Hey guys, sorry about no chapter yesterday. I was up at the hospital with Mom for a little while. Thanks for understanding. I didn't meant o btch so much at the end of the last one. I was just a bit ticked in general. You guys are great. So, slightly longer chapter. Sorry if it's a bit dramatic at the end. I'm trying to throw as much fluff between the drama as possible.
Chapter 6:
Shane, Nate, Caitlyn and I drove back later that day. The drive home was pleasant. Somehow, Jason convinced Anastasia to let him drive back to her school with him. He claimed they needed to talk, and, well, they did.
"How much you wanna bet they're back together by the time we get home?" Nate laughed as we left the Grey's driveway.
The rest of us shook our heads. "Nah. Maybe after tonight." Caitlyn said.
"I don't know. Stas seems a lot more hurt than we thought." Shane said wisely. "I think they'll make up by the end of tonight. I don't think they'll get back together until Jason can prove he can handle the distance. She made a pretty good point about that."
"Yeah. She answered whenever he called. And I never heard her complain." I agreed. "Hopefully, it won't take too long to prove that."
Shane won that bet. Unfortunately, none of us saw much of each other in the next couple of weeks. Midterms were in the third week of January. Calculus is evil. We'll leave all details of studying at that. My application for Berklee was also due on the 15th, and I still hadn't managed to write that essay.
"Mitchie." Caitlyn said at her wits end. "Just write the damn essay. 'I believe I am qualified for Berklee because I have an amazing voice. I have a potential record deal with Lava Record that I've yet to act on after almost a year of signing it for reasons no one knows."
I glared at her. "What did you write?"
She huffed, but pulled up the essay on her computer. "I believe I am qualified to attend Berklee because I have the greatest passion for music possible. I have been attending the prestigious Camp Rock summer music program for the last 4 years in an effort to further my knowledge. During the school year of 08-09, I worked as an intern for Lava Records with Producer Milo Waiton on Connect 3's Play My Music album. I am credit on the album for the single 'This Is Me' in which I mixed the majority of the music. I believe Berklee College of Music is the next step in furthering my knowledge and increasing my chances of making it as a music producer." She read to me.
"See, that was good. I have no idea what to write." I complained.
She sighed. "Would you like me to write it, for you?" She suggested. "Just, mention the lengths you've gone to make it in music. The whole catering-so-you-can-go-to-Camp-Rock thing. And then you can mention that you sang a duet with Shane for the Connect 3 album, and that you wrote it. And how you also helped write some of the songs for Play My Music with Shane."
"I helped write two songs, Cait. And all I did was suggest different words." I argued.
She groaned. "Mitchie… Just write the damn thing." She left me to my own thoughts to write. I did, but I wasn't overly proud of it. I was modest, remember? And, I was afraid they'd wonder why I hadn't signed to Lava if I was so amazing. No one knew why. Except for me. Milo offered to help me record a demo, but I refused, saying I wanted to write some new songs first.
Why didn't I record the demo, you're wondering? Because I was afraid to. I've never sang without Shane and I was afraid of the response to just my music. When I sang at Final Jam, Shane was with me at the end. I never heard the response to my singing. Sure, I was over my stage fright, but I didn't want to sing without him. I know, I know. So why didn't I sing on tour with them? Because I wanted to be backstage watching my boyfriend, not on stage stepping on Nate and Jason's toes. Shane asked me to quite a few times, and I always said no. And, yeah, I have a song that topped the Billboard Charts, but again, with Shane. Yes, I know. How do I plan on making it music if I don't want to sing without Shane? Good question. When I find the answer, I'll let you know.
I hadn't really thought that out at that point, yet. But once I got my applicant sent off, I had to worry about studying. But as I said, Calculus should die and that's all I'm going to say.
"Thank god we have half days during exams." I sighed to Caitlyn, who was patiently waiting for me.
"Yeah, and I'm just happy that we're done with exams." She said sighing as well.
"Well, for the moment we are." I added. She glared at me as I closed my locker.
We hadn't actually spoken to, much less seen, our boyfriends in the last two weeks. Once exams started, we literally stopped talking them for the week. Not even during study breaks as we had the week before. If we managed to maintain an A average for the year, we were exempt from finals. This meant we had to ace these exams.
Color us surprised when we walked out of the school to find Shane and Nate leaning against the Mustang's hood. We ran down the front steps to them.
