This installment took a little longer but it's longer than both the other chapters so whatever.
Also, this story has now firmly shifted into the adult content rating. If you're not mature enough to handle it or don't wish to read it, then don't. I've given you warning.
Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock or any of its characters. I simply use them to further the enjoyment of all.
--
Shane gave up on sleep at about five in the morning. He had barely slept two hours the entire night and he knew that he wasn't going to be sleeping at all now so why bother? Without Mitchie sleeping with him it was almost impossible to sleep. It was no different when he had to go on trips without her. Unless he tired himself out so much his body forced him to go to sleep, he ended up being awake all night. Not only had she not slept next to him last night but she was furious with him. He couldn't blame her. He had really screwed up this time around.
How could he have forgotten her birthday? He had never forgotten before. He had been on tour before, though, and had people reminding him every second of his day what he needed to do. He was sure that someone had reminded him to call her on her birthday and send her a gift. What kind of person was he that he needed people to remind him of his fiancé's birthday? Was he going to need people to remind him about his anniversary too? It was the stupidest, most pathetic thing he had ever done in his life. He was surprised the damage hadn't been worse.
He didn't actually know how bad it was. He hadn't tried talking to her yet today and he wasn't sure that she would let him. He had to do something to make it up to her. He'd send her flowers first in the frantic hope that she would at least allow him to speak to her, to explain.
But explain what? That because someone hadn't reminded him he couldn't remember when her birthday was? Should he tell her that he was an idiot who had a calendar, a laptop, a palm pilot and every other type of electronic device imaginable and he hadn't thought to put her birthday on a single one of them? There was no real excuse for what had happened. He had forgotten when he shouldn't have and he had absolutely zero excuse for it. That seemed to make it even worse. If he had been under a lot of pressure from a tour or something such as that she might have understood, but school and Mitchie were the only two things occupying Shane's time. Neither was a reason for forgetting something so important.
Groaning in frustration, Shane threw off the covers and dragged himself out of bed. He started the shower, turning it as hot as it would go. Mitchie didn't like it quite that hot and so usually hot showers like this were rare: they only happened when he had to get up earlier than she did. He wished those were the circumstances now. He stepped into the shower, letting the scalding water flow over him. He probably should have turned it down but he made no move to lessen the heat. Maybe it would clear his idiotic head. Maybe he could think of something that would show Mitchie that he wasn't a complete jackass.
The water continued to beat down on his back and no ideas came to his head.
--
"You look like shit, man."
Shane looked up to see one of his best friends standing over him.
"That's because I feel like shit, Jason." The last thing that he needed was Jason telling him things that he already knew. Shane watched as Jason plopped his books onto the table and then took the seat next to Shane. Shane looked at the clock. They had at least ten minutes before the professor got there, assuming that their professor was on time, which she never was. "I fucked up, Jason."
"What else is new? What did you do to Mitchie this time?" Jason asked, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. Shane glared at him before sighing. It wasn't as if Jason wasn't right.
"I forgot her birthday."
Jason just looked at him, mouth hanging open. He blinked a couple of times, shook his dark haired head and then covered his face with his hands. He felt frustrated for Shane. Jason attempted to start a sentence about three times before something coherent finally managed to escape his lips.
"You forgot like… for real you forgot?"
"No, I for fake forgot, Jason. Yes, of course for real. You don't think I would have actually done something like that on purpose, do you?" Shane asked, slightly angered at his friend. How stupid did Jason think he was? Shane shook his head. Never mind, a guy who just forgot his girlfriend's birthday was pretty damn stupid. No need to let Jason remind him of it in a less than pleasant way. And Jason would find every way to tease him about how much of an idiot he was.
"You really did screw up," he commented. "So what are you going to do about it?" Jason grabbed his notebook off the table and opened it up to where his notes had left off. Shane sighed for the second time in a two minute span.
"I don't know," Shane answered honestly. "I've never messed up so thoroughly before. Usually it's just little things that I do to piss her off. Looking exceptionally cute, giving a pouty face, and kissing her makes the problem go away. I don't think that that's going to fix it this time."
"No shit," Jason commented offhandedly. Shane glared at him but Jason just grinned in response. "I call it like I see it man. You're in a deep pile."
