Hate is a strong word

Chapter 22

* skip till end of flight *

I woke up to Jessi shaking me and instantly felt the plane go down. I jumped up in my chair, scared by the sudden decrease in altitude. 

"We are about to be at the airport. Shawn knows we're coming, right?"

My eyes widened. Crap. I thought I forgot something, and not telling the person you are going to visit you are visiting is kinda important. And by kinda, I mean extremely. 

"No, so I guess it'll be a surprise." She glared at me, but she turned to look out the window. I sighed. This was not going to end well, I could tell.

"Thank you for joining us today. Let us be the first to welcome you to Los Angeles. We hoped you enjoyed your flight, and join us again!" The pilot's voice came over the intercom, followed by the signal that we could take off our seatbelts. I grabbed my purse from above my head and Jessi and I exited the plane. 

We grabbed our luggage from the baggage claim and stood outside in the warm air. Apparently, when I forgot to tell Shawn we were coming, I forgot to book us a ride to his apartment. And yes, I do know where his apartment is. 

Jessi grabbed her phone and typed in a number, claiming that she has a friend who could come get us. I sighed, sitting on top of my suitcase and starting to regret this whole decision. Maybe these were signs that Shawn had forgotten me and I shouldn't have come. I was wondering how much it might cost to book the first flight back to New York when a red Audi R8 pulled up in front of us. The driver had on a tux, and held up a sign saying 'Jessi and other'. 

Well, apparently I'm an 'other.'

Jessi jumped up and down and grabbed my arm. We ran to the car, marveling in its greatness. 

"Is this really..." I said, speechless.

"Yep. It is." Jessi looked at me, with the biggest smile on her face. We started to squeal and jumped into the back seats.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We took the long way to Shawn's apartment, which also happened to be the scenic way. We saw the Hollywood sign, the walk of fame, and drove down Hollywood Boulevard. We were in heaven.

We pulled up to Shawn's apartment building, which was not bad at all. I was 5 stories, had multiple pools, and a Starbucks. A Starbucks.

I checked my phone and made sure that this was the right building. After confirming multiple times, I took a deep breath and walked inside. 

"Hello, welcome to Hollywood! How may I help you?" The lady at the front desk greeted us as we walked in. I smiled and approached her with the 'I'm famous and I know what I'm doing' walk, if that is even a thing.  

"Yes, I'm here to see my boyfriend. His name is Shawn Mendes." 

The lady laughed and shook her head at me like I had no idea what I was talking about. 

"Uh, no. Sorry Miss, but Shawn is famous, and he does NOT have a girlfriend."

I scoffed. "Of course he does, because I am. I flew here from New York to come to visit him." 

She laughed again, and pushed a button. The next thing I knew, I was being grabbed by the arms by two huge security guards. 

"What's going on?" A man walked out from a door behind the lady. She whispered into his ear and his faced morphed into shock.

"Put her down! Don't you know who this is?" The security guards dropped me, and the lady gasped in shock.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Miss. Times! I didn't recognize you!" I looked at Jessi, not sure if this was a dream or not.

"It's ok. That happens all the time." I brushed off my jeans, trying to play it cool. Inside, I had no idea why or how these people know me.

"That's surprising, knowing how big you are here." The man walked over to me and smiled. "Hello, my name is Ian. I own this building, and I apologize for this misunderstanding."

I smiled back at him. "It's quite alright. Now, I would like to see my boyfriend." 

"Of course! He's in room 304." The lady gave me a key, and I got a glimpse at her nametag. 

Anna.

I smiled again and motioned for Jessi to follow me. We made our way to the elevators and stepped inside.

"Whoa. What just happened? How do these people know you?" Jessi asked, not understanding why in the world people in L.A. would know me.

"I have no idea," I said, confused as well.  

We made it to Shawn's room and I took a deep breath. I unlocked the door, pushing it open and knocking on the open door.

"Hello? Shawn?" I asked, stepping into the cold dark room. It seemed like no one was home, but I heard noises coming from the room down the hall. 

I looked back at Jessi, and she motioned for me to go in. I shook my head and followed the noises.

And sure enough, standing there, was Shawn Peter Raul Mendes kissing another girl.