Bad Reputation - Shawn Mendes

26 - Stronger

Eleanor.

I woke up and immediately touch my lips, remembering last night's events. I was actually enjoying myself at the party until shit started going down. "Morning." Aaliyah says as i stretch. "Are you okay?" She asks. "Not really, I'm still kind of in a shock." I answer. I try to turn on my phone once again but it was still dead, i need to go to a repair shop and get it checked out. "Can i borrow your phone to call Shawn?" I ask and she passes me her phone.

The phone rings four times before Shawn picks it up. "Aaliyah?" He answers the phone in a raspy tone. "Sorry, did i wake you up?" I say, forgetting about the time difference. "No no it's okay. Are you okay Elle? Why are you using Aaliyah's phone?" He asks. "I dropped my phone last night and now its broken." I tell him. "I see. I was worried when you didn't return any of my texts and calls." He tells me. "I-i need to tell you something." I say after taking a deep breath. "Is everything okay?" He stammered. "No, it's not. Last night, I was dancing on the dance floor when a random guy came up to me and started dancing with me. I tried to push him away but he was too strong. And the next thing i know, he's leaning in and kissing me." I sobbed, biting the inside of my cheek. "How are you feeling?" He questions. "Like shit." I reply. "I wish i was there for you right now and also to beat that guy up. Do you remember how he looked like?" He raised his voice slightly. "I-i don't know, everything happened so fast that now my memory is a blur." I confess. "Can you pass the phone to Aaliyah?" He requests and i do so.

Shawn.

"Did you know?" I ask once i heard the phone being passed. "I only knew after it happened." Aaliyah answers. "Why weren't you there with her? You guys are supposed to have each other's back!" I snap. "I went to the bathroom when it happened. And i already feel terrible for leaving her alone!" She yells in a hushed tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get angry. At least you guys are safe now." I sigh. "It's okay, i understand why you'd be angry." She says. "Please take care of her, I'll rearrange my schedule and be back soon." I assure them. "I will." She replies and we both say our goodbyes before hanging up.

Why must guys be such jerks? Why do they think they can go around doing whatever they want to whoever they like? If only i was still in Toronto and at the party with her, then I could've protected her and nothing would've happened. But it did. Maybe that was the reason why it was so hard to fall asleep last night, like i could feel something was wrong. I quickly got out of bed and got dressed even though i was way ahead of my schedule. I knock on my manager, Andrew's, hotel room door. After a few knocks, he finally opens the door and lets me in.

"I need to go back to Toronto as soon as possible." I assert while pacing around the hotel room. "But you still have a lot of promotion activities you need to do Shawn." He tells me. "I know, if we could push everything forward and cancel a few events, i would be able to go back quickly." I argued. "That would be a lot of rearranging and besides what's the rush?" He shrugs. "Something happened to Elle and i want to be there for her." I say. Andrew ponders over my sudden requests and doesn't reply. "Please?" I beg, rubbing my hands together. "Fine. I'll see what i can do." He gives in. "Thank you thank you thank you!" I cheered before leaving the room.

Eleanor.

Aaliyah hangs up the phone with Shawn and turns to face me. "He says he's going to rearrange his schedule to come back sooner." She tells me. "He doesn't have to do that." I say, feeling slightly like a burden for troubling him. "You know him, once he's set his mind to something, he won't change it." She adds and its true, he's stubborn that way. "Do you have any plans for the day?" I ask, changing the topic. "Nope, what's up?" She asks as she sits up. "I need to go to the repair shop, my phone's broken i think." I mutter and she nods. "I can come with you!" She exclaims. "Thanks Aaliyah." I smile. What have i done to deserve both of them?

We both got dressed and headed down to the cafe nearby to grab a bite. We sit down in silence while eating our food. Aaliyah scrolls through her phone and i look out the window, watching people walk by. "Oh my god." Aaliyah bursts and i turn to look at her immediately. "You have to see this." She says as she passes me the phone. It was a picture of me and the guy from last night's party where he kissed me forcefully. The caption wrote 'slut' and i feel my heart race. I look up at the username to see who posted it and it was the one and only Chloe, making my blood boil even more.

I pass the phone back to Aaliyah and scold, "That bitch." "She is." Aaliyah agrees. We quickly finished up our food before getting into my car and driving off to the repair shop. "I'm so sorry I wasn't with you. If only I hadn't gone to the bathroom and stayed with you then all this wouldn't have happened." Aaliyah picks at herself. "Stop it Aaliyah, it's not your fault. I'm pretty sure Chloe is behind all of this and she would have done something to me either way." I reassure her. "Well one thing for sure is we're never stepping into one of the frat's parties ever again." She states. "Hell no." I reply and we both laugh.

After driving for about 20 minutes, we arrive at a phone repair shop. We both get out of the car and head inside. A kind lady ushers us in and shows us to the counter. "How may i help you girls?" She asks politely. "I dropped my phone and now i think it's broken." I tell her while showing her my phone. "Let me take a look." She says before examining and doing checks on the phone throughly. "It seems like it's in pretty bad condition. You will need to get a new battery which would cost about $550 and to repair your broken screen would be another $200. So the total would be around $750." The lady informs me and my eyes widen. That's way over my monthly spending budget. "Is it possible to pay in instalments?" I ask softly. "I'm sorry, we only allow payment upfront." She apologises.

"I'll pay." Aaliyah cuts in and the both of us turn to look at her. "Are you serious?" I whisper. "Yes, you can pay me back monthly or something." She smiles and i hug her. "You're the best!" I exclaim and she gives me the 'i know' look. Aaliyah pays for the repair first and the lady tells us to come back at the end of the day to collect it before we leave.

I'm so blessed to have people like Aaliyah and Shawn around me, who are always looking out for me. Although a terrible thing happened to me yesterday, I can't let it affect me. I need to remember that I'm more than just a girl with a bad reputation and that I'm stronger than i think i am. And even though i was angry at Chloe for pulling shit like this, i have to say I'm thankful that she posted that photo because now we have evidence and can track down who the guy is.

Author's Note!

Sorry if there were jumps in the POV's which made the chapter confusing but i hope you guys like it! Eleanor is becoming stronger and I'm so proud of her hehe.