Bad Reputation - Shawn Mendes

14 - Leaving

Eleanor.

"Room 305 right?" The guy says while looking at his phone. "Y-yep." I reply nervously, praying he doesn't notice who i am. "Okay, its $14.59." He says while handing the food over to me. I grab my wallet and give him the money, which he counted again. "Enjoy your food." He says before walking away. "Thank you!" I shout as i close the door. Thank god, he didn't realise i am the girl in the photos. I guess he was looking back and forth from his phone to me because he was checking the order. I should probably be more careful, i know i already have a bad reputation from high school but i don't want that to develop into something more, like having rumours of dating a celebrity.

Aaliyah and I munch down on the food while watching a bit of YouTube. We both found out that we really like watching food videos while we eat and so we did just that. After we finished eating, we cleared up the table and i headed over to the communal showers. And of course i had to do it like mission impossible style, checking the surroundings and running when there's no one around. I made it into the shower without being noticed and decided to take a long warm shower. So much has happened today already but there was one thing I couldn't get off my mind for some reason. I couldn't help but think what Shawn had said to me at the art exhibition. He said that he would be like the shadow in the painting, and pulled me out of the dark. Why would someone like him want to help a girl like me?

I grab my dirty clothes and wrap myself up with my towel before heading into my room. I changed into my pyjamas and laid down in bed. Today has been an eventful day. I scrolled through social media and saw Shawn had made a tweet regarding the article. It read, "She's just an old friend, not a bae." There were thousands of replies under that tweet, mostly saying how they were grateful that Shawn was still single. But there were a hand few of people who said that they didn't believe Shawn, and that there was clearly something more. I didn't want to read anymore so i turned off my phone, set an alarm for tomorrow and went to bed.

———

The sound of my alarm radiated through the room and i quickly swiped it off so that it wouldn't wake Aaliyah up. I groaned softly in bed while stretching before getting up and going to wash up. I head back into the room and put on a sweatshirt, to go to the cafe downstairs to grab a drink for breakfast. I ordered a blueberry smoothie and went back up to my room to do my work. I had quite a bit to complete before going over to Shawn's.

After spending 5 hours straight on my laptop doing work, i finally finished doing everything i needed to do. I turn around and see that Aaliyah is also on her laptop doing her work. College life isn't all just about parties, there's so much work to do that no one tells you about. I check the time and we have about two hours left before we have to leave. I decided that i would just lay in bed and chill until it's time to get ready. Shawn said to dress casually so i'm just going to wear sweatpants and a loose graphic tee, that wouldn't get much attention.

Once Aaliyah was done with her work, we both got changed and hopped into her car. We decided to go to Chick-fil-a drive through and order some food to bring to Shawn's. Aaliyah has been raving about how his apartment has the best view of the city, and i can't wait to see it for myself. After collecting the food, she drove us straight to his house and i feel my nervousness building up. Why am i nervous? I've hung out with Shawn twice and Aaliyah is also with me, there's literally no reason for me to be nervous. The voice in my head then reminds me of what had happened yesterday, with the article coming out and all. I take a deep breathe and remind myself to just have fun and not think so much.

We pull into an underground parking lot of an apartment complex and we both get out of the car, me following Aaliyah since she knows her way around. We enter the lift and she presses the button for the very top floor and i can already imagine how great the view is going to be, considering how high above he lives. We step out of the lift and Aaliyah knocks on the door of Shawn's apartment and i feel my palms getting sweaty for no reason. Shawn opens the door and greets the both of us excitedly, inviting us to come in. Although he is dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, he still looks fucking attractive. It must be the celebrity aura.

I step into his apartment and the first thing i notice is how clean and spacious it is. He also has photos of his albums and his achievements pasted on the wall of the hallway and i find it so adorable of how proud he is, which he should be. I walk further in and thats when i notice the best view I've ever seen and everything can be seen from his balcony. I set the food down on the counter and immediately walk towards the balcony with my mouth open wide. "Shawn! How could you be hiding this view from me?" I tease and he laughs. "I can't bring a girl over the first day i meet her, can i?" He replies and i join him in laughing. I took a few photos of the skyline as the suns sets, it truly is what Aaliyah had described to me in the car.

I walk back in the apartment to find Aaliyah and Shawn both sitting on the sofa, preparing to eat the chick-fil-a. "What shall we watch?" Aaliyah says as she uses the remote to navigate the tv. "Anything but horror." Shawn says while stealing a piece of fry. "Let's watch horror." I say, purposely trying to get a reaction from him and it was a success since he pouted so adorably. "If we watch horror, you guys would have to stay the night. There's no way I'll be sleeping alone." He complains. "Fine, no horror." Aaliyah gives in.

We ended up picking the movie 17 Again staring Zac Efron and we ate as we watched. I would occasionally look over to Shawn and sometimes i would catch him smiling at the tv screen but sometimes we would lock eyes and i would turn away in embarrassment. But for some reason, I couldn't stop looking at him, it's like we're opposites pole of a magnet being pulled together. Poor Aaliyah who had to sit in between us though, but i know she enjoyed the movie because of how her eyes did not peel away from the screen one bit.

The movie ends and the credit scene roll in. I yawn, not realising how late it already is. "Aaliyah, Elle?" Shawn says, making the both of us turn to look at him. "I'll be flying to L.A. on Tuesday to write and record my third album." Shawn tells us while looking kind of disappointed. "That's amazing news Shawn!" I exclaim, trying to lift up his spirits. "SM3 coming soon!" Aaliyah shouts. "Yes, but I'll be gone for at least 2 months." Shawn says and my heart sinks. Shawn and I have just started to get close and he's leaving for 2 months, now i get why he looked so sad. I erased those thoughts away, i should be proud of him and his music career. "It's okay, we can still text and even FaceTime?" I suggest and Shawn smiles widely. "I would love that." He says and we both give him a hug. We say our goodbyes and leave because Aaliyah had to wake up early for school the next day.

As we drove back to the dorms, i can't help but think about how much I'm going to miss him. And despite saying we would text, I know that we would both be busy especially Shawn because writing and recording music can't be easy. It's crazy to think how a boy could mean so much to me when in high school i just used boys to maintain my bad reputation, but this boy here is different.