"We are joined here today by Mr. Shawn Mendes!" The interviewer, a woman looking to be around her late twenties, asked me as we sat across from each other on comfy desk chairs at a long, wooden table.

I spoke into the microphone. "Thanks for having me!"

"We're here to talk about your newest song, If I Can't Have You, as well as the news on your engagement. Congratulations!"

I smiled, softly chuckling. "Thank you. Yeah. Life's been pretty good lately"

"So, tell us more about the inspiration of If I Can't Have You"

"Alright. Well, to start, the song is about someone being so madly in love with this girl that he can't seem to get a hold onto. He realizes that if he can't have her, there's not really a point in anything to him anymore. Hence the lyric, everything means nothing if I can't have you"

"And is the song based on real life"

"Yes" I nodded my head.

"Would you mind telling us?"

I sighed, then smiled wearily. "I mean. I think everyone knows about the situation already but I guess I'll explain further. At the time I wrote this, Alana, my fiancee, and I were broken up because of this huge fiasco with my record label. I was in a really tough place because I wasn't allowed to tell her what was going on and I realized how lonely and devastated I was without her. I'm glad that I made it a more upbeat song because things have obviously changed for the better and I'd rather have a fun summer song than a sad breakup song"

"Wow, that's really beautiful. Can you tell us more about your fiancee, she was a fan before you two got together, is that correct?"

"Yeah, she was. We actually met at one of my concerts on tour in 2019 and it was all because she forgot her phone in the arena. I ended up asking her if she would be willing to show me around the city and she agreed. Alana is one of the kindest people you will ever meet and I think that's kinda what drew me in. She's always spending time with her family whenever she can and I think that's one of my favorite qualities about her"

"Awww. So it was really true when you said you'd date a fan"

I nodded my head slowly. "Kind of? I'm really open to anything and I think that being a fan or not has nothing to do with being in love with someone" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door opening and someone walking in, but I continued with my answer. "The fact that she was a fan doesn't correlate with the type of person she is, the person that I fell in love with"

The interviewer looked over by the door, something in her eyes lighting up. I looked over to see Alana behind the camera, waving at me and Angela, the interviewer.

Angela leaned towards me. "Would it be alright to have her on?"

I looked over at Alana once more. "I think she'll be okay with that" I took off my head set, motioning for her to come towards us.

"Hi love" She smiled, squishing my cheeks in the process. I smiled, hugging her by her waist.

I raised my head to look at her. "Alana, honey. This is Angela. She wants to know if you'd go on the show"

Alana waved at her, her eyes turning bright. "I'd love to"

"Great!" Angela clapped, motioning at someone to get Alana a microphone and headphones.

Alana sat beside me on a black cushioned chair, grabbing the head set that was given to her and positioned the microphone so it was closer to her on the table.

The camera man started rolling the tapes again and Angela spoke. "We are now back and this time we have Shawn's fiancee, Alana Sinclair. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing wonderful" Alana responded. "Thank you for letting me on here"

"Thank you for coming on. You just recently joined Shawn and I here at the studio. We were talking about your engagement; congratulations by the way. I wanted to ask if you had any worries about getting into a relationship with Shawn"

"Thank you" Alana smiled again. "I uh. He doesn't know this but I had many many worries, especially at the very beginning. Obviously, I am a regular person and he is the one and only Shawn Mendes. I was very scared that I wasn't good enough for him and that his fan base was going to hate me. In the long run, I had nothing to worry about. He's an angel and so are his fans"

"I don't think I'm good enough for you" I whispered into the microphone. Alana shook her head at me.

"You two are adorable" Angela said. "I noticed that Alana called you 'love' when she came in. Do you two have any more cute nicknames for each other?"

"She has plenty for me" I said.

"I really do. Love, love bug, silly goose, muffin. The list goes on and on"

Angela continued to ask questions about the wedding, our relationship, new music, etc. After about thirty minutes, the interview ended and Alana and I went to my Jeep.

Alana buckled her seat belt as I did the same, then turned on the car, backing out of the parking lot and driving to our next destination.

I held my palm out to her and she grabbed it with her left hand, holding it. I fiddled with the engagement ring on her ring finger. "So" She spoke up. "Where to next?"

"We are going to the studio to meet Teddy because I've been inspired to write lately"

"Teddy. As in Geiger?"

"Mhm"

"I can't believe you haven't introduced me to her yet. She's an icon"

I chuckled. "She's been super busy writing her own music and I've been on tour so we haven't had time to sit down and write music together"

Shawn and I walked into this cozy room with couches and pillows scattered in the middle, the studio equipment against the left side of the large room. After I took in the cozy room, I heard a woman's voice scream from the guitar rack at the right wall. I looked over and it was Teddy.

She sprinted towards Shawn and I and engulfed me in a warm hug. She let go, placing her hands on my shoulders. "Alana Sinclair. It is so good to finally meet you"

I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Teddy Geiger. I am honored to finally meet you" She chuckled, letting go and faced towards Shawn. "Why haven't you introduced me to her? It's been how long? A year since you guys started dating?"

