I love your reviews. I really do. I'm glad you all liked the ring. It's one of my favorite pieces of jewelry I personally own for that exact reason. And Jason's fate has been decided, but you'll have to see. So I've been basing Mitchie living in New Jersey close to the City and The guys living in NYC. I've finally implimented that in my story. I figured I'm from Jersey, the Jonas' are form Jersey, why not? Lol. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 8
Shane had been texting me all day, complaining. First, his plane had gotten delayed on its way to where he was. Then, once they got on a different plane, they ended up in commercial. Jason had accepted the offer before jerky pop star Shane could say no. They ended up with a 13 year old staring at them the whole time and going on and on about how much she loved them. Shane made the mistake of saying how much his girlfriend would love someone like her, attempting to get her to shut up. Instead, she started pestering him about me instead.
While he was complaining and being annoyed to death, I was with the cooking and cleaning Nazis. I had cleaned every single inch of my bathroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. And during all that I had to help my mother cook. At least Christmas Eve there wasn't anything to do other than heat up all the food and slip in the pies.
Every Christmas Eve my father's family gets together, and every Christmas Day my mother's family gets together. Since we seem to live in the center of both families, we have dinner at our house twice. I was looking forward to seeing my families, though. I was so excited that for once I could one up my cousin Stephanie when she started going on about her newest boyfriend.
I was much more relaxed now than I had been at Thanksgiving. It was only my family, with no future in-laws to impress. I heard the doorbell ring and made my way downstairs to get it.
"Hi. Tia Anna." I kissed my aunt's cheek. "Tio Jose." I hugged my uncle. "Steph." I greeted.
"Mitchie!" My cousin said happily. "We so need to talk later. I have to tell you all about Cal." I inwardly rolled me eyes, but responded enthusiastically anyway.
Before I was able to close the door, my other aunt and uncle showed up. "Tia Nene. Uncle John." Calling my Uncle John uncle in Spanish was weird. He was whiter than white out.
"Mitchie!" They hugged me. I had always been their favorite.
Finally my uncle Matt, my grandparents, and my other cousins showed up. Everyone was enjoying dinner so far.
My cousin turned to me, excitedly. The adults weren't paying us any attention, so she felt it safe to talk to me about her newest boyfriend. "He's so hott." She practically swooned. "He's captain of the swim team for our rival school." I rolled me eyes. She was such a drama queen.
"Nice. Swimmer's body." I commented.
She kept going on and on. I didn't feel like interrupting her yet. "He's almost perfect." She said dreamily.
"Almost?" I couldn't help asking.
She made a slight face though still smiling. "He has the thing with pet names. He calls me the most unique ones I've ever heard."
I was curious. Shane only ever called me 'baby' occasionally. We weren't into the whole pet name thing too much. "Like what?"
"Well. We were like… doing it, and I was on his lap, and he called me his 'little lap dog' and wanted to hear me bark."
We both laughed harder than expected at that. My left hand flew to cover my mouth to keep the food from coming out.
"Oh wow." Steph said calming down immediately and grabbing my hand, examining Shane's ring. "Where did you get this?" This seemed to get everyone's attention.
"Oh." I said awkwardly. "My boyfriend." I tried to say it indifferently, like it wasn't a big deal.
"You have a boyfriend?" Stephanie asked shocked.
Slightly insulted, I answered. "Yeah."
"And he gave you that?"
"Yeah." I was getting annoyed.
"Wow. You landed a rich one, huh?"
Suddenly something went off in my uncle's head. "Oh! The famous boy your father was complaining about a few months ago? The one from that Connect the Dots or something."
"Connect 3?" Stephanie gasped. "You're dating someone from Connect 3?"
I shrugged. "They are people, Steph."
Mom decided to help me a little. "They're all lovely boys. They're here a lot, too. Mitchie's friend moved in with us back in September and they helped Steve set up Mitchie's room for Caitlyn and bring in all of her stuff."
"They grow on you." Dad added. "Especially Jason. He's an idiot sometimes, but he has a good heart."
