Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to get an update on here, I've been really into some books I've been reading lately so they've kind of stolen my attention. I'm back though, and I'll hopefully be updating my other story "Gonna Get Caught" pretty quickly, so check that out as well. Please keep sending me your reviews, I love them! Thanks!
Chapter Five
"Guys, are you in here?" Nate's voice was cool and calm as he pushed open the door, not bothering to wait for a response. He burst into the quiet room with a smile on his face, but his chipper demeanor quickly faded. He had witnessed, if only for a brief second, two of his tour mates sitting dangerously close to each other, and he shut the door swiftly to ensure no one else saw the same sight.
"Hey, Nate," Shane said, his voice a little shaky. The interruption had caused him and Mitchie to shoot apart, and there was now nearly a foot of space separating the two.
"Um…" Nate was momentarily at a loss for words, but he directed his surprised gaze at Mitchie. Her eyes met his for a quick second before looking away, lips pursed, feeling positively mortified.
It took Nate a second to rediscover his train of thought, but the words finally came back to him. "Shane, I think Tess is looking for you. Remember her, your girlfriend? Your sweet, delightful, charming-"
"I get the picture." Shane cleared his throat, his eyes flipping around the room in a distressed manner. "Maybe I should get back out there. I'll see you around, Mitchie." He hesitated, lingering in his exit far longer than what was appropriate. Reaching out to touch her hand, or perhaps her cheek, was a tempting yet awful idea in the presence of Nate. Mitchie thought she could sense what he desired, and was oddly thankful they were no longer alone. It was almost certain her heart would stop if anymore contact was made between the two.
"Goodnight," Mitchie said, one octave above a whisper. Something told her she wouldn't be seeing Shane again that night.
"Please tell me I didn't' see what I think I saw," Nate sighed the instant his band mate cleared the room.
"You saw it all," Mitchie shrugged. "You swooped in at just the right moment-perfect timing." Her words dripped with sarcasm, and Nate fought back his exasperation. Didn't he suffer this type of attitude enough, constantly living with Shane?
"What were you thinking?"
"Well, he just looked so nice tonight…" Mitchie chattered, a dreamy tone carrying her words as she recalled Shane's perfect arms, the way his jacket fit just so.
"That's what this whole incident was about, a little crush you managed to develop overnight? This is bad." Nate paced back and forth, tugging on his curls in an attempt to control his stress.
"I thought this was what you wanted." Mitchie crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
"He still has a girlfriend," Nate reminded.
"Well, I don't understand what you expect of me. This 'little crush' isn't what you think; Shane and I made a real connection at Camp Rock."
Nate grimaced as Mitchie spoke-it was far worse than he could've imagined. "I'm beginning to consider this all a bad idea. I really think it's too much, too soon for you."
Several emotions consumed Mitchie at once. She felt confusion, fury, and, strongest of all, unadulterated panic. "What do you mean? I can handle this; I'm completely fine." There was no way they could cut their plan short, not when things were on the up turn.
"I have some serious thinking to do, but Jason should probably be in on any changes. for tonight, we just need to get out of here." Nate extended his hand.
"What?"
"Now that Tess knows something is up, she's going to be watching you. Don't be stubborn, let me hold your hand!" Nate eyed Mitchie's still-crossed arms.
"What good will that do?" Mitchie demanded, her grasp on herself unwavering.
"You don't want to make Tess suspicious," Nate warned. "So don't flatter yourself, I'm just doing the only thing I can to save you from this mess." He wiggled his fingers impatiently. Mitchie considered being insulted, but her new friend appeared to be nearly out of patience.
"Good choice. Try to look happy," Nate instructed as Mitchie slipped her hand begrudgingly into his.
The couple made their reentry into the dining room, and Nate had been right when he predicted an audience. Several pairs of eyes flashed upon them as they shuffled back to their table, the most glaring set belonging to Shane's girlfriend.
"Tess is giving you her death glare," Jason hissed as his friends returned to their seats. Mitchie gulped and pulled her hand from Nate's, not daring to look over her shoulder.
"With good reason," Nate said, irritated.
