Chapter 2

Mandy flipped through the same Teen People for what felt like the ninety-seventh time. Their flight had been delayed an hour, and they had been at the airport for an hour and a half. It was 7 o’clock now, and they were supposed to have left half an hour earlier. She glanced over at Shane, who had his baseball cap over his face and was snoring softly. She smiled gently and turned back to the article on Britney Spears.

Nice hair, she thought absently. Sighing, she flopped the magazine down on the seat beside her.

“Everyone destined for Melbourne, Australia on flight 412,” a voice boomed over the P.A., “the plane has now landed. Destination Melbourne, flight 412, I repeat, your plane has landed. Seats 300a to 315b, First Class, tickets are now being accepted. Thank you.” Mandy looked at her ticket: 313a, which meant Shane was 313b. She shook him and he awoke with a grunt and a start.

“I’m up, I’m up,” he straightened, causing his hat to fall onto his lap. “Why am I up?”

“The plane landed, so we gotta hand in our tickets—”

“Final boarding call for seats 300a to 315b, First Class,” the voice impatiently boomed once more. “Final boarding call for seats 300a to 315b.”

“Um, now,” Mandy finished with a grin.

*

They had been in the air for a little over an hour. Comfortable, Mandy settled back into her cushy airplane seat as Shane settled back into his cushy sleep. Thinking that Shane had the right idea, she was beginning to doze off as well, when she was interrupted.

“Excuse me?” Mandy opened her eyes tiredly. Two girls, one maybe fifteen years of age and the other much younger—closer to eight or nine years old—were hovering above her. The eldest one spoke again. “My little sister is a big fan of yours, and we were—well, she was wondering if she could get an autograph.” Mandy smiled sweetly, and gently took the pen and piece of paper out of the little girl’s hand.

“Of course I can sign it,” she said, “What’s your name, sweetie?”

The little girl who was holding her sister’s hand, shyly said, “Maria.” Mandy smiled at her again, trying to put her at ease as she scribbled on the paper, To Maria, the nicest fan going to Australia that I’ve ever met! Lots of Love, Mandy Moore. She handed the paper back to the little girl, who ran off to show her mother, and looked up at her older sister. The older girl couldn’t take her eyes off the sleeping form of Shane. Mandy smiled at the admiration in the girl’s eyes.

“Would you like to meet him?” The girl looked at Mandy panic-stricken.

“But he’s sleeping!” she said in barely a whisper. Mandy shrugged devilishly and poked him in the shoulder. Hard.

“Ah!” he grunted, sitting up. He looked at her and pouted without realizing it. “What’d you do that for?” Mandy motioned to the girl who looked terrified.

“This is…” Mandy looked at her for her name.

“Oh! Uh, I’m, my name is…” she trailed off, at a loss for words.

Shane gave Mandy a sidelong glance as if to say, “This is what you woke me up for?”

Mandy looked at the girl, not knowing what to say. Luckily, she spoke.

“Angela! Sorry, ha, sorry… My name’s Angela,” she said, blushing.

“Well hello, Angela.” Shane grinned. “How are you?”

“Um, good.” The girl looked positively terrified. As much as he was trying not be annoyed, Shane had gotten maybe five hours sleep and didn’t exactly feel like making small talk with a tongue-tied teenager.

“Would you like an autograph?” Mandy interjected, sensing Shane’s impatience. Angela nodded eagerly. Mandy reached into her handbag, pulled out a notebook, took Angela’s pen and handed it over to Shane, who quickly scribbled Angela—Thanks for being a fan! Best Wishes, Shane West The girl gratefully accepted it, smiling broadly.

“Thank you very much,” she said gratefully.

“You’re very welcome,” Shane said, smiling, “It’s no problem at all.”

Now that the girl had found her tongue, she continued to talk, “And I just want to tell you guys that I loved ‘A Walk to Remember’, and I think that you guys are such great actors…” Mandy and Shane were about to thank her, when she added slyly, “And I also think you would make the greatest couple.” Mandy burst out laughing, as Shane’s jaw dropped. “Anyway, thanks again. Bye!” Angela turned with one last glance and went back to her seat. Shane looked at a giggling Mandy incredulously.

“Some of these fans, I swear to God…” he muttered, chuckling himself. Mandy looked at him, mock-hurt.

“So, what are you saying, Mr. West? You’re embarrassed to be considered my boyfriend? Fine, fine…” She turned her back to him and crossed her arms. Shane looked at a complete loss for words. Giggling, she turned back around to look at him. “I’m joking!”

