Hotel Midnight // Shawn Mendes (✔️)

Three

"Shawn, what are you doing here?! I told you to leave!" I tell him, my voice in a harsh whisper. He sits next to me, his face confused.

"I'm only staying for a night. I'm on a road trip with my friends to Cali, you see. But we were all tired so we decided to crash here. For some crazy reason though, this place gave them the creeps, so I volunteered to sleep in here for the night, and so far it's been great."

"You won't remember when the bells ring. Your first night will be over, and you'll be stuck here." I tell him, and he shakes his head.

"What are you talking about?"

Before I can answer him, I notice Mr.Rush standing near us, watching Shawn's facial expression and mine.

"Laugh." I tell him, a fake smile on my face.

"What?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"Laugh, please!"

Shawn obeys and chuckles, then I direct him to grab my hand and pull me to the farthest door on the left. He's confused for a moment but listens to me, bringing me to the door. Mr.Rush watches us and we make eye contact, causing him to nod his head in approval.

When we meet a newcomer, the only thing we're allowed to do is make them want to stay one more night. In this case, Mr.Rush thought that's exactly what I was about to do with Shawn.

His thoughts were wrong.

The second we're in the room, I shut the door, and pull Shawn closer.

"Listen, I really don't know what's going on, but-" Shawn starts, and I cut him off.

"No! Just listen to me, I'm not going to do anything, I swear. But you have to believe me when I say this. When the bells ring, that signals midnight. And on your first night, the second the bells ring, you can't leave this place. Shawn, I've been here for a year. I don't remember if I have a family, or how I got here. Some of these people have been here for decades. I know you just met me Shawn, but you have to believe me, you need to get out while you still can." By now there are tears forming in my eyes, but I blink them away. I couldn't let him be stuck here too, and share the pain we all feel.

"Nora, none of that stuff is possible," Shawn tells me.

"Ever read Percy Jackson, or Harry Potter? Well, think in that sort of sense."

"So, magic?" Shawn ask, his eyes lighting up a bit.

"Yes, magic. Terrible, dark, twisted magic."

"Alright, let's go, you can meet my friends. Do you live around here? We can drop you off at your house." He tells me, and I give him a sad smile.

"I can't leave. My time is way up, it's your turn now. Here, I'll take you to where I think the door is." I grasp his hand and we begin to walk to the lobby, which is always empty on party nights.

"Why is this place so bad anyways? I mean, everyone seems so young here, and happy." Shawn asks as we continue to walk.

"That's because the second we step in this hotel, time freezes on the other side. No one notices that we're gone, and we stay here forever and ever, never aging."

"Sounds good to me."

"Shawn, I know people who've tried killing themselves in this place before. You don't die. Ever. And you know what happens when people like me tell people like you to leave this hotel?" I ask, and before he can ask what, I lift up my dress slightly, to show a big labeling burn mark that says "Hotel Midnight" on it.

"And that was my first time." I say after watching his shocked expression.

"I need to get out of here." He whispers, and I nod my head.

"Yeah, yeah you do. So enough talking, let's go. The bells will ring any minute, and I can't let you be stuck here as well." I say.

"I haven't noticed any clocks in this hotel, why is that?" He asks me, and I think about the woman's hidden clock before answering.

"They don't like us to know when it's midnight. It's really complicated, and you're not going to be here long enough for me to tell you everything. I just know that when the bell rings, it's midnight. And the party starts at around twelve, then once five songs pass, the bell rings. When we left, three had already been played."

"You know this place really well, don't you?" He says as we continue to rush to the lobby.

"I've done my research." I tell him, and finally, I see the lobby.

"Alright, now go to the door. It was nice knowing you Shawn, you seem pretty cool," I say to him, and he gives me a small smile, starting to walk away from me, and closer to the wall.

"Hey, why can't you just leave from here? You know, pull the door open and walk out. I mean, it's right here." Shawn says, and I shake my head, pushing him closer to where he had pointed.

"Shawn, I can't see the door anymore. It's just wall and more wall. No emergency exit either. Now that's enough talk, you need to get out of here. Now."

Shawn looks at me for a while, silent, before nodding his head and walking towards the door. Just as I watch him reach for what I think is the doorknob, a sound is heard.

"Nora! Nora where are you! Nora, please! It's about Lilly and Marcus, they're both missing, and we checked everywhere! Nora!" It takes me a moment to think about who the voice might belong to, before I realize it was Sarah, the only normal one that works at this hotel. She runs the candy shop, and owns a broken watch, which all staff members do, because they can never leave no matter what. It's kind of a sick joke.

Sarah's words strike fear into my heart, and I forget about Shawn, then sprinting away from him and toward the voice. As I run, a hand grabs me, and I turn to face Mr.Rush.

"You didn't think I was that stupid, did you? And Lilly and Marcus are in good hands, believe me." He taunts, and I bite my lip before answering.

"Go to hell." I spit out, and with that he punches my mouth, and I fall to the ground.

"You act like we aren't already here!" He says to me, and just as I watch him swing his leg back to kick me, he falls to the floor.

Only then do I notice that Shawn's fist is the reason for that fall.

"Get out of here, go!" I yell at him when I see that Mr.Rush had been knocked out, and probably wouldn't be too happy about this.

Instead of listening to me, Shawn drops to the ground and takes a look at my face, the bottom part covered in blood due to Mr.Rush's effective swing.

"You need to go." I tell him, sitting on my knees. Just as Shawn opens his mouth, the bells ring, and tears form in my eyes.

"Oh God, I'm stuck here." He whispers to himself, and I grab his hands, which causes him to make eye contact with me.

"We're going to get out of here, okay? Both of us. You just have to trust me." I tell him, calming his nerves. I understand his position, and didn't want him to completely crack. He's quiet for a while, busy staring at the the wall that once had a door. Finally, Shawn opens his mouth and speaks.

"Yeah, I think I can do that."