NO! I feel so extremely guilty! Im so sorry I didn't have time for updates! AHH IM SORRY. Oh no I have to leave now. Okay uhm… im super sorry I don't have time for my usual shoutouts. But thank you so much to everyone who has stayed with this story! Im sorry its kind of rushed, im rushing too.
THANK YOU EVERYONE. Im so sorry I can't do any shoutouts! I LOVE YOU!
Disclaimer: I don't own another Cinderella story or Camp rock.
Chapter 18:
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Mitchie's POV
"Thank goodness they're gone," I sighed as I leaned against the front door. I could see the faint outlines of Dominique through the window as she clacked to her limo. Shane, Jason and Nate were sitting on the couch, staring at the headlights of the car through the thin curtain, looks of exasperation on their faces.
I walked over to Shane, sitting down next to him and putting Tami on speakerphone, gently laying my phone on the coffee table in front of me. "How long were they here for?" Shane asked me. I glanced at the clock. It was 9.36. "For a while." I replied, before sitting up straight and turning to face Nate.
"And as for you Nate." I started, but paused when my phone buzzed suddenly and Tami's voice, loud and crackly shrieked from the speaker. All of us winced.
"I can't even begin to start, I mean Nate, you kissed Bianca. And for the record, kissing random girls isn't exactly what any Tom, Dick or Harry does on a daily basis." Tami shouted, not caring that it was in front of all of us, or that she didn't even say hi. She could have dialed the wrong number and be yelling at some random guy from Mexico and have no idea.
"I mean, common sense! You have home school, you should know!" She barreled ahead. Nate frowned at us, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Guys, this isn't what it seems like."
"Oh don't start with me, Brown. That's the oldest trick in the book." Tami said, her voice exaggerated and dripping with sarcasm. I scoffed and stood up, nodding ferociously. "Don't use that line on us. You've kissed two girls today. I find it a bit hard to believe that 'it isn't what it seems like'." I argued, putting quotation marks at the end of the sentence.
He groaned and stood up as well, just as Jason and Shane shot up next to me. All four of us in the room were on our feet, three of us turned against one. "Would you just listen to me?" Nate asked, his arms raised in frustration.
"If you could only listen to my explanation you would know you've got it all wrong!" I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, biting my lip and shaking my head. "I just… Tami and I, we're really close to Mary, closer than sisters. Do you seriously think we're going to just let you get away with all of this? All of this—" I waved my hands in the air, "this stupid things you're doing?"
"Yes!" Tami shouted from the phone, agreeing fervently with me. "If you could only see her on the way home today. I've seen her when her heart was broken Nate. But I've never seen her so… I can't even describe it! I don't know whether she was sad, angry or mad or— I just know you did that to her!"
Nate fell back into his seat, his face suddenly worn and tired. It looked like he had just aged two years in five minutes. But he deserved it, didn't he? He had hurt Mary so many times, how long more was he going to say 'just listen to me'? I didn't know whether the pop star rulebook said this, but I assumed it was common sense that a guy didn't just go around kissing randomgirls.
"Look, do you think I wanted to kiss Bianca?" He asked incredulously, his eyes downcast and unreadable. Shane began to slowly sit back down, his arms gently bringing me with him.
"How the heck would I know?" Tami asked.
"Tami…" I warned. As much as I agreed with her, I didn't want to be too rough on Nate. I didn't know what happened, but suddenly he seemed too sad and aggravated. And if he had been pretending, he wouldn't have been emitting this kind of atmosphere. No, what I was feeling from him wasn't fake. Something was real. And something was going on.
"Mitch, don't 'Tami' me! You know as well as I do what he did!" Tami argued.
"Let's just hear him out okay?" I asked gently, turning my body to the side to face Nate. He sighed and sat up in his chair. "So you'll listen now?" "Yes," Both Shane and Jason said. I just sighed and leaned into Shane, letting him pick up my hand and play with my fingers.
