you really got a hold on me | john lennon

CHAPTER TWO

July 25th, 1959

Sitting in my house at the dining table, I hum to the radio while doing piles of homework that had been given to me even though school hadn't started yet. Pain in the arse, I call it.  My mum walks in from the kitchen with some snacks and water. She sets them down and proceeds to kiss the top of my forehead.

I smile at her and say, "Thanks, mum. This homework is driving me mad if I'm being honest with you."

She laughs, picking up one of the papers I was working on. After examining it for a moment, she puts it back down on the table. She agrees, "You're right, this work is extremely hard. I don't remember it being this difficult back then."

Putting my attention back to my work, I suddenly hear the doorbell ring. I start to get up when I feel my mum's hand on my shoulder. "I'll get it, darling." I hear my mum's voice say. Not paying attention to whoever was at the door, I caught John's voice.

"'Ello Ms. Lawrence. Any chance Nat is in there?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah, she's just doin' her work. Come on in."

John starts to come in as Mum announces, "I'll be upstairs if you kids need me." and goes up the stairs. The seat next to me is pulled as John sits in it.

Taking a break from my work, I turn to him. He had a few scrapes lining his face, a bloody nose, and blue eyes. Concerned, I ask, "John you look like shite, what the hell happened to you?"

"Got me into a fight at the pub. Fucking moron he is."

"I figured that much. Hold on, I'll clean yer face up." I get up and walk to the medicine cabinet first, picking out some ointments and such. I then go into the kitchen to fetch some ice for his bloodied up face. When I get back in the dining room, he's still there waiting patiently.

"Did that moron say anything to you?" I question as I start to wipe off some of the blood that was splattered all over his face.

"Said something about Mimi and Mum. Then from there that's when it got like this."

Rubbing some ointment on his scrapes, I respond, "Well, John. I know how painful it must've been to hear stuff like that, but you can't solve everything with them fists you have. And don't even try to say 0therwise, y'know I'm right."

I hand him an ice pack to keep on his eye while I finish cleaning up his other injuries, while I still await a response from him.

John sighs and stays silent the rest of the time I clean up his face. I finish, and I wait for any response from him. "Thank you. I have another favor to ask if you don't mind."

"Hm?"

"Can I stay here for the night? Mimi's gonna go crazy if she sees me like this."

"Alright, just if mum and dad ask me, you gotta explain it to them."

John envelopes me in a hug, and whispers in my ear,

"Knew I could count on you."

. . .

It was later that night, and Dad had come home too as well. Luckily, both my parents loved John for whatever reason, and let him sleep the night here. Mum and Dad had been embarrassed to make him sleep in the living room, and sent him with me.

With John behind me, I gesture him to the bed as I lay on the floor. I almost fall asleep when I hear him ask, "Why don't I just take the floor instead?"

I face the opposite way from him, upset that he woke me up. "You're a guest, no way I'm making you sleep on the floor." I hear John get off the bed, but I don't care at this point, anyway. Then I felt myself lifted onto the bed, and I tried to protest but there was no stopping him.

"John-"

"Just go to sleep, alright? I'm not bloody letting you sit on the floor in your own damn house."

Knowing I couldn't change his mind, I let go and let myself drift off to sleep.

. . .

July 25th, 1959

I wake up on my bed, and feel John's heavy arm wrapped around me. Slowly, I lift his arm off and slide outta bed. Trying to go out as quietly as possible, I creak open the door and hear John groan. In a deep, scratchy voice, he questions, "Where are you heading to?"

"Downstairs, go back to sleep if you want."

"Nah, I probably 'ave to go back to Mimi's in a bit."

When he gets out of bed, I notice he didn't have a shirt on. But besides that, there were more bruises all over his chest. John is about to put his shirt back on, but he stops when I suddenly speak. "Did you get that from that fist-fight yesterday, too?"

"Yeah, it's alright though. Probably gonna fade in a few days."

"Really?" I persist as I walk closer, putting a hand to his chest, where one of the bruises was at. John winces at it, and I immediately take the hand back.

"Alright, Natalia, alright. Just don't touch it like that."

"I know that. Just wanted to prove you wrong, again." I say with a wide smile.

Returning it with a lopsided grin of his own, John says, "That's me girl."

God, here we go again. When I start to believe one of the boys feels the same way - and fall in this pit of happiness. Then I hear from them that they've got some other girl. Every single time. But y'know, maybe they did just see me as best mates. And some part of me didn't sit well with that, but the other half just wanted them to be happy. Anyways, John had Cyn and Paul had Dot. I couldn't get in the way of that.

John keeps his shirt off as I go fetch some ice for his chest and his eye, which has gotten a little better in color, but still not great. Handing him one of the packs, I use the other for his chest.

I get really close, close enough to feel his breath hit the top of my head. In a voice that was barely a whisper, I ask, "Is this alright?"

Putting it on the purplish blue spots, we both stay silent until I finish. "I'm done, just make sure to keep that ice on yer eye, because let me tell you it looks fucking hidious."

"I know, thanks for the bloody reminder Nat."

"That's what friends are for, hm?"

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head disappointedly in a joking manner. Putting his shirt back on, John's halfway between my room and the hallway, when he stops to turn around.

"But seriously, thanks for always being there to set me straight when I mess everything up. Thank your parents for me when they get up. See you soon, Nat."

The door closes and I sit back down on the bed. Was I being teased for John's own fun? Or was he genuinely not in the loop of how I felt. I didn't even know anymore. But either way, I had to stop feeling like this. It was wrong, especially now that they're both in serious relationships.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, both people I was crazy in love with.

But neither I could possibly have.

a/n: hope you enjoyed this chapter! <3