So it's finally the end of this story! I can't believe I've actually finished it. I'm really sorry for the wait. Thank you to everyone who has followed from the start. I would mention you but there are a lot haha. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I dedicate it to all of you :D
Chapter 39 - The End
Christmas had come and gone and suddenly it was New Years Eve. There was still a tense air around Shane and Tyson as they got used to being around each other again. Nate and Caitlyn often took the chance to go on walks together while the weather was nice. Jason and Jake could be found have quite in depth conversations about topics that no one ever really ventured to find out. Mitchie and Shane could be found writing together as they prepared for the upcoming tour. Tyson spent his time catching up with his mom and learning more as to how Mitchie and Caitlyn had joined the group.
"So what's the deal for tonight?" Caitlyn asked while the group were sitting by the fire.
"Hopefully the weather will be alright tonight to go and watch the fireworks from the park" Jason said.
"That sounds like fun" Mitchie said with a smile.
"New Years Eve is always fun" Shane said as he placed his arm around Mitchie's shoulders.
"It's an excuse to party. Of course you think its fun" Mitchie teased while the others laughed.
"Yeah whatever" Shane mumbled.
-(Break)-
As the group made their way to the park to watch the fireworks for New Years Eve, Mitchie couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach. Now that she was official with Shane, Mitchie knew that he would kiss her at midnight but that wasn't what she was worried about. The stroke of midnight would signal a new year that Mitchie would be starting without her mom there with her. The traditions held throughout the year would be no more. There was no one to speak Spanish with in the morning. No one to taste test the cooking. There was no more Connie in their lives. This alone caused Mitchie to stop walking as the thought hit Mitchie full on. She no longer had a mom. Her dad could almost be nonexistent but Mitchie did not count him as family. Her mom was her family. It was always Connie and Mitchie with Caitlyn thrown in every now and again. Shane, who had been holding Mitchie's hand, felt the tug which told him Mitchie had stopped walking. Shane turned around to question her but the words died on his lips as he saw her face. Mitchie's eyes had gone glossy and her face had gone pale. Shane would say that she almost looked sick.
"Mitch?" Shane questioned softly. "What's wrong?" Caitlyn, Nate, Jason and Jake who had been walking up ahead had heard Shane speak and turned around to see what was wrong. They saw Mitchie open and close her mouth multiple times like she couldn't find the words to say.
"Mitchie?" Caitlyn said as she stepped forward.
"Nothing is ever going to be the same" Mitchie whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"We're….we're not…" Mitchie stopped talking as a few tears slipped out of her eyes. Shane, Caitlyn and Jake became alarmed.
"Talk to us Mitchie" Jake said. Mitchie nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"This will be the start of a new year without my mom"
"Oh Mitch" Caitlyn said before engulfing her best friend in a hug. Shane stepped back as a few sobs could be heard. He looked helplessly at Jason and Nate.
"Let's give them some space" Jason whispered as he gestured for Nate and Shane to continue walking towards the park. Shane glanced back at Mitchie before slowly walking away.
"Don't worry Shane" Nate started. "She'll be alright"
"Yeah I know" Shane said softly as he placed his hands in his pockets and continued to walk to the spot where they wanted to set up.
"Here should be good"Jason said as he stopped walking and placed the basket on the ground. Nate took out the picnic rug and set it on the grass.
"The perfect view" Nate commented.
"I dunno, you could do better than this" Caitlyn's voice rang out. The boys turned around to see Mitchie and Caitlyn walking towards them. Shane immediately went to Mitchie.
"Hey, are you ok?" he asked softly. Mitchie smiled up at him.
"Yeah I'm fine" Mitchie replied. "Just a moment of weakness"
"You're allowed to have those you know" Shane pointed out as he brushed some of Mitchie's hair out of her face.
"I know" she said before reaching up and gently kissing Shane on the cheek. "Thank you"
"Come on you two love birds. Food's ready" Jake called out with a laugh. Mitchie and Shane smiled as they went and sat down with the rest of the group. For the next few hours until midnight stuck, the group would sit and talk, take over the nearby playground or play random games. The girls sat down and relaxed while the boys took part in a game of football. As midnight drew nearer, everyone made themselves comfortable and joined in the countdown. There was cheering and midnight kisses with fireworks lighting up the sky as the new year officially began.
