Author's Note: Once more, a thanks goes to those who reviewed: ilovehim x3, Lina Mistress of Elements, Sober Hollywood, shayoom, Shizuku Tsukishima749, IAMSOAP, brucas224, LolaBellaxx, SVZ, SHAWTii328, RedRoseInADarkValley, AviorHyrax, gleamingeyes, have-a-cookie, oddball15, penguinsrpals, BrazilianPrincess, KungFuDuckie-x3, NicholeLuvsJB12, Grl4Peace (anon.), monko25, JemiandLolgan4ever., XO Miz Blonde OX, zanessanileyLOVE, cHaRisMa DoLl ArIeLlE, semicollon00, NorthernLights25, LosingTrack, Blair (anon.), PlzBeMineAt705, Dancer4life15, RokerChic5, Konnichiwa Minna, Cripps13, Keybladewarrior13, .x.imagine.x., blonde-gal, JennAy9110, x miss magic x, Paupu, Yuki's Little Girl, katie (anon.), -BeeVee-THEEAmazing, Amberle25, MitsukixTakuto 4 ever, Florchuchizz, Maiqu, unbelievably.yours, Remedyzero, XxNickxXxSkanderxX, anonymous (anon.), MazzLuvsJB, musiclvr21, crazyforpurple, pyrolyn-776, babybooshe112, JoBrosCupcakesSwirl, PrChic559, zannesa-all-the-way, Jonaswifey11, charmedNluckyP3, DiSnEyGiRl96, epobbp, Reaper Scythe, hollywoodgal205, Angie-ange, and Live Like Music.!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Second Chances
by PiperPaigePhoebe01

Chapter Thirteen

The next few days passed by in a blur. No matter where Mitchie looked, it seemed she was needed for something, whether it be a last minute practice before they headed down to the mess hall for breakfast, a quick word with Shane in a deserted section of the forest as he looked for opinions of his newest song, a late-night talk with Caitlyn and Lola about the "looks Shane was giving you" and "the way you bumped shoulders with him at the mess hall and looked like you were about to faint" or a canoe ride with Shane when their schedule freed up a tiny bit.

Of course, being needed for all those different things was not a bad thing—in fact, she loved constantly being busy. Besides, she needed to constantly be busy, considering how much they had to put together in a week.

I can't believe what Shane and I are attempting.

Who would have thought we could actually be friends, let alone be willing to sing together at Final Jam? And who would have ever guessed that we would be insane enough to try and put together a whole new routine for Final Jam in a week?

Certainly not me and yet that's what we're doing.

Mitchie smiled at that thought, heading down to the lake for a canoe ride with Shane. At first, the idea of combining Gotta Find You and This Is Me into one song in time for Final Jam had seemed impossible, but with Caitlyn's help, they managed to get it done in an evening or two. Now they were practicing every spare moment they got. Their performance was good so far, but...

I'm still nervous. I just hope I don't mess up in front of all those people.

She shook that thought out of her head. No, I won't mess up. Caitlyn and Shane will make sure of that, considering how much we're practicing. And thinking about messing up will only make it more likely that I will.

"Mitchie!" someone called.

Mitche smiled, turning around. Shane was right behind her, wearing a broad smile on his face. As soon as she stopped, he easily caught up to her.

"Hey," Mitchie greeted.

"Hey," Shane greeted as well. "Ready?"

"To go in circles?" Mitchie asked.

Shane let out a quick, amused laugh. "Have we still not forgotten about that?"

"Of course not," Mitchie said. "After all, how could we? Every single time we try to canoe, we always end up going in circles. Both of us know that."

"Point," Shane said, giving in.

Mitchie smiled again as they began heading down to the lake, talking about nothing in particular. For some reason, they were so much more comfortable with each other than they ever had been, even taking into account last year, when they had first been friends. Now, Mitchie didn't jump nearly a foot when Shane accidentally brushed against her arm like she did before, and they were fast becoming close friends—maybe even closer than she had been with Caitlyn or even Sierra.

And that was an odd thought.

But not one I want to get rid of...

