Central Park

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Jess hopped off her bed and ran to her closet. What should she wear? It was already 11:30 and it would take at least an hour to get to Central Park. She was't sure if she should go for the comfortable, lazy day outfit or the cute, punky one. Would Shawn want to see her in something more natural or should she look dressy and cool? It was nice out, but a little cool so Jess decided that she should wear something moderately warm. She decided on a black crop top with a blue and black  flannel over it and ripped jeans. She did her hair, pulling it back in a messy bun because her curly hair was not being cooperative. And, she didn't have enough time to straighten her hair. It would have looked better that way though. 

It took a lot of effort for Jess not to wear her Shawn Mendes logo sweatshirt or wear her Handwritten bracelet. That would just make things awkward. Flinging on some mascara and lip-gloss, Jess ran downstairs. Her mom was taking waffles out of the toaster.

"Good morning hon-What are you wearing?!" her mom screamed.

"I'm going out. Taking the bus. See ya later!" Jess ran out the door, snagging a waffle and grabbing her phone and purse.

The walk or rather run to the bus stop was not bad, as Jess was a first-place track runner. She made it just in time to catch the bus and took the farthest seat back she could. Putting her headphones in her ears, she put on Handwritten and stared at her text exchange with Shawn. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She remembered the first time she heard him sing when he posted a cover on vine. Then when he joined Magcon. And watching videos from his first concert. And second concert. And tenth concert. Then seeing him live, just yesterday and meeting him. Time went by and Jess listened to the entire album, then she saw the little sign on the bus say Central Park. Grabbing her stuff, she  ran off the bus and walked into the park.

She walked around looking for Shawn. After a few minutes, she looked at her watch and it was 1:04. But the only people around her were couples and families walking, a man sitting at a bench feeding birds and some boy with a hat, sunglasses, and a long scarf on. Jess started to wonder if maybe the whole text exchange with Shawn was just a prank or that she imagined it all.  Or maybe he was just late, she hoped. Jess looked around one last time, then sat down on a bench, sighing. The people around her were still the same. Then she did a double take on the boy who sat close to her. Nearly all of his facial features were covered and she couldn't tell who the "man behind the mask was". But then she saw that he wore a bracelet. A blue bracelet. Exactly the same as the one Jess had made and gave to Shawn. It then hit her. The boy with the hat, sunglasses and long scarf was Shawn.

Jess stood up and sat next to the boy who she thought was Shawn. He looked at her and pulled down his sunglasses.

"Hey, Jess! I can't believe you came! I was starting to worry you weren't going to show." Good, it was Shawn.

"Nope, I'm here. I couldn't find you and of course you happened to be sitting right near me the whole time. Nice disguise by the way." she said, nerves coursing through her body.

"Thanks and sorry for that. I can't go waking around looking like Shawn Mendes without people coming at me 24/7 like wild animals. And well, I didn't want anyone to be coming at us while we were hanging out. I inferred that you would rather it be a little more private." Jess laughed. Shawn was so funny and kind. He always thought ahead about what he could do to make others happy. Here he was, sitting in 70 degree weather in all long sleeves and every inch of his skin covered. Jess was even getting a little warm, so she decided to take off her flannel and tie it around her waist. Shawn looked at her.

"You, uh, look really nice." he said with a slight smile.

"Thanks, but its not what I usually wear though. You would most likely find me in leggings and a sweatshirt one-size-too-big." Jess left out the part that it was usually a one-size-too-big sweatshirt with his name/logo/face on it.

"I have no doubt that that looks great on you too." Shawn stated matter-of-factly. "Do you want to walk around or something?"

"Sure." Jess and Shawn stood up and walked along the long path Central Park provided for visitors. Along the way, they stopped at a smoothie and snack stand to get some stuff.

"What would you like?" the man behind the counter asked grumpily. Shawn ordered a chocolate chip muffin and a small strawberry smoothie. Jess got a bag of chips and a medium orange smoothie. Since she didn't really eat anything that morning, she was really hungry. When she went to pay for her own, Shawn stopped her.

"Nope, you are not paying. My treat." he said. Jess tried to refuse but he already gave the man the money. She felt bad because if she knew he was paying, she would have gotten something less expensive. Her snack cost $10 and his was only $7. Shawn saw how bad she felt and rubbed her shoulder.

"Hey, I don't care how much it cost, ok. Your a growing girl. You need your food." Jess chowed down her chips and smoothie in a matter of minutes and still felt hungry. But, she didn't want to get more because she felt fat for eating more than Shawn. He was only half way through his muffin and smoothie. They talked about random stuff and Jess asked Shawn what it was like to be famous and on tour. He acted like it was no big deal and was obviously trying not to brag.

"Hey Shawn, would you mind taking a few selfies for Instagram? I'll post them later once you already left the city."

"Yeah, totally. What is your Instagram?"

"It's @jess.messina" (hint hint, everyone go follow me:) Shawn took out his phone and went on the app. He looked Jess up and followed her. "Looks like you sent me so many dm's." Jess's face turned red from embarrassment this time, when Shawn opened and read her messages. They were full of mushy feelings and "I loved you"s and "your my world". After he finished reading them, Shawn just laughed. He then put his phone away and got ready to take selfies. He took off his scarf and sunglasses, but left on the hat to slightly cover his face. Jess pulled out her phone and got the camera on.

"Ok, one, two, three." She snapped a picture of the two of them smiling, their heads so close, they almost touched. Then one of them making a silly face. And a serious face. They ended up taking over fifteen different pictures. For the last one, Jess said "Ok, last one. What should we do?"

"You should just smile. I will do the rest." Shawn said to her. Jess obeyed him and smiled at her phone. Shawn then put his face up to her's and kissed her cheek. She took the picture right away. After she took it, Shawn's lips still lingered at her cheek for a few seconds. Then he pulled away and looked at the photos. 

The two of them talked for another few minutes and finished the trail through the park. Soon, it was 3:30 and Shawn needed to go because he was leaving to do his next concert in another state.

"Bye Jess, I had a really great time! Sadly, I am not going to have any more free time to hang out and I will be kind of far away for the next month, but I will see you at the concert right? And we can text and stuff?"

"Yeah, I am definitely going! And I will so text you all the time. I had a really fun time too! Bye!" Jess said unwillingly. She watched as Shawn smiled and waved at her, then turned around and walked away. She didn't want him to go. Even though she knew they would keep in touch and she was going to another concert soon, she still was sad to watch his departure. Shawn kept walking and soon, he turned a corner and Jess could no longer see him. She touched her cheek where he had kissed her and let one small tear of happiness drip down her face. She felt like she was living his song "I Don't Even Know Your Name". Even though Jess did know Shawn's name, the line "Oh, everywhere that I go, I see your face and it kills me to know. That you'll never know what you did to me. And now you're gone. Yeah, I can't stop thinking 'bout you" deeply applied to her. Shawn would never know what an impact he had on her life. Jess actually meant what she said in her DMs to him. He was her everything. He was her life. And that meant a lot. 


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