John sighed and drained his lager “We need a new drummer” he said before standing and saying “Gabby I’ll throw yer stuff out in the hall”
“Oh don’t do that” she whined
John consented “Fine, I’ll have Bruno get them” he motioned to a large man with a dark moustache and hair to follow him.
“When he comes back” Astrid said, tapping her on the elbow “I’ll take you to my parents home, I live in the annex built off it. There’s two bedrooms so Stuart and I will stay in one and you can stay in the other”
“Oh, Danke,” Gabrielle gushed “really I’ve only known you for half an hour…”
“Actually” Paul interrupted “You’ve been talking for three hours”
“Three hours?” she exclaimed “What time is it?”
“Twelve thirty nearly,” said Stuart, looking at his watch
“No one’s even here yet” said Astrid, “We just came to meet the Beatles”
“What time d’you usually go out then?” Gabrielle asked incredulously
“One or so” Stuart shrugged “Nothing’s really open till then anyway”
“Gabby, we’ll go back to my house and make you ah… “ she thought for the right word for a minute and settled on “dress you up, then we come back, ja?”
“Ja, ok, I haven’t got a thing to wear you know”
Astrid laughed and made a wild gesture with her hands “You’re very beautiful Gabby, we must do something with your skirt though”
“Like what?”
“Make it shorter?” suggested Paul, smirking
Astrid nodded “Ja, maybe, you know,”
“She has great legs” Paul nodded
Astrid laughed “Oh, he would know Gabby, he has seen many, many, woman’s legs”
“Ah, oui senioro” Paul nodded wisely,
“Oh god, you really did fail your foreign language course didn’t you” Gabby laughed
Not long later Stuart drove Gabrielle and Astrid back to Astrid’s where the commenced in major girliness that Gabrielle had only been subject to with Cynthia and occasionally George’s current girlfriend when they felt obliged. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a closet consisting of so much…. Black before though.
Meanwhile back at the Top Ten Club the Beatles retreated to their living quarters and John and Pete got into a loud row over who would sleep on the top bed.
“That’s ridicules” George muttered, he grabbed his cigarettes and lighter off the table and headed for the door.
“George, wait up” Paul called, following the young guitarist towards the stairwell where the closest window was.
They smoked in silence for a while like they usually did before Paul started talking. “So George” he said conversationally “If I try to pull Gabby what exactly will you do about it?”
George froze mid way between placing his cigarette between his lips. He blinked a few times and then started coughing violently. Paul looked amused.
“Wha… what?” he exclaimed “You want to what?“
Paul rolled his eyes “Gabby, you know, the bird who we’re all mate-ie-ish with and love to bits but still don’t understand exactly where any of us stand with her”
“Paul what the…” George shook his head and placed his hands over his eyes “What are you doing, why would you want to do that?”
Paul sighed “Harri, look, we’ve been over your obvious blindness a billion times”
“I’m not blind” George snapped “I understand that she’s gorgeous or whatever, and I love her like I love anyone, but I don’t feel the need to stick me…” he trailed off and looked horrified at himself for even thinking about sticking anything of his in Gabrielle. “Come on mate” he groaned “Just drop it, yeah?”
Paul made an aggrieved sound “Your so bloody frustrating, you know that?” he sighed “But I don’t care what you want to do with her, I just want to know what you’ll do if I try something”
“Don’t try something then” George muttered
“George, look, I really like her you know…”
George snorted in disbelief “Paul, she’s your friend, she doesn’t think she’s anything more then that and you know, just because you see a pretty girl doesn’t mean you have to shag her. I know you Macca, I know how your mind works and I know she won’t like this.” he shook his head “Maybe I’m being fucking overprotective or something but… I really, really don’t want her to be another of your bloody one night stands”
“Oh and your such a fucking good example of that, aren’t you now”
“I didn’t say I was a good example,” George muttered “I’m just saying you know she’s me best friend and you know how I feel about her and I don’t want her emotionally fucked up or whatever because you want a shag”
Paul glared at him, angry that he was being denied something he wanted, even though he was getting a slightly more subdued repose then he had expected. “I think it’s up to her don’t you?”
“No, you know what it is” said George, he tossed his fag out the window and crossed his arms. He hated getting into a shouting match with anyone but he could already tell that was how this would be. “She told me, you fucking idiot, she told me she wanted me to protect her and take care of her”
“Oh fucking get off it” Paul shouted, his voice echoed off the small whitewashed hallway walls. “Did she say that, or are you just in love with her or something and being a bloody great knob head and trying to feel like you’re supposed to take care of her. Obviously she can take care of herself”
“Not with guys like you she can’t! And she did tell me Paul,” George took a step forward, he wasn’t going to hit him, and he knew Paul wouldn’t hit him, bit he still felt the need to yell louder. “And I’m not in love with her! I just love her, there’s a difference you fucking…..”
A door slammed open and John was yelling “ Fucking cunt! Yeah, yeah, yeah, FINE! Take the fucking top, I don’t bleeding care any fucking more!”
When john got angry he sort of dissolved into a state of mind where every word was annunciated with a swear word of some kind in front of it.
He slammed the door shut before Pete could say anything more and stormed down the hall towards Paul and George. John dug around in his jacket pocket and lit a fag which he sucked off of quickly and furiously before he reached them.
“Bloody great pompous fucking stuffy insufferable bleeding git bag” he said looking at George, and then blew a plume of smoke at him and turned to Paul “He has to go, he has to Paul, I just can’t fucking take it anymore”
“Why because he wants to sleep on the top?” Paul asked grinning
John nodded “Fucking cunt, he is”
George shook his head at them “This is really bad let’s not fight”
“Why?” John asked and took a drag off his ciggie “What’s the bed arrangement got to do with you?”
“We were just fighting over a bird” said Paul, ignoring the way George glared and snarled at him when he said it. “Nothing more, nothing that will *happen* anyway, I wouldn’t *think* of it”
John cocked one eyebrow and smirked “What’re you on Paulie?”
“Nothing”
“Right ok, who’s up for drinks then, yeah?” John flicked his fag out the window as well and clapped his hands together “Anyone else for getting smashed and laid before we’ve got to play”
“Oh aye, sounds good” nodded, Paul, he tapped John on the shoulder. “Lemme just finish with this one thing and I’ll follow you down”
“Right” John nodded “About the bird?”
George eand Paul looked at each other and nodded
“Right then, just remember, and I know this sounds soft but I’ve just had a beer and I feel like saying’ it, right.” Said john, he dropped his hands on each of their shoulders and made his voice falsetto “No girl is more important then our band, yeah, no one means more then us”
George noted how this seemed to be more directed at Paul then himself. “Right” he said “that did sound soft Lennon”
“Ah well” John shoved him lightly “You know me. I’ll be down at the bar” And then he was off. Singing Johnny B. Good loudly as he went.
George looked at Paul “Really” he said “You didn’t mean anything by all that did you?”
“Nah” Paul shrugged “You’re right, I was just trying to get up yer nose about it, that’s all.”
“Right good” George nodded “Because you know, if you hurt her or anything like that, band or no band, I’ll have to cripple you”
“Don worry son, I won’t try anything naughty. I promise.”