"Sorry about that sweetie," He apologized, realizing that she probably wasn't expecting the sudden take-off. "I just wanted to get the hell out of there." He chuckled.
"He does stupid things like that all the time!" Bernie chimed in, trying to get back at Elton for making him sit in the back seat. They both snickered at each other- which made the girl giggle at their incredibly childish but cute teasing.
"Oh..." Elton turned at looked at the girl as though he forgot something, "I haven't gotten your name!" Smiling, he scratched his head and then continued looking at the road.
She laughed at him when he said that; he was so funny the way he forgot to ask such simple things from time to time. "Jeanette," The girl replied, "but you can call me Jeannie if you want."
Elton and Bernie exchanged looks and smiled almost deviously, before joining together and singing the chorus of one of Elton's most popular songs:
"Oh little Jeannie, you got so much love, little Jeannie.
And you take it where it strikes and give it to the likes of me
Oh little Jeannie, she got so much love, little Jeannie
So I see you when I can, you make me all a man can be"
After they sang, they erupted into a cheery laughter that nearly shook the car as they drove. Jeannie's jaw nearly dropped. Oh how she didn't ever realize that Elton sang that song! Now more than ever was she beginning to find this man fascinating. There was so much about him that she didn't really know. She blushed at Elton, whom she now found very sweet and funny in addition to being cute as hell. Though every time she would tell herself he was much too old for her, she still found something else about him that would draw her near.
Elton finally pulled over so he could talk to Jeannie a little more and get some directions, now that he was out of the dark, dingy little town.
"Hey, how old are you anyway?" He laughed, putting his arm on her shoulder playfully. She was still blushing at him, as he just made her day with that song.
"Seventeen, why?" She asked, though she really didn't care much for an answer.
"Really? Damn!" He turned and looked at Bernie, whose eyebrows were as high as they could possibly be.
"Whaaat...?" Jeannie asked.
"Oh nothing, you're just adorable." He took his hand off her and adjusted his glasses, then swallowed almost nervously. He actually resembled a shy little puppy in a way. Jeannie blushed even harder now, until she couldn't hold back the smiling anymore. She covered her mouth as if she was ashamed in laughing at his charming personality.
"Elton-" She beamed with delight at the sudden compliment. "Thank you!" She finally took her hand off her mouth and bit her lip. What a lucky girl she was today.
Elton returned a grin as well as a faint blush, then he turned to look at the road ahead of him. "So Jeannie, where's your house?"
"It's actually on the north side of Atlanta, near the outskirts. I'll show you where to go once you're in Atlanta."
"Okay then, thank you." He said very politely, and took off a little gentler this time.
"Oh no, Elton-" She smiled, "I have to thank YOU and Bernie for rescuing me. I was going to be that freak's jail bait tonight if you hadn't gotten me out of that living hell. I truly thank you for that. I'll never forget this night!"
At last there was the first moment of silence between the three of them; the tires of the car rolling across the endless road was only thing to be heard.
"Oh, it's just wot a good man should do." Elton said; his eyes not leaving the road. "And you're welcome, darling." His head tilted a little as he spoke.
The rest of the ride back home was not very long after that. Bernie, Elton, and Jeannie all shared a few more laughs before reaching her subdivision. The night was so much more warmer, friendlier, and simply lovely when around two good-hearted people like them. It surely beat the alternative.
"Take a left." Jeannie told Elton, and directed him to her street. "My house is all the way at the end, on the right. You can't miss it, it's right by the dead end." He followed her directions until he found her house; a small brick home with many flowers and shrubs growing perfectly around the landscape. Her porch was small but very neat, a white rocking chair stood out proudly among the thick, green grass and deep red bricks. It was a very pleasant-looking home to Elton, whom he thought fit very well for a cute little girl like Jeannie.
"I like your house." Elton said as he pulled into her driveway.
"What? My house?" Surprised, she looked around as if he was going to make some sort of joke to Bernie again. But he didn't.
"Yeah, I mean I really think it's a lovely little home." He gave a warm, compassionate smile this time, indicating he was very serious and meant what he said.
"Oh, well, thank you...!" She said, and began to unbuckle her seat belt.
The rest of them followed, until they all got out of the car and walked up the driveway towards her front door. Jeannie stopped and checked her pockets, found her key, and began walking up her porch. When Elton and Bernie didn't follow, she turned around and motioned her hand for them to come along.
