AN: I know it's been forever since I last updated, but here's another really long chapter to make up for the wait…I had a lot of time to come up with this, since my relatives were talking about all the places they went…the zoo, the park, the aquarium, and I just pretended to listen (while I was thinking of what to write in this chapter)…I had to bring them everywhere! But they're finally gone. Only after they made me watch Princess Protection Program twice on Monday, then Ponyo on Tuesday, and everywhere else until today…I never want to go shopping for school supplies again (grumbles). But they left, so that means…more time to write :-). YAY :-)!!!!

I know this was a while ago, but wasn't the JB chat awesome? I love Nicole Anderson and Jordin Sparks. And Maggie…I wonder if Elvis (Jonas…Nick's dog) and Maggie (Jordin Spark's dog) are friends…

Nate (interrupting): Hurry it up, will you? Jason's beginning to talk about his birdhouse again…And we need to find Liz!

Me: I'm right here, hello! (waves hand in front of Nate's face while he looks annoyed).

Nate: Not you, I mean Jason's Liz.

Me: I am Jason's Liz.

Nate: No, you're not.

Me (getting angry): YES I AM!

Nate (getting angry back): DON'T YELL AT ME!

Me: I'M NOT YELLING! (blushes and turns red). Oops. Maybe I am.

Nate (looking grumpy): It's about time you realized it…Well? Aren't you going to say sorry?

Me (mumbling under my breath): …sorry.

Nate (cupping his ear): What was that? I didn't quite hear what you said. Maybe say it a little louder.

Me (getting annoyed again): FINE! I'M SORRY, OK?

Nate (getting angry): NO! IT'S NOT OK. AND YOU'RE NOT SORRY, BECAUSE YOU'RE STILL YELLING AT ME! Just get on with it, OK?

Me (grumpily): Fine!

Nate: Fine!

Me: Good!

Nate (exasperated): Good! (he walks away).

Me (still grumpy) As always, this chapter is dedicated to everyone who's ever read, reviewed, favorited, or added this story to their alerts. You guys are the best! Except for Nate…he's too…(groans in frustration). Never mind (mumbles words I can't repeat here).

Disclaimer – I only wish I owned the JB. I mean…Connect 3. But no…I don't have a bajillion zillion dollars. 'Cuz that's how much I'd need to own them.

Previously:

Liz stood at the edge of camp, looking sadly around her. She loved this place, and all the friends she'd made. But what she didn't like was that even though it was THE music camp for anyone who wanted to be anyone in music, it made her do things she didn't always want to do, like write classical songs, and sing songs she had no personal attachment to. She felt like a bird in a cage, hoping that one day she could be set free, and spread her wings and fly. She wanted to be as free as the birds in the air, free to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She unsuccessfully tried to wipe away her tears, which were falling hard and fast now.

"I'm sorry, Jason," Liz choked out, as an image of Jason's face entered her mind. "I'm sorry I never got the chance to tell you…I love you too. And I'm sorry we'll never get the chance to be together…And Mitchie, and Caitlyn, I'm sorry for all the times we'll never have, and the memories we'll never make…And Nate and Shane, I'm sorry...I'm sorry I won't get to know you better, how you're really like, when you're backstage and out of the spotlight."

Liz started crying as she thought of all the times Jason had made her laugh, and the times he'd made her feel comfortable being herself. She thought about Mitchie and Caitlyn, who almost instantly became her friends, and Nate and Shane, who were just as nice to her, even though they didn't know her as well as Jason, Mitchie, and Caitlyn. She'd never been able to make many friends, if any, and all of a sudden, she had five. But she knew her parents would be there soon, coming to take her away, all because she tried to make friends. She kept thinking to herself that it really was for the best if she left, even though her heart was telling her otherwise. Her eyes stung as they kept tearing up, and she turned away, not glancing back, although she knew she was leaving pieces of her heart with her new friends.

Chapter 20:

"OK, so here's the plan again," Nate said, huddling with everyone. "We need to spread out, check all the places we know Liz would be at."

"I'll be by the birdhouses!" Jason shouted. Shane looked annoyed.

"Dude, focus. Forget about the birdhouses…" Shane sighed. But Jason looked unfazed.

"No, that's where she and I met. So she'd want to be there, right?" Jason tilted his head as if to say, "I know something you don't know."

"I'm not so sure," Mitchie said. "She might be in the place that Shane first heard me playing in."

"You know, you might be right," Caitlyn nodded. "She does love playing piano."

"And singing," Nate added. "Maybe she'll be in one of the practice rooms."

"Maybe," Shane added. "But maybe not."

"Hmm," Nate walked around, trying to clear his head. "That's it!" Nate said, snapping his fingers.

"What's it?" Jason wondered.

