The Less I Know The Better [complete]

17 ;; rebellion

The almond-eyed boy gasped. "I've taught you well, my son!" He pulled him into a hug, pretending to wipe away imaginary tears and whacking the younger on the back, making him stumble a little and shove him away with a giggle, rolling his eyes once again.

"Whatever, Lennon." He was silent for a few seconds, before realising he was still clutching onto John's arm, causing him to quickly let go with a cough, gaze diverting to the ground. His arm tingled strangely afterwards, feeling the imprint of Paul's hand on it still persistently present. "Anyroad, I just want to avoid his impending wrath for a bit. So, can I stay?"

"No worries, mate. 've had to crash at a friend's to avoid Mimi too many times ta count." John chuckled. Paul smiled too, glancing up at him for a moment; their gazes locked together and he was faintly reminded of what had happened a few days ago on George's front porch. His heartbeat picked up again, cheeks flushing beet red as he subconsciously licked his thin lips. Their trance was broken, however.

"Oi, watch where you're goin', prick!"

John leapt back in slight shock, spinning around to look at the tall, stern man that he'd just slammed into.

"Stupid kids, thinkin' they're tough stuff." The man continued to glare down at him from his crooked, thin nose, and John blinked up at him, looking unamused, of course needing to make a comeback.

"Well, I'm sorry mister stick bug lookalike. Let me kiss the fuckin' ground you walk on to show how sorry I am!" He dropped to his knees, pretending to kiss the footpath at the man's feet; he grinned, heart jumping wildly in his chest, when he heard Paul burst into laughter.

"You better get outta here before I pound ya!"

This caused him to leap to his feet, grinning and winking at passersby who had stopped and stared at the whole ordeal as he dashed away - he grabbed Paul's wrist to tug him along with him as they rounded the corner and ran out of sight. He heard some faint swears directed his way before it was gone, the two collapsing into laughter as they halted to catch their breath.

"His face was fuckin' hilarious!" Paul exclaimed, leaning on his knees as he grinned up at John, still giggling a little. He adjusted his guitar cases' strap before straightening.

"I know, right! The connoisseur of comedy, I am." He leant on a nearby parked car to emphasise his point, but jumped away with a yelp when he set off the alarm that started to blare through the street; he chuckled sheepishly and yelled out a 'sorry!' to the people who sent glares his way from the other side of the road.

"You geek." Paul laughed again, grabbing his shoulder and steering him back down the street for the last leg of their trip to John's. A fleeting feeling of joy coursed through his veins; it seemed the first half of their relationship where they were at each others' throats was at a proper end now. It made him feel more elated than he'd really felt in a long time.

"Who's talkin', again?" John turned to the younger with a raise of his eyebrows. He got an indignant glare in response. With that, the pair fell into a somewhat comfortable silence as they reached John's street, the older boy fumbling with his keys before opening up the front door, making their way inside.

"John?" He heard Mimi's voice call from the kitchen and he peered through the archway to spot her at the sink, seemingly in the middle of washing dishes - though now she was leaning against it, one hand on her hip as she scrutinized him. Her expression changed to an even more stern one when Paul popped out from behind him.

"Hey, Mimi. You've met Paul before." John gestured to the younger boy before tugging on his wrist again for them to make their way up the stairs to his room.