Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Twenty: Brilliant

"Fucking hell," he practically gasped, especially as Robin jumped off him quickly. As soon as she was stood in front of him, naked, his mind went blank, his panic going forgotten.

"Oi!" Robin hissed, covering her chest as she bent down and picked his jeans and jumper off the floor, throwing both at him so they hit his chest, making him snap out his daze. "What if she comes upstairs? She already hates me,"

"She doesn't hate you, she just..." John tried but quickly gave up with a shrug, getting up from the bed himself and pulling his clothes on. "We'll tell her you were helping me with college stuff,"

Robin nodded despite being sceptical of the lie, but decided to focus on getting dressed. She couldn't find her bra, though John handed it to her after spotting it across the room. How they'd made so much mess while undressing each other, their clothes scattered all over in various piles, was a little confusing, but what was more confusing was the guilty look John gave her as she went to put her shirt on.

"Erm, sorry, Robin," he began, putting his hands on her shoulders and guiding to stand in front of the mirror. "I'm sure I've got one of Paul's turtlenecks lying about,"

John went to go rummage in his wardrobe for a jumper, while Robin stared at her reflection. Her hair was a mess, but that could be quickly fixed by running her hands through it. What wasn't a quick fix was the several bright red marks all over her neck and even her collarbone. She couldn't really remember John giving her that many lovebites, but there they were, like badges of achievement. She stoked her fingers over them, remembering the passion that the two of them had shared, struggling to pull her mind away from the happy circumstances that had caused the marks.

"Here," John muttered, handing her a high-necked jumper that she pulled on quickly.

"Is this really Paul's?" she asked, amused. "Do all you Quarrymen share clothes? Is that normal?"

"Probably not," John shrugged, pulling on his own jumper, and Robin tried not to focus on how attractive he actually was. "He lent it me a few weeks ago, when I was round at his and was a bit pissed, but I just forgot to give it him back,"

"Remind me not to forget it's his and wear it around the others," she said, her tone light and joking as she stumbled into her jeans, the two of them now completely clothed. "Everyone will think I've been shagging him,"

John let out a small laugh, stepping closer to her to adjust the collar of the jumper, making sure it covered all the red marks he'd made. Still so close to her, he moved his hands up from her neck to hold her face, just as gentle as he had been before, and without a thought he pushed his lips to hers softly. He liked that, kissing her on a whim. It felt nice to not panic about showing his affection, to just kiss her and hold her without the worry of the consequences. It was a little different to what he was used to, used to just fantasising about her. This new reality was much nicer.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around him, wanting to just be close to him forever. That was impossible, however, the moment the two of them heard a banging knock at the door, breaking them apart.

"John!" Mimi's voice called irritatedly. Robin looked at John with narrowed eyes, not wanting to be caught by his aunt for their previous activities, but at the same time wondering just how he was going to lie about it all. "Are you in here?"

"Yep, Merry Boxing Day, Mimi my dear," he called sarcastically as he opened the door just a crack, allowing Robin to go unseen.

Looking around the room urgently, Robin spotted John's college sketchbook shoved carelessly by the side of the wardrobe, a couple of pencils on top of it. She quickly but quietly pulled it out from it's hiding place and set it out on the ground, flicking through to a half-completed page, picking up one of the pencils and beginning to sketch out something rough.