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Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fanfiction | Chapter Eight

Truth Untold Master List

Chapter Eight

The time for the barbecue rolled around, and I was heading there with Lily and Jess. We were just finished getting ready and about to head to camp. I pressed my lips together and smoothed out my top, with strange butterflies in my stomach.

I was nervous for some reason, and I tried not to think about why. My phone buzzed. It was Liam.

Liam: You heading here soon?

The stomach in my pit grew. The heated conversation with him about my growing friendship with Shawn was still fresh in my mind. I felt terrible, and I needed to sort it out with him at this barbecue.

I quickly replied and then looked over at Jess.

“So, you excited for tonight?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I’m not sure if I was imagining things, but I think Shawn seemed kind of into me the other day.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”

“But you know him better.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I really don’t know him well at all. Your guess is as good as mine.”

Jess just nodded, as we got in Lily’s car. Lily looked over at me with suspicion, and I avoided her glance.

I feel like I knew what she was thinking, and I didn’t want her to pursue any sort of conversation.

As we rolled into camp, the sun was setting. There was a rose gold glow coming from the centre of the grounds, where the fire was roaring and blankets were set out. The staff barbecue was always a huge blowout, with live music and dancing.

“Alex!” I heard from behind. I turned around and saw Liam.

“Hey!” I said, giving him a kiss. He smiled sombrely at met, and I knew he was still feeling upset about earlier. “Liam, you know I love you, right?”

“I know,” he replied.

“There’s absolutely nothing to worry about with Shawn. Jess likes him anyways, and I’m pretty sure he’s into her.”

“Did you warn her?”

I nodded.

He shrugged. “I don’t know how many more girls will fall for him before they realize how much of an asshole he is.”

I didn’t respond to that. I don’t know why, but a fiery sense inside me wanted to defend Shawn. To say he was a kind person. But, he did break Emily’s heart. I was so conflicted.

I wish I didn’t have these thoughts rolling around in my head. I had Liam. That’s it. That’s all I needed.

“I’m going to go say hey to Malcolm,” Liam said, and I nodded. He kissed me and went to see the boys just rolling in.

“You and Liam okay?” Lily asked behind me.

I turned around. “Oh, uh, yeah. We’re cool. How’s you and Malcolm?”

She grinned. “Oh, we’re good.”

I nodded, smiling, as we both looked around at the party.

“So, you going to do some matchmaking tonight with Jess and Shawn?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

She stared at me for a little while longer. She’s known me for too long, and I was afraid if she kept staring, she would see right into my thoughts.

“You know,” she continued on. “If for any reason at all, you don’t like them together, you should say it now.”

“I already told her about what he did to Emily,” I responded.

“Not that,” she shook her head.

“What other reason would there be?”

She looked at me, and I could tell she wanted to say something. She was wondering if she should, and then she thought better of it.

“No reason,” she replied. Then, she turned her head to the fire pit and nodded towards someone. I turned around to see what she was looking at.

Shawn had arrived, and he was grinning widely as he put ketchup on his hamburger. He was joking around and laughing.

“There he is,” Lily said. “Why don’t you go help Jess out?”

“Why not,” I smiled. But, every part of me was dreading this.

No, this was me being a good friend. Forget these weird, mixed up feelings I was having about Shawn. If Shawn and Jess dated, it would get him off my mind, and I could go back to normal.

I walked over to him, as he was finishing up a conversation with one of the other counsellors. He turned to see me, and he smiled.

“Oh hey partner,” he greeted.

“Hey,” I said, smiling back.

“Want a burger?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, the one on your plate looks good.”

“Oh no, this is a burger crafted carefully by me, for me,” he replied, jokingly.

“King of the burgers.”

“Burger King, if you will,” he laughed. “So, guess what?”

“What?”

It was nice having a normal conversation with Shawn. It was so easy to just talk to him and be friendly.

“They asked me to play some songs at this barbecue,” he said. I was genuinely excited for him.

“Really? That’s awesome, Shawn!”

“Yeah, I’m about to go practice. You play guitar?”

“A little,” I admitted. “I taught myself how to play a few years ago.”

“Whoa, really? Come,” he gestured. We walked over to some of the blankets that were set up, and his guitar was laying on one of them.

He picked it up and sat down. Looking up at me, he patted the ground.

“You going to join me?” he wondered. I looked over at Jess, and she was glancing over at us.

I paused. I was having a moment of conflict. Did I want to sit down beside him and play music with him? Yes. But, I had to be a good friend.

Then, I saw Liam, who was also turning his head towards me. I could tell he looked confused. I couldn’t hurt him more than I have. Especially, after he saw me and Shawn at camp acting friendly. Even though it was completely harmless.

“Alex?” Shawn asked.

“Uh, no,” I said.

“What?”

“Jess!” I shouted to my friend, gesturing her over. She grinned and walked over. “I totally forgot, Jess loves guitar.”

“She does?” he asked, confused.

“Mhmm,” I responded. Jess was now standing by the blankets, and I put my arm around her. “What a coincidence. Jess, Shawn was just about to practice some songs he’s about to play for the campfire tonight. I told him you love guitar.”

“Oh yeah,” she nodded. “Mind if I join?”

Shawn’s lips twitched upwards in that infamous half-smile of his. “Not at all. Here, take a seat.”

Okay, my job was done. Now, just back away and let them enjoy their time together. I started to turn away.

“Alex, you leaving?” Shawn asked.

My heart skipped a beat. “Oh yeah. I’m going to say hey to someone.”

I started walking away to head over to Liam, where I should be. Liam looked relieved that I was just helping Jess, Jess was with Shawn, and all was right with the world. My conscience was clear.

For now.

[pieceofmyheart8]

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fanfiction | Chapter Seven

I’m sorry for the hiatus, but I’m back with chapter seven of my Shawn Mendes fanfiction! 

Chapter seven

I wasn’t sure how to even begin to broach the subject of Shawn and Jess. We’d only known each other for a few weeks really and already have had so much happen. I’ve seen him devastated, we’ve been tense, we’ve been awkward, we’ve been friends.

So was I supposed to just say ‘Hey Shawn, I know you and I have a complicated relationship, but what do you think of dating my friend Jess?’

No, no, that would be too weird. I think.

It was the next day at camp, and one day before the barbecue. Shawn and I were actually okay with one another right now. There was this mutual understanding that we would do our jobs and try to be nice. Because what else could we do?

“You’ve been quiet today,” Shawn said, as we were walking to the kids to their next activity.

“Have I?” I asked.

He nodded. “Anything on your mind?”

“No, not really,” I said, shaking my head. “Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. I mean, Harry and Hannah told me my hair was too tall, and you didn’t even snort.”

“I do not snort!”

“Uh, yeah you do,” he said, with a cheeky smile.

I hit him playfully, and he laughed.

“What?” he asked, gleefully.

“You don’t tell a girl she snorts!”

“Why? It’s cute!”

“It’s not cute,” I said, trying to suppress a smile.

“It is. You’re a cute snorter. There I said it.”

I rolled my eyes, this time grinning widely. I shoved him again, and he smirked.

“You know -” he started to say.

“Alex!” we heard someone shout from behind.

I spun around, and I knew it was Liam. And he didn’t look too pleased. I glanced over at Shawn, and he went back to that distant look on his face.

I couldn’t help but feel my heart sink because we were getting along. But, I knew that was crazy to think about when I had a pretty peeved boyfriend right there.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Shawn. He didn’t say anything, or at least, I didn’t hear if he did.

I walked over to Liam, and he had his brown hair pushed back and his hands shoved into his pocket. His eyebrows were furrowed together.

“Hey,” I said, smiling, trying to act as if everything is normal.

“Are you friends with him now or something?” Liam asked.

“What?” I asked, nervously. I tried to sound shocked or offended he would even ask, but I think it came about a bit weaker than intended.

“Alex,” he said.

“No, Liam,” I said. “No, why would you even think that?”

“What am I supposed to think? I hear you went bowling with him on Friday from Peter, and now I see you…joking around, laughing with him.”

“Bowling?” I said. My stomach twisted. “I went bowling with Lily because she was trying to hang out with Malcolm.”

“But he was there?”

I stuttered over my words. “Uh, well, he just happened to be there. I didn’t fraternize with him or anything.”

He shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell me you guys are hanging out?”

“We are not hanging out! He was just there, Liam,” I said. I glanced over at Shawn briefly, and he was staring back at us intently. He quickly turned away and resumed tending to the campers.

Liam looked at me, and I could see some sort of hurt in his eyes and I couldn’t help but feel extremely bad. How would I feel if I saw him joking with a girl I hated?

“Liam, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you, but I really didn’t even talk to him at all at bowling. We’re not friends. We don’t even really acknowledge each other half the time.”

“It doesn’t look like that to me,” he mumbled.

“I love you, Liam. I wouldn’t try to hurt you,” I said, pleadingly. “Okay?”

He didn’t answer that.

“Look, I gotta get back to my campers,” he said.

“Liam?”

“I’ll see you later.”

I watched him walk away, and I felt this awful feeling, like a knife was twisting in my gut. I was so conflicted, and I didn’t know what to do. I should run after him, but he wouldn’t listen to me right now. I would call him tonight and try to go over and explain everything.

I went on to swimming, where the kids’ next activities were, and I noticed Shawn with Harry. He was giving him goggles.

I walked over to him, crossing my arms.

“Hey,” Shawn said.

“Alex, are you gonna watch my dive in the pool?” Harry asked, the little kid jumping up and down.

