Yes, story number 3 in progress… I'm not neglecting anything else, I promise but we've been studying earthquakes in school for weeks and I'm really sick of them so I thought; why not waste a few lessons and write a fanfic about them? That's what I did, I planned it all out in my head and I'm writing it out over time.
"Happy birthday Mitchie!" Mitchie blinked her eyes open to see her best friend Caitlyn standing over her. What Caitlyn was doing at her house at half seven in the morning was a mystery so she asked her as she sat up.
"Your Mum invited me over. She said I could stay for the day!" Mitchie laughed at her wide awake friend and then groaned.
"My Gran's here isn't she?"
"Yup, she's here." Mitchie loved her Gran and everything but she always insisted on buying her frilly, pink baby dresses for her birthday and if she was here Mitchie usually ended up wearing them. Mitchie hoped every year that maybe now her Gran had decided to buy her something that she would like. Mitchie was eighteen today and her wishes had never been answered yet.
At least Caitlyn was here. Caitlyn always got her great presents, she could count on Caitlyn.
"Come on sleepy head, everyone's waiting," Caitlyn told her. Mitchie grinned and followed her out of the room, only pausing to grab her dressing gown so that she didn't freeze.
When they arrived in the living room Mitchie realized that she was the only one not dressed. Her Mum, Connie, had invited virtually her whole family, literally.
The living room joined onto the kitchen and it was a good thing it did or they would never have all fitted.
Her Grandparents, all four of them, were sitting on the sofa. Her parents were standing by the coffee table which was piled high with an unbalanced load of presents. Every one of her aunts and uncles, all four of them and their spouses, was situated somewhere and the seven cousins that came with them were crowded in somewhere. Caitlyn and Mitchie's other friends Ella and Peggy squeezed into one of the corners and, somehow, her Mum had managed to arrange for a huge, helium-filled number 18 balloon to sit by the window.
"Happy birthday!" The twenty four people in the room chorused as she entered. Mitchie blushed; she was never one for big celebrations.
"Congratulations!" shouted Peggy and Ella. Mitchie laughed and sat down cross-legged on the floor as her little three year old cousin Hannah came running up.
"Presents!" she shouted, handing Mitchie a few little packages. Mitchie laughed as everyone 'awed' and took the biggest present from her cousin. Cameras flashed and she caught Caitlyn's eye as she pulled out a photo frame. Caitlyn winked and Mitchie gasped.
It wasn't a photo, it was a collage, a mix of photos from her whole life. She stared at it for a long time, noticing more pictures every second. Several of them were ones that Caitlyn, Peggy and Ella had promised to delete, embarrassing photos of her pulling faces and falling over, which she did a lot. There were photos from the day she was born, pictures of her with her family at Connie's fortieth birthday and all of her cousins crowding around her as she handed out chocolate. Mitchie blinked back a few tears and smiled at her family.
"Thank you!" She told them, unable to stop the one tear that escaped. There was a collective 'aww' again as she wiped it away. Connie reached down and took the frame from her as she was handed more presents.
It took almost three hours but she finally got through the largest hoard of presents she had ever seen. The room was littered with wrapping paper and the piles of cards had all tipped over. Mitchie looked over the presents scattered around. She had received everything possible: Clothes, food, money, jewellery, vouchers, books, stationary, bags, hair brushes, calendars, photos, shoes and a pure silver necklace that read her name in a swirling text.
Mitchie looked around at her family and thanked them all for the thousandth time.
"There isn't anything else is there?" She asked apprehensively. A few of them chuckled and she took that as a 'No' but Caitlyn ran forward.
"There's one more thing," she told Mitchie, holding out an envelope. She had received so many gifts that she had barely noticed Caitlyn hadn't given her one. "This is from Pegs, Ells and me." Caitlyn handed her the envelope and Mitch tore it open smiling. Whatever was inside she knew she was going to love it.
Mitchie opened the beautiful card and a flimsy piece of paper fell out onto her lap. She picked it up and read it. Her eyes widened and she read it again.
"Oh my God!" She screamed, leaping to her feet. She threw herself at her friends and screamed again. "Connect 3 concert tickets! You guys are the best!" They hugged her back, laughing, and Mitchie could almost feel everybody smiling as they watched.
This was the best present ever! Connect 3 were her favourite band. She knew all of the words to all of their songs off by heart, she owned every CD and every poster of theirs and she had been a fan since before they made it onto the charts. The first time Ella played Mitch one of their songs she became addicted. Yet she had never been to one of their concerts, not in the four years she had been obsessed with them. She couldn't afford it.
But now she had her very own concert tickets! They were playing here, in San Francisco, tonight and she was going to see them. She re-read the ticket. They were front row seats. She would be within touching distance of Connect 3 and her three best friends would be with me. They must have been planning this for months.
Mitchie couldn't stop grinning all day, the smile never once deflated. Her three friends helped her choose an outfit, a mix of older and brand new clothes, and she loved it. She was wearing a black skirt and a fitted black top with a white cardigan. Her heels were only two inches because she fell over enough in flats. She picked out a few coloured necklaces and her outfit was complete.
