YAY! Another chapter! Sadly though, ive seem to lost some of my readers that have stuck with me through the story ): But nevermind! I hope more people will read this story, and please, please review! (: Thanks to those that keep me going: A Forgotten Fairy. .AKA- Fairy for reviewing (haha thank you) xXthatswhatyougetXx for reviewing (im glad you liked it (: ) elisabeth2me for reviewing (thank you for constantly reviewing, and im glad you've liked it all the way!) live-in-dreamland1 (thanks for your always awesome reviews (: ) James n Lily R in LOVE for reviewing (glad you liked it!) utmy123 for reviewing (yay I wanted the paparazzi thing to be unexpected :D ) vanessadsx for reviewing (woo! Haha hopefully this chapt is good too (: ) mickeyhagg for reviewing (sorry I didn't update as fast ): ) zash236 for adding it to alert and reviewing (ohmygosh, awesome review (: thank you so much you made my day!)

Well that's it. Hopefully this chapter is okay. Ive been… out of sorts lately. Also, please check out my other one-shot I just wanted Ice Cream. A lot of people have been faving and alerting it, but I barely have reviews, and I want to know if I should continue it! Thanks, well on to the story! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Another Cinderella Story or Camp Rock.

Chapter 19: Probabilities

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Mary's POV

"I can't believe this!" Mitchie said angrily as she slammed a magazine on the bed. I raised my eyebrow and put my homework down next to me, before leaning forward and picking up the paper. "I don't get what you're on about—oh." I paused halfway through my sentence, my lips forming the words as I read the cover page of the newspaper silently. The headlines were there, huge and bold. Just like I had predicted yesterday, but with all the drama that had been going on, I had totally forgotten about it. I should have seen this coming. I shook my head sadly.

"Fans More Dangerous by the Minute," I read aloud, as if to confirm that it was real, this article was there. Below it was a picture of me holding back Mitchie as she attempted to attack Tess outside the school. Shane was in the background and he looked shocked. But I knew he was shocked only because he had seen Mitchie. But the press didn't know that. They would read his expression a completely different way. I groaned. "Oh no."

Mitchie sniffled, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Oh yeah." I shot her an apologetic look. "Tami take a look at this," I said, clearing my throat. Tami had been sitting next to me the whole time and she leaned over, glancing at the magazine before letting out a low whistle. "You've really done it this time Sherlock." She shook her head.

Mitchie groaned and grabbed a pillow, burying her face in it. "I didn't actually attack her! The paparazzi—ugh! What will they do to get a good story? Tess was the one that attacked me first, why I ought to—"

"Mitchie…" I shook my head. "This isn't worth it. Just ask Shane to hold a conference or something. Problem solved. No need to curse," I pointedly stared at her. She mumbled something incoherent into the pillow and sat up. "It's not that easy Mary." I shot her a disbelieving look. "With you it never is."

Mitchie bit her lip nervously. "It really isn't. Didn't it occur to you that Shane and I haven't gone public yet? There's a reason for it. Shane can't just come out of the blue with a press conference for me. Rumors are going to spread."

I shot her a sympathetic look for the second time in less than five minutes. "Makes sense." Tami looked up from the sketches she was doing and gave us a 'duh' face. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Tami oh wise one?" She laughed and turned so her back was lying on the bed and she was staring at the ceiling. "Why don't you just…hmm I don't know? Go public?"

I dropped my head in my hands with an aggravated groan. "You weren't listening much, were you?" Tami giggled. "Sorry, I was busy—oh my gosh! Mary!" I rolled my eyes before turning my attention to Tami. "Yes?" She bolted upright quickly and opened the newspaper.

"Oh no. Please don't tell me…" I looked down at the paper to see a huge picture of Nate's face right in front of mine. 'Love For Teenage Heartthrob?' I read the words almost disbelievingly, shaking my head.

"This can't be happening." The whole page was filled with pictures of me and Nate. The time when he had confronted me early yesterday morning during school. And there were pictures of me crying too, and pictures of Nate kissing her. Tess. The whole page was a guess at his relationship with Tess and me.

Mitchie leaned over me to look at the pictures. She sniffled before smiling at me. "Hey at least you look pretty darn gorgeous in those pictures Mary." Her smile faltered when she saw me frowning.

"I can't believe this… Dominique will kill me." I whispered, tears pooling in my eyes and blurring my vision. "I can't… I can't…" I shook my head. "She's really going to kill me," I croaked out before bursting into tears.

"Oh no, come here, Mary," Tami leaned over and engulfed me in a huge hug. I sobbed into her shirt. This was one of the reasons I loved Tami so much. She was the first on that supported me and comforted me with everything. "It's going to be okay." She cooed.

I felt another pair of arms wrap around me and smelt Mitchie's cinnamon scent. "It's going to be fine." I shook my head violently. "Just think of what she'll do to me!" Mitchie's grasp on me tightened. "Oh please, she can't do anything to you! You know that Tami and I would kick her butt before she could even try to kick yours."

