Okay guys, so here's when Laura is going to apologise deeply for not bringing you this update. I am so so so so so so so SORRY!! This chapter was so long and I dreaded the thought of typing it! It took me three days to type and change like a million things because I wrote it like forever ago!! But I can say that you can expect more frequent updates on this now since this is the only full lenght story I'm working on now. So yeah, again I am so sorry. Feel free to bombared me with angry PM's. WAIT! Don't do that, but If there isn't an update by Sunday, then you can bombared me with angry PM's but just me, not Coley. Well if you want to Bobared Coley with angry PM's go ahead...I won't stop ya! =p So anyhoozwer. We d Have a lot of ideas for this story and its gonna be amazing. Yeah, so this chapter can be a little hard to understand. It's full of flash backs, kinda like how they all got to the place they are now, so please don't hesitate to PM...Coley (ha, bet ya didn't see that comin, lol) If you're confused. So offically two months and one dya since our last update i give you, the next chapter..... DRUM ROLL!!
It Starts With Goodbye
Chapter 14
Welcome To LA
-
-
Shane impatiently paced the arrivals area of LAX.
"Dude, relax!" Nate said. "Just sit down and relax!"
"Relax?!" Shane practically shouted. "You want me to relax? They're late! They were supposed to be hear twenty minutes ago!"
"Their flight was delayed Shane. They should be landing soon. Now sit down and be thankful that Mitchie's even coming!"
Shane sighed and took a seat beside Jason. Nate was right. It hadn't exactly been easy convincing Mitchie's parents to let her come to LA.
-
-
"Why do you want my daughter to go to LA?" Richard Torres had asked in a stern voice. "What are your intentions?"
"Mr Torres," Shane had managed to stutter out. "We're inviting all the girls," then he realised how that sounded. "I mean…All our friends. We're inviting all our friends and they're Mitchie's friends too. It's a chance to get away, have a vacation. We're recording our single with Peggy - Mitchie's friend- and we want everyone to be a part of it. And I can assure you that the girls will be staying in a hotel and if we choose to stay there too it will be separate rooms. Promise."
"Well," Mr Torres said in a voice that made Shane think he was going to agree. "I'm still undecided. Let me talk to Connie and I'll get back to you."
He took Shane's cell phone number and told him he's get back to him by next week. Then he hung up.
The week went excruciatingly slow. Every time the phone rang Shane jumped a mile and a half.
Connie finally called him on Sunday evening, just as he was losing all hope.
"We've decided to let Mitchie go," she said. Shane was just about to thank her so gratefully when she spoke again. "But, there's to be no funny business!"
"There won't be Mrs Torres, I promise. And thank you. So much! You haven't told Mitchie anything have you?"
"No Shane, we haven't told her anything. I'll leave it up to your imagination to get her there."
And with that Connie said a swift goodbye and hung up the phone.
Shane couldn't stop himself from grinning stupidly. Mitchie was coming!
Nate walked into the room. "Dude can you stop smiling like that? You're freaking me out," he said before turning around and walking right back out.
-
-
"How are you not nervous?!" Shane shouted at Nate, causing the old lady sitting beside Nate to shake her head disapprovingly.
"Shane, calm down! People are staring!" Nate hissed. "And to answer your question, I'm not nervous because there is…nothing to be nervous about." Something about Nate's voice made Shane question Nate's honesty. Was he nervous? Was is Caitlyn? "Mitchie kissed you," Nate continued. "She…she likes you. So RELAX!!"
Yup, definitely Caitlyn.
Shane had never seen Nate so frazzled before. He was normally so calm, so in control. It had to be because of a girl.
Little did Shane know that at the same moment those thoughts entered his head, Nate's stomach started doing flip-flops at the thought of seeing Caitlyn for the first time since Camp Rock. And he had just read the screen.
New York; JFK - Landed.
-
-
Nate looked at the phone in his hands. All he had to do was dial a number. A simple number. Her number… Just like he did every other day.
