The One About The Girl With The Eyes

Disclaimer: I do not own The Beatles, or anything else you may recognize. This fictional story is merely a way for me to get some writing practice and to have a bit of fun. I am not making any money from this story.

Warning: There's going to be some swearing and underage drinking, I'm letting you know now.

I fidget uncomfortably, trying to stop myself from running home to change right after school.

My girl best friend, Sarah, decided that I needed a makeover. Apparently, makeovers 'mend broken hearts' and 'attract the perfect man'. She also told me that hanging around with Paul so often has made people think of me as 'one of the boys', which is, according to Sarah, bad.

People have been commenting on my new clothes all day, and I've lost patience with the entire thing. I wait for Paul at the doors to his school; and he walks right past me, then stops and turns.

"Opal?"

"Please don't gawk at me, I already feel ridiculous."

Paul takes in the expression on my face, and bursts into laughter.

"Here, lass, put this on."

He pulls his jacket off and hands it to me. I'm putting my arm into the sleeve as John and George appear, and I have to avoid meeting George's gaze because of how exposed I feel already. John smirks.

"Well, what do we have here? Paul's got himself a bird?"

I pull the jacket completely on, trying to ignore the wolf whistles I'm drawing from the boys' classmates.

"Can we please go now?"

Paul shakes his head.

"Sorry, lass, but we've got someone for you to meet. He's a good friend of John's."

I sigh, pulling the sleeves of the jacket up so I can button it more easily. John is studying the crowd, then calls to someone.

"Stu! Stuart, over here!"

A guy wearing sunglasses on wanders over to us.

"Hey, guys."

His eyes land on me.

"Hello, Miss…"

"Opal, just Opal. You must be the guy I'm supposed to be meeting."

John is acting like he doesn't care, but the way his eyes are darting between Stuart and me suggests otherwise.

"Stu, this is Opal. Opal, Stu's in the band."

I nod, send a small smile to Stu, then scoot closer to Paul.

"Paul, since when do you have a girl?"

Paul lays an arm across my shoulders as a few guys walk by, staring at me. As soon as they're gone, Paul shakes his head.

"She's not anybody's girl, just an old friend."

We start walking towards Paul's house, and I listen as the boys talk about music. I nudge Paul when we reach my house, and he whispers that I should come over after I change. I hurry up to my room, grab a longer skirt and change into it, feeling much better once more of me is covered. I find a blouse that has short sleeves and is proper for polite company, change, pull Paul's coat on; and run downstairs and out the door. Paul's brother, Mike, greets me at their door; and he leads me into the sitting room where the boys are talking. Paul smiles at me, holding out his hand, so I go over to sit beside him. I hand back his jacket with a quiet 'thank you', and earn a grin in reply.

"Anyone want a beer?"

Paul springs to his feet as he asks, ready to fetch drinks for all of us. The others all accept, but I shake my head. Paul goes into the kitchen; leaving me alone with the other three. I remain silent as the boys continue to joke. Paul comes in and sets four beers on the table, then goes back into the kitchen. He returns with a glass of water for me.

"Thank you."

Paul winks at me, and Stuart clears his throat.

"Are you sure she isn't your girl?"

Paul rolls his eyes.

"She's not my girl. After the last guy she dated, she probably won't date anybody ever again."

I take a mouthful of water, holding it in my mouth as an excuse not to talk just yet. Paul was glaring at Stuart, clearly irritated that he'd had to bring the subject up.

"What happened with her last boyfriend?"

I swallow my mouthful of water.

"He decided that if I wouldn't sleep with him, he would get a second girlfriend and sleep with her. I caught him, broke up with him, and haven't bothered dating anybody since."

Paul wraps an arm around me.

"That reminds me, what was going on with that new outfit of yours?"

I roll my eyes.

"Susan decided that I needed to dress like that so I could get a boyfriend. Of course, she also told me that I shouldn't hang out with you as much as I do, so I don't quite trust her judgment."

I squirm, looking across the table at George, who is studying me again. He sees me looking at him and mouths 'sorry'. John, apparently, finds the memory of my outfit amusing.

"This friend of yours should choose your clothes all of the time, especially tonight."

"John, I haven't told her about that yet."

"Told me about what?"

Paul turns to me with puppy eyes.

