Bad Reputation | S.M.

Chapter 18

We walked back inside, hand in hand, and everyone had taken a seat already. I took a seat next to my brothers and Shawn sat next to me, his parents were on the left of him along with his sister. I smiled at Jacob and Hunter when suddenly Shawn's dad stood up.

"I would like to say thank you to all who came out tonight in the cold weather, every year we have a great turnout and I love how each year there is someone new who can join us on this great day." He said and turned towards me. Shawn held my hand under the table and I felt all eyes on me, especially Lauren from across the table."Thank you for joining us Nicole, we're glad to have you here."

"Thank you for inviting my brothers and I into your lovely home." I smiled and Shawn squeezed my hand.

"With that being said, time to eat!" He clapped his hand and some people got up from the tables to get in line for food in the kitchen.

"Want me to get you food?"

"No it's fine, I'll go right now, thank you."  I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Use the upstairs one, it's the first door to the left."

"Okay, guys I'll be right back, go serve yourselves food." I turned to my brothers and they nodded. I got out of my seat and made my way upstairs to the bathroom. I opened the bathroom door and locked it behind me. I looked in the mirror and splashed my face with cold water. I patted my face down with a tissue and turned off the light before exiting the bathroom. As I closed the door I looked up to see Lauren leaning on the wall.

"I'm sorry, were you waiting?" I asked and suddenly she pulled me into another room."Is everything okay?"

"No, because I did not expect to see the senior class slut at my ex's house." She scoffed as she closed the door behind her. "What made you think you can come in here and act like an innocent angel in front of Shawn's parents. He doesn't deserve your shit, he has enough on his plate for a hoe to come walking into his life." I lost it.

"What's your problem? Are you jealous that you're not the center of attention in his life anymore? Or are you mad that I'll be the one making him happy?" I bit my lip and she slapped me across the face.

"You'll regret saying that." She said and walked out the door. The slap began to sting and I could feel tears in my eyes. I sat down on the bed and I finally realized I was in Shawn's room. What am I going to do? Maybe I should just end it now before it gets too serious, spare him the heartbreak. Somehow, I just can't bring myself to it.

"Nicole?" I heard someone say my name. "Nicole are you still in the bathroom?"

"I'm in here." I cleaned my eyes and stood up.

"Hey, what made you come in here?" Shawn came in.

"Oh I just stumbled in, I like looking at your guitars." I smiled and he laid down on his bed before patting the side of the bed next to him. I laid down next to him and he instantly wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm glad you came." He said and I nuzzled my head into his chest.

"I'm glad you invited me."

"So I'm leaving January 3rd for The Jimmy Fallon Show and 6th for the People's Choice Award, I won't be back until the 17th." He pouted and I hugged him tighter.

"What am I going to do for two weeks without you."

"I mean, you can always come with me." He shrugged and I laughed.

"As much as I would love to, I just can't." I held his hand."I get into school the 11th, I have work, and I have to take care of my brothers."

"Why can't we just run away?"

"Because if we did I'm sure I would still mess up everything."

"One day Nicole, I will take you on the greatest adventure of you life." He said and kissed my head. "I promise you that."

"Don't make promises you can't keep popstar." I smiled and sat up. I placed a kiss on his lips and each second it became more and more heated. I couldn't help it, I needed something to fill the void. I began to kiss him harder and I tugged at his shirt. He kissed me one last time before stopping once I lifted up his shirt.

"Nicole." He sighed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." I said and sat back.

"No it's fine, I just think we should take it slow you know?"

"Yeah I understand." I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and looked down.

"Trust me, I want to, but it's too soon." He lifted up my head so I was now looking into his eyes.

"Shawn, I understand, truly." I smiled." Let's go downstairs they're probably wondering where we are."

"Yeah, okay."

We went back downstairs where my eyes first met with the disgusted looks of Lauren. I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen to grab some food to eat since everyone else had already served themselves. I grabbed a plate and began to place food on it such as mashed potatoes, green beans, and some chicken. I sat back down with my brothers and I could see they wasted no time in serving themselves a huge plate of food. I began to eat my food, but I could still feel someone staring at me. Of course, it was Lauren. I turned to Shawn and placed my hand on his right thigh.

"Is it okay if you could take us home after dinner?" I whispered into his ear.

"You sure?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Mike might call me into work tomorrow." I lied.

"Okay, yeah I'll drive you guys home."

He smiled and we continued to eat until everyone seemed to be finished with their plates. I got up to place my plate in the kitchen sink, rinsing it off before going back to sit down.

"Are you sure you want to leave?" He asked me and I nodded.

"If you want I can call a cab or we can walk home, it's fine." I shrugged.

"No i'll take you, don't worry darling."

I smiled and as I was about to get up from my seat Jacob pulled me back down.

"Are we leaving soon?" He whispered.

"Yeah, is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything is fine, but I'm kinda getting creeped out by that girl who keeps staring at you. Does she know you?"

"I'll tell you later, but right now let's just say bye to everyone."

Jacob got up from his seat as I went over to carry Hunter in my arms. I went over to each and everyone of Shawn's family members to say goodbye until I finally reached his parents and sister.

"Thank you guys so much for inviting me into your home." I said and hugged Karen.

"Oh honey it was our pleasure." She smiled and I hugged Shawn's dad.

"Anytime you want to come over you are welcome." He said and I hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, so much." I smiled and let him go. My brothers said goodbye and Shawn led us out the door to his car. The only person I thankfully did not say goodbye to was Lauren.