Hello little girl, chapter 2

I see John every day in lettering, and only lettering, but that's good enough for me. Every day he sits behind me, asks me for a pencil, and makes me laugh. I know he likes me, but I really do have a boyfriend. And my relationship with him is complicated. He loves me and thinks we have that spark, but I don't feel it. Sure, he's a great friend and fun to talk to and go out on the town with, but I don't think he's the one. He isn't really funny, he isn't very loving, and his kisses seem fake. I know that he's trying, but I don't understand the game we're playing. However, I think that I'm starting to understand what John and I are playing. And I think that I'll really enjoy this, more than with my actual boyfriend. John has something that normal boys don't. Again, it's special, and I can't name it. Nobody can, but everybody can see it.
I walk into lettering class and set my things on my desk. "Hi Stella!" Cynthia says cheerfully. I turn around and smile. "Hey Cynthia, what makes you so sunny today?" I perch myself on top of my desk and let my legs dangle below. Just as she's about to answer, John walks in and sets his things on his desk. "Hi-diddly-ho!" He says in a Mickey Mouse voice. Cynthia giggles, and he sets himself next to her. "Hey guess what, Miss McKenzie." I grimace at the name. He's called me that for as long as I've known him, but it still gets on my nerves. "What?" He leans in close. "I have a girlfriend." Shocked, I look around the room. "Who?" I whisper. He sits back up, puts his arm around Cynthia and smiles. "Cyn." Then, to top it all off, he kisses her on the top of the head. I feel my palms get sweaty, and suddenly I don't feel so well. "Oh, that's… nice. Are you going to the dance together then?" I manage to say in a fake cheerful voice. John shrugs. "No, she has to go to the airport to pick up her Mum. I'm going though, just with my friends. How could I be unfaithful to my little girl?" He says, turning his direction to her. They gaze into each other's eyes, and before I know it, they're all over each other, lips locked together. My stomach lurches and I feel tears starting in my eyes. I grab my things as fast as I can and race out the door before they can see the tears streaming down my face. I get my bag out of my locker and run out of the school and down the sidewalk, where the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and everything's green and sunny. It's springtime, and nothing is making me feel any better. My eyes are wet with tears so I can't see, so I fall into the soft grass beneath a cherry tree, with it's pink leaves and flowers budding. I close my eyes and try to regain myself, but it's no use. The tears don't stop, and can't think about anything else. I close my eyes and soon I'm asleep in the shade of the cherry tree.

