Broken Doll // Shawn Mendes

I. Real Life

There was something about sitting alone and unseen in Central Park that made a person feel truly insignificant. While everyone, families, children, couples, went on about their day, she sat unnoticed and unknown. A few passerbys spared her a glance but the glances were all she got. It was fine. She preferred it that way.

When you were unseen, you were alone with your thoughts. She liked that. Except there was a part of her that wanted someone to take notice of her. To ask what was wrong and not take 'I'm fine' for an answer. But she knew there was little to no chance of that actually happening and she refused to get her hopes up to see them destroyed. So she pushed that part of her to the far back of her mind.

"Excuse me," A voice said in front of her. Her head snapped up so fast that she should've given herself whiplash. Standing in front of her was one of the most attractive guys she had ever seen. She guessed he was around her age with warm brown eyes and curly brown hair to match. "I know this probably isn't any of my business but... are you okay?"

She shook her head, bringing her knees up to her chest on the bench with her. "It doesn't matter." She responded.

He smiled gently. "It matters to me." She looked up at him curiously as he sat down next to her.

"You don't even know me." She retorted.

He shrugged. "No, but I know a girl as pretty as you shouldn't be upset." Against her better judgment, a light blush coated her cheeks. "What's your name?"

She shook her head again. "It's stupid."

"Oh come on." The boy laughed a bit. "No one's name is stupid. A lot of the time it reflects who they are or where they come from. So... what's your name?"

God, those eyes could make an innocent person admit to murder. "Coppélia." She said quietly.

He smiled lightly. "I like that name. It's unique." The blush returned to her cheeks. "Do you know where it's from?"

She nodded. "It's a ballet. My mom is a costumer for the New York Ballet and Coppélia is one of her all-time favorite ballets. She thought it would be more interesting than naming me like Clara or Giselle like other ballets." She shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You can call me doll or dolly. It's what my friends call me."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

She finally lowered her knees from her chest. "In the show, Coppélia is a doll that one of the characters fall in love with. It's an... interesting show." He snorted a laugh. "You know my name, what's yours?"

"Shawn." He answered with a smile. Coppélia couldn't help but smile back. "So are you a fan of ballet like your mom?"

She nodded. "I guess you were right when you said most of the time a name reflects who someone is. I have a ballet name and now I'm a dancer."

"You dance?" He asked.

She nodded. "I work as a choreographer/stage manager for a company here in New York." She bit her lip nervously before all but blurting out, "The studio is a few blocks from here." The minute the words were out of her mouth, she shrunk into herself. "I mean, if you're interested in seeing it or something."

He nodded with a smile. "I'd love to." 

*******

When they stepped into the studio, Shawn saw Coppélia let out a small breath. The tension fell from her shoulders and he smiled at the sight. He wasn't lying. A girl as beautiful as she was didn't deserve to be upset in any way. From the moment he saw her trying to make herself as small as possible in Central Park, something pulled him to her.

He wanted to see her smile. He knew it was beautiful before he saw it. He was brought out of his thoughts when she led him to one of the rehearsal rooms. A guy and a girl stood there already. They smiled when they saw her and gasped when they saw him.

"Hey, dolly." The girl greeted, still eyes on Shawn. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Shawn." She answered. "I told him I was a dancer so I offered to show him the studio." The girl nodded. "Shawn, this is Amanda and her boyfriend Christian. They're two of the other teachers in the studio." Shawn nodded and smiled with a wave. 

"Dolly, why don't you get changed into some rehearsal clothes?" Christian suggested. "We can show Shawn some of your work."

Coppélia twisted her fingers together nervously. Amanda gently put a hand on her arm. "It'll be fine. Go get changed." Coppélia nodded and left the studio quietly. Amanda put a hand over her mouth with a smile. "Oh my God."

Shawn snorted a laugh. "I'm guessing you two are fans of mine?" 

Amanda turned to him. "Yes we're fans of your music but we're bigger fans of what you did with Coppélia!" Shawn furrowed his eyebrows but was shocked when Amanda hugged him tightly.

Christian saw Shawn's confused expression and pulled Amanda off of him. "Dolly has severe anxiety." He explained. Shawn's eyes widened. "It's sometimes so bad that she can't even teach her own choreo to our dancers."

"It's why we're teachers here." Amanda continued. "We teach when she can't. She's been my best friend since we were kids but she can't even perform on stage with us."

"The fact that she's so comfortable around you already is nothing short of a miracle." Christian finished. "Whatever you said or did, it's amazing."

"I didn't do anything though!" Shawn argued even though he was completely blown away at the fact that Coppélia was so comfortable around him after one conversation. "I saw her in Central Park and thought she was too pretty to be upset so I started a conversation with her."

Amanda brought him into another hug. "Either way, thank you." 

"Of course," Shawn responded quietly. 

"You cheating on Chris when he's in the room with you, Mandy?" A familiar voice teased from the doorway. Shawn turned and saw Coppélia now dressed in a loose tank top and black leggings.

Amanda chuckled and pulled away from Shawn. "Oh please. The only person I'd cheat on Chris with is you, dolly." She retorted. Coppélia laughed lightly and Shawn swore his heart stopped for a beat at the sound. "But to be honest, even Shawn Mendes couldn't get me to leave Chris."

Coppélia's eyebrows furrowed. "'Shawn Mendes'?" She repeated. Shawn scratched the back of his neck nervously. Her eyes darted to him. "You're the Shawn Mendes?" He nodded. She buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God, I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not." Shawn retorted. He gently took her wrists and lowered her hands. "If I'm being honest, I kinda liked that you didn't know who I was. You treated me like I was anybody else. I liked that."

A blush tinted her cheeks and he smiled at the reaction. 

Amanda put her hands on Coppélia's shoulders with a smile. "I think Shawn is expecting a preview." Coppélia laughed a bit and nodded, smiling at Shawn. He couldn't resist smiling back at the dancer.