A/N: I did it again! I am such a horrible person! -cries- I do not deserve all you awesome, dedicated readers and reviewers. I do so apologize for the lack of updates in the last month. My mind wanders a lot and I have other fanfictions and other fandom's that I am dedicated to. (Speaking of, if you watch the TV phenomenon 'Glee' and ship the pairing of Will/Emma go to my profile and check out my fics and see what has distracted me from this fic ) I'm done with my shameless plugging and here's another note:
The poll on my profile has much confused me because most of the time the answers were tied. But now the winner by one vote is 'sequel' so that is the winner. Considering that this story is almost at 30 (technically this IS 30) I decided a new story would be best. A story needs its rising action, climax and falling action. The rising action were the first 15, the climax were the next 10 or so and the falling will be the next chapter or two or how many it takes to get to the end of the story. I know i have almost fifty chapters in 'Cyber Trouble' for those who read that but that basically is a lot of fluff chapters that have nothing really do with the plot and I just keep the plot going and going and going and...well yes you get the point. I didn't want to do that with this story so it will be coming to an end soon and hopefully I do not desert you on the sequel.
Without further adue:
Shane glared at the wall ahead of him. He couldn't believe it. His best friend had been kidnapped by his father and Shane could not do anything about it. His girlfriend along with his mother had gone along to find Nate but he had to remain back stuck in the stupid hospital bed.
He heard Jason pacing around the room, the older boy had offered to stay with Shane so he wouldn't have to be alone waiting for the news.
Shane turned his gaze away from the wall and to Jason. He had a half a mind to tell him to stop pacing but he decided against it. Yelling at Jason wouldn't help, Jason was just as worried as he was about their youngest band mate.
Shane felt absolutely helpless and sick to his stomach. For all he knew, Shawn could have pulled a gun on Nate the same way he pulled a gun on him. Maybe no one was around Nate to help him like Brown was around to help Shane. Maybe Nate was suffering in pain and slowly dying. Maybe Nate was already dead.
He pushed back the bile that started rising in his throat. He closed his eyes and curled up his fists.
He never thought this would happen. Those two years he had said not a kind word to the curly headed sixteen year old. If Nate was dead, he'd never be able to forgive himself. Not only because it was his fault but because he wasted two years that he could have spent hanging out with the boy who was practically his brother.
"Shane?" He felt a hand on his shoulder and he opened his eyes to find that the room was blurry and so was Jason who was standing next to him.
He blinked and his cheek was suddenly wet. Jason's face scrunched up in concern and Shane angrily whipped his hand up and wiped at the tears.
"It'll be alright Shane." Jason's voice was surprisingly calm. He was the oldest and he was the one who had to remain strong in the time of weakness and panic.
"How do you know that?" Shane snapped harshly and Jason winced, glancing at the ground.
"You don't know that!" Shane cried. "Nate could be anywhere right now, he could be hurt, he could be dead and it'd be all my fault."
Jason looked up with a furrowed brow. He took a seat next to Shane on his bed and stared his friend in the eyes. "What happened to Nate is not your fault Shane."
"It is my fault!" Shane exclaimed. "It is because its my father! He came after me first and then he went after Nate! It could have been you Jason, it could have Mitchie or Caitlyn or anyone that was close to me! He wants to hurt me, Jason! And he's hurting my friends to do it!" Tears continued a hot trail down his cheeks and neck and he didn't bother stopping them.
"Nate's okay, Shane. We got a text from him remember? He said he was fine." Jason tried to calm his hysterical friend.
"So what?" Shane hissed, narrowing his eyes, taking his anger out unnecessarily on his kind hearted friend. "That was a half an hour ago Jase, anything could have happened! Shawn could have found out and shot him!"
Jason winced again at Shane's harsh tone and licked his lips, staring at the blanket. "I don't think that happened Shane." He shook his head, looking sure of himself and turned to glance at Shane. "I have a feeling."