"OK, Jason, you search by the birdhouses. Mitchie, you search the place Shane first heard you playing, and I'll check the practice rooms."

"What about me?" Shane wondered aloud.

"Exactly!" Nate announced. Everyone looked at him weird. "No, that's it. Shane, you look where Liz thinks no one will find her."

"Where would that be?" Caitlyn scrunched her nose.

"The surrounding areas," Nate concluded, looking smart. "She'll think that we'll look for her somewhere at camp, because we'll think that she's somewhere close by, staying hidden. But we'd never think to look out there." He pointed out the window, past the camp's boundaries.

"Yeah!" Shane looked excited. "And for that, we'll need Uncle Brown's help."

"Wow, Shane," Caitlyn looked surprised. "I never thought you'd be the one to follow camp rules."

"I'm not," Shane said, trying to pretend as if he were up to something. He ignored Caitlyn as she referred to Brown's rule about staying inside camp boundaries at all times.

"Let's go tell him what we think, and see what he says," Mitchie offered, and Nate agreed.

"I just hope Liz is OK," Jason said sadly, as Caitlyn put an arm around him reassuringly.

As soon as they went to the theater, Brown looked up at them, his mouth forming a grim line.

"Sir, we have a plan," Nate got immediately to the point.

"Now that's real music to my ears," Brown quipped. "Well, get on with it..."

Shane proceeded to tell Brown what they decided, and Brown agreed.

"Let's find Liz, shall we?" Brown said, noticing Jason's determined look.

"YEAH!" Jason yelled, looking surprised when everyone stared at him. "I mean…To…" Jason looked lost for a second, then continued. "…wherever Liz is!"

"YEAH!" Shane yelled enthusiastically. Everyone yelled "YEAH!" as well, then they went off to their destinations.

Meanwhile…

Liz shivered as she pulled her jacket more tightly around her. The wind was picking up, and she had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the clouds gathering above her and growing darker by the minute.

The sky had turned from a clear blue into a dark, almost black color, blocking out the sun. Rumbles rocked Liz out of her thoughts, and she shuddered, both from the cold wind and the memories it brought back.

Liz kept going, not looking back once, as she made her way towards the forest next to Camp Rock. If she could make it there, no one would be able to find her. She could find a sturdy tree, take shelter under its branches, and stay there for the night.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything that day. Liz ignored it, and thought she'd go as long as she could without anything. She had a few candy bars that she always kept in her jacket pocket, but she didn't know how long they'd last her. She'd have to eat them only when she absolutely needed to.

Suddenly, the clouds broke forth and it began to drizzle lightly.

"Just great," Liz mumbled, pulling her jacket slightly over her head. The storm that was brewing resembled exactly what she was feeling. She was caught In the rain, and she had nowhere to go.

Pretty soon, the drizzle turned into rain, and the rain into a heavy downpour.

By now, Liz was so drenched, she never thought she'd be dry again. All of a sudden, there was a flash of lightning, and then the thunder rumbled.

"Just ignore it," Liz said to herself, trying not to be afraid. She thought back to the times when she was little, and there was a storm at night. She remembered laying huddled in her bed, trying to ignore the flashes of lightning and loud crashes that would wake her from her sleep, the tree branches tapping her window, and remembering her screaming and running to her parents' room, where they would make a place for her to stay between them. And once she'd crawled between her parents, then and only then would she feel safe, like the storm couldn't hurt her anymore, and she'd fall asleep in minutes.

Liz stumbled toward the edge of the forest, and soon was out of the line of vision of the camp.

"Now, where should I stay?" Liz said, starting to get a little annoyed at her situation. She brushed the thick branches out of the way so she wouldn't get scratched.

A loud flash of lightning lit up the sky, and a moment later, a deafening clap of thunder rang out.

Liz screamed and began to shake in fright. She froze as she heard another nerve-wracking boom. She ran towards the biggest tree she could see, even though the rain was falling in her eyes, and she tried to catch her breath as soon as she reached it.

Moments later, she sat down, hugging her legs to her chest.

She watched as the storm raged on, and the wind shrieked through the trees. The branches smashed into each other, and the rain continued to fall in dismal gray torrents from the sky. Again, the lightning flashed and a blinding bolt struck the tree she was taking cover under.

"Noooo!!!!" Liz leapt to her feet and tried to avoid the tree falling towards her. But she was too late. Liz screamed as the tree fell toward her, knocking her hard into the ground, where she lay still.

AN: NOOOO!!!! Will Liz be OK? Will her friends find her? What happens next? Stay tuned…

Poll: I want to change my username, but I can't think of any good ones. Do you have any suggestions? The more, the better! Just one rule…it can't be too "out there". But I'm pretty much open to anything. Even something like "pleasereviewmystories" (*hint, hint* ;-). )