Rotten

Those Blue Eyes

The room was musky and smelled of smoke. Steve is squashed onto a manky couch with the drummer who smiles when we walk in. Sid gets up off a chair where he's been sitting and kisses Teddie hello.
"Hello," he smiles at me.
"Hey," I say back, not really paying attention. I'm too busy looking at the guy sitting across the windowsill in the corner of the room. Johnny is even more beautiful close up. He's sitting with his head against the glass, smoking a fag. His blonde hair is sticking up everywhere and he hasn't even noticed us walk in. Either that or he doesn't care. I can feel myself falling for him already.
"Guys, this is my friend Lola," Teddie introduces me. "That's Steve, and that's Paul," she says, pointing to the guys on the couch. "And Johnny, and of course Sid."
Steve smiles halfheartedly and Paul murmurs a little "hi". Johnny doesn't even look up.
They're not actually as rude as everyone makes them out to be. Very different to how they seem on stage. Less scary.
"Can she crash with us?"
No one replies, so I take it as a yes. Teddie, Sid and I make small talk, and Steve asks me if I know this girl he saw at the bar, but I say no.
"Shame. I kinda wanted to fuck 'er."
I think he's a bit tipsy. I get bored of the idle conversation and get up. I don't know what made me do it, it's like I wasn't in control of myself. I'm usually so quiet and reserved, but I get up all the same. The others don't notice, they just keep chatting. With my heart pounding, I head over to the window. I stand there for a moment, and after swallowing hard, stammer:
"Hi."
After a few moments of silence I think he isn't even going to reply, but he turns his head and glares at me.
"Who the fuck are you?" he squints, looking me up and down. He has these piercing blue eyes that don't break contact even once.
"I-I'm Teddie's friend," I managed to get out.
"Yeah, so why not you go and bother her instead of me?"
Those blue eyes burn into mine. I stare right back, not daring to look away. Teddie is right; he's terrifying, but not like she described. I can feel myself blushing a little, but I'm not going to back down and walk away like I would usually do. I can feel a connection with him. There's more to this boy than he's letting on, and I know it. This was meant to happen. I ignore his comment and perch myself cautiously on the windowsill by his feet.
"Nah, she's boring," I say, trying to stop my voice shaking. I take a cig from my pocket and put it in my mouth, even though I don't actually smoke. He looks at me questioningly, but just turns back to look out the window again. 10 seconds in and he hasn't punched me in the face yet. Score.
"What's Submission about?" I ask, referring to a song they'd played earlier. Johnny looks back at me. His stare isn't judgmental or annoyed like before, he actually looks quite surprised. Taking the fag out his mouth he looks thoughtfully into nothing.
"Sex is boring," he says finally, taking a long drag. I think about it for a second before nodding.
"Makes sense," I say, my cigarette dangling from the corner of my mouth.
"Yeah. D'you like it?" he watches me carefully, as if he's waiting for the "right" answer.
"It's relatable," I say after a moment. I don't know why I said this; what do I know about sex?! I've never even kissed a boy and meant it. But then guess what?! He starts laughing! He has an amazing laugh, not like you would expect at all. His whole face lights up, just for a second and I smile.
"What?" I smirk. He shrugs and looks away. I wait for him to say something else when I remember that he clearly doesn't want to talk to me.
"Are you going to leave now?" the tone in his voice is almost pleading.
"Yes actually. I'm gonna get a beer. You want one?"
He thinks about my offer.
"I'm coming with you", and he gets up. He stands there and stares at me, seemingly expressionless. I have to do a double-take. Did he just...? Did Johnny Rotten just offer to have a drink with me?! I try to contain myself before smiling at him and leading the way downstairs.
"Where are you guys going?" I hear Teddie call after us, but we both ignore her.