Shane scoffed and rolled his eyes, casting his gaze away.
"Look, in a few minute they're going to come through that door, Nate with them. I just know it, Shane. I do, I just know it. Trust me."
Shane slowly looked over at Jason and into his puppy dog eyes. Jason had an innocent little smile on his face, a smile however simple was sincere. Jason might not always be the sharpest tool in the shed but his heart was one hundred percent true. You could always trust Jason, no matter what.
Shane licked his lips, tasting the salty tears and his face softened. He let out a deep, shaky breath and then he nodded. "I trust you Jase."
Jason beamed and clapped Shane on the shoulder where his hand still rested. Shane returned a small smile and wiped at his tear stained face.
"I hate waiting." Shane grumbled about ten minutes later. Jason looked up at him from his place on the chair across the room and smirked.
Shane rolled his eyes and slammed his hands down on the bed, "I mean someone could text me and let me know what's going on instead of leaving me in the dark!"
"Maybe they all dropped their phones in a lake." Jason offered and Shane slowly turned his head to look at Jason, cocking an eyebrow.
"And then they were eaten by ducks." Jason added with a nod. Shane narrowed his eyes in question and Jason shrugged, "Could happen."
Shane rolled his eyes and ignored the comment. He let out a frustrated sigh and threw his head back, missing the pillows and hitting the wall.
He groaned and lifted his head, rubbing the sore spot. Jason lifted his eyebrows and tisked. "You shouldn't do that Shane, you'll give yourself a headache."
Shane paused and narrowed his eyes at Jason. "Shut up."
Jason shrugged and held up his hands innocently. "I'm just giving some friendly advice."
Shane clenched his jaw and closed his eyes tightly, trying to push back the headache that was surely to come.
He didn't know how long he had closed his eyes for but suddenly he felt Jason's shaking his arm. Shane's eyes fluttered open, his eyes straining from grogginess. He didn't even realized he had drifted off.
"What?" He mumbled to Jason who was grinning at him.
"Look who's here."
Shane blinked a few times and then looked around the room. His eyes settled on a curly haired boy, smiling and waving at him.
"Nate!" Shane exclaimed and leaped out of the bed, running over to him and pulling him into a hug.
Nate half laughed and half coughed as he was squeezed by his friend. "Shane." He squeaked and pushed at his chest. "Dude, loosen the grip."
Shane pulled away holding Nate by his shoulders and smiling at him tearfully. "You're alright."
Nate smiled and nodded. "Perfectly fine. Some rope burn but other than that, I'm great."
Shane sighed in relief and pulled him into another hug, this time gentler. Nate stood there blinking in surprise for a moment before he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Shane.
"Since when are you so touchy-feely?"
"Since I almost lost my best friend." Shane was quick to reply as he pulled back out of the hug a moment later.
Nate smirked, his eyes lighting up. "I thought group hugs were Jason's thing."
Suddenly Jason gasped from behind them and the two boys turned to look at him. Jason had a big grin on his face and Nate and Shane quickly looked at each other.
"Oh no." They muttered to each other as Jason ran over to them.
"Group hug!" He exclaimed and wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them into his chest.
Shane and Nate muttered a cry of protest for a few moments and then gave into the hug. They wrapped one arm around Jason and then one arm around each other grateful to have the band finally back together.
"Wait..where are the others?" Shane asked as they pulled out of the hug.
"They thought they'd give me some time alone with you guys." Nate replied. "After all you were probably worried sick about me."
"Yeah!" Shane lightly punched Nate in the arm, mockingly glaring at him. "What was up with that? No text, no call, no 'I'm fine Shane'."
Nate smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I thought the element of surprise would be best."
"You were wrong." Shane retorted and Jason laughed.
"Yeah Nate, you should have seen it, Shane had a total meltdown."
Shane snapped his gaze to Jason and glared at him. Nate raised his eyebrows curiously.
"A meltdown?"
