~The Beatles Imagines & Preferences~

3. John's Surprise

JOHN

"John, are you alright!?" you say as you turn around, now facing your friend. He groans and mumbles something that you couldn't really understand. It was something along the lines of "fine", you assumed. He was covering his face, sniffing, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. A smear of blood mixed with saliva now covered part of his blouse, the colour clashing with his pale skin. "John..." you try again.

A muffled "Mmhwhot" was all you got.

You sigh, and reach down your bag, giving him a concerned look while pulling out a tissue and handing it to him. After he had cleaned up his face a bit, he looked up to you with a gratefull expression, a small smile forming on his lips. You could't help but feel for him badly, while he looked like a complete mess, standing there with a blood drenched tissue and a crooked smile. "John..." you now whisper. "What the hell happened".

You grab another tissue, and dab a bit of water on it. Thank god you had brought a bottle with you this time, as you usually forgot. You feel his eyes fixed on you, and you turn around again. "Here, hold still. This might hurt" you mutter, and bring the wet tissue up to his face. He flinches when you place the cloth on the cut on his jaw. Noticing this, you pull back and wait for a second, until he signals you it's ok to continue.

Eyes fixed on his wound, questions begin to pop into your head.

What was he doing here in the middle of the night?

Who was that other guy that had ran off after beating the crap out of him?

And why was he crying?

Oh god, the crying. You had to look into his familiar brown eyes while cleaning the bruise around his right eyebrow, so you were forced to see your best friend break down in front of you. The mischievous sparkle in his eyes had dissapeared, and the only thing sparkling now was a tear that was making it's way down his face. You really hated seeing him like this, small and vulnerable.

You fold the tissue, and clean off the last streak of blood. Still holding the tissue, you wipe away the tear with your thumb, and give him a crooked smile. "Hey" you start, speaking sofly because you are standing rather close. "You can tell me what happened later, but right now we need to get you patched up". You grab his dirty hand, not noticing that your blouse is now covered in John's blood. You wouldn't have cared, too.

He looks up to you and nods sofly, clearly not wanting to make any fast movements. "Lead the way miss" he spoke with a raspy voice. Noticing a bit of good old John in that sentence made you happy, but his face still looked like he had just faced death, so you smiled and stayed silent.

You had been planning on taking him to your house at first, but after a while you switched plans, and now you were heading to Paul's.

~

"He did what?!" Paul asked while dragging John inside and placing him on the sofa. You had arrived at his house a few minutes ago, tired and sweaty from carrying John for half of the time. When Paul had opened the door, he had been surprised to see you, but as soon as he'd noticed John he understood the seriousness of why you were there. He was now helping you getting him inside, having taken over the burden of carrying him. Your shoulders felt very sore, but you had made it, which made you feel a little relieved.

"He got into a fight, I think" you answer Paul, giving him a concerned look. "Although it didn't seem like a fair one, given that the other guy had a knife". This made Paul look up quickly, shock in his eyes. "I scared him off I think. I mean, I meant to, after I saw this guy beating op someone on the street. I grabbed a plank covered in nails and screamed at him, as I really didn't know anything else to do. I didn't notice he had a knife after he dropped it while running". You shrug, but are surprised by Paul who was now hugging you tightly. "Jeez (Y/N)..." he whispered. "I'm so glad you are both okay".

"Yeah, I'm fiiiine" John suddenly spoke, and you jumped a little. He was slightly grinning, and he tried to get up, grabbing his waist tightly. Paul would have nothing of it, and pushed him back onto the couch. "What the hell John" he started, sounding kind of angry. "Can you please explain what happened? Now?"

John sits back up, head tilted to the ground, as if he was ashamed. "Right..." he started slowly. "That guy was beating me up because... Well, he was stalking you, (Y/N)". He now looks you in the eyes, and you see a glimpse of anger flashing through them. "W-what...?" you mutter, confused. "How do you know?"

"I know... " John continues, "because he had been following you for four blocks. He had his hood up, and took every turn you did. After I noticed he was getting closer, I walked over and told him to fuck off. That's when he drew the knife and did this" he pointed at his chin.

"What the..." you can barely breathe. But that wasn't what you had meant with the question. "I mean, how did you know he had been following me? Why were you there?"

He looks down to the ground again, like he did before. Something was troubling him, you could see it. "I need some fresh air" he suddenly said and got up, walking to the backdoor. You looked at Paul for answeres, but he seemed just as confused as you. You heared the door slam shut.

~

"John?"

You sit down on the steps to the backdoor of the house, next to your best friend. He had been your friend for over a year, after you had met at artschool. You had loved his witty humor, and you two always had the best conversations. You really didn't know what was troubling him, and seeing him staring up at the clouded sky made you wonder what he was thinking about.

"Hey, what's up?" you ask him again. This time he looks up at you, and his serious gaze surprises you. He was rarely this serious. '(Y/N)' he starts, and sighs deeply. Here it came.
"I was following you because I wanted to surprise you..." he said softly.

You didn't understand. "What do you mean John?"

He opened his coat, grabbing something from underneath it. It was a record. The cover was a little scrathed, but the record itself seemed to be intact. He handed it to you, and you read the title.

"Can't help falling in love with you"
By Elvis Presley.

You looked up at him again, and saw his eyes filled with sadness. "When that guy was beating me, I could only think about the fact that's I might lose you, (Y/N)... I had tried to protect you, and failed". He grabbed your hand. "Thank god you scared him off, I don't know what would've happened if you didn't"

Now you were starting to realise what he meant with the gift, and everything he had said. You looked at the record, and back at him. Suddenly, you felt his lips against yours. You were frozen at first, but after a while you leaned in, answering his kiss. After he pulled away, you couldn't help but smile foolishly, and blush. "I know this is not exactly as I had planned it, but do you maybe want to go on a date with me?" he grinned. You pulled him into a tight embrace, and laughed.

"Orcourse Lennon, but you could have just asked me without almost dying, ya know?"

- A long one this time! Poor Johnny... New imagine will be up tomorrow!

-Rose🌹