"Hey." Shane smiled at us. He laughed when I practically threw myself at him. "Ugh. Missed you, too, baby." He said laughing. "Come on, you two." Shane pushed off of the hood.
When we pulled off of the curb, Shane headed toward the highway, and not toward my house. "Where are we going?"
"The apartment." Shane said simply. My house and the guys' apartment had lost possessive pronouns at this point. It was either the house, which was my house, or the apartment.
"Can we stop and get lunch? I'm starving." Caitlyn asked from the backseat. Shane looked back at her in the rearview mirror.
"Sure. How about you pick lunch and we'll pick dinner." He answered.
"Specify 'we' and what do you mean dinner?" I asked.
"We as in you and Cait, and Nate and myself." He answered. "And you guys are spending the weekend with us."
"What?" Caitlyn and I asked excitedly. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. You're exams are done, Jason went to Stas' for the weekend, and we've missed you." Nate explained. "Momma T and Steve know." He assured us.
"Wait, we don't have clothes." Shane smirked next to me. "Seriously?" I gaped. "Cait." I whined.
"I know." She whined back. "You guys can so not just… grab our clothing."
"Oh please." Nate laughed, kissing Caitlyn's temple. "What's the difference seeing things in your drawer as opposed to seeing it on your bodies?"
I huffed. "It's the principle of the matter."
Shane reached over and grabbed my hand. "Whatever you say, babe." He laughed.
We went to a small deli in the city near the guys apartment. "So, Jason really went to Stas' for the weekend?" I asked during a lull in the conversation.
"Yup." Shane answered, mouth full of sub.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear." I reminded him. Nate and Caitlyn laughed at us, like normal.
"Anyway, what prompted that trip?"
Nate laughed. "Shockingly, Stas' exams were over yesterday, so she's got a bit of down time."
"Why is that shocking?" Caitlyn asked.
Nate looked at her. "Because your's were over today…" He explained slowly.
"Riiiight." She said. "Anyway." She looked at me. "You think they'll get back together soon?"
"I hope so." I answered. "I mean, sure, Jason's being more like himself now that he and Stas are speaking again, but he's still not back to being Jason."
"I don't think he'll ever be Jason again. He's grown up a lot." Shane said sadly.
"He's still an airhead at heart." I said. "I told him to take out the trash, referring to Mindy, and he thought I really meant the trash. He'll always be like that. He just doesn't talk to us enough to be like that."
"True." Nate agreed. "No more depressing crap this weekend." He said firmly. "This weekend is supposed to be fun." We all looked at him oddly.
Caitlyn reached across the table and felt his head. "Are you sick?" She asked feigning seriousness.
Shane started poking him. "What are you and what did you do with Nate?" Nate glared as we all laughed at him.
Later that night we were spread out in the living room, having been watching a movie. Nate and Caitlyn were on the couch, cuddling while Shane and I were on the floor. I was laying on my side, while he had his head on my stomach. I smiled lightly as I woke up and ran a hand through his hair. Then I noticed Caitlyn and Nate whispering, oblivious to the fact that I was awake.
"I love you." He whispered sweetly.
I could hear the smile in her voice. "I love you, too. I never get tired of hearing you say that." She said softly.
"Good. I never get tired of saying it." If I wasn't too busy awing in my head, I'd have been gagging. Good thing Anastasia wasn't here.
"We sound like Mitchie and Shane." Caitlyn groaned. I gasped in my head. That was mean.
"Yeah, well." He paused. "Have you ever heard Mitchie question Shane's feelings?" He asked, in a saddened tone.
"Nate… it's not your fault. I should have told you earlier that I was upset. You didn't know. And since I told you… you've been amazing." She comforted.
"Anyway…" He said changing the topic, well sort of. "I envy him sometimes. A lot of times actually."
"Why?" Caitlyn asked curiously.
He sighed. "He's so confident. He doesn't have a problem doing what it takes to get what he wants. But he doesn't follow everyone else's rules to get there. He follows his own. And he's not afraid to tell Mitchie 'We're getting married, someday, just so you know'." I gasped again in my head.
"Okay, I get the getting what he wants, but the Mitchie thing? I don't understand." Caitlyn laughed. I understood. Nate just indirectly told Caitlyn he wants to marry her but doesn't have the confidence to say so. Wow. Go Nate. Sarcasm.
"Don't worry about it." He said, most likely shrugging it off.
"No, Nate. Explain it, please?" She practically begged.