"Thanks. Now, if you could suggest something useful, that would be great," Shane replied to his friend. Jason just shrugged.
"You're asking the wrong guy. We all know what my relationships are like."
It was true. Jason had little luck with relationships. Perhaps that's how he meant it to be. Either way, the longest relationship that Jason had been involved in had only lasted about two months. Shane remembered commenting on his friend breaking the previous record of three weeks. Jason was more of a one night stand kind of guy. Go to a party, hook up with a girl and then they both go their separate ways afterwards. He never coerced a girl who didn't express the interest. Shane sometimes was shocked on how many girls wanted unattached sex. He didn't think he could ever live like that but it seemed to suit Jason and as long as he wasn't hurting anyone there was no harm in it. Shane was sure that someday Jason would find someone. Until then… Shane shrugged inwardly. He had to concentrate on his own dilemma, not Jason's love life.
"I sent her flowers but I feel like that's not really going to help a whole lot," Shane thought out loud, hoping something would trigger the imagination of his friend.
"Damn, Shane, you're worse than I am at this. Girls hate flowers after a fight, every guy knows that. They'll probably just make her angrier at you."
"Thanks, Jason. Again, you're such a huge help."
"Look, just be honest with her. I know enough about girls and Mitchie to know she would rather you just go talk to her and give her a straight answer than sit there showering her with gifts of apology."
"If I could get her to talk to me that would be great. What am I supposed to do when she's giving me the silent treatment?"
"Wait till she calms down," Jason reassured him, "then when she's ready to talk, you'll know."
"I don't think you realize how dire the situation is, Jason. I slept alone last night!" Shane said his voice exasperated. Jason whistled softly.
"Okay, so you're going to be waiting awhile until she decides that she wants to talk to you. Either way, flowers and gifts aren't going to do it."
"Damn it, you're right. I hate it when you're right," Shane muttered. Jason just shrugged and grinned. He was about to make a glib comment about always being right but their professor walked in, silencing all further conversation.
--
What the hell am I doing, Mitchie thought to herself. This whole situation is crazy. They were getting married in less than a year and Shane couldn't even remember her birthday. How was he going to remember their anniversary or any other important date that came up when they got married? Mitchie sat up from the bed she was laying on and threw a pillow against the wall. The whole situation was stupid. They were only in their twenties. Why were they getting married?
Tears streamed down her face as a million thoughts raced through her head. She loved Shane, loved him more than anything in the world. There was so much that she had doubts about though. They never talked about anything. She didn't know whether he wanted kids or where they were going to live or what was going to happen in terms of their careers. Hell, she didn't even know where they were going on their honeymoon.
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that continued to come back into her head. She had been having doubts about the entire situation for a long time now and she wasn't sure that they were entirely unfounded. Sometimes she had the thought that the relationship was all physical. If Shane couldn't remember a simple birthday… she shuddered. How secure was their relationship really? Sure he had chased her for a few years but they were apart all that time. They had no chance to really know that much about each other. Mitchie never spoke to him or called him or really had any contact with him after Camp Rock. She hardly felt that Camp Rock was a legitimate amount of time to get to know someone, not to mention they were in high school then. She had changed so much since then. When she had agreed to marry Shane they hadn't even been around each other that long. They only started talking again when they lived across the hall from each other and she used the term talking loosely. They had fought so often during all that time.
Come to think of it, they seemed to fight a lot even after they had started dating. She felt like she was almost always mad at him about one thing or another. They fought about the stupidest things too. They couldn't have any sort of a relationship if they continued to fight like they did. Shane never fixed anything either. His idea of smoothing things over was to just be romantic in the hopes that she would forget what he had done and remember how much she loved him. The problems they fought over were never solved, just… postponed until they were once again fighting about it. They never talked about anything, just had sex and hung out.
God, she couldn't remember the last time that they went out. Shane had stopped taking her out on real dates over a year ago. It seemed like the second he was sure she wasn't going to go anywhere he didn't have to try anymore. They had hit the worst kind of rut in their relationship. The kind of rut that you didn't get out of. A sob of frustration escaped. What was she going to do? Did she try and talk to him about it? It seemed a futile effort to her since he couldn't seem to sit down and talk about anything else with her. But to leave? She just didn't know. For so long she thought she had been so sure and now… now it seemed as if she had been a complete idiot the whole time.
