Author's note: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! If you don't already, don't be afraid to tell me what you think of a chapter. Good or bad, it means a lot to me to hear what people have to say. I hope you like this chapter, and I hope to get more of both this story and "Gonna Get Caught" up in the near future. Thanks again, and please keep sending your reviews!
Chapter Four
A wave of cautious optimism washed over Mitchie as she made her way back to Nate. It seemed as though the sun was shining a bit brighter, the world moving a bit faster because of the successful encounter.
"What happened??" asked an eager Nate as Mitchie approached.
"We talked." It was true, the first step of their plan had gone much better than Mitchie had expected, but she wanted to keep that fact a secret. After all the fights she'd put up, she didn't want to help him prove her wrong.
"You talked?" Nate gasped, lurching forward in anticipation. "You've got to give me more than that, Mitchie!"
"What is there to tell? You saw it all, I'm sure," Mitchie replied coyly.
"First of all, why are you here while Shane is all the way over there? That obviously can't be a good sign." Nate ran his fingers through his dark curls as he spoke. Had his plan totally tanked on the first day? There was no way he could ever live that down.
"Tess was calling him. Mitchie paused to grimace in unison with Nate at the thought. "But it went pretty well; I mean, he doesn't completely hate me, so that's a good thing."
"So…that's it? You guys talked for maybe a minute and that's that? Now what?!" Nate began pacing back and forth on his small square of sidewalk, the stress of the situation eating away at him.
"Excuse me, did you just say 'now what?' This was your plan, Nate; I thought you had everything all laid out!"
"Well, yeah, sure," Nate stumbled over his words. "I just planned on you guys actually having a conversation and becoming friends, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess so. It's a good thing we're all having dinner together tonight, because I'm supposed to finish my conversation with Shane there." Mitchie shrugged.
"Oh, my God, you let me freak out for no reason!" Nate cried.
"You're not really mad at me, are you? I just don't want to get my hopes up over nothing." Mitchie flashed a small smile as she spoke, hoping Nate understood.
"If I didn't like you so much-and hate Tess so much-I might be mad, but that's not the case." Nate glanced at his watch. "Shit, I'm late to rehearsal! I'd invite you to watch, but Shane is weird about that stuff."
"It's cool, I understand that," Mitchie said with a nod.
"I'm definitely telling Jason about this, and we're going to hang out with you before dinner, alright?" Nate called over his shoulder as he hustled back to the auditorium. Mitchie thought for a moment before taking off on her own to find Alexandra, deciding she could use a girl's help to get ready for the night.
Evening came much faster than Mitchie had hoped, and she felt utterly unprepared for her expected conversation with Shane.
"So, which one is it?" Alexandra asked as she watched Mitchie touch-up her eye shadow for the hundredth time.
"What?" Mitchie set down her makeup brush and studied the reflection of her assistant in the mirror.
"Which one of those boys are you going to all this trouble for, Nate or Jason? I bet it's Nate; every time I turn around I see you two together!" Alexandra's eyes lit up a bit at the thought of her assumed love match.
"I think you have the wrong idea, Alex," Mitchie sighed, turning around. "Nate and Jason are my friends, that's all. They're the first friends I've had in a long time, and they're taking very good care of me on this tour." She rose from her chair and stepped into her shoes at the end of her hotel bed.
"Well, if it isn't Jason or Nate…I think Mitchie has a thing for Shane! Not a terrible choice, if I may say so myself."
"This is all too much," Mitchie said, quickly not shy at all about changing the subject. "All these gifts, the hotel room; I don't think I'm worth any of the trouble." Her eyes fell first on the expensive ballet flats adorning her feet, examining them for a moment before scanning the large suite the record label had provided for her.
"Look at you, trying so hard to take the attention off of Shane! It is him, isn't it? You know, Mitchie, girl-to-girl I'm going to tell you that's a bad idea." Alexandra shook her head, but the smile on her face wouldn't fade.
"You really don't have to worry about it, because that's wrong." Mitchie scoffed as she picked up her purse from the bedside table. "Don't we need to leave?"
