Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Twenty Five: Work in Progress

** Author's note: Hey guys, I previously uploaded this chapter last week but I took it down after deciding I wasn't happy with it and wanted to rework it. It's very much similar to what went up before though the middle part has been rewritten. I hope you enjoy reading, though do be aware there is the fight scene at the start that might be a bit uncomfortable for some readers. Peace and love to you all, hope you enjoy x **

Both men were a blur of punches, especially as they dropped to the floor in their fight, while Robin was frozen in place, unable to move, feeling as though her throat had closed, unable to even call John's name to try and get him to stop.

She'd seen fights outside a pub before. In fact she'd seen plenty of bar brawls, considering how many football games she'd been to, but all of them were buried memories that she hated to recall, buried so deep in her mind the memories were practically forgotten. That was probably a self-preservation technique to subconsciously forget, but seeing John and Ant brought up a whole swarm of dark thoughts and fears. Once they were active and at the front of her mind again they were impossible to banish, and while she'd previously been frozen in fear, the memories of the past made her decide to take action. Like a fight or flight, she was suddenly compelled to react, follow her instincts, and without fully comprehending her actions, she jumped closer to the action, leaning down and wrapping her arms around John's shoulders in an attempt to pull him away.

"Please, John, stop," she spoke quietly, practically begging, though she knew it was no use. If fear had robbed her of her senses, anger had done the same to him. "Just stop, come on-"

Robin might have been previously robbed of all feeling, but she definitely felt the sharp pain in her face as Ant's fist, instead of hitting John, caught her right in her eye. She huffed out a small yelp of pain, which was unfortunately the only sound John heard her make. He didn't hear her plea for him to stop, he only heard her in pain, and that just made him see red.

"You fucking bastard," John snarled, and Robin stepped back, holding her hand over her eye, feeling her entire being shrink away in absolute panic.

Robin hated it, she wanted it to end, but what she was most upset about was how scared she felt. She'd not felt so scared in such a long time, and considering the root of her fear was one of the people she felt the safest with made her feel so, so much worse. It wasn't like she was scared of John, she was scared of the situation, and the fact that he was involved in such violence, the fact that he'd finally let his temper get the better of him in front of her, she felt as if she was going to be sick.

She felt like she'd blacked out, completely overwhelmed by everything. Her initial response had been completely reversed, rather than her fight instinct compelling her to act, she shut down. She'd not even realised she'd practically curled into a ball leaning against the wall opposite the fight until she felt someone put their arms around her, picking her up off the ground. When she looked up she realised it was George who'd heaved her off the floor, while Paul and Stuart were attempting to pull John away from Ant. It was in that moment that she looked at the two lads and saw both of them had bloody noses, they both had black eyes, and yet they didn't seem to quit, though as if knowing she looked, Ant glanced away from John for a moment and winked at her. Robin felt sick, and even if she loved John, she couldn't bare to be near the fight any longer.

George, the younger lad that Robin was infinitely grateful for, had his arm around her shoulder. He could feel her shaking, knowing it wasn't from the slight chill but from absolute panic.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," he said, and she knew it wasn't a suggestion. He noticed her glance at the fight again and so tightened his grip on her shoulder. "They'll be alright, they'll catch up,"