Nowhere Girl ~ John Lennon/The Beatles

Chapter Five: New Information

She wanted to say that, to stand her ground and establish to Jenny that it was possible for her to just be friends with someone even if they were a lad, but instead the girl had let out a small laugh, and Robin knew whatever she would say would go unheard.

"I'm just saying, he seems fascinated by you but I wouldn't get your hopes up," she continued. "I know he's good looking so I wouldn't blame you, but he's a bit of a wild freak sometimes. That's a family thing though, I went to school with his cousin and she was just the same, she was a little bitch who broke my nose,"

Robin felt her chest tighten ever so slightly in anger, not that she knew why. Why was she suddenly so defensive for this lad she had known just over a week? She didn't have long to dwell on her anger though, not as Helen sighed in interruption. It was clear to Robin that poor Helen had to listen to Jenny complain about John and his cousin plenty of times, and Robin had to hold back a small laugh at the way the two girls looked at each other, silently communicating their frustrations.

"Yeah, sorry," Jenny shook her head before forcing on a smile again. "John can be just as bad though, he can be right mean and a bit of a maniac, especially these last few weeks since he lost his Mum. I mean, we all like him cause he's good looking and can be funny sometimes, but he seems to have taken a shine to you,"

Her words made Robin feel as though there was a large lump stuck in her throat. She felt as though someone had hit her in the chest, knocking all the air out from within her. John had lost his mother recently. He'd never mentioned it, but yet things seemed to make a lot of sense. All the times she'd been drawn to him, maybe it was because her grief subconsciously recognised his and knew they were kindred spirits through their losses. She remembered every time she'd seen the bitter, angry look flare up in his eye if someone said something he didn't like, like the first time she met him as she told him he was bad at flirting. She remembered it, because it was how she had been with everyone in the months since her father's death.

He'd lost his mother. His friends clearly knew, and they seemed adamant to blame all his problems on the loss, but what they didn't know was that she'd lost her father. She knew exactly how it felt to lose a parent, she knew the crushing feeling of despair, the hopelessness that could either cast you into darkness or make you want to self-destruct. She knew grief very well, and the fact that John did too hurt. It didn't matter that she hardly knew him, her hatred of losing someone made her instantly protective, like she needed to shield him from all the pain that he was feeling, similar pain that she'd felt.

Finding out about his loss in such a cruel way didn't help her already building anger. For someone who classed themselves as John's friend to blame his behaviour on such a horrible event rather than help him properly felt sickening to her, and Robin instantly wanted to get up and walk away. She wanted to go to whatever pub John was in and talk to him and hug him. She wasn't sure where the last part had come from, probably from the overwhelming desire to be near someone who understood how she felt.

Jenny certainly wasn't someone who understood. She was far too caught up in her bitterness towards Robin. So what if she was the new girl that John found interesting? They were neighbours after all, and they were in class together. Their lives were interwound in an odd way, so what if John thought of her as a mate? Jenny seemed determined to ward Robin off, as if John was hers, as if she was so obsessed with him she hated the thought of someone new taking John's attention.

"I don't really think it's any of your business, really," Robin spoke tensing her jaw slightly.

"No, it's not, I'm just saying, don't get used to it or get your hopes up or anything," Jenny carried on, clearly not getting the message that Robin wasn't interested in what she had to say. "He probably just likes you cause you're new because you're not his type at all. Last year he was flirting with this blonde girl called Cynthia, she was really pretty, but had to move away so they couldn't see each other anymore. He's probably just bored and you're new and interesting for now, his interest won't last, don't worry,"