Shane sighed as he turned to explain it but Jason butt in, "He was blaming himself for your kidnapping and saying you were dead and everything."
Nate cocked an eyebrow and Shane glared at Jason once more before turning back to Nate. "I was just really worried about you."
"It wasn't your fault Shane." Nate said.
"It sort of was Nate, my father was the one to kidnap you. If he wasn't after me, it wouldn't have happened."
Nate rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Shawn's a psycho. It was all his doing and it had nothing to do with you...well it did but I don't blame you for it. I wasn't hurt and that's all that is important. That and psycho is being locked up."
"He is?" Shane asked hopefully.
Nate nodded. "Yeah, the coppers caught him. He's going to jail for a very, very long time."
Shane sighed in relief, closing his eyes for a moment. "Thank God."
There was a knock on the door and Mitchie's voice spoke, "May we come in?"
"Sure." Nate waved her in. "Come on in."
Mitchie walked into the room followed by Caitlyn, Connie, Danielle and Mason. Shane smiled as he locked eyes with Mitchie but then his eyes fell upon Mason.
His smile was quick to drop and his eyes narrowed. "You!" He growled and started at him but Nate stepped in front of him.
"Shane stop."
"But he-!"
"He helped turn in Shawn." Nate cut in, explaining.
Shane furrowed his brow and glanced between Nate and Mason, who was wearing an official security guard outfit.
"He's one of the good guys." Mitchie said and Shane continued to stare at Mason with narrowed eyes.
Mason shifted under his intense gaze and glanced at Nate pleadingly.
"It's okay Shane." Nate reassured him.
"How is it okay? This guy kidnapped you Nate!" Shane exclaimed glaring furiously and Mason winced, taking a few steps back.
"I know, I know he did but he's not a bad guy. He didn't know that Shawn hurt you and he didn't want to be a part of this. He's a part of our security team now."
Shane snapped his gaze to Nate and gave him an incredulous look. "You have GOT to be kidding me!"
"I never intended to hurt anybody." Mason spoke up quietly and everyone turned to look at him. "What Nate said is the truth Shane, I had no idea where Shawn was when he attempted to kill you and I didn't even want to be a part of Nate's kidnapping -"
"But you were!" Shane cut him off with a growl.
"And for that I'm truly sorry." He bowed his head, playing with his fingers. "I know you don't trust me now but overtime I hope to prove to you that I am trustworthy."
"Yeah good luck with that one." Shane muttered bitterly.
"Shane!" Danielle scolded her oldest child and he rolled his eyes as he headed back to his bed. The others in the room shared a worried glance, they all recognized Shane's attitude. Bits of pieces of his former lifestyle broke through and they all hoped that Shane would not be returning to a jerk.
Nate walked over to Mason and placed a hand on his back. "Maybe you should go for a little while. Let Shane cool off. The head of our security, Big Bob, will let you know when you can return."
Mason nodded in understanding and turned to walk out of the room. Once Mason was out of the room and the door was closed, Nate turned to give an exasperated look to Shane.
Shane raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What are you mad at me for? You're the one trusting the guy that kidnapped you while I'm trying to prevent anything like this from ever happening again."
"Mason is a nice guy, Shane." Nate said enthusiastically. "His life was threatened by Shawn but he risked his life to turn Shawn in. He risked his life to help me, it was thanks to him that I was able to text you and let you know that I was okay. So just chill out alright?"
Shane rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head.
"Shane," Mitchie spoke up, walking over to her boyfriend, "If Chief Lassiter suspected him of doing anything he would have taken him to jail too. I know you're upset and angry that Nate was kidnapped but it wasn't Mason's fault it was Shawn's and Nate is back and he's alright now." She reached over and pulled his hands away from his chest and slipped her hand into one.
Shane's eyes narrowed as he stared out in front of him and then he let out a breath, blowing his bangs off his forehead. He glanced at Mitchie who gave him a small smile and then to Nate who nodded at him and the others who gave him the same look.
