a month later-
i was half asleep when my door opened.
"happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear cassie, happy birthday to you!" my parents and sisters sang while they spread around my room.
my mom put the cake in front of my face and i blew out my candles.
"you guys are so sweet," i said while i wiped away my tears.
"anything for you, mi tesoro, {my treasure,}" my mom said while hugging me, "happy birthday, mija,"
"no lo puedo creer, tienes dieciocho, {i can't believe it, you're eighteen,}" my dad said.
"ew, you're old," my sisters said while jumping onto my bed.
"be nice to the birthday girl," my mom scolded.
both of them rolled their eyes, "fine, sorry,"
my parents then sat on my bed and we all started eating the cake.
"so," i said while shoving a piece of cake in my mouth, "is there a plan for today?"
"there is," my mom said blankly.
i raised my eyebrows, "do i get to know the plan?"
"nope," she responded, "as things are about to happen, you'll be notified,"
"i don't like surprises," i said.
"we know," they all said in unison.
i put my hand on my forehead, "and does your guys' plan have room to go pick up the mendes' from the airport?"
a week after i left canada, my parents invited the mendes' over for my birthday. shawn and aaliyah were instructed to not tell me anything about was was happening. all they were allowed to tell me was that they were coming.
rihanna started talking, "we're not-"
"stop talking!" my mom screamed before she thought for a bit, "we're going to pick them up after we get breakfast,"
"so we're going to breakfast?" i asked.
"yes, we are," she responded.
"and we should start getting ready," my dad said while looking at his phone before turning to my mom, "we don't want to be late,"
"good point," my mom said while getting up, "girls, start getting ready,"
while my sisters were getting up, one of them grabbed my phone and gave it to my mom.
"um, excuse you, i need that!" i yelled.
"no you don't!" my mom said before closing my door and leaving me alone.
since i showered last night, i didn't have to in the morning, so i went straight to my closet and got my outfit.
i changed into a striped pantsuit, black heels, the ring from the set i gave shawn, a cartier bracelet and ring, and the necklace shawn gave me. for hair, i did two dutch braids and put it into a ponytail and for makeup, i did something smoky but natural. [outfit below]
"mom, i'm ready," i said while walking out of my bedroom, "can i have my phone now?"
she was sitting down on the couch with my dad and sisters, "no,"
i fake smiled, "thanks,"
while driving to our local diner, my dad turned on the radio and it happened to be one of shawn's songs. and you best believe we all belted out the lyrics.
once we got to the diner, we went inside, but the hostess took us to an outside area.
i was really confused because i had never been to this part of the diner.
"surprise!" everyone yelled.
i looked around at the people who were there, "oh my god,"
it was my grandparents, aunts, cousin, jocelin, anthony, nessa, michael, alyssa, and daniel.
"hey," i said while hugging all of my close friends.
"happy birthday, cass!" each one of them said before they threw me towards the direction of my grandparents, aunts, and cousin.
my grandparents hugged me, "¡feliz cumpleaños, mija! {happy birthday, darling!}"
i smiled, "gracias, {thank you,}"
"happy birthday, cassandra!" my aunts and cousin said.
i laughed, "why thank you very much,"
"come on, let's sit," my mom said while guiding me to a chair that would make me have my back towards the door.
i looked around the table, "wow, thank you everyone for being here!"
someone put their arms around my neck, "anything for you, shorty,"
i instantly smiled when i heard shawn's voice, but it made me pause and think to myself.
shawn and i's 'relationship' had improved. a lot. and by improved i mean trust was starting to appear again. but, you can forgive, but you can't forget.
the thought of not forgetting made me tear up, but the thought of putting it behind me, made me smile.
"awww, she's crying," one of my aunts said.
"please don't cry, get up," he whispered in my ear.
i got up from my chair and collapsed in his arms. i quietly sobbed.
shawn rubbed his hand up and down my back and whispered in my ear, "it's okay, i'm here now,"
i wiped my tears away and whispered in his ear, "i'm sorry, i just missed you,"
he let go of me, but put his hands on the sides of my face, "i missed you too,"
i smiled, "i'm glad you're here,"
he kissed my forehead, "i'm glad i'm here too,"
i looked behind him and saw manny, karen, and aaliyah.
"hello, sweetie," karen said while hugging me, "happy birthday,"
"oh my, thank you," i said while letting go of her and hugging manny.
"happy birthday!" manny said while hugging me.
"thank you," i responded with a big smile.
i looked at aaliyah and she had her arms opened out for me to collapse in, "happy birthday cassandra teresa gutierrez men-,"
she pretended to think, "oh my bad, not yet at least,"
i rolled my eyes, but then laughed, "thanks anyways,"
she smiled, "but for real, happy birthday, c, i love you,"
"i love you too, a," i said while hugging her again, "thank you, again,"
she smiled while walking towards the table with me following her.
i got back in my seat and saw that shawn brought a chair over next to mine.
i chuckled, "well hello,"
the whole time during breakfast, i was smiling. there wasn't one dull moment. especially since shawn kept whispering in my ear every so often, which would make me laugh. he would have his hand on my lower thigh as i rested my head on his arm while holding it.
awhile after, everyone finished eating and we said our goodbyes and started heading back to my house.
once i set foot in my house, i sat on the couch with shawn and aaliyah following behind me. i let them sit first, then i laid my head on shawn's lap while he played with my hair while i was hugging his torso and facing his stomach, and i put my feet on aaliyah lap.
not even a minute later, my mom came up to us, "are you ready for your next surprise, cassandra?"
i let go of shawn's torso and turned to face my mom, "sure, why not?"