The room was silent for a heartbeat, until Tami groaned, exasperated and complained into the phone. "I'm waiting!"
"Tami!" I said, louder this time. I could imagine her sulking. "Fine," she finally gave up and the phone was quiet, except for the slight muffled sounds I could hear, which I knew were probably Tami mumbling irritably in the background.
"Look, we were just trying to find a way to get Mary out of there. And the only way was through the patio in my bedroom, and letting her climb down from the big tree. And that's what we did. And she finally got on the branch."
"Wait, but Mary—" Tami interrupted.
"Tami…" Jason said. She was silent again and Nate continued.
"And then the door to my room opened. And Bianca was there. So I did what I did. I kissed her so she wouldn't see Mary."
Tami scoffed loudly. "You kissed her? You couldn't have just like, given her a big bear hug? Or thrown a pillow at her?"
"Look, I panic under stress! The first thing that came to mind was to kiss her!" Nate shouted at the phone. I bet if I was a bystander, it would have looked pretty funny. But I knew what was going on. And it was nowhere near comedic.
"Your first instinct was to kiss Bianca? Hah! Typical. And besides, everyone was outside chasing me, she couldn't have been—"
"You're making no sense!" Nate rebutted back, waving his hands in the air.
"Oh and what, you do?" Tami retorted.
"At least I—"
"Guys!" Jason shouted amidst the chaos. The room was suddenly silent, and I fidgeted, feeling uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere. Shane gave my hand a light squeeze. "Nate isn't lying!" Jason said, particularly loud. He was staring at the phone, as if staring at its' tiny screen would send some telepathic message to Tami.
"When we were running out, I noticed that Bianca was following us. She could have gone up to Nate's room." He reasoned. So Bianca hadn't actually left the house with us. That explained a lot.
"See?" Nate asked.
"You're not off the hook Nate! Your first instinct was to kiss? C'mon man. I expected better of you." Jason said back, shaking his head disappointedly. "Okay it's getting late. Just, everyone get a good night's rest." He finished.
"I… I'm sorry I blew up Nate." Tami whispered over the phone, still apparently shocked at the sudden 'outburst'—though it really wasn't—that Jason had just had.
"Uh… it's… it's okay." Nate coughed and then stood up to head back to his room. The living room was silent again, and it felt as if the silence was echoing through the room. "Well, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." Tami said awkwardly before hanging up.
The dull monotonous click came from the phone and I left it there for a little while, before finally standing up and turning my phone off. "Night Shane." I smiled at him and walked out of the house, wondering if the plan Tami and I had come up with really was that great of a plan after all.
Maybe not.
--
Mary's POV
The clock said it was 7.00 AM. I found that hard to believe. I lifted my right hand in front of my face and squinted in the darkness, counting off the number of times I had woken up in the middle night with my fingers. I wiped sleep from my eyes and tried to sit up.
Ugh. My whole body was aching. I felt like I was buzzing, but it was so painful and uncomfortable. And I could feel as if I had torn muscles in every part of my body. I groaned and attempted to stand up, but collapsed back on the bed when a sharp pain jolted up from my ankle all the way up my leg. It sent shivers up my spine.
I shouted loudly in aggravation. This is what would happen when I climb a tree at night and fall of the branch. Brilliant Mary. See the light when you don't need it anymore. I fell back on the bed and buried my head in my pillow, trying to hide away the first few rays of a new day.
"Mary! Get in here!" Domifreak's voice echoed through the speaker and ricocheted off the walls of my room. I dragged myself up, and shuffled on my knees over the bed and to the intercom. "Yes, Ma'm." I answered as politely as I could. If only Domifreak knew what I always thought whenever I talked to her.
I pulled myself over the edge of the bed and hobbled to the closet, pulling out my clothes for the day and my maid outfit to wear over. Each step was like I was stepping on a sharp rock. Wasn't life fantastic.
