A Crazy Fairytale [Shawn Mendes]

Part 15

I had to admit the atmosphere wasn't as tensed as I had imagined it to be. Shawn's friends, all boys by the way, were super friendly and open.

Brian, his best friend, I already had once briefly spoken to while I was back in New York and facetiming with Shawn. He broke immediately the ice by greeting me with a big hug and the words "Finally we meet in person! Shawn was talking about you non-stop until I had also a surprisingly urge to meet you."

One of the others, Jon, shared my love for dancing and we immediately clicked on how much we love to dance Bachata, a dance from the Dominican republic. Later on I discovered that he was a musician himself and had a beautiful voice. His music was a lot more R&B style in contrast to Shawn's. But I really liked it.

For dinner we had ordered pizza and with the pizza boxes spread over the table we were all chilling on Shawn's big sofa.

His friends told embarrassing stories from their childhood and from tour, in which mostly Shawn seemed to come off worst. He hadn't understated, he seemed to be almost as clumsy as myself.

"Hey, that reminds me I still owe you a rematch, Mendes," Brian said. "After your devastating loss the last time."

Shawn gave him a fake smile. "Funny. You just got lucky. Next time, I'm gonna kick your ass. But not tonight. We don't want to bore the crap out of Lilly", Shawn answered.

I shook my head. "No, go ahead. But I have to ask: what the hell are you talking about?" "Mario Cart", the boys said in sync. "Well, then let the games begin."

What can I say - Brian definitely kicked Shawn's ass again. And Shawn wasn't really good at losing. Quite stressed out he threw the controller to the ground and stood up. "I need another beer."

I picked up the controller and asked. "Can I drive against you, Brian? I would like to give it a try."

Brian raised his eyebrows, but than smiled and nodded. "Sure, why not. But don't expect any mercy because your new to the game."

"That's no problem. I think I can figure it out." I smiled. What the guys didn't know - I was an absolute crack at this game. I used to play it with David all the time when we were younger.

Shawn came back from the kitchen with two Coronas in his hand, sat down next to me and put one of them in front of me. I loved it how he always thought about getting something for me as well.

Brian and I were already picking out our characters and the racetrack. "Let's see if your girl is better at losing than you, Mendes", Brian joked.

Shawn shook his head and laughed. "Be nice, man! Or you're getting in trouble with me." He put his on hand on my lower back and leaned back on the sofa. Well, let's see who's going to be nice to whom.

The race began and Brian passed by me. I wanted him to feel safe and kept a nice little distant between us. After the first round he was pretty certain of his victory.

That's when I started my attack.

When we passed the finishing line for our final round, I passed him and took the lead. Out of the corner of my eyes I could see that all of the boys were starring in disbelief at the screen.

Shawn had sit back up. "Oh my gosh, Lilly. You're killing it!" I could hear the surprise in his voice.

The other boys started to cheering me on and with quite a lead I passed the finishing line for the final time. All boys, except Brian of course, jumped off their seats and cheered.

Shawn pulled me in a tight hugh. "That's my girl!!!!" He screamed beaming with joy and pride.

And Brian? First he looked quite shocked and then he bursted into laughter. He stood up, came over to me and hold out his hand. I stood up and took it. "That was quite a race! Good job. Beginner's luck? Or did you play before?"

I laughed. "I actually played it quite a lot growing up. But you didn't ask so I didn't mention it." He laughed even more. "Fair enough! Maybe you could tutor this one right here so next time he won't embarrassing himself again on the tourbus."

My big victory had definitely broken down the last remaining barriers and the atmosphere was fantastic. I had really impressed them. Who would have thought that my Mario Cart skills could come by this handy?

We were still chilling on the couch with a few Coronas and music in the background, when suddenly Jon jumped up and changed the music. Out of the speakers came some latino rhythms.

"That's Romeo Santos, isn't it?", I asked and smiled. Jon just nodded and began immediately to dance. "Join me?", he asked and hold out his hand for me.

I gave Shawn a quick lock and he nodded so I stood up. "I haven't dance Bachata for a long time. I hope I don't tip on your toes."

Jon swiveled me around and than put one hand on my hips. I closed my eyes and let the music take over. Pretty fast the steps happened organically. Jon was a great dancer.

When I opened my eyes again I could see that the other boys weren't really paying attention to our little party piece. But Shawn's eyes were fixed on us, monitoring every little move. I wasn't sure how to interpret his looks. Was he ok with this?

As soon the song ended and we separated. "Thank you for the dance. That was so much fun", I said and gave him a hug, before I sat down next to Shawn again.

He gave me a kiss on my cheek and whispered: "Wow, you were amazing. And really sexy. If he wasn't one of my best friends, I would have been quite jealous, missy." I laughed. "Well, then you have to learn how to dance, Mendes."

"Hey guys, Mel just texted me. She is at a club with a few friends and asks if we want to join them. Are you up for it?", Brian asked. The boys were immediately down for it and so was I.

I already felt a little tipsy from the Coronas and was really in the mood for some dancing in the club.

Only Shawn hesitated for a moment. He turned to me with a conscious look on his face. "Are you sure you're gonna be ok with it? It can get a little crowded as soon as someone spots me - which usually happens in just a few seconds."

I nodded and smiled. He didn't seem convinced yet. "Well, and the thing is, we shouldn't be pictured too close to each other." I laughed. "You mean there aren't gonna be make out sessions in the back and constantly hand-holding?"

He rolled his eyes, but had to grin. He knew that I was only teasing him. I swung my arms around his neck, gave him a quick kiss on the check and said: "Let's go and have some fun."

Half an hour later we were in a crowded club in Toronto. Shawn was already recognized by the doorman and soon a lot of smartphones were on us. Even though I experienced this kind of situation at the rooftop bar in New York City, it was a little overwhelming.

But quickly the manager of the club approached us and led us to a lightly isolated VIP-area with more space and only a few other guests. The whole time I kept my distance towards Shawn, mostly went a few steps behind him with Jon.

Mel, the girl who had texted Brian, was out with three other girls. They all looked stunning in short close-fitting dresses and high heels.

I was glad that I had changed my loose cardigan against a fitted black blazer and wore some black high heels as well. Otherwise I would have felt pretty under dressed.

The girls seemed all quite nice although they weren't paying much attention towards me. Most of them gathered around Shawn, which made me a little bit jealous.

I knew that we couldn't act couple-wise, and we weren't a couple anyhow, but watching him with other girls hurted a little. They didn't seem to mind being photographed with him, apparently neither did he.

And obviously they had no idea that I was kinda with Shawn. Maybe they thought I was a friend of Jon's or even his date.

By the way, he was literally an angel the whole time. He got me drinks and didn't leave my side. The only negative thing about this whole VIP area thing was, that we were way too far away from the dancefloor for my taste.

John must have seen my wistful gaze. "Hey Lilly, do you want to check out the dancefloor?" Excitedly I jumped of my seat. "You're a mind reader", I laughed.