[aria tate]
—

gently, the wind cast my flyaways back against my face, staying away from my field of vision. the city looked empty, yet alive. it was strange really, it never seemed so... quiet. although the lights of the financial district were shining brightly, there was a severe lack of noise, and i didn't really understand what made this city come to near silence.

"hey baby," shawn wraps his arms around my waist, kissing my cheek over and over again, making me smile softly to myself, looking down at his hands that are around me. "what are you doing?"

"i was standing out here just to see what was happening, but it's so quiet today," i tell him, letting a sigh tumble from my lips. "it's weird. it's never this quiet at night."

"don't worry about it," shawn chuckles softly, rubbing his hands on my sides. "come on, dinners ready." he nibbles slightly on the side of my neck, making me moan softly, before tilting my neck up.

"what did you make?"

"grilled chicken and veg," he mumbles back against the warm skin of my neck. "come on, we're having a date."

"shawn i'm literally wearing sweats-"

"shh, you look beautiful, come on," he lets go of my waist, holding onto my hands, and pulling me back into the condo, a cheeky smile on his lips. we enter the dining room, and i see the corner set up with candles and plates, john mayer softly running through the room, and a skinny vase with a single rose in the middle of the table. next to the dark oak, shawn has set out a tin wheeled tray, which is carrying the food for us to eat, along with two glasses of red wine placed neatly on the table. my heart swells, and i look up at shawn in awe.

"you like it?" shawn asks gently, placing his hand on my waist.

"i love it," i whisper back, leaning up to give shawn a kiss. he smiles softly against my lips, before pulling me closer and holding me tightly. "who helped you?"

"no one, honest," he chuckles, pulling away and putting his hands up in surrender. "sit down," he pulls the chair out nearest to me, and lets me sit down. i blush in response, taking a seat on the wooden chair, letting shawn kiss my forehead lightly.

"so, we have grilled chicken with garlic, and vegetables, i know it's boring but that's all i know how to make that's nutritional and-"

"shut up," i laugh, reaching for his hand over the table, and squeezing it gently. "don't worry, i'll teach you how to make stuff."

"okay good, because i'll need to learn properly when you go to la," he chuckles nervously, running his other hand through his hair.

"i'll only be gone for a week," i tell him gently, squeezing his hand. "and plus, it's andrew wanting me to go around and get your press done. don't worry about it."

"i know, it's just it's a week without you, and recently i know things haven't been good, but we haven't spent a moment away from each other, and i don't know i just-" he cuts himself off with a sigh. "i'm worried, yeah? i know with everything that happened with the engagement, we won't exactly be on the best terms, but everything happens for a reason."

"yeah," i agree, feeling a little bit awkward. "we haven't spoken about the engagement at all, shawn. do you want to?"

"of course i do, but i don't know if we're ready to even talk about it," he says lightly, squeezing my hand, before letting go and serving up two dishes. i sigh softly, leaning over the table and cupping his soft cheeks in my hands.

"well, when you are ready, i'm here. just like when you were for me. i'm ready for you," he smiles gently at me, before i lean forward, pressing my lips softly to his. "i love you."

"i love you more," he smiles sadly at me, before i settle back down into my seat, placing a napkin on my lap. "i'm really sorry, aria. i screwed everything up for us."

"no, don't blame yourself, and please don't apologise," i tell him softly. "i'm okay, i promise," i partly lie, only because i don't want shawn to feel as though he's the one in the wrong. we both were.

"i ruined everything," he croaks out, looking down at the dining table, letting go of my hand. "if i didn't over react-"

"shawn-"

"excuse me," he says quickly, standing up and rushing out of the dining room, leaving me alone on our date. i sigh gently, taking a sip of my wine. nothing i say will make him feel better, and it kills me that he's so lost about things.

he hasn't been on social media for the last month or so. he's too scared of the social outcry that will surround him because of our broken engagement, and how he reacted to fans when they showed him the video. he hasn't been okay recently either, and i know his fans can see that. ever since the accident, he's been in a place where i can't even get him out of.

i stand up slowly, taking shawns plate, and heading to our bedroom, where i see him sitting at the desk, head in his hands and crying softly, next to him, the ring box containing my engagement ring sits.

"shawn, no," i whisper, putting his plate down on the dresser, and running towards him, embracing his broken body. "shawn, baby, please shh," i coo, running my hands through his hair; i know it calms him down. "shawn, hunny, look at me."

"aria, p-please," he cries. "just let me be here alone."

"no, shawn," i say softly, as he continues to weep against my chest. "please don't cry, we're all okay, see?"

"no we're fucking not," he sobs, letting go of me, and moving back to how i found him. he picks up the ring box, opening it up and crying more than he was. "how did i fuck up so bad?"

