"Shawn, I really insist that you and Norah stay with us. There's plenty of room. And it's only for one night," His mother begged, turning around from the front seat to lock eyes with him as if to prove how serious she was.
"Mum, I have already booked a hotel." He sighed.
"Don't use that tone with me, Shawn."
"I am 24 years old." He shot back.
His voice actually faltered at the end and I could see his resolve visibly fading as he argued with his mother, eyes softening at her words and shoulders slowly relaxing.
"And I am still your mother. And I am begging you to stay with us. We never get to see you, and now your here and you won't even stay under my roof? I won't have it. I absolutely will not have it." She huffed.
I had to fight back my giggles as I watched Shawn, whose right eye was now twitching in frustration. Only when Aaliyah started laughing did I join in, leaning against his shoulder to muffle the sound escaping my mouth. Of all the things that Shawn could have been, the last thing I would have pegged him for was a family man, let alone a mummy's boy. But that was exactly what he was, and the fact that he didn't want to stay under the same roof as her only proved my point further. He adored his mother, although she obviously set him on edge. Behind the clenched jaw and cool expression was a hint of caring and almost reverence for the women who had raised him.
"Stop laughing," He suddenly hissed into my ear. I pursed my lips together in a pathetic attempt to stifle the small giggles. His grip tightened on my hand in warning and this time, I managed to hold back the rest of my laughter.
"So, you're staying with us, right?" Aaliyah asked as she leaned over me to look at him with one eyebrow raised. His head fell back against the leather seat.
"Do I have to?" Her face drew into a smirk that was strangely similar to Shawn's.
"Yes, yes you do."
"Fine. Only for tonight, though." His mum let out a happy squeal from the front and clapped her hands together.
Aaliyah smiled widely and turned her attention back to the windrow. Shawn, on the other hand, pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a shaky breath, mumbling something along the lines of 'What the fuck have I done?'. The rest of the drive was silent. Shawn stared out the window the entire time, eye closed and jaw clenched. I chatted with Aaliyah and Karen, who were some of the loveliest people I had ever met. Both were warm and inviting and it was hard to imagine that Shawn was even related to them.
We pulled up outside a charming brick house on the outskirts of the city a few minutes later. After carrying out bags upstairs to the room that we were in, which there was a small disagreement over because 'Fuck no, mum. Norah is staying with me' and 'Language Shawn!' and a feeble 'Anything and works for me' from my mouth, I finally ended up in the room that Shawn Mendes had grown up in.
The walls were a simple shade of blue and plastered with various posters, including (but not limited to): girls, music, and football. It was very un-Shawn. There was a queen sized bed in the middle, covered in a well worn comforter that seemed to be stitched entirely by hand. I set my bag in the corner, only to be pushed up against the wall by Shawn as soon as I turned around. His hands were everywhere, his lips kissing sloppily over every single inch of skin they could reach. T
here was no time to adjust; his tongue was immediately massaging mine, filled with a desperate need. I gathered all the resistance I could muster and slowly pulled away from Shawn, causing him to elicit a soft groan and drop his forehead against my shoulder. "What's the matter?" He whined.
"We're in your mother's house."
"So?"
"That's so...awkward."
He scoffed and lifted his head from my shoulders as he turned away. "Norah, you cannot say anything about being awkward. You are easily the awkward person I know."
"No way," I huffed.
I was going to protest further, but then he stared to unbutton the dress shirt and reveal his perfect, inked up body, and there was no way I could be mad at him while he was doing that. When he slipped a t-shirt over his head, I finally managed to draw my attention away from his smooth back muscles.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"Changing, obviously. You change too. Put on something warmer. We're going out."
"Going out? We just got here." He sat down on the edge of the bed as he tugged black skinny jeans over his ankles.
"Norah, I am not going to deal with this right now. We are going out. Get dressed."
"You could at least tell me where we're going," I snapped, turning back towards my suitcase and tugging out a random array of clothes. All my winter clothes that Tyler had picked were folded up nicely in my suitcase.
"We're going to walk to a little restaurant where we're meeting up with my dad It is cold outside. Put on a coat." I glanced down at my perfectly warm outfit. A knit sweater, skinny jeans, and Chelsea boots, complete with a maroon beanie tugged over my unmanageable brown hair. "I'll be fine." He narrowed his eyes at me.
"Put. On. A. Coat. And do not make me repeat myself. I will not have you getting sick, Norah." When he turned his back, I made a mocking face and stuck out my tongue as my personal form of vengeance, then pulled an army jacket out of my bag and slipped it on. His face relaxed when he saw it covering my shoulders, as if he didn't really expect for me to comply. He opened the door from his childhood bedroom and held out his hand.
"Come." I happily took it and followed after him.
"So, I see you had a crush on Hermione Granger?" I taunted.
"Seriously? It was one poster, Norah," He shot back. "Remind me to rip those down when we get back."
