shawn mendes imagines {under editing}

he was tired

shawn mendes imagines
imagine xlii
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natalie's pov

today, shawn was closing off his three month tour with a show in his home town, toronto. i was excited, as this is going to be the first time i seen him in the three months that he has been touring. i arrived at the venue and was met at the taxi by john, shawn's bodyguard. he took me backstage, explaining that shawn's concert had started about ten minutes before i arrived.

shawn and i had been texting this morning and he said how he would meet me backstage, so that's where he told john to make sure i was. john pushed open a small door, the raging music becoming louder. we were now behind the curtian, the material being the only thing seperating shawn and i.

my eyes instantly landed on andrew, geoff, ziggy, scott, josiah, gerty, and a few more members of his team. there was a lady sorting clothes out on a rack and two men hurrying about with headsets on. geoff's gaze caught mind and he smiled, approaching me.

"hey natalie, glad you made it," he pulled me into a quick hug, smiling.

"i'm so excited to finally be here," i said, raising my voice slightly so it would be heard over the music, "plus, we are going to his place after. regardless, missing his last show wasn't going to happen."

geoff grabbed my arm and guided me to the side of the curtian, pulling it back so i could see him. i couldn't manage to contain the smile that spread across my face, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. he relased the curtian, an uneasy look on his face.

"uhmm, there's been something weird going on with shawn lately," he said, his brows furrowed.

i looked up at him, "what? is he okay?"

"lately, he's been distant. he isn't himself. we don't know why, and for a second we all thought that you guys broke up. every time we asked him if everything was okay, he would just mumble 'yes' and shrug us off," geoff said.

"has he been sick?" i asked, bringing my hand to my mouth and biting down hard on my nail beds.

"no, well, not that we know of," geoff shook his head.

we continued to watch shawn sing song after song, until he stopped singing mid lyric during treat you better. confused, the crowd fell silent as they waited for shawn to continue. he looked around before he stumbled a bit and in one move, he was down on the ground.

"holy shit," i mumbled as geoff, andrew and i ran out to the stage. gerty, josiah, and scott hurried out behind us, followed by john.

i dropped to my knees next to him, seeing him unconscious on the stage. his brown eyes kept fluttering, fighting hard to stay open. he was mumbling incoherent words. i took his hand in mine, squeezing hard. the crowd went into hysterics, screams echoeing through the now frantic venue.

"what is wrong with him?" i panicked as andrew and geoff knelt down beside him, "andrew!" tears were pooling in my eyes now, unsure of why shawn passed out.

geoff shook him slightly, earning no response from him, "i don't know, but we need a nurse!"

-

everyone was now backstage, sitting around a couch that shawn was laying on. he was out of it, swimming in and out of conciousness. he has now been sleeping for a while, his eyelashes resting against the skin of his cheeks. i still had his hand clutched in mine, my foot tapping against the floor impatiently.

"i presume he is exhausted. when i saw him before he went on, he looked visibly anxious. anxiety may be a thing that he has been suffering from. he shows the signs. lately though, i think he has been lacking sleep. his body is now unable to keep up," cathy, the nurse that tours with them said, "let him rest, and when he wakes, give him water."

"okay, thanks cathy," andrew sighed, rubbing his forehead, "damnit, how did we miss this?"

"he hid it well," cathy said, "this couldn't have been prevented unless he spoke wih you himself. there is only so much you guys can do, the rest is his to contribute." with those words spoken, she turned and went back down the hallway she came from.

"was he sleeping?" i asked, softly rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb.

"i thought he was, he never complained about being tired so o never really thought to ask him about it," andrew said, "has he ever mentioned anything about anxiety to you?"

i shook my head, "never. i can't believe hes my been suffering by himself. he should have said something."

"he probably felt as though it would jeopardize his career," andrew said, "poor kid."

i looked back at shawn and frowned, not having seen him like this before. eventually, he stirred in his sleep and all of us diverted his attention to him. his eyes opened and he sat up, clearly confused as to why he went from the stage, to a couch backstage.

"natalie? what?- why am i backstage?" shawn asked as i sat down beside him, kissing his temple gently.

"hey baby, you passed out on stage, so we took you back here and have been waiting for you to wake up," i said as shawn sleepily pulled me into his chest, "god, i was so worried."

"that's embarrassing," shawn mumbled quietly, "i missed you so much." his head found the crook of my neck, my fingers running through his hair.

"i missed you too," i said quietly, "the nurse said that you were likely exhausted, have you been sleeping?"

"y-yeah," i could tell it was a lie the moment the word slipped past his lips.

"shawn..." i looked up at him.

"dine," shawn sighed. "i haven't really been sleeping much the last couple weeks. it's hard because i've been missing my family and y-you," shawn admitted nervously.

"oh baby," i said, "you should have told someone, or me. then i could've flew out to be with you."

"i know, next time i will," shawn said.

"cathy also wondered-" i cut andrew off, knowing that if he brought up the anxiety topic, it would work him up even more.

"-if you have been drinking lots of water." i sent a quick glance at andrew, who ducked his chin.

"i always do," shawn nodded slowly.

"you gave us a scare. be lucky it was just from exhaustion, tell me next time. okay man?" andrew said, almost sounding fatherly towards shawn. while on tour, andrew was basically a father to him.

shawn nodded, looking back at me.

"next time, maybe you can come with me on tour," shawn said, turning to look at andrew.

he laughed slightly. "i don't see that as a huge problem."

shawn looked back at me, at hopeful sparkle in his brown eyes.

"i would love to."

wc: 1182

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