ShawnMendes entered Wattpad.

42

Three years ago. Connor. 2021.
"I can't do this. I can't do this anymore." The voice of my best friend is echoing through the rooms of the label. "I can't. I just can't." And then: "I am sorry. I am so sorry. Sorry. Sorry, sorry sorry." I can hear, that he's near crying and his voice breaks.
When I enter the room, I see Shawn sitting on the couch, next to him Aaliyah and on the other side his parents. His mother, Karen, holds some tissies in her hand and it's not clear, if it's for her or for Shawn. But whatever she looks extremly concerned. On the opposite, there are Andrew and some people from the label sitting. They don't look less concerned. They are talking quietly with each other and exchange some looks I can't interprete yet. I just know that the text Aaliyah sent me some hours ago was alarming. I would've been here sooner, but I couldn't because I was exceptionally not in the country. - Normally I tour with Shawn through the whole country, even through the whole tour, but today I was for a visit at home – the birthday of my grandmother. A birthday I left earlier because my best friend needed me. "Hey, whatsup man?!" I sit on the place next to him Aaliyah made free for me. She instead is sitting down on the carpet of the label, the legs crossed, her gaze worried.
Shawn looks up. "What you doin' here Con?!" His voice is really rough just as it was gonna crack every moment. "Aren't you supposed to be on your grandmothers birthday? Gran Mary's gonna kill me for stealing her grandson from her 80th birthday-party."

"She's not. She loves you bro."

To be honest: my grandmother even wanted to travel with me to Toronto when she heard, that Shawn was having problems. I could barely hold her up from throwing out her party guests and coming with me.
Shawn sniffels in a way that I've never heard from him. For avery long moment it is silent in the room. "What's up?" I repeat the question and finally, Shawn says: "I can't do this."

"What man?"

"This." Shawn points around with his hands. "The tour. This whole thing."

I can hear everybody in the room breathing a bit more heavy; a bit more worried. And there I understand. I mean, I saw it coming. We've talked about it. But it was a back and forth. A rollercoaster of emotions. Nothing that someone could decide within a week or two.
But two weeks of the tour had been going and almost everyone in the room saw it coming. Me included.
So when my best friend bursts now out into tears, I understand. I totally get it.

Shawn finally realized what was going on the last years. Corona took him out of all and everything. Gave him a taste of how life could be without all the pressure, without the constant publicity and without the never ending rush.
Made him spent more time with his family and friends than ever before since he got famous.

The realization in what a machine he was stuck kicked in.