And another chapter for you! This is the longest yet, almost 8000 words (that's about 10 pages in Word I just discovered XD). I wrote the whole chapter in an hour, but was stuck on the last half a page for weeks. What're you gonna do, eh? Hope you will like it, READ AND REVIEW!


I woke up very slowly. Light was prickling my eyelids, but I was laying too comfortable to open them yet. Then I realized that there was a blanket on top of me. I had fallen asleep with only a towel to huddle under, but a thick plush-y duvet was covering me now. And then, at last, I realized that two arms were snaked around my waist.

I screamed and jumped up, knocking the stranger off the bed in the process. 'Bloody hell, Marit, calm down!' John yelled, rubbing his eyes. He made no move to stand up from the floor, but he just took the blanket and lay on top of it, closing his eyes.

'Don't tell me that!' I shrieked at him. 'What fuck do you think you were doing!?' I yelled and he opened one eye in annoyance. 'Polly had to leave for work and the bed was cold without her, so I thought you could use a blanket and we might as well share.' He said nonchalantly, trying to make light of it, but I was not having it.

'Think twice next time, because next time I'll knock your teeth out!' I hissed. John now did open his eyes all the way, sitting upright. 'Are you trying to threaten me?' He asked me, his voice low and his face dark. I didn't feel intimidated. 'I'm not threatening you, I'm warning you. If you do it again, I'll knock your teeth out.' I stated.

For a few seconds the air in the room was incredibly tense and neither of us said anything and just stared at each other with narrowed eyes but then my curiosity won it from my fury. 'Who is Polly anyway?' I asked.

The anger seemed to flow out of John immediately and his shoulders relaxed. He shrugged. 'The girl from last night, you remember?' He said and I nodded thoughtfully. I did remember her. 'The blonde? Was she any good?' I asked obnoxiously and John raised his eyebrows at me. 'Not really.' He admitted after a moment.

I smirked at that, walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. 'I'm taking a shower, stay out!' I yelled. I heard John murmur something back and I shouted a warning 'JOHN!' and then he shouted back 'Yeah yeah, okay!'.

I took a quick shower, feeling two days' worth of grime fall off me and then stepped out. I reached for the towel and then realized that I had used it as a blanket. I looked for another one around the bathroom, but the owners had provided us with only one.

I swore loudly in Dutch and then bit my lip. I opened the door an inch and looked at my bed, seeing it laying prominently in the middle. John was sitting on his own bed, looking through the phonebook. 'John, could you hand me the towel? Please?' I asked nervously.

John looked up and saw me looking through the crack of the door. The all too familiar smirk crept onto his face. 'Oh, you need one then?' He asked me and I sighed. 'Yes John, I need one and if you could be ever so kind to hand it to me, I'd be..-' I began but John interrupted me. 'Oi, don't be snarky with me!' He said laughing, leaning over and picking up the towel, throwing it over to me. I caught it, sticking out my bare arm, retracting it as quick as I could again, slamming the door shut.

Ten minutes later I came out of the bathroom again, fully clothed and combing my hair with my hands. 'I need a comb!' I said annoyed, looking at my reflection in the window. 'You can borrow mine.' John said but I made a face. 'The one you smear in the grease with? Don't be gross.' I rejected him. He rolled his eyes.

We went down for breakfast after. Or lunch, as it was already almost one in the afternoon. We were in luck, because apparently both the owners were already asleep when both John and I got back to the hotel, which spared us a lot of embarrassment. Mrs Dwelling, the owner's wife, had made a big lunch in the dining room and all the tenants were sitting around the table, some of them talking, some of them just staring at their plate.

'Remember love, we're married.' John whispered to me, pulling me closer by the waist. 'I'll remember.. If you remember what I'd do to your teeth.' I whispered back. John made a face at me, but his hand moved to my back instead of my waist.

'Oh the newlyweds!' Mrs Dwelling called out and the entire table looked up. My face reddened and a smug smile appeared on John's face, which I wiped off with an elbow in the ribs. I saw a few eyebrows around the dining table rise when they saw us, probably not vast asleep like Mr and Mrs Dwelling when John had stumbled in drunkenly with two girls hanging off his arms.

'Good morning Mrs Dwelling..' I murmured, sitting down. John sat down next to me, reaching for the butter. 'Oh, that reminds me, you should still register at the front office. If you could just come by after lunch?' Mrs Dwelling asked and because John's mouth was full, I answered. 'Yes of course Mrs Dwelling.' I said.