He groaned, "Fine. I'll trust him but if he hurts anyone of you I swear he's going to wish he went to jail!"
Mitchie chuckled and kissed his forehead. "Thank you Shane."
His demeanor visibly softened but he hid it with an eye roll. "Yeah, whatever."
Soon after that Danielle took Nate and Caitlyn back to the hotel so Nate could rest up. For days after that Nate jumped at every little thing. He wasn't his usual cool, calm and collected self. Jason, who shared the hotel room with him, often heard him screaming in the middle of the night. Then when Jason went to wake him up, Nate jumped away from him and fell off the bed, crawling to the corner, for in the darkness Jason almost looked like Shawn. Once Nate realized that it was actually just Jason he'd crawl back into bed and request for Jason to sleep in the same room with him. It was like Nate was five again and needed his big brother to comfort him.
A week after Nate returned Shane was finally released from the hospital. He was relieved to finally be able to go home but for the night "home" meant the hotel.
The three boys slept in the same room together, Shane and Jason in one bed and Nate in the other all to himself.
It was around two thirty in the morning when Shane was abruptly woken up by whimpers and groans from Nate's bed. He lifted himself up into a sitting position and glanced over to Jason, who had propped himself up on his elbows. They both stared at each other in concern and got out of the bed. They turned on the light that was between the two beds and walked over to Nate's bed.
"Nate." Shane gently placed his hand over his friend's arm and shook him gently. "Hey, Nate wake up man."
Nate's eyes snapped open and his eyes fell upon Shane. In his eyes the younger man's face transformed into the older version of his father. Nate's eyes widened and he scrambled off the bed, hitting the floor with a thud. "Stay away from me." He whispered, crawling backwards.
Shane walked around the bed, approaching Nate slowly. "It's okay Nate."
"Shut up." He hissed, pressing himself up against the wall.
Jason came up beside Shane. "It's alright Nate it's just us."
Nate looked frantically between both of them, his body shaking. "Who are you?" He asked shakily, looking at Jason.
Jason's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "It's me Nate, It's Jason."
"No!" Nate cried. "You're not Jason! Jason wouldn't do this to me!"
"Do what to you?" Jason asked cluelessly.
Shane stepped in to reassure him. "You're not where you think you are Nate. You're in the Comfort Inn, you're safe and away from Shawn."
"He's in jail Nate." Jason added and he started to take a step towards him. Nate's eyes widened and he pressed himself further into the wall. "Stay the hell away from me!" He growled.
Shane and Jason looked at each other, worried. The kidnapping affected Nate even more than they realized. When it happened Nate seemed so calm about it like nothing had happened but it must have been absolutely terrifying for him if he was acting the way he was.
There was a knock on the door and Danielle popped her head in. She was staying in the other room to keep an eye on her son and Nate. "What's going on in here?"
"Nate's freaking out." Shane answered. "He thinks I'm...Shawn and that Jason is one of his henchmen."
Danielle slowly walked in and placed a hand on both of the older boys backs. "Why don't you boys wait outside for a little bit? I'll try and calm down Nate."
Both boys sighed and they nodded, reluctantly slipping outside into the living room. Once the boys were gone, Danielle slowly walked over to Nate who was eyeing her warily.
"Hi Nate honey, you remember me don't you?" She kneeled down in front of him and he swallowed hard, his eyes moving quickly.
"It's Danielle honey, Shane's mom." Danielle placed her hand on top of Nate's knee and he flinched. His wide, panicked eyes stared into Danielle's. Danielle continued to stare at him, her kind, warm motherly gaze started to calm him down.
Nate's breathing slowed down continually until he was breathing normally. His eyes fell calm as did his face and his body relaxed as he blinked rapidly. "Danielle?"
Danielle smiled at him and rubbed his knee softly. "It's me, Nate. You're okay."
Nate looked around the room slowly and realization spread across his face when he realized where he was. He let out a breath of relief and ran his fingers through his hair.