"Oh," Mom said picking up again. "Like the beautiful charm bracelets he bought Mitchie and Caitlyn."
"This?" Steph asked examining my bracelet. "It is pretty." I could tell she was jealous.
"Shane spoils her, though." Dad interjected.
I blushed, not wanting to be the center of attention. "Shane? As in Shane Grey? You're dating Shane Grey and you didn't tell me?!" Steph shrieked.
"It's not that big a deal, Steph. You were telling me about Cal. I was going to tell you about him when you were done."
"You actually let her date that asshole?" My cousin Jason asked.
"Jason Christian." Abuela scolded him.
"Well, he is. Did you hear the latest scandal? About him beating up his manager?"
I was quick to defend Shane. "Chris is a jerk. He hates Caitlyn and me, and always acts like a jerk to us. It pisses Shane and Nate off to no end. Shane was just defending me after Chris said something about me."
"One hit is defending your honor, cous. 3 is a bit much. He probably wouldn't have stopped if the other two didn't stop him. He's a violent spoiled pop star."
"You don't know that." I retorted angrily.
"Where is he tonight, huh? Couldn't come meet the family? We not good enough?" Now he was just pushing me.
"No. He couldn't. He's home, with his family, who were kind enough to come here for Thanksgiving. You're lucky I'm here. I could've gone with him, but I wanted to be here, with my family." I replied. I saw him open his mouth to keep going. "And my relationship is not up for discuss. He and I have been through enough drama with people not wanting us to be together, and we've had it. I have my parents permission, and that's all I need. You can not accept it, I don't care." I said pointedly before shoving more mashed potatoes into my mouth.
My family was stunned. They'd never seen me with such a back bone before. I saw my parents attempting to cover their smiles. I could tell they were proud of me for standing up to Jason and not letting him get to me like Nicky did.
Mom wanted to restore Shane's glory, so she started talking about Camp Rock. "Shane actually spent the whole time they were at Camp Rock trying to find Mitchie because he heard her singing and didn't catch her in time to see who she was. Even though he and Mitchie became friends he didn't realize she was the girl her was looking for until the last performance when she sang the song he heard."
"Awe. That's so cute." Steph gushed. I sighed in relief. At least someone was supportive.
"He interrupted my song and sang the song he wrote because of me. It's our song. We got into a fight before he left to shoot a music video, and he showed up at my school and sang it to me again when he got back."
"Wow. He's like, so sweet." She cooed.
"Yup." I smiled happily.
"They just recorded their duet, too, for the band's album." Dad said.
I blushed, "Dad." I groaned in embarrassment.
"That's amazing, Mitchie!" My aunts and uncles congratulated me and such.
At some point Shane had text me, asking how dinner was going after complaining about his own. His family was scolding him for not bringing the 'miracle worker' home with him. I text him back the truth. Minor drama, but everything is fine.
I love you and miss you, so much right now baby. I smiled at his reply. I sent him something similar, and looked up from my phone just in time to see my aunts looking at me adoringly. Steph told me later that I had the biggest smile in the world on my face.
Christmas dinner with the Torres' was hectic enough that I was not looking forward to dinner with mom's family. However, Christmas morning I was pretty excited to get my presents.
I laughed as I opened a huge box with every single piece of Connect 3 paraphernalia in existence. Dad thought it'd be funny. He even got a life size cut out of the guys which was hiding behind the tree. That was so going in my room when the guys went on tour. We agreed to hide it in the basement until then or they guys might have gotten jealous or creeped out.
Mom thankfully bought the rest of my gifts including some new clothes, a new pair of earrings, a new guitar case, and some other miscellaneous stuff. When I thought we were done, I stood up to stretch.
"Where are you going?" Dad asked. "You've got one more present." They handed me short rectangular box. Nervously, I opened it, unsure of what to expect. I almost screamed when I saw what was in it.
First class ticket for December 26 from Newark to Boston. My parents were letting me go see Shane. "Oh my god, really?"
"Yes. Shane asked if you could come out after the holiday until school starts back up." Dad said.
"He wants his brother and sister to like you. He thinks maybe under more casual settings they might understand your relationship better." Mom added.
