Ten Days ✿ Shawn Mendes a.u.

Day 2

The next morning, the sound of crisp patter again my window woke me up. Images of painting-worthy landscapes swam beneath my eyelids with memory and I fluttered my eyes open.

The sunlight caught something in my room through my opaque curtains, drawing rainbows around the four-walled space. It looked extraordinary and I immediately caught my breath. Maybe the world was beautiful after all.

Mesmerised, I walked over to my wall and placed my hand flat on the cold, pimpled surface. The rainbow patterned itself onto my hand, into every crevice and imperfection. I didn't notice how deeply the moment had captured me until another stone hit my window.

I quickly scrambled to my feet, rushing over to pull the curtains apart from each other. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I felt excitement to be facing a new day.

"Shawn Peter Raul Mendes ." I called out, his middle names rolling off of my tongue for some reason. I widely opened the window and looked down at him. "You are going to scratch my window." I laughed, watching as he sheepishly continued to stare at me.

"Sorry Rose...uh." He stopped to think. Then, giving up, he looked back up at me.

I chuckled.

"You don't know my middle name do you?" I asked, always careful to keep the volume of conversation below dangerous level.

"No." He answered, playing with the stones in his hands. "And how did you even know mine?"

I bit my lip.

"Ten days, Shawn. No questions."

-

"You know, just because you're small and light, doesn't mean you should climb up on every ledge you see." Shawn laughed, grabbing my elbow as I balanced on yet another ridge.

"Can't I be allowed to do whatever I want Mendes?" I asked, jumping down since we had reached the opening leading to the metro station. "Believe it or not, I don't get to do that very often." I smiled, playing the guilt card.

Shawn just shook his head, removing his sunglasses and placing them on top of his head, allowing his luscious curls to intertwine with the plastic.

It was one of those days were not one cloud dotted the sky and the deep hue of the atmosphere was a fierce blue.

We descended into the heavy-aired metro station, buying our tickets and passing through the filthy metal gates.

"So where are we off to today?" I asked, my voice heavy with curiosity. Looking up at Shawn's face, I couldn't help but notice how well the white t-shirt he was wearing suited him. His eyes seemed so vibrant and alive, making my heart jealous that a type of happiness so raw could exist.

"Ah." He said, licking his teeth. "But that would ruin the surprise." He laughed looking down at the ground.

After walking past dozens of torn and vibrant posters advertising who-knows-what movie or musical, we finally arrived at a huge map.

Roads twisted into each other like they were lost, each one wearing it's own color. The intertwined routes were studded with white circles representing the different stops of the metro.

Shawn leaned forward, tracing different paths with his finger, his mouth slightly apart. Confused, I tried to follow his finger trying to understand where we were and where we were going.

"Shawn? Where are we going." I whispered, for some reason afraid to break his concentration.

After a few more silent moments, he stood up straight again and smiled widely.