𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙇𝙀𝙎 𝙄𝙈𝘼𝙂𝙄𝙉𝙀𝙎

𝐢'𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 • 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧

era: 1956
name: chrissy

it was almost christmas. a chilly winter day with no signs of the snow stopping. it was strange for that much snow since liverpool rarely ever got that heavy of a downfall. i spent the day with my friends. may, louise, beth. we slipped and slid to the café early one morning, not aware of the group of boys who were already in the café.

he'd never spoken to me before that day. it was intriguing to later find out he was nervous about it; john lennon? nervous about speaking to me? apparently so.

it was a crisp winter morning in liverpool. the air was so cold i could see my breath with every syllable i spoke. winter break was proving to be quite the bore. i had nothing to do but lounge at home all day in the darkness, occasionally seeing my friends.

as we got inside the warm, familiar area, louise's mom, who worked there, let us in and made us wipe our boots off as soon as the warm air hit our faces. "mind the snow!" she shouted.

we stomped the snow off and got a booth near the back. i failed to notice john lennon and his friends sitting a few rows behind us, jeering at each other. we warmed ourselves, breathing hot air on our icy fingers. beth, who sat next to me mumbled something, purposely trying to be quiet. "look who's here..." she smirked at me while raising an eyebrow knowingly.

taking off my coat, i raised my brows, amused, yet slightly intrigued. i looked up a bit to see john lennon just a few feet in front of me. he didn't notice me at first since he was having a banter with his friends, but his eyes soon met mine. beth, who sat aside me giggled quietly as another boy with john named peter glanced at her, too. he kept the eye contact for a few seconds, a smile daring to tug his lips. he licked his lips before one of his friends began speaking again and the trance between us was broken.

finally, our hot cocoa arrived, marshmallows included. "he's so cute!" i heard someone squeal. i wasn't paying attention, though. only silently stirring my cocoa and biting my lower lip while staring at the wooden table. i could feel his darkened eyes on me, yet i chose to ignore them. "isn't he cute, chrissy?" beth elbowed me.

"who?"

beth scoffed, rolling her eyes at me. "john!"

"well, don't say his name so loudly," may simpered, taking short sips of her near gone cocoa.

they seemed to notice, because john and his gang of socialites came sauntering over to our table. "hello, ladies!" peter jeered. "how's the cocoa?"

the four leaned over us, acting strangely touchy-touchy. one of john's mate's draped himself over the booth, giving may lustful eyes. john ignored the group's playful tactics and smoothly fit himself into the booth aside beth and i.

he grabbed my mug and took a drink of my cocoa. i thought it was rather funny. he tried to hand it back to me, but it ended up going down my white, long-sleeved shirt. i gasped, tensing at the sudden hot cocoa sloshing down my shirt. it must have truly been an accident, because his mouth was hung wide open at what he caused. his friends probably thought it was an act to get down my pants, but that wasn't it at all. my friends gasped and widened their eyes, too.

i could tell by his face he felt bad. he looked horribly sorry.  "i-i..." he stuttered.

"that's okay, john." i smiled in a bittersweet manner.

i grabbed a handful of napkins and stuffed them down my shirt, shortly excusing myself to the restroom. embarrassing as it was, my cheeks were already red from the cold outside, so it wasn't like i looked awfully embarrassed. i heard fast footsteps behind me, but i assumed it was just beth or one of the other two. there wasn't anyone else to see my disheveled shirt in the ladies room. no one but me.

and... john?

"i really am sorry," john mumbled, stepping in fleetingly. he fumbled inside, raising his eyebrows at the room. it was drastically different from the men's, i assumed.

"accidents happen. it's alright, really." i pursed my lips, attempting to clean the white shirt before it was too late. alas, it was very much too late. maybe i could bleach it when i got home, i told myself. "i just don't have this clean white shirt anymore," i laughed.

john snickered, leaning into the doorway. "i could buy you a new one," he offered.

"it's no trouble, i have plenty more." grabbing the napkins from my chest, i saw john's lingering stare come my way—or my breasts way. "is there anything else you need?" i quickly turned around to face him rather than look at him stare at me through the mirror..

"erm, no," john muttered. "well—yes. there is." i courteously smiled at him, waiting. "i've been meanin' to tell you for a while, now... i know we haven't really ever spoken before now, but... christ, i dunno... you're just... and, i'm just..." he stumbled over his words, chewing at his lower lip between sentences.

"what?" i pushed. as sharp as i was, i still couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me.

"fuck, chrissy, i like you, that's it!" he frustratedly raised his eyebrows at me.

picture this; me, standing in a stained shirt with napkins hanging out and john, shouting, telling me he likes me. my wits instantly disappeared as soon as he said this, and it seemed his did too. not such as the witty lennon he usually was to everyone. it was like he was... nervous!

"you... like me?" i uttered just above a whisper. "why?"

"because... you're beautiful and all that. and, my mates and i all agree you look similar to bridgette bardot." of course that was it. i knew there was a catch. "but, you're also pretty nice on your own, so that's a plus..."

i stood there, mouth gaping open as john lennon confessed his crush for me. "so... you're telling me... you like me... because i look like a famous model?"

"yeah, pretty much."

amazed, i laughed. "sounds about right, i guess." i turned back around, focusing on getting the cloth out of my bra. "you're pretty sharp yourself, john." john grinned proudly. i only called him sharp, and he was already blushing. i finished, throwing the cloth into the trash bin. "call you later, then?"

"okay," john replied.