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Liam was sat on his own in the darkness, he wasn’t exactly sure where he was but he didn’t mind. He didn’t mind being alone. He liked the quiet, no arguing brothers, no shouting, drunk Dad, no Mam fussing. It was just peaceful.
If he had to guess, he’d say it was his living room, his settee but it wasn’t quite exactly the same. The telly wasn’t on and he hadn’t even tried to put it on. He didn’t even have a comic or the record player on or anything. He was just sat waiting for he didn’t know what.
The room felt warm, usually the house was cold. It was January and he didn’t have a jumper on, he should’ve felt the cold but he didn’t.
The door opened and the room got brighter, it wasn’t like the light was turned on, it was like the figure who’d walked in was lighting the room. He could see now where he could barely see anything at all before.
“Liam.” They spoke his name with an obviously Liverpudlian accent.
He looked at them and frowned, he didn’t know anyone from Liverpool.
“What?” he spoke his confusion rather than answering as he looked at the messianic looking figure.
The man looked a bit like Jesus Christ, like the images he’d seen in church but not. He wore a white suit, had brown, long, wavy hair, and round tinted glasses. Everything about him was familiar, he idolised this man.
“Liam, kid, I have to tell you something.” The man said as he sat next to Liam.
“You’re, you…” Liam stuttered.
“Don’t think about it, kid, just listen.” The man insisted.
Listening wasn’t something Liam was good at, he had questions and he wanted them answered. He was intimidated, it didn’t happen to him often but he was really feeling it. He just stared at the man nervously.
“You have to carry on for me.” The man told him.
Liam didn’t understand what that meant but he sat and listened as intently as he could. He missed the man so much, it was so difficult to accept he was gone, especially now he wasn’t.
“It’s your destiny to take my place.” He finished saying what he had to say. “Can you do that for me?”
Liam nodded, he was just a kid, he couldn’t promise anything but he couldn’t say no to John Lennon. He had to become his incarnation.
…
He woke up to his bedroom he shared with his older brother in the middle of the night. He looked around in the dark confused, he was right there with his favorite Beatle and now he wasn’t. It was real and now it was gone.
He climbed out of bed and went over to her big brother. He pushed Noel’s shoulder until he woke up. He knew Noel would be mad at him but he had to tell him and he knew he couldn’t get back to sleep alone. He resisted turning the lamp on, Noel would have actually killed him if he’d woken him with the light.
“Wot?” Noel responded, grumpy and annoyed that he’d been pulled from his sleep.
“I had a dream.” Liam said quietly, sounding like an afraid, little kid.
“Go get back in bed, right friggin’ now.” Noel instructed, vaguely pointing.
“Can’t I sit with you for a bit… please?” Liam begged, basically admitting the dream had freaked him out.
“Liam, you are eight friggin’ years old, you’re too old.” Noel told him, he was twelve, he wasn’t having his little brother in his bed. “We’ve discussed this, they’re just dreams, they’re not fucking real.”
“I saw John Lennon, he’s dead and he was in my dream.” Liam confessed, his voice breaking he was nearly crying, scared by the dream and being rejected by his brother.
Noel sighed heavily and lifted his duvet. Liam got in and got comfy.
“What happened?” Noel asked in a whisper, hoping it would help him to sleep and he was kind of interested.
“He told me I have to grow up and be like him, be famous and sing like him.” Liam explained, speaking in a whisper too.
Noel didn’t know what to think or say, he knew Liam shouldn't have been allowed to see the news reports, it wasn’t the first time he’d had a bad dream about Lennon since his death a month ago. It had affected the both of them but it had devastated Liam.
“Just fucking go back to sleep, kid. It was just a dream.” Noel told him, too tired to care any more, he stroked Liam’s hair to encourage him to sleep.
“I can’t.” Liam admitted, he was scared to close his eyes again, he wanted to be with John Lennon again, he wanted to talk to his hero but he was too unsettled to sleep.
“Was he all bloody and that again?” Noel asked reluctantly, remembering the other dreams Liam had, had.
Liam shook his head against Noel’s pillow. “No, he was like in Get Back, the roof gig.” He loved that song, they’d seen their videos over and over.
Noel was relieved to know Lennon’s corpse was no longer haunting his little brother's sleep, not today anyway. He hated to see his kid brother upset.
“Forget about him, think of the others…”
“Paul, George and Ringo.” Liam interrupted.
“Yeah, think of all the good stuff.” Noel instructed. “Close your eyes and sleep.”
Liam he did as he was told but even with his eyes shut and his brother comforting him, he couldn't sleep. “He told me to use their songs, he said I'll be the best singer alive in the best band ever.”
Noel felt a bit jealous, he was the one who played the guitar all the time, he was the one trying to write songs but he'd never had John Lennon show up in his dreams, or any top musician at all.
“Course, kid. If John Lennon says it's going to happen, then we'll make it happen.” Noel assured him, careful not to let his jealousy show.
“Working class heros, it's us, ain't it?” Liam reasoned as he started drifting towards sleep.
Noel made a noise of agreement. They were working class alright, in their rubbish council house and well aware of their lack of future, maybe music was their way out of Manchester.
He kept stroking Liam’s hair gently until he could hear Liam's soft snores.
As soon as he thought he was sleeping deep enough, noel slowly and carefully got out of his own bed, avoiding disrupting Liam.
He got in Liam’s bed, his was the better bed anyway. It was warmer since it was away from the window and it was comfier since it was newer so he felt rewarded for being woken up in the end. It didn't take him long at all to get back to sleep.