Shawn Mendes & Justin Bieber - Monster

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My arms are still wrapped around Shawn's waist when Brian and Wren enter the big tent. To my surprise Shawn doesn't let me go... he holds me even tighter.

'You guys gotta eat something.' Brian says.

'We have plates. Just shut up, we're having a moment here.' Shawn says.

'Yeah... I think we pretty much ruined the moment when we walked in...' Wren says.

'Congratulations... you sure did...' I slowly let go of Shawn and pick up the plate he made for me.

'Sorry.' Brian says. 'Want a hug?' He opens his arms.

'No. I don't like hugs.' I say, walking out of the tent.

I sit down on the couch and start eating the delicious food on my plate in silence. A few minutes later, the woman that greeted me with a big smile sits down across from me.

'Sooo... why did you think that this trip was a good idea?' She asks out of nowhere.

Her blonde hair shines in the light and her dark blue eyes complete her symmetric face. She is wearing a djellaba, just like I was yesterday, but the one she's wearing is purple.

'You can't say no to an "unforgettable night under the stars" right?' We both laugh and I stick my hand out to her. 'I'm Liz, nice to meet you.' I say.

'Hi Liz, my name is Niya.' She shakes my hand.

I like this woman, she seems nice.

'Who are you with?' I ask her, looking at the man who was sitting next to her when we arrived.

'My husband, Daemon...' She points at him. 'He's over there.'

'Your husband, huh? You both seem pretty young.' I say.

'High school sweetheart. We married young.' She smiles at him.

'And you? You're probably with the handsome three men who are inside the tent at the moment.' She smiles.

I like her, she analyzed the situation well and I'm pretty sure she waited a little bit before she came over to talk to me, just so it wouldn't look creepy.

I nod.

'Yes. The tall, dark and handsome one is my boyfriend.' I tell her.

'Sooo...' She looks at the air, thinking for a moment. 'Not the blonde one and not the short one?' She smiles.

'Nope, those are his friends.' I tell her.

'My husband told me he knows your boyfriend. Is it Shawn Mendes?' She asks.

'Yeah, it is actually. How does he know him?'

'Computer science stuff. I don't really care for it much.'

'Me neither.' I laugh. 'I'm more into "law" kind of stuff.'

'Cool. Let me guess. Judge?' When I open my mouth to answer she continues talking. 'No! Too young, you're either studying to become a judge or a very young and successful... lawyer?'

'Yes. I am a lawyer, as you guys say.' I chuckle.

'How did you know?'

'I studied psychology and got bored, so I became a detective.'

'And Shawn thinks I am a human lie detector... Well, he hasn't met you yet.' I laugh.

Niya and I continue talking about a lot of other stuff until Shawn and his whole crew walk out of the tent with plates in their hands. 

They all sit down around us and Shawn wraps his arm around my shoulder without even greeting Niya. Sometimes I like the fact that he isn't nice to strangers, but I like Niya and I want him to be nice to her, so she doesn't think he's an arrogant prick.

'Shawn, this is Niya...' I don't know what to say. 'Her husband recognized you.'

'Did he now?' Shawn looks at her as if she's lying.

I put my hand on his leg under the table and squeeze his thigh. He looks at me and for a moment I see him thinking about what to do next.

'That's pretty awesome!' His whole mood just changed from thunder to sunshine. 

'My name is Shawn, what's your husband's name?' He has an enchanting smile on his face.

Damn, this man is dangerous. The look on his face will make me do anything he asks, and he's not even looking at me! Niya chuckles and I see that she is not affected by Shawn, which makes me like her even more.

'It's Daemon, he's over--' She points behind her. 'Daemon! Come here!' She yells all of a sudden.

Shawn and I both chuckle. 

In the corner of my eye, I see Wren and Brian talk to each other after Brian showed him something on his phone. 

Daemon walks up to our table and sits down next to his wife after shaking our hands. I need to stop shaking hands, it's gross, what if they haven't washed their hands all day?

Shawn and Daemon engage in a long conversation and Niya and I end up staring at each other without saying anything. After ten minutes I stand up and point at the gates of the camp. Niya immediately stands up and we walk away from all the guys. 