But something about today was different. He wasn't just calling her for a friendly chat, that usually went on for hours. He was inviting her to LA. The prospect of it was frightening.
What would Caitlyn think? All the other girls were going, but they had a reason. Mitchie was Shane's girlfriend. Peggy was recording with them, Ella was Peggy's best friend and he was sure that Jason had a thing for her even though he would never admit it.
WAIT! Caitlyn was Mitchie's best friend. There, that was a reason to invite her. Damn, but he still had to make the phone call because Mitchie knew nothing about this trip and Shane would kill him if he told her.
He looked at the phone again. She was the missing part of the puzzle though. If they wanted Mitchie in LA they were going to need a cunning mastermind like Caitlyn in on their plan. No doubt she would think of a plan within two days.
He exhaled deeply and dialled Caitlyn's number, which he now knew off by heart from calling it so many times. Was that weird?
She picked up on the third ring.
"Hey Nate," her happy voice said.
"How'd you know it was me?" Nate asked and instantly regretted it. Of course she had caller id. Now he sounded like a retard.
"Caller id," Caitlyn answered, just as he had expected her to.
"Oh"
Then there was silence. It was strange. Nate knew that Caitlyn could feel it too. There was never silence in their conversations. They could talk for hours and go completely off topic. They always had something to talk about.
"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Caitlyn finally said, obviously not standing the silence.
"We need your help," Nate said. "Well Shane needs your help."
"Oh really?" Nate could hear the smirk in her voice.
He explained about Shane surprising Mitchie in which she responded with "That's so romantic!" He told her that they needed her to come up with a plan to get Mitchie to LA without her finding out about Shane and the whole surprise.
"Wow," she said when he finished talking. "I'm not Wonder Women you know?"
"I know, but can you think of something? I've tried, but I got nothing. Shane's too lovesick to even try and then there's Jason…need I say more?"
"No, it's ok." Nate could tell she was holding back giggles. "Well Nathaniel, you might just be in luck. Idea happens to be my middle name."
"I thought it was Jade?" Wait, was it weird he knew that?
"You're such a loser Nate," Caitlyn laughed. Well, there it was, confirmed. He was a loser. He knew it! "I'll think of something and call you back."
She called back a few days later with a plan. It was amazing and Nate couldn't believe that she came up with it by herself. Wait, he could believe she came up with that by herself.
"Hard to believe, I know," she said. "But I am brilliant!"
Nate couldn't disagree.
"Oh, one more thing," Caitlyn said before hanging up the phone. "I'm really looking forward to LA. It's going to be so much fun!!"
"Yeah, it is. Just as long as we don't have to see Shane and Mitchie making out every two seconds."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find other things to do."
What?
What did she mean by that?
"Yea, well, um…see you then," Nate managed to say.
"Yea, see you then. But I'll call you tomorrow."
"Looking forward to it!"
-
-
Nate hadn't seen Caitlyn since Final Jam ended. They hadn't spent a lot of time together but in the few short hours they had spent hanging out they became really close and Nate felt something. He didn't know what exactly, but something that was making his stomach tie itself up in knots right now.
Maybe…he liked Caitlyn?
Would it be different when they saw each other in person? They talked almost everyday. But would it be different when they saw each other in person?
What Nate didn't know was that a brunette girl was walking off a plane right now feeling the exact same way he did.
A million thoughts were running through Caitlyn's mind. What was it going to be like when she saw Nate? Would it be weird? Natural? Would Mitchie and Shane start making out the second they saw each other?
She desperately wanted to talk to Mitchie about this, but she couldn't. he needed to talk to some body!! She had considered texting Ella, she was always good on giving boy advice. But if she did nearly everyone one in America would no that she had a crush on Nate Bishop, singer and guitarist of Connect 3.
Wait, did she have crush on Nate Bishop, singer and guitarist of Connect 3?
"I can't wait to meet your grandma," Mitchie said cheerfully beside her.
The two of them wee making their way to baggage reclaim.
