{emma pov}

"Wow." is all that I can mutter as we arrive in Times Square. This is amazing, it makes me feel so free.

"You've never been here before?" Shawn asks curiously.

"No."

"Wait until we come back later tonight, when it's dark." Lauren adds.

"It's even more breathtaking!" Normani says.

"I can only imagine." I laugh.

"So how about we get some lunch?" Shawn asks.

"I'm always up for food." I smile.

✦

This is perfect. To be honest, when I first heard about the tour, I didn't think I'd get along with anyone, and that it'd be tough to make friends with the people I'm touring with.

But now, here we are, in Central Park, playing around, tackling each other, and goofing around like we're little kids.

I'm laughing so hard it hurts, and I decide to lay down on the grass. Shawn lays beside me, and the rest of the girls lie down too, clearly tired out.

"Who wants to go to the Brooklyn Bridge?" Dinah-Jane asks.

"But we just laid down." I complain.



There's a short pause of silence before Shawn stands up. "Okay. That was a nice rest, I'm ready to move on now."



"Help me up?" I ask, putting my arms up and Shawn grabs them, having no problem lifting me up on my feet again. This is one strong human being.

✦

We decide to eat dinner tonight at TGI Friday's. The food is delicious, but also hella expensive. The others don't really seem to mind, considering that they're pretty much world famous and probably have a lot of money. But that's okay, it's definitely worth it.

We have just finished our meal, and it is already pretty dark by the time we get back outside. Since the restaurant was in times square, when we step outside I stop, staring out into the street.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Shawn asks.

"What? Nothing, I'm just taking everything in." I say in awe.

"I told you it was so much better at night." Lauren says.

"Yeah, you were right."

We walk for awhile, making small talk as we take in all of the sights.

We went into a couple of the outlet stores before, I bought a few souvenirs, but not too much.

The night goes on like this and the time just seems to fly right on by.

"Guys, it's 2am, don't you think we should go back to the hotel? Big day tomorrow." Shawn mentions.

We all agree to make our way back, so we go to the subway station and head back to the bus.

✦

I never thought this day would come. Yet, it did. And I am nervously standing in the wings of the stage waiting to perform.

Perform. in front of thousands of people. The nerves seem to be getting the best of me. Deep breath in, deep breath out, Emma. You'll be fine.

As I am pacing I feel someone tap lightly on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Shawn smiles genuinely, and I stop. "You look nervous."

"Yeah just a little." I smile nervously. Fifth Harmony is performing one of their last songs and then I'm up.

"I understand, I've been in the same boat." He laughs, and I stifle a grin. "Here, do you want some water? I grabbed you a bottle on my way over."

"Oh, thanks, that was very nice of you." I say, taking the bottle and taking a few big gulps. It calms me down a little.

"You're going to do great. I'm very excited to see you perform." he smiles.

"And I am very proud to introduce... Emma Hall, from Toronto, Ontario!" Camila shouts from onstage.

Just then the stage manager comes over and that is my cue to go onstage.

I take a deep breath and compose myself.

"Break a leg." Shawn smiles, patting me on the shoulder. Then I grab my guitar from its stand and walk out onto centre stage, where a mic and a stool are already sitting out for me.

I take a seat, and start to talk into the mic.

"Hey, New York, how are you all doing tonight?" I hear a bunch of screams in response.

"Fifth Harmony did a great job up here, huh?" more cheers.

"Tonight I'm gonna start off with a classic favourite of mine, Rolling in the Deep by Adele!"

"There's a fire starting in my heart
reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark
finally I can see you crystal clear
go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
see how I leave with every piece of you
don't underestimate the things that I will do.
There's a fire starting in my heart
reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark.

The scars of your love remind me of us
they keep me thinking that we almost had it all
the scars of your love they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling"

I decide to put a lot of feeling into the chorus, because that is what will sell my performance. Here goes nothing...

"We could've had it all, rolling in the deep
you had my heart inside of your hand
and you played it to the beat"

Once I finish the song, the whole audience is screaming so loud. This is absolutely crazy. How did I get here? I ask myself.

So I sing a few more songs, then say into the mic, "Thank you! Now I have the pleasure to introduce, the one you've been waiting for, Shawn Mendes!" More, louder screams follow.

I then take off my guitar and start to walk off the stage, and just as I'm stepping into the wings, Shawn taps me on the shoulder.

"That was absolutely phenomenal. Wow. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Thank you." I smile, then giggle. "break a leg."

He rolls his eyes. "Ha ha. That was so funny." then he walks on to the stage, greeting his screaming fans.

✦

"Great job everyone, that's a wrap for our first show of the tour!" Kate yells as we all arrive into the dressing rooms.

"So back to what I was saying before..." Shawn says, "You were absolutely amazing. You've always kind of struck me as the shy girl that doesn't talk much, but that proved my opinions wrong. I didn't think you had that in you." he smiles, a blush creeping its way onto his face and I start to blush too.

"Thanks," I say, flattered. "You did so great too. My favourite song that you sang tonight though was definitely Never Be Alone. It was so beautifully done, there are just no words to describe it. The way the fans were all screaming the words and shining their flashlights was breathtaking."

"Thank you." he smiles. "Keep in mind though, I have done this a few times before."

I laugh. "Yeah, definitely more than me."

"Do you want to go get some food with me? I'm starving."

"Absolutely, I'm always hungry." I smile, and we walk out of the dressing room, and to the bus, where surely we would find some food.

✦

We arrive into the tour bus, and grab a bag of chips and some fruit and decide to play the game of life. It's getting late, but I'm sure everyone still has that post-show adrenaline.

The girls come in mid-game, and after the game, we all decide to go to sleep, because we are super tired.

Me, on the other hand, cannot sleep a wink. My mind just keeps drifting back to how amazing this evening was, and even better, what the rest of the tour will be like. This is going to be a long night.

a/n

hey fam! sorry you had to wait so long for an update, but here it is!

I finally got my iPad so I will be trying to update every week or so, yay!

remember to vote, comment, and share!

love you guys,

~em 💗