You and Me, Forever

Roses [2]

"AND NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PLATINUM-SELLING ARTIST FROM CANADA, SINGING HIS NEW SINGLE ROSES WHO IS UP FOR AN AWARD TONIGHT, SHAWN MENDES!"

Camila stood on the edge of her seat, positively shaking with pride.

Shawn came out on stage and looked directly at her.

"This one's for you."

I'm not try'na start a fire, with this flame

But I'm worried that your heart might feel the same

And I have to be honest with you baby

Tell me If I'm wrong, and this is crazy

But I got you this rose

And I need to know

Will you let it die or let it grow?

Die or let it go?

It's not that I don't care about the love you have

It's not that I don't want to see you smile

But there's no way that he can feel the same

'Cause when I think of you my mind goes wild

Camila swayed to the music but stopped dead in her tracks when she caught on with the lyrics.

The song was ending and Shawn pulled out a single red rose and climbed down into the crowd. He made his way to Camila and stood in front of her with the rose.

"I got you this rose, and I need to know, will you let it die or let it grow?" he sang softly to her.

+

"Shawn you're on in 10." A Grammy technician waved at him.

Shawn snapped out of his reverie. His hands were moist with sweat and his leg was shaking. He looked around him. He was sitting in a dressing room, on a white couch, and in front of him was a white coffee table that had a cup of water and his guitar on it. He checked the time. It was 9 minutes to when he was supposed to go on. He wiped his forehead. Okay, so he didn't go on. What he had just envisioned was but a dream. He exhaled heavily in relief. If that happened in real life, he would be in really deep shit. He revised his game plan in his head. He goes on stage, sings his song, plays the piano at the end, then presents the next award. Best Country or something, anyway he had a teleprompter to read. No stupid grand love gesture to Camila or stupid walking up to her with a rose.

She's engaged. Shawn swallowed the acrid taste in his throat that he got each time when he thought of her with Luke. He grabbed his chest out of habit, soothing his breathing. It's weird. If love was a metaphoric thing, why does he feel the pain so physically? He felt it in his abdomen, feeling the muscles rip open and get salted each time he thought of Camila with Luke.

"Good luck bud." He heard Andrew say to him.

Weirdly enough, Shawn wasn't nervous. This may be the biggest event he's played at, but it didn't feel that way. The whole Grammy nomination didn't even seem to have impacted that deeply. Because his mind was somewhere else these days. His mind was somewhere else ever since that visit to Camila's parents.

Camila waited at the edge of her seat, twiddling her engagement ring nervously around her finger. If you looked closely, it was almost like she cared about Shawn's performance more than he even did. More than her own upcoming wedding.

He got out on stage and sat down at the grand piano colored shiny black. He debuted the song, fingers cold and nervously pressing down on the keys. The audience did not notice. He began to sing softly and as he reached the chorus, the stage lit up and his band came out and started accompanying him. He got up to his usual mic stand and did his usual. He tried to put everything he had been feeling these past days in every lyric. His eyes skimmed through the A-List audience full of his idols and stopped until they landed on Camila who was near tears of pride.