“Of course!” I said, ruffling his curly hair. He beamed and then went on his way to the pool.

“He’s a cutie,” I murmured to no one in particular.

Shawn nodded. He looked over at me, slightly opening his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it.

“Go ahead,” I said.

I don’t know what willed me to speak, but I had a burning sensation that just forced the word vomit out of me.

“What?” he said, surprised.

“Say whatever you were thinking,” I nodded.

“I didn’t know I was allowed to.”

“Of course you are,” I said. “I just don’t have to agree with it.”

He laughed. “Oh, well in that case, let me tell you my deepest thoughts.”

I let myself smile, but I really had this pit in my stomach. If I didn’t want to hurt Liam, why should I still talk to Shawn?

I shouldn’t. That was the simple answer. But, I had to. I wanted to. I craved to, and I had no idea why.

I couldn’t even admit that to myself really, not in a full thought or sentence. I pushed down this feeling and thought about the bigger picture. Liam was my boyfriend. I loved him. I will always be with him. Right?

“Alex?” Shawn asked.

I looked over at him. Before he could say another word, I heard a laugh from my right. I turned around to see Jess walking with Malcolm.

“Hey Alex!” Jess said, seeing me. I smiled at her.

“Oh hey Jess,” I said, warmly.

“Hey Jess,” Shawn said, and he gave her a hug. I saw Jess’s face light up and she raised her eyebrows at me.

Great, she probably thinks I’ve already started to the lay down the ground work. Little does she know, I’m avoiding the topic of her liking him. I was the worst friend officially.

“How’s it going, Malcolm?” Shawn patted his friend on the back.

“Hey you two,” Malcolm greeted, slyly. Ugh, I knew what he was thinking.

“Are you going to the staff barbecue Wednesday?” Jess asked Shawn, pushing her hair behind her ears.

“Yeah, for sure,” he answered. “Will I see you there?”

She beamed. “Of course.”

“Okay good,” he responded.

I don’t know why, but my stomach dropped. I didn’t like seeing them like this. So friendly right in front of me. Which was an insane thought, since he wasn’t even mine. He wasn’t even remotely mine at all, in any sense of being a friend.

So why? Why did I have to feel this way?

“See you then,” she said, turning away and chatting with Malcolm.

I had to admit, that was very cool, calm, and collected.

“She’s cute,” Shawn said, nodding towards Jess.

My body froze. Don’t say anything. Because what I wanted to say wasn’t in favour of helping Jess. God, what was wrong with me?

“Jess? Oh yeah,” I managed.

“She seeing anyone?”

“Not sure.”

I don’t know what the heck compelled me to say that. Every inch of my mind was screaming at me to say the truth, but something else was leading my mouth in the opposite direction.

“Oh, she might be dating someone?”

“I don’t know,” I lied again.

“Aren’t you guys best friends?”

I laughed. Why am I laughing? This was not funny.

Shawn cleared his throat. “You think you could find out for me?”

I furrowed my eyebrows. I tried to look very chill.

“Oh, why?” I asked. Why did I say that? Why wouldn’t I just say that she was interested?

He chuckled. “Because she’s cute. Think she’d be interested?”

Yes! Yes, of course! My job here is done!

I cleared my throat, stalling for time. Why couldn’t I just say yes? What was it about him that made me want to say no?

“Oh, um,” I said, a little flustered. “I, um, I don’t know. I think she was pretty into Michael, but I can ask.”

He nodded and shrugged. “Okay, well, no worries. Mike’s my boy, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

Before I could even respond to take back the last idiotic sentence that left my mouth, he had turned away to tend to another camper.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but it could only go down from here.

______

Master List

[pieceofmyheart8]

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes | Chapter Six

Master List

Chapter Six

I went over to the window early on Monday morning. I waited for the bus to roll up, as I played with a stray strand of fabric on the hem of my camp shirt.

Shawn made it clear on Friday night that we were nothing more than strangers to his friends. That I barely knew him at all. And I don’t know why, but I was so offended by that.

All I knew was that Liam was right — Shawn wasn’t a nice person, and I didn’t need to waste my time worrying over it.

I had a wonderful boyfriend who was the exact opposite. So, why was my mind still so submerged in thoughts about Shawn?

I heard the familiar honk of the bus horn, and it brought me back to reality. I ran out my front door and into the big yellow bus.

“Morning Dave,” I greeted the driver.

“Morning Alex.”

I took a seat, and a few minutes later we were outside Shawn’s house. I rolled my eyes and braced myself for Shawn to come on the bus.

Lo and behold, I saw the top of his brown, wavy hair make its way up the bus steps. Then I saw him. His head turned toward me for a split second, and we locked eyes. I quickly turned away, and he sat in the seat across from me.

“So, how was your weekend?” Shawn decided to say.

Really? He wants to be all cordial now?

“It was fine,” I responded, shortly.

We waded in silence for a little longer.

“Mine was great too,” he replied. I didn’t say anything to that.

More silence.

“I saw my cousins and had a huge family dinner,” he added on. He looked over at me, and I raised my eyebrows. What was he expecting?

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. Not in a testy way or judgemental way. I was genuinely confused.

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s not like we’re friends or anything,” I replied back. “You made that abundantly clear at bowling.”

He didn’t respond to that. He just looked forward.

“Well? Anything to say to that?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?”

He sighed. “Yeah. How can we be friends anyways? When you know and I know who you’re dating.”

His voice sounded a little bit quieter. Like he was hurt or burdened by that fact for some reason. And that touched me for a moment.

“Liam doesn’t control my actions.”

That was the last thing that was said before the first few kids piled on. I busied myself by chatting with the campers at the back of the bus, while Shawn took the front.

We avoided each other as per usual, and I almost wanted to talk to him more. Unpack the last thing he said. Was it odd that we had only just really met and I felt like I was losing some sort of part of my life?

That was dramatic. But, it was oddly true.

As we got off the bus, I saw Malcolm, Lily and Jess all hanging out by their buses. As the kids fled to Main Hall, I walked over to them leaving Shawn behind.

“Hey friends,” I greeted.

“Hey, speak of the devil!” Malcolm said.

“You guys were chatting about me?”

“Well, sort of,” he replied. “We were talking about your counsellor partner.”

My stomach dropped, and I had no idea why. I was worried Shawn had told them about our fights or how he hates me or something.

“What about?” I wondered, trying to play it cool.

“Oh, just trying to play a little matchmaking,” he said.

“What? Ew, no,” I responded too quickly.

“Not with you,” Malcolm laughed. He turned to Jess and Lily and said,  =“although, I guess we know how she feels about him.”

My cheeks burned. “Wait, for who?”

“For me,” Jess said, almost sheepishly.

“Oh,” I said, trying to act calm and genuinely surprised. “Really? Shawn?”

“Yeah,” she said, looking at me with uncertainty. “You don't think it’s a good idea? I know you guys have a weird relationship, but…”

I just looked at my best friend, and I wanted to tell her not to go for him. Not to try. To just forget that Malcolm ever suggested it. But I didn’t know why I was so resistant towards the idea. So hopeful that she would never bring it up again.

This feeling that I was feeling. It was a mixture of…hurt and…something else. But why? It must be because of the way he treated Emily.

“I didn’t even know you were interested, Jess,” I said, ignoring her question.

“Ugh, I did,” Lily chimed in. “She kept saying how hot he was.”

“What about Mike? I thought you were interested in him?” I said, referring to one of the swimming counsellors.

“Yeah, well he’s actually dating Hannah. She was in Chem with us…you remember?” Jess asked.

“You should put in a good word for her. I think they’d really hit it off,” Malcolm said to me.

“Oh, uh…”

“You think it’s a horrible idea. Don’t you?” Jess asked, timidly.

“No, I just…I’m just…I mean, what about what he did to Emily?” I wondered. “Doesn’t that give you a bad feeling?”

“Nah,” Malcolm intervened. “I know Shawn. He didn’t hurt her like that.”

“So she just made all that up?” I asked.

“No, but I mean, he wouldn’t just break her heart for no reason. He’s one of the nicest people I know.”

“Plus, it’s not you who would be dating him,” Lily chimed in.

“I mean, we’ve chatted a bunch in one of our classes we had last year together. He was really sweet,” Jess added. “I don’t know…I would be willing to give it a try.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, even if I wanted to put in a good word for you, Jess…we’re not really friends.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s okay,” Jess said, smiling. She was honestly the sweetest girl ever. In an alternate universe, I would be all for this.

And why wasn’t I? I had this weird splitting feeling within me. One part of me really, really wanted to help my best friend out. And the other part of me just wanted to put an end to this right there and then because I had this inexplicable feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.

“But,” I said, sighing. I knew I should put aside this crazy voice in my head telling me I didn’t want them together. “I’ll try to put in a good word for you. I’ll just have to get on his good side first.”

Jess squealed and gave me a hug. “Thank you, thank you!”

“And we have that counsellor barbecue on Wednesday,” Malcolm said. “We can put a plan in motion to get you guys together and talking. Alex can put the seed in his head, and then we’ll push you together during the bonfire.”

Jess laughed. “Yes! I love how your mind works.”

They decided to scheme some more as we walked towards the Main Hall. I was about to join them, when I felt Lily’s hand on my shoulder.

“Hey,” she said. “Can we talk a sec?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“You sure you’re okay with setting up Shawn and Jess?” she asked.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “But, it seems like you’re not okay with it.”