"Oh, come on, that plan was flawless! At least until tomorrow when Tess finds out there's no sale." Alexandra feigned a pout, assuming Nate was bad-mouthing the distraction she'd created a few minutes earlier.
"It's not that," Nate promised. "There's just a hitch in the plan I wasn't expecting. You two should go get some sleep-" he motioned to Mitchie and Alexandra. "I'll come find you before rehearsal tomorrow."
Mitchie climbed out of the seat she'd taken only a moment before, pulling Alexandra up with her. "See you guys later," she managed to mumble. Jason watched his small group of friends disband with confusion, but he figured his band mate would provide him with all the details.
"What just happened?" Alexandra finally had the courage to ask once the girls were in the safe privacy of the hallway.
"I don't really want to talk about it." "That bad, huh? I'm sorry Mitchie; sometimes things-"
"Everything went fine with Shane! It's Nate that's the problem." Remembering the unwelcome interruption caused Mitchie to scowl.
"Well, come on, tell me all about it!" Alexandra urged as she steered Mitchie towards her room to collect all the details.
Just as promised, Mitchie was dragged to a discussion about the plan the next day.
"I'm here," she announced grimly as she slinked into Nate's room with Alexandra in tow.
His phone call had jarred her from an uncomfortable night of sleep. "We need to talk." Had the words come as they did under normal circumstances-in a relationship, from one partner to the other-they would be a great cause of concern, but this was all very different. The short, concise sentence only signaled a shift in the plan, but whether that was bad or good was still up in the air.
Both Nate and Jason had made themselves comfortable in the room, sitting quietly but impatiently in their respective chairs.
"Hungry?" Jason motioned to the platter of room service breakfast on the bedside table. Clearly, the boys knew Mitchie had transferred straight from bed to their little meeting.
"Not even remotely," Mitchie stated. "Can we just get to it? You wanted to talk, so talk." She directed her words at Nate, wishing he'd just spit it out.
Mitchie and Alexandra took the direction, moving from the doorway to sit shoulder-to-shoulder on the edge of the bed.
The room fell silent, and the suspense cut through Alexandra. "Somebody say something!" Her cheeks immediately blushed a fiery red, unsure if it was even her place to speak in such a situation.
"Alright, alright," Nate obliged. "This plan…" His voice trailed off, not certain how to continue.
"What?" Mitchie's patience had faded long ago, replaced by immense anxiety.
"Well, it's taken an unexpected turn," Nate admitted with apprehension.
The broad assessment of the situation crated a sense of panic within Mitchie. Was Nate trying to imply that they needed to stop what they were doing? If that was the case, well, he would be smart not to hold his breath. The plan might've been his to begin with, but she honestly no longer needed his help. There was no way she was going to give up on Shane, not after the taste of success she'd had the previous night. If Nate no longer wanted to offer his assistance, that was fine. Mitchie would risk going it alone.
"Are you trying to suggest we stop?" she finally demanded.
"Not necessarily." Nate stiffly cleared his throat.
"Then what's the point?" Mitchie asked, a little softer this time. She suddenly realized she was gripping the thick comforter tightly, her knuckles a glaring shade of white.
"We just need to rethink the way we-I mean, you-go about things." Nate took note of Mitchie's tense posture. "We definitely don't want to see you crash and burn," he added.
Mitchie loosened her grip, curious. "I still don't get it."
"Tess knew something was up last night, and she's probably not going to take it very well," sighed Nate. "Unfortunately, we've spent a lot more time with her than you have, and we know how she can be."
"Jealous, vengeful," Jason continued the thought. "Evil."
It was true, Mitchie had only spent a couple months with Tess compared to Connect Three's years, but she knew what her friends were trying to say. Getting on Tess' bad side was what had landed them all here in the first place! Maybe it was in her best interest to take the advice she was being offered.
Tell me what I need to do," Mitchie sighed, surrendering.
Nate contemplated for a moment, tapping out a beat on his ever-present notebook. He glanced over at Jason, but his band made could only shrug.