Mitchie buried herself under her covers, tears making her pillow wet. Eventually her body tired out, her eyes closed and she fell into a dreamless, exhausted sleep.
--
Shane saw her walk in. She looked terrible. The past three days had obviously taken their toll on her and it made Shane's heart ache. He had done that to her. It was his fault that she looked like she had been to hell and back. Finally, last night, she had called him and asked him to meet her for lunch. Shane was glad that she had done so. Sleeping without her the past three nights had been awful and he didn't want to repeat the experience. He missed her, missed everything about her and he didn't care what he had to do to make her forgive him, he was going to do it without hesitation.
His eyes followed her as she walked over to his table and sat down across from him. He leaned over and kissed her briefly. There was no warmth on her end of the kiss. They could have been siblings the way that she had kissed him. There was no reaction in her eyes or body. She may be willing to talk to him but she still wasn't happy.
"Hey," he said to her, hoping to get her to talk, to remove that desolate look from her face.
"Hey," she responded, almost softer than he could hear. She looked down at her hands, not sure she wanted to be here, to talk to him. She looked up and saw two brown eyes staring back at her. There was so much concern in them she almost couldn't look back at him. "Can we go somewhere more private?"
"Yeah. Usually the couches upstairs are pretty deserted." Shane stood up, grabbed his bag but before he could grab hers she took it herself. Shane frowned slightly. They walked upstairs of the student union and, just as Shane had predicted, there were few people there. They found a secluded couch and sat down. Shane noticed that she didn't sit close to him as she usually did. It was almost as if she were trying to sit as far away as possible. Shane shook his head. It was a stupid thought. She was still angry with him, of course she wasn't going to start cuddling up to him.
"How have you been?" she asked him, not knowing how to start the conversation.
"Miserable," he told her honestly. "I miss you."
Tears sprung to her eyes. She hated hearing that but it wasn't going to get much better. Not anytime soon, anyways. There was so much wrong, so much to fix, so much… she didn't want to think about it.
"I'm sorry you've been so miserable."
"What do you have to be sorry for, Mitchie? I was the one who screwed up."
"Doesn't make your pain any less real than mine."
"It makes it less important," he told her. There was another stretch of silence. "I miss you, Mitchie. I miss you like hell. I'm sorry for everything. I don't know how I could have forgotten something so important. Please come home. I can't take being away from you anymore. When are you coming home, Mitchie?" The silence was long and drawn out.
"I'm not." The answer was so soft at first Shane thought he had heard her wrong. The look on her face told him that he hadn't.
"What? You're not… because I forgot your birthday?"
"No. Yes. Not totally. The birthday thing was just the thing that tipped the scale. There's so much more."
"Mitchie, what are you talking about?"
Mitchie sighed and looked at Shane. He looked so scared, so afraid of what might actually happen. This was going to hurt him so badly and she hated doing it. It was the best choice though. In the end this was going to be the best for both of them. They didn't belong together. She should have realized that a long time ago.
"I'm not coming back to you, Shane. I'm not going to live with you or sleep with you or kiss you. I'm not going to marry you, Shane." She took her ring off and placed it in his hand. "I'm breaking our engagement."
"Mitchie, please…" The pain that Shane had felt when he first saw Mitchie increased tenfold. She couldn't be doing this. There was no way that she could be leaving. "I love you," he said, almost pathetically. He knew it wasn't going to make her stay. Nothing was going to make her stay. When Mitchie made up her mind he knew how hard it was to get her to change it.
"I know," she told him honestly. "And I love you too but we're not right for each other, Shane. We can't agree on anything, we never have a real conversation, never solve anything. Shane, we fight more than we have sex. Considering how often we have sex, that's a big problem."
"You'd be bored if you didn't have someone to fight with," Shane countered. "Fighting keeps things interesting."
"Fighting is tiring," Mitchie contested. "I don't have the energy to go to school, plan a wedding and fight with you."
"So stop going to school."
"Shane, please. This is for the best. If we can't decide on the unimportant things how are we ever going to decide on the important things? What about kids, our careers, where we're going to live. Those are all subjects that you avoid when I try and talk to you about them."
"Mitchie, you can't-"
Mitchie held up her hand to silence him. She smiled sadly at him before kissing him softly.
