Shawn Mendes Imagines

2-Behind the Screen

A/N: So this one isn't as good and I apologize. I was given a prompt by a friend and figured I'd give it a shot.

*Yo, question for u*

I hate getting texts in general but texts like this push me over the edge- closer to my long awaited mental breakdown. The fact that this text came from my best friend, made me feel slightly better, until I thought about why he texted. I had been keeping a giant secret from him - and the guilt was slowly eating me alive.

*Sure, what's up Shawny?*

Her reply was later than he expected. She usually texted back before he had the chance to shut his phone off. But this time the reply came ten minutes later. This concerned him. In the eight years he'd known the girl, he'd never seen her without her phone within reach. What could've taken her so long to reply, if her phone was right there?

*Are u ok? U been acting different*

Of course he noticed, she would've been foolish to think he wouldn't. He noticed everything about her. He knew her like the back of his hand - better than she knew herself most days. It'd been that way everyday for the past eight years - ever since their 20th birthday; the night they met at a bar in Toronto.

*I'm fine- y would anything b wrong?*

She's hiding her feelings; but why? She'd never done this before - not with him.

*U haven't spoken to me for 2 weeks. Y?*

She didn't have time to even think of a response before she was pulled back to reality by the doorbell. She got up from the couch in the downstairs living room, and walked over - opening the front door. "Shawn?!" she asks, surprised to see him. Especially at 5 AM still in his pajamas looking like he got no sleep last night.

"I needed to see you," he replies, voice just above a whisper. He walks in the door immediately pulling her into his chest, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Are you okay, Shawny? What's wrong?" she asks, the concern laced in her voice obvious. She genuinely didn't know why he just showed up like that - she wanted to know what was wrong so that she could help him. Screw her feelings; he obviously needed her right now.

Why won't you talk to me? What did I do? How can I fix this?" his voice mumbled, face still buried in her neck.

"Come inside and sit. I'll tell you everything. But you can't get mad, okay?" He nods in response. She pulls away from the hug, taking his hand, leading him to the couch. They sit in silence for a while until he has enough and says, "What's goin on with you? Are you actually okay? I'm worried!" She takes a deep breath, mustering up all the courage she could to prepare herself for what she was about to do.

"I'm sorry Shawn. I know I haven't talked to you in a while. It's easier to act like everything's fine over text. I didn't want you noticing something was wrong; I knew you'd be concerned and try to figure out what it was," she say looking down at her lap where her fingers lay, pulling at one another. He moved closer to her, gently taking her hands in his; making her feel safe.

"You don't have to act like you're ok. Just talk to me. I can help you," he tells her, speaking as if she would break at any given moment. Tears started to make their way down her face. He immediately brushed them away, becoming more concerned than he already was.

"I don't want you to leave me. After I tell you, you'll never look at me the same."

He became more confused.

"I could never leave you. I love you too much to do that sweetheart."

His words made her heart skip a beat. How could he just say those three words she'd been struggling to express for almost two years? Did he really mean it? Or was it just the pity finally setting in?

"I love you Shawn. I have for a long time. And not just in that best friend kinda way. I'm in love with you," she mutters, eyes still not meeting his, in fear of the way he would look at her. She just told him her biggest secret ever.

He chuckled lightly.

"Honey, you think I didn't notice? I've known longer than you have; I feel the same way. I was just waiting for you to realize and accept it enough to tell me." His words made her breath catch in her throat. She didn't know how to react. He really loved her. After all this time of thinking he just saw her as a friend; being heartbroken over the fact that he would never see her in that way, he finally admitted that he felt the same.

"Are you messin' with me right now? Cause this isn't funny," she says, only half trusting what he was telling her. She couldn't help it; everyone else in her life lied and left, she had built walls around her heart for a reason.

"I am dead serious my love. I wouldn't joke about something like this; not with you," he says, the smile on his face growing.

"God, I love you. I wish I would've told you sooner," happy tears making their way down her face, as she stared lovingly into his brown eyes. He pulled her into his lap, wrapping the blanket around the both of them tightly, where they still sit on the couch.

"As much as I love talking to you, I don't want to text you anymore. I'm tired of it," he says snuggling his head into the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet vanilla scent.

"Why babe?" she asks, genuinely curious about his revelation.

"You can't feel the emotion of the person you are talking to over text. I had a gut feeling that you were hurting more than you let on, but I couldn't tell if I was just making things up. The way you were texting made it seem like you were happy but you were breaking inside. I hate that; I wasn't here for you," he says, trying to hide just how much this was actually affecting him.

"Okay, then let's only text when it's absolutely necessary. I'd rather hear your voice anyway. No confusion. No miscommunication. No lies. Just the truth; about everything. Always and forever," she suggests, trying to make him feel better about the whole thing.

"Always and forever my love."

So, that's what they did; they never hid what they were feeling behind the screens of technology anymore. Technology wasn't a key factor in their relationship like almost every other couple who would rather text each other than sit and talk face to face. Their love lasted because they got to know who the other person was without the barrier of technology weighing them down. That's all that mattered to them; their everlasting love.