The Less I Know The Better [complete]

26 ;; adventures

John tapped his foot with slight anxiety and impatience as he stood at the front door of a particular house on Forthlin Road, hands shoved in his pockets to conceal the fact that they were fidgeting; he'd just knocked on it and now was waiting for someone to answer, heart thudding in his rib cage nervously. His lungs sent a bolt of excitement through his chest with every intake of breath, and he was glancing around the street idly as he waited. It was particularly cold that October day - though it on the very cusp of it as November was just around the corner.
It had been a while since he'd last been at Paul's house, and it had also been a while since they had last spent time together outside of school. They were still close, of course, but different things seemed to get in the way and they ended up unable to hang out; for example, Paul's aunt Gin visiting impromptu about some family member's wedding, Mimi deciding to force John to tag along to help her run some errands, and Paul having to entertain his younger cousins for the evening while their parents had to tend to something. It was endlessly frustrating, and it was beginning to take a toll on the both of them. They barely had time to themselves, as they were only able to steal private moments in the school bathrooms or behind the footy stands. Paul wouldn't let up about needing to catch up with school, so John was unable to sway him to ditch so they could actually spend time alone, no matter how much he tried to tempt him with certain things. And he still felt unsure about where exactly they stood in their relationship, and they'd often act quite shy around each other and fumbled to say the right words.
It was cute to see Paul flustered to John, though. He just wished that he could grow a pair and ask him where they really stood; he didn't know what Paul thought of it.
The younger boy would sometimes get nervous, too, if they accidentally brushed shoulders while walking in public - if John said something that would be accidentally flirty or could come across as such in the presence of others, if they sat too close to each other - and he would purposely sit away, anxious eyes always searching to see if anyone had seen them, to see if they'd been taken the wrong way. It made John's insecurities run wild, though; thinking that it was all his fault, and telling him that it was because Paul really didn't like him and didn't want to be seen near someone like him. He knew it wasn't true, but those stupid voices that said otherwise would never let up.
And there was always guilt there, too. John felt it himself. Guilt as if he'd been caught doing something fucked up. He tried to tell himself otherwise, of course, but it was so deeply-set that it was nearly impossible to overcome. He figured they probably never would fully get past it.

Their whole situation was beginning to get endlessly frustrating, and over the course of the last week of October, John grew increasingly more grumpy and began to snap at people for no reason. It wasn't unlike him to get into a mood of sorts for a while, but this had a particular reason behind it.

He wished he just didn't have to constantly sneak around every time he wanted to be with Paul. To have to hide away from prying eyes and be unable to hold his hand or just spontaneously kiss him on the cheek or anything. Of course it was normal for any queer relationship to have to do that, but John hoped in vain that he wouldn't have to. It was exhausting and put him in a constant dismal mood. Mimi continued to pry about why John was acting so strange , but he wouldn't let up yet. George and Ringo also teased them every single second they got the chance too, and it was beginning to get a little annoying. John could still hear their stupid song echoing through his mind: "John and Paul sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!". It was funny, but infuriating at the same time.

Now John had finally been able to get away and he had arrived on Paul's doorstep that Saturday morning, knowing that he'd be home. Paul had talked to him Friday and they had agreed to meet up for the weekend and make up for the lost time. He was even more nervous than usual, though, because he knew he would probably come across a certain person who he guessed wouldn't be very happy to see him on his doorstep, dressed in a leather jacket and jeans with a white t-shirt and black boots, along with a thick head of DA.