…
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come so late," I quickly apologized, throwing my skateboard into the back of the great pumpkin and hobbling over to the door to sit next to Mitchie. "It's okay, Mary. We know Domifreak. She obviously gave you more chores today cause she found out she had a pimple or something." Tami reassured me as she pulled away.
Mitchie laughed as she threw a wrapped taco from Taco bell into my lap. "Taco Tuesday, Mary." I nodded my thanks and unwrapped it, eating the slightly soggy taco slowly. "So…" Mitchie started as Tami turned out of the neighborhood. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the dashboard.
"So…?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. The car was quiet for a while. Mitchie was biting her lip and Tami was focusing so hard on the road ahead she looked like she was in a lot of pain. "Guys," I finally groaned, exasperated. I set my half-eaten taco on my lap and crossed my arms over my chest.
"If you want to ask me something, you could just ask." Mitchie bit her lip harder. "And stop that Mitch, or your lip is going to make you bleed to death." I warned. She sighed and turned to Tami. "I told you! She's perfectly fine!"
"Well how was I supposed to—"
"Your too paranoid, I—"
"Guys?" I asked.
"Oh well, excuse me for being worried—"
"Not my fault you—"
"Guys?"
"I know we're worried but—"
"Guys!" I shouted. "Hello? Still here? What's going on?" I asked.
Tami and Mitchie sighed. Mitchie turned to me and her face looked almost… apologetic. Great, were they turning me into their own charity case now? "Mary, we… know about last night." Mitchie whispered to me, frowning sadly at me.
I uncrossed my arms and laid them on my lap, my fingers playing with the taco, tracing the edges of it's wrapper. "Oh… that." I coughed. "That was nothing." Tami gripped her wheel and turned into school. That was fast, I didn't realize West Waters was so close.
Tami pulled into an empty lot, but didn't budge. "It isn't just nothing Mary. Look, we just want you to know we're here for you. Now and tomorrow and everything ahead. So just answer me—us—truthfully. Are you okay?"
Tears were prickling my eyes. I didn't know whether it was because we were talking about what Nate did, or whether it was because I was touched by Tami and Mitchie. I knew they were my best friends. They were like my sisters. and even though it was like a code that came with our friendship, none of us had actually said it out loud about how we would stick with each other through thick and thin. Tami was the first to give a pep talk about it.
"I'm fine. Nate didn't really mean it. I'm fine." I replied slowly, articulating every word. Mitchie shot me a skeptical look. "I don't know…"
I groaned loudly. Some students walking by stopped to stare at me. I looked around and lowered my voice.
"If you keep on harping on it, I'm not going to be fine." I said. "Look, can we just go now?" I leaned around Tami and Mitchie and glanced at the front doors of West Waters. There were more paparazzi today than there were yesterday. I shook my head sadly. It seemed like I wouldn't get a chance to talk to Nate today.
"Fine." Mitchie sighed, then hopped out of the car. "See you Tami," I called back cheerfully and headed towards the front doors. "Does it seem like there are more cameras here today than there were yesterday?" Mitchie asked me as soon as we were within arm's reach of the crowd.
I nodded. It was strange. "Yeah… it seems like it." I replied. "I wonder why." Mitchie shrugged. "Hey, it's Connect Three, there's always going to be paparazzi." I laughed. "True."
"Or maybe their waiting for us…" Mitchie whispered. "What?" I asked confused. I turned to look in front of me, and realized that the paparazzi were staring at me. At us. And suddenly their cameras were flashing everywhere.
"Mitchie!"
"Mary! Babe, over here!"
Mitchie and I stopped moving, frozen to the floor. We were suddenly crowded around by flocks of paparazzi, their cameras flashing in our faces, blinding our eyes and catching every angle of us. I grabbed Mitchie's hand nervously.
"What's going on?" I asked, my voice rising slightly from hysteria. Mitchie couldn't even reply me. Her lips were moving silently, twitching a bit to form her reply. The cameras were closing in on us, and the air was suddenly stuffy.