Downstairs, his wavy-haired sister and bright-eyed mother were waiting patiently on the couch. Both of their eyes flickered to our intertwined fingers and my face flushed from laughing at his boyish crush, but both of them kept their mouths shut as we left the house. It was freezing outside. I tried to cover it up and pretend as if I was perfectly content, and that I was, in fact, 'too hot' with this jacket, but when my teeth started chattering, he raised his eyebrows as if to say 'I told you so'.
"Shut up," I muttered, stepping closer into his side.
As I had hoped, he snuck his arm around my waist and pulled us together. The heat radiating off his body instantly warmed me and I nuzzled closer into him.
"Are you still going to argue with me on things? I am obviously always right." He said quietly. His family walked in front of us, completely oblivious.
"Yes. Because you aren't always right. Like when you were mean to the flight attendant." He stepped away from me.
"Norah, I told you that she was an employee. She needs to know her boundaries."
The words escaped my mouth before I could stop them. "Boundaries? Seriously, shawn? You fuck an all of your employees, you can't say anything about boundaries." I slapped my hand over my lips once I was finished.
"Shit, that's not what I mea-"
"Don't," He growled, letting his fingers fall from mine. A stray curl fell onto his forehead, contradicting the cold gaze on his face and his eyes that were darkened in anger. My lips parted to speak, but with a warning shake of his head I quickly stopped myself. Anne turned around with a bright smile.
"We're almost there. It's a little Italian place that Shawn's father Manny absolutely adores." Shawn stared at her. His hands were tucked into his black peacoat and his jaw was clenching rhythmically. I could see him visibly fighting the urge to yell at me by the way he tugged his lower lip into his mouth, and if that wasn't so damn sexy I would probably be scared. Making one of my better decisions of the night, I scurried ahead of him and caught up with his family.
"So," I started. "Have you guys always lived in pickering?"
"yea, we moved here when Shawn was about 16," Karen replied. "We didn't live too far before on Adelaide street"
"Oh, cool," I nodded, as if I had any clue where that was in relation to Canada.
"I've always liked Toronto. I want to work in the Vogue office here someday." Aaliyah let out a small gasp as she turned to me, cheeks flushed pink from the cold.
"You work for Vogue?! Shit, Shawny, why didn't you tell me?" It was then that Shawn was back beside me, keeping a safe distance.
"Sorry, kiddo," He smiled. "But I may have brought you those shoes you wanted. And a new hockey stick. So maybe you can forgive me."
His sister was jumping on him in a second, hugging the taller boy as tightly as she could and mumbling her gratitude. He smiled and wrapped his arm around her, and then kept his arm lazily thrown over her shoulders as they walked. Watching them interact was almost magical. Shawn was completely carefree, giving her occasional pokes to the side and chatting about how her team won their hockey game. Apparently he would to every one of her games when he lived here. And thoughtful Shawn was back.
"You know, little sister," He cooed, gently bopping the tip of her nose. "I was thinking I might expand to Toronto."
"Seriously?!" She gasped, glancing over to me. I probably had a similar expression of complete surprise, due to the fact that I had never heard of these plans before. "That's sick!"
He gave her a lopsided grin which faded quickly when he caught me staring at him. He obviously was not over the whole 'you fuck your employees' situation. I then pretended to adjust my beanie and was saved from running away from his piercing gaze by Karen's cheer.
"That's Manuel!" She said happily. I watched as she grabbed shawn's hand and tugged him towards his father, barely able to control her excitement at the two men reuniting. Aaliyah and I followed quickly behind her. After the proper introductions, we were shown to a round table for five in the back corner.
Shawn sat beside me with a stony expression. He hadn't said anything besides hi, which fell gruffly out of his mouth, in introduction. I placed my napkin on my lap and shifted awkwardly in my seat, unsure of what to do with myself. There was no way in hell I was going to talk to Shawn. I was saved by the ever-welcoming other half of the Mendes siblings, who gave me a slight nudge and held up her hand so that Shawn couldn't see her.
"What's up with him?" She mouthed. I shrugged my shoulders in response and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"Are you guys dating?" She asked silently. I cursed under my breath and gave an unsure shake of my head that could probably be interpreted as either yes or no, causing her look of confusion to increase. Surprisingly, this in when Shawn cut into the conversation. Unsurprisingly, he came in harsh and demanding and with an order. "
Stop whispering. It is rude." He snapped
. Both of our mouths immediately clicked shut, and his mother turned to look over to us in concern at his deep tone. "Shawn, did you know that your dad landed a big deal with this hipster bar?"
"Oh really? When?" Shawn asked, suddenly interested in the conversation at hand. The candle in the middle of the table was casting a soft glow over his features, lifting him up and making him look innocent and like and angel, the opposite of what he was.
"Two months ago," Manny shrugged. "Not much, compared to you, your mum told me you were sort of doing okay with you small business"
"Sort of,small..." Shawn said dryly, leaning back in his seat, all interest lost. He fiddled with the fork as our drinks were set down in front of us. "I started my own company. I guess you could say we are doing well."
"What do you do?"
"What do we not do?" He mused in response. "And yes, it is much better than selling beer dad." Then, much to his mothers horror, he raised an eyebrow in an almost mocking tone. Manny gave him a small smile and turned his attention to the glass of water on the table in front of him. Karen cleared her throat and shot Shawn a look as she began speaking.