“I’m fine,” I tried to say convincingly. “I’m just worried for her, alright? Jess is so sweet, and after what I head what Shawn did to Emily, I don’t know.”

“And that’s the only reason?” she asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Sometimes, I felt like Lily could read me like an open book.

“What other reasons would there be?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, exasperatedly.

“Well, okay then.”

“Look, Jess is into him. And if you have any sort of reason in your mind why you wouldn’t want to see them together, then say it now. Because it’ll be too late later.”

“Lil, it’s honestly fine,” I said. That was a lie. I just couldn’t articulate why it wasn’t fine without making absolutely no sense. I would sound nuts.

“Okay…”

We walked towards the Main Hall, where I saw Shawn. I sat next to him and our group of campers.

“So, how are the campers this morning?” I asked.

“Well, Harry already threw up on my shoes, so I’d say it’s going well.”

I looked down at his stained shoes and looked back up at him. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“This is not funny!” he said, although I could see him suppressing a smile.

“No, nope, not funny,” I said, laughing.

He nudged me, playfully.

“Hey, here, want to try my vomit shoe?” he asked, lifting up towards my face. I dodged it.

“Shawn!” I laughed, my guard down. Forgetting I wasn’t supposed to like him. He laughed as well, and we got up to get our campers to the first activity.

We were in a good rhythm, and I knew this would be the perfect time to even plant the seed about Jess.

But, I also didn’t want to distract him from our good moment because they’re so few and far between. So I didn’t bring it up at that moment.

I’d bring up Jess later. Later was better.

[pieceofmyheart8]

MASTER LIST: Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes

Truth Untold Fan Fiction | Chapter Links

{This story is in progress.}

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six 

Chapter Seven 

Chapter Eight (NEW) posted June 9, 2019

If you’d like to keep updated with Truth Untold, message me and I’ll add you to my list and let you know when a new chapter is up! 

__________

About Truth Untold: 

Summer camp begins, and usually Alex can't wait to get back to the fun-filled days of being a counsellor with her best friends and her boyfriend. But this time is different. Shawn Mendes is her counsellor partner, and there's one big problem: her boyfriend hates him. 

 Alex grapples with siding with her boyfriend and getting to know Shawn as someone who is genuine and kind. Over the summer, she starts to discover the truth of their time old feud.

[pieceofmyheart8]

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction | Chapter Five

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

Chapter Five

Shawn and I didn’t make eye contact for the rest of the day. We just did our jobs, corralled the kids, sat on the bus in silence and ended our day.

We didn’t so much as look over at each other or acknowledge each other’s presence. I was angry with him, and he was no doubt furious with me.

Why did I feel so strongly towards someone who I didn’t even know?

I walked off the bus and waved goodbye to Dave at the end of the day sighing. I didn’t know what to do or say, but the fight with Shawn was eating me up.

The week passed on like this. We wouldn’t talk unless necessary. We were super cordial to one another in front of the kids, and as soon as we were alone on the bus, we were silent.

And Liam and I were hanging out all week. I got away from Shawn whenever I could. I guess that’s how it always should’ve been anyways. A blip in my summer, but focusing on Liam and my friends.

Friday rolled around — thank God. My phone rang as I was getting into my house.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Hey Alex,” Lily said on the other end.

“What’s up?”

“Malcolm invited me and few of his friends to go bowling.”

“Bowling?” I asked. “I can’t remember the last time I went bowling.”

“Me neither,” she laughed. “But Malcolm is going, and I really need you to come with me.”

“What? Me?” I asked.

“Yeah, I need you as my wingwoman.”

“What about Jess?” I asked. “Ugh, I’m just so tired from not talking to Shawn all week. You know, awkward silence is exhausting.”

“Jess has a family dinner tonight,” she replied. “Please, please. I will be eternally grateful.”

I thought about it for a moment.

“You owe me! I was your wing woman with Liam last summer,” she said, teasingly. But I knew she was serious.

“Fine, fine,” I reluctantly agreed. It was true. She had helped me with Liam all last summer. Whenever he asked me to hang out in a group setting, she was there to accompany me.

And when Liam wanted a quiet space to have our first kiss, she distracted the group and led them astray on one of our hikes on the weekend.

“Yes! I’ll pick you up in ten.”

She hung up and I hurried inside to get dressed.

Lily was extremely punctual in picking me up. She was wearing a cute romper and white sneakers. I nodded at her.

“You look good, Lil.”

“Thanks,” she beamed.

“So, who’s going to be there?” I asked, as we drove to the bowling alley.

She took a right turn into the plaza, as she looked for a spot to park.

“Not sure,” she said. “He was kind of vague about the people. He just said it was a couple people.”

I nodded. “Camp people?”

“I think.”

I thought she was being a bit short, but I just shrugged it off. She was probably nervous about seeing Malcolm, so I let her park with silence.

As we walked into the bowling alley and got our shoes, I looked over at the group of familiar guys hanging by the lanes.

My heart stopped.

I grabbed Lily’s arm and leaned over. “You knew he was going to be here, didn’t you?”

Lily looked at me wide-eyed and then at the group.

“Who? Ben?” she asked innocently, about another guy in the group.

“Lily, Shawn is here,” I hissed. “You know we had that awkward confrontation.”

“You don’t have to talk to him.”

“I’m not going over there.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes —”

“Lily!” Malcolm shouted from the bowling lanes. All of the boys looked over at us. We were staring at each other and whispering closely together, and I was clutching Lily’s arm.

I instantly let her go.

“Coming!” she said, bouncing in their direction.

“Lily,” I said, after her, but it was no use. I refrained from rolling my eyes as I trailed after her.

Well, this was going to be super awkward.

“Hey Alex,” Malcolm greeted me after hugging Lily. “No Liam tonight?”

I shook my head.

“You know the guys,” he said. “This is Peter, Lucas, and obviously, you know Shawn.”

I waved at Peter and Lucas, and refrained from making eye contact with Shawn.

“Lily, I want to see you hit a strike,” Malcolm said, grabbing her hand. She laughed and went with him.

“We’re going to grab some nachos. Want anything else?” Peter asked us, as Liam and him made their way to the food counter.

“I’m fine,” Shawn said.

Then there were two. As we were left to stand there awkwardly by ourselves, Shawn began to run his hands over the bowling bowls, looking down.

“So, bowling, huh?” I said, stupidly.

He nodded. “Yeah, bowling. Fun stuff.”

There was more awkward silence.

“So, nowhere else you wanted to be tonight?” he wondered, a little tauntingly.

“I’m here for Lily,” I answered, straightly.

“So you can eavesdrop on her conversations too?”

“Yeah,” I sneered. “That’s exactly it. So I can listen in on her conversations. Oh, and then, I can accuse her of feeling a certain way about a person even though that’s not what she meant at all.”

He rolled his eyes. “Wow, so specific.”

“You know, Shawn, I was nothing but nice to you. I don’t get why you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Okay, but you don’t like me.”

He paused. Ha. He couldn’t refute that. And some part of my heart sunk to the ground because I wasn’t sure how we even got here.

“You don’t like me either,” he argued.

I shook my head. I didn’t respond to that. It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. I was just supposed to not like him. And I understood why he didn’t like me. And I wanted to fix that but was at a crossroads with Liam.

“So, there,” he stated, matter-of-factly. I guess me shaking my head signified that I agreed that I didn’t like him.

And I could’ve been imagining this, but I thought I saw the same hurt mirrored in his eyes as they were in mine.

“You just don’t know me,” he mumbled. “You don’t like me because you think I froze someone out.”

“Well, didn’t you?”

He was silent.

Then he said, “yes.”

“Well?”

“But it’s complicated.”

“What’s complicated about it?” I asked, burning with curiosity.

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“Shawn,” I said. “Did you not just stop talking to Emily one day out of the blue?”

Again he was silent.

“Shawn?”

Before he could answer me, Peter and Lucas were back with the nachos.

“Nachos are here!” Peter announced. He put the plate of warm tortilla chips down on the table. Lucas dove in.

“So,” Lucas said, crunching on a chip. “How’s it like being counsellor partners? I bet you guys have bonded quite a bit. I mean, we spend all our time with our partner.”

“Yeah,” Peter nodded. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without my partner. You guys must be pretty close even by now.”

Before I could even think of a response, Shawn answered for me.

“Nah, not really. I’d say, she barely knows me at all.”

___________

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Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction | Chapter Four

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

Chapter Four

The next day on the bus was the longest bus ride of my life. The longest forty-five minutes of my life.

Shawn and I looked over at one another but refused to talk. He got on the bus and didn’t so much as look at me.

I couldn’t blame him. He knew I heard his conversation, he knew I was eavesdropping. And I knew he was more hurt by the Emily situation than anyone knew.

I tended to the kids on one side of the bus, and him on the other. No one knew we were avoiding each other. Maybe Dave, our bus driver, did. Because he looked over at me a couple of times with sympathy.

But then again, maybe I was imagining things.

“Alright, we’ve arrived!” David announced when we got to camp.

I breathed a sigh of relief and helped the kids get off the bus. Shawn lingered behind, maybe to avoid me.

I didn’t know what to say.

Liam was waiting for me as we got off the bus. I went over to him, and he looked tense.

“What happened to you last night?” he asked.

After I had heard Shawn’s conversation with Emily, I wanted to be anywhere but that party. I actually wanted to be comforting Shawn, wherever he was. and I hated that I wanted that. And I didn’t know why.

“Oh, I don’t know. I think I caught some sort of cold,” I said, making my voice sound a little stuffed up.