Shaking his head, Shane simply stated, “I think you’re delirious Mandy. Speaking of which, I’m going to sleep.” With that, the baseball cap was back on his face.

Sighing, Mandy directed her attention the TV in the front. This was going to be a loooong flight.

*

“Well that wasn’t so long, huh?” Shane asked, as he stretched the sleep and cramps out of his tired, jet-lagged body. Twenty-five hours and two stops later, they had finally landed in Australia.

He turned to look at Mandy. Her wrinkled clothes, dishevelled hair and smudged mascara said it all. She glared at him.

“Easy for you to say, you slept for twenty of the twenty-four hours.”

“Twenty-five hours,” he corrected, knowing it would piss her off. She just glared at him again.

“Well, I hope you’re well-rested,” she said sarcastically, but with a little grin.

“Oh, I am.” She playfully punched him in the arm. “Okay, so what day and/or time is it?” Mandy squinted at the clock in the airport.

“Well, the clock says 12:00, and since it’s dark outside, I’m assuming it’s 12:00 at night. Or Thursday morning.”

“Thursday morning? How do you figure?” Shane asked, confused.

Mandy shrugged. “It just makes sense.” She picked up her luggage (thankfully, retrieving the luggage had been problem-free) and handbag, and looked around. “Okay, where are we supposed to go now?” Shane looked at her.

“You’re asking me? I thought you knew!” Mandy looked at him wide-eyed.

“No…Jon never told me anything!”

“Great. We’re stranded in Australia,” Shane half-joked.

“We’re not stranded…Just confused.” She scanned the fast-emptying airport, when her eyes glanced over a man wearing black, holding up a sign that simply said, in big block letters: “MOORE & WEST”. Mandy grabbed Shane’s arm and pointed it out to him. “Look, look! He must be our chauffeur!” They walked up to him. “Excuse me, I’m—”

“Moore and West?” the man asked, removing his dark black sunglasses. Mandy nodded, relieved. “Okay, I am here to escort you to hotel.” His heavy accent made him hard to understand, but they basically knew what he was saying. They followed him to the limo out front. He opened the door for them and took their suitcases, putting them in the trunk. Once Mandy and Shane were both in, he closed the door, and then went and sat in the driver’s seat. Within seconds, they were off.

*

Mandy had never been happier to see a hotel room bed. True, the place they were staying was more like a resort than a hotel. They got their room keys virtually hassle-free (Mandy in room 214, Shane in 215) and now Mandy was looking around the spacious area. There were two small bedrooms, one for her and one for Stephanie (When is she going to arrive, by the way? Mandy thought, curiously), a double bed in each, one large bathroom, a little kitchenette, and a small TV area with a medium-sized TV and a pull-out couch. Dropping her luggage and bag on the floor, she went to the back of the room, and, opening the screen door, stepped out onto the balcony. She was hit with a cool ocean breeze that took some of the sleep out of her. But not by much.

“Hey, Mandy!” She turned to the side and saw Shane on his balcony.

“I dunno about you, but I’m going to sleep,” Mandy informed him.

“Mind if I…join you?” Shane asked, mock-suggestively.

“‘Are you trying to seduce me?’” Mandy quoted. Shane caught on quickly.

“‘Why…are you seducible?’” he played along. Mandy just smiled and shook her head, then laughed.

“Ohhh God, you know you’re delirious when you start re-enacting the movie…” she joked. He just laughed. “See you in the morning, Shane.” She turned to go back in.

“`Night, babe.” She heard his door slide shut and she smiled to herself. Maybe this trip wasn’t going to be so bad after all…

*

BRIIIING! Mandy started and sat up quickly, but regretted it seconds later when black spots flashed before her eyes and a wave of dizziness washed over her.

“Ughh…” she groaned. BRIIIING! went the phone. Feeling around blindly, she finally found the receiver and brought it to her ear.

“`Lo?” she greeted, the sleep apparent in her voice. She looked over at the clock, which said 11:30 am, even though her body still believed it was 8:30 pm. Which of course wasn’t that bad, but considering she had gotten practically no sleep in the past two days—

“Mandy sweetie? Did I wake you?” her mom’s concerned voice filled her ear.

“Yeah, it’s okay mum. How are you?”

“I’m good honey, how are you? How was your flight?” Mandy filled her mom in on all the details.

“Ohhh gosh, that sounds tiring!” her mom sympathized. Mandy heard voices on the background. “Oh, honey, I have to let you go now, `cause I’m using Jon’s office phone, it’s costing a fortune, and your dad and Jon still want to talk to you. Take care, wear your jacket, and eat healthy!” Mandy rolled at her eyes. “I love you honey! Be careful and behave.

