Requested : Also when you can, please do a thing about being told Shawn can't see me anymore and him and I sneaking out to be together. 🥺
So I didn’t quite stick to the request, but I got a little carried away. It’s also pretty angsty. As always, it’s not proofread, so ignore typos.
“You can’t see her anymore Shawn. She’s too much of a distraction,” Andrew started.
Shawns eyes bugged out of his head. He couldn’t believe the words coming out of Andrew’s mouth. He looked around the table at the rest of his management team, and they all appeared to agree with Andrew.
“Excuse me, what?” was all he could muster. He had so many thoughts running through his head. Did they want him to break up with you, or just maybe limit his time with you? Either way, they were asking the impossible of him.
“You have to break up with Y/n. Your head isn’t in the game anymore Shawn. In order to sell records, you need to stay relevant, and you aren’t doing that.”
“I’m sorry, but isn’t that your job, to ‘keep me relevant’?” Shawn spat at the PR rep. sitting at the table
“It’s hard to keep you relevant when you’re not single. You’re young and attractive Shawn, you used to be the world’s number one bachelor and all you wanted was to get your heart broken. That sold itself.”
“I was a teenager! And now you’re going to make my life miserable because now you actually have to do your job!” he boomed.
“Shawn! Settle down. It’s best for everyone if you break things off with her.” Andrew reasoned.
“Best for everyone? How is that best for me, or her? Or even you guys?” She gestured to the whole table, “I can guarantee you that I won’t be writing the number of songs as I do now,” Shawn was seething. How could they even think about telling him to break up with you?
“It’s not about the quantity, it’s about the quality,” he heard from the other end of the table. Shawn wasn’t sure who it came from, but that comment made him see red.
“Are you kidding me? My stuff sells! Everything is about her! My last 2 albums have been about her!”
“That’s the thing, Shawn! This next album needs to sound different. You need something else to write about.” Andrew butted in again
That’s when it clicked for him. They wanted a breakup album. They all knew how in love he was with you.
“You want a breakup album…” he whispered, “Of fucking course.”
The room was silent as Shawn looked down at his lap. He didn’t know what to say next. There was a room full of people who agreed on the directions of his next album, and he knew there was no way to change their minds.”
“What if we just publicly break up? And we stay-” Shawn’s voice broke as he looked up at Andrew.
“It has to be a clean-cut Shawn. It won’t sound authentic if it’s not” Andrew whispered.
Shawn left the meeting heartbroken that morning and took his time making his way back to your shared apartment. He didn’t want to break it off with you. But he knew it had to be done. He quietly opened the front door, in case you were still sleeping. He didn’t want to disturb your last few minutes of peace. He kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his coat before walking into the living room. That’s where he saw you sitting on the sofa, hands around a cup of tea, with your nose stuffed in a book. Shawn was going to miss coming home to this, to you. He also didn’t miss the very large rock on your left ring finger. He had popped the question last night. How was he going to go from telling you he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you to break your heart?
That’s when you noticed Shawn. A smile took over your face as you got up from your spot and threw your body at him, hugging him. But he didn’t hug you back. That’s when you noticed his tear-stained face.
“I want to break up,” he whispered.
You were dumbfounded, “What?”
“I’m breaking up with you, and I want you out of my apartment.” He took a step away from you and made his way into the kitchen
“I’ve made up my mind. Please, go,” he looked into your eyes with an unreadable expression. This was the very first time where you couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
The rest of the day was a blur for Shawn. He doesn’t remember what you said to him. He doesn’t remember you packing your stuff. He doesn’t remember how he even got to the bedroom. The next week was just the same for Shawn. He was a shell of a man. He wasn’t eating. He wasn’t drinking. He wasn’t taking care of himself. And the last thing on his mind was writing. Andrew even stopped by. Shawn had missed a studio session and wasn’t answering his phone. . But even Andrew couldn’t get Shawn to do anything other than lay there, existing.
“C’mon man, it’s not that bad”
“Get out of my apartment.”
And with that, Andrew left. Shortly after, Shawn heard a knocking on his front door. He really didn’t want to get up, but he knew he had to. Trudging to the front door, Shawn opened it and was surprised to see you.
“Shawn, now you going to listen to me, ok?”
Shawn nodded his head as you made your way into the familiar apartment.
“It’s been a week of hell,” you started.
“For me too,” he whispered.
“Now why did you let your management team talk you into breaking up with me?”
“I’m not stupid Shawn. You proposed to me the night before. I know you and I know that the only reason you would ever do something like that is if you had no other choice.”
Shawn looked at you with tears in his eyes.
“They told me I had to break up with you. They want a breakup album and they want it to be authentic,” he cried
“You should have told me. We could have taken a step back-”
“I didn’t want to take a step back! I wanted to move forward! I want to marry you,” he interrupted
“Let me finish. If you would have told me, we could have figured this out together. We still can. I’ll get my own place again. We’ll just slow down and make it look like we’re not dating. I’ll do anything to be with you Shawn, even if that means keeping it a secret.”
“What would I do without you?”
