Restoration [Shawn Mendes] AU

Chapter 86

As spring session was in full swing, March turned to April. Easter had come and gone and the day had been fairly low-key with Michelle and Shawn going up to Boston for Easter dinner at Gran's house, joined by Stefan who had stayed in town for spring break.

By the last week of April, Shawn was well into his final project and culminating senior thesis for his last formal critique in the next month before graduation. Things were so high pressured and intense that he was feeling overwhelmed and more than a little anxious about getting everything completed on time and to the high standards he always set for himself. A few chinks in his armor were evident to Michelle, but she didn't want to do or say anything about it, for fear he'd just get more upset and she didn't want that to happen. Instead she was as loving and supportive as possible and tried to help him whenever and however she could if she wasn't working on her own coursework or at the bookstore. She remembered how stressed she had been a year ago when she was in the same situation and she just wanted him to be as calm and relaxed as possible in order to get through the last few weeks before commencement.

She seemed to be on an even keel with her own classes and projects and even though the restoration design she'd submitted from Professor DuPont's class for the city's consideration didn't make the final cut, she wasn't that upset, as the winning final design for the building they were refurbishing downtown was submitted by a third year grad student who obviously had more knowledge and experience than she did. Instead she added her design to her portfolio and moved on to the tasks at hand that needed to be finished as her first year of graduate work came to a close.

On the last Friday in April, Michelle agreed to meet up for coffee at Carr Haus Cafe with Allison and Patrice when she finished her classes around 3PM, enjoying the nice spring weather on her walk over there. She hadn't really had much time to spend with them in the past 6 weeks due to their very busy schedules and was looking forward to catching up with them for awhile before heading home to make dinner for Shawn, who had been at the studio until the wee hours of the morning. On her way from the CIT building, she ran into Joshua and asked him if he wanted to join her to get some coffee to which he agreed, so they took the short walk up Benefit Street together, discussing their classes, upcoming internships and plans for the summer.

"So did you find out what internship you're doing this summer?" Michelle asked.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be back in Brooklyn, so I can stay at home with my mom and sister since I'll be working in Williamsburg with a jeweler whose family has been there for at least three or four generations. Patrick is gonna be in New York too. He's got an internship at the Met, so we'll see each other more than last summer. So what's your plans for the summer...you got something lined up already?"

"Well yeah, kind of, but that's to be decided. I have two options and one is better than the other, but the problem is the best option is in New York, which means I'd be gone for at least a month and half, maybe two. Shawn is gonna have to stay here to start his Masters classes, so we'd barely see each other. I also don't know if Jonah would let me leave from my job at the bookstore for that long and then come back two months later. I love that job and it's perfect for me when I'm here and in class. I don't know what to do. I haven't talked to Shawn and I haven't mentioned it to Jonah either. I just want to figure out what I'm doing before I open that can of worms."