little lennon

10

Lila pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out at the world around her. The hotel room had a balcony and some beach chairs on it, and it would probably be the only quiet place she'd be for a while.

The sun was beginning to set and she watched the sky change colors. Oranges and purples hung in the dimming clouds. There was a slow wind that blew strands of her hair across her face. It was brisk, and she was cold. But she didn't feel like going back in there and dealing with the Beatles. 

They're great, they're okay. Just okay. They reminded her of boys she used to know, when her and John were younger, and with those boys came bitter sweet memories she mostly wanted to forget.

John didn't come to dinner. And Lila knew it was because of her. She knew she embarrassed him, but he embarrassed her and she got over it just fine. Sure, the other three boys were loud and made stupid jokes, but it wasn't a witch hunt. As long as you could banter along with them (and be just as mean) you would be fine. And she knew John was more than capable of doing that.

Lila honestly believed that there was something else bothering John. He always hid emotions and whatever problems he had, and when he couldn't be quiet anymore, he would hide himself, too.

Her eyes had shut at this point and she kept diving into her thoughts and memories as she tried to compose her own theories about John. Her lip was lodged between her teeth and she leaned back in her chair, sighing. 

She heard footsteps coming towards her, but she didn't move until she felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders and the chair next to her creak. She opened one of her eyes and moved her head barely an inch to see who it was, and then went back to her shut-eyed position, with the addition of cuddling a blanket.

"Yanno, John loves you," Paul spoke softly, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, "I can understand why he's so upset." 

Lila waited a second before answering, wondering if she absolutely had to talk to Paul at this point. "We're both emotional people, no matter if we want to admit it or not. And stubborn. Very stubborn."

"You two are really similar." Paul chuckled softly and looked at her and smiled. 

Lila didn't answer, she just kept her eyes shut and the two sat in silence for a good couple of minutes. She finally sighed and opened her eyes and looked at Paul, who was still smiling at her like an idiot.

"What the hell are you grinning about?" She pulled the blanket closer around her body and leaned away from him.

Paul laughed, "You, duh." He scooted his chair closer to her and leaned his elbows on his thighs again. "I wasn't kidding earlier, you're lovely."

"If you think I'm in the habit of dating my brother's friends, you're wrong," Lila scoffed playfully, rolling her eyes, "It only brings me trouble. Besides, I just met you, Paul." 

"But I've known you for a while, Lila." His eyes searched for any emotion besides sardonic nothingness in her face, and failed. "John talked about you, he's quite proud, yanno, and he showed you to us at that concert you went to." 

Paul reached out and flattened out the blanket at her shoulder, the back of his hand brushing against her cheek in the process. His skin was warm, and ridiculously heavenly, and Lila couldn't help but shut her eyes quickly and lean into his touch. 

"So?"

"You're absolutely beautiful," Paul nearly whispered, bringing his fingertips up to brush some hair behind her ear, "and I'm sorry about earlier. And I can wait for you to trust me." 

"Don't you have a girlfriend, Paul?" Lila tilted her head and couldn't help but smile. She couldn't tell if Paul was playing or not, but every move he made was dripping in sincerity. She was hoping he was genuine. 

"Yes and no," He bit his lip and leaned away from her slightly. "We're on a break, I guess, but I don't think she wants to see me anymore." He looked straight into Lila's eyes and his cheeks turned deep red. "She knows I like someone else."