At around seven o' clock, Laur and Mel showed up at Brian's house. We hopped into her car and she drove us to the beach where the bonfire was being held. When we got there, I was overwhelmed at the amount of people that had shown up. The parking lot was packed with cars and swarming with high school students that I didn't know.
As the five of us climbed out of the car, I realized I had left my jacket at Brian's house. It was colder outside then I had anticipated. There was a slight chill in the air, and I was only wearing a thin v-neck t-shirt.
"I can run back and get your jacket," Brian offered
"It's fine," I shook my head, "It'll be warmer around the fire."
We headed down the path that led to the sand. An enormous fire was roaring down in the middle of the beach. Dozens of students surrounded it. Many had brought beach chairs and blankets, others were sitting on makeshift driftwood benches, and some were just sitting on the sand.
Mel led the group over to an empty spot near the fire. Brian laid out the beach blankets that we had brought. Immense warmth radiated from the flames. I stepped closer to the fire, sticking my hands out so they would feel the heat.
I looked around at the faces that surrounded the flame. I didn't recognize a single one of them. It was a little overwhelming being around so many people that I didn't know. I was a person that could handle pretty much any social situation, but I still preferred to just be around a few close friends.
"Come sit down, Grace!" Brian called me over. Laur and Mel sat on one blanket, while Brian sat on another one. I had no idea where Lyall had wandered off to. Brian motioned to the spot beside him, and I sat down. He scooted a little bit closer to me.
"Still cold?" he asked.
I nodded, "A little bit."
Brian casually put his arm around me and rubbed my upper arm. "Sorry I forgot your sweatshirt," he said. "Body heat will keep you warmer," he joked, snuggling closer to me.
I laughed nervously and discreetly tried to shake him off of me. "It's not your fault," I replied. "I'm the one that forgot it. I'm really not even that cold."
Laur noticed my discomfort from Brian. "Grace, I actually think I might have an extra hoodie in the back of my car. You can run back and get it if you want. The car's unlocked."
"Thanks," I said as I quickly jumped to my feet. I ignored Brian's annoyed look as I jogged away from the fire.
The sun was gone, and a thick blanket of darkness was settling in. As I headed further away from the fire, it became harder to see. My phone was in Laur's car, so there was nothing I could use for light. I blindly navigated the empty parking lot, trying to remember where Laur had parked.
As I was walking, the toe of my shoe got caught in an uneven part on the sidewalk. I tumbled to the ground, skidding roughly across the pavement. My knees were overcome by a burning sensation, and I could instantly feel blood seeping through my jeans.
"Shit," I cried. "Shit, shit, shit, shit." My ankle was throbbing in pain, it felt like it might be sprained. I attempted to get up, but quickly realized that walking anywhere wasn't going to be an option. My ankle hurt too badly too walk on. I collapsed against a nearby car, helpless.
As I sat there wondering what I was going to do, I noticed someone walking around further down the parking lot.
"Hey!" I called out to them, but they didn't react. "Hey, you!" I could only make out their silhouette. It appeared like they briefly turned to look at me, but they continued to keep walking away. "I need help!"
"Too bad," the figure said. "I'm not very helpful."
I recognized their voice instantly.
"Shawn!" I called into the darkness. "It's Grace. Please, help me. I fell and hurt my ankle; I don't think I can walk."
He stopped walking and turned towards me. I heard him sigh, and even though it was dark I could practically see him rolling his eyes. "What do you want me to do about it? I'm not a doctor."
I was beginning to get frustrated with him. "Shawn, just come over here and help me get to my phone. It's in Laur's car." He could sense that I was loosing my patience, so he headed towards me.
"Jesus," he said. "You're bleeding all over the place." I looked down and realized he was right. My palms and forearms were scraped up from when I had tried to brace my fall, and the knees of my jeans were soaked in blood. "Here, grab my hand," he said. "I'm going to pull you up. Put all your weight on me, try not to put any on your ankle."
I did as I was told. Shawn helped me stand up, and I put my arm around him for support. He was too tall for me to put my arm around his shoulders, so I had to settle with putting it around his waist. It was hard to walk like that; I had trouble balancing myself.
Shawn noticed that I was struggling. "Do you want me to carry you?" he asked.
"If you wouldn't mind," I replied. Luckily it was dark, so Shawn couldn't see me blushing as he scooped me up in his arms.
"Where's Laur's car?" he asked.
"It's somewhere at the end of this row," I said. The two of us walked in silence over to where her car was. Shawn set me down carefully on the curb and then retrieved my phone from the car.
As he handed it to me, I realized that I didn't really have anyone to call. My parents weren't home; they were two and a half hours away in Bayham. They wouldn't be able to help me right now.
"You look confused," he said. "Don't you need to call someone?"
I explained the situation to him. "I don't have anyone to call," I said, "And I don't have anywhere to go."
He didn't say anything for a few moments. "Well, you can't stay here," he said. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "I can bring you home."
"Okay," I said without thinking. "But first I should probably call Laur and tell her that I'm leaving." Shawn nodded.