"Huh?" Caitlyn grunted, snapping out of her thoughts. "Oh yea, my grandma. Yea, she's really excited to meet you. The famous Mitchie Torres.
"Famous?" Mitchie blushed.
"Well, I may have mentioned that you might have brought out the better side in Shane Gray this summer, so she now feels safe again living in the same city as him."
Mitchie didn't answer, she just blushed even more.
Caitlyn felt weird talking about her grandma and using her to get Mitchie to LA, but it couldn't be helped…
-
-
Caitlyn had spent the few days after Nate's call brainstorming. In school, at home, when she was out with her friends. She had barely done any of her homework. This was first on her priority. She knew it would make Mitchie happy and when Mitchie was happy, she was happy.
She couldn't believe that Shane had come up with this surprise himself. He couldn't have. He's not exactly the brightest crayon in the tool box. Nate had to have helped him. Or possibly Jason.
Speaking of Nate what was with that awkward phone call? There had been silence. Actual Silence. What was with that?
But when she called him back to tell him about her plan, there was no silence at all. It was just a usual conversation for them.
"Okay, so I'm visiting my grandma in LA, and I'll like, so totally be lonely, so I'm asking Mitchie to come with me. She's gonna agree right? I mean it's LA. Why would she say no? Well anyway, if she does agree the first thing she's gonna do is call Shane and tell him and say like they should meet up or something. So, if he really wants this to be a surprise he has to tell her that you guys will be out of town them two weeks."
"You Caitlyn Geller are a genius. You really came up that plan by your self?"
"Yup, I'm almost as good as Shane."
"Yeah, almost."
They continued their conversation for the next few minutes until Caitlyn's Dad started calling her to set up for dinner. She said her goodbyes and told Nate that she was really excited about LA, that she was excited to see him. She had even suggested they hang out when Mitchie and Shane were too preoccupied with each other.
Had she been flirting with him? She didn't know. Had he been flirting with her? Ughh, this was when not knowing stuff about boys does not come in handy! She was new to this whole boy drama thing. And it was really frustrating!
Maybe she should ask Mitchie. She seemed to have expertise in the boy drama area.
-
-
"Are you ok?" Mitchie asked, snapping Caitlyn back to reality, again. The pair stood waiting for their luggage to make it's way around the huge carousel. "You've barely said a word since we left New York?"
Yea, thought Caitlyn, when it hit me that I'd be seeing Nate.
"Hmmm, oh yeah, I'm fine," Caitlyn answered. "I'm just excited to see my grandma, I haven't seen her in a while.
Mitchie smiled but then her face fell as if she had just remembered something bad.
"It's a pity the boys are out of town." she said sadly. "I really miss Shane. This whole long distance thing is really hard sometimes."
"Yea, I can imagine," Caitlyn said. She somehow found herself in a day dream where her and Nate were having a along distance relationship. What was wrong with her?!
"I really miss him sometimes…" Mitchie continued.
-
-
She couldn't believe it. She was going to LA. Mitchie Torres was going to LA. She was beyond excited, she was ecstatic , overjoyed, elated.
Yes, it was to visit Caitlyn's grandma but it was still LA. And that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun herself, with a certain rock star who also happened to be living in LA.
By the name of Shane Gray.
As soon as Caitlyn had told her the news and she had asked her parents she picked up the phone in her bed room and typed in Shane's number as fast as she could.
"Guess What!!" she shouted as soon as he answered. He didn't even have time to ay hello.
"I'm coming to LA!!"
"Uhh Mitchie?" she heard a voice that was not the voice of Shane Gray. "It's, um, Jason. Sorry I answered Shane's phone."
"Oh," Mitchie could feel herself going red. It was a good thing no one could see her.
"I'll go get Shane…"
Mitchie didn't even bother replying, she just waited to hear Shane's voice.
"Hey Mitch, what's up?" his voice finally said.
She contemplated screaming her news down the phone, but decided that it had lost it's certain meaning to Jason.
"I have news," she opted for instead.
"Oh really?" Shane asked. "What?"