"Come on guys, you can have a little drink before you go. I know it's not much but I can't thank you enough for your kind actions tonight." Jeannie nodded, and then muttered a little quieter, "And I just want to talk to you guys a little more..." She skipped to her front door in delight, chuckling to herself and hoping that they would come inside. She looked back, and the grin on Elton's face was priceless.
"Hell... we're in no rush here. Why not..." Bernie smiled at Elton, whose face resembled that of a kid in a candy store. They agreed to come inside, and followed Jeannie to the front door as she unlocked it.
When she opened the door, it was very dark. "Shoot," Jeannie said, "I need to get some light in here!" She touched the wall and practically "molested" it until she found the light switch.
"Sorry about that." She said, taking her shoes off on the rug below. "You don't have to take your shoes off; I know you're leaving soon." She told the two.
Her house was a lot bigger than expected, with tall, triangular ceilings and large, square windows. She had a very lavish chandelier over her dining room table, and very neutral but natural themed colors. Elton was once again suprised, and even impressed by the cleanliness of the house. But he refrained himself from complimenting her- again.
Jeannie allowed them to walk inside and take a seat at the table. She was so giddy and silly about serving them; she was so happy to do something for a celebrity. She could not stop fathoming the idea that there was some famous people in her own dining doom: Elton John and Bernie Taupin to be exact. Eager to meet their needs, Jeannie walked over to them once they took a seat and stood up proud and tall. "And what would you like today, sir?" She joked around in a French accent. She looked at Bernie, who tried hard not to smile.
"We have coffee, tea, juice, lemonade, and water."
"I think I'll take some tea, thank you." He nodded with a funny grin, that was directed towards Elton. Elton responded with a sly smirk as if it were some secret code between the two. But Jeannie didn't notice, she just continued with her "order".
"Alright sir, that's one tea for you. And what would you like, mister?" She turned and faced Elton, who was pretending to read off a menu. Jeannie smiled at his good sense of humor. She loved it when a guy knew when to joke around and when to be serious.
"Water sounds good to me, thank you."
"Oh but are you sure? You could get water anywhere. We have only the finest juices and teas around!" She continued to speak in a French accent, which was oh-so adorable because it wasn't very accurate at all. Elton picked up on this right away, and speaking French himself, he returned a much more realistic accent towards her.
"I think I will take some tea as well then."
Delighted like a little schoolgirl, Jeannie ran off into the kitchen and began preparing some tea for the two. She could hear them laughing and muttering words to each other, but she couldn't make out what they were. Grabbing a cup, she began brewing up some tea. As she waited, she walked back out to Elton and Bernie who were patiently and quietly waiting for her.
"Sorry about that, the teas shall be done in a few minutes." She continued to speak in an accent.
"Merci," Elton said, "Votre service est très bon!" He looked at the girl with a innocent and playful sneer.
"What..." The girl whispered, almost embarrassed, but still engaged.
"HahaHAA!!!!" Elton snorted with an abrupt laughter. Bernie also joined. Boy, did these two just love to joke around and tease her. But she didn't mind- they were very sweet and genuinely funny about it!
"I meant to say, "thanks, your service is very good!"" He laughed, and then proceeded to give Jeannie a wink. She didn't know how to take it- surely it only meant that he was just messing around with her and all was good, but boy did that wink sure spur up the butterflies in her. Fighting back more blushing, Jeannie ran back into the kitchen to check on the tea.
They were done. Before she served them, she poured herself her own glass of juice, then gabbed a tray to properly serve them their drinks. She loved more than ever to be the entertainer, the helper, and the cute one all at once.
"Bon appetite!" She entered the room and set down the tray. In almost a blink of an eye, she switched back to her normal self and plopped down in a seat across from Bernie and next to Elton. She grabbed her drink and began to gulp it down quickly.
"Sorry," She breathed in between gulps, "I'm really thirsty."
"I see." Said Bernie, who chuckled with Elton at her cuteness.
They all began to drink, and Elton stopped almost immediately after the first sip. "Shit!" He swore, then covered his mouth as though Jeannie was only a little kid. Everyone turned their head and stared at the distraught Elton John who had tea dripping down his chin and soaking into his suit.
"I have absolutely no clue wot happened." He blinked blankly, and then looked down at his drenched clothes.
"What the hell!?" Jeannie said, confused. "Did I give you a broken cup or something? Let me bring you a towel..." By the time she finished her sentence, she was already back with a white wash cloth and brought it to Elton.
"No, it's fine, I think I just... missed my mouth..." He laughed at himself, then wiped the tea from his clothes. He wore all black so it didn't show up very much. "Thank you, Jeannie." He said, and gave the towel back to her.
