[shawn mendes]
-

it seemed like a normal day to both anya and i. she had recently sold her new york apartment, so we were staying in the usual hotel we have in brooklyn, awaiting the wrath of andrew, which we knew was coming straight away. after all, anya and i both were seen leaving toronto together, arriving in new york, walking around brooklyn, and that sneaky little kiss they managed to find of us trying to hide in the lobby of the hotel.

and it was a normal day; the late september sun was hazy, leaking through the crystalline windows, lighting up the fairly large room. mornings were always pleasant. anya and i would both wake up and laze about, making a coffee or two, depending on how tired we felt, before laughing about anything, and talking about everything.

i loved mornings with her.

"can we go down for breakfast? i'm starving," anya whines playfully, kicking her legs over my lap, making me chuckle softly.

"yeah, come on," i answer, leaning forward, and pressing a gentle kiss against her lips, barely grazing them with mine.

"shawn?" she asks, as i get up from the bed, turning around and looking at her.

"yeah?"

"put a shirt on," she grins sheepishly, grazing her fingers over the sleeves of my black givenchy hoodie she's adopted as her own.

"i would have a shirt if you didn't steal my clothes all the time," i joke, reaching into my suitcase, and pulling out a white saint laurent, sliding it over my head, before seeing a faint flash of a camera. "are you taking a picture of me?"

"i had to," she blushes, putting her phone down. "the light was hitting you perfectly, and come on shawn, you're stunning."

"i love it when you say things like that," i say softly, a small smile toying on my lips. "it just makes me know that my girlfriend is attracted to me."

"i love when you call me your girlfriend," she says, imitating me slightly, before standing up, and pulling a pair of gym shorts on, followed by her trainers.

"why wouldn't i? you are my girlfriend, right?" i ask, holding one arm out, as she grins, walking straight into my embrace, as i wrap my arm around her shoulders, and she rests her head against my chest.

"yeah," she grins. "and i'm so happy that i am."

"you are?"

"definitely."

mornings were definitely my favourite part of the day.

"do you think andrews gonna yell at us?" anya asks me gently, whilst we take the fairly short walk to the elevator. i let out a sigh, holding her closer to my side, kissing the side of her forehead lightly.

"honestly, i have no idea. i think he's gonna be kinda mad, i mean, after all, i didn't exactly tell him you were coming, and honestly, i kind of sneaked you into the hotel," i grin, making her chuckle. "but i'm sure it'll be fine. he wanted us to stay together, it was only island who wanted to split us up."

"well they succeeded," she mutters, thinking i wouldn't hear. i frown sightly, looking away from her. "i mean-"

"no i get it, don't worry," i respond, removing the frown from my face. after all, she was right. they did split us up for a considerable amount of time - much more than we're used to. after all, we were practically together for every single second of every single day before they split us up, barre the month anya took off for her own mental health.

"i'm just glad we managed to get through everything. i honestly have no idea what i would do without you," she says gently, moving her hand to grasp mine that's resting just over her shoulder.

"i love you," i say truthfully, looking straight down at her, as she grins up at me.

"i love you more," she mumbles, sending me a dazzling smile.

"after new york, lets take a trip together," i decide. "we don't have to be anywhere till the end of october, as long as we show up in australia for the given dates, we can go anywhere in the world after this trip."

"can we go to fiji? or bali?" she asks, her eyes widening in glee. "ooh! what about the maldives? or the south of france? oh or greece?" she pesters, getting more and more excited about what i suggested. i chuckle softly, pressing my lips against her forehead gently.

"how about we go to france, and then fiji?" i suggest. "and then after australia, we could head straight to bali, and on our way back to canada, take a trip to the maldives, and then hit up greece? before heading back to canada," i list, watching anya get more and more excited.

"wait, but can we go back to la instead? you need to meet my whole family," she says excitedly, as the elevator dings open, and we head straight to the breakfast area in the hotel. "like my whole family."

"oh gosh," i chuckle. "but yeah, we can go to la," i say to her, as she grins, twirling herself out of my arms, and holding onto my hand with her fingers. "we can book flights and stuff after breakfast, yeah? its a free day today."

"can we go to sugar factory for dinner tonight?" she asks, letting go of my hand and walking up to the fruit bar, taking a plate and helping herself to the selection of exotic fruits.

"sure hun, we should make a reservation though, after all, it is a friday night," i grin softly at her, helping myself to the wide array of food they have on offer. i decide to have a couple pastries, a side plate of fruit, and an americano.

"shawn, anya," anya and i freeze in our tracks, before turning around, seeing andrew standing there, visibly happy, which confuses me. "come sit, lets talk about whats going on." anya and i look at each other, before shrugging and following andrew to table, placing out food down.

"gerty-" anya starts, but andrew is quick to cut her off.

"island called me last night, after those pictures went viral," andrew says quickly. "they're not mad, surprisingly, however they are slightly worried about the fact that your sales will drop. i managed to convince them they wouldn't, because you're back in the news, however they wouldn't drop the fact that anya isn't, well, not exactly, a celebrity. so-"

"but why does that matter? shes my girlfriend, and my girlfriend can follow any career she wants to," i shoot out, making andrew sigh.

"i know that, you know that, but since anya's followers are rising massively, they want her to become an influencer, and will get her started with some brands and sponsorships," he continues. "anya, you are okay with that, right?"

