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Title: Shades of You
Pairing: Smitchie (Shane / Mitchie)

Author: DramaticStarlet / Katie Lynn
A/N: I felt like writing about the Gray family for some reason, though I don't know why.

There are Ness/Naitlyn and Jella hints in this story, but Tess, Caitlyn, and Ella don't actually make an appearance. Maybe next time, hm?

Oh, and this story is 100 percent dedicated to my friend Lena – aka, luvschaylor4ever. She's an absolutely fantastic writer, and I highly recommend her. (: She hangs out in Hannah Montana territory mostly, if you're into that show – or freakishly obsessed, like me. (x

Dedicated to luvschaylor4ever.

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"Mrs. Gray, you have a beautiful home. I can't believe how cozy it is!" Mitchie Torres smiled, referring to the humble abode she currently dwelled in.

"Thank you, Mitchie, that's sweet of you. And please, honey, call me Claudia," Mrs. Gray (Claudia) said, in a tone reminiscent of Mitchie's own mother.

The two females stood in companionable silence, admiring the simplistic beauty of the Gray family home.

"When the boys' father died, my sister – Brown's wife – took us in for a while, but we moved to this house a few months later, and we've been here every since! It's a nice house, I like it a lot," Claudia said as Mitchie listened intently.

"Wasn't it hard? Raising three boys on your own?"

"You can't even imagine, Mitchie. Jason was thirteen, Shane was eleven, and Nate was nine when Lou died, and it was so hard on them. I didn't even know what to do with Shane, he just had this rebellious streak. Jason was so sweet, he helped me a lot – and oh, I'm launching into an entire speech," the older woman blushed.

"I like hearing about it, actually," Mitchie smiled.

Before Claudia could continue her talk, the front door of the house flew open, and in barreled three dark-haired boys.

"Mom, we're back!" the oldest – Jason – cried.

"That's them! Mitchie, why don't you go on in my room – we'll surprise them!" Claudia whispered, excited.

Mitchie nodded enthusiastically before scurrying off into a pale, blue bedroom and shutting the door inaudibly.

The room was medium-sized, with two mahogany dressers and a small closet. It smelled like perfume and chocolate chip cookies, which Mitchie didn't mind at all. On the contrary, she liked it a lot.

Pictures of Jason, Shane, and Nate were scattered around the room, placed lovingly on the dressers.

Mitchie admired one in particular, of Shane and Jason as toddlers.

Shane was happy and had his hands all over what looked to be a play guitar (that Jason was holding up for him).

Mitchie smiled. She set the picture down and moved over to a bulletin board, where old birthday cards and drawings were held in place.

Most of them were handmade, with things like Happy Birthday, Ma! Love Jase, Shane, and Nathaniel in slanty, messy print.

Mitchie just simpered and tried to muffle her giggles. The pictures and drawings also made her miss her own mother and father, though.

Claudia loved her sons so much, raised them for so long by herself, and she was still going strong. It was such a heartwarming story.

"Mitchie, you can come out now," Claudia whispered, opening the door.

Mitchie tiptoed out as Claudia walked towards the living room.

"Shane, I have a little surprise for you..."

"Oh God, Ma. The last time you said that I had to get my tonsils taken out," Shane sardonically replied.

"I think you'll like this one, hon. Mitchie, come on out here."

Heart beating wildly, throat closing, Mitchie walked into the room to face the thoroughly stunned faces of the Gray boys.

"Hi Shane," she smiled weakly.

"Mitch!" Shane cried, striding toward her and enveloping her into a hug; "I thought your mom said you couldn't come on tour with us!"

At this, Mitchie's smile faltered slightly. "I can't...but she said I could stay with you and your family for a few days."

"I'll take what I can get," Shane sighed contentedly, running his fingers through her hair.

Behind them, Nate coughed awkwardly.

"Nathaniel James Gray, let them have their moment," Claudia reprimanded her youngest son.

"I'm gonna call Caitlyn," Nate sighed.

"Bro, I thought you had something going on with Tess?" Jason said, confused (as usual).

"No, she's just been stalking me ever since Shane and Mitchie got together."

"I want a stalker!" Jason piped up.

Everyone turned to face him (including Shane and Mitchie – or Smitchie, as Ella had christened them).

"What?" the guitarist demanded.

"Jason, I know how much you wanted a birdhouse, so I got on for you the other day," Claudia said, changing the subject.

"Really? Mom, you're the best! Even though Shane didn't make me one, I'm glad that I have one now!" Jason exclaimed.

