The Story of Us

Twelve.

I heard screaming. And lots of it.

We were at the show, and the boys were about to go onstage. Taylor and Shawn both insisted that I come onstage, even though I didn't really want to.

For some reason, I had a bad feeling about it.

"You ready?" Taylor nudged my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah." I nodded, trying to muster a smile.

"You alright?" Taylor asked, his voice now filled with concern.

"Mmhm. Just nervous is all."

"Okay." Taylor nodded warily, and then slung an arm around my shoulder. I looked up at him and smiled.

"NASH! NASH! NASH! NASH!"

Nash introduced us all, me in between Taylor and Shawn.

As I stepped onstage, grinned, and waved, the crowd went quiet. There was tons of whispering and pointing, and I heard my name quite a few times.

"Alright! Let's get this thing started!"

"SLUT!" Someone yelled.

"YOU'RE JUST USING SHAWN!"

"HE DESERVES BETTER!"

Insults were being thrown at me like machine gun fire. I tried to just brush it off, but it was hard.

Wanna know what happened at the show?

Yeah, me too.

I couldn't focus on anything. All those hateful things bounced around in my head.

As soon as the show ended, I sprinted backstage.

"Zander!" I heard someone running behind me. I assumed Shawn, because I didn't look back.

I reached a dead end and turned around.

To my surprise, Johnson was standing in front of me, out of breath.

Neither one of us said anything. I just stared at him, tired and upset.

"Come here." He pulled into a hug, which I gladly accepted.

"Don't listen to anything they say. When a girl comes into the picture, a lot could happen. But, we love you, and we know none of that is true." He whispered, slightly swaying me back and forth.

(A/N: Johnson is so cute 😍 I wanna keep him forever)

"You're too sweet." I said, my voice muffled.

"C'mon. Shawn's probably worried."

"Okay." I wiped my eyes, although it was no use.

I walked with Johnson back to the rest of the guys. I didn't see Shawn anywhere, but I saw Taylor, his back facing me. He was talking to Matt and Cam, and even though I couldn't hear what he was saying, I could hear the worried tone in his voice.

I went up behind him and wrapped my arms around him.

"Hey." I whispered, my voice barely audible.

"Zander!" Taylor whipped around and hugged me tightly. I gladly hugged back.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I swear to god, I'll find every single one of them who said anything and-"

"Tay." I cut him off and looked up at him. I pulled away slightly, but still kept my hands around his torso. His arms stayed wrapped around my shoulders. He gazed back at me, a mix of anger and relief in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, okay?" I said quietly.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Where's Shawn?" I asked.

"He went to look for you." Taylor replied, running his hand through his hair as he turned around.

"Nash! Where's Shawn?" I asked him as he came backstage.

"He's, uh...."

"Thanks Nash." I said sarcastically. I went back to where Johnson found me.

"Zander?" I heard Shawn's voice.

"I'm over here Shawn." I replied softly.

"Babe!"

Shawn ran over to me and hugged me, lifting me off the ground. I flung my arms around his shoulders and buried my face in his shoulder.

As he swayed back and forth with me in his arms, my hand found the tiny hairs at the back of his neck.

I didn't even realize I was crying again until a small sob escaped my mouth.

"Shhh. It's gonna be okay." Shawn whispered huskily.

As he set me down, I brushed a stray hair away from my face.

"You're beautiful." Shawn said, grinning at me.

I grinned at him, wiping my eyes.

"You are." Shawn insisted.

"Stop it." I said sheepishly, covering my face with my hands.

"Zan, look at me."

I looked up at him, and before I could say anything, I felt Shawn's lips on mine.