September.
Everything can seem perfect until it's not.
It was the day of Shawn and Stacy's wedding and Lauren was buttoning up the last button on her shirt while checking herself out in the mirror.
"What do you think?" She asks, looking over at Camila, who was putting the finishing touches on her makeup.
"You look great." Camila said giving Lauren a once over.
"I know that's what I was afraid off." She sighs loudly, fixing her suspenders.
"What?" Camila was confused now.
"Camz I can't outshine the bride and groom." Camila laughed, but Lauren was dead serious.
"Your just so thoughtful aren't you?"She said sarcastically, and rolled her eyes at her.
"What can I say." Lauren shrugged.
The room door opened and Caspian barged in.
"I can't be in the wedding." Caspian announced to the room.
"Why not?" Lauren asked.
"I look too adorable." He sighed loudly.
"No paternity test necessary, he's definitely your kid." Camila said to Lauren shaking her head while holding in a laugh.
Aside from having Lauren's personality, Caspian was also dressed like her, she was Shawn's best woman and Caspian was one of the groomsmen. Cameron was the ring bearer and was in a more casual outfit.
It took them a while to convince Caspian that looking too adorable was all part of being in the wedding party.
After finishing getting dressed Lauren and Camila went to fulfill their duties as best woman and maid of honor. Stacy was calm as a cucumber, while Shawn was having a mental breakdown. He wasn't even standing in the alter yet and was already sweating bullets. Lauren gave him a shot of whiskey to try and calm the nerves he was feelings.
"You just have to breathe, everything is gonna be okay." She said hiving him a tap on the back.
"I know, I know." He took a deep breathe."Something just doesn't feel right." He admitted, while Lauren poured him another shot.
"You love Stacy and Stacy loves you right?" She asked him and he nodded along as he tipped back the shot. "Then everything will be fine, the wedding planner has everything under control. All you gotta do is show up and say I do."
He sighed. "Your right." He said to her and whispered under his breath "everything's going to be fine,"A few times.
Camila was busy helping Normani get PJ and Melanie ready since Kelsea was already dressed and napping on her grandma's arms. PJ and Kelsea were wearing the same dresses and Melanie was in a different one since she was the flower girl.
The wedding wasn't huge or extravagant, it was simple and comfy. Which is the way Stacy wanted it. Autumn was a colorful season and Stacy wanted to take advantage of that, and it was also still warm enough that the ceremony could be held outside. It had that rustic, outdoorsy feel to it.
The Guest arrived and the ceremony was to being soon. Shawn stood with shaky legs at the alter and Lauren did her best to try and keep him on his feet. She'd never seen Shawn this nervous, it was starting to freak her out, she was actually expecting him to pass out at any moment. The ceremony started with Cameron walking down with a pillow in hand and two gold bands sitting atop. Then Melanie made her way down spreading flower petals as she walked, followed by the bridesmaids walking down. Last in line before the bride was Caspian pulling a decorated wagon with pj and Kelsea sitting in and throwing but mostly playing with flower petals, the wagon had a sign attached to the back that read 'here comes the bride'. The Music started playing and everyone stood up and waited for the limo to show up and the bride to step out.
A few minutes passed and nothing happened. Normani and Camila decided to go check on her, only when they showed up to her room, it was empty. They called her phone and she didn't answer. Once they stopped and looked around they noticed the dress was still hung and that there was a note along with the engagement ring sitting on the vanity. They didn't have to read the note to know what she was doing. Normani grabbed the note and they made there way back to the garden.
Considering they came back without Stacy it was clear to everyone she ran away. Well everyone except for Shawn.
"Is she on her way?" He asked them, once they were in whispering distance.
"Shawn I'm so sorry." Camila said sympathetically, while Normani held out the paper for him to take.
He looked confused but took the paper none the less. By the look on his face and the way his grip tightened, everyone's thoughts were confirmed. He didn't say a word but took off running, heading for the building.
"Apologize and send everyone home." Lauren said as she took off after him.
She caught up to him as he was about to enter the room. He looked around the room like a crazed person. Hoping maybe she was hiding in there somewhere. Obviously she wasn't.
"How could she do this to me?" He asked in a low voice, Lauren assumed he was talking to himself so she kept her mouth shut.
His eyes landed on the dress and then on the engagement ring sitting on the vanity. He walked up to it, and picked it up. And then he completely lost it, knocking everything on the vanity off. Lauren knew she probably should of stepped in and said something but she couldn't find the right words to say. "Calm down." Didn't seem appropriate and frankly felt a little hypocritical considering she'd react the same way. How could someone possibly be calm after being left to look like a fool. After realizing the person you felt was the one for you didn't feel the same way. He was angry and if trashing the room made him feel a little better than Lauren would let him. Meanwhile she took the note from him because none of this made sense.
