[third person]
-
shawn groaned angrily when aria slammed the door to their bathroom, hearing the familiar click of the lock. he sits down on the bed, slipping the single rose out of his pocket, and placing it on the bed.
he had to do something about this.
it wasn't fair on aria at all, and it wasn't fair on him. it wasn't fair on anyone if he was completely honest, it's just no one wanted to admit that.
"aria?" shawn says quietly, knocking on the bathroom door. "open the door."
"one minute," she sniffles, wiping her red eyes, and splashing her burning face with cold water. she still hasn't changed out of her dress, only cried and taken her makeup off, which was good for shawn, because he still wanted to celebrate her birthday.
aria opens up the door and walks out, seeing shawn standing next to the bed, his hands in his pockets.
"i'm sorry," aria mumbles, walking up to shawn and nestling herself in his embrace. "it's just after willow told me what's really going on, i didn't want to do anything, and i was angry and sad. i'm really sorry, shawn, i know you're my family, and we're a little family. i'm sorry."
"don't worry hunny," shawn says softly, kissing her forehead gently. "now, you're still ready, and looking beautiful, so why don't we head out to your second surprise?"
"shawn i need to redo my makeup-"
"aria, you look perfect without any makeup on, and as it is, you're gonna be the most stunning woman there," shawn whispers, making her cheeks flush wildly, burying her face into his chest. "come on, you're gonna love it."
"shawn," aria tells him softly, placing one hand on his chest and looking up. "thank you, for everything today. it's been the best day of my life so far, i love you."
"hey," shawn whispers back, a smile on his lips. "don't worry about it, you deserve it. i love you."
aria leans up, pressing her lips gently onto shawns, kissing him ever so softly, and spilling her love onto him. shawn cups her cheeks in his large hands, running his thumb gracefully over her cheekbone, making her cheeks flush and glow in the ambience.
"come on, let's go before we're not fashionably late," he grins widely at aria, making her heart skip a beat. "i'll order an uber quickly. do you wanna lock up the condo?"
"mhm," aria nods, leaning up to kiss his lips again. "i'll meet you outside, okay?"
"alright," shawn nods.
after a few minutes, the uber arrives, and aria rushes down to the lobby to meet shawn. they venture outside their complex, finding the car, and hopping inside, before shawn gives the location, coincidentally where he had his 19th, and the two of them are whisked off to the location.
"okay, i'm gonna have to blindfold you," shawn says to aria, holding his tie in his hands.
"shawn i swear to god this better not be something like fifty shades-"
"don't worry," shawn cuts her off with a chuckle, blindfolding her, thing the tie over her eyes. "it's just, a surprise."
"i'm trusting you," she says, pointing a finger out, thinking that shawns in front of her. shawn laughs, placing his hands on her shoulder, and guiding her inside the venue.
since it was still pretty chilly in toronto, they decided to book out one of the reception halls instead of the rooftop, as it would get quite cold late in the night.
"okay, there's a few steps down," shawn says to her, slowing down their speed. "careful, baby, we don't want you to fall on your birthday."
the doorman opens up the large doors to the room, revealing the exciting atmosphere, the usual blank space dressed in crushed grey velvet, and black silk enveloping the room into a cascading waterfall of pure luxury. the guests are already dancing about, taking drinks from the free bar, and enjoying their time; aria hears the weeknds hurt you blaring out of the speakers, and her heart immediately beats faster.
shawn slowly removes the blindfold, only for his hands to be grasped by aria, and himself dragged into the middle of the dance floor. aria moves closer to him, swaying her arms around his neck, moving her hips against his body.
it definitely was going to be a long night.
-
the next morning, aria awoke without shawn beside her. she scrunched her face up in confusion, before quickly getting up and wandering about to find him.
"shawn?" she pesters, sliding on her engagement ring, and exiting their bedroom, revealing camila, aaliyah, and hailey passed out on the couch, along with ian and brian asleep on an air mattress. "what the fuck happened?" aria asks herself, not remembering a single moment from the night before.
she then walks into the office, seeing it completely empty, before heading into shawns room of instruments, again seeing it empty. she furrows her brow, walking back into the main room, seeing aaliyah just waking up, confused by her surroundings too.
"morning," she says, noticing aria pacing about. "what's wrong?"
"do you know where shawn is?" aria asks, slightly worried that he's gone somewhere, without leaving any form of a message behind.
"no idea," aaliyah says, slightly concerned. "why, is he not here?"
"no," aria says softly, reaching for her phone that lies on the kitchen countertop. "i'm gonna call him quickly," she mumbles, escaping back into her room, and sitting down on the bed, dialling up shawns number.
"hey babe, sorry i didn't leave a message or anything but i'm our getting breakfast and coffees. i'll be back in a bit, okay?" shawn quickly answers, obviously hiding something. in reality, shawn was walking up the driveway of arias parents house.
"okay hun, what are you buying?"
"some pastries and stuff, i'll see you later, yeah?"
"alright, i love you," she tells him quietly.
"i love you more," he responds, pushing out a smile. "bye darling."
"bye," she hangs up with a sigh, before leaning back down onto the bed, and letting her worry dissolve, only to reappear as a massive hangover.
meanwhile, shawn took a heavy breath, raising his hand to ring the doorbell to arias old home. he stands straight, his hands by his sides, feeling confident about what he has to say. the door opens and aria's dad stands there in shock, before quickly stepping outside, and shutting the door behind him.
"shawn? son, what are you doing here?" her dad asks quietly, concerned and worried about if mrs tate finds out.
"i had to talk to you all," shawn says, not showing any emotion on his face. "about aria."
"how is she?" adam asks urgently, looking back at the door. "is she well? healthy? happy?"
"she's good, but she would be better if her family would talk to her," shawn says, folding his arms. "mr tate-"
"it's adam, shawn."
"adam, look, i know you had no say in what you're all doing to aria, but not saying a word to her on her birthday? any of you? that's just completely out of order, no matter what happened. arias happy with me, we're engaged for gods sake! she was so upset all of yesterday, and i think she only got drunk to mask her own pain. she keeps saying she's happy with me, but deep down i know that she isn't happy, not at all." shawn says in a large breath. "she was really upset yesterday."
"oh god," adam says completely in shock, tears pooling in his eyes. "i'm sorry, i'm so sorry, ashley and liam both don't want anything to do with her, and they've made it so i can't contact her. i hate it, shawn. i should've come to see her yesterday, i don't care if ashley or liam find out."
"no ones stopping you from coming today. she'd be so happy," shawn tells him. "even when willow and jasmine came yesterday morning, she was happy. she hadn't seen them for ages, she was so happy."
"they came?"
"yeah, they came for breakfast with some of our friends, and my sister," shawn explains. "i did try to invite all of you, but ashley said no."
"oh, i didn't even know," adam says, looking down at the floor. "shawn, please look after her. promise me you'll look after her."
"i will," shawn responds, nodding. "i just want the best for her, i try my best for her."
"i'll see if i can come to see her today," adam tells shawn, shaking his hand. "i'm glad she's found someone like you. you obviously do care about her."
"i love her," shawn smiles sadly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "thank you for talking to me, adam," shawn quickly bids him a goodbye, before escaping back into his car, the fresh smell of coffee and pastries hitting him immediately.
shawn just wanted aria to feel happy.