Hey guys. Wow. I was not expecting that kind of response. Again, I wow. Thanks so much for all the support as usual. If it's any consolation to your anticipation, my fireworks got drizzled on so they weren't as good as they normally are. My towns are usually amazing. Boo. And another slightly misconception was brought to my attention. While Nate did like Caitlyn way back when, they didn't know each other. Nate thought Caitlyn was cute and liked her music. Kay, now I hope you all like how this plays out. Remember that big fight I promised you? Hehe.
Chapter 13
I felt my heart stop and speech become impossible. I looked to Nate and Jason, hoping to see something in their faces that would tell me he didn't just say what I thought he said. No, neither of them would even look me in the face. Even Jason, my Jason. Sweet, innocent, naïve, air-headed Jason.
"Mitchie…" Shane's gentle voice said softly, edging closer to me. "Just breath." I hadn't realized I was standing their with my mouth open, most likely not breathing. I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts. Maybe it wasn't that bad.
"What does that mean?" I asked slowly, closing my eyes and concentrating on forming the words. I was answered with silence. "Shane…" I warned. "What does that mean."
He shot Nate a pretty lethal glare and took my hand. I pulled away like I had been burned. "Mitchie, can we please have this conversation in private?" He asked.
"Why?" I asked sarcastically. "They already know the truth." I gestured to the two boys standing quietly and awkwardly next to us.
"Mitchie. Please?" He insisted. I refused to move to somewhere else. I sat down on the couch, and Jason and Nick quickly sat next to me, forcing Shane to sit in the arm chair.
"What did that mean, Shane? And tell me the truth. What? Did you sleep with someone?" He refused to look at me as I spoke.
I'd never seen him look so ashamed of something. "I'm only going to say this so you understand everything better, okay? We didn't always have the rings. We got them after our last summer at Camp Rock. Just after we got our record deal. It was Nate's idea. He thought it would be good for us." He turned to Nate. "That's why I'm so mad at you for sleeping with Caitlyn." Looking back at the floor, he continued, "Everyone says we're moving too fast, yet they're a lot worse than us. And I wasn't talking about just him in the interview." He paused. Through his entire explanation he hadn't once looked at me. Now he lifted his head half way, his eyes piercing straight through me with his next words. "I was talking about myself." My breath caught again as my suspicions were confirmed. I made to stand up, unable to handle this, but Jason grabbed my arm.
"Hear him out, Mitch." I sat down again. Jason was a very good listener, and many a time I'd confided many things in him. There were things about Shane and I that I'd only tell Jason. I knew Caitlyn wouldn't always understand, but Jason didn't need to. He just listened. So, I trusted his judgment. I stayed and I listened.
"Our last summer at Camp Rock, I was 15. I thought I was the shit back then, too. Except these two were usually quick to put me in my place. They couldn't when it came to her." I flinched when I heard him mention her. "She was a lot like Tess. That's why I didn't like Tess too much. But she was nicer than Tess. She didn't step on people, she just used them. We'd flirted every summer for the past 3 summers. That summer we finally got together. And things got… intense. Real fast. Things happened I didn't really expect and they got out of hand." He sighed. "We slept together just before countdown week for Final Jam. A month later, she called me. She thought she might have pregnant." I felt my stomach clench. I did not want to hear this.
"I can't handle this." I said standing up. "I'm sorry. You're just making, no sense."
He was quick to stop me. "Mitchie, please, just let me finish." I looked at his hand on my wrist and then his eyes. I could never deny him when he begged. I nodded and sat down once more. "She wasn't. But I had told the guys anyway. We had just signed to Lava and we had a lot to lose. After that happened, Nate suggested we wear the rings. It would keep us from getting too carried away with the 'rock star' life. I'd never been so scared in my life, so I did. I never wanted that to happen again. I had my entire career ahead of me and I almost lost it." He looked up at me again. "That's why it's so hard for me with you sometimes. I'm afraid of something like that happening, again. I'm not willing to risk either of our futures like that."
I swallowed. That was a lot to take in. "Jason, can you take me home? I really need to think this over."
"What do you have to think about, Mitch?" Shane asked, desperately confused.
"You lied to me!" I cried. "And yes, I lied to you, but you got mad at me for it, remember? So yeah, right now, I'd say you're the biggest hypocrite in the world. And Nate, so are you. You had better talk to Caitlyn before I do, because when I do, you won't like the results." I headed to the door, waiting for Jason.
"What-" Nate began but Jason covered his mouth with his hand.
"Guys. Just let her cool off." Jason said softly. "Keys?" He asked Shane. Shane was about to protest but saw the way I was glaring at him. He silently handed Jason his keys, his eyes never leaving mine.
I didn't say anything the entire time. Jason tried to cheer me up. He may be an airhead most of the time, but he had a really good heart.
"We figured he would've told you when he gave you the ring." He said when he pulled into my driveway. "We never bothered to ask."
"It's not your fault. They're both grown. They can handle their own messes. And yes, I mean Nate, too. Caitlyn is going to be even more upset when I tell her that it was his idea and he went against it."
