I Need You: A John Lennon Story

Chapter Four: That'll be the Day, 22 July 1957

It was seven o'clock in the evening, and I was lying in a grassy field. My fingers were taking a hold of my sundress and I was playing with the hem as John lay next to me, arms behind his head, and eyes closed. The warm sun, which refused to set entirely, was still radiating against my exposed legs, causing my pale skin to warm up.

I turned my head to the side, and was met with John's profile. I stared at him, examining his every feature, until his mouth opened.

"I can feel you staring at me, Jules,"

"Can you?" I asked. He nodded, keeping his eyes closed, and I smiled.

"See anything you like, speak up,"

I laughed loudly, and fell back on the grass, John smirking. I lay on my back, staring up at the setting sun, and closed my emerald eyes, thinking. Besides this morning, today had been quite a wonderful day. I had a nightmare, and I had awoken at around four in the morning, crying. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I sat up against my headboard and clutched my knees to my chest, crying.

At around seven, I decided to have a bath, and then eat breakfast. The rest of my morning consisted of me sitting in our parlour and thinking, something I did more often than I should. I analysed my dream, analysed my present situation, and thought of everything that had happened to me once again.

At around noon, I received a phone call, just like I had done the afternoon before, and the one before, from the same person.

"Hello, John," I answered as I picked up the receiver.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I dunno, I'm a good guesser," I said sarcastically.

"Well," John said while chuckling. "I'm going to head over in about an hour, all right? We're going to Blackpool,"

"Blackpool? What's Blackpool?"

"You'll see when we get there," John said. "Just ready yourself, Jules, I'll be there soon,"

Before I could respond, John hung up. Pausing to gather what had happened just know, I set the receiver down and then walked up to my bedroom. I put on a dark blue sundress, a pair of white flats, and fixed my straight hair, my bangs falling lightly over my eyes like they did every other day.

John had arrived at around twelve forty-five, and we set off immediately. We took a bus to this Blackpool place, John refusing to tell me what it was until we arrived. It turned out to be a boardwalk, with all sorts of shops, diners, and games lining the sides. We played a few of the simple games for a short while, and then John took me to a small diner in the corner for lunch.

He insisted on paying for my lunch, and did so even after my persisting against it. After, we took a walk down the beach side, which was absolutely beautiful. We talked, and talked about everything as we strolled down the sand.

"Me mum brought me here a few weeks ago," He said suddenly. "It was my first time actually meeting her,"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

I knew he lived his Aunt Mimi because that's all he ever told me about his personal life. He didn't go deep into himself, for whatever reason, and I didn't budge him. Now, he was opening up voluntarily.

"I live with me Aunt, you know that," John murmured as he took a fag out of his pocket. He took a lighter out, and lit the tip, dragging in smoke before answering me. "She took me in, when me mum left. I dunno where the hell me dad's at,"

"Has no one told you?"

He shook his no. "I've always kind of been afraid to talk about it. Mimi would've screamed her head off clean or something,"

I smiled at his subtle joke, and encouraged him to continue. "I'm hoping that since mum and I started getting to know each other, she'll answer all me questions. It just blows not knowing, you know?"

"I could understand why you feel like that," I nodded. "I'm sure you'll find out eventually,"

John nodded, and finished off his fag, flicking it to the floor afterwards. "Her name's Julia, just like yours,"

"She's a beautiful woman, just like you," He went on. "Funny, smart, loves music, she's great. It makes me angry that I didn't get to know her sooner. I could've, she only lives 'round the corner from Mendips,"

"Really?" He nodded. "She's been living there this whole time?"

He nodded again. "How could you not notice that, Johnny,"

I laughed, and he did too. "Well, my eyesight is terrible, I could've easily missed her walking down the street,"

I laughed, and nodded as he pulled his glasses from his coat pocket. "Glasses, John!"

"Sorry, Mimi," He sneered, and I laughed.

He put them on, and his smirk fell a little. I could tell that his glasses made him uncomfortable. "Don't worry, Johnny, you look fine,"

He rolled his eyes, and then took my hand in his. "Let's get going, I want to win a prize for you,"

I giggled as John dragged me off towards the nearest game, a game which required the player throw a few rings around empty Coke bottles. If you put all three around one of the bottles, you got a rather large teddy-bear.

John asked the stand attendant for some rings, and immediately got to tossing them towards the bottles, swearing each time he couldn't get them on. He had to ask for me, as he only got two on the bottles.

"Come on, Johnny boy!" I egged him on, laughing. "You can do this!"

He furrowed his brow in concentration, and then tossed the last ring towards the bottle. The ring nearly skidded past the bottle top, but instead landed with a dull clink atop the other two rings. I cheered when it settled, and ran up to John, giving him a hug. I clung to his torso tightly for a brief second, until I realised what I was doing. My face began to burn, and I felt a familiar red blush I seemed to get every time I was with John. My hands stiffened, as I'm sure he noticed, and I quickly pulled away.