"I'm sorry I waited so long to end it. I'm sorry about how much this is going to hurt you. You really are wonderful. It just wasn't meant to be. I love you, Shane, I really do. I just… can't be with you." She hugged him then stood up, gathered her things and walked away without a single look back.
--
Shane had sat on the couch for a full five minutes before he finally trudged his way back to his room. He was stunned that she had ended it. He knew that she would be mad but to end their relationship? Over forgetting her birthday?
She had said that it was more than her birthday though. She had mentioned kids and careers and all sorts of things that, indeed, they hadn't talked about. It wasn't because Shane didn't think they were important. He simply thought she knew his answer. He wanted kids with her. He would take care of them if she wanted a career. He would give up his own career for her. He had earned enough money for the both of them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. He could care less where they lived. He already traveled all over the world. Wherever she wanted home base to be then that's where he would stay. Why didn't she understand that whatever it was that she wanted he would give to her?
Shane reached his apartment, unlocked the door and walked in. She wasn't there. He realized that she wouldn't be ever again. He was never going to sleep beside her or touch her or trip over her clothes or nag her to get out of the shower, or threaten to join her in it. Never again would any of those things happen. He had hardly even said goodbye to her, just nodded when she had said her own goodbyes.
He shut the door as the shock started to wear off and the emotions began to take over. He stumbled to his bed and just laid there feeling torn apart and completely numb all at once. He didn't even know what to do at this point. He couldn't go to class, he wouldn't actually absorb anything. He couldn't see her, couldn't eat, could barely breathe.
How could she just end it? They didn't fight that often. What was she seeing in her mind that made her think that they weren't meant to be together? He just couldn't understand. He was at his happiest when he was with her. Could it really be that she had never been sadder than when she was with him and he was just too oblivious to notice?
He didn't have answers to any of his questions. He hadn't even seen it coming. He had no idea that she had been thinking about this for so long. Why hadn't she talked to him? She claimed he always avoided the subject but did she ever bring them up to begin with? He just didn't know. Shane stumbled over to his fridge and pulled out the bottle of Absolute. Opening it he took a big swig and ignored the burn of it going down his throat. He took another gulp before the sting of the first had subsided. Before he knew it, a half hour had passed and half the bottle was gone.
This was ridiculous. Why was he wallowing when she was the one who had screwed things up? He had been a good boyfriend to her. He wasn't going to sit here on a Friday night and mourn the loss of someone who wanted nothing to do with him. He was Shane fucking Grey. He was sure he could find someone to hang out with tonight. Shane took one last long drink of the Absolute, grabbed his coat and headed out to find someone to console him on this Friday night.
--
"Mitchie, I don't understand why you called if off," Jessie yelled from Mitchie's bathroom. She was attempting to put on her make-up and talk at the same time. It had taken all of Jessie's persuasive powers to convince Mitchie to go out with her friends. She had cancelled on them last night, asking if they could postpone the birthday celebration until Friday. Everyone had agreed and when Mitchie told Jessie why she was trying to back out of it a second time, Jessie wouldn't let her. If there were ever a time that Mitchie needed a night out with her friends, this was it.
"We don't agree on anything, Jessie. We do nothing but fight constantly. The man refuses to grow up and have an adult conversation with me. I can't be married to someone like that," came the muffled response as Mitchie searched through her closet.
Jessie shook her head. Sometimes she wondered if beating Mitchie into the ground would do any good. Mitchie was meant to be with Shane yet here she was, making up another excuse not to have a relationship with him. It was like freshman year all over again. The only difference was that this time, Jessie wasn't sure if she could talk Mitchie out of her decision. She seemed pretty determined not to marry the guy and Jessie didn't know how to convince her otherwise. Taking Mitchie clubbing and giving her a night to clear her thoughts was probably the best thing to do for now.
"Did you ever try talking to him, Mitchie or was this some situation you imagined in your head?" Jessie came out of the bathroom and looked at her friend. "I'd hate to see you ruin your chance at happiness over a misunderstanding."
"It's not a misunderstanding, Jess. Stop trying to make it sound like I'm a scared idiot who didn't think things through before she made her decision. This is the best for everyone. Now can we drop it please?"
The anger present in Mitchie's voice let Jessie know that if she pushed her friend much further it wouldn't end well. She just sighed and nodded. Maybe they could try again next week.
