My Love, My Saviour, My Student 2 • Shawn Mendes

3.

Shawn Mendes
Classes started again at the university today and I wasn't prepared to leave the summer feeling behind. It took an abnormal amount of energy to force myself out of my bed and get dressed. The only positive thing was that I had my lecture planned for the day.

I took my usual running route round the campus and went round to block A. As I was running past the back of the building , my breathing heavy and my heart beating fast, I looked up to see a figure in room 20. Apparently, according to other professors, no one had been in room 20 for years because it's so isolated from the rest of the block. I guess that changed. The figure was small and I knew I shouldn't of been lingering around Student dorms but the figure intrigued me for an unknown reason. It felt almost familiar. The figure moved from the window just as a shout came from behind me.
"Shawn!"
I turned quickly to see a familiar brown haired boy running towards me, also in gym gear.
"Tyler you know you're not supposed to call me Shawn"
"No ones around. Besides it's university, some call professors by their first name. Especially if they're friends" he said and I shook my head.
"Friends? You think because we go to the gym together we're automatically friends?" I laughed and Tyler rolled his blue eyes.
"Oh come on stop being such an ass. Did you know that room 20 actually has someone living in it?" He asked.
"Yes I know"
"She's lovely. You know, the girl that's now living there. Shes British as well" Tyler said and I nodded.
"I lived in England for a while" I sighed.
"Did you? What happened?"
"That's a long story that I could never fit into half an hour. Classes are starting shortly. Go and get ready" I said running away from him, but also running away from having to confront my affairs in the U.K.

After showering and throwing on a shirt and jeans, I gathered all my files and folders that I needed for the first lecture and shoved them into my brown satchel bag, along with my computer.
"Please let me have a good class" I said quietly to myself as I left my temporary university home.
The walk to my lecture theatre wasn't long. It was one of the smallest lecture theatres there was which I was glad about as it meant I had a small class.
The first few people wandered in at round ten to nine and I smiled as they took their seats right at the very back of the theatre.
At nine I presumed that everyone was in and I observed the class. There was a few more girls than boys but overall everyone seemed nice and seemed like they would be a good, non disruptive group.
I sat down at my desk and pulled out my laptop and a few files.
"So. Welcome to English Literature, I'm your professor Shawn Mendes." I said whilst typing on my laptop.

"Sorry. I'm sorry I know I'm late, it took me like twenty minutes to realise how to use the shower" a girl said as the door slammed shut behind her.
"Shit reason for being late" I said earning a few laughs.
"Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning" I heard her say as she sat down. She dipped her head under the desk fiddling in her bag as I raised my head.
"Miss-"
"Dawson"
Dawson? Either this is the biggest coincidence of my life or I'm about to be killed by one of my students.
"D-Dawson?" I stuttered. And as her head popped up from the desk I knew I was a dead man. Our eyes locked and i could feel the tension rise to where it was almost hard to breathe.

All the regret, all the guilt started to fill me up, knowing what I had done to her. At the time I didn't think much of it. I thought She'd probably forgotten about me. But now I could see the look on her face and the realisation struck. The realisation that she hadn't forgotten about me, the realisation that my ignorance and selfishness probably cost her more than just upset, the realisation that technically she still was my girlfriend.
"Well, y-y just don't be late again" I stumbled as she stared right at me.

Slowly, she sat down as I rose from my place.
"Now. As I was saying I'm your professor for the foreseeable future. I presume you came to this lecture with the thought that I would be blabbing in about English and how it's the best subject but that's actually the opposite of what I'm going to do. We have two hours. For the next half an hour I'm actually going to get you each to write a page just about you. Why you've chosen to come here, key events for you things like that. Ok" I sighed sitting back down and going on my computer.

I glanced up quickly to see if they were all working, which they were, and opened up the photos app on my laptop. Ironically the first photo that caught my eye was of the girl sat right in front of me.
She was holding one of my hands infront of her as she smiled at the camera. Her hair was flowing, her smile bright, as we walked along the streets in Paris.
Again I glanced upward just to get a glimpse of her now. Almost nothing had changed. Except for something just above her chest. A tattoo maybe? I shrugged and went back to looking through photos on my laptop of the summer. Nights in bars, girls and clubs.

"Right that should be long enough. Let's start from the back." I said picking people to read theirs in order.
I tried to pay attention to what they were saying but it was so hard when all I could focus on was her. The way she looked at each person who spoke, the way she put her hair behind her ear revealing a new piercing, the way she bit her lip. The butterflies I hadn't felt in a long time started to return as I looked at her.
"Miss Dawson," I said just like old times when I was her high school teacher, "would you like to read yours?"
She said nothing. Grabbed her sheet of paper and stood up at the front right beside my desk.

"I'm Faye Dawson. I lived in the U.K. before coming here. I don't have an exact reason for coming here I just liked the place, surroundings and opportunities. In terms of my personal life, I have a cat called Shawn who is actually a girl who I had to leave behind. My mum remarried last year and we have a good family unit. My best friend is Thomas Scott and he lives in America so I don't get to see him an awful lot. I went travelling this summer and helped build houses in Africa which landed me in hospital. Before the summer I used to have a boyfriend and we dated for like a year. We went through a hell of a lot and he even took me to Paris and gave me this promise ring and said we would get married. I loved him, obviously more than he loved me as he moved away and never spoke to me again despite my calls. He took my heart, shit on it, broke it and threw it away. I blame him for my not wanting to be in a relationship and my lack of trust."

Faye finished with a strong look on her face which made me want to shrink into a hole. I had done this to her. This was all my fault. I couldn't look up at her. I knew she was looking straight at me and luckily I was saved by the clock hitting 11.
Quickly everyone left the classroom. Faye stood quietly packing away her things and I debated whether to talk to her.
She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked towards the door. I walked quickly over and managed to touch her shoulder. She flinched and turned back to face me.
I looked to where my fingers touched her skin and felt a raised line.
"What happened?" I whispered looking at the large dark scar.
"Get off of me" she whispered back. I took my hand away and she turned her head, not before I saw tears in her eyes.
"So. How've you been?" I smiled.
"Don't. You think you can ask me that after what you did?! I bet you don't even realise what you've done." Faye said walking out.
"Faye please" I said trying to reach for her hand but she pulled away and walked out of the building without looking back.