𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 | JOHN LENNON

005: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘳,
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥,
𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯

the moment charlie woke up, she knew it was time to leave. the sun was nearly up, the sky was blue, the birds chirped and picked at the car. john was snoring in the passenger seat, contorted so his long legs weren't cramped too much.

charlie's neck hurt from sleeping on her backpack all night long. she winced as she sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. not wanting to awaken the snoring john lennon, she gently and carefully climbed back into the drivers side. she made sure not to bump him.

charlie quietly started the car, but first had to make sure john had his seatbelt on. of course, he didn't have it on. bitter she'd have to get out and buckle him, she quickly got out and ran around to his side, staying far away from the road. with ease, she opened his door and buckled it for him.

when she finished, she got back into the car and sped off onto the highway toward virginia. since it was the morning, they would presumably reach it by six or seven that night. but that was only the beginning of their trip. they still had to get from virginia to the uk.

it was a long, quiet drive. she wanted to let john sleep, so she didn't turn the radio on like usual. she only sat in silence, listening to the slow, deep repetitive breaths coming from aside her. instead of having music, she hummed to herself. mainly beatles and beach boys songs. she'd let out the occasional burst of singing under her breath, but nothing more than mumbling.

she watched the cars come and go. she watched the lights change, the people cross the crosswalk, reminding her of the abbey road poster she used to have. she listened to the quiet hum of the motor in her car, and how the tires sounded on the road. she watched the sun come up and over her car. it wasn't boring. it was calming. she needed a sense of calmness as to get away from her crazy family. her family! she totally forgot about her parents, her brothers! what would they think?!

instead of bothering to pull to the side of the road and use a telephone to call them, she decided to keep going.

"wouldn't it be nice if we were older..." she sang, trailing off into silence. "then we wouldn't have to wait so lo-o-ong?"

"and wouldn't it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong?!" john sang. she didn't know he was awake until the beginning note he yelled. she jumped and had to bring herself together so she didn't crash the two of them. "did i scare 'ye?"

charlie laughed, saying, "just a little,"

"it's a good song, believe me," john smiled, pushing his chair up so he was sitting up. "where are we?"

"about forty minutes out," charlie replied. she checked her watch. only five. "do you wanna stop when we get there so we can grab some dinner?"

"dinner sounds amazing... i missed breakfast and lunch," he uttered. "did you stop to eat?"

charlie shook her head, humming no. "i didn't want to wake you."

"well, next time, fucking wake me up, don't be so polite. you need to eat as much as i do, charlie." john seethed. he wasn't angry, charlie knew that. the tone of his voice stayed monotonous, but the way he said it. it was so rough.

"sorry, i will,"

"'ye don't gotta apologize," he stumbled, looking at her. "i just don't want 'ye to be hungry."

charlie smiled at his thoughtfulness. "i'm not, it's okay,"

john took one last long look at her before turning to the window.

___________________
𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘳,
𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 6𝘱𝘮

finally, the duo reached virginia. john slapped the menu down on the table with a satisfying plop. "what're you gettin'?" he asked, taking a swig of coffee.

"umm... probably just a grilled cheese or something," charlie replied, setting hers down as well.

"that's boring,"

"what are you getting, then?" charlie smiled, sounding offended. "lemme guess... tea and crumpets?" john, unamused, slowly lifted his menu back up to cover his face with squinted eyes. "since we're finally in virginia," she started. "should we go sightseeing on the way to virginia beach?"

"i've never been to the beach and actually had a normal time," john stated. "i've always been recognized or been with a bird... shagging," he added. charlie snorted, looking from her menu to him. "sightseeing sounds quite nice, yeah."

"what can i get you two?" the waitress came around and took the menus. she looked at charlie first.

"i'll just have a grilled cheese, please."

"i'll have the same," john smiled.

charlie tapped her feet against the carpeted floors, waiting for the food. she stared up at the flickering lights from the booth as john stayed solemn. she took a sip of water, thinking about what would happen in the months to come. years, maybe.

"'ye look bloody grim," john spoke up with a small voice crack. "what's bothering you? why've you got that sour look on your face?"

"'m just thinking..." charlie shifted. "wondering what's gonna happen..."

"everything'll be alright, love," john's expression softened. charlie put her elbows on the booth table as she huffed. she stiffened her legs and accidentally bumped john's.

the two skirts she alternated between since they left were crinkly and creased. she planned on waiting until they got got to the beach until they would officially changed. john stayed in a pair of jeans and a striped long sleeved shirt with a pair of white spring court shoes.

"what's it like being famous?" charlie blurted.

"i couldn't tell 'ya," john joked. she laughed, taking another drink of water.

"no, seriously," she pressed. "tell me what it's like,"

john sat back and thought. it was only a week or so after what happened. he was famous not long before then. "everybody wants something from you. autograph, picture, or even a handshake. it's quite the relief to have a short break, honest."

"i see." charlie pursed her lips, taking a deep breath and waiting.