On Loving Paul [McLennon]

Hello (Part 2)

"Yeah, it's me." Paul said shakily. "It's been a while..." .

John was silent for a few money's before he spoke. "Yeah. Yeah, it has.... Two years, in fact."

"Two years..." Paul sighed. "Imagine that."

More silence followed. "So," John broke the awkwardness - or, at least, he was trying to. "How are you? Happy birthday."

"I'm good, I'm good," Paul nodded to himself. He was good, wasn't he? He didn't even know anymore. "Thank you. How....how are you doing? You and...Yoko?" He waited for John to say that he was awful, that he was tearing apart at the seams and just barely was able to get himself out of bed in the morning and that he need Paul and -

"We're great, yeah."

Of course they are. What did Paul really expect him to say? He mentally kicked himself for feeling the way he did. But as much as he wanted to be okay with all of this and be the bigger person, he just couldn't find it in his heart to be happy for John.

"That's great," Paul said. "So, uhm, you've been working on a lot of music lately."

John inhaled slowly. "Ye-yeah," he said. "Yeah, I have."

"Yeah," was all Paul could manage. "Well, uhm, Linda and I are about to head out with the kids for the day," he lied smoothly. "So I've got to go. It's been, erm, nice talking to you." Paul supposed that "nice" was a fair enough substitute for "completely and utterly the most awkward thing ever".

"Yes," John said. "Yes, it was definitely nice. I'll...call you sometime? Maybe we can meet up if you're ever in New York."

"That sounds lovely," Paul replied.

"Brilliant," John said. "Well, goodbye. Have a nice birthday."

"Thank you. Bye." Paul broke down then and there, as soon as the line went dead.

And John, well, he lied. He didn't call. He wouldn't call. That's not to say, of course, that he didn't break down. As soon as the line went dead he began throwing this and screaming, but he calmed down quickly enough.

Neither of them, John or Paul, ever mentioned the call to George or Ringo. Or anyone for that matter.

Yoko was away that weekend in California and when she returned on Monday, she walked through the door and John looked at her. "I'm going to write a book," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Yoko smiled. "That's nice. What about?"

"I've no idea," John lied. He had an idea. In fact he knew exact,y what he was going to write his book about.

~~~

And so John's book began with two teddy boys in Liverpool with guitars, leather jackets, and the biggest secret they would ever have to keep. It told all about what Paul went through with his father. He wrote in detail about everything Paul's father had done to him and used up at least thirty pages describing the night Mike had shown up at Mimi's.

He kept the book hidden from Yoko. It was all handwritten in journals and, due to this fact, quickly became books.

He made sure to include things like the Christmas under the mistletoe and his fist fight with George at his mother's funeral and how they named the Beatles and the very long and repetitive conversation he'd had with George the night George confessed to knowing about John and Paul being together. He struggled to get through writing about when Paul's father was released from prison and he nearly killed Paul...

John finished off the third journal with George telling John and Paul about his crush on Ringo and immediately began work on the fourth. The fourth book began with John and Paul giving George advice and then the story made its way to the night John got overly drunk at a club and spilled his and Paul's secret to Ringo.

~~~

1976 was a big year for Paul. Wings was going on tour, Linda gave birth to their first son, and it was just before they left for the tour that he fully came to terms - more or less - with the fact that John was out of his life.

Back in Liverpool, George and Ringo were eating dinner together once again at the Cavern.

"I can't believe it's been four years since the band broke up," George frowned. "And I can't believe it's been almost nine years since John and Paul broke up."

"Well, I can't believe it's been six years since John and Paul have spoken," Ringo sighed.

"Have you spoken to John?" George asked.

"Not in a few days," Ringo shrugged his shoulders. "Why?"

"Just wondering," George sighed. "He says he's writing a book, you know."

"Yeah, he's mentioned," Ringo nodded. "He refuses to say what it's about."

"So he won't tell you either?" George arched one eyebrow.

Ringo shook his head. "Won't drop even a little fucking clue..."

George tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting,"

~~~

He was nearing the end of book four when Brian died and book four soon ended with his and Paul's breakup.

The thing was, it took John four years to write all of that. To plan it all out perfectly and make it work and actually write it...

In that time, he stopped recording music and had a son, though his life was otherwise uneventful during those four years.

That is, until Yoko took Sean - their son - and went to Japan for a week to visit her parents. John was curled up on the sofa with a own and the journal... All the editing he'd done for these books on top of the actual writing had taken up the majority of his time for four years.

Four years. He squeezed his eyes shut. Four years since he had last spoken to Paul.

So he sat there, writing away. And then the door bell rang.

John quickly put the books away in the back of his closet, then rushed to the door. He opened it and froze immediately.

Paul smiled. "Hello, John."

~~~

A/N: So this book has got a few more chapters to go and I'm still deciding who I'm going to wrap it up but I want to say thank you to all of you who have been such awesome readers!! Whether you've been here since the upload of chapter one or you found the story today and have been binge-reading, thank you so much! YOU are what keeps me confident in my writing, therefore keeping me writing :) xoxo love you