𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, shawn mendes

5.7

a/n;
who's homeboy looking at huh?

shawn mendes
07/05/18
5:59pm
new york city, usa

"You look beautiful, Hailey." I choke out after a while of staring at her and deciding what to say. I figured a compliment was a safe answer.

"And you look incredibly handsome, Shawn." She smiles, wrapping me in a hug. I force myself to feel something, anything. But the feelings never come, and I pull away.

"Right, photos!" Someone says from our crowd, pushing Hailey and I together. She tucks her hand under my arm, linking us together. We pose for a few photos, momentarily distracting me from my Aurora-occupied thoughts.

"How you feeling?" She asks again, squeezing my arm. I lean against her, feeling oddly comfortable. She wasn't a bad person to have around, but knowing I was leading her on made me second guess every action I made. Now I know how Aurora felt, for the first two weeks I knew her at least.

"Keep up that PDA, guys." I hear Andrew say, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "Everyone will love it, you look great together."

He throws me a weak, apologetic smile after saying that, the half of Aurora and I's story that I told him explaining my bewildered expression.

A few candid photos are snapped of us before we're escorted to the car that will take us to the gala, with Hailey never letting go of my hand. I didn't know whether it was because of Andrew's comment or because she actually liked me, and I didn't know what I would prefer.

"The suit looks perfect." She comments as we climb into the car. "You look like you're going to the met, which is a good sign."

"And you do too. That dress suits you so much." I reply, shuffling next to her. "Who'd you say designed it?"

"Tommy Hilfiger." She nods, and after that the conversation runs dry. An awkward silence glazes over the car, all possible topics of conversation warn out after spending a week talking to each other over message. It wasn't like with Aurora. We had things to talk about, even just stupid things like disney princesses, or deep stuff, like our future. The future I thought we were going to build together.

The drive doesn't last long, thank goodness. And before I know it we're pulling up outside. She squeezes my hand reassuringly, her experienced presence a comfort. I take a deep breath, preparing myself for everything that awaits in that building. Especially Aurora.

"You ready?" She asks as we step out, but it's not like I had the choice to back out. No matter where I'm at in my relationship with Hailey, or how complicated it may be, people tonight we're going to see us as a couple. So, I was going to have to keep the act up.

We walk forward hand in hand, ahead of all the flashing cameras as they scramble to take photos of us. Our first public appearance together. I could hear the instagram posts before they'd even been published.

Every step I take we stop for photos, altering our pose slightly. I try to look as interested as possible, but my mind wonders elsewhere as I smile. It's a surreal experience, something I'm completely not used to.

And then the next car pulls up, and the attention is off us. Everyone's head seems to turn, and I figure it's a Kardashian or someone.