“Oh,” he said, his facial features softening. “Are you okay? Should you go home?”

“No, no, I feel a lot better. I just - I just went home and slept immediately. Sorry I didn’t tell you,” I said, lying through my teeth.

“It’s okay,” he said, pulling me into him. His hand intertwined with mine, as he gave me a small kiss.

“Liam, we’re at camp,” I said, shyly.

“So?” he said, with a half-smile.

“How was your night last night?” I asked.

“Oh,” he replied, his voice instantly changing tones. “Em came to me all torn up. She was crying, could barely get any words out.”

My heart started to beat faster. “Oh? Did she say what happened to her?”

“Oh, you can probably guess,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing. “I don’t know, all she got out was that she ran into Shawn. And that’s all I needed to hear. He was probably being a —”

“Being a what?” a voice from behind us said.

It was Shawn coming off the bus. I pressed my lips together, nervously.

“None of your business,” Liam snapped.

“Oh, bullshit,” he responded.

“Shut up,” Liam snapped at Shawn. He stepped towards him, and I saw this ending very badly.

“I know you guys were talking about me. So, stop being a coward and tell me to my face,” Shawn said, standing his ground.

Liam shook his head. “I have no problem telling you to your face. The fact of the matter is you’re a dick. You made my sister cry last night, and you’re lucky you’re still standing.”

Shawn snorted. “This whole tough guy act is really wearing thin, don’t you think?”

Liam’s shoulders tensed up. I thought it was time to intervene.

“Guys, let’s just stop. Okay? Walk away,” I pleaded.

“And you think you’re so tough? Breaking someone’s heart, freezing someone out without so much as a thought to who they’re hurting — you’re the coward,” Liam growled.

“Liam, stop,” I said, involuntarily.

I don’t know why I said that. Both Liam and Shawn looked at me in surprise.

“What? You’re actually going to defend him?” he asked, pointedly. He looked more hurt than anything. If I were in his shoes, and I wholeheartedly believed this guy had hurt my sister, I would hate me right now.

“No,” I faltered. “No, I don’t. I just - I just didn’t want to do this here, at camp. Let’s just go, okay?” I begged.

He looked at me for a moment longer, and so did Shawn. Liam sighed, exasperatedly.

“Fine,” Liam said.

“Let’s go,” I said. I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the Main Hall.

I didn’t even look back to see Shawn’s face.

The day wore on slowly. Shawn and I did our duty by taking the kids to each activity, but he was quieter with usual even with the kids.

I caught myself staring in his direction when he wasn’t looking. I just wanted to silently communicate to him I was sorry for this morning. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know why I saw something good in him, but all I knew was I wanted to let him know I had sympathy for him.

But he didn’t take it. He didn’t even look at me the whole morning.

As I settled the kids down in the Mess Hall, where they ate lunch, and let them pull out their lunches, I saw Shawn slip out the front door.

And again, my feet had a mind of its own. My burning curiosity overtook every feeling in my body screaming at me to stay still. I needed to know where he was going.

I followed him down the hill and saw him disappear into the camp’s radio building. I walked up the steps to the wooden building and slid open the doors.

I saw Shawn tuning his guitar in the radio booth. My eyebrows furrowed. I knocked on the glass to the radio booth that was equipped with a microphone and small mix panel. He looked up in surprise.

“What are doing in here?” he said, muffled by glass.

“I can’t hear you,” I said.

He swung open the door and stood far away from me.

“Sorry, I thought you were…leaving or something,” I said, abashedly.

“I’ll be back after lunch to bring the kids to their next activity,” he responded tersely.

“Okay,” I said, awkwardly.

We stood there in silence, as he looked around the room.

“So, what are you doing in here anyways?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“The camp director said I could take over the camp radio station for the lunch hour. I play guitar in here and cover songs. Helps me practice.”

“Oh, you mean the radio that plays in the Mess Hall during lunch?”

He nodded. We stood around in a bit more silence.

“Look,” I started to say. “I’m sorry about Liam this morning.”

He shook his head, not responding.

“And, I’m sorry about overhearing yesterday…that conversation with you and Emily.”

“Why?” he asked, dryly.

“Well,” I spluttered. “Well, because. It was a private conversation, and I shouldn’t have been listening.”

“You shouldn’t have been.”

I felt my insides burn. “Yeah, I know. I just wanted to say, I was sorry — ”

“Yeah, you said that already.”

We both fell into an uncomfortable lull.

“Why are you sorry anyway?” he asked.

“Well, you just seemed hurt,” I admitted. “And…very broken up about your conversation with Emily last night. Or even just seeing her. So, I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

“Please,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Hey,” I said, becoming agitated. “I am sorry.”

“No you’re not,” he mumbled.

“What are you —”

“You’re not sorry. You clearly think I hurt Emily. Which I clearly did.”

“Shawn…”

“No, Liam’s right. I’m an asshole. I’m the jackass that just cut this poor girl off without any warning. I blindsided her. I stopped talking to her because I was miraculously over it. So, there. That should make it easier for you.”

“What are you even talking about?” I said, feeling my insides flare up with anger.

“What? I’m just saying what you won’t,” he said. “You made it abundantly clear that you think I’m in the wrong.”

“I haven’t,” I said, getting frustrated. What gave this guy the right to tell me what I was thinking in such a defensive manner when I’ve tried to be nice.

“It’s fine,” he said, with a note of finality. “Let’s just be counsellor partner, do our jobs, and then pretend like this summer never happened. You can stop pretending to be nice to me.”

“Shawn, I’m not just pretending! I never said any of those things you’ve been accusing me of. And it’s not fair of you to even put that on me.”

“Come on, Alex,” he sighed. “You know as well as I do, you’re just pretending to be nice to me when we’re together to make this summer a little more tolerable. But we all know you’re going to ignore me when we get back to school or else Liam wouldn’t speak to you.”

“No, I’m not! Don’t put that on me. I can act on my own accord!” Now I was getting really mad.

“Please,” he scoffed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

I wanted to grab his shirt and shake some manners into him, shake some sense into him. How dare he speak to me like this?

“You know what? Maybe you are an asshole and a jackass,” I fired at him.

“Finally, you admit it.”

“Yes, Shawn. But, it’s not because I ever treated you that way. You put that on yourself. You’re the one who is so convinced people are seeing you this one way that you don’t even bother to fight to change their perceptions.”

“Please, analyze me more. I beg you,” he responded, sarcastically.

“Asshole,” I shot back, exasperated.

I stormed out, wishing I never knew him. I left him there, knowing in my mind he was who I thought he was. And I shouldn’t have tried to even see that there was another side to the story.

___________

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Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction | Chapter Three

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

Chapter Three

I got on the bus the next morning with the intention of distancing myself from Shawn again. Liam wouldn’t take too kindly to the idea that I was being all buddy-buddy with him.

Was I going to let a few smiles and jokes between us really shape what I thought about Shawn? Change what I knew to be true about him?

Emily said he broke her heart, and that’s what I chose to believe.

So, why was there this nagging sensation in my chest, this ominous feeling that things weren’t as they seemed?

“Hey babe, I’m just getting on my bus now,” Liam was saying to me over the phone. “I hate that I don’t get to see you as often.”

“I know,” I said, sighing. “I knew they would never pair us together. We would never get any work done.”

He laughed that beautiful laugh I loved.

“Oh yeah? What would we be doing instead?”

“We’d be —”

I cut off quickly, as I heard the bus door open and watched Shawn climb up the stairs and onto the bus.

“Alex?” Liam asked.

“Uh, sorry,” I stumbled. I didn’t know why I was all of a sudden so clammed up around Shawn. Like I didn’t want him to know I was talking to Liam.

“It’d be that dirty, huh?” Liam asked, teasingly.

I nervously let out a laugh. “Yup. You got me. Look, the first few kids are about to come on the bus. Gotta go.”

“Love you,” he said.

My cheeks burned. “Love you.”

I hung up quickly.

“How freakin’ adorable,” Shawn said, monotonously beside me. I rolled my eyes, facing frontwards so I didn’t have to look at him.

He looked over at me, seeing if I would take the bait. But, I didn’t. And he didn’t pursue the line of teasing. I closed my eyes, until we got to the next house.

He was probably confused because we had left on such good terms yesterday. If only he were in my head, he’d know that I’m trying to commit to distancing myself from him. Because I don’t trust him.

I had to remember — Emily was broken because of him. He cut her out, froze her out. He could do the same to me. At any time. So why get invested in some sort of friendship?

As we brought more kids on the bus, the less we had to talk to one another. Until one of our campers, Harry, piped up. He was a chatty kid.

“Hey, Shawn,” he said from the back of the bus.

“Yeah, Harry?” Shawn asked, leaning down to get to eye-level with this kid.

“We all want to ask you something, but the other kids are too scared to ask,” Harry said, boldly. His cheeks were chubby and his eyes were bright.

“What’s that?”

“Are you crushing on Alex?” Harry wondered, turning his baseball cap backwards on his head.

The nerve of this eight year old. My stomach twisted for some reason.

“Oh,” Shawn said, laughing. “No, no. Why do you think that?”

Harry shrugged and rolled his eyes. “I dunno.”

Shawn looked over at me briefly, in disbelief at this kid. And I couldn’t help but crack a smile. We both started laughing out loud, nervously.

“Love isn’t funny!” one of our other campers, Hannah, piped in.

“No, it’s not. We’re just definitely not in love,” I said to Hannah.