"you're going with shawn and aaliyah to get your nails done," my mom announced, "so i suggest you change your shoes,"
i got up from the couch and went into my room. i decided to change again because i wanted to be more comfortable. i kept everything the same expect for my clothes and shoes. [outfit below]
"i'm ready!" i yelled while walking out of my room.
"¿te cambiasteis? {you changed?}" my mom asked.
"yep," i responded, "let's go?"
"have fun!" our parents screamed, "stay safe!"
shawn got in the driver's seat, i got in the passenger's seat, and aaliyah went in the back. shawn drove to the mall which had the nail salon. the car ride was just the three of us catching up and such.
once we got to the nail salon, i went up to the front desk and asked for three pedicures and two manicures.
the lady nodded and said she would be back.
i smirked, "get ready mendes children,"
"huh?" shawn asked.
"the three of us are about to get pedicures," i said.
he looked really confused, "we're what?"
aaliyah rolled her eyes, "do you want her to spell it ou-"
the nail tech came back, "the three chairs are ready,"
i held my hand out for shawn, "come on, it can be my birthday present,"
he held my hand, "fine,"
going to the nail salon with aaliyah and shawn was the best thing ever. shawn ended up liking the pedicure, which i found funny because he was talking shit the entire time until the end.
shawn finished before aaliyah and i since we were also getting manicures. aaliyah and i made him get us a pretzel and frozen lemonade. the classics.
we didn't end up taking as long as we thought, so we ended up walking around the mall.
"that dress would look amazing on you," aaliyah said while pointing out a beautiful black dress.
"wow, that's pretty," i responded.
"then go try it on, shorty," shawn said as if it obvious.
i looked at both of them, then walked into the store.
"hi, can she try on the dress that's on the window display?" aaliyah asked a lady.
"sure, of course," she responded, "follow me,"
she took us to the dressing room, then excused herself to get the dress. she came back moments later with the dress draped in her arms and some burgundy heels. she helped me in the dress and slipped on the heels for me.
"this fits you beautifully," the lady said while smiling, "let me get your boyfriend so he can see,"
i was too in shock about the dress to correct her.
shawn came in, "how does it lo-"
i turned to face him, "do you like it?"
"i love it, it's beautiful," he responded.
"i'll take it," i said to the lady.
"cash or card," she asked as aaliyah helped me take the heels off.
i handed the heels to the lady, "ca-"
"card," shawn said while getting his wallet out and getting his expensive af looking credit card.
i shook my head, "no, no, no,"
he nodded while walking away with the lady, "yes, yes, yes,"
aaliyah laughed while she helped me out of the dress, "do you think you would leave without shawn getting you the dress?"
"that was too much," i said, "he's too much,"
aaliyah chuckled, "he's shawn, he's always like that,"
i changed back into my clothes and aaliyah and i walked to the register. i handed the dress to the lady and she put it in a bag and gave it to me with the shoes.
"thank you," i said to the lady while walking out before i turned to face shawn, "and thank you, you didn't have to do that,"
"you're very welcome, and i know," he said while taking the bags from my hands, "i wanted to,"
we managed to get back to my house in twenty minutes. and when we walked through the front door, it was chaos.
"oh good, you three are here now," my mom said.
"what took so long?" karen asked.
shawn held up the bags which made karen nod, "no wonder,"
"alright, cassandrita, we're going to olive garden, go get ready because you take forever," my mom said.
i shrugged, "i'll go in this, it's just olive garden, we always go,"
everyone's face expressions went wide, "um,"
i was confused, "it's good, i'll just wear this,"
aaliyah spoke up while standing up with the bags, "you can wear the dress,"
i laughed, "i'm not showing up to olive garden in that extremely formal dress, you're crazy,"
"come on," aaliyah pleaded, "it's your birthday, you can do whatever you want,"
"fine," i said while standing up so i could face everyone, "but all of you have to dre-,"
"deal!" everyone quickly said while nodding.
i laughed while walking away, "you guys are weird,"
aaliyah left me in my room to get ready. i did my makeup and hair, and put on all of the accessories. shortly after i finished, aaliyah came back into my room looking stunning, and she helped me put on the dress.
i changed into a black sparkly dress, burgundy heels, the ring from the set i gave shawn, a cartier ring, accent necklaces for the necklace shawn gave me, and the necklace shawn gave me. for hair, i curled it and for makeup, i made my makeup from earlier better. [outfit below]
"you look gorgeous!" karen and my mom said.
"you two look better," i said.
both of them were also in elegant dress.
"why do i feel like we're going to get weird looks from people at olive garden since we're really overdressed?" i asked.