I stepped back a foot or so, feeling completely awkward, and bit my lip, avoiding his gaze. He put his hands in his jacket, and stared down at me, half-smile, half-smirk playing at his thin pink lips. He stared down at me for a few seconds more, before laughing shortly and turning to the attendant.

"Where's the ladies prize?"

The attendant looked from me to him, and then reached down behind the counter to fish out one of the plush bears. He tossed it in John's direction, and John caught it easily. He turned to me, the same semi-smile, and semi-smirk on his face, and walked so that he was literally three inches from me. I was still looking down, refusing to let him see the bright red blush that had taken over my face because of that uncalled for embrace. John took his long, thin finger, and placed it under my chin, tilting my face up so that I had to look him in the eye.

"I believe this is for you," He said softly, almost chuckling. He lifted the bear up so that it was in my hands, and I took it.

"Thank you, John," I said, trying my hardest to regain my composure. I cleared my throat lightly, and shook myself mentally. "It's getting dark, Johnny,"

"We ought to head back," He finished for me. I smiled, and nodded. He came up to my side, and began to lead me towards the main street. As we were walking down the busy sidewalk, John took a light grasp of my small hand, not bothering to look down for my reaction. I almost stopped walking, but instead looked up at him as coyly as I could. His eyes were darting from side to side, making seem as if he was casually glancing about the street. I stared up at him for a short second, and then looked back in front of me. We reached the bus stop, and saw that there already was a bus waiting. Not wanting to miss it, John and I started dashing towards it. He still held on to my hand as we ran down the sidewalk, laughing. The bus began to pull out, and John began screaming for the driver to stop.

"Wait here," He said breathlessly down at me, laughing. I did as I was told, and waited as he ran in front of me, chasing the bus. John was screaming for the driver to slow down, and managed to get to the door. He pounded on it a few times, and the driver finally stopped.

He motioned for the driver to wait, and then ran back to me. He grabbed me by the hand, and then began to walk me to the bus, all while I was laughing madly. "John, you're so silly," I giggled.

We got to the door, and John helped me up the steps, causing me to laugh even more. I deposited change for the both of us before John could say anything, and pulled him back to the seats. I plopped myself down and John sat down next to me, immediately putting his arm around my shoulders. The bus was crowded, and there were people in every seat.

"You know, Johnny, you don't have to kiss my arse like that," I laughed.

"I ain't kissing your arse," He said coolly.

"I beg to differ," I laughed. I kept laughing, and then rested my head against John's shoulder, his arm tightening around my own shoulder. The sun was setting, and a day full of running up and down had finally gotten to me. My eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and my legs felt as if they were made of lead. I yawned, and snuggled closer to him, knowing that I was bound to fall asleep anytime soon.

I fell into a deep slumber, but drifted into and out of it as the bus ride went along. During one of these drifts of consciousness, I heard John having a conversation with another one of the riders of the bus.

"Who's the bird?" The foreign voice said.

"She's not a bird,"

"Well, Winston, who's the lady?" The voice asked again.

"Her name's Julia,"

"Your mum?"

"Does she look like a mum, you idiot?"

"Sorry," He said. "Who is she then?"

"A friend,"

"She don't look like a friend," He laughed. A chorus of laughter came after his initial laughter.

"Shut it, the lot of you," John's voice sounded sharp, and icy, and had the same dominating tone I'd only heard a few times, and never towards me. "She's a friend, and that's all you need to know, you've got it?"

I exhaled deeply, and stirred from under John's arm. "Now you've done it," He whispered, viciously. "You've woken her up!"

I inhaled deeply, and then lifted myself from his embrace, rubbing my eye. "Oh, goodness, I'm sorry, Johnny," I said softly. "I didn't mean to sleep on you," I chuckled, and he smiled down at me.

"It's alright, Jules," He chuckled. "We're here anyway,"

Just as he finished speaking, the bus stopped, and stood a large group of the people on the bus. John took my hand again, and led me down the aisle, and to the door, guiding me down the stairs again. We stepped out into the day, the sky a mix of pink as the sun set, and I stretched my arms as he took out a fag from his pocket. A large group of boys stepped out of the bus after us, and were all staring in my direction, looking me up and down. I scowled in their direction, and turned back to John, linking his arm with mine.

"Pigs," I breathed as they laughed and began to walk off. John shook his head, his cheeks flushing, and threw his fag down at the floor.

"Keep your eyes off her," He called after them. A few of the smaller ones laughed, while the two ring-leaders frowned. They looked slightly scared, and then shook their heads. They gathered their other friends, and quickly began to walk away, looking back at us occasionally.

"That's right," John called after them, a flood of cockiness running through his body. "Let's go, Jules,"