Treat You Better // SM

1

Chapter 1

"Shawn it's my turn to pick for movie night!" Claire whined, jumping up to grab the remote from Shawn, her roommate. He was much taller and stronger than her, so laughed at her feeble attempts.

"You're gonna pick some soppy Rom-com!" He complained, running round the apartment to escape the pretty blonde girl.

"Shut up, Mendes! You know you like them more than me."

Claire had pushed him onto his bed now and they were laughing, until he flipped them over and was straddling her. Their faces were almost touching and both were breathing heavily. Shawn was brought back to his senses when he saw the hickeys on Claire's neck, from her boyfriend Steven. Shawn cleared his throat and stood up, dropping the remote on his bed.

"I-er, actually am quite busy tonight. We'll watch a movie another time," he said, not meeting her eyes.

Claire sat up and asked him what was wrong, but he shrugged her off so she walked into the living room to watch a movie by herself. The truth was, Shawn had had a crush on Claire from the day they found out they were roommates, and he couldn't stand to see her with another boy, especially Steven who treated her like nothing. Shawn remembered the first time he saw Claire, the happy goofy girl who rarely made an appearance now since she'd been with Steven.

*Time skip to the day they met*

Claire was hauling her suitcases up the stairs to her new apartment, struggling with the weight of them both and the amount of stairs. She was tired and nervous and the bags wouldn't move which made her bang her head against the wall in frustration.

Shawn was inside his apartment, playing guitar when he heard banging and thudding from the stairs. He decided to investigate in case someone had been hurt. A blonde girl was cursing at her luggage as she tried to drag a huge suitcase up the stairs.

"Need a hand?" He offered, trying to hide his smile at the sight of her.

"Yes please. Sorry for the noise."
Her eyes were tired and her hair was coming out of the braids she wore them in, but she was very pretty and Shawn was eager to help.

"Don't worry about it. Where are you headed?" He asked, taking one of the cases and lifting it effortlessly.

She glanced down at something written on the back of her hand, and scrunched up her face cutely trying to read the smudged words.

"Apartment 4b - I think," she chucked softly, making Shawn smile at her.

"Welcome roommate!"

She looked confused at first but then the penny dropped and she looked at him surprised.
"You're my roommate? You live in 4b?"

"Yup. I think we'll get along great."

Claire grinned back and they managed to lug the cases inside before both collapsing down on the sofa with a sigh. She saw his guitar and nudged him.
"You play?"

"Er, kind of. I've only just started. Figured I needed a hobby."

She smiled at him and even now, that smile got Shawn weak. It was a shame she didn't smile much any more.