Hello people! Yes, chapter 23 is here. I am like really surprising myself lately. My chapters are longer, my updates are somewhat faster lol I know, it's gotten really bad! I'll try to update more often, now that I've finally got an awesome Internt connection! YAY! *does happy dance* I will definitely update sooner, I promise (: Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think! Thank you :-*
[Mitchie's POV]
One more day. Yes, one more day until I finally turned eighteen. One more day until I was finally an adult and free. One more day and I was officially on my own. Unfortunately, that was the only bad part about it. I wasn't ready to move out and live on my own, without my parents, without any help. I was just a kid! Wait- no I wasn't. I was practially an adult, just one day from being one. And of course, this wasn't even the confusing part of being one.
At least the other day was amazing. I had never had so much fun, well, other than when Shane and I went swimming, but that was quickly ruined by our hormones. But after that we went out to eat and that was amazing. But after that the day was pretty much destroyed, considering the awful idea I had. Yes, that day was a day I'd much rather forget, but unfortunately, I cannot because it was such a horrible idea.
Anyway, I might as well talk about something not so horrible, like the other night. Yes, that night. The perfect guys with their amazing girlfriends, just chillin' on the beach, conversing, dancing, singing like we don't care if anybody sees us. And those amazing crab legs. I wish I had some right now. Of course, the only bad part was when Caitlyn had her breakdown, but at least her night wasn't ruined by it. She seemed fine once she told Nate. I'm surprised he took it so well. You'd think, out of the three of the boys, he'd be the first one to get upset, but no. He was as cool as a cucomber.
I rolled out of bed, took a shower, got dressed, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, did my makeup and headed down stairs, all within thirty minutes. A new personal best.
I walked into the kitchen -wearing a white concert tee, a black frindged vest, red skinnies and my black aviator sandals- and saw my Mom and Dad, sitting at the kitchen table, eating eggs and toast. They looked from their articles and noticed I was standing in the room. Mom smiled, waving with her index finger because she had a piece of toast in her other hand. Dad nodded and smiled, then turned back to his paper.
"Cute outfit, sweetie." Mom said.
"Thanks," I told her and walked over to the fridge,opening the door and pulling out the orange juice. I got a glass from the cabinet by the sink and poured myself a glass of juice. I suddenly wondered why my parents hadn't said anything about my birthday yet. Did they forget? I asked myself. No, of course they didn't. They're probably just trying to mess with me. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the table, sitting down next to Mom. I studied them, trying to figure out what they were thinking. I wanted to know if they had remembered or simply forgot my birthday and the fact that I was going to turn eighteen. I had to choose the right words. I took a sip of OJ and then set the glass down. "So," I started, they looked at me. "What time should I tell everyone to come over?" I decided a party question would be best. Mom and Dad looked at each other.
"Uh, sweetie, why don't you let your father and I take care of it. We'll get everything set up and everyone notified." I smiled. They remembered.
Once I finished my OJ I kissed my parents goodbye and headed over to the front door, grabbing my backpack and phone. I opened the door and stepped outside, feeling a small breeze caress my arms and face. I smiled. I didn't know why, but today felt like a good day.
[Shane's POV]
I woke up around 8:30, opening my eyes from a dream I very much enjoyed. I pushed the covers from my body and rolled out of bed, smiling as I noticed my tackboard. I walked over to it, running my fingers over the photos Mitchie and I had taken with each other at Camp Rock and this spring. There was one of me and Mitchie in the canoe, and one of us kissing. I sighed, seeing how perfectly our lips seemed to fit together, like we were made for each other.
I got in the shower a minute later, washing my hair and body as fast as I could. I got out, dried off, got dressed, dried my hair, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs after grabbing my phone from my nightstand.
Mom and Dad were in the kitchen, cutting up fruit for, what I assumed was, fruit salad. Mom looked up smiling.
"Good Morning Shane." I smiled back.
"Morning. Morning Dad." I said, waving to Dad.
"Good Morning Shane." he said. I walked over to the counter where Mom was cutting fruit and popped a few pieces of strawberry in my mouth, Mom slapping my hand.
"Oh Shane, you can't wait until I'm done?" she spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry, I just have to get going. I'm still planning Mitchie's party for tomorrow, remember?" I said and Mom nodded.
"Alright," I smiled, and backed up, waving at them.
"See you later."
"See you." they said in unison and I walked over to the front door, taking my keys from the key tree and running out the door. I hopped in my car, I put my key in the ignition and turned it, hearing the engine purr. I smiled and backed out of the driveway, heading into town.
