Some Things Never Change [SHAWN MENDES]

August 11, 2016

"I keep thinking that we'll see Stringer Bell on the street," Brian remarked as we walked through Baltimore's Inner Harbor district.

"We're more likely to see McNulty."

These were characters from "The Wire," a show the guys and I had binge-watched last year. I'd been on the road so we didn't actually view it together. Instead we'd make plans to watch and would then have a group chat discussion afterwards. It was like my mum's neighborhood book club, just with a show about corruption in Baltimore instead of some long book about lost love.

I was wearing a Hogwarts t-shirt, athletic shorts, a baseball cap, and sunglasses with hopes no one recognized me. We had the entire day to ourselves since my show at the Pier Six Pavilion wasn't until tomorrow. Andrew had flown home for some family thing and would be joining us tomorrow, so we were free to do what we wanted. My bodyguard hung back slightly to help me be inconspicuous, and so far I hadn't been approached by any fans.

Brian had joined me on tour for the entire summer, which was my graduation present to him. Since mid-July, we'd been traveling all over North America and it had been a lot more fun for me to have a companion my own age.

In ten days I'd be playing at the Air Canada Centre to a crowd of over thirteen thousand, which would be my biggest headlining gig to date. I was pretty nervous about this because the larger the show, the more pressure I put on myself. Toronto was nothing compared to what was following. In September, I was playing Madison Square Garden. This concert would be recorded so that I could release my first live album.

On top of my concerts, I had a slew of performances scheduled on talk shows to promote Illuminate. I was starting to get pretty good at making small talk with the hosts because Ellen, James Cordon, and the others were great at putting me at ease, though sometimes when I watched myself afterwards, I cringed.

Brian and I grabbed coffees at one of the small shops and walked the U-shaped harbor. At one end was a science museum which we decided to skip since we thought it might be too educational. We decided to go to the Baltimore Aquarium instead since it was pretty famous and it has sharks. Who doesn't like sharks?

It was a Thursday, so the line for tickets wasn't that long. The aquarium was arranged so that you made your way up through the different levels, each having a unique focus. We started out looking at rays and even got to touch them, which was so fucking cool. Then we looked at different water biomes, and I liked the salt water exhibits best because they had the most colorful fish. At the top was a tropical rain forest enclosed in a glass pyramid. To get back down to the main level we walked through a downward winding spiral path that was surrounded by a gigantic four-story tank full of fish from the Atlantic. As you got lower, you entered the shark zone.

"Let's take a pic," Brian said as we stood in front of an area with tons of different sharks.

I pulled out my phone and took a photo of us that I then showed to Brian. My lazy eye was particularly off, probably because I'd been up late after the show in Detroit last night, which was  followed by an early flight to Maryland this morning.

"I look good. Send it to Ceci," he said.

"Nope."

"Why not? You text her all the time. She'd love it."

There was no way I was sending her a pic where I looked bad. Since February she'd been successful at resisting me, and I wanted that to change. I'd be home pretty soon and I hoped that when we saw each other she'd realize how much she missed what we had, because I sure as hell did.

I took another pic and in this one I looked better.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

"Tell her she's the only fish in the sea for me."