Love Me Do

~ 93 ~

John's POV

Usually I'm calm in interviews. Well, calm, witty and - I'm sure you've noticed - honest.

But not now. My hands shook and I felt sick.

"I know you 'aven't had a lot of interviews in the past few months but I'm sure you've got it nailed," Brian was saying, his arms folded across his chest. "And if anything tumbles towards John, you help to pull him away, okay?"

I hated the way he hadn't said that directly towards me, but the others nodded, so I did too.

Behind us, where the stage was located, the muffled sound of an announcer called out.

"..Joining us tonight, in their hometown, Liverpool.. The Beatles!"

Piercing screams filled my ears and I smirked, like always.

Our fans were the greatest; they payed to see us four idiots play instruments. What more is there to adore of them?

"C'mon lads," Paul instructed, and we hurried on stage, waving and smiling.

There was two seats; one long sofa and a small couch, where I assumed the host sat.

"Welcome, welcome!" Someone was cheering, and I took my eyes off the audience to see Peter Bills, a TV presenter. "How are ya, boys?"

"Tired," Paul responded on our behalf, shaking his hand and sitting down.

Taking turns in greeting Peter, everyone settled down on the couches and watched the crowd simmer down, but they only fainted one-by-one when we made eye contact with them.

"So, how did America treat you all?" Peter asked, gazing upon us.

I mostly hated getting asked stupid questions of my whereabouts, whoabouts, whenabouts, whateverabouts, but right now, I loved every single question that wasn't about me - so far.

"It was great," Ringo simply replied, keeping his usually laid-back, toned persona. "We're going to Canada next, I think. That'll be great too."

"I'm sure every country is great," Peter remarked, earning a small laugh from the audience and a redness in Ringo's cheeks. "How about our fella John, over there?"

His green eyes focused onto me and I felt the weight of the on coming questions crush me as Peter leant forward.

"How was America?" Peter asked and I knew what he was trying to come across with. The words sounded even worse than they seemed. "Meet any girls?"

I bit my lip harder; the blood tasted horrible.

"Uh, no," I answered, then smiled mischievously to show I was still 'myself'. "Unfortunately."

"Oh, you must've!" Peter pressed, and I felt like whacking him in the face. "But I guess it must be difficult - being married and all."

A hush fell over the audience, which scared me. Teenage girls are usually very noisy.

"Married?" Someone screeched from in the crowd. I faked a shocked face.

I couldn't hear myself think as the audience burst into chatter. I turned to George beside me and nudged him, showing him I needed his help to drag me.

He nodded and leant over to Peter, tapping his knee to get his attention.

"John isn't married!" I heard him yell, but Peter merely shrugged and pointed at the audience.

"Hey!" Paul yelled when he noticed I needed to speak. "Whoever stops speaking the quickest get's VIP tickets!"

Way to do it, Paul.

Every single voice stopped mid-shriek and the four of us laughed before turning to face Peter. His eyes were flickering from the camera to us, his smile sickening.

He knew better than to spread rumours or to pick up information from the press, but his job was to complicate things in interviews, and so far, he was doing perfect.

"So you're not married, Lennon?" Peter asked me, resting his chin upon his hands. "Then how come it says-"

"That was a stupid rumour," I replied, crossing my arms. I hoped Kaylee wasn't watching me on TV. She told me she wanted to, but after I argued with her to not, I knew she would definitely be. "You should never believe what you read in the papers."

"Oh?" Peter remarked, grinning. "Than who is this Kaylee Lennon? She looks remarkably similar to the lady you were seen with late last year walking out of the airport.."

My stomach twisted into a pretzel. Oh God..

"That was my cousin," George interjected, frowning.

Peter seemed suspicious, but leant back in his seat to show he wasn't done.

I wondered quickly back to Cynthia and whether or not she still believed Kaylee was his cousin. Well, at least George hasn't forgotten.

"Look, John," Peter sighed. "You have a lot of crazed fans out there, but when Jane Asher announces that some woman is your wife, and she's got a child, it seems to me that she's telling the truth."

I felt a bubble of anger for Jane surge inside of me, and I clenched my hands around the side of the seat.

"I don't know who that bloody woman is," I growled, getting up from my seat. "Or that damn child."

===

"How could you go along with Brian's plans?" Kaylee was shouting, dangerously close to tears. "Why couldn't you just admit you are with me? Do I embarrass you, John? Do I?"

"No! No, it's not like that!" I yelled back, trying to wrap my arms around her, but she kept pushing back. "You don't understand!"

"Oh, I don't?" She remarked, placing her hands on her hips. "You're going to hide me away so teenage girls won't get jealous? Real classy."

The frustration inside me burst and I grabbed Kaylee's arm and yanked her towards me, causing her to yelp.

"Look, I don't want you to get hurt!" I yelled, ignoring the irony. "You don't know what this'll do to you. Or Jasper. Do you want that?"

Her blue eyes glistened with tears and her bottom lip trembled. She was only a girl herself, but she needed to grow up and realise her responsibilities; her baby and exposure to the prying public.

"I won't," She confirmed, pulling her arm from my grasp. There was a red mark, but nothing was too bad. "Just say it, John. Do you really think the opinions of others are going to ruin everything?"

Yes, I wanted to say, It will. Just wait.

But I didn't.

"How about we wait," I told her, gently touching her waist. When she didn't flinch, I brought her close to me. "We'll wait for a while. Okay? I was telling the truth, wasn't I? We're not married."

"But you told them you don't know who I am," Kaylee whispered, and I remembered. "How are you going to change that?"