Everything seemed to be perfect fine.
Dear Shawn,
I'm so sorry, I can't do this. You deserve someone better, someone who will love you enough to be faithful to you. I cheated and I swear it wasn't intentional. I was drunk and it meant nothing at first but over the last few months things changed, I realized I'm in love with him and I can't marry you.
I'm so sorry.
-Stacy
"I can't believe this." Lauren said in disbelief. Stacy didn't seem like the type, she seemed nice and sweet. It's why they chose her as the godmother to their daughter.
"I wanna know who it is!" Shawn demanded, slamming his fist into the mirror and causing it to shatter, therefore cutting his hand.
There are good things and bad things about living in a semi small town. Everyone knows everyone and everyone sees everything, sometimes that can be a good thing other times not so much. Thinking back Lauren remembered a few weird things she'd seen but paid no real attention to because again Stacy didn't seem like the type and she like Shawn really believed she loved him but now that it was revealed that she in fact is capable of such a thing, it didn't seem all that weird anymore. Lauren knew who Stacy left Shawn for.
"Shawn lets get your hand cleaned up." She said calmly walking over to him, grabbing the silk robe hung across a chair. He tried resisting at first but she eventually got a good grip on his wrist and a better look at his bloody hand. He had a few tiny pieces of glass embedded in the flesh. "We should probably take you to a hospital." She began lightly dabbing away some of the blood.
"I'm fine." He assured her, then looked around at the mess he made. He walked over and picked up some tweezers. One by one he pulled out the pieces of glass. "Just give me that." He said taking the robe from Lauren and wrapping it around his bloody hand. "We need to go find out who that son of a bitch is that, that whore left me for."
"It's Austin." Lauren blurted out. It probably wasn't the best idea to tell Shawn but she put herself in his shoes and if her best friend knew who the asshole was, she'd want them to tell her.
"What?!" Shawn yelled. He stalked up to Lauren and took grip of her shirt and slammed her to the wall. "You knew all this time and didn't tell me!" He yelled in her face.
"Of course I didn't!" She yelled back, pushing him off. "I, just like you didn't expect any of this to happen. I'm just assuming it's him." Shawn waited for her to elaborate. "Look a about two months ago I stopped by the flower shop, to pick up the bouquet I always get Camz and when Stacy went to the back to get it she left her phone on the counter, it buzzed and I looked over and saw she was getting a call from Austin. I didn't think much of it, figured he was a client of hers. Then a few weeks ago, I was driving Dinah home from the bar and I noticed Austin's car parked outside the flower shop, it was way past Stacy's closing time but the lights were still on. Again I didn't think anything of it, and I forgot all about it. If I knew about it sooner I would have told you in a heartbeat."
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch!" His frown deepened and his nostrils flared, he was beyond mad. It was one thing finding out your fiancé has been cheating on you, on your wedding day but it's another thing finding out it's been with ass face Austin Mahone. I mean talk about humiliation.
"Even if you wanted too, they're probably on a plane out of here. You think they'd be stupid enough to stay in town?" Lauren tried to reason with him, running around town chasing them is not something she wanted to do. And Knowing the smarts of Austin, if she had to guess they were probably hiding out in his apartment but Shawn didn't need to know that.
He sighed, "Your probably right, it's just so infuriating! How could she do this to me? And him? How could she want to be with him?!"
"I don't know, but I do know that she doesn't deserve you buddy." She gave him a good reassuring pat on the back. "Let's get you home and cleaned up."
"I need a drink."
"It's a good thing I own a bar." She said, attempting to lighten him up.
It was way past midnight, and just about everyone was drunk. Drinking might not have been the best idea considering Lauren opened her mouth about how Austin and Stacy might be hiding out in his apartment. And if you can believe it, it's where they ubered themselves to. Dinah was massaging Shawn's shoulders as if he was about to enter a boxing match and Lauren was still trying to get out of the car without falling over.
"Should we knock?" Shawn slurred.
"No! We have to knock the damn door down!" Dinah yelled.
"How are we going to do that Rambo?!" Lauren said smacking her upside the head. While they were bickering, they heard glass shatter.
"Get out here you piece of shit!" Shawn shouted. He had thrown a rock at a window. Austin and Stacy reared there heads out the broken window.
"Shawn?!" Stacy said shocked. "How'd you find me?" She stupidly asked.
"Shut up you whore!" He shouted at her. "Get out here and face me like a man!" He said to Austin.
"I'm more of a man than you are. It's why she left you for me!" Austin taunted him.
"Shawn, Lauren, Dinah please leave or I'm calling the police." Stacy warned them.
"Stop being a little bitch mahone and get out here!" Dinah yelled at him. "Scared I'll kick your ass once again?!" Now she was the one doing the taunting.
