Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

December 31, 2020

The most danceable song off Wonder was blasting throughout the bar I'd secured for the small New Year's Eve party I was throwing. I rented the entire place out and invited fifty people total, which was within the current coronavirus guidelines. Just under forty people ended up coming since some people were still being pretty cautious. At the door, guests were given gold and silver masks with "Goodbye 2020!" printed across them, because this was more of a celebration of the shittiest year ending rather than being excited for what was ahead. When not eating or drinking, people were expected to have masks on.

"Shawwwwnnnn!" Brian said drunkenly as he approached me at the bar. "Why aren't you dancing?"

"I'll hit the dance floor later, if I drink enough of these...don't worry," I assured him. "Why aren't you out there bustin' a move?"

His face fell. "The only person I want to dance with isn't here. Why the hell did you and Ceci have to get into a fight?"

"I've told you, I don't want to talk about that," I grumbled.

Because we had mutual friends, it was pretty clear that something happened between me and Ceci, though no one knew our falling out had been over a year ago. I'd been on tour or with Fiona, so until our break-up, it didn't stand out that my former best friend was never around anymore. The guys finally confronted me about it as we sat outdoors at a brewery in early September and I told them we'd gotten in a fight over something stupid and that she was too stubborn to talk and work things out. When they'd pressed me regarding the nature of the disagreement, I'd mumbled something about politics. I didn't like lying, but I couldn't tell them the truth because no one knew about our sexual relationship, and since the US was embroiled in a contentious election, it was believable that we could have argued about something related to that.

"Did you even invite her?" he asked.

"Of course. Don't you see her parents over there doing tequila shots with mine? Her dad told me she's got a cold."

I had no idea if Ceci was truly sick or not. My mum said for a small party, it was a nice touch to do real invites, and they'd ended up being a valid excuse to get Ceci's address from her parents. She'd never RSVPed to the pretty gold foil invitation I'd sent out to everyone, so I assumed she never planned to attend.

"Well it sucks since she's single again. I thought maybe she'd be into me as a rebound thing," Brian said.

So Ceci and Phoenix hadn't lasted, eh? That put a smile on my face, though my friend couldn't see it since I had my mask up.

As the night wore on, I got drunker, though I managed to keep it at the level where I wouldn't get sick or pass out. I kept my inebriated state right at the line between "cute and funny" drunk and "tell the bartender to cut him off" wasted.

When the countdown started, the small crowd all held their champagne flutes up and chanted loudly, "10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy new year!"

I watched as the couples kissed and felt a stab of heartache that I had no one to share that tender moment with.

"Mr. Mendes," the bar manager said to me after I finished saying goodbye to the last of my guests, "there's a case of champagne left over. Would you like me to have someone put it in your car?"

"I didn't drive since I live walking distance from here. How 'bout I grab two bottles. You can give the rest away to the staff who worked tonight."

"That's kind of you sir, but each bottle was over a hundred dollars. You can always pick it up tomorrow."

I shook my head. "No, I'd rather add it to the tip."

He brought out the case and handed me two of the chilled dark green bottles and then the crew of five employees each got two of their own. I was pleased that it had worked out perfectly. They'd also be getting a crisp hundred dollar bill that I'd given the manager earlier when I paid for everything. I figured they would be here for awhile taking down all the streamers and balloons, and I felt they deserved extra compensation.