He sighed again. "He's so certain that his future is set. That he's going to propose to her, and she'll say yes, and they'll live happily ever after. I just wish I could have that same confidence. That I was certain that all of my hopes for the future could come true."
Softly, she asked, "What are your hopes for the future, Nate?"
"Getting married, having kids. I'm sure that'll happen. It's more of the who with that I'm worried about."
"Oh." She said softly. I could tell she was taking that the wrong way and began screaming at Nate in my head. That boy was an idiot.
"I want to tell her, I'm just not sure how." He admitted softly. "But I think I just might have." He hinted hopeful.
"Nate… are you trying to tell me you want to marry me someday?" Caitlyn asked slowly.
"I think so." He said uncertain. Gaining confidence, he continued. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not saying tomorrow like Shane. But, ya know, in a few years. When you're done with college, and I'm like, maybe done being a pop star."
"You never know. Madonna's been around for ever." Caitlyn giggled.
He laughed, too, "Yeah."
"A few years sounds good. We aren't ready yet." Caitlyn said softly. "I envy Mitchie for being able to, but I admire her too."
"I don't think I've ever seen two people so in love." Nate commented. I smiled to myself. I have. Four people actually. Take a guess.
I was beginning to get a stiff neck from the way I had been sleeping, so I accidentally groaned. "Mitchie?" Caitlyn asked worriedly.
"Ow." I said in reply.
"You okay?" Nate asked. Our voices woke Shane up as well.
"Just stiff. Time for bed." I said, pushing Shane up off of me. He stood up lazily and pulled me off the floor. "Night, guys." I said on my way past them.
Later that, well now morning, my cell phone was ringing like crazy. "Hello?" I answered after searching frantically for it.
"Oh my god, Mitchie." I recognized the voice but couldn't place it. "It's Elisha."
"What? What happened?" I asked fully awake, jolting Shane in the process.
"Jason… and Stas… ice… Mitchie, you need to come up here." She said through sobs.
"Yeah, we'll be there as soon as we can be." I answered. "Bye." I hung up the phone and turned to a now awake Shane.
"What's wrong?" He demanded.
"Get dressed." I instructed, pulling on his discarded button up as I ran across the apartment to Nate's room. "Caitlyn!" I banged on the door, tears in my eyes.
"What?" Nate pulled the door open a few seconds later, still half asleep.
"Get dressed. Now. We have to go… Jason and Stas… just hurry." I said heading back to grab Shane's keys.
"Mitchie!" Nate called out after me. "Pants?" He suggested as I turned back to him. I sighed, laughing slightly realizing I was only in Shane's shirt. Thankfully Shane anticipated this and handed me the jeans he'd grabbed for me.
In various states of dress, we ran toward the car. None of us were wearing coats in our mad dash to leave. I was wearing Shane's button up, jeans, and my boots; Caitlyn was wearing Nate's pajama pants, her tank top and her sneakers; both Nate and Shane were wearing jeans and undershirts. None of use were wearing socks either. We paid for that later.
"Where am I going?" Shane asked, pulling onto the highway.
"Boston…" I answered. "Boston Memorial." I clarified.
"What?" Caitlyn and Nate cried, not having known the reason for the mad dash yet. "Why? What happened?"
"Elisha said something about ice. I'm assuming she meant there was an accident." I said softly.
Nate, trying to think of alternatives, "Maybe… they were skating or something and one of them twisted their ankle?"
Caitlyn smacked him. "Probably not. I don't think we'd be on our way to Boston at 1:30 in the morning for a twisted ankle."
It was a silent car ride after that, all of us lost in our own thoughts. When we finally arrived, I was the first out of the car, with Caitlyn not far behind. I rushed into the emergency room.
"Can I help you, miss?" The security guard asked.
I started stuttering. "My friends… I think they were in a car accident… someone called us…"
"Mitchie!" Elisha's voice called from the waiting room. I quickly took off toward her voice. "Oh good, you're here. They need Jason's information, but I didn't know anything than his name."
I looked to Nate and Shane. "We'll do it." Nate said. Elisha pointed them in the right direction.
"How are they? What happened?" I asked rushed.
She started tearing up again. "They were in an accident. There was black ice on the road, and the car…"
"Where are they now?" Caitlyn asked, seeing she couldn't explain what happened anymore.
"Jason is in the recovery room. He broke his lower leg bone, as well as a few ribs. Thankfully nothing pierced." She said, not looking at us.
My eyes narrowed. "Where's Stas? What happened to her?"