Mitchie shook her head at the way her thoughts were going in, smothering them as she walked along the edge of the lake with Shane, searching for the green canoe they always climbed into, no matter how many other canoes were there. It was their canoe, they had silently agreed on, and they wouldn't go out on Lake Rock if it wasn't their green canoe.

Thankfully, their canoe was there, turned upside down as always, two paddles beside it. Mitchie and Shane made quick work of turning the canoe rightside up, grabbing and putting on a lifejacket, pushing it off, and climbing into it. They managed to paddle out into the middle of the lake, where they promptly began going in circles, around and around and around...

Mitchie let out a laugh.

"You know, I'm beginning to think we're doing this on purpose," she said.

"Would we do that?" Shane teased, grinning at her.

"It's more amusing if we go in circles," Mitchie pointed out

"Yeah, it is," Shane agreed, "but, personally, I think we're going in circles because we are completely hopeless at getting further than halfway through the lake. So circles it is."

"I don't mind circles."

There was silence for a moment but then Shane spoke up, abruptly looking at her, an unreadable look on his face.

"So, what do you think of our performance at Final Jam?" Shane asked.

Mitchie couldn't help the surprised look crossing her features—why the sudden change of topic?—but she ignored it. "I think it's great so far," Mitchie said. "I just hope I don't mess up. This will be my first time performing on an actual stage, you know."

"Didn't you sing at Pajama Jam, though?"

"Yeah, but that wasn't an actual stage," Mitchie said. "Nobody was really paying attention to me, anyway. They were watching Tess do something. And Final Jam will be my first huge performance."

"You'll do great," Shane said.

"Really?"

Shane grinned at her and, in one of his strange fits of insane niceness that were becoming even more common in the past few days, said: "I'll make sure of it."

Mitchie couldn't help a smile stretching across her face, yet she looked down, her cheeks burning. For some reason, whenever Shane gave her a compliment, she felt like her entire face was on fire and she suddenly grew shy—whenever these moments happened, she sometimes felt like Caitlyn and Lola had a point whenever they pointed out the fact that Mitchie was acting like she had a crush.

But I don't.

Crushes happen to immature thirteen-year-old girls that can't control themselves. Not a seventeen-year-old girl that is best friends with Shane. I'm just really great friends with him and not used to that yet.

That's all.

Obviously, though, Caitlyn and Lola never bought that when Mitchie told them. No, they said that "De Nile wasn't just a river in Egypt" and that she "really had to stop denying what everyone sees." Or things in that vein, which was, of course, a complete lie. Sure, their relationship had progressed to something she never expected it to, and she was getting a bit awkward around him whenever he did something sweet, but that happened all the time, didn't it? And yeah, she did tend to feel her heart quicken whenever he came up to her, but that was normal, right?

And I feel like jelly whenever we sing together, but that's just because it's supposed to be powerful.

Yeah, that's it.

We're just friends. Odd friends, but just friends all the same.

Or so she continued to tell herself.

Deep inside, however illogical it may sound to her, she knew things were stronger than she made them out to be. She was definitely friends with Shane and, at the moment, that was all it was, but who knew if that might change? Gradually, she felt like spending more and more time with him, and that couldn't be good, especially since seeing him tended to turn her entire insides to jelly.

She took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She certainly liked Shane, but they had really only been friends for about a week and a half... so how could she possibly like him like him? Most feelings don't grow that quickly, but then again, it was incredibly difficult to share a cabin with Shane and not develop a friendship with him... and most people developed more than that.

She shook her head, getting dragged out of her thoughts by a voice.

"Mitchie," it said, and as she focused again, she realized it was Shane, looking at her, concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Mitchie said, managing a small smile. "I'm just fine."

Shane clearly didn't buy it, but he nodded all the same, picking up his paddle once more. Things seemed to get better as Shane began talking again—small talk and laughter punctuated their (failed) attempts to get further out on Lake Rock. Nothing else happened in the hour or so they managed to spend on the water, and it was a good thing, considering the fact Mitchie's feelings were rapidly spiraling out of control.

I like him.

But how far that like goes is still to be determined.

