Doubles

Chapter Forty

Paul

Paul hated waking up. It meant it was time to say goodbye to his friends. He didn't want to say goodbye but it was the right thing to do. Newt and the others needed him.

Reluctantly, he sat up from the couch to find George and John already awake. They were sitting at the table with food, an extra plate clearly laid out for himself.

As soon as he got up, George noticed and looked over. "Morning. We saved you breakfast."

"Thanks," Paul replied, walking over and taking a seat. He started eating quietly, nobody saying anything for a while.

"Bloody hell, fine," John muttered, breaking the silence. "I'll say it then." He turned to Paul. "I'm going to miss you a lot. A whole buggin' lot. I still hate leaving you here."

"I have to," Paul said sadly. "But I'll miss you too. Both of you."

"Jeez," George said, rolling his eyes slightly. "You boys act like we're never gonna see each other again. We can still call whenever we'd like, you know."

Paul shot George a knowing look. He was as upset as the rest of them, he just didn't like admitting it.

"Fine," he relented. "I'll miss you too. You know that."

"I know," Paul stated. "But remember why we're doing this. I have to find the rest of the doubles and you two have to find our drummer."

"Right," John remembered. "Guess I can't spend all my time calling you. We'll be busy."

Paul smirked. "Unfortunately not." He waited a beat then sighed. "I should probably get dressed now. Stiles is going to drive me to Newt's soon and you guys have to leave too."

He stood up but, before he could walk away, George tackled him with a hug, squeezing him tightly. Paul hugged him back and a second later John joined.

"Alright, alright," Paul said, pushing back in an attempt to keep his composure. "Enough if that sappy stuff. Let's get going."

~~~

Within the hour, Paul had said his final goodbye to his friends and Stiles came and picked him up.

"You have all your stuff?" Stiles asked, helping him load his things into the car.

"Hope so," Paul answered. "If not, there's nothing I can do about it now. The boys are already gone."

"That's fair," he replied, climbing into the drivers seat as Paul sat in the passengers side. "I wish the rest of us could've said goodbye. Even if we've known them for . . . two days? Yeah." He started the car and pulled away from the hotel. "By the way, we're going to drop your stuff off at Newt's then we're meeting Thomas and the girls at his place to talk."

"About what?" Paul asked, buckling in. Stiles talked a lot, it was hard to keep up. Though he did appreciate not having to speak much around him.

Stiles shrugged. "Who knows? More dreams? Sleeping arrangements? Maybe just plans for the day. I have no idea."

Paul just hummed in response.

"So," he started after a moment of silence. "About the prank I was telling you about. Did you want to dye your hair or wear a wig?"

Paul smiled in spite of himself. "I think I'd rather have a wig."

"Great." Stiles opened the glove compartment and pulled out a blonde wig. "I've already got you covered."

He handed it to Paul and he tried it on. "How d's it look?"

"Great," he answered. "Now all we need is Newt to get you some of his clothes and we'll be set."

Paul smiled, leaning back into the seat. Sure, he missed his mates more than anything, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad here.

No, it would just not be bad. It would be good. Really good.