leaving it up to you
shane madej x reader
click here for the rest of the george ezra series
x x x
under any other circumstances, i never would have liked this place. in la, either the buildings were gorgeous, or they were copycats. this was a copycat. but it was our building, and the thought of her and i was more important than complaining about the structure of this place.
the walls were the same gray color they always had been, the bushes outside were an eyesore of what is considered modern, but all i could see was her when i looked at them.
today, i had to go to another wedding. bad day for a marriage, considering the current downpour la hadn’t seen in a very long time. i decided to take that as a sign of good luck, as (y/n) always loved the rain. she said that rain in la meant good things would happen, since it was very sparse, and i always took that as her trying to pretend it didn’t suck to get wet.
the wedding part of the day was boring. the new bride and groom were people i don’t know that well from work, but i was happy to attend. they looked very nice, and the ceremony was beautiful, just not something i would choose to do for fun.
the reception was loud. people danced in the middle of the room, somehow already drunk, yet all i could find myself doing was looking for (y/n). i wanted any reason to be able to talk to her again.
and then, she appeared at the end of the bar, ordering a drink. she turned around and glanced across the room. when we made eye contact, her nod was slight, but i knew that it was for me. as i made my way over to her, i didn’t know what we should talk about.
“(y/n), hey.” i smiled. (y/n) turned to me, and a smile graced me. i would not allow myself to be sucked into her love tonight. ryan had told me before i came that she may be dating someone, and getting my hopes up isn’t going to help me now.
“hey, shane.”
“didn’t think you were coming.” i nodded.
“very late. my heel broke.”
“so... how have you been?”
“uh, pretty good.” she nodded. (y/n) took a drink from her glass. “what about you?”
“i’m alright.”
“kinda weird, being back here, isn’t it?”
i shrugged. “not really. i love this place.”
“oh, yeah?” she looked at me. “why’s that?”
suddenly, i was sucked back into her love and my hopes were up. it was the way she looked at me. she knew why. which is exactly what i said.
“i feel like you’re aware.”
she smiled, and i no longer felt like the conversation was painful. talking to (y/n) always was like this: something i didn’t need to think about. i can just talk to her, and i feel like i am home.
the night rolled on, i felt like i hadn’t had this much fun in a very long time. her laughter made me feel good again, the way i always felt when she laughed.
“so, i fall down right in the middle of the sidewalk. my heel breaks off, which means i have to turn back around and go to the first store i can find that would have shoes for less than twenty dollars,” she tells me.
“i mean, you found them at least.”
“no, i bought super glue at target, and i’m just hoping now.” she showed me the line of where it had broken.
“so, i guess that means you wouldn’t be able to dance tonight?”
her face went slightly rosy, and (y/n) took a small drink from her glass. “i can probably do that.”
i extended my hand to her. she had almost accepted my invite, but the loud beeping of her phone distracted her. the caller id flashed on the bar, which made (y/n) roll her eyes.
“i, uh, need to take this,” she told me, hopping down from her stool. (y/n) took her phone away, and i noticed the careful steps she took on the snapped heel. i watched the slumping of shoulders as she spoke, before becoming tense, and the blush was replaced with an angry eyebrow. no one but me seemed to see her distress, but i also felt like it wasn’t something for me to see, so i turned away.
when she came back, i felt the tense feelings evaporate, and she smiled at me.
“are you alright?”
(y/n) tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “yeah. my, uh.. ex-boyfriend just called. i told him i was busy.”
“oh?”
“yeah. so, about the dance?”