Dudeeees, since when is it JUNE? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? It was march and now it's june! I am SO SORRY! my life has been so beyond crazy (and still is). I know i said i'd update soon, but time just completely disappeared. as in it disappeared so fast that imnow a little more than worried about my observational skills...O.o anyway i really do apologize. so read on=)
Chapter Twenty Don't Ever Change
"See, I told you this wasn't a good idea." I grumble in annoyance, shooting John a nasty look.
The boy simply shrugs and smirks at my irritation. "I never said it was a good idea. In fact, I never said it was an idea at all. I don' believe I actually gave ye any other options, luv."
I roll my eyes, "Yes, I'm well aware of that. However, your currently catatonic aunt is not. And judging only that, I think it would be best if I just went back to London..."
And what I said was true. Mimi was staring at the two of us with a blank expression, eyes wide, mouth open, hands folded over her stomach.
John snorts, and as soon as he opens his mouth, I can tell by his mischevious smirk whatever comes out won't help any. "Aw, come on Mimi, yer actin' as if I jus' told ye she wuz preggers er somethin'."
That certainly gets Mimi out of her trance alright. "WHAT?" she screeches, lunging toward the no rather nervous looking boy. "You got her PREGNANT? Boy! I am going to-"
"No, no, no! Mimi calm down. John is just being a completely horrendous person, as per usual. It's not true. I am most definitely not-" I can't even say the word. "P-pregnant. Oh my gosh." My words seem to quell some of the anger and confusion radiating off of the older woman. John hangs his head sheepishly when she starts yelling at him, red in the face.
"First you just show up out of the blue after disappearin' without so much as a word, yet again, might I add. Then you come back with a bird you more or less kidnapped from an orphange. Next you tell me she's going to be living with me to get away from some woman who just tried to strangle her. And now you're joking that you knocked her up! What kind of a man did I raise you to be? Certainly not such a-a child like this! I CANNOT believe you John Winston Lennon!" she finishes loudly, face flushed. Mimi lets out a great big sigh and shakes her head. "Well, you may be foolish, and reckless, and lazy, and foulmouthed, and...well, but at least I can see that I've taught you to protect what you love. Even if you have a rather twisted way of doing so."
So many emotions flit across John's face in that one moment. Far too many to catch them all. But anyone could see the shame, the weariness, the hurt, and the sadness on his crestfallen features. Yet, I bet only a few could've seen the brief glimpse of love and pride that warm his dark eyes. I'm sure glad I'm one of them. And at her last words, the red returns to the cheeks that had fallen rather pale during Mimi's unexpected, yet somewhat predicted rant. Yes, I'm well aware of the contradictment in that statement. My thoughts trail off when I feel Mimi's sharp gaze on my face. I can feel the heat rush to my cheeks.
"Sadie, I want you to-" she pauses, building up the suspension for what are sure to be harsh words aimed at me, and turns to John, "Go off with your mates. I want to talk to Sadie. Alone."
John's head snaps up in surprise, and a little concern. But before he can protest, Mimi shots him a look that has him avoiding my gaze as he darts for the door. Traitor, I scoff in my head. "Now, Sadie, I want you to know that while I don't approve of what John's plan as a whole is, I am glad he thought to get you out of there. Just don't tell him I said that. Because, I've seen the way he lightens up when you're around, or you're mentioned. And I've also seen how scary he gets when you're not around. So I know you're good for him. Anyone can see that. But even though I'm willing to hide you here, with very mixed feelings about this whole ordeal mind you, I do not want to be taken advantage of and I'm not necessarily comfortable with the two of you having such easy access to the other. So you have to promise me that you'll behave. Because so help me if what he was just joking about ever becomes true..." she trails of threateningly. I gulp at the last part, yet strangely, I'm feeling rather euphoric.