"Thank you, Mom, Dad." I hugged them tightly. "He and I talked about it, but we opted not to ask. I didn't think you'd let me go and we didn't want to cause any problems."
"We know, Mitchie." Mom smiled at me. "Shane told us. He wanted us to surprise you if we decided to let you come."
I smiled happily. "He is amazing." I sighed sinking into the couch.
"He loves you. We can see that." Dad relented. "After the disaster that was Thanksgiving, he's really proven that to everyone."
"He has, hasn't he?" My parents just nodded.
Mom pushed me off the couch. "Go call him. Let him know your coming." I didn't need to be told twice, and took off up the stairs.
I idly paced my room waiting for him to pick up. He didn't answer the first time I called, and I decided against calling him back again, so I left a voicemail. "Hey, it's me. I guess you're either still asleep or with your family. But I have something to tell you, so call me back later. Love you." I hung up, tossing my phone onto my bed as I fell back on my bed. My phone beeped telling me I had a message.
Hey. What's up? I'm at brunch with the family, right now. I told him to just call me later. I didn't intend to come off mad or upset, because I wasn't. But apparently, I did.
What's wrong, Mitch? I laughed. He was always so concerned about me. I threw in an lol and told him nothing was wrong and that I'd tell him what was up when he called me later and to enjoy breakfast. That didn't seem to convince him as a moment later my phone was ringing.
"Shane." I laughed at him. "Nothing is wrong. I promise. Go enjoy breakfast or brunch, whatever it is."
I heard him sigh. "Are you sure nothing's up?"
"I told you I'd tell you later when you called."
"Well, it's later." He retorted. "Just tell me now or it's going to drive me insane. Besides, they think I'm going to the bathroom."
"Alright, alright." I caved. "Myparentsarelettingmecomeseeyou!" I spoke so quickly and excitedly he didn't catch what I'd said. "My parents are letting me come see you." I said slower. I heard him let out a excited exclamation.
"Thank god." He sighed when he calmed down. "I miss you."
"Oh, please." I smiled and I knew he could hear it in my voice. "A. it's only been 4 days since you last saw me and B. you miss me after 5 minutes." I heard him chuckle.
"True." He agreed. Then his voice dropped into low growl almost, something I'd never heard before, especially from him. "'Cept the last time I saw you, I had you underneath me moaning." I bit my lip. I was hoping he'd never mention that. I enjoyed our make out session a little too much that night.
"Shane." I laughed embarrassedly.
His voice return mostly to normal, but there was still an edge to it. "Sorry. I've had that stuck in my head since that night." I heard him groan. "I need to get back. I'll call you later, kay?"
I nodded then shook my head at my own stupidity. "Yeah. Love you."
"I love you, too." I hung up first, knowing he wouldn't. I held my phone to my chest and smiled happily. I got dressed and went down stairs to help my mother clean up and cook what needed to be cooked.
There were less in Mom's family, so the cooking was easier. That night, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and lone cousin came over.
"Constance. Stephen." My grandmother cooed hugging them. "Michaela." She looked at me with her appraising eyes. She could be really sweet at times, but sometimes she was a little too critical of us. My aunt and uncle were a lot wealthier than us.
"What are these?" She took in my locket, my bracelet, and my ring. "I hope you didn't waste your money on these things." She directed to my parents.
"No, we-" Grandma turned to me instead of letting Mom finish.
"Constance, how could you let her waste her own money on such things?"
"They didn't." I interjected. Wrongly.
Condescendingly, she asked, "So, you just bought them yourself without their permission?"
"No, grandma." I said politely. "My boyfriend and his friend bought them for me."
"Oh? He needed a friend to help him pay for them?" My grandmother was trying my patience.
"No, grandma." I paused. "My boyfriend is very well off. He bought me the ring and the locket. Our friend bought myself and my best friend Caitlyn matching charm bracelets."
"Why on earth would he do that?" She seemed appalled at the thought.
"We're all very close. Caitlyn and I date his two best friends. We've become like sisters to him. He wanted to show us we weren't just his friend's girlfriends. That we were important to him."