“Okay Mommy. Love you.”

“Love you too sweetie. Here’s dad.” Mandy heard shuffling and then her father’s voice.

“Hi Princess, how are you?”

“A bit tired,” Mandy admitted. She talked to her father for a bit, before the phone was once again handed over, this time to Jon.

“Mandy! How are you, my dear?”

“I’m not bad Jon, how’re you?”

“Good, good. Okay, there are a few things you need to know, and then I’ll let you go back to sleep.” I don’t think I could if I tried Mandy thought grudgingly. “First of all, Stephanie was on a later flight than you, and her flight got cancelled. So, she just got on a plane this morning (it’s 8:40 here now) and she’s probably not gonna get there until, like, what, tonight?” Mandy was too tired to do the calculations, so she just agreed. “And your parents trust you and they trust Shane so everything should be okay. Oh, and I know you guys aren’t going to want to stay confined to your rooms, but you also have to take safety precautions regarding being recognized. Unfortunately, Robbie and Q,” Mandy smiled at the mention of her much-loved bodyguards, “are on the same plane as Stephanie, so they’re not going to be here until she comes, but when they are, they’ll be in the room across from you and Shane. Anyway! Anyway, I don’t know how recognized you and Shane will be ‘down under’, but take precautions to remain unnoticed. Oh, and when you need to go anywhere, then you have the number of the limo service—”

“I do?”

“You don’t??”

“I…don’t think so…”

“Okay, okay.” He gave it to her. “ALSO,” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Your bill’s getting bigger by the minute Jon…, “I know I miscalculated when you guys would arrive and technically you only have today for site-seeing, so I’m sorry about that…I don’t know how you feel about staying longer…”

“I really couldn’t tell you now Jon. Talk to me after the premiere. When’re we coming back again, Sunday?”

“Yeah, your flight’s scheduled for Sunday, but that can always change.”

“Okay, we’ll talk about it again when I’m awake, okay?” Jon laughed.

“Okay Mandy, get your sleep. Take care of Shane too, okay?” It was Mandy who laughed this time.

“I’ll do my best. Goodnight Jon,” she said, knowing it was late back in L.A.

“`Night. I mean—morning! I mean…Bye Mandy.” Mandy just laughed, said bye once more, then hung up. Settling back into her covers, she realized that maybe falling asleep wouldn’t be so hard. In fact, she was dozing off almost immediately…

“Mandy!” a voice cried, followed by a series of bangs on the door adjoining her room to Shane’s. “HEY Man-dy, you came and you…something something,” he began to sing off-key when he realized she was ignoring him. Groaning, she got out of bed—slowly this time, so as not to get dizzy again—and opened the connecting door.

“Whaaaat?” she whined. Shane stood on the other side, fully dressed with an eager expression on his adorable face.

“I wanna see Australia!” he informed her. He looked her up and down. “You’re not ready to see Australia,” he noted.

“Very good, Shane. And do you know why I’m not ready to see Australia?” Shane pretended to think. “I’ll spare you the brain cells—I’m not ready to go see Australia, because I am tired. Very, very…” He gave her the Puppy Dog Eyes. “…very…” The Lip. “…tired. You suck!” she cried, aware of the fact that he knew the Puppy Dog Eyes and the Lip always got to her. “Gimme five minutes,” she grumbled, shutting the door.

“I LOVE YOU MANDY!” Shane cried from the other end.

“Yeah, yeah…”

*

“‘Melbourne is full of interesting and unique places to visit. The hustle and bustle of Melbourne's markets offers a real shopping experience. From crocodile meat and organic vegetables to denim, or original artworks to just plain knick-knacks, Melbourne's markets have something for everyone,’” Mandy read from the pamphlet in her hand. They were standing outside their resort, trying to decide where to go first. Shane crinkled his nose.

“Crocodile meat?” he repeated, grossed out.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Louisiana,” Mandy retorted.

Shane playfully shoved her arm. “Shaaaaddap.”

Mandy giggled. “Okay, so we can either go to some historical attraction.” Shane’s face said it all. “Or a museum…”

“Yeah, can we please?” he scoffed.

“I guess that’s a no…” Mandy chuckled. “Okay then, we can go to ooh, the Melbourne Aquarium…or the Zoo! Oh, let’s go to the Rialto Towers Observation Deck!” Mandy flipped a page. “And they have sooo many market places that we just have to check out!”

