If love be rough with you, be rough with love - Shakespeare, via Mercutio
-
shawns face furrows with confusion, as the highly emotional girl runs out of the car, straight into the lobby, and speeding to the elevators. he dodged people around him, trying desperately to follow his girlfriend, but sadly the elevator doors shut, and he was left with a heavy heart.

what did he do?

he paced around, waiting for the next elevator, completely and utterly worried, not wanting to be at risk of a breakup from the one he truly loves more than anything else in the world. you could perhaps say his love was selfish, and conceited, but still passionate, and brimmed with endearment. shawn wanted aria, he longed for her. not lustfully, more lovingly, but he craved her. she was the happiness he needed to breathe.

finally, he got into an elevator, and took the slow journey up to his floor, trudging his feet along the carpet, before stopping outside his and her hotel room door.

he felt the handle, which still felt warm, probably from her touch as she debated to stay in this room, or to see if the hotel had any spare rooms. he sighs, placing his card on the reader, letting him unlock the door, revealing a sense of eerie light.

strange. it was nothing. it was a silence, too quiet to even be considered peaceful. but he heard her heavy breathing. he heard her cries, and that seemed to be the only think jumping around in his mind. his heart ached, as he silently crept through the room, resting his back on the locked bathroom door.

"aria," he says gently, his knuckles pressed against the white wood. "do you really want me to book you a flight back home?"

she bit her lip anxiously, leaning against the other side of the door, letting a small sigh tumble out of her lips. "n-no," she whispers, wiping away her tears.

"are you coming to bed?"

"yeah."

"okay. i'll sleep on the couch."

aria sighs, unlocking the door with a click, making shawns heart jump. he stands up straight from the door, turning to face it instead. "a-aria?" the door opens, but she doesn't move it further. "what did i do?"

"please, shawn," she whispers, her throat completely swollen, as the tears build up again. "if i'm not good enough for you, just end it. i don't want to go through the pain of you using other girls-"

"wait, what?" shawn asks, utterly confused, as he swings the door open, revealing his stressed, and broken girlfriend.

"don't act clueless, please don't," she begs, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"i'm not acting though, why do you think i've been using other girls? which i would never, by the way," he says, slighting offended that aria would ever think that. "who said something to you?"

"brian," she whispers, looking down at the floor.

"so you're gonna listen to the guy who called you a slut? wow, you definitely are a straight A student," he scoffs, shaking his head, and walking into the hotel room. "i swear to fucking god, what made you want to believe him? no, what made you even remotely think that anything he says to you would be the truth? this is the guy who has freaking wanted to hook up with my fans!"

aria hangs her head low, as she sighs again, walking back into the bathroom, pulling her jeans off, and replacing her current shirt for one of shawns old white button ups. she walks out, making shawn immediately look at her.

"are you pissed at me?" she asks, folding her arms. "because if you are-"

"i'm not pissed at you," he says.

"then why did you just lecture me? i'm not a child, shawn. i'm in an emotionally distressed state because of my mum, and i'm completely vulnerable. of course i'm gonna believe brian, especially after he apologised to you," she shoots back. "i'm not a fucking child. you tell me every single day how mature i am, don't you fucking understand that i can perceive things differently?"

"can we not fight tonight? it's late as it is, and i'm exhausted," shawn sighs. "look, you were wrong, and you gave in. big deal."

"so what about you overreacting, and basically insulting who i am? just because i'm getting better grades than you ever did doesn't mean that-"

"do not even fucking bring my grades into this, i was concentrating on my career more than school, when i was your age. of course my grades were gonna be shit," he shoots back, making her shake her head. "you definitely are being childish if you're bringing this up."

"fuck you," she says, scoffing. "fuck you."

"fuck me? fuck me? why? all i'm saying is that you should fucking stop bringing my grades into this, and start fighting like an adult," he mutters.

"i thought you were too tired to fight."

"well you're getting on my fucking nerves so of course i'm gonna want to fight."

