The End (Beatles Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

JOHN

"John, slow down!" My legs stretched across the sidewalk. I kept going, ignoring Yoko's plea. My thoughts kept swirling around in my head.

Why would Prudence be here anyway?

She couldn't have known that I was here.

George was probably right. She was just here for work or somat.

My pace slowed down a little. Yoko, who was being dragged behind me by the arm, noticed and sighed in relief.

"Where are we going John?" I didn't answer her question. I didn't know the answer myself.

Prudence was really getting ahead, working in such a big city.

She was probably doing something busy, when she heard the music....

I stopped, and Yoko knocked into me.

"John!" she exclaimed in surprise. I paid her no mind.

Prudence heard the music. She saw our faces.

Did she like what she heard? Did she like what she saw?

We haven't seen each other in years. I looked different then. Our sound was different then.

She must've seen us in pictures. Maybe she even bought our records.

I doubted it.

We hadn't met face to face since...

Jesus, had it been five years already?

"John!" Yoko wailed.

I turned to her. "What?" I shouted. "What do you want?"

Yoko stared up at me in shock. Her eyes were wider than I had ever seen, their depth going on for ages. Her hair framed her face perfectly, stray strands gently floating in the breeze.

I didn't say anything. Yoko drew her mouth into a taught line.

"If there is something wrong, tell me," she said, a protective strictness in her voice.

It had been five years. We had both moved on. It was over, forever ago, between Prudence and me.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm sorry," I said softly, squeezing Yoko's hand gently. "I just got snappy, is all."

Yoko smiled a little, and nodded. "Do you want to go home and rest?" she asked.

I leaned down and kissed her cheek gently. "Of course," I whispered into her ear.

PAUL

I placed the dishes down on the table, and Heather followed suit. Linda stood nearby, chopping vegetables for a salad. As she turned away from the cutting board to get some tomatoes, I reached over and quickly snatched a piece of carrot. Heather giggled as I put my finger to my lips, signaling for secrecy.

Linda didn't notice, making Heather laugh all the more. I started laughing as well, but then started coughing, choking on the carrot.. Linda turned around as I spit it out, and Heather collapsed to the floor in giggles.

"Oh, that's what you two buffoons are laughing about!" Linda said, her hands on her hips. "That's what you get for stealing the food!" I looked at her sheepishly, and she sent me a little smile. "Now, out with you two!" she barked, waving the two of us out of the kitchen.

I chased Heather into the living room, where she jumped onto the couch and turned on the telly.

"Come watch with me!" she said joyfully and I quickly sat down next to her.

As the screen flicked on, my mind began to wander.

Where is John now? I wondered. He never came to the meeting. Why was he that shaken up about Prudence?

I remembered her. She was from the art school. John went with her for a while. We became friends. She was real nice.

He liked her, I remembered him saying that. He wrote a song for her.

And then something happened. I'm not sure what happened, exactly, but John  was tizzed about it. Something about work, and the future, and the two went their separate ways.

But then she came back...

My eyes focused on the television screen, and I pushed thoughts of John and Prudence out of my mind.

Heather and I sat together, her head lying on my lap, and watched television, interspersed with fits of laughter, until Linda called us to eat dinner.

We all sat down, and began to eat.

"So how was work?" Linda asked quietly, picking up pieces of salad with a fork.

"It was alright," I replied nonchalantly. "A little rough."

Linda smiled sympathetically. "Fighting again?"

"No," I answered. "John was just upset. He saw this girl yesterday, a girl he knew."

"Oh," Linda said, and we all chewed on our food in silence, the conversation over.

"Daddy," Heather said, "can you read me a bedtime story?"

"Heather, darling, Daddy is very tired-"

"No, no," I interrupted Linda, who turned to me, slightly surprised. I looked at Heather. Her innocent eyes stared at me inquiringly.

I smiled. "Yes, I'll read you a bedtime story."

Linda let a grin out. Heather glowed with joy. My eyes brightened at the sight.

We spent the rest of dinner in lively conversation, and then I took Heather to bed.

I read her a chapter of Alice in Wonderland, where Alice meets the Mock Turtle and he tells her his tale through a whimsical song. Heather laughed as I sang it, making up my own melody. The two of us were really enjoying ourselves.

By the time I was finished, she was asleep with a smile on her face. I stood up and kissed her on the cheek, before tucking her in and turning off the light. As I padded out of the room I chanted the Mock Turtle's song in my mind.

"WIll you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?"