Bad Reputation (Shawn Mendes)

forty one

The second semester went quicker than I expected and exams are creeping up on us all. I have a solo, partner and group exam. I haven't seen Shawn in weeks and not only does he hate the fact that I have to rehearse 24/7 but I also have to spend most of my time rehearsing with Henry for our partner exam. We were given the choice performing 2 songs from a musical, one where the guy sings and one where the girl sings. We chose heathers, I've always wanted to play Veronica and Henry wanted to be JD. I we chose Dead Girl Walking and Meant to be yours as our songs. Shawn came over a couple of times but all he could do was sit in the studio and watch me, it wasn't the most intimate we've been but I promised I'd make up for it when exams are over. Syd's birthday is after my last exam so me and Dan have been arranging her surprise party over Face Time.

Syd's birthday

I finished my last exam and then packed my bag. My exams all went as well as they could and I didn't mess up on any of them however something inside me feels like I could've done better. Mum picked me up and when we got home I had to quickly get ready.I quickly curled my hair, tied half of it back and then put on my black dunagrees, stripped top and converse. Just as I was about to start my make up someone knocked on my door. "Come in." I shouted as I started to apply foundation.
I heard the door open and close and then saw Shawn's reflection in the mirror.
I immediately turned around and hugged him. "Hi."
He put the bag he was holding down. "Hi."
"I've missed you." I said into his shoulder.
He wrapped his arms around me but pulled away after.
"What?" I asked.
"Your back feels really tense."
I sighed and then stroked the back of my neck "I know, mum said its from exam stress."
"Sit on the bed with your back facing me."
I pulled my eyebrows together. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to give you a massage."
I sat down and he stood behind me. He started to massage my shoulders making my whole body turn to jelly. I closed my eyes and threw my head back slightly. "I can't remember the last time I had a massage."
After a few minutes of massaging my back he moved his hands to the back of my neck and pushed down hard sending a shooting pain up my neck making me flinch. "Ow."
He stopped and then pushed down hard again "Do you feel this?"
"Yes."
"That is all built up tension and it needs to go."
"Isn't that going to hurt?"
"Yes but you'll thank me after."
I moved my hands to either side of me and leant forward slightly as he dug his fingers into my neck massaging all the tension I had.
"How do you know all this?" I asked.
"My dad used to get a lot of tension build up when he got stressed at work so my mum would give him a massage to get rid of it."
"And she taught you?"
"No I watched."
After the first few minutes of Shawn massaging the same spot it became less painful and I could feel all the tension release from my neck.
Once he stopped I stood back up and then carried on doing my makeup. Shawn got his phone out, sat on my bed and waited for me to finish. Once I finished getting ready I picked up Syd's present and then headed downstairs to say goodbye to Mum and Dad. We got into Shawn's jeep shortly after and headed to Dan's. There we met Jake and Char and then waited with everyone for Syd to arrive. Shortly after Shawn got a text from Dan saying he was on his way with her so we all hid and turned the lights off. As soon as we heard the door open and footsteps approach we all jumped up and shouted "SURPRISE!!!"
She gasped as soon as she saw us and stepped back slightly.
I immediately ran up to her and hugged her "Happy Birthday!"
"Thank you, did you do this?"
"It was me and Dan."
She turned to Dan and kissed him.
"Thank you."
After Syd spoke to everyone we started to play Ring of Fire (ring of fire is a drinking game that me and my flat mates always play, it's so funny and always seems to get us the drunkest before we go out)
We all sat in a circle, placed a large cup in the middle and spread playing cards around it facing down. We then took it in turns to pick a card without breaking the circle. (If the circle is broken, the player responsible must down his/her drink) Each card has it's own meaning and rules in the game can vary.