⇾ 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 | 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐈

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Such a Bloody Tease

May 10, 1962

"John, it's already ten," whined Paul.

"You arse, Macca," groaned John.

"Ready to go, boys?" Brian joined us outside.

"Actually, Bri," said John, putting on his best smile. "I'm gonna take Donna down the road to a coffee shop. We won't be long. An hour or so?"

Brian looked like he could slap John, but he sighed after a moment, defeated. "Oh, alright. Stay out of trouble," he snapped. John put his hands up in mock surrender.

The rest of them turned and began walking in the opposite direction towards the hotel.

"Can we make this quick?" I asked John. "I'm tired."

He nodded and took me by the hand, walking in the direction of the coffee shop we went to back when I visited the band on their last Hamburg residency. That felt like centuries ago.

He led me down to the coffee shop. There were outdoor tables with little lights dangling over each one. The same lady was at the counter that was the last time we came, and John ordered the same things we had the last time. Then, he led me outside and sat me down at a table on the corner of the building.

"Now," he said, smiling encouragingly. "Let's start from the beginning, yeah?"

"John, it's driving me crazy," I blurted. "I am crazy." I looked down, tears springing to my eyes.

"Donna," said John, taking my hand in his. "What is? Please, tell me."

I looked up at him, my eyes filled with fear. "I saw him," I said. "Well, I thought I did, at the diner. It was just a hallucination, though. I'm hallucinating, oh, God, John," I said, my voice breaking.

He looked at me sympathetically. "It's okay, Donna," he said. He stood up out of his chair and came over to me, kneeling down and putting his arms around me. I was too numb to react.

"I'm so, so sorry you have to deal with me, John," I choked out. "I know it's not fair for you. I'm so sorry."

He pulled away and I almost thought I saw tears in his eyes. "Donna, no," he said. "Don't say you're sorry. If I didn't want to help you, I didn't have to. I'm glad you let me deal with you." He gave a smile and looked at his watch. "Is there anything else you're hiding?" He looked at me expectantly.

I thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't think so," I answered. "You work out pretty much everything."

"I'm just very observant, I guess," he said, tapping me on the nose playfully. I giggled and kissed him quickly on the lips. He tried to return the favor, but I moved out of the way, leaning against the building and taking a sip of my coffee.

"Yer such a bloody tease," he said with a laugh. He took the coffee out of my hand and took a sip of it, sneering at me.

"Hey!" I snapped. "You've got your own."

"I like yours better," he remarked.

I laughed, feeling like nothing could happen to me when John was with me.

"Hey," he said, going back and sitting in the chair across from me. "Wanna hear a secret?"

I nodded. "Throw it at me."

"I've got a day off tomorrow, yeah?" he began. I nodded and took another sip of my drink. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we could do something. Just us, y'know?" I began to smile widely at his sudden onset of nerves. John Lennon? Nervous? "But, I wanted to do something we've never done before, yeah? I was wondering if you'd accompany me up to Lübeck for a day tomorrow." He smiled.

"Of course I will," I replied. "That sounds like the perfect time."

"I love yer smile," he said, leaning his head onto his hand. I looked down, blushing. "Should we get back?" he asked a moment later. "We'll need an early start tomorrow." He winked.

I smiled and nodded, taking my foam coffee cup into my hands and standing next to him. He took his cup in one hand and my hand in the other as we began to trail our way back.

"Hey, John?" I asked curiously.

"Hm?" he hummed in response, looking down at me.

"What exactly was it that, y'know, you initially liked?"

He took a contemplative sip of his drink, mulling over the question in his mind, picking the words carefully. "Well," he said after a moment's silence. "You're very beautiful and very kind, yeah? You're honest and loyal. I can't really explain it, really," he decided on. "It was a wave of things that drew me to you. You're like a damn magnet." He laughed. "Too hard to resist." He looked me up and down. "I gave up trying." I nodded, thinking over his words fondly. "I just love you so, so, sooo much," he said, bending his voice with a roll of his eyes.

I laughed. "Well, I love you so, so, sooo much more."

He raised his eyebrows challengingly. "If you weren't so cute, I'd argue," he remarked and John Lennon had once again made me feel so flustered I felt like I could fall over.

May 11, 1962

"It's too early," I whined.

"What a bloody charm you are," replied John cheekily. I shook my head. It was eight in the morning, much earlier than I should have ever agreed to after a late night like last night. John said he wanted to get there as early as he could, and so I eventually gave in.

I frowned at him. "I told you we should've waited another hour," I retorted.

He put his arm around my shoulders, hugging me tightly. "You can sleep on the train," he said, his voice teasing.

I snorted. "I already knew that."

"Why the snappy tone?" he asked, pulling away and frowning mockingly, his little black cap almost covering his eyes. I pushed it up jokingly to see him better.

"Not snappy," I said. "Just tired. I won't remember anything I'm saying in an hour."

He shrugged. "Fair enough." He pulled his hat back down and I shook my head with a smile. He grinned and took my hand, reaching in his back pocket with his free hand. He handed me a train ticket. "Don't lose it, ma douce Donna," he said warningly.

"I won't," I said. "I promise."

He grinned. "Well, on we go!" He rushed down the platform, dropping my hand and I sighed before dashing off to to catch up.

John's POV

Donna fell asleep on my lap the second we found a compartment to isolate ourselves in.

I hoped getting away from Hamburg, from the band, and from the pressure of everything would help her. I hated to see her so upset. I'd never seen her this torn up. You could tell she wasn't right by the bags under her eyes, by the way her mouth twitched downward when she smiled around the others, a sign that it was forced, by the way she kept in corners, back to herself. It took too much effort to get her to come around us sometimes, it seemed.

She always mentioned being in the way, like she was some fallen tree blocking a road. I don't know where she got such an idea. We all loved having her around. Paul, John, and Pete always talked about how they loved Donna. I always found a way to get reassurance that I didn't have to bash their faces in.

Only joking, of course.

I watched outside the window of the train. Trees and buildings and clouds whizzed by like a lifetime. They were all there for a split second, gone the next.