-

There were six days left before Final Jam.

Shane found himself spending every spare moment he had hanging out with Mitchie and her friends, either practicing, canoeing, or just having a good time—something he thought would never happen, even though now, when he had been friends with them for a week or so now. Even though practicing for performances normally bugged the hell out of him (his manager pushed him so hard he felt like screaming sometimes), he found himself enjoying the practices he had with Mitchie, even if they went late into the night.

And he found himself enjoying Mitchie's company more and more.

No matter how many hours they spent together, they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. They were close, closer than he ever expected to get to anyone except his fellow members of Connect Three, Nate and Jason. For some reason, he felt like he could be himself around Mitchie, as if she just demolished all the walls and boundaries that separated a famous rock star and a normal person. He had felt a bit like that last year, but still.

It wasn't as strong.

For the first time, he had someone who didn't think of "Shane Gray, lead singer of Connect Three" first... no, he had someone who thought of "Shane Gray, the person and friend". And Shane loved that about her.

That day, six days before Final Jam, Brown had given him back his class for the last week, his reason being that "you've finally gotten more than fluff stuffed into that brain of yours." He had spent the entire day teaching the dance class—which was a huge success, as everyone seemed to want him back—as a result, finding that he had missed dance instruction quite a bit more than he had expected to.

Which isn't really much of a surprise—I was disappointed when Brown "fired" me.

So, he had taught some of the dance classes he had been itching to do for three weeks and somehow still had time topractice for Final Jam. That day was absolutely amazing, and yet it went by much too quickly.

And soon there were five days left until Final Jam.

A new addition arrived to the Camp Rock grounds: a large, rectangular sign that proclaimed FINAL JAM in huge letters, with a smaller FIVE DAYS sign hung below it. Every day, the sign would be replaced with the actual number of days left, which gave everyone a new layer of panic and excitement. Everywhere you looked, you saw people staring at the sign nervously, excitedly, or in a way that expressed both feelings in equal measure.

And, unfortunately for Shane, Mitchie seemed permanently stuck in a mood right in between "nervous" and "excited".

Halfway through the day, when Shane finished a last minute class for a few students who wanted to be sure they had their dance routine down correctly, he found Mitchie at the edge of the lake, pacing nervously, her lips mumbling the words to their song under her breath. It was one of those times she had panicked and, although it didn't happen often, when it did, it was bad.

"Mitchie, you'll be great" was the phrase he repeated throughout the day and, thankfully, after the hundredth time (or what seemed to him to be the hundredth time), she calmed down, looking at him in a distinctly odd way.

Shane didn't recognize it but, as the day wore on, and they began practicing again, he soon found the look appearing on her face once more, this time after they had finished their Final Jam practice for the night, and Caitlyn had told them they had pretty much gotten it down perfectly—Mitchie had gotten this tiny little smile on her face and stared at Shane for a moment, an unreadable expression on her face, before she looked down, cheeks turning tomato red under the coverage of her long, dark brown hair.

It was new, but Shane found it... adorable.

And that was new.

I swear, this friendship with Mitchie is turning me into a sap.

The rest of that day passed by in a blur and, before he knew it...

There were four days left.

Shane found himself concentrating on Mitchie that day a bit more than usual. Only a few more lessons were given out, and only to a few people who needed a bit more instruction for Final Jam, so he had the day free. He had spent it with Mitchie and his uncle, but mostly Mitchie. Her strange looks had increased—he caught at least three of them that day, and he remembered asking her about it.

"What's that look for?" he asked.

Mitchie stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"The look you just gave me."

"Oh." Mitchie looked confused, but didn't bother asking what he was talking about. "I don't know. I guess I'm just nervous, that's all. I mean, there's only four days left, and Caitlyn is pushing us further than ever..."

Even though Shane hadn't entirely bought that story, he had nodded. When they weren't practicing, and when he wasn't with his uncle, they were sitting at the edge of the lake—so close to where they first met, now that he thought about it—talking about numerous things when the mood struck them, and just staring out at the lake when it didn't.