"I've been interning at the label for almost a year now, and I've learned that Tess isn't someone you want to upset." Mitchie looked back to glare at her assistant who apparently couldn't drop the topic.
"I spent a whole summer with Tess; I know very well what it's like to be on her bad side. That being said, I don't think I'm doing anything special to make her mad. Seriously, can we leave now?"
"Sure, we can go," Alexandra sighed as she stood up. "But hear me out for a second, please? It's obvious you like Shane, no matter how much you deny it, and I just don't want to see anything bad happen to you. You've talked about not having many friends and I'm in the same boat. I might be working for you, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, too."
"I do think of you as a friend, Alex; most days you're all I have! I'm trying to figure everything out, that's all. Promise me you won't say anything about this to anyone, please?" Mitchie's tough shell had been shattered, and it was quiet a relief to finally admit her feelings. She reached out and pulled Alexandra into a hug, her sights still set on the door.
"Well then, let's go! I think you have a boy to get to, huh?" Alexandra broke away from Mitchie and pulled the door open, pushing her friend out of the room.
The conversations taking place in the hotel's dining room trickled out into the hallway, filling Mitchie with a growing feeling of anxiety.
"I'm not very hungry," Mitchie whispered as Tess' voice hit her ears.
"Mitchie, come on! If you don't go in there now, you'll always regret it." Alexandra grabbed her friend by the arm, refusing to let her turn and run. "And look, there's Nate!" Mitchie looked down the hall and spotted Nate slipping out of the dining room.
"There you are!" Nate exclaimed, his voice displaying great relief as he walked to meet the two girls halfway. "Let's get in there; we have…things to do."
"You don't have to be so weird, Nate; I told Alex about your little plan." Mitchie smiled as she nudged her assistant.
"Alright, as long as Tess doesn't find out, we'll be fine." Nate explained, ushering the two girls inside. In that moment Mitchie's stomach sunk further than she'd ever thought possible. How was she possibly going to manage to pull Shane away from Tess?
"Great, everyone is here! Let's order!" Jason said loudly as the three entered, casting far more attention on Mitchie than she would've liked. The dining room was filled with people-evidently, Connect Three had invited some of their friends-and it all felt a bit claustrophobic.
"Calm down," Nate said gently, noticing Mitchie's nerves. "We'll sit over here." He pointed to a table situated a safe distance away from Shane and Tess. Mitchie nodded her approval and took a seat. Nate motioned for Jason to join them, and the four sat in near-silence as they ordered and ate their food.
"Well, that was good…and awkward," Jason said at last, setting his fork down on his empty plate.
"What are you talking about, man? This was a very nice dinner, wasn't it, Mitchie?" Nate asked, but Mitchie didn't hear him. Her eyes were fixed upon Shane, just as they had been throughout the entire meal. it was impossible for her to take her attention away from Tess and Shane, their strange interactions, the way they seemed so completely mismatched. She wondered for a split second if that could ever be her sitting by his side, her hand resting on his as they laughed at a mutual friend's jokes.
"Earth to Mitchie!" Nate snapped his fingers in front of Mitchie's face in an attempt to bring her back to reality. "I asked you a question."
"Sorry, it was very good, Nate. I think it's time for me to get back to my room though, I have a really busy day tomorrow." Mitchie pushed her empty plate towards the center of the table and contemplated standing up to leave.
"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Nate asked, shaking his head. "What happened to talking to Shane?"
"Tess has been glued to him the entire time I've been here," Mitchie sighed. "It's like she knows! There's no way I'll get anywhere near him tonight." "You just need a distraction," Jason said with a shrug, and the group fell in silence again as they considered his surprisingly good suggestion.
"I've got it," Alexandra said loudly after a moment. "This one's for you, Mitchie." She stood up and hurried across the room, not stopping until she stood directly in front of her apparent target.
"Can I help you?" Tess snarled at Alexandra, who gave one quick glance back to her friends before she spoke.
"I…heard Prada is having a huge sale tomorrow," Alexandra lied.
