I'm going to be honest here- The stats I got for the first chapter were indeed a bit lower than I anticipated, considering my other stories on my alternate account. Perhaps Camp Rock is not as popular anymore? I don't like to think so, though, seeing as I love it, still obsessing over it too. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, where we delve more into present time.

"You know you can't do this forever, Mitchie." Caitlyn sighed, tired of constantly having to deal with the Shane situation. I was selfish, really. Caitlyn was my best friend. She went through everything I went through, and tried to understand when I explained. It was hard, for both of us.

"I do know. I'm sorry for dragging you along with me, Cait." I replied, picking at the popcorn, not really wanting to eat. Caitlyn glanced back at me, and gave a small smile.

"It's okay, Mitchie. That's what best friends are for, right?"

I grinned back. She was always there for me, no matter what. At least I had someone stable in my life. Not that my parents weren't there, but I had kind of drifted from them a bit, living my own life out in the city, rather than the suburbs. However, I did used to share an apartment with him.

It was pretty, and cozy. Not to mention a penthouse, since he absolutely adored them. More than he adored me, if I say so myself. Enough talk about this though. He had hurt me. That's all there been to it, and that's all it'll ever be.

"Hey, you wanna go somewhere?" Caitlyn asked, breaking my chain of thought. I glanced over at her. She really was bored. After all, we had been watching Netflix for a long, long while.

"Sure. Let's get dressed first," I laughed, looking at our pajamas. She glanced over our clothing and pouted.

"But this is comfortable!"

I stayed silent, drinking that in for a moment.

"Maybe you're right. Let's not go out."

Caitlyn sighed. "Mitchie, I told you. You can't be so cut off from the real world. I know Shan-" I glared at her, cutting her off. "Don't you dare say his name." Caitlyn shook her head, responding with, "I'm sorry."

I looked back at her, feeling guilty for snapping at her when she, really, didn't do anything.

Caitlyn caught my gaze, understanding. Or at least, in an attempt to understand.

No one would ever understand my pain, my angst. Being in love with the person you thought was your everything, and then having it all shatter. I laughed inwardly. It was pathetic.

I glanced back at Caitlyn, knowing that I could cheer her up if I agreed to go somewhere with her.

"Fine. We can go somewhere." I said softly.

She grinned. "Okay. Now get dressed!"

I stumbled into my room, looking through the wardrobe for something to wear. We'd most likely end up in the mall, or some place of the sort, so I supposed that I should just wear something casual. I picked out a sweater with 'Los Angeles, City of Angels' on it, along with a picture of hands that spelled out L.A. For my pants, I just grabbed one of my many skinny jeans, and picked out my favorite Jordans to wear with them. I didn't necessarily wear boots as often anymore, as it reminded me of Camp Rock. I sighed and shook my head. I should have been over it, really should have been. But I couldn't. Shane plagued my mind, and my god, it just wouldn't go away. I sat on my bed, and dropped my head into my hands, just sitting there, comprehending things. I've been dealing with this for 5 years, but I still don't quite understand why sometimes, just sometimes, I can't bear it. I'd like to think that I hate Shane, and don't want to be with him at all, but I just can't. And it hurts. Why does it hurt? I broke out in a sob. I was pathetic. This was pathetic. And you know whose fault it is? Shane's fault!

"Argh!" I attempted to yell, but it came out in a hoarse whisper. I took a shaky breath, and calmed myself down. I was going to go out to the mall with Caitlyn, enjoy myself. I would not let Shane ruin this. I would not.

I glanced into my mirror and fixed my appearance, smoothed out my clothes, and took a deep breath. I absolutely did not want Caitlyn barging in about this; I just needed space, and relaxation. I took another breath before heading out, hoping that my best friend would let it go just this once.

Caitlyn immediately knew something was wrong when I walked out.

Just like Shane would always know.

I felt tears well up in my eyes again, thinking about that dreadful person had dampened my spirits and made me upset, once again.

