Shelter In Your Love (Beatles Fan Fiction)

4. Let Me In Here

Let me in here,
I know I've been here,
Let me into your heart.

'D'yer always bring her wherever you go, Min?' John Lennon said rather unkindly as he slid into the tight pub bench seat and sat, pinned to it by the edge of the table. He snaked his arm around Minnie's shoulders and Minnie moved a bit closer to him.

Fantastic, I thought, as I glanced around the room, pretending not to have heard him. Another night playing gooseberry to these two. No wonder Minnie insisted we dropped in the Feathers pub tonight instead of going to see one of the bands on at The Cavern or The Iron Door.

Minnie rolled her eyes and grinned at John. 'Yeah, got to keep my eye on her, haven't I? It's always the quiet ones, y'know.' She casually took John's arm from around her shoulders and gave it back to him.

'Is it now?' John said lasciviously, a sneer on his lips. 'That right, Hannah?'

Isn't it strange how once you meet someone, they seem to be everywhere you go suddenly. Then again, Minnie probably has had a hand in that. Despite her acting cooly towards him, I can tell she likes John. Her voice goes all strange when she's talking to him. She probably would prefer to be here on her own with him, but I know she'd never suggest I stay at home.

Since meeting those three lads at the Cabaret club a couple of months ago, they been turning up like bad pennies all over. Paul and George are okay, but John scared me a bit. You could never tell when he was joking or being serious. Every second word out of his mouth was a sardonic comment or a keenly observed insult. He always gives me the impression that he might turn on you without warning.

'Oi, Stu, get us a beer, la!' John suddenly yelled across the room, distracted.

'Get yer own, yer thieving beggar!' came the shout back.

John sighed and slid his way out of the seat again. 'Back in a minute, girls,' he said before going to join Stu at the bar.

Stuart Sutcliffe was the bass player in the band, and seemingly John's best friend. I liked Stu. He was the same age as John and as unlikely to be a friend of his as could be. Where John was loud and brash, Stu was quieter and more thoughtful. John could be mean and acidic but it was hard to think of Stu as anything other than sweet and funny and charming. Stu didn't let John push him around though. He would stand up to him if he tried to goad him, tell him to shut up when he was getting out of hand. Stu wanted to be a painter and though I'd not seen any of his work, I'd heard he was very good.

I looked over - and yes, speak of the devil, there's the other two at the bar with their friend, Stu. John might think me and Minnie go everywhere together but it seems they follow him around like their chained together too. I took a sigh of relief. I didn't much fancy a night with just Stu, John and Minnie. I felt better with Paul and George there.

Paul was a year or so younger than John and Stu. He was just finishing A levels. His dad wanted him to start college in September. Paul, and John for that matter, had different ideas. Over at the bar John said something and Paul and George fell about laughing. Stu just smirked and shook his head at them.

You could tell Paul was a bit jealous of Stu. He always acted a bit funny when he was around, like he was competing for John's attention and approval. Stu didn't seem to notice that much, except when Paul was complaining about his bass playing (not good enough in Paul's opinion) or his commitment to the band (also not up to scratch). Truth was I didn't think Stu's heart was in it anyway. He'd much rather be spending his time on his art, but whether he'd dare admit that to John I don't know.

George left the group at the bar and ambled over towards us. George was the youngest in the band, and unfortunately for him, he looked it. His hair was longish but he always wore it combed up in a swept wave, like a pseudo quiff. He never put as much of that gooey gel stuff in it like other people did. He had beautiful brown eyes beneath thick arched eyebrows. Although there was only nine months between him and Paul, they all teased him for being the baby. George took it all in his stride, laughing along. I don't think I ever saw him loose his temper or get annoyed, even though when his mates found a good joke they ran with it for far too long.