"What? Why are you telling me this?" Tess tapped her foot, skeptical.
"Well, Mitchie isn't really into high fashion, and I didn't want to waste this information. I mean, it's all pretty hush-hush. You know, insiders only."
"I am pretty fashionable…" Tess admitted. "So come on, give me the details!"
"Let's go over here and talk; I don't want just anybody hearing about this," Alexandra said as she ushered Tess away from Shane, and everyone realized that was Mitchie's cue.
"Get over there!" Nate hissed, pushing Mitchie to her feet.
"Seriously, don't make Alex suffer that torture for nothing," Jason advised. Mitchie looked at the two boys with apprehension, witnessing them both pointing across the dining room to their band mate. It was clear she had no choice but talk to Shane, dragging her feet as she made her way to the small crowd that contained him. She tried to talk herself down from her nervous state, but once she was within a few feet of him something clicked inside. There was no way she could just walk up to him, not when he was surrounded by all his friends. Of course, she couldn't go back to her table and risk angering the people that were trying to help her out. A wave of anxiety washed over her, making it impossible for her to move in either direction. All she could do was try to look busy, pray that she would go unnoticed until Tess returned and she could slink away in her failure.
"Mitchie?" A hand fell gently on Mitchie's shoulder, causing her to jump.
"Hmm?" Mitchie tried to shake off what had happened the second before, hoping she hadn't completely embarrassed herself.
"I didn't mean to scare you," Shane said as he removed his hand, and Mitchie saw him smile for the first time that week.
"Oh, no, it's fine," Mitchie said with a forced laugh. "I was just in my own little world, I guess."
"I know how that is. So, do you want to finish that conversation while we both have a free minute?"
"Yeah, I'd like that." Mitchie nodded. "I didn't think you'd remember."
"Are you kidding? Shane Gray remembers everything!"
"That's what I'm worried about," Mitchie said under her breath.
"What was that?"
"I said…it's really loud in here," Mitchie said with a cringe, not very satisfied with her attempt to cover up her previous statement.
"Yeah, it is," Shane agreed. "Follow me." He slipped past his inattentive friends with Mitchie on his heels, leading her from the dining room into an adjacent sitting room.
"Much better, right?"
"Definitely," Mitchie sighed as she surveyed her surroundings.
"Alright, so what's on your mind?" Shane asked, and Mitchie realized he really wasted no time. Maybe it was best, she thought, to adopt his mentality for the time being and get right to the point.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Mitchie said quickly, her eyes on the ground.
"What do you have to apologize for?"
"The way things ended at camp…"
"Ancient history!" Shane exclaimed, sounding a little less than convincing.
"Do you really mean that, Shane? The way we left things, well, it was just ugly. I know this whole situation is awkward, and I could tell you didn't want this tour to happen, so I think we should just put it all out there." Mitchie gave her speech in one short breath, desperate to spit it out and be done.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Shane placed a hand under Mitchie's chin to raise her eyes up again, pulling away once he realized his actions might be out of line. "Sorry, just don't be afraid to talk to me, okay?"
"It's not you I'm afraid of," Mitchie admitted.
"Who, Tess?? She comes on strong, I know that, but she's nothing to worry about. I thought we were talking about us, not her." Mitchie couldn't help but let her heart flutter as Shane referred to the room's occupants as 'us,' but retaining her composure was essential.
"I'll do my best not to be afraid," Mitchie promised as she tried not to blush.
"Good, I'll do my best not to let things be awkward. Sure, I wasn't totally sold on this tour from the start, but I'm trying to keep an open mind."
"Shane Gray keeping an open mind? Shocking!" Mitchie laughed, surprising herself with the courage to crack a joke.
"I know, don't tell my fans! I have an image to maintain," Shane said, flashing another smile. "I've learned this past year that things can change when you least expect it." Before Mitchie knew what was happening, Shane was moving closer to her, the smiles growing on both of their faces. A strange new feeling of happiness consumed her as he stopped with his mouth a mere inch away from hers, his breath warm on her lips.