"Yeah, sure. Have you picked out anything to wear yet? Everyone is going to be downstairs in about five minutes."
"No, I haven't been clubbing in forever."
Jessie walked over to Mitchie's closet, picked out a skimpy but cute dress and handed it to Mitchie.
"Wear this and no arguments. Tonight you should look like a rock star even if you don't feel like one."
--
The club was the usual scene: too many bodies, too many drunk people and too loud to have a conversation. It was a wonder anyone willingly put themselves in this kind of situation yet here Mitchie was, about to submerge herself in the bodies, the drunkenness and the music. The other girls seemed excited and immediately plunged into the crowd and started dancing. Mitchie, not wanting to be alone, had no choice but to follow.
After a few minutes of dancing with her friends, all the apprehensions and worries and stresses of the past few days began to wear off. She loved dancing and she had some of the greatest most supportive friends in the world. She was glad that she had allowed herself to be dragged out tonight. A friend brought her a drink and she sipped it down, tasting the sting of alcohol at the back of her throat.
Not long after she got there she felt someone come up behind her and started dancing with her. Mitchie was about to turn and tell him she wasn't interested, that she had a fiancé when she realized that she didn't. There was no reason for her to not dance with whomever it was that stood behind her. She looked towards her friends who gave her a subtle nod. Mitchie took a deep breath and turned around to face her dancing partner.
He was tall, though not as tall as Shane. He had light brown hair with blue eyes and was a decent dancer. Mitchie started dancing with him, her hips moving in time with the music. She turned her back on him again and she felt his hands lay themselves on her hips, pressing them against his own.
They danced together for most of the night. He bought her three drinks and after about three hours, asked if she wanted to go outside by pointing to the front door. She nodded her consent and, after telling her friends where she'd be, followed him into the cool air. The club had been so stifling that the air felt amazing on her skin. She turned to the guy that she had walked out with. Brent she was pretty sure his name was. That much she had managed to hear over the loud music.
"I thought you might enjoy some fresh air," he said. "It can get really hot in there."
"Thanks," Mitchie answered. She walked over to a ledge and leaned up against it, resting her feet. She shivered as she felt cold stone against the back of her thighs. She couldn't believe that she had allowed Jessie to talk her into wearing this ridiculous outfit.
"You look great," Brent said to her. Mitchie looked at him but decided he seemed genuine enough. A lot less sketchy than most of the other guys that frequented the clubs.
"Thank you," she answered. "You look pretty good yourself." She hated small talk. She had taken for granted that Shane and she had never had to go through this kind of thing. Even their "getting to know you" conversations hadn't been small talk. It had just been… well talk.
"I've never seen you around here before," he said to her, trying to continue the conversation when she gave him no real opening.
"That's because it's the first time I've been here. I really haven't been clubbing in a long while."
"Why?" he asked, sitting on the ledge next to her. Mitchie just shrugged in response.
"A multitude of reasons," she answered. The fact that she had a fiancé up until earlier today and didn't really allow guys to grind up against her was a big one of those reasons but she kept the comment to herself. Brent seemed like a nice enough guy; no reason to scare him off with her emotional baggage. The whole point of tonight was to interact with the real world once again. Brent was the real world even if his name was Brent.
"Well, that's rather vague," he said with a laugh.
"I'm telling you, Brent, you really don't want to know."
"I'll take your word for it," he answered. At least he dropped it, Mitchie thought. Suddenly she had the urge to go back inside where she didn't have to talk about things. She craved the loud music and the impersonality of the club.
"You ready to go back in?" Mitchie asked, standing up. She wanted to clearly indicate to him that she was. Brent smiled at her and stood up.
"Sure, let's go." He placed his hand at the small of her back and guided her into the club. They danced for a few more hours until finally her friends nudged her and told her they were ready to leave. Mitchie screamed that she'd follow in a second before turning to Brent. She stood up on her toes and put her mouth close to his ear.
"I've gotta go! My friends are ready to leave," she shouted over the noise. Brent nodded but as she turned to go he grabbed her arm. It wasn't hard, just enough to stop her. She looked up at him, confused. Before she knew what was happening, Brent leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. His tongue invaded her mouth but not forcefully. The kiss was short and Brent pressed a small piece of paper into her palm.
