Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Camp Rock or Starbucks.
AN: This the second chapter of Coffee. This chapter is to prompt no. 38 - Confusion and this is Shane's chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to all the people that managed to review/favourite/alert the first chapter. It really means a lot that you liked it!
Once again, a huge thank you to suburbs for betaing - without her, this chapter would have a very insightful Shane and would just be plain weird , so thank you very much!
Chapter 2: Confusion on Monday
It was coming up to 7am when I opened the door to Starbucks. Okay, I know Nate had told me to spend the day with the person, but waking Shane up at 7am on Monday morning when he had a day off was all my idea. I had to do things the Caitlyn way, and ruining Shane's beauty sleep was too good to pass up.
I had managed to call everyone last night asking if I could spend a day with them this week, because I didn't want to drop in unannounced. I had checked times with everyone except Shane…I think he had assumed because I'd called so late, I wouldn't be dropping in at the crack of dawn. Clearly, he didn't know me as well as he thought he did.
"Can I get two lattes with a shot of cinnamon to take away, please?" I asked the barista behind the counter. I wasn't particularly looking forward to trying a different coffee. I had become so used to my own flavour that it felt strange to even be ordering something different. I sighed. It had to be done however, if I ever wanted to find peace of mind from this whole coffee dilemma. And, no way in hell was I going to be happy if Nate knew something that I didn't.
I paid the young girl behind the counter and picked up my coffees. I rested my back against the door to push it open and was immediately met by a cold wind. I walked over to my car, resting the coffees on the roof so I could get in. Shane didn't live too far from my apartment but after the detour to Starbucks I found an insane amount of traffic for such an ungodly hour in the morning. I prayed the coffee would still be at least warm by the time I got there.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into Shane's driveway, behind his car. Shane shared a house with both Nate and Jason. They had tried for a very short amount of time to all live separately; all that had resulted from this was a very moody Shane, a really stressed Nate and an extra hyper Jason. After that, I guessed they realised how much they depended on each other to stay relatively normal. I use the word relatively in this case because I don't think any of Connect 3 could ever be described as normal.
I grabbed the two coffees out of the car and swung the door shut with my hip, before walking up the driveway to the front door. I used my elbow to ring the doorbell and waited tapping my toe on the concrete floor, playing out a beat I had heard just now on the radio. I waited a couple of minutes before realising that no one was coming so I used my elbow to ring the doorbell again. Twice. Hey, it's cold out here!
I heard some muffled footsteps followed by a crash and some colourful language. I stifled a laugh and heard the unmistakeable sound of a Shane Gray who had just been awoken from his beauty sleep. He finally managed to unlock the door and swing it open, looking down at me and taking in my appearance.
"Did someone die? Or have a car crash? 'Cause I'm sure that you wouldn't wake Shane Gray up at half past seven on Monday for no reason."
I laughed. "Morning, Shane!" I said as brightly as I could manage.
He groaned. "I hate you, Caitlyn."
I smiled, making my way into his kitchen with his thudding footsteps following behind me at snail's pace.
I took a seat at the breakfast bar, placing the coffees on the counter. He took a seat opposite me and eyed the coffee cups warily. I pushed one towards him along with some sachets of sugar. He nodded as way of saying thanks before tearing open one sachet and mixing it into his cup. I waited only for a couple of seconds before following suit. I had to have my coffee exactly like him to figure it out. I watched as he took a sip, praying that the coffee hadn't gotten cold. He swallowed, before looking up at me.
"Thanks, Cait. I really needed that. Although, I wouldn't have really needed it if I hadn't been woken at half seven this morning," he said shooting an accusatory glance at me. I grinned sheepishly, before taking a sip from my own cup.
It was slightly bitter but I could faintly detect the slight spiciness from the cinnamon and the slight sweetness from the sugar and in that moment, I don't know what it was but I knew that this coffee was so Shane.
"So Cait, what do you want to do today? You said you wanted to spend the whole day together. Have you got any plans?" He looked slightly more awake now that he had some coffee. Before I had begun to answer him, he started talking once again.
"Actually you know what, I think we should start off having some breakfast. I don't know about you, but I need some breakfast first before I spend the whole day with my girlfriend's best friend."
I frowned. "Is that all you think of me? That I'm your girlfriend's best friend?" I asked.
He looked up at me from across the worktop. "I guess. Not in a bad way though! It's just…we don't really spend a lot of time together other than when we're all together. I guess, that's why I was quite interested to meet up today when you called me last night. I wanted to find out more about you... other than the fact that you have a crush on Nate," he finished, smirking at me.
