In just seconds, the line went dead, leaving my face blank and emotionless. My heart began to race as I quickly grabbed my backpack and dashed out of my room.
Hurrying down the stairs, I slung my thin coat over me and shuffled over to the front door.
"And where exactly do ye think yer goin'?" Mimi asked as she cocked her head. "Bit late, innit?"
I turned my focus away from putting my shoes on to looking back at Mimi, "It's... a lot, but... Paul needs me now, and I can't leave him be, anymore."
"Paul? Ye still talk to him?" Mimi furrowed her brows as she asked. "Thought ye two
were fightin'."
I squinted my eyes, "I honestly am unsure of him, myself... Regardless, I'll be back soon."
Mimi grabbed my head and planted a kiss on the top of my head, "Please, John, all I ask is that ye be safe. And keep yer nose outta trouble, too!"
I smiled slightly back at her and headed out the door, allowing it to slam behind me as I dashed down the empty, darkened street.
The pavement was covered in water and a faint mist could still be seen in the air, causing a thick fog to hover in the atmosphere. The only light I could see was from the dim-lit street lamps and the faint moon that could be seen through the dense clouds.
Paul is feeling everything I once felt. Everything that made me break. The suffocating reality that everything we love eventually goes away in some way or another. Whether it's by choice or by mere fate, we all have to cross that line. That barrier.
All I want to do is let him cry.
Hard.
I want him to know he'll always have a shoulder to sob on and a hand to hold. No one should be alone, especially Macca. He doesn't deserve this pain at all.
I sighed as I puffed on a cigarette, staring up at the stars that seemed to dance around the moon.
I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks as my mind began to think of the perfect solution to finish all of this.
...I know exactly what to do to let Paul know that I'm always here for him...
Everytime I took a breath of air, a thin cloud of smoke would escape my lips due to the bitter cold. It's that time of year between Summer and Winter with warm days and freezing nights. To keep warm, I shoved my hands into my pockets.
You may ask why the Hell I'd put myself into such a temperamental situation, but... well, we all know why I'm doing this. I don't think this needs any type of explanation at all.
Finally, I peered through a few more shrubs until I saw a boy sitting down on the ledge of Penny Lake. His head facing down into the water while his hair was flowing into the breeze. Though he looked solemn, he looked gorgeous like this.
I cleared my throat before slowly approaching him from behind, "M- Macca?"
He sighed and turned his head to face me, "Ello there, John." He said under his breath, "Thanks for comin'... even after I-" He began to speak until I cut him off, shielding ourselves from starting off on an awkward conversation.
"Ofcourse. Anythin' for a friend." I said, taking a seat next to the boy. "I am yer friend, yeah?"
Paul chuckled a tiny bit awkwardly, "Yer my best friend and that goes well wi' out sayin'."
I smiled and stared up at the sky as the overbearing silence fell over the two of us.
"She's, uh, really gone, Johnny." Paul finally broke the silence with these few words, his eyes welling up with tears.
I gulped and looked down into my lap, "I'm so sorry, Macca, truly. I know this can't be easy on ye. Really."
"I mean, it's the most difficult thing I've... ever had to deal wi'." Paul admitted, "And no one else gets it." He wiped his tears away with his hands, "Ye know?"
After a few seconds of silence, I finally chimed in.
"I get it, Paul."
"No, ye don't. Not like I do." Paul insisted.
"Ye don't even know the half of it, doll." I fought back.
"Then tell me." Paul looked into my eyes as he asked. "I'd like to know."
I bit my bottom lip nervously, "I've never talked abou' this wi' anyone." I explained, "Not even wi' me Aunt, really."
"Ye can put yer trust in me." Paul smiled, "Yer little stories are always safe wi' me."
I chuckled a bit, "Okay, well... before I came here to Penny Lake, I had lived wi' me family back in the city. ...Uh, it was Mimi, Julia, and I all living togeva'. ...Julia, being my real Mother." I paused for a moment, nervously picking at my fingernails, "We weren't rich by any means, ...but we did alright."
