A Little Too Much | Shawn Mendes (COMPLETED)

07 | Aaliyah and Allie

Shawn's POV

"Shawn, I'm fine, go to New Jersey," Aaliyah protests. "No, my fans will -" "I'm sure they will, but I'm fine! I wish you'd all stop babying me," Aaliyah pouts. "Aaliyah, that girl hit you so hard your bone punctured your skin!" Mom says. Aaliyah rolls her eyes. "So what? People have died because they play hockey, but they still play!" I try not laugh at this. "I don't think that's helping Lee," I say with a chuckle. She rolls her eyes and shoves me so hard I almost fall off my stool at the kitchen counter. "Aaliyah! You are not going back to hockey and Shawn, go to New Jersey," mom says. "Mom! You're ruining my life!" Aaliyah yells. She slides off her stool and stomps upstairs, slamming her door. I frown as mom shifts uncomfortably. "I'll talk to her," I say.

I knock lightly on Aaliyah's door and her her sniffling. I roll my eyes. I love her, I really do, but she can be pretty immature sometimes.

"Are you seriously crying about this?" I say as I open the door and stick my head in. She wipes her eyes and shoots me a glare. "Not that it's any of your business, but yes," she snaps back, sitting up and adjusting the sling around her shoulder. I close the door behind me and sit next her. "Lee, why is this such a big deal?" She sighs and looks at me for a long time. "What if, for some reason, mom told you you couldn't sing anymore? How would you feel?" Aaliyah says, watching me carefully. I frown and stare at my hands. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she says. "Then tell her that, Lee," I say. "She's our mom. She's loving and caring and overprotective and sometimes doesn't realize that trying to shelter us from every little thing that could hurt us makes us miserable. Just tell her that accidents happen, but you love hockey. I'm sure she'll come around." Aaliyah gives me a sly smile. "What am I gonna do while you're gone, and mom's being . . . mom?" She says with a laugh. I smile and gently put my arm around her shoulders. "I'm only a phone call away," I say. She stares at her hands. "I'll miss you," she says, wrapping her good arm around me. I hug her tightly. "I know. I'll miss you, too, Lee."

•••

Since we missed our flight, I decide to go for a jog while dad checks for the next flight available. I usually run down the street on the sidewalk. On the way back, as I'm running on the opposite side of the street, I glance down at my phone that has just vibrated. Allie just texted me.

Allie: Hey, how's Aaliyah?

I start to text her back when I suddenly bump into someone. "Oomph!" I hear the other person say. I look up to notice, ironically, that I've just bumped into Allie. She's wearing a cropped top that's just plain gray and denim shorts with old converse and has her phone out listening to music.

"You should watch where you're going, texting and walking seems to be pretty dangerous these days," she jokes. I chuckle.

"Sorry, I was actually just texting you back." She narrows her eyes and flashes a smile.

"Wow, how ironic," she states with a chuckle.

"So, what you brings you to this side of the sidewalk?" I chuckle at her remark.

"Oh, so now I'm not allowed on your side of the sidewalk?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. She giggles.

"Well, I never said it belonged to me," she counters. "I thought you were leaving today, anyway."

I shrug. "We missed our flight, so my dad has to find another one."

Allie nods. "Ah. How's Aaliyah?" I shrug. "Physically, she's good. Her arm is casted, healing. Emotionally..."

Allie cocks her head and watches me with intent interest. "Let me guess, your mom doesn't want her to play anymore."

I nod, almost surprised she knew that. "I know a few things about hockey," she says, as if reading my mind, "it's pretty dangerous."

I nod. "Yeah, I've gathered that." She giggles.

"So did you give her loving brotherly advice?" Allie teases. I chuckle.

"Maybe . . . why?" She smiles.

"She's a sweet kid. She admires you a lot, ya know."

I scrunch up my eyebrows. I never knew she admired me. We love each other and have a typical brother-sister relationship, yes, but usually we don't have deep talks. Maybe as we get older, we'll have them more. I wouldn't mind them. I enjoyed the one we had today.

"She tells you things," I say. She nods.

"She does. I guess she admires me, too. Not really sure why..." She murmurs.

"Well, you seem like a nice girl," I say, hoping to make her smile again.

She snorts. "You don't know anything about me," she snaps.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

She shrugs, looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap," she says, laughing lightly to try to ease out of the awkwardness that has formed around us.

"So, how are you liking Pickering?" She shoots me a sideways glance, a small smile on her face.

"It's nice now, but I have a feeling I'll be miserable when winter rolls around. I've heard your Canadian winters can be pretty harsh." I chuckle and we start to walk and talk about random things. Soon enough, we find ourselves in my backyard sitting on the swing attached to the top of the back deck.

"So Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are really nice people," I say.

She shrugs. "Yeah, Hannah is. I'm pretty sure Adam hates me, though."

I shake my head. "That's just how he is. I've know him since they moved in about five years ago, and he scared the crap out me. None of us kids ever went around there, because we were convinced he would take our heads off if we ever angered him. But once he accepts you, once you guys get to know each other, he's really nice. It just takes a while. Trust me, he's worth it."

She smiles. "Thanks. So since you seem to know so much about him, should I try to make an effort or just go about my usual business?"

I smile again, "Just go about your usual business, but make sure you obey and respect him. A few gestures here and there probably wouldn't hurt, either." She smiles back and giggles.

Just then, Aaliyah sticks her head through to open doorway to watch us. "Allie!" She says cheerfully.

"Hi, Aaliyah," Allie says with a smile.

"Shawn, why're you stealing my friend?" She whines. I roll my eyes.

"We're just talking, Aaliyah, calm down." She rolls her eyes and goes back inside.

"She's really taken a liking to you," I say with a laugh.

Allie flashes a small smile. "That would be the first time anyone's said that me," she mutters. I cock my head and watch her. Like I said, there's something different about it. She seems uncomfortable, or like she's hiding something.

Just then, Aaliyah sticks her head back out again. "Shawn, lunch is almost ready and mom wants you to help set the table." I sigh and get to my feet.

"Well, I guess I gotta go," I say. Allie smiles and gives a little wave.

"I guess I'll see ya around," she says with a sly smile as she jogs out of my backyard. I smirk before going inside. I have a feeling when I'm home I'll be seeing a lot more of her.

A/N - Hi guys! I hope you're enjoying this story! I'm sorry if it seems to be boring at times, I'm just trying to build up suspense in certain chapters, so occasionally it might seem like the story is progressing slowly. Don't worry, though! It picks up soon, I promise!:) Please vote and comment what you think,
Xoxo - Em😊💕