One step turned into many as Shawn shot up from his seat and bolted out of the door, the bell loudly ringing out again and catching her attention. He struggled to keep his balance when he tried to catch up with her, reaching out to tap her jacket clad shoulder.

But she had already turned around, and Shawn had somehow landed face first on the pavement.

She was stunned as he groaned and slowly lifted himself to his feet, Jon and Brianna looking at him strangely through the window. He quickly dusted himself off and bit his lip, looking at the woman before him.

She was more beautiful than anyone he'd ever seen, and he found himself wondering how in the world he'd missed her earlier. Her hair was hidden underneath the beanie she wore, but peeking out from it were a few loose strands, framing her face in a way. He noticed how her grip on her items had gotten so much tighter, her face in a perpetual state of shock. On her cheeks, the new red color had begun to show- Not a lot, but enough to permeate through the black and white color of her skin.

She was.. Talking. Oh, god, she's talking.

"I-I'm sorry, what did you say?" Shawn was barely able to stutter out, feeling as if he was going to explode. He tried to play it cool for a second, pocketing his hands and putting up a nonchalant front, but before she could even repeat herself, he was having another outburst. "Are you her? You're her, right? You have to be, I mean-"

He continued babbling on, the girl only giving him a confused look, her lips slightly parted in hopes to butt into his steady flow of words.

"Uh-"

"Where were you on November 29th?" Shawn questioned, his eyes roaming over every inch of her excitedly.

"Are you actually going to let me answer?" Y/N quirked, and this time, it was Shawn's turn to turn red. He gulped and nodded, stifling a smile at her sassy reply, knowing just by that that she was the one for him.

The girl let out a small laugh and reached out to let her fingers brush over the cold skin of his cheek. "On the 29th, I was at a concert. Your concert."

It was extremely comical to her, the way he seemed to be fangirling over her even though he was the famous one of the two. Shawn struggled to contain himself when he brought up a hand of his own to lay over hers that was still on his cheek, his face instinctively digging further into her touch.

There were so many things he wanted to say, wanted to do, but was so overwhelmed. He needed to calm down, so he settled with the one word that would confirm everything for him.

"Yellow?"

There was no need to say anything more. She knew instantly, her face brightening.

"Yellow."

Shawn let out a kind of whoop and brought her into a larger-than-life hug, rocking her back and forth while also being conscious of the coffee and puzzle in her hand. They stood there for as long as both of them could remember, basking in the feeling of each other.

And Jon and Brianna were watching every second of it.

For Jon, the scene was beautiful, having been through it all before himself. He took out his phone and recorded them hugging, his wide smile mirroring theirs. Brianna, on the other hand, wasn't so happy. Her frown nearly put a damper on the situation, but Jon wasn't going to let that happen.

"What's wrong?" He asked the girl, noticing how she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

Brianna shrugged, hugging herself over her sweater. "I dunno. I guess I'm just a little jealous that I haven't seen any colors yet."

Jon gave his friend a sad smile and rubbed her shoulder, "It's alright. You'll see them someday, I know you will."

She bit the inside of her cheek, deciding to let the topic go, because she knew that he was right. She knew, because she had lied.

Her first color came to her when she walked into the tiny recording studio to introduce herself to Shawn for the first time.

But she pushed this to the side for now, figuring that it must have been a mistake- that everything would work itself out. She busied herself with picking at her purple nails.

It was when Jon looked up that he realized that Shawn was gone and the girl he was hugging was left standing there awkwardly, a bashful smile still playing on her lips. He got up from his seat and walked outside into the cold, catching her attention as soon as he did.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Jon asked, turning in all directions in hopes of spotting his friend.

Y/N pursed her lips, "I'm not sure. He said he was going to get something and told me to stay here for a few minutes."

Jon sighed heavily at the thought of his hopeless romantic friend and shook his head, letting out a little chuckle and holding out his hand. "Well, in the meantime, I'm Jon."

"I know," She quipped, her smile finally cracking through once again. "I've been a fan of both of you for a while now. This is so surreal. I'm Y/N."

The two shook hands happily and by the time they let go, Shawn was running up next to them, screeching to a halt.

He was hunched over and leaning on his knees tiredly, lungs screaming for air from the hike he'd just taken through the cold. His cheeks were even more red than before and his eyelids were heavy as he held up a large bouquet of flowers to her.

"This-" Shawn started, voice scratchy and broken. He groaned and motioned to the girl's coffee cup which she gladly gave up, watching with wide eyes as he gulped a large sum of it down, lubricating his throat. He then handed it back to her and pushed the flowers closer to her face. "These are some uh, some flowers. There's some reds and yellows, and the rest, I have no idea, because, ya know.."

Y/N couldn't help break out into laughter, tears springing in her eyes as she gently took the bouquet from his hands, allowing him to catch his breath.

However, he wasn't sure he needed to anymore, as the mere sound of her laugh rejuvenated his soul.