"I'm coming to LA!"
"Wow really? That's amazing!" Shane tried to sound excited, he wasn't exactly the best actor, but Mitchie seemed to have bought it.
"The week of Halloween and the week after!!"
"Really?" Mitchie could here something in his voice that wasn't quite right.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Are you ok?"
"Yea, it's just those two weeks, the bands gonna be in Europe." Shane had worked out his excuse with Nate a few days before.
"What?!" Mitchie practically screamed. "I can't believe this. The two weeks I'm gonna be in LA are the two weeks that you're not gonna be there!!"
"I no! I can't believe it either! But I'll come and visit you as soon as I can, I promise."
Mitchie sighed loudly and hung up the phone. She threw herself down on the bed causing a book to fall to the floor. She exhaled and went to pick it up. Twilight. She smiled to herself. Nothing like a little bit of Edward Cullen to cheer her up.
-
-
The girls had collected their bags and were just about to make their grand entrance into arrivals when Caitlyn caught sight of herself in a mirror that was hanging on the wall. The first thing Mitchie thought was What the hell is that mirror doing there? But the first thing that ran through Caitlyn's mind was Wow, six hours on a plane really doesn't work for me.
She stopped in front of the mirror and examined herself.
"Caitlyn, what are you doing?!" Mitchie asked, amused as Caitlyn fluffed her hair and fixed her clothes.
"Just, uh…" Caitlyn said, trying to come up with an excuse, she couldn't exactly tell Mitchie that she was doing this for Nate. Was she doing this for Nate? No, she was just doing this because she was going to be in public. No, she was doing this for Nate, better not lie to herself, that's when people start to question your sanity.
"Just wanna look nice for my grandma," she lied. "Hey Mitch, do you have any lip gloss?" Now there was lip gloss involved?! Caitlyn really needed to get a grip.
Mitchie laughed and handed over the lip gloss that had been in her pocket. It might be slightly warm for being in there for so long, but it was the best she could produce.
Mitchie watched and tried to hold back more laughter as Caitlyn applied the lip gloss perfectly to her lips.
Caitlyn fluffed her hair once more before turning back around to Mitchie. "Ready to go?" she smiled.
Mitchie nodded and the pair linked arms and made their way into arrivals. They stood scanning the crowd, both looking for two completely different people.
"So Cait, what does your grandma-" Mitchie stopped talking abruptly. She had just spotted a very familiar face in the crowd. The face of her boy friend. The face of Shane Gray!!
"Shane?!" she cried and took off running towards him, praying to God that it was actually Shane because he was supposed to be in Europe. And if it wasn't him this would be one embarrassing moment she would never live down.
Getting closer she realised it actually was him.
He caught her in his arms and swung her around.
"What are you doing here?" Mitchie demanded.
"Surprise!" Shane grinned.
"Huh?"
"Well," he said. "Peggy's recording with us during the next two weeks so we thought we'd invite you, Peggy, Ella, Caitlyn-"
"You knew about this?" Mitchie turned to Caitlyn, cutting Shane off.
"Well yeah!" Caitlyn laughed. "They needed someone to get you here"
Mitchie and Shane began talking and Caitlyn turned to Nate.
Silence. Again. This was coming to be some sort of habit.
"Nathaniel!" she said breaking the silence. Again.
"Hey Caitlyn," he answered. "So are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna give me a hug?"
Caitlyn faked disgust. "I'd think I'd rather stand here," she said.
Nate gasped in mock outrage, then laughed and pulled he in for a hug. He couldn't help but take in her scent. Strawberries. His favourite.
"It's good to see you," he whispered.
"So you guys ready to go?" Shane asked them, his arm around Mitchie's waist.
They group walked out of the airport, Nate and Caitlyn walked a little bit ahead of the others.
Mitchie couldn't help notice that when Caitlyn wasn't sneaking glances at Nate, Nate wa sneaking glances at Caitlyn.
It's supposed to say not the smartest crayon in the tool box, cos I'm just that cool =]