ShawnMendes entered Wattpad.

123

"I didn't know that she can play the guitar."
"Cause she can't."

Shawn stares at the fassade. "I remember her being so proud when she finally got to make it."

Another long pause.

"But why did she stop it?"

"Because of me." Shawn's voice's breaking. "She'd stop, when I got famous. When I started touring around the world, and people began asking her, wether she was playing as good guitar, as I did, and if she could sing them a little song – just to see, if she was a great singer – just as I would be."

"That must have been rough."

"It was." Shawn says it nearly not hearable. "It was."

Again silence.

"But you know, my family always used to support me. No matter what. And this was my dream – is my dream – and they made so many sacrifizes, just to get me where I am now. Just to help me realize my dreams."

"You made sacrifizes, too", I say.

"Yes I made. - But can you imagine, Aaliyah's face, when she's returning from a school party, where everybody just wants pictures with her to say they've met Shawn Mendes' sister?! Can you imagine, how often Aaliyah came home, crying, or covering that she cried, because another friend of her told her she was in love with her brother?!" Shawn's burying his face in his hands. "Even at her prom night, the paparazzi were waiting at school for her, and she'd spent hours after hours thinking about what could happen, if her dress was not fitting right, or her hair was crashing down, or if she was tripping or if she was falling on the stairs. She had a great night then, but before it was enourmusly difficult for her."

"Shawn, let me say it straight way", I put my arms again around him, trying to comfort him. "But please look at me first."

He looks at me. His eyes are reddened, and his face's still white as the wall behind him. Not to forget that it's really cold outside here. I hem. "Shawn, your sister is an influencer. Don't get me wrong – that's probably the best she could make out of being naturally in the public eye. But first, she's putting herself in the spotlight, and second, she's used to it." I can see, that Shawn's wanting to protest, and I continue speaking fastly. "I'm well aware, that there were not many other options for her, especially, if you want to handle the craziness of the fame in the best possible way. And if she doesn't give the paparazzi what they want, they'd take it either way. As so the fans would. So being an influencer, posting controlled stuff, that's a good way to handle her becoming famous. But it may has not been the best way. – There would have been other options. – You do know Ed Sheeran, don't you?"

Shawn nods.

"Do you know how his wife looks like?"

Shawn nods. "Barely."

"And do you know their kids?"

"No. Didn't meet them."

"Do you know Ed Sheerans brother?"

"No. But have heard from him."

"Okay. And do you know his sister?"

Shawn looks up. "He's got a sister?"

I nod.

"So you are a sheerio then", he constates, remembering the convo we once had on Wattpad. I roll my eyes. "Did you get what I mean?"

He looks at me confused.

I roll my eyes again. "C'mon Shawn. You just said it yourself."

"You mean that I don't know that he's got a sister?"

"Yes. And like nobody knows that."

"How do you know then?"

"I've got sources. But trust me: Besides us now, there are only a few people who know that. The Sheerans did prevent it in a very good way them being famous. They got them kinda out of the public eye just in time."

"How'd they do it?"

"She just stayed out of the spotlight. With her whole family. They were seen in public with Ed Sheeran back then, but that was not good for them. They left England a while ago."

"Oh." Shawn hems. "I didn't know that."

"Well, now you know", I say. "But you know what too?"

He looks at me.

"It has had advantages for them staying away from him, but it has had great disadvantages, too. Thinking of being a family. A real family. – They miss birthdays, Christmas's, new years eve; seeing each other for dinner at the week-ends, visiting the rest of the family together, going on holiday trips, all that kind of stuff. They don't get out in public, they aren't be seen at his concerts, not even backstage, and they only call once or twice a week. They don't see the kids of each other growing up, and they may be only a phone-call away, but there is half a continent between them. So they do not only miss some festive things, they do also miss each other. Every day." I look down on my hands. "They may be out of the spotlight, but by doing this, they've also put out of the spotlight their priority of being a family. Cause they thought it would be better this way." I look back to Shawn who's staring at me. "So, if you ever think that it would have been better, if you have had held Aaliyah – and your whole family – out of your famous-and-being-a-celebrity-thing, than remember what would have been the prize."

For a long pause and a very deep silence, Shawn's just looking at me, and I am looking at him.

Than he says: "Fuck, you must be kidding me. - You can't be not a sheerio."