I Learnt To Love In Liverpool | George Harrison ✅

♥ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ♥

We arrived at the school gates and George stopped. I did the same because we were holding hands and his sudden halt made me grind to one as well. I turned to him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him softly and quietly in case anybody overheard.

George shook his head, smiling adoringly at me before he replied, "you're shaking."

"I'm not -" I looked down at our entwined hands and realised that I was. "Oh..." I bit my lip. "I didn't even realise."

"Don't be nervous." George said softly, "everybody is going to love you. You're going to do great here. I bet you're really smart, Em, so you'll do fine in all your classes -"

"Eh, Geo." I jumped, turning at the sound of an unfamiliar Liverpudlian accent.

"Mornin', John." I turned and faced the stranger, who looked surprised to see me.

"Who's this?" The stranger, John, asked.

"Emeraude McCartney." I replied holding out my hand which had previously been holding George's.

"McCartney?" John raised an eyebrow, "as in Paul?"

I nodded, "my brother."

"Interesting accent." The stranger John pointed out with a smirk, perhaps trying to catch me out in a lie.

I nodded, "I grew up in America."

"And recently moved?"

I ignored his previous question and instead asked, "and you are?"

"John McCabe." George explained before John could, "one of my best mates." George looked at John, "Em's my girl."

The way he phrased that question had made it sound like he wanted me to confirm it for his new friend. I didn't have a problem with that, but I didn't want to spend my entire day going around to students and having to agree with George that I was his. I wanted it to be natural, and obvious. Not something that a big deal was made of.

Nevertheless, I hummed in reply.

McCabe raised an eyebrow. "Dating a McCartney, Geo... I always thought it would be her brother."

George blushed a deep red and I laced my hand with his again. George seemed to find strength in this action because he turned his head briefly to smile at me before he replied, "I told you, John. I'm not a fag. Paul and me are just good friends -"

"Sure." McCabe paused, turning to me. "It was nice meeting you. See you around."

He didn't give me a chance to reply before he turned and strode off. I turned to George, "well he was rude."

George chuckled.

"I hope everybody here isn't like that."

"Don't worry," George assured me, "they're not. Most people are quite nice... usually." He paused, "some might mention your accent, though. They love the American GIs here, so -"

"GIs?" I asked, "what do they come here for?"

"In from the Mersey." My boyfriend explained quickly, "they're assure for about a week while their boat gets reloaded and whatever else, and then they're off... that's why we get the best 45s and LPs here."

"Oh," I paused, "it'd be nice to meet some of them, then. Remind me of home -"

"Liverpool isn't home yet?" George asked me in a surprised tone of voice.

"Almost." I told him, "I guess it just feels so natural to call Cali home that I haven't quite gotten out of the habit yet."

George smiled and wrapped an arm around my waist, unlacing our fingers to do this. "Don't worry about it, Em. It'll happen when it's ready. Shall we go meet some other people?"

I nodded, feeling only slightly eager.

George and I were in the same class despite us being about eight months apart in age. In all of our lessons, we were together, so we sat at the back of the class and he helped me with the work that they had been doing the previous year, though it was definitely easier to start at the beginning of a new school year than it was to start halfway through one.

"Is Paul really your brother?" I sighed at the question, briefly remembering the other three times I had already been asked it by other people that day - and it wasn't even lunchtime, yet.

I turned to the girl who had asked. "What's it to you?"

I was being rude, but I was so sick of everybody asking me that question, or something similar - mostly about America. A few rude, nosy people had even asked me how I could be Paul's sister if we had different accents and they had never heard of nor met me before today.

The girl simpered, "I'm Grace. Paul's my boyfriend -"

"I think that his girlfriend might have a problem with that." I replied in a tone that just dripped with sarcasm. "Dot Rhone? Maybe you've heard of her -"

"Oh, please." Grace replied, putting a hand to her chest in an offended tone, "as if he's interested in her. She's his girlfriend in name only."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, genuinely interested but not wanting to let on that she had information that I wanted.

George sighed from beside me and put his pencil down, "just leave it, Em -"

"Well, we all know about the girls he takes into the closet at the end of the hall on the second floor."

"What about it?"

"Em, I'd leave it -"

"George," I said softly, turning to him, "I want to know. Shush." I wasn't rude to him, or even dismissive. Somehow I had managed to shush him politely.

Grace smirked at George in a self-satisfied way and then continued talking to me, "well Dot's not always around, is she?" She smirked again, "so sometimes Paul picks a girl and takes her into the closet for a bit... if you get the picture?"

She giggled, and so did her two friends who were sitting on her other side.

I blushed a deep red, surprised it had taken me that long to work out.

"Em," George said in my ear, "I did tell you to leave it -"

"Does he really do that, Geo?" I asked, my eyes filling with tears as I thought of my brother doing such a horrible thing as cheating on his girlfriend with people in school.

George sighed, "most guys do it."

"W-would you?" I asked, tearing up.

"What?" George asked in surprise, "no, of course not." He tightened his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, "Em, I'd never do anything to hurt you intentionally. What Paul and those other guys do is wrong. I'd never."

Grace giggled. George and I turned to her, unaware that she had been watching and listening to the whole thing.

"That's what they all say." Grace said. Her two friends laughed again, hiding their giggles behind their hands. "And then they meet someone who makes them change their minds..." she trailed off and now spoke directly to me, "look -Em, is it?" I nodded, "I like your accent and your clothes, so if you ever need a friend, then you know where I am."

George recoiled, intaking his breath sharply when she said that, and I noticed, but Grace didn't.

I didn't want to cross out any type of friendship, so I said, "thank you, Grace, but I'm fine for now. I have my brother and George -"

"For now." Grace went back to her work.

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