We had a quick breakfast and we registered at the front desk. We put ourselves down as Mr and Mrs John Goofenhaussmirtz, which John got a great kick out of. For the rest of the day we lazily walked around town. I told him we would have to visit a museum the next day. He only laughed, thinking I was joking. He wouldn't know what hit him the day after.

Around dinner time we went and bought a bottle of wine and a couple of things to snack on by means of dinner. We didn't have the budget to just eat out when we wanted. I thought of the 500 pounds in my bag, but I shook my head. I needed to be careful with that money. I didn't have a job and had to stay around for a hell of a lot longer.

John put his arm over my shoulder as we walked into the hotel and we nodded at the smiling Mrs Dwelling pleasantly. I pushed his arm off when we were out of sight. In the room I threw the paper bag with groceries at his bed. 'There..' I said. 'You get first pick.' I offered him and he took out an apple, rubbing it against his plaid shirt. 'An apple? That's a boring choice!' I said, taking out a box of what were called Cherry Sours. John laughed. 'Oh, don't worry, I'll be right behind you!' He said, taking a slobbering bite of the green Granny Smith apple.

He then leaned backwards, rummaging in his bag and took out a deck of cards. 'Come on, I'll play you for the duvet tonight.' He said. We still hadn't asked for extra. I grinned inwardly, putting up a bewildered face. 'Play? Like poker?' I asked him innocently and I saw his mouth set into a smirk. 'Yeah, don't worry love, I'll go easy on you.' He said and I nodded appreciatively. On the inside I was cheering. He was so dead.

I killed at cards. I had spent many years in the shady backrooms of clubs and there you basically learn how to play cards like a pro. But even there I had been exceptional. They used to call me the Queen of Hearts when I played the gambling tables in the illegal circuits of black market Amsterdam. I was under-aged after all. I wasn't technically allowed to join in, so it had to be the illegal circuits, otherwise I couldn't join at all.

'So, you want me to explain the rules to you?' He asked me and I smiled, nodding, keeping up my inexperienced little dunce charade. It turned out he didn't really know the rules that well and I would softly correct him once in a while, saying stuff like; 'But doesn't the Flush beat the Straight?' and he would scratch his head and say; 'Oh, yes, perhaps it does. I was thinking of the Straight Flush..' After he was done explaining the rules to me, I got into basic poker mode, holding the cards in reverse order so he wouldn't know what cards I was holding.

Poker with just two people was called Heads Up and was often considered far more difficult, mostly because there was a smaller chance of hitting a good hand. We'd play it tournament style instead of with cold hard cash and you'd play it till there was a winner.

After half an hour I began to become suspicious. John had been having winning hands for the last twenty minutes, something that should be highly unlikely. He just had to be cheating. I tried to keep my narrowed eyes at him, but I couldn't quite catch him doing anything out of the order.

'You're really good at this game, aren't you John?' I asked him nonchalantly, folding. He winked at me. 'Well, it's just your first time playing.. You'll get the hang of it eventually.' He said. He laid down his hand smugly, showing me his Five of a Kind. 'Ha!' I called out, pointing at him.

'You are a cheating bastard!' I accused him, gesturing towards the Aces in front of me. He spluttered. 'Am not!' He disagreed, but I saw something tugging on his mouth. I threw down the hand I had folded. I almost had a Full House, with three Jacks, but having a heart 5 and a heart Ace. I pointed at my Ace and then at his. 'Then explain the five Aces to me!' I called out. John bit his lip, now obviously trying not to smile but failing and put his hands in the air.

'If we were going to play a rigged game, you should've told me! I could at least get my crooked cards out as well!' I said with a laugh. John furrowed his brow. 'What? You can actually play?' He asked me and I punched his shoulder, gathering the cards and hustling them up expertly. 'Are you kidding me? I'm the Queen of the cards!' I said.

John just stared at me for a moment and then started laughing a roaring laugh. 'You are actually good at poker?' He asked me and I raised my eyebrows at him, flipping the cards from one hand to the other. 'We could play something else if you want? Blackjack, pinochle, whist, Texas hold'em, Casino, bridge, whatever you'd like.. And this time we're playing for the blanket.' I said and John looked impressed. 'Let's just stay with poker..' He said hesitantly. I nodded and started parting the cards, hustling them one last time.

