The Nearest To My Heart -John Lennon Fan Fiction - Paul McCartney Fan Fiction - Beatles Fan Fiction

Chapter Ten - Pulling the Girl

Paul stood on the front steps of EMI. He took a drag off of his cigarette. He wanted to see Charlie that night, but he'd made plans with Jane. Paul was sure that breaking his word to his girlfriend would arouse her suspicions. He was determined to make Charlie understand. Paul decided that it would be best to wait until after The Debutantes recording session to tell her that he couldn't see her tonight.

"Are you ready to go in?" George ground out his cigarette with his boot heel. 

Paul nodded, flicking his cigarette to the pavement. He followed George up the steps and inside. Paul was looking forward to seeing Charlie, despite the bad news he had to tell her. He had a fantastic time with her last night. He knew it couldn't last beyond the Christmas shows. But, Paul wanted to spend as much time with Charlie as possible before she returned to the States. He walked alongside George, down the long corridor to Studio 2. 

George was infatuated with Annette. His broad grin gave him away.

Paul's casual expression contrasted with his mate's, but there was a moment when the two young men stepped through the doors of the studio that Paul beamed when he saw Charlie.  

Charlie hadn't noticed their arrival. She was chatting with Jimmy one of the studio musician's. She briefly turned to look away from the young man. Her eyes met Paul's, and she smiled at him. She returned her attention to the drummer setting up the drum kit. Paul confidently walked over to them.

"Are you going to give me some soul?" Charlie smiled.

Jimmy laughed. "I'm British, but I'll see what I can do."

"Everyone's got a little bit in them. The British included." She stated playfully and patted Jimmy's arm. She turned to Paul.

Paul acknowledged the session musician with a nod.

"George Martin played 'In Spite Of All the Danger' for us. It's not finished, but it sounds pretty good. Do you want to come upstairs to the control booth to listen to it?" She proposed excitedly.

"Of course." He followed her through the studio, and up the narrow staircase to the control booth.

George Martin and his engineer were smoking cigarettes discussing that day's recording session. Both men greeted Paul and George sat down in front of the control board, playing the song. Paul thought it had the potential to be a modest hit for The Debutantes. He believed it would perform well enough to break through to the top forty. The recording session began soon afterward.

(----) 

The girls breezed through that day's recording session with time left over. Charlie considered suggesting that they try out one of her songs, but she decided against it. She wasn't entirely confident with her songwriting ability. She thought that she should be grateful for the opportunity to record in a high-quality studio with talented studio musicians, and a great producer and engineer.

She accepted Paul's offer for lunch, parting from the others and going with him to a pub not too far from the studio.

(----)

Paul waited until their glasses of milk and slices of pie had been placed in front of them by their waitress before he brought up the subject of canceling plans for their evening out.

"I want to see you tonight. But, I told Jane I would take her out. You understand, don't you?" He cut into his dessert and ate a piece of pie off his fork. Paul thought about the stilted conversation he had with John just the other day at this very same pub. His words were different, but the tone of them remained the same. He was going to do what he wanted, and Paul thought John, and now Charlie would have to accept it.

Charlie was confused. They hadn't made any plans for tonight. "I do. We have a good time together. I want things between the two of us to remain friendly, but I don't think anything other than that will work."

Paul was thrown by her words. He hadn't expected to get the brush off. "I'm not saying we can't see each other. It's just that tonight isn't good for me."

"You've got a girl."

"I do." He didn't feel relieved that Charlie gave him an out. 

(----)

The Beatles and their entourage arrived at their Astoria and settled in backstage in their dressing room.

George stared at his reflection in the vanity mirror, running a comb through his fringe.

John came up behind him. "Going to see your bird?"

George nodded, "You coming?" He turned around, looking at Paul seated on the sofa playing his unplugged bass.

Paul shook his head, continuing to fiddle with the instrument. He still felt the sting of Charlie's words.

John strolled over to Paul and sat down next to him. "It wasn't a night to remember?" He raised his eyebrow.

"We had a good time." He replied guardedly.

He smirked. "It couldn't have been that good if you don't want to see her."

"Why don't you go and see her?" Paul replied curtly.

John stood up. "I think I will. We've got a couple of girls to see." He followed George out of their dressing room.

Paul set his bass off to the side. He stood up from the sofa and grabbed his pack of cigarette's off of the table. He placed one between his lips, patting his trouser pockets for his lighter, and pulled it out. He lit his cigarette and took several puffs off of it. Paul wanted to go after his mates and keep an eye on John. He felt silly for having such thoughts. Charlie made it clear where they stood.

(----)

Charlie took a slow drag off of her cigarette and blew a cloud of smoke into the air, watching John approach her.

"Still angry with me?" He smirked, believing he was ready for anything that Charlie would say in response. 

She continued to smoking her cigarette. Charlie wasn't angry with John anymore. Maybe, a bit annoyed, but the way he kissed her had left Charlie intrigued. 

"Go out with me tomorrow."

"Are you asking or telling me?"

"Whichever one will get you to go out with me."

"If you're asking --"

"I'm asking."

"You and me tomorrow?"

"It's a date."

"Will see,"