Your Song (Shawn Mendes)

Chapter 8

Maria felt her heart stop at his words. He couldn't... how the hell could he know? "W-what the hell are you talking about?" She stuttered, praying to God he didn't mean what she thought he did. 

Shawn took a deep breath. "Maria... I know about the kidnapping." It felt like the world froze around them at that moment. "Maria..."

"Don't." She spoke, ice seeping into her tone. "How the hell did you find out?"

"Andrew has to do background checks on all our crew members including the band." Shawn answered. "He couldn't find anything from before you were 14 until one of his friends at the Toronto PD let him see the file."

Maria felt sick to her stomach. He knew! Tears burned in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She let out a bitter chuckle. "Well, I guess you know all about the pathetic little girl locked up in a basement her whole life. I'm surprised you even want to be in the same room as me."

"That's because I don't know that story." He stepped towards her and cautiously took her chin in his fingers, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I know about the girl who has the will of a warrior to go through hell and back and somehow still manages to be amazing in more ways than one." 

She slapped the hand away from her. "I don't need your pity, Shawn." 

"Except it's not pity!" He snapped. He turned away from her and ran a hand through his hair.

"Then what the hell would it be?" She asked. "Why the hell would anyone in this world, let alone Shawn Mendes, give a damn about me except to pity the girl who spent 14 years of her life trapped in a torture chamber?"

"Because that's not who you are!" He shouted. He stepped close enough that she had to back into the wall. She clenched her fists, fighting back against her mind. 

"Shawn..."

"Maria, you are not that girl." He said quietly, cutting her off. "You are so much more than that." He put his hands on either side of her head, locking her in. Maria let out a small whimper. She shut her eyes tight as tears began to leak out between the lashes. 

"Shawn..." She started once again but he cut her off,

"I fell for you the minute I saw you play in the music room. You looked like a star from the silver screen." He lifted his hand to trace his fingertips along her jaw. "Graceful, beautiful, talented, everything a guy could ever want in a girl in black and white."

"Shawn!" She all but shouted. "This is gorgeous and trust me, I have never had a guy talk like that to me, ever. But let me go, please!"

Shawn blinked and realized her body shaking once again. "Oh my God." He gasped, taking a few steps back from her. She let out a breath and collapsed onto her knees with her face buried in her hands. "I'm such an idiot. I'm so sorry." Before he could step further away, her hand shot out and grabbed his own.

She looked up at him with tear tracks on her face and more glittering in her eyes. "You said you weren't going anywhere." She whispered. 

He kneeled down next to her and gently took her in his arms again. "I'm not, I promise." He said into her ear. She took a few shaky breaths against his chest, trying to calm herself down. He tightened his grip on her and started softly singing into her hair, 

Sometimes it all gets a little too much
But you gotta realize that soon the fog will clear up
And you don't have to be afraid because we're all the same
And we know that sometimes it all gets a little too much

Shawn smiled to himself when he felt the tension in her body release. "I never wanted you to see me like this." She said, her voice slightly muffled by his chest.

"I'm glad I did." He responded. "I don't want you to hide anything from me, okay?" She nodded her head against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. They sat like this in silence for a few moments, her in his arms and him softly humming songs to keep her calm.

Finally, she broke the silence, "Did you mean what you said?" She lifted her head to connect her dark eyes with his honey brown ones. "About the music room and me being..." She hesitated, a blush coming to her cheeks.

"A modern-day silver screen star?" He finished for her. She nodded. "Yes. I meant every word of it." Her eyes widened slightly. He gently tucked a stray hair behind her ear, running his finger over the music note and feathers lightly. Maria couldn't stop the goosebumps that formed on her skin at his touch. He leaned forward, brushing his nose against hers. "If you want me to stop, tell me now."

She stayed silent, the edges of her mouth curving upward. He smiled back before gently pressing his lips to hers. Maria stiffened for a moment before relaxing into the kiss. It wasn't anything like she had experienced before. Shawn was gently and caring in his touch and the kiss sent sparks running through her bloodstream. Something else she had never experienced in her life. 

Slowly, he pulled away, leaving only a few centimeters between them. "I don't know the details, and to be honest, I don't know if I can handle that if I did." He started, barely above a whisper. "I already wanted to bash the bastard's teeth in just from the bare minimum I read of the police report." He pulled her tighter against him. "And I know it's not going to be easy with what he did to you but... I want to be with you, Maria. More than anything."

"I want to be with you too, Shawn." She smiled. "But I don't want to start something only for you to leave when you realize how hard it's going to be to be with someone like me."

"I'm not going to leave you, Maria." He said, looking her straight in the eye. "I told you, I know it's not going to be easy. But I want this. I want you." He leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. "If you'll have me, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you."

She smiled lightly and kissed him quickly. When they pulled away, he smiled brightly at her, kissing her forehead. She let out a squeal when suddenly, Shawn was holding her bridal style and carrying her over to the bed. Shawn chuckled as he laid them both down on the bed, letting Maria curl into his side with her head on his chest. "You don't have to stay, you know?" She said quietly.

"I promised you I wouldn't go anywhere or leave you." He responded, kissing the top of her head. "And I'm not."