-(Break)-
There was no rest for the group once the new year started. Everyone needed to begin packing for tour rehearsals which were due to start in 3 days. Lucy took Mitchie and Caitlyn out shopping so that they would have some new clothes for the tour as they didn't have many with them.
"You really don't have to do this Lucy" Mitchie said as Lucy handed her another item of clothing.
"Nonsense" Lucy said. "You two could use some new clothes and I'm enjoying this. I've never had a daughter to spoil and take shopping before" Mitchie and Caitlyn glanced at each other when Lucy said daughter.
"But we're-" Caitlyn started to say but Lucy cut her off.
"We may not have known each other very long but in the amount of time that I have known you, I already consider you girls family. And soon enough it will become official" Lucy said with a wink.
"Official?" Mitchie asked.
"A wedding dear"
"Oh" was the only reply that Mitchie could think to come up with. Caitlyn couldn't help but laugh.
"Now enough talking, we've got a limited time before the tour rehearsals start" Lucy said as she got into business mode. Mitchie and Caitlyn followed without question.
"Marriage?" Mitchie asked Caitlyn quietly. "Shane and I have only been official for a week"
"Don't all parents do that though? Once their child starts dating they go straight to wedding thoughts"
"How would I know? Shane's my first boyfriend and my mom, although she suspected something, she'll never know that it became official" Mitchie said
"I'm sure she knows Mitch" Caitlyn said with a smile. Mitchie gave a weak smile in return.
"It's not the same though"
"I know but just think, you're finally doing what your mom knew you had the potential to do. Go on tour and write music. You've gotten that chance to write music and tour with Connect 3. Imagine how proud she would be" Caitlyn said as she hugged her best friend.
"I just wish she could see it all" Mitchie whispered.
"She can. Now let's hurry and catch up to madame boss before she gets any more wedding ideas" Caitlyn said with a laugh. Mitchie couldn't help but laugh also as the two girls ran to catch up to Lucy.
-(Break)-
Tour rehearsals were long and tiring. Mitchie had been asked to sing back up on a few songs and the boys had even asked Mitchie to sing Don't Stop Believing with them.
"No way!" Mitchie said with a panicked look across her face.
"But you've sung in front of a crowd before" Jason said.
"Yeah but you are asking me to sing on your TOUR!" Mitchie said.
"It's not that different" Nate said with a shrug and Mitchie looked at him with a helpless look.
"Not that different?"
"Mitchie this is awesome!" Caitlyn said. "Stop freaking out about it"
"But its a tour! Do you all not understand this?" Mitchie cried. Shane stepped up beside her.
"What's really the problem?"
"I've just said it" Mitchie said. "Do you know how many people come to see you on tour? I've only sung in front of people once? What makes you think that they want to hear me again?"
"People are asking for you" Jason said. "Someone posted a video of the concert we did and everyone wants to see you sing again"
"What?"
"It's true Mitch" Jake said. "You officially have a name that people know throughout the country"
"I think I'm about to pass out" Mitchie mumbled as she pulled her hands up to her face.
"Listen Mitch, you're an amazing singer and people want to see you. You don't really want to disappoint them do you?" Shane asked, the smirk on his face proving that he was trying to guilt her into it. Mitchie glared at him.
"You're a cruel person" she said before walking off to the tour manager to organise what she needed to do.
"That wasn't nice" Caitlyn commented with a smile.
"It got her to do it" Shane replied with a laugh. "Beside we all knew that she would eventually give in. She just needed a push"
"She's gonna hate you for this" Jake said as he and Tyson relaxed on the couch. Shane shrugged before he looked over at his brother.
"Hey Tyson, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure" Tyson said as he got off the couch and walked over to his brother. "What's up?"
"I wanted to ask if you would like to come on tour with us?" Shane asked.
"You're being serious?" Tyson questioned, wanting to make sure that Shane wasn't playing a joke on him.
"I'm being serious. I want you to come with me and see what this part of my life is like"
"I'd love to" Tyson said with a smile before the two brothers embraced. Nate, Jason, Caitlyn and Jake watched with a smile.