It was a wise choice of John's to stay with poker because he had the most chance of winning in poker, as poker was very much a game of chance, more so than probably any other card game. Before I dealt the cards I looked at him pointedly. 'Seriously John, you are only allowed to play rigged if you give some of your extra cards to me.' I said. He made a face at him but I ignored it and gestured to his sleeve. 'Come on, empty it out.' I said.

He sighed as if I had done him some great wrong and then unbuttoned his sleeve, reaching in and drawing out almost half a packet of high cards, like Aces, Kings and Queens. I laughed. 'You're not much of a card player, but you're a hell of a crook!' I told him and he grinned at me. 'You shouldn't have kept throwing in the high cards in a Heads Up poker game. It's rare for it to happen once or twice, never mind six times! You're lucky you're under friends.' I said.

'Oh please..' He said. 'What would you have done?' He asked me sceptically and I narrowed my eyes at him, dealing the cards blind. 'The places where I used to play would tie you to a bike and throw the bike in the canal if they caught you cheating.' I said and John frowned at me. 'Where the hell did you play then?' He asked me and I picked up my hand, shrugging, sorting the cards in a pleasing order.

'Oh you know. In the back of clubs and stuff.' I said evasively. He didn't want to drop it though, not picking up his hand. I hid behind my cards, putting much more thought into them than I would normally do. 'No, I don't know, explain.' He said demandingly.

I huffed, looking up from my cards. 'I won't.' I said. John put his cards aside. 'I won't play before you do.' He said and I looked from his cards to his face and back again. 'Hey, don't just..-' I began but John interrupted me. 'Listen, Stu and I took you in our flat without any questions, but enough of that. I want to know more about you.' He said and I frowned. 'Don't be such a girl.' I tried to side-track him but he just grimaced at me, saying nothing.

I glared at him, putting down my own cards as well, standing up. 'I'll just take the blanket then.' I said, picking up the blanket and walking to my own bed. I snuggled down underneath, turning my back to John and I heard John sigh tiredly. 'Maaaaaariiiiiiiiiiit!' he said in a whiny voice. I ignored him, taking a particular interest to a stain on the lavender wallpaper.

It was quiet for a few moments but then I heard John get up and I presumed he was going to the bathroom, but suddenly his heavy weight pressed down on me and I realized he sat on me. 'Jesus, fuck, you're fat!' I yelled out and John poked me in disagreement.

'What's the fucking problem anyway? Why can't you just tell me a bit about yourself?' He asked me, not getting off. I wheezed. 'None of your business!' I managed to get out and John wiggled a bit, making it even more painful and uncomfortable. 'Okay, okay!' I cried out. John stopped wiggling. 'Okay what?' He asked and I took a deep breath. 'Okay, I'll tell you.. A bit.' I said.

John gave me another wiggle for good measure but then got off, settling down at the foot of my bed, crossing his ankles as he spread his legs across the bed. I sat up a tiny bit so I could look at him and he watched me expectantly. 'What do you want to know?' I asked defensively. John shrugged. 'Where did you grow up?' He asked. I frowned at him. 'You know that. Amsterdam.' I said. He shook his head. 'No, but what kind of neighbourhood? What's your family like? That sort of stuff..' He elaborated and I pursed my lips a bit.

'Well, I grew up beside a canal near the city centre. It was an okay neighbourhood. At night there was a bit of a rowdy youth hanging around, but if you lived there you didn't have much to do with them.' I said vaguely. 'I have two parents and no siblings.' I said, very much evading real answers. John wasn't stupid though.

'Aw, come on Marit! Just tell me! I promise I won't tell anybody.' He said and I bit my lip. 'I don't know what you're talking about.' I lied and he groaned, falling forward, his head leaning on my legs. 'Marit, what kind of kid learns to play poker in the back of a club with people who apparently throw you into a canal if you don't play nice and proper? And your mum? The other night you said she was a chef? What happened to her?' He asked.

I let myself flop back down, burying my face in my pillow. 'My mum..' I began hesitantly. 'My parents aren't around anymore.' I said eventually and I was aware of what that sounded like. However, saying that was easier than telling him I had left them in the year 2013. I looked up from my pillow and I saw John stare at me with a stony expression. 'I'm sorry.' He said after a while and I shrugged. 'They were never really around to be honest.' I tried to divert. 'I was one of the most difficult teenagers imaginable but they just couldn't care.' I said.