"My number!" he shouted. Mitchie just nodded before her friends dragged her out of the club. On the subway ride back all she could think about was being kissed. It was so odd. Brent was the first guy she had kissed other than Shane in the past two years and it didn't feel right. There was no passion in it, no style or grace or love. Even the simplest kisses from Shane were just so… intense. Brent's kiss was just that: a kiss. Two lips pressing together.
Mitchie was suddenly confused about the choices she had made. Was every boy going to be like that? Was Shane the only person she could share any sort of passion with? She hoped not. Part of her desperately wanted to go back to Shane, to tell him she had made a huge mistake. A larger, more forceful part however, told her that this was the hardest time. She had just left a boy she loved. She had to be strong because in the end it would be the best thing.
When Mitchie finally got home she collapsed into her bed. Everything was just difficult right now. So what if she didn't feel anything when she kissed Brent? He was the first boy she had ever kissed since the breakup and it hadn't even been a day since the break up. Things weren't immediately going to be better and she was being silly to think they would. She was sure that things would eventually get better and she would find passion all over again.
Comforting herself with those thoughts, Mitchie closed her eyes and slipped into sleep.
--
Shane fumbled to open his door. Why were keys so tiny? It was really hard to put the thin little object into the teeny tiny hole. Especially when he was seeing four holes. The red head behind him bumped into him and he cursed as he missed the hole again. The girl giggled. Finally he was able to slide the key in and open the door. The both stumbled in, almost falling over as they did so.
"Wow, I can't believe I'm in Shane Grey's room!" the girl said, her words slurred. Shane was pretty sure she had consumed even more alcohol than him but he had lost count after about the eighth shot of vodka.
"Yeah, just fucking amazing," he answered her. He grabbed her and kissed her roughly. The kiss was all heat, tongue and lust. His hands slipped under her shirt and massaged her breasts, pinching her nipples roughly between his fingers. Her hips arched toward his where he was already hard and ready to go. He quickly dispensed of not only her shirt but also his own. Her hands were already undoing the button on his pants. He groaned in frustration about how slow moving the whole process seemed to be. She finally freed him from his pants and he couldn't even wait for her to pull them off. He simply lifted her up and lifted her skirt above her hips, his pants still on. He knew she wasn't wearing panties; she had been flaunting the fact all night. She'd bent over and moved so that he would notice that there was nothing underneath it while they were at the club. He couldn't have cared earlier but now it did nothing but benefit him.
He pulled a condom out of his pocket and slipped it on before slamming into her: no prelude, no warning just hard and fast into her. He heard the girl gasp and he pulled out and thrust harder. He was determined to hear her scream. He carried her over to the bed, laid her down on her back and, throwing her legs over his shoulders thrust into her again. Her moans became louder and Shane just smiled in a very cocky manner.
"Oooo, Shane," she muttered. Shane pulled out and flipped her over. They were both still standing on the floor but she was bent over the bed. "What are yoooooohhhhhh!" The sentence never had an end as Shane grabbed her hips and plunged hard into her. He slapped her ass as he pounded into her. Harder and faster he pumped, her feet rising slightly off the ground. "Shane!" she started screaming. Over and over she screamed until finally her screams forced Shane over the edge into his own climax.
He pulled out of her immediately, disposed of the condom and zipped up his pants. He threw her shirt onto the bed next to her where she was still recovering.
"You better get going," he told her briskly. Their sack session had sobered him up a bit and he needed to take a shower and get some sleep. He had things to do in the morning. He watched as she slowly recovered. Finally she had put her clothes back on. Before she left she turned back to Shane.
"That was fantastic. We should do it again soon."
"Probably not," Shane told her. Her eyes narrowed before she shrugged. What did she care? She could still tell everyone that she'd had sex with Shane Grey even if it was a one night stand.
"Night, Shane."
"Night-" He realized that he didn't even know what her name was. Not bothering to ask he just closed the door behind her and headed for the shower.
--
I bet you weren't expecting THAT too happen. To be honest, neither was I until about a day before I wrote it. Here everyone thought that my adult content would be some Smitchie action but nope.
Things are looking rather dismal for our couple. It would be sad if they didn't get together in the end but their both screwing things up pretty badly. I hope that it works out for them.