"shawn," i say softly, sitting on the edge of the table in front of him. "give me the ring," he ignores me, and doesn't look up from the blue box. i sigh gently, easing it out of his fingers, and taking the ring out, sliding it on my finger.

"a-aria?" he croaks out, looking up at what i'm doing. "w-what are you doing?"

"will you marry me, shawn?" i ask him gently, placing the box down, and placing my hands on his shoulders. "and i'm not taking no for an answer. i belong to you, shawn. and you belong to me. don't you dare say no."

"a-are you sure?" he whispers, looking at me guiltily. "aria, i'm a mess."

"you're my mess," i urge him. "we're gonna get through this, together shawn, i promise," i move my hands down to his, clasping them in mine. "marry me."

"aria-"

"marry me," i cut him off, leaning forward and planting my lips on the side of his neck. "marry me," i whisper against the smooth skin, making goosebumps appear on his skin. "marry me."

"i'll marry you," he whispers back, making a grin appear over my lips. i look up, cupping one of his rosy cheeks with my hand, as he rests his hands on my waist, wheeling himself in between my legs. i lean down, pressing my lips onto his, feeling his smile underneath my lips. shawn links his hands underneath my legs, and lifts me up, standing up with me. i hook my legs around his waist, one arm resting around his neck, and the other hand over his cheek.

"say it again," i mumble against his lips, as he lays me down on our bed, chuckling softly against my lips.

"i'll marry you," he whispers, pulling away for a brief second, before kissing me once more, joining our hands above me.

almost immediately, a loud grumble echoes through the room, and shawn pulls away quickly, his cheeks completely flushed. i laugh, sitting up on my elbows as he rolls off of me, chuckling gently.

"let's eat and then continue."
-
"so, we hear wedding bells," the interviewer over the call speaks loudly, making shawn chuckle. "is it really true that you're getting married?"

"yes it is," shawn answers. "you know, aria and i have had a few minor problems, but as a couple we've dealt with them and i think that it's made us definitely stronger together. we are actually engaged, but we don't want to set a wedding date anytime soon. let's wait till both of us are a little bit older," he chuckles, squeezing my hands gently. "i know that most people know about the problems we've had, and i just wanted to reaffirm the fact that aria and i are okay. we're perfectly good, and we are most definitely in love with each other."

"that's amazing! i'm so happy for you. i'm sure the world is happy for you. anyway, moving on, what do you have in store for album number four?"

"definitely a lot of love," he grins, winking at me lightly. "i think this is the first album where it 100% is based off of true experiences, and inspired off of my own love life. if i'm completely honest, the entire album is a serenade to aria." i feel myself blush softly as shawn continues. "yeah, the entire album is about her. she's my now and my future, everything's about her."

"that's adorable! how did you two meet?"

"we actually met quite a while ago, see, our parents are really good friends. aria and i didn't exactly become best friends from the word go, in fact, we truly despised each other. although, i only pretended to. if i'm honest, i was whipped straight away man. definitely love at first sight. she's amazing. we started dating almost two years ago now, if you don't count the breaks, so it's definitely been incredible. definitely the best years of my life."

"how sweet! you heard it right here folks, shawn mendes believes in love at first sight. so, shawn, how did you pop the question?"

"we want to be very honest with the world, so we're gonna tell the story," he looks at me briefly for confirmation, before i nod, letting him continue. "i proposed to aria in london. we were in a really good place, and it was straight after my final night at the o2. she said she had to think about it, so i let her take the ring and think about it. the next day, she said yes, and we were engaged. this was at the time that video came out, and i completely overreacted about things. i ended the engagement. i said a lot of stupid things during that time, which i completely regret, but i guess it was really a learning experience. anyway, flash forward to my accident, that time was really hard for aria and i. i drove out on icy roads after we had a bit of an argument about the engagement, and i crashed. i was in hospital for maybe a month? before i came home and recovered on bed rest for three weeks. a lot happened in those three weeks, including me getting beaten up by her brother, but i understand. if a guy did what i did to my sister, that guy would genuinely be in hospital. after that, i was going through a really bad patch. i had a lot of anxiety, i was battling some sort of post-traumatic stress disorder, and aria and i weren't okay. i cried one night, i cried really hard, and aria was there for me. so she proposed, and i said yes. now, we have been engaged for four days."

"last question, when are you heading off on tour again?"

"well, i have a press tour coming up in about a month, but actual tour isn't for another seven months, but i'm doing festivals in between that."

shawn finishes up the interview, hanging up the phone, leaving him and i alone again. i look at him, folding my arms, with a small smile toying on my lips.

"what?" shawn asks me confused, furrowing his brow. i let a small chuckle tumble from my lips, looking at shawn with an eyebrow raised.

"best two years of your life?" his cheeks immediately go rosy, and i laugh again, getting up from my chair, and going over to him, hugging him tightly from the back. "frankly, you're the best two years of my life too."