"and you're not getting on mine? wow," she scoffs. "and why are you bringing me being an adult into this? since when did that matter to you?"

"aria, don't start this now," he warns. "it's late, and we're gonna end up screaming at each other if you're not careful."

"might as well just do," she whispers to herself.

"if you haven't noticed yet, i'm fucking tired, so i'll be going to sleep," shawn says to her, a frown etched on his face.

"fine," she says, unfolding her arms, and going to sit down on the armchair in the room, bringing her legs up to her chest, as shawn slides under the duvets, turning his back to her. "i guess i mess everything up, then," she whispers, not wanting shawn to hear, as she quickly wipes away her tears.

her phone begins to buzz, and she sighs gently, picking it up to answer, and walking outside of the main bedroom part of the suite, heading into the lounge, shutting the bedroom doors behind her.

"hello?" she calls quietly, curling up on the couch.

"bad time?" jess chuckles, the time difference between japan and canada, meaning it's a great time for her, but a horrible time for aria.

"i guess," she says weakly. "hey."

"hi," she responds. "are you okay? you sound ill."

"shawn and i got into a fight, but don't worry, it's nothing big," she says sadly, looking down at her nails. "how are you?"

"jakeman wanted us to write a ten page essay on the renaissance. i said no, and i got a twenty page essay to write on the romantics. how fun," she says sarcastically, making aria let out a quiet giggle.

"i would gladly do it for you, but i'm kind of in japan," she says sarcastically. "i've done the renaissance one though, i can send you that if you want."

"please," she says softly. "oh and what's his face, mr blake, he set us two whole chapters of algebra to do. i swear to god that man can't teach to save his life," she sighs, making aria chuckle again.

"i wish i was back home," aria says quietly, not knowing that shawn is listening to everything she is saying.

"it was bad, wasn't it? the fight."

"yeah," her voice cracks at the end, as the tears slip out of her eyes. "i just," she sighs. "i'm so fucking vulnerable right now, and i just feel like everything's getting to me way more than it should be. i shouldn't have left my mum alone."

"aria, your mum would have wanted you to go! she would never, ever let you miss an opportunity to see the world," jess tells her. "and i'm sure that whatever happened between you and shawn will be fixed by tomorrow, at least. don't worry, everything will be okay. you'll be okay."

"i just feel so freaking down all the god damn time, and i really just don't have the strength to do things, and i ended up continuing a fight with shawn, i'm so fucking smart," she mutters, wiping away her tears. "jess, it's late, and i should be going to sleep. i'll talk to you later, okay?"

"alright, stay strong babygirl. everything's gonna be okay, i promise."

"love you," she says to her best friend, a sad smile over her lips.

"love you," they hang up at the same time, leaving aria feeling more alone than ever. the never ending dread consumes her, and she feels as if she's a victim of anxiety.

she walks back into the main bedroom, getting into her side of the bed, her back facing shawns back, and falls into a deep sleep, wanting to melt away from the world.
-
"why's she sitting alone?" andrew asks shawn at breakfast, as he looks over at aria, who's looking out of the hotel window, seated at a table all by herself.

"no reason," shawn says gently, helping himself to some fruit.

"did you two fight?"

"maybe," shawn shoots back, grabbing a coffee.

"are you gonna stay like this until we leave?"

"i don't know."

"are you going to even try to make it right?"

"maybe."

aria continues to eat her breakfast, as she flicks through the book she has in her hands, reading intensively, focusing her mind on something else.

"hi," camila sits down opposite aria at breakfast, making shawns eyes go wide, before he sighs, and sits with the rest of his crew. being his opening act, camila was on tour with them, which was good for aria, since she had someone of the same gender to talk to.

"oh hey," aria replies, a small smile over her sad face. "morning."

"sweetie, why are you sitting all alone?" she asks concerned, her eyes holding nothing but care. "come to the table."