"Wait, you mean you actually want to help me? You're not going to send me back?" I exclaim in dangerously high hopes. She looks appalled. "Of course not. How could I send such a sweet child back to such a terrible place. No, you're staying here with me." I smile so wide it actually sort of hurt to do. Then I threw my arms around the stiff woman in abosolute shock. Eventually she returns it before pushing me gently away. You can tell she's trying not to show the bright shine in her eyes and the smile threatening to break free. "Thank you so much, Mimi. You don't even know how much I-"
"Yea, yea. Now go be a kid, will you? I have this bad feeling that you probably really haven't had the chance to be one all that much, have you?" Mimi teases kindly. My smile falters a little at how true her words are, whether she knows it or not. But as I wave a good bye and step out the door, I take a new meaning of her words. Sure, I hadn't really had the chance to be a kid. Not for very long anyway. But now...now I can do it. I can be the carefree, if not messed up, kid I dreamed of. Then, for once without a care in the world, I laugh like a little kid, twirling in circles as I splash through the puddles down the street letting the rain pour down on me. And then John comes out of nowhere, wraps his arms around me from behind, and places a soft kiss on my neck, sending shivers down my spine. Laughing, I smile at him as he starts singing in my ear, singing only to me. That alone would have been enough to make my heart melt. But when the words sunk in, I realize there can't have been a better song for this moment. All other thoughts escape my mind as we stand there, his arms around and his melodic voice singing,
"I'm singin' in the rain Just singin' in the rain What a glorious feelin' I'm happy again. I'm laughing at clouds. So dark up above The sun's in my heart And I'm ready for love.
Let the stormy clouds chase. Everyone from the place Come on with the rain I've a smile on my face I walk down the lane With a happy refrain just singin' singin' in the rain
dancin' in the rain...
I'm happy again...
I'm singin' and dancin' in the rain... (A/N: Yea, yea. it's not a beatles song, i know. but i woke up this morning in a fantastic mood, and i found that oddly enough, the fact that it was raining actually made it even better. and it made me think of this song. plus it totally fits here so, yea...)
Two hours later finds us sitting in Paulie's basement, wrapped up in blankets with hot chocolate in our hands. While singing in the rain had indeed been fun, I realize being soaked to the bone isn't as grand. But then again, I'm now snuggled up against a fluffy couch, George, and John. Can you guess which one I'm snuggled up to more though? I bet you can. Yup, you're right. This couch is sooo comfy!(; But while the couch is more comfortable, having John's arms wrapped around you under a particularly fluffy blanket while using George as a foot warmer is really quite fantastic. And the hot chocolate in my hands more than completes the great moment.
"I don' think I like the idea of bein' someone's foot warmer. Ev'n if it is you, Sadie. I feel all used," George teases in a pretend hurt tone. In reality, he just snuggles up closer to my right side, keeping my toes and side toasty warm. And now Paulie's strumming his guitar and singing. And then John and Georgie join in. Ahh, this is soo the life for me. I rest my head in the crook of John's neck, loving the feel of his arms and the sound of his voice. This can't be healthy for me, getting so attached to these boys, these moments. Because as much as I wish this will never end, I have a terrible feeling my troubles with Ms. Kollins aren't really over with yet. But I don't dwell on it because the next moment, the door to the basement is flung open and a very drenched Stu comes crashing down the stairs.
He falters when he sees me, but it appears what he has to say is much more important than inquiring about my presence. "Lads, ye'll never believe what jus' 'append."
"Ye finally got laid?" John snickers. He quiets down with a sharp glare from both me and Stu. "No, ye knoe I've-oh whatever. I was walkin' down Penny Lane, an' then I decided to stop in the music store like usual. And I heard this real gear band. Lads, their drummer was excellent. Though I suppose anyone can sound better than Pete...anyway, they have a show in the Casbah this Saturday night. We should go check them out."
The four of us simply stare at him silently. "Well?" he urges.
"Well, what? I don' see 'ow that was a 'guess what jus' 'appened moment," Paulie replys in a bored tone, soon returning to plucking random chords on his guitar.
