"That was gear!" John shouted after the show was over.
"Or, as Paul would say, awesome!" George said in a mocking tone and John burst in a hysterical fit of laughter. George laughed along and Pete just stood there looking extremely puzzled. Meanwhile Paul rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and looked at John and George with a pointed glare.
"Oh my god!" John said. "I'd forgotten about that! Thanks, Georgie!"
"Yeah, thanks, Georgie," Paul gritted out sarcastically.
"Uhm, what did I miss?" Pete raises his eyebrows.
"Oh, you'll love this," John grinned and told the story of the time that Paul said the show was "awesome" and how he and George would never ever in a million years let it go. Pete burst into laughter along with John and George.
"Seriously," Paul shook his head at the three of them. "You are all actually five."
"Nuh-uh!" John stuck his tongue out and George and Pete laughed at him. Even Paul couldn't suppress the small chuckle that escaped him.
"Boys!" The owner of the club - What was his name? What was his name? Paul couldn't remember his name. - hurried over to them with another man by his side - Paul's face broke into a wide grin. "Boys, this is Brian Epstein. Mr. Epstein, this is John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best."
"Hello, boys," Brian grinned and shook each of their hands. "I saw you play today and I have to say, the show was just fantastic! I loved it!"
"Thank you," John nodded.
"It means a lot," Paul said, unable to keep the grin off of his face, and George just gave a small smile - Ah, yes, Paul remembered. George had always been very outgoing and unique and loud around those he was comfortable with, but around new people he was quiet, shy, and quite the introvert.
"Mr. Lennon, can I speak with you alone for a minute?" Brian asked John.
"Oh," John said. "Yeah." He turned to Paul, George, and Pete. "See you in a bit?"
"I've got to get home," Pete said.
"Well, Paul and I will be right ousted the club," George said and Paul nodded.
"See you soon, then," John said and followed Brian off to a corner where they could talk alone.
Paul and George went outside and waited patiently, chatting for a while. Eventually, though, George sighed. "What is taking so long in there? What could that guy possibly want to talk to John about that would take so long? It's been, what? Half an hour? Forty five minutes?"
"At least," Paul shrugged. But he knew what Brian was saying to John. He knew what was to come, even if he couldn't say anything to George about it... He knew. And he was so excited.
"You'll never guess what just happened," John said when he came out of the club. "Brian Epstein is interesting in managing us - meaning getting us better gigs, and record deals, and much more!"
"Well, that's great," Paul grinned.
"You're kidding!" George exclaimed.
"Here's the catch," John said and Paul and George looked at him, eyebrows raised.
Catch? Paul thought. "He wants us to get rid of Pete and replace him."
Oh, yeah, Paul thought, Pete should have left a couple months ago. He should have said that "the Beatles were going nowhere". Huh. Forgot about that.
"So...what are we going to do?" George asked.
"Well, Pete isn't exactly the best drummer and he's kind of a snob," John shrugged. "I mean, he's alright and it's not like he's the worst person ever, but all the same... Anyway, that's not my problem with the situation. The real issue is that we'd have to find someone to replace him; who the hell are we going to get to replace him?"
Paul was about to say it, but to his surprise, George beat him to it. "What about Ringo? I mean we played with him loads in Hamburg so we know he's good and we know that we work well with him."
"That wouldn't be a bad idea if we had a way to get in touch with him," John rolled his eyes.
"I've got his number," George said.
Paul grinned at John. "We've got ourselves a drummer,"
"If he says yes," John said.
"He will, trust me," George beamed. "So I should call him and tell him the good news? Like, tonight?"
"Yes," John nodded firmly, a grin now spreading across his face. "And let me know what he says as soon as you know so I can call Mr. Epstein - he said to call him as soon as we've made our decision!"
"We're going to be famous," Paul laughed and hugged John, then hugged George.
"This is really happening!" George exclaimed in disbelief.
~~~
John closed the door behind himself and Paul. He just couldn't seem to wipe the smile off of his face, and once the door was closed and they were alone, he wrapped his arms around Paul and held him close. "Is this really happening?"
"Yeah," Paul smiled. "I think so." He was really going to be a Beatle again! And it was going to all be right this time. He was more determined than ever.
"We're going up!" John laughed.
"Where we going, Johnny?" Paul grinned.
"TO THE TOPPERMOST OF THE POPPERMOST!" John bellowed. "This is cause for celebration!" He said and ran from the room. Paul followed him to their bedroom and watched as John went into the closet and git a box. Paul grinned.
He had once asked John why he, who loved music so much, kept his record player in a box in his closet. John has answered, "Should anyone ever break into my flat, the only thing worth stealing is my record player and I won't have that."
He carried the box out to the living room and set it down on the small coffee table. He took the record player out, followed by a record and placed it on the player. He put the needle down and the track began to play.
"Oh," Paul smiled as John placed one hand on Paul's waist and held Paul's hand in his free hand. Paul put his own free hand in John's shoulder as they began to sway back and forth, turning round in a small circle, and the sing that they had recorded three years earlier (well, three years for John, but fifty seven years for Paul) played.
"In spite of all the danger
In spite of all that may be
I'll do anything for you
Anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me,"
Paul laid his head down on John's shoulder that his hand wasn't resting on and they continued to sway and turn.
"In spite of all the heartache
That you may cause me
I'll do anything for you
Anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me,"
John whispered the lyrics softly in Paul's ears, keeping in time with the music as they danced.
"I'll look after you
Like I've never done before
I'll keep all the others
From knocking at your door,"
Paul thought about how far the two of them had come so far in their new relationship as lovers in such a short period of time, and Paul couldn't help but feel like they were making up for lost time - Paul especially.
"In spite of all the danger
In spite of all that may be
I'll do anything for you
Anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me
Yeah!"
"Love you," John whispered.
Paul looked up and took his hand off of John's shoulder. He took his other hand away from John's, and he wrapped his arms around John's neck. "I love you, too,"
"In spite of all the heartache
That you may cause me
I'll do anything for you
Anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me
I'll do anything for you
Anything you want me to
If you'll be true to me..."
Paul looked into John's eyes as they continued to sway back and forth, even after the music had stopped, the song had ended, and they were dancing to silence. Suddenly he was very afraid that he was going to lose John, terrified that he wasn't going to be able to save him, and the. He would have to go through losing John all over again... And he had a terrible feeling that now, after all of this that was happening between him and John, losing his friend would only be worse - and to think, all those years ago on December eighth of 1980, he thought that his day couldn't have possibly gotten any worse.
John only let go of Paul when the phone began to ring. He pressed it to his ear. "Hello?" He said.
Paul looked away and dabbed away the tears that he was fighting back.
"Really? That's great!" John said. "Thanks, Georgie!" He hung up the phone, then immediately picked it up, fishing a piece of paper out of his pocket and beginning to dial. "That was George. He talked to Ringo. Ringo's agreed to be in the band! I'm calling Brian Epstein now. This is going to be fantastic!"
Paul grinned again and hugged John. "Yeah, it is."