1D • Stories

Liam & Diabetic Shawn Mendes

Moved from 1D | I'll Always Be Here

Shawn's POV
I was walking backstage of Jimmy Kimmel's show to my dressing room, where I needed to test my blood sugar levels. We'd just done a segment on the show with food and I was starting to feel light headed. As I passed Liam Payne's dressing room, I heard him swear before an object hit the wall. I stopped and knocked on the door.
"Liam? Are you ok in there?" I called but there was no reply. I was a bit worried and just wanted to make sure that everything was ok. "It's Shawn, can I come in?" I asked before I opened the door. Liam was sat on the sofa with his head in his hands, and he was crying. "Liam, are you alright?" I asked as my balance went a little so I walked over to the sofa and sat beside him. I really needed to test my blood sugar levels, but I just needed to check that Liam was alright first. I put my hand on his back and tried to coax him into talking to me. "Liam talk to me, what was the swearing about?"
"Niall," Liam whispered in reply.
"One Direction Niall?"
"Yeah," Liam said and I turned to see that Liam had thrown his phone at the wall and now it was lying on the floor.
"Has something happened between you both?"
"He faked something serious and I left my son to be with him."
"Your son Bear?"
"Yeah," Liam said before he sniffled to stop the tears. "I'm really tired Shawn, I'm just really, really tired."
"I can imagine. You could have a nap Liam, I'm sure that Jimmy will understand," I said as I rubbed my hand around his back but he just shook his head.
"It's not that kind of tired. It's... being a dad, having the music and loving Cheryl. I don't know if I can do it all... I..." Liam said and I looked back at his phone on the floor. My head was starting to spin and I was getting more dizzy by the second, something was going on with blood sugar levels wasn't I?
"Why did you throw your phone?"
"Because Niall called me. Again. He wants to apologise."
"Why didn't you answer it?"
"Because Niall can fuck off!" Liam shouted and it made my ears rings, so I moved away from him. "Oh. I'm sorry Shawn, I'm sorry. I'm just not myself right now, my head's all over the place and... " Liam continued as he put his hand onto my shoulder, but I just blinked as I looked at the floor. My vision had gone blurry and I felt sick.
"Am I going to pass out?" I asked, not sure if I thought it or said it out loud.
"What? Shawn, are you ok?" Liam asked and I felt my body getting weaker.
"Sugar. Sugar levels," I said as I closed my eyes. I was feeling worse fast and I knew that I was going to pass out. I'd needed to do something. Something...
"Sugar levels? Shit, Shawn are you diabetic?" Liam asked but I couldn't move anymore, so I let myself slump against him. "Shawn? Shawn, talk to me," Liam said and I faintly felt him shaking me before everything went black.

Liam's POV
I was upset, angry and overwhelmed by life, but Shawn Mendes was becoming increasing unconscious as he was slumped against my body.
"Shawn? Shawn, talk to me," I said as I shook him, but I got no response. "Shit," I said before I got up and laid Shawn down carefully onto the couch. If he was diabetic he would have his medical kit in his room, so I left to see if he had one. We had just had food on the show so it would make sense for his sugar levels to be out of whack.

I got into his dressing room and sure enough, lying on the side, there was a blood sugar level testing kit and bag of diabetic necessities. I grabbed hold of them and rushed back to my dressing room.

