"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" I yelled into the house, hauling in my suitcase with Shawn following behind me. After New York, Shawn and I went straight to California for my niece, Layla's, fifth birthday.

Silence. I walked more into the house and walked into the kitchen, leaving Shawn at the front door. Nobody seemed to be home so I went back.

"I don't think anyone's home. Do you want to go pay Elle a visit?"

"Sounds good" Shawn smiled. We left our suitcases in the guest room upstairs then went into my dark grey Jeep Wrangler. I turned on the engine and started heading towards Elle's house.

I parked in her driveway then Shawn and I got out of the car, and walked to her front door. I rang the doorbell and waited for her to answer.

Commotion could be heard from the other side of the door until it finally opened. The other side revealed a man wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist. "Hi. May I help you?"

I looked up at Shawn as he looked down at me then looked back at the strange man in my friend's home.

"Um. Is Elle home?"

"Ah. Mi amore? Why yes, she's in the tub. Why do you ask?"

I nodded my head, confused. "Can you um. Can you tell her that Alana's here?"

"Sure thing" He said, closing the door in front of us.

I pointed to the door, then looked back up at Shawn. "Did you see that?"

He nodded his head, one of his eyebrows raised. "Yeah. I did. Do you know who that was?"

"No clue"

All of a sudden, the door bursts open, revealing Elle in a white bathrobe, hair in a messy bun. "Alana! Shawn! You're here!" She jumped up and down, pulling us both in for a hug. We walked into her house, sitting down on the couch in her living room.

"So. What brings you two home?"

"Layla's birthday" Shawn answered.

"She's growing up so fast, isn't she?"

I looked around the room, no evidence of the strange man to be found. "Uh, Elle?"

"Hmm?" She asked, looking at me.

"Who was the guy who answered the door?"

Her eyes widened, lips turning to a grin. "That's Timothy. My boyfriend!"

"Oh. That's Timothy?! Why am I only meeting him now?"

"I'm sorry, Alana. I'm not the one who left her life behind to go off with Mr. Prince Charming over here and live Happily Ever After"

"Well, I guess that I'm sorry. I'm not the one who hasn't been calling her best friend back so we can have our weekly discussions"

"Woah, girls. I think we should all calm down a bit" Shawn's eyes widened with concern.

Elle and I both looked at each other and started laughing.

"What? What is it?" Shawn asked.

"That's what we do" Elle caught her breath. "We banter about things that people would usually get mad at"

"You two have an odd friendship"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I think it's more of a sister-ship"

"Definitely" Elle agreed, nodding her head.

The door to Elle's bedroom opened, causing us all to look up. Timothy walked out and towards us, finally wearing some clothes, a white shirt and grey sweatpants.

"Alana, Shawn. This is Timothy. Timmy, this is my best friend, Alana, and her fiance, Shawn" He reached over from the seat next to the couch, shaking both of our hands.

"Hey" He spoke up and pointed to Shawn. "You look familiar"

"A lot of people say that" He nodded his head as Timothy continued to look at him.

"What do you say your name was again?"

"Shawn"

"Mendes?" His eyes widened.

Shawn chuckled. "Yeah. People are always so shocked when they find out. It's humorous"

"How could they not?" I spoke up. "Look at you. You're gorgeous"

"Not as gorgeous as you" Shawn smiled.

"You guys will never get over the honeymoon phase, will you?" Elle lifted her eyebrows.

I chuckled. "The honeymoon phase?"

"Yeah. The "We can't keep our hands off each other" phase"

"Ahh" I nodded my head, looking up at Shawn. "I guess not, huh?"

"Never" Shawn smiled, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

--------------------

"Uncle Shawn!" Layla yelled as we went through the door into my parent's house. She ran up to him, engulfed him in a bear hug, and was lifted up, holding tight around his neck.

"Hi sweetie" He smiled, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Grandma and grandpa got me a new tea set! Can you play with me?"

"Of course I will"

I scoffed, my eyes widening. I rested my left arm on Shawn's shoulder, gently grabbing Layla's cheeks and squished them together. "Did you forget about Auntie Alana?"

"No. I didn't" She said, reaching over to give me a hug but went back to Shawn shortly after.

Shawn set her down and she grabbed his hand, pulling him into the living room. I walked into the kitchen where my parents were sitting at the table, drinking coffee.

"Alana! You're home! Where's Shawn?" My dad was the first to notice me.

I went up to the both of them, giving them hugs, then sat down at the table, next to my dad and across from my mom. "Layla stole him from me. Where's Elena?"

"She and Josh are setting up for the party tomorrow" My mom spoke.

"So. How are things going in Canada?" My dad asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Pretty good. We have everything pretty much finalized. We're sending invitations for the wedding next week"

"We missed you sweetie. Some of us more than others" She took a glance at my father.

"It's been hard not having my basketball person here to watch the games with me" He pouted.

