The One After [SHAWN MENDES]

Chapter 22

I woke up a few minutes before my alarm sounded and picked up my phone to turn it off. I smiled when I saw there were two texts from Shawn.

Thanks ❤️

I'll call you

He wouldn't be calling anytime soon since he was three hours behind. For all I knew, he was still out at some fancy Hollywood after-party. I tried to picture myself attending events like that and couldn't. I replied to him before making my first cup of coffee.

I'll be home all day. Call anytime.

A few hours later, as I calculated estimated taxes for my dad's business, my phone buzzed next to me. It was Fallon, not Shawn.

So....

I hate to cause trouble

But did you see the pics?

My heart sank in my stomach.

What pics?

A second later, she sent a link to one of the shittiest online gossip sites. I clicked it and was confronted with a series of photos of Shawn and Camila cozied together at a party. They were both wearing different outfits than they had on the red carpet, but the photos were clearly from the night before because her hair was still styled in the same way.

I exited that page and googled 'Shawn and Camila' which of course brought up tons of photos of them. I added 'VMA' as a keyword and my phone was flooded with images from their Señorita performance in 2019. I saw these the other day when I was looking at his outfits, but I hadn't lingered on them for long. This time I zoomed in on a few and analyzed them with a new eye. There was so much love, even onstage as they sang, and I suspected feelings that deep never fully disappeared. I added '2022' to the search and noticed other online sources had the suspicious photos. Every single one of these sites had essentially the same headline: Are Shawn and Camila back together?

Fallon texted again.

I assume you've seen them

They are probably nothing

I wasn't sure how to respond. Were they nothing? They didn't look like nothing. The images were dark and grainy, but there was no denying that they captured a pretty affectionate encounter between the exes. They were standing close to each other and he was leaning down as she said something in his ear. Both of them had smiles on their faces, and there appeared to be no awkwardness between them. In one pic, he was pushing her hair from her face, which screamed intimacy.

My mind flashed to the joint statement they released after their break-up. They said they'd remain best friends. Maybe that's what was caught on camera- two close friends sharing a moment after an awards show. Was this wishful thinking on my part?

My phone started vibrating and I answered it. "Hi, Fallon."

"Hey, hon. I'm sorry I sent that. You would have found it on your own and maybe that would have been better. I was just kinda shocked and my first instinct was to make you aware. Bri chewed me out over it so now I feel terrible," she told me.

"I don't mind. You're right that I would have seen it anyway."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. The pics look incriminating," I replied.

"The press is running with what the public will get most excited about. They worded the headline so that anyone who looks at the photos sees a couple in love. You can't get too concerned about a few brief moments captured in time."