34A/N- Hello lovely and hopefully still around readers! I am so so so so so so sorry that it has been since January since I've updated. I know I said when I updated that chapter that I would be better at updating and I know I failed MAJORLY with that. This spring semester of school was so crazy with declaring my major and also with classes in general. So I am sorry that I haven't been around. I have been of course reading all your reviews but I know that I've been bad at the whole updating. But its now summer which means I have all the time to update and focus on my stories again. I've been trying since I posted my last chapter to come up with ideas for these upcoming chapters and I have finally these past couple days figured out how I want to continue.
This chapter will be Nate's chapter with everything going on. I wanted to give you guys a really long chapter and I know that even though it's just Nate's chapter on background things sorta still, I think that it's still great because I wanted them all to have things to say. His chapter also has his and Mitchie and his phone conversation but from his POV. The next chapter has Jason's POV and then there is a big Mitchie POV chapter than will come probably after that but I am still working around with some of because I want to add more I think to it. But after that, they will get to all hang out together probably if I have what I am thinking in my brain, work out on here.
So enjoy this chapter! I promise I'll be better at updating, I working on the upcoming chapters as I post this one right now. SO YAY ENJOY!
ELEVEN-ELEVEN, WISHES CAN HAPPEN IN REALITY
Chapter 10: The Wheels Are Turning In Nate's Brain
Nate's POV
After I was finished eating, I just continued to sit there and be preoccupied with my own thoughts. I wasn't paying attention to if everyone was still eating or if people were still at sitting at the table. I couldn't stop thinking about the band, Shane's attitude, this afternoon, Mitchie, and that Shane cooked. I guess I was really absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice right away when Shane cleared his throat. I was brought right out of my thoughts when I immediately looked up at Shane. "Uh, you guys done?" I just nodded at him while he grabbed the dishes and cleaned up. Wait he just cleaned up? He hasn't done that in probably the same amount of time since he's cooked. A bit later he came out and asked if we wanted something and I of course wanted tea. I don't know why, but tea is just so relaxing to me. It seems to drain all the stress of the day right out of me and that is saying a lot since it is tea. Jase, of course wanted juice. He can act like such a kid sometimes. When Shane came back with Jase's juice, my tea, and coffee of course for me, I stood up and took it from him and nodded to him. Jase literally skipped back to him room, I slowly walked back to mine and well I don't know about Shane.
I took a sip of tea and placed it on the desk in my room and plopped myself in the chair in my room by the window. It wasn't one of those dinky, you can't really look out the window type, but well a huge one where it took up a big chunk of my wall and gave me such a view of the city. I couldn't seem to wrap my mind around much lately or just this day. I knew I had to confront Shane sooner or later but for some reason, I just didn't want to. I just sat back and enjoyed the view for as long as I could.
I grabbed my guitar and just sat there strumming random chord progressions and melodies thinking. Music just knew how to relax me. It was probably the only thing in the world that truly knew how to relax me and I am okay with that. You could take some of the simplest chords or notes and create a melody. I would have loved to be able to sit at a piano right now. I loved the guitar but the piano was just more to me. Jason was the one where the guitar was just right for him, I love the guitar don't get me wrong but the piano was where I belonged. Then you have Shane who was good with either but he was more towards his voice, he still could play but he wasn't as strong as Jase and I were. He was the one though who always had lyrics rushing through his head and was amazing with words and creating songs. We all loved our music though; it was where we all belonged. I don't really know who I'd be without music. I guess I am lucky though that I never really had to try and figure that out though.
When we were younger we just sort of all clicked together and yeah maybe that was because our parents were best friends since they were young but to say the least I think we would have clicked even if our parents weren't. But it definitely helped having our parents be best friends and always get us together to hang out and have play dates. We were always playing music. It was who we were and we knew that from a really young age. Our parents encouraged our music always. We always were sharing our new creations or songs with them and they were always excited to hear.
When we were signed they were ecstatic for us. We were overjoyed at the idea that we were going to be having our music recorded and people all over were going to hear it instead of just the people from our small town of Jersey. We were so excited by the fact that our dream was becoming a reality.