"No, no. Ye didn' 'ear that part yet. When I asked if they played anywhere, they asked if I was into music. So I told 'em I was in a band meself. They thought I was kiddin' so, jokingly, they asked our name. So I says, 'The Quarrymen'." Stu pauses shortly to take a quick breath. "An' they flipped. They couldn' get over it. They couldn' believe it. Ye wanna know what they said? 'The Quarrymen? As in, those guys John and Paul? We are such good fans. 'Specially our drummer. Damn near goes ta everyone a yer shows.' Mate, they've heard of us! Another group said that they are fans of us!" At that, the dark haired boy threw his balled up fists in the air in a victory pose. And still, the four of us just look at him.
"Rookie," I hear one of the boys mutter. Stu looks largely disappointed by our lack of enthusiasm for his 'discovery'. "Fine. Be that way. Act like yer too cool to care than we have actual fans. See if I care."
"Well, I certainly don'," John states. I glance up at him curiously. "Sure, I wanna be famous. But I just love the music. And, until we become world famous, I'm not gonna worry about one or two people who go ta our gigs ev'ry now an' again." Now that sounds much more like an answer suitable for John.
"So, uh, anyway, I see yer back, Sadie. Obviously." Stu acknowledges me with guarded eyes. I have to admit, seeing how careful his eyes looked really saddened me. I thought I had found a kindred spirit when we began talking. We are both artists, in the visual, rather than musical, aspects of it, and that had made us quick friends. But the last few times I've seen him, he's treated me different. Not necessarily in a bad way, just in more of a 'he's avoiding my eyes and not talking to me like he used to type thing. Who knows with these boys sometimes?
"Mhmm. For as good as I can hope. That or until you all grow sick of me," I smile shyly, a light blush crawling up my cheeks. Especially when both John and George lean in to kiss both of my cheeks. "Don' worry we luuurrrvvee ye, Sadie. "Specially that git right there," Paulie teases with a smile, gesturing to his best mate. John rolls his eyes but neither agrees or disagrees. Thankfully Stu doesn't ask any more questions.
My eyelids are slowly growing heavy. And honestly, can you blame me, with everything that's happened within the past day? And all those nearly sleepless nights leading up to it. That and being all tucked in between some of the Quarrymen under a warm blanket on a cozy couch certainly is not helping me in the slightest. I start to reluctantly drift of, despite all my mind's protesting. After what feels like an incredibly long battle, my eyelids finally defeat me. So the next time they close, they don't bother to go back up.
It feels like only seconds later when someone shakes me awake gently. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, they slowly come into focus and land on John's smiling face. "Come 'ead, luv. Ye've been out fer two hours. It's late-ish."
I sit up and away from him slowly. My neck is abosolutely killing me and I wince as I stretch out. John pulls my sleepy self to my feet. Chuckling when I start to sway because I nearly fall asleep on my feet, John does something I didn't expect. He knocks my legs out from under me, but before I can fall too far, he catches me bridal style and make his way up the stairs. Too tired to fight it, I simply drape my arms around his neck and turn my face into his chest. "See, I can be sweet occasionally," I hear him whisper. Rolling my nearly closed eyes, I mumble into his shirt, sleepy voice laced with sarcasm, "Oh yes. My knight in shinging armor. My superhero."
"An' don' ye ferget it, luv." That is the last thing I remember hearing before finally falling into the most peaceful night's sleep I've had in years.
With great reluctance, my eyes slowly blink open. I wince at the bright light and snuggle closer to the warmth radiating from something to my left. Looking up, I smile to myself when I see that the heat source is none other than John. His face is smashed into a fluffly blue pillow, one arm hanging off the side of the bed, the other lazily draped over my back. It's a little chilly since the blanket is only covering me from the waste down. But the fire that burns through my veins from John's touch more than makes up for it.
"John," I whisper softly. I brush my fingertips along his cheekbone and he scrunches his nose. Smiling, I wriggle closer and press my lips to his cheek. A smirk makes its way to his face but his eyes remain closed. "Johnny...wake up," I murmer, placing soft kisses on his cheek, his nose, and his forehead. Now he's grinning broadly. "Wake up, Johnny," I say laughing. Finally, his eyes open, but before I can say another word, his lips come crashing down onto mine. Laughing, I return the kiss happily. He lifts up the arm that's across my back just enough for me to turn onto my side before tightening his grip again. "Mmm...wake me up like that ev'ry mornin', will ye, luv?" John chuckles, pulling away. Blushing, I simply tuck my head against his chest and burrow deeper into the blanket I pull up over my shoulders. John leans in and kisses my nose.