I groaned. "I'm going to kill that girlfriend of yours," I said.
"Hey, don't do that! I need her, you know," he said. And I knew he really meant it. He needed Mitchie to keep him grounded just as much as he needed Nate and Jason to keep him sane.
I chuckled, before taking another sip of my coffee. Strangely enough, it was beginning to grow on me. I still hadn't accomplished my goal though, so I decided maybe it was time to steer things to that direction.
"Hey, Shane?" I asked, lightly drumming my fingers on the counter.
"Hmm?"
"Why do you drink the coffee that you do?"
He looked up, slightly confused at my random question, raising an eyebrow.
"Just asking," I said, shrugging my shoulders slightly.
"I don't really know," he said, and he looked deep in thought. "My first ever trip to Starbucks was years ago. If I remember right, I think it was with my dad. He asked me what I wanted, and I remember being really confused. I just wanted a plain coffee, no random stuff in it, so I asked for a latte. I think it was probably the first time I had tried coffee, and I found it really bitter so I added a ton of sugar to it so it would taste slightly better. The next couple of times I went, I messed around with it a bit. I think I finally decided on adding cinnamon because I was completely confused on how to make a bitter cup of coffee have any other taste without ruining all my teeth." He paused in his story to take a sip of the coffee that he had been describing in so much detail before continuing. "Cause it would be a shame to mar this perfect smile," he added self-deprecatingly.
I rolled my eyes but remained quiet.
"It worked perfectly. The cinnamon, that is. Everything just balanced out."
I took another sip of my coffee, my mind taking me back to the summer I met Mitchie at Camp Rock. Shane had been very sulky and resentful the first time I had met him. The media was always stirring things up in his life, whether it was how he had stormed off a set or who his latest girlfriend was. I couldn't blame him for being angry about that.
"What made you try out so many different things though?" I asked.
He looked up at me and frowned slightly. "I was confused, I guess. I didn't know what would taste good."
He looked deep in thought so I decided not to interrupt him. "I guess I was just generally confused then."
"About the label?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, I guess. The label. The band. My life in general." Then he smiled. "But then I met Mitchie."
I smiled, shaking my head at him. "You might have been confused but it seems like you had a few constants in your life. Nate and Jason for one. And even your coffee has been a constant, because you didn't change it once you found what you liked. I guess that shows your dedication in a way to things you care about. Like your music. And Mitchie." I paused thinking about their relationship. "I guess she's the sweet part of your life, huh?"
He looked at me, taking into account what I'd said and he nodded slightly, the small smile on his lips widening a little at the mention of his girlfriend.
"Maybe you're right." He sighed. "Man, you ever think about telling anyone that we had a conversation like this, I might have to kill you."
"Please! As if I would ever admit that I had an actual conversation with Shane Gray without calling him a jerk!" I replied.
He burst out laughing. "Come on then, Cait. I'm thinking pancakes for breakfast."
Fifteen minutes later, the entire kitchen was covered in flour, sugar and egg. Shane now looked as though he had aged 20 years because of the flour in his hair and people might think I had dandruff at the rate the sugar was falling out of my hair with every shake of my head.
"Do I want to know what went on here?" An amused voice said from the doorway. Shane and I looked up to see Nate in the doorway biting his lip to keep from smiling.
"Nate! Me and Cait here think you should make us pancakes for breakfast," Shane said, without a moment's hesitation.
"Really? And why should I do that?"
Shane looked at me and grinned. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was definitely up to something and whatever it was, I doubted the result would in any way favour me.
"Because my sister has a crush on you!" Shane blurted out, discreetly winking at me. I forced myself to not blush.
Nate raised an eyebrow before slowly making his way towards the fridge. "Shane, you don't have a sister."
Shane smiled smugly as Nate began to pull out the ingredients for pancakes. "That's what you think."
I think Nate had already given up at that point and when I got up from my position on the floor to sit at the counter again I kicked Shane's shin. He glared at me before rubbing it but even he didn't miss the slight smile that was on my face because he referred to me as his sister.
Shane might believe that his choice of coffee symbolised the confusion in his life at the time that he had begun to drink it, but I disagree. Shane's latte was just like him and I could see it more clearly now. He was still slightly bitter, probably because of the whole playing their own music thing but the cinnamon represented the excitement that was a huge part of Shane and his life. And the sugar fit too, because underneath all of it, he was a genuinely sweet guy. And I was incredibly lucky to have someone like that consider me to be his sister.