Doubles

Chapter Thirty Five

Paul

The show went on without a hitch. Since he didn't the distraction of his dream, he was able to put on a good performance. Along with that, he was well rested and happy to have met his double and the others. Plus, he was relieved to know the end of his dreams and was pleased to know how they played out for him and his band.

His joy must have rubbed off on the way he preformed because the crowd was even louder than they had ever been before.

The only problem he had was that he wished they knew where their drummer was. But he didn't let that discourage him though. He was still thrilled to announce the new name of their band, which the crowd seemed equally buzzed about. Their lack of a drummer wasn't going to make him not enjoy the show.

His favorite (or possibly least favorite) part of the show was when Paul tried to convince Newt to come sing with them on stage. It wasn't because he thought Newt was supposed to be their drummer, but because he could sing well and he wanted him to come on stage.

The look on his double's face when he asked was one of the most hilarious things he'd ever seen. Pure shock and horror is what it was. The blonde vigorously shook his head but Minho wouldn't have any of it. He laughed and tried to push his friend forward. Newt responded by shoving him away and hiding behind Thomas instead. Thomas laughed as well but let him stay there until The Beatles decided he wasn't going to sing with them after all.

The rest of the show went by perfectly, and Paul couldn't—wouldn't—have had it any other way.

"Well," John breathed, falling onto the couch in the dressing room after the show. "That was a bloody amazing show, boys, don't you think?"

"Sure was," Paul replied, wiping the sweat off his face with a towel. "Much better than last night, that's for sure."

"And that was our first performance as The Beatles," George added with a grin. "I'm quiet proud that this show is going to be our legacy. Y'know, when we're famous and all."

"Yeah," John agreed, leaning back and placing a towel over his eyes. "I can't wait till we reach that point."

Paul was about to agree when the door burst open and in came Newt and the rest of his friends. Newt immediately marched over to Paul, an angry expression on his face.

"I hate you," he stated but Paul could tell there was no anger behind his eyes. He knew because that was the expression he himself wears whenever John or George bothers him.

"No, you don't," he replied with a smirk. "If you really hated me, you would have just punched me in the face when you walked in. What you really hate is your friends teasing you about it. Not me."

Newt glared for a second longer before grinning and shaking his head in surprise. "Why can't Tommy and Stiles read each other as well as you and I?" He asked. "You're spot on, Paul."

"Probably because he's an idiot," Minho replied.

"Hey!" Thomas and Stiles exclaimed at the same time. They looked at each other, confused.

"Don't worry," Minho said, patting Stiles on the shoulder. "I was talking about Thomas. You aren't that stupid."

Thomas and Stiles punched him in the arm at the same time with a simultaneous, "thanks." They stared at each other, surprised again.

Paul snickered, shaking his head at the two. "Apparently they can act the exact same instead."

Newt shrugged, grinning. "Maybe. I'm still mad at you though."

"Hey, you would have been great," he countered. "It's your fault for not coming on stage."

"Whatever."

The two probably could have gone on bickering for a long time, but Thomas announced that his mom needed him home (it was barely ten o'clock. Who even goes home then??) so Stiles and the others had to leave too since he was driving them.

After saying their goodbyes, Paul sat on the chair since the couch was taken by his friends. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Well," John said after a moment. "I think it's time we discuss the elephant in the room."

"What elephant?" Paul asked, confused. He had no idea what his friend was referring to.

"About what we do next," he answered. "We know what happens after the dreams so now we should follow that. First, we need to find the drummer, then finish the tour I guess?"

"What about Newt and the others?" George asked. "I thought we were going to stay with them for a while."

"We were only staying as long as it was convenient," John explained. "It's not convenient anymore so we might as well leave."

"I guess," George said. "What about you, Paul, what do you think?"

"I, um," Paul started then stopped. He didn't know what to think. On one hand, he wanted to continue on the path to fame, like his dreams showed, like he always dreamed about. But on the other hand, he definitely owed a lot to Newt and the others. It felt wrong to just leave them, especially when they were trying to bring all the doubles together. He couldn't just abandon them after everything.

Or could he?

Paul didn't know.

"I'll have to think it over," he answered finally. "We all should. We'll come up with a decision in the morning then tell the others. Sound good?"

The boys nodded.

"Good." Paul stood up. "Then let's get back to the hotel. I need a nice long shower after that show."