"Opal, please come watch us perform tonight at the Cavern? Please?"

"Can I walk with you guys?"

Paul looks over at John.

"As long as she dresses like earlier. It could help our image a bit."

He's smirking again. Paul looks at me, letting me decide.

"Don't let anybody take off with me?"

Paul hugs me.

"I'll keep an eye on you."

We reach the club half an hour before the boys are supposed to perform, and I am frequently tugging at my clothing, trying to make it less revealing. The boys pull me over to the bar, and I give Paul a questioning look.

"You haven't met Pete yet. He's our drummer."

I tug on my skirt again, then follow Paul over to where the drummer is sitting.

"Pete, this is Opal. She's an old friend of mine."

Pete shakes my hand, and I see several girls glare at me. The boys each have a beer or glass of water (depending on their age), and I wait patiently for them to finish. I look around, trying to find a good spot to watch them perform from. I notice a spot close to the stage, so I nudge Paul.

"I'm going to go sit by the stage."

He nods, and I wander over to the table I'd spotted. I sit down and stare at the stage, glancing at my watch occasionally. The boys finally get on the stage; and at the first few words from them, the crowd starts dancing. I don't leave my seat; but I do move my head to the music, grinning as I recognize some of the songs from that afternoon's rehearsal. I watch how each boy acts on stage, giggling when Paul winks at no particular person. George eventually steps up to a microphone, and starts to sing, easily coaxing the correct notes from his guitar as he plays. I close my eyes for a moment, just letting the music wash over me; and I relax, truly relax, for the first time today as George's voice envelopes me. I open my eyes as he starts to play a guitar solo, and I can't help staring. His fingers move over the strings confidently, and I begin to see a beauty to the movements that I've never noticed before. The solo ends, and as George begins to sing again, I look up at his face; only to meet his eyes. He continues to sing and play, bringing the song to a close without making any mistakes, but his eyes never leave mine. This time, even though I feel like he can see everything I've ever thought, said, and done, I don't look away. George holds my gaze through the next song, the last song the boys will be playing tonight, then looks away. I look down at my table, trying to steady my breathing. Paul, John, Stu, and Pete wander off to flirt for a bit, but George flops into the chair beside mine. He has a glass of water in hand, and he takes a sip before setting it on the table.

"Why do you never drink?"

"I tried it, once. Didn't particularly care for it."

George nods, accepting my explanation.

"What did ya think of us?"

I smile at him.

"You guys are fantastic, and the song you sang lead on was incredible!"

He blushes and grins, clearly delighted by my reaction. We chat for an hour before the other guys make their way over to our table.

"Hey, what'd ya think of our performance?"

John looked rather hopeful, though he was trying to hide it. Paul, however, grabbed a chair and sat next to me.

"Thoughts?"

I roll my eyes as Paul pouts.

"It was wonderful, lads, honestly."

The group breaks into grins, and Pete holds out his hand to me.

"It was nice to meet you, Opal."

"You too, Pete."

We shake hands, and with a nod to the boys, he drifts off into the crowd. Stu and John leave soon after, and Paul pulls me to my feet.

"Come on, lass. I'd better get you home."

George stands.

"Mind if I walk with ya?"

"Uh, oh."

Paul and George look over at me.

"I don't have my key."

"Should we wake your dad?"

"He's away on business."

Paul wraps an arm around me.

"We'll work this out somehow."

"What if we take the vines up to her room like we normally do?"

Paul shakes his head as I turn pale.

"She's too scared that she'll fall. One of us would have to carry her."

George sets his hands on my shoulders.

"I can carry you. We'll have Paul go up first, then I'll go up with you."

Paul starts climbing up the vines, and we see him go through the window to my room. George holds his arms out to me.

"Come here."

I wrap my arms around his neck, then jump up and wrap my legs around his waist. He starts climbing, and I close my eyes. Soon, I feel Paul's hands grabbing my sides, so I open my eyes. As I'm carefully set down on the floor of my bedroom, I calm down, glad to be back on solid ground. George and Paul sit down next to me, and we all take a moment to relax.

"Guys?"

"Yeah?"

I frown.

"Why didn't we just send one of you up to go in and open the front door for the other two?"

Silence. Then, George, Paul, and I laugh until our sides hurt.