~The Beatles Imagines & Preferences~

10. Dark Water

PAUL

"Well?" Paul looked at you from above, grinning from ear to ear. "Waz you gunna do about it?" slurring the words and taking another sip of his beer.

It was 11 in the evening, and John, George, Ringo and Paul had been invited to a party of someone they vaguely knew from the Cavern. That was nothing new, everybody was always inviting the Beatles to all sorts of events, but since this was just a backyard party and they really did crave some drinks, they had agreed to come. And since George was sick at home with the flu, Ringo had jokingly asked you, one of their closest friends, if you wanted to be a George substitude. You had agreed under the circumstances that you didn't have to wear one of those ridiculous Beatle wigs, and because you and Paul were starting to become a bit more than 'just friends' lately. You didn't know if it was just you who felt it though, so you were kind of going to this party to see what would happen between the two of you. And now you were dealing with 3 drunk Beatles.

And yes, actually, you knew exactly what you were gonna do about it. After that moptopped idiot had thought that it was a brilliant idea to push you, fully clothed, into the freezing water of the pool in the backyard, the perfect revenge was coming. Because you had brought back-up.

You motioned to John, who had already moved himself behind Paul without him noticing a thing, partially because Paul was pretty drunk. He tilted his head as if to ask you if it was time yet, and you grinned, nodding. "NOW JOHN!"
John gave Paul a good shove from the back and...

*SPLASH*

He came out of the water, gasping for air, not knowing what had happened to him until he heard laughter and clapping coming from all around the pool. And at the edge there were you and John, both grinning ear to ear.
"Well Paulie, you asked me what I was gonna do about it, right?" you smirked.

"Oh yeah (Y/N)? Ya sure that was a good plan now?"
Before you knew it, Paul had picked you up out of the water and thrown you over his shoulder like an old rag.
"C'mon you, I bet you can't wait to fly into the pool again, can you love?" He was making his way towards the stairs of the pool, and trying to wiggle yourself out of his arms was not an option. He had a very strong grip for a drunk lad.

"John! Ringo! Help!" You half laughed, half screamed. When no back-up answered the call, you looked around and saw Paul chatting up some girl. "John! A little help here?!" you screamed again, and he jerked his head sideways. He immediately dropped his drink and came sprinting towards the pool, cheering. Suddenly, Ringo was there too. No clue where he had come from, but his shirt was nowhere to be seen.

"To the rescue!" he screamed, and jumped into the pool with the remaining clothes on his body. John was also getting out of his shirt, but they were already too late. Paul had already arrived at the edge of the pool, and was now holding you in his arms. He grinned at you while he hovered you above the water, and you could smell the booze in his breath when he spoke.
"C'mon boys! Catch the bird!"
And with those words you were flying into the water again.

You heard Ringo yell something along the lines of "Paul, wait! You are too close to the-" but then you already hit the water and the rest of the sentence was inaudible. You were wondering what he had been trying to say when you suddenly felt a sharp pain going through you head, and everything went blurry.

Air. You needed air. You needed to breathe but as soon as you tried, your lungs filled themselves with water, making them feel like they were on fire. You instantly tried to cough as a reflex, but this only drew in more water and you were now starting to panic. You cried out inaudible screams, only producing bubbles. You were kicking against the dark water, but it wouldn't allow you to go up. Then, your vision started to blur, and you suddenly felt very tired. Maybe, just maybe, if you closed your eyes for a bit this would all be over...

A feeling of strong arms gripping you tight, pulling you up, up to the surface of the water. The darkness in your mind was now wrapping itself around you like a blanket, and you were starting to slip. But you didn't want to anymore. You wanted to breathe, you wanted to cling on to those arms, but you couldn't move. Not just yet. And then it all went black.

~

A sudden burst of air filling your lungs pulled you back in an instant. Craving for more you opened your mouth wide and inhaled as much as you could. But there was still water in your lungs, and that had to get out first. You immediately started coughing, and you felt the burning sensation get softer with every load of water that was expelled from your body. Someome placed a hand behind your head, and patted your back. People were standing all around you with concerned looks, and the whispering stalled when you groaned sofly.

"(Y/N)! Oh thank god!" you heard Paul say close to your ear. You looked to the side and saw that it was him who was holding you, his eyes filled with concern and tears, the smell of beer still lingering on his breath. But it was not fogging his mind anymore.
"I am so, SO sorry. I didn't see the stairs and- oh god are you okay?! Please be okay" he continued. The end of the sentence was only a sob.
You coughed again, and managed a faint smile.

"I'm fine Paul" you croaked, your throat still sore from the water. "But I think drowning is a bit much for revenge..." you added, laughing a bit and immediatly triggering another couching fit. Maybe you weren't exactly 'fine' yet...

"Oh god, I thought I lost you..." he muttered and pulled you closer. You saw Ringo making a confused face, but John looked at Paul meaningfully. He knew something.
"You can't get rid of me that easily Macca" you chuckled, and squeezed his hand shortly.
He looked at you, and sofly put a kiss on your lips. "Don't ever leave me (Y/N)" he whipered, teary eyed.
~

Paul had insisted on driving you home, he had sobered up a lot since the incident, and wasn't going to let anyone else drive you home. You quickly realized that you really weren't feeling as well as you initially had thought, and he had carried you to his car in a blanket.
After arriving at your apartment , he had carried you up the stairs and had laid you onto your own bed, tucking you in. You quickly surrendered to the urge to sleep.

You woke up, gasping for air. The nightmare had reconstructed the drowning experience perfectly, and it had felt so real again. But this time nobody had come to save you. After taking a few deep breaths and clearing your head, you looked around the room. The sky was still dark outside. Behind you, you heard rhythmic breathing, and you turned your head slightly. "Paul?" you whispered. Paul hummed, and pulled you into him, wrapping his arms around you and nuzzling his head into your neck. He sighed, and he fell asleep again immediately.

And suddenly you weren't scared to go to sleep anymore.  Paul would be there to save you this time. And you knew Paul would always save you.

And you would never leave him.

Finally, an update! Little bit different from the others, but I hope you'll like it!
-Rose🌹