The hardest part of all of this was the day that the label said that we needed to move out to Los Angeles for this. The label was out there and they knew that commuting back and forth between Jersey and California was just so complicated because it was going between the East and the West Coasts. Most of our time was spent traveling instead of actually working and recording. It took us a long time and a lot of discussion before we truly made the decision to move out to LA. We were scared, we were 3 teenagers from a small Jersey town moving out to LA on our own.
Our parents were not too keen on the idea in the beginning because they weren't too sure we would be able to take care of ourselves. Jason being the oldest at almost 17 would be in charge of us where I, the youngest at 14 and Shane at 15. They were scared that we were too young to be able to go to LA alone and start to truly live our lives. They knew that this was our dream though so they gave us the chance to go. But we didn't start just in an apartment for the three of us right away.
When we first moved out there we were lucky to have Shane's Uncle Brown out there since his life was music and in LA. See Brown being famous himself was always bust when we were growing up, but they ended up ending awhile back but they were still loved and well known, so he was still doing anything that he could do with music but he was able to spend more time with the people he cared about. When it came to Shane, Jason, and I he was willing to take care of us until we were more known and we started to truly make an income with our music. Brown was not just considered Shane's uncle; he was Jason and mine as well.
Our parents were okay with this arrangement and were okay that we were to go and live together just the three of us when Jason was 18, since he'd be considered an adult so that it was better than three teenage boys who were just going to go and live together in LA and be a ruckus. They needed us to be able to be responsible and grow up fast so that we were capable of dealing with being on our own.
It was only about a week after that decision that we had to move everything out to Los Angeles, California. We didn't really know what to expect from what was happening. We were young and naïve, but that didn't mean that we weren't extremely excited for what our futures were looking to be. It just seemed unreal that we were starting our careers.
When we started out at the label, they were so excited because we were young and that always led to great things because that gave us so many more years to grow. The first year while we were there we had just so many ideas that we were always trying to come up with something new. We were always working and trying to get as much as we could out there. The label was just as excited as we were and that gave us so much hope for our futures. The fans were easily coming and we were excited that people really liked our music.
We started our careers in music where we wanted to. It was with the music that we loved and that we were creating when we were younger it was just more pronounced and not as childish. Everyone seemed to love our music. That was where things suddenly were changing.
The label about a year or so after we began was asking for a different sound. It wasn't the normal type of music were used to producing so were now really confused. We didn't understand why they wanted us to create this new sound when we seemed to be getting such a high response. We knew we had to abide to what the label wanted out of us or we could say goodbye to our careers. It was something we didn't know what to expect. It was where we were asked to come up with these cheesy, bad, no meaning behind them types of lyrics. Most of the time it wasn't even our lyrics anymore. It was more what the label wanted. They twisted all of it.
That was when we all suddenly started changing. Shane had this attitude that no one understood. We figured it had to do with the label because he was the one who would get the most angered by what was happening. Shane was a completely different person. Jason on the other hand seemed to get stupider or just more gullible. He has always been that way, but never has he seemed stupid. He was always the caring one who listened to what you said about anything. But then he started to faze out and wasn't as Jason like. He was definitely weird, we all were.
I noticed a lot of changed go on in me as well. I became more serious. I was trying to hide all my frustration and bottle it all away and try to ignore it and think about what was going on with everyone else. I put all my cares about myself on the backburner because I knew I had to because if I went to try and stick my emotions about everything into the mixture, everything would just become a mess. So that is when I became the serious one, I paid more attention to the business stuff. I didn't want to put in my problems with it all in there because I was just as mad as Shane was about what the label has been doing but they didn't need to have two Shane's going at their necks all the time.
I'm guessing Jason's perspective in it all, was play dumb. But maybe he just wanted to make it be where he didn't know what was going on or care about it all. I knew he wasn't anything that the press put about him was true. I knew Jason, yes was the lovable goofball, but I also knew that he was also very smart and he was probably one of the best listeners out there. We all were good listeners, but Shane and I stuck our noses in to everything while Jason just listened. He never judged you from what happened or what was going on, he just listened and that was enough for people to be happy. I'd love to see him be like that.