"It's nice to see these two getting along" Jason commented.
"I'm just glad Shane asked Tyson" Nate said.
"You thought Shane wouldn't ask him?" Caitlyn asked. Jason looked at her.
"We weren't sure what was going to happen. Sometimes you can never tell what Shane is going to do" Caitlyn nodded.
"I wonder how Mitchie is going"
"Probably freaking out still" Nate said as he wrapped his arms around Caitlyn's waist. Caitlyn smiled as she leant into him.
"She'll be fine though, right?"
"Mitchie will be in capable hands" Jason said.
The tour started and the girls were buzzing with excitement. They were excited about the places they were going to visit and the people they would meet. Despite Mitchie's earlier fears, she was welcomed with open arms while performing. She even managed to slip in a few new songs that she had written while on the road. Tyson and Jake couldn't believe that they were on tour with Connect 3. The tour allowed Tyson and Shane to rekindle their relationship with each other to the point of Shane being wiling to acknowledge that Tyson was his brother and friend. Caitlyn and Nate's relationship was slow blossoming but it allowed the two to become comfortable with each other and everyday they found themselves falling even harder. Shane and Mitchie's relationship was perfect. Sure they fought but they always made up by the end of the day. The public had caught wind of them and before it got too messy, Shane confirmed it on stage in the middle of their tour. To their surprise, the fans had taken it well seeing as how they loved Mitchie.
Once the tour ended after six months, the boys had surprised Mitchie and Caitlyn with their own flat right near the boys houses. All their belongings had been brought in and everything was set up. It was the perfect way for the girls to start their new lives with the boys and be able to reach and achieve the dreams that were in their hearts.
7 Years Later
Mitchie took a deep breath as she looked at the gates in front of her.
"You want me to come with you?" Shane asked. Mitchie smiled over at him.
"Give me a few minutes?"
"Always" Shane replied. Mitchie nodded as she stepped out of the car. Walking with careful steps, Mitchie made her way over to her mothers grave.
"Hi mom" Mitchie whispered as she knelt down in front of it. She gently placed the flowers that she had in her hand at the foot of the headstone. Mitchie slowly traced the words while she tried to keep her tears at bay.
"I've got some exciting news for you. I know that you knew this would happen Lucy did as well. In fact she was even saying this and Shane and I hadn't been going out for more than two weeks. Anyway, what I came here to tell you is that after a very long wait, Shane finally got down on one knee and proposed. Oh it was beautiful. We were walking through the park when we got caught in a sudden storm. It was bucketing down so we ran to find the nearest shelter. We found a gazebo and decided to wait there until the rain stopped. Even though we were both soaked to the bone, Shane said that this situation suited us perfectly and then he got the ring out and asked if he could pretty please be my husband"
"It wasn't quite like that" Shane interrupted. Mitchie jumped and looked behind her to see Shane standing there. She smirked at him.
"It's close enough" she said.
"I didn't beg you to marry me" Shane said as he stepped forward. Mitchie stood up to meet him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Shane you had the puppy dog eyes on and everything"
"I did no such thing!" Shane cried as he poked Mitchie in her side. Mitchie squealed and jumped away but Shane was too quick. He quickly bundled Mitchie up in his arms while she laughed. Shane couldn't help but smile.
"Alright fine, you didn't beg"
"I was all manly about the whole thing" Shane said while Mitchie rolled her eyes.
"You're a romantic at heart and you know it. Why else have I stuck around for seven years?"
"And here I thought it was because you love me" Shane said with a shake of his head.
"Sadly I cannot help this fact. I do love you" Mitchie said with a sigh. Shane laughed before he captured Mitchie's lips in a kiss.
"And I love you" he whispered as they parted. Mitchie smiled as she tucked her head underneath Shane's chin. They both hugged each other tightly.
"You're mom would be really proud of you" Shane said after a moment. Mitchie looked up at him and smiled.
"I know" she said before bringing Shane's head down to kiss him.
And that's the end. I hope you enjoyed it and shall be posting other stories soon. If you have seen or heard of the show H20 Just Add Water, I've recently posted a story in that category :)
Peace Out! xoxo