The rest of the night ran as smoothly as ever, with Elton and asking Jeannie various questions to get to know her.
"So wot kinda music do you like, Jeannie?" Elton said with a little smile.
"Rock, of course. But lots of early rock like Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis n' stuff." She scratched her head and looked at the table. Her shyness was being to peep out again. "I also really love country/rock artists, and a lot of Motown because it reminds me of home."
"Oh you're not from here?" Elton raised an eyebrow.
"Nope, I'm from Wisconsin, but moved to Michigan at an early age. I grew up there most my life!" Jeannie smiled at the the thought of her home. She loved it there so much and hoped to go back.
"What brought you to Atlanta?" Bernie asked.
"Ohhh well... jobs and stuff..." She sighed, "My dad got a well-paying job here two years ago, but last year my parents got in a big fight and all and divorced, and we haven't been able to move back to Michigan yet."
"Oh dear I'm so sorry," Elton sounded disgusted with bringing up the topic once he learned that it didn't always have a good story.
"Oh but it's fine, I'm kinda happy that's he's gone now anyways; he never liked me or supported anything I did anyways."
"I know darling, I know the pain." Elton sighed and stared motionlessly at his empty cup. "My father... well... I don't talk about him much."
A moment of silence spread quickly throughout the room, except for the gentle breeze blowing through the windows and moving the curtains. It was such a touching moment. Jeannie didn't know that Elton had those sort of pains growing up. But she understood completely. And neither of them wanted to think about who they had lost along the way.
Jeannie moved the conversation on: "I didn't make much friends here in Atlanta either, that's why I want to move back to Michigan so badly. I want to see my old friends again. I miss them."
"Homesick. I know that pain too." Elton looked at Bernie, who nodded in agreement. "We've both lived many different places. It's just a feeling you gotta adapt to."
He swallowed, and then looked back at Jeannie again. "So is that why nobody was really able to pick you up tonight? I still find it odd that nobody came to pick you up. No friends at all? No siblings? No boyfriend?"
"Nope, I made no friends here. Not even at school. A lot of acquaintances, but I guess I'm just not "popular" enough for friends. I'm also an only child, and I've never had a boyfriend before."
"Wot!?" Elton looked at Bernie, then back at Jeannie, and his eyes grew very large as if he could not believe what he just heard.
"A sweet, funny girl like you and you've never had a boyfriend before? Why, I'd think all the guys would be chasing after you!"
"No..." Jeannie smiled, but it sort of formed into a frown. "No, I'm not normal, I'm just, I'm just too different for them. I don't like them."
"Who?" Bernie asked, looking over at Elton who was leaning into the table so far to make sure he was hearing things right. It was sort of funny. So Bernie scooted in a little, too.
"The boys at school." She sighed. "And really, anybody my age." She kept her eyes on the table, and didn't move them an inch. "I don't like anybody my age."
Elton's eyes managed to get even bigger somehow; "Well wot do you mean, Jeannie? Are they mean to you? Oh if they're mean to you I'll put them in their place, I promise. I'll go right to your school and start an anti-bully speech and-"
Bernie put his hand on Elton's and told him to shut up. She was about to cry. Elton stopped his sentence immediately and stared at the distressed Jeannie who hung her head down low. She was silent.
"W-w-wot's wrong?" Elton said in a hush, low voice. He might as well have whispered.
Jeannie didn't speak for a minute. She just hung her head down.
"It's... it's not really a big deal to some but it really affects me. I'm lonely. I'm so... fucking... lonely... and I know exactly why."
The silence between the three heightened, the draft through the window stopped suddenly, and the curtains froze. It even seemed like the ticking of the clock on the wall had nearly stopped. Stunned by the word choice she used, Elton and Bernie soon came to realize that this was a tough subject for her to talk about and she wasn't really the little girl they had portrayed her to be. She was seventeen, she was almost a woman. And she meant what she said.
"But never mind. It wouldn't be right for me to lay my burdens on you guys anyways." She sighed, and slowly lifted her head back up again.
"You can tell us, Jeannie. We're here to listen." Elton looked down at her with attentive eyes and a weak smile. He would do anything to see the girl's vibrant, jubilant energy again.
"I hope it doesn't weird you out, but-" she stretched her arms out and took a very unusual look at Elton, "-but I'm attracted to older men."
Elton looked at the table for a very, very long time.
"And I mean men in their 40s or 50s."
He looked back up from the table and glanced at Bernie for his reaction. He was, as expected, staring right back at Elton. He let out a small laugh.
"Well wot's wrong with that?"
