I Learnt To Love In Liverpool | George Harrison ✅

♥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 ♥

The bell rang throughout the school, echoing that it was lunchtime. I turned to George, who hadn't spoken a word since Grace had told me the truth about Paul.

"Geo?" I asked him softly as the rest of the class left, all of them sweeping past our desk as we were sitting at the back of the room and in front of the door. I put a hand on his shoulder, "George, I think it's lunchtime."

"Are you going to mention it to Paul?" He asked me glumly, turning to look at me, no shine in his usually bright brown eyes.

"Mention that what he's doing with other girls is wrong?" George nodded slowly, obviously hating the way I had phrased my question. I sighed, "not if you don't want me to... but why haven't you said anything to him?"

"I have." George replied. I looked to the front of the room. The teacher narrowed his eyes at us but then sighed and swept out of the room using the door at the front of the class which led directly to the staff room.

"And what does he say?"

"He just shrugs it off -" George cut himself off, and I sighed.

"You're hiding something." He looked at me again and then put his head in his hands.

"You were never supposed to find out, Emeraude."

"Find out what? That my brother is a serial adulterer?" I asked rhetorically.

"To be honest, I don't think you're an adulterer unless you're married -" When I narrowed my eyes at him, George quietened himself, "but no, that wasn't it."

"What is it then, Geo?"

"Well, Dot and Paul were engaged."

"Were?" I echoed with surprise and curiosity in my tone.

"She was pregnant. Paul bought her a gold band and everything, all prepared to do the right thing... but then Dot got really sick, and y'know..." he trailed off, unsure of how else to phrase it - but he didn't need to.

A tear slipped down my cheek and I said softly, "oh." George hung his head. "That's horrible. Poor Paul... and poor Dot."

"It really tore the two of them apart, even though Paul was relieved because he didn't want to get married." I pictured my brother sitting in a hospital room with Dot at his side, his hand on her leg as they were told what had happened. She was crying and he was saddened, but he comforted her.

"How long ago was this, George?"

"About a month before you arrived." George sighed, "I don't think Dot and Paul will be together for much longer - it really put a strain on them."

The teacher reappeared and cleared his throat, "the two of you need to leave. This classroom isn't in use during lunchtime."

George and I nodded glumly and then nodded, getting out of our seats and grabbing our bags before we left.

He took my hand as we walked down the hallway, leading me towards wherever he and Paul usually sat at lunchtime. It was out on the school field, apparently, because he led me across the green grass and behind a tree. Paul was sitting against the trunk, two girls in front of him, both of them in fits of laughter. When George and I appeared hand-in-hand, the two girls stopped giggling and stared at us... well me, specifically.

"Ah!" Paul exclaimed in delight, following the girls' line of vision. "You're here! I thought you were going to leave me lonesome for the whole hour - lucky that Nory and Debbie here decided to keep me company." The two girls, Nory and Debbie, turned to him and giggled at his words. He dropped them both a wink and I had to resist the urge to smack Paul round the back of the head - after what he'd just gone through with Dot, he was already flirting with girls!

But then, he'd been doing it long before I got here, and I didn't think he would ever change.

"Girls," Paul said, "I want you to meet my sister, Emeraude." I gave them a small, awkward wave and George pulled me down to the floor. I sat in between his legs and he spread them on either side of me. Paul continued, "you will be nice to her, won't you? Include her in your games when me and Geo aren't around?"

Games made it sound so immature.

But the girls nodded eagerly, "of course, Paul!" They chorused before erupting into another fit of giggles.

Paul smiled and turned to me, "Em, this is Noreen and Deborah. Nory and Debbie." He turned back to the girls, but before he could say anything else, the ginger haired girl spoke.

"I didn't know Paul had a sister."

"And an American one, at that." The second girl added.

I hummed in reply, unsure of what to say - unsure of what Paul wanted me to say, since the people at the Liverpool Institute were his friends long before they were mine.

"Em was given away as a baby to a nice couple in America." Paul explained, sensing my awkwardness. He shot me a look that screamed I'm sorry I have to lie. But I understood. If word somehow got out that Jim had had an affair in America and left a bastard baby behind, then he'd be the dirty talk of the town. "She's just found her way back to us - by some stroke o' luck, her adoptive father moved her to Liverpool -"

"And then died," I finished, "so I live with Paul now."

The ginger girl replied, "well that is fascinating." Her tone dripped with sarcasm. "Debbie, wasn't that just an invigorating story?"

Debbie, the blonde, nodded. "Absolutely." She was being just as sarcastic. Fantastic. I hated everybody I had met so far at the Liverpool Institute.

Paul said, "girls, don't be unkind." He pouted, "it'd make me sad."

The two girls said, "sorry, Paul."

"It isn't me you should be apologising to." They sighed and turned to me.

"Sorry, Em." They chorused.

Paul sighed and shot me an apologetic look. I shrugged and turned to George, who had been watching the whole thing.

"Sorry about them two." He said quietly so that only I could hear him.

"They're awful." I told him honestly.

He chuckled, nodding. We sat in silence for a minute whilst Paul flirted with Nory and Debbie. George then asked, "reckon I could take you out Friday?" Before I could reply, he elaborated, "just to see a picture, o' course. Nothing fancy -"

I cut him off with a kiss, passionately locking my lips with his as I twisted my neck so I could knot my fingers in his hair. George moaned quietly into my open mouth as our tongues twisted together.

"Friday's good." I said quietly when I separated us for a few seconds, our foreheads resting together. "I can't wait. After school?"

George nodded, "Paul will take your bag for you, won't you, Paul?"

When we both looked at Paul, we realised that Debbie had disappeared somewhere. Nory was sitting closely beside Paul, and he had one arm around her waist. "I will what?" he asked, obviously confused as he had been paying too close attention to the girl beside him.

"TakeEm's bag home on Friday so we can go straight to the picture house." George replied.

"Oh yeah," Paul agreed, "sure. No problem. Friday."

And then he went back to talking with Nory.

George and I got up just as the bell rang again and we went to our next class. But Paul didn't. Paul stayed at the tree with Nory as they didn't have a lesson because they were a year older than us and were in sixth form.

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