Shawn Mendes Imagines

Stuck With You

Shawn is 22 today!🥺 How time flies...

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The cool night air grows even colder as I walk the few remaining steps to my apartment building, the feeling of cold amplified from the bone-deep tiredness wrecking my body. After working 12 hour shifts every day this week, all I want to do for the next month is sleep. Alas, I only get three days off before I have to throw myself back into work again, albeit with less demanding hours.

My eyelids are heavy as I trudge my way towards the elevator, the mere thought of tackling the stairs making me want to cry. Thankfully there's no one else in there and I can just lean against the wall, eyes closed.

That is, until, the doors open again after a few seconds.

A young man walks in, cheeks pink from the cold. He only looks to be a two or three years older than me. If I've ever seen him before, I don't remember. But at this point if Beyoncé walked in I don't think I'd recognise her either. He nods at me as our eyes meet, and we stand at opposite ends of the small space, facing forward. We don't speak as the elevator finally begins to ascend.

I'm seconds away from falling asleep when suddenly I'm jolted back awake with the shuddering of the elevator as it comes to a stop. The lights flicker before shutting off completely, trapping us in a blanket of darkness. All of a sudden I'm wide awake.

"Shit," the man groans at the same time as me. Brushing off the odd moment, I retrieve my phone from my back pocket and turn the flash on.
"No service," I mutter. "You?" I direct the light at his feet so I don't blind him.
"Not even a bar." He sighs. "Maybe the assistance button still works though." He adds as an afterthought. I watch as he runs his long fingers over the different buttons, searching for the right one. He gives a quiet cheer when he finds it.

Static fizzles through the speaker - a noise far too harsh for piercing the darkness - before a bored-sounding voice finally follows.
"Hello?" The speaker seems to be an older man, although with the poor quality it's hard to tell.
"Hey, man! We're trapped in the elevator and the electricity has cut out. Could you send help please?" The young man asks, his words positively dripping with politeness. Well, at least it's not me doing the talking because who knows what my sleep-deprived mind could come out with.
"Floor num-" the line cuts off abruptly before the call-person can finish, not even static left to fill the heavy silence. For a few seconds neither of us speak, and I can feel my heart drop down to my feet.

"He'll be able to find us eventually," the man breaks the silence, nervously laughing as he runs a hand through his unruly curls.
"Yeah." I manage a weak smile. I look down at my phone and feel my heart drop further at the sight of the low battery. "Might as well make ourselves comfortable." Sighing, I leave my phone in the middle of the floor facing down, so the flashlight can illuminate even a little of the space for whatever time is left until it dies, and lower myself to the ground, my back against the wall. He follows my lead and settles down beside me, leaving a big gap of space between us. Even so, from here I'm able to smell the aftershave he's wearing and I smile. It beats the musty elevator scent by a long shot.

"I'm Shawn, by the way." He leans over and offers me his hand.
"Y/N," I say, shaking it. If I hold on a little longer than necessary, what about it. I glance down at his hand as he pulls it away and am surprised to make out a tattoo of some sort on the left side, although with the lack of light it's hard to tell what it is. "I like your tattoo." I indicate my head towards it. "Can't tell what it is though."
"Oh! Thank you!" Shawn gives a genuine smile at that. "Here, I'll show you." He scoots closer, his shoulder now only an inch or two from mine and his scent overpowering me in the best way possible. "It's a swallow."
"It's really beautiful." And it is, I've never seen one like it before.
"I have a few others dotted around the place as well, see," he points to the elephant and number 8 on his finger, as well as the meditating person on his wrist. My favourite though, is the guitar on his forearm.

"The sound-wave is a recording of my family telling me they love me," Shawn explains, noticing my admiration for it.
"I love it." Before I know what I'm doing, I've reached a finger to trace the shape of it. There's a hitch in his breath when I make contact, though I could be imagining it. His warm skin feels soft under my fingertip and I can barely bring myself to stop.
"I do too." He whispers after a moments pause.

We fall into a comfortable silence, our shoulders now touching as the muffled sounds outside filter the air. My eyes grow heavy once again, the shock that was keeping me awake wearing away. My last conscious thought was of my finger tracing a guitar.

*****

I'm awoken what feels like minutes later by the sound of someone saying my name. I blink wearily as I come to, lifting my head off something soft.
"What?" I mumble. There's complete darkness around me and it takes me a minute to remember where I am. But then it hits me - broken down elevator and Shawn.

Shawn.

Shit.

"Sorry to wake you, hun. The repair man is outside and he said we can get out in a few minutes." The man himself explains. His voice sounds much closer than before. I turn my head and collide with his nose.
"Oof."
"Oh my god. I'm so sorry!" I exclaim, horrified. I inch away so I'm not as close. I've never been more grateful for darkness considering how red my face must be right now.
"Don't worry about it." I hear him laugh.
Suddenly, a thought occurs to me. "I wasn't... asleep on you, was I?"
"Would it make you feel better if I said no?"
"Jesus." I groan, dropping my head to my hands. "I am so so sorry. I was really tired and I wasn't thinking and oh my god you must think I'm very weird now - not that you'd be wrong but-"
"Y/N! It's okay! I don't mind." Shawn interrupts. I can practically hear the smile in his voice.
"Still." I mutter. Now would be an excellent time for the ground to swallow me whole.

Someone up there must be on my side because before we can say anything else, the elevator doors are prised open and light suddenly streams in, glaring us in the eyes.
"Sorry about the wait, folks. I had to locate what floor you were on." A cheery-looking woman grins at us from the doorway, wrench in hand.
"S'okay. Thanks for coming." I respond, smiling back at her. My joints are stiff when I stand up, and I have to lean against the wall for a few more seconds before eventually walking out into the spacious corridor.
"No problem at all m'am. That's what I'm here for." The woman shakes our hands and bids us goodnight, promising to get the elevator fixed as soon as possible.

Shawn and I amble towards the stairs, an unspoken agreement between us that we'll walk together.
"What floor are you on?" He asks, turning his head slightly to look at me.
"Fifth." I look at the sign on the wall that tells us what floor we're on. "Two floors up." I sigh.
"I'm on the sixth."

We finish the rest of the journey on relative silence, save for the odd comment here or there. Before I know it, we're standing outside my door, ready to say goodbye.

"Well, Y/N, it was a pleasure meeting you, although I wish it didn't happen the way it did." Shawn smiles, his hazelnut eyes crinkling at the edges.
"Likewise, Shawn." We hold eye contact for a few seconds before he turns to leave.
Just as he's taking a step, I call out again. "Hey, Shawn?"
"Yeah?" He spins on his heel, an amused look in his eye as he faces me once again.
"Could I- um- could I get your number?" I can feel my cheeks heating up slightly as I fiddle with my fingers.
"Of course. I can't have you falling asleep on the shoulder of just any random person now, can I," he winks at me, entering his number into my outstretched phone.
I groan at that as I unlock my door. "Goodnight, Shawn."
He gives me one last long look before turning and walking away. "Goodnight, Y/N."

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Thanks for reading! Stay safe xxx