As we got to camp, the kids found another topic to discuss other than our love lives. Shawn hung back to chat with me, as the kids started running to the Main Hall.

“So, we’re definitely not in love, right?” Shawn said, nudging me slightly. My stomach twisted again.

I laughed. “Oh definitely not.”

“So definitive.”

“Well, I know what I want.”

“And clearly, I’m not it, eh?” he said, jokingly. But half of me thought he was serious.

I didn’t answer that. I saw Liam getting off his bus, and I edged away from Shawn instantly. I think he noticed.

“I’ll catch up with you in the Main Hall,” Shawn said, walking away.

From behind, I heard my name. I looked around and saw my two best friends from camp, Lily and Jess. Lily had fiery red hair that was always pulled up into a ponytail, and Jess had curtain black hair — perfect no matter what she did to it.

“So, did I just see the two of you getting along?” Lily asked, crunching on a granola bar.

“Maybe,” I admitted.

“See? He’s not half bad,” she teased.

“We’ll see,” I admitted.

“I thought Emily said he just cut her out,” Jess chimed in.

“Yeah, he did! I don’t know, I’m still not warmed up fully to him,” I said. “Plus, Liam would hate it if I got along with Shawn.”

“Ugh, he would definitely punch Shawn out,” Jess responded. “Anyway, enough drama talk. Did you hear about the party Malcolm is throwing at his parent’s house tonight? They went out of town.”

“Trying to rekindle their romance?” Lily asked, laughing.

Jess rolled her eyes. “Who cares? All that matters is Malcolm is throwing a party and we need to be there.”

Malcolm was one of Liam’s friends, and someone Lily was pretty interested in. We were definitely going tonight.

“You know, Malcolm is also pretty tight with Shawn,” Lily said. “He’ll be there.”

“Goodie,” I said sarcastically, as to not give away what my mind was really thinking.

Because strangely enough, I really wanted him to be there.

*

The party started at 9:30 PM, and we strolled in forty-five minutes later. I was wearing my high-waisted jean shorts and a white t-shirt. I always opted for the more casual look. Like, an “oh, I just threw this on, but still kinda look cute.”

Jess and Lily had their arms linked with one another and mine as we entered.

Everybody was crammed into his house and spilling out into the backyard. Music was blaring, as the beat roared through the room. Red cups and bottles lined the tables, as we walked through.

“Hey Alex!” I heard from behind. It was Liam.

I went over to give him a kiss.

“Hey Liam,” I greeted.

“I’ve missed you,” he said.

“I’ve missed you more,” I replied.

“Ew,” Lily said, sticking out her tongue. “I’m going to go mingle with the single pringles to see if I can get away from all this gushing.”

We laughed.

“I’ll probably go join her to keep her out of trouble,” Jess laughed.

“Go,” I said, smiling.

Liam had his arm around me, and I looked up at him. He gave me another long kiss, and I couldn’t help but melt into it. But another part of me just wanted to see if Shawn was here. We broke apart for a moment, and my head wandered around to see who else was here.

“Who you looking for?” Liam asked.

“Hm? Oh, no one.”

I kept trying to steal glances at the crowd, until I saw the familiar wave of brown hair. My heart jolted. What was this feeling? Stop, Alex, stop it.

I saw him disappear out the back door. Looked like he was trying to follow someone.

“I’m going to go get some fresh air,” I told Liam.

“Sure. Want me to grab a drink for us?” he asked.

I nodded. I’m not sure what compelled me to do this, but I took the same path as Shawn and bee-lined for the back door.

As I opened it, I realized there weren’t very many people out there. I walked a little further out, until I heard tense voices at the back near the fence. One of them was Shawn’s.

I decided to stay behind a large plant near them, to see if I could hear what was happening.

“Emily, stop. I don’t want to do this right now,” he was saying.

So, the other person was Emily. I pressed my lips together and listened.

“Shawn, please,” she pleaded. “I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

“Please, Shawn, please. It was a mistake. A goddamn mistake,” she said, her voice thick with tears.

“Some colossal mistake,” he murmured.

“I still love you, Shawn,” she was saying.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes I do —”

“No, you don’t! You don’t love me, and you never have,” he retaliated, loudly. “You wouldn’t have — you wouldn’t have just…”

He trailed off, lost for her words. He sighed with frustration, and I couldn’t help but feel my heart ache for him. I was confused. 

“I need you. I’m so sorry,” she said, quietly. “But, I need you.”

“Em, I can’t do this. I loved you. I loved you so fucking much, but I can’t go back to that. Okay? I just can’t.”

“Shawn —” she called after him.

But, it was too late. He was already walking away from her. Towards the plant I was standing behind. Shit, shit.

I tried to shuffle away, but it was too late. He had walked in my direction and saw me. We locked eyes, and I know I looked ashamed for eavesdropping.

“Jesus,” he said when he saw me, visibly upset. His eyes were red from tears. “Great, I’m sure you heard all that.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Shawn —”

“Forget it. I don’t want to hear anything right now. Go tell Liam I made his sister cry,” he said, roughly.

“I won’t,” I said, quietly. “Shawn —”

“I gotta go,” he mumbled.

He pushed past me and into the house. I watched him disappear, left to stir in my own thoughts. Something else happened here, and I was going to get to the bottom of this.

__________________

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When is the next part coming out? ?

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Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction | Chapter Two

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

Chapter Two

I avoided eye contact with Shawn as we were assigned our campers in the morning. I didn’t know what else to do to signify that I couldn’t talk to him…

That I didn’t want to talk to him. I had to remind myself that the Shawn I talked to in the bus was not the real him. That it was just a fleeting moment of kindness. Right?

It was hard to know what was right or wrong. But, Liam seemed pretty adamant and I didn’t want to do anything to hurt him.

“Hey Alex,” I heard from behind me, as I was walking at the back of the camper group. We had fifteen 8-year olds running away from us. Shawn was at the front of the group leading them to their next activity.

I turned around and saw Emily, Liam’s sister.

“Hey Em!” I greeted, hugging her. I glanced back, nervous that Shawn would see her and there would be an awkward run in.

“You’re doing well? Crazy how it’s summer already, right?” Emily said, not noticing Shawn. I nodded.

“Yeah, very,” I agreed.

“So, who are you paired up with this summer?”

“Oh, I guess your brother didn’t tell you –” I started to say.

“Hey Alex, Lucas needs his –” Shawn interrupted, running back towards me. My stomach dropped. This was exactly the awkward interaction I was hoping to avoid.

Emily’s breath seemed to get caught in her throat, and Shawn looked like he might’ve seen a ghost. It was silent for a moment. I cleared my throat.

“Uh, Shawn…what does Lucas need?” I decided to say. For some odd reason, I thought it was best to carry on like nothing happened, even though the tension was ever so palpable.

“Oh, uh,” he said, not looking at me. “Um, his puffer.”

I nodded. I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to give a puffer pretty soon after a kid asks, but I also thought leaving them together alone in this weird tension was worse.

“Okay, so, I’ll just give him that,” I narrated. “Em, it was nice seeing you.”

“Oh yeah, you too,” she said, nervously. “And you nice to, um, nice to see you too, Shawn.”

Shawn was silent, as we walked her trail away. I so badly wanted to interrupt with something hilarious to make him laugh, but I didn’t know him well enough. I thought it was odd that Shawn was the one acting like Emily threw his heart on the ground, when I’ve heard the exact opposite from Liam.

“Are you – are you okay?” I asked, timidly.

He didn’t answer me. He just looked over at me, half in his own thoughts. “Where was Liam’s puffer?”

I didn’t bother repeating my previous question. Who was I to ask anyways? And, anyways, should I even really be sympathizing with the guy? He was in the wrong here.

“Here,” I said, rummaging through my bag and handing him the puffer. He took it without a word and went over to Lucas.

I don’t know why, but I felt bad for him. He looked so out of sorts. And he continued on being dejected the whole day.

We didn’t really talk to each other, we just let each other have space. All throughout the bus ride home, he busied himself with the other campers. He didn’t even so much as glance at me unless he needed something for a kid.

And I guess that’s what I was supposed to be doing too, but I just couldn’t help but feel like he needed someone to talk to. Why that someone would be me? No idea.

As we dropped off the last camper, Shawn laid his head back on the seat.

“Long day,” I decided to say.

He didn’t say anything in return. I totally could’ve just left it there. I could’ve let us wade in silence. So, I’m not sure what compelled me to keep talking.

“I’m pretty sure Hannah is crushing hard on Lucas,” I said, lightly. “She told me she liked when Lucas laughed because it sounded beautiful. That’s as close as it gets to love for someone who is eight.”

To that, I saw Shawn smile.

“Oh, is that a smile I see?” I asked, teasingly.

He sat up a little and turned to face me, his hazel eyes curious. “Why are you talking to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Liam hates me. I’m pretty sure I know he told you I’m the scum of the earth.”

I didn’t say anything to that.

“So, why are you talking to me?”

“Because…” I didn’t know the answer. “I’m not sure.”

He just nodded.

“You know, he doesn’t even know half of the story,” he mumbled.

“Then, what’s the full story?” I asked, without a filter.

“I – I don’t know.”

“How do you not know?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because I just don’t. Okay? It’s complicated.”

It was clear he really didn’t want to talk about anything to do with Emily.

“Okay, well, I’m sorry we saw Emily today.”

“What do you mean you’re sorry? Did you plant her there or something?”

“No, no, I just…I know how much it sucks to see an ex that broke your heart.”