I laughed slightly. "I just… I don't know." Tami patted me on the back. "Mitchie'll call Nate or Shane later. They'll get something settled out."

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks, guys."

Tami and Mitchie pulled back from the hug and smiled encouragingly at me. "Hey, what are friends for?"

--

Nate's POV

"Loosen up, man," Shane said and slapped me on the back. I jumped and rubbed the place where he had hit. "Watch it, Shane!" He raised his hands defensively and stepped back from me a bit. "Look, you said you had it under control. You have to act like it is before you do anything." Shane shrugged. "Like the way I'm acting now."

I scowled at him and turned around, walking down the steps and pacing back and forth in front of the house. "I know, but I…" I paused for a moment and glanced at Mary's room across the lawn. I cocked my head in the direction of Shane and narrowed my eyes.

"Just be confident?" I asked skeptically. Shane grinned and opened his arms wide, towards the large house. "That's all there is to it."

--

Wow. The room was pink. As in shell-shock pink. As in Barbie pink. I wondered who could stand living in this kind of room. I looked across from me at the wrinkled face of Dominique and her dress of the day: a large, strictly all ruffles, purple sequined studded dress. Of course Dominique would live in this kind of room. What was I thinking?

She cleared her throat for a long time and scanned the both of us. Her two daughters, Breah and Bianca, were standing at the doorway, shoving each other to try and find space to lean on the doorframe, trying to act well, seductive? I was staring at them for a while. There was something about the way that they fought that I found highly amusing.

Bianca caught me staring and she winked before flashing her teeth at me in a big grin. I shivered and turned away, shaking my head as I studied the carpet. Hm. A purple carpet in a hot pink room. That was… totally expected actually.

"So what do you say?" Shane asked while I studied the floor and pretended to be fascinated with the colour coordination of the room. I know I had told Shane I would handle this, but now that I was actually sitting in the room across Dominique, the essence of Mary's suffering, I really couldn't stop myself from jumping up and squeezing her until all the sequins in her dress popped out.

But I was here to make a deal and to try and give Mary an opportunity to hang out with the gang for a weekend. No way was I putting that plan in jeopardy just to squeeze Dominique's lights out. Shane nudged me subtly in the ribs and I sat up immediately, suppressing my groan with a cough.

"Smile," Shane urged through gritted teeth as he shot his, well what he liked to call anyway, 100-watt smile. I faked a smile as well as I could at Dominique. "Yes, what do you say?" She pursed her pink, yes pink, lips at us before answering.

"I don't know boys." Shane and I exchanged glances before looking back her. "Mary out for one whole weekend? Who's supposed to make my bed or get me my slippers?" Shane rolled his eyes and I sighed softly. 'Try getting them yourself' I thought with a scowl before quickly smiling again.

"Mary's our friend and she helped us a lot with uh… well basically Mitchie helped Shane a lot and we wanted to treat her. But she said she refused to come, only if Mary came. Shane really wants this." I quickly said, shooting an apologetic look at Dominique, acting as if I didn't want this.

Shane looked at me with confusion. "I do?" I turned to him and made a slight jerk of my head. I raised my eyebrows at him and through gritted teeth muttered, "Yes you do." Shane slowly nodded his head, winking at me before turning to Dominique. "Yes I do."

Then, with a sneaky grin in my direction, he leaned back in the couch and spread his arms out wide against the edge, acting comfortable. He lifted his hand to his face and pretended to act interested in his fingernails, before turning to Dominique with a disinterested look in his eyes.

"I mean… we haven't really discussed the duet yet have we. And I don't know… Connect Three likes working with people that have a good heart, you know? That helps, and wouldn't mind… doing some stuff themselves so other people can have a break." He pursed his lips back at Dominique and it took all I had to not laugh.

"I mean… just saying you know." He raised an eyebrow at Dominique before proceeding to observe the fingernails on his other hand. I tried to mimic his attitude and I leaned back, yawning slightly and acting interested in the large tree outside the humongous glass window next to me.

Dominique narrowed her eyes at us briefly, the corners crinkling into wrinkles. She seemed to be debating whether this was a good chance to give up or not. Finally, she smoothed out her ruffles on her dress, picking at a few sequins before finally looking up at us.

"Fine… I'll take you up on the offer." Shane grinned at me. I could almost see him bragging to me after we leave the house. I sat up slowly, nodding my head approvingly. "Good, we'll get our agent to contact your agent."

Shane sat up slowly too, still keeping his uninterested act going on. He strode over to the door and winked at Bianca and Breah who were still struggling to pose at the doorframe. "No need to see us out ladies." He said before bounding out the steps.

It took all I could not to roll my eyes. I settled with a simple nod in their direction, before following Shane and shutting the door behind me.

I was glad that was over.

