I walked down the long hallway in her hotel to get to her room. I couldn't believe how nervous I was. After breakfast, Shane had Googled Mitchie. He thought it would give me an edge if I knew more about her. Well, we'd found out why everyone thought she was a bad girl, at least.

"How can you be famous and never talk to the media?" Shane asked in disbelief as he skimmed through the article. "It says that any time the paparazzi ask her a question, she freaks out."

"What do you mean, 'freaks out'?"

"Like…she screams at them," he told me. "And like…throws stuff."

"Why?" I asked.

Shane shrugged. "Doesn't say."

I was still trying to figure out what reason there could be for her to do that. It made me all the more anxious about our date. Not that I was having second thoughts, because I wasn't. Actually, for some reason…it made me want to go out with her even more. She was complex. I wanted to figure her out. It didn't seem like anyone else really had. But would she let me?

"Hey," Mitchie smiled when she opened the door and saw me.

"Hey," I replied, trying hard not to stare. "You look incredible."

She really did. She was wearing dark jeans and a long, pink tee-shirt with a black vest over it. It was simple, but it looked amazing on her. Everything probably looked amazing on her, though. She grabbed her purse and jacket before stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind her.

"Thanks," she said quickly. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I thought we could…"

"Put your arm around me," she interrupted, looking out the main entrance of the hotel at a couple dozen photographers who had followed me there and watched me go inside. I'm sure they all knew she was staying there.

She didn't have to tell me twice. I snaked my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me. The doorman held open the door for us and we stepped outside, greeted by camera flashes from every direction.

"Just stick to the plan, okay?" she whispered to me.

I nodded, leading her in the direction of the restaurant. I'd chosen one that was only a couple blocks away from her hotel. I wanted to do something special after, so I'd gone downstairs to ask the people at the front desk what they would suggest. The woman working there told me about these gardens that were lit by candlelight at night down by the river, and she said it was really romantic.

"How long has this been going on?" one of the photographers shouted at me.

"A couple months," I replied casually. "I'm just glad it's all out in the open now so I can show my girl off."

Mitchie smiled up at me. I don't know if it was genuine or if she was just trying to look convincing as a couple, but I hoped for the former.

We got to the restaurant quickly and were taken to a more private area. I'd called ahead to make sure that it would be available so we would be able to talk without having a bunch of people looking at us. And we did – we talked a lot. And every word that came out of her mouth just made me like her more. She was blunt when she talked about people, and sometimes a little…I don't want to use the word bitchy, but I think that's the only way to describe it. But not in a mean way, really. She was honest – just not always in the most tactful way. And she was funny. I loved how she would laugh in the middle of trying to tell a story. It was so cute. The only awkward moment was when I asked her about her parents. She got quiet for a moment and then said, "We've been talking all about me. Tell me about your family."

"Kiss me," she said when we were getting ready to leave.

We were near the windows, and the paparazzi could see us. I hoped that wasn't the only reason she wanted to kiss me. But even if it wasn't now, maybe it would be later. So I kissed her. Maybe this whole act could be like an audition – to be her real boyfriend.

"Hold my hand."

I laced my fingers through hers and pushed the door open for her. Again, we were met with cameras and questions.

We made our way through the crowd and I looked up and down the street for a taxi. I didn't understand what that article Shane was reading earlier was talking about – Mitchie was sweet. I couldn't even picture her going off on one of the photographers. She was smiling for them and being totally pleasant.

"Mitchie!" one of them called to her. "Is it true that your mom is dead?"

The smile instantly vanished from her face. She walked up to him and glared at him.

"Who said that my mother was dead?" she demanded.

The man shook his head. "I can't reveal my sources. So is it true?"

She grabbed his camera right out of his hand and threw it on the ground. "Fuck you!"

Okay, I guess the article did have some merit. She came running back towards me, looking really pissed off. I waved for a cab that was heading in our direction and quickly got her inside.

"Can we just go back to my hotel?" she asked, her angry tone indicating that it wasn't really a question.

"Uh, yeah. The Dorchester, please," I told the cab driver.

