𝕃𝕖𝕥 𝕀𝕥 𝔹𝕖 | 𝕁𝕠𝕙𝕟 𝕃𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕟 ✅

7

27th September, 1960

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John and Stu's flat was nothing short of completely unsanitary. As soon as Ruby walked in, the smell invaded her nostrils. She wrinkled her nose, trying to limit the amount she could smell. John chuckled at her expression.

"It's not that bad, is it?" She couldn't help but nod. John chuckled again and led her into a bedroom. There was a double bed against the back wall, its duvet thrown back as though its owner had only just climbed out of it. There was a chest of drawers opposite the bed and an unmatching bedside table, three or four packs of cigarettes on the tops, cigarettes strewn across the wood and some butts in the ashtray.

"This is yours, then, is it?" Ruby asked as she tried not to touch anything, worried that she'd contract some sort of disease. The flat - the room, especially - was filthy.

John nodded proudly, "nice, ain't it?"

He was being sarcastic.

Ruby nodded, "surprised there isn't a corgi walking 'round somewhere."

"Corgi?"

"It's that dog that the queen likes." She watched John walk around his room and check in every single drawer for some of Cynthia's clothes.

"Ah, I see," he said, turning to look at her briefly, "you're trying to be funny."

"Yeah."

"You're not very good at it, y'know, Rube." John opened another drawer and took all of the clothes out, throwing them onto the wooden floor at his feet.

Ruby took the risk of sitting on his bed. "You're just saying that because you didn't get my joke."

"I got it," John told her as he dropped the contents of another drawer onto the floor, this time finding an old notebook of his. He picked it up, flicked through it and then chucked it over his shoulder. It hit the wall which the bed was against, and fell apart, its pages fluttering to the floor and arranging themselves almost artfully against the wood. "I just didn't think it was funny -"

"You didn't get it." She smirked, "you're not as smart as you think you are, y'know, John Lennon."

He looked at her for a few seconds and then crossed his arms against his chest, "what makes you say that?" He asked her, "you've known me for all of about three hours."

"I know a faker when I see one, and you're a faker. You put on a show to all your friends to make it seem like you're this big, strong and tough Ted, but in reality, you're hurting and you have nobody you can turn to."

John was silent.

John was silent for such a long time that Ruby wondered if he would ever speak to her again. Maybe he was very angry with her and wanted her to leave his bedroom, his flat, and never return nor speak to him again.

Or maybe he knew that she was right.

After another minute of silence between them, John went back to looking for Cynthia's clothes. He took some fabric in his hands and then turned around, holding it up. "Cyn usually wears stockings with this, but I don't think you will, will you, Rube?"

Ruby took that as a sign that they were okay, because he had called her by his nickname for her.

She looked at the dress that he was holding up.

It was black with a white Peter Pan collar and satin belt, a matching white bow attached at the front of the belt instead of a buckle. It was hemmed too, in white. Overall, it was something that Ruby would not have worn usually.

When in Paris, she thought to herself as she went over to him and took the dress, holding it up against her own body.

"Do you think it will fit?"

He nodded. "It'll look better on you than her, anyway."

Ruby wasn't sure how she felt about that comment, but she didn't acknowledge it. Ruby kicked off her black converse and then handed the dress back to John so she could take off his Uncle George's coat. She then began to undo the skirt which she was wearing. After a second, she looked at him.

"Are you going to watch me?"

It was a rhetorical question, but of course John Lennon had an answer for her.

"Got to get my rocks off someway, haven't I?"

She sighed. "But I thought that you and Cynthia...?"

"Cyn's not my only girl, y'know, she just happens to hold the title that they all want." He smirked.

"You make it sound like a competition."

"Isn't it?" His smirk grew as he crossed his arms against his chest, bunching up the rather lovely material of the dress.

Ruby gasped and took it from him.

From the other room, they heard Stu calling for them. "Are you two going or what!?"

John looked at Ruby, "he's a bit of a hermit - once he's in, he stays in. It'll be just us at the Cracke until Geo and Paul get there later, when the Inny's out."

"Oi!" Stu persisted.

Ruby sighed, not wanting to annoy Stu any further. She decided to just let John watch her get changed - besides, she'd still keep her underwear on, wouldn't she? What was the worst that could happen? "No touching. And no comments. Just sit on the bed and watch, for Christ's sake."

"I won't touch," John agreed, "unless you want me to."

Knowing what she did about John and his womanising ways both then and in the future with Cynthia, May Pang and Yoko Ono, she should have seen that one coming... but that didn't stop her from letting a small smile slip onto her face.

"Sit down, you idiot."

John did as he was told, perching on the end of his bed and his eyes widening as she dropped her skirt.

It was as if he couldn't believe that she had agreed so easily.

Ruby was sure that women agreed to drop their skirts in front of him all the time - it was what he - and Paul, actually - had been known for in The Beatles... that and their music, of course.

As John's eyes stayed glued to her, she had to fight the warm feeling which was growing in the pit of her stomach. She'd never felt anything like it before, but she had a horrible feeling that she knew what it was.