I stayed silent for a moment but when John didn't say anything either, I decided to just talk on. 'I was about thirteen when I started drinking. I'm not sure why, because I wasn't really supposed to I think. I knew other kids would get in trouble if they did and I was sort of hoping I would too. I wanted the attention I didn't get.' I told John thoughtlessly. 'I didn't come home for several nights in a row and I'd make friends with really bad people.' I murmured, retreating back into my memories.

It was a bit hard remembering certain parts, not only because a lot of them weren't pleasant, but more so because I drank so much then. I could literally not remember.

'I was sixteen when I realized my parents hadn't done anything to stop me yet and just really didn't care about what happened to me and I was sick of not remembering the night before and being sick in the street and just being like that.' I sighed and I sat up, throwing back the duvet.

'If you promise not to try something, we can share the duvet.' I said to John and he nodded solemnly, climbing in next to me, pulling the blanket over him. We both sat upright in bed, staring off into the nothingness of our own thoughts.

'My mum's dead as well..' John said after a while and I looked at him sideways. 'That sucks.' I said. John nodded. 'I don't know about my dad. He can be dead also for all I care.' He told me honestly and I grabbed his hand under the blanket. I squeezed it reassuringly. 'Is that why you lived with your aunt?' I asked. John seemed to think about it but then shook his head.

'My mum.. I love her dearly, but there was a lot going on with her. I was better off with my aunt and uncle.' John said dismissively. I nodded. 'My own uncle lived next to the flat my parents and I lived in. He was the best thing in my life.' I said. John gripped my hand tighter. 'You say "was" again..' He trailed off and I scooted down a bit. 'He's gone too.' I said.

I was glad John didn't ask how because I didn't have the energy to think of anything. John scooted down as well and our shoulders were pressed into each other. 'Is it horrible of me to be happy about your misery?' He asked me suddenly and I frowned at him. 'Yes, a bit.' I said. 'Why are you happy?' I asked him and he looked at the ceiling.

'I always was the unluckiest person I knew, but now I'm not anymore.' He said and I smiled at that. 'Don't worry John. There are still far less fortunate screw-ups than us two.' I told him. We both smiled, scooting back all the way, nuzzling under the blanket. Our sides were pressed together and our hands were entwined, but other than that we weren't really touching.

I felt myself drift to sleep slowly. 'Marit?' John asked and I could hear by his voice that he was still wide awake. I made a slight noise to show I was listening. 'Are you happy?' He asked and I blinked the sleep out of my eyes unsuccessfully. 'Right now I'm not unhappy.' I said evasively.

After that John didn't ask any more questions and it didn't take long before I fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up with my arms around his waist, his own arms around my back. Our legs were tangled together. I yawned, staying in the same position for a few minutes, but then slowly retracting my arms. John stirred, pulling me a little closer. I pushed him off a bit and his arms loosened behind me.

I got up and went to have a shower. The London air was very polluted and I could just feel it sticking to my skin. When I came out of the bathroom, John was just waking up. 'Good morning!' I sang to him and he mmmh-ed at me. 'You should get up. It's almost eleven and I have plans for us!' I said and he sat up on his elbows at that, looking at me curiously. 'What kind of plans?' He asked me and I shrugged my shoulders mysteriously. 'You'll see when we get there.' I told him.

He didn't take a shower like me and only threw on a new shirt, quickly looking in the mirror to adjust his greasy Elvis-hair. 'John, your last shower was before we left for London..' I said making a face. He looked at me sideways from the mirror. 'So?' He asked me. 'That's disgusting!' I answered him. 'You better take a shower today!' I said to him. He ignored me.

I walked us out of the hotel, offering him a jelly baby from the bag we had bought the day before but hadn't had a chance in finishing yet. He took a handful, stuffing them in his mouth. 'Charming..' I commented and he tried to say something back but his mouth was too full.

'Where are we going anyway?' He asked me after we had been walking for almost ten minutes. 'It's not too far, if I remember right! Only ten minutes more and we're there!' I said to him. I hoped I remembered right, seeing as the last time I had been there was a couple of years back for me and in an entirely different century at that.

It turned out to be fifteen minutes, rather than ten and I thanked my wonderful sense of direction for knowing my way around. 'What is this?' John asked me suspiciously as we walked up the gravel path of the Natural History Museum. He looked up the impressive building. 'It looks like boring stuff happens inside.' He told me and I rolled my eyes. 'Don't worry, you'll love it.' I only said, pulling him along by his jacket, the black suede one that we had stolen out of the man's suitcase on the train.

