Bad Reputation - Shawn Mendes

32 - Going Public

Shawn.

I woke up to the sound of my phone vibrating. I rub my eyes slightly before picking up my phone to check what's going on. My publicists is calling me at 7 in the morning, great. I leave to the hallway and reluctantly pick it up because i know if i don't she'll spam call me. "What do you want?" I spit. "Hello to you too." She says sarcastically. "If you haven't noticed you've been trending on twitter since last night and many news outlet want to interview you about your girlfriend." She adds. "And what do you want me to do about it?" I ask annoyed. "Since we don't really have much of a choice, you will need to admit you're in a relationship." She sighs. "How shall i do it?" I ask. "I have set up an interview for you with Hollywood Life today at 4pm, you'll come clean then." She informs me. "I need to talk to Elle about this first." I say. "Okay, but i was thinking it'd be good if you didn't mention who it was, but instead keep it mysterious so you would get more attraction for you album." She suggests. "I'll think about it. Is that all?" I ask. "Yes that's all. Don't forget 3pm we'll pick you up, got it?" She checks. "Yeah yeah." I respond before hanging up.

I quietly open the door again and Elle shoots up from the bed. "Shawn?" She whispers. "Ssh, let's go back to sleep baby." I coo, as i lay down again with her. "Where'd you go?" She asks as she snuggles into my chest. "My publicist called me." I answer. "Oh." She replies kinda surprised. "We can talk about this later." I say before giving her a kiss on the top of her head and patting it. "Okay." She whispers. We cuddle for a while more, and i enjoy her embrace. Oh god, how i wish i could hold her like this forever.

Aaliyah groans loudly in bed and stretches her body, making the both of us jerk a little and turn over to look at her. "Sorry, did i wake y'all up?" She apologises. "It's okay." Elle reassures her. "So what happened?" She asks, looking up to me. "Well, last night i mouthed 'i love you' to you and now the fans and media are going crazy." I tell her and she nods for me to continue. "And now she wants me to admit that i'm in a relationship to Hollywood Life. Is that okay with you?" I ask and she stays quiet for awhile, thinking about it. "Okay." She finally agrees. "My publicist tells me to keep your identity a secret though, and i'm not sure if i want to do that. If i'm admitting i have a girlfriend, i may as well tell people who it is because i'm proud to be with you." I say. "You should listen to your publicist." She advices. "But-" I try to argue. "She knows what she's doing i'm sure." Elle cuts in. "Alright." I say in defeat and she gives me a peck on the lips.

We get out of bed and went to shower so that we can head back to my apartment for breakfast. As i was showering i couldn't help but feel even more nervous about today's upcoming interview. How would my fans react? Will they still support me? What are the consequences of going public with my relationship? I quickly erased all the thoughts in my head and changed into a new set of clothes. It's funny that i've been coming over so often that i have a set of everything i need in their dorm.

"Ready to go?" I ask as they're putting on makeup. "One second." Aaliyah replies while drawing her eyeliner. Once we were all ready, we quickly got on my car again and drove to my apartment. When we arrived, the smell of fresh muffins hits us immediately. "Smells good mom." I say and give her a kiss on the cheek. Everyone gathers around the kitchen counter and starts digging into the breakfast my mom had prepared for us.

———

"Shawn! Hello hello, thank you for coming!" The news reporter greets. "Thank you for having me." I smile to her and back to the camera. "How does it feel to be back home?" She asks as she shuffles through her cards. "It feels amazing to be back home and to perform my first ever show for the new album here!" I grin. "Speaking of your first ever show, last night a video of you mouthing the words 'i love you' has been circling around the internet. Is it directed to a special someone?" She smirks. The video plays behind the monitor and i turn around to watch it. "Yes it is. That song was actually inspired by her and she was at the show last night. I'm so grateful to have a girlfriend like her and that was me confessing my love to her." I declare, feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders. "So just to confirm, you are in a relationship?" She asks, leaning closer to me. "Yep." I reply, popping the p sound. "Well, you heard it here first on Hollywood Life that Shawn Mendes is no longer single and has a girlfriend!" She exclaims to the camera. "Who is this lucky girl?" She turns back at me and asks. "Just a girl i love." I smile. "A close friend of yours?" She probes. "You could say that." I shrug. "She must feel really special to have a song written about her." She adds and i nod. "Ladies and gentlemen, Shawn Mendes third album is out everywhere now, go get your hands on them before they're gone!" She squeals at the camera and i give one last smile before the cameras stop rolling.

The news reporter thanks me again for coming and we hug for a few seconds. I left the venue immediately after and head back to my apartment where everyone was at. At first i was scared to announce my relationship to the whole world but now that i've done it, i feel free and less guilty of hiding it from my fans because they mean so much to me. I just hope that once the video is out, they'll react to it well and still support me.

As we're reaching my apartment building, i notice many big black cars driving past us to the direction we're heading in. They park right outside my apartment as we head inside to the parking lot. Shit, they're paparazzis. And now i know there's no way we can leave this place without them taking a photo of us and getting what they want, a picture of Elle.