Nate slowly rose to his feet and Danielle followed after, watching him closely.
"Would you like a glass of water or something Nate?"
Nate bit his lip in contemplation and then he nodded. "Yeah." His voice shook slightly. "Yeah, sure. Thanks."
Danielle smiled at him and turned to walk out of the room and Nate followed behind her quietly.
As Danielle headed towards the kitchen Nate spotted Jason and Shane sitting on the couch, both staring at him in concern.
He sighed and slowly walked over to them, plopping down on the couch across from them. "I am so sorry guys. I know I must have seemed like a crazy person in there."
Shane offered him a small smile, leaning forward. "It's alright man, we were just worried about you." Jason nodded his head in agreement.
Nate sighed again as he rested his head in his palm. "These nightmares are getting worse as days go on. When you guys woke me up I thought I was still in a dream." He glanced at Shane, "You looked like Shawn and Jason didn't even look like Jason." He groaned, letting his head fall back against the couch. "I don't understand why this is happening."
"You've been through a terrible experience Nate." Shane said. "The first two weeks after I was hospitalized I had terrible nightmares about him coming after me again so I know how you feel."
Nate lifted his head slightly, opening one eye. "It goes away?"
"For the most part." Shane nodded. "I feel better now that I know Shawn is in jail and won't be coming after me. They went away for a while but then they came back when he came back and got worse when I found out he kidnapped you. Now that he's gone they're gone. You just need to give it some time Nate."
Nate fell sideways onto the couch with a groan. "I can't take much more of this. I haven't had nightmares this intense since I was like five. I don't want to turn against my friends just because of a stupid nightmare."
"I think you freaked out because you saw me," Shane said, "and since I look alot like Shawn you thought I was him."
"I've freaked out at Jason too." Nate retorted. "No matter who it is I'll freak out. I hate freaking out. I don't freak out! Freaking out is your job!" He groaned again and buried his face into a pillow in the couch, his grumbles muffled by the pillow.
Shane and Jason glanced at each other in half amusement and half concern. Shane licked his lips and got up, walking over to the other couch and sitting in the empty space beside Nate.
"Look man everyone is allowed to freak out especially after being through something as traumatic as being kidnapped."
A muffled reply of what sounded like 'Don't Care' came from the pillow.
"You just need to give yourself some time to work through it. It'll end."
Nate grumbled something incomprehensible into the pillow and Shane forced back a smirk.
"By the time I'm ready to get back to dancing around stage again you'll be done with these stupid nightmares."
Nate picked up his head and glared at him. "Shane, the doctor said it'd take at least a couple of months for you to heal enough to get back on stage."
"Technicalities." He waved his hand through the air and Nate rolled his eyes and fell face first back into the pillow.
"I just want everything to go back to normal." Nate yelled into the pillow so it'd be audible to Shane and Jason.
Jason walked over and took the seat on the opposite side of Shane but next to Nate and smiled even though Nate couldn't see him. "Don't worry Nate, we'll be as normal as a duck with black feathers."
Nate and Shane both turned their heads to Jason in unison giving him one of their looks. Jason continued to grin at them proud of his simile and once again, Nate groaned flopping back down on to the pillow. "Great." He muttered.
Shane started laughing and Jason, clueless as ever, laughed right along with him.
A/N: I hoped you enjoyed the bromance in this chapter. I enjoyed writing it :) This is a last minute decision but this chapter is the end of the story. Yes its sad I know but I thought it would be a good ending.
The next story will be a whole new adventure that secretly I haven't exactly figured out yet. But I will in due time (maybe I could have some suggestions? Should there be a return of Shawn? Should there be a new villain set out to destroy our favorite group of teens? You tell me what you want and I will try to incorporate it into the story! )
This story has been so much fun to write and has been so much fun to see all you lovely reviewers and dedicated fans! I love all of you and I hope to see you all in the next story! Look for it, it will be there!
Send your love in a review please!
mamaXunicorn