"i'd rather not," aria mumbles, looking at shawn, who's sat right next to brian, even after last night.

"what happened?" camila asks her softly, holding onto her hand. "did he yell at you?"

"we fought," she whispers, looking down at her plate. "and i don't feel comfortable right now. i just want to go home."

"shawn told me what happened to your mum," she says gently. "is it that which is making you want to go home more than fighting with shawn?"

"maybe," aria mumbles, closing her book, and looking up at camila who sits opposite her. "i don't even know if my mum is gonna pull through and i'm here on the other side of the world. that really makes sense. and after last night, oh god, he is so pissed at me."

"do you want me to talk to him? make him see your side of things?"

"there's no point, it'll blow over soon anyway," she waves off, not wanting anyone to get involved with the dispute they had, and not wanting anyone to waste their time on such an unworthy cause.

shawn stops talking at the table, his eyes trailing over to aria, who has gotten up, and is walking out of the hotel restaurant, her book in her hands, and no one following her. camila comes back to the main table, sitting on shawns other side, and leaning up to whisper something in his ear.

"go follow her, please," she begs. "you need to talk to her."

"camila, we fought last night. i'm not going," he says simply, finishing his coffee.

"shawn, you don't understand," she says sternly. "she's completely and utterly distressed, and not just because of what happened with you. she needs you to talk to."

something snaps in shawn, making him immediately stand up, and follow the way aria took out of the restaurant. he speeds up to their room, unlocking the door, seeing her sitting on the arm chair, her knees pulled to her chest. she looks up immediately, her eyes filling with fear, making shawns heart completely break.

"please don't yell at me," she whispers, looking away from him.

shawn shakes his head, walking closer towards her, crouching down next to the chair, holding her small hands in his. "i'm sorry, darling, i'm so sorry," he begins, making her eyes fill with tears. "no, please angel, don't cry," he stands up, pulling her into a hug, as she automatically clings onto his shirt, thinking he's going to slip away again. "talk to me, what's wrong?" he sits down on the made up bed, aria sitting next to him, their hands joint in his lap.

"i'm so fucking worried," she whispers, bringing her other hand to her face, and wiping away her tears. "and i-" she cuts herself off with a sigh. "i'm sorry for believing brian, it's just, i feel so vulnerable now and i don't even know why."

"it's understandable, your mums in hospital," shawn tells her gently. "aria, you didn't question my love for you last night, did you? because you kept tossing and turning at night and whispering my name and love, and i was really confused."

she stays silent for a moment, letting herself reflect.

"maybe," she whispers. "you've never yelled at me like that before." shawn stays silent, looking down at his hands, and unwrapping his fingers from arias.

"i'm sorry," he mumbles quietly, making aria breathe out a small puff of air. "do you really want to go home? tell the truth."

"no," she says almost like it's a reflex. "no, i wanna stay here," she says to him, making him sigh in relief. "shawn i-"

"please don't ever question how much i love you," he blurts out, making her breath hitch. "aria, i fucking love you. and i will fucking scream it out to space that i do. i know i've been a complete and utter jerk to you, but i love you, and i'm in love with you, and i know i'm young and i probably haven't felt love, but i have, with you. and it's definitely love, because whenever you're around me, i just feel happy, and content, and loved, and like we're the only people in the world, heck, i want to marry you, and hopefully i will, if things work out." he says quickly, making aria look at him in shock.

"i uh-" she states, her eyes going wide. "how can i believe you?"

shawn stares at her, his mouth going slightly agape as her brown eyes connect with his. he parts his lips, looking down at her soft pink ones, before trailing his eyes up to hers once more. he suddenly leads forward, capturing the passion in a kiss, pressing his hands against her cheeks, and kissing her with force. she responds, her eyes fluttering shut, as she hooks her arms around his torso loosely, giving into his passionate love, and his undeniable endearment.

they make love that night. definitely not the first time they've engaged in something intimate, however the first time that they had made love.

she was certain he was in love with her.