Hey! Im sorry this chapter took so long to get out, I was having writers block and I was kind of sad because I think im losing readers for this story ): But thank you to the people that still DID take time to review and add the story to favs etc. If for anything, I'll continue writing the story for you guys! Thanks to: elisabeth2me for reviewing (I glad you liked Tami and Jason!) live-in-dreamland1 for reviewing (I hope they way they work things out is good enough haha) NANI hanani03 for reviewing (I hope I didn't update too late for you!) kckat3 for reviewing (thanks for your review. It's one of the nicest ones I've ever got!) evilprincessofdoom for putting me on alert, SugarShineBabyxo for reviewing (aha im glad you liked the humorous parts of the story. I thought it would be overkill) tess411 (I know I get what you mean! At least I know one of my readers isn't getting annoyed at all the cliffies im giving) azncutiebear3 for putting it on alert and reviewing (im glad you liked it!)

So that's it. Please review and tell me whether the chapt is okay! I was a bit worried because… well writers block can tend to… block your thoughts. Haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock

Chapter 13: Confrontations and Worries

Nate's room was big, it was five times as large as mine. He had a huge bed, an even bigger closet—I wondered if he had more clothes than Domifreak, probably not—and one whole section filled with instruments.

I stood in the center of his room, my arms wrapped around myself, looking around and trying to buy time. Nate sat down on the edge of his bed and I followed him, sitting next to him, but not too close.

"You have a nice room," I started awkwardly. He chuckled a bit. "It's nice, but it gets kind of lonely having such a big room, when you're always the only one in it." I nodded. I knew what he meant, the feeling of loneliness.

I tapped my foot lightly on the carpeted floor, hearing the soft thud. We sat in silence, but this time it was strained, it wasn't the silence I had felt with him earlier that day. That time seemed like ages ago. I closed my eyes and took one deep, slow but shaking breath.

"I'm sorry Nate." I whispered. He turned to me, his eyes wide in confusion as they searched mine. "No, no, no," He whispered back. For a moment I wondered why we were whispering, but I guessed it was better than shouting at each other.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked me, his voice shaking, as if he was pleading with me.

I turned to face him, my hands gripping his comforter.

"Because, because I had no reason to react the way I did this morning to you and Tess. I mean… I overreacted and confused you and confused myself and I… I don't… I don't know…" My voice cracked and I looked away from him, afraid that if he saw me I would cry.

Nate shook his head and gently placed his hands on my shoulders. The warmth from his palm sent shivers up my spine. "Mary, Mary, listen to me. You shouldn't be sorry. I… this was all my fault. Everything is just so messed up! I didn't mean to kiss Tess… I never… the whole time… I thought she was you!"

I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. I was shocked. What was he saying? I knew there was something there, that day in the park. Could this be it? Could that strange feeling I felt, could it be that I liked him? That, that maybe he liked me too?

I looked up at his face, not caring that I was crying so much.

"What are you saying?" I asked, my voice shaking.

For a fleeting moment, I realized I was scared. I didn't know why, and that made me even more afraid.

"I'm saying, Mary, that that thing with Tess. I should never have let it happened… and I'm sorry," he said back to me, pulling me into a hug. I shivered under his embraced but let myself be enveloped in his warmth, his scent anyway.

"But Nate, I'm confused. I think I'm your friend. So I shouldn't be acting this way. But Tess… She's you're girlfriend isn't she?" I said into his shirt, my voice muffled by the cloth and my sniffles.

He nodded, and tightened his arms around me, as if Tess was standing in front of him and he was trying to protect me.

"She is. No. She was. I don't know how we started, but I ended it. She just can't let go." I felt a pang in my chest. One, was I Nate's friend now? Or was I something more? It was so confusing. And two, Tess seemed to love Nate. A lot. Was I being the wrong one here, coming in between them?

And for the millionth time that day, the picture of Nate with his arms wrapped around Tess flashed through my mind. I pulled away from him quickly, regretting it when I saw the look of hurt flash across his face. But I ignored it and barreled ahead.

