Dear Prudence

Chapter 11 Blue Jay Way

John's POV

"Prudence?" I dared to say as I stood outside of the tent containing my dream girl. Something happened to her and I plan to find out what it is. 

I heard some sniffling as if she was trying to collect herself enough to speak. "Leave me alone." She croaked. I heard her let out a small sob. 

"Prudence." I repeated, trying to sound soothing. 

There was the sound of her moving inside her tent. "Please, just go." She said painfully. It hurt that she didn't trust me enough to talk about it, but I tried not to let it bother me too much.

"Okay." I said calmly, not wanting to push her anymore. I knew that she wouldn't budge. 

I walked back to my tent, completely puzzled as to what was wrong.

Let's see... when she left with Mahesh, she seemed a bit troubled. Then, they went on a walk in the woods, and now she's left in a tent, alone, feeling completely broken. Or at least that's what I'm assuming she feels judging on the fact that she ran into the tent crying.

Something happened while she was with Mahesh. I swear, when I get my hands on him I'll- "Hi John!" 

I turned around to see Pattie smiling. Pattie! She'll know what's wrong! She'll know what to do! 

"Hi Pattie." I said, smiling enough to cover up my concern. 

"How are you doing?" She asked cheerfully. 

"Not bad... Actually, I was wondering if you knew what was wrong with Prudence." I said, trying to keep my smile on my face.

"She's not okay?" Pattie asked, looking genuinly concerned.

"Yeah, she's crying. A lot. And she didn't want to talk about it at all. In fact, she didn't even open her tent to talk to me." I said, spilling the details. 

John, you're over reacting. 

For a good cause. 

Pattie seemed completely baffled. "I- I should talk to her." She said more to herself then to me. 

"Bye John, it was nice talking to you." She said with a bit of a blank expression. She was obviously deep in thought.

I nodded to let her know I had heard her and she walked in the direction of Prudence's tent. I walked over to a large rock at the edge of the clearing, next to my tent and picked a bit at my fingernails. It was about 5:30pm so the sun was just beggining to set. 

I couldn't take my mind off of Prudence though. I watched Pattie standing outside of Prudence's tent, trying to persuade Prudence to let her in, but with no luck. Pattie turned away and walked toward me, looking exasperated. 

"Any luck?" I asked although I already knew the answer. Pattie shook her head remorsfully. I nodded, feeling a bit somber.

**Days Pass**

John's POV still

Prudence has refused to let anybody in or out of the tent. She hasn't had anything to eat, but Pattie tells me that she got Prudence to drink three times. I was currently fiddling around with my guitar sitting next to Prudence's tent.

"Staying in there isn't going to resolve anything." I said, attempting yet again to persuade her out of the tent. 

"I don't care." She said coldly, her voice raspier than ever. 

I  couldn't help but chuckle. She has been so mean to me in these past days that I couldn't help but find it amusing. She was so kind before and now... I don't know, I just find absoloutly hilarious. Plus, I know that she doesn't really mean it. 

"You ready to come out yet?" I asked teasingly. 

"What do you think?" She snapped. 

"Well...  I'm not quite sure...   Let me think.....    Um...." I pretended to be stupid, just to hear her reaction. 

"Cut the crap Lennon." She snapped, yet again. I smiled widely. She. was. so. much. fun. to. annoy!

"Come on Prudence, Pleaseeee come out!" I whined.

"No." She said simply in a monotone. 

I chuckled a bit. This is going to be a long day... for her.

Prudence's POV

The past few days have been miserable. I haven't yet left my tent once and the only one who has seen me is Pattie. I haven't had much to eat or drink and my stomach hurts a ton. I don't care though. 

John has been sweet though. He comes to visit at least once every four hours or so. Sure, I haven't been that pleasant to talk to, and he is quite annoying, but he keeps me company. 

He was currently trying, yet again, to persuede me out of the tent.

 "Pretty pretty pretty please with a cherry on top, come out?" he whined. 

"You want cheese with that whine?" I said sarcastically. 

"Sure.... You wanna know why?" John asked, resembling a 5 year old. 

"Why?" I asked raising my voice for affect.

He paused for dramatic effect. " 'Cause you have to get out of the tent to give me the cheese." John said, sounding proud of his answer. 

"Not if I have super powers and I can make the cheese grow out of the ground." I said, matter of factly.

There was a pause. "Touchè." He said, giving up.

I couldn't help but smile at his childishness. Although I felt completely empty inside, John always knew how to make me smile. 

We sat in silence for a moment. It wasn't awkward silence, but it wasn't a comfortable silence. It was just quiet.

"Well, I'll be on my way, I am hungry. But Pattie should be here soon enough so don't get too lonely. Try not to miss me too much." John said. I could sense his smirk at the end. I waited until I heard the sound of footsteps before I sighed.

When will I gain the courage to leave this tent and feel happy again? 

Never. 

This thought saddened me, but it somehow felt true. Mahesh betrayed me. John will never love me. I will never learn the meaning of life. And it's all because of me that this all happened. Stupid, little me.