--

Marys POV

"Sorry," I muttered, pulling away from the warm embrace of the world's best friends anyone could ask for. I sniffed and rubbed my eyes. "I should really stop breaking down like that," I apologized. Tami laughed. "It's okay to show some weakness sometimes Mary. It's what keeps you human." Mitchie nodded. "And what keeps you sane."

I giggled. "When did we become the trio of psychologists?" I asked. Mitchie shrugged. "We're just deep that's all." I rolled my eyes. "Egotistical much?" I asked before reaching for my pillow and whacking her over the head with it.

"Hey!" She shrieked. She grabbed the pillow and readied to lift it over my head when the door burst open. "Mary!" Nate shouted, then stopped short as he saw Mitchie, poised with my pillow raised over my head.

"Am I…" he stole a glance at me. "Interrupting something?" I shook my head, biting my lip to keep from laughing and gently reaching over to push the pillow down from Mitchie's hands. I turned to Nate and smiled. "No you're not."

Nate nodded his head, before suddenly pausing and leaning forward, his eyes searching mine. "Mary?" I raised my eyebrow. "Yeah?" in a flash he was across the room and seated across from me. Tami and Mitchie cleared their throats and hurried out of the room. "We'll be… away." Mitchie said, before pushing Shane, who was leaning on the doorframe, out, Tami stumbling after. The door slammed with a loud 'Ow what'd you push me for?'.

Nate lifted his hand and pressed it to my cheek. I closed my eyes and let the warmth from his hand soothe me. "Mary, are you okay?" I pressed my hand to his. "I think so." His mouth formed a slight smile, before he moved to brush his fingertips against the corners of my eyes, rubbing away some of my tears.

His fingers were so soft. I had expected them to be rough from all that guitar playing. I smiled a bit, feeling his fingers gently caress against my skin. "You've been crying." He whispered to me, before pulling me into a hug. I felt his strong, secure arms wrap around me, and almost instantly fresh tears sprang to my eyes.

"Why were you crying?" He whispered into my hair. I buried my face in his chest, blinking back my tears. "Have you seen it?" My voice was muffled by his shirt. Gently, he pulled away from me, his arms still wrapped around my back. His brown eyes searched mine questioningly. "Seen?" I nodded my head.

"It was in… they published an article Nate. They know about you and me." I licked my dry lips. "I know that it's a good thing that we're together, but I'm just worried—"

"About Dominique." Nate finished my sentence. I nodded my head, my vision suddenly blurring at the mention of her name. I shouldn't be scared of her. I knew that. Then why was I so absolutely freaked by her now?

"Mary," Nate gritted his teeth together. "She wouldn't dare hurt you in any way." I blinked back tears. "Nothing's stopped her from doing that before." Nate chuckled slightly. "That was only because I wasn't in the picture. Now I am. I would never let anyone hurt you."

A tear rolled down my cheek and Nate reached up, gently wiping it away. "I don't deserve you," I choked out. "I don't deserve what you're doing for me." Nate frowned and cupped my face in his hands. His mere touch sent electrifying jolts through my whole body.

"You're worth it. Dominique makes you feel like you aren't." He shook his head sadly. "But you are." I smiled. "Thank you, Nate." Slowly, I leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. I could feel myself blush, and I quickly looked away.

"So… you can go this weekend." Nate quickly said, sneaking in a teasing glance in my direction. My jaw might as well have dropped. "No kidding?" he shook his head, grinning the whole time. I squealed and jumped up, leaning forward and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you so much!"

I pulled back and before I knew it, Nate had captured my chin between his thumb and forefinger. I froze suddenly, staring intently at him. What was he doing? Was he about to kiss me? I felt shivers of anticipation run up and down my spine.

This was it. Our first kiss. My first kiss. I was hoping for something more fairytale like… but if it was with Nate, it would be fairytale enough for me. Slowly I leaned forward, pausing for a moment and using my eyes to communicate with Nate. It's fine. I told him, before continuing to lean in.

Just as our lips brushed slightly, just when I could feel the skin of his lips within reach of mine, the buzzer rang. I groaned and quickly shot back away from him.

Mary? The toilet calls. Dominique's voice filled my room, and ended off with her dry, sarcastic cackle. I made a face. "Sorry Nate." He shook his head. "I can't believe she treats you like this." I tried to shrug as nonchalantly as I could before slowly sliding off the bed.

"I'm sorry. So… this Friday?" He nodded before leaning over and quickly planting a kiss on my cheek, just mere centimeters from my lips. "I can't wait." I grinned sheepishly at him before turning around and grabbing my 'maid outfit.'

I slipped into it as fast as I could and buttoned it up as I made my way to the door. "Thanks," I said one more time when I paused at the doorframe. He smiled at me—his crooked smile of his that I loved so much—and with one final look at his direction, I hobbled across the lawn to the house.

That's it! Hopefully you liked it (crosses fingers). Anyway, I was planning for it to be much longer, but I really am rushed for time, and sorry for any mistakes. I didn't have much time to edit.

So, please, please, review! It's one of the only things that keep me going now (:

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