"Nate, explain to me, please. She's more to you than what you're telling me. Right? Then, what does that make me? Am I your friend? Because friends don't feel this, this—" I waved my hands in the air, trying to find the word. "This feeling. This connection. Friends don't hug each other the way you just hugged me. Friends don't look at each other the way you look at me. And friends don't feel the way I did when I saw you kiss Tess. Friends don't feel this confused about what they are! Because I'm confused Nate, I'm confused and I'm … I'm scared."

Nate leaned forward and pulled me into a hug again, and I didn't try to fight back. I just cried into his chest. "Don't be. I'm sorry I'm doing this to you Mary. And I think I'm confused too. I don't know what we are... but I know what I want us to be."

I felt like my throat tightened. It seemed like a million scenarios flashed through my mind in that one moment. What did Nate want us to be? The most obvious one, was to be more than just friends. The second one, was to be just friends. And the most ridiculous one, was he wanted me to be his maid.

I fingered the buttons on my uniform, suddenly conscious of what I was wearing. Although I highly doubted he wanted me to be his maid, it was still… a possibility wasn't it? No matter how ridiculous the idea was.

He shifted his head so that his nose and lips were in my hair. I shivered some more.

"What… do you want us to be then," My voice shook.

"I want to be someone you can come to when you cry. I want to protect you from those people that hurt you. I want to make you feel safe, unafraid. Fearless. I want to be able to go to you when there's no one else I can go to." He paused for a moment, as if he was struggling for words.

The only sounds in the room were the ticking of the clock and the uneven rapid breathing of the both of us.

"And I know I've only known you, really known you, for a day. And I know this seems stupid and crazy, something that only kindergarteners do. And you're right. Friends don't do all of that. And I know I'm probably going mad, but just looking at you, it drives me insane anyway."

I smiled a bit.

"You're crazy," I whispered.

"I know I am." I could feel his lips smile in my hair as they brushed my skin.

"But I love being crazy. I love being crazy with you. And I'm ready to get to know you Mary. I… I want to be more than just a friend. I want to be so much more."

I smiled and closed my eyes. It felt like I was melting in his grasp. He was so gentle and sincere. He wanted to be more than just friends. He wanted to be with me for me.

"I… I don't think anyone's made me feel this way." I replied.

"Is that a yes?"

"I think so."

He heaved a sigh of relief and kissed my hair.

Mitchie's POV

"Do you think they've made up yet?" I asked as I flipped through random TV channels. You'd think that with all the channels that Shane had, I would have found a program that was interesting. But it was kind of hard concentrating with Shane breathing in my ear and his arm draped around my shoulders, his fingers playing with my hair.

"Stop that! You're trying to distract me, don't think I can't tell Shane," I tried to pout but I couldn't resist the temptation to smile and I grinned. Shane sighed and his warm breath was like a matchstick that sparked something inside of me.

"It's been really long since Camp, Mitchie. I've missed you," I laughed at this. "You missed me? You called me every day, texted every second. You were like a paranoid pop star." I teased.

Shane just laughed and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Paranoid only because I knew that you being you, you probably wouldn't be mine anymore when I came back."

I blushed. "Who said I belonged to anyone? I'm not merchandise! I'm my own person," I said, finally placing down the remote when I stopped at MTV. "Anyway, I missed you Mitchie. And every night, I drive myself crazy thinking of what could have happened that time after Final Jam."

I rolled my eyes. Shane had only mentioned it a thousand times. But he was right. I spent a lot of time after camp wondering what would have happened. After Final Jam I had gone down to the canoes to meet up with Shane. We had a nice talk… that ended, almost, with a kiss. But I wasn't that lucky and my mom came out to call me in before we actually did kiss.

I had grown out of the infatuation with the Final Jam thing, but since Shane had come back, it was getting hard to forget what could have been.

"At least we're still together?" I offered. We hadn't had our first kiss yet, minus all the forehead and cheek kisses. We were official, I guess what they would call an item. And we felt something for each other. We just… were afraid to get in too deep.