"You just have to play it by ear and let Shane make the next move," Nate decided. "Figuratively speaking, of course. Do not try to kiss him again."
A bright blush swelled on Mitchie's cheeks, and she wished the whole room didn't have to hear about her every mistake. But was that what their almost kiss was? Not in her eyes, but she didn't' seem to share the common opinion. Her blind outrage from earlier was gone, and she now realized she couldn't really move forward without her new friends.
"Fine, fine," Mitchie mumbled. "I need to get ready for rehearsal."
"Yeah, come on, Mitchie." Alexandra, who had been totally silent for the rest of the talk in an attempt to remain neutral, rose to her feet and pulled Mitchie up with her. The rushed out of the room without a second look at the boys, both unsure how to shatter the awkward atmosphere.
Several hours after the meeting, Mitchie stumbled off the rehearsal stage in a breathless haze. Her three friends on the tour erupted into applause from their seats in the second row of the arena.
"Knock it off, guys!" Mitchie exclaimed between huffs. She struggled to keep a smile on her face, her mood sinking fast. Once again, Shane couldn't be bothered to make an appearance. She knew that he never showed up early to such things, but a part of her wished he'd reconsider after the events of the previous night. After all, she was pretty sure he'd never heard her sing; didn't he want to know if his opening act was any good?
"Our turn!" Jason said with excitement, pulling Mitchie from her thoughts.
"If Shane ever shows up, that is," Nate grumbled.
Mitchie visibly cringed a little at the mention. It was probably a good thing Shane was nowhere to be found-she had on idea how she was allowed to interact with him now. "Have fun, boys," she said coolly. "I'm just going to go wander around for a while. You can stay and watch if you want, Alex."
"Are you sure, Mitchie? I don't have to if you don't want me to, honestly!"
Alexandra's half-hearted attempt at protesting was wasted-Mitchie was already gone. She decided to explore the arena while she had a free moment, knowing the following day marked the official start of the tour.
A sharp corner in the corridor lead to a hallway Mitchie had never been down, sparking her curiosity. Only one door stood a few yards away, and as she moved closer she saw it begin to creak open. She was seized quickly by fear, expecting someone to burst from the room and scold her for being where she clearly didn't belong.
An instant later, however, Mitchie was left wishing desperately to be scolded. To be in trouble was far more desirable than the situation presented to her in reality.
The sight before her was Tess strutting from what was apparently a dressing room, a grin plastered across her face. Shane filed out after her, looking around sheepishly as he fumbled with the zipper of his pants.
"Oh, hi Mitchie!" Tess said aggressively.
"Hey," Mitchie mumbled. Her stomach turned violently, and she hurried off down the hall before she gave the pair the satisfaction of witnessing her discomfort.
"I told you this was a bad idea," Shane sighed as he watched Mitchie flee the scene.
"It's fine!" Tess insisted, extremely gratified. "Go do your thing, and I'll wait for you in the bus." She stood on her tiptoes to give Shane a kiss before pulling him in the direction of the stage. She left him in the care of his glaring band mates and then strolled to the tour bus.
Bored and alone, she flipped on the satellite TV on the bus in search of entertainment. She shuffled aimlessly through the channels until something caught grabbed her attention. A familiar face flashed across the screen, one she was already tired of seeing.
"Ugh."
Mitchie was in control of the program Tess had settled on, a special about her quick rise to fame. Was she really that important? Tess hadn't even bothered to notice. All she saw was an undeserving girl living her dream, doing all the things Tess should've been.
"Tess, are you in here?" Shane called before climbing into the bus.
"Right here!" Tess rushed to turn off the TV before Shane could see what she was watching. She hadn't realized such a long stretch of time had passed, too consumed with her jealously to watch the clock.
"What were you watching?" Shane asked as he fell back onto the couch.
"Nothing interesting," Tess lied. The truth was that Shane could never see the program she'd been watching-it would ruin everything! The glue holding their relationship together was the fact that he'd never heard Mitchie sing, never found 'the girl with the voice' he'd searched for back at Camp Rock. She had on clue how to avoid that once the concerts started, but Tess always seemed to find a way…
