Mercy • Shawn Mendes

Five

May

Shawn was going to be mauled by my cousins.

It took them only seconds to run from the kitchen to where he stood, frozen with fear, just inside the Terra Cottage. He told me last night that it was one of his biggest fears to practically get attacked by fans alone, without any bodyguards or anything--I couldn't let one of his biggest fears come true, not with me.

Quickly I hopped in front of Shawn, moving Jack out of the way so he wouldn't suffer the wrath of his sister and cousins. The girls had crazy eyes as they gawked at my boyfriend, but my plan worked and they stopped in front of me before any drool could land on his white tshirt.

"How the heck is he standing here, in our living room?" Lydia was the first to speak and rather than my belief that her words wouldn't make any sense, they were as clear as day.

"Well, since you're all kind of here--this is my boyfriend, Shawn." Everyone's mouths opened in shock.

Lydia and Carly were two of my best friends and I never told any of them about him existing. Being a year older than them had no influence on our friendship and I was glad for that.

"Nice to meet you Shawn," My Uncle Mike spoke, walking over and around his neices to give Shawn a firm handshake.

"It's my pleasure, Sir." Shawn smiled, stepping around me to get to him.

The four girls calmed down enough to introduce themselves and each give Shawn matching, bone crushing hugs. I received a few looks, telling me I wasn't being believed. Grabbing ahold of Shawn's calloused hand, I led him towards the kitchen, looking for my mom. She was going to be pissed because she wasn't the first to meet him, but she knew how it was when it came to me and boys. I had always been uneasy with introducing them to people I truly cared about. Ever since my dad split, I wasn't the most trusting person.

Mom was camped out on the back porch, reading her newest obsession--Me Before You. She glanced up from the worn pages, smiling with joy. "You made it!"

"Hi Mom," I ran up to her, letting go of Shawn's hand to give her the hug she'd been waiting on for a few days. "Hi, baby." She returned the gesture before releasing me and walking towards Shawn.

"You must be the boyfriend." Mom had a stern face, unwavering for any hints of games. She was good like that. Always playing the bad cop before showing her good cop side.

"Yes, M-Ma'am," Shawn stuttered, his nerves coming out to play. I was actually surprised though, but maybe he was a better actor than I gave him credit for.

"What's with this Ma'am business, please call me Mrs. O'Connell. You can call me Ma'am when I'm 73 and old, assuming you're still around then." There it was. She had this thing with guys leaving before she was ready for them too. Mom always assumed that if you have balls you'd be gone by the morning, no hesitation.

I already knew Shawn wasn't anything like my Dad.

"Yes, Ma'a-- Mrs. O'Connell." Mom laughed. You could physically see the relief flow over Shawn--his forehead relaxed, chest untightened, and his hands became unclenched. I was glad to see everything hopefully working out. But Maggie had yet to make herself known.

Lydia burst through the door, a beep sounding to alert everyone the back door had been opened. "I'll show you guys the orphanage," she smiled, tugging Shawn's arm as she turned to go back inside.

Shawn looked back at me, mouthing the word orphanage questionably. Ever since we found out we'd be staying in the pink palace, just like other cousins and families had in the past, the orphanage was the only thing i was most excited for. It was this big, open room that took up the entire top floor with beds and cots filling up the empty space, sleeping 14 people comfortably in the beds and room to blow up air mattresses for any visitors.

We grabbed our bags and climbed the flights of stairs all the way to the top. Carly, Maura, Brenna, and Jack all ran up behind me, staring and gawking at the man hiking in front of me. Whispers were flying around in the air, but ceased as we reached our destination to be replaced by music blaring from the small, old fashioned, box tv in the corner.

Just as I heard from older cousins, the orphanage mimicked their explanations perfectly. Two rows of beds were lined up on opposite walls, six on each side, leaving an open area in the center for blow up mattresses while two more beds were positioned behind the railing for the stairs. Most of the beds had been claimed but tow in the corner were up for grabs, and in my family whenever something opens up its a fight to the death for rights.

I darted over to the left corner bed and layed my suitcase on top of the pink quilt, hoping Shawn would catch on. He did eventually, as my cousins began to disperse to their own beds and sit in silence and stared in awe. Shawn took the bed next to me, laying down on top of the matching pink quilt with a slight moan of content.

Damn was he sexy.

Everything about him was sexy. His voice, his face, his eyes, the way he got nervous around my mom, the way his hands resy on top of his sculpted chest as he rests. I didn't plan on having these thoughts about him. I didn't want to have any of these thoughts about any boy since Bobby, but here we are. Thinking.

"Girls," a deep voice called from the floor below. "Olympics are starting in a half an hour. Start getting ready."

"I am no girl, Dad!" Jack called out, "I have balls, I am a man."

"Jack you are not a man." His sister, Brenna revealed.

"I am too a man. Any dude who has a penis and balls is a man." He corrected.

Shawn sat up, running a large hand through his silky brown hair. "I agree with Jack." He spoke, causing all the attention to return back to Shawn rather than on Jack.

"You aren't a man either." I joked, pushing Shawn's arm slightly.

Emma, another cousin ran up the stairs, carrying a yellow shirt.

"I disagree with you there," Carly told me, checking Shawn out without any care in the world. The yellow shirt was thrown into the stale air, hitting Maura in the face. "Welcome to team Aussie." Emma smiled, her fiery red hair falling out of her loose ponytail. "Team meeting downstairs, let's go Mo."

Shawn looked over at me with another look of confusion that will not be the last for these four days. I guess i forgot to explain O'Connell Olympics earlier. All the girls and Jack ran downstairs, in search for their free shirts and team mates, leaving Shawn and I alone.

"Hot damn." He said, standing up from his cot. "You have a large family." His eyes grew wide as he tries to process what he was just thrown into.

"You haven't seen anything yet, Canada."

I pulled my phone out from my butt pocket to be met with dozens of texts and twitter notifications. Most of the texts were from my best friend, Sammi, while some belonged to Bobby, my ex. He had been trying to get back into my life for some insane reason during the past week. I ignored every single message but couldn't bring myself to block his ass. Maybe this week will give me a reason to fully leave him behind.

"We should probably exchange numbers," said Shawn while he pulled his phone out, saving me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." I laughed, opening a new contact before handing him my phone. He did the same and as I entered my name into his phone I added a yellow heart emoji so he'd remember me. Just as I was about to hand it back to him a new message came in from someone named Camilla with a red heart emoji next to her name. Not as good as yellow but if it's red then who is this human and why does she have a heart.

Shawn tossed mine into my hands as I placed his in his hands. All i wanted to do was google her name just to see what i could find but my team needed me, so it'd have to wait.

What if they are dating? These feelings need to stop. I am not a homewrecker. She can have him. How can you fight for something not real that doesn't have any sliver of hope for becoming legitimate?