“I thought I was the heartbreaker in this scenario. Didn’t know I was allowed to be sad,” he said, almost dryly. “And how do you figure I’m heartbroken anyway? Em and I have been over for a while now.”

I didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Look, I don’t know what happened, but everyone deserves to be sad.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What?”

“How could tell I was heartbroken?” he asked.

Before I could even muster up any sort of answer to that, to how I saw it in his eyes just how devastated he was, the bus came to a halt.

“Shawn, your stop!” Dave, our bus driver, announced.

“Saved by the bell,” Shawn grinned.

“You’ll just have to wait to find out, I guess,” I answered, coyly.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” he said, grabbing his bag. “Well, see you tomorrow, Alex.”

He gave me one last small smile before darting off the bus. I felt elated that we were sort of making progress, but then, I also felt a sharp pang of guilt.

I shouldn’t have been that friendly. Why did I just assume he didn’t cut Emily out of his life without a reason? That there was more to the story. Tomorrow, I was going to be distant again.

I had to be. Or else I would be descending into an extremely slippery slope.

__

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Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes Fanfiction | Chapter One

Truth Untold | Shawn Mendes fanfiction 

Hey everyone, here’s the first chapter to my second Shawn Mendes fanfiction. 

Chapter One

I met Shawn for the first time this summer. I mean, I’d known him since I was four years old. But, I never really talked to him. We never really interacted for a myriad of reasons.

Sure, our parents knew each other, our cousins were friends. We had been going to the same summer camp ever since I can remember.

We were campers, always in separate groups. Never really ran in the same friend circle, which was a reason why we never connected.

And then, I started dating Liam from our camp. And Liam hated Shawn. Apparently, Shawn dated Liam’s little sister, and he broke her heart. Ever since, Liam’s wanted to rip his head off.

So, that’s the main reason I’ve avoided him for the past 2 years. And I didn’t really think I would ever get to know him. It’s been 12 years…I wasn’t going to start now.

Little did I know, this summer had something different in store for me. For everyone, really.

It was the beginning of summer, the week before camp was about to start, when I got an email that would be the catalyst to a summer I would never forget.

I was in my room, when my phone ringtone sliced through the air.

“Hello?” I asked, jumping on the bed.

“Hey Alex, emails for camp counselor pairing is out,” Liam said cheerfully on the other end.

“Oh, really?” I asked, surprised I hadn’t heard from my two best friends Jess and Lily about who they were paired with.

Usually, it’s a boy-girl counselor pair per group of kids. Jess and Lily were both hoping to get paired with the crushes they set for this year.

“Yeah, I got Jess,” he laughed. “I bet she’ll be disappointed.”

I laughed, knowing my best friend wanted Mike – the boy who sent her secret admirer notes last summer.

“She’ll suck it up. There are worse things than you,” I teased.

“Ouch,” he laughed. “Well, check your email and let me know who you got.”

“I will,” I said.

“Okay, call me later. Love you.”

“Love you,” I replied. We had been dating ever since last summer. This July would mark our one year anniversary.

And I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, he was the best thing that had happened to me.

I went to check my emails on my phone and clicked on the one with the subject line, “Counsellor assignment”

As I was reading it, you could probably guess what it read – Shawn Mendes.

I sighed, shaking my head. This was going to cause unnecessary drama with Liam. I took out my phone, dialling my friend, Lily’s number.

“Hey Alex, what’s going on?” Lily asked when she picked up.

“You’ll never guess who I was paired up with for counsellor assignments.”

“Tell me!”

“Shawn freakin’ Mendes,” I groaned.

She laughed out loud with her signature cackle.

“Lily, I’m serious. Liam will want me to ignore and avoid him. Put up walls around me whenever he’s near…”

“Well, that would be awkward to bring on the bus,” she joked.

I rolled my eyes, letting out a small laugh.

“Shawn’s nice,” Lily admitted. “And everyone knows you spend the most time with your counsellor partner. You’re going to have to be nice to him.”

“Or just be super cordial and indifferent.”

“What even happened between Shawn and Emily anyways?” Emily was Liam’s little sister.

I sighed, shaking my head. I don’t think I even know the full story. All I knew was Liam came home one day, and Emily was crying pretty hard. Apparently, she said he broke up with her without any warning and wouldn’t return any of her calls.

“I don’t know. All I know is Shawn shut her out one day without warning. He just stopped talking to her and refused to give a reason,” I said, exasperatedly.

“Doesn’t sound like Shawn.”

“And you know what sounds like him?”

“We had Science together this year, and he was super nice. Very hilarious,” she went on to say.

“Did you get the job as his hype man or something?”

“No, all I’m saying is…there might be more to that story than you think,” she said.

I ignored that last comment. “All I know is he's not as nice as everyone says.”

She didn’t respond to that. We went on to talk about what the first day of camp would be like and what we were going to wear. But my mind kept wandering.

It was a day camp, so you and your counsellor pair had to take the school bus every morning together and stop to pick up the kids in your neighbourhood to bring them to camp.

We were going to spending so much time together. My stomach turned at the thought.

*

The first day of camp had arrived sooner than I was ready. Liam reacted as expected. Warned me not to fraternize with the enemy.

The honk outside my house signalled the bus was here. And that meant we were going to pick up Shawn next. I don’t know why I was so nervous.

I ran out of my house and stepped onto the bus, taking a deep breath in.

“Hey Alex,” the bus driver said, with a friendly smile. “My name is Dave.”

I waved at him. “Hey Dave! We’ll be spending a lot of time together this summer.”

“We sure will be,” he said, in a booming voice. “Next up, picking up Shawn, then the rest of the campers.”

I nodded, taking a seat up at the front. The bus driver navigated through the familiar neighbourhood streets. I twiddled with my thumbs, as we moved through.

The bus came to a squeaky halt. I pressed my lips together, as I turned my head to look at the brownstone house.

The blue door swung open, and Shawn stepped out in all his glory. He had a slight smile on his lips, as he made his way to the bus door.

As he stepped on, he greeted the bus driver. He turned his head to look at me and waved.

“Hey Alex,” he said, almost shyly.

“Hey Shawn,” I responded.

He went to take a seat across the aisle from me. We sat in a bit of silence. He was awkward too.

“Nice weather for camp, huh?” I decided to say.

He laughed. Not in a mocking way. In a genuine, happy way.

“What?” I asked, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“Five seconds in, and we’ve already used the weather card.”

I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Hey, she laughs,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, that was funny,” I replied, suppressing too big of a grin.

“Oh, so I’m funny?”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please.”

He grinned, setting down his bag under the seat. “So, we’ve got a bunch of eight year olds about to come on board soon.”

“Get ready for all the screams,” I responded. It was feeling easier already with him. Not what I expected.

I know I should’ve probably maintained a bit more of a cold exterior.

“I had a camper last year who just bit me on the hand because I was trying to put on sunscreen,” he told me.

“Can’t blame the kid. Sunscreen sucks to put on,” I teased.

As we picked up more kids, I saw how awesome he was with them. We high-fived each camper as they came on the bus, and seated them in their benches.

As we got them off the bus, there were counsellors there ready to take them to orientation.

“Henry is my favourite camper so far,” Shawn said.

“No, he’s mine!” I said.

“We’ll have to fight to win him over,” he said, as we walked towards the main camp building.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Liam.

“Hey babe,” I said.

He didn’t smile, but he put his arm around me. I could tell he was tense.

“Let’s go to the main building,” Liam said.

“Sure.”

“Got any other girls’ hearts to break somewhere else, Shawn?” Liam asked.

My stomach dropped. They were never civil around each other.

“Clever, Liam,” Shawn replied quickly. “How long did it take you to come up with that?”

Liam moved towards him, and Shawn refused to budge.

“Liam, stop,” I said. I grabbed him by the arm. “Let’s just go.”

I led him away from Shawn and towards the main cabin. I was naïve to think they were just going to ignore each other.

“Promise me you won’t be friends with that guy. Don’t talk to him,” Liam said, angrily.

“We’re paired up! I have to talk to him.”

“Not more than necessary.”

“Yeah, fine. No more than necessary,” I agreed. A promise I intended to keep. To think I was starting to get along with that guy and actually start to like him as a person…I knew I couldn’t.

Well, this was going to be a long summer. 

_______________________________________________________________________

A/N: What did you think of the first chapter? 

[pieceofmyheart8]

Look out: I'm publishing the first chapter of a new fan fiction

I will be posting the chapter this Sunday. This story is also going to be about Shawn 😊

Thanks to everyone who read Crookedly in Love!

[pieceofmyheart8]

Crookedly in Love - Chapter Forty Nine | A Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

Crookedly in Love | A Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

TRAILER | MASTER LIST | WATTPAD

LAST CHAPTER! Thank you so much for reading my story. Please let me know what your thoughts are! Stay tuned for a new story coming out soon :) xx

Chapter Forty Nine (LAST CHAPTER)

I stood at the airport, waiting for my boarding call. I pressed my lips together, as my heart fluttered.

My guitar was already stowed away in the private plane Selena arranged for me. I was heading to Los Angeles today to help her with the next album. And it was surreal.

I had to pinch myself every few minutes to make sure this was happening. That I wasn't just in another one of my dreams.

But, at the same time, a part of me didn't want this to be real. A part of me didn't want to be travelling across the country away from him. From my best friend. From my...boyfriend? My...everything.

My phone rang that minute. I jumped out of my thoughts and went to answer it.