It would be amazing to see us all be able to go back to what we were like back then. It is weird to think that only over around a year ago we were our old selves. But you lose track of time when you feel like your life is being shattered all the time. The thing about this now is that time went so fast and it is hard to think that over a year and a half ago we were happy with what we were doing. But it is harder to think that only 3 years ago we were home in Jersey living our lives. We would have still been in school, with our families and our friends. But I guess that gets what gets put on the backburner when you get the chance to live your dream and have probably the opportunity of a lifetime. I just wish we could go back to how it used to be and get the label to let us be who we were and produce music that we were truly proud of.
And now I am sitting here feeling bad for myself when today was just weird. I am pretty sure I was in an alternate universe or something. Shane cooking and doing dishes? I swear I haven't seen that from him in a good year and a half or more. I've missed it when we'd have no idea what to do for dinner and he would just go and start cooking and it was always good too. But the more of an alternate universe part was Mitchie yelling at him. No one person minus his family and the label yelled at him like that before.
Oh crap I have to find a way to make it up to her. Or at least try to make it up for her. I'll text her and try and get her to say yes to us doing something to thank her. Hey Mitchie, at least I hope so, I really don't hope you gave me a fake number. I hope you know that I am making it up to you for earlier. –Nate. I really hope she didn't give me a fake number. I'm sick of changing my number all the time. Fans just somehow are able to get hold of my personal number and it is driving my insane.
I was in my own world or bubble or whatever it is thinking when I heard my phone beep. It was Mitchie! Hi Nate. Yeah, I gave you my real number. I wouldn't sink low enough to fake a number. Actually I probably would I just didn't have time to come up with one plus it didn't seem fair to you for me to fake a number. You seriously don't have to make it up to me. I'm fine. –Mitchie. Haha great, she is a person who would give me a fake number. I should have guessed that, that was what she was like. At least she didn't end up giving a fake number.
But why is she making it so hard for me to thank her and make it up to her. This is a miraculous thing that happened because I don't think if she didn't do this that Shane would have been stuck an ass forever. Look Mitchie, I really don't think that it's fair that you did Jason and I this huge thing and we don't get to make it up to you somehow. And that's nice of you to not fake a number or go gallivanting around saying you had it because I've had people get ahold of my number or figure it out some way or another and I've had to change it too many times to count. –Nate. She is so complicated. I just want to make it up to her.
I really don't care though Nate. The thing is I am glad that I yelled at the jerky popstar. I didn't do it as a favor for you either remember, I just yelled at him because I wanted to. I swear to you, I need nothing in return for doing it, it was my pleasure. I would have done it no matter what and just walked away and said nothing to all of you, no offense though because it was great meeting you and Jason, but the jerk? That wasn't a big deal, the only perk was getting to yell at him because I have always thought it'd be fun to just get to yell at someone because you just felt like it in the moment. And yikes. I can't even remember my number that I have had forever, so I don't know how you even get how you can keep your number straight after so many changes. –Mitchie.
Okay, so I am glad that she is okay with just yelling at him. Everyone normally runs away from him if he's in his jerky mood. I don't get why but it was nice seeing someone like her just go ahead and yell at him because she wanted to. She wasn't afraid or starstruck she just said what she wanted. Well I am glad that she was nice enough to excuse herself and be polite even though she just yelled at Shane. It was funny, it was great seeing someone who had to deal with him all the time to stick him in his place.
I am not kidding here. We are going to make it up to you. It's weird, after you left Jase and I went back to where we live with Shane. We thought he wouldn't be there, but there he was in the kitchen making dinner. HIMSELF! Like we knew he could cook but once he started being a jerk he stopped and would never touch anything making someone else do it for him. He was pleasant too, no jerk present the entire night! Something you said must have hit home on him or something because it was like the old Shane was back again. So, get this through your head please, WE. ARE. MAKING. IT. UP. TO. YOU. FOR. GIVING. US. OUR. FRIEND. BACK! And I don't get how I remember it either. I mean there have been times when I have to get the numbers straight and stop putting multiple past numbers together. Let's just say that was not a good time because it was my manager I did it to, and he didn't think it was really funny. It's not like I meant to but I did by accident. –Nate.
After I sent that text I was sitting staring out the window drinking my tea thinking. I looked at the clock and noticed that it had been quite awhile so I decided I would just call her instead and make it easier on both of us. When she picked up all she said was "Yeahuh?"