"Stella? Stella? Stella, please wake up…" Someone shakes me. "Stella! Stella please…" I open my eyes to see myself in a dark room with a few candles gleaming, and a figure standing above me. I can't make out the face, but the voice sounds familiar. Something cold is on my forehead, and suddenly I get a sharp pain underneath. I groan and the person sighs. "Thank God you're alright."
"Where am I?"
"Safe."
"What happened?"
"You got mugged. But you're safe now."
"Who are you?"
"It doesn't really matter. I'm nobody." Then it comes to me. "John?" He kneels down beside the bed and moves his hand onto mine, wrapping his around it. "Yes?" I don't know why, but I start to cry again, harder than before. He squeezes my hand tighter. "It's alright, everything is going to be fine now. You're safe." I take a deep breath and relax a little bit. "John?" I whimper. "Yes?" The door creaks open and the lights flash on. John jumps back and releases my hand and falls to the ground, putting his hand to his chest. "God, Mimi! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I sit up a little bit to see who's standing at the door, but a my head starts to throb again, which makes me lie down again immediately. The woman strolls into the room, and in her arms she's holding a tray full of medicine. John sits cross-legged on the rug below and rocks back and forth slowly, like a little child. The woman sets the tray down on the nightstand next to the bed and she glances in my direction. "Oh, you're awake. Lovely." She turns to her tray of remedies and starts unscrewing a cap of thick liquid. I shiver at the look of it. John groans and throws his head back. He straightens himself out again and clears his throat. "Miss McKenzie, this is my Auntie, Mimi. Mimi, Miss McKenzie." She doesn't even peek in my direction, and I mutter a small 'hi'. John shakes his head and sighs. Mimi turns around with a big spoonful of the red medicine. "Open up." Her bony face looks very fragile, and her tight curls sit upon her head perfectly, not one hair out of place. She's so unlike John, it's hard to imagine that she's even related to him. I open my mouth hesitantly, but as soon as I do, she shoves it in. I start to gag, and somehow I manage to get it down. I cringe. "Open." She says in a flat voice. "Umm…" Her face grows even more stern than before. "I said, open." I open my mouth and she looks inside. "Good. It'll help." John smirks and rolls his eyes. "Um, pardon me for asking, but, what happened exactly, and how did I get here?" Mimi clears her throat and turns towards me. "Well, you decided to fall asleep under a cherry tree near the bad side of town, and then a group of three boys came along, took all your things, and started beating you to death. You didn't wake up because one of them managed to drop your stack of books on your head and they were about to slit your throat until John came along…" John shakes his head and moans. "Mimi, they weren't going to slit her throat. And, they weren't going to kill her. I'm not a hero." Mimi purses her lips and continues. "Anyways, John came along and saw, took his bag and emptied out his books, then threw them at the boys. He then took you back to our home and here you are. Your head was gushing blood and we,"
"You." John interrupts. Mimi scowls and goes on. "I thought that you were dead at first, but John insisted that you were still breathing. And here you are." Then, to my horror, Mimi pulls out a needle. My eyes widen, and so do John's. He grabs her arm and she looks at him in shock. "John! What has gotten into you?" He shakes his head. "No! You're not putting that bloody thing into her!"
"Do you WANT her to get an infection and die? I've put enough effort into this girl already! If you want, I can just throw her out on the road! Maybe she'll be hit by a car! She's not my responsibility! She's not my child!" John's face turns scarlet. "Well I'm not either!" Mimi goes deathly pale. "Now John, you know you didn't mean that." He bites his lip. "I don't know, it sounds like I did." She drops the needle and walks out of the room. "LET HER DIE THEN! I COULDN'T CARE LESS! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WANTED TO TAKE HER HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" John just sits on the carpet, stunned. Then, he stands up and sits on the chair Mimi was perched on before. He shakily reaches for the needle lying on the bed beside me and puts on his glasses. He looks up at me with a small smile and holds up the needle. "You know I have to do this, right? I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not letting you die. I nod, and smile back. He reads the instructions over and over again, and then finally picks it up again. "Okay. On the count of three, ready?" He winces and then holds it up to my arm. "One… Two…" I prepare myself for the prick. It's a big needle, and I'm petrified. I've never liked shots. "Three." I take a sharp breath and squeeze my eyes tight. But it's not the needle I feel. Instead, I feel John's soft lips on mine, and my heart flutters. I don't even think twice about Cynthia. After a few seconds, he releases me and draws back slowly. For a second, I feel in true love, and then it hits me. Cynthia is back at her house, madly in love with a boy who just kissed another girl. My eyes widen, and so do his, as he thinks about what he's just done. I stand up and the ice pack slides onto the bed as I race out of the house as fast as I can, taking my things along the way. "Stella, wait!" I don't pay attention. I slam the door and run down the street back to my house, head throbbing badly.
I lay on the couch and stare up at the ceiling, unable to comprehend my emotions. I play with the ring around my finger and move it back and forth, back and forth. The phone is ringing constantly on the table, and I know it's John on the other end, praying I'll pick up.
After what seems like years, the door opens and in walks my Mum, hair pulled back into a bun. She sets her things down in the entryway and clears her throat. "Hey Honey, how was your day?" She moves into the kitchen and runs the kettle under the sink, preparing tea. I don't answer. I can't answer. I can't get the thought of John Lennon out of my head.

I KNOW I DON'T OWN THE BEATLES YOU EVIL DISCLAIMER :crazy eyes: Yup well theres that its coming along nicely aint it

Beatlemania9 reserves rights of Stella!