"So, 'ave ye given any more thought ta where yer gonna stay?" John questions, running his fingers through my curls. "Mhmm. Mimi is happy to have me stay with her. She just said she wants to make sure that 'we', really meaning you, will behave." I shoot him a meaningful look because even as I say this, his hand is currently tracing along the hemline of my shirt, slowly trying to creep underneath it. Scolding him, I laugh, "Johnny, stop it, will you? Anyway, I'm staying with her. But I mean, what do i do about school? There's only a month left before I'd graduate."
That thought seems to trouble him because he stops trying to reach under my shirt and frowns. "Well, 'ow important is it ta ye? What do ye wanna do fer the future?"
"I-"
"Yea?" he urges, curious.
"Well, I have no idea. I've been so concerned with takening care of everyone and everything else, that I've never dared to actually think about the future. Wow, that is so-pathetic. Really, I've never thought about it, but that's the truth. I have no idea what I want to do with my life," I admit sadly. "Maybe I can do something with art? Or kids? I'm good with both. What do you think?"
"I don' know, luv. Don' worry 'bout it right now," he murmurs softly. He leans in and presses his lips against mine so gently you'd think I am made out of glass. And, of course, that naturally makes my heart start racing just after it had finally calmed down. "All I can say, or ask, I s'pose, is please don' ever change. Just promise me yer always gonna be as sweet as ye are, luv. Can ye do that?" Heat rushes to my cheeks and I can feel the warm blush spread rapidly across them. He traces a finger absently over my cheekbone before tilting my head up to meet his gaze. "Yea, just that like."
"I love you, Johnny," I sigh so quietly, I'm not even sure he can hear me. But he kisses my forehead all the same. Seeing how embarrassed John appears after realizing what he just said to me, which I'm sure he hadn't really planned on saying out loud, I lighten the mood by attempting to create a joke.
"Yea, you know, I guess not everyone can dream to be a world famous musician who travels the world, spreading their music to inspire all, can they? Then it wouldn't be so special, now would it?" He rolls his eyes at my teasing and covers my face with a pillow. "Sure, go 'head. Mock me. When ye say it like that it makes me sound thick. Thanks so much, luv." Chuckling, he rest his head on the pillow covering my head. Feeling the pressure, I reach up my arms blindly and try to swat at his head. I know whatever I say will be muffled by the pillow, so my blind swatting is all I've got unfortunately. "Grrr, John move!" I growl in pretend annoyance.
"Not till ye say I'll be the hottest, most famous musician ev'r known and unknown to mankind with so much money that I can buy the whole world!" He jests.
"Never!" I cry, laughing. My blood runs cold when he starts tickling my sides. "No! Ahh! Johnny, stop it!"
"Say it! Say it, luv!"
"No. Ahaha-No no no! I will-hahaha-fine!" I give in reluctantly. I am completely out of breath from laughing so hard. I hate being tickled. So very,very much. To my relief, he finally sits up and removes the pillow from my head. He smirks when he sees my more than annoyed glare. But I can't stay mad at him for too long. not with that puppy dog face he's pulling now.
"Say it..." he whispers in a childish voice. "Hmm..." I trail off, slowly inching away from him. "How 'bout no?" Without another word, I hop up off the bed and sprint out the door and down the hallway. I can hear John's shout of surprise as I run. "I'm gonna getcha, luv!" Giggling-I know, me, Serious Sadie, is actually giggling like a little girl-I keep running. Unfortunately for me, I didn't think my plan through very well considering this is Paulie's house and I've never been upstairs in it before. Hearing John's footsteps growing closer, I panic and duck into the room closest to me. I pause for a second once inside to take in the sight.
Paulie and Georgie are haphazardly strewn across a bed, guitars still in hand, and sheet music littering the wide gap between them. I can't help but think how absolutely adorable the two of them look with their mussed up mop tops and how they're basically snuggling with their guitars. However cute they are, I still very unceremoniously dive in the space between them when I hear John push open the door.
