Even More Reasons - m.c

Chapter 33

*i've been so bad so i'm going to upload a few chapters now!*

"I don't want you to think I'm using you."

Michael's P.O.V

When Shay asked if she could come to Australia with me for the tour, I was so excited. I didn't want to ask her because I didn't want her to feel like she had to go. It's a long flight, jet lag sucks, it's far from her home & her work. I wouldn't want her to feel obligated to say yes just to make me happy. But it seemed like she really wanted to go so I gladly told her she could come.

She & I were currently on a flight into Sydney. We were flying back a few days earlier than the rest of the band because I needed some family time before the tour kicked back up.

The airport in L.A. wasn't too insane, luckily, mostly because no one knew I would be flying out. However, I had a feeling once we landed in Sydney, there may be more faces waiting to see me so I wasn't looking forward to that.

But, until then, I had this entire flight to relax with Shay.

She spent the beginning of the flight reading a few magazines before she was writing on her laptop & I listened to music the entire time.

But I noticed she seemed distracted. She wasn't as smiley as I thought she'd be today.

"Shay?"

"Yea?"

"Are you okay?"

"What? Yea."

"I'm serious. You seem off. You weren't even excited when I got you cheetos for the flight."

"I appreciate them, Mikey. I'm okay."

"Shay." I looked right into her eyes. "I know you way better than you think I do. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"C'mon baby. Tell me."

"Well." She sighed. "Do you think I'm unsuccessful?"

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't know. I feel like I'm surrounded by insanely talented & successful people & then there's just me."

"Just you? Shay you've written two best selling books & you only just turned 22."

"Well yea but I just wrote about my life, it's not that insane. I didn't come up with plots or develop characters. I wrote about me."

"Which takes insane bravery & talent. Not everyone can write, regardless if it's about themselves or not. You put your story out there for everyone to read. That's huge, Shay. What about your second book? It's a researched piece. You're telling the world to open their eyes & stop rape culture. That's success too."

"But like Carter & Payson are in college, they have degrees, they're so smart & cultured. Emma has more fashion in her thumb than I do in my whole body. She can sew, she can design, she can sketch, she can do makeup, she can do hair & she has a job doing it. Plus the people she styles get photos taken for giant magazines. She's so talented."

"& your book is on best selling lists & in storefronts. Shay, you are so talented."

"I don't know if I feel it though."

"Where is this coming from? I don't understand how you can't see your talent."

"Michael, you're so talented, so successful. You're almost 23 & you've played iconic venues, you've sold out world tours year after year. You've been interviewed by such highly respected people. You've paved the way for the music scene. You've won so many awards. I'm just your tag along girlfriend."