"Hey, where are you?" I asked.

"I think I'm lost," Shawn said on the other line.

"I'm in the private lounge area," I said. "I put your name at the door."

"And that's by Starbucks?"

"No, by the steakhouse," I said, laughing. "Shawn! You got to hurry."

"I don't know where the steakhouse is. Can you come and find me?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "Come find you?"

I didn't understand what was happening. Couldn't he find a map around the airport? I just wanted to see him before I left, so I didn't bother arguing with him.

"Jules, please?" he said.

And that's when I knew he had something up his sleeve. I pushed open the door of the lounge out into the terminal. I looked around, not sure what to do or where to go.

Then I heard it. I heard the strumming of the acoustic guitar from around the corner. I furrowed my eyebrows, as my heartbeat picked up speed. I don't know why I was nervous. It was more like adrenaline pumping through me.

I turned the corner to see Shawn looking like a street busker. He had his plaid shirt on and dark jeans on, and he looked like any ordinary guy off the street. It reminded me of when we first met, and of all the years we spent just playing guitar in the park, in our houses, at school.

I felt tears sting my eyes before I even could tell what he was playing.

He looked up at me and his face lit up. People were crowded around him, some knowing who he was and others just curious.

"Hi everyone," Shawn said to the crowd. "Some of you may know me. I'm Shawn, and I like to play music."

Girls started to take out their phones to document this. They knew their videos were going to go viral.

"Ever since I was twelve, I've had my better half in my life. I've become a better musician, a better songwriter...a better person. She's been the guiding light in my life. And I know, I know I'm sounding super cheesy. But, I don't care."

He kept strumming his guitar in a rhythmic fashion.

"And, we've been writing songs together ever since we met. She's been there for all the major milestones in my life. She's always been there for me."

I watched him look at me with such adoration in his eyes, and my heart has never been so full.

"She's always thought about my happiness. And, despite the contradictory stories you've heard in the media, the truth is this: I never meant to, but I've been neglecting her happiness for a while. She's been my rock throughout this journey, and I've never been good enough for her."

I felt everyone's eyes on me, but I couldn't look at them. I could only look at him.

"Julia, I know I haven't been nearly enough for you. But I will spend every day trying to be. You are about to embark on a journey filled with success and the praise you deserve because you are more talented than anyone I know."

I started to walk closer to him.

"I love you. I love you more than you know or I can put into words," he continued. "And, I thought...I just want to sing with you one last time before you go."

I ran up to where he was, as people waited in anticipation to see what I would do. And I did what any old sappy romantic would do. I threw my arms around him and pressed my lips to his. I kissed him with a sweet intimacy.

People exploded into cheers. Even those who didn't know us. They were rooting for our love story. We had a love to root for.

"I'm going to come visit you all the time," he said.

"I love you so much," I mumbled.

He kissed me again.

"Want to sing 'Life of the Party' for old time's sake?" he whispered.

I nodded.

He started to strum the familiar notes, and I jumped into the first verse. Everything was so surreal to me. Our whole journey from friends to couple to stranger back to being us again. It was a tiring, exhilarating, once-in-a-lifetime, heartbreaking journey.

But it was our story.

We don't have to be ordinary Make your best mistakes 'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry

So baby be the life of the party

We were in love. Crookedly in love. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

[pieceofmyheart8]

Crookedly in Love - Chapter Forty Eight (A Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction)

SECOND LAST CHAPTER, EVERYONE! xx

TRAILER | MASTER LIST | WATTPAD

Chapter Forty Eight

I woke up next to Shawn. I turned around to face him, the sheets rustling. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply. I looked around the hotel room. Our clothes were strewn across the floor in a scattered, hopeless mess.

I remembered him grappling at my shirt, and I his. I remember telling him I loved him for the first time in a while without wanting to cry.

It felt right last night. And it felt right this morning.

I leaned over and brushed my lips against his. His eyelids fluttered, as his hand traced my jaw.

"Hi beautiful," he whispered.

"Shawn," I replied softly.

"Mhm," he murmured back.

I kissed his shoulder, and I watched him smile.

"I love you," I said. "I haven't been this happy in a long time."

"I love you too," he responded. "I know our relationship has a lot of rebuilding to do because of me, but - "

"But, I want to rebuild it. I'm serious this time. No hidden feelings of resentment. I'm all in this time."

He nodded. I leaned in to him, and he pulled me close. I could feel his warm breath tickle my chin.

"I'm not going to go to LA with Selena," I said.

He didn't say anything.

"I love you so much, and I feel like we've been on different pages for so long. And now that we're finally together, I can't let anything stupid come in the way of us again."

"Jules," he started to say.

"I'm serious."

"I know you are. And I want you to be with me always. I just -"

"No, no arguing. I get to make this decision. I want you."

"I want you more than anything."

"Then, what are you saying?" I asked. I looked up at him, and he pressed his lips together.

"Nothing."

He kissed me feverishly, and I didn't want him to say another word. I had this weird feeling inside me -- this opportunity presented itself, but I knew if I left Shawn, I would regret it. I would regret not giving us a chance.

There was a knock at the door. I got out of bed and quickly threw on an oversized t-shirt and my jeans. Shawn slipped into the bathroom to change.

I opened up the door. It was Camila.

I opened my mouth to say something as my stomach dropped. There were so many things I wanted to tell her. How dare she tell people about Shawn and me? How dare she tell Selena to flirt with him in order to bring to light his "true colours"? How dare she...

Care about me? She cared enough about me to try and get me out of this situation.

My anger and my sentimental emotions were battling with one another. I didn't know what to do. So I stepped forward and hugged her.

"Oh, Julia," she whispered, as she hugged me back. I held her tightly. "I just want you to be happy."

Tears welled up in my eyes. She wanted the best for me. Even though she went about it in this way, all she really did was put me first.

"I am," I said, wiping the tears away.

"Okay," she replied, her eyes welling up with tears as well. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done anything or said anything. But, I know you. And I know you love Shawn so much, and you would do anything for him. To make him happy."

I sat down on the bed, listening to her.

"But, I wanted you to think about you for a change," she continued on. "I wanted you to stop putting yourself second."

I looked down at my hands. "I know."

"I love you, Julia," she came over to me. She gave me another tight hug. I peered over to see if Shawn would come out of the bathroom, but he made no move to do so.

"Let's go for some coffee," I suggested.

We left the room, and I texted Shawn I'd be back later.

I spent the next few hours with Camila, just catching up. We met up briefly with Taylor, but no one brought up the events of last night. And my mind was whirring about. Camila told me to put myself first.

I had never thought that I was putting myself second. But maybe I was. Maybe I was sacrificing too much to be here with Shawn.

But, no. I shook those thoughts away. I would regret it if I left before Shawn and I could really figure our relationship out. That was the right decision.

When I came back to the hotel room, I saw Shawn sitting on the bed beside my suitcase.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I packed for you," he said.

"Oh really? And where are we going?" I asked, playfully. He was joking. My suitcase was empty. He was just messing around.

"Not we," he said. "You."

I stared at him, letting the words sink in. I went over to my suitcase and threw it open. All of my things were in there.

I looked up at him, and he was staring at me intensely with tears in his eyes. His cheeks were flushed and eyes red. Seemed like he had been crying for a while.

"Shawn, what's happening? What do you mean?"

I walked over to him, and he collapsed. He pressed his forehead against mine and took staggered breaths.

"I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to forget about me, but you need to go to LA. You need to do this for yourself -"

"No, no," I started to protest.

"Yes," he said. "You deserve so much more than this. You deserve to get everything you've ever wanted and pursue your dreams. I'm not letting you sit back and watch me. I'm not going to be that guy that held you back."

"Shawn -"

"I love you so much. Which is why I know this is the right decision."

"It's - it's not. What about us? I would be sick if I didn't let us have a real chance."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to stop loving you like  do right now. But you need to do this for yourself. I need you to do this."

We both couldn't speak for a moment and our tears mixed together. I kissed him, burrowing into his shoulder.

"You know you have to go," he whispered.

I nodded, but couldn't bear to say the words out loud.

"I want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted," I murmured.

"But you need to be happy too. And I know you're going to regret not going."

"I'm going to regret not staying."

"Julia," he said. "I love you. You make me a better person. Day after day. It's time I started being there for you too."

I knew he was right. Deep down, I knew he was right. I just simply nodded because I couldn't find the right words to express how I was feeling in this moment.

So we said nothing. We just stood there holding each other, letting the time pass us by.

[pieceofmyheart8]

Crookedly in Love - Chapter Forty Seven (A Shawn Mendes Fan Fiction

Just a note that this story is coming to an end very soon! Two more chapters! 

TRAILER | MASTER LIST | WATTPAD

Chapter Forty Seven

In the midst of my shock, I was couldn't figure out what to do next.

One option would be to grab Shawn's hand. To run out of that party, out of that house as fast as possible. Explain everything to him. Explain that people knew about us and that we let our airtight secret get away from us.

And then, on the next tour day, we would pretend like Taylor and Selena never said a word to us. That it was all a bad dream, and they were crazy. Shawn and I would go back to pretending. He would distance himself from Selena.

Also, I wanted to warn him that they wanted to make him pay. They wanted to get me out of this situation. As much as I had wished for an out, a fiery protective instinct came out in me. And I wanted to shield him.

But, I didn't do any of that.

I just sat down on the bed and looked at Shawn, who was standing in the doorway looking at the three of us for an answer.

"They know," I told him.