"So, the wedding is tomorrow starting at 5, then there's the reception. Shawn, we would love for you to be a groomsman."
"He stopped talking to me when I dropped out of college, and cut me off, mum." Manny chuckled deeply and we all turned our eyes to him. He looked up, a deer in the headlights, and I knew he had not meant to let the sound out. I decided right then that I liked manny , partially because he was about as awkward as me, but mostly because he just laughed at Shawn, who was now trying to hide his frown.
"Anything to add to that, dad?" Shawn asked dryly.
"Well, I'm just thinking you're as about as stubborn as your mother, I had total her this would happen" Manny replied with a shrug.
"Stubborn? I prefer the term determined. Now, excuse me, I have a very important phone call to make."
With that, he pushed back his chair with a screech and hurried away from the table, leaving Manny and Karen with dejected faces and Aaliyah with a pissed off one. I was confused, because I knew for a fact he wasn't making a call. He had specifically asked to not be contacted during his time here. I chewed on my lower lip and stared at the table as we waited for Shawn in silence. When he hadn't returned in a few minutes, I went against my better judgment and hurried out of the homey restaurant to find him.
He was standing outside leaning against a wall, hands shoved in his pockets and eyes watching the streets warily. His dark eyebrows were furrowed as he stood, looking very pissed off. I almost turned and ran back into the restaurant , but my heart pulled me back towards the man.
"Hey," I called softly as I approached.
His eyes glanced up and softened at the sight of me.
"It's cold, you should come back in."
"You forgot your jacket inside." I glanced down and realized that's why I was so cold. Damn him for being right about the whole jacket situation. And damn him for being horribly attractive and horribly rude and horribly confusing. I chose to not voice those opinions, considering he was already pissed off enough.
"Yeah, its fine. I'm not that cold. I know you aren't making a call."
"So what?" He snapped.
Without even realizing what I was doing, I gently reached forward and tugged on his wrist, effectively pulling his hand out of his pocket to intertwine our frigid fingers. "Norah, I am very pissed of right now. You should go inside."
"Why are you pissed off?"
"You. And Manny."
"You mad at him?" He shook his head slowly as his eyes pinched shut.
"No, I am just... He's uh.. It is just a weird situation. I do not want him to try, tell me 'I risked it all starting my business again."
"You're a multi-millionaire" I scoffed. "I highly doubt he'll try to be like that to you. Now come inside."
"No. You go back in, you're shaking." As he said the words, my teeth began to chatter as if to prove his point. His eyes narrowed on me and he nodded his head towards the door in indication.
"I'm fine out here," I muttered.
"Norah, go inside. Now."
"I'll go inside when you do," I challenged.
"I do not have time for this shit right now."
I rolled my eyes and tugged on his hand, leading him back towards the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the small Italian family restaurant.
"Come on," I whined. "You don't even have to talk to me. Just your family. I know you want to."
"Fine. But if you ever say shit like you did before again, then I will be done with this. You need to remember that business is my business, and it will always come first. Get that through your head, Norah," He hissed, eyes searching mine for something which I didn't quite understand. "Because this relationship will never work if you do not."
Without another word he brushed past me, pulling me quickly behind him and luckily not seeing the look on my face. The only thing that stopped me from letting out tears right then was his family's faces lighting up when her returned. We slid into our seats and conversation began once again. Shawn was all dimples and bright smiles, as if the conversation outside had never just happened.
He completely let me in and told me about his family, before flipping moods in the blink of an eye. Then, while still ignoring me, Shawn Mendes did the most unprofessional thing I had ever seen him do, and started a food fight with Aaliyah.
"Oi!" She yelped, pulling the ravioli out of her hair.
"I can still beat you up."
"I reckon you can. Except my body guards will have protect me."
"You have body guards?"
"Aaliyah, I am a mob leader on the down low. Of course I have body guards. West side!" He laughed like a little boy and tossed another piece of ravioli at her, effectively hitting her on the side of the face and causing his mother to snap at both of them to stop and that she didn't know how she possibly raised 'two complete monkeys'.
They continued to flick pieces at each other when she wasn't looking and whispering 'west side' to each other with shit-eating grins. The food was long gone and Shawn was on his second glass on wine when he turned to me, all hint of anger forgotten. He tried to stifle his giggle while he leaned into my side and pressed his warm lips gently against me ear, tucking my frazzled hair out of the way.
I shivered as his hot breath rolled down my spine, contending the chill of his hands, and prepared myself for whatever sexual innuendo he was about to make that would make me want to slap and then kiss him. But instead of being overly crude, Shawn Mendes let out a breathy huff and whispered a soft, 'West side!' into my ear before falling back into his seat, doubled over in laughter as if it was the funniest thing in the entire world.
And just like that, I fell madly, hopelessly in love with him, minutes after he had shattered my heart with his cruel words. It probably wasn't one of the smarter situations I had gotten myself into. Falling in love with Shawn Mendes was right up there beside breaking the coffee machine at work.