Usually she thought that girls who dressed up for concerts were just sluts but she couldn't help it. It wasn't just her first Connect 3 concert, it was her first concert. She was going to be as close as it was possible to be to Shane Grey without getting arrested.
To be honest, Shane was the main reason she listened to their music. she loved their sound, the songs were really catchy, but Shane was just so hot! He always wore tight clothes which emphasized his muscles and he never looked anything but perfect. Mitchie, like every teenage girl in the world, had a celebrity crush on Shane Grey. She only knew of two exceptions to this rule: Caitlyn and Ella. Caitlyn was obsessed with Shane's band mate Nate and Ella was equally addicted to Jason. It didn't bother Mitchie, less competition. Then there was Peggy who thought they were all ugly and just liked their songs.
Mitchie's family stayed all day and they thanked the good weather and ate their lunch outside. Her Mum had baked a delicious, three tier chocolate cake and decorated it with thick white icing. She was almost overcome with emotion when she realized how much time and effort she had put into making it and keeping it hidden.
After lunch she was wound up with baby videos and her face burned red every few seconds as her ten year old self danced around and asked embarrassing questions. Caitlyn, Peggy and Ella just laughed every time she turned a shade darker and controlled her instinct which was telling her to flick off the TV now, before it got any worse.
At half three her family started to leave for the long drives back to their houses. She thanked them for coming and said goodbye to the children who didn't want to leave. Soon it was only her parents and her friends left.
"We only have three and a half hours!" Caitlyn announced.
"But the concert doesn't start until nine!" Ella said.
"Yeah, we have to be there at eight to queue, which means leaving here at seven." Mitchie rolled her eyes.
"Lets go get ready then." Peggy said. They had all brought their outfits with them, being the organized girls they were and knowing Mitchie would want them to stay.
They were up in Mitchie's room, just starting on their hair and makeup, when the house shook. Not much, just enough for the glass on Mitchie's desk to shiver a few inches to the left. Peggy was standing her the window and gasped.
"Was that an earthquake? The cars in the road all just shook!" she frowned.
"Yeah, let's just hope they don't get any worse!" Mitchie's friends all agreed with her, nodding, as her Mum ran inside.
"Girls are you okay?" They all nodded. "Did you feel that quake?" More nods. "Okay, listen to me. If you feel any more tremors at that concert I want you to make sure you get out of the way of anything dangerous. If anything else happens before you leave she want you to take precautions, have your phones on you."
"Okay Mum, we'll be careful." Connie smiled and left. "Wow, over obsessive much!" Caitlyn exclaimed. "It was just one tremor, probably only three on the Richter scale or something!"
"But Mum's always over react," Peggy pointed out.
"My Mum over reacted when I ate a bag of peanuts..." They all stared incredulously ay Ella. She was allergic to peanuts and they all knew it.
"Ella, you shouldn't eat it if you're allergic to it," Peggy said patiently, picking up a mascara. "Now keep still while I put this on!"
xOx
Mitchie grinned at the camera Caitlyn was holding in front of them and the flash went off. Connie laughed.
"Have fun girls! Call me when it's finished!"
"Bye Mum! Love you!" Mitchie called. Caitlyn was driving them to the concert. Mitchie was the youngest one of them and also the only one without her own car, although she had a license. Caitlyn had offered to drive them all to and from the concert as she was the only one confident driving in the dark.
They all piled into the car and as soon as they were out of hearing range of Connie they turned on the Connect 3 CD Mitchie had taken with her and Caitlyn turned it up to full volume. The four girls spent the entire journey raving and screaming along to the songs. Caitlyn only turned off the music when they arrived at the car park. This might be a Connect 3 concert but they didn't want to look like total lunatics.
The girls found the queuing area their tickets stated they had to wait at and joined the back of the shortest line. Some of the girls at the front looked like they'd been there about three days.
The next hour dragged by. Mitchie didn't know how she got through it, all she could do was talk and listen to music as they waited impatiently for the gates to open. When the security staff finally started moving around inside, the noise doubled and people began to push and shove to get to the front. Mitchie found herself wondering why it mattered when you got in; if you were in the line you had a ticket, who cared? Then again, she was desperately trying to get to the gate herself so she couldn't really talk.
They finally got inside and passed security, virtually sprinting to the standing area. Mitchie knew the girls must have paid an absolute fortune for this spot, it was literally the very front. There were three standing sections; the largest and farthest away one that probably would be full of people lounging on picnic blankets, the middle one that cost slightly more but had the best view of the catwalk and then the front one which was between the stage and the square catwalk. There were security guards standing under the arches that were built into the catwalk to stop rabid fans mobbing the boys.
Mitchie glanced at her watch, half an hour until show time.
xOx
"Fifteen minutes left!" Shouted the stage manager as she poked her head into Connect 3's dressing room.
"'Kay," Shane and his brothers chorused. The woman rolled her eyes and left. Nate turned off the TV and Shane groaned.
"Nate, man she said fifteen minutes not fifteen seconds." He complained. Nate ignored him.
