With love, there are so many layers to it that you can write all day about it. It's not just heartbreak or falling in love; there's so many different ways to look at it - Shawn Mendes
-
the sunlight streaming through the windows kisses their nude skin, making shawn squint slightly, but aria unaffected; after all, being asleep, you can't really see the light start to steep through the gap in the silk curtains. shawn gazes down at the beautiful girl in his arms, letting out a small sigh, and leaning down to press a kiss on her smooth forehead.

he really did see her naked last night. they both saw each other naked. and not figuratively, although they did, but metaphorically, they unlocked another level of love.

but shawn couldn't help to feel broken, and so did aria to an extent. they really did question something that they both thought they wouldn't question.

she was worth it though. she was worth every question and every thought in the world to shawn. she was his world.

he traces his fingers over her smooth cheek, the tips of his fingers drawing little patterns over her ample skin. he smiles gently to himself, leaning down, and pressing a kiss onto her shoulder.

"mhm," she hums, waking up, her eyes still firmly shut. "what time is it?"

"maybe like seven?" he questions the both of them, before leaning over her, checking his phone, which says it's seven thirty. "seven thirty."

"do we have to get up?" she whines softly, tracing her fingers over shawns chest, tracing his muscles, her fingers dancing over his milky skin.

"sadly, we do. i have press today," he sighs gently, rolling over, so he's on top of her. "but that doesn't mean we can't sneak in round two."

"hm, i love you," she whispers, a small smile over lips, as she drapes her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

she never wanted to leave. and he didn't either.
-
much to brians dismay, the couple were back together, hands joint, and walking around with the crew, both of them all over each other, their love radiating light. he squirmed in his step, following shawn and aria with a glare, his arms folded, and not wanting to even speak to shawn anymore.

"alright everyone, my girl and i are going out for lunch, so we'll see you all back at the hotel?" shawn asks, turning to face the group, his arm over her shoulders.

"your girl, eh?" aria jokes, nudging his side gently. he grins down at her, nodding.

"sure thing, make sure you're back for 5," andrew tells them both, bidding them goodbye. "are you feeling okay today, aria?"

"yeah, much better, thank you," she answers, pushing out a smile, as shawn holds onto her hand again. "we're both much better."

"good, you guys scared me for a bit," andrew chuckles, as shawn smiles softly, looking over at brian, who's glaring at the three of them. shawn sighs to himself, the realisation of him actually having to talk to brian hitting him hard.

"hey, i'll be back in a minute," he says quickly, moving himself away from the group, and rushing over to brian. "hey man, do you want to tell me why you lied to aria?"

"shawn, i don't want you to make a mistake! you're not in love with her, get that through your thick head." brian shoots, anger filling him.

"since when do you have a say in who i date? you've never said this to any of the other girls i've been with before aria, so why are you caring so much?" shawn questions, folding his arms. "whatever, i don't care, whatever you say won't matter to me. i love aria, you have to just accept that. i'm not going to change my mind about who i love anytime soon. i love aria. i love her. you just have to realise that you're not gonna get your way, and plus, she turns 18 in a few months. it doesn't matter."

"and then when she goes off to college it won't matter, huh? doesn't she have plans to study in america? you know, in harvard?" he shoots, hitting a nerve with shawn. "she will forget all about you anyway, there's no point of even continuing your relationship with her."

"you know what brian? fuck you. i have never said a thing about what you do, so why should you even care about what i do? at least i don't fuck around with girls." shawn says smugly. aria notices what's going on between them, and her heart races. she politely excuses herself from andrew, and camila, who just joined them, before running over to the two boys, standing in between the two, who are shooting daggers at each other.

"cut it out!" she shouts at both of them, looking at shawn, and then brian. "you both shouldn't be fighting like this, you're best friends! i know that you hate me, brian, and i completely understand why, so if you want me to leave shawn, i will. as long as you two stop fighting."

"aria!" shawn yells, his eyes bursting out of his sockets

"well, that does sound like a good compromise," brian shrugs.

"aria!" shawn says, as the short brunette looks up at him. "don't you dare say that. ever again. brian doesn't matter."

"he does, shawn, he's your best friend since childhood! he matters more than me, you have to understand that!" aria says to him, tears welling up in her eyes. "i'm not letting you ruin your friendships over me. you have to fix this with your friends. i don't matter."

shawn feels his world crashing around him, as his head spins with sadness. he looks between aria and brian, continuously, trying to even work out what is remotely going on. he looks at aria with anger, and hurt, and frustration, then passes it on to brian, looking at him with even more anger, frustration, and pain itself, and then back at aria, where that suddenly melts into pure love, but then gets built back up into anger, and fire, and anguish, and true trepidation.

so he does the only thing he can think of, and runs off, straight back to his invisible safe place, one that doesn't even exist, one that he can't even call safe because he's never seen it before. he doesn't know where he is, he doesn't know how to feel.

she drops her hands, looking towards brian, who probably is as confused as she is. "find him, tell him i love him, but this has to end," she says to him, sternly, but her voice still shaking. "promise me you'll do that. i can't ruin your friendship with him." he nods, a slight happiness, slight guilt running through him, he can't exactly pin point how he feels.

"are you going back to canada?" he asks her, as she nods softly, sending him a sad smile, tears welling up in her eyes. "at least say goodbye."

"i already said my goodbye to him," she whispers, thinking back to the previous night, where she knew it was the end. she knew they were crumbling, but she didn't want to let him go. "just please tell him not to come after me, even when he's back home."

she mumbles a small goodbye to brian, before running back into the hotel, heading straight up to their shared room, where she quickly gathers her things together, stuffing them randomly into her suitcase, as the tears flutter down her cheeks. she begins to pick up her things from the unmade bed, before her hands lock around the locket, the silver locket, the very one she gave to shawn when she didn't think she was going to see him for a while. she smiles sadly to herself, before picking it up, and placing it on the little desk in the room, before writing down a small note to shawn, whenever he comes back.

shawn,
please know that i didn't want this to happen. your friends matter more than me
i love you,
aria x

silently, she placed the note down onto the table. her eyes wandered around the room, almost as if the previous night was being recreated in her mind, the kisses and intense stares they shared being mirrored and reflected in her head, reflecting around the room. with a small sigh, she wheels her suitcase out of the room, shutting the door. without turning her head to look back, she walked away.

both of them knew that deep down it was the best decision, but leaving was the hardest thing she had ever done.