'Wow..!' John let his mouth escape as we walked in the grand doorway and he lay eyes on the dinosaur skeleton that stood in the middle of the gigantic hallway. 'It's cool, isn't it?' I said to John, who just stood staring up at the long dead creature.

'It's a Diplodocus I think. I used to really love dinosaurs when I was a kid.' I told John and John looked away from the dinosaur and looked at me instead. 'What's this place?' He asked again and this time I answered. 'It's the Natural History Museum. I figured you wouldn't want to come if I told you in advance.' I said and John laughed. 'You got that right.' He said.

I walked on and John trailed after me. 'Don't we have to pay somewhere?' John asked me uncertainly looking around. I frowned at him. 'John, idiot, museums are free in England..' I said to him and he narrowed his eyes at me. 'No, they're not..' He said and I widened my eyes. He was right. That law had only come into order in the late nineties or so.

'Oh, stupid me, I was thinking of something else!' I said, slapping my own forehead, trying to play it off. John didn't say anything but kept his eyes narrowed at me. We found the ticket office and both got a ticket for 87p. 'You want to see dinosaurs first or the ecology department?' I asked John. 'We're going to see both, but it's pretty much a left-right situation.' I told him. John pretended to put up his thinking cap. 'Let's go left.' He said after a few seconds and I smiled. 'Dinosaurs it is!' I said happily.

We spent the entire day in the museum. John first refused to be interested in anything but after a while he couldn't help himself and pop on his glasses, leaning closer to objects. He didn't bother reading the texts but rather listened to me as I read them to him or told him of everything I could tell him about it. 'This is not really my specialty to be honest.' I said as we sat down for a minute, letting our sore feet rest. 'I used to study history, but it was humanity's history, not the Earth's.' I told John but John didn't seem to mind as he shrugged. 'You're fine.' He said and he made me smile.

At closing time we tried to hide behind a statue, but the guard found us and threw us out, not finding it nearly as funny as we did. 'Always those bloody kids..' We could hear him mutter before he slammed the door closed in our face. We heard it lock.

'Where to now?' I asked. 'I stole the whole day, so you can decide.' I told John and he looked down the street. 'Let's just go back to the hotel for now. We still have some food left, right? I'm hungry as hell!' He said and I nodded. 'Yeah, one apple and a bag of sweets..' I told him and he shrugged. 'Better than nothing. We could go out later tonight though..?' He said and I smiled at him. 'I want to go dancing!' I exclaimed and he laughed. We made our way back to the hotel quickly, both quite hungry. At the hotel there stood a surprise waiting for us though.

'Lawrence?' I asked and the boy from two nights before spun around. His face softened when he saw it was me. 'Marit! I was hoping you'd come back. They have never heard from you at the front office.' He said and I laughed, nudging John. 'Yeah, we go by a different name. What was it again, John?' I asked, looking at him.

John looked a bit suspicious of Lawrence, his eyes fixed on him, not a hint of a smile on his face. 'Was it Goobenhausmith?' I asked, elbowing him, trying to get him to smile. 'It was Goofenhausschmirtz.' John said. Still no smile. What was wrong with him? He found it the funniest thing in the world when he suggested we'd register under the name.

'So, what's up?' I asked and I saw Lawrence frown at my way of asking. 'Up?' He asked confused. I shook my head. 'Sorry, my Queen's English and American English sometimes mixes up.' I explained, realizing that this was long before international television. I basically learned English by watching the T.V. which did consist of a lot of American television. However I had always really enjoyed British comedy and as a result watched a lot of BBC as well, which made my accent while speaking turn slightly more British. My English teacher in school loved that because most students spoke with either an American accent or a Dutch accent.

'So, what can I help you with?' I asked again. Lawrence shrugged shyly. 'I was just wondering if I could take you out tonight..?' He asked hesitantly. Before I could answer John had already intervened. 'Sorry lad, we were already going out.' He said and I nodded. 'Yeah, but you could tag along if you want to? You live here, you probably know all the good places to go to!' I said and I noticed John throwing me a glare. Lawrence perked up a bit by that. 'Sure, that sounds wonderful!' He said and I smiled at him. 'Come by around eight then. We'll see you then.' I told him and I pulled a moody John along into the hotel.

I confronted John as we climbed the steep stairs towards our room. 'What was that all about? You were acting like a complete twat!' I hissed to him. He glared at me. 'He's a snooze and thanks to you we have to go out with him..' He retorted and I rolled my eyes, fishing the room key from my pocket, unlocking the door.