"who cares," shawn said while coming up to me and putting his hand on my lower back, "you all look amazing!"
my mom smiled, "you're sweet, karen taught you well,"
"dad and manny are outside waiting," sophia announced.
"then let's go!" karen and my mom yelled.
shawn put his arm in front of me to make me stop walking, "you look breathtaking,"
i kissed his cheek, "thank you, mendes,"
the adults went in one car with the girls and shawn, aaliyah, and i went in a separate car.
arriving at olive garden-
shawn helped me out of the car and intertwined his fingers with mine while aaliyah fixed my dress.
"damn, i feel like royalty," i joked.
shawn looked me in the eyes, "because you're a princess,"
"stop," i said while looking down, "you're making me blush,"
"hey, lovebirds and third wheel," manny said, "over here!"
i laughed while shawn and aaliyah rolled their eyes.
shawn let go of my hand and aaliyah pulled me back.
i regained my balance, "what was that for?"
shawn apologized to me before walking towards the hostess, "mendes,"
i turned to aaliyah, "you can make reservations here now?"
"i-i guess so," she somehow managed to get out.
"you good?" i asked her.
"great," she responded quickly, "let's go,"
aaliyah looked over to our families who left us standing there.
"how rude," i said playfully.
aaliyah and i proceeded to catch up to them.
i rolled my eyes, "thanks for waiting for-"
"surprise!" the huge group of people yelled.
a lot of my family was there and all of my friends were there.
i ran towards the giant group of people and group hugged all of them.
"oh my god!", "hi!", "hello!", and "hola!" were said multiple times by me.
after greeting everyone, i hugged my parents, "thank you so much,"
my mom whispered in my ear, "you should be thanking shawn,"
i let go of them, "huh?"
she smiled, "he planned everything,"
i turned around and saw shawn staring at me from a distance. i proceeded to run into his arms and he spun me around.
"thank you for everything," i said.
"you're very welcome," he responded.
we both paused and leaned in.
and kissed.
instagram:
tagged// cassiegutierrez
liked by shawnmendes, cassiegutierrez, and 18,916 others
jocelinponce: i love you bitch, and i ain't never gonna stop loving you, bitchhh! but in all seriousness, happy birthday!!! you're finally eighteen, woohoo!! you can finally get a license and i don't have to drive you, but you probably won't because of your lazy ass💕
5,508 comments
fanaccount1: i'm pretty sure they are all drunk rn...
fanaccount2: she's just turning eighteen? holyyy
cassiegutierrez: ily💕
shawnmendes: i agree with the last part, get your license, cassandra cassiegutierrez
fanaccount3: awww, friendship goals😖
cassiegutierrez: stop pressuring me, i like having my chauffeurs :) jocelinponce shawnmendes
fanaccount4: i love the roasting that's happening, where's my tea?
liked by niallhoran, madisonbeer, and 645,876 others
aaliyahmendes: good thing i was craving tim hortons that one day in december, happy eighteenth birthday, cass💓
15,569 comments
fanaccount1: that was a cute caption😊
fanaccount2: i want to hear the story of how they met asap
cassiegutierrez: i'm so glad you have an obsession with tim hortons, ily💜
fanaccount3: how are they even friends?
shawnmendes: and i'm so glad i went back to canada early x
fanaccount4: awww, my shassie heart is thriving♥️
tagged// cassiegutierrez
liked by cassiegutierrez, aaliyahmendes, and 6,971,477 others
shawnmendes: happy birthday, shorty. i hope eighteen treats you like shit, jk, much love xx
15,921 comments
fanaccount1: the way he looks at her is how i look at my pizza🍕
fanaccount2: i'm sad now😞
aaliyahmendes: i ship #shassie
camilacabello: ^
fanaccount3: ^^
jocelinponce: ^^^
fanaccount4: the roses🌹🥀
cassiegutierrez: wow, i feel appreciated...
shawnmendes: i said 'jk, much love xx' cassiegutierrez
fanaccount5: i live for when shassie fights, just me?🧐
cassiegutierrez: 'jk, much love xx' <3
liked by jocelinponce, camilacabello, and 699,932 others
cassiegutierrez: holy shit, i'm eighteen now😵
pc// shawnmendes
15,902 comments
aaliyahmendes: god is a woman and she's eighteen now, hbd, legend👏
fanaccount1: happy birthday, shawn's friend🎈
jocelinponce: you're a cute eighteen year old, happy birthday, bitchhh
camilacabello: feliz cumpleaños to the best looking eighteen year old there is💗
fanaccount2: that better be juice because this girl is underage😱
cassiegutierrez: ❣️❣️❣️ aaliyahmendes jocelinponce camilacabello
fanaccount3: happy birthday, future mrs. mendes😜
fanaccount4: please take care of shawn, queen. and happy birthday🎂
shawnmendes: happy birthday, beautiful❤️
cassiegutierrez: ❤️ shawnmendes
~2847 words~
authors note// thanks for reading my thirty fourth chapter in traveling | shawn mendes. i'm finally happy with a chapter, and it's my longest one yet. i'm sorry if there's some mistakes, i couldn't edit it like i normally do. anyways, expect updates twice a week for awhile.
xx, c