Growing Up Beside You [John Lennon/Beatles Fanfiction]

3. She's seen me!

January 1957

(continued)

"The things I do for me mates, eh?" John shouted, almost catching up with Eric. He didn't run for fear of looking stupid in front of the girls. Not that they were watching anyway.

"The things you'll do for a smoke more like." John smiled.

Eric has stopped walking and now he was about 15 feet away from the match. He was close- too close for John's liking. It had become blatantly obvious they were watching them.

"Move back a bit, La," John hissed, pulling Eric back by his shoulders.

Eric shrugged him off.

"She can't see me otherwise, John."

"Cathy! Pass, pass!" One of the girls from the other school ran across the pitch shouting to her teammate.

John could see them a little bit better now. Their long white socks and thighs were splattered with mud, and most of them had hair clinging to their foreheads and their faces were wet from rain and sweat. Unattractive to say the least, or so John thought. They didn't seem to care though; they weren't making a fuss like he was. Though, they weren't the ones standing still in the rain like a pillock.

"Eh! John, she's seen me!" Eric elbowed John twice on his arm.

John glanced at Eric from underneath his coat. He was grinning like an idiot and waving far too enthusiastically. John turned to look at Penny, but she was already back to playing. John shook his head, staring at Eric from underneath his brows.

"What?" Eric asked.

"Nothing, Lad. Nothing," John replied with a slight smile. "Right, c'mon. You've seen 'er. We can go now."

He'd had enough. He'd had enough before the game even started. John turned to walk away.

"Wait, you can't go? " Eric gripped John's shoulder. "She's seen me now."

"Exactly," John said. He bent close to Eric's face who was frowning again. "We can leave." John ruffled Eric's wet hair and walked away.

"You promised, John."

John stopped walking and sighed. Why did Eric have to say that? He sounded so serious, hurt even. John had promised, yes, but that's only so he could get the cigs. John was the only person Eric had asked to come with him to watch the match. Eric even offered the cigarettes to John. One of the boys probably would've gone with Eric without the bribery if Eric had asked them. What was so special about John? Eric was the better friend. He had been there for John numerous times, covering for him, being his alibi those times when he was out at night with girls or drinking by the dock or doing something else he shouldn't be doing, and Eric hadn't asked for anything in return. Accept support his girlfriend in a hockey match. No, support him. John cursed silently under his breath and turned on his heels.

"Don't say I never do anything for you," John mumbled. He stood next to Eric with a smile on his face, his eyes on the match.

"You don't," Eric responded with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Shut it, Griffy."

******

Hadn't Eric said the girls only had fifteen minutes of playing left? It felt like it'd been going on a day and a half. They'd been watching the match for longer than fifteen bloody minutes; though John hadn't really been paying attention. He had better things to do, like make a masterpiece from the KitKat he'd been munching on. It was more entertaining than watching those sweaty Vikings on the field. He'd slowly scrapped off the chocolate layer with his top front teeth leaving only the wafery biscuit behind. After each layer he removed, he'd taken the chocolate bar from underneath his teeth and inspected his art.

Eric seemed to be enthusiastic about the match; he'd been paying attention yelling "Go on, Girls" and "Get 'em, Pen!" every two minutes, and John was getting sick of it. If Eric said it one more time, John would-

"That's it! Go on Girls!" Eric yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth.

"Christ, Eric! Will ya stop saying tha'?" John snapped, almost choking on his chocolate. He really was losing his patience with him.

"It's annoying," John added, shoving the last of the KitKat in his gob. Not to mention embarrassing.

"I don't hear you shouting anythin'," Eric snapped back.

"That's because I don't wanna shout lousy arse phrases at them. Just cut it a bit, you look like a twat," John muttered his mouth full.

"Me? I'm not the one standing with my coat wrapped around me neck like a granny in a headscarf. You look like one of them biddies that ride on the bus."

Alright, he had a point. He did look like a twat with his coat like that but John was dry, and Eric looked like a wet fish, and his wide lips only added to the look. John sniggered to himself.

"What's so funny?" Eric scoffed, arms folded.

"Nothing, Fishy," John replied, ruffling Eric's damp brown fringe. Eric hated it when John did that which is of course why John always did it.

Eric pushed John's arm away, huffing more than once. "Lennon, I swear, I'm getting really sick of you and your stupid-"

Eric looked down at the grass and John followed his gaze. The hockey ball had hit Eric's boot and now the muddy white ball was sitting in front of their feet. Both boys looked up at the girls at the same time.

"Sorry, babe," Penny called, smiling apologetically. "Grace doesn't know how to hit a ball properly."

Grace retaliated to Penny's snide comment by knocking Penny's stick with her own.

"Yes I do, Pen! You ran too fast and knocked it away from me."

"Because if you went any slower, we'd all be dead and buried!"

The two girls stood face-to-face bickering with each other in a defensive stance, seemingly ready to batter each other with their wooden sticks. Like proper Viking's, John thought. Grace looked as if she was prepared to pounce on Penny, and Penny kept raising her stick ever so slightly, it's like she was about to knock Grace over the head in one swift move.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" John chanted in a deep voice, pumping his fist in the air. Eric laughed. No man could resist a catfight- not even if one of them was your girlfriend.

The girls all turned to look at John, and he was sure that if looks could kill he'd drop dead there and then but their scowls only made him laugh even more.

"Hello, the ball!" one of the girls shouted at the boys.

"Don't worry, I'll get it," another girl said, jogging over to John and Eric.

Before Eric could kick it over to them, John quickly put his foot over the ball and smirked at the girl jogging towards them.