'He's not that bad. He's not really exciting perhaps, but he was not judgemental of me coming to London with a fellow I've only known for a week and for me that testifies a very open-minded and kind person.' I told John, throwing down my jacket and going over to my bag, zipping it open. John just huffed, letting himself fall over on his bed.

I pulled out a yellow dress from my bag. 'What do you think about this dress? For tonight I mean?' I asked John and John rolled over to look at me as I held it up against me. 'Ravishing.' He said with a bored look. I looked down. 'You're right. I do get pasty from yellow. I don't know what got into me when I bought it.' I said, throwing it back down.

The following hour was spent with me teaching him blackjack. 'I can't believe you know how to play poker but not blackjack!' I said, hustling the cards. 'I can't believe you know how to play every bloody card game ever invented!' He exclaimed in a girly voice. 'Was that supposed to be an imitation of me?' I asked him but he ignored me.

At half past seven I demanded for John to take a shower. He struggled at first but after I threatened him I'd go with Lawrence and leave him behind, he groaned and got into the bathroom, swearing as he did so.

When he got out we only had a few minutes left. I had decided to put on my yellow dress anyway because it was the only other 'dressy' dress that I had taken with me. John got out wearing a pair of jeans and a white undershirt. He got down on his knees and yanked his leather jacket from underneath the bed. 'How did it even get there?' I asked him.

Downstairs Lawrence was already waiting for us. 'Hi there, Lawrence!' I said kissing him three times on the cheeks. He looked a bit stunned, half a smile on his face. John pulled me along by my shoulders. 'Snap out of it Larry!' He called out and Lawrence shook his head, running after us. 'Sorry, we kiss three times as a greeting in the Netherlands.' I said softly to Lawrence as he walked beside us.

Lawrence took us to a nightclub much like the one we met at. The music was a little jazzier and there was less smoke hanging around and when Lawrence went to get me a drink John leaned down and said; 'Let's chuck the snore. We can get out now.'

I gave him a pointed look. 'John, you are just being intentionally mean.' I tried to say, but before I could finish the sentence John had pulled me along, dragging me with him outside the club. 'John!' I yelled, but I couldn't help but start laughing. 'Oh God, I feel so guilty!' I said as we both ran away from the club.

We rounded a corner and came to a halt in an alley. I panted, leaning against the brick wall, laughing as hard as my exhausted lungs permitted me. 'Perhaps you were right..' I admitted, looking around the corner, stupidly to check if we were being followed. 'He was a bit boring..' I said and John laughed, taking my hand in his and suddenly pulling me against him. 'Well he won't hold us back anymore..' He whispered, leaning down.

I moved out of his way expertly before he could do anything stupid and skipped out of the alley, down the street. 'Come on!' I called over my shoulder. 'We're wasting time!' I said loudly, running off. I heard his footsteps following me but didn't wait for him to catch up. I kept running until I caught sight of a Tube station.

The entrance was in the side of a big 19th century building and it had the underground logo above the entrance in stained glass. I quickly ran in and hid behind the door. John ran past me, coming to a halt in the hall, looking around for me. It wasn't really busy, it was almost nine already, but there were still people who gave John confused glances as they walked past him in and out of the station.

When his back was turned to me I began running again and pushed past him, towards the escalators that went down. I skidded to a halt as I looked down. John came to stand next to me, pulling my waist, but I pushed him off. 'The escalators are made of wood..' I said, observing them. John made another attempt for my waist but I sidestepped him, sitting on my knees and touching the wooden steps of the escalators.

'What's the big deal?' John asked annoyed. I gave the step one last tap and then got back on my feet. 'Nothing.' I said. John frowned at me in confusion. I looked around, trying to find something to distract him. 'Hey, you know what I've wanted to do since I got to England?' I said and John shook his head. 'Tell me, love..' He said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes. 'Buy new shoes.' I said and by his disappointed face I guessed that wasn't what he wanted to hear. I pointed at my feet. 'These are not exactly appropriate shoes, are they?' I said and John shrugged, already bored with the subject. 'You act like a boy and you dress like a boy.' He said and he turned around, walking out.

'Excuse me?' I called after him, trying to catch up to him. 'I don't act like a boy!' I told him. John glanced at me irritated. 'Of course you do. Constantly.' He said. 'When did I act like a boy?' I asked him indignantly. John looked a bit surprised by my anger, like he had said something completely legitimate.

