House of Boys

Part 2

Upon entering the house, you already knew what you were in for. At least, you thought you did. Matt and Ian were deeply invested in some video game on the couch, and Shawn was sitting at the kitchen island, reading the paper and sipping his morning coffee. What a pretentious asshole.

"Hey, Y/N!" Ian and Matt both called from the living room, not nothing to detach their focus from the television screen. Shawn craned his neck to look at you, picked up his mug, and took it over to the sink.

"Need any help?" he asked, and you stopped dead in your tracks. Shawn Mendes? Being nice? Was this some kind of sick joke? you thought to yourself.

"Uh, no, I think I got it," Brian said, leading you up the stairs to your new room.

Standing in the upstairs hallway, you took in your surroundings. Two bathrooms and four small bedrooms. Somehow, this didn't add up.

"Four boys, four bedrooms, and a room for me? How does this work?" you asked Brian, tilting your head as you grew a little nervous.

"Oh, yeah, we each get our own room. Don't worry. Matt, Ian and I all sleep up here, but Shawn prefers the basement," he explained, placing your duffel bag on what must be your bed.

"He's quite the womanizer then, I take it? Conspiracy theory confirmed?" you asked, genuinely curious.

"Shawn? I really don't think so. He comes off that way, but the guy can't really be bothered. Keeps to himself, you know," Brian trailed off, assuming you understood all of this. The truth was, you had no idea. Shawn was the biggest player you knew, always hitting on you and bragging about his never-ending series of one-night-stands. Brian had to be confused. Maybe Shawn pretended to be an introvert so Brian wouldn't give him shit for being a pig? Something wasn't adding up here. "I guess I'll leave you to it," Brian said, patting your shoulder as he left you to unpack.

You were about fifteen minutes into re-folding your clothes and placing them in the chest of drawers when you heard a soft knock at your already-open door. You mumbled "Come in," concentrated on your mindless tasks.

"So which one do you keep your panties in?" Shawn swaggered in, smirking and stationing himself at the edge of your bed.

"Why? You gonna sneak in here and raid it when I'm not home?" you quipped back, already over his bullshit.

"I mean... yeah, most likely," he giggled, looking around the room.

"That's probably because a girl's never even let you close to her underwear," you said under your breath, earning a sarcastic chuckle from Shawn.

"Very funny. How long are you gracing us with your hot presence?" he asked, looking up at you with his chocolate eyes. Evil eyes.

"As long as my renovations take, I guess? It's supposed to be like, three weeks, but who knows, really," you explained, jamming your socks in the top right drawer.

"Well, we're glad to have you," he said softly as he pushed up off the bed, going back downstairs. What the fuck was that? you thought to yourself, in disbelief at his sudden rush of sentiment. Maybe you'd be seeing a new side of Shawn over the next few weeks, one he hadn't shown to many people. Maybe you could finally break him down and understand why he did the things he did. The thought scared the hell out of you.

"Y/N?" a voice called up the stairs to you. It was Matt. "Brian's cancelling the party tonight, he wants you to get settled. Looks like we're having a games and movie night. That cool with you?"

"Yep, all good!" you called back, finishing up with your unpacking as you plugged in your laptop and arranged your textbooks. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.