"Mitchie?" I asked her and all of a sudden there was a clank on her side of the phone. I really have no idea though what it was.
When someone finally said something it was someone who I am pretty sure isn't Mitchie. "Mitchie's phone."
"Hi, it's Nate. Is everything okay? She—" Another bang. What keeps banging? "Hello? Anyone there? Mitchie?" Now I was more confused than I was the first time that clank happened.
"Nate?" Yes she finally answered!
"Mitchie! Yeah. You all of a sudden stopped answering my texts so I got worried that something was up or wrong. But what in the world just happened and why did I head a multiple clanks or whatnot and who was the other person?" I was so happy she finally answered me. Plus I was now confused as to who that other person was.
"Ha, uh yeah. Sorry about that. I am at my new friend Caitlyn's house, the girl I ran into first today. That's who answered the phone the second time. I didn't realize that it was that long between your last text. Sorry about that. Nothing was wrong per-se. And the clanks were my phone hitting the floor a few times, I think pure shock was the reason for that."
"Nothing was wrong per-se?" Now I am completely confused.
"Not really. Lets just say that we both might have gone into shock. See I told Cait about everything with you all earlier and we were laughing at how we both have a common problem with remembering phone numbers, and questioning how you do it, and how it is actually really funny what happened with your manager, no offense. But instead of laughing at that in the moment, I fell into shock about what you said about Shane and that is phone being dropped the first time at this moment, then I just pointed at my phone for her to read it because she was wondering if I was okay and then she dropped my phone too, so that is number 2 phone drop, out of shock. I guess we didn't realize how long we were like that until we heard my phone go off. I didn't look at the caller id, so I didn't know it was you and I was still a tad fazed out, and so when I heard your voice, I fell into shock again for some reason but not as bad as last but that was the first dropping of my phone for you but third really at this point of time. Then Cait just picked it up confused and answered it, and fell into shock because well, it is you, and you are famous and well yeah, so yeah, that was phone drop two for you but four for us, and yeah, so we couldn't move for a while, but I think I'm fine now, just shocked you stayed on the line that long."
Oy. I guess I am good at causing a lot of issues with people. Sadly probably the whole famous thing. And what happened with my manager was totally not funny. I had to explain for like weeks that people keep getting my number and I am terrible at remembering my new number and I always end up mixing them all up with my old numbers. I laughed at how silly everything is. "Sorry. Didn't mean to put you into shock more than once. And to more than just one person. Whoops. Tell your friend sorry as well."
"Cait?" I heard her say to her friend. "Oh and Nate, says he's sorry for putting you into shock with me." Then maybe like 5 seconds later I heard a really loud squeal from her side of the phone. She laughed and finally came back to the conversation. "All good."
"Uh, what is that in the background?" I am now more confused then I was before that random squeal.
"You don't even want to know." She said laughing.
"Okay then." I was still so confused but decided to just ignore it and get back to where this conversation was supposed to be about. "So, look really thank you for the Shane thing. He seriously is changed or something because the dinner thing was one, but he then cleaned up too. I don't get it; he all of a sudden just changed. We had a feeling that if he was there that he was going to blow his lid or something and freak out but instead he cooked, he hasn't cooked in at least a couple years at that. It has probably been since around when we first started that he would cook all the time, he used to love it but then all of a sudden stopped, we didn't get what was up with him, we thought he would never cook again, that he lost his love of cooking."
"Wait hold on, I am going to try and process this and not fall into shock again, like last time you mentioned this. He cooks?!" Wow people really don't know at all that he loves to cook or that he actually knows how to cook.
"Yeah, it is something not many people really know about him."
"I'll say." You could definitely hear the shock in her voice. "I never would have guessed."
"Yeah. But seriously something you said when you ran into each other—"
"Seriously though, he ran into me." Uh huh, sure.
"But let me see, if you were paying attention you would have noticed that he wasn't and would have moved out of the way, so I think the not paying attention goes both ways."
"I was paying attention, but my goal was to get back to the new house without totally getting lost. Plus one can be paying attention but still get run into by someone."
"Sure. That is totally what happens."
"It does!"