"Dude, you didn't actually think I was gonna build you a freakin' birdhouse at music camp, did you?" Shane said incredulously.

"Yeah, I did!"

"That's all he talked about all summer – I can't wait to see my birdhouse!" Nate intervened in a decidedly miffed tone.

"How's that MY fault?" Shane's eyes narrowed.

And so, the three siblings began an argument about...birdhouses. Or Jason's lack there of.

"Are they always like this?" Mitchie said softly, biting her lip.

"Yes," Claudia sighed, "until I have to tell them to stop. Honestly, they're nineteen, seventeen, and fifteen. You'd think they'd be more mature."

Mitchie laughed.

"Boys," Claudia shouted, "stop it! That's no way to act when we have a guest. Now please save your arguing for some other time."

"Yes, Mom," Jason and Nate sighed, defeated.

Shane shot his brothers an icy glare and a sheepish look in Mitchie's direction; "Sorry, Ma. Won't happen again."

"That's nice, but it's not me you should be apologizing to," Claudia pursed her lips.

"Sorry Mitchie!" Jason piped up, giving Mitchie a huge hug.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," Nate said, joining the hug (though only because Jason dragged him into it).

Mitchie smiled and kissed their cheeks; "It's okay."

"Ahem," Shane cleared his throat, and Jason and Nate backed off, following Claudia into the kitchen.

"Yes, Mr. Gray?" Mitchie said in mock anger.

"I'm sorry, Mitch. My brothers just...God. They're really irritating," Shane shook his head.

"I dunno, I'm not really convinced..." Mitchie sighed, jokingly turning up her nose.

Shane smiled slightly, cupping Mitchie's face gently.

She knew what he was about to do (they had done it many times before), but her heart still jump-started.

He craned his head downwards to catch Mitchie's lips in a soft, sweet kiss. "Are you convinced now? If not, I can try again."

"No, I think that's enough convincing for now," Mitchie tittered against his lips before pulling back.

"Tease," Shane said, a little disappointed.

In response, Mitchie just pulled him out of the living room and into the kitchen where Nate, Jason, and Claudia sat, a rather large plate of chocolate chip cookies sitting in front of them.

"Hey lovebirds. When's the wedding?" Nate sarcastically stated.

Shane opened his mouth to speak, but Mitchie was faster.

"Oh, I don't know. How does next April work for you? Hey, maybe we could do a double wedding with you and Caitlyn!"

Nate just blushed and snatched a cookie.

"Next April? Dude, aren't we on tour next April?!" Jason said, horrified.

Everyone turned to look at him, blinking slowly.

--

That night, over a meal of Claudia's spaghetti and meatballs, Mitchie heard quite a few stories about Connect 3's past.

"So how many other girlfriends has Shane had?" Mitchie asked good-naturedly, twirling some pasta around her fork.

Shane looked up from his plate immediately.

"Oh, Shane's only ever had one girlfriend, and she's sitting right next to him. You never cared much about dating, did you, Shane?" Claudia said, turning to Shane.

"No," Shane mumbled through a mouthful of his dinner.

Claudia just smiled; Shane's never intentionally broken one girl's heart. I've never had to worry about him. Nathaniel on the other hand..."

"Ma!" Nate looked up, looking stricken.

"Kidding! Actually, the ladies man of all my boys is Jason."

"Are you serious?" Mitchie gaped slightly.

"Hey! Don't look so surprised. Ladies' love musicians, especially ones as attractive as me!" Jason said.

Shane snorted.

"Do you need a tissue?" Jason asked, completely oblivious to Shane's sarcasm.

"Great food, Claudia," Mitchie changed the subject.

"Oh, thank you, Mitchie. It's my grandmother's recipe," Claudia smiled.

Mitchhie just nodded and simpered softly.

A long silence ensued, interrupted only by the occasional clinking of forks. It wasn't an awkward silence; they were busy eating, and no one really had anything to say anyway.

Mitchie finished her meal quickly, followed closely by Shane.

"Would you two like more?" Claudia asked.

"Nope, I'm good. Hey, Ma, can Mitch and I be excused?" Shane questioned.

"That's fine. I have to get dessert ready anyway. Nate, when you're finished you can go call Caitlyn. And Jason, Ella sent you a letter. You might want to reply."

"Great dinner, Mom," Nate said before jumping up and pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

Jason mirrored Nate's action, save for the fact that he rushed to find Ella's letter.

"Claudia, do you want any help?" Mitchie began.