"Hey. Mitchie. Look at me," Caitlyn urged. I took a shallow, shaky breath, looking up at her. "What's wrong?" She asked softly. "Do you wanna talk about it?" I shook my head hastily. She was already apart of this mess called Mitchie Torres, and she didn't have to go any deeper, deal with anymore. I glanced up at my best friend, unsure of what to say next. Her eyes softened, and just said, "Okay." I inhaled one, last, large breath, and calmed myself. "If you don't want to go out, it's fine, you know," Caitlyn said, worrying that I might breakdown again. "No," I replied, "Today is going to be our girl's day out, and I'm not going to let…some boy ruin it. We're going to have fun, shop till we drop, and not care about anything else." I finished, looking up with more confidence than before. Caitlyn had a big grin on her face, proud that I could face up to my problems. "Alrighty then, let's go." I gave her a quick smile while rolling my eyes at her choice of words, muttering, "No one uses 'alrighty' anymore." She frowned, but then quickly smiled again, dragging me out the door with her. We strolled into the elevator, waiting for it to go down. Caitlyn glanced at me, and raised her eyebrow. "Now, remember, girls' day out. From this point on, boys don't exist." I laughed and replied, "What's a boy?" She grinned. "There we go." At that point, the elevator came to a halt and opened up. We walked out, and the doorman nodded while we did so. Caitlyn and I walked to the garage, where my Camaro resided. I took out my keys, and the doors to the Camaro flicked up, me getting into the drivers seat, and Caitlyn into the passenger. I turned on the engine, listening to it purr. Caitlyn sighed. I looked over at her with a questioning glance. "No matter how many times we use your car, I can never get over how fucking beautiful it is. I wish my car was like this." I laughed, Caitlyn's dramatic exaggerations never ceased to humor me.

After a while of deciding spent in my 'fucking beautiful car,' we decided that going to Roosevelt Field Mall was our best bet, since it was indoors, and the autumn weather wasn't treating us the best it could. Since we lived in Manhattan, it took a bit longer to get there. Roosevelt Field was in Fresh Meadows, so it took us a good hour. I flicked on the radio, and the whole way Caitlyn and I were singing along. We laughed, shared stories, and gossiped about Brad Pitt.

"He's hot, but he's old," I laughed. "Too bad he's so arrogant, though," my best friend replied, also laughing. "That's very true." I smirked. But then I frowned. Shane was arrogant too. Wasn't that how we met? My frown deepened, turning into a scowl. "Mitchie? Earth to Mitchie?" Caitlyn poked me, trying to get my attention. "You know, I don't want to die in a car crash, and I'm pretty sure your car is too damn hot to be destroyed." I blinked, processing what she just said. It wasn't exactly the best thing to hear right now, but it snapped me out of my trance. "I'm sorry." I muttered, still somewhat dazed from my small reverie. Thank God there weren't any turns or obstacles in the way of the car, or Caitlyn and I would have gotten seriously hurt. I continued driving, however, in silence this time. I was upset; even it was only a slight thought of Shane. Caitlyn noticed this and stayed quiet, presumably giving me space and letting me cool down. I wasn't even sure why I was suddenly so sensitive to the thought of my ex-boyfriend after all this time. Then it struck me. Because I had seen him earlier today, and it had set off all the tension building up inside after all these years. I had sub-consciously wanted to see him, and when I did, I didn't want to see him anymore. I inwardly groaned. These were my own thoughts, and they confused me. Maybe I need a shrink, or something, cause this was seriously getting on my nerves. "Hey, Mitch, you okay?" Caitlyn questioned, out of the blue. I raised my brow. Why did she suddenly ask? "Your knuckles are white, and you're gripping the steering wheel really firm there," my best friend said, as if reading my mind. I sighed, nodding my head. I was fine. Right? I wasn't even sure of it myself, but I had to act fine. No boys today.

After we had arrived at Roosevelt Field and I had parked my car, I was still somewhat distressed. I stalked inside the mall, with a worried and suspicious Caitlyn following close behind. We entered at Dick's Sporting Goods, not even snickering at the title this time. I continued walking, slowly but surely making my way to the center of the mall. At some point Caitlyn had drifted behind, so I stopped and called her name. "Cait? Where'd you go?" I did a quick sweep of the area behind me, wondering where she went. "Sorry. Got caught up with some equipment," She panted, coming up from behind. I shrugged and brushed it off, accepting her excuse for 'getting caught up.'