I had already called Caitlyn and Marissa and told them everything. They said they would help decorate and call people. Nate and Jason were also helping. I asked them to supply the food and drinks, they agreed, but only because I begged them to help. I also got Mitchie's parents in on it. They told me they'd contact Sierra and call all of Mitchie's friends and relatives. I was so lucky to have these people in my life and I knew Mitchie was lucky too.
So, you're probably wondering: What was Shane's job in all this? Well, I was in charge of getting the cake, which was going to be three tears. I was also in charge of getting all the decorations and getting Mitchie a party dress. Yes, she needed an amazing dress to complete the night. Mitchie's Mom had told me what size she was and I was on my way to go find a dress right then. And the last thing I was in charge of was getting ready and being there tomorrow.
I pulled into the mall parking lot, finding a spot and putting the car in park. I pulled they keys out of the ignition and shoved them in my front pocket, getting out and closing the door behind me.
I headed into the mall, trying to decide which store I would stop at first. I had asked Sierra for a list of Mitchie's favorite stores yesterday and she was quick to get them. I pulled the list from my back pocket and looked it over, seeing the three Sierra had written down. Forever 21, American Eagle and Kohl's.That was perfect because I'd heard of all three stores, I just never shopped at them.
I decided I'd go to American Eagle first, mainly because it was the closest. I walked in, suddenly feeling lost. I was looking at girls' clothing, not guys'. I needed help. I spotted an employee hanging clothes back up. I walked over to her.
"Excuse me," I said and she looked at me.
"May I help you?" she asked. She looked about twenty-three, maybe a little younger.
"Yeah, I'm looking for a dress. My girlfriend's birthday is tomorrow and I wanted to get her an amazing dress to wear for the party I'm throwing her." her eyes widend in... surprise?
"Wow. You must really want her to have an awesome day," she said.
"Yeah, I do." I told her with a smile, thinking about Mitchie.
"Well, can you tell me a little about her? What's her favorite color, her usual style, and most importantly, her size?" she asked as she lead me to a rack of dresses.
"Well, her favorite color is pink, her usual style is jeans and tees and her Mom said her size is a three." she nodded, taking it all in.
"Okay, so does she ever wear dresses or dress up?" she asked.
"Yeah, she does." I told her. I didn't realize when I came in here I get asked so many questions about Mitchie. But I honestly didn't mind it, I liked talking about Mitchie and all her amazingness.
"Okay, now if you don't mind me asking: Do you happen to have any pictures of her with you?" I smiled and nodded, pulling my phone out of my right back pocket. I showed her a couple pictures of Mitchie and a smile came to her face. "She's gorgeous." I smiled again. You have no idea. "So, you said her favorite color is pink, right?" she asked and I nodded. "Okay, I think we have a few that would be perfect for her." She said and shuffled through the dresses on the rack. I watched, seeing her pull out dresses so fast I lost count. Finally she turned to me, "Okay, I'll let you pick through these." she said and handed about six dresses to me.
"Uh... okay." I slowly said and looked at them.
"Don't worry," she said, obviously noticing my overwhelmed look. "She'll look great in any of them." I nodded. "If you need anything, just let me know." she said and walked away. I went through the dresses.
After five minutes, I decided I wasn't finding what I wanted there. I told the lady I was finished and she took the dresses, hanging them back up as I left the store. I walked over to the mall map and found where Kohl's was. As I headed over there, I noticed people looking at me. I knew it. I knew something was going to happen, I just didn't know when. I quickend my pace and finally got into Kohl's. Again, I walked over to an employee and got her help. I had decided that female employee's were the best way to go, considering some of them probable wore this stuff all the time.
"Do you need to know anything about her?" I asked after I told her my reason for dress shopping.
"Would you happen to have any pictures of her?" she asked. I nodded and pulled out my phone again. I showed her and she smiled, just like the other lady. "She's pretty."
"I know." I smiled. I was not getting sick of this.
"Follow me, please." she said and I followed her. She led me to the Juniors' clothing. "You're actually in luck. We're having a 40% percent off sale this week, on prom dresses." I chuckled. Absolutely perfect.
Since the lady at American Eagle gave me a bunch of dresses to choose from that she knew would look good on Mitchie, I didn't need that much help finding stuff. I found a few dresses that were really hot, that I knew would make Mitchie look even hotter than she already was, but I wasn't completely satisfied with them. They weren't exactly popping out at me, yelling, "Buy me! Buy me! I would look amazing on your girlfriend!". But I was still on a mission. I looked at the clock on my phone and saw it was almost 10 AM. I needed to go get the decorations so Caitlyn and Marissa could figure out a plan.