"Save me guys!" I half yell, half laugh. I start cracking up seeing Paul and George jump awake in terror. "Good God! What's goin' on?" Georgie exclaims in the most adorably confused British accent ever. "Hahaha, morning Georgie, Paulie. Sleep well?" The two just stare at me blankly before rolling over with loud groans. Shyly, I turn to look where John is standing by the door with his arms crossed. His dark eyes are bright with amusement. I don't like the other look I see in his eyes though. Or that playful smirk. What is he-
"John! PUT ME DOWN!" He ignores my yells even as I pound on his back with my fists. I didn't even having time to react. He came over and threw me over his shoulder so fast that I didn't even have time to react. Paul watches my struggle in amusement while Georgie snores away. How he could possibly sleep with all my shrieks and John and Paul's laughter is beyond me. Finally, I manage to wriggle free of John's grasp only to have his arms lock around my waist from behind as I try to run away again. John pulls me back to him, and while that feels amazing, I don't want him to win. But seeing as I can't stop laughing, I probably won't win anyway.
"Help me, Paulie help!" I cry playfully. The younger boy merely rolls his eyes and slowly climbs to his feet. All he does is grab a pillow in one hand and advance toward John and me. I shoot him a curious look through my laughs but he simply winks. Then all of a sudden he swings it back and then swats John in the face with it. He releases me in shock. Howling like a hyena uon seeing the baffled look on his face, I snatch up a pillow myself and smack Paulie with it. His hazel eyes grow wide like a surprised fawn before he scowls pretending to be horrified. "What's this? A betrayal? An' after I saved ye from a most heinous fiend no less! This. Is. WAR!" He shouts dramatically. John, having lost the attention of those occupying the room, came up from behind and hit us both in the back of the head with a pillow. And thus begins our epic pillow fight. And no, Georgie does not wake up to join us. He grumbles something about immature children before burying his head under a pillow. A pillow which I grab less than ten seconds later in order to hit John.
"Hey! What's goin' on in here?" an unfamiliar voice shouts. The three of us freeze instantly. We must be quite a sight. Feathers are flying every where and the room is layered in a thin cover of white from them. All of our faces are ridiculous. It's a mix of a deer in the headlights expression and embarrassed shock. I have a pillow poised just about to hit Paul square in the head, while John's holding him in a headlock to keep him still for me. Paul's struggling to reach for a pillow on the edge of the bed near the feet of a feather covered Georgie.
The intruder looks suspiciously like Paul, only shorter and with even more of a baby face. I glance at Paulie with a quirked eyebrow.
"Hey Mike. We're jus' 'avin' some fun. Mike, this is Sadie. Sadie, this is Mike, me little brother," Paul chokes out from underneath John's strong hold. Relaxing, I toss the pillow onto the bed, unintentionally hitting the still sleeping George who merely scoops it under his arm, hugs it to his chest, and curls himself into a ball. Uhh, okay...
"Oh, um, nice ta meet ya I guess, Sadie," the young boy greets haltingly. I furrow my eyebrows in thought. Why does he sound like he already doesn't like me? What did I do wrong? With just a simple nod, Mike exits the room. I look to the boys in hurt. "He doesn't like me." I don't phrase it as a question, but as a statement of fact.
"What're ye talkin' 'bout, luv? 'e's only wary 'cause John's never actually 'ad a decent bird ta call 'is own before. That, an' birds don' exactly just stay at our 'ouse ev'ry night, so I'm sure 'e's just bein' shy. Don' worry, Sadie." Paul's reassurance for his brother's rather chilly greeting makes me feel a tad bit better. I shake it off with a shrug of my shoulders and turn to my favorite three boys(including the snoring one) with my hands on my hips and a smile on my face. "Right then boys. I'm free now. To be a kid again. So, it's your job to help me learn how to act like one," I state with a wide grin. John and Paul gaze at me with smiles and curious eyes. I shake George awake and ask the three, "So what's first?"