Selena and Taylor stared at me in disbelief. Why would I tell him that, they're wondering. They were going to help me get out.

"What?" Shawn asked, his eyes widening, praying it wasn't what he thought.

"They know we were pretending, from the beginning."

He looked over at the two girls, and both their heads were down. They didn't know what to do.

"But, they don't know the whole story. They only know half," I continued on. They stared at me. "And I want to know who told you half the story?"

Selena was about to speak, when Taylor interrupted.

"This person told us because they were looking out of you, Julia," Taylor said, walking towards me. "Now, you're telling us we don't know all of it."

"No you don't."

"Well, tell us. We have all night to hear."

"No," I shook my head. "All you need to know is Shawn is a good person, and you jumped to conclusions because a third party person told you something that may be true."

"Then tell us. Tell us the truth, and we'll listen. We won't interrupt or let any sort of preconceived notions come into play," Selena said.

It was like a challenge. I didn't want to take it. But Shawn did.

"Fine. I'll tell you," Shawn said, stepping forward. "And Julia, please help me tell our story."

Our story. I almost laughed. I wanted to think of it as a nightmare that would someday go away.

"It started when my label had just released my first single," he spoke with a softness about him. Like he knew he was ashamed. "My girlfriend of the time had just broke up with me because she was worried I was in love with Julia."

I watched him, as he remembered the painful events.

"And then, I guess I was confused and thought maybe I could like Julia. So I pursued her out of stupidity and confusion, which was not fair. Then, the people who were on this summer tour all decided to go to this club. And I wanted to blow off steam. Because I knew I was being stupid and ruining my friendship with Julia, and that I was broken up about Mel."

He sat down on the bed.

"And, I ended up with two different women that night. And the next morning, I woke up to all of these tweets and posts and tabloids calling me a fuck boy. A liar. Not as wholesome as they thought. A disappointment."

This was all true, and I knew this. It just hurt to go over it again.

"So, my manager and publicist sat me down in a room, and they said we had to spin it that I was pining for a girl I was in love with. That it was all a mistake and I really am a wholesome, committed kind of guy. And then Andrew suggested the girl should be someone the fans would want to root for. A love story they would get invested in would get me back on the right track."

I realized I hadn't heard this before. I was shaking, and Taylor grabbed my hand.

"So, Andrew suggested Julia," Taylor guessed.

Shawn nodded. "And he told me it should be authentic or else people would see right through it. So he advised me not to tell her until later. But how do you tell a person the way you started your relationship wasn't what she thought? After the fact?"

I nodded.

"And I was so stupid. There's not a day I don't think about how much I hurt you Julia. I hate myself for doing that to you. I hate that I didn't just tell you that I loved you for real when I saw you with Brad. Because I knew there was something there."

He started to choke up. He didn't speak for a while, but I saw a teardrop slide down the bridge of his nose.

I knew I had to take the narrative over. And all I wanted to do was hold him.

"So we dated," I continued. "And I - I do believe Shawn actually fell in love with me, and we were in a real relationship. But, the media ultimately came in between us. The fans liked Shawn with Camila for a bit, and then that's when things started to fall apart. Her agent told her about why Shawn started dating me. And then she told me."

And then something clicked. Camila and Taylor were friends.

"And then she told you," I said, looking over at the two of them. "She's the one who is telling you to get me out of this situation."

Shawn looked up and stared at me. We didn't say a word.

"Wait, is that where the story ends?" Selena asked.

"No," I said. "I ended up getting back together with Shawn for real, partially because of selfish reasons but because I couldn't bear to see him go. I loved him. I do love him."

"We dated and then I guess I found out she wasn't happy with me a hundred percent. So we went back to pretending because we didn't want to compromise the other's career."

Selena stared at Taylor. "See? Camila didn't know the whole story."

"I can't believe she would tell you. Wait, so Selena, is that why you were flirting with Shawn?"

"I was trying to prove to you he was an asshole. And then, I told my manager how talented of a songwriter you are. I want you to come with me to Los Angeles to write my next album."

I gasped.

"That's how we were going to get you out," Selena admitted. "Camila just wanted the best for you."

I shook my head. "She could've done this differently."

"I know," Taylor admitted. "And after hearing the whole story, I can tell you guys love each other  a lot. But, I still think you should go with Selena, Julia. Get out of this mess. Shawn, if you loved her, you know this would be the right decision for her. You two need to separate, and Julia, you need to think about you."

They got up. "We'll leave you two to think."

After they left the room, I stood there frozen. Shawn's face was red from the tears, and I knew he didn't know what to say. I didn't either. There was so much to say and then nothing at all.

I walked over to him. We studied each other, as I brushed a strand of hair away from his face.

"I love you," he whispered.

And I just kissed him. I pressed my mouth against his, and he moved closer to me. We pressed up against each other, but there still felt like there was too much space between us. I wanted him as close as possible. With me. Always.

We carried on kissing under the dim light, not thinking about tomorrow.

[pieceofmyheart8]

Crookedly in Love - Chapter Forty Six - A Shawn Mendes Fanfiction

Chapter Forty Six

I walked out of the bedroom and bumped right into Gigi Hadid. I looked up at her (because she was so damn tall), and I forced a smile.

"Hey! Taylor was telling me about you." She gave me a tight hug. "Nice to meet you!"

"You too," I said, feigning a smile. But all I could think about was my last encounter with Shawn. I could tell. He liked another girl. Selena, out of all people.

I might as well just extract myself from the situation now.

Taylor spotted me beside Gigi, and I'm pretty sure she could read it all over my face. She was right, I was wrong. He liked someone else, and he was breaking my heart.

But, if she only knew there was so much more to the story. That I loved him even though he technically wasn't mine. And I think he loved me. Or I thought he did.

I know it seemed stupid, but even though we weren't together, I never thought he'd stop loving me or start liking someone else.

Taylor walked over to me and grabbed my arm. She pulled him into a private room, excusing us from the party.

"Tell me what happened," Taylor said, gently.

I didn't know how it happened, but I just started to cry. It was pent up inside me for so long -- this whole situation, this whole relationship with Shawn, this whole front we were putting up. It was all too much to take.

Too much to digest. I was incoherent for a few minutes while she rubbed my back. And I couldn't stop the tears. I couldn't stop feeling so pathetically sorry for myself.

"I think he's moving on," I admitted, although I don't know why I did. And that didn't cover even the half of it.

"What makes you think that?"

"I've known him for so long. I know him well, and even though dating him was new, it didn't really feel weird. It just felt like the right next step. And we grew closer than ever. I knew our relationship was changing then, and I can feel it changing now."

"Julia - "

The door opened behind us, and Taylor snapped around to see who it was. I just put my head down, so that no one would see me crying.

"Hey," I heard. It was Selena.

I wanted to scream and yell to get out. To tell her Shawn liked her. To tell her he wasn't even mine anyways.

I just remained silent.

"Julia?" Selena said.

"Look," I spluttered, not sure why I was even speaking. "I know you want to come in here and comfort me, and tell me it's going to be okay. But, to be quite honest, I'm pretty sure you know he's been flirting with you. And that you can notice a rift in our relationship."

Selena remained silent.

"So, I'm sorry if I don't really want to talk about it with you right now."

She nodded.

"Anyways, I'm pretty sure I know you like him."

"Julia, I don't."

"It's okay if you do. I don't have any sort of hold on him. I never really did."

I said that last part ambiguously. Partially to myself because I knew they would have no idea what I was talking about anyways.

"Because your relationship isn't real?"

My head snapped up at Selena. How the hell did she know that?

Taylor nudged her. "Selena...stop it."

"No," she said. She didn't say it maliciously, and Taylor looked like she knew something I didn't know. Which is incredibly ironic since Shawn and I thought we knew something no one knew.

"Stop what? What do you know?" I asked, standing up. My head was fogging up, and I felt like I had to be careful with my words in case they weren't thinking the same thing.

"Taylor, it's stupid to hide it anymore. I wasn't even okay with this plan to begin with," Selena talked past me, to Taylor standing behind.

"What plan?" I was getting angry now. Did they know something and were they plotting something against me?

"Selena," Taylor warned again.

"We know he started dating you to clean up his image," she blurted out, ignoring Taylor. My insides froze. "But he never told you he was pretending."

"How -" I started then stopped. I didn't even know how to process this information. And I didn't want to give anything away.

"We know he broke your heart, but you still had to pretend to be with him," she continued on. "But, Julia, it's okay. We won't tell anyone. We want him to pay."

I furrowed my eyebrows. What did she mean by that?

"What?" I asked, incredulously.

"Selena," Taylor said, for what felt like the umpteenth time. She was really urging her to shut up.

"We can get you out," Selena continued, sort of slyly. She was whispering now, rushing up to me. "We can help you out of this situation, Julia. We want to help."

"Help?" I said. My mind was numb.

"Yes. We know he's been getting away with this for too long. And I know you may think you love him or can't let go or can't get out, but we can help you get out. He does not have to win in this situation."

"Julia," Taylor said, giving up and knowing the chat was out of the bag. "Shawn doesn't have to hold you over like this. Look, we wanted to tell you differently but -"

"Who even -" I was about to ask.

Before they could even respond to this at all, the door burst open.

We turned around to see Shawn standing there. His eyes darted between the three of us, and everyone was frozen guiltily even though he had no idea what had been going on behind these closed doors.

"What's going on in here?"

We stood, wild-eyed, waiting for the other to speak.

TRAILER | MASTER LIST | WATTPAD