Shawn Mendes Imagines

Silver Linings

Shawn loses a bet and has to wear a different ugly sweater every day until Christmas. Y/N works in a clothes shop.

Laughter rings out loud and sudden through the bustling store, causing multiple heads to turn and look at the young man walking with his head down towards the counter, his face a fiery red to match the jumper clutched in his hands. Feet trudging along slowly to the queue, the man heaves a sigh and gives the men congregated at the front door the middle finger from behind his back, much to their delight. An elderly woman nearby shrieks and hurriedly covers the eyes of her granddaughter.

Cursing his friends and the damn bet that got him into this mess, Shawn places the sweater on the counter, an explanation ready on the tip of his tongue. The whole car ride here was spent preparing for the inevitable bullying from the salesclerk, his predicament a clear target for their pent up tension from the mayhem that is holiday shopping and the people that come with it.

What Shawn isn't expecting though, is for the girl behind the counter to take one look at the sweater and burst out laughing, eyes filled with glee. Strangely enough though, she doesn't seem to be laughing at him. Shawn follows her gaze to where she's scanning the writing on the front. No, she's not laughing at him. She's laughing at the cheesy joke printed there in bright green writing.

A century seems to pass before the girl finally looks up, tears in her eyes. Shawn's face burns with shame while curious shoppers watch on at the strange girl losing it behind the counter, seemingly because of him. One look at his face and she sobers immediately, only a small smile remaining on her face that she can't help.
"I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just did that."
"It's fine." He mumbles, eyes downcast. Unfortunately the floor isn't showing any signs of opening up and swallowing him.
"I wasn't laughing at you, I swear!" She explains, catching on to what he must be thinking. "It's just been a long day and I'm a sucker for cheesy jokes and I couldn't help but laugh. Sorry," she says again, face heating up to rival her customer's.
All at once, Shawn's shoulders seem to deflate and he finds himself smiling back at her. "Don't worry about it..." a flick down of his eyes to check her name tag, "Y/N."

The share a smile, eyes stuck to each other's while the rest of the world seems to melt away, leaving them stranded. It's only when someone coughs harshly in the building queue that they snap out of their trance.

The rest of the transaction is completed in silence, though both people still have smiles on their faces. Y/N giggles softly as she carefully places the sweater in paper bag before handing it over.
"Merry Christmas."
"Same to you." Shawn dips his head in a goodbye and returns to his friends.

For some reason their jeering doesn't bother him as much on the way out.

*****

"Back again so soon?" Y/N asks, grinning as she reads the writing on the front of the sweater.
"Not by choice," Shawn admits, nodding towards his two friends standing watch by the clothing rail.
"Ah." She pauses for a second to tell him the price. "Lose a bet?"
"How'd you know?" Shawn asks, eyebrows raising as he hands over the money.
"Things like this happen more often than you would think."
"What, idiots lose bets and end up buying the ugliest sweater they can find every day until Christmas?" He raises an eyebrow, taking the offered bag from Y/N's hands.
"Well, maybe not to that extreme, no." She chews on her lip absentmindedly, thinking. "I happen to like these 'ugly' sweaters though." She nods to the one from yesterday that is now adorning Shawn's torso. "They bring happiness." She shrugs, eyes shifting down.

Shawn doesn't reply for a moment, lost in thought. At the sound of a cough from a woman behind him, he snaps back to focus.
"I'll keep that in mind." Lips twitching up at the corners, he turns away. "See you tomorrow, Y/N." He calls out, earning him a grin.
"See you tomorrow." She whispers as she watches the young man walk away from the shop, paper bag swinging on his arm as his friends elbow him.