"What's your relationship with Connect Three?"
"Are you stalking them?"
I wanted to scream at them to leave us alone. I would have, if the crowd hadn't parted in front of us and I saw the most comforting thing I would ever see. Nate and Shane emerged from the crowd. Almost immediately, they were enveloped in the crowd with us.
"Mary! Are you okay? Oh god, how did you get caught in this?" Nate said to me as soon as he reached me. Shane grabbed Mitchie's hand and I felt Nate's warm ones envelop mine. Soon, he was dragging me through the crowd. Every so often, he would turn around and smile reassuringly at me, until we reached the edge and stumbled through the doors.
They shut behind us with a defeaning clang.
"Shane!" Mitchie cried and fell into his arms. I turned around and glanced nervously at the clear doors, where there were paparazzi pressing themselves to the doors. "We better get out of the corridor first…" I said, tugging slightly on Nate's arms. We both looked down the corridor, which was extremely long and straight.
Shane turned to us, still holding Mitchie in his arms. "I'll find someone to get them away. Nate, you and Mary find somewhere else to go." Nate nodded and his hand found mine, giving it a light squeeze. "C'mon Mary." I nodded numbly and turned on my heel to follow him, Shane and Mitchie heading in the other direction.
We had barely walked passed a few doors when I heard the front doors open slightly, and soft footsteps following us down the corridor. I turned and saw a student, a huge camera hanging from his neck. He made eye contact with me then looked away. I sighed with relief.
"Wait, hey!" I turned around again. This time he was jumping up and down, staring and me and Nate. And then he was running. "No! Nate!" I shouted to get his attention. Nate looked down at me and then behind him. "Ugh!"
He pulled me down the corridor and we were running. Well, he was. I was dragging my foot behind me. Finally, we turned into a door that was unlocked. Nate rushed in and shut the door shut behind us, locking it and smiling crazily at me. That crooked lopsided smile of his that I loved so much.
The room was silent for a while as we caught our breath. By then I had moved to stand next to him, the both of us leaning our backs to the door, smiling giddily for some strange reason.
"Mary…" Nate whispered to me after a while. His hand was brushing mine slightly, and it sent shivers up my spine. "Yes?" I asked breathlessly. He turned his head to me, his brown orbs searching mine. "Mary, I'm sorry." He apologized, his hand reaching over to clasp my hand in his.
"I can't believe I did what I did last night. I'm sorry." I nodded at him, the edges of my mouth pulling up into a smile. "I know you didn't mean it. I forgive you." He smiled at me and my heart skipped a beat. I bit my lip nervously.
"Your foot…" he said again, staring at my right foot. A look of realization crossed his face and he groaned, dropping his head in his hands. "Was it because you fell off the tree?"
I shook my head slightly and touched his chin, lifting his head up to my eyes. "It's not your fault."
"Mary, I want to make it up to you." Nate whispered again. I shook my head. "Nate, I'm fine."
"No. You're not. Look, there's this beach. We're going this weekend." He paused and assessed my reaction. I shook my head slightly. Dominique would never allow me.
"Come with me."
I smiled apologetically at him. "I don't think so Nate. Dominique…" I left the sentence hanging. Just saying her name implied all. Nate chuckled. "I've got that covered." I raised my eyebrows. He knew a way to convince Dominique? No one could change Dominique's mind. No one.
"I don't think you do. You don't know her." I said skeptically, shaking my head teasingly.
Nate leaned over and very gently kissed my cheek. "I've got it covered." His breath on my ear sent shivers up my spine. I closed my eyes. "No you don't" I argued stubbornly.
"Come with me." Nate repeated again. His lips were still pressed gently to my cheek. It was soft and it felt like they were just brushing the surface. I cracked. Who wouldn't?
"Alright."
Hope you liked it! Im so sorry again for not doing shoutouts! Thank you to all my readers! You make my days!
Please review and all that jazz!
I'll try to update as soon as possible. Things have been insane.
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