And then he realized something.

"I think we did this kind of backwards," He huffed out in a laugh, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, hi, my name is Shawn Mendes, and I'm pretty sure I'm the love of your life."

The girl blushed and pressed her lips together, reaching down to lace their pinkies together. "I'm Y/N, and I'm pretty sure I'm yours as well."

-

"This is an awful idea."

Y/N only replied with a chuckle, bending down to boop her boyfriend's nose with some of the temporary hair clay.

"I have an image to uphold, you know?" Shawn grumbled, knowing deep down he didn't mind this at all. "You're ruining me, baby."

"Stop being such a crybaby," Y/N groaned with a roll of her eyes, "I'm putting it on too. We'll be matching!"

"Maybe I'd be more on board if I could actually see the color." Shawn retorted, watching as she slathered more and more onto his head.

It'd been a month since he'd approached her in front of the coffee shop, and since that day, they'd been completely inseparable.

They moved extremely fast, having made plans to move in with each other within their first two weeks together, but that was commonplace among new lovers. They were the first thing each other thought of when they woke up, and the last thing they saw before they went to sleep, holding each other with tangled limbs.

They were in love, and there was no doubt about it.

The colors had started popping the longer they were together, adding purple, green, and orange to the mix. They fell in love with the idea of collecting more as they grew together, watching their world brighten and expand around them.

He remembered every moment spent with her, but one night in particular stuck to his mind.

He was shirtless and laying on his stomach on the bed while Y/N was sitting on his lower back, the soft paintbrush in her hands moving over his skin, tickling him gently.

"Do you even know what you're painting?" Shawn inquired, relaxing his face into the pillow that smelled strongly of her. His favorite scent.

Y/N shrugged even though he couldn't see her, pursing her lips. "No idea. It's just abstract."

Shawn nodded and allowed her to paint his back for the next hour, his eyelids falling on more than a few occasions as she continued pressing colors into his skin, which was slightly scratched up from the night before.

It took the shuttering of a camera's lens to wake him up, mumbling something of disappointment when he felt Y/N lift off of him, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Wanna go look at it?"

Shawn sniffed and mustered the strength to get up and walk over to the full-length mirror as Y/N walked over to the window and opened it to the view of the city where they first met. He turned his body and looked back, his eyes roaming over the masterpiece she'd made.

Y/N could tell that he wanted to ask the obvious from the glint in his eyes. She walked over to him and turned him around so that he was facing the mirror again, wrapping her arms around him and connecting their hands. The paint from his back slightly smeared against her own bare chest, but she couldn't find it in herself to care.

"I chose colors we don't have yet because I just think.. It's beautiful." She muttered, squishing her cheek into his bicep. "One day we'll be able to look back at this, and all the colors will be filled in, and then, we can really see what I created. I dunno."

He felt himself falling deeper in love with her with every word that came from her lips. Whether it be something sappy like that, or what kind of jelly she likes on her toast.

He loved her, and she loved him just as much.

Shawn giggled as he posed with her in the mirror, revelling in their new hair colors that they couldn't see. He knew his team would kill him, but for now, he didn't care. He posted the picture they'd taken to Instagram, an immediate cascade of comments coming in.

Their relationship wasn't private in the least bit. They very openly made appearances together, Shawn not wanting to be separated from her for anything. They were constantly posting about each other, having no shame. They were in the honeymoon phase for sure.

But Shawn believed there was no harm in this, as there was no way they'd ever be separated. They were meant to be, and that's how it would stay.

That mindset was his first mistake.

It was the night before Shawn began another tour. He'd be gone for over three months when the most time he'd spent separated from her before was six hours, and as she hugged him tightly outside the door of their shared apartment, she felt her spirit splitting itself apart.

Shawn tried to calm her the best he could, but he knew that there wasn't much he could say to make her feel better, as he felt the same. His tears dripped onto her hair and his body shook with every sniff he took, his hands holding her a bit tighter as if, if he didn't, she'd fall through his fingers like sand.

Few words were spoken that night, everything they needed to say poured out through their actions. And when their final goodbyes were said, Shawn separated from her, sending her a sad smile before he disappeared behind the wall.

He couldn't concentrate as he stared out of the private jet's window, nibbling nervously on his fingers. The city he'd grown so accustomed to was fading by the minute as they got further away until eventually, it was a speck, a mere piece of dust that still coincidentally contained his entire universe within it.

Everyone on board was asleep but him. He couldn't focus on anything, but his mind also wouldn't slow down, putting him in an awkward equilibrium.

He shut his eyes, feeling the tingling sensation he was familiar with by now. The feeling of seeing another color. Of witnessing something new.

But Y/N was nowhere to be seen.

This much confused him when he opened his eyes, noticing flicks of orange here and there. His eyebrows furrowed deeply and he looked around, unsure of what was happening. Y/N was nowhere in sight.

But Brianna was, sat in the seat right across from him.