This is something different! An "Across the Universe" fic . . . Alrighty then . . . haha. Don't worry, real Beatles songs will be used, and they will be relevant. Read it, love it, enjoy it, all that jazz. I do own the characters, but not the names, or the music itself (unfortunately). Enjoy!

Chapter One: I've Got a Feeling

To be completely frank, this wasn't a normal day. Rocky Marvin knew this. Something odd was lingering in the air, and he was the one to figure this one out. No one else was to do it. He had to do it, or it would bother him to no end. As he sat at his kitchen table, eating away at the morning's breakfast, he felt the large pit in his stomach get larger by the tossed his spoon into the bowl, and sighed heavily. Casually, he looked out the window, seeing the bright sunshine stream into the window to meet his eye. Considering the time in the morning, the sun was bright, and stung his eyes. Rocky moved his chair closer to the table and put his head in his hands. What was this?

"This isn't right." Rocky said finally, breaking the long silence that had engulfed the room.

He moved his chair out again.

To fully understand Rocky, and his strange feeling, you have to understand his life. He's 18 years old, that alone causes some issues. You're young, about to leave the home that you've known since you where in diapers. Physical changes have been taking place since as long as you can remember. Rocky was in a steady relationship, too. That can create some issues, as well. Anna was her name. Anna. In his biased opinion, the best name possible for a female. If that's the case, then, she was beautiful. That, though is not a biased opinion. It was a fact. Long, brown hair, light green eyes. . . . Besides that fact, she was kind, talented, honest . . . the list went on. Rocky knew that she loved him, and it was mutual. Words couldn't describe how crazy he was for her. It wasn't just for her looks, though.

Now, back to his situation. Anna and him were in an odd phase. Nothing too serious, though. Soon, they would be going off to college, and be separated until Thanksgiving. It was mid-July, so it was somewhat far away, but just close enough. Anna had been discussing their relationship after high school. It consisted of the romantic, get married after high school, fall deeper in love, have a couple of kids, then live in a cul-de-sac. Not what Rocky expected. Rocky wanted to go to college, get an education, get a job, and then talk about marriage and housing. He wanted to see what college would do to the both of them. To him, they were only 18, so they needed to act like it.

He was a realist. She was a romanticist.

Needless to say, the pit was getting larger. He wanted to tell her how he felt. He didn't understand what to do. His life seemed like it was spinning out of control. Rocky got up, and sighed. He looked around the kitchen and sighed again. He needed to change this, but how? Nothing was working. She wasn't just going to change for him, just because he had cold feet. It wasn't even that. He loved Anna, but he didn't know if commitment was the right thing just yet. He walked into his room. There you would find scattered assignments from the previous year, books, clothes, but more importantly, pictures of Anna. He had scrounged quite a collection. He almost wanted to try talking to them, and see what would happen. It was almost a rehearsal for what he might say. . . After a long pause, there was a loud knock at his front door. Rocky nearly jumped out of his skin. He leaped off his bed, and tore down the stairs to see who it was. It was John.

John was Rocky's best friend. They had known each other since pre-school, and were always together. With them, people who didn't know any better would've thought they were either brothers, or gay. The former, though, wasn't too far from the truth.

"Well, my man . . ." John said, plopping down on the sofa in the living room. "It's only a month and a half until we hit the university. Crazy, huh? I never was one for college, but, gotta make the man happy, right?"

"Not always." Rocky stated, joining him on the couch.

"You're right, dammit!" John exclaimed. "Maybe we should just say, 'to hell with college!', and live our own lives."

"Did you just come here to convince me to not get an education?" Rocky asked.

"Maybe."

"Well, I won't have any, thanks." He continued. "I feel that it's somewhat of a requirement nowadays to further one's education."

"Jesus, Rocky, you're starting to sound like President Nixon talking about the war. . ." John stated, bluntly. "What else you've got planned this summer, besides sticking it to the man?"

Rocky got up and glared at John, then smiled. He knew that John was just as eager to go to college as he was. Maybe not for the same reason, though. John was a wild one, always had been, always will be. John's idea of a fun night was described as, doing nothing, and occasionally getting wasted. Rocky's? Reading. Quite the contrast, don't you think? John loved the idea of freedom, as well. College to him was a liberating thing, and that made him happy.

"John, let me put it to you this way." Rocky began. "Three months from now, if the draft starts up again, we'll be safe."

John paused. Pondered this for a second.

"Screw you, Marvin." He laughed. "I hate it when you're right."

"I know."

"Screw you again." John stood up, walked over to a table and picked up a picture of Rocky and Anna. "How are you two doing? Still the fresh, little, love-birds?"

"Yeah, kind of." Rocky replied. "It's kinda slow now that we're going to college."

He sat for a second, contemplating the situation as he explained it.

"She wants to get married."

"No shit!"

"Yes sir, she does."

"What are you gonna do?" John asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't know." Rocky said.

"Is she pressuring you?" John asked.

"Kind of."

"That's not healthy, man." John continued. "You do love her, don't you? I mean, that's kinda required in a situation like this. . ."

"Of course I do." Rocky said. "It's just. . . I just don't know."

"Cold feet?" John asked, timidly.

"Kind of." Rocky sighed. "I just have something in my head, and in my stomach, that's not really helping any . . ."

"Thinking too much?"

"Maybe."

Rocky got up from the couch and took the picture from John. He looked at her face, and her glowing eyes. Even in the black and white, he could see the bright green. John put his hand on Rocky's shoulder, and sat back down. I've never felt like this before. Thoughts kept swimming in his head, confusing him even more. Is it worth it? I do love her, though. . .

Finally, it came to him.

"Something in my head." He repeated.

I've Got a Feeling, a feeling deep inside, Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah!
I've Got a Feeling, a feeling I can't hide, Oh, no. Oh, no!
Yeah! I've Got a Feeling!

He threw down the picture, almost speaking to her.

Oh please believe, I'd hate to miss the train, Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah!
And if you leave me, I won't be late again, Oh, no. Oh, no!

Yeah, I've Got a Feeling!

All these years I've been wandering around!
Wondering how come nobody told me,
All that I was looking for was somebody
Who looked like you!

I've Got a Feeling, that keeps me on my toes, Oh, yeah!
I've Got a Feeling, I think that everybody knows, Oh, yeah!
Yeah! I've Got a Feeling!

From the other side of town, unknown to Rocky, Anna was joining in:

Everybody had a hard year. Everybody had a good time.
Everybody had a wet dream. Everybody saw the sunshine
Oh yeah, Oh yeah.

Everybody had a good year. Everybody let their hair down.
Everybody pulled their socks up. Everybody put their foot down
Oh yeah, Oh yeah.

I've Got a Feeling, a feeling deep inside.
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah!
I've Got a Feeling, a feeling I can't hide.
Oh, no. Oh, no!
Yeah! I've Got a Feeling!

Rocky picked up the picture, and sighed. He sat down on the couch and looked at John.

"Yeah. I do love her." He said, finally.

"What're you gonna do?" John asked.

"I'm gonna propose. Tonight."

Whaddya think? I enjoyed writing this one. Considering I'm a Beatles freak . . . . Trust me, more will be given! If you like, tell me, please! :D