"well i don't really have a say, but i don't mind," she shrugs, taking a sip of her water. "i don't mind, but you know, i'd rather be with shawn without having to change my career path."

i automatically feel guilt run through me. i knew she was desperate to open her own publishing firm, and i knew that i was holding her back from her own dreams. its almost as if i was the one influencing her life more than she was influencing mine.

"don't do it," i blurt out, without thinking too much about what i'm saying. "i'm holding her back. don't do it."

"shawn," anya says softly, turning her head towards me. "you're not holding me back. don't say that."

"but anya, you want to open a publish-"

"and i will, but come on, i still have two years of online college, and even by then i'll only be twenty two. opening a publishing company can wait till i'm older." she reassures me, reaching for my hand and squeezing it softly. "i'm okay with it, and after all, we can spend so much more time together in the open. its okay, hun."

"are you sure?" i ask her, my eyes going slightly wider.

"i'm sure, it's okay," she smiles at me, before leaning up and pressing a chaste kiss to my cheek. "alright gerty, what hair vitamins and fake tanning companies will i have to spread the word about now?"
-
"babe?" i ask gently, squeezing anya's hand as we walk around the meatpacking district, too full from the dinner we had.

"hmm?" anya hums, looking up at me, before snuggling closer to my torso.

"you're okay with it all, right?" i ask softly, letting go of her hand and wrapping my arm around her instead. "i don't want you to feel forced-"

"it's okay," she says quietly. "yeah, i'm a little bummed that i have to actually be something to be your girlfriend, but it's fine," she mumbles, as i sigh, nodding. "don't stress yourself about it, love. it's okay."

"i'm sorry," i apologise, making her sigh and stop in her tracks, before dragging me to a nearby bench, and sitting me down on it.

"listen to me," she says softly, sitting down next to me, and grasping onto both of my hands. "this is not your fault at all. i'm happy with it, okay? did you really think i was gonna open a publishing company straight after i finish uni? shawn it's a lifelong ambition of mine, which means i probably won't open one till i'm at least 30," she grins. "plus, with this we can be seen together, we can actually go out on dates like we did tonight. it was fun, wasn't it?"

"yeah," i agree, looking straight at her. "i just don't want you to feel like i'm stopping you from doing what you want to do-"

"but you're not," she frowns. "why are you feeling like this, bubs? since andrew told us you've been so off with me."

"i don't know, i'm just a little worried," i murmur to her, as she sighs again, reaching up with her hand and cupping my cheek softly.

"i love you, shawn," she says. "i'm not worrying, so you shouldn't either."

"i know, i know, it's just," i sigh softly, looking straight at her. "i don't want us to be different because of this, you know? social media is toxic, and already you get so much hate from my fans-"

"shawn, i really don't get what you're saying," she says to me, frowning slightly. "are you trying to say that i'll change because they want me to be an influencer?"

"well, you do usually go from influencer to socialite to-"

"are you kidding me?" she says, her voice going suddenly high pitched, yet a tone of sadness runs through it. "that's so materialistic, shawn."

"but you've always said you want to go into-"

"i'm still in uni, shawn! i'm still doing my courses!" she says, letting go of my hands and putting her hands up in the air. "of course i want to, but don't you understand that it will take some time before i actually decide what i want to do? maybe i want to be an influencer."

"you and i both know you don't want to turn into one-"

"watch your mouth shawn," she warns, raising her eyebrows at me. "whatever, can we just go back to the hotel? i'm tired."

"i thought we were-"

"i'm tired, shawn," she says sternly, standing up and folding her arms. "let's just go back and cool off."

"but we're okay, you're the one who's making a big deal about things," i say to her, immediately regretting my words to her.

"really? because it sounds like you want to control what my life is. i'm sorry shawn, but you can't control what i do with my life. yeah, this only started because apparently i have to make a name of myself to be your girlfriend, but i'm okay with it, and you'll have to deal with it." she says firmly, taking out her phone and ordering an uber.

"i'm sorry," i mumble, standing up with her, and waiting on the side of the pavement, looking out for the toyota prius that's supposed to be picking us up.

"don't worry about it," she murmurs, rubbing her bare arms slightly. i told her to bring a jacket.

"here," i say, slipping off my denim jacket, laying it over her shoulders, as she smiles thankfully.

"don't you need it?"

"i'm canadian," i say, making her smile sadly at me, before sighing and shuffling her arms through the sleeves of my jacket. "wait, stand there," i say, pointing to the brick wall behind us, before taking out my phone from my back pocket.

"shawn-"

"smile hun," she rolls her eyes, before pushing out a small smile, and i quickly snap the photo, before looking back up at her. "come on love, give me some more emotion, think about puppies."

"puppies?" she chuckles, looking at me.

"yeah, puppies, got a problem with that?" i grin, taking another photo, as she bursts out laughing, throwing her head back slightly. "you're stunning, yes work it!"

"shawn," she giggles, her cheeks flushing softly at me, before she walks forward, as i put my phone away. "i'm sorry too," she mumbles, nestling herself into my embrace, tucking her head against my chest.

as we waited for the car, nestled in with each other's warmth, i knew that the two of us would be okay.
-
wheW that was a long update hehe

also, i'm so sorry for not updating regularly, but expect a couple updates over the next two or three days :)