We were there within about a minute, since it wasonly a couple blocks away. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders protectively and pushed through the paparazzi into the hotel. She practically pulled my arm out of its socket dragging me to her room as fast as she could go. She fumbled with the keys, her hands shaking, so I took them from her and opened the door. She slammed it behind her furiously.

Mitchie walked to the other side of the room and seemed to just be looking at the wall for a moment, her back turned towards me. I didn't know what to say. I really had no idea what was going on. I'd never really been good in these kinds of situations, anyways.

"Damn it!" she screamed suddenly.

I decided I should stop standing there like an idiot, so I crossed the room to where she was standing. I put my hand on her shoulder, which was probably more awkward than comforting. I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

"Hey, are you ok…" I started, turning her around to face me.

She was crying. I really hadn't expected that. She didn't seem like the kind of girl who would cry about anything. I pulled her into a hug and she started sobbing into my shirt. It was heartbreaking to see her so upset, especially when I couldn't do anything about it, since I didn't know what it was she was crying about.

"It's okay, Mitchie," I told her quietly. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

She sat down at the end of her bed and rested her head in her hands. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Mitchie, obviously it isn't nothing," I stated the obvious. "Come on, talk to me. Tell me what the problem is, and we'll figure out how to fix it."

"I wanted to protect him from all of this," she said quietly.

"What? Who?"

"Brandon…my little brother," she clarified. "He's six."

"Mitchie, people start rumors all the time," I told her. "Just because someone started a rumor that your mom died doesn't mean it's going to affect him…"

"My mom did die," she whispered. "Three years ago. She had leukemia."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

I didn't really know what else to say. I sucked at this.

"But…that doesn't mean your brother is going to have to deal with the media, really…" I told her. I wasn't really sure where I was going with it – I just wanted to make her feel better.

"It will when they find out that he's sick."

"Sick?"

Mitchie looked up at me sadly, and I could see tears forming in her eyes again. "He has leukemia."

"Oh my God," I said, surprised. "I'm so sorry."

All of the sudden, the article made sense. She didn't "freak out"…she panicked when they asked about her family. I hated that she had to be labeled a "bad girl" when all she was trying to do was deal with something that terrible. It made me feel good that she had told me, though – that she had trusted me enough to tell me. Maybe that meant she was feeling the same way I was. All of the sudden, I felt like I had unlocked a whole new piece of the puzzle – this was all an act. The attitude…it was her way of dealing. Her way of playing defense. Her way of keeping people out so they couldn't get too close. But she'd let me in, at least a little.

"And now that they're butting into my family life…they're going to find out. I know they will."

I didn't know what to say to make it better. She was probably right. Then, I had an idea.

"Well, let's do something," I told her.

"What?" she asked.

"They're all interested in 'us' right now, because they were surprised by it. If we do something…I don't know…something crazy, they'll all forget about your mom. They'll just focus on us," I explained.

Mitchie smiled a little. "You would do something crazy for me?"

"Yes!" I replied way too eagerly. "I mean…yeah, I guess…ya know, whatever…I still have to prove you wrong about me being uptight, right?"

She giggled. "You're sweet, Nate."

She said I was sweet. That was good, right? Hopefully she meant 'sweet' in the boyfriend way instead of the just-a-friend way.

Mitchie yawned and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "I think I just need to sleep this off. We can figure out our 'something crazy' tomorrow."

She moved up to the head of the bed and lay down. I was disappointed, because I really wanted to spend more time with her, but I didn't really blame her for just wanting to crash.

"Okay. I'll…I'll call you tomorrow, then."

"Wait," she said when I started to walk towards the door. "Do you think you could stay, for a little while? I feel better when you're here."

My heart sped up when I heard her last statement. That had to be good.

"Yeah, of course," I replied. She patted the bed next to her. I slid my shoes off and sat down, letting her curl up under my arm, her head on my chest. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."

"Goodnight, Nate," she yawned.

I smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Mitchie."

A/N: I'm having a little trouble with the next chapter, so it might be a couple days before the next update, but the chapter after that I have pretty well planned out. Thanks for reading! Review!