You were a friend of Shawn Mendes before meeting Charlie. Shawn was a friend that you trusted completely, not to mention a wonderful artist. You were so proud of him. You had met Charlie Puth through Shawn.
Charlie was ridiculously quirky and nerdy and you both geeked out over well produced music. You could sit and talk about the ins and outs of producing music for hours, and you did at times, but you also talked a lot about your families. You would talk about old stories, funny moments, and just some of the things you missed about your families.
You would hang out at Charlie's house in LA a lot, especially after moving closer to his house recently.
This week Charlie was jazzed. His brother was coming to town. You had never met Stephen personally, but you knew how much he meant to Charlie after talking about him. You remember seeing a picture of the two of them when they were little and asking about him several months back.
Charlie told story after story of his little brother and you were looking forward to meeting him eventually.
Time Skip
You headed over to Charlie's to hang out after he picked his brother up from the airport. You were going over unannounced as usual. What you didn't expect was to run into Stephen first. You pulled up in your car and got out to find him sitting on the step.
You: "Stephen?"
Stephen: "Yes?"
You sensed his confusion.
You: "Sorry, yes. I'm Y/N. Charlie's friend."
You hold out your hand to shake his.
Stephen: "Oh! Of course. I've heard a lot about you." he said as he shook your hand. "Charlie's on a call and I think he forgot we were going to walk to get lunch."
You: "That's typical."
You peak your head into the house and hear Charlie still on the phone.
You think.
You look at Stephen.
You: "Well, Charlie and I go down the street to that diner all of the time. Why don't we go and bring him back his regular?"
Stephen: "Sure let me just let him know."
He starts to head for the door. You stop him by saying, "He won't hear you, and if he does he won't remember. If he's on a business call, it's best not to bother him. I'll text him."
Stephen simply nods.
You start to walk the half mile to the diner and chit chat. You end up talking about Stephen's hopes of breaking into music, moving to LA, and what kind of music he wants to make. You asked him questions and he asked about your job and hopes. You felt really relaxed with Stephen, like more than you would normally be with a practical stranger.
Before you knew it you were at the diner and looking at the menu.
You got your food and started the walk back.
You: "So, you still want to go into music even after seeing how it affects Charlie?"
Stephen: "Yeah. I know he's stressed, but he's also fantastic at what he's doing. I just want to try, if I don't I may regret it."
You: "I was just curious....Charlie is like the best at what he does and I've had the privilege of seeing him at his highest and his lowest. The fame is great until it's not."
Stephen: "What do you mean?"
You: "He's hardly home, he can't keep anything private, and he's constantly second guessing himself because of the scrutiny he gets
from the press. It takes a determined person to keep up with it all. If you are as dedicated to it as Charlie, you'll go places."
Stephen: "Sounds like you know him pretty well."
You: "Unfortunately." You say, rolling your eyes and smiling.
Stephen: "Ahhh, sarcasm, I like it."
You chuckle.
You: "No, Charlie's a great guy. I enjoy his company more than I could probably ever tell him."
Stephen: "What do you mean by that? You have a little crush?"
You shake your head. "No. We're just friends. I mean, I've never had a person look out for me like Charlie.... or Shawn for that matter."
Stephen: "I forgot you were friends with Shawn."
You: "Actually, he's who introduced Charlie and I."
Stephen: "Oh, that's right."
You walked in silence for a minute. You looked over to see Stephen smiling to himself.
You: "What's that smile for?"
Stephen: "I wasn't going to say anything, but when Charlie told me about you he forgot something."
You looked puzzled.
Stephen: "That not only are you super chill to be around, or sarcastic, but that you are very pretty."
You smile.
You: "Thank you."
Stephen: "No need. I was just stating the facts."
You: "So what has Charlie told you."
Stephen's smile widens.
Stephen: "He called me a couple of weeks after meeting you and told me that he had met a really sweet girl. I thought he was dating you, so I told him Congratulations. He laughed and said, "She's not for me, I was thinking she'd be good with you."
You smack his arm.
You: "You're lying."
He looks at you and laughs. "You're right.... But he did say that he had met you and that he knew you were something special... I can now agree with that."
You: "Stephen, you just met me."
Stephen: "That's all it took."
You look at him:
You: "Took to what?"
Stephen smiles and looks down to you.
Stephen: "To know I want to know more about you."
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Requested by sabra10