He just sighed. "Night, Mitch." He kissed my cheek as I kissed his back.
"Night, Jason." I had a passing thought about needing to find him a girlfriend. But no one good enough came to mind.
I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a container of ice cream and two spoons. I climbed the stairs and entered my room. Caitlyn was sitting on her bed, in tears still, with her cell phone sitting in front of her. I silently climbed on her bed with her and passed her a spoon. We ate in silence for a few minutes before she spoke. "I'm sorry. Shane had every right to be mad."
I shook my head no. "Yes and no. He had a right to be upset at Nate, but he should have explained or talked it out with Nate when it happened. I'm sure if they had, a lot of this drama would have been avoided."
"At least we know the truth, now." Caitlyn sighed. "Nate gave me the basics."
"I'm not upset that it happened," I began. "I'm upset that he never told me. Like when I didn't tell him I lied to Tess, it was because I didn't want to disrupt the balance of me and him. This, though? He had so many perfect opportunities. When he gave me the ring, when he I freaked out the one night we were making out, the last night in Boston. At any point the he could have said, 'I need to explain something to you'. And I would have listened. I might have been a little upset, but I would have gotten over it. I'm upset he lied to me about it."
"He didn't lie, Mitchie," Caitlyn pointed out. "He just never told you the true reason behind their rings."
"Same difference." I shrugged. "Maybe I more upset that he didn't understand when I lied but then did the same thing. Maybe I'm just upset he's being a hypocrite."
Caitlyn laughed. "Ya know, I look more upset then you do."
I laughed, too. "That's because I'm more angry than anything at this point. I mean, Jason and Nate knew the whole time and never thought to ask if he'd told me. It just makes me think of what else he might not have told or might not tell me in the future."
"I just can't believe Nate would break that promise." Caitlyn said. "I mean, we were so caught up in the moment. And after I remembered it, and he said it didn't matter. He loved me and that was the important part." She sniffled. "I just nodded and went with it." She hit herself on the forehead. "How could I be so stupid!"
"He does love you." I said, hoping to help a little. "When Shane and I were discussing our kids' hair-" She gave me a very odd look. "-I said I guess I'll just have to steal Nate or Caitlyn's kid, and he said Nate and Caitlyn's kid. He said Nate' s pretty serious about you. He was afraid you two were moving too fast. I guess we were being like the two of you were in the beginning with us."
She smiled, and I knew I had helped. "Thanks." She said. "Okay, now, why were you talking about kids?"
I blushed. "I was just thinking, since my hair is so straight and his is actually about as curly as Nate's, what our kids hair would look like. He said he hopes we don't have curly haired kids because he hates his hair."
"You two are entirely too cute." She laughed. "Like the picture next to your interview on Cosmo? You're all leaning forward over him, laughing. And you have one hand on his shoulder laced with his, and the other is like resting in his hair. And he's just looking up at you with the biggest smile in the world. Cosmo said you guys are the cutest couple they've seen in a long time. They're totally in love with you. I don't know if I'd be able to handle it if Nate and I ever get this much drama over us."
"I don't think you will. I don't mean that to be mean. It's just that he's the notorious bad boy and now he's all cute and sweet and caring and has a serious girlfriend. Unless you got the workaholic to do something crazy and reckless with cameras around, I don't think you have to worry."
She sighed in relief. "Good." After a moment, she said, "Your duet gets released on Wednesday." It was Friday.
"I know. And I'll put on a smile and fake it if I have to." I said stabbing at my ice cream. Thursday night we had a big social thing to go to pending the positive feedback on the song.
"I'll make Nate do something crazy if I have to." She offered. I smiled in gratitude.
"Let's talk about something else, okay?" I said settling back against her pillows. She nodded and soon we were lost in a random conversation about a whole lot of nothing.
Neither Caitlyn nor I talked to our boyfriend for the entire weekend. Caitlyn finally caved and had been texting Nate since Monday morning. I held my ground and refused to text Shane at all. Every morning I had a message saying Good Morning, baby. I'm sorry. I love you. And every night I got another saying G'night, Mitchie. I miss you. Please talk to me soon. I love you.
It was now Wednesday, and I did not want to go to school. But I knew I had to. I knew by the end of the day, everyone would have at least heard about the song, if they didn't hear it before school or during lunch. I also knew that tomorrow would be worse, because by then, everyone would have heard the song.
As we ate breakfast, I received my morning text. I wasn't going to read it, but I decide to anyway. Good luck today. Ignore anyone who says something stupid about the song. You're amazing and they're jealous. Love you. I smiled slightly. Even when I was mad at him, he managed to squash my fears and make me feel better.
"…and the surprise you've been waiting for. Connect 3's new song being released today, "This Is Me" isn't actually Connect 3's! The song is a duet sung and written by Shane Grey and girlfriend Mitchie Torres. After hearing this, there is no way you won't believe how in love the two are." The HotTunes reporter paused as one of the pictures from our interview showed and they played a clip of Shane and I singing together. I almost cried when I heard it. I wanted to be mad at him a little bit longer. I didn't want to give in after a week. I gave myself credit for not being a basket case like I had been during our last fight.
