Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Camp Rock or Starbucks.

AN: This is Chapter 5 - Tess's chapter and its to the prompt no.40 - Disappointment. Thanks to all of you for reading/reviewing/favouriting/alerting! The next chapter will be Nate's followed by one more after that. I'm not too sure how soon I will be able to update after this one which is partly why this update is so soon.

Ok, for some shameless advertising, I co-wrote a one-shot with LaPaige entitled 'You Belong With Me' - it's up on her profile and you should read it if you want to know what happens when Mitchie crashes Shane's wedding...and while you're there you should also check out LaPaige's other stuff because she's great!

Once, again a huge thank you to suburbs for being such an amazing beta.

Chapter 5: Disappointment on Thursday

Thursday morning started out horribly. I woke up late and as soon as I looked out of the window, I groaned. It was pouring. I was supposed to be meeting Tess quite early in the morning because she had a meeting at lunch, but there was no way I could make it now. I looked around for my phone, finally finding it underneath my pillow and searched through the contacts list to find Tess.

She picked up after the second ring and I quickly explained the situation to her. She was surprisingly calm and she suggested that she could meet me after her meeting was over, sensing that I really wanted to see her today. I crawled back into bed since I no longer needed to be up early and pulled the duvet up to my chin.

It was strange how Tess and I had gone from being enemies to what could be called good friends. I had never particularly got along with her at Camp Rock, especially after she had framed Mitchie and I for stealing her bracelet. But when she told Brown what she had done, there was a part of me that respected her for telling the truth. It takes courage to admit when you're wrong, so I decided maybe there was more to Tess than I had previously thought.

We had all become sort of friends after that, and now, aside from Mitchie, Tess was probably my best girl friend. I'm not saying we have sleepovers and do each others' hair, but we had learned to be friends in our own weird way. We still fought every once in awhile, but I could count on Tess to be there if I needed her.

Over the years, Tess had broken out from under her mother's shadow and had established herself as her own person. She had developed her own style as a musician and singer, and I had worked with her quite a few times on her albums. Shockingly, we had managed to do it without wanting to kill each other.

I eventually rolled out of bed, knowing I wasn't actually going to go back to sleep. After a shower and a quick breakfast I decided to start packing my stuff up for when I moved to Mitchie's. I carried on packing until I heard my phone ring, glancing at caller ID before answering.

"Hey Tess, are you done?"

"Yep, I'm on my way to Starbucks. Do you want me to order for you?"

"Yeah, just get me whatever you're getting yourself and I'll be there in 10."

"Okay, bye!"

I snapped my phone shut, pulled my shoes and coat on and left the apartment. Ten minutes later, I was opening the door to Starbucks and caught sight of Tess sitting at one of the tables towards the back. She already had our coffee, so I walked over to join her.

"Hey, Tess."

She looked up at me and grinned.

"Ugh, do you have to sit with me, Gellar?" she asked, and I knew she was in her 'let's see what it takes to wind up Caitlyn' mood.

"No, but you know you'd die if I didn't," I said, grinning as I sat down.

Tess pushed over a cup of coffee towards me and I eyed it warily. Tess noticed of course, and she smiled.

"So since when have me and you drunk the same type of coffee?" She asked.

I froze. How was I supposed to answer that? "I just figured it would be easier for you to order." That sounded believable.

Tess nodded and passed me some sugar. I watched as she added one sachet to her coffee. Only one? How was I supposed to drink this with only one sugar? From what I had heard, an espresso macchiato was very intense with strong coffee and foamed milk. I watched as Tess took a sip of her coffee and reluctantly, I did the same, closing my eyes first as if that would change the taste.

I had to force myself to swallow it and when I opened my eyes, I saw Tess laughing at me. The drink was very bitter – it was a relief when I felt the foamed milk but the sugar I had added to it wasn't strong enough. I watched Tess take another sip and I put my cup down onto the table.

"How do you drink that?" I demanded.

She shrugged. "You get used to it. Anyway, do you want to tell me why my boyfriend had a bruise on his arm yesterday after he met you?"

I gasped. "No way, how did he get a bruise? I didn't hit him that hard – and wait a second did you just say boyfriend?"

