The rest of the European leg passed by in a blur and suddenly, Maria found herself on the tour bus for about 6 hours to get from the Oakland show to the Los Angeles show. The rest of the band, including Shawn, were asleep since it was about 2 am and they had just gotten out of the show. They were exhausted. Maria was as well but she was the only one on the bus still awake.
Her laptop was open and she felt tears burn in the back of her eyes as she looked through the articles from 2013. She didn't know what drove her to do it, but she was doing it either way. She brought her knees up to her chest, still staring at the screen in front of her. "Maria." A voice said behind her.
She jumped and whipped around to see Shawn looking at her. "Shawn, hey." She said quietly. "What're you doing up?"
"I could be asking you the same thing." He responded. He stepped closer and looked at the laptop screen. His heart dropped, seeing the article title. Teenage girl kept for 14 years in potential drug dealer's basement. "Maria..."
She cut him off with a whimper. He quickly closed the laptop and pulled her onto his laps, wrapping his arms around her. Her shoulders shook with held-in sobs and he tightened his grip on her. "He's part of the reason I came on tour with you." She said quietly. He raised an eyebrow but stayed silent, letting her tell the story on her terms. "They never found him, Shawn. He's still out there. I...I'm terrified, Shawn."
She buried her face in his chest and he kissed the top of her head. "I know you are." He said into her ear. "But I'm not gonna let him get to you again. I won't let anyone get to you." He ran his fingers through the black to silver of her hair and quietly began singing the song he had recently found out was her favorite,
It's a little bit funny this feeling inside
I'm not one of those who can easily hide
I don't have much money but boy if I did
I'd buy a big house where we both could live
He continued singing softly, feeling her slowly relax as he went on until he heard her breathing even out, telling him she was asleep. He smiled slightly, pulling her closer to him and sang the final line,
How wonderful life is while you're in the world
*******
"Watch your step." Shawn smirked, covering his girlfriend's eyes with his hands. It was their day off in LA before they left for San Diego and Shawn wanted to take full advantage of it.
Maria rolled her eyes, though he couldn't see it. "You know, it's kind of hard to do that when you can't see." Shawn snorted a laugh and stopped her. "Now, what is this big surprise?"
His smirk grew and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I know you've been struggling lately, especially the closer we get to Toronto, and I wanted you to just... forget about that for a while."
"Shawn, what is going on?" She asked.
He laughed a bit. "All I can say is... hakuna matata."
Her eyes widened behind his hands and he uncovered her eyes. "Oh my God!" She squealed. She was standing in front of the gate to Disneyland! She squealed again and turned around to throw her arms around Shawn's neck. He laughed, picking her up and spinning her around. "Shawn, this is incredible!"
He set her down and cupped her cheek in one of his hands. "I thought for today, you can forget about everything and just have fun."
She leaned up and pecked him on the lips. "Thank you." She smiled. "And this just proves that no Disney prince could hold a candle to you."
"Even Prince Eric?" He smirked, knowing Ariel was her favorite princess.
"Even him." She responded. He leaned down and kissed her once again. She smiled against his lips before gently pulling away and grabbing his hand. "Now come on! We only have a few hours where I am allowed to act 10 years old and I want to take full advantage of it!"
Shawn laughed at her attitude and allowed her to all but drag him into the park. He smiled, seeing her fully relax for the first time in days. It was amazing to see her smile and hear her laugh without anything stopping her. For today, if not for however long she would have him, she would be treated as nothing less than a princess.
*******
Shawn smiled as Maria softly hummed while they walked. They had just gotten out of an early dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant and she had not stopped smiling the entire time they had been in the park. She had even gotten herself a pair of black and white Minnie Mouse ears. On one ear was the Disneyland symbol and on the other was a silhouette of the Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue in the park. A black bow with a jewel shaped like the castle was in the middle. It was perfect for her. It made him excessively happy to see her enjoying herself so much.
She felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out to see a facetime call from her moms. "Let's sit down for a bit so we can talk to them." She suggested. He nodded and they sat on a nearby bench. She accepted the call and Rachel and Nicole's faces appeared on the screen. "Hi, moms!"
Shawn waved from his spot next to her. Nicole let out a little gasp. "Mickey Mouse ears, sounds of hundreds of people walking around... are you two at Disneyland?"
Maria and Shawn laughed and nodded. "Shawn decided to take me here to spend our day off."
Rachel leaned into the phone. "Songbird, do you remember when I said to keep this one around?" Maria nodded. "Well I'm changing that. You literally need to marry Shawn." Maria let out a laugh and Shawn kissed her temple. Nicole lightly slapped Rachel on the arm. "What? The princess always marries the prince in the Disney universe!"
"Except for Merida in Brave and Moana." Maria shot back with a smirk. Shawn chuckled a bit. "And I don't think we ever saw a wedding between Mulan and Shang..."
"Okay, no need to be a smartass." Rachel cut her off. Maria giggled. She loved teasing her moms. "By the way, Mulan and Shang did get married in the sequel. So ha!"
Nicole rolled her eyes. "You know the sequels never count!" She turned back to Maria and Shawn. "Have fun you two! Shawn, take care of our princess."
"I always will." He responded but his eyes were locked on Maria. They ended the Facetime and Maria turned and pressed her lips to Shawn's.
He held onto her waist and deepened the kiss. She pulled away slowly and leaned their foreheads together. "I have to be the luckiest princess in this whole kingdom." She said quietly. He smiled at her and kissed her once again.
YOU ARE READING
Your Song (Shawn Mendes)
FanfictionAfter his lead guitarist has to leave a week before his Illuminate World Tour is set to start, Shawn and his team scramble to find a suitable replacement. They come up empty-handed at every turn until his sister shows him a volunteer TA at his old h...