"St-stas is… in ICU at the moment."
"What?" We cried together. "What happened to her?" I demanded.
"When the car… flipped… she hit her head. She almost snapped her neck, but managed not to. But there's swelling in her brain. They think it might just be a concussion, but until she wakes up, they won't know for certain. Other than that she broke her wrist."
Shane and Nate came over a moment later. "We can go see him. They said we have to wait to see Stas." Shane said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I nodded and we headed up to Jason's room.
He was just waking up when we came in. "Hey." I said softly, smiling at him.
"Hey." He said back. "Where is she?" He said softly, obviously knowing what had happened.
"She's… resting." I told him. The others nodded, despite how uncertain of that we were.
"Good. I'd hate to know something happened to her that was my fault."
"You were driving?" I asked. Anastasia never let anyone drive her car but herself.
He shook his head slightly. "No. I had her laughing so hard we weren't really watching the road. We didn't see the patch of ice on the ground." I smiled. That seemed like something Jason could do.
"It wasn't your fault. You probably wouldn't have seen the ice anyway." Shane said from behind me. Caitlyn stood on Jason's other side, Nate behind her. Elisha hovered nervously by the door.
"Yeah. It's called black ice for a reason." Nate added.
Jason shrugged. "Oh well. Guess this just means no tour." He gestured to his leg. Caitlyn and I tensed.
"What tour?" I asked, feeling Shane tense as well.
"The Europe-… you didn't tell them." Jason stopped talking. I twirled around to face Shane.
"No tours, promise. Does that ring a bell, Shane?" I asked upset. He wouldn't look at me. "I'm going to go find Stas." Caitlyn followed me out of Jason's room along with Elisha.
I faintly heard Jason mumble "Oops?"
Caitlyn tried to get me to talk to her about the tour, but I wouldn't. I headed to the nurses station. "Excuse me, my friend is in ICU, and I was wondering if you could tell me where that is and if I can see her?"
"Name?" She asked.
"Anastasia Dragomir." I answered.
"Here." The nurse wrote down the directions and the room number for us. "The nurse there can tell you whether or not you can see her." We thanked her and headed to the room.
When we reached the Intensive Care Unit, we headed to the nurse. "Excuse me, we were wondering if we can see Anastasia Dragomir?" The nurse looked something up on her computer and nodded.
"Room 23." She answered. We thanked her and headed to the room.
Another nurse was in the room helping Anastasia sit up. "Oh my god, you're alive!" I cried, making my way over to her.
"No shit." She hissed in pain as the nurse placed pillows behind her back. "What are you doing here?" She asked nicer.
"Elisha called us." Caitlyn explained.
"Oh. Thanks for coming then." She nodded, closing her eyes.
"Nope, open. No sleeping." The nurse instructed. "She needs to stay awake so we can ensure she just has a mild concussion." We nodded and promised to make sure she would.
"Where's Jase?" She asked as we sat around her. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "He has a broken leg and a few broken ribs. You were the worse of the two. They weren't sure how you managed to not snap your neck. We also thought you might be in a coma."
"Ha. I'm a fighter." A completely different voice filtered into my head. "Guess I wasn't as much of a fighter as I thought, huh?" Justin's voice filtered through.
"Oh god, Stas." I cried, covering her body in a tight hug.
"You alright, Mitch?" She asked, hugging me back.
"Justin." I whispered. "You've no idea how happy I am that the two of you are okay."
"I know, sweetie." She said comforting me. I pulled away, laughing and wiping my eyes. "You're the one in the hospital, and yet you're comforting me."
We all laughed. "Yeah, well. So, are the guys with Jason?" She asked.
"Yeah." Caitlyn answered. "Elisha, can you stay with Stas and we'll go get the guys?"
"Yeah, of course." She smiled.
Caitlyn and I left, but I still couldn't keep my tears back. "It's okay. They're both fine." Caitlyn soothed.
"I was so scared." I whispered. I hadn't realized we'd reached Jason's room until a pair of arm wrapped around me tightly, burying my face in their chest. I cried a little harder.
"Shh. Baby, it's okay." Shane whispered to me. I was mad at him, but at the moment, my emotions were going overboard and I needed him to hold me. I almost lost another friend. Two friends actually. I was crying from all worry that hadn't been released yet and I was crying from the relief. On the bright side, maybe this would prompt Jason and Anastasia to get back together.
Hope you enjoyed. :)