Shane was rapidly growing more and more comfortable with Mitchie, to his surprise. Even though they might not say anything, he rarely felt nervous, since he knew they got along well enough even if they didn't talk. He didn't have to worry about her being angry at him—he could somehow read her expressions better than he could anyone else's, weird as it sounds.

Soon enough, he found himself noticing more and more about her... and wondered what it meant. He found himself liking her company more and more. Of course, he only thought of that as them getting closer to each other. They were good friends, that's all.

And then that day passed, and there were three days left until Final Jam.

That was the day Shane began wondering when he actively sought Mitchie out instead of waiting for her to walk up to him and ask if he wanted to do something. And it was also the day Caitlyn got him alone and began asking him a spiel of questions.

"Why do you hang out with Mitchie so often?"

"What do you do?"

"Are you seriously ready to do Final Jam?"

"Why do you constantly stare at Mitchie? And don't lie, because you do."

"Do you like her?"

To those questions, he answered as best as he could—except for the last one, he ignored that one, because he knew that if he said anything Caitlyn would either believe he was lying or being an utter sap, and both of them seemed terrible, so he decided not to say a thing—and saw that Caitlyn had thankfully been fairly impressed with the answers.

Her last question, however, threw him for a loop.

"And is Nate coming to Final Jam?"

Shane had said "yes," but he was confused as to why she would even ask the question in the first place—since when had Caitlyn been interested in whether or not the fellow members of Connect Three would be there? He hadn't let it on, but he had automatically gone to see Mitchie, who had been as confused as he was as to why Caitlyn had asked.

However, that was the day he realized he was staring at Mitchie for a bit too long, and the day he realized that Mitchie was staring at him too long as well. It was also the day he wondered if there was more to their relationship than he previously thought, although he didn't bother thinking it through—there was too much chaos going around as it was, and he didn't need to add more.

And then there were two.

That was when Tess Tyler snapped and threw a small fit, complete with taunts at Mitchie, when she saw her heading out of her cabin with Shane. Mitchie had just ignored her, shooting a glare in her direction as she hurried down to the mess hall, but Shane had stopped, asking her what gave her the right to make fun of other campers, and she had blanched, but Shane had forced her to respond.

Tess's response was: "I just snapped. Sorry."

After that, she hurried away. She didn't bother Mitchie or Shane for the rest of the day, but his little defense of Mitchie had caused Mitchie to turn, looking at him with a surprised look on her face.

"Why did you defend me?" she asked.

Shane didn't have a suitable answer to that, but for the rest of the day, he was thinking about it—why had he defended her? He was forced to admit, after catching himself staring at Mitchie for too long and singing to her with a bit too much passion in his eyes, that he maybe liked her more than he had thought he did. Maybe he was growing to actually like someone.

That thought shocked him and yet, when he thought about it again as he practiced one of the final times with Mitchie before Final Jam, he realized that he shouldn't be surprised at all.

It's only logical, I suppose, but I still am not sure I like it.

That day passed quicker than ever because of that thought and, before he knew it, there was only one day left before Final Jam. It marked the beginning of the full-scale panic, the mad hassle to get all of their things ready for the performance of their life, and the realization of the changes Shane had been experiencing the entire summer and had only just now realized.

It marked something bigger than all that as well.

The day before Final Jam was the first day a certain thought ran through Shane's mind constantly, like a broken record, and yet he didn't try to refute it, like he so often tried to do.

I like Mitchie Torres.

-

Author's Note: Gah, Shane isn't too terribly out of character, is he? I'm so worried about his character, because we aren't given a good feel of what he's really like in the movie, but I tried to keep him in character. So, I hope I succeeded, and I'm worried about Shane's POV being boring, so I really hope it's not and that you enjoyed this chapter, since I didn't update yesterday.

And this chapter might've gone by a tiny bit too fast, but I just couldn't carry the time before Final Jam for another chapter unless I moved things around, and I definitely didn't want to do that, so... the next chapter will be Final Jam, and the chapter after that will be the events after Final Jam. Those two chapters will mark the end of this story, sadly. :(

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though, and please, please review?