Exposed//Shawn Mendes

1

"Le...Lele..." I heard a faint high pitched voice speaking into my ear.
"Hmmm?" I hummed, not finding power in opening my eyes or even acknowledging the familiar voice.
"Mom says to get up! She says your friend is coming over today!"

I closed my eyes tight as I shifted so I was laying on my stomach instead of my side. I pulled the upper half of my body as I let my head hang down when I did. I still had my eyes closed but decided to finally open them. As I did I looked over to the source of the voice to see my little brother Drew. He was all dressed and ready for the day. I smiled at him making him smile back.

"When'd you get so handsome?" I asked as I chuckled.
"Mom dressed me really nice because she says your friend is super famous." He explained as he looked down at his own ensemble.
"My friend?" I furrowed my brows confused.
"Um... I think mom said his name was Shane Mane?" Drew furrowed his brows.
"Shane..." I took a minute to think if I knew someone named Shane, then it hit me. I gasped as I quickly sat up on my knees. I looked around my messy room frantically.
"What?! What happened?!" Drew asked seeming scared by my sudden reaction. He held his inhaler close to his chest.
"It's Shawn! Shawn's coming over today!" I said jumping off my bed, making sure to avoid bumping into Drew. I then fast walked over to my dresser to find a cute outfit for the day.

"Shawn? Not Shane?" He asks.
"Nope. Shawn Mendes." I chipperly corrected him.
"Mom says he was your friend for a loooong time," Drew says. I glanced back at him to see him take a puff from his inhaler before climbing on my king-sized bed and sit right in the middle of it.

"We were. We'd hang out almost every day until we were about 15." I explained as I held up a white crop top with spaghetti straps before moving on to my pants drawer.
"Are you guys not friends anymore?" He continues to ask me questions.
"Well no..." I answered as I furrowed my brows.
"Why not?"
"Well it started when I moved to a different school from Shawn, you were maybe 3," I started as I turned around to look at Drew, "Shawn was 15 I was only 14 and I used to go to Pine Ridge with him until mom moved me to the public school, Maple Ridge just because she was worried about my education there," I explained as I walked over to the bed. I crawled to the middle and sat crisscrossed in front of Drew as I was waiting for his response.

"Was Shawn, my friend, too when I was a baby?" He asks looking immersed in my story.
"Of course! He loved you like you were his own little brother!" I exclaimed, I then leaned in close lowering my head and whispered to him, "he was just afraid to hold you, he thought he'd break you."
"He couldn't break me I was just a baby!" Drew laughed.
"That's what I was trying to tell him!" I laughed with him.
"But did you not be friends anymore because you moved to the other school?" Drew asks looking confused.
"Well no I don't think so. When I first moved schools Shawn would come all the way from Pine Ridge just to walk home with me. But then he stopped showing up after a while, it started with just missing a few days until just one day he didn't show up and he never showed up again after that. I went to his house since he was just next door but every time I asked his mom if we could hang out, she told me he wasn't home." I sighed.

It was almost 6 years ago but I still remember that day clearly. I remember coming home sad and alone, I had a weird feeling in my gut that something was wrong but I just thought he'd come back for me some other day until he didn't.

I even called Jess crying and explaining everything to her after a few weeks of not seeing him. She told me to just forget him and accept that he's a jerk but I couldn't. I figured he was just tired of me, I was annoying and clingy after our first kiss. He must have gotten tired of me, but hopefully, after a few years we can see each other and rekindle our friendship, I'm ready for today!

"Hey, Lele..." Drew hesitated for a second, "Is Shawn nice?" He asks.
"What? Of course, he is why would you ask that?" I questioned.
"Mom says he made you cry a lot."
"Oh... well yeah but... that's just because I took a lot of the things he said to heart or I didn't think I was good enough for him or something stupid. I was just a kid, Drew I was crying for a lot of things." I laughed, making Drews worried expression change to a bright little smile.

"I never cry!" He said proudly. I just giggled and shook my head.
"No, you don't," I said with a smile as I reached over and pinched his cheek slightly making him giggle and cringe away from me.
"Now go on I gotta get ready," I said as I started climbing off my bed, Drew doing the same after he did he took another puff of his inhaler before walking for the door.

After showering and getting dressed in my white crop top, white skinny jeans and a pair of black boots. I did my make up and straightened my hair and went downstairs to the kitchen to find my mom prepping breakfast. I looked up at the clock on the wall to see it was 9:30.

I sat at the kitchen island next to Drew who was eating pancakes drowned in syrup. He stabbed his fork in one whole pancake and lifted it, syrup oozing off of it as he did. It just looked like a soggy circular sponge on a fork as he took a big bite from it, syrup sticking to the sides of his mouth.

I watched him for a bit in disgust before looking at my mom. She just shrugged and set a plate of pancakes in front of me along with a cup of coffee with more creamer than anything. I thanked her before neatly cutting my food up to eat.

"So are you excited to see your boyfriend again?" Mom asks as she wiggled her brows at me. Wanting to gasp out of shock from her words as I sipped my coffee I felt it shoot up my windpipe and in my sinuses but thankfully it didn't come out my nose.

"M-Mom!" I coughed, covering my mouth with a napkin I quickly grabbed.
"What?! He was I knew there was something between you and Shawn! I'm not an idiot, dear."
"Yeah but, geez you can't just open up with that ESPECIALLY when he's here!" I warned her.
"I won't." She rolled her eyes.
"And I already have my Danny, Shawn's just an old friend to me now." I dismissed her comment.
"Yes... Daniel... your 27-year-old boyfriend..." Mom said sounding disappointed before she turned her back to me and walked to the fridge.
"Mom we've been over this I'm 19 now I should have a say in who-"
"I don't want to hear that right now, Leila. You're dating him aren't you?" She says sounding annoyed as she cuts me off and slams the refrigerator door closed before grabbing what she needed.
"Yeah for like 2 years now mom, why can't you just accept-"
"Because he's too old for you!" She snapped. I just stared at her, feeling my anger boil up.

"I like him, momma." Drew chimed in. Mom and I looked over to him who was just sitting there, a big sticky mess.
"I-I know, Drew." Mom sighs as she hangs her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. I just stay silent as I quickly push myself out of my chair and stand up.
"Leila eat your food-"
"I'm not hungry." I snapped back to my mom as I glared at her. She just stayed quiet as she watched me turn my back to her and storm out the kitchen.