All The Strings Attached // spm // slow updates

[19] A Lot, Actually.

After about fifteen minutes, Shawn appeared from the bathroom, dressed in a navy light blue denim button up, and beige khakis. He looked hot.

He smiled at me, and I smiled back. "You look really pretty, Hailee."

I felt my face get warm as I replied "You look handsome as well."

"You ready?" He asked with a sweet smile.

"Yeah," I replied with a small smile on my face as well.

He held out his hand and I sheepishly took it as we walked down the stairs.

Aunt Maddie was sitting on the kitchen table, typing on her laptop. She looked up for a moment before she spoke.

"Hey kiddos. Do you wanna eat before you go to wherever you're going?"  she asked.

"Oh no. That's okay Maddie. I was gonna take her to Tim Hortons for breakfast if that's okay. Then we're gonna go to the mall after." Shawn replied.

"Of course,  Shawn. Just be careful,  alright."  She replied,  the last part seriously.

"When am I not careful?" Shawn said playfully, making my aunt roll her eyes at him.

Not long after, we hopped into Shawn's car; a black 2015 corolla. It was a pretty nice car. The interior especially. It was light and dark grey, with some black spots here and there.

The drive to Tim Hortons wasn't too far. It was the same one we went to when we first met. The moment we walked in, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. I remembered when Shawn sneakily paid for my food, and when I first gave him his nickname, "Muffin Man" -- which, by the way, I found out that I wasn't the first person to call him that.

We walked straight to the case of delicious smelling baked goods, and looked at our options. I chose a yummy looking blueberry fritter and a french vanilla cappuccino for a drink. I've been craving some coffee for days now, so when I saw this on the menu, I immediately made a mental note to order it.

Shawn told me he was going to get the glazed cinnamon roll, and a regular coffee.

The line wasn't too long, so we were able to get to the register in no time.

I set my food down in front of Shawn's, and before the cashier even put the items into the machine, I asked Shawn to get my beanie inside the car because I was getting a bit cold. Of course, that was a lie. I didn't even bring a beanie with me. I just hoped that he would take long enough, so I could pay for both our meals.

Thankfully, the cashier got our order together fast enough, and I was able to pay. Just as I lifted our bag of food and coffees, Shawn came back.

"I couldn't find your beanie. So here, just use mine." He spoke.

All of a sudden, he looked down at the bag and cups of coffee in both my hands.

"Wait. Did you just-- Wow. That was good, Campbell." He added, shaking his head while laughing.

I laughed, and sat down on an empty table, still holding our food. I placed the bag gently on the table, along with the cup of coffee in my hand, and on the inside of my elbow. I'm actually surprised I haven't spilled any of it yet. 

Shawn sat on the seat across from me, and I took the food out of the bag, and handed him his coffee. He thanked me, and we began to eat our food.

The blueberry fritter was to die for. It was so delicious and had a perfect kind of sweetness to it. The coffee was pretty great as well. I'm definitely going to eat here more often. I finished eating in a couple of minutes, and I was pretty full. Shawn finished eating a few minutes before me. I wasn't too surprised. That was some good brunch.

We talked for a bit after we ate, and Shawn told me the stores that he knew at the mall. Apparently this mall was pretty huge. It's called the Upper Canada Mall, and it's about 40 minutes away, which isn't too far.

The car ride was lots of fun. We were singing along to the songs playing on his spotify. We even recorded a "cover" during the ride. But technically, it wasn't a cover. We just sang over the music while awkwardly dancing. I laughed so much when Shawn would mess up the lyrics but still sing really loud.

After Shawn announced that we were ten minutes away, he came up with a deal.

"Hailee, I'm offering you a deal. If you let me open every door for you today, and any of our other dates, I'll buy you whatever you want from Tim Hortons whenever you want since you love it there so much."

I just agreed to it, because how could I say no to free food?

Shawn was right. This mall was huge. I spotted a map and walked over to it. They practically had every single one of the stores I go to, and more.

We went into Forever 21 first, cause I needed some new cheap jeans and leggings. I usually get them here.

Unlike in New York, the line wasn't terribly long, so it was easy to pick out two pairs of Black jeans, three leggings, and I even saw a cute shirt. Shawn and I got on line and were finished in less than fifteen minutes.

Shawn and I decided on taking turns going to the stores we wanted. So next, we went to Holister, where Shawn wanted to go.

He picked out a few shirts, and asked for my opinion on them and I liked them, so he got it. It was a quick line too, so soon enough we were headed to my store, Hot Topic.

I immediately went to the clothing section, because the last time I went to Hot Topic, they had a really nice Twenty Øne Pilots shirt. Shawn looked around inside too, saying he was looking for new beanies.

Eventually,  I found my shirt,  and Shawn bought not one,  not two,  but three beanies.

Our day in the mall pretty much went like that. Taking turns going to stores,  short lines,  and cheap clothes. I'd say we were successful at shopping today.

After we got all that we wanted,  we were super tired. So we went to the food court to eat.

The first food place I saw was Tim Hortons,  so of course,  that would have to be dessert. Shawn does owe me some Tim Hortons.

I looked over at Shawn and he seemed to get the message,  because he says "Yeah. Later."

I looked around at all the other food kiosks,  and I even saw a New York Fries place. Guess I could eat there if I get home sick. We both decided to eat from Teriyaki Experience.

Shawn said it was really good there and he ordered for both of us. He took two of the teriyaki chicken with the White rice. I asked for a miso soup bowl. Asian food just really sounded good to me today.

The line was pretty quick,  so I found us some seats that were close to the Tim Hortons branch,  so we wouldn't forget.  Shawn soon followed with our tray of food.

"Thanks for the food,  Shawn."  I said.

"You're welcome," Shawn replied with a lopsided grin etched on his face.

After we ate,  Shawn bought us some desserts at Tim Hortons as he promised earlier. I immediately devoured the steaming muffins when he came back just a few minutes later.

- - - -

Shawn drove home after that, and I immediately fell asleep just a few minutes into the ride.

_   _   _   _

THANK YOU GUYS SO SO MUCH FOR 2k VIEWS! THAT IS MIND BLOWING! Thank you as well for being so considerate and patient with all the crazy editing I've been doing (and for the really slow updates— I'm open to any suggestions you guys have for this story!) Again, I thank you all so much for the support. I appreciate it lots.