The Final Jam had been surprisingly anticlimactic. Some trio won and I didn't know anyone one of the kids in it. However, judging the show gave me chance to not think about anything. My mind had finally filled with happy thoughts after Daniel and I had kissed, stopped stressing over everything with Nate (because of Daniel), forgot about Nate's secret girlfriend and blocked out all my self-blame… And focusing on the Final Jam contestants took away my chance of letting in more unnecessary stress. That, judging by my past behavior, I definitely would have done.

Connect 3 performed but due to the number of rehearsals that somebody stormed out of, we probably did our worst performance since we first formed the band. But even Jason took it more harshly than I did, and I didn't even know someone like Jason could take something harshly at all.

Jason and Nate walk into the cabin but I just continue packing my suitcase without a word. When they start packing as well, I see Jason place his thick notebook in his suitcase. Except the cover is now coated in pencil smudges and torn around the edges. Nate is folding all of his cloths too perfectly and stacking each idem in his suitcase, organized by color. The room is completely silent except for the sound of someone moving a musical instrument or a pair of loafers dropping to the floor.

"Uh, guys?" I say with a touch embarrassment in my voice that even I can here. "Are we okay?" I ask, "We're not breaking up or anything?"

"Shane," Jason cries as he walks towards me, "of course we're not breaking up." He places a hand on my shoulder the same way my dad use to when he would tell me college should be my first priority and music should remain a hobby. "Just because we didn't get along as well this summer doesn't mean we can't still be in a band together!"

Nate finally looks up from his neatly piled shirts and pants and looks me in the eye over Jason's shoulder. "I'm fine, if you're fine," he utters slowly.

And just like that, things feel more normal again. Nate was the last piece to my camp puzzle that I finally fit in. Now that I'm not worried about him or Tess or Mitchie or anything else that could possibly go wrong, I want camp to be longer. I could write music, spend time with my friends, spend a lot of time with Daniel and never worry about the press outside of camp.

"Are we ready to go?" Jason says in his usual happy voice. And I am ready. I'm ready to leave this place behind until next year. Although, I thought there was one more thing I wanted to do before…

"Oh, I almost forgot!" I turn around again to look directly at Jason. "I thought you might want to know that I'm gay."

"Shane," he says and he puts his hand firmly back on my shoulder. "I'm not stupid."

THE END

A/N: Thank you very much for reading this all the way through. I know I have been very bad about posting new chapters. I do realize there are some unresolved problems and unfinished subplots in this story but that's how I think stories should end…

In case you would like to read more, please write a review because I have ideas for a sequel. I have not been good about posting chapters so I am not sure if I can write another multi-chapter story with the same basic plot but if I can count on a couple readers and I have time to plan and write another one, I would be more than happy to create a sequel.