"Don't worry, dad. I've missed that too. I've missed all of you"

-----------------------

The moon's light creeped through the blinds, allowing a little bit of brightness into the room. Shawn and I laid on the large bed, engulfed in the creme-colored duvet. He held onto my left hand, fiddling with the ring on my finger. I was about to say something when I heard soft sounds at the door.

"Do you hear that, love bug?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh. Listen" We waited for the sound to come back again and sure enough, they did. I pulled the duvet off my legs, turned on the lamp on the nightstand, and walked towards the door, opening it to reveal Layla with her stuffed bear.

"Hi sweetie. What's wrong?" Layla was staying at my parents' house for the night while Elena and Josh finished up the party stuff.

"I know Uncle Shawn tucked me in and everything but would it be okay if I slept with you tonight?"

"Of course" I picked her up in my arms and brought her to the middle of the king-sized bed, placing her in-between Shawn and I.

"Hey Layla" Shawn grinned. "What's going on?"

"I'm scared being alone by myself" She frowned. "Grandpa told me there were no monsters under my bed but he likes to trick me sometimes and I usually sleep with Mommy and Daddy anyways"

"Well you're more than welcome here" Shawn gave her a fist bump.

"Close your eyes, hun" I whispered, continuously brushing her hair behind her ear like I used to when she was younger.

I felt a pair of eyes staring at me so I looked up. I gave Shawn a small grin and he returned it. "Do you want to close your eyes too, love bug?"

He chuckled softly. "Only if you tuck my hair behind my ear"

Layla opened one of her eyes. "Heyyy. Don't steal her away from me"

Shawn and I snorted. "He won't steal me away. Come on, close your eyes" I planted a kiss at the top of her head. She closed her eyes, the sounds of her soft breathing were the only noises in the room.

"You're great with kids, do you know that?" Shawn whispered.

"Eh. I haven't really been around any kids besides this booger" I answered back.

"Hey I heard that" Layla furrowed her eyebrows.

"Shhh, child. You're supposed to be sleeping"

"Fine" She pouted her lips once again then opened both of her eyes completely. "Before I go to bed, is it okay if I ask a question?"

"That's fine. What's up?"

"You and Uncle Shawn are getting married, right?"

I smiled. "Yes we are"

"Does that mean I'm going to get cousins?"

I raised my eyebrows and looked over at Shawn. "I mean. Maybe?"

Shawn grinned. "Oh definitely"

Layla smiled to herself. "Good. I want little people to play with. No offense to you Uncle Shawn. It's just that sometimes you take all the tea so Mr. Snuggles here," She squished her bear in her arms. "can't have any"

"Well I'm sorry, Mr. Snuggles" Shawn apologized. "I'll share next time"

I looked over at the wall across from the bed, looking at the time displayed on the wall. 10:57.

"Hey, Layla. I think it's time to go to bed"

She frowned but agreed. "Alright. Good night Uncle Shawn and Auntie Lana"

"Good night sweet cheeks" I squished her cheeks and planted a kiss on them.

Right as I was sure she was asleep, her left eye opened. "I'm sorry. I can't sleep. Can you sing me one of your songs Uncle Shawn?"

He softly grinned. "Yeah. What do you want to hear?"

"Can you do the one that goes 'baby tell me when you're ready' or something like that"

"Of course" He began to sing. "Maybe I had too many drinks, but that's just what I needed..."

-------------------

"Baby tell me when you're ready I'm waiting', I'm waitin'". Shawn completed the song then looked up at me. "Is she asleep?"

I pressed my hand on her forehead to see if she would make any movement. "I think she's asleep" I nodded. "Thank you for singing to her. And letting her sleep in here"

Shawn gave me a look of bewilderment. "You're crazy. There's no need for a 'thank you'. I love being around Layla"

"Makes you wanna have kids, huh?"

He nodded his head with a chuckle. "Absolutely. But alas, we are still young and need to live a little before settling down"

"This ring here says otherwise" I lifted up my ring to show him.

He pointed at it. "Now that, that is an exception. I want to live a little with you"

I smiled. "Quick question. Why did you propose so early? People are always asking why we're getting married so young and I never really know what to say"

"Well, you see here, Alana. It just felt right, you know? Most of the things I do, I do because I felt like it was the right thing to do at the time. For example, the time I jumped on stage but underestimated the height between the stage and the ground and ended up falling on my ass"

"That was a truly exceptional moment" I softly laughed.

"Me proposing to you super early was a decision that not only felt right, but also worked out in the end. You did say yes after all"

I nodded my head, reaching my hand over to 'boop' his nose. "Go to sleep, love. We have a big day tomorrow"

"Will you sing me to sleep, Auntie Alana?"

I scrunched my nose. "Auntie Alana only sounds cute coming from Layla"

"Yeah. I regretted it the second it came out of my mouth"

I grinned, softly singing the first verse of Shawn and I's song that was coming out in November.

Shawn interrupted me before being able to sing the chorus. He placed a hand on my arm. "Have we ever decided a name for this song?"

"I don't think we have" I shook my head.

"How about 'Soulmates'?"

"Soulmates" I repeated, biting my bottom lip. "Sounds good"