Strings | s.m (✔️)

Chapter Nine

"Someone is here to see you!" I stop playing on the keyboard and walk downstairs to the kitchen where I find my mom talking to who else but Shawn Mendes.

"Nice to see you today, Arabella." Shawn greets formally, and my mother has a worried look on her face. When we make eye contact she gives me a questioning look, wondering if we fought.

"Same to you, Shawn. Do tell me, how is your evening going?" I ask and sit down next to them in perfect posture. I bat my eyelashes as Shawn smiles at me.

"It was doing great until I realized that my neighbor had stolen my clothing, robbing it away from me." My mom's eyes widen and I blow my nails.

"Actually, you gave it to me, but I was going to return them back anyways. I hear anything that belongs to you is bad luck, you expired jar of mayonnaise." I watch as Mom's expression eases, and Shawn rolls his eyes.

"Mrs.Stone, please punish your daughter for being absolutely disrespectful towards me!" He says, and Mom stands up, continuing to make breakfast.

"Shawn honey I think I might have to punish you for calling me Mrs.Stone." Shawn gasps, causing me to smirk.

"I'm so sorry, Mom #2. And is something funny, Ari?"

"It's Bella, actually. And yeah, something is funny."

"Oh, you're letting him call you Bella now, how sweet!" My mother cuts in sarcastically. She was never a fan of all of my names, but that didn't stop me. I grab a cup of water and start drinking it as Shawn nods.

"Well she better be. After all, we've been dating for a few years now." At that moment I choke on the water I was drinking, spitting the rest out at the same time my mom drops her spatula.

"Shawn!" She says, and as I have a coughing fit she rushes over and holds his hands. "I can't believe it!"

"Oh yeah." He says with a smug look on his face. "I also didn't know what to say when she leapt into my arms asking for me to hold her forever." My mom smiles at him for a few seconds, silent. Then her expression drops and she gives him a dead pan look, saying a single sentence before getting up and continuing to cook.

"Yeah, I really can't believe it."

Finally I stop choking, and smile at Shawn's disappointed look. He really thought he could get away with saying that, and my mom would believe it? Yeah, and my name is Oprah.

"Pancakes are ready. I made chocolate chip for you Shawn." Placing three plates stacked with pancakes onto the table, Shawn reaches for one the second Mom lets go of them, and begins to dig in.

"These are so good Mom #2, I've missed them so much." He compliments, his mouth stuffed with food.

"Thanks Shawn, and you're the one that stopped coming over, so it's your loss." Shawn is quiet for a moment before the doorbell is rung, April walking inside without anyone opening the door for her.

"Hey losers, I'm home!" She says, and my mom rolls her eyes playfully as April sprints inside in shorts, a tank top, running shoes, and headphones in her ears.

"I heard that there were going to be pancakes. Well, actually I just know that every Wednesday morning you make pancakes, so I made my way over to eat and get fat as fu-" April stops when she notices Shawn, and I start to see a fist shape from her hand. I widen my eyes and shake my head, showing her that everything was fine between us.

"Oh, well hello there um, Shane was it?" April teases, and Shawn shrugs.

"Actually, it's Sean." I notice my mom picking up pancakes with her spatula and hand April an empty plate, knowing what's about to come.

"Think fast!" My mom says, and April swivels around quickly as my mother tosses pancakes her way, April catching each one onto her plate.

"Nice try, Melissa, but you can't catch me off guard. I've got major fast reflexes, it's a gift." Shawn's eyebrows raise at the fact that April was calling my mom by her first name, and I shrug.

When we're done eating, April groans. "Now we've got to run all that tastiness off, what a shame." Even though it was summer, we still had to stay in shape, in case one of the girls called us up for a party, or something else.

"I'll go change, be right back." I tell her, and when I come back I notice Shawn was also in work out clothes, and let me just say that those arms looked hot.

"Joining us, Shawny? I've got to warn you, we run pretty fast, and don't stop for anybody." As I tie my shoelaces Shawn scoffs.

"Are you kidding? You'll all be begging for me to slow down." April and I are quiet before we make eye contact and burst into laughter.

"We're going to run Mom, bye!" I shout out, my mom answering for upstairs.

"Bye children!"

We go out the doors and I say that we'll start in a simple jog before speeding up. We do and I turn IHeartRadio on my phone, which April was on as well, listening to the music as it goes by on our favorite radio station. After Perfect by One Direction ends, the radio host announces the singer before the song starts.

"From our small town, this singer started on Vine is now a world wide start, and we've never been more proud. Here's Stitches by Shawn Mendes!" The song starts as April turns my way and we make eye contact, right before smiling at each other and beginning to sing.

"I thought that I'd been hurt before!" April yells to the top of her lungs as we enter the path into the forest. I see Shawn smile slightly, causing me to grin and join in.

"But no one's ever left me quiet this sore!" I scream, and Shawn breaks into a grin as we enter deeper into the path.

"Got a feeling that I'm going under, but I know that I'll make it out alive! If I quit calling you my lover, move onnn!" April howls, and I nudge Shawn.

"You watch me!" Shawn yells, and we all scream out the chorus in laughter. Once the song is over we're all out of breath from singing and running at the same time. As we stay still and catch our breath I notice that we were no longer on concrete, and instead on dirt.

"Guys, where exactly are we?" April finally says, being the first one to speak aloud our thoughts. Everyone knew the answer, but no one dared to say it.

We were lost.