"Whatever. But as I was saying, something you said when you were yelling at him must really have gotten to him. I don't know how to describe it but seriously though, it was weirder than weird. It's just that lately, he can't do one thing nice. He just goes around with the attitude. Then all of a sudden he gets yelled at by you and all of a sudden he is civil, nice, and was cooking again." It is really true though, something changed in him today and if no one has been able to get through him, who try all the time, I don't think any of us would have finally been able to get through his thick skull.
"Well that doesn't mean that I am the reason for it. He could have just wanted to change himself, realizing that how he's been acting is not okay. I mean when you aren't famous then you can be however you want but when you are you have to not be a totally douche. Well at least I don't think you should be." She is right on that aspect. You shouldn't.
"No you aren't supposed to at all. Even though we might want to be a jerk about things we are supposed to be at least civil. So when he acts like that it gets us all into trouble even though it is just him being like that because we are all apart of the band. And to tell you the truth, I really think that it was you. Nobody ever dares to try and put him in his place other than Jase, and I. Then you came along and let him have it."
"What about your managers, and everyone who deals with the band don't they get mad at him and yell at him all the time?"
"Well yeah they do. But if he won't listen to us his best friends and band mates then what makes you think that he is going to listen to them? He usually just walks away or gets in a screaming match with them. Or they are scared of him because they don't know if he is going to flip a shit on them or not. You never know with him." Total truth. You never know what to expect from him.
"What about his parents?"
I sighed, "He hasn't talked to his parents in a few months. They keep trying but he refuses. I don't think I have ever seen them so sad. They love him so much, he is their oldest and is being so stupid. His parents are like second parents to Jase and I and it hurts so much to see them like that. His younger sister and brother are too, it is so hard to watch. We had a couple months break back a bit and we all went home, he did but he didn't leave his room, and if he did, he left the house entirely and didn't come back till late. He wouldn't give anyone the time of day." It really is so sad to see his family so hurt because of his attitude. I think they were always afraid that this would happen to him.
"I can't believe he'd act like that! They are his parents. You'd think he'd be nice to at least them. That is just horrible. And his brother and sister, how can he be so rude."
"I don't know, but then I think he started seeing the light today because of you. It was like a breath of fresh air or something seeing him like that because it has just been so long."
"Well, I didn't do it. I swear. How can someone who just met him, let alone me, come and make him have a reality check? That just doesn't happen. So it has to be something else that has got him to change because I was a jerk, I screamed at him not really caring about anything. It may have been a lot of fun, but it is something that just shouldn't happen. So it must have been something else." Yeah, she did flat out yell at him and it was awesome to witness.
"No, nothing else really has happened all day. We had a video shoot, but he didn't like how things were going as per usual and stormed off the set. That was before you, I am pretty sure nothing else happened in between. And after talking to you Jase and I went straight home, and he was cooking and there is no way he could have only been cooking for a short period of time, it looked like he was in there for a pretty long time. So he went from a jerk, to nice in a couple hours, with you in between. I am pretty sure its you." It was quite a boring day with Shane being his normal pain in the ass self.
"No I didn't." Why can't she understand that she did? She most definitely did it.
"Yes you did. But either way, I am making it up to you. Jase agrees too. You did what so many people would love to do but never have the balls to do. We can never repay you for it. But trying to make it up to you for it, that we can do."
"I told you, you don't—"
"Stop it! Stop saying we don't because we do. Literally you did the best thing ever. Plus, I'll never stop begging you and bugging you until you say we can." I really wouldn't. I would just bug her over and over again until she finally agreed.
"Then you are going to be going on forever."
"Mitchie, come on, just let him!" I forgot her friend was there for a second. She said Caitlyn right? Plus I agree with her.
"I second her!" I truly do agree with her friend.
I heard her say something to her friend not completely sure on what she said. "Thanks Cait, why don't you go back to squealing because he seconds your statement."
But I did hear her friend yell "HEY!" at her. I am again confused.
"Sorry." I heard her say to her. "I really am Cait. I didn't mean to be like that."
"It's fine." I heard mumbled back. CONFUSED!
When her attention got back to our conversation she said, "Look, I really don't care about being repaid or whatnot. It's fine. It was my pleasure being rude to him, but I don't need you being like this."
