Sophie's P.O.V.
What John had said to me had me rattled. Ok, maybe it wasnt so weird, I had thought that he was wild for me. Now John just sort of creeped me out.
"Hey James?" I ask my brother.
"Whaaat?" he drags out.
"Do you still think John is cool?"
"Why?" James asked, a bit puzzled.
"Just answer the question!"
"Ok, ok!" James sighed, holding his hands up, "I don't know. He doesn't really hang around me anymore."
"Oh."
So I started avoiding John. I didn't eat lunch with him anymore. I didn't whisper and pass notes to him in class. I didn't watch him play at the Cavern. And when we sat outside on the lawn at night to talk, I stayed inside.
Finally, one day outside of art, John caught me.
"Sophie, we really need to talk. Stay here, please!" John begged.
The look on his face was so desperate, I felt guilty. "Alright."
I went into art class with John. Fortunately, he sat across the room so he couldn't talk to me.
"Class, today I want you to take your paint and paint whatever you have been feeling lately," the teacher announced.
He handed out big pieces of white paper. I took out pink, yellow, and blue paint. I painted waves of blue sorrow and sadness, jagged yellow streaks of scaredness, and pink lines of longing. Then I tilted the painting up, and all the colors dripped onto each other. The painting looked exactly what I was feeling inside: a mess.
I glance across the room to see John's painting. It's mostly blue, with little splats of red. He was taking his brush and flinging red paint on it. He must be really sad and angry.
At me? I wonder.
At the end of art class, I leave to go to my locker and pack up my books. Then I wait. Sure enough, John comes over to where I am standing.
"Sophie, what's going on?" John asks, pained, "Why are yeh avoiding me?"
I hesitate before responding. "When you asked me out, I got scared. I wasn't sure what to say to you, and so I so I started to avoid you."
I look down at the floor, feeling guilty for being so stupid and mean to John. But he cups my chin and makes me look up at him. "Don't feel bad. I know that I might of came on a little too strong, and you don't have to answer the question."
That relieves me a little bit, but I still feel a twinge of guilt. "Alright."
We start to walk home in silence. It was very awkward.
"See you later, Sophie," John glumly states.
"Yeah," I say half heartedly.
John's P.O.V.
I feel ashamed for asking her out now. She is obviously in distress. I make a small attempt to finish my homework before giving up. I don't have to play at the Cavern tonight. The nights I'm supposed to take Sophie out. Then I see that it's 10. We normally go outside at this time to talk. I wander outside and wait on the lawn for her. But she once again doesn't show up.
I sigh and go back inside. As I'm getting ready for bed, I see the Elvis record we bought together. She hasn't came back to listen to it. I sigh and climb into bed.
* * * * * * *
Later I wake up. I turn to my alarm clock and see that it's only 3 in the morning. And it's also a Saturday. I got downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I'm filling up my cup, I look out the window to see Sophie's house. But then I see something peculiar.
Sophie is climbing out her window to the little bit of flat roof.
Why is she out there? I ask myself.
I hurry out of the house and over to her lawn. "Sophie!" I whisper yell.
Then I look more closely. Her eyes are closed. She's sleepwalking!
"Oh my god, she's gonna fall!" I say aloud.
Sophie was starting to walk to the edge of the roof. "Leave me alone," she mutters.
"Sophie! Wake up!" I yell to her, but no use.
I run to right under the part she's standing on and hold out my arms. Luckily I got there when I did, because she walked right off the roof and went straight on top of me.
I was knocked flat onto the ground, she on top of me. Then she finally opens her eyes.
"John?" she asks, looking all around her, "Why're we outside?"
I pull myself into a sitting position, her still on me. "You were sleepwalking. I saw you and caught you right as you fell off the roof."
"Oh no," she muttered, " I sleepwalk when I'm stressed. I-i didn't say anything, did I?"
"Yeah. Leave me alone. What were ya dreamin'" I wondered.
She turned red. "Um, well, I dreamt that... you were chasing me, and I climbed a tree. I was walking on the limbs, and you told me to come over to you, and I told you to leave me alone."
"Oh," I said, embarrassed.
Then Sophie looked at me like I was an entirely different person. "You saved me, John!"
"I guess I did."
Her whole face brightens, then she kissed me on the nose. Now it was my turn to turn red.
"Well, I think my answer is yes," Soohie told me happily.
"Er, for what?" I asked stupidly, still in a daze.
"You're so stupid, John!" she said, laughing.
"Oh! Oh, gear!" I said finally getting it.
"You weren't going to quit kissing me even if I said no, would you?" Sophie asked.
"Probably not," I said sheepishly.
"Sophia!"
Sophie and I whipped our heads towards the door to her house. There stood Sophie's mum, looking pretty angry.
She grabbed my ear and dragged me in the direction of my house. "I'll be telling Mimi about this!"
"Mom! Leave John alone!" Sophie yelled at her mother.
But her mother kept going on. She rapped on my front door. Mimi opened it.
"John?" she asked.
"Mimi, your boy was found in my backyard with my daughter! Don't let him near Sophie again!" Sophie's mom yelled.
Mimi just pulled me inside, but not beforei saw Sophie bawling her face off.
"John, what happened?" Mimi questioned.
"She was sleepwalking! She was about to fall off her roof!" I say angrily.
Mimi sighs. "Go to bed, John."
But I stare out my window at Sophie's Window. Then she goes to the window and stares at me. I hold up my finger then grab a piece of paler and scrawl words on it. I hold it up. She points to herself then makes a heart, then points to me, then makes the number 2. Then she leaves.
I look at what I wrote. I love you.
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
A.N. *Crying*