'You hit me all the time. And you don't want to talk about your feelings and rubbish like that, stuff birds are always so fond of.' John said, making me frown. What was wrong with that? I didn't have the most pleasant youth and preferred not to talk about it, especially because it was forever locked away from me because of a bleeding malfunctioning time machine. To be fair, I hadn't actually told him that and I wasn't planning on it either. And I didn't hit him all the time. I gave people the occasional playful elbow in the ribs.

'Inviting me to come to London with you, while you've met me about four days earlier.' John continued and I bit my lip. 'Or-' John corrected himself with a thoughtful look '-we could call you a slag, but you don't put out, so that brings us back to a boy.' He said and although not being called a slag should make me happy, it only angered me more.

'Just because I don't put out for you, I'm considered a boy?' I hissed at him. John stopped walking and laughed. 'Well, you're not actually a boy, obviously.' He said, looking me up and down and I felt my face heat up. I groaned in annoyance and walked on. I then realized we were already in front of the hotel and I walked inside instead.

'Aw, come on love!' John called out as he walked in after me. 'Don't be mad about it!' He said. Mrs Dwelling looked at us sympathetically and it annoyed me even further to think that she thought we were married.

As we climbed the stairs John kept making only half felt attempts at soothing me. 'Marit, I don't know why you're acting like this about it, if anything, it was a compliment!' He yelled through the bathroom door as I changed into my pyjamas and brushed my teeth.

I banged the door open, almost banging him in the head and put my clothes in my bag, along with my toothbrush. I laid down on my bed, letting him have the duvet, not feeling up to fighting about that as well. John didn't seem like he was taking me seriously though. He only laughed and I heard him sit down on his own bed as I glared at the opposite wall.

'Marit, it's our last night here, it was your idea to come in the first place, and then you're being like this?' He asked me and I didn't say anything. To be honest, I had forgotten it was our last night. The next day we would take the train back because the day after he and the boys would leave for Hamburg. What would I do then? Would I take his and Stu's flat?

I shook the thoughts off me when I heard John stand up. Suddenly he surprised me as he pulled my shoulder and pushed me on my back. He climbed on top of me and I let out a small shriek in shock, momentarily forgetting my anger. I quickly remembered it again though, as he stroked the hair out of my face.

'John, please just don't! Get off!' I yelled, angry. 'I don't want this!' I said. John didn't get off, grinning at me, hanging over me and leaning down. 'Are you sure?' He asked, his breath on my lips. My face reddened. 'I'm angry at you and I told you to stop..' I murmured, my hands still on his chest, but no longer pushing. 'And yet you're here. I have not a grain of respect left for you.' I told him.

He flashed me a grin. 'It's not your respect I want.' He whispered and he crossed the two centimetres that were still left between us and he kissed me. I feel ashamed to say that I responded immediately. I yanked at his collar and he gripped my hair and it hurt, but in the good way. I started to fumble at the buttons of his shirt and his hands moved from my hair to my body, roaming up and down, pulling my legs around his waist.

I rolled him over, so I was on top and I ripped the last button off his shirt. I started biting at his neck, my fingernails scraping at his bare chest. His hands were beneath my shirt, sliding up my back and he started to unclasp my bra. Then I sat up.

I pulled down my shirt and got off him. I looked at John. His hair was dishevelled and his face was incredibly confused. He got up to his elbows, his open shirt falling off his shoulder. I hugged my knees.

'What the hell?' He said. 'Get back here!' He said, taking my hand and trying to pull me back onto him. I yanked my hand loose. 'No.' I said, staring at nothing. 'I don't want to.' John rolled on his side, leaning his cheek on his palm. 'That's what you said just a minute ago.' He answered. 'And you see how that turned out.' He smiled cheekily.

I frowned at him sideways. 'Get your head out of your arse.' I said. 'I'm going to say this only once, so you have to listen well, do you understand?' I said, turning to him completely and sitting on my knees. Now John frowned as well, sitting up straight and crossing his legs.

'When I say "no", I actually do mean "no".' I said. He rolled his eyes and I just saw he was about to retort, but I shushed him before he could. 'I know I haven't been going about it very well, but I do not want this kind of a relationship with you.' I told him and John frowned at me in confusion. 'You didn't bloody handle it well, no!' he said, getting up from the bed and walking over to the window, buttoning his shirt back up.

'I'm really sorry though. It might sound a bit rubbish, but I would really like to be friends.' I said and John groaned. 'Ah piss off, will you? Never thought I'd be getting the I'd-Like-To-Be-Friends-speech!' He said, whipping out a cigarette and lighting it. He took a big puff and then turned back to me. 'I'm not stupid, Marit. We had something.' He said and I shook my head.