I was about give up and head over to Forever 21 when something caught my eye. I looked over and saw that it was a dress. I walked over to it, noticing the rhinestones on it. I pulled it out, looking it over. I smiled. This was the dress. It was even the right size. At that point, I didn't even care about the price tag. I was getting it and Mitchie was going to love it. I paid for it, finding out it was eighty-three dollars and walked out of the store.
"Shane!" I heard and turned to see them. The paparazzi. They were the ones who I'd felt looking at me. I turned my attention back to the exit doors in front of me and kept on walking. "Shane!" he shouted again. "What were you doing at Kohl's? Were you looking at dresses?" he finally caught up with me, speedwalking a few steps ahead of me. "Is the dress for your girlfriend, Minnie?" I gave him a confused look. Who is Minnie?
"Her name is Mitchie." I told him and turned my attention back to the door.
"Is the dress for Mitchie? Are you planning a special night?" he asked. This was not what I needed. Tomorrow morning this would be all over the Internet, TV and magazine covers. I could see it now: Shane Gray buys dress for girlfriend. Something for a special night? I took a breath and continued walking toward the doors.
I finally stepped outside, but Mr. Pap-wont-leave-you-alone-until-you-answer-all-my-questions was still following me. I jogged over to my car, unlocking the driver door and hopping in. I put the bag in the passenger seat and closed my door, seeing the flash of his camera in my eyes. I started the engine and slipped on my aviators, putting my car into drive and speeding away, being careful not to crush him. Maybe there's someway I can keep Mitchie from using any technology. I thought to myself. I rolled my eyes. Yeah right. Who am I kidding? Mitchie loves watching celebrity news.
After ten minutes of driving, I finally arrived at the party store. I had called in the day before and asked for a party set. They told me what exactly everything looked like and what the colors would be. I walked inside, heading up to the counter.
"Excuse me," I said and the guy turned around.
"Hey, you're Shane Gray," he said.
"That's me." I smiled.
"My daughter loves you." he rolled his eyes. "What can I do for you?"
"I ordered a party package yesterday and they told me I could pick it up today." I said and he nodded.
"Let me check." he said and walked over to a computer. He typed something and then nodded. "Yep," he looked at me. "you ordered the black and white 18th party package, right?" I nodded. I paid for it and walked out, carrying two boxes of decorations. I put them in the trunk and hopped back in my car.
The only thing I had left to do was get the cake made. I drove up to the bakery and told them what I wanted: A vanilla cake with three tears, white icing, red words that read, "Happy Birthday Mitchie!" down each tear in cursive and black music notes all over. I had the whole thing pictured in my head and it looked awesome. I couldn't wait for it to be Mitchie's birthday already. I couldn't wait to see her face tomorrow and know that she was finally eighteen. My eyes widend. "Crap!" I said through clentched teeth. I completely forgot about the ring. I looked at the clock on my car radio. It was already 11 AM. I groaned slightly and sped up just a little. I was glad the jewlery store was in the direction I was going because if it wasn't, that would just make me more frusturated.
I pulled into the parking lot ten minutes later, getting a spot up front and shutting off then engine. I got out and headed inside the jewlery store. A woman behind the counter looked up at me.
"I'll be with you shortly," she said. I nodded and walked over to a display case full of rings. They're all beautiful, but which one would Mitchie like? I asked myself in my head. And did she like gold or silver? I asked myself again. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to remember which she wore most. I opened my eyes and smiled, remembering that Mitchie wore silver a lot. "Hi," I turned around to see the woman behind the counter standing in front of me. "how may I help you?" she asked.
"I'm looking for an engadgement ring," I told her. She nodded and walked around the case, standing behind it once again.
"So, is the lucky lady not here?" she asked. I smiled.
"She's actually in school right now," I said and she gave me a funny look. "She's turning eighteen tomorrow." I explained and she nodded, relaxing.
"So, any specific color, cut, price?" she asked, saying price like it was a bad word. I chuckled.
"Anything silver will do for now." I said and she nodded, smiling.
"Okay, these are all priced under four thousand dollars, but still very big." I nodded. Does she mean the stones are big?
She showed me about fifteen different rings, but I only remembered the ones that stood out. I told her which ones I really liked and she said I could decide while she was helping another customer. I nodded and she walked away to help a couple.
Ten minutes later she was still helping the couple and I was nowhere with the rings. I decided I'd call Sierra and ask her which one she thought Mitchie would like.