"Then one day, I was out doing... well, I guess that's not all too important, at this point... but once I got back, ...Mimi told me that Julia had..." I gripped at my shirt, attempting to hold back any sore emotions.
"She had gotten hit by a car... driven by a drunken police officer." I finally spat out. "How fucking ironic is that?!"
Paul's doe eyes began to fill with sorrow as he rubbed my back with his delicate hand, "Johnny... I'm so sorry abou' what ye dealt wi'... So then, ye felt exactly what I feel, now?"
I nodded, unfortunately.
Paul pursed his lips as he let his head drop on to my shoulder, once again staring into the clear water.
"I really didn't have all that much time wi' her. I barely knew her, it seems, looking back. There is one thing I learned from me Mother, though." I pointed out. "One thing I'll never forget."
Paul looked up at me, "...And what's that?"
I pointed up at the stars infront of us, "See those? There's so many out there, right?" I asked, turning back to face Paul, who was still staring at the night sky.
His eyes held each twinkling light in them just as hands would hold the universe as he nodded his head in agreement.
"Well, ye see that one... over there?" I pointed at one twinkling light in particular.
Paul smiled, "I do."
"That one me Mother dedicated to me and it has always been mine. But from now on, it'll be yer's too, if ye want. It's name could be... Mary-Julia." I explained with loving eyes.
"That's... beautiful, John." Paul blushed. "Truly." He turned his gaze from the sky down to my lips.
Curious.
"...And everytime ye look at it, ...jus remember that in any moment, I'm close to ye... and ofcourse laughing abou' how queer ye are." I chuckled a tad.
Paul shoved me playfully as I continued to laugh to myself. "How queer I am? How rich coming from ye."
"Piss off! ...Seriously, though, Macca... I will always be there to look at ye from Mary-Julia, no matter where life may take the two of us. She's a star that belongs to us both; two idiots that strum their guitars from time to time."
Paul smiled with bright eyes, "Thank ye, John, really. I don't know how I could ever show ye my appreciation for... everythin' that ye've done for me."
Oh, I can think of a few things.
The silence between us was broken as Paul quickly crashed his soft, tender lips into my own, causing my breath to hitch in response.
He tasted so sweet upon my mouth. Like lavender, like honey, it drove me absolutely mad.
"Paul." Is all I could utter out after he pulled away.
"John?" He replied.
"Ye've got a bird." I pointed out.
"I know." He sighed, "I don't care."
"Well, I do. S'not right." I frowned.
"I'll get rid of her, then." Paul insisted.
"How?" I asked.
"I can figure it out." Paul said, putting his hand on my face.
"No, ye won't." I pulled away.
"...I know." He spoke as he rubbed his face with his hands.
"What a relief that ye got me, John Lennon, a clever bastard that'll do anythin' for ye!" I exclaimed, causing Paul to giggle.
"And how exactly do ye plan fix this?" Paul asked. "How do ye plan to get rid of her?"
"...I can figure it out." I mocked Paul's remark from before.
"Yer such a stupid git, John." Paul laughed. "Let me figure it out, I can handle me own problems, ye know!"
"S'not what ye were sayin' a moment ago." I teased. "And... no, ye can't."
Paul rolled his eyes, standing up from the sandy rocks, "Ah, we oughta get back... it's gettin' awfully late."
I nodded, before Paul helped me stand up by grabbing both of my hands into his own, lifting me from the ground.
"Where to?" I asked, wrapping my fingers in between Paul's.
"Yer place?" He asked as his hair flew across his face through the breeze.
I nodded and we began to head on our way out of the woods.
"...I'm in love wi' a friend of mine, huh?" Paul said under his breath.
"What was that?" I turned to him and asked with a smirk.
He chuckled, "Don't worry abou' it."