Shawn was getter paler by the second so I quickly pricked his finger and tested his sugar level. The value came back as high, very high. One of my sisters had diabetes so I knew what to do. I went into Shawn's medical bag and quickly found his insulin pen. I put a fresh needle into it and pulled Shawn's top up.
"Liam? What's happened?" Jimmy asked as he came into the room.
"Shawn's having a hyperglycaemic episode," I told him as I put the needle into his skin.
"Shawn's diabetic?" Jimmy asked in shock as he knelt beside me.
"Yeah."
"Is he going to be ok? Do you know what to do?"
"Yeah, my sister's got diabetes. There we go," I said as I finished the injection, removed it from Shawn and took the needle out of the pen. "Could you get me some water please Jimmy?"
"Yeah of course," He said before he rushed off. I put Shawn's diabetic equipment away before I heard him groan.
"Urgh."
"Shawn. Hey, you're ok just try and wake up for me," I said as I put my hand onto his neck.
"Payne?"
"Yeah, that's me. Or are you in pain?"
"Payne," Shawn said as he smiled as touched my face.
"Yeah, Payne. That's me," I repeated as I took his hand. He was confused, but that was normal after a hyperglycaemic episode. "Can you tell me where we are Shawn?"
"Stage..."
"Yeah, we're backstage but where?"
"I've got the water," Jimmy said as he came back in.
"Fantastic, thank you," I said and put it down onto the table.
"How's he doing?"
"Good, he's just coming round," I said as I turned back to Shawn as he was opening his eyes. "Hey. Hiya mate, are you doing ok?"
"Yeah," He whispered before he saw his medical bag. "Did you?"
"My sister has diabetes so I know what to do."
"Thank you."
"It's no problem."
"Can you, not tell anyone?"
"Why not?"
"I don't want the press to know," Shawn said as he sat up and both Jimmy and I gave him a hand.
"The media can twist things. I won't say anything Shawn," Jimmy said.
"Yeah. neither will I."
"Thank you."
"Have some water, it'll make you feel better," I said as I got the water and helped him to drink some of it. He drank it slowly and nodded when he'd had enough.
"Thanks."
"No worries, are you ok?"
"Yeah. Could I have my testing pack please?"
"Yeah of course," I said as I handed it to him and he tested his blood sugar levels again.
"Are you better? Are the values good?" Jimmy asked and Shawn nodded.
"Yeah, they're back in the normal range."
"Good," Jimmy said and my phone starting ringing. I went over to it and saw that picture of Niall on the screen. "Who is it Liam?" Jimmy asked as I picked it up and came back over to them.
"None important," I said before I dropped it into Shawn's glass that was still full of water.
"You should answer his calls Liam," Shawn told me and I looked at him before I saw Jimmy's face of shock.
"Your phone Liam..."
"I don't care about that, and I don't care about him Shawn. I've got too much else going on."
"What's going on?" Jimmy asked Shawn.
"I'm not completely sure and Liam doesn't seem to want to talk about it."
"Oh, ok. If you two don't want to come back onto the show, that's fine. We're just starting again in a few minutes so I've got to go."
"Ok Jimmy," Shawn said and he left. "What's going on Liam?" He asked me.
"Too much."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Yeah," I said after a moment and I sat beside him.
"What did Niall fake that was so bad?"
"He took sleeping pills on James's show last week and he ended up in hospital. Both his brother and myself thought that he'd gone into a coma."
"From taking sleeping pills?"
"From being trapped and his claustrophobia. It's happened before where he got..."
"Sleeping beauty syndrome," Shawn said and I said at the same time and I looked at him.
"How do you know about that?"
"Because I got it when I was 6. I was out for nearly a month. It's also how I got diabetes. I crawled into a cardboard box as a small, healthy kid and a month later I woke up in hospital with type 1 diabetes. The doctor's think that my body reacted to some medication they gave me."
"Shit."
"Yeah."
"Niall's experience wasn't as bad as that, but when he passed out a week ago..." I stopped and sighed. Niall had pissed me off. Really, really pissed me off. My son was not even a year old and Niall thought that he could treat both me and his brother like that. I was a dad now and I didn't understand why couldn't Niall respect that? Didn't he understand how hard I had it and how stressed and worried I was all of the time?
"You got scared," Shawn said.
"No, I got angry."
"Why would Niall take sleeping pills in the first place?"
"To get out of a box that James made him be in for ten minutes."
"So if he took them to get out of the box, why are you angry at him?"
"Because I didn't know he'd taken anything until I'd flown half way around the world away from my 6 month old son!" I shouted.
"You were worried about him. I have bad claustrophobia so I understand why Niall would have taken sleeping pills to get out of the box. He could have had a panic attack live on TV and that would have been worse. He wouldn't have been thinking about you dropping everything to be with him."
"No," I agreed. Maybe the answer was just to not come running to Niall's aid. Maybe he would be fine without me, just like I was fine without him...

I put my head down and a few tears fell from my eyes before I felt Shawn's hand on my back.
"This isn't about Niall is it?" He asked me and I shook my head. "What's really going on Liam?"
"I'm a dad..." I said before I stopped and Shawn shifted beside me.
"Come here, I've got you," Shawn said and I nestled into him. "You're a dad to baby Bear," He helped me.
"Yeah. I've erm. I've always wanted to be a dad, ever since I can remember, and Bear's amazing, he's everything that I could ever wish for. But it's hard."
"Caring for a baby is a lot of work."
"Yeah. That and Cheryl. I love her, so much, but I don't think..." I said before I stopped. "I don't..."
"It's ok Liam, it's best to say these things out loud."
"It's not what I thought it would be. I want to write. I want to sing. I want to perform. I just don't think I can do it... Being a dad. I don't think I can marry Cheryl. I don't think that I can do it..." I said before I really began to break down.
"Oh Liam," Shawn said before he held me tighter. "Does Cheryl know that you feel like this?"
"Yeah," I whispered. I was stressed. Stressed and anxious about everything. My love, my little boy, my career, my health, and my life. Then, my phone rang again and it still worked despite being fully submerged in water.

Small bubbles came out of the speaker and Niall's face glowed on the screen before Shawn stood up.
"I've got it," He said before he took the glass outside and I stared up at the ceiling. My eyes were choked with tears and I tried to breathe as all my fears and worries began to overwhelm me. "Ok, take one of these," Shawn said as he came back and I sat up a little. I swallowed the tablet before Shawn gently pushed me down. "Lie down Liam. It's ok," He said before he made me comfortable on the sofa with a pillow and he put a blanket over my body.
"What... What have you given me?" I asked as I began to feel tired.
"A sleeping pill. You need rest Liam," Shawn said as he sat on the floor and brushed his hand through my hair.
"Will you stay?"
"Yes, for as long as Jimmy lets me," He said and I smiled before I closed my eyes.