Your Song (Shawn Mendes)

Chapter 9

They kept their relationship hidden from the media for almost two weeks. Of course, there were rumors spreading like wildfire due to the fact that almost every free day they had they spent with each other. The fans had noticed and questioned whether or not they were dating or just really good friends. A lot of them thought it would be amazing if the two confirmed they were together but there was a good number of fans that hated on her simply because she was a female in Shawn's life.

Shawn couldn't handle it if they revealed they were together only for those fans to send more hate. 

So they kept their relationship out of the spotlight for almost two weeks, the only people knowing about it were the band and Andrew who all swore to keep it secret. But since they had a day off in Paris before heading to Belgium and Paris is known as the City of Love, Shawn couldn't resist taking her out for one of their few proper dates.

Shawn knocked on Maria's door and felt his breath hitch at the sight of her. She had on a black button-up romper with three-quarter sleeves that tied at the elbow. Black sandals decorated with silver jewels and her hair in a waterfall braid finished off the look. He smiled when he saw the ring he had gotten her in Germany still on her hand along with the feather ring. 

"You look amazing." He breathed and she smiled, a blush tinting her cheeks.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She replied. He smiled. He was simply in a denim button-up with his usual black jeans under it. He held out a hand and she graciously took it. "Where are we going today?"

He smirked, kissing her knuckles. "You'll see."

*******

Maria let out a gasp as she took in the sight in front of her. Shawn smiled at the sight of her surprised look. He gently came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "The Eifel Tower was a bit cliche for a date, don't you think?" He whispered in her ear, kissing one of the music notes on her skin.

She turned in his arms to wrap her arms around his neck. "This is incredible, Shawn." She said, pecking him on the lips. "I've always dreamed of seeing the Luxembourg gardens!"

He smirked. "I know, I called your moms and asked what the best place was to take you while we were in Paris. I'm glad I didn't disappoint."

"You never could." She smiled. "Just being with you is enough for me."

He rolled his eyes jokingly. "Yeah, but this way I get to see that expression of awe in your eyes." 

Maria rolled her eyes, slapping him lightly on the chest. "Come on, we have to see the Medici fountains. The pictures online are gorgeous and the gazebos and arches around them are the perfect romantic scenery."

Shawn chuckled and kissed her quickly. "Let's go then, madame." 

She giggled and she took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Actually, I'm a mademoiselle because I'm young and not married." She corrected as they walked.

He scoffed. "No need to be a smartass, sweetheart." He joked. She laughed and took his bicep in her free hand, leaning into him. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. They made their way into the park, making sure to stop at any spot either one wanted to. What they didn't see, however, was the person behind them snapping photos of the couple.

*******

The three hours on the bus from Paris to Brussels were not as boring as Maria had originally thought they were going to be. She was curled into Shawn's side with his arm around her shoulders as a Dan and Phil video played on her laptop in front of them. Shawn's phone pinged with a new notification and he quickly checked it. "Shit." He muttered.

She sat up and paused the video to look at him. "What? What's up?" He showed her the screen and she understood. All across Twitter and every social media was an article titled Shawn Mendes dating his guitarist?? with pictures of them at the Luxembourg gardens. She took a deep breath. "Shawn, we knew this would happen eventually."

"I know. I just..." He hesitated, running a hand through his hair.

"Just what?" He stayed silent. "Shawn, you made me promise not to hide anything from you. You gotta do the same for me."

He turned his head and cupped the back of her neck, pressing his lips to hers. She smiled into the kiss but gently pulled away and raised an eyebrow at him. "I just... didn't want you to get hurt." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "A lot of my fans like the idea of us being together but..."

"Not all of them." She finished.

He nodded. "I just didn't want you getting hurt by all the hate you're most likely going to receive." 

She smiled lightly and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It's sweet that you care about me so much but I can handle whatever they throw at me." She took his hand and laced their fingers together. "As long as you're with me."

He smiled back and kissed her knuckles. "Always."

She settled back against his side in their previous position. "Then make a post about it and let's move on with our lives." She unpaused the video and Shawn laughed when she went back to her trance-like state of watching. He quickly scrolled through his phone and found the perfect picture for the post.

It was one that a professional photographer who had been at the gardens had taken. He had apparently seen them and snapped a few pictures of them while they were in the gardens. He had shown the two the pictures and Shawn insisted they be sent to him. One of them was at the while they were next to one of the Medici fountains Maria loved. She was leaning against the fence surrounding the water and he was wrapping his arms around her from behind. She had turned her head to look at him and he had leaned their foreheads together, both of them sporting bright smiles.

Shawn smiled. Perfect. He thought. He quickly clicked to share it on Instagram and wrote out a caption. He shared it to his Twitter page as well before setting his phone down. Maria's phone pinged with a notification and he smirked, knowing it was him tagging her in the picture.

A smile formed on her features when she saw the picture and the caption that went along with it.

shawnmendes: Yes, it is true, I've been dating the amazing Maria Peters, who happens to be the incredible guitarist on my tour, for a little over two weeks now. First of all, thank you @aaliyahmende.s for introducing me to this beauty and second of all, @Mariasmusic you are one of the best things to happen to me on this tour and in my life in general. I can't wait to see where this tour and everything else will take us

Maria smiled brightly and sat up to quickly kiss him as thanks.