Book One: If I Fell

Chapter One: A Beginning

The wind blew at my face, making me squint as I trudged along the concrete to my flat. I was American, moved to Liverpool when I was only 8. Now I'm 18 and I use British slang even though I don't have the accent.

I grabbed my keys out of my pocket, unlocking the door and walking inside the building. I set my groceries down, putting them away and pulling out a can of soup to warm up. I quickly heated the soup, sat on the bed, and turned on the Telly. A show was on about four men, most likely in their early twenties, performing in Hamburg. They were playing rock'n'roll. I found myself getting slightly attracted to one of the main singers. I wanted to find out his name. Just then, as if by request, the announcer comes on and introduces them as George, Paul, Pete, and John. John was the one. I stared at the Telly as he made a funny face to the camera and the rest of them cracked up. The band was known as The Beatles. The show soon changed and I found myself plunging into a deep sleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning smiling. I changed clothes and put on my flats, walking outside and to the nearest Café. I sat at a table and ordered two pancakes and a coffee with cream. When they brought me my food I started to eat it quickly. I finished off my pancakes and sipped my hot coffee until I was half way done. I paid the waitress 3 quid and got up, heading out the door. When I got outside I started to feel unbalanced, everything was spinning. I stopped walking and my head started to ache. The wind felt like it was pushing me to the side. My coffee slipped from my hand, spilling onto the ground. I started to lean to the side, and I fell. Arms caught me before I hit the ground, and that's the last thing I could remember before slipping into darkness.

* * *

My eyes opened slowly. I was in my own room in my flat. I didn't feel too good though, my stomach was hurting and the rest of my body was aching. I got nauseous, and quickly ran into the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet, vomiting. I ran water over my hand and wiped my mouth, doing this repeatedly until my mouth was clear of vomit. Walking back into the other room was a challenge. I laid on the bed, looking at my nightstand to see if the Telly remote was there, but instead I spotted an envelope. I picked it up, my name was on the front in curly letters. I cautiously opened it, pulling out a piece of paper which read:

'Dear Emma,

I caught you the other day at the Café. I decided I'd take you back to your flat after finding your driver's license and a letter you were going to mail with your address on it in your pocket. So if you want to come over or something after you get better, my address is... (his address)

Sincerely, Richard.'

I smiled, so he's the one who caught me and took me back to my flat. The first thing I'm going to do when I get better is I'm going to go see him and thank him.

* * *

It took a couple days of rest, chicken noodle soup, and vitamins, but I finally got better. I took a shower and changed clothes, grabbing the envelope and leaving my flat to go visit Richard. His apartment residence was walking distance away, so I didn't need to drive, besides, I hated driving.

I walked along the sidewalk, arriving at Richard's apartment at about 12:30 PM. The door  creaked open, revealing the face of who must be Richard.

"'Ello." he said in a British accent.

"Hello. Are you Richard?" I asked, worried that it might not be him.

"Yes, and you're Emma?" he questioned.

I nodded. "Yep."

He gestured for me to come in. I slowly walked inside, looking around at his apartment room. Richard closed the door behind me and and smiled. He was wearing a white tee shirt and black pants, and his hair was curled into the Teddy Boy style. He was rather attractive, and he was really nice. But then there's John. There's probably very slim chances I'll ever meet John, but if I do, I'll have to decide between him and Richard later, when I know them both better.

Richard sat down on the couch that was against the wall, patting the cushion next to him. I sat down next to him, starting to speak.

"Thank you so much, for taking me back to my flat and all." I said, looking at Richard.

He smiled at me, "Your welcome. It was no problem, really."

"I feel like I need to repay you somehow." I muttered, looking down at the brown couch fabric.

"Don't worry about it." he told me.

"Alright." I agreed.

"You want some tea?" he asked me.

"Sure." I smiled.

Richard got up, "I'll be back." he said, leaving to the kitchen.

I'm in love with him. I love Richard. I still find John attractive, but I can't have two guys. I don't think I'll ever meet John anyways.

Richard walked back into the room, handing me a cup of hot tea and sitting down next to me.

"Careful, it's hot." he warned, taking a sip of his own.

"Thanks." I said, smiling as I took a sip of the scorching hot tea.

"How are you drinking that?" he asked me, obviously confused that I could drink this blistering hot tea.

"My friends and I used to have hot tea drinking contests, where we would drink burning hot tea as fast as we could, so I'm used to it now." I explained.

"Oh! Me too!" he exclaimed, smiling widely.

We laughed and talked and sipped our tea for a while, just got to know each other a little more. I learned that Richard was from Liverpool originally, and was born as an only child to his mum Elsie and his father Richard.

"So, do you have any pet names?" he asked out of the blue.

"Hm. Well I'm known as the loner by my mother and close family. You?" I replied.

"I think the only thing I've ever been called other than Richard would be Ritchie. And why are you known as the loner?" he said.

"Well, Ritchie, I've never had a boyfriend and I've never kissed a boy." I confessed, looking down at the couch.

Richard looked genuinely surprised, "Well, that's honestly surprising, coming from such a pretty bird as yourself."

I blushed brightly, "You're quite handsome yourself."

Richard's face turned a light pink colour, "Well thank you." he said softly, smiling.

I smiled back, taking the last drink of my now cold tea. I looked at the round clock in the corner of the room, 10:00 PM!

"Man, it's late. I think I'd better get going." I said, standing up.

Richard got up as well, "Would you like me to walk you home?" he offered.

"That would be wonderful." I replied.

We walked outside into the cold night air, and I was glad there was no wind. Richard looked down at me, I could tell he was studying my features. My blonde hair and blue eyes, my faded freckles that went across the bridge of my nose and onto my cheeks.

I looked at all of his features as well, his brown Teddy Boy hair, his strikingly blue eyes, his unusually large nose...

We stopped walking and stared into each other's eyes for a while. I blushed as I noticed we had only made it a couple feet out the door when we stopped.

"We better keep walking or we'll never get to my flat." I said, smiling at him.

"Good idea." he replied as we started walking again.

Richard grabbed my hand, making chills go down my spine. It took us 20 minutes to get to my flat, but it felt like one. I unlocked the door, stepping inside and turning to face him.

"Thanks again." I said.

"It's no problem, really." he said with a grin.

I smiled, "Well, good night Ritchie."

"Good night, Emma." he kissed the back of my hand that he was holding holding and started to walk the other way. I smiled as I closed the door and got into my pyjamas. I laid on my bed, soon getting tired. I yawned and fell asleep after a couple minutes of thinking about Richard, and I dreamt about him all night...