“Okay, choose one,” Shane said, looking over her shoulder.

“Choose…a market place? Or one attraction?”

“Well, what time is it?” He looked at his watch, the digital numbers reading 12:35 pm, Australian time (he had changed it last night). “It’s around twelve-thirty. So, we can probably enjoy, like, three attractions and then go out to dinner or something. Sound like a plan?” Mandy nodded.

“Sounds good to me! Okay, so whadya say: the Aquarium, the Rialto Towers, and…” Mandy flipped another page. “The Victorian Arts Centre market. Listen to this. ‘This market is not your average market. The stalls are operated by crafts people with many handmade goods available. It's a great place for entertainment and to pick up something unique to Melbourne.’” Shane nodded, agreeing.

“Sounds good to me.” Mandy jumped up and down giddily.

“Yaaay!” She grabbed Shane’s hand. “Okay, let’s go!”

*

The day proved to be quite eventful. Shane’s hat dropped into the massive fish tank at the Aquarium (“I told you not to lean over so much,” Mandy had informed him), Mandy got kicked off the Rialto Tower after dropping a penny over the edge, and they had ended up buying a a lot of little ‘wastes-of-money’ at the market—things they’d probably never use again, as well as a few souvenirs for friends and family back home. Despite one or two recognitions, and the unfortunate mishaps already mentioned, the day went off without a hitch. Before they knew it, the sky was getting dimmer and their feet were getting sorer.

“Ugh,” Mandy groaned collapsing on a bench, conveniently near to their resort, “my feeeeet…” She rubbed her ankles.

Shane dropped down beside her. “I feel your pain. And at least you had the common sense to wear shorts. I had to be all ‘cool guy’ in these stupid khakis, meanwhile I’m sweating puddles.”

“Shane,” Mandy patted his leg comfortingly, “you will never be cool, no matter what pants you wear.” Shane stared at her before pulling her into a headlock and mussing up her hair. “Ahhh! Ack! I take it baaack!! Stop!!” she shrieked and giggled. He let go of her and she leaned back against the bench. “What time is it now?” she asked after a beat.

Shane glanced at his watch. “6:42.” He leaned back and shut his eyes.

“Do you still wanna go out to dinner?” she wondered.

“Mmm-hmm…” Shane murmured, already falling asleep.

“Okay,” Mandy stood. “Then get uuuuup!” She grabbed his hands and pulled him up, despite his groans. “I wanna get changed and I want to go some place nice! And soon. My tummy’s grumbly,” she informed him. He opened his eyes and grinned at her.

“Your tummy is grumbly? Aww… poo’ baby…” He poked her gently in her stomach. She pouted at him. “Okay, okay, we’ll go back.”

“Thanks dude!” she grinned at him. He draped his arm over her shoulder and they made their way back to their rooms.

*

“Mandyyyy!” Shane cried an hour later through the adjoining doorway. “Our reservations are for 8:00. That’s in fifteen minutes! You wanted the nice fancy restaurant, are you prepared to GO?”

“I’m hurrying!” Mandy cried back, her voice muffled by the lip liner she was applying. Shane sighed, impatiently.

Five minutes later, the door flew open from Mandy’s room to Shane’s, and Shane turned around and his jaw almost hit the floor. She was wearing a loose-fitting beige skirt that fell just below her knees with regular black sandals and a black one-shouldered tank, knotted at the one shoulder. Her hair was down and shiny, a result of being brushed fifty-times over, and her make-up was natural, but brought out some of her best facial features.

Which are all of them… Shane thought, then quickly kicked himself for thinking that. We're just friends, okay? Just...good friends

She bit her lip. Why was he staring at her like that? “Does it look okay?” she asked, self-consciously smoothing down her skirt and adjusted her purse. Shane seemed to snap out of his reverie.

“Ye…Yeah. Yeah, you look good. Really good.”

Mandy had to admit, he didn’t look so bad himself. He was still wearing his khakis from earlier, but had changed into a black vest with a white t-shirt underneath. Unintentionally, they had ended up complementing each other. She smiled. “Thanks, so do you. SO, ready to go?”

He grinned at her. “After you, my dear,” he said, motioning towards the door.

“Why thank you, kind sir,” Mandy played along, giggling a bit. She went out and he followed behind her, shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts.

Once they went to the restaurant, their reservations got them seated right away. Settling down, they began to look at their menus. The waiter was kind, if not a little…bland. Mandy decided on a nice steak cutlet with potatoes and vegetables.

Shane ordered the crocodile meat.