"I can't date men that old. I can't! And now I feel so lonely..." She buried her head in her hands and silently sobbed. "And I'm so sorry for laying this out on you two. I feel horrible." She couldn't believe she was telling the Elton and Bernie her own life and personal problems. It was almost rude and unprofessional, she knew they had concerns of their own and she was only some regular teenage girl as far as she thought. But Elton and Bernie, on the other hand, were so much more absorbed in her thoughts and feelings than she imagined.
"You are a really charming, sensible young lady." Bernie said, leaning into the table. Elton stepped in as well.
"Jeannie," His voice was very deep, very assured, "Don't ever stop loving who you love. My advice to you is to never chase love; it will find you when you least expect it." He cleared his throat and then pushed back his chair. Getting up from his seat, he walked over to Jeannie and knelt down. Jeannie's muscles twitched. Startled, she did not expect his face to be so close.
"You're not alone," he spoke delicately, softly into her ear. It wasn't long before Elton had his arms around the girl in a warm, deep embrace that seemed to have lasted for several minutes. Jeannie did not expect the hug, nor his kind words, but she took them deeply as the came.
Immersed in his pleasant, warm hug, Jeannie closed her eyes and imagined something the never thought she'd imagine in her life. But she pictured herself with Elton. It was no surprise, this was just about the only physical contact she had with a man ever; of course a teenage girl was bound to have these thoughts. But she didn't expect to have these feelings nor thoughts about Elton until today. It confused her, bewildered her, and sort of made her excited. When he released the hug, Jeannie smiled a bright smile that could be seen even at the farthest points in the room.
Immediately Elton smiled back, relieved that he had cheered her up. A part of him had seemed to find enjoyment in satisfying this girl, although he was very much so gay, he didn't really think that bringing this girl happiness and reassurance was going to cause any harm, or change his sexuality.
"Feel better?" His wise, hazel eyes were glowing in the light.
"It's gonna be hard not asking for another hug from you again." Jeannie admitted with a innocent, but sly grin. She was definitely back to her normal self again.
"Ooohh Jeannie," Elton sighed, "And it's gonna be hard for me to resist you once I go."
Bernie looked at Elton with a concerned look, and walked up to him as though it was an urgent emergency. It was like a code, and signaled Elton that maybe it was time to go.
"Well Jeannie..." Elton began, but she interrupted him unintentionally.
"Oh my goodness are you leaving!? Well I guess it would make sense. It's pretty late." She got up from her seat quickly and rushed to the kitchen. Fiddling about, what sounded like her rummaging through drawers, Jeannie came back with with a marker.
"Please wait one second!" She yelled, running down the hallway. She came back with the new Elton John record, "Sleeping With The Past", and handed it to Bernie and Elton.
"Please, please sign this. My mom will never believe me that you two came over!" She squealed in delight as she watched them sign it. She was shaking from all the excitement and realization that once again, there were famous people in her dining room.
After they signed it, Jeannie opened up the front door (reluctantly) and turned around to give her final goodbyes.
"Bernie, Elton-" She looked at them with a sad look, but of course she was trying to fight back her happiness from meeting them as well, "I am beyond thankful and grateful for the fun, love, and happiness you brought me tonight!" She giggled, now completely forgetting all about how sad she was earlier. "Oh, and of course the ride. I think you saved my life." She smiled, although it was probably the truth, too. They all knew it.
"It was my pleasure helping you, Jeannie. You are such a wonderful... woman." He brought himself to say it. Jeannie leaped in to give them both a hug, one last time, before the long night had ended. In the blink of an eye, they were out the door and the clock struck 1:30am. If this was surely a dream, Jeannie wouldn't have known. It sure felt realer than even her own waking life, then.
Looking back down at the record, Jeannie read what Elton and Bernie wrote.
That tea was great, but get over that Elton guy!
Much love, Bernie Taupin
"Now that was cute." Jeannie thought. Bernie always had something "smart-alecky" to say back to Elton. It was like they were brothers.
You make me all a man can be, little Jeannie.
I love you.
Elton John, XOXO
She nearly dropped the record when she read that. Just when she thought her day could not get any better, and here Elton John just told her he loved her?
"This has to be a dream. I'm dreaming!" She told herself, in denial that Elton would ever tell her such a thing. That's when the tears began to break her down. Falling down, hitting her head on the door knob, she leaned her frail body against the front door and cried her heart out into a million pieces. But they were all from joy. Holding the record in her arms, squeezing it, and remembering Elton's gentle embrace- it was as plain as daylight and as clear as can be that she had fallen in love with a man named Elton John.