"You always take at least ten minutes to sort out your hair," he reminded his older brother. Shane couldn't argue with that so he stood up and went to the dressing table to re-straighten his hair again. It really did take him ten minutes to get ready every time, even though his hair was already deadly straight.
Shane didn't get why they had to be in the wings fifteen minutes before they went on. It only took them two minutes to grab microphones and slip in their ear pieces but they always had to be there fifteen minutes early.
Shane's hair spray had disappeared in the mini earthquake earlier that day. It had rolled off the shelf and nobody could find it so he was now stuck with using a cheap one that didn't hold his hair at all. The earthquake had shocked them, nobody was expecting it. Shane was grateful it hadn't been too bad.
Half an hour later Shane was standing in the wings reattaching his earpiece. He had taken it out while they stood around waiting because it annoyed him wearing it for no reason. Now it was time to go on.
The boys liked to wind up the fans just a little bit so Jason picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords before they could be seen. The stadium immediately went crazy, screaming and shouting. Shane's brothers grinned at him and he turned on his Mic.
"Hello San Francisco!" He said. The screams doubled in volume and he heard a chant pick up around the stadium.
"Shane! Shane! Shane! Shane!" shouted his fans. He grinned at Nate and Jason and they stepped onto stage to stupendous applause. A few girls in the front reached up towards them and Shane bent down, holding out his hand. The girls all lunged for it but he only noticed one girl, the first one who grabbed his wrist.
As she touched him, static electricity shocked through his body and his head whipped up. Shane made eye contact with a girl who looked like she had just felt the same thing he had. He only saw her for a second but he could have told you anything about her.
She had dark brown hair that framed her face and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown that he could have melted into. She was dressed up but she didn't look like the usual girls who wore tight clothes and mini dresses like they though the boys would actually date them. There was something about her, something different and not just about the way she looked but about the way Shane felt looking at her.
After a second of eye contact he pulled back and became conscious of a piece of paper somebody had scrunched into his fingers. One of the girls had scratched his wrist with her fake nails and he hadn't noticed as I looked at the brunette. She was one of the most beautiful girls Shane had ever seen.
"Good evening San Francisco!" He shouted, running backwards to join Nate and Jason in the centre of the stage. "How are we this evening?" He opened up the piece of paper discreetly and was surprised that it wasn't just another mobile number. He read it quickly.
Happy 18th Birthday Mitchie Torres!
"Do we have a Mitchie Torres here?" Nate asked, reading it over his brothers' shoulder. Shane's eyes flickered to the girl at that second. He could just make her out at the very front of the crowds, just before they all faded into a black shadow.
He saw the girl turn bright red and glare at one of the girls he guessed was with her. The girl just laughed and pointed at her. Was the brunette Mitchie Torres?
"Mitchie Torres?" Nate repeated. Three of the girls at the front pointed to the brunette and shouted 'Here!' The boys couldn't hear them but they could see them.
"Happy 18th Birthday Mitchie!" Shane said, throwing her a smile. She blushed but didn't look away.
"Okay to start off tonight, we're going to do a little number called Play My Music!" Shane announced to general enthusiasm. "Does that-?" He never finished his sentence because at that point there was a deafening rumble. His earpiece went haywire and gave a loud pitched squeal; he pulled it out at the same time as Nate and Jason. Then the speakers started squealing and the world began to shake.
Shane couldn't stand up straight; he was thrown around from side to side, stumbling back and forth. People screamed, in terror now not excitement, as there were load groaning noises.
Across the middle of the crowds people fell over as a crack about a foot wide opened up. The fans attempted to steer clear of it and the falling concrete as the stadium trembled. Shane snapped his eyes back to Mitchie and her friends and saw their terrified faces.
The stadium was crumbling. The concrete barriers fell forwards and cracked into pieces, the walls split and people fell and stumbled everywhere he looked. Ripples waved across the grass, just a few centimetres high but scary all the same and the metal bar supporting the lights above the boy's heads came crashing down. Shane stumbled out of the way and narrowly avoided the debris that was raining down on the fans as he wobbled on one foot.
Mitchie screamed, grabbing Caitlyn's arm in shock. Her eyes went wide as the second earthquake of the day shook her. She stumbled and knocked her head on the security barrier which put about a three inch gap between her and the stage. Peggy and Ella had disappeared into the surging crowds.
Mitchie held onto the barrier for dear life with one hand, grabbing Caitlyn's arm firmly in her other hand. The ground shivered and even in her short heels Mitchie was finding it difficult to stand up straight. Nobody was watching the boys on stage any longer; they were all preoccupied with dodging the objects that were flying around and trying to not loose their friends.
There was a loud groan and a chunk of concrete fell down from above Mitchie and Caitlyn's heads. The screamed even louder and ducked down as it dropped.
Suddenly the shaking stopped and the world stood still again.
The screaming subsided and Shane slowly turned around to see how much damage had been done.
I hope you're interested… I'm going to continue even if you're not. To everybody that favourites or adds alerts: could you just spend three seconds longer to type a review?
Tell me what you thought, chapter 2 is already finished and I'll post it soon sometime.
~Spwarkle