Strings | s.m (✔️)

Chapter Sixteen

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"Get in loser. We're going shopping." I stare at April and sigh. After last night I went home and slept, then getting a text from April in the morning saying to get ready for a day out. I had dressed casual, a plain white tank top and black leggings.

"Yes Mom." She rolls her eyes at me playfully and I hop into her car, listening to the radio announcer. As April begins to drive Stressed Out ends, and what other song but Stitches would come after?

"If I hear this song one more time, I'm going to murder someone." April states, changing the radio station. Finally we reach the mall and I walk at the entrance, ready to spend my heart out.

"So are we buying stuff or wearing the strangest things we can find in Forever 21?" I ask, and April flips her hair dramatically.

"Both."

____

After two hours of looking around in stores, trying on strange things, eating everything in the food court, and buying two shirts, April and I finally finished our time at the mall, and drove home. When we walk out of the car, I notice Shawn sitting in front of his house, and take a sharp breath.

"You walk inside, I'll get the bags." I smile at April and enter her house, then walking into her room and waiting for her to grab the bags and join me. I watch from a window as she turns off the car, but am shocked when I see that she didn't go towards her trunk, but instead she was stomping over to Shawn.

Oh no.

The window was open so I could hear what they were saying, but didn't risk looking, because I didn't want either of them to catch me watching.

"What do you think you're doing, kissing Jane? Are you mental?" At this moment, I wish I could see them, to watch Shawn's reaction.

"What? I didn't kiss anyone. It was Belle who made out with Devin."

I hear April groan. "I'm sorry, but I did not just hear that come out of your mouth. Do you seriously think Bella would kiss- out of all people- Devin? She hates him! And why do you care, if you guys are friends?"

"I dunno." I barely catch the words come out of Shawn's mouth, but I know what April is about to do.

"Shawn, do you have a crush on Ari?" April acts like she never expected it, and I roll my eyes.

"I- well- you see- um- she- Yeah..." At that moment I look at the wall, not feeling a hint of emotion.

Shawn Mendes liked me.

"Well she kind of hates you for kissing Jane, so you have a lot of apologizing to do."

"I never kissed anyone! Jane was about to before I said I had a girlfriend."

Oh.

"Well, my work is done here. You can explain it to her or not. It's your loss if you don't." A few seconds later I hear the door open, and soon April is facing me with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to heaven for this."

I laugh and suddenly feel a weight lifted off my chest. Shawn didn't kiss Jane, he knows I didn't kiss Devin, and he has a crush on me.

What could go wrong?

_____

"Arabella, go get the mail!"

"Alright!" I yell back at my mom, hoping she heard it from upstairs. Slipping on my flip flops, I open the door and walk towards the mailbox. Grabbing the mail, I turn around to face who else but Shawn.

Without sparing a second I move around him and begin to walk into my house, even though I was desperately waiting for this moment. It's been a few days since April interrogated him, and I got scared he wasn't going to sort things out for a bit.

"Wait, Ari!" I turn around and look at him, pissed off as ever.

"What." My words drip with venom, and for a moment I see that he looks surprised, but instead of stepping back he slowly walks forward.

"Listen, I never kissed Jane. I wouldn't do that. And I know you weren't making out with Devin, but I have to admit that's what I thought until someone cleared it out for me. Ari, you've been a part of my life forever, and these couple of days sucked without you joking about everything. I hope you can forgive me for everything. And I've thought about how I want to say all of this without getting kneed in the balls." Shawn spits the words out like they were trapped into him, and this was the only moment he would ever be able to get out.

"So, Arabella Stone, I've got to ask you something." I raise an eyebrow, still not speaking. Was he going to ask for us to be a couple?

"Friends again?" If anyone in this world was disappointed, it was me. I thought he liked me, why would he throw the f bomb like that? Or maybe he was just saying that because April was scaring him. I don't respond immediately, but I fake a smile and hug him. Another thing to add onto my list of 'Why Hugging Shawn is The Best" is that he smells amazing, and I could dig my head into his shoulder and smell him. It's sort of weird, I know, but one of these days I was going to steal his cologne.

"Yeah Shawn." I say, still hugging him, "Friends." After a few seconds we let go of each other and I say goodnight, but I'm once again stopped from entering my house by Shawn's voice.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go to that ice cream parlor tomorrow, around lunch? I'll pick you up."

I nod. "Yeah, sure. I'll tell April about it and see if she can come too." I watch carefully as Shawn's face drops slightly, and notice he was disappointed. That meant he wanted it just to be us.

Or he didn't like April. Both the options were possibilities.

"I'm kidding." I say, and he smiles in relief, then waving goodnight.

When I walk back inside and shut the door, Mom is walking down the stairs, her eyebrow raised.

"It took you a long time to get the mail." She says suspiciously, and I shrug.

"I guess it did. Goodnight, Mom." I kiss her cheek and walk upstairs, leaving my mother standing in confusion of what just happened. I usually never kiss her goodnight anymore.

"Goodnight, Honey." She says, and as I walk away I hear her say something under her breath, loud enough for me to hear.

"Someone's happy today."

She couldn't have been more right.

So would you guys be okay with some cussing? I'm not putting it in this book but currently I'm writing another one and idk I don't want to loose reads because I cussed so yeah comment plz and thanks