As I got to school, all of my friends bombarded me before I even got to my locker. I guess moments like this, you have to put up your walls so that they cannot read you or see your flaws. After all, I'm only known for singing in ceremonies, not for being pretty like other girls.

"Freak!" A deep voice yelled from across the hall.

I looked over to where that voice came from and a bunch of the jocks were crowded around a familiar figure, crouched down on the floor while using his arms as a shield. They kicked him and punched him several times. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I saw who it was. I ran over to them and blocked the guys.

"Stop it!" I yelled before spreading my arms in order to shield him from them.

"y/n, baby, stay out of this." Derek said in a flirty voice.

"Uh, ew! Don't you ever call me baby. Now leave him alone!"

"Babe, are you really protecting that weird little shit? He's a nerd! A useless, know it all who thinks he's better than everyone else!"

"We will never EVER be together so don't call me babe. That guy you're calling a weirdo has a name, not 'weird little shit' and I guess that your brain is just so fucking small that you confuse him for yourself." I said pushing him away.

"We'll be back for you, Mendes. Don't think you'll get away with it." Gerald said before walking away with the rest of the football team.

I turned around and faced Shawn. I knelt down in front of him and inspected the damage they did to him. One of the lenses of his glasses was cracked, his lower lip was bleeding, a black eye was starting to form, and a bunch more bruises and cuts all over his face. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer to me gently.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I buried my head into the crook of his neck, trying to hold back the tears.

"I am now that you're here. Thanks, angel." He said stroking my hair.

"Why are you thanking me? I should've been here earlier. This is all my fault."

"Baby girl, it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Come on. Let's get you to the clinic."

I untangled myself from him and helped him up, taking his hand into mine as we walked down the hall. Everyone left for first period so no one saw us. If you're wondering why we're acting like this, it's because we're actually dating. Typical nerd and popular girl romance kind of shit, I know but I wanted to keep it under a low profile so that he wouldn't be bullied for dating someone like me. You saw how Derek acted. And I never even dated that asshole. He's just a flirt. This has actually been going on for almost a year.

"I love you. You know that, right?" He whispered into my ear.

"I know, I love you more though." I said, squeezing his hand.

"Impossible."

We got him cleaned up and bandaged in time for second period. The whole day, I never left his side. It was currently lunch time and we were just sitting at one of the empty tables. I usually sit with my friends but I don't want anything bad to happen. I guess I was wrong. I saw Derek, James, Gerald, and Nick stand behind him. I stood up and blocked Shawn from them.

"What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?" I asked, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow at them.

"Move it, babe." Derek said, gripping my arm.

"How many times must I say this so that it could sink in your thick skull?! We will never happen now stop calling me babe!"

He tightened his hold on my arm and pulled me towards him. He was too close to be comfortable with and I tried to push him away but it didn't work.

"Listen to me, sweet heart. Don't ever cross me. Protecting that nerd will only lead you to trouble." He said before throwing me on the ground.

I hit my head on the chair. Everything was blurry but I could still see the outlines of two people fighting.

"Do not ever touch my girlfriend again!" Shawn yelled at him as he threw another punch.

I blinked several times to improve my vision. Once I regained my strength, I stood up and hugged Shawn from behind to make him stop punching Derek. I don't want him to get in trouble.

"Shawn. Baby, it's okay. Stop, please. That's enough." I said, kissing his back.

He threw the asshole on the ground and turned to me. He hugged me and kissed the top of my head. I buried my head into his chest and held him tight. The sounds of applause filled my ears as well as a load roar of cheers.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"No need to thank me. It's my job to protect you." He said, kissing my forehead.

♪One Week Later♪

"Hey! It's Shawn! Leave a message."

"Shawn, where are you? Call me back please." I said into his voicemail once again.

He's been M.I.A. since first period and it's currently dismissal. Where the fuck is that guy? I heard the sound of a microphone being tapped and I looked up to check on the PA system.

"May I have everyone's attention please." a familiar voice blared through the speakers. "I just wanted to perform something for a certain person since we usually have radio broadcasting at this hour. y/full/n, this is for you and you know where to find me."

Shawn. Just then the sound of guitars strings being strummed at a specific pattern with the changing of chords erupted from the speakers. I knew that tune. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"I love it when you just don't care
I love it when you dance like there's nobody there
So when it gets hard, don't be afraid
We don't care what them people say."

No freaking way. It's the song he was working on a few days ago! I quickly ran to the office wherein they record the things to be announced through the PA system. I stopped once I was outside the wooden door with a small window on it. I looked in and he was just singing his heart out.

"We don't have to be ordinary
Make your best mistakes
'Cause we don't have the time to be sorry
So baby be the life of the party."

Once the song ended, he thanked the people listening and then opened the door. I stared at him as he stepped out. He wasn't wearing his usual hoodie and khakis. He wasn't even wearing his glasses or his braces. His usual messy hair was slicked back, his outfit is now a pair of black skinny jeans, a dark gray muscle shirt, a leather jacket, and black sneakers.

"Shawn?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Hey, my angel." He smiled.

I ran into his arms and held him as if I had not seen him in years. He chuckled and hugged me tighter.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls all day?" I asked him, pulling away from the hug.

"I wanted to surprise you." He said, cupping my right cheek with his left hand.

"But... what did you do to your clothes?"

"I thought that maybe I should change in style. I mean, I am dating the most beautiful girl in the world."

"Shawnee, you didn't have to do that. I don't care whether you look like you came from the streets or if you looked like a gangster. No matter what happens, I will always know you as the Nerdy Mendes I fell in love with. Your looks are just a bonus but your heart is definitely the jackpot. I love you."

"I love you too."

He leaned in and kissed me for the first time. I snaked my arms around his neck as he cupped both of my cheeks with his hands, pulling even closer. I knew right then that he was the one I want to be with forever. There may be no forever but I know we would last a lifetime.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

A/N: I'm actually proud of this. The picture on the side is actually one of Shawn's fetus pictures which I edited a bit by placing glasses on him. Tell me if it's cute or not xD I actually wrote this while watching The Great Gatsby (Which by the way, I give a 2/5 stars for several reasons not including Tobey and Leo's acting that happens to be on point) during our English class. Talk about multitasking xD

Hope you guys liked it. And please share this story with other people via text, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even the Nash Grier app. Thanks so much.

Vote/suggest/share

♪☁ A ☁♪ going offline