"Shane, Shane, Shane," Sierra repeated my name over the phone. I had sent her a picture of each ring that I liked and this was her response to them. I rolled my eyes. "it's right in front of your nose!" she practically yelled. I pulled the phone away from my ear, now getting a ringing noise.
"Sierra, please," I said softly. I sighed. "just tell me which one you think Mitchie would like."
"Why don't you tell me which one you think she'd like first? Then I'll tell you mine, okay?" I sighed again.
"Fine." I looked over the rings, studying each one. "Uh... the... second one. No wait... the fourth one?" Sierra groaned. "Alright, alright. Um... the second one. Definitely the second one." I said.
"Yes!" she shouted.
"Does that mean I got it right?" I asked. She chuckled.
"Yes, Shane, you got it right." I sighed, smiling. "Now, how much is it?" she asked, becoming serious. I looked down at it, seeing the price.
"It's thirty-six hundred." I told her.
"Are you freaking serious?" she asked.
"Yeah,"
"Wow. Um, okay, do you have the money?" I searched through my pocket, finding my wallet in my left back pocket.
"Let me check," I said and dug through my wallet. "Okay, I don't have enough cash, but I do have my American Express."
"Good. Pay with that." I nodded, but suddenly remembered that she couldn't see me. I rolled my eyes at myself. "So, need anything else while I'm here?" she asked.
"Nope. Thanks Sierra." she chuckled.
"No problem, Shane. Bye." she said and hung up. I pulled my phone away from my ear and snapped it shut, shoving it back into my pocket.
"So," I turned and saw the woman again. Why does she keep doing that? "have you decided yet?" she asked. I nodded.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go with that one," I said, pointing to the one I wanted. She opened the case, pulled out the ring and set it on the counter. I told her Mitchie's ring size and she got it for me. I paid for it, using my AmEx and got out of there at 11:50 AM.
I headed over to Caitlyn's, knowing she and Marissa were there trying to think of idea's for the setup. I pulled into Caitlyn's driveway, shutting off the engine and getting out. I grabbed the boxes from my trunk and walked up to the front door. I rang the door bell and Caitlyn's Mom answered.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Hi Mrs. Gellar, I'm Shane, Nate's brother. Is Caitlyn here?" Mrs. Gellar nodded, smiling.
"Come on in, she's in the living room." I nodded and walked in. I headed over to the living room, seeing Caitlyn and Marissa sitting on the couch, looking through magazines. I smiled.
"I hope you're getting ideas for Mitchie's party setup." I said and they both looked at me, surprised by my presents.
"Hey Shane," Caitlyn waved, along with Marissa. I walked over with the boxes and they both stared at them. "Is that the stuff?" Caitlyn asked, standing up and setting the magazine on the coffee table. I nodded. Marissa stood up and each of them took a box. They opened the boxes. "Whoa, this stuff is awesome!" Caitlyn smiled, looking through the box.
"Yeah," Marissa agreed. "Thanks for picking this stuff up, Shane." I nodded, smiling.
"So, Shane, you want to help with the setup plans?" Caitlyn asked, setting her box on the couch.
"Well, I can for a while, but I promised Mitchie I'd pick her up from school." they nodded. "By the way, why aren't you two in school right now?"
"We're both sick," Marissa said and fake coughed. We all started laughing.
After we stopped laughing, we got to work on the setup. Caitlyn pulled out her laptop and started jotting stuff down. We agreed the party would be held at my place, considering I was the only one who had a big enough pool. We also agreed that ConnectThree would be the entertainment, working for free, of course. Caitlyn said it was the safest route, seeing that we were already two thousand dollars into the party. I agreed.
I ended up leaving Caitlyn's around 12:30. I drove home, took another shower -I'd been running around the whole morning and Caitlyn said I smelled- and changed my clothes. I put on my black skinny jeans, a dark blue button down (the sleeves rolled up to my elbows, always) and a pair of black converse.
I left the house, again, around 1:20. Mitchie's school was at least twenty minutes away, so I had to hurry.
On the way I thought about tomorrow. How was I going to ask her? Would she reject me? Was this too soon? I wasn't sure how I was going to handle this, but I was hoping everything would fall into place.
So, what did you think? Shane definitely had a lot to do, didn't he? At least he had time to go home and take a shower for Mitchie lol Ok, review and give me that opinion brewing in your head (but please be nice about it okay?)! Oh, if you want to see the dress, I'll post it on my profile once I get the next chapter up.