If I Fell│John Lennon/Beatles FanFiction

Chapter 38 - 13.Oct.1963

Chapter 38

October 13, 1963 

Chaos.

There was no better word to describe the scene outside the London Palladium. Night had fallen, and the crowd kept growing. More girls. More screaming. We'd been prisoners in the Palladium all day, and now we were searching for an escape. Fans desperate to catch a glimpse of the boys blocked the stage door, the usual exit. Mountains of presents were piled upon countless telegrams, each one detailing intense love for one of the boys, or all of them.

I usually collected some of these items, bringing them into the dressing room for the boys to read, but it wasn't safe to go out, not even for me. I'd peeked outside a few times, a luxury I had since I was still completely unknown to the fans—at least that was what I kept telling myself to stay sane among the hysteria. The fans spent the day trying to break through a cordon of more than sixty police officers. No one had been prepared for how many girls would gather to try to catch a glimpse of the Beatles. Screaming birds launched themselves against the bizzies, whose helmets flew from their heads. There were simply too few officers to control the determined girls.

I stood in the back corner of the dressing room with my lip between my teeth, my camera around my neck, the boys having just finished their performance. I rubbed my tired eyes and held back a yawn. It was almost impossible to hear the plan being created by Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans to get the boys out of the building and into their getaway car. Mal, a man who seemed almost twice my height with kind eyes, messy hair, and thick-framed glasses, had joined as a second road manager during the summer of '63 after poor Neil had lost a full three stone from the stress of keeping the boys safe and managing the equipment.

Hordes of people came in and out of the dressing room as John wiped his brow with a towel and chugged a glass of water. He collapsed onto a chair before he looked around the room, his eyes squinting as he searched for me...something he did after every show.

I shook my head at him as I pressed my hands against the slightly flared bottom of my sleeveless black dress. My eyes stayed on Neil and Mal as a clearly overwhelmed officer joined them. Brian Epstein, looking just as put together as the day I met him, huddled with the other men. I took a few careful steps toward John.

"Was right over there, ye'blind rhino," I whispered behind him, careful not to get too close. There were too many people around, and Brian would have my head if he caught me whispering into John Lennon's ear. "Where're yer ruddy glasses?"

He tapped his pocket before pulling out his thick-framed glasses and raising them for me to see. He leaned forward and placed them on the table.

"Oi, John." I rolled my eyes at him as I tapped my foot. "On yer face, if you actually wanna see anythin'."

"Not till we get outta here. Gotta keep up me image," he said, and I could practically hear his damned cheeky grin. "Gods don't wear glasses, Livvy."

I leaned in just a little closer and flicked his ear before saying, "True, but Gods can see, and you can't."

Brian stepped away from the huddle, and I took several quick steps away from John before bumping into someone behind me. I bit my lip to hold back the loud swear that was on the tip of my tongue. I reeled around, a bit off balance in my ruddy heels. George's lazy grin grew as he reached out and steadied me.

"Saw that, Liv," George said as he placed his cig between his lips and took a drag.

"Saw what?" I asked as heat crept into my cheeks.

His smirk grew. "Flickin' John's ear...what'd he do this time?"

"Some ridiculous talk about bein' some sort of God or summat," I said, smiling. I stepped toward George, fixing his crooked tie. "Good show tonight, Georgie. Not sure if you could tell, but I think they loved you."