"Mitchie, you're a sweetheart, but that's alright. You and Shane haven't had much alone time, and I know he's itching to talk to you."

Mitchie just blushed a little before exiting the dining room via the sliding glass doors adjacent to the table. Shane was waiting patiently.

"Your mom is nice," Mitchie said, joining Shane on the hanging bench swing where he sat.

"She can be really embarrassing," Shane replied stiffly.

"So can my mom."

"Right."

"Shane, what's wrong?" Mitchie asked, eyebrows knitted together in concern.

"I dunno, Mitch. I guess I'm just a little sick of my family right now," he shrugged, running a hand through his black locks.

Mitchie looked down and bit her lip; "Shane, they're the only family you have."

"I know, but just...ever since Dad died, Ma dwells on me and Jase and Nate so much. I love to her to death, but she treats me like I'm seven, not seventeen. It's the same with Jason and Nate."

"She's just trying to protect you, Shane," Mitchie said.

"I know...anyway! Did you hear that Peggy – I mean Margaret – got a record deal?"

"Yeah, I did, it was on HotTunes! That's so awesome! Was she fun to record with?" Mitchie inquired, trying to mask her jealousy.

"She's a great singer, really confident, but it was kinda...you know, weird singing a love song with her," Shane replied, shrugging.

"May I ask why?" Mitchie tried to keep a straight, nonchalant face on.

Shane looked down at Mitchie and smiled a little, putting a finger under her chin and tilting her head upwards.

He leaned down a little and met her lips in a slow, lingering kiss. Mitchie's lips parted slightly, but he knew better than to try anything. They'd made a pact to physically move slowly in their relationship.

"That's why, Mitch," he murmured against her lips.

She tried to respond, but she felt too happy. She smiled widely before placing one last, chaste kiss on his lips and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I'm glad you're here," he said as she set her head in the crook of his neck.

"I wish I could stay with you," Mitchie sighed, toying with a few locks of hair on the nape of his neck.

Shane encircled his arms around her waist and pulled her closed; "It doesn't matter. You're always with me; I know you're there. Just like my dad."

Mitchie felt touched. No one had ever said something so incredibly intimate and special to her in her entire life. Never.

She tried to make words come out of her mouth, tried to form a single coherent sentence, but she couldn't think of anything as meaningful.

Mitchie decided to just say what she felt.

"Shane?" she began, inhaling a little.

"Yeah?" he looked down at her.

"I love you," Mitchie said just above a whisper, looking up at him beneath her eyelashes.

A slow smile graced his features as he replied twice as softly, "I love you too, Mitchie."

He said the words like they were a special secret, something that Mitchie would never forget, even if she tried.

Even though they were still young (Shane at seventeen and Mitchie at fifteen), they didn't think about how serious the words were. It didn't matter, because they meant what they said.

And for a moment, there was a perfect, unsullied silence, during which Shane stroked Mitchie's cheek and bent down to kiss her softly. Mitchie just closed her eyes and smiled, perfectly, incandescently happy.

Until, of course, their beautiful silence was broken by Jason coming out and shouting, "Mitchie, guess what?!"

"Huh?" Mitchie's eyes flew open.

"MITCHIE, OUR RECORD LABEL WANTS TO SIGN YOU!!" Jason cried.

Mitchie gaped; "What?!"

"Haha, I'm kidding, just came out to say dessert's ready!" Jason said before scurrying out once more.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, leaning back against Shane's arm.

"Your brother is mean, Shane."

"I told you, but you didn't listen," he said in an "I-told-you-so" tone.

She stuck out her tongue before hopping off the bench.

"Miiiiiitch," Shane groaned, dragging out the 'i' in her name.

"I smell chocolate cake, Shane, and my love of baked goods trumps my love for you," she teased.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, Torres!" Shane roared, jumping up after her.

They laughed in unison before heading into the dining room, where Claudia was dishing out plates of German chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream.

"This looks great, Ma. I haven't had cake since Camp Rock," Shane said, eyeing the cake hungrily.

They ate in companionable silence, with several audible mmms sounding.

In the midst of the cake-induced euphoria, Jason decided to speak.

"Hey, do they put actual chocolate in chocolate cake?" he asked, wrinkling his brow.

There was a collective groan.

--

(: Yes, Smitchie! I'm in love with that couple, I swear.

This actually turned about a lot better than I thought it would, so I hope everyone – 'specially Lena – liked it. I worked really hard on it...it took me like a week to finish!

Please review with more than "so cute!" or "i loved it," thanks!