The sun is setting and Ibrahim tells us we shouldn't go too far away from the camp.

It's nice to be surrounded by another person after spending so much time with men constantly around me. Niya and I talk for thirty minutes straight and she tells me where she's from, I tell her about my life in the Netherlands and how Shawn and I met.

'Daemon was the biggest asshole when we were younger.' She laughs.

'Shawn wasn't necessarily an asshole, he was just...' I search for the right word.

'An asshole?' Niya says.

We both burst out into laughter and start walking back to camp. When we get back I hear Brian yelling that he found a guitar. He starts running around with the guitar in the air and ends up stopping in front of Shawn, who is still talking to Daemon.

'You gotta sing something, man.' Brian says when Shawn pushes the guitar away.

'I'm not singing anything, fuck off!' Damn, he sounds like me.

Ibrahim is starting a nice campfire and I pull at Niya's arm when she tries to open the gate. I want to see how this plays out without any of us interfering. 

I really want to hear Shawn sing again, he sang once, that day in the car, but ever since I told him he has an amazing voice, he refuses to sing anything for me.

'Come on man! Can you remember the old times? The YouTube videos? And the videos you posted on Vine? Please? Just tonight and I won't bother you again.' Brian begs.

Vine? YouTube? I didn't know about that. Niya watches them just as concentrated as I am. I'm so happy she doesn't have to ask me what is "going on".

'Fucking hell! Ok! Fine!' Shawn yanks the guitar out of Brian's hand and stands up. 'But not until Beth gets here.'

'Awh, he thought of you, that's so sweet!' Niya whispers in my ear.

I grab her wrist and push the gates open. It feels like Niya and I have been friends for years. I feel comfortable around her, and I never feel comfortable around new people. 

We walk inside and Shawn smiles at me.

'Finally...' Brian sighs.

Shawn sits down on a small chair next to the campfire with the guitar resting on his leg and I see him tuning the guitar. It's like I'm seeing a whole new side of him. 

Niya sits down on the ground next to her husband and he wraps his arms around her. I walk to Shawn and sit down between him and Brian. The rest of the people staying at the camp also gather around the camp fire to listen to Shawn.

'Sing the song you wrote three years ago, I'll beatbox.' Brian says to Shawn.

'I'm not singing my own song.'

'Why the fuck not?!' I snap.

Shawn looks at me in shock. He didn't expect me to react like that.

'Jesus, ok... I'll sing my song.' He turns to look at his guitar again, but when Brian starts beatboxing, Shawn doesn't start playing the guitar.

'You put me on a pedestal and tell me I'm the best. Raise me up into the sky until I'm short of breath. Fill me up with confidence, I say what's in my chest. Spill my words and tear me down until there's nothing left. Rearrange the pieces just to fit me with the rest, yeah.' Shawn sings and for some weird, out of this world reason, my eyes start to water at the sound of his voice.

Brian keeps beatboxing and Shawn starts to play the guitar while continuing to sing.

'But what if I, what if I trip? What if I, what if I fall? Then am I the monster? Just let me know... And what if I, what if I sin? And what if I, what if I break? Yeah. Then am I the monster? Yeah. Just let me know, yeah.' Shawn sings and I see the pain in his eyes.

Shawn stops playing the guitar and puts it away when everyone starts to clap. Niya starts to whistle and Ibrahim screams while clapping. 

Shawn slowly grabs my hand and stands up, dragging me away from everyone.

'Hey, what's wrong?' I ask when no one can see us.

'I don't like singing.' He says.

'You don't like singing? That was fucking amazing right there!'

'It brings up bad memories...' He looks away from my eyes.

I look at his face and I want to ask him which bad memories it brings up, but maybe that will only make him feel worse. Instead I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a hug. Shawn's arms wrap around my waist and he rests his head on my shoulder. I hear him exhale and I could swear I just felt all the tension leave his body.

I know I used "Monster" in this chapter, but the lyrics has a different meaning in this story because Shawn is different in this story... anyway... you'll know what I mean later on in the story.

Thank you for reading!

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