"Why not?" I don't get why I can't make it up to her. Like really, why does this have to be so hard.
"Well you're famous and normally people like you don't go hanging out with me, the norm. The not famous. I'm just a random person."
"So, I might be famous but that means nothing. A lot of my close best friends other than Shane and Jase aren't famous. They are from before I was, but some are from when I have been. Do you really think we are the type of people to only hang out with celebrities? We actually aren't really fond of that crowd so much. We have friends who are but we aren't very close to them. So what if you, actually never mind the beginning of this statement, you aren't normal. Close from it, and I just met you and know that. A normal person if they met us would have freaked out, not realized us and then snap at Shane and yell at him giving him a piece of their mind. They would have attacked one us or all of us and spazzed out, you aren't normal, you screamed at him, and then politely excused yourself from the place and walked away. A normal person, I would never had gone and talked to, I would have probably run away, or try and be polite. But you the non-norm, I talked to, glad I did, and am now going to make it up to you no matter what. And there is no way you are random either." Truth, most of our friends are the ones we made at home and I like it like that. Famous people are annoying. Mitchie is really nowhere near normal and that is what is so great. Our fans are insane. They've thrown themselves on Jason, Shane, and I plenty of times.
"Nate—"
"No Mitchie. We are making it up to you. I don't care." I am winning this battle with her.
"Fine." She quietly mumbled. Oh thank god, she finally let her stubbornness go away.
"Thank you! You won't regret it either. Bring Caitlyn with you if you want. When are you done with school?" I wanted to get to hang out with her as soon as possible, but she did have school to get over with first. Oh school, how I do but don't miss it. Plus I'd like to meet this Caitlyn, she sounds pretty cool.
I heard her ask Caitlyn when and didn't hear really any of the rest. But when she finally came back to the conversation she said "The end of the week."
I wanted to hang out with whenever she was done, "What are you doing Saturday?"
"Uh, I might be doing work with the house. A bulk of our stuff is supposedly coming then. I don't understand why it can't just come all at once, but it just isn't able to." Man, I don't think so. She isn't getting out of this. Plus unpacking can wait.
"What about you just veto it? You can worry about it later."
"I don't know. My parents—"
"I thought in your ranting earlier saying that you didn't mean to take it all out on Shane because it is meant for your parents. Why don't you just get back at them for it and not help? Take a day for yourself, worry about the unpacking later." I would totally do that. Maybe not the serious me because serious me would be the one to get work done when it needs to be done. But this is the me that wants to step away from serious me.
"Yeah, it was a lot aimed at my parents but I can't just skip out on unpacking."
"Why not? They can just put what is your in your room."
"I have a lot of stuff. And that is cruel making them climb to the top floor with all my stuff. I mean the entire floor is mine so leaving it to them to deal with just seems unfair even though they practically dragged me here." Own floor? I wish my parents were that cool.
"Your own floor? Jeez that is nice. But so what. Leave it to them. Have some fun."
"Fine. Saturday." Yes, she finally cracked!
"Good. Do you want to meet us or we can get you. You choose."
"I really don't care Nate. You are making me do this so you are choosing."
"Fine. You know you are a really stubborn person." I think she out beats Shane's stubbornness, which I thought was impossible.
"Yeah I know, but I don't care." I laughed at her; at least she'll admit she is stubborn.
"How about you meet us here at the place. It might be easier, instead of us getting followed." It probably would be a lot better; I don't need her or her friend being attacked by people because they are seen with us. I can guess that it wouldn't be a very good outcome. Maybe when we can hopefully hang out more than just this once, we can go out and do something, but right now, not the best idea. I think they'd be a great pair of friends to have.
"Okay works for me."
"Okay, I'll send you the directions later on in the week."
"Okay. Look it is getting really late, there is school tomorrow for some, so I am going to go."
"Okay, night Mitchie."
"Night Nate." I hung up my phone and just leaned back on my chair and drank the rest of my tea.
A/N- well there you go! I hope it was good! I am so happy that I finally am getting another chapter up. I can't believe this is the 10th chapter of this story already! But I am happy and glad that it seems to be getting good responses. I'll hopefully be back soon with more, but to get me to post even sooner you should hit that review button and tell me your thoughts! Love you all, you are amazing!