without complications. Ashley had always complained that he was 'boring'. She'd been hinting at him to get a new interior decorator all the time…

But he never had, it wasn't like she lived with him anyway…

"It's actually quite modest compared to most," he shrugged and immediately led her to the open-plan kitchen. It was rather modernized with perfect steel silver furnishings and marble counters. While he wasn't the most proficient chef, he liked to have a fancy-looking kitchen.

"Yeah… the expensive looking chandelier is very modest," she joked as she dropped her various candies, chocolates and chips onto one of the black, shiny marble counters. Everything clunked onto the smooth surface and she had to reach out to stop some of the objects from falling.

She then turned, expecting to see Shane snickering behind her, but he wasn't there. With a frown, she searched the apartment and found that he wasn't anywhere in sight.

Well, this was weird…

Not to mention his apartment was bigger than most and other than the lounge, because it was right next to the open kitchen and in the center of the large area, she had no idea where anything else was.

"Shane?" she softly called as she turned to look out of the giant windows that acted as a wall for the entire section of the room. LA was certainly beautiful at night-

She jumped, a timid scream leaving her lips as she caught sight of movement in the windows. She spun on her heel and come face to face with Shane. She steadied her breathing as she recognized his face… just…

He was in a… bunny suit?

Her eyes bulged as she felt her jaw drop. Pinching herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming or imagining the sight before her. Yet, she felt the stinging sensation in her arm and muttered a soft 'ouch' as she continued gawking.

"I know you're probably thinking that I've gone absolutely crazy right?" Mitchie nodded in agreement. Seriously, a pink bunny suit that seemed almost a size too small? "But… they say you can be comfortable around someone when you know who they are right?"

"So," he paused as he walked over and tentatively took her hand. She was too awe-struck to even register the action. "I wanted to show you who I really was, not just the rocker everyone knows me as, but as the real Shane. Not Shane Gray, just Shane so that you can be comfortable around me."

Mitchie felt tears welling in her dark eyes as Shane smiled at her, his deep coffee-coated eyes totally sincere. Sniffing softly, she smiled and overrode the urge to tackle him to the floor.

"Is the bunny suit too much?" Shane asked as he laughed, tightening his grip on her delicate hand. Mitchie squeezed back and he felt his spirits soar. It helped that she shook her head.

"I love the bunny suit," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. Damnit couldn't stop that one from falling and before she could move to wipe it away, Shane had already taken care of it. She didn't even flinch as his fingers ghosted her skin, she almost found it enjoyable. "But, I think you should change. The suit looks a little uncomfortable." She giggled as he nodded, pulling at the collar of the suit.

"I think I'm going to go do that," he replied as he reluctantly released her hand and sent her another smile.

Mitchie easily returned the gesture and sighed in content as he entered what she assumed was his bedroom.

She had a feeling that she was going to like the real Shane…

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"I never ever, ever thought you'd be the type that liked musicals," Mitchie joked as the ending credits rolled on the flat-screen TV before them. Currently, she had her head rested on Shane's shoulder while a blanket was wrapped around both their bodies. While none of their other body parts were in contact, Mitchie felt secure.

Ever since his bunny suit trick a few hours back, she found it hard to tense around him. She felt so honoured that he wanted to be the real him with her and that he wanted her to be so completely comfortable around him. It was really touching.

"Hey, High School Musical is more than just a musical okay?" he weakly defended himself as he threw a lone Skittle at her.

Mitchie squealed and threw her hands up in defense.

"Oh, it's on!" she yelled as she bolted upright and grabbed the Top Deck slab that lay on the glass coffee table. Shane's eyes widened as he realized her intent, but it was too late for as he was nailed by the fast-moving chocolate.

He blinked and flinched away as she continued her chocolaty assault.

Then, when she'd finished the slab, he made his move.

Jumping up, he threw the blanket over her, so that it covered her head and her sight before he leapt behind the couch, careful to be as quiet as possible. He smirked at his ingenious idea. She'd never find him.

Mitchie growled as she quickly removed the blanket from her body, ignoring how static it made her hair and then eagerly scanned the room for her attacker. How, he was going to get it now.

"Shane, you can run but you can't hide!" she called as she began creeping around the room. He had to be within the vicinity. After all, she hadn't heard a door open or close while she'd been momentarily sight-impaired. So, that left her with the remainder of the living room and his kitchen.

Biting her inner gum of her bottom lip, she murmured a soft 'ouch' as she stepped on a scattered chocolate piece. Poor thing, now it'd never be eaten. Shaking her electrified locks, she carefully made her way towards the kitchen, making the occasional 'crunch' when she stepped upon an unsuspecting Skittle or chip.

Let it never be said that Mitchie would make the world's greatest spy… Shane thought as he peeked his head above the couch, only to see her walking the complete opposite direction of where he was. Not to mention she was making quite the noise by stepping on their discarded food. She was making it too easy.

With the grace of a cat and soundness of a mouse, he sprang up from his hiding place and began to creep behind the unsuspecting girl, his smirk only widening.

If he guessed right, she'd get to the kitchen counter, peer into the space and then lean her elbows against the counter and sigh in frustration.

And she did.

'Damn, I'm good,' Shane thought to himself as he was within a few steps of giving the girl the biggest scare of her life… he always knew his Count Dracula voice would come in handy one day.

"Don't you dare move another step Mr. Bunny Suit."

Shane froze.

"Gotcha!" Mitchie exclaimed as she twirled around, her hair flying as she faced him. Shane sent an apologetic smile her way as he raised his hands in defeat. How had she known it was him?

Then, with a playfully grin, Mitchie jumped forward and grasped his hands in her own as she pushed him backwards. Shane's socked feet managed to slide against the polished wooden flooring, but he kept his balance and soon returned the force, moving the girl back a few paces too.

They continued their little battle for dominance for a few more moments, neither losing nor gaining space as their breathing become ragged, and sweat forming on both their brows.

Shane had formed invisible borders in his mind. If she pushed him past the edge of the carpet closest to the couches, she would've won. If pushed her past the edge closest to the kitchen, he'd win. At the moment, they were basically in the middle of the Persian woven fabric.

He had to win.

He was Shane Gray after all. And, he just so happened to be a male. Wasn't he supposed to be stronger?

Mitchie's smirk and gleaming eyes told him otherwise. She had something planned and he had to stop her.

He leaned down and gently touched his lips to hers.

Mitchie stopped, her entire body going limp as he kissed her.

Using this moment, Shane pushed her backwards, walking with her until she'd reached the edge of the carpet. That's when he broke the sweet lip-lock and looked directly into her shocked eyes.

She tasted like chocolate.

Maybe because they'd just eaten a mother-load of the substance, but he could tell that it was naturally always there too. Or maybe he had a whack sense of taste. But he loved how familiar it was and how you knew it'd always be good. Unlike candy that you'd eventually tire of the sugary goodness or something exotic that you could never adjust to, she was certainty.

Mitchie blinked rapidly as her blush grew and grew. Had Shane really just, just… kissed her?

Sure it'd only been a quick peck and a means of cheating, it still meant something.

And it didn't help that he licked his lips afterwards either. Feeling her courage build, she regained her composure and leaned upwards, capturing his lips.

Now it was Shane's turn to be shocked. So much that Mitchie was the one pushing him back, until he went passed his edge of the carpet. It was then that she broke their kiss and smiled up at him.

"Now we're even."

Whoopa! Yay, kisses! Hehe, I don't have much more to say!

Lorey

xoxo