'You know what John, I think we've been mistaking that something for something else.' I said to him as John opened the window, blowing the smoke out the window. 'And even if we didn't. I just came to this country a week ago and you're leaving the day after tomorrow. We must be stupid if we'd start something like this.' I said.

John's back was facing me, as he was hanging out the window, so I couldn't see his face. Although most of the smoke was caught by the wind outside, some of it trailed back in and tickled my nostrils. I made a face. 'Look John, I really like you. I liked you from the moment we met and we seem to get along great, but sometimes that doesn't mean you should start a relationship with someone.' I said and John turned around a little. 'Who says anything about a relationship?' He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. I was glad to see him in a better mood already.

I laughed. 'And what then, John? It's really not easy being friends after. Would you and Stu still be friends if you jumped into bed with him?' I asked and he made a face of pure disgust. 'Why would you even say that!?' He yelled, flinging the stump of the cigarette out the window, slamming it shut again. I shrugged, giggling. 'I'm just saying that maybe it's indeed better if you keep considering me a boy.' I said and after a moment of pondering John nodded.

'Yeah, okay.' He said. 'I can do that. You're just a guy.' He added. I nodded at him in encouragement. 'Just a guy.' I confirmed. He narrowed his eyes at me, cocking his head a bit, his eyes travelling down my body. 'Just a guy.' He repeated. I snapped my fingers and he looked back up at me. 'Let's ignore you just practically mentally sexually harassing me and make plans for tomorrow. What train shall we take?' I asked him.

John went to lay down on his own bed. 'The last one. I'm not leaving London any earlier than we have to.' He said. I put my own head on my pillow, looking at him sideways. 'The last train? What if we miss it?' I asked. He turned around, so he could look at me as well. 'Why would we miss it?' He asked me back and I shrugged. 'The last train it is then.' He said.

We both rolled onto our backs and stared at the ceiling. I felt myself slowly growing tired, my eyelids drooping shut. 'Hey, Marit? Are you still awake?' I heard John whisper. 'Mmmh?' I answered. 'You are one of the prettiest guys I have ever had the pleasure to meet.' John said, his voice about two octaves higher in an attempt on being funny. Unfortunately I thought it was funny and had to laugh. 'Thanks, you pansy.' I said.

I turned around and faced the wall and as the minutes went by I heard John's breath behind me become a stable snore. And then I smiled as I realized I had been exactly right. John and I had hit it off the moment we met, but we had been mistaking those feelings for romantic ones. Or I had at least. John probably only wanted to get into my skirt. I didn't normally felt so much about one person and was confused that I felt so strongly about John.

Growing up I had trouble making friends because I didn't want to bring them home to my parents. As a kid I thought it was my own fault that my parents didn't love me and treated me as cold and awkward as they did. I was ashamed of myself.

When I reached my teens and started acting out of control, I was really intend on making up for past years, but instead I got into it with a bad crowd. I had lots of what you might call boyfriends, but lasted a few weeks at most.

Through all my life it was only my Uncle David that concerned himself for me and I only started appreciating it in the last couple of years. I stopped visiting the night clubs in which I knew I'd run into my old "friends" and I started going back to school.

But now I was in Liverpool. And in 1960 no less. And John Lennon had tried to get it on with me, which is quite flattering to think about. But the John on the bed next to mine wasn't John Lennon the icon yet. He was just John and I felt like we understood each other in a way that you not often understand someone. He understood parental neglect and difficulty in behaving appropriately to the people around you.

I sighed satisfied. I felt warm and suddenly slightly less worried about what the future might bring me. I had a great friend to help me.


HA! You thought she was going to be with John, didn't you! Well, sorry to all John fangirls around here, but they're just going to be good friends. I'm sure you can guess who it's going to be then. There's an educated guess to be made here (:

Tell me what you think! Especially by her background! I hope it wasn't overdone or anything.

GUYS! I GAVE YOU LIKE THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN HISTORY AND GAVE YOU A STEAMY KISSING SCENE AS A BONUS: REVIEW!

PLEASE!

JUST!

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Oh by the way! I'm actually in real life really good at poker! When I was a kid I always wanted to play professional, but my mum wouldn't allow it. However, I always play in Dutch so if I don't get all of the English terms right, just ignore it. I'm too lazy to fix it anyway (:

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