"Grey claims Torres wrote the original song "This Is Me", while they added lyrics he wrote about how her voice captured him and reminded of who he himself is. We hope Smitchie is here for a while…"
"Did you have to play that, Cait?" I asked glaring at her slightly.
She shrugged innocently. "What? How did I know they were going to talk about you?"
"Uh, maybe because you knew the song was going to be played on every single radio station this morning?" I threw back.
She laughed. "Whatever."
At school kids who had heard the song came up to me saying how good it was. Sierra just kept saying how great it was and how happy she was for me. That I was really going somewhere with my music.
"Oh look, Smitchie is missing it's other half." Rosie snickered while passing me laughing. I let it go.
"Oh, Mitch, I thought of another perk to being popular in addition to those exciting short outfits." Caitlyn began. "When you date someone, you get a really cheesy nickname for the two of you."
"No, that's just when you're famous, Naitlyn." I smirked in reply.
She groaned. "Seriously? Naitlyn? Why not just Cate. That sounds normal."
I laughed at her. "Because that's your name Cait." She pouted for the rest of lunch while Sierra and I talked.
I tried to hold out for the rest of the day from texting Shane back. I decided to stay mad at him for the rest of today, and I would make up with him when the guys picked us up for the social tomorrow night. I almost gave in when he texted me goodnight. G'night, Mitchie. I hope you'll at least talk to me tomorrow. I keep thinking about how beautiful you'll look and I know I'll be content to just stare at you all night if you still won't talk to me. Love you. Okay, so I gave in a little, but not much. That boy had a knack for making me melt. I sent him a simple Good night, Shane. And left it at that.
The following morning, Caitlyn was smiling knowingly and it was getting to me. "What?" I asked as mom placed breakfast in front of us.
She shrugged, stuffing her face with pancakes. I shot her a look as my phone vibrated. Morning. I can't wait to see you tonight. Love you. Her smiled grew bigger as she looked over my shoulder.
"What?' I snapped.
"You texted him back." She sang in a sing-songy voice.
That caught Mom's attention. "You two made up?" She asked excited.
"Not yet." I mumbled stabbing my pancake. Mom's smile slipped a bit. "I'm going to talk to him tonight. But I want him to really understand what he did to me at Camp Rock and what he did by not telling me the truth." I had told mom the true story about why we were fighting, but not my father. He thinks we're taking 'a breather' so we look extra happy and together tonight.
"Oh, sweetie. You have to let that go eventually, though."
I sighed. "I know. But I want him to really understand. I promise, I'll make up with him tonight."
At six o'clock that night, Caitlyn and I stood in semi-formal dresses looking ourselves over. Once again, I wore green, just to drive Shane insane. Oh, that rhymed! Caitlyn was a little more dressed up tonight, though. We were both nervous, as we hadn't seen our respective boyfriends since the fight.
When the guys arrived they looked much like they had on New Years Eve. Jason sent us encourage smiles as we descended the stairs. Nicky was on his arm, surprising us. Jason asked Nicky if she wanted to come to the party and keep him company, knowing tonight would be a very couple-y night. She had agreed.
We greeted Nicky as casually as we could due to our nerves. Caitlyn nervously pressed a kiss against Nate's cheek and I followed her lead. Shane grabbed my hand, keeping me back as the others headed back out to the waiting limo.
"Have you forgiven me?" He asked, confused by me kissing him.
I shrugged. "Do you know why I was mad at you?"
He looked away and nodded. "I was such a jerk to you about lying to Tess, and then I did the same this entire time."
"You could have told me and I would have been fine. Shane, my beliefs aren't the same as yours. So what if you…" I stopped speaking, knowing my dad could be listening. "I just wish you would have told me. This entire time I've been thinking you were worried about breaking your promise. If you told me the truth I would have understood and I would have appreciated the sentiment and you telling me."
"I know that now. I just, I want to forget that happened, but I can't. But I didn't want you to know about it. I wanted to keep you from my past because it has nothing to do with you. Personally, I never want to hear about any ex's-" I blushed, looking away at his words. "Wait, you've… I'm really your- seriously?"
I glared at him a bit, "Yes, you're my first boyfriend."
He made a few open-and-close motions with his mouth before he finally spoke. "Wow. Did not know that. Oh, well. That just makes this even more special, huh? I'm sorry I lied."
"I know. And now we've both had experience in keeping things from each other. And tomorrow, if there is anything else you'd like to tell me, go ahead. I won't get mad or judge. But tonight, let's forget everything and relax and have fun and be happy that everyone loves our song." I smiled happily.
"I love you and that's all I care about right now." He said pulling my hips toward his.
"I kn-" I began, before Caitlyn cut me off.
"Smitchie!" She screamed out of the limo. "Let's go!' I laughed, grabbing Shane's hand.
"Coming, Naitlyn." I yelled back. I heard Nate and Caitlyn groan while Nicky and Jason laughed. Shane just shook his head at us.
That's might be all until tomorrow night, or tonight depending. It's 2 am. That's how dedicated I am to all of you. At the moment anyway.