"At least we're still together." He nodded his head firmly and turned his attention to the TV, his hand still twirling my hair around his fingers. Their latest music video, Lovebug, came on. I laughed. It was weird seeing someone you knew on the television set, especially when they were sitting right next to you.

"It's ruining the moment," He said, his brow furrowing. "The music? What moment?" I asked. I was kind of teasing him, but I didn't really get what he meant. As far as I could tell, the romance in the room was at a minimum.

The music video ended and I turned around to place my head on Shane's chest. "That's a nice song." I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth from Shane radiate and surround me. It had been so long without him, and everything didn't feel right when he was gone. Now he was here for a break, and it still didn't feel right. And I knew why.

"I don't want you to leave," I muttered, my eyes still closed.

I could feel Shane shift underneath me and I turned so I was lying with my face directly under his.

"Who's talking about leaving? I just got here, Mitchie," He stroked my hair slowly, smiling reassuringly at me.

"But who knows how long this is going to last? I don't want to get closer and closer to you if it means you have to leave me again." I argued.

I thought about this a lot before Shane came. It was funny, before Camp Rock, if I was in this situation, I wouldn't have thought twice about this. But since then, I had become… I don't know. A lot more serious. And a lot more scared.

"In a way, I was always with you. In a phone call, a text, an email," He placed his hand over his heart. "In here," I smiled and raised one hand placing it over his.

"I know I shouldn't be worried about this, I should just soak in the moment," I whispered. It was easier said than done. How long would I be staring at his face, before I had to imagine it? How long until I would have to be reduced to talking to a poster instead? Or even worse, talking to an empty space, expecting a response from air.

Shane moved me to a sitting position, waking me from my thoughts. "This is a nice song." Shane must have sensed my distress, so he was trying to change the topic. I looked to the TV and saw a video of an orchestra playing some slow waltz. Shane stood up and bowed slightly to me, his right hand held out.

I grinned and jumped up, wrapping my arms around his neck. I didn't know how to waltz, and I bet my guitar Shane didn't either. But it was nice pretending. Shane laughed a bit and placed his hand on my waist as we moved to the music.

For musicians, we weren't very good at dancing to the beat. But the moment was magical, as we stared into each other's eyes, seeing the fireworks dance inside each of us at our every move, our every touch. Even if we were dancing offbeat to the music of a television set.

But for a moment, it was just the two of us, dancing in a big living room with white concrete walls, a tall ceiling and a room illuminated by lights in the walls. Now I knew why Shane, Nate and Jason had wanted to buy this house. With the right person, it was romantic.

With the right person, it was perfect.

Every second, Shane seemed to lean a bit closer to me. Halfway through the song, just as our lips brushed slightly against each other, the doorbell rang. "Not again," Shane breathed.

I laughed, still shaken from our almost first kiss. We had a lot of false alarms before, but this time had felt like we really were going to do it. Apparently not. Things were so much more complicated with a popstar.

I pulled away from him. "Just… wait a minute," He pulled me closer to him. I laughed and placed on finger on his lips. "Another time, Mr. Paranoid," I giggled and turned to walk to the door.

Shane suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me back against him, leaning down quickly and planting a quick peck on my cheek.

"Don't be gone too long, Mitchie," He whispered in my ear. "You are so cheesy, Shane," I grinned at him and took his hand in my mine. "Wouldn't it be much better if we just opened the door together?"

Shane laughed and followed me. We walked to the door and I placed my hand on the doorknob. It was super cold. I turned to smile at Shane. I wasn't all too crazy about being interrupted in our little 'moment'. Again, whatever that meant.

But for some reason, Shane's face was shocked and worried. Sad for me, I didn't have very good reflexes and opened the door.

And I wonder why I call Tami and Mary klutzes.

So that's it! Did you like it? (im sorry live-in-dreamland1, I didn't lock them up in a cupboard.) please review! My previous chapter didn't get much so im sad ):

I hope you enjoyed it!

Love
CauseimFearless