Twitteritis ❂ Shawn Mendes

[epilogue]

August 13, 2016
7:00 PM
San Antonio, TX

Shawn walked out onto the stage of the San Antonio County Fair, many faces stared up at him and he smiled, he was genuinely happy regardless of this being one of his saddest shows so far.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" He asked into the microphone, hearing a cascade of screams in reply, arms waving in the air because of him.

Shawn hopped directly into the concert, singing some old songs and new ones off his album also. He sang Something Big, including in part of the rap to Lose Yourself by Eminem, and he sang Never Be Alone where the whole crowd held up hearts that touched his heart.

Near the end of the show, it was starting to get cold and he knew it was coming to a wrap, so he grabbed the microphone off the holder and walked over to the edge and sat down near the end of the stage where he was directly across from the only two empty seats in the whole place, row two, 22 and 23.

"Less than a month ago, a beautiful young woman by the name of Lucie Grace Young passed away by the cause of an overdose. She thought she was worth nothing, that she wouldn't be missed. She was actually supposed to be at this show with her best friend, Ashley. I can't imagine how she's feeling right now."

He felt tears in his eyes and he didn't care if he cried in front of the crowd, this was an emotional concert for him as it is, he knew he was bound to break down sometime.

"Ashley added Lucie and I in a group chat, then she left. You know, one of those solo DM things? Lucie messaged me frequently, telling me about life, talking to me like I was her long term friend, and I loved it. I secretly read every message, waiting for the right time to reply, but then she stopped messaging me for a week. I didn't think anything of it, just thought nothing interesting was happening, because she didn't message me for four months straight once."

He sighed and it came out louder than he expected and the whole crowd went silent. You could hear a pin drop on the floor by how quiet it was. It was touching to him and he let a tear trickle down his cheek, but he was quick to wipe it.

"I didn't check my DMs or anything for that whole week, didn't think anything of it. I woke up one morning, finally checking them, and she messaged me, but I wasn't happy about it. I was bawling."

He smiled sadly, "Back in January she promised me that she wouldn't leave until her and I met, she said she had never broken a promise. July sixteenth she broke her first promise ever, deciding to take her own life before we met. I saw that message two hours and seven minutes after she sent it, I was devastated to say the least."

He sniffled and wiped away the tears that remained on his cheeks, "Her friend messaged me using her account just an hour later, sending me the hospital she was at. They flushed her stomach, she was in a coma, and didn't succeed with her attempt. I was across the country, but I left without telling anyone, I knew I needed to see her. I stayed with her and her mom for a long time, canceled half of the North American tour and went rogue on social media for the almost two weeks, everyone was worried about me."

His eyes studied some faces in the crowd, "I knew all of you were worried, I tweet something every day, this wasn't my normal behavior. I stayed with her family in Lucie's room."

Shawn, for the first time, began full on bawling in front of his audience. Tears streamed down his cheeks and a wail escaped his mouth, "I guess she didn't break her promise after all," he smiled sadly, another whimper blared through the microphone, "She passed away on July twenty-seventh."

He placed the mic gently on the stage, covering his face with his hands and he cried for Lucie, he wished he had a chance to get to know her in person and hug her in the friend way that she always wanted. They could've been best friends if she stayed.

"We did technically meet, I held her hand for two and a half weeks straight, I talked to her, told her secrets and everything about me. I became her without knowing it, I updated her on everything."

He wiped his nose with his shirtsleeve, "She never broke our promise," he whispered, "I miss her."

Shawn wanted a hug from her, he needed a hug from somebody. He just needed someone.

"Uh," he sniffled and cleared his throat, "This last song is dedicated to Lucie, the little girl who knew it all got a little too much and thought the fog would never clear up. I love you."

He wiped his cheeks and picked up his guitar, strumming the chords and starting to sing the song. His voice was raspy and the words were genuine, he stared at the empty seats, imagining Lucie was in one of them and he pretended to sing to her.

After the song was over he smiled and stood up, "Thank you for coming out tonight, it's crazy."

The crowd screamed an 'I love you, Shawn' in unison, the hearts being held up again. He grinned and blew a kiss to everyone, "Let's get a selfie like old times."

Someone ran out from backstage with his phone to take the photo. Shawn held up his signature rock n' roll sign with a bright smile regardless of the emotional show. He knew that everyone would be able to tell he was crying, but he didn't care.

"I love you guys so much, please live another day on this planet because the fog will clear up one day. You'll see clear skies, it won't happen over night, but you'll be okay. I notice every single one of you and care about each of you. I'm here for you, I love you," Shawn assured one last time before heading off stage.

There was no encore in this show, he just sat backstage with his phone in his hand, staring at the picture and tuning out the crowd out front. He ended up posting the photo onto his Instagram shortly after.

@ShawnMendes: thank u San Antonio for the greatest show. thank u for crying with me and being by far the best crowd I've had so far. I love u guys so much.

In the end, Shawn was okay. Sure, he was sad for awhile and every time July rolled around, he reminisced on the events, but Lucie's family became his and he visited them almost as much as his own family. He was closest to Lucie's little sister Anna, she was nine and treated Shawn like the older brother she never had.

Skye, the five year old little girl, was shy to him at first, but now she clung to him whenever he visited. He called her mom his, and even called Skye and Anna 'sister' instead of their actual names.

Aaliyah hung out with Anna frequently, they were only three years apart but that didn't bother them. The moms became close and Shawn was genuinely glad that the Young's and Mendes' were practically merged as one, he never wanted to forget the Young's and he made sure he didn't.

Words couldn't express how much he loved Anna, Anne, and Skye as much as he loved his mother, father and Aaliyah. They were family and family is forever.

He was her world and she became his, and forever would that stay.