A/N: Here's yet another one shot. It's Shane centric. He's not my best character to write, but I hope you like it!
Another fic for LaPaige's 'One Hundred and One' forum, which if you haven't done you definitely should. A link's in my profile to the prompt list. This time I chose 46. Home.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or places you recognize from Camp Rock. Their characters may be tweaked a bit, but hopefully not too much.
Shane inhaled a deep breath; the scent of gasoline had always been a favorite of his. Instantly his mind was flooded with memories of the past. His parents stopping to fill the car before the long ride to Grandma's house. His sister – six years his elder – allowing him to tag along while she talked to the boy at the "no hassle" pump that barely anybody used anymore. Tim, his best friend, and him crossing the parking lot to get the candy sold inside. There were so many more. A lot of his life centered on the scent of gasoline and the station he was currently standing in front of.
He almost laughed at the differences between then and now. He was fresh back from his very first tour – one of the best experiences of his life – and his parents were filling the tank since they were teetering on empty and they all wanted to make it home. His sister, who surprised him by not only being there to greet him but by being the first to rush forward and suffocate him in a hug, stood faithfully by his side, her arm looped through his. As he crossed the parking lot he wished he could be going in to raid the candy aisle, but he knew once he got in there he'd make a healthier choice like he was supposed to. Still, he couldn't complain. He was finally going back home.
As much fun as he had on tour he had genuinely missed his home life. His comfortable bed with the overgrowth of pillows that he could just collapse on. His tree house, which was excellent for both hiding out and hanging out. His bicycle, which had always made him feel like the coolest guy ever when he rode around town on. Tim, who he hadn't seen and barely talked to since mid-tour. Yes, he was excited to be home, back to a place normal and familiar.
His sister prattled on about everything she'd done in the past few months and what was to come before she returned to school as he walked her across the parking lot and into the store. He walked the aisles and ended up grabbing a chocolate chip cookie dough protein bar – the closest he'd get to a candy bar these days - and headed to the register. He set the bar down and dug for his wallet with out sparing much of a glance at the girl behind the counter. It wasn't until his sister stopped talking and lightly elbowed him that he looked up.
He didn't really know the girl, but he knew her name, Kim Pearse, and recognized her from school. She was a year older than him and on the softball team, someone he'd never talked to. Her eyes were wide and her jaw was slightly slack as she stared at him.
"You're Shane Grey," she breathed.
"Yeah," he said slowly. "And you're Kim Pearse."
"Yes!" she smiled, overly pleased that he knew her name. "And I'm such a fan! I love your band! I have to tell Melissa I met you. She'll be so jealous."
Shane knew Melissa, or knew who she was. He laughed sarcastically at the thought of her being jealous for this encounter. It's as if he didn't sit behind her in study hall. It was at that moment that Shane realized that coming back home might not be quite what he thought it would be. It was also that moment that ended Shane's hope that he could still be normal despite the fans the band had quickly collected.
When Shane finally got back to his house he inhaled the scent there, it was unfamiliar and he frowned. Since when did his house smell like anything other than lemon scented cleaners? Brushing off the disappointment, he grabbed his bags and brought them up to his room. He dropped them at his feet and blindly dove on his bed. He realized too late that his massive pillow collection he'd been aiming for were gone. He landed on the mattress with a soft thud and a split second later his arm collided with the headboard. A curse flew out of his mouth and he sat straight up, angry that his wall of pillows was missing. He got up and searched around his room a bit for them before realizing they really weren't there. He wore a pout as he exited his room and went back downstairs.
He went out the back door with intentions to sulk in his tree house when he noticed there were already people in it. Who the hell were those kids even? He went inside to find his mom, who explained they'd gotten new neighbors and she'd given permission for their kids to use his tree house. He wasn't happy. It was his stupid tree house, why'd he have to share it with kids he didn't even know? Getting quickly fed up with the let downs in his house he called Tim, looking for an escape.
"Hello?" Tim answered, laughing into the phone.
"Hey! It's Shane. I'm home finally," Shane greeted, trying to ignore all the noise coming through the other line.
The excitement that Shane expected from his best friend was absent. "That's great bud," he replied distractedly. "But listen, can I call you back? I'm down at the park with Tyler and the crew and it's pretty hard to hear you."
"Tyler," Shane blinked, sure he must have heard his friend wrong. "Tyler Hunt? Since when do we hang out with Tyler Hunt?"
"I don't know, I started hanging out with them after I got back from visiting you. I really got to go though. I'll call you tonight."
Shane didn't even get a goodbye in before Tim had hung up the phone on him. Shane was a bit stunned as he stared down at the phone in his hand blinking Call Ended 00:56. He went back upstairs to find his sister, desperate for some sort of normalcy. She was just getting ready to go out as he reached her room.
"Where you headed?"
"Going to lunch with Anth," she said looking up. "Want to come with?"
He smiled at the invite. His sister was always one to want to spend time with him. He liked Anthony enough; he'd been dating his sister for nearly two years now. "You think Anthony will mind?"
"No way!" she laughed. "He's been waiting for you to come back just like I have."
"Okay," Shane smiled. "Let me go change."
By the time Shane got back home that night he was grouchy and miserable. Coming home was not what he'd thought it would be. Lunch was fine. He had a lot of fun catching up with Anthony and his sister and their waiter didn't have the slightest clue who he was so there was no problem there.
They were having such a good time they decided to take a walk around town and down to what, last year, was Shane's school. That's when they ran into Tim and Tyler. Tim just brushed him off like he had on the phone and walked away with Tyler. Shane couldn't stop the hurt that flashed on his face. Anthony had caught the look and clapped a hand on his shoulder, suggesting they get out of there. It only got worse as he got stopped all the time by fans. He did see some old friends he hadn't talked to in awhile, but they didn't seem as interested in seeing Shane again as in seeing Shane the celebrity now. Apparently fate wanted to kick him while he was down because in between seeing all his old friends he saw old enemies or people who'd just ignored him, all trying to buddy up to him.
The more they walked the harder Shane's face got. Sure, he put on smiles and used a happy tone when other people were around, but on the inside, he was stewing more with each stop. Eventually Anthony ran ahead and got his car before coming back to pick him and his sister up and take Shane home. He slammed the door behind him and stomped out the back doors and to his tree house. The kids were still in it, or maybe in it again, and Shane wasn't having that. He snapped for them to get out of his tree house and as they scurried away he climbed the ladder. He was satsified he was finally getting something the way he wanted it when he shut himself inside – even if it did mean he'd screamed at them.
Things had changed. People had changed. The ones who never talked him, talked to him. The ones who didn't like him, acted like they liked him. Th ones who did like him, didn't like him the same anymore. His favorite things to do were being taken away. He didn't know what to do. Only his parents, sister and Anthony made him feel the same and even then only when no one else was around. Everything else had changed. He had been so excited to come home, now he just wanted to get away from this town again. He didn't like things changing. It was changing him.
A/N: So this is obviously pre-Camp Rock. I was thinking the changes in his attitude had to start somewhere. So I got to thinking and this story came out of that. Thanks for giving it a shot and reading it! It's not the best, but it's an idea. Oh, and if anyone else knows of or wrote a fic about what causes Shane to become the "bad boy" of the press or whatever let me know? I'd love to read it.