"Just about" I nodded my head.

Shawn's eyes widened, then he shrugged. "I don't know. We've all have been so busy"

"A lame excuse, Mendes" Teddy walked over to the couch, sat down, then picked up a notebook and a pen that was already on the wooden coffee table. Shawn and I followed, sitting on the soft grey couch across from the one she was sitting on.

"Spill your guts" She said, picking up her pen.

"I'm really happy. I want to write a love song" Shawn smiled.

"When do you not?" She replied.

"True. I want this one to be different. Catchy, smooth, vibey, and a hint of something special"

"That something special being?"

"I don't know yet. I just want it to be different"

"Okay" Teddy began writing stuff down on her notebook. "I think I can work with that. Anything specific you want to talk about?"

This whole writing process between Shawn and Teddy continued for what seemed like hours but it was interesting to see how a song is able to come to life in such a short amount of time. Two people talking about their feelings results in the creation of a masterpiece.

After they finished the lyrics, they went to the instruments and recorded the background music and the beat for the song. I watched from the comfortable couch as they messed with and recorded different images, layering over different audios and adding to the instrumental.

After a couple of hours, the lyrics and the beats of the song were complete and all that was left was to record the song. Shawn went to the sound booth, putting on a head set and positioning himself in front of the huge microphone. Teddy sat at the front of the booth, in front of a large array of buttons and switches.

Shawn sang each verse and the chorus of the song multiple times, replaying it over and over until he sang it perfectly to his standards. He placed his headphones around his neck, walked out of the sound booth, to go to Teddy.

"I feel like it's missing something" He said.

"It sounds perfect to me"

"I don't know. It's lacking that something special"

"Well. Why don't you rest for a bit and let it come to you"

He nodded his head, heading towards the couch I was on, and laid his head on my lap. Teddy spun around on the chair she was sitting on until her eyes landed on me. "Hey, Alana. Have you ever tried singing in a sound booth before?"

I shook my head. "No. I haven't"

"You sing, don't you? Why don't you try it out?"

"Sure!" I placed a pillow under Shawn's head as I stood up, then walked towards the sound booth. Teddy handed me a pair of headphones as I walked into the booth. I put on the headphones. "What do I sing?" I asked her through the microphone since it allowed her to hear me from the other side.

"Anything, really. I have some instrumentals from Ruin if you want"

"That's good"

"Alright. Just tell me when you're ready and I'll start it"

I put on the headphones and gave her a thumbs up, signaling that I was ready. The guitar at the beginning started to play and I sung when it reached that point. "Do you. Do you think about me?" I sang in the mic, the sound of my voice going through into the headphones I was wearing.

It was the middle of the song and Teddy stopped the music. "I hate to cut you short" She shouted through the glass window. "But can you come here for a second?"

I nodded my head, taking off the headphones and walked out of the sound booth. "Was I really that bad?" I scrunched my nose.

Teddy's eyes widened. "No, absolutely not. You sound amazing, which is why I called you. Do you know the lyrics to the song Shawn and I just wrote?"

"Yeah. I memorized it after he sung it a million times"

"Okay. I wanted to try something real quick. Can you go in and sing the second verse?"

"Mhm" I walked back into the sound booth and put on my headphones. Teddy turned on the music and I sung the second verse of the song. As I sang, I watched as Shawn slowly rose up from the couch then walked towards Teddy and the sound booth.

"Ted" He whispered once I was finished.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She looked up at him.

"Yeah. I think so"

I walked out of the booth, curious about what they were talking about. "What are you guys thinking about?" I asked.

"Alana" Teddy spoke up. "We think you're the 'something special' that Shawn's been looking for"

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? There's no way. I'm not even that good"

Teddy widened her eyes at me. "Absolute lies. Your voice is perfect"

"Let's just record the song together and if you don't like it, then we'll leave you out" Shawn pleaded. "Is that okay with you?"

I shrugged. "I guess" We both went back into the sound booth and we spent the next hour or so, figuring out who sings what and repeatedly recording bits and pieces over and over again.

After about eight hours of being in the studio, it was eleven at night and Shawn, Teddy, and I had finally finished recording the song. We all sat down on the grey couches and Teddy pressed play on the remote that activated the speakers to play the song.

"What do you think" Shawn asked once the song was finished.

"It's actually really good" I nodded my head.

"So" Teddy spoke. "You're willing to release it?"

I nodded my head. "If that's okay with you guys"

Shawn smiled widely at us. "I knew you'd agree"

"How does this all work?"

"Well" Teddy said. "We arrange a date. Mostly likely in five to six months from now. We can add final touches and whatnot. We'll release it as a single. If you want, you can join Shawn on his radio interviews to promote the song but it's recommended that you do since you're being featured"

"That sounds like a lot of fun"

"You're in?" Shawn said as he and Teddy both looked at me eagerly.

"In on what?"

"The music industry" Teddy frantically said.

"This is just one song. I don't think that it could affect anything"

"Oh, honey. Once the world hears you and this song, things will get crazy"