As stupid as Austin was, he was smart enough to stay in the apartment, and Stacy kept her word and called the cops when Lauren drunkenly tried kicking the door down. In less than an hour they were being booked for drunk and disorderly behavior. They were going to be spending the rest of the night in the drunk tank.
A few hours later they began sobering up, well Shawn and Lauren did anyways, Dinah was passed out on the concrete bench.
"Camila is going to kill me." Lauren said, rubbing her face in stress.
"I'll tell her it was all my fault, I dragged you into it anyways." Shawn had her back.
"I would of gone along with any stupid plan we would of come up with. It's not your fault." She said truthfully, Shawn had her back all those years in high school and now she had his back.
The cell got quiet, and then she heard sniffling. Shawn was crying. It was about time! She found it odd that he didn't cry at the venue, or when he read the letter, or when he found out it was Austin or even when they showed up to the apartment and saw them together. She was actually starting to worry her. If the person you loved did this to you, you know you'd be a crying mess. She decided no words would make him feel better so instead she wrapped a hand around his shoulders and sat with him as he cried. They ended up falling asleep leaning on each other.
There was a loud banging noise,"Jauregui,Mendes and Hansen! Let's go!" The officer shouted at them.
They groaned, while holding their heads but slowly one by one got up. Lauren didn't realize something weird was happening until they were signing the papers to be released. How were they being bailed if none of them ever made a call? Her head hurt to much to give it anymore thought so she shrugged it off. That was until they step foot outside the police station and there stood Stacy. She bailed them out.
"Shawn, can we talk?" She had the audacity to ask.
"I think you've done enough." Lauren answered for him.
"Yeah, go fu–"can you guess where Dinah was going with that?
"Its okay, I think I need to do this." He looked from Dinah to Lauren, who gave him worried but understanding nods.
"I'll call Camz to pick us up." Lauren said pulled out her phone.
Shawn and Stacy walked off to the near by bus bench to talk as Dinah and Lauren watched from afar. Once Camila showed up, Shawn walked back over to them.
"So what did she want?" Dinah asked, nosy as ever.
"To apologize." He said simply, trying to seem unfazed. He may have wanted to hide his sadness but his tone said it all.
—
Two weeks later...
"We have to do something." Camila whispered to Lauren as they watched from afar as Shawn sat on their couch in his three day old clothes watching yet another sappy love movie surrounded by new and old snacks.
"We can't kick him out Camz, he has nowhere to go." Lauren whispered back.
"I'm not saying to kick him out! Im saying we have to do something to help him get back on his feet. He can't be like this forever." Shawn was her friend too, she'd never put him out like that. "It's so sad watching him like that."
Lauren sighed. "I know but what can we do?"
Camila smiled, "I think I have an idea." She grabbed Lauren by her hand and dragged her away.
After making some calls and working everything out, they both sat with Shawn to propose a plan.
"Shawn you know how much we love having you here–" Camila began to say.
"Don't sugar coat it, you guys are kicking me out aren't you?" The sad look on his face broke their hearts.
"Technically yes," Lauren said, he made a move to stand up but she stopped him. "Just listen to what we have to say." He sighed but made a hand gesture for them to continue.
So Camila continued "again we love having you here, but we both believe your waisting your time moping around for she who shall not be named. She's obviously moved on and we think you should start doing the same because as much as you hope she'll show up any day now and beg for your forgiveness it's not going to happen. We're so sorry your hurting but it's no reason for you to stop living your life, before all this happened you had plans. Plans that we both think you should follow through."
"Which is why we bought you this." Lauren said pulling out a one way plane ticket. " You gave up your dream once for your parents, and I'll be damned if I let her be the reason you give it up again."
"LA? You guys want me to go to LA? But I–" he was shocked and ready with excuses.
"No don't do that. We booked you a hotel and had Dinah call in a favor with one of her NFL players with musician friends to get you a meeting with someone from island records." Lauren stopped him before he could continue.
"If you really want this Shawn, get on that plane tonight." Camila encouraged him.
"I don't know what to say." He took a deep breathe, rubbed his hands on his face and exhaled. "Thank you guys." He said smiling at them.
Lauren didn't want to get all sappy so she patted him on the back and said, "let's get you all packed up," "but first you might want to shower." She joked but not really. He hadn't showered in three days after all.
The rest of it went by pretty fast, Lauren dropped him off at the airport where they said their goodbyes. She would miss having him around but she knew it was what he needed.
—///////////////////////////////////—
I'm so sorry. You guys have no idea how crazy these last few months have been. To put it simply I was out of the country for the month of December, Then college started back up again and volleyball took over my life. And then i broken my left wrist. Since I'm injured volleyball is off the table so I'm back for the time being.