Shawn Mendes Imagines

6. Friends With Benefits (S.M)

This is written in first person POV!

"You know how I feel about you, right?" I decide to ask Shawn suddenly.

He looks over at me from his comfortable seat across the room, and gives me that smile I've slowly grown to adore.

He knows.

"Do you feel the same way?"

"What's with the random questions?" He asks.

His questions about my own inquiries are valid, especially since we're just trying to enjoy our day at home. It's a safe activity, away from the dangerous world full of strangers and cameras.

We're comfortable here.

We've been friends since we were children, and we've always stayed in touch, even after the long crazy course that life has taken us on. Shawn became a global pop star, while I decided to lead a quiet life and go to a university for a future as a writer.

Our own career paths satisfy each of us, but it's also been the source of the biggest pain for us. We can hardly be seen in public without there being hundreds of articles that question who the stranger next to the Shawn Mendes is.

I remember scrolling through Twitter the day after we had recently been pictured together going to dinner, and I would rather not relieve that. His fans are absolutely ruthless.

"I was just wondering," I finally tell Shawn.

"It doesn't really matter? Does it? It's not like we can date. I don't want you to live under the constant pressure of a camera being nearby."

"Maybe," I whisper. "But I also know that I really like you."

He shoots me a comforting grin, and says, "I know that too. It just feels unfair to do that to you."

That's what I've always thought about. Would I want to date him and deal with the price that comes with that?

I'm not sure if he's worth the thousands of comments that I know I'll have to scroll through on social media. All a bunch of insults directed at me and how I'm "stealing" their man.

It's not healthy for me. Or him.

"We can work something out," I tell him.

"We can't date," Shawn says. "At least not now."

The main issue has always been about his fame.

But what if we took that out of the equation?

Wouldn't it be exciting to be moving through the shadows and playing games against his fans? They would be the joke, not us.

We don't have to be obvious about anything that passes beyond the boundaries of a friendship. And we don't necessarily need to be dating either.

"We can find something else to be?" I suggest.

He smirks, and questions, "like what?"

Now that I think about it, it doesn't really make sense to date Shawn.

It would be nice to simply be together without all of the strings attached. We can hold on to the parts we like, and the reject the ones we don't like. Like his fame or being attached to someone long-term.

We can be together for the night and leave in the morning when reality sets in.

Right now, the curtains are shut and we're in our own world. We can't waste the opportunities that are right in front of us.

"We can be friends with benefits," I finally say after the moments of thinking about if that even sounds sane or not.

"I'm not against the idea," he slowly says out loud.

He runs his hand through his hair, and sits up straight as if that will make him seem more attractive in the moment. He clearly acts fast.

"So you agree? It's a good idea?"

"We only live once," he tells me.

"How does that even work though? When do we start?"

He laughs, and says, "it's not some kind of job."

"I probably sound stupid," I tell him.

I've already messed up everything.

It's scary to be heading into deep new territory. You have to be careful or else you'll drown in the ocean.

I wouldn't mind getting lost with him though. We can be there for each other in unique ways.

"Y/N, I always feel like everything I say and do is dumb. Don't worry about it."

At that point, he's already on the sofa right next to me. There is little amount of space left between us.

I like it that way.

After what feels like forever, he leans in to kiss me.

And that sparks a quick movement of heading into his bedroom, and landing on his bed. No one has to know what we're doing.

It's just us, and that's all that matters.

He knows me in ways that I didn't even expect.

I don't think that I'm going to regret this decision.

Thanks for reading!