Wonderwall

Strangers

"How's everyone doing tonight, Miami!" Shawn called out to the roaring crowd as he began to play his heart out on his 20th show of his second North American tour. 

By now he'd grown accustomed to the big crowds, the late nights, and more importantly the traveling that came with touring, but lately he'd been struggling with his anxiety, an abnormal amount. It wasn't that he didn't like to tour, but he felt like every move he made was watched and analyzed. He felt an insane amount of pressure to perform well. He wanted his fans to be happy.

Tonight, he broke down when he played Life of the Party and sure enough the fans speculated it was because of his recent breakup with media mogul Hailey Baldwin.

The truth was, he was glad to be rid of her. She never listened or cared. She was only dating him for the clout. Did he like kissing her and sleeping with her? Of course, he's  a  guy, but he knew he was different. He wanted more. He wanted somebody he didn't have to explain all his movie references to.. he wanted someone he could just be himself with. He knew now that was impossible.

That's the thing with being famous. You never know who wants you for you and you wants you because of your fame.

He had a panic attack before tonight's show but managed to pull it together before walking out on stage. The crowd singing the words he wrote back to him, made everything else disappear. This was his favorite part of performing.

He thought about calling his parents but they wouldn't understand.  They were so proud of him. They would tell anyone that listened how at 4 he learned piano and how at 10 he'd play the street corners in Toronto for change.

He got discovered making Vines and YouTube covers and from there, everything happened so fast that he didn't want to blink. He didn't want to miss it.... but he never considered that it was too much,too fast.
He'd resented the idea that anyone would ever call him ungrateful.

The real reason he cried tonight during that song was because he sang the words he wrote and knew he was faking it. He was trying to be the life of the party but deep down, he was a mess.

Camila's POV

Camila had just finished a semester abroad in Barcelona. She rarely kept up with the music scene in America so upon her return her friend Layla begged her to come see " Shawn Mendes". The girls were going wild for him and she could see why. He was cute, personable,and talented.  But Camila suspected, like all musicians, he was an asshole. She saw Justin Bieber once at a club in Barcelona and she'd idolized him for years. She saw him drunkenly knock over a tray of drinks because he was angry and all thoughts of approaching her once idol dissapeared.  Figures. Maybe at one point he was nice but fame had changed him.

So here she stood in this crowd. She was a fake fan of course but the one moment that intrigued her was when he started to cry.... in the middle of a song. The crowd finished it and in that moment Camila wished she knew the words too. His face on the big screen grinning brightly told her he was emotionally overwhelmed with the crowd singing the song. He probably didn't even write those words but she could see how it would make one emotional.

When the concert ended everyone screamed and mobbed and she was seperated from her friend Layla. She remembers being pushed to the ground and then nothing.

When she woke up she was on a tour bus surrounded by strangers and one person who was still in fact  a stranger but after watching him perform tonight, he seemed, somehow familiar.

"She's awake... thank god.." a woman said with her arms folded. Shawn just looked concerned and overwhelmed. 

There was a doctor checking her out and he had her follow a light with her eyes.