It Had To Be You

Part - 1

Shawn sat alone in the backseat of a black Mustang. He had instructed the driver to make the first stop at Studio Allura in Santa Monica. He had just landed after a lingering flight of fourteen hours from Sydney, the last stop of his tour. Exhausted, with a lack of even four hours of decent sleep, Shawn had to attend an out of the blue conference back here in Los Angeles for the shoot of his latest music video.

He was sure there would not be any filming because lack of sleep showed on his face. He needed to sleep if he wanted some color to come back to his pale cheeks. He could sleep now if he wanted to. There was enough room in the car, and the studio was a good two hours away even in the afternoon traffic. But he couldn't. Troy, his project manager had given him a hint about a potential dance theme being planned by the label for his song In my mind. Shawn wasn't quite excited about the idea but he decided not to raise any objections. He couldn't dance. Although, he liked to watch. Besides, he always enjoyed trying new things for his music. But today he was nervous about something more – his dance partner, and that he was going to make a fool of him in front of one of the best dancers he had ever seen on YouTube.

Shanaya had become an internet sensation over night after she uploaded a home recorded dance cover of Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back. She had been on the Ellen Show, The tonight show and had had many interviews with national news networks. Shawn had first seen her video when it was retweeted by Justin himself, and thought she was cool. Her six minute chat with Ellen had struck an instant blow of liking in him. He had looked her up, and watched everything he could find of hers. This was all just a week ago. He had literally stalked Shanaya on the internet, and today he was going to meet his recent obsession. Not to mention, dance with her, though that thought made him uncomfortable.

Shawn opened the mini fridge positioned near his right foot and took out a bottle of water. There were a few cans of pineapples and cherries sitting on the top shelf. Perhaps the same cans that he had overlooked the last time he had opened that fridge- a month and a half ago, when he had come back to L.A. for a two-day break from tour. He wasn't hungry but he decided to still eat some pineapples. He thought a little citrus would help him look fresher.

"Can we stop at a drug store?" Shawn asked the driver. "I'm running short on my sinus medication and I don't think I'll have enough for tomorrow."

"Sure, kid." Kaleb replied. He had been serving the Studios for three years now, and had been appointed for all the celebrity airport pickups in the city. "Would you like me to stop at one in Westwood?"

"Yeah. Sure. Thanks." Shawn replied with a polite smile which wasn't in its full grandeur today. The flight had worn him out more than ever. He relaxed his head on the back support and stretched his legs out as much as he could. For a guy of six feet, he didn't like the confined space of a Mustang. He had another hour to spend in this cramping ride.

Shawn took out his phone from the back left pocket of his grey cargos – his go-to flight attire-cargos and Tees. He had forty nine texts from nine people and eight missed calls from his mom and little sister. It took him about ten minutes to read and reply to all the texts. He planned to make phone calls to his family later when he reached his hotel. For now, he just messaged them that he had landed.

Shawn had expected a text from Kate. He had gone on a date with her in Melbourne, a day before his performance in Sydney. Things had gone well between them at first. She had taken him for a surprise chariot ride in the streets at night with minimum traffic. It hadn't been easy to avoid a mob scene but they had somehow survived.

After a romantic night, they had to part ways because Shawn had to go back to his crew so they could leave for the show. They ended the date with a kiss – but there was something missing. She didn't make him nervous. Maybe she was too honest about her feelings, Shawn wondered. After the date, Kate hadn't tried to make any contacts with him. Did he make it obvious that he wasn't interested to go further, he wasn't sure. Maybe she expected him to make the first contact.

Shawn thought about this for a while whether he should say something or not. He wanted to end things with honesty but he didn't want to initiate a conversation right now. He wasn't prepared. He thought he would come up with something later. The dilemma was pushed back in his head.