Unexpected - Shawn Mendes

Chapter Forty

G R A C E ' S        P O V

"Oh my god! I look awful," I gush, staring blankly at myself in the mirror. Luckily, the stylist who cut my hair had adverted her attention to a new client, preventing her from hearing my snarky comment. The black salon apron was still pinned around my neck to keep the stray hairs from sticking to my body, and my blonde hair was wet and matted against my head.

Today was the day I had decided that I'd grown my hair enough and wanted to switch things up, donating most of it to charity in the process. There were many organizations that I found so incredible and heartwarming but I grew the most fond of a charity titled Pantene's Beautiful Lengths, that makes wigs for people with cancer.

Having a grandmother who unfortunately battled cancer and lost her hair for chemo, I became fond of this charity. Her and a lot of the women from the hospital all owned wigs; and let me tell you, they fucking killed them. They were all confident and beautiful and if donating my hair could help other ladies feel that way, then I was so down for it.

The hair dresser, Hannah,  was amiable, telling me she was glad I had decided to donate my hair and encouraging me to do so. Hannah seemed to be pretty young, and had a bright smile that made me feel slightly more at ease. She then lead me to a cozy styling chair and pinned a salon apron around my neck. Once I was ready, she drew my full head of hair into one thick braid and secured it with an elastic. Before she took out her scissors, she asked me one final time if I was sure I wanted to follow through with this.

Of course, I said yes, but made Shawn stand beside me. My nerves made me clutch onto his hand for dear life, his knuckles turning white from my grip. I screwed my eyes shut, although it was going to be painless, I was terrified to see how I would look with short hair. Throughout my entire childhood, I had golden locks that made their way well past my back, and I wasn't sure if I could imagine myself any other way.

So a whole foot of hair later, I sat frowning at myself in the mirror with Shawn by my side. The apron had been removed from my neck, and I turned the chair around so I was facing Shawn.

"Shut up, you look beautiful," he says, fluffing out my hair with his fingers. Shawn had been very encouraging when I told him what I was planning to do, and insisted in joining me in my transformation. He took a step closer to me, touching it up a little and smiling. "It suits you. I like it a lot, G." Knowing that he liked it made me feel a lot better, even though my shoulders felt bare and exposed due to the lack of length.

He helped me out of my seat in the chair, and I thanked him. We were going to go back to my house and figure out something to do with my hair, and then get something to eat. Both Shawn and myself were dying to have a picnic, but the freezing February weather prevented us from doing so. We'd both rather be cuddled up on the couch instead of freezing outside. The plan was to order a pizza and lay in bed, but beforehand I needed to experiment with my hair.

Shawn lead me to his car, opening the door for me before swinging around to his side. I buckled my seatbelt and Shawn handed me the aux cord, something he always does when we're in the car together. I shuffle the playlist I made especially for our car rides and sit back in my seat.

Valentine's Day was right around the corner, and Shawn and I had grown closer and closer. I wasn't sure if we were just friends anymore. We were constantly together, pushing each other to try new things and become overall better people. We always listened to each other, we were always each other's shoulder to cry on, and I couldn't imagine my life without him. He'd sing me to sleep just about every night, whether it was in person or over a FaceTime call. His voice was always sweet and delicate and my heart fluttered every time I had the blessing of hearing it.