Dangerous Love//Shawn Mendes

Chapter 12

Just a quick note before you read: I'm pretty busy at the moment with school so I won't be uploading as regularly for the next few weeks, probably once every 4-5 days. With that being said please let me know how you are finding the story so far; what you like and what you don't, and I'll do my best to be receptive Xx

Up until today, never in my life had I found myself wanting to skip dancing. It hadn't matter what party or gathering I was missing, it was always worth it if it meant I was improving at dancing. And yet today I found myself dreading every minute of it, and all because of a stupid boy --man, whom I should never have gotten involved with in the first place. This was exactly why boyfriends were a bad idea, they were so distracting and they only ended up in a mess. But, I reminded myself, Shawn had not been my boyfriend; he had made that pretty clear.

Lying there, I just couldn't find it in myself to get up. Not only was I anxious about today, but the ache in my chest was even worse, and nothing felt right. It had been four days since I had gone to see him, and I had cried enough. Being sad wouldn't change anything, but I coudn't stop thinking about it, how things had been, how they could still have been if I'd never found out the truth. And I was glad I had found out now that Shawn was just using me and that I shouldn't have been with him, but I missed how it was before, carefree and giddy with butterflies. I had never felt that way before.

To my relief, my parents weren't in the kitchen, leaving me to eat my breakfast and mentally prepare for the day in peace. But all too soon my food was finished and it was time to leave for school. Dread filled my stomach with every step I took towards school and every minute that passed, bringing me closer to dancing afterschool.

When I walked into class I gave my best fake smile and averted eye contact, making my way to my table and opening up my laptop as soon as I got there. I had resolved not to tell any of them (apart from Will) about what had happened the other night, it would feel almost embarrassing to admit how wrong I had been. All they needed to know was that it was over. I wasn't sure if Will had warned them not to mention it or if they just hadn't noticed, but I was so glad that nobody had said anything. I did my best to distract myself throughout the day, forcing myself to engage in the group conversation in an effort to quell the heaviness in my chest.

The ringing of the final bell made me jump. It was almost as if I had expected it not to go, like if I hoped for it enough, time would just stop. But as much as I wished I could stall, I couldn't afford to be late to class unless I wanted to endure more ridicule in the change rooms. That was one thing that I couldn't handle today, I already had enough on my plate.

As I walked, I absentmindedly checked my phone. Admittedly I had been hoping there was a text, a missed call, anything that would indicate he was even a little bit sorry for what he had said to me. But like always, I had expected too much of him, he didn't care, and neither should I.

When I walked into the foyer, the first thing I saw was Shawn leaning against the wall, one hand in his pocket and the other scrolling through his phone, just like he always was before class started. He was wearing a white t-shirt that clung to his muscles and his hair seemed even more perfect today. I didn't realise that I had stopped walking until he looked up at me, our eyes locking for a split second. I immediately snapped back into reality and hurried straight to the change rooms, which were thankfully mostly empty.

When I made it out of the change room everyone was already in the studio, and thankfully Shawn had made his way in there as well. Good, I didn't have to be near him.

'Eleanor, you're late.' I heard a voice that was all too familiar say across the room at me as I opened the door and entered the studio. Great. My mother was filling in as teacher for this class. Now not only was I the youngest in the class with a parent as the teacher but Shawn would think of me as even more of a child.