I called Laur and explained to her that I had tripped and hurt my ankle. I told her that my parents were going to pick me up and bring me home. She felt really bad and offered to drive me home, but I declined.
"It's okay," I told her. "Thanks though."
"I'll at least come out to the parking lot and wait with you until your parents get here," she said.
"No!" I practically screamed into the phone. I didn't want her to see me with Shawn. "They're here right now. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay," she said. "Feel better, Grace."
"Thanks," I replied before hanging up. Shawn was leaning against Laur's car, playing with his phone. I knew he heard me tell Laur that my parents were picking me up, but he didn't say anything about it.
"Ready to go?" he asked. I nodded and he picked me back up. We walked to his car and he put me in the back seat. "Keep your leg up like this," he instructed as he moved my legs so they were laying across the seats. Then Shawn climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.
"I live on West Street," I told him. I could see him raise his eyebrows in the rear view mirror. "What?" I asked.
"I live on West Street too," he said as we pulled out of the parking lot. "Maybe we're neighbors," he let out a quiet chuckle.
"Maybe," I giggled. As we drove down the busy street, I watched Shawn. I observed the relaxed look on his face as he watched the road. He rested one hand casually on the top of the steering wheel while the other hung out the open window beside him. He was a really good driver, which surprised me for some reason. I guess I expected him to be more reckless.
"What number is your house?" he asked as we pulled onto West Street.
"Seventy four," I replied. Shawn quickly found my house and pulled into the driveway. He climbed out to help me out of the car. "You might want to unlock the front door first," I told him. "The key is under the mat."
Shawn unlocked the front door and then helped me into the house. He carried me into the house and set me down on the couch in the living room.
"The house is a mess," I apologized. "We're still moving in."
"It's okay," he replied. "Now let me see your ankle."
Shawn reached down and carefully rolled up the bottom of my jeans. I winced in pain.
"There isn't that much swelling," Shawn said as he examined my ankle. "I don't think it's sprained; you probably just tweaked. It should be better by tomorrow morning, as long as you rest."
I let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God," I said.
Shawn glanced down at my jeans. "You should probably change out of those" he suggested. He felt my blood stained knees. "They're soaked in blood. Want me to go get something else for you to wear?"
I nodded. "I think my gym bag has some shorts in it. It's on the kitchen counter," I said, pointing towards the kitchen door.
Shawn left me but quickly returned with a pair of black shorts. He handed them to me and then asked where the bathroom was. I told him and then he quickly hurried off. I figured that was a subtle excuse for him to leave the room so I could change.
I struggled to slip off my tight jeans without standing up and hurting my ankle. By the time I got them off, I felt exhausted. I took a minute to lie on the couch and rest, with my jeans crumpled in a pile on the floor.
"Your soap smells really good," I heard Shawn say from the other room.
Shit, I thought, he's out of the bathroom already. I frantically grabbed my shorts and tried to quickly slide them on. I wasn't fast enough though, and Shawn walked in as they were around my ankles.
"I guess I should've spent an extra minute smelling the soap," Shawn chuckled as he watched me spastically try to pull my shorts up. "Take your time," he said. "You look cute in your underwear." Shawn's infamous smirk appeared for the first time that night.
"Shut up." I felt the blood rushing to my face.
"I'm just telling you what I see," Shawn laughed again. "Now let me see your knees." He sat down beside me on the couch and examined my knees, which were caked in dried blood. "We should probably clean those off," he said.
Shawn picked me up off the couch and brought me into the kitchen. After he set me down on the counter besides the sink, he began running a washcloth under the faucet. Once it was soaking wet, he lightly pressed it to my wounds.
"Ouch," I whimpered.
Shawn rolled his eyes. "You're such a baby," he said. "It's just water."
"It still hurts," I declared.
As Shawn carefully cleaned the dried blood from my skin, I watched him. He seemed so focused on what he was doing. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed and he slowly pursed his pink lips in concentration. God, he's so attractive, I thought. Even in the dim lighting of the kitchen, his long hair shined and his flawless skin seemed to glow.
I hated being attracted to him. I hated it because I knew that nothing could happen between us. As much as I wanted it to, I knew it wouldn't be right. Whatever had happened between Shawn and everyone else had apparently been a really big deal. I didn't want it to soil my new friendships before they had even fully formed. I couldn't let anyone know that I was with Shawn tonight. I couldn't let anyone know that I was attracted to him.
"There you go," Shawn grinned. By the look on his face, I could tell that he had noticed I was staring at him. Right as I was about to thank him for cleaning up my knees, my cell phone rang from my pocket. It was my mom.
"Hello?" I answered the phone.
"Grace? It's your mother."
I rolled my eyes. "I know Mom. I have caller id."
"Oh, right," she replied. "I just called to say that your father and I will be home in about twenty minutes. Did you eat dinner? We can pick you up some Chinese food on our way home if you want."
"I'm not hungry, but thanks. See you soon," I said. She said goodbye and then I hang up.
