BILLET-DOUX ✦ CLASSIC ROCK

18 - john paul jones

For 003karola003 ! Thanks for the Jonesy request, dear! I couldn't wait to write for him! It does start off a bit angsty, but bear with me here.
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John had been acting strange since he'd gotten back from tour. You couldn't quite place it. He still held you close at night – maybe too close – and gave you plenty of attention around the house. But there was a distance in it all, something hiding beneath John's gentle smile that was just a little bit too sharp. It didn't take you long to recognize the emotion as bitterness.

John was angry about something and, in his typical fashion, wasn't planning on telling you.

At first, you had planned to stick it out and hope that John would eventually cave and tell you what was wrong. Days passed and John didn't show any sign that he was going to pull you aside and talk to you. All of this waiting just made your heart twist, your mind constantly conjuring up plenty of horrible possibilities of what John was keeping from you.

Had he cheated? Was he splitting up with you?

It wasn't long before those long nights spent wrapped up in each others' arms became uncomfortable for you. You desperately needed to know, even if this was all some foolish figment of your imagination. If John told you that you were thinking too hard about things, you would drop it without an issue.

Tonight was destined to be the night that you confronted John about it. He was laid beside you, arm tucked beneath his head and gazing over at you sleepily. His gray-blue eyes swam under the dim light of your lamps, giving them almost a mournful expression. Shadows cast dark illusions across John's cheekbones, his hollow face. His jaw was noticeably clenched, as if readying himself for an attack.

You sat up, the quilt pooling in your lap as you maneuvered around to look at John properly. By the time you had turned, John was asleep, his eyelids fluttered closed and his breaths evening out. He was too relaxed to disturb, so instead you smoothed the long, honey-brown bangs back from his eyes and snuggled in close to him. Without a hesitation, John's arms opened up and you found a warm place within his embrace.

You were too wired to get much sleep. You laid awake, staring at the wall and thinking yourself into a headache. John was far past noticing. He squeezed you and snored indecipherable words into your hair.

When you awoke the next morning, John was nowhere to be found. You got dressed and searched the house from top to bottom for him, coming up with nothing in each room you checked. John wasn't in the sitting room, the kitchen, or even his music room. The keys to John's cars were still hanging on their respective hooks, meaning he hadn't driven into town. You breathed a sigh of relief at that.

If John didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be found. At least you knew that he was somewhere on your expansive property. Deciding to give him space for now, you went about your daily chores, pretending that John's constant absence didn't wear a hole right through your heart. The day passed sluggishly, with you scrubbing the floors and doing loads of laundry to distract yourself from your anxiety.

You hadn't realized that so many hours had passed until you glanced up from your heaping pile of dried socks to see that the sun was sinking below the horizon. Not once had you bothered to check the time, and you doubted John did either, wherever he was. Concerned that John would get too cold in the wintery weather, you poured a thermos of tea for you to share and ventured outside to find John.

It was chilly outside, but the gardens and fields were just as neatly tended to as they had been since you and John had moved in years ago. John had been searching for privacy, somewhere to settle down with you and spend all of your precious moments together. That was difficult to do in the city, with plenty of fans roaming about and vying for the band's attention.