After the small incident that occurred in the sports store, Caitlyn and I walked side by side. She dragged me to the Microsoft store, where they set up an area where people could freely sing and test out the speakers. I looked at her suspiciously, starting to feel somewhat nostalgic when watching a kid sing. I was staring, before I realized that a certain someone was there, staring back. My eyes widened, not wanting to be here anymore. "No, no, no, no, no. Caitlyn Ann Gellar, I am not going to do this." I shook my head furiously, feeling trapped within the large mall. The evil person that dragged me here gave me a small glare, and replied, "Mitchie, I know you were thinking about Shane. Avoiding him will not help. You have to talk at some point, and besides, you said you would at least try having a fun time." I glared back. "Talking to Shane is not exactly my definition of fun, you know." "Perhaps not, but you can't have fun if something is bothering you. And," she continued talking, before I could interrupt, "I know you were thinking about Shane, and something about our conversation earlier was nagging at you. Obviously you wouldn't want to talk about it with me, or this wouldn't be happening. So," the evil person gestured in Shane's direction, "I brought you here." I groaned, regretting my earlier decision to push Caitlyn away. She took my wrist and pulled me toward the man that broke my heart. I hardened my facial features along the way, not wanting to breakdown in front of Shane, not wanting him to see my weaknesses.

I watched the floor, waiting for someone to say something. The tension was at a new high, even though it had only been 2 seconds. I didn't look up, knowing that Shane was staring, and if I looked, I'd be done for. "Hey, Shane," Caitlyn began, confident, but unsure of what to say or do. Shane didn't reply. I could still feel his smoldering gaze on me, wanting, waiting, for me to do something. I refused to look up, knowing that if I did, I wouldn't be able to look away. I'd be stuck in his trap, again. And that certainly wouldn't be good for me. "Mitchie." Shane finally spoke, in such a soft tone, that I didn't even recognize it. I closed my eyes. I had missed that voice so, so much, even though I heard it all over the place, all the time. "Mitchie." Shane called again, seeming a bit more confident. I still constrained myself from looking up. "Mitch, please. Please look at me." Shane said it with such remorse and anguish that I glanced up. I had glanced up.

SPOV

She looked. She looked up at me. Finally, after these two long years, I had found her. But this wasn't the way I pictured our meeting would be. Then again, how would I have expected her to act? 'Hey Shane! Nice to see you again! How is that cheating hobby of yours going? We can still get together if you want!' I sighed inwardly. I had made mistakes, and I would give anything to take them back.

Her face was stony, but her eyes were lost, so very lost. It hurt me to know that I had caused it, even though I had lived with this for two years now, even though they felt like a lifetime. Witnessing what she actually felt hurt even more than when I thought about it every second of the day.

I continued staring, as Mitchie stared back. I lifted my hand to her cheek, but before I could, she turned away, shaking her head. I dropped my hand, dejected, but I supposed that I deserved it. Who am I kidding? I don't even deserve to see Mitchie at all. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything, Mitchie spoke first. "Save it, Shane. I don't need to hear this. I, uh, I have to go." With that, she ran off, leaving Caitlyn and I. "She probably needs some space, before anything else happens," Caitlyn said, sadly. I shook my head, looking down with hair in my eyes. "She won't ever want to talk to me, or see me. I did the worst someone could ever do. I ruined her." With that, I walked off, hands in my pockets. My world was even more shattered than before. "Wait, Shane." I ignored her, continuing to walk. "God damn it, you two are so alike," Caitlyn muttered, before running up in front of me and blocking my way. "Go away," I mumbled, depressed as it is. "No, Shane. If you ever want her back, you'll need to work for it. She misses you, but she doesn't show it. She may not trust you now, but you have a chance. Please, Shane. Don't do this for me, don't do it for yourself, but do it for Mitchie. She's a mess, ever since you two broke up. You're the only one who can fix her!" Caitlyn exclaimed, somewhat irritated that I didn't get that. "I'm also the one who broke her enough so that she needed to be fixed. You forgot that." I shot back, angry now. Not at Caitlyn, but myself. "You don't understand, Caitlyn. You don't. You have a perfect relationship with Nate, you two are happy. I screwed up real bad, okay? Really, really bad. Do I want Mitchie to be happy? Yeah, definitely. But I can't do that. I had my chance, and I blew it to hell." Caitlyn wasn't at all shocked by my outburst, but instead spoke softly. "At least be friends with her, Shane. Try. Try to get back into her life, and then, maybe you'll get your second chance. You never know." I looked up, but found that Caitlyn was no longer there. But I realized, she was right. I should try. Better late then never.

Haha, I'm so bad at updating on time. Oh well. I'll try to update sooner.

~Kry