Shawn was rinsing off the bloody washcloth in the sink. "I guess I better head out," he said.
"You can stay if you want..." I heard myself say. Shawn looked at me and raised his eyebrows in surprise at the words that had just come out of my mouth. I probably looked just as shocked. "I mean, yeah. You probably should get going."
He nodded. "See you later, Grace." He began walking towards the door.
"Shawn, wait! Don't leave yet!" I called after him. He turned around, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. He waited for me to say something else. "I need you to carry me back to the couch first," I said. His jaw slackened. That was not what he had wanted me to say.
I found myself thoroughly amused by the disappointment on his face. What did he expect me to say? It was my turn to smirk as he walked towards me, clearly annoyed.
"What's the matter?" I teased. Shawn ignored me and scooped me up in his arms. We walked back into the living room and he stood in front of the couch, holding me against his chest.
Instead of setting me down Shawn whispered, "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"
"You like it," I whispered back.
He didn't reply with words, only with facial expressions. His eyes had a playful gleam and his lips were trying to suppress a smile. Shawn was trying his best to look annoyed with me. I wanted to kiss him. I really wanted to kiss him. I wanted to reach up and pull his face into mine and start making out with him right there in my living room. But I knew that I couldn't.
"No, I don't like it," he replied. He was still standing in front of the couch. He hadn't set me down; he was still holding me.
I laughed, "Why not?" I raised my eyebrows, challenging him.
He paused for a minute, pondering his response. "Usually the girls I go after are easy," he finally said, "You're a lot of work."
"I'm worth it though, right?" I joked.
He didn't say anything.
"Just admit it," I teased. "You like that I'm a lot of work."
Shawn silently set me down on the couch and then took a seat beside me. He didn't say anything, and I didn't say anything. We both just sat and stared at each other. He watched me intently. His face was hard and still, but his eyes were warm and sweet. It felt like he was trying to send me a telepathic message, but I couldn't read his mind.
"Honestly," he said, his voice quieter now, "I love it."
That's when the warning sirens in my head went off again. I got his message. He wanted the same thing that I did, it was just a matter of who was going to cave in first. Both of us knew that we shouldn't, but neither of us wanted to just walk away. I sat there expectantly, waiting for him to make the first move. He slowly inched closer to me and casually moved his face closer to mine.
Soon we were inches apart, and I could feel his warm breath on my face. He's going to kiss me, I thought. The warning sirens were still roaring in my head, but I couldn't do anything about them. I couldn't move away. I felt the same magnetic feeling that I had in the Tim Horton's parking lot. As much as my brain told me to back off, my body wouldn't let me.
But his body did. All of the sudden, Shawn pulled away from me and scooted back on the couch. I was frozen in shock and confusion, all I could do was stare at him with raised eyebrows. I had thought for sure that he wanted to kiss me. It was like he had changed his mind.
"Um," his face began to get pink and he nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't usually ask this..." his voice began to trail off, but I raised my eyebrows and urged him to continue. "But I was just wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow...like just the two of us. We can hang out...and I can show you around town and maybe we can get some food or something." His face was turning redder by the minute; he was clearly uncomfortable.
"You want to hang out with me tomorrow?" I tried to conceal the smile on my face as I asked this.
"Uh, yeah," he said. "I mean if you want to."
"I might be busy," I joked, trying to help him loosen up a little. But that obviously didn't help, because the shade of his face just became brighter. "I'm kidding," I said quickly. "That sounds great."
Shawn visibly relaxed. "Cool," he said, "I'll pick you up at three, okay?"
"Okay," I replied as Shawn got up off the couch and grabbed his jacket off the coffee table. "See you then."
"Looking forward to it," he smiled as he headed for the door. "Goodnight, Grace."
"Thanks for helping me tonight, Shawn," I said. "It was really nice of you."
"Don't mention it," he replied. When I smiled in response, his face instantly turned hard and emotionless once again. His voice suddenly got dry and tough. "No seriously," he said sullenly. "Don't ever mention this to anyone." Without another word, he stepped outside and slammed the door behind him.
I sat on the couch with a confused look on my face. What had just happened? I wondered. I had no idea what had caused his sudden mood swing. But the more I thought about it, I realized that was the first time he had acted like himself all night. Usually he was rude and sarcastic, but tonight he had been nothing but kind and helpful.
All the horrible things I had heard about Shawn contradicted what had happened in the past few hours. Nothing made sense. Mel had told me about all the girls that Shawn had hooked up with. According to her, he had slept with over half of the school. And tonight he had the opportunity to kiss me, but he didn't take it. Instead, he asked me to hang out with him tomorrow. It seemed like I was getting mixed signals.
Nothing made sense. After tonight, I had no idea who Shawn really was. I had forgotten all about his "bad boy" image until he made that last remark. I was beginning to think that my suspicions were right; there was more to Shawn Mendes then what he showed on the surface.
Thanks again for all your great feedback. Make sure to continue to give me comments and tweet me. If you liked the chapter, please vote on it! I'll be updating again next Sunday :)
--julia
(@inspirashawn)