She blushed. "I was going to tell you Cait."

I grinned. "Uh huh, I'm sure you were. I want details!"

She took another sip of her coffee and I followed suit, still not enjoying it. "We'd been spending a lot of time together I guess. Especially after that duet I did with Connect 3. I think I first realised I liked him when I noticed I could have a conversation about my Mom with him without crying," she said smiling. Normally I would have laughed at her for admitting the crying thing but with TJ Tyler, things were always different. The woman could make a grown man cry like a baby with a single glance.

"We only got together a week ago, so it's not like we were hiding it from you. In fact, I think Sunday was when we went public."

"What about the press?" I asked. Surely they would want to know if another of Connect 3 was off the market, especially if he was dating The Tess Tyler. Only don't tell her I said 'The Tess Tyler.'

"We don't mind if they know. It's bound to come out anyway," she said shrugging slightly.

"I'm really happy for you guys. I think you'll be good for each other," I said, seriously.

I took another sip of my coffee and Tess burst out laughing at the look on my face. "How did you get used to it?" I asked. "And why did you even start having it?" I added, remembering the whole reason why I was drinking this coffee.

"My mom used to make me. When I wanted to order a hot chocolate like all the other kids, she told me it had too many calories and I would be a disappointment to her if I didn't have the same drink she did." She stopped to take another sip and I could feel myself getting angry at TJ Tyler.

"I loved trying to drink it after a bit because I wanted to be exactly like my Mom. I wanted her to be proud of me and I didn't want to disappoint her." She smiled bitterly – a little like her coffee.

"Does she still have her coffee exactly like this?" I asked.

"Not exactly. She doesn't add the sugar. I only started doing that myself just recently," she said. I waited for her to continue but she didn't.

"Why did you start adding the sugar?"

"Because I wanted to prove I didn't have to be exactly like Mom to be successful. If I changed little things…well, that might be enough." She paused to take another sip of her coffee. "It was Jason who told me to start small. He believes in me, so he makes it seem easy," she added and I smiled at how right I had been yesterday – Jason had really grown up.

"Anyway, that's enough about my coffee. What I want to know is does Nate know you like him?"

I glared at her. "How did you know?"

"I didn't," she said, "but thanks for letting me know!" She winked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, I'm sure you aren't really a disappointment to your mother Tess," I said trying to change the subject.

She sighed. "I am, Caitlyn. When I was exactly like her and let her manage my life, I was the best daughter in the world. Then I started to make my own choices, and I became the biggest disappointment ever. Even if she saw that I'd started adding sugar to my coffee, she'd probably be disappointed."

I didn't know what to say to her. Even though we were pretty good friends, we didn't do serious conversations very often.

"Well, I know one thing for sure. You will never be a disappointment to me, Jason or any of us," I said, hoping to cheer her up slightly.

She smiled and wiped away the lone tear that was rolling down her cheek. "Thanks, Caitlyn."

"No problem!" I said cheerfully, trying to brighten up the conversation.

I noticed the grin on her face and paused. "Of course, to cheer me up, you should come shopping with me so I can dress you up for your date with Nate tomorrow."

I laughed. "Tess, I don't have a date with Nate tomorrow. It's just two friends meeting up," I insisted.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Have coffee," I stated and she burst out laughing.

"Oh, Caitlyn, don't you see? This is the perfect opportunity for you to dress up and getNate to notice you!"

I glared at her hoping she would forget this idea.

"Oh, come on Caitlyn, please!"

"Fine, but I'll decide whether or not to wear it tomorrow," I said, in defeat.

She grinned and stood up leading the way out of the coffee shop and I followed, thinking about her coffee. Tess had always wanted to be like her mother, partly because her mom expected it of her. What kind of a woman does that to her child? I guess her coffee choice said it all– someone who was bitter with no sign of sweetness at all. But that wasn't who Tess was, and the changes that Tess had begun to make showed that – even adding just a little sugar to her coffee. I guess it was her way of proving that she did have a sweet side; it just took her a long time to display it. But now that she had Jason, I think we were all going to be seeing more of this sweeter Tess.