Hey, another update! I know, you didn't have to wait 2 months for this one, just 4 days :) How awesome is that? This chapter is more of a filler one, because I need some space between last chapter and next chapter, but it's still important. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer:

Things I own: the Teen Vogue issue with Jemi, a new phone from the last time I did this (haha), and a Jonas fan twitter.

Things I do not own: Camp Rock. What a pity.

Caitlyn's POV

The next few days were quite frosty between Shane and Mitchie. I don't know what went down, but it made Mitchie completely hate Shane's guts. At least that's how she acts. I know that she's really hurt by whatever Shane did this time.

I would be mad at Shane for hurting my best friend like this, but after his talk with Nate, I don't think I have the heart to. He's been so miserable lately, and Nate's been acting the same. I really want to know what's happened, but Nate said he can't tell me. He said it would be Shane's decision.

A couple of days before the Final Jam, the boys were practicing the song they were going to play. I decided to watch them practice. Being the only one around Mitchie 24/7 is quite tiring, and often times she drains my mood the second she walks in the room. It shouldn't be like that with your best friend.

I smile as I watch them, each of their faces serene, even Shane's. Music is like therapy, no matter how bad your day was, you can always rely on music because it will always be there. I suddenly realize the song was missing a few things, so I quickly take out my computer and open up a mix program.

"Hey guys, that was great, but I was thinking it'd be better if you let me mix it," I tell them after they finish.

"But don't you mix for Mitchie?" Jason asks, oblivious to the touchy subject of Mitchie.

Shane's eyes widen and he looks to the ground as his cheeks burn. "I can do both," I say nervously, glancing at Nate. He's frowning and looking at me, a helpless look in his eyes.

"…Yeah. So if you could just do it again but listen for my cues of when to start and such." The boys nod and I start the mix on my computer, signaling for them to come in after a few seconds.

This improved the song greatly and they even improvised certain parts to make my mix flow smoother. When the song ended, we all simultaneously grinned, knowing the song would amaze the campers.

"Wow, that was really great!" I exclaim, quickly saving the file so I wouldn't lose it.

"You can thank Shane for that," Nate grins, taking off his guitar and putting it back in its case. I turn to Shane to see him weakly smiling at me but looking away quickly. I've noticed he looks sick lately… He's paler and around his eyes are darker. Jason leaves first, claiming that he has to find the red-necked stint he had seen the other day. Nate waits behind for me, but I have different plans.

"Nate, go ahead, I'll be right out," I tell him as I put my laptop away. He looks between Shane and I and nods, giving me a quick kiss before leaving. I see Shane immediately look down as soon as Nate's lips touch mine and I can't help but feel sorry for him. He's been through so much.

"You want to talk?" Shane asks as he leans on a table, wasting no time to get to the point.

I take a breath before answering. "Nate won't tell me what's wrong. He said… he said it's your choice to tell me or not."

Shane briefly smiles. "How noble of Nate. At least I know I can trust him." He stops after this, letting a silence surround us.

I can't break the silence, but I can't just stand there, so I stare at Shane. He continues looking down, twiddling his thumbs. I'm not even kidding.

"Shane," I sigh. He looks up at me. "Please? I just… I really want to help you, but I can't if I don't know what's going on." He frowns and glances around the room before turning back to me.

"Caitlyn… you can't tell Mitchie this, okay?" Shane gazes at me with intense eyes.

"Of course not," I whisper. Something tells me that it's gonna be bad.

He looks away for a second before carefully watching me. "I have leukemia."

Everything freezes for me. He can't have leukemia, not Shane. Not the jokester I know.

Shane looks down and bites his lip.

"Ho-how long have you known?" I stutter. I still can't believe it.

He shrugs. "A bit before we got to camp. It was… pretty advanced."

I gulp. "So, that means…"

"I have six months to live," Shane sighs. He gets off the table and walks to a corner of the room as a few tears roll down my face.

"Shane, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I whisper, feeling like crying.

"No one did," he says quietly before turning around. "Only you and Nate know, you can't tell Mitchie."

I quickly nod as more tears come out. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Shane turns his head to look at me. "I'll tell her eventually, maybe really soon, but she has to hear it from me." I nod again and he walks out the door, leaving me crying alone.

After a few minutes, Nate comes in. As soon as he sees my face, he rushes over.

"Caitlyn, what's wrong?" he asks as he gently wipes away my tears with his thumbs.

"Shane told me," I murmur, my throat choked up.

Nate sadly sighs and pulls me into a hug. "I know it's hard to take in," he whispers into my hair.

"But why him? Mitchie just got him back, and now…" I start crying and bury my head into his shoulder.

"Sometimes, things just happen. Instead of asking 'why him?' ask 'why not him?' Maybe we're all supposed to learn from this."

"Learn from this? How do we learn from Shane dying?" I step out of Nate's arms and walk a few feet away.

"Cait… I mean, I think we're supposed to learn about how to value what you have. I know Mitchie will after this is over." I almost break down when he mentions Mitchie. I don't even want to imagine being her right now. Or when Shane tells her, that is.

"What I'm trying to say is that you don't know what you got until it's gone." I briefly smile at his self quote before hugging him again.

"I'm scared for him, Nate," I mutter, tightly closing my eyes.

"Me too. But we have to be strong."

How can you be strong for someone when you're scared out of your mind?

Finally, it was the day of the Final Jam. I hadn't seen much of Shane, but I practically spent every waking (and non waking) moment with Mitchie. You have no idea how hard it was not to tell her. I know it'd be much better if Shane told her himself, but I couldn't just go on with my life knowing information that will destroy hers. While she was still angry at Shane, I couldn't help but feel sorry for how sad she will be once she knows the truth. How guilty she'll feel of how much time she's wasted, pretty much the whole summer.

"Welcome to the Final Jam!" Brown exclaims, and all the campers clap from the audience. I'm way too nervous and preoccupied to notice anything. I'm backstage doing music for both Mitchie and Connect Three, though Mitchie doesn't know that part yet.

"Hey, you okay?" the girl herself asks. I weakly smile and nod, listening to Brown's introductions.

"The winner of this Final Jam will be Connect Three's opening act across the country after camp ends. How exciting is that?" My eyes start watering as I remember that Shane doesn't have much longer to live, and this tour might be his last.

"Oh, what a great prize," Mitchie scoffs, glaring at Brown. I feel the words on the tip of my tongue, "Shane has cancer", but I can't say them. It would just ruin everything.

"And now, we will start this jam with the boys themselves! Give it up for Connect Three!" Brown yells out as the boys walk onto the stage.

I look to Mitchie, making sure she stays where she is so she can hear the song. Shane made me promise that she'd listen to it. Surprisingly, she stays on her own accord, making this easy.

I hope Shane tells Mitchie soon, I don't know how much longer I can go on knowing she hates him when she should be helping him in his last few months.

Next chapter is the Final Jam and then there's gonna be an epilogue :)

So here's the deal. If you guys give me 15 reviews, I will update. Just like that. Whenever this story has 15 more reviews is when I update. So it's up to you guys when I next update ;) I can only do this cus the next chapter is basically done right now lol.

Also, follow me on twitter. I'm joannacamilley there too. I talk about story stuff and when I update and blah blah.

Remember, review ;)