"That seems like a pointless reason." She surmised, dismissing the conversation. "Now why is your boyfriend buying you a ring, young lady? You're only 16."
"It's a promise ring, mother." Mom interjected. "Shane bought it for her to show her how serious he is about their relationship."
"She's 16. There's no need to be serious in today's world." My aunt argued snottily.
I took a deep breath before responding. "My boyfriend is in a band. They're pretty popular. His sister thought I was just using him for my music career and we got into a huge fight over everyone's negativity toward our relationship. He gave me the ring 3 weeks later to prove to me he's serious about our relationship and that we both needed to stop letting other people's opinions affect us."
"Wait, you aren't dating that Shane Blue or whatever his name is, are you? The one that just punched out his manager?" My cousin chose now to join the conversation. I glared at him.
"Grey." I corrected. "And yes, I am. He was defending me against his manager who was a jerk and a creep."
My parents were quick to change the subject this time. Dinner was mostly in silence until everyone left. I collapsed against the door as they all left.
"That was horrible." I moaned.
Mom rubbed my shoulders soothingly. "I know, honey." She looked upstairs. "Why don't you go call Shane and get packed? You have an early flight in the morning." I nodded heading up the stairs.
I paused. "Could you imagine if I told Grandma I was going up to see him?" My mother looked horrified for a moment.
"I think your aunt's head would have spun off." She laughed.
"Why can't she be your sister-in-law?" I argued.
"Because you like her more than I do. How about your uncle's wife?"
"How about your brother's wife?"
"Fine. I'll take it." She laughed at me. "Go." She pointed up the stairs while heading into the kitchen.
I smiled looking at my phone once I reached my room. I knew better than to bring it to dinner. My grandmother would have had a fit if she saw me texting during dinner. I had 7 missed calls. 5 were from Shane, 1 was from Caitlyn, and 1 was from Jason. I also had 2 voice mails.
"Hey, Mitch, it's me. Shane. I told you I'd call you back, but I guess you're at dinner. I'll try again later." He always sounded so unsure. It was cute.
"Mitchie! Hey! It's Caitlyn. I have so much to tell you! Call me back when you can!" Caitlyn had gone to Nate's hometown out in Pennsylvania. Her parents were staying there as well. I smiled, glad that someone's family was happy about their relationship.
Did I mention the 15 texts I had? All from my darling boyfriend. Laughing happily, I called him back.
"Hey!" He answered on the first ring. "How are you?" He asked.
"Been better. My grandmother likes to compare my mom to her brother, and I get caught in between. I got lectured for wasting my money on my jewelry before I was able to explain they were gifts. Then I got lectured for being serious with a boy at my age. I opted to not share my travel plans."
"Awe, I'm sorry to hear that. You can't catch a break can you?" He sighed.
"Eh." I laughed. "How bout you? How's your holiday been?"
"My sister was in a better mood. She even brought her boyfriend to brunch, surprisingly."
"Did you play nice?" I asked. He hadn't been to happy when he'd first heard about the guy from Kevin.
"Yes," He answered after a moment.
"Shane." I warned.
"I only threatened him once. After that I was the cool older brother. I swear."
I laughed at him. "Good. I want everything to run smoothly when I'm up there."
"I can't wait." He whispered softly. "I want to hold you so bad."
"You are such a sap, my love." I giggled.
He laughed back. "You know you love it."
"I do. I do." I relented. There was no use arguing over it.
Changing the subject he inquired, "Did you pack yet?"
"I was attempting to…" I admitted.
"Well, bring warm clothes. It's pretty cold up here. Or you could wear not so warm clothes and then I'd be obligated to keep you warm at all times…" He suggested.
"I'm gonna go call Caitlyn, now." I said. "Love you."
I heard him laugh while saying "I love you, too."
He amazes me sometimes. I called Caitlyn back and listened to her vent about everything while I asked about what clothes to bring. I fell asleep not too much later, anxiously awaiting the morning.
Hmmm... what awaits them in Massachutes?